Archive for August 29, 2008

The Triathlon Rx | August 29, 2008

wrappin up summer..

I apologize for the lack of postage.. but as all of you heading back to college (or already back by now) you know how NUTS the week leading up to the move is! I’m not saying that I don’t like trying to stuff my life in boxes.. (mmm, wait. Nope. That part sucks) but it’s stressful!

So stress aside – I had an amazing weekend at the Cabin! I just figured out the “captions” thing on the photos.. and am LOVING it! I’ll leave you guys to do the lookin’.

Fillin up in Park Rapids.

Mi madre y yo.

The cabin! Taken from the dock.

“]”]

Breakfast Saturday morning. I get the big chair =

I definitely can't find a 13 miler filled with THIS in Minneapolis!

Hahah.. get em Grampa!

Trying to explain to g-pa the size of the carp in Lake Calhoun.

We're actually pretty good at this! Crew team..?

We were actually good at this.. crew team anyone?

A ring I bought at "The Wigwam". Only up north...

Smores. I'm pretty sure after like 8 I was feelin "the brick".

Readin' a lil Nancy Clark Sports Nutrition at night.

And mom steals the camera..

What summer's made of.

Wishing we had an extra week. Or month.

And life was good.

In other news:

I have all of like 4 boxes packed. And still things all over that need to be pulled together and sent. And I work every day. Annnnd my glass has been a teeny bit less than half full the last couple of days as I rush around to get everything done. But it’s gettin there! Pourin just a little bit more into that glass..

Yet I sit here writing blog posts.. when I could be packing. Oops! Time to hop on it! Oh – btw – I try and respond to everyone’s comments.. but I’m starting to do it the “new” way that has been taking over blogs. I’ll edit the comment.. and leave mine! So check back to see if I answered!

Countdown to Boston: 6 days!

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: adventure, college, northeastern, run

The Triathlon Rx | August 22, 2008

15 comments

loving life..

You may not have been waiting for this.. but I have!

“This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.” (You know the movie..)

But really, all I wanted to do was make sure I wasn’t taking a blood thinner..

Steady’s on the East Bank of the U of MN campus. We first went to Uptown tattoo, but their waiting list is out until mid November. They’re really that good. But the owner at Uptown recommended Steady to us.. so to Steady we went!

When we went in for the consult, they took a photo for us so we could have it done to scale. They also let us do a little photo shop to make it look the way we wanted.. If only you could do that in life!

I’m really glad I went first.. watching first probably would have made me really nervous. I didn’t look at the equipment or anything before hand – same with when I got my belly button pierced. (On my 13th birthday! If I saw a 13 year old today with her belly button pierced, I’d say she’s too young, and doesn’t need that kind of thing yet. Hah.. mom – do you regret letting me make that decision?)

The “trial” to make sure it’s in the right place. It was strategically placed to have both hands on the opposite sides of my clavicle. Med students? Am I right? Or was that just made up..?

It really didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. It did feel different than I had imagined though – more like he was cutting the design into me, whereas I had pictured more of a continuous-bee-sting type feeling. Wow. Either one of those options sounds terrible!

Getting close to finishing..

Well let me tell you.. that’s not red ink. It will obviously settle down though. And the vein in my dads hand will look less pronounced when the irritation dies down too. I honestly couldn’t be happier.

Your turn! You were wondering who “we” was referring to, huh? OK.. no more captions for every photo – I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

A complete set.

I really want everyone to know that this is something my dad and I have talked about doing for a LONG TIME. In no way was it just like “hey.. let’s get tattoos.” We both thought long and hard before we came up with the design, and where to go. Being the typical type-A person that I am, I don’t think there is any part of the process or aftermath that I didn’t run through my head before hand. I am very aware that a tattoo is permanent, and anyone considering having one done should realize that too. Just a few days ago this lady (who looked to be mid 60s, mind you) came into my work in this rhine-studded tank top, with “NICE RACK” tattooed across her chest. WOW.

