#did i get exhausted from taking a 20 min walk on saturday before the heat set in?

[arliedraws]

why am i posting so many texts posts in a row? it is because my covid symptoms are gone, my period is over, and my brain is functioning again

[tricraftbeer]

Recap of the tri-fecta

Over the weekend, I completed my third race in as many weeks. I started the trifecta with the Des Moines Escape Triathlon, an Olympic distance race in the new Escape series. From there, I came home for a few days, then drove with Gloria and my parents up to Santa Cruz for IM 70.3 Santa Cruz. Then home for the week before the Nautica Malibu Triathlon on Saturday, another Olympic distance race. 

Training between each race was necessarily limited a bit, so it actually made for some easy weeks with extra time to spend with Gloria and friends. And now that I’m taking a full week off before a final push to Los Cabos 70.3 in November, I weirdly feel lazy. Triathlon is a strange sport and I’m a strange person.

Escape Des Moines

The trip to Des Moines started to go downhill when I locked myself into the Nursing Room at LAX at 5am to use my breast pump and realized I’d forgotten all the pump parts on the drying rack at home. I wasn’t scheduled to land in Des Moines until 2pm. Oh boy. The discomfort got pretty extreme, but luckily I had a sweatshirt to hide any unsightly leaks. On landing in Des Moines and meeting my Dad, who amazingly flew out to meet me and hang out, we drove directly to Target to purchase some pump parts to I could relieve myself on the parking lot. 

That done, I could think and breath again, so we found our hotel downtown, and the trip continued the downhill slide. I was racing with my brand-new Liv Avow 0 bike, after about 3.5 hours of ride time. The mechanic at my shop, Giant Santa Monica, helped me pack it. But there were some surprises when I tried to assemble, just due to growing pains with a new bike, and my ineptitude. So we used FaceTime on and off for about 2 hours trying to troubleshoot. Once that stress was done, Dad and I then went to find some beer. Downtown Des Moines was surprisingly great and there were lots of places to drink local beer and get some good food. 

The following day we went to the nearby race site and I took the fully functioning bike out for a little spin. And as a bonus, my wonderful friend from college Brooke was driving to NY from South Dakota and managed to meet us at this park in Des Moines to a quick visit with her and her daughter. The trip definitely took a sharp uphill swing at that point, and stayed up! The rest of the day was easy, as we went downtown again to the finish site to register and attend the pro meeting. I met Sarah Haskins, the other lactating mama on the start list, and was able to tell her how helpful her blog was to me throughout pregnancy and during the beginning of my comeback training. Dad and I found some more good food and beer and set the alarms for a somewhat early day. 

Another great surprise was in store as my cousin Melissa, who just took a teaching job at nearby Iowa State, was able to meet us for race day! Who knew Des Moines would host two great reunions?! Race morning was chill, as the lake was an easy trip from downtown. I managed time well, getting in a good warmup jog and swim before the start. 

The swim was in warm water on a chilly morning. No wetsuits! And with a field of good swimmers, I was soon alone looking at feet splashing in the distance. I came out of the water a disappointing 5 mins back from the lead pack of 4 who swam together. But, that did make the rest of the race pretty simple.

It was an individual time trial bike ride on my brand new Viserion the Ice Dragon to try and make up time. I ended up with the fastest bike time (but only by about 20 seconds over Sarah Haskins, Lauren Goss and Heather Lendway)

Then, a chase on foot to see how much time I could make up. It wasn’t enough to move up any places, and I had to be satisfied with 5th place, the final spot for some money.

But, looking at the results, I was happy with my bike time and the power I sustained. I was also happy with my run, the third fastest of the day, after a good effort on the bike. The swim was about what I figured it would be, as my elbow is still healing, and I’ve cut most of my swim workouts short. And also, those athletes are just better swimmers than me anyway!

After happy post-race musings with Dad and Melissa, we got ready to repack my bike (much easier than building it) and head to the airport. I was able to fit in three more local beers before boarding my flight home to Artie and Gloria. It was a great trip!

Santa Cruz 70.3

My parents arrived Wednesday so they were around to help out for my last couple pre-race shake-out workouts. We picked up a minivan Thursday afternoon and packed it up for an early Friday morning departure. We made it up to Santa Cruz in about 7.5 hours. Not bad with a baby! Thank goodness my Mom sat in the back to entertain G the whole way. Our arrival in Santa Cruz was not without drama, as our reservation for a large enough room for three adults and a baby was nowhere to be found. But after some cajoling, almost tears, and a 60 minute walk around the boardwalk, the room was located, cleaned and inhabited. Exhausted from the day, we opted to use the hotel kitchen to heat up some Trader Joe’s meals. The following day I got in a ride on the beginning of the bike course and a jog. I opted to stay out of the water because it’s cold, I’m lazy, and there was a vague warning about blooming red algae. Gloria cried through her nap time, so I put her in the baby carrier so she would fall asleep. While I kept up the constant bouncing and jiggling, she slept on me through registration and the pro meeting. After lunch Gloria and I met up on the beach with a friend who was there for his first ever triathlon. The rest of the day was a sleepy blur and we ended up eating some more fine Trader Joe’s meals for dinner.

