Sunday, December 12, 2010

Jingle Bell 5K Race Report

Jingle Bell 5K
Date: December 11, 2010
Location: Downtown Indy

I have not run much since the marathon. I've been to the gym several times but nothing terribly structured. I went in to this race with NO positive expectations. The night before the race Jarrett and I went to his company Christmas party. We had a nice time and ate some tasty food. We got to the race super early so we took a short nap in the car and headed to Conseco to meet our friends who were also racing. It was about 30 when the race started. This year I positioned myself in the middle of the 8 minute mile group. I missed the sign for mile 1. I looked at my watch at mile 2 - 17:00. Alright- I'll take that. I kept pushing and cross the finish at 26:38.4. A 2:07 5K PR. 8:34 minutes/mile.

This has been a busy year. I was not expecting to pull out a PR and I am terribly happy to see a sub-9 minute/mile pace finally show itself. I was fitted for custom orthotics a couple of weeks ago and I hope they give me a chance to comfortably increase my speed this winter.

One more race in 2010! 5k's of Christmas next weekend will conclude my season. I am currently working on my 2011 race schedule and should have something together in early January.

13 days until Christmas! :)

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

Race: Indianapolis Monumental Marathon
Date: 11/6/2010
Location: Downtown Indy

It's been a long race season. I've done 21 races this year. That number includes running, triathlon, and bike races. I'm tired. I'm kind of sore. I'm ready to not race...for a little while anyway.

I signed up for the full marathon with Cyndi like six months ago. It was her first full and I needed to prove to myself I could run another marathon before Ironman. I knew this race wasn't going to be fast and that's okay. I just got back from 10-days in Europe in which I ran 0.0 miles. I didn't need to be fast. I needed to finish.

The day before the race, work was super stressful. I went to lunch with some co-workers and for some reason we decided that Chinese Buffet was a good choice....riiiight. Jarrett and I finished prepping food for the party and made it to bed about 10 pm. I slept like crap. Up every hour. Too hot. Too cold.

The weather was cold but sunny. Race morning started at 5:00 am. I ate my typical pre-race meal of two Pop-Tarts and decided to have a small special treat of Halloween Bar to top off my calories. We headed over to Cyndi's and split up. Jarrett was driving seperately since he was running the half. We parked at Jenn M's house down by the Canal and Cyndi and I hoofed it over to gear check at around 7:15 am. We dropped of our stuff and situated ourselves in the 11 minute mile pace crowd. We were lucky enough to run into one of our friends from Purdue, Amanda C who came all the way from Pittsburgh to run the half. It was awesome to see her and we ran the first 7 miles with her. At mile 7, the race split and the marathoners headed one direction and the halfers went another. I have to admit, the course was very well planned. My favorite part was running through the Indianpolis Museum of Art property. We also saw parts of White River Parkway I'd never been to before. All in all, the race was fun. Cyndi finished her first full and I can say I did another one.

My time is fairly irrelevant. My plan was to stick with Cyndi for the day and that's what I did. We finished in 5:33. Nutrition during the race was excellent. I mixed it up with Chomps and Honey Stingers and drank water and Gatorade on course. About mile 17 I had a few pretzels. Happily, I had no tummy troubles during or after this race! My feet also faired pretty well. I had a few blisters but nothing outrageous.

After the race we hosted a little party at our house. Lots of good food and good friends. We will definetly have another party next year, I'm just not sure I'll be racing the full.

As with my first marathon, I have no real desire to do another. It's a long distance. The next marathon I plan to do is in my Ironman in June. Starting tomorrow I'm in a maintenance mode. I'll be biking 4 days a week, swimming 2 days a week and running 3 days a week. I haven't figured out an exact schedule yet, but I'll work one out soon.

I'm also looking forward to spending some quality time with Frosty. I haven't talked about him much lately, but he is great. I didn't compete as much this summer as I had planned, but I'm okay with that and so is he. Actually, I enjoyed my time with him more when I didn't have to worry about getting ready for a show.

European Vacation

We have had a busy year around here. Between work, training, taking care of the animals, and all the other life stuff that we all have, Jarrett and I were ready for a break. About 8 months ago, we booked a trip our first trip to Europe. We decided to visit Munich, Vienna, and Prague.

My parents were kind enough to take care of our pups while we were gone. We dropped them off and then flew from Chicago to Amsterdam and then on to Munich.


Munich was a beautiful city. The people were very kind. The first day we we visited the Marienplatz, Michaelskirche (St. Michael's Church), Frauenkirche, Peterskirche, Viktualienmarkt (outdoor food market), and the Hofbrauhaus (Bavarian Beer Hall).












Day 2 we visited Shloss Nymphenburg. It was the suburban royal palace and home to the royal stables. The palace was huge and the grounds were amazing. There was a museum dedicated to the carriages and sleighs of the royal family.









We also went to the English Garden and walked through part of the park. It was a very beautiful area and we could have spent an entire day just in the park. The one thing Jarrett and I both loved about Munich was how bike friendly the city was and that you could take your dogs everywhere! The only place they seemed to not be allowed was in grocery stores.


On day 3 we took the train from Munich to Fussen. From Fussen we took a bus to Shloss Neuschwanstein and Shloss Hohenschwangau. Neuschwanstein is often referred to as "the Sleeping Beauty Castle." Walt Disney based the castle at Disney Land off of the architecture of Neuschwanstein. This was Crazy Ludwig II's fantasy castle that he never finished. Only 15 rooms were completed before he mysteriously died. Hohenschwangau was Ludwig's boyhood home and is complete. It is not as fancy as Neuschwanstein but it was still very beautiful. The castles are built on a mountain. You have to climb a very steep hill to get to the castle but it is well worth the hike.








Day 4 we traveled by train to Vienna. It was about a 5 hour train trip. We did a quick walk around the area surrounding our hotel and grabbed dinner at a very good Italian restaurant. The local wine in Vienna was great.


Day 5 we spent at the Spanish Riding School. It happened to be a national holiday and all of the stores were closed and the museums were free. Sounds great? Well, that means everyone in Vienna was out and trying to visit the museums. The Spanish Riding School is not owned by the government so it was open and we were lucky enough to have a chance to watch the morning practice and take a guided tour of the stables. It was very cool! The Lipizzaner stallions are amazing horses and having a chance to watch them up close was a great experience. In the evening we attended a concert held at the Hofburg palace. There was a small orchestra that played some standard Vivaldi, Strauss, and Mozart while accompanied by opera singers and ballet dancers. Vienna loves it's desserts and there were tons of cafes and coffee shops with pretty treats. They also love their Schnitzel.







Day 6 we headed to Prague by train. It was about a 6 hour trip from Vienna. Prague was an amazing city. We saw so many beautiful churches and buildings during the three days we were there. It was by far the most beautiful city we visited. The people were very kind but it was a bit expensive. Our hotel was amazing and the location was perfect. We visited all of the standard must-see sites: Astronomical Clock, Old Town Square, Charles Bridge, Church of St. Nicholas, St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague Castle, Wencelas Square, Tyn Church, Kampa Island, Basilica and Convent of St. George, Loreta Church, and much more.







We stayed in Prague for three days and then flew home via JFK. The flight was long and we were tired. We walked a TON. We estimated that we averaged 14 miles a day during the trip and took 435 pictures.
The pups were very glad to see us when we got home. After spending the night with my parents, we headed back to Indy. Chloe cat missed us and decided that while we were gone she would open all of our cabinets. Luckily she doesn't destroy anything. She just thinks it's fun.

