PT Triathlete

Yoga, yoga, yoga

2011-10-22T14:29:00.000-06:00

I miss Bikram Yoga. I haven't been for almost 2 years. Going while pregnant is obviously out at 105 degrees. Going while healing from a C Section is a very bad idea (and I would have probably fallen asleep anyway). Going while nursing is ill-advised (ew) but now is the time! It is starting to get cold and I am definitely back in shape. We are also done buying the Ferrari of formulas and so maybe, just maybe, I can talk my husband into $30 this month for 2, 90 minute, yoga sessions.
I was recently discussing the differences between Bikram and Vinyasa yoga. I, of course was in the Bikram camp and my friend was all for Vinyasa. We talked back and forth both understanding the other's love of yoga, both having been out of the practice for a while. She explained why she loved Vinyasa and told me about her experience with Bikram. As I listened, I began to see that everyone does yoga for a different reason. Every reason is just as valuable. She enjoys the spiritual aspect, the relaxation, and the not knowing what she will get with each instructor and each class. I began to realize that I loved all the opposite things about Bikram. I love that each time the poses are the same, that I can perfect my postures, and know exactly what to expect. I love that it is one heck of a work out. I love that I sweat like crazy. I enjoy the work. I love that there is no talking, no drinking, no paying attention to anything or anyone around you.
There is just nothing better than the cleanse from a Bikram yoga session and now I can't wait to go!

Papillion Triathlon Race Report

2011-08-02T10:05:00.000-06:00

Well, I raced and I survived. That's all I really was hoping for.

I woke up with a throbbing headache. Not a good sign as I tend to get a headache after I race about 90% of the time. I got up, gathered my belongings, took two Aleve and was off. Oh and I managed to shut the back hatch of my Saturn Vue on my arm after I loaded my bike. That left a lovely bruise!

I got to the race and got set up. I picked up my packet and got body marked and I told myself I could do the swim and turn in my chip if my head was worse. I have been fighting some nasty headaches that seem to happen after I swim and I hadn't been in the water FOREVER. Swimming is natural for me and I wasn't worried about the swim itself but I was worried about how I would feel afterward.

The swim went well, I was slower than I would have liked but that was to be expected. I came out of the water with the same headache I went in with and so I got on my bike and took off. The volunteers were making everyone walk with their bikes in transition which slowed down both T1 and T2 a bit. The bike course is 3 hilly loops that weave through a narrow sidewalk trail, through a high school parking lot, and then on busy (closed) highways. It's a decent ride and I actually started to feel a bit better as I rode. I was passed by guys as usual and I was only passed by one girl! Yay! I came in off the bike and took off running. It was really really hot by now. 99 degrees at 9 am and a heat index of 107 degrees. Yuck. The run is out and back. The out section is flat and then uphill which makes the back part a tiny bit better. I was hurting and hot and had a headache and was a bit light headed but I didn't get passed by anyone and even made a few passes myself. I had chills coming into the finish line and I was glad to be done. I actually found out the next day that I had been fighting a UTI for over a week (oops - let that go a little too long) and started a round of antibiotic.

Time: 1:24:24
Overall Place: 47
Place in Gender: 4/86
Place in Division F3034: 2/21

Swim: 11:07
Tran1: 0:56
Bike: 45:45
Tran2: 0:56
Run: 25:43

So I'll take 4th place with a UTI and a doozy of a headache. Not bad and soooo glad to be back out racing.

Eeeek

2011-07-16T13:59:00.000-06:00

I race tomorrow.
I think I forgot how.

Upcoming Sprint

2011-07-07T09:45:00.000-06:00

It has been a very long time since my last triathlon, almost 2 years! I have a little local sprint coming up in a couple of weeks and I am curious to see how I will do. There have been very, very few brick workouts in my life but the good news is that, with the marathon training I have been doing, the 5K should be a piece of cake even after a quick bike ride. It's really the swim that worries me the most. I have been having bad headaches complete with dizziness the days that I swim masters. The kind of headaches that require throwing up and going to bed to get rid of. Suck. So I really haven't been swimming. I've seen two doctors and am headed in to an audiologist today to have custom ear molds made. Crossing my fingers that it helps! I love to swim and it is very sad to be out of the water for so long.

Additional Blog

2011-04-28T12:46:00.002-06:00

When E man came along I decided that I wanted to keep this blog related to exercise, triathlon and workouts and start something completely different related to our adventures in parenting. If you are interested check it out here!

Turning it off

2011-04-21T12:14:00.000-06:00

So I ran this morning. Don't get me wrong, I've been running. I usually tuck E man into the stroller with his hat, blanket, toys, and sunglasses. Then I round up the dogs and leash them up, get their collars, find doggy doo sacks. It's quite the production. This morning I snuck out of the house. I left Mr KT asleep in our bed upstairs, E asleep in his crib, and the dogs in their kennels. I slipped out the door into the drizzle and it was just me. Just two feet, two lungs, one heart beat, two arms pumping and a very quiet brain. No cell phone, no ipod, no baby, no animals. No worrying about work, or if the sun was in the baby's face, or if his hat had slipped over his eyes, or if the very favorite teething giraffe had been slung over the side of the stroller into a puddle a mile ago. No worry about making sure we still had two tiny socks, that the dogs weren't tangled up or about to bolt for a squirrel, or if the baby was chewing on his sunglasses instead of wearing them. No texts, emails, or phone calls. No need to manage a large herd on a small path. The ability to swing both arms! My head grew quiet. I watched two geese fly in for a water landing on the golf course pond. And then I ran home to fix a bottle and change a diaper and see that sweet baby's sleepy smile. Happy sigh.

Run momma run!

2011-04-07T08:34:00.000-06:00

It was absolutely beautiful yesterday. After E's last nap we all set out for our run. Mr KT took the dogs and I pushed E. We don't run together really, more at the same time. Yesterday E and I just did 5 miles while Mr KT and the pups did the 10K loop. At about mile 3.5ish a college gal from UNO jumped on the trail in front of E and I. She was fit, tiny, muscular and moving! Apparently, I have a bit of a competitive streak so, we jumped in behind her and hung on. She knew we were there thanks to E man who was babbling happily away. And so she picked up the pace 7:30, then 7:15, then 7:00, then 6:30... and so did we. We followed her and her muscular I've-never-had-a-baby body for quite a while (10 minutes?) until she peeled off and we kept going straight. I totally hung with her! It's hard enough to pick it up and run intervals but add a stroller and a 17 lb, almost 7 month old and no arm swing and it ups the ante a bit. Oh and I had possibly the sorest glutes, hamstrings and adductors ever, thanks to lifting the day before. Ow. And so, I allowed myself to finally catch my breath at 8:45 miles (can't be huffing and puffing right behind her, didn't want her to know it was work!). We finished up our run and waited for daddy and the doggies to get home for dinner. All in a day's work.

Been running!

2011-03-16T09:33:00.000-06:00

Woot! St Patrick's Day 5K with two friends who are new to running tomorrow. So excited to watch them finish their first 5K!

The weather is supposed to be gorgeous. I think I will run down to the race site at my own pace and then run the 5K with them. That should make for a nice moderate distance run.

I think I need some sweet green knee socks!

Time to get going

2011-01-21T13:54:00.003-06:00

So last week, I swam with the Master's group on Monday morning before work. It felt great and I didn't drown. Guess I should probably go back.

Today, I am registering for a couple of half marathons, a couple of 5Ks, and a sprint triathlon. Time to start getting those long runs in again. Yay!

Oh, and maybe someday Omaha will unfreeze and I can get back on my bike. It's been a long time since I rode without being uncomfortable and pregnant!

Green socks!

2010-12-14T13:50:00.002-06:00

There is nothing cooler than being eco-friendly. My brother-in-law makes fun of Mr KT and I for being "yuppies" and trying to save the planet single-handedly but I guess if you are going to have a super power it may as well be that?

Anyway, I was catching up on some blogs that I had fallen behind reading and I was at Swim Bike Run Live where Jamie had posted a contest for socks! Not just any socks but sweet eco friendly socks made out of 97% recycled plastic bottles! How awesome is that? The contest is a super great idea but either way I am ordering a pair of these. They even have one with dragonflies on them. Heart. Hopefully just by spreading the word, other companies will catch on and realize that many of us are passionate that the products we use and companies we buy from are taking care of the planet. :) Maybe I do sound a little over the top.

Shhh. Don't tell my brother-in-law.

December

2010-12-05T16:25:00.003-06:00

Well, E will be 3 months in a week or so. He is growing and healthy and that is a huge blessing. I head back to work Monday which is both good and bad. I will miss E on the days I work but it will be really nice to get back part time.

I have been running and have even managed to work in a trail run or two. :) Sigh. How I missed getting dirty with my Kona-baby on the trails. I have a couple friends who are patiently (not really) trying to talk me into a trail marathon the first weekend in April. As much as I would LOVE to, I am not sure that I can commit the time to the training off road as much as I would like to. I wish, wish, wish but maybe in a few years when E is a little older.

Tree is up, homemade Runza's are made, and baby is napping (sort of). Time to rest for just a few minutes.

A few pics of E just chillin in his giant Timbuk2 "diaper" bag.

Cleared to Run

2010-11-12T08:35:00.003-06:00

Happy November (now that it is almost half way over). I am officially 8 weeks status post C-section and birth of my little guy. I was cleared to run 2 weeks ago at my doctor's appointment. The doctor took one look at me and the circles under my eyes and said, "hopefully this will give you a little energy because there is nothing else I can do about the sleep deprivation." Um, thanks?

I have been attempting to ramp up the obligatory 10% but haven't been very good about it.

The last week of October I ran 1 hour and 35 minutes.
Last week I ran 2 hours and 20 minutes.
This week I will have done about 3 hours and 20 minutes.

I haven't had any major issues. (Thank goodness, because after months of not running I think I would have freaked out.) After my first 4 miler, my IT bands were pretty sore so I foam rolled and stretched for a couple days. My incision occasionally tweaks as apparently the dissolvable staples hadn't yet dissolved as of the end of October. My hips and pelvis that were the problem when I was pregnant have been just fine (YAY!). And I'll spare you all the details of the nursing/running issues.

The main thing has been my lack of endurance. It is so nice to be out running and not walking but man, oh man does it "hurt". Good thing that little baby is so cute because I am all sorts of slow right now. The good news is, I am well below my pre-pregnancy weight so at least I'm not fighting that, the bad news is that a lot of that weight was muscle and so I am in the process of building it all back up.

I spend a lot of my running time thinking about what races I'd like to do next year and down the road. (It keeps my mind off of the pain and about how tired I am.) I think this year I am going to consider Trek Up the Tower in February again. That is the 40+ story stair climb. I didn't do it last year as I was about 7 weeks pregnant at the time and the massive increase in heart rate seemed like a bad idea. That one will take some training. I am also going to do a couple of 5Ks to see if I can improve some times. I am going to run the St Patrick's Day 5K with a friend. She wanted to do a 5K in the spring and this one is pretty early so should be a nice motivator for her. The other race I'd like to plan on is the Lincoln Half Marathon on May 1st. That would be 7 1/2 months after E was born and I think that is do-able. I'd like to PR but that might be pushing it. :)

The update on Mr E is that he is making neural connections left and right, up and down, in and out. He is learning new skills every day and is so fun to watch.

He has been "flying" with his dad and granddad, strengthening his neck.

He has found his thumb and loves to have his thumb, fingers or fist in his mouth.

And he is kicking and batting at toys with utter determination.

So, while E is learning all these fun new things, I am getting back out on the road and hoping to hit the trails next week for some hills. Feels so good to be back, in a hurty kind of way.

Baby Steps

2010-10-18T14:08:00.004-06:00

Well, apparently after a C-section, you are supposed to wait 6 weeks minimum before working out. As my friend Eric, pointed out, "they practically cut you in half" as I was whining about how long it takes to heal from this. At two weeks post op I was cleared for "brisk walking". Period. That was all. I hope my doctor doesn't blog. Or read triathlon blogs. Or know anyone who might tell on me.

CONFESSION:

I ran 2 minutes on Saturday.

I ran 3 minutes on Sunday.

I am not 6 weeks post op until 10/27/10.

I mean, it's not even really running compared to what I was doing before, right? In the scheme of a 45 minute "brisk walk" it just increased my overall pace minutely, right? I just wondered how it would feel.

I needed it. My brain starts to fall apart if I can't work out. I thought I did pretty well waiting four and a half weeks. The last two of those have not been great what with the hormones, the sleep deprivation and the lack of exercise. I might add that Mr KT has been a saint. He has single-handedly managed the entire household since the middle of September. He is running the dogs, helping with the babe at all hours, trying to keep his nut-job wife from falling apart, and he is going to work.

I haven't run since week 20 of my pregnancy. That was in May, people. MAY! While pregnant, I managed to find other ways to work out, mainly because I hurt so bad that I would end up having to crawl to the bathroom the nights after I ran. For sanity sake, I needed to know that was now over.

During my 5 minutes of running this weekend my incision felt great, just a tad sore on the internal incision and my pelvis felt pretty darn good. The biggest problem, um, let's just say I am going to need the best sports bra I can find. I mean, the mother of all sports bras. Otherwise, I am going to end up with two black eyes and a soaking wet t-shirt less than a mile into each run. (My husband did mention that he would pay to see that.) Lucky for him, around here it will be free unless I can find a solution. OUCH!

I go back to the doctor a week from tomorrow to be cleared to workout. I'm ready to run, lift, ride, swim, anything would be good. I love this little boy but sometimes a mommy just needs to get away for a bit.

Here is E at 4 1/2 weeks after his first few minutes of "running". Check out his sweet ride!

Introducing

2010-09-26T06:08:00.003-06:00

Emmett Alexander
6 lbs 15 oz
20 1/2 in long
Born Sept 15th, 2010

Well, our new addition is here. In subsequent posts, I will get back to the training and the triathlon info and probably how it goes with a little one but for today...

I have to admit that I counted my labor as a workout. Is that just wrong or what? But I was exhausted, sore and craving Gatorade afterward so I'd say that counts. The overview is as follows...

My water broke at home at 3:30 in the morning on Wednesday the 15th. We called the doctor and he sent us right in to the E.R. as the baby had been so high at the appointment 12 hours before. I was dilated to 2 and 50% effaced. We were in labor and delivery for the next 14 hours with contractions at least every two minutes for the entire time. I was given 7 doses of pitocin to help increase their strength. (That stuff is awful.) Mr KT and I had in mind that we would try things with no pain meds and see how it went and if it got too bad we would get the epidural. 13 1/2 hours later I was dilated to 3 and 70% effaced. Not enough. The doctor told me I was getting an epidural to see if that would allow things to relax. They tried it. It didn't relax me but the pain was gone and he said I could have a c-section now or wait two hours and have a c-section then. I opted to just do it since it sounded inevitable. They put Mr KT in scrubs and whisked us off to the operating room. 30 minutes later or something like that there was a baby in his arms. He was pink and healthy. The doctor said that he had the cord wrapped around his neck twice and around a shoulder. He also said that he would have had to be 1/2 lb to 3/4 lb smaller for me to have been able to deliver him naturally. Narrow pelvis apparently. So, it seems to have worked out that a c-section was the way to go. If I would have pushed, we would have had serious complications with that cord and it would have been much more emergent. Unfortunately, the anesthesiologist put morphine in my epidural towards the end and it made me sick. I threw up for a couple of hours after the surgery. (Big problem since I had a 6 inch abdominal incision.) Oh my gosh, did that hurt. Do not throw up after abdominal surgery, I repeat, do not throw up after abdominal surgery. And so, I stuck with Motrin every 8 hours for pain because I was a little gun shy about anything stronger. We went home 3 days later and so it begins.

E is a wonderful baby. He is easy to console, content, and laid back (as long as you don't ask him to be naked). Mr KT has been 100% amazing. He has taken over way more than his fair share of duties and we are so lucky to have him. I am on no driving/no lifting restrictions for two weeks but am starting to feel better already. My momma was here to help for 4 days which was a lifesaver. She did all the cooking and laundry and held E as much as she could so that I could start to recover.

Shhhh, don't tell but I already walked around the block. It has been gorgeous here and I had some major cabin fever. Soon enough E will be in the jogger cruising the neighborhoods and the parks and trails. I am excited to get back out. Apparently, I am so excited that in my morphine induced haze, as I was still laying on the operating table being sewn up, I asked the doctors when I could start running again. LOL! I don't remember asking and I don't remember the answer but Mr KT told me they said I shouldn't worry about that yet. Apparently, they don't know me very well.

Hmmm

2010-08-20T06:10:00.002-06:00

What a weird change, going from checking splits on my run and planning out routes to cover hours to hoping and praying that my shoe laces don't come untied because breathing and tying them at the same time is just not an option at this point.

Still pregnant... and counting

2010-08-15T06:12:00.004-06:00

It is a gorgeous August morning. Not even 75 degrees and the sun is just coming up through the clouds. The humidity is down just a bit and the wind is just a breeze at 3 mph. It has been HOT here for the last couple of weeks. We are talking 100 degrees with a heat index of 115. Not a drop of rain. Painful. I've still been out walking and things but it is hot, hot, hot.

My point about the weather description is that it is a perfect morning for a run. A run that I can't do. UGH. I still have 6 more weeks of pregnancy and then 6ish more weeks of letting things heal up. I am hoping to be out for my first gentle run/walk early or mid November. There are no guarantees and I am trying not to get my hopes up. It is going to be interesting to see how my pelvis and hips feel. All those ligaments have got to tighten up before I can run any distance again.

I can't wait to lace up the running shoes to actually run in. I can't wait to put an infant seat in the jogging stroller. I can't wait to hit a trail and get really dirty! Oh yeah, and having a little one at our house and getting my body back will be pretty great too even if I never get to sleep again.

Swimming and swimming some more

2010-07-30T16:07:00.002-06:00

32 weeks. 8 more weeks to go. The baby in there is growing, growing and I am somehow managing to get bigger each week as well. For those of you who have been there, you know the drill... the feeling of a 3-4 lb hand weight sitting in your pelvis, more difficulty tying your shoes than when you were 5, dreaming of the day you can lay on your back or take a deep, full breath in.

The saving grace for cardiovascular fitness has been mainly three-fold; stair-stepper, walking, and swimming. I suppose I have been on my bike a bit but those days are quickly coming to a close.

I was thinking about this as I was coming home from a Master's swim practice this morning. I have had quite a few people tell me about how good it felt to get in the pool when they were pregnant. I am guessing these people weren't trying to get in 3000 yds in an hour but none-the-less I think about what they've said. I get in the pool in the morning and it really doesn't feel that great initially. It's 5:30 am, dark, the water is cold, and I have a hard set waiting for me and then a full day at work. I can't jump in anymore without pain and discomfort so I slide in slowly and then I start swimming. It takes less than 10 yards for the cold to change to cool and refreshing and then about 300 yards for my stomach muscles to start to complain about attempting contraction at not quite maximal stretch. At about 1000 yards I have a permanent side stitch that goes away when I stand up and comes back as soon as I push off the wall on the next flip turn. Yet, I swim 3-4 times per week with as much speed and gusto as I have got. The part that is the most amazing to me though is when I get out. During that hour of submersion and lessened gravity all the blood and fluid that is normally affected by gravity has dispersed. The moment I haul myself up on the side and climb out (I'm holding out on using the ladder. I feel like that is like giving up my athleticism.) I can feel the pressure and the weight and the blood rush down again. It is amazing how I didn't notice while I was swimming how unweighted I was but when I get out the reminder is immediate. I think at the next practice I will have to try and pay more attention to that cause being unweighted is bliss, even if the getting out part sucks.

