Wow, I have truly neglected this blog. I think about it often but rarely take the time to sit down and do anything about it. It seems like I can get plenty of wasted time on the computer but if I actually intend to get something accomplished by kids sense it and start circling.
A lot must have happened since last December. Yes, life and focus got caught in a tailspin when my grandfather, Tata, got very sick in early December and ultimately died on January 20. I come from a very close family and while I certainly did see my Tata everyday, he was a very important part of my life. I will miss him dearly but am grateful for everything he did for us and that my children had the opportunity to know him.
Back to triathlons. I tried to take some downtime in the winter but was not very successful. Seeing as how training is my outlet to avoid mental breakdowns, too much time off makes for a very unhappy mother and wife. I don't remember much of December and early January but I know by the end of January I was back in full training.
In February, Jamie (my husband) and I competed in the TriCats Splash and Dash. I splashed and he dashed. We finished in the middle of the relay group and had a really good time. I love it when he watches me swim, I can tell he is proud of me. I love that he is a good runner even if he is down on himself after nearly every race for not being fast enough. Geesh.
In late February I finally, finally, finally got a new road bike. I love it. Here is a picture of the beauty.
My speed on the bike increased almost instantly once I was riding something that actually fit my size and was professionally fit for me. I am finally able to keep up with other riders.
My swim times have also been improving nicely. As part of my weekly training I force myself to swim a semi-timed 800 yards. This has helped me learn to 1) count laps and 2) acclimate my body to swimming for that long. I really think this has been very helpful. For my swim class midterm I was able to swim 800 yards in 14:56 which is a huge improvement from last October's 16:41.
Finally, I did my first tri of the year on March 2o. It was the Tri for the Cure in Chandler, AZ. This was an interesting weekend since Jamie and I left the kids with my parents and were alone for the first time in two years. It was strange and not as relaxing as you'd think. We raced to Scottsdale on Saturday afternoon for packet pick-up. For big races I am used to big expos so I was excited to get there early enough to check everything out. Apparently expos for tri's are very different than expos for marathons and even half marathons. Basically, there was no expo just packet pickup. Since I had only done one triathlon up to this point, I still feel very much like a newbie. I was still shocked, though, when some woman asked during the mandatory course meeting where in the pool it was okay to stop and rest. Say what? It is a little 400 m swim. With this information I knew I was appropriately trained and ready to go.
I had registered for the Athena division and so I lucked out and got a really early start time. I need to work on getting a decent breakfast in before I race. I had a great plan for this race but that all fell apart when our hotel room did not have a fridge or a microwave. What is up with that? My frozen breakfast sandwiches completely thawed by Sunday at 4:00 am and the only microwave available was in the hotel lobby. Holy inconvenient! Needless to say, I was starving when I started racing at 7:20
The swim went well. There are pros and cons to the serpentine swim. No lap counting is nice and going from point A to point B rather than back and forth was pleasant as well. Getting stuck behind slow people sucks. Having to pass is also a pain in the butt. I was coming up fast on the girl in front me and so at about the 200 m point I turned on the after burners and took off. Little did I know that right in front of her was another woman so I had to pass them both. I would have liked to take a little breather but the first girl I passed wasn't too pleased with me. I swear she chased me down for the rest of the swim. I jumped out of the pool and ran the very
long route to my bike.
My ride was awesome. My legs felt strong and I passed everyone in front of me and did not get passed once. I know I out there with the bigger girls but still thought is was pretty amazing that I was able to maintain my speed. I thought about slowing down a couple of times to reserve something in my legs for the run but the adrenaline pushed me to keep going. It was awesome.
The run hurt. Can't lie. Jamie was yelling at me to run hard but my legs felt like some strange combination of jelly and tree stump. Couldn't quite control them and they felt so very heavy. My ultimate goal was to finish the race in under an hour. The thought was in the back of mind but didn't seem like reality until about a mile into the run. I realized that if I maintained my pace or even pushed it a bit I could get it done in under an hour. It felt like time was standing still while I finished my last run around the track toward the finish line. I finished in 59:38. Yay!!
Not only did I reach my goal but I actually placed 3rd in the Athena Division. Woohoo! I'm still waiting for my award to show up in the mail. I'll be adding a picture once it arrives.
So, what am I up to now. Still training with my sights set on improving my October time in the Tucson Tri on May 22. I have started working on improving my run time and hopefully it will pay off. Also, I am seriously working on improving my nutrition. I've noticed that my body does not respond well to sugar and I have cut back significantly. Just by doing this and keeping up my training, I've lost 15 lbs since October and 10 just since February. I would like to lose another 15 lbs before the May race but it is going to be a super human feat to achieve. I'm up for the challenge. :)
Tired for now. The kids are circling. Must be better about my updates.
