It's all about the Pig!

Two days till the Pig! The Flying Pig Half Marathon that is. I am so excited! My training has not been the best but my foot is feeling pretty good and I'm not trying to PR or anything. I just want to have a fun race and enjoy the Pig Party. What's not to like about a race with a Finish Swine and Pig Pens instead of starting corrals? I've got friends doing the full marathon and some doing the half, like me. At least one of my friends is doing the 5K tomorrow AND the half on Sunday. But we all know she kicks @$$!

Sadly, my cute pink shorts will not be flying with me but I've got other options to be in pink on Sunday - outside of my pink M-dot hat and pink pig ears. I've got a couple different choices - for instance a maroon and white singlet I recently received from St. Judes for my fundraising efforts for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. Remember: Gina Trias for St. Jude! But I also plan to do a little pink pig shopping at the expo tomorrow. :) My shorts WILL be ready for the Race for the Cure in October that I hopefully will not be laid up with bronchitis for this year. I realize this race is not on my calendar but I think it is the weekend before the Waterman's Half. I will see what I can do...

Today I am wearing for the first time in MONTHS work appropriate dress shoes. My feet are feeling OK so far. Of course it has only been about 1.5 hours since they've been on my feet. I need to make finding better work appropriate dress shoes a priority in the near future. Or else I'm going to be hurting wearing Spring/Summer work clothes. I'm so sick of my casual pants and jeans. I mean I appreciate the fact I can actually wear jeans to work, but... I miss my fun skirts and dresses! Today I am wearing one of them!

Happy Friday and Happy and Healthy Training!

I am tired...

I am so tired and don’t really know why. I have tried hard this week to get more sleep. I’ve blown off my workouts every day. I. Am. Tired. Maybe it is allergy related? But, It is Thursday – and of course I am as always So Happy It’s Thursday. I *will* make it to swim tonight. Maybe a second workout will be in the works, too. Maybe I’m just worried about my puppy?

Riley was scheduled to be spayed about a month ago but she went into heat, so I had to postpone things. That was actually a blessing in disguise. I dropped Riley off Friday morning – she was not to have any food after 9PM. Heck, she did not eat dinner and I felt so bad! It was so very hard letting her go – I was teary eyed! It was almost worse then when my sons were little boys and I took them in for a shot or something. Anyway, the vet called at a little after 1 PM Friday to say everything went well. What a relief!

So, Saturday was to be the first triathlon of the season: Rumpus in Bumpass International! And in true Team Z fashion, serious rain was predicted for Saturday. That was the day I was racing! Awesome!! Of course, there was nothing I could do, other than sit it out, but as it was to be a training day for me, I figured good practice, right?

Friday night I had a yummy dinner of a Chipotle chicken burrito, but skipped the usual corn. Saturday morning seemed to get here early (ha) and I was up and at ‘em before 5AM. I went up to get dressed for the race (tri stuff and HR strap) but could NOT find my HR strap! I knew I had laid it out the night before...I lost 5 minutes finding it stuck in my Z hoodie...

Off to load the car and get Jeff, who was doing his first tri ever!! I had made a mini bagel with Nutella to eat in the car along with my coffee. We were on the road at 6AM! Right on schedule. We did make a stop halfway to use the restrooms but we pulled into the race site at 7:40. Not too bad. Right as we started to unload the car...the rain started. lol On to packet pick up...

We got through packet pick up easily enough – I was so glad we arrived early! We dropped our stuff in transition then headed back to the car to drop what we did not need till post race. Then it was back to the Team Z tent city to get ready to wetsuit up. I also had a second breakfast of half of a regular bagel with Nutella with some Gatorade. Following is the write-up I sent my coach, Melissa:

Things that worked:
- Got my full-sleeved wetsuit on OK and did not experience shoulder fatigue – and despite having my arm warmers on underneath (did NOT want to struggle getting those up with damp arms!).
- Dressed perfect for the bike – tri top and shorts plus arm warmers.
- Had changed my shades to have clear lenses – perfect!
- Ditched the arm warmers for the run – smart as the sun came out for a bit and I get warm easily.
- Managed the run with little foot pain, made myself slow when I was too fast early on; walked the water stations and a couple other very short times (cone to cone) and of course walked the mudslide areas (two ditches and the path in the trees).
- Took in water and Heed on the run course; slow but felt good!

Things that did not work:
- Despite finding a landmark for transition beforehand, could NOT locate my bike after the swim; dropped my goggles; ended up looking for 673 as opposed to 763. Um, I was a mess!
- Getting my wetsuit off; had to sit – kind of hilarious actually (T1 never rocks for me even without wetsuit).
- Took one Gu on the bike – probably should have had a second. Felt tired during second loop – especially on the uphills.
- HR monitor was not working on the bike – not sure why; used cadence as a guide and kept RPMs at 90+ for the most part.
- In T2 – got my hair caught in someone else’s aeorbars when bent over when trying to stand up, more hilariousness.

