Missing in Action- Let me update

Dear Friends, I know some of you may have wondered where I wandered off to, especially after my promise to update the blog during taper for IMFL. I could write a huge story about it all, but I'm going to keep it as brief as possible. I had started to taper down for FL. On 25 Oct, I was at the Longhorn 70.3 doing the swim leg of our "Team Army Strong" relay (we ended up taking 3rd out of the 36 co-ed teams) when, after my swim was over, I got the worst call a commander can ever get. One of my military working dog teams that I had deployed to Afghanistan (part of the MP unit I command are military working dogs, and they deploy individually to Iraq and Afghanistan) had been killed in action by an IED--both the Soldier and the dog. I immediately left the race site and raced back to Ft. Hood to start dealing with this shocking and sad event. I won't go too much into the details, but it was quite a blow to the unit and we prepared to support the family as much as possible. As we began preparing the details for his Memorial Service, we were awaiting the time and date of his funeral. It ended up that his funeral was going to be the 4 November, the Wednesday before the Saturday Ironman Florida. The choice was simple, I would be at my Soldier's funeral. After making the choice I was also asked to speak at it. There was only one SPC Brandon Steffey, but plenty of Ironman races. So, I decided I would not attend. It would be a whirlwind to try and make it down there in time, if I could even do that, and I was in no mental state to attempt that. Triathlon may be a huge aspect of my lifestyle, but being a leader, a commander, and officer is my life.

The funeral was incredible, if one can call a funeral incredible. The entire town of Sault Ste. Marie showed up, and I do not think that is an exaggeration. The amount of support that they gave to honor my fallen hero was awe inspiring, truly a send off for the hero that Brandon was. Thousands lined the streets, thousands more paid respects, and the high school gym was literally packed with thousands more who came to honor him. I am honored to have had the chance to be part of his life, and honored to be able to publicly give my tribute to him as his Commander and fellow Soldier.

I traveled back to Ft. Hood on 5 November. I landed at the airport at just around 1:45PM. Of course, you have all watched the news and are quite aware of what happened at that time on Ft. Hood. I am an MP, and the Soldiers I command do law enforcement. You know where they were when cowardly gunman wreaked havoc on our Ft. Hood community. I was locked out of the post as they had locked it down, but thankfully was able to get passage onto post to help coordinate my MPs actions. I didn't have to do too much. My guys were doing EXACTLY what needed to be done. While the event is horrendous and has shocked and angered all of us at Ft. Hood, the response by my MPs, the Dept. of the Army Civilian Police we work with, the local and state law enforcement that arrived to help, and all of the Soldiers that immediately responded to the incident is nothing short of phenomenal. I could not be more proud of the actions my Soldiers did that day. I have no doubt that they saved lives, and I do know for a fact that their actions led the timely security of the scene and the post. I had K9 teams integrating into the various SRT/SWAT teams, I had other MPs rendering first aid, securing the scene, interviewing witnesses, labeling evidence, etc. All of the major leadership from the unit were out of the net when this happened because we had been at the funeral, but our Soldiers didn't miss a beat. They too are heroes. It's humbling to work in the presence of heroes.

Needless to say, my decision to not do Florida was a good one because if I had whirl wind traveled to Panama City Beach instead of back to Fort Hood, and then been there when the incident went down, instead of with my troops, there is no way I could've functioned. My mind and heart would not be in it. On top of the fact that we had Brandon's Ft. Hood Memorial Service planned for 12 November, the President had decided to come to Ft. Hood on the 10th which results in additional increase in law enforcement requirements that my Soldiers fill. No, being in Florida would not have been fun, it would not have been right, and it simply wasn't going to happen this year.

However, through some incredible friends and great people, I was blessed to have the opportunity to race at Ironman Arizona on 22 November. So, I was able to work with my Soldiers throughout the immediate and follow-up response to the shooting as well as the President's visit (I didn't do much, they did all the heavy lifting), as well as ensure the proper planning and execution of what turned out to be a wonderful and professional Memorial Service for Brandon at Ft. Hood. I did have to stop the taper and throw some early morning runs and LONG trainer rides (5.5 hours for one--I needed to be on quick recall) into the mix, but that's okay. I was able to take care of my priorities and do my duty, and still have the opportunity to race Ironman. I was sad to not do Florida, but in the end, relieved that I didn't attempt it, and so thankful to those who helped me get an Ironman Arizona slot.

