Instead of writing paragraphs and paragraphs on everything we did, I'll just share my favorite five pictures. We traveled to Kill Devil Hills, NC which is part of the Outer Banks. My parents took a solo trip there three years ago and loved it so much they wanted to bring my brother and I back. 1. Ziplining If you are ever looking for something fun to do in Gatlinburg, TN you need to check this out: CLIMB Works. 2. Biltmore Mansion 3. Stand-up Paddle Board My brother took some pictures and video on his GoPro, but hasn't sent them to me yet. It was a pretty windy day when we went out. Our guide helped us learning how to stand up and paddle. thus the name stand up paddle boarding. We were on the sound which is much calmer than the ocean was. Very fun! 4. Beach Time 5. Time with Family We got to try some new things as well as take it easy in the sand. That's my kinda vacation. Now I'm in full blown back to school mode. It will be here before I know it!
0 Comments
Like I mentioned last week, I had a race this past weekend! This was my first time doing this race so I didn't know what I was getting myself into. Thankfully it was practically in our backyard so we were able to drive a majority of the course when we picked up our packets. Night before Race Morning of the Race We parked and walked up to get our timing chips and get body marked. Then we unloaded our bikes and made our way to transition. It was open racking meaning there weren't assigned spots. We were supposed to find a spot on the rack that matched our swim cap color. This was slightly confusing for me as I am used to finding my number and racking up there. It wasn't a problem since we got there right when transition opened. Or I should say it didn't start out to be a problem.
First up: Swim If there was one part that scared me about the race it was the swim. It was a true open water and further than any distance I had swam in a race. I knew that freaking out was only gonna hurt me in the swim so I went in with my wave and just focused on staying calm. It defiantly wasn't an easy swim but my time was 17:25. 8 seconds more than my 400 M swim I did in June. And it was longer. I was pretty pleased that I not only made it through the swim, but also did it faster than I had previously! Next: Bike This was my first race with clips. They take some time to get used to. Running in them from transition to the bike mount area and then getting off the bike and into transition. Luckily transition was grass which is more giving to run in clips than cement is. The course did have a few decent size climbs, but I focused on keeping my heels down and hydrating. Right after I got on I took some Honey Stinger Vanilla Gel. I knew my mom would be passing me at some point on the bike since she is faster, it was just a matter of when. I wasn't wearing my Garmin at the time so I had no idea what mile it was at. I was kinda surprised that the course didn't have any mile markers on it. Last: Run Nothing of great detail to share here. Part was in shade and part was in the sun and it was sure hot. I kept thinking if I pushed it hard enough I would be able to catch my mom, but I didn't see her on the run. Final Thoughts
If my math is correct I'm roughly 113 days from my second marathon which is exciting and completely terrifying at the same time. I used a plan for my first marathon and was very happy with it. This summer is a tad different for me as I am sorta working on three sports at once and hopefully getting more comfortable with the whole "triathlon game". I guess you could say I like to be busy. The bonus to adding swimming and biking into my regular running routine is that it makes my running better. And let's face it, I could use all the help I can get. Since I am starting PDS in the fall, I know I need to use every ounce of my precious time to make sure I get everything done. If I create a plan and know EXACTLY what I need to do for each day not only am I more likely to get it done, but it also saves me time figuring out what today's workout is. It's very easy for me to sit here and say I will be busy and have no time to train for a marathon. But. I don't have a full time job or a family to take care of. Now is the time to spend doing things I love without taking time away from work or kids. When I take a few minutes going for a quick run before class or unwinding with a spin class, my mood is noticeable better than if I were to hit snooze. I'll be honest, some days I do hit snooze and I regret it. It happens. We are human. While I can't take all the credit writing this plan from scratch, I did cater it to what I *think* will work for me. The beauty of it is I can change it at any time. For example I know that I can not and should not run more than two days back to back. Fridays have always been my rest days leaving my legs nice and fresh for long runs on Sunday. Make sense? The original plan I modified from the Marathon Intermediate Run. This spring I used their 10K Intermediate Run to train for a 10K I signed up for. While I wasn't able to participate in the race due to family matters, over the course of a few weeks I was able to see some small speed gains. While I don't spend all my time focused on speed, I would like to take some time off my marathon time. I didn't stick a goal on my first one because I wanted to run it to run it and not stress for time. This time around I know what my body will be able to handle and can push it. We will see how that goes. Maybe if I get really good at this blogging thing I can even do weekly reflections on how my training is going. It's not like anyone reads this anyway, right?
Bring it on Naperville. Bring it on.
