Boilermaker 15k Race Report- Part Two

Before we begin our regularly scheduled program, we bring you this important news bulletin: 

There is a mole in our apartment!! 

Long story short, we woke up to some noises early Saturday morning but found nothing. Fast forward to Wednesday evening when I was having a quiet night home alone getting ideas for our honeymoon location, when low and behold a little four legged friend decided to walk right by and scare the crap out of me. It would appear as though I scared him as well, but who cares about his feelings. I had him trapped in the corner behind our entertainment center and frantically called my sister and Rob. Rob was on his way home and Meredith gave me some tips. When Rob got home we each took a side, but that little sucker was wicked fast and he headed for our dining room/office. It was trapped underneath my filing cabinet and Rob thought he could get it, but he didn't. So then the little fur ball headed into the kitchen and squeezed itself behind our dishwasher. So we stood watch, nothing happened, my brother in law came over and we put two mouse traps by the edges of the dishwasher, at this time we thought it was a mouse. So now I am totally freaked out and pissed that the little booger is in our kitchen. We haven't seen any droppings or any signs of chewing and it didn't really look like a mouse to me, so I googled mole and the mug shot of the culprit seemed to resembled our guest. I also researched trapping methods but they were all suggestions for outside infestation, nothing for inside, because they aren't supposed to be inside!!!   

This may or may not be to scale. 

So the Boilermaker seems like forever ago now, but I'll do my best to try to capture the excitement. Once we got moving I was surprised at how exactly the same the race was from the previous year. Katie and I ran together for a short bit and Dad ran up just ahead of us. I was worried that he would go out too fast, since he sometimes does but we slowly caught back up to him. My favorite sign at this race is at one of the first houses you pass and it says ".1 down, 9.2 to go". At this point in the race a sign like this is amusing, being told "you're almost there" at mile 5, not so much. Katie ran off and Dad and I stuck together for the rest of the race. This race has water/ice stops everywhere you look, at least it feels that way. I kept telling Dad that something that helped me last year was the ice. Always holding a cup of ice, putting ice in my hands, cold water on my head, drinking it, helped so much to beat the heat last year. In fact, I adopted this technique to get me through the marathon too. We ran the first couple miles straight, with only slowing at water stops. The 5k mark is at the beginning of the biggest hill on the course, and as we approached the base of the hill (golf course) I asked Dad how he wanted to handle this challenging part of the course. We decided we would pick different landmarks (signs, mile markers, bands) to run to and then do the same for walking portions. The hill is long, really long. When you think you are at the top, you aren't. Our technique worked great, but when we approached the water stop at a point where it levels out a bit they told us they had run out of ice. Okay no big deal, just get some at the next stop. We pressed on, talked to some of our fellow racers and tried to enjoy the scenery and constant music playing. When I say constant music I mean it. By the time one band/DJ/musician/car speaker/speaker on a front porch is out of ear shot, you can hear another one coming. We survived the hill and enjoyed the descent, but the next water stop was out of ice too and now it was beginning to get sunny and hotter. A bit down the road someone from behind started talking to me about my shirt and she had a Fleet Feet No Boundaries shirt on. Turns out she was from Fairport also and had done the HFM program this spring to train for the Flower City Half Marathon. I told her I trained for and completed a full this spring and she seemed impressed. The zoo animals were up next and last year I missed them so I wanted to pay more attention this year. There were all sorts of animals, but my favorite was a giant tortoise just walking around in the grass munching on some lunch. The next few stops had ice and I began to take multiple cups, I also got Dad using this cool down method and it seemed to be working for him too. At one point the Red Cross was giving out ice and they were in big red solo cups, we continued to run with them for a long time, I think Dad even crossed the finish line with his, and the song "red solo cup" followed us from spectators and fellow racers along the way. I was too slow this year for popsicles, freeze pops and oranges on the course, but I was running with Dad and we were getting through it together. 

