24 Hours of Booty

When I first heard of 24 hours of booty about a year ago I thought to myself that's an interesting title for an event. Every time I mention it I get crazy responses. Last night I'm FaceTime with my mom and sister, I tell them about my trip to the Queen City. My sister responds "yeah i got that weird email about it" The name is absolutely correct. You can choose to be riding on your booty for 24 hours. For those who are still wondering what it is, let me break it down for you. 24 hours of booty is a 24 hour fundraising/charity bike ride. In order to particiapte as a rider, you commit to raise $400 for the Charlotte ride. The other locations have lower committmment. You can ride as much as you like. You can ride as little as you like. I had some ladies from my #TriTribe do it last year. I followed their ride vicariously through Facebook like most Facebook "stalkers". I've been trying to figure out ways to truly celebrate turning 40 this year. 1 of my goals was to do races and events that I have never done before and in places I've never raced. This event met both goals. To my own shock and amazement, I have become a pretty decent fundraiser. It also helps that my employer has a matching gifts program. $400 was raised about 5 weeks before the event took place.

I've been kinda lazy lately. I have not been riding like I normally do. I was completely unprepared for 24HOB. A really good friend Tiffany Davis told me that I needed to set a goal for the event. She kept telling me "Jo you really should go for 50 miles" I kept telling her #ByeFelicia. Another friend Gregory Clanton told me "Jo you could easily knock out 100 miles" I responded "you have me confused with someone who is in much better shape and has been training properly" Friends, how many of us have them. They are great for encouragement and motivation.



I leave out Friday afternoon on 85 S for the Queen City. The max and i are flying until about 56 miles outside of Charlotte and we hit standstill traffic. Delayed by about 15-30 minutes. I make it to Charlotte city limits about 3. Where would we be without GPS. I follow mine and it leads me to Queens University of Charlotte. My BFF asked me where the event was and when I told her, she responded "Jo you headed to the rich side of town". As I am driving on Queens road, you can tell i'm on the other side of town just by the houses in the neighborhood. They are gorgeous. I turn into the University. I park at what looks like the right place and then change my mind. I drive further down the street and I see signs for event parking and i see a volunteer waving me down to turn. I swear fore God the event guide mentioned there would be no one to direct you for parking. I am turning 40 so maybe i misread that. As I turn I see the field with tents up. I spy with my little eye pink TIFL tent. I know I am in the right place. I park in the North lot. The guide did mention do not park in the South lot because you could be towed. I have made it to Bootyville. I park and start to unload my gear. People don't believe me but deep down i really am lazy. I'm trying to take all my gear in 1 trip. Yeah it's not going happen, book bag, bike, lawn chair, bike pump, stick, pillow, shower bag. I take 80% of it.
I head over to Bootyville. My TIFL charlotte sisters have our area set up like home. I LOVE TIFL. Our team captain is the amazing Jeannine Dagasse-Maus. I unload my gear and head back to get the rest. I make it back and sit in my chair because I am TIRED from the drive. 2 other TIFL Charlotte sisters are there, Sandra Crowell Asher + her daughter and Laurie Certo.

We head over to registration, pick up packets and other freebies. I told myself that i would only shop at the Booty expo if they had a pilsner glass. They are my new collector item. They do not. Jeannine had on a nice 24HOB tank that i heard was $5. I find one in my size and it's my only purchase, woo hoo. Tiffany you would be proud of me. Did I mention i was starving? Dinner is until 8pm. Great Harvest bread is there with bread, peanut butter and honey. I had a slice of cinnamon crisp with peanut butter. You would have thought it was steak and lobster it tasted so good. dunkin donuts is next to them giving out iced coffee and doughnuts. Yes i think i will have a doughnut and iced coffee ma'am. Thanks for being here.

Sandra is the resident 24HOB alumni. She explains that it's better to go out after the first wave starts at 7pm because it's uber busy. We shower and change into our TIFL kits. She takes me out for my first booty loop while it's still light out. The loop starts about a block from our spot in Bootyville. We head out. We get to the start. The course volunteer motions for us to head out. Here we go, the beginning of the loop is flat. There are tons of people on both sides of the loop spectating. Crowd support is AWESOME. There is a nice downhill and then a turn. There's a huge tent with a DJ and people cheering and yelling. I'm thinking to myself this is pretty cool. It's still flat and here comes the turn and BAM there's a hill. It literally came out of nowhere. I was in my high gears since I was on flat and didn't realize the hill was next so I didn't really change in time. I'm downshiftting into my low gears and they are not working with a sister. I'm struggling because the gears are truly talking back so loud a bike course monitor comes over to me and ask if i need help. I finally get them straight and start the slow climb up the hill. I keep thinking about Dorie in Finding Nemo "just keep pedaling" The climb on this hill is like FOREVER. There is no option to get off and walk because the other cyclusts are zooming past you. I keep pedaling one at a time and make it to the top. I truly believe i saw my life flash before my eyes on that hill. I look down at my iphone and it has only been 1 mile. LAWD HAVE MERCY,  there is still 2 more miles of this insanity. The road is now flat and i glide.I am reminded of my TIFL mentor Melva Peed who told me last year as an athlete "save your legs when it's flat, enjoy the glide when you can" My legs and my heart are finally take a small rest. I take in the scenery on the loop. Homeowners are straight chillin' and partying' all around the loop. I want to trade places with them especially the house with the huge grill going. I make the final right turn which i know it is because RunKeeper has me at 2.50 miles so i know it's not that much left to go. There is a slight hill to the end of the loop. I see Sandra waiting for me. I exit off the loop. I have survived my first booty loop.

