Planet Gear Giveaway

If you’ve never heard of Planet Gear, you should really check it out. Basically, PG (not “Parental Guidance”, way more exciting than that) offers 72 hour *hot* sales on stuff like Iron Girl sunglasses, TYR tanks, jackets and bras. The items change all the time, so lots of variety! It is first come, first serve until stuff runs out.

Most items are marked down 50-70%.  It’s all outdoor gear and apparel, so no dumb stuff like slippers for your cat or body part enlargers.

All you have to do to be entitled to the sale’s items is to sign up. It’s free.

For the next few days (until October 4th) PG will donate $1 for every new member or Facebook “like” to Breast Cancer Awareness.

Planet Gear has generously offered one reader a $50 credit to be used to purchase items on their site. Such an awesome deal. To enter (comment for each):

• Visit Planet Gear and become a member +1 entry
• Tell me in a comment what you would buy if you won the giveaway + 1 entry
• “Like” Planet Gear on Facebook + 1 entry
• Blog, twat, FB about this giveaway + 1 entry

Winner will be chosen by Random.org on October 2.

Good luck!

SUAR

Fine Print:

Planet Gear provided the giveaway item. I paid nothing for it.

Iron Girl Boulder Race Report

I’m going to make this a sprint race report because this was a sprint triathlon. Okay, quick, GO!

Got up at 4:30 a.m. and did the usual minus a dump. Headed out the door by 5:10 a.m. then had to turn back for home because I was obsessed I left the coffee pot on. Do you do that? Thing is, it wouldn’t have mattered if I did because it has automatic shut off, but I turned back anyway. It was off.

Hit the road again. Turned around again because I wasn't sure if I closed the garage door. Do you do that? It was closed.  99 eff’ing percent of the times I check the iron, the stove, the whatever, it is off.  Zero risk. But, then I go jump out of a plane and go zip lining. It makes no sense.

I got to Boulder and it was pitch dark. I was way too early. I set up my transition and literally had 2 hours left to wait. So, I went home and checked the coffee pot again. Just kidding.

Scooby Doo towel rocks!

I visited the porta potties three times for a little pre-race cleansing:

Here’s the thing. This is a women’s only race, the first women’s only event I’ve ever done. For some reason I assumed the porta potties would smell better than at a coed race. But guess what? Big revelation. Everyone's shit smells. Women’s poop stinks as bad as men's (except for mine which smells like Chanel #5). I now know this. There is nothing feminine and pure about women’s poop. It is all the same.

I did enjoy, however, the short porta potty lines and the table with a linen cloth outside the johns that had a variety of yummy smelling antibacterial soaps. Nice touch, Iron Girl!

I caught up with Tara who was doing her first tri. It was great to see her out there. She had knee surgery this year and now is officially back in the game!!

Heading to the swim, no wetsuit:

Finally it was “go” time. This was an age group swim start. I decided to forgo the wetsuit since the swim was so short (1/4 mile) and the water was 72 degrees. It was a beach start, so you had to run in the water and dolphin dive in. I did more of a run in the water, get stuck in the mud and belly flop in, but that’s just me.

I don't know if it was nerves or the cool water, but I immediately lost my breath. I couldn’t catch it the whole swim. I swallowed mouthfuls of piss water and got off course a couple of times. It was short but not sweet.

Swim: 1/4 mile in 8:45

I thought I breezed through transition in like :02 seconds, but turns out it was over 2 minutes. What the hell? I seriously do not know what I was doing except for when I stopped to check the coffee pot. 

T1: 2:12

Hit the road on the bike and started passing people like crazy. Settled in my aero bars and cranked it out. I actually felt pretty out of breath and my heart rate didn’t calm down until mile six or so. I took a Clif Shot halfway and this helped.

Three women in my age group (you have your age marked on your calf) passed me, then I passed them, then they passed me. I never saw them again. I knew for sure I had at least three AG women ahead of me, so no podium for me unless I caught them on the run, which I doubted by the looks of these maniacs. Plus, I figured there were more girls out there who finished the swim before me. Who knew where I stood?

There was another AG’er (cute girl in braids, kind of had a crush on her) who I played cat and mouse with the whole bike. On the homestretch she passed me, but I decided I would get her on the run (foreshadow). Maybe ask her for a date?

