Sprint Triathlon Race Recap!

Last Saturday was my first Tri.   It.   Was.   Awesome.

One reason it was so great, I won my age group. =) Yep, one of the great things about local races is you never know who is gonna show up and some days whether you know it at the time or not you can actually be right in the competitive mix of things.

So this quick breakdown.

Overall time: 1:14:15

Broken into pieces:
525m swim: 9:00
Transition 1: 1:27
11.7mile Bike: 37:33 (I think this is the distance, I can't remember exactly and can't find the exact number anywhere...)
Transition 2: 1:10
5k Run: 25:04

So those are my times. Whoever is interested in reading more about my thought process, how crazy the swim was and how running after biking is the most bizarre thing ever then please read. It is a short novel, consider yourself warned =)

To start, I didn't wear my watch. I brought it and I had a friend start my watch when I started and stopped it after I finished. I figured regardless of what happened at least I'd have my own total time.

Here is where we put our bikes and transition gear. Tara (on the right) you have seen in many pics prior  and Lena is a fellow running clubber =) Both amazing athletes. My bike is the one in the middle with white tires.

So, that being said, I set up shop and got out all my crap and made my way to the pool.  The pool was the most confusing part of this entire event.  There were people in all kinds of swim gear, swim caps and goggles along with lots of volunteers.  We were all trying to get organized so that we'd get in the pool with the right group of people.

I was in wave #2. I ended up switching my swim time at the last minute and put myself in a group of  1:50/100m swimmers.  For those of you who don't know a thing about swimming it like when you put yourself according to how fast you run at the start of the race.

Pool:
If you end up swimming with people faster you could have gotten toe tapped and or swam over (I saw both happen while patiently....nervously.... waiting for my wave) OR on the flip side of things you could be tapping people and swimming over them thinking "get the hell outta my way you turtle" =) I thankfully felt like I was in the middle of my lane. I knew I wasn't the fastest but I wasn't the slowest either.

You hop in the pool, then one at a time someone tells you when to start. So then you swim and hope for the best.  When your down to your last lap the volunteer taps you on your head, or yells at you to get out of the pool at the other side.  So after 21 laps of wave splashing water sucking and total whirlpool craziness I happily jumped out of that pool. I had no idea how I did. My brain was thinking two things: 1. holy crap this is out of control, and 2. like Nemo says, "just keep swimming, just keep swimming"

This is me in the swim green cap! Thanks Amber for cheering me on and taking some good pics! =)

Onto transition 1: (thats right, this post is a novel, but I warned you)

Here is where I run from the pool to my bike. I then proceed to throw my goggles and swim cap down, dry my feet on my towel, and then put my bike shoes on. I also put on my helmet and shades.  I grab my bike off the rack and start running with it to the "bike out" area.

Here is my transition area all setup. I put my helmet on first, then my bike shoes and took off. On the way back, I remove my bike shoes and helmet, throw on my running shoes, grab my race number and go~

Once across the pad I hopped on the bike and hoped for the best. This course is a tough one. For the first 4 miles you climb and then luckily get relief and come flying down the next 1.75 miles or so until you start that same loop over again. So total, you climb for 8 miles give or take and then spend 3.7 flying.  It was so much fun. I have no complaint whatsoever about the bike. I was calm and felt good but pushed myself pretty hard.

Transition 2:

I came in on my bike, hopped off at the "bike in" area, ran my bike back to the rack, then proceeded to put on my running shoes (no socks this entire time.....). I have no complaint about biking/running with no socks. Although afterwards I did notice some kind of blister-scrap thing above my heel...I am not sure what happened but I am glad I didn't notice until later.

The Run:
Let me tell you what it feels like running after you just spent the last however long riding hard... It feels like you just did 3 sets of heavy squats, 3 sets of lunges and then all of a sudden a gun goes off and you are supposed to run a 5k. I could feel my quads and my calves wondering what the hell my plan was because as far as they were concerned, they had hung in there during my ride and did not expect to work overtime.

This feeling lasted for pretty much the entire time but faded as I kept running. Not having a watch on I had no idea at all how fast I was going. I wasn't breathing crazy hard but I was working. I just kept thinking in my head I have no expectations about this run, I am just going to not stop and give a good effort. I did walk through both drink stations which in a normal 5k would have been a big BOO but I figured that the swim, bike and hot weather were good enough excuses to hydrate. I finished up this run thinking for sure I ran a 10 minute mile the entire time and figured.... ahh what the hell. It was my first Tri and I did my best.

