Ready or Not, Here I come!

I am almost completely packed, and I hope to be in bed before 9:oo tonight. Laurie is picking me up at 4:00 am tomorrow for the 5 hour drive to Wildflower. I am just now getting excited. I don't feel ready, but I don't think I ever feel ready for a race. And I have finished every race I've started.

Yesterday I took my bike into the shop because my brakes were screeching after a tune up last week. It was suppose to be a very easy fix, but the mechanic found a more serious problem ... cracks in the rear rim. The bike was still under warranty, but he wasn't sure he would be able get a wheel for me before I had to leave. I have to admit, there was a tiny part of me that was relieved, thinking here's a good excuse not to race. But of course, that's not an option, and he did hook me up with a brand new rear wheel. So, I'm off to the races.

Wish me luck. Thanks!

Paris Marathon

Despite setting a new PW for a stand alone marathon, this was the most fun I've ever had running a marathon. But maybe it was the slower time that made it fun. Some other things that made it fun ....

• running through the streets of Paris!
• being called madame
• chatting with a handsome French man for a few miles
• being congratulated by another handsome French man at the end of the race
• finally figuring out people were calling my name at mile 13 :) "Allez, allez, Ray!"

The race did not start until 8:45am, and I had planned to get up at about 6:00 and we were going to leave the hotel at 7:00. However, I got a "wake up call" at 5:20. Not such a big deal, but I had also gotten a call at midnight. Not sure what they were about as I did not request a call and no one was on the line when I picked up. I slept well despite the calls, and I even had a good dream -- I was in a park, and there were several men all vying for my attention. They were all Latino, and because I live in Southern California, I assumed they were Mexican. Each man was sitting at a table and had a resume of sorts letting me know why he was the best man for me. All I had to do was pick the one I wanted. It wasn't an easy decision. So imagine my surprise when I went downstairs to have coffee and breakfast, and there were two Spanish men having coffee. And then those two turned in to nine. Yes, I had breakfast with nine Spanish men! Jeanine drank her 2 Red Bulls up in her room so it was just me :) It was a nice start to the morning, but nobody gave me their "resume."

It was cold, but I hadn't been able to find any news or weather report so I really didn't know what to expect. I decided to wear a long sleeve shirt, shorts, and a cap. They gave us a plastic bag at the expo, and I wore that for the first 2k or so of the race. There were moments were I felt a little chilly after that, but most of the time I was comfortable. I later found out that it was about 30 F at the start of the race. The worst part was the 45 minutes of waiting in the porta potty line after I had already turned in my sweats. I had to go so bad and the freezing temperatures were not helping at all.

The race was big -- over 30,000 runners, and I started at the back of the pack. It took about 15-20 minutes to get to the starting line. Even though I couldn't understand most of what was being said around me, everybody seemed to be having a good time. I met a few folks from the New York chapter of Team in Training. I ran several key miles with Libby who helped distract me from the pain. Thanks Libby! Water, oranges, bananas, and sugar cubes were offered at aid stations every 5k. I took water every time it was offered (in little plastic bottles, not cups), one orange slice, and 1 banana piece in addition to the 4 Gus I had brought. They only offered an energy drink once at about mile 18. Wine was offered twice late in the race, but I passed.

I don't have any pictures of the race, but they have video on the website. I was not able to see myself at the start, but I did find myself at the finish. I'm wearing a long sleeve pink shirt and a light blue cap. I do have vacation photos, and I'll post those soon.

Bonjour

I'm home! I loved France, and I did meet my goal of having fun (most of the time) running the marathon but set a new PW (personal worst) of 5:31. Sitting on planes for 14+ hours the day after the marathon was not so much fun though, so I treated myself to a massage after work yesterday. I also fit in a short swim, and I am feeling much better today. My suitcase still sits in the middle of my livingroom, and I have lots to catch up. I will post a real race/vacation report very soon.

Au revoir

I'm leaving on a jet plane .... I fly to France tomorrow. It's 10:00pm, and I'm just about all packed. I am very excited as this is my first trip to Europe and my first real vacation in a looong time. I wish the dollar was stronger, but other than that, things are looking good. We'll be spending a few days in Paris, then we'll take a train to Nice and spend 5 days in the town of Jausiers. I will try to get a bike ride in while I'm there. Then, it's back to Paris to run the marathon on April 6th. They have me listed as Ray Trish and my bib number is 45053 if you want to look me up. My goal for this race is to have FUN!! I'll be sure to let you know how it goes.

