My Review of TYR Poseidon Diamondback Swimsuit – Reversible, 1-Piece (For Women)

Austin Marathon – Run Live Sleep Repeat

I’ll be running my second marathon in Austin, TX this February.  Bill will be running his first half marathon.  I’m so excited to start training but won’t begin until October.  I’m building in a couple of extra weeks in my plan for wiggle room with holiday business and potential sickness.  I’ll probably end up using the Run Less, Run Faster plan again, but this time replace one of my cross-training days with an easy run.  And work in more hills into my training than I did last time.

KeyBank Vermont City Marathon Race Report

I’ve now finished my first marathon and it was everything I hoped for.  But I had many doubts leading up to the race.  A few weeks ago I hurt my foot and I’m still not sure when or how it happened.  So I had been cautious with my workouts during my last 3 weeks and icing in between.  Of course I also started feeling many phantom pains, but the foot pain was real.  I also noticed as the days went on, a pain at the front of my ankle developing, probably related to my foot.  But it wasn’t going to stop me from running my race.  No way.

I left Saturday morning with my family up to Burlington, VT (our first time there) for the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon.  We took a break at The Baker’s Store & Café to have some tasty treats and do a little shopping.  The air in the parking lot even smelled good, bread and cinnamon rolls.  I loved it.  I was overwhelmed by all the flour options and ended up settling on a 25 lb bag of white flour, new spatulas, really fun birthday cake candles, and Cinnamon Flav-R-Bites.  I’ll let you know if they’re any good or not.

We got into Burlington shortly after noon and went straight to the expo to pick up my race packet.  I was thrilled to discover my number was 111.  Ella quickly made up the chant “Run, run, run, 111.”  In addition to my bib #, I picked up my race tech T and race bag which had all sorts of goodies in it: maple syrup, Lake Champlain chocolate, a cookie, Clif Bloks, lip balm, udder cream, laundry detergent, most things I’ll probably use.  After picking up my stuff, we had lunch at Tiny Thai in Winooski where I had a big noodle bowl.  Next up was driving the course, or most of the parts that were drivable since large portions of the course are on bike trails.  It was a nice driving tour of Burlington.  What I remember most was that there sure seemed like there were an awfully lot of turns on the course, and Battery Hill didn’t appear to be as bad as the stories I had heard.  Half of the time I would mention to folks that I was running this race, they would ask if I new about the hills.  It started to freak me out a little.  I didn’t do hill training, but we do have some hills where I live that were often a part of my regular runs.

It was late enough in the day that we could finally check into the hotel.  I left my family in the room (for a little down time) while I made my way back to the expo.  I actually ended up not buying anything there even though I had a few things in mind that I wanted to pick up.  I guess I wasn’t in the buying mood.  They had a video loop of the course playing that I watched.  It was nice to see the parts of the course we couldn’t drive.  At 4:00 I got to meet several folks from Daily Mile: Brendan, Kristen, Ernesto, Chris, JB, Doug, Jen, and Sandra.  It was particularly nice to finally meet Chris who I’ve been interacting with online for well over a year now thanks to Daily Mile, Twitter, and Buckeye Outdoors.  Chris has been incredible with his motivation, inspiration, and kind words throughout my training.

When I got back to the hotel room with my family, my husband informed me that he had a friend in town staying at his parents. We went there and hung out awhile. We walked downtown; got caught in a rainstorm, and made a dash for the closest restaurant, Manhattan Pizza. It wasn’t spectacular food, but it was cheap, dry, and close. It fit the bill. A couple of slices and I was ready for bed. Back at the hotel we met up with my friend Johanna and her daughter at the pool. I relaxed and chatted with her while the kids were in the pool. It was getting close to 9:00, so everyone headed off for ice cream while I did some yoga, set out my stuff for the race, and went to bed before 10:00, falling asleep quickly.

