First off, I learned the acronym TITS from reading Sarah's blog found here.
Today, my workout was to ride 2 hours on my bike. A 30 minute warm up and then 3 x 30 minutes at race pace with an easy ride in between. For some reason when I woke up this morning, thinking of 2 hours on my bike sounded really overwhelming. It didn't help that my bike computer is broken so while I'm out on my bike I can't see how fast or how far I've gone. I haven't gotten around to replacing the computer yet.
Well this overwhelming feeling turned in to an anxiety attack. To make a long story short, my mom was ignoring my anxiety and that pissed me off & made my anxiety even worse. Well, it pissed me off just enough that I got on my bike and just decided to ride & ride until I couldn't ride any more.
Including 2 stops for more water, my TITS ended up being 3 hours, which totaled 39.7 miles and 2370 calories burned! There were some pretty decent hills on the ride & it was a pretty hot ride, but overall it was a good ride. The TITS gave me plenty of time to think and analyze things.
I wanted to go even farther on my ride today, but my back tire was getting low on air (not flat, but low) & I didn't want to use my only CO2 cartridge that I have right now to pump up the rest of my tire, so I called it quits.
It'll probably be 2 weeks before I get another long ride like that in, but I can't wait for that day!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Weigh In
For the past 3 years, I have weighed myself every Saturday morning and put down in an Excel spreadsheet how much I weigh. That is how I have kept track of my weight loss.
Well, I'm starting to gain muscle now and because muscle weighs more than fat, when I get on the scale on Saturday mornings, I'm starting to see the number go up instead of down. It really messes with my mind.
I realize I can't weigh myself every Saturday for the rest of my life. That is just unrealistic. But I'm not sure how I can go without weighing myself. Honestly, it scares me.
How do I go from weighing myself every Saturday to not weighing myself every Saturday? How do I not be scared about this? I need opinions please.
Facing the Giant
This video was posted on Facebook today & it really hit home with me.
When I was competing in my first Olympic distance triathlon I wanted to quit SO bad. As I was watching this video, I understood SO much what the football player was saying when he kept saying "Am I there yet?".
I'm SO glad I didn't quit though. To date, my Olympic distance triathlon was the hardest race I have done to date...but I wouldn't change it for the world. I've learned things from that race and it will do nothing but make me a better athlete. As I was watching this video I was thinking to myself, I will NEVER quit. Someone will have to carry me off the course before I quit. If I have to crawl across the finish line, that is what I'll do.
In all of my races from here on out, this coach's voice is going to be in my head "Don't quit. Don't ever quit!" "Don't quit til you have nothin' left."
When I was competing in my first Olympic distance triathlon I wanted to quit SO bad. As I was watching this video, I understood SO much what the football player was saying when he kept saying "Am I there yet?".
I'm SO glad I didn't quit though. To date, my Olympic distance triathlon was the hardest race I have done to date...but I wouldn't change it for the world. I've learned things from that race and it will do nothing but make me a better athlete. As I was watching this video I was thinking to myself, I will NEVER quit. Someone will have to carry me off the course before I quit. If I have to crawl across the finish line, that is what I'll do.
In all of my races from here on out, this coach's voice is going to be in my head "Don't quit. Don't ever quit!" "Don't quit til you have nothin' left."
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Awesome Workout Today
Today I had an AWESOME workout! I'm just so happy from it! First off, I have to say, I absolutely love when a workout can change my attitude or grumpiness from negative to positive.
I had a super rough day today. I got to work at 8:44 a.m. this morning and was ready to throw the towel in at 9:00 a.m. But, as soon as I got in the pool tonight, all my grumpiness disappeared along with the stresses of the day. :)
My scheduled workout from BJ today was:
Swim:
200 swim, 200 kick, 200 pull
10 x 100 with 30 sec rest
cool down
Run:
warm up 1 mile
5 x 1,000 meters with 90 sec rest
cool down 1 mile
I normally get up at 4:45 a.m. and go swimming so that when I get home from work I don't have to deal with all of the kids at the pool and all I have to do is run, but this morning I woke up with a killer headache and I was just tired, so I just went back to bed, so I had to do both swimming & running tonight.
My swim tonight was one of the best swims I've had in a loooooooooooong time! Every 100 I did, with the exception of the last 3 100's I did, were all done in 2 minutes or less!!! One of the 100's I did I was able to do in 1:56!!! I haven't swam that fast in a long time. It was nice to know that I'm finally back on the training band wagon and I'm making improvements...thanks to my awesome trainer BJ.
My run, it was hard, but I did it. the 1,000 meters I did, I did at an 8:30 mile and then slowed down to a 10:00 mile for the 90 second rest. Oooopppss...I just realized I was supposed to do 5 x 1000 meters and I only did 4. Oooooopppss...there's always tomorrow. :)
I had a super rough day today. I got to work at 8:44 a.m. this morning and was ready to throw the towel in at 9:00 a.m. But, as soon as I got in the pool tonight, all my grumpiness disappeared along with the stresses of the day. :)
My scheduled workout from BJ today was:
Swim:
200 swim, 200 kick, 200 pull
10 x 100 with 30 sec rest
cool down
Run:
warm up 1 mile
5 x 1,000 meters with 90 sec rest
cool down 1 mile
I normally get up at 4:45 a.m. and go swimming so that when I get home from work I don't have to deal with all of the kids at the pool and all I have to do is run, but this morning I woke up with a killer headache and I was just tired, so I just went back to bed, so I had to do both swimming & running tonight.
My swim tonight was one of the best swims I've had in a loooooooooooong time! Every 100 I did, with the exception of the last 3 100's I did, were all done in 2 minutes or less!!! One of the 100's I did I was able to do in 1:56!!! I haven't swam that fast in a long time. It was nice to know that I'm finally back on the training band wagon and I'm making improvements...thanks to my awesome trainer BJ.
My run, it was hard, but I did it. the 1,000 meters I did, I did at an 8:30 mile and then slowed down to a 10:00 mile for the 90 second rest. Oooopppss...I just realized I was supposed to do 5 x 1000 meters and I only did 4. Oooooopppss...there's always tomorrow. :)
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Hills Are My Nemesis
Sunday, BJ sent me my workouts and I looked at what today's workout was and I just about died! It said:
warm up 20 min
3 x 15 min climbs up any road you
choose in bountiful. When 15 is up
then turn around descend and start
over
cool down
I've never been good at climbing hills on my bike. I've got better than I used to be, but I'm not as good as I'd like to be.
So...I chose to ride my bike up 4th North in Bountiful. It's one of the steepest hills in the city. It goes from as far West to as far East as the city goes. 4th North leads you up to the LDS Temple on the hill. If you ever have to drive this hill in the winter time, you dread it because you just slide everywhere.
So, I did a 20 minute warm up and then looked at my watch and headed up 4th North. I got about 1/2 way up 4th North to a street calle Davis Blvd and that's where I had to stop. I was out of breath, I felt like I could barf, I felt weak, I was thirsty, my heart was beating out of my chest, I basically felt like I was going to fall over and die.
So, I pulled off on Davis Blvd, looked at my watch, and I'd only been climbing this hill for 7 1/2 minutes. I was only 1/2 way done. Well, tough noogies. The hill only gets steeper the further East of Davis Blvd you go, I just knew I physically couldn't go further. As I was catching my breath, I thought there was NO way I was going to be able to climb this hill 2 more times. I would have a freaking heart attack!
