Thanksgiving Weekend

I know Christmas is just around the corner but let me backtrack a bit and tell you about my Thanksgiving. My parents flew out to Richmond, so I joined them there for the big meal Thursday with family. Then the next morning the three of us flew to Savannah to visit Ryan and Lauren!

We arrived in the afternoon, and went straight into the city to hang out before dinner. We walked around a little and ended up at the Moon River Brewing Company for a drink outside in their beer garden.

Savannah Cotton Exchange and a lion fountain.

Family selfie!

 That night we had a fancy southern dinner at Vic's on the River. I ate way too much, but it was delicious. After dinner we all drove across the border to Bluffton, where Ryan and Lauren actually live. I tried to hang out a little after that but was too full and sleepy.

The next day Ryan had to work, but the rest of us went to Hilton Head for lunch. I wanted to see the ocean, but it turns out the part we went to wasn't facing that way. (I wasn't the navigator.) We had a fun seafood lunch and walked around a few shops. And I made us walk down on the beach too, which was covered in more seashells than I've even seen on one beach. And a whole bunch of the shells looked just like ears.

They're checking out a little crab.

Ear Shells!

Eventually Ryan was done working, so we met him at the resort where he works. He gave us a fun tour in a golf cart, then we sat on a verandah and had drinks.

Lookin' good in his work clothes.

He also drove us over to where there is a multi-storied tree house, so we climbed up there for the sunset view.

In the tree house!

View from the top.

 

 After the resort fun we went back to their house to make dinner, which included shrimp, clams, sausage, corn, and potatoes, plus this bread my mom used to always make for us and a salad. It was the first sit-down meal Ryan and Lauren had had in their new home with guests, and it was a good one! After dinner some of us hung out and played Charades, then the UNM football game came on and I went to bed.

 Sunday we got up and had a big delicious brunch at this local farm-slash-southern restaurant. I ate fried chicken tenders on top of a waffle that had candied bacon in it. So good. After our meal we walked around downtown Bluffton and visited some art galleries. We also walked over to this neat wooden church next to the water.

At this point we were getting closer to the time when I would need to fly back home, but we made sure to go somewhere so I could see alligators first. Apparently they're all over the place and I didn't want to visit and not see one. We went back to the area of the resort, and sure enough I saw three!

There's a big one and two smaller ones in this photo.

 After the alligator viewing we went back to the house so I could pack (Mom and Dad were staying a few more days), and we squeezed in a quick walk around the neighborhood with their dog Tess.

It was a short but fun visit, and I look forward to going back!

Fall fun

Here's a list of some of the fun stuff I've done so far this fall:

Went on a retreat to Shrine Mont with my church. It was a relaxing late-September weekend in the mountains hanging out with new and old church friends. There were talks each day and lots of big meals, plus a game of Mexican Train Dominoes with a fun group of older ladies, a big group hike, a bonfire under the stars, and a Sunday church service in the outdoor cathedral.

Rode the Culpeper (metric) Century with JoAnne. It was drizzling the whole time which made it hard to see out of our foggy and rain-speckled glasses, but overall it was still a fun 63-mile bike ride.

Getting ready to ride. (The racing number on my helmet was accidentally left over from my last triathlon. Oops.)

Ryan and Lauren (and Tess!) visited me. It was last-minute and unplanned due to their having to evacuate from Hurricane Matthew, but it made for a nice visit. (And thankfully they were safe and their house in South Carolina didn't receive any damage.) I was still having to work the whole time, but we went to dinner two nights and I got to take Tess on short walks in my neighborhood and dream about the day when I will have my own dog to walk around.

On their visit to Pippen Hill winery.

Tess! Leaving her fur on my bed!

Camped for two nights with friends at the music festival Festy. It was my first time using the new tent I bought two years ago, so that was exciting. But it also rained a lot and the whole weekend was spent in my rain boots slogging around in the mud. Musical acts included Mary Chapin Carpenter, the Infamous Stringdusters, Lee Ann Womack, and a joint set with Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen.

So. much. mud.

Blue skies Sunday though!

Went to see 1776 the Musical performed in Richmond. I love that musical. It has lots of humorous parts but it has serious parts as well, and I almost got a little teary eyed during some of the latter. Then a few days later I went to see David Sedaris give a reading in Charlottesville.