This is me on my way in from the run. Have I mentioned how much I love Colorado. Looks at those mountains in the background.  Whats not to love. P.S. I completed the entire tri with this whole outfit on. It was a combo of sports bra, one piece swim suit and running shorts.

When the actual split results came in and I saw my 5k time of 25 minutes I was on the moon! I had no idea I was basically averaging an 8:00minute mile with protesting legs and water stops. I could not have been happier. Next time I will know what to expect and most likely plan some more workouts with a good run to finish it all off.  I was totally surprised by that crazy leg feeling.

Some awesome friends (Tara B, Scott, Me, Lena, Tara C) who all participated along with the race director down front. He is also our lead man in our running club. Nice race Melver, we all had a great time!

And thats it! I had a great time. I had some great friends to enjoy it with and can't wait to find another one.... like an Ironman or something.  =) Of course, I have a lot of things on my list so the Ironman will probably have to wait a while but it is gonna happen at some point.

Happy Running all -Jen

Anyone else have a race last weekend?

Busy with Dance Competition

Sorry folks for the lack of posting today!  Ever since we landed in Myrtle Beach we have been dancing and dancing.  Yesterday Grace had one dance in the middle of the day.  Afterwards we headed to the pool then back to competition at 7 for awards.  The show went late so we decided to just head to the beach to get a quick bite and see the ocean before we went back to bed.

This morning we had to be back at dance comp at 7 AM.  Elsa had three dances and hers were all first.  Oh and I forgot to mention that Heather and I got up really early to take a little jog.  That jog ended up being only 2 miles and it was already so humid at 5:30 in the morning that when we got home it looked like we ran through the sprinkler!

Anyways, after Elsa danced, Grace had her 3 dances and then were the awards.  Grace's group took home some high golds and a platinum as well as Elsa.  But Elsa's tap dance is headed to finals on Friday!  She was super excited.

We actually have a TON more pictures but unfortunately the Internet is uber slow and we haven't really been able to log on or upload so we will share much much more when we arrive home.  Tomorrow we have the day off from dance so we will be spending it by the pool and maybe head to the aquarium.

Here is Elsa's group getting their photos for finals!

We are also hopping to swim laps in the morning for 30-45 mins for our workout.  It has been a challenge finding healthy good food but I will say that we have done a pretty good job.  We have been eating salad for lunch and we also had salad at dinner with our pizza from Mellow Mushroom!

Well I am off to bed, it is only 10 but I am exhausted.  Everyone else is already asleep!

We hope to get another post in while we are here but if not we will definitely have more pictures up when we get back.  Not to mention the super sweaty one of Heather and I when we got back from our run this morning.

XX

Sarah

Veggies and More

While I was in Minnesota my intake on veggies was pretty minimal.  But on the last day Heather and I woke up went for a run and then headed over to the St. Paul Farmers Market.  It is probably one of the nicest farmer markets I have ever been to.  They always have a ton of stuff and it always looks amazing =) I decided that I am going to try to eat lots veggies everyday.  I typically do eat some vegetables but I need to eat more.

Heather stretching after our morning run.  Towards the end of the run we spiced it up a bit and played don't let the other person pass you.  It was quite fun =)  I highly recommend it.  

Check out all the fresh produce.  YUM. You can only see 1/10th of what was there.

They had lots of flavored honey sticks. I picked up one of each flavor for myself and a friend. I have actually never tried one yet, but I have a stash of about 15 in my little running box.

Who can say no to these asparagus?  Standing them up like that made them look extra delicious.

So far this week my workouts have been going well.  I am actually loving them.  Which is good because I know that sometimes I truly don't love them.

For a recap, Monday I ran 5 Miles.

Tuesday: I went to running club and did 12 - 200/200's with 1 for 1 recovery. Basically the 200/200 is a 400 but the first 200 was supposed to be at 3k pace followed by the last 200 at 1 mile pace.  So you come in relatively fast and then recover for the same amount of time.  Then after that I headed to barbell class where I pumped some iron.  I don't know about you guys but I NEED SOME MUSCLES!  I totally slacked during my training for the last marathon and I don't want that to happen again.

