Kim Zepp's Training and Race Blogs

Rev3 Cedar Point - 70.3, September 11, 2011

2011-09-15T11:14:00.004-04:00

Rev3's HALF REV was yet again, WONDERFUL. I still can't quite believe it, but I crushed my goal time for the finish, completing the 70.3 miles in 6:19:32. This means I beat last year's time by 30 minutes!

The weather was amazing. Lake Erie was almost like glass, there wasn't too much wind, and the sun was in and out. Near the 50 mile mark on the bike, I rode on some wet roads, but throughout the whole day, it never rained on me.

I watched many of my Grunt Girls / CTC friends begin their day at 8:28 am. Ten minutes later I began my day with the women age 39 and under.

SWIM
The lake had some lovely MUCK at the beginning of the swim. After plowing through that, and fixing my goggles, and walking a bit, and fixing my goggles again, I slowly began my day. I had been nervous for a few weeks about Lake Erie being too wavy. Even though it wasn't, I was still being a bit cautious. It really wasn't until I was about 2/3 done with the swim, that I finally kicked it up and began swimming.
1.2 mile swim - 45:30

T1
Since the weather was cooperating, I skipped the arm-warmers. I cleaned some muck off my feet and legs, dried a bit, and tried to leave quickly.
Time - 4:03

BIKE
Because of road / bridge repairs not being completed, the bike course had some VERY last minute changes. The day before the race I was able to drive some of the new roads, but didn't even know about one change until it was too late to check it out. So, race day had some surprises. I must say, it seemed to have worked out in my favor. There were a few spots where local traffic made things a little tricky, but overall, it was a great day on the bike. I drank plenty gatorade, and ate some gels and a Hammer bar. A BIG plus, was being able to use my aero bars for the first time ever in a race! WOW! I'd say that made a big difference, too.
56 mile bike - 3:04:14 - 18.24 avg mph

T2
Just before entering T2, I realized I could beat my overall goal time as long as I ran the same pace as last year, or a bit faster. I knew a fast T2 would give me even some more cushion in there. I was excited to have TWO of my good GGR friends in transition at the same time. Seeing Matt and the cheering crowd got me pumped up, too. I decided to skip clean sock. After putting on my shoes, all I did was quickly grab my hat, garmin, and race number and took off.
Time - 1:54

RUN
Being so excited, I started off a bit too fast. My garmin didn't locate a satellite until I was at .2 miles, so my times are a little off, but I ran miles one through four around 10:12, 10:32, 10:48, 10:56. I then stayed around 11:08 to 11:50 per mile until I hit the mile 11 marker. With two miles to go, I realized I could get under 6 hrs and 20 min if I could finish in under 22 minutes. I knew I could do it, and picked up the pace. Having the PRO men and women pass me, seeing so many great friends alongside me, and truly enjoying the moment, I KNOW I smiled for all of those last 21 minutes.
13.1 mile run - 2:23:49 - 10:59 avg pace

Total FINISH TIME - 6:19:32.42

Next Up - Well, there might just be a FULL IRONMAN in my future.

Presque Isle Race Recap AND Rev3 Half Race Goals

2011-08-31T14:13:00.004-04:00

On this past Saturday, August 27, 2011, I raced in my first sprint triathlon in over two years. It was tons of fun and a great break from all the long distance workouts, especially with my second, half iron distance triathlon just 11 days away!

Friday night five other Grunt Girls and I traveled to Erie, PA to spend the night before the Presque Isle Triathlon. We arrived at the race site Saturday around 7 am, set up our gear, listened to race instructions, and then headed to the starting line at 8 am.

Around 400 participants were divided into 3 start times / swim waves. This made for a very crowded swim start! Plus, we weren't grouped by ability or age group, but by race #, which was mostly alphabetical. I was in the first wave and quickly found myself half covered in seaweed and with foggy goggles, and I was trapped in the middle of a mob of swimmers. Once I was around the first buoy, it seemed to thin out and I was able to finally swim at a comfortable pace. Since we were in the bay, and not on the Lake Erie side, the water was at least very calm. After the second buoy, as we were headed to the swim exit, I got hit in the head with a man's arm, and then as he did the breaststroke, he kicked me. Ouch! I tried to stay away from him for those last few yards!

616 yard swim - 13:50.35

With Diana there to hurry me along through T1, I did my best to be fast.

T1 - 1:33.15

Just like the swim, the bike course was pretty crowded. I was happy to be in the first wave though. I passed quite a few people on the bike, and only had a few of the really fast men from wave #2 catch up to me. For a good bit of the time, I was stuck in a group of 4 or 5 people and felt like we were playing a game of cat and mouse. At one point I did my best to sprint and break away from them, but they still caught back up to me a few miles before the end of the bike. If you haven't been to Presque Isle, then you may not know that this bike course is completely FLAT. This was a perfect venue for me. There was only even one turn, because the course just loops around Presque Isle. Around the half way point I was averaging around 20.5 miles per hour. Once done, I ended up with a 20.2 mph average! That is the fastest I've ever averaged on my bike!

12.6 mile bike - 36:30.45

I again hurried through T2. This is a sprint after all.

T2 - :51.80

On the run course I was lost without my Garmin. Being a sprint, I decided to go without it to save time, but it would have been nice to know my average / current pace. I used my watch to try to determine my pace with the mile markers, but I didn't know if they were placed correctly. At the out and back turn-around, I was happy to realize that there weren't too many women in front of me. But, then I remembered that we didn't all start together. That was another bummer with the waves set up in this manner. It can really help to push me by having others in my age group around me. Well, I still tried my best and ran hard.

3.5 mile run - 32:09.00, 9:27 pace

TOTAL RACE TIME - 1:24:54.7

Females 35 to 39 - #9 out of 18
Overall - #146 out of 348 (not including relay teams)

GRUNT GIRL RACING finish line photo:

REV3 GOALS

NOW, I have just 11 days until the Revolution3 Half-Iron triathlon at Cedar Point. Just as I did last year, I will swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and then run 13.1 miles. Last year I completed this in 6 hrs, 49 minutes, and 19 seconds. As my training began this year, my goal was 6 hr 30 min. I don't think I've trained as much this summer, so I'm altering my goal to 6 hrs 44 mins. I really want to beat my time from last year. I think I can cut those 4 minutes off just with a faster transition time!

Swim goal: 44 min (That would be 31 seconds faster than last year.)
Bike goal: 3 hr 23 min 35 sec, for an average of 16.5 mph (Equaling 2 minutes faster than last year.)
Run goal: 2 hr 30 min (This would be 54 seconds slower than last year, but I'll be happy with that!)
T1 plus T2 goal: 6 min 25 sec (Four minutes faster than last year.)
Grand Total (realistic) Goal = 6 hours 44 minutes

But of course, 6 hrs and 30 mins would be really nice. To cut out another 14 minutes:
Lake Erie would have to be perfectly calm (minus 2 min = 42 min swim)
The wind would have to be at my back on the whole bike course (minus 6 min = 3:17:35 bike / 17 mph avg)
I'd have to run without walk breaks at a 10:59 min per mile pace (minus 6 min = 2 hr 24 min)

Let's just hope we have a beautiful day for this experience again this year, and that it's filled with fun, joy, and smiles.

MiltonMan Triathlon Race Recap - 7/17/11

2011-07-30T11:47:00.005-04:00

I had never done this race before, but I'm sure I will do it again now that I know how nice it is! Plus, it's only about a 35 minute drive from my house.

I raced the Olympic Distance and all the females started the swim 5 minutes after the Olympic men. The swim was great in Lake Milton, minus having to dodge a few men swimming on the wrong side of the buoys. The other other problem was trying to site when the swim markers were the same neon green as our swim caps. :-) I ended up with my fastest 1500m swim ever.

SWIM 29:04

With encouragment from Diana, I hurried out of T1.

T1 1:46

A few weeks earlier some of the Grunt Girls and I did a practice ride of the bike course, so I knew it was pretty fast and flat. My plan was to ride hard and go for a PR on this three loop, 24 mile bike course, which I did. :-) On loop one the roads were pretty empty, but on loops two and three, I did have to watch out for slower riders doing the sprint.

BIKE 1:17:18 (18.4 avg mph)

Transitions were uneventful, except that they were my fastest two ever!

T2 1:15

The run course was two, 3.1 mile loops. Very quickly it got hot and I was happy to be wearing my water belt with gatorade. Throughout the run I was calculating how much time I had in order to finish in under 3 hours and hopefully get a PR in the Olympic distance. The run course wasn't super hilly, but it did go up and down a bit.

Mile Splits
1 - 10:48
2 - 10:10
3 - 9:56
4 - 10:59
5 - 10:35
6 - 9:49
.2 - 1:18

RUN 1:03:35 (10:20 pace)

Sure enough, I finished almost 7 minutes faster than ever before at this distance!

TOTAL RACE TIME 2:53:01

Yippie!!

In my age group (Females 35 - 39) I ended up 5th out of 7. It would have been nice to earn an age group award, but I don't think I could have pushed it any harder.

For ALL females in the Olympic race I was 13th out of 20.

On this same day my husband was racing at the Colavita Time Trial just 10 miles away in Deerfield . It was GREAT having him show up to see us finish.

Grunt Girls:

Flag City Triathlon Race Recap

2011-07-15T16:07:00.004-04:00

Just over a month ago I raced in my first triathlon of the year, the Olympic Distance HFP Flag City Triathlon in Finday, OH. Better late than never. :-)

Like last year, my plan has been to do an Olympic Distance tri in June, July and August to help with training for the Rev3 Half iron at Cedar Point. The Flag City tri seemed perfect for the June triathlon

The day before the race two other Grunt Girls and I headed to Findlay, found the race start / transition area, got our race packets, and drove the bike course. Nice and flat.

Saturday, June 11, 2011 we got up early from our hotel, ate and got ready, and made it to the start with plenty time to get set up in BOTH transition areas. First was T2, setting up running gear, then we biked over to the swim start / T1 and set up our bikes.

The swim was in a reservoir. The water was flat and pretty uneventful. We did begin with a jump off the pier though:

In T1 I made the mistake of putting on a long sleeve T because I was a bit cool. That took up way too much time with my wet body.

1500yd Swim Time + T1 - 34:43

I loved the bike course. It was all flat, except for a hill out of T1 - and that was DOWNhill. :-) The only problem was the wind, but the tailwind was nice on the return to transition.

24 mile Bike Time - 1:20:11

T2 - 1:18

The run course took us up a flight of stairs and then around the lake where we swam. It was rocky and windy, but totally flat.

6.2 mile Run Time - 1:05:54

TOTAL RACE TIME - 3:02:08

I missed a race PR by just over 2 minutes.

This coming Sunday I will be racing the MiltonMan Olympic Distance Triathlon by ChampRacing at Lake Milton. Last week a few Grunt Girls and I rode the bike course and it looks to be a fast course. If I can hold it together for the run, I hope to break my PR!

Twinsburg Du - June 5, 2011

2011-06-07T20:29:00.005-04:00

A few days ago the opportunity came up for me to do the Twinsburg Duathon, so I went for it! It's run by a great guy, it's close to home, and I knew lots of friends that would also be there participating. It's a two mile run, ten mile bike, and two mile run.

Sunday I got up around 5 am, drove to the Twinsburg Rec Center, and was setting up my gear in transition by about 6:15. It was GREAT having so many others there that I knew! I had fun chatting with everyone, but I still managed to fit in a short warm-up. The weather was good, too, no rain, no wind, and sunny.

The race was a mass start at 7:30 am. First was a 2 mile run that was out and back with a loop in the middle. (like a lollipop) With only one speed workout so far this year, I wasn't sure how my time would be, but I was quite pleased with 17:31.

This was my first "sprint distance" multi-sport event in almost two years. So, I did a short transition practice the night before. I think that paid off.

At packet pick-up the day before the race I drove the bike course. Minus one hill around mile 7, it was really nice. It was fun passing people all throughout the course. I'm quite happy to say that only ONE person passed me, and it was while I was standing on the side of the road putting my chain back on at mile 2.5. My bike time is listed as 37:45, but that includes T1 AND T2. On my bike computer my time showed 34:52. The extra 3 minutes are from both transitions and the time spent putting on my chain.

Bike Computer Stats:
Distance - 10.36 miles
Avg Speed - 17.8 mph
Max Speed - 31.1 mph

Like always, it took me awhile to get my running legs back on the second run. Around the one mile mark I finally caught my breath and felt good. Of course, during that first mile several of the people I passed on the bike passed me back.

Once I was feeling good, I heard footsteps behind me and I decided that I wasn't going to let anyone else pass me. I powered up a short hill on the loop and tried to stay strong. At the next turn I was able to see it was someone I knew behind me. Sorry Marsita! She had really given me the push I need though. I tried to just continue to push harder and harder til the finish. Once I could see the finish line I gave it my all, and came in at 1:14:10. Run #2 took 18:54. I was thrilled to beat almost all the goals I had set for myself!

Post race included a Grunt Girl Racing team photo from everyone on the team that came out to race. What a GREAT group of ladies! (I'm on the far right with my hand on my hip.)

To top it all off, during the awards I found out I placed 3rd in my age group for females 35 - 39. :-) The frame was I given now holds the GGR team photo above.

My first marathon, The Cleveland Marathon

2011-06-01T16:16:00.008-04:00

I finished.

My goal was to finish, and I did. Standing at the starting line, I wasn't sure I'd be able to go 26.2 miles. Even at mile 12 I still wasn't sure, but once I passed by the half marathon turn off point, I knew I'd finish, because I HAD to!

Race day conditions were almost perfect, I made it to downtown Cleveland without any problems, and I found myself SUPER lucky to be able to park right by the start/finish line. (HUGE, HUGE thank you to Liz F.)

After chatting in the parking lot, I dropped off some clothes at gear check, used a restroom in the Brown's stadium with NO LINE (that was a BIG bonus in my book), and then met up with the Grunt Girls and some other friends.
Here:

Just before heading to the starting line:

While standing with Stacy and Patty at the starting line, we were joined by Jen C and a friend of hers. It was so nice having others around that I knew. The gun went off, and about 5 minutes later we finally crossed the starting line to begin our race. We barely moved for the first mile, but I was near the 4:30 marathon pace group, and happy with that.

Every now and then when the road had some pot holes or was uneven, I had a little knee pain, but nothing too bad.

Miles one through six: 11:08, 10:21, 10:08, 10:49, 10:26, 10:45.

At mile seven Heidi caught Patty and I here:

I continued with Patty until she split off for the half-marathon finish. I was worried I had been going a bit too fast though, and slowed up a bit.

Miles seven through twelve: 10:50, 10:50, 10:57, 10:53, 11:12, 10:51

I think this is when the 4:45 pacer caught up to me, and I believe they pulled away from me just as quickly as they approached. I was happy with my 1/2 mary time, but knew I needed to slow down to get through this whole thing. I even got a bit emotional when I made the turn WITH the other marathon runners. I had never made that turn before. WOW, I then knew there was no where else for me to stop until I got to the END.

Miles thirteen through seventeen: 10:40, 11:06, 11:56, 12:49, 12:43

At mile 17.5 I looked at my garmin and realized I had never run this far before, so I stopped running to walk. I'm not sure why. It was like I was happy to have made it this far, and anything more was just a bonus. Yes, my training should have including more distance, but I was worried about my knee. So, I walked for .3 miles, found an empty port-o-pot to use, and then decided it was time to run again.

I enjoyed running down MLK. I was running alone now. Well, no one I "knew" was around me. This gave me lots of time to think. :-) I did chat with a few strangers. I even found a guy from Cincinatti that had completed the Full Rev3 at Cedar Point while I was there doing the half last year.

The rain drizzled on and off. Most of the time it wasn't too bad and almost feld good. A pic from somewhere in the second half:

Miles eighteen, nineteen and twenty: 14:52, 11:53, 13:07

THEN, the FIVE HOUR pacer caught up to me. I didn't want to let her get away, so I sped up to stay with her and the few runners hanging on as well.

Miles twenty-one and twenty-two: 11:29 and 11:48

BUT, I had to let them go. I was tired.

Miles twenty-three through twenty-six: 14:13, 14:46, 13:30, 13:11

It was a shuffle at this point, but I was finishing. When I saw the "MILE 26" sign, I got a bit emotional again.

I ran the last .2 and celebrated.

Final Time: 5 hours and 13 minutes

TWO 25k Race Reports

2011-04-19T13:47:00.005-04:00

Race #1

On Saturday April 9, 2011 I ran the Jackson Laughs 25k (16.14 miles) in Kent, Ohio. We started just after 8 am on a cloudy, 50 degree morning. The race took us all over Kent by way of roads and a bike path. I really enjoyed the course filled with some rolling hills, the flat bike path, and one really steep hill around mile 12.5.

Garmin Mile Splits
1 10:30
2 10:27
3 10:24
4 10:20
5 10:25
6 11:03
7 11:59 - This might be when the place where a dog chased me down the road!
8 10:58
9 11:08
10 10:30
11 10:24
12 10:59
13 11:23 - HILL!
14 10:34
15 10:19
16 9:42
.14 1:19

Total Time = 2:52:32
Average Pace = 10:41

Race #2

Then, this past Sunday, April 17, 2011, I ran the Forget the PR 25k (17.41 miles) at Mohican State Forest in Loudonville, Ohio. Friday night I drove down to our cabin at Mohican Adventures with A and S. We stayed up late enjoying a camp fire and chatting with other friends already there. Saturday more friends arrived and we spent some of the day hiking a portion of the race course. The 8 am race time came early on Sunday morning, but at least we were staying just yards away from the starting line. The temperature was in the mid 40s, it was partly sunny, and sometimes pretty windy.

