Going into Quassy, I knew it was going to be hilly...and I questioned whether I was ready for hills and I was dying to know....just how hilly was it? I've done a few hilly races, Vineman 70.3 and Wildflower Long Course and Big Kahuna up in Santa Cruz, and i've managed to hold my own, not being zippy fast, but other than Wildflower, the other races didn't leave me feeling like I was dying :). So, as long as it wasn't as hilly as Wildflower, I would be ok.
So..how did it all go? Like this:
As I stated in my previous post, I didn't have the easiest time in getting to the race/getting set up and all that jazz, if it weren't for my amazing Trakkers family, I probably would've thrown in the towel, but thankfully they were all helpful and able to lend a hand in making sure Soren was entertained while I got my bike's rear wheel in gear (long story) and got all set!!
After an awesome dinner with my team, I headed to the hotel to check in....at 9:00 p.m. :). For the first time in my life I actually requested help with my bags...Soren isn't much help in that department just yet, so the front desk guy helped us get into our room and I put Soren to bed, he crashed like i've never seen. Thank God....I needed to get my stuff together for the race!
I piled everything in the bathroom and put all my stuff together, however, I discovered that the new race laces I bought were missing a piece so I wouldn't be able to use them....moving on. I then discovered I had the wrong tattoo numbers....whatever that's what Sharpie's are for! So, I got all my stuff together and then realized that Dave didn't have a spare key to get into our room. I text'd him, but he was driving, so I just lay awake until he arrived, just before midnight.
He brought a bagel for my morning breakfast :).
Anyhoo, 5:00 a.m. arrived quickly and I put on all my awesome Trakkers gear, and was absolutely stoked to have my race uniform on, and couldn't WAIT to test out my new TYR Hurricane 5 Wetsuit. WOOT WOOT!!! Yeah-so, I used a wetsuit for the first time in a race, I knew though, that it would probably fit and with some TriSlide, it would go on no problem.
I scarfed part of a croissant that Dave brought along with part of a bagel, banana and I sipped on some yummy EFS drink. Desperately trying to get hydrated...I knew I was behind, but I was doing what I could.
Game time: Got everything set up in transition, I was really excited, I had a new wetsuit, new goggles, helmet and cycling shoes! I finally decided that the cycling shoes I had pee'd on multiple times during Ironman Florida and Arizona were "done." Yeah, I know, I probably lost a few readers with that admission, but the shoes were SO comfortable!! :)
It went like this:
Swim: The wetsuit went on like buttah. Seriously. No issues, pulled from the inside out, I was astounded at how awesome my shoulders felt, I didn't have that "pull" that i've had from other wetsuits. Wow, it was going to be really awesome swimming in my Hurricane 5! I lined up in front, I always do, i'm not particularly super fast, but i'm not savvy enough to push through people either, so I try to play to my swim strengths and I line up just behind the front women. We jostled for a while, took me a while to find my rhythm. We hit the turnaround and I was getting a really really bad headache, dehydration effects were hitting me. I kicked harder, just trying to ignore it.
I didn't wear a watch so I had no idea what my time was....felt slow...actually, my first thought coming out of the water with my headache was "if I get on my bike, it'll be by the grace of God," it was hurting that bad.
Bike: Once I got on and started pedaling, gave myself some time to settle in, I smiled. No, actually, i'll admit, I teared up. For someone who didn't know how to shift a bike during my first triathlon, i've improved quite a bit and man...I love cycling. The Rev3 Quassy bike course is phenomenally beautiful, it is hilly true to the talk, but forgiving as well. My only issue on the bike: I lost my water bottle with EFS at mile 5 of the bike. It flew so fast over a ravine, while I was descending, I had no chance to retrieve it. So, there I was, dehydrated, and now no water. Ugh. I was mad. Really mad because I knew I couldn't push too hard on the bike and have nothing left for the run and totally get myself into a position where I was really hurting. So, I just pushed through, but held back a bit to keep my heart rate down.
Run: I finished the bike, quickly laced up my Avia Quest Lite III's and and for the first time ever, I actually grabbed water from the transition area. Downed two cups and just ran. Again, no watch, so I had no idea what my time was. I knew at about mile 2 that I was in for an interesting run. I managed to hold my own with the hills, but I did walk a tiny bit on one hill. I was mad I had to walk, but I was sort of running out of gas! I definitely didn't train well on hills for the run. My favorite part of the run was seeing our Mama Bear-Carole Sharpless out there cheering us on, that was super awesome!
Honestly, the thing that saved my ass on this run was purely First Endurance's Liquid Shot....having had nearly zero calories on the bike, I downed the FE Liquid Gel, finally got rid of my entire headache and gave me the energy I needed to push through my run! I finally found my groove at mile FOUR. Yeah, we wonder why I like the longer distance stuff. Takes me forever to get started huh?? :)
Mile 5-6 has a hill at the very end, and I had found my groove but was quickly losing it after that last hill! NO!!! Then all of a sudden two women came out of nowhere, both had 33 and 32 on their legs. Crap. Now I had to work. It was in literally the last 500 yards. I gave it what I could, I held off one woman but the other passed me!
The funniest part about the finish is that Dave mentioned later he had Soren waiting for me in case I wanted to hold him and run across the finish line. I remembered early on I had thought about that, but we never discussed it. Then Dave goes "But, um, you looked really pissed so I thought maybe you wouldn't see us" :). I was pissed! I was so mad at the other woman passing me and I was trying hard to be competitive!!
Ha.....even when I don't train as consistently as I should for these races, something in me sparks when i'm racing and no matter how little or as much as I train, I take it seriously and I get angry when I race! Not a "mean" anger, but just a "go for it" anger! :) No one likes being passed, no matter what the age group is!
My thoughts: Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous race, water was perfect, bike hilly but forgiving and i'll be honest, that run kicked my butt just about the same as Wildflower Long Course. No joke. It's a hard course. But i'd love to do Rev3 Quassy again!!!
Final Stats:
Swim: 27:04/13th in AG
T1:2:40..god i'm slow
Bike: 1:30/15th in AG
T2:1:54..impressed, this is WITH shoe tying :)
Run: 54:12-I ran the first two miles at a 7:59 pace. Would love to maintain this speed someday :)
Finished: 19th in my AG...so, a total of 6 people passed me-i'll get 'em next time :)
Majorly huge thanks to my amazing sponsors: TYR-your wetsuit is buttery/perfect-can't wait to wear it again. My fancy TYR goggles were perfect, never a fog or a leak, just a perfect fit!! SBR Sports, as usual--TriSlide and Foggle left me "chafe-less" and "fog-less" :), i'm always bragging about your products!! KESTREL, sigh, where do I begin---amazing amazing ride, I love my Kestrel Airfoil Pro--it has 650 wheels and rides absolutely smooth and slick. LOVE IT! Avia---my Quest Lite III's are perfect, plenty of cushion, but not enough to weigh me down!! First Endurance Nutrition: for saving my ass on the run with the amazing vanilla flavored liquid shot! And last, but definitely not least: my favorite new way to relax before or after a race: Recovery Pump!! Absolutely amazing recovery system..I spent several hours of bliss in my boots once we got home from the race!!!
And obviously....a huge thanks to Dave who as usual took care of business so that I could race with some peace and quiet :). Next up: a blog entry on Rev3...a whole 'nother blog post in and of itself and how amazing this organization is! :)
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Rev3 Quassy Olympic-Race Report Part I
This race report is going to have two parts because something in me was sparked and I need to write more than just a race report. This should actually be called "Triathlon Brattiness" but just stopping short of calling myself a brat, i'll keep it as "race report" but.....i'm really calling myself out.
I started to write this race report about three times before Quassy even started. The first time was when I had to call my friend to come watch Soren so I could load up the car on Friday morning. Sounds ridiculous right? Well, living on the 3rd floor of a building, I knew I was going to have a heck of a time loading bags and a bike with towing a toddler beside me begging to either A: hold/twist/drop/throw my keys or B:stop to twist all the door handles on every door of our building.
It could've taken me easily two hours. Friend came, I was rescued. The next time was when I arrived at Quassy and I realized that walking my bike and pushing a stroller was going to be an interesting turn of events. Luckily I had some awesome teammates to help me out!! The last time was when I realized that the only water I had drank all day, the day before my race was the two glasses of water I had drank during dinner, other than that just one caffeine-free diet coke. Excellent race preparation.
I should quit my whining, because honestly, I had a lot of time to think this weekend, I have some people on my mind that don't have it going so smoothly right now or people who are struggling and worried about "real" things in their lives. When I start to talk about how many things were odd or wrong with my race preparation or the things that I struggled with, it sounds really really lame to complain about. Seriously. Who cares if Dave had to rent a car to come watch me race since we're down to one car in Boston and he got to the hotel at midnight the night before a race, we got up at 5:00 a.m. to head to transition and I woke with a headache realizing I was indeed, dehyrated, but even worse, I had nearly nothing to eat for breakfast, and my fast shoe laces I had bought were missing pieces to them so I was going to have to...gasp....tie my running shoes during the race instead of slipping them on. gasp. Boo Hoo. :)
Perspective people.....here are my thoughts: sure, racing is MY time, it's what I love, it's someone else's time when they read a book or paint or see a movie or they shop alone. I race, it's one of my most favorite things in the world. Dave and I are opposites, I train because I love competition, the thrill of a race. Dave..he loves the training and the race is just the reward for all the training. In my own "mommy" world, racing has become a part of my identity, something that I look forward to because it makes me feel like "me" and I can focus on each of the sports and challenge myself. So, I guess I get frustrated when things don't go smoothly before a race because I want to feel good about myself in a race. But.....come on, seriously, when you think about it, most people I know are working either full or part time, they're juggling having time for their kids, themselves, juggling finances, struggling to even visit family, and if my biggest worry is that I was dehydrated before a race---I need to kick myself in the pants for even considering that a "worry."
I'm not saying Dave and I don't have any struggles, please don't take what I wrote as that, i'm merely saying the fact that I have the time in my life to train and race and enjoy that time is a gift in and of itself. Each race I do should be seen as a gift and be grateful for that opportunity, not dwell on all the nuances that may go wrong.
What prompted me to write all this out exactly...well, I realized that I was getting a bit into of a frenzy with how things weren't going smoothly and I've come in contact with people at races before who I actually felt like they were so obsessed with what was going on in their race preparation that I thought to myself "do they even realize how lucky they are?" People who spend HOURS away from their families training for races and their families come to support them, only to have them get all irritated because they didn't "PR" in a race. How annoyed would you be if your family member spent hours away from you and then complained of the one teeny tiny nuance that didn't go perfect. Perspective people.
