34 and Counting....

Today is my birthday...and I have to face getting older. It is wierd being 34. Is 34 considered middle aged??? Or young??? Or old??? Josiah says I am old...."but it's ok mommy because you are still pretty....you get prettier every day." I LOVE 5 YEAR OLDS!!!!

Awesome Double Workout!

I met Sandy, Patty, Kevin, Dana, and Quentin in Sienna for a 22 mile bike ride out Steep Bank to McKeever to 521 at 6:15 this morning. While driving out there I saw some lightening but it quit right before we started riding and cleared out! Thank you God! When we were finished, Patty and I went to the aquatic center for a swim. I got 2000 M in and it felt great. Anngela joined in about half way through. She slept through the bike ride!!!! Anyways, what a great start to the day!

So Tired of Being Sick...

Monday afternoon I woke up from my daily 3 hour nap with a scratchy throat. Uh oh....when I get a scratchy throat my lungs will be filled with crap within 3 days. Tuesday morning I went to spin class anyways and then swam afterwards. I ran hills Tuesday night. Wednesday I woke up early and went rode my bike to the aquatic center to meet Patty, Anne, and some newbies. They wanted to rid the bike course for this mornings women's tri (more on that later). So we rode the 9.5 mile route and then jumped in the pool for a pool swim so they could practice in a 50 M pool. That new facility is awesome! Loved it! But only swam 500 M because I was still feeling crappy. Then jumped back on the bike and rode home. Josiah and I woke up Friday morning in the same pajamas we went to bed in Wednesday night. We didn't even change on Thursday. :( Can you say miserable!! Friday I had to shower and dress so I could go pick up my bike from Sugar Cycles. It was tuned and adjusted. (New bike stuff) Friday night I ran 9 miles with Lurlean after the storms passed. It was cool but my throat was raw. Saturday morning I met the Vineman Crew for a long bike ride. Everybody else did a brick but there would not be any running for me...I couldn't even breathe! UUGGHHHH...WHEN IS IT GONNA BE OVER????

Hardware...It's not my fault....

...that only 2 Athena's showed up to race yesterday!!!! I got 2nd!!! And a plaque!!! It's not my fault the other Athena's stayed home and ate chips, drank beer, and watched NASCAR!!! Yesterday I raced the TriAmerica long course in Clear Lake. It was a 2K swim...60K bike...15K run. And it was HOT!!! I'm talking no shade on the run! And my results aren't listed! Their results pages are really messed up. So I will tell you what I have down. I went into this race concerned because 2 days before the race they e-mailed a briefing that said a course cut-off of 5:30. I had figured 6 hours so I was a little concerned.

My swim was great! It was a double loop swim. I swam good and steady. I felt much better than CapTex but that might be because Clear Lake was smooth and I didn't have a current carrying me off to the side. I think the race course was a little short, but I do know that I did swim much faster and smoother than normal also.

TriAmerica 2000 M Swim Time: 47:52

TriAmerica 2000 M Swim Pace: 2:38

CapTex 1500 M Swim Pace: 3:10

Lonestar 965 M Swim Pace: 3:17

I had another great bike section. I feel that this is becoming my strongest area. This course was flat and fast. It was a double loop on a 30K course making it 60K for us long racers. I went out fast becasue I am going to be slow on the run no matter what so there is no use saving anything! It was hot and I drank both of my bottles of gatorade plus a bottle of water at the handoff point halfway. I don't know my overall time but I did look at my bike computer which gave me my race pace.

TriAmerica 60K Bike Pace: 16.43 MPH

CapTex 40K Bike Pace: 15.4 MPH

Lonestar 28 Mile Bike pce: 14.6 MPH

The run sucked! It was HOT and NO SHADE!!! At about 1 3/4 miles, I started feeling horrible. I was dizzy and my head was hurting. I checked my heart rate and it was 192. HOLY @%*$! I started walking. When I got to the water table at mile 2 I filled the front and back of my sports bra with ice and my hat. I walked for 5 minutes straight and started feeling better. I usually do 3/1 intervals. After my 5 minute walk, I switched to 1/1 intervals and that was working for me. I actually started picking it up between miles 4 1/2 and 8. I don't know my pace because it is not listed.

