Um, it's been a while

HELLO! It's been, well, since i started the fall semester since I have said anything here. My apologies... I guess my semester kept me busy. It did plus i had way too many papers to write. Well, I am done with that and back home in San Diego for a little bit, which so far has been the shittiest san diego weather i have seen. Very disappointed. Instead I am rocking out in my sweats listening to the time (dirty bit). yeah, song of the week. Not to mention my awkward encounter with a guy i haven't seen in 6 years and he knew my name and i had no idea what his was. oh yeah...you....good...to see....you ....too.

Anyways, training update. I have nothing until end of February, which is the Hyannis half marathon with the neu triathlon team. Then, on my birthday I am traveling to Alabama for collegiate nationals! Pumped about that. Training was going really well...i was up to 9 miles for running and cycling a lot more than before. Of course that never lasts for me as I am kind of gimpy with a right hip problem. I mean, i haven't had a hip problem before so it's probably time haha. It all stems from my original problem I am sure. I've been just ignoring it, but eventually I will go see a massage therapist (it feels like i had a blockade in my hip with my ROM).

1 more semester left till i graduate. I am in the process of beginning to apply to jobs. I even have an excel sheet going ( i know intense). To be honest, i want to stay in Boston. Sorry California. I love you, but times change. hah. we'll see....i am excited to see what happens. and nervous as hell. well not really. well i dont know. haha. peace out.

Race Report- Quakerman? Olympic? not really.

So, apparently Quakertown Penn. thinks that an olympic triathlon is .6 mile swim, 40 mile bike and 6.2 mile run. No, quakertown the swim is longer and the bike is WAY shorter. So, the odds were pretty much against me (i don't train much for long bike...no time) but i signed up anyways for the challenge.

And well, that's exactly what happened to me... out in front for the swim (did i mention i haven't swam in a while...) where some dude drafted me and wouldn't stay off my toes. At first this annoyed me then i laughed at the fact that he had to have some girl carry him the whole way. The bike was long and I didn't really hold too much of a pace faster than my half ironman (no surprise). Everyone passed me...haha. well, not everyone, but you get the picture. There were plenty of deer, squirrels (i almost hit one), and dead things. Not to mention really pretty scenery. However, 40 miles of biking isn't my fortay right now. hah. My 10k was great! I was steadily running under 8 min miles (sometimes down to 7 15) the whole way, except a few hills. So I came in under 50 minutes for that which was by far my best 10k time ever. I believe I can thank my new running forefoot/midfoot for that. I can't remember what I finished at, but I got like 8th overall in a very competitive collegiate division. Maybe if i could bike i'd actually be good. meh.

That was a quick recap...I have to go to a meeting. I am thinking about running there, would that be weird? Yes, probably. So, i'll do it.

Overall, a good time. Wish more neu people would have done it...one more collegiate race in a few weeks (a lot shorter), then i am done with this racing thing for a while.

San Diego here I come.....

Well, a lot of things have come to an end....summer internship is done, physical therapy is done and i am 2 days from flying back to San Diego for 12 days! It will be nice to have a break from working and not have to do ANYTHING at all.

Apparently, I am training for a half Ironman 1 month too late. The last few days I've had some really good training in....which i didn't really do before. Yesterday I did a ride with an old CS manager of mine which totaled 46 miles!!!! This was broken up by a 1 mile swim in the gorgeous Walden Pond out in Concord Ma. I have to admit, the water didn't taste funky and it was a great temperature. I didn't even bother with my wetsuit. My legs were a little tired from just the mileage but other than that it was great. We went along the minuteman path, which you don't have to worry about any cars, besides the occasional stop sign. I continued the day with helping a friend move then stuffing myself with crab from the Barking Crab (great place). Then today I ran to the gym, did all my PT stuff plus some, then ran back around to the Trader Joes, got food, then walked back for a total of almost 6 miles. Okay, so I'm not doing another half anytime soon but seems like i'm training closer to what i was supposed to!

Anyways, if anyone wants to do a run, body surf rendition over in SoCal with me, let me know. I will be taking advantage of the weather and possibly trying to get rid of these ridiculous tri short tan lines (which i keep making worse). or if you want to eat a Burrito.

Heading off to Fenway Park soon here...Jen you would kill me I am going to be wearing a Boston Redsox hat. haha.

Catchya later!

Race Report- Boston Urban Epic Tri

Well, I didn't think I would be racing for the 3rd month in a row, but a free entry just so happened to land in my hands about 3 days before this race. Plus, it was a sprint triathlon (1/2 mile swim, 9 mile bike and 4 mile run) which after that half ironman seems like not too much!

The race took place in South Boston, which is about 5 miles from my place. Of course the train is too awkward to take there, so I bike there early in the morning (yeah i know, it's over half the actual bike part of the race). This entails biking through the sketchy neighborhood of Dorchester. First, this guy with a girl in his car creepily drives right next to me and just looks at me for a while. awkward. then I had a green light and an open road (its early on a sunday) and someone decided to cut me off by turning right in front of me to an outside lane. thanks masshole!!!!!!

