Tri Minus One: House Arrest, Inspiration Dinner

It was a busy day as predicted.   After registering for the event,  we attended a talk about the course and the USTA rules which govern the event.

Senea, Karin, Milly (blonds have more fun!)

Joe and I went to the transition area to "rack" Reba.  Only participants are allowed in the area but family can stand just outside the fence and give advice :-).   All the TNT bikes are racked together.  I fooled around, deciding which direction to rack.  As we were leaving,  we saw somebody who put a towel under the front tire, presumably to keep the tire from over-heating on the hot asphalt as the day heated up.  So, Joe went to our car and retrieved a towel so I could do the same with my front tire.  Since I have the super-duper thorn resistant tires I didn't let out any air, on the advice of my bike mechanic at Star Bike on Montgomery X.  He aired my tires to 95% of the 120 pounds they can take.   I hope I made the right decision today because it was hot.

Note all the port-a-potties in the background!  We were early so the racks hadn't filled in yet.

I did a practice swim in full outfit with the Atlanta team.  So far so good.  The water temp is mid 70's, brisk getting in but it felt good after a swim. 

At the transition area we picked up the chips we have to wear from start to finish.  We will pass over mats which record our time in the water, out of water starting transition #1, out of transition starting biking, back into transition for #2, out of transition to start the run, and the final recording at the finish line.

The chip goes around the ankle.   Think of house arrest--not that I've ever had it but I read People magazine at the nail salon about Lindsey Lohan.  PS bunion surgery is not on the agenda this year.

The Inspiration Dinner was as expected with lots of hurrahs for the team, the coaches, our family supporters, and volunteers.  Then we got to the part when a survivor talks to us.  "Susan" is part of the Atlanta team.   She was diagnosed in 2003 at age 39 with leukemia.   She talked about how terribly hard her treatments were and how she was so physically debilitated by them but how gradually she re-gained her physical strength and has been living a normal life.   Ironically, she found out that her great-grandmother was also diagnosed with leukemia at age 39 in 1920-something.  Her great grandmother died as there were no treatments then.  Susan was here standing in front of us a survivor.    Then she dropped the bombshell and revealed she is no longer in remission.   She and her oncologist agreed in December that she could delay her treatments so that she could do IronGirl, something that was a bucket list item for her.   My jaw dropped and I hope to be able to talk to her tomorrow to find out more about her treatment plans.

Thanks to YOU guys,  moi, yours truly, received a fund-raising recognition.  Thank you from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!     Our GA group raised $70k.  Since inception TNT has raised $1.2 billion dollars,  billion with a b.   Five Hundred Thousand amateur athletes have been trained and participated in endurance sporting events.

So,  can I sleep tonight?  Not likely.  We have to get up about 4:30am.   Even Joe says he doesn't think he can sleep.   The good news is that the whole thing will be over by 10-ish.  It is like a wedding with months of preparation and anxiety and POW! it will be over in a flash.  I am in Wave #4 with the red swim caps.

Another funny thing happened today.  I was minding my own business at the registration area when a magazine writer approached me.  She told me that they are working on an article with the sponsor Athleta on participants that are "over a certain age" wink wink. Of course one doesn't know whether to be flattered or offended ha ha.    She asked if I would like to be part of it.  I said yes as long as Team in Training gets mentioned.  She took photographs and got my info.   I am curious what will come of that but I hope TNT gets some publicity out of it.

Keep your fingers crossed for me tomorrow.  Bibb number 144 is my new lucky number.

  

Tri Minus Two: Lanier Islands Resort

We arrived!   Given a choice of taking a lot of backroads or going around Atlanta near rush hour,  we choose the scenic route, passing just west of Athens.   The resort is beautiful and the lake really looks wonderful.  What a setting.   I can't wait to see more tomorrow.

We hung out with an adult beverage in Karin and Senea's room, plotting the century ride we all want to do in 2013.  Karin suggests that Joe be the biking coach and I think that is a splendid idea.  He is well qualified for it.   We want to do the TNT century (100 miles) at Lake Tahoe.  Hint hint Jennie! The event bills itself as "the most scenic" century ride in the USA.  I don't doubt it.  In TNT culture,  one strives for a triple crown.  That is doing one each of a marathon, triathlon, and century ride.    We all are lacking a TNT century to get our triple crown--which is only about bragging right.

Folks in the lobby looked askance at me carrying my bike through the lobby but no way is Reba sleeping out in a cold dark parking lot.   She is now tucked in for the night in our hotel room.  I carried her and didn't want the valet messing with her newly fine-tuned brakes and gears.   The thorn-proof tubes seem to agree with her.

I am not superstitious but I don't tempt fate either.   I've been wearing a special necklace for the last couple of weeks.  The cross belonged to my godmother, Marguerite Martin, when she was a toddler.  If she were alive she'd be 103 or 104 so I reckon the cross is 100 years old.  After 9-11 I wore this cross for about 60 days because I was so shaken by the events.   I am counting on its continuing good luck this weekend.

