Plain Jane Plain Talk
Journals from the road, trails and at sea
Category: Ramblings
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I learned from my own NYC Marathon finish in 2014, that the volunteers are a special breed of human. From a runner’s perspective, NYC Marathon volunteers, wear official jackets, along with unofficial halos. They take the time to look you in the eye, grant your every wish (mostly), restore your anxiety to a sense of…
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Wait! Ok…go on now with multiple exercise opportunities! Start with a bicycle ride along the Baltimore Harbor waterfront
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We had signed up for the Blue Ridge Half Marathon in the dead of winter. The days when the temperatures were in single digits, the outdoor runs were slim to none and signing up for something that was advertised as the “worlds hardest half marathon’ seemed like a way out of the winter doldrums. We…
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The Alps of Crozet are located in France, exactly where they belong. But, if you are not needing to cross the Atlantic, live in the vicinity of Washington DC, and have a “thing” for running uphill in an all femme half marathon – the Alps of Crozet located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge…
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I could tell you that 5 layers of clothing and 2 heat sheets were not enough to keep you warm at Fort Wadsworth. I could tell you that the 50+ mph winds were so severe, that the race organizers had to modify the start for the wheelchair division athletes — so that they avoided the…
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My NYC marathons are on a 15 year (approx) cycle. In 1985 – I ran/finished my first NYC marathon….followed by #2 in 1999….and #3 yet to come – Nov 2, 2014. So many things have changed….
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A break between school semesters, a lull in the frantic pace of work life, a winter that wouldn’t quit, an RV fresh off the maintenance shop & full of gas, and a suggestion from my sister-in-law – ‘hey – why don’t you go somewhere?’ – that it finally occurred to us. Why don’t we go…
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Regardless of the actual start time of any running event, triathlon or skate-a-thon, my running partner (RP) would arrive somewhere between 3AM and 4AM. In the darkest of dark hours that felt like “O-Dark-you’ve got to be kidding me”, my RP had a need to be 1. First in the parking lot. First to use…
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The long awaited first snow of the season has finally arrived. While the calendar still registers December 8 as the FALL season – the white stuff trumps calendar dates. It is officially winter, in Maryland. In preparation for the winter season – this means: there is not a lot of daylight the sun – when…
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Perfect temps – 52 degrees at the start for the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Philadelphia PA. Recovering from a bout with dehydration at the Virginia Beach Rock n Roll Half 2 weeks prior, a cold that insisted on lots of bed-rest and a severe case of “indecision”…let’s just say I had NO performance…
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There is a pattern to this fitness madness. It goes something like this: Sign up for an event that you are not ready for Start training for that event way too late Taper for the event way too early Carb load when it is not really necessary Hope that you won’t be the last…
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One of my favorite events – is the Baltimore Women’s Classic 5K. I’m not sure if it is a favorite because the distance is short…the course is fast…the vibe is great…or some combination thereof! Regardless, just under 4000 women of all ages and abilities – join together to walk or run a 5K and support…
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With the Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon over in August, we craved some a new and unique challenge. Meet the Savage Man Triathlon. The name alone is intriguing. Then, there is the fine print. A description of the Savage Man 30 course (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run), with bike routes touting 22% grade climbs and uber…
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The sista’hood takes to inline skating at the Fairfax Police Dept oval track – in a field of pro elite skaters (not us!) and amateurs (that’s us!) for a half-marathon ‘race. Well, maybe not a “race” for us – but we finished standing upright and burned off some calories along the way! Jill and I…
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We trained and trained for a 100 mile bicycle ride on the Eastern Shore – but nothing could have prepared us for the extreme winds on event day. For the most part, we ignored the weather forecasts of wind gusts to 40mph. It just “couldn’t” be true. We met our match – and somehow managed…
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With Mother Nature hurling 1 earthquake and 2 hurricanes at the mid-Atlantic over the past three weeks, coupled with complete lack of skating (let alone skate racing) and skate training partners – a very loud voice in my head told me NOT to enter the Skate of the Union race this year. But, no. The…
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The Iron Girl sprint triathlon event in Atlanta Georgia – came earlier than expected. For many of the sprint TRI sista veterans, we could count the # of training bricks on one hand (um…maybe 1 finger?) and we were hopeful just to finish the event the same day it started. Of course this does…
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With a focus on triathlons, the tri sista hood has not put skates on in nearly a year. 3 weeks ago, Jilly and I decided to dust off, and lace up the Bont skate boots…. Yes, there was boot pain. Our feet were screaming. Yes, we moved slowly. Yes, old ladies walked faster than we…
