Run, Wendy, Run

I tend to take out my anger on whatever exercise I'm doing that day (I really need to take up kick boxing).  But I don't do gossipy, girly, drama-y things well and today was action packed with all of the above!  I was just going to run about 3 miles by the time I was able to get out because it was so hot, but I ended up having so much extra steam to let off that I did 5.  I also did a few pitiful lower ab exercises and some shoulders.  I need to FOCUS!  Oh well, I have 2-4 more runs scheduled this week and since I'm contemplating not teaching spin anymore I'm going to have to figure that out too.  Oh dear!  And by the way, can someone point me to the pool? 

Toy

As promised yesterday...pics of the new toy!  You see...we moved to West Virginia with only a front wheel drive vehicle and a 2x4 Xterra because we had been living in Alabama, we had no need and no need in the foreseeable future for anything with 4 wheel drive. We never thought we'd be living here, or anywhere with a bunch of snow!  Well last winter (our 3rd in WV) we had several FEET of snow, horrible winter, most snow on record for this area and while I drove it okay, I didn't have the ability to get out of my house some days.  This planted the seed that we finally needed to break down and get something sooner than later.  Sooo.....we did!

I need to get a better front pic.  But we ended up with a 2011 Toyota Tundra! LOVE IT! Drives so nicely!

New shoes?

I taught spin class today and then lifted tri's and bi's with my good friends' sadist body-building husband!  I felt so good that on the way home I contemplated going for a run when I got there. But the thing that stopped me was that my shoes are hurting!!!  I have foot problems as it is, and I have corrective orthopedic inserts that had to be made for me, but my feet have been swelling on my long runs and just straight burn by the end!!  I need to find some more shoes for sure, wider ones!   Ugh! I've been in Asics for about 2 years now and love them and hate Nike's, but I need something lighter and more breathable and with a wide toe, but a bit taller as my inserts add a slight amount of height.  Geez, wow I've gotten picky.  Well we'll see what I come up with. 

The husband and I did get a new toy today!  I'll get pics up tomorrow!

Well what now???

I am entering the "off season" of Triathlons.  I'm not scheduled for anymore outdoor ones and the indoor season isn't until November.  So now I'm training for a 1/2 marathon.  I'll be honest, this is not the funnest thing I've ever done.  I really, truly think I'm doing it for the car sticker and bragging rights (I live in WV...one of the laziest states in the US, so YES, 13.1 miles gets you bragging rights).  I really want to spend some more time on my bike, but I never go alone and there isn't a plethora of opportunity to do that around here, plus the days are rapidly shrinking.  I can assure you that I have vacated the open water for the season too! Bleh, hate it!  So now my question is, "how do I stay in shape"?  I don't want to burn myself out yet I don't want to lose my edge either.  Any and all suggestions welcome!

Right now I'm teaching spin classes for 45 minutes on M,W, F.  I am trying to get in 15-20miles/ week  running and I'm swimming about 1 day a week (yes, I plan to increase that number after the 1/2 marathon).  Brick workouts aren't something I like to do, but I don't know if I should save those for the season or continue them throughout the year and if so, how often?  I'd like to work on my strength training which I'm trying to do about 2 days a week, but sheesh, I've got a life too!  So maybe I'll get all this figured out.  Again, any and all suggestions welcome!

First day of the rest of our lives

Oh, boo.  Today was the first day of Kindergarten.  There wasn't any crying, but I didn't eat much all day and my workout was pitiful.  Apparently Sam didn't eat much either because she almost ate me out of the house when she got home! Here's the deal, I have been staying at home since she was born, aside from almost 2 years working PRN as a labor and delivery nurse.  But when we moved to West Virginia we decided that both financially and logistically me staying at home made the most sense....our closest family is 600 miles away!  So it's a bit hard to part with her for the biggest part of the day; to not know if she is eating all her lunch, playing well with others, or even keeping her nose clean.  I have done everything and now in one day I've given it over to another person.  It's extremely hard.  I know I shouldn't worry, but she's the only child we're having and all of the sudden she's starting, what feels like, the first part of the rest of her life! 

