Blunck DOWN

Well.. I'm sitting here on the couch being Majorly lazy.. but not because I want to.. because I'm on a VERY temporary (if I have any say in the matter) injured reserve list. It seems I may have 'tweaked' (my word.. don't look for it in the medical journals) something in my back doing the crossfit workout on tuesday. It was a doozy of moderately heavy wt tossing.. power cleans, front squats & push presses (oh, my!) with 95# for all.. the 1st few were OK, but by the end.. it was pretty tough. Actually, though, as I'm writing this & remembering, I wouldn't even say that was the problem.. I started feeling the 'tweak' before the fun even began.. I guess I did it just warming up. Initially, of coarse, I didn't let the mild pain slow me down.. played soccer that night, woke up to my usual spin/sprint wed am brick & then out for a lovely 'chipper' workout at crossfit, which I was able to do just fine (not without pain, but nothing jarring or causing major concern).. Maybe the real clincher was doing the new kids dance game on the Wii with Mason and Matt? We all know how intense a good ol' family dance off can get.. But last night, I was in so much pain.. I had to take short breaths, couldn't cough (really annoying), & just in pain.. I wasn't even able to sleep on my stomach, which everyone knows is the BEST way to sleep.. obviously. I took some muscle relaxors and that seems to be helping. I'm hoping taking today off of my swim and crossfit workout, some ice, meds.. I'll be good as new by, say...2pm today? I have a planned trail run with a friend of a friend & I don't want to cancel.. scratch that.. I won't cancel, I just hope I don't have to cut the run too short.. so wish me luck! In slightly other news, so far I'm keeping to my plan to run at least a bit every day. I'm not running long or anything.. not racking up ultra-training type miles.. but I'm getting out there and getting it done and.. dare I say.. so far so good! I'm able to mix it up enough with treadmill hill repeats and sprints, soccer, trail running, ez jogs in the 'hood.. good stuff! Now to just get this back figured out & continue on this streak of great workouts. I'm not sure how long this will last (probably 'til about next wk when everyone goes back to work!), but everyone seems to want to help me out by joining me in workouts &/or hanging with Mason so I can get out to run or workout.. NICE! I just need to decide how far I will run in the night trail run coming up in a month.. half or full.. what's a girl to do??

Mama got a New pair of Shoes!!

.. and they work! Today was a lovely Christmas day.. Started off nice & early with watching Mason marvel over how Santa seemed to know just what he would want.. despite his freezing up just a bit at his santa visit & only remembering to ask for the football helmet.. but not the 'bikin' helmet'.. He was very worried about that, but all was well! Santa was also pretty good to yours truly, here.. some new Chiefs gear (just as they are working hard to get themselves out of playoff position, of coarse.. always next year!) &, of coarse, some workout duds. I did get a new trainer from my parents, which is lovely.. little less noisy than my last model.. AND it came with a cycling DVD, which is a little goofy, but actually made for a pretty great workout! they have a video that puts you right in the midst of a real, live race (criterium? I think that's the official term..), which acually did a great job of making me work harder! worked up quite a nice, little sweat. Then, just for some extra christmas cheer.. I did the suggested 'home WOD' (workout of the day) from the good folks at crossfit.. four rounds of about 5min each, so not long, but it was a good one! Then, of coarse.. with the sun burning bright out there & new running shoes burning a hole in... my closet.. I just HAD to get out to run a few. I think I was only out there about 30min or so because we had company coming over later & a dinner to somehow whip together despite forgetting to get really any sort of sides or appetizer type things.. We made it work! So all in all.. a great day of celebrating the baby jesus! (nothing says 'happy birthday, Jesus' quite like burpees in the basement!) So I've been kicking around an idea for the ol' 'new years resolution'.. I never make these things.. mostly b/c there's never really anything that I'm like "I need to start doing this".. don't get me wrong.. there's plenty I COULD start doing.. cleaning more often.. cooking elaborate meals every night.. laundry before it gets so backed up we're left with nothing to wear.. Lots of things.. But I know better than to set myself up for that kind of let-down.. But I was thinking maybe making running every day my plan?? Part of me thinks this will lead to 'junk miles'.. but then another part of me knows I really need work on my run, so what better way to improve than to do at least a little work on it each and every day? I don't know.. we'll see.. That's probably asking a bit much, given all the other activities I like to do & won't be sacrificing.. I guess I have a week to ponder!

Major Award!!

Who's got 2 thumbs and received a major award in the mail last night.... THIS GIRL! (sorry.. we've been doing that a lot w/ Mason.. it's way cute when he does it.. perhaps not so much via blog? Oh, well) I got my Tecumseh Trail Marathon medal in the mail last night.. it's kinda cool because.. even though I wish my time was faster (5:22.. but it was my 1st trail marathon.. & make no mistake.. that course is no joke.. but still), they take the time to put your name & finishing time on the medal, which is kinda cool. Anyway. So I think I'm over my little cold or whatever it was.. actually.. I think our whole house is pretty healthy, which is lovely. Hope we can keep it that way! Something I really like to do, but usually gets strange looks from everyone else, is finding running groups, gyms, etc to workout/train with while I'm on 'vacation'.. which is usually visiting family. So I got to do that last week when we went to KC to visit my family.. it went pretty well! I'm always impressed w/ the running community in Kansas.. all you have to do is google 'running in KC' and all kinds of groups, websites, etc pop up.. Very cool. Unfortunately this trip didn't allow me to join those groups, though.. But I've run with 2 different groups in the past & I found a couple trail running groups that I was trying to meet up with, but KC decided to be really wet for a few days while I was there.. which doesn't make for great trail running.. plus.. I didn't bring my headlamp because 1 of the trail groups actually meets to run in the dark every week! I'll remember that for next time for sure! But I did get to meet a friend out at Shawnee Mission Park for a nice hilly loop 1 morning.. Then I got to visit a few YMCA's.. I still think the Y I have here is up there as the best I've seen around, but I got some good spin's and swim's in.. so can't complain. Probably the 'crown jewel' of my travel workouts this visit was finding Sky's Limit CrossFit & working out with them 3 x's while I was in town! (I was only there 3 full days.. so needless to say.. I enjoyed it) They had a really great gym (I guess they refer to it as a 'box'? I'm not familiar w/ all the lingo yet.. I was like.. 'the what??'), good trainer, nice, midwest folks to work out with.. so good stuff! So now I'm back on my own turf.. got a good swim in this morning out with the masters group.. kinda cool because I could actually make the interval on this one for once!...of coarse.. it was a 20x50's main set on 1:30 w/ the goal being to hold your best pace.. which I was right at 0:40-0:43 the whole time, so not exactly a tough interval to make.. but a solid set none the less, & I was pleased. Also got a crossfit in.. always a good time! I'm looking forward to the next few days, which weather.com has promised me some sun & 40's.. they better be right! Because that should make for some lovely running. I also got my super secret (I sent an exact link) surprise christmas gift from my parents already, so I need to go set up my new trainer & get my spin on! My 'power' based spin on, that is.. Yay! All in all.. it's beginning to feel a lot like a very merry christmas, indeed.. Thinking about either a 1/2 or full night trail marathon, which would be in about a month.. so we'll keep posted on that! Also suppose it's worth noting that I've decided that I'll be 1 of 3 coaches for Team In Training's Triathlon team, so I'm excited about that. Should be a very busy, exciting, fulfilling experience & I'm looking forward to it!

Sick & Tired of being Sick & Tired

Well... this week has been pretty much a BUST as far as workouts go... all thanks to this cold/ stomach thing that just keeps on giving! I guess I had a couple good workout things.. made it to 4 or 5 CrossFit's, but things started looking dodgy (is that a word? oh, well.. too tired to worry about it too much) on tuesday morning.. I had planned to do a nice swim at the Y, which I did opt for a solo swim VS a masters swim because I knew I wasn't quite up to par, but still thought I'd be alright.. Well.. the horrific swim that followed was tough to take. I hadn't had a swim like that in a long time. I don't even know how far I swam, but I'm sure it wasn't much.. Mostly I just did the breast stroke set that I wanted to do, but any sort of 'speed' type freestyle just wasn't in the cards. So.. home to rest & off to crossfit later.. crossfit went OK, I suppose.. & then I had a soccer game that night after teaching gymnastics, but I played terribly there, too! Rough workout day for me.. So I took the hint (finally) & took wednesday off.. completely off.. Figured that should be enough to straighten me out. I think that's when I went to the 'doc' (Take Care Clinic.. same thing) & got me some meds.. Thurs wasn't too much better, though.. I'm struggling to even remember what I did, which tells me it probably wasn't great.. I think I rested all morning, then hit crossfit for a workout & then went to the Y before classes to do a little run & stair climb.. Nothing too exciting there. Friday was pretty much just rest as well.. I did go to Crossfit to 'practice' because I was getting set up for a 'competition' on saturday! That's right.. JoCo CrossFit put together a little competiton for us on saturday morning.. I was actually able to do that feeling pretty good the whole time, so that went well.. But then, at some point that night, I started to really feel ill.. So it's like, just when I think I'm doing OK.. BAM.. Back to the drawing board.. So today I've hardly moved.. Well.. Here's to hoping tomorrow starts off the next week on a better foot! I have plans to get things back on track after only doing 1 swim, 1 bike and maybe 2 short runs this week.. I've GOT to get it together here quick! So come on meds.. do your thing!

Aftershocks from the trail

So I just wanted to report that after a 2nd, much more successful ice bath, my legs are feeling pretty good post trail marathon. My knees, which were my biggest concern right after the race because they hurt so bad.. actually feel fine now.. so that's good news! I was able to get out for a 'recovery' swim yesterday, which I just did the ol' 4, 3, 2, 1 workout where I alternate swim, pull, kick, IM distances.. anyway.. I was feeling really good, but started to feel drained by about the 2k mark.. Probably because my appetite was pretty poor after the run (go figure), so I doubt I was well fueled going in. But even so, it felt good to move.. AND it's always a bonus to get to play in the pool with Mason & Matt, so we'll call it a success! Just an FYI, a PSA, if you will, on how to do an ice bath when it's cold outside.. so 1st you need to be warm.. try some hot chocolate, snuggling under warm blankets, etc.. then.. 1st fill the bath with just cold water & get in to that to acclimate a bit before you add the ice.. (just a note, the water is definitely colder than it was this summer. I couldn't get the water that cold no matter what I tried before.. now it's super cold.. but I guess in an ice bath, that's a good thing). So slowly cooling down the water/getting used to it made for a much better ice bath.. good to know, right?! Oh, and I always do this, but just in case it doesn't go without saying, definitely wear a shirt & just roll it up so it doesn't get wet.. but I think that helps a lot with not getting too unbearably cold in there while you work the soreness out of your lower half. As of now, my only 'battle wounds' seem to be a slightly odd little blister on the middle toe of my right foot.. Other than that, my feet are fine! Darn me for insisting on continuing with the toe socks (I like 'em cause they're knee high compression socks, which I thought would be good for the warmth &, of coarse, for the healing powers of compression) even though I know they often give me odd toe blisters.. But this one really isn't that bad. I think it'll work itself out just fine. But aside from that, right now my 'picker uppers' (hip flexors) are the only things that really feel sore, which makes sense given all the extra 'picking up' they did on saturday! So all in all, I think things are back on track! I'll be able to get right back in the swing of things this week.. did a spin this morning.. heading to crossfit later.. tomorrow will be swim, run, soccer.. more crossfit.. So we should be good! Now if I could just get Mason & I healthy.. sheesh, cold that won't quit?! I think it's time for you to move along..