I'm thinking what in the world have I gotten myself into. Too late to think about that i'm here. Is it dinner time yet because I am STARVIN'. We have a TIFL group photo at 8:30pm.

Then we head over to dinner. OMG they know how to take care of their riders. Hamburgers, veggies burgers, chicken breasts, grilled veggies, pasta salad, cookies and ice cold Coca-Cola. I have found heaven and it's in a 12 ounce can of carbonated beverage. I haven't had a soda in about a week in prepping for this event. When I am truly committed to healthy eating I drop soda like a bad habit but not tonight. The hospitality tent reminds me of lunchtime at high school except we are all the cool kids or are we crazy because we will be here for 24 hours biking. We finished dinner and head back to our spot in Bootyville. I'm slowly recovering. I pull of my stick and roll it over my quads, legs and hamstings which are talking to me and not in a good way. Jeannine asks me if i'm ready to go back out. I tell her "give me 5 minutes" Lazy johanna wants a shower and a nap. I get up and head back out for loop #2. The 2nd time on the booty loop was much better. I'm thinking my muscles warmed up on the first loop. The sun has left the building. I have all my headlights on. I have a headlight on my helmet. The temperature has dropped a little. It's pretty cool riding at night. It's pretty scary as well as there is a section of the loop that pretty much is pitch black because there are no street lights that i could see. I finish loop #2. At this point I have ridden over 6 miles. I don't know if I want to do anymore or what. I just chill in the tent for awhile.

There is a total of 14 on our team. Some of the ladies have goals of 50, 56, 100, 150 miles.

All of this is pretty AMAZING to me. My longest ride is 20 miles and that was back in January. I'm just enjoying the experience.

Pizza party is at midnight. Shockingly I could eat again. After the pizza party, my body has told me it's time to call it night. I find an air mattress to crash on and Jo is OUT like a fat kid in dodge ball. They say that at the end of  the Ed Lover show on Sirirus/XM every day lol.

I sleep pretty good because I was TIRED. I wake up around 5:45am. My bladder is telling me to get up and empty it. I make a pit stop and then head over to the hospitality tent because of my of TIFL sister/good friends is volunteering over there. I'm going to go see her. She is Katrina Blake. We met 2 years ago on the SAG(snatch and grab) wagon at Diva NMB. We've been buds ever since.

Since i'm already over here and it's after 6am, might as well eat breakfast. The spread is just as awesome as dinner, eggs, bacon, sausage, bread, fruit, oatmeal, juice. i heard through the grapevine that the coffee machine was broken and there are a lot of unhappy cyclists. A random stranger sees me wearing my TIFL kit and ask "are you going to do a TRI?" Snarky johanna really had a good comeback but since i am in unfamiliar territory I respond with "i've already done a TRI." I met another cyclist who stopped by our tent last night looking for someone who used to be a TIFL mentor. He tells me that she taught him how to swim and that's how he got into doing Triathlons. This is his 3rd or 4th year at 24HOB, he's going for 200 miles. I look at him like he's an alien. Katrina tells me i should go out and do 1 more loop today. The sun is coming out and i'm just not feeling it. Rob, the guy i met at breakfast, tries to peer pressure me as well. Get back out there, come find me and i'll get you up that hill. #ByeFelicia. I head back over to our spot in Bootyville. Did i mention i'm still wearing my TIFL kit from Friday evening. I'm pretty stank lol. I head to the showers and decide to put on real clothes and be done with 6+ miles. I hang out a little longer with my #TriTribe. I can feel the affects of getting under 5 hours of sleep hit me. I decide it's time to head on back to Raleighwood. I pack up the Max and say my goodbyes and head back to the Capital City. I truly enjoyed my first time at Bootyville. I will be back next year with a plan. Next up MS:New Bern Ride in September.

The HOTTEST 5K of my life

Esprit de She

June 25, 2015

Koka booth Amphitheater

Cary, NC

FOMO is extremely real. I have been on a mission to regain my running mojo. I signed up for lifetime 5K training program. Between the zero dark thirty shift I work and how lazy Johanna kicks in around the evening I've only made 1 group run. I signed up for the target race Esprit de She 5K.

Since summer showed up with a vengeance I knew I would just take it slow and easy for the race. I had been hydrating pretty well for days leading up to the race. A true sign you are drinking PLENTY of water you spend a lot of quality time in the ladies room. "I've gotten a meeting in the ladies room, I'll be back real soon". Random song verses just pop into my head these days.

The race is at Koka Booth in Cary which is pretty much like the other side of wake county. As I'm turning into regency parkway to Koka booth I see ladies with their packets walking to their car. I'm thinking OMG is there no closet parking. I keep following the event parking signs and I see there is parking nearer the entrance to the amphitheater. I'm in the 2nd lot which seems like miles away but it really isn't lol.

