Diva Marathon Race Report

Shine like a Diva...! Yes, that's what we did. This race was one of the best races I been too. So much fun. Well organized. It started all on Saturday.. Family and I drove to Long Island, went first to pick up my packet.. cute pink (of course) bag and shirt.



The expo was pretty big.. lots of diva stuff.. I picked up these cute little blinging things for my sneakers.. Cute.. :-)

We then checked into the hotel, went out to dinner, and was in bed by 9:30pm. Got up early, the husband went out to Dunkin Donuts to pick up some begals, while my daughters and I got ready. It was pretty cold out this morning. I was torn between wearing shorts or long pants. I ended up staying with the long pants. Drove down to the race site, was there prior to 7:00am, as the roads would be closing soon. Race started at 8:00am. Was very crowed, everyone was trying to line up in the coral at the times they felt they were racing. I was trying to get back towards the 12:00 - 13:00 min miles, I ended up starting at the 8:00 - 9:00 min mile. Which was great for me. I was in line ready for the race, when I realized I wanted to take a gel pack before starting the race, but my husband had them. The good thing I purchased this real cool race belt at the expo that hold can hold my phone. Its also a race belt number holder, plus it has slots for gels and stuff.. But I forgot to add those things to my belt. So I called my husband, to come quickly to where I was. I told him I was at the 8:00 - 9:00 min section of the coral.. He was like, what the heck are you doing there.. I told him come down and you will see.. Of course he notice it was crazy.. very crowed. I'm surprised he made it to me.. Thank goodness he is so tall, that I could see him thru the crowd, So he handed me over the gel, and all was fine. As you can see below, this quick picture he took prior to heading back to the start line. He just made it..!

And there off..!

I started off very well.. My avg mile is between 12:00 - 13:00 min miles. I was surprise when I got to mile 1 and it read 11:11 mins. WOW.. the fastest I have ever won a mile.. I told my husband meet you at mile 2, I will be there in 24 mins, and he was like you better not, as that is too fast for you and you will be tired.. Well I made mile 2 at 23 mins.. ! But the funny thing, I was not tired.. I felt good. The pace was good.

2. 5 miles

8 miles..!

I actually felt good, I was so surprised, only walked at the water stations, I did the first 5 miles in 1 hr.. which surprised me. And even at the 8 mile - 9 miles, I was thinking, this is not all that bad, And I knew the Hartford Marathon was the following weekend, I said to myself, I am going to ask David if he wants to do the 1/2 marathon with me the following weekend.. Little did I know, how I quickly changed my mind. I have always heard of the "Wall",. everyone hits it..! Well I felt it. Mile 10..! I was like.. what the heck. My thighs were burning, my calfs hurt.. I could just not move. I was like, I am sooo done.! And everyone was saying come on.. Almost to mile 12, You will get your tiara and boa and that will give you the boost to finish.. OK.. NO...! it did not. That last 1.1 miles was the longest I felt of all miles.. I was just dead. I pushed mentally to finish. I wasn't really tired, it just that my legs just gave up, they were hurting bad..! Thank goodness, at around 1/4 miles I spotted my wonderful husband, he came over and he said almost there. I was like are you serious?, as I can not run anymore.. and yes I was still running, as I just wanted to end, and I figured it was faster then walking even, though my legs were burning. He assured me the finish line was just around the corner and the girls were waiting for me there, at that point he gave me a kiss, ran with me a bit, then ran off a head to go around the finish line to see me finish. He gave me the boost I needed to finish.. THANK YOU DAVID..! I LOVE YOU.. He has been so supported this whole year..! I was so happy to see the finish line and my daughters. They also have been so good and supportive. It was really cold out. But they stuck it out just to see me run. LOVE YOU SAM and ASH..!

My goal was to finish under 3 hrs.. I did it in 2hrs and 52 mins..! YAHOO..! I was worried at one point that I was not going to make it.. as I thought I really slowed down at the last 3 miles. But I actaully didn't do all that bad, I actually did negative splits on my last 3 miles.. and ooppss I forgot to turn off my Garmin after I finished. I was in line to get our picture taken, when my husband said, did you turn your garmin off.. and I was like.. NOPE.. opps.

NY Firefighters handing out medals..!

Roses and Champagne.!

Ok so I have done only 3 races in my life time. Never once getting a medal. I see all of husband medals from all of his races and I was like.. I want one.

1st 5k race - no medal

1st sprint triathlon - Cute custom made pins.

