Rusty Wings

I announced earlier today that I would not be participating in the Olympic distance tri for Pittsburgh this August. Originally, it was the last weekend in July but because of a concert it was moved to the first week of August. This race would have been .90 miles swimming, 25miles biking and 6.1 miles running. I have been training since January and one of my last needed items came in the mail last week.

 

Sunday, I got to go out for my first open water swim. I was nervous but I did okay. I went with a friend from CrossFit and she led me through pointers and the most wonderful tips. (Now, I started swimming when I was 3 or 4 and swam on a team until I was 12. When I was in 7th grade I had to chose between swimming and soccer. I chose soccer.) I knew this swim would do one of two things--show me I'm ready for August or show me I'm not ready for August. As we got ready to start swimming, Lynn let me know that the length was .10 of a mile and on my first day out it would be great if I could swim at least a length without stopping. I couldn't. I would get about half way and need to catch my breath. She showed me ways to glide through the water so that I wouldn't tire myself out but I still had to stop. I was fortunate that I was in an area that me feet could touch the bottom and there weren't creatures. 

We talked about me asking to change it to a sprint tri but after thinking about it, I decided that I would at least tri to get my money back or defer it.  If that didn't work than I would try to switch to Saturday and so the sprint. If none of those worked...well, I would have practice, practice, practiced and swam my little heart out. I know I could have finished but not in the time that I wanted. So, Friends of the Riverfront were nice enough to let me defer to next year. I know that doesn't happen often.  I'm not going to lie, I almost cried with sadness when I got the email saying that it was okay to be defered. I had my heart set on this but I have to listen to my body first. 

After thinking about it though, 5 years ago I couldn't run a half mile and less than two months ago I ran over 26 miles. It will take a little more time but next year I'll cross that finish line. 

Swim on friends... 

I Love Lucy. And some other things.

I hope everyone is having a great month! Things have been a little hectic with my new job and training that I haven't made it here lately. I have some great news though...I was asked to blog for another race! I am so excited because it's 20 minutes away from my best friend's home town. I'll be running the Lucy Town Half Marathon in Jamestown,  NY.  It's roughly about 3 hours from Pittsburgh. My best friend, Katrina,  has even offered to run her first half with me! My husband and our other best friend will be running their first 5k.

For how much they have supported me in the past year, I can't wait to stand at the finish line waiting for them.  Not many friends will wake up at 3am to take you to a race that they'll have to stand for over 5 hours at. 

This passed weekend was a big one for me. First, we had a big CrossFit day Saturday with 3 WODS. 

WOD 1: Clean Ladder -This is where you keep going up in weigh until you can't. I made it to 105lbs.

WOD 2: 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 wall balls 14lbs• deadlift 135lbs •Kettle bell swings 35lbs

WOD 3: 7 Minutes of solid burpees

Yesterday, I had my first open water swim.  This was a huge deal for me. I know how to swim, let me clear that up. I'm terrified of fish. Why? I don't know. I just am. I've only been to the beach twice and I never found it necessary to get in the water. I went with a friend from CrossFit and she gave me some awesome pointers. I was so lucky to have someone so paitent and knowledgeable to help me. 

So that was my weekend. I took a much needed break today and I'll be back at doing something tomorrow. 

Have a great week!

New Month, New Goals

I love when a new day, month, or year starts. I love making goals and seeing where everything goes in the month. It's so good to have a new start on things. 

This month's goals are a little more laid back. 

Main Goals:Swim 1 mile and bike 26 miles. 

Smaller goals: Have everything that I need for my first triathlon in August. 

I started a new job last week so this is my first official month of it. I will be focusing on work but since it's only 5 minutes from home, I'll also have time to focus on training. I really need to get back to my 2 workouts a day for the tri. I still do CrossFit 3 days a week and lift when I get the chance. I'm really going to focus on this triathlon. 

I bought some new reads to get me into gear. I can't decide which magazine I like more but I'm leaning towards Runner's World. 

I have a jam packed month ahead with our good friend coming home from SF this week, an Air Show in the next town over from mine, next Saturday we're road tripping to the Fiesta Outlet for their tent sale, my first CrossFit Compition is in 2 weeks a long with my older brother's wedding, and our little cousin's 6th birthday. Out of all that, I have 1 Saturday and Sunday to myself. It's going to be a crazy month. 

My other goals this month are to have more nights like these: 

I love spending time with these two. I can't wait for a summer full of camp fires and cooking on the grill with my little family.  We recently bought a new vehicle so I'm sure we're going to have lots of traveling and adventures in there. 

What are your summer goals? 

What are you looking forward too this month? 

Purelyft-The Clean Caffine

Lately, I've been looking for new products to try. I usually drink 2-4 cups of coffee a day and I'm trying to cut back. I recently came across Purelyft.

Purelyft is a clean caffeine with zero calories and isn't made with any artificial preservatives and sweeteners. It does have a funny taste so you don't have to worry about it. Actually, I couldn't taste it at all. 

