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.

Post Race Update

Since my last blog I have not done a whole hell-ova-lot. Coach G gave me the rest of the month on November off and although I ran a hand full of times swam twice and took one spin class, i really enjoyed the time off. I planned to start training again over the weekend of Thanksgiving and it started with an easy bike ride that ended up in a crash-not my fault. One of a stupid lady driving while talking on her cell phone, who did not notice six of us riding in a straight line when she decided to turn in to us. I am ok other than a swollen and scarped up knee and nobody else was hurt thank god. I am sure after a friend and teammate told her off bad enough to bring her to tears she will learn to pay attention while driving. Last night I did a three mile run that was a hrt rate test, in the test I had to stay within 2 beats of 151. If I went over i had to walk and if I was under I had to speed up. Work out went well it was an easy run for me, but today my knee is throbbing and I am thinking more rest may be good for it. Tomorrow the hubs and I are celebrating our anniversary. Cant wait!
I am looking forward to getting back to the training, I have a half marathon coming up in January and a half IM in April.

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

Iron Star 70.3 Race Report

All I can say is wow what an experience. I woke up Sunday morning and it was colder than a witches tit, when I headed out to transition. I found a few of my teammates and we discussed what we would do to stay warm on the bike. I decided to swim in my tri shorts and tri bra under the wetsuit and after I got out of the water I would add the tri top and long sleeve tech shirt. When transition closed several of us headed to swim start and waited for pre race instructions and the national anthem. Our swim was delayed by about 10 mins to allow the fog to lift off of the water. Finally at 7:18 I was on my way into the water, it was difficult to see since the fog was still low but I got in a good groove and started swimming, I bumped into a few girls a couple of times but it really did not bother me. Each time I sighted I looked for the colorful swim caps and stayed on coarse since we could not see a buoy until you were right on top of it. Before I knew I was at swim out and making my way to transition. 1.2 mile Swim 45:30.

I skipped the wetsuit strippers and took on that task myself. I dried off and put my warmer clothing strapped on the shoes and helmet and made my way out of T1 5:34.

I headed out of the bike with high hopes of no wind, but hope was not good enough because it was windy. I had ridden this coarse or part of this coarse more than once and I must say this time was the most difficult. It was nice to know where I was at all times, but I got to the point that I was wishing the miles away. At least I saw all of my teammates at some point on the coarse so a familiar voice from time to time was excellent. Around mile 29ish Jenny's family was on the side of the road and as I went by the cheered for me too. Thanks to Hanna and Keith and all the rest of Jenny's family for being out on the coarse. As I headed back through the resort to transition, I saw Scott, Tarrah and Logan. Logan followed me to transition and told me how great I was doing and that he was proud of me. Bike time 3:35:05 avg pace 15.6 mpg not what I wanted but I am not terribly disappointed.

I changed shoes and out of the long sleeve top because it was now a nice 70 degrees and I hit the pavement for my 13.1 mile run. The run was 3 loops part of each loop was on dirt trails and grass but most of it was through the resort neighborhood that lots of shade. I had so much support out there during the run that the miles just ticked away. I tried to run as much as possible but took a brief walk break at each mile and sometime at each half mile. 1/2 marathon 2:31:55.

Coming into the shoot and all I could do was smile, When I crossed the finish line my mom gave me a high five and then the tears came but I kept them brief and enjoyed the moment. I stayed at the finish line until all my friends were finished. The hugs and smiles will last forever. I am so blessed to have completed my first half IM distance with such a great group of friends.

A huge thank you to my friends Russell, Robin and Kathleen for coming out and supporting me it was great to hear your voice and your cheers. Also thanks to my teammates that made it out to volunteer and cheer us on. Thanks you to my teammates families that were there cheering for us and taking pictures. Thank you to all the volunteers. And to my family that came out to cheer me on. If I forgot somebody I am sorry but please know you are appreciated as well. I have the best husband in the world who has been so patient with me through all of my training. We have missed many dinners together and have not been on a lot of dates lately. Coach G your are the best thank you for believing in me and making me believe in myself. And to all my teammate, who have been there blood sweat and tears and many hours of training. I could not have done this without any of you.