I'm finally feeling stable, so I decide to decend down 4th North. As I'm decending down 4th North, it's like your mind totally forgets what you just did because I remember thinking to myself, I can do this again! No big deal! If I can do it once, I can do it again!
So, I got back down to the bottom of 4th North and turned around and headed back up the hill! Oh dear Lord, what have I gotten myself in to? I made it back up to Davis Blvd again and felt like I was going to die. I felt like I was going to chuck my guts up once I stopped.
But once again, as I was decending down 4th North, I thought I've done this twice I'm sure I can do it one more time. Well, this time I was wrong. I made it up to 700 East (about 1/3 of the way up the hill) and I came SO close to upchucking that I decided to call it quits.
I turned my bike around & headed back home. I kind of feel bad that I didn't make it up the hill a third time. I feel like I kind of wussed out, but I honestly think if I would've climbed all the way up to Davis Blvd, I would've puked my guts up once I got up there.
Will hills EVER get any easier? I sure hope so.
warm up 20 min
3 x 15 min climbs up any road you
choose in bountiful. When 15 is up
then turn around descend and start
over
cool down
I've never been good at climbing hills on my bike. I've got better than I used to be, but I'm not as good as I'd like to be.
So...I chose to ride my bike up 4th North in Bountiful. It's one of the steepest hills in the city. It goes from as far West to as far East as the city goes. 4th North leads you up to the LDS Temple on the hill. If you ever have to drive this hill in the winter time, you dread it because you just slide everywhere.
So, I did a 20 minute warm up and then looked at my watch and headed up 4th North. I got about 1/2 way up 4th North to a street calle Davis Blvd and that's where I had to stop. I was out of breath, I felt like I could barf, I felt weak, I was thirsty, my heart was beating out of my chest, I basically felt like I was going to fall over and die.
So, I pulled off on Davis Blvd, looked at my watch, and I'd only been climbing this hill for 7 1/2 minutes. I was only 1/2 way done. Well, tough noogies. The hill only gets steeper the further East of Davis Blvd you go, I just knew I physically couldn't go further. As I was catching my breath, I thought there was NO way I was going to be able to climb this hill 2 more times. I would have a freaking heart attack!
I'm finally feeling stable, so I decide to decend down 4th North. As I'm decending down 4th North, it's like your mind totally forgets what you just did because I remember thinking to myself, I can do this again! No big deal! If I can do it once, I can do it again!
So, I got back down to the bottom of 4th North and turned around and headed back up the hill! Oh dear Lord, what have I gotten myself in to? I made it back up to Davis Blvd again and felt like I was going to die. I felt like I was going to chuck my guts up once I stopped.
But once again, as I was decending down 4th North, I thought I've done this twice I'm sure I can do it one more time. Well, this time I was wrong. I made it up to 700 East (about 1/3 of the way up the hill) and I came SO close to upchucking that I decided to call it quits.
I turned my bike around & headed back home. I kind of feel bad that I didn't make it up the hill a third time. I feel like I kind of wussed out, but I honestly think if I would've climbed all the way up to Davis Blvd, I would've puked my guts up once I got up there.
Will hills EVER get any easier? I sure hope so.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Jordanelle Course Review
I was asked by a reader to go in to a little more depth about the course on my Jordanelle Olympic Distance Triathlon, so here goes. :)
The swim wonderful! They had the Olympic distance men start at 9:00 a.m. and the Olympic women & Olympic relay start at 9:05 and lastly the sprint at 9:30 a.m. They had all the boueys set up and everything. For the Olympic distance, you had to do 2 laps around all 3 boueys, for the Sprint distance you only had to do 1 lap. They had plenty of boats and canoes out on the water in case somebody needed help, etc. The only downer about the swim was after you rounded the first bouey, as you were sighting heading towards the second bouey, the sun was SO bright and right in your eyes, I had a hard time sighting the second bouey. However, thankfully, there was a HUGE boat sitting out by the second bouey that I was able to sight with instead.
The bike was harder than I expected. I drove the route the day before, so I knew what I was getting in to. Normally, the route wouldn't be that hard for me. We had to bike a total of 25 miles. The first 12 miles of the bike were on what they call a "false flat". It looked flat, but it wasn't. It was between a 1 - 2% uphill grade. It was an open course, however, there wasn't alot of traffic. One of the downers of the bike course was the turn around wasn't well marked. Thankfully someone who had already reached the turn around point hollered out to me that I was coming close to the turn around point. All the turn around point was, was spray paint on the road saying 13 miles, turn around. I personally would have liked it if they had a barricade with a sign or a volunteer there saying ok, turn around here. Once you reached the turn around point, it was all downhill except for 2 hills you had to climb. The first hill I would say was maybe 4 - 5% incline and the second hill was maybe a 3% incline. Those second hill wasn't hard to climb at all and the first hill was easier to climb than I thought it would be. Especially with how fatigued I was already feeling. We only had to go through 2 major intersections on the bike and police officers and volunteers were present at both intersections to give us a right of way. That was very nice. The only other hill on the course was a 10% decend and that was towards the end of the course. Going down this hill you can practically almost coast the rest of the way in to transition. If you can't coast, you can pedal easy. :) I wish my speedometer was working when I went down this hill so I knew how fast I was going. They said alot of people go upwards of 40 mph down that hill. I know my personal trainer, who was also competing in the race, was going 55 mph down that hill.
The run was ALOT harder than I expected. I don't think the run would have been hard if I would have eaten on the bike (see my previous post about the Jordanelle Triathlon). I didn't know what the run route was until I started it. The majority of the run was a trail run. If you did the sprint distance triathlon, you only had to do 1 lap on the run, if you did the Olympic distance, you had to do 2 laps. About the first 1 1/2 miles of the run, it was on pavement and then you were on a trail until about the last 1/2 mile of the run. They did have water aid stations at every mile on the run, so that was really nice. We were basically running through campsites at Jordanelle. I don't really know how else to describe it. There was only 2 hills on the run and one was on pavement and one was on a trail. I've never been good at trail running, so the second hill was harder than the first. There was also part of the run that was a really narrow trail. If you're good at trail running, you'll do fine on this course. I was very impressed with how well marked the run course was. They did a great job.
TriUtah put this race on and they've got to be the best race organizers. I was very impressed with how well organized this race was. I will definitely continue to support TriUtah and do their races.
The swim wonderful! They had the Olympic distance men start at 9:00 a.m. and the Olympic women & Olympic relay start at 9:05 and lastly the sprint at 9:30 a.m. They had all the boueys set up and everything. For the Olympic distance, you had to do 2 laps around all 3 boueys, for the Sprint distance you only had to do 1 lap. They had plenty of boats and canoes out on the water in case somebody needed help, etc. The only downer about the swim was after you rounded the first bouey, as you were sighting heading towards the second bouey, the sun was SO bright and right in your eyes, I had a hard time sighting the second bouey. However, thankfully, there was a HUGE boat sitting out by the second bouey that I was able to sight with instead.
