If you know me well, you probably know that the past year I've been making efforts to reduce my screen time. I've done things like putting my laptop in the den, so that I have to go there with more purpose. (I used to keep it in our great room and I'd sit on my couch when I used it.) I made a rule for myself that I'm not allowed to be on my computer when Riley comes home from school. I have a snack and a visit with him and give him my full attention. I've come to realize that I just don't feel very well after I've been on the computer for a long stretch. I feel more tired, kind of down and fuzzy-brained, almost as if the computer has sucked out a bit of my zest and happiness. Weird hey!
So I will continue writing my blog but it might be a little more sparse and sporadic.
Second day of swim club went really well. I was literally the slowest person there. My dad would normally take that blessed title but he couldn't make it to swim club today. I really don't mind being the slowest. It means I have the most room for improvement and will probably benefit most from being there. I love being surrounded by faster swimmers because it's inspiring. I'm not sure they all love having me there though. I'm kind of like the "difficult" child at school who takes all the teacher's time. I ask a lot of questions and probably get more of our coach's attention than anyone else. Oh well. Too bad for them that they're not as slow as me.
I ran 21 km last Monday and it felt kinda brutal. Our 10 day holiday really gave my fitness a kick in the pants. It seems like my hamstrings and IT band tightened up and it's causing me a little knee pain. Yep, I like to self-diagnose. So I have 2 weeks to get my butt in gear and ready for the Harvest Half Marathon. My fitness is not going to be at the same level it was for the Hawaii half Ironman. At that race I ran the half in 1:55 after swimming 2 km and biking 90 km. Plus it was a tough, hilly course. At the Harvest Half I think I'll be aiming to go sub 2 hours. It's the off season for me, so I'm focusing more on swimming and strength training and well, having fun.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Swim Club
I started swim club today with my dad. He sent me this picture last week, joking that he'd be wearing a pair of "skimpies" like this. Those stripes are highly unflattering.
As we headed over, I felt grateful to be trying something new. I had that blessed apprehension that comes when you put yourself outside of your comfort zone. I hope that as an adult, I am continually willing to do this. I could see how my life could go either way: I could continue doing "comfortable" things that are familiar or I could swallow my pride and head out into the unknown for adventures. Swim club is one of those unknown adventures to me.
I can already see that my swimming is going to improve by participating. Our coach made us more aware of the 29 muscles in our core and the importance of firing these muscles to have correct body position. I feel like that's going to be key for me. The first Tuesday of every month (starting in October) we are going to do time trials of 500 m, 1000 m and 1500 m. For the first month, she's having us work more on our kick to strengthen up our legs. Now, I have never really attempted the dolphin kick previously, except in jest but apparently this is one of our coach's favorites. I told my dad as we drove home that from now on if I ever need a reason to smile I will picture in my mind him doing the dolphin kick. He said he noticed a few lifeguards gather on the edge of the pool, possibly to observe his attempts. He claimed to have a hard time making it fluid.
Joking aside though, I am really grateful to spend this time with my dad and glad that he's up for an adventure with me. I'm looking forward to spending more time together. I'm also looking forward to seeing my swimming improve. Look out triathlon world, I'm going to be coming out of the water quicker from now on.
Me and my dad before the chinook tri a few years ago.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Olympic fever.
Any of you see the Nike commercial during the Olympics??
Well, it entered my subconscious and I've been thinking a lot about greatness lately. What is greatness? How do I achieve it? What does it look like in my life and sphere of influence? These questions have really been weighing on me.
These are big and tricky questions. I don't have the answers. I've just been doing a lot of brainstorming. I've been reflecting on the races that Adam and I have completed this past year. We now have the title, 'ironman' but does that title make us great? Perhaps in that area of life but what about the other areas? Greatness as a mother, as a wife, as a friend etc. Greatness in these areas becomes a little more vague. There isn't a race to complete and the process is ongoing. The results can't be measured by a finishing time. So how are they measured?? Even in my ironman race, the finishing time was awful but I overcame so much to finish, qualifying for a measure of greatness because of the enormity of the task. Also, every athlete knows that greatness isn't achieved in the race, it's achieved in the training. It's day in and day out, putting in the hours and the time and walking up to that starting line PREPARED. That is a measure of greatness.