We loved Europe and are looking forward to going back soon! We are thinking of France or Italy for 2012. 2011 is already busy. Ironman Idaho is in June and we may be going to Disney in the fall.

Indianapolis Half-Marathon


Race: Indianapolis Half-Marathon

Location: Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park - Indianapolis, IN

Date: October 16, 2010


This race was NOT in my race plan. I didn't even sign-up. Cyndi P called me the Wednesday before the race and said she was getting over being sick and wasn't up for running it. She asked if I wanted to do it instead. Before I know what is coming out of my mouth I say sure! Yes - this is against the rules and you are not suppose to race as someone else for safety reasons but I'm not much for following all of the rules.


I have a history with this race. It was my first marathon last year. It has more hills then any other race I run. I hate driving to Fort Ben. Parking blows. There are a million reasons I should have stayed in bed instead of run this race...but I did it. I PR'd the course by 8 minutes over the last time I ran it as a half.


Finish Time: 2:06:51


Am I happy with my time? I don't know. I've been trying to break 2 hours all year and I have just not been able to do it. I knew after mile 1 that this wasn't going to be my race. What I wasn't expecting was the extreme pain I was in after the race. Everything hurt. It felt like I had been hit by a bus, run over by a truck, and dragged by a horse. The pain lasted almost 3-days. I have not felt this bad after a race since I ran it a year ago...as a marathon and even then I was only sore for 2 days. Alas, I recovered and in the end, it was a good training run, the weather was beautiful, and I have a few really nice finish line photos. Please ignore the name on the bib ;)



Hilly Hundred - Unrace Report

Unrace: Hilly Hundred
Location: Ellettsville, IN
Date: October 8-10

Jarrett and I rode in our first Hilly Hundred this year. We had an AMAZING time! This is event is not a race. It's two days of friends, food, riding, and HILLS. We were lucky enough to stay with our friend Carrie F who lives about 3 miles away from the start line. We drove down to Ellettsville on Friday evening after work and picked-up packets and enjoyed a wonderful pasta dinner with friends. Everyone was up early on Saturday to get started. Since it is not a race and several thousand people participate each year, there is no set start time. You can start anytime between 8-10. We started the course around 8:30. I was not sure what to expect. I'd ridden part of the course over the summer but I had not been on my bike much since Augusta. This was Jarrett's longest ride in months. I have to admit, I was very nervous at first. There are tons of people with varying abilities and the rodes are not closed to traffic. After making it to the first SAG stop, I loved it. Saturday was definitely challenging. It was a ton of climbing (5205 ft in 54.5 miles). I was only forced to walk one hill and it was only because I was cut-off in the middle of the climb by some old dude. I managed to unclip and get a foot down before falling or hitting him. I'm not strong enough to start from a dead stop in the middle of a serious climb, so I walked the rest. By the end of the day, we were all pretty exhausted. We went back and the seven of us killed some pizza's and I think we all were asleep by 9:30!
Day 2 was a little more relaxed. The hills were not as close together and there was only 3986 ft of climbing. We climbed my favorite hill, Bean Blossom on day two and my least favorite hill, Mt. Tabor. Mt. Tabor kicked my butt. I got within a 100 ft of the top but couldn't make it. It's only 0.2 miles long but it's a 20% incline.


What made this event different was that it was NOT a race. Everyone was so nice and we had a great time hanging out with friends. Even the old dude that cut me off apologized every time he saw me at a SAG stop. The other awesome thing - Apple Cider (YUM) and Fried Chicken. The weather could not have been better for the weekend and Jarrett and I are both looking forward to riding next year.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Augusta 70.3 Race Report

Race: ESI Ironman 70.3 Augusta

Location: Augusta, GA

Date: September 26, 2010



After almost a year of training, my A race was finally here. My first 70.3! Jarrett and I made this a family event. We rented a house just outside of Augusta that would allow us to bring our dogs and invite our family. Jarrett's mom and step-dad took us up on the offer and came to cheer me on. We left on Thursday and drove to Nashville, TN and stayed the night to break the trip into more manageable pieces. We've never traveled further then 3-hours to South Bend with the dogs before and I was a little concerned they would be difficult. Luckily, they were awesome the entire trip. They behaved like little angels and I would definitely take them on a road trip again. We headed the rest of the way to Augusta on Friday and got in to town about 2:00 pm. After dropping everything off at the house, Jarrett and I headed into town to get my packet. Check-in was fast. I was in and out of line in about 5 minutes flat. I guess it was pretty crazy on Saturday so I am very glad we made it in on Friday. I bought a new cycling jersey and tank top with the Augusta 70.3 logo and then we headed out to explore downtown. Honestly, I was disappointed. There really wasn't much to the town of Augusta. We did manage to find a cute cafe that served local produce and fresh made bread called New Moon.



Saturday we slept in and ate a nice breakfast. I headed out on a quick bike ride to make sure everything was working. Jarrett and I headed back into town with my bike and drove the bike course. I am VERY glad I drove the course. It was good to experience it from a vehicle and gave me a good idea what to expect. The course had tons of rolling hills and only one really difficult turn around mile 32. It was 95 degrees and the sun was brutal. I was beginning to re-calibrate my race expectations based on the heat. The weather for Sunday was calling for lower temps and a chance of rain. We dropped Lola off in transition without any issues and headed back to the house to relax. Dinner was lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. It was very tasty! I went to bed at 9:00 pm and set my alarm to wake-up at 4:00 am. I got a decent nights sleep (6 hours) and ate my Pop tarts and Gatorade for breakfast. Jarrett and I hit the road at 5:30 am.



The transition area was incredible. So many people and bikes! It was a lot to take in. I set-up my gear and covered everything I could with plastic bags. It was starting to drizzle. Jarrett had gone to park and I found him waiting outside of transition for me. I gave him a bag of extra water bottles to take back to the car. I'm not sure why I packed 5 bottles but I was only taking 3 on the bike. My aero bottle was filled with water, one bottle of Gatorade on the down tube and an extra bottle of water in the back. My bento box contained 800 calories, which was a tad more then I should have needed but I figured I better be safe. 600 from Chomps and Honey Stingers and 200 from Raspberry Newtons and Snickers. My plan was to consume 150-200 calories an hour on the bike. At some point I realized I wasn't wearing a watch. Jarrett and I hadn't gotten far from transition so I decided to go back and get my Polar watch. I opted not to wear the heart rate monitor. I decided I wanted to walk with Jarrett to the swim start so we hiked the 1.2 miles down river to the rowing club. I got my timing chip and watched the pros start. They announced they would be condensing the swim start because of the weather. It was a steady drizzle at this point.



Swim - 1.2 miles



I put my wetsuit on about 5 minutes before my wave started. We lined up in corrals and they released us every two minutes. You walked down a steep ramp to a floating boat dock in the river and jumped in for a deep water start. It was surreal. I wasn't nervous, I was ready. I jumped in off the center of the dock and lined up at the front of the pack. This is NOT my usual starting position! I am a back of the pack swimmer, but it never occurred to me to be anywhere else. In reality, there was only 131 of us in my wave and there was plenty of room between the start buoys. The next thing I knew, the air horn sounded and we were off. I was swimming as close to the left buoys as possible to take full advantage of the current. There were a few issues of people being grabby but nothing too bad. It was a point to point down river swim and it was FAST. Sighting wasn't particularly necessary because you could site off the shore line. I didn't pick my head up until I felt myself coming up on a large group of people. At that point I saw the big yellow buoy marking the swim exit. It was about 100 yards away. I could not believe the swim was already over. I stood up too soon and ended up slogging through the water and up the boat ramp. I was feeling great. I looked at my watch 31:10.