Wednesday: I went biking for 23.5 miles. Then I went and swam 525m.  I am trying to figure out how fast I can actually swim.  I have no idea how to judge so today I just went at a pace where I felt in control and knew I could keep swimming that way for a while.  So now for my Sprint Tri I am going to try to be faster.  I don't really know how to shave off time in the pool?  Speed workouts??? I dunno.

Thursday: Run 8 miles with friends from club.  YAY for running buds.  They rule.
Friday: Swim again and also attend a Total Conditioning class at lifetime.
Saturday: Tempo run with club followed by some kind of bike ride.

Does anyone know any good biking speed workouts?  Like riding up the same hill 10 times or something??

Also, who likes honey sticks?
-I will try one tomorrow, as I was typing this post I realize it is ridiculous that I keep buying these things but really have no idea what they taste like.

Is there a swimmer out there can give me a good workout for the pool?
-I only have 1 workout that my swimming teacher gave us while doing a swim lesson a month or so back.  I am looking for more.

Happy Running, Swimming and Biking all -Jen

Calories need to be burned this week....

So far on this trip I have done nothing but 1. Run the marathon and 2. EAT. That pretty much sums it up. I am getting very anxious to start running more normal miles this week and hopefully adding a few more veggies to my diet.

This week my plan is to run approx. 20-25 miles at least. Although my running group guru says I can go no more then 30. I am fine with that, but this is what is happening in my mind. 

I just spend the last 4 months gaining mileage and building all of this endurance and if I lose it all from this recovery I am going to Bleep da bleepity bleep!  

Does anyone else out there feel this way?  BUT, I have learned that my guru is pretty much always right regardless of what my opinion is so I will gladly....do what he says =)

Moving on.

Todays Workout: run 5 Miles easy with my sweet sista' Heather.  

I love working out together and because it doesn't happen too often we try to make the most of it when we are together. This pic below is of Heather and I at Matt's Bar.  If you ever want to come to MN and eat somewhere that literally has the BEST burger (the birth place and original home of the Juicy Lucy) in the world come here. You will not be disappointed.  I wish I would have taken a picture of the burger....too busy devouring it. But, I will say that it was worth every bite.  It cannot be beaten. For any of you foodie's out there it was featured in this months Food Network magazine. It is really and truly that good.

Next on the Agenda, Tuesdays workout.  Swim, swim, swim! I have a Sprint Tri in 1 month and I have done nothing to get ready for it.  So.... Tuesday I will be swimming. I am going to time myself in an 525m swim and then do a swimming speed workout probably... whose with me?!

Speaking of swimming, this picture is of Heather and I hanging out by the pool at my parents house.  I am currently reading the book, Born to Run.  Have you read it?  Well, I am only on page 9 and I am already hooked.  You can't say something like this:

"She handed him a gourd full of murky liquid. He swallowed a few gulps, and was amazed to feel new energy pulsing through his veins. He got to his feet and scaled the peak like an over-caffeinated Sherpa."(pg 4) 

And not want to get to the bottom of the story.  Any murky beverage whether it be fictional or not that can cause that kind of energy is something any runner is interested in reading about I am sure.

Anywhoo, as this blog post drags on... after the pool I went in and decided to do the next best thing I do while visiting home and that is cook dessert! Last week it was banana madness. So this time I thought I'd try something different.  Below is a Chocolate Shortbread Cookie in the making, and yes that is all butter. Another reason I will be pushing for that 30 miles this week.....

And this pic is of a Rice Pudding. My dad LOVES rice pudding so I thought why not, that goes with Shortbread I think. =)

And the final Combo.....tah dah =) Rice pudding with a Chocolate Shortbread cooke and fresh strawberries on top.  It was delicious.  My Dad and Mom both loved it. double score.

Wednesdays workout: 7 Miles easy.  I am hoping Heather will join me again and if the weather isn't too shabby we can take some pictures of our hometown to show you all the sights.  There are some stairs here that give you one AMAZING workout.  They are so intense that they have races just based off the stairs! It is crazy.  Anyways,  Stay tuned.

Oh and P.S. I went out and ran 5 easy miles on Friday last week and I have one word to describe how my legs felt. lead.  I am hoping this week feels a little better....