This may or may not be a proof. 

During the last mile we were plugging away and all of a sudden my Dad said "HOLY SHIT". I said nervously, "what Dad?" and he said, "we are actually gonna finish this!" Apparently up until that point he had doubts. It was neat to see him capture a new distance PR, experiment with fueling while running, staying hydrated and racing smart to get it done! It was also around this time that I heard the crowd saying "Go Canada" and "look our neighbors to the North". All of a sudden I had a flashback to the same point in the race last year, when I was passed by four Canadian women, all decked out in red, white, maple leaves and cowboy hats. And wouldn't you know it the same ladies were going to pass me around the same spot as last year. The crowd loved them and clearly they were having a great time. I could hear the bagpipes ahead which is a clear sign that you are getting close to the end, so Dad and I picked up our speed and ran down into the finishing chute looking for Mom who was there waiting to cheer us in. As we were running along the yellow barriers, I mentioned to Dad that the announcer from last year was my former band director and I wondered if he would announce our names this year. Sure enough, with tons of enthusiasm and excitement I heard him say "Art and Stephanie Keiser" we made eye contact and thumbs up, waves and smiles and then he said "good job old man". Haha, priceless. 

I love MarathonFoto!

So my time was drastically slower compared to last year, but I haven't been training as much, I have slowed down and I wanted to stick with Dad. I wouldn't change a thing. However, as we walked through the coral they told us that they had run out of pins. Which is the traditional thing they present you with at the finish line. WHAT?!?! Seriously, how do you run out, you know exactly how many people are running this thing. Last year (and it sounds like this year too) they have run out of food for the finishers as well. We were upset but continued through the mob of people to get to the post race party. I headed to claim my pint glass and to check out the merchandise table, Dad headed to the line to get a beer. I decided to buy Dad a finishers medal since he has never earned one before. Even though he came over to me before I was done paying for it, I unwrapped it and placed it around his neck. We were both pretty proud in that moment. I also happened to run into Rob's boss Glenn, what are the odds with 20,000 you would see someone you know! After a snow cone or two we met up with Mom and headed over to the Polish community center, as I discovered last year, it was a nice, dark, air conditioned place to sit and relax. They also had a fundraiser of traditional Polish cuisine so we carb loaded back up. 

Soooo good!

Everyone was hot and sweaty!

While we were getting settled Katie wound up coming in and finding us, everything was really going so smoothly. We all swapped stories and relaxed for a bit before Katie and I had to board the bus to head back home. Once we went our separate ways I crouched down in the tiny bus bathroom to change out of my wet and stinky clothes and felt so much better after that. 

Wilt took attendance, passed around some snacks and we were off headed back home to Rochester. As I sat there and thought about next year, I thought about how cool it would be to be a volunteer. As much fun as it is to race it, it has to be pretty fun to spectate as well. On FB it was posted that if you didn't receive a pin to send an email. So I sent an email on behalf of my Dad and myself but never heard anything back from them. Then Dad sent me this the other day:

Pretty clever, but still not acceptable. 

This weekend we are heading to Lake Placid for vacation and to volunteer for the Lake Placid Ironman. I cannot wait!! I will be doing a post or two on that, look for them in about a week!! 

Boilermaker 15k Race Report- Part One

So I got a text message this morning from my Dad asking where my Boilermaker race report was. Geez Dad no pressure or anything, but I am a little preoccupied with working (part time) and getting ready for the wedding (sunning myself at the pool to even out my farmers tan). Tough work, ya know? But I guess it is a bit delayed so let's get to it.

The Boilermaker is a huge 15k race in Utica, NY that boasts an elite group of runners, wheelchair race division and running with 15,000 of your closest friends. I had done the race for the first time last year and even though it was really hot and challenging there was no doubt I would sign up again. The race has become more and more popular and actually sold out in 3 days this year. Shortly after signing up I noticed my Dad wearing a Boilermaker training shirt and so unbeknownst to me he had signed up as well! To that date he had only run 5 miles so I was curious to see how he would handle the longer distance.

