racing

My Fitness Bucket List

by Lisa on June 22, 2012

When I was in my twenties and running, I was always training for a race or looking for the next thing to conquer.  Half marathons, 10Ks, Ten Milers, 5Ks, sprint and Olympic distance triathlons, I kept on racing.  Then life happened and it has been three years since I raced.  And I am staring down the age of 32.  Or as I like to think of it, the third anniversary of my 29th birthday :-D .

Becoming a FitFluential Ambassador was part of my effort to reclaim a bit of myself that I’ve lost in the past few years.  Becoming a mom, especially a working mom, has completely changed my life and the way I spend my time.  My old hobbies have been pushed to the back burner and Caroline has become my focus.

Recently I’ve realized that I need to maintain some sense of my identity aside from being Caroline’s mom.  Being a mom is a huge part of my identity, but it isn’t the whole of it. I’m still a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend and I still have interests and hobbies aside from my baby girl.  I’ve finally come to understand that it doesn’t mean I love her any less or that I am not a good mother; it’s okay, if not beneficial, to maintain my own identity.

FitFluential Ambassadors were asked to put together a Fitness Bucket List and it made perfect sense to me to create a list of goals I would like to achieve in this area of my life.  After all, I may be a working mom, but I am also a runner, a triathlete and a person who enjoys staying fit.  So far, here’s my #FitnessBucketList:

  • Buy a pair of Vibram Five Fingers and try barefoot/minimalist running {after reading Born to Run (affiliate link), I am pretty convinced this will solve my knee issues}
  • Run the Army Ten Miler {it’s on the calendar!}
  • Run the Marine Corps Marathon {I’ve started training twice and had to stop twice due to injury}
  • Race a half Ironman triathlon
  • Attend Bikram yoga classes on a regular basis
  • Try Crossfit
  • Coach Girls on the Run, so that when Caroline is old enough to participate, I can be there with her.

I expect my Fitness Bucket List will grow with time and as I am able to increase my activity.  Working and breastfeeding make it hard to fit in fitness, though I strive to do it as much as I can.

Make sure you follow me on Pinterest to see what I add to my Fitness Bucket List!

What’s on your fitness bucket list? Spill it!

{ 14 comments }

Something to Tri

by Lisa on June 13, 2012

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After injuring my knee trying to train for a marathon {for the third time} I thought maybe a change of pace from running would be good for me. Since I used to be a competitive swimmer and I don’t hate biking, I decided to give triathlons a try.  Little did I know that I would love it! As soon as I am bored with one sport, it’s time to switch to the next!  So far I have completed four triathlons—three sprint and one Olympic distance.

What I didn’t realize when I decided to start training for a triathlon was the amount of gear that would be useful for the race.  I didn’t really know what to do about my transition area.  With a little bit of guidance from veteran triathletes and some trial and error of my own, I’ve found a system that works well for me.  In the event that you are thinking of taking on a triathlon, I hope this helps you!

Here’s what my transition area looks like before the race.

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Depending on the size of the race, you may not have a lot of space to set up your transition area. To give you an idea, the towel above is a {smaller sized} beach towel that I folded in half lengthwise.

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Looks like a lot of stuff, right?  Let’s break it down:

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I start with a beach towel and like I said, fold it in half lengthwise and place it next to my bike.  Then I group items together as I will need them.

1) At the front of the towel {between my feet in the picture} is everything I carried out of transition. A Clif bar, a banana, my phone, 1/2 a bottle of Gatorade and a bottle of water.  I had a long time to wait before my start so I had to keep fueling up even though I had already had a Clif Bar and a banana about an hour and a half earlier.  On my feet I have cheap flip flops that I can discard right before getting in the water and I won’t care about getting them back.  Not pictured is my wet suit, swim cap, goggles and watch.  Once all of these things are removed from the towel, I leave that space empty so that when I get out of the water from the swim, I can stand on the towel to get all of the dirt off of my feet.

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2) Next I have all of the stuff I want for the bike portion of the race.  Not pictured is my helmet and a small towel, which are both hanging off my bike handlebars.  As soon as I get out of the water, I wipe my face off with the small towel and put on my helmet—before I even take off my wet suit.  You can be disqualified for taking your bike off the rack without a helmet on, so I put it on right away to avoid that.  Then I take everything out of my bike shoes and put it on as I go: sunglasses, running socks {Wright Socks—my favorite!}, Clif Bloks {go into my shirt pocket} and this time, my triathlon bracelet. This race I did with Team In Training in honor of my uncle who has leukemia. He and my aunt gave me a triathlon bracelet so I wanted to wear it and in that way have them with me on the course.  I also already had a bottle of water and a bottle of Gatorade stashed on my bike as well as a GU, an extra tire tube and a CO2 cartridge.

