She's a Brick House!

I ran two days in a row with no pain...woo hoo!! And it wasn't just any run two days in a row. I ran 9 miles on Friday morning with Julie, Thon and Amy. On Saturday, I woke up and ran 10 miles with Shawn in preparation for this week's AT&T Half-Marathon in Austin that we're running together. Now, oddly enough, it wasn't that two runs that I'm most proud of. It's what happened in between those two runs that I'll be talking about for years to come. Amy had a surprise 40th birthday party for her husband on Friday night under the pretense that he was heading to a wedding shower for me and Shawn. It was a 60's costume party and, let me tell you, the crowd spared no expense on the costumes. Perry was shocked as hell and everyone had a blast. The guys had their fros and bell-bottoms and the girls had their mini skirts and go-go boots. It was a decade I'm glad I didn't live through because the dress barely covered my ASS! Of course, that didn't matter when the DJ kicked it up a notch. It's amazing how sexy I thought I looked with my boots, blonde wig, big black sunglasses and cigarette accessory that was hanging out of my mouth! Now, I know there will be some mandatory photo postings, but I haven't seen any of them yet! More to come...

It was certainly hard to top Friday's party so we didn't even try. The rest of the weekend was spent shopping for furniture, bedding, window treatments, lamps, blah, blah, blah. Although, we did tackle a couple of major wedding projects including picking out tuxedo choices and registering at Crate and Barrel (and realizing that we don't need any of that stuff)...OK--the grapefruit forks are pretty freakin' cool.

There's Something In the Water

Oh my God. I just returned from my weekly excursion to Barton Springs where I aqua-jogged with Anne for a 1/2 mile (about 42 minutes) and then I proceeded to swim 2 1/2 laps afterward. I'm convinced that there's something wrong with my watch. My first full lap was a 9:15. Each full lap is .25 miles.

"You obviously started your watch late or cut the lap short," I thought.

Either way, I was a little dumbfounded that it was that fast--for me. Last week, I was coming in around the 10min mark.

I hit the watch again after swimming lap number 2. 9:05.

"Oh Hell No! Are you kidding"

Almost 40-60 seconds faster PER LAP than I've ever been.

Could the tide be turning?

I *heart* Gilbert's Gazelles

Today was my first day back with Gazelles! I swear it was like coming back to school after summer break. I was actually looking forward to the 800m track repeats that were on the schedule. It was so wonderful to be back in running mode with the likes of Frank, Anne, Lisa, Jennifer, Farley (as I refer to her), Patrick, Cindy, Dennis, Marcie, Emily, Shannon and so many others that I’ve been missing over the last couple of months. It’s exciting and comforting to “come home” to my Gazelle peeps and I have to admit, it was great hearing the “Great to see you” and “Glad to have you back” encouragement. I think Coach Gilbert was even taken aback by the unexpected arrival of Sapp and Skud this morning! (even though he yelled at me for looking at my watch during one repeat) :-) This group has heart and it shows. Even when I was training for Dallas, a few of us broke away from the Gazelle mold since that marathon was so late in the season. While most Gazelles were recovering from Chicago and other Fall marathons, we were ramping up for Dallas. Therefore, a lot of the workouts just didn’t coincide. After the Dallas Marathon, I just needed some time to decompress and chill. Oh yeah, then there was that pesky shin pain which is no longer existent…fingers crossed.

I held my own with the group during repeats. Not wanting to push it, I just did 6 x 800 meter repeats. The first one was a tad slow at 3:36. The last five were a solid 3:20-3:23, with a surprise 3:17 thrown in at repeat #5. It was too fast and we all knew it. While, I had it in me to run one or two more, I just didn’t want to risk any pain or overuse injury AGAIN.

Today was all about just getting back out there and taking comfort in the fact that my fitness level is still there, even though my endurance level might not be. It was also also a reminder of why I love running with the Gazelles. It’s good to be back.

On a cool note, Richard dumped my Dallas Marathon information into the Motion Based software. He was kind enough to let me borrow his 305 for that race. It was so interesting to look at the data. It was, indeed, a well-run race for me! Check out the geek data below.

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=1659&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=2045581

How to Plan a Wedding in One Day

By: Carrie and Shawn

It was stealth, it was fast, it was furious. If it was a race, we SO would've won. Our transitions were smooth, our pace was consistent and our nutrition was right on target. It was Wedding Planning Weekend in Ohio.

We flew to Columbus on Friday night and began our whirlwind weekend of meetings, food samplings, drive bys, family gatherings, final selections and check writing.

By the end of the weekend, we felt confident about our three big decisions for the weekend.

Photographer: Karen Evans with kisofotografia.com (she TOTALLy got what Shawn and I are about. Plus, she promised to bring Nick Lachey along. How could we...I... say "no"?)

Cake: Katie Koivisto with the Cake Studio (God bless cake samplings. One slither was just not enough! We decided that we're just going to pretend to be newly engaged for the rest of our lives so that we can just go around and sample wedding cake for free!)

Reception: The very swank and hip Burgundy Room in the Short North area of Coumbus. (Their sign out front says, "Wine...Tapas...Fun" Enough Said)

We even got out of there just before the thermometers ruptured with record breaking lows. It was hell walking around for more than a few minutes since it was a whopping 12 degrees. Needless to say, as I look out the window right now in Austin, Texas, I'm happy to be back to my sunny 68 degree temps.

Now, we can turn the focus to other more important aspects like planning the Honeymoon!
Thank God I don't have to pack my bike for that one!

I did get up and run about 6.5 miles in 54 minutes for an 8:20 pace average. God, it's good to be back.

Oh yeah--I did gain a pound last week in the Weight Loss Challenge, but I suspected it. No worries. I'm feeling good.

Off to Visit Old Man Winter for Two Days

Would somebody please remind me that I'm not officially training for anything at the moment?? Sure, I signed up for the AT&T Half Marathon on February 18th, but I'm not racing it or anything. I had some good solid workouts this week, all of which felt great and reminded me how much I love getting myself going before 7:00am.

Monday: Swim 30 minutes/Elyptical 30 minutes
Tuesday: Track workout with 1 mile warmup and 5 x 800m repeats/Core workout and Swim 45 minutes PM
Wednesday: Run 7+ miles
Thursday: Aqua jog 45 min and swim 1/2 mile
Friday: 9+ mile run

All this and I have a feeling that I botched it this week on the Weight Loss Challenge! I drank some wine a couple of nights this week and also had some heavier meals ( a couple included dessert). Oh yeah--Mother Nature has also descended upon me this week so I'm tending to her needs at the moment as well. You know when you just feel heavier?? That's how I feel at the moment.

I did get up this morning and meet Massage Therapist Julie for a 9 mile run in our neighborhood. I let her do the navigating and this is a chick that loves the hills! Of course, they're hard to avoid when you're running in and around the Tarrytown area. She's definitely more familiar with the twists and turns on some of the streets than I am, so I just ran alongside and let her tell us where to go. I was mainly in it to increase my long run mileage a little bit this week. Plus, I'm leaving for Columbus this afternoon and I wanted to get my long run under my belt before I head to the frozen tundra for two days to meet with photographers, cake people and potential reception places. I don't mind running in the cold, but the high is only supposed to be in the TEENS this weekend. If anyone ever asks why I don't live in Ohio anymore, that's a good enough reason for me. Sixty degrees in Texas on February 2nd or 13 degrees in Columbus?! I'll take 60 degrees anyday.

Like Running in Jello

...Really FREAKING COLD Jello.

That's what today's workout felt like. In my consistent quest to cross-train, I met Anne and "Cincinnati Mike" this morning at 5:45am at Barton Springs for an aqua-jogging excursion. I know the water is supposed to be a consistent 68 degrees, but I swear, I felt like I was a Titanic passenger being tossed overboard into the icy waters with no hope for survival (too bad they didn't have aqua joggers back then!) And--I had a long wetsuit with booties on my feet! I'm such a wuss. Those first few minutes require an overwhelming amount of strength and willpower to 1.) get in the water 2.) keep moving before your body turns to solid ice.

And then it happens...the blood gets used to it and you actually start to warm up. After 45 minutes, I even broke a little itty bitty sweat on my forehead. It was Mike's first plunge into the waters and his first aqua jogging experience. Yes, it really is as awkward as it looks for the first few minutes. Anne said it best when she described it as "running through jello." You feel pathetic because you are moving along so slowly, but man, your muscles are fully engaged when you are in motion. It requires work, but not pounding on the joints. It's a great workout where you can actually engage in conversation with the person you're jogging next to.

After our allotted 45 minutes, they left and I decided to slip off the belt and slip on my goggles and swim cap for a couple of laps. I swam about 1/2 mile and was coming in around the 10 minute mark per lap==not very good. I don't understand yet because I definitely feel like my form has improved dramatically. The good news is that Farley emailed me yesterday inviting me to join her on Tuesday mornings for an unofficial workout at Barton Springs with Texas Iron coaches with Pro Triathletes and Coaches Andrea Fisher and Jamie Cleveland. I may join her when I can just to be around other swimmers. I'm loving my private Swim-Ex pools at Castle Hill, but I can't play by myself all of the time. Every now and then, I need to socialize with other swimmers. (as much as it pains me)

So, I also half-joked about Directing Austin's First Ever "Aqua Jogging Mile" at Barton Springs. I think this informal sprint race would be freaking hysterical!! Who's in??

As if I have nothing else to plan...

This Means War!!

