That's So Barb

Recently I rescued a cat, and upon learning this news a colleague of mine for more than 20 years said "That's So Barb".  This is the same person who once described my life as more of a 'weekend mini series' than a soap opera during the most dramatic of times.  

So when my sister Cathy asked me if I wanted to do the Quakertown Tri with her, of course I said yes even though I was fighting shoulder tendonitis from too much power yoga, and can't run more than a mile without a lot of pain in my left knee.  

In true "That's So Barb" fashion, I got an injection in my shoulder at 11:30am and was signed up to do a Tri by 11:30 pm.  I told my husband a week and a half later (after I started training) that I was doing another Tri, also totally Barb.   Cathy wasn't sure if her husband Mike could come, as he has a wedding the same weekend.  My first  reaction:  you do the Tri, I'll go to the party with Mike. Definitely Barb.  

So it looks like Cathy and I are doing it again, although I insisted that this one would just
be for "fun".  Stay tuned for updates and send happy thoughts my way as I push the limits of my various injuries in pursuit of the goal.  

The Chocolate Tour

I have been saying "Yes" to a lot of new things this year.
I said yes to Cathy inviting me to do the Philly Tri as a relay, and we all know how that ended:  with my car window smashed, and my thong panties in a shop vac.  (You're going to have to read my previous post to hear the whole story.)  But then I said yes to her offer to visit her on the Vineyard and despite a long trip there and back it was the best part of my year!  Riding our bikes along the scenic coastline into Oak Bluffs for a girls lunch was amazing and I wish we could do it every weekend.
After doing the 35 mile Tour of Lebanon County early summer, I have been putting in a lot of miles on my bike.  Often I ride by myself but finally I organized a group ride with my friend and spin class instructor Linda and another lady a few Saturdays ago... and easily did 25 miles averaging 14.5 mph.  So when my husband suggested I do the 50 mile Chocolate Tour, once again I said "Yes".  And then panicked!
What, 50 miles I must be crazy?  But Cathy had just done a 50 mile ride on the Vineyard and she said "you can do it" so there it was: a challenge hanging in the air waiting for me to respond.  I checked the route on map my ride and felt confident.  The best part of this tour was that 90% of the roads I would be riding on were parts of my regular route.  It is easier to do a distance ride when you know what to expect from the terrain.    
This tour is a very scenic route starting out on back roads from Hershey to Colebrook with 1 or 2 short but steep hills, through Mt. Gretna past the lake to the first rest stop 25 miles in to the ride.  Then another couple tough hills, and out 419 towards Schafferstown and looping back to Cornwall right near our house.  Around this point, I thought maybe I would be tempted to just go home, but when the time came I still had plenty of energy.  More back roads through scenic and peaceful farm lands to the next rest stop at the Gingrich Mennonite Church, only 10 miles to go after this point.  Incidentally, this was the best part of the ride, in addition to the well stocked rest points we had real bathrooms with running water at both stops!  At the second rest stop I had to stretch out my back and my neck was getting sore, but my legs were fine, I was feeling very strong.  I easily did the last 10 miles with my only issue being my sore neck and was happy to see that I averaged 13.1 mph, very respectable for my first 50.
So how does a typically low carb eater get enough fuel to do a 50 mile ride?  Well the day before I ate bread (gasp) as well as beer and pizza the night before.  The day of the ride I had 4 pieces of whole wheat toast, and half a banana beforehand.  During the ride I had 1 Detour Smart bar with 18g carbs and 10g protein plus an all natural fruit stick within the first 25 miles.  At the rest stop, another half a banana, and a bag of potato chips for sodium.  Then between the first and second rest stops another Detour Smart Bar.  Second rest stop, half a peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat and another bag of chips plus more banana.  Then on the last 10 another all natural fruit stick.  My basic principle was to drink fluids (Yoli Fun with electrolytes and Yoli Passion with caffeine) at least every 20 minutes and eat some fuel about every 40 minutes.  You must hydrate before you feel thirsty!
Later I calculated that I had burned around 1800 calories on my ride.  I was so pleased with my performance, I truly think the hydration and well spaced fuel played a major part in my success.  Aside from a sore neck, and a little sciatica at the end I think I could have easily done 60-65 miles.  After I returned to the venue, I ate a piece of pizza and pasta salad plus 2 bottles of water while I rested in the grass waiting for David to return from the 100 mile ride.  No, I am not ready to do 100 (yet).  