Total half IM 7:01:59. Now to enjoy recovery!

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

2 days

In 2 days I will embark on my journey to 70.3. 1.2 mile swim, 56 miles on the bike and 13.1 on foot. 4 months ago if you had said to me "Misty you will be doing 70.3 by the end of the year" I would have laughed in your face. But here I am 2 days away from something I swore I would never do. NEVER say NEVER! Through the past few months of training I have had some highs and some lows, I have missed some training and I have trained hard. Sunday will be here soon and I am excited to finally be here. Tomorrow I am guessing the Oh shit will kick in, but I know I have trained for this and I know I am ready. On Sunday my expectations are to finish, no time, just to finish. I am sure there will be tears when I am finished, but I cannot wait to complete my first 70.3.

Good luck to Team sTRIve in IM Florida and in Conore this weekend.

Low

Yesterday I was feeling very low, about as low as I have felt in the last three years since I started training for half marathon, marathons and now triathlons. Yes I love training and yes I love the sport, there are just so many small scarifies. I have missed out on family dinners and outings, Logan's golf tournaments, various birthdays, going away parties only to name a few. I have not cleaned my own house in months, I have not been to the grocery store in at least a month. So by yesterday it all hit me, I was feeling like the worst wife, daughter, granddaughter and friend. Feeling this way I called up a friend because I know from conversations with her that she too has felt like this at times. She assured me that this was normal to feel like this and that this was only temporary. Thank you my friend for making me feel better.


Hope to see you on the roads soon!

A weekend of workouts amd a little bit of fun

As the days tick by and Iron Star gets closer and closer I feel crazy about missing a workout. This weekend was a very productive weekend for me, after feeling ill last week coach decided to reduce my 14 mile run to 10 miles on Friday night, although a little warm and muggy I was able to finish with a 10:50 avg pace. After our group run we headed to Nit Noi for yummy Thai food and a cold beer. Saturday morning several of us headed out for an open water swim at Lake Windcrest, this was the first time I swam across the lake and back. Saturday the wind was blowing hard and made the swim over pretty rough, I started doubting myself and thinking I was stupid for thinking I could do the swim in my upcoming race. Once I got to the other side I took a few deep breaths and reminded myself I can do this and started swimming back, by the time I got back I had worked on the head case I created and now know I will make the Iron Star 1.2 mile swim. Sunday morning about 15 of us headed out to Montgomery to ride most of the Iron Star coarse the weather was warm and muggy and we had alot of wind but I felt good coming off the 50 mile bike ride and was able to maintain a 16.8 mph avg. This bike coarse is quit hilly for south Texas and I found myself fighting the wind and the hills. But again I feel confident going into my upcoming race.

As far as the fun Saturday night Big John had a hog roast to celebrate his accomplishments in Kona earlier this month and also to celebrate friends, family and teammates on all upcoming and past races. Thanks to Big John for a great time and fellowship. Sunday afternoon we watched the seniors golf tournament that was in our back yard, great time with friends and neighbors. Congrats to Fred Couples who ended up shooting 29 on the back 9 and coming away with a huge win.

Weight watchers update finally (last Friday) in week 20 I met my goal weight down a total of 18.2 pounds, now its time to maintain it.

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

Stomach bug not appreciated

This week I was attacked by the stomach bug and it was very unappreciated. 2 days of well you know, along with major cramping and not being able to enjoy food majorly cramped my training. I missed my track workout on Tuesday plus a run and a swim on Wednesday.. Boo. Don't you know I have 70.3 in just over a month! I have high hopes of an hour on the bike tonight and hopefully a swim and a bike ride tomorrow.

Saturday will kick off a weekend of great races for myself and many of my friends and teammates. Saturday for myself and many others will be 10 for Texas, which is a great 10 mile run in The Woodlands, the weather is to die for right and I cannot wait to do this race again. Also on Saturday my friend and teammate will be doing Ironman Kona, Big John you will do great my thoughts will be with you all day long. On Sunday many of my friends from the Woodlands Running Club will be in Chicago running the marathon. Good luck to all racing in these races and any others where ever they may be!

