Better late than never..Race pics



Getting dressed and grabbing my bike after the swim



FINISHED!!



Greeting my kiddos at finish....check out their signs!  GO MOM!!



Posing with friend and fellow triathlete Leah!



I had to record a pic of my first race numbered arm!



                         

Running my bike in to transistion area to get ready for the 5K



           Probably should have posted this part first.....pic of the pool
where we completed the first part of the tri- 400 m swim.



The Race - Never Never Never Give Up!

Happy Birthday - Belated!

I had a big milestone birthday a few days ago..ugggg!  I turned 36...I know its not a huge milestone but its crossing over that line from low 30's to mid 30's and closer to 40 than 30....OUCH!  The upside of this is that I feel better than ever.  I like myself better...I'm stronger, fitter and I actually think I look better...not too bad I guess.  Last year my hubs suprised me by getting all of my closest friends together for a huge dinner and a night on the town...plus he gave me an awesome Michael Kors watch!  Yeah!  This year he suprised me with this fun homecoming suprise......

You can see my oldest saying SUPRISE in the background!
Love all the green balloons, plates, napkins and gotta
love that big bottle of wine!

and just another shot of my mini suprise party from my
hubs and my kids!  It was super sweet!

and my baby boy tootin his blow horn at me! 
Just makes ya smile!

:)

and my awesome cake on my
awesome Wizard of Oz cake stand!
It was soooo yummy! all 10,000 calories of it!
BIG SMILE!

Back at it!

Well I still haven't downloaded my pics from the race....soon though...I must find time.  I've been trying to figure out how best to transition into training for my next 2 events....the Geist Half Marathon on May 21st and another Triathlon at Eagle Creek on June 18th.  This will be an open water swim in Eagle Creek Reservoir...hmmmm all those little fishies around me (not super excited bout them....but you do what ya got to do).

I wasn't sure if I should take a rest day after the tri on Sunday, but I felt good Monday morning....so I didn't.  I ran 6 miles....1 mi warmup, 2 mi at 8:00 pace, 2 mi at 7:34 pace and 1 mile cool down. 

Today I did 17.5 miles on road bike.  Tomorrow...5K run and 1200 m swim...or atleast thats the plan.

Starting out in tris has introduced me to a vast world of new workout gadgets...tri-shorts, wet suits, lock-laces you name it....one of my newest faves are the lock laces.  Basically, I never have to tie my shoes again.  You put them on like normal laces and bring them to the right fit and lock em in...they are made of elastic so you can slide your shoes off and on and they fit perfect....the perfect transition time saver in triathlons.

Training and Triathlons

So I completed my first official triathlon yestderday.  I hope to get all my pics downloaded tonight so I can post lots of pics from the actual event tomorrow.  It went pretty well....

The swim was my biggest disappointment.  I guess its hard to prepare yourself to get crowded in to a lane and get pulled on and kicked....but I think I did my fair share of kicking in the face of others too....its just hard to pass and that's what happens.  I was a minute over my swim goal time! BOOOOHHHH!

As for the bike, it was tough.....lots of hills, lots of turns, lots of street roundabouts that forced huge slow downs and tons of winds!...it was crazy windy!.  I was only passed by 2 people on the bike but I passed probly a dozen or more...I was pleased....this was my first time riding my new bike outside.  Not always the best plan of action but it was necessary.  I was on a ride with my friend Leah about a week ago and got a flat tire..I also just didnt feel like my  bike was allowing me to go fast or hard enough...tough to explain but nevertheless true.  I went into Performance Bike and explained by predicament...they looked at me like I was an alien on crack!  Like..."how could you, a newbie bike rider, be complaining that your bike isn't hard enough to ride?"...but it was.  They said to me "maybe you should rethink your day job and be a professional cyclist?"...they were being smartasses!....but, when they pulled up my bike specs..they quickly realized why.  Apparently a large majority of bikes come with a Compact Crankset not a Standard Crankset...I apparently needed a Standard Crankset which would allow me to gear harder and go faster....   Well, instead of changing out a bunch of stuff on my bike, I traded it in for a better bike that was on sale because it was a 2010 vs a 2011....but I got a much better bike and I think it paid off for me. 

I placed 243 out of 625 on the bike...not too bad for first ride on it on the roads, my 3rd ride on it period and only my 8th time riding a road bike period...

LOVE LOVE LOVE
LOVE LOVE LOVE
LOVE LOVE LOVE
biking! 

The run was soo freaking hard!  My legs were jello...they didn't want to move at all.....I didn't think I could and to top it all off...I left my GARMIN on my bike handles so I had no way to pace myself.  I felt like I was running at maybe 10 miles per hour if I was lucky....and apparently I was because when I got my times...I averaged 7.36 minute miles...Yeah!  I have to say that I have never felt so accomplished or strong or confident in myself.  Triathlons give you something that allows you to truly feel like an athlete.  I may never win....but I sure feel like a winner.  Just as an fyi...I placed 215 out of 625 on the run (so beat some men too!) and overall, I placed 224 out of 625 and 7th in my age group (7 out of 44).  My goal is to place top 3 in my age group...!  More tomorrow!

and I'm signing up for 3 more tris this week!  I think I'm hooked!

And I thought I was a little fit! Check this amazing gymnast out!

I have a super long post in the works..I've been MIA for a while.  Vacation, work, work and more work....has kept me away...but lots of picks and fun stuff to ramble about soon.