  Tomorrow will be a very busy day.   We have a meeting to hear details and rules about the course.   I can attend a seminar about changing flat tires (not).   We have the opportunity to swim with all the TNT folks at 3pm to get used to the water course.  I am certainly doing that,  hoping to overcome my jitters.  We are required to check in to get our bib number and we are required to set up our transition area with bike, helmet, and shoes.   Joe and I plan to drive the bike course to see the elevation changes.  Karin and Senea did that this afternoon and give it a thumbs up. And,  we have the Inspiration Dinner with all the TNT people.  Let the crying begin.  I will bawl like a baby from start to end as we hear survivors speak about the impact  of new drugs on their survival.   This dinner is what hooks everyone.  I don't know the stats but I suspect that there is a high percent of "repeat" participants in TNT because we all get hooked on the mission.  After the dinner I have to paint my body, putting my mission message on my arms and legs.  It is something of a TNT tradition to honor survivors and memorialize those who lost the battle.   And,  I have to make my breakfast for game day.  I brought peanut butter, a hard boiled egg, a mini bagel, and  a banana for breakfast at 4:30am Sunday.  I can't risk eating something untested so I packed a cooler with my favorite stuff that I know sits well in my tummy.
I'll have lots of pix tomorrow.

Tri Minus Three: Packing and Pictures

I am just about ready to roll tomorrow.  Reba went in for a tune-up.  She got thorn-resistant tubes in her tires.   There is no guarantee I won't get a flat but these tubes are tough.    I am confused by Iron Girl instructions.  They seem to be conflicting about assistance with flat tires.  The web site states that there will be mechanics on the course who can assist with flat tires.   It is out of my hands at this point.

I have all my stuff packed for my transition area.  I've decided to bring one extra water bottle and use that to wash my feet when I come up from the swim.

I bought a new helmet today 'cause my current one has a date of 2004.   The experts say one should replace helmets every 3 years or so.   I don't want an old helmet to somehow disqualify me, although that seems unlikely that they could inspect hundreds of helmets.   I bought a pink one :-).  Go for the gusto!

In keeping with our Mission Moments,  I've included some pix of my Daddy, Curtis Wallace who died of AML in April 1960 at age of 50.  He left his wife Anne,  Stephen age 13, Jesse age 12 (yes they were Irish twins), John age 10, and Millicent age 6.   At the time of his death there were really no treatments for leukemia and he had a very lethal form of it.  He was diagnosed in the fall of 1959 and only lived for six months.   He got blood transfusions and palliative care but that was all they could do.   His last time at home in Nacogdoches was Christmas of 1959 and he was already pretty sick. Somewhere I have a picture of him sitting at the kitchen table at 2214 North Pecan St in his pajamas and a robe.  He looked awful.  Jesse's birthday is Dec 22nd and there was a birthday cake on the kitchen table.    During that time at home, he started hemorrhaging and had other problems that caused him to be taken by ambulance to Houston and he was never home again.
We've come a long way since 1960.   It is unbelievable to me that leukemia drugs are considered "orphan" by the pharma companies.  The treatments today wouldn't exist without funds raised by organizations like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Those funds directly go to research, some of which has produced new generation drugs that are keeping people alive for many many years, living a normal life.
I've learned other important facts.  Some of the formulations being researched for leukemia are being used to treat other forms of cancer too.    There is a lot more collaboration between different types of cancer research than I imagined.

Dr. Curtis Wallace, USN

Probably 1942 or 1943

Newly commissioned officer

Daddy's wedding picture

Dec, 1945

Married at USN Academy Chapel at Annapolis, MD

Our family in 1957, a couple of years before AML diagnosis.

Tri Minus 4: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

If this doesn't make you laugh and cry simultaneously,  something is wrong with you.

On house-keeping matters,   I obviously can't count because today is Tri Minus 4.  I lost three days somewhere.   Actually I think I started on the wrong number.  Joe says I am too excited to count right.

Now this video is what I call a MISSION MOMENT.  All these kids have leukemia and are in a hemo-oncology unit.
Watch Kelly Clarkson's response to these kids and nurses.  Very sweet!

Tri Minus Seven: Drafting, Blocking and Flats

In our biking segment there are very specific rules that we have to follow or be disqualified.
First NO DRAFTING!    Here is a link that shows the generic rules on the prohibition on drafting.   I wouldn't be comfortable drafting anyway but I need to pay attention that I also don't violate the NO BLOCKING rule too, by accident.
Drafting Rules

The "bummer" rule is that nobody can help me change a flat or that can get me dis-qualified too.   I have to admit that I never learned how to change a flat tire.  It is more complicated than you can image and now I really regret that I never focused on that.   I've always biked with Joe or biked in events where that wasn't the rule.  I found out about this yesterday and am a little dismayed.   So of all the things I have to worry about,  I really need to not have a flat.    I am taking Reba into the bike spa on Thursday for her mani/pedi.  I may ask them to put in new tubes just to be on the safe side in case the tubes are old.  Now that I think about it,  those tubes are old and probably on the verge of dry-rot.