Okay, wiping tears and sniffles, I did actually make it solemnly to the gym.  I was going to do spin, but all the bikes were full, so I got on the treadmill and pushed out 2.5 miles. The first 1/2 mile was a warm up and then I did .5 race pace, then .25 sprint, .5 race pace, .25 sprint, then the rest race pace.  This worked me, but I had to beg myself to finish!  I then followed up with a VERY pitiful upper body strength training workout.  Geez, I need a trainer!

I didn't workout any yesterday b/c I was running around like a crazy person between getting Samantha to orientation and then running out to school supplies, yada yada yada.  

Did I hear a Niner in there?

Quick note, took Saturday off because we were stretched in 11 different directions (well b/t 2 parties) and there was just zippo time for running.  Sunday we bought the little one a new bike b/c the old one (bought LAST YEAR) got too small and went out to our giant YMCA soccer complex for her to ride with daddy and I got in 9 miles.  It was great! 

The last time I took my mileage that high I was pretty sore, but aside from learning I need wider shoes b/c I have weird blisters, I felt okay!  I did an nice average 9 min/mile and didn't push too hard, but I think I can push harder soon. 

This week I'm going to get the baby off to Kindergarten.  She's such a big girl!

Sushi and Beer

Have you ever had days where just about everything gets on your nerves?  You try to hold a good, positive attitude, but you fail miserably?  Well by the time I finally got running yesterday evening (about 7:30) I found I was running off everything from the day!  This will motivate and inspire speed,  but what a cruddy way to get there!

Mike (the super-speed husband) and I set out on our running "date".  I was fussy from my day already, but he told me he'd run my pace b/c there is a section we go on that is a little sketchy and I'd rather not turn up a statistic.  So we set out and he kept up with me, and then when he saw I fell behind on a hill I did what he always does, turns around and say, "are you doing okay?"....now I am so blessed to have such an attentive husband, but that is NOT how I saw his concern yesterday, I simply told him, "if you ask me that again on this run I'm going to get pissed and offended, so knock it off, you KNOW I'm slower than you, it's not a problem, it's just how it is"...I'm a gem, huh?!  No, I just think I took out my long events of the day on him and we were only about 1/2 mile into the  run, so the sweat, muscle fatigue, and burn hadn't kicked in yet.  I actually felt really bad about getting on him, I mean he WAS going at my pace after all, he could have kicked my butt and been finished with the whole thing by the time I round mile 4!  Oh, we were doing a 10K loop that is our next race.

Well we chilled out and went with our super cool neighbors to sushi afterwards and it was wonderful!!!!  It's kinda our thing...sushi.  We always ALWAYS go there, ever since we were just dating, and then before Samantha, it's so fun.  And when Dan and Ashley go, we just laugh the whole time!  I had a Saporo (did I spell that right?) with dinner last night.  It was in a can and about a beer and half size,  I think I realized after the 3rd time I fill my little mug up with the same can that I felt GREAT and my legs didn't hurt and I realized it was the first time I'd had a drink for about 3 weeks!  Holy cow!  Moral of the story is, sushi and beer make everything better :)

The stat's from this run were sans Garmin (plugged it in and left it at home, DOH!), but Mike timed us on his HR monitor.  I did the 10K loop in 51 minutes, but I got horrid stomach cramps and had to slow my pace for the last 3/4mile, I even walked some and prayed no one got to see me get sick!  Maybe I can do the run in under 50!  I'm not a fast runner, but I'm working hard.

Die tri-ing

Took two days off only to realize that I'm still sluggish.  I just did NOT have it in me on Tuesday and Wednesday, instead I sat in the theater on Wednesday and watched "Cat's and Dog's" with Sam and ate the candy corn she didn't eat, YUMMY (see I'm not totally unreasonable.  She gets candy sometimes)!   But sugar does nothing for me and my training so I put the bag down :( . 

Today I set out for a 5 mile run...set OUT for a 5 miler...it was doomed from the start.  My lousy new-ish socks kept creeping down my shoe, so at mile 1 I ran back to the house and changed them (threw out the others).  Set out again and I should have had another drink of water before leaving because I KNEW I hadn't had enough to drink...yup, mile 3.2 I had a cramp!  A CRAMP! What an annoying reason to lose speed.  So I slowed down to stretch it out and my already pitiful pace got even slower. I got to 3.75 miles and said, "forget it, 4 miles is enough", I stopped at 4 miles and it took me 39 darn minutes!  It was one of the slower workouts I've had in awhile. 