Swim Time: 31:10 (1:28/100 yds)



T1:

I used wetsuit strippers to get out of my wetsuit and ran to my bike. It was raining and it took me a bit to get all of my stuff out of the plastic bags I put it in. I took a small drink of Gatorade before taking off on the bike and ran out of transition. The bike mounting line was not crowded and it went very smoothly.



T1 Time: 5:40 - This was WAY longer then it should have taken but there was quiet a bit of distance from the swim exit to transition.



Bike: 56 Miles



I took off on the bike and looked down to see I was pushing a 23 mph pace. That's way too fast! I backed off to around 20 and was still flying for the first 15 miles. Mile 16 was were the hills started. They were not as bad as I thought they would be. I had totally psyched myself out after driving the course on Saturday. For some reason the hills seemed very big in the car. I passed a ton of people climbing and a ton of people passed me descending. I'm still not brave going down hill. The cool thing about the bike - I had fun. I really was enjoying the course and even though it was steadily raining and at some points down pouring, I wasn't nervous. It's been a rough year in this house for bike wrecks and even though I rode the race safe, I wouldn't say I rode like a total chicken. I descended all but two hills in aero and I never felt unsteady or anxious. The strange thing about the bike is I lost complete track of time. They had mile markers every 5 miles and that is the only reason I had any idea how far I'd gone. I never had a clue how much time had passed. The rain on my watch kept me from being able to see the time clearly and I had my bike computer set on the wrong screen so I could only really watch my speed and cadence. There were three aid stations on the bike and I decided since I practiced bottle grabs, I better actual do one! I grabbed Gatorade at around Mile 40 and drank a few sips before ditching it. At Mile 50 I noticed that I had not eaten nearly enough. It was too late to really do anything about the situation so I took a few more Chomps and hammered back to transition. When I home after the race I found that I had only eaten 180 calories during the bike.

Bike Time: 2:59:52

T2 Time: 4:13 - Bike dismount was uneventful and I ran my bike back to my rack space. It was a little muddy and my feet and bike shoes were soaking wet. I had put my running shoes and socks in plastic bags but forgot to put a dry towel in a bag to wipe off my wet feet. I got my socks on and headed out for the run. It was still drizzling at this point and it wouldn't be long before my feet were soaking.

Run: 13.1 miles

My run started strong and then I fell apart at mile 5. I hadn't eaten enough and I just could not get my legs to move any faster. I ran most of the race and walked at aid stations. I drank Gatorade and water at each stop and ate Chomps every two miles. It was really nice getting to see Jarrett and David and Michele multiple times during the run. Jarrett even bought a little cowbell :) I was running every time he saw me. The crowds and volunteers were great and the Richmond County Sheriffs Department officer at Mile 6/12 was a hoot. He was providing us with tips such as "Triathlon is swim, bike, run - not swim, bike, walk." Running through the finishers chute was awesome! I was very proud to have finished strong.

Mile 1: 9:16
Mile 2: 9:38
Mile 3: 10:12
Mile 4: 10:11
Mile 5: 11:38
Mile 6: 10:55
Mile 7: 11:13
Mile 8: 11:47
Mile 9: 11:07
Mile 10: 11:51
Mile 11: 11:36
Mile 12: 11:36
Mile 13.1: 11:47

Run Time: 2:22:51

Total Race Time: 6:03:45

Post race I ate some cookies and pizza and drank a ton of water. We picked up my morning gear bag and hitched a ride back to transition to pick-up my bike. Everything in transition was soaking wet and gross. We packed up and headed back to the house. I immediately took an ice bath and rolled my quads and hammies with "The Stick." I really didn't have any issues with being stiff or sore after the race. I wore my new CEP compression socks on the way back to IN and avoided swollen legs from sitting in the car. We drove straight home on Monday. I had Tuesday off from work so we relaxed and I ran with Andrea K and Jarrett down on the canal in the afternoon. We managed a 5 miler in 45 minutes and it felt really good.

Overall this was a very positive race experience. I crossed the finish line and immediately had the though "Wow - I want to do that again." Could I be faster? Probably, but overall I'm pleased with how the race went.

Next up - Monumental Marathon!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Morse Mini Marathon

Morse Mini Marathon
Date: 9/4/2010
Nobelsville, IN
13.1 Miles

So I convinced Cyndi on Monday to sign-up for this race. I haven't run a half-marathon since June and that race was miserably hot. This is only the second year for the Morse race and neither of us had any idea what to expect. I train in the area so I had a good idea it was going to be fairly flat and fast. Being only the 2nd year for the event, it's a gamble on how well they'll have the course marked or supplied with water, etc.

The weather was almost perfect. Cool and clear. The only issue - the damn wind. Cyndi and I met up with my tri friend Katie before the race. We all started together towards the middle of the pack. My mission for the day - break two hours. Honestly, I ran a good race, except for mile 9. I don't know what the hell happened in mile 9 but I was evidently day dreaming or something. My pace slipped down to a 10 minute/mile and I screwed myself. The rest of the race was fantastic. I hit the 13 mile marker and looked at my watch...it was going to be close. As I turned down the drive to the school at started to sprint to the finish, I felt a gush of fluid in my left shoe. I looked down and saw the entire top of my shoe was bloody. I ignored the pain and grossness and pushed to the line finishing in......I know the suspense is killing you...2:00:22. Yes - I missed breaking two-hours by 23 seconds.

After the race I changed clothes and went back to the finish line to wait for Cyndi and Katie to finish. Bob O - another tri friend was also running this race as his first half marathon. He finished with a great time and had fun! Katie and Cyndi also both had good races. Cyndi and I both had PR's. This one was 5 minutes faster the my previous best time. Now I must find those elusive 23 seconds and break two hours!! Good things - My nutrition was spot-on for the race. I ate one bag of chomps and only took water. It worked because the weather was cool. Any more heat I would have had to take Gatorade too. Luckily no stomach issues! The foot was gross but it didn't really hurt after I got out of my shoes. The blister healed quickly. I'm going to start breaking in new shoes this week for Augusta. Hopefully they'll help minimize the blisters.

Go Girl Triathlon

Go Girl Triathlon
Date: August 28, 2010
Eagle Creek Reservoir - Indianapolis, IN
Sprint Distance - 500 meter swim, 10 mile bike, 3 mile run

This was the 3rd anniversary of my first triathlon! Race day started early, as usual. Jarrett was volunteering as a check-in helper so we had to be at the race site by 6:00 am. I was once again the first to set-up my transition area and scored the coveted outside spot on the rack. This is an all women's event and I spent a good bit of the morning talking to new athletes and giving tips on how to set-up transition areas, things to know about the race, etc. It's was fun being the "veteran."

Swim: 11:47 I wore my wetsuit. This was a 4 minute PR. For reals. I passed people. A lot of people. I actually felt fast.

