Touch-a-Truck

My son is ALL boy.  I always thought that children became girly girl or super boy based on their environment.  I don't think that's true.  Anderson has just developed as ALL boy. 

He loves trucks.  We will be walking or driving somewhere and he'll just say "oooh, truck!!!"  Last week I made his dreams come true and took him to "Touch-a-Truck" in a neighboring town.  He must have said "truck" a thousand times.  He ran between the vehicles.  He pointed and squealed.  It was beautiful. 

 

Challenge New Albany Women's Sprint Tri 2014

They say that an Ironman is 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking, 26.2 miles of running, and bragging rights for the rest of your life.  For the rest of us non-Ironman triathletes, I believe we have to finish an triathlon annually to keep our triathlon street cred.  So, I did my one triathlon this summer - the Challenge New Albany women's sprint. 

This race was short and I mean SHORT!  200 yard pool swim, 7 mile bike, and 2 mile run.  And it was fast.  And I love fast!

The swim was a little bit of a cluster.  There were about 130 women in the race and the director left it up to us to seed ourselves in the swim.  I don't know if I'm a fast swimmer or not, but I didn't want to get caught up in a mess of non-swimmers so I seeded myself close to the front.  I jumped in the water and halfway through the first lap I realized I did not start my watch.  Rookie.  I finally started my watch at the first wall.

I swam pretty well and passed two people and only got passed by one.  It got a little congested at the walls, but I'll take a pool swim any day to open water.  I wish all triathlons were in a pool.  Seriously, is there an ironman out there that's done in a pool?

It would have been totally awesome if the swim started with a trip down the slide.

  

Swim time: 4:41, which included a pretty sizeable run into transition.

In transition I realized I did not press the lap button on my Garmin.  Seriously, have I never done a triathlon before?  Helmet, socks, shoes and we're off!

T1: 0:57

Right away I got passed by a girl on a mountain bike.  

I couldn't figure out the Garmin to see what my pace was but I thought "how badly am I at biking that a chick on a mountain bike is ahead of me?"  But she didn't suck.  In fact, she stayed ahead of me for nearly 5 miles before I caught her.  I was so impressed with race organization during the bike portion of this race.  The roads were well marked, lanes of traffic were closed off just for this race, and there were volunteers and cops everywhere.  And the support on the course was amazing.  I think there should be all women's races for all races.  The ladies in the race were cheering on each other and high fiving.  Isn't that really how it should be?

Bike time: 23:58

Seriously, I was one of like 10 people riding a time trial bike and had the 21st fastest time.  I suck at biking (of course, I have done pretty much ZERO training for triathlon).

T2: 0:42

The girl who rocked it out of transition one on her mountain bike beat me out of T2 as she already had running shoes on.  I ran out like a bat out of hell.  The run was only two miles.  I could freakin' sprint two miles.  

 

I love running.  I just love running.  It was awesome to be out there flying, catching people, finishing the race.  I pushed and pushed all the way into the finishing chute, almost getting the woman in front of me (we were the second and third finishers).

 

 

Run time: 14:32

Overall: 44:50 2nd overall

I had a lot of fun.  This race was well organized and the whole weekend was well put together.  I am so excited this race was brought to my hometown and I look forward to watching this race grow in future years.  Great job HFP and Challenge Family.  I'll definitely be back.

Challenge New Albany: It's Kinda a Big Deal

This weekend the Challenge Family brings their triathlon magic to my hometown with Challenge New Albany.  It's a whole weekend of triathlon with men and women's sprints, kids and junior races, and Olympic and half distances (and if the race ever becomes a full iron distance I may have to change my stance on "never doing it again").  The race is bringing in pros and amateurs from all over the country and from a few countries.  Dave and I are both participating (I'm doing the sprint and Dave is doing the Olympic) and I couldn't be more exciting.

There are lots of people coming into town who I'm excited to meet, cheer on, stalk, whatever.  First is my BFF Meredith Kessler.  She's probably going to win the whole thing and it's going to be totally cool to see her race in person.  Amateur stud Amanda is going to be here too!  We've been talking via email for a weeks now and it's totally going to be awesome to finally meet her.  She's gonna rock out this race too!  My former Trakkers/Rev3 teammate Janet will also be competing.  I met up with her this past April at a half marathon.  She's in her second year as a pro and getting more awesome all the time.  Current Rev3 chick Maggs will also be here.  I've never met her but I'm friends with her on Facebook and hopefully will get to meet her and will definitely cheer loudly for her.  Finally, although not racing, I think Colleen will be around this weekend.  I've yet to meet her little kiddo and would really love to catch up with her.

If you're coming to town this weekend for this race, let me know.  I live right behind the host hotel and would definitely love to meet you.  If you have questions about the race course, specifically the run course, I know it very, very intimately (like, I run it almost every day).  I hope to see you this weekend and good luck!!!!

Bed Yoga

Alright yogis, I need your help.

I don't sleep very well.  I love to sleep and can sleep, and especially nap, like a champion.  But falling asleep is a whole different story.  I would probably go to sleep easier at night if I didn't nap during the day, but I like napping as it is my time to snuggle and spend precious time with the kiddo.  He's only going to be little once and I'm going to take advantage of it while I can. 

Anyway, falling asleep at night has become challenging.  My mind races, my legs twitch, my back hurts, and I have an OCD ritual of going to the bathroom 900 times to completely empty my bladder.  I can be pissing air and I will still go to the bathroom at least 3 more times and yet, every night I ALWAYS have to get up and go to the bathroom again.  Why do I put myself through this?

No matter what time I fall asleep, Anderson is always going to get up between 6-8:00am.  I need to fall asleep as soon as I can.  I need help!