I slept well and woke up before my alarm went off at 5:30.  I had my regular breakfast, flax cereal with two cups of chai and a banana.  I got dressed and considered one more time, fuel belt or no fuel belt.  I decided to leave it behind.  What I ended up wearing head to toe: Marathon & Beyond Headsweats cap, sunglasses (some day I’ll actually get subscription sunglasses I can wear running/biking so I can see), Moving Comfort Alexis bra (the girls never look better), Nuu Muu Exercise Dress, Garmin 405, Dual-Pocket SpiBelt, Gu Chomps, iPhone, Aveda Lip Saver, Under Armor 4″ Compression Shorts, lots of sunblock, my favorite socks, and Mizuno Wave Inspire 5 shoes.  I was ready to go, and waited outside for the shuttle to show up.  I talked to the cutest couple in their 60s who run a marathon together every month.  The crowd waiting for the shuttle was growing quickly, but still no shuttle.  Bill and the kids showed up and asked if I wanted a ride.  Perfect.  They dropped me off at the bottom of Battery Hill and I walked up to the race start.  It was cloudy and low 60s.  I couldn’t ask for better weather for a late May race.

I didn’t check my phone at all during the race, but there were a lot of encouraging text messages from Bill.  The first was a video from the kids, Yoda inspired.  They had recently watched Return of the Jedi.  ”Do or do not.  There is no try.”

Then Bill continued the theme often from there.  He was able to track where I was by locating my iPhone.  Technology!

• 8:00  ”We felt a tremor in the force.  As if a young Jedi named Dena will be kicking ass all across the galaxy.”
• 8:25  ”[Gold Two is slain by Darth Vader and his wingmen; Gold Leader starts to panic] Gold Leader: It’s no good, I can’t maneuver! Gold Fiver: Stay on target. Gold Leader: We’re too close! Gold Five: Stay on target!”
• 9:54  ”You’re going fast!  Missed you at point 3 but will see you at the hill.”  ”Also, I am your father.  Oh wait, that’s not right.  Go!”  ”Have fun going through the park!  We are about halfway up the hill by the Marriott on your right.”
• 10:28  ”Run run run One one one!”  ”You’re almost to the hill.  You can do it!”
• 11:39  ”6 more miles!  Whoo-hoo!
• 12:09  ”Just doing a 5K now.  No problem.”  ”We are just past the massage tent as you enter battery park.”

Around 7:15, I met Sandra and Chris at the flagpole in the park.  I’m primarily a solo runner.  But the plan was that we would start the race together since we were planning to run similar paces at the start.  I know they say nothing new on race day.  But running with them and getting to know them sounded like fun.  Even though I used the porta potty right when I got to the park, as the start time approached, I needed to use it again.  7:45 we really needed to get to the start, but I persuaded Sandra and Chris to make one more stop at the porta potties before the start.  But by that time, the lines were LONG.  Tick, tick, tick.  We were cutting it very close.  Sandra was actually still in a porta potty when the countdown for the beginning started.  It was a quick jog (we’ll call that our warmup) to the start, and we found our way into the crowd right around the 4:15 pacer, pretty much where we would have wanted to be anyway.  And now that I took care of business I could relax and just run.  I was so excited and happy to begin my first marathon.

Miles 1-4 (10:08, 9:52, 9:56, 9:41) The beginning of the race began in the heart of Burlington.  I knew I was running a little faster than I had planned (wanted to be closer to a 10:10 pace).  But it was tough to slow down.  The crowd was amazing.  I felt so good.  It was exciting seeing friends and family along the way.  This is where the crowds were the thickest.  I saw my family and friends twice in this section, at 1.4 miles and 2.1 miles.  They captured a photo and I’m still smiling at this point.  Chris looks pretty happy too.  He’s to my left, yellow hat, blue shirt.

Miles 5-8 (10:05, 10:01, 9:58, 10:07)  This portion was an out and back on 127, also know as “the frying pan”.  And if the sun had come out any more, it would have been much tougher to run.  It was almost nice to get away from the crowds for a bit so I could focus a little more.  I was able to slow my pace down which was a good thing.  For each mile of the race, Sandra had written on her arms a name of a family member or friend that was important to her.  During each mile she talked about each person.  I loved listening to her stories of these people and her relationship to each of them.  It made the time fly by.  I also really enjoyed talking to Chris and getting to know him better too.