Nice Tights!!

Nice tights, you say? Yup. That's what I heard over & over.. all day.. from women, men.. fellow runners, voluteers, spectators.. at a trail marathon?! a place where fashion really has no place.. maybe they were making fun of me?? Who knows.. Oh, well! I threw all tried and true race rule bending caution to the wind today & I wore a WHOLE new outfit. I called it my "I'm not a deer, please don't shoot me with your muzzle loaders (??wha?? don't even know what it is.. but pretty sure I don't want to tangle with it!) or arrows" outfit. I wanted to be bright.. so I hit the local Dicks with Mason & gave him the orders to "find me something bright to wear".. He kept picking out shorts & tank tops.. so really wasn't much help.. but there was 1 pair of knee length tights that were black with bright pink criss-crosses that he was particularly fond of.. so we based the outfit off that & we were set! Well... my, my.. Who could have guessed that they'd be such belles of the ball??! I thought it was funny.. Anyway.. So here goes my Tecumseh Trail Marathon report.. Let me just say.. I had a great time.. It was no joke, though, that's for sure! It's a tough (but fair.. except for that super long, super crazy steep gravel road hill just past 1/2 way.. what was that all about?? Not cool..) coarse, but I also found myself several times along the way just really enjoying myself & loving the trail and scenery.. so it was great! I enjoyed the trail running atmosphere, as usual.. The race directors and volunteers were all great.. every aid station along the way (well.. except that 1 towards the end that had run out of water.. But I carried my hydration pack, much to the chagrin, I guess, of many folks there? Who knew it was uncool to come prepared?? More on that later..) was well stocked & manned by helpful, smiling, encouraging, wonderful people.. it was SO much appreciated! I got off to a bit of an... interesting start.. 1st, we loaded up on the school busses & took off for the start (it was a point to point race).. everything seemed to be going pretty OK.. But.. the bus drivers didn't have directions??! Oh, my.. luckily there were some TTM vets that were able to direct them/us to the start & we were there in plenty of time. Some other busses had a little more difficulty, but it seemed like everyone got there in time to start just a few minutes late. We were also SUPER lucky to have such great weather! For a december trail marathon, it can really go pretty much any way, but today was a sunny (at times) 40-50 degree, quite pleasant day! Really lucked out there (thanks, big guy!). So we're off.. I'm feeling.. huh.. I'm feeling foggy? I had this kinda dizzy, kinda cloudy vision thing going on right from the start. Am I thirsty? drink from pack.. hmm.. time for a gu?....still off.. maybe I need salty stuff... pretzels at the aid station.. still just off. Not sick. Not bad.. just can't figure out what's wrong with me. Honestly, this went on 'til about the 16mi-ish mark & then I finally started to clear up.. Best I can figure is that it was probably from that stuff I sprayed up my nose this morning in effort to combat the stuffiness that I've had for a few days from my cold. Oops! So anyway.. that probably made my run a little slow in parts, but I still felt like I was moving as I normally would & doing OK.. so I don't think too much was lost with that. I started the 1st hour running with my new trail running buds, Kim, whom I ran with a few times while training in Brown County, & her friend, River, who ran with us a few weeks ago. Sadly, though, I think partly because of my foggy head, folks kept jumping 1 person ahead & splitting us up further & further apart (for any non-trail runners.. this was kind of annoying because on this single track portion of the run.. which is most of this run, but there are parts where you can pass more safely.. BUT..it was annoying b/c we were in a long line of runners.. I was right behind Kim, doing just whatever pace those in front of me were doing.. but I guess I left enough room in between me & the person ahead of me (excuse me for not being all up in their business!) that someone could squeeze in.. WHY they felt they needed to bust thier a$$ & risk hitting trees to get ONE measly person ahead?? not sure.. Anyway..). So as they were getting 2, 3, 4, etc people separated from me, I decided to take a minute at the aid station to pack away my hat and gloves & then traipsed on solo from there.. No biggie, though.. it's not like you're ever really alone in a trail marathon! at least not in this one.. Not in a bad way, though.. After folks start to spread out more & more, people get better at a) being amongst folks going the same pace, & b) hearing someone clearly going faster than they are approaching & stepping aside a bit to allow a pass..not a 1 person bunny hop.. a real pass.. Anyway. As I mentioned before, people were giving me grief for carrying a fairly full hydration pack on this pretty well supported trail run (aid stations about every 3 miles, I think?). Well, folks.. as the great G Dub (Bush) once said.. "Fool me once (supposedly supported trail 1/2 marathon where I opted not to carry my own water & therefore almost completely bonked an hr in b/c I couldn't take my gu w/o any water), shame on you, Fool me twice...well, you're not going to fool me twice". So. I opted to carry my water, gu, snacks, extra socks (OK..maybe that was goofy), or whatever else I thought I might need out there. I had more than a few runners comment on how much I was carrying.. word on the street was that I would be able to survive a week in the woods with all that I had, to which I would cheerfully reply that that's what I was going for & ya just never know what you might need.. And then whenever I would pass/see one of them on the trail I'd offer them a snack! (no takers.. I'd also offer a gu to anyone I saw that seemed to be experiencing a bonk.. which, by the way, this prepared runner never had!.. but again, no takers?! I tried to explain that they were underestimating the power of the gu.. Oh, well.. more for me!) But I was so glad I had carried my water. Perhaps I overdid on the snacks.. I really only ate the Gu's that I carried, which I carried mostly on my race/fuel belt.. I kept to a Gu about every 40 minutes or so, though I got a little lax w/ that toward the end b/c I was eating more solid stuff and drinking gatorade at the aid stations.. But all said, I went through a package of chomps & 6 Gu's.. and all the misc treats from aid stations (couple pretzels, cheez-its, gumdrops, 1/2 banana.. really not much at a time, just enough to try to get salt/electrolytes/ & of coarse sugar.. like I needed more of that!). I also went through probably 1 1/2 full 'bladders' (why is it called that?? yucky name..) of water from my pack.. plus I'd usually grab water or gatorade at the aid stations.. So I pretty much ate, drank & ran all day! So where was I.. I continued on through the run.. about 2 hrs in (I didn't keep track of miles.. some of the aid stations (maybe all, but I wasn't paying attention) had the distance marked.. or I'd ask someone about where we were, but I really wasn't that concerned with it.. until the end!) we went through this really nice section where it was flat & filled w/ moss & ferns.. just really enjoyable! There were lots of hills, as promised.. It was mostly fun single track with an occasional stretch of paved or gravel roads. Gravel roads were my least favorite.. Those little rocks start to really get to you! But I really enjoyed the run.. especially once my head cleared up & I could see better! (hard to watch for roots, stumps, rocks, other people's feet when your vision is blurred.. but I didn't fall!) I guess about mi 23-ish I ran into Kim.. unfortunately I figured this wasn't a great thing for her.. I was right b/c she was having stomach problems when a gu didn't sit right with her. I walked w/ her for a bit & she tried to run w/ me for a bit, but inevitably we parted ways.. I had a little munchkin & my husband waiting for me, afterall! You can hear the finish line across the lake for a while before you're actually at the finish.. I could tell it was still far away, so it wasn't too deceiving.. though it did light a little fire in me making me want to hustle as best I could to get to that finish line. Again.. as promised.. the last section was on gravel road (my fave) and included a nice hill.. But I made it.. able to finish pretty strong.. Give my little guy his required race "kiss and a hug" & cross the finish around 5:20? I was hoping to be under 5.. but not today, my friends. I worked hard out there & have the sore (super sore!) legs, knees, feet, ankles, hammies, hips, back..I think that covers it.. to prove it! I'll definitely do more trail marathons..probably this one included!.. now the question remains.. will I run further?? enter the ultra world?? c'mon.. what do you think?? I'd say it's more a question of when.. but let me finish icing these crazy, sore knees 1st. But I think that's about all I have to say about Tecumseh! I highly recommend it, though I doubt there will be weather like today's again for a while..

Thankful

Of coarse, since we just passed Thanksgiving weekend, I want to recognize how much I'm thankful for.. It's been a few weeks since posting.. probably because there hasn't been a whole lot 'new' to mention.. I'm still getting my time in running in the woods.. & I'm still really enjoying it. We had an awesome weekend over Thanksgiving here, actually.. around high 50's/low 60's.. can't ask for much more than that in Nov in Indiana! But I believe we've officially left those pleasant temps behind (no this isn't going to turn into a weather forecast blog.. if you stumbled across it by googling 'most accurate weather forecast ever'.. I apologize..) because this week has brought us cold rain.. BUT.. for the marathon on saturday.. it's looking cold.. but not TOO bad.. and should be pretty dry.. maybe even some sun? So given that last yr, this race had to be altered due to snow, I'll take it! I have a slight cold at the moment.. it's thursday, though.. so I opted to make this a rest day & I'll do some moving around tomorrow.. but I really am trying to keep some fresh-ish legs for the race, so rest is a good thing! Especially since my legs, at the moment, are slightly less than fresh after my 3 days in a row of crossfit (actually.. more than that if you count the home 'WOD's' I did over the weekend.. and my 1st 'team WOD' last sat.. but anyway), a soccer game, and my usual bike/runs.. I think this rest today can do me some good. We had a great thanksgiving.. lots of visitors and great food.. I'd say I'm most thankful for my husband and son.. who, bless his little heart, has been dealing with some sickness here lately.. Poor thing had his 1st night of 'yuckies' (pukes) over the weekend & now he's down to just a cold.. but I'm maybe a bit overly concerned given our past issue with croup (NOT fun!! long story short.. we spent a night in the NICU about a yr & a half ago.. so not really wanting to risk it). I must also say that I'm really just thankful that I am healthy enough to do all these fun races and workouts that I do. There's been some folks in our TNT circle that have had reappearances of cancer, so I'm very humbled to know that my family and I have our health & I'm very aware that not everyone is able to do the things that I do. I'm very lucky to have all that I have & I will certainly be thinking of those that are fighting illnesses and struggling to get through each day while I cover that Tecumseh trail, step by step, this saturday!