I'm not a huge fan of yoga (boring) nor do I really know how to do it.  It does relax me though and once we reach the end of the class where we're lying on the ground with soft music and soft talk, I am usually relaxed enough to fall asleep.  I need this to happen every night.  Is there a such thing as "bed yoga"?  Are there stretches and relaxation techniques I can do while in bed that can help me get to sleep?  Are there good apps/CDs/MP3s out there that can talk me through getting to sleep?

Help!  I'm tired!

CRC Mile Dash 2014

Well....not every race can be your best race.

I really had high hopes of breaking 6:00 in this race.  I have had some fast training, I've had fast races, I've dropped some weight, I really thought this was the year.  Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.  In fact, this might have been the slowest one mile race I've ever run.

My mom joined me at the race this year with Anderson as Dave and my dad were drywalling a few walls at home.  I too had a busy day of ripping down a wall, putting together some doors, working on a book with my mom, taking care of the baby, not taking a nap.  This was probably not the best ideas to go into a race.  There's more to life than racing though, and things have to get done.  Regardless, I felt like I could be fast.

We got to the race site, I checked in, and started my warm up.  Everything felt awful.  It was humid and my legs just seemed off.  I did about three miles of warm up but didn't feel very confident when I reached the start line.  This year I was entered in the elite wave which was suppose to be 6:00 and under.  In previous years, this faster wave was large with TONS of high schoolers and others.  This year it seemed very small - maybe because they called it the elite wave.  There were only about 14 girls in the whole wave and most of them were one high school cross country team.

I lined up toward the back as I knew I'd be darn close to 6:00 and took off like a bat out of hell.  I hit the quarter mile mark right on 1:30 (6:00 pace).  I was struggling to get comfortable (should a mile race be comfortable?) and I couldn't get control of my breathing.  At the half mile mark I was just over 3:00, still close enough to a 6:00 pace.  At this point my lungs were burning and my arms and shoulders were tight.  The next quarter mile felt like forever but surprisingly I was around a 4:33 - still hanging in.  The last quarter mile I felt like I was increasing the turnover, picking up my knees but the finish line just seemed far away.  The time on my watch read 6:21 when I crossed the finish line.

Added: Official time was 6:21 and I won the 35-39 age group.

Molly had it today!  She ran a 5:37! 

No excuses, I just didn't have it today.  I still believe there is a sub-6:00 in me but I think it will take a lot of work to get there.  My focus right now is toward distance and endurance.  I'll be throwing in another fun, short race next weekend and then it's full-on towards the fall marathon goal.

Week in Review

Another great week of training!!!!

Monday - 3.5 miles treadmill. 
I was doing this run in the basement during a huge storm.  With only 7-1/2 minutes left the power went out and the run was over.  At least I got most of it in.

Tuesday - 5 mile tempo run. 
Again, the weather wasn't cooperating so I did this one of the treadmill at the Y.  Tempos were done at a 7:30 pace.

Wednesday - Rest day

Thursday - 3.5 mile treadmill run. 30 minutes of strength.
Strength was mostly legs - lots of squats and lunges.

Friday - 5 mile track workout.
I'm doing a one mile race in a week so there were a zillion 200s done on the track.  All of them were done between 41 seconds and 45 seconds.  That's a far cry from high school when I ran the 200 in 27 seconds.

Saturday - 10 mile bike ride.
I actually road my bike outside.  I wanted to make sure I still remembered how to clip in, steer, wear my helmet, etc. before my triathlon in a few weeks.  That's right.  I'm doing a triathlon. 

Sunday - 11+ mile long run.
I ran with my friends at the local hilly metropark.  My GPS was not working really well in the woods, so I had no idea what the pace really was.  Regardless, it was a great run.  I don't get to run with my friends very often, but I really love it when I do.

Totals:
Bike - 10 miles
Run - 28.2 miles
Strength - 30 minutes

New Albany Independence Day 5K

Oh the GPS watch.  I love it.  I hate it.  My Suunto is both a "regular" watch and a GPS watch.  I've begun racing with the GPS and mostly it's been great.  However, with a shorter race like a 5K it is too much for me.  I know I have the ability to race in the 6:00s but that doesn't mean I want to see it on my watch.  My last 5K I put a sticker over the watch so I couldn't see what was going on but I could still get my splits post-race.  This 5K I forgot my sticker so I turned my watch so it was on the underside of my wrist.  I could still see the paces, but only a little as it bounced around a lot more.

Anyway....

The whole family participated in the Independence Day 5K.  Dad, Dave, and I did the 5K and Anderson did his first "race."  More on that in another post.

Dave and I started together and he took off like a bandit.  But I was right with him and in the first mile I passed him.  I could still see his shadow right behind me for the majority of the mile.  I hit the first mile at 6:36.  Holy wow!  I couldn't tell, though, if my watch said 6:36 or 6:56 so I just went with it.  In the second mile Dave pulled beside me and pushed me.  I told him I was hurting.  I just kept concentrating on picking up my knees and pushing.  I skipped the only water stop at this point as I knew if I took some I would probably stop.  This was hard.  I hit the second mile around 7:00.  Dave passed me in the last mile and told me that the third place girl was right ahead of me (this turned out incorrect - she was fourth), but right at that moment another girl passed us both.  Oh well.  The last bit of the race is uphill and I was losing my shiz.  I was dry heaving and doing whatever I could to finish fast.  Dave kept pulling further ahead and I kept seeing the pace on my watch get slower and slower.  Oh no!  I was so close to PRing!  And then we were done and I had a HUGE PR!!!

