A Season in Review

It's been a long time since my last entry. It's been a long time since I wasn't running around like a chicken with my head cut off, but that's the way I like it. When I was growing up I was surrounded by constant motion. My parents both have seemingly endless wells of energy-there is always something to paint, lawns to be mowed, second story additions to put on! It's really inspiring to see them refuse to slow down. This summer I tried my best to become Jim and Janet Farrell. The guests who came to the Faust Motel will hopefully tell you I did a pretty good job at getting all my work done.

After some mixed racing results on limited training because of the Jim and Janet impersonations, over the next few months I'll try mixing in some more vintage Amy (selfish time running on snowy back roads and hours in front of the TV on the Rainbow Ghostbike) to see if I can get my mojo back. It actually felt good to work really hard at something new and not freak out about not getting as many hours of training in as everybody else. It sucked to go back to Rhode Island hoping to be 15 minutes faster and being 15 minutes slower than last year, but I guess this year wasn't about kicking ass in triathlon. It was about getting my shit together in personal life and making a new business seem like the same old business. It was also about jumping into some new events, having fun, and prepping the pack for another shot at a fast marathon (even dogs need to train to train). Here's a brief recap of 2010:

June 6, 2010 Mooseman 70.3-great trip with my mom and Ruby to New Hampshire, wonderful homestay with our new friend Joanne, hypothermia and a DNF. When we got to the race site of Saturday the sun was shining, water seemed warm, and Ruby had a great time in the kids race. After a restless night of sleep we came back to the race site and found it chilly and starting to spit rain. The announcer kept suggesting we leave extra clothes by the bike, I ignored him and paid dearly. The swim was worse than I expected but after a solid spring of riding I was excited to get out onto the hilly course and play catch up. Instead I froze my ass off and never warmed up. At the end of loop one I pulled over with another female pro and called it a day. My body temp was around 93 so I was relieved to catch a ride in the ambulance they had called for the other woman, who had crashed. They drove us around in the ambulance for quite some time, but eventually were told they couldn't bring us into the transition area so they dumped us at an aid station where we hitchhiked for a ride from a nice local policeman! A highlight of this trip was definitely a stop at a NH State Liquor Store with Janet!

June 13, 2010 Lake Placid Half Marathon-After DNF'ing at Mooseman I needed to finish a race and I needed to do it sort of fast. I did a last minute entry into the Lake Placid Half Marathon and was accompanied to the race by my devoted parents, who happened to be in town for Ruby's dance recital. As I scurried to the start I noticed a seriously badass looking woman on the line. When I got closer I realized it was former high school running rockstar Sara Facteau, who repeatedly beat the snot out of most of the girls in New York State in the early 90's-yikes! I decided I would see what I could do and try and hang with her. As we hit the first mile way faster than I meant to go I asked what sort of pace she was hoping to run. We were also way faster than she meant to go. I tried to be wise and settle into a reasonable half marathon pace, instead of a fast 5k pace, and let her get away. I hit 5k under 18 minutes and knew it was really time to buckle down and pull hard on the reins! The out and back on River Road was perfect for this as I was easily distracted by looking for friends who were running and cheering for anyone who would listen! When I finally got back out to the ski jump hill the pink singlet was coming back into sight and I was feeling good. As I entered the oval she was heading for the finish-if I'd only had another mile or two! I did walk away feeling better about my training and better about racing in a skirt and I had a new open Half Marathon PR!

June 19, 2010 Great Adirondack Trail Run-this was the race I was most excited for this season! I've had friends run it and try to describe the special sort of pain racing up and over mountains can bring a person's legs, but this was even better. As this was my third weekend of racing in a row I was starting to get a little sick and run down, but about an hour in I started to feel great. Lots of stumbling and screeching-next year I know what to expect and how to improve! Probably the best running experience of the summer:)

June 25, 2010 Tinman Sprint Triathlon-After not winning a race since Duathlon Nationals I was starting to doubt the custom made, non puffy painted Ruby's Mom singlet. I wasn't really planning on racing this weekend as it was our first busy weekend at Faust and I was heading out of town for the St. Lawrence All Starz Wedding of the Century (congrats Amy and Lawton), but when a race goes right by your house it's impossible to pass it up! I was up and out of the water well before Kevin, Ruby and our biker guests thought about waking up. I rode by Faust and nothing! 45 minutes later I rode by again and there was my family, only they didn't seem to notice me-nice! After tripping over my bike on the way into transition I was off and happily running through my new hometown. I was able to the win, improve my previous best on the course by 9 minutes, and my family showed up to cheer me in!