The bike was harder than I expected. I drove the route the day before, so I knew what I was getting in to. Normally, the route wouldn't be that hard for me. We had to bike a total of 25 miles. The first 12 miles of the bike were on what they call a "false flat". It looked flat, but it wasn't. It was between a 1 - 2% uphill grade. It was an open course, however, there wasn't alot of traffic. One of the downers of the bike course was the turn around wasn't well marked. Thankfully someone who had already reached the turn around point hollered out to me that I was coming close to the turn around point. All the turn around point was, was spray paint on the road saying 13 miles, turn around. I personally would have liked it if they had a barricade with a sign or a volunteer there saying ok, turn around here. Once you reached the turn around point, it was all downhill except for 2 hills you had to climb. The first hill I would say was maybe 4 - 5% incline and the second hill was maybe a 3% incline. Those second hill wasn't hard to climb at all and the first hill was easier to climb than I thought it would be. Especially with how fatigued I was already feeling. We only had to go through 2 major intersections on the bike and police officers and volunteers were present at both intersections to give us a right of way. That was very nice. The only other hill on the course was a 10% decend and that was towards the end of the course. Going down this hill you can practically almost coast the rest of the way in to transition. If you can't coast, you can pedal easy. :) I wish my speedometer was working when I went down this hill so I knew how fast I was going. They said alot of people go upwards of 40 mph down that hill. I know my personal trainer, who was also competing in the race, was going 55 mph down that hill.
The run was ALOT harder than I expected. I don't think the run would have been hard if I would have eaten on the bike (see my previous post about the Jordanelle Triathlon). I didn't know what the run route was until I started it. The majority of the run was a trail run. If you did the sprint distance triathlon, you only had to do 1 lap on the run, if you did the Olympic distance, you had to do 2 laps. About the first 1 1/2 miles of the run, it was on pavement and then you were on a trail until about the last 1/2 mile of the run. They did have water aid stations at every mile on the run, so that was really nice. We were basically running through campsites at Jordanelle. I don't really know how else to describe it. There was only 2 hills on the run and one was on pavement and one was on a trail. I've never been good at trail running, so the second hill was harder than the first. There was also part of the run that was a really narrow trail. If you're good at trail running, you'll do fine on this course. I was very impressed with how well marked the run course was. They did a great job.
TriUtah put this race on and they've got to be the best race organizers. I was very impressed with how well organized this race was. I will definitely continue to support TriUtah and do their races.
Fellowshipping
I'm not sure how to start this particular post, so I'm just going to start typing. If I ramble, I'm sorry, but this particular topic this post is about, I'm not sure how to compile it in to a grammatically correct post, etc.
Also, I would love to hear people's opinion on this subject.
Also, I can't decide whether to post this particular subject on this blog or on my personal blog, so I'm going to post it both places, so if you read both blogs, I'm sorry for the repetitiveness of it.
I know I've got a few new readers to my blog, so let me backtrack a little. I was raised a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon). A few years ago, I ventured away from the church and haven't looked back. I don't practice their beliefs, etc., however, I still live at home with my parents who are VERY active in the church, etc.
My dad came home from church a couple of weeks ago and said that the young men & young women of the church were going to be doing a memorial type walk from the Draper, UT temple to the Salt Lake City temple, which is a total of 22.7 miles, and my dad being an EMT, volunteered to be a medic in case anyone got injured.
My dad invited me to do the walk/run. I told him I would think about it, but I wasn't sure.
Now, my issue with all of this is, the people who are organizing this, EVERYONE in the neighborhood knows how big I am in to fitness, etc. If the church is SO much in to fellowshipping and they really want people to come to church, etc., then why hasn't anybody approached me about helping with this walk? My dad even told me last night, they're looking for someone to ride a bicycle in between the 2 medic vehicles (there will be 1 in the front of the group, and 1 behind the group). I would almost be willing to bet you that I'm one of the only people in the neighborhood/ward that has a decent road bike that could do this. I can't imagine riding this 22.7 miles on a mountain bike. It would be dreadful.
But like I said earlier, if the church is SO big in to getting the inactive folks active and fellowshipping, why hasn't anybody approached me about this? I kind of feel like the church is contradicting themselves by saying that they are in to fellowshipping, etc., but then they don't do it.
Also, I would love to hear people's opinion on this subject.
Also, I can't decide whether to post this particular subject on this blog or on my personal blog, so I'm going to post it both places, so if you read both blogs, I'm sorry for the repetitiveness of it.
I know I've got a few new readers to my blog, so let me backtrack a little. I was raised a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon). A few years ago, I ventured away from the church and haven't looked back. I don't practice their beliefs, etc., however, I still live at home with my parents who are VERY active in the church, etc.
My dad came home from church a couple of weeks ago and said that the young men & young women of the church were going to be doing a memorial type walk from the Draper, UT temple to the Salt Lake City temple, which is a total of 22.7 miles, and my dad being an EMT, volunteered to be a medic in case anyone got injured.
My dad invited me to do the walk/run. I told him I would think about it, but I wasn't sure.
Now, my issue with all of this is, the people who are organizing this, EVERYONE in the neighborhood knows how big I am in to fitness, etc. If the church is SO much in to fellowshipping and they really want people to come to church, etc., then why hasn't anybody approached me about helping with this walk? My dad even told me last night, they're looking for someone to ride a bicycle in between the 2 medic vehicles (there will be 1 in the front of the group, and 1 behind the group). I would almost be willing to bet you that I'm one of the only people in the neighborhood/ward that has a decent road bike that could do this. I can't imagine riding this 22.7 miles on a mountain bike. It would be dreadful.
But like I said earlier, if the church is SO big in to getting the inactive folks active and fellowshipping, why hasn't anybody approached me about this? I kind of feel like the church is contradicting themselves by saying that they are in to fellowshipping, etc., but then they don't do it.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Race 4 of 4 - Jordanelle Olympic Distance Triathlon
Yesterday was my first Olympic distance triathlon. I picked this triathlon because it was later in the year and I would have plenty of time to train for it and get plenty of open water swimming practice in.
Well, before the race, I had only had 2 chances to go open water swimming. I wasn't feeling to confident about the swim. BJ, my personal trainer, had given me plenty of tips and told me about the race course, etc. I was about as prepared as I was going to be.
Transition opened at 6:30 a.m., so I wanted to be there bright and early to get a good transition spot. Little did I know is that they assigned you a transition spot, so hell, I could've slept a good extra 1 - 1 1/2 hrs. I was pretty bummed.
I had to actually bike from where we parked down to the transition area, which was about 4 miles. I got to go down a REALLY steep hill. Everybody was saying you can go upwards of 40-50 mph going down this hill, so I was kind of excited to see how fast I was going to be going down this hill on my way to transition to set everything up, but my computer on my bike wasn't working. :( Boo.
Finally 8:30 a.m. came and I ate my sports beans. I'm getting increasingly nervous because the event I was most scared of was the swim. I had to swim 1 mile. 8:55 a.m. came and I was in my wetsuit nice and good and decided to get in the water to warm up. I was surrounded by others that were doing their first Olympic distance so I was still panicing on the inside, but it was nice to know I wasn't in this alone.