There are other funny rules too.  For example, a spectator, like a hubby, can't hand one a snack on the road.  We have to leave the transition area fully prepared and not rely on any help on the road.   Also, if one leaves the transition area and the helmet strap isn't fastened,  that is disqualifying.  I can appreciate that one for safety.   No iPods are allowed.  I get that one too.   Here is a funny one:  doing the running segment while wearing one's bike helmet is disqualifying.  Shoot me if I forget to take my helmet off---I am really off my rocker if I do that.    Also nudity in the transition area is prohibited.  Thank goodness!

Today's forecast for Sunday at Lake Lanier, GA:
Overnight Low 60 degrees   ( we will gather at 4:45 am to go to the transition area for 7 am start)
High 79 degrees
Mostly sunny.
Winds ENE 6 mph

Current water temps are estimated at 69 degrees ( a little chilly).  I've already beat that wet suit thing to death.

Reba asked me to ask to you pray that her tubes hold out for 19 miles.

Tri Minus Nine: Cross Training

As if doing three events isn't cross training enough,  we had a fun Saturday of Mother's Day weekend going kayaking.   I certainly feel it in my shoulders and upper back today so I must have used some muscles that needed using.   We went with a Landings group to Palmetto Bluff near Bluffton, SC.  The place is uber upscale and surprisingly is bigger than Manhattan.   For you Food Network fans,  this is where Tyler Florence got married.   We had a guide/naturalist, Patty, who took us by boat to a small hammock, Page Island.  From there we launched and did a 5.5 mile paddle.   For the uninitiated,  a hammock is a small island in the middle of salt water, tidal marsh that is always dry, even during unusually high tides (although would be covered with water during a hurricane surge).     Joe and I used a tandem kayak for the first time and we didn't have one argument on how the other was paddling :-).  It had been recommended that spouses don't use a tandem together but I'd say we had a very happy and successful outing.    Joe says he is pretty sore today, just a little evidence that he is still recovering from having his chest cracked open in January.
We paddled and paddled and periodically stopped close together to hear a short lecture from Patty about the tidal environment or the natural history of the Indians that lived in the area.  Enjoy vicariously a day in the LowCountry.

Patti the guide/naturalist is in the foreground in a green shirt.

Hearing Patti talk about the Indians' shell midden. Shell middens are big mounds of seafood shells left by the Indians near their huts.   They are considered archeologically significant because they give insight into the life of the natives.

Low Country view from village at Palmetto Bluff, SC

The tidal marsh is an active eco-system with oyster beds, shrimp, gray heron, egret, wood storks, and lots of dolphin.  We saw many dolphin feeding while the tide was coming in.  Unfortunately we didn't get any dolphin pix, rats.       Hubby Joe is in the foreground of a picture with a blue life vest on.

Iron Girl is one week from Sunday.  Yikes!

Tri Minus 10 The Conference Call

We had a conference call today with the TNT staff in Atlanta who will look after us.  Most of the info was mundane but there was one very interesting tidbit.      The participants will go off in waves.   This is usually by age or expected time.  In the case of TNT,  all the TNT folks will be in a wave together regardless of age or swimming ability,  wave 3 or 4, out of 9 waves.    That may not sound like good news to you but here is the important part.   The swimming section closes after 30 minutes.  That is 30 minutes after the last wave goes in the water it is closed.  By being in an early wave,  we essentially get an extra 15 minutes to complete the swimming portion, should one of us need a little extra time.  Wow,  that takes a LOT of pressure off.  Frankly I am confident I will be out of swimming well in advance of 30 minutes but this takes all the strain off.   I thought I would be in the last wave (by age) and be stuck with the time limit as written.
And,  I was impressed with the safety plan explained to us (especially for the water part) and the assurances that the TNT staff people and those running the event have talked about safety.

I tried on my tri top and it fits beautifully.   I have a few last minute things to work on.   I've ordered Yankz,  the shoe laces that don't tie but have a plastic piece you pull to tighten.  That will make putting on and taking off two pairs of shoes more efficient.    Here is a funny YouTube video that explains Yankz.
YouTube Video on Yankz

Thx to our DIL in Dayton for the SPIBELT she gave me.   It will be in my transition area to put on while biking and running.   The zip compartment looks really small but it is stretchy and will even hold my iPhone.    I hope to make one FB posting from the course and take a picture or two.  After all,  it is about having fun.

And  I will wear a Road ID bracelet.   These are very useful.   They also have ones that velcro to running or biking shoes but since I am also swimming, the rubber bracelet is the most practical.  Mine has my name and Joe's and an 800 number to call to get more personal info about me, should I not be able to talk. I am not trying to be negative but stuff can happen and it is better to be prepared in case of emergency.

