Bridgeland Tri Race Report (finally!)

Sorry, I’ve been a loser and have not posted in over a month! What can I say, except that life happens. Sometimes trying to juggle a busy job, hubby, kids, household stuff and training gets crazier than I really like. It’s times like that when I question my sanity and my ability of doing of these things well. When things get crazy, I don't always feel like blogging for whatever reason...

And now for the fun stuff – the Bridgeland Tri race report!

The hubby and I decided we’d leave the house a little before 5 am, since it takes at least 40 minutes to get to the race location. Typically, I wouldn’t leave quite so early, but since this was the hubby’s 1st tri, I decided to do whatever I could to make the morning as stress-free as possible for him. We arrived and parked with no problem and made our way over to transition. Later, I heard that traffic had gotten really backed up which may or may not have contributed to the race starting about 10 minutes late, so I was really glad we decided to arrive early.

Here we are hanging out in transition

Once we both set up our spots in transition, we chatted with a couple of people we knew and headed over to the swim start. It was way early, but we both wanted to get in the water for a short practice swim. The swim start is about a ¼ mile from transition and the swim is point to point, so you end up right at the transition area. About the time we were about to go into the water, a race official told us that there would be no practice swimming. We were bummed, especially since we saw people in the water already. I ran into tri pal, Merry, and she walked over to the side and waded in. While I was standing there trying to decide if I wanted to be a rebel with her, the race official walked away and several people started to enter the water. We said, “Screw it!”, and joined the other swimmers. Such rebels we are!

This is the lake where we swam...it looks harmless. right?

Next, it was time to stand in the porta potty line. The Hubby was in one of the earlier waves, but my wave didn’t start until 45 minutes after the 1st wave, so I thought that I better take care of business. J After that, I ran into some of my peeps – Jennifer (my weekend biking friend), Kay (my Katy FLATland friend) and a few others. Kay and I were in the same wave and before we knew it, someone was telling us to line up. We were so busy chatting it up with people, that we didn’t even realize that it was almost our turn!

The Swim. I am super pleased to say that this is the 1st time I didn’t freak out during the swim. I think it’s safe to say that I have finally overcome my open water swimming issues. FINALLY. I took off and despite being kicked and pushed and me kicking and pushing others, I just swam! Can I get a WHOOT? About 250 m into the swim, I heard someone saying, “help, help” to my right. After a moment, I realize that I know that voice! It was one of my running peeps and she was having a rough swim. I noticed a kayak to my left, so I shouted “Kayak!!!!” as loud as I could. I asked my peep if she was okay, to which she replied “NO!”. Once I saw that the kayak was almost to her, I headed off on my swim again. Again, I was calm. No freakouts! Before I knew it, I was turning to head to the shore. I couldn’t believe it – I was almost done! This was not a fast swim, but it was my most comfortable swim during a race ever. I loved it!

The bike. Next, I ran to my bike, which was conveniently close to the swim exit, but not so convenient to the run out. I thought I was hurrying, but my T1 time doesn’t reflect that at all, lol. I headed out on the bike, mounted and off I went. The bike was basically an out and back, ride past the start/finish, and then out and back the other direction. The 1st out had a bit of a wind, but not too bad. The way back was awesome – there was a bit of a tailwind and my average pace was consistently around 20 – 21 mph. For me this is great! I was playing leap frog with a couple of women most of the time, and we were passing lots of people. Of course, I got passed as well, but everyone who passed me had a pretty cool looking tri bike and looked very serious about what they were doing. After I passed the bike in/out, I did something pretty dumb – I dropped my water bottle as I was trying to put it back in the holder, doh! And, it was my favorite pink, insulated bottle from Tri-Girl, Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr! Finally, it was time to turn and head back to transition. It was windier at this point, but I only had about 2 more miles, so I tried to stay strong.

Back in transition. I think I did pretty well in T2, but for some reason the timing chip didn’t register. I was pretty winded heading into my run. I looked down at my Garmin and saw that I had started out at a 9:02 pace…yeah, better slow down cause I don’t run that fast! And slow down I did. I think I wasn’t exactly in the best frame of mind for running. The heat was making me grumpy. I walked through the 1st water stop, then walked again on the 2nd one. Then I walked again sometime before I hit the 3 mile marker. Seriously? I know I didn’t need those walk breaks…in retrospect I know I was just being a wuss. I think that extra half mile (since most races end with a 5k) was playing with me mentally. But finally I was rounding the corner and could see the finish, so I tried to pick up the pace a bit and sprint it in.

My finish time –
I knew I wouldn’t have the same run pace as CB&I after being out for so long, so my goal was to finish in under 1:40. I beat that, so I am pleased, but like so many of us who do this, I know there are areas that I could have done better (i.e. the run!). But, I swam the 500 1 minute faster than CB&I and I had my best bike pace ever! So yes, I am very happy about that!
And, I am super proud of the hubby. He did awesome!

Here we are after the race with our awesome bling!

Bridgeland also had an amazing post race party with plenty of food and beer. They even had troughs full of ice cold water to sit in and ease the achy muscles. And the medal? A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!

Cool medal, huh???

I highly recommend this race and any other races from OnUrLeft productions. They are well organized and 1st class all the way!

More updates on what's been happening for the past month are coming soon! (I promise!)

It's Just STUPID HOT!

Note...I am borrowing the phrase "stupid hot" from Susan. Really, there's just no other way to describe what most of the country is experiencing right now!

Monday, August 1 - Rest day
I started to type July and then stopped...holy crap it's already August! Monday was a rest day. And I'll be honest, my legs were pretty sore from the 11-miler the day before - the left quad was feeling tight, the right shin was feeling sore...ugh, and that was only 11 miles. The fun is just starting! :-)

Tuesday, August 2 - Run & Abs
Normally, Tuesday would be my speedwork day, but my legs were still a bit achey and I have a race this weekend, so I decided to just run 3-miles fairly easy. And, for whatever reason I just didn't feeling like running in the dark at stupid-thirty, so I opted to use the indoor track at work during my lunch break.

The track is on the 8th floor of a building in downtown Houston. Yes, the loops are mind numbing, but it's in the a/c and at least I get to look at buildings and the action on the street below. And, this is one of the only times I actually listen to my ipod when I run (well, here and on the dreadmill). It's nice to have options.

Once the kiddos were in bed, I did Ab Ripper X for a core workout. I have done this workout so often, that I can do the entire workout without watching the P90X dvd. So, I did the entire workout while watching The Wonder Years, lol. I forgot how cute that show was.

Wednesday, August 3 - Run and Swim
Instead of pushing my snooze button too many times, I actually forgot to set my alarm clock. Doh! Actually, I did set an alarm, but it wasn't mine...it was the Hubby's alarm (we have a clock with dual alarms). Fortunately, I have an internal alarm clock and it woke me up at 4:18 am. Double doh! I knew I wouldn't quite have time for 5 miles, but I decided I'd run as far as I could in the time that I had to work with.

Before I headed out for my run, I let the dog out so he could take care of business. Ugh, I could feel that wave of warm, moist air the minute I opened the back door - YUCK! When I set out on my run, I was trying not to complain, but damn! It was a sauna. I struggled managed through my miles - 4.89...yes, I should have run that last .11, but I was now late getting into the shower and I was already back at my house. It probably didn't help that I stopped for a minute or two to talk to my "friend". He didn't get into Houston for the 1/2 marathon for the 2nd year in a row and was majorly bummed. Prior to the lotto, he had run the marathon once and the 1/2 marathon 6x. So instead, he is doing The Woodlands 1/2 Marathon in March and maybe the USA Fit 1/2. It's good to have a "friend" out there running at stupid-thirty. And, when I made it back home, I learned from the news that it was 82 degrees outside with a "feels like" of 90. At 4:30 am! Anyway, I have got to get better about getting out the door in the mornings in a timely manner. I know as the runs get longer, I will eventually need to split up the mileage, but it does help to get a large chunk of the mileage out of the way early!

After work, I headed to the gym for my swim. The kids have swim lessons on Wednesday nights and I absolutely hate to miss that, but by the time I leave work, take the bus to the Park & Ride and drive the 20 minute drive to swim class, class would almost be over. So...I've deemed this my swim day - I can get in a shorter swim, then make it home a few minutes before the Hubby and kids get there which gives me just enough time to get something going for dinner. My swim - 45 minutes, 1,600 yds.