Good Monday and Happy Running All -Jen

Rhythmic Walkers

If you read Heathers post yesterday you would know that for a little less than half of the marathon we had to walk.  Unfortunately Heather's knee had no interest in running this race.  Although she was more than prepared sometimes our bodies just won't allow us to achieve what we would like.

When we first signed up for this race Heather told me that she would sign up if I promised to run it with her.  She wanted to run it in the first place but this was her way of making me sign up too.  So I signed up and agreed to make her training plan as well as coach her through the race.  I decided that Heather and I could just use the same training plan.  This was partly due to my laziness of making two plans.  Anyways, I realize now that for a beginner marathoner she did not need to log so many miles.  I feel like this may have attributed to her knee problems. 

Moving on, I am not going to re-cap entirely the whole marathon because you heard most of it from Heather yesterday.  What I would like to add is that this was my first walk/run marathon and I will say that it is just as hard and painful as running one.  When you are walking, you will log much more time on your legs.  Mentally it is exhausting if you actually think about the time it will take you to finish.  In the beginning of the race both Heather and I were feeling great.  My legs were rested and I was ready to fly.  When Heather's knee pain set in I could see her discouragement.  She kept going and I kept trying to keep things positive.

It was when the pain was to hard to bare that I began to feel helpless.  In my head I prayed and prayed that her pain would be taken away so she could run this marathon.  Her knee pain was only getting worse.  I will be honest, when the realization set in about what was happening I thought for a moment that I could just go.  I was feeling good my legs wanted to run but I knew that I could not leave her side.  Emotionally it would have been to hard for her to finish alone and she would quit.

At that moment I put all of my ideas/excitement of what this marathon could be aside and put all of my hopes and positive energy into helping her get through this.  She is my sister and I love her dearly, and I know she would have done the same for me.  No marathon PR is stronger than a bond with your family.  I love her so much and am so proud of what she has accomplished.  She is the strongest woman I know and hands down this was my best marathon yet! I will never forget this race and I wouldn't have ran it any other way.

Let me just say that I have never received so many compliments on a race before.  People loved us!  One because we were totally matching, Two we had the best Rhythmic walk ever and Three because people could see how much fun we were having.  We even were complimented on our great bums :)

Can't you just tell we were powering through it....?  Below you can see our faces like "What??  This is it?" Ha!

Heather needed to make a quick call to her husband who just finished his FIRST marathon in 3:24!  He was smokin!

Really the walk we were going for was the walk from the old TV show Kath and Kim.  Did you ever watch it?  It was only on air for two seasons but I totally loved that show.  So funny!

Heather, Jen and Bryan it was a blast!!  Thanks for the great memories!

Now I have 4 weeks off before I start my training for ING NYC Marathon! Woohoo!

XX
Sarah

PS Yes I may have taken screen shots of these pix ;)  Pls don't think I am a bad person.

My Race

Me and Sarah walking together .  We were side by side the whole time.

This is how my race went down.  It started raining.  Which I was totally fine with.  Heck.... I trained in the rain all the time.  I could deal with windy, rainy conditions.  A knee pain I could not handle.  My knee started to act up right around the time I ran the Stillwater Half Marathon.  It was sort of hurting about a week before Stillwater, but I never gave it a rest.  I consider myself a pretty tough person and thought I would just be able to run through the pain.  I did rest it for the entire week before Grandma's.  And as many of you know got some fancy tape put on it.  I really was feeling good, and thought I was going to run this marathon strong and have a great time. I did have a great time but wish that I could have run it stronger.  Here is the breakdown...

Results

5:32:27

12:42 pace

Miles 1-5  Felt GREAT.  Loved all the great energy.  No knee pain.  Was happy to be running with one of my best friends.

Mile 5-15  My knee was starting to ache a little.  Right when I started to feel it I told Sarah lets run 9mins walk 1min.  I would stay on top of the pain.  Give it a little break and kept telling myself it would be fine.  Well as the miles went on it started to hurt a little more and a little more.  Around mile 9 or 10 my friend Diane ran by me.  She talked to me a little and that was the first moment that I could feel the tears building up.  This lady really helped me a ton during my training season and I was sad that I couldn't keep up with her.  She then ran on.  I pushed the sad feelings aside and just tried to keep the positive energy coming.

