Eagleman Triathlon 2013 (1.2 Mile Swim, 56 Mile Bike, 13.1 Mile Run)

End of an Era

I completed my 4th Eagleman Triathlon on Sunday and I have to say that after all these years, I am still in love with this damn race. I knew this year would be my last. IT was the plan, I wasn’t even supposed to start this year, as I didn’t really bike or swim much since January... and well, what the hell.

I smirked as I felt my first jellyfish.... I smirked as I sloshed through ankle deep mud..... I smirked when I felt the crosswinds.. I smirked at the hot asphalt... and I SMILED as I crossed that finishline.

I am closing this chapter in my life for now. Looking back this would have been my 6th Eagleman, baring the DQ’d (disqualified) in 2010, and the didn’t start in 2012 due to mom’s passing... so officially it’s my 4th and MY LAST, for now.

SEE...I set out on this jaunt 7 years ago with visions of qualifying for Kona... the Hawaii full Ironman. But being really naïve can make you grow up real fast. I worked my arsh off that first year and thought that the possibility for me to land one of the (then two slots to Hawaii in my age group) was within reach...and alas the reality check that was handed to me formulated the endurance athlete that I am today....

I hope that one day you too can experience something so life changing and grow!

For now... ado.... I have to get ready for my sprint triathlon this coming Sunday!

Escape From Fort Delaware – Sprint Triathlon

.2 mile swim – 10 mile bike – 2 mile Run

Crazy Nut...

It's very exciting to be able to do shorter triathlons, as I don’t put any hard core expectations on myself... but to get it done and win, right?  

  

My races are like mini epic adventures and this short one was not lacking in the fun department... first off the fact it was an afternoon/evening triathlon with a 4pm start.. just gotta love that sleep in, do what you want all day, then mosey on down to the race venue later. 

So not really getting the fact that I am not swimming in the actual open bay area... I arrived and looked out at the ominous bay and thought well its only a .2 mile swim... I shouldn’t have issues, swam in worse....and so as I bond with nature and gaze upon the wondrous grey skies, someone mentions the fact that we were swimming in the canal behind us.. SNAP..

NO shit and really... dude this is going to be cake... 

A point-to-point swim in a calm canal with the current... I can do this blindfolded!

So skipping around, setting up transition, realizing how much I really DO HAVE... and then it's time to stuff the potatoes in the sak (wetsuit putting on time).. board the bus to the start,  and get this party going!

It started to turn ca bit colder, so having the wetsuit on but not completely zipped up kept me toasty.  I was in fact... REALLY quite happy... sure I hadn’t practiced much recently but this was a short tri and it's like riding a bike.. once you know it you don’t forget ..oh yeah!

A kind older lady helped me finish zipping up the back of the wetsuit and we put our toes in the water... and..

HOLY... MOTHER..... OF GOD..... DAMN IT WAS COLD!!!!!!!!!..

The water temperature was around 68 degrees and just say... ME... NO LIKEY...COLD.....NO ......NO......NO....

Just before we started I noticed my hands were a lovely bluish/lavender color and I thought, how odd?  I really wasn’t THAT cold....did I touch ink?... I moved my fingers around..hmmm.

And its time to go... in the water and then.. OMFG my wetsuit is cutting off the circulation in my upper body because I have too much SHIT ON.. yeah I had my bathing suit.. then my tri suit .... then my wetsuit.. please don’t judge stupid..

AND OFF we go... and I felt like I was suffocating....  I tried to swim.. I could not breath..I could not get any arm extension.. I was in a giant sarah wrapped shell... slashing around the water... I tried to doggy paddle.. um no... i trried to back stroke. . no... i tried to bob like a cork.. OH HELL NO...

Did I mention that this was damn near the calmest water I have ever swam in and I am flailing around in my wetsuit..??!. I am going to drown in .2 miles of calm water!!

 

I can see that tombstone inscription now... 3X Ironman DIES in Sprint .2 mile swim WITH the current in calm water.

It took me 8 mins... 8 mins to flop around trying to “out race” the last place girl being escorted by the kayaker... when I made it to the dock... You would have thought I won the Hawaii Ironman... 

People whistles, cheers, hoorays.. I WAS a ROCK STAR!...  How UTTERLY mortifying..

So let me tell you about that swim again...

