rebecca's blog

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 - A full race!

The BASF Smile Train Tri looks like it is going to be a full race. With only 10 days to go there are only 20 spots left! So far the collection from registration fees is estimated to be over $11,000 which means that the donations collected from personal donations and this race will be at least $18,000 (probably more!) We are going to make over 72 smiles. This couldn't be a more wonderful race

Monday, June 9, 2008 - It was a big week!

So wow! Only 20 days left until The Smile Train Tri! Swim caps are being printed, shirts are ordered, race programs are printed, cue sheets are done! Most of the big details have been taken care of and now its onto the little loose ends. Can you believe that this race ALONE is already guaranteed to raise over $8,200 for The Smile Train. Last time I looked we had 208 registrations and it is growing every day! This is going to be a really big first time race and I'm totally excited about it!

On the training front, I did my first century ride on Saturday and felt great. As part of the Tour de Cure for the American Diabetes Association, I did the first days ride and chose the long 102mile route. It was HOOOOOOOTTTTT out there - I heard that someone had a temperature reading on his bike and it was saying 112 degrees out on the black top roads. It felt like it! I went through 4 rounds of fluid in my 60oz. Camelbak, 3 PB&J sandwiches, 2 Hammer Gels, 1 Power Bar, 9 Sport Legs capsules, lots of ice down my shirt (and shorts!) and 2 cookies. I finished the race feeling tired but hey, it was 100 miles I didn't expect to be dancing. However, I was expecting to be more tired than I was. The next day I felt great - not one bit of soreness and no extreme fatigue! I could definitely have done another 10 miles but I'll save that for Louisville!

I must say that on the ride I felt quite sassy. I wore my Sleveless Bike Jersey, Vogue Shorties, and the Sugar Magnolia Race Belt Skirt (because I don't care how skinny you are - no one looks 'good' in bike shorts!) I did convert a few people to a Skirt along the way.

So then on Sunday, we had the training ride for The Smile Train Tri and there were 24 people out there! I was so pleased to see such a great turn out for an unofficial, unsupported ride. Thanks so much to everyone who came out. I had so much fun getting to have real conversations with some of the wonderful people supporting this cause!

The most exciting thing this week has been Children's Motrin! My kids have been sick non-stop (seriously - every day) since last Thursday! We're going on 6 days of fevers for John and now Polly has an ear infection. So needless to say it hasn't been the most productive week at my real job or at my training. Guess I'll be taking these days as 'recovery'! Ahhhh the joy of being an Iron-mom!

No wait - the really most exciting thing is the update to my training plan. In May 2009 I'm going to run the Grand Canyon rim-2-rim! We'll start at the South Rim, run down into the canyon, across the bottom, up to the North Rim and sleep. The next day we'll get up and do it all over again! It's around a 44-50mile run and I'll be doing it with some of the crazy SkirtSports ladies. So right after Ironman Louisville I'll start ramping up for the City of Oaks Marathon then after a little break I'll get geared up to go to Arizona! More on this later. If you've ever done this run or know someone who has I'd love to email or talk to them!

Tuesday, May 28, 2008 - 5 Weeks to The Smile Train Tri!

We only have 5 weeks left to get everything ready! It has gone so quickly but rather smoothly considering everything that has been done. I'm working on the finish details for t-shirts, programs, volunteers, police officers, port-a-potties... all the really fun stuff!

If this is your first tri, you need to start practicing with whatever you are going to use on race day. Go get your shorts or your Skirts together (use Discount Code REBECCAW and get on the road. Want some tips on doing your first tri from my viewpoint? Check out the race training page.

People are always asking how my training for Ironman Louisville is coming and I have to say it's going great! This past weekend I went on a 72 (turned out to be 75) mile bike ride with 7 friends and felt great. I got tired around mile 65 but got a second wind around mile 70 and finished feeling like I could have gone on a run.

I would have run after my ride but there was something so majorly, super-duperly exciting going on at my house that I was so eager to get home! John was potty-training this past weekend and he did it! He is wearing the coolest superhero, Cars, and teeny tiny boxer briefs and it is adorable. He figured out that every time he goes potty he gets Skittles (or thkittleth as he says). That's my boy! Food as a bribe - that's a life lesson!