1st 1/2 marathon - BIGGEST, blinging medal ever..! LOVE IT..

And my husband was jealous.. This thing weighs a ton. So I was soo happy, and it made my day.

BLING..!

Sick, Sick, Sick and 1/2 marathon this weekend.

Last Tuesday, I started getting sick, didn't think much of it, but I figure I should try to get better and not run, prior to my half marathon this weekend. Well the sickness lasted till the following Monday. I even had to take time off from work, that's how bad I felt. I finally did a run this past Wednesday (last time I ran was last Monday) :-( . I ran a little over 2 miles, felt OK. No pain which was good. I figured at this point there is really not much I can do. I am still going to run the half marathon on Sunday, even though I feel I am not really prepared. I figured with the excitement of it all, and my wonderful husband and daughters cheering me on, I should be OK.! My goal is just to finish it! , with no PAIN..! :-) Wish me luck..!

Big E and Family Weekend

So now that the Triathlon is over.. next event is my Diva's 1/2 Marathon in Long Island. looking forward to that. I haven't been running much lately though. My last long run was like 2 weeks, prior to my Tri. I ran 9 miles then. I was scheduled to run on Sunday 11 miles, but that didnt happen. That was due to this..

That is the Big E's famous Crazy Buger, its a Bacon Cheesebuger in between a glazed donut.. It was soo Yummy. My Husband family came up for the weekend. We all went to the Big E. It's a big Fair that happens every year. Nothing really much changes each year, but we go for the food..! Lots of food..! So after a big Breakfast at my house, we all drove to the Big E. Surprisley the traffice was not bad all at. We did leave a little earlier and it sure made a difference. We had Our 4, plus my husband's Mom, her Husband and My Husband little brother, plus his Aunt and Uncle and 2 cousin meet us there. For such a big group we pretty much stayed together, and had the best time..!

We stayed all day.. 10am - 8:00pm. So you are wondering why I couldn't run the next day, beside being soooo bad in eating the wrong foods, I was so tired. My feet and hip hurt from all the walking. Its a pretty big fair. Some of the foods that I did see, that I could just not try..


Fried Jelly bean

Fried butter balls

Fried Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Fried Cheesecake - My daughter had this last year, she said it was good.

Fried Oreo


So as you can see by the above list ... not very heathly.. But I am sure its ALL GOOD..!

My Husband and I may go back one more time.. maybe I will try one of the above items.. who know.. :-)

Women's Triathlon Race Report

Was very excited this morning to start my very 1st Triathlon. After many times being a spectator, I am finally on the other side of the Transition fence..! Got up at 4:00am this morning, surprisingly I actually slept pretty well. I was in bed by 9:00pm the night before. My husband wakes up and loudly puts on some pumping music. My daughters thought it was funny, blaring the music so loud at 4:00am, but it put everyone in a great mood. I had my breakfast which ended up being a plan bagel with peanut butter and honey, (only ate one half) and then a couple of bites of a banana. For some reason I was not hungry, But I knew I had to eat something. While my sweet husband packed the car, I had time to relax and take my time getting ready. We got to the race site, a little after 5:30am. When to get body marked and set up my transition. I ended up getting a end spot. Which was nice. As my family can see me without any issues throughout transition.

I was very excited seeing all my group friends.. We were all very excited and giving each other good luck for the race. I started to put on my wetsuit, when my twin sister showed up. Very excited she came. This would be her 1st triathlon she ever spectated at. My daughters said she was very excited through the whole event.

SWIM - 28:53 min

I was in the 3rd wave, every 4 mins they had one go. I was very nervous of the swim part prior to going into this. As I am not a very good swimmer, I need a lot of work. I also knew for some reason I do not have the stamina to keep swimming. The swim was a triangle swim, Buoys on the right up till the sailboat and then back. I figured my time would be over 30 mins. As last time I swam 1/2 mile it took me over that, and then I figured with the rush that I may panic and slow down. During the swim of course I struggled, but it was great to hear the motivation of the ladies going by. One lady asked me for my name, and together she said we will make it to the end. She would always keep me in her sites, and look back to make sure I was ok. Thank you Katie.. Another motivation was when I was close to the shore, I could not see her but I could here my oldest daughter yelling "GO MOM GO.. Your almost there, don't stop". It touched me that she was cheering me on. So I took one last look and give it all I got to make it so shore. I was so happy when I got there. Best part of all I did it in 28:53 mins..! not great, but better then I thought I would do.