T1: 2:45.3 - Ummmm - yeah. So I had some issues getting out of the wetsuit. I even used a bunch of body glide. I just couldn't get my fingers to cooperate.

Bike: 35:40 - 16.8 mph - No course record here. The bike was crowded and passing was tough. I also had to slow down to almost a stop because of a deer. He was standing at the side of the road watching us come down the hill. Finally, a nice volunteer scared him back into the woods before he decided to jump in front of someone.

T2: 2:22.3 - Another crummy transition! This one was a hot mess. I started to run the WRONG way out of transition WITH my bike helmet on. Rigggghhhht...

Run: 27:16.4 - 9:05/mile - PR! The run was great. I was on it. Sprinted in to the finish. Beat the girl who kept passing me on the bike and then cutting me off. :) It's the little things!

Total Race Time: 1:19:58 - 100/501 total participants and 25/75 in my age group. New course PR by 4 minutes!

Let's review the previous two years of Go Girl Results:
2008 - My 1st Triathlon! - Total Race Time: 1:40:24
2009 - Total Race Time: 1:32:22

What a difference a year makes...

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Circle the City 10K

Event: Circle the City 10K
Location: Downtown Indy
Date: 8/7/2010

This is my 3rd year running Circle the City. The night before the race Cyndi, Brian, Jarrett and I went to the State Fair and ate WAY too much fair food. It was good but we kind of knew it wasn't the greatest pre-race nutrition plan. We got home late (11 pm) after walking around the fair for about four hours. Luckily it wasn't too hot and I made a point to keep my water bottle full. We were suppose to wake-up at 4:45 am so we could get out the door to pick-up Cyndi by 6 am. Unfortunately, I set my alarm for 4:45 pm. Oops. Luckily Chloe Cat woke me up and we managed to be only a few minutes late getting Cyndi. We got there in plenty of time and but my whole morning routine was thrown off.

The weather was perfect. Mild temps, moderate humidity, slightly overcast. They didn't have any mile markers for mile 1 or mile 2. I hit mile 3 at 26:45 on my watch. I was happy. 8:45-8:55/mile is where I want to be running a 10K right now. Unfortunately, I couldn't keep it. I didn't have my GPS because the battery was dead and a wicked side stitch that started in mile 4 slowed me down. I pushed through the discomfort and kept moving. I finished in 59:46 with a 9:36 minute/mile pace. Last year I finished in 1:04 so I'll take the PR for the race and keep focusing on getting stronger. Ultimately I need to get lighter to run faster. I finished 26 out of 60 in my age group so at least I was in the top half. My friend Lori actually won our age group! She was killing it with 7:20 minute/miles! Jennifer, Cyndi, and Jarrett also had great races. Everyone should have been very pleased. Caryn and Edgar finished the 5K and were very happy with their times, too. It was great to hang out with the old band crowd this morning and then just relax the rest of the day.

Jarrett and I are starting to get the details sorted out for Augusta. I found a hotel in Nashville that will let us have the dogs and we plan to stop for the night before heading the rest of the way to Georgia. Menu planning is under way and I've started my lists so I can get my race stuff organized. I can't believe it's in less then 50 days. My training schedule for the next three weeks is tough and they are going to be a test of my mental toughness as much as my physical toughness.

I'm racing Kokomo 40K TT in the morning. It's the last bike race of the season. I will win the women's division as long as I finish. After that it's the third anniversary of my first Go Girl Triathlon followed by Augusta.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Tri Indy - Olympic Distance

Event: Tri Indy - Olympic Distance
Date: August 1, 2010
Location: Downtown Indy

Pre-Race

Jarrett was volunteering for this race and had to be at the site at 5:15 am. That meant an early bedtime of 9:00 pm! I packed my stuff the night before and all we had to do was load the car in the morning. The dogs woke me up at 3:00 am. I had my alarm set for 4 but I never really fell back asleep. I got up at 4, showered, fed the animals, and had two Wile Berry Pop-Tarts, vitamins, a Pepcid AC, and one Alleve. I drank 24 oz of water and a Diet Coke. We hit the road a 5:00 am and were at the race site at 5:15 am. Since Jarrett was a volunteer he had a parking pass that got us a fantastic spot. I picked-up my packet and went back to the car to put my numbers on the bike and grab my stuff. At the registration tent I saw that the water temp was 75 degrees. Wetsuit legal. I didn't bring my wetsuit. Oops. I headed over to transition and racked my bike and dropped off my bag. I was the first person to rack my stuff so I had a prime end spot. I then walked about half a mile to Jenn's house to meet her. We headed back to transition about 6:00 am and got her stuff set-up by 6:30 am. We chatted with a few people and then started toward the swim start about 7:00 am. We decided to drop our shoes off at Jenn's house and use the bathroom before we had to swim. Our timing was perfect! We got back to the canal as they were lining up 200-250. I was 314 and she was 350 so we started together.

Swim:
Time trial start this year which was interesting. You kind of ran down this ramp and dove in. The water actually felt pretty chilly initially but once I started moving, I was fine. I tried to find some feet and hang on but it just wasn't happening. People were either too fast or too slow and I just never found a good person to pace off of. Jenn was within my sight for most of the race. I think I lost her the last 500. Biggest issue - I could not swim straight to save my life. Seriously? It's a canal. It has walls. And I was drifting all over the place! I'm sure this had a direct impact on my swim time. How would I rate this swim? Okay but not great. At one point a got kicked pretty hard in the face and got a bit disoriented. I should have swam closer to the steps at the exit too. I misjudged the distance and stood up too early. On a positive note - I did not have to breast stroke or stop at all. I know my time would have been faster with my wetsuit too. The other thing I need to work on is pushing a little harder during the swim. I get into a comfortable rhythm but I'm not fast. My heart rate was in check when I got out and I was able to run to my bike without feeling totally lost.

Swim: 1500 meters
Swim Time: 35:46.8

T1: 1:58.7
T1 was a bit slow. I had issues shoving chomps into my back pockets and getting my gloves on. It definitely isn't my slowest T1 but it could have been faster. I haven't been wearing gloves for the sprints and shorter rides but I decided to use them today since the ride was a bit longer. In the end, it was worth the extra time.

Bike:
I got on the bike and headed out on course. The first thing I had to deal with was riding down a plywood ramp over a curb to get out onto the road. It scared me. I was riding new wheels (Courtney let me borrow his HED wheel set) and I haven't really experienced riding down a ramp or jumping curbs on the Cervelo. Once I got on the road it became apparent the road conditions were going to suck. Pot holes, rough pavement, gravel, railroad tracks...I was riding with my 20 oz Aero bottle full of water, a bottle on my bottom tube with a 50/50 mix of Gatorade and water, and a spare bottle on the back rack with about half a bottle of water. I popped open a bag of chomps at about mile 5 and had 3. I was consistently sipping out of the aero bottle and managed to finish it by the end of the race. I had another 3 chomps around mile 15. I drank about a quarter of my Gatorade mix. The bike course was fairly challenging for me. I wanted badly to ride fast but I also knew that I needed to be safe so I really held back. Not to mention I was praying the entire time that I wouldn't get a flat. The road conditions were seriously terrible. I saw 5 flats, 2 wrecks, and about 20 water bottles laying on the road. Jarrett said he saw a lot of flats and a few more with road rash from wrecks. The first lap was less congested then the 2nd. The 2nd lap had all of the sprint racers out on the roads too. I passed a ton of people. It was very hard not to be in the draft zone. I made it through without any penalties, no mechanicals, no wrecks, and my legs felt good. I seriously need to work on my cornering skills. I still brake and ride WAY too slow around turns. I suggested to Vern @ T3 to hold a bike handling skills workshop and he said he thought it was a good idea. I just need to gain more confidence so I can get some more speed out there!