Miles 9-14 (10:07, 9:56, 10:17, 10:12, 10:06, 9:58)  Back into crowds again as we passed Battery Park.  Around mile 9, Chris pulled ahead, and Sandra and I continued at a slightly slower pace.  I was expecting to see my family around the 10 mile mark, but my pace was a little faster than they had expected and missed me by a couple of minutes.  After mile 10 we headed to the south end of Burlington down to Oakledge Park where the halfway point and 2-person relay exchange was.  I was still feeling really good.  I was ready for the hill

Miles 15-16 (10:25, 10:31)  This was the “Assault on Battery Hill”, but really it wasn’t nearly as bad as it sounded.  It was probably one of my favorite parts of the race.  For starters there were the Taiko Drummers at the base of the hill which you could hear a good 1/2 mile before you could see them.

Then 2/3 of the way up the hill I saw my family and gave them salty kisses.  Thanks for taking the video Liam!

My pace slowed up the hill, but I still felt good and was still smiling.

Miles 17-20 (10:14, 10:21, 10:27, 10:38)  I think it was sometime during mile 17 that I said I wanted to keep the rest of the miles between 10:00-10:15, but shortly after that, my pace started to drop.  Around 17 miles we saw Chris and he looked like he was fading.  Shortly after we passed him I realized he was behind his goal pace and was hoping to see him surge ahead soon, but he never did.  Around 18 miles I started having some nausea.  I’m not exactly sure why.  I had been alternating drinking water and Gatorade at every water stop.  But I was definitely slowing down.

Miles 21-26.2 (10:18, 10:35, 10:32, 10:31, 10:40, 10:41, 10:03) Yes it’s true.  The first 20 miles is sort of like the warm up and then the real race begins.  And that is where I really started fading.  When we got to the last relay exchange point at 20.7, Sandra’s friend Nancy joined her to the finish.  I kept up a bit, but then fell back to my slower pace.  I stopped counting how many miles I had run and started counting how many I had left.  I had less than an hour to go.  Around 22 miles we moved onto the bike path and I tried listening to some music for the first time, but it just annoyed me and I stopped after a couple of songs.  At some point I could hear the 4:30 pace leader behind me.  I really wanted to finish somewhere between 4:20-4:30.  I just needed to stay ahead of her.  I kept focusing on the mile at hand. One mile at a time.  Around mile 25 I started to get goose bumps, but not the good kind.  I really wanted to quit or the very least just stop running.  That would feel so much better.  Forward motion.

When I started to hear the crowds from Waterfront Park I knew it was almost over.  I saw my family right before entering the park, and apparently I was still smiling.  How was that possible?  I was so close now.  I had checked my time at 25.2 miles so I new I was really close to getting in my goal range.  I tried picking up the pace as much as I could…and then there I was crossing the finish line…finally.  There were no tears of joy, just relief that I could stop running.

I got my medal (which was surprisingly heavy).  And then I searched for water but couldn’t find any.  I really wanted some water.  I overheard others saying that they ran out.  That was sort of a problem.  I saw the food tent, but there was a long line and decided to pick up my bag as I knew I had some food in there.  Bill called while I was getting my bag and said that Johanna had water for me and they were close.  Once I reached them I really wasn’t feeling good at that point.  The sun had come out during the last couple miles of the race and it was hot and loud and crowded in the park.  I tried drinking some water but it wasn’t helping.  I only had sweet food in my bag and I was so sick of sweet things at that point, nothing sounded good.  I felt like I was going to pass out or throw up or both.  Johanna and Bill guided me to the med tent.  It was warm in there, but quieter and darker.  My BP was 82/50.  And they kept me there until they were happier with my BP numbers and I could walk around on my own.  I drank more water and Gatorade.  Bill offered a number of food items, but the only thing that sounded appealing were Doritos.

