10.16.2016
Enough playing around in the water, on my bike and in my tennies…
time to start cranking out some more work for my next soda kiln.
Starting with the basics… MORE MUGS!!
10.16.2016
Tons of rusty fun at the Third Sunday Flea Market
in Bloomington with friends & fellow rust-lovers.
10.15.2016
Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Take a quick drive up to the Galena area for TWENTY DIRTY HANDS. It’s a fun weekend pottery tour featuring the studio & pottery of my friend Delores Fortuna… two of the twenty hands! She just opened a kiln of new work and is opening her studio for the weekend. My friends & fellow potters Roberta Polfus & Amy Higgason will also be guests of Delores sharing their beautiful pottery as well.
Click here for more about the Twenty Dirty Hands website.
10.15.2016
This morning was my first time back on the bike post-triathlon. Felt good to pedal out some of the kinks. Too bad there was no hope for a sunrise today! And a few “missing” buildings down on the skyline.
10.13.2016
So I ran across this post prior to my own IRONMAN race.
I found it hysterical and yet just a little too real to be comfortable.
I wasn’t quite sure I was getting myself into… and this struck fear more than once or twice.
But now that I’m done it… now that I’m an IRONMAN… I totally agree…
Click here for the original post.
A look inside the mind of an IRONMAN athlete
as they swim, bike, and run their way through a long day.
by Lisa Dolbear
Thousands of people complete an IRONMAN every year—from every corner of the world and every walk of life. While we are all uniquely motivated to chase the glory with varying methods of training, different ideas on nutrition, and different courses beneath our feet, thoughts like the 20 below are common across all of our 140.6 mile journeys. What would you add to the list?
1. The Start: “I have to pee. I’m going to pee in my wetsuit. (Cannon sounds). I’m not done…oh well, I might as well just swim.”
2. The First Buoy of the Swim:Â “Winning.”
3. The Second Mile of the Swim: “My goggles don’t need to be 100 percent on, this is fine.”
4. The Last .4 Miles of the Swim: “What in the actual…did they measure this wrong?”
5. T1:Â “I feel so refreshed! ROOOAR! Did you SEE all that swimming?”
6. The First 20 Miles on the Bike:Â “Ah, feel those sweet breezes, sunshine on my back, I’m in heaven. This weather is perfect and I’m going to nail that PR.”
7. The Next 20 Miles on the Bike:Â “I mean not PERFECT, but manageable. It is getting a little hot. No matter, this is a nutrition game.”
8. Hitting 56 Miles on the Bike: “I can’t read the number on her calf. Is she in my age group? Imma speed up.”
9. Hitting 100 Miles on the Bike: “I just completed a century ride. I’m kind of a big deal.”
10. The Last 12 Miles on the Bike:Â “Ass numb, foot cramp. Get. Me. Off. This. Bike. And this head wind is unbearable.”
11. T2:Â “Anything is better than being on that bike for another second.”
12. The First Mile of the Run:Â “Oh my god, except this. Get me back on the bike.”
13. The Second Mile of the Run: “I’m pretty sure this is mile 3?”
14. The Third Mile of the Run:Â “What was my mantra again? I need a mantra. Mantra, mantra, mantra. Anyone?”
15. 13.1 Miles: “If this was an IRONMAN 70.3 race I’d be done right now. I’m so doing a half next time.”
16. Mile 17:Â “I feel AMAZING. A half? Pffft. Half, schmalf.”
17. Mile 20:Â “What’s my name again? Maybe Coke will help. Ugh, I shouldn’t have eaten that banana. Oh yay an aid station. OUCH! Blister! Blister!
18. Mile 26: “I’m practically there! I’m in! I’m doing it!”
19. The Last .2 Miles on the Run: “I think I’m still running but I can’t feel my legs so I’m not really sure. Basically I’m an Olympian right now.”
20. The Finish Line: “I’m never doing this again. I’m definitely doing this again. I’ll take a year off. I’ll sign up tomorrow.”
Originally from: http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/news/articles/2016/09/20-thoughts-over-140.6-miles.aspx#ixzz4NAJrLzu5
10.11.2016
After a wonderful “birthday weekend” in Louisville…
it was fun to come back to reality and find some birthday fun waiting for me at the studio.
First I found some goodies waiting for me in my studio. Thanks to my friend Pam
for the yummy birthday treats!!!
And then Katie in my pottery class surprised me with a HUGE frosted chocolate chip cookie!