And so I had to take a moment to unwrap this suffocation cloak and I finally managed to hobble to transition... to my bike.. I am FREE!!... hell has unleashed as I blaze a trail.. me and my zero... taking over people on dirt bikes and scooters ...... I was so pleased to go from next to last in the women’s field in the swim  to 8th place on the bike

Swim Time: 8:23

Overall: 82/84

Out of Women: 36/37

Bike Time: 30:37 (Average pace 19.6 MPH)

Overall: 27/84

Out of Women: 8/37

Run Time: 16:16 (Average pace 8:07 min/mile)

Overall: 37/84

Out of Women: 12/37

Finish:

Overall: 33/84

Out of Women: 11/37

Kinda crazy that the trusty old hip didn’t give me one ounce of problem on the 10 mile bike but as soon as I put one damn foot on the ground in the run I was screaming for morphine. 

TWO lousy miles, something I do as a warm up would cause so much agony. 

One day I will look back at all this and laugh.. and say how wonderful it was... to be able to do such great things with my life..

BUT right now.. at this particular moment...I NEVER WISH TO RUN AGAIN EVER...  

I am DONE.

But then again..

It's super cool to win a fancy smancy age group award, 2^nd in age group... 

SO the moral of the story is... a TRIATHLON..... is three parts... one part crazy and two parts nuts... if you mess up on the crazy part.. you always have the nuts... and yeah.. NEVER SAY NEVER...

Supervisor Talent Social Marketing for QVC

So excited for this new chapter in my life..!!
.....Supervisor Talent Social Marketing for QVC

QVC has been my passion for 24 years .....to think when I started in 1989 as a wee pup that I would grow into such a professional young lady.  TO think how did this happen and I can only say that it's truly the direct result of a fantastic man who was my mentor, my coach, and truly another father to me for the last 14 years of my life.  My Boss, the Executive Vice President of QVC's Customer Fulfillment Services, John Hunter. 

See I was his Executive Assistant for 14 of those 24 years...working side by side with him, learning the nuances that were QVC, learning what it meant to exceed the expectations of every customer, to keep our word and do the right thing, to be responsible for our actions, and continually strive to improve, and above all to make a difference!  To say he molded me into an intelligent, professional young lady would be such an understatement.  To this I can only say THANK YOU.. to my beloved boss... thank you!

...and well it was now time for my boss to retire... and for me to grow and utilize some of those life learnings.

A-HA... but to find that perfect fit... the position that would embrace who I was ....and who I am... the challenge to mesh the analytical with the creative.. the left brain with the right brain...the sane with the crazy... . 

Over the course of the past year my boss and I laid out a plan to educate and substantiate who I was, in order for me to land that best suited position to embrace that charisma that is me. (I think this was a nice way for him to say that they broke that mold when I was born so let's see what we can do with it)... kinda of funny since my real father said the same thing.  Things that make you go HMMM.  

The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity.... a conglomeration of resume rewrites, interviews, and rebranding of my image.  Promoting myself to individuals, making them understand who I truly am....that I really was all that... and more.  To think that creating, maintaining and sourcing a vintage online business; authoring a book on my triathlon experience; creating a website and facebook social platforms; being an advocate for cancer research and education; and mentoring and leading people would become of some value!  ALAS!

Meshing my life learnings and social skills landed me this amazing opportunity to work with the Talent at QVC and their social platforms.  To be able to help coach, mentor, and advise people so they become the best that they can be, what a truly fantastic opportunity!

PS: Given the fact that I haven't accidentally walked on stage while they were filming live..well I can only assume this means they will keep me for a few more days... although I can be a bit mouthy at times... ... I am fairly passionate about what I believe in... perhaps I can blame that on my boss or dad too... !?

Eh?!

Check out my Facebook Page, click like and follow:
Wendy Mastripolito Facebook Page

Shamrock 8K 2013

Pooh…

Perhaps the grandeur that I build up in my head weighed down my legs?...

Or perhaps sometimes, just sometimes... a race is well just...

POOH??!

But what I thought would happen at Saturday's Shamrock 8K in Virginia Beach did not... and that simple undisputed fact pisses me off..

I was ready to run a PR.... I was hoping for a top 5 age group placing or at least no worse than a top 10 age group placing....I was hoping to crack into the 37's.  I am a strong 5 miler.... I was hoping for confetti and flashbulbs..I was hoping for a magnificent moment... and well...

