Marathon Mom

Overall 2008 was a pretty good year in both running and non-running life. Here are some highlights of the past year... -Went back to grad school in January and am 1 semester away from finishing. -Fun travel: my first trip to Europe (Dublin and London), a winter vacation to Jamaica and weekends in San Francisco and Duluth. We've got a cruise planned for February, can't wait. -Overcame a tough recurring ankle injury to run a great 10K in September, finish Grandma's in a decent time and kicked butt on the run part of a duathlon. This taught me how much I enjoy running and how thankful I am that I can continue to run. -Overcame my fear of biking after the 2007 crash and finished my first tri, duathlon and bike ride. I even got aerobars for Christmas. -I discovered how fun biking is and learned that it makes me a stronger runner and duathlons are fun. -Matt started running and got a new road bike, he's now planning his first tri. -Reconnected with some friends who I had lost...

Looking back on 2008 at my goals... -Drink less Diet Mt. Dew I quit drinking all diet pop in late last winter and have been successful except all the diet Mt. Dew I drank during the Relay, I needed caffeine to run on minimal sleep. -Eat less sweets Not sure I will ever accomplish this. -Get healthy and stay injury free I am still healing, but nothing new. The low mileage months and cross training have been good for me. I think I'll be 100% to start marathon training in a month. -Qualify for Boston at Grandma's Marathon Nope, but did fine considering I ran after only being back to running 6 weeks after almost 4 months off -Finish my first multi-sport events (a Duathlon and a Tri) I finished both, loved the duathlon, not so much the swimming part of the tri. -Keep up with the cross training once I'm back to running Not so good at this, was biking 2x week and swimming 1x week for awhile, am just getting back into biking again after a couple months of strictly running. -R...

This weather lately has not been great for running, below zero temps and even worse wind chills plus piles of snow and wind. To make things worse, I think that the city is taking the holidays off from plowing the sidewalks and trails. Each outdoor run I have done this winter has involved climbing snow piles and ending up with wet feet. After taking a few days off due to pain from the stupid toe I have been forced to do way too much running on the treadmill. The good news is that since yesterday I am pain free. Strangely my toes doesn't hurt to run, but still aches when I walk. Maybe this is telling me something.

I have lost nails in the past, just a consequence of running. In the past they have always been smaller nails and fell off on their own. This one was different, it was my big toe and had some help, okay a lot of help, from the doctor to come off. I have been dealing with an infection in my toe and nail and 6 weeks of antibiotics hasn't helped, it is even getting worse. Running makes my toe throb for days and the redness and swelling makes it look like it is ready to explode. I gave in a saw a podiatrist this morning with hopes for a simple solution. His solution is 6 more weeks of antibiotics and removing the nail to relieve the pressure and get the infected base out. You're kidding, right? No, he wasn't and I now have one less toenail. I have seen a lot of things in my life that most would consider disgusting, but this was by far the worst. I have an extreme hatred of feet and watching this actually started to make me ill. I am crossing my fingers that this works and I soo...

My treadmill first broke back in July during a storm where I tried running inside to avoid the lightening. We of course forgot all about it not working until a few months later when Matt thought he could fix it. The company even sent us a new motor to try, which Matt finally installed last month without good results. We eventually gave in and had someone come look at it. It took him 2 visits to fix it, which I'm sure he was not thrilled about since Morgan scared to crap out of him. Kind of funny to see a grown man terrified of my cute, cuddley dog. I am so happy with the latest cold and snow to have this working again. I am a cold weather wimp and prefer to run inside in anything under 20 degrees. I have even gone as far as running a 20 miler on the treadmill 2 years ago when training for a January marathon, that was tough and I was going crazy by the end, but I guess better then freezing.