July 11, 2010 Rhode Island 70.3-racing 4 out of 5 weekends leading up to this race may have been a bad idea. Spending the afternoon playing in the ocean with Ruby, my sister Tammy, and my niece Hillary the day before the race may have been a bad idea. Eating pre-race pizza at a dive called Fat Jack's Pizza Shack may have been a bad idea. Staying with Jen's cousin Carol and Andy was a great idea. I was excited to redeem myself after Mooseman and see if I could still hang with pros but after about 8 minutes in the water I knew it was going to be a long day. I got on the bike and just couldn't get my ass in gear. When my coach, who started in a wave 5 minutes behind me, rode up next to me and passed me it was like she had given me a swift kick in the ass and I sort of held it together for the rest of the ride. When I came into transition 20 minutes slower than I had told Tammy and the girls I had a hard time being positive as I headed out on the run. The only thing that kept me chugging along was seeing Ta and the girls and my run wasn't nearly as bad as my swim and bike-phew.

August 22, 2010 Xterra Lake Placid Trail Run-after a brief hiatus and lots of short dog-filled runs I was eager to try another messy trail run. This course, which went through our old Riki Hill stomping grounds, did not disappoint. Total mess, lots of fun!

September 16-17, 2010 Reach The Beach Relay-was in SLU Alumni All-Starz withdrawal and 24 hours in a van with the sweetest, smelliest SLU XC alums totally hit the spot. While it sucks to run slow it was just the kick in the ass I needed!

October 22, 2010 Octupperfest Mud Run-a race up Big Tupper and then back down! Ouch! For a solid week-ouch! Awesome lil race, can't wait to attack it next year!

October 31, 2010 Hairy Gorilla Half Marathon-the last time I did this race Tammy and I wore real wedding dresses and my poor nephew Sam had to be our groom. This year we were cavewomen and my nephew Mitchell got to be our caveboy. We arrived at the race with about 20 minutes to get our numbers, put on our costumes and stand in the bathroom line-yikes! Ta walked out of the bathroom just as the gun went off and Mitchell spent the first 3 miles leading us through the crowds we started behind! We didn't end up on the news like we did with the wedding dresses, but left with tons of laughs (Tammy ran an extra half mile or so trying to follow me onto the half marathon course, instead of following her son to the finish of the Squirelly 6 mile finish).

November 7th 2010 Manchester Marathon-When my BFF Alison got closed out of the Philly Marathon I got the idea that maybe I needed to accompany her to whatever race she found to take it's place. Manchester turned out to be a much needed girls weekend! With cool temps in the forecast Alison found us some lovely throw away sweatshirts to start the race in. We found a 13 year old boy to run with and he proved to be perfect motivation as she dropped him around mile 23 when she started to get sick of the sound of his footsteps and she pr'ed by 5 minutes! If you ever get the chance to run a marathon with one of your bestest friends in the whole world do it!

Telepathic blogging for moms on the run!

Has anyone been getting my telepathic blog entries over the past few weeks? Race updates, life updates, dog updates-I've been sending them out during my swims, bikes, and runs. If you aren't getting them-I've been busy, very very busy! One week in May amongst the craziness of being Ruby's mom, teaching, and training I made some huge decisions-I got my Pro license for triathlon, put an offer in on a motel, and started seeing my ex-husband. Big stuff! Huge stuff!

After performing well at Duathlon Nationals I decided it was ok to try and race pro this season and it would allow me a little bit more flexibility in planning my season, the only thing I forgot is that any 70.3 race I get into I would be swimming alone and then have to cycle for my life before I could put my running shoes on! The race round up will follow soon:)

So I bought a small motel with 5 cute little cabins circa 1955 and a cute little brick house circa 1978. My house in Saranac Lake was on the market again and I had started looking at houses in Tupper Lake when Faust Motel popped up and I snagged it! I know the whole thing seems very random, but for 5 years I've been driving by another motel with cabins, that has been for sale, saying, "that's where I'm going to host my running and triathlon camps." I never bought that one because it was twice as much as Faust and half as charming. We took over June 12th and have been having a great time meeting people, cleaning rooms, and moving out of the nightmare on Elm St so tenants could move in. The cabins each have 2 very basic, very clean rooms and if it weren't for the TV's one would think they are walking into a 1955 motel room in perfect condition.