Things I could not control:
- The weather (hahahaha)
- The swim course – buoys were all over the place, not one of my better swims but I felt good at least.
- Got kicked in the eye during the swim!

Overall:
6/13 in age group (but 5th due to the DQ of the actual person who was 5th ) – only 10 women in age group finished though – one quit after swim; two after bike.
3/13 in swim
10/13 in bike
8/13 in run

All in all I felt good at the finish!

Monday after work it was time to go get my Riley puppy! I had spoken to the vet and we agreed she might do well with a sedative as she was true to her name and pretty riled up! I picked her up at 4:30 and though they had given her the sedative at 2:30 you would not have known it. Then. We got home easily and she was happy to be home and settled. A couple hours later - yeah, the sedative hit! She did not eat dinner nor drink any water. I figured she'd be better in the morning. Not so. Fortunately this week my son has been home on Spring Break so she was not alone. Good timing! Tuesday I spoke to my son and she still had not eaten or drank anything. Darn! I phoned the vet to see what they thought and they suggested I bring her in for a quick check. After work I went to get her and she was so excited when I walked in the door you wouldn't have know anything was wrong! Well, we got here there by about 5PM - she was so excited to go there, too! Turns out, she was just slighly spoiled - they had given her some canned food mixed with her dry to get her to eat over the weekend. My vet put down some canned in a bowl and she totally inhaled it. They sent me home with three cans of food...

So, my foot - which felt good at the end of the Rumpus in Bumpass still feels good. Now it is only 10 days until the Flying Pig Half Marathon! I am really looking forward to my quick trip to Cincinnati! I have a cute pair of pink shorts to wear - if they fit. If not, oh well...I won't dwell on that. I do have pig ears and a pig headband to wear!

Happy and Healthy Training!

Sugarland Radio

Sugarland Radio I love Sugarland! They got their own iheartradio station this week! Enjoy! And Happy and Healthy Training...of course!

Focus time...

The past few weeks (ok, the past couple months) have been busy, fun, and stressful. I’d been taking a class – for fun – on becoming a certified personal trainer. Needless to say, between life in general, all the doctor’s appointments (4-5 a week but as of this week will be down to 2 a week), my class, my kids, my training...I was a bit stressed. I took the second part of last week to ‘chill’. One thing I did not do was get as much sleep as I should have. But...that is a new goal of mine. It also falls under focus. Saturday I spent a few hours out in the chilly weather sitting on bleachers at my son’s track meet. It was fun – I got to watch a few exciting races, then after my son ran and then cooled down it was time to leave. I went home and took a much needed nap!

On Sunday morning I was scheduled to run the GW Parkway Classic, 10 miler. I probably should have just downgraded to the 5K. But I did not. Now, I’d only run two times since the Shamrock 8K and little to no elliptical since before then. I opted to not start. I really, really want the Flying Pig Half on 5/1 to be my focus (there’s that word again) for my spring run, as best as it can be. I thought trying to plod through 10 miles now would not be smart. So, I just ran from home less than half that distance (4.35 miles) instead. I did the first 2.88 with Riley the puppy. Then I dropped her off and ran another 1.47. All pain free! What a beautiful thing!

Sunday later morning it was time for another swim test. I was supposed to do this last weekend but kind of flaked on that. Oops. I headed over to Audrey Moore RECenter to do my now familiar test: 300 warm up, 2x:20 treading water, 3x100 build w/:20 rest, 3x300 TEST with :30 rest, followed by a cool down. This was the hardest one yet. I may have over done it on my 3x100s because I had some fast splits! Then on the 3x300 my first was too fast. The second two were not quite so. Compared to my second swim test from a month-ish ago I was about (by my calculations) a half second slower on average. Oh well. We’ll see what the coach says... Maybe I should have done the swim test first? Before the run that is...? Hopefully the next time a swim test is scheduled I will not flake!

Sunday afternoon was awesome! The sun had come out by then for starters! Then my sons and the dog and I all headed out to Herndon to visit a dear friend, her son (my sons' oldest friend), and her two dogs. It was a good social visit for Riley as she’s met dogs before but not really had a good social visit with any one in particular. And it was nice to visit my friend! We’d not seen each other since she came to visit Riley when she was just a little thing! Riley did very well meeting her pups! It was so cute! Sadly...no pictures! This time... After Riley is spayed and healed we’ll be headed back so we can go to the 'place’ (i.e., dog park) and play!

Anyway, all in all, my foot is doing SO MUCH better. The countless visits to the chiropractor for ART and the added visits to the acupuncturist and the deep tissue massage therapist also there has really made a difference. And on Friday the massage therapist showed me a couple of painful home treatments I can do to also help. I now get up in the morning and take nearly normal steps! I’m much more flexible than I had been too in my back. Tonight I am going back to my regular Monday night Yoga class and am so excited to see how it goes! Then hopefully in the next few weeks I can work in the Bikram Yoga as well.

