Ironman Lake Placid 2010, "Redemption"

So I am officially in. I signed up through Multisport by doing their training camp/race entry. The training camp takes place on June 4-6 ( so Mooseman is out) and then its on to Lake Placid at the end of July.

I am so relieved that I have finally made the decision, its been lingering in my mind on whether or not to do it again this year or not. Its not just a big commitment for me but for my family, so during this past weekend we had a family sit down and discussion and everyone was on board. Mommy has lots of reasons to do ironman again they are:

1. not to crash on my bike but to crush the bike

2. to train harder and to perform to the best of my abilities given any circumstances thrown my way on the day

3. To prove to myself again that I am an ironman and to make myself and my family proud

I guess this is my redemption and hopefully things will play out for me on the day. I'm not going to say that I'm not nervous but I at least know that I've completed one and that even injured I was able to finish, but this year it means a bit more to me. Something to prove to me, not to anyone else but just to me. I am not going to set any goals or times now, maybe much closer to race time but I know what I want to do in my head but it all depends on my training and my body ( keeping it injury free).

My team of amazing people who will keep me in check over the next 7 months are:

1. Janda Ricci-Munn-my amazing coach

2. Sara Thatcher- Physical Therapist

3. Darcy- my amazing massage therapist

4. Currently up in the air on who I will be swimming with this winter and spring but either the YMCA sharks with John Ogden or with Craig Lewin from the North Shore Swim Club, all depends on the pool and the times available, but both are great.

5. Fitwerx 2 in Peabody- I won't beable to do it without you guys, see you soon.

6. Bill Steele- from Breakwater sports, open water swim clinics in the spring and summer.

7. Melissa Harrington- the most amazing pilates instructor who keeps me humble and makes my core stronger every time I see her.

And of course the most important things are my husband Phil and my 4 amazing children, kellen, alexander, Shea and Cade.

I also want to mention my friends who have always been there for me and once they find out I'm doing ironman again I am sure they will be as supportive this year as they were last year:

April, Vicki, Cindy, Jess, Bob, Ali, Heather, Nan and Marnie. Thank you for always being there when I need you.

Anyway, here we go, 7 months and counting, a bunch of races will happen before ironman again this year but hopefully I will be fitter, faster and crazier than ever and make everyone proud of me at ironmanUSA this July 25th, I will keep you posted.

On the Twelth day of christmas .......

On the twelth day of christmas my true love gave to me:

12 loads of laundry

11 broken christmas bulbs

10 meals I made that day

9 triple A batteries I needed

8 cookies my 3 year old snuck and ate

7 times we played " dinasaur extinct today"

6 times I tried to fix my sons umbrella ( its broke)

5 times my son went to the bathroom after eating 8 cookies

4 crazy children ( up at 5:10am this morning)

3 loads of dishes I did today

2 new guinea pigs ( " I know I'll have to take care of in about one day")

And one mommy ready to take Nyquil and go to bed......

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.........

Im still liking the bike?

Last night we had class #2 of my interval bike class and so far it continues to go well. Our class consisted of:

10 minute warm up

some intensive bike watts building to steady state watts for a few minutes

single leg drills for a few minutes

a few minutes building up to a bit of your V02 max to flush the legs out before the main set

Main Set:

5 x 5 minutes at Tempo watts cadence 80-85, with occasional builds of 30+seconds or more of increasing your watts 40-50 above your tempo ( low end -mid range of V02 max)

2 minutes of recovery in between.

So after last weeks class Coachie decided to revamp my numbers, so my tempo watts increased from 190-215 to 200-225, thus all my other numbers changed as well.

My first set we were going to be conservative and he wanted me to hold anywhere from 205-210 watts, second set 215-220, 3rd, 4th and 5th set, 225-235 watts. After reviewing my power file it looks like I hit all 5 nicely and actually hitting them on the higher side of what he asked me to do. ( off the top of my head I think my last 3 sets were 233, 234, 235)

Now I did hit a good heart rate on the 5th set with 30 seconds to go because he had us pushing 280-300 watts ( HR 172) but otherwise my heart rate average for the class was 152, average watts with the warm up and cool down was 162.

Over the last two years I have grown very comfortable with riding long and slow with occasional efforts of pushing especially when I did Karen Smyers class at Fast splits but otherwise I didn't really push myself too hard on the bike. Karens class had us only really working for 30-40 minutes, I never pushed myself past this point.

I know this season and seasons to come I need to really work hard at pushing up my V02max numbers and working close to holding some of these numbers for prolonged periods of time, thus being able to race more effectively and hopefully run more to my ability off the bike. I certainly not mind working hard but I know this is going to hurt at times but with just a few weeks under my belt I'm already seeing a difference in my bike. Now, hopefully I can lose some more weight to get my power/weight ratio better and really kick some ass on the road. I want to beat the women but I really want to ride with the men, it really pisses them off.

Love the Snow.....And another thing

So we got a great snow storm this past weekend and my kids ( if you can see them) and my dog just loved it, playing all day. The only thing I don't like about winter is just the, "stuff", all the wet clothes that go on and off all day long. When the kids are this little you are still helping them get their gear on most of the time so it can be an all day affair, along with drying the stuff out, etc.... However, they get tired and hungry and there is nothing better then having my kids running around outside smiling and having fun, letting their imaginations take over and finally not trying to kill each other.

My dog, "kota", just loves the snow. He loves, fall, winter and a bit of spring but never the summer. Bring on the snow and temps that are less than 30 and he wants to stay outside. My soon to be 9 year old 4 legged friend still loves it.

On another note I've had a few people mention to me ( my husbands guy friends) that I divulge too much information on my blog, ( i.e, the blog about my GI issues and my foot issues). Well, I believe as an endurance athlete there are things that happen to our bodies that only we can understand but for some reason we need to share. It's also pretty great when you get advice from other athletes who have experienced similar issues and can help you out. I don't believe I have crossed the line with anything and have certainly used discretion in my usage of language and don't believe that if my children read my blog years from now they would be embarrassed. So, I will continue to write my blog with integrity and will also continue to write what I feel is important to me and my training. I will make sure my language is no worse than PG-13 ( because you know what you can say today in a PG-13 movie) and I will make sure to not be too graphic.

My blog is a very cathartic thing for me and it helps me process my thoughts and my training and putting it out there for everyone to see helps make it even more real. It holds me accountable for what I do at times. Anyway, its also fun. So, I hope my two wonderful guy friends of my husband, I don't know if you'll read this but if you do I'm sorry if I have offended you in the past but I hope you'll continue to read my posts in the future. Lots of love.

Ironman, it still brings tears to my eyes...

Watching the Ford Ironman World Championships today on Television brought back a lot of emotions for me since I finished my first ironman in Lake Placid this past July. The tears came when I watched how so many people just pushed through whatever hell they were going through, pain, dehydration, cramps, disabilities, whatever, and all they wanted to do was cross the finish line. It really is the most amazing experience and I get even more emotional because after crashing my bike at mile 60 it really was all about just finishing at that point and hopefully not killing myself by the end. Looking at the scars on my right shoulder and back are a constant reminder of how much I really did hurt myself and the fact that it took me over a month to heal from the burn wounds and the hip and knee injuries from the crash, it really does amaze me what we do to just finish.

When you look back at all the training time, sometimes over 20hrs a week, time away from your family, the brutal workouts the physical therapy the injuries the diet and nutrition, everything you put into just one day and it can just disappear in one second, a crash, dehydration, weather conditions, whatever, it amazes me that we go back for more. I wasn't going to let the crash stop me from trying to finish, I wasn't going to do that to my family, especially my husband and not too my ever so supportive coaches and friends who were so awesome during my journey..

