On the running trail with me.....

My run on Thursday, September 3, 2009 a bit after 6 PM.... I love this time of year to run...on the prairie path...at sunset. There are some beautiful sunsets in this preserve. Good thing I brought my camera with me tonight. BINGO....one of many great sunsets I see on this path.

I always start warming up by walking up a small loop where on one side, hobby plane enthusiast are radioing their aircraft through the air from an airfield just for such aircraft... See the plane at the bottom of the picture?

Leaving the parking lot behind, and taking on a 5K steady run....

It's about 6:15 PM and the sun is setting behind some clouds and starting its' awesome show!

Passing pass the plane hobbyists' air field....

Kool....

around the "walking warm-up" route to my stretching bench...

A beautiful wildflower greets me on the way...

The sunset's expression keeps changing....

The bench I do my warm-up stretches on (it overlooks a beautiful pond).

Stretch, set.....

GO!

Chasing the sunset....what a motivator!

Crossing a wooden bridge.

The big loop is about 5.8 miles around. Today I'm doing a short, slow, steady run (obviously, with a lot of stops for picture taking) since I'm still trying to recover from this glute pull!

A runner ahead of me takes a turn past another bridge and heads out to prairie land!

Horses are ridden on this trail too! Sometimes....you have to tip toe through the tulips!

Spectacular!

Here is the big turnaround! Running back to the parking lot of a 3.1 finish.

the infamous brook ... Springbrook creek. At one time, the forest preserve district was going to dam it up and a dragon shaped lake would form. The park was renamed, "Dragon Lake Forest Preserve" for a while. But the funds could never be raised. The project was too expensive and the idea was abandoned. The Springbrook Prairie name eventually returned. It has become a bird sanctuary now. Lots of deer, quail and pheasant run around here. Have seen some snake as well!

Another jogger runs up and over a hill. At one point, I started to catch up to him and thought I was becoming fast. But then he took off with high speed. He must be working on his fartklets!

Returning over the wooden bridge again...

Looking at the sunset over the prairie grasses...

I'm back on the warm-up path "cooling down" now with a walk. Looks like I'm walking up to heaven!

I can't stop looking at it! Can't stop snapping pictures!

Walking past the picnic area. Peaceful!

I'm watching this show while doing my cool down stretches...which are similar to the warm up stretches...

Work out those Achilles!

Is God a great artist or what!?!?!?!

Self portrait with the amazing background!

Trigger happy!

Swim, bike, Run..... It's what I do........

Too hard to see, but there was actually a person sky sailing into the sunset. Imagine... I was listening to my Mp3 still...and "Major Tom" came on ....how appropriate: "Earth below us, drifting, falling, floating, calling, calling, hoooooommmmeeeeee..........."

Driving home....

And what do I find? Dear hubby reading on the front porch! Even though he's facing West, the neighborhood houses were in the way for him to enjoy the sunset...
In the backyard? An amazing moonrise!!!!! A full moon too! This picture didn't do it justice. There was an orange cast to it. So....went from an amazing sunset, to and amazing moonrise...all within the span of one hour! Great run!

Old Shoes, New Shoes; Old Dogs, New Dogs

After several runs that led to total body aches, I've retired these shoes. Thankfully, THIS was the cause of such aches. So I took out my brand new Asics that were given to me from the folks at "The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund" and "Active", the people who run the Women's Triathlon in Naperville. Put them on, ran, stretched and NO ACHES!

What a difference.... And sure wish they could stay this clean! Anyway...I really didn't think my old shoes showed wear on the bottom (but it did on the top...but why would that matter) and I don't put a lot of mileage on them....No more than 12 or 13 miles a week. Apparently, the matter between the bottom of the shoe that hits the ground and the bottom that cradles my feet was deteriorating. Hey...at least it's not ME (deteriorating, that is!).

Hmmmmm.... Can you see any difference? Still looks like some good tread to me! (Above: Old Shoe...Below: New Shoe).

