Er...do sweat. But try not to worry about little things. So you're about to run your first marathon. I'm sure you're nervous about it, but I'm here to tell you that your hard work and training will pay off! Runners' goals for their first marathon can vary hugely. For many, simply finishing is the ultimate goal of the day. Some runners, though, might want to finish in under 5 (that was my first time goal), 4:30, 4:00, maybe even 3:00 or 3:30 depending on how competitive the runner. Ultimately, you need to decide what sort of mentality is going to best propel you to that goal. If you have one, great. If you don't and the thought of it overwhelms you, don't worry about it. It's not the world's last marathon! There will be plenty of marathons in the future where you can add a time goal to your running objectives.
A goal time is only one thing a runner might worry about, and I recognize that. Below, I'll list some common worries and issues that you might encounter at various points on or during your big day.
1. I only trained up to 18 or 20 miles. What if I can't run farther during the race?
This is probably the most common worry I've heard from people who are running their first marathon. I worried about it, too. It's scary to think that on race day you'll be running a full 6.2 miles farther than you ever did in training. Let me tell you, though, once you're at that 20 mile marker, you will not stop. Not that you won't want to. I remember around mile 18 of my first marathon thinking "this was the worst idea I've ever had and I'm never doing it again," and you see how that's turned out for me.
Before the 2009 New York City Marathon I was speaking to a woman who ran Boston that year. She said around mile 20 she encountered intense pain in one of her feet and had to walk the last six miles, but you can bet she finished. As it turns out, she had developed a stress fracture in her foot. In no way am I condoning or encouraging risking serious injury in order to finish a race. My point here is that the human will is a powerful thing. Don't underestimate yours.
2. I've heard a lot about "the wall" and I'm worried about hitting it.
I'm not going to lie to you, you probably will. And it probably has something to do with what we discussed in point 1. Remember, you only trained up to a certain number of miles in preparation. Your body won't be used to running further even though it can. You might hit that wall and think about silly things like quitting, but don't panic and give in! Push through that wall and make it to the finish line.
3. What if I sleep through my race?!
Okay, this one is probably specific to a very small number of people (like me). I never get a good night's sleep before a big race because I'm always worried about this and end up waking up every hour or two until I have to wake up and get ready. My advice here is pretty simple. Set a bunch of alarms. Ask a nice friend (who won't mind waking up at whatever ungodly hour you need them to) to give you a wake-up call or have your significant other set their alarms, too.
Alright, that concludes Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2, when I'll discuss more specific concerns like your pre-race meal, staying hydrated and dun dun dun...the dreaded chafing. Are there additional topics I haven't addressed that are keeping you up? Let me know!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
It's Friday!
Thank goodness it's Friday. This week has been good on the training front. I'm just getting back into the swing of things after the 60K. Jared and I have worked out a training schedule for the Empire State Building Run Up/Febapple 50 Mile. We're trying to do 5 days per week: 1 long run (18-20 miles), 1 medium run (5-7 miles), 1 day of speedwork and 2 days of stairwork with strength on 2 of those days. We both agreed that it's an ambitious plan but decided to give it a try. We'll rework if it proves to be too much.
We started on Wednesday morning with strength and 86 flights of stairs on the stairclimber. In case you haven't guessed, that's how many flights are in the Empire State Building. It took approximately 16 minutes on the stairclimber. Thursday was more strength and sprints. Jared concocts all our workouts because he's the workout guru. We did negative pull-ups and something called "Fight gone bad" which is supposed to simulate how one might feel after an MMA fight. Minus the bruises and injuries, of course. Supposedly the negative pull-ups will help me achieve my lifetime goal: doing one pull-up. That's what Jared claims. Only time will tell if his theory is correct. Friday we did a 5 mile run in the morning.
