To be continued?

And now for some fun...

Off we go... But first, a cocktail at the Seattle Airport Goldy... ignoring one of the wives: In Penticton... after our quick swim to test if the wetsuits still fit (notice Goldilock's tanlines!):I always thought we were really screwed for this race... but this guy isn't even facing the right way towards the water!

3000+ A Types waiting to check in:After all that work... we needed a break (oh, how I love Salty's):Thursday night we had dinner with Stephan, Deena, Jamie and Evan. It's also where I met Wes and Susan. Dinner was fabulous! I hope you all come to visit me so I can repay your hospitality! Thank you!

Friday Morning: Traditional Underpants Run!

Underpants Run is a 2K through downtown in your... yup... Underpants! First our Grand Marshall: Roch kicked us off with an Oath. Gotta love a man in his Whitie Tighties & a Bullhorn (a man after my own heart!) Stephan, Jamie, Wes and I were ready to go!

And some notable participants:
Compression socks even made an appearance...

Another man after my own heart! He really worked those!Plus, my favorite part of the run... where Type A meets... well, the Non Type A's (guy in the tracksuit is thinking... "Hm, less drag. Good idea!": And yet... we keep coming... For the record, this is the swim start!
So, what better place to do our "exercises" (stretching and jumping jacks):
As far as I'm concerned, these beat getting a medal or T-Shirt at the end of a run:

Saturday was basically prepping and dropping gear. To give you an idea of how crazy the Transition looked, here's a picture that captures only part of the bike racks:Onto the day... here's the 3000+ participants waiting for the canon. Think nerves, anxiety, and excitement!

Off we go... Goldilocks, Adult Supervision and 2010 Shannon are probably right in the heart of the Washing Machine... to the left of the buoy line.Do not be deceived... it NEVER thinned out!
Here's 2010 Shannon out of the water:

Onto the bike... all smiles. It hides the pain! And the fact that EVERYONE is in front of me!Early in the run... the legs are movin'But, best of all... one of the shots that make this crazy experience all worth it:

I'll try to post a few more thing regarding the race, so feel free to check back. Truth is... what do I write about for much longer?

The Family managed to smash it's goal: Compete in an Ironman with little or no (Goldilocks) training.

And, no... The Family did not have a beer (winning recovery drink poll) but waiting until the next day and enjoyed wine at Hillside winery... and the continued the 4th leg of training. Visiting about 15 wineries in 3 days. Not bad!

Race Report

The dust has settled, and I felt it appropriate to finish up with a report of how the race went. Overall a great experience and, as usual, Penticton didn't hold back on supporting the athletes!

Saturday AM The Family woke up at 4am. It sounds early, but you try sleeping in on a BIG race day... you practically jump out of bed!

The usual Ironman morning rituals took place. Dressing, eating, yelling at Goldilocks to hurry up because the car's leaving in 10 minutes...

We arrive to Transition. Hard Core Athletes everywhere. Gulp! But too late to fret about that... time to soldier on:

• Body Marking - numbers and age marked on everyone. Always a great opportunity to find a 35-40 year old male on the course!
• Special Needs Bag Drop - me. I had Raspberry Gummy things (no Gummy Bears to be found), extra CarboPro and Wheat Thins... variety is key! You could want salty or you could want a "treat" at mile 80 on the bike or 13 on the run...
• Check the bikes - bottles dropped & fill up tires (see we can play the part of Hard Core Triathletes!)
• Visit your T1 and T2 bags - triple checking all the items are in there (forecast called for rain after all... & sun)
• Stand, in yet, your sixth line of the Ironman trip. Yet the most important - The Port-a- Potties
• Regroup the Family
• Watch all the crazy madness that happens when you put 3000+ triathletes in a holding pen 15 minutes before race start

Lining up we ran into Wes and a few OC Triathletes we knew. Wished them luck and proceeded to the "best" place to start with 3000+ others. We chose left... but not far enough left!

BOOM! Race has officially started! Off we went... into the Washing Machine. Kick, hit, slap... push, gulp lake water, kick in the ribs, hit in the head... breathe, breathe... scream underwater and then find a rhythm. That's the swim.

Up to our T1. 2010 Shannon hadn't thought through T1 very good. Goldilocks is trying to pass the nickname "Lost In Transition" to me because I spent 11 minutes in the tent. But hey! I wanted to change my clothes... and I didn't have a Volunteer to help!

Hit the bike... Cold and soaked, but happy to be done with the first leg in 1:14.

First 40 miles of the bike is pretty flat and/or a decline. We are all just flying out of town towards Oliver and dreaded Richter Pass. The bike has never been my strength. I've always hated it because it seems everyone and their mother, passes me. Literally... there were a few 60+ people passing me! Oh well. It's my race to finish, not worry about time or placement!

Through Ritcher and onto my first of 13 rollers. About the 7th roller it starts to rain. And at about the 9th... the headwind kicks up. I curse both.