21:02

Holy freakin' wow!  That is 30 seconds faster than my previous 5K PR.  Here's the caveat though.  My GPS read only 3.03 miles.  And Dave's and Dad's read 3.02.  Hmmmm, is that really a PR?  We have decided yes; the PR stands.  If I was wearing just a regular stop watch I would never have known that the course was short.  I've been working hard too and the PR was going to fall this year anyway.  Sure, it's going to be hard to beat, but CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!!!

It was a great day for the family.  Dave and I both walked away with 2nd place in our age groups (only the second time Dave has placed in his age group EVER) and my dad got 3rd in his age group.  Anderson got his first medal.  And it was an awesome Fourth of July.

Oh you know, just hanging out with former Olympian and world record holder Butch Reynolds after the awards.

I've had several people ask through Twitter and whatnot...

Yes that is a pie.  Each finisher got an individual-sized apple pie and the age group awards were full size apple pies.  What a sweet prize.

Week in Review

This has been the first week where I really felt like I was training.  I ran all 5 workouts I was assigned, did a swim workout, and a little bit of core work. 

Monday 6/23
Scheduled: 2600 yard swim
Actual: 2600 yard swim with some kicking, some pulling, some fast stuff...

Tuesday 6/24
Scheduled: Dynamics and an easy 45 minute run
Actual: Didn't get in the dynamic exercises, but I did do the 45 minute run on the treadmill. 4.69 miles.

Wednesday 6/25
Scheduled: 35 minute easy run
Actual: 35 minutes easy on the treadmill. 3.78 miles.

Thursday 6/26
Scheduled: 1 hour 5 minute tempo run
Actual: 1 hour 5 minute run with a gazillion 1:15 tempos. 7.67 miles

Friday 6/27
Scheduled: Rest day
Actual: Rest day

Saturday 6/28
Scheduled: 35 minute split run around 30 minutes of core work
Actual: 35 minute run outside in the hot sun. 4.07 miles.

Sunday 6/29
Scheduled: 1 hour 20 minute long run
Actual: Dave's parents were in town and watched Anderson so Dave could ride his bike with me and provide support.  It was HOT out there but got it done.  Some tempo work was included in this workout. 9 miles.

Totals:
Swim - 2600 yards
Run - 29.21 miles

Stitch Fix #1

My first Stitch Fix arrived last week and here's what was inside...

First was a coral-colored blouse with lattice detail at the sleeve and neckline.  It was super-cute and I loved it but it was a little big around the mid-section so I decided not to keep it.

Next was a orange-y tank top with a pocket detail.  Um, no.  This is so not me.  I obviously sent this one back.

 

This scarf is sorta mustard in color and had pineapples all over it.  I love scarves but this one I just didn't love.  I don't know if it was the color or the pineapples, but I had no idea what I would wear it with.  I prefer my scarves to be bright and bold so it becomes the statement piece of an outfit.  I sent this one back.

I loved these jeans.  They were a dark-wash skinny jean that were NOT low-waisted.  And surprisingly, they fit perfectly.  I have a hard time with pants as (a) I'm short but (b) I have long legs so getting pants to fit without having them hemmed is a miracle.  Unfortunately, I sent these back as I already have a dark-wash skinny jean.  I left a note that I would love these in a color perhaps.  Hopefully I will get another pair in the next fix.

 

Finally, this turquoise blouse with stud detail.  I LOVED this shirt.  It fit so well and looked so great.  I kept this one.

My next fix is scheduled for the middle of July and I can't wait to see what's in it.  I hear each Fix gets better and better.  I'm nervous for my credit card.

If you're interested in trying out Stitch Fix, feel free to use my referral link by clicking here.  

 

Mother of the Year

We bought a new house back in November 2013 and moved in this past February.  It's an older home, a real fixer-upper, but it kept us in the school district, moved up even closer to work, and gave us land, privacy, and a great place to raise Anderson.  In the months that have followed we have begun lots of improvements on this home.  I'm planning a whole series called "Cats and Brass" about this home coming soon.

The last couple of weekends we have been working on Anderson's room.  Basically, it's just painting, but as we have learned it is never as easy as "just painting."  First, we had to take down the god-awful vertical blinds.  Then we had to patch the walls where all the nail holes, screw holes, other holes, and bad things in the walls were.  Next we have had to paint all the trim - baseboards, window trim, closet doors.  Why?  Well, because they had painted an accent wall including the baseboards and window trim.  Of course.  So we decided to paint all of it white.  Finally, and hopefully soon, we will be able to paint the walls and hang his artwork.

To be able to work together and get things moving, we have had to put Anderson in his jail crib.

Today while Dave was at work, I worked on priming the closet doors while Anderson watched Bubble Guppies in his crib.  I got about 20 minutes of work in before he started having a meltdown.  It was lunch time and he was also ready for a nap.  So I prepared him lunch.

Anderson is in this stage right now where he doesn't want to eat baby food anymore, but really hasn't found a whole bunch of adult food that he likes.   So for lunch I tried something new, a ham and turkey sandwich with mustard.  He instantly hated it and let me know by screaming at the top of his lungs and crying with real tears.  I got him some cottage cheese and grapes and all was right with the world again.

Finally, he decided to drink his milk in the living room while I ate my lunch.  And while I was finishing my lunch he made a dirty diaper.

So to recap, screaming kid in his crib, screaming kid because I did not fix him a good lunch, and a dirty diaper.  You following?  Sounds like a rough hour, eh?

It gets worse.

Also at lunch time I take the dog out and give her a little to eat so we're all ready for our nap post lunch.  I took Sloopy out as always and left Anderson in the house.  He followed me over to the door, screaming all the way, and I worried a little that he was going to get into the dog's water dish (which happens often).  I should have worried more.

I came in the house and couldn't find Anderson.  And then it hit me.

Oh SHIT!!!

