What Doesn’t Kill You…

In the words of my friend Nadine, I’ve officially completed the “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” portion of this Ironman Training.

And I have to admit, I’m glad that it is behind me.

And yet, it is not lost on me that my pain and struggles have been self inflicted. And for that I am grateful. I am grateful that I have the choice to train for Ironman, have found the strength and ability to see myself through all of this training, and will be luckily enough to find myself at the start line of Ironman Lake Placid next Sunday. I am grateful that I have a body that can run 1 mile, let alone allow me to run 26 after biking and swimming. A body that will carry me through the day Sunday. A body that is not revolting against me.

It is not lost on me that I am extremely lucky, especially as I know many in this world, including some friends and family, that struggle with illness and other issues that prevent them from running and doing active things that they love. So I am grateful, and I am blessed for this body.

So, it’s coming to that time to recap, what did Ironman training truly entail?

I’ve successfully finished my five 100+ mile bike rides (4 of which were set up as brick workouts with a run following the completion of the long ride), I’ve trained for my 2.4 mile swim covering that distance and then some in both open water and the pool, and I’ve successfully finished out my running training with a 19 mile run logged to close down the last build in training. I’m now in mid-taper and Ironman Lake Placid is barreling down the pipe. That’s right. As long as there is no crazy and wild curveball thrown, by this time next week I will officially be an Ironman.

It’s pure craziness.

Especially when I think about how much I hated loathed running in high school. When required to run a mile for gym class, I wanted to cry. In fact, I refused to run distance for indoor track… I sprinted (or attempted to) just so I didn’t have to run as long or as far, despite the fact I was terrible at it and my body really is built for a bit more distance (If only my gym teachers, and track coach could see me now… ).

Especially when I remember that I had never run a full 5K without stopping to walk until about 6 years ago when I completed the Iron Girl Triathlon in Syracuse.

Especially when you consider that I wanted to die during my first half marathon, and questioned what I was doing as I ran in my first 70.3 triathlon.

Especially when you consider that I never even considered a full Ironman to be a possibility until about a year ago after I finished my second 70.3.

Especially when I think about all the cold cold early winter mornings and late nights that I spent time in my basement, or my friends basements training (I was renting rooms from various friends in Syracuse this winter so that I could maintain my job and still have a house near my family in Saratoga…).  The early mornings shoveling snow from my car to get to the gym to swim… or to run…

Speaking of all the workouts, I thought it would be fun to provide the grand totals that I logged while training for Ironman Lake Placid.

In the past 7 months, to prepare there were:

• 59 Swimming Sessions
• 74 Biking Adventures
• 78 Running Workouts

My total milage for each discipline:

• Swimming: 140,680 yards (80 miles)
• Biking: 2,314.5 miles
• Running: 478 miles

In hours this was:

• 39.9 Hours of Swimming
• 157 Hours of Biking (mix of indoor on the trainer and outside)
• 78.8 Hours of Running

Grand Total:

• 210 Workouts
• 2,872.5 miles covered
• 276 Hours

Really, making it to the start line of an Ironman, trained for the event, uninjured, and mentally ready is a feat in itself. The level of exhaustion experienced during different points of the past few months was pretty impressive as well. Sleeping was no issue, and bedtimes came earlier and earlier in the evening. Also, the mental training that accompanies the physical training was equally intense. There were a couple points on those solo 100 mile+ rides where I was ready to give in. Especially on the occasions when I messed up my nutrition and electrolyte balances. You can find some really dark mental places when you’re out biking on your own hour after hour. Lucky, I was blessed to experience these things in training which has allowed me to prep for just about anything to come my way on race day. It also has allowed me to prove to myself that I can put my head down and persevere even when things get tough.

