The Ten Day Countdown is ON!

Here I am, ten days away from Can Lake, trying to fend off a case of Taper Psychosis.

Taper Psychosis (noun) ˈtā-pər \sī-ˈkō-səs:   fundamental derangement of the mind characterized by defective or lost contact with reality, where one's beliefs do not match reality --- especially 10 days out from a major race.

It's funny how a taper really screws with the mind. For example, I've been imagining all kinds of problems with my feet. Some of the crazy thoughts circulating in my head:

• My heels don't have as much padding as they used to.
• Maybe I have a heel spur. Quick-- Google it!  Yep. That's what it is.
• My shoes no longer seem right for my feet. Maybe my feet have changed.  Maybe I should change brands. Maybe I should just run out tomorrow and pick up a pair of ....something....
• Should I put band-aids on my toes as a preventative measure before the race? Should I? Should I? No. Okay, yes. Wait-change that....
• What's up with my arch? Perhaps I'm getting Plantar Fascitis. Quick -- Google it! Yep. That's gotta be it. I'm screwed.

And then there are the usual crazy thoughts-in-general, like:  maybe I could squeeze in just one more 30 miler.  

But the good news is, I've already gotten my sudden mystery illness out of the way. And, I've been honing my mental game--and it will win out over even the most severe bout with Taper Psychosis! 

At this moment, ten days from now, I will be celebrating my Can Lake 50 finish!!

 
 

 

Can Lake Reconn

September 6 - 8

 

Hello, Canandaigua Lake!

With the Can Lake 50 mere weeks away, I decided it was time to visit the scene of my future suffering. On October 12th, I will run the complete circumference of Canandaigua "Can" Lake, one of New York's famous finger lakes. It's billed as a "beginner friendly" ultra, great for first-timers and back-of-the-packers. But I couldn't just take their word for it, could I? No, I had to see for myself:  How bad are the hills? How interesting is the scenery? And.....yeah, how bad are the hills? I needed some intell. I needed a Can Lake reconn road trip!!

So I took Friday off work, printed out the cue sheet, packed my running gear and trusty pepper spray and hit the road. Nothing like a good road trip into the unknown--with an element of danger thrown in--to make me feel like I'm on a big adventure!

 I arrived in time to drive the two parts of the course I would be running, and found a nice spot on the rocks to take in the view.

The lake is beautiful, surrounded by gorgeous homes and mountains. My guess is many of these palaces are vacay homes. Not many people around on this weekend after Labor Day.

Leading up to this road trip I had been logging a crazy amount of miles, including 3 runs OVER 26.2. That is, three ultramarathons in 1.5 months! And while normal people would taper for 2 -3 weeks before running that far, I've been doing my longest runs on back to back weekends AND hitting the strength training pretty hard.

Suffice it to say I wasn't exactly well rested for this 34 miler on the Can Lake course. But the whole point of this insane training is to practice running when you're dead tired.

At least we'll have some pretty scenery to view while we're suffering. This is my fav pic of the lake:

 

The course starts in town, then goes counter-clockwise around the long, skinny lake. The west side of the lake, which runs about the first 20 miles, is the prettiest--but it's also the hardest. Our first big bad hill is 10 miles in, on Coye Road.

There's plenty of suffering to be had on Coye. Though the hill is only a 3% average grade, it drags on for 2 miles, which gets old. The reward is a nice long downhill with a great view of the lake.

But Coye is a walk in the park compared to Bopple. Bopple Hill offers 600 feet elevation gain in just under a mile, with a 6% average grade. The race director describes it this way:                                                A short but very steep wall followed by a short gentle grade and a long steep wall.                                    Wall is right! OMG, Bopple is brutal.    

It just keeps going up....

 

 Mocking you, taunting you, laughing in your face.

Making you hurt!

 And hurt some more!

 

 

Yep.

 



I'm just hoping my legs won't be trashed by the time I reach the top, because I will still have 34 miles to go! The good news is, the next 4ish miles are downhill, then flat all the way to Monica's Pies.

Monica's is famous for its grape pie, but I had the apple and it was excellent! You can't go wrong here. Not that we'll be stopping for a slice...

After Monica's we turn and head along the southern end of the lake. At this point it'll be 20 down, 30 to go!