Then...the gun went off. I started out slow on my swim and the first bouey was easy to spot. I felt like I was doing really good. I rounded the first bouey and started sighting for the 2nd bouey. That was more difficult because the sun was right in your face. I ended up just sighting with a big boat that was out there by the bouey 'cause I couldn't see the bouey. Then I finally got there and headed to the 3rd bouey to start my 2nd round of swimming. I had to do 2 laps of this swim to swim 1 mile. The first lap went really well and most of the 2nd lap went really well. When it finally came time to swim in to shore I thought I'd never get there! I kept sighting and it seemed like it was always the same distance away. You know those endless pools? I felt like I was swimming in one of those.
Finally I made it to the boat ramp and I saw people running up the boat ramp, well that just wasn't an option for me. My legs felt like jello, my arms hurt, I knew right then the bike was going to be rough.
So, I was in the transition area and I'm trying to go as fast as I can, but my body is just already tired. I'm screwed! I finally get my shoes on, helmet on, etc. and I'm heading out of transition to start a 25 mile bike ride.
The bike route is what they call a "false flat". It looks like it is flat, but it's a 1 - 2% uphill grade. The first half of the bike was dreadful. I was just praying I would get to the turn around point. I mean God and everybody was passing me on the bike. I was starting to have a panic attack on the bike because of how terrible I was doing on the bike, therefore I started hyperventilating on the bike. This wasn't good. Everybody passing me had kind words of encouragement, but it was still rough.
I think at one point on the bike I saw BJ stopped off at the side of the road cheering me on and that pushed me further. That made me dig a little deeper and push harder. Once I finally got to the turn around point, everything was good though. It was all downhill from here.
On the bike though, I made a stupid, very stupid, mistake. I didn't eat anything. I had a packet of sports beans taped to my bike, but I kept looking down at them and I saw was salt. They are very salty, which is good, which helps you drink more, etc., but all I wanted was water. So, I never ate them. I just sipped a little bit of my Powerade and drank all my water.
I finally got back to transition and there was at least 2 people behind me on the bike, so I knew I wasn't last, but I wasn't doing as well as I wanted.
I headed out on the run of 5.7 miles and I was just done. My legs were done. They felt like jello. I was really discouraged. The whole run was like a giant panic attack and I kept hyperventilating on the run too. I walked a good portion of the run just cause I couldn't do it.
I came walking/running in from my first lap and I'm bawling and my dad is there ringing the cowbell telling me not to give up. Then as I'm heading out, I'm thoroughly embarrassed because I'm one of the last people out on the course. I see my personal trainer and his wife there cheering me on telling me not to be embarrassed. This is my first Olympic distance tri, I can keep doing it.
I walked almost all of the 2nd lap of the run. I was so far behind from everyone else, I could have easily cheated. I mean, there wasn't anybody at the last water station. That's how far behind I was. BUT...I knew my conscious would get to me so I kept on with the whole 5.7 miles.
Somehow I managed to run the last 1/2 mile of the race and run in to the finish.
My personal trainer and my dad met me at the finish line. I stood and talked with my personal trainer for a little bit. We briefly talked about what I did well and what I didn't do well on the race. We're gonna get together in a few days and go over it in more detail.
I drank a TON of water on my run because it was hot and I was afraid of getting dehydrated. Well, shortly after this picture was taken, BJ and his wife left and I promptly walked over and barfed up every ounce of water I drank. It was rough. I wondered when I was going to stop barfing. I ended up seeing the medical tent people and took some electrolyte pills.
Finally I was feeling well enough to walk down to transition and grab my bike and walk back up to the bus to go up to the car.
Weird thing is...while I was sitting there taking the electroylte pills, I heard my name called over the loud speaker. I didn't find out until I got home that I placed 2nd in my division!!! Now...only 2 of us registered in that division, but I placed!!! My final time was 3:49:00 (I don't remember the seconds). I came in 123rd over all and there were I believe around 200 people who did the Olympic distance.
I know my biggest mistake was not eating anything on the bike. I needed to refuel on the bike to have energy to get through the run. I can't wait to do another Olympic distance triathlon to see how well I do when I eat something on the bike, you know? Looking back now, I find it interesting that my best event in this race was the one I was most scared of...the swim. I just can't express how STUPID I feel for not eating anything on the bike. I knew I should have and my gut was telling me I should, but I just didn't want to. It wasn't that I didn't want to consume calories, that wasn't bothering me, I just was craving water and nothing else.
Here's one last picture. My personal trainer on the run portion of the race. Yes, he took 1st place overall. He's a machine.
Well, before the race, I had only had 2 chances to go open water swimming. I wasn't feeling to confident about the swim. BJ, my personal trainer, had given me plenty of tips and told me about the race course, etc. I was about as prepared as I was going to be.
Transition opened at 6:30 a.m., so I wanted to be there bright and early to get a good transition spot. Little did I know is that they assigned you a transition spot, so hell, I could've slept a good extra 1 - 1 1/2 hrs. I was pretty bummed.
I had to actually bike from where we parked down to the transition area, which was about 4 miles. I got to go down a REALLY steep hill. Everybody was saying you can go upwards of 40-50 mph going down this hill, so I was kind of excited to see how fast I was going to be going down this hill on my way to transition to set everything up, but my computer on my bike wasn't working. :( Boo.
Finally 8:30 a.m. came and I ate my sports beans. I'm getting increasingly nervous because the event I was most scared of was the swim. I had to swim 1 mile. 8:55 a.m. came and I was in my wetsuit nice and good and decided to get in the water to warm up. I was surrounded by others that were doing their first Olympic distance so I was still panicing on the inside, but it was nice to know I wasn't in this alone.
Then...the gun went off. I started out slow on my swim and the first bouey was easy to spot. I felt like I was doing really good. I rounded the first bouey and started sighting for the 2nd bouey. That was more difficult because the sun was right in your face. I ended up just sighting with a big boat that was out there by the bouey 'cause I couldn't see the bouey. Then I finally got there and headed to the 3rd bouey to start my 2nd round of swimming. I had to do 2 laps of this swim to swim 1 mile. The first lap went really well and most of the 2nd lap went really well. When it finally came time to swim in to shore I thought I'd never get there! I kept sighting and it seemed like it was always the same distance away. You know those endless pools? I felt like I was swimming in one of those.
Finally I made it to the boat ramp and I saw people running up the boat ramp, well that just wasn't an option for me. My legs felt like jello, my arms hurt, I knew right then the bike was going to be rough.
So, I was in the transition area and I'm trying to go as fast as I can, but my body is just already tired. I'm screwed! I finally get my shoes on, helmet on, etc. and I'm heading out of transition to start a 25 mile bike ride.
The bike route is what they call a "false flat". It looks like it is flat, but it's a 1 - 2% uphill grade. The first half of the bike was dreadful. I was just praying I would get to the turn around point. I mean God and everybody was passing me on the bike. I was starting to have a panic attack on the bike because of how terrible I was doing on the bike, therefore I started hyperventilating on the bike. This wasn't good. Everybody passing me had kind words of encouragement, but it was still rough.
I think at one point on the bike I saw BJ stopped off at the side of the road cheering me on and that pushed me further. That made me dig a little deeper and push harder. Once I finally got to the turn around point, everything was good though. It was all downhill from here.
On the bike though, I made a stupid, very stupid, mistake. I didn't eat anything. I had a packet of sports beans taped to my bike, but I kept looking down at them and I saw was salt. They are very salty, which is good, which helps you drink more, etc., but all I wanted was water. So, I never ate them. I just sipped a little bit of my Powerade and drank all my water.