Yum. Let’s just say… GONE!!!
10.10.2016
Categories: bike
I’m done. I’ve had it up to here.
Too much goo, too much gel, too many CLIF Bars, too much Gatorade…
but I’ve still got a LOT of leftover energy foods. Maybe a Breakfast of Champions?!
Unfortunately, I LOVE Honey Stingers and CLIF Bloks. I eat them like candy!!!
10.10.2016
Categories: special events, workout
I woke up this morning early… after just a few hours of sleep…
and had to double-check that I did indeed complete the IRONMAN!!!
Hard for even me to believe.
We slept a couple short hours… but they were GREAT hours of sleep!!!
But when the alarm went off it was still dark. And we were still tired.
But they don’t sell IRONMAN Finisher’s clothing until the morning after.
And they say that it is first come, first served. And we wanted to be first. But we weren’t..
there were a dozen or so people ahead of us.
We got in, tried on a few things and snatched up a few IRONMAN Finisher’s items for myself.
My new IRONMAN Finisher’s jacket.
A new IRONMAN Finisher’s t-shirt…
After the Finisher’s Expo Tent, Chris and I were supposed to do breakfast with Pam & Jeff. Instead we both decided it was better for us to sleep. I crashed on my bed with my Crocs and jacket on. And Chris was quick to capture it on film…
And I caught her sleeping…
After a few hours of well-deserved sleep, Chris and I got our act together and packed up our stuff to head out. A long drive from Louisville to Chicago. Sort of dreading the drive… and not looking forward to getting out of the car after hours of stiffening up. We stopped for lunch and it wasn’t so bad. Stiff…. but everything loosened up as I walked.
10.09.2016
The morning started VERY early. Very dark. Very chilly.
We made it down to Doc’s Cantina where the queue for the Swim Start was already beginning to form. We got there about 4:45 in the morning. I wanted an early start for the swim to give me as much time as possible for the day ahead. So we sat in line. Nervously chatted. Met other athletes. Took a couple little naps.Ate. Hydrated… and tried not to freak out about the day ahead. Oddly enough, I had a surprising calmness about me. Not too many jitters. At this point you’ve trained as much as you could. Years of biking & step classes… hoping that it all pays off. Sure, maybe I should have earned how to swim before this, but it’s only 2.4 miles, right?
After waiting nearly two and a half hours, suddenly the place came to life and it was race time before you knew it. Time to put on the wetsuit. Time to get this show on the road. The official time clock counting down to 7:30am! Okay, now it’s getting real.
A few minutes before, they marched us down to the docks. Lines of nervous athletes excited about the adventure each was about to begin.
After the National Anthem, some last minute instructions, and a bugle revelry… it was time to start. On with the swim cap. On with the goggles. Up with the adrenaline! The long line was divided into two… one for each pier. I was in the lane for the far pier. TUrns out I was the THIRD person to jump in off that pier!!! Guess my plan to start early worked out.
So you start swimming upstream past the docks, along the shore, between a long island. You can finally see the end of the island and you “think” that you get to turn around the island and head back. WRONG!!! There are still three more buoys to swim past before you turn around. Not an easy feat as people are swimming over you, kicking you, grabbing you and pushing you out of the way as they are trying to get to the end of the swim. Not for the squeamish if you haven’t been in that situation before. Plus, this easily felt like my biggest body of open water swim ever… when I swim in Lake Michigan, it’s usually along the shoreline. This time we were in the Ohio RIver – which is about as wide as the Great Mississippi River at this point.
So you keep swimming. Keep breathing. Keep looking for the finish.
Keep looking for Joe’s Crab Shack off in the distance. Knowing that we get to finally climb out of the river just before we get to Joe’s.
It felt SO AMAZING to finally finish my swim and get out of the water!!! And to see Pammy & Chris waiting for me on the sidelines cheering me on!!! I was so pleasantly surprised when they told me I was close to two hours!!!… I had about 20 minutes to spare! Whew!!!
I will say that my legs were done. And I had a weird little muscle “issue” going on in my left knee. Nothing shooting or jabbing. But more like muscles screaming at me… yep, “that muscle” that I never use because I don’t swim?!!! Still… felt GREAT to be out of the water!!!
