Crunch Enhancer

Part 4: A nice night for a run...or walk

2011-06-30T21:47:00.004-04:00

T2 was quick - 4:33. I changed shirts, shorts, socks, and shoes. The volunteer who helped me was great. She made sure I had everything I needed and sent me on my way quickly. I headed out of transition running. I was wearing my Garmin and was happy to see I was holding a 9:33 pace. I saw Jarrett and smiled and waved. The first aid station was about a mile into the run, I grabbed water and ate some Honestingers. My stomach immediately started to bother me. I had to walk for fear of puking again. I knew that I was probably going to end up walking the marathon. My left knee had been bothering me for about two weeks and my left hamstring had been bothering me the entire year. I was being held together with Kineso tape (Spidertech is the shit. I highly recommend it.). I also had an odd pain on the top of my right foot. At this point I just came to terms with the fact I was going to enjoy a long walk with friends.

The run course was lovely. I watched the sunset over Lake Coeur d'Alene. I met a ton of interesting people. I enjoyed all of the aid stations along the course and danced with the drunk guys who were partying by the lake. I knew that I was going to finish but it was going to be 30 minutes slower then I wanted. About 6 miles in to the race I decided to try and eat something. I managed to keep downs chips and a cookie. After that, I was able to rotate between cookies and chips the rest of the race. Just a bite or two each mile. It was enough to keep me going. Starting the second lap of the run, I saw Jarrett. He walked with me for a few blocks and I told him about the bike and let him know that I was fine but the marathon was going to be walked and it was going to be slow. I also told him to get me macaroni and cheese for after the race. He was heading out to pick-up my bike and bags and would be waiting at the finish line. Jarrett was also keeping my family and friends back home updated on my progress via Facebook. At Mile 20 I thought about Sarah, a fellow triathlon blogger who attempted CdA last year. She dropped out at Mile 20. The last 6 miles were slow and sometimes lonely but I just kept smiling.

When I got to mile 25 the excitement started to build. You could hear the music from Sherman Avenue and Mike Riley announcing finishers names. A volunteer came up to me and said "One more turn and you are an Ironman!" I cried. I started to run and could hear the crowd screaming. The lights on Sherman came into view and the crowd was buzzing. I high fived my way down the finishers chute. Jarrett was there and I told him I loved him. I saw that I was going to finish in under 16 hours and just smiled as I crossed the finish line. Meaghan Meyer from Indianapolis Indiana - You are an Ironman!

Run: 6:39:11

Total Time: 15:57:24

My finish line catchers were great. I felt fine so I didn't really need any help. I just had them hold my stuff so I could get my finish line picture taken. I got my medal, finishers shirt and hat and headed out to find Jarrett. He met me at the fence and gave me a huge hug and kiss. I was hungry so I went and grabbed two pieces of cheese pizza and some water. We headed back to the hotel so I could get clean. I could not WAIT to take a shower. My feet were in pretty bad shape and my legs were sore, but overall I felt pretty good. Jarrett managed to convince the hotel to make me macaroni and cheese even though it was not a standard item on their room service menu. They brought me a huge hot plate of the best macaroni and cheese I've ever eaten. I had about half a plate and then I just crashed. Sleep was instant and deep. I woke up the next morning around 7:30 am and although a little stiff, overall I felt okay.

We stayed in Coeur d'Alene until Tuesday morning. Monday was just a nice relaxing day to enjoy the area and nap. The trip back on Tuesday was uneventful.

Overall I LOVED this race. The area, the atmosphere, the people - everything about it was a little magical. I can now officially call myself an Ironman. Jarrett asked me if I wanted to sign-up for next year. I'm still on the fence. I loved the race. It was hard but I had a great time. I am just not sure I want to commit...yet.

I want to thank all of my family and friends who put up with me over the last 28 weeks of training...especially Jarrett. He is my loudest cheerleader and biggest supporter. When I didn't think I could do it - he knew I could. Not only did he haul me all over the country to race this year, he also did all of my long training bike rides with me. Now that is commitment! I am looking forward to taking a few weeks off from serious training before I figure out what's next.

Part 3: Time to Fly

2011-06-30T21:31:00.003-04:00

I got on my bike and settled in for a long ride. I immediately started getting some fluids and food into my system. The plan was to eat and drink every 15 minutes. My bento box had Honeystinger chews, Oreo Cakesters, and Honey Stinger Waffles. I also had Salt Stick caps to supplement electrolytes. The bike was set-up with my aero bottle filled with water, the bottle on my stem filled with Ironman Evil...I mean Perform and an extra bottle of water and Perform on the back. Aid stations were every 10 miles on the ride. The bike started out through town and then headed out to a scenic ride along the lake. The first hill greeted us at mile 6 and it was about 2 miles long. After that hill the course is flat until about mile 24. I was doing well eating and drinking and decided to make a pit stop at mile 30 to use the bathroom and refill my water. The volunteers were great about holding bikes and getting whatever you needed in terms of nutrition or hydration.

The hills started once we got to Hayden. There were some pretty tough sections of the course but I never once had to get out of the saddle and I was able to take a lot of the hills in aero. I finished the first 56 miles in 3:56:10. I saw Jarret on my way back into town to start the second loop. I was feeling good and I knew that I had paced well on the first lap. Ironman is all about having a plan and sticking to it. At this point my plan was working. I knew I needed to stop at special needs and get something new to eat. Honeystringers are my favorite energy chew but after eating them for 4 hours, I wanted something else. I grabbed my bag and stood and ate a handful of Fritos before stuffing them in my jersey and hitting the road again. I also put my extra Honeystinger waffle in my bento. I had eaten the two I stared with during the first half.

Everything was pretty uneventful until mile 70. I was heading down a rather steep hill at around 30 mph and a deer ran out in front of me. It was huge and close. So close I could hear him grunt and smell him. I locked up my rear break and felt my bike wobble. Luckily, he kept running and didn't stop. I got my bike under control and kept going. The surge of adrenaline spiked my heart rate sky high. I felt dizzy and sick. I stopped at the next aid station at Mile 80 to refill bottles and puke. I felt much better but the thought of food was terribly unappealing. I knew that the next 20 miles would be the hardest so I just got back on and started moving. By Mile 100 I was so ready for the bike to be done.

I rolled into transition with a bike time of 7:35:29. It was about 20 minutes faster then I had planned so I was feeling pretty happy. I was glad to hand my bike off to a volunteer and grab my run transition bag. The legs were feeling decent but my stomach was not.

Part 4: A nice night for a run....or walk

Part 2: Race Day! Finally!

2011-06-30T20:59:00.003-04:00

Saturday started with an awesome breakfast at the Garnet Cafe. The stuffed French toast with a side of duck sausage was amazing. We got back to the hotel and I headed out on a short bike ride to shake out the legs and make sure that everything on my bike was in working order. I decided to ride part of the run course just to get a feel for what to expect. It was about a 10 mile ride and everything seemed to be in good working order.

We took my bike and bag over to transition and dropped it off and headed back downtown to explore a little more. The antique and art stores were unbelievable. We kept the walking to a minimum and headed out to a quick pasta dinner in Hayden. I kept it simple and went with cheese ravioli. We got back to the hotel and I double checked my run and bike special needs bags.

I had been debating what to eat for breakfast before the race. My traditional meal of Poptarts was not going to be sufficient. At the last minute, I decided to go ahead and order room service. The hotel was offering 24-hour room service to the athletes all weekend. I went with the Ironman Stack breakfast: 4-huckleberry pancakes, 2 scrambled eggs, and a bowl of oatmeal. I knew there was NO WAY I would come close to eating all that food but I had Jarrett to help. We had stopped by the grocery store on Thursday to buy supplies for my special needs bags so I had my mandatory Diet Coke already chilling in the fridge. I fell asleep almost immediately and slept until the alarm(s) went off at 4:15 am.

I took a quick shower and dug into my tasty breakfast. I ate a little of the eggs and about a quarter of the pancakes. If I had to estimate it was probably 600 calories of food. Ideally I would have gotten closer to 1000 but I also didn't want to feel bloated and sick going into the swim.

I left Jarrett to get dressed and headed over to drop off my special needs bags and put my bottles and nutrition on my bike. Bag drop was quick but when I got to transition, I could not find anyone to lend me a bike pump. At that point I didn't see the line of mechanics on the other side of transition. I rushed back to the hotel to get my wetsuit and claim Jarrett and ran back to transition to deal with the tire issue. I found a nice person to loan me a pump and of course managed to completely deflate my back tire. I could not get air in the darn tube and I was freaking out. One of the volunteers noticed me panicking and told me there were mechanics on the fence line that would be able to help. I rolled Lola over and they got me taken care of. I racked the bike and headed out to find Jarrett.

It was about 20 minutes until the pro start so we just hung out in the grass and waited. We watched the pros go and then started to get suited up. I made my way down to the beach and scouted for a position. I decided to go against the recommendation to line up far right of the buoys and go wide. There was hardly anyone lined up directly in front of the buoys so that's were I stood. I was back against the sea wall and had a nice chat with another first timer. Before I knew it, the cannon went off and we were off. I started my purple watch and waited about 10 seconds before running in and starting to swim. The course was a counter-clockwise rectangle and you swam it twice. The water was cold ~55 F but bearable. I just started swimming and didn't let the physical violence of the whole thing get to me. People were EVERYWHERE. Swimming on you, kicking you, pulling your feet. It was wild. I got to the first turn buoy and the real fun started. It was so congested that people were literally crammed against each other treading water. I was starting to get a little irritated at the lack of forward progress when finally the pack broke free and we were moving again. Swimming into the sun made it a bit difficult to sight but in reality you had 2000 friends to follow so sighting was not THAT critical. Before I knew it, I was back on shore. I looked at my watch and was happy to see 44 minutes for the first lap. That was exactly what I predicted. The big surprise was the run back into the water for the second lap. I did not realize how cold my feet were while I was swimming but once on land I could literally not feel them. It was like running on dead stumps. I managed to make it back into the water without falling on my face but it stuck in my mind that running to transition would prove to be interesting. The second lap of the swim proved to be more choppy then the first. I'm not sure if it was the boats or the wind but there were definitely some waves. The cool thing was that it gave you a great advantage on the way back to shore.

Total Swim Time: 1:25:16 - Rank 1359 - I was actually in the top half on the swim! I trained for the swim the least and it's not my strong point so I was very happy.

When I saw the my time when I got out of the water I couldn't believe it. I knew right then that I was destine to finish the race. The volunteers at the swim exit guided me to the wetsuit strippers and made sure that I had my feet under me. They were also evaluating everyone for signs of hypothermia. A lot of racers had to drop out because of hypothermia. Other then my feet being frozen, I was feeling fine. I vaguely remember hearing Jarrett shouting at me after the swim. I had a huge smile on my face running to transition.

I picked-up my bag and headed into the changing tents. There were plenty of chairs so I grabbed a spot and started getting ready. I talked myself through making sure I had everything on and a volunteer kindly double checked me before I left the tent. I was SO happy that at the last minute I decided to pack Smartwool socks in my bike bag. I never bike with socks but I had this nagging feeling that it might be too cold and threw them in. I knew it was going to be a long day on the bike so I did a full change of clothes. My favorite Twin 6 Masher bike jersey, DeSoto 400 mile shorts, arm warmers, socks, gloves, helmet, shoes - ready to ride! I let the volunteers give me some sunscreen and grabbed my bike.

Part 3: Time to Fly

Ironman Coeur d'Alene Race Report: Part 1

2011-06-29T22:23:00.003-04:00

I'm going to have to break this race report into a few posts. Let's start with after Knoxville. I was worried. The bike course killed me. I decided that Jarrett and I would head down to Morgan Monroe State Park in Southern Indiana and ride some of the hills on the Hilly Hundred route. We headed down on a Saturday and met another Team T3 member who was new to the area. She is a Kona qualifier and has completed several IM's over the years. We rode about 30 miles together and then it became very obvious that we were WAY too slow for her so we split-up. Jarrett and I rode another 23 miles together. Our route brought us to a hill called Bean Blossom on 3 separate occasions. It is one of the very few rated hills in Indiana. The first two times I managed to climb the entire hill (it's about 2.5 miles long). The third time, I couldn't make it to the top. I freaked out and had a panic attack in the middle of the hill. Luckily Jarrett got me to calm down and I got back on and finished the stupid thing.

During the ride, I determined that I did not have the appropriate hill climbing gearing on my bike. I was trying very hard to love the 12x25 cassette that came on my bike but I just didn't have enough gears to spin up those hills. I almost always ended up out of the saddle mashing my way to the top. After we left, I did some research and determined that I needed to change to a 11x27 or 11x28. Luckily, the guys at T3 Multisport had an 11x28 in stock and got me all hooked up. I also decided to ditch my aero wheels and go with my lighter weight but less aero original wheelset. We headed back to Morgan Monroe the next weekend and I killed Bean Blossom and some of it's hilly friends. I was feeling much more confident about surviving Coeur d'Alene.

Training for CdA was tough. I traveled a ton leading up to the race and did not get as much training time in as I would have liked. After the Indianapolis Mini Marathon I started to battle some nagging issues with my feet, shins, knees, and hamstrings. My biking and swimming were on track but running was starting to feel like torture. I tapered back to avoid potentially not being able to start at CdA. I do not regret that decision at all.

I dropped my bike off at T3 Multisport on June 19 so TriBike Transport could pick her and my pretty pink Speedo gear bag up and haul them 2900 miles across the country. That was the first time the race felt "real" to me. I spent almost a week getting my bag ready and I can confidently say I thought of everything - except for hand warmers.

Jarrett and I flew from Indy to Denver and then Spokane on the Thursday before the race. When we landed in Spokane we were surrounded by beautiful mountains. The weather was cool and sunny. We rented a car and decided to grab lunch in Spokane before we drove the 30 miles east to Coeur d'Alene. I picked a fantastic little pub called Elk Public House. I enjoyed a tasty lamb sandwich and some chips. We rolled into CdA about 11 am. We were staying at the host hotel - The Coeur d'Alene Resort and Spa. It was amazing. The lake was beautiful and the entire town was adorable.

