Rockwell Relay Rehearsal

The famous camera on car picture.

Today 3 of the 4 members of the Rockwell Relay Pamperfest team "Kickin' Asphalt" got together for a bike ride. We rode part of one of the legs that I will be doing Saturday, from Wanship to Echo Reservoir. It was a warm afternoon, but the sun was covered by clouds most of the time which was very nice. We had a headwind on part of the way out, so a bit of a tail wind on the way back.

Cyndie

Cyndie and I met at my house and put a seat back in the van and the bike rack on the back. She is always great to help like that. Then we loaded the bikes and headed for Paula's house. We'd never met Paula before, and when an original member of our team dropped out, Cyndie found us another rider, Liz, from among the ladies from the Canyon Bicycle group. When Liz dropped out, lol, she found her own replacement, Paula Jacobs.

Paula has been biking over two years and loves riding. She rides with her husband, girlfriends, and her 72 year old dad. Don't we all hope to stay in shape and ride bikes at that age. Going with Paula today was awesome. She taught Cyndie and I so much about many of the mechanics of biking in such a short time. I tried to be a sponge. I have so much to learn, what I absorbed today is really going to help me Saturday and beyond.

Paula

Where to start with the suggestions and things she taught us. Since there was some distance between Cyndie and I, I don't know exactly what she shared with Cyndie, but I am assuming some of the same things. She alternated riding by us both. One of the things Paula helped me with is better shifting timing while climbing and descending hills - which is all we did on this ride. She stressed the shift before you need to so that I would be ready. Timing of shifting is important, but she also helped me understand I am striving to keep my cadence more even the whole time I am riding.

Another thing I started practicing, and this will take me time to learn, is how to stand up while riding the bike. I was good at this at spin class on a stationary bike, lol, but on the road, on a bike that is actually moving it's a whole new ball game. One of the key points is how you take a solid grip on the handlebars to be able to stand. I was pretty wobbly because of tired legs and inexperience, but I did get up a few times and I will be practicing this. Then you ride kinda like you are running.

On the downhill I learned to use my gears more efficiently, use the downhill to rest and also to prepare for the next uphill. One of the key things Paula taught me for the downhill is body position. This will help with my "speed" phobia. Now wait, how can I write this in a positive way so my mind forgets that piece of information. I am going to be improving my downhill speed by positioning my body back further on my seat. How was that Paula?

Paula also showed us how to stretch our calves while riding, a way to improve the circulation in our legs. How to pedal different ways to use different muscles. This is something Cyndie also showed me when I first started riding. I know I will need some review on this, my sponge got quite full in the hour and a half we were out riding.

Lowering Cyndie's bike seat.

One of the great things about riding with her today was she really watched the mechanics of how we were riding and offered suggestions. With Cyndie she noticed that her bike seat was too high. That is a huge deal. The mechanics of a bike fit are so important. It will make all the difference for Cyndie.

Paula had planned to ride 35 miles with us, but we were pretty tired and slow so she was a great sport about only doing 20 miles. Cyndie and I were getting rubber legs. Cyndie was riding 15 miles that morning while I was planning the afternoon ride with Paula, so this was her second ride for the day.

Our three bikes on the back of the van.

I had a great time riding today. And I almost forgot, Paula also talked about riding nutrition. 4:1 ratio of carbs:protein to keep the blood sugar and energy stable while riding. She gave us lots of suggestions of prepared bars and drinks, and also some actual food combinations too. We talked about recovery drinks and how they work. I have been doing a lot of this already, but I did not know about the 4:1 ratio and how important it is.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Speed
Summary	01:52:41	19.69	10.5
1	00:05:06	1.00	11.7
2	00:04:47	1.00	12.5
3	00:04:19	1.00	13.9
4	00:06:12	1.00	9.7
5	00:06:44	1.00	8.9
6	00:03:20	1.00	17.9
7	00:04:18	1.00	13.9
8	00:09:22	1.00	6.4
9	00:05:49	1.00	10.3
10	00:15:24	1.00	3.9
11	00:03:20	1.00	18.0
12	00:03:30	1.00	17.1
13	00:05:52	1.00	10.2
14	00:04:20	1.00	13.8
15	00:05:22	1.00	11.2
16	00:03:07	1.00	19.2
17	00:05:00	1.00	12.0
18	00:07:42	1.00	7.8
19	00:03:55	1.00	15.3
20	00:05:03	0.69	8.2

Freedom Run

Sometimes it pays off seeing what your friends are doing on facebook. As I was getting ready to go to bed I decided to read friends status. And that is when I saw that Liz had two family members who couldn't run the Freedom Run in Provo in the morning. Just like that I was running in the morning! I rushed all around the house gathering my stuff to run. I think I made it to bed about 10:20pm. Had to set my alarm for 4:55 because I needed to be at Liz's a little before 6am.
Of course I woke up at 4:45....before my alarm. This gave me a few extra minutes so that I had time to cook my eggs & English muffin to put in a baggie and eat on my way. I got to Orem on time and then we went to Liz's parents house to pick up her mom, sister and niece. It was nice of her dad to follow us to the race end where we parked the car and he shuttled us to the start line a few blocks away.