Onto the worst part of the bike course. A section that takes you out to your Special Needs bag and back. I finally see Adult Supervision. She's rockin it! 20 minutes or so later, I see Goldilocks. I'm pretty sure we all felt a surge of energy seeing the Family on the course finally! Onto Special Needs and I dismount. Time for a picnic. There. Right on the course. In the middle of an Ironman. Even the Volunteer asked me if I was ok. Yup! I'm just not in any hurry... I still have 30 more miles to go.

Finally back on the bike... the rain picks up again. The wind starts to get frigid. I peddle away. By this point I'm going back and forth with a few other bikers. We start to encourage each other on but can't exactly ride together. It's when we, at last, pull into town we see the beloved sign, "Welcome to Penticton" that I feel ready to take on the marathon. However, just as we pull down Main... WHAM! Headwind! The kind that actually pushes you backward. With only 3 miles left on the course, I got out of my seat and climbed through it... cursing as I went, at the wind.

Dismount of the bike. Give instructions to the Volunteer to throw it in the lake and wobble off to find my T2 bag.

I beat my T1 time by 1 minute... however, I passed on the sunscreen and sunglasses. There was a storm going on outside after all! (I'll come to regret that decision later...) Off I go... High-fiving folks out of Transition and onto the run.

Three miles and I'm feeling good. My plan, walk 1 minute each mile until 13.1 miles. From there, I'd reassess the plan. I chat with a gal named Jen doing her first Ironman. I wish her luck as she passes me after 4 miles. At one walk break I met a guy doing his first also. He jogs by me saying a walk sounds pretty good right now... Ah, not yet! Gotta keep moving!

About mile 8 for me I see Adult Supervision. She's on her way back into town and looks FANTASTIC! I start skipping and doing heel clicks because it's nice to see a familiar face and she's kicking some butt! We chat for a second or two and I realize she'll pull a 12 hour time. An encouraging chat for each of us and I realize Goldy is only 20 minutes ahead of me. Off we go...

Goldy was trekking up one of the hills when I saw him around mile 11. We give a quick shout out and head on. I catch up to the guy I met during my walk break. He's walking now... I pull up beside him and convince him to run with me until the turnaround. We head off with the hope we can lean on each other for encouragement... I learn he is from Canada and his quick story.

At the turnaround point, he slows down. I wish him luck and head for home. Darn that headwind... it's back! Except now I have to battle those rolling hills and the negative flat! I keep moving... determined not to get a Glowstick!

A mile or so... I met a Dad doing the Ironman with his 19 year old son. His kid's about an hour and half behind him. I share some Advil with him and we push forward trying to keep our minds off the nagging voice that tells us to walk. Trek on...

In time, the voice wins. I start walking. My mind keeps finding ways to keep this pace... and then it finds ways to negotiate to a run. I chat with some other folks along the trail and notice - GASP! - up ahead the police are handing out Glowsticks.

Oh well. Onward I move... now with a Glowstick. I'm beginning to run again... I'm almost back in town. 4 more miles... and if I can manage 10 min/miles or so then I can come in under 15 hours. If I continue to let that voice win... I'll come in closer to 15:30. Off I go. No. More. Walking!

As I head to town, the crowd starts to pick up again. People are cheering us in for the last few miles. Around mile 24 I hear someone yell, "Hey! Can I have your Glowstick?!" I turn to see a kid lit up like a Christmas Tree. Lucky for him I've been wanting to get rid of this thing from the get go. I hear his glee as I fling my stick to him.

Head down, in a rhythm. Mantra: 14 hours, 14 hours, 14 hours.

Crowd starts to pick up as we turn away from the finish line to mile 25. Cheers, shouts of encouragement. Turn around and begin my journey to the finish line. Up ahead you can barely read "Finish" but you sure can hear the crowd and the announcer. As I pull into the shoot, the exhaustion fades away. As any Quinn would do, I play up the crowd... High Fiving as I run down the shoot. Encouraging the cheering. And then a five start jump into the finishing flag. Done.

After the massage tent, some food and bike drop The Family heads back to the finish line to watch the last runner: 16:59:56 minutes (just 4 seconds before the cut off).

Quick run down of the Final Stats

Adult Supervision.... KILLED it 12:49
Goldilocks (bruised toe and all)... 13:48
2010 Shannon... bringing up the party bus at 14:49

Details to follow...

** BREAKING NEWS **

Goldilocks dropped a beer can on his toe.

Wow, there are a lot of fit people...

... and aside from Adult Supervision, we aren't one of them!

The Family arrived Wednesday afternoon and drove into Penticton to the house we are renting. First order of business after meeting the owner of the house and getting the keys?? Stopping at the nearest Wine shop for some vino! And for the first time in a LONG time Goldilocks had not a clue as to which wine to buy. So, we later found out... we bought crap! Oh well!