As for Polly, we had a wonderful day on Monday. It was a Memorial Day party at our neighborhood pool in Heritage Wake Forest and so we went up while John and Richard napped. There was a hula-hoop contest (which we both decided we did NOT want to do) and a mother-daughter swimming relay that Polly asked me if we could do. Remember, she just 5 and this is her first summer being able to swim the length of the pool, as well as being very reserved and never wanting people to watch her or cheer for her. So of course I jumped on the chance to swim with my baby girl. We got to the start of the race with the other 7 mother/daughter teams and Polly was the youngest by at least 3 years. Everyone (except Polly since she's so young) had to wear a t-shirt while they swam to make it that much harder. So the race started and little Polly jumped in and started swimming. By the time she got half-way all the other mom's were swimming but I was so busy cheering for her I didn't notice. They gave me the go ahead so in typical athlete style I did a no-breather 25 then hit the wall and turned around to go cheer on Polly as she finished her lap. I was the proudest Mommy at the pool that day. We were the last ones out of the water but we had the most fun of anyone. That is a day that I will never, ever, ever forget - my first mother daughter relay with my baby girl!

Saturday, May 17, 2008 - The SkirtSports Entourage!

So you know how I'm always wearing my Skirts? Well, I was invited to be a part of the SkirtSports Entourage!  We are a group of 23 women across the world who volunteer to help spread the Skirt love.

As part of this group I'm able to share a discount code with everyone I know and come across - go to www.skirtsports.com and at checkout, put in the Discount Code REBECCAW and you can save 15%.

If you are a bargain hunter like me you'll love their new clearance outlet as well.  Go to www.skirtsportsoutlet.com and you can find the original Skirts and tops for up to 50% off. It's a great way to get a new Skirt (or 3 or 4) at an awesome deal!

Sunday, May 5, 2008 - My first Half-Ironman Race Report

What a week it has been! In the last 7 days I've developed a swollen lymph gland in my hip/groin area that's the size of a big hotdog and I've had a nasty staph infection. So on Wednesday, after being in so much pain on my hip (from the infection/lymph gland/whatever) I went to the FastMed clinic and got some heavy duty antibiotics. Kapow - 36 hours later I was already feeling better - but the swelling hadn't gone down yet and I still had 2 holes in my back from the infection.

So Friday morning I went out for a bike ride to see how it would feel and good news - it actually felt great to be on a bike. Now I hadn't worked out all week - not since Sunday - because I was afraid that might make whatever I had worse and I had to do my first half-ironman on Saturday.

Friday night around 7pm I head off to White Lake, NC for the White Lake Half-Ironman race; 1.2mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). My expecations for this race are completion. I actually took the computer off my bike so I wouldn't worry about speed or time and I didn't start my watch at the beginning of the race. 

My theory on races is until you complete a distance at least one time you can't compete at that distance. Considering the week I had - I just wanted to finish and feel good afterwards.  Good news!  Mission accomplished!

The race was wonderful. The swim was perfectly clear.  It was a little crazy at the beginning but by about 200-300 yards in I got in a rhythm. I didn't plan on any problems in the swim, but about half-way through I realize that it really hurt to kick.  Apparently my swollen lymph gland was affecting my stroke and making me shorten my kick and feel pretty clumsy in the water.  I'm not typically a super fast swimmer but having swam since I was 5 I'm definitely comfortable in the water.  So I was able to hang in there and just pull my way through the swim.  The hardest part was trying to keep my legs on top of the water without kicking too much. I didn't want to hurt myself and risk the rest of the race. I made it into the transition area and got out of my wetsuit (which I wish I had not worn) and put on my awesome Skirt Sports Tri Shorts over my smiley-face swimsuit and I was off.

I expected the bike ride to be windy and a bit bumpy. Well it was windy the entire time. The miles went by nicely, I didn't push myself at all on the bike, and my heart rate stayed pretty low the entire time.  I had no idea how long this was taking me or how fast I was going so I just focused on my form and how I felt. At mile 30 I realized I was totally going to finish this race! That was an awesome feeling. My biggest issue on th ebike was that my swimsuit was getting uncomfortable and my shoulders/arms/back were tired of being on the bike. I thnk I need to work on my form a bit more.