First of all, I'm calling a "GBHWLC" FOUL on Amy!! She is one of a small group of Gazelles and their Better Halves who are participating in our very informal weight loss challenge. Soooo...I got back from lunch yesterday and saw a box of "Tiff's Treats" cookies on my chair. For those that aren't familiar with "Tiff's Treats," they are amazing, almost half-baked cookies, that are delivered warm giving you that "just from the oven" feel. I'm salivating as I type. I just have this mental picture of a delivery driver forced to keep his heat on full blast to keep the cookies warm! And in the Texas summers, they probably just bake the damn things on the sidewalk outside. Anyways, I thought it was a tad strange as the holiday seasons are over and media reps no longer have to kiss our butt. I certainly wasn't expecting anything from anyone. I opened the card and it said, "Thank you! You are my wing man! I couldn't have done it without you. XO...Skud" My heart was overcome with gratitude. Amy had sent me a gift for helping her in the race---something I never expected. I was just so happy that she reached her goal.

It sank in for about 30 seconds and then my mind immediately went to, "Hey...wait a minute...there's something behind this...these are fabulous chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies...I'm in the weight challenge...so is she...SHE'S TRYING TO SABOTAGE ME!!!!!!!!!!!" I called her up and she immediately said, "I know what you're thinking!" We joked about the unintentional sabotage and then agreed to try to meet later this week for a run.

In the meantime, I got up today and hit the track a little after 6am for some 800m repeats. I warmed up a mile and set a goal of doing 5 x 800m. I only had about 40 minutes as I was going to a core class at 7am. So, I also wasn't really sure what to expect either. I haven't done any formal speedwork and didn't want to push it. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised that my first 800m repeat was a 3:23. This track is actually a little short, but I was wearing my Garmin and measured 1/2 mile consistently. The next four proceeded to get quicker and quicker and I averaged between 3:19 and 3:22 for the next four. The good news? It was a confidence builder for speed. My shin also didn't hurt that bad. I could feel "something," but it wasn't so much pain as it was a gentle "don't forget about me" feeling. The realistic news...I probably couldn't have done more than 2 more without losing form and feeling exhausted. But you know what??? That's ok. I'm not training for anything specific and I'm also happy to know that I'm not starting at Ground Zero. I may have dropped a few floors, but I'm still on the stairs... Now, if only those damn cookies would go away!!!

Can you say PR??

Congratulations to my Gazelle pals and others who put together some amazing times at this year's 3M Half-Marathon. While the course was slightly more difficult than year's past, it's still a downhill course and fast as hell. It's definitely a gauge of people's overall fitness levels.

Last year, my running partner Amy and I, hammered this race with PRs (Personal Records) of 1:34:08. I've never been more shocked to run 13 miles at an average pace of 7:11. This kicked off what turned out to be a year of PRs in 2006. We talked about 3M all year long and how we laughed when Coach said we could do a 1:36. We thought--"NO WAY" and then turned in a 1:34. All year long, I grew stronger and looked forward to the potential of knocking my 1:34 down.

Well, it wasn't meant to be for me this year. Because of my nagging tendonitis, I pretty much decided against this race in early January. While it's one of my favorites, my PR right now is all about my "personal recovery." It didn't stop me from meeting Richard and Stephanie this morning to cheer for those we knew and didn't know. It was cold, but clear this morning in Austin. I had bundled up with two pairs of pants (running tights with track pants over the top). In the back of my mind, I thought I might hit the trail later for a couple of miles. I was also wearing a turtle neck, running shirt and running jacket with a hat and gloves. By running standards, I was pretty bundled up. By spectating standards, I was wishing I had on two pairs of socks!

So, there we were staked out at Mile 11 in Hyde Park by Richard and Stephanie's house. Elite people started coming by and we joked at how none of them even looked like they were breathing hard. Plus, to glance at them, it doesn't look like they were running all that fast, when in fact, they were hauling ass! We cheered for our usuals and shouted "Go Gazelles" whenever we saw the familiar logo. I had my Gazelle shirt on, but wasn't about to unzip my coat.

Finally, after several minutes of yells and cow bell clanging, I saw Amy. Actually, she saw us. I started running along side of her and she said, "I need you! I'm dying." (it was in that exhausted runner tone of voice) That attitude is so unlike her and I knew she was hurting. I'm not sure what I was doing, but I just kept running along side of her like the stay puff marshmallow that I was looking like in all of those clothes! I asked what she thought she was running and she said 1:33. That was a PR pace and I was not about to let her lose it. I just kept along with her in our sub 7min pace saying, "Focus...Focus...Focus..." I saw a woman that I recognize in our age group up ahead about 20 yards. I said, "See that girl in the gray tank top? She's in our age group and you're going to beat her."

"I have to catch her first," said Amy.

"We will."

By this point we hit some nice downhill on Duval and passed the 12 mile marker. One mile to go. I heated up quickly and had no idea if I was helping her keep the pace or slowing her down. I could feel my shin pain as it started to go, "What the hell are you doing???" I didn't care. We started picking off a couple of people so I knew we were doing ok. At 12.5 miles, we passed the woman in the gray tank top and never looked back. I kept with her until she entered the Finisher's chute and just kept shouting words of encouragement. Her finishing time:
1:33:17 She did it. She hit her PR by less than a minute! I looked at her official results and her first half was a 7:09 pace and second half was a 7:06 pace. Like I said, I have no idea whether we sped up or I slowed her down, but she did it and I'm thrilled. I can't wait to get back out there and train with her.

Not more than 30 seconds behind were Thon, Frank, Amy Farley, Renee, Anne and other Gazelles who had kick-ass races!! They should be so proud!

Funny enough, I was freaking EXHAUSTED after that unexpected two-mile sprint! I haven't done any real speedwork in months and my leg certainly let me know it. I went from Starbucks cup in hand to full sprint in .01 second. I hung out at the finish and congratulated a few friends on their finishes. I began a two mile jog backwards along the course and cheered for those that I knew and could recognize. As soon as I got home, I iced my shin for a while and immediately followed that with a heating pad. I don't know if it's the best solution, but it feels much better.

So, to all those who had a great race today, Congrats on your PRs. I may not have done the entire race, but I built some confidence with my own PR...I'm well on my way to a good "personal recovery." I'm still planning on running the AT&T Half Marathon on February 18th with Shawn. That, in itself, is good enough for me.

Floating

While this random guy resembles more of my swimming style these days, I actually chose this image to represent how I'm trying to function right now. I've made a very deliberate attempt to slow things down, lay on my back, relax and float as much as possible.

For the first time in a long time, I don't feel completely overwhelmed with decision-making overload. The decisions I'm making now are team-oriented, tackled by both myself and my fiance. We're working through everything from coffee tables to reception places, from bedspreads to florists. It's a unique combination of building our home and our wedding at the same time. I selfishly admit that it's very refreshing not having to do either by myself.

Work has slowed to a comfortably chaotic pace...We're getting ready for Valentines Day with a couple of my clients at the moment. Most of the clients I work with are coming off very successful holiday retail seasons. They're happy, which makes me happy. I'm also meeting with potential new clients. The best part of my job in advertising is meeting with and getting to know various business owners of all types of work. I deal with Jewelers, Antique Store owners, Drug Companies that do investigation studies, granite companies, Medical Resource Companies. Because it's the first of the year, we're able to slow down, discuss their goals and plan accordingly.

Finally, my workouts are progressing slowly and methodically. My right leg pain is a little frustrating, but I'm taking my recovery in stride. I ice it several times daily and have been doing a bunch of crosstraining. On Saturday, I hopped on my trainer and did a 45 minute spin class using my "Spinervals" DVD. On Sunday, Shawn and I did what we affectionately refer to as "The Norwalk 10K," which is an approximate 10K route starting from our house and heading around the trail. I was trepidatious about the run, but the morning was so glorious in Austin, I needed to be outdoor! As I feared, I started feeling the "tendonitis" about a mile into the run, but I'm happy to say that the pain never progressed past a certain level. It was uncomfortable, but never excrutiating. I'm taking that as a good sign since it was unbearable just a couple of weeks prior. Because I had run on Sunday, I went to the gym on Monday morning and aqua jogged for 30 minutes and then followed that with a 25 minute swim in the Swim-Ex pools. I'm still just focusing on form right now with my swim stroke and trying to memorize how certain aspects of the stroke should feel. As I was looking at classes at Castle Hill, I saw a Cardio Brick workout being offered on Tuesday morning at 6am. It was described as 30 minutes of high intensity spinning, followed by a 30 minute run. I thought it sounded perfect so I showed up this morning. Well, I ended up getting a personal one-on-one workout because I was the only one who showed up!! The instructor said that it hasn't been well-attended, which really surprised me since it's such a nice well-rounded workout. We proceeded through the hour-long workout as if the class was full. The spin portion was great and I worked up a quick sweat with pickups and several progressions using resistance and cadence work. We headed outside for our run just when it started to sprinkle. We did a combination of warm-ups, drills and pickups in a park near the gym. I felt a little bad that I was the only one there today forcing her to workout, but I felt great afterward having done the class.

So, I'm really trying to slow my world down and float a bit. At least, I'm not face down in the water!

Austin, or Seattle??

Now that the town has begun to thaw, the rain has begun to fall, making it feel more like Seattle than sunny Austin. I've continued to explore some of the aspects of my new gym, Castle Hill. Right now, I'm like a kid with a new toy and loving it. On Thursday, I hit the gym and hopped on the elyptical again for about 45 minutes. I also stretched and did several minutes of core work. On Friday morning, I got to the gym and explored the Swim-Ex pools.

Castle Hill has 3 Swim-Ex pools, which are basically pool treadmills and large enough for one person. You adjust a current level and swim in place against that current. On Friday morning, I aqua jogged against the current for 30 minutes and then swam in place for about 20 minutes. It was hard to find a comfortable current level at first because it was either way to low and I would actually hit the wall, or I turned it up too high and I couldn't keep up, thereby making the current shoot me to the other end of the pool. (which I'm sure is hilarious) Once I found my "comfort level," I enjoyed settling in and just focusing on my stroke. It was a relief knowing that no one was going to swim up behind me or swim over the top to try to pass me. I'm sure it was slow as hell, but it really did allow me to work on all of the fundamentals that I've been learning.