My favorite part was that I didn't feel jittery. It only has as much caffeine as a tall cup of coffee so it isn't too much to make your heart race. 

I paired it with coconut water. This was actually the first time I had coconut water too. 

How does it work?

It's like a wand so I put some coconut water in a glass and just stired it in. 

And drink! 

You can find this product at www.purelyft.com. 

You can also find it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/purelyft 

Twitter @purelyft 

Have you tried this product? 

What do you think of it? 

The Importance of Rest

Training season gets exhausting. Usually, on my off season I try to take a 1 week break from exercising a month. By a one week break, I mean 3 or less workouts with only one being an exhausting workout. During training on or off season I'll take a rest day or two but with that I'm exercising 2, sometimes 3 times a day. So realistically speaking there are no rest days if you're getting 8 workouts in a 7 day week. 

Here was my week last week:

Monday: Swim

Tuesday:Rest

Wednesday: Walk with Jessica and Owen

CrossFit afterwards: 

5 rounds 8 power cleans (75#) 12 knees to elbows 24 double unders 

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: Rest My twin sister graduated from college! 

So that was last week. I didn't do that the week after the marathon because I didn't want to be sore. Today, I will start back up to CrossFit because I have classes to make up and I feel ready and strong. 

Sometimes you need a break. We all have lives, jobs, pets, kids. You need to give your body a break. When you start to dread that workout, take a couple of days off. You'll feel better and more well rested in the end. 

What is your training schedule like? 

Do you take rest weeks? 

7 Days Post Marathon

So how's everyone doing since last Sunday? I am doing great! I didn't take the week off of working out and I think I feel better because of it. The only time that I really hurt was Sunday going into Monday and Monday during the day. I had to ice my knees in the middle of the night because they were throbbing so much that I woke up. Here's my workout schedule from last week:

Monday: Rest/ Long walk around Ligioner and lunch with a friend. 

Tuesday: CrossFit- 3x15 Abmat sit-ups, Supermans, KB swings(30#), Push-ups, pull ups

Wednesday: 10 mile bike ride 

They're pretty handsome, right?

Thursday: CrossFit- 21•15•9 Power cleans(75#), Chest 2 Bar Pull ups, Hand Stand Push Ups- 800 meter run to finish. 

Friday: 2 mile walk with these beautiful people. 

She's celebrating her first official Mother's Day today! 

Saturday: CrossFit- 3 Rounds 1 minute stations(no breaks) Farmer carry, pistol squats, dead lift(95#), knees 2 elbows, Burpee bar jump over 

So those were my workouts. I can't decide if I want to go swim today or just rest. I might just rest. 

I have a confession :( I gave myself 6 days to eat how ever I want. I wasn't going to limit myself or tell myself no. So here's what I gave into.

Monday I had a cheeseburger 

The burger is there somewhere. 

The rest of the week I had some of:

Possibly my new favorite. 

Two of those...within an hour. The other two were for my husband. 

Upside down Swedish fish...

Upside down donuts...just one

Taco Dip!!! That was delicious. 

Ice cream, 2 blocks of cheese, and a bag of chips. I shared the chips...

I also had:

10 hot wings and 44oz. Of beer( right after the marathon) 

3 slices of pizza

French Fries 

Loads of chocolate. 

1 corona extra

1 Summer Shandy 

And guess what? My abs are still there. My body hates me so this will not be an on going ordeal, but it was okay while it lasted. I used my ,"I just ran a marathon." excuse every.single.time.

I also ate some healthy things...

So that was my week. Not too exciting but defiantly delicious. I detoxed my body this morning with this:

I also got a chance to hang out with my furkids. 

That was my week to a tee. 

How was your week post marathon? 

I don't know about you but I'm feeling 26.2

Yesterday was a great day.  If you've followed my blog then you know that I ran my first marathon. I can say that when I started running I thought those people were crazy. After I was done, I was proud to be one of those crazy people. 

We've worked so hard to come to this. I'll recap the best I can. 

I got to go into the VIP section since I was an official marathon blogger. I got up at 3:30am to get ready and head out. We left by 4:15am to head to Pittsburgh. Usually our drive is less than 45 mins. but we weren't sure what traffic would be like. There wasn't any and we got there by 5am. My husband drove myself and two of our friends. 

Once we parked, we got on the T and headed to the VIP section. My least favorite part is kissing my husband goodbye before the finish line. I get so nervous and I was really nervous yesterday morning.  I woke up hungry and tried to eat a Panera bagel. That wasn't going to work. I took a bite and almost threw up. I could only hold down a banana and an orange. Once I got into the VIP tent I ate and smaller bagel and a muffin. I also found Jenna! 

Jenna blogs for StopDropandBlog, her twitter is @firemom. Follow her! We knew we were about the same pace and we stayed together the entire time. I don't think I could have finished without her. We met at a blog event last week and had 5 hours to get to know each other. We're so much alike! 

