Photos for Catching up (May 28th post) and Triathlon

Ok, so I'm a serious slacker in some things. I took these photos quite awhile ago, but never posted them. Here's the suitcase I bought for DD, before and after I picked out the embroidery.

And here's one of the blankets I picked the embroidery out of. They didn't turn out as well as the suitcase and other things I bought. Hopefully with washing the imprint will go away. This particular blanket also had a hole that I wasn't aware of until I picked out the embroidery, so that had to be fixed as well. The other blankets didn't have any holes.

Here's a photo from after the triathlon. I have some of me swimming, biking, and running, but I look pretty hideous, scary, or exhausted. And the photos show just how much weight I still need to lose. Rather depressing.

A Glorious day for running

This morning we went for a run. It was going to be a walk around the 5 mile loop, but there were some dogs running loose in that direction, so I had to go the other direction. Yes, I will change what I do to avoid dogs. I don't trust them, especially when my daughter is involved. You never know what a strange dog is going to do, so I avoid them whenever I can. Though I did realize today that I've been trusting my 15-year-old pepper spray a bit more than I should: I really need to replace it, since I seriously doubt that it's still effective.

Anyway, I wasn't planning on doing any running on the 5 mile loop because I can't remember where the mile marks are, and I need to know how far I'm actually running. As opposed to how far I think I'm running, which can be quite different. Since I went a different route, I ended up running 2 miles out, and walking the 2 miles back. I actually enjoy running that route because for the most part it's a gentle decline, with a few hills thrown in. The worst hills are right at the beginning, and right at the end of the 2 miles, but they're do-able.

The weather was just right for running: cool and overcast with the promise of rain, which made it a bit humid, but not unbearable, and a nice breeze (not the gale-force winds we've been having), just right for cooling one off. It was great! One of the best runs I've had in a really long time. My feet didn't hurt, and my shin gave a couple twinges at the beginning, then calmed down and didn't give me any more problems.

As I was running, I looked at the people who passed in their cars. People are pretty friendly out here: a lot of them will give me a finger wave (fingers lifted off the steering wheel) as they pass. Today, though, one lady gave me a great big smile and a thumbs up as she passed. It was nice of her, and gave me the little extra oomph to make it up the final hill.

I spent some time this afternoon figuring out furniture for my massage room (which still has to be remodeled, but I got the idea in my head and had to go with it, otherwise it would just keep bugging me), and then worked on one of my continuing ed classes. I actually managed to finish it tonight, and am now 3 credits closer to getting my certification up-to-date. Woohoo!

Dirt roads and sunburns

This morning we went for a 9 mile walk. I did the 5 mile loop and then the new route that I found that is 2 out, 2 back. Most of it's dirt roads, but the main dirt road is kept up very well and is very smooth. The other dirt road isn't as well-kept or as smooth, but it has very light traffic, so it's not too bad, either. Unfortunately, I did forget to put sunscreen on me or DD (I have got to work on that!) and since it took two and a half hours, I got a bit fried. DD got a bit of a burn on her ankles, and the tan lines on her feet from her sandals are now quite distinct, but she didn't get anything nearly as bad as I did. My training schedule doesn't call for a 9 mile walk yet, but since I'm down on my mileage, I figured it wouldn't be too bad, especially since I was walking instead of running. I could feel some stiffness and soreness in my shins, but I stretched and iced them when I got home and hopefully I won't have any more problems with them. I would like to start running as soon as possible, but I don't want to get shinsplints, either. Balance is the key.

No swimming this week. We should have gone yesterday, but mom and DD are still getting over colds and ear infections, so we figured waiting a week would be better.

In my quest to work on my goal of writing a book, I've also been trying to do more writing period. I have two blogs I post on almost daily, and I'm keeping a journal of things DH and I talk about and the things going on in his life (this is also almost a daily thing, depending on our correspondence), and of course, I'm working on my book almost daily. It's slow going, but it is going.

I was looking through my planner the other day, and found an epiphany I had had and scrawled down so I wouldn't forget it. The occasion was when DD and I went to visit DH before he shipped out.