I woke up this morning with the intention of going for a short run to see how my leg has been doing. Well, it was raining and 37 degrees so I did what any sane person would do. I put the blanket back on and stayed in bed a little later. The rain may stop my morning run right now, but it didn't stop my breakfast taco excursion with our usual gang. This afternoon was spent in meetings with an Interior Designer and another round of wedding gowns!! Maybe it was the weather, but I just wasn't in the right mood for wedding dresses. Looking at the photos proves that. There were some beautiful dresses, but I don't think I wore them well today. Or maybe I just wasn't working it!


I'm going to hop on the bike trainer now and I'll try the run again tomorrow!

Ice Storm 2007 Appears to Be Over

I'm making a new city statute. The workday in Austin is not allowed to commence until after "Ellen" airs every morning. I'm now officially addicted to morning TV thanks to ICE STORM 2007. I could get used to hot coffee and TV in the morning.

Oh my Gosh, the cabin fever around here is almost unbearable! I've stuck close to home since the ice storm started on Monday and didn't really venture out until today when I just HAD to get to the gym!! I clearly wasn't alone as the gym was fairly crowded at 10:30am on a random Wednesday!

The "forced relaxation" was incredibly beneficial for the mind, body and soul. (and for some of those home improvement projects we had been postponing). We rearranged the pantry, cleaned cabinets, sealed the shower, put furniture together, vacuumed the upstairs, swept the downstairs, did some loads of laundry, etc.

In addition to that, I was able to tackle some wedding projects like scheduling appointments with people when I'm in Columbus in a couple of weeks. I also prepared ALL of my taxes for the year so I'm good to go and have absolutely no excuses for not meeting that April 15th deadline!

In addition to all of that, I also got some good quality (but not brutal) workouts accomplished. On Monday, I did my home spin class on the trainer for about 45 minutes and also did some core work with the ab ball and 24lb resistance bar. I basically duplicated the core class that I was doing a year ago complete with squats, lunges and upper body. I worked out on the trainer again on Tuesday and this morning I hit the gym for about 45 minutes on the elyptical. I also did the core class again this morning before heading to the gym. It feels good to get the HR going and gets me anxious to get back out there. My right leg feels so much better the last couple of days, even on the elyptical. I'll probably attempt a couple of shorter runs outside now that the ice is melting, but that's about it for now...still no real reason to jump back in until I know it's healed.

I also have to say that it feels great to not be eating out in restaurants for practically every meal. I swear from September to December, we basically ate out at restaurants every night because our kitchen stuff was packed up. I'm not a great cook, but I can "assemble." It's nice just to cook up some turkey burgers, fresh ravioli, soups, turkey wraps for lunch, fresh salads, etc. We also make awesome homeade pizzas with whole wheat tortillas. We'll throw some spinach, broccoli, banana peppers and tonight we had some spinach/feta turkey sausage that we threw on top. It's simple as hell, but tasty and pretty darn healthy. I'm also a huge fan of hummus and will put that on damn near anything.

The last couple of snow-bound days have allowed us to maintain some control, slow things down a bit and realize just how much I love getting out there! I'm actually ready to get back to work. I can't believe I said that.

My Makeshift Trip to the Gym

Well, the "Ice Storm 2007" is embarking on Austin closing roads, schools, work and gyms! In actuality, it's not all that bad out there (yet), but this is Central Texas. Ice is usually only something you blend to make your margaritas. Austin commuters aren't used to actually having to drive on this stuff. I used to feel pretty confident, but nine years in Austin has turned me into a Grandma driver when it so much as sprinkles out there.

So, I called a couple of gyms this morning and they were both closed. God Bless Shawn for putting my bike back together yesterday. It was still in the bike box from November! So, I set up my impromptu spin class with the bike trainer and a SPinervals DVD. I had to use my laptop since we still don't actually have our DVD players hooked up to the new TV. I'm such a dork, but it felt great to be on my bike again. In all honesty, my leg is liking me for it. It also felt good working up a sweat and getting my heartrate going again.

Now, it's time to buckle down and get ready for the BIG FREEZE. It's pretty much supposed to be horrible this afternoon, evening and tomorrow. My bosses told us not to come in today and probably tomorrow as well. How weird that I actually get a "snow day" as an adult!! I love it!! Of course, I can still work from home, damn it!

Improvise workout and improvise work. Gotta love it!

Be safe out there.

Odds and Ends

I tried on wedding gowns today!! I'd love to post a pic or two (because I need help narrowing it down by Wednesday), but I don't want Shawn to see ;-) As everyone told me, the dresses you don't expect to fit actually look the best. Now I'm trying to decide between having a train or no train on the back. I'm kind of a "no train" chick, but check out the basilica I get to stand in!! Princess Di had nothing on this! I absolutely love this church in good 'ol Carey, Ohio. It's been my dream church since I was a kiddo. Very ornate and the aisle is a nice long one.

I guess I shouldn't worry about a train or no train until I see which dress fits best overall. Speaking of dresses fitting, some of my Gazelle running partners and I have kicked off the "GBHWLC." Huh??? It's the "Gazelle and their Better Halves Weight Loss Competition." That's right. From now until the end of April, we have to weigh in every week for all of us to see. It has the potential of being very humiliating, but also very rewarding. After all, it definitely keeps me accountable and I'm already so much more aware of my portion sizes, etc. Ironically, I started off with a two pound weight gain! I guess that's what happens when you eat like a pig over the holidays and have an injured leg. If I'm not careful, this will be my wedding portrait! (albeit Shawn is still very handsome)

I atempted to go for a 30 minute run this evening over at the track across from our house. I completed about 3 miles, with some pickups on the straight-a-ways, and my right shin was numb by the end. Not good news, especially in brand new shoes that I'm used to wearing. It means two very obvious things: 1) I'm not ready to run 2.) It's time to focus almost exclusively on swimming and body toning....maybe some elyptical machine thrown in for good measure. I'm coming to terms with the fact that there may be no races for me before the May Wedding. I've still got my sights potentially set on the Houston Area Tri One-O-One race in November and possibly the Sunmart 50k Trail Race in December. I've always heard such amazing things abou this race. Maybe there will be a couple of shorter tris in the summer, but we'll see.

In the meantime, Shawn and I continue to shop for furniture and other fun stuff for the house. We're very blessed to be able to "start from scratch." We actually spent our Friday night at the grocery store stocking up on the fridge. I'm happy to say that I actually did some cooking tonight....finally enjoying the benefits. This is actually the first weekend we've been in Austin since Thanksgiving!

We had the Turkey Trot...San Antonio the following weekend...Dallas Marathon after that...Bahamas the weekend after that...Followed by Ohio and Christmas the next week...New Year's Weekend was spent in San Antonio before coming back to Austin late that night...We spent last weekend in Phoenix. Needless to say, it's good to just be able to sit and drink my wine, read a book and relax! This is what it's supposed to be all about.

We're expecting some frightening weather over the next couple of days in Austin complete with freezing rain and an ice warning. Darn....it may force me to relax a little more (or continue to organize our garage and compile addresses for the invite list). I'm also hoping to hit my new gym tomorrow for orientation. I'm meeting with a personal trainer next week and I can't wait! I'm anxious for the change of pace.

Kicking it Back Into Gear

OK, so since November, I've travelled to Florida (for Half-Ironman), Dallas (White Rock Marathon), the Bahamas (vacation), Ohio (Family Christmas), San Antonio (Alamo Bowl game) and Scottsdale (BCS National Championship).

Throw in the Turkey Trot and moving into our new house and you have two months of complete and utter "on the verge of meltdown" living. I've started off this year with very little fitness regimen whatsoever, giving myself a much-needed mental and physical break from training.

Well, it's all about to change. 2007 for me starts now. This weekend, I'm kicking into wedding plans head on, complete with booking a flight to Ohio to get some nuptial business taken care of in the way of photography, cakes, etc. I swore that I didn't want to get caught up in all of this minutia of party favors and table toppers. It's hard not to when people start asking questions about your color and your theme and your reception food, etc. I'll feel better once I feel like I've caught up with where I'm "supposed" to be at this stage of planning. Anytime I mention that I don't have a dress yet, people start freaking out...Same goes for reception locations, etc. Bottom Line: I have a church, a priest and a loving family. As far as I'm concerned, that's truly all I need at the end of the day to make it real for me.

Same goes for my fitness regimen. This year is mainly about working on speed and tone. I don't know that I'll be doing much in the way of distance races. I want to continue working on my swimming and running speedwork. Hopefully, my tender foot will soon heal completely. I'm dying to get out there and run right now, but I know it's simply not the right thing to do for a bit. For Christmas, I received a year-long membership to one of the best fitness facilities in town and I've been waiting until the crowd dies down a bit before I kick that into gear. I'm ready for a little bridal boot camp!!

So, while I feel like I'm in cruise control for the time being, next week I will be switching gears and moving forward on many things. I'm convinced that since I didn't have a nervous breakdown in 2006, this year should be a breeze! Let's just hope that breeze doesn't turn into a hurricane.

Prelude to a Commitment

So this is how it's going to be. Fine. I'm ready and packed with my positive attitude.

2007 is off to a mildly rough start. My right leg is still tender when I flex it and the Buckeyes get humilated in the National Championship football game. Bad things come in "threes" right? What's next? We discover foundation problems on the new house???? (God Forbid)

It's just a daily lesson in, "Things don't always go how you want them to." That's life and that's what makes it fun. Hell, that's what makes it interesting, challenging and, consequently, very rewarding.

