half marathon post race post, and my hubby must really love me.

Kristal-Tracy-Shana-Tera-Joe-...bottom...Jamie (think that is her name) Me- Wendy (we are missing a few of our YMCA family... just didn't find them before the race) I forgot my camera, so this is the only picture we have of us. It was taken with an iphone. I look like such a dork. The back row is up on a sidewalk and I was in front slouching and made myself look like a hunch back. Terrible.

Good things:
*My hubby and my twin sister were both there to cheer me on.
* Had lots of friends from the YMCA to meet up with.
* Didn't have to stay in a hotel the night before.
* Couldn't have had more fun cheering for my friends across the finish. For most of them, this was their first.
* The honey on the wheat rolls at the finish line.
* Beat my goal time of 1:50... crossed in 1:45. 10th in my age group out of 222.
* Beautiful and scenic course......Lexington is the horse capital of the world, rolling green HILLS.

Not so good things:
* The parking (getting in and out)
* Hilly Course..... but really that is all I train on around here.
* The finish line timing clock was on the wrong side, so you had to cross the finish line and turn around to see the time. How lame is that.
* It rained the entire race..... of course the sun was out shining by the time I got home.
* With the rain was a cold, wind... ugh.

I did have fun, and I am very pleased with my time. I loved cheering for my friends, and they all did such a great job. So proud of them.

For five weeks my hubby and twin sister had a little surprise up their sleeves. Last Wed my twin and her two daughters flew in from Utah, and surprised the girls and I. They did so well keeping it a secret. I did however figure it out the day before they got here, but the girls were pleasantly surprised. We have had a great time. My oldest turned 9 on Saturday, so it was nice to have family here to celebrate. They go home tomorrow. Sadness.

Lexington Half Marathon

My next race is going to be the Lexington Half Marathon. I am so excited about this one. I live just minutes from Lexington (Ky) and I am thrilled I will be able to sleep in my own bed the night before. I think this is the first race over a 10K where I have been able to do that. I always travel to my races and end up on a friends couch/floor or a hotel room. I have several girl friends from the Y (trained for the Tri with these lovely ladies) who have been training and are also running this half. For most of them, it's their first half. It has been so exciting for me to watch them turn into runners... (not that they love/like it) The race is March 28Th, and I am very excited to get out there and do my thing. I also need to decide which Full marathons I will be running this year. Not exactly sure why I haven't done this yet, but it's partly because I am just lazy. :) I think I will do the Kentucky Derby Full marathon again at the end of April, but I know I am way behind on my miles and where I should be at this point.

huh, oh well. I will be fine.

First Tri = SUCCESS

I did it. I finished, and I had the time of my life. I am in love with this thing called the Triathlon. It might have only been an indoor, but it was so much fun. All my Y girls kicked some serious trash. My goal for the swim was 20 laps, I got 21. YAY. My goal for the bike was to hit 6.5 miles, because that is what I was able to do in the Mock Tri's.... once I got on the bike, the tension felt great, I decided to tank the bike part a little and save my legs for the run... dumb idea, I know. I got 5.8 miles on the bike.... didn't place well on this event. Then for the run, I wanted to hit about 52 laps on the tiny little track (18 times for a mile) I was hurting on the run. My legs were tired at first, the kind of loosened up, but my belly up into my shoulders were on fire. I was hurting. I felt as though I was dragging a$$... When I finished, my counter told me I ran 59 laps, I was shocked. I will take it. There were 13 women who completed the race, and I came in 2ND. I was very happy with that. My friend Brenda, who has been coaching all us ladies, came in 1st, and my best buddy Wendy, came in 3rd. It was so much fun. After the race, I decided to do my 10 miler. I was a little worried I would drag because of the tri, but I felt great. 10 miles after a Tri in 1:25.. not to bad.

Top row: Debra, Kristal, Brenda (1st) Cathy Bottom row: Wendy, (3rd) Shana, Me (2ND)
This is a pic of the girls I workout with at the Y and who I have done most of the training with.

Ready or Not....

Ready or Not... the Tri is Saturday.

I am so excited. I couldn't sleep last night. We have done 4 Mock Tri's and I have felt awesome with each one. This last Monday I improved my run from 50 laps to 52 laps in 20 min. My swim didn't feel as though it was improving, but today I got in the pool and swam for 20 min. The first 10 I warmed up and just focused on my breathing and on my arms. The last 10 min I pushed it hard, and did 11 laps. That is my fastest... YAY.....

So ready or Not... Here I come. I am addicted.

I received some goodies in the mail today, and I will be testing and posting a review soon.

Mock Tri #1

I did it. I made it through 20 min of swimming, 20 min of biking and 20 min of running. Can I just tell you..... IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. I loved it. During my swim practices, I have already run, or lifted weights, so today it was nice to be fresh and 100% ready for the water. My goal for the swim is 20 laps in 20 min. I think I did that today. Think?? ya, well I lost track, so I was either 19 or 20 laps.. I'll take 20.

