The swimsuit

Racing is awesome.  Racing for charity is even better.  Racing for charity while wearing the coolest, most ironic and punny swimsuit ever... a picture is worth a thousand words (see above).

I am now the proud owner of an OSU Triathlon swimsuit with the words "Fast Beaver" emblazoned and emboldened across the butt!  I earned it by racing a 400 IM and raising a little money for the Swim for Health.  We almost reached our goal of $5000... more than last year.  So, thanks to everyone for donating their time and money and arm strength.  The Tri-ing to Swim-mers finished third in the team competition and did a total of 119 laps in 30-minutes.  It might have been 120, but someone (don't know who tat could be) got a little tired of endless freestyle laps and through in some fly.  The winning team were a bunch of ringers, even recruiting a champion masters swimmer who could do a 25 yd breast as fast as I swam a 25 yd free (I raced him).

For the next eight days, I am a one-sport athlete who does biking and swimming for cross-training.  I'm finding it exceedingly difficult to keep to my marathon taper.  Earlier in the week, I turned a 4-mile run into a 6-mile run because I was zoning so much on the way out on an out-and-back run.  This morning I was so energized to find a hill near my house for my 4x15 seconds of uphill accelerations that my 3-mile run turned into a 4.65 mile run with some parkore practice.  I'm lucky I didn't hurt something.

It's going to be harder to keep to the taper this week-end as I head down to the Umpqua River Valley with all its gnarly single-track, scenic roads, and wineries.  Bike-wine tour anyone?

Marathon ready?

The taper is beginning... I can feel it.  The overwhelming desire to run far distances.  The voracious apetite.  The fidgetty foot that borders on restless leg syndrom.  And it is worse tonight because I was supposed to do a quality 3x mile at tempo pace in the midst of a 9-mile run, but beyond breezy conditions kept it from happening.  Then, the power went out to half of Corvallis, including campus, which meant no treadmill workout (like that was an option... the treadmills at the gym don't go faster than 10 mph!).  Now, I will be up with the dawn tomorrow morning.  Anyone want to meet me at Michael's Landing for a a few sub-6:00 miles?

Everything is falling in place for the marathon.  I've got my travel plans set.  I've already printed out the race confirmation for registration.  I've mapped my route from the hotel to the start line and researched potential places to have dinner in San Diego the night before.  I've stared at the course map and profile so much that I could probably draw them free-hand.  The only thing I haven't done is pack (though I have set aside my shoes, pre-race and race outfits).  Oh, and the best thing: I've got plans to get into the VIP Port-a-potty.

That actual isn't the best thing (though it comes very close).  The best thing is that I am in corral #1... the elite wave, the first runners to go off, toeing the line with people who are going to run 30-minutes faster than me.... wait.  Another thing to worry about, going out to fast.  It's a long way to run with lactic acid in my muscles from the first mile.

Couldn't tell you why this one makes me so nervous... maybe because it is the first one I've trained for.  It's been a long time since I so completely focused my training on one single event.  With triathlon, and especially with triathlon, even if you are training for one event, it doesn't feel like it.  But marathon training the last seven weeks has been so focused that I've even planned my social events in order to avoid being out late the night before key workouts... speaking of which, if I'm going to meet (you?) at Micheal's landing at 6:00 AM tomorrow morning, I best be catching some Zzzzs.

Swim for Health and the FB

That title sounds like a good band name.  I digress, already.


I have been double-dog-dared to do something that I had no intention of doing, wearing something that I had very little intention of creating.  Intriguing, right?


The dare involves the Swim for Health this Saturday.  I already told you that this is a fundraising competition to see how many laps a team of 6 can do 30 minutes.  For this portion, I am part of team "Tri-ing to Swim", a fantastic, motley crew of triathletes in swimmers clothing.  However, I failed to mention the other part of the event, the one that I was hoping no one would notice.... And I would have gotten away with it, but I was negotiating with a master-negotiator and world champion enabler (my friend H) who also happened to volunteer at the SforH last year and observed the second part of the competition — essentially a 400IM.    I was asking her to donate to the cause, and she suggested that I had to do more than swim continuous 25s.  Nope, she said she would give me $40 ($10 for each 100yd) if I did the Ironwoman 400 IM competition.


And then came the addendum... I had to do it wearing the Fast Beaver swimsuit. Duhn-duhn-duh-h-h-hn!