The stairclimber exercise provided us with an interesting (if inaccurate) baseline for the ESBRU. It really can't be considered accurate because the stairclimber has two rails. I leaned on them quite a bit, and this provided more upper body support than I can hope to have during the actual race. In the actual race we'll be lucky to have access to one rail and I certainly wouldn't be able to brace myself on it when the going would get tough. I've heard the start of the race can get messy as it's not broken up into corrals like most NYRR races. It's just one big clump of people trying to run and claw and scratch their way to the top first.
If tri swims are any indication, I'm a terrible clawer and scratcher and will probably be getting more of that than I'll be giving. I'll take it, though. The idea of racing up the Empire State Building is really exciting!
Well that's all for today. Stay tuned tomorrow (which is really later today) when I'll cover some first-time marathon tips.
We started on Wednesday morning with strength and 86 flights of stairs on the stairclimber. In case you haven't guessed, that's how many flights are in the Empire State Building. It took approximately 16 minutes on the stairclimber. Thursday was more strength and sprints. Jared concocts all our workouts because he's the workout guru. We did negative pull-ups and something called "Fight gone bad" which is supposed to simulate how one might feel after an MMA fight. Minus the bruises and injuries, of course. Supposedly the negative pull-ups will help me achieve my lifetime goal: doing one pull-up. That's what Jared claims. Only time will tell if his theory is correct. Friday we did a 5 mile run in the morning.
The stairclimber exercise provided us with an interesting (if inaccurate) baseline for the ESBRU. It really can't be considered accurate because the stairclimber has two rails. I leaned on them quite a bit, and this provided more upper body support than I can hope to have during the actual race. In the actual race we'll be lucky to have access to one rail and I certainly wouldn't be able to brace myself on it when the going would get tough. I've heard the start of the race can get messy as it's not broken up into corrals like most NYRR races. It's just one big clump of people trying to run and claw and scratch their way to the top first.
If tri swims are any indication, I'm a terrible clawer and scratcher and will probably be getting more of that than I'll be giving. I'll take it, though. The idea of racing up the Empire State Building is really exciting!
Well that's all for today. Stay tuned tomorrow (which is really later today) when I'll cover some first-time marathon tips.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Back and Cheaper Than Ever
Heeeey! It's me! Again! I'm so bad at doing this on a regular basis. I'm considering going public with it just because it might motivate me to be more diligent about posting [Please see disclaimer below]. So many things have happened since I last wrote. I joined Team Lipstick and found out that I have a whole hell of a lot of work to do on all aspects of tri, but most of all on the bike. So I took a beginner cycling class taught by Sara Ellison, one of Lipstick's coaches. It was a really great class. I wish I hadn't been so busy in the fall because I ended up missing a good number of classes. While I felt like I gained a good grasp of the basics like clipping in and out, stopping properly, bike maintenance, etc., I didn't feel that I got any faster.
This is where I reveal that the title of this post is sort of a lie. I am still cheap but slightly less so because I actually have invested some money in cycling. And I haven't even purchased a new bike (although it's something I'm pretty serious about doing before next season)!
But back on topic. I completed the NYRR Sprint Triathlon, began training with Team Lipstick, did the DiamondGirl sprint triathlon at Lake Sebago with the team, and did the Mayflower Sprint Triathlon over Labor Day weekend solo. That was a really nice race. Very scenic, although the water was pretty cold.
As far as running goes, I did the Bronx half-marathon, Staten Island half-marathon, Greta's Great Gallop (half-marathon), the Marathon Tune Up, Fifth Avenue Mile (7:17!), the New York City Marathon, and the Knickerbocker 60K. I'm determined to really start my ultramarathon career this spring. Jared and I applied to enter the Empire State Building Run Up but it's difficult to get into. If we don't get in, we'll probably do a 50 mile race called the Febapple 50 Mile in New Jersey. If I'm ever going to do Badwater, and I hope to in the next five years, I need to start getting 100 milers under my belt (you have to run three of them to be considered). I figured I should ease my way into that by starting with 50 milers and then maybe 100k races. This is going to require some really intense training, though. Jared and I have worked out a preliminary plan. I'd explain, but this post has gone on for quite some time and is very scattered. If I ever get good about posting regularly I'll try to address some of these topics individually. The New York City marathon deserves its own post for sure!