I'm hoping for some redemption this year on that course, but you never know what is going to happen on the day, the weather could be awful, your bike could malfunction, anything, you have to do this because you love it and nothing more and know that all these things can happen to you and you have to be okay with it.

Ironman truly deserves the name, I can't wait for another go at it.........

My old steed and my relatively new one. I love him.....

This is my new bike.

This is my old bike:

About a year and half ago my husband and I were going to the Providence 70.3 half ironman and my Thule bike rack broke and my brand new GURU Crono blew off the back of my car with my new race wheels and smashed into a million pieces. It didn't help that a car hit it as well. There was nothing to save but a water cage. I was very fortunate to have my coach lend me her Cervelo and I can honestly say after riding the two the Cervelo was amazing and far superior than the Crono, at least for me anyway. I had a great bike split that day and I had a very hard time giving that bike back to my coach. I was fortunate enough that my insurance covered my bike and I was able to get a Cervelo P3C. I LOVE HIM!!!!!!!! Thank you Fitwerx 2.

I love my bike but I have yet to name him, I have struggled with this but I continue to search. Tonight I loved him but I am sure as the hours in the saddle increase I will have many of a post that state I hate him...But tonight I love him.

First Indoor Trainer Class by Coachie

Today was class one of an indoor bike trainer class with power meter today with my coach, Janda Ricci-Munn. He does class on tuesday mornings and thursday nights. For the last two seasons I traveled all the way from Beverly to Newton, Ma to take the Fastsplits class with Karen Smyers, it was really fun but with 4 kids, the commute and class it could add up to 3+ hours, but at the time we didn't have any other options for doing this type of class on your bike so i sucked it up and traveled to Boston. But now, not only do I get to do a great indoor, hard trainer ride but I get to do it with my new coach, and I'm really psyched.

I got my power meter about a year ago but I have to say I really didn't use it effectively this past year and I basically have based all my workouts on HR and mph and at times tried to hit my goal watts but it wasn't really stressed. Since working with Janda the power meter is slowly and I mean slowly becomming my friend, most of the times its been my enemy but at least for tonight it was my friend.

Tonight was an easy introduction to the class and over the next few weeks and months we will be building to some sick ( as he put it) no talking ( again as he put it) classes, so we were to just enjoy this class. Not to say we didn't work tonight but certainly not where I know he is going to go ..

The workout:

warmup

single leg drills

ramp up to close to V02 max so we can get are legs used to the workload that lies ahead

5min/4min/3min/2min/1min with 2 min recovery in between of working on your tempo watts and low cadence and building each minute up in watts and in cadence.

By the 2 minute and 1 minute intervals you were working close to your V02 max watts.

Total time in saddle tonight including a cool down was 1hr 4 minutes.

My tempo watts are usually 190-215, but tonight I was close to 220-230, my heart rate was good, not bumping up and my legs felt frisky. When I needed to hit close to V02 max I was up around 255, 260, and actually 329 for a bit but I knew when he said could I hold that for 20 minutes I knew I wouldn't be able to but I felt really good tonight, better than I have in a long time on the bike. The true test will come in few weeks when we get tested and hopefully I will improve over the next few weeks and put up some good numbers. I'll keep you guys posted.

Anyway, we will see where the bike will go, I am so excited to have Janda giving this class, not only do I not have to travel to boston but the personal attention and his expertise is just amazing and I left there so happy and psyched about my numbers. Maybe, just maybe with his guidance I can turn into a decent biker down the road. Now if I could just lose another 6-10lbs so it would be easier to climb those damn hills.

If anyone is interested in taking his trainer classes you can contact: Scott Bumpus at Seaside Cycle in Manchester, Mass: 23 Elm Street. 1-978-526-1200

Brrrrrrrrrrr it was cold outside today at the Track...

This is the cold Hamilton/Wenham track and my friend April who was there coaching two of her clients. Notice the stay puff jacket she is wearing and all the cold gear, ugggggg.

So today my workout was to do an extensive and build to Steady State by mile 2 and hold until completing 3 miles in my warm up. Then the hard work. I was to do 30 minutes at a 7:30-7:40 pace with 1/2 mile thrown in anywhere (broken up into 1/4, 1/8th) whatever I wanted to equal a 6:30-6:45 pace. I also had to do a few stride outs and a few minutes of stretching before my 30 minute ( a little bit faster than tempo run).

So I get these workouts a week in advance and I always look for the "one" that is the hardest, whether it be 20 x 100's in the pool or a workout like this. They can be mentally or physically challenging. So I guess I have been thinking about this workout all week and knowing it was going to be cold and windy I was nervous I wasn't going to hit my times. I looked for encouragement from my coach and some of my friends and they were all supportive which was nice.

Anyway, I got to the track around 9:30am to see my friend April ( or Coach April) working out two of her clients. They had to do a timed mile and then a 20 minute run to test their LT I believe. I was still doing my warmup as they were starting and finishing their 20 minute test. It was cold, the track had a huge head wind on one side and a barely noticeable tail wind on the other, I knew it was going to be a challenge today. Anyway, after my 3 mile warmup, stretches and stride outs it was time to do it.

total time: 30:10

mile one- 7:35-hr 250

mile two 7:43- oops, stupid head wind ( heart rate 160)

mile three 7:34 ( heart rate 161)

mile four 7:23 ( heart rate 160)

I felt really good, I unfortunately had too much in the tank at the end and I think I didn't push myself as hard as I could have. I really need to run with more people to push me, running alone is mentally challenging and physically challenging at times but I know I could get faster if I ran with other people.

Anyway, so psyched to have my day start like that, hitting my workout, feeling good, finishing the workout with some resistance training at the gym and now some vegetable chili I made last night. So psyched, I just want to keep getting faster.

Now this is my idea of a Car ride!!!!!!

So after our very eventful evening last night we had to go and pick up our car today since it was never ready last night. It was found that my rear rotors were completely gone and they couldn't get the parts last night so we had to rent a car. However, I didn't find this out until we got driven home at 6:15p and I needed to find someone to drive me and watch my kids so I could get back to Danvers by 7p. I adore my friend Vicki who saved my life last night and I was able to do what I needed to do. GOTTA LOVE YOUR FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, after finishing my brick workout and some resistance training this morning I picked up my little guy from preschool and we went home and ate lunch. I was very fortunate to get into the USAT clinic in North Carolina on the computer finally and then we left the house to drop off the rental car and pick up my car. My little one looks so angelic doesn't he? Anyway, all is well, violin, swimming, soccer practice and soon we leave for Piano. Hopefully we will get to trimming the tree tonight and watching, "The Year Without A Santa Clause". We try to watch a christmas movie each night before going to bed the last two weeks before christmas.

Have a great night everyone.

4 kids at IRA Toyota, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

So I'll set the story:

Phil is volunteering tomorrow to drive Alex and some of his classmates to the museum of Science in Boston. As I was driving to Shea's dance class today with all 4 kids in the car the maintenance light comes on. I know I'm due for an oil change but I get nervous because of the impending field trip tomorrow and feeling very motherly and wanting to make sure all the kids are safe. I call IRA Toyota in Danvers and see if they can do a quick oil change for me and they can, they say, ~ 1hr. I say, "Great, I'll be right there". We skip Shea's dance and Alex's swim team and head right over. We immediately get there and the kids are going crazy, the poor service guy doesn't know what to do but he says, " Mam, we'll get it done as soon as we can, I'm so sorry you have to deal with these guys", I know, "please hurry, I say".