What I delivered to myself.... was my second worst 8K time ever, an over 40 min time and a 20th age group placing......

POOH!

No... I was not willing to accept the fact that this will be the 6th time i have run this race and have (sans the first year) never placed over a 40 min time or less than a 10th age group placing. 

No...I will not accept the fact that this course was one of the fastest flattest courses out there and even given wind running in the 38's should not be a problem for me, let alone the idea of dipping into the 37's.

No...it's not that i think of myself as a superstar, perhaps a star-twinkle... but not a superstar... and I know better than to think I am better than the really good girls... but I do have confidence in myself and know what I can do... and my mind knew what i could do... but the body... well the body just did not comply.

POOH!

Perhaps it was the extra “sprint warm up” that Joe and I did prior to the race when we realized he forgot his race timing chip and we were already walking to the race and then had to turn around  and “SPRINT” like mad men back to the hotel, get his timing chip and then sprint the 2 miles back to the start of the race.. yeah perhaps that little handy adrenalin rush didn't help.

Or perhaps it was that I was technically still rehabbing the quad/hip I had pulled two weeks prior at the 400 Meter USATF Mid Atlantic Masters Championships?

Or perhaps it was because I haven’t really slept well in a few weeks, trying to prepare for interviews for a new position and the thoughts of actually how to land the new position?

OR MAYBE I am just getting old and slowing down or maybe I didn't train enough, or maybe I trained too much?

Maybe it was a combination of all of the above... but the fact is.. I could go after excuse after excuse and that would not change the fact that mid run, after only two miles… I was exhausted.. I WAS flat out all body exhausted.. like lay down in the middle of the race and take a nap exhausted.

I tried everything I could think of to conjure up a good old fashioned ass kicking and came up short.

I tried to tell my mind I was NOT tired..

I tried to tell my body I felt AMAZING, powerful and fast…

I tried to rationale with my legs...but that damn body did not wish to comply.

And NOTHING pisses me off more than NON COMPLIANCE!

So after careful reflection... I realized that sometimes.. just sometimes..a race is just....

POOH!!!...

That there will be other races...and that you just have to flush the pooh… 

I am going to get me my magnificent moment... you just wait..and see...

Mid-Atlantic USATF Masters Indoor Championships 2013

SNAP, CRACKLE, POP...

Well it really wasn’t a snap, nor a crackle, nor really a pop… but more like being electrocuted....

..... that sensation of accidentally touching an electrical wire, when wet, and then as your teeth shake and you recoil, a dagger is thrust into your quad.. yeah.. kinda like that… All forward motion attempted to cease and resist... 

Let's go back a few minutes. I am at Delaware University's indoor track and was getting ready to run my first event of the day... I was debating about how to warm up since half the track was closed off for the 60 meter sprints and if I should wear spikes or not… hmmm..

Running in spikes is such a wondrous feeling ….like running barefoot with claws..but no support...hmmm...

First call for the mile and I was getting eyed up and down by the gals in my heat… 

One of the ladies walks over to me seeing my #6, she is #5 and said, "There is no way i am faster than you"...Indicating that I should be #5 and she #6.....

I told her I hadn’t run the mile in a few years and didn’t have a qualifying mark to put down.

See they make you fill in your qualifying time so they can sort you by time.. lane 1 fastest, lane 6 slowest… it usually makes the heats a bit more fair and thus you don’t get the faster runners bunching up with the slower runners…

Our heat of 6 gals consisted of all Masters runners (over 40) … and I knew the specs of two of the gals, that they ran under a 6:15 mile… I knew a few years ago I could do a 6:45-6:50 mile but honestly wasn’t sure if it was still in me to do so .. so I was totally ok with being considered the slowest runner…

I didn’t know the times of the other gals in my heat and I learned a long time ago that looks can be very deceiving, just because someone may look older and more frail doesn’t mean they can't put down the whoop arsh .. 8 laps.. here we go.

I started off conservative, following the pack…unable to determine my pacing.. and then i started to pick off people... #5 gal, #4 gal, #3 gal.. and i was still accelerating... I  could see the other two ahead… but the bell was rung..last lap.. and i was still a half lap behind... 