I finally got back to transition and there was at least 2 people behind me on the bike, so I knew I wasn't last, but I wasn't doing as well as I wanted.
I headed out on the run of 5.7 miles and I was just done. My legs were done. They felt like jello. I was really discouraged. The whole run was like a giant panic attack and I kept hyperventilating on the run too. I walked a good portion of the run just cause I couldn't do it.
I came walking/running in from my first lap and I'm bawling and my dad is there ringing the cowbell telling me not to give up. Then as I'm heading out, I'm thoroughly embarrassed because I'm one of the last people out on the course. I see my personal trainer and his wife there cheering me on telling me not to be embarrassed. This is my first Olympic distance tri, I can keep doing it.
I walked almost all of the 2nd lap of the run. I was so far behind from everyone else, I could have easily cheated. I mean, there wasn't anybody at the last water station. That's how far behind I was. BUT...I knew my conscious would get to me so I kept on with the whole 5.7 miles.
Somehow I managed to run the last 1/2 mile of the race and run in to the finish.
My personal trainer and my dad met me at the finish line. I stood and talked with my personal trainer for a little bit. We briefly talked about what I did well and what I didn't do well on the race. We're gonna get together in a few days and go over it in more detail.
I drank a TON of water on my run because it was hot and I was afraid of getting dehydrated. Well, shortly after this picture was taken, BJ and his wife left and I promptly walked over and barfed up every ounce of water I drank. It was rough. I wondered when I was going to stop barfing. I ended up seeing the medical tent people and took some electrolyte pills.
Finally I was feeling well enough to walk down to transition and grab my bike and walk back up to the bus to go up to the car.
Weird thing is...while I was sitting there taking the electroylte pills, I heard my name called over the loud speaker. I didn't find out until I got home that I placed 2nd in my division!!! Now...only 2 of us registered in that division, but I placed!!! My final time was 3:49:00 (I don't remember the seconds). I came in 123rd over all and there were I believe around 200 people who did the Olympic distance.
I know my biggest mistake was not eating anything on the bike. I needed to refuel on the bike to have energy to get through the run. I can't wait to do another Olympic distance triathlon to see how well I do when I eat something on the bike, you know? Looking back now, I find it interesting that my best event in this race was the one I was most scared of...the swim. I just can't express how STUPID I feel for not eating anything on the bike. I knew I should have and my gut was telling me I should, but I just didn't want to. It wasn't that I didn't want to consume calories, that wasn't bothering me, I just was craving water and nothing else.
Here's one last picture. My personal trainer on the run portion of the race. Yes, he took 1st place overall. He's a machine.
Race 3 of 4 - Epic Cache-Teton Relay
I was excited yet very nervous for this race. I was excited because it was free. A group of people at work put this team together and then someone had to back out at the last minute, so they said if I'd do it, I wouldn't have to pay for it. Score! A race that costs $100 to register, completely free? Yeah, I'll do it!
Then about a month before the race, someone else injured his knees. He was told not to do the race at all, but he wanted to because he'd already paid the registration fee's, so he was supposed to be in van # 1 (my van), but he was transferred to van # 2 to run one guy's easy leg and van # 1 would have to make up his 3 legs.
Then, literally 2 days before the race, someone else had to drop out because he was on a backpacking trip with his dad up in the high Uintas in Utah and his dad had a heart attack and had to be life flighted down off the mountain. That's an understandable reason to back out. I don't blame him. I would've backed out too. So, my boss, Sylvia, ended up joining the team at the very last minute. The thing that sucked, is the team captaion pulled a VERY dirty trick on her. The person she replaced was supposed to be runner # 11, which was 3 legs that were all downhill. Some of them were pretty steep downhill. Well, they didn't tell her until they were on their way to the first major exchange that nope, she wasn't running that leg, she was going to be runner # 7, which had some of the hardest legs to run, which was supposed to be the team captain's legs.
So, I ended up picking up one of the extra legs in my van, so instead of running 3 legs, I ran a total of 4 legs, but in kind of only seemed like 3 legs. The extra legs that had to be picked up were runner # 2's legs, so I picked up his 3rd leg, so my last leg was just a VERY long leg.
Our start time on the race was 5:15 a.m. on August 12th. God that was super early! So, my van decided we'd head up to Logan Thursday night and camp up there so we didn't have to wake up super early to be up there Friday morning. We got up there and got a campsite, but the tent we had could only sleep 3 people and we had 5 people in our van. So, I slept in the van and so did Jonathan. I slept absolutely HORRIBLE that night.
In the manual for this race at one point it said you needed to be to the starting line 1 hour before you were to start running, at another part in the instructions it said you only had to be to the start 30 minutes before you had to start running. Since there were only 90 teams in this relay, we opted for only being there 30 minutes before I had to start running. BAD mistake. That's one downer about this race. This is only their 2nd year doing this race and they still aren't too organized. We still didn't have all of our t-shirts, etc., before I had to start running.
So, at 5:15 a.m. I started running and had to run a 7.39 miles. It started out kind of rough. I had a hard time getting my breathing right and stuff like that. I thought it was going to be a VERY long 7.39 miles. But...it went by pretty fast and I did it with a 9:39 pace!!! Woot woot!!! I was SO happy! I had 2 roadkills (people I passed) as well. I was SO happy! Then I passed off to Terry. It would be a while before I'd have to run again.
That's one thing I don't like about relay's. It just seems like it is FOREVER until you get to run again. :( Boo.
So one weird thing happened at exchange # 2. This lady came up to me, called me by name (pronounced my name correctly) and everything and was talking to me. I have NO CLUE who she is!!! Here's a picture of her. She's wearing yellow.
So, I didn't run again until about 4:00 p.m. that day. This was my hardest leg. It was only 4.67 miles, but it was in the heat of the day and there were 2 pretty big hills I had to climb; therefore I only had a pace of 10:23, but I had 1 roadkill on this leg! Still, I'm impressed with my pace.
This is Alex, runner 12 from van 2 passing off to me to run my 2nd leg:
1 mile left to go on my hardest leg:
We finished our 2nd legs about 10:00 p.m. at night and headed to some small town in Idaho to sleep. We actually got some pretty decent sleep that night and then I had to run again at 5:00 a.m.! It was SO early and OH SO COLD!!! I was freezing. This was my last leg I had to run and it was my longest because it was my leg 3 and 4. It was a total of 8.58 miles. I was able to run it with a 9:59 mile and I had 1 roadkill. By the time I got done, I was numb from the waist down because it was SO cold. We were so close to finishing. We only had 4 more legs to go and we could drive in to Jackson Hole.
I've never wanted a shower SO bad in my life. We weren't able to check in to our hotel early, so we went and got a bite to eat and had a beer. :) Yum! We went to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar too and got a shot of tequila too!
After we ate & had a beverage we went back to the Teton Village to wait for van # 2 to finish running so we could run in to the finish together.
Once we saw van # 2, I found out some interesting information. The team captain had given up one of his legs to the guy that had injured his knee caps because thatw as one of the easiest legs, plus he supposedly got injured the week before, but was able to run all of his legs. So, since he gave up one of his legs, he decided to run with one of the other runners to make up his other 3 legs and then proceeded to brag about it that he didn't have to run at all on the 2nd day. So, since he didn't have to run at all on the 2nd day, he stayed in the very back of their suburban the whole time and slept, refused to drive and wouldn't get out to help support the runners.