Time: 1:12:57.2 (20.4 mph)

T2: 1:47.6
Got back into transition, racked the bike and pulled off my helmet and gloves. I had some issues getting on my socks, as usual. I would love to run barefoot, but my feet will have none of that. Tied my shoes and grabbed my race number belt and headed out. I brought a Fuel belt with me but decided that the temps were low enough and I was feeling good after the bike that I wouldn't take it on the run. Less weight and less annoying.

Run:
Distance: 6.2 miles

My legs felt great coming off the bike. I haven't done a ton of bricks this year so I wasn't sure how I was going to feel and I was pleasantly surprised. The first 3 miles flew by. I met up with a lady named Stacey at mile 2. She was doing the sprint and it was her first triathlon. She was having a lot of fun and I convinced her to give the Go Girl a try in September. We parted ways at about 2.75 and she went straight to finish and I headed back for another loop. I saw Jarrett and TJ standing at the turn point for the 2nd loop cheering and heard various other voice shouting words of encouragement. Mile 4 I had some Chomps and Gatorade. I was drinking water at all the water stops and picked up Gatorade at Mile 2 and Mile 4. This year the water stations were much better spaced and the volunteers were fantastic. They were even nice enough to let me have two cups of water at mile 5 so I could drink some and dump the rest on my head. Even though it was overcast, it did start to warm up the second loop of the run. My stomach started to get a little angry around mile 4. I just ignored it and kept pushing. At mile 5 I remembered that I had actually started my watch at the swim start. I hadn't looked at it since I got out of the water. To my amazement it said 2:41. I had one mile to go. I was so excited. I really wanted to finish the race in under 3 hours this year and it was going to happen! There were several times during that last mile I had to convince myself not to stop and walk. I kept moving and focusing on keeping my chin up and shoulders back. I got about 200 meters from the finish and saw Rich cheering and TJ taking pictures. Jarrett ran along side me and gave me some words of encouragement and a nice smack on the butt for motivation. I finished strong and even got my name announced at the finish and a Happy Birthday from the RD!

Time: 0:58:41.7 (9:26.8 minutes/mile)

Total Race Time: 2:51:11.9
I placed 11 out of 24 in my age group. Finally broke into the top half! Overall I was 281 out of 443. Still hanging at the back of the pack but I'm getting closer to the front of the back of the pack!

After I finished I grabbed some water and a few cookies and found Jarrett. We headed back to watch Jenn finish and check on our other race peeps. I saw Steve cross the finish line and couldn't believe I beat him. I found out later that he had a flat and spent about 15 minutes fixing his tire. He would have had a fantastic time if not for the revenge of the roads. We found Doug who had just finished his first sprint. He did fantastic! 1:28! It's amazing what us old band kids are doing these days. I guarantee if you had asked me if I thought I would ever do a triathlon when I was a 19 year-old marching band geek, I would have laughed.

It's amazing what a year has done. Last year, this was my first Oly and I finished in a painful 3:43:59. I crushed that time and still had energy.

I really appreciate everyone who came out and cheered and volunteered. Jenn finished very strong and should be extremely proud of her race time! She killed her 3:20:00 goal and finished in 3:10:00.

It's hard to believe that race season is almost over. The Go Girl is my last sprint of the season and then it's off to Augusta. I'm still nervous. New course, new distance....I've still got some issues to work out with nutrition. I did not get as dehydrated during this race but I was still a little short on liquids. I also should have finished my entire bag of Chomps on the bike and two more on the run.

55 days until Augusta. I'm starting to think about race goals and setting up my race plan. Overall goal - Just finish in under 8 hours. I'd love to see a time around 6:30:00. Ultimately it's about having fun and finishing with a smile.

This has been an amazing year of training and I owe my success over this summer to my wonderful supportive husband, Jarrett, Coach TJ, and the great group of triathletes I've had the chance to train with. Each person inspires me to push a little harder and whine a little less ;)

Friday, July 30, 2010

Breakaway Bicycle Club 40K TT

Date: July 25, 2010
Location: Kokomo, IN
Event: 40K TT

This was my third bike time trial this summer. Each one has been faster then the first. It rained the night before the race and it was very humid. The race started at 7:00 am and after picking-up Greg in Westfield at 5:30 am, we ended up getting to the race about 6:15 am. Plenty of time to sign-up and get ready. This was Greg's first race so I walked him through the logistics. I was the 2nd rider off the line and even though I still won't let them hold me before the start, I went out strong. My hear rate spiked early but I managed to get it under control about 3 miles in. There was a bit of headwind on the way out and I averaged about 19.5-20 mph on the way out, which is slightly downhill. Heading into Burlington I struggled a bit on the hill and ended up mashing for a short spell. My turn around still sucked! On the way back, something just clicked. I was flying. My whole goal was to come in under 1:12:00. My last race was 1:14:00 and that would be a respectable improvement. I was concentrating on staying in a good aero position and just pushing. The next thing I knew I was about one mile out from the finish. I looked at my computer and it said 1:06:30. I couldn't believe it. I crossed the line at 1:09:43. A 5 minute PR! Average speed 21.4 mph. There is one more race this season and I'm hoping that I can grab one more PR.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Eagle Creek Sprint Triathlon #2

Race: Eagle Creek Sprint
Location: Eagle Creek Reservoir
Distance: 500 meter swim,, 10 mile bike, 3 mile run

This was my ninth triathlon and my sixth time racing Eagle Creek.

Swim - Uneventful - 14:25.6 - Course PR without a wetsuit. The reservoir was 83 degrees. I'm slowly working on reducing my swim times. One of these days I'll get it under 12 minutes. I cand do it in the pool, I just need to translate it to the lake.

T1 - 1:42.8 - T1 PR

Bike - 35.02.9 - 17.1 mph - Course PR - No wrecks today. I was very cautious on the bike. Very, very cautious.

T2 - 1:51 - T2 PR

Run - 30:00.4 - 10:00 - Course PR - The run was tough and hot.

Total Time: 1:23:02 - Course PR by 4 minutes

The race felt good but I would later realize I was seriously under hydrated. I bonked hard on Sunday. It took me almost two full days to get my body chemistry back in check. I didn't realize it until much later that I was probably dehydrated going into the race and it just got worse.

I have one more race at Eagle Creek this year. It will be my third anniversary of my first triathlon - the Go Girl. I'm interested to see how it goes. It will be then end of my local racing season and the last race before Augusta. I'm excited and nervous about Augusta. I have to get my nutrition/hydration under control. I only drank a quarter of a bottle on the bike on Saturday and it was not nearly enough, even if it was only a sprint. More fluids, better race week nutrition, more electrolytes....