On into the transition area again to put on my SkirtSports Roller Girl Skirt for the run. Now I'm not usually one of those gals who changes clothes in between each event but for this one I figured that since it's my first time at this distance I better make sure that I'm comfortable - next year I'll worry about speed.  The run was not bad at all. I kept a cool towel on my neck the entire race and poured water over my body at ever stop. I did at one point on the run realize that I was no longer going to be able to eat much more than oranges and water so that was a good experience for my Ironman Training to have that realization. Again, totally taking my time on te run I walked through every water station and just enjoyed my self. I did get so much water on myself from keeping my body cool (and it helped with leg chafing) that it sounded like I was running on two sponges - squish, squish, squish - can't do that in Louisville or I'll have some serous blisters! Lesson learned!

Looking back I did great for my first half-Ironman distance. First of all I finished, and I finished in 6hours 21minutes which was 10th in my age group (of 25), I never hit a wall, cramped up, or had to stop.

My areas of improvement for this next phase of my training are to focus on my swimming form, biking form (mainly my upper body), and my running speed. Next year I hope that I'll be able to actually compete at this distance then I'll hammer it out on the bike and pound it out on the run with minimal stops.  Maybe I'll come in under 6 hours next year!  We'll see!!

Sunday, April 27, 2008 - John's 1st Fun Run

This past weekend was the Skirt Chaser race in Raleigh. Nicole DeBoom, owner of SkirtSports, along with BeActiveNC.org hosted a kids run, so of course we had to go!

The kids were so excited all day to meet Mrs. Debooooooo, especially Polly since she knew that she created all the Skirts I wear. So we got to the store and what did they have but kiddie sized Skirts.  Polly picked out one to wear for her fun run and it's pretty cute. Between her official Skirt and her speed laces she was ready to go.

Before the race I got to meet Nicole and Tim DeBoom and let me say, they are super nice people. The kids took a picture with Tim DeBoom and got to do a pre-race warmup with Nicole, Tim, and Meg Gill, the race coordinator.

The run was about 200 yards and the kids were so excited.  Polly lined up on the starting line and John decided he would follow. However, once the race began John decided he wanted to plot his own course so he cut off a good 50 yards to go right to the finish line. After looking over his shoulder a few times he squealed as he ran down the chute to the end where Polly was waiting for him.

My two little winners both received a "medal" (a fabulous SkirtSports key chain that I get to use now - finally a medal I can do something with!) and got to have some play time.  We got home around 7:30pm (wayyyy past John's 6:30 bed time) and everyone was zonked. A great end to a great day.

John's first fun run was a sucess and they kids are both asking when they can do another.  As long as they keep having fun, we can do them every weekend!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 - I'm an official Skirt!

Ok - so if you've ever seen me train or ever talked to me about what to wear when training you know I'm all about the Skirt - but specifically the SkirtSports Skirt. I love them, I own 6 of them and they are so very loved! Check out my photos page, eventually you'll see all of my Skirts up there (I'll be sure of it!).

Well, it's official! I'm' going to be part of the "Skirt Entourage" to continue to promote the Skirt Style everywhere I go.  It's not too different from what I've already been doing.  I get to tell everyone how wonderful they are, lift my Skirt for just the right person and show them the goods (the spankies silly... what were you thinking??) and encourage women everywhere to drop their shorts and pull on a Skirt.

This weekend will be pretty fun too - it's the Raleigh Skirt Chaser race on Saturday evening. Unfortunately I won't be able to go since the kids have 3 birthday parties in 3 hours that afternoon.  However, Polly, John and I are going to go down Friday afternoon for the Family Fun Run at Inside Out Sports in Cary. Nicole and Tim DeBoom will be there and I'm really excited to meet the lady behind the business, as well as meeting some of the other Skirt Entourage members. 

If you are looking for a really fun and energetic race, go do the Skirt Chaser! A Skirt is included in your registration fee! Go ahead, convert! If you want an in-person testamonial, just ask me - I've been a skirt convert since 2005.

Tuesday, April 14, 2008 - Triangle Orthopaedic Race Report

This weekend was the Triangle Orthopaedic Sprint Triathlon held at NC State University. The weather was cold in the morning but it was a perfect day for a race. I arrived on site at 5:30am to help setup and let me tell you - these guys were setting up the night before and then arrived at 4am to finish! I knew producing these events was a alot of work but wow - Finish Strong did an awesome job!!!

The swim was a 750yd open swim in Lake Raleigh with a water temperature of 54 degrees. As you can imagine, most of us wore wetsuits. I decided to do a warm-up swim to get used to the water and I'm so glad I did. When I got in my heart jumped to 75% and it took my breath away. I forgot how much I don't like swimming in a wetsuit.  I finished the swim in moderate pace but after the swim we had to run/walk about 200yards to the transition area so that time counted towards our swim time. So off with the wetsuit and on with the Skirt to tackle the 10 mile bike.

