So it's been a tad busy since I got back from Europe so I'll start there.
I arrived back to Pullman on Friday night, and recovered over the weekend (sleep-wise) but had a hard work out weekend planned, since the following weekend was ChelanMan and then 2 weeks after that the Juneau Marathon!
Saturday I biked with Kerry then swam, Sunday I ran 11 miles, and Monday flew out to Portland to interview at Western Oregon University for the Director position.
Tuesday were some intervals on the track, Wednesday was a 4 mile run, Thursday I swam about 1000 yds total, Friday was off and we drove to Chelan.
Saturday was Chuckledoodle's Olympic Tri (that is my awesome brother who flew home 20+ hours on Thursday night from being on a mission overseas for 3 weeks, turned around and drove to Chelan on Friday). He did great despite being dehydrated and jet-lagged, I think he was only 3 minutes slower than the first time he did ChelanMan 3 years ago, and he did cramp pretty significantly during the bike and run I believe. Still he did awesome, as usual. Rachel ran her first 10k (my sis-in-law) since before the kiddos were born and she did amazing, she PR'd and looked strong and fit, so proud of her. She loved being back competing and I loved it because Denise (nana), Kerry and I got to babysit for a few hours and cheer on Mommy and Daddy! Well Sam played on the iPad but Annabelle stayed awake to watch!
That afternoon Denise and I put on our wetsuits and did a little practice swim, this was Denise's first time in a wetsuit and she panicked a little (as did I the first time in CDA) and was a tad worried. After a long pep talk by Charlie and Rachel (who swam all her life and in college) who told her that that was normal, they both freaked out the first open water swim they did, she decided she would go through with the race on Sunday.
Saturday night was long, I just wanted Sunday to get there, I was so nervous and anxious about the swim portion since it was my first Triathalon. Slept actually pretty well, got up and had a great power breakfast (yes it included one unfrosted pop-tart plus some other healthier stuff, but mentally, I gotta have that pop-tart.....) We were fortunate to rent a condo literally right across the street from the park where the Tri was so we walked our stuff down to transition (had put our bikes in the night before) and Charlie walked us through how to set up our transition area, then we headed back to the condo to put our wetsuits on and get ready!
The start of the Tri was awesome, the gal who runs the show really made everyone feel safe and comfortable, they had lifeguards on paddle boards, treading water as well as kayakers the entire way and the water is so clear there that you could see the buoy line the entire way of the swim, it was so reassuring. The swim was decent, I panicked once and had to go on my back for a bit, and only had to do the breast stroke once for about 10-20 seconds.
I finished the swim in somewhere around 7-8 minutes, I had absolutely no time I was looking to get, I honestly just wanted to FINISH the swim! So I was happy with that :-). Got my bike stuff on, headed out on the bike and for some reason I could not shift out of the second lowest gear so I was using my legs a ton the entire 13 miles which was frustrating. I still did okay on that portion and got through the 2nd transition and headed out on the run. I averaged 7:14's (I had forgotten my watch so didn't have any idea how I was doing pace-wise, but again, it was my first Tri so I am actually glad I didn't have my watch, just went on how I felt).
I had a blast, I finished 5th female and 1st in my age group, 13th overall, but most importantly to me, was that I finished and had so much fun. I see why people get addicted to these!
After ChelanMan I took Monday off, ran 6 miles on Tuesday and then started some taper workouts that week for my marathon and made a tough decision on whether or not to leave WSU for WOU. In the end, for my career I decided to take the Director of Sports Performance position at WOU. It was so hard to think about leaving Pullman, the people there and the friends I've met have been incredible and as hard as it was, I know I still have the best of friends 5.5 hours away from my new home.
That next weekend, the weekend after ChelanMan, I biked a hard one with Kerry on Friday night, got up and ran 10 miles on Saturday, then Sunday we swam down at the river which was great (especially because unbeknownst to me someone would talk me into doing the Danskin Sprint Tri on August 7th.....). Then began the best week ever, TAPER WEEK!!!!!! Monday I ran 4 miles, Tuesday I ran 3 miles in intervals, Wednesday - off, Thursday - off and Denise and I flew to Juneau!! Friday we ran 2 miles and Saturday was the Marathon and 1/2 Marathon!
The morning of the marathon I was ready, or so I thought........
