Tri Two

I mentioned in my welcome-back post in July that during my six month break from blogging Justin and I competed in our first triathlon.

We weren't the fastest on the road but we weren't the slowest either. The distances were a little longer than a traditional sprint tri, with a .5 mile swim, 15.5 mile bike, and 4 mile run, yet we still finished with decent first-race times; Justin in 1:58:54 and me in 2:07:47.

We were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it so when we heard that the neighboring town was holding their inaugural triathlon just down the road from us, we sent in our registrations and got back on the training wagon. (We even convinced Justin's younger brother, Jason, to race this time.)

We only had two weeks notice before the race but luckily the distances were a tad shorter (.5 mile swim, 12.8 mile bike, 3.1 mile run) and being August, the temperature was much warmer. In addition to this being our second race, we splurged and bought a pair of racing bikes. As a result, the combination of these variables played to our favor. Justin finished the race in 1:35:51 and I was on his heels at 1:37:42.

First wave preparing for start (including Justin and Jason).

Third wave hightailing it in the water (including me).

The run up the beach after the first leg. (I'm in the grey tank and black shorts.)

The transition area.

Jason on his bike, finishing the second leg. Notice the absent helmet—tsk tsk.

Justin finishing the bike portion.

Me just starting the bike portion—had to get my pink on!

Jason finishing strong.

Justin starting his run.

Me finishing with a smile.

Our race-day tats. Left leg: age / wave. Right leg: I for individual.

Our bib biceps after the race.

Finish line!

The highlight of the morning was when I found out I placed second in my age group—woop woop!

Accepting my second place medal! (Watch out sweetie, I'm gonna beat you next time!)

Looking ahead, Justin and I plan to continue competing but since it seems the season for triathlons is over, we are going to have to wait until next year. In the meantime, we are participating in a 50-mile bike ride this Sunday (yes you read that correctly, FIFTY miles) and a few 5Ks throughout the fall and winter. Stay tuned as I try to rack up even more medals (my summer count was three!).

Run Your Ass Off

This post goes out to all the crazies who are participating in the Chicago marathon this Sunday (10-10-10). My good friend Stephanie is running it for her second year in a row and while she's hustling her ass across the various neighborhoods of Chicago, I will be sitting on my tush at home. Because I won't be there to cheer her on (though, she rarely needs it), I designed this little poster and sent it to her this morning for some last minute support.

If you are one of the aforementioned crazies, feel free to download your own and post it on your bathroom mirror for some inspiration. Good luck all!

Ottawa Moose Miles 2010

Last Saturday Justin and I participated in the second annual Ottawa Moose Miles 5K run (3.1 miles). Last year was the first time either of us ran a 5K race and we didn't do too bad. I placed third in my gender age group with 27:22 and Justin placed third in his gender age group with 24:03. Not considering ourselves runners, we trained for a month or two leading up to our first 5K race, but after finishing were beat and sore. So, throughout the last year, we have been running regularly and even ran a 4 mile race on Thanksgiving.

However, in this year's Moose Miles, Justin finished in 24:08 and I finished in 26:30. And even though there were double the runners this year (just shy of 300, compared to about 150 last year), I shaved almost a whole minute off my time and placed first in my gender age group!

Justin's parents also participated in the race, but it was even more exciting that I did so well this year because my parents were visiting and joined in on the fun by walking the 5K with Justin's mom. In fact, we recruited a few other people to run as well and two of them placed in their age groups too.

But no matter if I placed first, fourth, or last, the course was extremely challenging (featuring 2 hills both ways) and Saturday was so cold and windy that I was happy to complete it under my goal time of 27 minutes. Now I'm looking forward to the next race!

Who's the fox? Who's the turkey?

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that this year on Thanksgiving day, before stuffing ourselves silly, Justin and I were going to join the crazies (a.k.a. Justin's dad and my friend Stephanie) and partake in a four mile race along the Fox River in Batavia (a suburb of Chicago).

For your amusement, here's a revelation I had on the way there.

Me: "I wonder who's the fox and who's the turkey in the race today."
Justin: "What?"
Me: "Between us, who is the fox and who is the turkey?"
Justin: Silence (obviously not fully awake yet)
Me: "According to the race's logo, I am the fox and you are the turkey."
Justin: "How's that?"
Me: "The fox is chasing the turkey and since you're a foot taller than me and faster, that makes you the turkey and me the fox."
Justin: Silence (No response, clearly ignoring my immature observations.)
Me: "Well, it's true."

Anywho, this fox finished the race in 35 minutes and 39 seconds and my handsome turkey finished in 31 minutes and 58 seconds. No third place medals this race but I finished 18th and he finished 16th in our respective gender-age groups. Not too shabby for a race in 38º F weather, with a narrow slippery course, and with 999 other runners.

(Stephanie and me before the race. She's in the white knit hat and I'm to the right in the blue jacket.)

I am a Runner

Up until this year I loathed running, so it may come as a shock to some of you (my runner friends whom I would ask disdainfully how they could enjoy it so much and my parents whom thought I was attending track practice in middle school, but I was actually working on homework until track ended before I could return home) that I now consider myself a runner.

These same people also know that Justin and I ran the Ottawa Moose Miles 5K this past April. Up until that point I had, on the occasion, gone running for exercise, but nothing to the extent of 3.2 miles. I think I can confidently say that the most I had run prior to that experience was at most 1.5 miles. Was I out of my mind to sign up for the race? Maybe, but I went full steam ahead anyways. Leading up to the R date, Justin and I trained like madmen, and it wasn't surprising to find us legging it around our neighborhood on a Friday night. But after some sore legs and a new pair of shoes, we were ready.

I would love to give a play-by-play as if we participated in a high intensity football game, but there really isn't much to say about running a race. There was a fall down and a puking incident, but neither were one of us. We both had on our music and I told Justin he didn't have to stay with me, at 6'2" he is a foot taller than me and my short legs just can not keep up with him. I set him free to run at his own speed, which could have been the death of him because he said when he saw that he had run the first mile in under seven minutes, he knew it was going to be a rough finish. I guess I'm the steady one in the family. Before the race even started, we were surprised when we checked in and saw that Justin's dad, Jack, and younger brother, Jason, were also going to run. Justin's mom tagged along as well and was our lone cheerleader. In the end, we both finished within our goal times: Justin at 24:03 (3rd in his gender age group) and me at 27:22 (3rd in my gender age group). Jack finished at 24:27 (2nd in his gender age group) and Jason finished at 20:13 (1st in his gender age group and 6th overall). So, we all left with our shiny medals and that's the story of my first race.

However, our running didn't stop. Justin and I continued to go about three times every week all throughout the summer and continuing into the fall (though now we are on the treadmill). And we are planning to run the Fox and Turkey in Batavia on Thanksgiving, which is four miles along the Fox River. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I'm nervous, because I am. Though, I am going to do my best and my goal is to run the whole time, no walking for these puppies!

Enough of that though, what I want to share with you today is an awesome map tool that my runner-neighbor told me about. It is RunningMap.com and what makes this a nifty site is that you can plot your path on their interactive map and it will tell you how far you went. No more guessing your distance when you are on the bike path or estimating how wide your neighbor's yard is, this baby tells you the exact distance.

And, you can use this for more than running. I have used it to measure how many miles our bike trip was and how far I walk from the train station to my office in the morning (depending on which route I take).

By creating a login you can save your routes and share them with other people. You can also search through other users maps. We have used this a lot to track how far we have gone and many times to settle a distance debate as well.