Rutgers Unite - 8K Race Report

Well, this is less a race report than it is a running report since I am not really racing.  I have a short post on the other blog http://minifancypants.blogspot.com/ on pregnancy and running.

I dropped down once I found out I was pregnant from the half-marathon to the 8K and I have to say 5 miles is really a nice distance!  Something different than a 6 mile race.  At this point, I am 5.5 months or 25 weeks, 15 to go!!!
 
Nicole and I picked up our race packets and I had a discount with the race and bought the newer version of the Brooks Pure Cadence 2!

More on that on another post once I start running with them.  I tried to eat like I normally would before a race with some lean mean and veggies and some sort of carb but with our kitchen being remodeled I just had to wing it.  I also made some arm warmers for Christine and I to go with our outfits.

I went to Mike's gig since it was Nick's last night locally with the band before he leaves for another continent (sad face). 

My rockstar husband...

Race morning, I had my normal ezekial english muffin with almond butter and apple butter and brought a banana.  I also brought some extra snacks (being pregnant you don't want to be hungry) and sipped on lots of water pre-race. We met up with Christine and Kate and drove up to Rutgers and was met with lots of sunshine and cold temperatures (um what happened to our 70-80 degree temps). 

Nicole ran off for her 1/2 marathon, while Christine and I took some pictures for her "coming out" party on facebook of being preggers....see the matching shirts...

How cool is it my best friend and I are pregnant together!!!

We then met up with Lisa, and saw another new mama, Kristin (her first race post-baby) for the start of the 8k.  Lisa and I rant together at a really nice pace, the chatty pace which was on target for what I could do.  I needed to stay in Zone 2 and we walked 30-60 seconds per mile.    Since she was just getting back to running after her marathon (see race report) she didn't mind running with the slow pregnant woman.  It was also nice to actually run with someone, I have felt a little lonely outside of a couple spin sessions with friends in my pregnancy workouts.  The course was BEAUTIFUL and was a perfect rolling hill, nothing too crazy.  Before I knew it the turnaround came and I was really surprised at how good I felt. 

There was only one time when I felt my heart rate going a little crazy on a long hill that I walked an additional 30 seconds but otherwise, I was really happy with my time and how I felt for being 5.5 months pregnant.  I hope this feeling continues throughout the pregnancy.

Lisa and I averaged at a 10:48 pace for the 8K with a final time of 53:42.
I felt a lot of emotion on this race and it was a little extra special, it represented to me that my little girl just did her first race and we, as women are strong!  A girl took our picture and said she didn't know you could run or do this when pregnant and then she asked me my age, when I said 37 she hugged me and said she was so happy that this was possible.  We told her you still have to check with a doctor but it was a nice feeling.

 
Afterwards, we had more paparazzi shots

...and met up with our team, where I discussed the possibility of doing a relay for a couple tris of the swim portion or even a 5k. 

Afterward, was a reward of fro yo....every prego and non-prego woman's craving...

Trenton Half Marathon Race Report

It was Trenton's first inaugrual half marathon and 10k....you may be thinking - "Geez Heather, what is it about you and your ghetto running...first Camden, now Trenton"  - For the few of my followers that are not familiar with the state of New Jersey - these are some of the top crime rated cities...I am saying this like I am proud or something.  For your information - Camden, NJ has a crime rating of 3 and Trenton, NJ a rating of 11.  What does that mean?  Camden is safer than 3% of the cities in the US and Trenton safer than 11% of the cities in the US.

Trivia and humor aside, it was a really nice course and did not go through the "sketchy" areas.  The logistics and spectator view of it was a rating of 15 - maybe 15% better than other races....meaning no bueno.  However, the spectators were able to see each runner from the stadium as we ran into Trenton Thunder Stadium and it was great for photographers Mike.

I think they are trying to make it better for next year, and probably something I would consider doing again since it really was a nice course with a good mix of flats, bridges and some hills.

As for me, as you saw in the last post I was suffering from severe off-seasonitis....I wanted it to be over and I just really wasn't mentally into it.  When you aren't mentally into it, it's NOT going to go well.  It wasn't my worse race but it was not my best.  The lack of training or what I may call fake training really had an impact.  I don't think I was ever so ill-prepared from the running side to bad nutrition, it was just awful and I just want to put my head down because I did not RESPECT the race, the distance, none of it.