Swimming for Dyslexia

Happy to help support Dean on his last swim leg!

My husband Mike and his Mom have recounted the stories of his 1970s childhood when he was diagnosed with dyslexia and she would sit down with him at the kitchen table to try and help him read.  Back then, the advice given was simply "try harder" or "get new glasses".  Needless to say, it was a frustrating and tearful experience for both.  Just like we now know a lot more how to optimize performance in endurance sports, there are now much improved methods for helping dyslexic children to succeed.

A Vineyarder, Dean Bragonier, who also suffered as a child has taken up the cause by founding NoticeAbility, a non-profit that according their website was "Inspired by the neuroscientific discoveries presented in The Dyslexic Advantage, NoticeAbility’s curricula provide authentic inquiry experiences in vocational subject matters that capitalize on the neurological strengths of students with dyslexia: entrepreneurship, engineering, architecture and the arts."  To gain publicity for his cause, he spent the last month swimming the 50 mile circumference of Martha's Vineyard, 2 miles at a time.

I've become intrigued with marathon swimming lately after picking up a freebie book at the library about Lynne Cox, who at age 14 swam the channel between Catalina Island, CA and the mainland and went to break the English Channel record at age 15 in 1972 and again in 1973.  She then went on to accomplish many other swimming firsts, including swimming the 2.3 mile In the Bering Strait between Alaska and the Soviet Union in 43 degree F water in 1987 as a means to bring the two Cold War countries together.  She allowed for a lot of ground breaking cold water temperature experiments to be performed on her and ultimately became the only person to swim 1.22 miles in Antarctica's 32 degree water!

So after reading this, plus following two other stories this summer about one 63 old swimmer who attempted to swim the 14 miles from Martha's Vineyard to Nantucket in one shot (he unfortunately had to abandon his attempt with 3 miles to go) and a 28 year old swimmer who swam 25 miles from Cape Cod to Nantucket in just over 12 hours this summer, I became intrigued with Dean's story and followed his video blog (http://www.noticeability.org/blog/ )

Dean finished his swim on August 16 and invited the community to join him in the last swim leg along scenic State Beach, my favorite place to swim.  I opted for the 1.25 mile swim (after a 36 mile bike ride!) and while I couldn't keep up with him, I had people cheering me on along the way.  I finished around 50 minutes, which beats my Vineyard Tri 1.2 mile swim last year by 22 minutes (albeit the Tri was much tougher conditions!).

It's perhaps no surprise that people who have had to overcome dyslexia go on to overcome other aspects of adversity and become successful in their careers and endurance athletics.  NoticeAbility’s website says that 35% of entrepreneurs, 40% of self-made millionaires, and 50% of NASA employees have dyslexia.  But there is a flip side:  35% of children with dyslexia do not graduate from high school, and 50% of adolescents in juvenile detention centers and 60% in drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers have dyslexia. 

Just like the proper coaching methods make all the difference in athletics, the same is true with dyslexia, which is why Noticeability is making a difference to unlock the potential of students with dyslexia.

Philadelphia Tri-Rock, my first Event in 2 Years

     When Cathy asked me if I wanted to do the Philly Tri Rock Sprint as a Relay, I had just completed the 26 mile Tour of Lebanon County and was feeling strong on my bike for the first time in 2 years.  I hesitated, not being sure what to expect of myself after 2 years out of the game recovering from injuries, but eventually said yes.  Cathy would do the swim, her friend Diane would be doing the run, and I was invited to stay with them in the Philly suburbs the night before the Event.  I was looking forward to doing an event with my sister as a team!  Being an Independent Distributor of Yoli, I chose "Team Yoli" as our group name, and ordered Yoli Give Make A Wish T Shirts for us to wear after the event.  I thought the Tri-Rock pictures would be a nice way to give recognition to Yoli partnering with the Make A Wish Foundation this year.