PreRace Grunt Girl Photo:

The race course was BEAUTIFUL, but VERY HILLY! One hill was even labeled "Big Ass Hill." They went on and on... Plus, we had to climb over and under fallen trees, run through streams, climb up hand-over-hand using rocks and roots next to a waterfall, run behind a waterfall, AND the course included crossing through a RIVER. It was about 25 yds wide and up to thigh deep - and cold!

Garmin Mile Splits
1 10:32
2 13:01
3 13:49
4 19:49 - this was where the "big ass hill" was located
5 14:34
6 14:23
7 16:52
8 13:02
9 19:42 - this might be where we were climbing
10 17:09 - very technical area
11 15:27
12 15:36
13 19:34 - water crossing / covered bridge
14 13:58
15 15:19
16 16:25
17 15:04
.41 4:32

Total Time = 4:28:57
Average Pace = 15:26

Thankfully, I had the wondeful company of my fellow Grunt Girl Stacy for the entire race. It made the experience that much better. :-) Here we are MidRace:

I should probably point out though, that I was officially DQ'd from this race. My name and time will not appear on the race results. I did NOT cross the river in the water. It was deep and cold, and there was a bridge right there to use, so I did. I was particpating in the race to have fun - which I did! If I had gone in the water, the last 5 miles would have been miserable for me, and I didn't want to have negitive feelings about this experience. I watched Stacy cross the river, and unfortunatly she ended up wet up to her neck after slipping. I might have quit if that had been me! So, I did not follow the course, but still had FUN.
Me, just after finishing:

This was my longest race / run ever! I can't believe how much running distance I've been covering this year!

Next up: My very first marathon ever... The Cleveland Marathon on May 15th!

Fools 25K Race Report -

2011-04-01T09:27:00.003-04:00

This past Sunday I ran my first 25k race. AND it was a trail race; the Fools 25k, in the CVNP. When I arrived at the park, it was still totally dark. I watched the sun rise and then did a .75 mile warm up in the cool 20 degree weather. Thankfully it was at least sunny, and it probably warmed up to about the mid 20s during the race.
The race began at 7:30 am, and I made sure to start near the back, knowing I'd be slower than a lot of the other runners. Many of those racing were running the 50k - two loops of the course I was running!
The course was very hilly - almost no flats. I was happy that I had experience running on every trail that the course consisted of - thanks to my fellow Grunt Girls! (Of course, I had never run them all at once before though!)
A few miles in, I felt a blister on the arch of my left foot. Ugh. I tried to shift my sock around and eventually I was able to not feel it. (It was still there, but at least not causeing any pain.)I tried to keep a good pace and was enjoying the run.
THEN - around mile 11.5 of the race I was running downhill and felt some pain in my right knee. Ouch. Every downhill step hurt. Around mile 12 you can see the finish line in the distance and I thought about heading there and calling it quits. Two things kept me going - one was knowing I had some good Grunt Girls friends at the finish line (didn't want to quit with them there) and knowing that I really liked the last loop of the race - a trail called Salt Run. So, I walked the downhills because of my knee, and I walked the uphills because I was tired and they were steep. That didn't leave me with much running for those last few miles. BUT, I finished.

Garmin Mile Splits
1 - 11:44
2 - 11:25
3 - 10:18
4 - 11:49
5 - 13:26
6 - 12:20
7 - 11:09
8 - 10:48
9 - 13:32
10 - 12:11
11 - 11:26
12 - 14:26
13 - 15:37
14 - 16:11
15 - 16:35
.7 - 10:06

Total time - 3:23:13

A pic of some of the Grunt Girls at the Fools Run: (Some ran the 25k and some were just wonderful and greeted us at the finish line.)

I made the mistake of making this face when I crossed the finish line:

It was a nice day, but with my knee hurting, I was GLAD to be done!

Race day was supposed to be an 18 mile running day in my training for the Cleveland Marathon, but with my knee pain, there was no way I could finish my miles. So, it was just a 16.5 mile day with my warm-up and race.

I took off from working out Mon and Tue, and was able to bike on Wed. I planned to run yesterday, but life got in the way - big time! - - - I found a local school district that is hiring TWO teachers (grade one and five) and the deadline to apply is today. SO, I spent almost all day yesterday applying for the jobs. WOW!

Today I hope to run some, and then I hope to run an 11 miler this weekend. We'll see how that goes, and then I'll decide whether to run another 25k race next weekend.

THEN - the week after that is the "Forget the PR" 25k (17.1 mile) race down at Mohican. I'll really have to be careful on the downhills there!!!

A Race and Long Run

2011-03-13T15:09:00.003-04:00

Workouts have not been as consitent as I would like. You'll see, I haven't been swimming at all in the last two weeks. My one son has been pretty sick, and so we didn't even go to the pool one night for his swimmming lesson. I've been good about not missing my runs, just need to keep up the biking and swimming.

Last Sunday I ran my first race of the year, the Shamrock 15k. There had been a snow storm the day before, but thankfully the roads weren't too bad. The HILLS were still there though. :-) We run down into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and then back up and out. So, the first few miles have good splits, and then it all falls apart. I haven't been working on speed work yet this year, so my time was much slower than last year - by about 9 minutes. BUT, it was still a fun day. 9.3 miles in 1 hr 37 min.

Today I ran my longest road run EVER! Thanks to some great Grunt Girls, they helped me through 15.1 miles in 2 hrs and 33 min. (I ran 15.5 miles one time back in December, but that was on a nice soft trail.) The pace today was pretty good, too - 10:07 avg. :-)

In two weeks I'll run my first 18 miler, two weeks after that another 18 miler, then I have a 17.1 mile race, then just one 20 miler before Cleveland. (of course many other shorter runs in there, but that's the stuff over 13!) Just 9 weeks until the Cleveland Marathon!!!

February
27 - Run 13.1 miles outside, 2 hr 22 min

March1 - Run 3.5 miles, 34:05
2 - Bike on Trainer, 45 min, 12 miles
3, 4, 5 off - home with sick child / lazy
6 - Run 9.3 miles, Shamrock 15k, 1 hr 37 min
7 - Bike on Trainer, 30 min, 7.6 miles
8 - Run 4.5 miles, outside in my neighborhood, 43:20
9 - off
10 - Run 4 miles on treadmill, 42:20
11 - off
12 - Bike on trainer, 35 min, 9.1 miles
13 - Run 15.1 miles, outside, 2 hr 33 min

snow day

2011-02-25T09:38:00.002-05:00

February
12 - Run 9 miles outside, 1 hr 33 min
13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 - off SICK
18 - Run 11 miles outside, 2 hr 11 min
19 - rest
20 - Run 2.5 miles on treadmill, 27:45
21 - Bike 1 hr 35 min on trainer, 26 miles
22 - Swim 1400 yds, 29:33
23 - Run 5 miles on indoor track, 49:49
24 - Bike 1 hr on trainer, 15.5 miles AND Swim 1500 yds, 31 min

I was so sick, I could barely move for a few days. Thankfully, I didn't miss any of my long runs though. The weather was so nice on Fri Feb 18 that I decided to not only do my 11 miler alone, but also 2 days early. I was very slow, but I'm glad I took advantage of the warm sunny day! I even passed a guy in shorts and short sleeves. (I still wore a long sleeve top and my running pants.)

My boys are now taking swimming lessons two evenings a week. Since they are in the same class (age 6 and up - level 4), I discovered that I can swim my laps at the same time!!! So, I have about 40 min to push through as many laps as I can - while half watching my boys in the lane next to me. :-) It's fun to hear "Hi Mommmy!" as I'm mid lap, taking a breath.

Today we are in the middle of another snow storm, and of course the schools are closed. I had planned to go run 4 miles on the indoor track at the Nat, but I don't think my van will make it down our cul-de-sac street. (which of course has NOT been plowed yet) Guess I need to talk myself into heading into the basement for a treadmill run now.

Sunday I'm scheduled to run 13 miles. Not sure how that's going to happen with all of this snow? Monday's forecast shows a high of 53. Maybe my 13 miler will be a day late.

Running, Biking, Swimming and thoughts of Spring

2011-02-11T18:37:00.005-05:00

Jan 31 - Bike on trainer 1 hr 30 min, 25.3 miles
Feb 1 - Run 4.5 miles on treadmill, 45:15
2 - Bike on trainer 30 min, 8.5 miles
3 - Run 3 miles on treadmill, 31:15
4 - sick
5 - sick - hip exercises and ab work
6 - sick
7 - sick -push ups and ab work - hurt knee on stairs
8 - Run 4.5 miles on treadmill, 49:15
9 - Bike on trainer 30 min, 9.1 miles
10 - Run 4 miles on treadmill, 46:20
11 - Bike on trainer 1 hour, 18.6 miles AND Swim 1,500 yds, 32:53

I need to run 9 miles tomorrow or Sunday. Sunday has the better forecast, so it will probably be that afternoon.

Last weekend I was sick. Thankfully it was a "rest week" for me on my marathon training schedule. There was no way I could have done a long run, much less anything.

Today's swim went much better than my last attempt. I was still slow, but I was much more comfortable and able to do a complete workout.

PUSH-ups are back! I can finally do them again - AND I can sort of do sit-ups again. My time off in December was all worth it. The body is responding. :-)

Looks like nicer weather is on the way next week. Can't wait to be out running in the mid to upper 40s! (Please remind me next fall that I said the 40s sound good!) :-)

Over half of our driveway still has a coating of ICE that is about 1 1/2 inches thick. I've slowly been trying to chip it apart and throw it to the side. Twice now I've almost fallen while trying to walk down for the mail. UGH!

What's getting me through this right now are thoughts of Spring Break. I'll be doing a couple of 5 mile runs that week in Florida and the Bahamas! :-) YES! Matt and I are headed on our first cruise. :-) I'll actually get to wear a bikini again for the first time in 8 years! I CAN'T WAIT!

A whole day will be spent here, at Coco Cay, Bahamas. Ahhhhhhhh....

Running in Snow and Back in the Pool

2011-01-30T18:59:00.008-05:00

Sat - Run, 7 miles on indoor track, 69:43

Yes, I ran 56 LAPS on the track at my gym. This is because the temperature was between 0 and -4 here that day! At least I was able to change directions after the first two and half miles.

Sun - Lift - Chest, Bi, Tri, Shoulders, and Hip exercises
Mon - Bike, 21.1 miles on trainer, 1 hr 15 min
Tue - Run, 4.5 miles on local streets, 47:30
Wed - Bike, 17 miles on trainer, 60 min
Thur - Run, 3.2 miles on treadmill, 32:30

Fri - Bike, 12.5 miles on trainer, 45 min AND - Swim, 1000 yds, 23 min

For the first time since Nov 8 I went swimming!!! That was two days ago and I'm still sore in my arms. HA!!!! Also, I didn't realize how much the ab muscles are used in swimming. :-)

Sat - Run, 7 miles in SNOW on trails in the woods, 1 hr 49 min

In some places the snow was at least 8 inches deep!!!! Almost everyone else we saw on the trails in the park were either wearing snowshoes or cross country skiis. We were in our trail running shoes! Oh - and that time is correct - our average pace was 15:38 per mile! Ha! Thank goodness for my Grunt Girls friends who got me through this.
Oh, I am also okay with counting this "7 Miler" as my scheduled 8 mile run for the week!

Sun - Off, much needed rest

Cuts, workouts and weight

2011-01-21T20:10:00.009-05:00

Finally made it to my family doc on Tuesday. Thankfully, he said the spot/cut on my leg that the dermatologist made a mess out of - isn't too bad. Or well, at least it's not infected and will eventually heal. He recommended I wait a few more days before swimming though. So, maybe next week I will try out the pool and see how many laps I can swim.
If you want a laugh, I'll let you know when this funny show will occurr.

As for the spot on my back that needs done again to get the rest of bad skin, well, I called a doctor (plastic surgeon) that I know and trust - and he's going to check it out and probably do the removal for me. (instead of my dermatologist - who I never want to let cut into me again.) He's going to look at it in two weeks and then the plan is to have it done in May - just AFTER the Cleveland Marathon.
I figured if I have to take 2 weeks off from swimming, biking and running, that was the time to do it. Then, I just have to get back to a schedule quickly before the Deer Creek Oly tri in early June. Ugh.

Training hasn't been too bad this week...
Mon - Bike on trainer, 60 min, 14.6 mi
Tue - Run on treadmill, 3.5 miles, 38 min
Wed - Bike on trainer, 65 min, 17.1 mi and Lifting Bi, Tri, Chest & Shoulders
Thur - Run OUTSIDE in the snow, 3.1 miles, 35:30
Fri - Bike on trainer, 60 min, 14.7 mi

New cycyling shoes have helping my motivation. Plus they fit so much better than my old ones. Same brand and style, but a size bigger. (and cuter)
For my first outside run since early December, some new running mittens really helped! These are neat; there's two 'pockets' inside. The back is fleece, the front is mesh - which is cooler after you warm up! They are Asics Ecoline.
Hopefully tomorrow I will run between 6 and 7 miles. The forecast shows it will be about EIGHT degrees. So, it's either the treadmill or track at the Nat. Yuck. I will try to make the best of it!

OH - I figured out my cramping problem! See, I've been cramping up while running and not knowing why. ?? WELL, while making lunch for my 5 yr old it occurred to me that the low sodium diet I've been on (while supporting my husband) is tooooooo low for me! I was making VERY high sodium and Ramen Noodles and realized I needed a bit! Sure enough - there was NO cramping during my afternoon run that day.

As for my weight...
Overall, I'm pretty pleased. This is January, and I'm at the LOW end of my typical SUMMER weight. :-) Just about 7 lbs to go and I'll be at my ultimate goal. It would be so neat to race at 110! I think it'd be so much better for my joints!
Plus, it'd be nice to look good in the little bathing suit I bought myself. :-)

More set-backs

2011-01-16T18:48:00.003-05:00

Sun - Bike on Trainer, 1 hour, 13.3 miles
Mon - Lift: Chest, Bicep, Tricep, & Shoulders and Hip exercises
*Since the return to running, my knees have been hurting, that's why I put the hip exercises back in there. I think my form isn't so great from sitting around for too long.*
Tue - Run on Treadmill, 3.5 miles, 37:12
Wed - Bike on Trainer, 1 hour, 14.1 miles
Thur - Run on indoor track at Nat, 3 miles, 29:54
Fri - Bike on Trainer, 50 min, 10.5 miles
Sat - Run on Treadmill, 5 miles, 57:20

My return to running and cycling is slow. I tire easily, and I seem to get cramps easily.

I want to get back in the pool, but I'm worried about a cut on my leg.

See, part of time off from working out was due to moles being removed by the dermatologist. I had stitches in my right thigh and lower back for 2 weeks. My thigh spot has not healed correctly. Stitches have been out for a week and it still bleeds and hurts a little. I tried to get to a doc yesterday, but of course everyone was closed for the weekend - and probably tomorrow, too, for the holiday.

When I signed up for the full Cleve Mary, I thought all was fine. Turns out the mole on my back isn't good and needs worked on again. Two more weeks of stitches and no working out. Plus, who knows about my leg, until I see a doctor on Tues at least.

My return to work-out land

2011-01-08T18:58:00.005-05:00

First of all, I'm now officially registered to run my VERY FIRST MARATHON! Yes - 26.2 miles of running! On May 15 I'll be running the Cleveland Marathon. :-)

Now, the training needs to begin - from the very beginning. See, I took off from working out for a few weeks. Four to be exact. On December 5th I ran my furthest ever, 15.5 miles, and then I took some time off. Some by choice / some because I had to, but I'm okay.

Fast-forward to Jan 3. I began with some walking. At first it was slow, but then I got it up to 3.6 mph on the treadmill.
Mon - 1.6 miles
Tue - 2 miles
Wed - 3.4 miles
Thur - 3.56 miles

Then on Friday I was set free.
Run 1 mile (12 min.) and Bike 6 miles (30 min.)
No record times here, but it sure felt good to sweat again.

Today: 3 miles of running on the treadmill. Before getting off, I got the speed up to 6 mph. So, for at least one minute I was going at a 10 min per mile pace. :-)

Here is what I'm now working towards:

AND One of these:

No more blank calendar

2010-12-03T08:58:00.007-05:00

Having nothing on the race calendar for 2011 was difficult. Problem solved. I'm now signed up for two races and laying everything out for the training. Much better.

First up - my longest running race ever - a 25k. It's called Forget the PR and it's held on trails in Mohican, Ohio on Sunday April 17, 2011. I hear it's hilly. So hilly, that we might be using our hands to help us up a hill - called "Big Ass Hill" on the map the race director made. Ha. Oh, and after I signed up I realized that even though this is called a 25k, which should be 15.5 miles, it's actually 17.11 miles! Should be fun though. I'm running this with several of the Grunt Girls and we're staying in a cabin in Mohican the night before the race.

Here is a beautiful covered bridge that we'll get to run through:

My plan is that this 25k (17.11 miles) should lead me nicely into my first marathon.