So 1hr later Nate the service man comes back with bad news, you need new front and back break pads, the front is at 2mm and the back is at 1mm, for safety you should change them. I say okay but it will take another 3hrs, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I tell Nate I can't stay could they drive me home, I could come back and pick up the car later, he says, "fine".

So about 1hr later ( 2hrs total) the driver finally arrives to take me home with the 4kids. They were killing each other, wrestling, yelling, scratching, pulling hair, I just needed to go home. The poor driver couldn't stop laughing at me in the car, then of course I started laughing.

Anyway, my poor mother in law is coming over at 6:30 so I can drive my son to piano lessons then I am going to take a cab to IRA Toyota to pick up the car. Good lord, what a day, I hope you enjoy the pictures......

Do You or Don't You

So I went to the gym today to do my workout and everytime I go I always see someone doing something crazy or wrong, whether it comes to situps, pull ups, stretches, planks, whatever... The question is, " Do you go up to them and help them?", " Do you correct their position so they don't hurt themselves?".

Most gyms have floor trainers that walk around and supposedly are there to help these people but I rarely ever see that, it is very frustrating because most of these people are getting no benefit from the exercise and are surely going to get hurt in the long run.

The few examples from today are:

1. Watching a man do crunches at a million miles an hour, back arching, butt flying off the floor. He was working, he was huffing and puffing, but what was he trying to accomplish? So do I go over there and help him, do I correct his body position and explain to him the proper way to go about doing a crunch?

2. Cable Pulls: Watching a man doing a cable pull and when he pulled back on the cable his elbows were almost touching in the back, I thought he was going to dislocate his shoulders, it was so hard to watch and the injury waiting to happen is scary.

3. push ups: Being a pilates person now it is so hard to watch people do a ton of wasted push ups incorrectly. I love it when they say, " Hey, I just did 50 push ups", and I say, " Let me see you do 5 right ones". When I show them or when I correct their bodies in the correct position, normally they are only able to do 10, maybe 15, depending on how off their body alignment was with their previous push up position. My pilates instructor always says, "5-10 right push ups equals 50 bad ones, Why work so much harder and get less benefit, just do it right the first time." I think she is so right.

Anyway, I digress, I didn't speak to any of these people today I was too focused and limited on time to go over and do my speal, half the time when I do I don't think they want to hear from me or rarely care. I especially feel compelled to help the elderly or the young teenagers with proper body alignment and making sure they won't hurt themselves. However, I am not a personal trainer nor am I certified as one, I do have a masters in Nursing and have worked out for a long time but not having these credentials may cause a liability for me. Its such a fine line but I really get frustrated, sometimes its better for me not to go to the gym and work out at home.

Anyway, I would love peoples opinions on this, I'm not perfect and I certainly don't know everything about exercise but there are things I do know and by working with some of the amazing trainers during my 41 years you learn a few things or two.

WORKOUT FRONT:

Hard week ahead, 3 swims, 3 RT sessions, 31 or 35 miles of running and 3 bikes. The hard track workout is on saturday, I'm already mentally preparing for it. Maybe I can recruit a few people to do it with me. Still trying to figure out my races for 2010, I better get my butt in gear soon or these races will sell out.

Trying a New Sneaker, wish me luck.....

Okay, so here are my glorious feet, bunions and all. If you look at my right foot you will see a great big calus and blisters on the side of the bunion and calus, it sucks. I usually have to put 3 bandaids with tape on my bunion before I run or I get a blood blister, every time I run. Well, I was just getting plain sick of it.

I have been running in Asic Nimbus's for years then two years ago they made their Nimbus too narrow, and because I have bunions, I needed a wider front and a more traditional narrow back on my sneaker, and some flexibility around the bunion site. So I thin went on to wear the Nike Pegasus, another cushion shoe which worked for a while but I can truly say, I've never been happy with any sneaker that I've worn.

Recently I've been seeing a Physical Therapist who is working on my left hip/sciatic problem which is getting better but she also evaluates other things like my foot strike when I run and my blisters and my shoes, and she wasn't happy. Sneakers can and probably have played a big part in my issues with my ineffeciencies when I run and possibly some of my injuries. She prescribed exercises to help with the bunions, different taping options and getting new sneakers, ASAP. I went to my favorite running store and decided to take my friend, Bob's opinion and try the Saucony, "Triumph", its still a cushion shoe but has a little more stability in the heel which my PT thought would be helpful. Well, after two runs, and no bandaids or taping I have gotten no new blisters, no c/o pain and I'm thinking I really like these sneakers. Of course they are new so I'm going to give them time but a new relationship may be brewing for me with the Saucony sneaker, I may be in LOVE.......

On the workout front, I've had a lot of good runs this week, a hard functional threshold run with mile repeats at a 7:30 pace, which I held, I was so psyched. However, today was a measley 8 1/2 mile run and my legs felt like lead. In the past I usually never ran two days in a row, this week I ran 4 days in a row and I felt it. The only good news is that each run was faster then almost any run I did last year even when I felt crappy today. I have so much work to do on this front and I have to build the confidence up that I can be a good runner, its just going to take some time. I also need to run with people who can push me because running alone really stinks. Anyway, I have an easy day tomorrow, only a 3200yd swim and a resistance training workout with my TRX bands. I will keep you guys posted on my sneaker tryouts.

Swimming, a LOVE/HATE relationship

This is a picture of me and my husband at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston this weekend for our 12th anniversary, we've actually been together for over 17 years. We had a great time. Just thought I would throw in a picture of, "THE MAN", who puts up with me and all my training.The dreaded clock and my fabulous pool. Anyway, today starts my real triathlon training, where I start to do 3 days of swimming, 3-4 days of running and 3 days of biking, also some resistance training thrown into the mix 2-3 days a week. I feel like my training hasn't been too hard just keeping my fitness and hopefully getting a bit stronger but know its time to get to work.

So this week starts my first 3 day/week swim in a long time, I've been sort of loligagging it with 2 swims a week averaging roughly 2800-3200 yds with not too many hard intervals and probably not getting my HR up to zone 3 at all. WEll todays swim wasn't too tough but it was 3000 yards with a lot of drill work and the main set was 8 x 100 on 1:35, which means you leave the wall at 1:35 so you better get your ass there before that time if you want to get a little rest, then I had a 1 minute rest after that set and onto 8 x 50's on 50 seconds. Well, I was a little nervous I was going to be working really hard here to make these intervals today since I haven't really pushed since september. Well, it wasn't so bad, it was probably a good tempo workout for me, I hit the wall anywhere between 1:24-1:27 each time and my HR seem to recover pretty well, my 50"s weren't so bad either, I hit the wall around 36-39 on average so I had time to rest as well. Not bad for my first real interval session back.

I just always feel so nervous before I swim, I look at that clock and wonder if I'll make the intervals, that damn clock. I just hope that I can swim a tad bit faster this year with a lot less effort. I am working on really trying to count my strokes and working on my body position in the water, lets hope for some success.

The rest of my workouts today consisted of 1hr of pilates and a 5 mile extensive/intensive effort run. Tomorrow will be tough with a hard tempo run and some resistance training, f/b seeing my lovely Sara for Physical Therapy. Lets hope my 41 year old body holds up.

multi-task/Multi-sport mom, re-cap on Thanksgiving

The Table I decorated, my Pecan Pie I made and me coming home from my workout.

So let me start the day, I knew I needed to get in a swim and a run and it was raining, so I headed to the pool which was open at 5:45am, did my 3200 yards and then went upstairs to do 6 miles on the treadmill. I knew that I needed to get home by 8am to get my Turkey in the oven because it was going to roughly take 5hrs. I spent the day before doing all my prep work and all the cleaning ( at least 6hrs worth) and all I needed to do today was the Turkey.Try doing that with 4 kids in tow. I also brought my daughter and son to the doctor and she was diagnosed with an ear infection, UGG.