'bout 32k for my 32nd b-day

I actually have only a vague idea of what '32k' translates to in american (miles) & whether or not I ran that exact distance today.. but I think it was close.. & it was actually just a coincidence that we did that distance.. But anyway, it was another good weekend in the woods for me. Saturday morning, which was my actual birthday day, I went over to a local park to run in a 15k trail race. It was a great day for it & the race was a good one.. as far as trail runs go, I felt like this was a pretty easy one.. not too many tough hills.. no walking required.. Think I finished somewhere around 1:18. I pushed fairly hard, but felt good the whole way..good times! The rest of my birthday was spent w/ a little nap, some hanging w/ Mason & Matt.. had lunch, complete w/ gifts & cake.. which all Mason wanted to do was stick his finger in the cake!..what kid doesn't love that?? Then Matt & I actually had a date night planned, so we had a lovely, fancy dinner at the Capitol Grill downtown. Then sunday I had planned on another early, long run down in Brown County with Kim.. That's were I reckon we did around 32k.. I ran about 3 1/2 hrs & I'd guess (I don't wear a garmin these days..not really sure why..) we did around 18-19miles. I think the run went pretty well.. better than my last long, trail run as I realized...again.. that carrying food & water is a must for long trainings.. So equipped w/ my new camelbak & Gu's, I fared much better.. Knee is a little sore (not the one most recently operated on.. go figure) & I didn't manage to escape without at least 1 fall.. rolled my ankle & went down just as we were coming up to a creek crossing.. all it takes is just a second of taking my eyes off the ground below me & down I go!.. so my ankle is a little sore.. but nothing a little ice & meds can't handle! I'm starting to really look forward to this trail marathon.. just 3 weeks away! I'm already looking ahead at what my next race will be after this one.. we'll see! The rest of this week was pretty much 'business as usual'.. did a hill repeat workout at Eagle Creek on tuesday.. that was fun.. Did a couple short bricks on wed & thurs..some swimming.. can almost make the whole length of the pool w/ a functional fly!..still feels pretty gnarly, but I think it's coming.. Anyway, I think that's all I have to say about all of that for now!

Sometimes it's good to just Cheer!

This weekend was a bit lighter on running & workouts.. at least for me.. I'm still trying to run regularly b/c I do believe in 'muscle memory'.. so I had to settle for a treadmill hill workout on thursday.. after my swim & crossfit, of coarse.. Friday was my usual swim & zumba, but this time I added an extra crossfit in there for good measure! Saturday...this is where I felt like things were ''light', but I'd say it was a much needed break, of sorts.. Saturday I just did a short spin on my trainer, then it was Monumental Marathon weekend & I knew several folks running in it, so I mentioned to my son (my husband was working) that we could go cheer on the runners.. Well, I was actually ready to bail on the idea.. partly because we had been so 'on the go' the past couple days I felt like just sitting might be nice.. partly because I get nervous about where to park, etc.. But Mason wasn't to be swayed.. he insisted we go to cheer.. so off we went! I actually found my spot pretty easily & parking wasn't too bad.. not at 1st anyway.. I guess my biggest reason for going out to cheer is that, being a runner myself, I know how much it helps to have people out there cheering.. something to bring a smile.. So I actually positioned myself on purpose right toward the end.. We were at mi 11 for the 1/2 and mi 24 for the full. Even though we missed most of the people that I knew, I still had fun cheering and definitely saw the gratitude of the runners.. especially when Mason was cheering them on & giving high fives.. I know how much that can give a little boost that far in to a run, so we were happy to help in our small little way! So that was fun.. then a little later that afternoon, after some food & a rest, I took just a small, maybe 3 or 4mi run through the neighborhood.. it was just too nice a day to pass up! Then sunday I planned to meet with a group of gals to run some trail miles out at Ft. Ben.. that was a lot of fun! Just did about 9mi, so not too long.. need to go longer next weekend to keep getting ready for that marathon, but it felt good & I'm really having fun running those trails with all my new trail-minded friends..so good stuff! and that was that. Nothing too exciting on deck for this week. More of the same, except I actually have to work a bit more this week, so might be a little light on the workouts, but this weekend (my birthday!) is sure to be a doozey, so that might work out well. Better run.. my son wants me to go ride on his 'airplane', so duty calls!

Trail Weekend completed!

So I wound up having lots of fun in the woods this past weekend.. I wasn't able to come home to proudly tell Mason I didn't fall down this time, though.. I fell... a lot.. I guess saturday was a success. I started with a 10mi run with a few gals I connected with through a trail running website. We met at Eagle Creek and they wound me round and round through the woods of the park I thought I was so familiar with. You see, I do plenty of running in that park, but normally I'm on the roads.. so the trails were pretty new territory for me. I had tried to run trails with a friend last spring, but we never really knew where we were or where we were going.. we just ran around aimlessly until we found ourselves back at our cars about 6 or 7 miles later. It was nice to be out there with folks that knew the ropes. 1 gal brought her very cool dog with her, which was quite nice to run with her.. both of them, actually! Her dog, Sierra, knew her way around the park VERY well.. kinda made me want a dog.. as long as she's as good a trail runner as Sierra, that is.. So after the run, I made a quick change & head on over to meet Ginger, Sam, Shawn and Danielle at the Broad Ripple Crossfit for a free demo class.. Not sure why I went.. I guess I just wanted to get the extra workout & maybe help my friends venture in to the world of strength training.. not something a lot of triathletes are super familiar with.. It was fun. They ran us through their 'start-up' workout, which was 500m rowing (a weak point for me, as it turns out), 40 squats, 30 sit-ups, 20 push-ups (elbows in! chest to the floor!), and 10 chin-ups, which I plowed through in a grand total of 5min and change. Considering how sore I already was.. I'll take it! And that was it for saturday. Sunday I had planned on a 'long' run in the woods of Brown County State Park with a friend (of a friend.. but I've met her a few times), Kim, which was great! I don't think I'd ever actually been in BCSP.. I've been on a bike ride before that went down to that area, but I didn't do the coarse that actually went IN the park, so I was in for a treat! I met up with Kim sunday morning and she had planned out a double loop route for us (though she was going to head out on a 3rd loop to do 20mi...I didn't think I was up to that just yet, plus with my 10mi on sat and my sore legs from fri and sat.. I didn't think 20 would be a good idea even if I WAS ready for that distance) meeting at Ogle Lake. The 1st 7 miles went well.. aside from the fall that I took. Falling while running on trails isn't new for me, but this one HURT. I'm pretty sure my knee came down right on a pointy rock.. I'm actually scraped, bruised & a little swollen still from that one.. But I composed myself for a moment & soldiered on. It was nice, again, to run with someone familiar with the trails.. Kim took me up to some nice lookout points & the colors were fantastic.. such a great day for it! After the 1st loop, it was back to the car for some water & what SHOULD have been, for me, some food. I'm still kinda learning my limits w/ trail running. I had my handheld water with me, but opted not to carry it while I ran b/c with my history of falls.. I'd probably just smash the thing.. So back at the car, I just chugged down some of my Accelerade/IM Perform mix & carried on. It felt like enough at the time, but I always forget that after the 1st few miles, I get more hungry/thirsty the longer the run goes on (go figure, right.. DUH). So what felt like 'enough' at mi 7, was NOT enough by about mi 10-ish.. We got to the top of one hill/end of a 3 1/4-ish mi trail & decided to take off on a trail we 'thought' would head to a campsite, which I thought might have some water, which would have been lovely! But.. the trail did not go to any campsite & water was not in my very near future.. So after going down, down, down this trail, we finally turned around and had to head back up, up, up the trail.. Then.. what we 'thought' would be an 'all down' trek back to the car, turned out to be quite up and down (guess we forgot about those 'down' sections on the way up the trail!). So I was exhausted. Completely on 'E', but there's not really an option other than to keep on going until I was back to my car. At last we made it.. Got about 15-ish miles in that day & other than learning.. again!.. that I need to carry water & fuel on these training runs..it went well! I'm looking forward to the next one.. I think this weekend will be a little 'lighter' on the trail runs b/c I'll have another big one the following weekend w/ the 15k race & a long run with Kim back on the trails of BCSP. I guess I should also mention that after my run with Kim last sunday, I decided I hadn't had enough of the woods yet for the weekend, so I met up with my friend, Sam (Ginger's husband), to ride for a bit at Ft. Ben.. and that's where the falls really started! Yikes. Things that I don't remember being hard the 1st time I was out there were really tripping me up! I didn't make it but maybe 5 minutes before I had my 1st fall.. into some thorny branches, of coarse. My next one was a doozy up onto the cement block thing.. didn't quite make it up, but was able to catch myself somewhat.. on what would turn out to be my 'kickstand' for the day.. my poor left arm! Several of those kinds of falls later, my left hand was pretty bruised and sore.. As of now (wednesday), my wrist hurts and my shoulder is sore, too.. Oops. Hope I didn't do anything too bad. I don't think I did.. I'm sure I'll be fine.. But I really need to get better at this trail stuff and QUICK before I really hurt myself out there. I do enjoy it, though! I'm sure I'll figure it out..

So far this week.. Let's see.. I actually took monday off.. I was very tired and sore.. and had some other things to do.. dentist, Halloween.. Tuesday was an early swim (felt sluggish, but decent workout), then Crossfit (great workout! though that's how I found out my shoulder was sore), then later in the evening, I played a soccer game..so got some nice 'sprint' training in. Wednesday has been a nice brick.. man it feels good to get out there & just go 'short & hard' for a while.. Quick 50-ish minute spin, which always kicks my booty a bit.. then off for as many 400's on the treadmill as I can fit in in about 20 minutes.. which this time was 6 x 400 w/ a 200m jog between. Then back a little later for strength & endurance class.. I'm thinking, for now, a good plan is to lift 'heavy' 2 days/wk at crossfit & then do the high rep/low wt stuff 2 days a week.. we'll see how that goes & how long that entertains me! And... that's all I have to say about that..