Mile 16-26.2  By mile 16 my knee would not bend when I would stop to do my minute walk.  It was harder to change back and forth between running and walking.  I talked to my amazing coach...aka.. Sarah and we decided that it would be best just to walk the rest.  Let me tell you friends that walking is MUCH harder then running.  You think 10 miles sounds long running.  Well walking it seems even farther.  But I needed to listen to my body and it was telling me to stop running.

We walked as fast as we could.  Talked about everything.  Laughed about tons.  Saw some crazy people.  Some hurt people.  And had lots of people comment on the speed we were walking.  I was going to walk the fastest I could if I couldn't run it.  

We finished like ROCK STARS!!!!  I had a really really great time.  It wasn't until that night that the emotions and frustration set in.  I was so upset with myself.  Why couldn't I just run through the pain.  All the training that I had done and then couldn't even run all of it.  Why did my knee have to hurt??  Why couldn't it have been the crazy lady dressed like a bird that had knee problems?  Tears came and it felt good.  Always feels good to get a good cry in right??  

I couldn't have asked for a better coach that day.  Sarah continued to tell me that I was doing GREAT and that it didn't matter one bit if we had to walk it.  She told me over and over again that the miles were going to fly by.  And they did cause I was with her.  Thanks Sarah.  I love you.  And Jen I love you to and I know that if I needed you there you would be right by my side as well.

What do they say??  What doesnt kill you will make you stronger??  Well this challenge for sure has made me stronger.  I will run another marathon.  And I will be stronger next time because of this one.

This is the awesome video that Bryan took of us crossing the finish line!  They called us The Rhythmic Walkers.

-Heather

Grandmas Marathon or bust =)

Hey all,

We are off.  Sarah and I are both heading to MN today. We leave tomorrow morning to Duluth. We plan on blogging about our entire experience starting today, so stay tuned =)  Below are some random pics from our most recent tropical vacation together. Happy Running -Jen

Traffic makes me mad and my pre fueling

Today I offered to help a friend of mine move from Harlem to way out in Queens by JFK.  Actually let's say I was volunteered to help because I have a car.  If you ever decide to move to NYC and want to bring your car be prepared to use that car to it's fullest.  So anyways for the most part I was more than happy to help.  We got up early and all was going well.  See me below, I am concentrating on my driving but am relatively happy.  It wasn't until the end of the day when traffic hit!  I mean I was moving so slow that I think I could have gotten there faster if I walked. 

I tried to get a shot of the traffic but it was a little difficult, seeing as how I was supposed to be paying attention so I wouldn't hit the car in front of me.

 Do you see me NOW!!  Yes, wanting to pull may hair out which was already coming out by then.  I mean I just look like a mess.  Anyways I made it through the day and felt good about helping out. On a side note, something else about days like these is eating.  I feel like on busy days sometimes I am not fueling myself properly.  Going long periods without food and then just eating what is around you which is not always good.  They lady that we(there was a few peeps with me) were helping move bought us all Dunkin Donuts after.  Aaaa ok so I really really did not want to eat a doughnut.  I hadn't had much all day and then was going to stuff myself with sugar??  No way, but I felt rude if I didn't take it. So I ate the thing, fine but then the rest of my day was down hill.  Arg! I hate it when that happens.

 Ok moving on....A friend of mine asked me what I ate before my runs because we all know that putting the wrong thing in before you head out on a run could mean that you will be regretting it later.  Let me just tell you now that I am the queen of using the throne before you head out.  It took me a long time to find what would work with my stomach.  Both of my sisters know that I can have an extremely sensitive stomach.  So after trial and error this is what I found works for me.

I find that the most blan foods are best.  For a long time I was just eating 2 graham crackers and a glass of spark about 1-1.5 hours before I ran.  I will tell you my problem and what began to happen.  For a while this worked but if you are a morning eater like me, the 2 grahams were just not enough.  I was getting really dizzy and light headed while I was running. I think also the spark which is like an energy/vitamin drink with caffiene was attributing.  Too much energy with not enough food.  So what I started to do was slowly add the pb(I love chocolate so of course I needed to use the chocolate pb) to my grahams.  Too much right away I would be feeling it during the run.  So I smear 1.5 grahams with pb and eat 1 plain.  This really works for me and if I am going a little longer like an 8-12 then I will eat 3-4 grahams.  BUT let me just tell you, I use the bathroom maybe 4 times before I leave the house!  I know, sens-i-tive! But I am used to it and I am fine with that.