SO, 22 November is the DAY! I am now on leave and it is IRONMAN WEEK! I will BE an Ironman. Not only have I raised nearly $3000 for the Wounded Warrior Project (you can still donate! Click this link: https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorreg/donorpledge.asp?ievent=296591&supID=249395962) and I will be racing in memory of SPC Brandon Steffey, my West Point Classmates who have been killed in action, and of course with thoughts of the entire Ft. Hood community in my heart. I have the opportunity, the physical fitness, and the drive to do something that so many will never have the chance or opportunity to do again. I will be wearing my Army tri-uniform and racing Army Strong. I'm either bib #101 or 2266 (if I have a choice, #101--I'm oddly listed twice, but IM said we'll figure it out at registration) so track me at Ironman.com on Sunday! Race report will follow!

Getting close!

Hey look, it's only been 16 days this time since I blogged anything! When I hit solid taper, I intend to blog a little bit more. Three things have kept me busy: my job (command), Ironman training (of course), and grad school applications. The later takes more than I thought it would! Good grief! Oh well, should be done soon and then it'll be the "sit and wait" to find out where I go. There will be more of that to come though, so enough talk on it!
October started off with a bang as I headed off to Washington D.C. for the 25th Annual Army 10-Miler. I was fortunate enough to be on the Ft. Hood Women's team. What a great group of ladies! We headed out on the 2nd, and despite a minor plane delay, got there with no issues. It was not nearly as chilly as we had anticipated, but that was fine by us as any heat would only be an advantage to this Texas team. We picked up our packets and managed to avoid a big crowd. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some quality time with two good friends of mine over the next couple of days, and that was quite enjoyable. One convinced me to purchase the Vibram Five Finger KSOs pictured to the right. Right now I'm just wearing them because

they are comfortable. After Ironman I intend to do some actual running in them, so more in the future. I'm sure there will be some adventures to follow! Back to D.C., so race day came and the weather was absolutely beautiful. We were a short 1.5 miles from the race start so we jogged over that morning and dropped all of our gear at the Ft. Hood AUSA tent. Myself and 3 of the other ladies headed to the race start and seeded ourselves in our corrals. Guess we could have started closer up, but no problem. It really could not have been better weather. Perfect temps in the 60's, no wind, and totally sunny. The race started and I did my best to hang to with one of the ladies until she took off around mile 3. The first few miles were super fast. I was keeping a good 6:50-7 min/mile pace and that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to give this team 100%. They had been training together, and I missed all of that because I had Ironman training. So, I wanted to prove that it was worth it to have me on the roster. Anyhow, I was keeping fairly solid up through mile 6 and as we headed back past the Capitol and Smithsonian. It was probably the last two miles that got me a little bit. Not major hills or anything, but a couple of bridges/overpasses that, when working hard and going fast, definitely can impact pace. At mile 8 I caught back up to one of my teammates and actually passed her (she was actually on the Master's Mixed Team) and hoped she'd latch onto me. I then opened it up with all I had left on the last 1/2 mile. I finished with a 1:11:54 (7:11 pace) and compared to the 1:17 and 1:27 I ran in Iraq in '06 and '07, I'd call that a PR. Our team time would be taken from the first 4 of the 6 of us on our team crossed the line, and I was #4, so I earned my spot. We went 1:08 something, 1:09 something, 1:11:50, and 1:11:54. It ended up being enough for us to take 2nd overall in the Active Duty Women's category. The Men took 2nd as well, and our Mixed Master's team BLEW the field away and easily took 1st place. In the past, the Ft. Hood men have podiumed twice, but that's it. So, it was nice to be a little part of Ft. Hood running history there. Unfortunately, I didn't get to stay around the rest of the week with the team at the AUSA conference because I needed to get back to the job. The 10-miler was a fun race, and one I'd like to do again. I know I can run it faster if I'm trained for the 1/2 marathon distance or so with some more speedwork. The endurance aspect of me allowed me to put some more miles in the bank later in the day, after the race, but I think I can do a 70 minute ten-miler. We shall see in the future. This race, in Iraq in '06, is what got me hooked into endurance sports, so it was fun to do the real thing with great people.