Well, my dogs aren't barkin' now, but my LIVE dogs are! Son #1, Adam, came for the weekend with his pup, Bailey. This never thrills Miss Ellie. But here was about the sum of their weekend.

Ellie is happy Bailey went home now! All in a dog's life!

BRAIN FREEZE SWIM !!!

Ever swim in water so cold it BURNED your skin? It made your extremities blue and numb? It gave you a BRAIN FREEZE? My first REAL open water swim was not the best experience! The water temperature at Ohio Street Beach was only 58 degrees! Normally, this time of year it's around 70. But occasionally, the water flip flops...due to wind direction, etc... The warm water goes out to sea and the cold water comes inland. Wouldn't you know...had to do it THIS weekend!

There were many triathletes in their wetsuits and even THEY were cold. Many couldn't bring themselves to go in. My Master's swim coach and I didn't have a wetsuit and a couple of the guys chose not to bring one (and regretted it later!). Half of us grinned and bared it but cut it WAY short. The plan was to swim a half mile out and half mile back in. The coach and another guy did maybe...200 yards... I did 25 yards! The rest did NO yards! I was getting a little light headed. Coach said she had a brain freeze. The other guy said he just couldn't feel anything! One of the triathletes there said he had a splitting headache!

We bundled up and took a nice moderate walk to a Starbucks for some bagels and hot coffee! We had a great time sharing stories and laughs, so in spite of it all....we had a great time.

When we got back, I threw my running clothes on and took an easy 3 mile run after a two week rest from running. Still have the glute issue...Hmmm.... Might be time to visit my dear doc friend...the Ortho guy... It's been a few months!

Dietary Challenges!

It all started at Big Apple Bagel where my Master's Swim Team met after practice (which I missed due to a long, sleepless night...but funny....I could make it for the bagel!)....

The criminal acts continued throughout this long, cool, late August day in 2009....

Scene of the crime: My place of employment

Inside ... Temptations abound! Our Home and School Assoc. decides to provide goodies for the staff to kick off the new glutenous year!

On top of the parent organization treats, it just so happened to be one of our teacher's birthday! Of course, I had to honor her by having some!

What birthday celebration doesn't involve pizza. And of course, this is Chicago...home of the BEST pizza...which is DEEP DISH! These are Lou Milnati's prize winning pies! Of course...this was all followed by more birthday cake!

In addition (that's right...we aren't done yet...), there's the endless candy dish in the office...right across my desk!

So is there any hope for me this year? When will I learn to deal with these challenges. Gotta stop saying, "After this event, After that...." There will always be something! Weight loss success is not based on how well we do on the days we can easily control, but on the days that could easily get OUT OF CONTROL.

Time will tell if I ever learn this control.... Maybe our current weather will get me going...

Perhaps I should now break out in song over this.... "SoooomWHEEEEERRRRE oooover the rainbooooow, dreeeeeams come truuuuuuue" OK...I'll spare you! Ha! (Rainbow in my backyard, Aug. 21, 2009).

2008/2009 Race Reports in a Nutshell!

Wow! It's been over a year since I've posted on here last! Since then, I've done three more triathlons. Can't say it's old hat... May that never be! Just busy doin' this and that. After the first woman's triathlon, there was the Naperville Sprint Triathlon. That was fun, as some friends came to watch:

After that, was the Fall Colors 5K for the Morton Arboretum and after that...The Turkey Trot in Naperville.

2009 brought in my 2nd Women's Triathlon where I raised close to $1,300 dollars for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. It was a privilege to raise funds for an organization trying to combat the disease my mother passed away from.

After this race, I was scheduled to run in the Naperville Sprint Triathlon for the 2nd time as well. Only problem was squeezing in training. We went to Hawaii for a vacation and I only ran three times. No bike, no swimming...just running and only 3X in ten days. When we returned home, I twisted my ankle running on the Prairie Path!

Running on Ali'i Dr. Kona, Hawaii...The big Ironman route!