Later that night, we headed to Lakeshore to find Salty's for dinner. On the way, we ran into folks from the plane (how did they recognize us?? Well, I was the girl with espiderills on and what I started calling my "T1 and T2 bags". a.k.a. suitcase #1 and suitcase #2, I stood out as the girl competing... but looking the part of the significant other cheering people on), they said the wait was horrible and they were heading somewhere else. We powered on anyway. I'd had a good experience with Salty's in the past (it was pirate themed afterall) and insisted The Family would like it!

Rolling up, we decided the hour wait wouldn't do. So we headed down to Katina's. This place I could have sworn was the same from '04 with it's outstanding food and service. However, we came to realize very quickly it had changed owners (every few years, from what we understood) and now has a poor rating on Yelp - courtesy of Goldilocks. Let's just say you know it's a bad sign when people cheer as someone's food is delivered.

Thursday:
The family slept in a little. And then, argued over what need to be done for the day. We all get along, don't get me wrong... it's just everyone has "their thing". Like mine. Mine's that at 7am on Monday morning post race, I'm planning on cleaning up the Finishing apparel (assuming I've finished - in which case, I'm sleeping in!). I don't want to miss out on something cute because it sold out. Goldilock's Thing... to understand the local wines. Adult Supervision... she'd like to stick to the training schedule.

So, after we woke up... had some coffee. And then enjoyed a day of:

• Quick dip in the lake to test the wetsuits - yup! they still fit and can zip up!
• Registered for the race
• Discussed compression socks - are they really that helpful to wear three days before the race??
• Goldilocks lost his _____ (insert: phone, car keys, sunglasses, security blanket, goggles, phone again, etc)
• Lunched at Salty's
• Goldilocks found his ______ (insert: phone, car keys, sunglasses, security blanket, goggles, phone again, etc)
• Hit the merch tent (Adult Supervision's and my favorite past time)
• Picked up our bikes and bags
• Goldilocks lost his ______ (well, you get the gist)

We finished up the day with dinner with Stephan, Deena and their family + Wesley and Susan.

Friday:
The infamous Underpants Run! A 2k through town in nothing but... your underpants! Wesley, Stephan, Jamie and I pushed off the with crowd of about 100 people to show them our whitie tighties!

After the quick (but might I point out tiring) run, I caught up with Adult Supervision to find out Goldy had a car accident! Awesome!

After a few calls... we brushed it off and headed off with Stephan for a guided tour of the bike course (Thanks Stephan!). We realized we don't remember the course as well as we thought... and there are a lot more hills, than originally thought! YIKES!

Saturday night, the family decided to stay in and focus on their transition bags. It takes us about 45 minutes to determine what's needed at the grocery store... so we figured laying out the bags in the evening would be beneficial for us... versus waiting til Saturday when the gear drop is.

Saturday:
A late start for The Family... woke up around 8:45 (or actually, I woke up at 8:45... the rest of the family was caffeinated and ready to go). Drove down to the lake for a quick swim and a short run, then home to drop off the gear at transition.

So here we are today... Beer in hand. Gear dropped. Nerves on end... and on the eve of the race.

Forecast for tomorrow could go either way: Sunny and 70s or slight rain and cooler...

People look fit, people wear compression socks 24/7, people look ready...
And then there's The Family!

Wish us luck! And have a beer in hand for when we cross the finish line and hear the beloved words: You Are An Ironman!

In route to Canada!

The Family was all aflutter this week... it was our first trip together!

Adult Supervision and I exchanged text messages regarding wardrobe, cell phones, # of suitcases (I have 2, she has 1) and weather.

Goldilocks and I exchanged text messages confirming he'd bring a wine opener.

Taper, sucks!

I try, as a coach, to warn my runners about taper... it's a quiet confidence killer before a race. The body is in muscle building mode. So fatigue, sand bag legs, and that blah feeling, takes over.

The mind starts to second guess all your training. You wonder if you are ready. And you wonder if the 6 miles you ran yesterday with a high heart rate and barely moving legs, is a preview of what to expect race day.

Yup, yesterday was a bad day! All I can do now, is trust the training system and not let one "small" run bring me down!

Ah Taper... I'll let you have this week... but Sunday is MINE!

Adventures of Bike Drop Off

The Family signed up for TriBike Transfer for Canada. It's a brilliant money maker with, what I imagine, a low overhead cost. Basically, for $300+ you have a kid in a UHaul transport your bike and a bag to Canada so you don't have to break it down into a bike case or lug through customs. Each UHaul holds about 50-60 bikes... can someone say cha-ching!?

The only downfall with TriBike is you have to say goodbye to your bike over a week before the race. For our Family, that was not an issue. Let's be honest... we saw it as a great excuse not to workout!

