I'm half crazy. Should I go all the way crazy?

Love this, an official race photo. I am going
to buy it. 

Coming in 40 minutes shy of my goal time, it's fair to say I crushed my half ironman. Read my blogs about the Musselman Triathlon in Geneva, part 1, part 2, part 3.

I'm not 100 percent sold on doing a full ironman (and if I decide, I don't know if I'm going to go with the capital I version). We'll get to the pros and cons of it in a minute. But for planning purposes, I'm going to assume I'm doing it, and I can always back down to the half later.

I'm a goal oriented person, always looking ahead, so I've just written out the following three goals for the remainder of the winter. Likely I'll take a break this winter from excessive cardio to weight train, as I did last winter.

1. Improve my cycling and swimming to condition for a full ironman in Sept. 2014.
2. Complete the Highlander Cycle Tour and the Wine Glass Marathon with no concrete time goal (under 5 hours in the marathon would be nice). Do the summer sizzler formula 1 and maybe another Olympic.
3.  Bike around all 11 Finger Lakes. (I might knock out Conesus or Honeoye this week)

To round out the year I'm doing the Summer Sizzler Formula 1 triathlon Aug. 10. You go shorter distances, then you do it twice! 400 meter swim, 17K bike, 3K run, 400 meter swim, 17K bike, 3K run. I'm hoping for another late-year olympic distance, and possibly a relay or two where I will be the swimmer.

I've decided to take the marathon easy. At some point I'll try and crush my PR of 4 hours 13 minutes, but now isn't the time.

On to the big question:

WILL I DO A FULL IRONMAN NEXT YEAR?

I've fantasized about it. If I do, my preferred race would be Ironman Mont Tremblant near Montreal (my first international race!) I don't know if I want to do a name-brand Ironman, which are more expensive, or just an ironman distance race. If I go for the latter, my preference would be REV-3 Cedar Point, a little cheaper and not too far from my parents.

It's a big commitment. So let's do a pros and cons list.

PRO: I'm young and childless. If I want to do something like this, now is the time.

CON: I have a full-time job, teach classes, have two dogs and an apartment to keep up. I got really worn down with half training.

PRO: Half training was totally worth it in the end. In looking at full schedules, it's not that much more, except for the weekend days. Plus it's only a few months. Looking back, training for Musselman just flew by.

CON: It's expensive. Crazy crazy expensive. We're talking $500+ just for the registration fee, then travel!

PRO: I'm thinking about it now, so could save for it. There are also other races, everyone mentions the HITS series, that are cheaper.

CON: I might only do one of these in my life, and maybe I would want that one to be a name-brand Ironman (the only logo I'd ever tattoo on myself, upon completion, of course.)

PRO: My support system is amazing and if I take the plunge I know people will have my back.

CON: While the equipment I have got me through the half, I love Flower but she still is just an entry level road bike.

PRO: It would be a huge accomplishment and one that I'd always have with me.

CON: Looks like there's a 17-hour cutoff. That means I'm thinking about doing an event that would take me almost that long. What sane person does that.

PRO: We've already established that I am not sane.


It's a lot to think about. I just emailed Ironman asking them how quickly IMMT sells out, I read that it happens fairly quickly. In that case, I do hear great things about REV-3!

Eleven lakes, one summer

I had the crazy idea to try and bike around all eleven Finger Lakes this summer.

At first I thought it was just that, crazy, then a coworker told me it could indeed be done.

And actually it doesn't look too bad.

The big two, Seneca and Cayuga, will have to wait until after the half ironman, and until I'm preparing for the Highlander Cycle Tour. I can probably knock out some of the smaller ones two at a time!

Conesus Lake
Starting point: Long Point Park
Miles from Rochester: 34 (40 mins)
Miles around: 18-19
Can I swim there? Looks like it
About the route? No signs that it's not paved, but I'll want to double check
Some links: A map of the route, about the lake, another map, a blog

Hemlock Lake
Starting point: Hemlock Lake Park
Miles from Rochester: 38 (45 mins)
Miles around: 24-28
Can I swim there? Doesn't look like it
About the route? There are unpaved options, but doable on the road bike, appears hilly
Some links: Blog, a map, another map

Canadice Lake
Starting point: Tack onto Honeoye or Hemlock Lake
Miles from Rochester: 40ish
Miles around: Short
Can I swim there? No
About the route? There aren't a lot of details about this one, at all!!! From looking at the blogs, it's best to tack this one onto the Honeoye or Hemlock Lake loop. Looks like it's mostly unpaved, maybe I could rent/borrow a mountain bike...
Some links: About the lake, a blog, some trails,

Honeoye Lake
Starting point: Sandy Bottom Park
Miles from Rochester: 37 (50 minutes)
Miles around: 18ish
Can I swim there? YES! 
About the route? Paved
Some links: A map that starts in Ionia, a map that goes further south, another map, about the lake

Canandaigua Lake
Starting point: Kershaw Park
Miles from Rochester: 29 (40 minutes)
Miles around: 42-55
Can I swim there? Yes!
About the route? Lots of options, research and queue sheet ahead of time! Very hilly, do on fresh legs!
Some links: Blog, about the lake, a map, another blog (there are a ton of maps)