     I was nervous about going to the City by myself, we go often but David always drives and I hate city driving.  But I have a Nav in my car, so what could go wrong?  The forecast for 100% chance of rain was a bad omen but we hoped it would hold off until after the early morning race was over.  
I planned to park in the Please Touch Museum parking lot, which was supposed to be near the Expo Tent to pick up my race packet.   After a pretty standard drive on the Schuykill to reach the city, I did get turned around once but finally reached Smith Field where the event check in was located.  I had envisioned reaching the Museum, parking, and then finding the Tent.  But my Nav took me in the back entrance and and the tent appeared first, so I grabbed a spot where some other people were parking along one of the side roads near the tent.  I wasn't altogether happy with my location on this small one way street in the park, but I was tired of driving and didn't feel like navigating around the park again to find a better one.
     After checking in and picking up my race packet, I meandered around the expo waiting for Cathy to arrive.  I didn't hear from her, but her friend Diane texted me that she had picked up her race packet and was headed back to the house.  I decided to go to Diane's place, since I hadn't heard from Cathy and was getting hungry.  After entering the address in my Nav, I headed out to meet my hosts for the weekend.  While driving down the highway, I was attempting to put up the rear windows which I had left cracked; when the passenger side window didn't seem to go up I glanced over my shoulder to see what was wrong.  It was then that I noticed someone had smashed out the window and stolen my briefcase from the center section where I had situated it, thinking I was being safe to move it out of view from the front seat.  Of course a wave of shock came over me, and I said some choice words upon realizing I had been robbed.  But I was driving on a busy 3 lane highway, and could not immediately do anything about it so I just kept driving.  Within a few miles I saw a Philly cop who had someone pulled over, and stopped to let him know what had happened.  He said to call 911 and file a police report when I reached my destination.  I asked him to radio in an alert so that the patrol who was currently working the area might be aware there were smash and grab burglaries occurring at the event grounds.  I then made a list of all the important things that were in my briefcase before getting back on the road.

    After leaving the busy highway, I called a friend who had written me a check and asked her to put a stop payment on the check immediately.  As soon as I arrived at Diane and Eric's house, I was on the phone putting a freeze on my business checking account because the blank checks were in my briefcase.  Diane came out to greet me, and I had to break the news to her while I was on hold, apologizing for arriving at her doorstep in Lockdown Mode with an emergency.  After several phone calls to cancel and freeze various accounts, I introduced myself to Diane and met her cat Rose.  I then began the task of cleaning the broken glass out of my car, which had infiltrated the open duffel bag I had tossed my clothes in for the weekend.  As I can usually find a moment of humor in just about any situation,  Cathy's husband Mike watched as I began laughing hysterically after accidentally sucking up a pair of brightly colored thong panties into my host's shop vac.  I contemplated letting it go, but eventually decided to open the shop vac and retrieve them.  I was afraid Eric might get in trouble  months down the road, when Diane discovered some random panties that were not hers upon emptying their shop vac.  I was happy to see that the thieves had not taken the wine I brought for Eric and Daine, and at least I had my clothes.  I felt lucky that I had my wallet with me, and that I was not personally injured during the robbery.  Eric, who is an engineer, did a magnificent job of patching up my broken window.  With the main tasks completed, and the police report filed, we could finally enjoy a lovely pasta dinner.
After dinner I went upstairs to lay out my clothes for the event, and realized that I hadn't brought my Tri bag in the house.  I had a sinking feeling, but went to see if I had left it in the car.  At that point I realized that they had stolen my entire Tri bag which had my bike helmet, shoes, jersey's, rain jacket, gloves, basically everything I needed to do the race.  The bag also contained my Yoli Give T-Shirts that I had ordered for our team.  Hopefully, the thieves had earned themselves some bad Karma by messing with someone who was trying to give acknowledgement to a company for partnering with such a great charity.  Fortunately Cathy had brought all of her biking stuff because she was doing the olympic event the next day, and we wear the same size shoes.  Luckily I had also packed an extra biking outfit.
After a fitful nights rest, I woke up before my 5am alarm and got ready for the event.  While getting ready, I also realized my sports bras were in my Tri bag, so I had to borrow one from Diane (or wear my Victoria's Secret push up bra under my jersey with the questionable zipper that had broken that morning).  We learned the swim was cancelled due to the heavy rain, so Cathy would have to do a 1.5 mile run instead of the swim.  At this point, I thought to myself:  maybe I was not meant to do this event, nothing has gone right this weekend, maybe I should just give up and go back to bed.  Sometimes you have to wonder if every obstacle that appears in your path is just a challenge or if it is a warning.  But my feisty nature would not let me cave and we departed for the race, me wearing Diane's sports bra, Cathy's bike helmet, shoes and gloves, and my Jersey with the broken zipper.
Even though the radar showed rain encompassing the area, the roads were dry for my ride.  As soon as I took off on the bike leg of the Tri, I saw a girl holding a sign that said "Ride Like You Stole Something".  This gave me a surge of anger adrenalin as I remembered that someone out there had all my stuff.  Despite being exhausted after getting only 5 hours of sleep, I turned in a respectable average of 16.11 mph.  I was happy to have completed the event safely despite all of the set backs.  Enjoying a weekend with new friends and family helped to take the edge off of the disappointing and stressful way Friday had started.  And the best part was that I did get to do an event with my sister!