My menu for the 14 people I was feeding was:

Maple-Glazed Turkey with Gingersnap Gravy

Green Beans with Ham and Shallots

Mashed Yams with Brown Sugar and Spice

Sausage Apple and Chestnut Stuffing

Cranberry and almond salad

Maple Spice Pecan Pie/Apple Pie/Ice Cream

Homemade cranberry sauce

I knew I couldn't eat a ton my body just doesn't allow that anymore and being 41 its just not worth trying to lose the extra weight after the holidays. I also knew I needed to get up for a run in the morning and some resistance training so eating smart was in the cards. I'm not that young anymore. The kids and family all had a good time and after cleaning up and putting everything away I went to bed around 11:30am. Lots to do this morning ( friday) putting the china away, workout, finish cleaning but all is done and another day has flown by. I'm looking forward to a great weekend with the kids and good run and bike over the weekend. Good luck to anyone doing IM Cozumel this weekend.

Tempo run disappointment

So today was a bit difficult, not too bad, but mentally challenging for me. I was doing a tempo run today with a 2 mile warm up and then 30 minutes at a 7:40-7:50 pace with 1 mile broken up anywhere in between at a 7-7:15 pace, then a 10 minute cool down. With the rain and trying to get my pacing and HR in check I'm doing my tempos on the treadmill at a .5-1.0%. So I was running at a 7:49 pace, (7.7mph) and doing my pick ups in the middle and around 21 minutes I was like, hmmmmmmmm, I gotta go another 9 minutes, I was a bit nervous. My heart rate was hovering around 163 but when I increased the speed it went to 168. It recovered ok when I came back down to 7.7mph but it was hard, I had to really focus. I came down to a .5% with about 6 minutes to go and then 0.0 with about 3 minutes to go. My HR never went past 163 on average and when I finished I felt really good and was able to finish my cool down well. When the workout was over I felt awesome and I felt like I so could of pushed harder and not dropped the incline so possibly it was a mental thing, I don't know. JUST SUCKS, I feel like I failed. When you do a 5 1/2 mile run the day before at a 7:55 pace, one would think this workout would be fairly easy, it wasn't. Oh well, so much more work to do on the run front.

After the run I headed to the pool for an easy 3200 yd swim, primarily drills with some distance work but fairly simple. No intervals to make just working on stroke. Then it was a deep tissue massage to work on my periformis, ASIS and hip, feels good and we are making progress but still need to see the PT as well.

Anyway, a bike and resistance training tomorrow f/b some good runs over the next few days should make for some good training over the holidays.

If you want to see what I look like on the treadmill download this youtube video, its hysterical:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBH4qcH_b98

Being on the other side...

Today was a great day, we had two divisional championship flag football games to go to ( 5-6 yr old age group and the 7-8 year old age group). If my boys won their championship games they would go on to the superbowl immediately after. Well, the first game, my son Alex ( 6) played his little heart out, the only problem is that they started the season with 8 kids but dwindled down to 4 on a routine basis. That wasn't so bad because the 4 that played loved it and were actually pretty good. Well, today we still only had 5 kids but they just didn't have it today, my stomach was in knots and I was so concerned that he was going to have a hard time with the loss. But you know what, he got a trophy and cupcake and a playdate with a good friend, you wouldn't even know the game even happened. The sportsmanship was amazing, all the kids had fun ( except for a little tackling from the other team, which isn't supposed to happen in "FLAG FOOTBALL") but I wasn't going to be one of those parents.

So we have an hour break in between Alex's game and Kellen's game since we didn't get to play the superbowl and I again was so nervous for him. I didn't care if they won but I knew that these boys at this age know about winning and it is starting to matter to them. They take things personally if things go wrong and when I see my oldest get a bit teary because he thinks he made a bad play I get all mushy inside and just want to hug him and protect him ( along with taking multiple antacids and pacing the whole sidelines).

Anyway, the game was really good for the first 1/2 we were only down 6 points going into the second but we ended up losing 24 to 12. The last touchdown was great because it was made by a little boy on our team who never scored before and he just ran his little heart out and you would of thought he won megabucks when no-one grabbed his flags. This touchdown litterally brought tears to my eyes and when all the boys jumped on him and high fived him you would of thought they just won the super bowl, they were just so happy for him.

In the end they were upset a bit when they lost but they were so happy for little Tim who scored and they were really psyched about trying to come back next year stronger and faster. Again, the cupcakes, pizza and trophies work like little charms on little kids and they haven't stopped smiling since., I actually think my 6 year old is sleeping with his tonight in his bed.

Today was so interesting for me to see competition from a whole different side, getting nervous not for me but for my kids. It was just so surreal. I love competition when its done right, when its done with good sportsmanship and its done with class, and these teams today showed me that, these kids today showed me that.

A Tempo Run Can Be Soooooo Mental

So after a very successful 10 miler yesterday I had planned a tempo run and some TRX and strengthening today. Well, with 3 sick kids all day home from school and a 4th home at noon working out wasn't going to happen until later in the evening. I don't know why its so hard to motivate later but man today was hard, I'll set the stage.

After feeding all 4 kids my mom in law was kind enough to come over at 5p to I could head to the gym do my run and then get to my first Aid class by 6:30p. I got on the treadmill and did my normal warm up starting at a 9minute pace working my way up to a 8 min pace by 12 minutes and holding that until I hit 2 miles. Then I did some strides at 80% of max with a little walking inbetween. Well, during my warm up I wasn't feeling too frisky, i kept on trying to tell myself, " I can do this", " my legs don't feel this bad", " maybe I'll just do it tomorrow and just stretch", " okay, I'll see how my legs feel after the strides and if there okay, I'll just try and if I have to stop I will and do it tomorrow".

What is this bullshit, I was pissed at myself that I was even questioning me doing this, I had to snap myself out of it. My tempo was simple, hold a 7:45 pace for 20 minutes with a 1/2 mile ( broken up anyway I wanted it to) at a 6:30-6:45 pace. Well after the strides I felt pretty good so I said, alright, what the hell. At 1% incline, 7.7-7.8 on the treadmill I ran, feeling pretty good, I did 1/4 mile repeats at the increased speed of 8.9 to get to the 1/2 mile, but I did have to go down to .5% on the treadmill at 18minutes but I finished then cooled down and completed 7 miles in just one hour.

I know I was tired from being with sick kids two days in a row and coming off of a very busy weekend and I do hate running hard at night, my GI tract doesnt like that, as evidenced by my post run blues in the bathroom, but I finished it successfully and its another good one in the bank. I didn't get to the strength portion but I'll fit it in two times this week when I can. Anyway, time for some tea and bed.

Who Am I?

So as I picked my daughter up from school today I was driving down the street and noticed the middle school kids getting out of school. What I observed was packs of girls walking together and then some individual girls walking alone with their heads down almost seeming like they didn't want to be noticed ( sorry, I tend to notice things like that). I instantly feel bad for these girls, wondering whether or not they have friends or why are they alone, why are they walking with their heads down like they are ashamed or something. I really don't know why they are walking alone these are just my thoughts....

This brings me back to my high school days when I was not the popular kid but also not the , " not so popular kid either", I kind of mixed in the middle with the jocks and the cheerleaders, the band and the hockey players, I never really found my niche. I can honestly say, that I felt alone a lot of the time, feeling like I was jumping from groups of different friends each year of high school, never knowing where I fit in. I don't know why I bring this up today but I guess seeing those girls alone today just made me reflect on who I was back then and who I am today.