When we started Ruby, my assistant manager, was going to be the window washing girl, but quickly realized she likes scrubbing toilets a lot better-she will leave here with a serious set of skills! She has had so much fun making friends with everyone who comes through. I think she especially likes making friends our European customers and showing off her sweet trampolining skills!

We have this maintenance man/on-site bike mechanic that's been hanging around helping us out too. I call him Kevin 2.0 and he's the new and improved version of the man I married in 2002. He is almost as good as Ruby at making friends with our guests as he talks bikes (motor and bi), shows off his new 1986 Chevy pickup, and grills like a madman! He's gotten a chance to do it all here at Faust as Ruby and I have had some busy weekends racing out of town. Kevin 2.0 is proof that if you persevere you can become exactly who you want to be. He just had a marathon couple of weeks finishing the Elm St house, but it's done and tenants are in and now he can sleep for a week or two! After 3 years of being separated it's amazing how much better we have become at communicating and being friends.

Huge Things!

My Dreambike-Serotta CXII

I meant to write this the other day after a 1 hour ride on my old red road bike when I felt like I was being stabbed in the delt. In 4 and half hours on my custom Serotta CXII a couple of days before this pain was not there, but 1 hour on the wrong bike and yowzy! The truth is I love my Serotta! Love like you love the comfort and coziness of your bed after a long day of barking orders at high school kids, love. From the moment I laid my eyes on it, I knew it was my baby. I've ridden everything-aluminum, carbon, titanium-multiples of each material and the carbon/steel combo is dreamy. It's not that I don't think big carbon aerodynamic bikes aren't cool, but after a quick trip to Lake Placid the other day I was reminded that if your bike doesn't fit and you aren't fit there's no possible way to be aerodynmic on the bike. Tons of shims take that aero bike away from it's original state and original point. The fact that this bike was made precisely for me is also dreamy-nagging aches and pains no more, I can stay aero comfortably for hours! After being blown off of bike courses from crosswinds and nearly bucked off by crappy roads I'm a huge fan of keeping it simple. I'm not the most stable rider, I'm downright twitchy to be honest and on this bike wind, logging trucks, hills, and rough roads are not a problem because it's so stable and powerful. Which means I get to be stable and powerful to go really really fast! Perfect fit, perfect mix of materials, and perfect frame construction from Serotta are my CXII-simple!

Sometimes Dogs Just Know...

and sometimes they chew through your daughter's Smartcycle cord. But it's the times when they surprise me by being especially sweet or considerate that I think-wow that dog really gets it! When I started teaching Adaptive Physical Education I brought Quenton into school to play therapy dog, and except for that one time when he shredded that playground ball, he went from my crazed puppy to a calm cool collected gentleman as soon as he hit school grounds. After Ruby was born we sent home some of her clothes for the dogs to smell so they wouldn't eat her and when she came home Bandit was so gentle and treated her like her own little baby. When I moved to Jen's for a year Q knew that Ruby and I needed extra spooning and he would have get used to falling asleep in my death grip. Roxy, sweet baby Roxy must've known that it was time for an easy, quiet dog to make my heart burst with pride when people remark about how gentle and well behaved she is. She has also been the best little runner from the first day we hit the trail-she knew what I needed.

The other morning I was running with the whole pack when we happened upon someone meditating. I was startled but the pack just ran right by him and left him alone! They never leave people alone on the trail unless they've been out there for hours, I really felt like they knew it was best to leave him alone and let him meditate. Then on the way back Roxy decided he needed 2 tiny paws to the back and Bandit gave him a bark-I guess they didn't know!

