Week 4

Week 4 was a recovery week. It felt good to take two whole days off, my body needed it. On Saturday we ran a half marathon relay as a two person team, which we can in 4th place! This was pretty good since most teams had 4 members. This week the volume goes back up. The week has started of rough, my Tuesday swim had to be canceled due to the shitty gym pool being so crowded - I can't wait to cancel my membership once we move. Hopefully the rest of the week gets better.

Summer Schedule

We've got a lot on our plates, and I will try very hard to keep our events (mine too) - limited so that your concentration and focus, along with your training, are not diverted or moved around too much. I believe in you, and you being an Ironman. You are incredible - and I want you to achieve your goals, not only to finish, but to excel! Here is what we are signed up for so far, and I think it would be best to not obligate ourselves, physically or financially to much else.

3/27 - Half Marathon relay Libertyville
4/17 - Wedding (overnight travel involved)
4/25 - Indoor Triathlon Algonquin
5/31 (memorial day weekend, possible overnight travel)
6/20 - Warrior Dash Jolliet
7/4 (Independence Day weekend, possible overnight travel)
7/18 70.3 Racine, Wi
***8/1 RNR Chicago 13.1 (undecided)***
8/22 Danskin Sprint Pleasant Prairie, Wi
8/29 140.3 IMKY Louisville (overnight travel involved)
9/6 (labor day weekend, possible overnight travel)
10/10 BOA Marathon - T

Week 3

Overall this week went pretty well, I got three swims, three bikes, and three runs in for the first time in a very long time. My knee only slightly bothered me when I was running on Wednesday, and didn't bother me while riding all week. It would still be sore in the afternoons, but nothing to get me worried. I still haven't been able to ride outdoors in IL and I doubt I will until probably May. I am terrified to ride on the roads up here due to them always being wet, the road conditions are terrible, and the drivers up here suck.

It ended up snowing all day on Saturday, so instead of running I got on my bike for an hour then went to the pool. Sunday was much nicer, still a little cool but the sun was out and melted most of the snow, so we were able to go to the forest preserve and get our long run in. It feels good to get back into some sort of routine.

Week 2 and Daylight Savings

So week two was a little better than week one. I am still trying to get my routine down, but at least I found a pool this week! I had to join a gym, which I hope is only temporary. It only has four lanes and is dominated by old pool walkers and tools that go from hot tub to pool to hot tub to pool. Anyway, daylight savings was this weekend and I officially hate it. I like it being daylight when I wake up and go to work and I don't like it being daylight when I want to go to bed. If you can't tell I did not sleep very well since the time changed. It took me two weeks to adjust to the time zone change from AZ to IL, now I have to do it again. Over the weekend I found a path I may be able to ride on. Its a paved bike path off the road. Maybe this weekend I will check it out, it would be nice to be able to ride outdoors again.

Today's run was again on a treadmill. Overall it wasn't a bad run. I felt a little sore and my HR monitor was all messed up, so I spent the first 15 minutes thinking my HR was in the 160's when really it was in the 120's.

Ironman Training Begins....Sort of.

So technically I started my 26 week training program this week. However, I only rode twice, swan none, and ran mostly on a treadmill. So it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, but it should get better next week. I found an aquatic center a few miles away that will get me by for a few weeks. My riding will most likely stay on the trainer for a few weeks until I can find a place to ride where I feel safe to ride on the roads. Running should get better soon, it should get a little warmer and I think we found a paved path not too far away. So I am hoping to get into my routine next week, then the following week be in full training mode.
So our first week in IL was interesting. The first few days were rough. The shock of coming from where we used to live to where we are now took a few days to adjust, but I am happy now. It will give a three months to find a great place where we won't have to move for a while. On Saturday we met up with Hefner and he took us downtown and showed us the city, then that night we met up with Kara for a few drinks. It was great to see them and I had a lot of fun.

Dutchie!

Well Arizona's been a fun run with ya! :-) We'll have lots of fun in IL too.

2010 Season is Beginning

So to start 2010 Tristin and I decided to do the Lost Dutchman 8k trail run. Tristin really wanted to do the half marathon but I didn't think I would be ready after the marathon, so she signed us up for the 8k. It was a great event. We decided to run this race separately, rather than together as we do for most running races, and it was a strange experience. I started off with a lot of nervous energy and it took a while to find my stride. After about a mile I settled in and able to run the next 2 miles pretty comfortably. At about mile 3 I started to feel my stomach sloshing around and thought I may hurl at any second, so I slowed my pace a little and kept on. I got to mile 4 and saw that no one was close to me from behind, so it felt good to think no one would pass me before the finish. I ended up surprising myself and finishing the 8k in 33:28 for a 6:45/mile pace! I then walked to the grassy area near the finish in time to see Tristin run by towards her finish of 44:04. We both got medals (they only gave out 300 of the 650 people that registered) and our Valentines gift to each other was our medals, so it was very nice.

Today was a very good day and will be a big reason why I will miss Arizona. Today we found out that our lease application was accepted and that we definitely will be moving to Chicago February 28th. We are both a little scared, but excited at the same time.

Overall, it was a great day!

I miss my hubby. Hurry up, and find a place for us to live, and get on back home to me!