So, Friday was our drop off date at Edge. Shouldn't be a problem, right? Well:

• I was in Costa Rica for work, and the forecast called for severe rain showers
• In order to get all the outdoor shots we needed for the spot, our shoot was at risk of spilling over a day. That meant I wouldn't get home until Friday even, way after the store's hours
• Goldy offered to take my gear for me as a contingency - awesome!
• Except, Goldy... on Friday, went to start his car after lunch with bikes and gear in it... to find it wouldn't start (something to do with electrical malfunction)
• So, Goldy calls Adult Supervision for help (It should be noted, Adult Supervision... the poster child of Ironman training... already had her gear dropped)
• Adult Supervision was off to Edge with now both Goldy's and my gear...
• Throughout the day, 2010 Shannon (or as the group called me that day OCD Shannon) called the shop, Goldilocks and text'd Adult Supervision to quadruple check my bike was on that truck (and not the one going to Ironman Louisville) I have issues with control...
• Having heard this, Goldilocks considered intentionally putting his bike en route to Louisville and avoid doing Ironman Canada all together... I had to tell him "no, he's doing the race with us! Not just wine tasting and cheering us on!"
• At one point Hank from Edge and Adult Supervision decide to play a joke on me for all my anal retentive behavior. They claim my bike will head off to Mrs T's Tri in Chi-Town. My response: "Great! That's a shorter race! I'm fine with that!"
• To which I received no response... I guess it's on the truck! (Oh, and so is Goldy's)

Race day is 7 days away. And since no one has a bike... we all... **BREAKING NEWS** swam today!

(Well, I tried. Had to get out of the pool after 40 mins due to a shoulder problem. Bummer!)

Tomorrow's our last "long" run of 6 miles and then Wednesday we are off to Canada! If the bikes make it there, great. If not, we always have wine tasting!

You Will Do This!

Always makes me tear up alittle...

A bit of seriousness...

Ironman training is tough! I mean, it really is...




Full time job, family, friends and then you choose to carve out (a significant amount of) time for something "you" want to do. ("You" as in, it's no one else's problem but your own- you chose it, so "suck it up, buttercup") I'm not complaining. I love it... and I hate it.



A friend asked me tonight... what exactly do you love about it? Is it just the bragging rights? What??

That's a fair question, I think bragging rights can be true, but that's not the whole truth...

The love for Ironman is so many things... but mostly it's the emotions you feel before, during and after that make it all worth it.


It's about someone telling you, you couldn't do it. And about whispering to yourself, "yeah, I'm not sure either". It's about purposely putting yourself up against a huge feat.... that most won't try. And saying, "Why not!? I can be strong too".



It's about the physical. The mental. The sacrifice day in, and day out, to train. The structure. The joy. The amazement... at your body and your mind's capabilities. It's looking back at the past 6 months (or three if you're part of the family) and recognizing the sweat, pain and beers you had to get across the finish line.



It's about that one day. Finishing. The endorphins. Not the medal so much... as the metaphor of looking back after you crossed the line... knowing you conquered. You stepped up. You negotiated. You pushed. You cried. You numbed self doubt. You fought hard. You didn't settle. It's about facing yourself and saying, "You can do this!" It's that "turn" in the day, where you decide "I will do this!" Deciding, no more negative self talk! No one's in my way. Nothing can hold me back. Not the cramps. Not the fatigue. Not the exhaustion you feel both mentally and physically. Not the night time that has descended. Not the idea that it's impossible to travel 140.6 miles in less than a day...




It's about, "I did this and no one can ever take it away". It's being in the Ironman family. It's exclusivity. It's elite status. And the end to a journey that you can't quite sum up in one word and do it justice. It's overwhelming... It's amazing. It's the best day of my life... and above all it's crazy.




Right now is the hardest part of training for me... the race is so close, and yet, so far away...




We need to focus on getting to the start line... and that is where the true pain/discipline/mental toughness/physical strength/determination begins. I say this because, oftentimes you're exhausted here and ready to just "get 'er done". But, you still have work to do. You still need to keep your eyes on the prize... it's still pretty far away.




Thanks to everyone for your support to our Family. Even if your support is just simply reading about our crazy adventures... understanding our temporary withdrawal from society... or the emails/phone calls of encouragement...




We thank you because it's pretty intense...
...Ok, maybe not that intense.

The Legend of: Lost In Transition

Admittedly, I skipped this morning's long ride. I'll just come out and say it: I just couldn't do it. Mentally. Physically. Overall an impossible feat, this week... and The Family rode thinking I was hung over.

So, Adult Supervision kept me in the loop of the "5" hour ride the pair did today. I say "5" because... after my text bowing out, Goldilocks decided to take his time for the workout (I wonder if he thinks milking the workout will benefit his total weekly workout hours).