We headed over to TriBike transport to get my gear bag. I had packed my USAT card in my bag and I needed it to be able to check-in. Athlete check-in went very quickly. The Ironman event planners are super organized and the volunteers running the tables were efficient. They banded me and gave me all my bags and stuff and we headed back to the hotel. On our way we stopped to check out the lake. There was a pretty stiff wind and it was super choppy. All of the athletes getting out of the water were complaining about the rough conditions and the cold temps. Lake temps were about 51-53 degrees.

Jarrett and I explored the town a little while we waited for our rooms to be ready. There is a lot of art galleries and very cool bronzes and statues on the street corners. Once we got our rooms we picked-up my bike and spent the evening relaxing.

Friday morning I got up and went for my first swim in Lake Coeur d'Alene. It was choppy and cold but I survived. In fact, I kind of enjoyed it. Except for the frozen feet. I made fun of the people at Knoxville wearing neoprene booties with their wetsuits...now I wish I had them. We did some shopping a the Expo and then went out to drive the bike course. Unlike, Rev3, WTC had the bike course clearly marked DAYS before the race.

The course was interesting. There was a pretty significant hill in the first 8 miles and then it was flat until mile 20ish. That's where the fun started. I would describe the hills as rolling with two significant climbs all crammed between miles 20-48. Then it was flat/down-hill coming back into town. The bike course was 56 miles and you had to do it twice. Everything at CdA was two loops - swim, bike, and run. After driving the bike, I felt a lot better. The ride was going to be challenging but you were actually rewarded with some flats and downhill sections, unlike Knoxville.

The rest of Friday was spent relaxing and packing my transition bags. My bike along with my T1 and T2 bags had to be dropped off Saturday. We headed to the movies and saw Bridesmaids before going to bed extra early.

Part 2: Race Day! Finally!

Knoxville Rev3 70.3

2011-06-29T21:56:00.003-04:00

A very late race report for Knoxville!

We got to town on Friday afternoon and did packet pick-up. It was fast since not many racers had arrived. Knoxville is a really cool town and Jarrett and I explored a little Friday evening before heading back to the hotel. I got up early on Saturday to do the practice swim. I had only done one open water swim prior to the race and I was wearing a new wetsuit. Rev3 sponsored a guarded swim with pros coaching in the water. I was one of the few that swam the entire 1.2 mile course but it felt good so I just went with it. We had every intention of driving the bike course but the map provided by Rev3 was useless. Several other athletes had attempted to find the course and failed so we decided I'd just have to wing it. We went to dinner at Bravo on Saturday night and I shared some lasagna with Jarrett and then we headed to see Water for Elephants at the movies in an effort to calm my nerves.

Sunday morning started with my traditional breakfast of Poptarts and Diet Coke and then we loaded up to head into town. We left later then we should have and I ended up being VERY rushed to get my stuff set-up in transition. Luckily, I got everything assembled before they kicked us out. The weather was fairly cool and the river water temp was around 65 degrees. I suited up and headed over to watch the pros start. The rest of the athletes started in 3 waves. This race was a 70.3 combined with an Olympic distance. There were not that many athletes doing the 70.3 so the waves went quick. The ladies were last and before I knew it we were off.

Swim: 45:08 - The swim was up river around a buoy and then back down river. Sounds like we would have a great advantage swimming downstream? Wrong. The winds picked-up significantly and were blowing right in our face on the way back taking away what little advantage the current might have given us. Overall, I was not horrified by my swim time, especially after learning the swim was long by about 0.3 miles.

T1: 3:58 - Slow as heck. I had an issue getting out of my wetsuit and then I was kind (dumb) enough to help the poor guy next to me who was struggling even more.

Bike: 3:35:13 - The bike course kicked my ass. It was hills followed by more hills followed by a false flat followed by more hills. I rarely could get in aero and it seemed that around ever corner lurked another hill. I have never been so happy to be off my bike. Not to mention my stomach was KILLING me. I could hardly eat anything. I was way behind on nutrition at the end of the bike and I knew that the run was going to be awful.

T2: 3:13 - Slow because Jarrett was standing at the fence and I felt the need to crab to him about the horrid bike course.

Run: 2:27:15 - Another slow run. The run course, much like the bike course was full of hills. My lack of nutrition on the bike was making running almost impossible. My stomach really, really hurt. Thankfully, I can put up with just about anything for 13.1 miles and I made it to the finish.

Total Time: 6:54:47 - 51 minutes slower then Augusta. Ouch. To be fair, this course was tough. Several other folks became ill during/shortly after the race which may indicate some sort of an issue with the river water or maybe we all just had a bug. I felt like crap for almost a week. I also learned I better get my shit together on the hills before Coeur d'Alene.

Will I race Knoxville again? Maybe. Rev3 put on a decent race. I'm not going to lie. WTC who puts on Ironman branded events does it better. With time I'm sure Rev3 will work out their issues and also be a top-notch event organizer. They did have awesome tech t-shirts, finishers medals, and visors. Unfortunately, they did not have any live athlete tracking so your family members had to just twiddle their thumbs wondering when you might show up again. The bike course was also not marked well. No volunteers standing telling you where to turn. You had to pay attention to signs posted at corners. Seriously? I did not miss any turns but I saw several people who did.

A quick note...

2011-05-09T14:45:00.003-04:00

It's been awhile since I've posted. What have I been doing? It can be summed up as: work, sleep, eat, train - repeat. This year has been crazy busy. My new position at work has me traveling a lot. I miss being home and it makes it hard to get in long bike rides during the week. I have done a 15.5 mile treadmill run on a hotel treadmill. Pure torture. Swimming is another challenge. I've found a few good pools but many times the swim gets sacrificed until I'm home. Not only is travel interfering, but the weather has been TERRIBLE this year! It's been cold and rainy since February. I have not done a single open water swim yet this year which is going to make for an interesting first race on Sunday.

Ironman is just around the corner. Training has been hard. I wish I had more time but at the same time I feel like I'm going to be ready...or as ready as I'm going to be!

On Saturday I ran the Indianapolis Mini Marathon. I finished in 2:05:19. That is a 7-second race PR over last year. I really wanted to finish in under two-hours but it wasn't meant to be. I hit the wall at mile 9 and unfortunately my mind would not get past the discomfort and allow me to push through the last 4 miles. I will beat my PR this year and break 2:00:00. It may not be until the fall, but it will happen. Luckily, I my buddy Andrea showed up in my corral on race morning. She kept my spirits up and we ran most of the race together. It was a good reminder of how much I enjoy running with friends and that I need to make time to train with people.

Jarrett has been a wonderful husband and training partner this year. Not only has he dealt with my craze work and training schedule, he's also come along with me on my long rides. This weekend we rode out to Heritage Lake, about a 60 mile round-trip ride and then I took a little ride around the airport to make my ride 72 miles. The Heritage Lake ride is great. It has hills and two opportunities to make pit stops with clean bathrooms :)

This weekend is Rev3 Knoxville Half-Iron distance race (70.3 miles of fun). Do I feel prepared? Sure. Am I still nervous? Absolutely! It is kind of surreal making my FIRST tri of the year a HIM. Hopefully I remember how to set-up a transition area ;)

Since Jarrett will be traveling with me to the race, we had to find a suitable option for pet care. I feel bad inconveniencing our parents with puppy sitting so we located a local service that came highly recommended by our vet. We are crossing our fingers that all goes well. Maddie is now on Prozac to help deal with her anxiety. So far, it seems to be helping but this will be her first time with a complete stranger. We are hoping that since she gets to stay in her house she will deal with it a little better.

Frosty is awesome this year! We did our first horse show Easter weekend. It was a giant muddy mess but he did pretty well. He was a bit naughty for our first dressage test and we didn't score that well but our second test was the best dressage score we have ever had. It was good enough to put us in 3rd place! Unfortunately he ended up refusing the LAST fence jumping and we didn't place. Overall, I'm happy with how the day went. We did much better then at our last show and he and I are both improving. His jumping has gotten significantly better too. The bad part about all of my travel for work is now I get to see him even less. I hope that things calm down a bit and I can spend more time at the barn this summer and fall after CdA is over.

I will post a race report after Knoxville! Wish me luck :)

Dear Winter - GO AWAY!

2011-02-02T16:07:00.002-05:00

Today is the first "snow" day I've had in 13 years. Indianapolis is covered in a slippery layer of ice and I am firmly trapped inside my house. Tomorrow I will be forced to leave the cocoon and go back to work. Luckily, Jarrett has agreed to drive me since he has the car with 4 wheel drive. It is frustrating being stuck. I've missed three days of workouts because of the storm. Tomorrow will be a long night at the gym.

I've been working on my 2011 race schedule. Here's the tentative version:

2/6/2011 - Groundhog 7 - Highly unlikely this race is going to happen. The trail is covered in ice and it is not suppose to warm up by Sunday to melt the mess.
3/26/2011 - Sam Costa 13.1
4/10/2011 - Holy Half 13.1
4/23/2011 - Wabash Valley Pony Club Horse Show
5/7/2011 - Indianapolis Mini Marathon
5/15/2011 - Rev3 Knoxville Half Iron (70.3)
6/4/2011 - Sunburst 13.1
6/26/2011 - Couer d'Alene Ironman 140.6
8/7/2011 - Tri Indy Olympic
8/27/2011 - Go Girl Sprint
9/11/2011 - Rev3 Cedar Point Half Iron (70.3)

I may do some shorter foot races and some bike time trails throughout the summer. Depending on how I feel after CdA, I may do a sprint in July. The current plan is to take the month and recover from the race. I am hoping that I feel well enough after about two weeks to get back into training and possibly racing.

My biggest struggle right now is my stupid feet. I got fitted for custom orthotics at the end of December. They are doing wonders for my knees and hips but they are tearing up my arches. I bought new shoes and I'm taking those back this weekend. After logging 13 miles in them, the blisters on my arches say NO MORE! I'm moving into a more neutral shoe to see if that helps.

I logged 39.5 hours of training in January and I feel pretty comfortable with my base level of fitness at this point. I cannot wait to get back outside. I'm going crazy being in they gym for hours! I need the fresh air and the wind in my face!

2010 in Review

2011-01-04T19:42:00.003-05:00

2010 was a busy year! Let's review:

24 races - 5 sprint triathlons, 1 Olympic triathlon, 1 half-ironman, 5 40k TT bike races, 4 half marathons, 1 7 miler, 1 15k, 3 10k, 2 5k, and 1 marathon. I originally thought I was only going to hit 23 races but after reviewing my race logs it ended up I hit my goal!

2 bike wrecks - Jarrett broke his collarbone and I got some wicked road rash. The wrecks were at separate times but occurred within 4 days of each other.

2 horse shows - one was awesome and one totally sucked.

1 awesome trip to Europe with my wonderful husband.

1 awesome trip o NYC with Cyndi.

I pushed myself hard mentally and physically this year and I am looking forward to 2011. I will probably not going o be racing 24 races in 2011. Instead I am going to focus on Ironman. In less then 6 months I will be finishing the toughest day of my life. Bring it on!

Jingle Bell 5K Race Report

2010-12-12T18:11:00.004-05:00

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! :)

Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

2010-11-07T19:42:00.003-05:00

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

2010-11-07T18:34:00.034-05:00

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

2010-11-07T18:16:00.003-05:00

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

2010-11-07T17:46:00.005-05:00

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.

Augusta 70.3 Race Report

2010-09-28T15:12:00.003-04:00

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!

Morse Mini Marathon

2010-09-10T21:43:00.002-04:00

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

2010-09-10T21:24:00.002-04:00

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...

Circle the City 10K

2010-08-07T21:04:00.002-04:00

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.

Tri Indy - Olympic Distance

2010-08-02T08:58:00.007-04:00

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 ;)

Breakaway Bicycle Club 40K TT

2010-07-30T20:47:00.002-04:00

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.

Eagle Creek Sprint Triathlon #2

2010-07-19T20:14:00.002-04:00

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

2010-07-19T19:06:00.002-04:00

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!

Eagle Creek Sprint Tri #1

2010-06-19T18:10:00.004-04:00

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.

Sunburst Half-Marathon

2010-06-06T17:57:00.002-04:00

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!

Sometimes you just need to rest

2010-06-03T22:02:00.003-04:00

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!

Training Update

2010-05-29T20:52:00.003-04:00

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.

One America Indianapolis Mini Marathon

2010-05-09T20:14:00.004-04:00

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

2010-05-09T19:58:00.004-04:00

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

Race Recap

2010-02-21T10:50:00.003-05:00

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.

2010-01-31T20:25:00.003-05:00

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.

New Toy!

2010-01-29T21:30:00.002-05:00

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.

2010-01-28T22:01:00.002-05:00

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.

Week Ending 1/23/2009

2010-01-24T19:03:00.002-05:00

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. :(

Week Re-cap

2010-01-16T21:50:00.003-05:00

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

2010-01-11T20:15:00.003-05:00

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.

Weekend Review

2010-01-10T20:26:00.002-05:00

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.

Le Sigh

2010-01-08T21:15:00.004-05:00

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!

It's a winter "wonderland"

2010-01-07T20:42:00.002-05:00

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!

Huh? Sorry, I couldn't hear you.

2010-01-05T20:35:00.003-05:00

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.

Training Has Started!

2010-01-04T20:43:00.002-05:00

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!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-28T14:35:00.003-05:00

Christmas is OVER! Seriously, we had a wonderful Christmas this year. We started the season with a surprise 30th birthday party for our friend Cyndi on the 23rd. I think she was really surprised when she walked in to find a house full of friends and food. We even made her a cake wreck.

Jarrett and I went to Lafayette on Christmas Day to celebrate with my family. All of the kids, grand kids, and great-grand kids had dinner at my Nana and PawPaw's house. It was great! It has been YEARS since we all were together to celebrate a holiday and I think everyone had a good time. Then, we went to my Grandpa Klontz's for a visit and back home to Indy. It made for a long, but fun day. The 26th brought another Christmas gathering with Jarrett's family. Lot's of little ones and tons of food. The kids seemed to like their presents and it is always fun to watch them open their loot. Jarrett and I deeply appreciate the gracious gifts from all of our families! We wrapped up the holiday season with the last party of the year yesterday with Jarrett's choir folks. Once again, lots of fun and food!