I back into my parking spot. Shout out to my coworker Anthony Cooper who chastises me for not doing this at work. I'm getting all my race gear on. A car parks next to me. I start talking to the lady who gets out. I ask her is she's ready, excited or nervous? She tells me all of it. I tell her that's normal because my tummy has already talked to me and not in a good way. She tells me she hopes to finishes the race as this is her 2nd attempt at a 5K. Apparently her 1st attempt was the commitment day race back on January 1. I tell her that weather a race would have been a breeze compared to the heat storm we have today. I pull out my frog tog. She tells me I'm a professional. I laugh because I am so not a professional but I sure do prep like one as I put on my camel back.

As I'm leaving my car I see a lady I know but for the life of me I can't remember her name to save my life. I tell her didn't you do Fit-Tastic. Turns out her name is Michelle. 

I walk through the 1st parking lot and I see 1 of my TIFL sisters Ayuna King. She is trying to talk herself out of doing the race. I tell her you're too late you're already here. In my Ed Lover voice "come on son". We head to the runners village inside the amphitheater and I spy with my little eye another TIFL sisters ride. Her car is like mine full of stickers that tell the story of our adventures, it's Claudia Mello.

We head to the entrance and I see another TIFL sister Maureen Broderick Walters. We both think we are cra cra for being out here in this heat.

I haven't been to Koka booth in a few years. I like it so much more than Walnut Creek.

I hang out near the registration area and I run into my FAV mother/daughter running team Ellen and Brittany. These 2 ladies ROCK!! My new haircut is shocking everyone because no one has ever seen my hair this short. I run into another running buddy Rebecca Sitton from NCRC. Another TIFL sister comes over and ask me is there anyone I don't know. Story of my life. I tell her I don't this lady right, I point to a random lady in line who just cracks up. 

I walk towards the pavilion and cop a squat on a bench to chill out and test before the race start. TIFL sister Connie walks over to me and ask me if I have picked up the free swag. As much as I like free stuff I'm way to lazy and hot as this point to go get it and take it back to my car.

The race DJ is making announcements like we are in school. Countdown n everything. It's 6:40 at 6:45 head over to the start line. It's now 6:44 head over to the start line. Good gracious that brother must don't get out often.

It's 6:45 and as a good girl I follow orders and head to the start line. These wonderful angels are passing out ice cold water. I use it to re-wet my frog tog. Who do I spy with my little eye some of my #TriTribe, Val, Renee, barb and Lillie who I haven't seen Ramblin Rose. Did I mention there was a rumor going around that I was injured and my drink tickets were being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Turns out Johanna also means Julie who was injured and not at the race. For those who aren't familiar Julie Erin and I are known as the 3 amigos.

We are at the pack of the race. I get my Garmin and RunKeeper ready for our latest adventure. At 7pm we are off to knock out 3.1 miles. I'm sweating like a sinner in church (that's a line from Princess and the Frog). My playlist starts off with the Fugees ready or not. I hear my name being called so I take out my headphones. It's my fellow runner/triathlete sister Serena Hutchins Flood. She introduces me to some fellow BGR sisters and tells them she's a triathlete. the race goes up a slight incline and it passes the parking lot. For a split second I'm really tempted to turn n head for my car. I don't. Ladies are passing me telling me "you got this" I'm breathing for dear life and drinking my camel back. I'm really wondering why am I doing this. Race is 90% mental and 10% physical. At this point I'm already ready to call out but I keep moving. Michelle catches up to me. She said I told you I was going to walk wit you and that's exactly what I'm going up doing. She's my hero because it always help when you struggle with someone during a race. We keep walking and talking. One of the bike monitors rolls up besides us and i realize we are the end of the race. He tells up once we hit the HILL it's pretty much downhill after that. We hit the 1 mile mark and we head past it and there is a dude who is yelling "ladies you got it" he's one of those serious hype volunteers you need to give you sine energy. He ends up walking with us. Turns out he works with Michelle at SAS. I spy with my little eye an Iron Man tattoo on his right leg. He tells me he's done a full and a half Iron Man. I'm like you are an official bad-ass. In my book anyone who has done any part of an Iron Man is a bad-ass. We get to the next corner and its wife and other son there. The whole family volunteered. He tells the wife "these ladies are killing it" Michelle and I just chuckle. We keep on walking and we make it to the lake. At this point you see what you have left to do on the course. We see the turn around on the parkway. We wish we were already at that point. We are around the lake and u swear fore God it's gotten more humid. We are making it back around the lake and I see a U-hal truck picking up cones. I tell Michelle "they are closing out the turnaround". As we get closer to the end of the lake path, the bike course monitor tells us the EMS team has decided to close the course and open the road up because of the thunderstorm that's headed our way. We miss about .20 miles of 3.1 miles. We are not all choked up about it lol. We turn left and I tell Michelle "I hope the finish line is still there" as we make that last turn its still there. I cross the finish line and think I'm glad that's over with. My official finish time 01:16:58 827/827. Next adventure 24 Hours of booty July 24-25 in the Queen City