Adult Supervision provided commentary for how the workout went:
7:02 - Goldy wants to know why we are starting at 7. He's still dressed in street clothes and carrying his coffee mug around. Adult Supervision is dressed and just waiting on him
7:15 - Goldy decides to walk Hoku (not Ritalin dog). Adult Supervision is baffled.
7:30 - Goldy looks for missing water bottle.
7:31 - Adult Supervision realizes Goldy operates on Hawaii time, so technically they don't need to start for another hour and a half. This makes her kind of nervous... she'd like to get back in before dark
7:45 - The pair are (both) dressed, and on the corner ready to push off... Until... Goldy realizes he's missing some screws (on his cleat, not in his head)... more delays as he fixes the cleat. Adult Supervision is literally sitting on her bike.
7:46 - The Coffee Mug makes a come back, as Goldy sits down to fix the cleat (hm, and Adult Supervision thought they'd made progress, guess not)

Apparently the group finally pushes off... I'm not sure what time, but I do get a text from Adult supervision:
11:34 - Third stop of the day as Goldy hits the Mini Market
1pm- I'm starting to wonder if they will ever make it home...

...and that's how Goldilocks gained his other nickname (Lost in Transition)

Have you seen this man?

Ya! We haven't either - at least not on the bike or in the pool lately...

If you happen to find him at a wine bar, will you send him our way?

Thanks,
Adult Supervision & 2010 Shannon

Here's to you, Mr Thigh High Tanlines Guy...

Training for Ironman does amazing things to your body! It gives you a strong, healthy body that most would envy (if you actually trained)...

But let me share with you the fun body issues you deal with when training for an Ironman... in the summer!

Try looking "hot" with the "I'm always wearing a watch Tan line"

Or, the "Why of course, I always wear thigh high stockings" Tan line:
Or the "I'm not quite sure how those got there" Tan lines:
The "I'll pick the red tan lines for 300, Alex" Tan lines:
The "I'm corn-fed" Tan lines:

It's fun! Particularly when you are in a bathing suit! Everyone thinks you have a white unitard on... at all times!

Alright onto this weekend: We (Adult Supervision and I) finished the longest bike ride for the training scheduled - 7 hours. Where was Goldilocks?

GLDY text: "Feel sick, not gonna be able to ride today" sent 5:15am Saturday.

So Adult Supervision met at my house to ride our last LONG, LONG, LONG ride without Goldy.

Did we believe Goldy was sick? No. See, it was Saturday morning, and we figured he had too much to drink the night before... like good friends, we rode the entire 7 hours thinking he was hung over and owed us lunch!

Sunday, (a healthy) Goldilocks and I finished a 12 miler in Huntington Beach. Now, this was quite a feat considering the US Surf Open was happening at the pier. Let me take a moment to say a word of wise to those out-of-towners...

Dear Out Of Towners -

Don't stop in the middle of the busy boardwalk, don't cross the boardwalk without looking first and please closely monitor your children under 10 while on the boardwalk. If you do not listen to my words of advice, then you deserved the sweaty bump given to you, while we ran by...

Love,

The Family

Obstacles

Ok, had a "few" obstacles for training this week:

• First I missed Monday's swim due to a work meeting.
• Tuesday, I had a run with a friend at lunch and almost threw up because...
• I think I'm getting sick
• Flew out Wednesday to Chicago for work
• Realized that I packed my swimsuit (yeah), but I forgot to pack my goggles and swim cap (boo)
• Because of this, I had to walk 10 blocks Wednesday night, in Chicago's (sticky) lovely streets to purchase, these goggles (that or nothing, guess I should have gone with nothing):
• Got a blister walking 10 blocks in Chicago's (sticky) lovely streets because I insisted on wearing my new (cute) espadrilles
• Ate yummy Italian food and drank some lovely Oregon wines (training) for dinner.
• Woke up Thursday... walked across the street to Lake Michigan and walked up to the first man in a wetsuit I found to ask about the swim route.

• Wetsuit Man said to me, "If you're a good swimmer (as he looked at my ginormous goggles), you can go out to the second buoy and back to get 1 mile in"
(I mean, my big sunglasses can't even compare to the goggles!)


• Picking up his hint, I explained I left my equipment at home...
• And because he's from Chicago and a triathlete, he sweetly went back to his bag and offered backup goggles to me to borrow

Quick side note: Let me tell you something about me.... I'm a germaphobe. My nieces and nephews call me "Auntie Biotics" because I do Ironmans but am fearful of hotel rooms.

• So it was surprising even to me, that I accepted his kind gesture.
• ... and I swam my mile! BAM! How you like them apples??

Proof: That's me!


Thanks Chi-Town for lovely weather, fabulous food (!), an amazing lake to swim in and super friendly people whom I wanted to hang out with all day but couldn't... I was there for work after all!

Goldilocks Update: He continues to carry around his Total Immersion book... However, today he actually headed over to the pool at lunch to swim! Or at least, he attempted to head to the pool... Due to a traffic collision (see enclosed traffic log - sent to Adult Supervision and I from Goldilocks) on the 405 that took up 20 minutes, he couldn't afford getting into the pool to swim for 45 minutes on his hour lunch break. We gave him points on the attempt...