Jarrett and I both have time off until after the New Year. What are we doing?? Remodeling of course! We ordered our new floor yesterday at Lowe's. Unfortunately, it won't be in until after we go back to work, so it looks like this will be a multiple weekend project. We are completely tearing out the carpeting in the downstairs of our house and replacing it with laminate. It's about 1000 sq ft of flooring. Laminate is easy, but time consuming. The biggest pain is going to be moving the piano. We are going to have to find some strong helpers because I just don't think I'm going to be that much help. Our goals this year are to get all the floor finished in the house and start the master bath remodel in the spring. We also are hoping to get a new furnace and air conditioner this spring too.

New 5K PR!

2009-12-19T11:27:00.004-05:00

At the last minute I decided to run the 5K's of Christmas. Cyndi and I got to the race super early because we hadn't pre-registered. After signing up, we headed to Le Peep for a light breakfast. I thought I may regret it, but it ended up being totally okay. I finished in 28:39 - 45 seconds faster then last weekend! Sweet!

We found a lovely home to rent in Augusta for the HIM. They are even going to allow us to bring our dogs! Staying in a hotel was not really appealing to me. I want to be able to cook my own food before the race and this was a great option. Jarrett's mom and step-dad will also be traveling with us so it works out great to have a 4 bedroom house to share. Having the dogs will make it much less stressful for me. I always worry about them when we are gone even though my parents are wonderful pet sitters. Plus, I will get to cross the finish line and see their fuzzy smiling faces waiting for me!

Augusta Bound!

2009-12-14T21:47:00.003-05:00

I did it! I am officially signed-up for Augusta 70.3! 285 days until race day! I figure now is the time to start planning my 2010 race schedule.

January - Nothing looks very interesting, so I probably won't race in January.
February 7th - Groundhog 7 Miler - Umm...IT'S FREE! Awesome!
February 20th - Polar Bear 5 Miler
March 3rd - Spring Fling 15K - It's in Plainfield, literally miles from our house. There is no excuse not to run this one!
March 27th - Sam Costa Half Marathon - Maybe...
April 18th - Bricks to Bricks 10 Miler
May 8th - Mini Marathon

Triathlon season starts in June. No one seems to have their race calendars updated yet so as soon as I have a game plan, I'll post it. I know I will be doing at least 1 Olympic and 3 sprints. The last decision is whether I put a marathon in for October or November. I will be heading to Madison, WI in July for WIBA. It's a chance to train with other triathletes on the Ironman Wisconsin course. It will be a great chance to get in a long open water swim and some great biking. Plus, it's free. Seriously!

Jingle Bell Run 5K

2009-12-12T16:14:00.002-05:00

It has been a long week! I was in Houston, TX for 6 days attending training for work. I made it home last night around 10:30 pm. I signed up weeks ago for the Jingle Bell Run 5K held in downtown Indianapolis. This is my first 5K this year, so I was interested in how it was going to turn out. Even with the 20 degree weather and week of sitting for 9 hours a day listening to lectures, I turned in a new PR! 29:24.4 which is 36 seconds faster then last years 5K. My goal for next year is to run it in 28:30 or better.

There is another 5K next weekend....hmmmm...I may be tempted to get another one in this year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-30T21:04:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Jarrett and I started our day with our 3rd annual running of the 4.5 mile Drumstick Dash. This is one of my favorite races of the year. The morning was cold and rainy and honestly, staying in bed asleep sounded like a great idea, but we did manage to drag ourselves across town to Broadripple and even managed to score a decent parking spot! I finished in a new Drumstick Dash record of 43:41.8. Just to put this in perspective - I ran my first Dash in 53:22.7! Last year was somewhere around 45 minutes. I lost my stupid timing chip during the race after getting stepped on and I don't have an official record of the time. Needless to say, I'm happy! I'm running a 5K on December 12th and that will wrap up race season for 2009.

The house is almost decorated for Christmas. The big tree and a majority of the decorations are done. We just need to put up the little tree upstairs and maybe a few exterior lights. It looks like we are having Jarrett's family over for Christmas on December 26th. I don't mind hosting, but it is a little stressful having 12 people, two dogs, and a cat running around the house. It will be fun, but exhausting. It's a good thing I have until January 4th to recover before I go back to work!

I'll post some new pictures of my early Christmas present. Jarrett bought me a Cervelo P2 triathlon bike. It is awesome. The guys at A1-Cyclery gave me a fantastic price on a closeout 2009 model. They've been trying to sell me this bike for like a year. This weekend they got the price right. I had my fitting today and they had to make a few modifications to the aero bars so I get to bring her home tomorrow. Now...she just needs a killer name and a great race to break her in!

1st Marathon - DONE

2009-10-18T09:29:00.003-04:00

I ran the Indianapolis Marathon yesterday. The day started out stressful. I bought a new Garmin GPS to keep me from getting lost. I have a horrible sense of direction and it was about time to break down and buy one. The night before the race, Jarrett gave me directions. I listened, but didn't realize there are actually two exits on 465 to 56th street. I got off on the wrong one. Then I was having problems trusting that the Garmin knew where she was going. After I just gave in and followed her directions, I made it to the race. Late. Actually, I sat in traffic waiting to park for almost 45 minutes. After I parked, I could hear the crowd about 3/4 of a mile away cheering. I saw other people making a dash for the start line, so I figured I may get lucky and the race might not have started. Lucky for me, I got to the pack of racers just as the race started.

It was a cold morning. The first half of the race flew by. Before I knew it, I was at Mile 18. That's when things started getting a little rough. I ran most of miles 18-21 then I started to have some stomach issues. 21-26.2 I had to run/walk. My official race time was 4:26:49. Not bad for my first marathon!

I got home yesterday and took a shower and a short nap. My body actually didn't feel terrible. Jarrett took me out to dinner for prime rib (my favorite!). I was starving. I swear I haven't eaten that much food in years. I didn't get the best nights rest because of leg cramps, but now that I'm up and moving, I'm feeling pretty good today.

Go Girl Triathlon Race Report

2009-08-31T20:10:00.002-04:00

Saturday was the last triathlon of the season. This race was my one year anniversary of triathlon racing. The Go Girl was my first race last year and after a terrifying swim, I am shocked I stuck with it.

So, how was the race? GREAT! I didn't get to see my race results until today and I am really happy with my times. When they posted results on Saturday, my name was suspiciously not anywhere on the list. I knew my chip was working because I heard it beeping during the race when I crossed timing mats. I emailed the guys at Tuxedo Brothers and they kindly researched the issue and figured out what my times were.

500 meter Swim: 15:07.01 (PR)

I did get to wear my new wetsuit. The wetsuit does help keep my big butt floating, however, it requires me to slightly modify my stroke and I haven't swam in it enough to figure out how not to make my left arm really sore and tired. The other issue I didn't experience in the pool was the feeling of claustrophobia and constriction in the open water. Again, it is just a lack of practice in the wetsuit and I am confident that next time I'm out in open water it will be even better. This was the first race I really have experienced effortlessly passing LOTS of people in the water. It was kind of cool! I didn't feel like I had a great swim when I got done, but this is the fastest 500 meter open water swim I've ever done.

T1: 3:27.3

T1 was SLOW. First time dealing with the wetsuit made me a little slow. I also was having issues with my cycling shoes.

The bike was MUCH improved over the last sprint tri. The hill that is immediately after transition did NOT kick my butt this time! I was not as fast as the Oly, but that course is totally flat. There are a few good rollers on the Eagle Creek course. Jarrett also did some quality adjustments to my bike fit. I took the seat up and adjusted my aero bars. The seat adjustment made a HUGE difference. No more knee pain!

10 Mile Bike: 0:39:38.7 (15.1 mph)

T2: 3:50.6 - Yeah...I don't know....I can't blame the wetsuit this time....maybe it was the search for the Kleenex?

The run was good. The hill out of transition did kick my butt on the run. I grabbed water and ran about half way up before I had to walk. I needed to finish my water and clear the water out of my head. I picked up my pace quickly and managed to find another runner to pace. She was wearing a watch and muttering to herself about a 10 mile pace and I thought "Score! I'll stick with this one!" It worked out well for me. I ran on her heels until about a quarter of a mile to the finish where I took off and sprinted ahead of our little pace group :)

3 mile Run: 0:30:18.9 (10:06 min/m)

Overall Race Time: 1:32:22.6

So what has a year done? Last years time: 1:40:26.3

My biggest improvements are in the swim. My swim last year was 21:19. The bike was also a slight improvement. Last year was 0:42:01.1 (14.3 mph). Last years run was 0:31:33.6 (10:31.2 min/mile).

And the race is on!

2009-08-24T21:00:00.002-04:00

I have decided that HIM Augusta 2010 is going to be my race. I had a very difficult time choosing between Augusta and Florida. The main reason I went with Augusta is the time. September 2010 is 13 months from now. I will be ready. Florida is 9 months away. I could be ready, but I would also be missing running the Mini and the chance to get a few more sprints under my belt before the big race.

I bought my first wetsuit today! It is a Blue Seventy Reaction. I got it for a steal at the end of the season sale at my local bike shop. I tried on a total of four suits before settling on the Reaction. It fit, the price was right, and I hope to get a chance to use it this weekend at the last tri of the season.

In other news - Jarrett finished his first sprint triathlon last weekend! I am very proud of him. He has committed to doing another next year but has no desire to train for a HIM.

The fuzz kids are great. Maddie, our rescue sheltie, is doing very well. Mimi is as adorable as ever and Chloe the kitty thinks she rules the house. Frosty has made AMAZING progress this summer. After our last disastrous horse show, he and I have made some great strides. I've had to work through some fear issues from a rather nasty fall early in the summer, but I think I've got that all behind me now.

The house is coming along nicely. We just replaced the carpet in the majority of the house. We put down some nice laminate flooring in our spare room and master closet and are in the process of choosing a nice wood or laminate for our first floor. After the floors are done we're moving on to our master bath. Other then the house being in a constant state of disarray, it is starting to look really nice.

Tri Indy Olympic Distance Triathlon Race Report

2009-08-20T18:28:00.003-04:00

Please excuse my lack of blogging, but I'm not sure where the time has gone these last few weeks...Oh wait...it has gone to work, training, eating, riding (horse or bike), and sleeping!

My first Olympic distance tri was last weekend. It was a unique experience and possibly the most physically challenging thing I have ever done.

I was up at 5:00 am to start my pre-race ritual. I had my english muffin with jam, double checked all my gear, and started hydrating. I decided to take a Pepcid AC and allergy pill. I've noticed this season that I have bad acid reflux about an hour into any strenuous activity. This was the first race I've doped with the Pepcid, but I figured it was worth the risk.

My honorable sherpa husband loaded the bike in the Blazer and we were off to White River State Park in beautiful, yet under major construction, Indianapolis. The transition area was well organized. I chatted with a few of the other athlete in my rack and found that I was surrounded by some very seasoned athletes and some newbies. John, one of the newbies, was given the Oly as a 40th birthday present from his twin brother, who was also competing. His brother is a Marine. John is a working dad...more on this later.

The pre-race meeting was pretty standard stuff. After it was over, Jarrett and I headed down the canal for the 1500 meter walk to the swim start. It was a wave start in 30 person groups. I started about 30 minutes after the first group. The downtime before the swim start gave me a chance to make one last bathroom stop. The swim start was uneventful. I was more comfortable during this swim and I can tell that my swimming is improving. I did still have to throw in the occasional breath stroke and I did stop to fix my goggles once.

1500 meter Swim Time: 0:44:07.9

I had a nice surprise in T1. My step-brother-in-law Zack decided to come down and observe the festivities. He is competing with his girlfriend and Jarrett this weekend in their first Sprint Tri. I'm their sherpa! He had his video camera and was being very encouraging. T1 was a bit longer then I would have liked. There were a ton of distractions. Zack taking pictures, John wanting to chat, and my complete inability to hold on to my sunglasses. I dropped them like 5 times before I got them on.

T1: 3:02.6

The bike was great. The course was basically flat. There was one very fun downhill part, but as usual, it was followed immediately by a hairpin turn. I saw three people wipe out so I rode it pretty conservatively. The bike course was a double loop. Unfortunately, I didn't check my bike when Jarrett put the wheel back on and didn't realize that he put the wheel on backwards so my bike computer wouldn't work :( I managed to successfully stick to my nutrition plan - 2 Cliff Shot Blocks every 30 minutes and a bottle of water every hour. John, my transition buddy was immediately in front of me when we left transition. This would be the start of the two of us leap frogging the entire bike course. At one point, we passed the fast peeps on their way back to transition. We just happened to pass his twin who was totally kicking our butts. Then again, he is a Marine. I expect him to be able to kick my butt!

25 mile Bike: 1:34:21.8

T2: 2:34.6

I grabbed my fuel belt and headed out for the run. It only took me about half a mile to realize that it was FREAKING HOT! When I was on the bike, there was a pleasant breeze keeping things moderately comfortable. As soon as I hit the hot pavement, I felt the 92 degree heat penetrating my will to live. I did press on and managed to have one of the slowest 6 mile wogs ever. The run was also a double loop. My only complaint was that they did not have the turnaround for the Oly well marked. I missed it and ended up having to back track so I didn't get an off course penalty. It cost me a good 2 minutes.

6 mile Run: 1:19:52.9

Total Time: 3:43:59.8

Learning's:
1. I need to run more. My running has seriously suffered this year.
2. I need to train smarter. I currently have a half-ass training plan. I need to write it down and follow it...not wing it.
3. I can do this!
4. I want to do a HIM next year. I know I can if I train consistently.

Indy Sprint Series Triathlon Race Report

2009-07-18T18:13:00.002-04:00

Another triathlon down...many more to go! I got up around 5:00 am to get my race morning routine underway. A little breakfast of English Muffing and raspberry jam, a Diet Coke, and a few glasses of water and I was ready to hit the road. My wonderful Sherpa/husband Jarrett, packed the bike and we headed out the door to Eagle Creek Park. This is the same place I did my very first tri last September. The most notable difference about this morning then most mid-July mornings in the Midwest. It was COLD. The thermometer read 55 F when we left.

