Friday, July 17, 2015

Weekend Heat And Racing

The weather around here has been a bit funny. I would say that it's been relatively cool with lots of rain. Way to go summer in Chicago. It has been great for running, of course, but terrible if you like to have some summer heat! I am one of the people that likes to have summer heat! It's so cold all the time in Chicago that when I can get 80-85 degree temps for a bit, I welcome it! Sure the runs will be a bit tougher but I know it will be a short time and come fall...hello fast race times in cooler weather.

Well, I'm biting my tongue right now. It's going to be HOT this weekend. Temps will be about 90 degrees but with the humidity, the "real feel" temp will be close to 100. At least in Dowagiac Michigan, where I will be on Friday night and Saturday.  Because, lucky me, I have a triathlon!  The Sister Lakes Triathlon.

I'm pretty bummed about it being this hot. I'm already going to struggle on the run but now add in the extreme heat and humidity. But it's ok. It's nothing new. I'm never one to shy away from running outside. So I've run in extreme heat before. I know how to use caution to make sure my body will be able to handle it. I know I will be slowing down and walking (often). I'm not going to come in first place anyway!  I'm also going to add my fuel belt on the run just to be sure I have my fluids handy.

I'm doing the Olympic/International distance. This is my first time doing more than a sprint! I've done two small indoor triathlons and 2 different sprint distances. This is how my triathlon this weekend stacks up:

1,000 meter swim (this is actually pretty short for an Olympic distance so I'm happy about that)
21.6 mile bike
10k (6.35 miles)

The event that I'm least worried about is the bike. Sure I'll be tired and my butt will hurt but I will get through it. The event that I'm most worried about...it's a toss-up. I'm worried about the swim for a couple reasons. I've never swam that far before in open water. I'm also really hoping my shoulder stays where it belongs! No dislocations on this tri please.  Not sure yet if the swim will be wetsuit legal but I'm hoping it is. I'm worried about the run because...it's last so I'll be tired. And it will be hot so I'll be extra tired.

I'm just going to take it one stroke, pedal, and step at a time. Get through it any way I can as best as I can given the circumstances. I'm pretty good at listening to my body but not very good at staying positive sometimes!

So we will see how this one pans out. I want to have an Olympic distance triathlon under my belt. My goal is to one day do a half ironman.

Good luck to all my friends racing this weekend. There are a lot of events going on and I know a lot of people doing them!  Stay safe and run happy!

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Venus De Miles! Let's Do This!!

I'm so excited that Venus De Miles is coming up soon (just over 1 week away)!  Since it's coming up, I thought I would give you a bit more information about it and about the organization that it supports.

Venus De Miles is an all woman's bike event that begins in Lake Forest, Illinois. They have a 25 and 62 mile ride that you can participate in. In addition, this year they added a 5k run! So they have a little something for everyone! I will be participating again this year in the 62 mile ride and I can't wait! Derek will also once again be a part of the men-in-drag support crew. Read my recap of the event from last year here!

The organization that this event supports is Greenhouse Scholars. Last year I didn't know much about it until the day of the event when I had the pleasure of hearing someone that was benefiting from this organization speak. The first line of their web page sums it up pretty well:

"Greenhouse Scholars provides comprehensive personal and financial support to high-performing, under-resourced college students."

I'm completely honored to be able to help and speak about an organization that helps kids go to college! These kids are amazing and just need a bit of support to get there! So the proceeds of Venus De Miles benefits them!

Greenhouse Scholars has multiple program components to help the students: Mentorships, internships, peer support, tuition scholarships, networking, flex funding, etc.  Visit the website to learn more about the program and how you can help! 

So not only is Venus De Miles a fun event that brings together a sense of community for women (with an awesome after-party, seriously!!), but it supports an amazing cause.

So why not join me on July 25th??  Register today and come join me in helping some amazing students!  Register with my discount code "GetToGoal" and you will get $10 off the regular registration fee. That is for either distance of the bike ride and even the 5k run! All events get all the same perks!! You can also read my earlier post which details a bit more of the event details and also some of the post-race event party perks (hello food, drinks, mani's and pedi's!).

I'd love to see you there!

Monday, July 6, 2015

January - June 2015 Review

Clearly I'm not doing monthly recaps like I did last year. But I'm still recording it. I think because I didn't set any mileage goals, I haven't posted about it. But here is how my year is shaping up half way in!  It has definitely been a bumpy year.

January

Run Miles: 33.51
Barre Classes: 9
Bike Miles: 5
Additional Cross Days: 2

January was so long ago but what I do remember is that I intentionally cut down my run miles. I was so burnt out from all my races last year that I knew I needed a mental break. I also had a month unlimited to The Dailey Method and took 2-3 barre classes every week.

February

Run Miles: 40.16
Cross Days: 4

February was a bit all over the place. I went to Louisiana for vacation (but did run once on vacation)! I got engaged! Yay! Then ended up in the ER the next day. Turns out I'm ok but I did take a solid week off because of it. So Louisiana, engagement, and ER all happened within 1 week of each other. Glad February ended...minus the engagement. That was nice! :)

In Louisiana with my love!

Ooohhh sparkly!!
March

Run Miles: 66.26
Bike Miles: 13.31
Cross Days: 2

In March I tried to get my running back a bit. I knew I had a half coming up in April and also I had intended to do the full marathon in Iowa in June. Things were looking a bit up and up...except the running was pretty rough and slow. I kept plugging along.

April

Run Miles: 56.92
Bike Miles: 37.06 + 2 spin classes (no mileage on bikes)
Walk Miles: 2.35
Barre Classes: 1
Additional Cross Days: 1

I did the Lincoln Half Marathon on April 4th. It definitely wasn't a fast half marathon but I had fun nonetheless. I would definitely do this one again given the opportunity.  Then things once again took a turn for the worse. I was out a full week because I got sick. Most people on the planet got sick around this time. Then while I was sick, I got a painful lump which turned out to be an abscess and had a minor surgery near the end of April. This took me out for a while. For the next 3 weeks, I could only do some minimal walking.

Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon
May

Run Miles: 32.46
Walk Miles: 13.72
Bikes Miles: 39.75

Don't be fooled by all these wonderful stats. For the first 2 weeks of May, I could only do some minimal walking. I also missed out on 2 half marathons that I had previously registered for since I couldn't run.  I finally upped the walking in the 3rd week to some walk/run intervals once my incision starting healing a bit. At first, I forgot where the bike miles came in at because I could not sit on a bike for a while, then I remembered that I did Bike the Drive for 32 miles near the end of the month. I also did 1 bike/run brick workout. I needed to start triathlon training stat now that I could mostly workout again. The only thing I really could not do was swim yet until the incision healed.

Bike the Drive
June

Run Miles: 68.43
Bike Miles: 29.29
Speed Workouts: 4
Cross Days: 2

Once I made the decision that I was no longer doing the full marathon in Iowa this month and switched to the half, I felt better. I was almost out of running for a full month from end of April to part of May. I knew the half would be hard too but I could get through it. Yes, I realized I never wrote a recap. It was hot. And hard. I got through it.  I also started going to a speed group on Tuesday mornings with my run group. That has been tons of fun! I'm hoping it helps get my running back a bit more. I'm starting to feel like my old self again (mostly). But yup...still no swimming! Yikes! That triathlon in July might be tough! (Spoiler, I've gone swimming twice so far in July to prep).

Wow! That was a lot going on in this first half of the year. From hospitals and doctors, to being sick, to surgeries. It's been a bit bumpy. I'm just trying to roll with the punches.