So, finally our last runner comes running in. He looks absolutely LIVID but nobody knows why. We all shortly found out why. He only had a total of 3 miles to run. There was no where for anybody to stop and support him, he didn't take any water on his one and only run, so he was mad that nobody stopped and supported him. Plus, he was following another runner and this girl that he was following took a wrong turn. Well, her van stopped them and said no, you turned the wrong way, go back, and so he got pissed and called this girl from a different team an f'ing cunt!!! HOLY CRAP!!! It's not her fault that you were stupid and decided to follow her. Maybe you should've looked at the map to see where you were supposed to run. So, after he came in to the finish, he started getting in to an arguement with this other team. Can we say unsportsmanlike conduct? There was alot of other drama regarding this particular teammate as well. Needless to say, I will NEVER being doing an event with this team captain or other person on this team again. Period.
I would LOVE to do this race again though. I think it'd be fun to do an Ultra team, where you have 6 people instead of 12.
So, here we all are at the finish! Yay! We did it!
Then about a month before the race, someone else injured his knees. He was told not to do the race at all, but he wanted to because he'd already paid the registration fee's, so he was supposed to be in van # 1 (my van), but he was transferred to van # 2 to run one guy's easy leg and van # 1 would have to make up his 3 legs.
Then, literally 2 days before the race, someone else had to drop out because he was on a backpacking trip with his dad up in the high Uintas in Utah and his dad had a heart attack and had to be life flighted down off the mountain. That's an understandable reason to back out. I don't blame him. I would've backed out too. So, my boss, Sylvia, ended up joining the team at the very last minute. The thing that sucked, is the team captaion pulled a VERY dirty trick on her. The person she replaced was supposed to be runner # 11, which was 3 legs that were all downhill. Some of them were pretty steep downhill. Well, they didn't tell her until they were on their way to the first major exchange that nope, she wasn't running that leg, she was going to be runner # 7, which had some of the hardest legs to run, which was supposed to be the team captain's legs.
So, I ended up picking up one of the extra legs in my van, so instead of running 3 legs, I ran a total of 4 legs, but in kind of only seemed like 3 legs. The extra legs that had to be picked up were runner # 2's legs, so I picked up his 3rd leg, so my last leg was just a VERY long leg.
Our start time on the race was 5:15 a.m. on August 12th. God that was super early! So, my van decided we'd head up to Logan Thursday night and camp up there so we didn't have to wake up super early to be up there Friday morning. We got up there and got a campsite, but the tent we had could only sleep 3 people and we had 5 people in our van. So, I slept in the van and so did Jonathan. I slept absolutely HORRIBLE that night.
In the manual for this race at one point it said you needed to be to the starting line 1 hour before you were to start running, at another part in the instructions it said you only had to be to the start 30 minutes before you had to start running. Since there were only 90 teams in this relay, we opted for only being there 30 minutes before I had to start running. BAD mistake. That's one downer about this race. This is only their 2nd year doing this race and they still aren't too organized. We still didn't have all of our t-shirts, etc., before I had to start running.
So, at 5:15 a.m. I started running and had to run a 7.39 miles. It started out kind of rough. I had a hard time getting my breathing right and stuff like that. I thought it was going to be a VERY long 7.39 miles. But...it went by pretty fast and I did it with a 9:39 pace!!! Woot woot!!! I was SO happy! I had 2 roadkills (people I passed) as well. I was SO happy! Then I passed off to Terry. It would be a while before I'd have to run again.
That's one thing I don't like about relay's. It just seems like it is FOREVER until you get to run again. :( Boo.
So one weird thing happened at exchange # 2. This lady came up to me, called me by name (pronounced my name correctly) and everything and was talking to me. I have NO CLUE who she is!!! Here's a picture of her. She's wearing yellow.
So, I didn't run again until about 4:00 p.m. that day. This was my hardest leg. It was only 4.67 miles, but it was in the heat of the day and there were 2 pretty big hills I had to climb; therefore I only had a pace of 10:23, but I had 1 roadkill on this leg! Still, I'm impressed with my pace.
This is Alex, runner 12 from van 2 passing off to me to run my 2nd leg:
1 mile left to go on my hardest leg:
We finished our 2nd legs about 10:00 p.m. at night and headed to some small town in Idaho to sleep. We actually got some pretty decent sleep that night and then I had to run again at 5:00 a.m.! It was SO early and OH SO COLD!!! I was freezing. This was my last leg I had to run and it was my longest because it was my leg 3 and 4. It was a total of 8.58 miles. I was able to run it with a 9:59 mile and I had 1 roadkill. By the time I got done, I was numb from the waist down because it was SO cold. We were so close to finishing. We only had 4 more legs to go and we could drive in to Jackson Hole.
I've never wanted a shower SO bad in my life. We weren't able to check in to our hotel early, so we went and got a bite to eat and had a beer. :) Yum! We went to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar too and got a shot of tequila too!
After we ate & had a beverage we went back to the Teton Village to wait for van # 2 to finish running so we could run in to the finish together.
Once we saw van # 2, I found out some interesting information. The team captain had given up one of his legs to the guy that had injured his knee caps because thatw as one of the easiest legs, plus he supposedly got injured the week before, but was able to run all of his legs. So, since he gave up one of his legs, he decided to run with one of the other runners to make up his other 3 legs and then proceeded to brag about it that he didn't have to run at all on the 2nd day. So, since he didn't have to run at all on the 2nd day, he stayed in the very back of their suburban the whole time and slept, refused to drive and wouldn't get out to help support the runners.
So, finally our last runner comes running in. He looks absolutely LIVID but nobody knows why. We all shortly found out why. He only had a total of 3 miles to run. There was no where for anybody to stop and support him, he didn't take any water on his one and only run, so he was mad that nobody stopped and supported him. Plus, he was following another runner and this girl that he was following took a wrong turn. Well, her van stopped them and said no, you turned the wrong way, go back, and so he got pissed and called this girl from a different team an f'ing cunt!!! HOLY CRAP!!! It's not her fault that you were stupid and decided to follow her. Maybe you should've looked at the map to see where you were supposed to run. So, after he came in to the finish, he started getting in to an arguement with this other team. Can we say unsportsmanlike conduct? There was alot of other drama regarding this particular teammate as well. Needless to say, I will NEVER being doing an event with this team captain or other person on this team again. Period.
I would LOVE to do this race again though. I think it'd be fun to do an Ultra team, where you have 6 people instead of 12.
So, here we all are at the finish! Yay! We did it!
Race 2 of 4 - Bountiful Triathlon
I did 4 races in 4 weeks. My second race was the Bountiful Triathlon on August 6th. I will ALWAYS make room for this race in my schedule. Why? It was the first race I ever did. It just holds a very tender spot in my heart.
This race is organized by a girl I went to high school with and her husband, Tawni & Brice Williams. They do a FANTASTIC job at organizing the race.
This race is a little different because it is a run/bike/swim order. The run has always been the same route, but this year the bike was a different route. It was a nice route because the older route, you had to go over some train tracks and sometimes people got stopped by the train, etc., and this year, they changed the route so we didn't have to go over train tracks. The only thing that sucked about the bike route was we rode our bikes through Bountiful, Centerville & Farmington. We had to ride our bikes through one major intersection in Centerville and the Centerville Police didn't feel the need to have any presence there to make sure we were safe.