Anyways, it was a fun race. My friend was doing her first one so it was great to be there with her. The swim was...pleasant. it was super calm (unlike rhode island). i felt like i was just ...cruising. but not really going anywhere because i have swam once in a month haha. but somehow i managed to be first woman out of the water and came in about the same time as last year. i am pretty sure i was way off course though and did more bc i have no idea how to swim straight without a buoy.

the bike was a 2 loop course (the same as last year). this was kinda fun bc there was definitely a wind...so it was really nice going down...i felt like i was flying...but then hard on the way back. I ended up averaging just over 20 mph, which is really good for me! my quads were kind of dead though. Oh, and i saw someone riding a fold up bike. hardcore.

The run...a little of the same as the bike with some wind for part of it. I started out "slower" but then was hauling and felt good at the end. ended up averaging 7:57 min/mile, which was ok...i feel like i could have been faster. but it was faster than last year (went over 8:30 min/mile). the sand finish was rough. i wanted to throw off my shoes. by the way, went sockless again cycling and running. i like it a lot. total time was like 1 hour 13 min...something. the afterparty was fun with beer and free stuff! i got 3rd in my age group, 6th overall woman. technically i got awarded 1st in my age group bc there were separate awards for top 3 women (2 were in my age group). so i kind of got first but not really. haha. whatever

Overall a really fun race. i didn't expect to be racing, but hey whatever!

Anyways....I am still in physical therapy...but i am expecting to be done soon. my back is so much stronger...but swimming manages to hurt it. lets avoid swimming :P

train hard! next up= a kind of olympic in pa sept 11th.

Post half Ironman

I am about 2 weeks out from doing my half ironman!!!!!!! so how does it feel? well, my sunburns are finally peeling and turning into somewhat of a tan. I have a beautiful outline of my tri suit which will probably stay with me the whole summer. My body stayed in tact...as in my hips and back are still in line. I've had a few aches and pains delayed from the race, but nothing crazy and unexpected. I decided to take a week off of running (i dove into runs a few days after the race...bad idea). I've been incorporating rowing (at the gym) and yoga into my workouts!!!!!! It's been kind of fun to do a few new things...i have a dvd for yoga because i don't want to spend money on classes. It feels good and i need to be doing a ton of stretching. Oh yeah , I can't forget about dancing being incorporated into my routine too. I went to my first techno concert (Deadmau5) with my coworkers and it was so fun!!!!!! We bounced around and danced for probably a few hours. It feels good to get out and party a bit post Ironman.... no lie :)

In addition, last Tuesday I gave my first presentation at Northeastern about barefoot running/minimalist shoes. It was GREAT! I had a lot of fun and it seemed to go really well. I'm going to try to get out on my five fingers and run again with them....maybe i won't hurt my back again. More clinics to come hopefully....

As far as races, I am not actually signed up for anything till September (olympic). I am trying to get a free entry into the Boston Urban Epic since Citysports sponsors it but no luck yet. I'm NOT paying 99 dollars to do a sprint triathlon. no thanks. the olympic was LESS than that. haha. what the heck Boston? I don't have a training regime (when did i ever though)...i'm doing whatever I feeel like...having a good time...will start going to run club again. Maybe a marathon in the future? My coach told me I should be ready for an Ironman next year....I dont think i have time to train for such a thing. Maybe someday......

Summer is FLYING by...i have internship (cardiac rehab) till around August 12th...San Diego August 19th till sept 1st...then the new semester (new class and new internship at children's)....then a trip to San Fran maybe? Lots to look forward to!

Race Report- Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island!

Race Report!

Pre Race

So, we had to get down to Providence Saturday to check in and do all the logistical things. I was lucky enough to hop on a commuter train from my school straight there, half a mile from the Expo where you check in. I started off not so well with biking to the train. My bike computer was working well and all the sudden it stopped…turns out the sensor fell off somewhere back from me. I went back and luckily found it. PHEW. I got to the train way too early, but made it to Providence in one piece. I met up with my friend Mike (aka Garf) who luckily had a car and bike rack. We checked in, shopped, met up with Tim, and dropped off our bike-run bag at T2. The logistics of this race were kinda weird…the swim was down in Narragansett (56 miles down), so this wasn’t a looped course. Our hotel was somewhere in the middle so we checked in then headed to the swim start to drop off bikes and whatnot. The weather was awful...downpouring and tomorrow didn't look good.

Race Day

We woke up at 4am, left the hotel by around 4:30. The weather was actually pleasant! No t-storms! Of course the one way road caused a lot of traffic so we had about 5 min to set up before the transition area closed. I didn’t have much to do so it didn’t really matter. The bathroom lines were awful, but hey when you gotta go you gotta go. In a race this long it’s reaaaaaallly important. Haha…plus my wave started at 6 45am, 45 min after the first wave. Mike and I got our wetsuits on and didn’t warm up in the ocean, we just body surfed. Haha. I was getting pumped and dancing with the music (yeah I know, way to use up energy ill need for the next 6 hours), but whatever. The swim was…interesting. The waves were pretty rough…I swallowed some water several times on the way out. I thought it would be easier on the way back but there were so many people! I was seeing white caps, blue, orange, red…man. I felt like a special ed kid trying to keep in a straight line afloat. Oh well, the swim went ok (2^nd in my age group), but not that great. I got out anxious to start something else (A.D.D). The wetsuit strippers rock….by the way. I took my sweet time at T1 making sure I had everything. Well, turned out I put my socks in the wrong bag. Oops. Looks like I will be going sockless for the first time ever biking.

