Magic Song

I think everyone has that one song that when they hear it their blood starts flowing and everything just seems right.

Normally at any given time I have a few songs like this on my Ipod shuffle. But there has been one song that has not been deleted off my Ipod since I downloaded it over a year ago. It is a song that I never ever skip over. I hear it come on and I automatically run faster. My 9 minute mile pace becomes a 7 minute mile pace during the amazing 3 minutes of the song. It is the song that I will have to sing to myself during the Ironman next November. I have no idea why it pumps me up, but it does.


It is the song that Helen and I drunkenly rapped at the bar Saturday night and blew everyone away that we knew every single word.

I'm on a boat!

Phil's Marine Corps Marathon Race Report

Marine Corps Marathon


October 31st 2010

Goals:

4:00 - Have to achieve this regardless of loss of life and/or any limbs

3:30 - My actual goal. Based on training, this is achievable



At 8:00am the gun goes off and 26.2 miles to go. There is really not

much to say as far as my race report. The first 24 miles felt great.

The last two miles really sucked. I ran\walked the last two miles

with around 30 seconds of walking each mile. My legs were heavy and

screaming in pain. I sprinted in the last 200 yards after seeing my

girlfriend dressed as wonder woman and to meet my requirement to pass

the 3:30 pace guy. Check mark for a life goal.



Time 3:29:01



Conclusion: The marathon was fun, but I am not in any real hurry to

sign up for my next one.
 
 
Note from Lauren:
 
Phil really listened when we told him his last report was a novel :) He may not be in a hurry to sign up for another marathon...but he did sign up for Ironman Cozumel with me!

What the @#$%^ did I just do!?!?

OH. MY. GOD.

My heart is pounding and I feel like I am going to pee my pants.

Marathon Training is officially here!

Today was my first long run in my training for the Shamrock Marathon on March 20, 2011. Today the long run was 5 miles. This is the longest I have ran since the Philly Half Marathon. I felt pretty strong, but I have to admit that my legs are a little sore. I need to get my running legs back!





The training plan I am following is an 18-week plan that has me running 4 days a week (and swimming twice a week, and biking twice a week). Two short runs during the week, 1 speed work out, and then a long run on the weekend. The long runs add miles every weekend with the longest weekend run being 20 miles. March seems far away but I think it will be here before I know it! Here are the first 5 weeks of the training plan (not including biking or swimming):

The only annoying part about training in the winter for an early spring marathon (besides running in the freezing cold) is that I have a 7 mile run on Christmas weekend, 12 miles on New Years, and 15 miles on my BIRTHDAY. Happy 25th birthday to me!

Tomorrow is my first bike time trial- basically like a 20 mile bike race- but you are racing against yourself. Then, you do it again in a month or so and see how much faster you have gotten. I'll let you know how it goes :) Have a great Saturday evening! (I know I will- Phil is taking me out for Lebanese food! mmmmm)

No Excuses. Play like a champion.

Sadly, vacation is over. It was a very wonderful trip. We layed on the beach (or by the pool) sipping cocktails and soaking in the sun. We ate dessert at every meal and Phil often ordered 2 entrees because he could. We also drank more in the past week than we have in the past several months. It was glorious.

Despite the gluttony, I worked out every morning. The resort had a wonderful gym area. My favorite part was the extremely friendly Jamaican man that would make me a banana smoothie after my work out. I was spoiled.

But I cannot be spoiled anymore! It is time to get back on track and kick it up a few notches. Right now this is my "off season"- aka get better at swimming, work on my running form, and become one with my new bike(s)...oh, and train for a marathon.

Bring on the early morning swims and after-work runs!

Worst. Blogger. Ever

Sorry I have been MIA! Aren't I just the worst blogger ever? ...Don't answer that. I have to be honest- I haven't been doing much triathlon training since the Richmond Sprint a few weeks ago. I actually haven't been in a pool since the tri. whoops! After vacation I will get back on track. Promise. Even though I do not have much to blog about regarding triathlons I have a ton to tell you about other life aspects! Here is an update:

Work...