(...and laughed that he went through the trouble of tracking down the traffic report, sending it to us so that we would know a legitimate reason "why" he didn't get in the pool... again!)

I don't know why I'm making fun of him, I basically wrote a whole blog entry on goggles...

Recovery Week going strong through the weekend:

Saturday we did an easy 3 hours on the bike. That meant we only had to do one (yes, only one) loop through The Canyon. No one particularly felt motivated on this ride, but all of us were thrilled to only have to be on the bike for 3 hours.
(Yes, that last statement is the kind of statement an Ironman athlete "in the thick of it" would say!)

After the short three hour ride, we had a 20 minute run. After gearing up, all three of us walked... Yes, that's right... we walked our run.

It was kind of harmless at first. All three of us walking down Goldilock's residential street. Looking like we were facing the last fight in some showdown to save the city. At some point you'd think someone would push off and motivate the group to run... but no one stepped up. And no one was going to complain either. The fact is, the walk just felt too good.

Midway through 2010 Shannon's conscious got the best of 2009 Shannon. And I spoke up, "You know, I'm not going to complain but should we be running now? I'm perfectly happy walking, but I felt I should ask..." To everyone's surprise, Adult Supervision said this was good enough for her. We all knew Goldilocks wouldn't complain. Even with the debut of his new running visor. Let's just refer to it as a walking visor instead.

Perhaps, it made us feel better. Perhaps we wanted to "log" 2 miles. Or perhaps we just didn't know what else to do with our extra time having only did 3 hours on the bike... but we didn't walk for 20 minutes. We... geared up and looking the part of runners (i.e. with water and electrolytes, water belts and running/walking visors)... we walked the 2 miles it would have taken us to run for 20 minutes.

Sunday, Adult Supervision finished up her longest LONG run with 3 hours in Huntington. I hear through the grapevine she survived.

Goldilocks and I were scheduled to run 8 miles. However I text'd him at 7am to postpone so I could sleep in (I still refuse to admit I was a little hung over from the night before). Run time moved to 4pm... Ok fine! We didn't end up running. Instead we went to the 3pm showing of Inception.

So, net, net: This week was a wash. Next week we have our last LONG, LONG, LONG ride (7 hours). And Inception was a good movie. Kinda long and confusing at some parts, but overall a good thriller!

1 step forward, 2 steps back

Oh yeah! Last week, I thought... wow! The Family is totally looking like "serious, hardcore triathletes!" (or at least Adult Supervision and I were).

And then, this week happened:
2009 Shannon showed up (for the whole week). I actually have wine in my hands as I type this. Plus, I saw Jaws on Thursday... that means I won't get in the open water for a good, hm.... 2 weeks. Its recovery week... a.k.a. don't do any workouts, but eat like you already raced and drink as if you are celebrating.

Goldilocks... (I heard) has bought a copy of Total Immersion... so I guess reading the book = swimming. But to his defense, he did a lot of calling around to see if Adult Supervision or I had the book, looked it up online and ordered it. That in and of itself, equals at least 1 swim workout.

We all know Adult Supervision does more than any of us... but suspiciously she hasn't said much other to tell me (disappointed) that "other girls were at Club Noon this week!" Ah! I can't believe they are moving in on her territory!

The little countdown on Ironman Canada's website, says we have 36 days til the race. How did that sneak up so quickly??

Roadblocks and Bulldogs

Friday 2010 Shannon swam the buoy line with a friend from work. It was my first time in the ocean (in a bathing suit for that matter) since 2009.

For the record, I’m still haunted by images of Jaws in the water. I almost always have a “negative” split on my swim time heading back to shore. Damn you Steven Spielberg!

Adult Supervision opted for a day off Friday. Good for her! And I heard through the grapevine that Goldilocks declared he would be training for the race… not sure if that means more 1 mile repeats with Ritalin Dog or if he actually intends to do more than the weekend work. Honestly, it doesn't matter. He'll still beat both Adult Supervision and I by about an hour. Anyway, more to come on if he actually does train…

Ok, onto Saturday… so you know those days where you keep hitting a road block, but you are damn determined to not let that sideline you?? That was Saturday. Here's how it played out with The Family:

• The Family agreed to start at 6:30am. We had 6 hours to ride and it was supposed to be 'record breaking hot' Saturday. So, after searching for some (never found) sunglasses we managed to officially hit the road at 7:00...


• I take that back, after 3 miles on the ride, we had a major blow out on the bike and had to replace a tire (not just the tube)… so, back to basecamp we went, replaced the tire and we officially hit the road… at 7:45.


• 9:30ish: The Wives actually stopped talking to Goldilocks when “his” route took The Family up a huge hill in Orange/Anaheim.


• 10:30ish: The silent treatment continued as we powered away on the hated River Trail.


