Conquering the Death Hill

So I have done the BLT with Tri Fusion about 7 times now. I would like to start by saying that the first time I did the 16 mile loop, I cried about 3 times. Jen was so good at encouraging me to keep going and calming me down. She always looks on the bright side of EVERYTHING! This is one of the many things I love about this girl :) Doesn't she just look so happy!?!



I would like to say that I have come a LONG way over the weeks, and now I really enjoy the loop...except for that pesky DEATH HILL. Here is my death hill progression over the first 6 weeks:

Weeks 1 &2 - Stopping at the bottom, not even attempting the hill, and walking my bike to the top. (This KILLS my calfs by the way because of the angle of my bike shoes...think walking up-hill in reverse heels.)

Weeks 3 & 4 - Riding about 1/4 of the way up, then stopping and walking my bike to the top. (Calfs still in major pain!)

Weeks 5 & 6 - Riding 1/2 way up, then stopping, taking off my shoes, and walking my bike to the top in my socks. (Calfs doing better!)

I think it is pretty safe to say that I HATE that death hill! So yesterday when Tiffany told me that it was my day to make it to the top (because Jessi and Tiff had talked it over and decided for me!), I looked at her and said, "Ya right!" It was pouring rain, I had had a long day, and it just wasn't going to happen. So Christina and I headed off on our ride, fully intending to walk up that pesky death hill. Here we are pre-ride :)


As I started riding, all I could think about was the stupid hill! It was totally mocking me and I felt like I should put it in its place today! However, my legs were so tired and I just wasn't feeling it! Oh, what to do! Now Christina and I have been friends for years and one of the things I love about her is that she always tells me what I want to hear. Here is how part of our conversation on the bike went:

Me: "Christina, I totally think I am going to try to make it up the death hill today!"
C: "You can totally do it Trish! You are so awesome!"

5 minutes later...

Me: "Christina, there is NO way I can make it up the hill! My legs are freaking KILLING me!"
C: "That hill is ridiculous! We can turn around before we even get there!"

5 minutes later...

Me: "But Tiff said that today was my day, so I am going to go for it!"
C: "You got it Trish! Piece of cake!"

We went back and forth like this the entire ride until we hit the bottom of the hill. At that moment, I felt like I had 4 options:

1. Turn around now! (Out of the question for Trish 2008!)
2. Walk up the hill and save my legs for the rest of the ride. (Tiff and Jessi would NEVER let me get away with this one!)
3. Ride up as far as possible, take off my shoes, and walk the rest of the way in my socks (but that meant my socks would be soaking wet, so that was out).
4. Go for it!

So, I went for it. I don't know what got into me. Maybe it was the rain...maybe it was the green apple gel I took before the ride...maybe it was my new Coach sunglasses that I wore by mistake...maybe it was Tiff's voice in my head telling me I would never regret it...who knows! I do know that Christina was adorable and cheered her heart out for me at the top of her lungs as she walked her bike up the hill! Now that is friendship! I thought I might die as I neared the top, but I freaking made it! Look how happy I was! This is our victory cheer! (Note that I am breaking out the old school "Yessssss!)

I want to give a shout out to Jay, who rode right next to me and made it to the top for the first time too! Man, what a great day! In your face death hill! Now does this mean that I have to make it to the top EVERY time I ride???

Iron Eagle Triathlon

The Iron Eagle Triathlon was my third triathlon this season, and my fourth ever. For some strange reason, I was REALLY nervous for this one. (I think maybe it had to do with my crash at the last race.) So, I woke up early on Sunday morning to rain. Boo! Those of you who know me well know that I am not a huge fan of rain. (I hate when my hair gets wet!) Luckily, the temperature wasn't too cold, and I figured I would be wet after the pool anyway, so I sucked it up, picked up my friend Christina and headed to the race.

As I arrived at Eastern, I started seeing my teammates and my nervousness changed to excitement. I must say that I LOVE racing as part of Tri Fusion! My friends are so wonderful and encouraging and fun and hilarious and they always make me smile :) As soon as I got my Tri Fusion tats on (thanks Tim!), I was ready to race.



As I was waited for the swim to start, I made a mental note of my 3 goals for the race:

1) Complete the race in under 1:45:00.

2) Use my big chain ring when possible on the bike.

3) Run the whole run, EVEN on the hills.

