An unexpected 5k PR!

About a month ago Pam told us about a 5k event in honor of St. Paul police officer Joe Plant who died suddenly last year. Pam's former colleague is married to Joe's sister and she'd heard about the event being held to raise money for a memorial fund and to put a bench in his memory at Lake Phalen in St. Paul where Joe spent many hours training for his running events... By all accounts Joe was the sort of person you would not forget if you were lucky enough to spend time in his company and certainly he was taken far too soon. So myself, Pam, Karen & Tanya headed over there for the 8:30am start and were delighted to see a huge turnout. Having run our 20 miler yesterday we were all feeling a little tight and certainly I had no intention of taking off like a bat out of hell. But Pam had other ideas... and yes, I just felt like I had to keep her company! In her words 'you teach me to run distance and I'll teach you to run a fast 5k'. And she meant it - 20 minutes later Pam crossed the finish line and I was about 15 seconds after her - not bad for tired legs! To cap off a fun morning with friends we had brunch at the Egg & I off University... I don't think I need to eat for about a week...

Helen Lavin 30F 20:12 6:31

The Longest Run...

With a 50k only 2 weeks away we needed to get a long run in this morning. It all seemed like a good idea until my friends announced their engagement earlier this week and had a few of us over for dinner last night. Let me just say that running 20 miles after a bottle of red wine feels exactly as it should. Miserable. Still, it was probably the best thing for me. And really I couldn't complain as it was totally self-inflicted over-indulgence whereas Kami was struggling through on a few hours sleep due to her class assignments on top of a busy work week.

Chippewa Falls will definitely be an early season warm-up and not a race for me - but just to be safe I'll pass on the wine the night before.

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Orbea Ora

What a beautiful piece of machinery... made in Spain and put together by the very helpful staff at Grand Performance in St. Paul...

Yes, I even got it in my native Sligo colours...

I'd been thinking about a new bike since the start of the year and was pleasantly surprised to hear that the Ora was within my budget. Jeff helped me put together the custom order a few weeks ago and then Dan fitted me on Friday. A few adjustments later (including a few shims in my right shoe due to my leg being a good centimeter shorter!) and it was ready to be picked up yesterday... So for once I am actually looking forward to spin class on Tuesday! And even better will be getting out on the roads in a few short weeks... not that you would think it looking out the window today at the 4-5 inches of snow that have fallen since Thursday night. The ironman bike ride is the end of April so I figure a few practice sessions on the road in the lead up to that and a good 62 miler that day. What a great start to the season considering last year I didn't get on my bike until the middle of May!
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Brunch

News of the week is that I can actually cook after all - well, sort of. Omelets turned out quite tasty even if I do say so myself. I had a few of the girls over for brunch yesterday and we feasted on omelets, waffles, fruit and of course chocolate being the end of Lent and all - not that there was a lot of fasting done on my part...

Yes, the empty plate at the end would be mine!

After we got done eating, the girls kindly cleaned up in the kitchen...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

For the first time in my 3 years here I actually partook in the celebrations! It continues to amaze me how into it the locals are but I suppose any excuse to party a little... or a lot... certainly the folks in Chicago were making the most of it this weekend. Myself, Karen and Tanya headed down there for the weekend. Karen's email a few days prior to the trip was titled: "Chicago weekend: bring your running gear and drinking shoes!" As it turned out we spent about equal time running and drinking - but don't worry, we didn't mix the two...

I flew into Midway so I met the girls in town and we headed out to Karen's friend's place in Lincoln Park who had kindly given us her fabulous condo for the weekend. Found a local grocery store and did the usual stocking up of food - it's always the same when I travel for weekends these days - I get such a buzz out of food shopping in new places and finding things the local co-op doesn't have - and always seem to buy enough food for a week... still, an hour in a grocery shop generally does a lot less damage to my wallet than an hour in a clothes shop so it's probably not a bad thing! Back home, we relaxed and chatted for the rest of the night.

Up early Saturday morning to run the lakefront, we got in about 14m in pretty good conditions - a little windy here and there but so much nicer than the previous weekend when we ran from Gear West and basically froze! Got to see lots of the sights along the run including an array of wonderful architecture and sculptures - one of which would be better suited to Seattle (a coffee bean) - but it is very cool all the same! After the run, we got cleaned up and headed back into town in the hope of catching the second half of the Ireland vs England Six Nations rugby match at Fado irish bar... should have known better - there was a line into the place since 9:30 that morning! I caught the score anyway at 16-10 to England so I decided I was better off not watching it. Grabbed a much needed coffee and headed over to another bar nearby - Celtic Crossing - where we met Karen's friend Tom. Funny guy. Lots of interesting stories from Karen's sordid past... 15 years in Chicago equals a lot of history! Six beers later I was well ready for food. It was either that or spend the rest of the day in the pub. And I am glad we chose the food. It had gotten cold outside - the beer induced heat not quite enough to insulate against the windy city - so we found the nearest place (Hard Rock Cafe) and sobered up with a good hearty meal and gallons of water!

After that we were ready for the real action - a visit to the shops on Michigan Ave! We made it through quite a few of them, mostly just googling at the jaw-dropping price tags (Burberry etc) until we found our way to the altogether more reasonable North Face. $200 for a technical jacket I don't need - no worries! Tanya still had her $500 voucher from the race in December so I helped her make light work of that... she even managed to go over and had to pay a few dollars towards her large bag of goodies! Despite our great intentions earlier in the day, by the time we left the NF store at 8pm we'd all decided against re-joining the party and instead headed home to eat our picnic dinner and relax with a glass of wine. How sensible indeed.

Sunday morning Karen's friend Fiona picked us up and brought us to the swanky club where Karen used to work out - and which is frequented by Oprah and Obama no less! We didn't spot either but there was no shortage of people watching to be done. The facilities are top notch but at $160 a month I figure you'd want to be guaranteed at least one celebrity-spotting a visit. There was still some sight-seeing to be done so we headed outside for a run along the river and south along the lake to Soldier Field (home of the Bears). Back to the Bean then for a quick photoshoot. Karen's knee was not cooperating so we grabbed a coffee and a taxi back to the gym.

