My Dog is Ambidextrous

Here's a video of Tassie doing the one and only trick she knows. Boy that narrator needs to practice her delivery!

Take that, Boss Fedofsky-Waterstraat!

The Boot

I had plantar fasciitis pretty bad my freshman year in college. I slept in a boot for almost 2 years and I was able to manage it pretty well. I've always had to be careful but I can usually catch it before it gets too painful. Unfortunately, this time I was not so lucky. Last Sunday I ran in some new lightweight trainers that totally set it off. All last week I babied my foot as much as I could (i.e. wore all my responsible shoes that are not so cute, stretched, rolled my foot, etc) but it didn't help. Everytime I ran after that it flared up.

It did hurt pretty bad the last few miles at St. Anthony's, but the rest of my body was already so tired it didn't really matter. Oooh, but after the race I was limply around because it was bothering me so much. And in the morning? IT HUUUURRRRTTTTSSSSS - thus I have purchased another boot. I plan on sleeping with it on and will try not to kick Marty. All day at work today I was limping around and I really hope I can nip this quick before it becomes a big problem.

St. Anthony's Recap

It was a good day for me all in all - I can't be unhappy with sneaking into the top ten of the elite amateur division (I was 9th), something I really wasn't expecting. My time from last year was 7 minutes slower (!!) YIKES! So that's the scientific difference between working part-time and full-time :)

I'll write a longer race report later, but here's my recap. Got to the start and finally met Jen Harrison and Beth Shutt face to face - which was pretty impressive seeing as we were all in our wetsuits, cap and googles. The horn (kind of ) blew and I sprinted out as fast as I could. If there is one thing I do well, it's the start. I can high step and dolphin dive with the best of them. So I end up like even with 2nd place which is ridiculous since I'm not that good of a swimmer, but sometimes I get lucky and it helps me latch onto some faster feet. This year's swim was more on the gentle to mid-cycle of a washing machine and we had to deal with a current which seemed to make our times quite slow. But I wasn't too far behind Jen Harrison getting out and she is a great swimmer so I new I had pulled a better-than-Bri swim out of somewhere.

I had my shoes clipped to my bike and that was a bit of a debacle leaving transition. Why is it when I practice I have no problems but then in the race I have all sorts of problems?! I also managed to drop the gel I wanted to take on the bike. My bike felt okay - I'm nowhere near my bike shape of last year, but averaged 22.1mph so that's good for me. I rode most of it by myself except for passing a few girls and having a few pass me. There was one little pack that was running a nice draft-like paceline, but luckily I passed all those girls on the run.

I started the run and just didn't feel comfortable. I tried to stay positive but had several different talks with myself about not quitting or stopping or sitting on the curb until the sun went down. I was passed, I passed some others - it was a bit of a death march the last two miles and nowhere near what I'm capable of. But it is what it is and I went as hard as I could. Honestly, with the amount of time I've put into my training, I am really happy with my result. I do need to buckle down and try to hit Eagleman hard, so I'm going to try and be serious over the next few weeks.

I had a great time talking with Beth and Jen (although I didn't get to talk to Jen very much - I wish I had found her earlier). And we stayed almost through the entire awards ceremony and had a lot of fun with Kathy Frailing and Christina Noordstar - they are really cool chicks. Off to some parties tonight before our 7am flight back to RDU tomorrow and then straight into work. Augghh!

Flor-i-duh

We got into Tampa around 2:15, but because our luggage people decided to take a lunch break we didn't get out of there until after 3, which made it too late to swim at Northshore (they close at 4). Instead we drove into St. Pete and then went to the Gulf side for a little open water swimming. The water was about 75 and chilly when first getting in, but really nice once we started swimming. Marty forgot his goggles but since he is part fish, the saltwater in his eyes doesn't bother him as much as the rest of us mere mortals. The wind had kicked up making it a bit wavy with a current, but as long as the wind stays the same, our swim in the bay should be smooth tomorrow. I'm hoping so, because there have been some years where the St. Anthony's swim is like a washing machine. I'm also hoping for a wetsuit legal swim, but if not, I brought my new Blue Seventy PointZero to wear.