I ran into his room, which I obviously forgot to close off and, of course, he was playing in the left over paint.  He had it all over his hands, a little on his legs, and a little on his face.  Thank goodness, he had not put it in his mouth.  He had also put two pacifiers in it and a toy.  Anderson did NOT enjoy having paint all over himself and was throwing an absolute fit!

I first took a picture (duh), then I got the pacifiers and toy cleaned off.  Then I grabbed Anderson to put him in the bath.  But of course, I hadn't changed his gross diaper yet so I had to take care of that.  I come back in from throwing it away and he's crying at the top of his lungs running around the house naked.  I grab him and put him in the bath only to realize I didn't have soap or a wash cloth, or a towel.  Crap!  I yelled at Anderson not to drown and ran to his room to get those things.

I got him cleaned off and cleaned up and we all took a good nap.

If there was ever a day I needed some ice cream or a drink or a hot bath, today is the day.

Week in Review

Monday 6/16
    Planned: 1 hour of cross training / 15 minutes of core
    Actual: 45 minutes of biking on the trainer.  Dave and I have been following the June Ab Challenge we found on Facebook.  We've fallen a little behind but today we did 75 situps, 90 crunches, 42 leg raises, and 60 seconds of plank.

Tuesday 6/17
    Planned: 15 minutes of dynamic plus a track workout
    Actual: Rest day (lazy ass)

Wednesday 6/18
    Planned: 20 minute easy run
    Actual: 20 minutes easy on the treadmill for 2 miles as well as 1000 yard continuous swim.

Thursday 6/19
    Planned: Glute activation exercises followed by 1 hour tempo run
    Actual: Glute activation exercises followed by 1 hour tempo run on treadmill at YMCA. Tempos were done at 7:30 pace. 6.68 miles.

Friday 6/20
    Planned: Rest day
    Actual: Rest day

Saturday 6/21
    Planned: 40 minute run and 30 minutes of core
    Actual: 40 minute, 4.39 mile run with the stroller.

Sunday 6/22
    Planned: 1 hour 15 minute long run
    Actual: Ran with my friends for a total of 9 miles, 1:15:45.

Totals:
Swim - 1000 yards
Bike - 8.08 miles
Run - 22.07 miles

We Bought a Zoo {membership}!!!

A few weeks ago Dave had the day off and we, as a family, went to the zoo for the first time.  We are so lucky to live so close to the best zoo and took advantage of it this year by buying a zoo membership.  I hope to take Anderson several times this summer to see the entire zoo.  It's too much for a 1 year old to do the whole thing at once, but we did hit up a few awesome attractions.

First we checked out the newest exhibit, the Heart of Africa.  This was so cool.  It's this huge open space filled with lions and zebras and giraffes and ostriches and whatnot.  I loved seeing the giraffes.  I think Anderson liked it too.

 

We also went to the petting zoo where Anderson got up close and personal with some goats.

My favorite part of the trip was the aquarium.  Anderson loved being eye-level with the fish.  And yes, I might have cried a little seeing him so happy.

Finally we finished out the trip seeing the monkeys and gorillas.  There were two baby monkeys that were only a month old and a new baby gorilla that was about 4 months old.

We were only there a few hours and maybe saw half of the zoo.  We will have to go back another time and try to find the creepy crawlies like the snakes and spiders.  I would also love to see the elephants.  I can't wait to take Anderson back!

Spectate: Columbus Open Water Swims

Dave has a unique swim stroke, which is great when spectating in open water.  Dave did a "1 mile" open water swim race a few weeks ago; Anderson and I spectated.

 

The race wasn't so big and within maybe a quarter mile into the race I was able to easily pick out Dave.  I counted from the front...10, 11, 12.  Wow!  He was doing really well!

I was able to follow him up the course and back down again while strolling with Anderson on the beach.

When he got close to the finish, Anderson and I went down to the beach and got the camera ready to snap, snap, snap Dave's exit and finish.  And just as I start snapping pictures I realize....

That's not Dave!

I had spent the whole race spectating and cheering on a dude that was not Dave.  This gentleman had exactly the same unique swim stroke as Dave!  We backed away from the beach and tried to find Dave in the water, this time to no avail.  Finally, he exited in around 45 minutes.

45 minutes for a one mile swim??  That's, um, not that great for Dave.  Sure he hasn't swam a whole lot (or nearly at all) this year, but that's really slow.  I reminded him that the company that puts on these races is notorious for poorly measured/marked courses.  Dave started talking to some other people who had swam the race with GPSs and many of them had the course at 1.4 miles.  One point freakin' four miles!  That's WAY off!

In the end, Dave got in a good swim; I need to work on my spectating skills; and I took some beautiful pictures of some dude who was not Dave.

Stay at Home Goals

It's official.  I am now a full-time stay at home mom.  While, obviously, my attention is on the baby and making sure he is turning into a great little kiddo, I have some goals for myself (besides running) in my new role at home.

Goal #1: Improve Wardrobe / Personal Style
For the last three years I have been working for a major retailer (it rhymes with Babercrombie & Bitch) and we were not required to wear the clothing.  Needless to say, my closet is full of jeans, sweatshirts, t-shirts, and flip flops - not exactly a 30-something, mommy wardrobe.  For years, okay, my entire adult life, I have wanted to look sophisticated, put together, stylish, but when it came down to it I usually reverted back to a t-shirt and jeans or a sweater and jeans.  Through the power of Pinterest, I started putting together a "Style" board.  Here's a few examples of how I would love to dress:

 

Of course, I haven't the foggiest how to put together an outfit like that.  So I jumped on the bandwagon and signed up for Stitch Fix.  My first "fix" is scheduled for mid-June.  Now, I can't afford to keep all the clothes I get every month, but hopefully I will find one or two pieces that work out.  I'm also hoping to maybe add one or two more reasonably priced items from the mall every month to grow my wardrobe.