Race morning logistics were easy since my Mom found a hotel directly across the street from transition. I was able to use the breast pump in the hotel room before heading down, set up transition, and make it to the water in time for a swim warmup and final snacks. But then, fog rolled in, no one could see, and the start was delayed at least an hour. Kudos to the organizers for figuring out how to move forward with a swim. They condensed the course to 750 meters on one side of the pier and lined the course with paddlers. It was impossible to see beyond the paddler right in front of your face, but they had enough that we could navigate the course without too much difficulty. The shortened course helped my elbow a lot, and also got me out of the water before I got too cold. I was grateful for that as well.  The chilly water and air were causing me some terrible Santa Rosa flashbacks of shivering for 2 hours on the bike. I spent some extra time in transition putting on arm warmers and socks, so I was comfortable the entire bike ride with no shivering. Hurrah. I did feel gypped of the spectacular coastal views though! 

I moved into 8th position off the bike with a solid effort that I was happy with. Right before leaving for the race, Willie at Giant Santa Monica fiddled with my fit a tiny bit, and I was even more comfortable on Viserion. I went a little hard for the first hour, wanting to break free of the athletes I was nearby so I wouldn’t have to deal with jockeying for position with the narrow bike course and passing cars. Once I felt solidly in 8th place, I backed off the effort to a more sustainable one and cruised about a minute behind Ceclia in front of me for the rest of the course. It was fun having zero flats, just constant rollers out and back on PCH. It felt similar to riding on PCH outside of LA, except way less populated and way prettier.

Heading out of transition I heard the announcer say I was in 8th, but that most of the athletes ahead were fairly close together. With the shortened swim we all stayed together more, which made the race really fun. I knew I had a chance to run into a money position, so that was the goal. My legs were feeling good, so I just tried to hit a pace and settle in without surges. The steady pace was enough to get me into 6th place by mile 5, so then I just tried to keep my shit together. I’d lost some gels off the bike and managed to miss handoffs for more at aid stations. Then, I lost a gel running too somehow. I was afraid to take a new kind of gel, since I’ve had stomach troubles in the past doing that. I tried to make up for it with coke at aid stations, but still started feeling woozy and light headed around mile 8-9. It was a battle of wills from then on to not F up and lose my spot. I kept chugging coke and kept trying to keep the pace steady. Happily it worked out and I stumbled through the sandy finish happy with another payday and happy to see my baby and parents!

We finally ate at a restaurant that wasn’t Trader Joe’s post-race and found some race local IPA. And cookies. Those were delicious cookies.

Nautica Malibu Olympic 

Malibu is always on the race schedule, except last year when I was pregnant. I was excited to go back and try to regain my crown this year, even when I found out it would be my third race in three weeks. But at least Des Moines and Malibu were Olympics, so it worked out. I didn’t train that much in the week leading up to Malibu, and still woke up race morning feeling tired. But on a positive note, Artie and Gloria were both coming to the race! We got up there in plenty of time to park, get situated, get in a swim warm-up and be on the start line with a minute to spare. There were no nerves race morning, as I had spent the while morning chatting with friends. I absolutely love this race for that. The race started with pro women, men and a large wave of age group men, so the trip out to the first buoy was rough. After the right turn we all spread out and settled down. I came out of the water close to Madi and with a good swim time (for me), happy the my elbow hadn’t hurt at all. 

Vision felt great again, and I am starting to feel more and more comfortable on my new ride. My legs didn’t have much power, so I rode only a tiny bit above 70.3 watts for the course. That was ok by me, and enough to move me into 1st place with a decent time. I wanted to break 40 minutes on the run, so I didn’t want to overextend, just push hard enough to feel like I did some work.

I got to race with Coach Dusty cheering me on in person for the first time!

Heading onto the run course, I was pleasantly surprised with my legs feeling not-terrible. A run (and Olympic distance PR) were in play. It was fun to be at the front of the field, see the leading elite men run by on the out and back sections, and be able to cheer for friends. The cheers from friends who were spectating were awesome, and made the run feel a lot easier than it was. I didn’t have to dig as deep for motivation during this run as I often do. I knew that upon finishing I’d be starting a full week of zero activity and lots of beers. And, I knew Gloria was there. What more motivation could a mama need?! I squeaked across the line just under my sub-40 goal with a 39:30 run time for the 6.2 mile course. And, I think, a PR for the distance! I’d gone faster in Des Moines, but the course was a little short. Here, in photos, are two really great feelings:

I’m now on day 5 of zero activity and many beers. You might think I’d be going a little bonkers, but I’m vacationing hard. At least as hard as I train. I know that the 6 week block of training that’s incoming will be challenging, so I’m really enjoying this time with family, friends, beers, and sleeps.

Thanks for the continuing support family and friends! And among those I consider family and friends, my sponsors. Thanks to Skechers, Roka, Champion System, Bonk Breaker, RipLaces, ISM, Profile Design, and Triple C, I’m able to pursue this passion. And, huge thanks to Giant Santa Monica for all their work and help getting me aboard Viserion and getting him ready to race in such a short time frame. 

Three more days off until the work starts again!

[thedailyducky]

50 mile Ultra Trail Race

So this weekend I ran the Sulphur Springs Trail race 50 miler, while my boyfriend, Leo ran the 100 mile race. 

The race was completed in 20km loops, 4 for me, 8 for Leo. 

The First 3 Laps

My first lap, I ran with Adam, a friend of Leo’s, who was running the 100 miler as well. The pace felt very comfortable, although I knew Adam was a way better athlete than me, I figured he was running twice as far, so it was OK to roll with him for a bit since it felt more than easy. I’m not sure whether or not this was a mistake in retrospect, but in any case, I cruised in to the drop bin/supply area after the first loop a whole hour under my planned pace (about 2 hours, when I had planned on starting VERY conservatively at 3). This first lap, all the hills felt super easy, the climbing seemed negligible to me (~600m elevation gain per loop). It was all good.