Sent from my iPhone

How I spent Sunday May 17, 2015

Ramblin Rose Raleigh
May 17, 2015

Typically you don't get good sleep the night before a race but I slept pretty good. I tend to toss and turn continuously through the night. This was pretty typical of my sleep the night before the race. Because I was extra paranoid I set double alarms for 5am. Like most athletes, I woke up and checked the time to make sure I didn't oversleep. It was about 4:21am. I went back to sleep and literally 2 minutes later both alarms were going off like someone had broken into the house LOL. I started my race prep. I ate my typical morning breakfast of peanut butter and bagel. My appetite was off as normal so I decided to go ahead and head to the race. Car is packed, bike loaded and off to AE Finley YMCA I go. I get to the race site about 5:40am, oh yes it's early. I see a few of TIFL sisters pulling up. I unload my bike, check my tire pressure, unload my bucket and head over to transition. I actually only make 1 trip this year, woo hoo. My race number is 41, I'm all the way in the back of transition like 2 shakes of a lambs tail from the bike start. I rack my bike and set up my transition area.

It dawns on me I left my 2nd bottle of powerade in the fridge. I start to panic. I notice my bike bib sticker has been torn apart from attaching it to close to the gears, panic sets in again. I can tell my nerves are kicking because I'm sweating like a sinner I'm church. Then my stomach starts tripping. This is going to be a long day. I head to the timing chip area. Don't bring my race bib and have to walk back to Durham county AKA my spot in transition and get my race bib. I get my chip. Head over to get body marked. One of my TIFL sisters Barbara Ferrel is volunteering there. She body marks me. I ask her if she can put my chip on. We both discover I'm bloated because the chip strap barely fits around my ankle. Can you tell I'm having an awesome start to my race day? I hang around this area as I see a few of my TIFL future triathletes coming in. I think back to when it was me and I walked around like a kid on his first day of school and my TIFL mentors were guiding me on what to do. I see Monica Oliver and I tell her get your chip and then head to transition. I feel like a TIFL greeter. I love it. When it's your first triathlon it can be slightly overwhelming.

I head back to my spot in the transition area and I see more ladies have shown up. I'm surround by my TIFL sisters, Kelly Truncer, Trina Burkett, Sherry Johnson Vann and Tracey Brown Burton. I guess I wasn't the only one who registered EARLY.

I pull my swim cap and goggles out because it's close to 7:45am when transition closes.

We head over to the gym for the pre-race meeting. We meet up with the rest of our TIFL sisters. Our cheer captain AKA social committee co-captain Sharon Johsnonleads us in our TIFL cheer. Who are we? Triathletes What do we do? Finish Strong. We are loud like a white linen suit on Halloween. I just came up with that lol.

The swim portion of the race is here, the 10s AKA the female Michael Phelps head in first. I was marked as a 6. My partner in crime AKA my amigo Julie Reed is a 7. I go with the 7s. As we line up we meet another TIFL sister Clar Raynell Ty DeVane who tells us she is doing Beach 2 Battleship in the fall. My jaw drops to the ground. For those who are unfamiliar, this a HIM(half iron-man) 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 run. Yes the words BadArse and crazy come to mind. We head into the pool, I'm directed to swim on the left. I love swimming but I don't know what it is about race day that I get shook in the pool. I was inhaling water like a smoker. I got in under control and got 225 yards done. Out the pool and walking back to transition and I'm wishing I would have brought my flops because you walk through some type of sod or grass outside the pool which hurts. I make it to transition, sit on my bucket and have a little talk with Jesus because it's about to get REAL on the bike course. Helmet on, gloves on, socks and shoes on, iPhone in case and sunscreen has been applied. I head out for the HARD part, the bike ride. The course has changed twice, lovely. I had just taken a Test Drive on the course the day before so I knew where I was going. Lawd have mercy the heat was on and so was the humidity.