Today, I am a wife of almost 12 years, a mom of 4 crazy but wonderful kids a good friend ( " I hope") and an athlete. I'm most proud of the first three I mentioned but with my blog I am going to discuss me finally turning into an athlete.

I feel I have finally found out who I am, I am an athlete, maybe not a genetically gifted one but an athlete who loves sport who works hard and who can't wait for the next challenge. I know I have mentioned this numerous times in the past, that if only I could of taken my drive now and put it towards sports when I was younger who knows, but you can't go back and maybe I wouldn't be who I am today if that were the case. Maybe my path was to become one later in life and to show people, especially women and children that you can get better with age, you can get faster, you can get fitter, you can be happier. I was never happy with myself, my body, my performances ever as a child, today I am, but I am most happy about my discipline and desire to be better, my work ethic and just me. I like being happy, is that corny? Maybe its the endorphins from my 10 mile run today, I don't know, but I felt good, I'm smiling.

I'm an Athlete, finally, maybe this year this athlete will do something special, maybe I can inspire a child or another friend to be better to feel better about themselves, maybe this is why it took me to be 41 to know who I am.

For the Athletes out there my 10 mile run splits today were: AVG pace 8:09 10miles, 1:21:29

My best 10 mile race 2 years ago was an 8:05 pace.

mile 1-8;39

mile 2-7:58-feeling frisky

mile 3 7:59-are you kidding this isnt a tempo run

mile 4 8:05

mile 5 8:17- did I say hills-oops

mile 6 8:10

mile 7 8:03- thank god for flats

mile 8-8:04

mile 9-8:10

mile 10-8:07

It Hurt So Good........

So, we had a breakthrough yesterday with my physical therapy, Sara Thatcher from Body Tuning, PT worked really hard on my periformis, left hip, hamstring and my adductors, I can honestly say it was pain that I enjoyed and needed her to do, everytime she dug deeper it felt like things were finally loosening up, well, last night was the first time in 2 years I was able to almost sleep through the night, with minimal tossing and turning and minimal positional changes. The hamstring pain I thought I was having is sciatic pain and it is getting better.

So on Sara's recommendation I went to go see, Darcy Gillbo, LCMT from the Integrative Muscular Therapy Center in Marblehead for some deep tissue massage and well it wasn't so bad. I think with the work Sara has been doing it wasn't too terrible for my 1st deep tissue massage. I feel so much better, my gait is better, I'm not having radiating pain down my middle thigh, its been two years since I've been able to ride in my car without having to lift my ass off the seat because its uncomfortable, chronic aches and pains suck and I'm finally getting to the root of it and its working.

I left a message for Sara today almost in tears because I was so happy that things are going in the right direction, its been so long since I've felt normal, I've just worked out and figured this is what I have to live with and I wasn't going to stop working out so thats what it was. WELL, NOT SO, my life will be different from now on and hopefully over the next few weeks with seeing Sara and Darcy and doing my strengthening exercises I will get stronger and have no pain. Their is a light at the end of the tunnel and its called, NO PAIN, and I'm looking forward to it.

What to do?

So, as I look to my up and coming 2010 season I am so confused about what to do as well as what my family/husband will allow me to do. I am still questioning ironman right now, trying to figure how I can still get into IMLP which will then alter my whole season, so its really hard. So many people have put out there what there goals are, there races and I am so envious. I certainly have some thoughts but everything is still up in the air. What really sucks is that with triathlon and some road races you have to sign up early to guarantee a spot and that is where the dilemma is. Anyway, some of my thoughts for this up and coming season are ( but could and probably will change since I haven't even discussed these with my hubby are:)

December- try to find a 5k or 10k to get some numbers for training

January 24th- Derry 16 miler

Feb 7th, 2010- Cape Elizabeth 10 miler or the Great Stew Chase 15k

March 7th, STu's 30K or:

March 21, New Bedford 1/2 marathon

April - wrentham Duathlon

May 3rd Sheriffs Duathlon

Mid May- Sudbury Sprint triathlon or the JCC sprint triathlon

June 6th Mooseman or IMLP training camp

June 19th B2B bike race or Patriot 1/2 ironman or Ashland Olympic triathlon

End of June or beginning of July- sprint tri

July 25th- IMLP?

August 8- Gloucester triathlon-depends on recovery from IM

Sept-Pumpkinman 1/2 ironman if recovered enough

Sept-Duxbury sprint triathlon

October-Duathlons if able

If IMLP doesn't happen I most likely will try to do 70.3 Providence again in July ( much to my shagrin about that damn run course) and keep everything else the same. No real desire to go to Clearwater in Florida if for some chance I were to qualify, only Kona.

So its out there, whether or not this will happen I don't know and certainly will need to discuss with hubby and family. Priorities will always be my family first but I do have to race to get better and so we will go through this list and hopefully most will get done or at least the most important ones will get done. I am not setting any goal times right now but will once I'm in the core of training in the winter, the key now is to have fun, get fitter and build a better base. Gotta love this time of year.

Excited for Friends.....

As I was running my 9 mile run today I was thinking of my friend Ali who was running the Larry Robinson 10 miler in Andover. I was supposed to run it this year but with two birthday parties and 4 hours of flag football fun today it just wasn't going to happen. Instead I enjoyed a really good run for me averaging an 8:12 pace for 9 miles and averaging in the 150's for a heart rate. Running is starting to come around for me but with my butt still getting a bit achey, I still need to stretch/roll and strengthen those hip/glutes and hamstrings./ I digress, back to my friend Ali:

Ali ran a 1:09 today in Andover which averages out to a 6:57 per mile pace. She has worked really hard and it showed today, thats just a sick time, a time I will probably never see in my life but I will continue to work to get close. She is in her twenties and she has such a bright future in sport that I envy her road ahead. I am also so psyched that she has taken up triathlons and I believe she is going to take the tri world by storm next season, so watch out. So glad she isn't in my age group, wheww........

I also know through friends of a young lady who just competed in Ironman Florida yesterday and did a 11hr 30 minute ironman, a PR of well over an hour. Her marathon was sick too, 4hr 5minutes I think, who does that. I know through friends she has worked really hard and this absolutely reflects her dedication and hard work, good for her.

So, back to me, my little run of 9 miles, averaging an 8:12 pace doesn't mean much to most but my long runs are getting a bit easier and a bit faster, so I hope that through a gradual increase over the next few months, continued physical therapy and strengthening and a positive outlook, I can really put it together next year. I want to have races where I don't bitch and complain and have no major issue that impacts my performance. If I suck, I suck and I will have plenty of those but what I'm hoping is that I can put together several good races with good times and that running will no longer be my arch enemy. All I can say is, " Bring it on", and thanks ladies for giving me hope that I can get better with more hard work and dedication. Thanks again.

A great week ahead of workouts so lets hope for no sick kids......

Back in the Pool......

So I took about 3 weeks off from the pool with basically no swimming and just trying to focus on other things and getting back my desire to swim again. AFter logging 10,000-12,000 yards a week for over 7 months in training for ironman I just needed a break. So today was an easy, get requainted with the pool and not push but get in a good workout day. so it started off like this:

I get to a lane and know right away I have to share a lane which is fine but the guy says to me, " just make sure you don't splash me, okay". I was like, are you serious,dude, your doing walking water aerobics, don't kill me while your at it. Well, after about 10 minutes of sharing a lane he gets out and sits on the bench and waits for another empty lane, he continues to do this in for 10 out for 10 minutes until he gets frustrated that he doesn't get a lane to himself and he decides to leave. Is he serious, these people just piss me off. Anyway, my workout consisted of:

400 warm up freestyle swim

100 yd kick- at an intensive pace, not too easy

12 x50 yard, drill up and stroke count with freestyle back with 15 sec recovery

5 x 100 with fins, drills, 12 kick on side with 3 strokes and switch

3 x 300, on 5 minutes, 100 tempo pace, 50 stroke count, all aerobic

200 cool down

Total 2700 yards, 45 minutes

This was a nice easy way to get me back in the pool without dreading significant speed work and focusing on technique

After my swim I did some resistance training using the new TRX bands and worked pretty hard and then stretched and rolled. I still want to get a little bike in today which I'll fit in while my daughter is doing gymnastics this afternoon.

