marathon transition clothes

 the other night when Jillian was on her way to bed, she picked out her clothes and told me that she had her "marathon transition dress and tights all ready to go"

 another snow day at home today  - temps are below freezing and we are going STIR CRAZY!!!!!

you are NOT welcome!

ff

 it was the end of the term for the big kids  - so they had the day off school.  jilly was supposed to have preschool, but it was cancelled due to cold and snow.  we had a couple of errands to run in the morning so I decided to surprise them all with a trip to the coffee shop.  but SOMEONE was NOT happy about her 3 siblings going to the coffee shop with her.  first, she did not want them to order anything.  she wanted to be the only one getting the hot chocolate.  the barista asked her if she wanted her usual drink and she just turned her head away.  she kept saying to her siblings - "you are NOT welcome here - this is MY coffee shop!"  after convincing her to order, she disappeared to her usual spot where we sit to drink our hot chocolate almost weekly.  as I carried the drinks over to our table, she sat there with a pouty look on her face and then proceeded to announce that this was HER table and mom sits HERE across from ME and you guys can go sit down way OVER THERE!!!  she was NOT happy! 

here we are at the coffee shop earlier in the week :)

 jillian wrote her name the other day during our school time and I thought it was so funny that she drew the legs coming out of the mouth of her little person........ we've been working on writing letters and let me tell you ----- it's not easy trying to teach a lefty to write an S :)

 Last night, we hosted another pizza and honey buns party --- the boy's relay team broke another record (this time a pool record for their 400 freestyle relay that was set in 1983).

 playing the Wii

 somehow they managed to have a skins/shirts football game in our family room - ugh!  but as you can see, Helen gets right in there on the action of the football game

 some of the aftermath of boys eating

 well, we were supposed to be at a swim meet in Battle Creek this morning - got the kids up at 7am to get ready for the meet and as we were about to leave, I checked my phone and found a voicemail that the meet was cancelled due to drifting snow.  so we went outside to clear the driveway, play, and .......

 ....... make snow angels!  I can still hear here belly laughs now --- she was having so much fun making snow angels with me - she would lay down, move her arms and legs in the snow and just laugh and laugh - then ask me to get her up so we could make another one. 

Helen wrote this note "Am so sorry that we are not at the swim meet"

a winter tantrum?!?!?!

On Sunday, I had 10 miles to run..... and not to my surprise it was WINDY and COLD AGAIN!?!?!  so I had what I am calling my 'winter tantrum'.  I am tired of being cold, I'm tired of wearing 3 layers to run outside, I'm tired of doing the laundry for those 3 layers, I'm tired of slippery roads, I'm tired of slushy, sloppy snow everywhere!  I'm tired of WINTER and we're only 21 days into January today.

 

So I set out to run my 10 miles on the treadmill in the basement --- or as Ross and I like to call it this winter - THE DREADMILL.

 

 picture is sideways -- but this is the temperature on my way to the gym a couple weeks ago - ugh!  -5 degrees

more winter slop in the garage - ugh!

 

After my 'winter tantrum', I did some 'thinking' on my treadmill run - I decided to make some racing goal sheets and motivational phrases to keep me going this winter.  (You can see one of the papers taped to the side of the wooden shelf to the right of the treadmill - nothing fancy --- but each phrase means something to me and keeps me going)  About halfway through my run, Ross comes downstairs with the kids and they parade around the basement with cow bells and horns - yelling GO MOMMY GO, GO MOMMY GO!  Totally made my day!

 

 

 

I taped this to my bathroom mirror - I can stare at it when I wake up at 4:30am.  I'm running a marathon in May and I've put my goal time and goal-pace per mile splits so I can focus on those during my Tempo runs.  I've only got one half-marathon (so far) in my schedule and it's in April - I would love to be around 1:32 --- hoping for 1:30 but I'll target 1:32 and see what I can do because most of my training runs this winter/early spring will be at marathon pace which is slightly slower and probably on the treadmill. 

 

my motivational phrases by the treadmill

 

 

While I was in the goal-setting mood on Sunday - I also sat down and looked at my half-Ironman and Ironman times from August and came up with my goals for this summer. 