   

Got the Nerve 2015: Personal Bests

Personal bests are what keeping us triathletes coming back for more.  It’s a thrill after 5 years in this sport that I can still achieve personal bests.  I know at some point as I age that won’t be possible but I’m hoping the thrill of competing against “my current self” will keep me engaged.  Staying in the game no matter what physical limits a person has is the mission for I’M ABLE, the organization that sponsors Got the Nerve Triathlon in Mount Gretna, PA: 

The mission of the IM ABLE Foundation is to remove obstacles that prevent people affected by disabilities from being physically active by providing grants, resources, fitness opportunities and motivation. We change attitudes about the potential of disabled individuals by redefining what is possible.

This first race of 2015 proved that it’s not about volume of training but how experience and focused training can pay off.  In other seasons, I felt I sometimes peaked too early so I decided not to go as hard this past winter (not to mention having a busy work schedule).  Last year, I was seeing that my total ranking was usually higher than any one of the rankings for the 3 sports.  I realized that the volume of swim training I was doing was no longer paying off now that I was an adequate swimmer.  After having a successful, injury free season last year, I decided to focus on getting faster on my run this season.

A funny thing happened on my way to less swimming and more running training – I got faster in both!  I can’t really explain it other than the water temp was reasonable this year and I didn’t hyperventilate like last year, cutting 2 minutes off of the 500 yard swim.  I also cut about 50 seconds off the bike.  I know this was a Sprint tri 5K personal best but the open question is by how much as my GPS watch only registered 2.86 miles at a 9:23 pace, and the results are showing I did the supposed 5K course in 26:45 at a 8:38 pace, which is plausible.  Mike also had his best sprint 5K time.  Nevertheless, the third time for this race was a personal best for both Mike and me as I cut close to 7 minutes off my last year’s time, and he cut over 4 minutes off of his best time.

At each race I'm reminded why I race.  It is about constantly improving my own abilities but it is also about being surrounded by the energy and inspiration of fellow athletes of all life situations and abilities.  We often have to recalibrate our “personal best” to our current life’s situation.  I was thrilled to cross the finish line at the same time that a miracle was taking place.  A man who had lost both legs came down the finish line in his hand cycle and then put on “his new legs”, a technology that was demonstrated for the first time at this race that allowed him to walk over the finish line.  As I was approaching the finish line, I heard the announcer declaring what was about to transpire which gave me inspiration to speed up so I could witness it.  It was a personal best for both of us.

A thrill to cross the finish line and then witness this amazing feat!

Westchester Olympic Triathlon: The Eye of the Tiger

Women 40 and over run in singing Katie Perry

"Don't give up!" was the motto of Claire Gormley Collier, who was one of the ALS sufferers this race honors.  Before the Ice Bucket challenge there was this race that raises funds for the Blazeman Foundation and other local charities.  And persevere I did - two years after I set out to do an Olympic distance race, I finally did it.  The knee injury that plagued me in my second season prevented me from doing it then and last season I could only muster 5K runs.  So despite some Olympic Aquabikes, the full Olympic had eluded me until now.