I had an epiphany tonight. DD and I were waiting in the car while DH got things squared away in the barracks. As I waited, I watched the soldiers coming in off pass. Most of them were wearing khaki cargo pants with pockets on both legs, just like their ACU pants. Soldiers are always shoving things in the pockets of their ACU pants: patrol caps, berets, notebooks, chapstick, sunblock, wallets, candy bars, gum, you name it. As I watched the soldiers, I realized that many of them had things in the pockets of their civilian cargo pants as well. And that's when it hit me: cargo pants are the male equivalent of the purse!

I did it!

Today I finished my first triathlon, and I didn't die! This was a concern, based on how I felt Tuesday after the wet run. In fact, I felt better than I did on Tuesday, even though all my distances were longer.

I started in the second to last wave, which meant I didn't have to be there at the crack of dawn- I got up when the first group was starting- that's how slow I am (it was based on your swim time). I finished my swim in 17 minutes, which is as good as I've ever done. I really need to work on my form and efficiency though, so I can get faster. The top people were swimming the same distance in 6-7 minutes. I don't expect to get that fast, but I would like to cut at least 5 minutes off my time. One thing I definitely change will be to get spandex shorts and a top and swim, bike and run in those. No more messing with a swimsuit that chafes when biking and running. It'll save time in the first transition, too (it wastes time trying to pull biking shorts over wet legs and up a wet swimsuit).

I did my bike ride in about an hour- it was 2 times around a 6 mile loop, with a lot of long hills. Not steep hills, just long, neverending hills. It did finish on a downhill, though. I need to figure out how cycle faster, although I think it's really a case of building my muscles, which means I need to work out more.

I ended up walking about half the run- I was pretty dehydrated by then, and my leg muscles were super fatigued. Not sore- just too tired to move anymore. It was a really weird sensation. So, I need to hydrate a lot better, eat more shot blox to keep my energy up, and be in better shape so I don't reach such muscle exhaustion again.

Overall, it was a great experience- I had a good time and will definitely be doing it again. I still don't have sore muscles, which is great- normally, if I'd been running for two hours, my feet would be thrashed, and my leg muscles would be really sore. Instead, I'm tired, but not exhausted, and my legs are still really tired (carrying DD up the stairs was a reminder that 'hey, we're here and we're still not recovered from this morning').

I just looked up the results, and my official stats are:
Swim (500 m): 16:55.9 (4.1 seconds under! wahoo!)
1st Transition: 5:02.6
Bike (12 miles): 1:00:17 (right on target- I was aiming for 1 hour)
2nd Transition: 1:10.9
Run (3.1 miles): 34:30.8 (11.07 min/mile. I was aiming for 10 min/mile)
Total time: 1:57:57.1 (2.03 min under the 2 hours I thought it would take me)

I came in 352 out of 378 finishers (I wasn't last!!!)
In my division (30-34 women) I came in 42nd out of 45 (I also wasn't last in my age group!!)
I was 162nd of 179 women (I came in ahead of people!)

Ok, so I was a little worried about coming in last. But that didn't happen physically (there were people who crossed the finish line after me) or on paper with everyone's results compiled. Yay me!

"Wet Run"

Today I did a "wet run" of what the triathlon will be like. I think I need to change how I work out and start doing 2-a-days, say swimming and biking, biking and running, etc. Let's just say Saturday will be interesting, and I really hope I survive.

I swam 10 laps, pulled on my bike clothes, biked 4 miles, then ran 1 mile and walked 1 mile. I was really gasping by the time I started running (staggering- that's quite a transition to go from biking to running), and I'm hoping that was all the crud in the air (fields next to the path being moved, pollen floating lazily by, etc), and not asthma making its presence known. It's been about 8 or 9 years since I had problems with it.

There were only a couple spots of chafing (around my arms, from the swimsuit under my biking shirt), but those are easy to take care of- just a little Body Glide, and I'll be good.

I've been staying up late lately, so I need to really work on getting to bed early this week so I'm not completely exhausted come race day.