Blackland Sprint Triathlon

This cartoon is just about how it goes when I talk about triathlon stuff with Jeff...he is just not real into it. So I was a little surprised when he decided he was going to try one. We entered the Blackland Sprint in Plano - it's close to home, a pool swim (so jeff won't drown!) and on Labor Day. Jeff borrowed a bike from his friend -- a very nice sleek triathlon number that puts my bike to shame! Me = jealous.

Once again, my fantastic family came through for us and helped with babysitting so Jeff and I could enter. Jeff first bragged how he was going to beat me...then it became tie me...and finally he decided he would be happy coming in within five minutes of me. ha! men.

Overall, this was a fun race. I was really sick going into this race with a bad sinus infection that was messing with me. There was also a kids race beforehand. It was adorable watching some of these little kids ride their bikes with training wheels! Most races start at 7am but this one started late, around 8:45am, due to the kids race. That meant it would be hotter than normal for the run. Arrived a little later than I wanted but set-up transition and then met up with all my teammates who were also racing. Jeff, myself, Robert, Ginger, Keegan, Nicole, RW, Yuri, and Kim all did the individual race while Amanda, Coach Gayle and Brian formed a relay as well as Amanda G, Gaylen and Deighton formed a relay. Amanda and Deighton were just as sick as I was!

Pool races are a 'time-trial' start. When you register, you enter the time you think your swim will be and you are seeded accordingly. Within 30 minutes of race start I was in the water. Had my fastest swim of the season so far! I was out of the pool and ran past my cheering section (thanks guys!) and got a little past them and totally face-planted on those darn slippery floors. So everyone got to say 'ohhhhh'. I felt like a real nerd, but just jumped up and said 'I'm ok!' lol and kept going. My group didn't see that awesome fall but I banged the knee and got a little bloody before I ever even started! Super awesome. Ok, maybe not. I passed Jeff who was waiting in line and yelled 'Did you see me fall?!'. Jeff had a fantastic time on his first swim - luckily he is tall and can do a 'dive and glide' technique pretty far down the pool!

The bike course was very uneventful. Two loops on a rolling course with two main hills. Just kept it nice and steady. Jeff said the bike seat was killing him - which I understand - those seats are tiny if you are not used to them!

Last it was on to the run - and it was already something like 90 degrees since it was a late start race. And there was no shade on this run. My stomach had enough by now and I struggled not to toss my cookies. I ended up walking a lot here. I was so sick I had to blow my nose the entire time!! (Um, Jen that is really gross. Don't tell us that!) Ok, sorry. It was really nice to see my Dad and sister Liz out on the course, it kept me going when I was really hot and tired. Jeff also had a hard time on the run portion but he stuck it out like a champ.

Afterwards I cheered the rest of my team in and we waited for the awards. I won my first '1st' place award for my division. First thing the kids always ask me was 'Did you win?' so of course I said yes.

When I first saw Jeff after he finished he said "That was not fun at all, I don't know why anyone does that." Then he went and told everyone and their dog about his first race so I think he at least felt some type of accomplishment. Poor guy he had to sleep the remainder of the day! His parents also made the trek to see us race. Once he forgets the pain he might try another one, but I doubt he thinks it will be as easy as he thought before. Hope you all had as much fun on Labor Day as we did!

First Day of School

[This post is a little late, but with everything going on I just couldn't make time for the blog!]

This was our first year of public school with Tristen entering Kindergarten! We were very excited for this day to come. Tristen asked us every day for two months if we were going to Kindergarten today. Sydney also entered her first year of private pre-school. The curriculum at this age is a little more focused than her previous years and she also has to wear the school uniforms. Luckily she is adorable in a uniform.

Ready to go!

Super excited!

After dropping Sydney off, we walked Tristen into school for his first day. We had already toured the school so he was ready to lead the way.

Tristen and mommy on his first day!