Here's my shot at an official race recap:

Corral: We had a hard time getting to it. There was so many people! We knew that would happen. 

Mile 1-2: We really had to pee but the first porta potty had tons of people at it. The second one was busy but we had to go. Unfortunately, a guy standing in front of Jenna had dropped. We don't know why or how but we were freaked out. They blocked the bathroom that he was in front of so that put us back at least 20 minutes! We spent a lot of miles trying to make up time. 

Mile 3-4: Feeling really good, making our way through downtown and the North Side. 

Mile 5-6: We're through out first third of the race. I remembered everything from last year and this was when I needed my first inhaler break. 

Mile 7-8: West end to South side, we're still feeling okay. I had to start slowing down but we really wanted to make up time from our bathroom break. 

Mile 9-10: Still smiling. The bottoms of my feet were starting to bother me. After this race, these shoes will be retired. 

Mile 11-12: This is where you go left for the half or stay straight for the full. Shit just got real. There's no turning back now. My feet hurt really bad and Jenna promised that I could walk when we got to the big hill. I think I needed another inhaler break here. 

Mile 13-14: We have officially ran further now than any other race. Oakland was nice and semi flat. 

Mile 15-16: The sun starts coming out. We want it to go back. At mile 16 I remember telling Jenna that my feet were killing me but I could handle 10 more miles. 

Mile 17-18: Somewhere around here someone had beer. I took the beer. It wasn't Church Brew Works that everyone talks about. It was good beer. He even asked if I wanted the can and when I replied yes, (not thinking he would actually do it) he came running on the course with a can of beer. Of course I didn't drink it. I gave it to a woman on the route watching. 

Mile 19-20: I understand the famous "wall". Jenna cried at mile 20. I wanted too but couldn't. I took my last inhaler break that I would need. 

Mile 21-22: We have officially gone further than we ever have before. My watch died at mile 22 and that's about how I was feeling, like death. The bottoms of my feet and hips were really starting to bother me. I was ready to be done. 

Mile 23-24: Jenna was my strength. We had a 5k left and all I wanted to do was walk it. She kept me going with her own little coaching. We kept promising we would walk a little then run to a specific point. I now understand how the last 6 miles are completely mental. 

Mile 25-26: I'm over this. I want to be done and I want my medal, a beer, and a burger. 

Mile .2: I see my whole family. Hugs everywhere. I can't believe this is actually happening. Everything hurts but I don't care, I want my medal. 

Finish line: We are runners of steel!!!

I never understood the mental factors that everyone talks about to finish a marathon. It is 100% mental. We had a lot in our favor too, such as cool weather and the rain holding off. 

What would I have done differently? Our bathroom stop. Every time I look at my time I think of how we could have been 15-25 minutes faster if we would have waited to use another one. 

This race has been the second best experience in my life. Obviously, my wedding day comes first but the support I've had is absolutely amazing. Most of my family and friends came to cheer me one. I've had so many wonderful wishes through twitter, Facebook, and Instagram that I can't believe how supportive everyone is. 

What did I do afterwards? Well, it took me over an hour to find where my bag was.  Once I found it, I got my massage and cleaned myself up a little bit. After that, we had plans on going to FatHeads but with 11 people we didn't think that would happen. We went to Sharkey's instead. I ate 10 Korean wings and two 22oz. beers. I was celebrating. After that I went to my inlaws for an icebath since all we have is a shower. 

They left me another beer by the tub. 

I had some more family members call me last night to see how it went. After I talked to them I fell asleep at 8:30pm. At around 2am this morning I woke up with throbbing knees. I iced them and fell back asleep with the ice on my legs. I move a lot when I sleep so I'm sure they didn't last long. 

This morning I woke up and went for a walk and lunch with a friend  from CrossFit. She crushed her first half in 2:19!! 

That's what we ate. There's a burger there somewhere. That's probably one of the best burgers I've had. I walked a little and relaxed the rest of the day. 

My legs still hurt but I'm going to CrossFit in the morning. 

Would I run a marathon again? Yes. I know after my 20 miler I said never again, but my husband won this one. He was right. He told me that he would ask me at the finish line and the answer was yes. I would love to do Pittsburgh again. I might do another one but Pittsburgh has a special place in my heart. I did my first half and full marathon and August I'll do my first triathlon there. If you aren't from Pittsburgh, everything people say about it is true. It's a beautiful city full of bridges and Yinzer's. It's a wonderful place for your first race because the crowds are amazing. They keep you going. 

How was my asthma during my race? I felt better yesterday than any training run. I was lucky that it was it humid or too hot out. I did need my inhaler about 4 or 5 times but in a 26.2 race that's expected.  If you have breathing problems and want to run, do it. Don't let it hold you back. As long as you take your medicine and pace yourself properly you'll be fine. 

Your turn!! 

Did you race this weekend? Where? How'd it go?!