Tri photos

So the photos are in from the weekend....I totally love this picture of me on the bike. I was just as happy as I looked :)

And I felt just like that when I crossed the line...:)

But wait - I'm pretty sure my hat was green...other than that I can totally see how the photographer got us two mixed up...

Swim, Bike and Run like a Mother...

Today was Mother's Day in the states and Lu and I did the Women's Danskin Super Sprint Triathlon!

The only triathlon I've ever done had a pool swim so my goal was to do one in open water. For this event they had a Sprint (0.5m swim, 12m bike and 3m run) and a Super Sprint (0.25m swim, 8m bike and 2m run) so we opted for the shorter distance since the swim seemed a bit more achievable for our first time in the dreaded open water. To train for the event, we have been working out about 4 times a week and each Sunday we've managed to get out of bed at the break of dawn to do a swim, bike and run at the pool in Celebration to practice all three together. We've worked really hard but were still really nervous.

We got up at 5am to get over to Clermont in time to do all of the transistion set-up. We loved the body mark-up and in particular the sign calling us 'athletes':)

Don't let the smiles fool you - once we were ready to go - we wanted to cry...

Look at beautiful Lake Minneola - I didn't expect it to be just like the beach!

We were the second wave with a 7:19 start time...

Here goes...

The Swim...I am amazed to say that my swim was so much better than I expected! I started at the back and stayed wide of the turn points and didn't get kicked or pushed at all. I felt strong and was able to beat a couple of swimmers in the first wave too! The Bike...it was so beautiful biking all the way around the lake although it was hilly in places. I was really pleased with how it went and it was so much more comfortable now that I've been biking regularly (and have a gel seat :)). It was also really nice to get so much support from the other ladies on the course. Everyone was cheering everyone else the whole time:). The Run...I was dreading the run the whole time I was on the bike. I had worked really hard and my Negative Nelly brain started to make me question if my legs would be able to run at all when I got done. When I got started out with the run I saw so many people were walking and was really tempted but pushed through and just ran as best as I could!

The ending was phenomenal. The spectators were just the best and we got a flower, a goodie bag, a great tech shirt and a gorgeous medal too!

Mike bought me a 'bad ass' biking shirt for Mother's Day - I love it!!

Maddy came to support me for Mother's Day too which made the whole thing extra special :)

I came in 10th out of 27 in my age category which was awesome! Lu came second in hers and won a free entry for next year! Go Lu!!!!! My results looked like this:

Yeah!!! But regardless of the times, I felt strong and healthy and happy. And ready to take on the full Sprint distance and an open water swim next time :)

More Mud Crusade....

So the photos are in and the memories are flooding back again...what a fantastic experience...:)

The Amazing Mud Crusade!

Today we had the most amazing time at Mud Crusade! It was my first proper mud run and I was a bit nervous to be honest. Mud Crusade is a 5K with 18 'challenging' obstacles - I didn't look too closely at the website (http://www.mudcrusade.com/) because I knew that if there was any mention of walls or monkey bars I may rethink the whole thing;). I figured it was better just to show and figure it out as I went. Mike, Luciana and I registered as Team Daaaaamn! and got up at 5:30am to make the drive to Pasco County...Daaaaamn!

We arrived and took millions of pictures before we got too dirty :)

So I need to be ready to toss this whole outfit? Even the shoes? It can't be that muddy - right?

"We need a tough pose - look Lu - we can do this one:)"

There you go...

Mike: "Is this what you do before races - just take photos? Don't you stretch?"

The course looked intimidating and the participants looked fearless. Like this wasn't their first rodeo...

Mike was really excited...it's a boy thing...

And then the madness began. The obstacles were challenging! I tried every one of them and only fell into the water a couple of times. I made it over all of the walls and even managed the cargo net! We were literally up to our necks in mud several times and I had sand in my ears, my mouth and up my nose. I went down the slide sideways and have more bruises than I care to imagine. We stayed together and worked as a team and other team members helped us...and we helped other teams. It was amazing. I totally got the whole mud racing thing and my heart skipped a beat when the sky turned black and torrential rain started to pour down just as we came into the home stretch. It was an indescribable rush.

The results aren't in and the race photos aren't published yet but for now I think our 'after' shots say it all :)

Update: found this headcam of the whole thing online today...can't believe we actually did this!!

Corporate 5K

The Corporate 5K in Orlando encourages coworkers to run together to build camaraderie and to benefit the the Track Shack Foundation, a non-profit that promotes health and fitness by funding youth athletics and sports programs through grants. Participants from more than 700 companies, non-profit organizations, churches and schools took part in the run to celebrate workplace health and fitness. There were more than 14,000 runners that participated this year around Lake Eola for what's billed as "Central Florida's largest office party!"

Lake Eola is really pretty...

Luciana and I ran with my colleagues at my new office. I was so proud to be in the RunDisney enclosure! We were right at the finish line - and it was the biggest - and the coolest:)

It was a great run - hot, but fun. Is wasn't chip-timed but according to my trusty Garmin, my time was right around 31 minutes which I was really pleased with!

Jelly Bean Virtual 10K

Luciana and I were particularly proud that we managed to pull out a 10K on a Monday night after a long day at work at 9pm for the annual Jelly Bean Virtual 10K! I really wasn't feeling it but together, we made it happen!

Now the tough part - to stay "10K-ready" through summer in Florida...:)

Trout Creek 15K Trail Run

Today was the last long run of the season - the Trout Creek 15K Trail Run and my first proper trail race! The website described it as an "absolutely beautiful and challenging 15K trail run that winds through the pines, oak hammocks, and lakes using single and double track trails in Trout Creek. You will also enjoy running on the elevated berm for something a little different. " They provided pictures of the types of terrain to expect too which was really helpful. The weather was forecasted to be in the low 70s, my nutrition and training plan has been perfect all week, and I got plenty of sleep the night before so I felt really good about how it was going to go. Mike left a cute note for me on the door before I left to pick up Luciana...:)

When we got there I remembered how pretty Trout Creek really is :)

The trail running folks are fitter-looking than the average road race crowd I think. I started to wonder if I was ready for 9.3 miles on unfamiliar terrain...

Within a few miles I realized that I was completely out of my depth. Running on the trail was much slower so any chance of a PR was out, the tree roots were everywhere and I kept twisting my ankle. I found it really frustrating to be in such a pretty place and not be able to soak up the scenery since I had to stay so focused on the ground ahead. My left ankle really started to hurt, I felt stupid for wearing Newtons that are clearly not designed for that kind of thing and I was just having a completely miserable time. The only break we got from the roots was on the 'berm' which was so so hot...

I wanted to quit and told Luciana that I was going to bail if we came anywhere close to where my car was parked. She asked me if I could manage running a 10K and we could walk the last 5K together? What a fantastic idea! What an amazing spirit! Luciana has possibly the best mental attitude of anyone that I know :). So that's exactly what we did - and we even ran a bit during the last 5K!

And so we finished. And for that, I'm grateful. I learned today that trail running is something I'm inexperienced at and I will need to do a lot of work on before trying a trail race that long again. I also learned how lucky I am that I have a running buddy that made sure that I didn't quit altogether! I know how much I would have regretted it later. Thank you Luciana for sharing another milestone - I truly couldn't have done it without you today :)