The week before I ran Bridge run 10K and felt good, THIS did not feel good.  I'll share the story now...

Twas two nights before the race, I had too much to drink - scratch that I had 3 very very strong beers and felt like ass the next day, which I think just set me up for disaster.  I don't normally drink very much the week leading up to a race and this had a definite impact.  My eating was off all day on Friday, I drank maybe two glasses of water and sipped on a bottle of Nuun...after work we were going with some friends to check out some space for Brewtal - more on that later and I asked Mike what we were going to do about dinner.  Oh, we are having pizza, so I  thought oh okay we are going somewhere for pizza, and I could probably order some chicken and salad and I thought I would be okay.  Nope they were BRINGING pizza, so I am very religious about what I eat the night before and this was not that.  At this point, I was like f it and had a beer and continued sipping some water.  I went to bed too late at midnight, and had to wake up by 5:30...Then I wasn't quite sure about clothing, it was going to be 30 degrees, I thought I would wear a skirt and twin it with Yasi but when she came in my house bundled up I ran up and changed.  Again, not prepared.  The other hard part was I didn't have my normal breakfast, I had no banana and I barely ate a rice cake with some almond butter.

To top it off I brought only 1 gu with me.  Nicole, Yasi and I get to the race site and park and met up with Matt and Bub and Meg (who did her first 10K).  I ate something at 6 and the race did not start until 8:30...not to mention I didn't eat enough at all.  I was thirsty, and my stomach was rumbling which is not a good sign.  The race had a 45 min delay so it was a double whammy.    So we start - FAST...I looked at my Garmin and it said 7:54...SLOW the F DOWN!!  I then felt good and clocked in some 9 and 9:20 min miles...I saw our friend Lisa at Mile 4 on the Pennsylvania side and at that point felt awesome...and the thought crossed my mind that if I can stay in around 9:10 I can PR from AC!  

AS you see above it looked decent, THEN it started falling apart...

 I still felt okay at 6 and 7 but felt a little niggle in my calve, so I stopped and walked the water break and then tried to sip on my one and only GU.  Mile 8 was when the little hilly area came and that's when the calve cramp that has not reared it head in quite a while showed up for the party...uninvited...at Mile 10 I decided I was going to relax my calve with my mind...I don't know what I was thinking but I assumed it I took deep yoga breaths and breathed into that area it will loosen.  Just so you know it is mentally exhausting to try this.  I felt like things were picking up at mile 10 and I could at least hold that pace in.  Then mile 11 happened and it traveled to my achilles....and the calf was balling up, which then signified my toes to start curling like it did in DC!  So basically miles 11-13 were a shit show of pain.  I want to spare you the pictures that the race took, it looked like I was dying a slow death.  At one point this older gentleman said - "are you okay?"  I was standing in the middle of the highway trying to push my toes flat..."um, yes, just trying to flatten the toes..."  No amount of electrolytes and salt were curing this...

Anyway, I started a run walk strategy and just tried to make it in, I was running with some man and he said he wished he was faster and how glad he was to see the finish line.  I told him, I was just glad that we are fortunate enough to be able to do this in the first place.  Then I said to him, we are almost there what do you say we fake run it in together - we got this!  I think that was the point where I saw my dad, which always makes me happy.  I ran around the bases and made pretend I was not in pain when in fact the cramping was really bad but I refused to not look good at the finish!  So I made it in and saw Mike at the finish with his camera, my mom, sister and my friends that finished the 10K.

 Without my husband and family and phenomenal group of friends this wouldn't be worth a damn thing.  I love them all and truly appreciate them being there!  Oh and the beer breakfast that followed it!!

As much as this was a shit show of running, I learned that nutrition and training are that important, it was a great learning experience.  AND I got to witness two people finishing their first 10K and ready for a Half-marathon - congrats Megan and Mahlet!!  AND I was able to run with my two friends Yasi and Nicole!

Now it's time for off-season and celebrate this EPIC year of accomplishments!

Perfect Ending to the Tri-Season - AC International Distance Race Report

After doing my last week negatively sad post (I will try to keep those posts to a minimum), I am happy to report two things:

• I turned 37 and survived
• Had a pretty sweet race
• I got a haircut

I went into this race feeling "blah" about everything, but the pity party was over and decided I was going to CELEBRATE all my training and hard work for the year.  In typical taper fashion, I got slammed with work which ironically helped me to feel super fresh on Sat...Friday night, we met at my parents (got a cute purse from my mommy) and we drove to Atlantic City to stay at my sister-in-laws where Christine gave me my bday present that I could wear for the race...

