My first 1/2 Marathon

On yesterday, I completed my first Half Marathon (13.1 miles). I awakened on race morning feeling rested, hydrated and prepared for whatever the day would bring. I smiled upon rising thinking about the support that I would have throughout the day from friends, near and far. My friend was here to pick me up 15 minutes early and I was on my way. I wanted to get a picture before I started to share on Facebook.

I stuck to my plan to have fun, take in the scenery and pace myself. This was the most FUN race to date! There was a different type of band every mile, plenty of cheerleaders and dance squads out, spectators with funny signs/positive words and awesome costumes to keep me entertained! I looked for Francy, who was supposed to find me on the route and ride her bike as I ran. I also looked for some other people that I knew who were running, but I never saw anyone familiar. My friend who dropped me off, took the metro to the half way point/Dupont Circle to surprise me with some extra cheer. I managed to run all the hills and was more than happy to see Tania at mile 8! She ran the last 5 miles with me and did a great job at keeping my mind off of my legs. We were sure to take in the scenery and stopped to take a picture of this on H Street, NE:

Mile 11 was tough and mile 12 was a BEAST! I kept it moving and eventually brought it across the finish line, where Francy finally caught up with me. I handed Tania the medal, so she could put it on me like she did after my first Triathlon. She totally rocks!

I thought that I could realistically complete this race in 2 hours 45 minutes, but I registered my estimated time as 2:30. I had hoped that I could finish in 2:30, but it wasn't until Travel Diva told me that she thought that I could finish in 2:30, that I believed that I could really do so. After running with Tania last week, I secretly hoped that I could finish in 2:15.  My official finish time was 2:39 and I am very happy with that. Thank you Travel Diva for believing in me and know that, as I ran my last 2 miles, I was really pushing for the goal that you helped me to set. Sometimes, it takes us hearing what others believe about us for us to really believe it ourselves.

I truly have the best support network of friends and it really makes all of the difference to me on race day. Thanks to everyone who tracked me via text, came out to support me and those who sent positive thoughts and vibes my way. I am a better athlete because of you.

Mind over Matter: Preparing for my first 1/2 Marathon

I have put in the miles in preparation for my very first 1/2 Marathon on Saturday, March 17th. I got a late/slow start on training after having to recover from yet another ankle injury, but the miles are in the bank. It has been quite a journey with an eventful 8 mile run, a beautiful 10 mile run in Chicago and a 12 mile run that was a true measure of fortitude. Now it is time to start mentally preparing myself for race day on Saturday.

I think that the keys are to remind myself that I have done this before (in training), that it is supposed to be fun and that I am blessed to have the physically ability to run 13.1 miles. I know that I can do this, I will do this and I hope to have many pictures to share after I have done this!

Please keep me in thought and prayer on St. Patty's day, as I conquer yet another fitness goal.

Tri Becca

8 miles

I ran the last 5 miles of the Half Marathon course earlier this week and today I set out to run the first 8 miles. Sure, the forecast called for snow and rain, but that didn't deter me. I figure, I have to be prepared for any type of weather, because you never know what it will be like on race day. Besides, rule number 1 is:  There are NO EXCUSES!

Me and Francy (who is not running this Half Marathon and just wanted to offer support) decided to meet at the Metro close to the start of the run this afternoon. We both had that look of "what the heck are we doing out here????" look in our eyes, but we are equally crazy committed and we took off. We decided to run the first few miles to warm up and then throw some intervals in the mix whenever we got tired. In the first mile, I realized that perhaps I had hydrated too much and we had to take a detour to find a bathroom. The first 4 miles were uneventful. It was after that that our run started to fall apart.

At exactly 3pm the wind picked up and it started to snow/hail and pelt our faces. We passed by a store and the sign that was outside was picked up by the wind, headed towards us and landed right on Francy's foot. She started to limp after that for about a half mile, but then decided to just run through the pain. The course wasn't bad at all, minus a couple of moderately steep hills. It started to get colder and more windy at about mile 7, but we knew we could get through the last mile. That is right when we had our second incident. At 14th and Harvard Street, NW, we had the crossing signal, but this genius decided to back up after he had pulled out too far into the crosswalk. We tried to hurry and run behind the car before he hit us and there was a car coming up on the side of the road and it hit Francy. She tumbled to the ground in what seemed like slow motion and then started to crawl out of the street. It was the worse feeling ever to see it happen and not be able to help. The nice couple got out and talked with us while we determined that she was just scraped up and bruised. She was able to move her shoulder, elbow and hip, so we walked the last mile home. Whew! What a run.


TriBecca

My first 1/2 Marathon!

It just dawned on me today that I have less than 6 weeks until my first 1/2 Marathon. I will be running 13.1 miles around Washington, DC in the Rock and Roll Half Marathon on Saturday, March 17th and I am nervous!! I feel like I am behind in my training due to another ankle injury. Most people that are running this race ran 8 to 10 miles this past weekend and I am only up to running 5 miles. I plan to increase my mileage this coming weekend, but I am still a little nervous about it all. After my 5 mile run today, my legs were tired. I can't imagine how they will feel after running 7-8 miles this weekend, but I guess I will find out.

Wish me luck, say some prayers and as always, I hope to have some folks out there to cheer me on! Having friends on the course always gives me a reason to keep moving and smiling.


Tri Becca

The scale

I took the last two weeks off from work in December and decided to have a stay-cation. Well, that turned into me sitting on my couch buying myself way too many Christmas presents. The one that I am most excited about is my new Ironman Tanita scale! This thing is awesome. It measures not only weight, but body fat %, body water %, muscle mass, and about 10 other things. I have committed to weighing myself and recording all of the data on the 1st of each month and just weighing myself daily. I have read and overheard friends say that weighing yourself daily helps to shape the way you eat and your physical activities for the day. Yeah right. This can be mind torturing!