Not long after we reach the east side of the lake is the first cutoff, at 28.7 miles. Of course, I've been doing the math--and then re-doing it, obsessing over it, and re-doing it again--and if the handy online calculator is correct, I'll have 7.5 hours to make the cutoff, so I'll need to average no more than a 15:41 pace. Should be doable, as long as I don't drop too much time on Coye and Bopple.

Well, I wish I had some nice pics to show of the other side of the lake. But other than the cute little village of Vine Valley, there really isn't much to see....except for more big homes and this nice little park...

And this once-upon-a-time general store.

And this is where I finished my 34 miles, back on the rocks where I enjoyed my first views of the lake the day before.

Nothing like a little course reconn to help sharpen your mental game! Bring it on, Can Lake!

Dear Mr. Scoutmaster Man,

In hindsight, I'm not sure why you looked suspicious to me. There you were in your scout uniform with your sensible hiking shoes and oversize multi-compartment fanny pack, out for a Saturday morning walk on the Rock Creek trail.

Or, maybe not.

Maybe the scout get-up was disguise. Maybe the balding, middle-aged man coming my way down the wooded path was really a serial killer, keeping the tools of his trade tucked away in that way-too-big-fanny pack (who wears those anymore, anyway?). Maybe you were just pretending to be walking on the trail when, in fact, you were stalking your next victim.

My suspicions aside, our encounter would've been one of those routine, forgettable moments one has when passing a stranger on a walk, except that you seemed to lose your balance and step on "my side" of the trail. People lose their balance, it happens; but this was a nice flat stretch, so it didn't make sense. It was....suspicious.

And so I'd like to apologize for springing into a defensive stance and pointing my canister of pepper spray at your face, thumb on the trigger, ready to fire. I could tell by the way you flinched and jerked away with that big-eyed look of shock that I was wrong about you. You were, apparently, a scoutmaster out for a walk on a Saturday morning, not a serial killer in disguise.

You probably didn't realize that I was the one in disguise. I may have looked like a harmless petite woman out for a slow morning jog-- but that's not who I am. The person you encountered was really a hyper-alert would-be badass; an expert at evasive maneuvering, even when not warranted, armed and ready for combat or, at least, ready to outrun you and scream for help.

Maybe the scowl on my face--- that don't-F-with-me-because-I'm-not-as-harmless-as-I-look-expression-- didn't register in the quick second that we exchanged glances. Something about how you quickly looked away made me nervous.

But, I'm betting you can understand and, I hope, forgive my unwarranted aggression. I'm glad I didn't pull the trigger; that would've been embarrassing...not to mention wrong. Have I learned my lesson? Will the next innocent Saturday morning walker be spared?  Candidly, no.

I must admit, the next time I'm out running on the trail by myself (which is the only way I run, these days), I will be in disguise. As the scouts say, it's always important to Be Prepared.

Always Prepared,
Sally

Redemption!

 

Maryland Swim for Life 4 Miler

July 13, 2013

Goal:    Under 3:30                                        Actual: 2:51

I couldn't let my Bay Swim DNF stand without making a try for redemption, so I quickly signed up for the next 4 miler I could find, the Swim for Life in Chestertown, Maryland.

Now, you would think that a person hell-bent on redemption after a big fat DNF would be flocking to the pool for some quality lap time....but I managed only a pathetic attempt at that. In fact, my longest swim since the Bay was 2500 meters, not even half the distance I would be swimming in the Chester River, and hardly adequate for a person who flirts with cutoffs as often as I do.

Let's just call it an extended taper and leave it at that.

This was a really laid back swim and I loved that about it. There were 1, 2, 2.4, 3, 4, and 5 mile options. You swim up (or down?) the river to your particular turn buoy, then swim back. Nothing too complicated; no big bad current or waves to deal with. 



The 5 milers went first, then it was our turn. I tried to keep up with the pack, but that lasted about 30 seconds; everyone pulled ahead of me. Pretty soon the 3 milers passed me....and then some of the 2.4 milers...and I settled in for the duration. The first half of the swim was with the current and I was cruising at a nice clip to the turn around buoy. A bit of current kicked in on the way back, but after fighting the Bay Swim current, this was child's play.

I had 3.5 hours to swim 4 miles and figured I would be cutting it close. But with no big fat current to deal with, I managed a 2:51.  Yay!