So, as taper continues and next Sunday nears, I can finally say I am ready. (Or as ready as you can be for a 140.6 mile long race). I am expecting anything and everything to happen on Sunday. It’s Lake Placid, there will likely be rain, there might be sun, there will hopefully be no thunder or lightening – but it could happen. Regardless of what mother nature throws at me, I’m going to take it all in stride knowing there are only a couple things I can control:

1) My attitude <- this race is my party for all the training that I’ve done since January. The training has been done, my fitness level has been established, so it’s all up to enjoying the day on the course with 2,500 of my closest friends. 🙂

2) My nutrition <- my coach made me write my nutrition plan out for every 20 minutes for the entire day. I’m going to follow that thing like a boss… after all, I’ve learned the tough way how much the correct nutrition can make your day, and how much messing up nutrition can break your day. (Luckily, I’ve also learned how to recover if a mistake is made…).

Just about everything else is up for grabs. And I’m so excited to see how this all unfolds!

Lake Placid, I’m ready for you.

Weekly Workouts//

Week of June 29:

• Monday – Rest Day
• Tuesday – Zone 2 Ride planned… cancelled flight from Philly resulted in me driving home instead of flying. no bueno.
• Wednesday – 3100 yard swim
• Thursday – 1 hour 45 minute bike planned with Zone 4 efforts – 52 minutes completed before I ended up with a sliced tire and instant flat
• Friday – 4000 yard endurance swim ladder
• Saturday – 112 mile Bike + 5 mile Run, 8 hours
• Sunday – 17.2 mile Run, 3 hours

Week of July 6:

• Monday – Day Off
• Tuesday – 30 minute Swim + 30 minute Bike
• Wednesday – 1 hour, 30 minute bike with Hill Repeats + 20 minute Run
• Thursday – 1 hour run planned – due to work travel, this was cancelled
• Friday – 4200 endurance swim planned – due to work travel, this was also cancelled.
• Saturday – 102 mile bike – in 90 degree heat, learned all about electrolytes today…
• Sunday – 19 mile run, 3 hours 15 minutes

Week of July 13: (start of Taper!)

• Monday – Day off
• Tuesday – 3700 yard Swim
• Wednesday – 40 minute tempo run
• Thursday – 1 hour 15 minute Bike
• Friday – 1200 yard Swim
• Saturday – 2 Hour, Zone 1-2 Bike
• Sunday – 35 minute Run

Photos//

Work trip… quick out and back to Cleveland. And unfortunately an extension of the trip since my flight back was cancelled… which meant I was driving home. ugh.

 My friend for the evening (aka the rental that got me back to my own bed).

Had help putting my board report together. So helpful at such a young age! An epic blowout mid Time-Trial effort… (I know, less than impressive in the picture).

House Project… Before…

  After!!

Had to eliminate the carpet since Bronco was allergic to them (go figure), but makes my house feel like a totally different house, I love how they turned out!! A big thanks to my high school friend Craig that installed them for me!

The kitchen counter post long Saturday workout. Water bottles everywhere!

So our church was in need of a new steeple. Our community has been raising funds for a few years now and finally had enough money to start the project. So much fun to watch the building progress!

Happy 4th of July! Chillin’ with my mom at the Annual Family Picnic. 🙂

Roxie got a new bed. There is some confusion over who the bed is really for…

Taper week = new knitting projects. 🙂

 A Betty Baby!

(His dad is going to kill me when he see’s this, but I couldn’t resist!!)

P.S. my nephew is super cute. Love being around to hang with him and my sister. He’s getting so big!

Indoor Training & Fighting Old Man Winter.

Well, it seems that I waited just a little too long to post on this particular topic since the weather finally has broken this week!! (fingers crossed that we’ve truly turned the corner and that this is the case…)

As I write, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the temperatures are rising, and the mounds of snow are slowly melting and disappearing down my driveway. Nevertheless, the fact that we’ve been enduring one of the coldest winters on record, and still have feet and feet of snow on the ground has not been lost to distant memory or will be easily forgotten. Neither is the fact that my days of actually getting outside for some bike rides is still a couple weeks away.