6:50 mile finish time.. YAHOO!

NOW that is what I am talking about… to run a race, to feel good, and to do it well!

SO I probably should have warmed down a bit… or maybe warmed up a bit… but the 400 was next… as soon as they finished the men's heats for the mile.

I usually run a decent 400, and so was very hopeful that today I could land a great time. I was coming off the mile and feeling quite confident, perhaps too confident.

We lined up.. set… and go….. two steps .. TWO lousy STEPS.. and I am incapacitated… one, two, and please remove the knife from my quad...!!!

Within a nano second I was thinking a gazillion things.. the extreme pain, ...why my damn leg wasn’t moving… knowing I would place in my age group and get points for my team if I just finished …and how the heck was I actually GOING to finish?… !

I instantly went into what I call Ironman preserve mode… I am hardwired to keep going forward. Was that a smart thing to do for a 400 meter race?.. probably not.

Probably why I am not a smart runner, but I knew that I wanted to finish.. and shunning the embarrassment of jogging in the remaining 400 meter laps I limped in and quickly went to lick my paw.

A bag of ice and some laughs. The rest of the day would be a scratch, no 200 meter, no 3000 meter, heck… no more running today... so my grand illusions of multiple records and medals.. POOF...

BUT the smile was still there.. because..

I got me a medal..and I love me some speed! 

Widener Track Meet – February 24, 2013

So there comes a day when, as a distance runner, you say... I need speed.

I can't recall remembering much about my high school outdoor track, although I am most certain I do remember my high school “coach” screaming at me at the end of the 2 miler that if I had enough energy to sprint the last 200 yards that I didn’t utilize my energy correctly.. thus is born what I still continue to do today.. my ending sprint. It's fairly epic.. and it's probably terribly inefficient, but heck in 95% of the races I do, of any length, I end up sprinting the last 100 or 200 yards.. and very rarely do I get out paced from that point on. Inefficient?  Probably...

In high school, I was an immature, unwilling runner. I only joined cross country because they canned my ass off the field hockey team. Never mind that I scored a goal in try outs and that I was an exceptional runner as the left wing but my motor coordination needed work.. X gets the spot.. off to join the cross country team I go.

I don’t know.... maybe if I actually trained and applied myself I could have been good... but I was still sulking about being cut from my beloved field hockey. Something that I had played since the 3rd grade and now in 10th grade i'm getting cut, that’s just crazy talk.

So I would have to say that when the coach sent us out for a nice "long" run in cross country practice, of maybe 6 miles, we on more than one occasion cut the course.. seriously who really runs that far anyhow and WHY!?

This was back in the day when you didn’t hear much about road racing and it wasn’t until my graduation year of 1984 that the women's marathon was allowed in the Olympics... but again no one in my realm of existence spoke of THAT kind of distance. Ever.

So back to the track.. so given that I was now a “runner” in high school, I opted for something I thought would be more fun.. short and fast... I will do TRACK!

We didn't really have much of a girl's track team, again this was back in the day, and i was one of three girls who tried indoor. 

We didn’t have a girls indoor team and I thought perhaps maybe I could learn something new and the track guys were kinda hot... so heck im going to run with the guys!

The guys were so great, they didn’t see us girls as something of a nuisance, they embraced their new “sisters” and helped me become who I am today.

After my first official indoor meet I was in love, in love with speed. The smell of bengay, watching the way the muscles moved when the men ran as fast as their legs could take them, I wanted to do that.

I remember they allowed me to run, even though there wasn't another girls team to compete against at this particular meet.. and I don’t recall if I did the 400 or the 800 or what, but it was fantastic, I felt part of a great team and all the guys made me feel special. This solidified my love for track.

Fast forward 20+ years and I stumbling upon the Philadelphia Masters Track and Field Association. A team for people (men and women) over 40... I just had to join. And have worn their colors ever since.

On Sunday, I was running indoors for the first time in a long time and I was nervous. Nervous because I would be competing against women who are really good, exceptionally good and I knew I would be one of the slowest runners out there .....but I was so thrilled to be a part of something that I loved, and was so welcome by the young, the old, the men and the women of the track circuit. This just solidifies my feelings about track and the people who do track, they truly are a blessed bunch of peeps.