ramblings

I titled this one 'ramblings' as fair warning.. I usually have some sort of idea of what I'm about to write about when I start writing.. but this time.. not so much. So consider yourself warned.. SO. I guess I'd 1st like to mention that along w/ starting back up w/ Masters swimming, I've also gotten back on the soccer field the past few weeks! I really enjoy it.. I do know it's a risk, given my crappy knees, but it's just too fun to pass up! Feels good to be back out there. I would also like to mention that I am SUPER sore today (saturday am) from my 1st killer crossfit workout yesterday. I had a lovely friday.. started with my usual swim (where I was complimented on..wait for it.. breast stroke??!! Oh, boy.. the fun I'm gonna have this winter.. Between learning fly, continuing to improve free...and now working on breast stroke to maybe compete in a meet?? Good stuff.. So where was I..) friday started w/ my swim, then off to my fave zumba class (another compliment there, too...someone said I look like I'm a dancer?! nice.. I do have fun there, though) and then..to complete the friday trifecta, I head down to Jo Co Crossfit in Franklin, IN for my 1st official workout.. The workout du'jour (or WOD to those in the know..) was to pick 1 of 3 workouts & do as many rounds as you can (or AMRAP.. as many reps as possible) in the given time frame.. Well, me being me.. I decided I should 1st learn what all the moves were from the different workouts, so did some skill learning stuff.. Then.. couldn't decide between workouts, so chose to start with what was behind door #3, which was a circuit of 'thrusters' (squat down low, then 'thrust' the bar over head.. I think I had 95#'s?), then chin-ups.. Let me just pause a moment to say that in just this past week, Crossfit has helped show me that I can actually do things that I thought I could not do.. on tuesday I did handstand pushups for the 1st time in at least 10 yrs.. didn't think I could do those anymore.. turns out I could do 30! Then yesterday w/ the chin-ups.. I didn't think I could do those, either, & wound up completing 30.. So sometimes you just have to try things.. even when you think you 'can't'.. So anyway, the circuit was to start with 3 thrusters, 3 chin-ups.. next round would be 6/6, then 9/9, etc.. I made it through 4 rounds in the 7 minutes..which is how I got to 30 chin-ups. As exhausted as I was from all of that fun.. I still thought it would be a good idea to take on a 2nd workout. Never to discourage folks from working hard & pushing limits, the trainer/owner, Mike, agreed.. So my next workout was to do 30 double jump ropes (double unders, as they call it).. So.. when I 1st walked in, I saw a fella, a very strong looking gal, and a strong looking pregnant gal.. all whipping through these 'double unders' like it was no big deal, so of coarse I thought I would be able to do the same.. Uuuuummmm.. Not quite.. YIKES! turns out I can't jump rope?? Ugh.. so frustrating.. I struggled through my 30 'double unders' & went off to do 15 clean & jerks (think I just had 75# on this one).. I only made it through 1 full round of that, 30 more 'double unders' & maybe only a couple more clean & jerks in the 10 minute circuit. SHEESH!! I knew my 2nd workout wasn't going to be great.. but I thought I'd do a smidge better than THAT. Oh, well.. nowhere to go but up from that one! So now I sit here, super sore & contemplating what workouts to do today.. Looks like it'll either be a trail run or a bike ride (road) & then maybe a group crossfit workout w/ some tri pals, if things work out for me as far as time.. So should be a good one! I'm also planning on a 3hr trail run w/ a friend tomorrow down in Brown Co State Park.. so that should be good, too! Another great weekend ahead of me.. for now, though, I rest until the fun begins..hanging around the house w/ the fam, which ain't so bad, either!

marathon weekend completed

So I did it.. sore legs and all.. after the trail 1/2 on saturday, I hit the 42k Back on My Feet Relay with my friends sunday morning.. and it felt pretty good! I actually enjoyed the concept of running a 1/2 marathon this way quite a bit.. I was on a 2 person team w/ my speedy friend, Ashley, so we each did a 1/2 marathon, but the coarse was set up as 2.2mi loops, which we alternate back & forth until we were all done.. So, basically, we would run for about 17min, rest that same amount..repeat! I started off pretty strong (for me.. all relative) and kept fairly consistent throughout, though definitely felt it in the ol legs & slowed down a bit on the last couple loops.. but all in all, it was a good day! I really like the interval training & I think the 6 x 2.2mi intervals was a perfect way to train for a half marathon (which I'm not really training for.. just saying it's a good way to train for one.. or maybe I will run the 1/2 here in a couple weeks.. we'll see.. anyway)..push the pace a bit, rest, repeat.. Good stuff! As an extra bonus.. our team won the female 2 person team division! of coarse.. I have no idea how many teams we were against..but lets not worry ourselves w/ silly details like that. Hooray for Team 'It's Scrumpdiddilyuptious'! (or something like that) Our team was there with another team of our friends..they dressed as Oompa Loompas (& won the contest prize!!) & Ashley & I were Violet & Veruca.. unfortunately, true to my usual assumption that everyone else would see what I see when I make a costume (I spend a lot of time on Halloween explaining what I am.. my time as 'Miss Cleo' comes to mind.. or when I dressed as 'the long lost member of Run DMC'..it all makes great sense in my head.. and I'm always super surprised that no one else gets it.. Oh, well! Happy Halloween!!), no one really knew I was dressed up.. I guess they just thought I was super cute in my red skirt & shirt w/ a black shirt strategically placed to look like a belt & my knee high white socks.. I'm Veruca Salt, obviously??!! Ahh.. oh, well.. So alas.. we did not win any costume awards.. but I guess we have the other major award to fall back on for the day. So. compression socks on for the rest of the day & Advil to help dull the pain (in my legs.. WHEW are they sore! knees hurt a touch, too.. only down-ish side of today's relay is it's all concrete.. which isn't the best surface for runnin).. Hope I wake up ready to get back at it tomorrow! Another good week in the books..

I didn't fall down!!

I wanted to write a quick (well..quick-ish) race report, while the thoughts are still fresh in my mind (well..fresh-ish). I ran the Knobstone Mini Marathon this morning, which is a trail run down in Morgan-Monroe Forest Park, & it was great! I had a blast.. and I'm happy to report that I didn't fall down! Which is funny (to me) for a couple reasons.. 1st, I honestly have fallen at least once on every single trail outing thus far.. so this is a big one! I'm actually a little bummed b/c I usually feel that a good trail fall indicates a good run.. maybe I ran this one too cautiously?! Oh, well.. But I also find this funny b/c Mason has added "don't fall down" to his list of things he says to Matt on his way out the door for work.. "Bye, Bye...Have a good day.. Don't fall down"(??) Now, if you don't know what Matt does for work.. you might think.. "maybe he's in the circus & walks the tight rope".. in which case, "don't fall down" would just be good, sound advice.. But, no. He rents cars.. I'd have to think his fall risk is pretty minimal, which is why it cracks me up when Mason is so genuine when he asks him when he gets home "did you fall down today"?.. and when he says no, he says "great job!".. very interesting little fella.. Anyway, so I was excited to be able to come home to proudly tell my little guy that his mama did NOT fall down today! He was thrilled. So anyway.. I hit this race solo.. I figured there wouldn't be much for the fam to do while I traipsed through the woods.. Got there & it was a pretty chilly morning, but the low-key, small field of runners huddled around the camp-fire chatting about..well.. what most runners chat about.. shoes (are those vibrams??).. trail running (you're running the Tecumseh marathon, too?? 1st time?? Oh, good luck.. it's hard)..etc.. aren't we an exciting crew? it was a pleasant break from the bustle of big road races and tri's. But time came for the run to start & we were off. Things were going very well.. the trail had a pretty good balance of ups & downs.. some tough 'ups', which the trail regulars informed me I was to walk up.. Now, let me pause for a moment to discuss this.. I've heard it over & over again.. "the 1st rule of trail running is to walk up the hills".. yeah, yeah, yeah.. I know.. I suppose I can see walking up 'some' of the hills.. or the really tough ones.. or the ones you just need to walk on b/c you're too tired to run, but why must we walk when we still feel fine?? I know.. to 'save your legs'..for what?? the rest of the race? I don't know.. again, I understand the rationale & can see doing that for ultra runs, or even the marathon I'm going to be doing in a few weeks..and this 1/2 was, I think, the farthest I had run on a trail thus far, so I suppose some good old fashioned hill walking could have been in order.. But that's still a tough concept for this trail newby.. to walk when you're feeling fine.. BUT. I must add that I did wear myself out at one point, which the fella that had encouraged me to walk up an early hill chalked up to my being tired from running up hills.. But I'm not so sure.. Maybe it was partly from that, but I think the bigger issue was the fact that I hit a major 'struggle bus' portion when I wasn't able to take my Gu when I needed it.. You see.. I swear I read somewhere that there was going to be water every 2mi on this coarse.. but clearly I had that mixed up w/ some other race, b/c they were not that close here.. My plan was to take my 1st Gu about 40/45min in to the run & then continue about every 40-ish min throughout.. but that was when I thought the water stations were going to be pretty regular, so I opted not to carry my own water (doh!). So anyway.. the 1st water station felt a little early for a Gu..probably closer to 30 min in or so? I know.. even if it HAD been every 2mi, I still would have fallen behind.. ah..hindsight.. Anyway, so I just took water & figured I'd get the Gu at the next stop.. Well.. like clock work.. an hr in to the run w/ no water station in sight, I was running on empty.. It's quite a feeling to be able to literally feel the energy drain out of you.. I couldn't take the Gu w/o water b/c that's just asking for stomach issues.. so I plodded along for about 15min or so to the next water. After I was energized, things were fine & I was really able to pick it up for the last 4 miles, which felt good. SO. I was hoping to come in closer to 2 hrs, but had to settle for a 2:21(ish) finish.. I think if I had gotten my nutrition when I needed it & not had to struggle for those 15 min.. I could have been a touch faster.. but for my 1st trail mini.. I'll take it! I should also add that even before I started the run, my legs were very sore.. probably from doing squats & box jumps at crossfit the day before.. Ooops! So my legs are thoroughly feeling it right now.. and I have another 1/2 to run tomorrow! Ah... It'll be fun, though.. it's the relay race w/ some friends, so I'm looking forward to it! I'll keep ya posted on how that one goes.. but for now.. I'll sit here in my campfire scented shirt & think fondly of my trot through the woods.. I'm really liking these trail runs!

I've gone & done it now..