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Headline News: Iron Girl Triathlon Team Sistahood completed the journey on Sunday 8/22/2010 (swim, bike, run) and are now a bunch of Iron Girls… (yes, it rained…thank you for asking!). Woo hoo!!! And, for those of you who want details….here it is: Iron Girl is a women’s only sprint triathlon, held every August in Columbia…
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In 1978, Minh, escaped from Vietnam on an over sized rowboat with no life vests and no idea how to swim. Determined to learn to swim at the age of 50 – she decided to tackle the Hagerstown Maryland Sprint Triathlon. Minh stares at the water from the edge of the pool. But first,…
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It is 6:30AM, and Paddy and I are busy prepping for the Piseco Lake Triathlon. Paddy remarks this would be a good sailing day. Translation — it’s windy. The wind gods were ignoring my pleas for calm waters. As we sat on the campsite picnic table – looking out over the waterfront – there was…
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May the jet stream return,to where it’s supposto go,so your workouts can burn,without shoveling snow
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From my brief debut in The Checket Cup Tennis Tournament .. I realized that with just a “few” modifications, “tennis” could become a very aerobic, and entertaining sport – irregardless of your skill. Here are my suggestions: First, TENNIS gets an aerobic makeover. Maybe something like: you are required to jog in place between points…
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With weeks of pent up endorphin excitement….the 3 day weekend visit of Big Bro and tri-partner Fluffy finally arrived. We spent the weekend desperately seeking (and finding) ‘dorphins and had a whole lotta fun….. …avoiding stinkeye…getting your load on…searching for iguanas…avoiding alligators…getting your load off…parking lot dancing to disco music in “downtown” Boca…eating foods that…
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50’s are the new 30’s. Ok, maybe I’m pushing that a bit, but I’m now officially part of the “AARP Club”. Let the member benefits begin! Cat Maudy’s repair list is nearing completion – but she is still dockside. My big day would be filled with land-lubber activities. After sharing coffee and tea with hubby…
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…and breathing….and rotating…and breathing some more
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Demonstration on how to put 120 pounds of air into a bike tire…
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As I scanned google maps looking for the ideal bike route, Betterton, MD – with a whopping 6 streets and a public beach at the mouth of the Sassafras River stood out. Betterton. Yes, I liked the sound of this. I imagined that life was tranquil, slow to be precise – and that would be…
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Now, I realize that it’s been awhile since we’ve skated “FAST” – but could we really be skating THIS slow? As Jill and I descended toward the lite rail train tracks…the train lights began flashing, and the barricades descended – stopping all traffic. No problem. We waited for the train to pass. No sooner had…
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In the process of performing rudimentary skate maintenance, one very small – but necessary – skate bolt managed to disappear. This gave Tami and I the opportunity to: broach the subject of replacing Tami’s 10 year old skates with ones that have standard parts discuss expanding Tami’s repair toolkit beyond 2 q-tips consider skating on…
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I departed Cat Maudy at dockside at 4:30AM, still wiping pixie dust from my eyes. After all the media hype, reading up on nutrition, endless days of multi sport training, running 5K races, hours of studying bike technique (yes Lance – it IS about riding an expensive bike)…it all boiled down to getting your girl…
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All of this news chatter about my inability to swim last year and somehow completing a TRI…is now getting under my skin. Local media wants to talk about someone who overcomes big odds….but this is just downright embarrassing. As soon as this interview is over, I’m dusting off my “how to swim” videos – and…
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Cat Maudy stays “dockside” during my triathlon training season. Since Cat Maudy was broken, Captain Pat was preoccupied with making boat repairs. I could have assisted him, but I am far more pleasant to be around with I get in my exercise. Thus, for 3 summer months, not a day goes by where training (swim,…
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The Iron Girls made their official debut at the “Dress Rehearsal” event for a workout of swim and run at 6AM in Centennial Park. Over 1000 ladies participating in this year’s Columbia Iron Girl event on Aug 23 – were here for the trial event. Our individual event sista-hood included Jill and Holly, and the…
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Workin‘ on skate skills at the mega size parking lot next to the runway is one of my favorite things to do. Part of the fun is watching the airplanes take off at BWI Airport – less than 1/4 mile away. Ok ok…this is a restricted area – but the parking lot is just too…
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um…no. That would be a big negatory, ma’am. 40 miles on country roads somewhere northwest of DC, with Joel and his biker buds Tom and Bob made for a perfect Friday afternoon rush hour – on bicycles. Secluded country roads, mostly car-free allowed me to do my job at being the group “bike anchor”. I…
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…when you can spend it on skates with your longtime dear childhood friend from Binghamton NY. Despite the reality of middle age, we somehow manage to feel 6 years old again, carefree, excited about everything, athletic, and ready for our next adventure. Which, by the way is on September 13 at the skate race trak!
