Fitting in Fitness with Family

It has been about ten days since my triathlon and I have been able to continue training while the family was visiting! My mom and sister were staying with us for a bit over a week and we sure did do a lot! I'll focus on the healthy activities ;-)


Horseback Riding
After bfast (and a beer) after the tri we headed home and I napped!! It felt wonderful :-) Soon after my mom, sister and I headed up to Vail! We had a great night walking around the village and eating some great Italian :-) The next morning we headed to go horseback riding! We went in Vail this time (went to Beaver Creek with Aaron's parents) so I was interested to see the difference. Overall I enjoyed Beaver Creek better because the wranglers and the staff were so much friendlier...but the scenery and views were just as great at Vail!

Celebratory Breakfast and Beer at One World Cafe in Evergreen, CO (delicious!)

Exploring Vail Village!

Momma!

Vail behind me!

LOVE Aspens

Can't get enough

Hi Molly!

Running
Since the tri I have gotten in 4 runs! My schedule right now is Tues/Thurs/Weekend. Doing 3-4 miles on Tu/Thurs and then increasing the long run on the weekend by 1 mile each week. This last week AA and I ran to and around Wash Park and back plus a little bit (5+ miles). This was the day after a 14er so it was slow and easy pace!


Biking
Since the tri I have ridden to work twice! Last Wednesday and today. It is tiring, but it is great to have it back in the schedule!


Swimming
I want to get back to the pool! Haven't gone yet though :-(


Kickball
Prom themed :-)

Colfax Libation Army Prom

HikingTwo great hikes!


Chief Mountain, Evergreen, CO
I took Friday off and brought my mom and Molly to Evergreen for a hike (about 2.5 miles). It started at over 10,500' so it was a lot higher in elevation but the views along the hike and at the top made up for it tenfold! It was a gorgeous day up in the mountains.


It was the same day as the Aurora Theater shooting, so it was nice to get out to the mtns and clear the head a little. I had texts from friends back east that morning and had not seen the news yet. It has impacted the community a lot and hopefully there are good things that come from this. It is crazy how connected to it I feel being so close, and having a few connections that make it hit home a bit closer. I still tear up at all the news articles and hope the stories that emerge are of the heroes and the victims from this tragedy.

Sisters!

I think she is enjoying the hike!

  

Almost there!

Made it! Chief Mountain

Mt. Bierstadt, 14,060'
One of the reasons of my moms visit was to climb her first 14er! My god parents drove from Albuquerque to make the hike as well! It was also their first 14er. Aaron joined us as the expert for the day. He also wrote a great recap here.


It was a fabulous day filled with fun, excitement, tired legs, exhaustion, enjoyment and more. Within the first mile my mom had fallen in a creek - but we quickly recovered and were back on the trail. The weather was perfect with our early 6am start, but the crowds were plentiful. It took about 3 hours to get to the top where we enjoyed some nourishment and where my godfather took an unfortunate spill RIGHT at the summit. Luckily Auntie Annie was well prepared with her first aid kit and they booked it down the mountain. Mom was slow moving and being very careful. It was amazing to share this experience with my mom and my aunt and uncle and I couldn't be more proud of them! Not many folks I know their age would ever attempt this. So kudos to them! Wonderful day :-)

Headed up!

Summit pics!

Can't beat these views...

What is next
I think I mentioned AA and I are training for the Aetna Park to Park 10 miler over Labor Day. I decided to hold off on another tri until next summer and I will plan more for summer 2013. The rest of 2012 will be running, cross training, and more 14ers! La Plata is planned for Saturday :-) Plus a trip back east for a week that we are SO excited about!

(Delayed) Evergreen Sprint Tri Recap!!!

WOW! I can't believe it has already been a week since the race and I haven't reported back on it yet! My mom and sister have been visiting for over a week so there has not been a lot of time. I will save another post for all our activities during the week and leave this to just the tri.

AA and I were planning to be up at 4 to get to the transition around 5:30 so I was in bed at 8:30! I was so tired so I did not think I would have much trouble falling asleep but did not end up falling asleep until 10:30 :-( It has been SO hot and with no AC, it is not the easiest to fall asleep, plus all my nerves!! 4 AM came quick though and I was still so nervous and wasn't fully excited yet! I was so nervous that all my training would go out the window for some reason and I was worried about failing.


