My First Triathlon for 2011 Mass. State Triathlon, Winchendon, MA, July 17, 2011

Finally.....
I got to race. I can't tell you enough how happy I was just to be out there. A bit foreign at best.  I must
have read through the athlete race packet 4 times as if  it was my very first race.

Chip on the left ankle
Rear wheel goes in the rack
Towel on the right of your bike
buoys stay on your left
bike out here,  run out there,

Oye...

I shoehorned my former BTT teammate, Juli Davenport out of retirement to race with me . Juli is an accomplished athlete, Kona qualifier who has and can mow down the best of them but she like me has suffered through  injuries and had serious knee surgery and still recovering. Together we raced and it was really nice to have someone who in (July) was just starting the season.

We giggled at all the pre-race hype with all the fit athletes milling around with game faces while we sported the "oh gosh.... this is gonna hurt" look on our own.

All went well though and Max Performance/ Tim Richmond ,RD did a very nice job with this sold out OLY/Sprint race out in Western MA.  Juli and I were smart and chose the Sprint as come back queens.

The highlight of the race?  Pink caps for our wave.  First time in 13 years of racing TRIGIRLPINK gets
a pink race cap. What's up with that???

Juli and I post race with her son Elan! Thanks Mat (her husband) for being spectator, baby watcher, cheering for the old ladies!

We swam (cough gag) we pedaled ( burn thighs.. burn) we ran (where is the puke bucket) we finished!
How did we do?  Just fine. Thankyouverymuch.  Results here if you care. We don't. Just happy to be back in the sport we love!

 See ya out there!!

Take THAT... wind it back.. The Nubble's got the Flow to make your Booty.... SWIM!

The Nubble Light Challenge is in the books and I'm happy to report it was drama free which in turn makes for a very boring recap so I will be brief in saying, it went swimmingly. My biggest concern was the water temperature but I did not fixate on it days prior. What would be, would be. I didn't even want to know race morning. I would be well prepared wearing my full suit, 2 swim caps, silicone ear plugs and slathering my exposed skin on my face and neck with vasoline. I caught wind of a conversation while suiting up that the water temperature race morning was a balmy sixty something. I'm thinking 62ish but I can't confirm this. I could NOT BELIEVE it.  Three to four foot swells were non existent and  no 48 degree currents out by the Lighthouse. We had approximately 10  buoys for sighting as apposed to 4 scant buoys last year.

Cut to the chase.....

  I exited the water smiling with everything intact  including a 13 minute PR from last year and wondered how it was possible that there was no suffering to be had.  I guess I did that all with my non-wetsuit cold water swims prior to the event and once again, Mother Nature pulled a fast one on me. Better safe than sorry though right? As happy as i was with a good swim, I got NAILED in the results. Yikes! 19 women were faster than I and two were in there 50's. This was no pool of triathletes by any means. Pure swimmers and good one's at that!  I was hoping for a 1:10 but I'll take the 74 minutes with the PR for that course. 

Many thanks to *Team Trigirlpink* as I've affectionately named us. First  my sweet 

 sister Paula: picture taker, land support, coffee supplier.  

  Rick Barrie :  Kittery Maine native, master swim kayak escort for 2010 who instead came to support my newest kayak escort with logistics in and out of the water for 2011, and took some great photos( on the way)

  Mike Boyko :from Ware NH: My 2011 kayak escort  extraordinaire who accompanied me MINUS 4 foot swells, frigid water and a chance to save another swimmer. Sorry Mike!

My dad: who was waiting for me at the finish like last year happy his youngest daughter wasn't a  blue raspberry looking Popsicle.

this is a great shot taken by Rick. Can you pick me out?

Photo credit, Rick Barrie. Here is Mike and I in The Gut- the channel between the lighthouse and land. My swim cap is pimped out so Mike could site me out in the ocean for the escort hook up.  :-)

Mike had a GPS on board the kayak and here's my path! Did I NOT hug that coast line this year??? Yesirre you bet I did. Credit does go to those lovely orange buoys!

Happy training and thanks for reading!  xxx

It's COMING! The Nubble Light 2.4 Mile Swim

 Me swimming?? through "the gut" Nubble Light 2.4 mile swim 2010

This post is not going to be all about a silly little swim that ended me flat on my back last year in an ambulance that was transformed into a heat blasting mini dry sauna for me.  No sirree.


I will only talk about this briefly in a more positive, attainable 2011 goal fashion.


Here we go.

1.  I will show up this year on race morning fully loaded with respect for the gnarly Maine ocean and will not skip around on the beach giggling and buzzing like a social moth sporting a sleeveless wetsuit and one lame swim cap, dehydrated and clueless.


2. I will hydrate properly starting 36 hours prior to the start along with a sufficient carbo loading intake 18 hours before intended ocean adventure.

Fort Foster, Kittery Maine "Practice" swim, July 3th with  Andrew my 19 year old nephew

Last year.. me!

3.  I shall navigate the course with purpose, a clear mind and objective and will not swim in a  inefficient haphazard endless circle with frozen bare arms to which  I couldn't tell if said arms were actually  above or below the water  40 minutes into the swim  while spending a total of 1:30 minutes floundering around in the surf as my blood began to resemble Slush Puppy consistency.


4. I will not waste an ounce of energy thinking about sharks eating me. The potential for 48 degree water will knock the shark snapping worries right out of my head.


5.  I will have come prepared doing a total of 3 cold water swims without a wetsuit to acclimate my frame to the Maine coastal waters. My last polar like dip being at a state park in Maine over the 4th of July weekend where people (freakier than I) were picnicking in the rain with FREE entertainment watching the crazy girl in the icy water  while they munched on hot dogs and Doritos.

Planning my practice swim 

6.  I will not miss the post race bbq as I did last year by spending the afternoon de-icing and shuffling back home with my tail between my legs moping and grumbling that Mother Nature drop kicked me and spit me out of the ocean laughing  and yelling  "DON'T COME BACK!"


Screw you lady. I'm back and I'm coming back to do this the way I should have done it.


So I lied. This post was all about a silly ocean swim in the waters of Maine on a hot day in July 2010 and how I shall (try) and redeem myself on another hot July day 2011.

Kiss this Mother Nature... I'm BACK.

Here's to 60 + degree water  and a happy fun swim for all the 2011 Nubble Light Swimmers.
Shark free of course...