...has been kicking my ass. It is quarter end- which to you non-finance or accountant types means nothing. But to us accountants it means getting to work early, working through lunch, staying late, and coming home completely drained only to get up in the morning and do it again. Repeat this for 4-5 weeks. Needless to say, I am so ready for a vacation. Which brings up my next point...

Vacation...

The Boy and myself are leaving for Jamaica on Wednesday morning. I am PUMPED. We are going to an all inclusive resort with Phil's best friend Aaron and Arron's wife Angie. I am excited to spend time with them...and not check work email. So while all of you are at work, Ill be sipping a mojito poolside. Was it mean that I am rubbing it in? So sorry :P My parents were nice enough to watch Brizzy while we are gone.

Brizzy...

...is famous! A few months back I submitted this picture of Briz to http://upsidedowndogs.com/.

Photo by Phil Kealy...he made me give him credit.

She was pictured on the website a few days after I submitted the picture- which was exciting. But this week something even MORE exciting happened! I got an email from the webmaster at Upsidedown Dog telling me that Brizzy is on the COVER of the official 2011 Upsidedown Dog Calendar!!! Brizzy is a cover model!! You can take a look at my beautifully ugly dog on the cover here. I know what I am getting everyone for Christmas :)

Speaking of Christmas, I bought myself a Christmas present. A new bike! ok, 2 new bikes...let me explain.

Bike 1: Whenever I would ride my bike, my shoulders would scream in pain for days after my ride. I thought it was because I was just not used to riding a road bike. Turns out- the bike I was riding was entirely too big for me! Because I was reaching for the handlebars, it was pinching my shoulder blades which means a ton of pain. So I sold my road bike and bought a smaller road bike. Seriously- way smaller. It even has smaller tires! Small bike for a small girl. Selling my old bike gave me the majority of the funds to upgrade to the new one so this doesn't count as my Christmas present to me. It was a necessity! :) This is the new road bike:

I don't know what to name it. It reminds me of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Or Loop-de-La- the mint green My Little Pony that did ballet and ice skated. What? You don't remember the names of the My Little Ponies? I loved those things...my dad taught me how to braid hair using the tail of a My Little Pony toy. That's right- my dad knows how to braid. Its a skill you need with two daughters.  

Bike 2: oooh this bike is so sexy. I pre-ordered a 2011 Quintana Roo (QR) Chiquilo from Bonzai Sports. I did alot of searching around for a tri bike that came in my size (and price range!)...and QR is the only brand that makes an XS (and its not breaking the bank)..aka a bike for extremely short ladies like myself. And best of all- its hot pink. Take a look:

This bike is specifically for racing triathlons- the seat is further forward to save some leg muscle for the run- and the handlebars are called aerobars- this puts you in a more aerodynamic position to handle elements such as wind because you are not allowed to draft off anyone else (that means ride really close to someones back tire to that you are not taking the brunt of any headwind).

Hm...I cant think of any other life updates. So in conclusion- I haven't been training, work has been kicking my ass, I need a vacation, my dog is famous, and our living room has entirely too many bikes in it.

I'll post again when I get back from Jamaica! Have a wonderful week!

Richmond Sprint Triathlon- Race Report

Saturday, October 9, 2010:

Phil, Brizzy and myself headed down to Richmond around noon on Saturday after a quick stop for bagels at our favorite place. We had to head to Richmond the day before because there was no race-day packet pickup. Once in Richmond, I picked up my race numbers, t-shirt and other goodies and then we went to check in to the hotel. On our way to the hotel, Phil spotted this gem and of course wanted to go in.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) it was closing as we were pulling in to the parking lot. I really did not do a good job of picking a hotel. It was cheap and dog-friendly and on the same street as the start of the triathlon so I figured it was a sure thing. Well apparently that street is really long and there are some not so great areas, and that is where the Days Inn was. Lets just put it this way- the establishments closest to the hotel were strip clubs, Pay Day Loan store and a Taco Bell. But the room wasn't bad. Brizzy liked it.

