Finishing 2015, and the start of 2016. Racing & Other Things.

Hello hello hello.

It’s been a long time. And a lot has occurred. (Be forewarned, semi-long post ahead.) 

Part of me cannot believe that my last post was all about my Lake Placid Ironman experience. (And another part of me knows EXACTLY why my last post was about IMLP.)

But anyways… what has been going on since IMLP? Well, there was a  (short) period of recovery where I also interviewed for a new job and decided to leap from my career of nearly 10 years into something new that would allow me to move back near my hometown permanently.

The goal was to spend more time with family and friends from home. I have always felt a strong tie to the Saratoga region and after 10 years of being away for my job, plus the 4 years of college, I decided it was time to make the move back.

Starting the new job, meeting new coworkers, learning all about the products my company carried, going through formal and informal training and getting out to meet my customers all across New England kept me pretty busy…

Also, I kept training. I ran the inaugural Old Forge Half Marathon trail run with a couple friends then I ran in the ADK Ragnar Relay on an Ultra team (we took 2nd place for ultra teams – pretty awesome!) and finally participated in a fundraising ride in October.

In November, I was accepted back onto Team Betty for 2016, which was so amazing because I love my Betty Squad!! The women around the world that make up Team Betty are amazing and an inspiration. They were also a major reason for my return to racing in 2016!

After my three Fall events, I took about a month off from training before jumping back into training for the Walt Disney World half that I ran with my sister and my mom in January – we ran as a team and stuck together, it was so much fun! It was my sister’s first half marathon and she did awesome, I am so proud of her!  (BTW, I am now fully convinced that Disney World IS the happiest place on earth, even if you are a 30-something adult without children….) It was an amazing trip with the family. I wish we could get away more together. It was great to see my parents  and my sister and her husband relax and enjoy!

After Disney, I rushed out to San Diego for work. While most of the time I was in San Diego, I was stuck inside of a hotel – I did get out one afternoon and rode a Segway. This was my first time on a Segway, it was so fun once you got the hang of it!

After returning to home mid-January, I knew it was time to decide what I was going to do with 2016. Honestly, I was feeling pretty burned out from training in 2015 but I knew I also didn’t want to sit around and go from 100% crazy in 2015 to 100% idle in 2016. So, with this in mind, and knowing I needed to change some things up, I hired a new coach for 2016 to see what new workout strategies I could learn with some new direction. I also decided to sign up for Tupper Lake Tinman, a 70.3 distance race, for 2016.

I was thinking 70.3 would be cake easier less intense after last year racing 140.6. Now, in early April as I encroach upon closing month #3 of training for this 70.3, I have been fully reminded that a 70.3 is just as intense as ever and still a lot of work! I am certain I should have stepped back into sprints and oly’s for this year since I am still definitely feeling a bit burned out, but I am lucky because I do have a new coach who IS teaching me new strategies and ways to train for distance racing and I am definitely seeing improvements in my swimming and running. I am not a quitter. I will see this 4th 70.3 distance race through to the end.

My swimming has been exciting, I’ve not made it to the pool as often as my coach would request, but I’ve seen improvements and PRs when I am swimming.

My biking is also coming along, although a bit slower than I had hoped – I’m praying that once I finally get outside (this spring has been much colder, much longer than one would hope) that I will see the work put in the last 90 days has paid off. My biking is almost build back up to where it was in late 2014 – last year, Ironman training had the effect of actually weakening my bike leg. I was able to put in the distance but lost some of the power I had when biking shorter distances. I’m excited to build in this region again.

Finally, my running is starting to speed up again (whoop!). I have been doing a bit of strength training and yoga along with my swimming, biking and running and it is definitely paying off. My legs feel better than they have in the past 2 years and I am currently closing in on my paces that I used to run in 2013. I’m cautiously excited about this – I know I have to keep a close watch on my strength, my flexibility, and my prior injury tendencies as I continue to try and push my speed back up into the sub 9s and possibly sub 8s at times.

All this improvement is coming despite trying to juggle quite a bit of traveling with the new job, and the realization that the first career move made after 10 years with my prior company has not been the best fit for my professional life. (Cue changes ahead.) The past few months have been interesting, I have learned quite a bit, but I am ready to embrace yet another chapter of my life in the very near future. (Stay tuned.)