Anyway, it was great to be back in the pool, ready to start working again, I missed it, so I guess the break was good.

My ass hurts........

So I had my second musculoskeletal physical therapy appointment to work out my out of wack pelvis and a very tight left hip and periformis today. I was never one for deep tissue massage and the digging in the area has left me really sore. I just took some Motrin to take the edge off and hopefully by morning I will be feeling better. I know this will be good for me in the end, the PT, the restrengthening with the right exercises, the deep tissue massage, but I felt like I workout so hard why does this need to be so hard too? I am trying to decide whether or not to do my speed work tomorrow or to wait till saturday, most likely I'll do my speed work on saturday and just go for an easy run tomorrow, we'll see how the butt feels.

I am also wondering about what to do regarding next season's race schedule? I just found out that IMLP has just sold out its last community fund slot but I can still get in by doing the multisport camp/race entry, which is really enticing. I was on the fence about doing IMCDA but the travel and the end of school thing might be too hard. IMWI was a really good thought but the idea of training all the way through the summer and it being within the first two weeks of school starting ( I have 4 kids) could be a logistical nightmare but something I need to think about. I have a lot of unresolved feelings on the course of IMLP and would love another crack at it. Plus, there is a lot of NorthShore, MA triathletes heading up there which could be really fun. Anyway, lots to think about, at least my husband is on board if I decide to do ironman again this year which is such a blessing, I don't know if he'll think that way come may/june but in the end whatever we decide will be great. Just being able to race is awesome.

Why is Pilates so hard?

So every monday I take a 1hr pilates class which kicks my ass. Sometimes I feel I would rather ride a century, run a marathon or even swim for 5000 yards then do an hour of pilates. But after each and every class i feel so good and I cant wait to come back again for another class.

What I don't like sometimes is when I am in class with other folks and they say things like, " I can't believe this is hard for you, you do triathlons", or, " man, this makes me feel so much better that this is hard for you and easy for me". Well, I say to them, " it is hard for me and I find it very humbling on a weekly basis to come in here even after a year and get my ass handed to me and know that I have so much to learn and am psyched that its hard". What I don't get is that in the Tri world we don't go around saying, " ha ha, you suck I'm better than you or that, " I'm glad I'm so much better and your slow", it just seems so weird to me that people feel compelled to say things like this to me. Anyhoo, whatever, I'm over it. I still keep going back because I love my instructor and she works me to the core (no pun intended).

After having 4 children fairly quickly my core strength ( or lack there of) was pretty bad and needed a ton of work. Sit ups and regular abdominal work wasn't doing the job. Pilates has been a great experience for me and a very humbling one. I wish I could also fit in yoga once a week but with the run/bike/swim/weight training, I don't have any other free time right now unless a Yogi comes to my house in the middle of the night- ( that wouldn't look good to the neighbors though).

Anyway, after a 1hr class today and a 1hr15 minute bike, I have some weight training and a 1hr run tomorrow f/b my physical therapy beating, looking forward to it. Wish me luck.

Some hope on the hamstring front......

So for the last almost two years ( off and on) I have always felt that my left hamstring has been tight, after running hard I would find it hard to sit on my left butt cheek, I would have to really roll it out and stretch, adding ice and motrin to my daily routine.

I began Physical Therapy 1 1/2 years ago to help ( which it did) but I feel maybe it really just maintained me from getting worse. After I crashed my bike a ironman Lake Placid this year I knew things were a little off with my running and biking but felt like probably I was just tired, recovering, etc... but after a good 6 weeks of training my hamstring was still the same, no different. I feel everytime I run most of my power comes from my right side ( this can't be good, right?)

So with advice from some of my friends I decided to check out a musculoskeletal Physical Therapists who sort of specializes in Endurance Athletes and well, it really isn't totally my hamstring its other things as well:

In short she said: I have a pelvic shift and hip weakness which is worst on the left side with some degree of nerve impingement causing tightness and pain throughout the hip muscles on the left. I would benefit from deep muscle work around the left hip as well as strengthening and stabilization exercises. I have significant weakness on my left side which has been compensated by my strong right side. I should be free of limitations once we stabilize the pelvis and restore strength to my left hip.

I finally need to break down and get deep tissue massages( the kind that aren't pleasant and sort of hurt) and really get my butt ( no pun intended) and hips strong. I have to do exercises like:

1. Bridges

2. clam shells

3. walking with bands ( also doing a clock rotation with each leg)

4. hip flexor strengthening

this is to be done 2-3x a week, 2-3 reps of 15-25. I will see her twice a week until she feels like things are going in the right direction and I'm also going to get a gait analysis checked out so I can make sure that my mechanics are right so that I am not constantly throwing my pelvis out of alignment. I am going to reassess my running shoes and anything else to make my working out feel better. Now I'm not in terrible pain but with the time and effort I put into working out I just want to make sure I am doing everything I possibly can to keep my body from getting injured and always making sure I train and race to my potential without any limitations.

Another Crazy Day.........

So, it was another crazy day at my house which I knew was going to end sometime around 9:30p tonight and it started like this:

1. wake at 4:30am to get to gym to ride for 1 1/2 hrs because putting my bike on the trainer at home is too loud and everyone would wake up. Also, because I would have no other time today to get my ride in to off I went.

2. Drove my son to the laboratory this morning at Beverly hospital for his blood draw

3. Fed kids, dressed them, packed lunches and drove them to school.

4. Headed to Boston for my sons cardiologist appointment at 9:30a. Found out his cholesterol level has now normalized and what we have been doing for diet and exercise has worked but his thyroid functions were out of wack. He needed an EKG because they heard a murmur on exam but that came back negativ.e

5. Had to rush out of the hospital to try to make it to a classmates birthday party for him in Hamilton but forgot to drop off a car seat at my sons school so my babysitter could pick him up. So off we go to Beverly first from Boston to drop off car seat and then head to party.

6. After party head home to drop off kids to go back to school to pick up other kids.

7. Go on errands with some kids to pick up cupcakes for holiday party tomorrow, get stuck in traffic, late to pick up my 4th kid from school and late for his appointment with his OT.

7a. Was supposed to help coach some beginner swimmers tonight for a few hours but the class got cancelled, soooo bummed, I really want to get my coaching license and start teaching swimming. Anyhoooooo.....

8. Go home, make dinner, pack lunches, prep Halloween outfits for school for tomorrow, bathe kids, read stories put to bed by 8:15p. Debating on making sugar cookies tonight for a halloween project for kids in one of their classrooms, have to check the cupboards to see if I have all the ingredients... Probably not.

I am sooooooo tired and my feet are killing me. I think I missed a few things in my list today ( i.e, laundry, dishes, incontinent dog duty, etc...) but now its time to collapse and go through my bills and hopefully go through my mail.

On the workout front looking forward to a nice little run tomorrow with my head getting around a hard running focused weekend, hopefully the weather will hold out on sunday for my long run.

Fartlek Run, and no I didn't just say Fart!

So my oldest son has been home sick for the past 3 days and of course that puts a damper on the old workout situation. However, I do have a bike trainer and a treadmill so all is good in my world as long as my son will cooperate.

