My First Triathlon Experience - As a Volunteer

On Saturday I got up at 4:30 am. Not for a race I was running in, but to head out to Team Magic's Cedars of Lebanon Triathlon to volunteer.

I wanted to volunteer for a Tri before actually completing my first one to take some of the mystery out of my own race day. It was my first time being on the volunteer side of a race and it was actually really fun even though I didn't I went out by myself. I could see myself volunteering for other races in the future - it was that fun!

Since they were short a few volunteers, I did a variety of jobs - from unloading post-race food from cars, to body marking participants, to directing racers on the run, and helping break down the finish line and transition area after the race.

Body marking was actually a fun job - I mean actually getting to write on people's skin with a permanent marker? Awesome!

Tip #1 (especially for the ladies): shave the night before or morning of the race. I know this seems like common hygiene sense, but I am not really one to shave my legs every day (men, of course, you aren't required to shave - lucky!) and I feel it would be a little less awkward to let someone mark me up if I have smooth legs!

Back of the transition area just before the start of the race.

Another mental note I took was to not unrack my bike from my car until I've picked up my packet and have my credentials to enter the transition area. At most races only participants are allowed in the transition area. At this race if you hadn't picked up your packet yet, you had to go down to the pool deck to get your race packet, thus passing transition and then back tracking. Something small, but a detail that can make race morning go smoother.

Just before the race started, I moved to my place where I would be for the race. I was stationed at the run exit/finish entrance to direct racers where to go as they exited and then again when they came in for the finish line. So in my opinion, I got to see one of the best parts of the race - after they get off the bike and are starting the run. Most racers Saturday looked really strong, so I have high hopes with my upcoming bricks planned I will perform similarly in my own race.

So, for each runner that came out of T2, I would say something like "stay left, in between the cones". I even had an official looking vest AND a flag (too bad no picture evidence). Surprisingly there were about half a dozen racers that tried to turn right even though A) I verbally said left to everyone and B) I was blocking the right exit AND there was a sign with an arrow pointing left. Goes to show you how discombobulated you can get during a race!

Another funny story was the lead racer coming back from the turnaround on the run. He goes, "I thought this course was flat!" It was funny to see even the fastest guy out on the course making jokes and having a good time. I think that's one of the things I enjoyed most about volunteering - seeing all of these participants, whether they were the lead of the pack, middle of the pack or the last racer on the course, having fun, smiling, and accomplishing a goal they set out to do.

The final racer was a man who had a double leg amputation. His wife and son had been waiting for him near the finish line and the race staff had given them permission for his son (around 3 or 4) to run the finish line with him. I still get tears thinking about this moment in the race - it was so special to witness him taking his son by the hand as they crossed the finish line.

Another Tip  - As one of the race participants was leaving I asked why a lot of people brought their stuff in those large plastic painter's buckets. He was so kind to indulge me by describing how 1) it's helpful to sit on when putting your shoes on and 2) you can throw your gear in it as you finish each leg so you can keep everything organized. So say after your swim leg, you put your shoes on (while sitting on the bucket) then you flip it over and throw your goggles and swim cap in it. It was a helpful hint I think I'll use.

He also told me to only compete with myself at my race - don't compete with others on the course. A good reminder to run my own race.

All in all it made me super excited for my own race - although I'm only 2 weeks into training, I feel ready. I know by time July 21st rolls around I will be ready to accomplish the distance. Oh, and next time you participate in a race - thank a volunteer. It felt good when people thanked me as they walked to their cars!

Weigh in - heart's just not in it

Last Week's weight - 236.6

This Week's weight - 240.0

3.4 lbs GAINED

89.2 lbs lost since June 2010

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ashamed of the 240s creeping back. But another part of me doesn't really care. I need to reevaluate what I'm doing here. To tell you the truth, my heart just hasn't been in this weight loss thing lately. And if you've ever tried to lose weight you know your heart has to be into it to succeed.

My heart is into the fitness part of a healthy lifestyle, but not the nutrition part. Unfortunately the nutrition is the important part for weight loss.

I'm headed to the beach later this week. I hope a few days away will recenter my priorities. Or if the priorities in my heart are different than those in my mind, I can figure out how to balance it. It's time to make something happen either way.

I'm done with this roller coaster ride.

I'm in love...with chickpea salad (recipe)

I'm in love.

Not with a guy...no, no this is much more special than that.

It's mashed Chickpea Salad. And you will be in love too.

Am I the only one that loves a good scoop of chicken salad? Despite 90% of the population's aversion to celery I love the crunch and flavor it gives the creamy mayo induced, protein filled, perfect lunch plate.