Tomorrow, I am going to try to set aside some time for a short bike/run brick. I just bought a new pair of tri shorts, so I want to try them out before Sunday's race....nothing new on race day, right?

Speaking of the heat...which do you prefer for running/training - the hot, humid summers, or the icy cold winters?

Weekend Re-Cap

Saturday, July 30 – Open Water Swim
The hubby and I went to the triathlon clinic held by Onurmark on Saturday. The clinic would not only give us an opportunity to get some good tips about each aspect of the sport, but it would also give us an opportunity to swim the actual race course for the upcoming Bridgeland Triathlon.

The clinic was awesome. I think it gave the Hubby some great first-timer information and it was a good for me to hear all the things I’d heard before, but may have forgotten. Once we signed in, we headed over to the swim start and got some great open water swim tips from local swim guru, TJ Fry. The crowd was mostly first-timers and TJ did a great job of getting a laugh here and there during the clinic, which I think helped get some of the nervousness out. Finally, it was time to swim.

This is where we swam and will swim again at our tri on Sat. Doesn't look too bad, does it?

The the race coordinators asked people to line up and start in waves, which was excellent practice for the real deal. I could tell the hubby was nervous, but after watching the 1st few waves go, he lined up and made his way into the water. I definitely know how he was feeling…even now I get the OWS jitters. But this time I was actually feeling really calm about everything. I was just ready to swim. And for once, I had one of my best open water swims ever!

FINALLY!

I forgot to start my watch, so I have no idea of my time…it wasn’t really about that. In fact, my swim felt pretty slow. What was awesome is that I didn’t have any of my typical “freakout”. AT ALL. NONE! I just swam and kept going. And it was almost all freestyle! I did revert back to my side-stroke when I was trying to sight, but it was one stroke and then right back to freestyle. I did get kicked and bumped. A lot. But, I only worried about what I was doing, blocked out everyone else and just kept swimming! For those of you who remember this post, you know that this is a HUGE milestone for me.

While I don’t want to get too happy about this until I’ve done the same thing at a race, I actually feel like I’ve finally gotten over the hump. I can finally swim (not gasp and panic) in open water!
I wish I could say the same thing for the Hubby. What he experienced was a typical newbie thing. He struggled a bit – it sounds like he had a tough time with the breathing (which has always been my problem). Again, I know exactly how he was feeling, because until this swim I was always getting that ows “freakout” – you know, where you just can’t seem to catch your breath and everything you practice in the pool goes completely out the window! But he finished! I was so proud when I saw him coming to shore…he did it!

I was hoping to get in one more swim on the course, but I think the clinic started a little late and by the time we walked around to the start again, the course was closed. Bummer. The woman coordinating the swim did let a couple of us swim out to the 1st buoy and back, which was nice.

Next we headed over to the transition part of the clinic. Again, great information and great tips from On Your Mark. The hubby and I decided that the clinic as definitely worth the $20 we paid and the drive across town! I think we’re pretty much ready for next weekend’s race…well, as ready as we’re gonna be!

Sunday, July 31 – Long run, 11 miles
I actually considered running my long run on Saturday evening, just to get it over with. But, it was dang hot at 7:30 pm and I knew it would be at least 10 degrees cooler in the morning.

Yummy goodness in every box!

For the 1st time, I ate a Pop Tart before my run. Any excuse to eat a sugary sweet Pop Tart is fine with me - I love me some Pop Tarts, but don't eat them because, let's face it, they're crap. And maybe that Pop Tart helped, because I felt fantastic for a majority of my run. My original plan was to head back to “base” (i.e. my house) every 4 - 5 miles where I could re-fill my hand held bottle, grab a Gu or Endurolytes, etc. But, I had some Bee Stinger Chews with me and by mile 5, I still had some Gatorade left in my bottle so I kept going. I didn’t make it back to “base” until mile 7.5, which is when I re-filled, Gu-ed and took 2 more Endurolytes. At that time, my pace was an unimpressive 11:35. But, I swore I would just run what felt comfortable and not stress about those 11’s. At this point, I still felt great and even comptenplated running 12 instead of 11.

I headed back out for my final few miles. The run still felt great, but around mile 10, I just wanted to be done. (Did I really consider doing 12 earlier?) I made it back to my house and looked at my watch...I still had another .20 to do! Ugh, I hate it when that happens...I just wanted to go inside my house and shower! But, I kept going and finally my watch beeped - 11 miles done @ 11:27 pace. Whoot, I'm back in the double digits! And, I was right - the temps were cooler. Only 75 degrees, versus the normal 82.

After showering and having breakfast with the family (thanks to my sweet Hubby), the kiddos and I hung out while the Hubby went out for his 2 1/2 hour bike ride. What do you do when it's going to "feel like" 102 degrees and your kids are bored silly? You build and indoor tent, of course!

I have a feeling we well be getting out our old sheets again this summer. As much as I love to be outdoors and take the kids to the playground, it's just too fricking hot to be out there.

Do you use pop tarts before your long runs or something else? What do you do to beat the heat on your runs? With your kiddos?

Stupid-thirty, take 2

Wednesday, July 27 – Run & Strength Training

I woke up at stupid thirty again to run 5 miles. However, I pushed the snooze button 2x more than I should have, so my run had to be cut to 4 miles. Well, 4.23 miles. Do you think I’m stressing about the pesky .77 that I didn’t run. Well, yes I am actually, because I am type A….but not enough to go out and run that .77 later! And, I am happy to report that I did not run into any potheads, cows or other strange things. I did see a large raccoon crossing the street, but that’s it. And, my “friend” was out there this morning, along with another runner…whoohoo, it’s great to know that I am not alone in this stupid-thirty endeavor.

My pace? We’ll it was slightly under 11 minute/mile. As I was running, I came to the conclusion that as long as it’s stupid-hot at stupid-thirty, I would be okay seeing miles in the 11-minute range. I am not going to freak out about it. In previous summers, I often saw miles in the 12-minute range, so anything 11:30 or faster will do. So there, I said it and I am not going to stress over it.

Thursday, July 28 – Spin and Swim

No stupid-thirty this morning! I prepped 2 bags on Wednesday night – one for the pool after work and one to take to work for lunchtime spin class. Naturally, it wasn’t until after I dragged the huge workout bag on the bus that I checked my Outlook calendar and noticed that I had back to back meetings pretty much all day…including during lunch. I forgot about that one, doh! So, no spin class for the 2nd week in a row. I’ve got to start planning better and going to one earlier in the week…it’s just that the Thursday class tends to be a little more challenging and that’s exactly what I need.

After work, I did manage to fit in a swim. It was only 1,200 meters and I really needed to do more, but it’s important to me that I make it home in time to help the Hubby put the kids to bed. So 1,200 it was. I had planned to also swim on Wednesday, but the schedule just didn’t allow for it. I am going to have to figure out how to get more swims in, especially if I want to meet one of the goals I’ve set for next year!

So that’s it…Friday is my scheduled rest day, but my weekend workouts are all messed up and I might end up working out on Friday afterall. The hubs and I have an open water swim clinic on Saturday morning, so that means I’ll have to do my long run on Sunday and skip my longer bike ride. Oh, and we do get to have a “date night” on Friday, because the kiddos are staying with my parents..woohoo! Probably dinner and movie…should we see Captain America or Cowboys and Aliens???

So, what’s on your agenda for the weekend? Workouts? Fun stuff?

Pot smokers and Stupid-Thirty

In my circle of running peeps we often use the term “dark-thirty” when referring to our pre-dawn group runs. Usually, those runs begin at 5:30 or 6:00 am. With my training/work/commute schedule, I am forced to get out the door anytime between 4:00 am and 4:45 am in order to be back home by 5:15 am to get myself and the kids ready for the day. From this point forward, I will now refer to this time as “stupid-thirty”.

Why?

Because it’s just effing stupid to workout at this time. Really.

And yes, that really is my alarm clock!