Add caption

Last year I had taken the "Boilermaker Bus" sponsored by The Greater Rochester Track Club and Fleet Feet. For $35 dollars or $15 if you are a member like me, you get bagels, coffee, water, gatorade, snacks after the race, dropped off at the bib pick up tent and picked up at the post-race party. It doesn't get much better then that. Aside from the 4am meeting time, it is a blast!!

Up and at em'

Ahhh the Golden Memories

Watching the sunrise

Andy & Katie at the rest stop

Dad and Mom drove themselves and I had plans to meet Dad at the bib pick up tent on race morning. He had gone to the expo the previous day and seemed to really enjoy it. Maybe next year he'll let me go with him so  I can rub elbows with elites like him.

No lucky number this race

Dad got Bill Rodger's Autograph

This years pint glass, mine has a printing flaw, boo.

We were a tiny bit delayed getting to the bib pick up tent because of traffic, but I spotted Dad right away and he had already met up with some people he knew.

Katie and I grabbed our bibs pretty quickly and talked strategy. Last year I spent the entire time in the port a potty line and I did not want to do that again this year. So I spotted a bunch of people heading over to the woods to do their business and I grabbed some tissues and joined them. And not to get into too many personal details but this year I rocked my running skirt and that makes going to the bathroom on the fly so much easier, if you know what I mean.

The sea of people and port a potties

We made arrangements to meet up with Katie near the coral and hung out with some family friends in the shade. It was already pretty warm and humid, but there was a good amount of cloud cover which was way better then the sunny start/race last year.

2012 Boilermaker Photo

With about 10-15 minutes before the official race start we made our way to our peach "coral" and found Katie. Last year I started farther back and realized that the street before mine fed into the line first, so this year I pushed my way through the crowd and found a comfy spot to listen to the announcements and national anthem. Standing in such a compact group of people was making me warmer and finding fresh air to breath became more and more difficult. I was looking forward to getting started and spreading out for some clean air. After the gun went off and the Rocky Theme started playing we waited over ten minutes to get to the start line. I was excited to be back, looking forward to the crowd and atmosphere, anxious about my lack of running lately, since I know the course is challenging and hilly and nervous for my Dad to complete this PR distance in the heat and humidity.

Come back next week for part two!!

Race Recap: Fairport Firecracker 5 Mile

New logo this year!

I have a love/hate relationship with this annual race. There I said it. I love this race because it is in my stomping grounds and it has become a family tradition. Plus, it was my first race beyond the 5k distance. In addition to my Dad and myself, I knew I would wind up running with tons of familiar faces and that is always a perk. Part of the course switches back so I always look for friends and running peeps to cheer on when we cross paths.  I hate this race because of the sun & heat and challenging, hilly course.

Lucky number! 

This year the race started at 8am so I picked up Evan at 7am and headed over to meet up with my parents, Molly and Katie. Evan hadn't picked up his packet so we went to the tent to get his stuff. This would be Evan's farthest distance to date so he may have been a bit nervous, but didn't show it at all! My first year I was a nervous wreck and lucked out when my Dad had surprised me and signed up to race as well. It was our second 3-peat race and since last year I wore the previous years race shirt, I decided to continue the tradition this year.

Near the start line

Dad, Evan and I began the walk over to the start line and I hit the power button on my Garmin to get it going and connected to satellites. Not too long after I hit the button it beeped to let me know that I had a low battery. WHAT?!?! SERIOUSLY?!?! In 3 years of running I have never not had my Garmin for a race. Not too long after it beeped it shut itself off. Holy cow, what was I going to do. The kicker is that I haven't even been running that much lately. How did this happen? Ugh. Add another point to the "hate" column. Luckily Dad had his Garmin, but it just isn't the same. So while we were walking over Katie caught up to us but there was still no sign of Molly. Evan found a friend and ran off to join her and Dad and I greeted other runners. Apparently we were having our photo taken too...