The beginning of the bike course goes downhill. You have to remember what goes down must come up. I'm doing pretty good for the first 2 miles. Then we get to the last street before the turn on six forks and this thing is a steep hill. I look ahead and see Amigo Julie is in front of me walking her bike. I get off and walk as well. I get to six forks and see Julie has dropped her bike on the grass and sitting on the curve. Our TIFL sister Barbara Ferrell is at the turn. She is checking on us as well. You leave no amigo behind. I stop to see what's going on. She's felling nauseous. Heat, hills and humidity are not joke. She refuels but is thinking about doing DNF. When I heard her say  DNF I almost decide to call it myself but there's bling waiting for me at the end. Another TIFL sister Harvestine is coming up to the turn. She checks on us as well. Julie is feeling better. I head out with Harvestine. At this point you are still at an in incline, I ask the cop can I walk across. The cop tells me "you can do whatever you want. You are doing better than me because I wouldn't even be out here" I'm on six forks and I get back on the bike. North on six forks and left onto mount Vernon church road. I am familiar with this road, it was on the course last year. They have warned us about the downhill. Downhills are my friends. I LOVE downhills. I FLY down hills. There is no fear on downhill. I will SMOKE you on a downhill. What goes down, must come up. I walk up the rest of mount Vernon because it's a hill. Once it flattens I get back on and turn left onto Kinsdale. I know exactly where I am. Turn onto Countrywood. I know what is coming up next, Carrington AKA the devil in disguise. Who do I see at the top of Countrywood and Carrinngton, 1 of my fav people in the world, Brett Friendlander, my TIFL sister Karen Friendlander's better half. He tells me "Johanna you were booking up Countrywood" apparently I haven't run out of fuel yet. I turn onto Carringtn. Carrington and I have an understanding. I will fly down and I will promptly get off my back about 100 yards from the "pot holes in my lawn" section and walk the rest of the way. A Carrington resident tells me "it gets flat once you past the for sale sign" he must think this is my first rodeo because I know for a fact it doesn't get flat until you turn at the stop sign. I pass a family at a house on the right and I ask them "where are the mimosas" the mother tells me "that's the house next door, they're out of town" FYI the house next door was handing out mimosas last year. By the time we got to them they were out of orange juice. Amigo Erin Kenner asked them what else they got to drink. At the turn I see a TIFL sister Lauren Herring telling me "come see me jo" I get back on the bike and continue on the course. I really know I'm almost there. Turn turn and I am riding across the 540 bridge and I really know I'm almost there. I make that left onto Baileywick and I head back to the Y. there is a hill to get back to the Y. My body tells me to go ahead and walk. I walk all the way back to bike finish. I'm worried about Julie. I see my TIFL sister Lillie Ebron at the bike finish and I ask them have they send Julie. They haven't. I'm thinking she is ok. I head to rack my back and prepare for the final piece, 2 mile run. If you know me I have never ran on the run course. I use it as my recovery. Apparently I was doing too much as I removed my iPhone from the bike mount with the Otter box pieces in the same hand and my iPhone falls out my hand and onto the ground. It literally takes me a minute to realize that was my phone that just hit the ground. Let's take a moment of silence for my phone. As I am recovering from the bike and my cracked iPhone, who do I see coming into transition JULIE REED. She made it through the bike course. She tells me "jo let's walk the run together" I'm like oh yeah this is going to be a straight up walk.

We head out of transition and hit the run course. We see fellow TIFL sisters who have finished rooting us on. We are strolling on the course.

We are in no hurry. We will get to the finish line slow and steady. The heat is starting to take its toll on me. I stop a lot and take in water alternating with powerade. One loop down and we head on the last loop. When we make that turn on Baileywick and head toward the finish I'm so excited. Julie decides to run it in. I tell her "running is so not going to happen" I walk to the finish line. Guess who is at the finish line giving out the finishers medals Amigo Erin Keener. She doesn't like to be touched. I give her an extra long sweaty hug. She tells me "put on your own medal." I reply back "nope that's your job" she puts on my medal.

I have completed TRIATHALON #5 Ramblin Rose #3. I am a TRIATHELETE again.

I love my #TRITribe

Shamrock weekend March 20-22, 2015

I turn 40 this year. I've been deciding on how to truly celebrate it. I decided to do races in cities I've never been. I heard of Shamrock from other runners. Then I got an email from the race sponsor, J&A Racing, about doing something great in 2015. It talked about fundraising with LIVESTRONG for the shamrock race. I put down $50 and I started fundraising as part of my race registration. I was committed to race $500. As of the week before the race, I have raised $800. I mentioned to a few of my TIFL sisters that I was doing shamrock and they decided to do it as well. We made it a weekend. As I read more about the race I found out there is a dolphin challenge of running the 8K on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday. I contacted LIVESTRONG about changing my registration from the half to the challenge. They advised once I make my fundraising goal, my registration would change.

I rode up to Virginia beach with Claudia and Tom Mello on Friday as Claudia and I were both doing the dolphin challenge. My fellow shamrock divas were only doing the 1/2.

Saturday morning came and I headed to the shuttle at the hotel at 6:30am. The 8K didn't start until 7:45am but I wasn't familiar with where everything was. Early bird gets the worm. I drop my gear bag off and head back to the race. I hear someone talking to me from one of the hotels. I'm thinking "do I know this person" turns out it is one of TIFL sisters from Charlote who I met at the Diva NMB race on the SAG wagon. She invites me back to her room to warm up because it's about 30ish degrees outside. Brr cold. I meet her other weekend roommates and Julie, another TIFL sister from Charlotte who I met on the SAG wagon. It might be true, I know a lot of people. You get around in this running/triathlon community. 

Jen and I head to the start line. We are in corral 16 which was like a mile back from the start. We run into Angel and Tiffany from TIFL charlotte and Claudia and Tom Mello. It didn't dawn on me that we wouldn't actually start at 7:45 until they started moving the corrals. We didn't hit the start line until 8:25. Angel Tiffany and I walk together. We are in no hurry. Angel and I are doing the half tomorrow. Tiffany is 17 weeks pregnant, she's not trying to do anything fast and furious either. We notice we have our own personal escort, VA Beach sheriff behind us. KEWL beans. We notice all the food places as we walk down Atlantic avenue. Not a lot of them are open which is a good thing because we probably would have made a detour. We make the first turn onto the end of the boardwalk and we are hit immediately with a headwind. The wind coming off the Atlantic Ocean is no joke. A lady walks up to us and tells us the SAG wagon told her "you need to catch up with the pacers". Isn't that something they called us the pacers. Do you know that same lady ended up passing us. Hilarious. We turn right at the end of the finish line chute. That sucks because you see the finishers headed to the party tent. We are back on Atlantic and there are people walking on the street with us and there's a car that tries to run us down. Dude yells out "there's a sidewalk" we yell back "we're in the race" IDIOTS. we pass a course monitor so apparently the streets are not open. We tell him about the car and he can't believe it. That confirms we were in the right. We make the turn onto the boardwalk and make the final stretch towards the finish. OMG it really feels like the last green mile it's so long. I can see the finish line but it just seems so far away. A lady comes up to us, she's one of the race officials. They are about to start one of the kids races. She's going to walk us I'm to the finish line. This chick means business. "Make room we have 8K finishers coming through". We cross the finish line holding hands, Angel, Tiffany and I. My feet are screaming at me. All I want is my flip flops from my gear bag. 8K is done in 01:53:13 which beats my St Paddys Run Green 8K time from 2 weeks ago and that makes it a PR ladies and gentlemen. 1 race down, 1 to go.