BUT....I don't know if I've talked about it much here, however, I have been "off" meat for awhile now. I'm not vegetarian - and I HAVE eaten it since this mood struck - however it doesn't ever sound good to me. At least in my own kitchen.

Last week, I ate at The Wild Cow. Nashville's neighborhood vegetarian and vegan friendly establishment. On this fateful night, I ordered the chickpea salad (made with veganese) as my side item and OH EM GEE I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since then.

It tasted like chicken salad - only with chick peas! Besides hummus, I've never been a huge fan of chick peas, so I have no idea what made me order this, but I'm glad I did.

I immediately started googling recipes that night to find what I thought would be a similar one found at The Wild Cow. Ding..ding..ding...I found this one.

I didn't have any Vegenaise, but I'm not vegan so no worries there. What I did have is the sinfully delicious Duke's Mayonnaise....oh yeah.

Here's my recipe based on the one above. You can, of course, substitute your own light mayo (or Vegenaise) for the Duke's, but why would you?

1 can Chickpeas
2 Tbsp Duke's Mayo
1 Tbsp Hellmann's Dijonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped celery (or sweet pickles if that's your thing)
2 Tbsp finely chopped red onion
1/2 tsp EVO
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

1. Drain and rinse chickpeas, mash to desired consistency (I think it works better if there's not much "bean" shape left).

2. Add all ingredients and mix. Refrigerate a few hours to let flavors "meld".

A 1/2 cup serving is about 175 calories and 5 grams of fat. Not so bad if you pair it with a few Wasa crackers, baby carrots and canteloupe.

Not too bad considering some grocery store chicken salads can run 280 calories and 25 grams of fat.

I see a summer staple created here! What's your favorite go-to easy, summer meals?

Weekly Weigh in

Last Week's weight - 236.4

This Week's weight - 236.6

0.2 lbs GAINED

92.6 lbs lost since June 2010

So, I haven't tracked any food for 2 weeks and I've gained the last two weeks - correlation? I think so. Honestly, I think it could have been a worse gain considering this week at work I ate how at a burger place (complete with fries and a chocolate malt), went for pizza with friend, and indulged in commencement activities on Friday (a donut breakfast, catered lunch, and celebratory margaritas). I rounded out my week with Taco Bell, pizza, and more margaritas last night (thankfully, I did 2 workouts yesterday).

This week it's back to tracking. I leave for vacation in 2 weeks and until at least then I'm off alcohol. This is a main theme in where my weeks go wrong (among eating out too much and too many sweets) It sure makes life more boring, but I need to get back on it if I ever want to be at a healthy weight.

More importantly, I will complete my first week of Triathlon training today. I just need to get in a bike ride despite the rainy weather. So far, I really like it. I am really enjoying the pool, and if I didn't have a half marathon I was planning on doing in 6 weeks plus the bike to contend with, I'd be swimming a lot more than my current schedule allows.

If I can get my eating under control, my training schedule will certainly allow me to drop some more fat and tone my body overall.

At some point, I need to move forward again. This wavering in the balance is not doing anything for me.

First swim - Triathlon Training

Monday was the big first swim for Triathlon training. If you follow me on Twitter, you've probably seen me complain about lack of ability to find a comfortable swimming suit. My torso is long, I'm plus size, and I carry a lot of weight in my midsection. Oh, and I have a lot of back fat/extra skin I want to hide back there. But finally I found one. A few weeks ago I tried on a size 18 basic solid tank suit from Reebok. It fit, but it was snug and a little tight, pulling down on my shoulders. I decided to keep looking, but to use it as a back up if I didn't find anything else. Well, after hours of dead end searches on the internet (you really CAN'T find EVERYTHING on the internet) I went back into Dick's Sporting Goods on Sunday. It was a different location than my previous visit. Low and behold they had a size 20 in the same suit I tried on before. It fit slightly better than the 18 and I decided to plop down the cash to get it.

Into the pool I went.

I recruited Jenne to come with me because I have a lot of social anxiety issues when I am trying something new or put outside of my comfort zone. Good thing she was there because I probably would have chickened out after I got into the water. All of the lanes were in use and we had to share (my worst nightmare). I sat at the side of the lap lanes telling Jenne I couldn't do it for a few minutes until coerced me into jumping in a lane. Of course, the guy in our lane wasn't following the rules (my worst pet peeve) and I forced him to run into me swimming so he would get the point. (Note: It is my understanding when sharing a lap lane you should swim "circles" or stay on the right side - just like the road - but maybe I'm wrong.)