These are cool, sporty looking ID "jewelry" for anybody who has a medical condition too and who doesn't want to wear a traditional medical bracelet or necklace.   They'd make a great Father's Day gift to a Dad who is diabetic or who takes special meds.

Reba says goodnight.

Tri Minus 11 wet suit drama (not)

The question to wear a wet suit or not got settled very quickly.   Coach Laura practically came through the computer to say "NO!".   I like unambiguous answers.

First,  she said nobody should wear one in the event without extensive practice wearing one.  That meets my first common sense test.   Second, she was really convincing when she stated that arm movement can feel restricted,  breathing is different, and voila! panic can set in.   That was all I needed to hear.   I have panic in bushel loads right now so don't need more panic.
Day minus 11 was a bit of a charlie fox-trot if you know what I mean by that military term.   I didn't get much done.    I did hear about a conference call on Friday with the Atlanta TNT staff to give us our marching orders.  Since only three of us Savannah girls are going to Lake Lanier,  a local staff person won't go and we will be part of the greater GA team.  The staff people are very nice and will look after us well, especially with those things that relate to safety--especially with a water event that is important.

Countdown continues....

Tri Minus 12: the UPS guy

I started my day with a 20 mile ride around Skidaway.  The weather was perfect.   I decided to name my bike.   I mentally went through all the runner up names I had in mind when we named Hannah.  I came up with Reba.  So, as of today, the bike is Reba.  I think this will bring me good luck on the 20th. Meet Reba:

Correction:  I actually started my day at 6am putting a pig in the oven but I'll get to that later.
Then,  Brown came.  The UPS guy stopped and unexpectedly delivered a package to me. Fantastic!  It was my triathlon top I will wear at the Iron Girl very proudly representing Team in Training and everything that fabulous organization represents:  raising money for research and supporting victims and families who are impacted by leukemia and lymphoma.    We will wear our tops for swimming, biking, and running.

The green things will attach to our shoe and top to identify us.  You know what that is about:  injury or worse so I won't dwell on that.   We will get our race number when we check in on Sat the 19th.   The yellow tix are for a dinner with TNT people from all over the country.   That is an event to take a box of Klennex with you because survivors and family talk about the impact the organization has made on their lives.  There is never a dry eye in the room...all so moving and real.   Inside the circle we call it a "mission moment".  We forget about the stupid silly stuff and remind ourselves why we did this in the first place.
In the package are all the instruction about setting up our transition area and instructions about the course.

Speaking of stupid, silly stuff:    Now I've just gotten an email about renting a wet suit for the swim.  Hummm.........I've never practiced in a wet suit. I think they give more buoyancy but maybe that isn't right.  Would I sink like a rock?  I don't know what to do and have reached out to the coaches for advice. Hey this is only Day -12.   I am not supposed to be handed a surprise yet.  That should come much closer, say Day -3.    I don't know what to do.

Back to the pig.  I am cooking for the triathlon team Saturday.  I decided to do a Boston Butt and make pulled pork.  I am using a different method and wanted to try it out in advance.  I am waiting for 200 degrees F internal temp to pull it.   These young people can eat a lot.  Well, for starters they are young and they exercise like mad every day.   Joe will be mortified if anybody leaves hungry :-)  I made a "thin, vinegary North Carolina-style barbecue sauce" last night.  Recipe said it need to rest for one day before using it.   Ok,  when do I rest?   The sauce reminds me of the old BarBQue House on North Street  in Nacogdoches run by Big John.  My bro John worked there in high school.   I always thought it was the best, the best anywhere.  After they moved to the new place on the loop,  I never thought the food was as good.  That typically happens doesn't it?

Tonight I go to see Jeanne Robertson the humorist.   It should be a fun evening with my friend Marjorie W-R.   Every time I see Jeanne's YouTube videos I practically wet my pants laughing.  I expect she is even better in person.  Our Sonny Dixon of WTOC is the emcee.   I've been to two other events recently that he emcee'd and he is very funny himself.

Tomorrow:  time at the pool.

Good night Reba!        

Tri-umphing over Monsters and Bugs

I've been out of action for a week.  I had a nasty stomach bug that has been moving around the neighborhood.  After the bad stuff was over,  I was wiped out, woozy, and dizzy for three days later, weak as a kitten.      Yesterday was my first day back in the saddle, so to speak.   I did 15 miles on the bike and felt good.  Today we had group training so I went back to the scene of the crime,  THE LAGOON, to get back in the water and stop being such a head-case over the open water swimming.   Hubby went to and snapped a  few pix.   After the lagoon training we went to the waterfront in downtown to see the Tall Ships that are here.  After returning home,  I just did 20 miles on the bike.    
AND,  the triathlon is exactly two weeks from today.   Yikes!

Back to the lagoon...today was a much better weather day and it was very refreshing to jump in at the dock of TNT friends who let us train at Scarborough Cove.

Mattie the house lab watched as we set off down the lagoon.  I swam between two buoys today to better practice the swim in murky water.   The experience was much better today than the first day;  I am now convinced the Loch Ness Monster doesn't live in this lagoon and  hoping to have another practice here over the next two weeks before the 20th.