I'm not saying people don't deserve time to themselves, but....realistically there is time to yourself and then there's the guy on the run this past weekend who I was talking to who was complaining about not getting a PR on his run and he mentioned his five-week-old baby. I couldn't even wrap my head around that, I just thought "Dude, you have a freaking INFANT and no doubt your wife is sitting on a rock around here in the heat, in the transition area after getting up super early no doubt on zero sleep and you're complaining about not having a PR".....what a jerk. And I hate to say it, he's not the first one to make comments like this, I hear it quite a bit throughout the triathlon community and it drives me insane.
It just really made me think about perspective. I started my race being grateful to have my first open water swim of the season, ride my bike for the FIRST TIME SINCE VINEMAN (yes, i'm finally admitting, it, I didn't do any trainer rides or rides outside before Quassy, it was all spin classes, huge admittance, but whatever it's my blog), I teared up riding my bike, I love it, it's fast, fun and I had a great ride, and the run, I was so grateful to be running in the shade, and best of all, being greeted by my awesome husband and son at the finish.
You have to take the time to be grateful, life isn't always about YOU and your PR's and lining up races and flying around all over to get in as many races as you can. Life is about juggling and sometimes juggling a lot of things at once, makes you appreciate being able to have time for yourself more...I got my pants in a bunch initially when I was trying to make my race logistics work, but i'm glad by Friday evening at dinner I had sorted out my selfishness and kicked myself in the pants and got to focus on the fun part, finding myself lost in the fun of a race!
Stay tuned for play-by-play of Quassy.....it was a good one :)
I started to write this race report about three times before Quassy even started. The first time was when I had to call my friend to come watch Soren so I could load up the car on Friday morning. Sounds ridiculous right? Well, living on the 3rd floor of a building, I knew I was going to have a heck of a time loading bags and a bike with towing a toddler beside me begging to either A: hold/twist/drop/throw my keys or B:stop to twist all the door handles on every door of our building.
It could've taken me easily two hours. Friend came, I was rescued. The next time was when I arrived at Quassy and I realized that walking my bike and pushing a stroller was going to be an interesting turn of events. Luckily I had some awesome teammates to help me out!! The last time was when I realized that the only water I had drank all day, the day before my race was the two glasses of water I had drank during dinner, other than that just one caffeine-free diet coke. Excellent race preparation.
I should quit my whining, because honestly, I had a lot of time to think this weekend, I have some people on my mind that don't have it going so smoothly right now or people who are struggling and worried about "real" things in their lives. When I start to talk about how many things were odd or wrong with my race preparation or the things that I struggled with, it sounds really really lame to complain about. Seriously. Who cares if Dave had to rent a car to come watch me race since we're down to one car in Boston and he got to the hotel at midnight the night before a race, we got up at 5:00 a.m. to head to transition and I woke with a headache realizing I was indeed, dehyrated, but even worse, I had nearly nothing to eat for breakfast, and my fast shoe laces I had bought were missing pieces to them so I was going to have to...gasp....tie my running shoes during the race instead of slipping them on. gasp. Boo Hoo. :)
Perspective people.....here are my thoughts: sure, racing is MY time, it's what I love, it's someone else's time when they read a book or paint or see a movie or they shop alone. I race, it's one of my most favorite things in the world. Dave and I are opposites, I train because I love competition, the thrill of a race. Dave..he loves the training and the race is just the reward for all the training. In my own "mommy" world, racing has become a part of my identity, something that I look forward to because it makes me feel like "me" and I can focus on each of the sports and challenge myself. So, I guess I get frustrated when things don't go smoothly before a race because I want to feel good about myself in a race. But.....come on, seriously, when you think about it, most people I know are working either full or part time, they're juggling having time for their kids, themselves, juggling finances, struggling to even visit family, and if my biggest worry is that I was dehydrated before a race---I need to kick myself in the pants for even considering that a "worry."
I'm not saying Dave and I don't have any struggles, please don't take what I wrote as that, i'm merely saying the fact that I have the time in my life to train and race and enjoy that time is a gift in and of itself. Each race I do should be seen as a gift and be grateful for that opportunity, not dwell on all the nuances that may go wrong.
What prompted me to write all this out exactly...well, I realized that I was getting a bit into of a frenzy with how things weren't going smoothly and I've come in contact with people at races before who I actually felt like they were so obsessed with what was going on in their race preparation that I thought to myself "do they even realize how lucky they are?" People who spend HOURS away from their families training for races and their families come to support them, only to have them get all irritated because they didn't "PR" in a race. How annoyed would you be if your family member spent hours away from you and then complained of the one teeny tiny nuance that didn't go perfect. Perspective people.
I'm not saying people don't deserve time to themselves, but....realistically there is time to yourself and then there's the guy on the run this past weekend who I was talking to who was complaining about not getting a PR on his run and he mentioned his five-week-old baby. I couldn't even wrap my head around that, I just thought "Dude, you have a freaking INFANT and no doubt your wife is sitting on a rock around here in the heat, in the transition area after getting up super early no doubt on zero sleep and you're complaining about not having a PR".....what a jerk. And I hate to say it, he's not the first one to make comments like this, I hear it quite a bit throughout the triathlon community and it drives me insane.
It just really made me think about perspective. I started my race being grateful to have my first open water swim of the season, ride my bike for the FIRST TIME SINCE VINEMAN (yes, i'm finally admitting, it, I didn't do any trainer rides or rides outside before Quassy, it was all spin classes, huge admittance, but whatever it's my blog), I teared up riding my bike, I love it, it's fast, fun and I had a great ride, and the run, I was so grateful to be running in the shade, and best of all, being greeted by my awesome husband and son at the finish.
You have to take the time to be grateful, life isn't always about YOU and your PR's and lining up races and flying around all over to get in as many races as you can. Life is about juggling and sometimes juggling a lot of things at once, makes you appreciate being able to have time for yourself more...I got my pants in a bunch initially when I was trying to make my race logistics work, but i'm glad by Friday evening at dinner I had sorted out my selfishness and kicked myself in the pants and got to focus on the fun part, finding myself lost in the fun of a race!
Stay tuned for play-by-play of Quassy.....it was a good one :)
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Boston's Run to Remember Half Marathon Race Report :)
There wasn't any crazy training for this race, more like consistent runs a few treadmill speed workouts and I actually ran off the spin bike thinking a "brick" workout may actually help train me for some fatigue in the race. The gory details: my longest run was 9 miles (once), but, I also ran 6-7 miles a few days a week. The spin classes i've been going to have my heart rate hovering around 168-170 for the entire class, so I felt confident on race day that even though my training hasn't been all "running" specific, I had been working my body hard in different ways and I just had to hope like hell it would all come together. And by some graceful force: It did :)
I had an awesome race. My goal for the race was to really try to "race" it. I've never really done that, most of my half marathons were either too flat to really "count" (think Silver Strand out on Coronado, CA, terrific course, super flat, but not all that realistic in terms of terrain for most half marathons). I wanted to see how hard I could push myself in a half marathon. Starting out feeling good, let my lungs settle (hoping that my asthma didn't kick in!) and see what would happen.
I was also sort of desperate to get some speed back. Since having Soren it just hasn't been there and granted, I hadn't up until now, really been able to work on speed, the first year after having him, I worked on building up my endurance and just feel good at racing again. This race I really wanted to see if I was anywhere near where I had been prior to giving birth.
I woke up race morning pretty ready----ate some oatmeal, mixed in some First Endurance EFS with water and Dave and Soren dropped me off. True to toddler form, Soren had a fever, so they were going to watch me run by at mile 5 and 8 and Dave was going to take him back, no need to stand around in the heat at the finish line!
I used some of my favorite Tri-Slide on my feet and arms etc to prevent any chafing. Not that that *ever* happens to me :). Checked my bag and lined up at the start...gave a final tug on my awesome Avi Quest Lite's and I seated myself at the 8:15-8:30 corral, my experience tells me as long as i'm not walking, i'm better off starting out with a faster pace and settling in there than having to weave my way through people. It was pretty awesome, the race starts out by the World Trade Center Boston which is a bridge away from downtown Boston, so you have a gorgeous view of all the tall buildings and just a great scenic way to start a race.
The horns sounded and we were off! I'll just go through some miles here:
1-3: settling in, felt pretty good, didn't start off too fast, kept thinking about the last race wondering if my stomach would bother me, it felt fine.
4-7: just looking for leg turnover, wondering if my stomach would bother me. Still fine. Didn't see Soren and Dave, just hoped it meant I was running so fast they missed me. They did :)
*Took a huge swig of First Endurance Liquid Shot in Vanilla...this stuff is like downing caramel. Heavenly on a hard run!!
8-10: Saw Soren and Dave on my way back (you run through the whole city, down the Charles River and into Cambridge by Harvard..very cool!). I was starting to breathe harder here but my legs felt pretty decent, but I knew I couldn't move faster.
*Another yummy swig of liquid shot.
11: Ok, I wanted to push harder here, but just had to keep myself steady.
12-13.1: Energy pretty spent, but rest of course was flat so I geared up and found some last minute speed to sprint the finish on my toes.
I was pretty elated when I finished, I kind of teared up a little bit. It's no surprise obviously as i've said in this blog, I always see myself as a slow runner, but not in this race, I finally give myself permission to say that I felt as though I was fast! :)
Finish time: 1:50
Average pace: 8:25/per mile
Average heart rate: 168 (yowza, this is kinda high for me to maintain at a half marathon....but, I did it!)
Super excited to have had a solid race and honestly without some really amazing support, I wouldn't have been able to have had such a smooth race. Huge Huge thanks to: Avia, First Endurance, Recovery Pump and SBRSports!!!
I had an awesome race. My goal for the race was to really try to "race" it. I've never really done that, most of my half marathons were either too flat to really "count" (think Silver Strand out on Coronado, CA, terrific course, super flat, but not all that realistic in terms of terrain for most half marathons). I wanted to see how hard I could push myself in a half marathon. Starting out feeling good, let my lungs settle (hoping that my asthma didn't kick in!) and see what would happen.
I was also sort of desperate to get some speed back. Since having Soren it just hasn't been there and granted, I hadn't up until now, really been able to work on speed, the first year after having him, I worked on building up my endurance and just feel good at racing again. This race I really wanted to see if I was anywhere near where I had been prior to giving birth.
