I Can't Sleep

I have been one anxious annie for the past month or so. I've been a pretty good sleeper this past year, but every so often I get that night where I just can't keep my eyes closed. I know I'm not the only one, but I get to the point where i wake up, and that's it. Be it 1 am or 4 am, I don't even try to fall back asleep because it won't happen. Read a book, put on the tv, clean, I'm doing it.

I have a lot on my mind. Money, work, money, dentist (long story), money, friends and family, money... you get the picture. By nature I am a bit of a worry wort, but sometimes I get tired of it. It creates a lot of mess in my head and my body responds in a less than desirable way.

Don't get me wrong. This by no means happens regularly. In fact, depending on what's going on in my life, it's a few times a year thing. It's just a pain in the you know what.

Oh wait, something positive because nobody likes a Debbie Downer....

I was able to play in the snow this past weekend. Learning how to skate ski and then a run in the Yak Trax. Winter wonderland. Can't wait to hit the slopes!

Night Out
Holy Moly! Yes, I suppose I am capable of a "normal" life. It's apparent that I have not had many of thesenights out lately (or really all that often at all...ever). I went out with some friends Friday evening for a night of "relaxation" and good times. I was pretty tired after work, but it needed to be done. We started out at the West End for dinner and drinks, then to the Pearl St. Pub, and finished at the Dark Horse. I had such a good time with some great folks. Funny stories, lots of dancing, and a ton of laughing.
It was the night before Halloween, so let's just say that Halloween night, I was asleep by 9:30. In the end, it was worth it!

HotnessCompression socks... awwwwwwwwwwwww yeah

SOMA... Season Over!
This past weekend I went down to Tempe, AZ with L to do the SOMA Half Ironman. It wasn't in the plan a few months ago, but when it was suggested, I thought, "why not"?

This race was especially difficult to stay motivated for because fall is probably my favorite season in Colorado. This is the time of year that I love to get on the trails and run and run and run. The leaves turn gold and the air smells like pine. LOVE IT! However, I think I picked the right year to do a late fall race. We have had snow and temperature fluctuations that have been pretty crazy. In fact, as I write this, it's dumping outside and shows no sign of stopping. Kinda weird when I just did a race in 90 degree weather!

We left for Tempe Thursday night and had a long, but mostly uneventful drive. There was one snafu for me.. I ran over a rabbit on the I-25. It was dark, I could see it going the other direction and then it backtracked and ran right for my car. I screamed so loud! L and I couldn't stop laughing because I seriously flipped out. I think I had only just hit a bird before, so the 'klurplunk' of the poor bunny made me cringe. How awful!

Anyhow, we mostly relaxed and hung out once we were in Tempe. We did get to visit the ASU rec center which was right across the street from our hotel. Let me just say that I love outdoor pools! Saturday came and after a little spin and run, we went to the race expo to get our packets and rack our bikes. The rest of the day included a HUGE spaghetti lunch, napping, and quick dinner before bed.

Race Day:

The usual morning activity before the race. It was actually quite chilly before we took off. We had a bunch of age groups in our swim wave, so treading in the water was quite annoying with all the legs and hands moving around. Finally we were off and I was all over the place. For some reason, I just did not have a spectacular swim. I was all over the place and couldn't see a darn thing. Probably didn't help that we were one of the last few waves and I have a feeling the course may have been slightly long. A 30 minute swim is slow for me and I didn't feel that bad at all. Looking back at the times, the pros were either really slow, or my suspicion is correct.

I got out of the water seeing that my time had been what it was and did my best to have a fast transition to the bike. The course consisted of 3 loops with a lot of out and backs. There was a lot of drafting out there making it kind of frustrating, but I did my best to stay away from all of that. I took the first loop out conservatively and tried to hold steady the remaining laps. I actually felt stronger the further I went along. I was worried about my nutrition at first because I felt really full and bloated when I started out. I was eventually able to take in some gels and water and started to feel a bit better. The forecast was calling for a hot day, but the temp was probably perfect on the bike.

