A great weekend!

My brick:
I got up super early on Sunday because I had a 3hr. bike/30min. run brick scheduled and I wanted to get it done before all of the festivities began!  I set my alarm at 4:45, and got to the bike trail by 5:40.  This is what the sky looked like when I got out of my car:

There were some pretty ominous clouds overhead and I was just hoping that I could get my ride in before it rained.  I set off and right away I loved how quiet and peaceful everything was.  I was the only person on the bike path, the air was crisp and cool, and the early morning light made everything look beautiful.  I definitely need to do more early morning rides!
I decided to do a route inside Chatfield Park because it has a good mix of hills, fast flats, and lots of steady inclines. I got into my groove and started cranking out the miles.  Because of the impending storm there was some wind.  And of course, the headwind was during the steady inclines and hills.  Ugh!  It started sprinkling a little bit, and I was afraid the skies might open up, but they never did.  Phew!  My legs started to feel fatigued around the 1:45 mark, but I kept on keeping on and ended up riding for about 2:40.  I would have ridden longer, but I made it back to my car sooner than I thought and didn't feel like going back out again.

The sky was still pretty dark, so I was hoping again to finish my run before the rain came.  I actually don't mind running in the rain, but it's nice not to have soaking clothes when you finish a workout.  I changed into my running stuff and headed out.  I thought my legs would be completely dead, but I was surprised by how good they felt.  There were a lot of people on the trail by this time and I saw lots of families biking with their kids.  It was awesome!  I got back to my car and snapped this picture:

Another brick for the books!  Woohoo! :) 

Rain and fireworks:

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Later that night we got everything ready to take our boys to see the fireworks.  The city of Aurora puts on a great display around 9:30pm and people just park on the roads/parking lots and watch them from around their cars.  Usually, you can park and sit in an open field to watch the fireworks.  Mother nature had other plans though.  Remember the rain I was afraid about?  Well, it decided to start pouring around 6:30pm.  We didn't know what we were going to do about watching the fireworks, but we made our way over to the area anyways around 8pm.  The rain actually stopped for about 30minutes and we set up a canopy tent just in case we had to watch the fireworks in the rain.  We were all able to play soccer/frisbee/beach ball outside, and the boys were having lots of fun.  But then, it was like a scene from Armageddon.  The sky got black and the dark clouds started moving across the sky super fast.  Then, came the lightning and the rain.  We had just enough time to get in the car before it started pouring once again.  The car is where we sat for about an hour.  Now, if you have small children you know that being couped up in a car is not ideal.  But, they did pretty good and pretty soon the fireworks started.  We headed out, in the pouring rain, and huddled underneath our canopy.  It was pretty hilarious actually!  In the end, it was completely worth it to see the excitement on our boys' faces as they watched the sky light up with beautiful colors! :)

Birthday fun:
My oldest son turned 5 today.  :)  Because his birthday is right after the 4th of July holiday, we always have his birthday party in late June.  So, what do you do to make a boy's 5th birthday fun?
How about a trip to Chuck E. Cheese!

 Gotta love the off-road jeep ride! Ha ha :) 

Oh, but that's not all.   After the boys took a nap, we loaded them up in the burley and rode our bikes to the swim beach.  I think the whole city was there, but we still had fun swimming in the water and playing in the sand.  After we had our fill of vitamin D, we rode to Jimmy John's for some dinner, followed of course with a chocolate dipped cone at Dairy Queen.  They're right next to each other and you have to give your kid some kind of dessert for their birthday!  Right?  Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! :)  I think we were able to make our son's day special, and it was just a great end to a great holiday weekend.  

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend!  

A long run gone bad

Today I was scheduled to do a slow, long 10M run, and I was pretty excited about doing it.  My husband got up super early and did a long bike ride, so by the time he got home I started my run about 10.  The first thing I noticed when I walked outside was the humidity.  It's been awhile since I've run outside in the heat and humidity, but I just wasn't prepared for what was to come.