So then it was back in to the Transition Area. Pick up your Bike Gear Bag and head to the changing tent. Picture a large white tent filled with sweaty men, smelling like river, changing closes in a very steamy & smelly tent. Switching from wetsuits to bike clothes. It was NOT a pretty sight. But you suck it up and do what you need to do. Dry off. Switch clothes. Put on your shoes & helmet. Pack your wetsuit & goggles back into you Bike Gear bag… and head out. A quick stop for sunscreen… and the porta-potties… and you’re headed to the Bike Out arch.
Looking for Chris and Pammy in the sea of spectators … ah ha, there they are!!!
Ready to set off on my bike… a mere 112 miles to go…
with the promise of some “rolling hills.”
The bike portion of the race was tougher than I expected. I wasn’t prepared to find out that I had no muscle or power left in my legs after the two-hour swim. I was depleted and not quite ready for the road ahead. But I kept pedaling. I kept eating more energy foods. Gels. Clif Bars. Bananas. Gatorade. Whatever it took. Plus that little twinge in my left knee was still there? After the first few miles it started to feel better. But the hills were still tougher than I expected.
Ten miles or so into the race, my derailleur stopped working and I was stuck in the big chain ring. Good for speed… not so good for riding the hills. I was pedaling a LOT harder than I should have been. When I got to the first bike tech tent, I pulled in to have them look at my bike. He fiddled with it for awhile and finally got it to shift back & forth. He said I was good to go… and I did… after about 20 minutes of waiting. By then I was feeling better and getting some strength back in my legs. Pedal on!!!
Part way through the course we rolled through the town of LaGrange… a fun little town where there were a lot of spectators cheering us on. They even had a shuttle system worked out for family, friends and support crew to get back & forth. It was great to see Chris on the sidelines cheering me on as I cruised through the town!!! And shooting photos for me along the way… she just barely caught me as cruised through.
This was also the first triathlon that I’ve ever done where the roads weren’t totally closed. The police did a great job of keeping us safe and blocking most of the traffic at intersections. However there were quite a few cars that made it through on the road that kept getting in the way. Especially tough to maneuver around cars on the hills as you’re trying to power up… and there’s a car in the way in your lane and traffic coming in the other direction. Not ideal conditions for a race.
The course had a large loop on it. So you had to ride the loop twice before heading back to Transition. Along the way you got to stop off for your Bike Special Needs bag… for a quick “lunch” break. And then it was back on the bike after a few minutes… and back through LaGrange again… howdy Chris!!!
After a hundred and twelve long & grueling miles, you finally head back into Lousiville. It was great to see the bridges on your right. The beacon town Downtown. All good signs that you’re getting closer to the Transition Area again. So great to see Chris waiting for me at the end of the bike route!!! Both of us thought my bike time would be quicker… neither of us realizing how tough the hills would be. Neither of us realizing how many cars would be on the road. How my bike would need technical help along the way. And how my legs would be so wiped out after the swim!!! Or how that little twinge on the side of my left knee, and now in my left achilles too, would be there. Still nothing too painful, just enough to make you more cautious and careful not to make it worse. All good though… I made it back… time to run!!!
So again it’s back tot he Transition Area. You hand your bike off to one of the many volunteers. You continue back to the rows & rows of nags. A volunteer gets your bag for you and hands it off as you pass through. Back into the hot, steamy & smelly changing tent. Switch from bike clothes, shows & helmet into running shorts, tank top, and running shoes. Eat some food. Drink some water. Was that just lunch? Throw your bike clothes into your Run Gear bag and head out… past the Sunscreen Station again… and the porta-potties… and off onto the Run Course.
Okay, sure I’ll admit tat it doesn’t feel good when you switch from bike to run. I might say it feels like your hips are turned out the wrong way. Little painful to get a running stride into place. And yet so fun to know that you’re two parts done, only one more leg to go!!!
And still smiling…
So you leave the Transition Area and head out into the downtown streets… slowly…
So great to see Pammy waiting for me on the sidelines… sitting in her chair…
broken foot and all… still cheering. Still encouraging me onwards!!!
So the Run Course takes you quickly through Downtown Louisville and off into the surrounding area. At times it was residential, then small neighborhoods. The route took us past the University, some cool Art Museum and even past Churchill Downs!!! The run is another big loop. So when I finally got to the halfway point, it was already dark. And to make matters worse… a LOT of runners were already crossing the Finish Line. But not me. Instead, the course takes you ONE BLOCK away from the actual Finish Line. You can see it. You can hear it. And then you turn right one block short of crossing. The Run Special Needs Bags are right there… as were Chris, Pam and Jeff. Great friends waiting for me. Cheering me on… broken foot and all.
