Endurance Athletes: Are we mentally ill? :P

I would have to say that normally that questions is a slam dunk, no problemo question for me to answer but after being out at the "Running with The Devil" race today.......I sorta wanna scratch my head and say HUH??? Remind me again!!!??

I have been and assume I will continue to be accused of being insane, out of my mind, batty, daft and mental for participating in endurance sports -Specifically for me - triathlons. Now as we all know....doing tri's is just one of many endurance sports. The discipline that I got to watch today up close and in living color was Ultra Running. Now this isn't my first time at the rodeo...I ATTEMPTED ultra running once upon a time. Notice I used the word ATTEMPTED....because 1. I SUCKED AT IT. 2. I really didn't enjoy it as much as I think I should have. So because of my failed attempts and the fact that I know quite a few ultra runners, I have had the opportunity to watch some great athletes run...run.....run.......AND RUN some more and seriously I just have to say.............NOPE not for me. I like a little more variety than that!

To this day I will happily blame my friend Dean Karnazes ( with a big smile ) for inspiring me to get up and get out....and for trying to make a change. Who knew that change would be losing the equivalent of half my body and then finally becoming a triathlete. Even a triathlete on her way to her first official 140.6 mile race. When I started reading Dean's first book 'UltraMarathonMan: Confessions of an All Night Runner" I had no idea what an ultra runner was or even what the endurance athlete mind set was about....but I sure learned quickly.
I have observed that being an ultra runner and really any successful endurance athlete ( I'm not necessarily classifing success by time either) you need to have a few things under your belt. (I learned and am still learning this BTW by attempting/trying, failing, watching and learning)

1. Patience 2. Knowledge 3. Humility - Lack of Fear of Failing 4. Perseverance
5. Common Sense 6. Sense of Humor 7. Ability to see the BIGGER picture 8. Curiosity
9. Boldness 10. Have an addiction to challenges.

Some magazine articles have even said that ultra runners and endurance athletes are Type T personalities. T of course standing for thrill seeking. BUT....are we all thrill seeking? Or do we just like the adventure? Maybe we just like the training? Maybe we're all just a bunch of OCD/ADDHD types trying to get along in the world without getting arrested. :P OR MAYBE.....just maybe we love doing something that gives us an opportunity to grow and improve....meet new people.....be outdoors, and pretty much just feel better about ourselves. (and not look to bad in a bikini or tri shorts) Personally, I'll go with the "Hi, my name is Samantha and I'm a triathlete.....I've been addicted for 3 yrs now....and hope to be addicted till I'm 6 feet under" or "Uuuhhhhhh I'm NUTS yeah whats your point" :)) HOWEVER.....

With that said.....I will add that I have no desire to ever ever ever ever RUN 50 miles in 110 degree weather with goodness only know what in radiating heat off the pavement. ( my guess would be minimum 150 degrees as I have seen ppl fry eggs on the sidewalk and also get 3rd degree burns from falling on the ground in Las Vegas in the summer ) So what is it that draws different people to the different disciplines. Specifically...why do you ON PURPOSE sign up and run in the worst possible weather possible. (Geezzzz Boise seems like a cake walk after today) EMT rides, Medi Air Lift Helicopters, Ice, and Electrolyte depletion were just a few of the affects/results of today race out at Lake Mead. WHY??? WHY ??? WHY??? I listened to quite a few of the people out running today, and not just the 50 milers but also the 5 and 10 k peeps. And you know what I heard most often?? ( and now I'm paraphrasing, but..) "OMG, OMG, OMG that is the worst thing/hardest thing I have ever done." You know what I also heard....."I can't believe I just did that, that sucked but that was awesome, etc etc" Gee that sounds vaguely familiar..thinking back to Boise when I couldn't feel my legs they were so cold.

So I do get it.....I GET IT I GET IT I GET IT. Is there a club badge I get to carry now, maybe a cool decoder ring that I get to wear or is it the inner feeling of pride that I get to have FOREVER! Hopefully its all three but I'll be happy with just the latter. :) I also love turning people to the "dark side" of being an endurance athlete. Between my hubby and I would guesstimate that we are responsible for at least 10 - 15 ppl becoming either cyclists, triathletes or runners......HELLO HELLO....weekly meeting start immediately I will be your sponsor. hee hee
Yeah!! I figure the more people out moving is less people that are sitting on their arses listening to their arteries clog.......WTG!!!