Next up a fabulous brunch at the House of Blues - very neat venue. And such a selection of food. The omelet was very tasty but I think top honours must go to the waffles. Yum yum yum. And the music was fun too! Fiona kindly dropped up downtown afterwards - right to the door of Tiffany's - where again we had a few deep breath moments as we asked prices on the sparklers that the recently engaged Karen is eyeing up. Honestly Tim, we didn't encourage her. Well, not too much.

And then back to the airport. Whereupon my flight was delayed for 2 hours zzzzz didn't get home until 11pm. Still, it was well worth it after the fun weekend we had!

Spring is here!

Ok - I am calling it. Fingers crossed the weatherman is correct and we are finally over the worst of it. Not only did our clocks change so that we now have an extra hour of light in the evenings (yeah!) - there will be multiple days over 40F this week - the first time since mid-November! As much as I love having 4 seasons in the year (as opposed to Irish weather of 4 seasons in any one day) I am so ready for warmer weather. It has seemed like the longest winter despite spending 3 weeks of it in New Zealand and another week back in Ireland. I guess next year I need to plan even more trips...

New month, new me...

So I am kicking off my New Year a little late, like 2 months late, but better late than never. And with that comes a return to spin class. Ugg, pain! Yes, on Tuesday night I returned to 2hr spin class (mercifully shortened by 10 mins to allow time for stretching). So I am hoping to keep it up twice a week until end of April when we hopefully can get back outdoors - hoping to do the Ironman bike ride in Minneapolis which I think is April 27 or thereabouts. The good news is that it may get a lot better once I get my new bike - yes, I have decided it's time to buy my way to a more comfortable and thereby faster ride... or at least that's what I am banking on. I have my eye on an Orbea Ora so fingers crossed I can get what I want within my budget. If not, I guess the basement repairs will just have to wait... who says money can't buy you happiness?!

New Zealand

I'll just say it once - this is a country you MUST visit! My friend Deirdre and I spent 3 glorious weeks traveling around both the south and north islands and it was hard to find a spot we didn't like. Our adventure began with a 24hr journey for me (preceeded by 22 straight hours in work and no sleep for a night) and an even longer haul from Deirdre who flew from Shannon to London to LA - where we met - and then to Auckland, crossing the International Date Line (+1 day) before a short hop south to Queenstown... where my little sister Caz met us at the airport. Caz is traveling in Australia for 2 years and had been in NZ for a few weeks. She was headed back to Sydney to spend Christmas with our brother and their friends but first I got to catch up with her for a few days. It had been 15 months since we'd seen each other but it seemed like yesterday... text messages and phone calls have made the oceans between us seem like narrow rivers!

We launched right into adventure with a gondola spin up to a lookout over the town and the beautiful surroundings - think small urban Lord of the Rings. The early evening light was shimmering off the lake (which we later discovered is absolutely too cold for swimming) over which skydiver after skydiver floated - before landing safely in a nearby park. While my sister raved about canonswings, bungy jumping, waterfall climbs and just about anything that could be considered an adventure activity I was just looking forward to a relaxing few weeks (ok - with a half ironman included - one of the reasons we were down under). But looking at the skydivers glide though the air I did think this was something I could incorporate into "relaxing" - assuming I'd actually make it out of the plane...

With Deirdre looking out over Queenstown

To cap of a great first day, I went for a run on some trails and found myself heading up towards the lookout - this time on 2 feet as opposed to sat in a gondola - slightly more effort required! I didn't it to the top but instead turned onto a different track and found myself barrelling down a narrow winding trail for ten minutes of heart-thumping, ankle twisting fun! Live to run. Run to live.

Day 2 found us on the road to Milford Sound where we hoped to kayak the next day. It started out well - except for Caroline seemed determined to overturn our 2-man - but there were high winds and eventually the guides had to turn us back. We were disappointed not to make it out further into the famous fjord but we weren't going to argue with nature, not in these unforgiving surroundings. Enroute back to Q'town the next day we stopped in Te Anua for my first lake swim since ironman (Sept)... having been in the pool maybe twice since... wetsuits on and in we went - and you know, it wasn't so bad. The water was pretty cold but I was just happy to be getting some practice in - 10 days before the 2km swim awaiting us in the Port of Tauranga! To Caroline's distress on the shore we managed to hold up a ferry - the skipper luckily having spotted us crossing his path... oooups!

Kayaking with Caroline in Milford Sound as the storm rolled in...

Back in Q'town that night we hit a yoga class as Unity Yoga - a very neat spot run by an American guy who was familiar with Core Power Yoga (my second home) and who gave us a wonderful 2hrs of vinyasa. There was just Deirdre, myself and one other guy. Caroline left for Christchurch (and Sydney) the next day - Christmas Eve - and we headed to Wanaka - a really nice spot an hour north of Q'town. While we'd enjoyed the adventure capital of the south, we found it a bit too full of travelers (like, who did we think we were??). Wanaka on the other hand was somewhere that real NZ people actually lived! We hired mountain bikes for a few hours and found a fabulous trail overlooking the lake. Then later, after another yummy home (hostel)-cooked dinner, we went down the road to midnight mass which was hosted by a very nice priest who made us all feel right at home and not 10,000 miles from our families! Next day, I got up early and had a glorious run on the same trail by the lake (during which I tried to devise ways in which I could run trails full time... like maybe live in a trailer in northern California, run in the morning, work in a coffee shop in the afternoon, yoga in the evening... so I'd have to forgo any more LV handbags but surely I could manage that? Well, ok, maybe not). And then later on the road to Franz Josef - a little town where we spent most of Christmas Day cooped up by the fire avoiding the rain hammering down outside - not quite the turkey on a barbie experience one might have expected in the middle of summer in NZ... but that was a cool thing about the country - it's like a collection of micro-climates. It could be pouring rain one place and twenty minutes down the road the sun is splitting the rocks. Next day we set off early for our hike on the glacier - a great experience - the vast glacier set amongst tree covered mountains, onlly a short hop from the sea, is truly a phenomena. After a few nights in Franz Josef we headed further north and across the mountains headed towards Christchurch. To break the journey, we stopped off overnight in Arthur's Pass - where again I found a lovely hilly trail to run on. And a nice relaxing evening playing Trival Pursuit! Once in Christchurch we hit the shops bigtime, and then sampled the nightlife. Next morning I had a lovely long run along the Avon river - the whole setting reminded me of small town England. Then we found a hot yoga class before hitting the road south.