SHAMROCK HALF MARATHON

As every runner knows you don't sleep well the night before a race. I kept tossing and turning all night long thinking about my race day game plan. 5am wake up call wakes us up along with everyone's cell phone alarm ringing. The shamrock divas are waking up and getting our race day gear on. Our plan is to head down to the shuttle at 6 and get to the race with plenty of time before race start. I go back and forth on wearing my TIFL hoodie because the forecast shows its in the 40s. I opt to wear the hoodie. We head to the lobby to catch the shuttle. The lobby is full of fellow runners who are waiting for the shuttle. I must give kudos to Wyndham because they have the shuttle system very organized. We are onboard the minivan AKA the shuttle. It takes us literally less than 5 minutes to get to our drop off spot which is 1 block from the race start. 

This is Mary's first 1/2 so we are super excited for her. We snap pre race pics by the start line. Then we head to the gear drop which is literally a mile away because we are in corral 12 the last one. We made a strategic decision to pack all our stuff in Mary's gear bag because she's the fastest off all of us and will be at the finish line first. 

Gear is dropped off. We join the lines for the porty pottie. What I have learned is you must carry hand sanitizer when you race because you might need your own. That's all I'm going to say about that. The ladies have decide that we are going to join corral 8. Since I have a serious case of FOMO(fear of missing out) I join in with them. Corral 8 is up about 7:20am. We walk to the start line and everyone except this chick takes off running. I set the Garmin and opt to just walk the first mile and let me legs warm up.

I'm listening to my shamrock race playlist on my phone and I'm just enjoying the first few miles. A few people pass by giving my high fives and fist bumps. MaryMolly from Raleigh who I know from being in the same running groups passes me. Angel from TIFL charlotte passes me and asks me if I'm ok. I'm a lost at mile 2 so I'm ok. Then I hit mile 2 and my bladder starts to YELL at me. I see a porty pottie over at a construction site. I made a pit stop. A lady yells "hey you all found her secret stop" pit stop is done. I get back on the course. One foot in front of the other, I'm headed towards mile 3 which is a major water stop. At this point Rocketeer by Far East Movement is playing I'm in a good zone. I start dancing and waving my arms like a plane. I'm hoping this good zone lasts. One foot in front of the other. I opt to decide to just keep walking, no interval running. Im on this long lonely road that looks like it's literally going nowhere and it curves to the left and there is an aid station with a band and they offer me a mimosa. I've never had an adult beverage while being on a race course. I only take a few sips and then throw it out. It warmed me up for a few minutes. I head into the entrance of Fort Story, a US naval base. I hit the 10K mark and I make sure I hit the timing mat. The volunteer laughs at me as I do it. I'm starting to feel a tender pain on my right foot. I'm thinking uh huh the toenail has broken off. I try to ignore it. Did I mention my feet started hurting about 2 miles back but I've gone numb to the pain. Im just walking and jamming to my music apparently too loud because I missed the lead vehicle telling me to get out of the way because apparently the lead male marathon finisher is coming through AKA the royal Prince. Yes I am hating because I am I'm the same race but I need to get out his way. Rant over. More marathoners are coming through. I'm really feeling like i should just call for a taxi or at least Lyft ride. Then I see this guy pass me on one of those bikes and I do a double take. This dude has no legs just arms and he's hauling tail down the course. I think to myself I seriously have no real reason to not finish since I have 2 good legs that are working. This buttercup sucked it up and kept on walking. I'm making my way out of the naval base and I've not noticed they have taken down the mile markers for the half but left up the ones for the full. I pass the coolest water stop on the planet. I see some of the kid volunteers have Popsicles. They ask me do I want one. Yes I do. I take a blue one and it's like the best thing I've ever had in my entire life. The sun is coming out. It's slowly getting warm. I pass our hotel for a second time. If I wasn't such a bling chick I would have just went back to the room but wait I don't have a key Mary and Sharon do. Oh well I have to make it to the finish. I pass marathoners who are heading on the course where I just left, poor things. I see 2 runners wearing NBMA(National Black Marathoners Association) shirt which is super cool. My boyfriend calls me and I tell him how tired I am and how my feet feel. He tells me to block it out and tell this race course I got it. I tell him to talk to me about anything to get my mind off the pain. He tells me he ate my box of caramel delight Girl Scout cookies. Yep that did it. Because I'm no longer thinking about the pain. I really don't care about the cookies. I just needed the distraction. He hangs up.chrisette michelle starts playing again and then my phone dies. Note to self do not stream your music from iCloud while doing a half marathon because it will 1)kill your battery and 2)suck up your data usage. Even the geek has lessons to learn. No music and the Garmin has died as well. It's just my mind and my breathing keeping me company. I make that curve past the Cavalier, stop by the last water stop and drink water and Gatorade. Head down Atlantic, make that last left turn that brings me to the boardwalk. If this isn't the longest part. I can see the finish line in the distance but it seems so far away. Out of nowhere an ANGEL appears. Her name is Angel. She's my TIFL sister from charlotte who has been my rock my sword and shield all weekend. She's already finished, came back out to find me and walk me in to the finish line. We post for the official race photos. We head into the last stretch of the finish line. People are cheering and I hear my name over the PA. I cross the finish line of my 2nd completed half marathon. All I want is my flip flops. Dolphin challenge is done. 18.1 miles I2 days. Put a fork in me because I am DONE