T2 - 3:33

I struggled with my wetsuit. I have not mastered that yet. Plus when I got to my transition area it looked like a hurricane ran through there, I had wetsuits in my area, I couldn't find a thing. Totally forgot to where my arm warmers. Regretted on the bike ride, as I was cold.

Bike - 52:10 mins

Bike was actually pretty good. I passes a few people. I have road the route before so I knew what to except. I was so cold, (man those arm warmers would have been nice) the bad thing is that I didn't drink much on the ride, which my husband was not thrilled to see. One reason was because I had to go the bathroom so bad. It didn't help with the pressure of the bike seat either. The route was fairly flat, a small area of rolling hills, and then 1 main hill. I got pretty good at changing gears so I was ok with it. I did manage to take a gel pack while riding, prior to getting into the end of the ride.


T2 - 1:41

I didn't have to change shoes, as I have a hybrid, so I just wore my old running sneakers, as I knew the run is off trails and I figured they would get dirty and gross anyways. I struggled getting my bike on the rack, as most of the bikes were all back, so I had to squeeze mine in. The good thing I was at the end of the racks, as my family informed me while I was about to run off, that I didn't have my race/number belt on.

Run - 39:14

This was a hilly and very sandy run. It was like running on the beach with roots everywhere, so you had to keep an eye on that. I felt pretty good, surprisingly, as I hate running. I kept a good pace, skip the 1st water station, as I still needed to go to the bathroom, I did end of taking a sip of water on the 2nd station - Mile 2, as my throat was kind of dry. I finished strong at the end, by passing 1 person, as my daughter and sister were cheering me on. My husband was at the finish line. He gave me a high five just after the finish shoot. In one of the professional pictures (Bid number #305) you can see his hand sticking out giving me a high five.

Total time - 2:05: 29... Instead of medals, they gave out a custom pin designed by Karen Rossi. Cute- it has a sneaker, helmet and goggles.

Overall - Besides the swim, which was to me the hardest part. I felt good the whole race. I had a great time, and it showed, all of my pictures I was smiling in them. (You can see the link above for the professional pictures, I will add in the pictures that my family took as soon as my husband downloads them.) It was just great to see someone from my family each time I ran around one corner or another. I see now how much being a supporter really means to the athlete.

I loved having them there,. so thank you to Team Myra... David, Ashley, Samantha and Zoe..! Love you guys.!

Race Day..!

Well.. Just got back from Olive Garden.. YUM.! Tomorrow is race day.. A little nervous.. but very excited. I picked up my packet today, not much for a swag bag.. nice shirt and bag.. bunch of papers and Wheaties.! But I did end up picking up a few things.. New cool bike shirt, jacket, arm warmers and compression socks..!

Of all the things, I am most nervous of is the swim, I think after I finish that part, I will feel more comfortable about the rest of the race.

My husband and 2 daughters will be there to cheer me on.. I need all the support I can get.

Well good luck to all who have races tomorrow.. ! Best wishes to my brother in law, Tech-Tri, he is doing Touchman 1/2 Ironman tomorrow!

Below is a prayer I found online, it goes out to all the Triathletes..

A Triathlete's Prayer...

O God, You have taught us to compete with perseverance the race that is set before us. Give me good courage to run this race to the finish. Be with me when I am in the water and on land, so that I may feel your presence in all things--in wind and in weather, in the beauty and magnificence of nature, in the passing scene, and in the health and vigor of my body straining to meet this challenge. May I compete in this race in a way that brings honor to you, myself, and those with whom I compete. When I finish the race may I do so humble and should I not finish may I accept it with equal grace knowing that I have done my best.

author - unknown

It feels like Christmas...!

My husband got me some new goodies..! Tyr Wetsuit, Science Rocket Jane Tri Back, Tri Mat, Race belt and a Road ID..! Now I am all ready for the my race..!

I wish my mind was ready.. I have issues with the swim. My Husband says its all in my head, as I have no problem swimming 1/2 mile in the pool. It all started when we went out for the 1st time to use my wetsuit... first of all.. what a pain to put those things on. And I have watched many many videos on how to do it.. it doesn't make it any easier. Anyways, we got into the water, started swimming and I swear I thought I could not breath. I was having a panic attack!. It took me forever to finish the 1/2 mile swim. As I kept stopping and tellimg him that I could not breath. I couldn't catch my breath. He felt it was because of the wetsuit and I was not used to it yet. I did ask my coach is this is normal, and she did say yes, some people do feel constricted in the suit, you just need to get use to it.