I am wearing the triathlon bottoms I will wear during the event.   They are great for swimming but have a very thin biking chamois (not so thick to feel like a wet diaper after getting out of the water).   Here I am wearing a bathing suit top but at the event I will have over it my TNT triathlon top which we don't have yet.

After the swim we went to see the Tall Ships on the downtown waterfront.  Little Miss Hannah got to go too and enjoyed the people watching in a shady spot.

After the Tall Ships excursion I did 20 miles on my bike around Skidaway Island, really working on my speed.    We will do 19 miles on the tri course, which isn't so bad.  

I wore the tri bottoms wet because after all that is what the conditions will be at the event when I get out of the water and get on the bike.  Not surprising they dried in a flash while going 16-18 mph on the bike.
I have plenty of time over two weeks to get in several more 20 mile bike rides.  Tomorrow night I have spin class which is very good to simulate hills that I can't get on Skidaway.  I am also planning to get in two/week pool workouts and (hopefully) at least one more lagoon outing.  Have you noticed I haven't mentioned that pesky running?  I've done some treadmill running only.  I plan to wing it for 5K and walk half of it if I have to.   I will finish but it won't be pretty.  :-)

Transitions

Definition:  the process of changing from one state or condition to another.  In the case of Iron Girl we will start with the swim,  then bike, and finish with the run.

On Sunday at our Group Training Session,  we practiced setting up our transition space.   This picture isn't mine but illustrates what you have to do with little space.   Each of us set up our space and Gabi critiqued it and gave good tips.     David also advised to have a bucket or dishpan with water to wash the feet if they are sandy from running out of the water into the transition space.  Who wants small rocks and grains digging into the feet?  He said one can turn the bucket over to sit on it to put on bike and running shoes.   I wonder who dreamed that up?  There appears to be somewhat of an art to this and I am at the crayola, round tip scissors, and construction paper stage.

The bikes will be up on a rack very close to one another.   If you take the time to watch the video I've included you can really get the feel for this.   I already see I am disadvantaged with bike shoes that lace up :-( and Gabi looked at them askance.  Perhaps I need those cute bungie laces for my bike and running shoes.    Here you see Jed had his bike shoes on his transition towel.  David clipped them onto the bike and he will step into them on the run.  Yikes.  That sounds too advanced for me.

We practiced running to our bikes and getting our stuff on and going out.  There are rules too about the transition that can be dis-qualifying if not followed, like helmet must be on before existing the transition area.   We also talked about nutrition for event day but I'll save that for later.

If you don't have anything to do (unlikely) and are curious (maybe),  here is a good video that shows what the transition looks like.
Triathlon Transitions

Loch Ness Monster in Shelter Cove Lagoon

I knew this day was coming for awhile.   I've been maintaining my swimming in the pool but not focusing on going longer distances.  I've really tried to focus on being strong, working pull drills with the leg buoy,etc.     I've stepped up my biking and everything is great there.   I've only run on the treadmill and that is all I plan to do.   The chances of me getting injured out pounding the pavement are much greater than my inability to finish the 5K portion of the event.  That is my risk management strategy on running.  So, back to the swimming.

My confidence has gotten really really high on the swimming portion....until yesterday.   I went with my tri-team members to Shelter Cove lagoon out on Whitemarsh Island.  One gal has two friends who live there with docks who generously allow TNT tri team folks to practice there.  The lagoon is one mile end to end.   The picture is really dreary because bad weather was moving in but it held off long enough for us to do our practice.

I've obsessed about alligators in the lagoon which is fresh water and that is what the 'gators like.  My obsession has been fed by Joe's concern also.     I quizzed the owners for 15 minutes about 'gators and they assured me there are none.  Everyone remembers a small one about 15 years ago that the Dept of Natural Resources captured but none since.  All the people let their kids and dogs swim in the lagoon and watch it carefully.   On Skidaway Island, there isn't one freshwater lagoon without 'gators and they migrate between lagoons-----so that is the root of my skepticism.

We got in the water, temp about 77 or 78, and started.  At first I could see the sandy bottom through the murky water and felt OK.  As I moved on,  I couldn't see the bottom and that is when the anxiety and confusion started.  I really felt I couldn't breath properly.    I stopped and started and stopped and started,  treading water, doing the side-stroke to get my bearings.  I never felt unsafe--I could have tread water for an hour but I just couldn't make progress swimming.     One of my mates swam along with me to assure me he had been in the lagoon many times and that his first few times were similar with slight panic and inability to navigate.    At one point I got myself turned around and was actually swimming in the WRONG DIRECTION.  I have no idea how that happened.  Did I swim a 180 degree half-circle?  I could only laugh at myself.  It goes to show you how different pool versus lake can be.

