As I mentioned in my last post, I crashed my bike then did two 5Ks and a tri. My road rash is totally healed and I have some nice scars now to make the memory of my near death experience really last. The hematoma on my hip is still there, but getting smaller every day. There’s still a weird red blotch on my back like a bruise that just has never gone away. Aside from that, I’m pretty much back to normal. Not quite back to the speed I had before the crash, but slowly getting there.
Here are some picture from the Urban Epic Tri I did (July 10th):
The week after that I continued to rest and recover and then got right back into training for the Peak Performance Portland, ME Marathon. I did a nice 16 mile run and felt really good. I averaged just about 10:15s which was my pace for Boston. I started out a little fast and was averaging 10:00s and under, but the last 3 miles were really hot and humid.
The following week (July 25th ) I did another triathlon, SheROX Tri in Webster, MA. I finished it in 1:27, 20 minutes faster than the Urban Epic tri, proof that if I wasn’t injured I would have totally kicked my brother’s butt. I came in 13th out of 168 and had the 6th fastest bike split. Here are the pictures from that tri:
Next up was the Yankee Homecoming 10 miler. Every year it’s on the hottest day of the summer and I hate every minute of it and say to myself, never again. But then sign up for it again the following year anyway. This was my 3rd year running the 10 miler. It was a little cooler than the past years and there was a slight breeze. I was just hoping to beat my time from the year before which was 1:43. I was really hoping to even be able to get under 1:40 if I felt good. I wasn’t feeling very confident at the start of the race. I had to rush to get there and almost didn’t make it in time and I was a little stressed, but once I started running that stress melted away in the setting sun along the course. The miles went by and I was maintaining a very comfortable rhythm. I got to the last 2 miles and I felt great. I started to pick up the pace a little and passed people left and right that were struggling much like I had in the years before. I made it to the home stretch and saw my friend Ann and she screamed at me “You’re going to get 1:35!!!” and I took off like a bullet firing out of gun. I did it! Not only did I PR, but I got under 1:40 and by a couple of minutes! It was amazing.
That weekend I did another 16 miler. Still feeling great and getting stronger everyday. The following week the Good Times Summer Series started up again with the Bikini Run. I’ve run it 3 years in a row now. I may not have the best body out there, but it’s MY best body and I’m happy to run in a bikini even if my tan lines look a little silly. I didn’t PR or anything, but for me running in a bikini is a huge personal accomplishment no matter what the clock says when I cross the finish line. Here’s a photo:
August 8th was the Witch City Tri in Salem, MA. ½ mile swim – 13 mile bike – 3 mile run. I did pretty good. Finished in 1:28. I had a few fumbles along the way. I stubbed my toe on a giant rock in the water warming up. It wasn’t even really warming up, the water was FREEZING and the only way to warm up was to get out as fast as possible. When I was standing on the beach listening to the announcer and waiting for my wave to start I looked down and noticed I was bleeding, a lot! Great way to start the day. Luckily, as the woman next to me pointed out, the water was too cold for the sharks to come up the coast from the cape. The race started and I swam really well. I’m not fast by any means, but I wasn’t last either. Then getting out of the water I hit ANOTHER giant rock and tripped getting out of the water and gashed open the side of my foot. So now, my toe AND the side of my foot were bleeding. I got to the transition area and couldn’t get my wetsuit off. FINALLY, I got out and got to the mount your bike space and my chain was stuck and I couldn’t get started. Eventually, I got going and passed a ton of people and flew through the bike course in no time at all. Pulled on my sneakers and finished the race. I thought I did really great until I looked at the final results online the next day. I came in 8th place in my age group, out of 8! Apparently a bunch of local tri teams practice on the course and only really fast people registered for the race. I did really well, but everyone else did better. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I did an 18 mile training run the day before the race. Here are the photos:
Up next is the Graniteman Tri in Wolfeboro, NH. Then the Spartan race in Amesbury, MA and then DISNEYLAND! After Disneyland I’m doing Reach the Beach, maybe a few shorter races I haven’t decided on yet and then the marathon. No wonder time flies by, I’m always running, riding, or racing.
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