Feeling like a Rookie

Considering buying a road bike?!? Which is a completely foreign to me. I have a cheap-o mountain bike (YEAH it's a Mongoose!) and I thought about doing the new tire thing but that is complicated too. Thoughts? Suggestion? Not a serious biker but want to get some more speed and be able to go on bigger rides with the big dogs : )

Tri Daddy Disel had a good reference to the quote "showing up at a gun show with a knife", well that is the story of my life right now. I can't swim in the deep end without having a panic attack and I run out of breath in 8 strokes and I am biking on something most 12 year olds would use : ) I am up for any words of advice!

Can non-swimmers learn to swim?? Do road tires REALLY make a difference?? How in the heck do you pick out a bike???

P.S. I am also looking for a running belt. Anyone have the SPI belt or something they like? I don't want the big huge Nathan one with the water holder. I just need something to hold a phone, ID, keyless entry and 2 GUs.

SHEW- Just when I thought I could take off my rookie hat I am lost again : (

Running on the Beach

I will walk on the beach any day but I do not like running on the beach! Granted the view is great but there were many things I did not like! Hot, running on a slope, running on shells, dodging people and I run slower! By the end of the week I started running on the road instead. Am I crazy? Do other people like running on the beach??

Marathon Debate?

I am deciding between Indianapolis and Winelgass in New York.

Pros of Indy: closer, bigger race (more spectators), family can come watch, know others doing it, have to take a day off work to recover

Cons of Indy: some bad reviews, not a pretty race and bad reviews on parking/expo

Pros of Wineglass: beautiful race, mostly flat/downhill, backs up to Fall break for recovery, small

Cons of Wineglass: long drive, family may not be able to go, small means less spectators

Any suggestions?

Halfway

Today is the end of the sixth monty so I should be halfway and I am! Here are my totals from January-June : ) This month my total miles were too low but I am happy with how high my running miles are. I am going to take out one small run a week and add in a second long bike!

January

Days off- 4

Bike (inside)- 53 miles

Run 50 miles

Elliptical- 62 miles

Total- 165 miles

February

Days off 9

Bike 87 miles

Run 41 miles

Elliptical- 22 miles

Total 150

March

Days off 8

Bike 119 miles

Run 54 miles

Elliptical 22 miles

Walk 4 miles

Total 199

April

Days off 4

Bike 138 miles

Run 27 miles

Elliptical 21 miles

Walk 4 miles

Total 190

May

Days off 4

Bike 105 miles

Run 46 miles

Elliptical 9 miles

Walk 0 miles

Total 160

June

Days off 3

Bike 46

Run 90

Elliptical 0

Walk 2

Total 138

Swim Lessons

So I had my first swim lesson tonight. I have no idea how to swim correctly! As in I can not comfortably put my face in the water and typically swim like a frog with my head out of the water. So my friend is helping me learn to swim. Tonight I was able to put my face in the water and swim a few strokes without freaking out. I go on vacation next week so I am going to work on it then.

I am really wanting to do the Sprint Tri here in town at the end of September. It would be neat to mark triathlon and marathon off my bucket list in a matter of weeks. It will be strictly for the sake of doing it. The swim will be border line humorous and the bike will be slow since I have a clunky mountain bike! I am not going to spend large amounts of money on two sports I am not overly interested in. If this triathlon is a success perhaps I will upgrade things one day but for now I am to do this tri thing without spending a small fortune.

PRs

5K in Harrodsburg 26:04. I was so excited and didn't do much different training wise for the next week.

Following weekend I was 24:56 for 3rd place! I love 5K season. Especially since I am not in the back anymore. I am just hoping to keep it up!

I am in the process of making a big decision. To marathon or not to marathon? I have been doing the beginning weeks of the marathon schedule I have found. I am just nervous about getting in the long runs. It is hard with a little guy. Now that I have the treadmill downstairs I can get in the 3 to 5 mile runs easy. It is just getting in the long runs. Most Saturday should not be a problem. The hard part for me is going to be giving up some 5Ks on Saturdays! I LOVE THEM! I guess I could kick out a long run on a Sunday morning but I hate to miss church. Either way I am going to start the training and sign up the last possible date. Right now I am set on the Wineglass Marathon in New York. It backs up to my Fall Break so I could take my time coming back with the family and enjoy some sights in Ohio! Is that possible?

Biking

Since I run on Saturday morning and miss time with the family. We have starting biking together on Sundays. We usually bike for about an hour. I love that Parker loves it.

I am right on track for 2010 miles. I am hoping to get a little ahead of the game while I am off work for the summer. On top of that I am 90% sure I am going to do a marathon. I started off thinking Louisville since it is close. But I did not like the reviews that I read. So then I started thinking Indianapolis (same weekend) but I wasn't feeling it all the way. Then I remember Monica (from www.monicaonthego.com) mentioned Wineglass in Corning, New York. It is small (not what I wanted) but flat (what I wanted) and it would give us the change to travel somewhere on Fall Break. So if Parker can handle the 10 hour drive to the beach and I am doing okay with long runs I will sign up at the end of the summer.

Kris is doing great! She is ahead of the game of course : ) She did her Half Ironman (minus the run) and rocked it! She got in the water dead last and still placed third in the swim for her age group. The bike was very hilly but they finished strong. This coming weekend she will be doing the Bike MS. Watch her ticker go up 100 miles in ONE day.