My overall race time was 5:51. I could have made it in the 5:30 with shade! DAMN!! What a great day!

Week in Review

So...I did my long bike ride on Friday with Darwin, Kathy, Fran, and Meera. The wind was blowing ridiculous. We only got in 42 miles but that is alright...I am already ahead of where I need to be.

Saturday Lurlean and I got a 11 mile run in. We started at 4:30 am trying to beat the heat but that didn't work. The humidity was terrible. Saturday was Josiah's 5th birthday party at the batting cages. It was awesome....no more house parties for us. It is so worth the money to have someone else set up and clean up!

Sunday I woke Josiah up early and we went to volunteer at the Tejas Triathlon here in Sugar Land. We worked the bike exit and saw a lot of chains come off on the hill at the beginning. A lot of people were in the wrong gear...note to self...CHECK THE BIKE EXITS AT ALL RACES AND MAKE SURE I AM IN THE CORRECT GEAR!!! I didn't do any training Sunday...I needed a day of rest. We got home from the tri and I took a nap with Josiah from 12 - 5 pm. We then went to a friends pool and swam until 9 pm.

Monday...another day of rest. Josiah's "real" birthday as he calls it. 5 YEARS OLD!!! We saw Kung Fu Panda and had cheeseburgers and chocolate milkshakes at Johnny Rockets. Then we ate more birthday cake at home. I ate almost a whole birthday cake in 2 days...UGH

Tuesday...1000 meter swim in the morning...and 4 loops of hills in the parking garages in the evening.

Today (Wednesday)...I met Jan, Patty, and Fran for a 20 mile bike ride around First Colony at 6:30. Patty and I then did a brick run after. When we were finished I picked up Josiah and we went to the bucket pool in Sienna with Sandy for the afternoon. I am trying to fill in my white triathlon short tan lines with tan....now instead of chocolate and vanilla legs....I have chocolate and strawberry legs. BURNED!!! Tonight I swam 2 loops at Twin Lakes. I am taking it easy this week with the swim because my shoulders have been sore and I have a 1.24 mile swim at the TriAmerica Tri in Clear Lake this weekend.

Twin Lakes Swimming

We had a larger than usual crew for the swim last night at Twin Lakes. Swimming were Fast Shannon, Ironwomen Tessy and Deb, Ironman Darwin, Sam, Mandy, Sean, Michelle, and myself. Shannon and I started earlier than the group becasue we arrived earlier and I need a little head start so we can all finish about the same time. I had a great 3 loop swim (2400 Meters or 1.49 Miles). That is TWICE this week!!!! WOOHOO!! I am getting more excited every day becasue I know I can do this!

Hotter Please???

OMG...could it get any hotter hear in Houston???? And it is only the beginning of June. We still have 5 months of this madness to go! I played hooky on Friday and went on a nice 25 mile bike ride by myself. Sometimes we need exercise alone time...no matter how much we love our training partners! Friday night I went out to Sex and the City with Sandy, Ann, and Ann's friend...who isn't ever invited back! Anyways, we dressed up, and drank some delicious Blueberry Lemondrop Martini's before departing for the theatre. But then we did the ultimate Carry Bradshaw manuever...we mixed up Cosmos and took them with us in my purse...while Sandy had the pink Martini glasses in her purse! Once inside the theatre, we pulled it all out and drank cosmos during the movie! WE ROCK!!! Anyways, after getting home at 12:45 am, I met Lurlean for a 10 mile run at 5:30 am from Velocity. BIG MISTAKE!!! OMG!!!! Was I dehydrated, and was it hot! I actually ran out of fluids, something I have never done in 2 years of training! Well, we got the run done and then it was off to Josiah's last soccer game and team party. When it finally was over, we jumped in the pool. How refreshing. Sunday I met Meera for a long bike ride. She rode the first 25 miles with me and then I rode another 27 on my own for 52 miles in all. Sunday afternoon it was off to Twin Lakes for a long swim. I swam 1600 meters (2 loops) with Sean and then another 800 meters (1 loop) with his wife Michelle. My longest swim yet! WATCH OUT VINEMAN 70.3...HERE I COME!