Goal #2: Learn a New Hobby / Skill

You know, I have so much extra time to learn something new.  :)  But since I do have four hours of the day I am now not working I suppose I can try to learn something new.  It is no secret that I don't have good kitchen skills.  Yes, Dave does most of the cooking.  Over the last year, though, I have done some more cooking, learning new recipes, and trying new foods.  Now, I am ready to move onto baking.  I would love to learn how to decorate cakes and cupcakes.  Of course, this could be dangerous for me as I would probably eat all my creations and be as big as a house!

To go along with wanting to improve my personal style, I'd like to improve my sewing skills.  Yes, I can sew, but mostly I quilt.  I'd like to learn more, though, so maybe I can start making some of my own clothes.

Several several years ago for Christmas, Dave got me a guitar.  I have always wanted to learn to play guitar.  For while I practiced, and then I put it under the bed and haven't pulled it out in years.  It would be fun to learn a few kid songs on it and sing along with Anderson.  He would love it.  He would also love to play it (the kiddo plays the piano every day).

Finally, I would like to learn a foreign language.  Sure it's a little late in life to get fluent, but it's a perfect time to help develop multiple language skills in the baby.  The truth is, if he doesn't learn Spanish he's limiting himself with future employment opportunities.  When we went to Italy, Dave learned Italian with Rosetta Stone and had great results.  At the time it was free through the library.  Unfortunately, it no longer is.  So, I'm going to save my money and hopefully buy the Spanish version in a few months.

As if life isn't busy enough, I'm wanting to tackle more.  Who wants to sit around and watch TV all day long?

Week in Review

Monday - Scheduled rest day

Tuesday - Scheduled: Short easy run, strength training
                 Actual: 5.5 miles with the stroller and then strength training. Also, 1000 yard swim at the pool before the baby's swimming lessons.

Wednesday - Scheduled: Treadmill run with increased turnover intervals
                     Actual: 6.54 miles on the treadmill with intervals.  Plus, 7 x 3 jerks with 45 pounds.  Boy my arms were sore the next day.

Thursday - Scheduled: 30 minute spin, 30 minute strength training
                  Actual: Sat on my buns, ate a lot.  :)

Friday  - Scheduled: 45 minute tempo run
             Actual: 5.46 miles with 30 minutes at a 7:59 pace

Saturday - Scheduled: 15 minute run, 15 minute strength training
                 Actual: Attended Dave's open water swim race

Sunday - Scheduled: 1 hour 10 minute long run with short bursts
               Actual: The in-laws were in town (built in babysitter!!!) so Dave and I got to run this together.  Short intervals were around 6:30 pace and overall run was 8 miles at an 8:47 pace.

Totals: 
Swim - 1000 yards
Run - 25.5 miles
Strength - 0.25 hours-ish

May Totals

It's been a long time since I've written a monthly total post.  I haven't exactly had months to be proud of this year.  I've had a hard time doing the work, but May was a pretty good month and although I still have a long way to go to have an awesome month, I'm happy with the results.

Swim - 2500 Yards
Why yes, I did swim this month - two whole times!  There might be a small triathlon later this summer so I suppose I need to get into the pool and do some work.

Bike - 0 Miles
Um, er, sure there is a bike on each week of workouts.  Obviously, I didn't do any of them.  I did ride my regular bike a few times pulling the baby trailer.  That counts for something, right?

Run - 72.77 Miles
I'm not exactly breaking records here and I didn't even have a week over 25 miles, but this is the biggest mileage month I've had all year.  I ran two races this month, a half marathon and a 5K, and both of them were pretty quick.  I'm starting to get back to form!

Strength - 0.5 Hours
There's more than a half hour of strength in every week's schedule.  Unfortunately, that's usually the first thing to go.  No more!  Watch out June!

Trips to the YMCA - 15
Cost Per Visit - $5.69

May was a turning point for me and I took advantage of my Y membership.  I like to run in the morning and the only way I could do that was after work, taking the baby with me to the gym.  He would go and play in the child care room (I hope to write a whole post about that sometime) and I would hit the treadmill.  It wasn't ideal, but it got the job done.

Summer is here, I am no longer employed, and I have big plans on the horizon.  Come on summer!  Let's do this!

Field of Heroes 5K 2014

5Ks are like childbirth.  It hurts like hell during the experience but just a little while later you forget all about it and are ready to do it all over again.  In the middle of every 5K I think, "this sucks!  Why do I keep signing up for these?"  And yet, I do keep signing up.  Why?  I don't know.  It'll make me faster.  It's only a few minutes of suffering.  You don't really have to train for them.  They're fun?

Yesterday I did yet another 5K.  Memorial Day is always a celebration of my running.  One of my first races was on Memorial Day in 2001.  Last year this 5K was in the first race I did after I had the baby.  This year I continued the traditional Memorial Day celebration by doing the Field of Heroes 5K again.

After a short warm up, I lined up near the start and took off like a bat out of hell.  To make sure I was actually racing, I put a sticker over my watch so I could not see the pace.  Regardless, I knew I was running fast, faster than I was probably capable of holding for a full three miles.  Frankly, it doesn't matter.  The 5K is hard to negative split.  I'd rather go out hard and see how long I can hold on. 

Turns out, it wasn't that long.  Not soon after the one mile mark I was hurting.  And I should have been.  My watch clocked me at a 6:52 first mile.  The second mile had many twists and turns in it and I used it as the opportunity to slow down a bit.  I caught a girl in the second mile to get into 5th place female, but I was also passed at the same time by another chick, so I stayed in 6th.  One of the turns was 180 degrees down a bridge ramp.  Looking back I saw that I was not catchable by another woman so I slowed down some more.