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3) Finally, I have everything for my run stashed in my running shoes.  For this race, a knee brace, a Gu, my running number belt with number attached and my Nike hat.  I don’t carry any water during the run portion because there are usually plenty of water stops, but depending on your race you may want to carry it.  My run is the lightest I go in terms of gear.

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4) At the very top is the bag that I use to transport everything, which holds a change of clothes for after the race.  There are a lot of fancy transition bags and while I would love one, I don’t do enough triathlons to justify the cost.  So I’ll stick with a beat up backpack for now!  Also along the side of the towel I have extra water, Gatorade and Gu.  The one thing I didn’t mention is Body Glide.  I put this on before the race, before I even put on my wet suit and I put it on everywhere.  It minimizes chafing and is a good way to make it easier to get the wet suit on and off!  Lastly, don’t forget the sunscreen {not pictured, we were all sharing a bottle}!

It sounds like a lot of gear and to be honest, it is, but I do use each item. This was my transition set up for the Olympic distance triathlon, I don’t usually have as much water, Gatorade and food for a sprint triathlon.

Transition time is tracked as part of your race time so staying organized with all of your stuff is key to finishing in a good time.  Hopefully what I’ve learned along the way can help you beat the clock!

What do you think? Is is just too much stuff?

Have you done a triathlon? Which one?

{ 24 comments }

A Look Back {A Race Recap}

by Lisa on April 22, 2011

In the spirit of Earth Day, I thought I would “recycle” an old post from my former blog that most people have not seen.  In May 2009, after being laid off from my job, I participated in the Capital of Texas Olympic Triatlon in Austin, Texas.  For some reason this morning I could not stop reliving the race in my head and I want to share my recap with you.  I always thought I would be a pregnant girl who continued to run, but after the sickness I experience during my first trimester I’ve had a hard time getting back into the sport.  And I’ll admit, I was scared to run.  We feel so fortunate that we’re having this baby that I didn’t want to do anything to cause a problem. I know running while pregnant is perfectly safe but for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.  Now I find myself daydreaming about getting back on the trail and racing as soon as possible–hopefully the Del Ray Turkey Trot this year!

So here’s a recap of a race that was incredibly important to me, not only because it was my longest triathlon ever, but because I did it with Team in Training, part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, in honor of my Uncle John.

Happy Earth Day! Love this planet we call our home not just today, but every day.  It’s the only one we have.

The National Capital Area Team In Training team arrived in Austin, Texas on Saturday morning for a fun-filled and inspiring weekend. I started the morning by picking up one of my teammates, Christina Fox {aka CFox} at 5:45 to make the drive to BWI and we became fast friends. My friend, Steven, from my first TNT event in 2005, lives in Austin now and became the tour guide for our team. Over the course of Saturday and Sunday, we saw the biggest Whole Foods in the country {it was really amazing, I didn’t want to leave}, the bridge that houses the largest urban bat colony in the country, Lance Armstrong’s bike shop, Mellow Johnny’s and had some fabulous Tex-Mex food. Where better than Texas for that? Sunday night brought us to the inspiration dinner with the rest of the TNT participants from around the country. All in all we raised $780,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society–pretty amazing for 211 people.

After the pasta party we had a team meeting to go over all of the last minute details and then we were off to pack our transition bags and get a good night’s sleep. For the first time in my racing “career” I was not nervous and was able to sleep.

On the morning of the race I woke up at 4 am, ate a small breakfast of a banana and a Clif Z bar, gathered up all of my gear and headed downstairs to meet my team. After everyone on my team had been body marked {race number on arms and thighs, age and wave on back of right calf} we walked to transition. It was still pretty dark but I was able to get all of my stuff out of the bags and laid out in the way I like it. Typically I start with enough empty space at the front of my towel so that I can step on it out of the water, then all of my bike stuff is lined up and anything that I want to remember to put on is tucked into my bike shoes. Then my running gear follows with my transition bag last. Along the side, I have extra water bottles, Gatorade, Gu and Clif Blocks. By the time I was done, the sun was up, I had on a ton of Bodyglide and sunblock and had wriggled into my wetsuit to my waist. I was ready to go to the start line, but I was still not nervous. Jeromy and my parents will tell you that it’s odd for me not to be nervous pre-race, but for some reason this one did not affect me at all.

