Photos from Miami

Race Start...notice how DARK it is!

Danielle, Misty and I after the race....all Smiles:) and Sunshine!

Fl. Lauderdale Beach...enjoying some post-race relaxation and fun!

Me, Dee, and Misty...soreness, anyone??

Of course, we also hit up the clubs and bars on the strip:) If you're in S. Florida, it's go BIG or go HOME!!

My First Race...EVER??

Okay, I can understand needing a few races to get my groove back and re-establish my routine and remember everything that I should do...but I literally made ROOKIE mistakes at the Miami race! Not to say that I didn't have a very successful race...I finished 4th Overall, behind Jill Petersen, Jasmine Oeinck, and Joanna Zeiger. All women/athletes that I respect and admire very much!
But, come on, did I seriously forget that WARM UP is an essential part of race day??
I didn't forget any equipment, I had a good breakfast, I got to the site with plenty of time, I organized my transition area quickly and correctly, I was body marked in the proper places, and somehow (in the melee of the dark-and-early morning madness) I totally FORGOT to warm up!!!!!
And, boy, oh boy, did I PAY for that mistake! As I sit here, finally writing this post race report, my body has finally calmed down and started to recover! Last week I spent a lot of time taking care of my VERY sore and injured quads/IT bands. This was the first morning that I could actually squat down to the pool level to speak one-on-one with my athletes. I went through 3 ice baths, one incredibly painful massage, half a bottle of Advil, and lots of moaning and wincing whenever I moved to quickly or suddenly.
Anyways, back to the Miami weekend and race...Misty and I drove down to her parents house on Friday evening, arriving about 10:30pm. I went straight to bed and enjoyed a few hours extra sleep in on Saturday. We eventually made it out to the race site, mid-day, to check in, get our packets, check out the course, rack our bikes, sit in the pro-race meeting, catch-up with friends, etc.
Saturday evening I got all my race bag ready and had a relaxing nap before joining the Becerra family for a pasta dinner out by their pool (they had a B-E-A-utiful home!). I even manged to get to bed early in preparation of the 4:30am alarm I had set for Sunday/Race Day.
And Race Day 'Dawned' during our race. The sun just started to rise as I was swimming between the first and second turn buoys! The 3 inch glow-sticks that they hung on the top of the buoys kinda disappear once you have foggy goggles on your eyes and you are swimming at race-pace. None-the-less, I think I swam in a relatively straight line around the course (until I started swimming over the pro-men who started 2 minutes ahead). All was good with my race...until I got to the swim-exit and stood UP!
Both quads immediately LOCKED up and fearing the curious stares if I tried to walk to transition, I managed a very interesting jog/hobble. Grabbed my bike and hobbled to the other side of transition to start riding. Fortunately, after a few minutes of spinning on the bike, my legs loosed up and I managed to put up a pretty decent bike-split for myself. My little home-made TT bike (fashioned from an old road bike and some hand-me-down aerobars) performed very well.
Big thanks goes out to Dennis over at Winter Garden Wheel Works for letting me borrow a pair of Zipp race wheels at the last second! I almost completely forgot about wheels...and fortunately he lent me 404s because the WIND on race day was strong! It was blowing people with disk wheels all over the road. When I was descending the bridge, into the wind, I was forced to hold on tight to my front so I wasn't blown off the road!
I held the lead position for women until the last 4-ish miles of the bike. I had watched Jasmine creeping up on me for the whole race (3 x 180 degree turns each of the 2 laps) and when she made the pass, I used her as momentum to finish strong. We rolled into transition together and I stayed on her heels for the first 1.5 miles of the run. Another rookie mistake was leaving my energy gel in T2...I thought I had enough fuel to make it through the 10K.
After the first turn-around on the run, I was able to see who was behind me and how good they looked. Joanna was the first to pass me, somewhere around mile 3 or 4...and then JILL came screaming by! She picked the three of us off one-by-one and went from 4th into T2 to first at the finish...Congrats! Then Jasmine, then Joanna...and, finally, ME. Feeling a little loopy and a lot sore, I eventually crossed the finish line and went directly to the medical tent for some electrolyte drink and then over to the massage tables for a feeble attempt to help my legs recover.
Misty, who didn't even want to race in the first place (I surprised her with a race-entry and drug her down to Miami), finished 2nd overall in her age-group, had a Great race, and was actually happy afterwards! Our third member, Danielle, who also camped out at the Becerra house, missed a turn on the bike course and got way off track. Once she realized what had happened, it was too late to fix so she just went for a nice run down the beach.
Eventually, after awards and prize money distribution, it was time to pack up our gear, go back to the Becerra house, and prepare to have some fun in South Florida!

Miami or Bust

I'm about 20 minutes from heading out the door, picking up Misty and Binx, and starting the drive to Miami! I had a nice easy day today...coached masters swim in the early morning but then took advantage of being awake to clean my house a bit and pack for the weekend. I went back to the pool at noon for a nice mid-day 3000 yard swim (I love pre-race days) in the sunshine. Grabbed a bite to eat at Panera before reporting to the USAT Coaching Clinic to give my presentation on Open Water Swimming.
The 90 minute talk went well, everyone looked interested (even MY coach...who is getting certified this weekend!) and gave me a round of applause at the end. I made a quick pit-stop at the NTC one last time before heading home to load my bikes and bags.
With a dinner stop and a gas stop, Misty and I should be pulling into her parents place around 10pm tonight. Perfect...just roll into the house and go to sleep:)
Tomorrow is a big day...with checking out the course, checking-in, putting bikes into transition, etc. I've got to try to minimize my time outside in the Miami heat/humidity so that Sunday is a success! Who knows what kind of Internet time I'll be getting during the trip, but you can bet I'll log in as soon as I return to Clermont!