If and when this goes public, you need to know something about this blog. You may have read other blogs about other crazy people who are also addicted to doing races like me. Take this guy, for instance. That man is a champ. Browse his blog for a bit and you'll likely discover a listing of his personal bests. Notice that he's run a 5:09 mile and a 2:53 marathon. His blog is filled with tips and good advice on being a competitive runner.
Before you turn to my blog for the same sort of thing, understand this: I am a goofball and might be considered just slightly more skilled than a novice runner for the simple reason that I have put in lots of time and miles. I'll be lucky to win an age group award sometime in my life. And believe you me, it will be at a tiny, tiny race somewhere remote where there is an unusually small population of runners. This blog is 10% speculation, 60% entertainment, 25% information, 5% crazy talk and all the inspiration I can squeeze in. Someone check my math, it's getting late.
This is where I reveal that the title of this post is sort of a lie. I am still cheap but slightly less so because I actually have invested some money in cycling. And I haven't even purchased a new bike (although it's something I'm pretty serious about doing before next season)!
But back on topic. I completed the NYRR Sprint Triathlon, began training with Team Lipstick, did the DiamondGirl sprint triathlon at Lake Sebago with the team, and did the Mayflower Sprint Triathlon over Labor Day weekend solo. That was a really nice race. Very scenic, although the water was pretty cold.
As far as running goes, I did the Bronx half-marathon, Staten Island half-marathon, Greta's Great Gallop (half-marathon), the Marathon Tune Up, Fifth Avenue Mile (7:17!), the New York City Marathon, and the Knickerbocker 60K. I'm determined to really start my ultramarathon career this spring. Jared and I applied to enter the Empire State Building Run Up but it's difficult to get into. If we don't get in, we'll probably do a 50 mile race called the Febapple 50 Mile in New Jersey. If I'm ever going to do Badwater, and I hope to in the next five years, I need to start getting 100 milers under my belt (you have to run three of them to be considered). I figured I should ease my way into that by starting with 50 milers and then maybe 100k races. This is going to require some really intense training, though. Jared and I have worked out a preliminary plan. I'd explain, but this post has gone on for quite some time and is very scattered. If I ever get good about posting regularly I'll try to address some of these topics individually. The New York City marathon deserves its own post for sure!
If and when this goes public, you need to know something about this blog. You may have read other blogs about other crazy people who are also addicted to doing races like me. Take this guy, for instance. That man is a champ. Browse his blog for a bit and you'll likely discover a listing of his personal bests. Notice that he's run a 5:09 mile and a 2:53 marathon. His blog is filled with tips and good advice on being a competitive runner.
Before you turn to my blog for the same sort of thing, understand this: I am a goofball and might be considered just slightly more skilled than a novice runner for the simple reason that I have put in lots of time and miles. I'll be lucky to win an age group award sometime in my life. And believe you me, it will be at a tiny, tiny race somewhere remote where there is an unusually small population of runners. This blog is 10% speculation, 60% entertainment, 25% information, 5% crazy talk and all the inspiration I can squeeze in. Someone check my math, it's getting late.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
New Inspiration - Part IV
Alright, I promise this is the last installation in this series. Who knew it would take so long to talk about this. When we left off, our heroine was just exiting the T1 transition area and setting off on her 56 mile bike trek!
What? It sounds a lot more dramatic than how it actually happened, which is this: I got out of the water and almost fell back in because my legs felt like jelly. I finally regained my balance, however, and booked it for the sandy shore and transition gate. Once I made it to my spot I yanked on my shoes. Pretty sure I even skipped the socks part of this exercise (as if the extra 10 seconds really mattered). I dried off, put my GUs and water bottle in my butt pockets, made sure my stuff was in the bag and strung up on my rack, and headed out. Jeremy filmed me running out, which was half exciting and half embarrassing as I had a massive wedgie.
