Guest Post ~ My Sister's First Race

My sister, Rachael,  is my best friend and I have always looked up to her my whole life and still do. But I am glad I have been able to pass on a little inspiration to her. She just recently ran her first ran her first 5k and I couldn't be more proud of my sista!

So folks, without further ado, here is Rachael's race report: 

OK, at the request of my dear sister Sarah I am writing a race report on my very first running race (The Jingle Bell 5k in Columbus, OH). I had never considered running since having several knee surgeries as a teen. Then working out all together went to the way side after having 2 little girls taking up all my time. But, after watching Sarah at her Ironman I decided its time to stop being lazy and push myself. I have missed working toward a goal and actually participating in an athletic event. I think it has been at least 15+ yrs since my last gymnastics meet J

So I bit the bullet, registered for a 5K and started the couch to 5K program.

The first few weeks sucked big time, I felt very out of shape and discouraged. However, I kept plugging away with each workout. I kept thinking how I am going to run 3 miles when 1 min seems like too much. Before I knew it I was running for 30 min and it wasn’t so bad J

On Race morning I felt nervous, like I had a gymnastics meet (I missed that feeling). When they said start I was just hoping my legs/knee would have a good day. 

After the first ½ mile my right foot decided to be numb for no reason and I was a little worried I would want to walk. But I quickly got distracted watching everyone run by in their Christmas costumes and wished I had dressed up more festive. Before I knew it I only had another ½ mile to go. 

To my surprise I actually finished (in a rather slow time 32 min) but I finished without walking. It was so much fun to hear people cheering through the finish line! I am very happy I decided to try something new and it feels good to have accomplished something. My goal was to just finish, but soon after I just felt a little mad that I didn't go faster ( guess I will have to sign up for another race!!!!) So looks like a 10K is in my future in March! It is nice to be out doing something for myself again J 

Once again I am so proud of my sista and hope to run a race with her in 2013. Hint Hint - Cleveland RnR Half marathon Rachy :)

Happy Wednesday All 

USAT Challenge Kick Off

So December kicks off the start of the USAT National Challenge. I had so much fun last year with the DC Tri that I chose to do the challenge again this year. It's a great way to get motivated and get your butt off the couch in the off season.

Now of course with it being the off season and all, I allowed myself to have a little too much fun on Friday night which left me struggling with a hangover all day on Sat Dec 1st.

I had big plans to get in some miles on the first day of the challenge, but yeah. I took naps, ate bad food, and watched movies instead. I did manage to drag myself to the pool and get 3000 yards of death in

I was feeling much better on Sunday and kicked the day off with a 10k. It seemed pretty cold out even though I didn't start until 8:30am. After my run, I curled up on my couch freezing. I really couldn't get warm and figured a swim would be the best thing. So off to the pool both Jason and I went. It was one of the worst swims ever. I was breathing hard and struggling through sets of 100s. I finished out my mini tri with taking boomer out for a 26 mile spin. I over dressed and was hot most of my ride but hey I was riding outside so I was happy.

After basically doing an oly tri with food breaks in-between each sport I was dead tired. I wanted a nap, but I still had to take stuff back to Ikea. The worst store ever. After ikea and taking another food break. We made it home around 8pm. It was a long Sunday.

Lesson Learned. Don't drink on Friday night and ruin your Saturday. Although I think I will be saying the same thing next week while I'm having fun at some x-mas parties. After all it's the off season and I'm allowed to drink, right? But don't worry I will still get my miles in :)

Happy Monday All. Hope you had a great weekend :)

A Year in Race Review

Well this was my second year of racing triathlons and I had so much fun. Sure not every race might have gone as planned, but all races are good races in one way or another.

Jan ~ No Races. Boo. Who. But I started training for my first half ironman mid - month.

Feb ~ 
1. VA is for Lovers 14k: A great race down in VA Beach. I stayed with my good friend Jill and ran with her in her very first running race! I am proud to say she is now addicted to running and almost does a race every weekend. I am happy to have played a part in this :)

March ~ 
2. B&A Trail Half Marathon: A no frills die hard running race. It was a great course and I got to race with great friends. We all ended the day with shinny new PRs so it was smiles all around.