Update(s)

It's been a long time! I will try to get you caught up.

1) Health -- I'm no longer coughing up a lung, but Lord, I've got so much snot! At first I thought it was swimming that was producing it, but now I think I just may be allergic to Ironman training! After every swim, I'm so stuffed up and have trouble sleeping. The bike seems to loosen everything up -- I've perfected the farmer blow on the bike, and can even shoot left now. Maybe I should ride right after swimming every time. Honestly, it's shocking how much snot has been coming out of my body. Overall though, I've been feeling good.

2) Work -- I've been super busy at work, often working ten hours a day. This weekend was Wildflower Training Weekend, but I wasn't able to go with the Team. I HAD to work on Friday. I'm a big fan of using sick days for things like this, but I had meetings with our Open Court consultant all day. It's a 5 hour drive up to Wildflower, and it didn't seem worth it to drive up late on Friday. Plus, I have a ton to do before my trip to Paris. I got my taxes done this weekend!

3) Training -- being sick last month set me back some, but I think I'll be okay. I did a 56 mile hilly ride yesterday and felt pretty good. Today I ran 20 miles. And I found two things to add to the list of things I love -- running in the soft sound and headwinds. Because of the strong winds, about a half mile of the path was completely covered in sand. It was like there was no path, only beach. On the way out I got to run through the sand with a headwind. Yippee!!

4) Racing -- I signed up for Wildflower Long course today. I've had it on my schedule for a while now, but it's for real now. And I'll be raising money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation and supporting my Team in Training teammates at the same time -- it's the best of both worlds :) I leave for Paris in 9 days! I'm super excited. In addition to running, I've been trying to learn some French.

I'm sure I've left out something, but it's a start, and I'll try not to let so much time lapse before I post again.

sick

It's been a week since I worked out. Last weekend I was not feeling great .... I was congested and coughing, but I did not feel horrible and the weather was beautiful ... in the 70s and sunny. So I went ahead and did my 4 hour bike ride on Saturday. Breathing was a little difficult, but I still felt okay. Sunday, I only ran 8 miles instead of my planned 12. I didn't have school on Monday so I did hill repeats on the bike and an hour with Lisa, my personal trainer. And then I was done. I was planning to do my swim drills after the strength training, but I couldn't. It was straight home and to the couch. I should have rested the entire weekend.

I went to work on Tuesday even though I had no business being there. Even before my coworkers heard me cough they knew I was sick. I looked that bad. I was winded walking up a flight of stairs! I missed my last "swim better" session. I was really bummed about that. I stayed home Wednesday and went to the doctor. He said my cough was "impressive" ... I don't mess around. He gave me all sorts of drugs, including an inhaler and cough suppressant with codeine so I could sleep :)

So, I've been sleeping a lot and watching bad TV. The evenings are so long when you don't spend an hour or two at the gym. Saturday I did my good deed for the Team, and provided SAG as they rode up Latigo (a 10 mile monster of a hill) for the first time. Everybody made it up and down just fine, and nobody needed me. But it is nice to know someone is nearby if you do get into trouble. Sunday I left my apartment only once, and that was to take out the trash. I'm not sure what today will bring. I might do laundry! I do know that I want to make sure I'm completely healthy before I work out again. I definitely don't want this to linger.

Another Wet Sunday

So it rained again today. But it was dry and clear yesterday so I was able to get in my 2 hour bike ride and 1 hour run. I can deal with a wet run, but I hate riding in the rain. It can be dangerous and scary. The rain was coming down pretty hard when my alarm went off at 6:30 this morning. I had coffee, read the paper, ate my oatmeal, and then got some work done. It stopped raining around 9:30. I headed out for my 3 hour run shortly after 10:00, and of course it started to rain again just as I stepped out the door. But it wasn't too bad and only lasted about 30 minutes. The on-shore winds did not let up though, and it felt like I had a head wind the entire time. And never a tail wind. I hate it when that happens. I got it done and was greatly relieved that I didn't have to resort to the treadmill.