Ready for a night on the town in Christchurch

It's weird - at thsi stage we had covered a lot of ground in just a few days but I think the combination of relaxing for a few hours every evening and getting to do our regular activities like running and yoga made it seem way less rushed that it probably sounds. Mt. Cook was our next stop - we had a bit of fun along the way as we discovered we had no cash and there were no ATMs along the way. We ended up going 30 mins past the turn-off for Mt. Cook to the next town - only to discover the ATM was out of order! Luckily the hostel took visa and I had some US dollars so I changed them at the swanky hotel with a lookout to the famous peak (at a ridiculous exchange rate) so that we had a bit of cash for snacks etc. After a walk aorund and a relaxing evening in the village, I got up early the next morning to run the trail out towards Mt. Cook - and boy was I rewarded with a spectacular view. It was really beautiful in the early morning sun. I was just sorry I didn't have my camera as by the time we drove over that way in the afternoon the summit was clouded over. By this stage of the trip I had decided against doing a skydive but Dee was up for it so we checked into it at Mt. Cook airport on our way out that afternoon. Unfortunately the wind was picking up so she'd have to wait a few hours. So we opted to continue on the road back to Queenstown and maybe check into it back there. And there was always the north island... it was Dec 30th and we had New Year's Eve booked in Queenstown so we wanted to check out somewhere else on our only other night on the south island. But where to... Dunedin and other interesting places along the east coast were too far of a drive. We'd already been to Wanaka... so we hit on Glenorchy - with a cute name like that it would have to be fun. And it's the start (or finish) of the Routeburn track - one of the more famous in NZ - so we figured there'd be something to do. We wanted to get a swim in also and this town was along a lake. However, it turned out to be the coldest lake I've ever stepped foot in so that was the end of that! The hostel in wee Glenorchy left quite a lot to be desired - not least because of the cats everywhere. Ugghhh - there is no animal I like less that cats!! Deirdre on the other hand is quite a fan and took no small pleasure in calling the cat over to join us... On our way back to Q'town on New Years eve we did find another smaller lake around which lots of people were setting up camp for the night - and had a fabulous swim followed by a picnic lunch and then a walk along the trail overlooking the lake. It was a perfect day - warm and sunny but not too hot. Later than night we enjoyed a yummy Thai meal, a few glasses of wine and then watched the fireworks over the lake in Queenstown. A great way to end a wonderful year.

New Year, New Island...

We took a lunchtime flight up to Auckland, picked up my bike from airport storage and packed up the car. We'd gotten a really good deal on an estate car that worked out brilliant. It was even less powerful than the smaller one we'd had on the south island but it was cheap and fitted everything in so we were quite happy despite being slower than a few of the cyclists on the hills (did I mention the number of bikers on the roads - lots and lots, expecially on the north island)!

First stop was a small town called Thames at the start of the Coromandel Peninsula. After we got settled in the hostel, we took a drive up the coast and sampled the sea swimming... yuk - salty!!! I was very relieved to hear from the hostel landlady later that evening that the water in the area was particularly salty. Phew - I would not be able for 2km of that! Next day we drove further up north around the peninsula and across to the eastern coast where we found a lovely beach to have a proper swim. It was much nicer than the previous day. But wearing a wetsuit in the sea is quite different to the lake - there is so much more natural bouyancy that it's sort of hard to stay level in the water.

Sea-swimming - is that excitement or fear in my eyes??

And then it was on to Tauranga where we would be participating in the 19th annual Port of Tauranga Half Ironman in 2 days time!! Dee dreamed up this idea about a year ago with the intention of meeting her sister who would be travelling down under. As it turned out her plans changed but in the meantime Dee had found this race, convinced me to do it (ok, it didn't take much arm-twisting) and then in the end it was my little sis who was travelling there at the time!!

It had all seemed such a good idea last July when I signed up for the half - it was the middle of the summer, I was full of energy and training for IM Wisconsin. However, by November, with the long season over, capped off by a brilliant experience at my first 50 mile race, I was ready for a good long rest. And that's exactly what I did... I rode my bike once between September 10 and January 4 and swam maybe twice! I'd kept up the running of course but even that had slowed down with the December snow. So it was that I showed up in transition at 5:30am on January 5, 2008!! In a weird twist of fate I was racked next to a girl who had a towel from the 2006 Lifetime Fitness triathlon - and I was wearing my tri top from the same race (the only reason I did that race was for the gear!)... turns out she is from Germany, living in NZ, and was on a business trip to Minneapolis at the time of the triathlon and decided to sign up. Then there's me, from Ireland, living in Minneapolis and on holiday in New Zealand doing a triathlon. How's that for coincidence. Anyways, the race... well, it was a lot of fun and I ended up doing better than I expected - and feeling better than I expected which was the main thing - the swim was ok. The bike was long and windy. But the run, the run was beautiful - part of the course was 2 loops around "The Mount" - a dirt trail with fantastic views of the coast line. It was really quite hard to keep your eyes on the path! Dee had a great race for her first half IM - her run finish was such a blast - she sprinted down the home straight with every single person turned to watch her as she dashed for the line to make it under the 6 hour mark - which she did!!

Celebrating a good day's work

We'd splashed out on a nice hotel for the few days in Tauranga on account of our race and enjoyed a few glasses of wine that night. Not that it was my first tasting of NZ wine since landing - in fact, I sort of forgot that aspect of training along with everything else... BUT with the race over there was no need at all to feel guilty and so when we landed in Napier a few days later, in the center of the Hawkes Bay wine region, our first task was to book ourselves on a wine tour. We'd contemplated a bike tour but that just seemed too much like hard work, not to mention potentially lethal, so we settled for a nice comfy air-conditioned mini-bus tour. Which turned out to be a great idea... 5 winerys later, more than enough samples, some good cheese and a few purchased bottles that I would have to find room for in the luggage, and we returned to our accomodation slightly sloshed. But not quite done for the night... off we went to find a little action in downtown Napier. Let's just say it wasn't the most happening spot... in fact, it was one of those towns where you weren't quite sure if anyone lived there at all. The lights were on alright. But was anybody home?