We got to the park around 6:30 and I found my bike rack. I had a prime spot very close to the bike start line. I was the first person in my rack to arrive, so I chose the end spot and set out my stuff. We has about an hour to kill, so we went for a brisk walk to stay warm.

The event organizers made a great change this year. The swim start was individual based on ability, instead of a mass wave start. Everyone lined up and started about 2 seconds apart from one another. It made the water a lot safer for everyone. My swim was the highlight of the race. Last year, I couldn't stick my head in the water and basically doggie paddled my way through the event. This year I started out with a strong free-style with no panic. Unfortunately, I CANNOT pace myself. I sprinted out WAY too fast and got extremely winded after the first 200 meters. I flipped over and swam about another 200 meters using a backstroke and finished the last hundred free-style/breaststroke. It was pretty congested at the end of the swim and breaststroke afforded me the best visibility to dodge other peoples body parts. I finished the swim 3 minutes faster then last time.

T1 was pretty uneventful and my time was within seconds of last year.

The bike was slow. It started with me about crashing into a guy having "technical difficulties" getting on his bike at the start line. I missed him, but it threw me off my game. As with last year, there is a craptastic hill at the immediate start of the bike. My biking needs to improve. I haven't ridden nearly as much this year as I would like and I also need to find someplace to go where the traffic is not interfering with my speed. Riding to the pool is a great warm up, however, the conditions are not good for real training. I may end up taking my bike to Lafayette to ride the country roads around Clay Knob. I am very familiar with the area and there is little traffic to contend with, as well as some killer hills to train on!

T2 was faster then last year and went really smooth.

The run was fine. My speed was slower then I normally run a 5K. I did little to no running in the last several weeks, so for a complete lack of training, it was perfectly acceptable.

All in all...I am happy I did the event, especially since I wasn't planning on it. I signed up at the last minute. I really wasn't going to race until the Oly in the middle of August. It was a good warm-up race and it highlighted the areas I need to focus.

As a final note - I did finish the race 1 minute faster then last race!

On to Oly Land!

Good run...great swim!

2009-07-08T19:48:00.002-04:00

The race on Saturday was a good one...FINALLY! I finished the Freedom Fest 4.5 miler in an "unofficial" time of 44:13. Why unofficial, you ask? I lost my timing chip. This is the second time this has happened. I lost my chip for the Drumstick Dash at Thanksgiving too. This time, we went back to the car and took a little side trip to find a real potty before the race. At some point I dropped the chip packet between the seats in the car without realizing it. Oops. I found it as soon as we got back in the car to go home. I managed to finish with no blisters and all of my toenails! It's the small things that make you happy :)

I made it to the pool today and had one of my best swims ever. I was consistent, not winded, and comfortable in the water. Progress is being made!

Frosty and I have also seemed to have a breakthrough. I've been struggling this summer with jumping. Notice I say, I...not him. Although he plays a part, it is mostly me. Jarrett came out to the barn with me Friday and coached me over some fences. It went really well. I decided to do a repeat performance for my trainer Christy last night. Frosty was great, I was better then I have been in many months. Everything clicked and I corrected a lot of the stupid mistakes I've been making. In case you ever care to jump on a horse here are some good tips:
1. Do not look down at the jump. The horse looks where you look. He cannot look down at the jump and jump correctly. I promise.
2. Do not get ahead. He makes a mistake = you fall off.
3. Have fun!

Broken :(

2009-07-03T19:33:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow is the Carmel Freedom Run. It's a 4.5 miler that I have never done before. Last year, it poured down rain on Jarrett and Cyndi and I have to admit, I was really happy I chose to stay tucked in bed instead of running. Cyndi and I will be running without Jarrett again. He actually DID break his elbow in the bike accident. He has to keep the arm immobilized for another 8-days or so. This will be my first race in my new shoes. Wish me luck! I'm hoping everything goes as planned.

Training was great this week. Bike and run on Monday, riding lesson Tuesday, swim on Wednesday and Thursday, riding lesson with my hubby coaching on Friday. Jarrett actually has a pretty good eye for riding. He use to ride himself and has spent countless hours watching me and my lessons. Frosty was AWESOME this week. We seem to be having a bit of a saddle fit issue and may need to have the saddle fitter out to look at him. A horses body changes with their level of fitness. I'm riding more and he's eating less, so his muscle mass has changed.

With no work today, Jarrett and I went to Lafayette to have lunch with my parents and walk around Purdue. It amazes me how much the campus has changed in the last few years. We stopped at a few of our favorite places while we were in town. Triple XXX, an old drive-in that is a favorite of students was our lunch stop and the Frozen Custard was our dessert stop. Mmmmm....hamburgers and ice cream :)

I'll give you a race update tomorrow!

My first Oly!

2009-06-29T20:55:00.002-04:00

I signed up for my first Olympic length triathlon today! The Tri Indy race is being held August 16th in the beautiful downtown Indy canal. Yes - we are swimming in a canal. Actually, this is specifically why I chose to do the Oly instead of a sprint. You see, the canal is only 4 feet deep. According to USAT article 4.2, you may stand on the bottom and rest as long as you do not make forward progress. Sweet. Seriously, I have improved greatly at the swim and now it's time to stretch myself.

Shoes news - I went to Athletic Annex on Saturday and got a new pair of kicks. So far so good! I ran in them tonight without any blistering! They are Mizuno Wave Alchemy. After watching me run, Mike determined that the super high level of motion control my Brooks had were actually causing me more harm then good. The Alchemy are still motion control shoes but they have a little more cushion in the arch. They are different but not different in a bad way.

My biking continues to improve. Jarrett and I have been riding to the pool two or three days a week. He runs while I swim. Tonight we had a little incident and Jarrett fell off his bike :( He bruised his arm pretty bad but swears it isn't broken.

What's up?

2009-06-10T21:31:00.002-04:00

It's been a busy month! Jarrett and I spent 8 days in the sunny Southern Caribbean. We went on a Royal Caribbean cruise on Adventure of the Sea. We enjoyed our time away from work and the islands were fascinating. The actual cruise was fun too, but we both agreed that it was about 2 days too long. We were pretty tired of the food and the boat by the time we got back to Puerto Rico.

The puppies spent two entire weeks with my parents. I was very proud of them! Maddie only had one incident of chewing on one of my mom's baskets and one small accident on the kitchen floor. Considering she has never been away from me, this is fantastic. She really loves my mom and I can tell she misses her. Amelia was good, as always. She basically grew up at my parents so it was like going to her second home. Chloe kitty had a house sitter. Cyndi and Brian stopped by to check on her a while we were gone. We really appreciate having friends who like our animals!

Cyndi and I ran the Sunburst Half Marathon in South Bend, IN last Saturday. It worked out that the race was the weekend after Jarrett and I got back from vacation so we made plans to run the race and pick-up the dogs since my parents conviently live in South Bend. Jarrett and I ran the 10-K Sunburst last year and enjoyed it so we thought...if 10K is good...13.1 miles MUST be better! This ended up being the WORST race of my short racing career. It started with Jarrett waking up at 4:30 am and announcing that he forgot his running shoes in Indianapolis...oops. So, needless to say, he didn't actually run the race. Cyndi and I, however, did remember our shoes and headed downtown. Prior to leaving for vacation, I got some new shoes. My feet have been an issue for the last year. I constantly get BAD blisters on my arches. Well, I went to a very well recommended shoe store in South Bend and they looked at my feet, my current shoes, and decided that they were "all wrong." They put me in a wide show a half size larger then my previous running shoes with a arch insert. At the time, they felt okay. I took them on vacation and then (SHAM ON ME) didn't run in them. In a move of complete stupidity, I decide to run the half in the new shoes. Well, it didn't go very well. These shoes for some reason rubbed my ankles completely raw. They were bruised and bleeding by mile 5. By mile 8, I wanted to cut my feet off. I trudged through and finished but it sucked. Needless to say, I returned the shoes. When I took them back, the lady who originally fitted me looked at my feet and asked "Who the heck put you in these shoes?" I just smiled and said, "You." She also happens to be the owner of the place. She did feel bad and then tried to replace them with a new pair of Mizuno's (I usually wear Brook's), but then they didn't have my size and they were on back order. So - I'm back in my old Brook's. I ran 4 miles on Monday with no blisters and 1.5 miles tonight with no blisters. I'm heading back to Athletic Annex to have them look at my feet and if they don't have any ideas, I'm going to a podiatrist.

I rode my bike 12 miles tonight, swam 1500 meters, and ran 1.5 miles. I may, in fact, get these 10 pounds back off and be ready for the Go Girl Tri in August.

And the countdown begins...

2009-05-11T21:28:00.002-04:00

We are a 9 working days away from our cruise to the Caribbean! I'm SO ready to go. After this weekend, I just need to take a deep breath and keep myself from screaming.

I had an incredibly interesting riding lesson on Sunday. Daniel Stewart, current bio mechanics coach of the US Equestrian Team came to the farm and did a Symmetry and Balance clinic. First, he video taped us riding for about 15 minutes. Walk, trot, canter, and jumping a small cross rail. Then he analyzes the footage and you watch it with him frame by frame. He looks for issues with your body position. I was pleasantly surprised at the footage. My position was MUCH better then the last time I watched a video of myself riding. I need to work on keeping my leg slightly back and my knees a little more bent but overall I was happy. My jumping position needs a lot of work. I ride extremely defensively because Frosty has been a bit of a jerk jumping this year.

The puppies are good. Maddie had a bit of an incident tonight involving a DVD. She decided to eat part of it. I think she will be fine, but we will be watching her closely for the next couple of days. She hasn't chewed anything inappropriate in months, so I'm not sure what possessed her tonight.

Jarrett and I went to Cincinnati this weekend to visit our newest nephew, Ryan Matthew. Mom and baby are great and the kid is super cute. :) I'll post pictures later.

Further reflection on the Mini after a night of restless sleep....

2009-05-03T12:00:00.002-04:00

I'm still pretty happy with my race yesterday but I did wake up this morning feeling much better then I anticipated. This means: A - I ran a race that was at my current fitness level and therefore I should be happy or B - I did't push nearly hard enough and there should be a few more aches and pains this morning had I really fought for a great race. I'm leaning towards A. This morning makes me want to run more and race more. I feel good. I feel human again. I ran 13.1 miles without worrying about my job. This is about me. Not about anyone else. My focus for the next month is eating right, getting more workouts in, and spending time with my family.

I'll leave you with my quote of the day: "Run with a pace and walk with a purpose." There was a drill seargent working one of the water stations during the Mini who happened to be shouting this mantra while we ran by. I thought it was an interesting quote. I am getting much better at running with a pace. My half marathon pace is a 10:30 mile. I don't have an issue with walking with a purpose. My goal is to only walk through water stations with a maximum of a one minute break. I didn't quite make it for the Mini but I did for the last half I ran in October. It's a goal and I'll get back there again by the end of the summer.

Time to go see the horse and spend some time at the barn!

Mini Mania

2009-05-02T15:48:00.004-04:00

This is my second time running the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini Marathon and I had a pretty good race. No personal best, but I haven't been running much this year. My time was 2:40:37 with a 12:16 pace. This is a BIG race. It is the biggest half marathon in the US with 35, 000 participants. That means there are a lot of people to dodge. I did finish 15 minutes faster then last year. To celebrate the race, we've decided to sign-up for the Sunburst Half Marathon in South Bend that is being held on June 6. Jarrett and I ran the 10K last year and had a blast so in order to keep the focus on the October marathon and working on our distance, we're moving up to the half. Tri season starts in about 8 weeks. I don't think I'm going to do the first two of the season due to water temperature. I don't have a wet suit and I need a little more time to get ready for the swim anyway.

Where have the last 4 months gone?

2009-04-23T19:49:00.002-04:00

Hello world. It's been a long time. I cannot believe that four months have passed since my last post. This year has not started out as I had planned. I am NOT on track to meet any of my training goals for this year. I did join a new gym and love it, however, the complete lack of time resulting from my job are preventing me from doing anything constructive for myself.

Let's start with the good. I have competed in two horse shows and the last show which was last Saturday went very well. Frosty is a big sweet heart and tries so hard to compete with the big fancy boys and girls. We managed to be in the ribbons and improve our dressage scores over last year. Maddie is doing very well. She graduated from 1st grade and has started to bond with Jarrett. She even gives him kisses now! Mimi is her normal cute, sweet, fuzzy self. Chloe the cat continues to amuse me on a daily basis. Watching her play with the dogs cracks me up. I did manage to book a cruise for the end of May to the Southern Caribbean. It's a step outside our comfort zone of Disney....although if I can convince Jarrett...we may go to Disney this year too :)

Now for the not so great. I have not been exercising enough and my eating habits stink. I am two pounds over my goal weight and I am NOT happy. I feel like a cow. My job is seriously stressing me out. Something has to change. I can control my food. I just have to do it. The job is another story. I signed up for a marathon in October. I HAVE to get my butt in gear or I'll never finish.

I got an iPhone and when I figure out how to blog using it, I'll write more often!

Puppies and Plumbing Oh My!

2008-12-30T18:12:00.002-05:00

We have had a crazy few days in the Meyer household! Christmas was wonderful. We spent Christmas day with my family in South Bend and then returned to Indianapolis to visit with Jarrett's family on the 27th. On our way home we picked up the newest addition to our family - Madeline ("Maddie"). She is a 9-month old shetland sheepdog we adopted from the Greater Lafayette Sheltie Rescue. Maddie is absolutely precious. She is very shy and is very much in need of some structure in her life but we could not have asked for a more well behaved puppy. She still needs to learn the basic commands like sit, stay, etc, but she does know her name and to come when called. Amelia loves her. They are inseperable.

On top of a new puppy and crazy holiday fun, Jarrett and I decided that we would remodel our guest bathroom while we had some time off work. Thankfully my dad came down for the day and got us started in the right direction. It was our first tiling job and I must say it came out really well! This bathroom looks like it is going to be the nicest room in the house. I think it has given Jarrett more confidence in tackling a few more home improvement projects. We are planning to put all new floors in our house in the next year and with the exception of a small carpeted area we plan to keep, we are doing everything ourselves. So if anyone needs some tile work done, let me know! The only thing we decided not to do on our own was move some of the plumbing. I think it'll be the best $140 I've spent to not deal with sweating pipes and cutting copper. Yes, I'm sure I COULD do it if I wanted, but this is one I think we'll hire out.