I mounted my bike and settled into the ride with the full knowledge that there was probably a maximum of twelve people behind me in the entire race. I was a little embarrassed by this, but not too much. I had to focus on the cutoff at that point. So I rode and rode, and watched as I was slowly passed by each of the riders behind me. For the first two hours I just chugged along and, while the cutoff was at the back of my mind, it wasn't a pressing concern. I figured the four and a half hours I had would be plenty. It wasn't until about 2.5 hours in that I started doing mental calculations of my current pace and the distance I still had to cover. I just kept telling myself to push harder and make the cutoff even though a sinking feeling had begun to creep over me.
I won't go into some of the sad details of the rest of the race, though I will admit that I'm not above grunting and screaming my way up a massive hill. Let's just say it wasn't my finest hour (or five). Finally, I was pulled from the course at mile 47.
As much as I hated not finishing, it was a huge lesson in failure for me. Normally when I fail at something, I become intimidated by that activity. Not this time. I couldn't stop thinking about all the things I needed to do to get better and finish. And while my first instinct was to sign up for the next 70.3 race I could find, another part of me said to wait until next year so that I could not just be ready, but do well. I'm still struggling with this dilemma.
So the point is, I failed. But I can't wait to jump right back in (and on).
That sounds like a really good blog post ending, but I still have things to say so I guess it will be wasted. Once again, it's really early in the morning. But I decided that I really need to develop a structured training plan that incorporates swimming, biking, running and weight lifting. It's no longer enough to just do whatever, whenever. Triathlon is too demanding for it and if I don't have a schedule to stick to, I'm much more likely to either blow off a workout or water it down. There are a few ways to do this. One is to do lots of research and develop one myself. It's not an altogether terrible option but, let's face it, I'm not exactly the most qualified person to be doing that sort of thing. Another option is to join a triathlon team. I found an all-women's one called Team Lipstick. I'm looking into joining because their training program seems really comprehensive and I'm intrigued by the all-female aspect. Although it would preclude me from meeting guys, it would also provide a more appropriate level of support than a typical team, most likely. Regardless, I think it's worth a shot.
In other news, I'm starting to look at upgrading (or purchasing for the first time) my gear. My bike is a piece of crap, but I don't currently have the resources to invest in good bike, which would cost at least $1200. I need to talk to someone at a bike or tri shop about adding aerobars and clip-on pedals. At some point, I'd also like to get a wetsuit and bike computer. Triathlon is an expensive sport.
On the running front, training for the marathon is in full swing. The Queens Half Marathon was last weekend and it went really poorly due to a combination of circumstances, not least of which was that I just wasn't prepared. But I plan on getting better and more disciplined. Just have to work out some of these kinks. This weekend is the NYRR Sprint Triathlon. It should be interesting to see how I do. Last year was terrible, and while I don't expect to place at all, I do hope to perform markedly better.
Well I'd better quit. This is getting long and I have logistics to work out!
What? It sounds a lot more dramatic than how it actually happened, which is this: I got out of the water and almost fell back in because my legs felt like jelly. I finally regained my balance, however, and booked it for the sandy shore and transition gate. Once I made it to my spot I yanked on my shoes. Pretty sure I even skipped the socks part of this exercise (as if the extra 10 seconds really mattered). I dried off, put my GUs and water bottle in my butt pockets, made sure my stuff was in the bag and strung up on my rack, and headed out. Jeremy filmed me running out, which was half exciting and half embarrassing as I had a massive wedgie.
I mounted my bike and settled into the ride with the full knowledge that there was probably a maximum of twelve people behind me in the entire race. I was a little embarrassed by this, but not too much. I had to focus on the cutoff at that point. So I rode and rode, and watched as I was slowly passed by each of the riders behind me. For the first two hours I just chugged along and, while the cutoff was at the back of my mind, it wasn't a pressing concern. I figured the four and a half hours I had would be plenty. It wasn't until about 2.5 hours in that I started doing mental calculations of my current pace and the distance I still had to cover. I just kept telling myself to push harder and make the cutoff even though a sinking feeling had begun to creep over me.