I haven't signed up yet, but hopefully later this month I will commit to the Cleveland Marathon on Sunday May 15. :-)

During the summer I will probably do 3 Olympic distance triathons again - Deer Creek, Caesar Creek, and the Greater Cleveland Triathon which leads me to the next race I signed up to do...

The Cedar Point Rev3 HALF (70.3) - again! I want to beat my time from last year and try to get under 6 1/2 hours! This race is Sunday September 11, 2011.

I'm very happy to have a plan!

Monthly update

2010-11-19T16:31:00.003-05:00

It's been almost a month since I've written anything here, so I thought I'd write a boring update. Not much new is happening. I haven't had any races, and I'm not signed up for any. Boy, that seems strange...

Since I'm not training for anything specific, I've been back in the weight room about twice a week. Feels good.

Every Saturday I'm taking an Adult Sports Performance Class with some of my fellow Grunt Girls at Akron General. Over the past year or so I thought I was becoming pretty athletic, then I started these workouts. Found out I've got a lot of work to do! I'm sore for about 48 hrs after each class. :)

I've been doing a lot of trail running recently. I'm pretty new to this. The only trail running I had done before this year was about 8 runs with the CVNP Fall Trail series in '08 and '09. Finally bought some real trail shoes this week.

My bike hasn't been outside in quite awhile, but I did spend some time on it on the trainer twice now this month.

Made it to the pool to swim once this month. I was quite surprised that it went really well. Swam about twice as far as I had planned. I guess it can be fun not having a plan to follow sometimes.

Over the next few weeks I plan to up my running mileage even more. (weekly long runs of 9 miles, 11 miles and then 13 miles) I'm going to continue lifting, and going to the Adult Training class. Hopefully I can talk myself into some more pool and bike time.

Someone woke up my legs! (5k race report)

2010-10-23T16:56:00.003-04:00

Not sure how it happened, but I've now set a new PR for ALL running distances this year. It's been 5 years of running 5k and further distance races, and suddenly, my body is cooperating. I'm sooooo happy about this. It makes me want to see how much better I can do next year. I'd love for this trend to continue.

Today I ran the Run-A-MUC 5k at Mount Union. My first goal, a PR (under 25:42), but the even bigger goal, to break 25 minutes. Did it!!!! Finished in 24:56. I have been trying to do this since the spring of 2007!

Today's Garmin Stats:
Mile 1 - 7:54
Mile 2 - 8:11
Mile 3 - 8:22
Mile .7 - :28

Average Heart Rate - 181, Max Heart Rate - 187

Yes, the Garmin only shows 3.07 miles. That bums me a little. I know Garmins, can be a little off, so that is my hope. I just wish it was over distance instead of under. I hate to say I got under 25 min, BUT it might have been a bit short. :-( No matter what, I know I ran my fastest ever!

I think I was about the 10th woman overall in the race today. I started out way too fast in the first 1/2 mile, and so I got to see each of the 9 other women pass me in the second half of that mile. :) It was nice to know where I was overall though.

At the awards I found out I placed 2nd in my age group, 30 to 39. ( I have no idea how many of us there were though?!? )

My college roommate from when we were students at Mount Union also ran the 5k today. Here we are headed to the starting line, looking REALLY happy:

She did GREAT today AND she beat her goal for the day by over 2 minutes!

Waiting for the gun:

The start of the race:

Rounding the track for the last 200 meters. I am right under the clock showing my current time:

Finish line:

After the 5k was a kid's race. One lap around the track:

In this picture above you'll see both of my sons (Lane 6 - red shirt/grey pants and grey shirt/blue pants.) My older son loved it (mostly because he finished 3rd.) My little guy was crying for the last 10 yards though. :-( He thought he was in last. Plus, he wanted to finish WITH big brother. I felt so bad that he couldn't just have FUN! :-(
Also in the kid's race were my friend's sons, Lane 5 and Lane 7. :)

Happy son at finish:

Sad son:

Maybe a little speed

2010-10-20T12:55:00.004-04:00

The 5k that I'm running on Saturday is going to be my first of the year (and probably last, since it's already October.) With the success I've thankfully had in running this year, I've been hoping for a 5k PR this weekend. (Which means beating my time of 25:42 set in Dayton way back in May of '07.) Okay, secretly, I REALLY want to break 25 minutes. I'd be thrilled with 24:59.

Well, that is until these last few weeks where my cardio workouts have really dropped. (I took 7 days off from swimming, biking AND running after the Akron Half Mary / Rev3 Half!) I did some lifting in there, but NO cardio. After that, I've only been doing mostly 1 hr or less cardio workouts.

Plus, I haven't been watching what I eat. My meals haven't been as healthy as normal, AND I've been doing a lot of snacking / desserts. Which means the number has been going UP on the scale.

So, for the last week I've been accepting the fact that I'm just going to have to run for FUN on Saturday. No pressure.

Then, I went to the Nat today for my last "speed" workout before this race. I was hoping to run a couple a miles at least close to 8 min. miles. While warming up, I even decided 8:30 min. miles would be a good goal for today.

One mile warm up - 10:06

Pit stop, and walk a lap, then -

Mile 2 - 7:40

Walk a few laps, then -

Mile 3 - 7:35

NO WAY!!!! I just ran TWO miles faster than I ever have before!!! Back in March I ran my first ever sub 8 min mile in 7:48 - Blogged about that here: http://kimzepp.blogspot.com/2010/03/748.html

I'm still in a bit of shock. I didn't know I could do this. I have to admit, I had help. There was a guy running almost that exact pace. I was running just a few feet infront of him. Hearing his footsteps behind me really kept me moving. I chatted with him between miles, and he said he'd run again with me on my second attempt. How cool.

What this means, is that now I really have to go for it on Saturday. I really need to give it my all on this 5k. A pace of 8:03 would get me the 24:59 I want. I think I should be able to do it. The miles I ran today were inside (no wind) and on a track (flat.) The course for Saturday isn't too hilly, but could be a bit windy. So far the weather forecast looks decent. Probably around 50 degrees and mostly cloudy.

The pressure is on...

New look

2010-10-17T13:24:00.002-04:00

Since I have now completed my first half iron, I decided it was time for a new look on the blog. As you can see, I'm still pretty proud of completing the Half Rev. (That's where all the pics are from.) :-)

I keep thinking about my new goals. I have to set them; that's how I motivate myself.

There are a few goals on my mind, some more realistic than others.

2011

Complete a marathon - I was thinking Cleveland, but was talked into Cincinnati. However, I might be out of the state the day of the Flying Pig, so now I'm back with Rock and Roll.
Cut out more of the junk food - This is a MUST!
Drop 5 - 10 lbs. - See above
Complete Rev3 Half Cedar Point, FASTER (aim to cut off about 30 minutes)

Complete Rev3 FULL IRON - all 140.6 (Hmmm, might be dreaming here....)

Next up: Run a MUC 5k, Saturday October 23, 2010.

Akron Half Marathon Race Recap - Sept 26, 2010

2010-09-29T20:50:00.006-04:00

Saturday morning I ran the Akron Half Marathon. This was my second time running this race, so I had some idea of what the course was like. I lined up with the 9:10 min / mile group and waited for the start. It was a great day for a long run - about 60 degrees and mostly sunny. Well, at the 7 am start it was still a little dark, but the full moon was a great touch. After the gun, we slowly moved forward and eventually crossed the starting line about 4 1/2 minutes after the first runners. It was soooo crowded that I very quickly wished I had lined up closer to the front with faster runners. I didn't want to dodge people, so I pretty much stayed in the middle of a pack for the first mile.

Mile 1 - 9:45

Eventually the crowd thinned a bit and I was able to pick up the pace.

2 - 9:21
3 - 9:17
4 - 9:07
5 - 9:12
6 - 9:10
7 - 9:29

I started to get a little too comfortable around mile 8.

8 - 9:44

Thankfully I overheard another runner (Someone I knew even! - Thanks MN!) telling her brother in law that they should pick up the pace to make up for the uphill at the end of the race. I was happy with my overall pace at that time (9:18), but I quickly realized she was right. I needed to be running faster right then, to make up for how slow I was going to be on mile 12. I sped right up!

9 - 8:55
10 - 9:19
11 - 8:49

Then, we turned onto the towpath and began a steep climb. I was really happy that I had picked up the pace a few miles back.

12 - 9:50

Once we were up the hill, we crossed the bridge back into downtown, and I gave it everything to get to the finish line. I was confident I would beat my goal of 2:03.

Mile 13 - 8:55
Mile .1 - 0:36

FINISH TIME - 2:01:33
Pace - 9:16

Wow. Can't help but be really happy with myself. When I signed up for this race back in January, I knew it would be two weeks after my Rev3 half iron and that I would probably just run it as a "fun run" and jog slowly. I never really thought I'd end up with a half marathon PR nor did I ever think I would get that close to breaking the two hour mark. Now I have a good goal for my next half marathon!

I had fun making the clock in the picture below show my correct finishing time! :-)

Here I am after finishing and getting my medal.

After I cooled down a bit, I changed my clothes, grabbed my bike and some snacks from the van, and rode along the marathon course from the finish line out to about mile 20. It was wonderful to see the marathon runners at that point in the race, especially some of my good friends. They kept moving forward, they stayed together, they finished going 26.2 miles together. :-) They have motivated me to want to run a marathon.

So, my next goal is the whole thing; not just HALF of something, but a real, true, marathon. 26.2 miles on my feet.

I'm pretty sure I'll be going for this in the spring, and it will probably be here in NE Ohio at the Cleveland Marathon. I have a few month to decide for sure.

This year I have set a new PR for every distance that I have ever run in a race, except for the 5k. Well, I'm signed up to run the RUN-A-MUC 5k at my alma mater, Mount Union College (now a University - but we'll ignore that) on October 23. I can't imagine getting my PR on that course, but I'm sure I'll try hard!

Goals for tomorrow's half marathon

2010-09-24T20:30:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow is the Akron Marathon and I will be running 13.1 miles, the half marathon. This will be my fourth half mary (well, my fifth if you include the Rev3 half.) My first ever was Akron in '08 - 2:15, then Stomp the Grapes in '08 - 2:30, then Cleveland in '09 - 2:07. (Rev3 was 2:29) Of course, I want to beat my time from when I ran this same race in 2008, but I'd really like a PR! A 2:03 would be really nice. :)

But then again, I've only run 3 times since the half iron two weeks ago - a total of 10 miles. Ha! I should be happy with just finishing tomorrow.

My plan is to try to stay ahead of the pace group for the 4:15 marathon. (Maybe I'll even try to stay with the 4 hr marathon group.) The marathon course is the same up until mile 11. So, I'd only have 2 miles without the pacer.

When I'm done running I plan to ride my bike around the remainder of the marathon course so that I can cheer on others running the whole thing, especially my friend Julia. :-) Go Julia!

Weekly workouts

Sept 16 - Run 3 miles (off the rest of the week!) I was just happy when I could walk both up AND down the stairs again. :-)

Sept 17 - 24

Fri - off

Sat - off

Sun - off

Mon - Run 4.04 miles

Tue - Bike ~15 miles

Wed - Swim 1250 yds

Thur - Run 3 miles

Fri - off

Rev3 Cedar Point 70.3 DONE - Race Report

2010-09-15T11:19:00.005-04:00

First of all - I FINISHED! That was my biggest goal for my first ever half iron distance triathlon, and I did it!

Early Saturday morning Matt and I drove up to Cedar Point and checked-in to our hotel, Hotel Breakers. I had hoped to jump in the lake for a practice swim, but it was pretty rough and we had arrived a little later than planned, so we just walked down to the beach and checked out the area.

Pre-race day went pretty much as planned: packet pick-up, bike check-in, pre-race meeting, Grunt Girl photos, CTC photos, pasta dinner with the family, and early to bed. Rev3 did a GREAT job of making our pre-race day simple and calm.

Race Day - Sunday September 12, 2010

I planned to start my day at 5:30 am, but the person in the room above us was up by 4:40 am, so I was too. :-) I was glad I brought my own toaster, and I was able to have tea using the room coffee pot to get hot water.

By 6:15 Matt and I were headed out the door. We walked down the beach to the transition area so that I could get everything set up. At first I was stunned to find that the ladies on each side of me had already set up their gear on BOTH sides of my bike's front tire - leaving me NO room. None. I think I stood there for a few minutes, not sure what to do. Thankfully I spotted a USAT lady who told me I could slide the one set of towels, shoes and such over to make room for my stuff. Phew!

The Full Rev start had been delayed a few minutes, so Matt and I made it back down the beach in time to see the Pros and the age-groupers exit and re-enter the water in the middle of their 2.4 mile swim. I was so happy to see most of the CTC people that were in the full race!

A little after 8 am I pulled on my wetsuit, headed down the beach for some last minute photos with Matt and my parents, and then made my way over to the starting line.

THE SWIM
Right on time, my wave started at 8:40 am. Thankfully, Lake Erie was much calmer than it had been the day before. It was still a little wavy, but not too bad. Personally, I enjoyed the shallow water at the beginning. While some around me were dolphin diving, I just walked, and still kept up with them. Once deep enough to actually swim, it took awhile to get in a rhythm. I really had to make myself calm down. The waves from my left (the north) made me breathe mostly on the right. When I finally reached the first RED buoy (1/2 mile out) I couldn't help but check my watch - I saw 16:xx. Quickly doing the math, I was pleased. I decided I wanted to get to the next red buoy in 8 minutes. That .2 mile stretch was much easier for me. I felt like the waves were pushing me along, and I could breathe on both sides now. So, I get there, check the watch, and see 25:xx. Not bad. I figured if I could get back to shore as quickly as I swam out, I'd be done with the 1.2 miles in 41 minutes (which would beat my goal!) Well, swimming back the waves again had me breathing on only one side - the left now. I was also surprised to feel the water getting colder on the way back. Strange. My feet were pretty numb, but otherwise I was okay. As soon as I could see others around me walking, I did the same. Started pulling my wetsuit off and again checked my watch - 44:02. Hmm, guess I was slow swimming in, but I still beat my goal of 45 minutes. I walked up the beach, accepted a cup of water from a volunteer, and then entered transition.
SWIM TIME: 44:31

T1
Somehow I lucked out with a transition spot at the end near the bike in and out. I walked down there, and I carefully dried off and got rid of ALL the sand on my feet. I even sat down to get some Body Glide on my feet where I had had blisters the week before. With the cool air I decided to go with the arm warmers. They didn't like going on my wet arms, but I'm glad I wore them! (I kept them on until just before returning to transition.)
T1 TIME: 5:42

THE BIKE
I must say again, I REALLY like this bike course. I'm so glad that I was able to ride the whole course 3 times before race day! I knew what to expect and it suited me well. Not too hilly, but enough rolling to keep it interesting. I made myself just take it easy, knowing I had to run a half marathon when I was done. Tons of people passed me, and I only passed a few, but I just stuck to my plan of taking it easy. I didn't want to risk riding too hard and then not being able to finish the run. Before the swim I took one GU (8:20 am), and on the bike I took 3 or 4 GUs (I've now lost count), plus half a PB&J bar, and 2 full gatorade bottles. I broke the top off my one water bottle while trying to open it. Oops. I managed to not lose any of the gatorade though. I was able to dump it all into my aero waterbottle - all while still riding! I was soooo happy that I NEVER got off my bike (or even clipped out) during the whole 56 mile ride! I honestly had FUN on the bike course. It was a beautiful day - the sun came out there were a few little clouds spotting the blue sky. I felt GOOD. No cramps, no pain. I was thinking, "This is just like any other triathlon, just a bit longer." :-) Plus, I beat my goal time by 5 minutes. Oh, what was really cool was that with about 15 miles left, the pros started to pass me. I loved seeing them fly by on their awesome bikes!
BIKE TIME: 3:25:15 Average Speed: 16.3 mph

T2
At first I was scared to start walking as I dismounted my bike; not sure if the legs were going to work. I was fine though. I got all of my gear changed from biking to running, and was off.
T2 TIME: 4:44

THE RUN
I began by walking, while eating a few Sport Jelly Beans and drinking some water and then began a slow jog. Since we drove the run course the night before, I knew the only slight hill was on the road to and from Sandusky. I planned to start out slow, and then later try to pick up the pace a bit. (This worked well for me on the 6.2 mile run at GCT, so I figured that was a good plan.) I took water at every aid station. The first few I walked, but then realized that was using up too much time. Miles one through five: 11:02, 11:14, 11:32, 11:12, 11:17. Right at about mile 5 I saw my brother going the other way. I didn't expect to see him at all, so that was pretty neat. I gave him a big wave and guessed he was near mile 7. I wanted to pick up my pace, but got worried about my heart rate each time I tried. So, I just stuck with my slow even pace. I was so glad I had put my Garmin on for the run. All the time I was looking down to see what my overall average pace was. It was around 11:15 a lot of the time. In my head I kept doing the math, "How slow can I go and still finish this whole race in under 7 hours??" I didn't want to risk not meeting my goal, but I knew I couldn't speed up - just had to stay steady. Miles six through ten: 11:31, 11:30, 12:20?, 11:19, 11:21. I don't know what happened at mile 8? Oh, but around six I had my one aggravation of the day - a guy moving boats around with a huge tractor decided to block the WHOLE road while I was about to run past him. AHH! I was so mad at him; he could see me coming, and did nothing to hurry up. (or wait for me to pass??) I ran way off the road up and around him. Took me a minute to get over that. Ugh! Well, I continued plugging along, singing dumb songs, and taking a couple of GUs. On my last GU (It must have been about 2:30 pm) I told the guy passing me that I had better finish the race within the next hour because I didn't want another one of those for a YEAR. On the road leading back to Cedar Point I was ready to be done. What made me keep moving was my time goal, and the desire to SEE the finish line. Miles eleven, twelve, and thirteen: 11:45, 11:56, and 10:54.
RUN TIME: 2:29:06 11:23 pace

TOTAL 1/2 IRON TIME: 6:49:19
:-)
I beat my goal by 10 minutes. I did it!