So, another week off for that. Add that to my collection of minor injuries. Inventory: An annoying ongoing glute injury that shoots some mild pain down my sciatica... the other ankle giving me mild trouble... two sore shoulders from swimming... all add up to meager times and training...

(Above: Springbrook Prairie Path...Great place to run!)

The Naperville Sprint Triathlon of 2009 was a mixed bag. HOT, HUMID conditions and physically and mentally NOT being prepared made for a less than par performance. The swim went very well. For once, I had clear paths and only had to swim around a couple of back floaters. Unlike last year where I kept running into people who decided to stop and take a break. And this year...no snaking lane dividers that broke free causing confusion and swimmer back ups as guards tried to fix it. The bike was NOT fun as there was a strong head wind. HOT wind, at that. But I did try something new. This time, I wormed my way out of my cycling shoes and rode my last hundred yards with my feet on top of my shoes for a quick dismount and run to transition. Maybe the next triathlon, I can jump on my bike with the shoes already attached to the peddles via a rubber band and slash time off my transition.

The run was THE SLOWEST EVER! I'm talking waaaaaay slow! Icky slow! My worst run time ever! First mile went better than expected as much of that mile was in nice shade. Second mile was the killer.... I decided to negative split and speed it up half way through mile two. But this mile was on a stretch with NO shade and hot sun. AND...some of it was on two day old freshly paved road making for a hot surface. Ugh...I couldn't pick up speed if my life depended on it! So...I just kept plugging along running and telling myself to just finish as best I can. This meaning...keep running and don't walk. I don't condemn anyone for walking, but I vowed to run the whole way for each triathlon if I'm not injured. So....I finished. It was the slowest triathlon I had ever run, but my fastest swim. My worst bike. My worst run. My worst total time. But....I finished.

I learned some lessons along the way. I can't get away with hap hazard training. I have to continue to train hard, although that would not have been the wisest for me with my current injuries. Accept that there will be times this happens and change your goal to just finishing and enjoying the ride. Have fun. "Tri" harder next time!


What's next.... I've been taking complete time off from running and biking but am still swimming. We will have a week off next week as the Y works on the pool. So...a much needed rest.

I'm hoping to do a running race or two this fall and if my injuries will allow it, maybe one of the races will be a 10K. Also...I'm planning on lifting weights again beginning the week of Labor Day. I let this go and paid the price. The year before I was faithful to weights 2X a week and had ZERO injuries that year. Another lesson learned!

So...that's 2008/2009 in a nutshell!

Success...I did it!!!

SUBARU USWTS WOMEN'S TRIATHLON SERIES, NAPERVILLE, IL 6/22/2008

It's official! I am a triathlete! On June 22, 2008, I competed in and completed the Subaru Women's Triathlon in Naperville, IL with almost 2,000 other women.

I was so nervous about this race that I hit the bathroom three times before it even started! It didn't help that we had a rain delay of about an hour (except to allow me to hit the Port O Potty one more time!). Just as the elite group had stepped into the water waiting for the horn to start them off, KABOOM! Thunder, lightning, rain. A lifeguard announced everyone needed to get out of the water, away from the trees and that 30 minutes would have to pass after the last lightning had been sighted and/or thunder heard. For the next 30 minutes we continued to have thunder and lightning. It was only in the 60s, so we were wet and a bit chilled (us older, post menopause athletes didn't mind a bit and found it refreshing!). Finally....at 8:00 AM, the elite wave was allowed to begin. There were about ten or so who competed at this level (pros). After them was the special wave of women who have battled with ovarian cancer (the charity the event supported). Next was the wave of women 55 and over. Right after them, was my wave, 50-54. I'm the one just ahead of the clock pole tugging at my swim cap.