The bike course was a constant 10mile rolling hill course. Nothing too terrible at all but with the wind there was no easy riding on that course. Between the hills and the wind I never felt like I got into a rhythm.

Finally the bike was over and I headed out onto the run, but oops!  When I put my shoe on something inside the heel folded up and I couldn't get it unstuck.  Oh well, between the hills and my shoe being folded up I just had a nice run.  Watched my heart rate and tried not to think about the Grand Canyon of a blister forming on my heel.  My wonderful friends Denyse and Lisa were volunteering on the course so when I got to them it gave me that little kick I needed.  The run itself had a few little inclines but ended with the last 1/2 mile up a hill.  I gave it a good strong kick across the finish line and managed to place 6th in my age group (out of 18) and 14th overall the women (out of 69). I'm pleased since my goal this season hasn't been on speed but more endurance.

The race did have a little money left over so I was able to get a donation to The Smile Train from it.  I made some new friends like Roger from Colorado, the Ryan's from Duke, a fellow tri-mommy Jennifer from Apex, and the awesome crew from Target.  There were some amazing athletes at this event and a good number of first timers.  I hope everyone had a great race - I know I did!!!

Thursday, April 10, 2008 - Need a reminder? Well just in case you do...

I think about The Smile Train children and families every day! However, sometimes I forget just how bad it is for them, yet they keep on going.

This morning Brian Mullaney, the co-founder of The Smile Train, sent out an email along with a video of his recent trip to Haiti, one of the world's most poverty stricken areas.  As I watched these images go along, I was sobbing.

We have it so great here with our healthy children, nice homes, green yards - and yet sometimes we forget.  These Haitian families are living with hardly a roof-over their heads, very little food, and definitely no running water. For the families with children with a cleft-lip they also have to deal with the ostracizing of their child - and in some cases for the adults awaiting treatment they are outcasts.

I wish I could raise enough money to help them all, give them clothes, food, and shelter. But I'm only one person - that's why I'm doing this. I'm only one person but if I can touch hundreds of other people and they pass on the word, then "only one person" can do a great deal of good!

So what can you do? Learn more about The Smile Train by reading up on their website, send them a donation, anything you can. Every penny they receive goes right to the patient programs so they maximize the use of your dollars! If you are an athlete of any caliber and can get to Wake Forest, NC (outside of Raleigh) on June 29, 2008 signup to do The Smile Train Tri.

If you live outside of the Raleigh area, consider hosting your own Smile Train Tri! Contact me and we can talk about the how-to's!

Saturday, April 4, 2008 - Raleigh Rocks Race Report, Polly's 1st Fun Run

Polly, my 5-year-old daughter did her first fun run today! She had been asking for a while if she could do a triathlon but I thought we should start with something easy. So I did the Raleigh Rock 1/2 Marathon today and afterwards we did the 1-mile fun run together.

It was pretty cute! Up until the fog-horn sounded for the start Polly has been saying that I couldn't do it with her - all I could do was watch. Once that horn sounded she stood perfectly still and then ran right for me. She wanted to go home (she doesn't like attention of any sort and she thought everyone was looking at her.) So I held her hand and we were the last ones through the whole run. We jogged when she wanted, walked when she needed and talked the whole time about how important it was to just enjoy what we were doing. When we got to the last 1/4 mile she wanted to run the whole way so I did. The final 50 feet I ran ahead and got a little video of her running across the finish line.  She was beaming! She didn't care that she was the last one across and neither did I! I was just so proud of her for sticking with it and doing it.

As for my race, I had a great time running with Sara, Kim, and Shannon from the Kerry Family Y. I'm not used ot having someone to run with lately so it was nice to have the company. I went a little faster than I may have but I still came in around 2:06. Not too shabby for a long run :) 

Sunday, March 30, 2008 - Inside Out Half-Marathon Race Report

What a fun weekend! Friday is was in the 70's, clear and sunny! It was a beautiful day for a bike ride, however, I wasn't riding. The kids and I played all day so I could workout Saturday and Sunday morning. Saturday morning it was 45 degrees, windy, and rainy - so what did I do? My friend Janice and I went on a 50mile bike ride. We took it extra slow knowing we would have the elements against us the whole time. The first 15miles I felt like a turtle but about 1/2 way through I was so glad we went slowly. I ended the ride feeling tired but strong - not totally spent. My toes on the other hand had no feeling in them (neither did my tush!)  We planned on doing a short transition run but as we were finishing our ride the rain picked up and pulled out.