Hope to see you on the roads soon.

5 week count down

In five shorts weeks I will be participating in Ironstar 70.3, this will be my first half iron distance and as it gets closer the training becomes a little more intense. I started my triathlon journey one year ago, when "running" just wasn't enough. After completing several half marathon a few full marathons and 2 ultra marathons I wondered what next. I had been training at the track with Kim Hager and many triathletes (team sTRIve) and many times would hear, so when are you going to do a triathlon? My answer was NEVER, see I was completely terrified of getting in the water with a bunch of crazy women all trying to drown me, as so I thought. After many months of hearing stories of how these people traveled together and trained together constantly I thought I would give it a try. I signed up Try Andy's Tri and did my first Sprint triathlon on October 18, 2009. Since then I have done 3 sprints and 1 Oly, after doing my first Oly in Austin over Labor Day weekend I came home and after talking to my Coach (Gena) I signed up for Ironstar. Since Labor day my bike rides have increased from 25-30 miles for long rides to 50-60+ miles usually ridden on Sunday mornings with my awesome teammates. Some rides rock some rides suck, but I know in the end it will get me to the finish. If I didn't have training partners I would never get the finish on my own. Yesterday's ride was a tough one, it was windy, I felt lost for what seemed to be an eternity on a bumpy road, my ciatic (sp?) nerve hurt for about 30 miles and I really felt I would not be able to run off the bike. When I got in I told Gena what was going on so she pushed on the nerve and told me to run for 20 mins. When I started running the pain seemed to go away and I looked down to see I was running a sub 10 min pace. When we returned from the run we had run 2 miles at a 9.48 pace. And I felt like I could have run 2 more miles. Lesson learned, even the crappy rides aren't so bad. I also remember how much the words Team sTRIve mean to me. Thank you to my teammates that always seem to help me push through the good and the bad.

Friday 10 mile run
Saturday 5K breast cancer walk
Sunday 62 mile bike ride + 2.1 mile run.

Hope to see you on the roads soon.

Come back legs

Coming off the Lions club supported ride Sunday my legs are still a little fatigued. I had a decent swim Monday night, a little slower than normal but although I was tired I was able to get in 2000yds without to much trouble. Last night at the track was when I really felt the fatigue in my legs. I still pounded out 6 x 800 after a mile w/u 4:30, 4:31, 4:27, 4:29, 4:29 and 4:27 followed my a walking .5 mile c/d. Needles to say my Zoot Compression sock and the stick have been my best friend this week.

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

A very HILLY/LONG ride

Sunday was my longest ride ever. I chose to ride in the (62 mile) supported ride for the Lions club in Montgomery with several teammates some riding the 62 mile route and some the 100 in the beautiful hills through Dacus, Anderson, Richards and Montgomery. I decided to do this ride when Coach G sent us the link and suggested it would be part of the Iron Star 70.3 coarse I will be tackling on November 7th. I knew it would be a great idea to get a feel for the coarse and the hills since I normally ride on very flat terrain. Prior to this ride I had completed many rides ranging from 20-34 miles and one a week prior that was 42 miles. This being a big jump in mileage for me there was no time goal, just to enjoy the ride, study the hills and rest at the rest stops when needed. I stopped at 4 out of 6 rest stops topped off with water, got off the bike and sometimes ate an orange, the first 20 miles were a breeze as the mileage got higher so did the hills and the ride got harder. The first half of the ride I was able to maintain 17.3 mph but after about mile 30 the mph started to drop, the temp got warmer and hills got hillier. When I finished I finished I felt a little off but after a few minutes I felt like a human again. My Garmin and cateye were a little off from the others I rode with so we will go with the cateye results of 3hrs 41 min & 15.8mph avg speed. I realize that I need more hill training on the bike and that I probably need to try somethings out nutritionally before race day.


On another note WW started agreeing with me last week, after 4 weeks of up and down I had a good weight loss for a total of 17 lbs in 15 weeks.

Hope to see you on the roads soon!