THE SWIM: Once the horn blew, we ran into the water until we were forced to start swimming. Up to 75 women could be in a wave so there was much hitting and kicking each other going on until we could spread out. That didn't happen until around the first of several buoys. I was most nervous about the swim. I thought if I could survive the swim portion, it would be downhill from there. My only wish besides completing and surviving the swim, was to do it in a respectable time! I was slow and not so skilled at this swimming stuff! After what seemed like an eternity, I was finally running out of the water and onto land. I was exhausted to say the least! [swim time: 15:36 for 1/2 mile swim] How was I going to bike and run when I was THIS tired?!?!?!? I had planned on running to my bike as fast as I could and making awesome time in the transition area (T1 - also counts in your total time and is often considered, "The Fourth Event"), but I could barely move! I had what we call, "sea legs." Forcing myself to at least jog, I finally made it to the transition area looking for the chalk arrow my bike neighbor drew on the blacktop. I also had a giant sunflower by my bike so I could easily find it. Good thing. The chalk arrow was now gone from the rain we had earlier. I had to laugh thinking how I commended this poor woman on a great idea! Little did we know.... [T1: 3:49]

This photo shows the swim course:

THE BIKE:Off on the bike, I tried to tell myself to just enjoy the ride as fast as I could. I LOVE riding my bike! This would be the most fun, but of course, I was still nervous about it. I saw a couple of gals on the way with flats and hoped this wouldn't happen to me. Also, there were many with very professional looking bikes with aero bars and cycle shoes, etc. Some passed me, but I did plenty of passing myself. Lap two went WAY faster as my sea legs disappeared. At the start of lap two, an athlete yelled behind me that my bike bag was rubbing on my back tire. Sure enough! I had to pull over and raise my seat. I had been having occasional problems with my bike (just 3 months old) seat dropping down. This probably cost me 25-30 seconds and several slots in my placement. But when you are at my level, who cares! There's no prize money for 990th place! The rest of the ride went very smooth and I tried to listen to my coach's advise about dropping a gear or two in the last mile or so in preparation for the run. [Bike Time: 49:56 for 14.5 miles]

Above: Coming to the end of the bike portion and transitioning to the run....

Now it was off to T2, the transition from bike to run. I quickly parked my bike, threw off my helmet, put on my cap and off I went.[T2 Time: 2:15] This is the hardest transition as you are going from using your glutes to your hammies. Your legs just don't want to do this and it can take up to a mile to adjust. I had been practicing this transition and it definitely helped, but I was REALLY tired now! I grabbed some water at the very first aid station at the beginning of the run, but couldn't get much down. I felt so slow, I didn't dare stop! In the picture below, I am in the background to the left of the spectator shading her eyes (just to the right of the bike helmet in the foreground).

THE RUN: Now I was really questioning myself as to why I thought this was a good idea! all I wanted to do was to crash on a couch! Really... this is the vision that I had. Laying on a couch. I had not felt this tired in ions if ever. For the first time, I seriously thought I would not make it, but I quickly forced myself not to think negatively. I thought at the very least, I could walk myself in and at least finish. But I immediately talked myself out of that too. This is what I trained months for. Walking would be a last resort. The only time I walked was for a brief second when I would throw back a water at an aid station to ensure I got it down my throat and not down my shirt! Where I passed many on the bike, I passed NO ONE except a walker or two. MANY were passing me. At this point, I didn't much care. I was pushing harder than I ever imagined just to finish and finish jogging in. Finally, I saw the hairpin turn into the park, a section of the riverwalk that would lead me to the finish line. I could hear some announcing and some crowd cheering. This was a good sign. I looked up and it looked like the finish line canopy. I was elated! A few yards later, I saw that it was the swim start! RATS! When will this finish line ever appear?!?! Suddenly, just when I thought I could no longer sustain myself in an upright position, let alone run, I saw the side tarps forming the tunnel that would lead me to the finish line. I had planned on sprinting in, but there was absolutely no way I had anything left to do that. I was happy that I was still running in and not walking in. I heard my name and saw my fan club, husband Russ and two sons, Adam and Ben clapping me in. A few more yards and HURRAY! I made it! I raised my arms in glee and headed straight for the party! [Run Time: 33:52 for 3.1 miles] {TOTAL TIME: 1:45:26}

Above: Running into the finish line at last!