But yet I continue to do it. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, and all that malarkey....it's either stupid-thirty, do mind-numbing loops around the indoor track during lunch or treadmill during lunch or after work. (And let me tell you, I got a lot of crap about attempting speedwork on the dreadmill a few years ago.) All of the options can work, but for me it's just easier to get out there 1st thing in the morning, because crap happens throughout the day that sometimes makes it hard to get in a quality workout later.

Tuesday, July 26 – Run (speedwork) and Ab Ripper X
As always with me, the word “speed” is relative. It really means, “still slow, but not as friggin slow as usual”. I don’t have access to a lighted track in the early morning and typically can’t make it to the track until after dark in the evenings, so I usually do my speed work around the neighborhood with my Garmin set to beep at whatever intervals I want to do. This time around I decided on 400s, mainly because it’s been forever since I’ve done any type of speedwork. 400s seemed obtainable. I also decided that rather than venture throughout the entire neighborhood, I would stay in our little block. This would allow me to stop and grab water as I passed our house and to not have to carry my hand held bottle.

Overall, I think the workout went well. I hit my goal pace during my speed intervals, but the only problem is that I was so freaking winded that I felt inclined to walk a bit after each one, instead of just slowing down the pace to a slow jog. The result was pretty much the same overall pace that I’ve had for my regular runs.

Oh, and on my second loop around the block, I noticed that there was now a car parked along the curb in front of a house. Hmmmm, that wasn't there the 1st time I ran by....and, there were two teenage guys sitting in the car, Judging by the looks on their faces, I definitely startled them. And I smelled a little sumfin’ funny as I ran by…seriously dooooods, it’s 4:30 am for pete’s sake! I guess anytime is a good time to get your party on, lol! It kinda reminded me of these dudes:

After the kiddos went to bed, I did the ol’ Ab Ripper X. All part of my master plan to get a ripped core.

Do you do speedwork? Do you do it on a track, on the dreadmill? What's your favorite interval?

The long lost brick...

It's been awhile since my last brick workout. As in before the CB&I tri. What I've decided to do between now and Bridgeland is to cut way back on my weekend bike mileage and add a run after my ride. I figure I really don't need to do 50+ miles every weekend between now and my next tri. After all, the bike at Bridgeland is less than 14 miles. What I need to do is to get my legs used to the bike to run transition.

With this in mind, I set out for a brick on Sunday morning. I decided on 1 hour on the bike, followed by a 2-mile run. My legs were feeling that 9-miler from the day before, but after a few miles on the bike, everything loosened up. My average bike pace was 16.4 mph...not great, but not bad. I ended up doing a little more than a hour, because I misjudged the distance and did a little more than 18 miles. Once I made it back home, I ran my bike up the driveway and transitioned to run gear. Here's where I messed up - I usually wear my Garmin on the bike and turn it on about 10 minutes before starting my run. Yep, I forgot to turn on the Garmin and it took FOREVER to find the satellites! In fact, I got tired of waiting and just started running. It logged 1.92 of my 2 miles at a 9:45 pace. I am trying really, really hard not to compare this run pace with my pre-CB&I run pace...I am starting over after a long running hiatus and my times are going to reflect that for awhile. Ugh!

I've also decided that I can't bike on Saturday with my biking peeps anymore. Saturdays need to be my long run days. Why? Because if I bike for 2 - 3 hours on Saturdays, it's kinda hard to get in a good quality long run on Sundays. Let's face it, I've missed a lot of time running over the past couple of months. NYC is only 14 weeks away. I need to focus on running. Yes, I love to ride my bike...so I will ride 20-30 miles each Sunday as time permits. And yes, I will increase my ride distance after NYC. But for now at least, it's gonna be all about the run.

Bridgeland is more than likely going to be my last tri of the season. It's kind of sad, but again, it's time to focus on the run. And, I have some exciting goals for after NYC which I reveal later. :-)

"Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right."

- Henry Ford

Love the quote.

Yesterday, I left the house at my usual time (6:30 am), and I didn't make it back home until after 10 pm. Lots of craziness going on in all aspects of my life at the moment. It makes me tired and it makes me grumpy. Last night when I made it home, I was ready to tell the Hubby that I'd decided I didn't want to run NYC. I was going to check our rental contract for the apartment we'd rented and see how much of our deposit we could get back. I was done.

Why? Well, after missing 7 weeks of running, then missing another week due to strep, I was concerned that I had missed too much training. Before the stupid toe incident, I was ready to go into the training season a stronger runner than I'd ever been. Instead, I was finishing 6 miles at an 11-something pace and it was HARD! Seriously people, my training plan says that I should be at 14 miles this week. 14!

But, it's funny what a good night's sleep can do. I woke up and thought of that quote...okay, so I'll run 9 this week, instead of 14. Okay, so I might not have the super-duper PR in NYC that I had hoped for. But, I will race. I will train hard over the next 15 weeks. I will do my best.

This morning, I headed out for 5 miles before Woodlands Fit was scheduled to meet up. Yes, it was slow, but much to my surprise, it wasn't that bad. Then, I did 4 more miles with my peeps from Woodlands Fit. Again, it was freaking slow (slower than the 1st 5 miles), but again...not too terrible. I finished my goal mileage for the week and I survived. Yes, I had some negative thoughts along the way, but I tried to push them out of my head. And, the best part? My legs felt like I could have gone a little bit farther. (emphasis on the little)

So, it's going to be a long, stupid hot, sweaty road to the start line, but I think I'll make it.

Workouts this week...

This Week's theme is "flexibility"...sometimes things don't quite go as planned with the workout schedule, so you've got to be flexible. That can be hard when you're a type A.

Monday – 7/18, Run- 6 miles
I had the day off, so I despite the tired legs from the previous day’s ride, I decided to head out for a run. I had two choices – 1) wake up before 5 am, so I could be back home before the hubby left for work or 2) sleep in and go for a run after taking the kids to school.

Can you guess which option I chose?

Even though it meant I’d be running in warmer temps, I opted for #2 – sleep in. Although, with my kiddos that means I get to sleep until 6 am. It was warm and muggy, but overall it was better than my last 6-miler!

Afterwards, I spent the day with my mom to celebrate her upcoming birthday. We had lunch and cupcakes and just hung out. Fun times!

Tuesday, 7/19 – Rest Insanity
Okay, so I was going to rest, but it was a stressful day and I needed to blow off some steam. I decided to do Insanity’s Cardio Circuit and it did the trick. It’s hard, but you definitely get out the days stress and frustrations!

Wednesday, 7/20 – Run and Swim Run again
I had one of those mornings where I just couldn’t drag myself out of bed. I had 5 miles on the schedule, but after hitting the snooze button too many times before work, I only had time for 3 miles. Then, I was limited on time after work, so opted to finish up my mileage in the afternoon heat rather than swim.

Thursday, 7/21 - Spin and Swim
Thursday’s workouts did not go as planned. I had plans to go to spin class during lunch, but I ended up meeting with someone that I needed to talk to at work…hey, work comes first…afterall, it pays for these races, right? So, I decided rather than swim after work, I’d ride my bike. Then, I’d swim on Friday, which was supposed to be my rest day. Well, as I travelled home it started raining. With thunder. And lightening. So much for a ride. Instead, I headed to the pool for a 50-minute swim workout. Better than nothing, right?

Friday, 7/22 – Rest
Ahhh, a rest day at last! Gotta get ready for 9 miles tomorrow in the heat and humidity. Ick!

So, how flexible are you with your workouts? Do you go with the flow, or freakout when your workouts get derailed?

KatyFLATland Ride (55 miles of happy fun)

Katy FLATland. Also known as:

• Tour de Flat



• Flat-o-Rama



• Flatsville



• Flatinator

you get the idea. Let's just say that this ride was educational.

Lesson #1 – Don’t trust Mapquest.
The nice thing about going to these organized bike rides is that once you start getting closer to the venue, there are always people around with bikes attached to their vehicles. At least some of them know where they’re going. I tried following the directions Mapquest gave me and it was a FAIL. However, a quick turnaround and was able to spot the bikes and follow.