Richmond Rox Triathlon

On Sunday, September 18 I competed in my third triathlon. My first two were half ironmen, but this one was an Olympic distance. The short story? I did the backstroke during the swim again, yet somehow managed to pull off placing third in my age group!

Now for the slightly longer story.

The race took place at Rocketts Landing in Richmond. I arrived Sunday morning around 6:45 to set up my transition, then walked the half mile to the water start. Patrick was with me and we stopped to watch some of the half swimmers. I was nervous.

Heading in with my bike and gear to set up my transition.

Nervously waiting to get this show on the road. (Also, you would normally see more of the skyline of downtown Richmond behind me in the distance, but it was an overcast and foggy morning.)

My wave started at 8:10. We made our way down to the dock, then swam across the river to the starting buoy and waited for the horn. Between my nervousness and treading water waiting to start and having to adjust my goggles while treading I was already short of breath before we even started. Sheesh.

(I'm toward the right, with the white triangle on my back.)

Swimming to the starting line.

When the horn blew I started to swim normally. At least I tried to. My usual breath on every third stroke wasn't really cutting it though, and I kept awkwardly stopping to do a few breast strokes before trying again. But, as usual, I knew I wasn't in a good groove and I knew I was just falling farther and farther behind. So I did what I always do, because it seems to work for me. I swam on my back. And I think I was smoother this time about quickly turning over to sight before doing another hard twenty strokes or so. I was fine with it. But then this guy in a kayak came up next to me and tried to coach me. He was really nice. He asked me my name and told me to relax and calm down and he encouraged me to swim (normally) next to him and to breath on every other stroke. So I did that a little bit, for him. But I still knew it'd be faster to just keep doing the backstroke. So I did. Later, after I'd gone around the two turn buoys and was heading back down river he found me again. He asked if it was my first triathlon. He said I should join his group for weeknight open water swims. But I told him I live in Charlottesville. Again, he was very nice and I appreciate his attention, but all that chatting was slowing me down. At least by that point he wasn't trying to make me swim normally anymore, and he just told me to head straight for the smokestack. Which I did, on my back.

Swim (1500 meters): 46:36. (Really slow.) When I came out it was time for the half-mile run to transition. Luckily they let us keep shoes by the water exit. T1: 9:00.

The bike ride went much better. I tried to keep a good pace and felt strong. The pace was faster than my usual weekend rides, but still not terribly fast compared to everyone else. I did, however, pass a few people. So at least I felt like I was still in the game.

Bike (25 miles): 1:31:38. T2: 2:33 (Really?! My fastest transition yet!)

The run started out strong. But trying to go fast for six miles is hard, so my pace slowed some as time went on. The route went along the canal, across the river on the 14th St. Bridge, passed Legends Brewery, back over the river on Lee Bridge, and onto Brown's Island before heading back along the canal. There were a lot of turns, and one really steep downhill on brick that I walked down for fear of slipping or irritating my IT band. It also got hot on the run, so I poured water over my head at the aid stations. The run wasn't really all that fun overall, but I passed some people and mostly felt good. I was also pretty happy when it was over.

Run (6.2 miles): 58:11. Total: 3:27:55. My goal had been to finish under 3:30, so that worked out.

Catching my breath.

Feeling better after some rest and lots of water.

When it was over I drank a bunch of water and stretched in the shade. Then I got some food, though I wasn't really in the mood for eating yet. They had barbecue sandwiches but I just wanted to eat more cauliflower (the other raw veggies having already run out on the platter that was out). We didn't stick around too late, because I needed to hurry up and shower so we could go to Kings Dominion for the rest of the day. (We'd also gone to a birthday party and Ben Folds concert the night before. It was a busy weekend.)

On the run I remember passing one woman in my age group (our ages are written on the back of our calf), so I knew I wasn't dead last. I assumed I was probably second-to-last. It wasn't until I checked the results the next day that I learned I won third place in my age group! (Out of six.) If we'd stuck around longer I would have gotten a prize! Overall I was 88 out of 124 though. Meh.

summer swimmin'

After my half ironman triathlon in July I pretty quickly started another not-quite-as-time-intensive eight-week training program for an olympic triathlon in September, which is coming up this weekend. My friend JoAnne and I have been cycling on the weekends together, and since she's also training for the triathlon this weekend we started doing open water swims as well. Four times we finished a bike ride (three 47-milers and one 58 miles) and then drove to Sherando Lake to swim laps. Then this past weekend she was busy but I still drove out after running 9 miles for what I assume was my last Sherando swim of the year.