This was a great way to end the season -- I was confident throughout each race leg and gave each one my all.  As I occasionally passed people, I felt like I was truly racing and I hung tough until the end.  I felt like a true triathlete throughout.

The race inspired me at so many points.  Running into the water at Rye Playland, the organizers aptly chose Katie Perry's, "I'm the eye of the tiger... and you're going to hear me roar" to start the women 40 plus wave, which stuck with me through the whole race.

There is the very long hill "Claire's Climb" within the first half of the cycling course in honor of Claire, who passed away at age 46.  Tears came to my eyes for a women who was my age when she died as a bagpiper serenaded us as we started the climb.  At the top, her family welcomed us and cheered us on.

I've got the Eye of the Tiger...!

I caught up to a fellow 45-49 age grouper on the bike and we proceeded to leap frog each other on the bike.  First me passing her and then her passing me.  Then there was one turn that I was thankfully prepared for having checked out the course the day before and so I made the pass when she wasn't expecting the turn.  I made sure to make good use of the downhills - and boy did I, reaching a max speed over 37mph!  I made it into transition before her but saw her there soon after.  When she stopped to high five her kids exiting transition, I ran past her.

Early into the 10K run though she caught up to me.  "So you're my race buddy today" I said.  "Yes," she acknowledged as we ran side by side each keeping the pace.  A few more minutes went by and she said, "My name's Robin".  We learned we were both doing our first Olympic.  I let her know what pace we were doing based on my watch.  I'm not sure if she was glad or reluctant to be running with me when I told her it was good that she was helping me keep the pace.  Meanwhile we passed a few 40 something men (who started in waves before us..."You're going to hear me roar"...).

I could tell her breathing was harder than mine so I hoped I could pull away from her in the end, and after about mile 5 I did just that, telling myself "don't give up" and ending the 10K leg with a respectable 9:58 / mile pace.  I finished at 3:28:41 and a few minutes later I high fived Robin at the finish line...with the eye of a tiger:-) 

I cooled down, found Mike, went to the stretching/massage tents, and then Mike and I were waiting for the awards to start.  The race announcer then beckoned us to the finish line -- "Let's welcome our last two finishers!" and the speakers blasted "I'm the eye of the tiger and you're going to hear me roar".  A human reception line formed across both sides along the finish line and we all high fived and cheered the final two finishers -- two women whom we could clearly see "their eye of the tiger" and "hear their roar".  Sometimes we're inspired by the winner or an older or physically challenged athlete.  Today I was inspired by women who never gave up - Claire and these two final finishers.

...and you're going to hear me roar!

Mike’s First Half Iron Distance Race (Cathy’s husband guest blogger)

4:40am wakeup; 5:30am departure

It was a warm, cloudy late summer morning on September 7.  I will get back to that in a moment.  Having missed my connection from Philadelphia, I was a little stressed, but the way the Cape Air crew on Saturday morning handled the flight from Boston to Martha’s Vineyard was a precursor to the fun and good times that were to ensue upon making it to the Vineyard for the triathlon on Sunday.  Our first good decision was to drive the bike leg of the triathlon which literally covered the entire island.  We had one less thing to worry about on race day after having racked our bikes and registered for the race the day before.  I was number 74 and it didn’t look like many folks signed up for the entire half iron distance event – 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run.  Then we had an early dinner at famous Giordano’s and stopped at State Beach on the way home so Eric (aka the Belgian Block layer) could take a practice swim.  Afterward we headed to Diane’s (aka Name that Tune Diane) friend’s place a few miles from where we live on the Vineyard for some excellent dessert and good times.  After getting home, we went through our triathlon checklist and made sure our beverages, Shot Blocks and other nutritional items were good to go.  We were in bed by around 10 PM.

Men 40 and over lining up

After my best sleep before a race yet, I woke up when my alarm went off at 4:40 AM and had a quick breakfast with coffee, loaded the truck, made sure we had everything we would need and headed out with Cathy (aka Aquabike Specialist) and our friends.  Allison (aka Southern Belle), who recently relocated from NYC to Dallas, couldn’t participate due to an injury, decided to come along first thing in the morning even though the sun was not yet up.  She was our cheerleader with a reinvigorated Southern accent, photographer and spiritual advisor for the event.  Way to go Allison and don’t forget there is always next year!