So things are pretty much the same.. still lots of classes & a good mix of fun, while still keeping up with swim/bike/run, of coarse.. though w/ all the cold & rain this week, the bike has taken a bit of a back seat.. Oh, well! I'll make up for it next wk, I hope! Last week/weekend, we took a trip to Baltimore for a visit with Matt's family & also to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary.. AND Matt's 35th birthday.. so it was a great visit! I got in all my classes & swimming, etc done early in the week & just planned to run a bit while I was in town.. I got a slightly rainy run in on friday morning.. which was a little bit of a benchmark, of sorts, b/c the last time I had done this particular run, I had considered it my 'long' run.. this time it was just an "I'll be right back" run, so I guess it shows how far I've come as far as running & my perception of what a 'long' workout is.. kinda cool, I guess. I also got to hit the trails a bit with some friends.. my friend, Kim, who is a fellow triathlete, & her husband, Ben, who is a marathon runner extraordinair.. I think he might be crazier than I am.. at least with the running.. he actually thought about doing 3 full marathons this month, but then reconsidered & just ran the half in Baltimore, but will still do the other 2 full marathons. I really wish I was this kind of runner.. not sure if I'll ever get there, though, with all the other sports/cross trainings that I do.. But I do envy those that can whip out marathons like it ain't no thing.. I guess I'm kind of like that w/ half-IM's, though.. so it all depends on what you focus on, I suppose.. but anyway. So I met up w/ them for a trail run & it was great! Nice, easy recovery run for Ben & a good chance for us to catch up. As a bonus, they came back to my in-laws house after the run to meet Mason.. we walked in on him perfoming 'Colder Weather' (Zac Brown) on the microphone!! Nice.. guess that's my boy! Very cute & very funny.. So anyway, that was that week! This week.. very rainy & cold.. only did 1 run so far this week (a treadmill interval run of sorts.. about 5mi).. BUT I have quite the run-filled-fun planned for myself this weekend! I was supposed to give a Nutrition talk for the TNT run team, which I LOVE doing.. but of all things.. I lost my voice this week?!! I feel fine.. it's just a cold.. but I can't give a presentation like this.. I did take a whole day off of working out yesterday to try to heal up a bit, but I'm back at it today & feeling good (just still no voice.. UGH!).. BUT.. w/ my sat am now opened up, I get to do a half marathon trail run instead! I'm actually excited about it.. I've signed myself up for a few trail runs and am excited to spend the next couple months hitting the trails a bit, which I find to be a 'fun' way to run.. & since I'm still kind of in 'Ironman' mode, as far as I'm so used to going for hrs and hrs.. I signed up for my 1st trail marathon!!?? Yikes! The way I see it.. I have the endurance to go 26+ miles.. but I just didn't feel like I had it in me to hit speedwork really hard & work on going for time in a road marathon. So the trail marathon, where I'll be focused on not falling & not so much on my pace or splits.. it seems like a good fit! I guess we'll find out.. So then after the trail half on saturday, I'm doing a 2 person marathon relay on sunday morning...dressed as Veruca Salt with my Violet teammate, Ashley! Should be fun.. We have some other friends meeting us there & they'll be dressed as Oompa Loompas..definitely should be another fun way to get the miles in! It's done as alternating 2.2mi loops.. so we'll do a full marathon, each doing 1/2 the distance.. anyway, so should be a good weekend! I also wanted to add that I'm back at the Masters Swimming, which is, hands down, the best way to work on your swim.. or is it??.. I got the greatest compliment EVER today & it totally made my day.. Now, I have friends that tell me I have a great freestyle stroke, which is super nice.. but I always think "they're my friends.. they're just being nice.. " But today, the coach on deck said that a swimmer (who is a life-long regular Masters attending swimmer) from the next lane over recognized me & said my free looked much improved from the last time he saw me, which was in the spring before I swam outside at the Y all summer.. "WHA??!!".. huge compliment for me.. as an 'adult learning triathlete swimmer'.. to get a compliment from a 'real' swimmer that doesn't even know me? I feel pretty good about that.. So sounds like all my hours in the pool this summer have paid off. I guess I do take pride when people compliment my swim b/c I do work really hard at it.. It's not something that comes easy for me.. Like when people say "you're a good cyclist".. it's nice, but if I'm honest, I don't work super hard at it.. I just get on my bike and go.. I think my strength helps me w/ that, but it's not like I work on the technique for it.. But with swimming, I've worked my tail off.. taking tips from the Masters coaches and other swimmers I come across & just spending more time in the water. So anyway, that was certainly a high point of the day (and not even 7am!). Then I got to let loose & have fun at zumba.. and THEN.. I had my 1st day of Crossfit!! Very excited about that one.. They ran me through the technique of the moves & then showed me how their workouts go.. gave me the moves to go through in the circuit.. I guess the point is to go as fast as you can.. I think my 'circuit' took me about 6:30 minutes?? he said he'd make it harder next time.. bring it on!! I can definitely see that this kind of workout is right up my alley.. can't wait for the next one! So.. now to rest a bit (& hope my voice comes back some time soon) & get ready for some running this weekend!!

Nature!!

Ah, Nature.. (said in the tone of Will Farrell doing his Goulet impression, of coarse..) So this was a good week.. another good week, I should say. Started with my usual mix of gym fun.. Monday was an early swim w/ my now usual off season mix-bag of stroke/pull/kick/free.. good times! Then I went to a slightly lack-luster 'interval training' class.. Since I'm doing classes right now, I thought I'd try a bunch of different classes/teachers/times to see what fits best.. Well, the earlier strength class wasn't a great fit for me. the workout wasn't too bad.. I just didn't feel super excited about it.. So it's back to 'strength & endurance' on mondays & wednesdays.. at least until Mason is done w/ his gymnastics classes & then maybe I can switch back & forth w/ the am & pm classes.. both same basic class, but w/ different teachers & different approaches.. Anyway, where was I.. So that was monday. Tuesday was a good one.. I ran my mile repeats.. got 3x1 mi in this time at about 7:47 pace w/ about a mi warm-up & warm-down..felt good! Then I hit the gym for my TRX class.. (good core/strength class), & then I went out to the Natatorium downtown to meet w/ my friend, Mark, who is a life-long swimmer & offered to help me get the basics down on that butterfly that I'm determined to learn! So we worked on that a bit.. shorter workout, but it still left me pretty winded w/ the fly work & apoxic free 25's (really hard for me! I had to breathe 2x/lap when Mark was going no breath).. Fun! Then off to teach gymnastics later that evening & I stuck around for some zumba..just for kicks! Pretty tired after that day.. perhaps a bit more than I needed, but it was fun.. & spread out.. & I ate & had rest.. so it's all good. Wed was strength & endurance (the good one.. left my legs pretty shaky!) in the am, then a bike ride w/ Lara that afternoon.. did about 30mi, I think.. good ride! Thurs was a 'hill run'... on my treadmill.. I know.. kinda lame, but I didn't feel like heading out to run a hill in the dark by myself.. So I did that early in the am, then did turbo kick later that morning.. I think that was it for thurs! Other than teaching gymnastics, but that isn't a 'workout'. Friday was another good one.. I did a spin class in the morning. 1st spin in a long time! Man.. as much as I ride, it's still a good workout! Dripping sweat, for sure. Then I hit the pool.. more 'mix bag', but probably mostly free/pull, since I had to share a lane & fly isn't really conducive for friendly sharing. THEN.. because I love it so much, I hit zumba class, too, that morning! It was lots of fun.. after that it was time for a rest. Again, probably a bit more than I needed for the day, but I made sure to hydrate & fuel between things. I'm thinking I'll slow down with everything at some point this fall/winter, but right now, I'm just figuring out how things will fit in to my schedule & what will 'make the cut' for regular workouts & what I can skip.. anyway, then the REAL fun begins with the weekend! I actually had a relatively light weekend, as far as quantity goes, but it was definitely quality, as I sure am SORE from it!! I ran a trail 15k (closer to 10mi, but who's counting!) on sat am & had a BLAST! It was so fun! It had been too long since I'd run trails & I'm definitely looking forward to more trail running (& biking..more on that in a moment) this fall and winter. It was run as 3 loops & each one had a pretty flat side & then a tougher side with more hills/climbs.. it was hard, but so fun! 10mi really did fly by (not that I was going that fast.. you just don't notice the distance so much when you're busy watching where your next step will be.. & yes.. I fell.. I always fall at least once on a trail run! It wasn't bad, though..popped right back up & was laughing & back on my way in no time). I ran w/ my buddy, Jeff, & we finished right around 1:27.. not bad..for us.. but not fast. My triathlon pals, Joe, Shawn & Dru were also there for the fun! So that was it for saturday. Down side of the super, great fun I had at the run was that I had to miss Mason's soccer game. Boo. Every other game this session had been at 11am, so when I signed up to run, I assumed it would be the same.. I'd do the run, scoot out & make it to his game.. But this wk his game was at 9:30, so I was out of luck.. Sounds like I missed a good one, though (sarcasm, in case you can't 'hear' it through the screen).. Matt said that 1 kid on the other team had the ball pretty much the whole game.. said he scored probably 20 goals.. I mean, good for him (?) I guess.. but couldn't someone had encouraged passing?? sharing?? sportsmanship?? Those are all good lessons to teach, too.. just a thought.. But as usual, the kids have no idea that they're being unceremoniously beaten like that & just keep on a-running around.. So it's all good, I guess. THEN, sat evening was date night for Matt & I!!..and guess what he/we decided to do for our date?? well, shop for a new mt bike for me, of coarse! Isn't my hubby just the best (the answer you're looking for is yes... yes he is). I had been talking about wanting a mt bike so I could try trail riding for...a bit now, & we decided that could be my anniversary/birthday/christmas gift this year.. Patience not being a stong suit of mine PLUS I didn't want to miss out on fall trail riding.. So we went..and shopped.. and bought me a new bike! So cool.. To balance our date night out, Matt got to pick where we went to eat & he overloaded us into a beefy coma at Famous Dave's.. so we both win! So then sunday I couldn't wait to try it out..lucky for me, my friends Joe & Sam were planning to ride a trail out at Ft Ben.. so I got to ride! Wow... I'm in love.. it's so fun! yes, I fell.. yes, I was terrified for at least most of the 1st loop & probably a good portion of the 2nd loop.. yes, I 'hugged' the same tree on both times around the trail.. But WOW! It's so fun! You have to think the whole time, so talk about getting a chance to get away from all other thoughts & just 'be' in the moment! & with beautiful fall all around us? fantastic. Again.. I'm so excited to do more trail stuff this fall & winter. I still love my road stuff, but it sure is a nice change of pace to try something new.. So I think that covers this week of fun! I had an extra bonus on friday evening when we had some friends over for some dinner, treats & chatting. I believe the purpose was to discuss the costume situation for the relay we're doing in a couple weeks, but mostly we were just hanging out & eating... so that was fun. So, again.. I'd say it was a good week!

Return of the 5am workouts!