We went out the next day again, as I felt I needed to, so I can get used to the wetsuit. But this time instead of rushing out to do the swim, we just hung out at first in the water, he had me do a few short laps to warm up. I did feel a little better this time. I wasn't as panicked as I was the day before. We went out again on Thursday, with the group. We all swam the 1/2. I still felt a little out of breath and slow..! I kept telling him, I can't do this. Maybe I am just used to swimming in a pool, and in open water, I just can't seem to get my endurance to keep on swimming. I kept on stopping. Unlike the pool, you reach one end and you turn around, and yeah, I may do it non-stop, but you do get that quick break between each lap. So again, my husband thinks its all in my head. As he know I can swim the 1/2 miles as I done it in the pool, with no issues. Now with only 8 days left till the race.. I am really worried about the swim portion. I am hoping to go out at least 2 more times, prior to the race.. Just to make me at ease. Again, it could all just be a head game and I just need to say to my self.. I CAN DO IT..!

We just got our final instructions for the race. They are going to have wetsuit strippers..! Cool, as that is another thing I have issues with, it always get stuck at my feet.

There will be 5 waves.. Not sure if I will be with my age group or if since I am with a beginners group training, if they will put in the first timers wave. Which are last, which means less time to finish. Last waves goes in at 7:46am and cutoff is at 8:30am. So that gives me 44 mins to finish the swim.! Again, if I was in the pool, I would say NO PROBLEM, as I done it in like 23 - 24 mins.. But open water.. ?? I have issues..!

A couple of Rules they put out..! I love rule #8..

Rules
We try not to have a lot of rules. The few rules we do have are to make sure competitors have a safe course and a good time! But we do have some basic guidelines that you'll need to know before race day.

1. Enjoy the competitive spirit, the great people and the beautiful venue at Winding Trails!

2. Gear requirements: bike helmet, helmet number, event issued swim cap, race numbers displayed with body markings for the swim, official bike plate on frame and official run number on the front of your body, Winning Time Chip on Velcro strap on your ankle. (ChampionChips will not work at this event. You must have a Winning Time chip, issued by us, on your ankle).

3. Wetsuits are optional up to 84 degrees. Water temperature readings will be taken on Saturday, September 11 and posted at registration and announced at mandatory pre-race meeting at 7:20 a.m.

4. Absolutely no headphones allowed on any part of the race.

5. Transition #2 cutoff time is strictly enforced. You have 2 hours to complete the swim and bike. Competitors not making the cutoff may continue on the run and they will receive an official time and finisher medal.

6. Bar ends must be plugged.

7. Competitors are responsible for setting up their own gear in transition areas.

8. No frantic spouses, overly involved parents or nervous boyfriends allowed in transition.

A Week in Review August 15 -23

I got in most of all my workouts this week.

Sunday - run 2 miles
Monday - rest
Tuesday - 1/4 mile swim , plus 3.1 miles run
Wednesday - Spinning class, and 2 mile run
Thursday - swim - 800m
Friday - went out with the girls...! (skipped workout today)
Saturday - Ran 9 miles..! Yahoo..! most miles ever.!

On Tuesday the swim and the run, was an actually a race. We skip the bike portion as it was off road. I was real nervous the whole day about this race. Of course I panic right after we all jumped in. My heart rate shot up, and I felt tired right away. I pretty much breast stroked most of it, I felt I took forever... The funny thing is that I took 12.3 mins. Which is my normal time at the pool. So If I didn't panicked I would have done it quicker. As on Thursday when I went to the pool, I timed my 1/4 and I did it in 11.3 mins. So I just need to stop worrying so much about the swim, as I know I can do it.. We have a few more open water swims, so hopefully by the race, I will feel much better. Good news.. Wetsuit has been ordered. Should be coming in this week.! Cant wait. The run portion of the race was fine, I did it a little slower then normal. It was off road, hilly and lots of loose dirt and roots. So I guess I was just trying to be a little careful, as I normally run on flat roads, but not bad for my first, I would say Agua/run..! :-)

Very excited ran 9 miles on Saturday. It felt real good. Only started getting really hard at the last mile. Used my husband fuel belt, but still felt I needed more fluids, It only comes with 4 - 8oz bottles, so I figured I can drink 1/2 a bottle ever mile, but I still wanted MORE..! I am sure I do not have to worry on race day for the 1/2 marathon, as I am sure they will have plenty.