Swimming in a pool is fine, but swimming out there was wonderful. It always felt so adventurous. And I got to confirm that even if I'm still slow, I really can swim normally in open water. (Which was not clear from my two triathlon performances.)

We would do laps between the white buoy on the left all the way to the speck of a white buoy to the right of the island. It's about 140 meters one way.

I'm sad the season is ending and it will be too cold to swim out there anymore. And I'm already looking forward to next summer.

the summer of the CSA share

In an effort to force myself to eat more vegetables and try out the whole local organic thing, this spring I signed up for a CSA share with Bellair Farm. (In case you're unfamiliar with CSAs, it stands for "community supported agriculture" and means you pay up front and then get a share of everything the farm grows throughout the season, which in this case is 22 weeks.) I've gone to farmers' markets before and become too nervous and overwhelmed to actually buy anything, but I knew the CSA format would help me get over that. So every week I pick up a bag full of vegetables and then attempt to eat them all. It's pretty exciting.

My haul one week in late June

 Leafy greens have ended (though apparently there will be another round later on), but I loved all the bok choy and kale, and I had several weeks of Swiss chard in my morning smoothies. I've discovered and experimented with kohlrabi, sauteed a lot of cabbage, roasted a lot of little potatoes, and am currently overdosing on okra (which, in it's fried form, is among my top 5 favorite foods).

Bok choy and some friends' quail eggs in homemade ramen soup.

I finally tried kale chips! They were delicious (but didn't keep overnight very well.)

Fried okra!!!

Usually I go to one of the farm's weekday pickup sites in town, but a few times I've gone on Saturday morning to the farm itself, where you can also pick herbs and flowers. (I'm already looking forward to the pesto I made and froze for this winter.)

The only downside of all this local veggie goodness? Cooking takes a lot of time. I'm having fun and happy I did it, and I want to do it again in the future, but it's not really helping my dissertation situation. So when the season ends in October I'll have one less excuse...

70.3: my second triathlon!

Last weekend I completed my second triathlon! My parents came to visit and go with me to the race in Williamsburg.

Saturday before leaving town we drove to the farm where I get a CSA share every week. In addition to picking out my bag of veggies, Dad and I picked green beans and cut flowers for a cute little bouquet.

Green bean picking. Dad wanted this documented so he can brag later about "working on the farm."

Flower cutting.

After the farm we packed up the car, loaded up my bike, and headed East. Patrick came along too. We stopped off in Richmond for lunch with the whole extended family, which was fun. Then we continued on toward Williamsburg and went straight to the Chickahominy Riverfront Park to check in for my tri. It was blazing hot but I had to stand in the sun for 25 minutes listening to the pre-race briefing. Then I put my bike into transition and went over to check out the swim exit. I'm always so nervous about the swim.

After the tri business was out of the way we checked into the hotel and rested briefly, then headed to dinner. We had a fun and good meal at the DoG Street Pub, followed by a stroll through Colonial Williamsburg and a cup of ice cream for dessert. Then it was time for me to head back and go to bed.

TJ selfie!

Sunday morning was race day and the alarm went off at 4:10am. I ate my breakfast in the room, applied my race number tattoos, and got all my gear ready. Triathlons take a lot of gear. Mom stayed back a tad later, but Dad and Patrick headed out with me at 5:45. They dropped me off and I got my transition area set up. Then after a quick porta potty stop it was time to head down to the water start.

My blue bike and transition stuff to the right.

All the other bikes and people getting ready.

It was really nice having Dad and Patrick with me, because I was getting a little nervous. I mean, I felt pretty out of my league with all those other triathletes around. My wave was last, so we watched everyone else take off before it was finally my turn to get in the water.

Early morning support team!

Here we go!

I'm in the (warm) water now...