For racing in 2016, I just ran the Bacon Hill Bonanza 10K last weekend at an 8:17 pace (not so bad after about 18 months stuck in the 10-min pace range!), and I am looking forward to racing a couple sprint tri’s (especially Pumpkinman in Maine with my Betty Squad!). I can’t wait to see how my fourth 70.3 in Tupper Lake comes together this year and I have another Ragnar Relay trail race on the calendar which I am super stoked for (they’re so FUN!)!

On the non-racing front, I am excited for the next transition in my professional life and a couple of non-work trips. One is coming up here in a couple weeks and another at the end of June. I’ll definitely be sharing pictures and reflections on my adventures!!

Photos//

Old Forge Half Marathon Trail Run

At the start line of ADK Ragnar Relay – Ultra Team!

OktoberBreast 50 Mile Bike Start Line!

Team Betty 2016!

The family in Disney! Post Half-Marathon Breakfast. (Jackson couldn’t take his eyes off the characters!)

Half-pint motivator. 🙂

Segways in San Diego!

A few updates… long overdue.

Happy New Year! I hope that you have had a fantastic holiday season and are looking forward to a great 2014!

So if you’re a reader of this blog, you would know that my posting fell off here at the end of the summer and has essentially been nonexistent  this fall. And along with the non-blogging came a bunch of non-training. I was still running once or twice a week, but that was about it. I won’t lie, the 2013 racing season along with some other things that were going on, I came out of the summer completely burnt out and in need of some down time. My need for down time turned into a bit of traveling to Alaska in September and Texas in October. Meanwhile, I started a leadership class that is offered through Cornell (which I absolutely love!).

On the running front, Ragnar ADK was at the end of September, and a few of us received our double medals for running both Ragnar Cape Cod and Ragnar Adirondacks in the same year!

After Ragnar, I had one final race on the calendar – the Great Pumpkin Challenge 10K with my mom and sister in mid-October.  This race is in Saratoga State Park, and this year had both trail and road sections to the course – I loved it!  Also, I managed to surprise myself with a PR despite my lack of training (bonus!). I’m still really excited about all the progress I saw during the year with my paces and looking forward to what 2014 might have in store for my running!

The same weekend of the Pumpkin Challenge, I also added to my family by adopting a new dog!! Bronco joined Roxie and I and is Roxie’s (big) little brother, weighing in at a mere 90 lbs! He is a rescue dog which was found wandering the streets of a suburb of Syracuse.  He’s about a year and a half old, and a ball full of energy! And I am happy to report that he loves to run with me!

Bronco has definitely brought a whole new element to life! It’s fantastic, and I love having him around. The rest of the year had a lot of focus on the holidays and spending time with family which is always good for the soul. Now with the passing of the holidays and the beginning of the new year, I have decided to take the plunge in 2014 and give the Syracuse 70.3 another go. I left the race last year happy to have finished but disappointed in how the bike and the run had ended due to the breakdowns and the extreme heat/humidity. So shortly before Thanksgiving I signed up for the race, and I started looking at various coaching programs for the upcoming season. I loved working with Coach K last year, but I’ve decided that I need more of a team and group for training and support, so this year I am excited to share with you that I have joined the T2 Multisport family for the 2014 race season and will be working with a new coach!

I officially start my training for the 70.3 tomorrow (about 8 weeks earlier than last year) and I can’t wait! I can’t even describe how happy I was today when I opened up training peaks and saw workouts loaded and waiting for me – I was like a kid in a candy store… well except  no candy, or apparently cookies since there was a friendly note from my coach to throw out any leftover Christmas cookies and to focus on eating healthy…. so here we go – hours of training and my pending complaints about my longer swim workouts will be coming soon, but honestly I am so excited to be on a set schedule again!

Also, as a slightly random note, I went running outside yesterday – in the snow and wind with the dogs and it was glorious! I forgot how awesome running in 20 degree weather can be. I bundled up and quickly realized I had managed to overdress despite what many would consider terrible running weather (it was GREAT running weather)!

And to wrap up this slightly random post, I’m starting off 2014 with the following reminder to myself and others….

Whether it is reading, running, relaxing, writing, praying, spending time with family and friends, taking a hike, a swim, or cursing around on a bike.

As long as it’s good for the soul, pursue it.

Leave the negative behind.

That’s my wish for myself and for you this year.

XO