On the ride to Evergreen the excitement started to kick-in and I told myself (as AA was trying to get in my head), just have fun!! Once I got a grip on that I was excited!! AA was going to just drop me off at the transition but we got there early enough to get a great spot and did not have to worry about parking. We headed over to registration and were greeted by a giant Elk! I love Evergreen, and all the wildlife in the area! I got marked up (#100!) and got an awesome tech tee and pint cup for registering early! I picked a spot in the transition and got everything set. I had about an hour before the swim warm-up so I just hung out in the car while AA walked for some coffee. It was awesome having AA there for support the whole morning.


A little bit before the swim start I got on my wet suit and we headed over to the swim start. There was going to be about a hundred yards running on gravel from the end of the swim to the transition area so I wasn't sure how my feet would feel but I don't think I even noticed it. 


I got in the water and did a few breathing exercises and AA was talking with my mom and sister who were on their way over. They arrived just as the race director was going over the directions so I was happy they made it in time! The water temperature was 68 degrees, about 10 degrees warmer than they were expecting! The swim was in Evergreen Lake, which normally isn't open to swimmers, and was quite nice except a funky smell at the end :-) I was the third of four waves to leave so it was neat to watch the other waves take off (about 60 people in each). I was excited at this point to start and was so happy to have my family there cheering me on, it really helped!

Me, mom and Molly!

AA and me!!!!

We were off, and I started off in the back and let the swimmers in front of me take off. I quickly found my pace and found myself closer to the inside than normal. There were definitely more swimmers around me than usual but I was feeling good and had a good stroke going, as well as my sighting. I REALLY think all the other open water swims help me because I felt very strong and confident. I got hit a few times, but nothing awful, and the swim went by very quick. 


I ended up getting 17:04 which is my best swim time for that distance in open water! There were 24 women in my division (25-29) and I finished 10th in the swim! I figured out the average was 16:53 so I was only 11 seconds off the average :-) This ended up being my best event compared to my age group.

  

And we are off!

Getting stuck in the mud!

Swim time: 17:04

Average AG time: 16:53

10th of 24

The last few steps of the swim there thick and deep mud which made it funny to get out of! Molly, Mom and AA were all there! It was off to the transition area where I quickly started peeling off the wet suit and getting on my sneakers. My mom looked so nervous watching me! I started with my bike out of the transition and realized I forgot my watch and headed back to grab it.  I had a T1 of 2:36 and the average was 2:44. My sister and AA got great pictures of me the entire time!

happy!

Dad: why isn't she smiling? :-)

leaving transition

So I was off on the bike! It is one giant loop so no more family time but I was in the zone! As I have described, the first four miles were slightly inclined but nothing too bad. I was feeling strong still and was keeping my own pace. There was definitely some strong bikers passing me from the 4th wave, but I did not see many of my age group pass me until a group of three of them passed on the final uphill - I was kind of bummed but that was okay! The 3 miles of uphill were tough, but I was so happy to have done the course and knew exactly when to expect them! On the huge downhill I was luckily by myself and did not have to worry about other people. Aaron asked me how the people on the course were like - was it competitive? But actually, it was awesome. When women passed me they would say, "great job - keep it up" and it was just a really nice environment. There was a dad who was chatty and was riding the race with his 18 year old daughter which was really neat to see. 

As we approached the last piece it went to a no passing zone and the girl in front of me was a little confused by the course so that slowed me down but she was friendly and I didn't mind at all. All in all the race was as expected but definitely hard with those uphills! I came in at 55:45, so I was excited to be in under an hour! The average time for my age group 55:27 so I was only 18 seconds below the average. Good thing I am a pro in Excel - they really should add this feature to the results! I was 15th out of 24 for the bike.

Bike time: 55:45

Average AG time: 55:27

15th out of 24

I got in to the transition area and knew I did not have to do much since I did not have special bike shoes. It only took me 34 seconds and the average was 1:16 for T2. I got to see the family again and still had a smile on my face as I left for my run! By this time my Uncle Jerome and my cousin JP were there to cheer me on as well!!!!


I knew the first 7 or 8 tenths of the run were all uphill and it was going to be tough! I started out slow but wanted to save some energy for the hill. There were some people walking up but I tried to keep running. The final hill near the houses were so hard and I didn't feel like I was moving, but I never walked.  With the hill I think my first mile was 11 or 12 minutes! The rest of the course was downhill and easier and I was feeling good. Looking back I wish I had picked it up a little bit on the run, but at the time I was just enjoying myself. The run was nice around the lake, but there were some stairs near the dam you had to run down and back up - that was brutal! My second mile was just over 10 minutes and about the same for my third. As I rounded in near the end I saw Aaron waving my AWESOME panda flag (see below) that he made and everyone was now wearing lime green shirts! I knew I was so close! And I turned in the final sprint some overachiever guy sprinted past me so it messed up the pictures - but it was great to have all the cheers!!! My family was there right at the end and I could not stop smiling!!!!


