Eugene VS Vermont

Eugene and Vermont are both alike and different. While I did some hiking and walking this week I thought about how. 

Eugene has crossing signals that talk. Vermont does not. 

Eugene has brown grass. Vermont lives up to it's name with very green grass. 

Eugene has Ninkasi. While Vermont had many awesome breweries it does not have Ninkasi. 

Eugene has a beautiful bike path system. It's near a river. Vermont's nicest one is near a lake. 

 Eugene is a bit stuck in the 60s. Vermont is not IMO. I

Eugene has a large homeless population. Vermont is way too cold for year round outside living. 

Eugene has wonderful hiking trails as does Vermont. 

And sadly, Eugene has my daughter. Vermont no longer does. Thank goodness for visits. 

Give Peace a Tri

Last Saturday I did this tri for my second time. It's a fun one with lots of beginners. When I heard a woman talk about doing the breast stroke or the side stroke I thought, "These are my people."  My swimming and running times were quite a bit slower than last year but my bike was right on with a good pace. I was 141 / 205 and 2/4 in my age group. I had fun doing it so I guess I'll sign up for more. I kind of liked the swim. 

I left there to head to Maine where I stayed with a friend on Bailey Island and had a very relaxing time. It was all lighthouses, beach, seafood and porch sitting with daily running and riding thrown in too. I loved watching the lobster men check their traps right in front of the 

Now I'm in Oregon visiting Emily. We got up this morning and did a sunrise run up Mt Pisgah. July has been a busy month. 

Racing/Biking/Tagged/New York City

I haven't blogged in a long time. I am not quite sure how I view my blog anymore. I don't seem quite ready to give it up but I am certainly not a good blogger, as a writer or as a reader.

So here are a few brief things.

I raced in my town on July 4th. I almost didn't but I was glad I did. The race always has a good feeling.  It is in memory of a young woman who died. Her husband runs the race and all of her children participate.  Her father runs it and other siblings and they all come from out of state I believe.  I had the best time of the year.  I was not under 30 minutes but my pace was under 10 minutes a mile so yay!

I have been doing a lot of biking and it is as wonderful as always.  Biking certainly feeds my soul.  I miss running when I am injured and I can't and I don't want to break up with it but when biking enters the picture I feel complete.

 I have another tri this Saturday and hope I love it.  That is my main goal.

I just got back from NYC which was wonderful as always. There is something about that city that also feeds my soul.

Now I noticed today that Darlene tagged me for a post and it looked like fun so I thought I would do it. If you like the questions go for it.

What is something people might be surprised to learn about you?

Hmm.  Nothing comes quickly to mind.  Perhaps people would be surprised to know that I really hate cooking and would not care if I never had to cook another meal.


Have you met someone famous?
Not really.  I always like to tell people I had eye contact with Arnold Palmer back in the day. I followed him for all 18 holes and I was up on a rock to see better when he walked by me and looked up.  Be still my heart.


What is something you hope will never come back in style?
I don't worry a lot about what is in style.

What is on your travel bucket list?
Ireland is #1 on my bucket list.
Alaska is a place that was on it. I went and thought it would get out of my system but I want to go back.
I would like to go to Switzerland.
I would like to go to Iceland.
I would like to spend time in Northwest Canada.
I want to go to Acadia in Maine. You would think I have done it. Well, I went but it was brief and foggy and I'm not counting it.
I prefer mountains and ocean in cooler climates overall.


Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life?
Jennifer Lawrence


Who is your favorite Disney princess?
I don't know them as well as I once did.  I'm going to pass.


What would you sing at karaoke night?
Well I did this on my Alaskan cruise. I sang Leader of the Pack.  Great choice. My second choice would be Love Potion Number Nine.   Yeah, I'm old.

Who would you want to be stranded on a desert island with?
I would so hate being on a desert island it would need to be someone with a lot of patience.  My friend, Bonnie, is patient and very handy so I'll go with her.


What clothing item/accessory/shoes do you have way too many of in your closet.
Race shirts, Keen shoes (just bought some more today), and running socks.


What is your biggest pet peeve?

I have tons.
I HATE the negativity of comments on social media.
I HATE the incorrect spelling and grammar of comments on social media.
I particularly hate the misuse of your/you're.  Not hard to get correct.
I hate people standing too close in my personal space.
I hate it when people don't respect others in their jobs.