I arrived in plenty of time to pick up my packet and swag (i.e. water bottle and t-shirt). I checked my tires, changed into my bike shoes, hit the bathroom, etc. Tri buddy, Jen, arrived and headed out on her 76-mile ride. One thing we noticed is that these events aren’t like running races.…afterall, they aren’t races. There are no timing chips and there’s not a lot of fanfare at the start. In fact, there weren’t any people lining up at the start at all. People were just casually starting whenever they felt like it.

Lesson #2 – Yes, you really need that spare tube and CO2 cartridge.
Never leave home without either.

Before the ride, I met up with Houston Fit peep, Kay and we headed out. We had a pretty good pace going when I noticed that something just didn’t feel right on my bike. I had a freaking flat tire. That’s right folks, 5.62 miles into a 55-mile ride and I had a flat. No worries, though. I’ve watched the Hubby change a flat tire and I knew what needed to be done….I also knew what would take an experienced tire changer 5 minutes would more than likely take me about an hour. True dat. I turned my bike upside down and had the rear wheel off in no time. A guy slowed down and asked if he could help. He looked like an experienced tire changer (I can tell these things by just looking at a person...impressive, huh?), so I took him up on the offer. He had the tube off in just a minute or two, checked to make sure the wheel was clear and put the new tube on...all in about 5 minutes. The SAG wagon stopped and aired up the tire, which was lucky because it turns out that I’d need my CO2 later.

We thanked our friendly helpers and were off again! About 5 miles later, I started noticing that the bike didn’t feel right again. Kay confirmed that my right tire looked low. We tried riding for another mile or so, and then had to stop. I used my CO2 cartridge to fill the tube and we kept going….the goal was to just make it to the next rest stop. We made it there (around 14 miles into the ride), but the tire was already low again. The line for the bike mechanic was pretty long, so we opted to air up the tire with the pumps that were available and try to make it to the next stop which was 17 miles away.

Lesson #3 – Bring more than one CO2 cartridge and money!
For some reason, the next 17 miles seemed to take forever! We stopped once to put air in the tire. At that point, Kay suggested that we take the tube out, make sure the wheel was clear of anything that could have punctured the tube, and check the tube. Together we managed to take off the tube. The wheel seemed to be all clear and we could not figure out where the leak was. So, Kay donated her CO2 to the cause and aired up the tire again and we kept going. Finally, we rounded a corner and one of the volunteers told us the next stop was 1 mile away. She lied…it was more like 2 miles, but whatever. We made it. It was there that I finally decided that we needed a new tube. This stopping and going was slowing us way down and it was getting freaking old fast. The problem? I only had $5 on me. Fortunately, Kay also brought cash, so I had to borrow some from her to buy the new tube and have the bike mechanic dude put it on. Yeah, we could have done it, but at this point we didn’t want to. Also, the bike mechanic dude noticed that the seam on my tube was leaking. What are the odds – a flat and a defective tube all in one ride?

Lesson #4 – There is really no good reason to ride 55 miles (or more) at one time
But yet we do it anyway.

Kay and I were on our way again. We tried to pretend that we were biking in the beautiful Tuscan countryside. In fact, right after Kay suggested this, we turned a corner and saw fields of grapes! Overall, this isn’t a bad ride…it’s flat, there were crosswinds and a few miles with headwinds, but overall not too bad. The problem is that riding for 55 miles, even with the best company, can get boring. Let’s face it, there’s not much to look at in Katy – cows, roadkill, and miles of prairie.

Lesson #5 – No matter how painful the last few miles are, it does feel good to know you kept going and got’er done!
We took our time at the last rest stop. They had PB&J, oranges watermelon and best of all, OREOS! Yes, I took one and enjoyed every last crumb. Once we got going again, I was definitely feeling the heat and my “get up and go” was all gone. Kay and I took turns leading, so that we could draft off of each other. Note to self – drafting only works if you can keep up with the lead person! Kay still had the "get up and go". I didn't.

The good news – even though it took us about 45 minutes longer than expected (thank you tires), we finished. This was the longest distance I've ever done and it felt good to do it, but I’m not sure I want to do it again anytime soon.

Lesson #6 - Take pictures..that way you can laugh at yourself later!
So, in 55 miles and 3 tire changes (sort of) , I don't have one picture to memorialize the event. Just one of those "doh!" moments, I guess. I blame it on the heat - it fried my brain and I never thought to take any pictures. Oh well, there are always the memories!

Strep - take 2

Remember how I mentioned a sore throat on Sunday?

Yep.

Strep throat. again. That would be 2x in 2 months. This coming from someone who never had strep before last month. Ever.

Another small setback. This is getting really old. The sore throat, the aches, and well, just feeling like crap in general is no fun.

So, I'll be a good girl and take a couple of days off. Okay, maybe three. I think I didn't give myself enough rest (as in none) last time I had strep, so this time I will be a little more cautious. I will take it easy and maybe try to run on Friday, then rest on Saturday...afterall, I have that 55-mile ride at Katy Flatland on Sunday! It's paid for and I've been looking forward to it, so I better be rid of all the sickies by then.

Yeah, yesterday's bike/strength training and today's run/swim ain't happening. Bummer!

Little bit of this and that...

Well, another weekend come and gone. I love my weekends! So here’s what was up:

Thursday, July 7 – Spin class & Swimming
I’ve discovered that Thursday spin classes are actually a little tougher than the Tuesday class…I like that and think I’ll keep going! It was grueling, but fun. After work, I headed to the gym to swim. This swim was much better than my Wednesday swim! Much smoother, much less effort...I did some drills and then a ladder. Overall, I swam 1,200 yds.

Friday, July 8 - Rest

Saturday, July 9 – Bike ride and parties
I joined my biking homies for a nice, new route. This route was along some pretty country roads about 30 minutes from my house. It was definitely more challenging than our usual, flat route – this ride included some nice, rolling hills and less protection from the wind. We had some views of the countryside, some views of a lake and even some flowers…naturally, we had to stop and enjoy! We did a little over 40 miles. It’s nice that 40 miles doesn’t seem too bad, even on the more challenging route. Although, I have to admit that the last few miles were tough mentally - by that point, I was sick of the rolling hills and felt like I could barely make it up the last couple.

Taking a little break...

Yes, we took time to stop and smell the flowers...these were growing on the side of the road! So pretty!

Later, after doing the grocery shopping and some laundry, we headed to a friend’s house to celebrate their daughter’s graduation from high school. Crazy, because I remember this daughter when she was just a baby…and now she’s graduating…kinda makes me feel old! The Hubby and I debated on whether or not we wanted to bring the kids along, and we’re glad we did. They had an awesome time playing with all the other kids and just being silly. Great food, great friends, great fun…

Sunday, July 10 – Run and swim
Sunday I had the option – get up at 4:30 to run, or wait until 7 pm in the evening. The Hubby was planning to meet up with his tri training group for their weekly run at 6:15 am, then we’d head to the lake for a swim after…this meant that I either had to run and get home before he left for his run, or I’d be running later in the evening. With the “feels like” temps in the 100s, there was no way I would be running in the middle of the day! After waking up before 5 am for 6 days in a row, I decided to sleep in. The Hubby enjoyed his group run and we still had time for breakfast together before dropping off the kids at my parent’s house and heading to the lake.

We were surprised to see such a large number of people out at the lake. Then we realized that there was an open water swim clinic being held. That group had already finished their swim…this made me happy, because I hoped they’d already scared away any snakes or other creepy crawlies out in the water. LOL! This was the hubby’s 1st open water swim and he did great! He was actually in the water before I finished putting my swim cap and goggles on. I was pretty proud of myself too…I had absolutely no anxiety whatsoever. After having a handful of really crappy open water swims in the spring, it felt good to have a good ows! I swam a little over 1,000 m, so it was a pretty decent workout!

Here's the lake where we have ows practice...looks nice and serene, huh?

Once we were home, we hung out with the kiddos and finished the laundry…exciting, huh? Then, it was finally time to head out for my run. I wasn’t really feeling it…I started to get a sore throat earlier in the day and just felt kinda crappy. Plus, my quads were sore from the bike ride the day before. Plus, it was hot! I really didn’t want to run.

Did I mention it was hot?