After a few days in wine country we headed back inland to what was my favourite town in New Zealand - Taupo. Home of the NZ Ironman. Considering it's held in early March it's unlikely I will make it there if training here in MN but you never know... it is definitely a place I'd like to return to. And we did swim in the beautiful Lake Taupo so I have that part of it down :) And I got a great view of the area while jumping out of a place... yes, I gave in and decided to join Dee on a skydiving adventure. And I am so glad I did. Costs a ball of money but sure it's one of those things you just gotta do... it was a tandem one of course so really I had no reason to be scared. But I still thought I'd be terrifed as we left the plane. And I was quite worried about the ride up there to 12,000ft in a wee plane. But as it turned out it was just such a beautiful view all I could do was gaze out the window in awe! And when my turn came to roll out the door it all happened so quickly that I really didn't have time to think about it. The freefall was about 45 seconds but fel like 10. Then once the parachute opened it was pure bliss. It was the most peaceful experience I've ever had. I was grinning from ear to ear as we glided through the air - amazing views of the lake, the town and the countryside. It was a fabulous sunny day and we could see for miles. I was sorry to have to land!

To cap off a great holiday we spent out last 2 nights in a spanking new hotel-like hostel in National Park village from where we did the Tongariro Crossing - a 17km hike across part of Tongariro NP. What a way to end the trip! Again we were blessed with wonderful weather and the views were spectacular. Being the competitive people that we are we couldn't just stroll up and down the hills - oh no, we had up to 8 hours to get to our destination where the bus would pick us up and we got there in 5!! A good workout indeed. The views across the volcanic mountains and lunar valleys was very cool. Not to mention the Emerald Lakes about half way along the hike. The picturesque scene more than made up for the nasty sulpher smell!

Lunar landscape along the Tongariro Crossing

Next morning with a few aches and pains, we loaded up the car one last time and hit the road for Auckland. Enroute we collected sheepskin rugs and a few other gifts - as much as we could squish into the bike boxes. And that night we boarded the flight for LA. And home. What a trip. Make it there someday. You won't regret it!

2008

It's the end of January and I have already failed miserable to stick with one of my New Years resolutions... which was to post regular blogs! I have a few excuses, mostly being on vacation until January 11th (see next post), returning to freezing Minnesota and a few burst pipes in my basement... followed by a very busy few weeks at work! But I have finally logged on - and there's a lot to catch up on...

Sorry to disappoint you - I intended to list my New Years Resolutions here but I just haven't gotten around to it yet!

Josh Ritter... king of cool!

A few of us went to see Josh perform at the Cedar Cultural Center last night. WOW - it was my first time seeing him live having been a fan for a number of years now (thanks to my big sis Marie!) - and he was just phenomenal!!

So full of energy, very funny - with his quirky stories - and he just looked so totally chuffed to be on stage! He performed a good mix of old and new - about 5 songs from his new album which I am still getting used to... I know I will be hooked before long but some of the more country-ish songs take a while to grow on me.

He's back in ireland in late November/early December - which unfortunately is a week later than I am hoping to be home!

Glacial Trail 50K

A quick recap/brag...

Tanya & I ran this on Sunday last. Great event - excellent organization and a beautiful trail. It was a bit of a drive to get there on Saturday but well worth it. The trail was fairly technical but nowhere near as hilly as my previous two 50k races. I was meant to just use it as a training run for the 50 miler in November... BUT...

I was doing pretty well and feeling great at halfway so I kept up the pace - and won! And I thought I'd finished about 12th overall but just checked the results online and see that I was no.8!! Top ten - now that is a first... and it's my first ever win on a trail (my one other win was the Champlin 10M back in June 2005). So what started out as a training run ended up as a very memorable day!

Place Name State Sex/Age Time
=============================================
1 Chris Toepfer IL M 44 3:53:00
2 Matt Zak MN M 34 3:56:29
3 Joel Lammers WI M 45 4:19:47
4 Rob Yamry WI M 26 4:21:45
5 Mark Dziedzic WI M 31 4:39:59
6 Ron Bero WI M 46 4:45:06
7 Joseph Sackett IL M 41 4:45:50
8 Helen Lavin MN F 30 4:45:53
9 Joel Dziedzic WI M 29 4:46:55
10 Jason Krezinski WI M 34 4:52:44

HOT, HOT, HOT...

Twin Cities Marathon

Boy was I glad I opted for the 10 miler back in May when registration opened! It should of course be fabulous running conditions this time of year - October in Minnesota - fall colours and cool temps right? Wrong...

It was 95% humidity when we started the 10 miler at 7:10am and even though the dew point dropped, the temperatures rose streadily reaching 80F by the time the marathoners were hitting Summit Ave at mile 21. The average high is 62F!

My race went ok. I was feeling a little tired from the trail run yesterday but my legs felt strong. I probably went out a little too fast and I had to slow down for mile 5-6-7. But I was able pick it up a little towards the end - I think the hills definitely helped me, they just make me want to run stronger - and I finished in 1:14:21. My PR is 1:14 but I am pretty sure that course was short as I ran it back in 2004 when I wasn't anywhere near as trained as I am today. Though to clear it up I really just need to set a new PR under 74 minutes!!

Not anytime soon... it's all about the trails now and building endurance... really looking forward to the Glacial Trail 50k next weekend. Sounds kind of crazy but that distance just suits me so much better than a 10 miler!

Unfortunately Pam didn't have a good day - she was trying for sub-3:30 which she is definitely able for but today just wasn't her day. I expect the heat played a big part in it but she was cramping quite early so it could just have gone that way anyway. Fair play to her she was dealing with it really well and ran a great final 2 miles. I had met her around mile 22 and just after Tanya caught up to us. She was just enjoying being out there! The girls crossed the finish line together while I headed back out to find Karen and Susan. Pretty much the same kind of race for everyone today - just too damn hot and humid. No chance to relax at all and settle into your stride.

I was missing the summer heat but now I think I want the cool autumn air back again. I even got sunburnt on my shoulders today!!

Loving the Trails...

Just back from an awesome run out in Afton. I LOVE that place. It's a state park about 40 minutes east of the Twin Cities, along the St. Criox River. It probably has 30 miles of trails - both hiking & horse trails. The bike trails are outside of the park in the ski area (will def. need to check them out soon - I haven't gotten on any more bike trails since the day I bought my mountain bike!). It was raining this morning so Kami opted for yoga instead but Tanya was still game for heading out there. And we were so glad we did - it was very humid when we started out but no rain, and the skies cleared as we were running so we had a nice breeze up on the prairie section. Saw a few other runners out there and a group of cross-country high school girls. We decided to do our usual loop - but ran it in the opposite direction - which seemed harder :)

The skies are nice and bright back in the cities now so I'll have to spend some time outdoors today. However, I also need to get packing... I have empty boxes all over my apartment. I got to see my new house again this week as I had a few contractors I wanted to come look at it - I am getting the floorboards re-sanded & varnished and also a few rooms painted. Really looking forward to it now!!

