Monday, October 5, 2009

Post #1000

at Triaspirational, which only says that I am too prolific!

1. Lauren has processed data in a spreadsheet and informs me that out of the women racing the half, I was 55/82 on the swim, 35/82 on the bike and 46/82 on the run, for a position of 45/82 overall. I think it is hard to explain to those who are either naturally hugely athletically gifted or with a lifetime of athletic experience behind them, but this is a HUGE THING for me, I was always the worst at everything in gym class, overweight and unfit for many a year of adult life (and smoked about a gazillion cigarettes over the years), I cannot believe that it has been possible for me to become a SOLIDLY MIDDLE-OF-THE-PACK TRIATHLETE!

2. It was mile 2 of the run course, and I was uncomfortably realizing that I really needed to empty my bowels! JMD to aid station volunteer: "Are there porta-potties on the course?" Volunteer, giving JMD kindly and pitying look: "There are no porta-potties - it is the woods!" It was indeed the woods...

3. The notion of iron-distance racing thoroughly has me in thrall!!!!

4. And in fact if I really try and explain the lure of triathlon, it is sort of like King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table! When I was a child, I was often reading Arthurian-type stories and fantasizing about being a knight.

5. Or a hero in an ancient Greek tale or a Norse myth.

6. Triathlon is kind of like that!

7. I am going to have a great time training this coming year.

8. It is all about the bike! Exact current or very similar swim and run fitness to what I have now, plus consistent cycling and suitable volume (mix of indoor and outdoor) and self-controlled race pacing, will put me in a strong position to shoot for a sub-14:00 Ironman. Dream goal sub-14:00, realistic goal 14:00-15:00, basic goal to finish within the cut-off.

9. A sub-7:00 half is required to qualify for the Survival of the Shawagunks (a notion for 2011).

10. I sent my novel to the editor on Friday around 6pm, and Brent is coming on Wednesday - LIFE IS GOOD!

7 comments:

Liz said...

Yay! That is so great!

ShirleyPerly said...

Congrats on a strong race!!

Having struggled for so long always being one of the last out of the water on swims, I know the THRILL of being middle of the pack the first time. And I'm sure that your feeling is triple that with that solid bike and run performance.

Great job overall and love that photo of you eating that PBJ!

Becca said...

You sound like E! Except for the triathlon part, of course.

Leah said...

Love this post! Life certainly is good. I completely get the middle-of-the-pack disbelief. That's how I feel too. For me it's mostly about the swim. When half (or more!) of my wave is still in the water when I come out, I am happy for the rest of the race.

This should be great motivation for you to really start loving your bike! :)

Rainmaker said...

Dang...#1000 posts - congrats on that milestone!

Unknown said...

I love that your best placing was on the bike! (Although I do not much care for the "all about the bike" sentiment in general. But I'm biased!)

You had a great race, and are most definitely MOTP!!!

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