THE PARTY: The first thing I did was head into the water sprinklers. After the rain shower at the start of the race, the sun came out making it humid and warm. Already drenched with sweat, I drenched myself in the nice cool water. Then I returned to the area behind the finish line for some food goodies and more water. My fan club arrived and dished out hugs! Below: Hubby gives his triathlete wife a hug! He was very supportive, from encouraging me on to buying me my brand new bike! (Adam is in the background and Ben took the photo as well as most photos seen here. Other photos were from Russ).

Below Left: Wearing our finishing medals, we wait for professional stretching. Everyone was so friendly. These women shared some useful triathlon tips with me.

Above right: The rest of my fan club, Ben (23) and Adam (27) as they wait for the rain delay to end (looks like the sun is shining here!).

Below: The prize! Proof I finished!

NEXT UP: The Naperville Sprint Triathlon, Aug. 10, 2008 (for men and women). What?.....I never said I'd never do this again! Where did you get that idea?????

Click below for official race results:

http://onlineraceresults.com/race/view_individual.php?make_printable=1&bib_num=1018&race_id=8266&type=result

Essay to Race Organizers

The final countdown begins. One week to the Subaru Women's Triathlon! I'll be training light this week in preparation. Also, I'll be working on the transitions (from swim to bike and bike to run). I'll need to do well on those to make up for the slow time in the swim! I've come to a decision to redefine my goal. Forget about the time (this is hard) and just concentrate on finishing the race. A person's first triathlon can get away with this goal at this time. Every time after that, she'll want to beat her previous time. Why make it so hard to beat? Give me room to beat!

The organizers of the race wanted stories of why we are doing the triathlon and/or any connections to ovarian cancer we would like to share. At first I wasn't going to bother. But then they requested such stories again, one week into the event. So I sent my story. Here is what I sent:

RUNNING FOR AND FROM OVARIAN CANCER

My mother died from ovarian cancer in October 2001 at the age of 67. She was taken too soon as was my father from pancreatic cancer at age 61. Both cancers are known as silent killers since symptoms aren't usually noticed until the cancer is well advanced.
In May of 2005, I needed a partial hysterectomy at the age of 49 (for a non-cancerous medical condition). Due to the nature of my condition, I needed to have this surgically done. With much consideration of my family history, I decided to have a complete hysterectomy with both ovaries removed instead of just a partial. I fared the surgery and sudden menopause well but have been concerned about potential health issues that come with menopause and a strong family history of cancer. At the same time of my surgery, I also was suffering some joint issues and a badly sprained wrist. My exercise regime had come to a complete standstill. Over the next couple of years, I tried different exercise classes but would end up with tendinitis. How tempting to just give up!
Last fall, I started with a weight lifting class and water aerobics in hopes to conquer my body woes. Eventually the tendinitis went away and I became strong. Around Thanksgiving 2007, a friend of a friend talked about the Subaru Triathlon in Naperville and a triathlon training class at the local YMCA. She said the class was very fun and supportive and the race even more supportive and fun. I thought this would be a great way to get back into physical fitness and began to make plans to participate. I attended the triathlon class and continued the weight lifting class as well. No tendinitis! I've been faithful with the training and have had a blast challenging myself. I feel great and ready to go. I'm a bit fearful, but optimistic thanks to Coach Mary from our Tri class!
My mother would have been so proud of me. Not many of us start being triathletes at the age of 52! And it is such an honor to run in a race that raises awareness and funds for the very thing that took my mother's life prematurely. I dedicate my first ever triathlon to my dear, sweet mother...my best friend! And...to my wonderful, supportive husband, my other best friend!

Thank you for the opportunity to share my experience.

Later.... P.S. Here's a picture of me at my first ever 5K race! It was in May 2008...The Jeanine Nicarico Run for Literacy 5K race. I did it in 31:28 tying my Personal Best.

Not bad for an old bag who only began running last January!