And here is when the choices in athletic goals and my region of residence (Northeastern U.S.) collide. If you’ve been reading a long with my blog, you will know that I started training for my race schedule in Mid-December. If you live in the Northeast, you also know that our weather turned very cold about the same time and really did not ever return to a ‘normal’ winter. (I was also reminded of this weekly by my lovely pipes continuing to freeze in my house and all the fun that was had with that… but I digress.) Despite the fact that we’ve had a gnarly winter, I’ve been putting in the time swimming, biking and running. This means miles and miles in the pool, on my bike trainer, and on the treadmill. Only a few weekends did I decide to bundle up and brace the elements for my long runs to help me prepare for my upcoming half marathon.

Most people can think of nothing worse than lap after lap, minute after minute, and mile after mile in the pool, on the trainer, or the “dreadmill” training. In the past, I was right there along with everyone else, complaining about how boring it was, how awfully painful, and long the workouts were. However, a funny thing has happened. It started last year, where I actually didn’t really mind the treadmill SO much because I found I was rarely just jumping on and running a steady pace for the entire time. I was going through challenging workouts with my heart rate training that varied my HR and speed during the time and I actually looked forward to my runs indoors. Swimming started to become more fun because I was setting pace and endurance goals. And this year, I’ve found I actually don’t mind being on the bike trainer – in part due to the challenges of playing with my power meter and hitting my targets throughout the workout.I am starting to appreciate the indoor workouts as tools for building strength and preparing for hill climbing. Also, there is the fact that you have to remain focused on the task at hand and mentally tough which is key when you start getting into longer endurance events. In fact, I was actually happy and excited for my long brick sessions indoors the past two weekends.

Yes, it may be time to have me taken for a mental check up… but in all seriousness, I am learning that it really takes understanding why you are doing a certain workout, the benefits obtained, and a little creativity to make this whole winter training bit not so bad. (Although I know I will be VERY happy to finally bust back outside on my bike. I do still prefer the ability to enjoy the scenery and coast down hills over staring at the wall and constantly trying to hit my cadence and power goals!)

If you are looking for some ways to mix up your own training indoors, here are a few tips and examples of workouts (Note, I am not a coach or a medical professional… these are just a few things that I do to bust boredom and I have found that work for me…):

Swimming:

• Sets of descending 50s or 100s – try to do a set or two of 4×100 yds or 10x50s – swim the first one at a comfortable pace and then try to swim each subsequent 100 or 50 faster than your prior.
• Swim ladders – figure out the distance you want to swim, do a warm up then start building: 50 yds, 100 yds, 150 yds, 200 yds, 150 yds, 100 yds, 50 yds – before you know it you’ve done your distance needed and started to build endurance too.

Biking:

• Warm up for 15 minutes, then vary 10 minutes at a faster pace/cadence, 10 minutes slower pace/cadence/harder gear, alternate for desired time and then cool down for last 5-10 minutes. If you have a HR monitor or a power meter and know your numbers some more fine tuning can be accomplished.
• You can also do sections of sustained pace (20-30 minutes), and mix in tougher intervals of 2-3 minutes with 1 minute rest in between (15 minute block), return to sustained pace before cooling down again.

Running:

• Warm up for 10 minutes, alternate easy pace and faster pace efforts for 1-3 minutes for 20 minutes, cool down.
• Play treadmill roulette – let your music decide what pace, speed and time you spend for each interval. I found this workout a couple years ago and love to use it when I am not feeling overly motivated to run.

If you want more ideas or to grab some workouts from actual coaches… check out these links: Indoor bike training:

http://www.bicycling.com/

http://triathlon.competitor.com/

http://www.usatriathlon.org/

http://www.active.com/cycling/

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon-news/articles/

And indoor treadmill training:

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/

http://www.active.com/triathlon/

http://triathlon.competitor.com/

Happy training!! Now for a recap of my workouts from the past 2 weeks:

Weekly Workouts//

Week 1:

Monday – Day Off

Tuesday – Bike 90 minutes, Hill Climbs

Wednesday – 2000 yd Swim & 30 minute Run

Thursday – 2400 yd Swim

Friday – 50 Minute Base Run

Saturday – First Brick of the Season! Bike: 2 hrs, 40 min/Run: 20 min

Sunday – 1 hr, 20 min Endurance Run

Week 2:

Monday – Day Off

Tuesday – Bike 55 minutes, Power Test

Wednesday – 2500 yd Swim

Thursday – 60 Minute Run – with Speed Work

Friday – 3000 yd Swim

Saturday – Brick Session – Bike: 3 hrs/Run: 30 min

Sunday – 1 hr, 30 min Endurance Run

Photos//

My ride got a sweet upgrade – seriously it’s the little things in life, like new bar tape that make me smile!

