Moving Right Along...

random thoughts today

Today is Lola's last day of pre-school and I cannot believe it is here. This year had gone by so fast...if you have been reading for a while, here is a little snippet of how my girl has grown since starting this blog.

There is no doubt about it, she is MY girl!! While I am sad that these years are passing so quickly and she is no longer my "baby", I am so proud of her and what a beautiful little girl she is on both the inside and outside. This child has a heart filled with love and I hope she stays this way for many years to come.

Quassy is just around the corner and this year the entire family will be traveling down with me. I am so excited to have my "new" husband there with me, by my side and along for the journey. I am so proud of all he has accomplished in the last several months. I look forward to cheering HIM on as well :)

As for the Quassy half race itself, the only thing I really have as a goal this year for the race is to execute a solid run. I know I can bike and I can bike the hell out of those hills but I need to put my ego in my back pocket and focus on the run this year. That run kicked my biscuits last year and I intend to do things a little different this year. After all there is no such thing as a great bike and a shitty run...right??

As for the swim, this should be interesting. I have not even been in open water yet this season. It has been a very long and cold winter here in Maine so that's the wild card. I am hoping to get into the local pond this week now that the air temps have been up a bit but the nights are still really cold--last week we even had frost. So...

Last years finish, so happy to be DONE that run!

It will be interesting to see what the weather brings too. Last year we had massive rain on Saturday so the Oly was a mess. It was sunny and beautiful (and kind of hot) for the half on Sunday and the finish line was still a mud pit the next day.

I am looking forward to seeing my team mates and having an amazing weekend!! 

Knocked Out & No Knox

Whoa, ok. First, apologies for being an absent blogger for the last two weeks. With my schedule changing up so much in the last two months, I am still trying to find a way to balance everything and well...blogging was one of the balls that got dropped. Which I am totally ok with since the other balls I am juggling right now are very important!

The last several weeks have certainly been a roller coaster of all over the place...literally.

Mid-April, I traveled down to beautiful Short Hills, NJ for a coaching clinic with the USAT.

Newark NJ and the NYC Skyline off in the distance

I had heard many mixed reviews about these clinics and the amount of information provided but I was overall pleased with the experience. I got some good info to take home from Jesse Kropelnicki's talks, especially about nutrition. Shelley O'Brien was a great speaker and had a great way of explaining things so they were easy to understand--you can tell she is an educator at heart.

I have not spent that much time sitting and doing NOTHING in a long time!

*nerd alert*
...and yes, I am THAT student. The one that sits in front and eats every word the teacher says.

I drove home immediately following the classes and what is normally a 6-ish hour drive was actually a 8 hour drive with traffic...I was so ready to get out of the sitting position!

Driving thru Short Hills, cheery trees in bloom

9pm traffic jam in CT. REALLY?? at 9pm??

My travel plans for Rev3 Knoxville started falling apart (hotel changes, friends unable to share with me, I was driving vs. flying, blah blah blah) and it was turning into a freaking mess. I was pretty bummed since it was shaping up to be a pretty fun weekend and I would drive down with my team mate, Laura aka Frayed Laces. But mess after mess kept coming up so, considering all the travel issues and the thought of spending another 20 hours each way in a car, a chat with Coach put this "training day" on the back burner.

Training was going fabulous and I was heading into a pretty big build week with some awesome key workouts in the plan now that Knoxville was out. My run off the bike has been coming right along (yay!!) and I am finally seeing some solid swim gains.

Then BOOM! Lola got hit with a nasty stomach virus and was up all night sick (This was Tuesday).
Then BOOM! I got sick on Thursday and it was horrendous. Awful. I have not been sick like that in a lot of years.
Then BOOM again, the hubby got it just after midnight on Friday morning.
The entire house was on lockdown with this nasty norovirus. Quarantined. 

Rev3 Knoxville was this weekend and it was a tough day of racing. Cold water temps, cold air temps and lots of battling going on out there.

In hindsight, I would have been on the road and many hours into my drive to Knox when I was hit by this stinking stomach virus. Now, it was horrible enough at home...can you imagine being on the road?
and exposing my team mate(s) to this?
and being stuck in a hotel room?
unable to race in those conditions?

Funny how things workout some times...regardless, I wish I had been able to be there with my Rev3 peeps! A big shout out to all my Rev3 Team Mates and ALL the athletes who braved the elements on race day!




I love these pics from the Rev3 FB page, this is my friend John, with MultiSport Ministries. I just LOVE this picture!! That kit is awesome!!