Not everyone will become a superstar, elite but I do believe that everyone will find SOMETHING....something that gives them what NO ONE else can give them, what NO MONEY can buy them, and what generally some people have NO INTEREST in understanding but HEY that's OK! Its a big world...I might not agree or like everyone else's choices but I sure the hell should at least respect that they are trying to think or do on their own . All the other stuff we can deal with afterward....

So my ? to you is.....WHY? Why do you do your particular endurance event. AND no you can't all copy me and say "Because I'm Insane"....think out of the box ppl or at the very least break out the Roget's! :PP

Do you wear a watch?

..when you run, ride or swim? Is it your Garmin, your Polar or maybe your Suunto? Do you wear any of any of them for everyday? Nowadays there are SO many different options for HR monitors, GPS monitors, Watches with Lap counters..etc etc etc. So which if any do you have?

Moi....well I have my Garmin Forerunner 305 that I use for run training and sometimes racing. I have a few different Timex Ironman watches that I wear everyday and finally I have a Polar that I never really use...unless one or all of the previous stop working at the same time. LOL

I have noticed that Garmin has come out with a new version of the 305, which is the 310. Is it any better?? Well I haven't really investigate the product very much but I do know it comes in a nice bright shade of orange. Now normally I wouldn't be a huge fan of orange BUT I like bright colors....probably because I'm so BRIGHT AND CHEERY. :P Like my Newton running shoes..... I just love the older and now new colors!!! YIPPEEE. Brighter the better in my book.

Ok, back to the topic at hand....................................................................

So I have my Garmin and then the Timex watches that I use daily. I have one in my swim bag, one in my work/gym bag, one that is blk and pink that I wear off and on, a steel Timex Ironman that I can wear for more "formal" events ( ha ha..me formal events.....WWWAAAHHHHH) and which I also wear daily I wear daily and then finally the newest addition to my collect is the Timex OVA Ironman watch. I had seen this watch particular watch at one point and then noticed 2 of my friends wearing them which reminded me.....I like the idea of that watch!! I recently also saw these at the Boise 70.3 expo.........but they were about 80 dollars. 80 bucks for a Timex.....UUUHHHHHH...NOPE! I get mine cheap, so if I loose them I don't have a complete meltdown. :) hee hee

So my new Timex is great. The post race Santa Claus (aka my great hubby) brought it to me last night....THANKS SANTA!!! I christened it on my long ride today and its awesome. I had noticed in the race at Boise that I was turning my arm to look at the watch which can and did easily cause a little swervie swerverton action. OOPPPSS! Bottom line....the OVA (optimal viewing angle) idea works...and makes access to your watch much easier. The idea being that the viewing screen sits on the edge of your arm so when you run or ride all you have to do is look down. (see pic above)

Anywhooooo.....just love my new watch and thought I'd share. ( PS..if you look in the right places you can find it for less that 25 bucks. :) Santa gave me that tip.

A Different Perspective

Just finishing my first HIM race this past weekend has me taking stock of my training as well as planning out the most effective path towards my next HIM race and then finally my IM next May.

Along with this reflection/planning I have had a lot of feedback from fellow triathletes and friends.....TO YOU ALL, I SAY THANK YOU!!! One of my friends is an elite marathon runner...we're talking FAST! As we were talking about the race in Boise he congratulated me, and said he was in awe of me. When I finally stopped laughing, thinking how could someone like he be in awe of me(I'm a turtle in comparison).....He just got this look on his face and said...."I'm in awe because I can't imagine racing at intensity for 6-7hours. I just couldn't keep that up for that period of time." Confusion washed over me but then it occurred to me that his comment made sense - - SORTA. :p

Yes he is super fast, and yes he is an elite athlete but he's right.....I don't think he could or would even want to train or race at intensity for as many hours as I do. Pretty funny when you think about it and its sorta cool. We talked about other things as well but in the end he said a lot of his friends feel the same way....they get out there and they run fast. DONE! Past that....LONG ENDURANCE....is not something they are even remotely interested in. As far as me getting ready to train for my first IM race.......to quote him " INSANITY!" Personally, I think being able to run a 2: 15 is insanity but I guess its all in ones perspective.

Boise 70.3

I will make this short!

The Good Stuff:

-Had hubby and BIL John with me. We had a blast and they were troopers standing out in the rain all day just to be there for me.

-Boise is an awesome city. People are nice, very active. Area is beautiful and very green. The downtown area where I stayed and race ended was awesome. Lots of little places to go hang out at and just sit and people watch.