Once done, I was scared to stop moving, so I walked for about 15 minutes. Finally sat down, but didn't feel right. After about 30 minutes of that, things seemed to return to normal, and I was able to eat a bit of the post race food. Within an hour Matt and I walked right though Cedar Point to the exit so that I could clean up transition and claim my gear.

I am SUPER happy with how the day went. I met my goals, I had fun, the weather cooperated, I didn't get any cramps or blisters, no knee pain, no stomach pain... It went about the best it could have. My first half iron race was a wonderful experience! I loved everything about it!

I have about 60 more photos posted on Facebook (from race day and the day before the race.) If you'd like to see them, they can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2079621&id=1137415773&l=d7c3a31d62

I will travel 70.3 miles on Sunday...

2010-09-10T09:09:00.003-04:00

WOW! The big race day is so close. In less than 48 hours I will begin my 70.3 mile journey. I'm so happy, excited, nervous, overwhelmed...

Two weeks ago I told myself NO JUNK FOOD (at least until after the race - I can't give up desserts forever!) I want to make sure my body is fueled with the best possible food to get me through this seven (or eight) hour long day of racing. Anyhow, I'm happy to say I've done great with not eating the junk food these past two weeks. (That was originally my goal for this whole calendar year, but that didn't work out!) :)

Well, now I'm having trouble eating. This always happens when I get nervous. I've been keeping very close record of my weight, and I'm down 2 lbs just in these last two weeks. This is the least I've weighted since the summer of '05. I'm sure some of that is from no junk (only snacking on healthy food - moslty fruit) but some of this is from the nerves! Yikes. Need to find something yummy to make myself eat today!

Okay, tomorrow at 7 am Matt and I will leave for Cedar Point. I hope to be in Lake Erie for a practice swim by 9 am. After the swim I'll go to athlete check-in and bike check-in. Still not sure what to do for lunch? (I might pack a PB&J.) At 2 pm I'll attend a race meeting and then at 3:30 I'll join the CTC for a club photo. (It's so exciting how many from our triathlon club will be there!)(AND how many ladies from the Grunt Girls will be there, too!!!) Hotel check-in is at 4 pm, but I sure hope to get the room before that. I'm pretty sure I'll be joining my brother and sis-in-law, and her brother, and my parents for dinner at a pizza / Italian restaurant for dinner in Sandusky a few minutes from Cedar Point. Wow. Before or after dinner I'd like to drive around the run course. I meant to do that the last time I was up there, but forgot - oops. Hopefully I'll get to bed by 10 pm and be able to sleep!

Sunday morning I start at 8:40 am.
1.2 Mile Swim Goal - 45 minutes
So hopefully I get through transition and on my bike by 9:35 am.
56 Mile Bike Goal - 3 1/2 hours
I'd like to get through T2 and be running by 1:10 pm.
13.1 Mile Run Goal - 2 1/2 hours
I'd love to then finish by 3:39 pm.
TOTAL RACE FINISH TIME GOAL - 6 hours and 59 minutes

The weater looks good for Sunday in Sandusky, OH: AM clouds, PM sun, only 10% chance of rain, low of 62, high of 73. Once again - I wish I knew about the waves! Lake Erie water temp is around 70 degrees, which is fine, let's just hope for little or no waves! :-)

Oh my!!!

Just 9 more days until the Rev3 HALF IRON

2010-09-03T13:05:00.002-04:00

NINE days until my first half iron. I've already checked weather.com twice today. First thing this morning, it sounded perfect: 74 degrees, partly cloudy, and only a 10% chance of rain. Well, it's already changed to a 40% chance of scattered showers. I'm sure the forecast will continue to change every time I check it this week. :-) The BIG question remains: will Lake Erie be as smooth as glass, or filled with waves???

During these last few days of training / taper I have only 2 swims, 2 bikes, and 2 runs left. WOW.

Yesterday I had something new happen - a blister while cycling. ?!? I only rode 30 miles. I left my house and rode down into the CVNP and back up and home. I laced up my shoes and headed out to run. Just 25 yds down the road I pulled my shoe off to shake it out because it felt like there was something in it. I continued to do my 1.6 mile run feeling like a small rock was in still in my shoe. Once I was done and pulled my sock off, I found the big blister (but no rock) - where my big toe joins my foot. It's the SAME place I got a blister during the Perfect 10 Miler when my socks were all wet. I have NO IDEA what caused it during my bike ride. ?? Weird.

Swimming today felt weird with the blister. Yuck.

Weekly Workouts - Aug 28 - Sept 3 (Oh - it's Sept 3 today - had my first ever date with my husband 17 years ago on this day! :-) I had just started my freshman year of college.) :-)

Sat - Bike 26.66 miles and Run 2.2 miles
Sun - Run 6.3 miles (while cheering on everyone running the Buckeye 1/2 marathon)
Mon - off
Tue - Bike 20.09 miles
Wed - Swim 2000 yds
Thur - Bike 30.43 miles and Run 1.67 miles
Fri - Swim 1500 yds

Worry, worry, worry

2010-08-28T14:49:00.003-04:00

That's me right now. Worried. Worried about pretty much everything that has to do with this race. The dreams have started.

There is so much to think about:

What to pack for the weekend?
What will the weather be like on race day?
How will I keep my gatorade cold?
Where do I have to be? and at what time?
Where am I going to eat my pre-race dinner? **That's a BIG question!**
Am going to be able to sleep the night before the race?
How long is it going to take me to finish?
Am I going to be able to walk when I'm done?
Am I going to be able to walk the next day?

One question was answered today. When will I start? 8:40 am!!!

I like my start time and the way the waves were set up for the half iron.
8:30 - the 30 - 39 yr old men start
8:35 - the young guys and older guys start
8:40 - 18 to 44 yr old women start **That's me!**
8:45 - the oldest men and Clydesdale men
8:50 - 45 and up women, Athena women, and all relays (men and women)

I'm so happy that none of the men start with us. :) At the GCT I was so worried about the guys, that I swam out of my way to avoid everyone.

I can now plan my finish time. I'd like to be done by 3:39 pm. :-)

So, two weeks to race day.

Last Weeks Workouts Aug 21 - 27
Sat - Bike 60.3 miles in 3:26:30
Sun - off (I was too tired to run!)
Mon - Run 4 miles
Tue - Swim 11 min. (I was alone at Headlands and it was wavy, so I cut it short!)
Wed - Run 4 miles
Thur - off (missed my brick because Dylan's bus was over an hour late!) Although I did walk at the ZOO with Tyler for a few hours!
Fri - Swim 2000 yds at the pool and Bike 16.35 miles while BOTH boys were at school

Oh, I bought some new running shoes this week. Walked in them at the zoo on Thurs and did my first run in them today. They are the SAME ones I already had, just the lastest model. They should be just right for race day after a few more runs. :)

Three Weeks until the BIG DAY!!!

2010-08-22T09:12:00.002-04:00

I can't believe there's really only three more weeks until my half ironman! WOW! I signed up for this race about 11 months ago, and feel like I've been training for it ever since. My real training started in April, but every workout I did this past winter was with my half iron in mind.

Yesterday I got up at 5 am and drove to Sandusky for another day of on-course training. My goal was to ride harder / faster now that I know I can complete 56 miles at a comfortable pace. I'm happy to say, I met my goal!

I rode 60.3 miles in 3 hours and 26 minutes, which is an average of 17.5 mph. (The last two times I rode this course I only averaged 16.1 and 16.0 mph.) My times and averages do not include a few short stops where we re-grouped a bit and re-filled our water bottles. I actually tried to stop as little as possible this time, so it would be as much like race day as it could be.

I have all of my workouts planned and written down for the next 3 weeks:

SWIM - 3 more open water swims, and 3 more pool swims

BIKE - My longest ride left is about 35 miles. Six more rides total (two of which will be bricks.)

RUN - I have one more long run planned - a half marathon next Sunday, and then just some 5 and 4 milers. (plus the short runs after the two bike rides = bricks)

Weekly Workouts - Aug 14 - 20
Sat - Bike 45 miles
Sun - Run 11.7 miles
Mon - Swim 1600 yds
Tue - Bike 13.27 miles
Wed - Run 3.09 miles
Thur - off (fast trail hike for 1.5 miles)
Fri - Swim 750 yds

2 week training update

2010-08-13T13:50:00.002-04:00

July 31 - Aug 6
Sat - off
Sun - Run 11 miles
Mon - off
Tue - Bike on trainer 60 min
Wed - Run 4.01 miles
Thur - Swim 1200 yds and Bike 24 miles
Fri - Run 2 miles and bike 20 minutes

Aug 7 - 13
Sat - off
Sun - GCT Swim .75 miles, Bike 23 miles, Run 10K
Mon - off
Tue - Run 3.21 miles and Swim 32 minutes
Wed - Run 4.2 miles
Thur - Bike 24 miles
Fri - (need to swim later today)

Today is that last day I can swim at my gym until the pool is done being cleaned and it reopens on August 23.
On August 23 the lake where I do most of my open water swimming will close for the season.
Swim training is probably my least favorite of the three events. Not having somewhere close to home to swim will only make it worse.
I've been driving up to Lake Erie once every other week to swim at Mentor Headlands. That has helped some.

Tomorrow I'm excited to be able to go on another group ride with the ladies from HCC. Hopefully it will be at least a 30 mile day.

Sunday, I'm running the Perfect 10 Miler in Lyndhurst. It's a 12 mile day for me, so I think I'll just do a slow 2 mile warm up and then run the race. :-)

Greater Cleveland Triathlon - Aug 8, 2010

2010-08-09T15:05:00.008-04:00

Yesterday I completed my third Olympic distance triathlon of the year, the Greater Cleveland Triathlon at Mentor Headlands. The weather was almost perfect - mid 70s and sunny, but there was some wind (which = waves in Lake Erie!)

I woke up at 5 am, arrived at the race site at 6 am, and was in my wetsuit ready to start around 7:15 am.

All 131 of us doing the Olympic distance triathlon walked 3/4 of a mile down the beach to the swim start. First off were the 20 to 29 year olds, and then my group, the 30 - 39 year olds. I was worried about it being all the women AND all the men, so I tried to stay far out to the side of everyone. I'm sure this caused me to swim farther than most people, but it saved me from being kicked, hit, and so on... There were also waves to slow me down, and they did! I arrived at the beach in 31:58 and then walked to transition.

Total swim time - 33:20

T1 - 2:48

Leaving T1:

One of my sons told me I look like a boy in this pic. Great. :(

Out on the bike course my computer stopped working at mile 1.78. I know this, because for all the rest of the 23 miles, all it said was: 1.78. UGH! Sometime later in the day it occurred to me that I must have bumped the on / off button on accident. At least the current MPH were still showing, and I had my time working on my watch. So, I was able to know when to take my GUs and about how long / far I had to go. I felt good on the bike, but I really wished I could have gone faster. Little did I know, something WAS slowing me down. I'll come back to that.

Bike time - 1:26:31 (Avg 16 mph)

T2 - 1:53

While leaving transition to start the run, I saw that I had already been on the course for 2 hrs and 5 minutes. That meant my chances of finishing in under 3 hours were slim to none. (unless I was going to run a 10K PR - uh, no.) So, I figured I would just try to enjoy myself. On the bike I did a good job of staying hydrated (which was my BIG mistake in my last Oly tri.) So, I felt pretty good. A few miles in, I decided to pick up the pace, and I still felt good. It's nice to have a good run to finish the day.

My run times based on the mile markers and my watch:
1- 10:16
2- 10:09
3- 10:37
4- 9:31
5- 9:45
6- 9:18
.2- 1:59

Run time - 61:38 (9:57 pace)

TOTAL RACE TIME - 3:06:09

About to finish:

After the race I returned to transition to claim my bike and other belongings. BUT, the bike didn't want to "roll" along side me. Actually, it barely wanted to MOVE. Hmm, turns out part of the back brake was rubbing against the wheel!!! I have no idea when that happened. ?? Pre race? During the race? Guess my bike needs to visit the bike shop!

Post race photo with Grunt Girls:

Race Day Stats:
Females 30 - 39: #6 out of 10
Overall: #94 out of 131

Kathleen Nietert Run for Hope, 7 1/2 miler Race Report

2010-08-03T08:24:00.003-04:00

On Sunday I ran in a 7 1/2 mile hilly race in Aurora. I signed up for this race as a way to help me get in one of my long runs. Sunday was set to be an 11 mile running day. So, my plan was to arrive early, run 3 miles, do the race and then cool down with another 1/2 mile. I'm quite happy to say I almost stuck to my plan perfectly!

I arrived at the race site, Sunny Lake Park, around 7 am, got checked-in for the race and took off on my warm-up run. The lake has a 1.7 mile path around it, which was perfect for the first part of my run. It was also a beautiful day for running - partly sunny and mid 70s. After circling the lake one time, I realized I didn't have enough time to do the full 3 miles I had planned (or I'd be late for the race.) So, I stopped at 2.7 miles, pinned on my race #, made a stop at the "Aris" port-o-pot (my friend's brother's company :-) ), and then got to the starting line with about 5 minutes to spare.

It's not a "huge" race; there were maybe 50 to 75 people lined up for the 7 1/2 miler. (There was also a 5k that started a few minutes earlier.) The official results have not been posted, so I don't know the exact numbers.

The started said, "Go!" and we were off. The run was a rectangle, clockwise on the roads around the park / lake, and then we re-entered the park to run the last mile and half around the lake. I knew it was going to be hilly, but wasn't familiar with the course at all. We started on an uphill, but it wasn't too bad. Most of the race was either up or down; not much flat at all, but I think I did pretty well. I let myself run hard on the downhills, and I passed several people that way. I tried to stay strong on the uphills (short fast strides with my arms pumping) and that seemed to work.

On my long runs for the past few weeks I've been keeping about a 10:45 to 11 min per mile pace. I thought I'd be around a 10 min pace today, but surprised myself with a little better than that. Here were my splits on my garmin:

Mile
1 - 9:22
2 - 9:26
3 - 9:43
4 - 9:46
5 - 9:15
6 - 9:20
7 - 9:20
.5 - 3:38

The last half mile was fun. Back in the park, was the only close to flat part of the race. I like to finish a race as hard as I can, and I really did that at this race! When I saw the 7 mile sign, I took off. I tried to get the two men around me to join in, but they just said, "Go!" to me. :-)

Final time: 1:09:53
Pace: 9:19

Awards were given out to the top two runners in each 10 year age group. I didn't get one, so I know I wasn't in the top two for 30 - 39 yr old females, but that's okay, I'm quite happy with how I did.

After the awards I did my last .8 miles so I could get all 11 miles in for the day. That was a VERY slow .8 miles.

The day's totals:
2.7 miles - 28:46
7.5miles - 1:09
.8 miles - 10:36
Equals 11 miles in 1 hour and 49 minutes

This coming Sunday is the Greater Cleveland Triathlon at Mentor Headlands and I'll be doing the Olympic Triathlon. So far, the weather looks like it will be great - 80 degrees and mostly sunny.

Magazine and Recovery Week

2010-07-31T10:11:00.004-04:00

July 24 - 30 *recovery week*

Sat - Bike 30.2 miles (all alone - from home, north to Hudson, down in the CVNP, and back up and home) - Spent the evening in Pittsburgh for a very nice (and very warm) wedding.

Sun - Run 10.07 miles (a warm afternoon run on the towpath)

Mon - off / rest (I should have gone swimming, but it's been very lonely at the lake by my house.)

Tue - Bike 13.6 miles and Swim 30 min (indoor mid-day trainer bike ride) (nice evening swim in Lake Erie at Mentor Headlands)

Wed - Run 3.6 miles (very slow early morning run in my neighborhood)

Thur - Bike 16.07 miles and Run 2.03 miles (great brick with the Grunt Girls in the CVNP)

Fri - off (spent all day with my husband and sons at Put in Bay)

I'm really not sure what I'm going to do today. I should probably be swimming or biking right now, but motivation is low. The plan for tonight is to take the boys to the Akron Aeros baseball game. Hopefully it doesn't rain!

Tomorrow morning I'm going to run the Kathleen Nietert Run for Hope. It's a hilly 7 1/2 mile run through Aurora and Mantua. Again, hopefully it doesn't rain! I plan to go early and run a 3 mile warm-up. Plus, I'll do a 1/2 mile cool down, so I can get in 11 miles for the day. :)

Some exciting news from this week is that I was in a magazine! (Ohio Sports and Fitness - www.ohiosportsandfitness.com ) I recently joined a Women's Only Racing Team called the Grunt Girls. I have had a wonderful time getting to know many of the other ladies and training with them. Here is our new website: www.gruntgirlracing.com
Across the top of the web site is the photo that was in the magazine.