That made me smile and feel ready then ever to race.  My parents and sister were our support team and they did a great job showing up at random places on the course.

Cutest parents wearing their NJ Metal sweatshirts - REPRESENTING

Bright and Early at 5:30am

Christine and I got to Bader Field at 5:30am (I credit Yasi with encouraging me to be early for races) and picked up our race packets and went to transition.  The race was starting 15 minutes late because many people were caught in traffic...I have NEVER seen a race do this and it just showed how accomodating this company was.  They really did a nice job.  Thank you DelMoSports!

Swim -  1 mile (36:36)

The swim course looked like it could be cold but in actuality it was awesome.  I wore my full-piece wetsuit, I wish I had a sleeveless as I always feel so constricted in my full piece.  Anyway, I think the swim out to the start was good because it forced me to warm up a little.  I stayed in the back-right to avoid the initial crazies, and there was a bit of a current (against) on the way up. When I got to the first left, I got a little confused, I thought it was making a rectangle and think I ended up getting off course, then back on then off again.  Finally on the way back we were able to ride the current and I sighted the rest of the orange and was able to stay on course the rest of the way.  Most of the Olympic distance swims have been 0.8 miles so my time was faster than previous for a longer course...PR!

T1 - 5:16 (REASON BELOW)

I saw Christine in transition - she was doing the sprint and also did a little PR in the swim.  This was a ridiculously long transition - I was quick, HOWEVER, the Garmin registered a 1/2 mile transition....we had to run with our bikes out of transition and across Bader Field up to Rt. 322 where we were then allowed to mount the bike...NEXT time, I will not run in my bike shoes, and run barefoot so I can go a little faster.  I only know I was pretty speedy in the transition area because NINJA Christine had a similar time...haha

Bike - 20 miles (1:03  -19mph)
There was a lovely head side wind on the way up - it was a 1/2 loop course so I would guess about 60% of it you were going into the wind.  I just kept my head down and tried to keep steady, especially when a semi is flying by you on the AC Expressway and almost knocks you down.  The only "hills" were a couple over passes.  My garmin stopped working on the last mile but from what I gather I was doing about 15-17 in the headwind and 20-23 on the tailwind...Overall, a nice little PR speed for an Olympic/International distance.  I know I started easing up the last 5 miles, I think I got a little bored of no one being around me and the flatness....I need to get my head in the game as I think it cost me a little in speed.

T2 - 4:45 (Same as above)
I saw my dad coming off the bike and then right before my run, this put a little kick in my step and he said mom and Theresa were up on the boardwalk waiting for me to run by!

Run - 10k (54:20 8:46/mile)
This was a PR on any 10k whether that is a solo run or part of a tri, so I am quite happy with this and I think it really shows how far I am coming in getting back to the 8 min mile (goal for next year).  I saw Christine on her way in which gave me a little motivation.  I felt really good, the weather was awesome.  The only real complaint I have on the race was being stopped for traffic on the way to the boardwalk....as you watch people go ahead of you....whatever, what is done is done. I got up to the boards and felt real good, I wish I had my Garmin to push me but instead I worked on passing one person at a time.  I saw my sister at Bally's and she said mom was at the Borgata.  A girl I passed on the bike earlier, was running by me so I figured I should try to stick with her.  I could tell my heartrate was getting a little higher, I would guess (since I am a stalker, the girl did 8 min miles) that we were going about 8min pace, after a mile I decided I wanted to have enough gas for the end.  I saw my mom and gave her a high five and went on...I can't tell you how much emotion I feel when I run here, there was so many memories of my childhood with my family and grandparents.  My grandfather worked at Resorts and as I passed it I remembered walking with my grandmom as a 7 year old from the Golden Nugget to Resorts to see him and then catching a tram home.  I remembered watching these casinos being built and torn down, Trump building the most elaborate looking ridiculous casino...good times....as I remembered all of this I just put one foot in front of the other, I felt really good and steady.  When I got to mile 5, I felt good enough to speed it up, although I had to stop 2 more times for traffic...I am pretty sure it only took about a total of 30 seconds of all the stopping so I don't think it would have made a huge difference.