TC10 miler tomorrow morning - yeah, running 11 miles on the trails this morning is not exactly in the taper manual but I figure I need the trail miles more than the 10 miles tomorrow with the 50k next weekend and ultimately the 50m only a month away!! So there won't be a PR tomorrow but it should be fun anyway. And I am looking forward to finding Pam around mile 22. I am sure she will do so brilliant. I will run with her if she wants me to for a mile or two and then I also want to find Susan. It will be great to see everyone out on the course.

OK. Time to start doing some housework...

The Devil Came on Horseback

This is a movie I need to go see. It is showing Oct 12-17.

I know what’s happening in Darfur. Just as I knew what was happening in Rwanda in 1994. And yet, for the most part, I choose to ignore it. My excuse in '94 was that I was finishing school that year and heading off to college and I didn't pay much attention to news. It's no excuse at all of course and I have since read a lot about what happened there and it makes me sick. And yet, 13 years later, albeit for different reasons, as the same terrible atrocities are happening again in a forgotten corner of Africa, I find myself reacting much the same way. A cursory read of the newspaper, a brief mention among friends and co-workers. This time I added a subscription to Doctors Without Borders.

But the truth is I don't really need to care about it. It doesn't impact my day-to-day life in any way and it's unlikely to affect anyone I care about. But I have a 4 year old niece and I might one day have kids of my own - and I sometimes wonder about the day they come home from school after a history lesson and ask “where were you during the genocide in Darfur?”

Going to see the movie won't change what I am doing - essentially nothing - it won’t make me give up my job and go work for an NGO. But maybe, just maybe, it will cause me to pause for a moment and appreciate all that I have. Maybe it will remind me of how fragile human life is and that no matter how strong and in control of my life I feel right now, it doesn't take much for it all to disappear. And maybe it will cause me to care just a little bit more about the people around me. And by doing so, spread a little bit of humanity...

I read something the other day that went like this... "Christianity sounds like a great religion. We should try it sometime".

Into The Wild

Went to see this movie last night at the Uptown Theatre. A fascinating story and a movie well made. A terrible waste of human life and yet, a life that perhaps could not have been lived any other way. One of the last things Chris wrote in the days before he died was "Happiness only real when shared". Many of the scenes thoughtout the movie were building up to this. He had an amazing ability to connect with people when he made the effort. While I don't personally agree with the statement I think it was true for him and something that ultimately he realized too late.

Testing the limits. Or not.

I had a session with my physical therapist this morning - Dr. Wade - a.k.a. The Magician. Seriously, he works wonders on my aches and pains... everything from plantar fasciitis to tight hamstrings to screwed up shoulder. This morning was my second visit since ironman to work on my right inner hamstring that has been a little tight. Nothing too serious, I had the same issue just before Grandma's and 2 or 3 sessions of ART (active release therapy) sorted the problem. He knows I am back training again (I can't remember, did I actually stop??) so he was asking how my legs have been since ironman, were they sore immediately after it, the next morning? And I had to say they've been great - apart from this tight hamstring which isn't a "new" pain - I haven't noticed any signs of fatigue. So he asked if I thought I could have gone faster on the run at ironman. And it got me thinking... I really hadn't questioned it before as I was just so happy with the way the race went. I knew I was capable of a sub-4hr marathon but the closer it got to race day the less I believed it would happen. So finishing it in 3:48 just blew me away.

I remember my first thought after crossing the line at Grandma's in 3:16:45: "I could have run faster" - and then almost immediately saying to myself, HELEN - you just smashed your PR by NINE minutes. BE HAPPY! I got over it pretty quickly but considering how good I felt at the finish line I figured I had to have something more to give. I mean, you look around and see all these people completely smashed - they really did go ALL OUT.

So could I have gone faster at ironman? Could I have squeezed a few more minutes out of the run? I guess so. But would I have felt as amazing as I did crossing the finish line had I been in pain? Not a chance. And at the end of the day, finishing strong and feeling good is more important to me than pushing myself to my absolute limit. And more importantly, it tells me there's another race in me, another challenge, another quest for discovering something new about myself.

Stormy Run!

The plan for this evening's run had been "kenyans" on the Luce Line - a speed workout that goes something like this... 20 min out, 16 back 16 min out, 12 back 12 min out, 8 back etc etc until we drop…. However, by the time Tanya, Karen and I left the parking lot at 6pm we had abandoned the plan and decided to just head out for a few miles and see how we felt. No need for speed... I am having hamstring issues, Tanya's hip is bothering her - and Karen, well, Karen's job sounds like she does a speed workout every day (before lunch)! But as luck would have it we got our speed in anyway - just after we turned around at the 4-mile mark the skies opened and we had to race back through a thunderstorm complete with fantastic lightening show - it was getting scarier by the minute. It felt like something out of a movie as the wind was swirling the loose leaves all around us. Eventually we made it to the bridge at around the 1.8 mile mark and stayed put for about 20 minutes. The rain eased off but there was still a lot of thunder, though now further away, and a few flashes of lightening. We arrived back at the cars around 7:30pm completely soaked!! Which reminds me, I left my wet shoes in the car... mmm that'll smell nice tomorrow morning...

In Yan Teopa 10 Mile Trail Run

Frontenac State Park, MN, September 22

This was a late addition to the race diary - I'd heard about it a few weeks ago but decided against it coming so soon after ironman (who knew I'd be feeling so good!). But then Friday evening myself, Kami, Tanya & Pam hit the horse/hiking trails at Carver Park and running through the fabulous fall colours I immediately thought of the race the next morning. And sure enough I had a few willing volunteers... And for our efforts we took the top 3 Open spots!!! (3rd, 4th & 5th female overall but the first 2 ladies were in the Masters division - yes, we will get faster!). It was so much fun - fabulous weather and a great crowd. I love this season for trail running - it just doesn't last long enough...