I only had to wait about 50 minutes before getting in the water for the swim. My wave {Wave J, Females 25-29, yellow caps} went off at 7:50 for the 1500 meter swim, so just under a mile. I completed the swim in 27:09, a time I am really proud of! I don’t think I’ve ever swam a mile that quickly, so training has really paid off. Getting out of the water after being vertical for 32 minutes is really disorienting, but I was so impressed by how the race handled it–they had people lining the ramp into the water that basically just grabbed me and held me up as I walked up the ramp. If they hadn’t been there, I’m fairly sure I would have fallen over.  At the end of the ramp I started running, pulled off my cap and goggles and pulled my wetsuit back down to my waist. As soon as I was out of the water, I knew I was fine and that I would finish the race. I am strong in the water but for some reason I always feel like it’s the spot that could go wrong and I could have a problem, but as soon as it’s over, it’s just a matter of how fast I will finish.

That’s me in front!

When I got back to my transition, I peeled off my wetsuit, put on my helmet, dried my feet, drank some Gatorade and took my bike off the rack. I should have run through transition but I was still feeling a bit wobbly so I walked my bike to the end of transition. This is the first time I saw Steven and CFox’s family and friends–it was so great to hear and see people cheering for me. I smiled as soon as I saw them, gave them a few goofy faces and crossed the mount line. I did not prep at all for this race in terms of being familiar with the course so I had no idea what to expect except for a couple of bad hills somewhere. But still, I was not nervous, I felt great. I ate some Clif Blocks {and lost an unopened pack on the road} as soon as I got into the first loop and buckled down to see what was in store.

 

 After my fourth loop {confirmed by Steven and my bike computer to make sure I actually rode the whole race}, I headed back into transition for the run. I completed the 40K {24.8 miles} in 1:27:32, about 3:30 faster than I expected, which was very exciting for me since biking is my weakest link. I got into transition, reracked my bike, put on my hat, my knee brace, my running shoes and my tri bracelet from Auntie Ellen & Uncle John, grabbed a Gu and I was on my way.
The transition between biking and running is never easy because your legs feel like jelly, so you start out kind of slow. I was hoping to be able to run the entire 6.2 mile course, but it was so hot that I was afraid I would overheat so I had to walk for part of it. The course had a ton of support so at every water stop I was able to drink water and also douse myself to keep cool. The run course was 2 loops back over the river and downtown–part of it was along the bike course. As I came over the Congress Street bridge the first time, I saw Steven and told him how bad I was feeling. He waited for me to come back around the corner and took this picture and then ran with me for almost a mile.

Thanks, Steven, you have no idea how much you helped! As I started on the second loop I knew exactly what I was in for and decided that as soon as I was about a mile out, I would run all the way into the finish as fast as I could. I had thought it would take me between 3:15 and 3:45 to do the whole race but at that point I was on pace to finish in 3 hours and I wanted to try to make it.  In the end I did the 10K in 1:06, a few minutes off of my PR.  I found a few other NCA TNTers on the course, which was fantastic so we could run/walk together. As I came back around and was on Congress Street, with just over a mile to go, I started to pick up my pace. I would not walk, I would run the rest of the way in. And I did. The crowds cheering me on made it easier to lift my feet and put one in front of the other. The chants of Go Team made me smile, every one, and smiling makes running easier. It’s an amazing feeling to know that you’re not racing for yourself, you’re racing for a cure for something that has stolen the lives of too many people.

As I came around the corner into the finish shoot, I could not stop grinning. The finish was SO close! I started sprinting and didn’t stop until I got over the line and saw my friend Leighton waiting there. I gave her a big, sweaty hug and went on to get my medal. As soon as I had my medal and was waiting in line for my finish picture, it hit me. I did it. I finished an Olympic triathlon in 3 hours, 12 minutes and 53 seconds. I surpassed what I expected to do and I raised $4500 for the Society. I started crying right then and it took me a couple of minutes to pull myself together for the photographer–it was just overwhelming.

Thank you all for your support, encouragement and donations. I can’t tell you how much it meant to me to know that you were all cheering for me in spirit and that you believed I could do this. I wore the triathlon bracelet that Auntie Ellen and Uncle John gave me so that I could carry them with me on the course and over the finish line. Uncle John, I TRI-ed for you, and I will keep TRI-ing and running until there is a cure {or my shoulders and knees give out, whichever comes first!}

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