Mile 2 - 7:17

Finally the last mile and I was hating this race big time.  I kept thinking, 'I'll take a half marathon any day.  This sucks!'  Around another curve I looked back to see a girl in a pink shirt gaining on me.  Shoot!  Get moving Meredith!  At this point I knew where I was as I had warmed up on this part of the course.  I dug down deep, as deep as I could without yacking (coach would have been so proud). 

Mile 3 - 7:19

The last 0.1 of the race I was screaming hard to the finish line.  I saw the clock just click over 22:00 as I crossed the timing mat.  Wow!  I didn't expect that.  My PR is in the mid-21:00s so I did alright.

Total 22:02
6th place female

Just a few hours later I was already thinking about my next one, which is probably in a few weeks.  I have many on the schedule this year.  I am so stupid.  :)

#tbt

Chicago Marathon 2006. My dad and I ran the first 14 miles together until we lost each other through a water stop.  I set a 4 minute PR at this race, while my dad suffered a HUGE blister that hindered him from a good time.

It's On Like Donkey Kong

What is it with dudes and their inability to have a girl run faster than them?

I was at the gym today doing my run on the treadmill.  Now that the half marathon is over and my slothness (sure it's a word) from my "recovery" week is over, it's time to get back to work.  Being that I still have a little bit of time before I am done working, I have committed myself to doing whatever it takes to get my workouts in, even if that means doing them on the treadmill at the Y so I can put Anderson in child care for a little bit of time. 

Anyway, I had an interval-type run and it was being done on the treadmill.  I had a man on both the left and right of me during this workout.  I started out with a long warm up and then I had some intervals at a comfortable pace.  For me, this was around an 8:00 mile.  I noticed as soon as I bumped up the speed, the dude on the right of me put his speed up to the same pace.  Okay, cool.  My next set of intervals, which were longer intervals, were at a 10K pace.  I set the pace at a 7:30.  Again, the gentleman to my right set his treadmill to the same pace.  I was pretty comfortable with this pace, but it was apparent that he was suffering.  He kept making groaning noises, and huffing and puffing, and putting his hands on the rails.  Plus he kept looking at me and looking at my pace, like, "you're crazy!"  I think I broke him with these intervals because he soon stopped, walked, and got off the 'mill.  My last set of intervals were shorter intervals at a fast pace.  I had the pace up to a 6:40 for these.  The gentleman to my left looked in better shape than the one on my right, but he was clearly a meathead and not a runner.  I started my interval and he actually turned his treadmill up even to a faster pace than mine!  I was only on each interval for a minute, but he only had his for 30 seconds or less.  I don't know if it was part of his workout, but I found it quite suspicious that his intervals started at the same time as mine and were every bit as fast as mine.

Have you experienced dudes who do not want to be chicked, even on the treadmill?
Do you say anything?
Do you ever race others at the gym or out in the wild?

Taking Giant Leaps

Last Monday I put on my big girl panties and did something I was dreading.  I resigned from my job.

I have a great job.  It's all busy-work, which I love.  I can set my own hours.  I'm only part time.  My boss allows me to work from home.  It worked out that Dave and I could both work at the same company and not put the baby in child care.  So, why did I quit?

For us, it was the right decision. Working from home has become very difficult.  When Anderson was a baby I was able to put him in the swing or in the high chair and he would be content while I work.  Now he runs (crawls) around as fast as lightning getting into this and that.  And worse, he will often stand at my legs while I work and cry.  I just cannot do it anymore.  I waited a LONG time for a baby and he deserves my full attention.  My time at home is for Anderson.  When Dave comes home from work, it's family time.  The weekend's are family time.  And any time I may have for myself I want to spend for myself, not working.

So, I have two more weeks of work and then I'm official a stay at home mom.  I am both excited and terrified.  Financially I think we'll be okay.  The thing that frightens me most is the possibility that I could totally become a recluse and never leave the house.  Honestly, I am a terrible friend.  I don't feel comfortable calling people and setting up play dates or asking them to come over.  I'm way too shy for that crap.  :)  And I haven't quite figured out how to keep Anderson and I both entertained this summer.

Are you a stay at home mom or dad?
What are some activities that you and your kids enjoy doing?
How do I get my child out and about and keep him from becoming a recluse too?

I think it will be okay.  I believe we've made the right decision for our family.  It felt like a no-win situation.  I love my job, it affords me great flexibility, but I don't make enough money to put the baby in day care (nor do I want to) and I cannot continue working from home.  My job now is Mom.

Official Pictures from the Half Marathon

I borrowed a few official pictures from this weekend's Capital City Half Marathon.  Although I'm not exactly happy with what my body still looks like post-baby, I'm excited that my running pictures look at least half way decent.

 

Capital City Half Marathon 2014

I spent all of last week on vacation in Florida.  The weather was crazy hot and humid.  Our flight home was delayed by four hours.  Not exactly ideal conditions for preparing for my "A" half marathon just hours after returning home.  But such has been the case this entire training cycle.

Like the Columbus Marathon in the fall, the traffic and parking were atrocious for this race.  Luckily, we know downtown pretty well, took some off streets, and found some parking.  We had to walk a little bit to the start; I just called that a warm-up.

I lined up pretty close to the front which seems stupid for a race of 16,000+ but the 1:45 pacer was way up there and that's about the time that I wanted to run.  The gun sounded and we were off.  The pace group quickly got ahead of me, which I found odd because I was averaging under an 8:00.  For the next couple of miles they stayed ahead of me, until I caught them around mile 4 and got ahead of them.

(Paces are based on my GPS which was a little faster and longer than the course.)

