Sand Bagging.

MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2010

Sand Bagging.

I realized today that I have been sandbagging myself.  Here is how I discovered this:

I walk into the pool.  Heather is already on lap 25.  We knew we needed to time ourself today for our sprint tri this weekend.  We need to know how long it would take us to swim 440 yrds (9 laps) so we could put ourselves in the right swim category on sunday (you start w/ the people that swim your same speed).

I was late because I got to the gym and realized I didn't have my gym bag.  So, I had to drive 15 minutes back home, get it, and go back!  I wasn't feeling great this morning and just felt sluggish.

Okay, back to walking into the pool.  Heather greets me with a big smile and says eagerly that she just did 9 laps in under 9 minutes.  UGH!! Great for you but there isn't any way that I'm going to be fast this morning.  But her spirits lift me a little and I jump in and start going.  First lap I look down to click my lap counter and see I did it in 50 seconds.  Oh, I must have looked at that wrong.  I'm sure it's 58 seconds.  Look again.  50 SECONDS!!  I was swimming quickly but not breathlessly.  9 laps = 8 min 24 secs!  I was so psyched!

We also jumped on the treadmill for 2 miles after the swim.  I caught heather on her way off the treadmill and asked her what her time was.  I needed motivation!  What would have been a 20+ minute run was an 18:50 minute run!  I was running fast but again didn't feel I was doing anything I couldn't do.  I was pushing myself and it felt great!  Plus, I just knew I had to beat Heather :)  Doesn't happen often so I will take advantage of the times that I can!  She totally would have kicked me if she was racing right next to me!

So, I'm done sandbagging myself.  And realize the more I tell myself I can the more I can- and WILL!  I am very excited about Trizou- the sprint on Sunday.  The past few years I have only been trained to complete the race.  This year I am trained to race the race!

Rain, Rain........

...GO AWAY! Our last 2 bike rides have been inside due to nasty rain. Lots of rain. We're talking over 3 inches this weekend! So, needless to say we have not completed our workouts, we'll sorta. We've done the best we could, but it doesn't feel good enough. I'm not enjoying this feeling of "good enough". We had a 60 mile bike ride on the schedule for Friday morning. I was really looking forward to breaking that record. I've NEVER rode that far before and was excited to get it done. So instead we did a 60 minute spin class. On Friday the weather was calling for hail & lighting. Not great conditions for cyclists. We did what we could, but all day I didn't feel right. 

The old Heather would have been fine skipping or missing workouts. Almost excited that our workouts would be cancelled. But this weekend its making me a little nuts. Am I becoming an overachiever? 

Today we waited all morning & watched the radar, just hoping the rain & green on the screen would move out and the roads would dry. But then the waiting part was driving me nuts also, so we rented a movie and hopped on the trainers. We made good use of our time, but it feels like under achieving.

The really good news is the movie was really funny! (Four Christmas')And this is the first weekend that the weather has given us trouble.  Please don't get me wrong our training is going very well. We are really really close to being ready for the 70.3!!

The upcoming week is an easy week, which I feel like is very much needed! And on Sunday we'll do our first triathlon of the season. Its a sprint distance, which means, short race. (500 m swim; 13 or 14 mile bike and 3 mile run) I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do and then compare it to past years times.

New Bike!!

After shopping & spending lots of time at the local bike shop. I have finally gotten a new bike. I have been dreaming of a new bike for several years. My blue bike was good, but I needed to upgrade some things. 

I will admit she is much faster than I am....but so far I'm doing my best to keep up. I need a name for her. Any suggestions?

Dad, Heidi & I went on a long ride today, 50 miles. We rode up to a small town north of here. Found the McDonalds & ate a hamburger & cookie and then made our way home. It was a fabulous day for riding, of course we had the wind to deal with, but the temps were mid 60's. 

by: Heather

GO! St. Louis 1/2 Marathon

Heidi wanted me to blog about our 13.1 mile race on Sunday.

We had a fantastic race. And finally I can say the time training paid off on race day. This was my 4th 1/2 marathon. I have prepared for all the other races, but never had a race equal the training. Also worth mentioning that I've never stuck to a plan and been as focused and getting in each workout.

Last April we did Nashville's Rock N Roll Half Marathon. I had a terrible race! Heidi did awesome and verbally pulled me slowly through the race. She would not leave me. It was very hot that day and we had not had any really warm days to train.

I felt good during the race. The last few miles always hurt, but that is normal. Got a few blisters. And now down to 7 toenails. Another normal thing. Heidi says my body is high maintenance.