Let me explain.  Up until recently, the Fast Beaver swimsuit was a myth, a figment of my adobe Illustrator creation, only known by its presence in my computer's recycle bin... but the word was out.  And like any good fables, this one has a moral and begins with:


Once upon a time, a good woman designed a Splish swimsuit for the OSU triathlon team, as a kind of thank you for all the great training, and also to build team morale as they headed to their first Collegiate National Championships.  She had written "Go Beavs" across the butt of the design, because something had to go there.  After all,  a swimsuit without a design on the butt is missing the point of being a swimsuit.   The design process was a group effort that may have involved good food, good drinks, and goo-o-od vibrations.  It was decided that "Fast Beaver" should be written instead.  Chuckle, chuckle, LQTM.  She will admit that she understood the implication (sadly, it took a minute), but  felt it was appropriate enough to go ahead with.


Well, you can imagine the questions and inquiries that commenced.  Really what precipitated the change was a few womrn saying they would be uncomfortable wearing it... the last thing I want to do is actually discourage people from exercising and forcing uncomfortable self-expression.  So, without too much more ado, the "Fast Beaver" was replaced with "Go Beavs" and that was that.  The moral of the story: Free your mind, and the rest will follow.  Oh wait, that's a song lyric.  Real moral: Eat your vegetables.  Kidding, there is no moral.


But, obviously, it was a story still fresh on the mind and a funny one at that.  Occasionally,friends of the woman who knew the story called the her (we can all safely assume that the woman is me) "FB" for short, and thought that I should go ahead and get a suit with my sometimes moniker on the butt.


For clarity, the OSU mascot is the Beaver, and I do swim quite fast according to some people.  And so, for charity, and charity only, Splish has made me the suit, and I will wear it during that oh-so-painful "how-many-laps-of-butterfly-is-it" 400IM.  I'll upload some pics.  God help me, or at least help me raise some funds!

Rave Run: Mckenzie River Trail

Last Monday, fresh from running part of the Mac Forest 50K course as a sweep over the week-end, I sat down with my training schedule to plan out my workouts for that week.  Looming on Saturday, was a 23-mile run... my longest training run, ever.   Ever, ever.  I was thinking about the gutsy perseverance of the back of the pack and also about all that single-track trail.  Ooph.  


And then it dawned on me.  


The bucket list.  An intangible, but ever-present, list of things I need to do.  And the chapter on Oregon had listed: running the length of The Awesome McKenzie River Trail... a nearly uninterrupted ribbon of trail undulating through old-growth forests and laa fields, with the constant companionship of the McKenzie River, complete with water-falls and deep-blue bone-chilling springs.  27.5 long... Fish Lake to Ranger Station.


Let's do it.


I was willing to do it alone, to even park at the bottom and hitchhike to the top.  But something like this demands company, and my good friends Heather and Jim agreed to shuttle and MTB it with me. (Not exactly with me... more like, start at the same time and meet me at the bottom).


At the start, it was oh-so-sunny, already 60 °F, and pleasantly calm.  I took the obligatory start picture with H and started running.  It was hard not to leap and bound around on the trail, so exhilarating was it to be in among the trees, running by mountain lakes, over bridges.


The trail conditions were perfect.  Hardly any mud, no ruts, no newly downed trees (the trail care crew has been busy), no snow... but you could see in spots were it had melted relatively recently.  Very few bugs (that'll change in a few weeks) and very few people.  I saw a total of 9 hikers, 14 mountain bikers, and 7 dogs during the entire length.


Along the way, I stopped a few times to take some video and pictures.  I walked around the hour marks to take in Clif Shots.  And, I had to walk off an ankle twist at one point.  But, aside from that, I bobbed and weaved, leapt over rocks, listened to the music of the rushing river and falls, and, well, just.... ran.  I saw Heather and Jim a few times along the way, but they were gone for good around mile 15, as we left the lava fields (and the technical MTBing) behind and entered the more swooping and smooth sections of the trail.


In case you are wondering, I am pretty sure I smiled the entire time!  I definitely never got bored.  I didn't listen to music... just nature.  It was epic!  If you are interested in the vital statistics.  Total time on trail- 4:08.  Total running time - 3:28.  Total running distance 26.4 miles.  Total distance covered 27.5 miles.  Two Clif Shots consumed (200 calories), 16 oz Clif Shot Drink, 1.5 L of water, 1/2 a Clif Mojo Honey Peanut Bar... I need to restock my Mojo for the last 30-minutes or so.

I was pretty happy to see Heather and Jim at the car when I came off the trail.  For their part, I think they were surprised to see me (the plan was for them to get back to the car, pack up and get the other car at the top, then come back and get me).  I was most excited to drink my chocolate milk and eat the Sea Salt and Pepper potato chips from the corner gas station.