Check out the duct tape

The post-swim party was fun! We ate some bar-b-que, drank Diet Coke, and hung out near the Boat Bar. Ah, sweet redemption! And with only 3 people in my age group, I wound up getting 3rd place.

 

Now on to the Can Lake 50!

 

 

 

 

 



Great Chesapeake Bay Swim 2013

Goal:    Under 3:30
Actual:  DNF

Well...I didn't finish, but I had a blast trying.  Here's how this year's Bay Swim went for me.

Before the swim...

The weather conditions were sick! Air temps in the 70's to low 80's. A mostly overcast day with little chance of rain and no wind. Water temp of 76 degrees. Flat calm, even in the first channel. PERFECT. I was pumped!

 P and I rode the bus across the bridge together and I couldn't help but think of all the road trips we've taken together, the many races we've done together, and the "firsts" we've shared along the way. And this would be another first:  P's first Bay Swim!

We had spent months training for this, doing the long weekend swims together, suffering through thousands of laps and hours in the pool...Colonies Zones, the Centennial Lake 1 Miler, the back-to-back Reston swims. Finally, we are here and it's go time!

It would be Tracey, Keri and Nicolas' first Bay Swim too. So, when we arrived at Sandy Point State Park, I was so happy to see how calm the water looked and what a perfect day we had ahead of us. As Swim Coach Mark said, it's a perfect day for the swim!

 We had a nice contingent of Team Zers there, including our own personal cheer crew! Janet, Rich, Mike, Holly, and Greg had the familiar green "spirit wands" and Team Z green attire.

Holly had flown in from Alabama to surprise Keri. It reminded me of last year, when Tracey and Nicolas surprised the hell out of me right there on the beach before the swim! Today we would be swimming the bay together. (Well, actually, both would be swimming ahead of me...but that's just a minor detail ;).

We got suited up, listened to the pre-race briefing, got some final words of advice from Mark, and hugged our cheer crew.

Here we go! We're doing this.

We crossed the timing mat and Tracey, P, and I stood on the beach together, waiting for the swim start. I was so excited to be swimming this bay with some of my best buddies!

Mile 1

Courtesy: Eye on Annapolis

It was the usual crazy crowded start with hundreds of people all headed for a couple of buoys marking our turn underneath the bridge spans. I couldn't wait to get to the bridges where the crowd would thin out and I could get in my groove.

The water was so flat and calm--better than last year. I couldn't believe our luck!! My goal for mile 1 was to beat last year's time of 39 minutes....and with conditions this great, I swam it in 36 minutes. So far so good!

Mile 2
I kept telling myself to keep up my turnover and pick up the pace! I pictured my watch saying 3:22 when I stepped out of the bay on the other side. And I mentally prepared myself for the first channel, which I assumed would be a wild roller coaster ride like last year. But, even in the channel, the rough water wasn't there! Unbelievable. 

I kept swimming and checking my watch. Had I missed the 2 mile marker? I was closing in on 1:15, why wasn't I there yet? Finally, I spotted the red buoy up ahead. The minutes ticked off in slow motion and by the time I made it, I had been swimming for 1.5 hours. 


Okay, so I was averaging 45 minutes/mile--that wasn't out of the question-- but I didn't understand why the second mile was so much slower than the first, especially in this calm water. The current wasn't supposed to kick in until between miles 3 and 4, right?

 Mile 3
Swimming past the 2 mile marker, feeling good. This is when I started to pay attention to the current and  noticed it gradually getting stronger. I moved to the left side of the swim "lane" and angled myself into the current. I took my first GU, wondered how my peeps were doing, and pictured celebrating with them at the finish line. This was so much fun!

This is when I had Kayak Encounter #1. The kayaker pulled up right next to me and was yelling to get my attention--then angled the nose of the kayak in front of me!! OMG! I was startled --why would someone block me with their kayak? Was there some kind of emergency? Was I getting pulled? WTF?? 

I popped up and asked the woman what was going on. She informed me that I was swimming "toward" the left bridge span. Well, yeah! I informed her that the current was coming from the left and I was angling myself to fight the current. She told me I needed to swim straighter. I told her not to worry, if I passed under the span she could disqualify me. And she said "Oookay"....in an I-told-you-so-but-you-aren't-listening-and-will-pay-for-it-later voice!!  OMG!! Why do I have to stop and explain myself to a kayaker? I know she was trying to be helpful, but still.