I waved to my boys who were watching from the window and headed out.  I really wanted to focus on slowing down my pace and doing an actual slow, long run.  According to the awesome McMillan Running Calculator, my long run pace should be between 8:51-9:51.  I knew this would be a challenge because it is just hard for me to SLOW down when I'm running.  I don't know what it is, but it's something I need to work on, especially since I'm training for a marathon.  Anyways, for the first few miles I was around an 8:30 pace.  I kept telling myself to slow down and finally I was able to maintain around a 8:50 pace.  It was hard, but I was doing it!  Around the same time I really started to notice how hot and fumid (thanks for the term Jon!) it was!  I was thankful that I had Nuun in my water bottle because I was sweating like crazy.  I was trying to drink as much as I could, but the water was just not sitting well in my stomach and I felt constantly thirsty.  I knew this could lead to some problems later in my run, and I was right.

I decided to do an out and back course with a little loop thrown in the middle.  I was feeling pretty good until around 4.5 miles into my run.  I ate a Gu thinking it would give me the boost I needed, but it didn't work.  Shortly after I started cramping really bad.  It hurt so bad to run, but I kept going.  Then my back started getting little cramps.  Ugh!  At this point I knew there was no way I was going to be able to run the full 10M.  I kept thinking about how I might have to run in these same conditions for my HIM, and again, doubt crept into my head about whether or not I'm going to be ready.
  
I got back to the park where I had done a loop and just decided to head back home which was about 2 miles away.  I came to a hill and walked up it.  I rarely walk when I'm out for a run, but my body was really shutting down.  I kept burping and feeling like I was going to puke.  It felt like I had a huge ball of something inside my chest right below my sternum.  The funny thing was that I kept thinking that if I did end up puking, at least I would get the pukie award from BDD! Ha ha!  That thought, in and of itself, made me feel a little better, and I kept going.

Around the 6M point, my legs got really heavy and I was having a hard time picking them up.  I was a complete mess!  I would see a stop light up ahead and pray that it would turn red just so I would have an excuse to stop and take a break.  Well, someone must have heard my prayers, because I literally hit every red light on my way back home.  I passed some guy going the opposite direction and he said, "You better run faster because there's a bear chasing you!"  Really guy?  At the last light, I was getting really light headed and knew I had to get home fast.  Now, I know my body well enough that when I get like this, passing out is almost inevitable.  I got off the main road, turned onto my street and walked the 2 blocks back to my house.  Even when I was walking I was going so slow.  I got closer to home and saw my husband open the door to let me in.  He saw me and asked if I was alright, then I just laid down in the grass and told him that I just needed some time to rest.  He promptly brought me inside where it was cool, handed me an ice pack for my neck, and got me a big glass of ice water to drink.  He knew just what I needed and that ice pack felt sooo good!  He made sure I was alright, then went downstairs to continue watching the Tour de France time trials...ha ha...gotta love him! :)  

  Post-run picture.  Red, hot, sweaty, and thankful to be done!  Notice the "rocky mt. peaks" on my visor!

Although I didn't do the full 10M, I still got 7M in and am happy that I was even able to do that.  Looking back, I know I was dehydrated from the get go.  I thought I had hydrated enough, but I just wasn't expecting the humidity.  It really is amazing how it effects how you run.  Next time I will definitely be more prepared.

I hope you all have a happy 4th of July weekend! :)    

A week in review and other things too

Training:
*  Now that my sprint tri is done, I can get back to my HIM training.  I cannot believe it is a little over a month away!  I am starting to get a little nervous about it.  Last year, my HIM was in September so I literally trained for it the entire summer.  This year, my HIM is in August and I'm starting to question whether I have done enough.  I know I still have a month to go, but the uncertainty is definitely starting to creep into my brain.

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*  After another swim freak out in my tri, I decided to register for the local Aquaman series. It is a local series where you can do a swim only, or a swim/5k run.  They do them every Tuesday night into August.  The distances go from 1/2M swim to 2M, so I'm really excited about it.  I did the first swim only "race" on Tuesday and I think it will be just what I need.  I think my problem with tri swims is the mass start and swimming with people all around me.  So, my hope is that this event will give me enough skills needed to prevent me from freaking out so much.  I'll let you know how it goes!
     **Did you know that Aquaman is an actual superhero?  Apparently, he is Master of the oceans!  How cool is that ?! :)

*     I have haven't been able to attend my weekly yoga class for the last couple of weeks because family has been in town or I've had other commitments.  I really miss it and can't wait to get back to it next week!