I made it 3 whole weeks with no super early workouts.. sleeping in aaalll the way to 6:30-ish most mornings, which is quite the break from my usual 4:20-ish wake-up.. It was a nice change of pace, but let's face it.. I'm a morning workout gal.. As much as I tried, evening workouts just don't really suit me. SO. Back to the early am's I go.. Last week's wrap up.. Let's see... For running, I did about 5mi on monday night (not my best run, as it was an evening run..) with some 1 mi repeats, keeping them just under 8 min miles, which I was doing in effort to get ready for the 5mi 'race' (it really was a fun run, so no need to 'train' for it.. I mostly just wanted to know what I was even capable of so I'd know what to shoot for/expect) I did on saturday.. evening! You see.. everyone was trying to make me an afternoon run/workout gal.. It's just not my fave. Back to my week of trying to get back in the swing of running.. So thurs was my next run & I did a track workout on the treadmill, so got about another 5mi in doing 400's & 200's.. again at an 8min/mi pace..steady.. not super fast.. Then sat was the fun run & I did just as I'd trained for.. 8min/mi avg on the dot! So I was pretty pleased w/ that.. AND it was a 'fun run', indeed. It was at a local winery, so got to enjoy some wine, live music & just hanging out on a nice fall afternoon.. Good stuff! But I wanted to run again on sunday.. after much 'back & forth' w/ my workout plan for the day, I wound up meeting a friend for an 8mi run around a park, which was pretty good.. but signified the end of my time as an afternoon run gal.. the tummy just doesn't do super well w/ it & I don't like how it cuts in to the whole day like that.. We still had an OK run & it was a nice time.. fantastic day for it.. And we still had some nice, quality sunday family fun.. a brunch with friends (probably didn't help my tummy during that pm run), hit the apple orchard after the run, then went to dinner.. So all in all, a good week in running (about 23 mi this week, I guess? Not bad for not really training for anything right now..) and family fun. As for the other stuff for the week.. I did 2 strength/endurance classes (mon & wed), which are great classess.. good mix of plyo's & strength.. I did 2 zumba classes (tues & fri), which I LOVE.. so much fun.. I did a turbo kick class on thurs, the TRX class on tues.. I guess that's about it! Oh.. and I rode my bike trainer on wed & fri.. OH.. and I swam on tues & thurs.. and sat (just a little).. & then even did an aquarobics class on sat!! SO..if that's not 'well rounded' enough for ya.. I'm not sure what is.. I guess I didn't get any yoga in, which I would have liked to do.. But it was a good week! So with my return to the 5am world, I started by playing around w/ IM in the pool.. I'm working on my fly, which is a goal I have for this fall/winter.. to learn that darn stroke & actually feel like I'm moving while doing it! I've at least gotten over my fear of just doing it ('fear' might be the wrong word.. more like.. I didn't want to look like a fool), so now I'll just keep workin at it 'til it feels right! Or 'til I run out of time & need to get back to more normal/freestyle workouts.. But for now, I continue my play time. I hope to be able to get outside on the bike this week.. last week was a mix of cold, rain, wind & just 'life' happening & getting in the way of a ride (! just kidding.. life doesn't 'get in the way'...it's LIFE!..but you know what I mean..), so we'll see how this week goes. I have a 15k trail race on sat am.. that should be interesting! I haven't been on trails since last late winter/early spring, so this should be good! But..you know.. how hard can it be.. It's just running w/ a little more interesting obstacles to it, right? Will keep ya posted on that one!

Rain Run!

See..when you give something a fun name..you skew the odds ever so slightly in your favor that less folks will think what you're doing is nuts.. I'm well aware that most people find some of my workout choices to be odd, at best.. but I really do enjoy what I do. So this week finishes off w/ what I now call...a 'rain run'.. Nothing fancy about it, just exactly as it sounds.. It's been lightly raining all day..and was going to continue to do so all day.. all day, that is, until the drizzle is supposed to turn into lightning storms this evening (as you can learn from a previous post.. this gal doesn't do lightning runs..that is not a 'thing' I currently partake it). SO, given that I'm 2 wks out from my race, legs are feeling fresh & I was couped up all day babysitting (another gal's kids.. Mason was actually asleep for most of that time.. meaning I did NOT get my usual nap on this rainy, nap-perfect day!).. I just couldn't let a little rain hold me back from getting a run in. I actually had hoped to go for a longer run today..so I did adjust a little.. but I still wanted to get a run in. Helpful hint for those now thinking.. "Rain run..why haven't I been on a 'rain run'..that sounds lovely!".. old tri shoes make great shoes for a rain run! My old Zoot's have these great drains in the bottom of the shoe.. perfect for a rainy day! Now.. I know what you & probably most of the folks that drove past me while I was out there today are thinking..doesn't she know they make treadmills? I am aware.. I have one in my basement, matter of fact.. But I'm not ready to surrender to the 'mill just yet. I know winter is coming..& winter means ice.. I will do 'snow globe runs', which are also quite lovely.. But ice skating on patchy ice in running shoes is a bad idea at best.. So I know my treadmill days are coming..it just isn't today. So anyway, long story short, I went out for a nice, little run on this wet, wet, wet day...& it was great! Rest of the week was a couple more classes..zumba, turbo kick.. I did get a couple rides in & that felt good.. I missed my bike! I'm actually looking to take my show to the trails in the next week or so.. I'm doing a 15k trail run in a couple weeks.. This next weekend I'm running a 5mi run at a local winery, so that should be fun.. So I'm feeling good & definitely enjoying my 'play time'! & I highly recommend running in the rain (maybe not a pouring, driving rain..but a nice drizzle)..you feel like a kid! Just runnin 'cause ya wanna..nothing better!

Post IM Playtime!

Just wanted to write a quick bit about how recovery is going.. Of coarse, most of my recovery came last wk while I relaxed in Mexico..and when I say 'relax'.. I mean.. I took FULL advantage of the small, all-inclusive resort we stayed at.. Let's just say, the big 'move' of the day was when we switched from laying by the beach...over to laying by the pool.. And that move was fueled by the desire to be closer to the swim-up bar. As I said in the last post, I did decide to start moving around a bit by mid-wk last wk..short swims & jogs, but really..last week was VERY relaxed. So here we are, 2nd wk after the IM & I am having a blast! I really enjoy training, whether it's for a marathon, long triathlon.. I love it all. I love having a plan & knocking out the workouts 1 by 1.. but.. since I'm on a bit of a break from it all until I decide whether to tackle a winter marathon or not, I'm just playing around & having so much fun with it! During training, I had fun doing what that called for & didn't miss the other classes & things, but right now, I'm doing all sorts of random classes & my muscles are screaming at me to stop...but it's just too fun! So far this week.. on monday I did a 'strength and endurance' class, which was mostly push-ups, push-ups...and a few more push-ups for good measure.. I was shaking by the end, but had a huge smile on my face! I think that's all I did on monday.. Tuesday am I hit the pool...it felt great! I did a fave workout of mine, which is to do 400, 300, 200, 100, alternating each set with swim/pull/kick/stroke, then you repeat the whole set again (I only had time for 2 sets this time, but I'd do 3 or 4 if I had time) switching the order around so you do different distances of each thing each time.. anyway.. I'm not a swimmer, so I don't know the 'lingo' & that probably makes no sense, but it's a nice way to mix things up in the pool.. So I did that workout..then got to try out this TRX workout?..oh, man.. I LOVED that.. you use these pulley/band things that hang from the rafters, so you use balance/core along w/ strength moves..really great workout! So then it was home to rest.. I had gymnastics classes to teach that evening, but then I stopped up at the zumba class & re-discovered my love for that workout..it's really fun.. If you have any desire to dance around, cut loose & just enjoy a workout.. zumba is really great for that. Then this morning, I thought it would be good for me to run, but I wanted to have fun with it.. so I got out the ol' jogging stroller, which Mason was PSYCHED about!..we cruised around the 'hood for a bit w/ our tunes playing along (this stroller has a thing to plug your ipod in & it plays out of speakers..I thought Mason would enjoy the ride a little more if he had his tunes to bop around to.. I was right!), then we went to a big open field & I got Mason out of the stroller, took my shoes off & we ran around in the grass for a bit! It was great.. Mason loved it & I got a chance to switch up the run a bit.. All said, the run was about 45 minutes, but it was fun! Not sure what the rest of the week will hold yet.. probably some more classes & fun.. maybe a bike ride or 2..probably another run b/c I need to keep the run up if I'm going to do that marathon in a couple months.. but mostly.. FUN. A different fun, that is.. I think it's important to switch things up a bit & keep it fresh.. and MAN are my muscles feeling it! Anyway.. so that's what week 2 of recovery from IM looks like for this gal!

Rev 3 Cedar Point wrap up..

OK.. here we go.. It's funny (kind of..guess that's relative..), I've thought a lot about what I wanted to write here, but yet I've been putting it off, too.. Anyway (maybe not that funny). I'll do my best to be thorough w/ this, b/c I know I want to remember as much about the race as possible.. and I know there are at least.. OK, probably just 1 person..but I'm gonna write one hell of a report for that 1 person! Now where to start..

After months of training (started officially training in Jan), 1 knee scope, lots and lots of hrs figureing out how/where I was going to get all those miles in..the weekend was HERE. Team Blunck loaded up the car and set out for Cedar Point.. Sandusky, OH. On the way there & in the days leading up to the trip there was much talk about the weather, the rough waters, etc. Now.. I understand why folks focus on this stuff & worry about it.. But nothing irritates me more when race weekend comes than negativity. I always try to stay positive, espeicially about things that I have NO control over.. such as the weather, for example! I mean..what do you want, folks.. It's a day, just like any other...chances are actually pretty good that it won't be ideal weather.. especially for a race that takes the WHOLE day! C'mon..it'll be alright, folks.. To me.. as long as we have a race.. I'm good. Of coarse I want it to be 70, sunny w/ some cloud cover, smooth, clear waters, etc, etc..as much as the next guy, but I HATE a pessimistic attitude about the whole thing. So there was that.. the ol' faithful weather people were telling us all week to expect either rain or storms pretty much the whole weekend.. BUT, so far..it was actually looking pretty good! We got to registration on friday afternoon & it was pretty warm & humid, but nice out.. We got our 'goods', checked in..it was all coming together! We got to our hotel & started checking out the venue.. I'll probably mention this more, but I was starting to understand just what a great race this was going to be. I know a lot of races say they're 'spectator friendly'..but this was a whole new level.. The hotel we stayed at..we could see the swim start of the race from our room.. and the park (uh..Cedar Point, no less! Not just any park! though Mason wouldn't really have known otherwise..he kept asking if it had a slide... Oh, does it ever!) was just steps away. So cool! We checked out transition..b/c that's what ya do, of coarse.. Pretty un-eventful friday, but it was good. Really nice to get there & know you have the whole next day to continue getting ready.

Saturday a few of us (Ashley, Joe, Ginger, Shawn & I..so all the full-ers, except for sleep-lovin Mark!) got up & went to do a swim practice at 7a. Wow.. So the water looked great.. we wet-suited up & marched down to the beach, head toward the water and..what the.. what IS this stuff??!! This particular section on Lake Erie's beach was all sludge?!! Sludge like I've never seen before. Sludge up past our knees & this stuff kept going.. Interesting.. Well, Oh, well.. what are ya gonna do? So we trudged on through, found water deep enough to swim in & off we went! The temp was great & swimming felt really good.. So aside from the odd enterance that I wasn't super psyched about having to not only trudge out into it..but then trudge back through it up to the beach for the 'turn around' for the 2nd loop, then back into it again for the 2nd loop. So.. again.. Not super excited about it, but at least it provides some comic relief as we all awkwardly stumble through it searching for water deep enough to start swimming in.. So after that warm-up, we took off for a little 'spin' to work the bike out a bit.. then I did a VERY short little jog, just for good measure.. and that was it! nothing more to do, as far as 'training' until the race! We had a nice breakfast with most of the group, then off to the mandatory pre-race meeting.. did learn a couple new things..most note-worthy being that they moved our 'turn around' bouy for the swim out further into the water, so we won't have to do the extra trudging between loops.. Bonus! We listened a bit to some pro's talking.. I've never really been one to follow who the pro's are & what they do, etc..but it was cool to see them out & about at the race.. I know they're just people.. but I still admire what they do & how they do it. SO..after the meeting, we racked out bikes (though they had these things I liked much more than the usual 'racks'..it was kind of like wooden ladders on the ground w/ slots for your tires..hard to describe, but it worked really well! I hope they catch on & we can stop hanging our bikes on those rickety metal poles..) Then back to the hotel to rest a bit, off to a team dinner..which was a lot of fun & really great to see everyone together w/ their families..then..off to bed! Big day tomorrow.. I will say that friday & sat nights my husband & my dad got to hit the park for 'big boy' rides.. They had taken Mason during the day on saturday.. He had a blast, too..especially 'driving' the monster trucks, which he took very seriously & really thought he was controlling them. So I was happy that my support crew was getting some enjoyment out of the race venue.. It really didn't matter to me.. I'm not a big roller coaster person & the times that I would have been able to go, I just felt like resting was a better option.. But to me.. I'd do the race if it was in the middle of nowhere.. So it was really more for the spectator's enjoyment & it meant a lot to me that I knew my family was having fun & not just waiting around for me at meetings & other silly race prep things that we do..