The second lap, I started in still feeling great. I had a relatively fast first 7km or so. Soon though, some of my muscles started to react to the pounding and the climbing. I was in a little bit of pain, but overall though, it wasn’t too bad. I gave myself some leeway to walk a bit longer if I needed to, after the climbs. Even so, I STILL came in under 3 hours for that second lap. I mentioned to Leo’s pit crew (Kevin and Joe, they were AMAZING) that I was beginning to feel it a little bit, but hoped to have a second wind soon.

Meanwhile, the sun was getting higher, and the day was starting to really heat up. I got in to my 3rd lap feeling Ok, but not great. I’m not sure if my pace was just not sustainable, or if it was the heat, or what, but after about the 50k mark (about halfway in to lap 3), things started to go sideways. 

Things Went Badly

My nutrition plan was to take in between 50-100 cals every half hour. You NEED to keep up the calorie intake to get this sort of thing done, so my plan was to trickle food, rather than bomb down 200-300 cals every hour (some people do this). At around 50km my body just started rejecting food. Everything I put in would come up shortly after. I tried waiting a little bit longer, maybe 45 mins, before trying again, and I puked almost as soon as I swallowed an electrolyte jelly candy. This had me worried, as it was hot, and I was creeping up on an hour without food. I tried drinking a little, and that was OK, but overall I was feeling very nauseous and uneasy.

When I hit 60k, I was still not back (the loops were closer to 23km, rather than exactly 20) and I became very worried about my state. I wasn’t taking in food, it was very hot, and I couldn’t get my body moving very fast. I decided around then that I would make it back and then drop out. It had been too long since I had any calories, I was feeling very nauseous, and my body was rebelling. It was smarter to just pack it in.

I arrived at the supply area after a roughly 3:30 loop. I sat in the tent while Leo’s pit crew and friends tried to convince me to go back out. I declined, as I didn’t want to wreck my body, and I was happy with my 60+km day.

I went to the race director and chip timers to let them know I was pulling out, and they said “hey you know, if you start feeling better, you can always jump back in” since the cutoff for the 50miler and the 100 miler was the same: 30hrs. I said “OK” thinking “yeah that will never happen” and went back to the tent to get an update on Leo and start helping his pit crew.

Meanwhile...Leo’s Race

Leo was doing phenomenally well. He was in the lead, ripping a ridiculous pace, and came in to the 50 mile mark at about 8 hours, which was just absurd. His pit crew got him in and out super quickly, and everyone spectating the race was excited and amazed at his time.

As the lead group was expected for the end of the 5th lap though, things changed. The previously chasing group came in, as we continued to wait for Leo. Finally he arrived, but he was not in great shape. He had hurt his foot, and he was falling behind on his nutrition. Hit pit crew did their best to sort him out, with the help of his friends and coworkers from his gym. He changed shoes and set out again. 

In the meantime, I had finally started taking food in, and had gone to the hotel, picked up ducky, was walking her around back at the race area. The beating on my feet and muscles and joints was starting to catch up to me, but otherwise I was feeling a bit better once I had some energy coming back in to my body. I was happy to help Leo and chill at the drop area with my dog.

For Leo’s 6th lap we adjusted our expectations to look for him after almost 3 hours.  When it came close to time to expect Leo, we went back over to the checkpoint/pit area and waited. We waited and waited... Leo was way behind pace. He came in almost an hour later (almost a 4 hour lap). It was NOT looking good. He had begun to really hurt. Nutrition plan still out of whack, muscles rebelling, ankle injured, feet hurting. He set out on his 7th lap hobbling and hurting.

At this point, Kevin and Joe (Leo’s pit crew) and I had to discuss what to do. Leo had one lap left and was falling apart hard. He was clocking much slower laps, he was having mechanical problems (problems you can’t solve by forcing food down or covering yourself in ice). Joe had to leave eventually, as he had work Sunday morning (it was the middle of the night Saturday night, at this point) and Kevin was his ride. We felt that it was inevitable that Leo would either have to drop, or head out with a pacer for safety. Kevin and Joe were each willing to go (although only one pacer was allowed), but the concern was growing that they wouldn’t have the TIME to pace Leo and still have time to get Joe back to the city for work. 

Un-pulling out. Re-entering the race

I decided that I would offer to finish my last lap with Leo, to help him finish his own. I was worried about Leo’s safety, and I knew that he would not accept dropping unless he was dead or comatose. I was also worried that he would die or fall into a coma alone in the woods halfway through. So Joe drove me back to the hotel to drop off Ducky, and change back into racing clothes.

When I got back to the race site, we didn’t expect Leo for another hour. 

I sat in the tent and thought about what I was planning to do. My body hurt, I was dead tired, both from the 60km I had already run, and the sleep deprivation (having woken up at 3:30 that morning, and coming up on 1 am). A part of me hoped Leo would decline my offer, drop out, or miraculously get a second wind and come charging through ready to rip the last lap. 

When we thought he might be close, we headed over to the pit area, and kept a lookout. We waited and waited and waited... It wasn’t until after 2AM that Leo finally came shuffling up the hill. He was in very rough shape. I asked him what he wanted to do. 

He wanted me to come with him, to get it done together.

I went over to the race director and chip timers and asked them if I could still go back out. “Yes of course” they said, I still had plenty of time, but naturally my last lap would clock the entire elapsed time since I finished my 3rd (which by then was already 12 hours!!)