I came home and didn't even make it to my kitchen, I grabbed 2 waterbottles out of my Xterra and sounded like my lab when I was drinking them down!  I felt like a failure so I went in to be abused by Tony Horton and his evil Ab Ripper X.  I need to tone up some more, I let that go WAY slack getting ready for the last tri.  Beginnertriathlete.com had some info about training programs, any info I can get on whether those are worth the money would be wonderful! 

Epilogue:
April (my training buddy) and I were at the movies with the kids together yesterday, and during the latest preview for Nanny McPhee returns we started talking all crazy about training for an Olympic Distance tri for next season.....Oh Mercy!   I might die, but I'd die tri-ing, LOL!

Deep Thoughts

I went back to the gym today to and went directly to the pool!  I needed to go find the weights, my awesome-ish abs (okay that might be a stretch) and 11 inch biceps are going away because I spent the past 3 weeks "cramming" for my tri.  But after seeing my horrifying and disgraceful swim time I figured I'd just get started on what will inevitably be my focus over the winter months. 

I'm a slow swimmer, yes, but I'm not THAT slow, I'm not 25 minutes to finish 750 meters slow, so I have to think that since it wasn't panic and I wasn't being drowned by the Clydesdales, I must have added a great deal of distance by not swimming straight.  I was talking to a Michael Phelps-y kid at the Y and he thinks that's most likely what happened.  This leads to me to a deep thought...wait for it...Not enough emphasis is put on swimming that straight line!  I probably put a lacing around the triangle in the lake and therefore used up time, energy, and my ranking!  I need to really work my siting drills to avoid this in the future.  Maybe one day I'll open my eyes under that murky lake water (shudder...maybe not).

So here's what I did today.  Keep in mind that I'm over 30 and still recovering from Saturday's race...yes...after 30 your muscles hate you and your joints forget about lubrication.  Okay, here's what I did:
250m warm up
400m race pace
250m with training paddles
50m race pace
25m sprint
50m race pace
25m sprint
50m race pace
25m sprint

I did learn that there is not much difference b/t my sprint pace and race pace.  Darn.

For the next 6 weeks I'm diving into my 1/2 marathon training.  I'm too A.D.D. to do a full marathon, so I think I'll only get through a 1/2...let's face it..I'm only doing it to get the 13.1 sticker on my car :)

I did it!

Wow! That was intense.

Here is my recap for the Charlie Williamson Memorial Triathlon in West Virginia. It was a sprint tri with a 750m OWS in a very beautiful lake, 20K bike ride over amazingly tough hills, and a 5K run.

I should do this blog in the way that Caitlin Snow did her recap of the Providence 70.3. She did a stream of consciousness one her thoughts throughout the race.  I felt like it was very effective!  So I'll probably throw some of that in there too

Swim.  Race starts up and its waist deep (on rocks) in the lake start. I can't get in the front so when the gun goes I've got to wade until I can throw my face in without being pummeled by a leg or arm.  I have adrenanline and start thinking "I can do this!", then about 2 minutes in I realize I haven't sited the buoy... crap...it was way too far to my right, straightened back out, 2 minutes later, same thing.  6 minutes in I'm wondering if I can finish.  I'm tired, but I've swallowed so much water from the splashes that I'm also feeling sick.  I'm starting to freak out...okay, calm down...  I get to the buoy and struggle around it....site the next buoy, calm down...  I kept swimming and got in a pattern, looked up and realize that I'm too far to the left...again!  I stop and straighten back out....good, there's the house under construction, I'm going somewhat straighter.  I finally hit buoy 2 and then aim for the shore...crap, this dude is kicking me...shoot, he doesn't even realize it, oh! because he's doing the dang BACK STROKE!  Ugh! Okay pass him...am I the last one?  I look behind me and realize it's close but there are people behind me.  I finally hit the loading ramp for the lake and try to stand...nope too deep...just a few more feet! Sweet! Hard part done! Run up the ramp...feet c'mon, just do it!  Oh, hi mom! Cheese! 