The official unveiling of our Team Betty kits was last week – will be rocking this on the course this year!

\Another gorgeous sunset in ENY.

Post outdoor run… trying to get my body used to pounding the pavement again. On this particular Sunday that meant facing 20 degree temps, wind and snow…

SU Game with some friends!

Getting crafty – whipped this one up sans pattern. Sometimes, when something like this actually turns out as envisioned, I impress myself. (I’d had the fabric for almost 3 years and finally just went for it.)

Flashback to Tour de Cure in Saratoga last year and my first century ride – Tour de Cure used this photo of me and the two women that I rode with last year on one of their FB promos this week!

Winner, winner chicken dinner! I was so pumped to win these earrings last week! They’re from Heather who makes jewelry in Albany, NY – you should check out her awesome designs and her Etsy shop!

A little post-run icing. Just one of the things I am trying to keep up with to stay injury free to the start (and finish) line of Ironman Lake Placid!

Bronco has become very close with my bike… lots of cuddle time in the car. 🙂

Got to love when you receive a message like this.One of the best girls nights ever!

More craftiness. Finally wrapped up this beauty.

My new kicks for the 2015 season – finally ran through last year’s sneakers. Looking forward to rocking these! (And pretty awesome that they match our Betty Kits!)

Well, hope you’re all having an awesome week and hopefully getting to enjoy this little break in the weather – here’s to hoping that spring is finally here!!

Cheers!

Worrier or Warrior?

Are you a worrier or a warrior? Do you go out and embrace life, it’s messiness, chaos, the good, the bad, the ugly and the great? Or do you recoil and run the other way, trying to avoid the bumps and look for the smoothest sea and the straightest, best paved path? The difference between the two worlds comes down to just two little letters, but makes a world of difference in how you react and deal to the cards that you are dealt in life.

Luckily, by and large, I have the warrior gene – the more stress, the more stuff going on, the more focused I become. Although, I do admit this can also be a bit of an achilles heel for me as well… sometimes I need to be reminded to stop and smell the roses, to take it all in, to relax. Unfortunately, I feel that my opportunities for R&R are going to be space until after July 26th…

Speaking of busy… this past month was one of a bit of craziness for me – the bouncing back and forth between Saratoga and Syracuse continues, the training for IM Raleigh and Lake Placid continues, oh and I took a little trip to AFRICA! So in short, there is a lot of reasons why I have been MIA in this space, and there is a lot to try and catch up on. Today, I’m going to focus on the training. I’ll be catching up on Africa soon(ish) and I go through debriefing on my trip and work on assembling some video and photo footage from my 2 weeks there.

Training Updates//

• Swimming – I’ve been posting PRs all over the place – had the swim of my life right before I went on my trip with a response from my coach of “hang that workout up on the fridge” (awesome!). I had zero pool time while in Africa (well except for one night… but no laps!) so it was expected that I’d come back a bit slower. From my two workouts this past week, my times are right where I left them, so full steam ahead! Whoop!

• Biking – I was able to sneak in 1 session while in Africa on the bike for a whole 30 minutes. Otherwise the workouts were non existent. Needless to say, getting back in the saddle last weekend and this weekend was an experience, but the legs are getting back into it!

• Running – my current nemesis. My paces have been SLOW this year compared to where I was at last year. Having the injury last Fall has really taken its toll on my running. Not to mention that I re-aggravated the injury during my 90 minute run the weekend before I left (which I was in denial about when I last provided an update…). So I was intentionally resting while in Africa with no running planned. It has seemed to do the trick as my calves are feeling a little better – however I’ve once again lost any progress I had made on my pace. So the half marathon in four weeks is probably going to be a slow one… I just have to remind myself that I’m in this thing for the long haul – no matter how frustrating each individual run is. Not to mention that I’m ready to divorce my treadmill – I’m so over this deep-freeze winter from a running standpoint.

