Two Ears One Mouth

What a week! Does anyone else feel like this month just flew by? During every day this week I've been dragging and then out of nowhere it was Sunday. But I can't let another moment pass without gushing one last time about Ironman Louisville . As you may or may not know, this was the last year the race would be held in August and also the last time there would be a pro field. There will definitely be a big difference in the way the race feels next year which is sad but change isn't always bad so we'll just have to see how it plays out. Two guys from church were racing and a few others I knew so we went all out making signs for them. The night before was really rainy so we had to get up super early to place them along the run course. This year my sister and I volunteered it up again and worked in T1 and then the bike special needs station up in Buckner. There was a heat advisory all weekend which is pretty normal for August in Louisville but we've had a...

Remember that time I swam in the river and had a panic attack and had to sing It's a Small World over and over while a kayaker looked on and pitied me? No? Read about that here . Anyway, I tried it again yesterday and thankfully did much better! I don't panic in open water anymore (hallelujah!) so I already had a huge advantage over the last time. The swim wasn't until 9:15 so The Colonel and I just woke up like we normally do for work which was a nice change over the normal before dawn wake up calls. Unfortunately we woke up to rain which was going to continue throughout the morning. I've never swam or raced a tri in the rain so this was new territory but I just pretended it was a run and reminded myself that weather is always something we just have to put up with. We got to the site and saw a couple from church I'm trying to court into friendship with us so it was fun getting to chat with them. The husband will be an Ironman in a few weeks so definitely a little...

Let's Tarentino this report. I finished the swim! Our cyclist finished the ride! Our runner finished the run! We finished the race (and in less than 7 hours!) So how did it go? Let's go back...and I'll warn you, it's a long one. Much like every race report. I bought new goggles with better tint since everyone in the Muncie Facebook group who had raced before said if the sun was out it would be blinding after the second turn. I drove to the pool and did a quick 20 minutes to make sure they fit and shake out a little energy. Thursday night I got everything packed up since we were leaving Friday afternoon after my much needed massage. As usual I had a little help getting things together. But he's generally more into directing since he doesn't have thumbs.  Friday afternoon my sister and I hit the road for the 3 hour drive. We opted against using the highway the whole way since construction is crazy and unpredictable. The winding country roads kept things int...

Can somebody please explain to me how it's July 11th? If I feel this crazy before a half iron relay it's probably for the best that I wimped out of Raleigh! I've been cruising along all week feeling pretty ok, even this morning I was alright. And then I got on the internet. It's that typical pre-race panic that accompanies every race but this one is on roids. Probably because this is something I've never done before. So it's like the first time all over again, except I think I'd forgotten what it felt like. But then I find a calm when I think back to my very first open water swim. I can now look back on it with a smile and a sense of pride unique to that experience and swimming in general. I posted yesterday on my various social media accounts about how far I've come as a swimmer. I still have trouble typing that without quotes. When I first tried this swimming for fitness thing out I couldn't make it 25 meters. I couldn't tread water w...

Good Morning! I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July weekend! I'm not a huge fan of holidays in general, being a creature of habit and schedules and all but 4th of July is particularly troublesome for me because I also don't like staying up late or loud noises. I'm beyond old lady status. But on the bright side the incessant noise scored me some extra cuddles with my pup who after a full day of just being angry and barking at the noise gave in to her fear. I tried to carry on as normal as possible all weekend but I've got big things happening this July and it's making me totally CRAZY. Saturday is the Ironman Muncie relay and if you recall, I was dumb enough to claim the swimmer spot. I've raced a lot so it's not like I'm not used to training, tapering, carbing, butterflies and being generally insane but this is different. All of the races I've done have been on land or at least had a land component but this swim only thing is just co...

If you follow me on instagram or twitter (yes, I've just learned how to use instagram and twitter) then you pretty much already know what the verdict is. Turns out that mysterious pain in my leg I've been complaining about yet ignoring for months is a femoral stress fracture. What does that mean? No weight bearing for 6 weeks (December 23rd) which means crutches and no running, walking or cycling. Now that I've had time to digest the news I'd say I'm doing ok. Probably slightly under par. I am doing the stay positive thing and as much positive self talk as I can stomach and for the most part it's ok. I smile and am overly chipper throughout the day to keep the spirits up but by nighttime it all sort of rolls in and I just wanna stomp my feet and cry. I don't stomp, since that would just make things worse but I do sometimes get all teary and huffy and witchy. Let's do a brief recap. Last Monday I had the initial appointment with the ortho and was...

I am totally experiencing the Murphy's Law of marathon training. The race is a month away and I haven't run longer than 16 miles. I haven't run consistently in 2 weeks. I ran the 5K Sunday as part of the tri but when I tried 5 miles on Tuesday I made it 2.5 before the mysterious leg pain reared its ugly head. I decided to take it easy and hold out for the 18 miles scheduled on Saturday (aka today). I'd really like to say I'm coming to you from a sore and satisfied place but I'm not. There was another wrench thrown in. Remember that head on collision I had in the pool during the Tri for Sight? No big deal right? I drove back home Sunday and things were fine. Had a little headache, neck and left shoulder were a little stiff but nothing new for after a race. I took Monday off from workouts which depressed me of course and then had the failed run Tuesday. Tuesday morning my neck was incredibly sore and I figured I'd slept on it wrong plus I'm always a litt...

Good Morning! Remember how I said I wasn't racing in any tris this year? Because I was so busy/stressed/etc. etc.? Well apparently I'm not that busy (and in better shape than I thought) because I last minute signed up to do the Tri for Sight Sunday in Lexington and peer pressured Autumn into doing the duathlon. I was far too busy watching U of L beat UK in football Saturday to make it there to pick up my packet so we had an early morning Sunday. I had to be at packet pick up at 5:30 and be out of transition by 7 so I was up at 3:30 and left by 4:15 for the hour and some change drive. The Colonel was nice enough to do the driving so all I had to do was sit, eat and sing. Oh, and FREEZE. It happened to be the first weekend in a long time with 40 degree morning temperatures so that made things interesting. As you know, I love the cold so there was lots of shivering but no complaining on my part! A few of the Landsharks were also racing so it was cool to feel like part of a tea...