I woke up race morning pretty ready----ate some oatmeal, mixed in some First Endurance EFS with water and Dave and Soren dropped me off. True to toddler form, Soren had a fever, so they were going to watch me run by at mile 5 and 8 and Dave was going to take him back, no need to stand around in the heat at the finish line!
I used some of my favorite Tri-Slide on my feet and arms etc to prevent any chafing. Not that that *ever* happens to me :). Checked my bag and lined up at the start...gave a final tug on my awesome Avi Quest Lite's and I seated myself at the 8:15-8:30 corral, my experience tells me as long as i'm not walking, i'm better off starting out with a faster pace and settling in there than having to weave my way through people. It was pretty awesome, the race starts out by the World Trade Center Boston which is a bridge away from downtown Boston, so you have a gorgeous view of all the tall buildings and just a great scenic way to start a race.
The horns sounded and we were off! I'll just go through some miles here:
1-3: settling in, felt pretty good, didn't start off too fast, kept thinking about the last race wondering if my stomach would bother me, it felt fine.
4-7: just looking for leg turnover, wondering if my stomach would bother me. Still fine. Didn't see Soren and Dave, just hoped it meant I was running so fast they missed me. They did :)
*Took a huge swig of First Endurance Liquid Shot in Vanilla...this stuff is like downing caramel. Heavenly on a hard run!!
8-10: Saw Soren and Dave on my way back (you run through the whole city, down the Charles River and into Cambridge by Harvard..very cool!). I was starting to breathe harder here but my legs felt pretty decent, but I knew I couldn't move faster.
*Another yummy swig of liquid shot.
11: Ok, I wanted to push harder here, but just had to keep myself steady.
12-13.1: Energy pretty spent, but rest of course was flat so I geared up and found some last minute speed to sprint the finish on my toes.
I was pretty elated when I finished, I kind of teared up a little bit. It's no surprise obviously as i've said in this blog, I always see myself as a slow runner, but not in this race, I finally give myself permission to say that I felt as though I was fast! :)
Finish time: 1:50
Average pace: 8:25/per mile
Average heart rate: 168 (yowza, this is kinda high for me to maintain at a half marathon....but, I did it!)
Super excited to have had a solid race and honestly without some really amazing support, I wouldn't have been able to have had such a smooth race. Huge Huge thanks to: Avia, First Endurance, Recovery Pump and SBRSports!!!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Do you have what it takes?
I've been thinking a lot lately about dedication and drive and what motivates people to do what they do. Whether it's their career or their activities, but what makes people "good" at what they pursue. I'm not talking about scores or rankings or how people finish in a race or how high they score on a test, but more-so, their perceived "worth" in what they do and if they feel they're successful, how do people define themselves as "good."
My parents recently came to stay with Soren while Dave and I went to Spain and we were talking about how I got into triathlon and how way back in the day when I was a high school tennis player, I hated practicing. In all honesty, I was a good tennis player, I was really good. Was I great, probably not, but I was good. I was ranked in the state of Virginia and I practiced, but half-halfheartedly. Finally, my junior year, my dad or my parents rather, were "done," I was the last of their three girls and my dad had grown a bit tired of me wanting to travel and signing up to work with good coaches, when I didn't want to practice. In my own mind, I was good and I was happy just going out and banging the ball around, winning matches here and there, but practicing, eh, I just basically wanted to walk out on the court and "see what would happen." I had a bit of athleticism, so I could get away with less practice, but my poor dad, shelling out dollar after dollar, grew a bit tired. A coach finally said he could guarantee me a scholarship to a smaller school to play tennis, but i'd have to practice before school and after school. I thought about it for a day, decided I was too social and decided to stop playing tennis after my senior year in high-school. I wrapped up my senior year being co-Captain and MVP.
I remember walking up on the stage to get my MVP award thinking this was the greatest accomplishment of my life, how awesome it was and how cool it felt. In my mind, I had worked hard, maybe I wasn't the most- "practiced" athlete, but, I knew I had done a good job and I had fun being a leader on my team.
What brings me to this memory? When my parents were out, we were talking about triathlon and my dad actually said to me "if you had told me back that you would be the daughter of mine that would complete two Ironmans, I never would've believed it." I started laughing "DAD!!! WHO SAYS THAT?". My parents are NOT the "insulting" type of parents consumed with "self importance" so I was floored my dad would say that, but.....he was RIGHT. Back then, I just wasn't that into "hard work," I just had fun, which is what kids are supposed to do. BUT-it separates the good, from the "really great."
Fast forward to now and you can ask the same question for a lot of things, what makes people good parents, what makes them good employees. Usually the same thing applies: if you love what you do, you'll be good at it. Sometimes this is true, sometimes the rule doesn't always apply, there are plenty of kids out there that stink at playing piano but they love it, maybe because they take lessons with their favorite friends, but I think the key here is learning how to enjoy something and working hard at it and having YOU think you're good at it.
It doesn't really matter if other people think you're good at it. If you think you're good at it, that's all that matters and really, THAT type of mindset is what makes people WIN. It's the "race day" magic people talk about, the PR's people set at the worst time in their lives, it's believing in yourself. If you THINK you're good at something, it makes you work harder.
Speaking of working hard...I was thinking back to my last Ironman, Ironman Arizona in 2008 and I have some fun pictures of me on the bike, but then I came across this picture.
It isn't even the greatest picture in the world, you'd never frame it, you wouldn't send it in an email, you wouldn't brag about it, heck, do you SEE my hair?
But...it's one of my most favorite pictures from the day, because I see the look on my face and I can see that I'm working really hard and i'm tired!
My run wasn't going as well as I wanted, planned or dreamed about, but I was going what I could to meet my goal of breaking 11:00 hours. I actually had entertained the idea of a Kona slot, but knew I had to run my ass off. I'm not a great runner, heck i'm not even that *GOOD* of a runner, but I work really hard at it. I had somehow found out I was 2nd in my age group when I finished the bike portion and if I could just maintain somewhat of a decent run, *maybe* I could be within the Kona placing. I don't even think I ever blogged about this, maybe I did. But, anyway, my run didn't go as planned due to stomach issues so I couldn't maintain speed, but I still worked really hard and you know what, it turned out to be an AWESOME race for me for the most part! I knocked off roughly 45 minutes from my last Ironman, PR'd for myself in the swim and marathon and I did pretty well in executing my race, so I was happy. Maybe some people say I didn't/don't have what it takes, that's ok....it only matters what WE think.
So, whatever your hobby is, or whatever your job is, it's mindset......go get it.
My parents recently came to stay with Soren while Dave and I went to Spain and we were talking about how I got into triathlon and how way back in the day when I was a high school tennis player, I hated practicing. In all honesty, I was a good tennis player, I was really good. Was I great, probably not, but I was good. I was ranked in the state of Virginia and I practiced, but half-halfheartedly. Finally, my junior year, my dad or my parents rather, were "done," I was the last of their three girls and my dad had grown a bit tired of me wanting to travel and signing up to work with good coaches, when I didn't want to practice. In my own mind, I was good and I was happy just going out and banging the ball around, winning matches here and there, but practicing, eh, I just basically wanted to walk out on the court and "see what would happen." I had a bit of athleticism, so I could get away with less practice, but my poor dad, shelling out dollar after dollar, grew a bit tired. A coach finally said he could guarantee me a scholarship to a smaller school to play tennis, but i'd have to practice before school and after school. I thought about it for a day, decided I was too social and decided to stop playing tennis after my senior year in high-school. I wrapped up my senior year being co-Captain and MVP.
I remember walking up on the stage to get my MVP award thinking this was the greatest accomplishment of my life, how awesome it was and how cool it felt. In my mind, I had worked hard, maybe I wasn't the most- "practiced" athlete, but, I knew I had done a good job and I had fun being a leader on my team.
What brings me to this memory? When my parents were out, we were talking about triathlon and my dad actually said to me "if you had told me back that you would be the daughter of mine that would complete two Ironmans, I never would've believed it." I started laughing "DAD!!! WHO SAYS THAT?". My parents are NOT the "insulting" type of parents consumed with "self importance" so I was floored my dad would say that, but.....he was RIGHT. Back then, I just wasn't that into "hard work," I just had fun, which is what kids are supposed to do. BUT-it separates the good, from the "really great."
Fast forward to now and you can ask the same question for a lot of things, what makes people good parents, what makes them good employees. Usually the same thing applies: if you love what you do, you'll be good at it. Sometimes this is true, sometimes the rule doesn't always apply, there are plenty of kids out there that stink at playing piano but they love it, maybe because they take lessons with their favorite friends, but I think the key here is learning how to enjoy something and working hard at it and having YOU think you're good at it.
It doesn't really matter if other people think you're good at it. If you think you're good at it, that's all that matters and really, THAT type of mindset is what makes people WIN. It's the "race day" magic people talk about, the PR's people set at the worst time in their lives, it's believing in yourself. If you THINK you're good at something, it makes you work harder.
Speaking of working hard...I was thinking back to my last Ironman, Ironman Arizona in 2008 and I have some fun pictures of me on the bike, but then I came across this picture.
It isn't even the greatest picture in the world, you'd never frame it, you wouldn't send it in an email, you wouldn't brag about it, heck, do you SEE my hair?
But...it's one of my most favorite pictures from the day, because I see the look on my face and I can see that I'm working really hard and i'm tired!
My run wasn't going as well as I wanted, planned or dreamed about, but I was going what I could to meet my goal of breaking 11:00 hours. I actually had entertained the idea of a Kona slot, but knew I had to run my ass off. I'm not a great runner, heck i'm not even that *GOOD* of a runner, but I work really hard at it. I had somehow found out I was 2nd in my age group when I finished the bike portion and if I could just maintain somewhat of a decent run, *maybe* I could be within the Kona placing. I don't even think I ever blogged about this, maybe I did. But, anyway, my run didn't go as planned due to stomach issues so I couldn't maintain speed, but I still worked really hard and you know what, it turned out to be an AWESOME race for me for the most part! I knocked off roughly 45 minutes from my last Ironman, PR'd for myself in the swim and marathon and I did pretty well in executing my race, so I was happy. Maybe some people say I didn't/don't have what it takes, that's ok....it only matters what WE think.
So, whatever your hobby is, or whatever your job is, it's mindset......go get it.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
A picture is worth a thousand words...