If I am doing a longer run I have started to eat a bowl of these mixed together.  I really like it and think it is great for my energy level.

I guess most importantly is that everybody is different.  There was a time when I was heating up a homemade whole wheat waffle and eating it dry but got sick of it. But everyone has a different tolarance.  Some say no fiber because that will make you want to go.  My sister Jen likes to eat candy to give her a burst of energy.  Trial and error and you will find what works best for you.

Oh and one more thing.  I like to run in the morning when my stomach is less full.  When I run in the afternoon I try not to eat anything 2 hours before otherwise I get sever heartburn.  I try to avoid eating Mexican or spicy foods the night before, they always puts me under and last but not least is don't forget to always post fuel!  You want to feed those muscles after you get done working them out.  Even if its just a small glass of chocolate milk.

What do you guys eat before your run?

Do you have any secrets that you want to share about what gets you to the end of your workout?

What do you post fuel with?
-my fav is my almond butter toast with sliced banana on top.

XX
Sarah

My morning Ritual

Every morning I wake up early and run or workout I have to eat something first. If I don't, terrible things happen. Last time I decided to ignore the importance of my "morning ritual" I ended up almost losing it in the middle of my run. Part of having a successful workout for me means giving my body what it needs in order to preform.

Typically I have found that Frosted Mini Wheats is my favorite morning staple. It has some whole grains, some good complex carbohydrates and some sugar.  The slogan, "keeps them full keeps them focused" really speaks the truth for these little babies.  Plus, the milk gives me some protein and calcium. As we age it is important to still recognize the good things in milk and there is a reason we force our kids to drink it =)

Anywhoo, sometimes I do get sick of just the plain old Frosted Mini Wheats regimen so lately I have been spicing it up.

This picture below contains 3 different cereals.  Grape Nuts....did you forget about those, well don't. They are FULL of fiber and all kinds of other good stuff. And then of course, the Frosted Mini Wheats. I  am pretty sure I will make that a part of every breakfast regimen until I convince myself I can go without.... which will probably be never. And then, for the grand finale....I top the whole thing off with Chocolate Cheerioes =) TAHDAHHHH. I love chocolate. So when spicing something up if there is a way I can add chocolate to the bunch you can bet I am gonna give it a try.

So thats what I've got folks. This little mixture has been putting me in good moods and I have had some good workouts post this morning regime. Give it a try I say. But just remember whatever you choose to do, make sure it has some good complex carbs, fiber and any other vitamins and minerals you think important. Also, try to eat at least an hour before you go. My friends are always thinking I am crazy for waking up so early to eat before a run but I tell you, without it I would not function. I'd stop at mile 3 and give up. I need fuel, my gas tank does NOT run well on empty.

What kinds of things do you eat in the mornings?

Do you for sure include any major food group?

Do you wake up early to eat beforehand?

Happy Running -Jen

Everyone needs to REST sometimes

I don't like to rest.  Don't get me wrong; I LOVE to sleep.  But when it comes to taking a break from my regular daily workout I have a hard time doing it.  I workout six days a week, and my rest day is always Sunday.  Life doesn't always agree with this schedule, and there were a lot of factors playing against me last week.  My husband was overseas and left over a weekend, my littlest one did not feel well, my youngest daughter had her first step toward full orthodontics and she had a hard time eating.  Her lack of food only compounded her difficult moods, and on top of everything else I am training for my first marathon.  I was good about getting my miles in at the beginning of the week.  Ran 6 on Monday and Tuesday, then another 4 on Wednesday.  Thursday was going to be my rest day since I was going to do my long run on Friday.  (Saturday was booked up with the first dance competition of the year.)  Thursday rolled around and I told myself not to do anything.  Just rest.  I did it and it was nice.  Then I woke up Friday and felt sick.  Ugg.  I must have got what my youngest guy had, plus a mix of being tired from not having a full night's sleep since my husband left....and it was raining, of course.  So I knew there was no way I was going to run anywhere.  I could have gone to the gym but I was just not feeling great and told myself not to go.  At one point, I even put on my workout clothes thinking I could totally handle a class at the gym, but once I got in the car I talked myself out of it.  Long story summed up (too late) Saturday was consumed by dance so three whole days went by and not a single workout was done. It was weird.  I didn't know what to do with myself.  I woke up Sunday and thought maybe I should go for a short little run.  Like I said I never workout on Sundays.  But I had a little time and I laced up my shoes.  I wasn't going to run more then five.  And I was going to go slow.  I started going and it felt so good.  My legs were not tired from pushing them all week.  My energy was great.  I was loving it!  I loved it so much that I got my TEN miles in!!  I know that I was able to do it and enjoy it because I took those days off.  Which is why REST is so very important.  You need to force yourself do it.  That is the time for your body to recover, so you can improve on your next run.  I know that I will really be resting on my rest days now.  Just need to try to convince my husband now.  Did I convince any of you??