Came in off the bike and in all honesty, took my time a bit. I just wanted to make sure I could have my race nutrition with me and feel comfortable. I accidentally left my glasses on (It drives me nuts to run in them), so I put them on top of my hat where they actually stayed the whole time.

I felt very comfortable starting out. I was trying to work on my "mental racing" which is where I usually get into trouble. I kept telling myself that I was strong and could easily hold what I was doing. I was passing people which was something new to me. With my psoas/back issue, I am usually the one walking counting the people as they go by. Running consistently is what helps me prevent that and I had really been working on this weakest discipline for me. I could feel that that hard work was paying off. I made it through lap one and man was it getting hot. I held a steady pace and walked every aid station that last lap. It was starting to hurt, but I never felt like my pace slowed, it was the heat that was getting to me. The last few miles I did some calculations and figured out that it was going to be possible to get close to my 5:00 goal. Wow! I couldn't believe it. I got to the finish chute (which by the way was loooong) and felt a great sense of satisfaction when I realized that I had been close.. as it ends up, I did a 5:05. Happy with that!

Splits:
Swim: 30:36.0
Bike: 2:43:10.2
Run: 1:49:05.3
Final: 5:05:20.18

I have to say that I was pretty diligent with my training because I really wanted to make that 5:00 mark. As time got closer to the race the more my confidence shrunk. My run has been frustrating for years. I never know when I am going to cramp, but I know that if I don't, I am capable of great things. I tried my best to hold onto that hope. I wasn't swimming a ton before the race, so a super fast time wasn't expected. Same with the bike, I was getting some decent rides in on the weekend, but rarely got onto my bike during the week, so I was relying on the 2 spin classes that I taught. The run is what I tried to work on most. I was actually working on my pacing and even added some faster intervals into my training. That was a first. I can only wonder what I would have been able to run had I not walked every aid station the last half.


The remainder of the trip included a stop to the Grand Canyon. We figure that we were so close, so why not!? What a surreal experience. It made for a long trip home, but we made it. Now time to relax!





I promise to put pics up soon, but have a computer virus, so in time, those will follow!

Didn't Summer Just End?

What the heck is with this weather? This past weekend the temperatures dropped and we got about 4 inches of snow. The catch is that is was only October 10th... It felt like it was January! It's a different story when it's expected to be that way, but not when we are still supposed to be enjoying the fall weather and colors. I don't know about anyone else, but it throws my entire system off. I have been tired and worn out this week. Granted I have been training a bit more, but not enough to make me feel like this.

With L and I having our final race in two weeks (remind me again why I am doing a race so late in the season), we wanted to get some of our final good workouts in. We improvised and took the trainers and bikes up to my work in Longmont. It worked out well. We were able to get some time on the bike and run after on the treadmills. It felt good to get the workout done!

So, obviously my life has mostly been about training. Hence, the reason for the lack of updates. Soma will be here in about a week and a half and if anything, I am ready to get it done. I hope I feel good that day, because I know it'll be a lot of fun. I have been doing really well with my workout plan. If I can keep the sickies that have been going around away and the cramping as well, it should be a good day!

In other news I had my wisdom teeth out a few weeks ago. Yes, at 28 (almost 29... holy moly) I was told that yes, I really should get them out. Things went pretty well. The healing is a little annoying, but I am finally starting to feel like I can eat almost everything I want again! My mom came out to be there with me, which I told her she didn't need to do, but I'm glad that she did. I had her, my pup Jack, and L there all to take care of me. What a lucky girl!

Last but definitely not least, Kell KILLED it at the Augusta 70.3. Head to head with Laura Bennett to go for the win. Can we say AMAZING?!?!?! She finished behind Laura by only a few seconds to take the number 2 spot. After catching the flu right before her first Ironman, she came back strong and showed how all that hard work paid off! Way to go Kelly Belly!