Redman Forecast Update - 5AM on Saturday, September 20th!

It's race morning! Good luck triathletes!

The forecast is still on...same as I forecast yesterday. We will have some fog this morning...which means we could have a brief period of mist. Fullers need to prepare for a hot heat index in the low to mid 90s. The storm chances are very low now.  A few models want to show mist or drizzle around 9 or 10am in the Metro but I don't really believe it. It could be picking up on the fog. For current weather resources... www.mesonet.org has everything!

Put on the sunscreen or else this will happen! Lesson learned from my first year!

Have a safe and fun race...I'll see you at the finish line (God willing!).

Redman Forecast Update - 8AM on Friday, September 19th!

Hello friends! Okay, who has been praying/wishing the rain away? Because it worked!

As I suspected last night, the weather computer models made a drastic change...for the better in our case!  It looks like the heavy rain will stay in Texas!  

 

Patchy fog may be possible in the morning. If that's the case we may have a mist but for the most part I'm expecting a dry start to the race (except for the swimming part - duh!). 

The only downside is that we will now have hotter conditions and some sun could peak through for the afternoon.  We will have a heat index to the low 90s in the afternoon.  The hotter temperatures and abundant moisture should result in showers and thunderstorms.  Lightning could be an issue if a storm develops close by.  Stay tuned for updates and happy CARB LOADING! Make sure to hydrate hydrate hydrate! If you aren't racing or volunteering, please come out and cheer on the athletes! It makes a world of a difference!  See you tomorrow!

Hey, I'm Engaged! But Married to Training?

Please donate HERE to help fight leukemia and lymphoma!

Hello friends!

Well, shoot. I messed up again and waited forever to blog. Like many instances, I dread doing something but am actually fine once I've started. That's what it's like for running and for blogging.

JoLynn and I are tri helmet TWINSIES! I used to call these "alien helmets." Triathletes wear them because they are aerodynamic.  JoLynn and I bought these hot pink bad boys at the Arizona Ironman last year when we were volunteering. Supposedly they can shave 5-10 minutes off of your full Ironman time. I'm not sure if that's true but I'll take what I can get. Plus, it's hot pink and hardcore!  We are going to wear them for the first time in a race environment Saturday but we wanted to test them out today! So if you saw 2 hot pink alien heads go by...that was us!

Let's catch up.  What you've missed...
SO YEAH, I'm ENGAGED!

Want to hear the gushy details? If not, skip ahead.

Our Engagement:

We got engaged on June 25 of this year.  Michael came back to Arlington Heights with me because my best friend's first baby was due.  I knew he would ask permission on this trip but I didn't know he would pop the question!  He worked with my parents to come up with a plan and the next night he surprised me at dinner with my parents and brother. It was intimate and perfect. He knew I loved surprises...and he certainly surprised me. We were able to celebrate with both sides of the family the rest of the trip.  We were able to tell my only living grandparent. Grandma approved of Michael...which means a lot because she passed away a few weeks later.  Rest in peace, grandma!

Sunday, August 17 - Lake Arcadia Triathlon

This year the Lake Arcadia Tri was a different distance! It was a made up distance. I don't know why they upped it from a sprint but I really didn't know what to expect!  It was a 1000 yd swim, 20 mile HILLY bike and 4 mile hilly run. I put HILLY in all caps for a reason.

The weather was beautiful. It was a little muggy but not too hot!

He is so supportive!

Swim:

So the swim was interesting because you split it up into two 500 yd swims with a short beach "run" in between. I wrote "run" because it was more of a fast walk. Running would have resulted in us all trying to catch our breaths in the water and that would have been a losing battle!

I LOVE SWIMMING!

All the ladies waiting to swim!

The swim went pretty well, I thought. We swam in a triangle and I focused on staying as straight as I could. No one hit me in the face and I really got into the groove by the second loop.  I was pretty happy with the swim.

T1 (aka Transition 1):

My trick to transitions are counting backwards in my head from 10! I also apply this to life sometimes. I don't know how much it works since I'm late all the time. It drives my Beyonce nuts. He likes to be early to everything. 

Bike: 

Okay, so I tried to bike the course a week ahead of time with my friend JoLynn but one of the roads was closed due to construction. I guess they changed the bike course. I tried to drive the course the evening before but I missed a turn so I gave up and got sushi.  So in other words...the course was a surprise!

Go Scott, Go!

I have trained several times in this area with my training buddies JoLynn and Janna several times before so I knew the territory and despite what people think, Oklahoma can be hilly! The Lake Arcadia/Pops/Edmond area is very hilly. And SHOCKER, the course was REALLY hilly! It had a mix of extreme hills and steady inclines...but mainly, extreme hills. (Okay, not Colorado hills but extreme Oklahoma hills!)

Knowing it was 20 miles I pushed myself and listened to coach's last minute advice to still charge down the hill and if I have to coast, wait until halfway to the bottom. That advice scored me my fastest speed ever...41 mph! WHOAAA! I was squealing on that hill!  On the flip side, I think my slowest on the course was a snail's speed of 6 mph. Ooops.

I loved being able to see my teammates on the course. It's really encouraging and at the same time, it keeps me competitive and motivated because I don't want them to pass me :)

T2:

I counted myself down and I made sure to put on my visor and put my hair in a pony while I was running.

The Run:

Stupid hill.

I see the light!

I'm going to eat a burger after this.

Even before I started the race, I knew the run was going to hurt. Not like anything was wrong, it's just any short distance means you have to push to run fast and that usually hurts.  I didn't know how much my legs would hurt on the run given I pushed myself so hard on the bike.  My legs definitely felt heavy but I kept pressing on. It was a two loop run.  I mentally break loops down. So for this run I thought, "just get through the first loop." After the first loop, I thought, "just get to the next water stop" and then it was "just get to the finish line." Seeing my teammates on the course and knowing my fiance and friends really motivated me to keep a strong pace to the finish line.

And of course, the race had to finish uphill...contributing to the heart attack feeling at the finish line!

Results:

I finished second in my age group! First place went to one of the wonderful coaches of Terra Tri...duh! Emmy rocks.

All in all, I was happy with the finish. I have nothing to compare it to because this was my first time doing this distance but I felt like I pushed myself.  That's all you can ask for!

Next is the OK REDMAN!

Come out to Lake Hefner on Saturday to cheer on the athletes!  I will have the honor again this year of singing the national and them and racing!  Stay tuned for forecast updates.  The computer models keep changing on me! In their defense, this is an out of the ordinary situation where remnants from a Pacific hurricane will be impacting our weather in Oklahoma!  Right now the models are backing off on the rain.  It looks like the morning will mainly stay dry.  We may see some mist or drizzle...or mizzle. Showers will move in late in the afternoon...this is when a few rumbles of thunder will be possible. It will likely be cloudy and extremely humid with temperatures in the 70s and 80s. The wind will be out of the south around 10-20 mph.  I will have a more detailed forecast tomorrow. 

Please donate HERE to help fight leukemia and lymphoma!