Tag Archives: 5k

Tri and Recover… & Recover Some More

Prior to March 31^st, I had no plans on racing in the Madison Sprint Triathlon on May 4^th. In fact, I had planned on going out to support my Tri club with a camera in hand. However, my dismal bike ride at Red Hills on March 31^st left me determined to prove to myself that I could ride faster than 11 mph, not that 11 mph is bad, I just knew I was capable of better.

So, after the Red Hills Triathlon on March 31^st, I signed up for the North Florida Sprint Triathlon in Madison, Fl. This race also offers an Olympic distance option. Part of me wanted to sign up for the Olympic distance, but the thought of swimming out twice as far, instead of swimming two short loops quickly helped me make up my mind about the Sprint distance.

I maintained the same training schedule that I had up to the Red Hills Triathlon so that I wouldn’t try and bike too much. I didn’t want to change my training much because I wanted to get a true gage of where my cycling actually is.

As race day neared, I realized that this race was going to be a little different from the previous triathlons I had done. For the previous three races all I had to worry about was getting me and my gear ready. For this one, I would be taking my little girls with me and they would be watched over by some amazing mom’s in our tri club. Still, I had to get their gear, diaper bag, snacks, and sleeping arrangements ready in the car.

RACE DAY

I was up at 4:00 a.m. and hoped I could make it out the door by 5:00 a.m. with gear, two little sleepy girls, and a cooler full of food. My 4 year-old was up at 4:30 a.m. and decided she needed to wait in the car while I finished getting everything ready. I sure do love that girl. We somehow managed to make it out the door by 5:00 a.m. and during the entire drive I kept thinking I forgot something (I didn’t forget anything and triple checked before leaving the house). When you do a race and take young kids with you, the amount of stuff you are accountable for is ridiculous and I think I had more anxiety about forgetting something than actually racing. Continue reading →

Chasing Mavericks and Running 5ks

Chasing Mavericks…

That’s me, maroon shirt, all tomboy.

I recently watched the movie Chasing Mavericks and felt like I was reliving part of my childhood, except that I am not a crazy surfer nor do I dream of riding one of the heaviest waves on the planet. I am a So Cal (Southern California) native, the daughter of an original Dogtown pioneer and spent most of my childhood and teenage years sitting on the beach, watching my dad, my brother, my uncle and all their friends surf. Rain or shine, summer or winter, freezing or warm, I spent many a day sitting, watching, and eventually photographing west coast surf.

Many surf mornings we’d leave about 6:00 a.m. and drive to a few local spots before my dad would decide where he would be paddling out that morning. There were also many nights where we would be watching the Weather Channel, following a swell. That meant we’d be up at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning, out the door no later than 4:30, and my dad would be blasting some custom mix tapes he had recorded as we drove up the coast, hours before the sun would be up. This usually meant that they would surf at one or two local spots and the “crew” would be there long before the sun came up as well. I can remember pulling up to the beach in the dark and hearing what sounded like thunder as the sets would break. As you stood in the sand, you could feel the ground shake as sets broke and could see the vibrations level the sand.

Picture I got long before digital cameras.

My dad and his crew would usually suit up in the dark and would paddle out just as the grayness of dawn would lead to morning. Years of sitting did delegate me some responsibilities…. like watching everyone’s gear (i.e. car keys), taking pictures, but none so valuable than realizing that many of the crew relied on me to scream “Outside…. Outside” when a monster set would roll in; they would need to paddle and get out of the impact zone.When I entered my teenage years, my dad discovered snowboarding. He treated my brother and I to a penny-size budget snowboard trip when I was 16 and I fell in love with the sport. Like our surf adventures, I have over a decade of memories of crazy snowboard adventures… getting up at 2:00 a.m., driving 5 hours in rain and snow, changing in bathrooms at the lift parking lots before sun up… all that before the adventure of riding all day even began. Those are stories for another day. Continue reading →

Red Hills Sprint Triathlon Recap 3.30.2013

April 1, 2013
Jen Bendewish
10 comments
5k, bike, race, racing, Red Hills Triathlon, running, swim, swimming, triathlon

A Bike Lesson: How to make a hilly 16 mile bike loop much, much harder

Results

Age Group: 12/15, Overall: 254/266
Swim – 15:25 (Age group: 13/15, overall: 229/266)
T1: 4:08
Bike – 1:25:02 (Age group: 15/15, Overall: 266/266)
T2: 1:32
Run – 27:44 (Age group: 8/15, 171/266)

Red Hills was my third sprint triathlon, so I am definitely still a freshman to the sport. Before I get into what happened on race day, I must set the stage for the race day bike adventure/disaster… or the just plain bike faux pas.

