Complete Randomness

Got up bright and early this morning - 5:15 am - that's pretty early for a Saturday morning.  I was out the door by 6:30 am for a 9 mile run.  It was my longest run in at least a year.  The run went very well.  I averaged an 11:45 pace - much slower than that possible 11:26 pace for the half marathon pace group, but still a decent pace for me.  I was pretty spent after 9 miles though.....13 is still going to be tough.  My legs are extremely sore.  It was a pretty hilly run.  I really wish I had more time to train.  Oh well, I can do it, but I don't think the 2:30 half marathon is in the cards for me this time.  Maybe next time?

After my run I came home, stretched, showered and headed back out the door at 10:30 am for brunch with a couple of girlfriends (hence the early Saturday morning wake up).  I must really, really like them.  I do :)  We went to this really great vegan/vegetarian restaurant in downtown KC.  I meant to take a picture of my food but forgot.  I had apple cheddar bruschetta - AMAZING!! 

After lunch, I headed out the door again to go see a movie with my sister.  We went to see Soul Surfer.  It was better than I expected - a little cheesy, but a very inspirational story - bring tissues.  For the record however, Carrie Underwood - not the world's best actress.  She was painfully bad in this movie.

Finally home again....but decided to take Jack for a walk.  It was gorgeous in KC again today.  Temps in the upper 80s and sunny.  It was a little windy, but that's ok.  Jack as always, had a great time - and was excited for his second walk of the day.  After we got home I did a little yard work and then headed to dinner with Jim.  The dinner was pretty lousy, but the company of course was wonderful.  We did eat outside on the patio.....did I mention the weather here was awesome today?

I had a great, but busy Saturday.  Another busy day tomorrow - housework and taxes = no fun at all!! I also plan to go to hot yoga to help stretch out my sore muscles.

Did you notice my new favicon?  Don't know what that is?  It's the pic in the left hand corner that usually shows a big orange B - now it's a cute turtle.  Want your own?  Dion at Favicon Fixer will make you your very own.  It's very easy and it's the new bloggy thing to do!

Throwback Thursday – My First Triathlon

Since I wasn’t blogging back then, and because I couldn’t think of another topic, I thought I’d tell a little tale about my first Triathlon experience.  Here goes:

In 2009, I completed my first two big racing events.  I completed a half marathon in Lincoln, NE and one in Kansas City, MO.  I LOVED the racing experience.  I was totally hooked.  I also realized, I wasn’t so hooked on the actual “running” thing.  Unlike my husband Jim, I didn’t live to run, I ran because I wanted to enjoy the race experience.  So, I started toying with the idea of triathlon because it wasn’t just running.  I wish I could say I was a strong biker or swimmer, so it just seemed natural, but that wasn’t the case.  I owned a hybrid bike, but the tires were literally dry rotted.  I hadn’t even sat my butt on it in probably 10 years.  I absolutely loved the water, but I had never actually been a swimmer – no lessons or understanding of technique.  But what the heck, why couldn't I bike, swim and run?  I started doing some Internet research and found a decent size Women’s Sprint Triathlon in the area and I went to their website from time to time and just “thought” about doing it.

For Christmas in 2009, Jim bought me “Triathlon Training for Dummies”.  I thought it was great.  I read it cover to cover.  I kept thinking to myself, I can do this.  A sprint will probably take me under 2 hours, and a half marathon took me almost 3 hours – so from an endurance perspective I know I can do this.  So, I signed up – now I was committed.  I took a beginner’s orientation clinic which was a big help.  They talked about transition, and biking form, we even got to get in the pool and have our stroke (or lack thereof) analyzed.  At that clinic I won an entrance into another triathlon in the fall.  What??  I haven’t even done 1 triathlon, now I’m signed up for two!  After that class I went and purchased a new road bike – an introductory level bike.  I was SCARED to death on the bike.  I would ride around my neighborhood a few miles and just knew I was going to crash and die.  I finally ventured out to a little local trail, but I hated to ride to it because I had to ride on a real road, and cross a real street with a traffic light.  I was literally petrified every second on the bike. 