Todays workout was a 2 mile warm up building to a nice intensive pace so starting around 8:50 and holding an 8:20, then stretch for a few minutes and then do some pick ups or strides to get my legs building the speed. Then it was 2 x 1 1/2 miles doing 200meters at a 6 minute pace and then jog for 200 meters ( .13 miles then .12 miles etc...) So on the treadmill that works out to a 9.5mph for about 44 to 45 seconds f/b jogging at a good pace, etc...

I felt great, the legs felt strong, my HR never went out of control, it just felt good. How amazing it would be to actually beable to run a 5k at that pace, I can't even imagine, I envy those with the genetics that allow their bodies to perform like that.

The only problem I had today was my little, lovely boy just wanted to play with me so he kept pacing around the treadmill, talking to me, tossing stuffed animals over my head, a few times touching the tread of the treadmill, scaring me half to death that he would hurt himself or me, he would watch my watch and gave me my countdown on how much longer I could run. Well, I got my workout in, I just hope he is healthy enough to go back to school tomorrow.

Anyway, after I finished cooling down we went upstairs so he could demolish me in chess, it is just embarrasing that my 7 year old can beat me in 4 moves, its unfair. wahhhhhhhhhhhhh

Gluten Free Diet Anyone?

So, since I was a little girl, and most of my really good friends and husband know, I've had a bit of a gas issue. Everyone told me, stop eating the green vegetables, don't eat fried or fatty foods

( which I rarely did), etc... It was always so hard to try to find a place to hide or walk away fast enough for me to, well, do my business. My husband would say, " your a lady, ladies don't do that", what, are you serious? Anyway, to make a long story short, its just gone on for a long time and I just assumed I would wait until I got a colonscopy when I'm 50, they would say, everything is fine, take Beano. Well, Beano never worked, I'm tired of being gassey all the time, I love vegetables, especially broccolli and well, working out sometimes can be an issue when you have GI issues. Try running 20 miles and figuring out what to do sometimes, it really stinks. I literally have to plan my diet for days to make sure I'm completely unloaded before a long day comes about.

Anyway, a friend of mine this weekend during our long run told me she just started her family on a gluten free diet ( for many reasons, not necessarily mine) and she has never felt better, less bloating, etc...

I don't know if gluten is my problem but I'm willing to try and see what happens. I am going to start here for 3 weeks and see how I feel. I have always been a carboholic so it makes a lot of sense to me but we'll see. Lets cross our fingers and hope I may live a more fruitful, less gassey lifestyle for my sake and my husbands, and for anyone who has ever riden or ran behind me.

I don't think the pool has ever been a problem but I've always wondered whether or not people could hear you fart when they are standing on deck and you toot when you swim, just wondering.

Poor Sportsmanship, In Chess?

So today was my two oldest boy's, Kellen (7) and Alexander (6) first chess tournament. It was so much fun to see the two of them sitting across other children and playing this amazing and most challenging game ( especially for me). My 7 year old gets great pleasure out of telling people how he beat me in only 4 moves ( the Scholars move) of which I knew and still know nothing about, so watching them play today was really exciting. What I didn't like was watching a few children take great pleasure ( when they would beat their opponent) and taunt them and laugh, and at one point make a 6 year old cry. Are you serious, this is Chess for peat sakes and your only 6 years of age. I was looking around for both childrens parents to see if anyone would do anything as well as for their chess coach and no-one did anything. Then I finally saw one of the kids moms come stomping down and found the little boy that made her son cry and continued to yell at him ( seriously yell) until that child started to cry and had to walk away. Eventually that kid came back and apologized to the other boy but hey, what, are we at a Bruins Game.

I saw some of the worst sportsmanship at this chess tournament then I've seen at most sporting events, but what I was most proud of and happy about was that both my boys showed great sportmanship with their opponents and shaking hands at the end of their matches, win or lose and smiling and supporting their teams and friends. It's amazing that at home they kill each other and taunt each other and make each other miserable but when they are outside at an event they acted beautifully and I couldn't of been prouder.

I feel so slow!!!

Today I did a nice progressive 2 mile warm-up and followed it by some nice stride outs ( or pick ups) Today's workout consisted of 4 x 3/4 mile repeats on 5:15 with 2 minutes of walking inbetween sets. So that averages out to be a 7 minute pace. After each interval I knew I had worked hard, it took about 45 seconds for my HR to completely recover so I figured, " no problem, go on the 2 minutes this is going to be easy", well, not so, it was hard, my heart rate climbed right back up after about 3 minutes and making it to 5 1/2 wasn't terrible but I was definitely working at the high end of my heart rate. #3 was the hardest, I think I slowed down a bit but I made sure I picked it up at the end to make up for my slowing down, interval #4 not the worst but I finished it. Cooled down and did about 7 1/2 miles total. Thank god over. Why do I do this to myself?

Why can't running be easier for me? I want to be so much faster and this is so hard. Will it ever come, did I just get into running too late in life? Is 41 too old to try to get faster? I'm not disappointed in myself with today, I did my workout, its just I want to be faster, really fast, and I just don't know if I will.

Gotta Love Friends!!!!!!

I don't know if I tell my friends enough times how much I appreciate them but I soooooooooooo do. Whether its meeting for lunch and conversation or helping me with my kids, my friends are amazing.

When I was training for ironman my friends couldn't do enough for me, they would say, " what can we do to make your crazy life better", " I'll run 10 miles with you today donna", or a new friend I met last year who completely took a whole day out of his life and planned a century ride for me up in NH and then a 5 mile run after. Now, he didn't need to do that, especially since he's probably a 10hr ironman guy and he just wanted to hang and workout with people with similar goals. I still haven't forgotten that day and he remains very dear to my heart. He'll be competing in IM Cozumel in a few weeks and I'm looking forward to seeing how he does.

Theres my friend April who drove 5 hrs up to Lake Placid on the Saturday before the race just to be my Sherpa and calm my nerves because my family hadn't arrived and I was all alone, except for a few more new friends I met up there who took me under their wing and really made me feel great. Who drives 5 hrs from Boston and then Back the same day just to help a friend, I don't know. She has two little children too and a business she just started so taking that type of time away was huge. She also goes out of her way to help me with my kids ( like evaluating my kids today at the pool on their swimming, totally last minute)and then calling me later to make sure she gave me ample feed back, who does these things, MY FRIENDS DO..

I also adore my friends Vicki, Cindy, Jess and Melissa and Bob who listen to me bitch about countless things ( of which I won't mention but will probably blog about some other time) and who never once said I was crazy to do the things I do, they just support me completely with no judgements. WEll, except, I don't have the best fashion sense and if my friends could take me shopping they probably would. ( no more workout clothes donna) And if I actually ever wore my hair down and blew it drew they usually would throw a party. But I digress, I just love my friends, they just get me, they get the whole me. Now I have other very supportive friends as well and I love them all for just being who they are and accepting me for who I am and being there when I need them, so sorry for not mentioning your names if I forgot.

Friends are so important and I hope I am as good of a friend to my friends as they are to me. Thank you all guys for being a part of my life, I am truly blessed with my family and my close group of friends.

Nice old man, Loud old Man!!!

So I have to tell the story of what happened at the gym yesterday. So as I described in yesterdays post I had a very hard tempo run ( for me anyway) of which I had to do 1 1/2 mile repeats holding 7:30's with a 3 minute recovery in between, I had a two mile w/u and a 2 mile c/d to do so 7 miles total.