3. St. Patrick's 8k: This is the first time I actually tried running this fast. And by fast I mean I pushed myself so hard I vomited when I crossed the finish line! I was happy to finish with a 35:xx something. Plus it was fun dressing up a little.

April ~ 
4. Rumpuss & Bumpass Oly Tri: My first tri of the season and my very first oly distance race. I would have been nervous about this distance last year, but it just seemed like a drop in the bucket compared to what I was training for. The weather was perfect for us, but the run course sucked. My contact had fallen out and there was big rocks every where.

5. Lake Anna Century: I didn't want to say anything at the time or make a big deal out of it, but I think 60 miles was the farthest I had ever rode. It was a fun relaxed century though.

May ~ 
6. Kinetic 70.3: My first half ironman! I was going to race mooseman but decided Kinetic made more sense. I was nervous because this was three weeks before mooseman and I thought my training would be off. My swim wasn't great, but the bike course rocked and the run...well...the run is never good for me... but this race really made me feel confident about Louisville and I was one step closer to becoming an ironman.

7. Marine Corp Historic Half Marathon:  I ran this with my one and only M at his pace. Everyone complained about one hill on the course called Hospital Hill, but we really didn't think it was too bad. I also emotionally broke down while thinking about my aunt. I was sobbing and running at the same time. At any rate Jason finished the race strong and PRed by 7 some minutes.

June ~ 
8. Total 200: It had rained cats and dogs the night before the race and trees/power lines were down every where. Oh and did I mention that is was 105 out with high humidity  We took our time riding and enjoyed the rest stops. But boy was I happy when we finished with 130 miles of riding for the day.

July ~
9. General Small Wood Oly: Hello summer with temps of 110 with the heat index. It was well a super hot race which made me walk most of the 6k. It really felt like death out there. I might have just skipped this race but it was the club championships and I was proud to be part of the DC tri.

10. Maryland Swim for Life 2 Mile open water swim: Yikes I was really scared about this, but at the same time I was glad I just had to swim for the day. I never thought I could swim this far and even though it took me forever in a day, I finished it. It made me feel a lot better about Louisville's swim since swimming is by far my weakest leg.

August ~
11. Ironman Lousiville: Obviously this was the race I had been working all year for. My first ironman. I was nervous. I was scared. I was excited. All my training was going to be over with in a blink of an eye. And strangely looking back on it, the day seemed to go by so fast. There is so many things I would have liked to do over...ummm...my run... but at the end of the day those words "Sarah Karpinski, you are an ironman" were well worth everything I put myself through.

Odley I hated IM so much during the race that I never wanted to do another, but some how registered for IMMTB. I blame Jason and Coach Kiwi.

September ~ No races. Being smart and recovering from ironman. Plus well we went on vacation to San Fran, Napa, and Monterey.

October ~ 
12. Stonewall Jackson 20 mile run: A great little race that gave Jason and I a chance to do our last super long run before MCM in a race setting. Some of the course went over a trail though which made running just plain suck. Plus there was not enough bathrooms along the course and someone really had to go! Overall, it was an ok race. The team rage meet up afterwards was great though.

13. Marin Corps Marathon: It was Jason's first marathon and I decided to run it with him at his pace to support him along the way. My friend Jill also was running her first marathon. We all feared the hurricane that  was suppose to hit, but we really lucked out weather wise. I learned that running a marathon for "fun" is something I will not do again, but hey I did still have fun and I loved being out there with Jason and Jill.

November ~ 
14. Richmond Half Marathon: Worst.Race.Ever. Basically because I felt like death running. I was light headed and thought I pass out while running. Each mile became slower and slower. I wanted to walk so bad. But surely if I could finish and ironman I could finish 13 miles. So I didn't walk and I did finish. I was just disappointed with myself.

15. Bethesda Turkey Chase 10k: A fun extra hilly turkey trot with team rage. The run itself well kind of sucked, but everything else about the day was great! From the sparking skirts and turkey hats, to eating bagels and talking a little too loud.