Now that I am finally on the other side of this, it is time to go tackle some training and hope that this set back does not have a huge impact on my next race: REV3 Quassy, three and a half weeks from today!

What The...???

WARNING: Some images are not suitable for all readers. Today's post is PG13

Ok, so I got sucked into Words with Friends last night and well, in my quest to see if a word was "real" I stumbled across this.....the first WHAT THE??? of the day.

JAZZLE YOUR VAG

Vajazzling

Vaginal adornment?! I heard about this a little while ago and thought it was a joke. Its real and Im convinced a lot of chicks are going to add this experience to their goddamn bucket lists. Apparently the procedure costs $50.00 + at a spa... Eff that if it becomes popular enough maybe Ill just open a vajazzle shop in my garage. My price would be $9.99 - using quality rhinestones and my glue gun Ill clitter up your c section scar so nicely youll be the envy of every hooker in the trailer park. Hmm... might do a little penazzling myself but instead of bling Ill use sharks teeth.

Come on! Bling for your bojingo?! This is the worst idea of life. We over here at the Artificial Vagina ({}) know a little about ladies parts and promise you that if you get this itll just look like you have shiny crabs

~Frank Breaker

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In other What The...??? news, luckily I did not pee in my pants during the run Saturday as I would have surely suffered another Crotchsicle* episode like I did at the MidWinter Classic 10 Miler. Oh so this was posted on the Race the Runways page, if you thought I was exaggerating about the run, I wasn't. 

*crotchsicle-when a tiny bit of leaked urine freezes onto your CWX compression tights leaving a beautiful pattern of icicles on your crotch because it is too freaking cold out.
____________________________________

Lots of sweaty training this weekend and once again, I am suffering from GSC.
What is GSC?
Garmin Strap Chafing.

This happened in Florida too. The 910 strap is so sharp, it literally digs in and slices up my skin! 

In the top photo you can actually see the white scar from the first one...

OUCH.

What the....

perhaps it is the bony part of my sternum not really helping matters...

_____________________________
MORE What The...

I discovered this delicious little tidbit of news from a year ago from my friend, Leslie on her FB feed.

Nutella pays $3M for totally making us think it's healthy

4/27/2012

Luscious Nutella is taking a beating today as its scrumptious reputation goes down the tubes in a cascade of hazelnut and chocolate deliciousness. In an unsurprising development, confectionary maker Ferrero has agreed to pay out $3 million in two class-action lawsuit settlements to suckers, er, consumers who actually believed the company's sugar-coated ads claiming that Nutella was a healthy food suitable to ply children with before school. That cash might be best spent teaching folks with an insatiable sweet tooth to read, since the nutrition label clearly lists the treat's 200 calories per serving, along with its 11 grams of fat -- the equivalent of a 3 Musketeers candy bar. Who knows, maybe they're devouring those for breakfast, too.

________________________________________

So what's making you shake your head today and go "What the....???"

Wind & Whoopie Pies

About a month ago, signed up for the Race the Runways half marathon and signed the hubbster up for the 5k and figured we'd have a fun day of running together and I would just do whatever Coach told me to do regarding the run (race or train) and Casey could get another race under his belt.

What I liked about this race was the medal.

race swag, sweet medal!

What I also liked was that it is hosted on the (now defunct) Brunswick Naval Air Base and a portion of the run in completed on the runway of the base. How ironic that this would be what I liked least about this race...

Initially the weather was predicting 40's and rain. Not ideal for running. Then the forecast changed to 30's and sunny. Then the day before cold and windy.
For once, the meteorologist was right...but it least it wasn't raining, right?

On the road

Coach had a pretty specific plan laid out for the run and it was indeed a training run on tap, mostly aerobic heart rate zones. So definitely just a training day for me!

Casey, on the other hand, was heading into this race with goals to beat his last 5k time.

My friend, Katelyn, was going to running too so we made plans to meet up there. She was also running as a training day too so we thought if our HR zones and pace worked out, we could run together!

Honestly, it was so cold and windy (22* and sustained winds of 20mph with gusts up to 50mph) if I had not just driven an hour here, if I did not want that cool airplane medal and if I did not have Katelyn to run with, there is NO WAY IN HECK I would have run in those conditions for a training day.

In the warmth of the car--no long warm up run would happen!

Casey wanted a good warm up for his 5k (can't blame him!) so he said good bye to us and headed into the frigid wind and cold...while we hit out in the car for a while longer!