I had a horrible time. I walked, I whined, I cursed, I walked some more. Let’s face it, I am a morning runner. It’s about 10 degrees cooler and the sun doesn’t glare down on you at 4:30 in the morning. I know a lot of you out there run in this stupid heat and deal with it…and I don’t know how you do it. I am sure I need to get acclimated to it, but ugh, why? I’d much rather run in the morning. I don’t think I felt really good until I got to mile 5…by then the sun was low enough for me to be in the shade. At least there was a breeze. So anyway, it is what it is – a horrible, slow, walked way too much and I hate running kinda run.

I am kinda bummed that I am calling 6 miles a *long* run! Before the whole toe incident, I was easily running 8 – 10 miles, heat and all. And now, well, I’m a pansy.

It’ll get better, right?

I hope so.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!

STS-135

The final shuttle launch is this morning at 10:26 central. Gather your families, co-workers, whatever and watch it!

I *heart* short weeks!!!

I love, love, love 4 day work weeks! Hard to believe hump day is over and tomorrow is Thursday! Yippeee!

I’ve managed to get in some good workouts this week and I am back on track with my healthier eating again…I was starting to see higher numbers on the scale (especially after the holiday weekend) and my clothes were starting to fit a little, um, differently. I’ll admit, I have not been eating the right things for the past several weeks. I am such an emotional eater…stress of stuff going on in my life (I won’t go into details, but just think Jerry Springer), combined with being bummed about not running has led me to making some really unhealthy choices. I know, excuses. But, I am ready to regain control and get myself headed in the right direction!

So here’s what’s been going on in my workout world –

Tuesday, July 5 – Run, 2 miles and Ab Ripper X
Okay, so 2 miles is not much, but Tuesday is not normally my run day. The hubby had his very 1st track workout after work, so instead of my usual Tuesday swim, I decided I’d run in the AM and bike ride once he was home from track. Balancing training between the two of us is not easy, but I think if we’re both flexible it will all workout. The Hubs did great at track, so I am proud of him for that! So, I headed out in the early AM hours for a run. Overall, it went well…about the same as last week – 10:34 pace. It was warm and humid, but I tried to convince myself that it wasn’t all that bad.

Later in the afternoon, on my way home from work, the wind started blowing and I could hear thunder in the distance. By the time I made it to our neighborhood, it was pouring rain and there was a lot of thunder and lightening…looks like I would not be riding my bike! Instead, I did Ab Ripper X. I’ve committed to doing this workout at least 2x per week, so I figured I might as well get it out of the way.

Wednesday, July 6 – Run, 4 miles and Swim, 40 minutes
I managed to roll myself out of bed early enough to squeeze in a 4-miler before work (but just barely). Since it had been so long since I had been running in the mornings, I hoped my Monday / Wednesday running “buddy” was still following his same schedule. My “buddy” isn’t someone I really know, he’s just someone from my neighborhood who happens to run at the same crazy-ass hours and on the same days that I do. It’s just a little more comforting to have someone else out there when the rest of the world is still asleep! And luckily, he was there! We exchanged our “Good Mornings” as our paths crossed (we run in opposite directions) and I even got a “It’s good to see you back out here!” from him. My overall pace was slow (even for me) – 10:50 – but it was better than Saturday’s 11:01 pace. I am blaming some of the slowness on the heat and some on not running for 7 weeks.

I headed to the gym after work for my swim. See, this is where I swim...

I wanted to get it done early, so that the Hubby could also squeeze in a swim (he biked after leaving work, but before picking up the kiddos). Not sure what was going on with my swim, but it felt like crap. I couldn’t seem to get my breathing right and it just felt like so much more effort than normal. I went ahead and did my drills and cut some of my freestyle laps short….instead of an hour, I only swam 40 minutes. I guess a crappy swim is better than no swim at all! I’ll try it again tomorrow and see if there is any improvement.

So that’s it for today. How’s your week going? Are you enjoying the 4-day work week???

Workouts

Just catching up with the recent workouts...

Saturday, 7/2 - Bike, 20 miles

Met up with Kelly & Jen again, but this time we also had runner bud and newbie biker, Stephanie, join us. We decided we needed a change of scenery - especially if it meant we would be closer to Starbucks for post-ride trash talking - so we hit a different local neighborhood that is known for having lots of weekend cyclists. We took it kinda easy and cut the mileage a bit since we had a newbie with us...turns out that we really didn't need to, because she did fan-freaking-tastic! It was a great ride, well except for when a lady in a SUV flipped us off....actually, that just made us laugh. Afterwards at coffee, we actually had almost our entire original Woodlands Fit group together (from my 1st year wit Wfit in 2008). Great friends, great conversation!

Sunday, 7/3 - Run, 4 miles

In all honesty, I really wanted to do 6 miles this weekend. But, after my little 2-miler on Friday, I decided that baby steps might be better than just jumping in. I waited a little later than normal to start my run, which was dumb...once the sun is up, it just feels hotter. I think it's a mental thing...it's not that much warmer, but with the sun shining on me, I think it's warmer. So, I did 4 miles. My overall pace was 11 min/mile...pretty pathetic, but I did take a 1 minute walk break after miles 2 & 3. It will get better with time (I hope).

Monday, 7/4 - Bike ride 16.6 miles

Hooray for holidays! That meant I could squeeze in another bike ride. I headed for the nearby neighborhood for a quickie ride. Everyone must have been sleeping in, because I only came across one runner and no other bikers. Average pace was 16.6...I think I can do better.

Happy Independence Day!

Hope everyone out in the blogosphere is having a great July 4th weekend! Here are some pics of how we've spent the past few days.... Happy Independence Day!

The kids played in the water in an attempt to stay cool in this crazy heat!

The Munchkin decided he'd rather play with his cars...at least he was in the shade!

We also had cool cars to look at while the kids played...forget the Ferraris and Maseratis, just gimme one of these!

Feeling patriotic!

The kids getting ready for the neighborhood July 4th parade..fun times!

Happy 4th of July and thanks to all the men and women who serve our country and protect our freedom!

I RAN!

It's July 1st. The clock is ticking...I decided that it is time to try a run and see how the foot will do. I set out this morning for 2-mile jaunt around our neighborhood loop. Really, I should have not worn the Garmin and just ran whatever felt comfortable. It's been 7 weeks, so there was no way I was going for any pace records today. But, I am type A and I wanna know the numbers!

The good news - I made it without stopping! The toe did not hurt at all. The tendonitis did hurt a little, but not too bad.

The bad news - It was humbling. My 1st mile was a 10:42 pace. I know this was a "test run", but I didn't like that number very much. My second mile was a 10:20 pace. And, that 2nd mile felt freaking hard. So basically, my easy pace before now feels like my hard pace.

All in all, I am just happy to be out running again. I will attempt a longer run this weekend, but I'm sure it will be slow. Whatever. Now it's time to get in my butt in gear for the Bridgeland Tri and NYC! Fortunately, I am well rested when it comes to running, so there should be no "burnout" anytime in the near future. I am committed to sticking to my training schedule and working my arse off over the next 4 months!

Happy Feet, um Toe

More decisions…Well, we’ve decided to nix Disney in January. The hubby has decided to shoot for an Olympic distance tri in September and is joining a tri training program to prepare for that (read $). Between entry fees ($) and other tri-related costs ($$$) (not to mention NYC ($), birthdays ($) and Christmas($)), Disney and the Goofy Challenge will just have to wait! Plus, I felt a little guilty about leaving the kids at home in November for NYC and then heading out of town again in January, especially with the fall recruiting trips for work mixed in. And, we’re looking at a family vacation in December 2012 ($), so Disney 2013 is probably out as well. Oh well, such is life. We’ll do the Goofy Challenge eventually, right? Oh, and since I'm not doing Goofy, I am toying with the idea of switching my Houston entry from the 1/2 to the full....we'll see.

This week operation “Happy Feet” (or foot) is underway. After much frustration about the still-painful-supposed-to- be-healed broken toe, I told the Hubby last week that I was not planning to do any workouts that make the toe hurt for the next week. Well, after my Saturday bike ride, that is. So, this week the workouts have been different –

Monday – P90X-Ab Ripper X
Tuesday- P90X – Shoulders and Arms
Wednesday – P90X – Stretch X (figured this would be good for the pesky tendonitis issue)
Thursday – still undecided…probably another P90X workout combined with Ab Ripper X
Friday – It’s July dammit…I will attempt a short run just to test the toe.