SO here we are.. it's race day! Again..due to the great venue, we were able to just make a short car trip down to transition to drop our transition bags off & set up our bikes w/ bottles & nutrition & such.. under an hr & we were back in our hotel rooms to rest a bit, use nice, clean facilities for the last time for a long time, wetsuit up & get ready to rock! Definitely a great way to spend the last pre-race moments before a long day.. So about 6:30 we walked out to the beach, tested out the water a bit & got ready to go! Ashley & I positioned ourselves on the far left & pretty close to the back. I'd never started in such a big 'wave' start.. I think around 600 maybe? (I'm bad w/ specifics.. I'm sure you can google it, if you really want to know!) So I was a little hesitant to just jump right out there. I know a little knocking around is normal in a tri swim, but I wasn't looking to get knocked out.. So the gun went off (I think it was a gun..) & we trudged on out to the water! I definitely laughed a bit at the sight.. a normal race starts w/ all this running & splashing.. maybe some diving.. this one was quite anti-climactic w/ the big gun & then the slow trudge (I'm trying to think of another word for it, but I'm at a loss!) that followed.. I found it all very laughable.. But I finally found swim-able water & off I went! The 1st bit was a lot of jostling around trying to find a place to get going.. But it really wasn't too bad, as far as the crowd & all.. I'd say the toughest part, for me, of the 1st loop was sighting & staying on coarse.. It was still kind of dark out & w/ all the heads & bodies bobbing around me, it was hard to keep track of which way I was wanting to go.. I'm quite sure I got some extra yardage in out there.. but oh, well... I found my way & was feeling good. I actually swam around the turn-around bouy.. I think most folks stood up & 'ran' around it, but I didn't feel like messing w/ it, so I just figured I'd swim as long as I could & it turned out I could swim around it the whole way just fine..so that's what I did! I felt like I stayed on coarse/sighted much better on the 2nd loop. I was still feeling great.. Loving the water temps & just feeling good! I came up on land & trotted in to transition in about an hr 15, which was right on track for where I wanted to be! so far so good.. got to see Team Blunck (though I couldn't help but notice their surprise that I was 'already there'.. guess they thought I over estimated my swim abilities?? anyway.. I was there!). Transition was interesting.. the tent wasn't nearly as full as I thought it would be.. I plugged along, changing my clothes & trying to eat a little..though that was tougher for me to do than I imagined.. as much as I wanted to take my time.. I just felt rushed! It WAS a race, you know.. But I felt like I was in & out super fast..but I think my T1 time was actually around 7-8 min.. I think both transitions took about that long, actually.. despite my feeling like I was flying in there! So out on the bike.. a fare-thee-well to my family & away I go! Nothing too exciting on the bike. I started out feeling pretty fast..probably had a tail wind or something..but I was keeping w/in myself, not going too hard or anything. There were a couple tough points for me on the bike.. about mile 40-50some were into the wind & on a pretty rough road & that just really seemed to take the wind out of my sails.. I was really excited to get to my 'special needs' bag.. but I didn't really 'need' anything.. But I did want to stop.. I mixed myself some Accelerade b/c I was getting sick of the super-sweet Gatorade Endurance (I like the stuff, but wow! Full strength, indeed! Very sweet..).. I dug around some more & came up w/ my beef jerky, which, at the time sounded really good & gave me a little boost. I just had another 10 mi until I'd see my family, who were planning to meet me at about the 60mi mark in this cute little town, Milan, that we went through 2x on the coarse.. both times the town was full of folks cheering us on..definitely something to look forward to on the long bike ride.. So I cruised along & made it to Milan to see the crew. I actually stopped to say a quick hello & Mason was SO excited! He's always excited to see me in a race & the feeling is mutual, of coarse..but he was SO excited at this race.. he jumped up & down & pumped his arms as he was lifted up to receive his "kiss and a hug".. It was great to see them.. So far I was on track, as far as what I wanted to do pace-wise.. turns out I was behind on 'time' (time of day..I had calculated my ride time, but not thought about the stops & such.. for example, in 1 of my splits, I had stopped for at least 1 bottle, which I was mixing things & adding ice, etc.. then I stopped to see the fam, my 'special needs' stop was also in there.. so that dropped my avg speed to under 16 in that section! so it adds up.. but what can ya do? I needed those stops, I just didn't think about adding it in, so the time of day was later than I had projected), but my ride time was on pace.. I was at 3 hrs at the 60mi mark & feeling good! Rest of the bike carried on.. I hit that same rough spot again on the 2nd loop (of coarse..that's how doing the same loop 2x works!), but I guess at least I knew it was coming! I was really excited when I hit 80 miles.. for some reason it started to feel 'close to the end' at that point for me.. I stopped looking at my speed for most of the ride.. I didn't want anything to cloud my decision on whether to speed up/slow down/etc.. I just wanted to stick w/ how I was feeling. I kept pretty close to what I had planned as far as nutrition. Getting that 2nd bottle of accelerade was a boost & allowed me to need less solid foods (it has more calories than a bottle of gatorade.. plus I drank it better than the gatorade. I actually later mixed my fruit punch accelerade w/ some of the orange gatorade & it was like magic! by far my favorite drink so far..though I'll have to try it again some time when I'm not 80 miles in to an Ironman & see if I still dig it as much!), but I pretty much stuck to my plan..went through 3 bars, I think? 2 bottles of the accelerade, 2-3 bottles of gatorade & 2-3 bottles of water.. Didn't have any stomach issues.. so feeling good! I pushed hard toward the end (ish.. again..it's all relative.. not sure how 'hard' I was really going at this point) to try to get in under 6 hrs.. My 'ride time' on the bike had me at about 6:05, but my actual race time was...6:15-ish? (again.. you can look up the exact results, if you're interested) I rolled in w/ a big smile.. Matt was waiting for me at transition & I feel really bad b/c I let my disappointment show when he told me Mason was napping.. I should have known that he would be.. If I'd known what time it was, I'd have known.. but my '1 track race mind' just wanted to see his little face.. But it was still good to see Matt.. despite my reaction (give me a break.. I AM already 114 mi in to this thing!).. So I head in for another 'lightning quick' transition.. I trot off to grab my bag, give the volunteer a smile & asked "how do I look?!" (I think I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't just tricking myself into thinking I felt good.. wanted to see if others thought I looked OK, too, ya know??).. he assured me that I looked good, so into the tent I went.. made my wardrobe changes, tried to eat a little (this does come back to bite me a bit..more on that later) & off I went! I really was feeling great & gave everyone that would humor me big smiles & waves as I took off for the run. I was feeling steady & tried to watch my splits for the 1st few miles.. I was keeping under 10's, but then that started going downward when I made a quick stop to relieve myself (the only pee of the day.. probably not a great thing..but oh, well..), which messed up my split, then I stopped to do my gu.. From there, I kinda just quit caring about how 'fast' (SO relative now.. and getting more and more 'silly' of a term as the day goes on.. ) I was going & went back to just going w/ how I felt. I felt OK! I was trucking along, clicking off the miles..1 aid station at a time.. doing my Gu's every 3 miles w/ maybe a little extra occasional gatorade.. the 1st loop I really felt pretty darn good. I enjoyed the race coarse quite a bit.. it wound us around & around & up & down the streets of downtown Sandusky, which made it nice b/c you could always see other people around you.. I never felt 'alone' out there.. AND I was able to see all my friends out there on the coarse! So it was really nice.. Then..at about the turn around point..which was back at transition.. I started to feel a bit 'off'.. I knew I was behind on my salt.. mostly b/c I didn't eat the salty foods I had planned for myself in transitions and at special needs.. I started to feel a bit nauseus.. I was really worried I was going to start not being able to hold things down, but at special needs, I fixed up my feet w/ some more 'lube' (I didn't wear socks), took some ibprofen, choked down some salty margarita shot blocks & tried to keep my head high & my spirits up. I took it slow for a bit..the nausea got a little better, but then my kidneys (?..felt like that area anyway..) started to hurt a little.. Oh, boy.. maybe from low Na? Maybe from the ibprofen? So I took some salt tabs at the next aid station to see if that would help.. low & behold.. I started to come around & feel more normal again.. guess it was the salt! (I've always been anti-salt tabs.. As a dietitian, I just feel like this is really messing w/ your body's chemistry & things can get messed up quick, if you overdo.. but.. in a long race like this..your body is already being 'messed with', so you really just have to listen to what it's telling you & adjust accordingly.. My new 'stance' on the salt tab thing is.. I still don't really see a need for it in training (b/c when I train, I take the time to eat the salty foods that I need instead of racing off out of the tent like I have some place to be!), though you might pick a training to try it out some time, just for good measure.. but on a race day when.. at least I.. don't take the time to eat as much solids as I usually would.. they can come in handy.. as long as you drink lots of water with it & continue to listen to how your body reacts) So I got to see my family again at about the 16mi mark..right when I was starting to come around again.. Mason gave me another enthusiastic run up to me to get his kiss (which was quickly wiped off..guess I was a little gross by then) & to tell me I'm "doing good, Mama". Matt told me later that he told Mason he was my 'gu'.. he definitely gave me the same boost that my gu's did.. The next several miles were...slow & steady.. I was running (believe it or not..) & feeling/looking pretty strong.. Not fast, but solid.. I was still smiling & joking with spectators and volunteers..so that's always a good sign! I'd say miles 19/20 were the really tough ones for me.. Most of the race I was able to keep it at aid station to aid station.. "run to the next aid station (1 mi), then walk through the aid station to get your water filled up(I carried a hand-held the whole way.. I'm a big fan.. nothing like ice cold water while you're out there on a long day), ice, etc, then run again"..repeat.. I was able to keep that up & run the whole way, walking only through the aid stations, which was just as I had planned on doing.. Really the only other time I walked was at the turn-around for a bit..which was just from special needs bag to aid station..so not all that far. But in that 19/20mi space, my race was down to "run to the next intersection...you made it! Now run to the next intersection"..repeat.. But again, I kept running. I had an extra bonus when I saw my family at mile 20 (how nice of them to join me on the struggle bus!) and I had a couple extra in my cheering squad! My friends Jeff & Todd had come down from where they were on a fishing trip near-by & were able to catch me..just for a moment..as I sped off (!! yeah right..) on my way toward the finish. I didn't see much of 'em (mostly b/c of my delirious state at that moment) but it was SO nice of them to come & a great added pick-me-up to see all of them right there when I needed it the most. I journeyed on to the next aid station..they had broth there, which I thought might be nice.. Well... it wasn't 'bad'.. but YUCK! 1st, they put ice in it...Uh..thanks.. but it was also a lot more 'chicken-y' than I thought it would be. Oh, well.. I knew I still needed the salt, so I sipped it down & went on. I did start to feel better again & got back to my 'aid station to aid station' race.. I was really feeling good & thrilled when I knew I was coming up to the 23 mi marks.. I started to feel like this thing was really happening! The rest of the run was nothing too exciting. I got to see Ginger, Joe & Mark again.. and Shawn.. As I came closer & closer to the finish.. I was so excited! Not even so much a "thank goodness we're to the end" kind of excited..just a "wow.. I can't believe it's happening.. I did it"! Kind of feeling. I came around the corner & ran toward the best cheering crew...ever.. The group from Personal Best team were really great.. all the folks that did the 1/2 stuck around to cheer us on, families & friends were there.. it was great. So coach Sean saw me come in & trucked it on down toward the finish w/ me..asking me how I was feeling, etc..told him about the couple struggle bus moments, but that overall, I was feeling good.. he bid me adieu as I head around the corner to where they were giving American Flags to the finishers to help honor the troops and all that they do & the memory of what happened on 9/11 10 yrs ago.. I grabbed a small one, because I knew my little guy was waiting, ready to grab my hand & run it in with me.. I couldn't wait! He had been waiting all weekend & all day for this & he was ready! I have no idea what we looked like, but I was thrilled.. thrilled to have accomplished something that I had worked so hard for. Thrilled to know I had given this race all that I had to give. Thrilled that I got to enjoy this with my little guy & that my husband & dad were all waiting for us.. Just thrilled.