Morse Park Sprint Tri

Race: Morse Park Sprint Tri
Date: June 26, 2010
Location: Morse Park - Nobelsville, IN
600 meter swim, 13 bike, 3.2 run

This was a new race for me. I've been training at Morse this year so it made sense to do a race on my "home" turf. I got to the race site INSANELY earl. It usually takes me 45 minutes to an hour to get all the way to Noblesville from Avon. When you leave at 5:30 am on a Saturday - it takes 25 minutes. I got a great parking spot and was the first person in transition. I set my stuff up and then pitched in helping the race coordinators get the rest of the racks set-up and labeled. About an hour before the race I met up with the rest of my training friends and we chatted for a few minutes. Jen and Kristen were only one bike rack away. They told me the race was wetsuit legal so I decided to go back to my car and grab my suit. I wasn't gone more then 5 minutes. I came back to find that someone had moved my bike. I was seriously pissed. There were two people standing at the rack putting a bike in the spot my bike use to hang. I approached them and simply said, "It is not cool to move peoples bikes. Please move remove your bike from my spot." The woman and gentleman stared at me and he stuttered - "we didn't move it...some other guy did." At the same time, there were a couple people standing behind them shaking there heads no. In the end they moved the bike, the entire time insisting that they never touched it. After it was over, the girls and I were chatting and we all thought the couple looked very familiar. After some Internet research after the race, Jen figured out that it was Indy Car driver Alex Tagliano and his wife Bronte. It was her first triathlon. I hope she learned that it is not cool to touch other peoples stuff!

Swim: 600 meters - 16:03
The swim was fine. It felt slow and long but I got out of the water with a clear head and hustled to transition. TJ was our swim starter and Kristen, Jen, and I all started one after the other. My swim was a bit long because my sighting was WAY off. I'm not sure what I was looking at, but it sure as heck wasn't the first buoy!

T1: 2:11.2 - Not bad considering I had to strip my wetsuit!

Bike: 45:52.3 - 18.6 mph - WHAT??? Best Bike EVER! Seriously! I killed this bike course. Considering I wrecked the week before and was still recovering from serious road rash and stitches. I was thrilled. It was flat and fast with just a few rollers.

T2: 1:52.3 - Another good transition!

Run: 27:00 - 9:00 min/mile - AWESOME! So proud of this run!

This was a great race and I will do it again. Probably not next year because of conflicts, but it will be on my list of favorites.

Overall time: 1:33:01 - Placed 8 out of 21 in my age group!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Eagle Creek Sprint Tri #1

Let me just say - this was a tough race. It all started Friday night...Jarrett and I went to pick-up packets at Runner's Forum in Carmel on Friday evening. Packet pick-up was easy and fast. Then we decided to venture downtown for dinner. I decided we should go someplace new and had read good things about a BBQ place on Fountain Square called Shelby Street Smokehouse. It totally sucked. The food was horrible and cold. I ate a few bites of meat and we left. We managed to get home before the torrential rainstorm started. It started storming at 9:00 pm and didn't stop until almost 5:00 am Saturday morning.

I got up at 4:30 am on Saturday to eat and take care of the critters. I had my stuff already packed and ready to go so the morning was pretty low key. I got to Eagle Creek about 6:30 am and found a great parking spot. I took my stuff down and set-up my transition area. Since I was there so early, I managed to get a prime spot on the end of my rack. The water was too warm (79 F) making the wetsuit I hauled down completely useless. I met up with a few other fellow athletes prior to the race and wished everyone luck. The pre-race meeting was heavily focused on safety and as always, Tuxedo Brothers did an outstanding job of organizing the event. One of my fellow swimmers found me prior to the swim start and I decided to start with her instead of back with my wave. It was a very good decision.

Swim Time: 14:59.6 - That is a no wetsuit PR! I swam the Go Girl last year in a wetsuit slightly faster. Still not where I want to be but it is an improvement.

T1: 1:45.4 - This is most definitely a PR. Not sure what my previous best was but it was well over 2:00.

Bike: 37:24.2 (16 mph) - This was a bittersweet PR. I should have nailed this ride...but instead I wrecked about 1 mile in slipping on mud and crap in the road when I went into aero position. No worries - just some road rash and a very bruised ego. I put my chain back on and got right back on the bike.

T2: 2:54.7 - Ummm- slow. It took me a bit to get my shoes on and I was still a little shaky from the fall.

Run: 30:15 (10.05 pace) - The run was tough. I made it through the first 1.5 miles without walking and then I stopped to walk at a water stop and it all kind of fell apart. I did PR by 3 seconds.

Total Time: 1:27:19
357/519 - I really want to break into the top 50%....one of these days!

Other then the bike incident, the race was good. I have improved and the most frustrating thing about it is I know I could have been faster and SHOULD have been faster. In the end, I just need to remember that this is ultimately about having fun and finishing Augusta.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Sunburst Half-Marathon

Cyndi and I ventured up to South Bend to run our 2nd Sunburst Half-Marathon on Saturday. This was my third time participating in this event. The first year, Jarrett and I ran the 10K. To sum up the race: HOT AND HUMID. When we woke up, it was already 74 and you could feel the humidity just hanging in the air. The race started at 7:30 am from downtown. There were only 1600ish people racing the half so it was not crowded. That meant the crowd thinned rapidly and there was very little weaving during the first mile of the race. About 10 minutes in, I looked down at my watch. I hadn't seen a mile marker yet. In another two-minutes I would encounter Mile Marker 1. WHAT?? I ran a 12:24 first mile? I DON'T THINK SO! At that point I was pretty pissed and frustrated. About 6 minutes later I see another mile marker...Evidently the first mile marker was set for one of the other distances being run, not the half. Crisis over. I didn't hit my watch again until mile 6. I finished the first 6 in 56:18 with a pace of 9:23. At mile 10 I was at 1:35:8 holding in at a 9:33/mile. I finished with a time of 2:08 with a pace of 9:46/mile. Biggest issue was the heat and humidity. There was not enough water on the course. Two of the ten water stops were completely out of water and only one had Gatorade. I dropped my bag of Chomps at mile 6 trying to open them because my hands were too sweaty to operate properly and had to resort to taking a Gu Gel. I only was able to gag down about a quarter of it but I was desperate at that point.

What this race taught me: I'm stronger then I give myself credit for. I did not walk a STEP even though I badly wanted to stop running. It was excellent training for the conditions I will likely experience at Augusta.

I still managed to get myself some lovely blisters on my arches. Luckily they aren't terribly painful, just gross.

Cyndi also did great! She finished in 2:28 - if not her fastest half time then one of her top three. Considering the weather - that is AWESOME!

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Sometimes you just need to rest

What a week! We did a "mock" triathlon on Monday. 1.2 mile swim, 20 mile bike, 3 mile run. Very successful training day for everyone who participated. Jarrett was kind enough to kayak for the group and then joined us for the ride. He just upgraded his bike to a Trek Madone. It's super awesome and he can "almost" keep up with me! I had a bit of a breakdown at swimming on Tuesday. After spending some time talking to my coach and reflecting on the last 6 weeks, I realized I was just tired. I needed a day off. Wednesday was the first day in a month that I didn't train or ride Frosty. Trust me here people - riding a 1400# horse is not always easy! I woke up feeling much more alive on Thursday and now I'm actually looking forward to the Sunburst.

Next weekend is my next 40K bike TT race. I've been really working on my cycling and I'm hoping to improve my time by a few minutes. I've reassessed my pre-race plan and will be increasing my calorie intake slightly prior to racing. I just plain ran out of juice for the last race.

