Central America Vacation PIcs...

Here's me surfing....

Norfolk Pub 10 Miler

Well, it has happened, I have finally raced again! I haven't raced since the half ironman back in September, although I have still been working out. This was a 10 mile run in Norfolk, CT. Norfolk is in Litchfield County, which equals uber hilly. The race had a nice start time of 11am. Sweet. The temp was 22 degrees, brrrr, and the roads had snow/ice coverage throughout much of it. I went into the race with the mindset that I was just going to take it easy, not out to break any records, but being the competitor I am I set a goal time for myself of 1:40 (10 min miles). I missed my goal by 1 min 17 seconds, with a total time of 1:41:17. I was a bit disappointed about that, but I ran the race very conservatively because this is the longest distance I've run in quite some time. I think the longest run before this I recently ran was around 6 or 7 miles. Despite missing my goal time I actually won my age group (albeit there were only 83 runners total). This was a fun race and the entry was a reasonable $15 (or $10 if you register early). It is definitely a challenging course, but fun, and you get a free beer with your bib tag at the end of the race!

Quick Updates: Trip and Show

Well, I'm back from Central America. The trip was awesome (with one exception)! I haven't uploaded pictures yet, but will post some as soon as I do. I'm also hoping to record another show soon-- just have to find a time both Elizabeth and I are free.

I'll post more details about the trip when I get pictures to illustrate (and also talk about it in the next podcast), but for now here are some of the highlights: fantastic diving in both Belize and Nicaragua, 12 miles hiking through the ancient Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, surf lessons in Nicaragua with one of Nica's best surfers, beautiful sunsets, and a lot of practice speaking Spanish (at least in Guatemala and Nica).

More to come...

Frappr Map

The off-season and vacation

Training: Well, as always, transitioning into the off-season is weird. I feel a little lost without a race coming up in the next couple weeks. Really, the only thing I have planned in the coming months is a 4 miler on New Year's Eve in Central Park and probably a half mary at the Hyannis marathon in Massachusetts. I'm still planning on doing a spring marathon, but have yet to lock in which one that will be. I do know I need to get it set-- I rely heavily on having a race to prepare for as motivation to keep on track both nutrionally and physically. Don't get me wrong, I haven't stopped working out or started eating pizza and french fries every night, but I have relaxed my stringency in training big time. I know having an off-season is good and needed, but at the least I like having a goal to work toward. I also finally got a gym membership again so I can get back on track in terms of swimming and hopefully start strength training as well. Lots of things to work on in the coming months...

The show: Elizabeth and I are going to try and record another before I take off to Central America on Wednesday...

The trip: Speaking of Central America, yes, I leave Wednesday! Totally stoked about that. I will take tons of pics and I'm taking my recorder too-- so hopefully I'll be able to capture some sounds of Belize, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. I will post upon my return for sure. In the meantime here is a pic of me at the Nutmeg Half Iron. This was the best one, even though it's not the greatest. The event photographer just didn't catch that many of me and the one's they did were not exactly the most flattering. haha I just know it's been a while since I've posted some pics, so here ya go:

HIM Race Report and Show 29 In Transit

Hey all-- Show 29 of In Transit is up and ready for your listening pleasure.

Here's my half ironman race report:
What: Nutmeg HIM (1.2 mi swim/56 mi bike/13.1 mi run)
When: 23SEP07 @ 7am
Where: Lake Waramaug, New Preston, CT

Pre-event: I chose this course b/c I wanted to do a half that was close to home and at the end of the season. So, I narrowed it down to this one or the Extrememan. I mostly chose this one b/c I liked the sounds of the lake swim over the sound swim. I rode the bike course twice prior to the race and drove the run course. I made the decision to change my gearing, based on how the pre-rides went (i.e. major major hills). Thankfully, my friend Joe graciously let me borrow his compact crank set, which I believe made a pretty big difference-- maybe not in my speed, but in terms of not burning up on the bike and having something left for the run. I had also done the Nutmeg Sprint, so I had a pretty good idea of how the swim and transition areas would be set up since the race was run by the same people. Race morning: Had a bagel and cream cheese for breakfast. I meant to have a gel before leaving the hotel and then ~ 10 minutes before race start, but both those totally slipped my mind until I was in the middle of the swim.