I headed out with Leo, coaxing him along, trying to get him to hit at least a 12:00min/km pace. Even that proved too fast. He was slightly delirious, in pain, exhausted.

I made my focus his survival, basically. I knew it would help us both get through. I badgered him to eat and drink almost every 15 minutes. Monitored his pee, forced him to get up the numerous times he just plunked down on the ground in exhaustion and agony.

We trudged through the dead of night, and watched the sun rise. We spotted some deer, got eaten alive by mosquitos and finally

We Finished.

Almost as soon as I crossed the finish line, a dull ache in my foot that I had been feeling for at least 10km went into overdrive. Suddenly that foot could barely bear weight, and I realized it was exceptionally swollen.

It Was Not Over...

Leo went to sit down in the pit area, while I hobbled over to find our stuff which Kevin and Joe had neatly piled before heading back to the city (like I said, they were AMAZING). The pain in my foot was steadily growing, and the thought of going back and forth from the tent area to the car with all the heavy bags and crap almost made me want to cry. I genuinely didn’t know if I could do it. But I knew I had to soon, because we had to get to the hotel and get Ducky before the check out deadline at the hotel.

I hobbled back over to Leo to see how he was. As he sat, and the adrenaline wore off, he suddenly began to crash. Medics had to lift him onto a stretcher after he lost consciousness and slumped off the chair.

I gave them answers to all his identity and health questions while I internally freaked out. I sat out of the way in a chair while the pain pulsed in my foot and Leo’s head lolled about and he slurred some jokes about running another 100 tomorrow. The three medics were amazingly kind and helpful. He was in good hands.

Once it was clear Leo was stable, I knew I had to get to the car and go to the hotel and get Ducky. It would be awfully weird for the cleaning crew to find a little dog in what they thought was a vacated hotel room!

Walking to the car hurt like hell. Driving hurt like hell. When I got Ducky, I thanked the Me of the past for packing up our stuff the night before. I loaded Ducky into the car and headed back to the race site again.

The medics helped us get our stuff into the car. Then they loaded Leo in as well. 

In the car, Leo was able to book us an extra day at the hotel. So we headed back there and just went back to our same room (shoutout to the staff at that Super8 for being hella nice), ordered pizza, and laid down. 

Final Thoughts

Overall I give it a 6/10. 

Ten points because the race was organized so well, the organizers were so incredibly nice, the trail was cool and beautiful and easy non-technical terrain, the other runners were supportive and kind and cool. 

But I’ll take away points for my own experience and choices: I want to finish a 50miler the proper way (without a 12 hour break in the middle), I want to prepare my body better for the calorie management, and for the pounding my feet and legs will take (In my training, I definitely needed more time on my feet overall: longer runs, higher km weeks), AND most of all, I want LEO AND I BOTH to learn to not push just for the sake of pushing. I don’t actually think it was at all worth it for Leo to finish in the shape he was in, and to be honest, the shit my foot took at the end there was unwarranted too.

I am lucky that it seems to be improving. Advil, wrapping and rest seem to have improved the swelling and pain dramatically, but it is still swollen, and I am not sure yet if the injury is serious. The moral of the story is, its OK to pull out sometimes and save your body for next time. Things don’t always go as planned and it’s not a big deal to pack it in a try again later.

I am glad though that I was able to finish after all, and to do it while helping Leo make it through too. 

[salistenandreview]

Welcome to Rockville, Day 2 review

On Day 2, which was a Saturday, I arrived an hour early, thinking the lines to get in would be insane like they were the day before. I was wrong on this one.

Turns out, most people who attended Rockville this year were super hyped up for the bands playing on Day 1, and I was an oddball that Day 2 had all the bands I most wanted to see.

Anyway, I got to be one of the first people through the gate on Day 2. And yet, I feel like somehow I got much less of the overall experience on Day 2. I was already kind of bummed that the schedule had Asking Alexandria and Palaye Royale playing at the SAME TIME, and then BVB right AFTER that. Back when I had bought the tickets in November the schedule hadn’t been set up yet, but I saw my 3 favorite bands were all playing on that day and I NEEDED to go to this event. I had resigned myself to having to miss Asking Alexandria, and consoled myself with knowing that I had seen them back in February and would be seeing them the next week again in Richmond, where I live. I had to pick Palaye Royale because as far as I know, that’s the only time this year I’ll be able to see Palaye Royale perform.

However, after getting there I noticed a change in the schedule: Asking Alexandria’s time was switched to slightly later in the day because Killswitch Engage had had to drop out, due to the singer having some health issues that caused them to cancel several dates in their tour. OK, that meant being bummed that yet AGAIN I’d miss Killswitch Engage, but at least I COULD see Asking Alexandria, and maybe, just maybe get to see all 3 of my favorite bands of that day after all.

Day 2 was a day of fighting through a lot of crowds, trying not to get sick in all the heat, and in general just trying to actually catch some of the bands I loved. But Day 2 ended up feeling like something of a disappointment because of these factors becoming exhausting.