In the summer, I ran across a Triathlon 101 class.  It was an all women’s class.  You got to swim (in a lake), bike, and run in almost every class – as a group.  My confidence on the bike improved tremendously.  I was finally feeling more comfortable in open water – although my swim stroke was still completely awful.  I also realized, I am truly the world’s slowest runner – generally finishing last in class on the run portions of our workouts.  The class was awesome.  I met some awesome women and fellow triathletes.  I didn't feel so all alone anymore.

The triathlon finally arrived.  I had a goal time of 1 hour and 45 minutes.  I arrived in the wee hours of the morning – around 5:00 am.  The triathlon was an hour from my house, so this meant getting up at around 2:45 am and leaving by 4:00 am.  It was a very, very early morning indeed.  On the drive there I was certain that the car was on fire.  I kept smelling something weird and asking Jim over and over – do you smell that – what is that – is the car of fire?  I think he seriously wanted to kill me.  I was just a bundle of nerves, the smallest thing a distraction.

I arrived and got my transition area set up.  The swim started in waves based on your anticipated swim time.  I was one of the later groups to go.  Standing in line waiting for the race to start was brutal.  I was so nervous I thought I might throw up.  Finally the whistle blew and it was my turn to jump in the water.  With each stroke the nerves went away.  The swim was hard; it was only 500 meters, but it took a lot out of me.  I don’t even remember all the details now.  It was kind of  blur after it started.  I somehow managed to get out of the water and on my bike.  The bike portion went pretty well.  I even passed some people – wahoo – go me.  I came back for the final leg.  I was TIRED, but I was ready to get the run completed.  I ran out of the transition area, and literally was stopped in my tracks.  My left calf cramped up so bad I couldn’t run, heck I couldn’t walk.  I had to stop and stretch it out.  I ended up having to walk/run the 3.1 mile run portion of the triathlon and my calf would continue to give me pain for the rest of the summer.  But in the end, I finished with a smile on my face and my official time was 1:37:38.  I beat my goal time by several minutes and I was officially a TRIATHLETE.  I still finished pretty low in the "leader board", but that was ok.  It was a great experience.  Later that summer I completed two more Sprint Triathlons.  Not too bad for a beginner.  This year in September I will complete my first Olympic Distance Triathlon and I can’t wait!

Official Times:
Swim - 500 Meters - 14:51
Bike - 10 Miles - 38:23
Run - 3.1 (5K) - 40:06
Total Time:  1:37:38

 

Arriving bright and early - but all smiles!

A friend I met in Tri 101

Looking nervous preparing for the swim



Really looking nervous - waiting to get in the lake



T1 - I made it out of the water alive

Done!!  So relieved and happy!

First Tri complete - still all smiles!

Question:  Do any of you ever deal with calf cramping after the bike?  In all three triathlons last summer my calves cramped up from the bike to run transition.  I never could figure out exactly what was causing it. 

Soft Skin and Final Vegetarian Recap

Yesterday I came home to a beautiful package in the mail from Coy at First in Philly.  Coy swims and like most of us deals with the dry skin that comes along with the pool (and winter too of course).  She tried the new Dove Nutrium product and loved it so much she wanted to give a bottle away.  Wahoo for me – I won the bottle of Dove.


Look how happy I am with my bottle of Dove!



Isn't this a pretty package?  I thought it was cool!

I just tried it out for the first time this morning.  It does make your skin feel very soft.  It promises noticeable results in just 1 week.  I will let you know what I think about it after I’ve used it for awhile.  And who knows, maybe I’ll keep it going and giveaway a bottle as well.

If you don’t follow First in Philly – well then you totally should be.  She’s really funny.  She does awesome things on the treadmill – like the number below and she’s also trying to run distance in her VFFs.  Check out her blog!



Hope she doesn't mind me stealing her blog pic :)

****************************************

Well, as most of you know I declared the month of March as “Michael’s March Madness Vegetarian Challenge”.  I was vegetarian from February 27 – April 3. 

So, I’m sure the biggest question is – am I now a vegetarian?  No, I am not.  I hope this doesn’t disappoint some of my vegetarian/vegan readers.  However, although I do not plan to call myself a vegetarian, this challenge will completely change the way I eat and feel about meat. 