Anyway, when I finished my last interval I put my speed down to a 6.2 and started jogging to cool down, when this very cute old man tapped me on the shoulder ( I almost fell off the treadmill because I had my ipod in and of course I didn't hear him talking to me) and he asked me, " so young lady-( gotta love him when he says young), what speed were you running at", I said, " well, I'm cooling down now, but I was holding an 8.0-8.1", so he yells really loudly to his friend who is walking three treadmills down from me, " hey fred, she was running at a 8.1), Fred says, " what?", the old man says, " an 8.0" fred says, "what?", this goes on for about 2 minutes until I really feel he is screaming in my ear and the whole gym now is looking. Now I wouldn't mind him screaming my speed if I was running a 9.0 or something but its not like I was super speedy or anything, and then the old man said to me, " I had a hard time at a 4.2 today" I just looked at him and just said, " " your 4.2 is my 8.0 and my 8 will be someones 9.0 or 10, but you know your here and your working hard and your keeping healthy and that is all that matters", he smiled at me and said, " it doesn't matter the number" and I said your absolutely right".

I was so happy yesterday that I met this man, even though he was screaming in my ear and poor Fred probably still doesn't know what the hell he was saying to him, but what he said to me was more important and that is: someone is always going to be faster and thats okay, its being happy with what your doing and feeling good about yourself that matters. Yesterday was a good day.

What is it about the Car?

So my typical morning starts when my 7 year old gets up at an ungodly hour of about 6am and proceeds to grumble and stomp and grrrrrrrrr and maybe he'll read until everyone in the house is up. I usually have them dressed and with breakfast on board by 7:30 so we can be in the car by 7:45 for school. But, everyday as I send the kids out into the garage to get into the car the fighting, the battling begins, I can't even pee when i hear, " Stop hitting me", " Get out of my seat", " Stop pinching and pulling my hair". Every morning it starts off usually okay and it ends up with me breaking up a full all out battle in the car, usually someone needs a shirt changed from whatever was thrown at them and mommy is screaming. Why is this? What is it about the car?

Another question about the car is, I have 4 of the same booster seats but each child has to sit in his seat or life is just not liveable. We will have full all out temper tantrums if they are not sitting in their specific seats. My little one happened to pee on his seat recently, as usual, I toweled it down but haven't washed it yet, my 6 year old wanted to sit in it, I told him not to, gave him the reason why, but he didn't care. Full all out screaming ensued, so I let him sit in it. Tell me that he didn't smell like pee going to school? I'm surprised the school didn't call me for to have his clothes changed. Its madness I'm telling you.

On my training front, tempo run today, hard effort, why are they so hard? I know I have to put the work into my run this off season, my swim is good and bike is coming along fairly strong but my weakness has always been my run. This is going to be really hard for me both mentally and physically to turn this around this season and I'm looking forward to it everyday. I think starting off the day battling with my kids leads me to being very successful in my workouts and getting all my adrenaline out of my body. I can tell you there is nothing better then a great workout. When I see my kids I am balanced and refocused and life is good again. Until someone cracks someone over the head, or pees on them or something, then the cycle starts all over again.....Are there any gyms open 24/7?

To "Toot" or not to "Toot" that is the Question?

So after being up several times last night because of our dog who had incontinence issues and umm, " diarrhea" issues, it brings me to my run this morning and my topic of the day.

So my run, an easy, extensively paced run, 6 miles, rolling terrain, nothing special, felt a bit harder today then normal, avg pace today of 8:22 so not too terrible, but I digress, back to the real issue of this post. So, as I'm running I'm feeling a bit rumbly in my tummy, and I'm thinking to myself, hmmm, do I toot and risk maybe a little somethin, somethin in my cute little jogging skirt, which by the way was black so I was safe on that front, or do I not toot and keep running and feeling quite uncomfortable. I had to think about it for awhile and said, screw it, so I tooted, phew, just plain old gas, nothing major, just needed to make it home. Now this has happened to me on much longer runs where it can pose a more major problem, I at least was heading home today. Something to think about, any thoughts?......

The Daily Grind

4am-daughter wandering hallway aimlessly-thank goodness made it to bathroom to pee. Started talking to one of her stuffed animals then fell asleep.

6:15am-rest of the crew wakes up and immediatley starts demanding my attention

7am-all 4 kids dressed, breakfast on table, fighting commences. No flying cheerios thank goodness. have to tell kids they can't go outside to play soccer, rest of neighborhood is asleep

8:15am-kids in car, drop off 1 at one school, 3 at another. Have 2 1/2 hrs of freedom-woo hoo.

8:45am-at the gym for a 1hr 15 min bike and 1hr of pilates

11:15am-grocery store-full food shop, can we say, $300, WTF!!!!

11:55am-pick up 3 yr old at preschool

12noon-make lunch for the little man, put away groceries, start making homemade chili for the hubby and pumpkin bread for my daughters class. Marinate Salmon for dinner

1p-laundry and dishes and general clean up

2:30p-drive to pick up kids from 2 different schools

3:30p- drop daughter off at dancing, drag others to swim team

4p-drop son off at Y for swim team-drive back to Cummings Center to pick daughter up

5P-get home, pack up the kids for soccer practice-shove any food down their throats

6:30-hubby shows up at soccer field, drives oldest to piano lessons from 7-7:30

7P-get home feed everyone dinner, make homemade chocholate cookies, clean up dishes

8:30p-kids in bed-read stories, rub backs

I really need a glass of wine, don't have any, very tired but at least no-one tried to kill each other today, I call that a successful day.

New Perspective

So this weekend provided me with some new perspective with regards to my triathlon training and racing. In short, I went to Scituate yesterday to do the first annual Scituate Duathlon, I've never done one before so I thought this would be a good experience for me, plus it was my last race of the season. Well, lets just say, I had a bike flat on the way to the race start, it took me about 15 minutes to change but I did it, so things weren't starting out like I wanted but I was still in good spirits. I brought my bike over to the bike service people at the race just so they could make sure I did my job right, they gave me a big okay and so I racked my bike, did a subpar warm-up given what little time I had left and headed for the start.

I was in the last group of people to go off and the first portion of this race was a 2 mile decent course with a lot wind but otherwise not too challenging, I felt my HR go up fairly quickly and thats due probably to my subpar warm-up so my time I knew was going to fall short but given that I started feeling really good towards the end of the run was getting me pretty pumped up for the bike. I get into transition, grab my helmet and shoes and I'm off. Well, right after I crossed the timing matt and mounted my bike I flatted again, same thing, rear wheel. I was so pissed, I must of missed something in my tire, a piece of glass something. I didn't have a spare tire so I went over to the same bike people and they rechecked my tire, nothing, replaced the tube, so after about 20 minutes I decided to forget about my race and head home. As I approached my car after biking 2 miles I noticed a huge bulge on the outside of my rear tire, of which, I flatted again, #3. Anyway, after bringing to the bike shop they found that it was a defective tire that they put on last week which most likely caused the flats, sucks for me.

Heres my point in telling this story, I needed to leave my husband with my 4 screaming kids to drive to scituate to race/not race and go through all this crap for almost nothing, its another race for me that ends up with me complaining about my performance or that something went wrong, I'm getting pretty sick of this and I'm getting pissed. Training and racing has helped me become more focused as a person and a parent and keeps me balanced in my life but times like these really throw me for a loop and I ask myself, " is this worth it?". Well, to me yes, but maybe not my husband and kids sometimes, but in the end, I know there will be lots of races for me in the future and hopefully these experiences will help me grow as a person as well as a an athlete. I do know that I am pretty confident in changing a flat at this point and I'm a girl who wears grease pretty well and if I can become more confident with all my defeats as well as my successes, isn't that teaching my kids something better about how to live life, I think so.