I spent a lot of time in lakes growing up,  much of it in Lake Murval.  Our neighbors (Jeannie Hand and her parents)  used to go up there camping and I learned to water-ski there with the Hands.   I also spent countless hours on inter-tubes there.   Well,  floating on an inter-tube and swimming blind are totally un-related activities.  

So, after starting and stopping and swimming in circles, literally,  I made it to the sand bar where the water is about three feet deep.  I stayed there while the other team-mates continued up the cove.  All but one are training for an Olympic Triathlon,  which requires a much longer swim that I need to do.   When they came back,  Cate swam with me back to our start, continuing to reassure me that her first time in the open water was similar and with multiple experiences she gained confidence.  Cate is married to an IronMan Triathlete Todd, the real deal, whom Joe and I have met.  I'll save that for another posting but these IronMan athletes are very cool dudes and dudettes.      Cate is very typical, I find, of many of the TNT people.  She  claims to not be a natural athlete and works hard to improve every day.     She is sweet as can be,  freshly graduated as a nurse.  She promised that in our next outing she will do a drill with me that Todd did with her.   She will swim behind me and pull at my legs and lightly hit my legs with her hands, simulating what happens in the open water when swimmers are piled up together.  Running into each other swimming in the water is inevitable but intimidating if you've never had the experience.   In total,  I did more than the 1/3 mile I need to do in Lake Lanier but it wasn't pretty.  It did help to be able to visualize in water what 1/3 mile looks like---not so bad really.   Thinking about it now,  I suppose my overall confidence in the water helped so that I didn't literally panic and have to be pulled out for my own safety.

The owners of the property offered to all of us that we can use their dock at any time.  I plan to go back a few times, with Joe for safety,  and just go back-n-forth across the lagoon to practice.   Cate and David also gave me tips about navigating and suggested that I swim breathing on both sides ( I only breathe on one side now).  They said that breathing on one side tends to draw one's swimming off a straight line, if you can't see a line in the pool to navigate.  That and the corkscrew are drill I need to practice in the safety of my chlorinated pool.   I now get what Adiel, the swim coach, told me about swimming some with head out of water looking ahead to be able to navigate.  I need to work on that more too.

One more thing.  Gabi, who is our biking coach, was with us yesterday at the lagoon.   She teaches the spin class I take once a week too.   She is from Germany and I tease her about being a tough task-master.  At class she frequently mentions working a shift and this-n-that about her shifts.    I just assumed she was a nurse.  WRONG!   She is a City of Savannah fire-fighter and my new hero.    She has two Masters degrees:  a MBA and a Masters of Historical Preservation but could never find work in her field---so she became a fire-fighter.   I love these TNT activities but the best part is about the neat people I get to hang around.     Jen is a veterinarian.   Cate is the new nurse, married to Todd the IronMan.   I am not sure about Virginia but I think she is a medical student or intern?  Adorable!    Karin is a high school coach with a six year old, who got involved because her husband was diagnosed with leukemia and is now doing great after some grueling treatments.    I'll cover the guys on a future post.  Please note how young these people are!   Our kids are older for crying out loud!

Corkscrew around the Buoy

We learned this drill today in the lake as a means of getting around the buoy (for the turn back to shore) at the event at Lake Lanier.  It looks very smooth and I will practice it in the pool tomorrow.   Stay tuned for more about the open water training today.  Can you say Loch Ness Monster?  And that is not me in the video!

St. Ischial, Patron Saint of Bicylists

I've done lots of biking in my life:  one century (100 mi) ride and many many many rides in the 50-75 mile range.  And, I've done a lot of praying to St. Ischial.   St. Ischial determines if one has a good ride or not, how much pain or not, and how long one can tolerate being in the saddle (bicyclists do not use the term seat BTW).   There really isn't a Saint Ischial but the Ischial Tuberosities or sitting bones or sitz bones can make or break bike riding and intensive training.  I found this on the internet and it really illustrates how important the sitting bones are:

Lots of people think they are going to buy a comfortable saddle and purchase a wide, cushy one.  Those, in fact, are awful and are only good on beach bikes that you ride two blocks to buy a six pack of beer on your beach vacation.   The gel stuff they sell is worthless too.     There is no co-incidence that the racers and long distance bicyclists use skinny, hard saddles.  They are designed to take the pressure off the sitting bones so that weight is distributed down into the legs where the power of biking is derived.
Here is a news flash:  girls and boys are built differently!   Girls sitting bones are wider apart generally than boys, so males should use a slightly more narrow saddle than females.   One can buy saddles tailored for men and women.   I found a good web site that describes the choices about comfortable bike saddles: sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html if you are interested in knowing more.

Here is my road bike (I also have hybrid for around the neighborhood that has a cool basket and back bracket  and we used to have ancient mountain bikes but having six bikes in the garage was a bit much).    I love this bike and LOVE the saddle which is kind to my ischial tuberosities.

It is a Raleigh and is extremely lightweight with parts made of carbon composite.  I can easily lift it above my head---getting it up on this wall bracket high in the garage.
Here is my bike saddle, made for a girl and kind to my sitting bones.  The shape and cutout is important for body mechanics too.