I won't go into some of the sad details of the rest of the race, though I will admit that I'm not above grunting and screaming my way up a massive hill. Let's just say it wasn't my finest hour (or five). Finally, I was pulled from the course at mile 47.
As much as I hated not finishing, it was a huge lesson in failure for me. Normally when I fail at something, I become intimidated by that activity. Not this time. I couldn't stop thinking about all the things I needed to do to get better and finish. And while my first instinct was to sign up for the next 70.3 race I could find, another part of me said to wait until next year so that I could not just be ready, but do well. I'm still struggling with this dilemma.
So the point is, I failed. But I can't wait to jump right back in (and on).
That sounds like a really good blog post ending, but I still have things to say so I guess it will be wasted. Once again, it's really early in the morning. But I decided that I really need to develop a structured training plan that incorporates swimming, biking, running and weight lifting. It's no longer enough to just do whatever, whenever. Triathlon is too demanding for it and if I don't have a schedule to stick to, I'm much more likely to either blow off a workout or water it down. There are a few ways to do this. One is to do lots of research and develop one myself. It's not an altogether terrible option but, let's face it, I'm not exactly the most qualified person to be doing that sort of thing. Another option is to join a triathlon team. I found an all-women's one called Team Lipstick. I'm looking into joining because their training program seems really comprehensive and I'm intrigued by the all-female aspect. Although it would preclude me from meeting guys, it would also provide a more appropriate level of support than a typical team, most likely. Regardless, I think it's worth a shot.
In other news, I'm starting to look at upgrading (or purchasing for the first time) my gear. My bike is a piece of crap, but I don't currently have the resources to invest in good bike, which would cost at least $1200. I need to talk to someone at a bike or tri shop about adding aerobars and clip-on pedals. At some point, I'd also like to get a wetsuit and bike computer. Triathlon is an expensive sport.
On the running front, training for the marathon is in full swing. The Queens Half Marathon was last weekend and it went really poorly due to a combination of circumstances, not least of which was that I just wasn't prepared. But I plan on getting better and more disciplined. Just have to work out some of these kinks. This weekend is the NYRR Sprint Triathlon. It should be interesting to see how I do. Last year was terrible, and while I don't expect to place at all, I do hope to perform markedly better.
Well I'd better quit. This is getting long and I have logistics to work out!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
New Inspiration - Part III
Where did I leave off? Oh, yes, the swim. I wrote about finishing it but I didn't write about the swim itself. So, the gun went off for my wave and all of us ran out to meet the water. I fell behind right away, unfortunately. For a couple of minutes I was hanging with one girl, but it didn't last long. Another problem I didn't anticipate was the panic I felt almost as soon as I started swimming. And I really should have anticipated it since the same thing happened to me during the sprint triathlon last year. Both times I panicked and was unable to breathe underwater. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) this swim was long enough that, at some point, I just wanted it to be done faster and was finally able to settle down and breathe properly. Even once I sorted that out I had to deal with really inefficient swimming. I'm not good at keeping an eye out for which direction I'm swimming, so I would swim with my head down for a few strokes, look up, realize I was going too far right or left, overcorrect, and repeat the whole process on the other side. I'm sure this just resulted in a lot of unnecessary zig-zagging.
So the part where I had to swim with my head above water lasted for almost half the race, until the turnaround. In that time, people from the two waves behind me caught up and started passing me. It was demoralizing but not altogether unexpected. It also seemed endless. Every time I swam up to the next buoy hoping and praying that it was the last, there would be another one right behind it! And when I say "right behind," I in fact mean far, far away. But I did finally finish and head into the Transition 1 area. The transition went pretty well even though I was one of the last ones out. I forgot to put on my Garmin ForeRunner, but as it turns out this wasn't a big problem.