Lifestyle change, the first of many

2010-07-07T19:32:00.003-06:00

Hmmmmm, where to begin. It has been awhile. I am on a current hiatus from racing as my run has been significantly limited by the ligamentous laxity in my joints. Baby was fine with running. Momma was hurting. I did a pretty hard run at about 20 weeks. I did 4 7:45 miles, which was faster than my pre-pregnancy running pace. I felt ok but then ended up having a really sore S.I. joint. I managed to correct it myself several days later lifting a 140 lb kiddo at work (on accident) and felt so much better. I felt so good, in fact, that I went for a run with Mr KT and the dogs the next afternoon. That did not go so well. Sorry if this is T.M.I. but I had what I can only describe as grinding or shearing in the front of my pelvis where the two halves of the pelvis meet. Oh my gosh. No thanks. Ow. I walked home, in pain. By that night I was almost crawling to the bathroom because it hurt to walk. The next day was unbearable at work and I called a physical therapy clinic that sees pregnant women and begging therapist to therapist to be seen over lunch. She was so awesome and got me right in. She realigned everything and gave me some suggestions to keep the alignment. There was some discussion and some exercises that only pregnant women should ever talk about and I left with an ionto patch and feeling somewhat better. The symptoms improved over the next few days and I actually followed her advice. (I know, shock really.) She also told me that it really would be best if I didn't run until after the baby came. It took me a few weeks of crabby to wrap my head around the fact that if I wanted to continue to run now, I wouldn't hurt the baby but I may do enough damage to my own joints that I wouldn't be able to run later. It is essentially run now or run later but probably not both. I choose run later. I can't wait to start again but it will be a while still.

So, I am walking my running routes, doing stairs, riding my bike as tolerated, swimming like a fishy, and waiting for this baby. 11 weeks and counting.

Bike to Work Week

2010-05-19T18:02:00.003-06:00

Happy bike to work week everyone.

I have a comment to make today after my bike commute home.

There is only one way bib shorts should ever be worn.

That would be with a jersey OVER them. Yikes.

I don't care if you look like this...

or this...

You still need a shirt or jersey.

This is also not appropriate.

Ugh. Please people. I'm not interested in hurting anyone's feelings, just trying to help some fellow cyclists out.

New Gear

2010-05-03T19:45:00.007-06:00

It has been awhile but there is some exciting new gear floating around here at the pttriathlete household.

The first arose because my swimsuits were all beginning to be see-through. Including when I doubled them up! So, I got on-line and ordered a grab bag suit from Kiefer. I like the Axcel style back and so I picked my size from the Flipturns grab bag, female one pieces. It came last Thursday. My husband opened it and was mildly horrified at the color scheme. I have to admit that I was looking forward to seeing just how awful it was. I knew going into it that the grab bag suits are left overs. Come on, though, I mean, you wear them 3-5x/week for 6 months (or less) and they are shot anyway. May as well get one that is expressive. Anywho, it looks like this...

It just so happens that on that same afternoon I had another rotten bike commute home from work. I had been on my bike for all of 3 minutes when I heard a little rattle. I checked my handlebars and stem because that was where the sound seemed to be coming from. Nope, nothing. So I rode on, carefully paying attention to all the feelings and noises. All of a sudden my seat shifted and I immediately thought, "oh crap, my seat post just cracked". I jumped off but nope again. One of the bolts was loose under there though and of course I had switched out my bike bag for my tri bike and had forgotten to put it back on. Suck. No tools. I tried to use my keys but to no avail. The only real option was to ride home standing up. Problem there was two-fold. #1.) I was still wearing shoes with cleats that didn't exactly match my pedals and #2.) I was getting headwind gusts of 40 mph. I am not kidding you. So, I sat back down, on a saddle that was not only sliding further back but tilting up at the nose. Not awesome, in case you were wondering. Oh, and I did manage to drop my chain shifting into a larger chain ring. Don't ask how that happened but I was not a happy commuter as I climbed the last big hill up to my house. I dropped my bike on the ground (derailleur side up), threw my helmet on the ground, marched inside and announced to Mr KT that my bike was a piece of s*#@ and I wasn't riding it anymore. He calmly went outside, picked up the pieces, fixed the malfunctions and packed me up in the car. He took me to the LBS where he helped me pick out new pedals and new sweet mtb shoes that I will also be commuting in. See below...

Yeah. Pretty nice of him. Especially since I was in the middle of a two year old tantrum that lost its momentum after about 5 minutes and that several of the problems were of my own making. Sheesh. And yes, I will commute again on that particular bike.

The last piece of new gear has not actually been purchased yet but it will probably look something like this...

This piece of gear isn't quite as pressing but yep, we are expecting a little one at our house this fall. A big change in my routine and my race schedule for the summer but I suppose it might count as some form of an ultra in it's own way. If Mr KT is interested in racing this season, I will be cheering him on from the sidelines. I have a couple of small, non-competitive "races" lined up but nothing too crazy. I am swimming, biking, running, and weight training, just not at the duration or intensity of before. It really is hard for me to sit the season out but next year I will be back. Mr KT has already promised that I can do some training next spring (probably with the running stroller) and I will be looking forward to it. In the meantime, I plan on trying to enjoy this strange new experience and can't wait to meet the new little babe and get to know him/her.

Back in the Saddle - Ow

2010-04-11T16:32:00.002-06:00

Got my first real ride of the summer in yesterday, 31 miles with a friend. I missed my powder blue tri bike. The wind was out of control and it seemed to take us all afternoon but it was good to be pedaling. I have been riding to and from work but somehow that just isn't the same. The road bike I have has really never been comfortable but it is a decent bike to commute on and I don't mind leaving it outside all day. It is also easier to ride up the gigantic hill that I live on than on my mountain bike so I suppose you must pick your poison.

Anywho, felt good to be riding, albeit, slowly.

I have to say though, my sit bones are mighty tender today. Gonna have to get used to that saddle again.

Where is my brain?

2010-03-20T11:28:00.005-06:00

Thursday I ran in shorts and sunglasses and 60+ degrees. I bike commuted to work and was fairly comfortable. Well, except that I forgot I had changed out my Look cleats for some Shimano cleats for spinning this winter. Oops, realized when I got on and was headed down the hill and couldn't clip in that my Look pedals were still on my bike. I was already late for work so I just rode with mismatched pedals and cleats and tried to be careful. No standing up! I only had one little incident where I slipped and banged my shin on the pedal. Will make sure to have those cleats changed out before I ride next week.

Look Pedals look something like this...

My cleats look something like this...

Not really compatible.

Friday it snowed and it is still on the ground.

Hee hee. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Hope it is spring. (And more bike commuting.)

You know you are a triathlete when...

2010-02-26T18:35:00.003-06:00

...you show up at the pool for Master's practice at 5:15 am and realize you may have forgotten your swimsuit. You dig around in your swim bag and find an old suit that you usually double up on. There is no time to go home for another suit because the door will be locked when you get back. You decided that instead of missing a practice/workout you will just wear the see-through suit at the expense of your teammates. (Sorry everyone.)

Oops. Here's hoping no one was traumatized this morning.

February

2010-02-23T19:31:00.002-06:00

It is still February. I still am in Nebraska. This means that it is still cold, windy, snowy, and icy. I ran with both dogs on Sunday and fell on my face. Well, more correctly, I ended up in sort of the splits. I wasn't hurt, just annoyed. I think I could tolerate the cold, wind and snow if I could lose the ice.

I've been swimming 3 or so mornings a week. It is worth the 5 am wake up and the initial icy shock of the water to swim for an hour and be nice and warm at the end. I have been going to bed before 9:00p and here's a little secret, I like it.

Two more secrets for Nebraska winters:
1. Lots and lots of blankets on the bed at night.

2. Lots and lots of time in front of the space heater.

I guess since it is still snowy and cold and not looking to change anytime soon, I will be getting in a little more xc skiing. Yay.

A New Year's Eve Tradition

2009-12-31T21:05:00.005-06:00

This is the third New Year's Eve that Mr KT and I have spent in our current house. We moved in on 12/31/07. The first year I made an oriental beef dish, sugar snap peas, fried rice and cranberry sorbet. Last year we had an All-American meal with BBQ beef ribs, baked beans, cornbread, and lemon daiquiri sorbet. Both meals turned out great. I asked Mr KT if he had any thoughts on dinner for this year. He requested Jambalaya, cornbread, and apple cobbler. I added a salad. Everything turned out really good. Add a glass of wine and it was perfect. The other good news is that I cooked and we ate, all before 8:30 pm. That means that I can usher in the new year at 9:30 and then head to bed. Sweet.

All recipes are below. Mmmmmm.

Jambalaya
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
3 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, minced
4 oz extra-lean smoked ham, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
1 large bay leaf
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
3/4 cup brown rice, uncooked

Directions:
Add oil to a large nonstick saucepan. Over medium heat, sauté onion, garlic, bell pepper and celery until onion is translucent. Add parsley, ham, chicken, bay leaf, and cayenne pepper. Cook, stirring often, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes (with juice), tomato sauce, and 1 3/4 cups cold water. Gently simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Pour rice into the pan and stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, 45 minutes or until rice is cooked and absorbs most of the liquid. Remove bay leaf. Season to taste with cayenne pepper and salt.

Golden Sweet Cornbread
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spray or lightly grease a 9 inch round cake pan.
In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt and baking powder. Stir in egg, milk and vegetable oil until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Strawberry Spinach Salad
Ingredients
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion
10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite-size pieces
1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered

Directions:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.
In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

French Apple Cobbler
Apple cobbler with cinnamon and vanilla, along with a cake-like batter topping.

Ingredients:
Apple Filling:
5 cups tart apples, peeled, sliced
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon butter, softened
Topping:
1/2 cup flour, sifted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 egg, slightly beaten

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine apples, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, vanilla and water. Turn into a lightly buttered 9-inch square pan. Dot apples with 1 tablespoon butter.
Combine all topping ingredients. Beat with wooden spoon until batter is smooth. Drop batter in 9 portions, over the apples, spacing evenly. Batter will spread during baking. Bake 35 to 40 minutes at 375° or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Serve warm with cream or ice cream.
Serves 6 to 8.

YAY!

2009-12-08T17:38:00.008-06:00

What a wonderful day. Sigh.

I got up early and went to Master's Swim practice from 5:30 am to 6:30 am. The hot water in the showers is not working and so I came home to shower. I did a bit of shoveling and then headed to work in the snow. It was forecast to snow 1-3 inches over night and pretty much all day Tuesday. Fairly accurate I would say. Now it is supposed to snow all night (yay) and taper off mid morning tomorrow. The bad news... 35 mph wind from the North dropping the temp to -15 degrees. Brrrr. Regardless of the frigid temps. I plan on being up dark and early to get in another xc ski. Anywho, I went to work and, as expected, patients were canceling left and right. This only makes sense. One day of rehab is not worth the danger driving in those conditions creates. I got my paperwork done and came home early. I tore around with the dogs in the backyard and then we took them for a walk. The snow was coming down then and is still coming down. So awesome. When we got home, I grabbed my skis and headed out for a little xc ski! I walked over towards the park as there was no chance of driving over there. As I was walking in my ski boots I noticed there was a guy trying to push a car around a corner so I offered to help. I didn't realize we were pushing her around the corner, up the hill and up her driveway. We made it. I was sweating when we were done and I had breathed in about 40 gallons of exhaust. I was pretty proud of myself, I just pushed a car up a hill... in ski boots. :)

Skied and skied. Took a few pictures on my phone. The snow was coming down pretty good but the iPhone didn't capture that well.

I took this picture after a little downhill. It was so deep and powdery that as I was going down, it was knee deep. That is where my skis should be.

My husband took pictures when I got home.
This is my ponytail coated in snow.

And this is Kona welcoming me home.

Kona and Brick and I had a wonderful snowy day. Hoping for quite a few more of these this winter.

December

2009-12-06T07:46:00.002-06:00

December 6th and we have had one little dusting of snow. In October. The forecast is for snow tonight and tomorrow night. I can't wait. I am like a little kid. I always run to the window to see if it snowed. I love to watch my dogs race around like crazies after it has fallen. I like that it is cold outside (for running) and warm inside (for cooking).

I had a 4 week hiatus from running during November trying to heal up my left knee. I ran last Tuesday (December 1st) and had little to no pain in my left knee but that right one sure was stiff. I had sore quads the next day after a short 2.5 miles. I have continued to keep up with my other workouts and am looking forward to hitting a spinning class or two here soon. I have been doing more weight training that I have in the past and am noticing a difference. I have another run planned for today at some point but I may hold off and do it tomorrow morning so I can run in the snow! Or maybe if there is enough, I could break out the XC skis!

Happy Winter!

November

2009-11-14T07:56:00.002-06:00

So, my knee has felt great since I haven't been running on it. No pain on the stairs, no pain at work while I am crawling around on the floor, no pain with walking, or swimming, or yoga, or anything. But still no running.

It really is amazing how much running, or in this case, not running, affects my mood. More than I should really let it. I am significantly more edgy. I have been trying to really watch what I have been eating since I am not burning near the calories I do when I am out putting in the miles. That makes me a little grumpy too. I don't like being hungry but who does? Kona also has had to decrease her calories a bit and she isn't thrilled with it. The good news is that it is short lived and that hopefully by the end of November we will both be back at it, at least a little.

My goal is a nice, easy, short, pain-free run on Thanksgiving morning. I was initially hoping it would be a trail run but I think that it would probably be best to ease in with a couple of miles around here so as to keep the terrain more level. That will make my brain happy.

So, what have I been doing with my workouts? Anything and everything that doesn't hurt that stupid left knee. I have been swimming masters in the mornings 2-3 days per week. I have been lifting weights at least 3 times per week. Last weekend Mr KT and I went on a nice easy 1 hour bike ride as the weather was gorgeous. I have been doing Bikram Yoga twice a week. (I think I would do that every single day if I could afford it.) I have been doing a bit of shadow boxing and small amounts of kickboxing and jumping rope. I have been walking my 3.5 mile run route with Kona and I would just like to say that walking takes forever. I do love to be outside with my doggy though. I am going to consider Pilates, spinning (as the weather gets colder) and maybe some more cardio in there somewhere.

I am obsessed. That is what I have discovered in the last month. I am fearful of gaining the weight. I am anxious about not being "a runner". I will be try to be patient but man, it's tough for me.

Ow

2009-10-07T16:33:00.003-06:00

My knee hurts.

I lifted weights Saturday morning (legs) and ran Saturday afternoon for about an hour and had excessively tight IT bands. Sunday I jumped on my bike for about 40 miles with friends.

My left knee hated it.

No idea why.

I think this is the first time I have had true knee pain. I thought it was suprapatellar but as I live with it for several more days I am thinking it is more medial.

Stairs hurt.

Walking hurts. (Those first few steps are a doozy.)

I ran this morning as it was feeling better but am regretting that a bit.

I am supposed to have another leg workout today but I think that I am going to do core instead.

What does the resident PT (me) recommend?

ICE
RELATIVE REST
ITB STRETCHING
MEDIAL QUAD AND ADDUCTOR STRENGTHENING

Ow.

Fall is cooler than summer...

2009-09-26T07:43:00.004-06:00

... or so says my oh-so-brilliant younger brother.

It has, in fact, been a very cool end of summer, beginning of fall in terms of temperature. This has been great for some things, namely long runs with the dogs, having the windows open in the house, bike rides, etc. It has also created some minor discomforts. The temperature of the lake water is pretty darn cold right now. There are an over abundance of what I thought we gnats but that apparently are aphids just hovering in the air. It almost seems like a plague. When I run my normal route through the big city park by our house they are thick. My white tank top is actually black when I get done because it is covered in bugs. I have them in my mouth, ears, eyes (even with sunglasses), stuck to my sweaty skin, and smashed in my sports bra. You can't really brush them away because they smash against you. It's incredibly gross. The dogs are constantly shaking their heads and have the bugs in the corners of their eyes. Poor babies. It's really enough to deter one from taking a quick run because you have no choice but to shower immediately when you get home even if you are just out for a quick 3 miler. The news coverage has said that it is due to the low temperatures but it seems like it has also been very still, very little wind. Even just a breeze might blow them around a little so they were not just sitting there. Yuck!

Other than that, nothing too exciting happening. No marathons planned this fall. No races at all really. Might try and sneak in a couple of 5Ks or one more half marathon if I can find one close. The Omaha half was just too expensive to justify. I can just go out and run the 13 miles on my own from my house and I can take a dog and my ipod.

My mom and aunt and I will be walking the Race for the Cure next weekend. Like last year, I will run down to the start beforehand and walk with them. It's becoming a tradition!

Oh and I hit a Bikram yoga class this week because it wasn't so blasted hot outside anymore. It felt so awesome! I hadn't been for months and I was more sore than I have been in quite some time the next day. I love it.

Other than that, just swimming, biking, and running.

Happy fall!

Summertime

2009-08-08T11:45:00.017-06:00

Well, it has been a good summer. Other than work, which is, well, work I have been spending the majority of my time outside. I am either swimming, biking, running, working in my flower beds, or just sitting on my deck.

Several weeks ago I raced in a local sprint triathlon. I raced this a couple of years ago and here is the race report from then. This year, I was sick Saturday night and lost a good portion of the fluids and calories I had been working on all day for the race the next day. Sunday morning I got up and had a Nutrigrain bar and a bit of Gatorade as I was still afraid to eat. The swim was not great and I felt really sick on my bike. I considered turning in my chip after the bike ride because I felt so bad but by the 3rd loop of the 3 loop course I finally started to feel better and so I continued to race. I had a great run and I held on for 3rd overall female, 2nd in my age group. (Note: this is just a small local race.)

Place in age group: 2/13
Gender place: 3/73
Swim: 10:13 (Pace: 1:54/100 m)
TI: :53
Bike: 41:58 (Pace: 21.4 mph)
T2: :45
Run: 23:57 (Pace: 7:49)
Finishing Time: 1:17:15

Something else that was sort of amusing to me was the guy's set up next to me.

Here is my transition set up...

And here is his...

Note this little detail...

That would be the bucket 'o Gu. Two words...

SPRINT TRIATHLON.

Oh well, to each their own. Everyone is entitled to race their own race and he was a veteran triathlete. I say do what works.

Last weekend I raced with a few friends at Big Creek Triathlon near Des Moines. This was an Olympic distance race and this particular race previously held the distinction of most miserable race ever in my book. I wrote a rather wordy race report on it then. Anywho, the weather was much cooler this year which helped. The swim was wet suit legal but I didn't use one. I ended up starting too far left and having to swim across everyone. That was dumb. I then had trouble getting my legs going on the bike. The race's website boasted that the bike course was flat and fast. Somehow, this morphed into hilly, windy, and slow. I had a decent run but by that time it was too late. Overall, I had a sucky race. I felt pretty good until about 5 pm that evening. My head was throbbing and all I wanted to do was go to bed. I guess now I had better find another race to end on.

Place in age group:10/20
Gender place: 33/97
Swim: 31:32 (Pace:1:56/100 m)
TI: 1:03
Bike: 1:16:33 (Pace: 19.5 mph)
T2: 1:00
Run: 53:15 (Pace: 8:35)
Finishing Time: 2:43:24

It has been a busy summer for Mr KT and we both felt like we had hardly seen each other. He had a week off work last week to recover and energize himself for the fall and I took Friday off. We had intended to do a mini vacation but for several reasons this didn't work. Instead we opted to take the dogs to the lake for the afternoon. It thunder-stormed hard over night and it was grey and cloudy when I got up to swim at 5:30. By 11:00 all the clouds had burned off and it was hot and humid. We packed up the dogs and lunch and our gear and headed to the lake. When we arrived it was already 90 deg. We took the dogs on a short trail run but had to short cut back because it was just too hot for them.

Mr KT and Brick and Kona in the shade after running, trying to cool off.

We threw on swim suits and got in the water. Kona is a little fishy. She swims all over and she looks so cute. Brick seems to like to swim but always looks like he is drowning. He picks his head up too high and then his backside sinks. He swam out to his dad and then quit paddling when he got there. Mr KT then decided it was time to put his life jacket on. I thought maybe Brick would be embarrassed but Mr KT said, "all the kids are wearing them" and he was right. All the kids on the beach had life jackets on so Brick fit right in. We had a little lunch and put the babies in their beds for a quick nap. Then a little more swimming and home for the evening. It was a really fun afternoon.

Brick shaking it off

A soggy Kona.

KT and Kona loving the sun, water, and wind.

Brick looking stellar (and safe) in his doggy life jacket.

HyVee Race Report

2009-07-10T20:46:00.007-06:00

Yeah, time to get my race on.

The last weekend in June was the HyVee Triathlon. It is an Olympic distance race and it starts at the crack of dawn. It is definitely a big deal in the Midwest in the triathlon community at least. Mainly, I think, due to the pro race. (The New Zealand team, Mexican team, and Russian teams stayed in the same hotel we did.)

First wave left at 6:00 am. My wave was third to last and I didn't leave until 6:50 am or so.