~29 weeks til we leave for Louisville~

How crazy is that, my soon to be IRONMAN! I'm pretty excited. I'm a bit stressed out right now about the move - and everything... so I'm sorry I'm so - fiesty. I'm just getting freaked out, and a bit intimidated by all the details - other than just moving.
Thinking about other things, like races and training, helps keep me excited - and in a better state of mind than - where am I gonna live? Should I renew my plates, will I need to renew my plates.. what happens if I wait til the last minute... what about all the things I have to change - what if I forget something! .... ahhhhhhh freak out!
So all in all I'm excited about you heading to Chi-town next week - and hopeful we'll get some resolution... so that I can chill out. :)

2010 Race Season

So my 2010 race season is starting to shape up. My main event will be Louisville in August and today I registered for the half Ironman in Racine, WI - which will be about an hour drive from where we will live. It is six weeks before the big race so I think it will be a good tune-up for it. After the move I will probably add in another short race or two. My Ironman training starts March 1, so this month I am focusing on getting back into the rhythm of swimming, biking, and running multiple times a week. I am feeling good and am excited about the next few months. Next week I will be in Chicago working and finding a place to live. I hope it goes well.

~ Happy Birthday! ~

Congratulations Super Star!

Congratulations on your promotion. I'm super excited for us both! What exciting opportunity this is, and how neat to be so much closer to home. If no one wants to run the go! relay, I'll just run the 1/2 by myself... and maybe you can run with me and mom for the 5k? Might be a fun way to get some exercise in! I'm not stressing about it - we've got a lot on our plates... I just sort of like the race distraction from everything! :-)

~post race recovery~

So of course I'm thinking about what's next. Isn't that my style? The lost dutchman is on Valentines Day. I wouldn't mind doing that event. I know because of the marathon - I'm not going to be fast. In fact I expect to be slow... IF I can do it. I just think it might be a lot of fun. IT WAS afterall ranked by runner's world magazine as the best small marathon in the USA. Which is pretty flippin' cool... and right around our neck of the woods! There are some other events... but of course, only time will tell.... Otherwise, I just wanted to thank you for participating in the Changs with me. I had a blast. I understand now we are on our own, as you have your Ironman to prepare for. So... good luck - and maybe- we can do some shorter races my pace, along the way... if not... I understand. (frowney face)

Monday = HEAVY RAIN

The Gods must be smiling on us today... because it is pouring. I'm so happy to have had nice weather for the race day... and icky weather the day afterwards. That is good luck indeed!

http://results.active.com/pages/oneResult.jsp?pID=72648851&rsID=88864

Results!

Now you can enjoy the resting period before you take on the task of training for your Ironman. Derek, you really ROCK!

ASU PAPER - College times.

http://www.ecollegetimes.com/media/paper991/documents/73lpwse3.pdf

We're on page 12!! What a cool discovery before the marathon!

3 more days!

The race is only 3 more days away. I hope that these 3 more sleeps are restful. I'm sure Sunday's we will CRASH. HA! So the great running duo, will be at it again! I'm looking forward to the race. I think, even though I've had a few painful hiccups along the way, I can only think of one bad run. So I think training for this one, was more fun, less painful. It was faster too, by not taking a week to recover in between each long run. Maybe Vegas is a false sense of security, but I FEEL ready. I'm ready for some fun, and running with you is always a blast!

10 days left!

The marathon is only 10 days away. I am so excited that you've agreed to run this with me! We're going to have so much fun! Just think only a few weeks after that and you'll begin your Ironman training. I'm very excited for you.

2009 Totals

2009 is coming to a close and my workouts are done for the year. Here's what my 2009 totals look like:

Bike:
90h 50m 26s - 1468.84 Mi
Run:
120h 20m 36s - 694.53 Mi
Swim:
44h 14m 11s - 107200 Yd

...Things to Think about....

Okay, our dance card is completely booked after the Marathon...
In 3 weeks is the PF Chang's 26.2 - entry fee paid
A month after that is the Lost Dutchman 13.1 - $60 before 1/31 on valentines day.
The day before is the skirt chaser FIVE K and is a whopping $45 entry fee. Kinda steep for a 5k at Tempe Town Lake!
The next weekend is the 10k (5k,5k) relay at Cesear Chavez Park - $20 before 2/15
The very next weekend is the Trisports Duathlon at McDowell Mountain $85
The very next weekend is the Firebird Triathlon in Chandler $90 +
The very next weekend is the 10k relay ($20), The St pats 4mi run ($25)
The very next weekend is the Bartlett Lake Triathlon $105 before 3/1
Then there is a break unless we want to do the 5k Ostrich festival run...
The Havasu 1/2 is 3 weeks after the Bartlett Triathlon $65 before 3/31
Then Pat's run is the very next weekend 4.2 mi and $35 before 4/8.
However something to consider is that our lease runs out less than 2 weeks after this race... so we'll have to do some careful selecting of races we'd like to do - and budget accordingly... not only our financial resources, but our physical ones as well.

Just something to think about - and we do have some time to dwell on this... as well as the great decision. Though, it could be a lot of fun to cram a lot of life in the next few months, before the great decision.

ONE MORE SLEEP!!!!

JUST ONE MORE SLEEP>>> YAY! YAY! YAY! I'm sooo excited! I cannot wait to celebrate Christmas with you... my favorite person in the universe... so here you have it..I saved the best for last... A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE!!!!!!!! (and she claps her hands wildly bursting into fits of giggles!)