I finished the run in 31:24 (pace of 10:08) which I was happy with, but looking at my AG I definitely lost the most time here! The average time was 28:07 which is 3 minutes and 17 seconds off the total time (average pace 9:05) putting me 21st of 24th. This was probably the biggest disappointment of the three legs. I do think I had some energy left in me and I should have run faster knowing what I know now. At the time though - it felt comfortable. I am sure some of it was endurance but I think I could have definitely gone faster - but that hill was brutal!

Run time: 31:24 (10:08 pace)

Average AG time: 28:07 (9:05 pace)

21st of 24th in AG

Coming in at the end!

Last part!

Race clock about 10 minutes off my start time

Triathlete!

My fam! With the awesome T-shirts! Thanks Molls :-)

Panda Flag!!!!

JP, Jerome, Molly, Mom, Panda, AA

My final time was 1:47:20 and the average time for my age group was 1:44:54 and I finished 15th out of 24th overall. I was above expectations on my swim and bike and happy with my overall time! I was happy with my training, especially conquering the open water swims. I will definitely be doing more triathlons and am excited to keep up with my training! The rest of the summer is pretty busy, I could probably fit in another sprint, but I think I am going to focus on a 10 mile running race over Labor Day and set my sights for an Olympic distance next year along with another Sprint! I am so happy with my achievement and excited to see what else I can achieve. I had great support at the race, and great support from other family and friends during my training :-) Stay tuned!

Final Time: 1:47:20

Average AG Time: 1:44:54

15th out of 25th in AG overall

In 36 hours I will be getting up for Race!

Well less than two days until the big race!

This week has been tough! I have been SO exhausted and my legs feel like lead, but I haven’t done very many workouts!! I got in a 5 mile run on Saturday in Chicago, a 3 mile run on Tuesday and a 2 mile run on Thursday but that is pretty much it. I did a short swim on Monday and a small bike ride Monday and really short one on Wednesday.

It is strange that my legs feel so tired because I have gotten a lot of sleep (minus last night), and my appetite has been through the roof, too! I think that has a lot to do with my nerves, although the extra food just makes me more nervous!

I am so many things…excited, nervous, scared, anxious. I know it is only a sprint distance, but it is my first and I do not totally know what to expect! I know, individually, I can complete all the events and have pretty much tried out the course (minus the swim). But, what will it be like doing all three events, moving for 2 straights hours? Have I done enough? Will I be well rested? Will I remain calm during the swim?

I know I can’t answer most of these questions until it is all said and done. So I am excited for Sunday to arrive! It’s been a busy week with social events and getting things together at the house. My sister and mom arrive tomorrow as well.

I guess this is more of a ranting post – just wanted to touch base before the race. Hopefully the next post will be filled with excitement after trying my first triathlon in Colorado!! Have a great weekend :-)

Pics are from Wedding in Chicago, Dunkin in Chicago, and AA and I attempting to steal baby Owen at Matts 30th bday dinner

Counting down the days

It is crazy I haven’t updated in 2 weeks! Everything has been so crazy!

My training has still been going really well! It would be way too long to update it all…so here are a few highlights! I have gotten in 3 runs per week. This week I only had one swim and 2 the week before. It was also bike to work day this week so my bike miles look larger! 2 bikes this week, and 3 last week!

Weekly totals (week of June 18^th and June 25^th)

Run	10.75	miles
Bike	28	miles
Swim	2050	meters
Other
Run	9.5	miles
Bike	48	miles
Swim	1250	meters
Other	Hiking

Thursday June 21^st

I completed my second stroke and stride! It went WAY better than my first! I finished the swim over 2 minutes faster! And then run I improved my pace by 45 seconds! So overall I shaved almost 5 minutes off my time. I am hoping to go this Thursday again which will be the final time before the tri next weekend.

stroke and stride results

Friday June 22^nd

Tink came to visit! We headed up to Dillon to bike around the lake. It was an awesome day with great views, and she did SO well with the altitude! She was coming straight from sea level J I also threw in some pics from camping (camped at Guanella Pass – awesome!)

Lake Dillon with Tink!

Riding, Riding

Our awesome site - Guanella Pass

Climbing things

Early morning wake up...