The swim went really well. I passed a TON of people in the run, bike AND the swim. I wish I could have hung around for the after party of the race, but I had a wedding I had to get to, so as soon as I finished swimming, I had to book it to the transition area, grab my stuff and go home.
One thing that happened at this race that really pisses me off (Has nothing to do with the race organizers) is the general public. They just don't care. As I was riding my bike home, I saw a fire truck and ambulance out on the street by where you turn in to the parking lot on your bike to go in to transition. One of the cyclists & one of the volunteers got hit by a truck!!! There was a police officer there directing traffic and apparently the driver of the truck still didn't feel the need to stop. They ended up transporting the cyclist to the hospital on a backboard.
Also, on the bike, we were on a frontage road and there wasn't much of a shoulder for us to ride on so we were having to ride our bikes with the traffic. Everyone was obeying the traffic laws, but then I saw a Suburban pull up behind a bunch of cyclists and honk his horn because they weren't going fast enough.
Seriously people? Why can't the general public have courtesty for us cyclists. Cyclists get a bad rap because there are some out there that don't obey the regular traffic laws, but car drivers have to take in to consideration as well that we might have to not obey some of the traffic laws for our own safety because they are too inconsiderate to let us ride with them, but for the most part, all cyclists that I see are obeying the traffic laws. I just don't get it.
So...here are some pictures from the race:
Here I am heading out on the run:
Heading out on the bike. I love this picture:
Swimming fast:
This race is organized by a girl I went to high school with and her husband, Tawni & Brice Williams. They do a FANTASTIC job at organizing the race.
This race is a little different because it is a run/bike/swim order. The run has always been the same route, but this year the bike was a different route. It was a nice route because the older route, you had to go over some train tracks and sometimes people got stopped by the train, etc., and this year, they changed the route so we didn't have to go over train tracks. The only thing that sucked about the bike route was we rode our bikes through Bountiful, Centerville & Farmington. We had to ride our bikes through one major intersection in Centerville and the Centerville Police didn't feel the need to have any presence there to make sure we were safe.
The swim went really well. I passed a TON of people in the run, bike AND the swim. I wish I could have hung around for the after party of the race, but I had a wedding I had to get to, so as soon as I finished swimming, I had to book it to the transition area, grab my stuff and go home.
One thing that happened at this race that really pisses me off (Has nothing to do with the race organizers) is the general public. They just don't care. As I was riding my bike home, I saw a fire truck and ambulance out on the street by where you turn in to the parking lot on your bike to go in to transition. One of the cyclists & one of the volunteers got hit by a truck!!! There was a police officer there directing traffic and apparently the driver of the truck still didn't feel the need to stop. They ended up transporting the cyclist to the hospital on a backboard.
Also, on the bike, we were on a frontage road and there wasn't much of a shoulder for us to ride on so we were having to ride our bikes with the traffic. Everyone was obeying the traffic laws, but then I saw a Suburban pull up behind a bunch of cyclists and honk his horn because they weren't going fast enough.
Seriously people? Why can't the general public have courtesty for us cyclists. Cyclists get a bad rap because there are some out there that don't obey the regular traffic laws, but car drivers have to take in to consideration as well that we might have to not obey some of the traffic laws for our own safety because they are too inconsiderate to let us ride with them, but for the most part, all cyclists that I see are obeying the traffic laws. I just don't get it.
So...here are some pictures from the race:
Here I am heading out on the run:
Heading out on the bike. I love this picture:
Swimming fast:
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
My Apologies
I just want to put my apologies out there that I haven't updated my blog lately. August has been a CRAZY busy month as far as life is concerned. I've had weddings & lots & lots of races that I've been in.
This next Saturday is my last race for 2 weeks (I think), so hopefully I'll be able to update my blog soon.
This next Saturday is my last race for 2 weeks (I think), so hopefully I'll be able to update my blog soon.
Friday, August 5, 2011
City Creek Canyon Ride
This last Wednesday, after work, my boss & I decided to ride our bikes up to the top of City Creek Canyon. From where we parked to the top it was 7.1 miles.
I've ran up part of City Creek Canyon before, and I've been riding hills now for a little while, but I wasn't prepared for how hard this ride was.
First off, I made the mistake of having a Diet Dr. Pepper earlier that morning. I don't drink carbonation during the week, but I didn't have to swim that morning and I had a killer headache. I figured if I drank enough water after having the Diet Dr. Pepper, I'd be fine.
Well, 1 mile in to the ride I could tell that I'd had carbonation that morning. I was starting to huff and puff, and the worst of the ride was yet to come.
My boss is a much better biker than I am and made it up to the top about 5 minutes before I made it up there.
But, I only had to stop once to catch my breath and it was about 1/2 mile from the top. I had just climbed a HUGE hill and was huffing and puffing and looked ahead and there was another huge hill, so I pulled over and stopped for a second; however, I do have to say...I wasn't the slowest biker riding the canyon, I passed two people riding up the canyon.
Of course, coming down the canyon was a piece of cake! It was all downhill. I loved it! My arms and neck got a little tired from hunching over and braking so much, but it was awesome! I loved it!
I can't wait to ride the canyon again. I think I'm going to ride the canyon once a week and then ride my bike home. :) If anybody ever wants to join me on the ride, you're more than welcome.
I've ran up part of City Creek Canyon before, and I've been riding hills now for a little while, but I wasn't prepared for how hard this ride was.
First off, I made the mistake of having a Diet Dr. Pepper earlier that morning. I don't drink carbonation during the week, but I didn't have to swim that morning and I had a killer headache. I figured if I drank enough water after having the Diet Dr. Pepper, I'd be fine.
Well, 1 mile in to the ride I could tell that I'd had carbonation that morning. I was starting to huff and puff, and the worst of the ride was yet to come.
My boss is a much better biker than I am and made it up to the top about 5 minutes before I made it up there.
But, I only had to stop once to catch my breath and it was about 1/2 mile from the top. I had just climbed a HUGE hill and was huffing and puffing and looked ahead and there was another huge hill, so I pulled over and stopped for a second; however, I do have to say...I wasn't the slowest biker riding the canyon, I passed two people riding up the canyon.
Of course, coming down the canyon was a piece of cake! It was all downhill. I loved it! My arms and neck got a little tired from hunching over and braking so much, but it was awesome! I loved it!
I can't wait to ride the canyon again. I think I'm going to ride the canyon once a week and then ride my bike home. :) If anybody ever wants to join me on the ride, you're more than welcome.
Monday, August 1, 2011
My Longest Run
Tonight I ran the farthest I've ever run before. I ran 14.1 miles. I want to do a full marathon next year so I'm trying to train for it now so that next year it won't be a shock to my body when I start cramming for a full marathon. Plus, I'm running the Epic Relay in 2 weeks and I have to run a total of 16.5 miles, so I'm trying to get long distances in. So far, the longest I've ever run is 13.1 miles (1/2 marathon).
Tonight I was kind of excited because it was raining outside and so I thought the run would be a pretty cool (weather wise) run. I made sure I was fully hydrated for this run, unlike last week.
This was a VERY humid run. The rain was not a cool rain, it was very humid. But I did it.