It is a big race with a gazillion people. The transition area is big, the fast guys are all there with there fancy bikes, the pre race meetings are intimidating. It is just one of those races. I know that fast bikes don't make the rider but it is pretty hard to ignore all those disk wheels.

Transition at 5:00 am

I was set to race. The water was a balmy 86 degrees. Significantly warmer than the air. I lined up in middle of the front of my wave. I almost never do that but I was prepared to go out fast and then just hang in as best I could. I had pretty clear water until I came around the last buoy and started catching the wave in front of me. I got clobbered. Ever been breaststroke kicked in the face by an old guy? It is not awesome. I don't recommend it. Anywho, came out of the water and headed for transition. We had to run through quite a bit of sand and had sandy, wet feet when I got to my bike. I didn't have anything to wipe them off with so I jumped into my cycling shoes and was off. The bike went well. The ride was an out and back and the out part seemed to include more uphill than down and a head wind. That made the ride back to transition faster. Ate a package of Cliff Shot Bloks on the bike and a part of a bottle of Gatorade. I think that only one girl in my age group dropped me on the bike ride. She was way fast. I am glad that I didn't try to hang with her or I would have blown up for sure. Flew into transition, ripped off my cycling shoes, yanked on the running shoes, grabbed my race belt and visor and was off again. Legs felt a little heavy but not bad at all. Had a decent run for a race and was pretty happy with it. Got boxed out by two older gentlemen at the finishing chute when I was trying to go in with a girl in my age group. Not bad at all. 12/74 in my age group.

This is actually a slightly slower time than last year but the course was different and they can't be compared. I did place better in my age group so I'll take it. I did drop about 3 minutes in transition times combined this year but part of that is due to not needing a wetsuit and only having one transition time this year.

bib number: 1549
age: 29
gender: F
location: OMAHA, NE
overall place: 586 out of 1404
division place: 12 out of 74
gender place: 100 out of 420
time: 2:46:53
swim: 31:41
t1: 1:38
bike: 1:19:06
t2: 1:20
run: 53:10
penalty: 0:00

Post race shots in our Arizona Freak Factor gear.
Me, Kurt, and Lisa

So there is a quick race report for the last race I did. Good timing since I am racing tomorrow morning (Sunday, July 19th) again. Oops. :)

Psssssst

2009-06-16T16:42:00.002-06:00

Shhhh, hey, it's me.

Just wanted to say that there are less than two weeks left before the HyVee Olympic Triathlon! Whoa. Hope I don't need a wet suit cause I don't have one. :)

Time for a little tiny break

2009-06-09T15:56:00.002-06:00

I just need a break from the blogging. I will still post occassionally but just need some time away.

Ciao

It's almost like Christmas!

2009-05-31T06:07:00.005-06:00

Look what is going to be coming to me in the mail...

Yep, those would be a set of dragonfly arm warmers!

and...

Bicycle jammies! Woo hoo.

oh and one more thing.

A sweet new sports bra for Bikram Yoga. Yay.

I love ordering things in the mail because it is fun when you order them and then it is super fun when they come in the mail and are waiting for you when you get home from work. :)

On another note: I've had a fluctuation from loads and loads of running to biking and swimming. Been on my bike quite a bit more and riding with faster riders which means that I am getting faster. Yay. Also, the pool that I normally swim at closed for a month, plus for maintenance and so I switched to a different pool. Been great. Love the coach and it is sooooo nice to swim in the morning at 6 as opposed to the evening. My other pool has a morning practice but it doesn't start until 6:30 and there is just no way for me to get in a decent workout, get halfway presentable and get to work by 8. To be honest, it is pushing it to do that starting at 6 but I have made it to the pool 3 mornings a week. I am going to have no choice but to get faster there as well.

Half Marathon RR

2009-05-03T16:08:00.005-06:00

I ran the half marathon on Sunday in Lincoln with 6,499 of my closest friends. It was a beautiful morning and I was looking forward to trying to PR. Goal time: 1:55:00.

I got up at the crack of dawn and drove down to Lincoln with Mr KT in tow. He was quite a trooper for getting up so early to be a Sherpa.

We pulled in and I picked up my packet quick. No line when you push it so close. ;) Got my chip on my shoe and really, really could have used a stop at the bathroom. No such luck as the lines were a mile long. So, I lined up in my estimated pace group and was ready to get the party started. The gun went off at 7:00 am and startled me.

"Wind, check. - Antennae, check. - Nectar pack, check. - Wings, check. - Stinger, check. Scared out of my shorts, check."

Apparently, nerves were a bit of an issue and not helping the bathroom situation much. Anywho, my feet crossed the line about 4 minutes after the gun went off and I started the watch. I really ran fairly well. These are the splits that I got on my watch.

Miles 1 and 2 (missed first marker): 17:09:51 (approximately 8:34:55/mile)
Mile 3: 8:33:38
Mile 4: 8:36:13
Mile 5 and 6 (missed another marker): 16:42:45 (approximately 8:21/mile)
Mile 7: 8:32:21
Mile 8: 8:31:78
Mile 9: 8:37:45
Mile 10: 8:25:42
Mile 11: 8:39:87
Mile 12: 8:35:94
Mile 13 and a little: 9:25:42

overall place: 977/4812
division place: 85/654 (top 13%!!)
gender place: 313/3023 (top 10%)
time: 1:51:46
pace: 8:32
10 k: 52:53
gun time: 1:56:31

I saw a buddy at about 42 minutes and I saw my mom and dad at about the 10K point 10 minutes later. My dad got a sweet picture of my backside as I ran by. Ahahaha.

Not sure what happened on the last mile. I basically ran out of juice. I had a little breakfast about 5 am and that didn't sit all that well. I didn't feel bad but there were about 3 times where I considered throwing up but didn't. When I got finished I couldn't hardly drink any water. Then my mom was so nice and made breakfast for Mr KT and I. It looked yummy but I just couldn't get anything down hardly. I had a headache for most of the rest of the day and I really didn't eat anything normal until Monday night at dinner. I talked to Blink briefly about it and he had a few suggestions so hopefully that will help a bit. (Thanks Blink.)

So a couple of good things...
1. All races should put straws and lids on their cups because that rocks.

2. I met and exceeded my goal time and set a PR at 1:51:46

3. I realized how much I like having Mr. KT there and how much I missed my Koni running in front of me.

So, on to the next race. :)

Lincoln Half Marathon

2009-05-01T17:41:00.003-06:00

The Lincoln Half Marathon is Sunday! Yay, yay, double yay. I am so ready to do a little racing, well, running. I am looking forward to a nice run and then maybe if I get really motivated I will come home and do a medium distance bike ride. That was the plan last year as well. Hopefully it is nice out.

My mom and dad came and cheered last year at about the midpoint of the run. My mom thought maybe they would do that again. I promised her I would try to post the race route on the blog. Here ya go momma. (Mom, if you click on it, it will get bigger.)

After the half marathon is over I am going to start in on the P90X workouts that Mr KT has been doing. He said he has been really sore and that they are like crossfit workouts. I am looking forward to a little sore!

Oh, and the stinking pool is closed for at least a month and a half. Really, right before race season starts? Boo. Stupid pool. Oh well, more time to bike which is what I really need anyway.

My dogs entertain me regularly

2009-04-26T18:32:00.006-06:00

This has nothing to do with triathlon except that all the dirty clothes in the background are probably workout clothes. Question mark? I was in the process of doing laundry so the bedroom is a mess as I sorted the clothes. Despite that, I thought this was funny enough to post. Might want to turn down your volume a bit. Hee hee. Also sorry about the shaking. I was laughing pretty hard when I was video taping them.

They were conversing about a bone that Kona had and Brick thought he needed.

Earth Week

2009-04-24T19:47:00.009-06:00

A few minor things of note:

I commuted to work on my bike this week 4/5 days! Yay. I also talked a co-worker into riding this morning. I met her near our houses and then we rode together. It was really cool to be the catalyst for even a small positive change and to see her enjoy it. Hopefully she'll do it at least a few more times.

Also, it was the first Taco Ride of the year for Mr KT, Blink, and I. It was actually Mr KT's first taco ride ever! I think he had a pretty good time. He said he really kind of liked riding home in the dark. That is pretty cool. It was perfect weather. Not too hot, not too cold, just right. Blink's bike stole the show with several new adaptations for 2009. He rigged up a cooler on the back that he can get into while he is riding as well as speakers mounted securely in the bottle cages and a bottle cage on either his handle bars or stem that seems to be the perfect size and location for a can of beer. Works perfectly. He had the tunes going and it really was good. If someone asks really, really nicely maybe Oly will post a quick picture of it on his blog. I was even pulling into my garage at about 10:00 pm. I don't do well much later than that. In addition, I learned that there should definitely be a 2 Taco Rule on the this ride. I should explain that 6 tacos and a pitcher of beer is $12 or 6 tacos and a pitcher of margaritas for about $16. Usually you split a plate of tacos with someone. I need to keep in mind that when divided up it should be 4 for you, 2 for me. :) I wasn't sick or anything, just really would have been better with two. You get it.

Lastly, I was reading on the Lincoln Marathon website or in an email that they are going to have shoe recycling at the expo. I don't usually go to Lincoln the day before. I usually just drive in the morning of the race. I am not sure if I will go the night before or not but I got out all my Asics just to see if I had any I could take. I lined them up from newest to oldest. It's funny. I have a hard time getting rid of running shoes. Sort of because I think of how good they were to my feet. Sort of because they were so much money in the first place. Sort of because I think I could use them for something else, like garden shoes, or lifting shoes, or work shoes, or something. Anywo, I will be parting with several pairs next weekend. Especially that sucky pair 4th from the left. Those suckers are the new Asics Gel Kayano and they made me bleed every time I wore them. Asics apparently redesigned them so they would have a more "anatomical lacing pattern". They sucked bad. The next two pairs were the previous year's Kayano and they are about a million times better. Gotta love www.onlineshoes.com.

Lastly, a couple pictures of the babies.

Koni was a bit tired as I was headed to work but she really wanted to say goodbye to me.

Brick had his first swim of the year on Thursday after his walk.

Mr KT and the babies getting ready to ride.

Puddle Jumping

2009-04-19T19:00:00.006-06:00

So last week was just not that awesome. Between a funeral for a patient and other stuff I was just not myself. However, I managed to snap out of that this weekend. I had a really nice run with Mr KT, Brick and Kona on Friday after work. A 6.2 mile evening run in shorts with the family. Then Saturday, we ran with some friends. It rained for most of the morning and I was kinda hoping it would still be raining when we headed out for our run. Alas, no luck. No rain... but LOTS of puddles. We started out and did about 3/4 of a mile on the pavement and then jumped off to go off road. Looking to get wet and dirty in a hurry! First we ran thru the tall grass (glad it isn't tick season quite yet). Then we ended up in the swamp. Tall grass with ankle deep standing water. No worries, just wet shoes and paws, no alligators or snakes that we could see. Next we ran through a muddy, forested area with a couple little creek crossings. One of the water crossings had some logs to walk on but when you have 30 lbs of raw energy and excitement on the end of a leash that you can't let go of for fear the little dog will be gone, you tend to come off the log rather quickly and end up with a shoe full of mud. No worries, what's a little/lot of mud. :) After that, we ended up back on the paved trail for the last 6 miles or so. I have to say that I stomped, and I mean stomped in every.single.puddle. There were even one or two puddles that I straight up jumped in, with two feet, and accentuated knee and hip flexion. My tank top was soaked, my shorts were soaked, my socks and shoes were more than soaked but somehow, my dog stayed relatively dry. She tended to tip toe around them.

Sunday morning Koni and I did another run, about 10 miles. It was a very quiet, cool, cloudy morning. Got the run in and headed to Lincoln for a girlie afternoon with my momma. Read: pedicures! So currently, my feet are tired but pretty. Toes are looking fancy with polish and little designs. Hard to believe I know but you'll just have to trust me. That or my mom will vouch for me!

Reasons to Bike Commute

2009-04-11T08:02:00.003-06:00

I got this in an email from one of the local bike shops. Thought it was good enough to share! Hope they don't mind.

3 Reasons to Ride for Life: For your Health, for the World, For our Future.

Your Health

* The average person loses 13 lbs. their first year of commuting by bike.
* Just 3 hours of bicycling per week can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke by 50%.
* A 140-pound cyclist burns 508 calories while pedaling 14 miles in an hour.

Our World

* The U.S. could save 462 million gallons of gasoline a year by increasing cycling from 1% to 1.5% of all trips.
* Each U.S. rush-hour auto commuter spends an average of 50 hours a year stuck in traffic.
* In 2003, cars idling in traffic wasted 5 billion gallons of fuel.

Our Future

* In 1964 50% of kids rode to school and the obesity rate was 12%...
* in 2004, 3% rode to school and the obesity rate was 45%.
* Between 1960 and today the average weight of a 6-11 year old has increased 11pounds

Take the Challenge and Get Involved today: 1 World 2 Wheels

Don't forget to have fun while your at it!,

Kris and Julie Sonderup and the Cycle Works Staff

My First Swim Meet

2009-04-05T12:38:00.002-06:00

Hee hee, that sounds like the title to a children's book.

Thursday at Master's practice the coach talked me into signing up for a swim meet that our team was hosting. She swore there was hardly anyone signed up. I caved. I was going to run the 12K trail race that was held in a state park close to home but what the heck. The only swimming events I've ever competed in have involved a diving board or been followed by a bike and a run. So I filled out the paperwork and paid my $15. I entered 4 events. I should have done some distance but I was too nervous. Maybe next time I will look into the 500 or 1000 yd free. Anywho, I got up early, got to the pool and took my time with my warm ups. I wasn't racing for quite a while so I had plenty of time. I did about a 10-15 minute warm up and then wrapped up in my towel and put my sweats on to watch. My first event was the 4x50 free relay. I was going to go first because I was following that back to back with the 100 IM. There were only 2 teams entered in the 4x50 and we definitely got 2nd. :) No idea how fast I swam that.
I won the women's 100 IM (there were only 2 swimmers) with a 1:23:_ _. I will have to check the official times at practice on Tuesday. My next event was the 50 breast. I swam that alone. My time was 40:23 seconds. Not bad! The last event was the 4x100 free relay. I also started that one off. Our team kinda fell apart. I swam a 1:10_ _, the second guy did pretty well also but then swimmer #3 jumped in on top of swimmer #2. Yes, this would be the 100 yd, not the 50 yd. LOL! Oops. We were DQed on that one but got a time anyway. 2nd of 2.

Overall, it really was pretty fun. I think I have said this before but I have kind of begun to realize that the things that I am the most scared off turn out to be really awesome. This was another one of those times. Another really good thing about the meet was that it motivated me to get back in the water. I have been swimming about twice a week but my heart just hasn't been in it. Maybe this was the kick in the pants that I needed.

Random

2009-03-30T18:45:00.003-06:00

So other than the Lincoln Half Marathon (in about a month) I really don't have anything to train for.

Suck.

I think that Border 2 Border is out due mostly to the expense of a two man team. Blink is the perfect teammate if he stays out of race mode. ;) But we lost the other two potential racers and that doubled the cost.

Suck.

I had a pretty darn good 10 mile run on Sunday morning. I ran with Koni and we did a 10 mile out and back in 1:30. That would be 8:34 per mile. Not a bad run.

I have re-discovered that I *heart* running. I love it, really. Especially when I can run with that cute little orange and white behind in front of me. (That would be Kona in case you were confused.)

Um, yeah, yesterday... well I had kind of a busy day. I ran in the morning, like I said and then I did a fundraising walk for our church with Mr KT and the doggies. Then after I got home, a friend called and wanted to go ride the hills north of town. Ok, I'm in. As I told Blink, I kind of always forget how rough those first few rides of the season are outside. Nothing like the trainer, not that I have spent much time on that either. Hee hee. Then I went to youth group dinner with Mr KT and a bazillion high school kids and then home to finish the laundry.

This is how Mr KT found me at 8:45 last night when he came up to see what was going on...

Hey, at least they were folded!

I was tired.

You know what I just realized? It is March and I can already see my cycling short tan lines. Awesome.

Looking back

2009-03-15T21:23:00.002-06:00

Sometimes when I have a particularly good workout on a particularly nice day I start to think about how "easy" it is. That doesn't necessarily mean I'm not pushing it, or working hard. It means that I can do it. It means that Sunday night thinking back over my workouts, I had no trouble running 20+ miles this weekend. In fact, I enjoyed it. It didn't seem "hard" and I looked forward to those longer runs. When I first started running I could do a couple of miles at a time. 5 miles was fairly long. Don't get me wrong, I was very proud of that with good reason, but things have changed slightly. Shifted in a different direction. Two years ago I did the Nike+ Women's Half Marathon (Oct) at home, in my neighborhood. That was my first flirtation with endurance. Then the following year I did the Lincoln Half Marathon in May, the Spirit of Racine Half Ironman (July), the Nike+ Women's Half Marathon (Oct) at home again, and the Marine Corps Full Marathon at the end of October. I took a couple of weeks off from running to recover from the marathon and then jumped right back into it. I did a 10 mile trail run in February and I am now looking towards the Lincoln Half again as well as B2B (a 2, 3, or 4 man relay in July) in MN. It just continues to amaze me how as I was finishing up my 10 miler yesterday I wasn't even beat. Yay.

The other time I think of it is when I am swimming Master's. I started out loving the water but really not knowing anything about competitive swimming. I couldn't flip turn, I didn't know a single drill, and I couldn't hardly understand swimming language. I seriously couldn't flip turn. So Thursday when I was in the pool swimming, doing lap after lap I was pretty amazed at my flip turns with streamline, a dolphin kick and then a big, strong pull. Made me grin ear to ear. All that time in the pool paid off, plus I have a pretty good swim buddy to help with the little technique pieces I'm missing as well as to keep me in check when I actually think I am starting to swim "fast".

It's just nice to think about without looking at times. I just feel stronger, faster, more athletic, and more fit. I am loving my workouts, both the tough and the easy ones. Just like it should be.

Cranky

2009-03-10T14:09:00.002-06:00

So, it's 3:15 on Tuesday afternoon and I am off early from work. I am as crabby as I can be.
- Could it be because it is snowing sideways and negative one million degrees?
Nope, I usually like the snow.
- Could it be because I got done 2 hours early at work to come home and do more paperwork?
Maybe.
- Could it be because last week it was seriously 75 or 80 degrees on Tuesday or Wednesday (or so I heard) and I was inside a mostly windowless building until it was dark?
Maybe.
- Is it because I sometimes feel like I am spinning my wheels and going nowhere?
Possibly.
- Maybe it is that I CAN'T find my inspiration book and that all the boxes of books I have are a mess.
Yeah, but that is my own fault.
- What about the fact that I should have been in Florida at a SUPER COOL conference this week for work about seating and positioning but instead am sitting smack dab in the middle of Omaha?
Might be part of it.
- What about the fact that my road bike needs attention (um, the wheels are jacked) and I don't know how to fix it?
Yeah, sad.
- How about a billion other things that I can't really blog about on the Internet?
Yeah, those are also a pain.
- Could it be that I don't feel like I make a difference with all of these great kids that I see? That for all the hours I put in, the system works against us.
Hmmmm, dunno.
- Could it be that I just feel generally irritable?
Ohhhh! YES, that's it!

Now, let's turn some of this around. A while back at church, our senior minister was giving a sermon in which I have to admit I was tuning in and out. At the end though he was talking about being "red-hot". He said something along the lines of this...
does what you are doing make you tired? If it exhausts you, it might not be your calling. What you do should energize you and make you feel alive.

This week at the cool Techno Youth Service the sermon was on "Gluttony". The benediction was perfect. He used Psalm 46:10.
Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know.
Be still.
Be.

Then he said,
If what you are doing isn't bringing you fully alive, it is too small for you.

Too small. Hmmmm. I might be turning something over in my head. Watch out.

And you thought Nebraska was flat.

2009-03-02T20:50:00.005-06:00

This last weekend was PERFECT for skiing. Sadly, I was on call at the hospital and had to work both Saturday and Sunday but I definitely found time to get in enough skiing to tide me over. Saturday I went out in the afternoon for about an hour and a half. It could not have been more perfect. The air was cold but the sun was out. There was little wind. The snow was powdery and wonderful. It was heaven on two skis. :)

Sunday I headed back out for a couple more loops. It was even nicer but for some reason that first day was just slightly more perfect. I adore being outside in the cold air. I love the snow. I felt comfortable on my skis. If only I had a doggy that wouldn't pull so hard. I could have taken them with me. Oh well, they got a run in and a walk across the back nine.