I think it's a case of "Olympic fever". At least that's what I'm going to label it. Me and Adam have been such hard core Olympic fans. We normally watch zero television but we ordered cable just for the Olympics. Yeah, we're that hard core. Watching all these athletes compete awakened in me the dreams that I have of being a world class athlete. But, even my ever encouraging parents had to be realistic when I asked them if they thought I could make it to the Olympics. My dad smiled and said, "in what event?" "In triathlon", I responded. Out of love he resisted bursting out laughing, as we both know that I'm too old to start down that path. So that left me with a feeling of "then what??" If not the Olympics, where am I going to find my greatness?
I felt a measure of greatness here.
But that greatness would be empty and short-lived if that's the only area that I felt like I was experiencing greatness. So here are some of my thoughts...
Greatness is sometimes visible to many, sometimes visible to only yourself and God. Some of my greatest moments in life had no applause or approval. My only reward for these quiet acts was a sense of peace and a comfort that I had done something good.
I think greatness involves planning with wisdom and then having the discipline to execute that plan. Sometimes wise planning requires relying on the wisdom of someone else. There's no way I could have prepared well for Ironman without a coach. Other areas of life require relying on the wisdom of others too....like in motherhood.
Greatness sometimes involves doing something different or unusual and it something involves doing something very ordinary. Some may see greatness in my races and athletic pursuits but I see greatness in a friend of mine who, from my perspective, excels as a mother. Greatness can be ordinary, or not.
Greatness might have something to do with fulfilling a divine mission. I believe that God has a plan for our lives. There will be callings that will come to each of us, some 'official', some very unofficial and personal. When we embrace and fulfill these callings, that is greatness. Some of these callings will only come into our lives as we have an open mind, are willing and are courageous.
I have wondered whether to continue with this blog. The only reason I do it is to inspire and help others. I have a journal and I enjoy writing in it, so that's not why I blog. I try not to be a prideful boaster, so that's not why I blog. I love people. I want to do my eensy weensy part to help others, so I figure a blog can help me do a bit of good in the world. I want others to dream and set goals. I do not think everyone should do triathlons though. Two reasons for that: then the sport would get more competitive (wink, wink) and I would have a hard time getting a top finish AND greatness looks different in every person's life. What I hope for you is that you will take a look at your life, have a conversation (or many) with God and try to figure out what greatness means for you in your life at this time. Be open to things you may not have considered. Be willing to dream. Be willing to do things that are amazing. Be willing to do things that are simple and receive no applause. Be willing to be great.
Well, it entered my subconscious and I've been thinking a lot about greatness lately. What is greatness? How do I achieve it? What does it look like in my life and sphere of influence? These questions have really been weighing on me.
These are big and tricky questions. I don't have the answers. I've just been doing a lot of brainstorming. I've been reflecting on the races that Adam and I have completed this past year. We now have the title, 'ironman' but does that title make us great? Perhaps in that area of life but what about the other areas? Greatness as a mother, as a wife, as a friend etc. Greatness in these areas becomes a little more vague. There isn't a race to complete and the process is ongoing. The results can't be measured by a finishing time. So how are they measured?? Even in my ironman race, the finishing time was awful but I overcame so much to finish, qualifying for a measure of greatness because of the enormity of the task. Also, every athlete knows that greatness isn't achieved in the race, it's achieved in the training. It's day in and day out, putting in the hours and the time and walking up to that starting line PREPARED. That is a measure of greatness.
I think it's a case of "Olympic fever". At least that's what I'm going to label it. Me and Adam have been such hard core Olympic fans. We normally watch zero television but we ordered cable just for the Olympics. Yeah, we're that hard core. Watching all these athletes compete awakened in me the dreams that I have of being a world class athlete. But, even my ever encouraging parents had to be realistic when I asked them if they thought I could make it to the Olympics. My dad smiled and said, "in what event?" "In triathlon", I responded. Out of love he resisted bursting out laughing, as we both know that I'm too old to start down that path. So that left me with a feeling of "then what??" If not the Olympics, where am I going to find my greatness?
I felt a measure of greatness here.
But that greatness would be empty and short-lived if that's the only area that I felt like I was experiencing greatness. So here are some of my thoughts...
Greatness is sometimes visible to many, sometimes visible to only yourself and God. Some of my greatest moments in life had no applause or approval. My only reward for these quiet acts was a sense of peace and a comfort that I had done something good.
I think greatness involves planning with wisdom and then having the discipline to execute that plan. Sometimes wise planning requires relying on the wisdom of someone else. There's no way I could have prepared well for Ironman without a coach. Other areas of life require relying on the wisdom of others too....like in motherhood.