December ~ No races again. I was going to race the Surf n Santa 10 miler but decided against it. I really wanted to get my running back to were I wanted it to be before I did another race.

I am excited for next race season and hope I can improve on my 70.3 and 140.6 times.

Hope everyone had a great race season! What was your favorite race this year? 

Bethesda Turkey Chase Race Report

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Mine was great and I kicked it off with the Bethesda 10k Turkey Chase.

Now, in my opinion all turkey trots should be just for fun, but I never really raced a 10k before and though it might be neat to go under 50 minutes.

We arrived with plenty of time before the race and met up with Sarah, Rachel, Victoria, and Cat in sparkling style. Jason was a party pooper and didn't want to wear a skirt, but he wore an awesome turkey hat instead. It was pretty cold out and we could not wait inside the YMCA so we all huddled inside my car to stay warm.

As the start time got closer we made our way over the start and before we knew it, we were running over the timing mat.

Now, I had forgot my garmin - if that tells you anything about how I felt about this race. To be honest I could have slept in and been just as happy missing it. Anyhow, I'm not sure why I thought I could fun fast. Fast and me have not been getting along lately. Actually I have no clue how in the world I ever ran with a 8 minute pace for 13 miles. Running a little under 8 minute miles for 6 miles should not be that hard. But yeah couldn't do it.

My first mile was too fast and I was waiting for V and R to catch back up to me so I could just run with them since we all had the same goal. Once they found me I was already to the point that I didn't feel like talking and I was sick of running. I never bothered to look at the course map and had no clue it was filled with hills. Up hills, down hills, over hills to the finish line we went. I could not keep up with them and pretty much threw in the towel at mile 3 only. I crossed the finish line in a disappointing and slow for me 53 to 54 minutes something.

I don't know what is up lately? Everything feels so hard. But at the same time I don't know what I was expecting since I had been on vacation last week and didn't run once, actually I didn't do anything at all.

Ever since finishing ironman, I don't know, I feel like I have lost my will. I want to improve. I want to get faster. But I have not done the work. Between two vacations, training for a "fun" marathon that was not at a pace I wanted to run, and probably not giving myself enough time to recover before Richmond has left me...well...not wanting to race.

With Richmond and now this turkey trot - I am struggling. I have lost my confidence. I had one more race this year, the Surf-n-Santa 10 miler, but I'm scrapping it. I don't feel like running another race were I don't do as well as I want to. I know I have been slacking and I know this is a cop out, but I don't want to continue to feel bad about myself. So I think skipping out on this race is the right thing to do. I want to run a spring half where I have a decent training cycle with tempos and track work. I want to feel confident going into my next race.

Ok enough complaining. I have gotten off track here. Back to the Turkey Trot. Even though I didn't have a great run I did still have fun. I mean after all it's a turkey trot and I had a turkey hat. Plus I got to spend my morning with great friends so I couldn't really ask for anything more.

Happy Friday All :)

Richmond Half Race Report

So I'm back from vacation and I guess I can finally write something up about the Richmond Half marathon.

 

I will start off saying it was the WORST.RACE.EVER....

 

Not because it was poorly run, but because I ran poorly!

 

I felt ok the morning of until my wave went over the timing mat. From the second I started running I felt light headed and dizzy. I thought I might actually pass out. I clipped out mile one with a 7:50 pace, but knew there was no way in hell I could keep running that pace. I told myself to just run and not worry about the pace and just run to survive is what I did. By mile 2, I was up to an 8 minute mile and the thoughts of just walking back to the start line entered my head. I felt that bad. But I didn't want to look like a wimp so I kept running.

 

With each mile I ran, my pace got slower and slower which is actually kind of funny. I thought maybe I didn't eat enough the night before/morning off and was just bonking? I got out my honey chews ate three, and ended up dropping the rest on the ground. Fail.

 

I was waiting for V and R to pass me. I figured when the 1:50 pace group passed me at mile 5 they were not far behind. I waited and I waited and I finally saw them around mile 10 or so. I tired to run with them, but yeah my body wasn't haven't it. I was trying to stay in good spirits, but it was really hard to do. By the time I saw V I almost started crying. I have never felt so bad on a run before. I wanted the race to be over. 3 more easy miles.

