The missing miles.

Yesterday I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon. 13.1 miles. I consider them the missing miles from my meaningful but failed attempt at the Wildflower Half Ironman. 21 days later but I did them. And in typical Kim fashion, I did not prepare for them adequately. Or at all. I ran once between Wildflower and yesterday. It has been crazy busy at work and well, despite my pride over the whole Wildflower weekend, my workout ego has taken a bruising and I have let myself go. I've been off the workout wagon and unmotivated to get out there and fix that. So the fact that I actually got up at 5am and took the Q train to Brooklyn yesterday is pretty tremendous.

I can't tell you how many times over the past week I thought about ditching the race. "I haven't trained." "I'm too busy to pick up the race packet." "I need to sleep more than I need to run." "It will be one more race to prove how slow I am these days and I will be disappointed." But I kept thinking about the need to "fail better." Just finishing would be a much better "fail" than not doing it at all. So I did it.

And slow it was. I took the run 4 minutes/walk 1 minute approach and the breakdown into 5 minute chunks made the whole thing more palatable somehow. The humidity was not helpful and the two loops of Prospect Park were steamy indeed. It was nice to see my co-worker Sam on the course (twice) and very nice to have the water stations stacked to the brim with cups at every turn! I think I only skipped two and did a decent job of adjusting walk breaks to coincide with fluid stations. I took 2 gus and a few sport beans and ditched the fuel belt for this one. Luckily that worked for this race.

The last, straight, flat stretch on Ocean Parkway was fine but just a tad longer than I needed it to be. I just wanted to get to the boardwalk, and when I did I couldn't have been more relieved. I didn't have any extra kick in me for a big finish and somehow even managed to miss a few folks calling my name! The finish was uneventful and after half a bagel and a banana, an extremely efficient bag pick up (there weren't that many left in my corral ;) and a quick shirt change, I headed to the beach.

I was hurting and I remembered regretting that I hadn't taken a dunk in Lake San Antonio after the ride at Wildflower. So I headed down to the ocean for a little stroll. It was cold and served as a perfect post-race ice bath! A relaxing visit to the post-race festival followed. There were cool sand castle building experts, kids games and a fun band (April Smith and the Great Picture Show.)

As I was on my way down Stilwell headed to the subway home, a few Wildflower peeps spotted me and I ended up hanging with them at a beach bar for a bit longer. Friends, fun and food. All good things. I was home before 1pm and will admit to crashing hard. Old man Sam and I napped away the afternoon. And today, I hurt. My quads are killing me and I've been icing and ibuprofening all day.

But 70.3 was done in the month of May - 1.2 in Lake San Antonio, 56 in the hills of Bradley, California and 13.1 on the roads of Brooklyn.

Wildflower 2010...setting up camp

I might need to buy this print from the Keep Calm Gallery Says it all, don't you think? Well I did a horrible job of recounting race weekend last year so I thought I'd try to do a better job this year.

I've found that people are afraid to ask me about the race - they're scared I'll break down and cry (shocking, I know) or be too embarrassed to talk about it. But I'm not. I'm proud of the weekend and all that I experienced. So here goes:

This year I took advantage of an airline credit I earned by volunteering and booked a flight to SF a day earlier than the group. My co-worker Karen was my coordinator and had to travel out early to set up the campsite for the team. I offered to help. Well, really I used that as an excuse to travel on Thursday so as not to arrive Friday afternoon and feel the panicked rush of traveling for 8 hours, setting up camp, retrieving my bike and getting up the next morning at the crack of dawn to attempt 70.3 hilly miles. I was very glad I did.

Karen and I had a lovely drive down to Lake San Antonio in the rental Mercedes SUV (thanks free upgrade) with stops to eat yummy Mexican food, load up on supplies and drink some Starbucks on the cheap (compared to NYC!) The weather was stunning and continued to be so for the entire weekend. Sunny, clear and not the least bit hot. In fact, our first night and day might even be considered a little bit cold! Gloves were in order as the night went on and there is at least one picture of me floating around in which I look like a giant blue marshmallow because I have so many layers on under my sweatshirt.