It wasn’t until we were heading out of the park that Bill noticed they were posting results and I got to see my finish time of 4:29:50.  I couldn’t believe I had actually met my goal pace.  I finished 1772 out of 2885 people who started.  109/217 in my age group.  10 mile time 1:40:52, 13.1 mile time 2:12:33, 20 mile time 3:24:18.  And according to their website, in the last 6 miles I passed 116 people and was only passed by 19.

This was the best first marathon I could have imagined.  I enjoyed the training and look forward to doing many more marathons.  Just no more this year.  For now I’ll focus on triathlons over the summer and then some fun races in the fall, maybe try my first trail race.  Who knows what I’ll end up doing.  I can’t believe how far my running has come.  Two years ago, I was still working on the couch to 5K program, trying to get past running 5 minutes straight.  My only goal at the time was to run the local 5K in December.  I had no idea the journey I had begun.

2 Weeks Down, 14 Weeks to Go

The first 2 weeks of my marathon training has gone well.  All my key runs were good, and I managed to run 30+ miles each week.  I also got in 3 cross-training days each week, 2 on the bike, 1 in the pool.  I would really like to be swimming at least twice a week, but if something’s going to give, that’s what it’s going to be.  This Wednesday I leave for CA for 6 days to work at Stitches West.  I did this event 2 years ago and it proved to be exhausting; I ate poorly; and I gained a good amount of weight.  I’m hoping that it will go better this time around.  My plan is to try to stay close to an East Coast sleeping schedule, which will mean not going out with everyone to eat after the show each night.  This is going to be hard since that is one of the fun things about these events.  I am cutting out my swimming for the week and only going to do 2 cross-training days.  I need to simplify to get through it.  Plus I’ve got a 17-miler which I will most likely be doing in the dark in an unfamiliar area.  But I like an adventure.

On my long run today, I recorded a little audio every two miles.  I’m not good at editing audio, so it’s not pretty.  But once my long runs are over, my memory of it fades fast.  This does not mean I have any plans of doing a podcast.  I actually hate talking.   

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And a few picts from the run this morning.  1) Look Park  2) End of the path to Easthampton  3) Why I don’t run on sidewalks when it’s dark

Marathon Training Begins

Today begins the official day of my marathon training for the Keybank Vermont City Marathon in Burlington, VT. This will be my first marathon. Two years ago I started running and I had no idea then that it would lead me to a marathon. My only plan at the time was to get my clothes to fit better and be able to run a local 5K. But now I’ve completed 16 races in the past 18 months: 7 5Ks, a 4-miler, 1 10K, 3 half marathons, 1 duathlon, a run leg of a triathlon, and 2 sprint triathlons. And I’ve found I truly love running.

I’ll be using the FIRST marathon training plan from the book Run Less Run Faster. It consists of 3 focused runs each week (intervals, tempo, and a long run), plus 2 non-weight bearing aerobic cross-training days (I’ll be biking), and then an optional day. This plan worked well for me for my two half marathons last fall, especially when that training overlapped my triathlon training. I can’t help but to have doubts as to how well this will work for a full marathon. Will my running mileage be too low? Of course my main goal is to just finish the race, happy. But I know I want to do a little better than just finish.

Time to fit in a ride this morning before work. Then I’m off to the pool after work, desperately trying to work on my swimming form so I don’t flail so much at the triathlons this summer. But I’ll leave the tri-talk for another time.

Hartford Half Marathon Race Report

I had a 14-mile long run planned for this weekend for my Philadelphia Half Marathon training plan. I signed up for the Hartford Half thinking it would just be part of my training run. But training has been going great and I thought I would run the race faster than my training pace and see what I could do. My previous half marathon time for the Iron Horse Half last May was 2:12:19 (10:06 pace). I’ve been using the 10:00 pace half marathon plan from Run Less, Run Faster since July.