Finally, we got out and did a little jogging, a little huddling, and a little shivering waiting for the gun to go off!! I realized that I left my iPod in the car (oh well) and was glad once again to have company to run today!

Video of the start, you can hear the wind!

The 5k and the Half starts together and then we split off in different directions. The first bit of the run was fine, the wind was to our backs and then about a mile and a half in...there it was.

WIND

Cold, bitter, hard blowing wind. Relentless...so I just watched my heart rate and adjusted my pace accordingly, keeping things in check. Once we got to the tarmac (runway) that's when things just got downright silly. The giant wall of wind was just pushing against you! My heart rate shot up to the 150's even though I was barely running a 10 minute mile. The wind was stinging my face and a couple times, it made it kind of hard to breathe!

But we just kept chugging along, I'd check with Katelyn to make sure she was in her zones and I'd check mine. We hit the part where there is a double loop to run and you pass the aid stations with water, gel and gatorade. On the second loop, I walked the aid station to get in some fluids (I can't run and drink from a cup without spilling it...I did not want spillage all over me on this freezing day) and as I WALKED up to the volunteer to get a cup, he spilled the entire cup of Gatorade down the front of me, my entire right leg soaked. AWESOME. I really, really wanted a wet leg on this cold and windy day!! ha ha ha (not really) but whatever, it's not like  he did it on purpose.

Katelyn and I had a couple laughs over the weird mile markers because of the double loop (oh, mile 11 already...oh, no. Only mile 7...) and we were both pretty done with battling the cold and the wind by the time we were done with the loop and the last 2 miles did go by pretty quick.

Another friend, Mike, was there as a photographer and I got to see his smiling face on the course a couple times too. He was somewhere in that last 2 mile stretch and so Katelyn and I had to bust a move for some sweet pics! Can't wait to see those!

Finally, we could hear the PA system and cheers so we knew the finish wasn't far. I recall Katelyn saying something like "oh, it's not windy here" and I was like "shhhh, you are going to jinx us!" SURE ENOUGH. Two feet later--whammo!! more wind.

Round the corner and there it was...THE FINISH LINE. Honestly, this was an "slow and easy" run but I felt worked!! Running slow can be more painful than running fast (or at least that's how if felt on this day). I was never so happy to see a finish line and even contemplated doing cartwheels if I would not kick anyone in the head...

Awwwwsome! DONE :)

DONE! I got my cool medal, a solar blanket and a WHOOPIE PIE!!


The company, Wicked Whoopies, donated 1,200 whoopie pies to all finishers> YUMMMMO!

two cold girls!!

While I did not race yesterday, this was actually a really essential training day. Normally, I would not have run outside in those conditions. So yesterday was mental toughness training and character building day! I smiled the whole time and made sure to thank volunteers along the way. I am sure they were freezing their buns off out there!!

I will definitely return to this race next year and chase a new half mary PR!!
And enjoy another whoppie pie!!


HUGE CONGRATS to Mr. Small who ran his butt to another 5k PR, shaving another :33 off his time and in that wind!! 22:40 for a 7:17/pace. Nice work Casey!!

Perspective & TRI-Mania Boston

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend the TRI-Mania Expo in Boston with my Rev3 teammates, old (ling time Rev3/Trakkers team veteran and "big bro" Jamie, and second year vets Jordan and Ryan) and new (Laura)! Last year was pretty cool and I had a blast working the Rev3 booth and talking with everyone and meeting new friends IRL (in real life) that I had been socializing with in social media for quite some time...so as a second year Team Rev3 "veteran" myself, I knew this year would be even more fun! Plus, Rev3 Race Director extraordinaire, Eric Opdyke, would be joining us.

The team was registered for the "Team Challenge" which were a series of events through out the day; a run in the morning, a relay swim at lunch time and a time trail CompuTrainer bike session in the afternoon. When I first found out about the team challenge, I was stoked! I could not wait to compete in the time trial and was really looking forward to that event.

Laura, Ryan, Jordan and me

As the Expo approached however, I started to get really nervous and anxious about the whole Team Challenge thing. I am just not "fast" right now and that is not what my training is about at the moment. I also found out that due to a family commitment, I would have to leave the expo early afternoon, thus unable to compete in the bike time trial (my strength). So I would be running and swimming with the team...ugh.

I don't care so much about my own personal times right now, as witnessed by my 5k run time at Kerrymen Pub 5k last weekend--my focus is on my training and not these fun little races right now. But when my times are a reflection on the TEAM...especially when your teammates are super-freaking-fast even NOW, in March.