The Westminster 13.1

This Saturday I am running a 1/2 marathon. I have set a goal for myself that I know I am physically capable of doing. BUT, that being said I am still a very big beginner when it comes to racing and although your body can handle something your own brain can end up becoming your worst enemy.

For this race I decided, it is time to tell my brain who is boss and run "Guns to the Max" (One of my friends uses that saying and I just happen to really like it).  Now, you must understand that I am currently training for a marathon (Grandmas) and I have not done any specific training for this race.  My tempo runs are at marathon pace and my long runs are slow.  I do a speed workout twice a week with my running club (which I absolutely LOVE) and I am hoping that all of this mixed together will end up giving me a good overall time.

So, of course I am nervous.  And what happens to me when I get nervous........ I dunno, I go to pick up my race packet and end up purchasing all kinds of goodies that I don't need.... but of course it is OK because I got an additional 25% off.  All the stuff you see below is a variety of what I do typically use when running a marathon.  I haven't found my favorite cocktail of GU, Sport Beans, Roctane, shot bloks, etc. so I decided to add to my current collection (which as I hope you imagine is plenty big and I will be running several marathons before I actually go through all of it). Oh, and the extra socks and grid foam roller just happened to end up in my pile while checking out.  oopps.

During the 1/2 I will most likely use at most 2 GU's or something of that nature.  On a side note, today I went for a slow recovery run, only ate a Yogurt before thinking I would feel fine.  During the middle of the run I ended up having a blood sugar issue.  So I found some gobstoppers, pounded about 5 and felt a ton better.  Now I am wondering, do I just mostly need sugar? or is all the extra stuff found in GU, etc. really necessary? I dunno, I bought plenty of both and decided I will carry some sour patch kids with me just as a chaser in case I am feeling on a sugar low.  With 36g of sugar per serving, I think I will be fine. cheers.=)

I get nervous before every single speed or tempo run as it is, let along an actual race.  I am typically not the competitive type.  I would consider it a weakness of mine. But I would like to turn that weakness into a strength and sooooo on we go. WISH ME LUCK=) and for all of you Colorado peeps who live somewhere near Westminster come run! It is a small race and very reasonably priced.

Come on out Colorado Runners, it will be a great way to start your spring running season.

Desperate and Determined

The frozen tundra where I live has started the great thaw... things are melting.. the sun is shining and the running trails are ready to run on.  The bad part about living in this area is that during the thaw there will be days where is will rain all day long.  Not just a sprinkle you could run in.  This was a steady cold rain.  So I was so desperate to get my miles in and there was no way I was going to the dreadmill in my basement to do it.  A friend of mine told me that you can run around Bielenberg Sports Center.  I decided it cant be that bad.  I will do it.  It cost me two dollars to get inside.  And it had about 15 senior citizens walking around the track.  No runners.  Well I got my shoes on and started.  It was 7 laps to make one mile.. I had to do 5 MILES!  Not that many miles really but when it took 7 laps to make one mile it was going to be determination that got me through it.  I was so desperate to get my miles in yet so determined to do it that I did it.  It really wasn't that bad at all.  Taught me a lesson that no matter what when you put your mind to it you can do it.  Even if that means running 35 laps around an inside dome.

(these pictures were taken with my IPhone by some of the seniors that were walking.. sorry for them being very blurry)

Plenty of both

One way to remove guilt from a vacation is to be sure to keep moving. For us, working out is an essential part of the vacation experience.  BUT, you just need to keep it in perspective.  Don't try to follow some strenuous training plan. Don't try to keep up with what you usually do because it is still a vacation.  

