Catching Up

So here is where I try to catch you up on the last three months in a SHORT amount of time. There is a lot to talk about so I will try to keep it somewhat short and to the point so that your mind doesn't wander too much.            Month-by-month breakdown.... Here is is:

February 

February was a busy month overall because I was buying a house and the closing date kept changing every few days. I was super stressed out because my apartment rent had just increased (to $965) so I needed to get out of there ASAP. I started packing boxes in early January so needless to say, I was ready to get into the new house. I also met someone special, but I will get into that a little later! <3

March

Finally got moved into the house and boxes were taking some time to get unpacked. The house is in a small neighborhood with lots of very nice people. The road was recently resurfaced, so running and biking are super smooth. I took some time to figure out where I can run Haro and where I can run Bud. I pretty much stick to the neighborhood with Bud, and I take Haro out on the main roads because she is much more intimidating than Bud. Much like when I had Justus, people will go out of their way to cross the road when they see me and Haro coming. I don't mind....

March was truly a magical month. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I got a new tattoo this month! I'll post a picture another time...

April

This month I turned 34. My first thought? "This is the last year in this age group." There is a lot of competition on the 25-39 age groups but I don't plan to stop racing for a long time, so one of these days I just might win my age group! 

At the end of April, I ran in the local Autism Run/Walk 5k, in support of the school nurse's daughter, who is autistic. I decided to join their team two weeks before the race, and in all honesty I was not ready for a 5k. I just got started on Ironman training, and I had not started speedwork at the time. On the other hand, it's not like I wasn't already running because I was training for Nationals, so I decided to at least use it as a race to see where I was physically. I don't recall my exact finish time, but it was something like 28:30, which is just over a minute off my PR. I couldn't believe it! It gave me a lot of confidence knowing that I could pull out a race like that without any speed work. I know that's not a fast time by some people's standards, but I'm not going to downplay MY accomplishments either. (This is something I recently learned)

May

Duathlon Nationals.... This was the race I had been working for all year. It was my first real race/test of the year so I was interested to see how I would do. I was battling a foot injury (my right foot had shooting pain in it for 2 weeks. The day of my doctor appointment was the day it disappeared, or course) This was my first attempt at running the long course duathlon which consisted of a 5 mile run, 31 mile bike ride, and another 5 mile run. I didn't feel ready for the second 5 mile run, but I knew it was worth a shot. This race was important because it is the Long Course Duathlon National Championships, which was a qualifier for Worlds. I'm not sure that I can afford a trip to Switzerland in 2017 if I make the team, but being able to add "World Team Qualifier" to a resume is pretty cool. In summary, the race was harder than I thought it would be. My foot pain eased up after about a mile, but the hills were hell. The first 5 miles was an out and back that for the most part was downhill going out, and uphill coming back. The second 5 miles was the same as the first, but it hits you harder the second time. The bike ride was very hilly as well. Here in Greenville, we don't have the luxury of having lots of places to train on hills. Out here it is flat, so we don't have the luxury of coasting down hills. No matter where you live, there are advantages and disadvantages. At about mile 25 on the ride, my back started to hurt. Looking back, I think it's because of the hill climbing and I'm just not trained for it. I couldn't get comfortable in any position on the bike. I spent most of the ride alone, as I don't have the $10,000 tri bike and aero-helmet and all that jazz which would have allowed me to keep up with everyone else. I love triathlon, and I would LOVE to have equipment that would make me faster and let me work less, but I absolutely refuse to pay my way to the top of the podium. I work harder on my bike, but at least I know it's an honest effort. Even if I come in last place, at least I know the work was mine.

That pretty much catches everything up for the last couple months, without going into TOO much detail about everything. My goal is to keep this page updated weekly, especially since now my training is really taking off. In fact, I just got in from a 20 mile bike ride not too long ago. 

Please post comments below! I am happy to answer any questions about my training. I am also open to suggestions on blog posts! I have been working on a post about my new health habits (Complete with recipes!) I have learned about so many foods since I gave up meat in April 2015. As I have removed more and more animal products from my diet, I am feeling better than ever! I can't wait to share the next post very soon!  

​Until next time...