We had a scheduled Brick for yesterday, but down pour rain/ lighting cxled that. So I went out with my daughters and did some school shopping. I know, I should have gone to the gym, but instead I took it as a rest day, as I was still sore from my 9 mile run the day prior.

Today - I had a day off, so after my husband went to work, I got up early and ran 3 miles...

Husband's Race Weekend

This weekend was my Husband, his brother and friend 1st Oplymic Triathlon. It was in Bridgport CT. I have not heard of this beach before, it was real nice. We drove up the night before and spent the day there. My Husband , got in a pre-race open water swim.

They had a 5 loop bike course, Even though I do not think they like they liked it, it was nice to see them more then once going by. For a complete race report you can read my brother - in - laws blog Tech-Tri. I did take a few pictures. Unfortunalty we did forget our camera, But we did have our Driod X..!

Great job guys..! I do also have some video, as soon as I figure that out I will add also..

Happy Birthday to ME..!

Well.. it was actually yesterday, August 12. We celebrated it on Wednesday due to I had a group swim scheduled for Thursday evening. My Husband took me to Mohegan Sun Casinos, played the slot machines, everything else scares me..as I hate to lose, at one point I was up $50, but then lost again, I did leave plus $20 so not bad..! The we went to a near by winery, had a few wine tastings.. well maybe too much, haha had lunch and some gelato, it was a beautiful day to spend outside. After the wine and food, we went for a walk thru the vineyard. That evening him and the girls took me out to dinner.. again ate to much, stayed away from the wine this time, as I think I had way to many at lunch.

Thursday - Birthday..

Went shopping during the day, as my husband said I can go spend some money..Yeah, you don't have to tell me twice. We meet up with my twin sister and had lunch with her, I gave her a card and a gift certificate to get a pedicure and manicure.. Got back at around 4p, which my husband was kind of upset, as he wanted to be home earlier as he was waiting a package from Fedex, well we missed him.. :-( Got changed and off we went to my group swim.

I am still not feeling very comfortable with my swim. I tend to panic when there are others close to me swimming and I stop. Felt out of breath most of the time. By the end I felt a little better, I guess I just need to make sure I warm up prior to the race and relax. There is a mini tri next tuesday, our group is going to go, but we are not going to do the Bike part, as the bike is off road, so you need a mountain bike, and some of them do not have one, and why kill yourself anyways, so we are just going to do the 1/4 mile swim and the 5k run. Should be fun.. more on that next week.

On the way home, we stop by fedex to pick up the package that my husband was waiting for.. We got new phones.. SWEET..Droid X. Very excited. I have been using the same old razor phone for too long. We were going back and fourth if we should go to Apple and get the Iphones, but in the end we decided on the Droid X. Looks real nice. I am sure I will be playing with it all day today to see what it does..!

Another milestone - ran 7 miles this morning..! WOW I am really getting up there in my miles, I never thought I would. It felt good running, the last mile was tough. Little pain in my knees, but overall felt good. I'm feeling alot better now about my 1/2 marathon. It should be fun.

Weekend plans - Husband has a Tri this weekend - Park City Mossman Triathlon. His 1st Olympic distance race. 1.5k swim • 40k bike • 10k miles run. Should be a piece of cake after his 1/2 ironman.. :-)

Group Training and Milestone

On Saturday our group meet for a bike ride. We only did like 10 miles.. but man.. it was hilly.. not used to that, as normally where I ride is all flat.. It was a real good workout! It helped me to work on shifting. After that we had a tire changing clinic..! Now I know how to change a tire. It pretty easy after all, but hopefully I wont have to do that during a race.

On Sunday a few of us from the tri group decide to bike the actual race route. We were a little short as I started the garmin outside the gates of the park. It did have some hills, and it had this one great downhill.. but it was mostly flat. I feel a little better now about the race, as I now know what to expect. We do plan on riding this route again, at least one more time. Its hard during the week, as a portion of it, is on a narrow, very curvy road, kind of scary at times when cars are coming behind you, and if they do not see you going into the curve. ( I don't even want to think about it. ) That's why we went Sunday morning, figuring it would be less traffic.



So my milestone - I ran 6 miles on Sunday.. YES..! right after I bike 11.3 miles..! Its the most I ran ever. Very excited. So for this week, Friday we are going to run 7 miles.!

Monday - I was pretty tired after the bike/run yesterday so I took today as a rest. Which was good, spend the day at home, babysitting my neices 1 month baby. She was so good.