I'm really bad at posting pictures on my blog, primarily because it takes a while.....but while I think of my next post, here are some very recent pictures....Easter, Spain and just one pic so far of my sister Dawn's visit with my niece, Mia. I have a lot on my mind right now that I want to write about, but I need to find a way to put it together that makes sense....so for now, here are some pics to ponder :) |
| Soren on his Easter egg hunt! |
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| "Helping" Soren find chocolate eggs :) |
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| Attempt at Easter family photo, Soren "cheese" ... :) |
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| Plaza del Sol, Madrid, Spain=awesomeness |
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| Tapas market in Madrid |
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| Olive oil and salt potato chips..so so so good! |
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| Royal Palace in Madrid, we just walked the grounds, not sure I have the patience for being inside on a day like that! |
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| Wish I could make this!! Shrimp and mushroom appetizer...major yum..followed by paella and lots of sangria :) |
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| Beer break :) |
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| Small side-street tapas' dinner.....yum! |
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| Toledo, Spain.....very cool! |
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| You'd think it was me who wanted to take a pic with the train.....nope...Dave insisted :) |
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| Building with Lego's! |
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| It may be 40 degrees out but Soren is ready for Summer! |
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| With his sweet cousin Mia who was absolutely adorable with him, reading/coloring, letting him climb all over her!!! |
Friday, May 6, 2011
The Ugly Truth
I know everyone wants to hear how hard i've been training and to some extent when I "train," I DO train hard....it just has been a bit far and few between. My running is pretty consistent, my spin classes are consistent, my swimming-not so much and here is the honest to goodness truth. I haven't ridden my bike outside since VINEMAN 70.3 last July.
I love my bike, I mean, seriously love it....it's fast, it has 650 wheels so I feel with every push I get more than one rotation in my wheels (is that even a technical bike term??), it's sleak, i'm proud to own it and I absolutely love riding it. My issue: lack of knowledge of the Boston area of a place I can ride that A: won't kill my tires/wheels as the roads here do to my car B: knowledge of a place I can ride in general, C: time in general to get in a good ride. In San Diego, my time was limited, but I knew exactly where to go to fit in some quick rides. Time is moving quickly and I have GOT to get my little Kestrel out and moving!!!
This weekend's goal is to get in a long swim and a ride somewhere, I got some good recommendations although one of them included riding up Beacon Street and then heading over to heartbreak hill (from Boston Marathon) and i'm thinking to myself as the guy is describing it "sounds like it has a lot of potholes and isn't this the equivalent of riding in Times Square?". Ugh, so hopefully i'll find a place to ride very quickly! The local bike shop here is pretty good so i'll be paying them a visit!
What else has been distracting me? Oh yeah, Dave and I scored a quick trip across the pond to Spain for five nights...sans Soren. It was awesome. Did I miss my little guy: absolutely, did he miss us? Not so much :). He never asked for us. Even once :). Ok by me, i'd rather him be super entertained by my awesome parents than to ask for us on a regular basis! It was so wonderful having my parents stay with him and spend quality time with him. My dad took him on super long walks all over the place, they took him to a music class at the library and to the Cape and some other New England towns, they had a great time! They told us we came home too soon. Next up: another vacation to plan, but first, i've got a racing season to greet!
It's funny, I know my training isn't up to par like it normally is, but i'm relaxed and I think i'm actually pretty fit, i'm motivated, i'm relaxed and just really excited to race. Next up: Half Marathon here in Boston and the Rev3 QUASSY!! STOKED about this race. Can't WAIT to meet my Trakkers teammates and do my first triathlon of the season!!!
Over and out!!
I love my bike, I mean, seriously love it....it's fast, it has 650 wheels so I feel with every push I get more than one rotation in my wheels (is that even a technical bike term??), it's sleak, i'm proud to own it and I absolutely love riding it. My issue: lack of knowledge of the Boston area of a place I can ride that A: won't kill my tires/wheels as the roads here do to my car B: knowledge of a place I can ride in general, C: time in general to get in a good ride. In San Diego, my time was limited, but I knew exactly where to go to fit in some quick rides. Time is moving quickly and I have GOT to get my little Kestrel out and moving!!!
This weekend's goal is to get in a long swim and a ride somewhere, I got some good recommendations although one of them included riding up Beacon Street and then heading over to heartbreak hill (from Boston Marathon) and i'm thinking to myself as the guy is describing it "sounds like it has a lot of potholes and isn't this the equivalent of riding in Times Square?". Ugh, so hopefully i'll find a place to ride very quickly! The local bike shop here is pretty good so i'll be paying them a visit!
What else has been distracting me? Oh yeah, Dave and I scored a quick trip across the pond to Spain for five nights...sans Soren. It was awesome. Did I miss my little guy: absolutely, did he miss us? Not so much :). He never asked for us. Even once :). Ok by me, i'd rather him be super entertained by my awesome parents than to ask for us on a regular basis! It was so wonderful having my parents stay with him and spend quality time with him. My dad took him on super long walks all over the place, they took him to a music class at the library and to the Cape and some other New England towns, they had a great time! They told us we came home too soon. Next up: another vacation to plan, but first, i've got a racing season to greet!
It's funny, I know my training isn't up to par like it normally is, but i'm relaxed and I think i'm actually pretty fit, i'm motivated, i'm relaxed and just really excited to race. Next up: Half Marathon here in Boston and the Rev3 QUASSY!! STOKED about this race. Can't WAIT to meet my Trakkers teammates and do my first triathlon of the season!!!
Over and out!!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Quincy Half Marathon/10k Tempo Run Race Report :)
In all the races i've ever done, i've only ever had to DNF one race. It was the 2007 Lifetime Fitness Triathlon in Minneapolis. I had qualified for the race by racing at the elite level at the LA Triathlon in 2006. I qualified for the race in September of 2006 and raced the following July, 2007. What happened? I listened to a bunch of crazy people who managed to convince me that during an olympic distance race it was better to DNF then to carry a spare tube/air to fix a flat. Guess what? For the first time *ever* in a race, not only did I crash my bike, but once I picked myself up, I flatted. Twice. The first patch (stolen, er, um, borrowed from a spectator-cyclist who was dumbfounded that I had nothing to repair a flat with) he was very nice though, fixed my flat and sent me on my way. Another mile down the road, I flatted again. At mile 21 on the bike. AND, I also for the first time decided to race sockless, because you know, who wants to take 15 seconds to put on their socks. So, running barefoot for five miles pushing my bike to finish the bike portion just seemed absurd to me. So, I DNF'd. After a year of waiting to race, flying to Minneapolis alone/knowing no one/assembling my own bike etc. Lesson learned: it is ALWAYS more important to me to finish a race and carry more "weight" with me on my bike than to not finish. Glad I cleared that question up reasonably early in triathlon.
So, what does this have to do with my half marathon on Sunday the 24th? Yeah, it's taken me over a week for my race report, sorry, wasn't sure how to write all this down and keep people entertained :). As you've gathered from my title and tone, I had to pull out of my half marathon.
It's kind of an interesting story actually. My running has actually been coming along really well, better than I would've thought at this point. As much as I hate "the gym" and "the treadmill" it's a necessary part of my day, I can't train without someone to watch Soren and the gym provides that. Treadmill it is. I've watched my running get consistently faster and easier as we've moved here and i'm pretty excited about it.
Fast forward to Thursday before the race--I felt fine, my longest run had only been 9 miles, but I just had a good feeling about my running in general, I knew I had been running consistently enough to pull off a decent race. I don't mean a PR necessarily (that would be beating a 1:48), but I thought I could definitely beat 2:00 hours. Saturday came, I had been hydrating well/eating well and just taking it easy.
Sunday morning, woke up and had my usual oatmeal breakfast. Dave was getting Soren ready so all I had to do was get myself together and I had time to stretch etc. Way less hectic than last year when I was pumping milk and nursing before a race, literally running to a start at some points. We got to Quincy which is a cute New England town right on the water, it was cold. 30 degrees cold. I decided against wearing pants, just can't do it. I was excited because, as most athletes would agree, success on the toilet is a good thing before a race (sorry for TMI) but seriously, no one wants to start a race on a full stomach. My stomach felt "off" though, Dave asked if I wanted to race and I said yes, I attributed the "gut feeling" literally, to nerves.
I said goodbye to Dave and Soren, tightened my very AWESOME Avia Quest Lites and was off.
No timing chip, they do things "old school" just ripping the label off the bottom of your race number. I started, looked down at my watch (wore it for the first time since probably September, I kid you not). My first mile was 8:07 and felt effortless. Excited. I slowed down a bit though, I didn't want to push it. I knew I wasn't really trained to go a mid-distance at a fast pace......anyway, the next few miles ticked by. Then, at mile 5, I felt a pit and jarring pains just where my rib cage meets. Crap. This is the same pain that has woken me from a deep sleep in the middle of the night and kept me up hours. I have never ever felt this pain while i've been awake, let alone racing. I've had a complete ultrasound and bloodwork done to rule things out (back in December), and nothing showed.
I've had a major issue with lack of fiber/hydration a few years ago and it sent me down a similar path. Anyway, mile 6 was uphill and by the time I got to 6.5, I knew I had to stop, at least to get to the bathroom. Mile 7, I found a restaurant, and as i'm stuffing toilet paper in my pocket for later, it dawns on me that I can't even stand straight up, let alone run or finish the race.
And that was that.....I decided to quit. Smartest decision i've made in a very very long time. It took me about four hours to get rid of the pain and i'm *still* working on getting my stomach right. It's been almost two weeks of constant hydration and focusing on proper fiber intake. I have a history of it, so I know what the issue is, I just can't be casual with it anymore!
Was I bummed, eh, kind of, but truthfully, I was in so much pain, I was relieved to get home and into bed!
Here are my stats at least those that I have!
Mile 1: 8:08
Mile 2: 8:10
Mile 3:8:01
Mile 4: 8:06
Mile 5: 8:04
Mile 6:8:46
Mile 7:8:45
Kinda clear where things started to go awry!! Still stoked about my "tempo run".
MASSIVE thanks to my sponsors: First Endurance, Avia and Recovery Pump!!! I definitely wouldn't have had the beginnings of a strong race without you!!!
So, what does this have to do with my half marathon on Sunday the 24th? Yeah, it's taken me over a week for my race report, sorry, wasn't sure how to write all this down and keep people entertained :). As you've gathered from my title and tone, I had to pull out of my half marathon.
It's kind of an interesting story actually. My running has actually been coming along really well, better than I would've thought at this point. As much as I hate "the gym" and "the treadmill" it's a necessary part of my day, I can't train without someone to watch Soren and the gym provides that. Treadmill it is. I've watched my running get consistently faster and easier as we've moved here and i'm pretty excited about it.