Telling a friend about my daughter's neck, but without context it looks like I'm holding my neck out of panic, LOL!

Bike.  I hit T1 and have decided against my socks for the race, this is good, knocked time off T1.  I hear Noah, my friend's 3 year old yelling to me!.. Hi buddy!  You gonna chase me :) ?..  Grab the bike and I'm off... c'mon legs you can do it! I give the bystanders the thumbs up!  Then I hit hill 1....someone tries to fall in front of me...are you kidding? Already? ....Another chic almost goes down with her...geez I'm outta here, this is a mess...I speed past!  I hit hill 2 and realize how tired I really am.  I just start focusing on my pedals and breathing, and not vomiting.  I hit a few hills later and start struggling up it, see, this course has tons of hills, but the biggest are at the beginning. I'm on another hill and this girl is walking her bike (very common on this course), but an SUV pulls up next to her, they're talking, there isn't any room to go around her...are you KIDDING ME! It's a RACE!!! MOVE!!!....so I say "coming right", she says, "oh sorry, guess I should move"....duh!  Hit Edwards Drive, aka Vomit Hill, I am starting to understand this nickname! Oh no!...please don't throw up, please don't throw up, c'mon legs move the pedals, oh please dude walking your bike don't swerve, crap, gonna have to pass on his right!  "on (pant, pant). your (pant, pant). right (gag, pant)."  Top of the hill! Yes! Did it!  Wow there were a LOT of walkers, feelin' pretty good about ol' girl right now! I passed the T2 where there were a lot of spectators and saw some friends...Hi guys! Woo Hoo!...okay, crowd energy! I got this now!..  I turn for a long flat and slow hills.  I FINALLY get to the turn a turn around in a cul-de-sac...are you for REAL! I can't pass anyone! Oh CRUD!  I can't go this slow! Biking is the only thing I can do fast!  PLEASE MOVE! There are people on the left coming at me, slow pokes on the right not moving! I'm gonna cry!  Sweet, a hole, hit it...hard! Okay that sucked but I got to the final turn around at the top of a hill and just did it anyway. On the way back I saw 2 friends! Awesome! ....Hey guys!...I got to the one section of the course I had never done b/c we always went back to the lake instead of T2 (this race had 2 separate transition areas) during training.  This part was hardish, 2 big hills, but I kept hearing the crowd say "almost there! One more hill!"...well if that's all that's left, I'm standing on it!...I hit the turn in to T2...oh crap! Slow down.  Almost blew the dismount line, whew!...

Run.  Coming into T2 I was FIRST RACK! Yay!  I threw the bike on the rack, ripped off my shoes and started for the socks, oh my! My socks did NOT want to go on.  I did it anyway.  They had wrinkles, but who cares, it's only 3 miles, I could run with no shoes if I had to.  I almost forgot my visor, but got it on, grabbed my race belt and TORE out of T2!...Hey fam!  What's up neighbors!...I hit the road...what's the deal with my legs?  Why won't they move? Oh wait, they are moving.  Aren't they?  I need my Garmin!  I feel like I'm running at 10:30, wildly unacceptable.   Okay, speed up on the downhill.  2 people in front of me.  I'll catch 'em, just wait :) ...I hit water station one....hmm. I didn't drink during this race except one swig on the bike and I'm not thirsty, well I'm not cramping now, sorry guys, no thanks...I see the sign for MILE 1 go by...okay, time to start passing people.  I passed a couple people on the big long uphill and then we spread out some more.  MILE 2...  Wow, that was fast.  I better speed up.  What am I running?  8:30?  Feels like it.  Man, I wish I had the Garmin.  I gotta pass this dude, I love to pass the guys :).  That chic has a "30 something" on her calf.  Oh no! My age group?  36, whew next one up.  She looks about 1/4 mile ahead.  Is she walking up that hill?  Okay I can take her.  Wait, don't spend too much yet.  Okay, up the hill.  Yes, last turn. Mike would tell me to sprint here, but I can't, not yet, just a little closer...I pass a group that has a sign up that says "empty your tanks now"...good idea, hit it girl!  Oh no, she's sped up too, I have to catch her.  C'mon, c'mon.  Where did this other chic come from?  Oh, a relay chic, not that big a deal, but still.  Okay, she's swerving, come on!...I see the end, it's a narrow, roped-off aisle to the end and I'm on the other girls heals, I can't pass her unless I elbow her and I refuse to be that person!...Yes! The timing mat!  I did it!...Then I heard my husband start yelling, "that's not the finish, keep going! keep going!"...WHAT!!!!  Oh CRAP!!!  Me and the other girl had both stopped, then we both his the gas for about 5 more yards to go over the REAL timing mat...that was a stupid lay out,  btw!  2 timing mats apparently stumped a LOT of people. 