Today - I did go out for a 4 mile run, felt tired, and my legs felt a little heavy, but I did it. A little slower then my past 4 miles run but not bad. We may go out for a swim later tonight at the gym.

1st open water swim - Lake

We were suppose to swim last night at 6pm, but thunderstorms canceled that, so it was resheduled for 6am the next morning.. which meant I had to be up at around 5a...! Yikes.. as the lake was over 30mins away. No big deal.. at 4:55 am the alarm goes off.. Husband rolls over and turns it off and off I go to get ready. It was a quiet little lake, good place for my 1st swim. For those who do not know me.. I CANT STAND SWIMMING IN COLD WATER.. The only outdoor pool I can go swimming in is my brother-in-laws, as he always has it heated.. Love it.. Anyways I have not gotten my wetsuit yet, so I was some what surprise when I got to the lake and everyone, even the coach were in wetsuits.. I was like. so how cold is this water??? lucky enough 2 other ladies showed up without a wetsuit, so I wasn't the only one. So at this point I was not looking forward to getting in the water. I walked slowing up to the edge behind everyone else and waited to see there responds as to how cold it was.. lucky for me the water wasn't all that bad.. I was surprised. I think since it was so early that the cool air made the water not feel so cold. Thank goodness.. I still had to ease into the water, but after a couple of minutes, I finally got into the water to neck level.. OK that part is over.. phew..Now swimming. Which I thought I was doing OK, but we were told to swim to a buoy and back, and maybe it was the anxiety of everyone being there, but I just couldn't do it.. I felt like the first time I swam. I did get a little more comfortable after a few minutes of swimming in the water, but I do know I need to work on my swimming. Need to convince my husband to take me out for more swimming. It was kind of nice to know by 8a, I was done with my workout.. now I have the whole day to do whatever..! FYI.. the 1st thing I told my husband when I got home (by the way he was still in bed).. When are we buying my wetsuit??

Half Marathon

So a couple of months ago, I signed up for the Diva half marathon in long island...My 1st Half Marathon. It sounded like a good idea back then.! Well so besides training for the triathlon, I need to work on distance running. The most I have ever have ran has been 5 miles. The HM is 4 weeks after my Tri.. The good thing, my husband was going to sign up for the Hartford Full Marathon, but knowing it was the week after mine, and he would have to be training for it, which meant us running separate, as we are at different levels.. He decided not to sign up so he can work with me and helping me get the distance runs in. HE IS SO SWEET!, this is going to be a great help, as I don't know if I could have gone out on my own to get those distance runs in. So with that I started adding more runs to my schedule.

This week - 2miles (Mon), 4 miles (wed), 2 miles today and Sat I will do 5 miles.

The good thing I am on vacation for the next 2 weeks, so it easy to squeeze these runs in, and also the bike, and swims. Tonight if weather holds out (thunderstorms), our group will be doing our first group open water swim. Can't wait...!

More Training

We meet again for another group swim (pool), worked on drills again, and also breathing and sighting. It's great to have someone there to see what you are doing wrong. I just need to continue doing it..!

Saturday my husband and I went for a bike ride. I ended up going 18 miles, I worked on my cadence, making sure I kept on pedaling. The path we go to is mostly flat, I really need to get some hill work. We are going on Sunday to actually ride the route for the race, which I heard is mostly rolling hills. Can't wait, as this will make me feel a little better and know what I would except on race day.

Sunday we had our 1st group run. We started off walking and talking about different warm ups to do prior to running. Worked on posture, arm positions, strides and your feet landings. There happened to be a couple running on the same path, and our coach asked us to tell us what they were doing wrong, and right away we can tell, they had long strides and the guys was bouncing . I need to work on making my strides smaller and not running with my arms crossing in front of me. I am going to run with my husband this week, so hopefully he can check to make sure I am not doing that. Another thing I do notice is when I start getting tired, I start running bending at my waist. Need to make sure to continue with the good posture all the way.

Tommorrow there is a tiny tri in my area, that some of the ladies in our group has done, I may go try it out. It is an off road bike trail.. which I should be ok, as I have done mountain biking in the past. Its only $10, .. 200yd swim, 3 mile trail, and a 1+ run..It should be fun, getting my feet went in triathlon..!

Husband and Ironman 70.3 and training

First I would like to congratulate my Husband and my brother-in-law, I know kind of late (it was like 3 weeks ago).. But they finished there 1st Ironman 70.3 at Providence RI. Very Proud of him..!