Today is the 2-year anniversary of meeting Shawn. It's amazing what can transpire in two short years. I know I really have no clue what I'm in for with this marriage stuff, but I know a lot of days will resemble the one we had today trying to leave Phoenix and get home. We were booked on an evening flight tonight, but I really wanted to get back to Austin early and head into work so that I could meet with a client. (I'm actually anxious to settle into a work routine after a month of travelling and moving,which has kept me otherwise preoccupied. ) In any event, here are the marriage lessons I learned today as we embarked on separate journies across the country in search of the same destination point: HOME.

SACRIFICE: After sleeping for a whopping two hours, Shawn got up at 3:45am and drove me to the airport so that I could get on the "stand-by" list. I mean, my chances were slim to none and he still made the sacrifice to do so. He even slept in our rental car as I waited to see if I was going to make the flight. Because he didn't attempt this flight, it was my sacrifice to head back to the airport tonight at Midnight to pick him up.

FLEXIBLE: How else do you explain his willingness to cater to my last minute wants to leave early?? I was the one who wanted to try to get back early for work. He could've easily said "Hell No," but he was the one who encouraged me to try, even when the airline employees were saying that it was a helpless cause. By the grace of God and the gods of flight, I hit both standby flights and was home in Austin by 11:30am and at work by 1pm, all because of our willingness to be flexible with each other.

PATIENCE: Our team lost, we had gotten two hours of sleep after tailgating all day and I was nervous and stressed about getting to a client meeting this afternoon. He too was totally bummed out, but we took it in stride and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to even be able to take these trips on a whim. Even though I'm not typically a patient person, he brings out the best. I've been in instances where alcohol, lack of sleep and a heartbreaking loss can bring out the worst in people. We just looked at each other and laughed.

COMMUNICATE and GO WITH THE FLOW: OK so his cell phone broke last week so all of this communication and flight coordination today took place with borrowed cell phones, checking messages every so often, borrowing his brother's cell and using pay phones. Yes, I said pay phones. I'm not sure where Shawn found one, but he did. I'm not even sre how you operate one in this day and age. It was frustrating for both of us because I couldn't just call him when I found out that I made the stand-by. I sent his brother a text message and I left Shawn a voicemail on his dead cell number. Fortunately, he could still check messages. In turn, he couldn't easily call me to let me know that his Phoenix flight left late and he subsequently missed his Dallas connection. It was only when I was getting ready to leave for the airport that he borrowed someone's cell and told me what was happening. Unfortunately, it involved renting a car and driving from Dallas so that he can be at work on time on Wed morning.

Needless to say, it's probably not how either of us wanted to spend our two-year anniversary, but it was a good "preparation" day for the bumps, bruises, unexpected occurrences and inconveniences that we'll have to face together every day. I'm just glad we handled this one with a general sense of humor seeing as how we're both still depressed about the game!


Happy Anniversary!

This Pretty Much Sums it Up

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16546057/

GO BUCKEYES!!!

Greetings from Scottsdale, AZ!!

Very excitedly in town for the BCS National Championship football game.

GO BUCKEYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had a killer massage yesterday, which has made my leg feel better than it has in a couple of weeks. It was serious deep tissue action! I'm still going to give it a few days and just enjoy the break. Plus, I'm going to enjoy Ohio State winning the National Championship game!!!!

This photo was taken in 2005 when Ohio State played Texas (and LOST!)

I know how you feel Brutus

See that lump in the middle of the bed?
That’s my cat Brutus Buckeye Sapp-Barrett and this has been his routine since we moved into the new house.

He’ll get me up at 5:30am, eat some of his tasty dry food that smells like a cross between cardboard and chicken livers, do his litterbox biz-nass and then head back upstairs and assume the above position for the next 12 hours or so.

I’m dying to get in his little feline brain and find out exactly what is going through his mind. Is he scared of the new atmosphere and the new sounds that come along with it? Is he being grumpy? Is he sick? Is he just plain tired and in need of an uninterrupted hotel-darkness kind of sleep? Hell, can he even breathe?

Every now and then, I check on him. I’ll lift the comforter just to make sure he’s doing ok. I’ll kiss his little nose to let him know that I care. I’ll talk to him through the bedspread and pet his little head above the covers.

It hit me today that, although his newfound pose strikes me as a little disconcerting and a whole lot of humorous, how many times do we just want to crawl under the covers all day? How many times are we scared about the unknown atmospheres we’re surrounded by? How many days do we just want to pull the covers over our own heads and just survive on the bare minimum of food and restroom breaks? How many times are we just plain grumpy and don’t want to talk to or be around others? How many times are we feeling under the weather and just want to “lay low?” For me, it’s more often than I want to admit.

However, there’s nothing more reassuring than a familiar voice in the darkness. There’s nothing more comforting than a kiss on the nose and a quick massage letting me know that everything is going to be alright. There’s nothing more soothing than a few words of affirmation.

For those things, I’m grateful and I know Brutus is too.

I’m just glad I’m not forced to pee in a box for God and everyone else to see.

I Wanna Come Out and Play

I can hear that little pesky voice inside my head.

For some strange reason, that voice sounds like a little boy who is no older than 5-6. Maybe it's a throwback to my brothers who would tease me as the only girl in a household of boys.

It's that voice that says, "You're slacking. Why are you sleeping in? Look at all of those people on the track. You should be out there right now. You're going to lose your fitness and gain a bunch of weight."

You see, the trouble with living right across the street from a popular running track is that I get to see several people doing repeats both before and after work. A couple of running groups meet at O'Henry on a consistent basis including T3, Runtex, Fit 2 Train and others.

This week, I've felt like the little sick kid that can't play with the other kids. My right leg is just really acting up at the moment. I don't know how else to describe it except to say that it feels like shin splints, or a torn muscle, or a stress fracture--all very typical common "overuse" injuries. It's painful just above the ankle. When it first started hurting in Columbus, I thought I had my shoes tied too tight. I remember stopping for water with my friend Karl and loosening my shoe because it felt sore. It hasn't been the same. Of course, that didn't stop me until my New Year's Day Run with Shawn, Thon and Amy. It definitely hasn't recovered from that. I'm afraid to swim because it will hurt to kick. I'm aqua jogging today and tomorrow--BORING!! Maybe this is Mother Nature's way of jump starting that core and toning portion of my resolution.

In the meantime, I'm really listening to Mother Nature's request to actually rest. I've been sleeping in until 7am this week and arising by the natural sunlight. I'm enjoying going downstairs in our new home and making coffee. I get excited to make cereal and sit on our new barstool in front of our newly working wireless internet. And then, I look out the door and see that track.

Don't worry. I'll be back out there before too long.

I Resolve...to top 2006 (I don't know how it's possible)

I resolve...

...to never take home internet availability for granted!!

We finally have internet access in the new house and a chair to sit on while perusing the World Wide Web for hours on end. I'm starting to feel like a "normal" human being.

The bad part about now having Internet access: I will spend an inordinate amount of time looking at useless information about diet habits, dress styles, honeymoons, blogs, etc.

The good part about having internet access: I will hear about big news like Saddam's execution as it happens and won't find out two days after the fact, feeling like and "out of touch" citizen.

While I don't know how to top a year like 2006, I'm already looking forward to the events of 2007 that are on the horizon: A trip to Arizona for the National Championship football game featuring my beloved Buckeyes, a new gym membership at Castle Hill which will allow me to focus on all parts of my body that could use a little toning, a couple of smaller races this year and...oh yeah...a wedding. While I vow to keep it simple and casual, I'm already finding it frightenly easy to get caught up in the minutia of flowers, photographers, cakes, etc, when all I really want to do is order a couple of pizzas and call it a day, ya know?

I started New Year's Day off with a 9-10 mile run. Shawn and I started from our house and ran a mile to meet Thon and Amy at the Rock for a New Year's Day run around town. The morning was spectacular...clear, cool and a vibrant blue sky. The bad part? My right leg has been acting up. It almost feels like shin splints or a stress fracture on the lower portion of my leg. I can walk on it, but the run became pretty painful after the first couple of miles. It's probably a little tedonitis, so I have to stay off of it a couple of days. That means I'll be doing some aqua jogging this week. I bought an aqua jogger belt for Christmas and now it's time to put that baby to use. Hopefully, it's just a temporary ache as I'd still like to race the 3M Half Marathon in a couple of weeks...to be continued later.

So, of course, we were talking about our New Year's Resolutions and I think Amy said it best. We all have visions of taking better care of ourselves and being more "present" and kind to ourselves and others. She said that the one thing she's going to do to achieve all od her goals is to simply become "more prayerful." Of course, that can mean something different to everyone. It might mean meditation for some, or Bible reading for others. It may just be ten minutes of silence and gratitude everynight. I thought it was simplistically brilliant. To become a better person, I simply have to become more prayerful.

Now that's something I can do...

Now, I just need to resolve to sit still long enough to do it!

Look out 2007, Here I Come!

So, the first runner I saw on Riverside Drive upon returning to Austin on Tuesday morning was wearing this year's Turkey Trot shirt!! I'm not sure if it was fate or not, but it was my first official "WELCOME HOME" greeting. Of course, it also reminded me of the stress and anxiety of the last few months as well!

I'll be compiling my official New Year's Resolutions for 2007, but this is how it will look visually for me:

















OK--so it probably won't literally include hurdles, but I'm sure there will be my fair share of figurative and symbolic hurdles to cross on my way to the altar!!

There's No Place Like Home (Both of Them)

Sometimes I feel like the most blessed chick on earth. I get to come "home" to Ohio to spend the holidays with my parents, four brothers, three sis-in-laws, eight nieces, one nephew and a host of so many other family and friends that are too numerous to count. The only person mssing was my fiance who had to work this weekend and couldn't get away.