Swim-- 38:48
I couldn't get into a good rhythm until about 2-3 bouys in. It wasn't my best swim, but I got through it and didn't go off course, so I was happy.

T1-- 3:23
Not the fastest for me, but wanted to make sure I definitely had everything set for the rigorous bike course ahead.

Bike-- 3:55:11
This was just over 14mph. Pretty slow, but compared to the rest of the field, especially compared to the rest of the women I seemed to fare pretty well. I was definitely glad I had pre-ridden the course and knew what to expect. Thankfully, I was able to ride the whole course without any dismounting. That was a feat in itself!Nutrition: I had 1 Gu and 2 packs of Clif Shot Bloks. I had taped another Gu to my bike, but it fell off at about mile 2.5. I also drank 1.5 liters of water and ~ 8oz of gatorade.

T2-- 2:09
Pretty uneventful. Would have liked to be under 2min, but my stuff had been kinda kicked around a bit by either myself or others around me.

Run-- 2:13:06
I actually felt pretty good on the run. I was surprised my legs weren't more spent. I ran the whole thing minus walking through 2 or 3 aid stations. I brought 3 GUs with me, but only used 2. I drank water at every aid station, poured some over my head, and had gatorade at 1 aid station. Oh, and I had to stop and pee at the turnaround on the run, so that set me back about 1-2 minutes. I was glad I had to pee though, so I knew I was staying hydrated.

Overall, this was a very challenging course. I'm not sure it was the greatest choice for a first time HIM, but I finished it nonetheless and was stoked to have broken 7 hours.

Park City Mossman-- Bridgeport, CT 8/26/07

I didn’t wear a watch this race, as I usually do. I really had no idea what my times were throughout the race. I did this on purpose, so I could really just tune in and listen to my body. At this point I still don’t have my exact split times either, b/c they have yet to be posted on the web (or if they have, I can’t find them). All I know is my finish time is approximately 2:48 and some change.

Pre-race: I had a bowl of cereal before I left for the race. I also sipped on some Gatorade on my way there and ate a ½ a pack of Clif Shot Bloks on the way and ½ right before race start.

Swim: Long Island Sound, Seaside Park, Bridgeport
Wore the wetsuit. The tide was ‘on its way in’….which meant a good deal of aqua jogging at the start and finish and during the second loop of the course. Besides the lack of depth, the water was fantastically smooth. I think my swim went okay, besides the jogging through the water part, which slowed me down a bit.

T1: Longer than my usual times for 2 reasons: 1) Had to factor in wetsuit removal time. 2) Put socks on to avoid blisters on the run.

Bike: This was a 5 loop course, completely flat. I really disliked this course, mostly due to congestion. Due to the 5 loops, there was major mixing of fast & slow, experienced & inexperienced riders. This made it very difficult to follow the USAT rules (no drafting, passing on left only, 30 second pass, etc) and I’m surprised I didn’t see any wrecks. I ended up getting a penalty on the first loop. I was so pissed! I went into one of the corners with ~ half a dozen people. One of the ‘slow’ guys did not hold his line and ended up cutting in front of me. Another ‘fast’ guy cut to the ‘slow’ guy’s left and then there was me with nowhere to go except pass the ‘slow’ guy on the right or slam on my brakes. I went with the former, which successfully got me a penalty--my first ever. I was not proud. At the same time, I felt that this course would have been better for an ITU race, where drafting is legal. I’m also not sure I’m a fan of the completely flat course. I tend to be able to shut people out on the hills and this course did not offer that opportunity. Anyway…on the bike I drank more than half a bottle of Gatorade, had a gel, and ate half a pack of Clif bloks.