The next thing on the list - eat a Snickers Bar fresh off the conveyor belt... and it might be possible.  I know they are made in Chicago by Masterfoods USA, in a Spanish-looking factory with a red-tile roof!





Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Adventure is afoot

Tomorrow morning, the epic will take place.  A major "WIBC" event is going down for me.  I will be crossing something off the bucket list!

Also, I have been double-dog dared to do something, and I have accepted the challenge because it is for a good cause.  All I can tell you right now is that it involves Splish, Swim for Health, and a certain nickname (with an innocent backstory) that I have been given recently.  More to come.

Swim for Health 2010 - Help a girl out.

So, how many laps (that's 25 yds) do you think I can swim in 30-minutes?  Want to bet on it?  I'm marathon training so my triceps/biceps are smaller than normal, but that doesn't mean I can't leave wake in the pool, especially wearing a one-of-a-kind Splish swimsuit designed by my artist sister!

DREAM  BELIEVE

Where's this going?  In two weeks, I'll be swimming at the 2010 Swim for Health to benefit the Bill and Judy Winkler Fund for Positive Lifestyles and Healthy Aging at OSU.  You know I have a soapbox when it comes to fitness and healthy lifestyles.  Here's my chance to put my money where my mouth is... er.... your money ;-)


Bill Winkler is former coach of the OSU swim team, relentless adult masters swimming coach, emiritus professor at OSU, and a superb example of the benefits of a walk each and every morning.  Not to mention, one of the people personally responsible for transforming my swimming in the last two years and making it a lifetime sport for me, not just the start of a triathlon.


He started this fund with his own money, and is now asking people to join in to continue to spread his message of the positive impacts of fitness in maintaining your own personal awesomeness!


So, visit my donation page or the event donation page, and even if it is just a couple bucks, I'ld really appreciate it.  Also, comment on this post to guess how many laps my team can swim in 30-minutes... I've got something special arranged for the winner!

Half way there! The Eugene Half-Marathon Race Report

I though it only fitting to mark the half-way point of my transformation into marathoner with a half-marathon.  And what better place to run one than in Tracktown USA... Eugene, OR.  And did I mention the finish was in Hayward Field?  Arguably, the Carnegie Hall of American distance running?


I started training for the marathon on Sunday, May 4, one day after the Beaver Freezer Triathlon and nine weeks pre-marathon.  Don't try this at home kids, I'm a professional... sort of.  Because of the Showdown at Sundown Half-iron Triathlon, I was already in half-marathon shape, and I had made sure that I had a couple of long runs under my belt in the 1:30 range.  But, all of my tempo/interval training had been shorter or divided with the bike.  It was time to get serious.  It was time to get legit.


In the last five weeks, I have put on three 2+ hour runs: a 16-mile (2:00) loop around Corvallis, an 18-mile (2:15) Tour de NoCo, and a 21-mile (2:40) run that included every bike path in Corvallis, including fire roads in the Mac forest.  Epic.


And so, last week was a rest week of sorts, capped off by what I hoped to be a demolishing of my half-marathon Personal Best.  My planned pace fell somewhere around 6:32 per mile... a 1:26 half-marathoner and a time I hoped would get me into the top three (really wanted to win a bottle of wine).


Bedecked in BrooksID (Nightlife gear so bright a blindman would see me coming) and my new Brooks Launch shoes... the first time I had run in them ever, and that means-like-I've never even worn the style.  I towed the line with my race plan: set the pace early, not get drawn into competition with a stay Olympian who may have decided to show-up for a "good workout", and alternate water with gatorade at everyother aid station, taking the Clif Shot at 45 minutes in.  It was a beautiful plan.


I positioned myself on the front of the starting line, with 8000-strong at my back.  I managed not to embarass myself to much by belting out the National Anthem slightly off-key (the volume was really loud and it drowned me out).  And then the gun.


Race plan fell apart right away.  There was so much cheering and so much great competition... and after all, it is a race.  I positioned myself somewhere around 3rd place, though it was hard to tell because the marathoners were mixed in with us (sad to think that marathoners were running my fastest half-pace).  The first mile was 6:00, then 6:10, then 6:10 again.  And then 6:10 again.  I was actually feeling really good!  But the aid stations were positioned two-miles apart, and I have been babied and coddled by the aid station spacing on half-ironman courses (every-mile).  I wasn't getting enough water or nutrition.  Plus, I've been training with nuun on my long runs, sipping every 10-12 minutes.  Doh!  Might have to rethink training or racing strategy or both. 