One of the goals I keep making for myself is to do regular strength training. I start, but then marathon training takes over and I always end up quitting. In order to recover from my current injuries and prevent new ones I need to focus on improving strength and my core. I am a huge fan of Biggest Loser and would love to have Jillian as my trainer, well I guess the Shred dvd is the closest I'll get. Many of the runners/ triathletes I know started this workout a few months ago and love it. I decided to give it a shot. I started 2 weeks ago and can already see a big difference even though I have only been doing it 3 or 4 days a week. The Shred workout is 20 minutes and consists of 3 circuits of: 3 minutes pure strength, 2 minutes cardio/strength, and 1 minute abs/core. The length is perfect to fit in just about any time, I have even gotten up early to get it done in the morning before work. 2 more weeks to go to finish 30 days of Shred, maybe I'll even keep going after that.

Last year on Thanksgiving Matt and I ran the 5K Turkey Trot in downtown. I remember it being a cold morning, but super crowded. After the run, while at home in front of the fire to warm up Matt announced that he would run a marathon. We spent the morning looking at Spring marathons and he picked Grandma's. We are now in the process of deciding on next year's Spring marathon, his 3rd and my 13th. It is looking like we'll run the new Stillwater Marathon in May. I am thankful that Matt has discovered running, last weekend we were even able to run together since he is getting faster. 8.5 miles on Saturday at a decent pace and 4 miles on Sunday with Morgan, who was excited to be running with both of us for the first time.

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For the past 2 1/2 weeks I have had nothing to train for or upcoming races. This is the first time in about 3 years that I haven't had a marathon on my schedule before finishing the previous one. Between coaching and my own, I have completed 12 marathons and can't wait for the next! The problem has been my stupid ankle which I haven't given adequate time to heal, I came to an agreement with my sports doc that I would cut down my training after Dublin to allow it to fully heal. In the mean time, I'm not quite sure what to do with myself. The colder weather really isn't helping my motivation since I hate biking on the trainer and suck at swimming, both of which I should really be doing. We had originally planned to travel and run a winter marathon, but I have made the promise to myself and Matt (who gets stuck listening to my whining when I can't run) that I will wait until fall for my next to allow myself plenty of healing time. For now I am focusing on healing, ...

What a difference 1 week can make. Last Monday, It was in the 70s and sunny. I went running in shorts and a tank top, pretty unusual for November in MN. Matt and I had a great night run in the park with headlamps without freezing. Now it is 30 degrees and I have pulled out all my winter running clothes. Yesterday's run was cold, with a temp of 27, so cold in fact that I am realizing I need new mittens. My hands were freezing in the pair I have.

Unlike all other marathons I have done, this one started at 9am meaning I actually got to sleep until a decent time. The weather was a little chilly at the start, but everyone was ready and excited. Matt decided to run the Family Fun Run 5K while I was out on the marathon course and even got a medal for finishing. The Minnesota TNT Team The scenary was beautiful and like I always say, marathons are a great way to see a new city. I was a little nervous about getting around the city, but met up with 2 other TNT coaches and we found our way around. Anyone who has been to Dublin knows that streets and badly marked and change names often. And when you ask distances they will tell you in time. All 27 runners finished with plenty of time to spare and we even had a few PRs on a tough course. The jet lag and Guinness drinking didn't help to make it an easy day for some. Some views from the course The course went past our hotel and the pub across the street at about mile 25. This turned in t...

After about 12 hours of travelling and being awake all night, we finally arrived in Dublin on Friday afternoon. The only goal was to find food and then get some sleep! On Saturday, we did the Guinness Tour and got caught in the pouring rain. Matt and I at the Guinness waterfall Sunday was the International Breakfast Run, a 2 mile run followed by breakfast and t-shirt exchange. It was beautiful weather and a great place to run. The Finland and Canada shirts ended up being really popular with the team. I am now the proud owner of a Finland running shirt that I cannot read. Great view from the Breakfast Run course The rest of the day included some sightseeing and the pasta party. This was a much different experience then the one at Nike. In Dublin there were only 156 TNT runners as compared to 5,000 in San Francisco. This proved to be a much more laid back dinner and quieter atmosphere. The Minnesota Team dominated with our 27 runners, high fundraisers and Triple Crown winners.

