Awesome News on the Newsstands...

I just received this e-mail from the founder of my fave organization, Comfort Zone Camp...

Hi Everyone!

I have some GREAT news to share with you! Richmond Magazine’s August issue is featuring Richmond’s Best and Worst and readers voted Comfort Zone Camp #2 in the category of "Charities You Love" (on newsstands now). This is very exciting considering how many charities there are in Richmond and how CZC is still one of the newer nonprofits on the block! We will also be featured in a special featuring all the “best of” winners on August 7th at 7:00 p.m. on Channel 8.

Comfort Zone Camp would not exist without all our wonderful volunteers and supporters (and of course our campers too!). We will be announcing a party to celebrate this exciting honor soon. Details to follow!

Thank you for all YOU do to make Comfort Zone Camp possible. We could not do it without each and every one of you!!!

Fondly,
Lynne

Hurts So Good

The power of positive thinking worked for me yesterday! After a brief closing of the pool yesterday afternoon, it re-opened in time for me to make it to Masters class! It was unfortunately cut short, but admittingly I was okay with that. I could tell I had been away from the pool for awhile.

The foot made it through both classes, too. Although it is still very tender - it actually looks better after swimming!

Although my current theme song is Hurts So Good, it is so nice to be back in training. After Ed's Shenanigan's yesterday morning, my quads and gluts hurt so good. Should make for an interesting ride and run brick tonight...but I am basking in it. I can't wait to see everyone zipping around west creek tonight.

Positive Thinking

I realized that my blog is looking rather negative! yuck!

No more negative thoughts. There's power to positive thinking, right? Well, I think so. And I am thinking positive - I not only made weight class this morning, but I WILL be able to swim tonight!!!

Let's keep those (unbroken) fingers and toes crossed and hopefully the next time I see you it will be through the lenses of my goggles!

PS - BIG CONGRATS to my girls yesterday! You're awesome!

"If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck"

This is what everyone tells me. And besides finding the TRIgirls, I have had some bad luck in my day....fractured elbow, torn cartilige, stitches multiple times...accident prone much? i even broke my toe on the leg of the desk in the 3rd grade and broke my pinky tripping over a mat in gym class in 4th grade! Even interseting weather for my first two races!!! I received an email yesterday morning that made me think of a friend/team mate's running excuse "my toe hurts" (cough cough you know who you are).

Yesterday morning I packed up my bags determined to make it out for my 24 mile ride. busted foot and everything. My room mate looked at the wound for me to get close and check it out. It needs to be closed for me to do anything. Bad news. She said it was still open an dlooked like it was about to bleed. Aw nuts! I really wanted to ride so I called the BIG brother for advice. He told me I knew the right decision was for me not to risk it and he wasn't going to tell me otherwise. Aw nuts.

A few hours later, my brother emailed. After getting off the phone with me he continued his morning routine getting ready for work. then...bam...broke his toe! My bad luck vibes must have transferred through the phone. Sorry brother!

So...I hope no one else gets injured...

Total Sadness

Due to the foot...

No CZC 5k this saturday
No Charlottesville Olympic this Sunday

:(

Call me Alexander

One of my favorite books growing up was "Alexander and the horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day". Today, call me Alexander.

I just returned from my visit with Dr. Teresa Stadler. I have been looking forward to this day. Stitches out and I can get back in action after being out for 11 days!!! Finally!!! Bring on Charlottesville Olympic distance! Unfortunately, things did not work out as planned. I waited longer than the suggested 7-10 days for removal...I waited 11! But noooo. After taking out the sutures, Teresa saw that the would is still wide open. She put on two layers of steri-strips in hopes to close it back up.

So what does this mean?
no swimming...
no running...
maybe no charlottesville :'(

What a day

Yesterday was the 3 Sports Triathlon presented by 3 Sports, produced by the Richmond Tri Club. This was my first time being a part of the Race Team and it was awesome! I have to give a shout out to erin, jenn, joy, jay - man those people have this down pat.

Packet stuffing went smooth.
the packet pick up, too.
Race day couldn't have been better,
from the people to the weather!
(haha i jsut made that up without trying to rhyme haha)

I saw so many of my friends and team members make amazing PR's and Renae finished her first triathlete - all her hard work and dedication brought tears.