Let's have a look at a few of my favorites for running and training. Fuel During my marathon I trained using GU Chomps in Strawberry, and on race day I had things like pretzels and gummy bears. Clothing What I decide to wear completely depends on my mood and the weather. Current favs are Kirkland tanks from Costco and Brooks PR Mesh Skort II. I'm all about style when I run and these pieces have been great for humid runs in the summer as well as brisk fall runs with some layering. I actually ran my marathon in a shirt and it was under 30 degrees to start. I tend to get warmer as I run so it would out great! The shorts underneath have the silicone gripper and don't ride up. Love them. I have three colors now. It's a problem of mine. Shoes If anyone is looking to get into running I cannot stress the importance of getting a good pair of running shoes that you ONLY use for running. Don't wear them to walk the dog or on a Target shopping trip. The better care you take of your running shoes, the more miles you can get out of them. The more miles you can get out of your shoes the more money you save. Knowing when to get a new pair can be different for everyone. When I start to hurt in my knees and shins, I know it is time for me. I try to get my shoes to 200 miles before buying replacements, but if they hurt before that point I don't hesitate to break in a new pair. I track the mileage on my shoes on Daily Mile. When I log a run it gives me the option to add gear I used in the workout. This is helpful for when I am rotating between two pairs. My current favs are the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 14s (below) and Brooks Pure Flow 2(above). I will be back later this week with part 2! What are some of your favorite running must haves?
Hi friends! I'm here today to talk a little bit about what I do the week before a race to ensure I am in top shape come race day. Or at least pretend I am :) This weekend I am signed up for another triathlon. Let's see if I can kick this cold by then. While I am more than happy to share the things I do, it is important to note that these tips work best for me. What works for me might not work for everyone. It is important to find what works for you. 1. Water!!! You will not find me without some form of water bottle in my hand the days leading up to the race. The more water I can drink during the week, the better! I've even been drinking some Nuun while I teach lessons this week as I feel it gives me some added electrolytes while I'm slightly under the weather. 2. Comfy shoes Going out to dinner with the girls? Leave those heels at home if you know you have a race in a few days. Try and wear something comfy so your feet aren't bothering you come race day. Just pretend you're at the NCAA Tourney :) 3. No alcohol or fast food. This one is not that hard for me as I don't indulge in either very often. I tend to stick to wholesome foods that fill me up and give me the energy and nutrients I need to have an awesome race on the weekend. Will one Subway sandwich or slice of pizza ruin your whole race? No. Is thinking about what you eat getting your mind and body to tackle the obstacle ahead? Yes! 4. Don't try anything new. I am a total freak of habit. I won't eat anything new, try a new pair of shoes or test out a new exercise routine. It might be me just being paranoid, but I wouldn't want to let something silly like a pair of sandals or new taco place to upset my chances of having the best race I can. 5. Get lots of rest Since I know I'm always too excited the night before a race to get a good night's rest, I do my best to stash extra shut eye the days leading up to the race. I know I need a decent amount of sleep to feel and perform my best. Sleep is how my body recharges its batteries. Luckily I have been doing pretty good in the sleep department this week, but that's probably because I am taking night time cold medicine. I hope these ideas give you an idea of what works for me. My advice to newbies: know what works for you and stick to it. I'd love to hear what works for you! Do a trial run of race day. Practice doing exactly what you plan to on race day from the time you get up to what you eat for breakfast.
Wow this summer is sure flying. Thankfully now I am all done with summer school (few weeks ago I finished) and in full swim lesson mode. I really enjoy teaching and the kids are great! For the next couple days I'm dogsitting this pretty lady. She is the sweetest dog ever! Since Ryan is gone this week I am finding ways to keep myself busy. Teaching lessons, taking care of a dog and tampering for a Tri this weekend should keep me pretty busy, but just in case I have a decent size to-do list that needs my attention. Most of it is things that need to done before I head back to school. Which is less than a month away, yikes! I'm actually really looking forward to starting PDS and being a student teacher. My CT emailed me asking me to come up with a few book ideas that I could read to the class on the first day. I was maybe more excited over this little assignment than I should have been, but none the less I was super excited to be looking into books I would read the class on our first day together. I brainstormed a few ideas on my own and researched on the inter-web for suggestions. “Schooled” - Gordon Korman
“Freckle Juice” – Judy Blume “Ramona Quimby, Age 8” – Beverly Clearly “The Name Jar” – Yangsook Choi “Harriet the Spy” Louise Fitzhugh “The Year of Billy Miller” – Kevin Henkes “Wonder” – RJ Palacio “Frindle” – Andrew Clements “From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” – E.L. Konigsburg I will let you know which one we decide on. I'm secretly pulling for "The Year of Billy Miller". Kevin Henkes wrote a bunch of my favorite children's books, I'm interested to see what a chapter book looks like from him. I'd loved to he I'd been toying with the idea of writing an article on how I thought running and teaching related. Tonight after a few hours of work, I published my article to Buzzfeed. Check it out! I don't really know where this will go, but I gave it a shot. Let me know what you think!