Early wake up to meet my team at 5:30 for some last minute words of advice and encouragement and a team picture and then they were headed to the start. I headed back to my room and had the great debate trying to decide between shorts and pants, I eventually chose shorts and started my 2 mile run to meet the team at mile 6, which turned out to be mile 4. was able to see a lot of the team at this point and run with them up the first big hill of the course. It was great to hear that they felt great on the hill, all that hill training has paid off ;) After hitting mile 8, I cut across to meet at mile 11 and tried to be there for Nancy so she was guaranteed to see the bison. After this point I continued on the mile 16 and cur across to the end to run with my first runner as she was about to finish. After that I headed back and ran to last hill more times then I need to remember. I saw most of my runners at least once during the race and am happy to say they all finished! Then it was on to t...

What a difference that changing time zones makes...I tried to sleep in this morning, but was wide awake by 5am. I got in a great run this morning, 3.5 miles in perfect weather (upper 50s). Then I even had time to relax before heading to my coaches meeting. The common theme of today was food, not surprising for me. I met Heidi, an old coworker who decided to leave Minnesota nearly 2 years ago and in that time has become a runner. She will be running her first half marathon tomorrow. We met for lunch, outside of course since Riley was with. I somehow became the tour guide even though she lives here, we did a little shopping and I passed along some tips for the race. And I discovered Peanut Butter Whoppers on a quick stop at the store, yum! Heidi and Riley at the Nike Marathon Wall This evening was an overwhelming and amazingly inspirational event for the team. There are 5,000 TNT runners and almost 8,000 people attending the pasta party tonight. What an event! Once again John Bingham spo...

I have been looking forward to this day for a long time, this was my first day to sleep in for over 1 month. And to make it even better I got to be lazy and even had time for a morning workout. Anyone who has ever attempted to travel with me knows that things never go as planned. This was exactly the case today, 1 hour before I was to be at the airport I found out the flight was delayed. Ultimately it was delayed over 1 hour. We finally arrived in San Francisco to beautiful weather, warm and sunny! I took some of the team out for a 3 mile run that took us along the bay, it was great to be running in the sun and wearing shorts again. Although it was time when everyone was leaving work, so we did a lot of people dodging during the run. Next was a quick run through the expo and a look at the Nike wall where all the runners names are listed.... Each evening our hotel has a wine reception in the evening, which a few of us decided to take advantage of before heading out for a hilly walk to g...

I starting coaching for TNT in May and the first marathon that my team was running was TCM. There were 48 runners on the team, many of whom had never run before and were a little nervous about running. Their first run of 3 miles back in May was a huge accomplishment and now they were ready for the marathon. This past weekend proved to be busy. Friday, I met Matt after work at the expo to pick up our packets. I ran into 3 of my relay teammates, along with many of my TNT team members. It was kind of fun to be somewhere and keep hearing my name, I felt very popular. Then we decided to grab some dinner before driving home and ran into Matt's friend Carl and his fiancee so we had dinner with them. Saturday was the team pasta party and you could feel the nervous excitement in the room. We listened to both of our honored teammates speak and then it was my turn. I am not a public speaker and was told to talk for 10 minutes on last minute marathon advice, yikes. I think I did about 5. TNT T...

Fall is finally here, this was especially trues last night. I was getting ready to run with my TNT team and put on pants, 2 long sleeve shirts and a jacket. I even put on gloves during my run. I will admit that I did take the jacket off after a few miles. Matt was also heading out to run, but did things a little different, he was wearing shorts, a short sleeve shirt and wind breaker, which I am sure he ended up taking off. There I was out running in all my layers and a man in shorts and no shirt passes me, what a contrast. I love fall and running. The leaves are changing and the temperature is perfect marathon weather. Fall also means great food: pumpkin, Minnesota apples, and candy corn. I hate that fall means that winter and snow are soon to follow. Tonight the weather was much warmer I was actually out in shorts, although I did have on long sleeves. I think my days of short sleeve running are done until 2009.