Trivia: I hit my highest ever heart rate since I started using a HRM - 188bpm!! Whoa...

Tanya, Pam & Helen - celebrating our 'golden leaf' awards!

Ironman Wisconsin

First and foremost I would like to thank everyone who sponsored me for this event. Your generosity resulted in a donation of approximately €1500 for the Irish Heart Foundation and over $1000 for the American Heart Association.

As a reward you get to read my race report. Since there’s a strong possibility it will bore you to tears I’ll give you the short version also – a text message I sent to just about every number in my mobile phone the morning after the race: “11:59:43 I am an Ironman!!! It was an amazing day. Swim was chaos, bike was brutal and the run was a blast!! Can’t sleep this morning. Legs feel ok, sore but no injuries. A long race report to follow!”

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It started like many a mid-week training run with friends. As we set out on the 8-mile loop around Medicine Lake in the middle of last summer little did I know that by the end I would have committed to an ironman. Sure, it was something I’d dreamed about, having done a few short triathlons and having heard stories from others who’d done it. But the ultimate triathlon experience was definitely one of those “someday” goals that I wasn’t sure I’d ever get around to. Kami had other ideas - and this is a girl who didn’t even own a bike at the time. But considering she signed up for a marathon before running a 10k I shouldn’t have expected anything less. A month later we’d survived our first half-ironman and a few weeks later while Kami was running a marathon in Maui I was cursing at my laptop when it told me registration for IM Wisconsin 2007 was full 45 minutes after it opened. Yes, IM places at $450 a pop go as quick as U2 concert tickets. There are all sorts of crazy people in this world. However, for another $550 “charitable donation” additional entry slots would we available later in the week. So sure enough I was back online a few days later and we had our places confirmed. Just the training now...

Fast forward twelve months to a warm September morning in Madison, Wisconsin. The day was finally here. After a summer of pretty intense training broken up by a fun trip home in July that involved lots of non-ironman training activities, I found myself walking down a parking lot helix to the swim start just as the sun was rising over Lake Monona. It was a beautiful sight and I felt surprisingly calm as I passed tons of cheering supporters lined up on each side of the helix, and was delighted to see a few familiar faces among them. We got into the water about 5 minutes before the start, getting comfortable in our wetsuits and moving out towards the center of the start line, staying towards the back of the pack. The swim course was 2 loops of a rectangle with the start line perpendicular to the shore, and the first corner buoy about 300m out from shore. The excellent event organization that would continue all day had everyone in the water by 7am and so with the sound of the cannon we started right on time.

My biggest worry about the swim was that I would get totally bored being out there for so long and would start to drag in the water. No chance. A human blender of elbows and ankles is about the best description I’ve heard. 50 meters into it, just as I was thinking to myself “that wasn’t so bad”. SMACK. One of those elbows hit me square on my nose. I was expecting a few knocks in the head and kicks here and there but this completely stunned me. I honestly thought it was broken for a few seconds. The tears started as a reflex – but I quickly realized that crying while wearing goggles is a really bad idea. The pain eased off pretty soon and I was left with a dull headache for the rest of the swim and was regularly reminded of the incident throughout the day. I have a habit of blowing my nose constantly while biking or running (hence the reason my training partners keep a good 3ft clearance from me) and as the day wore on and my coordination skills failed me, I kept knocking my hand awkwardly against my nose. Ow. That hurt. Again. In any case, it forced me to keep alert for the rest of the swim as I did my best to avoid stray limbs. Not easy with 8800 of them in the water but thankfully no further injuries were sustained. And unlike a few unfortunate souls that I passed I managed not to get my goggles knocked off. Though at one point I got a hit from the right and thought they were going to come off and next thing a hit from the left and they were back in place. Nice one. Lots of swimming under and over people as we all dove towards the buoys, especially the corner ones which had magnetic appeal. I stayed on course reasonably well except for rounding the second corner on the first loop and heading diagonally out from the line. At the end of the first loop I checked my time and was at 37 minutes. I was very pleased with this and figured I’d definitely make my goal of 1hr30m. I swam alongside a guy for the whole length of the rectangle as we headed out on the second loop. This really kept me on a good pace and I was sorry to lose him in the scrum as we rounded the corner buoy. However, I continued to swim pretty strong and focused on pulling while continuing to sight every few strokes. No shoulder aches at all which was great as even the day before in our warm-up swim I’d felt my right shoulder the whole way. I’ve managed to avoid any serious injuries all year but tightness in my shoulders had been a problem most of the summer. On the home straight now, a quick check of the watch, a little sprint towards the end with some strong kicking to get blood flowing to the legs. And I was done. 1:20. WOW – where’d that swim come out of? My best half ironman swim was 41 minutes! No time to analyze it now as I open the zipper of my wetsuit and pull it down halfway. The kind volunteers did the rest - just one of the many quirks at ironman - the swim volunteers have the fun job of helping you pull off your wetsuit as you lie on the ground. The transition area was at the top of the parking lot so I jogged back up the helix with wetsuit across the shoulder. As I look back on the day this was absolutely the most fun part of the whole experience (well ok, apart from crossing the finish line). It was incredibly cool. I felt like I was running on air as I passed the hundreds of supporters who were now cheering at least ten decibels louder than on the way down to the swim.

We’d dropped off our transition bags the day before and had a chance to look through them that morning so I knew the layout of the area but I honestly didn’t have the worry about anything like that as the volunteers were so well organized, calling out numbers as we came through so that someone had grabbed my bag and ran with me into the changing area. Even though I had a change of gear if needed the weather forecast was excellent for the day so I just pulled on my tri top, socks, bike shoes, helmet and sunglasses. Out the door, quick visit to the portaloo (note to self: incorporate into open water swim practice next year) and off to find my bike. Again, a volunteer had it off the rack and waiting for me. Sweet! In the excitement of seeing my swim time I’d stopped my watch by accident and only realized halfway through transition so looking at the clock as I got on the bike I figured it was somewhere around 4 minutes off. This would be important later as I tried to calculate my time over and over again in my head trying to figure out if I would hit 12 hours.