So Sunday morning I had the oppportunity to test my legs out after a good long ride; surprisingly they felt really strong! I did the Inside-Out Sports Classic Half-Marathon and let my heart rate set the pace. I mainted a very slow and stead 9:45 minute pace through most of the race. My legs were a bit tired but no more than normal, I would say. I was actually able to pick it up the last mile and finish with a strong 2:10 run. I was not totally winded, zonked, or exhausted! I felt great and even walked the 0.75 miles to my car, came home and played with the kids, and I still feel great as I write this at 8pm.

My training is progressing very, very well. I'm working very hard to focus on my heart rate and not my speed (which is hard for me!) and it seems to be paying off. I still need to get some serious distance in on the bike but that will come as the season progresses. I am looking so forward to Ironman Louisville in August. There is a lot to accomplish between now and then but it will certainly be a fun ride!

Monday, March 24, 2008 - Cary Duathlon Race Report

Wow - so I haven't given you an update lately!

It's been a very busy 5 or 6 weeks. Since February we've got all our sponsors lined up for The Smile Train Tri and tomorrow/Tuesday I'm expecting delivery of my fancy flyers that will be put in stores all around the Triangle area! Promotions for the race are starting in April with an article in the local Heritage Magazine, followed by a little bit in the Wake Weekly in May and hopefully the local news media will pickup our story and do something in May or June.

On the training front, I'm 22 weeks out from Ironman Louisville and feeling great.  With the change in time I've been able to get out and run in the evenings. I want my body to be used to working out in the evening with food in my stomach and a tired body. Turns out this is one of my favorite workouts of the week!

Just this past weekend I did a the Cary Long-Course Duathlon; that's a 5-mile run, 31-mile bike, 4-mile run. It felt great! My goal for the race was to keep my heart rate in a good zone so I didn't worry about time or speed just heart rate.  The results was a little slower on my run but I must say I was pleased because my two run times were not that different.  My transitions were pretty fast and the bike was awesome.  I have no idea how fast I was going because I turned off my computer, however, I know that I felt great through the entire race, didn't bonk, didn't walk, and I didn't coast. 

Along the way I got to make a few friends - thanks Rodney for the nice chat, Chris from Triangle Orthopaedic - it was a pleasure to meet you. All in all the race was a success for me - I am a bit disappointed that I got 5th because I know I could have gotten 3rd if I had pushed my runs harder. But then again, my goal for this race was not to place but to have a good solid workout - sometimes you just have to complete and not compete. That's hard for a competitor to do!

Friday, February 15, 2008

Once again, I'm so excited about The Smile Train Tri!  We got our first premier sponsor, Carolina Pediatric Dentistry. Another perfect fit for this race - a children's dentistry practice! Take your kids t osee Drs. Johnson, Hollowell, and Davis and let them know their sponsorship is appreciated.

I also spoke with my contact at The Smile Train offices in New York to update them on what we are doing and they confirmed it! This is the first ever triathlon in the world to benefit The Smile Train. In March I'll be reaching out to some of the local news channels and news papers to see about getting more publicity with what we are doing. I'd love some national publicity for our race to heighten awareness of The Smile Train and their mission. Maybe we'd even motivate someone in another city to put on their own Smile Train Tri! Woudn't that be great if this started a movement of local races across the country!

Thursday, January 31, 2008

I'm totally pumped up about BASF Presenting The Smile Train Tri! They are a wonderful global company partnering with us to impact a global community of children in need. You know BASF, probably by their slogan "We don't make the things you use, we make the things you use better". This will be an excellent partnership that wil make help us make the children's smiles bigger!

My new goal is to collect enough sponsors so that every dollar of the race costs are covered and 100% of the entry fees for the participants will go to The Smile Train! Can you imagine - if we have 100 people register, that could be $4,000 - 200 people = $8,000, 300 people = $12,000 - that is HUGE! Let's do it together.

Friday, January 25, 2008

So it's been a busy week! We got our first 2 sponsors for The Smile Train Tri in Heritage and got the online registration setup. My goal it to get $5,000 in sponsorship dollars so that we can cover the costs just to setup the event. If you are interested in being a sponsor or know someone who would benefit from sponsoring us, visit our sponsor page or print off our sponsor information packet. Once you are ready to commit, complete our sponsor commitment form and you'll be signed up!