That 10-miler did, however, whoop my legs! Going that hard for that distance beat my legs up a bit more than my longer runs did. But, I got right back to it and that weekend I had a whooper of a workout. During the week I sort of met the "I'm tired of training, let's just get to race day already" moment. So, when Saturday morning got there and I found it 52 degrees and cloudy, I wasn't motivated for 125 miles. Yes, 125 miles. But, off I went. I rode out to meet up with Tanya, and already, at 21 miles I wasn't having fun. The whole ride was sort of a beat down with hills, wind, and cold (for me--we dropped over 30 degrees in 2 days). Rode with Tanya for awhile and then made it back and finished up the 125 miles, not so much in the best time, but at least it was done. I had a 3 mile run off of it and that actually felt PHENOMENAL! I was so ready to be off the bike. Glad that Ironman isn't any longer than 112!! So, some mental battles that day. The next day I had a 20 mile run, and had it not been for one of the gals from the 10-miler team running with me, I might've had a really bad day. It was cold still, rainy, and I was tired! I had done around 6.5+ hours of exercise the previous day and now had a 20 mile rain in crappy weather!! Thankfully, company made all the difference, and even with sloggy feet I did a good 20 miles at about an 8:45 pace. I thought it would be much worse.

Now, it did take me a bit to recover from that big weekend, and so this week I didn't quite hit everything on the schedule. But, at this point in training it's as important to listen to my body and NOT do something if it doesn't feel right than it is to try to push through. Thankfully, I recovered enough by the weekend that on Saturday Tanya and I rode the Outlaw Trail 100 miler in Round Rock, TX. The weather was pretty nice, a little chilly, but not as bad as the previous week and this time there was sun (which is why I'm a little "pink" today). Unfortunately, most of the 100 mile route was on some of the worst road I've ever ridden. The most horrible chip seal (and I'm fairly used to it at this point) and just road in horrible disrepair. I was also unprepared for hilly how this ride was. Tanya and I are pretty sure that it's the hilliest 100 miler we have done. It wasn't my fastest century, finishing in about 5:30 or so, but it was a good workout. I was again, afraid I might've worked over my legs for today's long run of 18 miles. I knew 3 of the girls from the Hood team were joining me for it, and then when I showed up there were even more people! It was awesome. The weather was gorgeous, and I held a good 8:35min/mile pace on a very hilly route! Thanks ladies!! It was truly a great run, and I'm feeling pretty confident right now about race day.

Taper is nearly here. I still have a little bit of decent volume this week, to include a mid-week 16 mile run. This weekend I'll be doing the swim leg of a relay for the Longhorn 70.3 That will be good practice for sure. Then, I'll be at two weeks till race time and the taper will get here!! YAY! I'm so excited to race at this point. I know I am ready (well, with some rest) and just really interested to see how I put the whole day together!!

NEARLY THERE!!

September in Review

I'm not going to even throw out the apology this time. Obviously, life is crazy busy, and September was no exception. I actually had a couple of weeks of leave/vacation in September, but they were spent traveling to Oklahoma, racing the Oklahoma Redman 1/2 Iron Tri, traveling back to Texas, studying for the GRE, and taking the GRE. I did catch up on SOME sleep, but that's about the only thing that I caught up on in September.

Training is going well and racing went excellent. In recap:

Austin Olympic Triathlon on 7 September:

Total Time: 2hours 31 min 10 seconds

Not a PR, I did better on this course last year, but this year the swim was a little long and warm (whereas last year it was wetsuit legal). It was enough to nab 1st in my Age Group out of 62 women, so I will take it!

Swim: 29:44 (1:59/100m pace) (was kind of disappointed here)

Transition 1: 2:54 (not bad for how HUGE this transition is!)

Bike: 1:08:42 (21.7 mph) THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN!

Transition 2: 1:40 (again, pretty good considering how far I had to run with my bike and the size of transition)

Run: 48:18 (7:47min/mile pace) I was very happy. I thought I might've killed my legs on the bike, but I think I gambled just enough. Ran faster last year, but biked faster this year.