Borrowed from the FF FB page, thanks!
In blue and green on the right. 

Overall I felt pretty good but wondered if the hour spin class and strength training the day before would come back to bite me during those hills. The weather was really humid but it was cloudy so we didn't have to deal with the sun that normally beats down on your for the first half of the race. Before we knew it the race started and I just gave my Garmin a dirty look as we crossed the start line. I settled into a comfortable pace, exactly what that pace was I did not know. Overall it felt a little faster then what I have been running lately. Not long into the race you hit a long uphill battle. I just settled into it and set the goal to run the whole thing and take a brief walk break at the top. Along the way I had some great help from Anita to keep me focused on forward motion. Thanks! After the first major hill there is a water station at one of the fire stations. I gladly took water and walked through the water stop. After that I kept trudging along and turned on to Turk Hill Road where large hill number two is located. I set the same goal to run to the top of it and walk through the intersection. I cheered along some FF team members along the way and they repaid the favor when they passed me at the top. Love that runner camaraderie. It was here, about mile 1.77 according to my Dad whose Garmin was working fantastically, that I realized that my legs felt like I was carrying two cement blocks. There is a nice down hill after the intersection so I tried to let gravity help a little.

In my opinion the race can be broken into three sections: hills, Cobb's lane and main street. I was about to enter the second, an out and back along the canal that on a sunny day can make you think your never going to get to the turn around and your never going to make it back. The two perks are that since it is an out and back you get to pass other runners & see your friends and that there is a water stop in the middle, so you get to pass it twice. However as we were approaching the water station they were announcing that they had just run out of water. Now I realize I was slower then the average runner, but there were still a lot of runners to come through. I don't think I have ever done a FF race and have them run out of water. Also, not that it mattered, but the water stop was not in the middle, it was only on the side of the road for the runners on their way back through. During this section I had a proud mama bear moment when I saw a young female runner coming towards me and realized it was one of my former girls on the run. She came in second in her age group in a five mile race! So proud. We passed Evan and Katie, who both appeared to be doing quite well, but still no sign of Molly. I was hoping after we made the turn around we would see if she was able to make it in time.

I finally felt like I had warmed up and now that the big hills were behind me I was running longer consistent chunks. We did spot Molly and even though she got a bit of a late start she was plugging right along. Dad and I mostly stuck together and before we knew it we were approaching the last chunk which is our favorite part of the race. Fairport has their 4th of July parade following the race and the course goes along the parade route, so the last mile and change has a decent amount of spectators who are out cheering for the runners. It is also tree lined so there is a lot of shade. There was one more water spot at the other fire station and I was happy to see they had water and also a hose spraying water on the runners as well. Not too far after that was Mom cheering and photographing. Dad grabbed an extra Gatorade from her as we ran by and I was happy to guzzle some down. I was feeling pretty good during this stretch and I continued to thank spectators and volunteers and chat with Dad and Molly. With a little under a mile left it started raining and it felt really good. We turned into the park and saw Thea and her daughter cheering and began to hear music and Ellen's voice announcing runners at the finish line. Dad and I ran in together and heard both of our names announced and Molly came in not too long after. I knew my time would be the slowest out of my 3 Firecracker races, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was about 7 minutes faster then my run the previous week, running the same distance and an easier course.

We met up with Evan and Katie at the finish, got some fruit and drinks and swapped finishing times. Katie got a new PR, Evan did fantastic for his first 5 mile race, beating all of my times, and I was just happy to be done. Evan, Dad and I began our walk back down the course to join my Mom to watch the parade. I grabbed a drink and salty snack from the gas station and welcomed my sister and her family to our spot.