Plus one of the girls was on the cover and another was on the Table of Contents page. :-)

The photo shoot for this magazine was on a warm evening in early July. We all met at an old abandoned building in Cleveland. Minus the heat, it was pretty neat.

7 (exciting) weeks until the Rev3 Half

2010-07-23T20:37:00.002-04:00

I realized I'm a little behind on my workout updates. So, below is a recap for the last 3 weeks.

Tomorrow I'm headed to Pitt, PA for a wedding, so I plan to get up early to get in my long bike ride for the week. (hopefully I have time for at least 30 miles) I wish I could join the ladies at HCC for the ride, but I'd be too late getting to PA. Guess I have to ride alone.

After we get home on Sunday, I'll aim for a 10 mile run. I hope to go down to the towpath for this, just like I did this past Sunday. It was so nice being mostly in the shade, because it was soooo HOT!

It's hard to believe there's only 7 more weeks until the Rev3 Cedar Point 1/2. Although, I wish it were next weekend. I actually feel ready to do it. I know my continued training for these next few weeks will make race day that much better, but I'm confident I could finish it, even if it were tomorrow. :-)

I have a training run / race planned for next weekend (Aug 1) in Auroa; it's a 7 1/2 mile race, but with my warm-up and cool down, I hope to make it an 11 mile running day.

The week after that (Aug 8) is my last Olympic distance triathlon of the year, the Greater Cleveland Triathlon!

Another week later (Aug 15) is the Perfect 10 Miler in Lyndhurst. I ran that one a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it.

Then, each of the next two weekends will bring my last two BIG training days. WOW. :-) On Aug 21 I'll head back to Cedar Point for some more on-course training for the Rev3, and on Aug 29 I'm running a half marathon. ** - which has changed from my original plans. ** I was going to drive down to Columbus for the Spirt of Columbus half mary, but just found out this week there's a half mary only 10 miles from my house, the Buckeye Half!! So, I'm going to do it instead. That way I avoid the drive down, sleeping in a different bed, and the long drive home!

July 3 - 9
Sat - Bike 55.13 miles (Rev3 course)
Sun - off
Mon - Run 5 miles
Tue - Swim ~1200 yds
Wed - Bike 15.12 miles
Thur - Swim 1600 yds and Bike 9.52 miles and Run 2.09 miles
Fri - Run 2 miles

July 10 - 16
Sat - off
Sun - OLY Tri - Swim 1500M, Bike 40K, Run 10K
Mon - off
Tue - Run 5 miles and Swim ~1000 yds
Wed - off - back injury
Thur - off - back pain
Fri - Bike 9.43 miles and Run 1 mile

July 17 - 23
Sat - Rev3 Training - Swim ~1000 yds, Bike 58 miles, and Run 2.22 miles
Sun - Run 9 miles
Mon - Swim 1650 yds
Tue - off
Wed - Track Run 4.5 miles
Thur - Bike 22.4 miles
Fri - Run 3.25 miles and Swim ~1200 yds

Caesar Creek Olympic Triathlon - Race Report - July 11, 2010

2010-07-12T15:46:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was a great day for a triathlon in southern Ohio; it was almost perfect (minus the sun/heat on the run.)
HFP has already posted the results. Here's my stats:

1500 meter swim (plus the run up to T1) - 29:13
T1 - 2:18
40K bike - 1:22:18 - Avg of 18.1 mph
T2 - 1:26
10K Run - 64:22 - 10:21 pace

Prerace:

The lake water was almost like glass and 73 degrees. It was a great swim for me, except on the second lap someone didn't just hit my foot - they seemed to grab it. Scared me for a second, but after I caught my breath, I pushed forward.

Exiting the swim:

T1 was uneventful:

Bike start:

The bike course was rolling hills with several recently paved roads. The one thing that could have helped me is if my bike computer would have worked! When the race was over I was able to see that the sensor had shifted (probably on the car ride.)

Entering T2:

In T2 I realized that I had about 65 minutes to run my 10K in order to finish in under 3 hours. WOW. I thought, "I could really do this!" I've run a 10K in 55:16 before, so even at an easier pace, I figured it was going to happen.

I had 3 levels of goals for the day. I wanted to beat my time from last month at Deer Creek (3 hrs 14 min.) It would be really nice to beat my time from last year at Portage Lakes (3 hrs 8 min.) Then there was the "ultimate goal" of finishing in under 3 hours.

Running:

So, I took off onto the run. From doing this race as a sprint 3 years ago, I knew the course was a mostly rock covered path and mostly in the sun. I took a sip of water and dumped some over my head every time it was offered. I was really having trouble keeping up a decent pace. I saw several people taking walking breaks, and really wanted to do the same, but knowing I was so close to my goal kept me at least doing a jog / shuffle. After the first 5k I saw that I had about 34 minutes left to make my goal. Knowing that I had to run the same 5k course again, I wasn't so sure I was going to make it at that point. I was really dragging my feet and experiencing a side cramp.

After the race, when I saw how little I actually drank on the bike course, and when I saw how much weight I lost during the whole race, I realized I must have been too dehydrated. I think that was a big factor in my poor run.

About to finish:

Anyhow, when I looked at my watch and saw that I had 2 minutes left to finish, I somehow picked up the pace. I really pushed it hard, and I made my goal, with only a few seconds to spare.

TOTAL RACE TIME - 2:59:38

Finish line:

This coming Saturday is another training day on the Rev3 course at Cedar Point. We should be able to get in a swim, ride the bike course, and do some running. :-)

In 4 weeks I'll do my 3rd and final Olympic distance triathlon for the year, the Greater Cleveland Triathlon at Mentor Headlands.

Stow Firecracker 4 Mile Race - July 5, 2010

2010-07-08T14:28:00.005-04:00

Since the 4th of July fell on a Sunday, this year's 4 mile Firecracker Run was on the the 5th. It was a HOT day, even at an early 7:30 am start time. I was planning to take it easy and not push it in the heat.

Well, it's a race. When they said "Go!," I took off. I had run an easy one mile warm up, and was ready to push it.

Mile 1 is slightly uphill most of the way - 8:34
Mile 2 is slightly downhill most of the way - 8:12

Then we turn around and run back the way we came.

Mile 3 (uphill) - 9:06
Mile 4 (downhill) - 7:52

Final Time - 33:45 - New 4 mile PR.

I didn't stay around for awards knowing there's a lot of really fast people at this race. (Two years ago I was 8th in my age group with a time of 34:13.)

Then I found out yesterday I placed 1st in my age group out of 22 other 35-39 yr old females! (That's what I get for turning 35 this year.) :-)

The mile one (and mile three) markers are only about 100 yds from my house. So, Matt got a picture of me running by at mile one. I'm in the purple tank top in the middle.

Sunday I will be racing my second Olympic Distance triathlon of year. It's going to be at Caesar Creek State Park (Southwest of Columbus.) I hope to at least beat my time from Deer Creek last month, which was 3:14:26. So far, the weather looks to be good!

Awesome bike ride on the REV3 course

2010-07-03T22:19:00.004-04:00

It was a super day with my husband. :-)

After dropping our children off at my parent's house, we drove to Cedar Point. Well, we drove to a little park a few minutes away from CP so we'd have restrooms to use and no parking fee. Osborn Park. This worked out really well!

After getting our drinks / food ready, we headed on to the REV3 1/2 iron bike course. We started on Rt 6 (skiping the beginning part of Cedar Pt Road) and followed the entire course. Thrown in there was one tiny detour to see the home of Thomas Edison's birthplace in Milan, OH. :)

Once we were back to where we started, we decided to finish the course by riding all the way down Cedar Point Rd to the main parking lot and then back down it to the town park where we left our van.

Total miles for the day: 55.13
Yahoo!!
3 hours, 24 minutes and 42 seconds! (about 3 hrs and 45 minutes WITH stops)
16.1 mph average (not including stops to check the map)

Oh, there was one other short detour - to use a bathroom in a cute little town's one gas station.

I wonder if there will be port a pots around the race route on race day???

As for the course, it was a bit windy, but I know that's to be expected when the land is so flat and filled with farms. :-) There were a few rollers, but I only had to shift out of my big chain ring once. So, it can't be too bad! There were a lot of bumps on a tiny road that curves around a school and a few on Cedar Point Road, but nothing too bad. One road I loved, but of course it only lasted about a mile - Berlin Rd. Smooth and downhill.

I feel sooo much better about this race now that I've been on the bike course. My confidence is way up! I know I can do it. I just wish Matt could follow me on race day like he did today. :-)

As for this past week, it was mostly a recovery week starting on Sunday. With the nice cool weather, I went a little farther than planned, but I kept the pace way down.

June 26 - July 2
Sat - Bike 44 miles
Sun - Bike 10.2 miles and Run 2.08 miles
Mon - Swim 29:40
Tue - Run 5.05 miles
Wed - Run 2.85 miles
Thur - Bike 18.1 miles and Run 4.7 miles
Fri - Swim 16:00 (alone and bored - didn't stay long)

11 weeks to REV3 - Weekly update

2010-06-26T14:50:00.003-04:00

Weekly Workouts - June 19 to 25

Sat - off (sick and day before race)
Sun - Bike 25 miles (12.5 race and 12.5 second loop with Matt)
Mon - Swim 2000 yds
Tue - Run 9 miles
Wed - Bike 15.63 miles
Thur - Bike 24 miles and Run 2.5 miles
Fri - off

Just 11 more weeks until the REV3 70.3. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with my training. I missed a swim this week because of baseball, but now that the season is over, I'll easily be able to fit in two open water swims every week. I'm hoping to make it up to Lake Erie for a 3rd swim at least every other week, starting this week!
I'm about right on target with both my biking and my running. Today I went on my longest ride ever - 44 miles. Plus, it was hilly! Within the next week I'll be up to 50 mile bike rides. :-)
In two weeks I'm doing another Olympic distance triathlon. This one is at Caesar Creek, and it's another HFP race.

Presque Isle Time Trial

2010-06-20T20:09:00.002-04:00

Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania was the site of this morning's 12.5 mile bike time trial. The weather was beautiful - sunny, not too windy, and about 70 degrees. Of the about 130 riders, I was #98 and Matt was #99. The riders began every 15 seconds, which put my start time at 7:54 and Matt's at 7:54:15.
I started out pretty fast, because I didn't want to let Matt catch me too quickly. (Ahead of time he said it would only take him one mile to catch me.) Well, I hit 24.5 MPH and realized that was too fast on this totally flat course. Matt passed me right after the 1 mile marker. :-)
I only rode this course one other time, and it took me 42 min and 27 sec - 17.6 avg mph. (That was back in April of 2008.) Today I finished in 37:57, which was an average of 19.8 MPH! My fastest bike average before today was 19.0 mph and that was during the triathlon at Fairport Harbor last year. :)
The next time I ride this course at Presque Isle, my goal will have to be to maintain an average of 20 mph!
After the race Matt and I rode the course again, but together this time. :) So, it was a nice 25 mile day.

Weekly Workouts for June 12 - 18
Sat - Bike 26.25 miles
Sun - off
Mon - Run 5.81 miles and Swim 1340 yds
Tue - Bike 50 min (on trainer)
Wed - Run 8 miles
Thur - off (sick)
Fri - off (sick)

Do to my cold, I missed a lot of workouts this past week, but thankfully I made it through this morning's race and I'm feeling much better this evening.

Weekly Workout Update - June 11, 2010

2010-06-11T21:09:00.002-04:00

June 5 - 11
Sat - off
Sun - Swim 1500M, Bike 40K, Run 10K - 3 hrs 14 min
Mon - off
Tue - Run 5.12 miles
Wed - Swim 2000 yds (pool)
Thur - Bike 11 miles then Run 2 miles
Fri - Lift and Swim 1,760 yds (lake)

Overall it was a good week. I took an extra day off after the triathlon on Sunday, but I'm glad, since I was pretty tired on Monday. A couple of times a week I'm getting up early and doing a workout outside (run or bike) before Matt leaves for work. I like that better than running inside at the Nat or riding on my bike trainer, but I have to do that for some workouts in order to fit everything in while the boys are home. :)

I've starting swimming at Munroe Falls MetroPark on Mon / Fri evenings and that's so much better than laps at the pool! Tonight's swim was one of the best I've ever had in a lake. I felt so much more relaxed than usual. What a great feeling.

Deer Creek Olympic Triathlon Race Report - June 6, 2010

2010-06-09T12:42:00.005-04:00

On Sunday I was in my second ever Olympic distance triathlon. Saturday night I drove a couple of hours south to Columbus and stayed the night at my cousin's house, so I would only have about an hour to drive Sunday morning before the race. Once in the van and driving on Sunday, I heard that there was a Tornado Warning. The sky was dark and it was very windy. Not the best race conditions.

I arrived at Deer Creek State Park at 6:30 AM, checked in, and set up my gear in transition.

So far, so good.

It was still very windy and looked like it could rain, so put my shoes and towels in bags. I knew my transitions would take longer this way, but I didn't want to be putting on wet socks and shoes.

A few minutes after getting everything in bags, it started to rain. And RAIN, and RAIN. Plus there was a good deal of lighting and it was still VERY windy. An announcement was made that the start would be delayed for 30 minutes. So, the start would now be 8:30. My wave was supposed to start at 8:21, so now I'd be beginning around 8:51. I hid out in my van during this time, wondering how my gear was holding up over in the transition area.

Around 8:20 the rain suddenly slowed down, and everyone made their way back over to transition. My gear was good in the bags! :-) It looked like another round of rain was coming, but amazingly, it never did. We were just left to deal with the WIND.

The race started in waves, with everyone in the sprint race going first. I began with ALL of the ladies doing the Olympic distance. There was only one wave of men behind us. We started on the beach and ran into the water. The swim was two loops, totaling 1500 meters. (1640 yds - I usually track my swimming distance in yards.)I have NEVER been swimming in waves before. I've been planning on going up to Lake Erie more this year for practice, but haven't yet. Well, I got my share of waves on Sunday! It's just a small lake, but the wind was soooo stong! I knew I was slow, but I kept swimming along and did my best.

SWIM TIME (with the run to transition) 33:30

This was my first time racing with a full length, long sleeve wetsuit. Thankfully, it came off without a problem!

T1 2:43

The bike course was mostly flat, with only 2 or 3 spots where I had to shift to go uphill. But, the WIND didn't go away! I was being blown all around! For the few minutes that it was behind me, I had fun going 21 to 22 MPH on a flat to slight uphill area. :-) We also did two laps of the bike course for a total of 40K. (about 25 miles) I averaged 16.1 MPH on my bike computer.

BIKE TIME 1:33:32

T2 1:46

The run was an out and back 10K and completely flat. Again, the wind was a factor. I was actually laughing as I was being blown back. After the turn around, it was fun running with the wind at my back. I'm also very happy that I felt strong on the run. Not like last year where I couldn't catch my breath on the run in my Oly tri. I ran a 10:07 per mile pace.

RUN TIME 62:54

TOTAL RACE TIME 3:14:26

At first I wasn't happy with my time. I wanted to beat my time from last year - 3:08:xx. But the more I studied my results, the more pleased I became.

* My T1 time was almost a whole minute FASTER (even with the new longer wetsuit.)
* My bike average was .2 MPH faster, AND this was a longer bike course by 3K, AND it was SUPER WINDY!
* My T2 time was 30 seconds faster, and I had to tie my shoes because I didn't put on my other laces yet.
* My run time was almost 6 minutes faster!!! - a whole minute per mile faster.

So, the only place where I was slower, was the swim, and I'm okay with that, because those waves were crazy! :-)

Oh, because of the storm, I didn't think sunscreen was needed. Big Oops.

Next race: a 12.7 mile Time Trial at Presque Isle with Matt on Father's Day.

Tomorrow's Race and Weekly Update

2010-06-05T09:07:00.002-04:00

Just a few days ago I signed up to do the Olympic Distance triathlon at Deer Creek State park tomorrow. This will be only my second Olympic triathlon ever!!! Last year I did one at the end of the season, and finished in 3 hr 8 min and 33 sec. Of course I want to beat that time tomorrow, but I'd REALLY like to finish under 3 hours - 2:59:59 would be fine with me. :) I don't know much about the course, so I'll just have to go with the flow. I've tried out my new wetsuit twice now - this past Monday and last night. I really like it! I just hope I'm not too warm while swimming and I hope I don't get stuck in it when I try to pull it off. The forecast is calling for rain, so there's something else I'll have to deal with. (I don't like to bike on wet roads.) Tonight I'll be driving to Columbus to stay the night at my cousin's house, and then early tomorrow I'll drive the rest of the way to Deer Creek. We used to go there for boating / vacations as a kid - I hope my race will be just as fun!