Sunday the miles went by so quickly and we enjoyed all of it. Walking only through the water stations. I won't share what our total time was, but we PR'd (I believe stands for personal record) by 12 minutes. Which was huge for us.

This race gave me some confidence moving closer and closer to June 6th. I'm getting excited and continue to enjoy the ride.

Side Note: Favorite t-shirt we saw said. "There is not an ounce of quit in this body." I kept saying that in my head along with.... "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"

Another FYI: We are planning a over night trip to the race site. We'll do a swim/bike/run workout and become familiar with the course.

Go! St. Louis 1/2 Marathon

Heidi:

What a great day/race!

The weeks leading up to this 1/2 marathon we didn't even think about the race.  The week of we had to remind ourselves that we were actually doing it.  Any year prior this race would have been HUGE but yesterday was a big stepping stone to the 70.3.  When our training plan called for a 40 mile bike & 2 mile run just 2 days before the race we had to call our trainer just to make sure that was accurate.  And for the record- heather & i stepped it down to 20 mile bike & 2 mile run- being a little nervous about how our legs would feel after that type of workout before a major race.  We were sort of excited about Sunday because it would take us about 1/2 the time that our normal Sunday workouts have been taking us!  

I started the day off being VERY nervous.  As I always am on race morning.  I felt good but also could feel my legs being sore.  At this point we don't know what it feels like to have completely rested legs.

We started the race.  It was a beautiful morning.  7am.  Sun rising and about 50+ degrees with high looking at 80 for the day.  The miles went by so smoothly- and quite quickly.  At mile 2 I was thinking about a walk break but didn't really need one.  We found our first water station- grabbed some- and started running again.  From that point on I never thought about a walk break again.  We walked to drink our water/gatorade every 2 miles for less than 30 seconds.  Before this day- heather & I had NEVER taken a run over 3 miles without a walk break.  We ran the entire 13.1 miles without a walk break!!!

I felt great the entire race.  My feet were tired of course but my body felt great and I was in a fantastic mood.  I enjoy the motivational tshirts, signs, the crowd (best of all my husband that road his bike around the city finding us at at least 5 places!) and cheerleaders and just being with a group of 17,000 other people running after their own goals.  It was a beautiful day.

Packet pick up on Sat. afternoon.  Great bags!

Race morning!  Still a little sleepy eyed!

a little help from hammer gel.  these are our favorites and nearly become wonderful chocolate pudding after being on your back getting warmed up :)

my shoe & timing chip

this is about mile 9-10.  feeling good and smiling!  heather was so happy to see her family!

done & done.

April 7, 2010

Today is an off day. I'm spending my day with 3rd through 6th graders. Its strange, but I'm a substitute teacher at my son's school. Also strange is that I enjoy these kids and they make the day fly by. Unfortunately nothing is getting done with my "normal" job. Equally unfortunate I am very behind with the normal job. But I'm enjoying this day just as it is.

Regarding our training....we have our 1/2 marathon this weekend. Usually the week before a race I'm nervous and losing a little sleep thinking about the race. This week has not been that way. I feel the race is further away because I'm not thinking much at all about the race. Maybe its because the last several Sundays we have spent 4 plus hours training and Sunday will be short in comparision. Maybe its because we are prepared. Either way I'm enjoying our taper week, but especially this day off training.

by: Heather

DEAR HEADWIND...

....we're getting a divorce and I'm gonna marry tailwind! And live happily ever after! Our rides lately have brought out my not-so-pretty side. I have talked like a sailor and probably not been the best riding buddy. My attitude was horrible yesterday, except when we finished & headed to Sonic for our shake ;)

Yesterday (EASTER) we ran a little over 2 miles and hopped on the bike for 50 miles. I am not exaggerating when I say we had only 15 miles of tailwind. The rest of the ride was headwind or sidewind. It was tough, but excellent training (I'm sure it will pay off on race day).

This week is relatively easy. Swim today, run Tues & Thurs, off Weds, and a short run/bike/run on Friday. We are tapering for our 1/2 marathon on Sunday in St. Louis. I'm excited to see what we can do - it will still be slow by most standards. But we are more trained than ever before.

Heather

April 2-HILLS & HEADWIND!!!

The last 2 rides have been tough on us...mentally & physically. Last Sunday was 30 miles, which we were thinking was going to be easy.... without the nasty headwind it would have been. We rode 15 miles straight into the wind & then felt a little like Lance on the way home. Loving the tail wind & feeling really strong.

Today's ride was HILLY & windy! We enjoyed  12 miles with a tail wind and mostly flat terrain. The other 28 miles was very hilly with side & head wind. Great training, but I'm praying that our race has a lot less wind!!