Here are all the bands I missed on Day 2:

From the River Stage

Andrew W.K. (sorry dude, I really wanted to be there for the party, but I was freaking exhausted by this time, and they really should have put you on the bigger stages! it’s bullshit you were put on this stage!) Butcher Babies Stick to Your Guns He Is Legend The Wild! Yashira

From the Metropolitan Stage:

Stone Sour Stone Temple Pilots Pop Evil

From the Monster Stage:

Sevendust and Breaking Benjamin

I don’t remember much of the earlier part of the day. Mostly I was so excited about finally seeing Palaye Royale that before that the day is a little bit of a blur. Also I had some gifts for them that I was desperately hoping I could at least hand off to one of the guys, but that was not to happen. In the Palaye Royale fandom it’s pretty well known that they tend to go out of their way to meet with all the fans who want to meet them, give hugs, take pictures, accept gifts, etc. So all I can say is it must have been some regulation of the festival that made it so the only time you could meet anyone in a band was either with an all access pass or to stand in line during a signing, which often had some obscure rules with how you could get in line in the first place. Plus it was actually DIFFICULT to find out where the signings would be, what times, and what you had to do just to get in the line. So if any event planner of Rockville is happening to read this FIX THIS. First off, fix the schedule so that fans of bands that overlap so heavily in a fandom aren’t forced to choose between favorite bands, and secondly, make the signings easier to figure out how to get into.

Anyway, the earliest bands playing in the day were Joyous Wolf, Red Sun Rising, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown, and Avatar. I think of these 4 the one whose set I heard the most was Joyous Wolf. I want to hear these guys again. But I’d like to hear all these guys again to give them an actual fair shot and a real listen.

So I’ll just move on to my BIG 3 of the day. The biggest reason I came to Rockville in the first place. The biggest letdown because my expectations were higher than the festival could provide.

Palaye Royale. I love these boys. I want to adopt them as my little brothers. Or be some older woman that dates one of them (it’s complicated, but like many of their fans will say, they give me all the feels so much.) Just to make sure I didn’t miss anything, I headed to the River Stage nearly an hour before their set. I was hoping somehow this might help me get to say something to one of them and pass on the gifts I brought, but that didn’t happen. What I did get to do was watch Sebastian, Emerson, and the one they call “Gorgeous Dan” all warm up and do sound check before the set. Remington was nowhere to be seen at this time. They were all immersed in making sure they were set up properly, and not even paying attention to the people watching them do this. And strangely, the barrier for the River Stage was set up further away than the one for the two bigger stages, and it seemed for Palaye Royale in particular they had more security. I laughed to myself over this thinking they somehow thought maybe the teenage fangirls would all rush the stage and do something crazy. I had a front row view when they finally did play. It was during the HOTTEST part of the day and the sun was blazing right into the stage area. In SPITE of this, Palaye Royale did wonderfully. Remington on stage is a sight to behold. Even melting in the hot humid Florida sun during the most intense part of the day, he’s still like a little squirrel monkey. I’m still sad I had put away my phone and didn’t catch the part where he climbed up on the scaffolding. But he never stops moving. It makes it hard to take pictures of him. So I learned quickly the best thing to do is just hold your camera in burst mode and hope for the best. Sebastian never moved out of his area at the side of the stage (opposite the side I was on). My guess is he was melting even more than Remington in his suit, and the area he picked to stay in gave him at least a little shade.  Palaye Royale played a short set, I think it was only about 4-5 songs. But the only thing I could think during this time was “Oh my god, they are REAL, and I’m here and I’m actually seeing this as I’ve seen it happen in so many fan posted youtube videos.” I just hope someday they tour through my area and I can get a VIP pass and actually tell them this story, and finally give them the presents I still have for them.

My next bit of agony was in knowing Black Veil Brides, my favorite band in the whole entire festival, were going to be on the Monster Stage next. But what I found out just before Palaye Royale’s set was that they were going to have a signing near the River Stage about 20 mins after their set ended.. Standing in that line would mean missing my favorite band. I actually tried to opt for standing in that line, comforted by knowing I had a VIP pass to MEET and take a pic with BVB AGAIN in Richmond the week after this festival. But what happened was an event employee asked me who I was standing in line for, and when I told her she said “oh do you have an armband or a ticket for that”? And confused, I asked her how to get one. Apparently you couldn’t get just into a line to get something like a signed poster by the band. Nope, you had to go next door into the tent and buy either a CD or a vinyl for them to sign. OK...well I was willing to do that because I’d love to get a signed copy of Boom Boom Room, side A. But then I saw the line that it would take just to purchase an item, and i realized if I stood in that line just to stand in another line, NOT ONLY would I miss Black Veil Brides, but I’d probably not even make it in time to stand in the line to meet Palaye Royale, and I might even miss Asking Alexandria too. So I’m sorry Palaye Royale, I tried my best to somehow meet you, hug you, tell you what you mean to me that day, and even give you some presents I had. But it just wasn’t to be.

So I ran to catch the end of Black Veil Brides set. I say ran but the place was so crowded there was very little running that I could actually do.

I made it in time to hear the last 3 and a half songs of Black Veil Brides. I don’t remember if I was just sweating or actually crying, but I do remember my face was wet from all the effort it took just to make that part. Also, as they weren’t actual headliners they were not given the time to do more than a short set. So even at 3.5 songs I probably still caught most of what they played. Obviously it’s late enough in the day now that any performance on the Monster Stage has a HUGE crowd, so even in the VIP viewing area it’s hard to get a good view. I did what I could to use my camera phone to zoom in and get some videos of the guys performing, but the real help to actually SEE them were the big screens on the side of the stage with the live camera feeds going. I do remember crying during “Fallen Angels” and “In The End”. It was a relief that I made it in time just to hear them close out their set. In spite of there being a large crowd seeing them perform, I don’t really remember how all those people were reacting to seeing BVB play, the world had narrowed down to just me and them for this set. More than any other band, this is the one I’d want to see and have an actual backstage view while they perform. As I made abundantly clear by my review of Vale when it came out earlier this year, this is the band that has me, heart and soul. My review of them for the next week, when I saw them again in Richmond, will further detail this.