Ready to run the Freedom Run.
Looks like I didn't get the the red, white and blue memo.

Liz was running 1:1 to help her friend Kim through her first 5K. I started out running with Liz and doing the 1:1. It was a nice cloudy morning and so I to just run. It wasn't too long and I caught up with Marilyn, Liz's mom and so I ran with her. I had a nice run with her.

Marilyn and Marsha, 5K finishers.

Near the end of the run she needed a walk break and so I just ran it. Thanks Liz and the Thomsen family for letting me run with you.

Here we are with our finisher medals.

Race Stats: 11:58 pace, chip time 37:06:18, gun time 38:53:95.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	00:37:22	3.13	11:56
1	00:12:12	1.00	12:12
2	00:11:27	1.00	11:28
3	00:12:03	1.00	12:03
4	00:01:38	0.13	12:32

After the race we went back to Liz's house where I was able to change clothes. Then I headed to Provo where they had all the vendors for the Freedom Festival. I was able to see and hear some of the parade. Mostly I went looking for some cute flowers and hair ribbons for Cyndie and I to wear in the Tinkerbell Half Marathon. Had my nails and toes done with polish and glitter. Then I had to walk around barefoot for a while so they could dry. I had a nice 4th of July morning.

Running Free Report - After the Triathlon

Groovy marathongrandma!
Here's your report from last week on runningfreeonline.


This report turned out weird because I did not set my Garmin up for a triathlon. Better luck next time. I look like a GREAT swimmer.

Last week you completed: Sport # Distance Time Run 1 4.2 mi 0:58:16 Swim 3 17.2 mi 3:29:22 Bike 1 20.5 mi 1:48:49 Total 5 41.9 mi 6:16:27

RunningFree Report for July 4th

Groovy marathongrandma!

Here's your report from last week on runningfreeonline.

Last week you completed: Sport # Distance Time Run 1 4.2 0:58:16 Swim 3 17.2 3:29:22 Bike 1 20.5 1:48:49 Total 5 41.9 mi 6:16:27

According to Sir Roger Bannister:

If I faltered, there would be no arms to hold me and the world would be a cold and forbidding place.

Women Rock Triathlon

Cyndie and I met at 1pm Friday for our drive up to Park City for packet pickup. This was Cyndie's first tri ever and my first tri with an open water swim.

Cyndie packs for the triathlon.

Picking up our packet was well organized and we breezed right through it. We showed our ID, got our free visor then we moved on to pick up our race number and timer to wear around our ankle. Then body marking, where they put our race number on both shoulders and one hand, followed by our age on our calf. That age on the calf comes in handy if you are wondering if you should exert extra energy to pass someone. It is a race!

After getting permanent marker on our bodies we picked up our free flip flops and headed out to drop off our bikes at Rockport State Park where they would be guarded for the night.

Marsha doing a final layout and gear check.

Once we got back to Park City we checked into our hotel The Yarrow and then went and had dinner at Main Street Pizza & Noodle in historic downtown Park City. We had a pasta and chicken dish - always hoping the night before a race that when eating something we've never had before it will agree with our stomach. Then it was back to the hotel to pack our gear for the triathlon. We finished about 8:30pm and watched part of a movie then lights out to get some sleep for our alarm at 4:45am.

All the gear laid out on the triathlon towel.

Don't we look wide awake and excited to be on the bus headed for Rockport at 5:50am? The buses even drove the spectators up to the park, so even little kids and babies had to be up early.

On the bus headed to the cold water. So happy about that.

Me getting my bike spot ready.

We got all our gear laid out and our wet suits on. It was actually nice to have them on because the morning air was cool. Soon ladies were heading for lake and we followed. They started this race in 4 waves and we had been assigned wave 4.

Dressed in wetsuit, ready to go.