Weekly Workouts for May 29 - June 4

Sat - Bike 34.5 miles
Sun - Run 8.15 miles
Mon - Bike 29 miles and Swim 550 yds (first time in wetsuit)
Tue - off
Wed - Run 4.1 miles
Thur - Bike 60 minutes (inside on trainer)
Fri - Run 3.13 miles and Swim 1050 yds

2010-05-28T21:36:00.002-04:00

May 22 - 28
Sat - Run 3.24 miles (last minute decision to run at 8:30 after the boys went to bed)
Sun - Bike 35.76 miles (alone and mostly on the bike path)
Mon - off (tried to swim, but childcare was FULL)
Tue - Run 6.41 miles (all before Matt left for work) :-)
Wed - Bike 5.8 miles (with Tyler in tow)
Thur - Bike 16.5 miles then Run 2 miles (another nice evening with the Grunt Girls)
Fri - Swim 2000 yds

I'm still behind on the swimming, but glad I got in some laps today. Thankfully, the Munroe Falls MetroPark lake opens for the year tomorrow!!! Looking forward to some Monday night swims there with the Cleveland Tri Club. I also can't wait to try out my new wetsuit!!! My TriGlide arrived in the mail today, so I hope it helps the wetsuit go on and off. :)

Workout update

2010-05-24T13:02:00.002-04:00

May 15 - 21
Sat - Bike 30.66 miles (with ladies from HCC)
Sun - Run 6.2 miles (Cleveland 10K)
Mon - off
Tue - off
Wed - Bike 20 miles
Thur - Bike 11.88 miles and Run 3 miles (with Grunt Girls)
Fri - off

Missed my swimming this past week. Tyler had pink eye, so he couldn't go to the childcare. So far this week, the swimming doesn't look good either. I waited just over 30 minutes today for a spot to open in the childcare before giving up and leaving. It was really busy because lots of preschools are done for the year (just like Tyler's school.)

I'm pretty pleased again with my cycling. Yesterday I went on another "longest bike ride ever," AND I did it all by myself. I went over 35 miles in about 2 hr 20 min, averaging over 15 MPH. :-) I rode up to the bike path by Silver Springs Park and then followed the path through Stow, Hudson, and Macedonia to Alexander Rd and then turned back.

Workouts and Cleveland 10K

2010-05-18T20:28:00.003-04:00

I have not had much to write about since my last blog. April didn't go so well when it comes to 1/2 Ironman training. (On the family side, April was great with our vacation to Disney!) However, vacations mean lots of planning, packing, and worrying about flying, which didn't leave a lot of time or energy for training.

For the month of April I biked 3 times, ran 6 times, lifted weights 5 times, and swam 1 time (if you can call laps in the FL pool with the boys swimming.) Ha!

Thankfully, I think I'm back on track for May.

May 1 - 7
Sat - Run 3.18 miles
Sun - Swim 1500 yds and Lift
Mon - Bike 21.08 miles
Tue - Run 4.1 miles
Wed - Bike 23.7 miles
Thur - Run 6.11 miles
Fri - off

May 8 - 14
Sat - Swim 1700 yds
Sun - off
Mon - Swim 2000 yds and Bike 6.8 miles
Tue - Run 3.5 miles
Wed - Bike 27 miles
Thur - off
Fri - Run 4.2 miles

This past Saturday, May 15, I went on my longest bike ride EVER - 30.66 miles. I heard about a ladies cycyling group that's just starting up. It's every other Saturday, starting at the HCC church in Hudson at 8 am. I'm not very good at trying new thing all on my own, but I got ready and went, not knowing what to expect! Well, there were 6 of us and I was told we'd be going about 30 miles and we were headed down into the valley for some hills. Oh my. I've never ridden up a hill from down in the valley - ever. Plus, I've never hit 30 miles in one ride. Plus, I have a 10K race to run the next day (but I know this is part of my big training plan for September.) So, we're off!
I really enjoyed riding with these ladies! I found out a few have children around the same ages as my boys even. :)
We went almost 10 miles, when 3 ladies turned back to get a total of 20 miles in for the day. I stayed with the other 2 ladies to complete the planned ride of 30 miles. We went down into and back out of the Cuyahoga Valley Nat. Park 3 times! If you're familiar with the park, I rode up Northampton Rd (straight up!) and up Bath Rd, and up Truxell Rd. Wow! Quite proud of myself.

Then, this past Sunday, May 16, I ran the 10K in Cleveland (part of the Cleveland Marathon weekend.) I've only run one stand alone 10K before and it was in Cleveland two years ago. My time then was 57:59. I was hoping to beat that time, but I didn't know what to expect after my bike ride the day before.
I got to the race plenty early, the weather was great, and my legs felt much better than I expected. I started out a bit faster than I planned, but after a few miles I decided that since I was still feeling good, I would try to continue my pace - and I did! :-)
Mile Splits
1 - 8:33
2 - 8:55
3 - 9:00
4 - 8:57
5 - 8:54
6 - 9:04
.2 - 1:50
Official Time - 55:17
Pace - 8:48
Another PR for the year. :-)

7:48

2010-03-23T13:18:00.003-04:00

I did something today that I didn't know if I'd ever be able to do. I ran one mile in under 8 minutes. It was 7:48 to be exact. Yippie!! :-)
With the yucky weather today I went to the Nat to do my 4 mile run on the indoor track. During mile two I decided I should try to go for a fast final mile. During mile 3 I didn't think it was going to work out - I was feeling sluggish. But mile 4 started and I took off. The track at the Nat is 8 laps = 1 mile. Easy math - stay around 1 min per lap and then go as fast as possible for the last lap. It worked! WOW.
Mile 1 - 10:20 warm up
Mile 2 - 9:48
Mile 3 - 9:32
Mile 4 - 7:48 :-)

St Malachi 5 Mile Race Report

2010-03-13T19:33:00.006-05:00

Today's weather wasn't quite as nice as last weekend, but still good for March in Ohio! Low 40s and rain. My first goal for today was to beat my time from last year, which I knew would be easy. Last winter I had some knee problems, which left me swimming all the time, but not running very much. So, last year my 5 mile time was only 48:00. I also wanted to run under 9 minute miles, finishing under 45 minutes (which would beat my former 5 mile PR of 45:19 set in Painesville in July of '07.) I'm very happy to say that I crushed my goal time.

Total Time - 43:13
Average Pace - 8:39

Mile Splits
1 - 8:14
2 - 8:37
3 - 8:54
4 - 8:48
5 - 8:38

Avg Heart Rate - 177

Shamrock Run 15K Race Report

2010-03-08T09:42:00.002-05:00

What a great March day for running! Yesterday it was 40 degrees and sunny for the noon start of the Shamrock Run. We began and finished at Woodridge HS in Cuyahoga Falls. The first few miles took us down, down, down, into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and then of course we came back up out of the park. There was a 5k in addition to the 15k, so there were hundreds of runners. Minus the blister I noticed on my left arch around mile 5, I was very pleased with how the day went.

Total Time - 1:29:05
Average Pace - 9:30

Mile Splits
1 - 8:36
2 - 8:54
3 - 8:50
4 - 9:20
5 - 11:21 big uphill
6 - 10:01
7 - 10:00
8 - 9:42
9 - 9:39
.32 - 2:39

Avg Heart Rate - 173

This is the first time I got to wear my Garmin for a real road race. I loved seeing the graph of information that I downloaded after the race. I am able to compare the elevation, to my pace and my heart rate.

Race season officially begins in March

2010-02-28T19:55:00.007-05:00

I'm still seeing the chiropractor one to two times a week, but compared to the day I hurt it while shoveling, it's MUCH better. So, my big focus for the last 2 1/2 weeks has been running. I've had a little knee pain after running, but nothing ice won't cure.

My long runs have gone according to my plans, so tonight I signed myself to run the Shamrock 15K next Sunday, March 7, which starts at Woodridge HS in Cuyahoga Falls at 12:00 noon. I've been told by a few people now that it is a very hill course (which makes sense since we'll be headed down in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.)

I have NOT been training on hills at all this winter, so that will be my biggest challenge. I've never run a 15K, but of course I have run some 10 milers and some 1/2 marathons. The milage should be fine. I'm now keeping a close eye on the weather. Being a noon start time should help. It currently looks like it should be in the upper 30s. I'm not looking to set a PR (although as long as I finish, I will set one; cool.) I'd just like this to be a good training run with lots of other runners. :-)

Six day after this race is the St. Malachi 5 Miler in Cleveland. I am looking for a good time that day! I was just happy to finish last year, since I had taken a good deal of time off from running with knee pain. This year I'd really like to improve my time!

Weekly Workouts for Feb. 22 - 28

Mon - Bike 50 min

Tue - Run 7 miles

Wed - off

Thu - Bike 1 hr 15 min
Fri - Run 3 miles

Sat - Bike 1 hr 47 min and Swim 1300 yds

Sun - Run 8.12 miles

Workouts in review

2010-02-21T18:58:00.002-05:00

Feb 8 - 14
Mon - off (back pain still from shoveling)
Tue - off
Wed - off
Thu - Run 3 miles and Elip 10 min.
Fri - Bike 1 hr 10 min
Sat - Bike 1 hr 55 min and Swim 1200 yds
Sun - off

Feb 15 - 21
Mon - Run 3 miles
Tue - Swim 2000 yds and Lift
Wed - Bike 60 min and Run 2 miles
Thu - Run 6 miles and Lift
Fri - Swim 1000 yds and Lift
Sat - Bike 1 hr 53 min
Sun - Run 3.22 miles

Workout BEAM giveaway from Monica

2010-02-10T16:46:00.005-05:00

On Saturday February 6 I tried to shovel some snow off the deck for the dog, but instead I hurt my back. :-( The chiro was closed for the day, so I made an appointment for first thing Monday. I went, and I got a little better. I went again today, and again it's a little better, but I still can't bend over to put my shoes on my feet. Grrr.

Also, at these appointments I found out our new insurance company doesn't cover my chiro. So I had to pay a lot of money for these few visits. I'm happy to say, they called me back after today's visit to say they'd like to keep me as a patient, so they offered to only charge me $5 more than my co-pay was! (instead of me leaving and finding a new doc.) I really like this place: good location, good equiptment, and a great staff. So, I'm happy to be able to stay at the Stow Kent Chiropractor. :)

On another subject, my friend Monica is having a neat giveaway offer on her blog: http://www.monicaonthego.com/

It is a workout BEAM. See: http://www.beamfit.com/ for all the information.

Maybe some good CORE workouts on this beam will help my back!!! :-)

My back, my bike, and my "bleeping" skin

2010-02-08T13:03:00.003-05:00

Today will be my 4th day in a row without a workout. Friday I had a doc appointment (which is a story in itself...) in the morning, during my normal workout time. That evening I wasn't motivated either, so no running. Saturday I woke up to a foot of snow. While trying to clean the snow off the deck for the dog, I hurt my back. I can't even bend over now. The chiropractor was closed for the day, so I couldn't go until today (Monday.) I'm hoping to feel good enough for a workout by tomorrow morning!
Matt took my bike to Bike Authority today so they can add my new computer to it! (My Christmas present from Matt.) This computer will tell me what gear I'm in without having to try to look down there! It will also show my cadence. Fun stuff. But, I'll have to stick with trying to run or swim until we get it back.
Now, the doc appointment from Friday... I haven't been to the dermotolgist since we moved out of Dayton in March '08. I'm supposed to go every 6 months for a full body check because of my history / skin type. I wasn't looking forward to this, and with good reason. Sure enough, there's another spot on my back that needs to be cut off and stiched up. The doc was ready to do it right that minute, but I wasn't! I asked about how she felt about waiting until next fall (after my half ironman.) She didn't seem to like the idea, but agreed to it. The stiches have to stay in for 6 to 10 days - with no swimming, biking, or running! Plus, I already hate all the scars I have from the other spots being cut up. My back already looks like it went through a knife fight. :-( The problem with putting it off though, is that now I'm going to be thinking about having to go through that for the next 8 months. Yuck.

Weekly workouts for Feb 1 - 7
Mon - Run 6 miles
Tue - Bike 60 minutes
Wed - Swim 1300 yds
Thu - Bike 1 hr 30 min
Fri - off
Sat - off (back pain)
Sun - off (back pain)

Last Day

2010-01-31T21:40:00.003-05:00

Today was the last day to sign up for a few races before the fees go up. I've been debating for a few days about when / if I should sign up for a full marathon this fall. My MAIN goal for the year is to complete the REV3 70.3 at Cedar Point in September. So, I just signed up for two half marathons - The Spirit of Columbus Half on Aug 28 (two weeks before Cedar Point) and the Akron Half on Sept 25 (two weeks after Cedar Point.)
I'm still debating about the Columbus Marathon in October. I don't know when the fee for that race goes up. ?? I also don't know if my legs, knees, and / or hips can handle all that so close together.
In family news, we made reservations for a trip to Disney World in April. It will be the boys' first trip on an airplane and their first trip to Florida (and Disney!) We're all very excited! :-) I'll do my best to run and swim while we're there because my official half ironman training will have started before we go.

Last week's training:
Tues - bike 1 hr 30 min and run 1.5 miles
Wed - bike 1 hr and run 3 miles
Thur - off
Fri - off
Sat - bike 1 hr 50 min and swim 1200 yds
Sun - swim 1050 yds, bike 20 min, run 3.3 miles

Online workout log, weight, food, and workouts

2010-01-26T16:17:00.005-05:00

I checked out a web site someone mentioned last week, and so far I really like it for keeping track of my triathlon workouts: www.ontri.com I enter in my distance / times, and it tells me totals for the week, month, and so on, and it computes calories burned (I entered in my height and weight.) Plus, it's free! And it will tell me what workout to do every day starting April 12. (5 months til Rev3 from that day.) I found it while looking for 1/2 ironman workout plans. I have a few plans already that I can play with and combine into one I like, but I just don't like how they say to "Run for 40 minutes" or "Run for 90 minutes." I rather be told how many miles to run. I think I'd feel more confidant that I'm running far enough that way. When it comes to race day, I need to be able to run ALL the miles, not just so many minutes!

Do any of you use ontri? What web sites or plans do you use for 1/2 ironman or full ironman training???

Now, my weight. It's not bad for this time of year, but it's not where I wanted to be yet. (The really low # on the scale from a few weeks ago only showed up that one time. Guess I was dehydrated.) I'm doing quite well on avoiding junk (except for the doughnuts my husband brought home last week.) I've also been doing really well with buying and preparing healthy meals and snacks. The problem is that I just can't stop snacking. It's healthy food, but I keep eating and eating it... fruit, whole wheat crackers, yogurt, cereal, cottage cheese, potatoes leftover from beef stew... I feel like the more I work out, the more I need to eat. But clearly that's not helping me lose the 10 lbs or so that I'd still like to see disappear.

My last workout report took me through Jan 4, so here's the update since then:

Jan 5 - 11
Tue - Run 6 miles and lift
Wed - Bike 1 hr 50 min.
Thur - 1700 yds, Run 2.5 miles, and lift
Fri - off
Sat - off
Sun - Run 3 miles, Snowshoe 4.3 miles
Mon - Swim 2000 yds

Jan 12-18
Tue - Bike 1 hr 16 min, Run 1.5 miles
Wed - Bike 1 hr 30 min
Thur - off
Fri - Run 3 miles
Sat - Bike 1 hr 50 min, Swim 1500 yds
Sun - Run 3 miles
Mon - off

Jan 19-25
Tue - Swim 2000 yds and lift
Wed - Run 5 miles and lift
Thur - Bike 1 hr 40 min
Fri - Run 4.25 miles and lift
Sat - Bike 1 hr 55 min, Swim 1250 yds
Sun - Run 4 miles
Mon - Swim 2000 yds

Progress

2010-01-07T13:25:00.005-05:00

For the last week I have become used to seeing a nice new number on the scale in the morning. It's a number that makes me happy. So, you can imagine my delight when I saw an even lower number this morning. Then, my husband (of course) suggests weighing myself without my clothes. I figured, naaa, what difference would that make? BUT, after I thought about it and I was changing anyhow, I did it. AND saw a number I haven't seen in 5 years - not since the summer after having my second child. Yippie! Progress is a great motivator!

Along those same lines... Somehow it has ended up that I'm always doing my "back" lifting on days that I swim. (and I lift AFTER I swim.) Well, I've seen some good results from lifting, but the other day it was really good. I was running, so I started with my lifting, which was "back" that day. I was doing pull ups (on the machine with some 'weight' that helps lift you) and it was too easy where I usually set the weights. So, I took off 5 lbs. Still too easy. I took off 5 more. Wow! I even got through that set just fine. Yet again, progress is a great motivator! Now I just need to get back to where I can do pull ups with NO assistance!!!

A couple of days ago I added up my running mileage for the last week of Dec, the month of Dec, and for all of 2009. I'm happy to say I ran more miles in the last week of the year, than any other week of all of 2009! (the treadmill at home has been a life saver!) I also ran more miles in Dec of '09, than any other month of my LIFE - AND, more miles in all of 2009 than any other year of my life. :-) I know I don't run as far as most of the runners I know, but I'm proud of myself for the improvements I've made.

I'm now officially signed up for 3 races this year: the Cleveland 10K, the Greater Cleveland Triathlon - Olympic distance, and the Rev3Tri 70.3 at Cedar Point. I also just renewed my CTC and USAT memberships for 2010. I hope this year is my best one yet. :-)

2010-01-04T13:17:00.002-05:00

2010 is officially here, and so is the SNOW. Thankfully, I now have a new treadmill in my basement to go along with my bike on the trainer. Now I can do duathlons without ever leaving the house, which is great for these very snowy days. We've also inherited a Bowflex machine, so I can even do some lifting here at home. :-)
Eating better as of Dec 26 has been so-so. I haven't had any REALLY bad days, but I have had too many little junk food snacks that I said I wasn't going to eat AT ALL. (like leftover peanut butter fondue and angel food cake.) So, I still need to do better there. I've been buying even more fresh fruit and veges and doing a good job with my meals, now I just have to make sure no more junk food comes into the house!
I've been working out like crazy lately, which has thankfully been enough to get my weight down a few pounds, but of course I'm not where I want to be yet. I'm not worried though, I still have a few months to get there and stay there.

