Summer Time

Summer is in full force, I would love to say I already have a really dark tan but I don't. This morning as I got ready for work I turned on the news and learned that the forecast for Monday-Wednesday has a high of 100. Really it freaking June what is August going o be like? All I have to say is it is way to freaking hot to even try to work on my tan. Training is going good other than the heat i am dealing with. I have noticed some improvements in the past few weeks- since as Coach calls it I am working on speed. My swim seems to be improving lately, and I have had 2 bikes in consecutive weekends that avg'd 18 and 18.1 mph. My rides are a little shorter right now but the last time I rode 30 miles I only avg about 16.5. So I will take it. And my run, times are really improving at the track and I have set several records in 400, 800 and 1600. Saturday I did a 5k and finished in 28.55, not a PR but my previous PR was a race in January and it was 45 degrees, Saturday was very hot and humid. So welcome summer please enjoy your stay- but don't over stay your welcome!

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

Am I am athlete?

Well I though so until I decided to take Athletic conditioning at my gym (Villa Sport). At the beginning of the class the instructor tells us if we are new to take breaks as we need them but that they do not take breaks in this class because most of the people in the class are die-hards. So immediately I think ok can I sneak out of here without anybody noticing. I realize hey your here you can do this, I am a triathlete right. For an hour me and "the die-hards" do push up after push up, jump rope, jumping lungs, star bursts over and over. I noticed the die-hards took as many breaks as I did so I thought this is not that bad I am sure my shoulders will be sore but I got this. I enjoyed the workout and arse kicking I got, I left Villa feeling great. Friday morning I woke up a little sore but nothing I could not handle. Friday night I went for a 7 mile run in the sauna with Gena, Greg and Micah which left me feeling a little sick to my stomach. When I got home I packed my bag and got all my fluids ready fro my bike ride on Saturday. 5:00am Saturday morning I rolled over, put my feet on the floor and hit the ground. My calf's were so tight I could hardly walk to the bathroom to get ready. That's when I decided there was no way I would be able to ride in the wind that was going to grace us. I crawled back in bed and slept in until 9. So I ask myself Am I an athlete? Hell Yeah Athletes need a break from a good arse kicking too!

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

IMTX 70.3 Race Report and Experiance

I signed up for this race just after completing Iron Star in November 2010 because I really longed for the MDot race and to feel comfortable wearing the MDot swag. In training for this race I told myself that I would do much better than I had done at Iron Star because I would know what to expect and several people told me this race was much easier. HELL to the NO. It was a whole different experience and the coarse was defiantly not easier, but I will get into this a little later.

I started my weekend on Friday when I did last minute shopping and packing and patiently awaited Logan’s arrival from the golf coarse. We headed out on the road about 1:00pm during the trip down I shared text’s with Lynn and Gena about meeting up for athlete check in and some shopping. We arrived at the hotel and were checked in around 3:00pm so I met Lynn, Leslie and Chris in the lobby and started towards the athlete tent. Just before leaving the parking lot we ran into Gena, Greg and Tammie which were all checking so we told them we would see them there. Athlete check in was very surreal for me signing the waivers and getting my IM wrist band sent chills down my back. We noticed a new wave had been added so my swim time had been moved back another 5 mins. Why they choose for the woman to go dead last is beyond me but my swim time would now be 8:35 which was 1:35 after the first men’s wave would be going off. We got to the Ironman store and I was in hog heaven I did not know which way to turn, I picked up shirt after shirt wondering which one I should get. So just to sum it up I purchased a new pair of shoes, 2 visors, a running tank, a sweatshirt, 4 t-shirts and a coffee mug. After a long day of being on our feet several of us met up for some carb loading at Mario’s.