Time to back for South Bend! I'll have a race report out next week!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Training Update

It's been a busy couple of weeks since the Mini. I've been training with a great group of triathletes for the last month and spent last weekend in Southern Indiana riding hills. Training has been going well. I keep feeling stronger and hopefully this work is going to translate into some faster race times. Last weekend I even rode in my very first bike race! It was a 40K Time Trial event in Kokomo, IN. Super fun! I'm excited to do another event to compare my progress on the bike. Lola is awesome and has treated me well this year. I'm hoping to upgrade her wheels this summer with some nice Zipp's or HED's. I was hesitant to invest so much money in a new bike but now that I've actually seen how much faster I am on the new bike, I'll never go back. I rode my road bike last week and it's still a comfy fun ride, but not nearly as fast.

Work has been challenging for the last few weeks. We just got through a grueling 3 day audit with flying colors. Things are going to be changing for me in the near future and I'm not sure how that is going to impact my training plans.

Frosty is amazing this year! He has such a fantastic attitude this summer and has show so much improvement. My trainer and I have modified his training and it is working well. She's riding him once a week and I'm riding him twice. More work means happier horse.

Cyndi and I are taking a road trip to South Bend next weekend. We're staying with my parents and running the Sunburst Half-Marathon. Last year, the Sunburst was the WORST race I've ever experienced. I had a terrible time, and my body broke down for days after the race. Not to mention I was wearing shoes that tore my feet up so badly I almost took them off at mile 10 and ran barefoot. This race is going to be a challenge. I've been very focused improving my times and pushing myself past my comfort zone for the last few races. This one, has to be about having fun and running to enjoy the run. There will be no taper. There will be no recovery next week. I just have to suck it up and push through the impending pain.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

One America Indianapolis Mini Marathon

May 8th, 2010

The Mini...This is the race that got me started running. My husband and friend Cyndi convinced me 3 years ago to run the Mini and it's been game on since. Friday I had the day off work. Not only was I running the Mini on Saturday, but I was in a very close college friends wedding Saturday night. Friday was spent getting ready for friends visiting for the wedding and the rehearsal dinner. Wendy chose well! Dinner was at Milano Inn, a very nice Italian restaurant in Downtown Indy. It was the perfect pre-race meal. The weather on Friday was sunny and hot. I could not imagine that 12-hours later the temperature would have dropped 40 degrees and the wind would have picked-up to a gusty 30+ mph.

We got up at 5:00 am. I had already decided that I was wearing compression shorts and a tank top and covering up with a throw-away sweatshirt. At the last minute I put on the heart rate monitor. I didn't really plan to race based on my heart rate but I was going to time my mile splits and it would at least give me my total calories burned. I also grabbed the GPS because I really wanted to use it to pace.

Jarrett, Cyndi, and I headed downtown about 6:00 am. Breakfast was a whole wheat English Muffin with Nutella and apple butter. I remember my vitamins, allergy medicine, and a Pepcid. The temperature when we got downtown was 48 degrees with a wind chill in the 30s. It felt like February, not May. We got to our starting corrals about 7:00 am which meant we had 30 minutes to stand in the wind before the race started. I was freezing by the time the race started and oddly enough, my stomach was growling. I have no idea how I could have possibly been hungry, but I was. After they announced the start, it took 25 minutes for me to actually cross the start line from my position in Corral N. Jarrett and Cyndi were running together and started in Corral R.

Mile 1 is always slow at the Mini. There are 40, 000 people running this race and it takes awhile for everyone to spread out.
M1: 10:34
M2: 9:06
M3: 9:23
M4: 8:55 - I dropped my throwaway sweatshirt this mile.
M5: 9:21
M6: 9:31
M7: 9:34
M8: 9:31
M9: 9:41 - I spent a little too much time during this mile trying to open a bag of Chomps. I finally managed to squeeze one through a tiny hole in the bag.
M10: 9:37
M11: 9:37
M12: 9:45
M13 + 0.1: 10:45

Total Time: 2:05:26

This is a new Half Marathon PR!! My old PR was 2:16:11 at the 2008 Indianapolis Half-Marathon. Here's my Mini history:
2008: 2:55:30
2009: 2:40: 37
2010: 2:05:26

I dropped 35 minutes off my time from last year. Wow.


After the race, I waited for Jarrett and Cyndi to finish. It was PAINFULLY cold. I didn't have anything to cover up after the race so I got to stand around in 40ish degree weather wearing a tank top and shorts. This is no one's fault but my own. I should have done gear check and I learned my lesson for the future.


After the race we went home and thawed out. Cyndi and I had to get ready for the wedding so we ate a quick lunch and headed out to get our hair done. Brooke did a wonderful job on my hair and make-up!



The wedding was beautiful! Wendy and Brian are adorable and we wish them a wonderful, happy married life. I'll post more pictures from the pro.

Boiler Sprint Race Report




The Boiler Sprint Triathlon was held April 25th in West Lafayette, IN. The swim was held in the Boiler Aquatic Center and the bike and run took place on the outskirts of Purdue's campus. The weather the day before the race was wet and cold. I woke up about 4:30 am to pack my bikes and head up to Lafayette. Jarrett was sweet enough to make the trip with me as my faithful sherpa. When we left Indy, it was raining. As we approached Lafayette, the skies were gray but no rain.


The swim was a 400 meter pool swim. I finished the swim in 10:13:65, including the run to transition. Jarrett timed my actual swim time and it was closer to 9:30.

T1 was 3:02:28 - It was very cold and getting my longsleeved shirt and bike jersey over my trisuit took WAY too long.
The bike started out great with speeds around 18-20 mph. Then came mile 6. We turned a sharp corner and there was the giant hill from the elevation map that I checked out the night before the race. I made it half way up and ended up walking the bike the rest of the way. I wasn't the only one. There were at least a dozen people doing the same thing. More hill work for me!! At the start of mile 9 - the freezing torrential ran started. The last 3.5 miles were pure torture. Bike time was 47:19 for a 12.5 mile ride with an average pace of 15.7 mph.

T2 was not timed for some reason. It seemed slow. I was freezing and my shoes were filled with water. I shoved on the running shoes and took off for a very wet 3.2 mile run. By mile 2 I had some serious blisters on my feet. Run time was 30:58:55 with a pace of 9:59/mile. Total race time was 1:31. I managed to start the season faster then I finished the season last year so that says something for my current traini


Sunday, February 21, 2010

Race Recap

I've been too busy to blog. Here is a quick recap of the latest:

Groundhog 7 miler - Zionsville, IN
Date: Sunday, February 7, 2010
Division: Female 30-34
Conditions: Cold (~30 F), icy and snowy - Paved trail and street course
Time: 1:05:31
Pace: 9:22
Division Place: 6/22
Overall Finish: 171/267

I've never run a 7 mile race before so this was a PR for the distance as well as a PR for overall race pace. This race was fun and free! It's definitely making the race list for next year.

Polar Bear 5 miler - Indianapolis, IN
Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010
Division: Female 30-34
Conditions: Cold (~34 F) - Street course downtown
Time: 44:05
Pace: 8:49
Division Place: 14/74
Overall Finish: 295/786

This race was a PR for the distance by at least 5 minutes (I'll have to dig through my old race info to find the time from the last 5 miler I ran) and a huge PR for overall pace. I never imagined I would see a sub-9 minute mile this early in the season. Extra bonus: No blisters and no dead toe nails.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Saturday - 2 hours of cycling. The first class was hills. The second was a little bit of everything. The heart rate monitor was interesting. My heart rate for the first class was a bit too high. I did manage to burn 847 calories! Sweet!