Also, I came home from work on Saturday to find this...

That would be Mr KT's backside and Kona watching him in the backyard.

This would be the babies (first two Kona, third one both) in the "igloo". They did eventually go in and play.

Trek Up the Tower 2009 - Race Report

2009-02-21T21:31:00.002-06:00

Ow.

My lungs and throat hurt. I vaguely remember this from last year. I coughed for about 2 days after running up 40 flights of stairs. I paid kind of an absurd ammount of money to go through that torture so I guess I shouldn't complain.

My check in time was 8 am. This year I knew what to expect. I got there a bit early, checked in, stripped down to my shorts and tank, checked my bag, and got right in line. Nobody really cares what time your check in is and you pretty much can start whenever you get to the front of the really long line. I stood in line and got to the front about 8:30. I swiped the chip on my wrist over the mat on the table and I was off.

I'd like to preface by saying I have had a cold all week long. I started to get it last Sunday and was stuffy all week. I started feeling better Thursday night/Friday day and really felt ok, other then the residual gunk this morning. I climbed fast right off of floor one, skipping steps, using the railing. I was feeling it by floor 12 or 13 and started alternating between skipping steps and running up single steps. By floor 20 I was ready to be at the top. I passed person after person. On the floor landings, people were saying things like, on floor 22, "over halfway there" or on floor 32, "only 8 more to go". I really could have done without that. As if I needed to be reminded that I still needed to climb 18 more flights. :)

Anywho, got to the top, scanned my chip, stopped my watch and made the obligatory warm down walk. My chest hurt really bad and I was taking inventory of whether it was lungs, heart, or a muscle problem. I wasn't coughing yet but many people were. I remembered that last year people were saying it was the poor circulation in the stairwell and things like that that were making people cough but I firmly believe that the super high intensity of the activity loosened up all the stuff that normally causes no problems in healthy lungs. We rode back down in the elevator and when I got to the bottom, I sat on the floor with my knees pulled up to my chest as hard as I could. This helped to decrease the work of breathing. So, having a cold and a somewhat compromised respiratry system probably didn't help me out a ton but it ended up going alright.

My chest eventually stopped hurting with each breath and I managed to stand up, get dressed and get back to the car in the cold.

I have been coughing all day and Mr KT says I sound like a smoker. That is hot, I know.

Last year I wasn't sure what I was getting into and I registered in the recreational division. I accidently won the women's division and so this year I registered for the competitive division.

Here are my individual results...

Race: FEMALE COMPETITIVE
Time: 7:07
Overall Place: 107 of 927
Place in Gender: 12 of 512
Place in Age Division: 4 of 154

The gal who got 3rd in my age group beat me by 5 seconds. Annoying.

Psycho Wyco Race Report - Run Toto Run 09

2009-02-17T21:13:00.005-06:00

As my loving little brother pointed out, it has been almost a month since my last post. And as he also pointed out, I have done a race since then. Hence, the following...

Valentine's Day - February 14th, 2009

A Race Report
by Kate and Kona

It was Kona's first race! She and I trained on the local trails, golf courses, and local parks. The race was a trail race of 10 miles, 20 miles, or 50K. I seriously considered the 20 miler in preparation for a trail marathon in April. After I realized that doggies were allowed, I knocked it down to the 10 miler. I was worried about Kona's paws if it were icy, snowy, or really muddy.
Koni note: Um, yeah, I wasn't even a little tired at the end. I could have totally done another 10 mile loop. Humans are wimpy.

Geez Kona, relax, your endurance was never in question. We all know who the superior runner is. Thanks again for reminding me.

Anywho, we headed down to the race on Friday afternoon after a solid snow storm hit Omaha. We found the hotel, had some pre-race pizza and dog food and attempted to sleep. Ever tried to sleep in a strange hotel room with your dog? Yeah, it is a challenge and I don't think much sleep was had all the way around. We got up about 5:30, Kona had her breakfast and went out for a quick potty break before loading up.
Kona note: before the race I got a Valentine's Day present from Oly! I love that boy. Two heart shaped dog cookies. Yum, yum. He is some guy!

The race was really close to the hotel and we were there in just 10 or so minutes. We unloaded and headed down to pick up our packets. It was cold. Maybe in the low 20s, maybe. Blink, Greg, Bob and I pinned on our numbers and shivered until the race started.
Kona note: I managed to get love from everyone near me before the race. It helps that everyone thinks I'm a baby! Finally Oly's dad came back from the bathroom. Oly got all excited to see him and jumped up and tore his number off just as the race started. That meant that we started out as far back as we could be. We finally got started and ran about 200 yards before I realized I had to go! I found a spot quickly and my mom picked up the mess, tied up the bag, and threw it under a tree to retrieve later. Whew, I was now ready to run. This was a good thing cause we had a lot of people to pass to make up for our goofy start.

Blink and Oly ran a fairly easy (read slow) 10 mile loop with us. This being Kona and my first trail race, I was really worried about getting lost. Come to find out I should have been more concerned with the hills. There were two or three 150 yard sections of meadow that were flat between trails the rest was either up or down. It was great. The trail was perfectly marked. Unbelievable. I was so incredibly impressed. So we ran through water crossings, up hill and down dale, over the flaky limestone rocks covered in little ice pellets, over the ice-coated-super-squishy-underneath mud, and over and under and around trees and branches. We had a great time! Kona did great. She was pulling on her lead the entire time and was very energetic. Next time she and I will both be in for the 20 miler. I have to say I have had a sore foot and although it hadn't bothered me in either of my previous long runs, it was pretty achy. Sliding over those rocks didn't seem to help it. Well, good to know for next time. I also bonked due to no breakfast, the lack of good sleep, and the cold that I ended up with when I got home. After we finished our 10 mile loop in about 2 hours, Kona got her medal and we said goodbye to Blink and Oly while they headed out for a much faster 2nd lap. We waited in the cold for them to come back and cheered as Bob and Greg went through to start their second lap.
Kona note: We waited and waited and finally, there he was! That beautiful blond dog and his human. I was glad to see them.

After finally changing into dry, clean clothes we waited for Bob and Greg to come through before their last lap. We helped them change, get calories and fluid, and got them back out on the trail for one more loop. After that it was time to leave. Kona was sacked out for the ride home and then slept good Saturday night I am sure.

The run was good. I made the same mistake that I always do. Nutrition. I am gonna make a better effort do improve this during 2009. But regardless, I loved it! The atmosphere was awesome. There are some things that I love about trail running that you don't necessarily get with road running but that is for a different post.

And on that note, Kona and Brick and I are headed to bed for the night.

Dear Mom,

2009-01-18T13:12:00.005-06:00

Just wanted to write you a quick note to say, HELP! My yellow blankie is falling apart. I mean, it is pretty old but really that's no excuse. It is well loved, especially the edges and it may be in need of repair. I know you can do it. You've fixed it a million times before. Pretty much all of the satin edging has been replaced. Well, except for right here.

and there are a few little holes in the middle and a few bigger holes near the edges.

I considered folding it gently, wrapping it in a pillow case and putting it up but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. That little yellow blankie still sleeps under my pillow at night. I must admit, during college, I started leaving it at home on overnight trips but it was always under my pillow when I got back. I even left it home last October when we went to Washington D.C. for the marathon. I know! Growing up, huh? :) When I was younger I used to tuck it in the bottom of my sleeping bag when I went to slumber parties. I took it to grama's and the lake, and on vacation, and in the car. It went to college, lived in the sorority, moved to Arizona (although it did have to live in the closet there) and then moved to Omaha for physical therapy school.

So you see... it is well loved and in need of repairs.

On second thought, maybe it doesn't look so bad after almost 30 years.

Never mind.

I decided I like it just the way it is.

Love,
Kate

Picture update

2009-01-10T21:00:00.005-06:00

Here are a couple of pics that I talked about in previous posts.

From Brick's latest post...

here he is sitting under the Foosball table waiting for the red laser pointer.

and this is B and K sacked out at the end of their long day in our bed. Don't worry, I squeezed in between them and then later Mr KT put them to bed in their boxes so there would be room for him in the bed.

And this is a picture from my Blackberry of New Year's Eve dinner. It didn't come out very well on the phone but it rated two thumbs up from the other end of the table!

Screwing Your Shoes

2009-01-06T19:32:00.003-06:00

Ok, this sounds way hotter than it actually is... unless you are a runner and then you might disagree.

Let me preface by saying that I live in the Midwest (Nebraska) and we get some sweet weather (as do many other places) in the winter. Sunday morning I ran at 8:30 am. It was about 6 degrees and the wind chill was -16 degrees (30 mph out of the NNW). Brrr, that is cold. Many of you all know exactly what I am talking about. To be honest, it really isn't that hard to run outside if you dress appropriately. People typically say, "I can't run outside in weather like that, it hurts my lungs." I don't have that problem. Ice freezes my eyelashes and nose hairs together, makes frost on my hat and makes my cheeks sting. Sometimes it is so cold it gives you a virtual ice cream headache when the cold wind hits your forehead just below your stocking hat but it really doesn't bother my lungs at all. Guess I'm lucky. Anywho, along with all that cold also comes snow (no big deal) and ice (a bit of a pain). I don't mind running on the ice except that the chance that I am going to fall down and break my neck exponentially increases when I have a dog pulling on the end of a leash. In the past I have just barely managed to stay on my feet and typically take one or two little tumbles in the winter but have come away unscathed. The problem is that even if you stay on your feet, you can't go very fast because you have no push off.

Now, check this out!

Woot woot! Yeah, I screwed my shoes. This tip came from Blink. He sent me a link to the web site. So freaking cool.

Just follow the instructions on the web site and I am not kidding you, it is like Go Go Gadget shoes. Almost like having a serious super power! So awesome. You still have to be careful obviously but my gosh it is amazing. The other cool thing is that you can take the screws out and run in those same shoes later. Whoo Hoo! Thanks Blink.

New Year's Eve Meal

2009-01-02T16:22:00.004-06:00

For the last two years, on either New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, I have made dinner for Mr KT and I. We have something that I've never made before. Last year, I made beef tips with Sugar Snap Peas and Fried Rice and Cranberry Sorbet for dessert. This year we went All-American with BBQ Beef Ribs with BBQ sauce from scratch, Boston Baked Beans, and sweet cornbread. Dessert was Lemon Daiquiri Sorbet.

I had actually never made any of these recipes before. The cornbread I usually make isn't sweet. But I have to say that everything turned out great! It was so yummy. I was so glad because I had been looking forward to good ribs and I would have been so disappointed.

I sort of followed recipes but not really and so I am attempting to write down what I remember doing. So, here goes...

BBQ BEEF RIBS
--------------

4 lbs. pork spare ribs
Cumin powder
Mustard powder
Chili powder
Celery flakes
Garlic salt
Brown sugar
Liquid smoke

SAUCE:

2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. vinegar
1 c. Ketchup
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. chili powder

Line a roaster with foil (otherwise you have a mess). Place ribs in roaster. Brush ribs with liquid smoke. Sprinkle lightly with each of the seasonings. Put a 1/4 cup of water in bottom of pan. Seal with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Decrease heat to 300 and cook for 90 more minutes. Uncover and pour some of the sauce over the ribs. Bake 5 more minutes or until meat pulls easily away from the bone. Serve remaining sauce with ribs at the table.

BOSTON BAKED BEANS
------------------
(I seriously didn't follow the recipe on this one so here is what I did.)
INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups canned organic navy beans
* 5 slices of turkey bacon
* Onion flakes (didn't measure)
* 3 tablespoons molasses
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
* 1/2 cup ketchup
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 cup brown sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Arrange the beans in a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish by placing a portion of the beans in the bottom of dish, and layering them with bacon and onion.
4. In a saucepan, combine molasses, salt, pepper, dry mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil and pour over beans. Pour in just enough water to cover the beans. Cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil.
5. Bake in the preheated oven, until beans are tender and heated through. Remove the lid about halfway through cooking, and add more liquid if necessary to prevent the beans from getting too dry.

SWEET CORNBREAD
---------------
Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup yellow corn meal
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/4 cups milk
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil
* 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

COMBINE flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a medium bow. Combine milk, eggs, vegetable oil and butter in a small bowl; mix well. Add to flour mixture; stir just until blended. Pour into prepared baking pan.

BAKE for 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

FOR MUFFINS:
SPOON batter into 18 to 20 greased or paper-lined muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool slightly. Serve warm.

BEN & JERRY'S LEMON DAIQUIRI SORBET:
------------------------------------

3 lemons
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons rum
1/4 cup corn syrup
2 1/2 cups cold water

1. Grate the zest from 1 lemon and set it aside.
2. Juice the lemons. Save the pulp but pick out the pits.
3. Stir the sugar, rum, corn syrup, and water together in a mixing bowl until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the lemon juice and zest.
4. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.
Makes 1 quart.

I froze the entire amount in a 9x13 pan and then used a hand mixer to whip it up when almost frozen. Then refreeze and should be ready to serve. I think a ice cream maker would have been better it just wasn't in the cards.

So, I recommend all of these recipes. Happy cooking! Oh, and I do have some pictures that I will post with this shortly. They just haven't been downloaded yet.

A Year in Review

2009-01-01T14:16:00.002-06:00

2008 - The year of my first real half marathon, first half ironman race and my first marathon. It should have been my first adventure race as well but I was too sick to race that.

The numbers are as follows...

Runs: 171
Avg. Time: 00:50:31
Total Time: 143:59:33
Avg. Mi Pace: 9:44
Avg. Dist.: 5.2 Mi
Total Dist.: 883.3 Mi
Avg. Cal. Burned: 547.3
Total Cal. Burned: 89208

Bikes: 75
Avg. Time: 01:09:39
Total Time: 87:04:32
Avg. Speed: 16.2 MPH
Avg. Dist.: 18.8 Mi
Total Dist.: 1410.5 Mi
Avg. Cal. Burned: 664.6
Total Cal. Burned: 44525

Swims: 88
Avg. Time: 00:55:47
Total Time: 81:50:08
Avg. Dist.: 2180.7 Yd
Total Dist.: 191905.0 Yd
Avg. Cal. Burned: 509.1
Total Cal. Burned: 40728

Others including xc skiing and yoga
Others: 42
Time: 44:35:00

Total Summary
Workouts: 340
Total Time: 361:07:14
Total Dist.: 2415.0 Mi
Cal. Burned: 175759

One of the main problems with the program I use to keep track is that it doesn't tabulate the strength into your totals. I'll have to see if I can figure that out.

So, now the next step is to figure out what the next 12 months are going to look like and what the goals are going to be. I'll be posting that soon.

Brick's Busy Day

2008-12-29T20:17:00.007-06:00

We take a break from our regularly scheduled triathlon posts to hear from another very naughty family member who would like to share their story.

Man, it's 5:45 am?! I'm not ready to get up. Geez mom, go back to bed. Come back in an hour. Wait, wait, wait. I changed my mind. I'm up and I have to potty NOW. Let me go up the stairs first. Door, door, door, bell, ring the bell, outside, brrrrrr, phew, that's better.

I got up today, just like any other day. I had major bed head all over my body and I didn't care. I looked gooooood. I went outside in the cold, did my business and headed upstairs to crawl into bed and rub my face against my dad's back. Back to sleep for at least another hour or so. My stupid sister stayed downstairs on the couch. Good more room for me. I love her but I like to have my people all to myself.

Up at the usual time, breakfast as usual. Same old, same old... dog food. Mmmmmmm.

Back outside in the cold and then back up to the bed while my dad gets ready for work. So high maintenance. All I have to do is jump in the car, he has to shave, and shower, and put on a bunch of clothes, and find his keys, and find his shoes, and find his wallet, and pack up his bag, and GEEZ, is it time yet!?

Off to work. This is awesome. We go to work with dad some days. He has this great office with a Foosball table and sometimes if I stand under there long enough I find this little red shiny thing on the floor. Dad calls it a laser. I don't care what it is called, I think it will taste like bacon, if I can ever catch it. It only comes out to play when my human is around and it moves quick! I just can't seem to catch it. It doesn't come out every day but sometimes when I am lucky I see it. And there is this new thing they keep talking about. I think they call it a Wii? Well, my dad has been working on it for lots of days. He stands there and swings an imaginary bat. I'm a little annoyed there is no ball. And today he was sweating while he was hitting nothing in the air. He called it "boxing". And they think I am a dope. Geez. Anywho, there is this little white glove thing that swirls around on the wall. I think it may be related to the red flashy thing that keeps showing up when I hide under the Foosball table. I chase it and chase it. My people would be so proud if I could show them what I caught. One of these days that little white hand will be mine.

Then it is time to go home. My sister and I get really excited because, guess what!? At the top of the stairs at work, there is a rabbit! Yeah, a really fast, smells good rabbit with a fluffy white tail and a little pink nose. My sister always shoves her head under all the bushes looking for it but I am much more patient. I always see it and point. My silly people never do their part though. I find the animals and then they let them run off. Really!? Shoot it or something!

Today, we rode home in the back of the Neon. I love to watch the world go by. We got home and my dad opened the door to get us. We always wait like we should until he says we can get out. Today, when we headed up to the house, dad and I realized at the same time that he didn't have a hold of Kona's leash! He lunged for her right as I made a break for it. And we were off! Freedom! My sister and I have had this planned for ages. Today just happened to be our lucky day. We ran and ran and ran. He chased us on foot for a bit. That was a really fun game. Then he was gone. I was headed for my favorite thing ever. MUD! Lots of mud at the construction site about 2/3 of a mile down the road. I played for quite a bit and then I heard my dad call for me. I was so happy to see him. I ran over and jumped into the car. We drove for a bit and then my sister, Koni, jumped out of the field. He called and she bounced over to see him. Man, he was glad to see us but I could tell he was mad too! He left us outside when we got back. It wasn't cold but I like to be in with my people. He took us around and left us in our inside kennel when he left again. Damn. I was hoping for a couch.

Then guess what?! Both my mom and dad came home and I got sent straight to the bathtub. :( I hate the bathtub. My dad said it looked like I was wearing brown pants. What in the heck are pants? Apparently, I also had some giant stickers on my tummy. My dad had to trim them out of my fur. That is definitely gonna mess up my sweet bed head.

Anyway, I got my bath, had my dinner, and I am now currently working on a bone in the basement while I dictate this story to my mom. The funniest part is... shhhhh, don't tell but my sister is going to get put in the shower with her tonight. Ahahaha. She's gonna hate that. Oh well. We both think it was TOTALLY worth it. All in a day's work. And now, I can't keep my eyes open and am going to crash. Good night.

UGH!

2008-12-28T17:24:00.002-06:00

Is there anything more incredibly boring than riding on the trainer!? Oh my gosh. I'm gonna go with NO!

A week in review...

2008-12-20T19:57:00.012-06:00

What a great week! It snowed three times!

Last Saturday was so nice I went trail running in shorts! 58 plus degrees.

Sunday was really really cold with no snow. About a 65 degree drop overnight.

Monday was really cold too. So cold that when I was walking the 5 blocks to my car from the hospital in the dark at about 6:30 at night, some lady slowed way way down in the middle of a fairly busy street to ask if I needed a ride. LOL. Only in Nebraska would a complete stranger ask if I could use a ride. I guess either that says I look like a trust worthy soul or really gullible. I politely refused and finished the walk. It was cold but I was bundled up and it wasn't that far. Monday night we went to the wall to boulder. I was trying to finish off a problem that I had pieced together the time before and was successful until I jumped off the wall and got my right arm hung up in a rope (that I obviously wasn't using). Yeah. Ow. Sweet rope burn. Now, the question is, do you put on deodorant with an owie that close to your arm pit and risk the burn or do you make all others in your immediate space suffer? I chose to go with the deodorant.

Tuesday it snowed all morning. It was slushy and slick and awesome. After work, Kona and I bundled up and headed out for a run. As we were crossing a really busy street with the light, I was watching a truck slide down the hill towards us with all four wheels locked up. He was sliding and Kona and I were side stepping on packed down slick snow in the street trying to avoid an accident. He was going really slow, which was good cause I couldn't move very fast. This is how I felt when he finally came to a stop...

a slight exaggeration but you get it.

Wednesday was a quick run in the morning and then a crazy day at work.

