I am Back...

I have been gone for quite a while though it seems like much longer!  The new addition to the family

The winter blahs, and dental surgery (yes again) has held my attention and grabbed hold of every minute of my time and energy.   For weeks I had hardly thought about the fact that I have a half marathon in five weeks or that I signed up for this crazy Ironman thing in November.  Yet, a couple of days ago as I turned the corner in my healing from my surgery, the thought of triathlon, running and Ironman  came to mind and with that the butterflies.. the nerves, the what ifs and the "Oh Shit, I need to train!"  Yep, the nerves are tingling, the reality of what is to come is setting in.  I am back.

This new puppy motherhood thing is tough!

It has been almost a week since Casey has been with us and we are all extremely tired!  I am getting my workouts in (minus one or two) and have resorted to taking vacation time in order to get the training in but it is worth it. I must say that focusing on something else for awhile has been a nice break. Instead of reading everything I could get my hands on related to triathlons, I have been searching the internet and reading all about puppyhood.  My triathlon magazines are piling up and I miss reading all of your blogs.  I hope to find the balance again soon.

A few pics of Casey.. it is a lot of work being eight weeks old!

I would like to introduce Casey

Wow, have I been away way to long!  I have so much catching up to do with all of you!
 I do have a good reason for my absence however.
Two weeks ago we decided to add a new member to the family. Since then I have been busy prepping for the new arrival, refreshing my knowledge of puppyhood and still trying to get my training in.
I would like to introduce Casey. We picked him up today and I must say I am exhausted :)

Watch the end when he charges the camera

 I am the dog whisperer :)

Maybe some people were just meant to be slow runners.

What do you think about this idea?   Do you think that some people will always run the same pace or close to it no matter how hard they try to get faster?  I have to wonder this sometimes as I read about people knocking minutes and seconds off their run pace and my pace stays the same (for the most part). While I don't run 5 times a week, I run enough that there should be some improvement. I would even feel better about things if I felt that my running was becoming more efficient even if the pace stayed the same.  I don't feel that however. It is just as hard and just as slow as it always has been.  The only exception is running downhill. That is the one time I can run at a faster pace and get an idea of what most people's "slow runs" feel like :)   Thank goodness I can ride a bike!

2010 in Review

This is the first year that I kept record of miles, yards, time and other workouts, so I don’t have previous numbers to compare it to.  My training slowed down during race season due to a dental infection and surgery that plagued me through the summer but even with that I am content with what I accomplished. 

2010 totals
Bike: 155h 53m 15s  - 2255.26 Mi
Run: 126h 36m 36s  - 685.73 Mi
Swim: 38h 33m 27s  - 104348 Yd
Strength: 28h 58m
Stairmaster: 6h 48m
Walking: 7h 53m 23s
If I had to pick one goal for 2011, it would be to get more running miles in in less time. 
126 hours is a longtime to be on your feet for that amount of miles!


A look back at 2010 (these pics look much better when clicked on)


January 2010. My first half marathon and the only one that I have completed by running the whole distance.


Beating the winter blues with  friends.


Platte River Half Marathon.  I fell apart at mile 6.5 and it was down hill from there. The ongoing battle with GI issues while running started with this race.


The new addition to the family


First tri of the season and first time racing on my new bike.



The start of the MS 150.  Not one person in line. Amazing!


Boulder Peak.  Finally got to meet Julie who was handing out finisher medals


Boulder 70.3 in the books


Aimee, Julie and me at the Iron Girl Tri.







Crescent Moon.  While a bit blurry, I like this picture because it is one of the few that shows that on occasion my feet do get off the ground


At the end of the Rock and Roll Denver Half Marathon and before the GI horror started. (do you see the pattern starting here?)


Miami Man’s famous swim cap!


Arizona Ironman 2010. Fun to be a spectator and volunteer.
  










 What is in store for 2011

Tentative. I am not sure I will be doing the whole Boulder series
4/10/11 Platte River Half Marathon 
6/19/11 5430 Sprint Triathlon
7/10/11  Boulder Peak Triathlon (Olympic)
8/7/11  Boulder 70.3
11/20/11  Ironman Arizona (gulp)

Thanks to all of you for all your support and encouragement.
A special thanks to Brian for being a great spectator and capturing my year in pictures.

Happy Holidays!

Wishing all of you a wonderful holiday season.  You are all very special!

 He is always in a rush.

"Runner Crawls to Finish to Win Title for Her Ailing Coach"

I want to thank everyone who has posted such positive comments about the news of IMAZ.  It really  means a lot to me and I appreciate the support more then you can imagine!
I have been battling the "crud" for a week and have done little to no training. I see the light at the end of the tunnel though and hope to be back at it in the next day or two.
My father sent me this article from the NY Times and I thought I would pass it on to you. It is a great story and one that I know all of you will be touched by. Runner Crawls to Finish to Win Title for Her Ailing Coach"  The article even links to the video showing the girl's efforts to finish the race.

Happy Sunday!