 

But yeah not easy. Not today.

 

The last mile was all downhill, but I actually thought it hurt my legs more? I don't know. But I do know I was happy to see the finish line. I was happy for it to be over with.

 

I did not PR. I did not even come close to a PR. I think my finish time was 1:56 or 1:57 something. I was mad. I was disappointed.

 

Even though I did not have the best race, I still have a great weekend with my friends. And really not ever race is going to be your best race and this one was just one of those.

 

Happy Wen All and Happy Thanksgiving! 

Richmond Planning

So this weekend marks my third to last race of the year. I will be making my way down to Richmond to run in the Richmond half marathon.

Now, I'm not expecting a lot out of myself at this race. I want to do well, and I hope to do well, but the truth is I just haven't put in enough training to turn out a PR. This does not mean though that I'm just going to throw in the towel.

My Plan/Goal for the race:

 1. Have fun as always

2. Still run under a sub 1:50 - I should be able to do this with the tempos I have been doing

3. Start off with the 1:45 pace group and hold on for dear life :)

4. If I'm still feeling good with a 5k to go, negative split my miles.

5. Actually eat/drink something during the race as I never have during a half. Not smart I know, but I think I've come a long way this year with nutrition during a race so hopefully it will help me not die by mile 9/10.

6. Have fun - oh yeah I already said that :)

So anyhow, there you have it. I'm excited about this race as I have herd good things about it. Now the hard part ... deciding what to wear for race day :)

Happy Wen All :)  

Zoom...

I am one happy girl and the proud new owner of some Zipp 404 Firecrest Carbon Clinchers :)

Does this mean I'm actually going to go faster...hmm... probably not... but I'm ok with that.

Now to find some pink Zipp decals and give Boomer a real makeover :)

Happy Tues All :)

Marine Corps Recap

So proud of my one and only, M, and my friend Jill for finishing their first marathon!

Heading into race day we were scared about hurricane Sandy ruining our day, but in reality the weather was perfect to run in. No sun, nice temp, and well a little windy at some points but not bad at all.

We headed down to the race around 5:45am and I have never had so much fun hanging out before the start of a race. I was laughing so hard when I tried to crack my hard boiled egg on the parking lot and the whole egg just exploded  Hard boiled egg...hmm...I think not. It was uncooked and egg was every where. We even had the people standing around us laughing too. It totally made it feel like we were not about to run 26.2 miles.

Once we started running, Jill took off to run her own race, and I just stuck by Ms side as I had told him I would run with him the entire race at whatever pace he wanted to run. I tried pacing him, but yeah he doesn't really like me pacing him so I just went with the flow and tried to enjoy myself as much as one can when they are running a marathon for fun. Plus well wearing a Halloween costume to run in always spices things up :)

I loved running through g-town and seeing Mia at that point. I also strangely liked Haines Point. Especially all these flags they had down there.

My legs were secretly hurting around mile 17-18 but I didn't want to complain and let Jason know about it. My feet were also hurting as I hated the shoes I choose to wear and my arches were screaming at me. I kept a smile on my face though and kept on running. The funny thing about running a marathon for fun though is your body doesn't seem to care if it's trying to run a sub 4 or just run to finish. It hurts regardless. I do think this will be the last time though that I run one for fun...no offense Jas... but if I'm going to put my body through this again I want to chase after my own personal goal.

Anyhow, I tried making funny, that's what she said jokes, as we ran down the mall to the Capital. If you have looked at the course map for this race, you will know what I am talking about.

Once we made it off the mall, we made our way over the 14th street bridge. It was just as dumb as I remember it being when I ran MCM in 2004. It was also at this point that we caught back up to my friend Jill. The three of us ran the rest of the race together :)

The last 6 miles were hard, as they always are, but we all finished together! Well almost all finished together. M was a little sneak and sprinted to the finish line to beat me and Jill by 8 seconds!!! He also made his goal of  beating my first marathon time, on the same course, which was 5:04 something.

