Yellowstone. Known for the geysers, hot pools, mud pots, etc. These are all fun to see and definitely make the trip worthwhile. Not to mention the variety of wildlife that is easily seen in the park. We saw a lot of buffalo, elk and deer. We only saw one moose. We did see a bear, the first one I've ever seen. That was particularly cool.
The most memorable thing we did was to go swimming at the Firehole River Swimming Hole. This is sort of a "secret" - as it's not advertised in any of the park literature, but is an obviously well-used spot, with parking places and stairs down to the river. If you're bringing kids along (or even if you're not) take a dip in the river. It's not warm, exactly, but there's a LOT of hot springs that feed into it so it's a great temperature for swimming. Very much warmer than snow melt. The river has a definite current, and the best thing is to work your way up the rocks as far as you can, then push off into the main current and float down the river. We all had a blast. Just take the Firehole River one-way drive. You can't miss it. If you want to go play like a kid in the water, and you happen to be in Wyoming, this is the place to do it.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Monday, August 9, 2004
Resting, blah...
I've been sick this week, so, no training going on. What I hate is when you feel like you're progressing in your training and then you fall ill. You HAVE to rest, or you'll just get more and more sick, until you are forced to rest. At least, this is how it works for me. I know there are some who train through colds, but I can't do that. I've tried, and all that happens is that my workouts aren't good and I feel like crap.
So, I'm resting.
Resting is good.
Phooey.
This is all the fault of the race I did last Sunday. I actually had a sore throat and earache as soon as I finished the race. If you can say "stress your immune system" you get a blue ribbon. So, not only did I experience muscle recovery, but now I'm going through cold recovery. I guess my body just wanted a reason to be lazy this week.
Speaking of the race: As I am putting some distance in between myself and this race, I am feeling better about how I did. This is due in no small part to friends and various people that I know only through the wonders of the internet. It's amazing that you can go out there and write a message about how you totally lost it in your race and so many people will be so supportive. It's easy to beat yourself up about how you could have done better. Maybe the fact is, you gave it 100% on that day. Last Sunday, I gave it 100%. I didn't quit. I left everything I had on the race course, and really what else is there?
So, I'm resting.
Resting is good.
Phooey.
This is all the fault of the race I did last Sunday. I actually had a sore throat and earache as soon as I finished the race. If you can say "stress your immune system" you get a blue ribbon. So, not only did I experience muscle recovery, but now I'm going through cold recovery. I guess my body just wanted a reason to be lazy this week.
Speaking of the race: As I am putting some distance in between myself and this race, I am feeling better about how I did. This is due in no small part to friends and various people that I know only through the wonders of the internet. It's amazing that you can go out there and write a message about how you totally lost it in your race and so many people will be so supportive. It's easy to beat yourself up about how you could have done better. Maybe the fact is, you gave it 100% on that day. Last Sunday, I gave it 100%. I didn't quit. I left everything I had on the race course, and really what else is there?
Sunday, August 8, 2004
I came, I saw, I was DFL
I decided to do the TBF Rancho Seco Olympic Distance Triathlon. Now I've had a chance to let things settle, I'm glad that I did this race, although at the time I was not feeling good about it, at all. I needed a jumpstart, and decided this race was it.
I've reveiwed my training logs from this year vs. last year, and I haven't been training as much this year. Last year, I was doing 8 hour weeks, with the low weeks being around 4 hours or so. This year, my highest weeks have only been around 6 hours, with a regular week coming in at 4 hours, and low weeks at 2 hours or less. I didn't realize that there was such a big difference in my training times. This was one problem coming into this race. The other big issue is that last year, I got back into training in mid-January. This year, due to some personal issues, I really didn't start training until mid-May.
The big problem though, was the heat. I knew when we got there and I did not need my sweatshirt at 7:30 in the morning that I was going to be in trouble on the run. I was a training wimp this year and did not do any heat training. More fool me.
Pre-race: Get going with plenty of time to spare, stop off to get the kids breakfast at McD's, then have a minor freak out attack cause I can't find the entrance back onto the freeway. It was like a maze, I swear.
Swim 33:52 - The swim was nice, warm water, I did ok, although I was about 5 minutes slower than last year.
T1 4:30 - I could not get anything together, it seemed that nothing was in the right place. I eventually organized myself. Probably getting to the race site 15 minutes before it started had something to do with it.
Bike 1:42:39 - Almost exactly the same time as last year, but the course was short by a mile this year. So, again I was a little slower, but ok. Average speed about 14.5 mph - I was pretty happy with this. I held off the last two people until the very end of the bike, but they both passed me with about a mile to go. I always slow down coming back in. What was fun about being last on the bike, was that I got my own personal motorcycle escort for the last mile. He was pretty funny - kept saying things like "Rock on, baby, they won't know what hit them."
T2 3:04 - I wasn't in a hurry, I figured I was last anyway. Interestingly, both people who passed me on the bike, passed me again at the beginning of the run, so at least I got out of transition faster than they did.