Jordan, surrounded by awesome

Let's see, there's Jordan who runs like a 12 minute half marathon (ok, so really 1:22 but might as well be 12 minutes to me) and we've got Laura, who is not only awesome in all ways NOT triathlon but has raced her way to Kona, 70.3 Worlds and BQ'd like it was easy, after a broken pelvis. Ryan is no slouch either...that boy can ride a bike and run pretty dang fast. Plus, the boys take this stuff pretty seriously.

What about Jamie? Ahh, the J-man. JBalls. Jamie had an unfortunate accident this winter skiing and he is currently running around with a broken back. Lucky for us, Jamie was well enough to join us for the day at the Expo, but there would be no racing for Jamie this weekend. It is a blessing he is up and walking. PERIOD>

Rev3Love

Thinking about my fast teammates and how I did not want to drag down the team average really bothered me. Stressed me out. Made me feel SOO anxious. I was actually dreading the whole thing. At least if I could participate in the bike time trial, I could save myself a little dignity since I can ride a bike...

I expressed my concerned to Laura and Jamie and as usual, Big Bro Jamie really gave me some perspective:

Hey Jen, you can run. Be happy about that. 

*reality slapped me in the face*

Here I was stressed out about time when my teammate was recovering from a broken back. That really took some of the stress off and put things in perspective.
It's funny, Jamie is quite a few years younger than me, but I always look up to him and have an immense amount of respect for what he has to say. You rock JBalls!!

 Laura said that she wasn't feeling very fast that day either as she had been nursing a cold so we agreed to run together since the day was about TEAM UNITY and not times as far as she was concerned. I really appreciated that she was gonna run with me. We invited to BOYS to run with us but they declined (duh!).

With no warm-up to speak of (does 1 lap count?) Laura and I lined up together to run the nearly-3 mile Team Challenge Run. Since Laura and I would run together, I ditched the music (how rude would THAT be?) and we ran. The weather was strange. It was cold but sunny and if you were protected from the wind, it wasn't that bad...then we rounded this corner and was like *SMACK* with this wall of wind!

We finished holding hands (how romantic??) and averaged a pace of 7:27 for the run. Oh, did I mention I had to stop to tie my shoe? rookie mistake! SO, it was Faster than Kerrymen last weekend but with a lower heart race. It was really cool that Laura ran with me and now I was feeling relaxed.

Here's Jordan running...smart girl, that Rinny drafting off him. Crazy Jordan, running half naked in that cold...but I guess when you run that fast, being out in the elements for just a few minutes isn't so bad.

 &

Ryan Rounding the corner on the last lap around campus

After the run, we got to chat with Rinny. She asked about our missing teammate, Jordan and she was quite disappointed that he took off after the run (he was probably getting dressed). Rinny is as cute as a button and just as nice as she is cute! She was doing well in the Boston cold for all the warm weather she's been in lately.

Then it was time to swim.

My favorite pic of the day!

I found out that the swim was going to be done relay style, each of our four team members swimming 200 yards each. Easy enough. BUT...it was a dive start! eeek. Laura and I kind of laughed and had a mini-freakout since neither one of us does a diving start. So I moved my goggles under my swim cap and thought about the form I'd seen the swim team use. I did two dive starts and did a quick swim warm up. SUCCESS. awesome. NO ISSUES.

doing my best impersonation of a seal upon exit
of the MIT pool during the warm up

When it came time for me to go

arms straight & snug to ears, head tucked...

the goggles flipped right over. I tried to adjust them while swimming but no such luck. They were back on me but filled with water. That's not gonna work so at the wall, I adjusted them. Good enough...finish swimming.

All in all it was a great day and I got to hang out with people I really enjoy being around. Plus, I got to know my cool-awesome new teammate, Laura, a bit better. Now that she has relocated to the Northeast from Hawaii, we are definitely going to get some time in training together! Plus, she rides the same bike as I do--A beautiful Quintana Roo cd0.1--so how can she NOT be awesome?? Looks we will be driving to Rev3 Knoxville together and you know THAT is going to be one heck of a drive~

As I was leaving the expo, someone called my name.

It was Dutch!! And he was with DDAthlete, another friend from cyberspace!

IT was really cool to finally meet THESE TWO rockstars IRL and we will be meeting up again at Rev3 Quassy. Looks like DD has some revenge on those hills too!