Exhausted, and feeling a little defeated, I tried to get over to see Asking Alexandria. I say “tried” because, even though I managed to hear the songs they played in their set, I could not get through the crowd to get anywhere near a place where I could actually get a view of them. To go from the Monster Stage to the Metropolitan stage, there’s a big overpass that you have to walk under. The day was so hot and sweltering, a lot of people took shade under this overpass. It took a LOT to navigate around that because there was no room to walk with people just SITTING there. Once getting through THAT (and this is when Asking Alexandria is already well into their second song) the crowd from the stage all the way back to the overpass was insane. I wasn’t even able to get through THAT to go to the VIP viewing area at the side. So as I was trying to navigate this giant mob of people to see the last of my top 3 bands play, also trying ot listen to the music as they were playing, sometime around the 4th song I just gave up. I stood in an area where there were loads of people, but nowhere to move. I was unable to see the stage, I was barely able to see the big screens on the side of the stage showing the live camera feeds, and i was only able to hear them play. But they played beautifully.

At this point, Day 2 just felt like a huge defeat for me. The bands I loved played and played well, but the whole festival experience in trying to really get to see them play was so hard to accomplish that it soured that day for me. Again I implore anyone who does the Rockville event planning to FIX THIS. If people are actually paying that much extra money as a VIP then there really needs to be something more to that than just “a little extra shaded areas to go to”. There needs to be something like “front of the line access” if you’re trying to get something signed, or an actual better viewing area so you can REALLY see the bands, or some fast pass walking areas  so you can get by the general crowd. Just something, ANYTHING to make it easier to navigate around and actually see the bands play that you pay so much damn money to go see.

After all this running around in the hottest part of the day, I would have been ok with just leaving for the day at that time. My friends were excited about seeing Avenged Sevenfold that night, so I stuck around with them. We stayed in the VIP tent at the Monster Stage area while Hollywood Undead played, so I saw some of that, but truthfully I was just wiped out and not paying attention. I don’t even know how I missed Breaking Benjamin, or maybe I was actually there and just truly don’t remember. I think I mentally just shut down a bit and we were just resting more for the rest of the day until getting ready to see Avenged Sevenfold. So Breaking Benjamin is a band I’ll just have to actually go see with intention at some point.

Roughly an hour before A7X’s set, we went to the VIP viewing area, and it was already filling up. But there were a lot of people trying to push to the front and being obnoxious and rude. I finally had enough of people being drunk and rude and just feeling pushed a lot by people trying to maneuver through the crowd that I opted to leave the area and just go sit under the VIP tent through A7X’s set.

So, I couldn’t really see anything other than what was on the big screens during A7X, but I was enjoying listening to the music, and the extremely large crowd seemed to be as well. The one thing I remember more than anything else though at this time, was seeing Ben Bruce of Asking Alexandria slip out from the All-Access area and cut through the crowd to go over where the camera scaffolding was. He was about 10 ft in front of me and just walked by, unnoticed by all the people watching A7X. I wish I had called out to him but it all happened so fast.

Right around the midway point of the set, my friends decided they were exhausted and wanted to leave before the crowd did. So we left before seeing all of A7X. But we could hear them as we were walking out to the parking areas. Around this time as well, someone was crowd surfing and broke their neck, so the show had to be stopped and an ambulance brought in to deal with that. I do know they resumed the rest of the show after that.

So, Day 2 was a rough one. The heat got to everyone, tempers flared up, accidents happened, all the bands tried their best but the day just wasn’t really properly mapped out. Would I do this day over again? Sure but I think knowing what I know now I’d have made some big changes.

[thelazyperfection-blog]

<strong>Move It Monday #4 + Robbie Burns 8k Recap</strong>

My newest post has been published on http://thelazy.me/2018/01/29/move-monday-4-robbie-burns-8k-recap/

Move It Monday #4 + Robbie Burns 8k Recap

Whew! Last week I was sure it was going to be an awesome week and then the week dragged on and on and on and WOULD NOT END! My workouts went well and the week ended with my first race of 2018, so let’s do a quick recap of the week before I do a long recap of my race!

Monday, January 22: Abs + Band work at home | I’ve been avoiding specific core work which is not a good plan, so I set aside a day to force myself to do it.

Tuesday, January 23: 8.53km total + back/bicep strength training | This was a speedwork run with 2 x 10:00 in the middle but I accidentally deleted the run instead of saving it, leaving me to recall the total distance but no paces. Oops!

Wednesday, January 24: 3km running + 20 min spinning | I slept in because I was so exhausted and almost did no part of my scheduled 8km easy run. After work, Anson dragged me to the gym with him. My workout was short and I still felt exhausted but I didn’t regret doing something over nothing!

Thursday, January 25: 45 min spinning + shoulder workout | I am trying to do more spinning because I actually really enjoy it and it’s a good cross training activity!

Friday, January 26: 7.60km total | I did this run on the treadmill with 5 x 3:00 @ 6:20 in the middle.

Saturday, January 27: REST DAY

Sunday, January 28: Robbie Burns 8k written about below

In December I was advised to add the Robbie Burns 8k to my calendar since it is basically the first race of the year. It would be a good test of my fitness, so I agreed. My sister ended up getting me an entry for Christmas which turned out to be a good thing, because as the race got closer the less I wanted to do it. Since she paid for it, I felt like I couldn’t back out!

