TriSupporter

we're cruisin

we're cruisin
Originally uploaded by natalieandrian

Payback for being a sherpa has begun. We're on the inaugural sailing of the Ruby Princess. To avoid hurricane paloma, we're going to Cozumel first. Bon voyage.

Bass Pro Shop Marathon Recap

We're back home from Springfield, MO just north of Branson. The good news is Rianman did it...he finished with an unofficial time of 4:24. We're hoping the official time will show 4:22 which is a 10 minute mile...his goal. As usual his goal is to always finish feeling good and he felt good at the end.

Here's the best part...check out that medal!

 

Packet Pickup

The Bass Pro Shop Conservation Marathon is only 2 years old and we were impressed. We arrived Saturday afternoon with our friends Marcus and Christy after a 2.5 hour drive. After checking into our respective hotels both a short walk to the Bass Pro Shop, we went to packet pick up. We pulled into the lot and were were amazed by the size of this Bass Pro Shop. I've seen them before but this was about double the size of a regular one. It held several conference centers with catering facilities in addition to the store, a Starbucks, a museum, and an aquarium! Unreal!

After pickup which included a nice New Balance long sleeve tech tee, we drove over to check out the local football stadium that at 6pm was going to open its doors to an Obama rally. We all thought, "This is Springfield, how many could be here." Well holy cow...there were a ton of people already. We decided we would eat dinner first. We drove across town (3 miles) to one of a gazillion Japanese restaurants for such a small city. We had a terrific dinner of sushi in a restaurant that could easily have been in Chicago. Very hip and cool. What kind of town is Springfield?

Obama Rally

Anyway, after dinner around 7 pm, Rianman drove us back to the hotel, just half a mile to the stadium. Marcus, Chrsity and I went to the Obama rally while Rian stayed in to rest. It was a good idea because we didn't get back from the rally till 10:15 and we stood the whole time. The rally was amazing. There were about 40,000 people in a part of Springfield that is generally pretty Red. Both Michelle and Barack spoke. And when he finished, we made our way back to the hotel to a sleeping Rianman.

Sunday Morning

With the "Fall Back" we benefited from the extra hour of sleep. Rianman woke at 4:30 to eat a little food, then fell back to sleep. The nice thing about a marathon is the little prep needed. In a triathlon you have to get to the transition to set everything up but with a marathon you just get dressed and walk over to the starting area. Of course it is never that easy for Rianman. He had to make his Perpetuem leaving the hotel room sink a mess. He then weighed himself down with three filled bottles in his Fuelbelt along with Gu packets and some AntiFatigue and Endurolyte pills. He also took 1 pill of a 2 pill dose of DayQuil because he (and I) are sick and although I'm much worse off, he was starting to feel pretty bad last night.

We're still not sure how many people ran the marathon but we saw bibs in the 500s. The half-marathon started at the same time, 7 am. There probably weren't more than 2000 people. As the runners started, the three of us took to the car to head over to a great point at mile 6 and 11. We got there with plenty of time to cheer on many runners and see the lead male fly past us at mile 11. Rianman got to us and he was looking good running a sub-10 which was great. This is him coming toward us.

 

After he passed us coming back around a loop, we took off...to McDonalds for some breakfast. We ate in and after a short visit, we took off to mile 17 where we could see him twice (out and back point). We got there with only about 10 minutes to spare...maybe too much time at Mickey D's??

Marcus ran with Rianman and both looked good (Marcus wasn't running this marathon). He will still at a sub-10 but that would change. We decided after he passed that if waited to see him come back we would get to the finish in time so we decided to head back to the finish. We just missed seeing the winner finish under 3 hours but we did see the first female and of course the remaining runners till Rianman came by around 11:24 as we cheered him on. It was great to see him look so good at the end. When we met him at the finish with his finishers cap and medal, he was beat but pretty good. Marcus was good about walking with Rianman to get him to keep moving and prevent the lactic acid buildup.

We ended up going to the Finisher's party where they had beer, soda, wine, fruit, eggs, and biscuits and gravy not only for participants but friends and family!!! When do you see that ever??? Food for the family too? WOW. Bass Pro Shops put some money into this race.

We took some photos and then were on our way...Rianman to a shower and then we were off to Lamberts Cafe near Branson...home of the "Throwed Rolls" where they throw hot rolls to waiting patrons. Fun comfort food!