5K's of Christmas

2008-12-20T11:39:00.002-05:00

I had a wonderful run this morning. Jarrett, Cyndi, and I made it downtown and ran the 2nd Annual 5K's of Christmas. I finished in 29:30. This becomes a new 5K PR. The race was fun and we had the added bonus of getting to watch the RCA Dome implode. Although it sounds like it should have been awe inspiring, it really was a bit of a let down.

In other news - We are trying to adopt another sheltie. If we are approved, it looks like we may be able to bring her home just after Christmas :)

Now - Time to finish Christmas shopping!

Goals for 2009

2008-12-18T21:00:00.003-05:00

I'm going to break this down into a few categories:

Short Term Goals:
1. Gym - 2 days a week - No excuses
2. Pool - 2 days a week - No excuses
3. Run - 5K's of Christmas this weekend and the 6-miler January 1st. I need a good run.
4. Frosty - 2 days a week, 3 if the weather holds out
5. Find shoes that don't give me wicked blisters. Seriously. I think my feet hate me.

Long Term Goals:
1. Toronto Marathon - October 18, 2009 - I'm one step closer. I have my passport photos and application ready to mail :)
2. Complete 2 half-marathons
3. Swim with confidence at my first triathlon
4. Complete a minimum of one race per month.

Here is my tentative race schedule for 2009:

1. Resolution Revolution - 6 miles - January 1
2. Mini Training Run - 5K - February 7
3. Mini Training Run - 10K - March 7
4. Circle of Life - IU Mini Marathon - 13.1 miles - April 4
5. 500 Mini Marathon - 13.1 miles - May 2
6. Out Run the Sun - June 5
7. Indy Sprint Tri Series - June 20
8. Morse Park Summer Triathlon - June 27
9. Indy Sprint Tri Series - July 18
10. Indianan Downs Triathlon - August 2
11. Tri Indy - August 16
12. Indy Sprint Tri Series - August 22
13. Go Girl Triathlon - September 5
14. TORONTO MARATHON - October 18
15. Drumstick Dash - November 26
16. Jingle Bell Run or 5K's of Christmas - December ??

Yes - This is a very rigorous schedule. I need this. I need to push myself to meet these goals. If I don't have something to train for, I stop training. I need the "next thing" to look forward to. I need to push myself to meeting my next goal. My goals with these events are simple. Finish in a time that I feel good about. I don't like to set speed goals. I feel like I set myself up to fail. Instead, my goal is to go to every race and cross the finish line saying, "I raced the best race I could today."

This schedule is also going to push me to my other goal this year. Leave work at work. Training time is my time. Sorry, I don't take cell phone calls at the gym, in the pool, or at the barn. Period.

525, 600 Minutes

2008-12-15T21:26:00.005-05:00

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

These are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs, Seasons of Love, from the Broadway musical Rent. Today marked the one year anniversary of letting our beloved Shetland sheepdog Belle go to the Rainbow Bridge. It has been a long hard year. I know she is in a much better place now without pain and with all of the other animals we have loved and lost.

The picture is of Belle in her wagon. She suffered from terrible arthritis that kept her from being able to go on walks. My parents bought her a wagon so she could go for rides instead. She loved it so much.

I read a book this summer called Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote. I highly recommend it to anyone who has lost a dearly loved animal or who just loves dogs. It is the beautiful celebration of Ted's dog Merle's life and death.

Measure your life in love

Snow!

2008-12-07T20:27:00.003-05:00

So it is officially winter in Indiana. We had our first real snow yesterday. The roads were awful in the morning but got better as the day wore on.

Yesterday Jarrett turned 30. This historic milestone was marked by a nice day spent cruising the mall for deals and a wonderful dinner of sushi at our favorite sushi place, Tegry Bistro. We aren't really the birthday partying type of folks and since we don't get to spend enough time together a day with just the two of us was really nice. I got him a new iPod Nano to replace the one that was stolen out of his car last year. The fur kids got him movies. They love to snuggle and watch movies so it was appropriate they picked out a few favorite films for him, including Cars, Elf, and Nightmare Before Christmas. Now that I used all of my good ideas on his birthday presents I will have to think extra hard of a cool Christmas gift.

I have been super lazy since Thanksgiving. I haven't been to the gym or swam in ages. That will change this week. I'm traveling tomorrow so I plan to hit the hotel gym after I get in to PA. I will swim on Wednesday. I swear I'll do it. Seriously. I will. Swimming has been a total drag since it started to get cold. I just need to suck it up and go. Running is going to have to take place at the gym for pretty much the remainder of the winter. I managed to get pretty sick after running the Drumstick Dash on Thanksgiving in 20 degree weather. My lungs do not deal well with frigid air. Biking will also have to take place in the gym. I don't have a good place to set up a trainer in our house.

I wish everyone well this week :)

Gooble Gooble

2008-11-28T12:54:00.003-05:00

Happy Black Friday! Please go spend money (please make it money that you have...no need to go into debt this holiday season) and help jump start the economy. Even better, if you can, donate to your favorite charity. Even a small donation will help. The fact that the economy is suffering puts a huge burden on charitable organizations. Either people choose not to donate because they do not have extra money or they are finding themselves reaching out to these charities for help that they have not sought in the past.

I am not participating in the "Biggest Shopping Day of the Year." Instead, I am at work. I am hot, sweaty, dirty, and tired. Sigh. The weather would have been perfect today for my 60 mile ride to Lafayette, but instead, I am at work. I cannot complain too much. I realize there are many people who are out of jobs at this time and I am fortunate enough to work in a business that keeps growing.

Thanksgiving was nice. Jarrett and I ran our annual Thanksgiving 4.5 miler in Broad Ripple. It was a frigid 26 degrees at the start of the race. I clocked a time of 43 minutes which equates to 9:55/mile. I didn't have a chip time because my chip got lost at some point before the race. I remember someone stepping on my foot as I milled through the crowd of 7, 000 but it never occurred to me that perhaps I should make sure my chip was still attached. Boo. All in all, the race was fun. I wasn't feeling great the first few minutes after the finish but I recovered quickly after getting a little bite of food in my stomach and a drink of water. I actually got too hot from wearing too many clothes. This is a huge issue with my cold weather runs. I am freezing while waiting for the start and the first half mile and then I get too hot. I guess I just need to suck it up and wear less clothes.

We spent the afternoon with Jarrett's family and then had a quiet evening at home with the animals. We adopted a cat from the Humane Society a few weeks ago and after having her declawed we are working on getting her acclimated to life with our sheltie, Amelia (Mimi). Mimi loves her kitty sister. Chloe the kitty, however, still isn't 100% sure Mimi isn't going to try something sneaky. They did manage to give each other kisses on the noses yesterday which was very cute.

Now I have to decide whether I am going to decorate for Christmas. I am not feeling the joy of the season this year. No one will be visiting our house to see our tree or festive decorations and honestly the dog and cat probably won't notice if there isn't a tree this year.

Brrrr....

2008-11-12T18:51:00.002-05:00

I have a race this weekend. 10K. It's going to be cold. It's going to be raining. Sigh. I have had a great week of work outs. I went to Boot Camp on Tuesday morning and rode Frosty that evening. I even made it to the...gasp...GYM...today! I haven't been to the gym in MONTHS. Up until this week, the weather has been too nice to visit the hamster wheels at the gym. Food has been hit or miss. I really need to get back on track with my eating. I am a stress eater and work has, shall we say, been stressful for about the last...ummm year.

My latest and greatest scheme is to ride my bike from Indy to Lafayette the day after Thanksgiving. I have my route mapped and now I just need to verify all of the roads are paved. It's about a 60 mile ride from my house to my barn. :) I'm excited. I love my bike and this my be my last chance to get a really long road ride in before it gets too bitter cold to ride. Thanksgiving weather is fickle in Indiana. I remember Thanksgivings that it snowed and Thanksgivings we wore shorts. I will only do the ride if it is dry and warmer the 40. I'll let you all know how it goes!

Jarrett and I have decided we are more then likely going to do the Toronto marathon next year. Time to get serious and get those miles in!

2:16:11

2008-10-19T09:03:00.002-04:00

I finished my second half marathon yesterday in 2:16:11. That is 39 minutes faster then my first half marathon in May! Awesome! I don't wear a watch, so I cannot give you splits and such interesting facts. I do know I was pacing a group of runners for the first 6 miles and I managed to finish those six in 49 minutes. If I had paced myself a little better, I would have been able to finish even faster. I was ahead of Jarrett until mile 11. He passed me on the the giant hill. I saw him and just could never quite catch up. I also learned that I do not like GU. I am going to have to figure something else out if I plan on doing a full marathon.

I think if I put some additional training in, I could finish a half marathon in under 2-hours. Even more importantly, I am convinced that I can finish a full marathon. They only thing that will hold me back is my feet. I did end up with wicked blisters on my arches and the end of two of the toes on my left foot. It may be time for a visit to the podiatrist and perhaps some custom orthotics.

2008-10-06T21:15:00.002-04:00

Is it really only Monday? I feel like it should be Friday. I have spend WAY too much time at work in the last 14-days. I know its bad when I start having dreams about the place and wake up wondering if they were real.

The weekend was not a total loss. I organized a solid Saturday. I woke up early and rode my bike to work. It was a great ride. It was cold enough to break out the cold weather Under Armour. The ride was surprisingly fast. There was no traffic and although I left just before dawn, I felt comfortable in my reflective gear. Jarrett picked me up after a few hours of problem solving at the plant and we headed to West Lafayette to watch Purdue loose to Penn State. It was kind of sad. Then we headed to the barn to see Frosty. He was a very good boy and I am happy to say he has taken to his grazing muzzle quite well. No fussing or pulling at it.

My goals for this week:
1. Swim Wednesday and Thursday
2. Ride to work on Friday??? (I've got to check my morning calendar. If I have an early meeting it will spoil my plans)
3. Run - Seriously - I really need to run.
4. Stay on plan all week. I ate way too much this weekend. Pretzel and popcorn at the football game and a double cheeseburger and fries from Wendy's on Sunday night. My moment in indiscretion came after 12 hours of work, very little breakfast, no lunch, and an enormous amount of stress. Alas, it was good.

Have a wonderful week - I would be shocked if I am sane enough to write again before next week.

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a Frosty

2008-10-01T20:55:00.004-04:00

I didn't race on Saturday. I slept. All day. It is now Wednesday and I am "almost" willing to say I feel better. I'm giving it another day to make sure the feeling lasts. I did manage to get out for a swim on Monday and I rode Frosty on Sunday and Tuesday. I'm pretty sure it was viral...low grade fever, headache, general malaise. My doctor pisses me off so I didn't bother with a visit to his office. I am changing doctors in 2009 due to his complete lack of focus when he sees me. Seriously, I paid this guy $120 for 3 minutes of his time. Alright, my insurance company paid him, but that is the kind of crap that is indicative of the health care crisis our country is in.

Below is a picture of us on Sunday. Frosty is F A T this year. The weather kept the grass growing all summer and he is a big piggy. How do you fix a fat horse? Grazing Muzzle! I just ordered Frosty's grazing muzzle from Schneider's. He will hate it for a few days, but eventually they adjust. I ride him as often as I can and still cannot keep the weight off, so this is the best alternative option. Yes, I am a cruel horse mother. Good thing the barn help will actually be the ones putting it on him and I'll be the nice mommy that rescues him from the evil muzzle when I get to see him. :) Seriously - It is not cruel. It is more inhumane to allow him to stay heavy and potentially cause sever damage to his feet and legs.

There are only 17 days until my half-marathon. Jarrett is in hard core training mode and I am in denial. I haven't run in two weeks. Besides feeling like total crap, my motivation has gone MIA. I will run this week. I will bike this week. I will ride this week. No more excuses.

Home Sweet Home

2008-09-25T20:17:00.002-04:00

I'm back from Wisconsin. It was a business/pleasure trip. Jarrett and I stayed with his college roommate while I spent a few days visiting another one of our production facilities. It was excellent seeing old friends and catching up. The only downside is that I was VIOLENTLY ill. I seriously considered going to the hospital. The good news, I am feeling much better today and I even managed to go for a swim this evening.

Jarrett, Cyndi and I are running a 15K on Saturday and I have a riding clinic with a new instructor on Sunday. Wish us luck!

Butterflies and Backstrokes

2008-09-17T21:11:00.003-04:00

Tonight was my last swim class at IUPUI. I have to say, even after a rough start, I actually enjoyed the class and will consider taking it again in a few months. I "mastered" (I use this term loosely) all of the strokes, including the butterfly. Butterfly actually turned out to be one of my strongest strokes! My instructor said that my form has improved on all of my strokes and that I really do have a natural inclaination towards swimming. My only problem...I go too fast. I am an excellent sprinter. I beat even the very experienced girls today in a little 50 freestyle race. So my focus is to sloooow it down. I also learned to dive! I have never dove in my life and it was very fun. My flipturns still need a ton of work. I have a depth perception issue and just never get quite close enough to the wall. I have the basic technique down, I just need to get better at spotting.

Bottom line - I can do this. I will not drown. I know how to swim. I can cut my swim time down by 5-7 minutes.

Jarrett and I managed to get a short ride in on our bikes on Monday. I love my aero bars. They do need a slight adjustment before I ride tomorrow, but it should be a quick fix.

The next big thing is nutrition. Jarrett has been really working hard on his running and has started to work nutrition into his long runs. I went to my favorite local running store, Athletic Annex and purchased a Fuel Belt. I love running with water and now I'll have a convient place to put some Gu or similar running yummies. I do tend to have some digestive issues, so I'm gong to have to practice before the half-marathon in October.

The other issue I am having is feeling constantly hungry. I modified my breakfast routine this week to have oatmeal before work instead of just eating a Fiber One Cereal Bar. It didn't help. Actually, I think I'm even more hungry and I eat twice as much food for breakfast. So far, I haven't seen a positive or negative impact on the scale. I know numbers aren't eveything, but I would LOVE to drop 10 more pounds. Sigh.

