Ironman - T-12 weeks, vacation week & I turned 53!

Time is flying by! I'm starting to see the end of this training coming very fast and I'm beginning to get excited & scared all roll into one!  12 weeks till race day.  Do you know how fast that will fly by?  Just 3 months! YIKES 

This week I also had a planned vacation.  I haven't had a simple vacation in awhile.  I've been doing a lot of runcations.... destinations in which I had a race planned.  I was looking forward to some downtime from racing and also some downtime from work!  I researched the area in which I was going for a pool where I would be able to get in my swims.  I knew even on vacation that I would have a workout schedule.  However, when I got my schedule for the week I was surprised to see this note from my coach:

This week is AT YOUR LEISURE!! (except the 16 miler - that's a key session). But otherwise, easy, relaxing week!! All workouts can be swapped around or completely ignored ;)

But for those of you that know me well, you know that I planned to get in every workout.  I love to have all "green" on my TP.  LOL  I get down when I miss a workout.  I know... call me crazy.  :>)   However, I did miss my 2 swim workouts due to having a flat tire and me not checking the pool schedule to make sure of the times it was open to the public.  GRRRRR ... At first I was aggravated so much about missing my swim, but after a couple of days I finally convinced myself it was OK.  Heck, my neck & shoulders actually needed a break.  I've been really tight in that area and having a ton of what I call a crick in my neck.  Could be work.... could be sleep.. or could be swim...   who knows... but it felt better the week I was off on vacation. :>) 

So me and my children went to Destin for the week beginning on Saturday.  Had a flat tire literally the moment we arrived into town! What a bummer!  We did have a little adventure getting it changed.  The first guy that offered to help made me and Erin very uneasy.  He was all tattooed up and had such a foul mouth.  He used cuss words in his regular speech.  I heard the F word many times!  And I have nothing against tattoos... my daughter has 3.  I just wonder about people that have them from head to toe.... like is any of that ink going in their body?? ... is that safe??...  I know... weird thoughts... but I have them.  :>)  He tried his best to help.  At one point I saw him jumping up and down on the bar tightening the lug nuts!  I told him and then he starting looking up youtube videos on changing a tire.  I knew we were in trouble then. Ha   Erin called her brother to find out where they were at ... they were in a different vehicle ... and told him to come help mom. :>)  He showed up and a young kid from Madison, Ms came over to help, who ended up having an impact wrench in his tool box.. THANK GOODNESS... so they got the tire changed.  I offered to pay them for helping, but no one would take any money.  The first kid with the foul mouth told us and I quote.. "I've been in prison and shit so I figured I'd give back to society by trying to help".  LOL  Here's a few pictures of our adventure:

The first few days were beautiful, but extremely hot and humid.  It wasn't even pleasant to sit out on the deck to drink your coffee in the mornings so you could watch the waves.  It was like an oven when you opened the door to walk out at 6am.  GEEZ...   The water however was so clear!!  It was the prettiest water I've seen since Hawaii.

Sunday we were all tired from the travel on Saturday due to the HEAVY TRAFFIC.  It was bumper to bumper almost the whole way going 20-30 mph!  So we spent most of the day at the beach on Sunday. 

We played a little football and pong ball.  It was a nice day.  I got in a run early that morning and boy was I soaked.  It was so HUMID & HOT.   

Monday was my birthday.  53! Where has the time gone!! Seems like yesterday I was turning 35! 

We rented a pontoon boat and went out to Crab Island for the morning.
Girls didn't like early morning wake up and took a nap on the boat. ha

We couldn't stay all day because we had my daughter's dog with us and needed to get back to the condo to let him out to the bathroom.  He was no trouble except that we could not be gone long from the condo.  He had to be let out to the bathroom every 4 hours or so and we couldn't take him every where we went.  That was aggravating.  Dogs aren't allowed on the beach and there were only a handful of restaurants that allowed dogs.... and you had to eat outside on their decks where it was HOT.  We learned a lot having a dog with us for the first time on vacation.. hee hee   I didn't do any workouts on Monday.  I took my birthday off.  I did have to check on my tire that afternoon to find out if it could be fixed.  The tire store said it couldn't be fixed.... had to order a new tire.  That took up most of my afternoon because driving 2 miles from our condo would take you 30-45 minutes due to the traffic! We did go down to Sandestin Baytowne for dinner.  We ended up having dinner where there was live music and the guy was so good!  I really enjoyed it... plus my kids picked up the tab. :>)  

Here are a few pictures from Crab Island.. the water was PERFECT.. Great Birthday!: 

The rest of the week was full of showers off and on.  We'd have sun a few hours and then rain.  Captured this nice rainbow after one afternoon storm.  Tropical storm Barry was brewing. 