Also, I've spoken with Debbie Daria at Instant Imprints in Heritage and she's agreed to be our primary source for printing needs. In fact, she's working on a way to help our sponsors out as well with their printing needs. Debbie is excited aobut this event and bringing as many others into this wonderful event as she can.

We are all so excited because this is not just a triathlon, it's the first triathon in Wake Forest as well as the first triathlon we know of to benefit The Smile Train! History in the making, folks! Get on board!

As for training - this has been a slow week with Richard being in Idaho for "work" (in addition to some snow-mobile riding). I begin to hit it hard this next week and I'm so pumped! I'm ready to get my miles in on the bike. Don't forget to check out my training page to see if there are any events you would like to do with me. It's all about completion, not competition (unless you are 10 seconds ahead of me, in my age group and I'm about to come in 2nd).

Now about your training - get on board - look at the 8-week super sprint training plan that TriDivas.com has let us re-publish. If you don't think you can do the whole triathlon, then find 2 friends and do it as a relay where a different person completes each event!

Oh - one more thing! We got our first publicity piece from The Wake Weekly! Check out the sports section cover and here's the link to the article in its entirety.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008 - The Smile Train Tri in Heritage

I heard today that The Smile Train Tri in Heritage Wake Forest was approved. Ammons Development and Heritage Wake Forest has agreed to allow us to user their pool and surrounding neighborhoods to hose this event.  Finish Strong Event Production will provide the oversight to ensure that everything runs smoothly. I am looking for sponsors and volunteers right now, so if you are interested in either of these roles, contact me for more details!

Saturday, December 29, 2007 - Year End Review

What an awesome year it was and what a fun year we have to look forward to.  Over the next 9 months my training will get crazier, my races more frequent, and my sleep longer (hopefully). Richard (my husband) has been a huge help already, watching the kids every Saturday morning so I can train and putting up with me being a tired Mommy on Saturday afternoons.

Polly (my daughter) just told me today that she wants her job to be raising money for other people. It is so nice to see that while she doesn't fully understand what I'm doing, she's noticing bits and pieces.

So far training is going great. I love the smell of the natatorium so the swimming workouts are great. I've not been too worried about the running since I put in so many miles for the marathon so I'm just maintaining my runs for my current prep phase. As for the bike - I've not been able to get on the road as much as I would have liked so I've been doing alot of spin classes at the Y.  Over the last few months I've made some new friends so I'll be getting on the road a bit more.

I continue to think of myself as the Little Engine in my training (appropriate for The Smile TRAIN). I may not have the best swim form, fastest biking pace, or the quickest run but I've got the desire. I'm not really worried about how fast I go as long as I finish and stay healthy! 

Beginning in January or February the events will become more frequent so there will be more race reports and updates here. Stay tuned for an awesome 2008!!!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007 - Raleigh Marathon Race Report

So I did the Raleigh marathon and completed it in 4:45 (that's hours:minutes). While that may seem pretty slow - you can bet I'm pleased. That was a PR (personal record) for me as my 'fastest' time back in 1999 was 4:59.

The first 11 miles were pretty easy. The hills on this race were supposed to be bad but I guess I did my training right because I didn't really notice any big hills. I hit the half way (13.1 miles) mark in 2hr 15min and was very pleased with my pace. I wasn't at all breathing hard and my legs felt fine. By that point I hadn't walked except when I needed to sip some Gatorade at the few water stations. So somewhere around mile 14 we headed into a pretty state park and ran along a gravel trail for about 5 miles. It was nice but I found it rather boring. Guess I'm a city girl - I like running by the cars, buildings, and houses. It gives me something to look at! Before I knew it we were at mile 16 and I was still feeling strong. I consider mile 16 the final countdown because then we get into the final 10 miles!

So somewhere around mile 19 I got hungry! And what do you know, some little angel had dropped a wrapped Snickers bite in the road. You can bet I picked it up and after I made sure it was still wrapped I opened it and gobbled it right up! That was just what I needed to get me to mile 20. So mile 20 arrives and I'm starting to feel like my legs are a bit tired. I still had not walked except about 20 feet at each water station to drink my sports drink. I began my own countdown looking for the mile markers. On my way between mile 20 and 23 I noticed a lot of people walking... apparently the hills were 'fierce'. I managed to keep a survival shuffle going that was faster than a walk so I could get up those hills. They weren't as bad as I was expecting.