Of course, in TG style, we had to have a post race party. a backyard pool, grillmaster Brian, wine, margaritas and beer galore. Oh and the meatballs and nachos hit the spot! Thanks to Cathy for her house. I love us.

GO TEAM!

I have accomplished bieng nicknamed "Jackie O" and "Pearly". Classic.

Photo courtesy of JRoRo

I'm ba-ack!

YAY!!!! I'm back into training...kind of.

Last night I went for my first ride with the stitches. A short 10 miler at a pace which will not be disclosed. and it wasn't too terribly painful! besides the constant clipping out (which is done with the bad foot) and the bumpy road vibrations it was a success...the stitches are still in tact. i could tell a difference - i got tired early on, but hey - at least i was able to get out there.

Glad to be back...to at least riding. Here's hoping Saturday morning's 28-30 miler goes even better!

No Fun.

my week = no fun.

oddly...
i miss swimming.
i miss running.
i miss being able to train!!!

this morning i headed back to ed's shenangian's for an alternative workout - lots of arms and abs. i was excited thinking of being active and with my girls. unfortuantely, this did irritate the foot. but i'm tough, right?!

i get home and get my day going. then i don't what i was doing while drying my hair, but i tweaked my foot somehow and great scott i thought the world was coming to an end. it felt like i ripped the stitches out. ya know the pain when your stomach jsut pits and you are a little nauseated. yeah. no fun.

i have been hoping to get a normal shoe on (although it's been nice wearing flip flops to work everyday). i really am hoping to get a ride in tomorrow afternoon. let's cross our fingers and toes that i can move closer to getting back in the swing of things.

stitches = no fun

(yes i am cranky about this)

Run By Beering

What a weekend! I am off to Raleigh for one of my dear friend's weddings! I was honored to be her bridesmaid. We were friends from Meredith College and she was getting married at the chapel there - lots of memories made and remembered.

Friday afternoon we had a lovely Bridesmaids Luncheon. Joette surprised us with custom made jewelry, photo albums with pictures past and present, flip flops and tanks to wear when getting our nails done and preparing for the wedding.

Bridesmaid Luncheon

Friday evening the festivities kicked off - the rehearsal and dinner. This was nice - great location and yummy eats. Afterwards about 50 people headed to the hotel courtyard, bride and parents included for continued socializing. Then...the weekend took a turn. I became the victim of what I have termed a "Run-By Beering. Another wedding guest was tossing her empty beer bottle into the trashcan and missed. It came crashing to the ground and shattered all around the courtyard/pool deck. When all of a sudden we realized, there was a pool of blood around my foot! A shard of glass flew far enough to graze the side o fmy foot. But how bad can it be, right?! My fight or flight instincts kicked in as I made Joette (the bride) go away because she was getting upset by all the blood, I had people get me paper towels (no tissues) and we elevated it to try to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately I was creating a pool under my foot with paper towels on my foot and another guest who happened to be a doctor said the words...you need stitches. People got my things together and carried me to the car and off I went.

the cut stitches

Pete and Craig

I chatted with another guy in there that was also the victim of a Run-By Beering - his accident involved a pint glass. There was also a self inflicted accidental gun shot would of which they did not believe and the doctors were filing a report...all kinds of craziness going on! (makes my 4 stitches seem so minor) But of course the doctors, Pete and Craig, loved me! So glad I could make their night. Natalia (another bridesmaid) was kind enough to take pictures of the event...it's like a slideshow "how-to" for stitches. classic.

But I made it down the aisle and even triaed to hobble around the dance floor - which more involved standing in place with my friends dancing around me.

The moral of the story - never ask me to be a bridesmaid. I fractured an elbow after a rehearsal dinner a few years ago (but didn't go to the ER until AFTER I walked down the aisle) and now I ended up with stitches after another rehearsal dinner. I am a maid of honor in october nadhave already warned the bride that I will be going straight to bed after the dinner...but will i roll out of bed and break my nose and end up with two black eyes?!

Now for the really bad news...no swimming or running for 10 days :( WHAT?!?!?! Yes, I let the doctors know this was not an option for me and they beter tell me otherwise but they refused to change their minds on the decision. I can weight train and in a few days try to ride a short ride (yes i tried to tell them i cold do more of this too). Sigh. But - I can propbably still do Charlottesville, and this defintiely will not impact Patriot's!