Before long, I was starting to get runner belly, and at mile 9, just as I was passing Hayward Field again as the course wound back by the start line, I plowed into a Honey-Pot.  Pit-stop number one.  Out on the course, I saw that I had been passed by two women, and my friend Nick yelled out that I was in 4th place!  Still awesome... if I could just manage to keep it in for four miles.


The next three miles went by in a fog, as I tried to change my running stride to avoid jostling my innards.  But, as we were crossing the walking bridge over the Willamette, I suddenly needed to employ the services of a bush or tree.  I had to suffer another 300yds before exiting the bridge and rounding a bend on the bike path that was out of view of spectators.  Tall grass and bushes hide many sins.  I plowed back onto the course, two more women had passed, and I vowed that no more would do so.  I butt-chugged my way to the finish line, still smiling (there is video of the finish line to prove it... the movie is actually pretty sweet.  They caught my entire finishing stretch.  Fast forward four minutes).  And low-and-behold a 1:24:04.  Vital statistics: 6:25/mile, new PR by 3:48 (only counting road races, not triathlons...whole other beasts), 6th woman overall, 2nd in my age group.  Wahoo!


It was almost worth the hour and a half in the med tent following the race, the two IV bags, the cookie-tossing in the Honey Pot, the violent chills, and the feeling all day that my stomach was never again going to digest food.  Triumph!


So, half-marathon at half-way.  Glad I did it.  Must reevaluate nutrition plan and pace.  Because, based on this, I think I can go sub-3:00 in San Diego.  Don't you think so?  Am I right, or am I right?

Stuff you should know...

I'm paying homage to my favorite podcasters here, Josh and Chuckers, of Stuff You Should Know fame.

Since it's been a few weeks (okay a month) there's some stuff you should know.

First, I signed up for a half-marathon.

Second, then I signed up for a marathon.

Third, then I signed up for an Ironman.... Not!

But, the first two are true.  I won an entry to the Eugene Marathon/Half-Marathon at the Tumor Shooter race.  I couldn't resist signing up for the half.  I took one look at the course profile, surmised that the finish was going to be in the Stonehenge of American distance running (Hayward Field),  and clicked the mouse button.  Boo-yaa!  As for the marathon, I am one of the lucky runners to be picked for the Brooks Inspire Daily P.A.C.E team.  As a member of the team, I get to race in one the the Brooks sponsored Rock 'n Roll Marathons or Half-marathons.  So, San Diego it is!  My sister, Shorty, will also be racing the marathon for something like the third or fourth time (she had completed nine overall).  Look for me on the start line in my Night-life uniform. Trust me, you can't miss it.

Which brings me to this fine morning.  I am so nervous and preoccupied, that I put four scoops of grounds in the French press instead of three... ye-ah!  My apologies, if the verbage is verbose and frenetic.  It's not my fault.  I swear.

Major props and prayers to the GSM go out to my BFFs the Rydholm's as they race Ironman St. George. Also, sending mojo and juju to fellow Corvegans Gordie (NW Multisport owner) and Nick.

I am headed down to Eugene, OR this morning for the race expo and packet pick-up with a few of my training partners (Ger and JJ)... I checked out the list of vendors and it looks to be a good one.  Also very interested in checking out the Flap Jack Stack competition (they are going for a world record for highest stack of pancakes).

And who says it doesn't pay to be a superfan of track and field?  I followed the Drake and Penn relays on FloTrack last week-end.  They had a competition going to guess the winner/winning time of the High School Relay events.  Guess who won a free pair of shoes from RunningWarehouse.com for correctly prognosticating the H.S. Gilrs 4x800?! Who me?

And on a final note, it is official.  I set a new personal record for the bike commute from my house to work yesterday!  10:52 I didn't have to stop or slowdown at any stoplights.  No pedestrians were harmed in the process.  And, I even had to go slightly out of my way to avoid marching Army squabs in full dress uniform on their way to some flag ceremony on the OSU's Quad.

If you want to try and follow my race tomorrow online, supposedly you can enter my name or number (6723) on facebook or twitter.  I am going to try and set two PRs in one week-end (Friday counts)!

That's all my stuff?  Did I forget anything?

Oh, I did forget something!!!  I won the 200 IM at the Oregon State Short Course Masters Champs a couple weeks ago.  Not to mention, taking second in the 1650yd (20:39), second in the 100 yd. Fr (1:00.43), and first in the 500 yds.  I also swam three relays... butterfly in the Womens 200 Medley, kicking it in with a 30.54!  My masters swim team, CBATS, finished second in the Medium-size team competition.  Very cool.  Stay-tuned for information about our annual fundraiser for Coach Bill's fitness foundation in a few weeks.  Who says triathletes don't know how to swim?