All in all a great first marathon weekend. Thanks to Marcus and Christy for coming along...they really made it so much more of an event. Not just any event...his first marathon and the last event of 2008. Woo hoo...vacation here we come!!!

 

Happy Halloween!!

I love when Halloween falls on a weekend. For this year, we plan on hanging out with our neighbors in the front yard with a fire and some wine. I wonder if some parents will want some...maybe we'll have some extra cups out there.

As for this weekend, it is the last big event for Rianman. He's running his first marathon (not including the Ironman). We leave tomorrow for Springfield, Missouri so Rianman can run in the Bass Pro Shops Conservation Marathon. Check out the finishers medal....very cool.

The weather will be perfect..warmer than normal...sunny and in the low 70s by afternoon. The race starts at 7 am so the runners will have cool weather to start in.

Our friends Marcus and Christy will be coming along to cheer. You may recall that Marcus ran in the Chicago Marathon recently and had to suffer through another hot October day in Chicago. Rianman's thankful that he'll have decent weather.

The cool thing about this weekend is that Obama will be in Springfield tomorrow...we're going to try to see him...wish us luck cause if it is anything like the rally here in KC...it'll be packed!!

We'll update you on Rianman's race...he's hoping for 4:20...eeks...I hope that won't jinx him.

From Cycling to Motorcycling

You may recall that Rianman got me a scooter for my birthday just before the Ironman. It's great! We've been riding it around town and I've even let Rianman ride it with me on the back...scary considering we weren't licensed yet.

Well that's all changed! This past weekend Rianman and I spent 20 hours at a Basic Rider Class at Kansas City Community College that included classroom and on-the-bike training and is based on the Motorcycle Safety Foundation class. It was a fun class. We had about 20 people and four instructors: Ben, Rich, Liz and Karen. The class was divided into two groups for the entire on-bike portion of class. Rianman and I were in the same group.

It really was neat how they progressively taught us skills. Saturday was the basic skills: stopping, shifting, stopping, turning. On Sunday we put our skills together for real world type experiences, stopping at higher speeds, stopping quickly through a curve, weaving, making tight u-turns, etc. I had my biggest scare while practicing stopping during a turn. You are NOT supposed to brake while in a turn, you should upright the bike then stop quickly. This was Very difficult for me as I nearly dropped the bike. The rest wasn't so bad. I'm pretty good at stopping quickly!

There were about four scooter riders in class and by the end all but me wanted to ride motorcycles! I'm a scooter girl through and through! I don't need to deal with shifting and the clutch. Just give me two brakes and a throttle.

 

Rianman passed the road test part with 0 points deducted meaning he got a 100. I think he has the benefit of having put a lot of miles cycling. I got an 88. You could lose 20 points and pass....21 and you didn't pass. Our entire class passed...that doesn't always happen apparently. And if you drop your bike during one of the four sections of the road test, you fail automatically! I never dropped my bike in the test or in practice but I was close twice.

 

All in all a great class, very worthwhile. Excellent instructors and now I know I still need to practice!

 

Rianman now wants a motorcycle! He has two tri bikes, a brand new road bike (more on that later), a hybrid and now he wants a motorcycle. Maybe he should just learn to ride his bike faster and he won't miss not having a motorcycle ;-)

 

 

Chicago Marathon

(This post is dedicated to Bonnie...I hope you get this.)

Well Rianman didn't run the marathon but we went to support our friends Jodie, Mallika, and Marcus--each experienced marathoners. We arrived on Saturday to Chicago, the place we consider home. We started our visit with an el ride to Belmont so we could get pastries at Bittersweet, the bakery from which we got our wedding cake 8 years ago.

Carbo load meal 1

We followed that with a tasty carbo loading lunch at Pompei Little Italyon Sheffield. Yeah, I know....we didn't need to carbo load but hey it was a good excuse.

We then took the red line down to Chinatown to walk to McCormick place for the marathon expo. I didn't know what to expect but I guess a marathon with 45,000 participants is going to have one heck of an expo. And it didn't disappoint. It was awesome! We got all kinds of goodies, tried different nutrition samples, and got a free CTA card from Bank of America. It really was impressive.

