Whew!!

Time for another update! So the month of May has been an eventful one, as far as racing and training goes.. As I mentioned last time, our 'open water swim mondays' have begun and I cannot describe how greatly this has helped me improve my confidence for race day swimming. The 1st time out in my wetsuit was a stark reminder of how my last (which was also the 1st time ever in a wetsuit!) attempt at swimming in a wetsuit went... It was at Chicago tri last summer... and it didn't go well. That race went OK, but I had a bit of a 'freak out' during that swim... So anyway, the more we've gotten out in the lakes to swim and break in our wetsuits, the more I feel like I'm actually swimming and cruising comfortably along...and I've already seen the benefits of this at races. Last weekend I tested my endurance and recovery by doing 2 triathlons in 2 days... it went well! I started off with the race in Terre Haute... it was a 'spri-lympic' distance (betweeen sprint and olympic), so 800m swim, 25mi bike and 5mi run... my longest race to date! I felt pretty darn good, aside from the side-stitch I got on the run (probably a product of pushing hard on the bike, eating on the bike (1st time for this in a race), and then starting my run off too quickly...live and learn! But I did manage a 3rd place (age group) finish that day. Then the next day was our TNT practice tri for those of the team doing the Elkhart race on 6/12...so it was another 'spri-lympic' with just under a mile swim, 16 HILLY mile ride, and then about a 4.5mi hilly run. I felt great for this race and managed to pull out a big 'W'!! I came in at 1:53 (ish)...which all that really meant was that I was able to push myself in races back to back, felt great, and gained more insight on racing smart, eating/drinking right, transitions, and much more! Training has been going well, too... Our longest group training was a couple weeks ago with a 30mi ride, then a 10K w/ 8 hill repeats in the middle of that...and then another 5K! All in all...took about 3 1/2 hrs... but it was a good one! This past weekend was pretty 'ride' focused with a 50 mile ride (after a 6mi run and 1hr swim) on saturday and then a HILLY!!! (yikes) 60 mile ride on sunday. I'm pretty sure this is the most riding I've done before, so my legs are pretty tired, but again...all in all... I feel pretty good! In other news... Mason got to run his 1st race last weekend, too! They had a 'fun run' during the triathlon in Terre Haute, so Mason got to join in. We have video...and I'll try to figure out how to add that here because it is SO cute... He ran, then would stop, then run and squeal, then stop, notice the 'water'(lake), run, stop to point out a 'doggie', back to running as everyone cheered him across the finish. Pretty cool for such a little guy! So...still having fun with the races... 2 more months to go til the big day!

The training and racing continues!

I wanted to update with a few of the highlights of the last few weeks of training. Things are going pretty well... there's ups and downs, for sure...but I feel good about where things are right now. 1st...I guess a word of warning for those out there that might be doing some training &/or bike riding of their own... LOOK OUT FOR DEER!!! I was out for a solo ride about a week or so ago and I was heading back for home after a nice ride, and I see 3 deer off in a corn field to my right. 'Huh', I wonder to myself...'what will they do'? I was a bit afraid that they might charge at me (not sure why they would do that.. but ya never know!)... But they seem to get a little spooked and start prancing along beside me...and then they DART out in front of me to cross the street?! So 2 of them were far enough ahead to make it safely across without any issues... but there were 3 of them..and that 3rd was not looking too promising.. So I slow, he slows (I'm assuming it was a 'he')...I scream (just a meek 'ah'! type scream..nothing too dramatic)..and he darts off behind me.. WHEW!! Pretty scary moment, seeing as how that deer would have made a significant dent on lil ol me and my bike. So that was that. We've had a couple of rainy weekends here lately, which means rainy saturday bike/run trainings with the team.. Which is actually a good thing because we have to get used to the idea of racing in whatever weather that day has to offer us. But this, too, is new territory for me (just like bundling up all winter to run!). I've found I really like it! We had a rainy 28 mi ride and 6.5 mi run (which..for those keeping track is HALF of what race distance will be) one day; then the next saturday was an hr ride followed by a hilly 9mi run. Believe it or not, I felt pretty good during both of those, but I DO realize that I need to start taking my nutrition and hydration during training times a little more seriously. I always plan well for races (and notice the time improvements for sure!), but as trainings get more intense and lengthy, I need to start fueling myself appropriately. So I will. Live and learn. This weekend was another race weekend. We had the Mini Marathon here in Indianapolis and a lot of us on the tri team were either running the race or there to cheer the rest on. I ran (under the alias of 'Andy Comer' due to some last minute issues w/ our race entries) and pushed hard to get my PR (personal record) of 1:45:05! I felt really good through the race and only felt 'pushed' during the last 1 or 2 miles where I was picking up pace to get to that finish line. I also must add that this was the 1st race that I had done 'officially' for Team in Training (TNT) and was wearing the famed purple jersey and all...and it was great! The support out there was really, truly amazing. Everyone talks about it...I had heard about it from TNT alum, but this was the 1st I had actually experienced it and it was fun! There were 2 gatoraid stops along the coarse that were manned by TNT folks, so that was a wave of 'Go Team' and some individual shout outs (from those who knew I was Sara, and not, as my bib proclaimed, 'Andy'!). But not only that, there were other runners and spectators along the way that would make it a point to say 'go team' or 'go TNT', 'go TNT, you're awesome'...very nice to hear as you're pushing along those 13.1 miles! So that was a good eye-opener to what this organization is all about. And today, Mother's Day (Happy Mother's Day, Mom and all moms out there!!), was full of training, as usual. I met a couple teammates early for a bike/run brick workout on 'Fishback hill'...good times! Then, after a delicious brunch with my family, I met up with some teammates again to do a 30 mi bike ride! So...that's it! This week should be a normal week of training. We start our open water swim trainings tomorrow, which should be an adventure! So I hope the weather holds up for some more great trainings!!