1 Month Ago

I just found this article about me in the Orlando Sentinel. It was posted about a month ago (before the Florida's Great Escape triathlon) but I just came across it this morning. Enjoy:)

Professional Triathlete Sara McLarty Stays on the Go
posted by Steve Ruiz on Feb 10, 2009 4:06:28 PM
Even in the midst of a cold, Sara McLarty can be inspiring.
She was a state-championship swimmer at DeLand High School, a 15-time All-American at the University of Florida and is in her fifth year as a professional triathlete.
Sara, who will turn 26 on Feb. 25, has a long-term goal of reaching the Olympics. In the meantime, beating her brother, Dustin, in a match race in April at the St. Anthony's Triathlon in St. Petersburg will have to do.
"I think it will be pretty close,'' said Sara, who is set to defend her title at the Florida's Great Escape triathlon Sunday at Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont. "I might have a slight advantage, though, because I am a professional triathlete who does this all the time and he has to study.''
Dustin is studying engineering at graduate school at the University of California-Irvine.
They come from a family of triathletes that includes parents Brent and Karen. When Mom and Dad trained, Sara and Dustin often would tag along. The family would plan trips around triathlons that turned into hiking/camping adventures.
Still, there was competition, albeit friendly.
"I can remember the first time I beat my mom in a race,'' Sara said. "I was 13. When I was 15, that was the first time my brother beat me.''
Now that triathlon is a full-time job for Sara -- she also serves as a triathlon coach, master's swimming coach and camp organizer at the National Training Center in Clermont -- much of her week is devoted to training. She said she trains 30 hours per week (13 on the bike, 10 in the pool, seven running) and also does 2-3 hours of weight training per week. Two hours of massage weekly helps work out the kinks.
"The road has been well-traveled,'' said Sara, who has competed in more than 150 triathlons. "Not to say it doesn't get monotonous, but every day is different. Today, I feel terrible, but Sunday, I felt like a rock star.''
Sara has this advance for fitness enthusiasts considering their first triathlon: "Go with one goal: Have fun and don't worry about anything else. Finish with a smile on your face. If you have fun, then you will be more likely to come back for a second triathlon.''
For more information on Sara, please go to her Web site (saramclarty.com).

Milk Mustaches

Misty and I got to try on the famous Milk Mustaches at the Strawberry Festival last weekend in Plant City. Little did I know, a proper milk mustache comes from shoving your top lip into a cup of MILKSHAKE! Yummo:)

Birthday Surprise!

Misty told me to be on my bike on Sunday morning (last Sunday) at 8:00am with some sandals in my back pocket. She wouldn't tell me where we going or what we were doing!

It was a beautiful morning and it took me about 40 minutes (of a 45 minute ride) to figure out where we were going! Basically, the Quest Air hang-gliding airport is the ONLY thing out in Groveland that would be remotely fun...so as we got further from civilization, I started to clue in on the surprise!

We signed a stack of waivers and then met our tandem instructor...Dustin (yep!). He's like one of the best hang gliders in the country (world?) so we were in good hands!

I went first...strapped in above Dustin.

We were towed by an ultra-light plane up to 2500 feet and then released on our own. Dustin aimed us back towards the airport and then let me try steering (very easy). After a bit he asked if I "liked roller-coasters." As soon as I replied "Yes!" we started dipping and diving and rocketing in all sorts of directions!

Of course it ended WAY too soon...but the experience was amazing! I'll be back out there very soon...maybe this time for a 'mile-high' flight

Misty went second...strapped in above Dustin.

Getting towed up by the ultra-light was the slowest part of the whole adventure...but you got a great view of central Florida from the clear, blue skies!

Casa de Fitness

I am a total impulse shopper. Once I get it in my head that I WANT something, or I HAVE to have something...there is absolutely NO stopping me! So, today, I purchased an addition to the Triathlon House on Carroll Street: an ICE BATH!!!
Yes, I know, it is a large-animal-feeding-trough...but in my world, it is the perfect sized personal ice bath!! Eventually, it will be sitting on a great concrete slab that will be the foundation of my back-porch...but for now, it will just be chilling (no pun intended) on the ground outside the back door.
After purchasing the big tub from the local Feed and Pet store, I stopped by Publix and purchased 3 huge bags of ice. I was just guessing on the quantity...it looked about right...I even thought it might be too much!
Drove back to my house, backed over the curb and up to the gate into the back yard, called out my roommate (Mr. Muscles) to help me unload, and then turned on the hose and got to work filling my first ICE BATH!!

No worries on the amount of ice...three bags was PLENTY! It was freaking cold but I lasted for the full 12 minutes (and then couldn't feel my feet for another 12 minutes)!

There was more than enough ice for Thomas to take a 12 minute bath...

So then I called Misty! 3 ice bags equals 3 great ice baths! Hey Clermont-ians...if you want an ice bath, just pick up the ice, give me a call, and save me 12 minutes!

By the way, my VG-1 (Vertical Garden) is doing so awesome! I've been eating home-grown-lettuce-salads for the past 4 nights. Instead of cutting off a whole head, I've just been picking of individual leaves on the outside. That way, I get a salad with about 3 HUGE leaves, and the plant can keep growing (basically, I got sick of waiting for them to 'finish' growing:)

Now, I just have to be patient and wait for the tomato plants to start doing something. So far, all they've done is GROW! Where are the little tomatoes?!?! "HHHHEEEERRRREE tomato, tomato, tomato!!!!"

Tomorrow I will be planting some additional items to the top level...I picked up some Sweet Basil at the store, along with a strawberry plant! That could be a good salad right there...Romain, spinach (it's growing, slowly), tomatoes, strawberries, and some basil dressing!!

So, hold your appetite and plan to come over for dinner in about 2 months! See you then!