Greatness sometimes involves doing something different or unusual and it something involves doing something very ordinary. Some may see greatness in my races and athletic pursuits but I see greatness in a friend of mine who, from my perspective, excels as a mother. Greatness can be ordinary, or not.
Greatness might have something to do with fulfilling a divine mission. I believe that God has a plan for our lives. There will be callings that will come to each of us, some 'official', some very unofficial and personal. When we embrace and fulfill these callings, that is greatness. Some of these callings will only come into our lives as we have an open mind, are willing and are courageous.
I have wondered whether to continue with this blog. The only reason I do it is to inspire and help others. I have a journal and I enjoy writing in it, so that's not why I blog. I try not to be a prideful boaster, so that's not why I blog. I love people. I want to do my eensy weensy part to help others, so I figure a blog can help me do a bit of good in the world. I want others to dream and set goals. I do not think everyone should do triathlons though. Two reasons for that: then the sport would get more competitive (wink, wink) and I would have a hard time getting a top finish AND greatness looks different in every person's life. What I hope for you is that you will take a look at your life, have a conversation (or many) with God and try to figure out what greatness means for you in your life at this time. Be open to things you may not have considered. Be willing to dream. Be willing to do things that are amazing. Be willing to do things that are simple and receive no applause. Be willing to be great.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Sometimes mom whines too.
In the past three Saturdays we have biked for over 150 kms as a family.
The first Saturday, we biked from Canmore to Lake Minnewanka to Banff and back. Wow, the scenery was incredible. The climb to Lake Minnewanka was challenging, as it was a pretty long uphill but then it was a tonne of fun going back down. When we asked our kids what their favorite part of that ride was, they said it was the ice cream we had in Banff. Not the world-class scenery, it was the ice cream. All right. At least they appreciate a good Mcdonald's cone. It did taste pretty amazing but most things do when you've worked up an appetite by exercising outside.
The next Saturday we parked up at Pierce Estate park and biked over to the Stampede grounds, around behind the Talisman Centre and then down to the Glenmore Reservoir and back. A good reminder that you really haven't seen the beauty that Calgary has to offer until you've hit the trail system. It is so incredible.
This past Saturday we decided to start from our house and ride over to the Glenmore reservoir and back. My legs were tired to start with because I had been doing weights all week and had run almost 2 hours the day before. It was a 58 km loop and as you can imagine, Adam and I end up doing most of the work pulling the tag along bikes. The kids do pedal but it's kind of a casual rotation of the crank, rather than a real driving push.
As we got closer to the turnaround point, Adam seemed like he wanted to go for the yellow jersey and I had a hard time keeping up. This annoyed me somewhat, so I may or may not have done some whining about that when we stopped for our snack. Then Adam noticed that Riley's front tooth was looking gray-ish. It's been loose for weeks but he has resisted our attempts to let us pull it out because he wanted it to "fall out on it's own." We've respected his agency, trying to give him control over his own body but we reminded him that the tooth needed to come out. So he turned away, gave it a pull himself and out flew the tooth into a pile of gravel. Hmmm....that's great, but now we need to actually find it.
After finding the little item, we headed back. This time I was determined to win the jersey and asked Adam if Kyla and I could lead. We make it back to the Ranche (25km) in an hour. After another snack/washroom break we started on the last short leg home. Adam thought we should loop around to the north bridge but as we started that way I realized my legs were shot and I was officially a whiny momma. Adam said, "if you stop whining I'll give you a foot rub when we get home." He also reminded me of the quote by Jeffrey R Holland that I always remind him of when he's the whiny one. "Nothing is so bad that whining won't make it worse." My mature little four year old was also buoying me up from behind. "Mom, don't worry, we're almost there. Just enjoy it."
Sometimes mom whines too.
Oh and we've decided that we are now the touring Mexicans.
The first Saturday, we biked from Canmore to Lake Minnewanka to Banff and back. Wow, the scenery was incredible. The climb to Lake Minnewanka was challenging, as it was a pretty long uphill but then it was a tonne of fun going back down. When we asked our kids what their favorite part of that ride was, they said it was the ice cream we had in Banff. Not the world-class scenery, it was the ice cream. All right. At least they appreciate a good Mcdonald's cone. It did taste pretty amazing but most things do when you've worked up an appetite by exercising outside.