Longest bike ride to date

One of my awesome TIFL sisters planned a birthday weekend in Charleston. Of course the weekend included a race but as part of the marathon weekend, they have an after race bike ride. The bike ride has 20, 40 and 60 mile options. I opted for the 20 mile option. I still consider myself a newbie cyclist. We made a pit stop at performance bicycle on Friday and I walked around like a kid in a candy store. I need so many things for my bike. I know what my tax return or my STI aka bonus will be going towards just like it did last year when I bought my bike.

We get up Sunday and start preparing for the bike ride. I always ride with CamelBak. I pulled it out my backpack and realized the reservoir top was missing. That's not good. I fill the reservoir up but water splashes right out. I'm thinking yeah this might b my first ride without the CamelBak.

We load the bikes and our gear in the Jeep. We make a breakfast pit stop at Mickey D's. That egg white delight was delish.

We hit the road for Mt Pleasant. We miss out exit and then eventually get back on the correct route. Thanks GPS! We see a Charleston marathon truck at the entrance of our turn so we know we are at the right place. We see other cars with bikes so we really know we are at the right place. We had some location issues with Saturday's 5K.

After we park, we don't exactly know where to go for packet pickup. We assume it's in the building we see people walk to and from. SN: they need some signs. I pick up my packet and shirt. Bonus we got 2 shirts:1 for the 5K and 1 for the bike ride. As I'm waiting for Claudia and Sharon to get their packets, a lady walks up to me and ask "are you with Tri It For Life" I'm like yeah, she tells me she recognizes me from the pics on the Facebook page. It's Raini Binnicker Kimball from TIFL-Charlotte who we were told was in Charleston for the same races. Her and her husband are both doing the 40 mile ride.

We chit chat a bit. Then we both make a very necessary pit stop to the facilities. I head out to get ready for the ride. I've decided to forgo the CamelBak and tuck a bottle of water in my bag that's hitched to my bike. We take our bikes to the bike guy who's checking bikes. Bike is checked. 60 miles riders have taken off. 40 milers are lining up, that's Claudia and Sharon. Then they are off. Last but certainly not least is the 20 milers that includes me, the 2 BTA ATL peeps we had dinner with last night. I see the TIFL Charlotte sisters have arrived. They were working on real CP time. The announcer talks to us about the route, rest stop and SAG support. At about 9:01am we are off. Every time I get on a bike I start to not like how big my bum is because it's always sore one second after I get on the bike. I have my que sheet just in case I lose the group which I know I will.

We turn right out the school. We ride about 1.5 miles down and make a right on a main road that is pretty flat but there's a bridge waiting for us. I try to ride up the bridge but my body tells me "Nah you should just walk" that's exactly what I do because there's no shame in walking. One bridge down, who knows how many to go. Crossing this bridge reminds me of the bridge at OBX. At the bottom, turn right down another long road. I see a couple turn in front of me who I recognize are part of the bike ride. Then they make a left turn. I'm concerned that this is not the right turn. I pull off to confirm with my que sheet and this is not the turn. I keep going straight. I see a road marking that confirms I was right. I keep riding and then I ride upon 2 female cyclists who look like they are having issues. I ask if I can help even though I really can't. They are happy that I stopped. They have it covered. I keep on down the road. My next turn comes up and it passes right by a church. I start humming "I need thee oh I need thee. At this point my quads are talking back to me, my upper arms are tired, my right foot keeps falling asleep and I'm freezing. Did I mention my nose has been running since I first hit the bridge. I keep riding and then come to a stop and I see green flags with the words "RACE OPS" and I'm thinking it's the rest stop. I turn into the gas station. I'm so excited. One of the TIFL Charlotte chicks tells me I'm a little early for the rest stop. You're actually suppose to be at 11 miles when you get there. They did the same thing, hit the rest stop twice. I'm just glad for a break from the bike for a few minutes. I enjoy the rest stop for a few minutes. Hit the facilities and head back on the correct route, I make a wrong turn and don't see the marking on the road. I head back to the main road and make a left. I see the road markings. I pass fort Sumter site and turn through the neighborhoods and make it back to the rest stop officially at this point. The SAG guy ask if I need a lift back, I really want to tell him YES but I want to push on through. The couple who made that "turn" ride in, I ask them about that. They tell me they were on the scenic route. I think we have to go back towards the BRIDGE and the husband tells me no. I'm a little happy about that. The 3 of us head out and opt for sidewalks. There is a bridge but it's nothing like the first one. Did I mention there was some serious headwinds. Riding a bike plus strong headwinds = frozen Johanna. As I make it down the bridge I see a sign that says "welcome to mount pleasant" HALLEJUAH and thank you God we are back in the town we started in. I check my iPhone and it's in the single digits. I tell myself as soon as I hit 15 miles I'll connect it to the portable charger. I stop to do this and check my bag and you know what the charger and cable are not there. I realize they are in my gear bag which is in the jeep and the keys are with the owner on the 40 mile ride. I have no choice but to make it back because I can't call anyone and I don't know anyone's number by hard except the ride sag people on the que sheet. I'm on the final stretch headed to the school and I just break down and cry because I'm ready to get off the bike, I don't want to ride anymore, I don't want to do any races anymore. I'm just sore tired and hungry. I see the turn for the school, there's a guy waiting there. He ask "how many miles did you do" I reply 20 miles. He looks disappointed. I'm thinking to myself are you FU kidding me. I don't think about his reaction. I ride on to the parking lot. I disembark from the bike which takes 2 tries. I'm thinking I made it. I actually made it.19.1 mile bike ride is in the books.

