I am awesome!

I did it! I finished my second half marathon! I did it just under my goal of 2 hours 30 minutes, beating my previous P.R. by 30 minutes! Yes, it was a fast course: the first half was all down hill, making for some fast split times. I even managed an eight minute mile, which I haven't done since high school. I was shooting for an 11 minute/mile pace, but the first half of the race was under 10 minutes/mile. This allowed me to slow to just under a 12 minute/mile pace the second half. The faster times in the first half counter-balanced the slower times in the second half, and it all worked out. I ran it by myself, without a running buddy to help me through it, which was not quite as fun, but empowering. Knowing I can do it and talk myself through it was good. It was also a nice scenic course: we came down a winding canyon into a small farming community, and there was a nice breeze coming off the small river that paralleled the road down the canyon. Once in town, even with my sinus congestion I could smell the silage and cows, which brings back memories of the year in college when I worked at a dairy, milking cows (which I really enjoyed).

Some things I learned (ok, the first three I already knew):1. Shot blox are great
2. Body glide is our friend
3. Adequate rest is very important. I haven't slept well all week because of my cold (I keep waking up because I can't breathe), and I was really feeling the lack of sleep the second half of the race.

4. More than two port-a-potties per aid station are necessary- I would have finished 5 minutes sooner if there hadn't been a massive line for the port-a-potties at the first aid station. I really, really had to go, otherwise I would not have waited around that long.

5. I'm going to get longer spandex shorts to wear under my skirt- I really don't like short shorts, and the shorts that came with the skirt are just short enough to bug me.

The damage:1. Only two blisters- one large, one small. I'll wrap my toes for the marathon.
2. Sore ankles and fatigued feet- stability shoes do not have quite the cushioning I need, despite the addition of gel insoles, but I need the stability. I'll wear my shoes more and try to get more used to them, and look for more cushioned insoles.
3. Shins and arches not too sore (yay! these were the big worries).
4. Various sore muscles up and down my legs. I think they're from the downhill running and the unaccustomed mileage- I really have not trained enough, in the interest of not aggravating my shin splints, which would make it impossible to complete any races.
5. Running with a phlegmy cough is not a great thing. I'm a little worried that I might have bronchitis now. I'll see how my lungs are feeling tomorrow. Luckily I have a physical on Thursday, so if I'm still coughing then I can get some meds.

It was a good race, though I didn't like the second half (flat, with very few hills, so actually not that bad) nearly as much as I liked the first half (nice downhill, not too steep, but enough to make for some easy running). I would love a half marathon that was completely downhill. That would be awesome! The marathon will be tough, just on the fact that it's 26 miles, but if I can keep a good pace during the first (downhill) half it should allow for the slowing that will occur on the second (flat) half and still keep a decent time. If I can keep my pace up, my goal will be to finish in 5 hours. I'll need to make more of an effort to get more mileage in, but that's going to be what I work for. I will also be working on getting better and getting enough sleep.

One of my sisters came with me to watch DD while I ran. After the race, she told me some of the things DD had done/said. Toddlers are great! Apparently she saw another little girl wearing a pair of pink sandals. DD has a pair just like them, though she wasn't wearing them at the time. In any case, she was very confused, and kept pointing at the girl and the shoes, obviously thinking that the girl had taken her shoes! My sister had a time trying to convince her that they weren't hers.

Second triathlon results and comparison

2nd Triathlon
(750 m swim, 13 mile bike, 3.5 mile run)

273rd out of 298 finishers
29th out of 31 in my age group
123rd out of 143 females

Swim: 25:15.6 (pace: 29.81 sec/lap)
T1: 2:52.8
Bike: 1:01:21.9 (pace: 4.71 min/mile)
T2: 3:32.1
Run: 39:55.6 (pace: 11:25 min/mile)

Total: 2:12:57.9

1st Triathlon
(500 m swim, 12 mile bike, 3.1 mile run)

354th out of 379 finishers
42nd out of 45 in my age group
164th out of 181 females

Swim: 16:55.9 (pace: 30.19 sec/lap)
T1: 5:02.6
Bike: 1:00:17 (pace: 5.01 min/mile)
T2: 1:10.9
Run: 34:30.8 (pace: 11:07 min/mile)

Total: 1:57:57.1


Both times there were 25 people who finished after me. My swim improved, despite the goggle and breathing problems at the beginning, the walk to the other pool, my difficulties getting out of the second pool and the increased distance. My T1 time improved dramatically: no clothes being pulled on. The bike leg also improved, despite the increased distance and the 8 miles of hills. My T2 was longer, but that was because of the potty break. Interestingly, my running pace got worse, even though I felt better and ran more of it (I thought). Not sure what was going on there. So overall, I improved, though of course there is room for lots of improvement. Good incentive to keep working out throughout the winter to prepare for the next triathlon season.