I picked up my race packet Friday evening with my family. I like having everything set the night before a race. Though if I run this race again, I’ll just pick it up the morning of the race and skip the extra 2+ hours of driving down to Hartford and back. I got up a little after 4am Saturday morning to get my oatmeal and tea in me in plenty of time before the race start. I still hadn’t decided how I was going to deal with hydration/nutrition on the course and brought all of my options with me, way more stuff than I needed.

I got down to Hartford and parked by 6:15, plenty of time before the 8am start. I found an indoor bathroom and then walked around the park for a bit trying to figure out where everything was. Then back to the car to pack my checked bag and decided what to do about hydration/nutrition. I wore my Atalanta Commitment skirt with the awesome back pockets. So I ended up carrying an 8 oz bottle of water in one pocket, and my 4 oz gel flask in the other. I also wore my SpiBelt to carry my phone and other essentials, and attached my race number to the belt with the toggles I bought at the Expo the night before.

Since this was supposed to be a 14 mile run, I got in an easy mile warm up first. Then waited in a very slow-moving porta potty line and made it to the starting line with four minutes to spare. Weather was in the low 60s, cloudy, and kind of humid at the start. It could have been a little cooler, but mostly I was quite comfortable. I was back by the 4:45 marathon pacers and probably should have been up farther. The first mile was really crowded. I had never done a race with nearly this many people before. There was a lot of bumping and elbows, but fortunately no tripping. I did way more weaving in and around people than I wanted to.

Once we got to the bridge, the crowd spaced out a bit and I was able to get into a groove. After 2 miles, I noticed several runners turning right suddenly. I was a little confused until I passed them and realized it was just a bunch of men peeing in the bushes. Where was that pee patrol? Before the 4-mile mark, the marathoners split off from us and the crowd thinned out even more which was nice. At the 4-mile water stop, I filled up my water bottle again and sipped a little Gatorade. Going up the hill to the Founder’s Bridge I started feeling some cramping and slowed down. I was getting a little discouraged. Shortly after that I got a text from Bill saying “Run fast! Don’t fall over or get in a fight!” The laughing actually helped a bit. And after 5 miles when we turned onto Market St I saw a WNEC Law sign and noticed it was Erin holding it. She was supposed to be running the half but skipped since she’s recovering from an injury and is trying to get better for the Philly Marathon. It was great seeing a friendly face and getting a “Go Dena!”. From there everything went more smoothly.

I did a couple of things differently for this race than the last half. I did not bring my iPod. I enjoyed listening to the different conversations along the way. And I enjoyed the music along the course too, but there wasn’t as much as I thought there would be. There were a number of hills, but all of them were short and not too steep, at least that’s how I remember them. I increased my cadence, but not my stride going up the hills. And instead of going all out down the hills, I increased my speed, but was more conservative and in control. The other big change was that I had a negative split, a significant one. My 10K split was 1:07:06 (10:47 pace). I had a 9:42 pace for the whole race, a huge difference.

By the end of the race I had drank 16 oz water, 2 oz of gel, and several sips of Gatorade at the water stations. That felt about the right amount. Though I did notice my skin seemed very salty. Ella even said when she kissed me later that I tasted salty. I never missed my iPod. Didn’t once think to myself “Why the hell am I doing this. Never again. I could be in bed right now.” And by the end of the race I still felt good and could keep going. It was a great way to end.

After the race I picked up my checked bag and put on my extra shirt and started drinking the bottle of Heed I mixed. Found an empty porta potty, no line. Wandered to the food and was pleased to see something other than dry bagels and orange slices. I had mac & cheese, apple crisp, soup, wild rice salad, and a giant oatmeal cookie. Then I stood in a long line for a massage which I enjoyed. But by that point I was shivering and couldn’t stay warm so made my way back to the car. Next time I will pack more clothes to wear after. I never did get my free beer.

Garmin distance and time: 13.22 miles in 02:06:49. So there was some weaving, and I probably started my watch too late too. Garmin mile splits: 9:52, 9:04, 9:37, 9:39, 10:04, 9:45, 9:50, 9:42, 9:35, 9:36, 9:41, 9:31, 8:55, 8:20 (last 0.22). Official final time was 02:07:03. 1968 out of 4068 finishers. 128 out of 399 in my age group. I am so very happy with this race.