The next Saturday we parked up at Pierce Estate park and biked over to the Stampede grounds, around behind the Talisman Centre and then down to the Glenmore Reservoir and back. A good reminder that you really haven't seen the beauty that Calgary has to offer until you've hit the trail system. It is so incredible.
This past Saturday we decided to start from our house and ride over to the Glenmore reservoir and back. My legs were tired to start with because I had been doing weights all week and had run almost 2 hours the day before. It was a 58 km loop and as you can imagine, Adam and I end up doing most of the work pulling the tag along bikes. The kids do pedal but it's kind of a casual rotation of the crank, rather than a real driving push.
As we got closer to the turnaround point, Adam seemed like he wanted to go for the yellow jersey and I had a hard time keeping up. This annoyed me somewhat, so I may or may not have done some whining about that when we stopped for our snack. Then Adam noticed that Riley's front tooth was looking gray-ish. It's been loose for weeks but he has resisted our attempts to let us pull it out because he wanted it to "fall out on it's own." We've respected his agency, trying to give him control over his own body but we reminded him that the tooth needed to come out. So he turned away, gave it a pull himself and out flew the tooth into a pile of gravel. Hmmm....that's great, but now we need to actually find it.
After finding the little item, we headed back. This time I was determined to win the jersey and asked Adam if Kyla and I could lead. We make it back to the Ranche (25km) in an hour. After another snack/washroom break we started on the last short leg home. Adam thought we should loop around to the north bridge but as we started that way I realized my legs were shot and I was officially a whiny momma. Adam said, "if you stop whining I'll give you a foot rub when we get home." He also reminded me of the quote by Jeffrey R Holland that I always remind him of when he's the whiny one. "Nothing is so bad that whining won't make it worse." My mature little four year old was also buoying me up from behind. "Mom, don't worry, we're almost there. Just enjoy it."
Sometimes mom whines too.
Oh and we've decided that we are now the touring Mexicans.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Adventures and Strength Training
Adam and I have had some great adventures this past year.
Now I want to have some great adventures with my kids. Even at their young age, I think there's so much we could do together as a family, especially if we think creatively.
So this Saturday we are going on a bike adventure. There's a beautiful paved path that's about 60 km round trip. We'll have two tandem style bikes, so that we do the majority of the work but it's still a team effort and a family accomplishment. When I presented the idea to the kids Kyla said, "I better do my morning stretches that day so I have enough energy."
Here's our little athletes in a fun run they did a few weekends ago.
This weekend I designed a Triathlon Strength Training Program. It's based on some ideas from Mark Allen, who is an Ironman Champion. This morning I went through the exercises and figured out my starting weight for each move. I realized how much I love strength training. It's been awhile, so I've forgotten the feeling of strain, effort and fatigue that come from it. I loved how achy and tingly my body felt afterwards. I also love that by incorporating strength training into my workouts I will be a faster triathlete. One of my favorite moves is a hip flexor cable thrust. Such an important muscle for both running and cycling, that often gets overlooked.
I am pretty sure that I'll be doing a half marathon in the fall. We are just working out the details of our family vacation plans, so once we figure that out I will register. Adam wants to join a master swim club and I figure I probably should do that, since the swim is my weakest of the three. The thing is, I just love running so much that I'd rather focus on that. Hmmm....what to do???
Now I want to have some great adventures with my kids. Even at their young age, I think there's so much we could do together as a family, especially if we think creatively.
So this Saturday we are going on a bike adventure. There's a beautiful paved path that's about 60 km round trip. We'll have two tandem style bikes, so that we do the majority of the work but it's still a team effort and a family accomplishment. When I presented the idea to the kids Kyla said, "I better do my morning stretches that day so I have enough energy."
Here's our little athletes in a fun run they did a few weekends ago.
This weekend I designed a Triathlon Strength Training Program. It's based on some ideas from Mark Allen, who is an Ironman Champion. This morning I went through the exercises and figured out my starting weight for each move. I realized how much I love strength training. It's been awhile, so I've forgotten the feeling of strain, effort and fatigue that come from it. I loved how achy and tingly my body felt afterwards. I also love that by incorporating strength training into my workouts I will be a faster triathlete. One of my favorite moves is a hip flexor cable thrust. Such an important muscle for both running and cycling, that often gets overlooked.
I am pretty sure that I'll be doing a half marathon in the fall. We are just working out the details of our family vacation plans, so once we figure that out I will register. Adam wants to join a master swim club and I figure I probably should do that, since the swim is my weakest of the three. The thing is, I just love running so much that I'd rather focus on that. Hmmm....what to do???