Carbo load meal 2

After the expo, we went back to Belmont and met Marcus, Christy and Darla for the carbo load dinner at Leona's. We were happy Marcus et al wanted to meet there..a nice local place that is low key and in a real neighborhood. Now I've seen some endurance athletes eat some crazy stuff before a race (see Steve in a Speedo) but Marcus had a glass of wine and pasta and a meatball and garlic bread. Impressive! Rianman would never temp his stomach in such a way.

After dinner we headed to Nike Town to meet Jodie and her family. It was great to see her again. I was just worried that her stomach was upset. But nerves can happen. Jodie handed us the Red Hot support crew bag filled with maps and all kinds of goodies including Slim Jims....love Slim Jims. Thanks Jodie!!

Finally we headed back to the hotel room and set the alarm for 6 am. Our room had a dead center terrific view of Buckingham Fountain and more importantly the start corrals for the race. As we woke on Sunday morning, we saw endless people getting ready for the race. WOW. There isn't a lot to say about it...45,000 runners and exponentially more supporters. It's like nothing I've ever seen.

Race Start

At 8 am we met Christy at State and Wacker to watch for our runners at mile 1.5. The wheelchair racers came first...so inspirational. I couldn't imagine the determination it must take to overcome or live within their constraints and surpass what others believe they can do. We then watched as the elite runners flew by us...we would never see them again.

After the 5:45 pace group passed we realized we missed seeing Mallika, Marcus, and Kari. We had to move north to Lakeview. We hopped on the brown line to Belmont and walked to Broadway and met with Michelle to cheer our runners on. We saw Sally, Marcus, and Jodie. It was so exhilarating cheering them and all the strangers on.

Mile 21: Chinatown

After Jodie passed, we headed south on the red line to Chinatown. We had time so we went to Three Happiness for dim sum...oh my god was that most perfect part of our plan. While our friends were running their hearts our in the heat and sun of an unseasonably warm day, we were munching away on shrimp dumplings, turnip cakes, shu mai, and more. Once finished, we made our way west to an open spot and cheered everyone we could. Recommendation for future runners - put your name on your shirt...it really helps the fans.

Sally and Marcus passed us and they looked good but the weather was taking a bit of a toll. We were sure they'd finish though. We waited though for Jodie. We knew she might be hurting from her stomach issues. After some time we saw her. I commented that she was dry--everyone else had been soaked in sweat. She said she has vomited and sat out for 10 minutes. She was far behind pace but we convinced her she would finish and try to give her tips that worked for Rianman...just get to the next aid station. Just one aid station at a time.

Finish

As a group we now needed to get to Grant Park. Michelle returned home, Rianman and I went to check out at the hotel, and Christy went to the 27th Mile to wait for Marcus. After we checked out we met Christy at the 'Z' section and saw that Marcus had just made his way there. What a great sight! He was happy and sweaty. He did it!! We said our congrats then went to the 'B' section to wait for Jodie. Unfortunately we had to get to the airport but we left having heard Jodie finished...with minutes to spare. No she didn't have a great race but she finished and she stuck is out where others wouldn't have. She walked much of the last miles but in the last 1.5...she ran it in and because she did, she finished. She's a champ!! We're so proud of her and Marcus and Mallika - who also maintained a great 3:40 pace for most of the race. You rock Mallika.

Rianman now thinks he may want to do Chicago next year. It's chaotic but a pretty cool race so maybe I'll support that. One thing I'm glad about...Rianman now knows how hard it is to be a supporter. It's physically exhausting but emotionally enriching. I'm glad he knows now what I go through being TriSupporter.

I'll post pictures later....I'm away on biz and don't have my camera.

Keep on training friends.

Running around

I told you Rianman is training for a marathon. His workouts have involved running, swimming and cycling usually just one work out a day - awesome right. This week though he's had a lot of running. This running tends to be after work. Daily it seems. So he feels like he's been running a lot. He's out on a 12 miler right now. It still isn't nearly as bad as Ironman training!

So he's been running around.

I feel like I've been running around all week, too. I started my new job and although it is the end of week one...I feel like it's been more than that. I sort of felt like I'd ease into things but that hasn't been the case. It's good in some ways...I have to learn fast. In some ways it is stressful though. Given that we're going away this weekend, I haven't felt like I've had a lot of time to run around and yet I feel like all I've been doing this week is running around.