I asked Rodger (the tattoo artist who did both mine and my dad’s) if he ever had to do a tattoo for someone that he just knew they’d regret down the line. He said he doesn’t have to do any tattoo – as an artist he has the right to refuse any proposal. But he also said that when people come to him to have work done, you have to realize that they are “adults” and have the right to make choices for themselves. Good choices? Not always.. but the right is theirs.

Oh.. and the design? I am not even going to attempt to try and explain it. It obviously looks like a pinky promise, but to be honest it means nothing like it. It’s just me. And dad. And it always has been, and always will be.

So. Thank you so much Rodger – you did a phenomenal job! I really would recommend him to anyone. I am off to the Cabin (my Uncle’s actually) on Lake George for Friday/Saturday/Sunday to put a great end on my summer! Unfortunately there will be no water tubing or swimming (lake water = not super sterile), but there will be plenty of watermelon eating and bonfire action and family time, which is already better than anything I could ask for. Then I come back and pack my butt off – I still have so much left to do! Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: adventure, dad, new beginning

The Triathlon Rx | August 21, 2008

2 comments

Hurts so good..

Lifetime Fitness ROCKS. OK.. maybe it’s no cooler than any other big gym, but it’s been WAYY too long since I’ve gotten to do a group class. Or swim. Or sit in a sauna.

Their marathoners at run club are FAST. And I’m hating Erika (the instructor from 50/50 last night.. hah I don’t refer to myself in 3rd person..) every second right now because it “hurts so good”. I can’t waiiiit for the Marino Center!

Today is an eventful day, my friends. But unfortunately, all of that will have to wait until tonight. Until then, I leave you with this:

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: random, run

The Triathlon Rx | August 18, 2008

16 comments

Balancing the energy in this angry little redhead..

Sundays are seriously the best thing since sliced bread (or with this group, I should probably be saying since Kashi or something.. ). Honestly though, so many things I love come on Sundays:

Sunday mass
Long Runs
all the ads in the newspaper
the start of a new week (or the end of a long one, depending on how you want to look at it!)
family time
free meter parking
60 minutes, followed by Extreme Home Makeover
Easter
drink specials
KIDDING! Just checkin if you’re paying attention..

This Sunday was no exception. I finally got to bed before midnight last night (11:30 – yesss!) which means I got 8 hours of sleep, so that already set a good tone for the day. I actually skipped run club :O this morning so I could do part of my run with my madre. And family must have been the theme of the day, because my dad biked the 2nd half with me! Work at the Tin Fish was fabulous (and crazy busy) as usual, and so was our nightly Tin Fish family dinner. Tonight was another one of our cook’s last nights – everyone is slowly leaving one by one to head back to school! I’m one of the last people to leave.. my last day will be Labor Day. I don’t move until the 4th of September, and we don’t start class until the 10th!

yuck! most definitely not my favorite photo! but better than the other one we took..

Annywho.. my dad and I always have a great time catching up when we do our bike/run. (Of course my mom and I do too, but this story is leading somewhere. Hah – no worries mom!) We got on the topic of health, and how for people of my parents generation, a “healthy lifestyle” was just not a priority like it is for many (though still not enough!) today. Which brought me to [attempting to] explain this really great article called Timing of Energy and Fluid Intake by Dan Benardot. It’s all about the benefits of an energy balance throughout the day, not just in the day overall. (What? Hah – yes. There’s a difference.) If you’re at all interested, I strongly recommend you read the article yourself, because I am seriously horrible at giving summaries of anything. (Never ask me to tell you what happened in a movie..)

However, I’m pretty damn skilled at copy/paste. So I wanted to post the “Learning Objective” to hopefully entice some of you to dig further and read the whole thing:

People who exercise may fail to meet the increased requirements for energy, resulting in adaptive thermogenesis (i.e. an adaptation to the inadequate provision of energy) that improves metabolic efficiency through an undesirable loss of fat-free mass. In addition, energy and fluid intake are often mistimed, failing to take full advantage of an eating and drinking paradigm that will aid in fatigue resistance and attainment of a desired body composition and weight. It is the objective of this article to help the reader understand how eating small, frequent meals and consuming fluid at regular intervals can sustain the hydration state and avoid systematic shifts in within-day energy balance that could be counterproductive to exercise performance and fitness.