Mile 1 - 7:47
Mile 2 - 7:54
Mile 3 - 7:47
Mile 4 - 7:50

By mile 5 I was feeling good and running hip to hip with my friend Mary.  I used her and my mantra as my inspiration for staying consistent and chasing the race.  I didn't know if I could actually hold the pace but I was willing to try and go for it.  After mile 5 there is a long downhill for miles, although it was into the wind.  I was able to pick up the pace a little.

Mile 5 - 7:47
Mile 6 - 7:41
Mile 7 - 7:38
Mile 8 - 7:38

We were now back downtown and the course was crowded.  This race has a "quarter marathon" which starts with the half marathoners, breaks off, and then comes back on course.  The problem is, because the half marathoners run further, when the quarter marathoners join back up, it is not the same pace.  I was strolling sub-8:00s and the quarter marathoners were strolling and walking and taking up lots of space.  I really wish the race directors would do something about this.  It was like playing Frogger with other runners.

Anyway, around mile 9 I was starting to feel tired.  My training really only went to about 11-1/2 miles at a much slower pace and I was starting to feel like maybe 9 miles was my limit.  I thought a lot during this time about "Being Willing", about my friend Jeff who recently passed away, and about my son.  Mostly I said, "do this for you."

Mile 9 - 7:37
Mile 10 - 7:39

Around mile 11 I caught a second wind and was ready to roll.  Unfortunately, the course got complicated around this point.  We were on High Street heading uphill towards the center of the city and the finish line, but for some reason the course took several turns, went across a bridge, back around the Scioto Mile (which would have been nice except it was so close to the finish line that no one was spectating there), up a hill, and finally another turn to the finish which was on High Street.  Can't the course go one more mile in any direction to keep from having to run this maze at the finish?

Mile 11 - 7:41
Mile 12 - 7:40
Mile 13 - 7:49
Last 0.28 (0.1) - 7:25 pace

Overall: 1:42:37

I am so excited for the results.  Honestly, I didn't think I had a 1:42 in me.  I'm out of shape, overweight, and unmotivated.  But having done it, I feel like I could give more.  I know I can go after my 1:36 PR now.  And I'm excited to tackle the challenges of the rest of the year.

My cousins ran their first half marathon.  I think they're hooked.  Suckers!

Be Willing

I, like every other runner in the free world, was glued to my computer yesterday watching the Boston Marathon.  I screamed at the screen trying to encourage the race.  I cried when Meb won.  (I totally ignored the baby as he wanted attention.  #motheroftheyear)

And of course, I was totally inspired.  I love Boston.  It is, by far, my favorite marathon.  It suits me.  I calls me.  It loves me.  After I set my PR there way back in 2009 I knew it was time to hang up the marathon flats.  I have only done two marathons in the five years since then.  I moved on.  I tried triathlon.  I've rocked the shorter distances.  I have embraced the half marathon as "my distance."

Truth is, though, I love the marathon.  It's a great race for me as it takes me a long time to warm up to my race pace, I can zone out like nobody's business, I like the long training, I like the accomplishment of the marathon.

Last night I started the discussion with coach about trying the marathon again.  *sigh*  Do I really want to run another one?  Can I be the runner I once was?  Do I even have a shot at qualifying for Boston again?  I told her we'd sleep on it and revisit it once the glow of Boston has dissipated.

Except, I didn't sleep.  I just kept thinking of wanting to run another marathon.  I just kept coming back to two words: Be Willing. 

Be willing to literally run the extra mile.
Be willing to eat better.
Be willing to count calories and lose those extra baby weight pounds.
Be willing to go to bed earlier.
Be willing to get up and do the work while everyone else is asleep.
Be willing to take ice baths.
Be willing to use the foam roller.
Be willing to drink more water.
Be willing to do the extras like weigh lifting, riding my bike, and stretching.
Be willing to commit to the process.

I haven't really opened myself up to the training, to the process.  I've just gone through the motions knowing that yes I can run any race and I'm okay with being mediocre.  Shoot, I had a baby.  I can use that excuse forever.  But that's not what I want.  Why would I be paying money to a coach to just be mediocre?  I want to be that badass marathoner again.  I want it.  I am willing to Be Willing.

Attack of the Angry Geese

I got up early Sunday to get in my long run before church.  But, I slept in a little longer than the alarm went off, so I allowed myself only enough time to run without stopping and taking a 5 minute shower before heading off to church. The run started well, uphill into the wind, but I warmed up well in the first 30 minutes.  Then I had a series of 8 minute stretches at race pace.  The first one cruised my at a sub-8:00.  I had just finished a small section out of the industrial part of town and was now on the bike path nearly a quarter mile from my house as the crow flies, or in this case, the geese fly.  There was a dead goose on the trail that I ran around and then I noticed two geese out in the field who were looking none too happy with me.  They started squawking very loudly at me, took flight, and came right at me with their mouths open, their feet fully engaged, and their wings flapping. 

 Let me back up.  I hate birds.  Always have.  When I was a kid, a very small kid mind you, I was chased by a very large pelican.  Then when I was in the Young Scientist program at the local science center (yes I've always been a nerd) I had an owl hound me during a session.  And finally in high school I had a very large owl come to my window every night and wrap it's talons around the screen.  FREAK! ME! OUT!

So when these geese came out me I totally flipped out.  I was screaming NONONONONONO!!!  I ran as fast as I could out into the street (thank God for no cars on a Sunday morning) and got to the median where they left me alone.  If I had been wearing a heart rate monitor all kinds of bells and whistles and alarms would have been going off.  Out loud I actually said, "Fine.  You win.  Run is over."  And I headed home. 

I didn't finish the run Sunday and I have yet to set off in the direction of those geese again.  The dead one is still there and every time I drive past it I look for the angry geese out in the field. 