My finish time: 4:58
M's aka Jason's finish: 4:57:52

Go M on your sub 5 finish!!!

Overall it was a great race and I loved being able to run it with my love and with one of my really good friends. And once again I am so proud of both of them and hopefully they are proud of themselves.

Happy Wen All

Hello Sandy...

Two days and counting until the Marine Corps Marathon! And Guess who decided to crash this run party? That's right, our good friend Sandy.

That's ok, she can run with us, because we love hurricanes.

And strangely for the first time yesterday I have gotten excited to run this little 26.2 mile race. I am actually excited to say I ran a marathon in a hurricane, ok more like just run in rain with wind.

But on a serious note, we can't control the weather and the only thing we can control is our attitudes. So with that mindset I am really here to make the most of the day on Sunday, regardless of the weather conditions, and just have fun.

Hope everyone has a good weekend and good luck to everyone racing MCM!!! Hopefully I can spot some of you out there in the sea of people :)

Happy Friday All :)

Marathon Week

Well only one more run stands between us before MCM!

This week has been easy, as I am tapering. Although I don't think I ever really ever seriously started training for this marathon to begin with. But here's my weekly plan:

Monday - Ran 5 miles

Tues - Bike commuting for almost 9 miles around the city, and a 2100 yard swim

Wen - Ran 4.16 miles

Thurs - I'm not sure what to do yet?

Friday - Run 3 - packet pick up

Sat- Rest

Sunday - run 26.2

It's actually hard to believe the marathon is this weekend! Almost exactly 2 months ago I was running 26.2 after swimming 2.4 and biking 112. It was hard. It was hot. It was a death march. I don't even know if I can call it running. ha. But, I can only hope that this stand alone marathon feels easier. Half of me wishes I was going after my own time goal at this race, but half of me is glad I will be running with Jas. I am not overly excited about it yet and my mind set is it is just a really long training run more than a race. I am hoping I get more excited about it when I go to the expo. I'm sure I will. And don't get me wrong, I am super excited for Jas and my friend Jill.

At any rate I am a little worried about two little things during the race:

1. I want to bring my phone with me so I can take pictures - but I don't have a good place to carry it while running. I guess I will just have to figure something out.

2. I am running in a Halloween costume. I am praying it doesn't chafe me! I will have to bring a mini slide glide with me.

Happy Wen All :)

Soon to be Marathoners

In a little over a week from today M and my good friend Jill will be running in their first marathon at the Marine Corp Marathon! I am getting so excited for both of them. I wish I could stand on the side lines and support them, like they have supported me so many times. But I guess they will have to settle to hearing me talk for 26.2 miles as I shuffle along their sides.

Right now the weather looks perfect with a high of 61 and cloudy. Of course it will change only a billion times between now and then, but it's fun to weather stalk never the less.

So yeah one more long run (9/10) miles and then it's all coasting from there. Ok well I have been coasting for awhile now since my training has been less than great ....

Happy Friday All :)

A Good Run ... Finally

I am happy to report that some of my motivation has returned to me today!!! This is exciting I tell you. I thought I left it back in Louisville. And with my motivation back, I was able to run all around DC this morning with a smile on my face. 

Anyhow, my alarm went off at 5am. I didn't turn it off and roll back over under my warm covers. Instead I jumped right out of bed and put my running clothes on. And oh my new running shoes! Maybe that's why I was excited to run, to test out my new shoes? I wolfed down a granola bar and was out the door by 5:15am.

I was met by dark, some more dark and 40 something degree coldness. I wore long running spandex, a long sleeve shirt with those thumb whole things in it, and a head/ear warmer band. So yeah I was ready for the weather and as always was over dressed for the occasion. Sweat was rolling down off my head at only mile 2. I took off my top and tied it around my waste. I thought about dropping it off at my work since I was right there, but didn't feel like signing in, etc. So on I ran.

The first 3 miles, were ok. (8:28, 8:42, 8:49) I kept thinking in my head that this run is going to turn into another bad run, but it never did! I ran up mass, I ran up the big hill on T at Connecticut. I was still feeling good. More up hill to zoo, and still feeling ok and my pace didn't drop too much. (8:34, 9:15, 9:15, 8:32, 8:22 ) Wow, I was getting more and more exited. For the first time in a long time, I was enjoying myself while running. This was fun.