Yesterday morning, I ran 12 miles with my friend Karl, who was my inspiration to run a marathon in the first place. You'll be hearing me talk more about him in future posts, but he is a selfless man who took off a year of his life and ran a marathon a week for an entire year to raise money for the Leukemia Society. Yes, he successfully completed 52 marathons in 52 weeks. While this happened nine years ago, his impact and dedication still flourishes. His book will be released in about a month and I know it will be a "must read."

Throughout the four days I was here in Columbus, I also drove up to a little town called Carey, Ohio with my Dad and reserved the church where I'll be married. It was a wonderful day of Father/Daughter bonding that only he and I shared. I had lunch with my friend who lives in Illinois and we spent some time looking around for wedding reception places. I met a cousin for the first time on my Dad's side of the family and had a wonderful visit with her. I attended Mass not once, not twice, but THREE times this weekend! (It must be a Catholic thing) I had Christmas Eve dinner with my family and a slew of nieces, nephews and cousins. I visited my brother's house on Christmas morning to visit with him and see the new addition he's put on his house. I spent hours with relatives making homeade spaghetti and ravioli. I had dinner with seven of my closest high school friends (even though we graduated over 15 years ago!). I visited my high school friend Ginna. She was my theater/acting partner in crime. In high school we dreamed of being famous. Today, she's a working actress in New York. Needless to say, she's amazing. I also squeezed in a private swimming lesson with my tri-friend Tracy who took precious time and spent it trying to improve my hopeless stroke.

I'm not sure if it's the copious amounts of food or my gratitude bursting at the seams, but I'm FULL.

Tomorrow morning, I catch a flight back to Austin and actually get to spend my first night in our new house!!! To me, it marks the beginning of our new home. We've been such nomads for the last four months that I can't wait to walk around for the first time and sleep under the new roof. Believe it or not, I can't wait to cook in our new kitchen (or at least throw a salad together).

While I've had a great time at this home, I can't wait to get back to Shawn and my new home and start planning our wedding.

(I also can't wait to get back to eating normally. Iced cookies for breakfast is not a good thing.)

In Transition

I'm writing this entry from home in Columbus, Ohio after a couple weeks of swirling around in the activity of work and holiday business. I was in the Bahamas with Shawn and his family for a few days for good food, good company and good sunshine. The snorkeling wasn't bad either! (The gambling is another story!) I literally dropped my bathing suit and summer clothes off in Austin and hopped on another flight back home to Ohio with a suitcase packed with flannel, turtlenecks and all of the other Columbus necessities--including an appetite! I joined my high school girlfriends for dinner last night for laughter and good (or not so good) advice on marriage and kids! It's humorous to recount our memories year after year, only to transition into conversations like, "How often do you and your husband have sex?" "Are you always tired after giving birth?" It's a far cry from our conversations of year's past..."Can I bum a smoke?" and "Aren't you wearing the same outfit you had on last night?!" Instead of going out at 10pm, we were nestled back at Laura's by 10pm enjoying Bud Light and --yes---ZIMA!!!!! (I remarked to Lisa that I don't think I've had Zima since I was like 14 years old)

Now...it's on to the business of family traditions. My Greasy-Wop, Dago, Italian family gets together and gathers in the basement of Aunt COnnie's house to make homeade ravioli, spaghetti and meatballs. It's me and a bunch of Soprano looking Aunts and COusins. This tradition of throwing dough and eating half-baked meatballs--just to make sure there's enough garlic---is by far, one of my favorite days of the year. It's also one that I will pay for by running a few extra miles! We literally mop the dough in white flour!!!

Happiest of Holidays to all from wherever you are spending it!!!!!!!!

YEE HAW

3:29:06 at the Dallas White Rock Marathon and 8th in my age group! How about that?!

2006 has been a good year. Time to finally recover from it.

Results at www.runtherock.com

#1075

F3034
353 overall place
8/254 age group
37/1257 overall place in gender
3:29:06 chip time
7:59 overall pace
3:29:56 gun time
50:51 10K split
1:45:44 Half split
2:54:34 35K split

Nothing More to Do

I've never understood those people who can go hours upon hours without eating a thing. Or, worse yet, they pretentiously and sheepishly say, "I didn't have time to eat" or "I simply forgot."

Screw you people.

I'm an every 3-4 hours person. While I'm eating one small meal, I'm thinking about the next one. I look forward to eating at least 5 times a day. Sometimes it's only a Balance Bar or a bowl of (you guessed it) Kashi GO Lean Crunch, but it's what keeps me going and fueled.

Of course, it's what also makes me feel bloated when I'm tapering. I'm not eating a ton, but I'm also not burning as much. That brings on that all-too familiar feeling of the necessary heaviness of race week.

Here's the taper recap for this Race Week:

Monday 11/4 We did the 7 Mile loop with a little over 2 miles at an 8:00 min Marathon Goal Pace.

Tuesday 11/5 I jogged 4.5 miles slow...no watch...just focused on breathing and quick feet turnover.

Wednesday 11/6 I showed up to meet Thon and Mike and our wires were crossed. I talked to Coach G and he just had me jog 2 miles slow and then do 10 stride-outs focusing on hip balance, high knees and butt kicks. I don't like jogging slow. It's then that I focus on every little ache and pain that I would normally ignore. I felt a little twinge in my knee and just willed it away for the time being. When I run fast, I focus on breathing. When I run slow, I focus on form.

I'm definitely taking Thursday off and may run a short 2-3 miles on Friday.

Other than that, I'm finished and looking forward to a super relaxing Holiday Season that include upcoming weekend getaways to the Bahamas and Ohio. Yeah, how's that for opposite ends of the spectrum?!?! We also booked a weekend trip to Phoenix in January for the National Championship Football Game featuring my beloved Ohio State Buckeyes baby!!! Three trips in a month and none of them involve a Marathon or race of any kind. That I'm looking forward to...

Race Week...AGAIN!

I'm gearing up for a relaxing trip to Dallas for the weekend to do some shopping, eating and drinking...oops, my mistake. There will be no shopping unless the receipt happens to have bagels, peanut butter and gatorade on it. It's more like a weekend filled with running, eating and drinking.

I'm super-excited about Sunday's Dallas White Rock Marathon! Not only is it a new race for me, but I'm running it with my Austin running partners Thon, Mike and Amy. We all have the same idealistic finish goals and plan on hanging together, at least for a while. The only person missing from our running clique is Richard, who has been sick and unable to train for this one. However, Richard is making the trip with his wife Stephanie and we'll also be graced with the presence of Mike's real wife Hava, superfast gazelle Erine and my fiance Shawn (who's running the Half Marathon). If you ask me, this weekend is going to be more of a party than a marathon!

As for the run itself, my goals keep changing. One thing that hasn't changed is the goal of "having fun." It's hard to top the Boston Marathon experience of 2006, even though it almost seems ages ago. As I was telling Thon and Mike today, I feel like my body and mind peaked the top of the training mountain after Ironman 70.3 Clearwater...Since then, I've had a difficult time with recovery. My breathing seems labored and I'm having a hard time settling into my runs. Just ask Thon after our 11 mile run on Saturday. I was pretty cranky through most of it...Well, at least until I got warm coffee and breakfast tacos. After that, I was fine :-) Right now, I'm trying to stay in that "peak" position even though it feels like I'm coming down the other side of the mountain--which is what techinically should be happening. This week, I'm asking my body and mind to give me one more hard effort. I honestly don't know what's going to happen.

Here's what I do know... Whether I get a 3:30 or a 4:30, I'm going to have fun and celebrate this fantastic year. Plus, I'm getting a massage on Wednesday. That alone is worth it.

Ego Boost and Lesson for the Day

Yesterday, I had lunch with a friend and former co-worker who just completed several months of intensive chemo for Stage 4 Esophogital Cancer. What's worse is that he voices radio and tv commercials for a living and the disease attacked his main work instrument. How cruel is that? What originally appeared to be a "lost cause" has turned into a miracle as my friend is now cancer-freaking free!! Take that cancer. He is a lesson in prayer, perserverance, exerise, medicine, hope and self-love.

Anyways, as we were walking out of the restaurant, he said, "Oh my Gosh...Have you lost weight?"

"Umm...perhaps. I really don't weigh myself because I get depressed."

"Well, you look fantastic."

I don't know if he was just being polite or if he truly noticed a difference, but it worked. I felt lighter, drove back the office and indulged in a piece of chocolate because I deserved it! After all, as he so eloquently reminded me, you must always savor your life and all that comes with it.

Marathon on the Horizon

I'm having that weird panic of going from being way too busy to handle everything to, "Oh My God. You mean all I have to do is run and focus on my real job?" Just a few short weeks ago, I was juggling several bike, run and swim workouts per week along with preparation for the Record-Shattering Turkey Trot. (FYI-It looks like we had about 2,000 more people than last year. That is phenomenal. ) My life feels so uncomplicated at the moment--(well, there's the house thing, but even that's beyond my control. )

I vascillate from feeling completely relieved to being on edge because I'm not doing enough. Now, I know those feelings are completely normal. I'm coming down from a high and trying not to gear up too much since I'm also tapering for the Dallas Marathon. That little part of me just can't stop being vocally annoying. "You should go for a swim. I can't believe your bike is still packed from Florida." etc. You know the voice. However, I'm also trying to listen to my REAL voice. My massage therapist said something on Saturday that really stuck with me. She reiterated that my body is my best personal trainer. It will tell me when it's had enough. Over the last couple of weeks, I've tried to take a little more heed. My body and mind have had enough and my attitudes and efforts are showing it. While I've still run consistently, none of them have felt great. I started back with some official Gazelle workouts this week. While it was great to be back and see so many of my friends and training partners, it's a little frustrating as I know I'm not performing at my best capacity. Every run is a struggle right now mentally and physically. I've lost a little confidence for the Marathon and it really means I have to rest, rest, rest next week!!