Ok. Interested yet?

So what does the article mean to ME? To YOU maybe, too? Well, I can’t speak for anyone but myself, so here’s my situation: Because of my training schedule and work schedule, my eating pattern throughout the day is all over the place. Tin Fish “dinner” and “lunch” come at 4:00pm, and 10:00pm. (Haha! I know half of your guys’ jaws just dropped. But that’s what I do when I hear someone eats lunch at 11:30!) Also, working in a restaurant and food all day, there’s no real opportunity to just munch (I believe that’s my favorite word. Cereal Straws commercial.. anyone?!) during your shift. In my old job as a barista, you could have something stashed in your pocket or behind the counter and just grab a handful or take a bite whenever there was time. Not the case anymore! If you’re working a double shift you obviously get a break for lunch, but I usually just work 11-4 or 4-close, so you either eat a hella early (and a hella better-be-BIG) lunch.. orrrr.. I donno! Clearly still working on that one.

And don’t get me wrong – we have an amazing “family” dinner after we close. I LOVE the food. But I’m still wayyy hungry at the end of the night when I get home, which usually ends up meaning that I eat about half my day’s fuel after like 9:00. Which is fine, but sometimes uncomfortable. Like other athletes, I feel like I don’t always have the “luxury” of just “listening to my body” about when I’m hungry or not. You’re constantly thinking about fueling for the next practice or tomorrow’s long run or xyz. You don’t always just get to say “I’m tired – I’m going to bed!”

But this talk of “energy balance” really struck a cord with me. What if the way I’m eating fueling is [negatively] affecting my athletic performance? I’ve definitely got the eating enough part down pat, but I could use a course in timing. I’ve told myself I was going to “try” and work on it before, but there’s trying, and then there’s TRYING. It would be really nice though to just come home from work and just crash if I want to. SO…

…if it takes legitimately WRITING OUT a plan for a little while of how to spread things out more evenly throughout the day, I’ll do it. I’m not a fan of meal planning.. but just grouping like “this much by lunch” or “this much by dinner” could be a helpful guideline. I’ll be keeping a mental note of how I feel, if it’s any different than usual, and how my training is (or isn’t) affected.

thank youuuu fickr! credit goes to PetiteFamily93

So then what about YOU. Anyone else with a job like mine? How do you handle it? What do you think about this whole “energy balance” idea. A bunch of BS? Credible? Worth my time to actually make some changes? I’d love to hear all your responses!

OH. So I guess I should explain the angry little redhead part. Some jerk-face stole my bike out of our garage two nights ago after I biked home from work. And my bike is my main transportation to.. EVERYWHERE. I’m looking on CraigsList to replace it.. but c’mon!! Who the hell raises someone to think it’s just OK to take something that’s clearly not yours? I’m still pissed. Grrrr.

[This will be edited to add photos tomorrow, but I'm WAY tired! Night!!]

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: dad, health, mom, random, run

The Triathlon Rx | August 12, 2008

18 comments

Better days.. and a Macaroooo!

I wish EVERY day could start like this:

morning coffee + "Sneaky Pete's"

Shoes on and GO!

Unfortunately, today in Minneapolis is one of “those” days.. gray skies, drizzling rain, no sun in sight. Doubly unfortunate – this is my day off from work. My day’s off are usually filled with outdoor adventures, as I’ve posted about in the past, but today feels like one of those days when you just want to stay warm and dry. In memory of sunny days past, I will share with you a few photos of my adventure day off of work from last week Maybe it will be good karma and the sun will peak through..

goodies from aforementioned excursion

I’m LOVING the new green backpack by the way.. definitely a good buy! I haven’t gone back to Opitz at all this week because I feel pretty set for clothes. Today though my mom and I have to make a run to SpendAllYourMoney and gather up quite a few things. Supposedly though, they’ll ship it all straight to my dorm, so that’s good. It’s terrible how pessimistic I am about this, but I can just foresee something going wrong. I’m moving ALONE.. so that has already put me in the mindset of “this isn’t gonna work”.. “I’m going to be the only one doing this alone” (which is partially true – my 5 other suitemates all have family members helping out. BUT they’re all from the east coast, so it’s not an extra flight for them).. “things are going to get lost”.. “FIVE flights of stairs – are you freaking kidding!?!”.. you get the picture. What I need to be thinking is:

This is going to work just FINE!
My mom’s coming in October!
Obviously you’ll forget something or something will get lost – it happens to everyone!