I learned about St. Ischial the hard way and here is the story.   One of the first long road bike trips Joe and I took was part of the nationwide MS 150 bike tour, raising money for MS,  riding 75 miles out one day, spending the night and riding back 75 miles the next day back home.  We did quite a number of MS Bike Tours when we lived in Cleveland.  The group, numbering thousands, left the Berea fairgrounds and rode to Sandusky OH.   The young people got cleaned up and went to Cedar Point (which has a a roller coaster in the top 10 in the country that people come worldwide to ride), and then camped overnight in tents before riding the 75 miles back to Berea.   Us older folks were too tired to go to Cedar Point and stayed in a very comfy Hampton Inn before riding the 75 miles back to Berea.   On this first Tour,  I did not have the correct saddle for 150 miles.   By the time I reached the initial 25 mile mark,  I had blisters on the pressure points where the sitting bones and the saddle come together.   By mile 50 the blisters had broken.  By mile 75 in Sandusky I had bleeding raw skin.  Think hamburger meat.   And,  I was wearing bike shorts with a good chamois.     I can tell you that no hot bath or bandaids can solve this problem.   So,  I had to ride back the next day, 75 miles,  with gaping wounds constantly rubbing with the pressure of my saddle.   I swore to St. Ischial that this would never happen again.  After that I learned a lot about saddles and sitting bones.

Here is one more incredible biking story and a testament to how far a good saddle can take you.  We just saw our friend Terry in Florida.  We biked in Europe from Vienna to Budapest and in the US (along the entire C&O Canal to DC) with Kay and Terry and have done many 50 mile recreational rides with them.  Terry has lost his mind and is doing ultra-endurance biking.  He just finished a 12 hour ride, covering 230 miles, with a broken arm that wife Kay who is an Occupational Therapist made a special splint for him.   Terry is about 64 years old and this is quite an accomplishment!

I'll end here with the very good news that the Iron Girl in Lake Lanier only has a 19 mile bike component.
I have a good bike and St. Ischial is looking favorably down on me.

Pay the Piper Wednesday

After goofing off in Florida for several days,  I had to face my training schedule.  We had a ball in FL, going to two Red Sox games and seeing five different couples who were friends when we lived in Aurora, OH.  My training regime, however, really requires that I do something six days a week.  Yesterday I was just too tired to lift a finger.  So, today the piper had to be paid, in the form of Fraulein Gabi the bike coach.  I went to her spin class and she took us up over a mountain, down the other side with eight switchbacks, and back up the mountain and down again.  Not really, but the class is designed to mimic that.  The closest thing we have to a mountain in Savannah is the Tallmadge Bridge that goes to SC.    I am whipped.   Driving home I thought about the term "pay the piper" and looked up its origins, which are German and ironically also relate to death.  Did I mention that Gabi is German?  She is one tough cookie.   Pay the piper means facing the consequences of one's actions.   That I did and hope I can walk tomorrow.

The ladies' locker room is my new hangout.  How pathetic.   We've belonged to our club for a few years and a club before that in Aurora.   I can't think of a time when I spent more than five minutes in the ladies' locker room.  It brings back bad memories for me from junior high (we did not go to intermediate school) and high school PE classes.   The entire experience was miserable from the stinky locker room to the strange gym teachers to the ridiculous activities to the one piece blue snap-close gym outfits ( Ann and Jan, you know what I am talking about).    We played dodge ball and did square dancing.  Yes, we really did square dancing.    Today the kids can do yoga or pilates or zumba or weight-lifting.  There is something for everyone.   It was so miserable the girls used their periods as an excuse to sit it out or scheduled orthodontist appointments during the PE time.   Didn't we pity those poor girls who had PE for first or second period?  The hair was never the same for the rest of the school day in hot/humid East Texas and there was a lot of focus on hair as I recall.    Pathetic. I was a pre-Title IX baby also so the girls activities were non-existent.    So,  even though I have access to some very nice, even luxurious locker rooms,  I've avoided them, until a month ago.    Now I hang out in the locker room.  I have to adjust my swim cap, for example.   We have a very nifty machine to squeeze the water out of one's swim-suit.  We've paid good club dues to get these amenities.    I went one week without ever taking a shower in my own house because I was showering in the locker room to get the pool water out of my hair and off my skin ASAP.   I've learned where to buy the best bathing suits from locker room gossip---and the best cover-ups too. I now know the difference in polyester vs nylon swimsuits. Who knew?   I've discussed my problem of needing a long torso bathing suit because a regular just don't work on this long-waisted body.  That elicited lots of advice and sympathy.   I've learned to use spray deodorant versus my at-home favorite. I've learned to get to the showers before the hoards of water aerobic ladies finish their class.   I see friends there that I never run into otherwise.   My life is transformed and all the bad 8th grade memories are erased.  This is better than therapy or hanging out at Starbucks.