Here's a recap of my recent running from the last couple of weeks:

11/18 (one week after Half-Ironman) 15-16 miles...ouchy
11/20 10 mile Recovery Run
11/22 8 Mile Run from Thon's. We did the Turkey Trot course for a sneak peek. Damn that course is hilly! Who designed that?? :-)
11/24 7 Mile Recovery run with Amy--day after Turkey Trot. exhausted.
11/25 14 Mile Mt. Bonnell Run
11/27 Mile Repeats at Zilker...I did 3 repeats (7:11, 6:54, 6:54)...humid. Total 6 1/2 miles
11/29 7 Mile Fartlek Intervals...2 mile warmup followed by 1min fast/1 min slow

I guess looking over that schedule pretty much shows what I need to see. Not only was it a lot of miles, but these have been some tough miles. Over 67 Miles in10 days. duh...

Next weeek is all about massage, nutrition and rest.

Ironman 70.3: Link to Official Photos

http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=10526&BIB=1387

The first woman in the wetsuit isn't me!

A Happy Thanksgiving Indeed

I made it. I'm hanging by a thread, but I made it.

The ThunderCloud Subs Turkey Trot was a success. Let me rephrase that. It was a HUGE success. It was packed and bursting at the seams. The Mayor of Austin AND the Governor of Texas both ran it. Honestly? It went to a new level this year and we almost weren't ready from an infrastructure standpoint. Still calculating final numbers, but well over 10,000 were in attendance. Over 9,000 runners/walkers for sure. I'm exhausted, but extremely happy.

Here's what Runtex had to say:

Here, in Central Texas, nothing goes better with Thanksgiving than a Thundercloud. That is, the Thundercloud Subs Turkey Trot 5-Miler. Every year, thousands and thousands turn out for this terrific event. But in its entire 16-year history, there could not have been a more perfect Thanksgiving morning.

Under clear, shimmering skies with temperatures soaring into the low 70s, it was a morning fit for just about anything and everything outdoors: Touch football, frisbee golf, a walk along the lake with family and friends and—natch—starting off the whole shebang by walking or running the Turkey Trot through central Austin. Heck, even a bunch of Aggies showed up.


More Turkey Trot Ramblings soon...

I'm beginning my taper for the December 10th Dallas White Rock Marathon. I'm not sure how, but I still managed to put in 40 miles of Bad running last week. My body and my mind were pretty wasted and I finally admitted on Saturday that I was burnt to a crisp. Enter Massage Therapist Julie and two days in San Antonio. I had the most incredible massage on Saturday, followed by a couple of days out of town. I'm beginning to feel normal again.

Turkey Trot Countdown

Imagine this... a few mintues of downtime. I feel like I could rant and rave about how stressed the Turkey Trot makes me. Race Management is a lesson in patience and overwhelming amounts of detail work. As Race Director, I field every call and email about the event.In the blink of an eye, I go from zero tolerance (when people ask the same questions that are clearly marked on the website) to overwhelming gratitude (when people say how much they love this event). If nothing else, I have learned so much from this process. I bitch and moan every time my phone rings, but am energized when that same caller tells me that they appreciate my time. Sometimes I answer the phone as if I'm being bothered. Shame on me. Most of these people only sign up for one event a year--this one. When I'm at Packet Pickup and Registration, I love it! I love being surrounded by the volunteers who are giving their time and I love being surrounded by the participants who are excited to do the event with their friends and families. They always have great things to say about this race.

I also have a newfound respect for Event Planners. People have absolutely no idea how difficult and costly it is to shut down city streets. You don't just cone off a lane and call it a day. It involves re-routing traffic, hiring extra officers, posting notices and paying the people who get their asses up at 4am to change the traffic direction of the thoroughfare of downtown Austin. We're also in the vicinity of a major hospital, a major university, a major highway, the Ronald McDonald House and the State Capitol--all very important things to consider from a safety and security standpoint.

I'm having a fleeting moment of calm before the race. It's going to happen regardless of my mental state on race morning. I just hope someone brings a keg

Ironman 70.3: 13.1 Mile Run and now I'm Moving On!

I can't believe it took my 5hrs 35 minutes to complete Ironman 70.3, but over a week to actually recap the damn thing! :-)

So, it’s now Sunday evening, November 19th, and the race was over a week ago. I’m just now getting to actually recap the running portion of the triathlon. Damn, it seems so long ago. Let’s just say it was hot and difficult but I finished the 13.1 miles…the end! Moving on…

Oh, I wish it was that easy. As I alluded to in my previous post, this was the first time I wasn’t looking forward to the run. I knew I would finish, but I honestly didn’t think I was going to meet my goal time of 1:45 (8:00 min mile pace). For whatever reason, the thought of almost 2 more hours of hard physical activity was almost unbearable. And then I thought about them…my running partners. I swear. I knew they would check on my time at some point and they were expecting a 1:45 run. I couldn’t let them down. After all the training I’d done, I couldn’t have the run be my weak link. At that moment, that’s all I needed.

I started running like everyone does—stiff and awkward since my legs had been doing something completely different for the last 3 hours. They were used to spinning at a high cadence and now I was forcing them to stride out and pound the pavement. At one Mile, we climbed the Memorial Causeway Bridge. It was the same bridge we started climbing on the bike. Now, here I was three hours later doing it again on foot…In this race, I would have to do it still again…and again…and again. This was a two-loop course so you had to climb both sides of the bridge twice. Four ascents. Now, I’m not smart or scientific enough to have timed each of the climbs, but I’m pretty sure they got slower with each progression. Like always, my first 4-5 miles were too fast. You know when you get off a treadmill and immediately start walking and you’re still walking at that fast funny speed? Well, I guess that’s how the first few miles of the run are for me. I clocked them at 7:40-7:45 (with the first bridge climb). I had immediate thoughts of, “This will bite you in the ass later! SLOW DOWN…” I thought I was slowing down, but each mile was still coming in at a sub-8:00 pace. I was still running through the waterstops at this point and trying to alternate between water and Gatorade. Volunteers were passing out power gels and I also remember seeing Coke, pretzels, cookies, bananas and other goodies at each stop. (note to non-athlete friends: Races have some kick-ass food). When I wasn’t climbing or descending bridges, I was running through neighborhoods and even a paved trail for a portion of the run. I was passing people left and right and it’s always good to hear encouragement from the other athletes. “Looking good…Great Pace” Everyone is so positive out there. I’m proud to say that I was not passed by one person on the run…woo hoo!!

I was finally surrounded by mass groups of people, although I couldn’t tell if most of them were on their first or second run loops. It was pretty discouraging to see the really fast people finishing as myself and so many others were simply starting. Shawn swears he was cheering for me and shouting at the turnaround point. I didn’t believe him until he showed the pics that proved it. I was totally in “the zone” and gearing myself up for bridge climb #3. I was still ahead of pace, but fading fast. I was there, but I wasn’t. I stopped at the Mile 7 water stop and walked for about 15-20 seconds. I did that at every other Water Stop. I think my slowest my was an 8:26. I was still getting “Wow—great pace” remarks from the crowd and the participants, so I knew I must not have been looking too bad. I was just starting to feel that way. The last bridge climb at Mile 10.5 was tough, but it was also such a relief knowing it was done and I could enjoy the last downhill and straightaway back to the finish. Once again, as if I was air-lifted, my pace began to quicken on the other side of the bridge. I knew I was pretty much right on pace and I wanted to finish looking strong. My last three miles were in the sub-8:00 range and the agony and self-doubt of two miles ago turned to an abundance of self-pride. I felt like a champion. The atmosphere made me feel that way. The volunteers made me feel that way and the crowds made me feel that way. I remember another competitor yelling at how fast I was going and how good I looked. I also remember the announcer calling my name and saying something to the affect that I was “representing Austin, Texas!” I found it silly even as I was running towards the finish line because of all the other elite athletes and pros from Austin who had crossed the line hours before. I was hardly “representing” Austin. I just happen to be fortunate enough to live there.

My run goal time was a 1:45. My run split?
1:44:45

A volunteer was assigned to me immediately after I crossed the line. In the blink of an eye, I had my medal and some shells draped around my neck. I had a towel and a bottle of water immediately. The volunteer literally takes you by the arm and leads you to wherever you need to go. For some people, it was to the medical tent. For others, it was to the food tent. Still others wanted to sit down or find the restroom. I wanted to be led to Shawn who was waiting for me on the other side of the fence. He seemed so proud and it meant so much that he “gets it.” He knew what this race meant and he knew how hard it was since he’s done two half-ironmans as well. He also new immediately that I has set a Personal Best.

So that’s it. That’s my Ironman 70.3 Recap. I'll be posting both candid and official photos at some point.


Now—it’s on to the Dallas Marathon on December 10th. I ran 15 miles on Saturday, but felt pretty crappy the entire time. Ummm…yep, I need some rest and a big fat massage. I’m also in Turkey Trot Hell this week, but it’s going to be an awesome race. We did packet stuffing today and it went by so quickly. Thanks to all who showed up to help! We stuffed over 4,000 bags in two hours. Rock on!!!!!!! Also, our on-line entries are up over 25% year to date. As scary as that is, it’s also very exciting. This is going to be a great event.