To get ready for the Philadelphia Half Marathon in 6 weeks, I’m going to bump up my training to a 9:40 pace plan. And then for the race itself, I’ll focus on having a stronger first half, and seed myself at the start to more similarly paced runners. Otherwise, I think everything else is working out pretty well. My family is coming with me to Philadelphia and I’m super excited that they’ll be there. They haven’t been to my last 4 races.

Fall Race Season Begins

I’ll be running the last leg of the Great Josh Billings Runadground Triathlon on Sunday with Malea and Sage. Go Team WEBS! This will be my second 10K, the last one was the Get Your Rear in Gear in Texas last March. My time there was 59:13 and I was thrilled I finished in under an hour. I’m hoping to get a new 10K PR, but with the hills at the end of this race, I have no idea what to expect. I’ll be waiting for Malea and Sage to finish their legs and timing my warmup will be tricky. Plus I’m going straight to the race after sleeping two nights in a tent. But whatever happens, it’ll be lots of fun.

Why I love to Run

Recently a friend asked me why I like to run. This got me thinking about why I started and how there are many more reasons why I continue now. Two years ago I wanted to start running so I could do the Hot Chocolate Run in town. I had started and stopped couch to 5K programs multiple times that year, never getting very far into the program. Life always seemed to get in the way and it was easy to come up with excuses. I never got around to signing up for the race and by race time I wasn’t prepared anyway. Now it was winter, it was the holidays, and I didn’t belong to a gym anymore. So the most active I was for the next few months was when I was shoveling. By the end of the winter, it was clear I was going to have to do something, otherwise I’d have to buy a new wardrobe. Everything was tight.

So that was my big motivator. And my goal was to be able to do the Hot Chocolate Run that year. I was determined not to give up this time. I started another couch to 5K program (again) in April. Slow going at first, but I kept at it. By July, I started putting my training plan on my calendar and that helped me be more consistent. I also noticed around that same time, I started loosing some weight. Then finally by August I was able to run 30 minutes without stopping. This was a huge milestone. Running got a lot more fun after that point. Sort of spur of the moment, I signed up for the Smith College Fall Fit 5K, a low key local race. I could do the distance and thought it would take the pressure off the Hot Chocolate Run in December. I only told a couple people I was doing it, still doubting myself. But I finished it and didn’t feel like I was going to die at the end either.

I continued running through the fall using a beginner 5K program, though weekly miles were only about 8 each week. It felt so good to finally be able to do the Hot Chocolate Run. I improved my time by 2 1/2 minutes and was thrilled. But soon after the race, my runs dropped to about 1 a week. I guess I really needed a future race to keep me motivated. In January, I signed up for my first 10K and started a 10K training plan to get ready. And that’s when I really started to get into running and was looking forward to a lifetime of running.

So here is why I like to run.
• I can eat more pie.
• I enjoy the feeling of running as fast as I can.
• My body doesn’t jiggle as much as it used to.
• It’s fun to push my body further than it’s ever gone before.
• I have better endurance so I can go on longer bike rides.
• I’m discovering lots of interesting podcasts such as 4 Feet Running, The Runners Round Table and Run Run Live.
• I love data, and there are lots of numbers I can collect from my runs. Too much fun.
• It’s a great, portable workout I can take anywhere I travel.
• I like to motivate others to be active.
• I actually enjoy being outside now, even when it’s raining. But I still don’t like wind.
• Running gives me a chance to see a lot more of my town and neighborhood than I would see otherwise.
• It makes me feel better when I’m angry or frustrated or sad.
• It’s a great way to enjoy my favorite fast and loud music.
• When I run first thing in the morning, I feel so much better about my day.
• It makes me feel strong.
• It makes me happy.

And I plan to continue to run well into my 80s.