Fast forward to Thursday before the race--I felt fine, my longest run had only been 9 miles, but I just had a good feeling about my running in general, I knew I had been running consistently enough to pull off a decent race. I don't mean a PR necessarily (that would be beating a 1:48), but I thought I could definitely beat 2:00 hours. Saturday came, I had been hydrating well/eating well and just taking it easy.
Sunday morning, woke up and had my usual oatmeal breakfast. Dave was getting Soren ready so all I had to do was get myself together and I had time to stretch etc. Way less hectic than last year when I was pumping milk and nursing before a race, literally running to a start at some points. We got to Quincy which is a cute New England town right on the water, it was cold. 30 degrees cold. I decided against wearing pants, just can't do it. I was excited because, as most athletes would agree, success on the toilet is a good thing before a race (sorry for TMI) but seriously, no one wants to start a race on a full stomach. My stomach felt "off" though, Dave asked if I wanted to race and I said yes, I attributed the "gut feeling" literally, to nerves.
I said goodbye to Dave and Soren, tightened my very AWESOME Avia Quest Lites and was off.
No timing chip, they do things "old school" just ripping the label off the bottom of your race number. I started, looked down at my watch (wore it for the first time since probably September, I kid you not). My first mile was 8:07 and felt effortless. Excited. I slowed down a bit though, I didn't want to push it. I knew I wasn't really trained to go a mid-distance at a fast pace......anyway, the next few miles ticked by. Then, at mile 5, I felt a pit and jarring pains just where my rib cage meets. Crap. This is the same pain that has woken me from a deep sleep in the middle of the night and kept me up hours. I have never ever felt this pain while i've been awake, let alone racing. I've had a complete ultrasound and bloodwork done to rule things out (back in December), and nothing showed.
I've had a major issue with lack of fiber/hydration a few years ago and it sent me down a similar path. Anyway, mile 6 was uphill and by the time I got to 6.5, I knew I had to stop, at least to get to the bathroom. Mile 7, I found a restaurant, and as i'm stuffing toilet paper in my pocket for later, it dawns on me that I can't even stand straight up, let alone run or finish the race.
And that was that.....I decided to quit. Smartest decision i've made in a very very long time. It took me about four hours to get rid of the pain and i'm *still* working on getting my stomach right. It's been almost two weeks of constant hydration and focusing on proper fiber intake. I have a history of it, so I know what the issue is, I just can't be casual with it anymore!
Was I bummed, eh, kind of, but truthfully, I was in so much pain, I was relieved to get home and into bed!
Here are my stats at least those that I have!
Mile 1: 8:08
Mile 2: 8:10
Mile 3:8:01
Mile 4: 8:06
Mile 5: 8:04
Mile 6:8:46
Mile 7:8:45
Kinda clear where things started to go awry!! Still stoked about my "tempo run".
MASSIVE thanks to my sponsors: First Endurance, Avia and Recovery Pump!!! I definitely wouldn't have had the beginnings of a strong race without you!!!
Friday, March 18, 2011
How do I recover?
I get this question every once in a while, people kind of shake their heads and wave their fingers at me and say "triathlon, ridiculous....you're crazy." Well, I agree, I think I am crazy....but not really for doing triathlon, but for a host of other reasons :).
I will say that yes, I do think doing the Ironman distance races require a dose of insanity, mostly because really, your life becomes about Ironman. No doubt. I suppose I could be someone who wakes up at 4:00 a.m. and rides the trainer, or goes to the gym and runs on the treadmill and during Soren's nap, i'd ride the trainer and after Soren goes to bed, head to the pool. I *could* do this and I know people that do, but right now, that all sounds just very...very....tiring. So, what I decided to do when my kids are "little" is race the shorter stuff, meaning, maybe two workouts a day during "peak" training, but definitely not three. And yes, i've done three workouts a day......and yeah, I feel a little insane for writing that, but then again, someone once asked, "how do you do an Ironman". That's how. 2-3 workouts a day....about 15-20 hours, maybe more a week.
So, how does one do all this. Not just "eating well" and, not even really sleeping because when you're training that much, you're jittery at night. Yeah, you'd think you'd sleep well, but you don't...or maybe you do, I can't even remember, but I don't remember waking up, ever and thinking "oh wow, I slept well". Great, so now you're training 15-20+ hours a week, how do you keep doing it?
With a very very good nutrition plan, that's how. I don't just mean, fruits, veggies, etc, I mean, you need a good nutrition plan for before, during and after. So, don't skip breakfast--really, even if "I can't eat breakfast before I run, I throw up." Well, find something that doesn't make you throw up. Maybe try greek yogurt instead of fruit loops? Do NOT start your workout hungry. You can be a little hungry, but if you're "really" hungry. Stop and eat.
If you have a workout that's longer than an hour, bring water with some calories in it, or eat something along the workout.
After, you workout for longer than an hour, you need to eat protein. Period. I prefer protein with a carb, but that's just me :)
What really gets me through these workouts and aids in my recovery? First Endurance Products. Why? Because when I was training for both my Ironmans, I thought I used proper nutrition, but I don't think anything I used was a good fit for me. I always had stomach issues and battled small injuries. I have a REALLY sensitive stomach and First Endurance makes products that I can use before, during and after workouts and quite honestly, they don't leave me running for the toilet like most of these other products. Additionally, last year was quite stressful for me with racing, but using first endurance, my body felt recovered and ready-to-go!
What do I recommend? My favorites:
EFS: this is a powder that you put in your water, my favorite is fruit punch, gives you calories for your workout and it's clear so you don't have those ridiculous stains on your shirt or around your mouth like kool-aid :)
Liquid Shot: this is a liquid that comes in a canister, carry it with you on runs or on your ride. I LOVE this stuff. Tastes delicious, and my favorite is that it comes in a pre-marked canister so you can see how much you're "shooting" as you're running, so you know how many calories you're taking in.
Ultragen: Where to begin? This is a powder that you can put in water or milk or mix in a shake post-workout. This stuff is addictive. I swear. I love the Cappuccino flavor and sometimes i'll workout even harder knowing I can have this after :) I have zero time to stretch these days. I walk in the door and I have to chase after a toddler. Dave will mix me up some Ultragen with skim milk and boom, around 300 protein filled calories and i'm ready to carry on through my day.
I love these products and I use them because they WORK. Far too many products out there are stuffed with "fillers" that you don't need and could be why I was left with many an upset stomach through most of my long-distance training.
So....as you're investing in triathlon, or any sport that requires some training, go the extra mile, do your homework and invest in a good nutrition plan!!
I will say that yes, I do think doing the Ironman distance races require a dose of insanity, mostly because really, your life becomes about Ironman. No doubt. I suppose I could be someone who wakes up at 4:00 a.m. and rides the trainer, or goes to the gym and runs on the treadmill and during Soren's nap, i'd ride the trainer and after Soren goes to bed, head to the pool. I *could* do this and I know people that do, but right now, that all sounds just very...very....tiring. So, what I decided to do when my kids are "little" is race the shorter stuff, meaning, maybe two workouts a day during "peak" training, but definitely not three. And yes, i've done three workouts a day......and yeah, I feel a little insane for writing that, but then again, someone once asked, "how do you do an Ironman". That's how. 2-3 workouts a day....about 15-20 hours, maybe more a week.
So, how does one do all this. Not just "eating well" and, not even really sleeping because when you're training that much, you're jittery at night. Yeah, you'd think you'd sleep well, but you don't...or maybe you do, I can't even remember, but I don't remember waking up, ever and thinking "oh wow, I slept well". Great, so now you're training 15-20+ hours a week, how do you keep doing it?
With a very very good nutrition plan, that's how. I don't just mean, fruits, veggies, etc, I mean, you need a good nutrition plan for before, during and after. So, don't skip breakfast--really, even if "I can't eat breakfast before I run, I throw up." Well, find something that doesn't make you throw up. Maybe try greek yogurt instead of fruit loops? Do NOT start your workout hungry. You can be a little hungry, but if you're "really" hungry. Stop and eat.
If you have a workout that's longer than an hour, bring water with some calories in it, or eat something along the workout.
After, you workout for longer than an hour, you need to eat protein. Period. I prefer protein with a carb, but that's just me :)
What really gets me through these workouts and aids in my recovery? First Endurance Products. Why? Because when I was training for both my Ironmans, I thought I used proper nutrition, but I don't think anything I used was a good fit for me. I always had stomach issues and battled small injuries. I have a REALLY sensitive stomach and First Endurance makes products that I can use before, during and after workouts and quite honestly, they don't leave me running for the toilet like most of these other products. Additionally, last year was quite stressful for me with racing, but using first endurance, my body felt recovered and ready-to-go!
What do I recommend? My favorites:
EFS: this is a powder that you put in your water, my favorite is fruit punch, gives you calories for your workout and it's clear so you don't have those ridiculous stains on your shirt or around your mouth like kool-aid :)
Liquid Shot: this is a liquid that comes in a canister, carry it with you on runs or on your ride. I LOVE this stuff. Tastes delicious, and my favorite is that it comes in a pre-marked canister so you can see how much you're "shooting" as you're running, so you know how many calories you're taking in.
Ultragen: Where to begin? This is a powder that you can put in water or milk or mix in a shake post-workout. This stuff is addictive. I swear. I love the Cappuccino flavor and sometimes i'll workout even harder knowing I can have this after :) I have zero time to stretch these days. I walk in the door and I have to chase after a toddler. Dave will mix me up some Ultragen with skim milk and boom, around 300 protein filled calories and i'm ready to carry on through my day.
I love these products and I use them because they WORK. Far too many products out there are stuffed with "fillers" that you don't need and could be why I was left with many an upset stomach through most of my long-distance training.
So....as you're investing in triathlon, or any sport that requires some training, go the extra mile, do your homework and invest in a good nutrition plan!!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Progress!
Before I had Soren I could comfortably run in the mid 8:00's for quite a few miles, many of my long runs before Ironman Arizona were right around 8:20/8:30 pace.....it took me exactly four years to get to that point where I could run at that pace and feel comfortable. It was a lot.of.work. It took two years of track workouts, working with my coach Amanda and trying to work on my form. It was many many runs of running at different paces and learning what felt comfortable and what felt really, really hard. Running has never come easy to me, I was a soccer player and tennis player, so my running was always in short spurts...
When I got pregnant and I kept up running until I was 28 weeks, I knew that I would have my work cut out for me after Soren was born. It wasn't really a big deal, I had been slow before and I could be slow again, but I knew I could get back to where I was prior to his arrival.