Ironman 70.3: 56-Mile Bike Ride

Starting from the back of the pack can be a good thing, but not when you’re in the World Championship Race and virtually everyone is faster than you are. I learned that pretty quickly. A Mile into the bike ride, I climbed my first hill over the Memorial Causeway. My heart rate was still fluttering from the swim-to-bike transition, so this first incline felt discouraging. I didn’t get out of the saddle to climb, but instead decided to put it in the Granny Gear and ease my way up in the small chain ring. I totally thought, “Please don’t let it be this tough for the next 55 miles!” Fortunately, it wasn’t. The course was primarily flat through the streets of Clearwater and across the bridge towards Tampa. We did go over a couple of bridges that tested my resolve, but I had settled down long enough to be a little more relaxed. As I mentioned in a previous post, the weather was absolutely phenomenal and the wind just wasn’t a factor at all. I was so afraid we’d be blasted with an ocean breeze on the bridges, but it never happened. Every now and then, I’d feel a slight headwind, but it was nothing debilitating.

The one thing I noticed on the bike was that I was constantly hungry! I swear I don’t know how that’s possible since I had been loading up all week long, but sure enough, I needed nutrition about every 45 minutes. I alternated between gels, CLif Blocks and ½ PB bagel (yes, I had packed one). My legs started to wake up and I had some decisions to make.

By Mile 20 I thought, “What the heck is going on? I was passing plenty of people on the bike, but they were primarily people in the older age groups. I could not find anyone in the 30-34 age group!” It then hit me that these women were riding just as fast, if not faster than I was. Turns out, they were riding much faster than I was. I was never going to make any ground on these people like I try to do in a local race. It was then that my focus shifted completely. My goal was to no longer try to gain ground. It was to race for ME. It was to see if I could improve my previous PR of 5:44. I started comparing it to a Marathon. I NEVER think about my overall standings in a Marathon. It would be like me being disappointed if I didn’t place in the Top 10 at Boston. Duh…It’s not going to happen. In a marathon, I focus on MY previous time goal and MY new time goal. That was my new approach and I’m not really sure why it took me 20 miles on the bike to figure it out.

So, here was my major decision. I could hammer the bike and try to ride as fast as I possibly could, or I could ride comfortably hard and hope that I still had enough legs for my goal run of a 1:45 Half Marathon (8:00min pace). I obviously chose to ride comfortably hard. I made a very conscious decision to keep the speedometer between 18-21 miles per hour. Again, in any other race, that’s a great bike time. In the World Championship, it’s below average. Amazing…

Time went amazing fast on the bike and the scenery was fabulous. We did ride on several busy roads, but the Police did a fantastic job of controlling traffic. I never felt in danger. However, there were several severe bike crashes which took people out of the race immediately. I hated driving by those scenes, but it’s part of the sport I suppose.

I remember passing a couple of the disabled athletes on the bike including Sara Reinersten who competes with one leg. She’s such an inspiration and always has a smile on her face. She was the one who cheered for me as I passed her.

All in all, once I changed my focus, the ride became so much more relaxing. I was in awe of these bad-ass athletes.

I rode into transition and dismounted the bike. 2:57 and some change. Wow…My previous best was a 3:02. I had gained 5 minutes on the bike and averaged about 18.9999 mph on the bike. I couldn’t ask for anything better. My inner thighs and quads were burning slightly, so I was a little nervous about the run. For the first time in triathlon, I was scared of bonking on the run. 13 miles suddenly seemed almost impossible. Not only did 13 miles sound brutal, but the thought of being in “race mode” for another 1:45 was tough to comprehend. I was already mentally and physically tired so it was definitely time for a gut check. I was never in fear of not finishing. I was more in fear of a total bonk on the run, which is always my saving grace.

I handed my bike off to another volunteer, headed into the changing tent with my run bag and quickly threw on my running shoes and visor and headed out on my running journey.

Ironman 70.3: Pre-Race and Swim

In any scenario, you could not have painted a more perfect picture of the weather on Race Morning. The ocean was actually glass-like: no wind and no waves. How is that possible? Apparently, just a couple of days before, the weather was so bad that there were warning flags out as in, “Swim at your own risk, FOOL.” Today, it was so peaceful, except for the 1500 or so people that would soon be thrashing through it.

Our hotel was less than a ½ mile away so Tracy, Bob and I meandered down around 6am. Shawn would join later. My pre-race ritual was easy since I had dropped everything off the night before. I just made sure my helmet and sunglasses were on the bike and I double-checked my tire pressure. Still good…Please God, no flats!

Helicopters circled above capturing the moment for the March 31st, 2007 NBC broadcast of this event. I soaked it all in as much as I could, almost chuckling to myself that I was actually here surrounded by Ironman banners, Gatorade inflatables, big screen TVs, International competitors and announcers, TV crews, etc.

Shawn found me in the port-a-potty line (go figure). Even those were more efficient than any other race! By the way, is it UnAmerican to be in the port-a-potty as the National Anthem is being sung? Hey, at least I was sorta standing!!

The pros started at 7am and my wave of women 18+ went off shortly after 7:30am. Yep, that’s right. My wave was ALL of the female non-pro competitors. Me and several hundred other people at the same time. I wasn’t really nervous until we were corralled to the ocean. As soon as they said “Go,” we immediately started running into the water. It was very shallow for a while so swimming was futile. I started well (as much as I could tell). I stuck with a pack and tried to hug the buoys (which seemed to move) as much as I could . Always keep the buoys to your right. The inevitable happened. I got a huge gulp and mouthful of salt water. YUCK. Keep swimming. Try not to panic now. I knew it was going to happen plenty more times over the next 40 or so minutes. I was trying to focus on form, or at least as much as I could with people grabbing at my ankles and swimming over the top of me. The buoys just kept coming. Finally, I saw the last buoy and made the turn. I was still with a pack of people. Keep in mind, that is a rare occurrence for me. The course was a rectangle so I actually glanced at my watch as I made the turn back towards the ocean. 21 minutes…I got excited. Oh my God, I can do this in 40 minutes! Or so I thought. A 40 minute swim is still pretty slow by comparison, but great for me. For as brilliant as the morning was, it started to haunt me on the way back to the beach. The sun was coming up making it difficult to see the buoys on the way back. I started losing my pack because I was drifting to the left. Shit…Get back to the buoys. I started trying to swim in a diagonal pattern back towards the buoys and didn’t seem to make much progress. I was probably now about 10-15 yards away from the pack who continued to blaze ahead while I continued to fight to swim towards them. Once that happened, my usual swimming demons reared their ugly head and I couldn’t ignore the internal, “Why are you so bad at this?” comments. My swim went from “Good Job,” to “You suck” in a moment. I kept thinking, “You are the last wave to go, which means virtually no one is behind you. Please don’t be the last person out of the water.” Fortunately, I wasn’t…I got towards the pier and noticed that most of the spectators had moved on to cheer the others. I finally made it towards the beach and, of course, looked at my watch under the SWIM FINISH tower. 46 minutes. Damn…A brief pity party and then a run up the beach (which also sucked in deep sand and a heart rate of about 190!) Because you’re in salt water, you run through fresh water showers and volunteers are on the other side yelling at you to lay down so they can rip off your wetsuit for you. This is a welcome change from most races where you are on your own. I grabbed my gear bag and the awesome volunteers were there to help me get my shoes ready and pack up all the swim gear that I had just thrown on the ground. I could get used to this. I felt a little chaffing under my arm from my wetsuit so I quickly lathered it with vasoline as I ran towards my bike and began what would be a sub-3:00 excursion through Clearwater. The bike is usually the time where I begin picking off people in my age group. I settle in for about 15 minutes and then I start pushing it. I was anxious to see how many people I could catch today. Believe me, there were plenty of people on the course that I could choose from.

Ironman 70.3: Pre-Race Excitement

As I had mentioned earlier on race week, my main stress was actually getting to Tampa/Clearwater and making it in time for Packet Pickup, which was closing at 2:00pm on Friday. As traveling goes, pretty much everything is out of your control. I knew we were landing at Tampa International around 11:30am, which would give us plenty of time to take care of everything we needed. I also knew that if something went wrong, it could throw off everything.

Fortunately, both legs of our flight were picture-perfect. We got to the Austin airport in plenty of time (4:45am for a 6:00am flight!) and got our bags and the bike checked in safely and securely. Check. We made it to Houston and that leg landed in Tampa right on time. Check. Go Continental. As we were walking towards baggage claim, I said to Shawm, "The pilots did their job. Let's see if ground control did theirs."

While Shawn waited for our luggage, I got in line at Budget Rent-a-Car to pick up our car I had reserved earlier in the week. Long Line…no biggie. Why are there about 20 other people standing around though looking very frustrated? I made my way up to the counter and he said, “I see your reservation, but we’re waiting on cars to come back. It’s going to be at least 15-20 minutes before a car is here and ready.” I had time to spare, so it was cool at this point. However, I could tell by the expressions of the other 20 or so people standing around, that it had probably been longer than 15 minutes and they still didn’t have a car.

I walked down to our baggage carousel and didn’t see Shawn. I called his cell and he very calmly and bluntly said, “Your bike never left Austin. I’m in the Continental office.” Surprisingly, no melt-down occurred. Because he was so calm (thank God), I remained calm. The agents in Tampa obviously weren’t to blame and they said that it should make it here by 2:30pm, but they would call regardless. Well it SHOULD have made it on our flight, but it didn’t. I had little faith that my bike was going to make it. Besides the 2pm Athlete Check-In deadline, there was also a 6pm Bike Check-In deadline. The bike and all of your gear had to be in transition by 6pm.

