A Side of Sweet

Beautiful Food, Travel & Design

Evergreen Lake Triathlon

I’ve been struggling with an IT Band issue since Collegiate Nationals in April, so I haven’t been able to train the way I’ve hoped this summer.  To put in in perspective, in a good week, my legs will allow me 10 miles of running, no more than 3 a day.  I thought last summer’s shin splints were frustrating, but this is definitely 100x worse.

I decided to compete in the Evergreen Lake Triathlon last weekend because it is outside of Chicago and I had plans to spend the weekend in the city.  I’ve heard good things about the race and the entry fee is very reasonable ($40 for college students).

I signed up for the sprint because I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to do the run at all.  The Evergreen Lake sprint distance is a bit unique though: it has a 500m swim, a full international distance 40K bike and a 5K run.  I figured since biking is my strongest event, the longer bike would favor me.

I drove down to Evergreen Lake on Friday night and stayed in the “primitive triathlon camping area” with my teammate, Kelley Hess.  Basically, for $13, you could put up a tent anywhere you wanted in a field about 100 feet from transition.  It was a great idea and nice for people like me who are on a budget.

There were only 50 women in the sprint division, so the entire group of us started in one wave.  I definitely struggled in the open water swim.  I tried to start near the front, but somehow still ended up trying to fight my way past people who were slower than me.  I got knocked around pretty hard by another racer which resulted in some lost time.  The second half was better, but the swim was over before I could find any rhythm.  2:00/100m pace.  Yikes.

Transition went smoothly, my time was 1:30, which seems slow, but the sprint racks were the furthest away from the exit so I think only 2 or 3 people had faster times than I did.  I also did my first flying mount of the year – bonus!

It was scorching hot by the time I was on the bike but I quickly found a rhythm and passed at least 100 people (from my wave and others) on the bike section.  A couple of guys with fancy equipment looked at me with disbelief as I passed them, which just spurred me on even more.  I averaged 22.2 miles/hr according to official race results but the course was a bit long and my Garmin read 22.6.  Good enough for the 2nd fastest female bike split of the day!

T2 was also 1:30 due to having to wheel the bike all the way back to the furthest rack, but still well within the range of my competitors.

I wasn’t sure what my legs were capable of on the run so I started slowly, just hoping my leg wouldn’t start to hurt.  If the IT band flared up I’d have no choice but to walk, something that would make the 5K seem like eternity.  I started out with a 9:00/mile pace but as I hit the turnaround point I realized I was feeling pretty good.  By the end I cruised in at around a 7:20/mile pace.  Overall average was 8:22/mile pace which I’m happy with considering I was worried about walking/DNF!

I ended up finishing in 1hr 50 min which was 1st in my age group and 5th female overall!  It was a fun race with great post race food (cheese curds, sandwiches, watermelon, BBQ and cookies!) and I highly recommend this event to everyone.  It is one of the few reasonably priced triathlons that still attract high profile competition.  Plus, the Olympic division offers prize money!

Congrats also to my teammates, Jack Dudley who won the sprint and had the fastest bike split of the day and Kelley Hess who placed second in the Collegiate Division (7th overall).

Adventures in Cuba, Back to Havana

A six hour bus ride on Wednesday brought us back to Havana for the last three days of our trip.  We decided to “live large” and get a casa right on the sea.  We found the perfect place – Casa de Maria del Carmen – a third story flat with huge windows and wide open spaces with an almost hotel-like feel.  It was great to have a thick, comfortable mattress and real pillows, plush towels and good shower pressure – a nice way to transition back into the United States.  We also talked Maria down to $25 instead of $35 which made the place a steal!

With the rest of our time, we checked out Heladeria Coppelia, the best spot for ice cream in town.  People literally stand in line for hours to get scoops:

I took Pat back to the beach where I got my awful sunburn my first day in Havana and were delighted to see that there were decent sized waves.  Even though we didn’t have surfboards, we managed to do some body surfing and play in the waves.  It was great exercise and a ton of fun, even though it took a long shower to get all the sand off later!