Go - into choppy waters!

My start time was scheduled for 6:47 AM but the transition area as they call it was to close at 6:15 AM.  Having practiced getting my gear together before, we had plenty of time to get organized, head to the beach, swim for a few minutes and make sure we had our wetsuits and swimming gear on properly.  The surf was up so by the time they put the last buoy in the water it was really hard to see it about a half mile away.  The surf also makes for some challenging open water swimming.   The good news is that none of us were deterred and all of us were able to complete the swim leg.  My biggest issue was seeing the buoys well. The jelly fish that stung me in the hand and the neck didn’t bother me too much - luckily I had experience with that.  I missed the last buoy by about 300 yards and I am sure that added to my time which was about 15 minutes longer than I expected at close to one hour.

Only 56 cycling miles to go

I felt pretty good coming out of the water.  After making it to the transition area, I peeled off my wetsuit and was pleased that the Trislide spray I used really worked to ease getting out of it.  Earlier I was a little out of it at 5 AM when we arrived and realized I left my socks in the truck where Allison was peacefully catching up on some rest due to our loud neighbors and the noise they made the night before.  Thankfully, my wish to have somebody deliver my socks to the transition area was answered – thank you Name that Tune Diane.  I dried my feet, put on my socks and put on a tri shirt from a Sprint Triathlon we did earlier this year over my tri-suit not realizing I was putting it on backward.  No worries, after slipping on my cycling shoes and clicking in I was off and riding - Riding for 56 miles that is!  Other than having to make a bio break, I never stopped pedaling.  By mile 46, I really wanted to get off of my bike.  As I have said many times before, if you get through the ride without a mechanical issue like a flat tire, the ride leg is a success.  So, for all of us doing the cycling leg, aquabikers and relay partners, we had success.

One of the best things about beginning the run is that the transition is really fast – Get off the bike, change shoes, take off your helmet, put on a hat, take some water and Shot Blocks and go!  Did I mention, you need to remove your cycling gloves…oops…forgot to take those off.  The good news was that the excellent tri organizers set up six water stops so I could drop my gloves at the first one.  After mile one, I met Lori, part of a team that is friends with Peter Frates, the guy for whom the entire ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was created.  We were running the same speed so she told me all about Peter, his wife and baby and it was hard not to get emotional.  For the next 10 miles we ran together.  For that distance, you need to talk to somebody.  At mile 11, I decided my time was slipping so I went ahead.  A short while later, I thought I saw behind me a Vineyard buddy, Wayne, who was with Price Waterhouse and now runs Hinckley Lumber with his family on the Island.  I slowed nearly to a walk thinking it would be fun to run to the finish together.  As “Wayne” approached, I realized this guy looked a bit younger than Wayne and more to confirm what I already knew, I said, “Are you Wayne,” and as he flew past me, he said “Wayne, NO I am not Wayne.”  I was a little bewildered and decided I better pick it up.  We started closing in on the finish line but I realized the Wayne look-alike was going too fast for me and I was passed by Keri, a relay runner and friend of Lori and Peter’s.  I turned it on but couldn’t catch Keri either.  I did manage to outrun a few others so I was pumped by that.  I figured just completing a 13.1 mile run was something.

Home stretch!

After about six and a half hours, it felt great to complete the event.  It was unbelievable to have Cathy, Allison, Diane, Eric and Richard (aka Steve) greet me at the finish line.  It always provides a burst of adrenalin when you hear your friends and family cheering you on!  The icing on the cake was the massages purchased by our house guests for those of us who participated – those were really sweet!

After such a great day, I want to thank my friends and family who were involved and those who wished us good luck.  The volunteers, triathlon organizers and police all did a great job (except maybe for that guy who forgot to tell me which way to go on Moshup Trail).  In all seriousness, it was a great event and I look forward to more people joining us in the future.  Go to google and search for Vineyard Triathlon orwww.vineyardtriathlon.com  to find out more and see you next September. 

 

70.3 Miles Done!

Celebrating success at the Lookout Tavern