I called my friends Tracy and Bob who were already in Clearwater and let them know of the situation. We were going to go to Athlete Check-In and then head back to the airport for the bike. After waiting over an hour, we finally got our rental. They had given us a discount and upgraded our car for the inconvenience, which ended up being a blessing with the bike box). We made it to the Packet Pickup by 1:15pm and the Volunteers took care of me and handed me my bibs, numbers, gear check bags, shirt, etc. It was a little overwhelming because my heart rate was already elevated from the stress of the morning. It hit me that I’m here for the freaking World Championship Triathlon—a sport that I’m not even very good at doing. It didn’t take long to look around and see the athletic bodies milling around the lobby and the expo. I mean spandex and tight shirts EVERYWHERE! This is where I immediately get psyched out with any race. You overhear people talking about what their next Ironman is going to be and how fast their bike splits are, what crank set they use, whether or not they prefer endurox or perpetuum, etc. And then there’s me who doesn’t even have my bike yet!!

After I got my packet, I had to get weighed. Are you shitting me?? So, like any other natural human being, I take off my shoes and he’s like, “Nope. With your shoes on…” So, it’s 1:30pm, I’ve been drinking water and Gatorade by the busload, eating like a freaking bear going into hibernation for the winter, I hadn’t gone to the bathroom yet that day (#1 or #2) and I’m wearing jeans and tennis shoes. I’m using all of the above as an excuse as to why I came out 6lbs heavier than normal!!!! The guy who weighed me said, “That’s a good fighting weight! You’re going to do great.”
“Thanks jackass. I wasn’t planning on fighting anyone…Until now!”

OK—once the humiliation ended, we picked up our stuff and headed to the Merchandise tent and proceeded to shop. Hell, I’ll probably never make it back to this event so I ended up buying a racing visor, t-shirt and running sweatshirt during this trip. We had time to kill and the airline hadn’t called yet, so we went over to Einstein Brothers Bagels and had a turkey bagel. I also purchased extras for my breakfast in the morning.

While en route back to the airport, I received a call from them letting me know that my bike was officially there. It was about 3:15pm and I still had to get everything in by 6pm. It was Friday afternoon so we had no idea what traffic held for us. Fortunately, it didn’t back up until we were pretty much in back in Clearwater. We pulled into a parking lot by transition and opened the bike box and proceeded to put it together. Pedals…on, seat…on, handlebars…on, wheels…on. A woman let us borrow a pump to blow up the tires. I took it for a quick spin. Nothing seemed to be out of place. I took it for another 30-second spin. Looks ok to me! Ideally, I would’ve liked to have taken it for a 30-min ride, but we just didn’t have the time. I was going on complete and total faith that the bike would get me through the 56 miles. God Bless Shawn for being so patient through all of this. I’ve told him over and over, I would not have done this event without him and his support. Nope. No way.

It was now after 5pm and I had to also pack all of my transition bags. So, in the middle of this parking lot, I was physically and mentally talking myself through the transitions. “Come out of the ocean and I need socks, bike shoes, race belt with number attached helmet, spare tubes and nutrition.” That all goes in the blue bag. “After the bike, I will need my running hat, shoes and power gels. My race belt is already on so I won’t need that.” That goes in the red bag.

At 5:30pm I was standing in line at the transition area with my bike and gear bags. With the stress of the day, I was beat and honestly had no idea whether or not I had everything that I needed packed and ready to go. The volunteers were awesome and helped me find my bike rack and my gear bag rack. What an amazing operation it was. There were still tons of people making their way to transitions with their stuff as well.

After I took care of that, it was only then that I truly looked around and saw what was happening. Ironman 70.3 banners everywhere, inflatables, bleachers, the Swim start tower and corral down by the waterfront, buoys in the water, big screen TVs and The freaking OCEAN in front of me with some of the most pristine white sand ever in my toes. I took a deep breath of relief, nervousness and gratitude and thought to myself, “I made it.”

I Did It!!

It was a whirlwind weekend and I finally got home around 2:00am this morning, but I'm excited to personally report that I had a fantastic race and I couldn't be happier with my personal performance (well...there's that swim thing, but I'll get into that later!)

I'm launching into Turkey Trot hell this week so I'll be writing race reports as the time permits, but I will do it because I don't want to ever forget this once in a lifetime experience of racing with the pros...and not coming in dead last place :-)

My 5:35:37 is an almost 9-minute personal best from my last Half-Ironman in June! I had a plan and In executed it correctly. What more could I ask for of myself??

Reports and photos coming soon!

Race Week: Sufficiently Bloated

Short run on Monday...
Easy bike ride on Wednesday...
Quick Run on Thursday...


Because of the lack of intense training this week, the consumption of multiple calories and the "right on time" presence of Mother Nature, I'm sufficiently bloated heading into the race! Ughhh...I guess that means I'm right on track :-)


File this one in the "Too Cool" Folder:

You can track my race at www.ironman.com
Track An Athlete
Either type in my last name "Sapp" or my bib number "1387"

http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/worldchampionship70.3?show=tracker&y=2006

Conservative, yet realistic expectations are as follows:

Swim: 45-50 min
Bike: 3:00-3:15 (yes, that's 3 hours)
Run: 1:40-1:50

Transitions will be slightly different than I'm used to as I will have separate gear bags for my bike stuff and run stuff. It all won't be shoved under my bike like it usually is.

I'm on my way to becoming an official Ironman, well...at least a half of one anyways.

Race Week: A Few Jitters

4 Days Away
ironmanlive.com


We leave bright and early for Clearwater Beach on Friday morning, but I'm in a virtual marathon until then to catch up on work deadlines, Turkey Trot correspondence and packing my gear. As you may or may not know, packing for a triathlon involves an entire evening of dismantling your bike and going through the mental checklist of everything I will need on race morning--goggles, body glide, wetsuit, sunscreen, socks, timing chip, running shoes, cycling shoes, hat, tri-suit, sunglasses...you get the point.

I met Amy for a Medium Paced 6-mile run on Monday morning. I was planning on taking the day off completely, but Amy called Sunday night looking for a running partner and I couldn't refuse. I was slightly hesitant because I had run Friday, biked 40 miles on Saturday and swam on Sunday Morning. Plus, I had just had a great deep tissue massage on Sunday afternoon. It turned out ok, though and the run felt great. I didn't feel any exhaustion or soreness whatsoever. We averaged a nice 8:46 per mile, so we weren't killing ourselves either.

The rest of the week is a wait and see. I'll probably swim and bike just a bit on Wednesday and then complete one final short 4-5 mile jog on Thursday. Mike, Richard and Thon arranged for an official "Send off" pasta dinner on Thursday after work. God, I love these guys...always looking for an excuse to eat :-)

The real race happens Friday when I arrive in Florida. Apparently, packet pickup ends at 2:00pm on Friday and I arrive in Florida around 11:30am. If all runs smoothly, I'll be fine. If not, I'll have all of my friends bombard the Race Office and let them know I'm en route. here's the number if you want to put it in speed dial. 1-727-593-6081 I'm serious, I may have to cause a scene if I'm running late. I'm definitely cutting it close with the car rental situation, bike transporting and commuting. I'm more nervous about this race than the actual event right now!!

Week 13: 14 Mile Mt. Bonnell Run

"Mt. Bonnell is my taper."



I didn't mean for it to be the theme for this morning's run, but it ended up being that way.

I didn't mean for it to sound cocky, pretentious or over-confident. Most would assume that's what it meant. My running partners understand what I mean.

It's not about disrespecting my training. It's about respecting my body and evaluating my current mental and physical strength.

Adding Mt. Bonnell to any workout builds confidence. Adding Mt. Bonnell to a workout a week before my race makes me feel ready...and...trained.

I met Amy this morning at 5:30 to do our 14 Mile Run. It was cold (low 40s) and we, of course, over-dressed. About 2 miles in to the run, we met up with Julie--Amy's massage Therapist. Julie ran with us for several miles as we marched towards Bonnell. The sun started to rise the same time our run started it's rise. we couldn't help but remark at the gorgeous sunrise that we were lucky enough to witness. Absolutely stunning...

The run was a good strategic one...First couple of miles in the low 9:00's, the middle miles in the 8:40s-8:50 range, Mt. Bonnell was a 9:24...The way back home got gradually faster...8:30, 8:24, 8:06, 8:06...start slow and end fast. The way it should be done.

Hopefully, that's how my triathlon will also go next week.

Week 13: Run/Swim

Here's why I love Triathlon. You can be laying in the Med Tent after a race receiving IVs and fluid, but the medal is still around your neck and you can still smile at the accomplishment.


OK--I'm not being a total slacker. I have been doing some workouts, but as I told a friend, tapering to me just means cutting back to one workout per day ;-) slightly tongue-in-cheek of course.

Monday
Did an 8-Mile Slow Recovery Run
1:20

Tuesday
Ate too much freaking Halloween candy and didn't work out at all

Wednesday
I was mentally prepared to do the Gazelle 4-Mile tempo run, but Coach G had Thon and I do a Fartlek workout instead. We warmed up for a good 4 miles, did 12x 1min fast/1min slow fartleks, cooled down for about 1/2 mile. It felt good to get the legs turning! Total--7 Miles

Thursday
Even though it was 47 degrees this morning, I dragged myself to Barton Springs for a Mile Swim a Race Pace effort. I say effort because I forgot to wear a watch to time myself. It felt pretty darn good except when that long, lean swimmer glided right past me! Actually, because it was so cool this morning, I virtually had the Springs all to myself with the exception of about 4 others who also braved the cold. The cool thing about Barton Springs is that when it's 47 degrees outside, the 68 degree water actually feels oddly warm.

Doing my long run tomorrow and a 36-40 mile ride on Saturday called the Tour de Gruene. I'll probably swim on Sunday and then really back off next week. I can't believe I've made it through these last 13 weeks of intense training. I'm feeling good and strong. No real time goals, but I did Eagleman in 5:44. It would be great to at least equal that, if not improve slightly.