Sunday - 40 minute run - 4.0 miles and a swim of indeterminate lenght. It was at least 600 meters. I lost count of my laps and the juvenile deligents splashing around in the lane next to me were very annoying.

Friday, January 29, 2010

New Toy!

I finally bought a heart rate monitor! I've only been eyeing them for umm...two years. I went with the Polar RS300X with GPS. Athletic Annex had them for a killer price and I couldn't pass it up. Plus, I had a 15% off coupon! Since we were there I felt obligated to purchase a new pair of socks and a hamstring compression sleeve. I may have overdone it a bit yesterday on the treadmill. My left hammy has been a bit tender for about a month and I could really feel it this morning. As the day has progressed, things are feeling better. I'm going to cycling in the morning and swimming at some point. I'm excited about using the heart rate monitor on the bike.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Monday - Spinning - 60 minutes
Tuesday - 40 minute run - 4.2 miles
Wednesday - Nothing - I didn't even make it to the barn. :(
Thursday - 45 minute run - 5.0 miles

The plan is to spin for 60 minutes tomorrow morning and swim for 30-40 minutes. I have another dermatologists appointment in the morning so I can stay at the gym a little longer. I'm pretty sure I'll end up with another steroid shot. So far, I haven't put on any weight (THANK GOD!). My running is steadily improving. I'm starting to think I might actually be able to run a sub-2-hour half marathon this year! 9:00 minute miles are becoming my new "comfortable" pace on the treadmill and generally, I'm slower on the treadmill then outside.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Week Ending 1/23/2009

Monday - Spinning - 60 minutes
Tuesday - Run - 40 minutes (3.5 miles)
Wednesday - Off
Thursday - Run - 40 minutes (3.5 miles)/Core 60 minutes
Friday - Spinning - 60 minutes
Saturday - Nothing
Sunday - Run - 40 minutes (3.75 miles)

I lost 2 pounds this week making it a total of 6 since January 1st.

I missed a spinning workout scheduled for Saturday. The day got away from me as we laid more flooring. Only a small amount of wood left to install and then we have to do tile in the half-bath. I predict it will be March before the house is back together again!

My running is steadily improving. Two weeks until the Groundhog 7 miler. I think it's going to be a great race!

I saw the dermatologist on Friday about a worsening skin issue on the palms of my hands. I had a similar issue last summer on my fingers and wrists. Originally he diagnosed it as eczema. Now, however, he believes is psoriasis. He gave me a hefty shot of steroids on Friday and I'm on steroid pills for a week. The good news is the steroids are already working. The pain and itching is almost gone and my skin looks much better. The bad news is the steroids make me feel like total CRAP. :(

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Week Re-cap

Tuesday - Run: 30 minutes - 3.0 miles
Wednesday- Went to the barn to ride
Thursday - Run: 50 minutes - 5.2 miles
Friday - Nothing - unless you count running around work as exercise
Saturday - Spinning - 45 minutes - Hill climbs and sprints

Please note the LACK of swimming this week. Yeah, Tuesday's swim was ruined by water aerobics hogging the gym pool and teenagers hogging the middle school pool. To be fair...it is their pool, but it screwed my week up! I missed my Thursday swim because a late work meeting followed by a trip to the salon. Work has also been extra special this week (insert sarcasm here). I'll just leave it at that.

In other news - Our floor finally arrived! It's only 14 days late! It will actually work out okay. Jarrett has Monday off for MLK day and he can work on the floor for an extra day. We are totally renovating the office, including new furniture, new paint, new French doors, and of course, new flooring. The paint looks awesome. Since the office it our official "Purdue Memorabilia" room, I painted it a lovely shade of Purdue Gold. The house is going to look great when the floor is done. After that, we just have to remodel the master bath and kitchen. Kitchen is going to wait until at least late next year. The master bath is our spring project.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Monday

Morning (5:00 am)
Run: 25 minutes (2.25 miles)
Cycle: 45 minutes

Evening (5:45 pm)
Core/Strength: 1 hour

I was pretty much starving all day. I lost 2 pounds last week and I'm hoping for another 2 this week.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Weekend Review

Saturday:
45 minute cycling class

Sunday:
25 minute run (2.6 miles)
1200 meter swim

The swim was much improved over Friday. I just think I was tired.

The weekend was pretty uneventful. Cleaning, resting, cooking, dog bathing....I didn't get to see Frosty this weekend because it was to darn cold to be at the barn. Weather looks like it improves in the middle of next week so it looks like Wednesday I'll get to ride.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Le Sigh

Today was a challenge. Work sucked. I'm tired. It's cold.

2.25 mile run - 25 minutes
600 meter swim - very disappointed that I didn't finish the 1200 meter set I was suppose to do today

The highlight of the day was dinner. Jarrett went and got gyros and hummus. Yum!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

It's a winter "wonderland"

So it snowed today. I love snow...when I can ski or something fun like that. When I have to drive to work it's not so great.

Morning: 40 minutes of cycle - I got to the gym late because of the roads and hitting snooze. This morning thing is still a struggle.
Evening: 20 minute run - 1.75 miles
60 minute core/strength - I haven't been to Body Works in a LONG time. I am going to be sore in the morning!

Time for some tasty pita pizza dinner and then bed!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Huh? Sorry, I couldn't hear you.

Morning (5:30 am)
Run - 25 minutes - 2.5 miles
Core - 20 minutes

Evening (6:00 pm)
Swimming - 1000 meters

Work is driving me nuts. It sounds like a very loud jackhammer/washing machine is trying to breakdown my office wall. Highly unpleasant. My office mate and I can only really stand to be in there for like 15 minutes at a time before we want to scream. This racket is due to an end of year project gone very, very wrong. Unfortunately, I was part of the process to install the monster living next door (it's a direct steam injection hot water system for the plant). The heater is awesome. We now have an unlimited supply of wicked hot water. The problem is the system is cavitating for some unknown reason and causing this awful noise. The equipment manufacturer can't make it to the plant until next Monday. That means another 3 days of the most ungodly noise ever. We have to wear earplugs...in our office. I'm serious.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Training Has Started!

Saturday - Helped our friends Scott and Erica install insulation and a sub-floor in their basement. Lots of moving heavy stuff. Not technically a "workout" but I was sure tired after we were done!

Sunday - 60 minutes on the dreadmill and 20 minutes of core - 5.25 miles total

Monday - 45 minutes spinning and 20 minutes of core - Spin was focused on strength. We climbed for 90% of the class. I am transitioning to morning workouts to avoid the rush at the gym that is happening between 5-8 pm.

Tomorrow - Run and Swim

No weight gain over the holiday, but none lost either. Jarrett and I are both concentrating on our eating habits. So far, three solid days in a row of sticking to my nutrition plan. The goal is to drop at least 10 pounds with a strech goal of 20. Yeah, yeah...your not suppose to set "goal" weights. I'm staying away from the scale until Friday and hopefully I'll see some positive impact.

I'm welcoming my new year of HIM training with a coach! Check him out at http://www.dcscoaching.com/. My wonderful husband is working on creating his fantastic web page (still a WIP) in exchange for some much needed focused coaching for me. I feel more grounded already! Big thanks to David for all of the help and to Jarrett for all of his time!