By Thursday double red flags were going up at the beach.  The waves were so bad you could not get in the water.  I did however finish my book on the beach while the kids went to ride scooters.  This is a great book! 

 Boss getting his ride. :>)

They did stop on the scooters long enough to come grab a beach picture with me.  That's the reason they aren't in swim suits. ha  Every day I wanted beach pictures and by the time we got around to take some the storms would roll in and everyone was running back to their condos to get out of the lightening. 

We even had dinner at the Paula Dean restaurant.  I had never been to one so I decided we would try it.  

One night we went down to Harbor walk and talked Brett into letting a man draw him and Whitney.  It was a lot of fun watching and the guy did a great job! 

And of course we had to go to Louisiana Lagniappe to eat one night.  

We played dominoes a couple of times and of course Boss was in my lap! AND we learned that Brett is very good in MATH!  He surprised his sister!  Playing with double nines can really add up when several are on the board that count. :>)  

Brett has the sweetest girlfriend.  I'm glad she came with us.  I hope he treats her like a queen always. :>)

One day I even talked Erin into doing 2 miles with me. :>)  I'm trying to get her motivated for the half marathon later this year!

I ended up getting in 22.7 miles of running and 65 miles on the bike for the week.  No swim, but that's ok... it's back on this week. :>)  Count down continues... 11 weeks till race day! 

It was a nice week away from work.  :<>)

P.S. the only thing I wanted to do on vacation that I didn't get to do was watch the Blue Angels! I had planned to go to Pensacola on Friday to watch their show, but due to tropical storm Barry there was a lot of question as to whether or not they would be able to fly so we didn't make the drive.  I heard they only flew a limited show due to the weather.  Maybe next time I'll see them. :>)

The Shark Run - Flora Bama 7-4-19

The Shark Run hosted by Harley Sports on 7-4-19

our race shirts. :>)

A 4th of July adventure.  When registering you had the option of picking either the 4 mile road race or the original 4.5 adventure run (mostly on beach).  Of course I picked the adventure run. :>)  I thought all my friends would also be doing the adventure run, but I found out right before the race that they all picked the road race. LOL   We've all ran on the beach and know how difficult it can be so they all said they were not doing that again. :>)   I almost changed to the road race that morning, but decided not to go to all the trouble.  

The night before my husband and I had rushed to get to Gulf Shores after work.  We got to go eat at one of our favorite places for dinner..... Louisiana Lagniappe.   It was FABULOUS!  I got my usual... the chef's special.  It's not on the menu.  They typically tell you about it when they seat you at your table.  It's fish baked in parchment paper for 18 minutes topped with crab meat & shrimp and then topped with some sauce after it's baked.  It is DELICIOUS!  

Now back to the race... hee hee  

Race morning it was already HOT at 6am!  I meet up with my PPRF group and we got a couple of pictures before the start. 

Also, ran into my friend Mo who lives in the area when I went inside to run to the bathroom real quick.  Say a prayer for her.  Her cancer is back and there is basically nothing to cure it.  She told me she's dying.  I felt so bad.  She continues to run at all the races, which she laughed and said I'll be dog last, but I'm not stopping.  I originally met her years ago at a race through another good friend.  Since then we've always chatted when we'd run into each other from time to time at races.  She is known for the "queen" at the Marine Corps marathon for setting a fast time several years ago, plus she's ran the marathon every year for many years.  My heart just breaks for her that she's dealing with cancer.  Here we are:

She told me she was also running the beach run.  I didn't see her once the race started.  I did see her after the race and she told me she placed 2nd in her age group with her horrible time.    I congratulated her, but honestly I didn't know what to say.  What do you say to someone that keeps telling you they are dying ????  I told her I'd continue to pray for her.  I don't think she's religious.  She's very mad at God and voices that opinion.  So I just hugged her and told her I'd be praying.  I'm praying for her soul.  I can't imagine someone dying that isn't saved.   And she's a good person.  She'd do anything for you.  But we all know that's not what gets you to Heaven.  