• 11ish: Down to Huntington Beach and onto the Mountain to Sea trail where Goldilocks tried to tell us “we are almost there” (there meaning where?? Adult Supervision and I knew we were only halfway thru)


• Noonish: Quick picnic for 2010 Shannon and shopping trip for Goldilocks at the Orchard Hills mini mart


• 1:00ish: Finally on our way back into Lake Forest/RSM area, and Goldilocks starts to feel the effects of the sun and heat.


• About the same time, 2010 Shannon believes we are short on our 6 hours and convinces Adult Supervision we need to head out again to pick up more time. No one wants to tell Goldilocks.


• 1:30ish: The Wives part ways with Goldilocks to pick up "this extra time we need", but 5 minutes in realize we aren’t that bad off for time as originally suspected, so off we go to find Goldy…


• 2:00ish: We found him. He was cooling down outside of Rock n’ Road Cyclery, and looked like a withered flower. The group… exhausted, hot and, now, not talking to each other… decide to finish this ride off once and for all.


• 2:45ish: Pulling up to basecamp it’s determined an hour run on the hot path is needed. Why? Why not? It's 95+ degrees and we should. Goldilocks is out due to the heat… like good wives we send him off to a cold shower


• That leaves Adult Supervision and I to run…


• 3:00ish: We are 30 minutes in, we look and feel… as good as you can look and feel in 95+ weather after a 6 hour ride.


• 3:45ish: 45 minutes in 2010 Shannon walks. Wishing for someone to pop out of the bushes and spray me down with a hose. Just because.


• 4:00ish Just before the hour, Adult Supervision walks. Wishing the same thing!


• 4:30ish… Pull up to The Tap House for a well deserved beer and sandwiches… A happy family once again. And as it should be... Goldilocks, can’t get a moment’s silence with The Wives.
  

Sunday, Goldilocks and I run our last long, LONG run in Huntington Beach: 18 miles. Adult Supervision thought we were crazy… we are, but I say, “hallelujah!” It was about 20 degrees cooler, we had cloud cover the whole time and it’s DONE!

We celebrated, as you knew we would: Bulldogs all around from Sol!

How I spend my Friday nights

Lots of planning goes into a long ride. And if you don’t plan you risk leaving behind something you need…. Like a purse. I did that not too long ago as I scrambled to get my things together one Saturday morning before our long ride. At which point Goldilocks renamed me, “Deadbeat Wife”.

Planning consists of:

• Emails/Text messages between the group to get everyone on the same page in terms of time to start (both meet time and actual push off time – push off time is approx 30min – 1 hour after meet time). No I’m serious. Negotiations on this can go on for a few days...
• Emails/Text messages to get on the same page in terms of route we plan to take (for the record I hate the River Trail… Goldilocks swears by it) Again, negotiations take a few days... often times with a passive aggressive approach by not responding to someone's suggestion
• Research on the weather - our group is pretty bad on this one and usually show up under/over dressed
• Wardrobe approval - Adult Supervision and I love this one!
• Organizing/Packing all the items needed for the ride, run and post workout
• Calculating calories
• Calling Adult Supervision to confirm I’ve got the right number of calories
• Doing a quick drop by at Rock n Road cyclery to buy more calories cuz I don't have enough (per Adult Supervision)
• Filling bottles, filling baggies with white stuff (our calories in transport) and pulling Gu/Cliffshots/Hammer Gels/Fig Newtons/Salt Tablets/Advil
• “Carbo” loading the night before - 2 glasses of wine
• Hydrating the night before -4 glasses of water to offset the wine
• And, ah! Finally relaxing after you have the bike, helmet, pump, shoes and running gear prepacked in the car so you can sleep in 20 more minutes...

So, because that's a lot to expect a single gal to do on a Friday night, I made a list which is on my fridge. Sadly, I have to check EVERY time I pack for our long rides:

Yup, purse is now on the list...

(And yes, it's true, my bike is on the list… you can never be too prepared)

News Alert!

I got in the pool today!

And, there was a cute, tattooed (nice also!) guy who shared my lane. I think I'm gonna like 7pm swim practice!

Adult Supervision is also enjoying her Club Noon practice... especially when she's the only girl there. She just is upset that "if you catch it and you keep it" doesn't seem to apply in the pool.

I agree it's a bummer! And kind of embarrassing when you do it... but now, we know.

It's official, we're delusional!

As if you're surprised... no one really deserved a gold star this week.

Monday, Adult Supervision and I headed over to Club Noon with Nova. It was my first time back in the pool with them since 2007 and a couple things I learned here:

1. They still have cute boys in the fast lane.
2. I can survive an hour swim!
3. Adult Supervision's suit IS super cute!
4. It's still really uncomfortable talking with people while showering in the locker room after practice. I'd prefer to do that after we have clothes on, thanks.

But most importantly, I realized I need to suck it up and reactivate my membership with NOVA, cuz I won't get this type of workout on my own. And so now, I'm a member of the NOVA club... again.

Onto the rest of the week, and I think you'll agree, but The Family has officially lost it.