• Strength Sessions – The one area that I could easily continue with while in Africa – thanks to some resistance bands and body weight workouts I was able to do some workouts in the hotels in the early mornings before we were out and about.

Random Photos of Occurrences and Things//

Got to hang with the Linc-man this week. I’m pretty sure he was pissed I didn’t bring Roxie.

Old man winter at his finest in CNY. I know I’ve only been back a week, but I’m already over the deep-freeze. PLEASE just give us 30 degrees!!

A box-o-fun was waiting for me when I got back from Africa! Ragnar time is here again!

Found this frame last weekend. Found a guy that would cut glass/mirror this weekend. Result? One amazing mirror for my house!  So stoked!

Gulp. Time to get the nose to the grindstone! Some big races on deck and the countdown is on!

Exploring/Snowshoeing with Bronco.

He gave up by the end. The snow is too much even for this guy!

Hanging with this little dude. J-man’s original birthday was this week, but we’ve been lucky to hang out for 8 whole weeks already!

Welp – I know that was brief, but Africa took up the majority of my past few weeks. I’ll be posting some pictures and reflections soon!

Until then, hope you’re all surviving this winter in any way you can manage!

Cheers!

 

P.S. As I was writing this post…

(PUMPED!) #badassisbeautiful

 

Post-Race… what now?

Now that I finally posted my 70.3 Race Recap, it’s back to my normal weekly updates. Yes, unlike last year when I left the 70.3 discouraged and in need of a break from triathlon, this year I am rolling onward!

So what’s next?

Over the past few months as I was training for the 70.3, I was silently adding a few events to my race calendar.

First up, I am going to run the Boilermaker for my 4th year straight. I have a love-hate relationship with this event. The event is amazing in the pure size of the race – 14,000 runners. It is also a bit difficult for that same reason (a lot of runners to weave through). Each year I have seen some improvement to my time, but each year around mile 7, I crash and burn with the heat. This year I’m hoping for something better, especially with my better understanding of running based on HR and having a better grasp on nutrition needed to sustain pace.

The weekend following Boilermaker, I’m going to participate in Gillie Girl! I’m excited for this one, it’s an all women’s race and I was provided with a sponsored spot – I love sprint triathlons for the fact that they let you tap into some speed and end in a couple hours. Plus I have a handful of friends racing in this one so it should be a ton of fun – I can’t wait to check out the course over the next couple of weeks and just enjoy the day!

Annnnd, after that, I’ve crossed to the dark side. I’ve signed up for my first ever marathon. (Something I swore I would never do… and there lies the obvious problem with saying never…). Throughout the spring, my friend Saara and I were discussing the potential of running a marathon, in early May we decided it was time to pull the trigger and take the plunge!  After some procrastination from both sides, we officially registered on May 24th and will be taking on this challenge together.

As far as the course selected, we were challenged by each of our schedules, so we finally settled on the Adirondack Marathon in Schroon Lake. (Plus the medal’s looked really cool – that’s the real reason to select a race, right?!) On the plus side, the marathon will be absolutely gorgeous as the course runs around Schroon Lake. On the not so plus side, since signing up for this event, I’ve had a number of people tell me that this course is one of the most difficult marathon courses… I seriously have a knack for selecting really challenging courses. Someday I’ll actually race on a flat and fast course…. someday…. but the goal for this one will be to finish. It won’t be the fastest marathon, but I’m certain it will be memorable as it is my first!

Now, I guess I have some work ahead of me. The longest run that I have ever completed is 14 miles, and that was back on Easter Day of this year.  I’ve maintained my base of 13 miles since that time for the 70.3, but now I have to add on 13 more miles to bring me to race day. Here’s to hoping that the 70.3 endurance training will help carry me to the start line and milage needed as I train through the summer months!!  My first long run for this starts next weekend (yes, I will be incorporating hills).