During the entire time period I felt great.  I had tons of energy and I never felt like I was missing out on anything.  I posted some great run times and have been training regularly.  So I know it didn’t impact my training and if anything it honestly boosted my training.  My biggest issue with being a vegetarian was convenience.  I know that’s a pretty lame excuse, but it was difficult to eat out.  Sure there are salad options at almost any restaurant, but sometimes you want something other than a salad, and at several restaurants that was pretty much your only option.   I enjoy eating out and spending time with my husband, family, and friends – it’s just part of what we do.  I hated being the person constantly trying to find some place “I could eat”.  I got that question a lot when we went out, well “where can YOU eat?”.

While I am not going 100% vegetarian; I will probably now consider myself semi-vegetarian.  I realize  that I do not need meat everyday to survive – and certainly not at every meal.  I will eat meat on occasion, but it won’t be part of my everyday nutrition.  I loved trying new foods and coming up with creative new dinner recipes like my “Chipotle Inspired” burrito bowls.  This was one of my absolute favorites and mostly healthy (it would be healthier without the cheese and sour cream – but yum).  It’s just brown rice, black beans, fajita veggies, pico, roasted corn, cheese, light sour cream, and homemade guacamole (just an avocado mashed up with some salsa and lime juice).  I also made my own tortilla chips.  I took some corn tortillas and lightly brushed them with olive oil, sprinkled them with some sea salt, cut them into wedges, and baked them in the oven at 400 degrees for like 5 minutes.  They were great.  This was also one of Jim’s favorite meals.

Burrito Bowl without Chips



Burrito Bowl with homemade chips (color isn't very good)

 I can’t say I won’t eventually become vegetarian full time, but for now I am officially semi-vegetarian.  I really loved the experience, and I’m so glad I did this.

What do you do to keep your skin soft after hours in the pool?

What new changes have you made to your diet/nutrition plan?

Multiple Monday Mutterings

Random thoughts and pics.  

Is it possible to be any cuter?


 

Yes, yes it is possible.


Yesterday was our first Royals game of the Season!  The weather was awesome.  It reached 91 degrees - it was pretty warm, but also windy!



Me & Jim



The "K"



Me & Jim again

The game went 13 innings.  The Royals won.  We left early.....13 innings = way too much baseball for me :)

After the game we came home.  Later that night we got quite the hail storm.  Large hail mixed with 25-30 mph is scary.  We were pretty sure the hail was going to break a window.  Luckily it did not.  My next door neighbor posted this pic of the hail on his FB page today.



That's some pretty big hail!!

Question of the Day:  If you are a triathlete - do you also run distance races - i.e. half marathons and marathons?  If so how many days a week do you run?  I'm trying to gage how many days I should run when I start training for my marathon, if I'm still cross training.  Thanks!!  Happy Monday! 

Signs of Spring and a new PR?

Ahhhhh......signs of Spring are everywhere.  Today was AWESOME.  It was in the Mid 70s and sunny almost all day.  I had a 7 mile "long" training run today and it was about 50 degrees when I started, the temps warmed up quickly and my long sleeve shirt was a little too hot by the time I was done.  But all in all, I had a GREAT run and set a new 5K PR.  Now it's not an official PR because it wasn't in a race, but the first 3.1 miles of my run this morning were at 34:05 - that's an overall pace of 10:58.  My best race pace for a 5K is 11:16, with a time of 34:58.  Shaving off 53 seconds may not seem like a big deal, but I was super happy about it!!  I know it's not technically a PR, but I am "unofficially" counting it as one.

To tell the truth, I probably definitely went out way too fast those first few miles.  I honestly wasn't trying to go so fast (fast for me - I know this is insanely slow for most of you) , it just kind of happened.  I was trying to focus on my form and just stay really relaxed and loose and next thing I know I looked down and had done a 10:48 mile in my second mile.  After I saw that, I have to admit I was motivated to try a little harder, and just see what that 5K time might look like.  I definitely slowed down a bit for the final 4 miles, but still ended with an overall pace of 11:25 - 1 second faster per mile than last week's 6 mile run.  I feel like I am starting to improve somewhat in my running.....so I need to be very careful not to get re-injured.  That's usually seems to be what happens to me every time I make some gains.