Tristen & his teacher, Mrs. Ellis

How cute are these little lockers? There were many things to make the kids feel right at home. His teacher had taken pictures of all the kids and she was ready to greet us all by name on the first day. Tristen's locker had his name on it and also a little cut-out hand that noted he is left-handed (it's one of a thousand questions on his school paperwork). I thought that was a fun idea!

Tristen with his nametag and the computers.

After greeting the teacher, putting away his bag and checking out the classroom hamster, Tristen sat down to read some books and we said goodbye. Of course he didn't even blink. And I was so happy that he was so excited that of course I didn't cry at all - it was like a fun field trip! My how time flies -- my first child is now in school. Loving it.

Cooper Summer Sprint Race Report

Whew - the summer just seems to fly by. This is a little late but here is the recap from the Cooper Summer Sprint Triathlon on July 25th. This was a fun race close to home so how could I pass it up! The race was a 350 meter pool swim (in the gorgeous outdoor pool at the Cooper Fitness Center at Craig Ranch), 12 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run.

Woke up early as usual and headed the 15 minutes over to the race site with my Dad who was playing 'sherpa' for me. So nice to have such supportive family! My mom and Jeff brought the kids up a little later. I set up transition and said hi to the couple people I knew at the race. Got a little nervous when I saw what looked like some fast bikes on my rack. Not that I'm trying to win the race but I always feel a little out of place! I thought this would be a little more low-key race but turns out this was a points generator for region rankings and the speedsters were out. Sold out race too!

For a pool swim tri everyone lines up in order according to the estimated swim time you put down. They send everyone off every 5 seconds or so. Here we are waiting in line for the start!

I waited around about 25-30 minutes for my start as I was number 282. But my turn came quick enough and I wasn't nervous at all when my time came. A quick swim in the pool and I'd be done with the most nerve-wracking part of a tri for me. Ready, set, go!

In the first 50 meters the girl behind me zooms by, then dies at beginning of second 50 and I had to pass her back. Really? It's a longer race than that, how about a little steadiness? Passed one more then came up on the guy who started in front of me with 100 to go. Started to pass him then when I got close I found out he was swinging really wide and I got a mouth full of water so pulled up short. Waited until the last 50 and just made sure to breathe to the other side and passed him. I don't think he cared for that because I could tell he sped up, but I made the pass easily. My family was watching from right beside the last lane. I could hear my kids yelling for me on that last 50, smiled underwater. :) They were adorable (and probably annoying to others) yelling 'Go mommy go!' over and over. Goal was 7:45 and I was out and across the mat in time; 350m swim = 7:35.

Me passing that last guy! See ya! ;)

So glad to be out! Hey!

Grandma and Tristen hanging out pool-side.

Jeff and Syd hanging out watching the race.

Easy transition and was off on the bike. This bike route had a lot of turns and slight uphills so it wasn't hard but it made it hard to get any real speed. No pics since it was kind of hard to spectate that part. Goal was 40 minutes for the bike, 12 mile bike = 39:22. Threw on the run gear and was off for a 5k. It was getting pretty hot out and the first mile is always key. Your body will tell you if you've got anything for the day or if it's going to be a looooonnnggg run.

Heading out on the run. Smiling!

After the first mile I came up on a guy who seemed to be doing a decent pace. After a minute or two I just decided to sit in right behind him and follow. At a mile and a half I figured out this would be a good run for me. The run course had two main uphill sections and I was up and over easier than I thought. Cashing in my banked training hours. On the last downhill (picture above) I let things out a little, passed and dropped the last two guys who I think were struggling a little bit (yes, it was hot!) and finished in decent shape. Run goal was under 33 minutes, 3.1 mile run=31:53.

Last 200 meters yay!

After the race I met up with John (from my tri club) and his friend Nancy (nice to meet ya!). Everyone had a great race! My total race time was 1:21:02. The kids headed home while we hung out and waited for awards. I was pretty sure I would be close in my group. Ma & pa were kind enough to wait it out with me in the heat and sun.