The bike started out nice and easy… in fact the first hour I was easily averaging 17-18 miles per hour. Ok, then that was done. Talk about hills! There were some nasty ones…big ones after smaller ones. At about mile 25 my back started to hurt and I realized this is about when I usually stop biking (ive never done more than 26 miles straight with this training bc of my back). By mile 35 my butt hurt, my back still hurt, and I was getting major A.D.D. Omg do I really have another 20 miles left? The scenery was so nice but only entertained me for so long. I was really good with nutrition (and able to eat easily) alternating cliff shot bloks and Gatorade mix for about 300 cals per hour. I think I was talking to myself at one point bc i had never sat on a bike this long…and making chomp noises when eating. People that passed me probably thought I was weird (they are right). I actually passed women on the hills but they passed me again on the flats…then I passed them again…you get the picture. I saw lots of people with flats, birds, water bottles on the ground (one I ran over almost lost my balance), ocean, funny guys yelling at us to climb the hill faster, etc. Fun course though, definitely filled with turns, twists, and hills.

I was SO glad to be at T2… my body was beyond ready to move different muscles…I cant even sit still for a 3 and half hour car ride! I was waiting to see if my socks were in my T2 bag, but they weren’t. Ok, going sockless for the first time ever running now. I put on my hat and realized I should have had sunscreen in that bag too. Doh. It was pretty hot outside by now..so that was a not so smooth move of me. Oh well…race goes on. We started at the capital of Providence then ran towards the water and did two loops of that. Started out great…then there was THE hill. I turned a corner and saw it…I went holy shit, really? I didn’t do any hill training, repeat…. No hill training. Everyone in front of me was walking up it. I was determined to not do that…so I didn’t. I passed a bunch of men and did a "come on guys, keep on going" and they laughed at me. Man, that was rough…but I carried on. The sponges were my favorite…I took in some Gatorade and water throughout but no food please. We had to go up that same hill that came down….just not as steep, ouch. First loop felt awesome, awesome awesome. I was slowing myself down to 8 50 pace. At times I was going closer to 8. Mistake Julie, you didn’t train but up to like 6 miles. The 2^nd loop, 2^nd hill killed me…I had to walk part of it (ashamed)…and on the way back up had to walk a little bit too). Everything got tight and hurt. I felt like I was shuffling….but I tried not to slow down too much…just walked every aid station as long as I could. The last half mile was awesome with the crowd bringing you into the finish. 6.08 with a 7th place finish in my age group. Overall...pleased to just finish in one piece.

I had to hit the medical tent…. Haha. My friend was like Julie your shoe is all bloody…guess my toe was bleeding for most of my run but I didn’t even notice. Gotta love it. Well, overall pleased with the race…kind of hard to believe I did a race that took 6 hours! Turns out the soreness wasn’t horrible, just the sunburns!!!!!!!! Note to self, apply sunblock and pack socks J I saw my PT yesterday and I am STILL in line….wow. all that and my back is still in place (just a bit tight). Great news.

What’s next? Taking it easy this week…although I did run 3 miles today in the rain, which was nice. I have another race in September, but nothing till then (unless I get a free entry to do a sprint in Boston). Thanks for all the support and cheering (even though you might not have been there). maybe another one next year? :P

July 4th! and RI soon.......

Hope everyone had a fantastic 4th of July! I was ever so fortunate (sarcasm) to work the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. However I did manage to get out to the fireworks with some friends, which were amazing. Here's a few photos to capture the moments...

Did you know Boston was the first city to declare July 4th a holiday?

This was definitely the best show I have seen in a long time! And what a view!

Besides that, I have been keeping up on the training....I didn't keep track these last few weeks, but i figure it's too late now to be doing too much differently. I tamed down my training to make sure my back is in a good place...and well it IS! Today was a great day at PT....they said I am so much stronger, less tight, and my pelvis/back has been aligned for almost 2 weeks straight. uhhhmazing. So, that's great news. This week, just taking it easy....I need to swim soon...our pool has been shut down (doh).

As you can see below....my bike got a bit of a makeover! I got some new tires and bar tape (that was really needed). Looks good huh? Looks like shes all ready.....but am I??? of course, i am super excited! I got some pro triathlete advice....nutrition nutrition nutrition....so I'll get a plan for that going. Any advice for nutrition? 200-300 calories per hour on the bike i think that's what it is....i just hope my stomach can take all that ... crap. I didnt eat at all on my half marathon. not even drink. well, i will be sure not to let THAT happen.

I'm leaving Saturday morning via commuter rail to Providence...heading to the expo center then meeting up with Mike (a friend who will be racing with me). We're staying half way in between the swim and run portion. Can't wait!!!!!!!! cross your fingers for no t-storms, super hot weather...speaking of hot weather...im sweating just sitting here. I need an AC asap.