So back to the race again...  Boy it was HOT.  They said they had over 1,000 participants.  The first 1.7 miles was on the road.  I was running fast and felt great.  My first mile was 8:36.  I grinned from ear to ear when my watch beeped and thanked Lisa for my speed work run she made me do on Tuesday. :>)   

But at mile 1.7 is where the ones of us that were running the 4.5 adventure run turned to get on the beach.  A truck was parked where everyone was taking off their socks and shoes before going on to run on the beach.  I debated for a minute to not take mine off then I remembered how the last time it took weeks and weeks to get all the sand out of my shoes.  No matter how many times I washed them the next time I ran in them, sand would work it's way in my socks. :(    So I stopped and took off mine and took the time to tie my shoes together.  I could just see the mess it was going to be to find my shoes at the end because everyone was throwing shoes all over in the back of the truck. LOL  

Now the real work starts!  If you've ever ran on the beach then you know how it will really work ya calves!  The water had beat the sand to where you had the choice of either running in the white sand that was so thick and each time you picked up ya foot you kicked sand all up the back of your legs.... or you could run down by the water ..... but the water was washing in so fast the sand was not hard and you snuck down into the sand.  No matter how you ran, it wasn't easy.  Plus did I mention they had people playing sharks along the course trying to grab your flag.  Kind of like flag football.  You had to try to outrun them! Or if they got your flag, you had to get it back because if you didn't cross the finish line with your flag, you were not eligible for awards!  I almost pulled a muscle running from one kid trying to get my flag. :>)   It definitely was an adventure! 

I was glad when it was over.  LOL  The group grabbed a picture out on the beach before awards:

Then to my surprise... I got grand masters! 

 My shark teeth medal. 

It was something fun to do on the 4th! Next year our group hopes to all do the Peach Tree 10K in Atlanta, GA.  I love these crazy people... we are always looking for our next run adventure.. :>) 

Now it's 13 weeks till IRONMAN... time is passing by so FAST!  In the last 7 days I've had 4 runs total 23.5 miles, 2 swims total 5,025 yards, & biked 60.1 miles...  This weekend will be my lighter weekend with bike and run and I'm headed back to the beach for a WEEK.  YIPPIE.  My family is headed to Destin and I hope we have a nice relaxing time.  I need a little break.  Of course my training will continue.  I've already found a pool where I can go swim to get my swims in for the week. :>)  But for the rest of the day I won't be at a desk working... I'll be reading a book and listening to the waves I hope. :>)  

Happy 4th of July to all of you! Hope you had a great one. 

T - 14 Weeks till Ironman Chattanooga

It's hard to believe that Chattanooga is 14 weeks away! 

Not my leg... just an FYI for some that will ask. :>) 

People keep asking me how my training is going.  It's going pretty good so far.  But I tend to not talk too much about it in depth.  This may sound weird to some, but I'm almost afraid to talk about it too much or get too excited.  It's like I don't want to get all pumped up to just be let down.  All the hard work put in last year and then a week before the race to have a wreck that put me out of the race really took a toll on me.  Maybe it was also the loss of a father-in-law and a step-son during this same time.  

They say writing down your feelings help...  I've been dealing with a lot of mix emotions that I've been keeping inside.  I know this is not good.  What we push down inside will eventually explode like a volcano.  I have so many WHYS....  Why did God allow me to have that bike wreck?... Why did God take Drew who was only 40 and had 3 young girls? Why do I have friends dealing with cancer? ...... Why do I have friends that are grieving a child? ..... Why.. Why ... Why...  I feel as if I can't talk to my husband about all of these Whys...because he has his own Whys and is going through his own grief.  It's not fair for me to throw mine at him too.  So I've been just pushing all those emotions deep down.  And let's face it... I've always been a type of loner.  I keep many things inside.  I only share the deep stuff with a select few.  If you are in that group, you are someone I trust deeply.    

God works in mysterious ways.  I just came across this new book that I started reading and boy has it spoken to me.  The title is "Run the mile you are in".  

