Triathlete's Running Season has started!

What do triathletes do during their "off season" ... usually they ...
1. Pick what they are the worst at and focus on that
2. Try and drop some precious pounds to give them the cutting edge
3. Build muscle
4. Work on their nutrition
5. Take a mental "break" from the high intensity triathlon training
6. Rest
7. ,,,

Why do we do this? I get called CRAZY all the time and that's ok! I think all of us need to get in touch with are crazy side! =) I'll be honest, part of this is pure self-pleasure. Sure people say there is nothing pleasurable about torturing yourself. But actually, if you can embrace the pain and be dedicated ... there is nothing better than that feeling of accomplishment & the bragging rights that come with it! You also become a member of a select group that can make a difference. You make a difference in the charities that the races support. You make a difference in the lives of the people that surround you because you are a symbol of good health. You challenge them to do something beyond what they thought was conceivable b/c that's what you did.

That's what I did ... what I once thought to be inconceivable I am now doing! And, that's exciting! When I started out I couldn't run a mile , heck, I couldn't even run 3min straight. A lot has changed & it is my goal to show others what is actually attainable and as long as they swallow their fears and take that first step, they can move mountains. This isn't only for athletics, but life too. I wanted to be in the medical field, but was too scared to study it in my first undergrad. Well guess what? I swallowed my pride and my fears and am now back in school for another degree, this time nursing, and I'm loving every second of it!!

Anyone who knows me, or has read any of my posts, knows that I don't care for running all that much, so that's what I'm focusing on. My coach and I decided on about 6 different running races to do before mid-December. The first of those official races is this coming weekend (11k trail run). I've taken on a new outlook on running and am trying to stay positive. Running is not what I hate, but I'm taking it on as a challenge this winter. And, I am going to tackle it!

This week was really like my first week really back into training, since taking some time "off" so I wouldn't burn out & it was a COMPLETE SUCCESS!! I ran up Paris Mtn for the first time and it went GREAT. It was hard, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't nearly as awful as I was expecting. This weekend I was also considered a rogue runner and caught a friend at mile 3 of her first half marathon and ran the rest with her for support. She was a former Team in Training athlete and it

is exciting to see her continue in the athletic arena and strive to get faster and better. She did fantastic on this half marathon and is already talking about the next one. That's what gets me excited about what I do ... seeing someone else, who never dreamed she would ever run a half marathon or an open water triathlon and has now done both.

Inspiring others ... that's what this is really about!

At the RACES - Hickory Knob Sprnt Tri (10-16-10)

I have never laughed so hard before a race! I went down there w/ Nicole the morning of the race. We have this race starting thing down to a science ... or so we thought. Our wave goes off at 9:30, we have to gel 15-20min before that & we put our wetsuits on somewhere around there too ... so we don't overheat in them. It's like 9:00 and Jeremy (race director & President of Set Up Events) starts hollering at all the athletes to get on the dock and then get in the water. Nicole & I are standing there, like "what? surely he doesn't mean us. We don't go off for another 30min." Sure enough he did mean us. The girls that were standing there ooing over the beautiful lake and aren't anywhere near ready to start a race, yep that was us! The international distance swimmers were coming in & we had to get off the docks so they could run up and out to TA. Thank God we had stretched up at TA! We stood there frantically trying to put our wetsuits on (which is not an easy process, especially for Nicole since this is her "pre-pregnancy" wetsuit!). I swear, people were cursing at us because we were standing there in the middle of the sidewalk. Goggles, swimcaps, gels, water bottle, plastic bags ... thrown everywhere ... I'm laughing my head off, Nicole has this look of panic on her face ... it was hysterical!! =)

SWIM: We sat on the side of the dock for awhile & then finally got in. I got kicked a few times so I decided to just float behind the line of people waisting energy by treading water while I just chilled out! "30sec before wave 8 goes" - so I make my way up to the front of the line & then we are off. I swear, about 10 people ganged up on me and tried to drown me! Thankfully I swam faster than them & got out of harms way fast!