The first two laps were a little uncomfortable. It turns out I wasn't breathing correctly while swimming. Did you know you're supposed to release your breath into the water when your face is down? Yep, exhale in the water (blow bubbles) and inhale when you tilt your head to the side. After a little breathing lesson, I was off for my second set of laps.

I'm grateful I'm fairly comfortable in the water. I've been swimming in rivers and lakes since I was 6 months old. I grew up on boats at the Lake of the Ozarks and sand islands on the Mississippi River. I learned to water ski when I was 4 and 1/2. I swam competitively for 2-3 years in childhood. And even given all of that, there were times I struggled. I felt clunky, struggled to find a rhythm, and at some points exhaled too much and thought to myself, "oh I can see how people freak out in water now."

I took 11 laps with breaks in between every 2. There's a lot of work to do, but the good part is that I enjoyed it. I'm already looking forward to my next swim. And looking forward to an open water swim when the time comes.

Next step is to figure out a biking schedule. It's sort of a pain to load up the bike for a <10 mile bike ride, so I may utilize some of the spin classes at the Y some days, but I'm not sure yet.

Needless to say, I'm pumped about Triathlon and can't wait until July 21st!

Weigh in

Last Week's weight - 232.0 This Week's weight - 236.4 4.4 lbs GAINED 92.8 lbs lost since June 2010 Apparently I'm not done with the roller coaster yet. I overate, made bad choices, and binged on Oreo cookies. All while no exercise happened. A gain was imminent. I'll pick myself up again and make it right this week. The only thing I did positively this week was join the Y in advance of Tri training beginning this week.

Country Music Half Marathon Race Recap

Team Super Stove before the race

I've put off writing this recap for a couple days now. I guess I just don't know what to say about the experience other than I went, I ran, I conquered.

Obviously, I couldn't be happier with my performance. If you had told me in February 2011 I'd go from not ever wanting to do a half-marathon again, to doing my 2nd one in 3:35 to finishing this one in under 3 hours, I probably would have rolled my eyes and told you to get out of my face.

KG likes to constantly remind me that not oh so long ago I told her, "Karen, not everyone is made to be a runner!"

But now, I am a runner.

The morning started out with a 3:45 AM wake-up call. Considering my corral didn't leave the gate until 7:43, a 4 hour lead time seems sort of ridiculous looking back. But I heard from a co-worker the interstate was backed up from downtown all the way to the airport by 4:30 AM. Traffic is not your friend on race day. We didn't take the interstate.

We parked at the finish line and took the shuttle to the start line. We basically walked right up and got on the shuttle and we were at Centennial Park by around 5 AM - it was still dark outside.

I should have taken a picture of my breakfast, but I had a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter in the car. I have eaten this (bagel + peanut butter) my last 2 races. It's sort of tradition now. I also had coffee on the way.

Since I knew we had so much time to kill before even starting the race, I brought a banana along with me.

I made the decision to not wear my camelbak for hydration. I thought I'd be fine with the hydration provided on the course, but I regretted this decision by mile 2. I trained every week with my camelbak. I should have just worn it. I carried my phone, ID, and honey stingers in a SpiBelt instead.

After the mandatory port-a-potty visit, we meandered around towards the start line. By this time, the first gun was well past. It was probably about 7:20 when I went into the corral. Just so we're clear, the corrals were a clusterf*ck. I was originally assigned to 32, but I got moved up at the expo to corral 28. I was doubting my abilities so I thought I might go in more at 29, but the back corrals were missing for some reason and when I went back a little farther in the line, I found the end of it. Knowing I was way faster than where the walkers would be at the end of the line, I went back up to find corral 28. There was 27 and 29, but no 28. I ended up getting in just behind the 2:45 pacer. Sure, that was a pipe dream, but I figured it was better than having to run around people.

Well, I still had to. I'm not sure what the heck happened in the back corrals, but even though I started up early enough to be with a 2:45 pacer I had to consistently weave in and out of people who were walking the first few miles and pretty much the whole race. It kind of pissed me off. Don't get me wrong, I am all for people walking these races. Hell, I walked my first one and it took me over 4 hours to do it. But, I also was courteous enough to know to start in the back corrals and not with a 2:45 pacer. Corrals is where Disney has it right. They have volunteers checking your bib before you can enter a particular corral. Why have corrals if no one is going to hold people to them?

This with the fact that because there was no corral 28; twice the amount of people began during my start. Apparently this happened at least one other time during the start as my co-worker who was closer up in corral 17 also had two corrals go at the same time and experienced the same over crowding.