Below we found a basketball court and did triceps push-up and frog hops. Sarah also led us in some of her Tracy Anderson stuff.  Felt good =)

Then after we were finished, we recovered doing this! =)

On another day we hit the treadmill.  Which was very interesting.  Try doing 10x400's fast while the boat is moving up and down.  The workout facility was located on floor 9 in the front of the ship. So every time there was any "motion in the ocean", which was always.... you for sure felt it in the gym.   So I ended up using new muscles to try to keep myself balanced on the treadmill at fast speeds.  It was a BLAST and kinda scary, but totally worth it. My quads and hamstrings were slightly sore the next day. =)

Then of course, after our run we recovered doing this....

Food, Food, Food! We LOVE food. (I realize there isn't much food in the picture, but I assure you that is because we had just finished a few trips to the buffet and polished off our desserts, Yum)

Moral of the story is, while on vacation working in little workouts will make the lazy sleeping, eating times that much funner.  I LOVE VACATION!

Running in the Cold...

Well you all know that I am training for my first marathon.  Yikes.  So far it has been good.  It is not like I have never ran anything before.  The longest distance I have ever ran is 12 miles and I didn't die when I was done.  That being said I HATE running on the treadmill.  I just won't do it.  Which makes a little bit of a problem for me living in the frozen tundra.  So far I have not had to run on the treadmill once.  Yes it has been cold but ok once you start going.  But this last Saturday is was -2 when I headed out!!!!!  FREEZING.  Good thing we had date night, Friday night and headed to my favorite store Lululemon to see what they had that I could wear to run in.  I bought this coat that I am wearing in the pictures above.  It is called the Hustle Jacket.  I have to admit that once I got about two miles into my run I called Bryan and had him meet me at a gas station with more socks.  My feet were the only thing that was cold!  It was really a great run although it was cold it was very peaceful and beautiful out.  I had the trails all to myself.

What the Heck? (that is my current Injury I decided)

So lately I have been battling an injury. It is a small manageable one and I am able to train through it but at the same time it is really frustrating. I am not 100% sure how to diagnose it, (I have asked the all knowing Boulder Running Company shoe experts what it could be) and they think it is plantar fasciitis. But maybe not, I prefer to call it, What the Heck?

Here are my symptoms:

-my heel hurts typically after a run

-occasionally my whole foot will feel tight (but I can massage it and then it feels fine)

-and now all of a sudden, my heel doesn't hurt so much as my calf was in a HUGE knot one morning when I woke up. (but it is seeming to get better)

Now, here is my dilemma. One of the classic symptoms of Plantar Fasciitis is pain when you wake up in the morning and start walking. I do NOT have this symptom. Nor, do I have any issues with shooting pains up my arch which I have heard is a major symptom. So I ask you, what is my problem!?!

Although I do feel like I am on the mend, it wasn't until I started this lovely regime:

Foaming rolling constantly (AGAIN, I had an IT problem over a year ago which also lead to hours of foam rolling).

Icing after every run, and sometimes at night just to be sure. (also, for those of you who noticed, my sister and I sport the same winter running coat! That's right, if it is good its good and I am proud to say all three of us tend to walk around with similar items on occasion ;))

Wearing supports in my cross training shoes constantly (No more cute shoes for me until this is taken care of.)

AND
Popping Advil on occasion to keep down inflammation

Can you believe this list of things I do daily now in order to keep up this crazy addiction I have called running! 

Here's to you all and hopes that you are all INJURY FREE! Also, if someone out there does have any other diagnoses they would like to share, please do.

Running....

This is my third day of running in a row since my training has begun.  Today was suppose to be a cross training day but the weather was SO NICE here in the frozen tundra I could not help but switch my days around and go for a run.  This was a picture before I headed out.  Notice I don't even need a hat or mittens it is so nice... I think it was around 50 degrees out.

This was when I was done... same pose, lame I know.  Yes and I know that you are all super jealous of my super stylish sunglasses but they are so amazing when you are running.  They are special ones that wont slip off my nose when I sweat and are super light.  And I am one of those people who wears sunglasses even when it is cloudy out so they are a must for runs.