Saturday morning I woke up and went down stairs to watch part of the sprint race. One of Vanessa’s friends was racing and she tore it up ended up on the podium with a 3rd place in AG. After the race was over Greg, Gena, Lynn Vanessa and I went over to the rv park Brandi and Philo were staying at for an OWS. We wanted to get a feel for the bay temperatures on my way in I slipped on some rocks and cut my feet and thumb on the oyster beds. Thank god for Brandi and Greg hooking me up with cleaning my wounds and helping me put on Band-Aids. After a quick shower we went back to the Ironman store for a few last looks and purchases yes I bought another shirt because I could not resist. After lunch we hit bike check in at 2:00pm and back to the room to put my feet up. Saturday ended with dinner at the hotel and getting in bed early, unfortunately it took me a while to fall asleep as nerves were kicking in keeping me awake.

Sunday morning wake up call 4:15am, I ate a banana and a piece of toast with peanut butter and had a cup of coffee. Dressed got the last bit of my stuff together and headed out to meet Lynn in the lobby, when I got to the elevator I realized I forgot my fluids for the bike so I went back to the room to get them. After getting my transition set up and checking 40 times I went back to the hotel to sit with Gena, Greg and Vanessa until time to get in my wet suit and head out to line up for wave starts. As we waited our turn to get on the deck we talked about the water looking fairly calm, I thought about my swim what I would do, where I would place myself. Before I knew it I was on deck waiting to jump in the water, I saw Mo and Jenny and wished them good luck. And then I was swimming after about 200 meters the currents picked up and I started to feel like I was in a washing machine, when I sighted I drank salt water. Several times I had gotten off coarse and had to swim back towards the buoys, I felt like puking but managed to let out burps instead. I stopped treaded water for about 30 seconds and had a talk with myself, I reminded myself I could do this swim and I would swim smart. Before I knew it could feel the carpet under my hands and knew it was time to stand up. Wetsuit stripper’s rock they had my suit off in seconds and I was running to transition. Swim 49:57

T1 4:29 I took the extra time to re-apply sun screen. I hit the bike on the way out I saw Logan and several teammates that all cheered when I went by. This was a very flat coarse but it was a windy ride out most of the time I felt as if I had a bungee cord strapped to me pulling me back. At about mile 6 I was drinking and hit a pocket of wind and lost my bike, I knew there were several ladies approaching so I shot up grabbed my bike and ran to the shoulder so I would be out of their way. I noticed a bit of blood and scraps on my elbow and knee and I could tell I had scrapped my hip and shoulder. I got back on the bike and started fighting the wind again I kept thinking I would see a medi tent so they could clean me up and send me on my way but that never happened. When I got to the turnaround I was so happy. The wind seemed to be more at my back and I was able to pedal harder and faster; my second bike split was 12:30 faster than the first one. When I made the final turn again my teammates were there cheering me on and my dad snapped a picture. Bike 3:36:52

T2 3:38 took me a minute to get my running legs back but once I left transition I was feeling better, so I thought. Before I hit mile 1 I could feel the pain coming from me knee where I had hit the pavement from my bike wreck, oh and the bottoms of my feet felt like they were on fire from the scraps and cuts I had from the oyster beds. On the first loop at each aid station I took water on the head, water and Gatorade to drink. On my second loop my stomach started feeling queasy and I realized I could not do any more Gatorade. I tried Pepsi but it was hot. I ran when I could and walked when I felt like I could not run and it seemed I walked a lot. I made deals with myself run for 5 mins or run for 2 mins. Minute after minute and mile after mile I crossed the finish line with a smile on my face and my fists in the air. Run 2:41:07

Total time 7:16:03 I hoped to better in this race than my previous 70.3 but it does not always happen that way.

Did I love it? Yes. But I am going to enjoy doing some shorter distances. I will never under estimate another coarse again because you never know what race day has in store for you.