Running skirts are great

Yesterday I was really fighting the blahs/feelings of depression/feelings that things just weren't right. It's not so bad today, but I've been wanting to eat everything in sight (not a usual occurrence) and now I'm thinking it's a product of my out-of-whack hormones as that time of the month approaches. Fun for me.


I went for a four mile walk with DD today. I was going to go for a longer one, then remembered that I have to break in my new shoes before next Saturday, and I best not overdo it on the first day wearing them. They didn't give me any problems, and felt a lot better than the shoes I've been wearing. I also wore my new running skirt. I really like it, though I think the shorts under it could be a bit longer. That's probably just because I'm not used to wearing short shorts. The thing I really liked was that the shorts could ride up or bunch up or do whatever they want, as they tend to do on anyone who's not stick thin (I'm definitely not a twig), but the skirt part covers all that! No tugging, fidgeting, or worrying about how goofy you look. I think I'm definitely a running skirt convert. I'll have to try some other brands too, but this is the one I've got, the Sugoi Essence Wrap Skirt:

I fought the pool...

...and the pool won.

This morning I finished my second triathlon (yay me!). I had a rocky start: I hadn't settled my goggles, I hadn't taken a couple deep breaths, and it threw me off for a few laps. Once I got into my groove, though, it wasn't too bad. We did 17 lengths in the indoor pool, hopped out, walked outside and up a hill to the outdoor pool and did 15 more lengths. The battle occurred at the end of the 15 laps in the outdoor pool. The 'shallow' end was 4'6" deep, and the lip of the pool was a good foot or more above the water line. At 5'1" (on a good day), I had a real problem getting enough leverage to get out. I couldn't hop/jump/launch myself high enough out of the water to pull myself over the edge. I ended up hooking my leg over the float thingy, straddling it, and then kind of rolling out and onto the concrete. In the process, I scraped both knees and, I'm sure, looked like a beached whale. I limped off to the transition area, bruised and bloodied, but not giving up.

The bike ride was 13 miles, or twice around a 6.5 mile loop. I have no idea how they managed to find such a horrible route, but the first 4 miles was a looong, gradual uphill. Basically, it sucked. I survived both loops, and headed into the transition area. I had been drinking from my camelback (I got really dehydrated last time), but of course had to pee by the time I finished the bike ride. So, while I didn't have problems with dehydration again, I did have to stop for a potty break between the bike and run.

The run went a lot better this time than last. It was a bit longer (3.5 miles), but I managed to only walk on the uphills, and was able to run the entire last mile or so and was able to sprint a bit at the end. Last time I managed to speed up from a stagger/walk to a stagger/slow jog for the last little bit, but that was it. Oh yes, and my shins didn't bother me this time either.

Overall, despite the increased difficulty, I felt better physically and had a good time. I need to cut at least 30 minutes off my overall time if I want to be competitive, and I think I'll be working on that this winter. I'm getting an indoor trainer so I can keep riding my bike, and my parents are getting a treadmill, so I can keep running, and I will continue to go to the pool and swim laps once a week. So, by next spring when things start up again, I should be in a lot better shape and be able to do a lot better.

Scrape on left knee: angle is bad, so it doesn't look that bad, but it will definitely have some bruising.

Scrape on right knee- quite painful, and the one that bled. Angle of the picture makes is look smaller than it is. It's definitely big enough to hurt and make bending my knee painful.

On the way home, I stopped by a running store and bought a new pair of shoes and a running skirt. My current shoes just aren't doing it for me anymore, and the other day I realized that all my bike shorts have padding in them. I don't feel like running a half marathon in padded shorts, even the lighter padding in my triathlon shorts, but I do want something shorter than my capri-length running tights. Runner's World recently had an article about running skirts, and I've seen them around at different events, and I decided to give them a try. We'll see how it works out. I bought a Sugoi wrap skirt that has shorts under it. I've seen running skirts that don't have shorts under them, and I really don't want to know how that works: they're pretty short skirts. I'd be afraid of a breeze coming along. Part of why I picked the skirt I did is that it was the longest the store had. I haven't shown my pasty-white thighs in years, and don't really feel comfortable showing too much of them just yet.

After I got home, I spent the entire afternoon helping my BIL empty out the storage shed at the in-laws' place. He's PCSing to another state in a couple weeks and really needed to sort through all his stuff that's been stored for the last 10-15 years. This meant first emptying the entire shed and dividing everything up based on who it belonged to. We managed to reduce his pile (quite large) to just 5 or 6 boxes. SIL and her husband came and got all their stuff, which freed up a lot of space (now if only they'd get their stuff out of the basement...), and it looked like rain so we put the in-laws' things back in with out going through it, other than to try to group similar things together. The shed is so much emptier, and so much more usable now! It's amazing what can happen when you get rid of things (there is now a mountain of boxes of junk that have to be disposed of, but at least it's not in the shed anymore), and don't keep everything for years and years and years.