I’ve really only been back to consistent running for less than 2 months and my runs have all been very slow. I have also been working really hard at eating better and doing strength training and cross-training. The extra working out has made a lot of my runs feel more tired that I would like, but I need to keep focusing on getting into overall shape instead of feeling bad about my slower running. (at least that’s what I think!!)

As the race got closer I started to freak out a little as I realized what a realistic time goal for myself was for 8k. I tried to remember that the initial goal that I gave to Michelle, my run coach, which was just to run the entire thing. I didn’t run an entire race in 2017 without walking and needed to make myself not walk and ignore the time!

I spent the days before the race trying to figure out what to wear! It was going to be above zero and I was told shorts was the way to go. I was going to borrow compression socks from Kate to test out (spoiler alert: I am now obsessed and want all the pairs!) and eventually decided on a thin long sleeve and shorts to go with the socks.

When I left the house at 6 am on Sunday and saw frost covering the porch and car, I immediately started questioning my shorts decision, but it was too late! Anson dropped me off at Maria’s place and then we gathered Cathy and Kate before heading to Burlington.

The race starts and finishes right outside of a high school which is amazing because you can stay inside until the very last second! We gathered our race kits, pinned on bibs, said hi to other people we knew and hit the bathroom multiple times.

Michelle and Maria had gone outside to do a warm-up before the race and came in saying how hot it was. Michelle told me to get my long sleeve off because I was going to be too hot. I swapped it for a tank top and then borrowed armbands from Michelle. I pinned my bib onto my tank, ate half a vanilla ben GU and headed outside 5 minutes before the start.

I crossed the start line going too fast and tried to slow down. I always go out too fast and I definitely ran the first kilometre faster than I should’ve. I forced myself to slow down and ignore the people I knew who were running ahead of me. My goal was to not walk and I kept reminding myself of that!

I ditched my dollar store gloves around the 1k mark and struggled through the next couple km’s. I just wanted to walk! My legs were fine, but my brain was telling me “who cares!���

It was then that I decided I needed to watch my pace. I knew that if I wanted to not walk I needed to just go slow and steady so I aimed to run it in under 55 minutes. (As soon as I focused on having a steady run and forgot about how fast other people are, my mental state improved. One of these days I will get my mental game right!)

I knew I needed to hit halfway in about 27 minutes to make sure I finished okay and I hit 4k at exactly 26:55 and my arm sleeves came off then! I couldn’t help but laugh to myself as I ran in shorts and a tank beside people who looked prepared for a blizzard. How were they not dying of heat exhaustion?!

As we turned the corner just after 6km there was a fairly decent hill. I kept myself trudging up that hill and my leg started feeling weird. As I got right to the top I slowed down and took about 5 slow steps while stretching my leg. I guess that means I didn’t run the entire race, but those steps weren’t me quitting so I’m not counting them! My leg went back to normal and I kept running.

I rounded the corner to the finish and sped up to cross in 54:12.  I was surprised by how much energy I had and in hindsight, I probably could’ve gone a lot faster during that race. Cathy was there at the finish taking pictures (almost all the pics in this post are hers!) and I loved getting to see so many friends on the sidelines!

We headed inside to get our bags, some snacks, and listen to the awards. Maria got an age category award and she and Leanne both got OMA (Ontario Masters) medals as well! It is so fun to see your friends rock their races and I’m pretty proud to be part of such a supportive, loving group!

After we left, we headed to Starbucks for more coffee before heading home. It was a lovely day and a great race that I would totally recommend!

As I thought about my own race later I realized that in spite of my very slow finish time, I was pleased. I had no idea what to expect from myself so I played it safe. I probably could’ve worked harder and finished faster, but I didn’t want to go out too fast and crash and burn so I opted for a slow and steady pace. I talked myself out of walking and didn’t allow myself to wallow about my time after the race like I have done in the past. All these things are a win for me and I am excited to continue training. Next up: NYC half marathon in March.

[redwineandgreen]

Amalfi Coast Adventures

Back in Florence this week was super UNexciting because all I could think about was Amalfi Coast this weekend!!!!!! Checked in on 4/28 at 7:00 p.m. to get the wristbands for our bus assignment and ours were P I N K. Wow, can already tell this is going to be a great trip. Got settled on the bus, I sat with Nicki and Nikki sat across from us, and we left at 7:50 p.m. Wanted to try to sleep, but of course the movie was BLASTING...honestly shocked my ear drums are still perfectly in tact. Arrived at the rest stop at 11:00 p.m. where we were given our room assignments. Drum roll please. Me, Nicki and Nikki were put into a room with none other than a guide!! LOL. Only us. But whatever at least we aren’t with some rando weirdos. Got dried apple chips for a snack, which were surprisingly really yummy. Left the bus stop at 11:45 p.m., and finally got to our hostel called “Florida” at 2:41 a.m., and we luckily had to be ready to leave by 6:45 a.m. for our day. *jumping for joy* Nikki was a legit zombie when we got to our room, she immediately fell asleep, and thankfully Nicki and I were not far behind.