After my bad experience with the tri last month, I decided that I wanted to try a duathlon. We looked and this was the only one that fit my schedule, Matt decided to do it too. We stupidly went into this with little actual duathlon training, we can both run and bike, but have little experience at doing both back to back. The race was a 5K run/22 mile bike/1 mile run. Another early morning as we got up to make the 1 hour drive to the race, the fog was terrible on the drive so it took a little extra time. We got our packets and chips and waited in line for the one working bathroom. Then quickly set up our transition area and headed to the start with about 10 minutes to spare. We were in Wave 4, the waves started every minute. Matt and I just before the start of the first run. It was our turn to start, so we headed to the start line and we were off. The run was a pretty flat course. I looked down at about the 1 mile mark and realized my watch hadn't started. I was trying to not go out...

Okay so this is a little late, but things have been crazy. Last weekend started out with a long run for both Matt and I, 20 miles at the Bear Water Run for him and 23 miles with my team for me, so this will be more of a food report then anything else. We decided it would be a fun thing to do since we have started biking more, the course was 37 (ended up being 38.5 miles). I guess it was the weekend of bonus miles. We did it as a family event, my parents rode the 14 mile route and Matt's dad rode the longer route. The weather was perfect, maybe even a little cold for me at the start, but quickly got nice. We started a little around 7:45 with a lot of other people so had a difficult time getting any speed for the first few miles due to crowds and a big hill right away. Then the first stop came at about mile 6. Bruegger's Pumpkin bagels, yum. We ate and headed out past the lakes. Now we come to stop 2 at Nokomis with granola bars, fruit, and potato chips, okay so not as good as th...

On Teusday I decided to sign up for a 10K that was this morning, I haven't raced much this summer, my team runs tomorrow and Matt is gone so why not. The 10K is run with a 20 mile race and about 3/4 of the people run the 20 miler. When I registered I looked at last year's results and saw that the 1st woman finished in 44:xx, so not really attracting the elites. In the back of my head I thought maybe I'd have a chance of placing. Last night as I was figruing out where the race started, I notice 2 different start times listed (8 and 8:30) I figured I better get there before 8 to be safe. Got to the race area about 7:40, picked up my packet and oversized shirt, they didn't order enough smalls. I guess this is okay since they are kind of ugly anyways. The RD decided to start the race at 8:15 due to the time discrepencies. The race was iPod leagal, so last night I made a 10K playlist with all the songs that get me running faster. The weather was perfect, 50* with just a slig...

I love running in the rain, well at least on days like today when it is still warm and the rain just adds a cooling aspect to a run. This morning's run got a little interseting, it was sprinkling when I started running but within a few minutes it was pouring and the lightening started. I decided to head home and finsih my run on the treadmill. After 3 attempts to run on the treadmill resulting in 3 error messages and the belt stopping, I gave up figuring my run would be stopped at 1 mile. 15 minutes later the skies were clearing so I headed back out. It was still raining lightly, but I was still in my wet running clothes, so why not. I added on another 3.5 miles in the windy drizzle at a pretty good pace. 4.5 miles total in 35:10 7:49 average pace. I am finally startig to feel like I can get back to where I want to be with my running. I think that keeping my mileage low for almost 10 months now has really helped. I'm hoping to come back even stronger and faster then I was prior...

Today I decided to head out for a longish run, the original plan was 10 miles, but then before I started I changed that to 12 miles since I haven't done much in long runs lately. I always tell my runners not to add distance in the middle, but to add the miles at the end in case it gets tough or they decide the longer run isn't such a good idea anymore when they still have a few miles to run. As I got to my planned turn around I was felling good, so I added on another mile to make the run 14 miles. Not only did I lengthen my run, but I had started out faster then my long run pace. Around mile 8 I was starting to feel it in my legs, which are still sore from the relay this past weekend. I now had 6 miles (instead of 4) left to run on tired legs. Next time I should follow my own advice and add the miles at the end. 14.16 miles in 2:03:20 for 8:43 average pace, still faster then my long run pace should be by about 15 seconds per mile, only 20 seconds off marathon pace. This is why ...