Okay that's it.  Join in if you want. Let me know you did it.  Or just give your opinion in the comments.





A few pictures from NYC.

First Triathlon of the Season

It's done. It was fun now that I'm looking back on it but I was disappointed with my times.  They were all slow.  No results out yet but when I studied glanced at the results board everything was slow.  I was most disappointed in my bike as it felt good. Oh well. I felt like I put a lot of effort into everything and that is good.

My swim was a debacle.  My goggles fogged up and I was swimming blind particularly once I turned around and was going into the sun. I had to keep lifting them up and I always found myself off course. I am slow enough without swimming extra distance.  I finally put them on my cap and just dealt with having none on.  But it took longer than forever.  The good part is I am fairly comfortable in this lake and knew  basically the course.  Then I ran out and took off my wet suit only to rip it.  Yikes. How much of a disaster is that?  Do people swim with ripped wet suits? I plan to.

I am at the back of this crowd feeling 

very nervous.

I made it. I actually like this pic that

my friend took.

This is early and they have just put out the first buoy.

Transitions.  Yeah, I need some practice there.

The bike felt good. I passed a decent number of people. This was a small race. I took longer than usual but it was fun for sure.  But still disappointed with time.

My happy place.

The run. All my runs are slow these days.  It could have been worse, it could have been better.  I like this run. It's in the shade and not too hilly but near the end you enter the park on a downhill.  I have to say I can't wait to do another one. This left me hungry to do better. This tri is repeated 3 times in the summer. I will be away for the July one but hope to do the August one as long as I am here. I am going to start scouring the internet to find a new tri too.  I have conflicts with the ones I usually do so am looking for a good July one.  

Who doesn't want a pint glass that says 

triathlon champion?

Rye by the Sea Duathlon

I did this race last year and loved it.  In spite of that I wasn't overly excited as it approached this year. As soon as I was on my bike for the second leg, I regretted not having that sweet feeling of fun anticipation.  WHAT A FREAKIN FUN RACE!

You run for 5k, bike for 17+ and run again for 5K. What saves the 5K is that when you repeat it you do it in the other direction and that really does lend a new route feel to it. There is the road, trails through the woods and kind of a combo of the two for the three miles.

The weather was cool and therefore perfect. I came out of the run in 135th place and there were just 148 of us out there.  Yep, that's not a whole lot of people behind me.  I have been slow lately and doing this with a 10 anywhere in the pace was fine with me.  I did it in 31:45 with a 10:35 pace.  Then it was onto the bike.

OMG!  It was so much fun. I had a zen experience as I was just going along the road through the neighborhoods thinking I was put on this Earth to race my bike!  Some woman told me I was looking strong and I grinned from ear to ear and thanked her.  She grinned right back at me. I was feeling great and loving all the spectators and other races.  I thanked every policeman directing traffic.  I was having so much fun.

Then I got to the marshes and the ocean!  Now I could really hardly stand it. As I passed one woman I exclaimed over the delightful ocean smell. She laughed and said yeah it was great but she probably lives there and was amused at my eagerness.  Speaking of passing, I passed lots of people. I guess that is the advantage of being so far back in the run.  I counted, I always do, it motivates me to keep passing.  I passed 27 people, 1 passed me but I passed him back on the run.  A good amount of this run was RIGHT ALONG THE OCEAN!  A lot of it was where I ran the half marathon a few weeks ago.  Then I was back ready to run again.

My time was slightly under an hour with a speed of 17.7 mph. That is lightning fast in my world. I had worked hard on the bike to keep pushing it and it paid off.  I was 84th on the bike, a huge difference from the run.

Then I had my last run.  It felt slow but it was fine. I ended up doing it in 31:46 just 1 second slower than the first time.  I was in 122nd place for this leg. I guess some people slowed down.

Overall I was 112 out of the 148, nothing spectacular at all but I was so happy with how the bike moved me up.  I won my age group. Okay, I was the only one but I was out there doing it. I am taking it!

My overall time was 2:05:57 which was exactly 1 minute slower than last year. I expected more of a difference with my slowness and I was not trained as well as I have been missing workouts resting my knee.

The fun didn't stop there. My friend went with me to the beach where we relaxed and read.  Heaven.  Heaven.  Heaven.  The temperature was perfect, not too hot or too cold.  Then we went to the Nubble where two weddings were happening!  This was followed by a lobster roll and a teensy bit of shopping.