Anyway, between putting up sheet rock yesterday, doing the triathlon this morning, and then hauling boxes in and out and around all afternoon, I'm sore and don't expect to be able to move tomorrow.

The shallow end of the gene pool

Last night I sat down and made out a schedule of when I'm going to do which workout. I haven't been doing enough of any of them, and have been meaning to double up some of them, but just haven't figured out what, when, and how long. Today I walked 5 miles, and tomorrow I will be biking and running.

I subscribe to Runner's World Magazine, which I enjoy, it has lots of great information. But the last couple issues have also had some depressing profiles of runners. They're people who were overweight, but they started walking (and started losing weight), then gradually started running a little (lost more weight), started running longer distances (got down to their goal weight), and ran their first marathon in 3:30 (or less). And it took less than a year for all of this to happen. I walked 6 miles a day, 3 days a week, pushing DD in her jogging stroller, for more than a year, and never lost weight. I added in running several times a week when I was training for the half marathon I did last fall. I still didn't lose anything, and it took me 3 hours to do a half marathon. I took a couple months off because of the move and the weather, but have been walking, running, biking and swimming for about 3 months, and still haven't lost anything! Ok, I am building muscle right now, but that's not the point. And it's not like I'm eating whatever I want, I try to be real careful about what I eat and how much. Not that it seems to make much of a difference. Sometimes it's really depressing coming from the shallow end of the gene pool.

However, I've decided I like the way I feel in my bike shorts. I don't know how I actually look (the mirror is blocked by remodeling stuff right now), but I doubt I look as good as I feel. There's just something about the stretchy fabric that hugs your body and somehow, against all odds, makes you feel thin (well, thinner than your normal clothes make you feel, anyway). Maybe this is why so many larger people wear spandex shorts. Though in my defense, I only wear my bike shorts when exercising, never to the grocery store or the post office. Something to ponder....

Today my dad and I went to Lowe's to get more stuff for the remodels while the 10% military discount was still in effect. We took my car because I thought we wouldn't have any problems fitting everything in (I'm a master packer, and we have hauled all sorts of things, including a monstrous roll of carpet that should not have fit, but did). Unfortunately, the bead board panels were a lot longer than would fit in my car. So we tossed a blanket on the roof and tied the panels to the roof. Some key ideas to keep in mind when tying large sheets of wood to the roof of a vehicle: 1. Make sure you tie all the sides down, so that when you stop they don't slide forward down your hood and onto the street. In my defense, I didn't tie them down, my dad did. He remembered the back, but didn't think about the front. 2. Make sure there is no breeze at all. We went 30 mph the whole way home, and still had problems with the wind picking up the panels. 3. Make sure you have long arms for reaching out the window to hold onto the panels so you know when to slow down even more. I don't have long arms and it was awkward and painful. As I told my dad when we finally made it home: not an adventure I want to repeat.

The bathroom is going way slower than I had hoped, but dad's still not far enough along for me to help move things along. He did get the shower pan and drain in, as well as the backer board on the floor. Hopefully we can get lots done tomorrow, though I think we'll end up spending more time outside than in. My parents ordered a big roll-away dumpster for all the remodeling refuse, and it's being delivered tomorrow. So we'll have to load it up with the pile that's currently behind the house, and then we have to go around the yard and look for anything else that's just sitting around, taking up space, needing to be thrown out.

I did finally make dentist appointments for DD and myself, something I've been meaning to do for the last 3 months. Mine is this week, DD's isn't till August. Most regular dental clinics won't see kids under 4 years old, so I had to call around till I found a pediatric clinic that takes our insurance. It was a pain, as is the fact that the closest one I could find is twice as far away as the clinic I can go to. I guess I'm just peeved because the pediatric dental clinic we took DD to last fall, before we moved, was closer than the clinic I went to, and neither one was very far away.

Hissy fits, hill running, and book swiping

I had planned on going for a run after breakfast, before it got too hot. However, while we were eating, dad came in and said he wanted to go to Home Depot as soon as possible so he could get going on stuff in the bathroom. We had decided to go today and get the expensive stuff for the downstairs bathroom because they're offering a 10% discount to the military this weekend. Gotta save money wherever I can... So we ended up getting the tub (a deep jetted tub that still fits in the space of a normal tub- not a necessity, but it will be nice to have), the toilet and the sink and vanity, as well as some miscellaneous things like light switches and electrical outlets and some wood to frame in the windows (which is what dad wanted to get working on today). There's a few more things we need, like faucets, but we'll have to go to Lowe's on Monday for those; their 10% discount goes through Monday, Home Depot only goes through Sunday.