So, I was fairly pleased with my performance at the Austin Tri, and of course, taking a podium spot is good any day! The weather was pretty nice for this race. My full race report can be found here: AUSTIN TRI RACE REPORT

Just twelve days after Austin, I was in Oklahoma for the Redman Half-Iron Triathlon which also doubled as the USAT Half-Max Championships. It was quite an epic day, as in rain the whole time, nearly, and dismounting the bike to run around a non-passable spot in the road! But, it was a GREAT race for me DESPITE the conditions.

Total Time: 5:05:33

NEW personal record! (PR) by over 4 minutes, and this was in tough conditions. I finally had a SOLID swim. My bike was good given the rain, at about a 20.6 mph avg, but I think it good weather I'd have been at 21mph. I averaged 8:04 for the 1/2 Marathon and that was AWESOME compared to my 8:22's at Longhorn.

Swim: 33:23 (1:44min/1oom) YAY! GOOD SWIM!

Transition 1: 1:35 (2nd fastest in AG)

Bike: 2:43:18 (20.58 mph)

Transition 2: 1:36 (2nd fastest in AG)

Run: 1:45:40 (8:04 mile/min)

I took 5th in my Age Group and everyone that beat me went sub-5 hours. That is a goal for next year, and one I know I can reach with further training, some weight loss, and an actual taper! :) Apparently it also qualifies me for Worlds next year in Germany as a member of the USAT Team USA. Not sure if I'll do that, but it's nice to have the option!! My full race report can be found here: REDMAN HALF-IRON RACE REPORT.

Last weekend (9/26), Tanya and I headed to Waco for the Waco Wild West Century ride. I did the 100 miles and ran 7 off of it, and felt pretty good minus how hot it got towards the run (mid-90's). I did a pretty tough, somewhat hilly, and horrible chip seal century ride in 5:10, and kept an 8:50 pace for the 7 miles. The temps were killing me on the run, so I know I can do better than that. Then, not even 24 hours later, on Sunday, I did a 20 mile run and kept an 8:38 min/mile pace and was TOTALLY THRILLED! VERY big confidence builder as this was all just ONE WEEK after Redman! Yay!

September's totals aren't quite as big as August as there were some recovery days and mini-taper days for the races, but overall:

Bike: 26h 48m 09s - 520.12 Mi
Run: 20h 28m 07s - 145.43 Mi
Swim: 12h 18m 19s - 36831.2 M

After the big racing, and between last weekends big training, I took the GRE again and did "okay" and what I would say is "enough." I will be submitting several Grad School applications here soon as the deadlines are coming! I am excited about moving to a grad school location next summer and starting next fall!!

So, in a very mini-nut shell everything is going great. I am feeling strong and confident about Ironman Florida and only have a couple of BIG workouts left before I go into a maintenance/taper phase. Only about 5 weeks until race day, and I'm not anxious about it! BRING IT ON, IT'S TIME TO RACE! I am excited to get to put all this training to good use, and honestly, am getting a little tired of the training! I won't know what to do when I have my evenings and weekends back! Haha!

I'm heading to the Army 10-Miler in DC this weekend. So, we'll see how that goes! Hope everyone is well. Maybe I'll update more this month, and I should be able to as, in a couple of weeks I'll be in taper and have some more time. The journey to the Ironman Florida start line is going well and is getting close!

It's allowed, right?

I'm a poor blogger...but it's only cause I'm a busy Commander and Triathlete. Both keep me busy. Let me sum up the last two weeks:
Lots of work.
Lots of swim-bike-run.
Some good long swims, long bikes, and long runs.
Some not so good swims and some tough runs.
Lots of early mornings for both work and workouts.
Hotter 'N Hell was an adventure in total, but lots of fun. I logged it at 101 miles and did it right at 5:05 to include slow downs for other folks stopping at aid stations, the slogged start, etc.
Feeling fairly confident, I think.