Well.. now to my training. Last Thursday was my 1st group meeting/training.. We meet twice a week, with a 6 day workout plan. On the first day we meet and went over questions and answers about Tri's and the program. Then off to the pool. We did 1 hr of drills. I need to work on my stroke and make sure I don't cross in front, but overall she said I did well.

Swimming points:

• Swim with good, tall posture, and keep your head in line with your spine, looking straight at the bottom. Find your balance in the water.
• You actually swim on your side (well, at ~45 degrees), rotating from side to side as your arms enter the water and reach forward
• Hands enter the water in front of your shoulders, not crossing the centerline of your body, fingertips first, hands flat or in a handshake position. If your hands tend to enter across the centerline, think about putting them in at 10:00 and 2:00 of a clock to correct.
• After your hands enter, they continue to extend forward – this is when your body rotates to the other side, and it is also when you would initiate taking a breath. You do reach forward, but do not “lay on your hand” until it starts to drop. If you do this, reduce the “glide time.”
• You breathe by turning (not lifting) your head to the side when your arm is reaching its forward position and your body is already rotating.
• Breathe out by forcing (most) air out while your face is UNDERwater. That way you are ready to breathe in when your head is turned. Sometimes it helps to practice this by bobbing up and down rhythmically in the water for a minute or so, forcing air out when you are under water, breathing air in when you are above.
• You pull underneath your body, again, not crossing the centerline, keeping your shoulder and elbow higher than your hand. If you cross the centerline, one thing you can think about to correct that is dragging your thumb down your side or tapping your thumb to your thigh. If you drop your shoulder and/or elbow, you can think about grabbing the water around a barrel, and holding that barrel under your armpit.
• Swimming is like climbing a ladder. You catch the water (a ladder rung), then pull your body over it. To be most efficient, you want to pull the water toward and past your feet.
• Your arms recover out of the water – and it doesn’t matter how you do this as much as that it sets your arm up to enter back in front of your shoulder.

Then we meet on Sunday for our first group ride. I love riding in a group.. much more fun.! Since it is a beginners group we went over some safety rules first, then we went out for a 7 mile bike ride. We pretty much concentrated on keeping a high cadence.

Meeting again this Thursday for more swimming at a pool.. Next week we will have our 1st open water swim..!

Still in Pain..

My hip still hurt a little so I forgo the run for a bike ride instead. Did 21 Miles.. Mostly flat.

Time: 01:31:31

Avg Speed: 13.8 mph

Avg Moving Speed: 14.0 mph

Max Speed: 18.9 mph

Felt pretty good. Keep in mind I am riding a hybrid bike. So I thought it was a pretty good time, but what do I know. Would love to get a better bike, but its only my first Tri.. If I continue I would love to get a new bike. What bike you wonder, I would love to have..!









2010 Quintana Roo Dulce Women's Triathlon Bike (SWEET..!)

Running in Pain..!

I have been really slacking on working out.. I have done a few swims, and I have only done 3 runs and 1 bike ride in a 3 week span. So it didn't surprise me when I started running yesterday that my hip starting hurting.. I was determine to run the full 5k. So I kept going, running slower and slower..It also didn't help that is was in the high 80. I do regret it today..As I can barely walk today. I did ice the area, hopefully this will get better by tomorrow as I want to go do another run.

What I did notice ... As you may recall from my 1st run using the Garmin, my heart rate was pretty low, and my husband said I wasn't working hard enough.. Funny though when we went on our bike ride. The Garmin picked up like the first couple of mins then it died..no Heart rate! I figured out all this time it was picking up his heart rate. As at the start of the bike ride he was with me, then he of course at his speed, I wasn't about to keep up..! So we fixed that issue, and now the Garmin picks up my heart rate.

Well hopefully, I feel better for a run tomorrow.. As I really need to get myself into some time of schedule, and stick to a routine.

3rd Year Wedding Anniversary.

Today is my husband and I, 3rd year wedding anniversary. We both took the day off to enjoy the day together. Slept in a little late, then we went out to breakfast. After our stomach digest the not so healthy breakfast we went out to get our swim workout done.

Swim:
30 laps - 33:75 mins. (800 meters was done in 24:50 mins) As my tri is 1/2 mile (800 meters), I have been trying to work on getting faster, plus working on my endurance. I feel real comfortable in the swim, of course come race day it will be under different environment. Not sure how I am going to take swimming with possible 100 other swimmers?