• 2010 Shannon: 1 swim + 1 bike + 1 run every week = a belief I'll be running right along side Lisa Bentley at the finish
• Adult Supervision is trying to convince me that her nights watching the Tour de France actually count as rides
• Goldilocks is counting his 1 mile run with Ritalin Dog as a workout
• Adult Supervision actually started a sentence with, "well, I just did an Ironman"... back at Lake Placid... in 2006
• It really comes as no surprise when Goldilocks loses his gear. They are always put in weird place (i.e. Garmen in the hamper, goggles in his center divider, water bottle on the side of the house) but he has no problem blaming either 2010 Shannon of taking it or Ritalin Dog of eating it
• We have caught ourselves standing on the corner, dressed for the long bike ride, with coffee in our hands, just gabbing away... realizing there's no one we're waiting on.
• It always takes two people in The Family to help one member figure out the nutrition math for the day.
• When Goldilocks gets pregnant, he won't drink.
• We started talking about doing Vineman Half next year. Again, because we can wine taste afterwards...

Onto some good news: We rode almost 5 1/2 hours + 50 min run Saturday. Sunday, we turned around and did a 16 mile run in Huntington Beach!

7 weeks to go... at least 14 swim practices, 14 bike rides, 28 runs. Surely we can do that??! Can't we??

Fear

Goldilocks says he trained more for Ironman Arizona because he was scared of what he got himself into. He says this time, he's just not scared anymore...

I sure wish I had that confidence... with our lack of training... and less than 2 months to go...

This is how I feel:

The thick of it

Big weekend with some big workouts. We are just beginning our climb in miles to the first of two really big peaks in training.


In other words, we are in the thick of it . Or we should be.


The thick of it is that phase when you're extremely fit and trim, but also VERY tired and fried! That moment in the schedule where you still have work to do but you're so sick of swimming, biking, running, that your head's about to explode. Riding a fine line to burn out mode. But the only option you have is to continue to grind away at the schedule.

The good news about our Family's (lack of a) training plan is even when in the thick of it, we don't have the burn out mode! In fact, I think those reading this should thank us for finding a way to be in the thick of it while still avoiding burn out mode! Train late, train little and recovery often. That's it. Burn out solved! You're welcome!


Onto the weekend report:
So, Friday, 2010 Shannon had planned to do an hour swim. Originally it was to do the buoy lines in CDM. Then it turned into swim at the club. But by the end of the day, I didn't swim but met up with Goldilocks at a fabulous Shabu place near my house! I hadn't known about the restaurant in the area so again, I felt it was progress for the week...

Saturday was the big day. The Family had to get a 4 1/2 hour bike and 40 min run in. To be honest, we all slapped ourselves on the backs for a job well done. We did 2 loops (1 full loop and one out and back to Jamboree) through The Canyon. We had the hills, the wind and some completely Clueless biker who wouldn't let us pass on his left... all those obstacles and yet we still had plenty of energy for a 40 min run.

Saturday was a HUGE feat for me, personally. I finally nailed my nutrition! Here's my run down:

• Breakfast- 150 calories of oatmeal + coffee
• 3 bottles - approx 400 calories (3 scoops of CarboPro and 1 Motortab)/bottle
• 1/2 package - cliff shot blocks 100 calories

I needed to hit: 300 x 4 1/2 hours = 1350 and I managed to get: 1300

Sunday the group bypassed the 4th of July 5ks and hit the trail for a 14 mile run. Adult Supervision did hers in Huntington Beach. Goldilocks and I did ours at the Backbay.


Goldilock's and 2010 Shannon decided to try a new Recovery Drink at 333:

Adult Supervision stuck with her tried and true drink, but she admitted it was kind of boring.

Here's one final thought to end the weekend...

As I mentioned, on Saturday we encountered a "Clueless" biker who wouldn't let us pass him on the left. Hm, technically that's not true... He wasn't clueless. This man was perfectly happy riding along at his average clip... until Adult Supervision and I came up on his wheel ready to pass. Clueless decided he didn't want two girls to pass him. So he proceeded to ride in the far left hand side of the bike lane (those who don't know this it's not only proper etiquette but also safe for faster riders to pass on the left), refusing to let us pass and unsuccessfully trying to pick up his pace. After a few minutes, and because (we think) he wore himself out we passed him... on the right. Goldilocks just sat back and laughed as the whole thing played out.

Here's my point: People, this is an individual sport. Everyone has their own fitness and it varies depending on your goal. We aren't out to beat you. We are out to beat ourselves. Do not take it personally if we happen to pass you one morning because, as I've said in numerous other posts, there are hundreds of times when we are also getting passed... and sometimes that's by people who wear clip in sandals with socks.

So, stop letting your pride get the best of you and let a girl/someone older/a person with a double-wide stroller/etc pass you. Pull to the right, say a quick good morning and wish them a safe ride/run. We've got too many other obstacles to deal with on the open road, we don't need to fight each other too.

... and I'm off my soap box.