The more I swam, the less forward progress I seemed to be making and the more I had to angle myself to the left into the current. 45 minutes passed and I still wasn't at the 3 mile marker. This was definitely the current kicking in and kicking in hard! 

I had the red buoy in sight but it was taking forever to get there. The feed boat was also there--on the right side of the lane. If I stopped at the boat I would have to fight my way back to the left in the current. 

This is where I had Kayak Encounter #2. Again, I heard shouting and thought something was wrong. It was a kayaker helpfully telling me that the 3 mile buoy was up ahead and so was the feed boat. Nice of him, but it stopped my forward motion. Ugh. 

I finally reached the 3 mile marker and had Kayak Encounter #3. It was a really nice woman offering me water. Since I wasn't going to swim over to the feed boat, I decided to take her up on it. I grabbed my second GU, held onto the nose of the kayak, and downed the water. 

Big mistake! When I turned around to start swimming again I noticed I was no longer at the 3 mile buoy. The current had swept the kayak --and me-- back and to the right. I had to fight my way back to the 3 mile marker. An unnecessary waste of energy and time, though drinking some water was nice. 

Time check:  It had taken me an hour to swim from miles 2 to 3. Not good.

Mile 4
This is when things started going downhill fast. Thanks to my water break, I was now closer to the right bridge span and the current was really cranking. I managed to make some forward progress, but it kept getting harder.  

Looking up at the bridge over my right shoulder, I picked out one of the bridge supports and focused on swimming past it. I did this repeatedly. Eventually, it was taking longer to inch past each beam. 

I glanced at my watch: 3 hours had gone by. The fasties had finished almost an hour ago! Sheesh. At this point, I knew I probably wasn't going to make the 4 mile marker before the cutoff. The nice kayaker who had given me the water was still next to me...and some official-looking guy on a jet ski was hovering nearby. I figured he was the "decision man," and would soon be deciding my fate.

Well, I wasn't going down without a fight. I had to show Decision Man that I was making forward progress! I pulled hard and kicked even harder. I was swimming almost sideways at this point, swimming as hard as I could! Damn current! I was going nowhere. Not moving forward AT ALL.

My arms and shoulders were really feeling it, but I still had a lot of energy. As crazy as it may sound, it was kind of fun to feel the force of the water like this. I was in the coolest endless pool on the planet!

DNF
Finally, I heard a whistle. It was Decision Man up ahead on his jet ski. The kayak woman told me it was time to call it quits and head for the sag boat. She said the remaining swimmers were being pulled...we had missed the cutoff. I grabbed the back of her kayak and she paddled me over to one of the boats.

Made it almost to the pilings

The people on the boat were so nice---offering me water and snacks and a blanket. I had just DNF'd the Bay Swim but I was in a pretty good mood! The other swimmers on the boat, however, were not. A Lake Placid Ironman finisher told me she wanted to cry, she felt like a failure. A guy who had been swimming without a wetsuit looked like his dog had just died. But....I was okay with it all.

Swimming the bay was a blast, regardless of whether I actually made it to the other side. What mattered most to me was knowing that I had given it my all and pushed as hard as I possibly could. I knew there was nothing more I could've done to match the power of that current. 

And that's a wrap....
...for this year's Bay Swim. I wish the conditions would've been better for the first timers.
I was so proud of P. She didn't give up and only stopped when she was forced to. We celebrated the day with a Diet Coke, courtesy of Janet, and some giant chocolate bars Mike had given us. Then everyone headed over to Hemingway's for lunch. I was happy to be sitting there among friends, reliving our adventure and talking about "next time..."  And there will be a next time.

Tis The Night Before The Bay Swim...

And there's this...

A Preemptive Advisory is in effect for June 7-9, 2013: After rainfall, all Anne Arundel County beaches are under a no swimming/no direct water contact advisory for at least 48 hours due to predicted elevated bacteria levels from rainwater runoff and increased health risks. Do not swim in cloudy, murky water. During the summer swim season, the Recreational Water Quality Monitoring Program will resume its routine sampling following the 48-hour period.

WARNING: The Department of Health warns that all natural bodies of water can contain bacteria, viruses or other harmful microorganisms and advises against swimming to any individual who has an ear infection, a perforated eardrum, open cuts, scratches or skin lesions, or a compromised immune system. Do not swim in water areas where there is a fish kill or where there are any dead animals.
A red alert from the county! LOL

First, we had Tropical Storm Andrea threatening to wash out the weekend, but thankfully the rain ended this morning. That coincided with mystery back pain that was bugging me all day. I finally convinced my back that I had done nothing to make it hurt and it stopped hurting by bed time.

