Howdy! I'm back from my triathlon relay in France. Team "Faster Than You Can Say Jack Robinson" finished in 6:52:31, position 816 overall, and 34 of the mixed relay teams (not sure how many mixed teams there were...very possibly only 34). The runner was definitely the slow poke. John finished the swim in 36:21, which is fast. Although Cedric cycled past us on his first loop looking relaxed and chatting with his neighbor on the next bike, he finished his 94k in 3:59:52, which is also pretty quick. I ran my 21k in 2:13:02, which is not like lightening, but also isn't terrible for a first half marathon, despite what some people may think. Gina heard my time and said, "ok, so high speed walking. Not running." It sure felt like running to me! Here's how the race started on Saturday morning:
I'll post some pictures of our teams when I have some. I'm surprisingly motivated to do another 1/2 marathon and try to improve my time considerably. On this one I learned that I need to be running longer distances more often. I was on track for the first 8 or 9 Kilometers to finish in closer to 2 hours, but slowed down a LOT during my last 7K particularly. The furthest I'd run before Saturday was around 8 or 9 miles I think, so that extra 4 or 5 miles was tough. I also learned that no matter how many times I go to the bathroom before I start, I'm probably going to have to stop along the way, so I'd better figure that into future running time estimates.
Our team name turned out to be literally more fitting than we anticipated. People along the course often read the team name off the people around me and called out specific encouragement to them. I could see them trying to read mine, but I was indeed faster than they could say Jack Robinson, and so they resorted to "Allez la Fille!" and "Bon Courage la fille!" There were so many more men competing that the women got lots of enthusiastic support anyway.
Our group stayed in a chalet up on the hill, with a great view of the lake and the hills. Raph came out Saturday night and did massages for people at the house (much appreciated!) and when we were driving home Sunday he noted that the landscape reminded him of Oregon. I had thought the exact same thing. I hope to have some pictures for you in a couple days. Bye!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Triathlon - five more days!
Five more days until our relay triathlon in Gérardmer, France. Do these guys look tough or what!? 
More about Crazy Competitive Triathlon Peeps
I'm the runner for my team, and our team name (thanks to me and my big mouth) is "Faster than you can say Jack Robinson." I suggested it at the beginning of the summer when I still had plans to run four times a week, and when I was busy trash talking a team of French guys I sort of know, suggesting that they be prepared to be left in the dust. As it actually happened, though, I think I ran about four times all summer, until precisely 9 days ago when I decided I should hurry up and train. So, I've been running a lot and man! I'm tired! I haven't slept so much in months. On the up side, there is often an old man practicing his Alp horn in the evenings when I run along the Wanderweg toward the woods that divide Pfeffingen from Ettingen. His songs make the evenings sweeter in my neighborhood. I also just found out that the French dude I needed to outrun got hurt (which I was sorry to hear...really, I was), and since I don't feel the need to outdo anyone anymore or live up to any fantastic claims I might have made in June, the pressure has really let up. I could walk if I felt like it.
More about Crazy Competitive Triathlon Peeps
I'm the runner for my team, and our team name (thanks to me and my big mouth) is "Faster than you can say Jack Robinson." I suggested it at the beginning of the summer when I still had plans to run four times a week, and when I was busy trash talking a team of French guys I sort of know, suggesting that they be prepared to be left in the dust. As it actually happened, though, I think I ran about four times all summer, until precisely 9 days ago when I decided I should hurry up and train. So, I've been running a lot and man! I'm tired! I haven't slept so much in months. On the up side, there is often an old man practicing his Alp horn in the evenings when I run along the Wanderweg toward the woods that divide Pfeffingen from Ettingen. His songs make the evenings sweeter in my neighborhood. I also just found out that the French dude I needed to outrun got hurt (which I was sorry to hear...really, I was), and since I don't feel the need to outdo anyone anymore or live up to any fantastic claims I might have made in June, the pressure has really let up. I could walk if I felt like it.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Saturday morning with friends
Not much time to write, but some pictures from the weekend:
These guys plus Ed picked me up Friday night after work and we went miniature golfing in a nearby town and then back to Raph's house, where we all were staying. Saturday sometime after facials, we decided to float down the river, so we piled in the car and zipped over to Mumpf, where we left the car, hopped a train back up river to Stein, where's there's a footbridge that's fairly handy for jumping. (Video plucked from the internet so you can see the bridge. There's stuff on Wikipedia too. Sorry, I don't have pictures from where we jumped, but...it's about 10 seconds into the video. We climped over the railing on the right side.)
. I just learned on the trustworthy information site known as youtube that it is the largest covered wooden bridge in Europe. It was my first time jumping off it, and see mom? I lived. We swam across the river to Germany (which in retrospect was kind of silly, considering there was a perfectly nice bridge there) and then back across to Switzerland. In other interesting events from the week, Aubrey asked Raph about his observations from his trip to the States, and among other things, whether I was any different at home than I am here. He said I smile a lot more at home. Y'all must make me happy. :)
These guys plus Ed picked me up Friday night after work and we went miniature golfing in a nearby town and then back to Raph's house, where we all were staying. Saturday sometime after facials, we decided to float down the river, so we piled in the car and zipped over to Mumpf, where we left the car, hopped a train back up river to Stein, where's there's a footbridge that's fairly handy for jumping. (Video plucked from the internet so you can see the bridge. There's stuff on Wikipedia too. Sorry, I don't have pictures from where we jumped, but...it's about 10 seconds into the video. We climped over the railing on the right side.). I just learned on the trustworthy information site known as youtube that it is the largest covered wooden bridge in Europe. It was my first time jumping off it, and see mom? I lived. We swam across the river to Germany (which in retrospect was kind of silly, considering there was a perfectly nice bridge there) and then back across to Switzerland. In other interesting events from the week, Aubrey asked Raph about his observations from his trip to the States, and among other things, whether I was any different at home than I am here. He said I smile a lot more at home. Y'all must make me happy. :)
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