It started off well, beautiful morning, felt good but my GPS watch wasn't working so I had no idea of pace so I just went on how I felt. I ended up running from Mile 2 through Mile 15 with a little gal who ran track in college back east and was working up in Ketchikan in the summers. We were running 7:35's-7:40's and at halfway I felt awesome and was 1:39:30 at Half. But then at Mile 15 I started feeling a little cramping in my ankles and feet which was really weird. By Mile 18 every 2-3 steps when I'd pick up my feet my arches, toes and ankles would cramp so severely I thought I might fall. I had to stop every mile and stretch them, which made me so frustrated. At one point I saw my Dad and Boo and almost quit, but when I told Dad I was cramping he said "you're doing great, keep going!" I said "okay, then go to the finish and don't stop along the way to watch me because I might jump in the car with you"! Mentally it was just so hard because it wasn't super painful, just annoying and scary because I never knew when it would cramp and if I would fall flat on my face or not. About Mile 23 I knew I'd be able to finish but wasn't sure how I'd do. At Mile 15 I was on pace to finish around 3:22 but by Mile 22 I knew that wasn't going to happen. However, I said before I did the Marathon that I'd be happy with under 3:32 so I needed to remember that.
With 200 yards to go, there was a slight downhill and both hamstrings seized up, it was not pretty and it was painful, but I finished. I ended up finishing in 3:30 and 3rd female, and qualified for Boston by 15 minutes which was what I said I wanted to do, DONE. It was fun though, I really enjoyed the race, enjoyed the training for it much better than 6 years ago when I did my first and only marathon. I hope to do Boston, regisration is on September 12th so hopefully I get in!!
Denise did great in her half, she cramped a bit too and I think the problem for us was that we simply did not take in enough electrolytes, we drank a ton of water the days before, but no Gatorade and I didn't supplement. I had salt on my arms, abs and legs, which is not normal for me, so I knew I didn't prepare correctly. Sometimes you get a bit cocky in yourself and your fitness levels and forget that running for over 3 hours is very stressful on the body and not anything to be taken lightly. I know for next time now!
The rest of the trip in Juneau was wonderful, Brady flew in, we bbq'd that night with my aunt and uncle, did a lot of sightseeing, went on a wonderful whale watching trip and just enjoyed Alaska.
Getting back to Pullman after that was hard, I knew I had moving in my future and a lot of hard goodbyes. I took two weeks pretty much off after the marathon, packed, worked a lot, and just spent time with friends and family. The week I was moving to Oregon, Lori so kindly says to me "well you should do the Danskin with me on Sunday!" Of course I had no excuse not to, it would allow me to see them again, it was a short 3 hour drive from Oregon, and I had been wanting to do a sprint Tri this season so I did it!
I wasn't sure what to expect since I had only done 1 open water swim since Chelan, not been on my bike and hadn't run in 2 weeks since the marathon........
I ended up doing pretty well, finished 59th overall out of over 3100 females, LOVED the swim, did okay on the bike and finished 11th overall on the run portion so was thrilled about that!
The new job in Oregon is taking up A LOT of my time and energy, there's a lot of work to be done, I mean A LOT. It's exhausting but very fulfilling and I feel blessed to have this opportunity and to help these athletes get better! Already they are seeing how great it is to have a structured program and are starting to buy in, which is great for only my 2nd week. I love my job!!!
I'm staying with a wonderful couple, she was actually my 4th grade math teacher, and her husband Gene, out in Dallas, OR in their beautiful new home they built on 5 acres. As I tell everyone, it's wonderful getting up in the morning, having coffee made and breakfast, then getting a hug before I leave for work! Just be careful Becky and Gene, I just may never leave............. Kidding! I am moving into my new house on Labor Day weekend so I have plenty of room if anyone wants to come down to Oregon, train with me and go wine tasting!!!!
For now, my workouts are consisting of whatever/whenever I can get in. I'm trying to get at least 30-45 minutes of quality work in 5-6 days a week right now, and just not stressing about it. I love having fresh fruits and veggies available to me, and I went down to Trader Joe's this week to grocery shop, so awesome!! I have been making some healthy meals with Becky and forcing Gene to eat "chick" food, so I feel good at least about my nutrition.
I hope everyone is doing well, I miss all my Pullman peeps, but I'll be back for a farewell luau on Saturday night!!!
Happy Training All!