Totals for August '09
Bike: 37h 30m 52s - 700.84 Mi (biggest bike month ever)
Run: 20h 49m 08s - 148.07 Mi
Swim: 11h 10m 02s - 31180.56 M

I surpassed my 2008 bike mileage this month and have gone past 4000 miles for the year. My run will surpass '08 totals before Ironman. My swim will pass '08 totals tomorrow.

9 weeks and some change till Ironman Florida. In the meantime, I will eat, sleep, train, work, eat, work, train, eat, and hopefully sleep again. Sleep could be in there more. :)

I will survive!

What a week, in every aspect! Work seemed to be a hurricane of activity up to Friday. On Friday we had a very nice Memorial Service for two of our Military Working Dogs that passed away this year. Sad yes, but they did both had 2-3 deployments under their belts and had served the Army and their handlers well. We then awarded one of our Military Working Dog handlers an award for his service to the unit before he PCS' (moves), and another Soldier got a coin from the Directorate of Emergency Service's Sergeant Major for her excellent work in putting together the Memorial Ceremony. We then moved directly to a nice retirement ceremony for a high quality NCO who joined the Army before I was born, served, had a break in service and came back when the Gulf War started. He saw the Cold War, the Gulf War, Somalia, special ops in Latin America, a tour in Korea, and a combat tour to Iraq where he earned a Bronze Star and was awarded a Purple Heart when he was injured by an IED. A truly spectacular career of selfless service. Following that ceremony we all went to lunch together. The culminating event of the week, however, was a "professional development film," in other words, I took my senior leaders to go see "GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra." Seriously! We needed a little breather, and it was a lot of fun. I wasn't disappointed by the film. They did a good job of tapping into the comic and the action figures. Yes, I grew up with GI Joe and was a HUGE fan. I caught a lot of the lines that they used to use, and in general it was just fun. It's not meant to be a real military flick, it's meant to be based upon the characters from the cartoon and the action figures. Of course, I wish I had longer legs and could be Scarlett, but at least I have the hair going for me!! I look forward to the next one, because it's OBVIOUS there will be a #2!

So, after a very full, and generally productive work and workout week I came to my biggest weekend of training ever. Saturday called for a 110 mile ride followed by a 5 mile run, and Sunday called for a 16 mile run. I wasn't sure how it would all go and was a little intimidated by it all. But, come early Saturday morning I was out and going and knocked out 110.2 miles in about 6:01 and then did a decent 5 mile run in 42:40--much faster than I thought I would, and yet I felt like I was shuffling. I was thinking Ironman pace for both the bike and the run. I think I'll probably have a faster pace on the bike in FL because it'll be flat. I had a decently hilly, though not killer, route and the wind was BRUTAL from start to finish. The run speed, I dunno, I'd love to keep 9min/miles and do a 4 hour Ironman marathon, but we'll see. I thought that 5 mile run would hurt, but it didn't. The heat was brutal, but I was squeezing cold water on my head and the helped. Much longer though and the heat would've beat me down. After the long brick (bike/run) workout, I took a nice ice bath and relaxed. Unfortunately, I didn't sleep well. I think I may need a new mattress. But, I was up and out the door by 6AM for the 16 mile run that I thought would be horribly slow and hurt. But, it wasn't. Sure, I could feel Saturday's workouts, but it wasn't nearly wasn't as difficult as I had imagined. I was ready to be done when I was done, but I wasn't dying. It wasn't the fastest long run ever, but at an 8:46/mile pace I cannot complain. My heart rate stayed lower than I expected it to do so. Could I do another 10 miles at that pace, maybe not exactly at that pace, but not too much further off. This was a great weekend of confidence building. It's still a good ways off till race day, so I'm excited to see what the next 2.5 months of training make of me. This week I actually surpassed my entire 2008 bike mileage...and there are still 3.5 months left in the year! I was supposed to swim more this week--but I got rained/lightening canceled 1.5 times (once fully, once half-way through), but otherwise, here is what this week looked like in the numbers:

S: 5100.00 Meters;; 1h 53m
B: 169.81 Mi 9h 11m 03s
R: 45.00 Mi; 6h 23m 22s

Aging up...

I finally caught up to my USAT age today. EndorFun Sports (Lonestar/Longhorn 70.3/Timberman/Mooseman, etc. Race Production Team) emailed me this today:

Tearing up Texas...at least Tri'ing to do so!