-Got to see and have dinner with Tory, Tim and Robert from Newton , Michael Simpson and Craig Alexander. All such fabulous people.

-Got to meet/hang a bit with Sam K and her hubby.

-Learned some good/valuable lessons that you only get from going thru an experience.

-Finished and have now completed a HIM race.

The Not so Good Stuff:

-Weather was ARSE! Washing machine water, Rain, windy, hail. :)

-Sam did not follow her nutritional plan. By the time I got off the bike I was probably down 600-700 calories. NO FUEL = 's body not working well.

-Cold and wet the entire race. Problems is I don't have the best knees in the world but they generally only bother me if they get cold. Well they were, and at one point it felt like someone had ripped my legs off from the knees down.

-Falling significantly short of what I know I can achieve and what I trained for. BUT oh well **** happens.


Boise was a great race and I would HIGHLY recommend it to ANYONE. Who knows maybe I'll go back some time in the future!!

Yeah that's rain in the picture. :)

The Sam's at the finish. :)


More pics.....check 'em out! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2018999&id=1063663567&l=4158faa8c3

Zippity Do Dah, Zippity Ay...

.....My Oh My What A Wonderful Day! Plenty of Sunshine Comin' My Way, Zippity Doo Dah, Zippity Ay!

Yahoo, what a great day. I didnt get a lot of sleep BUT woke up fairly early. As it turns out expo was later in day, so after grabbing a nice oatmeal/fruit/peanut butter toast breakfast...we took off to check out the Capital Building. BUT.....WHOOPS, its closed for renovations. :( Walked around a tiny bit....stopped and had some fun with the local statues ( see FB pics) then came back to room. Hubby decided to go run the run course to see what it was like so I decided to go to the market to get a few things. Long story short got lost, finally found it then I almost couldn't exit the rental car. Why you ask?? Well because I couldn't get the key out of the ignition. Ahhh..grab the owners manual and was starting to get annoyed, yet amused when I realized the issue. Can ya guess what it was?? Hmmm....well putting the car in park usually works well! D'OH......hey its a rental what can I say. :)

By the time I got back to room hubby was back from his and getting ready to take off to the Lucky Peak Resevoir to do a little swimming. Got a little lost, so was a tiny bit late meeting Sam K ( sorry Sam and John ) but we finally got there. You aren't being allowed to swim on course but can go up reservoir and get in the water there. Long and Short..WATER WAS PERFECT. Now if I would have just gotta my wet suit up high enough up on my arms and legs. Ok, check...fixed that in water. Swam back a forth along the buoy line a few times 5 or 6....floated on my bk, and just got use to the new swimming environment. Luckily NO SHARK (tthhhrrrrpppttt Brad ). :) Practiced sighting a bit and then tested what different speeds felt like. All was good then got out and walked up to car. Strangely enough as I was leaving three guys were getting in and one of them had Newtons on so of course I had to say "Don't you just love your Newtons"! Of course he replied yes...and then one of the guy in the waters said Newtons were great to which I replied " That's why I love being able to be an ambassador for them....Love their shoes and company is one you can get behind"....to which the guy replied. "Are you Sam?" DOOOODDD ....WTH? How does this guy know my name.....either I know him some how or well.....I don't know what. LOL As it turns out he's on Runners World and it would seem I must TALK ALOT ABOUT Newtons ( never said I didn't talk a lot or didn't have a big mouth - D'OH )..so HI KENT!! Good Luck on Saturday!!

Came back from swim, quickly showered and went to expo. Of course went over to Newton booth and said hi to the peeps..everyone was good AND it looks like Robert, Tim and Tory might race. *thinking* Ok which one do I get to pull me along? Hee hee Went to check in, found my number #106 ( which is a lucky number.....1+6=7="s Lucky 7, got all my other race essentials, activated my timing chip and then it was down to the "Come Buy Me, I'm A Cool...Shirt, and Jacket and Visor.......etc etc etc. :P Walked around talking to a few people, even had someone congratulate me on my race at Hawaii. HUH?? Who do you think I am?? (See Tory.....it has to be the glasses :p) Stopped and chatted with Craig Alexander for a bit ( he's a Newton athlete). What a great guy, so nice and friendly. OK, stomach is growling........time to grub. (Was going to go to Athlete Briefing but chose food instead.) Thanks to Tim we wandered over to The Bistro for some gnosh. hee hee EXCELLENT Turkey Sandwich, great patio and excellent customer service. Grabbed a seat on the patio and relaxed.