We stayed and watched the parade and as it was close to finishing the cloudy sky opened up on us again, but this time it poured heavily. We all gathered our items and fled as quickly as possible to our car. Overall it was a good morning and even though I have a love/hate relationship with this race, I am sure I'll sign up again next year and then wonder why during mile 2-3. But it's tradition!

Ever done a 4th of July race?

Have any love/hate running moments?

The Week I Became A Gym Rat

Last week was my first full week off for summer vacation. Two years ago I spent most of my summer in the gym and loved the results by summers end. I would do cardio, strength training and swimming in some sort of combination. My real goal was to bring down the average age of the ladies in the gym. Plus no one will complement you more on your outfit, shoes or progress, like little old grandmas lifting the 3 pound weights.

Go get em' grandma! Not my actual grandma.

Going into this summer, with the big W-day at the end of it, I knew if I didn't start off strong I would go down a slippery, lazy slope. Last summer my focus was on running and racing, but with feeling burnt out still, going to the gym has given me some motivation rejuvenation. Last week I wound up getting 5 work outs in. 4 trips to the gym and one run. 3 spin classes and lots of core, arm and leg strength training.

Daily Mile Report Card

The RAC always offers a Summer Sizzle competition. I've never paid much attention to it or signed up for it because it is geared towards their fitness classes. But in the fall I started spinning and did it consistently throughout the school year, so I thought it might be fun to sign up for the challenge and do something new. I believe the way it works is that if you do 30 classes in 60 days you get a free t-shirt. The t-shirt is nice and all, but the best part are the stickers and the tracking chart. Pause and rewind to elementary school and there is nothing you wont do to get your name on the chart with a long line of stickers trailing it.

Wooohooo!! 

So I caved to my own peer pressure and signed up. Monday was the first day of the contest and even though I went and did cardio and strength training, I didn't take a class. I guess I didn't know how cut throat this contest was, but when I saw the name beneath mine and saw that they had already collected 3 stickers, my competitive side kicked in! Oh those powerful, glittery, little circles of my affection. So yesterday I was determined to get my first sticker and checked out the class schedule. I found a late morning 45-minute spin class, which would be perfect to get in before I spent the day with my Mom. The class was good. It is always interesting to see how the different instructors vary their class, music and style. At the end I proudly collected my sticker and affixed it to the chart next to my name. One down, 29 to go! Happy Fourth of July everyone!! 

Coming Soon: Firecracker 5 Mile Race Report

My Future Husband, The 64.3 Ironman- Part Two

It was brutally hot on Sunday and even though we were mostly hanging out in the shade anytime I was in direct sunlight I was sweating profusely. TMI? Sorry, but my point is that I wasn't even racing and was feeling the effects of the heat. While we were relaxing and eating some lunch, a family friend, the one who actually got Rob involved in cycling and triathlons, came over after volunteering on the swim course. His plan was to ride out reverse on the bike course and meet up with Rob. After Scott rode off Molly and I trekked over to the finish line to watch the leaders/pros come in.

Gotta get a picture of the bling!

The winner from Australia.  

Came in a little over 4 hours.

When they were interviewing the winner, who came in 9 minutes over his winning time from the previous year, they asked him why he was so far off last years pace. He mentioned the brutal heat, challenging bike course and even more challenging run course. It was then that I realized Rob would probably not meet his time goal, but I had no doubt that he would finish! The top three men to come in were all Australian, what is it with them and winning tri's? The top female came in 7th overall and just so happened to be the reigning Olympic silver medalist from Sweden.