So you head back out for another half marathon! Another full thirteen miles in darkness. It’s the same loop as last time, except now it’s dark, there are a LOT fewer runners out there and they’re handing out glow sticks!!! This second loop was so much tougher than the first. And let’s just say for the record, I’m not the greatest runner in the first place. But by this point my “jog” was getting down to more like a “shuffle.” A times I began to wonder if I would be able to walk faster than I was shuffling?! Knowing the whole time that all I need to do is cross the Finiah Line. And that it’s not worth killing myself, blowing out my achilles, or injuring myself in any way. Better to be slow & strong, than fast & injured. So I continued to “shuffle” and walked through the aid stations. I’m still not good at running, drinking & eating all at the same time.
The last six miles or so are pretty rough. Darkness. Fatigue. Fewer people out there keeping you going. Fewer runners. Fewer spectators. Plus after a day of Gatorade, bananas, goo, gel, Clif Bars and snacks… my stomach was done too. I was saturated with energy goop. Water only for me for the last few hours. And apparently I wasn’t the only one as you start to see a LOT of runners vomiting along the sides as the miles tick down. And to make matters worse, apparently I was an “over-achiever” in the hydration category. Because the last half was also needed quite a few stops to pee at the rest stations. Much better than the other alternatives, but still not so good for my race time?!
Eventually you get back into the Downtown area. We made a couple turns through the city streets. This time when we made the turn onto Fourth Street… we knew we finally got to go straight through and actually make it through the Finish Line!!! So exciting to finally see the end. To know that you are indeed going to make it. To hear the crowd cheering you on. To hear the announcer proclaim those six words you’ve worked so long & hard to hear…
GARY JACKSON… YOU… ARE… AN… IRONMAN !!!
So I made it through the Finish Line and felt surprisingly great. I know… adrenaline… endorphins… I get it. But I felt surprisingly good. I did my best IRONMAN “shuffle” across the Finish Line. After crossing amongst the camera flashes and cheering crowds, they whisk you through the finish zone. Your Volunteer Escort gives you your Finisher’s Medal. A quick stop at the Finisher’s step & repeat for your official Finisher’s Photo. They get you a bottle of water. Food if you need it. A mylar blanket for hypothermia if you need it… I didn’t. Your official Finisher’s hat & t-shirt. Eventually, when you’ve made it through the Finish Line “gauntele”… you’re released to find your Support Crew.
My favorite Sherpa Chris was there taking as many pictures as she could. Pammy and her husband were there too. I still can’t quite fathom that Pam came down to Louisville with her broken foot. But that’s what good friends do… and I love ’em!!!
After the Finish Line gauntlet, we all walked back to our hotel. I’m sure it was “therapeutic” to keep walking. Of course we stopped a few times… for Pam, not me!!! But I didn’t care. I felt great. Still riding high after finishing my first IRONMAN!!!
Back at the hotel, I opened my swag. Love my new hat… and even more…
MY IRONMAN FINISHER’S MEDAL!!!
Ouch!
It wasn’t until I took my shoes & socks off that I found out why my left foot hurt a bit. It sure looked worse than it feels. But I felt great that this “little” red blister was the my only injury after a full IRONMAN!!!
Chris and I sat up and talked for a little while. She ran me a cold bath and filled it with ice. I tried my best to soak in the freezing water… standing in it was fine. But when I sat down all the way it sent shivers through my body. How do professional athletes do these ice baths all the time?!!! Not me. Also, as a fellow IRONMAN, Pammy knew that I would be starving at some point… maybe 3:00 in the morning… so she ordered me a pizza for when the hunger hit. And it did.
Eventually, Chris and I finally went to sleep.
We set the alarm for an early morning at the Finisher’s Expo Tent.
My feet & ankles were already sore… and I was fearing how they would feel in the morning.
But I needed to sleep… so a couple Advils and I was down for the count.
Happy to know that I am now an IRONMAN !!!
10.09.2016
Categories: special events, workout
So the day is finally here.
It’s been a long summer of planning & training… sweating…. playing… pedaling…
2.4 mile swim.  112 mile bike.  26.2 mile run.
Back to back. All in one day. You’ve got 16 hours to cross the Finish Line.
So here’s the scoop… starting with the Swim Course.
Followed by the Bike Course…
Which was by no means flat. They called it “rolling hills”… they lied!!! It was HILLY!!!
Followed by a full Marathon…