See you girls soon.

Grand Master Fave

Ok maybe not a grand master...yet! But a start none the less.

After much talk and many failed attempts, I did it. With MS and SL by my side, I headed off for our first Masters swim class at the Y. As everyone jumps in the pool we let the coach know we are new to the class and are clearly guppies in the water. It wasn't so bad. A few "dumb" questions, but I always have those! We finished off the class with 2000 meters total. not bad. (after the 2500+ yds 24 hrs earlier, this was more than plenty). We all decided our arms were the consistency of jello and would be back on Wednesday for more torture! That class to be followed with celebratory adult beverages in honor of our first week as Masters!

Heat Acclimation

Weekend Brick:
28 mile ride
10 mile run

Initial thoughts:
Holy shit! I haven't run 10 miles in a year!

Plan of attack:
meet JR and MS at 8:00am - do two laps of the Shady Grove course and add a little for the additional 4 miles. then run 10 miles all by myself :( from pre-determined route.
sounds good, right?

Actual brick:
meet JR at 8:00. MS joins us at 8:30 and we are off. feeling good. taking it nice and easy per the schedule averaging around a 14mph pace. then tragedy strikes. MS ends up with a bloody knee. luckily next to a gas station so we can buy some water to clean it off and to refill the now empty water bottle. ok back on track. JR and I continue for lap two. pace of about 19mph. then take the last 4 miels real easy just toodling through the neighborhoods.
this is still sounding good, right?
Then time to start running. Well, that predetermined route didn't get made. So I figure if i average 10min miles then i will jsut run for 1hr. 40 mins and it shoudl be close enough. but wait...no watch. d'oh! it's in my pool bag still. o ki will jsut run and check the time when i get back to my car. i'm going. this isn't so bad. keep going. dude where's the shade aorund here? keep going. hmmm i wish i had a fuel belt right about now. ok this sucks. turn around. i get back to the car and my face is the color of a maraschino cherry. not quite the look i am going for these days. good thing i stopped! that 90+degree heat and no hydration. big mistake. i drive my route to see how "far" i made it. let me re-phrase, how "short" i went. yes less than 4 miles. not quite 10. stinker! we live and learn.

notes to self:
1. run with soemone. running distance alone is plain boring. you can only do so much soul searching before you start overanalyzing life.
2. have predetermined route and use it.
3. wear watch
4. get fuel belt!!!!!

More Race Pictures!

Thanks to our fabulous cheerleaders, some of my moments were captured! T2 - running out to start the 5k run

Coming into the finish line...in air!

All done.

I (don't) Love the Tavern Triathlon

My second triathlon - I Love the Tavern Triathlon. Located at Robious Landing it consists of a 750 meter open water swim, 18.8 mile bike, 3.1 mile run.

Preperations begin...I think. This time I wasn't freaking out about carbs, protein, and hydrating all week. I kept having to remind myself to drink more water and gatorade. Friday night I went to the RTC open water swim and felt good afterwards, not great, but good. For some reason I kept worrying about sighting during the practice, but I was thinking that I was doing okay. Afterwards we headed down to Joe's Inn for some carbo loading with friends. Saturday Snells and I made a day of visiting the race site, packet pick-up, quick tire chaning instructional, and a pig roast for dinner - where 2 beers went down so well we went home at 7:30 to get ready for bed!

4:15 am. Alarm clock goes off. Clearly I hit snooze. again. and again. Margo was picking me up at 5:15 so I finally got out of bed around 4:30. Everything seemed packed and we were off to the race. In just a few short hours, Snells would be a triathlete! We pick our place in transition, get our chips, and body marking. Make our way back to the car for some forgotten items and it's already time to head down to the dock. We sit around in the chill morning air watching the other waves take off.