So this weekend as we cheer 40,000 people run around Chicago, we'll enjoy our time not running around and hopefully next week we'll be refreshed.

Enjoy whatever you do this weekend, just take a moment from running around to take in the beautiful Fall days.

Okay Okay...I'm back

I can't explain why I haven't posted in three weeks (it's been three right...four???). Maybe I've had some kind of Iron Sherpa meltdown. I've had a bunch of post ideas including the race recap (which I plan on doing). I guess I needed to finally have a break from being a supporter. For months and months everything was about Rianman and his schedule and how that impacted OUR schedule. With the race over, I think I needed a vacation...a vacation from everything triathlon...including...egads...this blog.

But I've missed posting...yes, missed it. But whenever I wanted to post, there was this inertia...I just couldn't do it. I couldn't log in and I couldn't put finger to keyboard. There was so much to write that I couldn't write.

Tonight I decided to post because as in all aspects of life, I realized I just needed to do it. I just couldn't put it off any longer. It is me ripping the Band-Aid off instead of leaving it on longer than necessary and then peeling it slowly back. 

  

So what has been going on?

• It's so nice having Rianman back to just one workout a day! It is so much more manageable.
• Rianman has NOT gotten an M-dot tat...he's still thinking about it; I vote Yah!
• Rianman is training for the Bass Pro Shops marathon on November 2 in Springfield, Missouri.
• We're going to Chicago to cheer on our friends in next week's Marathon. Can't wait to go home!
• I'm about to embark on a new journey...I start a new job tomorrow. It's the first 'first day' in almost 8 years. Wish me luck!

See you back here soon!

Where are we now?

Okay so it's been a week. And I haven't posted anything new. It's been a rough week....exhausting... exhiliarating... beyond expectations. Not only about Ironman but because I had to make decisions about big changes in my career. So, I know I owe several posts on the day before the race, the race recap, post race, etc. I'm getting to those. Really...I am.

Real quick...Congrats to Rianman's Iron Harem: Kat, Kerri, Val. Also to Monty who stuck it out like a Ironman does, and all the others who finished. You were all amazing and so were all the people who started but didn't have the day they wanted. 

So where are we today...both of us are feeling back in the swing of regular life... sort of. We arrived home on Tuesday evening to a fantastic greeting from our neighbors Joe and Erin. They really did up the front of our house so that all our neighbors probably wondered what the heck Rianman had done.

   

We struggled to work on Wednesday feeling both tired and maybe a little down from the high wewere feeling from the race. I don't think we were expecting the crash...it was sort of like..."What now?" Rian wasn't working out (per Coach Ken). It was a weird work week. We no longer had this big goal we were working towards or looking forward to. It was unexpected and we didn't know how to get through it. We both couldn't wait for the weekend. 

On Friday we went to have a drink with our friends Mark and Missy and it was great reliving the race and other big news (I'm starting a new job in October). On Saturday after sleeping in for the first time in ages (well not so much for me but for Rianman), we finally tackled the basement. It has been a project I've been waiting to start. We didn't organize so much as we had to deal with some unwanted house guests...well they've been evicted and we just needed to clean up after them. We do NOT want new tenants.

I think it definitely takes the following weekend to get back to real life. For 6 months, everything has been about the Ironman. Training, training, training. Maybe that's why Coach Ken insists on a marathon in the fall after an Ironman.

I do think we're still in the wake of the big event cause we can't help saying things like:

"A week ago right now I was coming out of the water."

"A week ago right now you were starting the bike."

"A week ago right now we were at Mt Horeb High waiting for you to pass us by for the 2nd time."

A week ago Rianman was not even half into the biggest challenge of his life. A week ago we didn't know if he would finish. He didn't know if HE would finish. We didn't know how we would react or what it would mean for him to finish.

None of us knew what was to come and how memorable that day would be to each of us. We each probably take something different away from it. Awe for the people who attempt it. Thrill for those who finish. Heartbreak for the people who didn't. Rianman is the Ironman but it changed all of us.

September 7, 2008 9:33:03pm Rian became an Ironman

He did it!!! More details to come!!

Ironman Rian

Ironman Rian
Originally uploaded by natalieandrian