We rushed into the locker room, changed into our cardio gear. We made our way into the spin room, and jumped on our bikes which were pre-set at the tension we will have on race day. I guess the man who set the tension puts them on what he claims is a 5.... girls who did this Tri last year, say it feels more like a 7, so we are training on a 7. It is tough for me to hold a 7 at the RPM's I want for 20 min. I have some work to do. The bike was the hardest on me for this reason. We can't touch the tension at all, and they watch us and time us, and check the pedometer on the bike before and after to see how far we go. We didn't check our distance today. Maybe during next weeks mock.



So like I said before the run is on he indoor track. It is a tiny track. 18 laps make a mile. I have never really run up there for more then a few laps to warm up for boot camp. I stayed on the hills of Brenda, who is the person who won the entire thing last year. She rocks! Our first mile was 7:11... wow, then she said the 2ND mile was 7:33 or something like that. We were 4 laps shy of 3 miles. So we decided our goal for race day is 3 miles. That is 54 laps around the track. We are going to try running with little clickers. The run was not to as bad as I thought it would be. I was very happy with it.



We had so much fun that we decided to try it again.... 2 more times before March 13Th. :)



So my sister received her package today, so I can tell you what I ordered. I didn't say in my last post because I sent her my old one and I knew if she knew what I ordered, she would figure it out, and I didn't tell her what I had sent. Anywho.... I got me a new GPS watch. YAY!!!!

I got the Garmin 405. I didn't ever use the heart rate monitor with my old one, so I ordered just the watch, No heart rate monitor. I haven't run with it yet, but I already love it. I am running long tomorrow, so I will be able to test it then.

Running Warehouse

I love to use runningwarehouse.com to order my running shoes and clothes. Of course I like to try the shoes on first, but when I find the shoe I want, I order from here. They are always at least $10 cheaper and it's free shipping all the time. I also receive my package within 2 days, always.... it may say 8-9 days but I get in within 2 days... I am in Ky, they are in Ca (i think) They were really good with me when I had to send back a pair of shoes last year too. Last night I ordered me some Roctane (GU) and some Luna Moon chews (yum). I also got me a new somethin somethin... but I can't tell you all just yet... I will in a few days when my twin sister receives her package I just mailed today, to UT...... she is going nuts not knowing what is in the package. I sent her a Web cam, which she knows about, so we can Skype (I miss her dearly) plus a little surprise. I love you Franny. After I made my order I started looking at the New Balance, Breast Cancer awareness line, on the running warehouse.com site. Oh my word. I need these shorts, ($23.95)

and this shirt ($14.95).... They are cheap too. Maybe this weekend I can butter up the hubby and make another order. I love to run in slightly longer shorts, and this top is so cute. What do you think?

Thursday we wont be having Yoga class, because the instructor is in the process of moving. The sub is also out of town. So a few of us girls from the Y are going to have a mock Tri. I am so excited, because I want to get an idea of what to expect on March 13Th when we have the REAL tri here at the Y. Have I mentioned it's a 20 min swim, 20 min bike (on the spin bikes) and 20 min run on the very short indoor track. (18 laps makes a mile) yikes

Last week my friend timed a few of us in the pool for 20 min. I was able to swim 19.5 laps. WOW. I surprised myself with this. Remember, I just started swimming a little over a month ago. I hope to get a full 20 laps on race day. Not sure what to expect on the bike, because I only bike during spin class, and it is still only once or twice a week. The run is going to be tricky on the indoor track too. I hope to run 2.5 miles, but not sure I can do it on the stuffy, short, congested track. I will let you know how Thursday goes. Prayers my way would be wonderful. tee hee

just some stuff..............

I have been MIA lately due to NO INTERNET... argh. We have been in the process of switching providers and no Internet for me. Back online today, with faster, super speedy Internet. :)

Updates....

Still swimming, and loving it. I am swimming about twice a week, and feeling better with each swim. My friend from the Y is going to start teaching me flip turns.... yikes. This will be nice. I feel like such a newbie (OK I am a newbie) when I touch the wall and turn like a child. hee hee.

I snagged me some new kicks the other day. I have needed some new shoes for a while and finally dug into the check book and picked some out. I love them. The last few pair have been the Asics Kayano's, but I heard the 16's were not so great. I decided on the Asics Nimbus and I am happy with them. Two days after buying them I ran 12 miles in the new beauty's. Felt great and now I am thinking about snagging another pair for the other days. (like to switch my shoes each day)

I came down with a little cold last week. It didn't turn into much of anything but annoying. I am flemmy and yucky all day every day. I feel like such a puke when I am at the Y in classes and snuffing and sniffing and sounding like a RHINO. errr. :)

My little Beagle (Nellie) got super sick a couple of weeks ago. She spent the night in the doggie hospital and they never really knew what was wrong with her. A few night later she got even sicker and started vomiting blood and even had it in her diarrhea. Poor baby. She is doing better now. Pretty sure it was something like "Gastritis" (sp?) She is doing better and I am looking forward to warmer, dryer days when she can run with me again.

My left foot has been bothering me. It's right where the toes bend. I think it is wanting to be a stress fracture, but I am hoping with new shoes and babying it, things will get better. :) Rest.... what's that?