Kathleen's Adventures

This PSA is actually for the benefit of a friend, not me, although there are times it very well could be for me too. If someone you are close to or care about seems negative, either lately or always, telling them "you are so negative" will honestly, absolutely , help nothing at all. If you really do care or are concerned about how they are feeling, say so. Take the time to say more than the obvious - most likely this person already knows they are negative as they probably feel like crap. Ask your friend if they are doing okay , or if something is bothering them, or if they need anything. Trust me, that will be so much more meaningful and helpful than simply telling them that they are negative. One of the surest ways to make someone who is already feeling negative feel even worse is to point out their negativity.

I have done two four-mile runs in my shoes and so far so good. Monday I ran with my orthotics under Sir Newton and Wednesday I ran with them on top, which is how I should be doing it, but of course the orthotics rubbed a blister on my arch on Wednesday. I did both runs without socks and aside from the orthotic/arch issue on Wednesday I am still very impressed. I have not run on the park trail yet though - I'd probably need socks for that as the toe box is mesh and little rocks and dirt can easily get in there. So far I do not have any residual soreness in my achilles, feet, or calves which is sometimes common during the breakin period, or could also indicate the shoes are not for me. (See, Sir Isaac Newton is looking at me every time I put my shoes on) (but actually he really isn't because my orthotics cover him up)

Apparently some people may have misunderstood my previous post about being slow. Most of the time I have had people to train with. It is not like I have had to run and ride every mile over the last 6 years alone - that is absolutely not the case. Rarely do I have to do any of it alone. I have made some great friends over the many miles on the road or trail and those relationships have proved to be invaluable. I also realize the better friends are probably to be made at the back of the pack - I've always said it is more fun back there. What I am complaining about is the limited options I sometimes have. If my normal training partners are not available because say, they go out of town, are sick, or are training for a different race, I am not usually left with many options - not because there are not options out there, but because most of the time I feel like my lack of speed limits those options. I am not saying I want to leave anybody or that I want to be faster so I can train...

...too soon to tell. So far ouch! on the price and awesome! on the way that they feel, but I have run all of one mile in them so I need a bit more time to see if I can justify paying $142 (with HRTC discount at Luke's Locker) for these more than once. I have been curious about Newton's for quite a while, and yes, the fact that they are pink did peak my curiosity. I had always assumed that you could not/should not use them if you have custom orthotics as they kind of change the way you run, but for some reason I ended up their website last week and read that you can indeed use orthotics with them, and they recommend it if you have them. So far they seem very comfortable, especially without socks. I only did a super short brick run in them yesterday, but I did wear them around a bit when I was out and about. Also, the second plus so far is that the insole is very basic and plain, not leaving the typical fight I have with normal running shoe insoles and my orthotics. The Newton in...

Yes, that is a hole you see in the rim of my HED 3 race wheel. After lots of talk with the local bike people and a picture review by Mr. HED himself (not really his name, but sounds cool) I think it is actually going to be okay , but I am very lucky. I am lucky that they are aluminum rimmed instead of carbon, lucky that the nail did not appear to pierce the carbon sidewall, just a small dent in the aluminum part, and I am lucky I did not buy them brand new, but rather paid a good price for the wheels used. What does freak me out is that had I bought carbon rimmed wheels new and this same freak accident happened, I'd be out over $2000.

I really, really wish I was a faster biker and runner. Seriously. I am sure everyone is like "duh, we all do" but I don't want to get faster for the reason most people might think - I don't want to get faster to beat other people. I want to get faster to be able to be with other people (assuming they don't get faster too...that would defeat the whole thing!). Notice I did not include swimming...why? It is usually in a pool or smaller body of water, so people of all different paces can still hang out together. My two previous life-consuming hobbies were ballet and then waterskiing . I never had to sit out of anything related to either of those because I was not good enough. I have been invited to both a group ride and a group run this weekend. My response to both? "No." Why? Because I am too slow to keep up with the group. There are so many times I have had to say no, or make alternate plans, or make a shorter route, or start way earlier, because I cann...

Sunday was my 5 th consecutive year to race at Jeff& Brede's Intergalactic Triathlon. It is put on by HRTC , so it is of course always a good race! This year was probably even more fun because as president I have met more members than ever and it was great to see so many of them out there both racing and volunteering . . I was not entirely sure what to expect doing my one and only sprint of the year three weeks after IMCDA . I had done a sprint three weeks after IMAZ both years I did it and those went really well, but they were also in the cool air of early May, not the 110+ heat index of July of the hottest year on record for some time. In each of the last 4 years, my time at the race had improved. I finished in 1:13 in 2008 and was hoping I could beat that, but knew it would be close. I came out of the swim a bit faster than I had in the past, so that was nice to see. The bike seemed to be going well, despite a lovely heart rate of 180, until bam ! I hit something on my b...

Jeremy from HRTC came to CDA this year to sign up for next year and took some awesome video while he was at it. This one shows the mass chaos of the swim start as well as some other parts of the race. You can see me bike by around 2:34 in the video - I'm in the pink top with black sleeves. I am also finishing the race at the very end of the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJppB_pErzs This one shows the last two people to cross the finish line - pretty cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nj18uyGvYo

"Patience is the toughest road to stay on, but the surest road to victory." That quote was on our homepage at work this morning when I opened it up and I thought "ah, how appropriate!"(...and that I suck at being patient) I have been having a lot of deja vu lately trying to recover from IMCDA and set myself up for healthy, successful training for IMFL . The two races are 20 weeks apart. I have mapped out a tentative plan that includes 6 weeks of pure recovery/base/low heart rate training and then 14 weeks of regular training, which will be very similar to the 14 weeks I did leading up to CDA (obviously I did something right in those 14 weeks :-)). It is just this low heart rate stuff that is so hard - so hard to stay patient about it all, so hard to constantly remind myself recovery, not real training is the absolute most important thing right now, so hard to look at the 4 lbs I have gained since the race and tell myself that I have to be okay with it. But I ...

I just read Hugh's comment on my race report, talking about my "beaming smile" on the run course... I just realized some of my absolute happiest moments in my adult life have been somewhere out on a race course. Sheer, utter happiness and joy. The funny thing is I am never winning any of these races, and probably never will, and clearly I am 100% okay with that. I only hope everyone else out there gets to experience happiness like that at some point or another, even if only for a brief time, because the memories of that feeling last forever. I also know there is far more happiness to come for me, ideally from the family of my own that I will one day have, and on those days I may look back and laugh at what used to make me happy. The thing is I never know when I'm going to get to experience happiness like that. I may get to have it several times in just a few months, or may have to wait several, several months for it, as was the case with IMCDA . It is the allure o...