The Finish Line...

Today was RACE DAY....

I will write all about it when I'm not BEAT, but wanted you to see this...

I worked SO hard to get to the Finish Line. It was emotional and so rewarding.

I am doing more triathlons FOR SURE....

Just What I Needed

Rest. 
Not something one likes to think about doing when you are married to a Training Plan and Race Day is quickly approaching. The scrapes and bruises received from my minor bike crash were nothing compared to the pain the only increased in my ribs and shoulder as days went by. I wondered if a rib was broken because at one certain spot it would take my breath away if I barely touched my chest. It hurt to take deep breaths, it hurt to ride my bike, it hurt to run, and it really hurt to swim.

I took one bike ride off to rest, one run, and about 2-3 swim sessions. This made me so nervous since my training plan has me beginning to taper (back off training as Race Day approaches in order to have a well rested body and mind) and the swim is the majority of my training as of now. Saturday came and I decided it was time for a long swim. My previous swims were about 850m (32 laps), and on Saturday I felt SO good that I went for 1,050m (42 laps). I could have gone for more, but I wanted to get outside to hang with my kids! Rest was just what I needed. Last night I swam 900m and went for a 2mi run afterwards and felt strong the whole way through.

Tonight I will get back on the bike for a quick 18mi ride and then tomorrow I will take off. I am nervous and excited, feeling ready and yet questioning everything I've done to this point right now. Race Day is coming. Fast. Praying for AMAZING weather and a great experience all together.

Thanks to everyone for the support!

Digging Deep

A really quick update because I'm feeling frustrated this morning...

Woke up early for an 18 mile bike ride only to realize that my gear shift and handle bars are messed up on the right side. This is from a silly little crash I had on Saturday after Chip and I did a 21 mile ride up to and around the Chatfield Reservoir. I had a great ride - even did my first open road cycling - and as we were pulling up to the Xterra, I was reminding myself to gear down, completely forgetting to unclip my feet from the pedals. I was braking and all of a sudden I was stopped. With BOTH feet still locked into the pedals. It felt like slow motion... I just toppled over on my right side. I got a little bruised up, but couldn't stop laughing at myself! :) SO.... that little mishap created a problem for me this morning. Hopefully it is an easy fix!

Upon realizing the bike ride wasn't going to work out, I ran inside and changed my shorts and shoes for a run. I don't know if it was because my mind was prepared for a bike ride or what, but mentally it was really hard for me today. I walked for almost 2 minutes to warm up and refocus then began my run. Time was crunched because of all the time I spent messing with my bike (I had to be home in time for Chip to make it to work on time), so I decided on running my go-to 2 mile loop when I have less than 30 minutes to spend on a run.

Usually, I knock out my two mile loop with no problems. Today was different. It was as if I couldn't dig deep enough to motivate myself through it. I'm so sore. I'm tired. I have scrapes and bruises all over my arms and legs. I have this spot below my collar bone that hurts when I do simple movements like pull back my shoulders, or straighten my back. Today was hard. It didn't go as planned. It threw me off. It was a good lesson.

I have to roll with training, racing, LIFE... when it doesn't go as planned. By nature I am pretty laid back and go with the flow easily. We love being spontaneous in my house. We aren't ones to plan too much because we love to be flexible. In life, I know that things rarely go as planned and am prepared for that. In training, however, I've been married to this "Training Plan" and my brain didn't know what to do this morning when I had to do a quick change up. I have a picture in my mind how each day's training sessions will go from what route I will take, the time it will take me to do so, the sets, the reps, the rests... you get it. I have a similar picture in my head for race day, which is coming soon. I think today helped me to realize that I need to prepare for anything. That even when I am tired and sore, I have to get my mental game on track to dig deep and pull out whatever it takes to finish strong.

Today I didn't finish strong. I turned around early and ran a measly 1.5 miles. Lesson learned. Dig Deep. 

Keep Tri-ing

Its been awhile since my last post, and I apologize. We are typically slammed during the summers with youth ministry. The first week of July we took a team of high school and college students to the Dream Center in LA where we served the homeless and had LOTS of fun taking food to needy families and neighborhoods. One of our favorites was Kidz Jam - where we went into government housing communities and played with the kids and told them how incredible they were and how much Jesus loves them! GREAT WEEK. I will write more on serving later...