I finished up my run down P street to Rock Creek. When I hit Rock Creek, it went from dark, to really dark without any street lights. I was glad I had rigged by knog bike like to my Nathan's bottle. Blinking white light while running for the win. 

Haines Point wasn't soul sucking, but then again I only ran to Buckeye Drive. The sun was finally starting to raise and the rest of my run was pretty much uneventful, but I finished strong. (8:33, 8:38, 8:45, 8:58, 8:24, and 6:58 for the last .85)

I has happy that I actually got myself out of bed to do this run. 13.85 miles in 2 hours and I made it to work on time at 7:30. I am even more happy that it went well though. It gives me hope that I totally will not suck at the Richmond Half.

Now, all I have to do is work all day, then I get to hop on a flight to Cleveland to visit my fam for the weekend :)

Happy Friday All :)

My Week so Far

So I haven't blogged all week. Mainly because I wanted to write a race report from our 20 mile race, but I have been to lazy to upload my garmin data. No garmin data and no pretty graphs, means no race report right now.

 

In the meantime, this week has been going ok.

 

Monday - I ran the coldest 5 miles of my life. Ok, not really, but it was cold and my lungs weren't used to running in the cooler temps. I felt light headed and dizzy. My ears were cold, my hamstring hurt. I could go on complaining, because honestly I can, but yeah I'll stop. I'll just be happy that I ran 5 miles and I had the day off work

 

Tues - Brought the return of Capitol Hill repeats. I haven't done these well since June. I waited till M got home and we ran down to the Capitol together around 7:30pm. It was dark out, but the area is well lite. I had in my head I wanted to do 6 x repeats, so that's what we did. Strangely I had fun during this run and kind of missed doing the hill workout all those months.

 

Wen - Did a 5 mile tempo run during my lunch break. My goal was to run 8 minute miles for all 5 miles. I came somewhat close and hit most of my miles right at 8:03. Mile 3 must have sucked though because I slowed down to a 8:18 minute mile, but I was still happy with my overall run. I also forgot how much I like running during the day. Hopefully I can bring back the lunch time run once a week. On the down side of yesterday, I had a swim fail and went home and napped with Kiwi instead.

 

Thurs - I miss cycling, so I joined Rachel in the dark cold morning at Haines point to get some riding in:

             It was cold ~  check

             It was windy ~  check

             It was fun ~  check

 

             Now I want a winter cycling jacket more that anything.

 

Friday - I hope or the plan is to run 13 miles before going into work at 7:30am. Since I don't own a head light, I think I'm just going to put one of my bike lights on my nathan's bottle. This should work and hopefully then I won't look like a zombie wondering around on the dark streets of DC. Also trying to get to work on time should be motivation for me to run faster.

 

Sat/Sun - Relax and enjoy time with my family in the Cleveland area :)

 

This brings me to next week - goal - return to swimming at least twice a week to maintain my swim fitness. No more naps instead of swimming.

 

Happy Thurs All :)

Slacking ... again!

So this week has been a less than great week of training. I guess my main problem is I feel like I'm not really training for anything and there for allow myself to slack. Terrible Terrible excuses I know....

 

But I do have something I am working towards.... I think... 

 

I just signed up for the Richmond half. Now I don't think in the next 5 weeks that I have enough time to try to get fast again to PR. And no it won't be the end of the world if I don't. But I really need to get my butt running at least 4 times a week. And since I don't know if it's really a reasonable goal to PR, what I want to focus on is the Surf n Santa 10 miler Dec. 8th. I do think I have enough time to train speed work etc for this race. I have no clue what my current 10 mile PR is, but I would like to run this with 7 somethings. I did a tempo this week with 3 miles at 7:43, 7:46, and 7:46. This was not easy for me at all. I felt like I was going to die at the end. So, yes I have a lot of work in front of me. And maybe this time goal isn't even possible for me at this point. Who knows. Never the less I will go for it and try.