Other things too:
*   So, I went to the Gluten free clinic at Whole Foods last week with my mom and it was pretty interesting.  We got some information and basically just did a tour of the store where we could find gluten free things.  My mom is convinced that my sister and her daughter have Celiac disease or some form of gluten allergy, so it was great for her.  I am amazed at how many options there are for people that cannot eat gluten.  For me though, I do not think I could ever eat completely gluten free.  Nor do I need to.  However, I was introduced to some amazing grains that I could eat, cook, and bake with.  As an athlete, I have read how eating gluten free can increase your performance, speed recovery, and give you more energy.  But, I think you can do that by just being more conscience of what you put in your body and trying to stay as close to "whole" foods as you can.  What do you think about eating gluten free?


*  My husband is doing a ride called the Triple Bypass next weekend.  It is an 120 mile bike ride that goes over 3 mountain passes in Colorado.  He did it last year and loved it, so he's doing it again this year.  I don't think there is any way that I could do that ride, but he is an amazing climber!  My boys and I are going to drive up and meet him at a couple of the aid stations along the way to cheer him on.  Then, we'll be spending a couple of days/nights in the mountains hiking, running, and enjoying the great outdoors!  I can't wait! :)

*  My oldest son turns 5 on Monday.  I cannot believe 5 years have gone by since he was born.  He has turned into quite the little man.  :)

*   I loved having my parents here for a visit!  They live in AZ, so we probably see each other 2-3 times a year.  The boys absolutely adore their grandma and grandpa, so it was great for them too.  I love you mom and dad!

I think that's it for now!  I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!  We'll be taking the boys to a local fire works display, so it should be fun!

I did, but I didn't

SheROX Spring Tri Race Report:
If any of you remember from my last post, my goal for this race was not to PR, but to do better in the swim.  For those of you who don't feel like reading through my entire race report, I can say that I kind of reached my goal, but also ended up getting a PR, but I still don't know how I feel about this race.  Let me explain.

The Swim:

Pre-swim

I was excited to see that I was in the first swim wave.  I have never been in the first wave, so I was pretty happy that I'd be the first group in.  All of the 25-34 yr. olds were grouped together and there were about 80 of us.  I got my wetsuit on and headed to the water.  They announced that the water temp. was 67 degrees and it actually felt refreshing.  I did a couple practice laps and felt good.  I saw my family about 10 min. before my start time and went over to talk to them while I waited.  It was great to have them there for support.  :)  Finally, it was time to head to the start.  I just kept repeating in my head, "You can do this, you can do this, don't freak out!"  I got in the water and lined up near the front.  I know I'm not a fast swimmer, but I am done with starting near the middle or back.  All that leads to, for me, is more people kicking me and lots of confusion.  So, I start at the front and if people want to pass me they can.  This may make some fast swimmers mad, but I have found in tris I HAVE to do what's best for me to get through the swim.
Anyways, they did a count down, then we were off.  I actually felt good in the beginning.  I was swimming fast and was in a rhythm.  One person tried to swim over me, which I wasn't about going to let happen, so I did a big kick to get them off.  It worked.  I continued to the first buoy and still felt pretty good, but I kept running into people and people kept running into me.  I could not for the life of me find a clear path to swim.  A couple of times I had to stop and side stroke to find a path of my own.  I was breathing so hard and my heart rate was sky rocketing.  Finally I saw the finish arch and soon was at the finish!  I got to the sand and heard my family cheering!  It was great.  I was having a hard time catching my breath and had to walk part way up the LONG path from the water to the transition area.  I got the top of my wetsuit off and felt so much better.  I thought I had a good swim so in a way I met my goal, but I really didn't because of my time.  I was pretty disappointed and just really frustrated when I got my results.

Swim:  750yds + long run from sand to transition
Time: 21:03....Ugh!
Rank: 90/322

T1:
My wetsuit came off great.  My bike shoes, helmet, and glasses went on and I was out of there!  My bike was in the closest rack to the bike exit, so I didn't have to run far in my shoes!  Woohoo!
Time: 1:28   (Not bad, but I would really like to get this down)

Bike:
The bike was interesting to me.  I didn't get a chance to pre-ride or even drive the course (they had part of it closed), so I had no idea what to expect.  But, once I got on the course I was instantly brought back in time to my Half Ironman I did this past fall because parts of the bike course were the same.  There were a lot of rolling hills, some big hills, and lots of turns.  So, I would be going fast downhill or on a flat section and just start to get into a groove when I would have to slow way down in order to make the turns without crashing or getting caught in the loose gravel that was all over the course.  It was a royal pain actually.  And for that reason, I didn't really like the course.  But, I passed some women, never got passed, and felt like I pushed myself, so I was happy with how I did.  As I came into transition there was a guy that yelled, "Go get em, you're the 10th person in!"  I didn't know what age group the women in front of me were because the 25-34 yr olds were all lumped together, but my competitiveness kicked in and I wanted to try and catch them on the run!  