Overall, the toe feels better than ever this week. It does hurt if I tense up my foot and I couldn’t do the planks in the Stretch X routine, but no major pain while walking. I’ve worn regular shoes to work all week – flats, not heels – so that’s a step in the right direction. I am worried that every day I don’t run at this point is jeopardizing my chance for a PR in NYC.

Must.run.soon.

I am joining Out Rival Racing’s marathon training program ($) that begins on July 18, so hopefully by then I will be ready to go and get some inspiration from the speedy folks in the group!

Weekend Re-Cap

The hubby and I both had the day off on Friday. I had some errands and family stuff to tend to, but once that was done we took the kids to see Cars 2. We’re big fans of the 1st Cars movies, so we were looking forward to the sequel. It was a cute movie – it had a much more complex plot than the 1st movie, was longer and focused more on Mater. There was some violence that I’ve heard parents complain about – yes, the bad guys had a ray gun that could blow up some of the race cars and the bad guys did capture the good guys – but in the end, the good guys won. I am sure we’ll eventually buy the dvd and be forced to watch this over and over and over and over…

I started Saturday off with a 43-mile bike ride with tri-buddies, Jen and Kelly. It turned out to be a great ride – a little warm and humid, but overall we all felt strong the entire ride and felt as if we could do 10 more miles! But, we’re starting to realize that riding the flat roads with protection from the wind (thanks to all the trees) is not doing us any favors. Kelly is training for next year’s IMTX race and that course does have some rolling hills and very little protection from the winds that we often have here in the Spring. So, in the coming weeks we will be alternating our rides between the more open roads and our nice little “comfort zone” rides. However, it might be wise to cut back the mileage a bit the 1st week just to get acclimated….we’ll see! I spent the rest of the day cleaning out the kid’s closets as well as my side of our his / her closet. I am an organization nut, very Type A, but I just haven’t had time to dedicate to getting organized in a long, long time, so this was very long overdue! This is just the beginning of my “get ridiculously organized” project going on at home.

Sunday was a rest day, but I spent the day finishing up the closets and pulling weeds in our flowerbeds. Exciting, huh?

Also, I have changed my plans for some of the races on my Calendar. I had to re-evaluate a few things thanks to my stupid broken toe (maybe I should just refer to it as SBT?). I will not be racing Shadow Creek Ranch Tri in July. I only have 3 weeks to train and I don’t think that’s enough time to make significant progress with my running after being out for 6 weeks. CB&I was such an awesome race with a big PR, I don’t want to go into Shadow Creek underprepared. Instead, I will be riding the Katy Flatlands bike ride. I’m undecided on the distance, but I am thinking something in the 50 – 60 mile range. This will only be my 2nd organized bike ride…my 1st was Tour de Pink back in 2008.

Finally, I decided to register for the Houston ½ Marathon lottery. Probably not the smartest move, since there’s a very good chance I will be doing the Goofy Challenge the weekend before…but, I registered with a group of friends and figured I’d just have fun with the race and not really race for time. Kind of a waste of a race, but at least I’ll be among friends! The good news - we found out Monday that our group did make it in! The bad news – my hubby, who registered for the lotto solo, did not make it in. Stupid lotto!

Spin Class

Went to spin class yesterday. It was an interesting combo of riding and free weights.

Yes, I said free weights.

We would ride hard - jumps, power surges and hills. Then we'd coast "downhill" and pick up our weights and do some curls or other arm exercises. It was different, but worked out well since I hadn't done strength training yet this week.

After work, I did Ab Ripper X. I am trying to make sure I get this workout in at least 2x per week to strengthen my core...it's been feeling a bit, um soft, since I stopped running. I will do this workout again on Friday.

Well, that's it for today. Other than the workouts...I got nuthin'.

Lunchtime PSA & a Swim

I do try to eat healthy...thanks to working with an awesome nutritionist after having the Munchkin, I learned to watch more than just calories and fat. Now, I watch protein, sugar and fiber. I try not to eat as much processed food, watch the high-fructose corn syrup, etc. But for lunch, sometimes it's just easier to pop one of those Lean Cuisines in the nuker. Yesterday I tried this one:

Major lunchtime FAIL. I love Thai and that yummy (but fattening) peanut sauce, so I thought why not give it a try? I heated it up in the microwave at work. It smelled great and didn't look terrible. See...

Unfortunately, it was nasty. So, just in case you are also a lunchtime nuker like me, steer clear of this one!

As for workouts, I did head to the pool after work and managed to swim 1,700 yds. Most of this workout was just swimming. I did do some endurance drills and try to focus on my form, but other than that it was just swimming and swimming. Since I didn't swim at all last week, it felt terrific to get back into the pool. That's the thing about swimming - it's a pain to drive to the gym and miss out on family time, but once I'm there in the pool I really, really enjoy it!

5 days and counting...

I have 5 days until I have reached the 6 week mark after the lovely toe incident. 5 days until I can run again!!! I am a little nervous though. I won't lie - the toe still hurts. I tried to wear normal shoes to work last week - flats, not heels though - and my toe hurt like heck by noon.

I know that I am not "staying off my foot" as much as the doc might like. Hell, I work downtown! I have to walk to and from the bus stop, I have to walk 3 blocks to get lunch, I have to walk to other people's offices, not to mention that I have two small kids to chase around. I have to walk 10 miles in the snow, barefoot...you get the idea.

So, here's to hoping that I can run again with minimal pain. Here's to hoping my endurance isn't completely gone - swimming, biking and strength training can only do so much. Here's to hoping that ramping up the mileage again won't be too horrible...okay, that one's wishful thinking because it is Houston and it is summer! Here's to hoping that I can train hard for Bridgeland and have another pace PR! Here's to hoping that I am ready to train for NYC!!!

Monday

How does Monday get here so quickly?

We had a great weekend!

Friday after work, I spent some time with the kiddos - we headed to the mall for our tradition of the "three C's" - cuts (as in hair), cookies and carousel. We also headed to the Disney store, which is always dangerous. Usually, it's the Kiddo who wants to buy something, but this time it was the Munchkin who wanted everything in the store. Thank you Disney for marketing the new Cars movie so well!

Here's the Munchkin getting "tickled" by the trimmers.

Here's the kiddo after her cut!

Saturday, we met some of our favorite friends at the beach and had a great time making sand castles and playing in the water. There were actually waves and I really wanted to take advantage of the conditions and get in a little surfing, but I was afraid of making the stupid broken toe worse and decided against it.

I started Sunday with a short bike ride. My friend, Jen, met me for a ride but first we had to change a flat. I am okay with the front tire, but wasn't sure I could take the back tire off without messing something up. Luckily, the Hubby came to our rescue! He had the new tube on in no time...much fast than if we would have done it. But then, about 7 miles into our ride Jen started to feel sick, so we went back to home base. I managed to get in a few more miles after she was safely on her way home and ended with a 20-mile ride. Afterwards, we took the Hubby and my Dad out to lunch, then spent the rest of the day hanging out at home.

Hope everyone out there had a great weekend and all the Dads had a great Father's Day!

Quickie Pre-Work Post

Just a quick post before I get the kiddos up and we head out the door. I worked out! It wasn't the most successful attempt, but it was a workout. Two of them. I think my body is still recovering from the strep, because both workouts felt more difficult than usual.

Thursday, 6/16 - Spin Class
For the first time in over a month, I made it to lunchtime spin class. It was tough - maybe due to me 1) missing class for so long, 2) getting over strep throat, or 3) I just suck - maybe it was a combination of all three.

Friday, 6/17 - P90X Shoulders and Arms
Again, this felt much more difficult than it usually does. But it's still my favorite P90X workout.

I was planning to swim this afternoon after work and again in the morning, but I am thinking of just resting the rest of the day and again tomorrow. My throat still hurts a little, ugh. I am hoping I feel good enough on Sunday for 40 miles on the bike...we'll see! We're heading to the beach tomorrow for the 1st time this summer...can't wait!

Grumpy

Even the Kiddo called me grumpy the other day. Between having strep and the stupid toe, I had not had a proper workout in almost 3 days.

Yes, I am grumpy.