 

What I think I need to do is set myself up a training plan, so I don't slack, and so I'm not floundering through space with no clue what to do. So, yeah, this is the last week I am a slacker. No more excuses. No more my bed is so soft and comfy or I need a nap after work. I'm starting to get sick of being lazy. Plus I am sick of being slow. 

 

On that note, I hope everyone has a great weekend and good luck to those who are racing!

 

Happy Friday All :)

Coach Kiwi

I would like to introduce all of you to the best triathlon coach I know! Coach Kiwi!!

She is great at providing Ironman training plans and tips :) Nap. Sleep. Eat.

Happy Wednesday All :)

From Zero to Two Races...

So I haven't raced since Louisville and I have not one but two races coming up this weekend!

My first race will be a 20 miler on Sat.

I actually wish I wasn't doing this race, but I know it's a good way to get in my last super long run before MCM. I guess I am not that excited about it because I am not really racing it. I also would rather being doing the Giant Acorn oly distance race taking place the same day and just do my 20 mile run on Sunday. Oh well.

Then the following day, I will be doing the Giant Acorn Sprint Tri.

I am excited about this race. I want to do well but yeah I know going fast is not in the cards for me. Number one, my training hasn't been great. Number two, I am running 20 miles the day before so my legs are going to be less than fresh. Tired legs makes it hard to go fast. boo. I am sure I will have fun never the less and looking forward to tri-ing again. I just have to remember not to be disappointed with my splits and total time. Easier said than done.

Happy Tuesday All :) 

Weekend Recap: 18 miler + coaching

My marathon training has been well not that great. I feel like I might take it more seriously if I was running this race for my own time goal. I'm not complaining though, I am happy with my decision to just run this for fun and stick to my M's side. Never the less I am hitting my long runs over the weekends and will try to up my weekday mileage now that I all my post ironman fatigue is finally gone.

On Saturday M mapped us out 18 miles of fun all over DC and of course no long run would be complete without including wonderful Haines Point. The point just seems so much better on a bike...

Anyhow, we started off our run with long sleeve shirts on, stupid! After about a half of mile we turned back around to our house and ditched our shirts. This was the best decision ever because we really didn't need them. M, aka Jason, as pretty much dead one with hitting all his mile splits right around 10:30 - 10:45. He actually runs faster up hill then downhill which makes no sense to me. And he made sure we had plenty of hills on our run. Mass - to Connecticut - to Macomb. Fun.

I think we both felt pretty good through about mile 13, then we hit the waste land of Haines Point. It's just lonely down there and the sun beats down on you. It is good practice for MCM though as I remember this being the worst part when I ran it in 2004. Anyhow, all I could think about was how in the hell did I finish Louisville? My legs were hurting at mile 15 and I didn't even swim or bike beforehand. We refilled our water bottles at this point and took a two minute walk break. This is actually the first time we took a walk break. The last three miles were uneventful as we made our way home down Independence and before we knew it 18 miles were done. I was glad to be finished and I was glad to be running at M's pace instead of my own.
Actually I don't even know if I could even run faster than that at this point. I don't even know how I used to even run fast (well fast for me).

Sunday was a fun filled day of that included teaching two floor routines. I was at our gym from 9am - 2pm dancing around on the floor. It was fun though and I remembered why I like coaching. My gymnasts loved their routines and were smiling from ear to ear. I love seeing that.

After coaching, I went for a nice little recovery swim at Fairland's pool. I love that I work at a sportsplex because it makes it so easy to go from gymnastics to swimming.

The pool was very uncrowded and I got 2000 meters in before heading home and crashing.

So that was my weekend. I hope everyone had a great one as well and good job to everyone who raced.

Happy Monday All :)

Races...

I finally got my gymnastics meet schedule for the 2012 - 2013 competition season. I pretty excited that they got it to us a little early this year, which means I can start planning my race schedule around their meets. I would really like to do a half marathon in March and with a meet the weekend of March 16/17th that leaves out the bigger local races. Hopefully the B&A Trail Half will work out for me, other wise I may be traveling a little longer than I would like for a race. Either way, I'm sure I will find something.