I headed back to the transition area near Rob's spot a bit before he was scheduled to come in and my Dad headed over to the "Bike In" entrance to take pictures and alert us when he saw Rob. It was around the time I expected to see Rob that my Mom called to tell me that Scott couldn't find Rob out on the course and that he had gone a lot farther then he thought he needed to, he was wondering if he had just missed him and was asking if he was back yet. Crap, let the panic and worry set in. A very short time later we heard from Scott again. He had found Rob and his legs were cramping badly. He was going to get him to an aid station to get food and liquids into him. They were at the aid station near mile 38 out of 56. Instantly my mind raced of everything from needing a fluid IV, heat stroke, reminding him to wear his calf sleeves (turned out his calves weren't what was cramping this time) and just not being able to get back. I thought for sure he was done and that he was going to pull out of the race when he returned to transition. After waiting for what seemed like forever, we got a message from Scott saying they were on the last hill leading into the park. We jetted over to transition and watched him come in and walk his bike to his spot. He actually seemed okay. I had seen quite a few other athletes barely able to walk to their spots. We cheered and encouraged him and from what I could se he appeared to be getting ready for the run. Was he seriously going to go on to run a half marathon? Once he started moving he motioned for me to meet him at the "Run Out" part of transition. I don't think he realized that he had to run right by where I was standing, but I picked up my pace to meet him. He said the bike sucked and there had been a bad headwind, but that his legs felt better and that he had drank about 10 bottles of water and electrolytes.  I asked him if he was going to continue and he said yes and high-fived me. 

While he was out on the run we repositioned ourselves to a different shady spot on the run course so we could see him begin his second loop. Scott also arrived back and the rest of his family joined us as well. I was doing the online live tracking on Rob and he hadn't checked into the first checkpoint at 3.3 miles. I know the tracking can be delayed and knowing his usual pace, I was hoping he was still trucking along out there. Eventually it showed him passing the checkpoint but he was moving really slowly. While we were awaiting his arrival, a park employee came over to the crowd and told all of us that there was a severe thunderstorm heading our way and that it would arrive in about ten minutes. No sooner did she finish her sentence, that a flash of lightning light up the sky behind us. Oh great, here we go again. 

You see, at almost every single major race Rob has done it has poured rain and/or stormed. I'm beginning to think the guy is cursed and that is the main reason why I haven't started a du/tri career of my own. Okay not really. Mom moved to get away from the tree we were under, Dad and I packed up all of our stuff. Molly was still down hanging at the finishing chute and I was texting her letting her know what was going on. As the spectators start to flee and seek shelter, the athletes were still out on the run course and I diligently continued to look for Rob to come around the group of trees. All of a sudden the rain picked up and the thunder and lightening were right on top of us. Across from where we had been sitting was a building/shed that held the park maintenance tractor, we all jumped in there, along with some finished athletes and other spectators. The rain was heavy, cold and the wind picked up. Where was this cooler weather all day? The athletes near us were actually starting to shiver. Scott and Dad hopped up on the tractor and I stood in the doorway so I could keep an eye on the sidewalk to continue to look for Rob. The lightening flashed and thunder cracked and it was a scary situation, but it was clear that the storm was moving quickly. While still in the shed my phone rang. It was Molly and she said she had just seen Rob go through the finish line. I wondered if they called the race since he hadn't done his second loop and encouraged her to try to meet up with him.    

After maybe about 10 minutes the storm had moved and the rain let up enough to move around. Molly called again to let me know that she had met up with Rob and they were going to make their way towards transition. When we spotted them, Rob carrying a medal, we came out of the shed and I asked what had happened. He said that he was about to start his second loop when they closed the course and redirected him to go down the finish chute. He had been suffering through the run, but was determined to finish and was mad that they made him stop. So he took a medal, haha. Turns out they still gave them to people who couldn't go the entire distance because of the storm. Rob gathered his stuff from transition and complained about the heat and the challenging course and the lack of support. After we gathered all of the wet stuff we had left behind we made our way to the parking lot, only to see that people were still racing and finishing. What the heck? Apparently, Rob was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The race hadn't been cancelled or called due to weather, anyone who was already out on the second loop of the run got to continue and finish. If he had been just a bit farther along, which he would have been without the crappy bike and run time, he would have been able to keep going. 