It made me slightly discouraged though because many people would say "I'm SO much faster now that i've had kids, I got my speed back and then some in no time." I waited the requisite 6 weeks post delivery to attempt running. "Running" meant "running" a quarter of mile and walking the rest of the three miles. I think I was running a 12 minute mile. Not.Kidding.
18 months later, i'm finally starting to run around an 8:50/8:40 pace to start and by the end I can hold an 8:20 pace for about a mile or two. I hate blogs about "numbers"....I really do....but, you know, I think I make exceptions if people don't blog about "numbers" a lot.....then I don't mind the occasional "number dropping" :). Here's the thing, it's really really hard for me to run comfortably, it takes me about 30 minutes to warm up, I have a touch of exercised induced asthma, so no matter when I run, it's difficult for me to get air the first 30 minutes, then I settle in and I can go harder. It's been an adventure. One that I enjoy and one that I hate.....but I love triathlon because it's given me a challenge as an adult, and that I love. I love having something that is just "mine." Especially being a stay-at-home mom right now, it gives me something fun to look forward to (Racing, Trakkers team mates!!) and it's something that's my own!
My first race is March 20th, a half marathon.....my goal, is this weekend I want to run 9 at some point and then i'll run 10 the following weekend....right now i'm: spinning twice a week, i've swum once :) (Thank God something in this sport comes easy to me!!) and i'm running about 4 days a week, six miles at a time.....so a half marathon should be doable, I just need to get in a bit more mileage. I'm super curious to see how the race goes.
I'm going to start doing two workouts a day very soon, my cute husband bought me a special wheel just for my trainer, so I don't have to use my good Kestrel wheels on it anymore :)..I know, all those trainer rides for Ironman, yup, on regular wheels....no longer!! He even bought an extra cassette so I don't have to switch out the cassette every time (not that I know how :).....so, I figure I can run in the morning at the gym, come home, put Soren down and ride the trainer for a while.....
I'm learning to be patient with myself, last year I packed in quite a bit of racing, in terms of what I could juggle, a few half marathons a half Ironman and a full marathon. I learned a lot. Too much for me at the time and still is.......that being said, I threw my hat in for this year's Marine Corps Marathon. Bring it :)
When I got pregnant and I kept up running until I was 28 weeks, I knew that I would have my work cut out for me after Soren was born. It wasn't really a big deal, I had been slow before and I could be slow again, but I knew I could get back to where I was prior to his arrival.
It made me slightly discouraged though because many people would say "I'm SO much faster now that i've had kids, I got my speed back and then some in no time." I waited the requisite 6 weeks post delivery to attempt running. "Running" meant "running" a quarter of mile and walking the rest of the three miles. I think I was running a 12 minute mile. Not.Kidding.
18 months later, i'm finally starting to run around an 8:50/8:40 pace to start and by the end I can hold an 8:20 pace for about a mile or two. I hate blogs about "numbers"....I really do....but, you know, I think I make exceptions if people don't blog about "numbers" a lot.....then I don't mind the occasional "number dropping" :). Here's the thing, it's really really hard for me to run comfortably, it takes me about 30 minutes to warm up, I have a touch of exercised induced asthma, so no matter when I run, it's difficult for me to get air the first 30 minutes, then I settle in and I can go harder. It's been an adventure. One that I enjoy and one that I hate.....but I love triathlon because it's given me a challenge as an adult, and that I love. I love having something that is just "mine." Especially being a stay-at-home mom right now, it gives me something fun to look forward to (Racing, Trakkers team mates!!) and it's something that's my own!
My first race is March 20th, a half marathon.....my goal, is this weekend I want to run 9 at some point and then i'll run 10 the following weekend....right now i'm: spinning twice a week, i've swum once :) (Thank God something in this sport comes easy to me!!) and i'm running about 4 days a week, six miles at a time.....so a half marathon should be doable, I just need to get in a bit more mileage. I'm super curious to see how the race goes.
I'm going to start doing two workouts a day very soon, my cute husband bought me a special wheel just for my trainer, so I don't have to use my good Kestrel wheels on it anymore :)..I know, all those trainer rides for Ironman, yup, on regular wheels....no longer!! He even bought an extra cassette so I don't have to switch out the cassette every time (not that I know how :).....so, I figure I can run in the morning at the gym, come home, put Soren down and ride the trainer for a while.....
I'm learning to be patient with myself, last year I packed in quite a bit of racing, in terms of what I could juggle, a few half marathons a half Ironman and a full marathon. I learned a lot. Too much for me at the time and still is.......that being said, I threw my hat in for this year's Marine Corps Marathon. Bring it :)
Friday, February 4, 2011
Training derailed....
Thank you all for your thoughts on the cochlear implant! I'm pretty excited, i'll blog more about it when I have some more details---one thing I wanted to answer was that the "homework" i'll have refers to: after they turn the implant "on" which is about 4 weeks after the surgery, I have to sort of re-learn to hear--which probably means not wearing my hearing aid in my left ear, since the implant will be in my right ear (my ear that is worse off)....so, it'll involve a lot of patience and I think they give you tapes to listen to, i'm not quite sure just yet!
Ah, training, well, the last week has been a no-go as far as training, Soren had what I thought was a teething runny nose, which turned into a full-on cold, then a fever followed by several misses by doctors and finally we ended up with cold/wheezing and ear infection..poor guy. He's truly a good sport---we have to do breathing treatments for him for his wheezing and he finally got some antibiotics for his ear infection, so we are on the mend.
Just in time literally for us to fly to Colorado tomorrow. The month of February is ridiculous for Dave, just one of those really bad months in terms of hours, most days he leaves the house at 5:30 and gets home either just before Soren goes to bed or more than likely super late--and Dave LOVES putting Soren to bed, giving him a bath, reading....he gets *super* bummed if he misses it, so the deal is, he's supposed to text or let me know if he's able to make it home in time, if he's going to be a little late, I keep Soren up, otherwise, he's gotta go to bed, because quite frankly, i'm wiped by that time!
Anyway, so this month means quite a few missed bedtimes and Dave takes his oral boards for anesthesia in April (he passed the written boards in August)......so we figured Soren and I may have a more fun time heading to Denver for a few days to spend with my family and i'm going to SKI. So excited...can't wait! We'll miss Dave, but this'll give him a chance to get started on studying and my family can have some quality time with Soren!
Hoping to get back on the running wagon while i'm out in Colorado as well, unfortunately i'm just getting over an upper respiratory infection (at least that's what I think it was??).....so I have to wait for my coughs to subside a bit!
Inside his tunnel on a snow day!
Got snow?
Walk in the park!
Testing out the new snow suit....check out the color :) TRAKKERS green :)
Yeah, so sidewalks around here, are literally the width of a toddler....good luck with strollers or uncomfortable passes with people!
About done and ready to go in!!
Pic with Grandma and Grandpa--they came to visit and had a blast with Soren!!! They were super excited to have snow, since they live in Scottsdale!
Ah, training, well, the last week has been a no-go as far as training, Soren had what I thought was a teething runny nose, which turned into a full-on cold, then a fever followed by several misses by doctors and finally we ended up with cold/wheezing and ear infection..poor guy. He's truly a good sport---we have to do breathing treatments for him for his wheezing and he finally got some antibiotics for his ear infection, so we are on the mend.
Just in time literally for us to fly to Colorado tomorrow. The month of February is ridiculous for Dave, just one of those really bad months in terms of hours, most days he leaves the house at 5:30 and gets home either just before Soren goes to bed or more than likely super late--and Dave LOVES putting Soren to bed, giving him a bath, reading....he gets *super* bummed if he misses it, so the deal is, he's supposed to text or let me know if he's able to make it home in time, if he's going to be a little late, I keep Soren up, otherwise, he's gotta go to bed, because quite frankly, i'm wiped by that time!
Anyway, so this month means quite a few missed bedtimes and Dave takes his oral boards for anesthesia in April (he passed the written boards in August)......so we figured Soren and I may have a more fun time heading to Denver for a few days to spend with my family and i'm going to SKI. So excited...can't wait! We'll miss Dave, but this'll give him a chance to get started on studying and my family can have some quality time with Soren!
Hoping to get back on the running wagon while i'm out in Colorado as well, unfortunately i'm just getting over an upper respiratory infection (at least that's what I think it was??).....so I have to wait for my coughs to subside a bit!
Pic with Grandma and Grandpa--they came to visit and had a blast with Soren!!! They were super excited to have snow, since they live in Scottsdale!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Cochlear Implant Thoughts....
I have a lot of decisions to make these days, one of which has absolutely nothing to do with triathlon but everything to do with me being able to hear better. I'm contemplating (actually i've already decided) to go ahead and have a cochlear implant surgery. I won't go into too many details on what exactly it is, it would take a while :), but here is a link explaining the surgery: http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/ImplantsandProsthetics/CochlearImplants/ucm062823.htm
My older sister and my cousin both have cochlear implants and both have had tremendous success, so, why am I dragging my feet? Laziness, wondering if i'll be patient enough to do the "homework" required after the surgery, and wondering if it will really work for me (I'm doing it in my "bad" ear-they're both "bad" but my right ear is the worse of the two). My goal is to have the surgery while we're here in Boston because they have an amazing Eye/Ear clinic here and Dave randomly worked with a surgeon who performs these surgeries on both children and adults and he was able to receive some good feedback from the doctor about the MA Eye/Ear Infirmary. Anyway....so, i'm contemplating doing the surgery in March---I have a few things I need to look into as far as coverage etc. My reasons for doing the surgery: overall, just better quality of hearing, the ability to mountain bike, surf, scuba dive and other super active activities that i've never been able to do because of the risk of hitting my head (I have Mondini Syndrome which leaves me susceptible to more hearing loss if I hit my head, which i've done previously while swimming and skate boarding, both of which resulted in surgeries.). This is not to say i'm going to run out and start mountaing biking, but just the ABILITY to be able to do something without having to worry about my hearing loss increasing. The cochlear implant bypasses this type of issue.
Wanna know a really big reason though? I really really want to be able to listen to an iPod without having to wear those big old headphones. Right now, I can't listen to an iPod with my hearing aid because those buds don't fit in my ear with an aid and the other "foamy" headphones fall off when I run. So, there you have it, i'm living proof you CAN train for and complete a 140.6 triathlon without a speck of music. Painful, but i've done it. Twice.