Thursday another trail run with Kona in the snow. Much less efficient with no traction but still fun. Then Thursday night it started to sleet. And it just kept coming down. There was thunder and lightening and sleet and it was cold, so it just froze to whatever it landed on. And then it turned to snow. It was so awesome.

Friday morning I woke up to enough snow to ski on. I got up really early cause I was so excited and went to ski the golf course before work. It was decent skiing except I was working pretty hard to get my poles into the ground. There was nobody else out that early and it was beautiful. All of a sudden I heard a super loud noise that sounded like a gunshot way off to the North. I looked around but couldn't see anyone. I skied the other way and heard another one that seemed pretty far away. I considered going back to my car but it dawned on me that maybe it was the ice under foot. I heard a more quiet pop closer to my skis and it was just like the noise you hear on a frozen lake when the ice pops and cracks. It was a little disconcerting and I was using all my memories of the golf course to remember if there were any water hazards in the vicinity (there weren't).

Anywho, finished up skiing

and saw absolutely no one else, no prints or anything other than this little guy...

whose prints led to a big old tree stump. Hope it was warm in there.

This morning I ran with Bricko before work and we were both loving it as the snow was swirling. It didn't look windy when I was getting ready to go but that changed quickly. Brick just pranced through the snow with his eyes all squinty and had a great old time.

Cookie Day!

2008-12-19T19:05:00.012-06:00

Last weekend was the 4th (give or take a couple years) annual Goossen Cookie Day. My aunt and uncle host and their kids, my mom and dad, and Mr KT and I all participate. The trend seems to be that all the gals make two or three kinds of cookies and all the gentlemen frost, usually there is football on but this year, cookie day just happened to land on the same day as the airing of the 2008 Ironman World Championships!

My aunt bought several pounds of butter, flour, and sugar, and lots of vanilla and then each person brings the "unusual" ingredients for their recipes. I made cornflake cookies (kinda like rice krispie bars but with cornflakes and green food coloring) then you put red hots on the top and they look like holly. My mom made lemon cornmeal bars and a traditional chocolate cut out cookie with chocolate frosting and peppermint. My aunt made almond paste bars (super yummy) and sugar cookies, and molasses cutouts. I am probably forgetting some but they were sooo good.

Mr KT on frosting duty.

Daddy KT

Sisters in the kitchen

Momma KT making chocolate cookies.

My aunt made me some very special "non-Christmas" M-Dot cookies in honor of the World Championships on NBC! I frosted them. Yum yum.

All in all, a very warm, fun, Saturday with family and lots of sugar and butter.

Running poem

2008-12-16T19:41:00.002-06:00

Came across this poem on the facebook page of a friend. Just spoke to me today.

The Song of the Ungirt Runners

We swing ungirded hips,
And lightened are our eyes,
The rain is on our lips,
We do not run for prize.
We know not whom we trust
Nor whitherward we fare,
But we run because we must
Through the great wide air.

The waters of the seas
Are troubled as by storm.
The tempest strips the trees
And does not leave them warm.
Does the tearing tempest pause?
Do the tree-tops ask it why?
So we run without a cause
'Neath the big bare sky.

The rain is on our lips,
We do not run for prize.
But the storm the water whips
And the wave howls to the skies.
The winds arise and strike it
And scatter it like sand,
And we run because we like it
Through the broad bright land.

Charles Hamilton Sorley

This is pretty freaking cool

2008-12-13T07:56:00.002-06:00

Anyone else <3 Keens? If you are a Keen wearer check out this sweet contest.

Pretty fun idea, huh?

Alright. Time for a run. Gonna go try and get about an hour in. It looks cold outside but rumor was it was gonna get a little warmer today. Sigh. Where is the snow?

Day 2-5

2008-12-12T20:10:00.002-06:00

Catching up.

Day 2: Rest day due to working a trillion hours at the holiday party the rehab department has for our little patients at the hospital.

Day 3: Ran about 4 miles with Kona early, the dark/cold.
Swam 2150 yds in the afternoon. It was a crazy day and I totally crashed after I made dinner.

Day 4: Did a trail run with Bricko in the afternoon. It was beautiful out. Ran in tights, a t shirt with a fleece over it and a hat and gloves. Loved it. Needed it, bad.
Then climbed and had a pretty good day of it. Finished out three bouldering problems I had been working on. Makes me feel hard core.

Day 5: Walked the dogs over to the field and ran them around for a half an hour and walked them home. Would really like for Mr KT to be able to run again but his foot is still bugging him. Looking forward to healing that up. Seriously.

Tomorrow... longish run. Trainer ride? I have season one of Dexter to be watching. :)

Day 1:

2008-12-08T20:24:00.002-06:00

Ran this morning with Koni-baby. Did about 4.5 miles or so? I was totally overdressed which is kinda nice for this time of year. Not a single solitary snowflake but I'm crossing my fingers for tonight.

Lifted tonight. Did squats, straight leg dead lifts, calf raises, lunges, and ab leg ups. 3 sets of each 12, 10, 8 reps with increasing weight except for calf raises - (25 bilateral, 10 each unilateral, repeat with no rest 4 times) and lunges (one lap of walking lunges around the double basketball courts). For those lunges it really is best if you can do it while lots of college guys are shooting hoops. Mainly because they look at you with a goofy look on their faces while they try and figure out why in the world someone might want to do something like that when they can be bouncing a brownish orange ball around and trying to throw it through a little red metal ring. I'm just saying, it's amusing to watch them puzzle over that.

So, one run down and one day of lifting. Woot woot.

Just a little accountability

2008-12-07T22:05:00.003-06:00

This week has a plan. It looks like this...

Climbs - 2
Swims 1-2
Trainer rides - 2
Runs - 4
Weights or CrossFit - 1

I know, need to up the ante a bit if I am going to be doing any trail races in the next couple of months. At this point I am just doing what I can fit in and trying to be home to see my husband as well at some point. Ohhhh! I have an idea, maybe we just need another trainer so that we can ride our bikes inside together. I like it, I like it. :)

Just a little Sunday stroll

2008-12-04T20:17:00.003-06:00

I've been trail running more this year than in years past and I really love it. Here is the thing about trails though... they are much more secluded. This is a good thing and a bad thing all at once. I have never minded being alone. I like the quiet. (Just ask Mr KT. He turns the volume up, I turn it down, he turns it up again.) I love being outside. I love to be moving and active and I adore my dogs. I mean really, how could trail running be better!?

Last Sunday (a week ago) Koni and I headed out to meet a small group to do a run at a local trail. We were headed for more of a Nature Center type place with lots of trails. Apparently it is a pretty sweet place to run but they don't allow dogs. We asked the guy who was so politely telling us to get lost where he would recommend and he aimed us down the road about a 1/2 mile or so. Hummel Park. I knew very little about this park. Just that it had been in the news a little in the last couple of years.

I texted my husband before I got out of the car so that he would knew where we would be. I tucked my cell phone in one pocket and my work pager in the other since I was on-call and we took off. It was a really fun run. About an hour and a half uphill and down dale. We ran 190 steps, twice. We carefully forged a few of our own trails and just generally had a fun, dirty time. One of the dogs even got really lucky and dug out a bloody deer leg from the underbrush. Mmmmm. The trails were a little muddy and completely buried in leaves. The leaves had a little snow on top of them making for some slippery spots. The weather was pretty much perfect for this time of year. There were a couple of spots during the run that were a little eerie and made me glad that I had others with me. There were two or three places where there were crosses or wreaths marking a specific spot in the trees.

Anyway, we finished up and I got back in my car. As I was pulling out I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and realized that Mr KT had never received my text message. I had no cell phone service back in there. When I got home, I looked up the park and its trails online. I felt like we ran all over and I was curious to see what it looked like from above. This are the tidbits of info/here say I found from the P.R.I.S.M. website among others.

Hummel Park, which is said to be one of the most haunted places in Omaha, NE and rumored to be an ancient Native American burial ground, was once the site of a fur trading post run by Jean Pierre Cabanne in 1823. It was later named in tribute to J.B. Hummel, a long time superintendent of the Omaha Parks and Recreation Department.

Notes:

The park has a very eerie feel to it. Spread over 200 acres, it is filled with steep hills and winding, dirt roads. An area at the eastern edge of the park is known as "Devil's Slide" because of the many suicides that have taken place there. Erosion has washed the area free from trees and resulted in steep cliffs and sharp drop-offs.

One of Hummel Park’s most mysterious characteristics is the trees that bow over the road entering the park. It is believed that many black men and women were hanged from these trees in the early 1900’s by local racist lynch mobs …and their souls still dangle from the trees. Park visitors claim to hear screams and cries coming from this park late at night.

Another of Hummel Park’s well known mysteries is the “Morphing Stairs,” a long, stone staircase located at the top of the park. These stairs are said to “morph” because nobody knows the exact number of stairs in the staircase. Each time a person counts the number going up or down, a different number is counted on the return trip.
(Editors note: they say 188, we counted 190. Close enough.)

The “Morphing Stairs” lead down a large hill into a valley containing a decrepit pit area with a deteriorating shelter house. Spray-painted markings in this area, such as inverted pentagrams and swastikas, along with the presence of dead animal carcasses, indicate that Hummel Park is a place where occult rituals and devil worship have taken place.

In addition to these satanic rituals, numerous murders have been committed in the park. One of these murders involved an Omaha prostitute named Laura LaPointe, who, in 1983, was sexually assaulted and then robbed of $25 by four other prostitutes. She was beaten to death with a 6 foot tree limb and a softball bat, and later discovered in a roadside ditch located in a heavily-wooded area of the park.

The screams and cries heard by park visitors, coupled with local ghost hunters’ claims of unexplained electro-magnetic readings and sightings of various ghostly apparitions, indicate a high level of paranormal activity at Hummel Park.

Recent Hummel Park Murders:

Twelve-year-old Amber Marie Harris disappeared on November 29, 2005. She was last seen on a video tape from her school bus getting off the bus at 5:41 p.m approximately four blocks from her house. On February 14, 2006 Amber's backpack was found about a mile and a half from where Amber was last seen. On May 11, 2006, human remains were found in a shallow grave in Hummel Park. On May 19, 2006, the skeletal remains were identified as Amber's. Omaha Police did not say whether Amber Harris was killed in the park or elsewhere, and they have still not found a suspect.

Christopher Masters and his accomplice, Jeremy Herman, murdered Jeremy Drake in the Fall of 1992. The official story is that they had a fight over a pair of stereo speakers, that is when Masters and Herman kidnapped Drake. Later Masters shot and killed Drake. Herman said he just wanted to scare Drake. Drake's body was found in Hummel Park. Drake was 15-years-old. Both Herman and Masters were sentenced to life in prison without parole.

To be honest, running there with a group and our dogs, during the day is probably just fine. Stories about burial grounds and spirits don't bother me. It's the alive people who are scary. Due to the area and the crap that goes on there, I can guarantee we won't be going back (don't worry mom). It was a little eerie, it was a bit disconcerting to see the crosses in the middle of the woods but anywhere we trail run or road run could have potential mishaps. I guess my take is that if it feels wrong, get out but don't let fear keep you from doing the things that you love. Be vigilant, be smart but enjoy life. (And maybe always take a friend!)

Seriously?!!?

2008-11-25T20:26:00.001-06:00

Not a single flurry!? Ugh. I want to get my skis out.

Ok, I'll settle for the beautiful weather we've had and make due with trail runs and mountain bike rides.

Fine.

I love this time of year.

2008-11-22T16:40:00.004-06:00

It is the off season. That's the part I don't love. I have had a hard time recovering from the marathon. I'm not sure how long that is supposed to take but I needed three full weeks. My foot stopped hurting last Monday. I gave it all day Monday and part of Tuesday and then decided to try a trail run. It went freaking great.

No.pain.anywhere.

Whoo-hoo!

So, I ran a shorty run on Thursday morning and did another trail run today. How wonderful. Maybe I will stop being so grumpy now!

I also did a mountain bike ride this last week and might sneak another one in tomorrow. Yeah, are you all seeing a trend?! I am leaning towards a little more of that stuff. What if I think I might want to do an Xterra? Mr KT may frown upon that due to the inconvenient locations. (Note to Mr KT: don't worry, I already have all the gear I would need, mostly.)

But the part I do love...
there were flurries in the air this morning and then it was coldish and sunny this afternoon. I am bundled in my favorite fleece and jeans with a blanket and have a dog sitting close to me. We've had the fireplace going, I had a steamy bubble bath with candles and a glass of wine, I made a pot of soup and blueberry muffins for dinner and I am running pain free. Does it get any better?!

(Editors note: Um, enough snow to get out the XC skis would be awesome but I am not gonna push my luck.)

Oh, and it is time to start planning the next season. :)

Phew

2008-11-08T22:18:00.001-06:00

I swam for the first time in 6 weeks.

I didn't drown.

Marathon Virgin No Longer - Race Day

2008-11-01T19:06:00.008-06:00

Sunday morning was about 40 deg. We had some issues getting to the race and ended up taking a cab and then walking about a mile and a half to the starting line. It was freezing. We hit the porta potties and then lined up in our respective chutes and shivered as the gun went off. I seriously don't think that my teeth stopped chattering until mile 3.

It is rather hard for me to remember the details. I was focusing on each mile marker and apparently didn't see much else going on around me. Mr KT asked me after the race about a few things along the course (like a golf course and say, the Washington Monument) but I really didn't know what he was even talking about. Um, let's just pretend I was in the zone.

We ran up and down a few little hills at the beginning and then through a really cool tree lined street. That might have been one of the best parts. It was cold still and the sun was just started to come up over the trees. As the runners ahead of you crested the hill, the sun would hit them and you could see the steam rise up of of them. Apparently there were 30,000 runners and so it was still wall to wall people at that point. It really was cool.

And then all of a sudden it was mile marker 13. Wow, I had a sore Achilles tendon and a mildly sore ITB but felt really pretty good. I wasn't tired, I was never out of breath, I felt like I could just keep on running. Good thing, cause I was only halfway done. So, onward.

I was drinking the nasty blue Powerade and water handed out at each stop. Trying to get in a full cup of sports drink and as much water as I could manage without walking. It was going frighteningly well. No upset or sloshy stomach. Really was feeling pretty good. The Marines at each aid station were great. They yelled encouragement and did everything they could to make it a good run for the athletes.

One thing that kept me going when I really started to feel yucky was to start counting the pairs of compression socks around me. Every time I would scan the runners in the vicinity, I would be surprised that I could only see 1 or two pairs. I would then think about how ridiculous it is to actually wear them while running and by the time I got through that I would have started to feel better again and would resume normal thought processes for running.

We ran and ran and ran. We went through downtown Georgetown which was really cool. By mile 22 or so I was starting to feel it. Not so much cardiovascularly but more musculoskeletally. My legs were just plain tired. My muscles were fatigued and the insertions were aching. The splits that I had been watching were starting to slow. I started walking aid stations to get more fluids but found that walking hurt almost as much as running at that point. I ended up walking just a bit but not much.

I ran up the last little hill and crossed the finish line with a trillion other people. I was handed my weird blanket thingy and was corraled into a chute to get my medal. Then I was sent along to get my picture taken in front of another monument. After that, I made my way to the Running Strong tent where I was supposed to meet Mr KT. He finished in 3:40 but he wasn't there. I waited for quite a while and he never came. I have to admit that I started to get nervous. I kept thinking that something must have happened to him. That he was in a med tent somewhere or his sore (probably fractured) foot had slowed him to a walk and he was dragging himself in. Come to find out, that was dumb because he was a rock star! I should have known. He had gone to pick up his bag and then got a little lost on the way back to the designated meeting area. He finally showed up and we just sat and rested in the sunshine for awhile.

The funniest part of the whole thing came afterwards. The line to get on the Metro was about 3 1/2 blocks long. Even if we eventually got on, we would have to wait for the shuttle to take us to the hotel. All of the streets were closed off so there were no cabs anywhere close. We decided to just walk the 2.5-3 miles back to our hotel. Wow. That was a long freaking walk. Ouch.

We gimped into our hotel and up to our room. P showered while I called and assured my mom I was still alive. Then I filled up one of the room trashcans with ice from the ice machine and filled up the tub with ice and water. Ice bath baby! Brrr. We then rested for a bit before trying to go find some dinner.

One thing I have to say is that the king sized bed was wonderful that night. We were both hurting and uncomfortable and being able to both stretch out was a good thing. The other thing that was pretty not awesome was the walking in the airport and the sitting on the planes themselves. Yikes. Also, my left peroneus brevis tendon was super sore when it attaches to the outside of my foot. I have taken a week and a half off running and it is starting to feel much better. P is still having foot pain but it seems to be better than it was.

On that note.

My times are as follows...
5K 0:30:14
10K 0:58:54
15K 1:26:47
20K 1:54:16
Half 2:00:25
25K 2:22:20
30K 2:52:29
35K 3:25:06
40K 4:00:06
Clock Time 4:19:36
Chip Time 4:15:18

Overall Place: 6025/18225
Sex Place: 1610/7141
Division Place: 406/1597

Not bad for my first time. :)

1964 Olympic 10,000m

2008-10-31T19:10:00.001-06:00

Marathon Virgin No Longer - Pre Race

2008-10-31T18:24:00.006-06:00

(The video above was supposed to go in this post but I got an error message every time I tried to put them together so separate they stayed. You have to watch it with the sound. It really is one of my favorite commentaries of all time. About 2 minutes and 15 seconds.)

The Marine Corps Marathon is officially and successfully over. We both had a decent run and although neither one of us is interested in another marathon anytime soon it was a good experience.

Mr KT was running for Team Running Strong. On Saturday we attended a luncheon event for their team where we got to hear Billy Mills speak.

This is part of the Wikipedia entry for Billy Mills.

Biography

William Mervin Mills ("Billy") was born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, a Native American (Oglala Lakota (Sioux)), and was raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He was orphaned at the age of 12. Mills took up running while attending the Haskell Institute, which is now known as Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. Both a boxer and a runner in his youth, Mills gave up boxing to focus on running.

He attended the University of Kansas on an athletic scholarship. He was named a NCAA All-America cross country runner three times and in 1960 he won the individual title in the Big Eight cross country championship. The University of Kansas track team won the 1959 and 1960 outdoor national championships while Mills was on the team. After graduating with a degree in physical education, Mills entered the United States Marine Corps. He was a first lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserves when he competed in the 1964 Olympics.

Billy Mills qualified for the 1964 Summer Olympics on the U.S. Track and Field Team in the 10,000 m and the marathon.

The favorite in 1964 was Ron Clarke of Australia who held the world record. The runners expected to challenge him were defending champion Pyotr Bolotnikov of the Soviet Union, and Murray Halberg of New Zealand, who had won the 5000 m in 1960.

Mills was a virtual unknown. He had finished second in the U.S. Olympic trials. His time in the preliminaries was a full minute slower than Clarke's.

Indeed, Clarke set the tone of the race. His tactic of surging every other lap appeared to be working. Halfway through the race only four runners were still with Clarke: Mohammed Gammoudi of Tunisia, Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia, Kokichi Tsuburaya of Japan, and Mills. Tsuburaya, the local favorite, lost contact first, then Wolde. With two laps to go only two runners were still with Clarke. On paper, it seemed to be Clarke's race. He had run a world record time of 28:15.6 while neither Gammoudi nor Mills had ever run under 29 minutes.

Mills and Clarke were running together with Gammoudi right behind as they entered the final lap. They were lapping other runners and, down the backstretch, Clarke was boxed in. He pushed Mills once, then again. Then Gammoudi pushed them both and surged into the lead as they rounded the final curve. Clarke recovered and began chasing Gammoudi while Mills appeared to be too far back to be in contention. Clarke failed to catch Gammoudi but Mills sprinted past them both. His winning time of 28:24.4 was almost 50 seconds faster than he had ever run before and set a new Olympic record for the event. No American had ever won the 10,000 m before Billy Mills did it.

An infrequently mentioned fact is both Clarke and Mills ran the marathon at the 1964 Olympics after the 10,000 m. Clarke finished in 9th place, Mills finished in 14th, in a respectable 2:22:55.4, approximately two-and-a-half minutes behind Clarke.

Anywho, (Blink, go ahead and tally one up for that) we listened to him speak, had lunch, took some pictures of the team and checked out the National Museum of the American Indian and then went back to the hotel to put our feet up. They also did a ritual before we all left that was pretty cool. A blessing of sorts on the runners.

The Running Strong Team

Mr KT getting blessed.