Lucky for my kids, I was 2nd place Athena! Here is my little shiny trophy. I also won a free month at Cooper and some free chick-fil-a stuff - how fun is that?

It was a great race - super thanks to everyone who came out to help and cheer! Next up is the blackland tri in plano on Labor Day. They have a great little cookout afterwards plus it's so fun to watch the youth race before. If you are feeling the racing bug, hope to see you there!

It's All About Performance

Ya'll don't understand...




ha ha 'with the messenger bag on the back of your fixie'...(fyi, that's a fixed gear bike for anyone wondering). This is too funny.

Heartfelt wedding...

Check out this video...

Who Loves Bowling?

Me! Grandma and Grandpa joined us for a little glow in the dark bowling.

Syd & Gma - say cheese!

Tristen enjoying a little lane-side pizza!

Sydney's bowling form...

Grandpa beat us all with this winning form. ;)

Sydney and Daddy

Such a cute little place, I found it very family friendly. The kiddos had a great time and had the bowling thing down. Summer is so much fun!

First 50+ mile ride and some singing and dancing

This weekend I set a milestone. I didn't even know ahead of time I would! I met the group I ride with on Saturdays at RBM South for my 'long ride' of the week. Our group included Coach Gayle, who is training for Redman and who is coaching Davis, Graham, and John for their coming Ironman races in 2010. Yeah, they start that training early when you need to 'race' for possibly 14-15 hours at once. So to say I'm the newbie on the ride is an understatement.

The guys had 55 miles on their schedule this week. They asked how far we were going and Gayle said around 30 miles (she always makes sure I get back ok and then finishes her remaining miles). So we started out and the guys start saying 'Come on, you can make 50 miles, you've been keeping up the last couple weeks. We'll go slow.' In my head I'm thinking no way. No way I add 20 miles and not blow up. But then I start to think, 'well, I can always call someone to come get me since we'll be out close to family...and sure, I'd like to try it - sounds exciting!'. So eventually I say 'sure, why not...I'm in.' Gayle told me not to look at the miles (which was great advice by the way, just keep eating every 45 minutes, stay hydrated and just keep pedaling.

The first 25 miles was a breeze, lots of good sections with not too much uphill or wind. Even with slowing for stop signs, railroad tracks, etc we were keeping a good average. We made a quick water stop at the gas station and I thought, man I look red! So I told everyone not to worry - that's my 'exercise face'. he he

What? You brought that camera again? ;)

Then we hit the hilly sections and I had to dig a little deeper. When I'm riding up a hill I think 'just keep swimming, just keep swimming, what do we do, we swim swim swim.' Funny but it works. Maybe I'm weird but I never use that mantra when swimming. Just biking. It was actually a ton of fun riding new places!!

Me with 'exercise face of eternal redness.' Yes I love that bike jersey and it's in many pics. Please buy me a new one so it doesn't look like I wear the same thing all the time. :)

The last rest stop is somewhere around 10 miles from the finish. And those last 10 miles are hard, windy, and lots of long gradual inclines so you always feel like you're going uphill. So I refilled and got my mental game ready and made the last push. It was a struggle but I wanted to be done and get off the bike because it was well over a hundred degrees by now! The guys all congratulated me as we rode over the 50 mile mark and declared me Queen of the 50. :) Seriously a big thanks to the group for getting me to try it and helping make sure I made it. The workout took just under 4 hours - 3:47:13. 4 hours. Of pedaling. Seriously what was I thinking. We left at 7:15am and with rest stops, made it back to the car around 11:40am.

The proof! 56.87 miles!

After the ride I rushed home to shower and change because my sis and I had tix to see A Chorus Line! I showered, with a loooootttt of soap (seriously I had super-stink and was covered in dirt!), barely dried my hair and we made the trip downtown just in time to watch some serious singing and dancing. Good stuff.

Laaammmeee picture.

Here is Liz thinking...um, how can you take such a lame picture?

Why am I not blessed with cooloer siblings?