Tomorrow I will hit the pool.   Friday I plan to take a Masters' Swimming Class where those people swim a mile in the pool.  We will see if I can do it.    "Masters" doesn't mean they are a master of anything.  It is only about age.  :-(
I am sharing this picture from Jennie.  It sums up the TNT experience. I couldn't have said it any better and in the midst of swimwear conversations I like to keep this in mind.

My upcoming Pink Floyd moment

Every sport has its lingo that no one else understands.  In the world of triathletes, they talk about bricks.  No, it isn't that rectangular clay construction material that is often red, or pinkish or tan or brown and used to side a house or pave a sidewalk.  Where I grew up in Nacogdoches, TX,  the downtown streets are paved in red brick, something for which the historic town is famous and which adds to its charm.    The following is an explanation of a brick:

NTRODUCTION TO BRICKS

Bricks refer to training on two disciplines during the same workout.

by Enrico Contolini

Bricks are a very important part of triathlon (and duathlon) training and they are sometimes overlooked.  Bricks refer to training on two disciplines during the same workout, one after the other with minimal or no interruption in between, just as you would do in a race (I am sure you knew this). Usually when people talk about bricks they refer to a bike/run workout, but bricks could also refer to a swim/bike workout or to a run/bike workout (if you are training for a duathlon). These last two are often overlooked but still important to fit here and there in your training plan.

About a swim/bike brick: while you are swimming you will want to use your legs as little as possible or else you may have a hard time when you get on your bike before you start feeling comfortable. A swim/bike workout that simulates race conditions will help you minimize this problem. A couple of suggestions are to try and use your legs more (that is to kick more) during he last 50-100 yards of your swim to get more blood flowing to them. Also, start your bike portion using an easier gear than the one you plan on using during the main part of the race. This will give your legs a chance to get used to the new sport and accumulate less lactic acid than they would if you started from the beginning with a tough gear.

As an example, a useful swim/bike brick can be:

3 x (500 yards swim + 5 mile bike). I believe this is more useful and time efficient than doing a 1500 yards swim followed by a 15 miles bike, because you will switch sports 6 times instead of only once .

Even more important are bike/run bricks, mainly because the transition between bike and run is the toughest of the two during a triathlon. Most people's recount of their brick workouts consist of a medium/long bike ride followed by a medium run. Although I do perform these kind of bricks, my recommendations are a sequence of short/medium rides alternated with a series of short run.

Here are a couple of bike/run examples:

Sprint triathlon workout:  (5-6 miles bike + 1mile run) - repeat three or four times.

Olympic triathlon workout: (7-8 miles bike + 1.5-2 mile run) - repeat three or four times.

When I do these kind of bricks, I try to run on a track so I am sure I am running the exact distance, I force myself to run fast and time myself and I don’t have to worry about traffic or sharp turns. I push on the bike, but the run needs to be the hard part of the workout. I am trying to get my body used to running fast as soon as I get off the bike.

By doing a series of short repeats you also switch sport (and therefore muscles used) several times in the same workout. You are practically teaching your legs and body to switch as fast as possible and as efficiently as possible between two very different kinds of effort. Again, I consider a series of short repeats more efficient then doing the two sports one after the other, especially when you are short on time.

The origin of the term brick isn't clear but some attribute it to two elite triathletes, who after a doing two disciplines in one training session, did a high-five and remarked that they just put another brick in the wall.   I guess we will never know but one's legs sure feel like bricks.  I've unknowingly done bricks before by riding my bike to the fitness center,getting on the treadmill, and then biking home.  Humm.   Was it a brick if I didn't know it was a brick? :-)   

Given the funky, crazy weather this weekend,  I've postponed a planned brick until another day, hopefully this week. 

Update on swimming:

I am really pleased with the state of my swimming.   I've been using various training aids, including fins like the ones pictured here.

Adiel, the source of all knowledge about training, says they will make my legs stronger, sooner.  I've had some cramps using them but am adjusting.  These are shorter and the cramping is practically zero versus some I tried that are bit longer.    Today at the pool I did 1000 meters freestyle using these.    "They say" not to use them as a crutch (is that a mermaid pun?) and to only use them for half of one's training but today I cheated and used them the entire time.  

Hot vs not so hot?   Today I trained in Pool B, which is kept at 87 degrees.  I typically train in Pool A, which is about 81 or 82 degrees.   I found the warmer pool just too warm and won't do that again unless I have to because of pool scheduling.  The people in Pool B don't like lap swimmers encroaching in their water aerobic space either, even though there is a legal lane there.  Oh well. There is politics everywhere.

Next week,  tune in to hear about hanging out in the ladies' locker room.  No...no pictures or unflattering stories but what the culture is like.   Also, I will cover spin class, which is one alternative to outside biking when the weather is unpredictable.

PS.  While I don't dislike Pink Floyd, I am really a fan of the Beatles, Eagles, Eric Clapton, and Rolling Stones.

If you haven't donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society navigate to my fundraising page at:

Team in Training, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society