I was familiar with the bike course from a training ride a few weeks before so I knew that I needed to control my speed for the first few hours and save something for the hills towards the end. The course was a 15 mile ride out to the town of Verona followed by 2 loops with a lot of hills on the back end, and then back to Madison. I really had to keep an eye on my speed as I was finding it so easy to stay over 20mph but I knew I would pay for it later so I tried to keep around 18mph. The first two hours seemed to go by pretty quickly. I’d settled into a good pace and was riding with generally the same group of people, trying to avoid illegal drafting which was a bit difficult for most of the first loop given the number of bikers. The big climbs weren’t so bad first time around. In large part due to the support – there were people literally lining the course all the way up the hills. It was very cool to have people screaming all sorts of amusing stuff including one sergeant major roaring “Get up that hill! Your Mama can’t help you now! Move your ass!” OK. Further along myself and a guy I’d been over and back with for a few miles got a great laugh from a girl holding a sign that read “I’d still be swimming”. I thought it was best sign ever.

To keep the energy levels up I’d been munching on cola and cranberry Clif blocks, which I had in a baggie along with an odwalla bar that I’d smushed up. This turned out to be a very smart idea as the blocks got coated in bits of the bar and were very tasty indeed. But as I got close to the halfway mark I was beginning to hallucinate about the iced coffee and banana sandwich waiting for me in my “special needs” bag at around the 60 mile mark. Sticking to the mantra of never try anything new on a race I’d trained with coffee all summer – and have developed a nice habit that I’ll find hard to kick. Before the stop we did a quick tour through Verona, with tons of loudly cheering supporters to greet us. Just after leaving the town the line of volunteers began. They were shouting our numbers as we approached the bags so that the lady had mine in her hand by the time I reached her. COFFEE. Heaven. Followed by an exchange of water bottles and off again. My training partner Tanya had whizzed through while I was enjoying my break so I went in search of her and tried to keep her in my sights for the next several miles. This strategy worked until we ran into some headwind - and I ran out of steam. I was getting really frustrated as I struggled to maintain 13-14mph – on the flat! I so wanted to be off the bike at this stage. Though I realized I was still surrounded by the same, now familiar, faces which that made me feel a little better. It was around this time that I began to rethink my goals. When I first signed up for IM I talked about just finishing within the 17hr limit and feeling relatively good. That quickly got revised to 14hrs and after two good half-ironman races during the summer I figured 13hrs was a definite possibility. But you always have to have a dream goal and for me that was 12hrs with an important part of that being a sub-4hr marathon. I just knew that no matter how the rest of it went I wanted to feel good on the run. But now, with legs that felt like lead and another 40 miles ahead of me, including a few big climbs, I was quickly revising upwards. I figured if my legs were this tired on the bike there was no way they could recover for the run. My quads were screaming at me from the bottom to the top of each of the big climbs. I was so glad to see the last of them. The ride back to town wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I think all of that cursing on the hills cleared my mind a little. It was much quieter now as most of the supporters had headed into town to watch the run. I tried to keep a pretty steady pace, saving my legs as best I could but trying not to drop my pace below 17mph. My spirits improved with every mile and soon I was back in the city, along the waterfront and up the helix to the transition area. I was so happy when the volunteer took my bike from me right at the line and told me I didn’t need to rack it myself. I was okay with not seeing it again for a long long time!

Not knowing exactly what time I’d started the bike at I figured I’d done it in around 6:40 so I was happy enough with that. I would definitely like to have felt stronger on the second loop but I know that it is just down to training. And having gained some time on the swim I knew that 12hrs was still a possibility. I zipped through this transition much quicker than T1, just ditching the helmet and exchanging bike shoes for running shoes. Stuffed a few energy gels in my pockets, quick drink of water and off I went. Man it felt sooooo good to be on two feet again. I hope to someday enjoy biking as much as running but I don’t see it happening anytime soon! I passed the first water stop without stopping as it was quite close to the start but thereafter I walked though each one making sure I got enough fluids and food. Amazingly I didn’t consume a single energy gel the entire day. I would normally take 4 or 5 during a marathon but today the array of grub at each water stop including pretzels, grapes, oranges and bananas was much more appealing (just missing gummi bears…). I had water at each stop and a little Gatorade every second one. And I took a cup of ice from each stop to carry with me which is a great way to keep cool and I find it just gives me something to focus on, chomping on ice-cubes. The run course was pretty nice. I was familiar with most of it from our training weekend here. I wasn’t too keen on the circuit around the college stadium (it would have been okay if the seats were filled with supporters!), nor the many sections of pavement but of course I loved the section of trail and also quite enjoyed the few hills as they required different muscles which felt pretty good. And the support was fantastic. There wasn’t more than a few hundred meters stretch every now and then that didn’t have a band of supporters. And with our names printed on our bibs I made sure to have move my race belt so it was visible every time we came to the busier areas. There’s nothing quite as motivating as complete strangers yelling your name! Except friends yelling your name… it was a real boost to see a familiar face every couple of miles along the course. I am so grateful to them all for traveling to the race and I hope to repay the favour in the future.

Mile 15 - Having fun on the run!

I tried to keep a pretty even pace for the first half of the run and was happy with around 8 minute miles followed by 30-40 seconds walking through the water stops. I figured if I could keep this up I would comfortably hit 4 hours. Which led to calculations and re-calculations as to whether or not I’d hit 12hrs! But halfway is early in a regular marathon so it was certainly too early to be thinking about the finish line just yet. I had another caffeine fix at mile 14 where we had our special needs run bag. Not sure it made much difference but I was able keep up the same pace for a few more miles before slowing down towards mile 18. Still my legs felt ok and thankfully no stomach issues at all. While it sounds sort of cruel I can’t deny it felt incredible to be running strong and passing people all the way. My little sister who was following me online in Sydney summed it up in a text message later that night… “Well done helen you did so class can’t believe your run time…you passed bout 600 people since the cycle ya lunatic! Congrats il ring u soon xx”. I laughed so much. It was just one of many text messages that night and the next day that made every moment worthwhile. I do all of this for myself, for reasons I can’t quite explain. But knowing that so many friends and family are supporting me is a real help during these longer events.

