Almost 2 months?

Has it really been that long since I have blogged. Training has been focused to say the least. HIM training plan is in full swing and finishing up week 4.

I know I did not do a follow up to Spring Fever, guess I was too excited. Here are some pics and results. I placed 3rd in my AG! Was stoked but it was crushed as the timing mats screwed up and I was not recognized until a week later. It's all good, I was happy with my time!

Spring Fever Triathlon - Claremore, OK

It finally is upon me. The first triathlon I ever did is coming up this Sunday. I am super excited to get to race it. My goal is to PR it by at least 10 minutes. (Hopfully training will pay off!) I find myself so nervous though, that little hint of self doubt creeping in. Why? I am not sure why, maybe because I realize that I have one year of triathlon under my belt and now it is time to stop messing around and start competiting. I desperately want to place in my AG. If not, I will be pretty disappointed. Just worried that I have not trained enough, hard enough. My run is really getting on my nerves too. I know the only way to run faster, is to keep running, but I am not very happy with it right now. I think in tris last year, I raced for fun and now my competitive side has crept up on me and I want to start competiting. (at least in my AG!) I think last year I did not push myself very hard in races b/c I was just having fun and just learning about tris. Now it is go time, time to make it hurt when I race. This will be a test to see how hard I can push my mind and body. I want to hurt so bad on the run I want to throw up at the end. That is what I am shooting for...wish me luck!

Training

My tri club has been having a points challenge the past few weeks. It has been really fun logging my workouts and adding points, but I didn't realize how much other people train! My Half Ironman (HIM) training starts the first week in May and I am really looking forward to the challenge. I have been training with new training buddies and I am having a great time. Megan is going to shoot for her first HIM this season too, so I have a training buddy all summer which I need her especially for the run! She is an awesome runner and I hope that I can build off her strength and drop my run time tremendously! My running mileage has been up and I am starting to love running again. I cannot wait for the weather to settle in though so I can log some mileage outdoors!

St. Patrick's Day Triathlon Recap

Well I finally got around to posting a recap. Not too thrilled because this race was pure misery. The only thing I enjoyed was the swim, the rest went to hell! The swim was short, and I learned that I need to keep my head down more in the water, as my butt sinks..lol thanks Kris!

Came out feeling good, and got to T1. My transitions took forever as I attempted to put on a l/s shirt. That is very hard to do when you're soaking wet, and have never done it before in transition! Got off to a good start on the bike considering it was raining and 39 degrees give or take a few degrees. I was half way through loop 1 when my chain came off Vinnie. Had to stop and put chain on with numb hands! Added a good 3-4 minutes to my bike time.

Got to T2 and I could not feel my legs or feet! Check out how red my legs are coming into T2! I could not feel my feet or legs so getting bike shoes off and running shoes on was ridiculous! Slowest T2 ever...which made for a good laugh, which I had no idea how much I needed to laugh. Got off to the run, where it was agonizing. My feet were burning from the cold. Also, to top it off my race belt broke on the run. I have NEVER walked in a race before, but I guess there is a first time for everything. My feet hurt so bad I walked several times. I was so embarrassed and wanted to cry! I finished though, and then followed up with a hot shower at the hotel and a great lunch from Pappositos. All in all would have been a terrific race if not for the awful weather!

First Tri of the Season

I signed up for my first tri of the season to realize it is only 19 days away. (as I am typing I am getting butterflies in my stomach!) I am so excited for the season to start, but I am nervous that I was not able to train at all in the off-season. I am planning to get a few rides in before the 14th with the hopes that the weather will continue to cooperate. :)

Our first TRI-OKC meeting of the year was last night. Talk about a great meeting. The speakers were so informative and the "runners" segment was awesome. I finally realize to get faster, I have to work harder on my runs and go longer distances. Since I have my swim down from so much practice last year (which is what I was worried about) I am going to focus on my run this year. With that said I am going to the track tonight to get some mileage in. I guess I am going to start with speed work and get some 800 repeats in. I just hope it pays off and I can see a big drop in my 5k times.

Meet Vinnie!

Meet Vinnie...yes, it's true, I named my bike. I have to have a serious relationship with this bike, so I figured if he didn't have a name, then the relationship would spiral downhill before it even started. My husband doesn't understand why it has to be a guy bike though! LOL! I named him Vinnie because of the whole Italian thing. Couldn't resist.

I went and rode Vinnie for the first time yesterday afternoon and froze my toosh off. It was great to get out and ride and the cold didn't bother me until I stopped riding. I only took him on a 12 mile loop around Hefner, but it was awesome. I didn't only look fast, I was fast. I even saw Steve Schlegel as I made my way around the loop and I told him I had to break it in!!!

Anyway...here he is...I am super excited about the upcoming season with Vinnie!

Slackerfest

Well, I guess you could say I have definitely slacked on my blog the last few months, but hey I've been super busy!!! Remodeled a new house the last 5 months and finally moved in. During this time, training went to the way-side. Gained weight from eating out so much too. Been training again for 4 weeks and feel great. Bought a new Cervelo this week too. Things are going...will post more and pics later this week!