I’ve also been grumpy, because DH and I have been extremely indecisive about whether or not we’re running Disney in January. I am probably the most indecisive person around, but at the same time, I hate hanging in the balance and not knowing what we’re doing. Actually, I know that I want to do it, but I have yet to get the hubby to decide…and he’s the one who came up with this idea in the first place. If we do decide to go, I will do the Goofy Challenge and he will do either the half or the full (or maybe even Goofy as well).

I guess this indecisiveness makes me grumpy because I am the family’s CFO…I need to know how to plan! There’s a lot going on between now and Disney – NYC Marathon trip, Kiddo’s birthday, Christmas, etc. And those race entry fees aren’t cheap! Plus there’s a little guilt in knowing that we’re going to NYC sans kids and would go to Orlando sans kids 2 months later (due to budget constraints). I know it sounds sacrilegious to go to Disney without the kids, but we’re not really planning to “do Disney”. We’d arrive early Friday and come home Monday with a race on Sat (the ½ marathon) and then again on Sunday (the full). We figure we’re really not there to ride rides and meet Mickey, you know? But still…the kids might not take it very well. Decisions, decisions.

I am also grumpy, because I had this brilliant plan to work on increasing distance through the months of May and June, so that when NYC training really got started in July, I would already be used to running 10-15 miles in the summer heat and gradually increasing the mileage wouldn’t seem quite so tough. Instead, I will be rebuilding my base thanks to 6 weeks of absolutely no running. Grrr…. I know rebuilding is not as bad as starting from scratch, but still…

Luckily, I am over the strep and will be working out today. My kids and hubby are thankful for that.

Dear 16 Year Old Me

I love this video. Please watch it.




If you have trouble viewing this, click here...I had trouble with the link.

As a girl who grew up on the Gulf coast, I went to the beach multiple times every year. I made sandcastles, collected shells and sand dollars, loved the sand between my toes and the sound of the waves. I even learned to surf! And, I had probably one bad sunburn every year. As an adult, this scares me...after all, the damage you do to your skin growing up can come back to haunt you later. I have several friends and acquaintances who have been diagnosed with skin cancer in their 20's and 30's. Fortunately, they caught it early.

Scary stuff.

And yet, I still feel like I look better with some sun. I still long for that "glow" in the summer and hate seeing the scars and spider veins on my pasty legs in the winter. And while I've grown more diligent with the sunscreen as I grow older, I find myself wanting "a little sun" every year. However, I am also vain and don't want more sun damage, which is the main reason I use sunscreen now - wrinkles!

Skin cancer is preventable. Use sunscreen.

Strep

Last night, I went to bed thinking that I was feeling better. Really, it was just the Advil kicking in. I woke up around 1 am, feeling all achey and warm again. I got up and took my temp - 101.2! I can't remember the last time I had a fever. When I woke up again at my normal time, I was still achey and my temp was somewhere between 101.5 and 102.7, depending on which thermometer I used. Not good! I felt achey, weak and well, like crap!

I decided that I better call the doc to schedule an appointment and let work know that I would not be coming in. Ugh, I hate being sick! When I explained all my symptoms to the dr, she almost immediately suggested a strep test. I have never had strep before. Sure enough, I tested positive and was given a Rx for antibiotics.

We'll see what happens. I just hope I don't give this crap to the Hubby and kids! And to be at home all day and not feel like doing anything productive is just tough. I feel like I should be cleaning or organizing or something...instead, I caught up on episodes of "So You Think You Can Dance." I guess that was semi-productive, huh?

Swim, bike, poo

Friday, 6/10 - Swim
I did end up having a great swim on Friday, although not as long as I originally planned. The Hubby met me at the gym and we signed him up! Now, he has a place to swim, too. He was relying on the neighborhood pool, but since there are no lap swim times, it was too difficult trying to swim and dodge kids at the same time. I learned the same lesson 2 years ago when I was training for my first tri...So, we were able to swim together, which was nice.

Originally, the Hubby wanted to register for the Texas State Triathlon for his first tri - it's close to home and a pool swim - not a bad combo for a first timer. But, we just found out that registration is full. Doh! So, he decided to register for Bridgeland, which is also more than likely going to be my next tri.

It's certainly going to be tricky trying to plan out a training schedule for both of us...as if it wasn't hard enough with just one of us training for triathlons!

Saturday, 6/11 - Bike, 30 miles
Met up with Jenn and Kelly again for a long bike ride. It felt great to get beyond those 20-milers! And, the toe didn't even start to bother me until about mile 20. After the bike ride, it was a busy day - we had errands to run, the Kiddo had a birthday party and then we were going to our cousin's dance recital across town...we weren't home again until 10:30 pm!

Sunday, 6/12 - Swim and Ab Ripper X Rest day
Okay, so today ended up being a total bust...I felt like poo. Had a sore throat, achey shoulders, neck and back, headache, fever, and chills. Not good. The hubby thought the sore neck and shoulders were because of my bike ride the day before, but after seeing my temp, we decided that might not be the case. After church, I just took it easy all day and even took a nap...something I am not used to doing!

Playing Catch Up - The week in review

Well, even with the broken toe I am getting in some workouts...last week was a busy one at work and I only managed to get in 1 workout during the week. One. A swim. I can't remember the last time I only worked out once during the week!

Anywho, I did finally see a doctor...more because even without the running, I am still having the tendonitis issues. He confirmed (via x-ray) that the toe is indeed broken, duh. What he also told me is that it takes 6 weeks for a bone to heal. He said that my toe will probably stop hurting in another week or so, but whatever I do - DO NOT RUN! Otherwise, I could risk making the break worse or just slowing the healing process. Since I would like to get NYC training in high gear in July, I will follow his advice. Also, I cannot water jog or use the elliptical...mainly because of the movement of the foot. Ugh! Oh, and I need more stretching to alleviate the tendonitis issue. And I naively thought I would be out running within a couple of weeks. Oy!

So, here are my workouts for the week:


Sat, 6/4 - 22 mile bike ride
Met up with tri/running buddies, Jenn and Kelly, for a ride in a nearby neighborhood. It's an "estate community", so there are lots of gorgeous homes to look at and lots of great roads with minimal traffic. The toe did hurt the entire time, but not so bad that I had to stop. Just like last week, the worst part was unclipping.


Sunday, 6/5 - 1,000 yd swim
The hubby is succumbing to peer pressure and has decided to train for a tri. This means that we have to each fit in a workout on weekend mornings...I cut my swim short, so that we both had time to swim before church. Went to the neighborhood pool, which is a nice change from swimming indoors at the gym!

Monday, 6/6 - No workout
Trying to remember what happened here and why my slacker self didn't work out at all???


Tuesday, 6/7 - P90X - Shoulders and Arms (am) and Ab Ripper X (pm)
My favorite of the P90X workouts. It's funny how fast you can get through P90X when you fast forward through all the talking! The kids and I did Ab Ripper X after school/work...it was their idea, I swear! I was planning to wait until they were in bed to workout, but the Munchkin saw me in my workout clothes and insisted on working out with me. The Kiddo joined in, and heck, even our dog (Jake) sat right in the middle of the rug between the 3 of us.


Wednesday, 6/8 - 1,700 yd swim
Better, longer swim than Sunday. I did ladders and in my set of 500 I alternated between 50s fast / slow.


Thursday, 6/9 - P90X - Arms and Back (am) and Ab Ripper X (pm)
This workout is nothing but push-ups and pull-ups! And, my arms were still feeling Tuesday's workout. I don't know why, but I actually kind of like push-ups. Pull-ups, not so much. After work, I did Ab Ripper X....I love that workout, but my abs were still sore from Tuesday's workout!

Friday, 6/10 - Swim
I am going to stop by the gym after work and get an hour-long swim done. Hey, at least with the injury, I am going to become a stronger swimmer!

Have a great weekend!

That which we manifest is before us...

I am in the process of reading The Art of Racing in the Rain. It's an excellent read and I highly recommend it. I often find myself thinking back to what I've read and the life lessons in this book. I may write more about the book once I've finished reading it, but for now this is the quote that stands out to me the most:

That which we manifest is before us; we are the creators of our own destiny. Be it through intention or ignorance, our successes and our failures have been brought on by none other than ourselves.