Duathlon National Championships Highlights

Raced the Duathlon National Championships this weekend-hit my goals square on the head, felt pretty awesome and proved that winning my age group last year wasn't a fluke after the freight train debacle. Phew, I'm not really sure if I would have gone through with trying to race pro for the rest of the season if I didn't win this race. Good thing it went as planned! Here are some Highlights from the weekend!
Most Insight from a 6 year old-
During the 4 hour drive to Aunt Kim's Ruby and I had a lot of time to talk and sing. The best conversation we had was when she woke up from a lovely hour nap and informed me that Earth Day should be everyday and that we all need to feel lucky to have the Earth while we have it and we need to take good care of it to make it last longer. Then she listed some of the ways we can help the environment-by not driving so much because the gases from our cars go up into the air and get trapped in clouds and then come back down in rain and kill plants and ruin lakes and rivers, by not using lead sinkers when we fish because they kills plants and fish, by not pulling grass out of the ground, and by turning off all the lights we don't need we can save a lot of energy!
Best Pre-flight Distraction-
When they brought me to the airport Ruby and I sat on different sides of a glass partition and talked to each other on the phone for 15 minutes and I explained to her that this is what it's like for people in jail-what a fun game!
Nicest Sight for Sore Eyes/BFF to the Rescue-
I made it to Virginia and pretended to be calm waiting in the airport for Jenny. I hadn't seen since she drove away from my house in August, so when she finally walked around the corner I ran up to her, gave her the biggest hug and then I just stared at her for a little while to make sure she was really there. She was and she really enjoyed the beautiful Econolodge I found for us on the Midlothian Turnpike. It took 4 tries to find a suitable non-smoking room, but we did it and we will live to tell about it!
Best Magic Potion-
Coach Martha promised-I'll be sprinkling invisible go-fast glitter dust on you during your race. she did and it worked
Best Cheer-
On the phone with Ruby before the race Jen asked her what she should cheer at me when I went by Ruby suggested, "RUN LIKE A MONKEY!" This was one of my favorite things to yell at teammates at SLU and for some reason she knows this and likes it.
Best Pre-Race Laugh-
On race morning I got a text from Kevin that said "kick ass! Ride like you stole it! Run like ur running from me! haha!" it's good when people make you laugh before races:)
Worst Foot In Mouth Comment to someone from USAT-
I like the duathlon scene, it has a good vibe, a little bit more relaxed than triathlon. Less of a flexing contest.
Funniest Post-race Field Trip-
Stumbling through Colonial Williamsburg on aching weary legs
Best Comment about Amy becoming less of a basket case at races-
I used to have this panic about things going wrong at races, I don't really get that anymore because things just sort of work out. -Jenny

Learning To Suck It Up & Move On

I don't think I ever gave racing parents enough credit when I first started out-I remember always wondering how they could race at a high level but figuring they must have nanny's or amazing overworked spouses. I know I thought it must be a juggling act, but I never realized how much. The minute I realized I was pregnant I gave up swimming and mostly just ran ran ran to my hearts content. It had been a long time since I didn't have to get in 2 or 3 workouts a day and could do whatever I wanted. One of my triathlete friends was also pregnant at the time and didn't take her time off as seriously as I did so when I turned to her 10 miles into a bike ride and said I had heartburn from the 3 hotdogs I'd eaten before we took off she looked at me like I had 2 heads, but without a race in sight and an alien having taken over my body I didn't see any reason to push it. This was the first time I had to learn to suck up my natural instinct to be aggressive and worry about what my competitors were doing and just enjoy moving as much as possible. I was hesitant to get back into triathlon at a high level because I knew how hard it was to reach my training and racing goals when all I had to worry about was one dog, how could I do it with a baby, a husband, a track team and two dogs? More often than not life gets in the way of the plans we make to achieve our goals. That's why I started back with marathoning, because it was uncharted territory so I wouldn't constantly compare to what I had done 5 or 6 or 8 years ago and it also wouldn't take away as much time from the family as triathlon. While the marathon year was fun and everything, lining up next 95 pounders floating through 6 minute mile after 6 minute mile was discouraging and tore my legs up like nothing I have ever done!

When I had sorted a few things out in my personal life and almost gotten over the sciatic nerve injury from 2 marathons in 7 weeks it was time to get my ass back on bike and experiment. Knowing that training and racing time wouldn't come as easy as they did in my 20's last years was an experimental year-I would train as much as I could and do a few half ironmans and see what happened. I didn't really follow a schedule and things went pretty well, so this year I've been getting guidance and key workouts from Martha Grinnell, the woman who taught me how to be a triathlete at 22, trying to complete what I can, and getting in as many hours I can. Between my family and friends and Kevin on Ruby duty I had been getting in enough to stay sane and feel ok about the prospect of racing pro this season. Ruby and I spent much of spring break with my sisters who were more than happy to send me out on runs and rides or take field trips to their local pools. I felt really good about getting my first bigger week in and saved Friday and Saturday for my long run and ride, we kicked off Friday with a trip to Whiteface and I immediately got a pit in my gut that the training plans for the weekend were heading out the window. Needless to say, instead of getting 6 hours of training in over those 2 days I got in 1 crazed 1 hour run followed by a rather dramatic meltdown because I was certain I couldn't race at the level I want to if I can't train at the level I want to. My support team responded quickly and despite trying to dig my heals in about how impossible it all was they convinced me that sometimes we just have to suck it up and move on. Extract the awesome parts, be grateful for them and just do our best. Martha, besides being a great coach, is an even better psychiatrist and always has the perfect words of wisdom and encouragement to help me put things into perspective. This time was no different and with a lot of help from Ruby, Kevin, and our wonderful daycare provider, Kelli, I cowboyed up and had my best week of training in 7 or 8 years! Suck it up and move on, suck it up and move on:)

