Holidays

The holidays are finaly approching, the weather seems to be wanting to cool off a bit and after today I be on a weeks vacation. What more could a girl ask for? My brother and sister in law are going to be in town for a month after a 6 month journey to Central America and then they will head back to sunny California. I have lots to look forward to and to be Thankful for over the next month and a half. To start Thanksgiving day a 5 miler that I will get to enjoy and will not be racing this this year and then Thanksgiving dinner for with family. My anniversary on Dec 2nd that I will be unfortunatly spending alone this year because my hubby will be out of town- he will be making up for I AM QUITE CERTAIN OF THIS!!! On Dec 13 I will be running a half marathon in Dallas (WR) with some friends and hope to be bring home another PR. More family time through out the month and Christmas which I will have another week and a half of vacation. And finally into the New Year I will run Houston full marathon on January 17th.

My new job is going well I am learning new things. I am running 18 miles in the morning. My hubby and I are going to The Texas Reinacance festival on Sunday. Who knows what all I will get into next week- exciting for sure. Oh and from my last post I tried out the new wetsuit the other day and it fits great, easy to swim in and I love the fact that I float on top of the water- no more sinking when I get tired. Thank god for that!

Hope to see you on the roads soon and Happy holidays to all!

New Purchases

This is my newest run-purchase. I decided to try these puppies out to help with recovery after long runs. It took me several months of going back and forward to decide if these would really help me and if it was worth spending the money. After watching the New York marathon a few weeks ago I decided to take the plunge. So far I have run 3.5 miles, an 8 miler, and on Saturday I used them in my 16.67 mile run. On Saturday afternoon I noticed a big difference in the fatigue in my legs, yes they were still tired but they were not sore nor did they feel the beating they took in that run. So I am very happy with my purchase. They are very tight to put on, but I felt like my calves held in place and were not bouncing around. And then even tell you which foot they go on. Great purchase. I also recently purchased an Xterra wetsuit during a promotion for $99. Tonight in South Texas it is possible that it will be about 55 degrees when I hit the outdoor slightly heated pool, so I will taking along the wetsuit to see how it swims.

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

New boss, no tme to blog

Everytime I think about blogging I am handed something else to do at work. Yes I blog at work because I am never home to blog from home. Work is going great it is nice to be busy and to have a job. Since my 25k I have gotten in some good workouts, Monday was a night off of coarse, Tuesday 4.15 miles at the track, Wednesday spin class (all pyramids) great workout. Yesterday I met up with Kathleen after almost 6 miles it was dark but we ran up the water way in the light and completed 8 miles. I am hating this warm weather we are going to have for the weekend. On Monday we are finally supposed to get a cold front. Let's hope so.

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

A 25k

Sunday I ran my first 25K, not the furthest distance I have raced, but the first race that was 25k distance. It was 3 loops of 5.5 miles each. Thank god for my running partner Gena that carried me through the final loop. The weather was muggy/humid even warm at times, plus anytime I have to see the finish line more than once and pass it just plain sucks. Gena and I had a plan to run the first loop as warm up the second loop a little faster and to hang on to that pace through the 3 loop. First loop was great we stopped and drank water at each mile and held a good pace. 2nd loop we picked up the pace a bit and ran strong. By the third loop my IT band was bothering me so bad that I wanted to cry. Gena could feel huge blisters on the bottom of her foot. So we struggled bad, both of us took turns encouraging each other and reminding ourselves that it was the last loop and we had it in the bag. Unfortunately with our pain this was by far our slowest loop, but we finished in under 3 hours.. 2:48:33 chip time which we both had 2:47:40ish on our Garmin. We hung with other Team Strive members Mike Flake, Scott Meyer, Scott Farrand, Melissa Hammond, Donna Ryals and Blake Henning. When I got home I grab a bit to eat took a shower, got in my recliner and iced my knees and hips. Yesterday I was still in pain will walking but today I feel better. The race was fun but defiantly the worst race I have had yet (based on how I felt during/after the race).

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

Why give up?