 

I'm competing in the Long Course Nationals (half-Ironman distance) in June.  I would like to maintain my swim and bike time from 70.3 Steelhead but really improve my run time (Steelhead half-marathon time was 1:47) ...... and I think I can improve my transition times too.  (Ross would say that I can DEFINTELY improve my transition times - he tells me that I must brush my teeth and comb my hair in transition, it takes me so long!  Well, look out buddy - I'm going to work on that this summer!!!)  Last summer it took me 5+ minutes in transition at 70.3 Steelhead and I think I can do better than that :)  My ultimate goal in this race is to finish in the top 20 in my age group so I have a chance to be a part of Team USA competing in Sweden.  Wouldn't that be AWESOME!!!!   If I take my finish time from Steelhead last summer and compare it to the results from last years triathlon in Grand Rapids - I HAVE A CHANCE!  and with a time improvement - my chances are even greater!  I do expect a lot more competition in June because it is the Long Course Nationals, but we'll see.  I also placed 7th at Steelhead and there was some tough competition there trying to earn spots at the 70.3 Ironman Championships.  BELIEVE in yourself and anything is possible, right?  Yes, it is!

 

My Ironman goals are definitely going to be a challenge, but I'm up for it!  I want to maintain my swim time... I think this time was a bit skewed due to swimming in the river in Louisville but some of it was upstream too... so we'll see how that changes this time in Boulder and Madison.  I want to improve my bike time by 15 minutes.  I'm going to carry disposable water bottles this time instead of re-filling my own water bottles.  I will carry my own electrolytes but overall that should cut down on some time at the aid stations.  I'm hoping to maintain a more even pace throughout the bike too and now I know what it feels like @ mile 101 of the bike --- I can mentally get past that now which I hope will help me get to mile 112 on the bike.  I want to RUN more of the marathon and I won't be sitting on the curb @ mile 16 for several minutes trying to talk my tired body into finishing :)  I am going to add a little more running to my training schedule to prepare me for the marathon and I'm going to work on mentally preparing myself for the marathon this time too.  In Louisville, I told myself as long as I made it to the run, I would be OK ---- well, I was so tired by the time I got to the run --- it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.  I'm hoping for somewhere between a 4:45 - 5 hour marathon this time (Louisville marathon time was 5:23) ......... and the lovely transition times AGAIN.  I took 10-15 minutes in IM Louisville to transition and I WILL definitely move it along in transition this summer :) 

 

I found a really cool Ironman and half-Ironman time predictor tool at www.tricalc3.com  you can put in your pace times and it will calculate an overall race time - it also breaks down the transition times and individual sport times.  Pretty Cool!  It also has a predictor tool for Olympic and Sprint distance triathlons.

 

 the winter torture chamber - I mean --- the workout area of our basement.  Ironman Boulder training officially begins February 3rd.  We will be spending LOTS of time on these bikes going nowhere - haha!

 nice rack, huh?  just wanted to say that :)  Ross and the kids put together this bike rack during Christmas break. 

mmmmmmm -- my favorite post-workout snack right now.  Chocolate milk with a little bit of ice cubes chopped up.  YUM!  tastes like a Wendy's Frosty - try it!

 

 

I ran outside on Saturday with a very heavy heart - logging 6 miles for Meg.

 

Meg Menzies, a mother, wife and runner from Ashland, Virginia, was killed Monday morning, January 13, 2014 by a drunk driver on her morning run. Meg was training for the 2014 Boston Marathon and was an involved member of her local running club, the Richmond Road Runners.
Shortly after her death, Meg's friend Brooke Roney set up a Facebook page for an event called Meg’s Miles. I emailed Brooke today to ask how the idea started. She wrote to me,
“I posted in a running group on Facebook called Women's Running Club about my friend's death and that it's a tragic reminder of how we should all be careful on the road. Some of the women in the group were commenting about how we should dedicate our runs to Meg on Saturday the 18th. The name Meg's Miles was suggested and I just created a Facebook Event for it. I thought if people used the hashtag #megsmiles and posted pictures, thoughts, prayers, etc it would be kinda cool to have all in one place on each social media platform.”

sending the Pastor?

Yesterday afternoon was an interesting experience to say the least!!

During recess, Jayden fell on the playground.  I got a call that he had bumped his head and scratched up his nose a little bit.  I went over to the school right away to check things out.  He seemed ok.  I picked him and he was complaining that his leg hurt.  We decided to take him to the hospital for an x-ray to rule out a possible fracture. 

As I was walking in the hospital with the 4 kids, I looked up to see our Pastor walking towards us with a Bible in his hand.  (he was there visiting someone staying in the hospital) 

I'll be honest, at that point in the afternoon, I was completely panicking on the inside, trying to remain calm for Jayden and the other kids.   I was saying a few prayers... for his leg..... for his swimming 'career' over the next few months......  BUT I NEVER expected God to actually 'send' the pastor :)  The pastor walked into the waiting room with us and chatted with the kids probably knowing that I was a complete mess on the inside ----- maybe even on the outside too :) 

In the end, everything turned out fine with Jayden's leg.  We suspect he just a pulled muscle, but my heart sank briefly knowing that he could have been in a cast for the next few months.