Accessories ROCK!

2008-09-10T22:20:00.002-04:00

Jarrett brought my bike home from its 90-day tune up and I now have my own fancy-schmancy aero bars AND my bike computer I got for my b-day finally works :) I was starting to get bummed that the computer kept telling me I was only going 1 mph. I'm stoked to go on a ride tomorrow and try out my new accessories.

I made it to the barn today to visit my big furry four-legged kid. He is very fat and started out being a big lazy boy. He decided to change his mood after he figured out he was going to get to jump. The boy may be chunky, but he loves to jump! Sometime I'll post a video of us. He looks like a moose jumping. It's hilarious.

Work has been an absolutely crazy busy recently and the insanity is going to continue until after Thanksgiving. So, I scheduled some happy spa treatments over the next few months to help take away some of the stress. I've got a 60-minute massage next Thursday to look forward to!

It's only Tuesday?

2008-09-09T21:03:00.003-04:00

Sunday I ran 8.3 miles with Jarrett and Cyndi. Monday was swim class. Class was okay. We had another new instructor. She was working with the people who don't really know how to swim so the rest of the girls in the class decided to try and learn flip turns. I was okay, but I still need a ton of practice. I missed my Tuesday riding lesson due to a late work meeting, but I did manage to reschedule for tomorrow. Instead of riding, I mowed the grass and went to the Avon pool for a nice swim. I hit the water for about 45-minutes. I've decided to stop counting distance for awhile and just swim for a set period of time. I'll work on the distance later.

I did purchase Sally Edward's book, Triathlon's for Women at Half-Price Books last weekend. I'm only part way through it and she definetly has some good tips. I guess the biggest take away is that I really should purchase a hear rate monitor. She is a huge advocate of training with them. I think I want a Polar F11, but I still cannot convince myself to drop $150.

Mission Accomplished!

2008-09-06T13:01:00.007-04:00

I completed my very first and hopefully not last triathlon this morning. The experience was two-fold: absolutely terrifying and exhilarating.

Jarrett and I got up at 5:30 am and took care of feeding Mimi and got ready to roll. I packed all of my gear except my bike the night before so I wouldn't be running around searching for stuff well before the crack of dawn. I had my traditional pre-race breakfast: 1 Lite Multi-grain Thomas English Muffin with raspberry jam, a banana, and a lot of water. We left about 6:15 for Eagle Creek and a short car ride later arrived at the park.

Transition was set-up by entry number. My number was 49 so I had a prime location. I was in a rack with a bunch of experienced tri girls with cool tricked out bikes. At the pre-race meeting I met a cool girl named Liza who just finished Navy Officer Corp training two weeks ago. She happened to have the same race outfit as me so we hung out and chatted for awhile before the race started. The pre-race instructions were pretty standard. They reviewed the rules and wished us well.

We headed down to the edge of the reservoir to begin the swim. The water was about 75 degrees this morning, which was significantly warmer then the air temperature. When we started it was around 58 degrees and when we finished it was only about 68. There was no humidity or wind, so conditions were perfect. We did a beach wave start and I was in the first group to go. This was my one race to compete in the 18-29 age group. Next season I'll be in the 30-39 age group. The announcer called for us to start and we were off. The course was very straight forward. 200 meters out, turn right at the big yellow buoy, 100 meters straight, turn right at the other big yellow buoy, and 200 meters home. The swim was a struggle for me. I panicked about 100 meters out and could not convince myself to stick my head underwater. I did manage to make it using some creative strokes, but I was super slow. It took me at least 20 minutes to complete the swim. I seriously considered at least twice quitting, but with the encouragement of several of the wonderful volunteers, I made it back to the beach.

Transition 1 was okay. After I got done with the swim, I was a little disoriented but managed to get back to the bike and get geared up. I was slightly slow due to the amount of crude I had to try and get off my feet before putting on my shoes. I grabbed my bike and headed for the bike start. The start was good, except the girl who got on right in front of me fell over. I'm not sure why, it was really strange and I think she actually may have passed out or something. A volunteer helped her back up and I was on my way.

The bike was great. I love my bike. I love riding my bike. I got to pass a bunch of people and that made me feel better. There were a couple of hills to tackle and the race course was fast, fast, fast. I used the 10 mile back to regain my focus.

Transition 2 was uneventful. I always get this weird vertigo thing when running after getting off the bike, but today it was very mild and I shook it off after a few strides.

The run rocked. I am shocked at how much my running has improved this summer. It was an easy 3 miles and I'm pretty sure I managed to maintain around an even 10 minute mile. I ran the entire thing, minus the water stops.

I ran to the finish with the clock at 1:40:24. I can't say I'm proud of the time, but I am proud that I finished. I had every opportunity to give up during the swim and call it a day, but I didn't. This is just a number that I can work to improve next season!

More swimming fun

2008-09-04T20:50:00.002-04:00

I was back at the Natatorium for swim lessons on Wednesday. I was pleasantly surprised that the class had shrunk and both instructors were absent. It turns out that four of us called and complained about the lack of experience of the instructors and the inexperienced members of the group. The program director ended up teaching our class and told us that one of instructors quit because she couldn't teach adults (she was only 16) and the other girl was moved to a toddler class. The four guys who couldn't swim ended up quitting. That left the 6 girls who can swim and a competent instructor! I found out that I was over-reaching which was causing me to expend more energy then necessary. I also worked on rolling my hips and breathing from both sides. I had already identified those weaknesses and she gave me a few training tips to work on. I will not be the best swimmer on Saturday, but I'm confident I will in fact finish the 500M swim.

Work has been GRUELING this week and there is no end in sight to the insanity. I'm just going to have to suck it up and stay focused on leaving work at work and not let it get me down.

I'll post some pictures (provided Jarrett remembers the camera) after the race and provide a full report. The goal for this weekend is to finish. After I get the first one under my belt, I'll set some time goals to keep me motivated.

Tick tock goes the tri clock

2008-09-02T21:37:00.003-04:00

It has been a busy few weeks! After my sub-spectacular swim last week, I headed to Chicago on business. I love the city and it was nice to get away from work for a few days while getting my learn on at a class at University of Chicago. Needless to say, I ate WAY too much and worked out WAY too little last week.

I did manage to redeem myself with a 4-mile run on Monday evening and an enjoyable day with my horse on Sunday.

The countdown has begun: 3 days until tri-day! I received my packet in the mail on Saturday and was bummed to read that the swim may be cancelled due to rampant blue-green algae in the reservoir. They will make the official decision later this week and if we get the rain predicted, the swim may very well happen.

Now on to bigger things - My first marathon! Jarrett and I decided we are going to run our first marathon next fall. He wants the first big race to be a "destination" race. I've narrowed it down to a few. Feel free to weigh-in on which we should choose!

ScotiabankToronto Marathon - Toronto, ON - September - Why Toronto? I LOVE CANADA :)

Whistle Stop Marathon - Ashland, WI - October - We have friends in Wisconsin and it is one of my favorite states to visit.

ING New York City Marathon - NY, NY - November - I've never been to NYC and racing seems a great excuse to go.

So there are like a million more to choose from. If you have a favorite...that is not the Boston (I'm WAY too slow to qualify) send it my way!

Seriously?

2008-08-25T21:17:00.002-04:00

I was so excited. Tonight was my first swim lesson at IUPUI. Let me put it bluntly...IT SUCKED! I enrolled in an intermediate class with the description "Must know a minimum of two strokes and have basic water skills. The focus will be on stroke development." OR NOT! We floated for 30 minutes and then the instructor told us to just "Do whatever" for the last 15 minutes of class while she chatted with her friend the other incompetent instructor. So, I swam a 600 in a pool that was 82 nasty degrees and then drove my ass home from downtown. I am not happy and someone will hear my wrath tomorrow as I demand my money back. One of the instructors actually did not know how to do the side stroke. She had to ASK someone else. Seriously?!

Water, water everyhere

2008-08-18T19:55:00.003-04:00

I had a pretty decent, if not incredibly busy weekend. I went to see Frosty on Friday and had a very lovely ride. Jarrett and I are going to make a very conscious effort to ride him as often as possible while the weather remains nice.

Saturday morning I went down to the White River and learned to water ski. Yes, I water skied on the river. It was actually a great place to learn. The water was warm and there was no chop to deal with. I made it to my feet on the 3rd pull! I can check one more item off my list of things to do before I'm 30.

Sunday I went to work for awhile and did some grocery shopping. Jarrett and I relaxed for a bit until it was time to head back to Lafayette for his riding lesson. Frosty was a good boy for me while we worked on some flat work. The bad part was him snapping his bridle. Alas, it was a cheapo ebay bridle and I'm not terribly sad to see it go.

Today I signed up for swimming lessons at the IUPUI Natatrium. Lessons start next Monday and meet on Monday and Wednesday nights. I signed up for the intermediate class because I do know how to swim, I just suck. This will be a good adventure for me. Not only am I going to have to go attempt not to make a fool of myself in the water, I will also have to drive downtown. We have lived in Indy for 4 years and I have only driven downtown by myself twice. Even more nerve racking, next week I have to drive to Chicago for a training class and will have drive in downtown Chicago. AAGGGHHH!

Jarrett and I rode our bikes to the pool tonight and I swam about 800 meters. I have a riding lesson tomorrow and plan to swim and run on Wednesday.

Swimming.. :(

2008-08-14T20:27:00.003-04:00

The pool is my friend....the pool is my friend....the pool is my friend. Maybe if I keep repeating these words it will become true! It is not that I don't like swimming, I do. I just don't like feeling like I'm a rock. I swam on Monday and again today and both sessions I felt like I was in some sort of fight to stay afloat. I have GOT to get a grip on this before the tri!

1:00:35

2008-08-09T10:56:00.002-04:00

Jarrett, Cyndi, and I ran the ISO Circle the City 10K race this morning...and I KICKED ASS! I finished in 1:00:35. This is a huge personal best for me. My last 10K was 1:07:55. I actually felt like a real runner today. I am honestly still in shock with my time.

More later...must go to work :(

11Things About Me

2008-08-05T23:04:00.003-04:00

Sara inspired me to share a peek into my life. I don't have the patience to come up with 100, so I'll start with 11:

1. I met my husband Jarrett at Purdue. We were in the Purdue "All-American" Marching Band together. He played trombone and I played clarinet. We marched next to each other in the famous "Block P" formation our sophomore year.
2. I had mono in college. It was horrible and I swear I've never been the same since.
3. My favorite book is From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. It is a novel by E. L. Konigsburg that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1968.
4. I miss my dog Belle every day. She was the sweetest most loving animal ever.
5. My job involves unimaginable quantities of baked goods. No, I don't eat them and yes I wear a hairnet.
6. I hate to drive.
7. Pink is my favorite color followed closely by red and blue.
8. I want to own a hobby farm. I have no interest in making money, but I would love to raise goats, chickens, and cows and have room to keep Frosty.
9. I love to read. I rarely have time to sit down and enjoy a book, but when I do, I finish them in record time.
10. I would love to someday live in Wisconsin, Canada, or Ireland.
11. I am very impatient.

Is it Friday yet?

2008-08-05T22:25:00.002-04:00

The weekend was fun! Jarrett and I went to cheer on some of our horsey friends at a competition on Saturday. This competition was a USEA sanctioned event and a little pricey for my taste. I decided to sit it out this year. Frosty and I show for fun. We are never going to be nationally ranked. Competing at a recognized event brings with it a different atmosphere. The schooling shows I did this year were fun. They are meant for riders of all ages and levels to learn and receive constructive criticism. Sanctioned events are much more intense. There are LOTS of rules. You have to wear certain clothing. You can't use certain tack on your horse. You are subjected to random drug testing (of the horse, not the rider!). The judging is less constructive and sometimes down right mean. At this point, it looks like we are done showing for the season. Jarrett and I hope to make a trip down to Kentucky in late August with our barn mates to school at some of the cool cross country complexes in horse country. We may even get to ride the Rolex course.

Sunday we ran! I haven't done a long run in awhile, so we were a little slow. We did go 6.2 miles and I didn't feel like total crap on Monday. So I've got that going for me! I did get a blister on my right foot, but I am going to try a few different things this weekend at the ISO race. I've been using Body Glide and maybe I need to skip it.

I also had a fantastic ride on Sunday! I had not seen Frosty in like 9 days so he was pretty full of himself. We decided to release his pent up energy by working on jumping and he had a blast. It just reminds me if I had the time to ride him every day what kind of a talent he would be.

Monday I went to the pool and did 2000 meters followed by a 1.5 mile cool down run. The pool was a little on the warm side. The other gentleman swimming laps agreed that it felt like we were actually swimming in a hot tube instead of a pool. I was very pleased that the nice life guard let the two of us have an extra half hour of lap swim time while they got the pool ready for water aerobics. I've already made a mental note to bake the kid cookies.

Work is total chaos this week and I feel like it should be Friday by now. Alas, it is only going to be Wednesday. I have a lovely Wednesday evening bike ride to look forward to followed by a Thursday swim/run and a Friday rest day. Saturday is a 10K. I'll be sure to update you with my slow ass times ;) I may be slow, but at least I'm out there doing it!

2008-08-01T17:08:00.002-04:00

What a week! I went to visit my parents in South Bend for a nice long weekend. Mimi (Amelia - our sheltie) and I made a girls weekend of the trip and left Jarrett in Indy to enjoy sprawling in the bed without a wife kicking him and Mimi trying to hog the bed.

Saturday was wonderful. Mom and I went shopping and she bought me new running shoes for my birthday. :) I went to Metro Run and Walk in South Bend and the owner fitted me with new Brooks. They are the same style I've been wearing but they felt better then any of the others I tried on. I have incredibly flat feet and my right foot is signficantly more narrow then my left. Brooks actually has an option to pay a little extra and they will sell you two shoes in different widths or sizes. I may take them up on this option next time if I continue to get blisters. I also bought my tri suit! It's pink!

Sunday was nice and relaxing. My parents took me to dinner at a wonderful little local place that serves the best prime rib.