Bike: 10Miles  (My Garmin actually said I rode 10.92 miles....so I'm not sure if the course was accurate??)
Time: 34:11      
Avg. MPH: 17.6  I thought this sounded really low, but when I considered the hills and turns, it makes sense.
Rank:  11/322

T2:
I got my bike in and my helmet and shoes off without any problems.  Then, when I went to put on my running socks I noticed my right sock and shoe were completely wet. What the heck??  Then I realized that when I took my wetsuit off I draped it such that one of the legs led right to my shoe.  So the whole time I was riding my bike, the water from my wetsuit was draining into my shoe.  The cool thing though was that I brought my Smartwool16

Run:
I started the run and my legs felt so heavy and slow.  But, when I looked at my Garmin I was doing around a 7:20 pace!  With every tri, I am still amazed by how I feel so slow but am actually running pretty well.  It took me about a mile for me to get my legs back, especially since the course had some rollers, and by then I was almost half way done.  I could see women ahead of me and I just kept focused on them.  With every step I got closer and closer.  I passed one woman in my age group before the turn around and started picking up the pace on the way back.  I passed 2 more women, all in my age group, and I was so excited!  I was coming up to another women and a woman going the opposite direction said, "Go get her!"  It was awesome!  I had about .1 mile to go when I came upon another women, again in my age group.  I picked up the speed as much as I could and as I passed her I said, "Good job" and she said, "Kick it in!"

Me trying to sprint to the finish.  The girl in blue behind me is the last one I passed.

I gave it all I could and could hear and see my family and boys cheering for me.  That gave me the extra energy I needed and I crossed the finish line with a huge smile on my face.  :)

Run: 3.1M
Time: 22:24       Avg. Pace: 7:14  
Rank: 10/322

Overall Time: 1:20:20   A new PR!!!  
Overall Place:  14/322
Div(30-34)Place: 4/63

When I saw my results, I could not believe that I got 4th place!  I was so happy, but then I decided to see what I missed 3rd place by.  16 seconds!  Can you believe it?  I looked at the results a little closer and this is what I discovered (get ready for a pity party):  I did better than the 2nd and 3rd place finishers on the bike and the run, but my swim was a good 4 minutes slower than theirs.  Now, I compete in triathlons for fun because I love the do them, but it is so frustrating to know that I could have placed if I would have just had a better swim.  And this just wasn't a bad race day, this has been a repeating pattern for pretty much every tri that I do!  I don't know what to do anymore.  I've done lessons and am still going to Masters swim practices, and nothing is working.  I am just so frustrated!  (Pity party over)

Overall though, I had a great race!  Without Limits did an awesome job with the event and I had fun, which is ultimately what it is all about.  Oh, and getting a new PR for a sprint tri isn't bad either! :)

A week in review and other things too

I'm going to do this post in a little different format from my regular end of the week posts because things are crazy busy here and I only have a short amount of time to post! :)

* My parents flew in on Wednesday and we have been having tons of fun!  My boys sure do love having their grandparents here!  One thing we did today was go to the swim beach at the Cherry Creek Reservoir.  I have been meaning to take the boys there, but have been a little intimidated about going by myself with two young boys that don't know how to swim.  But, we went and had so much fun!  The boys absolutely loved it and it is a huge area that is just perfect for little kids.  I will definitely be making this a weekly event this summer.

*  I got a new suit!  I ended up getting a Durafast Poly TYR suit and love it.  Now, usually I stick with a solid black suit for training, but I couldn't resist this one.  As soon as I saw it, it reminded me of my honeymoon in Kauai and I was just drawn to it.  It made me happy when I put it on, so maybe it will motivate me to get in the pool more!  :)  Plus, it was 1/2 the price of the solid ones because it was a print.  Nice!
I think I'm definitely going to get a Splish suit at some point (thanks for the idea!), but I just couldn't put off my swim training to wait for it to be shipped.