First order of business - pick a campsite for 30+ tents. This did not prove to be an easy task. Many TNT chapters had already arrived and I was disappointed to see that last year's NYC Chapter spot was already taken. With not a flat inch to be found we staked out a lovely spot near the TNT Pasta Party Tent. Amenities: 2 fire pits w/grills, 3 picnic benches (until another chapter stole one,) nearby bathrooms and shower truck and ample parking. The SF Chapter nearly kicked us out but finders/keepers ruled. We set to work bringing the tents from the tent box and laying out Team NYC's tent village. We had 21 tents to set up and only a few hours of daylight left. Imagine two city girls trying to set up that many tents. Especially considering most of the tents were missing one part or another. Karen was impressed by my knowledge of the term "fly" and kindly put up with my bossy tent assembly guidance. Not more than 7 0r 8 tents in our hands were frozen and the sky was dark. We set up my solo tent and packed it in for the night. The team was expected around 3:30 or 4pm on Friday so we were safe to finish up the next morning. As long as we woke up early enough to fend off earlier arriving chapters and defend our space we were good to go. Day 1 of Wildflower - quiet, cool, beautiful.

Wildflower 2010

May 1, 2010 - Race Report Part 1

"I may not be a finisher, but I'm definitely a winner." I've been repeating that mantra since about 3:15pm Pacific time on Saturday, May 1. For the bicycle gods were not kind to me you see. Not one, but two flat tires foiled my attempt to finish the Long Course at Wildflower this year. Between myself and Mike the SAG guy the flats got fixed and I completed all 56 miles of the bike course, but I only managed to get through 57.3 miles of the 70.3 I was aiming for overall. As with most races there were time cutoffs - and I missed the one that would have allowed me to start the run course and finish those last 13.1 miles on my feet.

Disappointed? You bet. Horribly disappointed and riddled by "What if?"s Friends and supporters keep telling me not to beat myself up. I was fairly hysterical as I sped down the final hill on Charlie with the knowledge that I would not be able to continue once I hit the transition area. A little white car had come up beside me somewhere between miles 50 and 53 out of 56 (I seem to have blocked exactly when) and the men inside informed me that the run course had closed. "I can't do the run?" I asked, still pedaling. "I'm afraid not," they said. "You mean I can't run?" I asked again. "No, we're sorry," they said. "We can take you in or you can finish the bike course, just be aware that the roads are open to traffic." A brief hesitation and then I continued on.

In the last few miles I passed cars and lingering spectators and even a portion of the run course as the rest of the field finished up the race. And as I got to the chute heading into transition, I knew I would need to let go of 2010 and set my sights on Wildflower 2011. The timing mats had already been removed and if you look at the official results, I only have a swim time (and a decent one at that.) As my dear co-worker Karen says, I successfully completed the Wildflower Biathlon.

But here's the part that makes me a winner - that night at the 2nd Inspiration Dinner for the 400+ Team In Training participants from across the country participating in the Wildflower Triathlon that weekend, I was announced as the 9th highest fundraiser. The NYC Chapter had 3 of the top ten fundraisers in the country for Wildflower and I was one of them. That is what truly counts. That is what means more than the shiny medal I didn't get this year. That is what means more than another embarrassing finish line photo that didn't get taken. Months of training and bothering all of you may not have ended the way I had hoped, but I couldn't ask for anything more wonderful than the tremendous support I have received and the success I have had where it matters the most.

My initial goal was to be able to say I had raised $25,000 over 3 seasons. That milestone was blown out of the water. 128% of my fundraising goal this season alone. Nearly $9,000 this season and nearly $27,000 overall. I could not be more humbled or more grateful.

So thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't say it enough. Thank you for your donations, thank you for your kind words, thank you for your faith in me and thank you for defining "team" in an astonishing way. Donors, teammates, coaches, bike shops, co-workers and friends made up the best Team a girl could hope for. I hope you won't mind if I ask for your support again next year :) Wildflower Long Course 2011 - I'm coming for you.

Stay tuned for a more complete recounting of what turned out to be an amazing weekend.

I did a little googling for some inspirational quotes -

Confucius:
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

And I can't believe I'm going to quote a sports figure but:

Michael Jordan:
If it turns out that my best wasn't good enough, at least I won't look back and say that I was afraid to try; failure makes me work even harder.

99 miles this week

If you hadn't noticed my new widget on the left, check it out! Dailymile is like facebook for athletes (and I use the term "athlete" loosely.) It's been a great way for me to track my workouts and, in combination with my new Garmin, a great way to watch my progress. And this week Dailymile tells me I covered 99 miles in the pool and on the roads!