And if you think I listen to music while riding the trainer, you're wrong, I sweat so much that I have to leave my hearing aid off, so I read the closed captioning on the t.v. while I ride my trainer. No big deal that one, really.....i'm ok with that, but I would give anything to be able to have a fun "play list" and wear my iPod....
Or, even just being able to wear a hands-free headset while driving. All these things sound superficial, and they totally are...absolutely. But, they're a "given" for most of the world and they're not for me, and it sounds like fun!
So, this week, i've made it my mission to not only try to grocery shop ahead of time so we don't fall prey to crappy food, but more importantly, get some research and information taken care of so I can be on my way to listening to some Radiohead while running. Ah, just kidding, that's on Dave's play list...i'll be aiming for some Red Hot Chili Peppers or Madonna :)
My older sister and my cousin both have cochlear implants and both have had tremendous success, so, why am I dragging my feet? Laziness, wondering if i'll be patient enough to do the "homework" required after the surgery, and wondering if it will really work for me (I'm doing it in my "bad" ear-they're both "bad" but my right ear is the worse of the two). My goal is to have the surgery while we're here in Boston because they have an amazing Eye/Ear clinic here and Dave randomly worked with a surgeon who performs these surgeries on both children and adults and he was able to receive some good feedback from the doctor about the MA Eye/Ear Infirmary. Anyway....so, i'm contemplating doing the surgery in March---I have a few things I need to look into as far as coverage etc. My reasons for doing the surgery: overall, just better quality of hearing, the ability to mountain bike, surf, scuba dive and other super active activities that i've never been able to do because of the risk of hitting my head (I have Mondini Syndrome which leaves me susceptible to more hearing loss if I hit my head, which i've done previously while swimming and skate boarding, both of which resulted in surgeries.). This is not to say i'm going to run out and start mountaing biking, but just the ABILITY to be able to do something without having to worry about my hearing loss increasing. The cochlear implant bypasses this type of issue.
Wanna know a really big reason though? I really really want to be able to listen to an iPod without having to wear those big old headphones. Right now, I can't listen to an iPod with my hearing aid because those buds don't fit in my ear with an aid and the other "foamy" headphones fall off when I run. So, there you have it, i'm living proof you CAN train for and complete a 140.6 triathlon without a speck of music. Painful, but i've done it. Twice.
And if you think I listen to music while riding the trainer, you're wrong, I sweat so much that I have to leave my hearing aid off, so I read the closed captioning on the t.v. while I ride my trainer. No big deal that one, really.....i'm ok with that, but I would give anything to be able to have a fun "play list" and wear my iPod....
Or, even just being able to wear a hands-free headset while driving. All these things sound superficial, and they totally are...absolutely. But, they're a "given" for most of the world and they're not for me, and it sounds like fun!
So, this week, i've made it my mission to not only try to grocery shop ahead of time so we don't fall prey to crappy food, but more importantly, get some research and information taken care of so I can be on my way to listening to some Radiohead while running. Ah, just kidding, that's on Dave's play list...i'll be aiming for some Red Hot Chili Peppers or Madonna :)
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Top 10 Things I've Learned Since Living in Boston
Soren this morning looking at the snow!
2. Flip up my windshield wipers so they don't freeze in the "down" position....little things you learn while living in cold weather without a garage.
3. Realizing that i'm really in the city when I can't take the grocery cart out to my car.....they don't allow it, so I leave my groceries and the store puts them on a conveyer belt and some dude in a garage down below puts them in my car for me.....never know if I need to tip, so I always do and they seem gracious.
4. Not all jackets are created equal. Enough said.
5. I've learned to carry up my perishable groceries and leave the others in the car to bring up later, or have Dave bring up....can't carry all of it up three flights with Soren who now insists on "walking" up the stairs...patience is a virtue, correct?
6. That no matter what people say, the Mexican food here just doesn't even come close and i've been polite and i've said "Ohhh, it was great"..when really, all I want is Mama Testa's or Sombrero from San Diego.
7. I don't mind having the Charles River to look at instead of the ocean....it was gorgeous the other night from the Science Museum, looking out at the river...peaceful!
8. I genuinely missed the cold and snow while living in San Diego.
9. I've loved getting to know new people and having little buddies for Soren that are so close by to our house!
10. I'm more adaptable to change than I thought, or that I give myself credit for...
Sunday, January 9, 2011
2010 Year in Review
Ok, so i'm a bit behind with this because I already posted my 2011 race schedule and I wanted to do a 2010 year in review with pictures...since it was quite a year for us!! I have a lot of pictures believe it or not, despite the fact that I rarely post pictures--I just went through a years worth of pictures and tried to capture a bit of Soren growing up and me with racing....just looking back I really can't believe all that happened in 2010, Soren growing up, my first Mother's Day, racing, moving....wow. As i've said before, I just feel very lucky and without further ado, here are some pictures!!
Apologies ahead of time, the formatting is way off on these and I can't figure out how to move the pictures so they're in order....some of these are out of order!!!
Carlsbad Half Marathon
Soren eating sweet potatoes for the first time
Soren's toes touching the Pacific for the first time.....in Coronado, CA
Soren's first Easter in Balboa Park
With our dog, Parma
Soren and Brownie our other dog read together..
One of my favorite pictures, my mom had a major back surgery in on 12/09....Soren and I flew out in January and again in March, this picture was from March...my mom could barely move, but wanted so badly to lay with him on the floor-so my dad and I lowered her to the floor so she could snuggle with him......
At the San Diego Zoo!
At the Boston Children's Museum during our house hunting trip to Boston in 6/10.
Rock N Roll Marathon, San Diego
San Diego International Triathlon...LOVING my Kestrel!!!
Ran my ass off in the SD International Tri, my face is more indicative of how I normally look while racing.....angry =0.
Mother's Day..poor Soren had a fever and we didn't know it.....until after brunch
So excited to be a part of Trakkers...Dave got me Green shades to match =0
On the run in Vineman 70.3
Pre-Vineman 70.3, way more relaxing than last time when I was running around counting shot flasks and water bottles......
Hmm, maybe not as relaxed, judging from my face....again, my Kestrel was so awesome on this course as well!
Holiday photo....2010..taken by my sister..
Halloween..2010....again, sick, but mustered a smile for his giraffe costume
That's all for now, gotta go catch Soren from doing possibly what is shown in the above picture =0
Apologies ahead of time, the formatting is way off on these and I can't figure out how to move the pictures so they're in order....some of these are out of order!!!
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| Soren on Puget Sound on Whidbey Island, part of our moving trip cross country! |
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
2011 race schedule
Well, low and behold when you move to a new area, you find yourself scrambling to put together a race schedule. I always took for granted my schedule when living in San Diego,I knew all the races and I knew how my schedule would come together most likely.
In 2011, I don't have that luxury..some of the triathlons I looked up are too far away in some random place in Massachusetts, and remember, I have Soren and virtually no one other than Dave to watch him and because Dave is in a fellowship he has certain months where he can't request vacation, June being one of them..so my mom is hopefully going to fly out and attend Quassy with me so I can have her watch Soren....I haven't asked her yet, but hopefully she'll be free =0
Here is what I could piece together at first glance. I'm sure i'll add in some 5/10k's here and there, but for now, this is what I got:
May 29th-Boston Run To Remember Half Marathon
June 4th-Rev3 Quassy Olympic Distance
July 18th-Old Colony YMCA Olympic Distance
July 23rd-Nantucket Sprint Distance
October 8th-Rev3 South Carolina, Olympic Distance
I may throw in a race in August, would love to do Timberman but that may be too close to our move....so i'm not sure what races i'll do in August just yet!
We are scheduled to move again at the beginning of September, so racing is out for that month because if there is anything I learned from last time it's not to race during a major move (we also have to get back out West to pick up our dogs and drive them back East since they're not with us right now!)
Where are we moving to and why? Dave's fellowship here at Boston Children's is only for the year, and then we go to what is hopefully our LAST post in the Navy.... Portsmouth, VA.....or as I like to affectionately call it "Vah Beach".....we knew returning to San Diego was a long shot, and it's not like we had much choice, the Navy said "Portsmouth" and that's where were headed......it's for four years and then we can hopefully have the freedom to make our own decisions!!
If you're new to this blog, i'm originally from Fairfax, VA, went to JMU and Dave did his internship in Portsmouth, so we're familiar with the area and we actually have some friends there and one of my very awesome cousins lives in Richmond so initially we were bummed with the move, but we're looking forward to it!
So! That's the schedule for now.....getting excited to race!! Woot Woot!!
In 2011, I don't have that luxury..some of the triathlons I looked up are too far away in some random place in Massachusetts, and remember, I have Soren and virtually no one other than Dave to watch him and because Dave is in a fellowship he has certain months where he can't request vacation, June being one of them..so my mom is hopefully going to fly out and attend Quassy with me so I can have her watch Soren....I haven't asked her yet, but hopefully she'll be free =0
Here is what I could piece together at first glance. I'm sure i'll add in some 5/10k's here and there, but for now, this is what I got:
May 29th-Boston Run To Remember Half Marathon
June 4th-Rev3 Quassy Olympic Distance
July 18th-Old Colony YMCA Olympic Distance
July 23rd-Nantucket Sprint Distance
October 8th-Rev3 South Carolina, Olympic Distance
I may throw in a race in August, would love to do Timberman but that may be too close to our move....so i'm not sure what races i'll do in August just yet!
We are scheduled to move again at the beginning of September, so racing is out for that month because if there is anything I learned from last time it's not to race during a major move (we also have to get back out West to pick up our dogs and drive them back East since they're not with us right now!)
Where are we moving to and why? Dave's fellowship here at Boston Children's is only for the year, and then we go to what is hopefully our LAST post in the Navy.... Portsmouth, VA.....or as I like to affectionately call it "Vah Beach".....we knew returning to San Diego was a long shot, and it's not like we had much choice, the Navy said "Portsmouth" and that's where were headed......it's for four years and then we can hopefully have the freedom to make our own decisions!!
If you're new to this blog, i'm originally from Fairfax, VA, went to JMU and Dave did his internship in Portsmouth, so we're familiar with the area and we actually have some friends there and one of my very awesome cousins lives in Richmond so initially we were bummed with the move, but we're looking forward to it!
So! That's the schedule for now.....getting excited to race!! Woot Woot!!
Friday, December 24, 2010
2010....a year to be grateful for!
2010 a year of growth for me, figuring out how to balance being a mom with moving across the country, meeting new people, settling in and trying to find some time for myself with training and racing. Overall I give myself an A.....because even when I didn't feel successful at time for myself or being so agreeable with moving, I always felt like I had my "A-game" for Soren....and really, as long as i'm there for him, I get an A!