This is me realizing that the first mat was NOT the finish!

Well I finished the race with these STATS:

Swim.  24:05 (shameful, yes)
T1. 1:01
Bike. 52:34 (told you there were a lot of hills)
T2. 1:01
Run. 26:40 (get off my case, I've actually gotten faster!)

Me and the ball and chain!  Speedy there finished 13th overall! 

My Ranking were as follows:

Out of 45 individual women I came in 11.
Out of the 30-39 age group I came in 4.
Out of the USAT age group (30-34) I came in 1.

The sucky part was that the awards were given out in the 30-39 age group.  That's the first time I've been in a race where the age groups were laid out that way.  I was ROBBED. JK!  Oh well, there's always next year.  This was the first year I've ever competed outside.  I clearly need to work on the OWS, but that WAS my first lake race

2 days!

2 days away!!! That's the race date! ONLY 2 days.  I feel like I've had all summer to prep for the race and now all of the sudden it's here!  So many things are on the forefront of my mind...where did the time go? am I ready?  will my tire go flat?  will the race be wetsuit legal?  will I finish?  how will I finish if I do finish?  will my tire go flat?  LOL, I'm seriously scared of my bike, but that's a subject for another blog. 

I guess my answers would be this...the time went by so quickly b/c I stopped thinking about the race, I seriously am as ready as I'm ever going to be, if my tire goes flat I hope I can run in bike shoes, I'll know tonight if it's wetsuit legal (9pm is water temp posting), if I dope up on my allergy meds I should muddle through and finish, I'm not planning on being competitive this yet, so I hope to just not come in last (unless my tire goes flat)!

This race has a lot more stress attached b/c it's local, there's a whole lotta ego runnin' around here too!  It's not like heading out of town, doing a race and then talking about it to other triathletes in the area, no sir, now it's time to "bring it"!  Okay, I'm just trying to focus on the fun side and get excited for the crowd, the family that's coming to watch, and to see how my speedy husband does! 

Well yesterday was suppose to be a 4 mile slow jog, but about an hour before I was to leave (aka Mike is home to babysit), the thunder started and the sky dumped out for the rest of the night! CRAZY storm! Tom, our trainer says that we should always take the day before, the day before the race completely off (aka, foot propped and bon bons eaten, jk!).  Well I needed to help a friend out by teaching her spin class at the Y, so I rolled along on a flat while the rest of my class sweated it out. It was nice, felt good, and I was really never  winded, so I think that's okay.  I always feel so lazy on race week, but I guess it pays off. 

Just a workout

I taught spin today and then did April's (my training buddy) abs class.  I pushed pretty hard in spin, but it felt good.  I plan to swim tomorrow if I get the opportunity.  It's suppose to rain so I might be pool-ridden (darn, LOL!)!  I would like to try out the new wet suit though.

It's a miracle!