We continued on to the parking lot and noticed that the run course went right by the one and only exit out of the parking lot. No cars were moving. The rain continued off and on and cars were already getting impatient about not being able to go anywhere. Rob and I worked on packing up the car and we talked with my parents who were parked next to us. Rob also managed to suck down the two beers that he brought with him. Note to self: an easy way to make some extra money, sell beer in the parking lot post- Ironman race. Captive, thirsty audience who could have used some frosty beverages. Lots of people asked where he got it from. We sat in that parking lot for about an hour and then finally got moving into the traffic on the road. The car next to us had some choice words for the race and parking lot situation, ones that can't be repeated on this wholesome blog! Needless to say I don't think we'll be returning the Syracuse Ironman any time soon. Rob had a time listed in the race results but it also originally had a DNF, that has since been removed. 

One we got back to Cicero we had a lovely cook out and Rob had about 4 more beers. So we decided to stay the night and head back to Rochester Monday morning. It has taken a few days for him not feel as sore but he was back out swimming Wednesday and Friday this week. Rob also got a nice email from Ironman offering him $100 off any 2013 70.3 race because of his race being cut short due to bad weather. Unfortunately, none of them are really feasibly to race, but the gesture was nice. This whole experience has made me super excited to volunteer for Ironman Lake Placid at the end of July, I'm sure I'll have tons to say about that one! Maybe Molly can work her way in as a wetsuit stripper. I also suggested if she became a body marker she could just write her number on any cute guys. We'll see! 

My Future Husband, The 64.3 Ironman.

Rob started training for the Syracuse Ironman when I started training for my full marathon back in January. It would be his second time racing the 70.3 distance. Last summer he raced in Geneva completing the Musselman race held there annually. I have no idea how he keeps up his stamina with training for three disciplines and for quite some time he was doing CrossFit as well. I'm exhausted just typing all of that.

This past weekend we packed up his car and headed to Syracuse. Since my parents are in Cicero we had a place to stay and yummy food to eat. Ironman required him to rack his bike and do packet pickup prior to race day so we jumped on the thruway and headed right to Jamesville Beach Park. My parents decided to meet us and check out the happenings. After walking, a pretty decent distance from the car we finally reached the athletes village and finish line area. But the transition area and beach were still quite a walk away. I guess flip flops for the weekend were a bad idea.

Walking into the athletes village. 

Getting the proper documents.

Signing his life away.

Even his waivers were personalized.

#1609

The finish chute. 

After completing packet pick-up and getting his shirt and bag we headed over to transition to find his spot. Even though all of the volunteers were friendly and everything seemed organized they had already run out of race shirts in some sizes and the swag that Rob got was nothing compared the the Musselman race. Plus if you take into consideration that he paid $200, which was early bird pricing, I was expecting more. While going through the process of packet pick-up the race meeting was going on in the field next to us. They mentioned a thunderstorm that would hit in the afternoon and they said that they hoped to have everyone off the bike course at that point. A little foreshadowing there if you will.

After Rob racked his bike and we scouted out some locations for parking our lazy butts the next day, we headed over to the beach to scope out the swim course, looked like your average reservoir to me. After that we left Mom and Dad and headed to the official merchandise tent. As we walked over we ran into Rob's training partners, Scott and Shelly who had just arrived. Rob got a really cool shirt with all of the participants names on the back and an Ironman 70.3 sticker. His big purchase of the day was an Ironman Syracuse finisher's jacket. More bad foreshadowing? Maybe, but it was a really cool zip up jacket. Once we got to Cicero we had a fabulous dinner of grilled chicken & veggies and rice and turned in early for our 4:15am wake up call.

Rob knew it was going to be hot on race day so he had been hydrating and taking salt tabs leading up to race day. When we left for the race it was incredibly hot and humid and it was only 4:50am. After a quick trip through the Dunkin' drive-thru we headed to Jamesville. Traffic was pretty minimal and parking was easy. Mom claimed a great picnic table under some huge trees right across from transition and I watched Rob get his spot organized.