We also rented to hottest car in town for an hour for a city tour, a shiny purple 1951 Chevy Deluxe convertible.  It was $20 well spent and a great way to see parts of the city we otherwise would have missed.

Our last dinner was at Sociedad Asturiana Castropol on the balcony, right on the water, a perfect way to catch our last sunset in Cuba.  Made by one of the best chefs in Havana, the food was incredible and we ate and ate until our stomachs hurt.  Seafood paella, smoked salmon, octopus soup, cheesecake, mojitos, the works!  Four appetizers, drinks, two entrees and one dessert later the bill still came to under $60.  Then it was off to bed before our 4:30am taxi ride to the airport to catch our flight to Cancun.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Cuba but it was definitely one of my favorite places I’ve ever visited.  The colors, the culture, the people, the sights, the sea, the beach – it has something for everyone.  It was amazing that a place only 90 miles from Miami can be so different from anywhere else in the world that I’ve been.

Adventures in Cuba, Trinidad Part III

There are a lot of galleries and stores with handmade items in Trinidad.  It’s easy to see why many Cuban artists decide to reside in Trinidad – its beauty is definitely inspiring.  At one gallery, Pat and I both immediately noticed a brightly colored abstract painting propped against a wall.  The artist was sitting next to it, having just completed it.  I just knew I had to have it and was amazed that the price was so affordable.  The artists, Ramses, told us we would have to wait a few days for it to dry and that we could pick it up right before we left town.  I’m on the plane home as I write this and the painting is rolled up next to me.  It’s so exciting to have purchased my first piece of art and I can’t wait to get it home to hang it up.  It’s a great memory of our time in Trinidad, plus it’s so cool to be able to say I met the artist who painted it!

One night we enjoyed mojitos and music at the Casa de Musica, an outdoor bar with life music that was packed with tourists.  It was fun to people watch, especially the local guys who tried to pick up the female tourists by showing off their dance moves!

Most of our dinners were traditional Cuban food home-cooked in the casa – heaping piles of rice covered with a bean “soup”, sides of fried plantains, tropical fruits, fresh vegetables and fresh juice.  Our last night, we splurged on dinner out on the town at Sol y Son, recommended by both the Rough Guide and some Brits we met on the bus ride to Trinidad.  The fresh-caught fish was delicious but a bloody mary made Cuban-style by using rum and our cold chewy baked apple desserts were definitely misses.

One afternoon, we stumbled upon a local band playing covers of Buena Vista Social Club in a courtyard:

http://vimeo.com/12338481

As you can see, they were amazing!

Adventures in Cuba, Trinidad Part II

The beach outside of Trinidad was beautiful – white sand, clear and calm water and not terribly busy.

One day we paid $10 to go out on a sailboat to a nearby reef and do some snorkeling.  It was fun to take Adventure Cam with and get some pictures underwater:

On the way home from the beach, or taxi got a flat tire.  A few other drivers helped out and the flat was fixed speedily.  It was almost like watching a NASCAR pit stop change!

Adventures in Cuba, Trinidad Part I

I stepped off the bus in Trinidad (the city, not the country) and wondered if we had gotten lost and I had ended back up in Antigua, Guatemala somehow.  From the colonial architecture to the cobblestone streets to the vibrant colors of the houses, I definitely had a déjà vu moment.

This time we were safely ushered to the appropriate Casa Particular, the Casa de Senor Cesar Orbea.  It was a beautiful place with a rooftop terrace and a nice patio for breakfast but from the start I didn’t like the owner of the house.  He refused to make eye contact with me and when I asked him questions (in Spanish) he would either not let me finish my sentences or not listen to me at all.  Pat humored my request to find a different place for the rest of our stay and we ended up at Casa Tayaba the next few nights.  The noise and business of the house made us feel right at home and the women who ran the place made us feel like we were part of the huge family that lived there.  In addition it had a great location next to the main plaza and stunning third floor views of the city, sea and the sunset.  It was probably the best Casa we stayed in the whole trip.

We also fell in love with the city of Trinidad.  It was close to both the sea and the mountains, a short bus ride away from the beach and had a homey small-town feeling.  We spent three full days there, two at the beach and one relaxing in the city itself.