 I figure its time for a training update.

I have been at this for 10 weeks now!

I cannot believe it either! At the start of my training, I was swimming 200m (8 laps in my Rec Center pool) and it was leaving me well out of breath. This past Friday, I SWAM A HALF MILE or 750m (30 laps in my Rec Center pool). Although that 750m swim was tough workout, I finished with a smile on my face. 10 weeks ago there is NO WAY I could have done that. Tomorrow morning I will add 2 more laps onto that 1/2 mile swim length and I will not have any problems doing so. :-)

Ten weeks ago I cranked out a VERY SLOW 7 mile bike ride for my first week. A lot of coasting was involved and I wasn't too worried about my times. Or hills. This week I am up to 20 miles and I am faster than I have ever been. I just purchased my first cycling shoes and pedals two days ago, so today I will ride with them for the first time. I will let you know if I fall (praying I don't) and how much time I shave off my ride. Because I WILL shave off time. :)
**Friday night we went to Boulder and scoped out my race course for the first time. Good thing we did because those hills are rolling. Lots of long hill climbs. Now, I have done some rides with hills, but it has not been my focus. I came back realizing I have 4 weeks to become a beast on some hills. So that is my focus now - hills. Lots of them. Every time I ride I will be going after hills. And when I finish, I will turn around and ride up them again so that I can better my times and become comfortable on them.

My first week it was all I could do to run for 10 minutes without wanting to stop and walk. My 20 minute runs were very difficult and spent doing intervals of walking and running because I was so out of breath. I was also dependent on my music to keep me on pace. Currently, I can run for 40+ minutes without even stopping to walk with NO music. I have been running with just me and my thoughts... and the gorgeous scenery on the paths around my house. I can hear myself panting for breath, but I run at 6000 ft above sea level, so that has something to do with it (right????!!! haha), but something is very calming about running unplugged I have found. I find myself talking with God about different things, or focusing on a particular song, and sometimes I am simply counting my steps or focusing on my arms when I am tired. Its nice. Its quiet.

BRICK WORKOUTS- This is where I bike for 30 min then get off of my bike and run for 20 min. If for any reason this sounds easy, I assure you, it is not. 30 min on the bike is right around 8 miles for me, then close to a 2 mile run after. These are called "Brick" workouts because that is exactly what your legs feel like when trying to run off the bike...bricks. Heavy and wobbly. Now, these did not start until week 5 of my training plan, and although they are still hard, I can do the whole thing without walking, which I could not before. That's pretty neat I think. ;)

So, you can see that the training is paying off. I am still training at 6 days/week right now with one day of recovery and rest, but I will taper down to 5 days/week next week and just stack on more miles and harder sessions on my training days. I am just following my plan. It calls for this so that my body is recovered nicely on race day (August 31st).

Practice and Persistence Pay Off! 
I am seeing results all over place and though it is still super tough while training, every session when I finish leaves me smiling. I am surprising myself and hope to continue to do so daily. I started out just wanting to finish this triathlon, but now I want to finish... in 2.5 hours or less. Can I do it? We will see. But one thing is certain, I am going to put in the work and try my hardest to do so!

If you didn't know, I am raising money for Orphans in Haiti as I race. Through Heartwork on my "Your Cause Sports" page (Click the Heartwork link to donate) you can help me. Every $100 will feed 6500 meals to orphans. Please consider helping. $5 will go a long way!

Thanks for the support!

Tri Training Week 3

This week's blog will be a little different...

Instead of a progress report, I am going to hit it a little more emotionally because there is a lot of emotions wrapped up in what I am doing. While I am training, it is hard - really hard at times. I feel like a can't breathe when I run, my arms and legs get tired and I start to suck in water when I swim, and on the bike I have to constantly remind myself to not give in to the pain in my quads - push through it!

This week has been more emotionally draining than others - theres a lot going on - for one, Chip is out of town. I've realized he is such a strength for me even through this training - I pull from him when I'm tired and feel like I can't do it on my own - I know he is rooting for me.