Keuka Lake
Starting point: Keuka Lake State Park or Indian Pines Park
Miles from Rochester: 52 (1 hour 15 mins)
Miles around: 57
Can I swim there? Yes, at the state park or Indian Pines
About the route? Looks paved but hilly
Links:  Use this map, since it goes in the Y, blog, info about the lake

Seneca Lake
Starting point: Lakeshore Park in Geneva
Miles from Rochester: 47 (1 hour)
Miles around: 77 miles
Can I swim there? Some places.
About the route? Appears paved and not as hilly as the others
Links: About the lake, more about the lake, map that includes ice cream stop,

Cayuga Lake
Starting point: Cayuga Lake State Park
Miles from Rochester: 54 (1 hour)
Miles around: 101 miles
Can I swim there? Yes
About the route? Flat in the middle, hilly at the ends
Links: About the lake, cue sheet, map

Owasco Lake
Starting point: Emerson Park
Miles from Rochester: 65 miles (1 hr 15 minutes)
Miles around: 32 miles
Can I swim there? Yes!
About the route? Rolling hills
Links: Map, info, another map

Skaneateles Lake
Starting point: Shotwell Memorial Park
Miles from Rochester: 69 miles (1 hr 20 minutes)
Miles around: 40 miles
Can I swim there? No
About the route? Hilly!
Links:  Map, forum, map and details, map and cue sheet

Otisco Lake
Starting point: Otisco Lake County Park
Miles from Rochester: 78 miles (1 hour 30 minutes
Miles around: 16 miles
Can I swim there? No
About the route? One steep climb, gradual decline
Links: Map, Details

41 or 70 next week?

UPDATE: I SIGNED UP FOR THE 70!!!

Sept. 8 I'm signed up for the Highlander Cycle Tour through the Finger Lakes (Canandaigua). I've never done an organized bike ride before so I'm pretty stoked about it. At the end of the month I'll be doing my first duathlon at Mendon. I'm also swimming regularly and getting into the groove of a regular strength training program, so things are shaping up nicely for triathlon training.

My distance PR on the bike is 56 miles, done on all flat surface, with a nice stop for ice cream/flat tire fixing halfway through.

I signed up for the Yodeler ride at the Highlander tour. It's 41 miles. Here's the description.

"The Yodeler was redesigned last year with two objectives in mind. To provide a sample of cycling in the Finger Lakes to the recreational cyclist not ready for a century ride and to provide friends and relatives of the century riders the option to ride the last five miles together. The Yodeler Tour has three route options that meander the Bristol Valley and Canandaigua Lake scene. The full 41 mile ride involves 2200 feet of climbing, with shorter options of 11 or 16 miles with less climbing, about 400 and 1000 feet respectively. They all have the Scenic Overlook rest stop on County Route 12 on their routes, with a great view of Canandaigua Lake as seen on our home page. At the rest stop the riders can meet up the century riders and ride together the last five miles. We’ve packaged as much vista and flat terrain as possible in these short but sweet rides. With just enough challenge to create that mountain-top experience, you’re sure to come away singing. Riders will enjoy the same amenities and many of the same scenic views as the longer riders."

But now I'm wondering if I can push myself a little further and go for a 70-mile option. According to the description, the short course in the Corkscrew Century is about as tame as it gets as far as hills go in Canandaigua. The description:

"We received many accolades last two years for this scenic course and last year the majority of Highlander riders chose this ride so we made no changes to this ride. You might want to bring a camera to save some of the scenic views if not a wine glass and stop along the way. In keeping with objective of this ride, it features the scenic beauty of the Finger Lakes while taking the gentlest route possible in this hilly terrain. It is a 100 mile ride, with a cumulative climb of about 6000 feet but nothing above 10%. You can also take shorter 70 mile option."

Hmmm.....

Putting my money where my mouth is

File this under: "Did I really just do that?"

I know I've talked the big game of completing a half ironman time and time again. The process often went like this:

1) Say I'm going to do a half ironman.
2) Jump in the pool.
3) Realize swimming is hard.
4) Get a flat tire on the bike
5) Realize bikes are complicated
6) Look for another marathon

But I've done three things this week that will get me on the track to 70.3:

1) I signed up for swimming lessons. Next week Monday to Thursday from 7 to 8 p.m. I'm going to be taking adult swimming classes at the Chester Carlson Metrocenter YMCA in Rochester. It wasn't expensive, and hopefully it's beneficial.

2) I hired a personal trainer. Rochester Athletic Club has a variety of trainers available, it's affordable and one of them is an experienced tri- and dualathlete. We'll see how it goes.

3) Saturday I'm going to a flat tire clinic.

Right now my goal race is the Musselman Triathlon. It's through the Finger Lakes, which will be amazing, but it's in July, which makes me nervous. I don't do well in the heat.

If I flub it or if something happens like the extreme heat warnings at Muncie, my backup will be the REV3 race at Cedar Point in September.

There's more to write, namely what I'm going to do in the next 6 months (teaser: bike ride in the Finger Lakes and possible Ragnar fun in the Adirondacks). But I'm teaching a spin class in seven hours and someone hasn't made her playlist yet ;) (Don't be confused, I set things to autopost in the morning even though I write them at night.)

#whatdidigetmyselfinto