......you never know when a prayer might be answered :)

Stingray Jilly

a few more shots of (mostly) Jillian swimming on Saturday.  She amazes me!   She improved her time in the 50 free and 25 free.

Jayden and Graham were a part of a relay team that broke a pool record that was set in 1983!  And in doing this, they have earned another pizza and honey buns party (to take place this Friday night!).  Jayden also broke 3 additional records on Saturday!  He also earned 2 state times for the 9 & 10 year old state meet in February.  Graham earned 4 personal best times and is getting within a few seconds of a Zone time in the 200 freestyle. 

At this record setting rate, I will be buying pizza for the boys on the team for the rest of the season :)  I'm happy to do it!  So proud of all of them.

The kids have 2 meets coming up this weekend (one in Battle Creek and the other one in Adrian) and I promise to get some more photos of the other kids swimming!! :)

 getting ready for her 25 backstroke

 probably need to work on this start a bit :)  but for now a celebration jump is ok!

 she's working on her side breathing already!!

 Miss Helen getting ready to start her race

 Jillian finishing backstroke

 ready for the relay...

.... and she's off!

SOAS Ambassador

I got the news in early January that I was chosen to be an ambassador for SOAS brand clothing.  www.soasracing.com  SOAS is a brand of women specific endurance sports clothing.  I'm so excited to be a part of this team!!  They make some awesome tri shorts that have extra pockets in the back for all my fuel.  The tri shorts are a little shorter than regular tri shorts and that's nice for hot summer rides but they're not too short for this mom of 4 kids :) 

 Lots of pockets in the shorts to carry all my Ironman food :)

My favorite fuel!

Lately I feel like I've been holding back during my offseason and I've been very restless --- I've painted 2 bathrooms and a laundry room, shoveled A LOT of snow (yes shoveled - no using the snow blower!!!), and even (GASP!) played video games with the kids (we got a Wii U for Christmas)!  I've been trying so hard to "rest" in this brief offseason from the NYC Marathon until my Ironman Boulder training begins the first week of February. 

Last week, I started my first full cycle of the Hansons Marathon Method for the Wisconsin (Kenosha) Marathon in May.  Last fall, I jumped into the training cycle after Ironman Louisville for a just a few weeks before the NYC Marathon --- but having great success in NYC ......3:19.59!!!!!! ..... I'm excited to see what I can do with a full training cycle.  My goal is 3:15 but my stretch goal is 3:10 ---- either time is going to be a challenge for sure but I'm ready for the challenge.  When I'm struggling with the pace, I keep reminding myself it's about being comfortable with the uncomfortable.  I can do this!!! 

Due to the cold, icy, and snowy weather we've had lately here in the lovely Midwest, most of my runs have been on a treadmill - UGH!  and when I've ventured out into the snow it's been slow going.  But I try to keep my overall goals in mind and that keeps me motivated ---- knowing that I'm now representing women out there balancing life and training is an inspiration to me too.

This weekend I plan to blog about my Ironman and half-Ironman goals this summer and how I plan to keep myself focused.

How cool is all this SOAS training and racing gear!!!!

Right after Christmas I had some fun with my racing bibs and medals --- I pinned the bibs all together and decorated our Christmas tree and then I laid the bibs all out on the floor.  I've been doing races since junior high ---- everything from a 5k to an Ironman over the years ----- from Texas to Las Vegas to NYC to Amsterdam to Berlin....... many miles in between :)

My Boston tank top in the middle

Fun with Food!

 I tried something new for dinner last night -- I made homemade egg rolls... with my own twist.  I used a cabbage mix with broccoli and shredded carrots, chicken, and a little bit of soy sauce.  I cooked them in a little bit of coconut oil.  They were a hit!  They got 6 stars --- approval from everyone which is very rare in our house. 

 not very professional looking --- but they tasted good!

 I learned a lot during my Ironman training last summer about training and fueling  ---- I learned to fuel for performance and I used a lot of natural foods as opposed to GU and Gel.  I've been talking to my kids about eating small snacks throughout the swim meet so they have enough energy for their events - which could be between 4-8 events each meet and as we move to state, zones, and regionals they transition to 2 meets in one weekend.  I talked to the coach about this and then I decided to make this poster for the kids on the swim team to teach them about how to fuel for swimming.  I looked up some information on the USA Swimming website (www.usaswimming.org) about fueling and fluid intake before and during a swim meet.  Along with the poster, I put some tips and suggestions on the back of the poster about what to eat for breakfast and what to eat if you are swimming a 25, 50, 100 or 400, 500, 1650.