*  I got my free shirt in the mail from Patrick at The Road (A Multi-Sport Blog) and I absolutely love it! Thanks Patrick! :)

*  I have been hearing A LOT about the Gluten free diet and am really intrigued by it.  So, Whole Foods is actually having a seminar about it tomorrow that my mom and I are going to.  I'll let you know what I learn!  Do any of your eat Gluten free?

*  I have the SheRox tri race expo/packet pick-up tomorrow afternoon.  I'm hoping to be able to get in a swim at the reservoir where the race is to get a feel for the water, but we'll see how the day goes.  I'm getting really anxious for the race on Sunday.  My goal for the race is not to PR, but to do better than my last tri during the swim and not freak out and revert to the dreaded breast stroke!  If I can do that, then I will be happy with how I did.  I could use any spare good/fast/fish swim vibes you may have! :)  

*  We're planning on taking our boys to see Toy Story 3 on Sunday after my race.  I've heard from several people that they cried and to bring Kleenex!  I've been known to cry at kids' movies before (hello!  Did anyone see Up?).  

I hope you all have a great weekend!  :)  

New Suit???

What do you think?  Is it time for a new swimming suit?

Yes, that is sunlight shining through.  It makes me wonder if the old guy swimming laps this morning caught a glimpse of something he shouldn't have.  

It is a couple of years old, but I swear it just started disintegrating this past week.  They've been changing the chemicals in the pool and I think they were just too much for the suit to handle.  I absolutely HATE swimming suit shopping, as I'm sure all women do, but I guess it's time to bite the bullet and get a new one.  Wish me luck! :)

A week in review and other things too

Training:
*  After our camping trip, I was really ready this week to get back into training mode.  I feel like I had a pretty good week, but probably could/should have done more.  But, with my son's b-day party on Saturday, I just couldn't get some things done.  It is what it is.

*  I had a great swim at Masters swim class this Thursday.  I can feel myself getting faster in the pool, which is awesome.  But, I just hope it transfers to the open water come race day.  I have another sprint tri this Sunday and I'm hoping the swim will go much better than it did earlier this month!

*  Speaking of races, I am excited to do the SheRox tri on Sunday!  It will be my first year doing it and I'm really looking forward to it.  Then, after that, it's only 6 more weeks until Boulder 70.3!  Yikes!  Seriously, time is FLYING by.

*  I had a great 3hr. bike ride on Saturday after my son's b-day party.  I seriously thought I was going to puke during my ride from all of the pizza and ice cream cake that I ate, but it turned out that the ride was just what I needed!  The weather was perfect, and I got to try out my new wheels (post to come soon)!  Plus, it was so beautiful.  With all the rain that we've been getting, the flowers are in full bloom.  The trail I rode on had huge bushes of yellow and purple flowers on both sides of it for miles.  It kind of reminded me of a scene from The Wizard of Oz where they are walking down the yellow brick road.   Kind of like this picture, but imagine the flowers as tall as their knees and overflowing into the trail.

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*  So far, my marathon training has been slow going.  I'm finding it really difficult to get in my long runs on the weekends.  There always seems to be something going on.  It's not that big of a deal yet because with my HIM training I'm already up to over 10 mile runs and my marathon isn't until October.  But, there's a little voice inside my head that keeps nagging me when I skip a run.  The good thing is though, after my tri this Sunday, I should be good to go for awhile.   

Other Things Too:

*  We had our son's b-day party this weekend.  He doesn't officially turn 5 until July, but there's a lot going on next month, so we decided to do it early.  We decided on a pirate theme, and it was tons of fun!  

 The birthday boy

The cake.  We ordered an ice cream cake from DQ (sooo good!), and then decorated it to look like an island of pirates next to the ocean.  Yeah, it's pretty lame, but the kids loved it! :)  

*  My parents are coming into town this Wednesday for a week.  It will be great to have them here and the boys are super excited!  And, I'm excited that they'll get to watch my race on Sunday.  It will be good to have some extra cow bell ringers cheer me on! :)  

*  My sister-n-law and her husband just moved to CO from Montana this weekend.  Although they'll be up in the mountains, we are really excited to have them closer. Yay!

*  With today being Father's Day, I wanted to give a shout out to my wonderful husband.  He is an amazing father and we are so lucky to have him in our lives.  :)  

*  Happy Father's day to all of you dads out there!  I hope you all had a great weekend.  :)