Started my relay weekend by meeting Tessa, Jeannie, and Krista at the airport car rental, which is a chore in itself. I don't think they often see people drive in to the car rental. Went to get our car and saw that there was a Toyota Prius in the spot, uh no. Finally got the van issue figured out and we were on our way. Jill (the GPS) directed us down to LaCrosse, good thing since I was the only local and am terrible with directions. Made a stop for lunch and learned of Krista's love of baked goods and desire for a tattoo, although Jeannie never let us stop. Met up with the Elizabeth, Janice and Mickey in LaCrosse headed to the hotel and planned out dinner. I was excited to see an old favorite of mine is still up and running in LaCrosse, so it was an Italian dinner. We headed back to the hotel to consume wine and beer and wait for the rest of the group to arrive. Elizabeth and I made an attempt to watch the Olympics, but quickly learned that NBC is nonexistent in LaCrosse. Fran...

I debated even writing this, but I'm admitting my defeat and I learned some great lessons at my 1st real tri. A few years ago I did an indoor tri, but this was the first real outdoor tri. I felt ready had done OW swimming, plenty of biking and running, but things were not going to go as planned on Sunday...500 meter swim/15 mile bike/5K run. Arrived at the park early on Sunday to set up my transition area and then sat with Matt down by the lake until the pre-race meeting started. The swim course didn't look too bad. I was in wave 3 and had decided against a wet suit since the water temp was 77* and I was fine during my OW swims. This morning the air temp was much colder then during my past 2 OW swims. When I got in the water to start I was shivering. I swam about 100 meters (1/2 way to the 1st turn) and felt my lungs tighten up. I just couldn't get any air. I tried to backstroke for the next 100 and take some deep breathes which only slightly helped. At this point I had 300...

In one week I will turn 30! What am I doing to celebrate, well only something a runner would do...Ragnar starts on my birthday this year so I thought of course I've got to do that! Myself along with 11 other women will be running 206 miles from LaCrosse to Minneapolis. We each take 3 legs and rotate until I get to cross the finish line! We'll start Friday morning and finish Saturday afternoon. Then the celebration starts. In the mean time, I am celebrating tonight with friends, food and wine at our house. Oh, yeah and my first tri on Sunday. Since you race tris in the age group you will be at the end of the year, I will be doing my first race with the 30-34 year olds. No more racing against the college or even high school runners.

I went to yet another doctor (sports podiatrist) today and finally some potentially good news. He did say my orthotics that were custom made in April are completely wrong and he can't do anything with them, but the store orthotics I bought he likes. He added some support which he thinks will really help. I am trying out these changes and going back next week to see if anything else needs to change. He also thinks that if we get these right then I probably won't need to stop running after the fall marathons, just keep lower mileage for the winter. I also learned why I have been having such crappy runs, my work shoes offer no support making my ankle, hip, knee work hard all day that by the time I try to run they are already tired, duh! So next week I need to bring in my work shoes and see what we can do with insoles for those. He did say that on my MRI from April, there is fluid around the tendon sheath, but not enough to need to remove at this point. We'll just watch this.

Back in late May Morgan had a photo shoot done to be part of a website dedicated to black dogs since black dogs are often the last dogs to get adopted or are even left behind. Maybe I'm the odd one, but I searched out a black dog when we were looking and got my boy... Check out the Black Dogs Blog or http://www.startseeingblackdogs.com Here are a few pictures of us running at the lakes from the photo shoot and a couple of him relaxing and eating sand afterwards... How can you resist that face? What a sweet looking boy...

On Tuesday I went back to the sports doc for a recheck of my ankle tendon issues and didn't get good news. I wasn't expecting anything great, but was hoping. After 6 weeks of decreased mileage (20-25 mpw) and PT I had made no progress and my performance at last weekend's Half only proved this. He knows I am coaching and have 2 full marathons (no longer 3) to run in October. Other then that I only have 2 other races left this year, a sprint tri next weekend and the Relay in 2 weeks. I have been cleared to continue running through Dublin Marathon and then I am done until this thing is healed for good. In the mean time I am being sent to yet another doctor who can possibly fix my worthless orthotics that were custom made in April to fix the problem but only made it worse. If this doesn't work I may need to buy an entirely new pair. The good news, at this point he still does not think that surgery is the best plan. So when Matt and I return from Europe in November I will be...