Two years ago I did the same Williamsburg half ironman as my first triathlon (though the actual location of the race and the courses were different). I ended up panicking on the swim and doing the backstroke the whole way. This year my goal for the swim had been to swim normally. I failed. I swam normally for a little ways, maybe to the first sighting buoy, but I wasn't in a good groove and felt like I'd never finish in time. So I went on my back again. I would do 20-25 strokes, then turn over to make sure I was still headed in the right direction. Not being able to see where you're going really isn't ideal in a race, but I did better than last time at staying more on course. The current was pretty strong at one of the turn buoys and I could have sworn the buoy was floating away from me, but a guy on a paddle board assured me the buoy was staying still and it was me floating away. Which in retrospect makes me realize I probably lost even more time when I'd turn over to see where I was going, because I was probably floating backwards each time!

In any case, I finished, and was fine with my performance. Yes, someone in a canoe had to ask if I was okay. Yes, it's weird to do the backstroke. Yes, it was obvious to everyone that I didn't really know what I was doing. But I finished! That's what counts!

Coming out of the water.

Swim (1.2 miles): 49:20. Age group place: dead last. Overall place: 294 of 315. Transition 1: 5:09.

Toweling off so my sunscreen will stick for the long bike ride ahead...

Heading out of transition with my bike.

Next up was the bike ride. Mom, Dad, and Patrick were just outside transition to wave me off.

I love this photo. It shows how I feel about triathlon pretty well.

But I try to play it cool.

The bike ride was long. I wasn't very fast. I don't really know why. (Though, for the record, most of the other people at this race had tri bikes and rode in the aero position. That's what distance triathletes do. But I only have a road bike. I like to think I'd be a little faster with different equipment, but bikes are really expensive.) For some reason I was a lot slower than last time. The course felt mostly flat, which I've decided I don't really like that much. When things are flat you just have to keep pedaling hard nonstop. I'd prefer some hills so I can do a little coasting. Also, my bike seat always hurts after a while, so I really appreciate coasting opportunities as a chance to relieve the sitting pain a little. There were three aid stations on the bike course and I stopped at each one to stand up and stretch my legs out a little bit. Most people don't actually stop at the stations, they just reach out and a volunteer hands off a new bottle. I needed the breaks. But eventually I reached the end. (And while I was riding Mom, Dad, and Patrick had a 3+ hour break and went out to breakfast.)

Finally done with the bike!

Dismounting to head into transition.

Bike (56 miles): 3:42:55. Age group place: still dead last. Overall place: 298 out of 315. Transition 2: 4:56.

With the bike over, I donned my running shoes, put on more sunscreen, and headed out to run a half marathon in 90-degree weather. 

Waving to my family on the way out.

I got this.

The run was two out-and-back loops along the Capital Trail. Since I was so far in the back I spent the whole time passing people, though a whole lot of those people on my first lap were running their second laps. I also took advantage of the aid stations every mile, since it was really hot out. In addition to pouring a cup of ice water on my head each time I started to put cups of ice down my shirt. Eventually my socks were pretty soggy and making squishing noises because I was soaking wet from both sweat and all the water and ice I kept throwing on myself.

After my first lap I waved down to my family watching below the bridge. There were fewer runners out this time, but I kept passing them. My pace did slow quite a bit though.

Heading out on my second lap.

I was able to pick up my pace for the last mile, and after running around the perimeter of the park toward the finish line I was happy to see Dad ready to run in with me.

Done!

Run (13.1 miles): 2:13:11. Age group place: 14 out of 18 (not dead last!). Overall place: 268 out of 315. Total time: 6:55:32.

They put a cold wet towel on me and gave me my medal, and it was time to cool down. Yes, I finished toward the very back. Yes, I have a lot of work to do swimming and biking if I ever actually want to do well at triathlon and not come in last all the time. I think my endurance is there, I just don't have speed. (Or a tri bike.) But hey, I still completed another 70.3-mile half ironman! I'm still plenty pleased with myself. And I still want to do more triathlons.

Some food and a finisher's beer.

After the race and a little rest, I finally let my hot and tired spectators leave with me. Patrick headed back to Charlottesville while my parents and I spent another night in Williamsburg. Back at the hotel I showered and took a nap, then we went out for a nice dinner that evening. And Monday we went back to Colonial Williamsburg for the day.

Cute parents.

Cute colonial scarecrow.

Governor's mansion and gardens.

Fun race, and fun times with my parents!