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Highlights of the BWC 5K running race: Early arrival: Jill style. Arrive at 6:30AM for an 8AM race start. At least I got a parking spot! Rockin‘ support vibe – solo guitar players at every street corner serenading the runners with whatever they felt like playin. Plus this one very cool bicycle dude giving us…
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We all have them. Voices in our heads that constantly tell us what to do, when to do it, how we feel despite knowing differently. The voices that tell us to stop with all the endorphins – even tho we crave it. Sometimes the Little People go amok with their own version of events, and…
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Due to popular demand (or maybe just the very cool t-shirt), the Sista-hood decided to make the Run for the Roses an annual event. Unfortunately, Jill did not get the memo for 2009, so Emma and I turned this into a mother-daughta event.The alarm clock on my new Verizon walkie-talkie phone didn’t go off at…
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Two weeks ago Emma and I were feeling mighty mighty after tri-sista Jill’s Columbia Triathlon. We needed a sistahood moment, an event, a race, anything will do really. Emma selected Zooma Annapolis – a mere 10K event just 2 weeks away. Plus, all finishers got a SILVER NECKLACE, a box lunch and a cupcake. That’s…
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Promises were made. Expectations were high. If I could convince Paddy to ride my bicycle with the friends-n-family group at 8AM on Memorial Day– surely there would need to be a TREAT waiting. I had a plan. Chuck, Paddy and Eileen would bike along the B&A trial, and Jill and I would travel via inline…
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She is certainly a WINNER in our eyes. Jill tackled a SOLO adventure of a 1 mile swim, 26 mile bike and 6.2 mile run…to conquer the Olympic course Columbia Triathlon in sub-60 degree temperatures mixed with precipitation on Sunday May 17! Not wanting to miss the START, Jill and support team hubby Chuck arrived…
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Cosmic Bowling is now officially checked OFF of the bucket list. I wasn’t aware that this was ever ON the bucket list, but surely it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up. Cosmic Bowling in suburbia Ellicott City MD starts at 10PM on Saturday nights. Well past my bedtime. Accompanied by cosmic maties Paddy, Chuck…
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It’s hard to imagine having more fun than combining our favorite ‘dorphin activities – hula and skating. After a long cold winter, temps had finally reached into the 70’s. Only a few remnants of last week’s snowfall remained. We practiced our hula dance in the parking lot, to the delight of children under the age…
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Remember the days of jump roping, hoola-hooping, skip-it and pogo toys? In celebration of … ahem…ahem…ok, um….getting to the, ahem… 1/2 century mark…ok 50. Yep, I said it – 50. We’re revisiting toys from the past – and conducting a very scientific experiment on their ENDORPHIN OUTPUT. Our initial tests, tho inconclusive, have been very…
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It was a beautiful day, with temperatures already in the mid-40’s and rising. Perfect for a bike/skate BRICK, with a 30 mile mountain bike run from BWI airport to Annapolis…followed by a 12.5 mile skate loop around the airport. Somewhere around the first 3/10ths of a mile into the bike ride, with patches of ice…
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Stuck on land for 2 months, and away from Cat Maudy during a cold Maryland winter, we were itching for an adventure. It was close to 10 years since we last hopped onto our ski’s, so when we decided Tuesday morning that it was “time” to revisit skiing – we grabbed all of our OLD…
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It is a tad embarassing (let alone dangerous) to live on a boat…and not know how to swim. But that is my reality. And the remedy? Go sign up for a Triathlon! February, 2008: Who’s idea was this? My stepdaughter, Emma calls me while I am in Charleston SC. “Wouldn’t it be cool to do…
Plain Jane Plain Talk 