Last night we went to the Mad Dog pre-race dinner/party and got to hang out with a bunch of people we don't get to see very often anymore. We also met some new faces - it was really a fun time! I finally met Kathy Frailing, whose blog I've been reading for some time now. I've even raced against her a few times already but we've never formally met. She is so nice and promised to blog more than once a week ;)

This morning I went for a short jog around my old neighborhood. I felt like poo. I hope I feel better tomorrow.

Random Thoughts

As if our neighbor's don't think we're strange enough, Marty decided to mow the lawn tonight right after his bike ride.

Busy day at work today. It's never good when you walk out of there feeling very, very dumb. I'm always learning! Luckily, my co-workers are awesome and help me figure things out.

Leaving tomorrow afternoon for St. Pete via Tampa. It's great to have a direct flight that's less than 2 hours. Can't beat that! I need to do some more work in the morning, but fortunately I can do this from home. I still need to pack and do a short trainer workout.

Speaking of workouts, I'm in my taper, but it's not a very long one. The less you train, the shorter the taper. My interval workout was not very long on Tuesday, but I still did our group ride last night. Ran very easy tonight and hoping to sneak into North Shore Pool when we get into town. Basically, my taper this year is more about going into the race rested.

I love uploading pictures to this blogger thing! So much easier than our website. Here's Tassie watching us while we're outside.

St. Anthony's!

This Sunday is the St. Anthony's triathlon, down in St. Pete, Florida (where I was born and raised). As many of you might know, the St. Anthony's Youth triathlon was my very first triathlon back in 1988 (I was 8 years old - 20 years ago, holy crap!), so this race definitely holds a special place in my heart.

I raced in the youth triathlon until I was 13, then took a long hiatus from triathlons until after college. My dad has always been involved in St. Anthony's, ever since the mid-80's, and he will once again be on the mic in the transition area. Go up and say hi to him - he's very nice :) Later in the race, he splits mic time with Jerry McNeil at the finish line. Jerry knows things about your triathlon career that you don't even know!

Marty and I fly down Friday afternoon, and we're going to hit the Mad Dog party on Friday night. That's always a good time. It's nice to do races down there since we get to stay at my mom's and relax instead of in a hotel room. And of course my dad hooks us up with all sorts of VIP perks. One of our friends always teases me about how much my dad talks about me to other people, but seriously, if your dad can't be your number one fan who can?!

So, the race. Last year it was my total 'A' race and I trained hard for it. I was also only working part time so had the opportunity to put in a lot of good sessions. I ended up having a great race for myself and PR'ing big time for an Olympic distance event. I haven't been able to train as much this year, but don't think that doesn't mean I'm not going to go out there and do the best that I possibly can! A few weeks ago I was contemplating switching my entry from elite to age group, but after seeing the wave starts, I am so glad I didn't! The elite women start just before 7, but my age group doesn't go off until just before 9! At least the weather is looking good (i.e. not too hot).

And I leave with you a picture of me finishing the race last year. Definitely not the most flattering, I know! Complete with my patented tongue hanging out. Some things never change.

What Not To Wear

I love TLC's What Not To Wear with Stacy & Clinton. I DVR the episodes and watch them when I'm riding the trainer. They crack me up and of course, I secretly want to be one of the candidates. Even though I realize that means I dress really bad. Anyways, one of Marty's athletes (and one of our friends) sent me a little note in the mail that said:

Hi Bri - I met someone last night and during the conversation I asked her to sign this for you. Hope you get a good chuckle! Sue

Inside her note was another note that said:

Bri!
Thank you for watching WNTW! WORK HARD. DRESS RIGHT.
Very best,
Stacy London

So fun!!

Geez marty keeps hacking my blog account and making silly posts about silly stuff!!!!!!!

In Arizona...

Marty hard at work, or hardly working. You pick.