Wisdom of the Crowd

I have too many options. I need advice.

What I know for sure I'm doing:

Wirefly National Half-Marathon: Saturday, March 29 (Note to self: Remember to post RANT about active.com)

Philadelphia Sprint Triathlon, Saturday, June 21, 2008

Potentials:

St. Patrick's Day 8k, March 9, 2008 (don't ask)

George Washington Parkway 5K or 10 miler (I've done the 5k twice, would kind of like to try it again): Sunday April 22

But really the $64,000 question is: Do I have another marathon in me?

If I do try for another marathon, which one? I'd like something smallish, local(ish), and preferably? Something that won't kill me. And I definitely do NOT want a fall marathon, because I am soooo done with training in the D.C. heat. Eighteen weeks of training would put me in the first week of June. (Do I need 18 weeks of training? I fear I do.)

1. Should I attempt another marathon?

2. If so, which one?

3. If so, how to train? I want to train with a group. An organized group.

Contenders:
Potomac River Run Marathon, May 4 (Marathonguide.com reviewers call it "mentally very challenging," so that kind of predisposes me against it);

Frederick, Maryland, Marathon, Sunday, May 24

That's all I can find nearby.

Then, add this to the mix:

The D.C. Triathlon Club has an informational meeting on Jan. 27 for its New Triathlete Program. So I wrote to the organizer asking this and that, and he wrote this back

Since you mentioned the Philly Sprint I'm going to chime in - One thing about our program is that we provide a 20-week training plan that will get you through your first race. We set a goal race with that in mind which is the New Jersey State Triathlon on July 27th. The only problem with you doing Philly is that you'll be missing some of the later components of the program.

I don't want you to think that I'm discouraging you from doing NTP. What I'd like to encourage you to do is to also consider doing the NJ State Tri. You could complete Philly to get your feet wet in triathlon and then improve your time at New Jersey. Also, should you choose to do the Olympic distance at New Jersey, Philly will be an excellent race to get you prepared for your first Olympic :)

That may sound daunting to you [DAUNTING? TO ME? OH NEVER!] but I'll assure you that you can definitely do it. The program really is an awesome opportunity and we'll give you all of the resources you need to complete both races.

So an OLYMPIC TRIATHLON??? Is he serious??? Who does he think he's talking to, Nancy Toby????

So a marathon, thumbs up or down? And does that decision rest on whether or not I get up my courage for this New Jersey Olympic thing?

My head hurts.

Not My First Oly Tri

Oh didn't I mention that I did an Olympic distance tri over the weekend? No? I left that part out?

That's because well I didn't actually, like, personally compete myself. OK? Sheesh. Can't a girl live vicariously? And sheesh again, I gotta start somewhere!

But since my good 50-something friend, let's call her Eileen, happened to complete her first Olympic Tri, and happened to KICK ITS ASS, well, let's just say I'm gonna draft off her glory.

I begged her to let me post her race recap. She finally relented. So please join me in a tip o' the cap to Eileen, who submits this Official Olympic Distance Race Recap:

The sea was rough that day, my friend.....hahahahha a line from Seinfeld.....

I was told it would still be dark out as we started the race. I knew this went against everything I knew about time, sunrises and the calendar BUT, it worried me very, very much. The day before the event, I checked the weather forecast for 5:45ish and read that there would be wind and a wind chill of 44 degrees! 44 degrees and the failure of the sun to rise as usual would not be good. I threw all caution to the wind and rose at 4:45 for my nice cup of laxative....I mean coffee. That worked like a charm and as I walked out to put my stuff in the car I noticed what a nice mild morning it was.

As K drove to the race the moon shone brightly through the sun roof but I detected a brightening in the East. We arrived at the parking area and noticed an amazing number of young and fit bodies. We also notice a good number of 50something women. I told K. that there is something biological and spiritual and mental about women and endurance sports. They were all beautiful and friendly and helpful. As we approached the entrance to the transition area one of the event staff, a 50-something woman said to me, "You can't come in, only the athletes." K. said "She's the athlete!" She said "Oh, good for you....are you in a relay?" That gave me little boost! In another life I would have been very pissed off, but now, I"m an athlete!!

I set up my little transition area and went to get marked. I wore the 56 on my calf with pride.

The race started with raising the flag as the SUN ROSE at 6:30 and the Star Spangled Banner was sung. I waded out to the starting buoy and found it hard to figure the course out. I just figured I'd find someone to pace myself with an took off about 15 seconds after the starting gun. I was in the wave with the Elite and 22 to 25 year old men [SORRY WE INTERUPT THIS RACE REPORT TO MAKE SURE YOU GOT THAT. SHE WAS IN THE WAVE WITH THE ELITE. MEN. 22-25 YEAR OLD MEN. SHE'S 56. THIS IS NOT AN ERROR, I REPEAT, NOT AN ERROR] so I let them get a good head start. Swimming that distance in a wetsuit was almost effortless. I couldn't believe it when I reached the turn. Unfortunately, not being able to follow the buoys, which were on my left, I passed the turn buoy on my right shoulder so I swam back and around with it on my left. That was a challenge. The swim back to the start was difficult because the sun was so bright and it was very hard to see through the glare and my goggles were starting to fog. There is a very strange primal reaction that some swimmers have when they come up behind you. It's very similar to a baby grasping at a finger right after birth. If a swimmer feels a foot or an ankle, he grabs on and pulls! Fortunately, that only happened a couple of times and I do understand because they would have been the fastest swimmers of the second wave so they are very competitive.

Coming out of the water was spectacular. The crowd was cheering and since I was in the first wave, the crowd was practically at its capacity and cheering!! Awesome feeling! My wet suit came off pretty easily, although I did get a funny little cramp in my left calf from the weird pulling and stretching you have to do to get out of the cuffs. I wasn't very careful about putting my cycling shoes on and the right one was too loose. I was so concerned about using the bathroom that I rushed through that important detail. The ride was a pure delight! The time of day, the temperature, the countryside, the views, the bike, the Pedialyte. Everything was perfect. I was surprised when we reached the end and felt totally psyched to run.

K. was there at every transition. He was in the front of the crowd when I came out of the water and he was way down in front at the bike dismount! It was great to hear him and to see his surprise when I arrived on the bike ahead of schedule. He called our friends, who were visiting, and told them "you better hurry if you want to see Eileen finish. She's way ahead of schedule!"

I was amazed at how comfortable the run felt and was surprised at how quickly the mile markers passed. There was Gatorade and water at every mile and I took it because I felt one of those little side cramps developing. The Gatorade did its job and I just kept running. On the last mile of the run I passed two 55-year-old women. I figured why not move up in the standings if I could...and I found, I COULD, so I did!

The refreshments afterwards left much to be desired. A few bagels, two jars of peanut butter, a squirt bottle of ketchup, a jar of Nutella and two scary knives to cut bagels and spread. The entry fee for the event was $180 ....I think they could have done better. There was a barbeque at around 11am, but who wants to wait and who really felt like a burger? THE END

Not quite the end, Ei.

Stats:
Swim: 36:03
T1: 5:42
Bike: 1:24:48
T2: 4:51
Run: 1:03:22

TOTAL:3:14:46
AGE GROUP PLACE 4/11

We're all about the love here at NBTR headquarters. Give it up for my girl Born to Tri Ei!