So other signs of Spring besides this gorgeous weather:





My first pedicure of the season (sorry if feet gross you out)

My Weeping Cherry tree is starting to bloom

And Jack is one very Happy Dog!  He got to go on not 1, but 2 walks today and spend some playtime in the backyard.

Having so much fun!

Just Chillin'


Huh.....go back inside...why would we do that?


And tomorrow - Jim and I are heading to the stadium to see our first baseball game of the season.  Go Royals!



It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Super Star Bloggers!

First off, I have been a bit needy this week – what kind of goggles do I need, should I user a pacer, etc…so THANK YOU to everyone who took time to provide great feedback and comments.  You guys all ROCK!!  I think I will wait a few weeks to make that call on the pacer.



I'm sending you all a great big bear hug (that's Jim not me)!

And thanks to those of you who take the time to read my blog every day.  I still can’t believe it – I have 72 followers – how did that happen?  I’m just a below average athlete who doesn’t have a whole lot to offer you, but man do you guys have a lot to offer me.  I am truly inspired daily by the AWESOME blog community!

That said, I wanted to give a few shout outs to some of the awesome things you guys are doing:

Jason at Cook, Train, Eat, Race – Jason is competing in his first Half Ironman on Saturday.  Good Luck Jason!  You will be amazing and your blog is one of my favorites.

Hannah at More Than a Marathon  – Hannah is completing her first Ultra Marathon on Saturday.  She is an awesome marathon runner and she will totally ROCK it!

LB at My Reason to Run – LB just finished her very first Triathlon and she did GREAT of course!

Cory at Fast Cory - He just ran his first 50 Mile Race and he did the first 24  by himself!!

Rose at Eat, Drink, and Be Meiri - She just ran her first 50 Mile Ultra Marathon.  She rocks!

Also, if you haven't already - sign up for the Next GREAT Virtual Race.  The Jelly Bean Race is a 5K or 10K hosted by Jess at Run with Jess.

I know I probably didn’t catch everyone, but honestly everyone out there in the blogging community is so great.  You all do amazing things every single day.  Keep up the GREAT work everyone!

Who would you give a shout out to?

To Pace or Not to Pace, That is the Question?

My next half marathon is just 4 ½ weeks away.  My longest training run to date has only been 6 miles.  I had really hoped to get in a strong training cycle for this half marathon, but due to my back injury I started training late – probably a little too late.  My longest run going into the Half will be 10 miles – and that will be the weekend prior to the Half.  Not ideal, because other than race week I have no real taper period, but I think that’s ok, since my training cycle has been fairly short.

I’ve mentioned before in my blog that I’m a very slow runner.  I know, I know – “slow” is relative – but no matter how you slice it I’m slow.  I have completed two previous Halfs with times of 2:52 and 2:50 (that’s a 13:07 and12:58 pace).  I only trained for 6 weeks for the first Half and a full 16 weeks for the second Half.  My biggest problem in the second one was that although I trained and trained hard, I didn’t train for hills and it was a very hilly course. My average pace time on shorter runs is between 11:30 and 12:00 – so I was really hoping that if I didn’t have to walk any in this Half, I would be able to set a new PR.  If I just maintained a steady 12 minute mile pace my time would be 2:37. 

So, I was considering using a pacer during this race.  In both of my previous races I just ran – by myself, no friend to run with, no pacer.  However, I just looked at the OKC Race website and they only offer pacers up to 2 hours and 30 minutes.  That would be an 11:26 pace.  Last week I ran 6 miles at exactly an 11:26 pace – but that was only 6 miles.  I’m not sure I could maintain an 11:26 over 13.1 miles at this point.  I really don’t think I will have it in me to run the whole thing.

So, what are your thoughts?  Should I run with a pacer of 2:30?  Would it be good to push myself – or would that be pushing myself too much?  Have you ever used a pacer in a race?  Did you like/not like it?  I could always start with the pacer and if it was too difficult I could leave the pace group.

Help, I need opinions!