Free water for all athletes to use

Only half of transition.

The pro's swam at 7:00am but Rob's heat wouldn't go until 8:05am. As we walked over to the beach they were playing the national anthem and we positioned ourselves at the swim finish as the cannon went off.

As we were watching the pro's swim Molly called me saying she was heading down the beach. I know she was working on something for Rob and she did not disappoint...

The pro's started coming out of the water after about 25 minutes which I was impressed with, but heard was not that great for pro's. Mmeh what do I know. After the sign went up for the silver caps, Rob headed over to the swim start to get his wetsuit on, and Molly and I headed over to my parents who were with the wetsuit strippers. Haha. What a great form of entertainment and Molly was as convinced as ever that she needed to become a wetsuit stripper in the near future.

Hold on to your swimsuit!

Prior to Rob starting we looked up his Musselman times so we would have a rough idea of when to look for him. His swim took 40 minutes plus, so we were excited to see him at 39 and change. Sub 40, nicely done babe!

Molly, Dad and I tried to run along with him to transition, which was far away in my opinion. I had to take some walk breaks. Lame. After a couple minutes Rob ran by and was off on the bike course.

Go Babe Go! 

In case you didn't know, every year Jamesville Beach is home to BalloonFest, so a nice addition to the race was the two hot air balloons on display. Never seen a sight like this before...

Part two coming soon!

School's Out For Summer...almost!

I must admit this was supposed to be posted last week and I am not quite sure where the time has gone! Figured since I spent the time typing it up I would post it, enjoy...


So this week has been all about switching gears. It is the last week of school and I have been somewhat busy cleaning, organizing and celebrating. Monday was the last day for students and I went with the seventh graders to Seabreeze. I really just made sure the lounge chair I was assigned to get into any trouble. It was hard work. The weather was perfect, maybe a little chilly for the water park but I did giggle myself through one ride on the Music Express. Tuesday I worked in both of my classrooms. Traveling equals two places to have to clean and organize, joy. During the day Meredith sent me a text and asked if I could watch Ainsley so they could take Colin to pick strawberries. Since I already had a running date I did some rearranging so I could spend time with this monkey...

Token cute kid photo to brighten up the blog! 

My running partner was Evan and since he lives in the development connected to my sisters I figured I would just go in my running clothes and meet up with him when I was done. Loving the long summer nights for running by the way. I was excited to run 3 miles with Evan because he is just gearing up with training for his first half marathon in Rochester in September. In fact he sent me this...

Which made me think (for a minute) if running the half with would be possible. But I don't think it will.  I am so excited for him and loved that I could join him for the first run on his journey. Hopefully I'll get to cheer him on or even run part of it with him in September.

Since it didn't seem like we would be able to make it to our usual Wednesday night spin class, Sarah and I decided to wake up early, like crazy early, and get our spin on at the 5:30am class. This seemed like a good idea at the time but when the alarm went off at 4:50am on Wednesday I wasn't loving it. Thankfully, Rob was also getting up for his open water swim work out and since he was such a chatterbox there was no chance I was going back to bed. The class was good and I showered at the gym and headed to Brueggers for a bagel. Great start to the morning!

Thursday, my building took a lunch cruise on the Erie Canal and in the evening we celebrated my principals retirement at Artisan Works. On Friday we had our annual family breakfast at school and it was here that Rob and I received our first wedding gift.

That evening we had a celebration at my colleagues cottage in honor of myself and another colleague who is expecting  her first child. It was the most fun I've had in a while and after doing some artsy things, having some food and opening gifts, her husband took us out of the lake in their boat. What a great night and wonderful kick-off to summer.

Joint baby and bridal shower... for two different ladies!

A little adult, lady humor as a fun game! 

Woa...weird. 

Heading out on the boat.

Enjoying a great night, with great people!

The lovely hostess. 

Heading out...

Happy Summer!!