IMTX 70.3

It all starts for me today around 4:30 when I get home from work and start to pack and head out on my last short brick before racing Sunday. The pre race jitters have not hit me just but I know in due time they will. Last night I had a less than comfortable OWS, we arrived at the Lake and noticed several dead fish floating along the shore. We decided to get in any way and started swimming, everytime I took a breath and/or tried to sight I was slammed in the face with dirty arse lake water. After rounding the first bouy I was able to get in to a little bit of a rythem but still very uncomfortable. When I rounded the final bouy the swim got easier beacuse I was no longer fighting the lake waves but I made up my mind my OWS was over.

Tomorrow I will make my journey to Galveston and going shopping at the Ironman tent and also try to get in an OWS in the bay.

Good luck to all racing this weekend!

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

Let the taper begin

At the end of the week I will another 70.3 behind me and yes this one will be an Mdot baby. This week calls for some very light workout which sounds great to me. Sunday was my last long brick with just under 47 miles on the bike and a 30 min run. This was not my best brick yet considering I have been having issues with my back and the head winds we rode back in. My run suffered but I got it done and now it is time to relax. Tonight I will get a massage and hope it helps the back issue. So this weeks workouts look like this. Monday- 2600 yds in the pool Tuesday- Pre race 400's (6) with an easy warm up and cool down Wednesday- 1600 yds in the pool Thursday- Brick 50mins on the bike and a 10 min run Friday- REST Saturday- pre race efforts swim 10 mins, bike 15 mins and run 5 mins Good luck to all racing. Hope to see you on the roads soon!

Lap swimming only

Let me introduce you to a couple of my friends from last night. Last night was a long swim at the Nat, our tri specific swim coaches offered 3 long swims this season and last night was number two. I was unable to attend the first one so when I arrived I was quit nervous about what was going to take place. I took my wetsuit with me since I have not worn/swam in it since Ironstar in November. I jumped in the lane with Scott and started my warm up. After doing 300 yds Tom stopped us and gave us a pep talk about warming up before a swim. He told us that he will warm up with 1200 sometimes (uh no thank you), but that he will slowly build to his race pace and maintain that pace for the distance of his event. So we swam 5 x 50 with 15 secs rest. After completing the warm up intervals it was time to start our 1 hour straight swim. Prior to this I have done a couple of 1000 TT's but never have swam with out a break for more than about 22 mins. About half way through I got a horrible cramp and had to stop for about 30 secs to massage it out, I got it to where it was manageable and started swimming again, but it took about 200 yds before I could push off the wall. I finally got back in my groove and all of a sudden I could hear Tom yelling I stopped and looked up at him and he said GO GO GO and I realized we had 5 more mins. All in all I swam good and hard and the hour went by pretty quickly. When we finished he let Scott and I know we had swam 2850 in the hour. Not fast for most but supa fast for this chick. Total yards 3400 another milestone for me in the books. I finally left the pool feeling happy for a change!

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

A 60's weekend quick wrap up!

Mom's Surprise 60th Birthday was a success; we were not only able to surprise her but made her smile. She was surrounded by friends and family both in person and in spirit for those that were unable to attend. She even had a few hunky band members serenade her!

67 miles on bike feels like 67 miles on a bike, but on the hills it feels like 100. I had a great ride with many teammates with a run and food to follow. I was wiped out when I got home and an still recovering from fatigue. Thank you to my teammates that always help get through my training.

I never thought the temperature was going to hit 60 on Sunday but with about an hour and a half left into the ride the arm warms came off and the sun came out to warm us up a bit.

A wonderful weekend for 60's!

I am thinking a 60's kind of weekend

On Saturday my mom turns 60 and we have a surprise party planned for her, I am thinking she is going to be super thrilled. We have about 35 friends and family coming out to celebrate with her on her 60 years of excellence and sometime not so excellence. My step dad is surprising her with a plane ticket to California to see my brother.

On Sunday I am signed up to do the Continental ride with several teammates and I am signed up for the 67 miler. The furthest I have ridden so far was 62 prior to Iron Star back in November. Thankfully it is a supported ride and I can take lots of breaks. I was surprised that Coach G did not frown and say hell no you are not riding 67 miles. Well see what happens as I will have to be a good girl at my moms party if i am going to ride the hills for 67 miles.