T2: Pretty fast, I think (Again, no timing available yet). Just switched shoes, grabbed my hat, race belt, and a gel and I was off.

Run: I thought it was just a standard out-and-back course until I noticed on one of the last laps of the bike that there were 2 turnarounds. This psyched me out a bit, mainly because I had envisioned it differently in my head. Nonetheless, I got through it okay. I have no idea what my pace was. It felt slow, but history has taught me that triathlon runs may seem very slow, but then you get your time and are blown away by the pace you ran. So, time will tell. By this time it had heated up quite a bit, so I did a combination of drinking water and pouring it over my head. I also had a gel about ½ way through the run.
Overall, I was pretty satisfied with my time and am anxious to see my splits and how I did in the division. I’m not sure if I’d do this race again, mostly because I wasn’t in love with the course—congestion on the bike, lack of depth on the swim, etc. The swag was pretty good though.

Nutmeg Sprint Triathlon-- August 11th, Warren, CT

Well, since we're still slacking on getting an In Transit out, I figured the least I could do is give a race report here...

This was a sprint tri (.5mile/9miles/5k).

The race was about a 1.5 hour drive, so I left at 4:45 to get there. Surprisingly, I was pretty awake. I ate a bowl of cereal before leaving home and a couple Clif Shot Bloks on the ride there. Luckily, I was able to carpool with my friend Allison, who happens to be a fellow member of the Shoreline Sharks (my multisport team).

Got there, picked up my packet, racked my bike and set everything up. It was kind of chilly, in the 50s. I decided to go sans wetsuit (I didn't even bring it with me). The field was split in regard to wetsuit use, about 50/50. The water was much warmer than the air temp, so as soon as I stepped in to warm up I was relieved. I think I would have been too warm if I would have worn it and I probably would have added on at least a minute getting it off. I was happy with my decision.

Swim: The half mile lake swim went well. I made it out of the water in 17:59. A little slower than my usual, but not by much.

T1: It was at least 1/8 mile from the beach to the transition area. I was able to pass a ton of people in transition. A lot of people were walking to transition b/c they were too worried about their precious tootsies and the little rocks they had to run over to get to transition. I was in race mode, so the rocks didn't bother me a bit. My time was 1:50.

Bike: It was a short 9 mile loop around the lake. Flat for the first 5 miles, then a hill at 5 & at 7 miles. Pretty tough hills. Non eventful bike, pretty happy with my time of 30:36. I have to say my bike times seem so slow to me ever since I moved to CT. But, I have to remember it is much hillier here than TX, so I can't really compare averages on flats to averages on hilly courses.

T2: Quick in & out. 42 seconds.

Run: This run was a b*tch for the first 1.7 miles! It was basically straight uphill. The turnaround was at the 1.7 mark and then it was a flying downhill from there. I ended up with a 27:20 time for an 8:47 pace. I was pretty satisfied with that, except for the fact that I lost an age group win the last half mile when a chick flew by me going at a 7 something pace. I knew I wouldn't be able to hang with her, but I pushed as hard as I could. She beat me by 38 seconds. Nonetheless, I ended up with a 2nd in AG placement. I was pretty satisfied.

Race nutrition: I had a GU on the bike with water. I also had water once on the run and did the 'dump water over my head' trick, which really helped b/c it had warmed up quite a bit by the time the run portion came up.

Overall, it was a challenging course and a fun race. Plus, we got wicking shirts! Woot!

Update...

Well, I know it has been FOREVER since I've posted and since Elizabeth and I have turned out a podcast. We are still alive and kickin', but just SUPER busy. We hope to have another show out in the near future.

In the meantime...

Here's my update: Since the tri on the 16th I have done a couple 5k races logging a 25:30 and 25:34, which I was proud of because that puts me at ~ and 8:12 pace. This is a huge improvement in my run pace in the past year.

I was supposed to do a tri on the 4th of July, but it got cancelled, so my next one will be on August 11th and a sprint distance. I'm also registered for an oly on August 26th, a HIM on Sept 23rd, and 10 miler and 20k road races thrown in the mix.