Finally we get to mile 23 and then I was just running to finish. The mile from 25 to 26 was the longest mile of the race. I finished the race and felt tired but pleased. I didn't hit the wall - I didn't totally run out of energy - I didn't walk!

I know that the fatigue is nothing compared to the fatigue some of The Smile Train families feel. Recently I read about a father and son who traveled on foot for 3 weeks - the distance from Ohio to New York - just to get his son to The Smile Train. Now they were tired. My effort is nothing compared to what these families go through. I feel blessed that I 'get to' run a marathon for fun instead of 'having to' do a journey like that on foot just to provide the basic medical needs for my children. We are truly blessed to be able to help The Smile Train!

Monday, October 15, 2007 - Lake Royale Triathlon Race Report

Saturday, I had the Lake Royale Triathlon, a 500 meter swim - 15 mile bike - 3.1 mile run, and that was a fun race. It was a small race with only about 35 women and about 75 men. I managed to finish as the 7th woman overall and 2nd in my age group. I was 15 seconds behind the winner in my age group because I had decided to wear my wetsuit and it took me extra minute to get it off. Overall I was pleased coming in about 5 minutes behind the female winner. After the race was over I got a good 20 minute massage and felt like I could go run another 20 miles!

I also got my 1st real online donation! Let the FUN-draising begin!!

Friday, October 12, 2007

I sent out my fundraising letters late this week! I'm so excited to see how close I can get to my goal!

On the training note, I did a 20 mile run this morning to prepare for the City of Oaks Marathon, here in Raleigh. It was long but not as bad as it may sound. I finished it in about 3 hours 30 minutes. Slow and steady wins the race, remember! Tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 13) I have my final triathlon of the season - the Lake Royale Triathlon. I'll post my time and link to the results on my training page as soon as I receive them.

September 28, 2007

Richard has been in Germany since September 20th and I'm so ready for him to come home! Ugh, having him gone is boring in the evenings! Thank goodness I have my good friend, Jessi, here to play with.

This was an ok workout week:

• Swim: 1mile on Monday and Wednesday evenings - felt really good to be back in the water!
• Bike: Not too much time in on the bike since Richard was gone. I rode on my trainer in the garage but that seemed way too easy. I really need some rollers and spinervals DVDs if anyone has some I can use in North Carolina!
• Run: Since my focus is still the marathon, I got in 2 good runs of 4 and 5.2 miles on Tuesday and Wednesday

To finish my week off I did a good 18 mile run today. I love that I can get 18 miles in and never leave my neighborhood, Heritage Wake Forest. I ate a lot yesterday and definitely could tell a difference in how I felt. My heart rate still seemed really high even though I was going at about a 10 minute/mile pace. I'll have to keep an eye on that a bit more now so I can make sure I'm being as efficient as possible without over-doing it. It took me 3 hours and 10 minutes including a few walking breaks and 2 potty stops!

My goal is completion, not winning and since I have 7 hours to complete the marathon and 17 hours to do the Ironman, my pace seems to be ok with me! 

September 21, 2007

I sent my fundraising letter and to my mom for proofreading and I am finalizing the donation form. I feel so strongly about this fund raiser that I can't imagine I won't meet my goal!

Today I also ran 16 miles, my longest run yet. I totally hit the wall at around mile 14.5; just totally ran out of energy. I had used my PowerGel/Gu/whatever brand it was and had Gatorade (I know that brand well) but I failed to eat enough the day before.  So lesson learned, I'm going to have to force myself to eat more before my really, really long runs (beyond 14 miles is really, really long to me.)

August 27, 2007

Ok - so it's official! I signed up for Ironman (IM) Louisville today. I wasn't sure how fast it would fill up after hearing about IM Lake Placid filling up in minutes.  On my computer, I sat, pushing the refresh button over and over until it let me submit my registration. After a few minutes I was in and got my acceptance email! So now I really have to do this! Awesome! One of my friends, Cathy, was here when it was official so we had a little jump up and down celebration and a "wow" kind of moment.

This doesn't really change much since I'm already deep into training for the Lake Royale Triathlon (on 10/13/07) and the City of Oaks Raleigh Marathon (on 11/4/07).  Really I just need to getting back in the saddle (that means riding my bike) and toughening up my tushy!