I was exhausted today but what fun it was!!!

Why Am I Not Upset at My PW at Vermont City Marathon?

Last weekend I ran the VCM 2 person relay. I have run this race many times, both the full marathon and the 2 person relay.  I believe this was my 33rd half.  And this time my time was the slowest it has ever been for a half.  But I wasn't particularly upset or really upset at all.

Why?

Coming into the finish.

1.  It is an outstanding race and I just plain had fun.  Yes, for me it's a local race but I think it can be fun no matter what. The crowd support is unreal throughout most of the race. The city comes out to support you.  People in the neighborhoods you run through provide water, food, watermelon, FREEZER POPS and more.  They have bands, signs and just plain hoot and holler to cheer you on.  The crowds line the start and Church Street. The finish area is packed. I can't say enough about the feeling in the city when this race is going on.

Darlene and I meeting Deena Kastor at the Expo!

2.  I had done a half the week before and felt quite good about my time. It was unrealistic to expect to do it again. I didn't run at all (or bike or swim) at all during the week.  My knee is not all recovered and I wanted it to be an easier week.  It is hard to run and not race but I did my best.

The morning of the race...... at Battery Park.

3. I am slow these days. Truthfully slow.  Perhaps when I am all recovered I will put in some harder training but for now it's how it is.

Darlene did the first half and is on her way.

4. As mentioned my knee isn't what it could be.

I waited at Oakledge Park for the Darlene.

5. Any day you race (pretty much) is a good day.  I try really hard to be happy about each race I do. I love racing and I try to find the good parts of the races I do. I think I do a fairly good job at this.

Yep, it's a pretty one.

6. There were so many people running this race to be celebrated.  I saw a woman with a prosthetic. I saw mentally challenged racers.  I saw an older woman being wildly cheered by her daughters.  There are people who do the 5 person relay with shorter legs who ordinarily wouldn't be involved in a marathon.  The cyclists/wheelchair athletes are highly celebrated on a hard course.  Quite simply so many people are so happy.

Coming into the finish at the Waterfront.

7. The course is beautiful. The bike path is one of my happy places and here I was racing on it.

8. Maybe I'll see one of you here next year.

Wallis Sands Half Marathon

I better do this post before my next race. Did I really use to post a few times a week?

I have another half this weekend through poor and ignorant planning. My knee is kind of sore so I am doing nothing and will take it really slow this weekend with no expectations this weekend. None!

But last weekend I was hoping to do better than my half in March. I did by almost a minute faster per mile.

Inside the lighthouse.

Portsmouth Headlight

This half was in Rye Beach and I did it last year.  I stayed in Hampton Beach which is not where I usually stay.  It was nice to be on the beach but I do like York, Maine better.  When my friend and I got there it was raining. We did some shopping in Kittery which was a huge score. I have a worn a new skirt every day this week. I wish I had gotten more as they are comfortable, cute and cheap.  Then we went to see Portsmouth Headlight and I went to the top.  I love lighthouses so this was a big score.  Then it was to the hotel to check in.  

Biking on Hampton Beach

Next I rode up the coast!  Yes!  Yes!  Yes!  I rode to the race site.  Then it was out for my first lobster roll of the weekend.  

A small part of the bike path

Coming into the finish

At the finish

Then it was time to race on Sunday.  It was very foggy when we started out.  But within an hour it was sunny and warm. I was a little overdressed but not too bad.  I stayed around some people but passed others.  I was feeling good, not as fast as I used to be but way faster than my training runs were. I kept a reasonably steady pace. I walked a minute every mile which worked great.  I missed the mile marker for mile 9 so all of a sudden I was at 10 with only 3 left to go.  

The first few miles were along the ocean and then it veered inland past the marshes and into the village. The last few were back through the marshes, then along a bike path and finally along the ocean again.  I loved the bike path. Everything was in bloom and so pretty.  I tried to appreciate the scenery and not think about being tired. Truthfully, I was feeling great and not that tired so it wasn't hard.  

Approaching the finish

My stats weren't great  but okay.  I did not win an age group award. I was 5/8.  My other stats were so so but like I said, I was thrilled with my time and running.  I felt good and had a great time. What more could I ask for? 

Now this weekend I get to do it again but at a much slower pace.