This has not been my year for distance and since G'mas my running has been limited to 20 mpw (I'm trying to keep it close). No speedwork and real training, just easy miles and hills which I can't avoid. This was my 1st half since April 2007 and I was hoping for greatness after my 10K PR last month. Despite the forcasts all week saying that it would be 90*, at the start of the race it was nice and cool which I took as a good sign. My goal was to run 7:45-7:50 pace, to PR I would need 7:53 pace or better. Mile 1: 8:01 (A little crowded) Mile 2: 7:34 (Oops, maybe a little fast) Mile 3: 7:50 Mile 4: 7:58 (Crowded, narrow trails, couldn't pass or run faster for miles 3-6) Mile 5: 7:54 Mile 6: 8:09 (Took a Gu) Mile 7: 7:56 Mile 8: 8:00 (Stupid water stop in the middle of a downhill) Mile 9: 8:10 (Ankle started to hurt, figured I would be smart to slow down) Mile 10: 7:54 Mile 11: 8:02 Mile 12: 8:29 Mile 13: 8:12 Mile 13.1: 0:45 Final:1:44:59 8:01 Pace, I think 19/215 Age Grou...

So after using every excuse I could come up with to avoid getting in a lake to swim, I finally did an open water (OW) swim tonight! Much different than swimming in the pool and watching the lane lines, I was lost with the murkiness of the water. I found myself swimming quite crooked many times. On a positive note, I never touched a fish or anything else gross, although I did freak when a weed wrapped on my arm. Robin and I swam for about 30 minutes followed by a 3.5 mile easy run. Both were done on the tri course. We actually met the race director and he showed us the course and where transitions would be. I am feeling a little better after tonight, but still I need to work on my swimming...

A few weeks ago Matt finally decided to join a running club. This is the same run club I belong to, but at a different location of the gym (the one much closer to our house). I just never switched after we moved since I know everyone I run with and now that I coach I don't make too often. Last evening I was actually home and he was going to run with his group, so I thought I would come with and see this group that he described as "misfits". We ran an easy 2 miles to the gym to meet the group. The first thing I hear is "so you're quite the runner" huh? I never thought of myself more then an average runner, I have only ran for 6 years I'm not that accomplished, I just like it. We take off to run, the plan is 5 miles, I tell Matt I'll meet him back at the gym for our run home. It was an out and back, so the 1st and last mile are very hilly, but I took off at a comfortable pace and was running 7:45s. At the turnaround, I hear someone coming up behind me ...

I just need to vent, I think this has been the week they let the idiots out on the trails and the roads. I always encounter stupid people with the amount of time I spend out biking and running, but this past week has been extreme... -A woman walking her small, yippy dog on an exti-leash while reading a book. Yes she had her face buried in the book and was paying no attention to the dog. -A woman rollerblading while pushing a small baby in a regular stroller, not a baby jogger. That is an injury waiting to happen. -4 teenage girls hanging out with their bikes blocking the entire path having a conversation. -Multiple people riding bikes on the wrong side of the path, 2 women in particular riding side by side so slow they were swerving. They made no attempt to move out of my way as I rode towards them and told me I was rude for commenting they needed to share the path. -Stupid drivers not stopping for runners in crosswalks. 4 cars actually sped past me as I tried to cross right in front o...

I've been keeping my running miles low since Grandma's 4 weeks ago and since I am still limited to 20 mpw a long run is a little tough. This morning was perfect for a run. My teams are getting into the tough training of double digit runs and it is great to see the improvement they have made in the past 2 months. Today they ran anywhere from 8 to 16 miles depending on what they were training for. I ran 13 pain free miles and had some great conversations with my runners. It was great, we ran the portion of TCM that goes along the river (miles 14-21), one of the toughest sections of the course, at least I think it is (all my bad memories start during this time). Today it didn't seem as bad as I remember it to be, likely due to fresh legs and a shorter run :) 2 weeks until my next race (Urban Wildland Half) my 1st half since April 2007 and I'm hoping to PR. I love the half distance and can't wait to actually race it again.

