I received my new credit card today and was able to register for the 2009 Miami Man Half Iron Triathlon. Seemed appropriate after finally dragging myself to the pool this evening, Beck’s “Loser” lyrics playing in my head: “I’m a winner. Things are gonna change. I can feel it.” Stay tuned.
On May 25th, I tried to register for the Duathlon I raced last weekend. Multirace.com had listed a warning on their site stating they’d been having some issues with their merchant and instructed anyone having difficulties with registration to contact them. Of course, the system failed miserably when I tried to register, so I called them. They asked me to just re-enter my information and try again. Being a web developer, I saw the red flag flying high, but did as they said and managed to register successfully the second time around. Fast forward two weeks to Monday when I receive a phone call from my credit card company informing me of some fraudulent activity on my card. My account was cancelled. I am still waiting for my new card to arrive in the mail.
In the meantime, on Tuesday, I finally received a settlement check from my bike accident 3 years ago. I thought a good way to use that money would be pay for race registrations. I had been anxiously waiting to register for some Olympic Triathlons and a Half Ironman at the end of the year, but, of course, the check arrived and I didn’t have my credit card to register with.
Last night I received an email from Multirace.com explaining that they’re moving to Active.com for registration partly because they “have had some reports of participants having fraudulent charges on their credit cards.” I’m very pleased that they’re being proactive, but can’t ignore the irony. I couldn’t register for future Multirace events because I registered for a Multirace event.
| Friday: | rest |
| Saturday: | 1h 50m bike 10m brick |
| Sunday: | Duathlon: 1 mile run, 10 mile bike, 2.5 mile run 34m run |
| Monday: | rest |
| Tuesday: | 45m spin |
| Wednesday: | rest |
| Thursday: | 40m run |
With Ani’s almond-ginger pate. Mmm…
ps. I still owe you the recipe, Ian. I haven’t forgotten.
1. Yesterday marked one year of orthodontic torture. One year down and one to go. It’s all downhill from here. 
2. Remember this little fiasco ? Yesterday, a check from the insurance company finally arrived. Can I get a “Hallelujah ?” I drove my happy self to the bank this morning. Done and done. Onward.
3. A new copy of Runner’s World arrived last night. There’s nothing like having a hot cup of tea and falling asleep reading one of my favorite magazines.
1 mile run – 10 mile bike – 2.5 mile run
Total Time: 57:55
Run 1: 7:26
T1: 0:54
Bike: 29:08
T2: 0:39
Run2: 19:48
Overall Place: 24 out of 88
Gender Place: 5 out of 32
Category Place: 1 out of 3
Today’s race was pretty uneventful. I had a very good night’s sleep. I normally toss and turn until less than an hour before I’m supposed to wake up. This makes me feel tired and groggy when the alarm finally goes off which makes me even more anxious. Not having that problem this time, I was almost anxiety-free before the race. I think a few butterflies in the stomach are inevitable and even necessary for good performance !
The first run was one mile. I held a steady pace and tried not to over-exert myself. I took longer than I would have wanted in transition, but I’m a bit out of practice since this is my first multi-sport race since last October.
The bike leg consisted of two laps around the same twisty, curvy course. The first lap wasn’t too bad since I was doing the Duathlon and only the top dogs were done with the swim. The second lap was sheer chaos. First, the “direction” sign wasn’t very clear about where to go. The left side of the sign said “Lap” and the right side said “Lap 2.” OK. That’s very helpful. Do I go right to Lap #2 or do I go right if this is my second lap ? It was very confusing, not just for me. Additionally, all the people done with the swim were merging into the narrow bike lane as I started my second lap. I was surprised not to see any accidents the way some of those bikes were flying out of transition. Thus, the second lap was congested, almost like being in traffic. If the USAT official was taking his job seriously, he would have had to penalize everyone. There was no way one could keep 3 bike lengths distance from the bike in front. I enjoyed being on the bike anyway, as always and was happy to finally crack those 30 minutes, though I could have done better under more organized conditions.
The second run was awesome. I’ve been getting stronger and stronger with my runs and couldn’t have asked for better results. I came in under 20 minutes which was my goal.
Overall, it was a happy day. I was glad to have Geoffrey there, cheering me on every chance he got. It gives me a boost of energy every time I see his smiley face on the course, even if at the time I can’t acknowledge it.
Friday – 40 min run
Saturday – rest
Sunday – 2.5 hr bike ride, 46 min run
Monday – rest
Tuesday – 40 min spin class
Wednesday – 40 min run
Thursday – 48 min spin class
Having a healthy, well balanced meal so that I don’t pass out like yesterday. Greens, avocado, cucumber, red pepper, carrot and tofu. I made Jen’s Peanut Dressing. It’s absolutely delicious.