After completing my very first tri a couple of weeks ago it reminds me how fortunate I am to be healthy and active. Last night I had the opportunity to attend a seminar at Luke's Locker with Team Strive. Chris and Denise Arthey spoke to us and told us their story from last year when they were hit by a drunk driver while on their motorcycles on their way to Corpus Christi Texas. Both very active and athletic, Chris a sub 3-3:15 marathoner both now have prosthetic left legs. It was very touching to hear how they first of all survived this horrific crash (a head on collision with a combined speed of 135 miles an hour)and how they deal with everyday life. It has been a year of pain and multiple surgeries for the both of them, but they live each day in the moment. It made me realize that some days all I want to do is sit on the couch.. and that's ok, but why give up? Training is not always easy, there are aches and pains, there will be cold, rain and heat, you will get sick and run down. There are days that you will have to rest and you need to listen to your body. So I will ask myself is it really painful, am I sick or do I want to just skip my workout? Listen to your body, but don't ever give up. Chris will be receiving his running leg in a few weeks. We see Chris and Denise at Starbucks every few weeks on our Saturday morning runs, I hope one day he will be running with us.

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

I am Recovering

Since last Sunday I have not done a whole in my training, but taking some time to recover. Monday after I got home from work I stayed in my recliner until I went to bed. Tuesday I felt great so I laced up and went to the track for an easy 3 miles. Wednesday was a different story, I felt tired again and a little under the weather so after conversing with the girls I decided to get in my recliner again and rest. I am thinking that was a great idea, because today I feel much better. I am hoping the rain clears so I can get in an easy bike ride this afternoon- after I change the flat on my bike.

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

Try Andy's Tri

So first off I will say I suck at writing race reports, but here it goes. Up at 3:45am Sunday morning nervously get dressed, bathroom x 2, load bike and transition bag. I am pretty much quiet the whole way down other than the 5000 questions I have to answer that mom shoots out. I think she finally got the hint that I could not answer anymore questions when I finally blurted out I JUST DON'T KNOW. We arrived with plenty of time for me to get my bike and transition area set up. I took my time and visited with other athletes that were racked next to me. Then it was just wait and think about getting into the water and having to swim. I met up with Gena, so she talked me through what was going to happen and what to do, I was cold oh yeah did I mention it was 50 degrees and the water was 72, they actually made the race wet suit legal the day before the race. Only a few ppl were a wet suit, like me most were beginners and did not have a wet suit. About 7:15 we walked over to the swim start and off they went wave by wave. I ran into Jenny Miller, Viv and Andrew, we all talked and I tried to take my mind off of my swim coming up very quickly. When I got in the water I could not touch so I tread water (not expecting that). I tried to get away from the other ladies so I would have my own swim space. Then the gun went off, bodies were flapping in the water, I stuck my face in and took a few storkes and nope, was not happening. So I swam most of the 300 with my head out of water, I got grabbed and swam on a couple of times causing a little bit of panic so I flipped on my back twice for comfort. Finally before i knew it I am being helped out of the water. (Swim 8:34.2) I run by and hear Gena's voice "ok now have fun". I am running to transition thinking OMG I am so tired, when I got to transition I ran down the wrong rack and here Jenny yell at me to come over there. (Thanks Jenny for steering me in the right direction). Grab my bike, helmet put on shoes and I a out of there, oops I jumped on my bike before the line (2:42.3 T1). Bike went well I passed 7-8 ppl, that was a cool feeling. The bike had a few over passes and some light head wind but I felt like I was riding good considering I was on my HEAVY mountain bike (38:35.4). When I came in I jumped off my bike early than I thought I needed to so I did not get yelled at again, ran into transition took off helmet, grab visor and race belt and off again (1:04 T2). By the time I get out of transition I feel like I have my legs back (for the most part)before I know it I am at mile 1 grab some water. I thought to myself don't stop running, just stay focused this is the easy part, this is what you know. I felt great a Little soreness in my legs but I know it is just a little fatigue and then I hear bagpipes so I know I am less that 1/2 a mile from the finish. I ran steady and then I can see is 100 yards away, I can here ppl cheering. I cross the finish line and get my medal. I did it. (30:32 run) Total time was 1:21:29. Time for a new bike. Will I do this again? HELL YEAH!!