Monday I felt terrible in the morning.  I felt so badly that I didn't even have the energy to do laundry! I was sure that I could not do the bike and run out at the tri course we had planned, but lo and behold I had a protein shake with caffeine about 4pm and it was apparently laced with miracle b/c I felt almost 100% better!  I was able to do a slow, but full 12 mile bike ride (only 9 were shown on the Garmin) and a 2.3 mile jog!  I didn't push b/c the race is Saturday and I did feel the lag from being down earlier.  I did the 9 miles around the bike course very slowly, but still in 35 min.  Then did the 2.3 mile run in a VERY disgraceful 21 minutes!!!  The run was done on the old 5K course which has so many hills you can't catch a break.  You're either going uphills so steep that the pace can't stay with you, or you're going down such a steep hill that you don't want to blow a knee, either way, it's a pitiful run.  I am so happy that the race committee changed the course.  It changes the location for T2, but the run is now almost flat! It's spectacular!  I'm getting excited, but I'm by no means one of the competitive players, so it's a little bittersweet. Hopefully next season I might reach my goal of placing in my age group. We'll see :)

Hydrate and rest

Okay, uncle!  A few days ago I started feeling poopy.  I was having nasty headaches and feeling exhausted.  Yesterday and today the headaches have been subsiding but I'm becoming exhausted and unmotivated AND losing my appetite.  I was getting scared that this was the beginning of another burnout, but I've been really on point with resting more (which is increasing my performance too), so I am thinking that I've got a little bug.  I would normally have run yesterday and taken today off, but yesterday I felt so cruddy that I said I'd wait and run today, but once again I'm so tired I'm feeling like it's going to take all my energy just to vacuum.  So I ask myself, "what would I tell a friend in my postion"?  The answer, "rest and hydrate".  If I do have a bug, that extra 4 mile run probably isn't going to do as much good as it will damage, so I'll wait.   I've got a ride and run brick tomorrow, so I'll sit and wait it out until then. 

The race is now 6 days away!!!!!  Pray for good weather and a healthy body!

Warning: This post contains soap box material

I went to the post office today to mail some things and while I was standing at the table putting stuff in packages a lady was there telling the teller (I live in a really small town, they all know each other) about how her granddaughter had symptoms of a brain tumor, but that the doctor concluded that it was not one, but that she was so over weight that she was mimicking symptoms of one! This lady proceeded to talk about how unfair it's going to be to restrict things from her over 100lb 12 year old granddaughter's diet when her brothers and sisters are allowed to eat it.  She finally said, "well, I guess we could all eat a little healthier, it wouldn't kill me to go on a diet either".    This is when I felt like my face was bright red and I was so glad she left b/c I almost exploded!  First of all, when did eating healthy turn into "going on a diet"!!!!!  Why is a  12 year old over 100 pounds and what the heck are you feeding her????  I believe our society is now experiencing a new form of child abuse! 

Okay, deep breath.  My background is dietetics, I know I might know a bit more than most, but it's NOT rocket science.  It's okay NOT to buy Pop Tarts, it's okay NOT to feed your kids Coke instead of water or milk, it's okay to make them eat eggs and toast and fruit for breakfast, it's okay to make them eat at meal time and it's okay NOT to put candy in their mouth EVERY DAY! 

My little girl is the pickiest eater there every was, but I sneak stuff into her food.  I make up a batch of muffins on Sunday, freeze them and pull out the portion the night before for her to have as breakfast.  You're thinking, "muffins aren't healthy, Wendy", um, yeah, mine are!  They have zucchini, whole wheat, a little sucant (google it), even chocolate chips!!! They're made "mini" and she gobbles them!  I sub whole wheat for her bread and since she won't eat anything but PB on a sandwhich I only buy the stuff with zero sugar.  She chooses a fruit to go with it and then either milk or water. For snack she LOVES nuts or craisins.  For dinner we eat a protein, a grain, and a green veggie or two.  We don't add rolls.  For dessert sometimes she gets lowfat icecream or I freeze some yogurt and put it on a stick as a "popsicle".  She's 5 years old and weighs 40 pounds and is wildly energetic.  I'm not saying I'm perfect, oh no sir, but I'm not letting her eat Toaster Streudel's  for every breakfast, Happy meals for every lunch, and pizza for every dinner.  If she gets a sucker it's b/c the lady at the postoffice gave it to her.  Yes, I let her have some of these things as a very once in a while treat!  That's it! 

I'm not a health food nut, but I am not going to let her fall victim to the abuse we are putting on our kids in America.  We have so much, we should be better than this.  We should know better, we're educated.  We should look at food as fuel, putting in a better grade gives us better performance.  And this garbage about sugar not being linked with being hyper, well that's crap.  I can't feed Sam sugar without her turning into a monster an hour later.  And btw, what is a GU? IT'S SUGAR, I use them TO give me energy....geez! I wash my hands over the crud that's put into our brains by society sometimes. 