Perhaps, track people are considered more friendly because they are stuck together all day in a small space as they wait for their event, or perhaps the people that are drawn to competing in track are a different breed, but whatever it is, track people are some of the nicest people out there.

My first event on Sunday was the 400 meter and I was assigned to lane one and didn’t have to worry about breaking.. (meaning I didn’t have to worry about waiting until the prescribed spot to move to the inside lane, I could just stay in lane 1)... so the 400 went well for about the first 200 meters. Then I totally forgot about the monkey.. the monkey that jumps on your back .... and it was a heavy monkey... and OMFG speed kills. I finished in 1:23 and was thrilled that my legs were still attached to my torso.

So back to my rest spot to check on my friends and to silently cry because I was so freaking tired... irongirl can only do 400 meters and she crys!

I kinda screwed myself by saying I would do the 200 meter.. since it was the race directly before “MY” race of the 3000 meter... but my skewed logic was maybe it will make me tougher...um Yeah?

The 200 meter is a rocking fun race.. you just go out as fast as your little leggies take you until you drop over dead.. k?

So I am in lane 4... and since it’s the 200 meter you are instructed to stay in your lane... lane 4 is no good.. this means that.. YUP wtf.. I just get passed by a rocket ship... dude its only 200 meters.. and I am almost spinning around in a circle as lanes 2 and 3 pass me... OH HELL that hurt.. 36 seconds... and the old lady still has it. MY GOD that 3000 meter race is going to F-n HURT in a few minutes.

So its now time for “my” race.. yeah the 3000 meter.  Which is a little less than 2 miles.  OH, I can tell you the names and specs of at least 4 of the 7 runners I am running with.. and I am going to tell you..

Its GOING TO BE A ROMP FEST.. i I am going to get romped... I am a 13-14 min 3000 meter gal and these gals run in the 11’s... uh oh..

We get our final instructions.. and off we go... it will be 18-1/2 laps on this tiny indoor track.. and they informed us to keep count just in case they mess up the laps... oh and you count backwards.. yeah... ok.. 18 to go.. 17 to go.. and so on... round and round and OMG i think i am going to die... I stay with a group of three until about 5 laps left... the front pack has already lapped me too many times to say.. but I keep these other gals in my sight until I feel like I cannot run one step more.

I can run for 24 hours.. but I am now thinking I may NOT finish a less than 2 mile race...!!  it took every bit of concentration to convince myself that I could actually make it to the finish line.. and then I was done... one of my worse 3000 meter times ever 14:38 but I tell you.. I get a button and a gold star for that one. I think I will lay down and die now... speed kills.

So lets go back to the "I love track" thingy.. because it's now three days out and well.. my quads feel like hamburger.. and I can't wait until Sunday for my next meet!

So the Madness continues...

SWIM ANALYSIS

Trust only what you know..

You know in those horror movies where you scream at the stupid person (usually a woman), “DO NOT LOOK DOWN THE OLD ABANDONED WELL!!!!”...

Well, it was something like that… I had scheduled a swim analysis on Saturday and was anxiously waiting in the lobby of the corporate office of Endless Pools in Aston, Pa for my turn when a (I am sure had too much coffee) middle aged man with a jovial ski hat comes barreling in...

“Sorry I am late”….he is wildly exclaiming in his NOT INSIDE VOICE… pointing his arm left and right as he explains to the receptionist and everyone now watching him in the lobby his tale of woe that his car broke down, that it was actually not his normal car he had loaned out his car to one of his workers and had taken the work truck, and that thank goodness a friend lived nearby… that he made it..whew… because he lived an hour or so away.. above Marsh Creek he says..

UH OH.. my ears perked up.. So let’s go back to the point where you scream.. “DO NOT LOOK DOWN THE ABANDON WELL!!!..”. Of course if I could control what comes out of my mouth I may actually get a gold star but no.. of course I say.. THAT’S where I LIVE!!! I live out there near Marsh Creek too! (Like I was suppose to win a prize by announcing to everyone in the lobby where I live.)

This stops the jovial man and he gives me a nice nod.. i shrink and look away as this really served no purpose in the grand scheme of things.. um yeah.. little peanut I am … just going to sit over here and … next group… they call my group for our analysis… whew.. oh no.. guess who’s in my group.. yeah.. ok.. sh-t… .