 

Talking about race schedules, I pretty much have mine almost planned out.

 

VA is for lovers 14k - Feb 9 2013

undetermined half marathon - sometime in March

Rumpuss in Bumpass oly tri - April 2013

Kinetic Half (aqua velo) - May 2013

IM Raleigh 70.3 - June 2rd 2013

Rev 3 Williamsburg 70.3 - June 23rd 2013

???? - July

IM Mount Tremblant 140.6 - August 18th 2013

 

Umm... I have no clue what I'm doing after ironman, but I did sign up for one race:

 

Rock n Roll Cleveland Half Marathon - Oct 5th 2013

 

Also, if any of these races look fun to you, come join me :)

 

Happy Friday All and hope everyone has a great weekend.

 

Napa Valley Riding

So over vacation, M and I rented bikes while we were in Napa Valley from the Calistoga bike shop.

 

The shop guys were extra nice and hooked us up with some Orbea Orca bikes and mapped us out a 50 mile route with rolling hills. Well, rolling hills according to them, but there was nothing really rolling around the one hill we rode.

 

We started the ride around 11:30ish and it started off great as we were riding past vineyards having fun. 

 

Then we turned onto Howell Mtn Rd. A road name with the word mountain in it couldn't be good. 

Especially for this out of shape, lazy, post ironman doing nothing person like myself. As we made our way up the hill, I put my bike into the small ring and dropped my first chain! Woot. M kept flying up the hill as I struggled to put the sucker on. 

Anyhow, about half way up the hill and not that many miles into the ride, I felt light headed and thought I might pass out. A small breakfast and no snacks made for dumb fueling for this ride. I was hungry 10 miles in and was struggling. I ate a stinger and some shot blocks which made my feel a little better, but I knew there was no way I was doing 50 miles.

 

The hill went on forever.... 4 miles with 1,200 feet of climbing forever... 

This may not be a big deal for some, but it was hard for me.  I really never thought we were going to make it to the top. I had my bike in it's smallest gear and just pedaled very slowly. Once we made it to the top the views were breath taking and well worth the ride up. 

But what goes up must come down! I think I was more scared of the down hill then the climbing. It was also at this point we cut off about 20 miles from the ride and just headed back to the shop. Wimpy I know, but we had to also fit in some wine tasting as everything closes at 3-4pm in Napa.

 

Overall, I had a blast riding just a little less than 30 miles in a new area. Would love to come back another time to do some more riding. Vineman anyone? 

Vacation Recap

I haven't posted in forever and I'm sure everyone missed me.... ha... probably not. Anyhow, I have been on vacation for the last 9 days :) We went to San Fran, Napa, and Monterey CA.

Stop number one: A quick 16 mile run around San Fran. Running over the Golden Gate was fun but windy as hell!!

We then walked all over the city the next two days. Too many pictures to post, but I thought the Full House houses were neat.

Along with the biggest hill ever (35% grade I think) were cars have to snake their way down it.

Next Stop: Alcatraz! Somewhere I have always wanted to go for whatever reason.

I tried to escape, but forgot to get my wet suit smuggled in.

Jason I guess had better luck on the other side of the bars.

After Alcatraz we went to the tourist trap known as Angel Island. Pretty Views of the city and Gold Gate, but not worth it at all.

On our way out of the city, we stopped at Muir Woods - aka Red wood trees and hiking.

We had fun hiking up a mountain and the views were rewarding.

We finally made our way to Napa

Were we tasted wine and road bikes of course.

Don't let the word Napa Valley fool you though, we climbed up a mountain were I thought my legs might fall off. Oh and don't mind Jason's thumb. It's part of the view :)

Our Final stop was in Monterey to visit my old roommate and good friend Jessica.

She took us to 17 mile drive for great ocean views.

Then we made our way to Fisherman's wharf and made friends with the sea lions

One of my favorite things the whole trip was going to the beach in the evening to hang out.

Look at the views

Be over all goofy

And share stories over the fire.

So anyhow, I had a great time and now it's back to real life.

Happy Monday All :)