Husband surprised me 2 dozen roses.. How sweet!.. I just love him.~

Well.. have to go get ready.. Going out to dinner to celebrate our Anniversary.. Later!

I'm not breaking any Olympic records with this pace!

So my excuse.. well I have been skipping my running workouts. The last time I actually ran was May 16th.. I did 5 miles that day.. 12:00 pace. But different story yesterday, I was planning on going 5 miles again.. after 1.5 miles I turned around.. did a total of 3 miles, at the turtle pace of 12:57 pace. Bad day..

Well the good thing about it all.. I got to try out my new Garmin! Which of course gave it to me how slow I am in graphs! Just great.. Anways this thing is big!. I have a small wrist, my wrist is around 6 inches round. At first I was like I can't run with this. But really after a few minutes it didnt even bother me. I love how it tells me my pace while I run. Which, did I mention was SLOW! My husband said I was not trying running hard enough as my HR was was low. but my legs spoke differently, they didn't care about my HR.

Below is information from the Garmin:

Looking forward to using the Garmin on future workouts. I have learned alot about the Garmin from DC Rainmaker review on The Garmin 305.

New Watch!

Got my new watch for swimming. Timex Women's T5H471 30-Lap Ironman Triathlon Fast Wrap Watch. Nothing fancy, but I like it. (and its Pink!)..love it..! Love the Velcro fabric straps, very comfortable. Its easy to use and easy to read. It has a standard timer and chrono features. Three different alarms, you can set them up with three distinctive sounds and you can set each alarm for different things (e.g. weekends, weekdays). It also as an occasion feature. You can set an alarm to notify you of a special occasion for any day(s) of the year (e.g. birthday on 8/12). I have used it so far twice.. and no issues. As I have read other reviews on other watches where it would fog up after being in the water. Love the fact I do not have to keep remembering what lap I am on. It gives you the total time, plus it gives you the split for each lap.

Swimming -

800 meters - 6/1 - 26 min and 40 sec

800 meters - 6/4 - 25 mins and 24 sec

Working on getting faster.. I start off with the first few laps under a min.. but then I slow down at the end... go figure. haha. Breathing is getting better, mostly on one side. Trying to work on breathing on both sides.

GOOD NEWS - My husband just advised me that my new Garmin 305 that he purchased are in.. He got one for both of us. So excited.! As I always see my brother -in-law add all these map, and charts to his blogs with all great information. Now I have that too!.. It will be great to know my pace while I run and keeps track of mileage. Can't wait to try it.!

My first post!

My first triathlon is coming up in September. I really haven't been training so much. I pretty much have been following my husband. He has been training for 3 Tri's this year. He had his 1st one on May 9th and he just had his 2nd on May 30th.. a little more on those later. He has his big one HIM in June.! Anyways.. if he goes to the gym to swim, then I go to the gym to swim.. I have been adding more time running and biking also. I am a pretty slow runner. My 5k last year I finished at 37:54 (12:11 pace). I am working on getting faster.. what is helping that I lost over 20lbs so far working out with him...! I did join an 8 week triathlon training group. That starts in July.. I will of course post on my progress on that. For now I am concentrating on getting as much swim/bike and run workouts as I can.

SWIMMING

I am getting better at swimming. The first day I went with my husband to the gym in January, I remember after swimming 1 lap and thinking.. This is crazy, how am I suppose to do 1/2 a mile. I have gotten better. I can now swim 22 laps (1/2 mile) now without stopping. So I am a bit more confortable in swimming. I did just order a new watch, so I can keep track of my laps and swim times. As trying to remember what lap I was in..was a pain.. Was that lap 12 or 13?

Biking

So besides spinning class..not much experience here in biking. I have gone out on a few bike trails. My longest so far was like 18 miles. Not sure on time, as I had to help out a fellow biker, who needed to use my pump. So I do need to work on the biking thing, as I here that is one place to make up time. I do not have a road bike. I have what they call a hybrid. So I guess its better then having a mountain bike.

Running

As I mention before.. I am a pretty slow runner..I now avg between 11:30 min - 12:00 min miles. Working on trying to get faster.. but compared to my time from my 5k race.. I have shed like 30 sec off my time! :-)

_____________________________

Im a big fan of blogs.. I read a bunch of them every day. One of my favorites is DC Rainmaker. His blog is always full of information.. and as a newbie to traithlon I have learned alot by reading his blog.. Plus he has great stories..! He is currently giving away a WiFi Scale. Please see his blog to enter.