I'm a bad, bad blogger!! But, rather than lament the fact that I've been a bad blogger, I will just jump right into it! What has kept me busy these past three weeks, by the numbers and events, here you go:

Week of 13-19 July
S: 6700.00 M (2h 18m )
B: 165.57 Mi (8h 34m 23s)
R: 25.92 Mi (3h 43m 03s)

19 July was the Katy Flatland's Century. It was a great ride, albeit there were some signing issues that meant I took a little detour. Thankfully, of all places for me to be "misdirected" it was in my hometown stomping grounds. I still finished up the ride well and even added on nearly 2 additional miles. My average pace was about an even 20mphs! I couldn't believe it!! I LOVE THE FLATS! Some people don't like the constant "pedaling" that the flats require, but it doesn't bother me in the least. Good thing I'm signed up for Ironman Florida. Some highlights of the trip to Katy included staying with my awesome friends, the Stewarts. They are some of the most generous and loving people you could ever meet. They have known me since I was knee high, and other than my actual family, they have provided me the most constant support and love throughout the years. Thanks Stewarts!! I also too Tanya over to Phoenicia's--a Mediterranean eatery where you can get schwarmas that taste just like I ate when I was a kid living in the United Arab Emirates! They were DELICIOUS! We then headed over to their market and picked up some tasty, fresh pita bread. Oh how I wish I lived near there!!

Week of 20-26 July

S: 9050.00 M (3h 05m 46s)
B: 70.47 Mi (3h 40m 54s)
R: 21.94 Mi (3h 05m 03s) This was a recovery week. So, what's the funny thing about a recovery week during Ironman training? The answer to that is that the recovery week ends with racing an Olympic distance triathlon! I did the TriWaco Olympic Triathlon 26 July. My full race report can be found on BeginnerTriathlete at this link: RACE REPORT
RESULTS
Total Time = 2h 36m 46s
Overall Rank = 26/204
Age Group = F25-29
Age Group Rank = 1/7
Swim: 32:03 (WAS LONG! Definitely not just 1500m...all the swim times were SUPER slow for a true 1500m course)
T1: 2:16 (included a 200m up hill run to a long transition, this was a great time!)
Bike: 1:10:54 (was actually 25.37 miles vs. 40k)
T2: 1:16 (long transition area, I rocked this)
Run: 50:14 (challenging, good run! had some killer hills, thankfully they were shaded)

Of course, I was happy with the Age Group win, and I was the 3rd woman overall, so happy there as well! I was also thrilled because my brother Jeremy came and brought with him my cute poodle, Davey. I guess cheering wore them out, because when I was taking my gear to the car, a local report snapped this great picture:

Week of 27 July - 2 August
S: 7669.28 M (2h 54m)
B: 137.18 Mi (7h 26m 32s)
R: 38.73 Mi (5h 36m 41s)

Wow, looking at the time and totals, this was a monster week! That would explain why I felt I just couldn't get enough sleep!! Work was busy, but so was training. I got some good pool time in, a good long run on Saturday (15 miles) and a 90 mile bike ride on Sunday! I made a tiny mistake of forgetting sun lotion for a swim on Saturday because I'm used to going to the indoor pool. It's not too horrible, but you can definitely see the outline of my swim suit on back!! This week was tough, but it was also confidence building. Even when I was feeling rough on the long run, my body was doing what it was supposed to do, and better than I thought my body would do! I expected my legs to be DEAD on my Sunday long ride. But nope, they weren't. They lacked some zip, but they were still doing well, and I averaged a good 18+ on those 90 miles. It's taking a lot out of me, but I'm learning a lot about myself through all of this about my personal discipline, about how my body works, about the need for friends to help push you through (thanks Tanya!), about time management, and so much more.

It's less than 100 days now until Ironman Florida. At this rate, I have no doubt I'll be prepared. There will be tough days, there will be good days, and there will be a workout out two that just doesn't happen! Haha! But, in all of this I'm learning valuable lessons that truly do meld over to the other parts of my life. God and I get lots of talking time on long runs and rides, though I'm sure there are times where He gets tired of my pleas to just "make it end" or "take away the heat."