Oh my God I'm falling asleep again. Four parter? Meh, it's not like anyone is reading anyway. If any of my non-readers are following and offended, I'll try to avoid future four part posts. Night@
So the part where I had to swim with my head above water lasted for almost half the race, until the turnaround. In that time, people from the two waves behind me caught up and started passing me. It was demoralizing but not altogether unexpected. It also seemed endless. Every time I swam up to the next buoy hoping and praying that it was the last, there would be another one right behind it! And when I say "right behind," I in fact mean far, far away. But I did finally finish and head into the Transition 1 area. The transition went pretty well even though I was one of the last ones out. I forgot to put on my Garmin ForeRunner, but as it turns out this wasn't a big problem.
Oh my God I'm falling asleep again. Four parter? Meh, it's not like anyone is reading anyway. If any of my non-readers are following and offended, I'll try to avoid future four part posts. Night@
Monday, July 26, 2010
New Inspiration - Part II
It's late. I don't think I can make blog posts at normal times. I'm actually feeling sort of restless tonight. I feel like doing some writing but I never know where to start. But that is a topic for a different blog.
I think I left off with Jeremy and I getting dinner at the food court in Providence. I got spaghetti from Sbarro. It was meh, but spaghetti is a reliable pre-race food for me. After we finished, we headed over to the GNC to sort out my liquid breakfast situation. A store associate guided me right to the section that everyone else in the triathlon had been hitting all day. It was the section with the new Gatorade G Series line. I got a couple of the Step 1 products that had a few hundred calories each. Hefty, I know. But I figured it would be necessary. And I think it would have been had I made the bike cutoff and been able to finish. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I spent the evening preparing all my stuff for the morning and solidifying the plans with Jeremy. I then did what I do most evenings, watched a lot of tv. I probably should've been in bed by 10, but of course I was not. I was busy watching Harry Potter IV. I don't know that I would have been able to fall asleep at 10 but I should have at least tried. I ended up going to sleep at midnight (approximately 3 hours before I was supposed to get up).
Each of my five alarms went off unmercifully at the right time.
Man, I'm getting tired. But this story is taking so long! Now I'm going to have to switch to the condensed version and then maybe get back to it if I ever feel it's necessary. We got up at 3, left to catch the shuttle at 3:30, caught the shuttle at 3:45 and arrived at T1 a little before 5. Once there,I set up my transition area. It was a "clean transition" area, which meant that they didn't want anything on the floor and everything had to be hung up on the rack or bike. Almost everyone had a wetsuit and, although I'd ideally like to get one, the one I saw at the check in convention was priced at $400. No way am I paying that much money for that. I found one website that sells one for $99, but it's still something I'm going to have to think about.
Honestly, though, the water wasn't that cold. I was okay in just my tri suit. The race itself started at 6am with the professional men. My start came 45 minutes later. I knew I was way out of my league when one of the girls I was talking to said she intended to do the swim in 35 minutes. The one standing next to her mentioned that she was slow and would be doing it in 45. My anticipated time was 1 hour. No joke. But I calmed myself and kept thinking about how I'd practiced and timed the swim and thought I had definitely given myself enough of a cushion.
And I had, the swim did take me a little bit over an hour, but I was still one of the last ones out of the water and that just does not bode well for the rest of a race...alright I can't do this anymore as I'm too sleepy. Will have to make it a 3 parter. TTFN - ta ta for now.
I think I left off with Jeremy and I getting dinner at the food court in Providence. I got spaghetti from Sbarro. It was meh, but spaghetti is a reliable pre-race food for me. After we finished, we headed over to the GNC to sort out my liquid breakfast situation. A store associate guided me right to the section that everyone else in the triathlon had been hitting all day. It was the section with the new Gatorade G Series line. I got a couple of the Step 1 products that had a few hundred calories each. Hefty, I know. But I figured it would be necessary. And I think it would have been had I made the bike cutoff and been able to finish. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I spent the evening preparing all my stuff for the morning and solidifying the plans with Jeremy. I then did what I do most evenings, watched a lot of tv. I probably should've been in bed by 10, but of course I was not. I was busy watching Harry Potter IV. I don't know that I would have been able to fall asleep at 10 but I should have at least tried. I ended up going to sleep at midnight (approximately 3 hours before I was supposed to get up).