Whately Police Triathlon Race Report

I was originally planning to do my first triathlon with my SIL Jenn in Portland, but Whately race was so close to home I thought I couldn’t pass it up. It would be good practice. My goal was to finish, have fun, and maybe learn something. I definitely accomplished all three of those.

I kind of didn’t want to wash off my number.

It couldn’t have been nicer weather. 60s at the start and the water temp was 71°. I got there well over an hour before the start of the race so I had plenty of time to set up my transition area. Someone noted how organized my transition area was. If they knew me, that wouldn’t be very surprising. I told them at least that was one thing I had control over. While setting up transition, I was very surprised to discover my Garmin 405 had frozen at 10:34 pm and there was nothing I could do about it. I’m so used to at least having some kind of watch. This sort of forced me just go by feel and have fun. I had no idea of how much time was passing through any of the race. While talking to other people, I did come across a few other first timers. But I also noticed I was only one of two people who didn’t have a road bike. And I’m sure I was the only one with a kickstand and bell on their bike. Well at least I don’t have streamers on my handlebars anymore. I also had a little wetsuit envy. I got the feeling most of these folks had done a triathlon before, probably many times. But finally two familiar faces. Sage and Furn showed up, and Sage parked her bike next to mine which was nice.

There were 6 relay teams, and 101 individuals racing, 38 of which were women. You could say it was kind of intimate with only 3 racks in the transition area. The men went out in the first wave 3 minutes before the women. We started in the water up to our calfs/knees. While waiting for our wave, someone got nudged by a turtle and freaked her out a bit. I managed to avoid the wildlife. The temperature of the water didn’t bother me a bit (probably my biggest fear before testing the water last week was being too cold). When it was time to go I was able to start right away. I didn’t have to worry about getting kicked in the head since I was way back. I tried a few freestyle strokes and then immediately went to my crazy breathing state and switched to breaststroke. It wasn’t until I turned around at the half way point that I was able to control my breathing so I could attempt more freestyle. I managed to go the rest of the way with intervals of freestyle, resting with breaststroke and backstroke. Through the whole swim I was near Sage which was kind of comforting.

Near the edge of the beach I stood up whipping off my goggles/cap and ran to my bike. Super easy to find it since there weren’t many left at that point. I managed not to tip over while trying to get on my shoes and socks. Now I totally understand the appeal of speed laces and wish I had a pair. I ate a little banana, had some water and was good to go. There was a longish transition to run through with the bike before getting to the road. Glad I didn’t have bike shoes for this part. Furn was just a bit up ahead of me and stayed so for most of the bike portion. There was one other woman in our mini-pack throughout the race too. With the excitement of T1 I went out a little fast. But since I was familiar with the course I was able to get back on track so I had enough energy to tackle the quite hilly bit of the route right after you cross 91, after mile 4. The reward of getting through the hills was being able to ride down the windy portion on Westbrook Rd by the very pretty creek. I didn’t push myself too hard on the bike. I was shooting for comfort. But by the time I was running my bike into T2, my legs were telling me I had been doing some work on the bike. Kind of rubbery.

T2 was pretty fast. The only thing that held me up was my race skirt. Apparently when I had pinned my number to the skirt, I pinned the front and back of the skirt together. Kind of makes it difficult to put on. So there was some repinning to do before I could get going. The first 3/4 mile my legs felt heavy and it sounded like I was just plodding along. But then I got into a good rhythm and felt better. Unfortunately by the half way point, my left foot went numb and I couldn’t really feel it. I guess the ankle strap might have been a little tight. Don’t know how else to explain it. Just kept moving. Since the course was an out-and-back, I could see there weren’t many runners left behind me. Once I got to the lake I knew I only had a 1/4 mile left and pushed it, finishing comfortably strong. I actually got a little teary as I crossed the finish line. Not something I usually do.