The place where the blessing and prayer took place.

Next post will be all race related I promise.

I'm in DC...

2008-10-24T18:41:00.003-06:00

... and ready to run a marathon. We left Omaha about 10:15 this morning and flew to Detroit. We literally ran through the Detroit airport from gate C forty-something to gate A-68. I actually mean ran. Like with our bags strapped to us through hallways, on moving walk ways, dodging poor slow moving pedestrians, up and down escalators, etc. It was quite an adventure. Only the second time I have ever had to do something like that. We came skidding to a stop in front of our gate just in time and we weren't the last ones there!

We had a slightly bumpy flight into Washington D.C., picked up our giant bag and headed to the hotel. We figured out the metro system and headed back out into the city to pick up our packet. Public transit is pretty sweet. It takes forever but it is worth it as a visitor. We picked up our packets and our "mock neck" long sleeve t-shirts and grabbed a quick Subway sandwich. Check out the store that was in the gigantic mall where the Subway was...

Yeah, that totally says, "The Art of Shaving". If we hadn't both been tired, Mr KT would probably have wanted to scope it out. Sounds like something he would like, huh?

Now, back at the hotel and resting up for tomorrow. Just looking to get this party started.

Marathon

2008-10-22T21:03:00.002-06:00

When I registered for this marathon I thought, "October 26th is forever away, no big deal." And now I am 4 days out from my first marathon ever. I am taking the taper as easy as can be as suggested by Blink. Last weekend I did a 40 mile bike ride on Sat in the 40 deg, windy weather and then a 13 mile run on Sun. It all went pretty well. I had some seriously sore quads but that has started to feel better today.

I am nervous as can be but anxious to get this trip started so that we can run this race!

I even have a pair of dorky compression socks sent from my buddy E (who has a new blog).

I am ready, let's go. Look out D.C. I am headed your way.

Seriously!

2008-10-13T19:20:00.003-06:00

I know this isn't 140.6 miles or anything but if I freaking get hurt before this marathon I am going to be so annoyed.

Today was a long day at work. 7:30 am to 5:30 pm. It was a little bit weird with some crazy things at the hospital but all in all fairly good. Until 5:15 pm.

I was finishing with a patient and I turned around to get his crutches. I stepped over towards them with the schedule book in my hands and caught my foot on the Bosu ball on the floor. I tried to pick my foot up higher but my running shoe stuck to it and there was no hope. I dropped everything in my hands as I crashed towards the floor and the wall. I stopped suddenly as my left knee hit the carpeted concrete and my left shoulder crashed into the corner of the wall. The caregiver of my teenage patient stated that perhaps I was the one who needed some therapy. Only one other therapist witnessed the clumsy incident. I was extremely embarrassed but I was pretending that it hadn't happened as I quickly took inventory of myself to assess the damage. Seemed like just bruises to the shoulder and the knee. I'll keep tabs on it. In the meantime, more running and less falling down would be the best option I think.

And maybe a helmet. At all times.

Saturday

2008-10-12T09:25:00.002-06:00

Saturday was a busy day for sure.

Ran a really laborious 11 mile run. (Anyone else seeing a trend here?)

Market to Market was going on. (I didn't run because it was too close to the marathon.) My buddy E ran and I sent him updates on the IM World Championship race all day.

Texas played Oklahoma and the last quarter was really good.

Nebraska played Texas Tech and managed to hang in there until the very end when Joey "Interception" Ganz gently placed the football in the other teams hands and told them, "it was very nice to play you but you deserve this, so here is the win." Awesome.

I watched/listened to the Hawaii IM on my computer for most of the whole day. I was making homemade Runzas for dinner (Mr KTs parents were joining us) and listening to the commentators when I heard a yell from the basement. I put them in the oven and ran down to check on the Huskers and when I came back upstairs Brick was looking a little guilty. Apparently he had taken it upon himself to eat 3/4 of a package of mozzarella cheese slices off the kitchen counter. Ugh. I didn't really care that the cheese was gone but I was (and still am) just a tiny bit worried about his GI tract. Guess we'll see. I have a feeling he will be just fine. That dog could eat anything it seems.

Then I finished watching bits and pieces of the race and went to bed.

No laundry, no grocery shopping. All in all, a good day.

Happy Birthday to my Dad

2008-10-11T20:31:00.005-06:00

Happy B-day dad!
October 11th!

Mom and dad and baby KT

Dad and KT in Cheyenne

KT and dad "painting"

More recent photo - headed to Chris LeDoux show.

Grouchy face

2008-09-28T17:35:00.004-06:00

I sucked on my run big time today. 16 miles quickly turned into 13 1/2. How can 6 minutes and 11 seconds of all-out the day before take it out of you like that. I had no idea.

Maybe next weekend.

P.S. For those of you interested in the crazy track workouts, wait until you see the one my friend E sent me! Tuesday is the big day... and yes, I will have my shoes on this time. :)

Just one more thing...

2008-09-27T15:23:00.004-06:00

I keep meaning to post a picture of the newest addition to our house. No we are NOT having a baby. I am referring to Mr KT's 2 month old tattoo.

It is a wooden cross with a medicine wheel around it making it look a little Celtic. I think it turned out great. He said it peeled a couple of times but it was never really that uncomfortable. He asked me if I was going to go along when he got it done and I told him I would come take his picture. He told me that was so not cool and so I stayed home. LOL!

I would be willing to bet he's already thinking about a second one, but what do I know.

Yeah, that's right...

2008-09-27T15:10:00.001-06:00

I ran The Omaha Mile this morning. It is a fast one mile race in downtown Omaha. Most of the course is downhill with a little tiny bump in the middle. You start at 19th and Capitol and run down Capitol St. You take a left on 10th street and run past the Qwest Center to the finish. It is fast and furious. A bunch of kids races to start with and then Master's Women, Master's Men, Open Women 39 and under, Open Men 39 and under, Elite Women, and then Elite Men. Dang those last two groups can freaking fly. Amazing. I believe that the winning elite male ran 3:57:something and the second place elite male was also under 4 minutes. Wow.

My time...

6:11:49

19 seconds under what I was hoping to run.
Good enough for 3rd place overall in the open women division and 2nd in my age group. As I was about at 2/3 of a mile I thought to myself, all those long runs were definitely not training you for this. But I have to admit that the track workouts probably helped.

Not bad. Not bad at all. Next year? I would love to go sub 6.

Owie

2008-09-24T17:39:00.004-06:00

So... I learned that when you run 3 miles barefoot, your feet are sore the next day. Not sore, like the skin hurts, not sore like injured, but sore like somebody put spacers between all the bones in your forefoot and is slowly cranking them apart. Like maybe all those muscles and tendons and ligaments in there had to really work to hold that foot together last night without the help of a shoe. Like maybe every time the foot stepped down it spread apart more than it does in the uber-expensive, cushy, supportive running shoes normally found on that foot.

Corporate Cup 10K

2008-09-21T15:30:00.004-06:00

So, last week was hit or miss for workouts. I spent Wed-Sat in Lincoln for a Child Passenger Safety Class (who knew there was so much to learn about car seats). I stayed with my parents and had a really nice time. My mom and dad are wonderful and as my mother-in-law would say, "home is where your mom is."

One note of kudos to my momma, she is now a published poet which is very, very cool.

Anywho, like I said, workouts were hit or miss. I got in a few runs and an ok swim and that left me to do my longest run to date on Sunday. I had registered for the Corporate Cup through work several weeks ago. This is a good sized race in downtown Omaha where it is fairly flat. Thousands of people run or walk the 10K or the 2 mile. It takes forever to get over the starting line. You get the idea.

I decided to incorporate the 10K into my long run. I got up early and got myself organized which was somewhat of a challenge this morning. I ran the 5-ish miles to the race through the ghetto. It was pretty quiet and a very decent "commute" with some consistent hills. I then checked in with my organization and headed to the starting line (or as close as I was going to get). You definitely see some very strange things at races this size. For instance, around mile 5 there was some guy sitting by himself on the corner playing his clarinet. Really, the clarinet? How bizarre. He was just rocking out by himself with his favorite woodwind. There were also a few lone cheerleaders and several of the Omaha Beef (?) players. Maybe some sort of indoor football team? I don't really even know.

Anywho, finished up the race, grabbed a bottle of water and half a nutrigrain bar and headed out to run home. I ran back a different route which ended up being a bit of a pain with the traffic lights and pulled into my driveway right on time. I grabbed some water and two little doggies and headed back out for the last 4 miles. I learned that you should not run miles 17-20 of your long run with two Brittanys with fresh legs. Ouch. Anywho, we got through it and then I sat in an ice bath for about 10 minutes. I love to cold soak and would recomend it to anyone.

I then did a track workout on Tuesday. The actual workout was 3x1 mile repeats. My feet and legs were too beat up for this but I did 1 mile warm up, and then 2x 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 yds on the football field barefoot. I then did all of that again and warmed down with 3/4 of a mile. My arches are pretty tired but it felt good to run like a kid again. Aw, smile.

Other than that, just gearing up for the Omaha 1 mile run on Saturday. Should be a good time.

And for my brother, who requested more pics of the babies, here is one of Kona cuddling with her puppy.

Dude, You Just Got Chicked

2008-09-05T20:52:00.002-06:00

Two open water swims in three days? Is this some kind of strange parallel universe? Yeah, that's right, two. Unfortunately it is now September and so I am a little late due to triathlon season being, well, pretty much over. Anywho, I swam with two buddies on Monday (I love having a day off.) We went to a local "private" lake and swam for about 25 minutes. A was way faster than me, just like he is in the pool. E was just slightly slower but hung right in there. We swam, played a little frisbee and then had a little lunch. It was hot and beautiful and summer.

Wednesday, a gal that I have been long riding with called and wanted to open water swim at that same lake. Her brother lives there and she wanted to meet me after work. We met about 6:30 pm. It was a beautiful fall day, about 63 degrees. It had only been cooler for a day or so and the water was still warm. The air temp definitely wasn't but it really was no big deal. I have vowed never to complain about water temps after my 1.2 mile dip in Lake Michigan. Now that was chilly. Anywho, we got it and swam for 30 minutes straight. We swam a giant square. I have no idea how far we went but it felt awesome. The sun was starting to sink behind the trees, the water was fairly calm. Arms were cool out of the water but the water was not cold. As we swam out we came across 3 or 4 guys swimming as well. The funniest part about it was they were in full wetsuits. Now, there is nothing wrong with a full wetsuit but think about it... the only skin that had showing was their feet, hands, and faces. Both of us were in two piece swimsuits with very little covered relatively speaking. We were flying compared to them and their kayaker. I watched them stroke slowly by as Lisa and I flew past. Those boys totally got chicked. I love it.

So there I was, doing my longest run to date...

2008-08-30T06:44:00.010-06:00

Last night (Friday) was my weekly long run as I ramp up for the Marine Corps Marathon. It was 16 miles and it took me 2 hours and 45 minutes. It was slow. I know it was. I took Brick out for the first 6 miles, a loop through the university and around two local city parks. It was warm, I had worked all day and it was nice to be out with Bricko who cracks me up when he runs.
He keeps his head up high watching for birds and squirrels and he doesn't really bend his back knees but circumducts his legs. I can almost here the phrase, doh da doh. He's so cute!

Anywho, we were just coming through Memorial Park running up Dodge Street getting ready to cross when about 15 guys painted completely head to toe in blue paint surrounded us. There was one guy in a mascot costume waving a flag that I couldn't read. The rest of the guys were shirtless, with boxers or running shorts on. All painted blue. It was Friday night about 6:00 and they were headed towards the University of Nebraska Omaha football field. I couldn't tell how old they were but they were screaming and yelling. They waited briefly at the light and then jumped out into traffic. P.S. Dodge Street is the main drag that divides Omaha into north and south and at 6 pm it is way busy, all 5 lanes. The light finally changed just in time and Brick and I ran around them as they were screwing around in the street. Then I heard, "dude, keep up with the dog, keep up with the dog". Great, now Brick was leading the way, with a blue nose, as he had wiped it against someones leg on the way by, followed by me attached to the other end of his leash, followed by 15 bright blue boys. They finally turned off after they couldn't keep up with Brick and I and we finished our six miles and I dropped him off at home. I found out later that they were Creighton Prep kids. It was the first game of the season. I had forgotten that UNO was their home field.

I picked up Kona and she and I were off after a couple of gulps of water and half a bag of fruit punch sport beans. She is a little trooper. I had only planned to take her for 6 or 8 miles and then finish it off alone but we were out on the trail and I decided to just finish. She did get a little tired but when she started to slow I would walk with her and then she was ready to go again. Kona and I ended up doing 10 miles. We ran out on the local, flat, paved, bike trail. Kona did great. We didn't have water with us but we stopped on the way home at a fountain and I lifted her up to drink. We finished just as the sun was dropping behind the horizon.

Brick and Kona had a little dinner while I walked to the gas station to get two bags of ice. I was sweaty with wild hair flying out of my visor, and pink cheeks. I paid for my ice and as I was headed back out the doors, some guy in his mid 40s was sitting in a baby blue Jeep Wrangler with the top off. You could tell that in his prime, girls had flocked to him and I had heard him tell one of the gas station attendants when I arrived that he was working on buying some land in Mexico so he could build a house and retire there. Yeah, right. Anyway, he saw me come out and said, "where's the party?"
"No party," I replied.
"What's with the ice then?" he said. (What a dork.)
"I'm going to sit in it."
He asked me what I was training for, I told him some endurance events coming up. He said, "I did a half marathon once."
Great. Good to know. He asked if I had done that and I said yes, he asked if I had done a full marathon and I said, "that's the plan for October". He asked what other races I had done. (Trying WAY too hard.) I told him I liked triathlon as I was backing away. As I turned around, I heard him whistle under his breath and say to the gas station lady, "now that's bad ass." I just had to smile. People are so easily impressed. If he knew how much harder it is to get into the ice bath than go for the run, or how much my feet and legs were aching, or how anyone could do it if they just start with walking around the block... well you get the point.

I got home, poured the ice in the tub. Climbed in and iced down. I really, really love that despite those first 2 agonizing minutes before things go numb. Kona managed to fall in, which was a little on the cold side when the water splashed up.

And then we all ate and rested.

Black Squirrel Race Report

2008-08-23T18:55:00.010-06:00

Hm, well that was interesting.

I rode with some friends out to the race in good old Council Bluffs, Iowa. Yuck.

Checked in and got body marked by some high school girl with a very pointy Sharpie marker. I had to check to make sure she didn't draw blood. I picked up my timing chip which was gigantic and put it on with the sensor on the inside as is customary.

Got transition organized and walked down to lake for the pre-race meeting. And then the race started, literally. I mean one minute we were standing at the water's edge and the next minute we were all rushing in, ready or not. There was no gun, no "ready, set, go", nothing. All of a sudden, we were just going. So strange.

Swim:
Distance: 1000 yds
Time: 13:06
Pace: 1:19/100 yds
Swim place:38

Ok, so... The swim was short. I am sure of it. I was not the only one who thought so. I clocked myself coming out of the water in 12:26 but I don't know actually how short the course was so not sure of my actual pace. I just know that it wasn't 1:19. It was a mass start and getting all thrown in to the dudes who are willing to club anyone in their way, over the head, is not as great as when we start in waves.

T1: 2:03

There was a decent distance run from the water to the transition area. I'm not sure where the mat was and to be honest, I am not sure what the point of the mats was because as we went over them they asked our numbers and some guy punched them into a box. Really, welcome to Council Bluffs.

And yeah, my T1 time is a little long. Get this, I totally got stuck in my jersey. I usually pull it on with nothing in the pockets and then stuff my stuff in. Today I had everything in the pockets and was trying to pull it over my head and got it all wrapped up on my wet shoulders. Suck. I struggled with it for WAY, way too long. Annoying. Oh well. I also had a truck load of sand in my cycling shoes when I left T1. I knew that wouldn't be good eventually but decided to suck it up.

Bike:
Distance: 21 miles
Time: 1:05:34
Pace: 16.7
Place 85:

The bike course was not awesome. Bike paths, bumps, railroad tracks, not well marked, blind turns, tight turns, blind underpasses, no room for passing, etc. At one point I ended up with a group of riders who missed the trail head turn. We did at least .6 miles before we turned around which lost us about 4 minutes. Damn. The other thing that was frustrating was the amount of drafting going on. There really wasn't room to pass, nor was it safe, on the bike path. In addition, this was not a USAT sanctioned race so there were no officials and the course was not closed. People were in small groups of two or three and big packs. It's just frustrating when you know the advantage they are getting.

Although the avg speed seems a bit low. I was ok with my ride. I kept my speed above 20 mph except on the technical stuff where I slowed down. There were bandaged up athletes everywhere at the finish line. All of them were male (sorry guys) who had just been too aggressive on this particular course. I like to go fast as much as anyone but there is a time and a place and if you come around a corner and take out a mom with a jogging stroller you've crossed the line.

Nutrition on the bike: 14 oz of Gatorade. Period. With all the twists and turns and bike handling I was afraid to pull anything out of my pockets. Hmmm, what kind of a run will that make for? Read on.

T2: 1:03

In and out. My feet were still covered in sand. Sock, sock, shoe, shoe, visor, go.

Run:
Distance: 10K
Time: 53:41
Pace:8:29
Place:64

So with all of these crazy variables; the no nutrition, the sandy feet, the crazy timing chips, etc. I still had one of the best runs that I have had in a race. I felt great. I picked up the pace to be about an 8:08 average. The course was a little long. It ended up being 6.5 miles instead of 6.2 so that helped the average out a bit. One of the track guys jumped in and ran my loop around the lake with me. He was out for his long run and ran his first loop with the really fast guys and then jumped in to do the second loop slow, with me. He didn't pace me but he definitely kept my mind on other things. He told me about his miserable IMOO race. Poor guy puked for 15 hours. It was nice to listen to him talk about stuff while I gasped for air.

Overall:
Clock Time 2:15:27
Overall Place 60 / 132
Gender Place 6 / 36
Division Place 4 / 13 (Girl from my division won overall.)

Lessons Learned:
* You don't really have to push very hard to create a mark on the skin with a Sharpie marker. If you forget this fact, it hurts.

* I can run faster than I think I can. It is mental for me.

* It is ok to reconfigure your race plan in your head if what you were going to do initially is dangerous. (aka; go as hard on the bike as possible)

* It makes me crazy when people race with iPods, draft, or do other equally uncool things during a race. Who cares if it is USAT sanctioned, do the right thing.

So, overall a pretty fun race. If they changed the bike course I would do it again. If the bike course stays the same, I will not. Too sketchy.

Not really blog info but...

2008-08-17T21:31:00.003-06:00

So this may be slightly inappropriate but I just found this interesting...

10,500 Olympic athletes in Beijing.
100,000 condoms available.

In Athens in 2004, 130,000 condoms were provided and they ran out and had to order more.

They are no longer putting them in rooms, but instead are keeping them at the medical centers. Still in Sydney, I think, each athlete received 51 condoms when they got there. Holy, freaking, cow. That seems like a lot for two weeks.

Apparently all those really, really athletic, world class athletes are attracted to each other, go figure. No wonder you have to turn 16 that year in order to compete. (Just kidding, of course.)

Here are the Olympic ads. They really are hilarious but I wasn't so sure about posting them on my blog for those of you who may read at work. Check out the link if you can. It might make you smile.

Befuddled

2008-08-17T06:42:00.002-06:00

Sometimes I forget that every one's life doesn't include words like "brick", "transition area", and *audible gasp*, "Ironman".

So there I was, sitting in the chair, getting my hair cut, like I do 2 or 3 times a year. My stylist, Tiffany, was working away. She is into bikes, both pedal and motor as is her husband. He used to race motocross until he wrecked pretty hard and was injured seriously enough to have to stop racing. Up until this year, they both have cycled quite a bit. We would always talk about which rides we had been doing and what the few-and-far-between up-coming events in Omaha were. Apparently, she has also been having some chronic pain issues and hasn't been riding. I guess people's lives and interests change. It's no big deal but it was so strange the way our conversation was so different from before. It went from comparing adventures to her telling me what a "go-getter" I am. Lame. Anywho, she asked what trips or races I had done this summer and I had casually told her about the HIM in Wisconsin. (Really, it's the only place I have gone.) She looked at me blankly.
"What's that?" she asked.
I looked back at her a little confused. "You know, a half Ironman."
"Is that a bike race?"
"Ummm, no.... it's half of an Ironman." I was confused. You know, Ironman? I couldn't even explain it, I was so bewildered that she didn't know what I was talking about. I even busted out the, "you know, the Hawaii Ironman?" Hahahahaha. Wow.
I did eventually explain that it was a triathlon and stumble through the distances.