Okay, feel free to judge me now, I'm stepping off the soap box :)

Just a plain old run

Aaaaaah, went for just a run today, felt wonderful!  My thighs were screaming due to my biking this week, but it was just running! I love to just run sometimes.  Infact, I went out for a "minimalist" run today, so I have no idea how fast I went and I can only assume that I did 7 miles based on the fact that I have done this course before.  I left the Garmin (who knows where, can't seem to find it) at home and my ipod is AWOL too, but I don't know, don't care right now.  My friend April told me I'm too stuck on numbers anyway. 

Well my run had a few hills that are bears, but I just put my "Dorie" on and said, "just keep running, just keep running".  So I feel like I've done my hills for the week. 

I've been battling a headache, so yesterday was an unexpected rest day.  I think my headache is from allergies and the fact that I'm swimming like my lab right now.  I keep my darn head up so much that I'm getting neck cramps.  I'm hoping the massage therapist can get it out today!

New Addition

Got in the lake last night.  We only went about 1/2 the distance we did on Monday.  I was out with my husband and my friend, April (who is a total rock star triathlete).  They are so good to stay with me.  Not only am I a slower swimmer, but I'm a terrified one which makes me tired and MUCH slower.
I went in without the wetsuit b/c it was so hot!  Good news was that the water was a little cool, hopefully just cool enough to make it wetsuit legal next week (keep prayin'!) I found this swim considerably harder due to the fact that I didn't have the floatation and I was fighting the water instead of working with it.  I need to get in a few more times before the race (on the 14th), but I am truly hoping that day-of I can get it and just go with it; ride the adrenaline.
Well we went out with the intention of swimming, biking, and running short distances (1/2mile, 7 mile bike, 2 mile run), but as we were out on the bikes we noticed the ominous hovering black cloud of doom and descided that it was smarter to turn back.  Mike is the fastest, so he went back for the car and not a moment too soon!  As soon as he pulled up the sky dumped out.  So much for the run, my Garmin showed we went almost 6 miles on the bikes, good news was that most of the hills are in the first 1/2 of the ride, so we worked. 
I'll try and get a run in today since it's been since Sunday that I've run!  But truthfully, my run is not as in need as my bike and swim, so my focuses are good I think. 
Here is a peak of my newest tri-gear addition!!!!

I hate it, I hate it, I HATE it!!!!

Oooohh! I HATE swimming in open water!  Wow, did I pick a great sport to get into! 

I also love hearing people talk about how they've seen snakes swimming on the water.  I love it when grass/weeds touch me too!  Ugh! WHY!!!!!!  Okay, I'm doing it anyway.  If I see a snake or a monster of some kind I'm pretty sure my heart WILL stop, so I won't have to be scared long!  Hmmm, I should really get a bigger life insurance plan.

Well I swam with some others in the lake tonight.  We did about 3/4 mile and it was great, it only felt like 2 miles and I only had about 16 panic attacks. 
We did get out and do 11 miles on the bike.  It's a lot harder than it sounds. There is a 23% grade up one of the hills! WV is hilly...like REALLY hilly!  I don't know how long it took us, but I didn't push too hard b/c I was stressed from the swim and I kept hearing my chain grind so I was scared of breaking it. 

I do feel good about checking my training off in open water, but I'm going back out Wednesday night.  That might be all I can stomach in the open before the race.  I really am considering looking for all pool races next season...might be good for my mental health. 

3 days

Friday I taught spin and since the little one wanted to go pick blueberries that's all I got in. 

Saturday was an off day.  We had a ton happening, so fitting in exercise would have probably pushed me over the edge. 

Today I ran 6 miles.  I went with my friend and we run different paces, so I ran a VERY slow 4.5 miles and then did an average 7:53 for the last 1.5 b/c I took off on my own.  It felt great to open it up!  I felt like I found new legs!  The sprint training seems to be really working!  I'm hoping to keep a nice pace for the triathlon 5K on the 14th too.