Total Time - 2:43:46

Our number 1 fan - Theresa!

After all this, we went to breakfast for my birthday, showered and got back on the road.  Mike was taking care of his dad, so he got home a little later and we celebrated with some cake and beers and a movie with a couple friends.  Sunday, I continued celebrating by spending the day on full birthday mode: reading, wine, sun, and then dinner with Mike.

My presents from Mike came and were wonderful.....

Shoes and watch can't get much better.

I had more gluttony in store this past weekend with a Brewtal beer meeting, a birthday dinner with friends on Sat, and then on Sunday for the grand finale of bday week with field hockey, book club and dinner with my family!  Here's to making the birthday last a full month!

AND just to be sure I am vacation ready, I started my week of detox before I leave 10/2 - which means coming up with some fantastic recipes that are detox-friendly - I think I may be the only one that gets excited for a detox...and detoxes BEFORE "toxing" on vacation.  See this post for my detox (I sometimes add in greek yogurt and eggs since this is not a full vegan detox although I had done it full vegan in the past for detox), obviously everyone is different and here for some relevant recipe lists...also I follow the various nutrition posts on my right hand column - Edible Perspective, Daily Garnish, Gluten-Free Goddess for some great recipes :)

Mooseman 70.3 Race Report

I had huge hopes for this post with how good I felt going into it, all of the training that should have gave me a really good race time, what the weekend was SUPPOSED to look like weather-wise, planning the perfect family/friends long weekend.

So let's throw all that out the window and restart....

I got sick on Wednesday, I was in denial that it was allergies, but it was a cold.  I thought the best thing to do was REST, so I did, I slept and biked and got in a short run prior to the race.

My father-in-law Carle was experiencing some breathing issues Friday morning before we left, 7 hour drive just could not happen for him.  However, we were positive that he would be better with some rest and they would leave the next day.

I consolidated my bags, took my necessities, and hopped a ride with Yasi and her mom for the trek up Friday. 

My parents and sister were leaving a little later on. Later when we got into New Hampshire,Mike called to say Carle was being rushed to the hospital and admitted into ICU.  Part of me wanted to get right home and be with Mike and the family and part of me knew that I was doing this for Carle and this horrible disease.  I wrestled with this decision Saturday morning until I spoke to Mike.  Apparently, Carle was telling every nurse, doctor, tech about what I was doing, where he was supposed to be, and Mike even hung up a sign in the hospital room that said "Go Heather!  Finish #1!" that they were supposed to bring.  Okay, I thought, the decision is made...even with the torrential downpour, this thing was happening and I was going to do exactly what that sign said "FINISH."

Since it was pouring, we decided to use the hotel gym for some light "movement" - I was on the precur strutting and looking like an alien from that movie Signs (Mel Gibson) watching old Project Runway, while Betty (mom) power-walked and Yasi biked tweeted...

We had a great lunch and was able to meet up with Anabel, whom I met last year via twitter and at Vineman.  Anabel and her cycling phenomena fiance gave Yasi and I the ins and outs of the bike course.  We then went to the meeting where we heard that it isn't supposed to rain that much (as it was downpouring about 2 inches or so of rain) tomorrow and that they would be using sub-pumps to get out most of the water...great!

Dinner was pretty awesome, I found a place that has quinoa on the menu - you can't go wrong with that...

Went to bed after some "good luck" phone calls from the husband and family and ready for the next day.

Early morning tweeting

And then the nerves started, maybe it was seeing some rain, maybe it was because we were running late, but I couldn't stomach the 1/2 Ezekiel English muffin and almond butter.  My transition spot was in a huge puddle, I am talking large, and I had barely enough time to throw everything in a trash bag and run out to get my wetsuit on and hand off a bag to my mom.  The water looked cold, I don't know how that is possible but it did and there was no time for me to sit in there and waddle around.

looks cold huh...

I decided to run to my mom and see if there was an extra Gu - I was worried I didn't eat enough beforehand.  So I shoved it down, took a sip of water and it was GO!

Swim (49:46)
Women 39 and under were in the same wave which was the second wave and as expected it was COLD.  Not the 66 degrees that it was supposed to be.  I would estimate maybe 59/60.  Head was not going in and I have to say I didn't freak, I just moved slow and then eventually developed a groove for the first 800 meters.  I couldn't breathe ever 3 so I had to do every 2 which ends up being way slower for me, but I was calm and that was important.  Eventually I started swimming normal (as usual the last 800 meters) and then realized I couldn't feel my feet and had to start moving faster to prevent numbness.  I got out dizzy, very dizzy and kind of nauseous and that little cold I was in denial about made me feel like shit.