We watched the other 3 waves start and soon it was our turn. I had put my Garmin underneath my swim cap to track our swim. From the shore the swim looked longer than .47 mile. The huge orange buoys looked way out there and pretty far apart. After shouting "Women Rock" we were off. The water was COLD. It was quite a shock to our chest and face.... not to mention the rest of our body as it came into the wetsuit for us to warm up. Right away both of us were having a hard time breathing and that continued for the entire swim. It just seemed like I could not get enough air in my lungs. Although the wetsuits helped us to float, they were quite restrictive to actually swim in. So the swim didn't go according to plan at all. We still did in a good time, but Cyndie used the backstroke quite a bit and I did some side stroke and gliding just to try to keep our faces out of the cold water. 
Finally after 27 minutes and some change the swim was over. We got out, put on some flip flops.....someone had taken Cyndie's and we headed to transition. At this point I realized all that flailing around in the water had caused some vertigo and even having worn the earplugs I was dizzy. So I was a lot slower than I had planned to be and Cyndie finished dressing first. She was waiting for me and I got her to leave me behind. I knew with the way I was feeling I would be a little slower on the bike getting started.
Finally, I was off on the bike. I was a little dizzy but I started off slow. I hadn't been able to fasten my watch on my fingers weren't working so good so I had it in my hand. This wasn't a good idea but I wasn't thinking real good. The course was very hilly, but each climb was small and the downhills were nice. The road in the park had a lane blocked off for us but out on the highway we had to watch for traffic. The shoulder was very narrow and it some places almost non-existant. Luckily, for a holiday weekend it was early in the morning so traffic was light.
Right at the beginning I had problems with my bike number and the way they had it attach it to the bike with these wire ties. The ties made four cuts on my legs. So blood on my number and my bike. Finally I came to the turn around point since the bike course was an out and back. It was here I stopped, put on my watch and had a drink of water. I felt much better and went faster on the ride back.
In the mean time Cyndie had some tails to tell about her bike ride. A competitor was drafting her on the bike. Since she wears a rear view mirror on her sunglasses, she knew how close and how long the girl was there. She wouldn't quit so Cyndie finally slowed down so much the girl had to pass. Then that girl rode up and started doing it to the girl in front of Cyndie. Having seen enough Cyndie rode up and said "isn't this drafting?" Needless to say the "drafter" took off.
Transition from the bike to the run went much smoother, and quickly I was done and off on the run. I ran most of the way, taking few walk breaks. The course was mostly trail running which I am not use to. Neither is Cyndie, and I learned later that she fell twice during the run. It was very hilly and the rocks on the trail were what caused her to fall. The only positive thing about the trail course was that it was shady. There were two girls stationed at the half way point to turn us and a ring a cow bell. The run was an out and back also.
Because Cyndie finished before me she was able to take these pictures of me coming into the finish line.

Running to the finish line.

Coming over the finish line. Go Sharks!

After the race - water, a bandaid for my leg, visit with Cyndie, a egg bagel sandwich and fruit, exchange my shirt, and we packed up our stuff and we were late to the awards. So we missed finding out we had each won an award. Here we are below, I took 3rd place in age group 55-59 and Cyndie 3rd in her division Athena 40-99.

Marsha:

NO FN LN ALL DIVPL SWIM RATE T1 BIKE RATE T2 RUN RATE TIME 220 Becky Yih 77 1/4 25:14 17.8 3:20 42:36 15.5 1:53 40:39 13:12 1:53:42 217 Debra Williams 102 2/4 31:12 14.4 6:00 47:47 13.8 2:00 36:30 11:51 2:03:28 218 Marsha Monson 107 3/4 27:22 16.4 5:04 55:04 12 2:11 38:35 12:32 2:08:14 219 Marianne Duckworth 126 4/4 38:01 11.8 4:36 1:00:20 10.9 3:10 51:42 16:47 2:37:47

These statistics show our swim, bike and run times.

You can also see how our transition time went.

Good thing Cyndie left me behind.

 Cyndie:

NO FN LN ALL  DIVPL SWIM RATE T1 BIKE RATE T2 RUN RATE TIME 234 Tessie Palczynski 11 1/6 17:03 26.4 2:20 38:05 17.3 1:16 28:30 9:15 1:27:12 235 Arrianna Rogers 82 2/6 27:59 16.1 4:52 45:02 14.6 2:14 35:04 11:24 1:55:09 233 Cyndie Nell 96 3/6 27:20 16.5 4:40 45:04 14.6 2:13 41:27 13:28 2:00:43 236 Sherri Tomlinson 99 4/6 28:03 16 4:58 49:26 13.3 1:57 38:19 12:27 2:02:42 231 Deborah Kaleikini 108 5/6 36:25 12.4 4:45 47:11 14 1:41 38:19 12:27 2:08:18 232 Anita Norris 116 6/6 25:16 17.8 4:26 50:40 13 1:50 51:24 16:42 2:13:34 Here we are with our plaques. We rock two 3rd places in Women Rock Triathlon.