Monday, July 16, 2012
Magrath Olympic Tri
Driving over to the race I started to feel nervous (yep I still feel nervous for every race) and I thought, "why do I do this to myself". It was 6AM and I could have been at home sleeping in my comfortable bed. But instead I was about to put my body through a short and intense triathlon. I must be such a succor for punishment. Even well I thought that, I knew that as soon as I started racing I would be having the time of my life because I love to race. Even though it hurts, it feels amazing to push yourself that way.
Putting on a wet suit is such an attractive experience:
The first lap of the swim was kind of rough. People seemed more aggressive that usual. I was kind of jostling for position with this guy next to me, when he stroked hard near my face and ripped off my goggles. I grabbed them and thought to myself, "hmmm...I've been wondering what it would feel like to have your goggles ripped off. That really wasn't so bad." Then almost as soon as I got them back on, someone else punched me pretty hard in the head. So I decided to look for some room and quit trying to jostle so much. The second lap I got into a beautiful rythym. It's kind of magical when that happens. I felt relaxed. My stroke was strong and smooth and my breathing was full and relaxed. I was loving it.
Then I pulled strong on the last stretch and came up out of the water to the sound of the cheering crowds and noticed this tall man next to me who looked familiar. "Is that Adam? No, it can't be? Wait, it is!" So I shouted, "Ad!" a few times as we jogged over to transition and he looked around confused, thinking it was a spectator calling him. Finally he saw me and looked stunned, saying nothing. I was like, "are you ok?", thinking something must have gone wrong. He responded, "yep." So I started thinking back to whether or not I had rounded all the buoys. We said nothing else cause we were both trying to hurry but when I stopped at my transition spot Adam grabbed my wet suit zipper and pulled it down. A nice gesture considering he was in a moment of great defeat at having his wife match him on the swim. My swim time: 30:57.60. Adam's swim time: 30:57.95.
It drizzled rain through the bike, so the conditions weren't ideal. The first segment of the bike was an out and back, so I counted the women ahead of me. There were 9. I wanted to pass them all. I pushed hard and could feel the lactic acid building in my legs, especially as I climbed the hills. I didn't care though. I was hoping my body would flush it out before the run but that didn't happen. I finished the 40 km bike in 1 hour 10 min plus a couple minutes for transitions.
After running the Raymond 10km race in an aerobic heart rate zone and experiencing how uncomfortable that is, I decided to race the first half of the run aerobically. My legs felt like lead, so I quickly realized that because I had pushed hard on the bike, there was no chance of a sub 45min run. I adjusted my goal to be a sub 50 min run. I ended up making that goal (barely) and had an overall time of 2:32.56. Wasn't quite what I had dreamed of but it's still a personal best for me. I was the 5th overall female.
Adam finished in 2:19.46 and was 7th overall.
We are so grateful for all the races we've been able to do this past year. It's been an amazing adventure and we're both really proud of each other and grateful for all the adventures!!
I LOVE having friends and family to race with. Macey and Sheryl, you both did amazing!
Putting on a wet suit is such an attractive experience:
The first lap of the swim was kind of rough. People seemed more aggressive that usual. I was kind of jostling for position with this guy next to me, when he stroked hard near my face and ripped off my goggles. I grabbed them and thought to myself, "hmmm...I've been wondering what it would feel like to have your goggles ripped off. That really wasn't so bad." Then almost as soon as I got them back on, someone else punched me pretty hard in the head. So I decided to look for some room and quit trying to jostle so much. The second lap I got into a beautiful rythym. It's kind of magical when that happens. I felt relaxed. My stroke was strong and smooth and my breathing was full and relaxed. I was loving it.
Then I pulled strong on the last stretch and came up out of the water to the sound of the cheering crowds and noticed this tall man next to me who looked familiar. "Is that Adam? No, it can't be? Wait, it is!" So I shouted, "Ad!" a few times as we jogged over to transition and he looked around confused, thinking it was a spectator calling him. Finally he saw me and looked stunned, saying nothing. I was like, "are you ok?", thinking something must have gone wrong. He responded, "yep." So I started thinking back to whether or not I had rounded all the buoys. We said nothing else cause we were both trying to hurry but when I stopped at my transition spot Adam grabbed my wet suit zipper and pulled it down. A nice gesture considering he was in a moment of great defeat at having his wife match him on the swim. My swim time: 30:57.60. Adam's swim time: 30:57.95.