Lots more information to come....

Race Report: Olympic Triathlon June 16th, Middlebury, CT

This was my first tri for the season:

Pre-race nutrition: Bowl of cereal, ~12oz of powerade, and an AccelGel ~20 minutes before race start.

Swim: The water was 72 degrees, perfect with my wetsuit. I have to admit the swim looked kind of intimidating with the diamond shape they had set up. Nonetheless, the gun went off and there I went. My only problem with the swim was that my wetsuit was tugging on my right arm. I should have pulled that sleeve up more. I didn't notice when I warmed up prior to race start, but as I got going it was annoying. Lesson learned. The swim went well, although I felt slow. Turns out my time was 38:44, which is pretty consistent with previous oly tris I have done, so I was happy.

T1: Had a bit of trouble getting my right leg out of the wetsuit-- other than that, no qualms. Time 1:24

Bike: Took an AccelGel at the start of the bike and another at the 14 mile point. I also drank close to 12oz of powerade and ~6oz of water. This was a pretty hilly course, but I was able to pass quite a few people during this leg. Tough course, but it went smoothly. Also, it was great having Shark support (my tri club) cheering us on. Time 1:27:49

T2: In and out in 53 seconds.

Run: This was a great run for me. I tend to average between 9:30 and 10:30 on olympic tri run legs that I've done in the past. I have noticed some improvement in my pace ever since I completed my first marathon in April and am happy to say that I finished the run in 50:58 for a pace of approx. 8:40/mi (the run was a little shorter than 10k). Nutrition: I alternated between gatorade and water at each aid station. I also dumped water over my head at almost all the aid stations, which helped me stay cool throughout the run. This run course was more hilly that I expected (I should have scouted the course more prior) but I had run a lot of hills in training, so it was not a huge problem.

Overall time: 2:59:46, which was good enough for 3rd in my age group (not sure how many were in my AG though). I was just stoked to finish under 3 hrs, which is a PR for me. It was great racing with my tri club, the Shoreline Sharks. The run course was a two loop out and back, so I was able to see many of the Sharks throughout the run, which helped bigtime!This was a great race-- I would definitely do it again.

I got tagged....

So, I got tagged by KT a traithlete from Omaha with the Seven Songs that Stick in Your Head blog. I spose I'll continue the chain and I must tag Elizabeth, the other half of the In Transit Duo!

Here's my list:

1. Jump Around by House of Pain
2. Stellar by Incubus
3. 867-5309 by Tommy Tutone
4. The Joker by Steve Miller Band
5. Loser by 3 Doors Down
6. Heartbreak Hotel By Whitney Houston
7. So Fresh, So Clean by Outkast

Okay, these might be more "Songs I Like" than "Songs that stick in your head" but this is my list nonetheless.

In Transit 24

After a bit of technical delay, show 24 is up and 25 should be on its way soon too!

Show 25 will include my marathon review and also a review of the duathlon I did this morning! It was my first ever duathlon and it was tons of fun. Tune in to In Transit for the details. Once that show is up I'll also post my race report here.

In the meantime, I'm completely recovered from the marathon and ready for my triathlon season to get into full swing. I have my first triathlon scheduled for June 16th-- the Pat Griskus Olympic tri in Middlebury, CT. I've heard it's pretty hilly, so I'm going to plan accordingly.

I did it!

Well, it's official, I'm a marathoner. I completed my first marathon on Saturday in Charlottesville, VA. I would report more, but I don't want to spoil the next episode of In Transit-- where you'll get full details.

Here's a pic I swiped off the race web site (yes, the course really looked like this. It was beautiful).














This is how the course was divided up in regard to vertical time and the elevation distribution. In short: it was HILLY! (hint: click on pics to see a larger image).