I was all excited when I noticed that the scale crept down to 5 pounds lighter, but twice in the month of January, it changed it's mind and decided to tell me that it was just kidding. Since I didn't check for body water % daily, I just chalked it up as having something to do with my hydration levels. Well, today I hopped on and recorded all of the data and while I was sad that I am only down 1 pound (which could have something to do with having the need to take Midol today), I have lost 2% of body fat! ....2%! I was so freaking exited that I wanted to kiss the scale. You know, there may be some truth to the saying "You are what you eat"! I have been watching my diet and lifting weights ( along with swimming, biking and running) and I think that it is working!

While I do have a long way to go to in my plan to decrease my body fat% and my weight, I will take my measurements today as WINNING! 



Tri Becca

Randoms of a soon to be Ironman 70.3 FINISHER

•  My first outdoor bike ride this season was a challenge! Lisa and I were tired at the first rest stop. It felt like  we had already gone like 15 miles. Uhm, yeah, it was only EIGHT MILES. My resolution to clean up my potty mouth while training went out the window. I cussed so much on those little hills.
• The scale is playing tricks on my mind. I thought I was doing really well when it slowly crept up to 5 pounds lighter... and then it just ego slammed me days later, with a big ol' "SIKE!!!". I will have to try something different starting February 1st.
• I have been running consistently, but it is not easily coming back to me. The thought of going to a music festival in Miami on March 17th is starting to look more appealing to me than this 1/2 Marathon that day.
• Weight training twice a week is not my favorite thing to do, but I know that it is key to helping to burn fat and to help me to get stronger for the bike. Actually, 3 days of lifting may be even better for me, if only I could fit it into my schedule.
• The bike trainer is soooo boring! I have to figure out something different this week to make it more enjoyable. Last week, I discovered OnDemand music videos and tried to go hard for a whole video and then recovered while I searched for another one to watch. Whatever happened to MTV videos that used to play all day???
• My diet is good, but I need to change it up a bit to get different results. I am reading a few books and will try something different soon. I need help!
• I am taking a Total Immersion class and I can tell a difference in my swimming already!
• I need to go ahead and sign up for Ironman 70.3 National Harbor. I know that I can do it. I just need to sign up.... maybe tomorrow. We'll see.
• I have somehow gotten infatuated with the thought of getting an Ironman tattoo after I finish my first full Ironman race. The infatuation is weird, as I will not be completing a full Ironman until 2013 at the earliest.
• I am hoping to get an outdoor bike ride in again this week. I miss riding outdoors!
• I have no ankle pain when I run as long as I wear a stiff brace. I have learned that I should wear compression socks if running 5 miles or more to help ward off shin pain. It works for me.
• I am going to read up on those Newtons running shoes and may go try try some out soon. I am thinking that they can help me to stop heel striking when I run and maybe I will have fewer ankle issues.
• I want to run faster than my "slow as molasses" 12 and a half minute mile. I have started to incorporate some interval running and will get some hill runs in soon to help with me speed. It's so funny that people think that you are super fast just because you go out to run 5 miles. They just don't know that they could probably keep up with me by walking. Ha!

Tri Becca

Misconceptions

There are many misconceptions that are held about Triathletes and the sport of Triathlon in general. I try to educate folks and let them know that NO, I am not running marathons, I also swim and bike. I try to inform folks that no, you don't have to be Olympic competitor-like fast to do this. And then today, I read a post by a fellow Triathlete that is intimidated, because I guess we make it seem like we are super good at all of this and she can't hang. Boy, is THAT the furthest thing from the truth.

Here is a little information to help clear up some of the most common misconceptions:

• No, this is not easy for us. We are just committed to training and pushing ourselves beyond our pre-conceived limits. It is hard. We throw out 4 letter words on tough hills, we fall, we cry, we whine, we battle the alarm clock, we even question our sanity at times.
• No, we are NOT all running marathons. A Marathon is JUST a running event. Triathletes swim then bike and then run. We do all 3 sports. We are Triathletes. There is a difference.
• No, we are not all super fast. This is an endurance sport. We are not all sprinting through the water, sprinting on our bikes and then sprinting through the run. We have to conserve some energy during the swim and the bike for the run.
• There are 4 different distances of Triathlons (Sprint, Olympic/International, Half Ironman, Ironman distances). We are not all out here completing Ironman distance races. There is a huge difference.
• No, we are not all super skinny/lean. The reason for this is diet. It is hard for us to consume enough calories to give us the energy to complete this AND loose weight. There is a lot of information out there to help us with diet and we are all striving to be as lean as we can be. This is a great challenge for some of us.
• If you can't swim, you can still complete a Triathlon one day, IF you are committed to learning to swim. I took my first lesson in January of 2010 and completed my first Triathlon in June of 2010. 
• If you don't own a bike and you still want to complete a Triathlon, you can still do so. I know an Ironman Triathlete that trained for his first Triathlon by only taking spin classes and then he borrowed his female cousin's bike on race day. You can always rent a bike for race day. While it is better to have your own bike, you can still do this IF you want to.
• If you are not a great runner and you can still walk, you can complete a Triathlon. Yes, you will be done faster if you run the last portion of the race, but plenty of people walk or do a walk/run.

I hope this was informative and helps to clear up some misconceptions.

Countdown to Eagleman Ironman 70.3: 131 days!!



Tri Becca