I love this quote, I think it's beautiful and so true...

Ironman Texas

Two weeks ago The Woodlands hosted the inaugural Ironman Texas. Talk about exciting! I live 10 minutes from the start and finish of the race, so naturally I had to participate in some way. So, I volunteered!

I really wanted to help out during the week and on race day, but my work schedule didn’t allow for it. I thought about using a PTO day or two, but things are crazy and I didn’t want to be out of the office. So, I opted to help out only on race day. My assignment was aid station #9 and our goal was to keep the athletes properly hydrated and give fuel like oranges and pretzels when needed. We were originally supposed to report for duty at 10:30 am, but that changed to 11:30 am since runners weren’t expected to hit the run portion of the race until at least noon. I met up with tri-buddy, Kelly, and one of her teammates, Shannon, at a local restaurant and we talked about what else? Triathlons!

When we made it to the aid station, we helped set up a variety of things:

Soda (flat)
Water
Power Bar Perform (sports drink)
Cheese balls (you know, the puffy snack kind…kinda strange, but whatever!)
Gummi Bears
Potato chips
Pretzels
Power Bar gels
Power Bars (which we sliced into about 5 pieces to hand out)
Oranges (sliced)
Bananas (sliced)

Once we were all set up, we had a little time to hang out. This was perfect, because the men leading on the bike were about to come in! Chris Lieto was 1st off the bike:

It was exciting stuff watching the pros dismount their bikes and then head out on the run! Most of them took water, but there were a few who wanted Perform and soda. At some point, we watched the leaders pass a 2nd time and were surprised that we never saw Chris Lieto again. Later, we heard that he had some Achilles issues and pulled out of the race. But it was awesome seeing some of the pros run by with the leaders were escorted by bikes.
Here's the aid station I worked at - can you tell everyone is ready to help? In fact, the question we constantly asked - "What do you need?".



Here's Scotland's Catriona Morrison heading out on the run - she went on to win the women's race:




Here's Kelly and me ready to help:

My shift ended at 2:30, so Kelly and I headed over to the finish line where it was just a matter of minutes before the pros would be finishing up. Seeing the pros finish was amazing – Spain's Eneko Llanos came in first with a time of 8:09 and some change. Terry O’Donnell from the US came in 2nd and carried an American flag down the chute. The crowds went wild and the energy at the finish line was incredible.

Next, I had to head home for a few hours for a neighborhood block party. When I returned to the race, I saw a facebook post that said one of my blogger buddies, Jessica, was about 3 miles from the finish. I headed over to watch and saw quite a few folks I recognized from the local training groups finishing up. To me, this was so much more exciting – seeing “normal” people finishing the race and hearing Mike Reilly say, “John Smith – YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!”

After watching Jessica finish up, I headed over to the aid station again. The vibe I felt on the route, was much different than the one over at the finish line. In fact, I told my hubby that it seemed more like a war zone. I saw one guy stop on the side of the road to empty his stomach (yuck, but it does happen!), another guy was stretching at the curb and lots of people were doing what I call the “survival shuffle”, where you are tired and just putting one foot in front of the other in an effort to just finish. But hey, an Ironman ain't easy, right?

At the aid station, there were lots of requests for soda and water. The calls for ice were rare, as were the requests for gels and perform. I think by this point, most folks were all gel-ed out. We did have a few requests for broth, which must have been added to the aid station later in the day. What I found amazing is how no matter how exhausted the athletes appeared to be, they were all so appreciative of our support. Many said thanks and a lot said “Thanks so much for volunteering out here”. I wanted to tell them thanks – thanks for being such an inspiration. We gave lots of encouragement – lots of shouts of “way to go”, “stay strong”, and lots of clapping…by the end of the night my voice was getting a little raspy.

My shift ended at 11:30, so we (Kelly, Melissa and I) headed over to the finish line again. This was truly inspiring! It was great to see the folks we had just seen 2 or 3 times at the aid station finishing the race. Some had huge smiles, some were crying and many were running as fast as they could. Some folks gave the crowd high fives, one man did the airplane arms and one practically skipped down the chute. The music was blaring, the crowd was dancing and slapping the sponsor signs that line the chute. The air was noisy and full of energy…it was amazing! Finally, a guy finished with about 2 minutes left on the clock. We anxiously awaited the final finisher…..

And nothing. The clock hit 17:00:00. That was it. Sorta anti-climatic.

About 7 minutes later, as spectators were beginning to leave, we could hear the crowds grow louder. There was an athlete coming! Okay, so it was after the 17 hour cut-off, but it was still exciting. The crowd went wild and the guy had a huge smile on his face. Now that was the ending we were hoping for!

After the race, I found my fellow blogger and friend, Vic. He had a tough race with some back issues, but still did an awesome job! As we were leaving we stopped to talk to some folks for a minute and saw a bike headlight coming toward us….it was another athlete! The man on the bike in front of the woman told us that her name was Ali. Next, Ali came by running at a pretty good clip. Behind her were 6 medical guys on bikes – they were lined up in 3 rows of 2. It was pretty cool to see. We cheered for her and as she made her way around the circle and to the finish line, we ran next to her (from behind the barracades of course) and shouted cheers along the way. She finished the distance and even received a medal….Ali, you may not have made the cut-off, but to those of us who were out there – YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!!!!!!

Talk about the perfect ending to an awesome day! AMAZING!

Ouch...still here

Having a broken toe sucks.

It's been a little over 2 weeks and I am still wearing sandals to work. It's making my workouts a bit of a challenge - I can't do Insanity, can't run and until recently, I couldn't bike either.

The 1st week after the broken toe debacle, I did P90X 2x and swam 2x...not too terribly shabby. Last week, I did Ab Ripper X twice (which is only 16 minutes), swam 2x and rode the bike trainer 1x. On Sunday morning, I decided to get brave and try to ride my bike out on the road. I knew from my time on the bike trainer earlier in the week that it would hurt to clip out (or unclip...whatever) with the right foot. That kinda stinks, since that is the foot I am used to using the most. But, I decided to ride anyway. Luckily, the ride went pretty well! My running/tri buddy, Jen, and I rode 22 miles and while the toe did hurt the entire time, it wasn't excruciating-gotta-stop-now pain. It was bearable. The most painful part was clipping out and starting up after stopping. I could definitely tell that I had not been on my bike in 3 weeks...my legs wouldn't move as fast as I would have liked.

I did attempt to go out and run a quickie 2-miler yesterday, but that didn't work out so well. The broken toe is not quite ready for that yet. I ended up walking/jogging 1.5 miles and that was about all I could handle. Yes, I should have stuck to swimming!

So, the family's annual "Race for the Pennant" was out this year. I offered to watch the kids so the hubby could run it, but he wasn't interested. And, the Tejas Tri on Sunday is out, too. I hope everything will be healed in time to train for the Shadow Creek Ranch tri in July....we'll see!

Random Stuff

I am here. As usual, life has been busy. Some updates since our vacation:

• Despite my lack of training during vacation and my struggles to “get back on the wagon” once we returned, I participated in the CB&I sprint triathlon and actually PRed! My swim was pretty pathetic, but I managed to take almost 2 minutes off of my bike and run times. Race report to come!


• Since the week after we returned from Disney, I’ve been having a weird pain in the arch of my right foot. After 3 weeks of this and experimenting with different shoes, I finally went to the doctor. I have posterior tibial tendonitis. Fortunately, I can still run, but need a bit of NSAIDs, ice and stretching for it to get better.


• The morning after my dr’s appointment (on Saturday), I managed to break my toe. Yep, no exciting story to go with it - basically, the dog insisted on going outside at 5 am and when I was coming back to bed, I hit my toe on the bedroom door. Hard. My toe immediately swelled and later I noticed bruising. I had to cancel my long run and hobble through a wedding. The next morning, the top of my foot near my toes had turned a lovely shade of purple. And, I had to wear flip flops to work. That’s right – Tahari suit and flip flops. Nice. (Since I can't run or bike at the moment, it looks like my foot will have plenty of time to recover from the tendonitis as well...)
  

More updates to come, including the promised vacation photos. Have a great day!

Deep breaths, deep breaths....