Each of my five alarms went off unmercifully at the right time.
Man, I'm getting tired. But this story is taking so long! Now I'm going to have to switch to the condensed version and then maybe get back to it if I ever feel it's necessary. We got up at 3, left to catch the shuttle at 3:30, caught the shuttle at 3:45 and arrived at T1 a little before 5. Once there,I set up my transition area. It was a "clean transition" area, which meant that they didn't want anything on the floor and everything had to be hung up on the rack or bike. Almost everyone had a wetsuit and, although I'd ideally like to get one, the one I saw at the check in convention was priced at $400. No way am I paying that much money for that. I found one website that sells one for $99, but it's still something I'm going to have to think about.
Honestly, though, the water wasn't that cold. I was okay in just my tri suit. The race itself started at 6am with the professional men. My start came 45 minutes later. I knew I was way out of my league when one of the girls I was talking to said she intended to do the swim in 35 minutes. The one standing next to her mentioned that she was slow and would be doing it in 45. My anticipated time was 1 hour. No joke. But I calmed myself and kept thinking about how I'd practiced and timed the swim and thought I had definitely given myself enough of a cushion.
And I had, the swim did take me a little bit over an hour, but I was still one of the last ones out of the water and that just does not bode well for the rest of a race...alright I can't do this anymore as I'm too sleepy. Will have to make it a 3 parter. TTFN - ta ta for now.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
New Inspiration!
I don't know if it's a good or bad thing that I view my spectacular failure at the Half Ironman as an inspiration. Probably a bad thing. And yes, the Half Ironman was a massive, massive failure. I thought I was ready but I absolutely was not. Not logistically and not athletically. So, I guess let's back up to that part.
Jeremy (who was nice enough to come with me) and I left the apartment around 6:30am that Saturday (7/10) to catch the bus to Providence at 7:30am. I was kind of worried about getting my bike on board just because their policy, while it did allow for bikes, also included a caveat about the bus driver being able to put you on the next bus if there wasn't enough room in the cargo area. We got to Port Authority about 30 minutes early, but it ended up being a good thing because I was able to get the bike on without a hitch. Well, sort of. I guess you could call the bus driver's griping a hitch but overall it didn't impede my progress.
We got to Providence around 11:30 and headed straight for the convention center. I checked in and got all my stuff just fine, but soon realized that I would need to check my bike in at the start. This wouldn't have been a problem if the start had been within walking distance of downtown Providence instead of a 45 minute drive away. Alas. As you might imagine, this worried me a little bit since no bike meant no race and a complete waste of time and money. So Jeremy and I started frantically thinking of what to do. After finally deciding that renting a car was going to be the best bet, we left the convention early (in order to get a leg up on anyone else who might be as incompetent at planning as I) and headed over to the Avis across the street.
30 minutes and $70 later (damn under-25 fee) we were on the road to Roger Wheeler State Park. Fortunately for us, the day was nice and the drive was scenic. We had a little trouble finding Point Judith, but finally managed to get to T1. We had 15 minutes to park and check in the bike so I quickly pumped my tires and rode back and forth a few times making sure the gears were in passable shape. I then took it into the transition area and hung it up by its seat at my spot (1041). I was a little self conscious because the entire transition are was full of tri and expensive road bikes (LOTS of Cervelos). I don't think I saw a single other bike that didn't have proper pedals. More than anything, it finally gave me some inkling of how serious most of the racers were about the sport and made me want to be competitive as well.
