Last weekend I did my last Tri of the season, the Devil’s Lake Challenge in Baraboo WI. This was a remarkable event for various different reasons;
a) Mr. K & I camped in the Devil’s Lake State Park the night before the race (it got to a snuggly 30 degrees overnight!)
b) Ma & Pa K trekked over to watch the event- that started at 8 a.m. on Saturday.
c) More Paquette’s came that I could shake a stick at—these guys are my Dad’s cousins, and an all round good time!
The race was small. I am learning that small races mean that my finish time won’t be as impressive because I’m outnumbered by super thin and fast gym rats and hard bodies. The swim was a warm quick quarter of a mile (the water was 72 degrees, the air closer to 50). The bike was a grueling 15 mi ride, with some of the hardest inclines I’ve tackled in a long time. I was wishing I spent more time working on cycling outside of flat Chicago. The run was a simple and easy 5k, where I accomplished a personal best of the summer with a ten-minute mile!
After the race I met up with my personal cheerleaders! Mr. K and I took down our camp, and then headed over to the Paquette’s cabin, for quality family time, laughs, stories, food, and one of the best showers I have ever taken! We also were treated to a duet of my Great Aunt Janey and her dog Lady singing (seriously! The dog sang. ) “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” It was awesome!
All and all the race was nice, but the camping and the family time were top notch. Would I do it again? Only after some more time working on riding up hill, and if it meant more time at the Paquette cabin.
So I’m done swimming, cycling, and running for now. I’m training for the NYC marathon (Thanks Toyota!). I didn’t think that I would attempt another marathon so soon, but this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. In preparing for the race I’m hoping to shave about an hour off of my finish time from last year’s Chicago marathon. After a summer of running with speedy Mr. K and ‘Sweetie’ I’ve had to get faster, or eat their dust (no thanks). This may also mean returning to that diet I was working on in the spring. Why diet now? To avoid knee pain- last year my knees really hurt going up stairs after all the running, and one of the best ways to lower the impact of running on joints is to take off the extra pounds. I want to reduce the impact on my knees. So I should be returning to ‘Fatties No More’ soon, once I swallow my pride- reports to follow.
Thursday, September 20
Monday, September 10
Feeling Beautiful
When was the last time that you felt beautiful?
When is the last time you knew you were beautiful and that damned voice in the back of your head didn't argue with your knowledge?
Sunday could have started better, I was grumpy with Mr. K and almost forgot to feed the cat. Training this weekend meant getting a 14-mile run in, so I opted for 13.1 and did the Banco Popular Half marathon instead. Now I've relaxed from running after last year's Chicago marathon. Yes the tri includes a run portion but in the races I've done all the runs are about five miles (okay six) training for six miles is nothing like training for twenty-six!
The run was great, I found some team and training friends in the crowd, the weather was awesome, and the course was in a new neighborhood away from the tired Northside lakefront path, and away from downtown (read, Southside!). The run itself is always takes a good deal of mental effort to keep going, and I hurt like hell today, but once the race was over I felt beautiful. I was stinky, coated in salty film of dried sweat, stretching in the grass, eating a banana, lying there just knowing without a doubt that I felt beautiful.
When is the last time you knew you were beautiful and that damned voice in the back of your head didn't argue with your knowledge?
Sunday could have started better, I was grumpy with Mr. K and almost forgot to feed the cat. Training this weekend meant getting a 14-mile run in, so I opted for 13.1 and did the Banco Popular Half marathon instead. Now I've relaxed from running after last year's Chicago marathon. Yes the tri includes a run portion but in the races I've done all the runs are about five miles (okay six) training for six miles is nothing like training for twenty-six!
The run was great, I found some team and training friends in the crowd, the weather was awesome, and the course was in a new neighborhood away from the tired Northside lakefront path, and away from downtown (read, Southside!). The run itself is always takes a good deal of mental effort to keep going, and I hurt like hell today, but once the race was over I felt beautiful. I was stinky, coated in salty film of dried sweat, stretching in the grass, eating a banana, lying there just knowing without a doubt that I felt beautiful.
Wednesday, September 5
What's next?
Well the Big tri has past. I spent the last two weeks of training mulling over what I would do next. Lucky for me the day after Matt & I finished the triathlon Toyota gave me the opportunity (which I am taking) to run the New York Marathon. I'm hoping that the tri training will help with some of the really long runs that go into to training for a marathon. My goal is not to be fast, but just to do this event for fun (and reamain injury free!)
for the labor day weekend I put in a 7 mile run on the country roads surrounding LaRue, it was great!
This comming weekend I'm running the Banco Popular half marathon (13.1 miles), the following week will be a Sprint Tri in WI. After this marathon season, perhaps I'll join the Evanston Masters Swim team for the winter season.
We spent the long weekend in LaRue celebrating my father's 60th birthday. Like all good weekends in Ohio, there was an excessive amount of food, drinking, family, friends and pranks. Family from CO and OK flew in, and my nieces 7 and 6 mos from SC arrived. I had a great time teaching little Miss R all the fun of pranking, and showing some of the kids down the street how to TP a house. Perhaps the most important lesson learned from this trip was that fussy 6 month old babies should NEVER EVER be separated from their Mommy for more than 6 hours, and never 48 hours. It's good to be home.
for the labor day weekend I put in a 7 mile run on the country roads surrounding LaRue, it was great!
This comming weekend I'm running the Banco Popular half marathon (13.1 miles), the following week will be a Sprint Tri in WI. After this marathon season, perhaps I'll join the Evanston Masters Swim team for the winter season.
We spent the long weekend in LaRue celebrating my father's 60th birthday. Like all good weekends in Ohio, there was an excessive amount of food, drinking, family, friends and pranks. Family from CO and OK flew in, and my nieces 7 and 6 mos from SC arrived. I had a great time teaching little Miss R all the fun of pranking, and showing some of the kids down the street how to TP a house. Perhaps the most important lesson learned from this trip was that fussy 6 month old babies should NEVER EVER be separated from their Mommy for more than 6 hours, and never 48 hours. It's good to be home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)