The second reason is it is HOT. Colorado is experiencing record breaking heat this week, so it is really hard to stay motivated through trainings when its 90 degrees by 9:00am. Sweat pouring, the sun beating down, cotton from the cottonwood trees flying everywhere - sticking to your face, strong winds blowing HOT air swallowing you up as you try to catch your breath... not my favorite things. But it is what it is. I keep telling myself "This will only make you stronger..."

An amazing friend (Missy!!!) is watching the kids while I train this week and I am SO thankful for her. I was so nervous for Chip to be gone - afraid that if I didn't get to train I would revert on the progress I have made, so she is truly saving me this week.

He is a hunk :) 

On Saturday I was training with my friend who used to be a women's cross country coach - she had some great tips and helped me push through the times when I wanted to quit. About halfway through our run, I noticed some pain in my right shin. I didn't think much of it, stretched it out and we went on our way. Later that day, I saw a lump under my right knee on the top of my shin. It doesn't hurt to the touch, is hard, and I have no idea what it is from, but my knee is doing some funky things as of now. The bump is still there, I have a gnarly clicking in my knee that wasn't there before, and it does bother me some when I am walking around. Yesterday after my swim I had a run planned - about 5 minutes in, I knew something was wrong so I decided to call it a day. This morning I did a 12.6 mile bike ride and had NO problems with it. I am going to rest for the remainder of today, take tomorrow off (its an off day anyway) and resume my swim and run routine on Thursday. Hopefully things will be better by then because I am determined to push through it and get it done!

In lieu of all of the heat and frustration, I continue to come home with a new fastest pace every time I train. Today I thought for sure my stats would be lacking due to the tough ride I had, but I set new records all around. It is really hard to stay focused and motivated during the training, but when I see the end results, it gives me encouragement for the next time. I can do this. 

I saw this on Twitter today and it describes exactly how I feel...

Runner's Resource ‏@werun1h

Go find something you can't do, something you're scared of, something you know nothing about. Now go become good at doing exactly that.

I want to become "good" at triathlon. I want to push myself until it isn't something I fear and know nothing about, but something I love and embrace. My reasons for "why" have already evolved and I am only in my 4th week of training. 

- I feel good. I am so much less stressed than I normally am about kids and life. My mental and emotional health are great - I am steady and happy. PMS who???

- I feel strong. My legs, my abs, my arms, and my mind are all getting stronger by the day. I feel those muscles growing, and I experience my mind becoming stronger than my circumstance with each new day of training - I can do this. I can push through. 

- I feel young. Ok, so I am almost 32... not "old" by any means, but I am starting to feel like a younger version of myself. My body is getting back into shape - and will soon be in better shape than ever as my stamina and endurance continues to grow and reach new levels in this sport. I've never been a distance athlete. In swim team and in soccer it was all about the sprint. Building my endurance, although very hard and tiring, is making me feel better than I have in a very long time. 

- I am able to give. Being a stay at home mom can be one the more tiring and draining professions in this life. You are constantly giving and never getting anything for yourself. By the end of most days, I would feel totally spent - like my tank was on empty. Now I have energy at the end of the - because that is when I normally train, because my mind is healthier, and because exercise is just GOOD for me! Good forYOU! Good for the people I love! Sure, my body feels tired here and there, but I am finding that after almost a month, I am adjusting to the 5 days a week training schedule. Next week begins 6 days a week.... that will take a little bit of time to adjust again, I am sure. But I know I can do it!

- I am seeing results. Now, I am thin. I know that. I have, except for when I was pregnant with my children, been the exact same size as I was in high school...still shop at the same stores and buy the same size jeans. I thank my parents and grandparents for this, because God knows I haven't done my part to maintain. My goal in doing this is NOT to lose weight. I don't need to. However, I do want to be strong. I want to have some muscle definition and to be tone all around. I want to look like an athlete - I see those women a lot around here - you look at them and just know they could crank out a marathon or 50 mile bike ride right then and there. It isn't that I am comparing myself to those women, because I am not, but I know based on how they look that they are endurance athletes. The hours they put in on the bike and running, even swimming, show. They're not only strong on the outside, but they are strong inside as well - you cannot be an endurance athlete and be of weak mind. It pushes you both physically and mentally. Endurance athletes are over-comers. That is what I want... I want to feel that strength both inside and out. 