5K Season

My bad weather curse followed me to my first 5K of the season. There were severe thunderstorms and tornado watches. It was not raining up until about 2 seconds before the race started. However, we ran in a torrential down pour the ENTIRE time. The city of Danville ended up getting 8.5 inches of rain that weekend. Despite the weather and running uphill in gravel for 1/2 mile I did really good. My watch time said 27:11 but the official time was 28:52. Check out how wet we are!

My time was good enough for 1st place in my age group! I would have been 2nd overall for women if I had kicked it up some at the end.

The above picture is from the Jennie Carol Mother's Day Memorial Run. Click on the link to read the story behind the race. This was my first "run" last year. I randomly signed up thinking "Hey, I will walk to honor this former teacher". I ended up attempting to run and finished in 41:51. I was quite disgusted in my health and decided I had found a new hobby and a way to get rid of baby weight.

Check me out finishing STRONG this year! I came in at 26:32 which is by far my personal best. At the end of last summer my best was 30:35. I will be doing at least 12 5Ks this summer in order to complete the Serres. It is a nice little incentive to run all summer. It started Derby Weekend (the rainy race) and will finish up in September at the Constitution Square Festival.

Kris is going strong! She does not do the blogging part of this blog : ) She ran the Jennie Carol with her 3rd grade daughter and they finished in around 35 minutes. Her half ironman is next weekend. I am hoping her hubby will post some pics so I can put some on here.

Update

Not much to update just doing the same ole' same ole'.

Kris is getting ready for her half Ironman in May. So she is adding swim to her weekly workouts and adding in some 1 hour (or more) bikes outside. And she is obviously doing great on her 2010 miles! Go Kris!

Twila just taking it easy for a minute. My knees appreciated a week with no running. It was Spring Break so I had no babysitter most days and my husband was out of town so I did all indoor work outs. I have went for a few short (3) runs this week and am going to keep doing 5 to 6 on the weekend. I am also going to trade my elliptical for my friend's treadmill for a while. We were both getting burnt out on our current machines so thought a switch might re-motivate us : ) I know alot of you hate the "dreadmill" but the thought of being able to get in a run when I have Parker is very exciting! I can do the jogging stroller for 2 or 3 miles but it is a lot harder. Plus Parker is very OVER being confined to a stroller so I listen to "Mommy, Mommy Mommy?" "out?" to whole time. Doing great on the 2010 miles. I might even end up on the plus side again this month. : )

Thanks to all the check in. Sorry for lack of pictures and posts but we have been very busy enjoying BEAUTIFUL spring weather. You can always check my Parker page for more current updates on life in general.

Lexington Half Marathon

And we are off! I am in the white jacket and Sheri is in the black shorts beside me.

Coming across the finish line. Chip time was 2:30:09 and Sheri was 2 seconds ahead of me at 2:30:07.

We were in it together! 4 weeks of long runs together and we never left each other the whole way.

Grammie and Grampy brought Parker to meet us at Guadalajara for some Mexican and a cake I ordered myself. I have a small addiction to Twisted Sifter cupcakes. I banned them for the past 2 weeks so I had a mint chocolate chip small cake made to celebrate.

I was so bummed Saturday night that I couldn't have a drink while I watched UK LOOSE to West Virginia that I ordered myself a big ole' margarita. Funny thing is I could not drink it. My stomach was not ready for alcohol.

Race recap:

Woke up to sprinkles and very chilly weather. Traffic and parking was complete madness. Tried to wear a trash bag for warmth and water protection; ditched it before I even started. Gooed before the race and peed. Race took off very slow which is why the clock time is about 2 minutes fast. Mile 1 was very slow due to the crowd. We started to get in a good pace and then the heavens opened up and soaked us with ice cold rain blowing in on our left side. MISERABLE. Started feeling good mile 2-5 despite the wind, rain and cold. Mile 6 I had to pee and wanted to Gu. Water stops were too far apart. Finally gooed about mile 7. Still had to pee so I found a nice rock wall in the horse park and took a quick stop. Here is when the wall smashed in on us. Around mile 8ish we were COLD. Our whole body was bright red and tingling. We fought through but at 10.5 miles we stopped and walked for about 1 minute. Did some talking and realized this was not going to be a 2:15 more like a 2:30. Last 2 1/2 miles consisted of pep talks and a few walk breaks. We were both fighting some aches and pains on top of the cold. I have honestly never been so cold in my whole life. My hands were swollen and pulsing. I had to run with my hands up because I couldn't bring them down to the side without them stinging and throbbing. FINALLY we were back at the entrance to the horse farm. We picked up stride a little since there were actually spectators. We were both very happy to have someone waiting for us at the finish line. So glad Scott was there to make a quick exit out of the crazy traffic. We made it back to the hotel and I was able to shower. There are few showers in my life that I remember but I have a feeling this will be one of them!

What is next you ask? 5K SEASON! I have toyed with lots of possibilities but with a young one at home and a husband with a busy work schedule I am going to concentrate on 5Ks so that my workouts do not have to be so long. If the summer is uneventful I will bike some and try to get in the pool and MAYBE do the Sprint Tri here in Danville that the local gym puts on. Kris on the other hand has very big plans on her calendar! The Century bike ride in June and looks like she is going Half-Ironman in May; there is one in Taylorsville, KY that she is going to do.

Thanks to everyone that reads our blog and leaves comments!