Hah – and if I can’t really get myself to think that, I can at least fake it! (I used to always do this for track workouts.. I’d tell myself all day “Yesss! I LOVE repeat 400s!”.. and by the time practice rolled around it really wasn’t that bad!)

OH! So you’ve all seen photos of my laptop. I got it at the beginning of the last school year, and I pretty much love it. It’s an HP Pavillion dv2000.. “special edition” (read: it has a super pretty design on the cover and insides.. I don’t know if there’s anything else that sets it apart..). When I got it I sprung (sprang? wtf..) for all the bells and whistles, and the 3 year protection plan, and the (.. you get the point) .. because I thought this was going to last me for a long time! But being the brilliant student that I am, I didn’t think ahead to the fact that DUH most design students are on MACs.

Of course a school can’t say you’re REQUIRED to use a Mac.. but they “strongly recommend” it. Basically, what I read from the message was,

Please save yourself some face and save us the hassle of dealing with you trying to use a different system than everyone else. You will be the only one not using a Mac. So buy the Mac Macbook PRO. Now.

was white my only option? I wanted black..

Yesssir. So within the next day or so, this lil guy, + iWorks (already installed thank god) + Windows for Macs + a free touch iPod + a macbook sleeve should be arriving in the mail. So my question for all of YOU is this: who is on a Mac? Do you like it? Is it really different than an HP? Is it better/worse? Any design students out there using it? What do you think?

I’ve basically been against iPods since the day they were created, so I’ll most likely be selling this one as well. I sold the other Shuffle I won at that race a while back too. Anyone in need of an iPod?

Wellll I think it’s time for me to move onto other things on my ToDo list (and yes – blog update was actually on there). I have RunClub with Team MED tonight at 6, and that BB&B excursion hopefully by 3! Not to mention all the other million and one things I need to do to get ready to move! Hope the weather is better for all of you out there! Enjoy the day.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: adventure, coffee, college, northeastern, random, run, Team MED

The Triathlon Rx | August 11, 2008

8 comments

'Cause I'm an expert..

Cecilia recently left me a comment about Heart Rate Monitors, and I found myself writing a response so long (and consequently going off on about a billion little tangents) that I thought the topic deserved it’s own post. Here is what Cecilia wrote:

hey there, great blog you have here :0) Hope you don’t mind me asking … do you think a heart rate monitor is a necessary gadget?!!! – I’m intrigued by it after seeing lots of bloggers having one of them … but the thing is … they are so darn expensive!!! :0/ Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it!! :0)

Well THANKS Cecilia – because now I can give my (somewhat critical.. I would say “harsh” is too extreme) response without feeling like I’m just gettin’ on everyone who wears a HRM. (Dumbasses… [kidding!!])

I’ll be honest – I think heart rate monitors are 100% 97.3% unnecessary (let me get into that 2.7% later). KNOWING your heart rate doesn’t change what it is – your heart’s still gon’ be there, and it’ll still be beating, whether you’re wearing a HRM or not. You could say the same about a GPS – knowing your pace doesn’t really do diddly squat about it .. you’re still running. Wearing a HRM (or a Garmin, or a …) wont make improvements in your fitness (if that’s your goal) – you still have to do the work. Having a HRM read back to you “125 bpm” or “150 minutes in the zone” (insert rolling eyes smiley face here.. I wish I knew how to make that one!) doesn’t say anything about if you’re “working harder”. Trust me – if you up the ante, you’ll be able to feel it, with or without a HRM.

Now, if you were a fan of Heart Rate Monitors, you may say – “Erika. STFU. YOU have a GARMIN. And you treat it like your unborn child. Quit being a hypocrite!” (STFU is my 2nd favorite acronym (which would be pronounced “stuff-u”), following TTFU (where you actually need to spell out the letters). But geez! Where did I get this dirty/mean mouth from?)