Then, at 12:30 AM I awoke to Don yelling for help. I run downstairs and Boudreaux is having a seizure/stroke/something -- he was stumbling around, falling down, couldn't stand-- OMG! I rushed to get dressed to drive him to the emergency vet and his affliction magically disappears! He was wagging his tail, acting like nothing happened. So.....after watching him for awhile to make sure he's okay, I finally got to sleep at 2AMish.

Woke up at 5:30AM to drive Don to the airport....got home all keyed up and worried about the dog. Stayed awake until the vet opened and called to talk to doc. Diagnosis:  dog is getting old and these things happen. Okay...

Tried to nap on the couch and maybe got an hour in. Woke up feeling like my right ear was stopped up. Puhleez don't let me get an ear infection BEFORE the damn swim!

Then we get an email from Bay Organizer Woman informing us the swim "will go on"....and nonchalantly mentioning the above water quality advisory. She ends it telling us to "swim at your own discretion."  WTF?

Well, they aren't cancelling the swim, so how dangerous can it really be? Besides, I'm not sure any body of water can top the bacteria levels and other grossness in the Potomac! And after all of that quality pool time I suffered through, it will take more than a water quality advisory to stop me from swimming the bay!

Crises averted. I had my traditional pasta dinner and am now contemplating what time to head to  bed. Ay-yi-yi!

Small Craft Advisory!

May 5, 2013

The drive to Nanticoke took me across the Bay Bridge, and it gave me chills thinking about the big one coming up:   the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim is getting close!

Let me pause here for a quick Bay Swim Training Status Update:  I've been swimming all year, diligently following swim coach Mark's training plan just like last year. And, just like this time last year, I was headed for the eastern shore and the Nanticoke 3 miler. But unlike last year, I also added in some hardcore strength training, thinking that perhaps getting stronger will help me get faster. We'll see...

 

Looks nice and calm, doesn't it? Yeah, well it was anything but! The water was cranking! In fact, there was a "small craft advisory" in effect! The air temp was probably 49ish and a bit breezy.
 
I met Nicolas and Keri and we got all checked in and headed for the swim start to get in a practice swim. The water was a chilly  60 degrees. Most people were wearing long sleeve wetsuits. Just a few swimmers, including me, were in sleeveless. And a couple wore no wetsuits at all! Craziness!

The race was delayed, thanks to that small craft advisory, and the race director announced that we were waiting for the Coast Guard to give us permission to swim. Comforting to know that the river conditions were considered bad enough to warn boats to beware! And we were going for a swim? Yikes.

 

 

However, I wasn't concerned much at all about big waves or chop....it was the current and the cold I was focused on.

Finally, we were off and swimming! It seemed to take forever to reach the first buoy....and....well....it took forever to get to the second buoy. I was getting thrown around in the waves and kept trying to figure out the current. Fortunately the second buoy was a big boat with a bright green ball attached to it --easy to see; not so easy to get to!

I finally made the turn for the final buoy. Once there, we would then turn left for a second loop. This stretch didn't seem quite as rough, but I could tell the cold was getting to me. I couldn't ignore the chill settling into my bones. I was shivering...and that had me a bit worried about hypothermia. I mean, how do you really know you're in danger? Would I know soon enough to do something about it?

Checking my watch, I had been at this for well over an hour. I wasn't sure a second loop would be a smart move given how cold I was feeling. And, realistically, with the current coming in even stronger I knew my chances of making the full 3 without getting pulled were zero. This being a training swim, I was leaning toward calling it at 2 miles, but decided to make that decision once I got to the turn buoy.

Turns out, I didn't have to make the decision. As I was approaching the turn buoy, a kid on a paddleboard motioned to me to keep going straight. They were cutting the race to 2 miles. Yay! I was relieved. Bummed at not being able to swim the 3, but relieved that I could blame someone else for making the decision to cut it short! LOL

I finished in 1:38... Yep, pretty slow.  I got my bling and this cute little trophy for 3rd in my age group. Of course, there were only 3 people in my age group!

 

So ....until next Cinco de Mayo, adios Nanticoke amigos!