It's a book about an Olympic runner with a deep rooted faith in God.  I can't begin to tell you how much I'm enjoying this book and I'm only half way into it.  Ryan, the runner, had many, many let downs in his running career.  But God would always remind him that he was still there.  Ryan talks in details about his personal relationship with God. I know in my heart that God is always with us whether it is good or bad stuff we are facing.  I just haven't been leaning on that faith as much as I should be the past 2 years.   In the book, Ryan talks about his struggles when he thought God didn't show up during a race.  He says he realized that he would never understand why God sometimes says yes and other times he says no.  He had to be learn to be okay with that mystery and trust God, who is the ultimate Father and will always do what is best for his children.  He went on to talk about one of his races where he fell way behind the lead pack.  He was not known for encouraging others.  Matter of fact Ryan says it isn't typically done at all among elite marathoners.  He was out for that medal and HIS win.  But during this race when he left awful.. he was so behind....  God told him to encourage the other runners.  He said as he begin to encourage each runner he ran beside that it was like he forgot about how poorly his race was going.  He forgot about how tired he was and even though he knew only a miracle could bring him to the finish line with a win at this point, God was performing a miracle inside of him.  God was using him to bring his kingdom into the Olympic Marathon.  He said he experience the truth.. when we encourage others, we find ourselves encouraged.  "The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered," Proverbs 11:25.   WOW.. just WOW... I can say from personal experience that the races that I've taken time to encourage other runners, have been the races I enjoyed the most. 

I could go on and on telling you stories in this book.  You should grab you a copy.  It has made me think long and hard about myself.  I want to be that person that encourages others.  I want to be that person that trust God fully.  :>)   I'm human and I would like to say that I'd never battle frustration or discouragement again, like my bike wreck where after a year of training I could not race, but I know that's not true.  So I must trust and have faith.  God is a good father who always has my best interests at heart. :>)

 

So how is my training going you ask..... well, some days it's HARD and some days it's not as hard....  This past week I had 4 brick workouts within 7 days.  I thought I was going to die on the 4th and longest one.  It was soooo HOT and HUMID.  Even though I was drinking, I was sweating so much that I was soaked and when I tried to go to bathroom I had no pee.  I was literally sweating out everything I was drinking.  I felt like warmed over road kill.  I just wanted to be done.  I kept asking myself how in the heck am I going to make it in July & August in this heat.  The heat really takes a toll on me.  I'm toast the rest of the day after a long hot workout.  I go home and crash while thanking Jesus I have air conditioner. 

HOWEVER, I have been getting some good hills in on the bike.  I was really concerned with me not training with Jason this year as to whether or not I'd be able to bike some on hills.  There are just not many areas that I would ride in especially if I was alone.  The place where I purchased my bike has group rides almost every Saturday.  They ride in the Hattiesburg area off the trace mainly in neighborhoods full of hills.  I've started riding with them when I can and it's been good for me.  They are a great group of riders.  Matter of fact their bike shirts, which anyone can purchase in their store, has one of my favorite bible verses on it! Philippians 4:13 

Check out these hills on the last ride I did with them.

I don't believe my garmin's data on max speed.... ha  there is no way I did 51 mph!  Jenn's said 32 and the week before that's what mine said too so I think my speed sensor must of lost signal or something for just a little bit. Hee Hee

The week before bike stats:

I've enjoyed the group rides.  I can't hang with the A group (they are super fast!), but I am still getting in a great workout. :>)  I can feel my body getting stronger.  The first week I went with them the hills almost killed me.  Then the next week it felt much easier.  They say practice makes it better. :>) 

Had my first really long swim this go around of training last week.. 3,200 yards.   I survived.  LOL  It really wasn't that bad.  Just keep thinking .... just keep swimming.... just keep swimming....  Got 3,500 yards later this week. :>)  building to that 4,400!