After my bike was secured we headed back to downtown Providence to check into the hotel and drop off the car, which we'd had for approximately 3 hours. I have only nice things to say about the Hampton Inn in Providence. The room was nice (though I think anything with air conditioning would've pleased me by that point in the heat wave we'd had all week). We also had 50 more channels there than at home. AND there were free cookies in the lobby. How much more could you ask for, really?
Once we were checked in and the car dropped off, we walked to Providence's one (albeit nice) mall to eat and find me a liquid breakfast for Sunday. I got this idea from a triathlon podcast I've been listening to (TriTopics, if anyone is interested). It seemed brilliant to me as I tend to have...digestive difficulties before races.
A quick look at the mall directory revealed that there was a GNC near the mall entrance and a food court on the third floor. Needless to say we headed for the food court first. I read in a beginner triathlete forum that it's best to finish your last large meal before a race about 12 hours before the start and by that point it was about 5pm. The choices at the food court were mostly not triathlon friendly but at least there were lots of options. I ended up going for the standard bowl of spaghetti and tomato sauce. It's a safe option.
This is getting really long so I'm going to break it up into two parts. TO BE CONTINUED...
Jeremy (who was nice enough to come with me) and I left the apartment around 6:30am that Saturday (7/10) to catch the bus to Providence at 7:30am. I was kind of worried about getting my bike on board just because their policy, while it did allow for bikes, also included a caveat about the bus driver being able to put you on the next bus if there wasn't enough room in the cargo area. We got to Port Authority about 30 minutes early, but it ended up being a good thing because I was able to get the bike on without a hitch. Well, sort of. I guess you could call the bus driver's griping a hitch but overall it didn't impede my progress.
We got to Providence around 11:30 and headed straight for the convention center. I checked in and got all my stuff just fine, but soon realized that I would need to check my bike in at the start. This wouldn't have been a problem if the start had been within walking distance of downtown Providence instead of a 45 minute drive away. Alas. As you might imagine, this worried me a little bit since no bike meant no race and a complete waste of time and money. So Jeremy and I started frantically thinking of what to do. After finally deciding that renting a car was going to be the best bet, we left the convention early (in order to get a leg up on anyone else who might be as incompetent at planning as I) and headed over to the Avis across the street.
30 minutes and $70 later (damn under-25 fee) we were on the road to Roger Wheeler State Park. Fortunately for us, the day was nice and the drive was scenic. We had a little trouble finding Point Judith, but finally managed to get to T1. We had 15 minutes to park and check in the bike so I quickly pumped my tires and rode back and forth a few times making sure the gears were in passable shape. I then took it into the transition area and hung it up by its seat at my spot (1041). I was a little self conscious because the entire transition are was full of tri and expensive road bikes (LOTS of Cervelos). I don't think I saw a single other bike that didn't have proper pedals. More than anything, it finally gave me some inkling of how serious most of the racers were about the sport and made me want to be competitive as well.
After my bike was secured we headed back to downtown Providence to check into the hotel and drop off the car, which we'd had for approximately 3 hours. I have only nice things to say about the Hampton Inn in Providence. The room was nice (though I think anything with air conditioning would've pleased me by that point in the heat wave we'd had all week). We also had 50 more channels there than at home. AND there were free cookies in the lobby. How much more could you ask for, really?
Once we were checked in and the car dropped off, we walked to Providence's one (albeit nice) mall to eat and find me a liquid breakfast for Sunday. I got this idea from a triathlon podcast I've been listening to (TriTopics, if anyone is interested). It seemed brilliant to me as I tend to have...digestive difficulties before races.
A quick look at the mall directory revealed that there was a GNC near the mall entrance and a food court on the third floor. Needless to say we headed for the food court first. I read in a beginner triathlete forum that it's best to finish your last large meal before a race about 12 hours before the start and by that point it was about 5pm. The choices at the food court were mostly not triathlon friendly but at least there were lots of options. I ended up going for the standard bowl of spaghetti and tomato sauce. It's a safe option.
This is getting really long so I'm going to break it up into two parts. TO BE CONTINUED...
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