Next up..a wander back to hotel. (like 2 blocks) Grabbed some tea/hot choc and a little cookie. Now its a little blog time and some compression socks and SLEEP!!!! Tommorrow is looking like another STELLAR DAY. Going to do a little run, a little swim and then check bike and bags in then OFF MY FEET.

YIPPEE!!!

I D A H O...??? :) HA HA HA

So after a quick and fairly uneventful flight we touched down in Boise. YAHHOOO!!!

Collected bags and bike box.....all there. Got rental car...and away we went. Hotel is in downtown Boise and might I just say COOL downtown area!! Got to room unloaded Tessie, put her together and then rode her over to LBS ( World Cyclery on 8th) to have her looked at quickly. All was good and so came back to room to change and get out for a short little ride. The LBS was only a few blocks from hotel and the guys there were very helpful! As we wandered to LBS I quickly noticed how it the area was very bike/pedestrian friendly and as fate would have it there was some sort of band night/outside drink thing LOTS of ppl and lots of bikes. Such a cool vibe.

Took off for my ride and almost immediately got lost. ( Go figure ) Assumed it was relatively flat BUT nope.....I think I stumbled on all the hills. hee hee. Oh well...was having fun checking out the local digs and then the sky opened up.....RAIN RAIN RAIN RAIN. Thunder and Lightening showed up for S & G's ---Was going to turn around but figured it would stop soon. Well it did, but then started again....OOOPPSSSSSS and BBRRRRR!! Wind + Rain BBBRRRR!!! Got in about an hour before I found my way bk to hotel. YEAH! Met hubby back at room and then got ready for dinner.

Ended up meeting Sam K & John at a little local place. Awesome peeps (and terrific athletes), and fun to hang around. Ended up yaking until almost 11 pm and then took off to grab some sleep.

Tomorrow its Expo, Race Venue for Swimming and a bike course ck out. :p Having a great time so far.

Girls and Tools!

Tim the Tool Man has nothing on me!! Sam + wrench + bike + Thule bike box = SUCCESS!!! I was going to run this by a bike store and have them box it up for me but then as I looked at my bike I thought to myself....."Self, how hard can this be..you're a smart girl!"

Got a proper wrench from the garage and went to work. Now granted I did have an "overseer" just in case the project all went wonkie. ( AKA my hubby ) HOWEVER.....all was good. It was actually easier than it looked and between Jared and I we got Tessie all boxed up and ready to fly. ( either that or she's trying to impersonate Han Solo when he was frozen in Carbonite. *insert giggles*
I think I'm even more excited to get to Boise now!

THANKS AGAIN to my great great brother in law John for the great bike box! What a great Christmas present! ( yeah I'm excited I just repeated the word great 5 times ..wwwaaahhhh :P)

In the words of one of my dear friends....BOW CHICKA BOW BOW!!! :)

T-Minus 3 days!!

I'm so excited to get to Boise!!! BOOOO YAY!!!! That's what I'm talking about.

5 days till the race.....hoping the weather guesser is wrong. Sammy no wanty Thunder Storms on Saturday.....well actually I don't really care, cuz I'm IN rain or shine!! :)))

What a week!!!

Have you ever have one of those weeks where you look back and think......WOW, what a FANTABULOUS week (yeah made that word up just now). Its one of those weeks where apparently the tides were just high enough, the moon was in the seventh house, Jupiter was aligned with Mars (*insert 5th dimension music* This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius, The Age of Aquaruis.....Aquarius! Aquarius! ) Oops I got side tracked.....WAIT...... A SQUIRREL! :p
Ok, where was I? Fantabulous week right right.....so it was just one of those great great week where the 5th dimension song could very well illustrate your exsistence AND to make it even better your household supply of Nutella and Crumpets (my new addiction, thanks Calfie) was never lacking. Well if you haven't had one of those week I surely hope you have one in the VERY near future!!

For MOI....this week has been just that type of week. The week that could do no wrong --no flat tires, faulty CO2 cartrigates, mean ppl, Powertap software issues, Crackberry buttons not working, 30 mph head winds....NOTHING was going to derail my happy happy joy joy mood. Now I'll be the first to admit that I tend to be maybe a LITTLE hyper, so perhaps the happy happy joy joy doesn't seem that out of place for me but this week was a few steps ABOVE the normal happy happy joy joy. It was like Sam on MEGA HAPPY PILLS! and as frightening as that might seem......IT WAS AWESOME!