After the show I was super hungry and cranky (I burned around 3k calories on that bike!) so we stopped for some Uncle Julio's before making the way back home. A successful day!

Why I wasn't outside on my bike last night...

I went out to White Rock Lake as usual on Wednesday for my ride. I had checked the weather around 4pm and it didn't look like we would get any rain, just maybe to the far East of me. When I got out of the car though I heard thunder. Really? Was that just thunder? Waited a few more seconds and yep thunder. It's hard to see very far on the horizon because you're in the middle of some large trees but it was looking pretty dark to the North. Not good. So I checked my phone and sure enough there was a severe thunderstorm warning with hail coming south my way. Not good news since I really don't want to be caught on my bike in the rain, or lightening, but I REALLY don't want to be caught in hail. Decided it was best to pack things up and not chance it. Headed to Shalon's since she lives nearby and at this point it was peak rush-hour traffic and I just didn't want to drive home in it. Boo.

Shortly after arriving at Shal's here is what we got:

Metroplex Sprint Triathlon Race Report

A few weeks ago Shalon and I completed the Metroplex Sprint out at Joe Pool Lake. It's a 400 meter open water swim, 11 mile bike, and a 2 mile run. I think this race had somewhere around 315 competitors.

I was so nervous. My first event in awhile and I was just glad to be getting to the starting line. Arrived at 5:30am and got my transition area set-up, timing chip on and body-marked. Walked around and talked to friends. It was great to know so many people at this race! I didn't really warm-up much. My wave was first at 7am so as soon as the pre-race meeting was done we were called to the water.

That's me in purple on the mid-right. Wading in and talking to my friends about where they want to line up. Shalon always goes to the front. She's a fast swimmer so she lines up closer to the fast peeps. Usually I try to stay farther to the outside so I don't get caught up in the washing machine. When the gun goes off and everyone starts, you get hit, kicked, people swim right over your back. So at first it's a little hard to 'swim'. Then it was time so ready, set, GO!

This is my wave start, it's Men and Women 30-34. There are boats and kayaks in case anyone gets into trouble. Yes, this happens and people get pulled from the race if needed (no one did at this race).

Within a minute or so the faster swimmers pull ahead. We're swimming from right to left in the picture above towards a yellow buoy that can't be seen to the far left outside of this shot. Yes, the water really is kind of a brown color. It's also the drinking water for the city. Yuck.

A little further progress. Luckily, the waves weren't too bad at all. Even the smallest chop can make your breathing difficult. It's much different than swimming laps. Of course, like any Texas lake you can't even see the end of your hand so sighting (looking up to see where you are going) is important. Sometime in here my right goggle started to leak. I stopped to fix it since I had my contacts in, plus it's annoying. At some point I got a mouthful of water and flipped over to try and burp that up. Worst part of the race.

Here is the swim course. It begins to the right beyond this photo and out to the left around the yellow bouy and back paralell to shore until you turn in to the end. I estimate I'm somewhere in the yellow circle at this point. I didn't care about my swim time at all during this. I just wanted to stay calm (I tend to think negatively while swimming) and keep making forward progress. I finally felt warmed up just when it was time to get out!

Finally I exited the swim. This guy in the pink cap passed me in the swim (he was in the wave behind me which started 3 minutes after us) but I ran past him on the ramp :). Swim Time: 11:35 for 400 meters. Terrible but done. For comparison, I swim this distance in about 8:40 in a pool.

Ran into transition and threw down the cap and goggles. Put on socks, bike shoes, race belt (number is required on this race bike leg), sunglasses, helmet, and ran to the mount line. I heard Jeff in transition yell out for me loudly like it was a football game, 'Let's go Sabin!' It made me laugh. Best case time for me. T1 time: 1:35

Glenn (Shalon's DH), my Mom, Dad, Liz, and hubs all hung out under the tent Glenn brought. Here they are lounging before the race. A big thanks to all my family who came out at the crack of dawn to see the race. It's fantastic to feel supported and there is no greater emotional booster on the course than to see and hear them cheer for you. And thanks for all the help so I could actually train to finish!