Monday we went to Lake Michigan to visit some family who were renting a cabin on the lake for the week. It was nice seeing the family and the weather and water was beautiful. It also gave me a chance to do a little open water swimming. That went....okay. I'll admit it makes me a bit nervous to swim far out in the lake.

Tuesday I made the trek back to Indy. No tickets this time! It was also my birthday. I am now 29. I thought I'd give you my list of things I hope to accomplish in the next year:

1. Complete my first triathlon (September 6, 2008)
2. Complete two more half-marathons (October 18, 2008 and May 2009)
3. Complete the Eagle Creek Sprint Tri Series (June, July, August 2009)
4. Sign-up for a full marathon (either Chicago or the Indianapolis Marathon)
5. Travel abroad
6. Visit a new state
7. Get another Sheltie
8. Improve my riding skills and compete at a few local shows
9. Stay active and healthy
10. Be a good person

Lovely weather for a ride!

2008-07-24T19:41:00.002-04:00

10.5 miles in 45 minutes. Traffic was heavy and I had to stop at 7 stop lights/signs. Not too shabby!

The triathlon ride is 10 miles and I know I can do it in less then 40 minutes. The roads at Eagle Creek are much smoother and race situations always make me go a little faster. I do need to take the bike to the shop and have my gears looked at. Shifting from the big wheel in front down is really rough. I almost always over shift and drop it to the small gear and there is a little grinding going on down there...

Warning: Food Content Ahead

2008-07-24T12:57:00.003-04:00

I read Sarah's blog yesterday and felt the need to share my own foods laced with crack:

1. Diet Crack..I mean Coke - I have weaned myself to a mere two 12 oz cans a day.

2. Cheap Mexican from my favorite hole-in-the-wall with questionable sanitation :) I always order the same thing: #16 with a cheese enchilada.

3. Ruffles

4. Oreo's - I literally have not had an Oreo in 3 years because there is NO WAY I can control myself around them. If purchased, they will be devoured in no more then two sittings.

5. Cinnamon Toast Crunch - In a former life, I may in fact have devoured half a box of this crack laced creation for dinner...Hey, I'm not proud of it!

The bad thing is last night I had the vivid dream about Dairy Queen Thin Mint Blizzards. I woke up at 3:00 am to take care of the dog and could not stop thinking about them. I have never experienced a food dream before so I'm hoping they go away. For all you peeps who know what I do for a living...donut nightmares don't count! ;)

I did work out last night:

Swim: 650 meters

Run: 2 miles

We cheated and drove to the pool because Jarrett and I got home so late from work. I probably will ride my bike for awhile tonight since it is a beautiful day in central Indiana.

What a week!

2008-07-20T19:13:00.003-04:00

I had a pretty decent week.

Monday - Working dinner - We went to Rick's Boatyard and I had the Divers Scallops. The food was okay, but not fabulous.

Tuesday - Barn - My riding lesson was pretty good. Frosty is improving and we keep making small breakthroughs ever week.

Wednesday - Pool - Jarrett and I rode our bikes to the pool and swam for about 30 minutes. The workout was good and my swimming is improving.

Thursday - Rest - Thursday's are ROUGH for me. By Thursday work has officially kicked my butt. I ended up coming home and going to bed at 7:00 pm.

Friday - Pool - We rode to the pool again and swam around 40 minutes. I was pretty tired by the time we were done but the ride home was strong.

Saturday - Barn - Jarrett and I took a lesson together. His riding is starting to improve. :)

Sunday - Tour de Brownsburg - I needed to go to work for awhile today so I decided that I would ride my bike. I rocked the ride! It's about a 14 mile ride from our house to work and I have to traverse a horrible section of state highway. The ride into town was uneventful and pleasant. There was hardly any traffic at 9:00 on a Sunday. The ride home, however, was a little more intense. I had a lovely black Ford F-350 attempt to run me off the road while cursing at me. I kept my cool and had a nice laugh when they ended up sitting at a red light while I cruised up behind them. I smiled.

My goal for this week is to get a few runs in. I also need to get some new shoes to start breaking them in for the triathlon and decide what I'm going to wear for the race. I have yet to figure out exactly what kind of tri outfit I'll be most comfortable in. If you have any suggestions blogosphere - give me a holler!

Spinning Wheel

2008-07-09T19:14:00.003-04:00

I got to try out my new tires today! Jarrett decided I needed to upgrade my bike tires to something a little more durable. The roads in our area are less then pristine and the tires that came with my bike just could not take the abuse. I'm going to reserve judgement until I ride over to my pal Cyndi's place this weekend, but on my little 11 mile jaunt to the pool and back, they survived.

Ahh...the pool. My nemesis. I learned to swim as a child, and evidently have learned to sink as an adult. Seriously, I do not recall being such a poor swimmer. I did 650 meters in roughly 24 minutes. 90% of the time I was doing the breast stroke. Not the fast stroke in world, but at least I don't feel like I'm totally out of breath the entire time I'm in the pool.

I am going to attempt to go to the barn tomorrow night.

Yawn

2008-07-07T21:38:00.003-04:00

I am really tired after a super busy weekend. The horse show was great. I had a wonderful time and ended up with a 5th place ribbon. We had a bobble on the cross country course when Frosty ran out on jump #10. He saw the jump but spooked at the jump judge sitting in a lawn chair that was initially out of his line of sight when we turned the corner. Stadium jumping was completely clean and I got the best dressage score I have ever had. All in all, a positive experience.

I managed to drag myself to the pool today for a nice swim. It was around 600 meters. I had to call it quits a little early because I was starving and it was getting pretty late.

Work it girl!

2008-06-30T21:41:00.002-04:00

I had a mostly lovely workout this evening. I rode my bike to the pool (5 miles). I was pleasantly surprised that the drivers this evening were courteous and other then a wicked head wind slowing me down, I rather enjoyed my ride. I swam for about 35 minutes. I did (x meters). Honestly, I have no idea how far I swam. I swam until I was tired and the pool started to get crowded. I have issues remembering to count things or watch times. I then ran for 1.5 miles on the Avon Intermediate School track. It was nice and cushy! I finished by biking the 5 miles home. Okay...almost biking 5 miles home. I blew another tire tube turning onto 100N. I am starting to get really pissed. This is the 3rd tube since I bought the bike two weeks ago! Yes - I checked my tire pressure before I started my ride. No - I did not hit any holes or anything silly like that. Needless to say, I will be going back to the bike shop on Wednesday to get a new tube and find out what the heck is going on.

Do I still follow WW?

2008-06-30T14:45:00.004-04:00

"Do you still follow WW?"

This is the question posed by fellow blogger Michelle. The answer is, yes and no.

Yes: I still count my points, although it’s more of a mental tally then a true journal. I journal when I'm having issues or need to get back on plan. I basically eat the same thing every day for breakfast and lunch. The only meal I really change is dinner. This type of plan does NOT work for everyone! Most people would get bored eating the same thing basically everyday for the last two years. I, on the other hand, like my little routine. I eat a 3-point cereal bar for breakfast and a piece of fruit. For lunch I have yogurt with cereal (2 points), a micro meal of some variety (4-6 points), and sugar-free Jell-O (0 points). I do get creative with dinner; however, I will be the first to admit that in a pinch I run for my Trader Joe's 94% FF black bean burritos (8 points).

No: I have not attended a WW meeting in a looonnnnnggg time. I am not currently "paying" WW for any of their services. I like to think of myself as self-sufficient and basically cheap. I also have the privilege of having my own personal WW leader, Cyndi, at my disposal :) Cyndi is a wonderful friend and inspirational WW leader. If you are in the Indianapolis area, go to her meetings....or I will kick you ;)

Yes: I exercise regularly. Actually, now that I think about it, I exercise more now then when I was attending meetings and actively trying to loose weight. Go me!

No: I do not regularly get in my oils (if I do great, if not...tough), or take a multi-vitamin. I really have never been a fan of multi-vitamins and even after trying children's chewable have found myself completely incapable of actually remembering or wanting to take the stupid things.

WW is truly a change in life style. I know for a fact that I will have to be very careful about what I eat for the rest of my life. I honestly don't think there is a picture of me from the time I was 5 until I turned 27 that I'm not the chubby kid or the fat adult.

The other question that has been posed to me recently is "Why are you doing a triathlon? Isn't that a lot of work?"

My answer to you: Because I want to. I don't HAVE to do a triathlon. I don't NEED to do a triathlon. I want to do a triathlon. It is to prove to myself and no one else that I can do this. Ummm.."Isn't it a lot of work?" Yeah...it is. And yes, I have a busy life style. I work a lot and I play a lot. I am very lucky that my husband enjoys participating in the same things I am interested in and we can spend time together running, cycling, swimming, and enjoying our animals

It's official!

2008-06-29T18:31:00.002-04:00

I officially signed up for the first Go Girl Triathlon on September 6th. It Indianapolis' first women's only triathlon. The distances are 500 meter swim, 10 mile bike and 3 mile run. The event will be held at Eagle Creek Park.

Now that it's official, the serious training begins. Jarrett and I went for a nice 10 mile ride at Eagle Creek last night, however, it was a bit leisurely. We were having too much fun enjoying the scenery and I am still getting the hand of down shifting the new bike. I know I can finish the tri at my current fitness level, but if I want to actually push myself, I need to train harder and build up my endurance.

Here are my training plans for this week:

Sunday - Barn - Dressage work
Monday - Bike (4.5 miles), Swim (500 meters), Run (1 mile), Bike (4.5 miles)
Tuesday - Barn - Show Jumping and X-Country Intervals
Wednesday - Swim (1000 meters), Run (1 mile)
Thursday - Barn
Friday - Run...maybe - I will be at Johnson County Park for the weekend and I may try to squeeze in a very short run.
Saturday - Horse Show :)
Sunday - Rest and Visit friends

I hope everyone enjoys the holiday week!

I'm back!

2008-06-22T10:00:00.009-04:00

Alright, this has been a very busy year and I put my blog away until today. I will spare you the details of what has been happening in my life for the last 349 days and just give you the highlights.

My weight loss story has a happy ending! I made my Weight Watchers goal sometime in September. I have lost an additional 10 pounds (my "buffer") and only had one gain (darn you Disney World!). Here are a few before and after pictures:

Disney 2006

Disney 2006

Disney 2008

I am now moving towards a new fitness goal. I will be competing in my first triathlon September 6, 2008. It is a sprint triathlon with a 500 meter swim, 10 mile bike, and 3 mile run. I started training about a month ago at the gym. Jarrett and I found a pool at Avon Intermediary School East to train the swim and Jarrett bought me a beautiful and super fast race bike for our anniversary!

The bike is a Trek 1.2. I decided to get clipless pedals and shoes straight away to give me the best chance to ride as effectively as possible. We rode almost 25 miles the first day we had the bikes and it was a blast!

Jarrett started a new job in May in downtown Indy. He is very happy with his career change. It was an extra bonus that his new office is only 11 miles from our house as compared to 26 with his old job. I will admit that I generally have no idea what he is talking about when he starts talking about computer programming, but I do know it makes him happy!

My horse Frosty is doing very well. We competed in a show in April and ranked 3rd in the "Green as Grass" adult division. We were disqualified from the 2" division due to me falling off. No, it was not Frosty's fault. It was mine. I was jumping ahead and he refused a fence and I popped over his shoulder. If I had been in the correct position, I could have pushed him over the fence or at least not lost my balance when he refused. As with everything in life, a lesson was learned and according to my trainer, I have vastly improved my body position and am much more conscious of not riding too far forward to jumps. We have a show on July 5, so we will see how are hard work over the last few months has paid off. It is a 3-day event (cross country, show jumping, and dressage) all crammed into one day.

The saddest part of the past 349 days was December 15. Our beloved Shetland Sheepdog, Belle, lost her fight with cancer. She was my first dog and I will never forget her. She truly loved everyone. Her little "sister" Amelia still misses her greatly and so do Jarrett and I.

In the future, expect to see a lot of training posts as I get in shape for the Go Girl Triathlon. Wish me luck!

Monday, June 16 - Gym - 5 mile Run, 5 mile Bike, Free Weights - 1.25 hours
Tuesday, June 17 - Barn - Show Jumping - 1 hour
Wednesday, June 18 - Swim - 500 meters - 1 hour - Jarrett was helping me "remember" how to swim!
Thursday, June 19 - Swim - 1200 meters - 40 minutes
Friday, June 20 - Bike - 2.2 miles around the neighborhood - We bought our bikes and I was teaching myself to use my cool new pedals and shoes.
Saturday, June 21 - Bike - 24.4 miles
Sunday, June 22 - Barn - Cross Country - 1 hour

Yes...I am still alive

2007-07-08T21:20:00.000-04:00

I've been a bad blogger lately! Work has been hectic and I've been trying to get to the barn at least three times a week. Last week Frosty was ridden four days and there was SUBSTANTIAL improvement. I'm so proud of him!

Jarrett and I helped at the Leg Up horse show this past weekend. I decided not to ride because of work commitments so we went to help all the other riders get to there events on time and take care of the horses. It was terribly hot, but still a lot of fun.

I just realized that in 20 days I will be another year older and another year closer to 30. The good thing is Jarrett and I are planning to take a little vacation and visit Brown County. My parents will be in town for the Brickyard 400 and are going to watch the girls for us. Last weekend was my 10 year class reunion. I chose not to go and decided to visit my friend Sara in Nashville, TN instead. The trip was a lot of fun and it was so nice to meet her future husband, Casey. They are a very cute couple :)

I am happy to say that I am only 8 pounds from my goal weight. I would be lying if I said I've been diligently watching my food for the past month. I haven't gained any weight, but I know that I could have lost more if I'd been a little more accountable with my food. According to the BMI charts, I am now a "normal" weight. I know if I hit the gym more I can get these last 8 pounds off.

It's been a long time

2007-06-17T22:06:00.000-04:00

I haven't had time to even think about blogging in like two weeks. The month of June is almost over and I dare say that most of it is a total blur. It seems this year has gone by very quickly. Work is darn near killing me. I will say the stress has helped with my weight loss and I am now only 9 pounds from my WW goal, but it has also started to make me feel old. I am just waiting for a week that is calm and productive.