I got a new Trek Domane 4.3 bike for my birthday in January. Up until this time, I was riding a base model Trek Lexa, which was a still quite an investment for me considering I did not know if I would even like road cycling or doing triathlons. So, last summer was the first time I gave up a mountain bike and snowboard for a road bike; it still took months for me to admit I was a road cyclist.

My new Trek Domane 4.3 arrived in a box in February, ready to be put together. Once assembled by a friend and local bike doctor (sounds good, doesn’t it), I was ready to take it for a spin around the neighborhood. I did a 6 mile loop around the neighborhood and then it rained, and then it rained some more, and then my kids were sick, and then I was sick…. Fast forward to two weeks before the triathlon and I started to panic as I still hadn’t put in any quality riding time on the new bike. But, boy did she look pretty sitting in my office. During this time, I logged many hours on the stationary bike at the gym and on my Trek Lexa attached to a trainer in my living room. During February I logged 132 miles of training and 150 miles of training in March.

The weekend before the tri, I carved out a little time to mess around with my new bike at the local high school parking lot. My four year-old scooted alongside me on her LaLa Loopsy bike with training wheels. I now realize I was paying much more attention to her and her safety than to my positioning on my bike.

RACE DAY

My alarm went off at 4:00 a.m. and I hit the snooze button 3 times. I had been battling a nasty sore throat for a few days, and I was hoping the cold that my kids had would hold off for one more day. I woke up a little achy and the sore throat was there with an inkling of head congestion. I was up by 4:15, got myself ready, and filled up a gallon jug with hot water which I planned to rinse off with after my tri, before changing into clean, dry clothes. I loaded up my two gear bags and went back in the house for my pretty new bike. Once I put her on the bike rack, I made sure to secure her tightly to the rack, perhaps a little too tight I would figure out later. Continue reading →

Shamrock Scurry 5k Recap from 3.9.2013

March 15, 2013
Jen Bendewish
4 comments
5k, 5k race, c25k, double jogging stroller, health, healthy-living, jogging, jogging stroller, personal record, race recap, road race, running, shamrock scurry, stroller

OFFICIAL FINISH TIME: 31:44

PLACE: 249/630

Running was the EASY part….

Last Saturday, 3.9.2013, was a chilly morning and I knew I would need to bundle my little munchkins up. My race prep started Friday night at 8:00 p.m. First thing I had to figure out was how to get the double jogging stroller into the GTO coupe. It did not fit in the trunk and I couldn’t put it in the backseat since I had two little girls back there. I ended up taking all 4 wheels off and somehow managed to get it to fit in the front passenger seat. Once I got my girls to bed, I continued getting our race gear together – included my racing gear layers, belt, iShuffle (charged), outfits for the girls, mittens and beanies for the girls, extra blankets, stocked diaper bag, juice cups, and snacks. I called it a night about 11:00 p.m. and still wasn’t sure if I had everything together.

RACE DAY… my morning started just before 5:00 a.m. Got up, showered, put together my post-race Costco shopping list (sounded like a great idea at the time) and threw all remaining gear in the trunk of the car. In hopes of getting to the race location by 7:45 a.m., for the 8:30 a.m. start, I knew I needed to leave the house by 7:10 a.m….. at the latest. Normally parking is not much a concern, but when you have to situate a double jogging stroller, two little girls who might be cold, and little bitty bladders, parking suddenly becomes more important than you can imagine, especially when you have 2 yr old that thinks she is supposed to wander off every time she gets out of the car.

I woke my girls up at 6:30 a.m. and through fussiness, sleepiness, and whininess, I got both girls ready and had a tasty Honeybun waiting for them in the car (my incentive to get them into the car, sometimes motivation comes from unlikely places). We managed to hit the road by 7:15 a.m. No worries, this momma could make up the time in the GTO. As they enjoyed their Honeybuns, I ate my banana and drank my Herbalife24 Prepare to get me ready for the race. We managed to make it to the race location at 7:50 a.m. and got a great parking spot in the main parking lot. I was beyond thankful. Another MRTT Tally member had picked up my race packet the day before and I ended up parking about 100 feet away from her, lucky me. She gave me my race packet and back to the car my girls and I went to get ready for the race. Next was the fun step of getting the girls set up for comfort; which involved getting the stroller out, attaching the wheels, getting the girls in the stroller and situated with blankets, juice, and snacks. Then, it was off to find a potty for my little preschooler bladder. Oh, the joy of pre-race women’s bathroom lines. I know I need to say no more here.

Continue reading →

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