I know that it is unreasonable to think that everybody knows all about triathlon but isn't Kona one of the biggest sporting events EVER? Well, maybe not, but you know what? I like the little imaginary world that I live in. If anyone cares to join me, I'd be happy to have ya, it's great here. Otherwise, see you on the flip side. :)

Apparently I don't share well with others

2008-08-09T21:13:00.006-06:00

Well, I feel like after announcing my workout schedule last week, I should keep myself honest and post how it actually went.

But... I am not going to bore you with all the details. Basically, I got mostly back into the two-a-day groove. I also commuted to and from work on my mountain bike every single day. I ran a total of 28.11 miles (the goal was 29), and I rode 53 miles. I swam twice, and the good news is that I still have one more day left in the week. Rock on!

Now, I have a question for you all.

Does it bother you if someone else wears (and sweats profusely in) your helmet? I really want to know.

Let me lay it out there. Wednesday night, I came home from guitar practice and changed into my cycling gear to go ride. I pulled out my baby blue TT bike, tri shoes, etc. I looked for my helmet but it was nowhere to be found. I knew it was on my aero bars when I left because I had set my mountain bike helmet on top of it after work. Both of Mr KT's bikes were gone (a little strange) and I realized that he had my helmet, I was sure of it. Just to clarify, he has two of his own helmets. The road helmet was gone and the mountain bike helmet was hanging on its hook. Anywho, I proceeded to get madder and madder. I had decided to wear my mountain bike helmet when he pulled in on his road bike in my helmet. I asked why he was wearing mine, he said his was at work. I said, "why didn't you wear your other one", he said, "it was dusty and dirty". Boo. He said, "here, you can have it." I got annoyed and disgusted and more annoyed and actually, pretty mad for not a very good reason. I said no, he said yes and I finally took it and put it on and was totally grossed out to have it touching my face. He said he would go back out and ride with me and put on the "dusty, dirty" helmet. We had a nice ride out and then the last 1/4 of the ride I turned it on. I was pretty much over the helmet issue so it wasn't that I was still mad. (Although I still feel like that is comparable to sharing a toothbrush, GROSS, or wearing someone else's underwear really gross.) I have no idea how fast I averaged that last part. All I know is that I was working as hard as I could sustain. I was drooling all over my face and when we got to the end of the trail I gagged hard about 4 times trying not to puke. I coughed and spluttered 3 more times trying not to hurl in the street. I have never been that close to puking during a workout.

After we rode up the big hill, I pulled in behind Mr KT and he said, "so that is why everyone was looking at us". Apparently he thought my jersey was unzipped a bit too far. I was hot, I didn't even notice. However, when I went up to change clothes I realized I had 26 gnats smashed in my sports bra. OK, maybe it was a bit low. I was going to document this phenomenon photographically but decided against that since there was no way I could do it with the bra on and that may have changed the rating of my blog to at least PG. :)

Anywho, back to the original question...

Does it bother you if someone else wears, and sweats in, your helmet?

Cause it makes me crazy and apparently it makes me ride a lot faster.

It's Time for a Kick in the Pants

2008-08-03T20:25:00.003-06:00

Ok, somebody give me a little shove. I really, really need to get going. It's been exactly two weeks since the HIM and I am really not motivated to get back in the training routine.

My new shoes helped briefly, until I actually ran in them. Hehe. My foot still hurt and it was still 94 degrees. I was supposed to do a 10-12 miler today and after 5 called it quits. I was shivery and thirsty and really, really hot. The humidity was 92% and the heat index was so high they were telling people to keep their pets indoors. Yeah, that's hot. I had to work this morning so I couldn't go for the long run right away. Well, looking back, I should have gotten up before the sun and run to my heart's content. I didn't, but I will next time. Anyway, by 10:15 am it was too broiling for me. I decided it wasn't safe and ran home and had lunch.

Last week I did 3 runs and 3 swims and that was it.

The week before that was a recovery week and I did 1 run, 1 bike, and 2 swims.

So, this week is a new week.

The plan is...

Monday - Run 6 miles am, Swim 3000 yds pm
Tuesday - Bike 1 hour am, Track workout
Wednesday - Bike 1 hr 20 min am, core pm
Thursday - Run 6 miles am, Swim pm
Friday - Run 3 miles am, Swim pm, lift UEs and core pm
Saturday - Rest (?)
Sunday - Long run (10 miles)

The other part of the plan includes some healthy, all natural eating habits. I never really fall off completely, I just become more careless. I seriously need to have someone really qualified look at this!

The weekends are filling up

2008-08-02T07:02:00.005-06:00

I totally want to race. Benson asked me after the last post when the next race is and I will be racing an Olympic on either the 23rd or the 24th of August. I haven't decided which race to do. One would involve a little more planning and a longer drive and a way better race the other is right in my backyard but I have to be concerned with growing a third arm in the nasty lake that I would be swimming in. Yuck. It may be worth it though just so as not to have to pack up the dogs and spend the whole weekend away. (That first one I described is the race that I managed to throw Mr KTs keys away at last year, as some of you may recall.)

So this weekend I am on call at the hospital. (Already been in twice this morning and it is only noon.)

Next weekend I spend all day Saturday at a continuing education course on orthotics and bracing and Sunday I am headed to Lincoln to see my momma.

The weekend of the 23rd and 24th I am racing... somewhere.

I am on call again Labor Day weekend.

My cousin gets married in Iowa the first weekend in Sept.

I have a girls weekend planned the 2nd weekend in Sept with 3 of my PT school friends that I TOTALLY miss.

Sept 28th is the Omaha half marathon.

Etc, etc, etc.

Now, I just have to squeeze in my long runs around all that and we should be good. Yikes, the marathon is going to be here before I know it. Time to kick that into gear.

PS I fell out of love with my old running shoes and bought a pair of Asics Gel Kayanos today from my LRS. They have the same gel as the Nimbus, of which I had about 10 pairs of, and just a smidge more stability then the 2130s I was trying and don't like at all. I am looking forward to giving them a shot on my longish run this weekend. Don't worry I loop by my house so if I don't love them I can switch out. The only down side... they are purple.

The swim workout of the week...

2008-07-29T19:04:00.003-06:00

400 warm up pks
10x50 (25 ez, climb out, 10 real push ups on the deck, dive in, sprint back) :15 sec RI
50 kick
5x100 IM (odds regular, evens reverse) :20 RI
50 kick
400 IM kick
200 warm down

Just 2100 measly yds with 100 push ups sandwiched in there.

Try it, you might like it. Just don't puke.

Spirit of Racine Half Iron Triathlon: Race Report- Part 2

2008-07-26T09:42:00.009-06:00

We pick up at T2.

I came down the hill into T2, dismounted, ran in and swapped cycling shoes for socks and running shoes, helmet for visor, and grabbed my race number. Time to hit the run!

T2:
3:28

I ran out and headed up the first hill. The run course was a mostly flat two loop out and back. I took a couple of Enervit Tabs (electrolytes) out and was sucking on them. They worked great in training but were not awesome on race day. It was pretty well shaded and there were aid stations just frequently enough. I ran the first three or so miles at a 9:00 pace before my stomach started cramping up. I walked just long enough (1 minute and 30 sec) to calm it down and then picked back up into a run. Two miles later it happened again. I had purposefully slowed to a 9:30 pace but my stomach was mad. At mile 5, I pulled off to use the porta-potty. That seemed to help and I was off again. I was running 8 minutes walking 1-2 minutes to keep my stomach happy and I was only drinking water and taking ice at the aid stations. I started to feel much better at the turn around to head back out but it was still hard to turn around and run away from the finish line. As I switched to a 4 min run, 1 min walk, I started to realize that the only thing that was really tired were my quads. I also realized that they felt worse when I was walking. Hmmm, yeah, run more, i get it. There was some guy that attached himself on to me and just kept talking to me the entire second half of the run. It is fun to see people out on the course and chat briefly but every time I walked so did he and every time I picked back up to a run so did he. Ugh. Run your own race buddy, I wanted to tell him. I just kept a smile on my face and answered briefly his random questions and comments. "Guess what? I watched the new Batman movie last night" or "did you know..." Shhh, dude, just let me run. Anywho, came around the corner, through the Racine zoo which is not awesome because you just run along the back side of it. You can't see any animals, just smell them, and headed towards the finish line.

Run: 13.1 miles
2:26:42
11:12 min/mile average (SUCK)

Overall:
6:05:56
43/55 in age group (SUCK)
1062/1381 overall men and women, females and males were not split out in results

63 people - DNF
approximately 388 people - DNS. I am guessing due to weather.

I have to admit, I can't even remember finishing. I felt pretty darn good. I wasn't too hot, or too tired. I could have kept going for a bit longer and I was freaking hungry! I went over and put my finishers medal in my bag and headed over for food. The sweet little old lady in the food tent handed me a BBQ pork sandwich which I bit into before it even hit my plate. I told her how wonderful she was and moved down the line for a gigantic piece of watermelon, oatmeal cookies and chips. I sat in the shade and ate and then went down to the lake and knelt waist deep in the water to "ice down". It felt awesome! I gathered my belongings, took some time to enjoy the water, sand, and sun and headed up to my car. I am potentially in love with Lake Michigan. We don't have anything like that anywhere near here. Every body of water remotely close I can see all the way across. It was awesome. There were boats, and waves, and seagulls, and lots of water and sand. I wanna go back! There is something about the water that just pulls at my heart.

Nutrition:
Nutrition was a huge issue for me as I wondered if it would be. The race was more than an hour and a half late getting started which meant that at race start I had eaten 3 1/2 hours prior. In my real, non-triathlon life, that is almost time for another meal. Not a great way to start. After I got home I calculated it all out. The result was that not counting breakfast, I took in a grand total of 380 calories, including Gatorade and I burned 3970 calories on just the swim, bike, and run. Yeah, anyone see a glaring problem with that? I think that Infinit is going to be my next option to try. I just kick myself thinking how much faster I could be if I had that figured out. Hmmm. Yeah, look out cause if I pull it all together, I could definitely be dangerous. :) Just kidding.

Another random fact about nutrition, if you have half a package of red sport beans in your jersey pocket and you pour water over your head repeatedly during a run and they fall out, it is a mess. I am just saying. Yuck. I had red food coloring everywhere.

Random Comments: People say strange things. For some reason I was a magnet for that this weekend. Here are a small sampling.

1. In transition, waiting for fog to lift: The girl next to me said, "where are you from?"
I told her, "Nebraska."
She said, "oh, yeah? Are you doing IM Kentucky then?"
I though, "huh?" and must have given her a confused look.
She said, "uh, I don't know much about the South."
I paused before carefully telling her how Nebraska was about as middle of the U.S. as you could get.
She said, "hmmm, so are you doing Louisville?"
Hahahaha. Wow.

2. I had on a CamelBak and some guy rode by and told me it was all about "comfortability". Is that even a word?

3. On the way home, I stopped to get gas and the man working there reminded me of the gas station attendant from the Simpsons. I hadn't showered and still sort of had the remnants of my body markings on my arms and legs. He saw the 8 and the 4 and said, "84, is that your favorite number or something?"
Really. Yes, I get up every morning and whip out my permanent black marker so I can write my favorite number of the day on my arms. Oh, yeah, and while I am at it, I usually write my age on my leg too, just so that if someone asks, I don't have to do the math. Instead, I said, "eh, nah, just did a race this morning" and walked away shaking my head.

4. And the last one. During the run I ran by a 77 year old man who was just running along. I said to him, "Have you done many halves?"
To which he replied, "yeah, quite a few, did one last weekend."
Whoa, that is hard core. I said, "Are you freaking kidding me, that is awesome."
He said, "every race you do, you lose a few IQ points. I am beginning to be quite deficient."
I said, "how do you earn them back?"
He said, "you get really good dates."
Some guy running by me said, "you might want to run a little faster!"
HAHAHAHA! Awesome.

ALSO: A humongous thanks to Blink for letting me borrow his neoprene swim cap from IM CdA. Thanks, you saved me a major ice cream headache! It was perfect.

So there you have it. I know I left stuff out and I am sure that it will come to me later but that is most of it. Can't wait to do more.

I am half of an ironman

2008-07-25T16:30:00.005-06:00

In true Tri-Rob fashion I am going to post this in installments.
I am purposefully going to be a little long for my own sake. I suppose there are multiple purposes for blogs but this particular report is mostly for me to be able to go back and remember, as well as to fix the things that fell apart.

Spirit of Racine Half Iron Triathlon: Race Report- Part 1

Pre-Race: I left home at 6:45 am on Saturday morning. Mr KT was on a church mission trip and so I was flying solo on this one. I drove the 8 1/2 hours to Racine, WI and listened to Harry Potter (#7) on my ipod. It was uneventful really, until I got to some of the county roads just before Racine. Apparently, Jimmy Buffett and all of his best 40 to 60 year old friends were having a "little" outdoor concert Saturday night. The good news is, they were ready to have a good time, the bad news is, they were way drunk at 3:00 in the afternoon. I, of course, was driving against the grain and the sheriffs were annoyed. I thought they might detour me (problem, because I would have gotten soooo lost). They just directed me on through the chaos and told me to be very careful as people were randomly getting out of their cars into the on-coming traffic and then falling over. Hmmmm, can you say, "over the legal limit"? Anywho, I drove very slowly by one particularly rowdy group of concert-goers, who were definitely in the vicinity of my parents age and heard whooping and yelling, I looked over instinctively and no kidding, I got flashed by some guy who was twice my age. Ewww. That was not ok. His buddies of course, thought it was hilarious. This happened not once, but twice. Seriously, ew.

I got into town and found packet pickup. This was the only time that I was seriously overwhelmed and extremely nervous. It was loud and there were a ton of people. I had to drive through a shady part of the city to get there and then park and walk alone. I couldn't figure out how to get to the transition area from there and was moments from tears. It was the only time on the entire trip that I desperately wished I had someone with me. I made a few phone calls to familiar voices and calmed myself down. From then on, I was fine. I saw Jenny and Mike as I was headed to drop off my bike and chatted with them briefly. They had graciously offered one of the two queen beds in their hotel room the week prior, due to Orbitz and my hotel totally dropping the ball. I felt a little uneasy about it at first but finally gave in so that I didn't have to sleep in my Saturn! (Well, that and Mike assured me they practiced good hygiene and didn't snore). They were very easy going and just plain awesome. That initial meeting is always a little awkward but after the formalities, things were more comfortable.

I dropped my bike off, put plastic over my aero bars and bike computer and got my timing chip. I climbed back in the car, found the hotel, and went and got a little dinner (pizza, the pre-race dinner of champions). Don't dis it, it seems to work for me.

I spent the next hour and a half going through all my gear again. Checking and rechecking everything including my nutrition to make sure I had exactly what I needed and it was exactly how I wanted it. I felt like I was being a bit on the OCD side but it was making me feel confident and that was what I needed.

Jenny and Mike came back from dinner and we hung out and laughed and talked triathlon and everything else under the sun. Here was the quote of the trip:
Mike: "My only goal for this race is not to chafe." Hahahaha! Not something that I would ever have thought about... EVER. They got organized, pulled their nutrition out of a tackle box like case with a combination lock on it (dang teenage boys eating all the sport beans), and we were all ready for bed.

Morning came early and I was up, dressed, and ready for breakfast by 5 am. I have discovered that pancakes with butter and syrup are the perfect pre-race meal for me. I am a little weird about food and I had made my own pancakes and had them in my cooler with butter and syrup from home. I popped two of them in the toaster and breakfast was ready and very yummy.

Race morning was very foggy. I followed Jenny and Mike to transition. (Thanks for not taking me down the bike path, Mike).
Walking to transition.

Looking at the swim course (what you can't see it) from halfway down the beach at 7:30 am.

A picture taken in almost the same spot at 3:00 pm after the race was over. Quite a difference!

Foggy was an understatement. Originally the first wave (pro men) was to leave at 7:00. We were on a 15 min rolling delay and I didn't leave until 8:30 or so. In addition, to the fog, the water was very cold, read 55 degrees. I am not exactly sure of the reasoning but the race director moved the entire swim course in. We walked a mile and a quarter down the beach and then swam back to transition down the shore line. I lined up in the front quarter of swimmers although I should have moved up even more. I heard the siren go off, took a deep breath, and ran into the cold water. I hadn't gotten in earlier, I knew it was cold, nothing was going to change that. The run out to deeper water was longer than I had anticipated. I dolphin dove under some of the waves. That first moment when your head submerged was shocking. It didn't take my breath away but I was definitely glad for all the ice bathes I had taken prior to this race. I pulled my wetsuit out a bit to let some water in and took off swimming. Although the race director swears it was safe, I couldn't see from buoy to buoy. I was trying to stay straight, follow some feet and try to sight as best I could. The water temp was significantly lower than the air temperature or my body's temperature and that caused some fogging issues with the goggles. The thing that I was most surprised by though was not the cold or the fog, it was the waves and the chop. I heard someone say as we were walking over how calm the water was but this Midwestern girl felt like I was bobbing around in the ocean. I was breathing to the right only because the waves were coming from the left and I was getting a little green around the gills as I felt myself rise and fall with the water. We were also pretty shallow. I could see the sand at the bottom although don't think I could have touched for the most part. There were men who were walking and I would only have had to swim in about 5-7 strokes to touch the bottom. There were a couple of times where I got swam over and got pushed under and used the bottom of the lake to push myself back up to the surface. Speaking of, men, I just have to tell you... it does not make you more manly to swim over top of the females in the wave ahead of you. I didn't have much clean water but I wasn't clobbering anyone. Girls, as a group, just seem to be less violent in a swim start. If I take a stroke and end up with my hand on top of someones swim cap, I am not going to pull, I will pick up my hand pull back gently and stroke with the other arm. I had a handful of men in the wave behind me literally dunk me and swim over the top. It doesn't frazzle me or make me nervous but I do think it is ridiculous. We aren't even racing each other. Besides you are going to smoke me on the bike so cut it out. *Stepping down off soapbox.*

Anywho, finished the swim a little dizzy but no worse for the wear.

SWIM: 1.2 miles
32:24
1:32/100 yds average

TI:
Had a 200 yd run up the beach to get to transition. Had a little trouble getting my wetsuit off because my hands were so cold but once I got that taken care of I slid into my tri top, cycling shoes, helmet, and clear lens glasses, grabbed my nutrition and was off.
T1: 3:22

Bike: The bike out of transition was an immediate up hill. People were falling all over. Hello people, check your gears before the bike starts. The bike ride for me was really uneventful. I tried to watch my RPE to keep myself solid throughout. There was some wind but it never seemed to affect my ride. I felt strong on the bike and although I did get passed by dude after dude and some girls too, I had to remind myself to stay steady and strong because there was quite a run after that. I stayed between 18 and 21 mph on all the flats. I would say the course really was quite flat. There were some rollers but nothing huge to climb. I ate 1/2 Snickers Marathon bar immediately which was not part of the plan. Then every 30 minutes I ate. 1:00 - 1/2 bag of fruit punch sport beans (yes JWim, they turn your entire mouth including teeth bright red), 1:30 - 1/2 bag of Cheezit Gripz, 2:00 1/2 bag of CheezIts, 2:30 stomach starting to hurt so skipped the solid food. In addition, I drank Gatorade Endurance every 15 minutes from bike bottle and water throughout from CamelBak. More on nutrition later. The bike was bumpy, my shoulders were starting to complain of all the jarring they were enduring. Nothing too exciting to report. The first 2 hours went really fast and the 3 seemed to drag a bit more. Cruised into transition and was set to start running.
Bike: 56 miles
3:00:00
18.7 mph average

Next, T2, run, nutrition and wrap up.

Spirit of Racine Half Ironman

2008-07-23T21:34:00.002-06:00

Race report coming soon.

I sucked on the run. I finished (in a sucky place). I never got sick. I drove home. I loved it.

Promise, race report in the next two days.

What is it about Ironman?