That's insane! It's like going to Philadelphia from NYC!

43 miles of that happened today on a lovely bike ride to Nyack, NY and back. Destination, the cyclist's pit stop, The Runcible Spoon.

An 8am start at the GW bridge for me, one of my TNT coaches and a few of my teammates led to some lovely mileage in NY and NJ. Despite a few wrong turns we all made it to the pictured cafe, had a few baked goods and then headed home. The route along 9W is packed with cyclists on the weekend and the fantastic weather made for a beautiful ride.

The hills were definitely challenging but the ride up the hill at the state line seemed much less difficult than I remembered it being from last year! Progress!

Worst part of the ride? On the way to the Boat Basin for a brunch with teammates, I took a tumble on Riverside Drive. I hate riding in traffic and a slow moving car on a downhill coupled with me riding too close behind a teammate led to me bouncing between my teammate's bike and a car and crashing to the street. Scraped knee, torn tights and bent handlebars notwithstanding, I'm totally fine. The cars behind me were far enough back to stop and not run me over. The car I hit stopped to make sure I was okay and I got right back in the saddle to finish the journey to a sunny table with friends and a turkey cheeseburger.

I'm a klutz, but a really lucky klutz.

On the fundraising front we're super close to the uber-goal of $25,000. Spread the word! Donate what you can! trikimtri.com

Pay It Forward

When I started training for my first triathlon in 2008, I didn't have a bike. I was unemployed and the thought of buying a bike was daunting. Plus, what if I hated biking?

In walks my pal Jason, who listened to my dilemma and said, "I have a bike you can use." And he gave me a bike. Flat out gave it to me to use for my training. Problem solved. Chuck the mountain bike served me well. He never got a flat and he never complained. Which isn't to say he was the perfect choice for a very hilly triathlon. But Chuck was free and available and I rolled into the cycle finish shoot grateful to have such wonderful friends.

When I signed up to do the Half Ironman, I knew that Chuck couldn't do it with me. Twice the hills would be too hard on Chuck. So I saved my pennies (pulled out my credit card) and with the help of a very patient coach, purchased Charlie, the road bike.

Poor Chuck watched as I headed out for rides on Charlie and gloated a little as I fixed two flats on the new bike. But there wasn't really room for both in my studio apartment. So, with the blessing of Jason, Chuck has found a new home.

The bike that made my first TNT Triathlon journey possible is now in the hands of Chantelle. I met Chantelle while she was training for the Marine Corps Marathon with TNT last fall. She's lovely and energetic and passionate and a part of my extended TNT family. And now Chuck has been re-gifted to her.

Pay it forward.

New Toy - First Readout!

Garmin Connect -
Activity Details for Untitled

Cycle gear :)

One of my cycle team members took this pic of me at the first team ride in NJ. Snow, rain, we got it all :)

7 weeks and icky weather

7 weeks from today it will be over. I will have completed 70.3 miles. I gotta admit, I'm a little terrified. I've kicked up my training over the past two weeks and am pretty proud of that (it's about time.) But the next few weeks are super busy and it's gonna be a challenge to keep at it - this week's training plan calls for a 3-4 hour (50-60 mile) bike ride! Yikes!

Speaking of bike rides....today's was a doozy. The rain the weathermen have been promising arrived and was pretty relentless. But I'm crazy and couldn't deal with setting up the trainer. Weather.com kept promising a dry spell in the afternoon and I foolishly believed them. They lied.

But I did it anyway. The good news is that it wasn't cold. The bad news is that it was wet. Really wet. But it wasn't crowded at least. In fact I only saw 2 other cyclists as foolish as me. And one of them was smart enough to have a bike with a back fender. Because when you ride in the rain, everything you ride through spits up off your back tire and onto you and your bike. I don't even want to think about what all of the gunk was that ended up on Charlie and me. I just know that it took me twenty minutes to clean everything when I got home and I had to strip in the tub to avoid the dirt and gunk ending up all over the floor. Gross.

The best part about biking in the rain? Watching all of the runners. Tons of runners. All different types of runners. There was barefoot runner with his Vibrams in his hands. There was "I will not move my hands up from my sides" man who ran keeping his arms down at his sides the whole time. There was windmill girl - hands and feet akimbo with every step. There was "come with me" man who's right arm waved in such a way that he looked like he was beckoning you to follow him. There was shuffle man who did not fully lift either foot and sounded like he was doing a soft shoe as he moved along. And there were the folks running in sweats. Cotton sweats. In the rain. Ow.