We all remember this photo..

Me? Hypocrite? Well, yes and no. This is where that 2.7% comes in – there are uses for a HRM (and a Garmin). If you are an athlete who is really serious about your VO2 max, and you’re actually going to train USING that number, then yeah – a HRM might be a good idea for you. (If you don’t even know what a “VO2 max” is, then you clearly wouldn’t need to use a HRM to train with it.) If you have some type of condition or are needing to closely monitor your health to make sure your heart rate doesn’t get too high, then yeah – a HRM might be a good idea for you. (Side tangent – if you are one of those people, please be careful. When your body is in a weakened state, exerting yourself and pushing your heart is doing you absolutely no good. You may feel fine, but when you pass out at practice because your heart was overworked and just decided to stop, you wont be feeling anything. Be smart. Be safe.) And the same goes with a Garmin (or other GPS). If you’re actually going to USE the features on it for intervals or out-n-backs or using the pacer – makes sense. If you’re just going to wear it.. pass.

"That's right baby - I'm in the ZONE!"

In MY experiences, the majority of people I see who wear a HRM just wear it. They have some number in their mind that puts them “in the zone” (though if they’re using that 220 – age x .0whatever chances are that’s wrong. That formula was an estimate made in the 70s based on a study that included smokers, people on heart disease meds, etc. Not your average healthy Joe.) They may use those numbers to calculate calories burned. Or they may just be like “Sweet! Two hours in the zone!”, and then do nothing more with it. I am fully aware that your heart rate and your PRE (Perceived Rate of Exertion) are supposedly closely connected, but I’ve found that’s not always true. If you ask ME.. your PRE is much more beneficial as a training tool. Here’s why:

Everyone’s run (or swim, or bike, etc.) is different every single day. I tried to think of a more scientific, “official” way to say that, but clearly failed, so sorry! What I mean is this – One day I could run a 7:10 average pace and just be cruisin’ along and relaxed. Another day, a 7:10 could have me breathing hard, and seriously struggling to maintain that pace. As much as I wish our bodies could be perfect and mathematical (get X amount of sleep – be at your peak performance. Eat x amount of calories – be at your peak performance), they’re not. Aside from sleep and proper nutrition, other things come into play: the temperature, the humidity, are you running (spinning, exercising, etc) alone, are you with a group, did you wear breathable clothing or are you in cotton, etc.

PRE must have been around for a long time. This looks hella old.

Many people judge their PRE on a scale of 1 to 10. So my 7:10 that feels like a 4 today, could feel like a 9 next week. Basing workouts and training on your PRE is great, because it’s based on that E – your EFFORT. If you base your workouts on your heart rate, despite what your body is feeling, you could saying “I need to be at a 150″, but because humans are not at all perfect, exact, or mathematical, that 150 could be a lot harder (or easier) one day versus another. I am a firm believer in QUALITY over QUANTITY. If my schedule says intervals on Wednesday, but I know my body’s just not feeling it, then I’m going to do them a different day. Pushing yourself through a run (or bike, or swim, or whatever) just to get “to that number” or just to “do what’s on the schedule” is going to do you absolutely no good. Doing quality workouts and doing them when you have the energy to give it what it needs is what will make you improve.

So that in short just turned into a novel, but that’s my take on Heart Rate Monitors. I highly suggest using your PRE instead, and toying around with it so you can get a feel of “what a 9 feels like” or “what a 5 feels like”. And Cecilia’s right – those things cost a BUTTLOAD of money (for a good one), AND those chest straps are hella uncomfortable! Save your paycheck (and your poor skin! chafing = ).

I’m not a professional by any means – this is completely and solely my opinion. It’s not like I don’t like the people who wear heart rate monitors (I love everyone, remember? ), I’m just not a fan of the HRMs themselves. If you already have one, and it’s workin for you, then rock on my little heart rate monitoring friend. If you’re just contemplating buying one, I’d say you know whether you’re giving your workouts quality effort or not – you don’t need a pricey little tech toy to tell you that!