T1 
It was a long transition, after the wet suit strippers, I was numb, cold and shivering, I found the arm warmers got my stuff on, but it was a clusterf*%* of errors, arm warmers were backwards, I had to put them on again right, I dropped my socks in teh mud puddle, I got my bike and started running out and then realized this was not going to be good, I really didn't feel well, I remembered my white long sleeve in the trash bag, ran back, threw it on, dropped my helmet in some mud and got the hell out of there...

Bike (4:01 - I have an excuse...)

after my 8 min T1 time....ugh

The first part was nice as I expected, I tried some of the Perpetum but my stomach wasn't having it, so I tried a Peanut Butter Gu (can I say yum!) and then we started approaching the hills.  Initial thought, not so bad!  And then, my dreaded fear, a flat.  I hate flats, I suck at fixing them, I am slow and to add on the extra numb fingers and thumbs, I couldn't get the levers to take off the tire, it was bad.  Eventually, bike support came by fixed it and I was back on my way a good 30 minutes later.  The ride was great especially with the downhills and the flats.  The hills sucked at about mile 2 when I ran out of gears....that was hard.  I was so cold on the downhill, and was so far gone in time, I thought about quitting a few seven times.  I stopped at a water exchange and promptly puked a little, got some electrolyte drink, some chomps, and then went on my merry way.  I do have to get better at gearing so I don't waste time with chains popping off (another few minutes wasted) during the second climb.  If this was a nice day and I wasn't sick, I really would have loved the bike course.

During all this, remember that little thing called DOUBT?  well, he crept up, and during the first loop, I said I'm just going to quit when I see a bike support, I feel like shit.  Then I pushed into the second loop, during the major descend after the second climb, I said I was finishing at mile 56.  I was done, I was cold, I had snot hanging from my nose, I was coughing and almost puking and I just said.  "you know, I finished 2/3, people can't be upset.  I am really sick." and then my other part of my brain saw a vision of the sign in Carle's hospital room that said "Finish #1 Heather"...but then that little asshole  DOUBT came in and was like "how are you going to finish, you feel like shit.  You are REALLY going to run 13 miles"  And this went on over and over for 40 miles...I passed my family coming in and went into T2, completely ready to load the bike and call it a day and watch my friends come in.

Run (2:15)
And then this literally happened...no lie...exactly like the movie...I found myself putting on my sneakers "And in that particular moment I decided to go for a little run."


 And the first 8 miles felt great despite those damn hills....seriously 8 times??

This was the first 6 miles then you do it again...

That was crazy, but then I started cramping, made some more friends, and finished!!

Yasi and Anabel!  Yasi had her fastest 1/2 mar time and Anabel got 2nd in AG and a spot to Vegas for World Championships!

me and my mommy!

So even though I didn't have the bike I wanted, the best weather conditions, and wasn't 100%, in this odd weird way, it was a great race!  For the first time I was happy about the run and ran a respectable 1/2 marathon after that bike (for me), I don't have any more of the bike to run transition slowness and I didn't completely screw up the swim.

Even more importantly, I was able raise awareness and money for ALS and make Carle proud!
Tri-ing to Fight ALS

For all of this to happen:
I have the most amazing husband who supports me during these crazy things AND I had friends and family that supported me through this both virtually and there!

my sister and Tiffany made me a cool sign!

My awesome support crew!!  I love the Family!

Oh yeah, and I had an awesome training partner this season!  Check out Yasi's race report - so proud of her and her race!!

If you recall, I wanted to do one earlier in the season for two reasons:
1.  I was hurt last year and wanted to start training ASAP.
2.  I wanted to not worry about training every weekend in the summer.

BUT, the minute, I crossed the finish line and was all happy because there is something in your brain that instantly erases every awful thought you have (I will never do this again, I can't wait to not have anything to do on a Sat except drink beer and work on my tanlines so I don't look like a farmer, I am really happy to be done with this), every bad feeling you get during a race, is immediately replaced when someone puts this cool little medal on you...and the only thought you have is "I can't wait to do another one."