Until next week...

TRI Training Week 2

This week was a bit harder than last...

I experienced a LOT of muscle soreness this week. Namely in my hamstrings. I've had to stretch everyday, and then stretch some more... and some more. I've even woken up in the middle of the night with sore, tight hamstrings to have to get out of bed and stretch. Eek! My hamstrings tend to me pretty tight anyway, so add on this new muscle growth - oweeee!!!

The good news is, when I am training I don't feel any soreness. The pain usually sets in at night or on my off days. Of course, soreness = muscle growth.

Stretching is at the top of my list so I don't injure myself. Even when I feel like curling into a ball on the couch and fading into a deep sleep. :)

Here is my week... (I know this is boring stuff, but I am hoping to use it as a personal progress gauge.)

Monday -  I swam 200 meters in the indoor pool while Chip and the kids took part in the Memorial Day festivities at the outdoor pool. It wasn't terrible, but I was pretty winded. The best part (being sarcastic) about this tough swim was that it wasn't actually 200m. I came to find out later in the week that the pool is 10m shorter than I was originally told. Yeah. That kind of stinks.

Tuesday - I went on an 8 mile bike ride going South from the bike trails behind our house. The entire way there was CRAZY windy (Parker, the town where I live, is very windy. We sit at 5900+ ft elevation and we experience a LOT of strong wind.) and uphill, so I was struggling to get to my destination, but I MADE IT! As soon as I could see the turn around spot, I was thrilled. The way home the wind was at my back and it was mostly downhill so I felt like a beast having my fastest overall speed ever - shaving off an entire minute from the last time I rode. The downside of this ride was the sideways slithering snake making his way across the path as I approached. I couldn't tell if it was a stick or a snake until it was almost too late. I missed his tail by a few inches and squealed like a little girl. I still get heebie jeebies thinking about that thing. I am not a fan of snakes. Poisonous, harmless, friendly, whatever...they are all the devil.

Wednesday was an off day and for the first time since starting this thing I was limping around like and old woman because my legs were so sore.

This was also Asher's last day of second grade and Amery was sick with a fever and nasty cough so we spent the first half of the day at the doctor's office getting treatment for Am and the second part at Asher's school celebrating the coolest kid in the school. :)

Thursday - This was a difficult day. It was pretty chilly outside by the time I was able to get to the pool and swim laps. I swam in the outdoor pool because the indoor one was full of little kids doing lessons. I swam an actual 200m this time and it was hard! I kept at it and as soon as I finished I did a VERY quick change into my running gear and started a run. The run lasted for about 5 minutes when I could no longer feel my legs. I did intervals until I hit the 20 minute mark, did some cool down and went home to crash. **Chip was awesome and grilled some mahi-mahi and veggies for me to come home to** YUM!

Friday - Off Day. Praise the Lamb! ;)
...soreness ensues

Saturday - The hardest run I have done yet. I was so sore and unmotivated - it was in all honesty the LAST thing I felt like doing. I had a lot of trouble breathing - I kept telling myself to breathe from my diaphragm and keep away from the shallow chest breaths my body wanted to revert to. Thinking about that helped a lot. I just kept pushing and pushing and my 90s hip hop station on Pandora was once again the motivation when I had none. Its really amazing what a great beat will do to get you moving!
After I got back to my house and collapsed on my driveway, I checked my stats to find it was my fastest run yet! That was so encouraging after such a hard workout.

Sunday - Today I did 10.72 miles on the bike with a climb of 402ft with headwind and hills my WHOLE WAY HOME and I made record time! Longest distance, fastest pace... you know what that means? I am getting stronger! 
Success.

Although I am still scared out of my mind for the actual race and wonder if I will truly be prepared, but little successes like that seem worth it. The fact that I can physically feel myself getting stronger on the bike is encouraging. I will take it!

This week I learned that even when I don't feel like training, it is worth it in the end. My best run happened to be my hardest run.

I suppose this spills over into most area of life... How much do we miss out on spiritually, relationally, physically, and mentally because we live by how we feel instead of what we know?  Our feelings are flighty and change on a whim, but knowledge and truth - those are steady and unchanging.