Runners World did a great article that completely proves (and defeats at the same time) my point of this post. Take from it what you’d like – just thought I’d share!

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: gomer, random, run

The Triathlon Rx | August 6, 2008

15 comments

Please live vicariously..

as I sit down in my favorite blogging spot on the porch, snack at the ready, and share with you my story of

Opitz Adventure: A Day Off of Work in the Life of Me.

The morning started off lovely.. although I’m not going to lie – I slept in too late. I still don’t have my sleep in check. My mom and I sat on the porch, both with crack coffee in hand, as I did the usual morning shoutouts over at RW and she read the paper. Then we went on a run.. together (insert astounded face and shocked gasp here).. for 4 miles while I finished “my route” home (+3), and she finished hers (+1). It’s really cute running the last mile with her because she picks the pace up a little and you can tell she’s really pushing it on that last stretch of the lake. If only I could get her to do a race again.. not even to race, just to run together for fun. Sigggh.

Post run = water, stretch, shower, breakfast, more coffee. And by stretch, I mean I laid down on the floor while the shower water was heating up, pulled each knee to my chest, did a 20 second butterfly, and called it a day. Don’t give me too much credit. We have this new “La Minita Peaberry” coffee that is actually amazing. More amazing yet is the fact that my mom actually bought (and loves it!) it because it’s a lighter roast, and she usually gets something darker. Maybe she thought of me when she bought it, seeing as she was using my -$2.00 coupon..

Anywho, as I mentioned in an earlier post, Wednesdays at Opitz are the restocked-secret-mailing-list-members-only day, not to mention the mailer this week was targeted towards college wears (hoodies, jeans, etc.), so we were basically obligated to go.

It was NUTS. They had so much merchandise that there were tents and racks outside! They don’t open until noon on Wednesdays, and we got there right at 12:00. Both parking lots were full, and the streets were lined for blocks – I’d say we parked about three blocks away. (Side tangent.. isn’t it funny how runners will run for miles upon miles, but when it comes to parking, we drive around for forever to find an out-front spot?) Well anyways, those 3 blocks were nothing, because I SCORED.

(Sorry these photos are so dark – I thought they’d lighten up more on the computer..) Three pairs of jeans, five shirts, and a new backpack for school. They’re all from Delia’s.

(Clockwise starting at the top) The shirts: “Think Green”, a plain uber-comfy black long sleeve, “My Vote Rocks” (which btw it does.. and I strongly encourage anyone eligible to vote to make sure they’re registered, take time to do your research so you’re giving an educated vote, and DO IT), a gray tank with little blue anchors, and a pink tank with little green Lyle the Crocolies! (PLEASE tell me you read that book!)

And the jeans: both lighter pairs are Bailey’s, just different cuts, and the darker pair isn’t part of that Name line.. but if I had to come up with one I’d call em’ Kelly’s. They look like Kelly’s.

And more importantly – the pockets: both the Bailey’s are lame.. but the darker ones.. I’m a fan. They’re my favorite of the three.

This is definitely my favorite shirt. Oh god – what a little tree hugger. (Feel free to insert eye roll here..)

And being that I am oh-so-green (or more likely because green is my favorite color), my backpack was green as well. I guess it’s not actually that green of me because I already had a backpack. The one I was using last year at the U though just wasn’t working! It was so huge that it made my back hurt all the time, and it really weighed me down! Hopefully this will work better. If it feels just the same, I have the receipt!

This is painted on the side of their building. True! BUT. Do you want to guess how much I spent? Go ahead.. try.

….

……

….

$28.00. And that’s minus the backpack, because my mom agreed to foot that one. Several of the items were reduced to 90% off (versus the usual 70%) because they had “flaws” or were “damaged”. Mmm two of the jeans are missing a button, which takes less than 5 minutes to fix, and one shirt has a hole about the size of a pin in the seam. Also a less-than-5 fix. Back to school? I’m SET. (Clothes that is.. Bed Bath & Beyond will be a future post, coming soon!)

And speaking of “Back to School”.. I’ll be out in Boston in TWENTY EIGHT DAYS. Yikes!