So it’s me, LIVELY MAN (L Man), Mary (a middle aged woman like me), and the kid (thinking he was like 12?)… we are a group and we headed to the back for our swim analysis. Two to a pool they say and Mary and I quickly pair up leaving the kid and L Man to attend to themselves.

Mary and I put on goggles, a swim cap, she her nose plug and me my ear plugs.. and in the pool we go.. I SAY KINDA LOUDLY to our two analysis people that I have ear plugs in (pointing to MY ears)… and I MAY TALK TOO LOUDLY (still pointing to my ears).. so IF I AM YELLING I AM SORRY I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HEAR...sorry… WHAT WAS THAT!??

I get the big sigh…

HMPH… the endless pool has a mirror on the bottom and cameras positioned on the side, top and bottom so you could see yourself swim… we get to do a test swim so they could calculate our pace. I think the one analysis man enjoyed much too intensely hitting me on the head with the swim noodle while yelling STOP... Yes I HEARD THAT.. EVERYONE HEARD THAT..

So now was the time to actually record our strokes and Mary went first. Two minutes later it was my turn…OK>. MY TURN! Swim, Swim.. and..the bastard is hitting me on the head again with the noodle… STOPPPPPPPPPPP.. I CAN HEAR YOU I AM NOT DEAF!!!! ..I smile and they say there is a problem ..the system is locked up… it appears that mid MY swim the computer system filming just LOCKED UP.. froze..

I think about this for a second and told them it MUST BE MY ELECTRO MAGNETIC PERSONALITY… oh yeah and then I remembered I still had my earplugs in… so now EVERYONE in the next room and down the hall heard that too. OOPS sorry.. inside voice..

So I sit in the pool with just my little head sticking out of the water… doe eyed… fahlahaalhaahlaaa… I float on my back.. I look back over and then float on my side.. and back over… So they bring in the big guns.. the owners and such and the analysis dude says it’s her fault.. pointing to me… she’s trouble.. and they proceed to then all look at me....:( Mary at this point had given up ALL hope of ever getting back in and proceeded for her towel.

They did the best they could. They got the machine back and running and told me that I could finish my swim session, that I had great cadence, that it looks like I learned some swimming skills from Total Immersion (not that that was bad but just different) and they gave me a few pointers to help… and off to the drill pool Mary and I go… oh.. that’s it?

HMPH… so we are reunited with L Man and the kid and all four of take turns doing the drills prescribed… ….OH yeah forgot to mention right before our analysis we had to sit for a 10 min demo on endless pools.. a pitch for the sale of the pools and L Man asks loudly over the table if I can drive him home since I live near him.

F- me … why did I open my big old mouth!!. I hope he didn’t see my head go down and sigh.. UGH! Of course I said smiling in my nice voice…. SO L Man says to me after our drill session I will see you out front! Great..cant wait.

As we are walking out the owner of the midatlantic multi sports is there talking with us and I said to the owner….. OH btw if I end of dead.. he (pointing to L Man) has killed me.. I just met him and now I have to take him home… EEP

If they at Midatlantic multisport and/or Endless pools don’t remember me I don’t know who ever will… … I just wish and pray that my hand stays over my mouth in the future..

JUST KILL ME NOW…

I have to admit, there was something that I liked about my passenger… during the hour ride home he proceeded to tell me a bit about himself but not in an arrogant bullish way but just casually answering my questions which you all know are all centered around racing, training, and pace and such…

I personally don’t believe much of what people say until I look up their results because people tend to have a habit of over exaggerating a bit so when he said he was a 7:30ish pace runner, almost placed in a half ironman, and biked to his NJ beach house I was like sure.. cool.. (thinking you know damn well I am going to look this up)

But what I found out later after my curiosity got to me that not only was he truthful, he underestimated things, not only did he almost place in a very large half ironman, in fact did it in a time that surpasses many age groupers I know and he didn’t just build houses he OWNED the company that built the houses.

Funny… when he stepped foot into my car he had to move stuff off the passenger seat including a pheasant feather and he said to me.. a pheasant feather? I said yup…

Trust only what you know..

I hope that the life I live makes an impact on people.

PS: I am sure there is a reason that I met this unique individual and perhaps one day he and his family will cross paths with me and my family.. and perhaps maybe in a way that will reshape our lives...