Actually though, my year was pretty awesome in a lot of ways, for racing....it was a challenge--my first race back was the Carlsbad Half Marathon in January...Soren was barely five months old..looking back, I was nuts--all the times I ran totally sleep deprived and hungry, or vice versa =0.....but, I wanted to, because being a mom to Soren is such a 110% full time job, I needed to find "me" in all of that, Soren's needs were being met, but I needed to meet some "individual-me" needs as well. Does that make any sense? Anyway, so the Carlsbad Half Marathon came, then I did the St. Patricks' Day 10k, and then the Carlsbad 5000, and then the Rock N Roll Marathon, San Diego International Triathlon and then wrapped up the year with Vineman 70.3. Wow. I look back now and i'm so proud of myself....but I also realized I think I put a lot on myself to complete all my workouts or I committed myself to races that I may not have realistically had time to train for (given Soren's schedule at the time of two naps a day, and Dave's 3rd year residency hours)......it was hard. But, I did it....
Can't tell you how many times I was pulled out of the pool because Soren was upset at the childcare center, or I would run even faster because it was time to go home for a feeding (I nursed up until two weeks shy of his first birthday), or, I think I had been up a few times in the middle of the night, but I still got out there. My rationale: even if I started a workout, or I got *something* in, it was a success....I fit in my "me" time around Soren and that was the way I wanted it and he was/is my priority...but, I wanted time for myself as well!
And this year was just about being grateful to race and having the opportunity to say "hey, i'm healthy enough to race and yeah, I have a little guy, but i'm going to make this work because it's important to me." It didn't matter how fast I went or what place I finished in, I just wanted ....to race. Sure, a little part of me was "oh man" when I saw I finished 40 minutes slower at Vineman 70.3 than the last time I raced, but you know, it was an absolutely gorgeous weekend, I had a BLAST racing the course and hanging out with Dave and Soren, it was a great family vacation for us!
2011.....i'm taking it a bit easier.....olympic distance races and if my running continues to go well, maybe a super late season marathon...we'll see.....I think this will be a good way to keep myself sane and still race!!!
Happy Holiday's from our family to yours......take time to appreciate the moments with your family and friends.....
Actually though, my year was pretty awesome in a lot of ways, for racing....it was a challenge--my first race back was the Carlsbad Half Marathon in January...Soren was barely five months old..looking back, I was nuts--all the times I ran totally sleep deprived and hungry, or vice versa =0.....but, I wanted to, because being a mom to Soren is such a 110% full time job, I needed to find "me" in all of that, Soren's needs were being met, but I needed to meet some "individual-me" needs as well. Does that make any sense? Anyway, so the Carlsbad Half Marathon came, then I did the St. Patricks' Day 10k, and then the Carlsbad 5000, and then the Rock N Roll Marathon, San Diego International Triathlon and then wrapped up the year with Vineman 70.3. Wow. I look back now and i'm so proud of myself....but I also realized I think I put a lot on myself to complete all my workouts or I committed myself to races that I may not have realistically had time to train for (given Soren's schedule at the time of two naps a day, and Dave's 3rd year residency hours)......it was hard. But, I did it....
Can't tell you how many times I was pulled out of the pool because Soren was upset at the childcare center, or I would run even faster because it was time to go home for a feeding (I nursed up until two weeks shy of his first birthday), or, I think I had been up a few times in the middle of the night, but I still got out there. My rationale: even if I started a workout, or I got *something* in, it was a success....I fit in my "me" time around Soren and that was the way I wanted it and he was/is my priority...but, I wanted time for myself as well!
And this year was just about being grateful to race and having the opportunity to say "hey, i'm healthy enough to race and yeah, I have a little guy, but i'm going to make this work because it's important to me." It didn't matter how fast I went or what place I finished in, I just wanted ....to race. Sure, a little part of me was "oh man" when I saw I finished 40 minutes slower at Vineman 70.3 than the last time I raced, but you know, it was an absolutely gorgeous weekend, I had a BLAST racing the course and hanging out with Dave and Soren, it was a great family vacation for us!
2011.....i'm taking it a bit easier.....olympic distance races and if my running continues to go well, maybe a super late season marathon...we'll see.....I think this will be a good way to keep myself sane and still race!!!
Happy Holiday's from our family to yours......take time to appreciate the moments with your family and friends.....
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Drum Roll: RACE REPORT!
Yeah, I know, I have a race report....and it's kind of a good one because I ran the 5k out in Colorado, so it was at altitude and let's face it, my running has been somewhat consistent, but altitude, hmmm....that would be interesting. I actually didn't think it would be interesting at all, I was thinking "whatever, altitude, i'll just go as hard as I can anyway..".
So, the night before, the high for the morning was going to be around 12 or so degrees.....but I kept reminding myself that we were higher up and it as long as it wasn't windy, i'd be fine. I asked both my sisters, and my new brother-in-law Ewam if they wanted to run and of course Dave.....I got solid "No's" up and down the board..for various reasons, mostly injury-related....and it was just flat out too cold for my sister Trinette..fair enough. But, in the midst of my family there is ALWAYS ONE person I can count on to get out there provided he isn't injured himself...my brother--in-law Jeff! I've blogged about him before he ran for Colorado State and he's just a rabbit...very fast and even with the "I haven't really run in a long time" he still knocks out miles somewhere in the 7:00's..not too shabby for a busy dad who just got a promotion and barely has time for himself. He was more than eager to drive over to the Anthem development and run the 5k with me! When I lived with my sister while Dave was deployed, Jeff and I also "crashed" a 5k out in Longmont, Colorado that was already full. Whatever, we didn't need bibs and I wasn't planning on taking in any water from aid stations, so we bandited the course and off we went......this time we actually paid the fee and got some awesome shwag as well!
It.was.cold.12 degrees is very cold. However, the sun was shining bright and no wind. Perfect. I had on multiple ridiculous layers and at the last second decided to leave off my sister's running jacket..smart idea as by the end I was carrying my light gloves anyway!
We lined up and I just thought, well, go for it and see how far you can go full force. Hmm, not very far, I started out fine and then I think, literally at .75 miles in, I was like "ok WHERE is the ONE mile marker". Jeff passed me and goes "Hey, Ironwoman".....I laughed and I was thinking "man, it's been a long time since Ironman and it'll be an even longer time before another one of that distance," but..it made me feel speedy =0.
Running, thinking: WHERE THE F is the air here? ? HELLO AIR. AIR PLEASE. Just couldn't breathe all that well. I think somewhere a ten-year old and his dad passed me. Crushing. I didn't even think to use my inhaler.....I just didn't....could've really used it. So, I just decided to push and I couldn't get my legs to turn over all that fast, but I just did what I could. Thankfully the last mile was downhill..yayyyyy! The altitude is not to be messed with----it definitely affects one's ability to move quickly when you're not used to it. I actually started to feel a bit nauseous....yeah, nauseous in a 5k not even due to "speed".
I rounded the corner and saw the finish. AWESOME! I felt like I was going to throw up, but ran across "happily" anyway!! Jeff came over quickly and I was completely out of breath but happy to have run! Post-race coughing and lung adjustment ensued and was quickly quelled by the burrito samples they were giving out. YUM!
We had to wait a few days for our results, and I wasn't wearing a watch, I had literally no idea how I did....but, of course, dying to know!!
I was actually thrilled.... results: 25:53/8:19 pace and 14 out of 99 for my age group..not too shabby.....given altitude, cold and really no speed training just regular running! Maybe someday that will translate into a 26.2 miler with a Boston qualification...a girl can dream can't she??
So, the night before, the high for the morning was going to be around 12 or so degrees.....but I kept reminding myself that we were higher up and it as long as it wasn't windy, i'd be fine. I asked both my sisters, and my new brother-in-law Ewam if they wanted to run and of course Dave.....I got solid "No's" up and down the board..for various reasons, mostly injury-related....and it was just flat out too cold for my sister Trinette..fair enough. But, in the midst of my family there is ALWAYS ONE person I can count on to get out there provided he isn't injured himself...my brother--in-law Jeff! I've blogged about him before he ran for Colorado State and he's just a rabbit...very fast and even with the "I haven't really run in a long time" he still knocks out miles somewhere in the 7:00's..not too shabby for a busy dad who just got a promotion and barely has time for himself. He was more than eager to drive over to the Anthem development and run the 5k with me! When I lived with my sister while Dave was deployed, Jeff and I also "crashed" a 5k out in Longmont, Colorado that was already full. Whatever, we didn't need bibs and I wasn't planning on taking in any water from aid stations, so we bandited the course and off we went......this time we actually paid the fee and got some awesome shwag as well!
It.was.cold.12 degrees is very cold. However, the sun was shining bright and no wind. Perfect. I had on multiple ridiculous layers and at the last second decided to leave off my sister's running jacket..smart idea as by the end I was carrying my light gloves anyway!
We lined up and I just thought, well, go for it and see how far you can go full force. Hmm, not very far, I started out fine and then I think, literally at .75 miles in, I was like "ok WHERE is the ONE mile marker". Jeff passed me and goes "Hey, Ironwoman".....I laughed and I was thinking "man, it's been a long time since Ironman and it'll be an even longer time before another one of that distance," but..it made me feel speedy =0.
Running, thinking: WHERE THE F is the air here? ? HELLO AIR. AIR PLEASE. Just couldn't breathe all that well. I think somewhere a ten-year old and his dad passed me. Crushing. I didn't even think to use my inhaler.....I just didn't....could've really used it. So, I just decided to push and I couldn't get my legs to turn over all that fast, but I just did what I could. Thankfully the last mile was downhill..yayyyyy! The altitude is not to be messed with----it definitely affects one's ability to move quickly when you're not used to it. I actually started to feel a bit nauseous....yeah, nauseous in a 5k not even due to "speed".
I rounded the corner and saw the finish. AWESOME! I felt like I was going to throw up, but ran across "happily" anyway!! Jeff came over quickly and I was completely out of breath but happy to have run! Post-race coughing and lung adjustment ensued and was quickly quelled by the burrito samples they were giving out. YUM!
We had to wait a few days for our results, and I wasn't wearing a watch, I had literally no idea how I did....but, of course, dying to know!!
I was actually thrilled.... results: 25:53/8:19 pace and 14 out of 99 for my age group..not too shabby.....given altitude, cold and really no speed training just regular running! Maybe someday that will translate into a 26.2 miler with a Boston qualification...a girl can dream can't she??
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