The sacrifices we make

So, it's T minus 3 days until the marathon! I can't believe it. The 18 weeks of training have truly flown by. Hopefully I'm not grossing anyone out, but I wanted to share a couple sacrifices I made in order to get to race day....the loss of 2 toenails (the second toe on each foot). Both of these nails fell off after blisters formed underneath the toenails. The strange thing is, neither toe hurt at any point, it was just silent blister formation and then bye-bye toenail. Hmm. My feet are in pretty bad shape, but they were not too pretty to begin with. It's hard to maintain beautiful feet when you're constantly pounding on them. I don't mind. :) I love endurance sports!

In Transit 23

It's finished! You can listen by going to our web site or accessing it in iTunes-- it should be available shortly. Enjoy!

It's almost here...

the 23rd In Transit, that is! I'm editing it right now and should have it out by the end of this weekend.

Happy Easter!

Marathon training update: I just finished week 16 of 18! Ran 20 last Saturday, which was my max length so far and am currently on the tapering downslope until race day on April 21st. So far, so good.

Looks like I could use a pair of trail shoes

Went on a trail run tonight with the peeps from the local running store. Had a great time, but got my road shoes, socks, & legs completely covered in mud. Don't get me wrong, I love getting muddy, but I think I might need to invest in some trail shoes so they'll at least start out a dark color and won't look so bad after a muddy run. I already hosed off these, but they still have a brownish tint. Ah well. I'm retiring this pair after the marathon anyway. Fun times. :)

Like lightning...

at least for me.

I had a 4 mile training run tonight and it was great! I ran at a local indoor track (not the great part) and made a time of 35:30! For those of you who don't know, for me that is pretty fast. Well, that's all I have to report for now.

Longest run of my life

Well, I did it. I completed the longest run of my life (so far). I ran 15.2 miles on Saturday. I must say it was not easy, at all, but it was a pretty decent run. My pace was right around 10:20 for the first 13 miles and then slowed to about 11:40 for the last 2 miles. I was running on a snow/ice covered trail on those last 2 miles though.

This coming weekend I will complete another milestone---16 miles. I plan on running with the new running group I came across. Marathon training-- so far, so good. I'll report more soon!

Running store

Well, I had to get a fuel belt-- b/c I can't exactly carry bottles of water around in my hands while I'm running long runs (especially when they're in the double digits). So, I called a local sporting goods store to see if they had them and they didn't, but they were able to recommend a local running store. Yay! I have my local running shop now. I stopped by today and picked up a fuel belt, gus, and found out they have group runs 2 times a week. How cool? I'm stoked. :) Oh the little things in life...

Training away

Well, it's week 10 of marathon training and so far everything is good. Today is a rest day, thankfully. I can use the extra time! This Saturday's long run is 15 miles and will be the longest run I've done ever! I think to date my longest run has been just over 13 miles, so this will be the real test. I think I will complete it just fine! Woot! I'll report back once complete--no matter the outcome.Oh, and Show 21 of In Transit is available for your listening pleasure

Here's my race resume...as promised in the last show

Cara’s
Triathlon/Running/Cycling
Race & Event Resume
Athletic Profile

Bike Rallies
Hotter ‘n Hell Hundred 2004, 2005, 2006
Lonestar Ride 150 miles in 2 days- September 2004
Goatneck 2005 (100k), 2006 (40 miles)
Tour de Paris 2005
Tour Dallas 2005 (30 miles), 2006 (30 miles)
Texas Hell Week – 3/12/2005- 3/19/2005 various distances each of the 4 days
Muenster Germanfest Rally- 2005, 2006 (40 miles)
Mesquite Rodeo Ride 2005
Denton Power Rally 2004, 2005, 2006
Spokes for Folks 2005
Collin Classic 2005
Hot Rocks 2005
Turkey Roll 2004

Triathlon
2004
Athens YMCA Pool Sprint 3/13/04- Athens, TX
July 4th Las Colinas TriAmerica Open-water Sprint 7/3/04- Las Colinas, TX