First of all I feel great - Rib is all healed! My training this week was SPOT ON! (Today even knocked out some of my fastest 100's in the pool AFTER already swimming 2600m's.) I got my custom insoles that seem to be working out wonderfully. I received my new Road ID bands in a rainbow of colors - pink, purple, yellow and blk. (thanks sweetie) Finally I think I have smiled more and laughed more this week than I have in a long time. AND NO I WAS NOT STANDING IN FRONT OF THE MIRROR. :P TTHHHRRRPPPPTTTTT. Everything just seemed to entertain/amuse me this week - particularly when I hit the turn around on my long ride and spent the better part of 90 mins battling a 25-30 mph headwind/crosswind and then again today watching my dog run after me walking back from mailbox. OMG..he is so cute and those front feet....like little catchers mits. :) It was just ONE of those weeks when everything was perfect......*insert content sigh*

Honestly, I thought I'd be freaking out about Boise about now, but for some reason I have strange calm about it and would even go so far as to say I'm EXCITED about it. Now, once I actually get to Boise...all bets are off and I claim no responsibility for my behavior BUT, I think I'll be ok. After my last tri - the Olympic distance I realized I very much prefer the longer distance. I know an Oly Tri is not a long distance race but its longer than a Sprint and to me seemed much more relaxed. Having said that I know I have never done a HIM distance race all at the same time but I have done more than those distances in a day so you know what......I'll start, I'll finish and I'll have some fun along the way. I'm confident on the swim, very confident on the bike and I got my 11/23 cassette put on so I stop gearing out on the flats and downhills.....and then there is the run! I feel much better about it than I have in the past.....my shoes and custom insoles are working great, so I'll give it my very very best and see where that lands me. YYIIPPPEEEE!!!! HECK, and even if all the "wheels come off the cart"..I know I'll finish before the cutoff. *insert another good deep sigh*

So there you have it........content , happy, cheery, glad, elated.....PICK whichever synonym that works best.....that was my week. Let's call it the SAMSUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS,TICKLEDPINKISH,
SNUFFLEBUNNIESH,EPICOUS,MINDBOGGLING,KILLERSUPREMISH,
PUREPHENOM,PHLACHARKICKIOUS,WONDEROUSLY,TREMENDOUS week.

*insert cricket noises*(Are we there yet....Are we there yet?)Look a SQUIRREL......Ha Ha....come on now, if anything you all know I'm a little strange but just go with it...you've read this far already. :P

SOOO...for those of you who have never had a week such a previously describe..GO GET ONE! I know your SAMSUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS,TICKLEDPINKISH,
SNUFFLEBUNNIESH, EPICOUS,MINDBOGGLING,KILLERSUPREMISH,
PUREPHENOM,PHLACHARKICKIOUS,
WONDEROUSLY,TREMENDOUS week is just waiting for you.

On a personal note: I would like to thank my friends (RWTF, FB and real time), family and coach who constantly encourage me and support me, my undeniably pulchritudinous husband who gets to deal with my incredibly HUGE box of crazy and still loves me anyway, Newton Running for making the shoes they make and being the people they are and my puppy for all the hrs he patiently waits for me to get home just so he can jump up and lay next to me.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU --- I appreciate all of you more than words can say!! :PP

Feet :)

I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited! I just received my new custom insoles from Newton Running / Active Imprints. Its a schedules rest day but I'm going to have to take these out for a tiny little spin.

If you ever have the opportunity to stop by Newton Running/ Newton Running Lab. Say hi to all the great people that work at Newton and also have Danny Abshire take a look at your feet.( especially if you are having issues ) Absolute GENIUS. He took one look at my feet/my feet standing and told me what the problem was that I was having! BINGO he was spot on!! I have had my feet , my gait and just about everything else analyzed and not one person pointed out the things he did. Better than that though...he spoke to me in "english" as opposed to the technical jargon a lot of ppl start to spew, which made understanding the "how's and why's" a little easier. (honestly though I do have a background in Exercise Physiology so I would have understood the technical spewing )

Here's the bio's on the Head Cheese's ....not only are they WONDERFUL PEOPLE, but so are all the people at Newton! All cut from the same cloth, with the good peeps thread. ;)))

http://www.newtonrunning.com/community/newton-team

And if you don't live near Boulder.....no worries. I'm quite sure Danny and the team can still help you. Just give them a buzz!! (p.s. my insurance is paying for mine! - just need to submit info. No worries)

Watch these too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogZr8MjX4Mc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fBh2qH4QbM