So I guess the good news – if you enjoyed following my journey to the start line of the 70.3, you can keep reading as I work my way to the start line of my first marathon!

In the meantime, I have a few things to share with you all as I wrap up this week’s write up. First, if you have ever participated in triathlon (and even if you haven’t) here is a fabulous article that is all too true: So you wanna be a Triathlete! (Read it, you’ll get a couple laughs.)

And second, please watch this video… #LikeAGirl Video. THIS is a video that everyone should take a minute to watch, and we should all learn from. I can remember feeling like this as I tried to run indoor track and play softball in high school. However, I’m happy to report that field hockey was a different story… but maybe because it was somewhat insulated since it was viewed as a sport for girls – despite the fact that it’s a mens sport in every. other. country.

Weekly Workouts//

• Monday – 60 minutes of Yoga. My life needs more of this. Flexibility & relaxation are both good things.
• Tuesday – 50 Minute Recovery Ride
• Wednesday – 20 Minute Recovery Swim
• Thursday – Rest/Travel Day (was supposed to run, but with a 16 hour work day, it just didn’t happen)
• Friday – AM – 30 Minute Recovery Ride (from prior day)
• Friday – PM – 1500 yd Swim Ladder
• Saturday – 1:30 Bike Ride
• Sunday – 1:00 Run <– In the heat, prep for Boilermaker!

Weekly Totals//

• Swim – 45 minutes – 2700 yards
• Bike – 2 hours, 20 minutes – 25 Miles outside, and rest on the trainer
• Run – 1 hour, 30 minutes – 9.8 miles
• Brick – None
• Total Time – 4 hours, 30 minutes

Weekly Photo Recap//

Yes! So many good memories from childhood.

A little baseball (until the storms rolled in…)

When you work in the dairy industry… sometimes random people dressed as cows show up to events.

My RAOK gift landed!

Hot Dogs – Post an afternoon walk.

The biggest Lilly I’ve ever seen… it’s as tall as me!

Road Trip Snack. 

Early Morning Hotel Treadmill Session. 

Vermont Bagel Sandwich – serious business! 

Giant Rice Krispy Cookie. Love. 

I was craving salad. So I went to town! 

Family cookouts. 

Treasures Found. 

Next Triathlon…

And next milestone (what was I thinking….?)

Best wishes to all for a fantastic week ahead!

What did you do this weekend?

Have any races on your schedule, please share with me!!

Cheers!

It’s Taper Time!

For those of you unfamiliar with a Taper:

Per Wikipedia (the always correct, all knowing website):

Tapering: In the context of sports, tapering refers to the practice of reducing exercise in the days just before an important competition.^[1]Tapering is customary in many endurance sports, such as the marathon, athletics and swimming. For many athletes, a significant period of tapering is essential for optimal performance. The tapering period frequently lasts as much as a week or more.

Per my own definition:

Tapering: A week where….  one must try to stay off his/her feet to rest (harder than it sounds), and try not to go stir crazy in anticipation of the race ahead.

Which probably means…

• Catch up on all the movies and TV that I’ve wanted to watch.  (Why hello, Orange is the New Black, Season 2!…(small confession, I may or may not have jumped the gun on this over the weekend… so if anyone has any recommendations, I’ll probably need a new show by Wednesday).
• Catch up on my running and triathlon magazines I haven’t yet read.
• Start a new book.
• Cook & bake a bunch of food.
• Knit something.

It’s kind of like being sick and stuck on the couch without actually being sick – you’re just stuck trying to rest and relax – which is more difficult for someone who is used to being on the go all the time than it should be.

Unfortunately, due to all the house work, yard work, and other things I want to be doing – I will be struggling with the goal of staying off my feet.

However, despite of the pending to-do list, I am going to do my best to embrace this week and the opportunity to kick back and relax (as much as I can manage).

Yes, it’s finally here. Race Week. Minimal workouts, excitement as the course sets up at Jamesville Beach, and waiting for the fun to begin on Sunday morning.

I’m so excited for this race, it’s not even funny. And even with my love-hate relationship with tapering, I’m so excited for this week!