My parents came to town this weekend for my cousins high school graduation party. It was very nice to spend time with them. The dogs were so happy to see them! Amelia spent Saturday night pouting and laying by the guest bedroom door. My mom and I went shopping on Saturday and I purchased some new summer clothes that fit. Now, I have a nice dress to wear for our 5-year anniversary dinner and some new outfits for my trip to Nashville, TN at the end of the month.

With all of my work issues, I haven't had much time to ride Frosty :( I actually missed my lesson today because I had to go in to work. Jarrett kindly went in my place. He said it went very well and that I have done a good job with Frosty's training. Last weekend, I did have a chance to take him to the Hoosier Horse Park for a cross country clinic and had a BLAST! I jumped some of the biggest things I've ever jumped and Frosty acted like an old pro...until the ditch. I couldn't get him over the ditch and I ended up falling off. It is something we are going to have to school on at home and then tackle it again next time.

Well, I have an early morning ahead of me...Good night!

SADDLES FOR SALE

2007-06-02T11:37:00.000-04:00

Hello all you horse fans!

I have 3 saddles for sale. Below you will find links to two of the three items. I will have the third saddle listed tomorrow. Pleas email me at meaghanmeyer@yahoo.com with any questions. All sales are final and payment must be made through Paypal. Buyer pays all shipping fees.

Saddle 1: 18" Medium Tree Collegiate Dressage Saddle

Collegiate Dressage Saddle -$250- 18 in seat, black, medium tree. This saddle is older and is in excellent used condition except for a small scratch on the seat. The tree is sound and the billets are in good condition. This would be the perfect saddle for anyone starting in dressage. I've had this saddle on numerous thoroughbreds and it has fit them all very well. It does not, however, fit my Percheron cross! No fittings are included in the sale.

Saddle #2: Royal King 17" Seat Western Saddle

Royal King Western Saddle - $100 - The seat size is 17 inches. I really do not know a lot about this saddle. It is in good condition, but it is not a show saddle. It has no silver or tooling on the leather. It is black and has a suede seat. There are a few scratches on the horn and skirt. This was my Percheron Crosses saddle when I purchased him. It fits his very wide flat back nicely. It would make a good trail saddle. It comes with stirrups and a leather cinch.

Saddle #3: Thorowogood 17.5" WIDE tree A/P Saddle with FISH system - Black - $150

This saddle is almost BRAND NEW. It's only been ridden in about 6 times. It comes with the FISH system and I'll throw in a pair of the synthetic leathers. This saddle fits my Percheron Cross well, however, it just doesn't fit me. This is another great starter saddle or a fab trail riding saddle. It is very lightweight and easy to maintain.

The race is on!

2007-05-30T22:03:00.000-04:00

It has been a busy week already! Today I mowed and trimmed the grass and then went to the gym and ran 3.2 miles. My time was exactly 37 minutes. I was doing the hill mode on the elliptical, which made me a little slower then usual. I decided not to run the 5 mile race this weekend. Instead, I'm starting with the 5K. If I make it through the 5K alive, I'll step it up next time.

Good night!

Run....sort of

2007-05-28T19:38:00.001-04:00

I decided to run today. I've been jogging around the neighborhood for the last few weeks, but today was the first serious "run." Jarret and I went a little over six miles. I didn't die, so that is a positive. I am determined to become some sort of a runner. I will never be fast. My legs are just too short and stubby for speed. I am convinced that if I get into this running thing, I will make it to my goal weight. I plan on running a 5 mile race next weekend. I think I'm a little crazy, but I can do it.

I wore a cute running shirt that I got today for 50% off at the Athletic Annex (a.k.a. the really expensive but really nice running store). It was very comfy and cool. It not only will make a wonderful running shirt but also a fantastic riding shirt too!

Not only did I get my cardio in this weekend, I also worked my upper body by renovating Frosty's stall. Frosty decided to make a "nest" in his new stall. He basically dug a giant hole in the middle that he would sleep in during the day. It would not have been a problem, however, he started to hurt his hocks because the hole was pretty much all limestone and it was tearing off his skin. Christy was nice enough to let us fill in his hole with limestone and put stall mats on top. Now, he can't dig! If this doesn't work, the only other option is to turn him out 24/7. I'm not against this option, but he has a bit of a weight issue and would have to wear a grazing muzzle. It's also a pain in the rear end to keep a horse that is turned out 24/7 clean.

I had an excellent ride yesterday. We did some cross country fences and I had a blast. Frosty did pretty well, too. I really want to enter a three day event next summer, so the more work we get in this summer, the better. We have a cross country clinic in two weeks and I will ride well. Period.

Update

2007-05-22T21:49:00.001-04:00

So last week, I committed to trying to run in the morning. It hasn't happened...yet. I am NOT a morning person. I use to be, but then my sophomore year at Purdue I came down with mono. Ever since then, I have struggled to get up in the morning and require a minimum of 8 hours of sleep to feel adequately rested. Regardless, I'm slowly inching my alarm clock earlier each day to try and trick myself out of bed. I think when the sun starts coming up a little earlier it will be easier. I have, however, walked/jogged three times in the last week during the evening.

Last Thursday I got my 10% key ring from Weight Watchers. It was nice to make that milestone...again. This is actually the second time I've lost 10% of my body weight, but Weight Watchers doesn't recognize the weight I lost when I was doing the program online. It kind of stinks, but I understand why they do it that way. If I loose any weight this week it will be a miracle. I ate WAY too much over the weekend. I did choose healthy foods, but I ate too much. This was my first real fall from the wagon and I have managed to hop right back on as of Sunday evening.

I'm getting ready for another jaunt to the Hoosier Horse park on June 8 for some cross country training. The mini goal is to loose 3 pounds before then.

Random Thoughts...

2007-05-14T21:21:00.000-04:00

I went to the gym tonight and had a FANTASTIC workout. 45 minutes of Cross Ramp (I still don't know what exactly that means...) for 3.5 miles, resistance 7 and I was in the cross training program that has a ton of hills. I burned 412 calories. I spent the next 30 minutes doing my usual weights. I managed to increase everything by 5 pounds, except the shoulder press. I'm having an "issue" with my left rotator cuff. I refuse to go to the doctor and have them prescribe physical therapy...or should I say, "A ridiculously expensive trip to a gym that my crummy insurance only covers for 4 sessions and the doctor will prescribe a MINIMUM of eight...." So, until my arm completely stops working, I'm living with it. I had a personal victory tonight. I leg pressed 250 pounds. Yes, you read that correctly. 250 pounds for 30 reps. I rule.

This weekend was fun. We went to our nephews first birthday party on Friday. He totally loved the Little People's farm we got for him. Of course, he is one so that meant that first he had to taste everything and then play with the box for awhile before he decided the toy was cool too. Saturday was busy. I got my hair cut, went to work for awhile, and then helped Jarrett do some gardening. Our yard is looking pretty nice this year. It hasn't rained in AGES so we've been watering almost everyday. The only plant that seems to have met an early death is the cilantro. I am fully convinced that someone is trying to prevent me from having cilantro in my diet. It's a long story, but let's just say the khaki pants conspiracy has a close relative called the cilantro conspiracy. We even found time to do a little shopping. I had to return some clothes to Anne Taylor and ended up picking up a few cute tops that were on sale...in a size 10! I was so excited I decided to try on some summer dresses while I was there and looked absolutely fab! They were, of course, not on sale, so I put them away to oogle another day. We also managed to find Jarrett some spiffy new clothes for my cousins wedding. His tie coordinates with my dress. Aren't we sweet??

My goal this week is to get up early and run...I am determined to work in 5 work out sessions this week and the only way I am possibly going to be able to achieve this is to get up early and run. I don't have enough time to go to the gym in the morning before work, so the next best thing is running for an hour before work. The tentative plan is to run Tuesday morning, ride Tuesday night, gym Wednesday, ride Thursday, run Friday morning. If I actually do this...I am buying myself a new pair of riding breeches. Jarrett...you have been warned!

Conspiracy

2007-05-07T21:18:00.000-04:00

This weekend was pretty busy. Jarrett ran the Indianapolis Mini Marathon on Saturday and did very well. We had a little pre-race party on Friday night with Jarrett's family and a post-race party with some of our friends on Saturday. All in all, it was a lot of fun and I MAY be convinced to run the Mini next May.

As for the conspiracy...Someone in fashion has decided the khaki pant is "out" this season. I am in desperate need of a pair of reasonably priced khaki pants that I won't feel bad if they get bakery goo on them. Why do I need these pants so badly??? I have been waiting for 8 weeks for my new sized uniforms to arrive and they STILL are not here. The only khaki pants I have are 6 sizes too big and make me look like some kind of hoodlum because they hang so low. Totally unacceptable for work! I have a business trip to another plant on Wednesday and I really, really NEED THE PANTS.

Sigh...So, I've spent hours shopping and purchased two pairs of pants. One is khaki, the other is taupe...I guess. I like them both, but I'm returning the khaki's because they cost twice as much as the other pair and I refuse to pay $40 for a pair of pants that will fit me for hopefully only another month. I'm between sizes right now and I don't want to buy a bunch of stuff I'm not going to wear again.

In other news, I went to the gym tonight. I haven't been in forever, so I was pretty happy that I managed to elliptical 4.2 miles in 42 minutes. I also did my usual weights. I am thinking about running a race at the end of May. I haven't totally convinced myself I can do it, so I haven't signed up yet. I know that I'm in much better shape then I give myself credit for, but I still have doubts in my running ability.

I have 5 more pounds to loose to make my next mini-goal...BMI of 25! I really hope to make it before my cousins wedding in two weeks, but I'm going to keep it real and be happy if I loose 3 of the 5 pounds.

Another busy weekend

2007-04-29T21:42:00.000-04:00

It seems like it has been ages since we actually had a weekend to just relax. This weekend was really busy. We were up earl on Saturday to start house work. We got a good chunk of cleaning done before we decided to head out to run some errands. Running errands ended up turning into a two hour adventure at the mall. We went to shop for a new rug for our breakfast room but ended up buying clothes instead. I needed clothes for my cousins up coming wedding and Jarrett needed jeans. It just so happened we hit an awesome sale. I found two new dresses that are very cute. I even found shoes on sale :)

Saturday night we went to a concert at the Vogue. Jarrett got tickets to see Patty Griffin. She is a folk singer from Nashville. She has a great and voice and a very good band. The best part was the show was non-smoking! I haven't been to a concert in almost two years, so it was nice to get out for an evening.

Sunday was another busy day. Riding lesson in the morning, a trip to Menard's to buy a new weed eater and finally a few hours of yard work. The yard looks very nice. Unfortunately, I lost two of my favorite flowers that we planted last year. Next weekend, we are going to find something to replace the ones that died.

It's going to be another busy week. Next weekend, Jarrett is running the Mini. I hope to be there to cheer him at the finish. I just have to get out of work at a reasonable time.

Life Update

2007-04-25T20:14:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since my last post. Here is what's been going on:

-I left for Philly last week on Monday and spent two days being educated about environmental issues within the baking industry. This was actually a worthwhile trip and my travel went very smoothly. My only complaint is that it is IMPOSSIBLE to eat healthy at an airport. I managed to make it back without gaining any weight, but I definitely did not loose any weight. I did workout in the gym at the hotel for about an hour and got plenty of walking in at the airport.

-Friday I went to Lafayette to help load the horses for the show. Frosty was great! He hopped right on the trailer and didn't even make a fuss about wearing his shipping boots. We got to the Horse Park about 11:30 am and immediately had to get horses ready for a cross country clinic. Christy rode Frosty for his first cross country outing and he did AWESOME! He wasn't afraid of anything! Everyone did really well at the clinic and no one fell off :)

-Saturday was the show. Show days start super early. Jarrett's parents were kind enough to let us stay with them and took care of the girls for us while we were busy with the horses. My events were at 9:00, 10:30, and 1:30. That may sound like a long time between events, but by the time you actually tack your horse, warm-up and ride, it feels like your rushed. Luckily, I had my handy horse husband to help groom, tack, and carry various stuff. He is very good about helping all the girls get to their tests on time and making sure no one forgot anything. He has also gotten very good at giving a leg up.
Frosty was a little worked up for our first test. He was upset about leaving his friends at the barn and spent a good amount of time hollering at them. For this being his first show, he was pretty well behaved. He didn't leap out of the dressage arena or any silliness of that nature. The show was a combined training show which means you could either enter only dressage or jumping and dressage. We did both. I was horrible nervous about the jumping part of the show. I'm totally out of practice at jumping and Frosty had only jumped five times prior to the show. Last year, I psyched myself out and ended up scratching my jumping round. This year, I actually did it! I was very proud of myself. It was very reassuring watching Frosty take to the cross country course like a pro the day before. I knew if he could jump a 3 foot solid obstacle stuck in the middle of a field while people drove golf carts around him, he could handle a little cross rail. He did great. We had a clear round with no refusals and no rails down :) He almost stopped at the third fence, but at the last second he determined that he could just step over it. The rest of the round went very well. He actually started to get into the rhythm by the end of the course. Our scores from the morning dressage and jumping ended up landing us a 4th place! The last event of the day was another dressage test. We ended up getting a 3rd place in that event! We ended the day with a lovely dinner with all of our horse people.

-Sunday was another fun day. Frosty got to do cross country again, this time with me riding. He did great. I got yelled at...a lot. I have a problem of not keeping my heels down and jumping ahead. This is because I do not jump enough. Solution...jump more. By the end of the day, my position had improved and it just shows, practice makes perfect.

Here is a link to pictures of me at the horse show: Show Pictures 2007

This week has been kind of rough. I started feeling kind of sick on Monday and by Tuesday I'd come down with a sinus infection. I went to the barn for my lesson Tuesday and ended up having to get off after about 3 minutes because I got a massive nose bleed. I've never had a nose bleed like that before and I hope I never do again. I went to work this morning, but left around 2:00 pm because my head was killing me.

I missed my Weight Watcher's weigh-in last week due to traveling. Tomorrow it's back to face the scale. I honestly have no clue whether I lost any weight or not. I guess I'll find out tomorrow!