Tuesday June 26th 

Kickball – Tattoos and Tutus = Tat-tutu

Tat-tutu day!

 Wednesday June 27th 

Bike to work day! It is 16 miles to work and I took a different route home that was about 13 miles. Here is a pic Aaron took before we took off, it looks like I am going to my first day of school!

Bike 2 work day!

It is a great event that Denver tries to promote biking to work. I read their aim is to get the people that drive 1-3 miles to bike. While my 16 miles is a bit outside the range, it was still fun. They had some breakfast stations along the way to stop for food too!

Saturday June 30^th

Hike Mt Sherman! 14er #5 for me J

We had a great crew – 7 of us. Aaron and myself, our friends Jen and Jason (first 14er),  Kat and Kels and Sally. We were celebrating Kat’s last 14er of the season as she is moving to NYC L Her and Kelsey have done all 9 of the 14er hikes together! I’ve done all 5 of mine with AA and Kels and Kat too.

Anywho – it is located just past Fairplay, so we took 285 there Friday after work (2+ hours). We got to camp around 9 PM and were planning on rising at 3:45 AM (Jason thought it was a joke). After not the best sleep (forgot my sleeping bag) – we were ready to go at the trailhead at 5 AM. We summited at 7 AM. It was probably the easiest 14er I have done, but was still so great. The views were amazing and it was great to do in the early AM. On our way down everyone going up was already sweating bullets. Here are a few pics!

Sherman Route and Elevation

Sun coming up - Jason and Jen

Being Goofy

Group shot - Mt. Sherman!

Cool shot

Kat, Sally and Kels eating bfast!

Someone else came to the top and could take our picture

Heading back down - notice layers gone!

Sunday July 1^st

After napping for 2 hours after the hike, and getting 9+ hours of sleep, AA and I were ready for some more activities on Sunday! We headed to Evergreen in the AM to do the tri bike course again and ‘tri’ out the run!

We finished in about the same time ~1 hour but this time seemed easier and we did not stop at all! The first hard part is once you turn on to county road 475 all the way to Stagecoach.  Once you turn to Stagecoach just remember there is a downhill coming up so push it! The second hard part is right before the crazy downhill – my watch wasn’t working so I don’t have the mileage but it is right after you pass Greystone Rd around mile 7 – it might have been because I told AA the hardest part was over and there was one more climb. After you do this – the downhill to Elk Mountain Open Space is crazy. There is a tiny uphill to get to the entrance but you have a lot of speed so it is not bad!

Next we went over to Evergreen Lakehouse to start our run. It sort of started out in crazy sorts because there were troopers there and as we were walking to the start he pulled up and told us there was an Elk (cow-mom) just over the hill and that she was charging at people because the calf was near by. Of course our running course went right between the Elk and her baby. The trooper drove up and we inched behind him and luckily made it through OK.

The start of the run in UPHILL – it was HARD. After the first .75 miles and 200 ft elevation gain the rest is flat and downhill. Well – minus the staircase you have to run up! We aren’t quite sure, but I think we followed the course – and we ran on the small trail around the lake – so it could get crowded, but it will probably be thinned out by then. Both the biking and running are such a beautiful course. We saw the Elk and baby again as we were finishing. I told AA to go up to take a picture and when we looked down the hill his eyes met with the Elk – needless to say we didn’t get the picture.

AA running on trail at Evergreen Lake

Evergreen Lake

Then we stopped off in Golden and brought sandwiches and sat along the river. There were tons of people just hanging out by the river and lots of people tubing! It has been so hot in Denver and this is one great way to cool down!

Golden River

Tuesday July 3^rd

Brick workout at work (inside)

20 minutes on the cycle bike then 2 mile run on the treadmill.

I think I am still feeling it from the weekend and last week – I was TIRED! It was good to get in the workouts back to back though.

I may bike up to kickball tonight and then I’ll take tomorrow off (maybe just weights).

Unfortunately I DO NOT have tomorrow off for the 4^th of July from work! It is quarter end so my department has to come in. I’ll try not to be jealous of everyone in Wash Park and the BBQ AA is having at the house J Hopefully I will get out early!

So the Tri is quickly approaching. The next 2 weeks I want to keep the same frequency but drop the intensity. Thursday I will do the stroke and stride if I can get out of work. I am in Chicago this weekend for a wedding so I’ll see if I can get in a run. Next week I’ll just do shorter swim/bike/runs to be ready for Sunday! I am getting NERVOUS.