For anyone interested here's a round up of late Nov through now:

Nov 27 - Dec 4
Fri - Bike 31 min
Sat - Run 5.4 miles
Sun - Bike 45 min
Mon - Swim 2000 yds and run 3 miles
Tue - Bike 50 min and Lift
Wed - Run 4 miles and Lift
Thur - Bike 40 min, Run 1 mile, and Lift

Dec 4 - 10
Fri - Swim 1500 yds and Run 3 miles
Sat - Bike 1 hr and 23 min
Sun - off
Mon - Run 5 miles and Lift
Tue - Swim 2000 yds and Lift
Wed - Bike 1 hr and 12 min
Thur - Run 5 miles and Lift

Dec 11 - 17
Fri - Swim 1250 yds and Run 2 miles
Sat - Bike 1 hr and 31 min
Sun - Bike 42 min
Mon - Run 5 miles and Lift
Tue - Swim 1250, Run 1 mile, and Lift
Wed - Run 5 miles
Thur - Bike 30 min and Lift

Dec 18 - 24
Fri - off
Sat - Bike 2 hours and Swim 500 yds
Sun - Run 5.5 miles
Mon - Run 3 miles
Tue - Swim 2000 yds and Lift
Wed - Bike 60 min and Lift
Thurs - Run 3 miles

Dec 25 - 31
Fri - off
Sat - Bike 1 hr and 57 min and Swim ~1500 yds
Sun - Run 6 miles
Mon - Bike 30 min and Run 1 mile
Tue - Swim 1500 yds, Run 2.5 miles, and Lift
Wed - Bike 60 min, Run 1 mile, and Lift
Thur - Run 5 miles and Lift

Jan 1 - today
Fri - Run 3.1 miles
Sat - Lift
Sun - Bike 60 min
Mon - Swim 1600 yds and Lift

The more I can post on here about my eating, my weight and my workouts, the more accountable I think I'll be.
I need motivation to keep working hard. Having others know my goals and what I've really been doing should help me do that.

Making lists...

2009-11-19T20:59:00.000-05:00

While reading everyone's blogs these last few days, I decided that I needed to change the header on my blog. Some of you have photos there, but I had no idea how to do it myself. So, last night I spent a couple of hours playing around with my photo program and this blog site. I must say that I'm quite amazed that I figured out how to add my own photos. I'm not so sure I like how it came out, but at least I know a way to do it now.

I also just found these fun symbols in the font options. :-) This one reminds me that I had to ride on my trainer at home today. bbbb Y

So, I'm a planner. I like to make lists for everything.

what needs cleaned
places to visit someday
errands to run
food to buy
meals for the week
what food is in the house
races I could do
races I've done
movie to see
shows to watch
projects to do
books to read
clothes the boys need
workouts to do
workouts I've done

I think I could go on and on here...

Currently, I've been working on a list of races to do in 2010. So far, I've only signed up for one: the Rev3 Cedar Point 1/2 on September 12. I made a calendar so I could visualize and count the weeks and begin laying out a training / racing plan leading up the half. Here is a "maybe" list right now:

Malachi 5 Miler
Hermes 10 Miler
Silver Springs Du
Cleveland 1/2 (or 10k)
Clay's Park Tri
Deer Creek or Maumee Oly
Sunday in June 50 Miler
Milton Man Oly
Fairport Pirate Tri
GCT Oly
Rev3 1/2
An October Full Marathon (would be my first ever)

The other big thought on my mind right now is my weight. I've been pretty good with my running, but I haven't been on my bike outside in two months, and I just finally got back in the pool after about two months of avoiding it. On the positive side, I have been lifting weights for the past two months. I hate to admit it, but this is really the first I've used the weight room, regularly, here in NE Ohio. I was really good about lifting when I went to a YMCA in Dayton, but there's big scary men at the Nat. I'm doing pretty good about just staying away from them and acting like I know what I'm doing. So, back to my weight issue. I hate to put a number on it, but I think I'd like to be racing about 10 to 15 lbs lighter next year. My meals are usually pretty healthy, but I love junk food and snacks. It's difficult for me to avoid them since I keep them in the house for my boys. Right now I'm trying to be 'good', but I'm going to cut myself some slack for Thanksgiving and Christmas - I'm not skipping the pumpkin pie! However, I think that starting Dec. 26, I'm going to have to be very strick to get to where I want by racing time.

Well, time to call it a night.

Plans for 2010

2009-09-19T10:07:00.000-04:00

It's official, I'm going to be doing the Revolution 3 Cedar Point 1/2 on September 12, 2010! Oh my! I just signed up and booked a room at Hotel Breakers. Boy do I have a lot of planning and training to do. On the sign up page I had to list my estimated total finish time. I went for 7 hours and 30 minutes. :) I have no idea how long I'll take. ?? I figure that amount of time allows for plenty of walking, if needed. Some time next summer I'll come up with a better detailed estimate. I'm looking forward to lots of fun training with many fellow CTCers. :-) I also need to take some time to figure out which races I should do leading up to the 1/2. I'll have to compare the timing and the prices. Oh, and I'm going to have to finally take Matt up on his offer to get me a long wet suit (to replace my shortie) for the Olys and 1/2.

Portage Lakes Olympic Tri - Sept 13, 2009

2009-09-17T21:19:00.000-04:00

I figured out how to make my word document "paste" onto here! :-) Since this was my first Olympic Tri, I wrote a lot. Just a warning - it's long.

This past Sunday I completed my first ever Olympic distance triathlon, and my last tri of this year. With about 14 sprint tris under my belt, I decided it was time to try the next step. It was a cool sunny morning. I went through my usual morning routine, and left in time to make it to the Portage Lakes State Park by about 6:45 am. The sprint races were scheduled to start at 8 am with the Olympic races beginning at 8:15. My wave (all women) was planned to start at 8:31 with only the 50 and older men going after us at 8:33.
After getting checked in, I collected my gear from the van and began setting up my transition spot. In addition to my regular set up, I laid out a long sleeve jersey and put a gu in the back pocket. I also filled up my new bottle. Thankfully, Erin spotted that I had the sponge in wrong and showed me how to fix it. That's what I get for trying something new at a race. :)

The first racers began about 15 minutes late, which pushed everyone back. Just before transition closed, I pulled on my wetsuit and grabbed my gu and water. As I was making sure I really had everything ready, an announcement was made that transition was closing in 90 seconds! Jen and I quickly jogged to the exit before our timing chips got messed up on the timing mat. We all made our way down to the beach for the start. It was nice seeing so many familiar faces - plus Matt and the boys showed up just before I entered the water for a quick warm up.
Eventually it was time for the women. Not wanting to get run over, I lined up in the back of the 41 ladies. When they blew the horn, I took my time so I wouldn't get kicked. Very quickly I was surprised by the long vine like weeds that felt like they were wrapping themselves around my arms and legs. More than once I had to pull one off of me. Yuck. Thankfully when we got to the deep water, the weeds were gone! About half way through the first lap of the swim course, I finally felt like I was in a good groove. I was taking my time and trying to stay steady. Knowing I had to go through the shallow water and weeds again was looming in back of my mind though. For the second lap, I made sure to stay in the deepest water possible without going off course. The sun was bright and right in my eyes while trying to sight. Once I was back in the deep water again, it was a smooth swim around the buoys and to the water's edge. I checked my watch when I hit the sand, and it said 29:00. Wow! I thought it might take me 35 to 40 minutes for the 1500 meter swim. I took my time up the hill to transition, which took another 1:40, putting my total swim time at 30:40.
I also took my time in transition, about twice as long as I would in a sprint. Knowing I had to be on my bike for about 23 miles, I wanted to be comfortable. I made sure my feet were dry, put on my long sleeve jersey, and put on my bike gloves. T2 time was 3:36.
Just like the swim, my plan for the bike was to go steady, but not too hard. I didn't want to use up all my energy in the first lap and be miserable in the second lap. I wanted to finish the bike portion and still feel strong for the run. About half way through the first lap I pulled the gu out of my back pocket and had another first - eating a gu while riding. Also, the water bottle Matt installed on my aero bars the night before was working perfectly! I just had to lean forward a bit to reach the straw. I'm sure this saved me time since I didn't have to slow up to get out my regular water bottle. At the end of lap one I was averaging 16.4 mph on my bike computer. I felt really good and decided I could probably pick up the pace a bit for lap two. I had also passed 7 women near the end of that lap. I later passed two more on the second lap. On the first big downhill on lap two I made it over 30 mph. Yikes! A man passed me while going down the hill, and then tried to turn right at the stop sign at the bottom and wiped out pretty badly. Thankfully a cop was there and ran to help him immediately. I was able to go around the two of them and make my way up the next hill. I later saw this man after the race and he said he was able to finish the whole race, but he was headed to the emergency room just to be safe. I finished the bike course in 1:22:59 (about 10 minutes faster than my estimate.) My bike computer said that was an average of 16.5 mph, but the race site shows 15.9. ? Oh well. I felt good and was happy with my ride.
T2 was uneventful and took me 2:12.
I was a bit confused about where to run as I left transition, but quickly got on course. I took another gu with me, but it took about all of mile one to get it down. Even though I took my time on the bike, I was having trouble keeping my heart rate down so I could run well. I had to keep slowing down and walking some. I also battled with some pain in my left shoulder. It was really nice having a fellow CTCer nearby to talk me through a good bit of the run. (Thanks so much Jim!) I think the only mile I ran well was the last one. I missed some of the mile markers, so I gave up on keeping track of my times. All I know is that mile one took me 10:34 and my total run time was 1:09:08, an 11:09 pace. Very slow. Several of the women that I passed on the bike passed me back on the run. I only finished before 6 of the other women, putting me in 35th out of 41. Again, it was so nice to see so many familar faces at the finish line! :-)
My total time was 3:08:33, 15 minutes faster than my estimate. Other than having trouble running, my day went pretty well. Looks like I need more time working on bricks.

Now, I have to decide what I want to do next year. Of course there is the debate about the Cedar Point Rev 1/2, 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. With the training that I could do between now and September 12, 2010, without an injury, I feel like I could finish. Between the entry fee and the hotel cost for the weekend, it's not cheap. Plus, since it does cost so much, I feel like I'd have to skip a lot of the smaller local races next year to make up for the cost. I would probably just do an early summer sprint and a midsummer Olympic. I don't need to put us in debt for my racing fees. I'm not sure if I want to give up all the small fun races though. I enjoy looking forward to lots of little weekend races. Since I now know so many others that are signing up for Cedar Point (and all of those cheering me on to sign up), I think I'm leaning towards doing it. Having so many others to train with, race with, and share this whole experience with would be amazing. When I return to teaching the year after next, I know my training will suffer. I suppose that would be the time to just enjoy small local races. We shall see.

My first Olympic distance triathlon

2009-08-29T12:57:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I signed up to compete in my first ever Olympic Distance triathlon. It takes place on Sunday September 13, 2009 at the Portage Lakes State Park. I'm not sure if I'm really ready for this. I'm sure I can finish, but I don't think I will really be able to "race." The distances are: swim 1500M, bike 40K and run 10K. Seperately, I can do each of these distances just fine, but all at once will be a challenge. I'm thinking I will finish in about 3 1/2 hours, which based on last year's results will put me in the last 5 finishers. Ugh. Just finishing will be my goal. I've run three half marathons, and they took me 2 1/2 hours, 2 1/4 hours, and 2 hr 7 mins. Competing for over 3 hours will be new for me.
My best guess for times:
Swim 40 min.
T1 3 min.
Bike 93 min. (16 MPH Avg)
T2 3 min.
Run 64 min.
Total = 3 hrs. 23 min.

I never got around to writing a blog for the triathlon at Fairport Harbor on July 26 or the duathlon in Mentor on Aug. 9, but I will try to write one after this Olympic Triathlon!

Planet X Triathlon - June 21, 2009

2009-06-24T14:38:00.000-04:00

Sunday morning was the Planet X Triathlon at the Munroe Falls Metropark. Once again, my goal was to beat my time from last year. Thankfully we had a nice day and an early start time of 7:15 am. All of the women went first in one wave and then the men followed in 3 more waves.

Being more comfortable with my swimming ability, I’ve been starting closer to the front lately. I would guess I came out of the water somewhere in the middle of all of the women. Overall I was 59/149 in the swim. I had a pretty fast transition and got comfortable on the bike right away. Until I began riding up the long gradual incline around the corner from the park, I had forgotten about it from last year. Ugh. That slowed me up, but the flats and downhills allowed me to pick up some speed and time. I had some trouble shifting in a couple of places and I thought I was getting a flat on my front tire for the last few miles. Even with my troubles, I finished the bike course 53 seconds faster than last year. The second transition went well; I even remembered my race belt / number – unlike at Clay’s Park. My run felt slow, and again I was having trouble catching my breath. We ran two laps around the lake, and when I saw a woman with “31” on her leg pass me at the ½ way point, I was determined to not let her beat me. I had been counting the women my age, and I thought by letting her go I would be 4th in my age group. So, I stayed about 10 feet behind her for most of the second lap, and then I went all out for the last 200m. I managed to beat her by 4 seconds, but it turns out that was for 4th place. Well, if she hadn’t been there, I’m sure I would have run even slower, so she really did help me out. I looked up her results from last year and it turns out I beat her by 3 minutes in ’08. She really improved! Anyhow, my overall time was 1:18:12, 1 ½ minutes faster than last year. My run was 18 seconds slower than last year, so I guess my swim and transitions must have been better this year!

STATS:
400 yd swim – 7:48
T1 – 1:40
11 mile bike – 38:27 ~17.2 MPH AVG (my bike computer showed 17.6 AVG?)
T2 - :57
5k run – 29:18

4/8 females 30 – 34 (plus the overall female winner was 30)
84/149 overall for men and women

Lion's Biathlon - June 14, 2009 and CTC Time Trial - June 16, 2009

2009-06-24T13:16:00.000-04:00

The Lion’s Biathlon was held in Willoughby on the Mentor border. The start and finish are at a park right on Lake Erie. Last year Matt and I teamed up for this event, and we decided to do the same this year.

The race begins with a fairly flat 5k run and then ends with a 13.4 mile bike course (with 2 laps.) There is also a duathlon option with one more bike lap for a total of about 20 miles and another 5k run at the end. My brother did the duathlon this year.

Last year I was very pleased with my run time here of 25:58, which was my second fastest 5k ever. Just getting close to that again would have made me happy. Well, I wore my heart rate monitor for the first time running in years. It was a bit distracting, but it was also nice to keep track of where I was. I wasn’t sure if I was running fast or hard enough, because at this race there are no mile markers. So, I just kept going as hard as I could. One girl passed me around the half way point, and I then did my best to keep her from getting away. I like to finish strong, so when I had about a ¼ mile to go, I gave it my all. I passed her and made it to transition in 25:57. Surprised and happy.

At this point Matt took off on his bike to complete our relay for the biathlon. There were two other male / female teams and I knew the one runner had been faster than me. Well, Matt caught the biker on that team and then knew we were in the lead. I ran down to the corner and caught Matt making the turn for his second lap. My brother wasn’t far back and I so I was able to see him make the bike turn, too. After that I made my way back to the park to see Matt finish. Our finish time was about 1:03:54, which is one minute and one second faster than last year. I get credit for the one second and Matt does for the one minute!

Tuesday night, June 16th, Matt and I rode in the 8 mile CTC Time Trial along with 2 other women and about 8 other men. It was an out and back course on a mostly flat but curvy bike path along a canal. I made sure to go last so that no one had to pass me on the skinny bike path. Although Tim, who put the event together, did end up going after me and passed me at the ½ way point.

My final time was 25:40 which is an average of about 18.9 MPH. I was the 3rd female, but of course there were only 3 of us. J and E are great triathletes, so I was just happy to be within a few minutes of them.

Clay's Park Triathlon - June 7, 2009

2009-06-24T13:14:00.000-04:00

I’m a few weeks behind on race reports. After the Clay’s Park Tri I was busy getting ready for our garage sale and then running it for two days. Then Matt and I did the Lion’s Biathlon as a team, followed by a 5 day education class. During that week Matt and I also rode in a CTC Time Trial. This past weekend was the Planet X Triathlon at Munroe Falls Metropark. (formerly the SummiTri.) My sons and I are finally back to a pretty normal week, so I decided it was time to write some recaps. I don’t remember too many details, so this will mostly be the basic facts.

At the Clay’s Park Triathlon my goal was to beat my time from last year. My swim time was fine last year, but I wasn’t very happy with my bike or run average. The bike course is very difficult for me with all of the hills, but I was still determined to do better.