In a previous race report I wrote that I didn’t believe I had any natural running talent. I meant that at the time. And I absolutely believed it five years ago when running 5km on the treadmill was a struggle. But having run a 3:17 marathon earlier this summer it’s probably time to ditch the modesty. And while it mostly comes down to training I am definitely blessed with an endurance (stubbornness, some might say) that seems to be improving each year. And this certainly kicked in for the last few miles. Knowing I was risking the 12hr mark I made a quick pit stop at the portaloo at mile 22 and emerged knowing it was worth the 30 seconds. I was able to pick it up for the next 2 miles. But I knew I couldn’t keep this pace for much longer. Part of me wanted to walk so badly. But that was not an option and so I tried to focus on just getting closer to the finish line. Around endless corners and then finally the Capitol building was in view. Trying to remember how many sides of the square I had to go around, was it 2 or 3 or 4… huge crowds now… I knew that I’d given everything I had on this day and whatever my final time I would be immensely proud of this achievement. Of course, I can say that now… remembering how I felt rounding that final corner and seeing 11:59:35 on the clock. Woo Hoo!! I sped down the home straight. Crossing the finish line to the sound of the announcer screaming “YOU ARE AN IRONMAN”. It was the best feeling in the world. The crowd was amazing. I felt like a rock star.

A huge thank you to Kami for convincing me to do this. And to Tanya for her dedication to training, some of which rubbed off on me.

Make today your someday.

Into the West

Connemara International Marathon 2007: 26.2 miles of rugged beauty, surprisingly decent weather and brutal hills in the West of Ireland. On April Fool’s Day…

I’ll keep this one short - it was a road marathon after all. No real adventure then, right? Well, not quite – the location alone equals adventure! Three years ago I ran my first half marathon on this course and promised I would be back one day to do the full one. Dublin 2004 kicked off my marathon running and then a move to the US the following year opened up a whole new realm of running opportunities. So when I looked at the Connemara website last autumn, with six road marathons and a few trail odysseys under my belt, I decided it was time to tackle this amazingly scenic but decidedly tough course once again.

I’d been feeling really good about my running this year and was confident that in the right conditions (nice course, good weather) I could probably beat my 3:35 PR but this was an event where the race pack tells you to prepare for wet and windy conditions and the two mile climb at mile 22 is fondly named the “Hell of the West”. This combined with a mile long climb at halfway and other shorter up and downs throughout had me telling myself that running a good race and feeling strong at the end should be my main goal. Did it work? Not quite, I set my watch for a 3:30 finish…

After a light breakfast and a 20 minute drive out to Oughterard I hopped on a bus to the start and milled around with 600 others waiting for race start at 10:30am while munching on a banana and jelly beans. The Ultra had kicked off just after 9am with around 100 runners (or lunatics depending on your perspective) and the Half would start 13.1 miles further along the course at noon with over 3000 entrants. I liked the staggered starts because it meant I would catch the middle-back of pack Half runners from around mile 15 which I (rather selfishly) knew would help me finish stronger. Aid stations were every 3 miles and the kids handing out water bottles were so full of energy they made me smile every time. I took a gu every 5-6 miles along with a few electrolyte tablets. It got pretty warm by half way but I felt comfortable with my long sleeve over a vest. And it was so good to finally run in shorts after months of winter running in freezing Minnesota!

The first few miles passed easily. I chatted to a few runners and just settled into it, taking in the beautiful surroundings on a quiet Sunday morning along the shores of Lough Inagh. There wasn’t any climbing to speak of until about mile 7 when we rounded a sharp turn onto the N59 and caught a headwind as we trekked up a relatively steep incline. A few miles of rolling hills followed as the late morning sun started to shine in earnest. Good thing I’d been optimistic enough to pack the sunscreen. I was averaging just under 8 minute miles though my splits were a bit all over the place. One mile I’d feel like I’d picked up the pace but the watch would read 8:30 and then I’d feel like the wind was completely slowing my progress and I’d see 7:20! I suppose I was adjusting to the ever changing incline and wind without really thinking about it. Despite this I felt really good through 10 miles and focused on enjoying the next few miles of downhill to the half way point in the village of Leenane which I reached in about 1:44. And then the fun started. The hill from mile 13.5 through 15 came as a bit of shock and I tried to remember how this had felt a few years earlier right at the start of the Half. If anything it was probably a little easier being warmed up already. And just before mile 13 a guy had called out I was sixth female so that was a great motivator. I thought about the $25 bet one of my friends had made with me that I would finish in the top ten - I guess this was one bet I wouldn’t mind losing!

But still I continued to worry that I had started out too fast and memories of Twin Cities ’05 were never too far away (my one and only experience of hitting the wall – at around mile 16 after a 1:45 first half). I couldn’t decide if I should slow down and conserve my energy or just keep plugging away. Upon seeing 8:45 for mile 15 and my watch telling me I was about a minute off pace I felt a little disappointment and also frustration that I might not reach my goal (what I didn’t realize until I finished is that I’d set my watch for 3:28 instead of 3:30!). But my legs still felt very strong and knowing that the next few miles were pretty easy rolling hills I decided there was only one thing for it… pick up the pace and get the endomorphins flowing again! So I put in a few sub-8:00 miles and began to pass a lot of half marathoners. A few short sharp hills towards the end of this section and then we came to a pretty steep downhill around mile 19 and another one just after mile 20. I had been focusing mostly on my mile splits so it was a real boost when I checked my watch at mile 20 and saw 2:38. I had never run this fast before and was feeling strong albeit a little nervous that I still had to contend with the “Hell of the West”. We passed through Maum village around mile 22 where there was great support and then there it was… the long climb winding its way up through the Maumturk range. I figured that even at a 9 minute pace for the next two miles I would still sneak in under 3:30 so I just relaxed and tried to keep a steady pace all the way up. There were crowds of half marathon runners at this stage and a great atmosphere as people genially cursed the hill! The supporters who had walked out the few miles from the finish line were most welcome at this point. I was pleasantly surprised to record 8:15 for mile 23 and 8:27 for mile 24 which came just before the crest of the hill… and then beautiful downhill for about a mile and a half before it flattened out for the homestretch. I was certainly ready to be done but was thrilled to be able to finish strong and ran 7:06 for mile 26 crossing the line in just over 3:26. Wow – way beyond my dreams! To cap off a great day some friends and family had come along to support me and were there to cheer me on close to the finish line. A truly special occasion and without doubt my most memorable marathon experience to date.

My goals for 2007 were to run a PR and complete an Ironman (September all going well – now, that will be a long story!). However, the PR plan was for Grandma’s Marathon in June which is a relatively flat course and where I’d run my previous best two years ago. So now I suppose I need to run 3:25 at that. Damn…