The amazing part is that we were all out there getting it done. As my marathon coaches always said, "You never know what the weather is going to be on race day." I'm pretty certain it rains in triathlon world sometimes too. I'll be ready for it if it does.

Goal!!!

No, I haven't turned into a soccer fan, but with your help I reached part one of this season's fundraising goal. That's right, as of today I have raised $4900 - the fundraising minimum for the Wildflower Triathlon this season.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to rest on my laurels and stop - oh, no. Part two of my fundraising goal is to hit the $25,000 mark - not for this season alone, but for all three of my seasons with TNT combined. That's right, $25,000 total. And we're only $2082 away.

I'll pretty much do anything to get donations right now. Proof? Last week I recorded the intro to Chris Russell's Run Run Live podcast -- and he used it! Check it out here! I included a plug for my donation site and this blog. I guess now I have to post a little more frequently :)

Thanks to everyone for their continued support. $25,000 and 70.3 miles - we can do this!

Blizzard!

I'll believe it when I see it but that's what they're saying is heading our way. One more thing making it harder for me to get out there and run. The treadmill is mocking me and I'm starting to panic just a tad about 70.3 in May. Swimming is going well. Biking is, well, non-existent except for some spin classes and I've hit a low point in terms of running speed. The Gridiron 4 miler in Central Park this past Sunday was my slowest race - ever.

So I for one am hoping for clear skies and less pre

cipitation so that I can get out there and run!

p.s. Did I mention my new bike - my first road bike - arrived? It's at the local bike shop being put together as we speak. Can't wait to get on it!!!!

Chilly Central Park this morning

There was a lot going on this morning. I headed up to 77th Street for an 8:20 start. Checked in with my winter season Miami team (as a coordinator) and handed off some info before walking over to the park with my spring season half ironman team (as a participant!) and doing one hour and 16 minutes. The plan from the coaches was 3x up Harlem Hill and then sprint repeats across the 102nd Street transverse for about 20 minutes. I was sloooow and my breathing is not right yet, but I did it. 1 hour and 16 minutes and 7.02 miles. Back to 77th to check in with Miami one more time and see some Fall Season alum and then down to 63rd for a recruitment meeting! Whew. Now I'm off for a swim since I missed my swim yesterday. If only Rock of Ages didn't pay me so much to stand around for 3 hours. ;)

Wish me luck!

The New year.

Seems I wrote a post with this title last year :)

But it's a new year once again and I've got to getting on the training train fast! Official TNT training started before Thanksgiving, but I've admittedly been slacking and that has got to stop! So I'm trying hard to stick to the schedule and it was going okay, until this morning.

I had signed up to run the Fred Lebow 5 miler. And I overslept. Didn't hear the alarm at all. Woke up when the dog started barking in his sleep.

But I'm tracking my activity on dailymile.com in an effort to feel more accountable. Wish me luck!

Tuesday, December 8th, starting at 8:30pm, join Bret & Kim at The Mean Fiddler on 47th Street and help in the fight against blood cancers. A $10 donation at the door gets you drink specials, live entertainment beginning at 10pm and one chance at your choice of the door prizes below. Can't make it but want to be eligible for one (or more!) of the prizes? Make a donation of $5 or more to

Kim's Fundraising Page (http://trikimtri.com) by noon Tuesday and leave a comment letting us know what prize(s) you're interested in - we'll enter you for a chance to win! Winners not present will be notified on Wednesday, December 9th.

1. $800 flight credit on Continental Airlines for 2010
(some restrictions apply)

2. 1 hour massage at Longevity + Health ($110 value)

3. 1 1/2 hour Acupuncture Support for Running Buddies
acupuncture and tui na massage ($300 value)

4. A STEADY RAIN windowcard autographed
by Hugh Jackman & Daniel Craig and a SHREK windowcard
autographed by the company (pricesless)

5. A 2010 personal forecast from Sharita's Star Secrets
($200 value)

6. A stunning print from David E. Liddell of Liddell Photography

7. 2 tickets to WEST SIDE STORY at selected performances
in January ($240 value)

8. A Nike+ Sportband and Brand New Official Human Race
T-shirt and limited edition drawstring bag ($100 value)

One chance for every $5! A bonus chance for every $20!