But first, let’s recap last week:

Weekly Workouts//

• Monday – Rest Day & Girls Night Out!
• Tuesday – 2050 yard swim – 50 Yard Sprints – Hit some new records!
• Wednesday – Brick – 1:30 Bike with Hill Repeats, 15 minute Run
• Thursday – AM – 1 Mile Open Water Swim
• Thursday – PM – Ragnar Fun Run at Fleet Feet – 45 minutes, 5 miles- ran with and met some amazing people!
• Friday – 2000 yard swim – 300 repeats
• Saturday – Brick – 2:30 Bike for 40 Miles, 30 Minute Run for 3.5 Miles on the 70.3 Course
• Sunday – Long Run – 1:30 for 10 Miles on 70.3 Course

Weekly Totals//

• Swim – 1 hour, 40 minutes – 5810 yards/3.3 Miles
• Bike –  Included in my Brick Sessions this week…
• Run – 2 hours, 15 minutes – 15 miles
• Brick – 4 hours, 45 minutes – 60 miles Biking/5.25 miles Running
• Total Time – 8 hours, 20 minutes

Weekly Photo Recap//

Tuesday morning, back at the office… apparently avoiding the office for a big birthday the weekend prior does not work. Glitter everywhere. Seriously, I think I’ll be finding it for the entire year to come!

Peonies, my favorite! So excited for this bouquet!!

The feeding trough. You’ve got to hand it to our office, we know how to do food courts and birthday tables well…

I love frosting. And sugar cookies. Healthy eating was totally blown out the door for the day, but totally ok with it.

My swim times from Tuesday AM… considering I started in January at a 1:51/100yd pace, I’m blown away. Of course my times won’t be this good during the race (sprints are waaaaayy different from a long swim), but it’s exciting to see this type of progress!

Spotted on Wednesday, the trucks are here!

Miss Roxie at the vet. Not sure if she loves or hates coming here… I think she loves to antagonize other dogs and cats, hates the actual doctor part.

Word. (Or, should I say words?)

If you haven’t caught on, I love different quotes and sayings. The world can do with more thinking. Less Lemmings. (Although I do like Lemurs, especially the Disney-fied, errr DreamWorks ones.)

Random Dinner Dish. (aka, Throw all the things together and hope for the best. Continue to modify until you like said dinner.)

Bronco helped with the cooking Saturday morning. And by help, I mean cleaned out the left over peanut butter from the jar. 

Last bike ride on the course before race day. Didn’t expect nor dress for the 50 degree weather – it took 20 minutes into my run before I could feel my feet again!

Birthday gift from a friend! 

Post my final long brick session of this training cycle.

Sweaty, tired, happy. 

It’s race week, automatic must – teal nail polish for race day. Love me some triathlon tradition. 

Since I can’t plant my garden, due to the lack of progress on the garage painting front, I embraced container gardening in full force this weekend!

The pups are so helpful with gardening…

Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers… and happy to report we have veggies already, despite the fact they’ve been hanging out in their tiny little seed trays for weeks. 

Also, a little update from garden #1… we have broccoli!! 

Finally, Sunday had a number of different conflicts that delayed my run until pretty late in the evening. However, due to those delays I had an amazing start to my run – I was set to run out on the 70.3 course, which for those who are not familiar, contains some pretty serious hills. Needless to say, this course has never been a running destination that I seek out for fun. I was not particularly looking forward to my final long run (even though it was my last long run before the 70.3…) but I had an awesome surprise – as I started to run, I realized a couple of hot air balloons were launching for an evening flight.

And then I realized they were tracking along the valley that the run course crosses…

And they just kind of hung around…

And I discovered that I can run faster than they can travel…

I had some good company along my first 3 miles headed out…

Can’t complain about this experience to close out this training cycle! 

So, there you have it! The final intense week of training in the books. I’ll probably check back in later this week for the final taper week check-in, pre-race thoughts, musings, and pictures – then it’ll be go time!

Here’s to looking forward to a week of forced relaxation, I hope you all had a great weekend and have a fantastic week!

Cheers!