So here's to the thought that triathlons are not just a race it's a lifestyle and I enjoy every part - the ups and downs, the crying, laughing, all of the sweat and hard work and mental preparation makes me a stronger person and able to take on life's challenges.

Red Bank Olympic Race Report

Based on my last post, I think you saw I had a good race, not a great race, but a good one in the fact that the scales were tipping in favor of the things that went right for me.  As you may know, I ONLY get up early when deemed necessary.  I see 7am race start, 1 hour drive, and I need to pick up packet that morning.  NOW, it SAYS you can pick it up between 5-6am so normally I would get there at 5:50 promptly to make sure I am in line by 5:55...BUT I am going with my friend Yasi and from what I gathered after knowing her for the past 9 months is that she likes to be early.  So out of courtesy, I pick her up at the glorious hour of 4:30am....

In prep for the race, I got a mani-pedi to match my new SOAS kit and Laura came to braid my hair (I feel like a 10 year old girl saying that)....

I was truly happy to get there early.  For the first time I wasn't running around like a maniac thinking I am forgetting something, or it could have something to do with the checklist I printed out....I also enjoyed being around someone (Yasi) that was very even keeled and just a very positive person.  She has been a great person to train with and very motivating with her focus and hard-working personality. 

All ready to go - you would think I would have a quicker T time with this set-up

Please note - this calmness beforehand was not a true depiction of the swim, but it was pretty...

Swim
There isn't much to say but I choked....yup, I forgot how to swim.  After all the posts about "I love swimming," "I am getting better at swimming"....nope my first taste of salt water did it.  It was at that point I had my freak out moment.  Even the guy on the standing paddle board says "miss do you need to come out?" I am thinking "no, stupid, just let me get through my hissy fit, can't you see I am fine." Then the men 39+ start swimming over me.  "Lovely," I think.  "How the fuck am I going to finish this."  Then I stop my little fit, put on my big girl pants, (a little late since I think this went on for a good 7-8 minutes).  I start swimming just in time for the turn around where the waves come.  I am sure to normal people these were not waves but to me they were ridiculous.  I started feeling sea sick and glad I didn't eat that much...,but I swam the rest of the way in, pretty well actually (shame I didn't do that the whole way).  In a nut shell even with the hissy fit, it was still 5 min faster than my last Olympic. 

T1
Wetsuit....bike was on ground, water bottle empty needed to refill...enough said....

Bike
I am always cautious on the bike especially after a couple things:  bike accident and my prior experience of calf cramping anytime I run over 25 miles off the bike.  I went harder up front, and there were random annoying hills that slowed me down a little.  Part of this is that I didn't really taper the week before since tapering was coming next week.  I felt a little heavy in the legs.  I was a little disappointed in my time since I know I am faster than this; however, the problem always comes in when you are one of the last people out of the water and biking alone and you cannot see your bike speed.  This hurts me a lot because I am much more competitive in nature and need people and something to strive for.  I am still happy and feel like I was strong but not fast. 

At least it looks good, right!!

T2
Blah, I will never be a 1-2 minute ninja in transition, I need to practice this A LOT!!!

Run
Finally!! For the first time I felt good, I took a Gu at mile 1.  I ran the first three cautious and as I noticed no cramping I took it home for the last three with mile times under 9 min finally.  I had an average of 9:13.  The good part is I would have been fine running another 6 miles.  My heart rate was in the 160's meaning I could have went harder on this.  I was so happy to not be in pain and actually sprint into the finish line in NO AGONY!!  This may not have been fast but this was a total win in my book and really made me feel a little more confident in my decision to switch the running gait to mid-foot and break up with my orthodics in place of the Brooks Pure. 

It was a great race!  Especially, for Yasi - who took home an age group win!!  Our friend Greg came out to do his long run and support us and we met some new friends, ate Mexican and then I relaxed with compression socks and a DogFish Head Burton Baton....good stuff.

I am still quite fearful of the Mooseman and the 16% incline on the bike, but I just started reading "As Good as Gold" by Kathryn Bertine and came across this quote:

"A good quest will do much more than take you from point A to B.  A good quest unlocks the myth of failure, the truth about scuccess, and the reality of the What Ifs.  A good quest will confirm that yes, you did the right thing simply by attempting.  A good quest will provide inner peace and mental harmony.  But first you have to hunt down Doubt and kick it square in the balls."

 That being said, I am kicking Doubt in the balls for Mooseman!