Bonus goal: NO STITCHES!

My fabulous friend Christina came to cheer for me and count my laps. She is training for her first triathlon and I thought it would be good for her to watch a race before she did one. She was such a support to me during the race counting laps, taking pictures and cheering her little heart out! Thanks so much friend!


Okay, back to the race. The race has a pool swim (YESSSSS!) so we started in heats. Somehow all of the Tri Fusion peeps got to start in the same heat. It was really fun to see us all lined up and ready to go at the same time! We had to circle swim with 3 or 4 people in a lane, which is not ideal for me. I sometimes stress out when I circle swim because I worry too much about the people around me instead of focusing on my swim. I did pretty well though and when I got out of the pool, I noticed others will still swimming in my heat. Always a good sign :)


After the swim I headed out on the bike. It was POURING!! Now I know I said I would be wet from the swim anyway, but after the bike I was SOAKED! My legs felt good on the bike and I was able to actually pass people! That was my first time ever passing someone on the bike in a race and it was awesome! I had a really good ride and I rode the entire second half in my large chain ring! Goal #2 - check!

After the bike I dismounted in transition, felt a little wobbly, had to stop and get off the bike carefully, then started the run. The first little bit was pure mud, and I was a little nervous of slipping (and truthfully, of getting majorly dirty because I am not a fan of mud and I was in my brand new Tri Fusion race shirt!), but I took it slow and was able to pick up the pace when I hit the pavement. The run was hilly and it felt long to me, but I was able to run the entire time! Goal #3 -check! And I passed 3 people! WHAT!?!

Also, the highlight of my entire race was when Jessi, Tiffany, AND Tim came back to finish the run with me! I have to say that it was the most amazing feeling when I came over the top of the last sucky hill (and let me just say that I wanted to walk pretty badly!) and I saw my 3 amigos running towards me cheering their heads off! Jessi came back EVEN with battle wounds and Tiff came back EVEN with major blisters on her ankles. Now that is love! I also enjoyed the comic relief Tim added to the end of my run :) Thank so much friends!

I crossed the finish line feeling strong! I had some technical difficulties setting my watch when the race started, so I had no idea what my time was. But now the official results are out and my final time was 1:28:55! That means that I blew Goal #1 out of the water! And my SECRET time goal was actually 1:30:00, and I blew that out of the water too! I could not have been happier with my rainy day race :)

Shout out to Jen who completed her first race of the season after waiting for a knee injury to recover, and a shout out to Laura who completed her first triathlon EVER! These ladies did awesome and I am so proud of them!

And here I am with Tiffany and Jessi, my incredible teammates and friends! I have grown a lot closer to both of these ladies this year and I absolutely LOVE racing with them! These girls are phenomenal! After the race, a group of us headed over to Pita Pit for some post-race grub, conversation, and tons of laughter :) What a perfect ending to a fabulous race day! I think I might be liking racing more and more...

A Restored Faith in Humanity

Yesterday I was out running errands, and I had to stop to get gas. Let me just say that I HATE getting gas because filling my tank costs almost as much as 1/2 of a pair of designer jeans. I know, I know...that is ridiculous! So as I was filing my tank, I am thinking, "great...there goes the right leg of the new jeans I want!" Obviously my mind was wandering and I was not focusing on the task at hand. (You will see later why this was a problem.) When my tank was full, I printed my receipt, hopped in my car and drove off to finish my errands.

At the next stop, I got my wallet out to pay and noticed that my credit card was not in its designated home. Now those who know me well know that I am the type of person who keeps everything in the exact spot where it belongs at ALL times. So there was NO way that I had stuck my card somewhere else. I checked my purse anyway, and my car with no luck. Crap! Now I start panicing!

Are you kidding me that I lost my credit card at a gas station, of all places! That is about the easiest place to use a credit card that is not yours, so I was praying that whoever found it turned it in without running up the bill, but felt that my chances were pretty slim. I sped back to the station and searched the ground. No card! Double crap! So I went inside and asked the guy if anyone had turned in a credit card. To my surprise, he said YES! I could not believe that someone turned in my card! It was my lucky day for sure!

Will all of the identity theft going on these days, I want to give a shout out to the person who did the right thing and turned in my card! You helped restore my faith in humanity!

**Side note: I really DO think that most people out there are good people. But bottom line...when you lose your credit card you never know what will happen...