So, now that I’ve said that it is ‘focus time’, which it is, this coming Saturday is the very first tri of the season! That’s right! It is time to get my Rumpus on! Saturday at 10AM is the Rumpus in Bumpass Oly: 1500 swim, 24 mile bike, 10K run. I’m especially looking forward to the beginning and end of the run and the little jaunt on the path through the woods. (hahahaha) This is a Team Z event, too, so lots of fun will be had both Saturday for the Oly and Sunday for the Sprint. I’ve done each event one time. The first year (2009) I did the Oly (back when it was called the Rumpass in Bumpass) and last year I did the Sprint. This will be Jeff’s first official triathlon as well. Woo hoo! If I am up for it maybe I’ll go down on Sunday with Riley to cheer on other teammates. We’ll see how it goes.

And along with focus is getting more sleep, which I mentioned before. The other item is to get back on track with my nutrition. November 20 is really not that far off in the big picture so I want to get a good handle on this, this time around. I think all of my stress lately has let this ease to the back burner. I am going to make a good solid effort to kick the Diet Coke habit, too. I’ve made progress in the past, but always fell off that wagon. My friend Carol has gone over two weeks without it – and she has really inspired me! The final item will be to really try to get all my workouts in. I was doing really well till I started crumbling under the extra pressure with my class. Now that my class is finished, I know I can get back to it. Being able to run pain free though should make the most difference of all!

Five days to Rumpus!

Happy and Healthy Training!!

ABCs...of me!

I've seen this on other blogs lately. So I decided to be a copy-cat and do my ABCs....

A. Age: 46.

B. Bed size: Double.

C. Chore you dislike: Dusting.

D. Dogs: German Chocolate named Riley (she is an all black Chocolate Lab/German Shepherd mix).

E. Essential start to your day: I love a soy latte.

F. Favorite color: Green and Pink - I can't decide between the two.

G. Gold or silver: Silver.

H. Height: 5'2"-ish.

I. Instruments you play(ed): Clarinet, Flute, Saxophone, Piano, Trumpet, Cello.

J. Job title: Accountant.

K. Kids: Two-boys (that are practially men!).

L. Live: Springfield.

M. Mom's name: Mary.

N. Nicknames: Goober, Giner (want a Bananer?).

O. Overnight hospital stays: Childbirth x2, tonsillectomy, cervical spinal fusion.

P. Pet peeves: Dirty dishes in sink when dishwasher hasn't been run.

Q. Quote from a movie: "What? You're letting him stay home? If I was bleeding out my eyes, you guys would make me go to school!"

R. Righty or Lefty: Lefty.

S. Siblings: Ask me in person.

T. Time you wake up: Between 4:30-5:30.

U. Underwear: None of your business.

V. Vegetables you don't like: Squash/Zucchini.

W. What makes you run late: Getting distracted at home.

X. X-rays you've had: Neck, knee, teeth, foot, and hip.

Y. Yummy food you make: Lasagna.

Z. Zoo animal favorites: Big cats.

Happy and Healthy Training!

I ran...

Wednesday night I had a dreaded elliptical workout on the schedule. But as usual for the past 6 or so weeks I've had class. I was not up to elliptical-ing after. So I went home and chilled.

Yesterday I *only* had a swim workout on the schedule and was planning to swim in the evening with the JCC Masters. So last night when I got home from work I had lots of time so I decided to try out my foot. I suited up (so to speak) and put the leash on my pup and we both went out for a 1.5 mile run.

My plan was to do the loop around my half of the neighborhood. I took it nice and slow because (1) I'm trying to be nice to my foot; and (2) my dogs never gone for a run before. Well, she runs around the yard, and we walk her on the leash, but this was different.

Early on she got excited to see some neighbors and promptly peed. Good doggie - right in the street! After saying hello and such we were on our way. About 1 mile in she had to do #2. Thank goodness I remembered bags! After she was done and I cleaned up we were once again on our way.

Towards the end we came upon a man walking a slightly smaller dog. She was very interested in them! That was the only time she was kind of veering away from me. So I moved to the other side of the street. We really got into a nice groove overall. She occasionally wanted to stop and smell a tree or utility pole but a gentle tug and a "No" and she continued on. We did not get tangled or anything.

All in all I thought she did very well. And so did my foot/heel. I did warm it up before the run - I'm hoping that helped. This morning I spent a lot of time before work using the foot wheel, as well. Right now it feels, well, normal. Or what normal has been. I feel it, but it doesn't hurt. Today marks exactly ONE MONTH till the Flying Pig Marathon weekend where I plan to run and/or walk the half marathon!

TGIF!

Happy and Healthy Training!!

Pig fun!