I know I took this part too seriously for what my pace actual is. I mean, I am no where near more "serious" runners, but I was dead set on killing this race and with every person I had to weave around or slow down for, I expended energy.

Energy that couldn't afford to be expended since it was HOT. I can't believe it's taken me this long to complain about the heat. I guess I expected it, but it was as sunny as can be and in the 70s, which feels like 90 when you are running. Since I didn't start until 7:45, I was hot before we even started. This is where I complain that they don't have enough water stops on the course and complain that most of the water stops were running out of water by time I got there. I mean what did the walkers do? If you are hell-bent on having a race in Nashville at the end of April, please have enough water. This complaint has come withe me all the way from CMM 2009. That's all I'll say about that since I know it's beating a dead horse. So note if you plan on ever doing this race: carry your own water.

Now that my two major complaints are out of the way, I'll say the first 6 miles were pretty much great as far as how I felt. I felt strong and pretty much kept to my intervals. At the 10K mark, you turn to go back towards downtown. The next 2 miles of the course are shitty. There's no other way to put it. there are about 5 BIG rolling hills along this stretch and it was by far the part of the race I was most angry about. All I wanted to do is get back to the Music Row area of the course. That stretch was a nice relief until I hit kind of a wall at mile 9. The one thing I will give this race is the amount of spectators. I never felt bored because it was fun to people watch the sidelines and every mile or so there was something at least interesting to look at even though I know the city like the back of my hand. Mile 10 I got a little bit of a 2nd wind because in my head I thought, "oh there is only 5K left. 5K is nothing, I'm basically done." Of course you forget the last 3 miles are certainly the worst.

I was unfamiliar with the course at the 10/11 mile mark. They've changed it since 2009, which is fine but when I kept thinking we were going to go straight there would be another turn. Then the stupidest part of the race happened. You come out of the Nashville Farmer's Market/Bicentennial Mall area and get back on what I think is James Robertson Parkway. You turn left to go away from downtown (the finish is just across the river from downtown at Titan's stadium). So you turn right and you have to go up what is probably only a few hundred feet just to turn around a median to go the right way towards the finish. S-T-U-P-I-D. This is at about mile 12, so I am pretty much done at this point anyway, but really they couldn't find somewhere else to make up this couple hundred feet?

Between mile 12 and the finish you wind back through downtown a little and I swear there are like 5 or 6 turns. Not the best mentally when you know you just have to make it over a bridge and the finish will be RIGHT. THERE.

The last two miles I really had to talk myself into finishing strong. I knew I had to average a 13:40 pace to finish in 2:59. My Garmin was at about 13:25 with 2 miles to go. I knew I couldn't slow down and in fact needed to speed up a little to not miss my ultimate goal. I made myself stick to running the last two miles of preset intervals of half-mile run, quarter-mile speed walk.

I ended up running the last 0.7 mile to the finish line at a strong 12:30 minute pace. As I came over the bridge to the finish, I felt chilled and slightly fuzzy. I knew I was about to take a turn for the worst if I didn't get some hydration soon. As soon as I crossed the finish, I grabbed 2 bottles of water, a Gatorade and a bag of pretzels (along with the cold wet towels they were giving out - great idea!) and found a place with no crowd to contend with and recovered.

I was done and I knew I conquered it.

Although I had a victorious race with a strong finish, I have no desire to do the Country Music race again. I'm not sure if it is an issue with Competitor (we'll see in Seattle, I suppose) or if the Nashville stop has just gotten too big for them to handle without extra logistics planned for. The course is painfully hilly, and the timing of the race (late April) is way too hot for Nashville standards. I didn't enjoy the process of this race as much as I did at Mercedes and Disney (but of course, how do you beat Disney).

Post race meal was Sonic, followed by dinner and margarita's that night with the whole Super Stove crew. Of course my post-race eating habits bled over to Sunday as well. :)

There is no shortage of fitness related goals here, but first I am planning on taking this week off from at the very least running. My ankle has been a bit sore since the race and although it's already improving I'm concerned there may be an issue with it from overuse since I've been training for half-marathons for 8 months straight.

I still love races, so as mentioned, I am planning on doing the Seattle Rock n Roll half-marathon while I'm there for a conference in June and I was already planning to do St. Jude in Memphis since I love a good winter race. St. Louis Rock n Roll and Disney Princess 2013 are on my radar too. Amongst all this, I am also planning on doing my first sprint triathlon in July. I will start training for that next week while I also try to keep up my endurance for Seattle.

Whew...