It drizzled rain through the bike, so the conditions weren't ideal. The first segment of the bike was an out and back, so I counted the women ahead of me. There were 9. I wanted to pass them all. I pushed hard and could feel the lactic acid building in my legs, especially as I climbed the hills. I didn't care though. I was hoping my body would flush it out before the run but that didn't happen. I finished the 40 km bike in 1 hour 10 min plus a couple minutes for transitions.
After running the Raymond 10km race in an aerobic heart rate zone and experiencing how uncomfortable that is, I decided to race the first half of the run aerobically. My legs felt like lead, so I quickly realized that because I had pushed hard on the bike, there was no chance of a sub 45min run. I adjusted my goal to be a sub 50 min run. I ended up making that goal (barely) and had an overall time of 2:32.56. Wasn't quite what I had dreamed of but it's still a personal best for me. I was the 5th overall female.
Adam finished in 2:19.46 and was 7th overall.
We are so grateful for all the races we've been able to do this past year. It's been an amazing adventure and we're both really proud of each other and grateful for all the adventures!!
I LOVE having friends and family to race with. Macey and Sheryl, you both did amazing!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
One more triathlon.
This Saturday will be our last triathlon of the year. I say that but I suppose it's possible that we'll end up doing another one. It's the last one we have planned though.
So, that means we'll be holding nothing back and racing hard. Why not?? I really love these local races. They are so great for the confidence. Last year I placed fourth out of the females. This year I would love to win it, so we'll see. I know I'm faster at all three sports than I was last year but I'm not sure if it will be enough to win.
I am excited to swim in a wet suit because it's been awhile. I love how it puts your body in perfect position. Flat on the water. I am kind of hoping to hit my sub 45 min goal on the run but Adam thinks I'm crazy because he doesn't think I'll have the legs for it after swimming and biking hard. We'll see. I just find it fun to try and am really excited for this race.
My legs are still tight from Raymond, so I'm hoping that if I stretch twice/day and ice them a bit, they'll be ready to race hard Saturday! Wish me luck.
So, that means we'll be holding nothing back and racing hard. Why not?? I really love these local races. They are so great for the confidence. Last year I placed fourth out of the females. This year I would love to win it, so we'll see. I know I'm faster at all three sports than I was last year but I'm not sure if it will be enough to win.
I am excited to swim in a wet suit because it's been awhile. I love how it puts your body in perfect position. Flat on the water. I am kind of hoping to hit my sub 45 min goal on the run but Adam thinks I'm crazy because he doesn't think I'll have the legs for it after swimming and biking hard. We'll see. I just find it fun to try and am really excited for this race.
My legs are still tight from Raymond, so I'm hoping that if I stretch twice/day and ice them a bit, they'll be ready to race hard Saturday! Wish me luck.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Raymond 10 km race report.
Imagine the fastest pace that you can run. Ok, now imagine holding that pace for 46 minutes and you'll basically understand what I did last Saturday. It was kinda painful. I may have said a few "mormon" swears under my breath during the race to express how I really felt.
You'd think that with the amount of races I've done I would know how important pacing is. It's just that running a road race feels "new-ish" to me because I've been so absorbed by triathlons for the last 6 years. Plus this is a really short distance for me, so it was tough to know what pace I could actually hold.
Only about 100 competitors felt like a small group. We all lined up and I was chatting with a couple girls waiting when the gun shot took us by surprise. I ran off and just kept with the top group, just behind "the girl in the blue top". There was one other girl out front of us but she didn't look like much of a runner, so I figured she'd drop off soon enough and I didn't need to worry about her (I know, I'm judging...but I was right). I looked down at my watch and was like, "oh man, we're holding a 4 min/km pace". I didn't mean to start out that fast but I felt good at the time and wanted to stick with the lead females, so I held the pace. At about 4km we ran up 'Temple Hill' holding a sub 5min/km pace and I totally killed my legs doing that. I was still behind "the blue shirt girl" but another chick had managed to pass us both and was incrementally increasing her lead.