Here's me taking a happy point to give the camera a peace sign. The bike was flat and fast. I passed two in my AG here and don't think I got passed by anyone in my AG. But the rest of the race, the next four waves, were behind me including some super fast people on super fast bikes! So yeah, I got passed by a lot of them. It was starting to get hot here but I LOVE the bike so just enjoyed this ride and working hard. This route goes out and back over the Dam so it's slightly windy. It's closed to traffic but not walkers/runners. A guy a little in front of me actually hit a girl who was running in the middle of the road! Hello idiot girl...do not veer into the middle of a road when there is a bike race going on. He crashed and had a little bloody road rash and looked ticked as can be. Everyone asked if he was ok and he said yes. But he was fine and got up and eventually carried on - and finished in front of me I will add. Bike time: 35:23 / 11 miles, 18.65mph avg

Came back into T2 and did a regular dismount, ran bike to rack, bike shoes off, run shoes on, grab visor in hand to put on while running and run out. I dropped my left shoe when trying to put it on and actually thought for a split second 'well I don't want to bend over to pick that up.' lol. Fast T2: 0:58.

Here is me headed out on the run - yeah, way to the right. Uh, not sure why my sis cannot use this camera. ha ha, love ya sis! Again with the happy peace sign. Or maybe it's 'V for victory' because I am closer to finishing! :)

I am a slow runner. But I just kept doing my best and to tried to hold off the few gals in my AG who I could see behind me. When you get off the bike and immediately run your legs feel very heavy, like bricks. I'm very happy in this picture because I'm coming into the finish line with a best case run time for me! I saw about 10 people from my team plus a few more I knew out on the course and it was great - everyone yelling out encouragement to each other.

Yay I finished! Run time: 21:28/ 2 miles, 10:44 m/m

I was so glad to have finished this race. It took a lot of work to get me here and I didn't even feel like throwing up at the end. Afterwards I walked around and talked to all our friends and my teammates who also did this race. Here's me, Shal and Coach Gayle. My goal was to come in under 1:15 and I made it. :) Total Race Time: 1:11:02

Well, it turned out that my time was good enough to win an award...I won 3rd place in the overall Athena division. The timing company prints results near the finish and my friends came over to tell me 'hey I think you placed in your division'. So I went to check and sure enough I did! Thanks for teling me guys - I wouldn't have stayed for the awards and would have missed it! If you don't know, you can race one of two divisions in USAT - either in your Age Group or in the Athena division (which is anyone above a certain weight...because it's harder for larger gals in case you didn't know). So I won third in my class in the entire race (1st in Athena W30-34) and all those skinny gals can suck it! ha ha. Here's me and hubs with my 'major award'. It's Fra-gee-lay. lol. This was a fun course and I would definitely do this one again.

The Tour... 2009 edition

Who out there could retire from a professional sport, take 3-4 years off, and then return at the top of the league? How about break their collar bone, a serious injury for cyclists a month before and arrive prepped for a major race?


Lance Armstrong, fellow Texan and Plano native, that's who. Talk about determination. These guys ride all day every day and Lance isn't exactly a spring chicken anymore. Yet here he sits in 3rd overall at the Tour de France, the biggest bike race on the planet, after only returning to competition six months ago. You can believe no one is cutting him slack. I don't care how much help you get, you don't sit in the Top 10 unless you've got the talent and the work put in.



I love watching the tour videos...you can check them out at http://www.livestrong.com/lance-armstrong/videos/. Lance has posted a few from the Tour.

If you don't follow the TDF, today is one of the days to watch. Stage 4 is a Team Time Trial and Team Astana (Lance's team) is noted as one of the favorites for this stage. It's a little over 24 miles and these guys will be speeding along at greater than 30mph all close enough to touch the rider in front of them. You have to keep the team together (assuming you don't get dropped, i.e. left behind) and the last guy over the line is the time. Truly a team effort and will be very exciting!