Thanks for your support! We hope to see you there.

Visit www.LLS.org for more information about The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and their mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma and to improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

Bret & Kim's Holiday Fundraiser December 8th!

Are you ready to join us on December 8th? I hope so! Bret Shuford and I decided to throw a fundraiser to support The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Bret is training with LLS's Team In Training for the first time and aiming to cross the finish line in at the Walt Disney World Marathon in January. I just started my third season with TNT and am aiming for the Wildflower Half Ironman Triathlon in May. We're both doing this to raise awareness and funds in the fight against blood cancers.

We hope you can make it!

When: Tuesday December 8, 2009 8:30pm-midnight

Where: The Mean Fiddler - 266 West 47th Street

What: $10 donation at the door gets you:

drink specials

live entertainment

door prizes including:

$800 flight credit on Continental Airlines for 2010

(some restrictions apply)

1 hour massage at Longevity + Health ($110 value)

1 1/2 hour Acupuncture Support for Running Buddies

acupuncture and tui na massage ($300 value)

A STEADY RAIN windowcard autographed

by Hugh Jackman & Daniel Craig

SHREK windowcard autographed by the company

A stunning print from David E. Liddell of Liddell Photography

2 tickets to WEST SIDE STORY in January

A Nike+ Sportband and Brand New Official Human Race T-shirt

additional chances for door prizes available for $5 each or 5 for $20 - choose which prize you want to win!

Performances begin at 10pm. Currently scheduled to appear:

MC Lara Yaz first performed stand-up comedy when she was 13 years old in her middle school cafeteria for a talent show. Ten years later she moved to New York and decided to try it for reals. Since then she has been featured in the comedy group 'Lack of Etiquette' with Tim Warner and Ed Murray and wrote the popular music blog for springstreetsessions.com under the name April O'Neil. Spring Street Sessions' compilation cd of featured music which was released in 2006 also includes several tracks of her live performances at Sly Bar. Most recently Lara appeared on Comedy Central's Open-Mic Fight New York. She continues to perform at comedy clubs around the city.

Becca Ayers Broadway: South Pacific (original revival cast); Les Miserables (original revival cast); Avenue Q. Off-Broadway: Sarah Plain and Tall. Film: Clear Blue Tuesday (a movie musical with characters, songs and scenes created by the cast.) Itunes: brainypants with band: baby goes bang, Becca Ayers; live at the Laurie Beechman www.beccaayers.com

VERO

Kay Trinidad

and Tituss Burgess

And starting at 11pm - DJ Theocracy - Theo Stockman from HAIR

Plus:

Introductory astrology and numerology readings from Sharita's Star Secrets. Discover the connection between your sun sign, karmic path, and your current place in time for only $15 bucks to help support our cause. Check out www.sharitastar.com.

Special thanks to Mike at The Mean Fiddler for generously donating the space! Tip your bartender :)

Save the Date!

So Bret and I are having a fundraiser on Tuesday, December 8th! Bret is training for the Walt Disney World Marathon in January and very shortly I will begin my training for the Wildflower Half Ironman in May. We each have separate fundraising goals, but we're teaming together to hold one whopper of an event! Mark your calendars! Details coming soon!

Coming soon - Kim Is At It Again!

Alright everyone, there's a new obejctive and I'm trying new things. I can't wait to get started. A half ironman, a $25,000 goal and a new job. Get ready for more of the craziness that is Kim!

kim on a bike

I'm still pasty white so this must have been early in the bike portion!

results

7079 - KIMBERLY RUSSELL

race	Olympic Course
age	43
hometown	New York, NY
time	04:09:15 at Finish Line
rankings	2325th Overall 900th Overall Women 92nd 40-44 Women
splits	interval time pace Swim 36:25 39:05 min/mi T1 08:34 Bike 02:12:05 11.29 mi/hr T2 02:42 Run 01:09:28 11:11 min/mi

4:09:15

I did it!  I'm still recovering and unpacking and procrastinating doing the laundry, so give me a few days to gather my thoughts.  It was an amazing weekend that finished off with another surprise which I will fill you in about soon.

8 hours....

....until my flight for San Francisco leaves.  I have packed - although I am not confident that I have packed the right things.  My obsession with the weather forecast continues and I just can't decide if I I've packed warm enough/cool enough/enough enough clothing.  I am just befuddled by the whole camping thing!  Wish me luck!