I ran 8 miles and then stopped off at home to refill my water bottle and then I ran 6 more miles. I ran about an 11:00/min pace, so at least I'm consistent with my running speed.
I'm in SO much pain though. My left hip and both of my knees hurt SO bad. When I finally got home from running the 14 miles, it hurt to step up in to the house. I've taken Excedrin for the pain, but it still hasn't touched it. I've got a headache too. You would think running 1 extra mile than you've ever run before wouldn't be too much, but it has caused me great pain. Don't think this will stop me from running longer distances though, 'cause it won't. Next week...15 miles!
Tonight I was kind of excited because it was raining outside and so I thought the run would be a pretty cool (weather wise) run. I made sure I was fully hydrated for this run, unlike last week.
This was a VERY humid run. The rain was not a cool rain, it was very humid. But I did it.
I ran 8 miles and then stopped off at home to refill my water bottle and then I ran 6 more miles. I ran about an 11:00/min pace, so at least I'm consistent with my running speed.
I'm in SO much pain though. My left hip and both of my knees hurt SO bad. When I finally got home from running the 14 miles, it hurt to step up in to the house. I've taken Excedrin for the pain, but it still hasn't touched it. I've got a headache too. You would think running 1 extra mile than you've ever run before wouldn't be too much, but it has caused me great pain. Don't think this will stop me from running longer distances though, 'cause it won't. Next week...15 miles!
Race # 1 of 4
I'm doing 4 races in 4 weeks. I'm doing 3 triathlons (one being my Olympic distance triathlon) and 1 relay race (Epic Cache to Teton).
This last Saturday I did race # 1. It was the Layton Triathlon. This is the second time I've done this race. This is a very unique race. It is a sprint distance triathlon, but because the pool is so small, you have to do everything twice. So, we swam 12 laps, biked 6.5 miles, and ran 1.55 miles, then did everything again.
Doing everything twice presents its challenges. It really plays with my mind. You get done with the bike and are heading out on the run for the first time and you're thinking you're almost done with the run and then you remember you have to do everything again. Oh God help me! But then you jump in the pool for the second time and forget all of that and you're happy to be out there!
My final time on this triathlon was 1:38:57.2. That's not my best time, but it's not my worst time. I did improve from my previous triathlon and I didn't come in last, so I'm ok with my results. I still haven't got my splits to see how fast I was in the pool, etc. I think I could've done a little better if the transition area wasn't so dang far away! Transition is probably a good 150-200 yards (if not farther) away from the pool. I don't understand why they don't have the transition area in the parking lot next to the pool instead of on the grass in the park that's that far away.
I got to the race early so I could get my ideal transition spot. Lately I've been getting to the race a little late and have been getting crappy transition spots. Here's a picture of my ideal transition area. I'm the blue bike on the very end with the Spongebob Squarepants towel and JCPenney bag. :)
Here I am before the race standing on the pool deck. I like this picture 'cause it makes me look thin. With my arms crossed, it kinda hides my belly of extra skin, etc.
Both times on the swim I felt I did pretty good. My mom said the first time in the water I passed 10 people! Nice! I didn't use a swim cap just because I had to swim twice, I wasn't going to put a swim cap on the second time as I was running from transition to the pool so why wear one the first time, you know? I just wish I knew how to do a flip turn. I think if I could do a flip turn, I'd be a little bit faster on the swim.
Both times on the bike were really good. I felt like I did really good on the bike. The first time on the bike I passed quite a few people (I can't remember how many), but I was pleased with that. The second time on the bike I was a little slower because my legs were starting to get tired, but I still did ok.
Oh the run! I forgot about how hilly the run is. I remembered there was 1 hill on the run when I was riding past it on my bike the first time. I forgot about the other hills until I came upon them! There are lots of uphills and downhills on this run. It presents it's challenges, but I ran them! I have Yankz stretchy shoe laces for my shoes so I don't have to waste valuable time in transition tying my shoes, but sometimes Yankz make it hard to get your shoes on in a hurry. I heard that if you spray TriGlide in your shoes or use Body Glide on your feet, it helps prevent blisters (if you run without socks) and it helps you get your feet in your shoes faster. It's true! Right before the race started, I sprayed TriGlide in my shoes and it worked fabulously! I will be doing that with all of my races now.
The only 2 downers about this race is how far away the transition area is and you can't use your headphones on the bike OR the run. I can understand not having headphones on the bike, but on the run I like to have music to help me pace myself, etc.
This last Saturday I did race # 1. It was the Layton Triathlon. This is the second time I've done this race. This is a very unique race. It is a sprint distance triathlon, but because the pool is so small, you have to do everything twice. So, we swam 12 laps, biked 6.5 miles, and ran 1.55 miles, then did everything again.
Doing everything twice presents its challenges. It really plays with my mind. You get done with the bike and are heading out on the run for the first time and you're thinking you're almost done with the run and then you remember you have to do everything again. Oh God help me! But then you jump in the pool for the second time and forget all of that and you're happy to be out there!
My final time on this triathlon was 1:38:57.2. That's not my best time, but it's not my worst time. I did improve from my previous triathlon and I didn't come in last, so I'm ok with my results. I still haven't got my splits to see how fast I was in the pool, etc. I think I could've done a little better if the transition area wasn't so dang far away! Transition is probably a good 150-200 yards (if not farther) away from the pool. I don't understand why they don't have the transition area in the parking lot next to the pool instead of on the grass in the park that's that far away.
I got to the race early so I could get my ideal transition spot. Lately I've been getting to the race a little late and have been getting crappy transition spots. Here's a picture of my ideal transition area. I'm the blue bike on the very end with the Spongebob Squarepants towel and JCPenney bag. :)
Here I am before the race standing on the pool deck. I like this picture 'cause it makes me look thin. With my arms crossed, it kinda hides my belly of extra skin, etc.
Both times on the swim I felt I did pretty good. My mom said the first time in the water I passed 10 people! Nice! I didn't use a swim cap just because I had to swim twice, I wasn't going to put a swim cap on the second time as I was running from transition to the pool so why wear one the first time, you know? I just wish I knew how to do a flip turn. I think if I could do a flip turn, I'd be a little bit faster on the swim.
Both times on the bike were really good. I felt like I did really good on the bike. The first time on the bike I passed quite a few people (I can't remember how many), but I was pleased with that. The second time on the bike I was a little slower because my legs were starting to get tired, but I still did ok.
Oh the run! I forgot about how hilly the run is. I remembered there was 1 hill on the run when I was riding past it on my bike the first time. I forgot about the other hills until I came upon them! There are lots of uphills and downhills on this run. It presents it's challenges, but I ran them! I have Yankz stretchy shoe laces for my shoes so I don't have to waste valuable time in transition tying my shoes, but sometimes Yankz make it hard to get your shoes on in a hurry. I heard that if you spray TriGlide in your shoes or use Body Glide on your feet, it helps prevent blisters (if you run without socks) and it helps you get your feet in your shoes faster. It's true! Right before the race started, I sprayed TriGlide in my shoes and it worked fabulously! I will be doing that with all of my races now.
The only 2 downers about this race is how far away the transition area is and you can't use your headphones on the bike OR the run. I can understand not having headphones on the bike, but on the run I like to have music to help me pace myself, etc.
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