Have you ever been attacked by birds or other animals on your runs?

Foto Friday

I finally found an official race photo from last weekend's half marathon.  Surprisingly, I didn't look completely like death, even if I did feel like it.  There was also a video of the finish where again, I didn't look like death.  Guess the sunglasses hide everything.

Meredith Kessler and I are practically best friends!!

I grew up in "small town America."  My town had one stop light, one restaurant, one gas station.  The entire high school had 200 students and everyone knew everyone.  My town was just like my favorite quote from the movie "Doc Hollywood" - You can't poop in this town without everyone knowing what color it is.

In small town American you get to participate.  In high school I was involved in everything - tennis, basketball, weight lifting, track, student council, band, choir, drama, etc.  In small town America high school sports you compete against other equally small and usually awful (as we were too) schools.  We traveled to exotic places like Baltimore, Amanda, and Heath, Ohio to compete against the same teams over and over again.  One school we competed against frequently was a super-close, private school: The Columbus Academy.  They were equally as small but usually competitive and because they were a 15 minute bus ride from our school, our track team probably competed against them 3-5 times per season.

My best event in track was the 400.  Yep, I was one of those crazies who ran and liked the 400.  Let me mention, I am 5'1".  Most people who run the 400 are much taller.  They are usually good at it and don't have to take as many steps.  Generally, I could hold my own against these giants.  But there was one athlete at Academy that would beat me solidly every time.

Let's fast forward several years. 

I am a fan of triathlon.  I may not enjoy doing it, but I like to read about it, follow it on twitter, watch it when it's on TV, go to races, etc.  I like a few pros, namely, Mirinda Carfrae, Linsey Corbin, and Meredith Kessler. Now, I knew Meredith Kessler was from Columbus, Ohio but it wasn't until I saw a tweet from her last spring that I started putting two and two together.  Her tweet said something to the affect of looking forward to being the commencement speaker at her alma mater Columbus Academy.

*record scratch*

I started Googling.  What was her maiden name?  What year did she graduate?  Did she play sports?  And all of a sudden it made sense.  She used to totally kick my ass at track meets!  Meredith Kessler, the super star professional triathlete, is a local girl I ran against in high school!  How cool is that?!

We're practically best friends.

Union Hospital Run for Home Half Marathon

Oh Mother Nature.  You're such a bitch!

In all honesty, I've had a rough couple of months of training. I go to work before people should be at work all so my husband can go in at a normal time - we work at the same company and have found a way to make it work so we do not have to put the baby in child care.  I spend the rest of my day at home with the boy.  By the time Dave gets home I'm just exhausted and have little energy or patience to start a workout.  There have been weeks where I have good intentions and before I know it, it is the weekend and I haven't done a single workout.  Consistency has not been my friend.  I've missed two important long runs and really felt like I needed to do one before my "A" race in May.  (Let's be real.  I will not be going for a new PR but this "A" race is the one I've been training for.)  A week ago we were in Kansas and I looked all over for a half marathon to incorporate as my long run.  I couldn't find one.  So Coach let me run one this past weekend.  I had initially planned on running the Athens Half Marathon but all the hotels were booked.  Dave found a different one, in New Philadelphia.  The race started at 1:00pm so I wouldn't have to find a hotel room.

One o'clock should be a great start time for a race in April as the weather can be a little cool in the morning.  But wouldn't you know it was hotter than BALLS! on Sunday?  The low was about 70 degrees and the high was going to make it into the 80s.  I've spent all winter in the freezing cold or on the treadmill.  I was not prepared for 80 degrees.  Nevertheless, I pre-hydrated, pre-salted (yes it's a word), and was ready to go.

The plan was to treat this as a training run - couple miles of warmup, couple miles of building, most miles at race pace, and one mile all out.  I started close to the 1:50 pace group to keep myself accountable to slowly building into the pace. 

Those first couple of miles, though, were a little faster than I had planned.  I was settling into a comfortable barely sub-8:00 pace.  By mile 3 I was super hot and already feeling dehydrated, I knew this race was not going to go as well as I had hoped.  I walked my first water stop between miles 3 and 4.  I was still running in the low 8:00s and doing alright but miserably hot.  I walked up a small hill at mile 5ish.  We went passed a timing mat at mile 6 and according to the tracking I was still averaging 8:18s.  By this point I was toast and really, really, really wanted to drop out.  In my head I said, "nope.  Do this for Anderson.  Run for the medal.  Small steps.  You're fine."  I kept putting one foot in front of the other.  I drank at every aid station, I poured water over my head, I used the kids' sponges they had, I let people with water gun squirt me.  Around mile 8 there was a relay exchange near the stadium.  I *thought* this was the stadium we finished at.  I was mad that Dave was not there, but it was probably a good thing because I definitely would have dropped out then.  (I found out after the race that it was not the stadium we finished at and it's a good thing I didn't drop out because I would have not known where I was.)

I struggled those last couple of miles.  I walked and jogged.  I was heartbroken when the 1:50 and 1:55 pace leaders passed me.  Note, there was nobody with either of those pace leaders.  I kept chugging along though and soon enough I was finished.

I was hot and yucky and sat down on the pavement to get my hot calf sleeves off.  Dave found me and told me he thought I was the 10th female finisher.  What??? No way.  I ran a 1:55.  He told me the first woman finished in 1:30 and the next didn't finish until 1:40.  This was a big race, y'all!  We went to the pavilion to look up the results.  Would you believe it?  I finished 2nd in my age group and 9th female overall.  I got the coolest trophy too.

This was a great race.  It was super organized, the price was decent, there were tons of volunteers, the awards were amazing, and the park that the race started and finished in was super cool.  I would definitely do it again, but next time I hope the weather is at least 20 degrees cooler.