I decided to go for a run after DD got up from her nap. I thought about going during her nap, but decided it was too hot. I knew I had to do it today, though, since I've wussed out the last two days and haven't done squat. And I was doing so good... The break was nice, though. Anyway, I was getting ready to put DD in the jogging stroller and she started pitching a screaming hissy fit because my mom told her no (don't remember what for, but it wasn't something to cry about), and wouldn't calm down. I told her if she kept screaming, she'd be going back to bed. This usually calms her down pretty quick, but it didn't this time, so I put her in her bed, where she continued to scream for another 10 minutes or so before finally calming down. She had plenty of books, her water bottle, her lambie, and her blankie, so I wasn't too worried about her. Mom said she'd keep an eye out for her, so I went on my run- alone.

It's been quite some time since I've gone on a run by myself, I'm usually pushing DD in the jogging stroller. It was quite enjoyable to be able to move both arms at the same time! I had to concentrate on it a bit, though. I'm so used to the one-armed thing. It was a good run: the weather had cooled off, there was a bit of a breeze, my shins didn't give me too many problems, and I managed to run almost 4 miles. I did stop and walk periodically for a minute or two, so I didn't run the whole thing, but it's more than I've done in awhile, and I managed to keep a good pace. I still need to speed up, but at this point my main focus is just getting the miles in so I'm prepared for the half marathon and full marathon. I have no illusions about actually being able to run the whole race either time, but I would like to finish in a decent time and as prepared as possible. I do like the run for 20 minutes, walk for 2 method, though it usually degenerates to much shorter run periods. It worked quite well during the half marathon I did last fall, and it allows you a chance to breathe and regroup a bit. The hardest part is trying to start running again when you're halfway up a hill. That sucks.

I started my pinata for the reunion on Thursday, but when I looked at it yesterday, it was a dry, shriveled up prune.

Not sure what happened, but now I have to start another one. So I did that tonight and will hopefully have better luck with this one. I don't really have time to start another one.

I also started reading 'Freakonomics', the book my sister wants us to read for the book club thing she's doing. I've only made it about 30 pages in, though. I made the mistake of telling dad that it was already quite interesting, and he swiped it while I was giving DD her bath. Luckily he's a fast reader (most of us are), so I'll have it back soon.

A good hard run

DD woke up at a normal time this morning, no crazy sleeping in till all hours of the afternoon. We went for a run that felt really good. I did the five mile loop and ran about 3.5 miles and walked the other 1.5 miles. If it wasn't so hilly I think I could have run the whole five miles. My shins were feeling good, and my breathing wasn't too bad (I have had some issues adjusting to the altitude and dealing with pollen and stuff in the air). Unfortunately, I'm not quite strong enough to push DD in her stroller up all the hills, especially when I've already run 3 miles of rolling hills. But that will come. I wasn't always able to bike up those same hills with DD in tow, but now I can. I just need to be patient and work on gradually increasing my mileage so I don't get injured.

After DD's nap we made cookies to send to DH. Last time I sent cookies he and the guys he works with inhaled them in 30 seconds. I was going to send more this time, but those stupid flat rate boxes just aren't very big. I could use a bigger box, but it would cost a lot more. So I think I'll just send packages a couple times a month, instead of just once a month.

I was researching ideas for FHE with a toddler last night and came up with a couple good ideas. One was to use the nursery manual and talk about the same lesson that was taught on Sunday. This would be very easy, since half the time I'm the one who taught the lesson. The other idea I liked was to take a picture from the Gospel Art Picture kit and talk about it, using the info printed on the back. This is the one I think I'll actually try first, as soon as I get said picture kit (a couple weeks from now). We'll see which works best with DD.

So the other day DD and I went to Babies R Us to look at car seats. While there, I looked around, and noticed just how many of the women there were pregnant. At a guess, I'd say 90% of them were. It was rather depressing. I'm ok with not currently being pregnant (we were hoping I would be, but it didn't work out that way), but sometimes I still get that feeling of jealousy. I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that we'll probably only end up with 2 or 3 kids, and at least one of those will be adopted. But part of me really wants to get pregnant (and stay pregnant) one more time. I want a better pregnancy than with DD (I was in a lot of pain and could barely walk the last four months or so) and I want a better delivery (quite frankly, it was horrible). On the other hand, things still aren't back to normal down there (the result of said horrible delivery), and if I have another bad delivery who knows how long it'll take to heal. Despite that, I do still want to get pregnant again. I'm just glad that there's not twenty zillion pregnant women at church (I've been in wards where that was the case). And I'm working hard at trying to get in shape and lose weight so I have the best chance of getting pregnant and staying pregnant when I see DH when he has R&R. DH has an aunt who lives in Hawaii, so we're meeting him there and spending two weeks seeing the sights and spending time together. Luckily it's not till the last half of November, so I still have time to lose weight and get in shape.