The Easter We Had To Laugh

After starting our spring break finding the perfect new running buddy, Ruby and I decided to hit the road and go visit my sisters and their families for a few days. Our first leg was a short trip to Clifton Park, normally short unless your 6 year old is speaking in "blah" and "fart" non-stop and quizzing you about what she's saying! I don't know how people travel with more than one child-a chorus of the abc's in "blah"-ouch! So we spent a few days at Aunt Ta Ta's house playing and training. Roxy made friends with a cat cousin who is bigger than her-pretty uneventful time in the burbs highlighted by a couple of great runs and rides at the Saratoga Battlefield.

Ruby and I crammed cousin Hillary into the car on with Quenton and Bandit and hopped onto the Thruway for Easter weekend at Aunt Kim's in Lansing. When we arrive it was wine and hot tub time-so when Hillary quietly told Ruby she wanted to go home to her family I had to explain that Aunt Kim had forced me to drink a glass of wine so I couldn't drive her the 3 and half hours home. She held it together and soldiered on! It was shortly after the hot tub that we started to notice ants, tiny tiny ants sneaking out here and there-no biggy we carried on planning our adventures not worrying about the little creepers. The next day our parents arrived-yay! Whenever Jim Farrell visits any of our homes projects usually ensue whether we like it or not, so usually we try our best to get him to chill out and enjoy himself. It was a beautiful day and we were enjoying the sunshine on the back deck watching Hillary and Ruby dredge the little pond when they could keep it dog free and coloring Easter eggs. It got so warm that we decided to pull the umbrella out. After some confusion about weighing down the base of the umbrella and a little jerry-rigging we had it set and were enjoying the shade! The wind was picking up but Kim and I both thought-wow, it's working as we headed inside to gather snacks. Two minutes later there was a loud crash, the glass table top was shattered all over the deck and Jim was about to wake up from his nap! We swept furiously and gave the girls instructions for no more bare feet by the hot tub. By the time we thought we'd done a great clean up he was asking for a Shop Vac for the tiny shards of glass we'd missed in the cracks. Farrell=thorough:) Within 2 hours the table had smashed, we cleaned up, and then he pulled a sheet of plywood out to make a new table top! When Kim couldn't locate any duct tape for the fancy blue plastic table clothe we had to improvise with coordinating blue painters tape. Farrell=industrious:)

The rest of the family poured in and they (I say they because I still play helpless youngest child busy plotting my next ride and incapable of being domestic) started prepping for the next days big meal. We all went to bed late thinking all was safe, but at some point in the middle of the night I went to the restroom and found the giant plastic bolts on the toilet seat had been removed by elves! Someone must have realized this because when I woke up there were cute notes reminding the 14 people on the house that one of the two toilets could be dangerous and to use with caution. The other discovery on that lovely Easter morn was creepy little ants that had devoured a giant pan of brownies and some delicious candy the Easter bunny had delivered. We laughed, sealed everything in ziploc bags, and decided maybe it was time to go to church and prayer for a little help! As we pulled away I heard one of the 5 dogs howling especially loud but figured our favorite Jewish, dog loving uncle would take care of him. After mass I headed out on a run to let the grown ups start prepping for dinner. When I arrived home I walked into the kitchen to see anyone needed my help and found a kitchen of women who had been visited by a 6 year old face painting monster! Kim also showed me how the howling hound had escaped via the screen door, it's so nice when dogs can take care of themselves:) Fortunately we made it through the rest of the day only a couple of broken dishes, a few more ants, the normal side effects of giant family meals and a lot of laughs!