I really couldn't have asked for a better experience. Those storms everyone had been all bent out of shape about?? never happened.. I had a little cloud cover & it seemed like it maybe wanted to rain, but as far as I know.. it never rained..at least not on me! My family & friends were there (those not there in person, I know were with me in spirit.. I felt their support the whole way!). All my friends that raced were all doing well & realizing their dreams.. I pushed hard..or maybe I should say I pushed steady & smart & gave the best that I had. As much as I wish that I was a faster runner on that day.. I just wasn't! I don't think there's anything I would have done differently in training or in my approach to the day. Of coarse I could have gone through aid stations quicker..but thinking back.. I needed every one of those aid stations to keep me going.. So if I had gone through it faster, I might have bonked or not been able to keep the pace that I did manage to keep. Oh.. my marathon came in just under 5hrs.. In fairness, I've only run 1 other marathon about 2 yrs ago & that came in somewhere around 4:26? So I probably shouldn't have hoped to run a 4:30..but you know me.. always aiming high! I did, though, allow myself to aim for 4:30-5hrs..so I kept within that! I actually hit all of my goals.. some on the faster end (swim), some to the middle (bike & transitions) & some toward the higher/slower end (ahem..the run).. but in the coarse of such a big race.. I cannot & am not complaining! My total time was about 12:30.. as in 12 hrs 30-ish minutes.. wow that's a long time to 'go'.. but I was trained for it & actually felt pretty good, all said & done. I was sore..don't get me wrong.. Like.. sore to the touch.. even my arms! But as far as race wounds..all I had was a little raw spot on my ankle from my running shoes.. but I didn't even notice that until a day or 2 later. I will say..for the 1st time in a while after a race or workout.. I actually had NO thought of getting a workout in the next day.. I didn't work out tuesday, either & actually took it really easy the whole week after b/c Matt & I took off for some relaxation time in Mexico!! (thanks to my Mom coming in to hang with Mason for the week..) By wednesday I was feeling much more back to normal.. Walking around on tuesday was...interesting.. mostly walking down stairs was a challenge.. the rest was just...tender.. But by wednesday, I was ready to get in the ocean for a swim.. I did some yoga as well.. By friday I was doing short jogs on the beach.. So I took it easy, but was feeling ready to move again by the wed after the race..

I think that about covers it!! I know it's obsurdly long.. Like I said, it's actually for my own benefit, so I apologize if you read this & got bored or wondered what I was rambling about.. I just want to remember as much about this weekend/day as I can.. You can never re-do your 1st, ya know?? I want to remember how it felt & learn from it.. I know there were a few things I could do differently..but that's what doing these races is all about for me.. learning from them & always pushing myself to do a little better every time out.. I have no idea what 'rank' I was or things like that, but I know I pushed myself as hard as I could go...on that day.. & I'll work hard to make the next one even just a tiny bit better in whatever way that I can.. It's all about challenging myself to do my best every time I put myself out there.. and having a great time while doing it! I, for one, had a fantastic time and am excited for when ever the next big challenge comes my way!

Less than 1 week?!!

Wow. It's here. The count down to my very 1st full ironman distance triathlon. I'm more than ready & I know that.. I'm confident in my training & my ability to do what I need to do at the race & I'm in a good place! Just resting up, trying to eat well, drink well & relax 'til race time. Last weeks taper workouts went fine. I'm feeling really good..able to 'go' when the workout calls for it, but I'm also doing a good job (I think) of not going quite so much..which is a tough thing to do after rushing around, training for so long.. I started training for this season & this race back in January.. So, needless to say.. I'm more than ready for this race! This wk is almost crazy how little exercise I'm doing.. today was only a 30 minute 'race pace' (AKA slow) run.. Considering that a 'typical' tuesday through training had been: early run..somewhere around 5-9mi, hang w/ Matt & Mason before they head out, head to the pool for a swim, maybe some yoga or kettle bell, home for lunch & rest, then out to teach gymnastics..and finally, another swim with the Y tri team. SO. I'm feeling just a little strange to be sitting around right now.. BUT I do know that my sitting now will help me feel better as I attempt to move for 140.6mi this sunday. This past weekend I was able to get out to meet up with my fellow 'Personal Best' team members that will be at Rev 3 with me. We met out at Eagle Creek park to ride 40 miles, then run 6. I felt great the whole way & all was well.. BUT, it turns out that Indiana decided to have a quick little heat wave for us.. 1 last summer hurrah, I guess.. I 'knew' it was hot out, but it didn't feel that bad.. until the workout was over. You see, I plan very well for the workout.. what I'm still not always great at is planning for hanging around after.. So as I stood there after the workout in the clothes I'd changed in to..still dripping sweat & sipping on some water & the 'muscle milk' I'd brought for the drive home.. I started to feel a bit out of it & nauseous. I had been standing there in the sun, sweating & talking, when I should have sat down in the shade to cool down. Anyway.. as soon as I sat down in my car, out of the sun & in the AC..I felt fine. Everyone was all concerned about what was going on w/ me & 'what happened'..when I looked at the temp gauge in my car..it was 97 degrees?! Uuuummmm...mystery solved, folks.. It was hotter than I thought it was going to be & I didn't realize it until I was standing there, feeling dizzy & weird.. So I guess the lesson to be learned there is to definitely think about recovery & how you might be out & hot & about longer than you intend..so pack more food & drinks than you'll actually need. AND check the temperature before you plan & pack for your workout..sometimes the weather changes quick & you need to know about it. But life goes on. Like I said, I felt fine as soon as I cooled down & all was well. Sunday was a relatively short & quick 10mi run, which went fine.. I wound up having to do most of it on the treadmill due to another lightning storm, but it was fine.. I kept pace & felt good & was all done by 7:30am! Which left time to go to breakfast with the family..then a movie with my sister-in-law..so taper is a good thing! Monday, which was a holiday, I was able to go out for 1 last training open water swim with the group.. I actually wore my wetsuit for the whole 1hr swim..which I haven't worn a wetsuit for that long since Steelhead last yr.. It was fine.. I'm still not a huge wetsuit fan, but this one feels better.. still rubs my neck, so we'll have to do our best to lube that up so it won't hurt too much.. I'm sure it'll be fine, though! Now just a couple short, 'keep the body moving'-type workouts this wk & then off to Cedar Point on friday! I'm excited.. I can't believe it's finally here.. I feel good, now I just have to do my thing at the race.. worry only about the things that I can control.. & to HAVE FUN!! because that IS what this is all about..

So far, so good, I think..

Another week of training in the books. We have officially entered the taper & so far I think I'm following the 'rules' pretty well.. I think I only did 1 extra swim last week? Pretty good for me.. Training was pretty un-eventful, but good. Did do a couple pilates classes, which was different than my 'usual', but I had to finish out the groupon before it expired! Great workout & didn't negatively effect anything else I was doing.. so that was good. My long swim at Cordry Lake on saturday was great! We did the 5k & I felt pretty good.. aside from the fact that I didn't take this 'leisurely swim' event as seriously as I probably could have & didn't do my nutrition properly.. I didn't do anything 'too' bad, but just didn't have quite enough prior to the swim, so was super hungry by the 2nd loop (done in 1k loops)..but we were able to get some gatorade and granola bars from the boat & we set off for a couple more loops..did the same at the 4k mark, too & finished out strong. Other than that.. all went well.. I guess that's what happens when you're maybe too comfortable w/ your nutrition & don't take the workout seriously enough.. Fair enough.. Lesson learned! But it was a great little outing w/ a really great group. Sunday was my 'big' workout day.. the brick.. I say 'big' b/c after the training we've done..this taper feels pretty easy.. So we had a 60mi bike/8mi run in the books.. I planned out a nice, hilly loop out on Mann Rd on the southside & got my southside training pals (& always faithful friends!) lined up to ride with me.. We wound up getting some pretty serious hills in..even some ones that probably have names! (cyclists like to name hills, if they're hard enough..) We were out on 'Observatory Rd', which has a pretty serious hill, & then rode out on Robb Hill Rd a bit, which gave us some more hills to work our way up & down.. but it felt good & I really enjoyed the ride. Off on the run.. We all started, though poor Jeff (who was super tired after driving back from a fun weekend in Cincy at 4am so he could join us!) only made about a 1/2mi.. Lara stuck w/ me for 3mi, which was awesome.. So then I took off to finish it out. Stuck to my 'gu q 3mi' plan & all was well! Nothing too exciting..but felt nice & solid.. I didn't manage to make it down to Louisville to watch IM today, which was a bummer.. But Matt needed to do some stuff at work &, well...that beats out my 'need' to go watch a race in another city.. BUT, I've been tracking my fellow triathletes all day & they are doing FANtastic!! I'm so excited for them & even just seeing the results tick by is making me more excited for my race day. I can feel it.. I can see it.. I'm ready to get out there! congrats to the IM Lou athletes & finishers.. I can't wait to hear all about the day!