Well, my swim time was almost the same (5 seconds slower), but then T1 was 2 seconds faster. The bike course was still very tough, but I ended up 3 ½ minutes faster. Great! (Although I wasn’t very happy when 2 girls caught me at the top of the last hill.) I was 6 seconds faster in T2, and then began the run around the campground. The course was 2 short laps instead of one long lap like last year, but I still had trouble catching my breath. I ended up running almost 20 seconds slower which is my slowest 5k EVER. Ugh! Thankfully my bike speed allowed me to meet my goal of a faster overall time of about 3 ½ minutes.

STATS:
500m Swim – 10:51
T1 - 2:01
13 mile Bike – 47:33 16.4 MPH AVG
T2 - :55
5k Run – 32:18

The top 3 overall women just happened to be in my age group, so that allowed me to place 3rd in my age group awards. (Which is really 6th, but I’ll take it.)

Cleveland 1/2 Marathon - Race Report - May 17, 2009

2009-05-19T09:14:00.000-04:00

Thrilled, overjoyed, amazed, shocked, proud... It’s going to be difficult to thoroughly explain how I feel about my performance this past Sunday. Not only did I finish my third ever half marathon, I also destroyed almost every goal I had set for myself. I’ll get back to the “almost” part later.

First of all, I drove downtown, found a place to park, and walked to the starting line all by myself. At a race this big, I think that was an accomplishment for me. :-) I even ventured into the scary bus station to use their flushing toilets – a tip I got from my brother last year - no lines and warm running water for hand washing.

Once onto 9th street, I made my way through the crowd, looking for any familiar faces and looking for the pacers. I was a little disappointed to not find anyone I knew. There were so many people I knew running, but in a crowd this big, it’s not a surprise to miss them all. I did locate the pacers easily with their signs and balloons. I went past the 4:30 group and positioned myself just behind the 4:15 pacers. At this point I had about 10 minutes until the start. This gave me time to consume one of my GU packs, drink some water, and debate if I dressed okay for the weather. I went with the “new” capris and two light long sleep running tops, plus an ugly sweatshirt that I knew I’d throw away after a mile or two and some of Matt’s old socks to keep my hands warm for a couple of miles - which was good since it was only in the mid 40s. I also turned on my MP3 player, which for the first time ever I decided to use in a race since they were allowed. I was very happy to have my own music several places along the course.

The race began, and a few minutes later I was crossing the starting line. I was quite surprised at how quickly the 4:15 pacers were pulling away. There were so many people packed together so tightly, that I had a difficult time dodging between people in order to keep up. I was a bit discouraged that I couldn’t see them, but I did my best to keep going.

Mile 1 – 9:53

I’m not familiar with the names of the streets, so I don’t know where I was at each of the mile markers, but early on we crossed a bridge that seemed to go uphill for 90% of the time. It was a very pretty site, with all the runners and the decoration on the sides, but I really wanted to get to the top and start going back down.

Mile 2 – 9:46

Wow, I ran not one, but two miles under 10 minutes each. This had me on track to finish around 2:10 – something I didn’t really think I could do, but it sure would be nice! I knew there was a long way to go though. Somewhere in here I threw off my warm-up sweatshirt.

Mile 3 – 9:22

I don’t remember looking down and seeing that time. It would have shocked me if I had. I finished the first 3 miles in 29:01. Three years ago I ran some whole 5k races slower than that! I think I kept the sock on my hands until this point. They really did help.

Mile 4 - ?

I never saw this mile marker. I guess I was really focused on running around this point.

Mile 4 and 5 – 18:37

Did I really run miles 3, 4 and 5 all under 9 ½ minutes each?? WOW! Unfortunately, around mile 5 I felt a blister starting on the arch of my right foot. I stopped and tightened my laces, hoping there would be less friction. It seemed to help, and I kept going strong.

Mile 6 – 9:38

At this point I took my second GU with some water from the water station. I was feeling a little slower, and really hoped the GU would help.

Mile 7 – 9:43

I knew we were going to turn right and head towards Lake Erie, and then quickly turn right again and head back towards downtown. To me that meant we were that much closer to finishing!

Mile 8 – 9:55

Clearly miles 6, 7, and 8 were slower, but I was still running less than 10 minute miles. WOW again!

Mile 9 – 10:01

I was bummed to see the 10 by 2 dumb seconds.

Mile 10 – 9:31

That’s better. My thoughts were, “Three miles to go. I can do this!”

Mile 11 – 10:50

Ugh – and I could still see more uphill ahead. I was really worried this part of the race was going to ruin my goal time. I had worked so hard to stay with 10 minute miles.
Somewhere around here I spotted a red shirt that looked like the back of a CTC top. I got up close and realized it was someone I knew. The first person all day that I recognized. Thanks Phil – you helped me keep moving!

Mile 12 – 10:06

We got to the top of the uphill portion, and made it back to downtown. Somewhere around here I spotted Erin on the sidewalk. I wanted to finish hard and took off the best I could.

Mile 13.1 – 9:48

Finish Time – 2:07:17
Pace – 9:42

I did it! I really did it! I beat my time at Akron (2:15) AND I beat my goal of 2:10. WOW! I didn’t know I could really do this. I had NO idea I could run for 13 miles and keep going at a pace of under 10 minutes per mile.

Sunday evening my right knee began to hurt. I can’t seem to straighten it all the way so I’m icing it several times a day. I took off from working out yesterday, and it looks like I’m doing the same again today. This is the only goal I didn’t meet – being injury free. Bummer. I’m so glad I ran hard though! It’s nice to know I had it in me.

I don't know if a full marathon will ever be in my future. My knee doesn't seem to like running too far at once. For now I think I'm going to focus on speed at shorter distances. If I can run 13 miles at a 9:42 pace, I must be able to run shorter distances faster than I have been. Once my knee feels better, I'll start setting some new goals. :-)

Goals for Cleveland 1/2 Marathon

2009-05-15T13:15:00.000-04:00

The current forecast for Sunday is mostly cloudy with a low of 46 degrees and a high of 54 degrees. There's only a 10% chance of rain. I'd have to say, that's pretty good. Unlike the 10 Miler a few weeks ago, we don't have to worry about being too hot! However I'm left with the dilemma of what to wear. We start at 7 AM, and I hope to be done by about 9:15 (part of the goal.) So, it will probably only be about 50 degrees during most of my running time. I'm leaning towards capris and a light weight long sleeve running top. I'm most comfortable in running shorts and a tank top, but there's no way I can do that. The capris are new, and I've only run in them once, so I'm worried that after 10 miles they might not be as comfortable as I'd like. ?? My under armour would be too hot though. Hmmmm.

Anyhow, back to my goals...

I've run two 1/2 marathons - both were last fall. At Akron I finished in 2:15:18, and at the Stomp the Grapes I finished in 2:30:07.

Of course I want to be under 2:30, and I would REALLY like to be under 2:15. A finish time of 2:13 would be nice (10:10 pace.) I would LOVE to finish at 2:10 (9:55 pace.)

I don't really know what to expect. A BIG goal is to finish without any injuries or bad pains. My first outdoor tri of the year is in just THREE weeks. I've signed up, paid, and prepared to beat last year's time on that one. :-) I'd hate to push it too hard this weekend and jepordize all of my summer triathlons. The tris are more important to me than a fast 1/2 marathon. BUT - I'd also hate to not try hard on Sunday. I'm torn. How hard I end up running on Sunday will probably be left to how I'm feeling.

Silver Springs Biathlon - May 3, 2009

2009-05-03T20:37:00.000-04:00

First of all, I'm very happy to say that I met my biking AND running goals for today!! I didn't set a goal for my transition time, but maybe I should have. I didn't expect for it to be twice as slow as last year. :-) I still finished the entire race in 1:08:19 (on my watch), which is about 4 minutes faster than last year!

The transition area was moved to a different parking area at the park, but otherwise, the course was the exact same as last year. It might have been a touch warmer and slightly less windy today. Overall, it was a pretty nice day for a race!

Only one woman was in the duathlon, the rest of us (8 ladies, I think) took part in the biathlon. The biathlon and the duathlon began at the same time, with the bikes all up front slowly rolling. The bike course had two identical loops of about 5.75 miles through some rolling streets here in Stow. The run course followed some local roads for the first two miles, and then looped back to the park on a bike path.

One lady and I stayed together for the majority of the bike part. We took several turns passing each other at various points of the race. She entered transition just before me (in 2nd place overall), which put me in 3rd at this point. Sandy (another racer) entered transition as I was leaving on the run. Within a half mile she caught and passed me, leaving me in 4th. She clearly had a strong run, and I knew I wouldn't be catching back up. So, this left me trying to catch the woman who came out of transition just before me. I had a hard time on mile one of the run today, but felt pretty strong during the second mile. I slowly caught up to the runner in front of me, and then passed her at the mile 2 marker. With one mile to go, I was now in 3rd. I felt pretty good, and I knew I'd better run hard to keep my place. I ran miles 1 & 2 in 20:07. I then ran the last mile in 8:37 - and felt really good. :-) I finished in 3rd overall for the women, which is exactly how I placed last year, but against different women.

Stats (on my watch and bike computer):

11.4 mile bike - 38:24 - Average 18.1 MPH

Transition - 1:10

5K run - 28:44

Total time - 1:08:19

Race goals - May 1, 2009

2009-05-01T23:09:00.000-04:00

In two days I'll be biking and running in the Silver Springs Biathlon here in Stow. This will be one of the first times that I'm getting a chance to race on a course for a second time! I competed in tris and 5Ks for a year in Dayton, and then we moved up here to NE Ohio. So, I didn't get to try to improve my times on any of those courses. I'm excited (and nervous) to be getting the opportunity this summer to see how my times will compare to last year's times in several races - the first one being this Sunday.
The biathlon is 11.6 miles on the bike and then a 5K run. Last year my bike time was 41:43 (17 mph avg), my run time was 29:52 (9:36), and my transition was 28 seconds.
My transition time was fine, but I want to improve on the bike and the run. I'll be happy with anything better than last year's times, but I'd really like to see at least a 17.5 avg on the bike (18 would be even better, but I don't know if I can do that on this course and this early in the summer), and I'd like to run at least a 29 minute 5K (again, 28 would be better, but I haven't practiced too many bricks lately, so I don't know how my legs will be when I try to run off the bike.)
We shall see. :-)

Hermes 10 Miler - April 25, 2009

2009-04-28T18:42:00.000-04:00

Hermes 10 Miler April 25, 2009
Sunny and about 80 degrees

Stats:

Overall: #751 out of 961
Females 30 to 34: #63 out of 86

1st 5 miles: 49:19 9:52 pace
2nd 5 miles: 55:03 11:01 pace

Total time: 1:44:23 10:26 pace

My watch mile splits:
1 9:59
2 9:55
3 9:36
4 9:40
5 10:07
6 10:53
7 11:00
8 10:53
9 11:32
10 10:46

Not exactly what I hoped for in this 10 miler.
Last fall I ran a 10 miler in 1:36. 9:40 pace.

I was hot, and I felt ready to be done by mile 5.
I sure hope this 1/2 marathon in three weeks goes much better.
I'd like to keep a better pace for the 1/2, than I did at the 10 miler.

Rich Vojitek Memorial 5k run - April 18, 2009

2009-04-19T13:01:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I drove up to Landerhaven in Mayfield Heights for a 5k race. The weather was beautiful - sunny, clear, warm, and not too hot. Since I'm training for a 1/2 marathon next month, I needed to run more than just a 5k. So, my plan was to run 3 miles both before AND after the race, to get in 9 miles for the day. Well, I had a little trouble finding the starting line, so I didn't arrive quite as early as I had planned. My pre-race run ended up being only 2 1/2 miles, but I felt pretty good, even with a little blister on my left arch and a little cramp in my right arch. After the warm up run I found my brother and we headed to the starting line. The course began slighly downhill, but overall was very flat. According to their mile markers, I ran mile one in 8:35, mile two in 10:11, and the last mile and a tenth in 9:03 for a total time of ~27:50. The second mile marker had to be in the wrong place! There's no way I slowed up that much! Several people made the same comment at the finish line. We also heard that the overall finish was a bit more than a 5k, too. Oh well. It was a good hard run, and I was happy with my time, even if it was off. I didn't place, but the girl who was 3rd in my age group passed me somewhere around mile 2 1/2. So, I'm guessing I was 4th in my age group. My brother was 3rd in his age group and won a nice rock / award. :-) I did win a $10 gift card to a restaurant in the drawing after the race - which is great since the entry for this race was only $13. After the awards I did go for another run, but with everyone leaving, my motivation was down, and I only went one more mile instead of the 3 in my plans. My day ended with a total of 6 1/2 miles, which is a little short of the 9 miles I had planned to run, but oh well. Next Saturday I'll be running the Hermes 10 Miler at Edgewater Park in Cleveland.

CTC Indoor Tri - March 29, 2009

2009-04-07T13:39:00.000-04:00

I didn't get a chance to write a race report last week because after the tri I was busy cleaning the house and packing for a trip to Vegas. I'm back home in snowy Ohio and finally getting caught up with house work, so I figured it's time for an update.
I had previously volunteered at an indoor tri, but never competed in one. So, this was a first for me. This indoor tri consisted of 20 minutes swimming in a pool, 20 minutes of spinning on a "spin" bike, and then 20 minutes of running around the indoor track, all at Case. (CWRU) About 18 to 20 people competed in the tri, and we went in two heats. I jumped in lane one of the first heat. I typically swim sets of 500m in about 10 minutes, so I figured I would go about 1000m (or 40 lengths.) Sure enough, I went 40 lengths, plus about 1/2 of another, so they rounded up to 41. Since we were using spinning bikes, the bike portion didn't really count for distance, but a CTC guy kept us working hard by coaching us through a workout for the 20 minutes. Down on the 200m indoor track, I knew I would be getting lapped by some of the speedy runners, but it was nice not being on a treadmill. I ran about 2.34 miles in 20 minutes, which is around a 8:32 min. per mile pace. Not bad for me. I didn't set any big goals for the day, but just wanted to get in a good workout in the company of other great triathletes.
I received a certificate for being the first female in my age group (30-39), but I think that's because Elizabeth (also in my age group) placed in the top 3 overall. :-)
My next big race is coming up April 25 when I'll run the Hermes 10 Miler.

St. Malachi 5 miler - March 14, 2009

2009-03-16T13:17:00.000-04:00

My first "race" report of 2009! I can't really call it a race for me, because this was the first time in 3 months that I ran over 4 miles. After the 3 1/2 weeks of NO running in late Jan. and early Feb, I very slowly increased my running so I could avoid any knee problems. So far, so good. Anyhow, I arrived to the race early so I could help with set-up, but didn't really do much "helping" besides carring a table. My stomach wasn't very happy, either from the dinner the night before, getting up early, and / or nerves, but that's pretty normal for me these days. It was nice to hang out with some other CTCers before the race, and put a face to some of their names. Then I found my brother and sister-in-law who were running, too. We got to chat a bit, and then I spotted an old friend from HS, Eric Norton. I hadn't seen him since the fall of '93, so we were able to catch up some, too. Well, a few minutes before race time, we headed to the starting line. It was a cool morning, but there was beautiful sunshine, and it ended up being a great day to run. I was worried about not wearing enough warm clothes (I can never decide how many layers to wear on a cold day...), but I made a good choice with just my under armour and CTC tank top. The race itself was pretty uneventful for me. I was of course taking it easy, so even though mile one was downhill, I ran it in 9:20. Mile two took me 9:40. I didn't like crossing all the bridges with just metal grates across them. I should have headed over to the sidewalk like some others did! Mile 3 had a long gradual uphill, so I went around 9:58. The slight downhill on mile 4 gave me some confidence, plus I was feeling really good and warmed up, so I ran faster and had a 9:03. I was worried about the hill at the end, so I slowed up a bit and ran the last mile in about 9:59. My official time for the 5 miles was 48:00.41. Not close to a PR, but I was just happy that my knee didn't give up on me. :-) I didn't run at all yesterday, but I did go 3 miles today, and still feel okay. I'm going to keep doing my knee exercises, visiting the chiropractor, and building up my milage slowly. Hopefully that will keep me in good shape and on track for the 1/2 marathon in May. Before then, I might do the CTC Indoor Tri later this month and a 5k and the Hermes 10 miler next month.

I miss running

2009-02-13T16:47:00.000-05:00

It has now been three weeks since my last run. All I have been doing is swimming, ab / core work, and physical therapy for my right knee. On the day of my last run my knee felt sore, especially when walking down the stairs, but when I got to the gym, I thought I'd give a few minutes of running a try. I felt fine while running, so I continued to run for half an hour, and then I jumped on a bike for another half an hour. When I began to head down the stairs to leave, I could barely handle the pain of each right step. So, for several days all I did was rest and ice. Eventually I was given some physical therapy exercises from some friends, and now I'm spending as much time as I can doing those. As of today, I feel fine going up and down the stairs here at home, but I'm scared to run and have the pain all come back. I'm not sure when to try running again. I'll probably start by seeing how some biking goes next week. My concern at the moment is being ready for the only race I've actually already signed up to do this year - the Cleveland 1/2 which is only 13 weeks away now. I kind of wish I hadn't been so eager to save money and sign up so early. Hopefully I can start training again soon and be ready to race!

Getting Started

2009-01-14T20:18:00.000-05:00

Former race blogs used to be posted on MySpace, but I've decided to use this site to post all of my future training and race blogs.
So far I am only signed up to particpate in one race for 2009, The Cleveland 1/2 Marathon, but many more will be added to my calendar in the coming weeks.