Running... My foot isn't bothering me like last year... PRAISE JESUS.  This time last year I did the Kona marathon and really didn't think I would finish due to that dang PF in my foot was so bad.  Took like 9 months for it to stop hurting.  Now I will say after a long run my arch of my foot will be sore BUT, it's nothing like last year.  So I just keep stretching and stretching most every day.  I know I have that cyst on my foot so I can expect some soreness from running.  But as long as it ain't the PF hurting, I can manage. :>) 

My goal is ... one day at a time.  Don't sweat the future.  Just take one day at a time and keep moving.  If it's God's will this time, I'll finish the race and then take a nice REST... I mean NICE REST... Like COUPLE WEEKS :>)   There are many others things I want to do beside this ironman, but when training for an ironman there isn't much time for anything else.  LOL  My husband and I were talking this weekend about the fact that he wants to take a vacation to Yellowstone.  I do too and guess what???  there is a half marathon there next June.  I told my husband and figured he'd be like oh man that is all you ever want to do... but instead he said let's plan it.  I was THRILLED!  He rarely goes to races with me and to go do a race there and see the country side... oh man.. I can't wait!  Let the planning begin! :>) 

I hope if you are reading this and you are training that your training is going well also.  And if you are not training but going through something in your own life.... Let's take a deep breath and just take one bite of the pie each day.  Focus only on today and trust God.  Run the mile you are in... no more. :>)  Find God in every step. :>) 

Team Run4TheKids Annual Race

Hard to believe this year is the 6th year we've hosted a local race to raise money for St. Jude! 

Our shirts were awesome this year!  We've had so many compliments on them.  The Print Press in Laurel always does such a good job for us! 

This year we decided to only do a 5K instead of trying to do a 5K & a 10K together.  Our 10K registrations were extremely low last year.  Which our overall race numbers were low last year so I really didn't know how this year would go.  Some years we've had up to 300 runners and then last year we barely made it to 100.  There seems to be so many local 5Ks around and it's so HARD to find a date that doesn't compete with another race.  We finally picked a date and at the time there were no other races listed in Hattiesburg.  However, about 2 months prior to our race I noticed the Blue Line Challenge was going to be the same day.  That's a pretty big race in Hattiesburg because it supports the law enforcement.  So I worried even more about our race.  

I didn't need to worry though.  God had it all under control.  I really need to learn that when I pray that I need to just leave it there at God's feet and not worry so much.  Our race was a huge success!  We had 180 that were pre-registered by race morning.  I was super excited because typically we have anywhere from 20-50 more register on race morning.  We ended up with slightly over 200 signed up.  Thank you sweet Jesus.  He had us the whole time. :>)  

 Some of my family that came and my niece who was the cutest little superhero! 

Nestor with his son, who was part of the group from PBP Couch to 5K!  So glad they joined our race! 

I can't thank the people enough that came to our race.  Some may actually understand how much the money we raise helps the families at St. Jude and some probably don't.  I never really fully understood until I visited St. Jude children's Hospital 7 years ago.  It light a fire deep inside of me to raise money for these precious families.  :>)  So if you were participating at our race.... THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!  And a BIG thanks to KOHLER that volunteered to have a table at our finish line with drinks and snacks for all the runners!  How awesome is that for a business to get involved on race day!!!?? 

I also want to thank the team members that came and worked the race! 

Ronnie and Be had a great 5K turn around table! They even brought an aunt to help them. :>) 

And THANKS to Southern Race Timing for always doing our timing and helping us raise money for St. Jude! Renee & Dennis are the best! 

Our team is smaller this year.  We have several that are taking a break due to either being busy with small kids or life in general.  I often tell people not to worry about taking a break whether it's due to kids or personal reasons.  I understand that life is busy.  But I plan to keep this team around for a long time so feel free to come back anytime and join us. :>)  A big thanks to Nestor, Ronnie & Be, Charity, Sunshine, Erin, Krista, Jennifer, & Jane that all worked the race!  I couldn't have done it without your help!  And a SUPER BIG thanks to Sunshine that makes our homemade medals every year!! This allows us to raise even more money for the kids because we don't have that extra cost for medals. :>)  What a blessing it is to have a team member like Sunshine willing to make medals from her own money. :>)  

I love this team and what we do!  I also love that my daughter is involved and goes to Memphis with me each year to do the 5K with my mom.... but this year I've talked her into the half marathon!  Gonna be a great December! 

Me, Erin & boss (aka the dog)

If you ever have a chance to help St. Jude, do it! So far our small team has raised almost $9,000!  Looking forward to see what we raise by December.  Here's our team link if you'd like to make a donation:

http://heroes.stjude.org/_R4TK

There is great joy in running for others! Just ask us. :>) Thanks Team Run4TheKids