Melissa - Vain Triathlete

In a nutshell I did OK (5:46) but certainly not what I had hoped to do. My goal was to finish in 5:20. My best so far has been 5:38. After I finished my swim in 45 minutes my original goal of 5:20 was quickly revised to 5:30. Perhaps I am setting my goals too high. Thinking back on my 4 halfirons I have not been pleased with any of my performances at these races. Makes me wonder if I'm asking too much of myself. I don't think so. Maybe I just have to face the fact that my triathlons will never match my expectations as compared to the expectations that I have been able to achieve in my running. My time on the swim was the same as last time. I really want to curse here. I was hoping to shed at least a few minutes. The swim at Timberman WAS wavy and I found it difficult to grasp a lot of water. My pull was weak. We had 111 women in the 45-49 age group. I was 64th on the swim (25th AG total time). How depressing. Other than some leg soreness I felt strong on the bike and, equally a...

While talking to other triathlete women in the transition area at my last triathlon it had become pretty clear to me that I'm not the only one who is concerned about looking good. There were three other triathletes next to me while I prepared my "T" area and we were chatting lightly about the day and what we were wearing. One of the women mentioned, rather glumly, that she was wearing the same race outfit that she had worn in her last triathlon. I immediately responded to her comment because I, that day, was also wearing my same race outfit from REV3 and could feel her pain. My race outfits are really important to me. Maybe more important than to others. Maybe it's because I studied fashion merchandise for four years and have a keen eye for what's in and what's out. At least I used to be trained in that capacity. When I buy a racing outfit it must be unlike all of my training outfits. Good quality, very pretty, and fits like a charm. The first time I wear a ne...

After driving from Falmouth MA to Middleboro MA at 6:AM by myself I was psyched to meet up with friend Linda. After taking care of business we got in a 10 minute run. At the start of the swim we parted ways. She to the right and I to the left. The swim went out about 10 yards then took a sharp right. Linda definitely positioned herself better than I. I was in the back of the swim pack because I didn't want to get in anyone's angry way. Still, it was a pretty rough start. All the relayers, aquabikes and ALL women started in this wave. After getting into a groove I, for the first time ever, had the need to pass some swimmers. I found it difficult to pass people. It took a lot of strength for me to get going fast enough to actually pass. That was all fine and well except for the fact that they would inevitably pass me back or swim next to me. I felt crowded. At one point t I felt as though I were glued to the hip of another female swimmer. We had the exact same stroke. I was squis...

I've said this before and I'll say it again. SLEEP is critical! Especially to your relationships, training, working, living. I don't like to get too personal on my blog and I'm finding that it's the personal issues that keep me from blogging. I don't feel the need to disclose my personal life on my blog. However, at the same time, I sometimes feel the need to explain why I haven't blogged very much. So without getting too personal I'll tell the world that I've been struggling with sleep issues. The more I tell you about it the more I realize that half of America probably struggles with sleep as well. So how personal can this issue really be? After trying several natural sleep aids I finally broke down and took Ambien. Nothing was really working well enough even though I would tell myself that "waking up 3 times per night isn't THAT bad". It's amazing what we tell ourselves to rationalize not doing something such as take medication. ...

Feast your eyes. Here's proof that I can run up a hill. And down a hill. Kathy took this great swim video. Feel free to comment on my form. I'm sure there's plenty to say. :)

If you magifny this above picture you can see the lovely expression on my face as I start the run. I cruised by these guys. What were they thinking when they approved this course? Ok, I don't want to sound like a wuss. LOTS of courses are hard. That's part of the allure. And some people do indeed do well on hills. I'm actually one of those people. To have bragging rights and to relish in the accomplishment brings some satisfaction BUT this course takes the cake. Is Heather Golinick a hard core buggersnot or what? She is the CEO of the Rev3 so I can only assume she approved the course. That said, I am still smitten with her because she gave me a water bottle. Oh ya. Aren't morning photos awesome. Kathy and I drove up on Saturday early. We ran around eating lunch at Wendy's (chicken sandwich, no frys) checked in, picked up the number, racked the bike, ... ect...ect.. For dinner we ate at this lil traditional italian restaurant. It was nice to be away. All day long I s...

250 yard swim, 9.3 mile bike, 3.2 mile run. Why do the results people put the wrong mileage in the results? The bike portion was advertised at 9.3 but the results state 9 miles? Why do they do that? It's annoying! Despite the above today was a perfect day for the Lions Spring Sprint in Marlboro MA. Weather could not have been better. Unfortunately the opening act was a 250 yard swim. One swimmer at a time. We were instructed to swim up and back then under the buoy over to the next lane. Ok. I figured that would not be too hard and it wasn't except for the fact that I missed the wall and had very little UMPH. I was then passed by two women. I had gotten to talk to both of them in line and found them to be really nice. I only hope I didn't piss anyone off for being seeded a little too far up. I had to take on extra time to let them go by me. That sucked. The water was a bit warm and it (the swim) just kinda stank. I timed myself in and out. My honey came with me to cheer me o...