This past weekend my mom and I completed in the Espirt de She Triathlon in Naperville, IL. We had a blast!! This was triathlon number 3 for me and number 2 for my mom. I did my best to keep track of the various parts so I could share them here. Here we go. My mom and I loaded up all of our gear and left our house a few minutes before 6AM, the race was to start at 7AM. Got to transition and got our spots in our waves. I was in Wave 21 and my mom was in Wave 9. I was surprised to find out that we didn't have assigned spots to put our picks. I must have had a confused look on my face because the ladies around me moved their stuff and helped make room for my bike and rest of my gear. I wish I would have snapped a picture of my set up, but I didn't have a chance before they kicked us out of transition area. First stop: Swim. Oh boy. The swim portion was slightly different from past triathlons I have done. They used what they called a 'Wave Start' where they send 70-75 swimmers into the water at once every 4 minutes. We knew this was going to be different for us since we were used to going in groups of four every 30 seconds. Before my mom and I were able to swim together. Here we were separated into our respective age waves. If you were doing the math you would notice that there was a huge gap between the time my mom's wave entered the water and when my wave went in the water. I was nervous, but in a good way. I was excited to get the race underway. I had a water bottle and a snack to hold me over until I needed to line up. I missed my mom going in the water as she switched up what she was swimming in. My dad was able to find her taking off on her bike before he watched me get in to swim. She is in the black and red jersey here. That bike is fast. Fast forward to when my wave started. I went in at the at the back of our pack to avoid the fast swimmers. It honestly didn't feel like I was in there as long as I really was. I stayed calm and just tried to stay float. Man, it wasn't pretty but I did it! I came out of the water and headed into transition into to get my bike and go. My dad was there looking for me, he was hard to miss in his neon shirt. He was able to snap a quick pic of me running in from the swim. Quickly got off the sand I could, but I didn't wanna take more time than I needed to. I added a shirt and shoes, stashed my GU and had Nuun on my bike ready to go. After strapping on my sunglasses and helmet was off I went! The bike portion started out fast and then once we went out and back it got a tab windy, I picked up speed were I could, but I was still trying to catch my breathe from the swim. Thanks to the pocket on the back of my bike jersey I had some fuel that I grabbed every so often. I followed the GU with some Nuun, Two laps around and I was heading back into my last transition. While I was bike my mom was off running and she sure looked like she enjoyed it! My mom was waiting for me when I got back as she was already done and was proudly wearing her medal! I did a quick change, added a visor and my Garmin and off I went! I was looking forward to the run the most because well, I'm a runner. I grab some water and took off. Slow and steady. The run course was great. It was party shaded and I saw some familiar faces on the run. I got close to the finish and could hear the crowd and announcer and picked up the pace, which apartly means do crazy things with your arms? But nevertheless I was feeling good and wanted to finish strong. Came across the finish line and got my medal. Few feet later was handed a chocolate milk. Like the ones from middle school. It tasted like a milkshake. So good. We walked around and checked out the different booths set up. Took a few more pictures and decided to call it a day. Things I loved about this race:
1. Close to home = sleep in my own bed. This is a huge one for me. I am a freak of nature and changes like hotel rooms never ensure my body is ready to handle a race the next day. 2. All girls. No I don't hate boys. This one was so friendly. Everyone was talkative and here to support each other. Ladies on the course were shouting words of encouragement. It was a great atmosphere. 3. The course. Loved loved loved it. I was really worried about the swim being longer than I was used to or the water being too cold. None of that was a problem. The bike course was nice and flat and I felt I had room to pass as I needed. And I loved the run course cause I loved to run and I knew the worst was behind me. Did I say that was going to be short? Well I guess I lied on that one. Thanks for sticking with me! I am turning in now as it is well after 1AM. I did have a 4 hour nap this afternoon sooooo I hit my second wind after dinner. I'll be taking it easy the next few days and then picking up where I left off in my training. Goodnight! What a great holiday. You better believe I laced up the running shoes today. I love reading about all the cool #NationalRunningDay meet ups and fun runs around the country. Very cool! Here's my reason I run. I got the image from Fleet Feet on Facebook and used the Over app to add my own text. I can't get over how well the orange matched. Things like this make me happy. The weather here was actually great for running. About 70 degrees, cloud cover and low humidity levels. Must have been something to do with the storms we had during the night last night. Let's just say I curled up in the laundry room with a blanket while I called home to have someone look up what was heading for me. My dad actually picked up the phone at 2:30AM and told me to come downstairs. He forgot I was 103 miles away in my apartment. We both laughed at that one. He stayed on the line for a few minutes to make sure I was okay. I went back to bed and turned on Nick. Around 4AM Full House came on. Barney Stinson was wrong, good things do happen after 2AM, like 90's sitcoms I love. (That's a How I Met Your Mother Reference for you guys that live in the stone age and have no idea who Barney is). #30SummerDays #4: Look up, what do you see? I see Kirsten Bell! Killin' it as the host of the CMT Awards. I realize this one is totally uncreative, but this is the best I have today.
I have a midterm tomorrow night so I'm doing my best to get all this terms hammered into my head. Wish me luck! The other day I came across a cute photo a day challenge on Peanut Butter Fingers. I thought it would be great to do something a tiny bit different over here. I'll jump on the bandwagon with #3: Who made you smile today? Sorry 'bout the repost, but this guy makes me pretty happy!
I'll be back tomorrow for #4! |
AshlynI'm a college student pursuing my dreams of being a teacher. When I'm not in the classroom observing or writing lesson plans I love to run! Follow me along for the ride. Archives
March 2015
Categories
All
|