Also on Sunday we will have a high of 68 degrees so we will have great weather for my 67 mile bike ride!

Hope to see you on the roads!

Count down to another 70.3

In just over 5 weeks I will be participating in another 70.3 only this time it will be an Mdot race. Not to say anything bad about a 70.3 race that is not sponsored by Mdot it is still the same distance. The big difference is the support provided on and off the coarse and all the swag you get to buy. And yes I like to brag so I will be showing off all kinds of Mdot 70.3 stuff. this time around the training seems different, yes there is allot of of it but I seem to be less worried about getting it all in. A few weeks went by where I missed several long bike rides out on the roads and opted to do them on a spin bike. I am now back out on the road and getting in the much needed long rides again and I am loving it. Long runs are going great, but that is the easiest thing for me is the run part- not that it is fast or anything. And swims- I still hate to swim, I still suck at swimming. I just do not click when it comes for feel of the water, so I will just fake it on race day and get myself through the swim and enjoy the rest.

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

Chalked up another Half Marathon and a PR

On Sunday I ran in my 7th half marathon, it was also the third time I have run a half marathon in Houston. As I watched in horror the week following up to the race with the predictions of rain and storms increasing with each day, all I could think to myself was thank god I am not doing the full. By Saturday night I had decided that it was defiantly all about fun and feel. I had talked to my coach about predicted times and paces but was reminded just go on how I felt. Sunday morning I woke up at 3:45am and was surprised that it was not raining yet, could it be would we stay dry? I met up with Russell, Kathleen and Robin for the ride into downtown, shortly after we got on the road the drizzle started. We pretty much decided we would probably get a bit wet, we parked and headed inside the GRB to do last minute potty breaks and check our baggage. About 6:40 we made our way to the start line and a few mins after 7 am we were crossing the start line. I was able to stay with Kathleen and Russell for about the first 5 miles when we got separated at an aid station, we had been keeping a nice steady pace and I was feeling great and had a great feeling about finishing at a nice pace. In the car earlier in that morning I had decided I would be happy with a 2:30 finish considering the weather, at mile six I realized I could do it faster. As the miles ticked away and rain came and went and came back again I concentrated on my breathing and my form, I thought about my coach kicking my ass for running harder than she probably really wanted me too. I asked myself, how long can you maintain this pace. When I arrived at the 10 mile mark I looked at my watch and it said 1:41:something... I thought what the hell I can keep up the pace for 10 more mins, and then 10 mins later I thought the same thing and as I got closer to the GRB I decided to turn it up. I crossed the finish line at 2:10:33 my previous PR was 2:12:16. Despite the weather conditions I was able to push through and set a new PR without having to work to hard for it. Yesterday I was a little tired and sore but nothing like normal. Today I am ready for a recovery run in the freezing cold.

I hope to see you on the roads soon!

Time Flies

Time is a funny thing, you wake up go to work, train, eat, sleep, wake up go to work, train. You get the idea. Yesterday as I was uploading a few workouts into traingpeaks I realized that I have a half Ironman in 10 weeks holy hell. Although I have been getting in most of my training I have lacked a few swims and long bike rides. In fact since Iron Star in November I think I have been on my tri bike 6 times. Once again I know I can do the distance but I would like to do the distance better than the last time.

Since Iron Star my grandmother passed away, my hubby and I went to Florida for our anniversary, then there was Christmas and New Years and all of these things have given me excuses to miss a workout. Oh and my best training partner is not doing Ironman Texas 70.3 so that has also thrown me a wrench. This weekend I will run in the Houston Aramco half marathon and then there will be no more excuses (yeah right) for missed workouts. This year for the half marathon I have no expectations, I simply signed up for this race just to see if they would pick me for the lottery. Well they did, so I will run for fun and see where it takes me.