TIme to dip on in and take our place. 1. 2. GO! I start swimming reminding myself not to go too fast and tire myself out. I am having a hard time finding my rhythm. It's just not feeling like a good swim. I tell myself it's only about 100 meters in - i just have to feel it out and get in the groove. Around 200 meters I realize there is no one swimming around me. Am I that slow! I pause and look up...everyone is in a pack over to my right..oops so are the bouys...which should be on my left. I veer to the right to try to get back on course. I get back int he pack just in time to get a good kick to the rib...minor water swallowing and coughing. it happens. finally the turn around. as i turn around the booy i am passing this guy who gos off to the right. i am laughing in my head at him - heehee...he is in the wrong direction. do i tap his foot? nah- there are kayakers to tell him. hmm i am once again swimming alone. oh wait - the swim exit is over there...that guy was going the right way - d'oh! on my way out of the water i spot snellings and give her a shout out in the confusion. so after some additional mileage, my first open water swim is dunzo. (estimated time - 16-19 minutes, actual 22:58 13th plc)

I run down the path to the transition and after geting my land legs I swithc the shoes and take off on the bike. as i am exiting the transition area my bike wobbles some - that could have been bad haha. hang on to that thing, favreau! (estimated 2:00, actual 2:20 6th plc)

I start the bike and i just cannot get clipped in!!! so frustrating. then i realized when i did the tire changing instructional i had move it to...my hardest gear!!!!! i pushed the pedals around with my jello legs to change gears...ahhh much bettah. i get in the groove and am off. mary jo and sandee pass me - love em! the first hill comes and i am feeling good...but here are 4 people stacked right in a row in front of me...uphill. if i pass one, i have to pass them all. ok here goes - to your left, to your left, to your left, to your left. wow. go favreau. good first hill. keep up that and this will be a good ride. a mile later i realize that my pace is slow, but my legs are tired. i tell myself to just spin it out in a lower gear and find my groove thang. finally i reach the turn and the hills begin. i am doing alright, pass one guy back and forth a couple times talking to each other as we pass joking that we are having our own tour de france. then comes the BIG hill...dum dum dum. i trudged up in rather easily in practice..this time...not so much. I went up it and pasesed a few people, but was only going about 8mph. yikes. then the turn around, time to go back down the monster hill...weeeeeeeee! there are tears streaming from my eyes from the blazing speed - i jsut soak up this feeling and pedal away. the ride back was good with a much higher pace. turn into the park and stop! car! stop! the police officer is yelling at this car that didn't stop like he asked to and almost nailed me - whew that was close! i pull back into transition and get ready for the run. (estimated 1:02:00-1:07:00, actual 1:08:42 16.4 pace 10th plc)

T2 is a quick shoe switch and helmet off! i'm in and out - nice. (estimated 2:00, actual 0:59 10th plc)

I head off to the woods for the trail run. I heard it was a gravel path, not bad. we practice on a gravel path often. as i turn in this is an awfully narrow path. turn. turn again. wait turn here. omg i am going to get dizzy! there are volunteers everywhere pointing us in teh differnt directions. i am having a hard time getting my running legs with having to focus on turning every 10 yards. and with the path being narrow it's hard to pass people b/c people are coming in the opposite direction. not a fan of this run AT ALL! i jokingly tell my volunteer friend to leave me a trail of bread crumbs so i can find my way back out! i begin singing in my head "over the river and through the woods to the finish line i go" on the way back in we have the jump over a downed tree ont he diagonal. as i am coming up on it i tell myself to just jump over the thing and keep my momentum going. if i eat it, then i will look tough. if i make it well then i made it. i jump...and i made it. i'm like hmm...like a hurdle. i always wanted to do those when i thought about running track in high school. the end is nearing and i pick it up. negative split, just for grandy (she is having a baby while the race is going on after all, this was leat i could do for her). i see the people ahead out fo the woods and kick iut up a litle more. i hear jenn and adam, then the group of trigirls, erin on the mic, then my friends barrett and sam and margo's family at the finish! yay! (estimated 28:30-29:30, actual 30:19 9:46 pace 12th plc)

Overall

estimated finish time 1:52:00-1:59:59

actual finish time 2:05:15

age group 12/21

females 64/110

overall 196/253

so how do i feel? alright. i have a bad habit of beating myself up for not being faster. i know that comes with time and i finish in the middle of the pack. i felt alright endurance wise. my muscles were defintiely talking to me at times. i need to focus on my workouts and make the most of them. i have my first open water race under my belt an dmore lessons learned. as my brother said - you take something away from every race. this time i take away sighting!

and i am going to give mother nature a shout out for the beautiful weather! thank you!

next stop: timberman short course.