Happy Independence Day!

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!

Happy Independence Day everyone! I hope you all get to spend some time with family and friends and reflect in the great past that our country has. We have much to be proud of, and we have much work left to do. It is imperative that all of us invest ourselves, not just in ourselves, but in our country. Take the time to lead, to inspire, to mentor, to vote, to study history so we are not destined to repeat it. Greatness has marked our short history, and if we hope for greatness in the future, we must invest ourselves in it today. This year, as an election year, gives us that opportunity. Know the issues, know the candidates, know what you believe, and vote that.

I know I promised a funny story, and I'll tell it later. :) It's about kids, me, and a grocery store. Not hilarious, but still kind of funny. I'll also post some pictures from today's Freedom Fest 5K that my parents and I did today at Ft. Hood. I placed 1st in my AG (but it's not chip time and they lost my time, but oh well, no biggie--free race) and 3rd woman overall--not bad for tired legs after the Buffalo Springs last week! Both my parents went faster than they thought and ran the last stretch. I was proud of them! It is apparent, from conversation, that my competitive sides comes from both of them! :)

Enjoy your 4th of July and your Freedom!

Funny story to follow

I have a funny story and some great (I think) nutrition information to post--and I will do that later tonight I think. My wonderful parents (and no, I don't just write that because they read this) came to visit last night and hauled my new, Amish custom hand-made dining room table all the way from Houston, and are now helping me with a lot of projects. Granted, my Mom also broke the passenger window on the Explorer (not broke, but she put it down and it fell of track, or something like that), so along with the brakes, I'll be getting that fixed on Saturday (since she's helping me work, I'll forgive her for this one...) too since they have a vehicle. So far today we've spent lots of money--I bought a weed-eater and a bunch of plants and soil, thus yard work is next on the agenda. Dad helped (okay, he did all of it) mount a ceiling fan in my guest bedroom--so those of you that visit now you won't roast in the front room. Still on the agenda is painting two walls in my bedroom, painting the guest bathroom (won't take much), and the aforementioned yard work. Tomorrow morning we shall all be doing the Ft. Hood Freedom Fest 5k...I will run, they will walk. I'm interested to see how my legs do after this last weekend. I have been good in recovery and have done nothing more than an easy 2.1 mile run. I am not sore (minus my big toe-- I start up with my new Half-Iron training program on Monday and am going to make some of the long run days just a little longer and training for the inagural San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon as well. The marathon will make me do the long runs for the Longhorn Half-Ironman (HIM) and make the HIM just that much better. It is apparent that my running endurance was not up to par at Buffalo Springs (where I know it can be) and I intend to fix that. That, finding what my HIM weaknesses were, was exactly why I did Buffalo Springs. Okay, I should go help with the yardwork and put on nasty yard work clothes. A boyfriend/husband would really make this so much easier...I would cook and clean the inside of the house...

Race Report Details

Not a long post, but if you're interested in the LONG race report verson click the following link:
Buffalo Springs 70.3 Race Report

I did sleep well last night after not sleeping well the night of the race. I never sleep well after races or long long workouts. Too much on the mind, and too many endorphines I think. The drive back was uneventful, and just like human kids, my kid is apparently "perfect" when he is with other people...thankfully he's good there though! Makes leaving him easier. He was totally worn out from playing with the other dogs too--he slept all evening long when we got home!

Today I will probably attempt a small run in the evening to work my legs out gently. I will probably swim tomorrow. I'm on my vacation days right now, so I'm going to take a break on some of the early early morning workouts. Also, lots of house projects to take care of, some GMAT studying to do, and I get to see my folks this weekend for the 4th of July! Yay!

I AM A HALF-IRONMAN! Initial Race Report

I AM A HALF-IRONMAN! Woohoo!! I did it! It was by FAR the hardest test of my physical endurance EVER. It wasn't your typical W. Texas weather (neither are the hills and inclines...but who knew there was a big red hole/canyon in the ground E. of Lubbock either). It was not the scorching heat and bright sun, but the winds of the TX plain were VERY evident, some 25mph sustained, and some 30-40 gusts. The swim wasn't bad, nice and calm, overcast. About 5-9 miles into the bike though, the heavens opened up. It didn't really "pour" but it did come down, and with the wind it was coming right at us pretty hard. I have been told it hailed too, tiny ones, I thought it was just hard painful rain, nope, apparently it was hail. With the twisty and steep hills, it made it a little dangerous out there. Anyhow, I'll have a full race report, but here is the nitty gritty:
Overall: 5:52:05
Swim: 33:42 (1:45/100m)
T1: 2:08
Bike: 3:11:20 (17.56 mph)
T2: 2:03
Run: 2:02:52 (9:22 min/mile)

So, I knocked my swim goal out of the park; the bike was right on goal--with the wind we had out there and the rain, I'm happy here. When I wasn't into the headwind, be it cross wind or tailwind, I was doing 18.5-22mph, I think I rarely say 17.5. I saw lots of 15.5 in the headwind, and a lot of the higher speeds otherwise. I actually really enjoyed the bike, despite the conditions. It was my first time with bottle hand-ups and I had NO problems with them. The transitions were pretty close to where I wanted to be, much better than some of my other tri's, and some pretty far running b/w bike in/out and run in/out--so fairly happy at these. Run- I won't say I'm disappointed, but I know with training this will get closer to my just plain run times. My back was KILLING ME when I started, I can't think of when I've been in that much pain running--Praise the Lord that I took Excedrin with me. Once it kicked in, it wasn't bad. If I bonked nutrition wise, it wasn't till about mile 11, I have been low on run volume and I know why that is the reason. I need a few more long rides with some longer runs following, and some longer runs in general. So not disappointed--I still went sub-6 and this a tough course and in tough conditions. For throwing in a Half-Ironman just two-months out from it, not too bad. LOTS of lesson's learned from this that will completely help me out with Longhorn 70.3 in Oct. The only "injuries" I have are the nasty blisters I get under toenails. My second toes on each food are perpetually without them (and yet still get blisters), will probably lose one big toe nail, and then a 3rd toe. Tried multiple things, this is just my perpetual issue. Oh well, could be worse.

Now, a few days of good recovery, a 5K (that I may or may not run hard), and then back to training--to include the Disco Tri in 2 weeks. As painful as this felt at times today, it was pretty fulfilling too. I write a race report that I keep in my BeginnerTriathlete.com log, and will cut and paste it into here once it's done. Thanks for the support!