..."I don't feel like training but I know I have to finish a race in August and training is the only way I can do that."

What feelings or emotions try to get you down or keep you from doing what you know you should?

P.S. I didn't proofread this because I feel too tired, even though I know I should have. ;)

TRI Training Week 1

My first week of triathlon training is officially OVER!

I logged right at 20 miles between the bike and running this week and started my swim training by swimming 200m (8 laps in the indoor pool at our rec center).

I'll start with my run on Monday. It was rough. I was sucking wind. Although I've lived in Colorado for almost 7 years, I am going to blame it in part on the altitude. It can be a little harder to get deep breaths when your house is at 5900 ft elevation. I always remember when I lived in North Carolina and Florida and would get on the treadmill (because its MUCH too hot and humid to run outside) and just run and run and run some more. I never felt winded like I do when I run here in Colorado. The only thing that got me through my run was the 90s hip-hop station on Pandora. The beats were just what I needed and each song was a total throwback to my high school days...and knowing pretty much every word helps. Yeah...

Tuesday I had to bike 7 miles. I went 7.55 and I was pulling Amery behind me in the trailer. We had to stop a few times - once when she was SCREAMING about a bee being in there with her. It was a little fruit fly. Everything is a bee when you're 3. Then she needed help with her water, etc, etc... you get the point. Not optimal as far as time goes, but it was a lot harder on my legs, especially on hills, with her behind me. I felt like I could have gone further, but the training plan I am on strongly suggests sticking to plan so you don't overwork your body and are ready for the next day's workout.

Wednesday is my off day and will be for the entire training plan. (Yay for off days!)

Thursday was my swim. I was most nervous about the swim because it'd been so long since I'd done it. To my surprise, it was the easiest of all my "first" workouts (I guess the bike doesn't really count since I'd been going on rides on the weekends prior to official training). Everything seemed to come back to me pretty quickly from my swim team days - my stroke, kick and my breathing rhythm all need some help. Years of voice lessons and being a singer help with the breathing - much of the focus in proper singing technique is breathing from your diaphragm and controlling your breath. Telling my body to breathe properly when exercising... a little more of a challenge. I'm workin' on it. ;)

Friday was another off day. The training plan starts off pretty slow to help avoid muscle injury early on. Each week I will increase my activity. I will talk about that in a minute.

Yesterday, I ran again. This run was MUCH better than the first, but still hard. The breathing is still the hardest part. I kept telling myself to focus on good, deep breaths from my diaphragm and not my chest - which is what people tend to do when exercising. We tend to raise our shoulders up into our necks, tense up, and take shallow breaths from our chest. This is not good. So I kept trying to be sure my shoulders were nice and relaxed and that I was breathing properly. It was still tough, but this helped. And of course, Slick Rick, Mase, and Biggie helped me out.

Today after we got home from church and ate lunch we loaded the kids in the trailer (Asher is way too big, but he came along) and headed south on the trails. I love that you can ride a paved trail to and from pretty much anywhere in and around Denver. It was overcast and windy and we hoped it wouldn't rain, but if the weather is crummy on August 31st, the race is still on. Chip pulled the kids like a beast and trying to pace with him shaved off 2 minutes per mile from my previous time! I still have difficulty with not wanting to brake coming downhill and around tight turns, but its getting better. I am going to invest in some cleats soon so that will help optimize activity once I get used to them. We did right at 8 miles and I felt pretty good when we got home. :)

Week One - COMPLETE.

Tomorrow starts some back to back workouts - Run 20 min followed immediately by a 200m swim. That should be interesting. I will tell you all about it after I finish out Week 2.

What have I learned this week? 
Although the journey ahead is a long one, when I focus on just one day at a time, it is doable. Seeing my plan even for the end of next week seems difficult right now, and it will be hard work when I get to it I'm sure, but taking it day by day instead of focusing on the mountain in the distance is HUGE. I think that can be applied to most any area of our lives. Life is a journey. Our relationship with God is a journey. If we focus on today, the big picture doesn't seem so intimidating.

What is happening in your life right now that seems extremely difficult when you try looking too far down the road?