Bike: 17.2 miles in 51:31. Average speed: 20 mph

Going into the transition two area, someone cut in front of me and almost knocked me over with her bike. I turned into my row and could not for the life of me find my Scooby Doo towel. I actually spent about a minute looking. Ridiculous. Another shitty transition time.

T2: 2:00

Set out for the run. It was *HOT* at this point with no shade. I kept a pretty good clip. By mile 1 I passed my crush, the girl with the braids. Never saw her again. The run was uneventful, but I could feel myself running out of steam by the last mile. I could tell since it was an out and back course that I was near the top for finishers. I kept up the pace. My ass only ached a tiny bit, even though I worried about butt pain a lot last week.

Run: 3.1 miles in 24:20. Average pace: 7:48

Total time: 1:28:45
6th/164 age group
29th/818 overall

Some of my favorite life moments have involved crossing finish lines over the past two years. This was no exception. As I came down the finish chute, there were no runners near me, so I had my own little moment. I had no family or friends at the finish (well, Tara, but she was racing), so I just smiled and tried to pat myself on the back without looking double jointed. Go me!

After thoughts: I know 1:28 is a good time and I know I gave it my all, but I am super disappointed in my transition times. The two girls ahead of me who got the 4th and 5th spots finished only seconds before me. Their swim/bike/run times weren’t faster than mine (actually slower!), but their transitions were. If I hadn’t dicked around so long in transition, I could have easily been 4th. Oh well. Lessons learned. Something to work on for next time.

For now I am an Iron Girl. Hoping someday to grow up to be an Iron MAN.

SUAR

PS: So much for a sprint race report.

Get a New Plan, Stan

The minute I finished my half ironman, my motivation went into the toilet. There is something about my Type-A, uptight, over-achieving personality that likes to have a plan. Give me a plan and a goal and watch the hell out. But, once I reach that goal and have checked off the last “to-do” on the plan, I’m like that show I never watched but a lot of people liked - “LOST.”

I’ve still been trying to do some sort of workout be it swimming, biking, running or yoga everyday. Running has taken a back seat because my ass hurts, but the other disciplines are alive and well.

Funny how when you get up everyday at 5:00 a.m. to workout you get very used to and it seems like no big deal. Funny how when you work out for 2+ hours per day you get used to it and it seems like no big deal. Funny how when you get out of this routine for just a week or two, suddenly getting up at 5:00 a.m. seems very painful, as do long workouts. Easy come, easy go.

The other issue with early waking is it is darker later in the morning. When it is dark my body likes to be where it should be: in bed.

So, when the alarm went off at 5:15 a.m. today for my cycling group, I was kind of pissed.

Tired? Why? Emma saw a spider in her bed two days ago and has been refusing to go to sleep. She has been sleeping on top of her covers and needing some reassurance. In the parenting world, a child needing reassurance means that the parent becomes sleep deprived.  When she first saw the spider and asked me to look for it, I did a Dumb Ass Parent Action (DAPA) and told her I could not find it. Ken looked at me like “WTF?” and reminded me I should have lied and said I found it so the drama could be put to rest. BAD, DUMB PARENT!

So, I was tired. So what? A workout is a workout and should NEVER be missed unless the worker-outer is vomiting or has profuse diarrhea or has a trache or something extreme going on.

I thought this would be a stinky morning and I would tire easily. Nope. My energy was off the charts. I felt so damn good. It might have been adrenaline, it might have been taking it easy for the week, it might have been thoughts of a spider in a bed somewhere, or it might have been my new, fancy jersey with matching arm warmers (review/giveaway coming soon). Funny thing is, I thought it was a jersey, but it is actually a running shirt. My bad. I never said I was smart:

Whatever the case, I was reminded that for me there is no better feeling than getting up early, sweating, working hard and getting it done. I was so jacked this morning it was a drug. So, when you debate your workout, remember that euphoric post workout feeling. Make a decision and follow through. Keep at it and who knows what can happen.

Iron Girl I’m coming for you sister!

After you complete a race you’ve been training for do you lose motivation? Do you need a plan/goal to keep your head in the game?

Would you have lied to your kid about the spider?

Do you like where the arrow on my “jersey” is pointing?

SUAR