2008-07-13T11:32:00.005-06:00

It is all I can think about. I want to be able to think of something else, I really do. I just can't. I think about how nuts it is to think that I could do it. I think about how horrible and awesome it would be all at the same time. I think about how much it will hurt and how hard it will be mentally. I think about how sweet it would be to finish. I think about how Mr KT, told me I was, "f'ing insane" and how my mom said, "maybe you should get through the half first and then decide" as if that was going to change my mind. (Well, it might, but only for a couple of hours. I will be planning my sign up on the way home, I am sure of it.) It totally freaks me out and makes me want to run the other way. Which is why I think I want to do it.

Wait, what?

Yeah, I don't get it either.

Those of you who have been here know the feelings before that first 140pt6. You know the hesitation, the excitement, the dreams and the fears.

I think I can do it.

With the right training and some coaching, I really think I could.

Maybe.

Now, the question is...Ironman Florida or Ironman Kentucky?

This is actually where I have been stuck. So obviously I have pretty much already talked myself into it. Let's break it down. And note that I am not looking for easy, it's Ironman it will not be easy.

Ironman Kentucky:
positives -
*Earlier in the season - makes the race season more manageable
*NOT an ocean swim - I live in the Midwest, never seen the ocean, not sure how that swim would go

Ironman Florida:
positives -
*Flatter course - easier to get nutrition in and is more like what I typically train on here although there are hills I could do
*Later in the season - therefore maybe a bit cooler as I don't race well in extreme heat and better biking time here in Nebraska in September and October

Any thoughts on any of this? Any of you that have done either of these races have any input? Do I need to be at the race (volunteering) in order to register for 2009? Or could I register online? Time to find out how this all works.

I am so excited it is ridiculous.

Photographic evidence

2008-07-12T15:12:00.004-06:00

I am totally not going to flat on race day. Nope, not gonna happen. Mostly because I practiced changing my tire today so that I would really be prepared. I had one moment of itty-bitty freak out (that would have resulted in tears had it been an actual race) when I couldn't get the back wheel on. I have been on several longish rides alone that would have been disastrous if I had gotten a flat because I would have panicked. I have spent many hours on my bike thinking, "please don't flat, oh please, God, do not let me flat". I feel like that is a big waste of His time so I decided to do something to help myself out, practice. :) Well, that and I am tapering... and bored.

Here are some pictures to prove that I did, in fact, make the effort and didn't just beg Mr KT to do it, again. (He did make a cheat sheet for me.)

This last one is for my mechanically inclined "little" brother. A.C, are you proud or what?

Ugh

2008-07-12T06:37:00.002-06:00

So, Thursday, I got a phone call from Orbitz. Went something like this...

Me: "Hello"

Nice Woman I Really Wanted To Yell At (NWIRWTYA): "Hi, is this Katherine?"

Me: "This is Katie"

NWIRWTYA: "We were just calling to inform you that the hotel on your Racine, WI itinerary will not be able to honor your reservation for July 19th, 2008."

Me: "Wait, what!?"

NWIRWTYA: "We've thoroughly checked the area and nothing else is available that night."

Me: "I made that reservation months ago!"

NWIRWTYA: "We are sorry about any inconvenience and hope that you will use Orbitz again soon. Have a nice day, ma'am."

Me: "Are you kidding me!?"

NWIRWTYA: "Goodbye"

Me: "What the... hello, hello? UGH."

HA! Well, after Bikram yoga this morning I will be doing some checking around. Any of you bloggers in the area that would be interested in telling me names of surrounding towns that are close to Racine and have hotels, please let me know. I was wondering how close Milwaukee is, 45 minutes? I am not that worried, really, just more annoyed than anything. The hotel room that I did have was crappy anyway. Anything else I get will be better and although it is not usually in my nature, I plan on calling the stupid hotel and giving the manager an earful today. It's not like I am going to spend the day relaxing by the pool, I have a 5-7 hour race to do. Cancelling my hotel is very un-cool.

As Tri-Rob would say...

2008-07-11T19:34:00.002-06:00

..."breathe".

Time to get into race mode.

The last few weeks have been big build weeks for the Racine Half Ironman. 8+ days and counting.

Saturday -
Run 10 miles
1 hr 33 min
9:18 min/mile

90 min Bikram yoga

Sunday -
Bike 35.8 miles
2 hrs 15 min
15.85 mph avg (crazy wind)

Run 7.5 miles
1 hr 10 min
9:22 min/mile

Good solid Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with all three disciplines.
Thursday B-Fit B-Day Challenge. (See last post.)

Friday: Rest day which I took very seriously including pizza and ice cream.

Saturday: Monster brick! Just two days after my "halfway-between-HIM-and-oly-distance-challenge" I took on the biggest workout I have done to prepare for this race.

Bike 53.6 miles
3 hrs 17 mins
16.26 mph avg

Run 12 miles
2 hrs 3 mins
10:04 pace (with stopping to switch dogs and get water twice)

And then...
and ice bath. The most beautiful, wonderful, awful thing in the world.

I have to admit something here... after that last workout... yeah, I ran to the gas station to get the bags of ice because it was just too slow to walk. Ran, after 5 hours of biking and running, I ran down the street to get ice. I guess it's like driving on the interstate at 75 mph and then exiting and having to drive 35 in town. Just feels slow. Good sign I think.

B-Fit B-Day Challenge

2008-07-08T19:00:00.003-06:00

I have a confession. Sadly, I didn't take many pictures. I'll explain as I go.

My birthday is July 3rd, 1980. It fell on a Thursday this year and if you do the math correctly, I turned 28. I have never taken my birthday off work but this year was different. I took Thursday off, had Friday off for the holiday and then of course Saturday and Sunday. It was a whole birthday weekend. Mr KT was on mission trip with the youth from our church and our "boarder" went home for the long weekend and so I had the house to myself.

Swim: 2 miles
I woke up bright and early on Thursday and headed out to do a double masters workout. 2 swimming miles is apparently 3300 yds. Perfect. I had wanted to take my picture from the back putting on my goggles with the pool ahead of me but about 50 or 60 swimmers who were in town for the Olympic swim trials were there that morning and that just seemed too weird. The masters set included

600 pks warm up
4x150 free getting faster within the 150 RI:10
16x25 IM order RI:05
4x200 (2 pull, 2 kick) RI:05

Then I was told to warm down. Um... I need at least 900 more yds coach. She was a rookie (not my usual coach) and didn't have anything else planned for me and just then two guys jumped in my lane for the next practice. They started their 600 warm up and so I just added myself to their circle swim and swam a 900. Why not? Felt good, did the first 700 at race pace and the last 200 as a warm down.
Total time for practice and the extra 900 - 1:20

T1: 4 hrs 10 min
I had a buddy coming in from out of town to ride and run with me. So I took some time during T1 to have some breakfast, calibrate my ipod, run to Target and the bookstore and play my guitar.

Bike: 28.05 miles
E and I rode south on the Keystone Trail with the wind. That meant that at our self proclaimed turn around we had the wind in our faces. I ate every 30 minutes, drank Gatorade every 15 and sipped on water from my Camelbak throughout but my legs were still tired from Sunday's longish brick and it was a somewhat challenging ride. I wore my local team's sleeveless triathlon jersey and the pockets are minimal so no room for the camera.
Bike time - 1:40
Pace: 16.3

T2: 10 minutes maybe?
Enough time to change into running clothes and grab a visor for me and a hat for E.

Run: 8.2 hot, sweaty, thirsty miles
We headed out with no water bottles or fuel belts. I tried to pick a fairly shaded route but its hot and humid in Nebraska in the summer no matter where you run. We were about 3.5 miles in and I could tell E was not feeling awesome. He is in great shape but hadn't had lunch. We ran the back half of the loop and then came back around looking for a water fountain. At this point I accidentally reset my Nike ipod+. Totally annoying. We figured out how much further it was and headed out on the sun baked Keystone trail for a mile and a half or so. We finally turned around and headed back home. I never run in just a sports bra but I was so hot and miserable I peeled off the tank top. I'm not proud of it but it felt good to be free of that sweaty shirt. I had to walk for about 200 yds as we headed home due to cramps in my pelvis and low back, not sure what that was all about. Ran the giant hill up to my house and it was over.
Run time: 1:15
Pace: 9:08 min/mile

So no pics, but got the job done!
Happy birthday to me.

An Olympian in our midst

2008-07-08T05:42:00.008-06:00

I have a couple of things that I am behind in writing about but this definitely trumps them for the moment.

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

I swam in the lane next to Kate Ziegler last night at Masters.

Yeah, I actually got kicked out of my lane because she needed it. (Thanks, coach.)

Anywho, a little about this swimming phenom for those of you who have been living under a rock for the last week as the US Olympic Swim Trials conclude in Omaha, NE.
Kate finished 2nd to Katie Hoff in the 400 free and won the 800 free at the Olympic Trials, earning her spot in Beijing. In addition, Kate has the 1500 m world record by nearly 10 seconds. She demolished Janet Evans long standing record.

It is amazing that the women's 1500m free event does not yet exist at the Olympics. If it did, would Kate Ziegler be the girl version of Ian Thorpe? I think she would easily win the 400, the 800 and the 1500 meter events.

Anywho, we did a synchronized flip turn before she was so far ahead of me I could hardly see her... and it was magical.

Hy-Vee Pics

2008-07-06T06:40:00.014-06:00

Unfortunately, I didn't get a lot of great pics this year. I was standing in a different spot (obviously, since it was a different course) and it just wasn't as good as last year.

But, regardless, here are a few of the photos I took. Enjoy.

T2 before the women came through the first time.

Greg Bennett setting up his T2 prior to the start of the men's race. Here he was talking to the crowd. There were some cute little boys in the front row who asked for his autograph and he was super nice about it and signed a bunch of things for people.

I think this is Sara McLarty and Sarah Haskins coming through leading the bike.

These last three are of Sarah Haskins running through T2. Good to see that even the pros accidentally leave their helmets on as they race through transition and head out on the run. Oops.

One of the bikes didn't get racked very well and fell over as she left transition. A race official righted it.

Emma Snowsill after the first of four(?) loops.

Emma Moffatt looking strong, trying to chase down the leader.

Julie Ertel looking ripped!

Sara McLarty in her baby blue USA race suit? A little strange but she is fast enough to pull it off.

Reed trying to get his T2 just perfect. It was funny to watch him walk back to it and pull on the rack about 3 times.

NBC camera guys.

Men on the bike.

Simon Whitfield in the red. Love that guy.

Did I mention that I was totally rooting for Simon.

Rana, Kemper and Reed running hard prior to Reed dropping out.

Henning from Denmark ran his way to another 1st place. Pretty amazing.

Here's Andy Potts trying hard to earn an Olympic slot. Unfortunately he just couldn't pull it off today.

Henning, Bennett, and Whitfield running in the lead pack.

So, it was a fun race to both race in and then watch. A long day but totally worth it.

After a brief hiatus...

2008-07-04T17:20:00.004-06:00

...we're back!

So, there was a brief break in Internet usage as well as lights, refrigeration, laundry, air conditioning, and anything else requiring electricity. A week ago, a crazy storm blew through Omaha at 100+ mph. Yeah, hurricane force winds in the middle of the United States along with sideways rain, hail, and LOTS of damage. This left 200,000 homes without power lasting from a couple of hours to still a week later. We were without power for about 72 hours give or take. Basically a whole weekend. It was not a big problem as it was cool outside and we have a gas water heater. So we opened our windows, lit candles, broke out the headlamps, and ate bagels. I had to throw out everything in our fridge, and I mean everything. But I have to say that if that was the worst of the problems we had it was no big deal. Check out the damage in some of the photos below. It was unbelievable. Huge trees were completely uprooted, grass and all. The traffic lights were out at almost every intersection in the city! There were fires from down lines, accidents from people running all the 4 way stops. It was crazy. It was eerily quiet because no air conditioners were running but there were nonstop sirens from police and ambulances piercing the air.

This is the side of my car facing West after the storm blew through. Oops, should have put that in the garage.

This is a look down the street. (Yes I have to run and bike up that hill after every workout to get home.) All those "bushes" are trees and branches that are down. This was just after the storm. Everyone was outside and it got sunny. Weird.

This is the neighbors gazebo. They had a lot of damage to their garage, trees, garden, and yard.

These two are of the back alley where the transformer blew. What a mess!

This last one is of a house in the neighborhood. Three of their trees on the west side of the house were uprooted and these were HUGE trees. One of them went through their house and into a bedroom. The car in the background also got crushed flat. Unreal.

Well, we now have power back and I am going to play a little catch up with pro pics from HyVee and my B-Fit B-Day Challenge from yesterday!

Hy-Vee Triathlon

2008-06-24T15:03:00.008-06:00

It was a good weekend.

I woke up Saturday morning to do a nice 5 mile run. I didn't do any training on Thursday or Friday and was ready. I also hadn't had a good run since before I had been sick. I felt great. Ran Kona to the fountain, let her go "swimming/wading" walked back up the stairs and headed back towards home. Showered, finished packing and headed out.

I drove the 2+ hours to Des Moines, IA and then got lost on the way to the mandatory pre-race briefing. Finally found myself and went in to listen to them tell us all about the changes for the race, not to draft, and all about the course. If you have read any of my earlier posts or have been following, this triathlon was changed to a duathlon due to the exceptionally high water levels and bacteria in the lakes. Apparently this cleared up a little with some sunny, warm weather and the triathlon was back on, just in a different location in West Des Moines, IA. I checked my bike in, dropped off my T2 bag 2.5 miles away, had some dinner, and crashed out. My alarm went off at 3:45 am the next morning and I pulled myself out of bed. It is at this moment before each race where I think to myself, "I pay money to do this? I actually love this sport?" It usually only takes me about 30 seconds to snap out of it but wow, 3:45 is still totally night-time.

Transition opened at 4:30, I think, and closed at 5:45. The first wave went off at 5:45 (physically challenged athletes) and the first age group wave went off at 6 am. We had to park our cars at a local mall and be shuttled into the race venue due to the sudden change in location and the lack of parking. There were 35 giant buses going back and forth. You had to be very organized though because if you left something in your car you were 3.5 miles away and would probably be out of luck. The other issue was extra gear. Note that we were in two different transition areas. So the plan they gave us at the briefing was this; drop off bike in T1 and running stuff (shoes, visor, race number, gels) in T2 the night before. It has rained like crazy in Des Moines so I put all my stuff in a plastic sack and then put that in my transition bag mainly so my shoes wouldn't get wet. Then in the morning after you got T1 all set up, you put everything in a white plastic trash bag with your name and number on it. After you came out of the water, you were supposed to put EVERYTHING in that white bag before you left on your bike and volunteers were going to come around and pick up all the white bags and drop them off in T2.

Swim:
1500 m
29:31
1:47/100 yds

My wave was a little late getting in the water. We had to wait for jet skis to pull two people to shore. Not sure what happened there but I can tell you that if I paid the kind of money I did, traveled to the race and got my butt out of bed at 3:30 I would sure as heck do everything in my power not to DNF in the first 100 yards, although I realize there are times when calling for help is the best decision. Apparently there was a man a few waves after mine (45-49) that had a heart attack in the water 150 m from the beach and was pulled out. They resuscitated him but he died after being life flighted to the hospital. Super sad. My swim was ok. I started inside and got trapped by a bunch of girls flailing about. I went under one, over another, and around a few more to find some clear water. I am a strong swimmer but I am not used to wearing a wetsuit. I borrowed one from a friend and it fit pretty well. I hadn't been in the water in it at all because there are very few places to open water swim in my neck of the woods. Speaking of necks, mine was definitely being rubbed by the wetsuit but it wasn't unbearable. This was the first time I have ever really thought about my form as I swim open water. I kept hearing my masters swim coach telling me to keep my left arm low, pull long and strong, and roll. It felt pretty darn good to be moving and I ended up passing people from several waves in front of me.

T1:
2:16

Stripped my wetsuit very easily, ran into T1 and straight to my bike. It was a bit of a run through a giant transition area but I found my bike quickly, got into my shoes, grabbed my nutrition, helmet, glasses, shoved everything into my trash bag and was off.

Bike:
1:17:57
19.13 mph average

I had a KICK ASS bike ride. Last year I rode conservatively. I was trying to get my nutrition organized and my goal last year was not to be sick when I got done. This year, I hammered. I just wanted to see how it would go. And guess what!? I freaking passed people. Over and over, I passed people. Who would have ever thought? I know! So, one interesting thing was that early this morning I had decided to take the unlocker thingy for my car off the key chain and leave my keys in my car. I wasn't all that confident that my trash bag would make it to T2 with my keys so I thought I would just tuck that in my tri top pocket. However... when I got to T1 it dawned on me that putting something electronic in a soaking wet pocket was probably a recipe for mechanical failure. So what did I decided to do? I held the stupid thing for 20 miles of the bike. Yeah, no kidding. Not awesome. But regardless, the bike went well, I rode hard and felt great on the hills. I ate half a package of lime Sport Beans at mile 5 or so and drank most of a bottle of Gatorade Endurance throughout. I also sucked on two Enervit Tabs towards the end of the ride. I really wished that I had brought water. I need to figure out a new hydration plan for the HIM in July. I don't have room for another bottle cage on the frame of my bike and my aero bars were fit too close together for an aero bottle so I am going to have to go to bottles behind I think.

T2:
3:18

I know, I know, it looks like I stopped and had a sandwich, and a pickle, and a whole watermelon but really what happened was this... Coming down towards transition I pulled my left foot out of my shoe and as I did that my calf cramped. I have never had a muscle cramp while I was working out and I quickly pulled my toes back to release the gastroc, the exact same thing happened on the right and I had to take a sharp left turn as I was trying to pull up my toes on my right foot. Because I was distracted with that problem I left my left pedal down on a sharp left turn and caught my shoe on the ground. It popped off and went flying. I checked behind me to make sure no one was there and turned around to go get it. Just as I got there some well-meaning volunteer picked it up and chucked it across to the other side of the street, no kidding. Damn. So I rolled over to it and put my foot back in my shoe so that I could clip back in and pull my foot out... again. And again, my calf cramped briefly. I was shaking my head with a scowl I am sure and somebody in the crowd yelled to me, "Go have a good run!" That made all the difference in the world. I have no idea who said it but it was perfect. I rode up to the dismount line, jumped off and took off into transition. I was still a bit flustered and mind you I was now in a whole different transition. I could not remember where my rack spot was. I was totally turned around. They were numbered and I remember standing there thinking, "crap, I have no idea where I need to be". I started checking numbers and finally figured it out but man, it felt like forever. I threw my bike on the rack, pulled open my bag, ripped open the plastic sack, sock, shoe, sock, shoe and grabbed my visor but couldn't find my race number. Why the heck wasn't it in the bag! I took a breath and checked the transition bag again and found it on my race belt. For some reason it hadn't gotten into the plastic bag but all was well. (Oh, and in case you were wondering, I left my car unlocker in my cycling shoe.)

Run:
52:15
8:24 min/mile avg

I took off trying to keep a faster turnover than I usually use. Apparently that works, my splits may be slightly off but here are the approximates
Mile 1: 7:15
Mile 2: 8:05
Mile 3: 8:10
Mile 4: 8:20
Mile 5: 8:40
Mile 6 + .2: 9:40
Apparently I am in need of a little more fitness in order to maintain but overall I was pretty happy with this. I walked the last two aid stations because I was starting to feel the effects of the heat and I walked about 20 steps on a step hill at the end but other than that I felt good. The last 2 miles I was all about just getting it done but I really still was doing great. I have to admit that I was cursing the people with "R"s, for relay, on their legs. Lucky people with fresh legs. I kept thinking, "don't you dare walk, you relayers. You have no idea how lucky you are!" The only nutrition I used on the run was one Enervit tab and water at each aid station.

After the race was just a giant mess of trying to get to your car, find your way back to T2, get your bike, find your bag with your number on it. It was ugly and I think I will spare you the details. I do have to commend the volunteers and race officials and director. It was a well done race for having to get things organized for that many people in less than a week. There were some little kinks that weren't great but just being flexible and understanding went a long way. Congrats to West Des Moines and to the race director for doing a great job and doing the best they could with a lot of people under the circumstances!

So, totals:
2:45:15
15/69 in age group (F 25-29)
521/1257 Overall
84/400 for Overall Female

I believe this was a P.R. for me but I haven't confirmed that quite yet. In the next post I will post some pics of the pros. It was so much fun to watch them again this year. Hunter Kemper and Sarah Haskins both joined the US Olympic team! Yay.