Run 2:01 - It was hot. Really hot. I don't do well in the heat, and running is by far the hardest thing for me to do. Last year, I trained in the heat of the day, but this year I didn't. I crashed on the run. I ran/walked at first, but then the heat started hitting me and I couldn't run. When I tried, I would get dizzy and lightheaded. Passing out seemed like a bad idea, so the run turned into the death march from hell. I would try and slowly jog every once in a while, but mostly it was just too much. I found myself in the middle of the run, asking myself, why in hell I was out there anyway. It was awful. I think I only finished due to sheer refusal to quit. I had carried water on the run, as well as drinking at every aid station - as soon as I finished I got a plaque (I was the only Athena who entered so I got first place.)
Post Race - The EMT guys made me drink 3 bottles of water. They were worried about dehydration. I had to mix the last batch with warm water though, cause they were having me drink it so fast I was getting an ice-cream headache. I know that I was overheated, and I didn't argue with them, but I drank at least 13 cups (104 oz) of water during the event. I guess that wasn't enough. I can't say enough about the volunteers at this race they were all so great. One of them got me a plate of food, I couldn't eat it, but it was appreciated, and another guy saw me walking to get my bike and gave me a cold Red Bull which really hit the spot.
Total Race Time: 4:26:00 - DFL, 1st place Athena
Comments: Spectators, other athletes - there were a LOT of people who were cheering me on. I brought my kids and someone asked them what my name was, and then this person was saying "Go, Shellee" at the transitions, which did freak me out a little bit, because I didn't know who he was. There were a couple of people who told my kids that I had inspired them.
Recovery: I was really wiped out on Sunday, but most of the soreness and exhaustion was gone by Monday which was great. The only other thing, is that now I have a cold. Looking back over the past week, I can see that it was coming on, but the stress of the race really brought it out.
I've reveiwed my training logs from this year vs. last year, and I haven't been training as much this year. Last year, I was doing 8 hour weeks, with the low weeks being around 4 hours or so. This year, my highest weeks have only been around 6 hours, with a regular week coming in at 4 hours, and low weeks at 2 hours or less. I didn't realize that there was such a big difference in my training times. This was one problem coming into this race. The other big issue is that last year, I got back into training in mid-January. This year, due to some personal issues, I really didn't start training until mid-May.
The big problem though, was the heat. I knew when we got there and I did not need my sweatshirt at 7:30 in the morning that I was going to be in trouble on the run. I was a training wimp this year and did not do any heat training. More fool me.
Pre-race: Get going with plenty of time to spare, stop off to get the kids breakfast at McD's, then have a minor freak out attack cause I can't find the entrance back onto the freeway. It was like a maze, I swear.
Swim 33:52 - The swim was nice, warm water, I did ok, although I was about 5 minutes slower than last year.
T1 4:30 - I could not get anything together, it seemed that nothing was in the right place. I eventually organized myself. Probably getting to the race site 15 minutes before it started had something to do with it.
Bike 1:42:39 - Almost exactly the same time as last year, but the course was short by a mile this year. So, again I was a little slower, but ok. Average speed about 14.5 mph - I was pretty happy with this. I held off the last two people until the very end of the bike, but they both passed me with about a mile to go. I always slow down coming back in. What was fun about being last on the bike, was that I got my own personal motorcycle escort for the last mile. He was pretty funny - kept saying things like "Rock on, baby, they won't know what hit them."
T2 3:04 - I wasn't in a hurry, I figured I was last anyway. Interestingly, both people who passed me on the bike, passed me again at the beginning of the run, so at least I got out of transition faster than they did.
Run 2:01 - It was hot. Really hot. I don't do well in the heat, and running is by far the hardest thing for me to do. Last year, I trained in the heat of the day, but this year I didn't. I crashed on the run. I ran/walked at first, but then the heat started hitting me and I couldn't run. When I tried, I would get dizzy and lightheaded. Passing out seemed like a bad idea, so the run turned into the death march from hell. I would try and slowly jog every once in a while, but mostly it was just too much. I found myself in the middle of the run, asking myself, why in hell I was out there anyway. It was awful. I think I only finished due to sheer refusal to quit. I had carried water on the run, as well as drinking at every aid station - as soon as I finished I got a plaque (I was the only Athena who entered so I got first place.)
Post Race - The EMT guys made me drink 3 bottles of water. They were worried about dehydration. I had to mix the last batch with warm water though, cause they were having me drink it so fast I was getting an ice-cream headache. I know that I was overheated, and I didn't argue with them, but I drank at least 13 cups (104 oz) of water during the event. I guess that wasn't enough. I can't say enough about the volunteers at this race they were all so great. One of them got me a plate of food, I couldn't eat it, but it was appreciated, and another guy saw me walking to get my bike and gave me a cold Red Bull which really hit the spot.
Total Race Time: 4:26:00 - DFL, 1st place Athena
Comments: Spectators, other athletes - there were a LOT of people who were cheering me on. I brought my kids and someone asked them what my name was, and then this person was saying "Go, Shellee" at the transitions, which did freak me out a little bit, because I didn't know who he was. There were a couple of people who told my kids that I had inspired them.
Recovery: I was really wiped out on Sunday, but most of the soreness and exhaustion was gone by Monday which was great. The only other thing, is that now I have a cold. Looking back over the past week, I can see that it was coming on, but the stress of the race really brought it out.
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