After a quick dinner at Olive Garden, it was time for bed. I was nervous and did not manage to sleep very well. Plus, Brizzy kept switching sides of the beds to cuddle with Phil and then myself and she kept waking me up.

Sunday, October 10, 2010- Race Day!

Pre Race:

I woke up at 545am to give me plenty of time to eat, walk the pooch, use the bathroom, and get myself together. My stomach was feeling very nervous and I was not able to eat my cliff bar. Thank goodness I brought my Cytomax Pre-formance drink. It is a pre-workout drink that is especially designed to digest easily. It was the only thing my nervous stomach could handle.

Once we got to the race site, I set up my transition area, picked up my time chip and got body marked. I asked the kid to put a smiley face on my calf where my age is displayed just for fun.

Before I knew it, it was time to head inside to the pool.

Swim:

The swim was a 400 meter pool swim. We were lined up in order from fasted to slowest. We had to provide a swim time when we registered for the race and we were able to change it up until 3 days before the race- so you had plenty of time to go and time yourself to make sure you had the time correct.

As I was watching the first 100 or so people I realized how much of a mess it was. Some people clearly did not take the time to time themselves and seriously misjudged how slow they were. There were people running in to each other, there was one guy doggie paddling, another walking along the bottom of the pool. Which is all fine- but not within the first 100 people! They are supposed to be the fast, strong swimmers. Seeing this made me scared for the swim because I didn't want to get trampled.

All of a sudden, I was a few people away from getting in to the pool. The woman who started in front of me told me that if I caught up to her, tap her on the foot and she would slow down so I could pass. In to the pool I went and had a 5,4,3,2,1 go countdown. It was a 50 meter pool so the laps were super long, but I felt great.

I passed the woman in front of me within the second 100 meters. No one passed me, and there were no issues like the ones I had seen earlier. Total swim time:8:31

Transition 1:

The run from the pool to the transition area was long! And it was concrete so it hurt my little feet! Other than sore toes, the transition went well and was uneventful. T1 time: 2:55



Bike:

Despite the fact that I practiced mounting my bike last weekend during my own transition practice, I fumbled big time during the race. I got on my bike ok but I had a hard time clicking my bike cleat into the pedal! It took me a good ten seconds before I had both of my feet clipped in. I need to practice this more...or get pedals that I can clip in on from either side. Once situated, I kicked it up and got going. The bike course was FAST. The first 2 miles were flat with a slight downhill- I was going between 24-28mph the whole time. Even when the road evened out I was still going pretty fast and holding a steady 22mph. Then came the hill climb. During the race briefing the previous day, the woman said it was a slight "climb" (she even used the air quotes!). Because of her tone of voice and sarcasm, I was expecting something resembling a climb...but a pretty easy one. I was so wrong!!! She should not have used those air quotes. That hill climb was almost 3 miles long and pretty steep. I was able to hold 11mph up the hill. It hurt. After the hill, it was back to cruising between 17-20mph to the finish. I was extremely happy with my bike time. Bike time:43.37 (17.1 mph)

Run:

My goal for the run was to do it quickly. I was not able to hold an 8:30 pace like I would have liked because my legs were sore from the damn hill on the bike! It took me a good mile to find my legs and then I was able to pick up the pace a little bit. I think for longer distance triathlons I will have to take it easier on the bike to save some energy in my legs. It was a flat out and back and before I knew it I was headed to the finish line! It is amazing how short a 5k feels after running and training for a half marathon (soon to be a full marathon!)  :) 5k time: 30:08

Total Time: 1:26:32...7th in my age group! 276th overall out of almost 700 people.

I am so excited to be able to finally call myself a triathlete and I was very happy with how well I did for my first triathlon- I was 14 minutes faster then my goal time! A huge thank you and I love you to my triathlete boyfriend for sitting this one out to be my cheerleader and personal photographer :)