First TRI of 2015

FOMO fear of missing out. I truly have that :-). If one of my TIFL sisters post in our Facebook group about any type of race, tri or any event that is going on. I always feel that i should particiapte. If not for the health benefits alone. If there is BLING involved I am definitely in. I saw a post about Lifetime Indoor TRI and everyone was signing up, of course I signed up as well. Cost was $25 and you get a shirt. Not bad at all. The other 2 triathlons I have done cost around $80-90. This was a huge drop in price. The indoor TRI was January 4, 2015, 1st Sunday of the new year. About a few days before the TRI, emails were sent out confirming your wave number and start. I hadn't gotten any email. I was starting to worry that maybe I didn't register. I went to the registration page and was in the process of registering when I clicked on my account and saw the receipt for my registration, mystery solved. 1 of my TIFL sisters saw my name in her wave so she knew i was registered. I was still dealing with cold that I had been self-medicating with for a few weeks. I knew the TRI was going to be a semi-struggle because I haven't done any real form of exercise or training and my body was recovering from the cold.

Saturday night I started getting my gear together. Since this was an indoor TRI i didn't need my bike or bucket, woo hoo!! I have a new swim bag that I was going to use. I pretty much had all my gear together and headed to bed. I woke up Sunday morning excited and nervous. I headed to Lifetime Fitness-Cary. I was there about 9:50am. As I am heading into the gym, I hear someone call my name. It's one of TIFL/Fit-Tastic/Galloway buddies Claudia. She tells me "i knew i recognized that car with all those bumper stickers"
My car could never be the getaway car because it is not inconspicuous at all lol.

We head into the gym. The lady at the front desk tells us to head down the hall to the TRI check-in desk. I pick up my race bib, swim cap and race shirt. We head to the lockers. We run into other TIFL sisters who are already there. A few of us are members of another TRI group, Black Triathlete Association. We take a few group pics with our new BTA shirts.

It's about time for me to get ready to swim. I head out to the pool. Sharon Johnson tells me "Jo you should go for the lane by the door so when you're done you are right by the steps". Good advice. Tina Alexander and I are in lane 1. At 10:40 we start our 10 minutes in the pool. I don't know what it is about the pool. Everytime I get in, i am in love and i also feel like i have totally forgotten how to swim. Note to self: you need more pool time. I could tell i wa struggling because every time i would breath when i went under the water it felt like i couldn't breath. At one point, I just kept my head above water and just swam. It was kinda of nerve wracking because i kept an eye on the clock so when it got close to 10 minutes i made it to the end of the lane and just waited until the counter was done because i was so done.

Swim is done, i have 10 miuntes to transition from swim to cycle. Let's call this event #2, changing out of a wet sports bra to a dry sports bra. I truly believed the right girl felt like it was dislocated during this process. I head to the cycle studio. This is event #3, locker room is on the 1st floor, cycle studio is on the 3rd floor. I'm about done done when i get into the cycle studio. They have already started. I'm OK with that. One of the Lifetime trainers helps me get set up on the bike and get my feet in the clips. Lawd have mercy, my right foot is not working with me or the Lifetime trainer, takes us several tries to get it in there. I'm on the spin bike for the very first time. I wish it was over before it started. I pedal through the longest 28 minutes of my life. When we count down to 0 i was never so happy in my ENTIRE life. I shall call getting off the spin bike event #4, one leg was off and the other leg was still on. I am my very own comedy show and didn't even know it. I'm off the bike and headed to the cardio area for the final event, 20 minute run on the treadmill. My body is so sore from the bike, climbing down the steps is a real task. I meander my way over to the treadmill. We line up by race number. since I'm 81, i'm in position #1. I tune my iphone to DJ Kool genius playlist and i'm off. At this point i am not concerned about running, i am just trying to get the feeling back into my arse and my feet. Slow and steady on the treadmill grooving to the music. This was my FAV event of the entire TRI. When the 20 minutes is over, I have completed my first TRI of 2015 and my first indoor TRI. I am a TRIATHLETE.