Three-Peaks Cyclo-Cross

A friend of mine in Ireland is doing this race this year. Holy balls. She has been a racing beast this year. I'm wicked proud of her, and hope Three Peaks is as successful as the rest of her season has been.

Hello, there!!

Yes, I know. It's been more than a while. I've been busy. Please don't ask me what I've been doing since my last post because I actually can't remember when that last post was. Don't take it personally. None of my blogs have seen too much in the "new" department.

So why am I writing now?

Heh.

I ran into Ms. A today. It was great to see her, but danged if she didn't call me out. I forgot (I told you I've been busy) that she had my blog listed on her class website. You know, because I used to be pretty awesomesauce at keeping it updated. I'd better get back to it, eh?

The answer is: Yes. I know this. I haven't written hardly anything this summer except little pieces of nonsense here or there that don't amount to much of anything. Things like:

Céu with a storm in the background. This was not an intentional pairing, but it's a good one.

And:

I never liked being pregnant.

Oh, and this gem (I have no idea what this is about)

I heard some jackass yesterday saying people are lying when they say they don't have time to workout. Not sure what planet he was from. Guessing he's from Dickville,

Holy cow! I just saved this, and checked when my last post was. February?!?! Dang. I really have been quite busy.

Nutshell:

* Ran a 10 mile race, and finished about 30 min faster than I anticipated I would
* Ran a 5K personal best one week after my 10-miler
* Finished my 3rd semester of college (whoot!)
* Went to Texas for like 3 weeks.
* Attended/Spectated/Volunteered at/Sherpa'd my first WTC Ironman event
* FINALLY saw my sister in law, the coolest, most bad ass-est chick on the planet!!!!
* Completed my first Warrior Dash in KC at the end of July
* Celebrated my 17th wedding anniversary (Holy cow, I feel old!)
* Completed my 3rd triathlon. That deserves its own post. ;)
* Started my 4th semester of college with the two classes I've dreaded my whole school career: Chemistry and Public Speaking

So, now you're all caught up. :) I'll try to go back to writing at least a little something every day.

Feel free the send me topic suggestions.

Check out these pics from the Warrior Dash below!!!

KC Warrior Dash 2011

Virgin Half Mary

I finished my first half marathon last weekend. It was hard and VERY painful. My jockstrap always says, "Suffer for it". That I did.

You can read the report HERE. I'm hoping to do another one next month, but we'll see how the leg is doing. I really don't understand why I love running so much. It freaking hurts!!

May Day 5K

I thought I had written more posts this week. Odd. Oh well. It's been a busy week.

Ran the May Day 5K, "Run For the Veterans" yesterday here in Republic. It was fun. The course was an out and back in a residential area that was very well marked and manned by volunteers. The start was typical. I started in the middle of the pack as usual. There was a bit of a bottle neck as we transitioned from the road by the fitness center to the walking/running/cycling path. I don't think anyone got hurt, but I definitely was not liking the temporary "herd" feeling.

Realized real quick that the field was pretty fast. Mike said he started to worry because so many people were finishing and they still didn't see me. Then he realized the clock was no where NEAR my projected finish. That's the way it goes.

I kept it steady, worked on some things I've been having issues with on my training runs and tried to have fun. I did. Ha, around mile 2, there was this old guy standing out on his driveway with some sort of organ thing on a stand. He was turning a crank and it was making music. Not that I could really hear it over Static X. I thought it was pretty neat, though.

Official time: 00:33:28
Pace: 10:45/mile

Good: I had fun, worked on my breathing and staying relaxed. The proceeds for this race are going to build a Veteran's memorial here in Republic and to the Cox Fitness scholarship program.
Also Good: I weighed myself before the race... I lost 5 pounds last week. Whoot!
Bad: My left foot betrayed me near the end and started turning out to the left which took some power away from my push. Definitely caused some wasted energy there. Also bad, I was wearing a pink race belt with a red shirt. Ha! I know. I'm definitely not a fashion plate.

I should mention that my husband, kids, mother-in-law and neighbors all did the 1 mile Fun run/walk. :) I was proud of all of them for participating. My youngest ran the whole mile with the girl next door and was pretty stoked. I think he's hooked on running now which is awesome.

Livestrong Benefit 5K for LAF

I did some running yesterday. Not my fastest race time, but not my worst either. You can read about it over here.

The time has come

I did it. Last week, I signed up to do my first triathlon!! It's in August and you can find the details here. It's a sprint distance tri so (if you're too lazy to click the link) that's 300 yd swim, 12 mi bike, 3.1 mi run. I've got 5 months to get my shit together, so I'm not sweating it. The only thing I'm worried about is the swim. I can SWIM, just not like awesomely. And seriously, that stuff about how my people can't swim because the sink or they're afraid of water? Not true. Horror movie stereotype? True. Black folk can't swim or ice skate, not true.

I would like to thank all of the crazies who do tri and have inspired me to take on this challenge. I blame y'all. You all make it sound so fun! I <3 you guys!

A special thanks goes to Bobby. My goal is to be so awesome that someday he will do a podcast where he tries to figure out how to beat me... but not kill me. ;) Check out his "weekly" (meaning whenever) podcast!

A super special thanks to Christine for kicking boys' asses and proving girls rule! :D And also to Peej, my twinsie (no, seriously, we look exactly alike) who is so strong and badass she should have her own holiday! You ladies have been an awesome inspiration!

A Piece of the Puzzle

It's a sparkly-clear, blue sky kind of day. It smells cold and crisp. Energy crackles through the air. Muffled clapping from hands sheathed in gloves and mittens mixes in with "Good job! You're almost there!", whistles and cowbells. So many smiles all around for everyone going by.
About 10 yards from the girls with the cowbells, not far from a yellow barrier on the left, is a woman in a heavy coat, winter hat and safety vest. She's also clapping and waving people on. To the right, you can see people standing close together like they are trying to keep warm while they watch for something in excited anticipation. The long shadows are a testament to the early hour of the morning.
There's a girl coming this way.
The girl is me. I was running. In search of awesome. I found a piece of it that day in the Bass Pro Halloween 2009 5K. I had signed up for this race, my first race ever, to make sure I stuck with a running program. I was afraid that without a goal, I wouldn't follow through with running. What is life without goals, right?
It was cold and bright that morning. I had my leg wrapped, but wore capri pants so I wouldn't over heat. My gloves and my shoes made me especially happy that day because my gloves looks like gorilla hands and my mom says my shoes make my feet look like gorilla feet. Sunglasses, tech shirt and purple headband complete my not-so-fashionable running ensemble.
At the start, I was so nervous. There were so many people there, though, that I quickly forgot about nerves and just started watching other people. Some were wearing costumes that made me giggle. Some were wearing costumes that made me think, "Oh come on, I can surely beat that person".
I fell into a rhythm after the 2nd turn. I was having so much fun just listening to my iPod and watching others go past me. Suppressing a giggly feeling when I was able to pass up someone else. The cold from the pavement seeped into my shoes through the ultra thin rubber soles of my Five Fingers, numbing my feet within 5 minutes.
I did really well in this race, especially for being my very first ever. I ran that first 5K in 35:01, placing 21st in my age group. Right on.
This was what I see as a beginning of long, challenging, fun journey. I have chosen to follow a new path; a path that will require me to explore the depths of my commitment, endurance and physical and mental strength. Along the way, I will learn more about who I was, who I am and who I am meant to be by picking up more pieces of awesome and putting them together with what I already have. The best thing about this journey I'm on is that there's never really an end. Even if my body stops, my mind doesn't have to and I can pass along the knowledge I acquire to others who need it.
To read the race report from this day, click here.