I was hoping to finish in under two hours. Final time was 1 hour 48 min and 55 seconds. So even though I was at the back of the pack, I’m super happy with my time. Got some food and water and waited for Sage and Furn to come in so I could cheer them on. It was a good race and it seemed well organized. Everyone was supportive and helpful to a newbie like me. I’m really looking forward to the next triathlon coming up. I’d love to cut off 2 minutes from my swim. That means I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’m not shipping my bike, so it’ll be interesting to see what bike I end up with. But best of all, I get to do it with Jenn. It’ll be her first triathlon.

Final Times: Swim 20:43, T1 2:15, Bike 57:19, T2 1:02, Run 27:38.

Garmin Forerunner 405 Review

Well, I’ve been using my new Garmin Forerunner 405 since mid-May. I’ve been meaning to write a review sooner, but life has happened.

Earlier this year I started to run more than 2-3 miles eat a time and wanted an easier way to calculate my distance and pace. Mid-January I got a Nike+, basically because I wanted something but didn’t want to spend too much since I still wasn’t sure how committed to running I was. The Nike+ is cheap. I used it with my kids’ Nano. But I had issues with the Nike+: figuring out how to carry the Nano was always tricky; adjusting volume, or skipping a song, or checking current pace was difficult without messing with my workout; and it wasn’t very accurate even with re-calibration.

As I got closer to the half marathon, I new how committed I was to running, and how much I enjoyed it. REI’s Anniversary Sale was perfect timing. The new Garmin Forerunners had come out by then, and REI had a couldn’t pass up sale on the Garmin Forerunner 405 with heart rate monitor. So mid-May, I finally had my own new fancy GPS watch.

And I love it. I have a math background, with a statistical emphasis, and I’m crazy about data and numbers. Running has been a ton of fun, but now it’s even more fun. There’s so much I like about my Garmin. The size/weight has not been an issue as I feared. It’s not petite. But I’m able to tighten it enough that it doesn’t bounce around. I do have quite a tan line forming, but I don’t care a bit. The other problem I’ve read about the watch is the bezel. But it’s been working for me. I’m mostly used to navigating through the menus by now. And I haven’t had problems with accidently stopping or pausing a workout. It has three separate views of data fields (in addition to the heart rate view) and are totally customizable. I’ve found that having one with lap pace/lap time/lap distance, one with avg pace/total time/total distance and one with current speed/total time/total distance works great for me. The current pace while running seems to fluctuate way too much and just makes me anxious. The lap pace is the view I use the most while running. I have it set up to lap at each mile. So it’s been easy to see if I’m on pace for each mile as I’m running.

I’ve tried to use the interval feature but find that I don’t have the same flexibility when it comes to views. But I can start a new lap by the press of a button. So recently when I did a track workout (400 m with jog intervals in between) I could press the lap button at the beginning and end of each 400 m lap and be able to see all of my splits for each 400 m and each rest interval. Very nice.

The Garmin also has a biking mode which I’ve been using. I think the only difference between the two is that it’ll calculate your calories differently. While biking, I’ll use the current speed view since I don’t have a bike computer. I’m so new to biking that this works for me. But I can imagine adding the cadence accessory some day, once that’s something I think I need to keep track of.

I’ve only used the heart rate monitor once. It took a little getting used to having the strap around my chest. But after a mile or two, I didn’t notice it. I mostly pay attention to my breathing. I know how it sounds when my heart rate is getting to the top. I’m not sure how much I’m going to use the monitor. I think it would be nice to periodically use it for a 10min/mile test and see how my fitness is increasing as I train more.

I know there’s a lot more I can do with the Garmin that I haven’t tried, geocaching and uploading planned routes to the watch are a couple I can think of off the top of my head. I also haven’t taken the time to figure out how to upload workouts to any of the training logs I use. I’ve been using Garmin Connect to view the maps of my workouts. It’s so much fun to see the maps, especially if I’ve been out of town (a lot lately) or taking a crazy route. It’s easy to read all of my data from the workout, splits/heart rate/pace.

So I’m super happy that I got the Garmin. I love the instant feedback as I run. And it’s great to just head out the door and run, and not have to map it out ahead of time.

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