BIKE: Running to TA was difficult. Coming from the lake it was practically straight up. I stripped my wetsuit off on the dock so I wouldn't cramp & just ran as fast as I could up the huge hill. It was a hilly bike course w/ a few very steep hills ... granny gear here I come!

RUN: Guess what, the run course was hilly too. All in all I was very pleased w/ my effort. It was difficult for me, but I pushed it. Nicole came running at me on the last hill, yelling at me to push it. "It's a sprint it's supposed to hurt." Well, I was definitely hurting! I wanted to yell not so nice things, but honestly it was really nice to have that extra push. I finished and almost puked all over the volunteer - thankfully nothing came out!

I had never done this race before & I loved it. Yes, it is hilly and challenging, but that's what makes it fun. Can't wait to do it again next year!!

At the RACES - Augusta 70.3 Half IM (9-26-10)

AWESOME course. Let me say that again ... AWESOME course!! The swim is fast, the bike is fast/very nice rolling hills, and the run is flat, very flat ... and lots of spectators. I had some wonderful spectators down there cheering me on: Nicole, Addison & Jenny. I couldn't have done it w/o them.

SWIM: I almost missed my swim start. To my defense, they started WAY early. Somehow everyone else realized it & I was still up on the levy talking to my friends. Oops! My group was already on the docks and I was no where close. Ha ha great running warm up in my wetsuit as I ran over a quarter mile to the docks! It was a fast swim. Not much else to say.
BIKE: This was fun, b/c I could keep higher speeds than I had expected. Except when I dropped my Zeals (sunglasses). I had taken them off b/c it was so dark from the storm & shoved them into my tri top. Well, they slipped out. No way I was leaving those babies on the ground. People must have thought I was crazy, but I turned my bike around, went back & scooped those Zeals up. That was fairly early on. The rain started to let up & I got into a rhythm. I felt great on the bike.

RUN: I was excited coming off the bike & heading out to the run. In T2 I wasn't looking at my running shoes and crying like Macon (horrible day!). I felt pretty decent on the run. Nicole caught me on the run & shouted words of encouragement to me several times ... she kept me going.

All in all it was a great race. I was extremely pleased w/ it. Sure, you always tell yourself "well, if I had just done this, or that or ... I could have been faster." Bottom line: I was 30min faster than my previous fastest Half IM distance ... and I'm happy w/ that.

At the RACES - North Myrtle Beach Sprint Tri (9-11-10)

This was a interesting race to say the least. Nicole & I zoomed down there after work, Friday night. Got in late, Didn't get any sleep thanks to a stupid A/C machine, a random hotel alarm clock, noisy baby Addison, and our nerves. All in all, we were just glad we made it down there & didn't forget anything at home!

Race Morning: Turns out we are North Myrtle -not- Myrtle ... so there was a bit of confusion for G-ma to come watch Addison. We ended up out on the beach, people already swimming & we still had Addison in the stroller w/ us. Yay, there's G-ma ... about 2 min before we go off.

SWIM: The swim was crazy choppy. We went out about 25yards and then went parallel with the shore. I pushed it. I like swimming & a challenge. This swim definitely was a challenge. HUGE waves & lots of them. Oh, & did I mention very mean athletes trying to KILL YOU!! Ha! oh well. As I was running up the sand I took one of them out ... accidently of course.

BIKE & RUN: Not much to say but FLAT. Very, very flat. About half way through the run, my stomach started not doing so hot. All that salt water I had taken in from the rough swim had caught up w/ me. I was sick! Tried to keep pushing it, but all they way through the finishing shoot I was dry heaving. Once I crossed that finish line I was D .. O... N... E! Couldn't find a trash can fast enough so I headed for the pine tree and threw up. All better!

Still ended up taking 2nd in my Age Group (20-24)! Yay for hardwear.

Special thanks to my Awesome sponsors for there support. TriSports.com totally takes care of me. I had to frantically call them the week before the race b/c my tire was dead ... and as always they got me all fixed up! Thanks guys =) Dr. Dan Becker, you keep me moving & Nuun & PowerBar, you keep me alive!