Jul

29

What’s cookin’ good lookin’

Category: cool stuff, training | 3 Comments

I'll tell you what's cooking. Seattle is cooking! It's 96 degrees right now! All you Chicago-ans and Boulder-ites who are asking where is summer? It's here. We have your summer :) . In other news, I have realized that racing Lake Stevens 70.3 would be kind of silly. Instead I will be doing the Danskin Women's Triathlon here in Seattle that same day! I'm pretty stoked about a testosterone-free race. Women are so nice! And it's a sprint-distance race, 12 miles of cycling instead of 56, so I am feeling way less stressed-out about my lack of time on the bike lately. On Monday I decided to resume my cycling training, but at a lower volume than before. I ...
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Jul

25

Ragnar Relay Race Montage!

Category: Brooks, Ragnar Relay, cool stuff, training | Leave a Comment

I got home from the Ragnar Relay: Northwest Passage a few hours ago. It was totally fun! I posted on my twitter a ton, mostly to help myself keep track of what happened during a pretty abnormal 24 hours. At 3 pm yesterday I met up with my 5 van-mates to head to our first major exchange point. Teams of twelve are split into 2 vans, each spending around 4 hours on the course while the other van rests. Ours was a mixed-gender team, Team Both Washingtons, we had 6 boys and 6 girls. I was in van #2 and I was runner 11. You can see the run breakdowns ...
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Jul

24

Off to Ragnar Relay

Category: Brooks, cool stuff | Leave a Comment

I'm leaving in a few minutes to meet up with my team and compete in the Ragnar Relay! I am totally ready. I just went to Trader Joe's and stocked up on flattened bananas and yogurt-covered pretzels and root vegetable chips, plus my new shoes just arrived from Brooks so I will have some clean and fresh new sneaks for the race! One thing I love about my chosen trainers, the Infiniti 2, is that they take like 5 seconds to break in. And I am all packed too, I am bringing a few different outfits and a camera and my GRE study book (with the aim of making it from page 94 to ...
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Jul

20

Run, run. Hide, hide.

Category: trials and tribs | 2 Comments

Today has been a day. Yesterday was a bit of a day too. Even for little races I still have the worst time sleeping and getting back to normal life afterwards. Although I guess I actually was kind of my normal bitchy self today - this lady sent me like 5 emails about some invoice that I don't know what it is, cc'ing a ton of people, and she spelled my name wrong. Even though it's spelled right all over the email thread. So I mis-spelled hers back, on purpose. Ha! Then I told some people I hated them. I have a giant bruise on my nose from my transition debacles yesterday. And I didn't even win any stupid prize money ...
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Jul

19

Which was the better judgment?

Category: trials and tribs, triathlon: views from the front lines | 7 Comments

So after all my "oh there is no point in racing when I haven't been able to train properly" talk, I wound up doing the Seafair Triathlon this morning. It was a bit of an 11th hour decision, and I am still not sure whether the decision was against my better judgment, or with it. Basically I am worried that if I keep showing up to races feeling unprepared and under-confident due to injuries or issues with my training, or in this case, being on antibiotics and experiencing pain whenever I ride my bike, then eventually I will lose my drive to race. "I'll give it a try and see how I feel" isn't a race strategy. Bumbling along ...
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Jul

15

Working life is clearly busy

Category: Brooks, cool stuff, trials and tribs | 4 Comments

It's probably a combination of working life, training life, and smitten life that is making me so quiet! I'd much rather play with Ben during my free time than play with the internet. But, there comes a point, for example today, when I get the urge to ramble on about myself and how much I rule. I finally got to start riding my bike again yesterday. Woo! My saddle sore is a lot better, the swelling has decreased dramatically and my position on the saddle feels much more balanced. I hadn't realized how crooked I was sitting, although I could see it in some of my race photos from this year. It's not gone all the way, I am ...
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Jul

12

IwonIwonIwon!

Category: Splish, trials and tribs | 6 Comments

I am approaching the two-week mark of compromised training due to infection. I had hoped to start riding my bike again tomorrow, but my saddle sore is still there. A lot smaller, but still there. I was hoping to race the Seafair Triathlon a week from today, but I am not sure I'll be able to. Honestly what I was really hoping for was to [finally] arrive at a race feeling confident that I could podium. But I guess I will have to postpone that hope until a later date, grr. I did get to race on Friday though! Ben and I headed down to Lake Meridian for an open water swim race put on by Raise ...
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Jul

8

Happy 123456789!

Category: enjoy the blog | 2 Comments

12:34:56 7/8/9 For you Euro's out there: see you again next month, on August 7. Oh my god which reminds me, this weekend on July 4, after the fireworks, we went out in Belltown with Chris and some of his work friends. I have never "been out" in Belltown so I didn't know what to expect. Ben and his friend JT were dragging their heels and I thought it was just because it was late, but then we finally got there and I realized it was because Belltown is laaaaame (think Marina, or Real Housewives of Anywhere). There was this girl who was talking to us, she heard JT mention Argentina and forced her way into the conversation ...
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Jul

6

Good time to be laying low

Category: trials and tribs | 1 Comment

So I went back to Inewmed today to check the status of my saddle sore. Good news: it has healed enough for me to resume swimming! No cycling for another week, but I am still happy to be making progress. Even better news: the nasty-ass FOUL medicine I have been taking since Wednesday is getting replaced with a milder medicine, one that is probably a comparatively palatable "gross"! The nasty-ass FOUL stuff has made the past few days go by in a blur*, it made me feel pretty dizzy, out of sorts, and tired. So it's been a good time for sailing practice. We have this book on sailing, and from it I have learned that I don't ...
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Jul

1

But I can’t go tubing?!

Category: trials and tribs | 6 Comments

So the Brown-Collins household is becoming one of leisure. Just in time for the holiday weekend! Today, I went to Inewmed to get some professional help with a saddle sore I have had for forever. Gross, I know... The stupid thing would NOT go away, no matter how much I poked and prodded at it! Come to find out: I have a staph infection. This ranks up there with "cracking head open in front of bar on 23rd birthday" and "sustaining stress fractures from ignorant run training" on my list of most severe medical things that have ever happened to me. I'm off the bike and out of the water until at least Monday, when I ...
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