I wanted to take the female lead on the downhill and tried to will my legs to do so but they would not cooperate. They felt like lead and didn't want to "fly" with me. So we chugged. At least it felt like chugging but it was still a fast pace. At about 8 km I had some good self talk. "Ok Kim. I know you have hardly anything left but remember Hawaii. Remember what you did there. Dig down deep and find some more. You have to leave it all on this course or you're going to be disappointed with yourself." So I found another gear and picked up my pace enough to finally pass the "blue shirt girl". The lead female was only a couple hundred meters ahead of us, so in a spirit of camaraderie, I said to my blue-shirt friend, "come on, let's catch her." I guess in my head I figured that if we worked at it together, it might be possible. Apparently she didn't have another gear to find because I just carried on right past her.
I tried to catch that lead girl but realized that it just wasn't going to happen and decided that 2nd place female was pretty darn good. I kept looking over my shoulder to make sure that 2nd place didn't become 3rd place. I tried to sprint but it was probably really ugly and awkward. Understandable, since I had basically been sprinting for 10 km. At the finish line I asked Adam, "how did you do?" between gasps for air. He showed me his watch which had been paused at 39 minutes and said, "good, I got second. I just couldn't catch this old guy in front of me." I was like, "sweet, we both got second." It's really a good thing because we would have been a little jealous of the other person if one of us had won. Maybe next year we'll take first.
I know I've said it before but I'll say it again. Sometimes I stand outside my life and look at it with interest. Two years ago when I was 'training' for the Magrath triathlon I only ran 10km twice because it just hurt so much to do it and I really just preferred the classes at the gym. It has been a miracle to me to watch how with consistent training my fitness has improved exponentially. It makes me believe in goals, growth, change and miracles. I've realized that I have far less limits than I thought I had. You do too!
The family reunion was a tonne of fun. I love Adam's family like my own. One highlight was the giant slip and slide...
You'd think that with the amount of races I've done I would know how important pacing is. It's just that running a road race feels "new-ish" to me because I've been so absorbed by triathlons for the last 6 years. Plus this is a really short distance for me, so it was tough to know what pace I could actually hold.
Only about 100 competitors felt like a small group. We all lined up and I was chatting with a couple girls waiting when the gun shot took us by surprise. I ran off and just kept with the top group, just behind "the girl in the blue top". There was one other girl out front of us but she didn't look like much of a runner, so I figured she'd drop off soon enough and I didn't need to worry about her (I know, I'm judging...but I was right). I looked down at my watch and was like, "oh man, we're holding a 4 min/km pace". I didn't mean to start out that fast but I felt good at the time and wanted to stick with the lead females, so I held the pace. At about 4km we ran up 'Temple Hill' holding a sub 5min/km pace and I totally killed my legs doing that. I was still behind "the blue shirt girl" but another chick had managed to pass us both and was incrementally increasing her lead.
I wanted to take the female lead on the downhill and tried to will my legs to do so but they would not cooperate. They felt like lead and didn't want to "fly" with me. So we chugged. At least it felt like chugging but it was still a fast pace. At about 8 km I had some good self talk. "Ok Kim. I know you have hardly anything left but remember Hawaii. Remember what you did there. Dig down deep and find some more. You have to leave it all on this course or you're going to be disappointed with yourself." So I found another gear and picked up my pace enough to finally pass the "blue shirt girl". The lead female was only a couple hundred meters ahead of us, so in a spirit of camaraderie, I said to my blue-shirt friend, "come on, let's catch her." I guess in my head I figured that if we worked at it together, it might be possible. Apparently she didn't have another gear to find because I just carried on right past her.
I tried to catch that lead girl but realized that it just wasn't going to happen and decided that 2nd place female was pretty darn good. I kept looking over my shoulder to make sure that 2nd place didn't become 3rd place. I tried to sprint but it was probably really ugly and awkward. Understandable, since I had basically been sprinting for 10 km. At the finish line I asked Adam, "how did you do?" between gasps for air. He showed me his watch which had been paused at 39 minutes and said, "good, I got second. I just couldn't catch this old guy in front of me." I was like, "sweet, we both got second." It's really a good thing because we would have been a little jealous of the other person if one of us had won. Maybe next year we'll take first.
I know I've said it before but I'll say it again. Sometimes I stand outside my life and look at it with interest. Two years ago when I was 'training' for the Magrath triathlon I only ran 10km twice because it just hurt so much to do it and I really just preferred the classes at the gym. It has been a miracle to me to watch how with consistent training my fitness has improved exponentially. It makes me believe in goals, growth, change and miracles. I've realized that I have far less limits than I thought I had. You do too!
The family reunion was a tonne of fun. I love Adam's family like my own. One highlight was the giant slip and slide...
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