Though since this blog is not about fashion or shopping (although I suppose those could fall into my “roam” category, and for price I paid/money I saved, I feels like it’s gotta go somewhere with “recycle”), I wanted to leave you with a few possible things to come..

[[ Overdue. Like 300+ miles overdue. Eeep! (I suppose "eep" is my equivalent to the face of "yikes". I wish internet/text had tone of voice. ]]

[[ Can you see them!? Can you see them!? They're COMING!! ]]

[[ Yesssssssss! ]]

vs.

[[ Both good. Very different. Created a good long discussion. Any other readers? ]]

Category: Uncategorized |

The Triathlon Rx | August 4, 2008

5 comments

"this year's medals were harvested from the forests of…"

URBAN WILDLAND!

A semi race/chill report and a guarantee for years to come:

I believe in my last post, I wasn’t thinking I’d be racing the Urban Wildland Half Marathon. I think I did a pretty good job staying true to my words, but as every runner knows, it’s really hard to just “run” a race. The environment just gets you going, and that “pick em off one at a time” mentality sinks in. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being just the same as any old easy run.. and 10 being an all-out, red lined at the finish race.. I would say I ran about a 6. I know what it feels like to red line.. and I definitely didn’t. But it wasn’t just a loop around Harriet either. That being the case – I came in at 1:36:31 (yes – STILL STUCK in that 1:35 – 1:36 rut!!), 15th woman overall, and 1st in my age group.

(My dad was kind of in an unfortunate spot for photo taking.. and this is the only one I have! Forgot to take others..)

This 1:35 – 1:36 thing is kind of irritating. In every single half I’ve ever done I have finished within those two minutes. Whaaat? Based on all those lovely pace calculators, that’s right on. Going by my marathon time they project me at a 1:35:34 for a half. But I can judge me effort and my level of exertion, and I know I can go faster. Oh well – plenty of racing years ahead of me for that, right?

The biggest factor that made the race so amazing for me was the fact that it was a Green race. I don’t know if I’ve talked about this before, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be double majoring in Environmental Studies. Everyone who knows me knows that I’m the environmentally friendly/tree hugger/co-op kid in the crew.. and throughout my passion for architecture, sustainability and environmental design has always been at the core. SO… I thought seeing the compost bins and recycling bins at the race were way cool. Even the cups that they used at the water stops were biodegradable! (The only downside of that was the cups didn’t “squish” like the regular ones – they cracked when you tried to pinch the top closed.) When the race director was explaining the whole “green race” concept at the awards ceremony, she said the medals were “harvested” which made me crack up. Don’t get me wrong – they’re made out of wood and carved and cooler than any medal I’ve gotten so far – but I had this image in my mind of picking medals out of trees in like an apple orchard. Please see dramatization below.

Also.. the shirts. I’m definitely a fan.

In other things all running related – I went on a midnight run last night! Every night biking home from work I’m just continuously blown away by how amazing a still, calm night at the lake is. From the south end I look across Calhoun at the downtown skyline and can’t get over how much I love Minneapolis. I know I’ve been complaining about not getting enough sleep, but this one was well worth it. I went with a buddy from run club (which most definitely topped my company from the last midnight run.. won’t go into details..!) and we had a great time just talking about everything.. from Disney movies to the race (he ran too).. it’s always a good time! (Speaking of which.. has anyone seen the movie My Neighbor Totoro? BEST THING EVER. Still my favorite.)

(Downtown skyline across Calhoun. Thank you Flickr and Y Entonces!)

I just got back from dinner with my dad before he heads out to Boston for a week.. we went to Applebee’s!! The one close to my house CLOSED – I’m so bummed! It’s funny.. they actually don’t have that great of food. But it’s just a comforting place for me – when my family was still “the 4″ and I was probably like 7 or 8, there was a period of time that we would go there almost every Friday night. We’d pick up my dad from the airport and head to dinner.. and probably all got the same thing every time. It brings back good memories.

I feel like summer is slipping away from me and there are so many things I’m going to run out of time for! That’s life though, so for now I better enjoy what I have in the moment. Night!

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: dad, food, race, run

The Triathlon Rx