2005
May 1st Baylor Tom Landry Triathlon Pool Sprint- Dallas, TX
August 7th Sportspectrum Rivercities Triathlon Open-water Sprint-Shreveport, LA
October 2nd Stonebridge Ranch Open-water Olympic- McKinney, TX

2006
April 23rd Rise & Shine 5k- Dallas, TX
May 7th Baylor Tom Landry Triathlon Pool Sprint- Dallas, TX
July 16th Mountain Man Triathlon Open-water Olympic-Flagstaff, AZ
September 16th Texas Man Triathlon Open-water Olympic-Irving, TX
October 15th Monster Triathlon Pool—Keller, TX 1st in Age Group and 2nd in costume contest
October 22nd RunBiTri Pool—Keller, TX 1st in Age Group

Track Cycling
2006
Frisco Superdrome—Velodrome Racing CAT 4
3 races during 2006 season
August 11th- 1st in category
August 18th- 2nd in category
September 1st, Festival of Speed – won $30, placed 3rd in my time category.

Running
2002
ZTA 5k—Iowa City, IA

2003
April 27th-- River Run 10k—Iowa City, IA
July 26—Quad-City Times Bix 7—Davenport, IA
7 miles, 1:09:05, 4716th

2004
Cowtown Marathon 10k
April 25th Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon—Spring, Oklahoma City, OK
Rockledge Rumble 10k trail run—Grapevine, TX
Dallas White Rock Half Marathon—Dallas, TX

2005
February 12th Freescale Half Marathon—Austin, TX
Marine Mud Run 10k obstacle course—Fort Worth, TX
Dallas White Rock Half Marathon—Dallas, TX

2006
St. Paddy’s Day Dash- 5k—Dallas, TX
Marine Mud Run 10k obstacle course—Fort Worth, TX
Rockledge Rumble 15k trail run—Grapevine, TX

***This could use some work and I'll probably add the times as well.

Show 20 is up!

iFYI- In Transit Show 20 is up and ready for your listening pleasure! Find it at our Web site http://www.intransitduo.com or on iTunes.

Week 6 Marathon Training

Well, I'm still working on my marathon training, but have had a bit of struggle getting my motivation up to get my long run miles in. Last week I was scheduled to run 10 miles, but only got 5 in because I procrastinated on going and ended up running out of daylight (plus it was freakin' cold). Yesterday wasn't quite as bad-- I was supposed to run 7 miles and ended up doing about 4.5-5miles, but with some serious hills thrown in. It was fun though-- I got to meet Trisaratops, who was in town for work, and we ran together at the local park. There should be some audio from our run included in the next In Transit episode.

I've been good about getting my weekday distances in, but just need to do the long runs. So important! Next Saturday I'm slated for 12 miles and am bound and determined to get each and every one of those miles in. I will just put the past behind me where it belongs and move forward from here. Sticking to the plan!

Oh, and I just registered for Charlottesville Marathon-- it's official now. I'm in!

Sweet park across the street

Here are a few pics of the view from the summit of the park across the street from my apartment. It is 1.8 miles up to it--- great hill training for both running and cycling. I've been up there quite a few times since moving here. You can see the Long Island Sound from up here-- although it's difficult to see in these pics. Hopefully I'll get some better pics in the future. I had great 9 mile run yesterday, with the summit tied in. Killer time!

Running in circles...

is what I've been doing. Marathon training is coming along slowly, but surely. I've been running on an indoor track during the weeknights and on the trails at a local park on the weekends. Cross-training on Sundays with a bike ride as well. Connecticut is good, although I'm not familiar enough with the area to run outside when it's dark-- so I'm stuck with the indoor track and/or treadmills until it starts staying light out longer. Oh the wintertime. And there's not even any snow here! Actually, I shouldn't complain. The weather here has been really nice-- ranging mostly in the 40s to low 50s. Pretty crazy for a northeast December/January, if you ask me. We'll see what the rest of the month and also February bring. Nothing else is really new. I might start using fitday.com again to track my caloric intake. Hmm.