Here are pics of the 3 of us who did Life Time Tri last weekend... Cheri coming out of the water after the swim Vic on the bike. Me crossing the finish line.

I started for my 2nd round of physical therapy on my ankle yesterday this time with a much better person who actually understands my injury. Earlier in the day, I was in clinic with John and we were discussing some new research about lower extremity injuries in endurance athletes being caused by hip instability, sure enough I get to PT that afternoon and find out that my hip is part of the problem. Along with the crappy custom orthotics I had made and the past PT who was having me stretch and already over stretched tendon. I am now working on strengthening both my ankle and hips and increasing my balance. I am still on a running restriction and can't do any other strengthening or weights until the PT okay's it. Someday this will all be over and I will be a stronger and more appreciative runner.

I did the running part for an Olympic distance (1.5K swim/40K bike/10K run) tri relay yesterday morning. One of the runners on my team was registered, but has been injured and couldn't bike or run so we got her reigisration changed to a relay team this past week, she swam, another TNT guy biked, and I ran. This tri is huge, over 3000 athletes in both Olympic and sprint courses, I've watched it twice, but never participate and thought this would be a great way to be on the inside and maybe learn a few tips for my tri next month. I was so impressed watching the pros, the men left the water in 18 minutes and still looked unbelieveable later when we saw them starting the run. When we were standing on the beach before the swimmers started, I realized that the guy who was on the Bachelor a couple seasons ago was standing right next to me, I kept trying to figure out why I knew him. Waited around and got to watch as my team swam and biked, then it was my turn to run the 10K, a 2 loop ...

Yesterday I did my first "real" tri workout, yeah I have been swimming and biking with my usual running but nothing like this. Since I am restricted on my weekly mileage, I am increasing the biking and swimming, trying to do more than I need for the tri. Yesterday I did my first real brick workout: bike 22.25 miles in 1:25 (15.6 mph) slower than usual, but the trails were packed with so many leisurely bikers and rollerbladers, followed by 2.15 miles of running in 17:25 (8:07 pace). It took my legs about 1/2 mile to loosen up and increase the speed, but after that I didn't feel too bad. Looking at this, I think I would do better at a longer distance to give my legs that warm up time on the run, now just to get better at swimming.

Since my few short runs after Grandma's the pain has returned to my right ankle so I decided that it made sense to get in to see a sports doc sooner than later this time. I had a great swim this morning, 35 minutes total with 14 minutes of continuous swimming, followed by 2.5 miles of running. That was not the best idea since I was in pain by the end. My tendon has been reaggravated and I am now restricted to 20 miles a week of running, I guess I'll have to focus on the biking an swimming. I am also going to make some shoe and orthotic changes to see if that helps since the doc thinks they aren't exactly right for me. He is also sending me to PT, he tried to get me into see the best PT for runners in the Midwest, but she is booked until late August so I'm settling for his second choice who I can see in two weeks. He thinks I need ankle strengthening and a gait analysis. After some PT I'll go back in 3-6 weeks and depending on my progress, the next step is a cortison...

It's only June (well almost July) and Matt and I are already looking ahead to Winter. I have a requirement to leave the cold and snow at least once to keep my sanity each Winter. Since we have a big trip planned for the Fall to Europe, a big Winter vacation is probably not in the plans. Instead we're looking at a long weekend around a warm weather marathon. The plan is to go sometime in January or February to give Matt enough time to recover from TCM and be ready for his 3rd marathon and me be ready for my 13th marathon. Hoping for lucky #13. We're open to anything with warmer weather and vacation spot for a few days, but are thinking about New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon http://www.mardigrasmarathon.com/ or Birmingham Mercedes Marathon http://www.mercedesmarathon.com/ The finisher's medal is a Mercedes Hood Ornament which Matt thinks is just hilarious. As I am typing I just came across another possibility First Light Marathon in Mobile http://www.firstlightmarathon.com...

Race Start- I always think these are cool pictures. Somewhere in the middle, notice the nice look on my face. A better picture from during the race, I may actually be smiling in this one. Crossing the Finish Line! Now where's the food?! Matt crossing the Finish Line in his 1st Marathon! Way to Go!