Woke up to be at breakfast at 6:45 a.m. Good news and bad news. Bad news: had to be at breakfast at 6:45. Good news: No guide ever showed up, so we had the room to ourselves!!!! THX @bus2alps. It was a cute little room downstairs with a buffet and a bunch of circular tables set up for us. I was a bit intimidated because everyone looked beyond trendy and ready for instagram photoshoots, but whatever what can ya do!?! SRY that I’m not that trendy. Our bus brought us to Marina  Grande, which was about 30-45 min away, where a boat would take us around to Capri. But before we stepped onto the boat, we had to walk down the WINDIEST roads on the mountain to get to the bottom where the boat was awaiting our arrival. The boat got in around 8:30 a.m. (wasn’t kidding when I said we were getting started real real early). While we were on that boat, we all had to get into groups of 3-4 to go on smaller row boats that would take us into the Blue Grotto. It was inside a cave, and the water was the bluest water I have ever seen and just so beautiful. We then got back onto our OG boat and saw the Green Grotto, Love Rocks, White Grotto and Orange Grotto. Tbh, I was feeling pretty nauseous throughout this trip, but I still loved the experience. 

We then went back to Marina Grande where we had to walk for about 30 minutes up the mountain to Capri. We took a shuttle from there to Capri town. SUCH a cute area; lots of shops (where we sampled some yummy jelly and people could create custom shoes, but I decided to save and not purchase [ur welcome @dad]) and beautiful views. I have something written down in my phone about “Carlos,” but honestly not sure what that means. Anyway, we took a chairlift up to be exposed to the full scenery, and it was breathtaking. Wasn’t even scared!!! We then had lunch at a restaurant in Capri where I got a salad with chicken. After lunch, we all walked back down the mountain to Marina Grande, which took about 20 minutes. When we stopped, I legitimately could not move. My legs were wobbling uncontrollably, I thought I was going to fall and never be able to get back up. Thankfully, it was happening to everyone, so that made me feel better. But clearly that just shows how out of shape I am. Whoooops. Thought walking around everywhere abroad would help me get in better shape, buuuuut guess not. Just when we thought we were done walking, we had to walk up some windy roads to where our bus was parked only to then walk back around the corner because it was too busy of an area for all of us to load the bus. How fab. When we got back to the hostel, we were told we had to rent towels for our beach day tomorrow...weird, but necessary. Dinner was next at 7:30 p.m. The restaurant was called Leoni Rosso. Had the most AMAZING chickpea soup and swordfish. I can now confidently say I am deeply in love with swordfish. The. End.

Saturday 4/30 morning we went for breakfast at 8:30 a.m. because we had to meet at 8:45 a.m. to leave at 9:05-9:10 to go to Positano. It was about a 30-45 minute bus ride (around mountains with such windy roads; honestly if I was the driver I would’ve been terrified we would’ve fallen off the cliff) where we arrived at a gas station to all walk down to the black sand beach together and got there at 10:00 a.m. Nicki and I, the photo-obsessed girlies, had a photoshoot for f i f t y minutes. Honestly not ashamed because who knows when the next time we will be in Amalfi with these insane views??? JUDGE ME SEE IF I CARE. All should be proud because I did stay on the beach until 11:50 a.m. until I couldn’t take the heat anymore so I went into the shade and waited about 15 minutes for Nikki and Nicki to meet me for lunch. We ate at Casa E Bottega; we all ordered the zucchini noodles in a pesto sauce. Sadly didn’t live up to the hype, but still a good meal. I asked for crushed red pepper, because we all know everything is better spiiiicy. They gave me a full pepper with scissors to get the flakes out - idk how to even describe it, just see the pic below. After lunch, Nikki and Nicki wanted to go back to the beach, but I decided to walk around the streets because it was just too hot for me. Walked up and down about two times, whilst I bought a black floppy hat and two pairs of custom made shoes (one for me and one to surprise mom with). So I finally decided to go back to the beach, and we stayed until 3:00 p.m. I got a cup of fruit for a midday snack before we got back onto the bus that left at 4:00 p.m. and arrived at the hostel at 4:35 p.m. Took a shower, relaxed and we were off to dinner at Tavola. Plot twist: sat down at the table, looked at the menu and realized we were too obsessed with our meal from the night before to not go back. So, we got up and left for Leoni Rosso. Lol???? WE FINALLY BROKE PASSOVER. Hallelujah. Had some bruschetta and of course the swordfish. KK. Maybe we should’ve kept it as a one time thing. It realllllly wasn’t that good. UGH. There I was: falling out of love with swordfish. Sigh. With our heads held down, we began our walk back to the hostel. And OMG did my stomach hurt. I truly felt like I was about to empty out on the side of the street. I tried to run, but it was difficult and thank GOD I got to our room when I did. Nuff said. What an exhausting but thrilling day - went to sleep at 10:40 p.m.

Happy May everyone!!!! Not that happy though because time to leave Amalfi :(. Had breakfast, met at 8:45 a.m., bus left at 9:15 to pick up the others at Sisters and we were off to Pompeii at 9:30. We got to there at 10:15, it was raining and we were told that we had the option of joining a private tour or walking around ourselves. Obviously Nikki and I, the wonderful tourists that we are, decided to go at it alone. SRY Nicki but we aren’t super into history. We were out of there within 20 minutes...it took us longer to find our way out of there than to sightsee. I think we exited at the wrong exit and were in a bit of a sketchy area, but we’re still alive so no worries. Nikki and Nicki got smoothies, we played games (lol) to keep ourselves busy, had lunch at a pizza place where of course I couldn’t eat and then we were on our way at 2:35 p.m. The bus got back at 9:00 p.m. (after being in way too much traffic just within Florence itself), and while we were driving we saw a rainbow how prettyyyyyy. Also changed my FB profile pic during the ride hint hint if you liked/commented I would be very much ok with that. SO safe to say this weekend was by far the most beautiful and relaxing. Loved loved loved it. Miss u already @amalfi.