Escape The Cape 2015

Hello all you beautiful people! I am currently sitting in the airport on a 4hr delay thanks to Spirit (never again) but thats another story for another time.

In just two short days I will be toeing the line of my first 70.3!! Challenge Atlantic City half is on sunday and I am a ball of nerves/excitement.

The race season does not begin there however, it began two weekends ago at the Escape The Cape triathlon down in Cape May NJ.  Many of you may have heard of this iconic race where the start is from the back of a ferry boat! Its pretty sweet, a little scary and a ton of fun all at the same time!

I was wondering how this race would go because I have been training a lot different that before.  For one I had a plan, normally I would just swim bike and run three days a week and rest one but it wasn't really structured.  The other thing was that I was training for a half and that was WAY different than training for short course racing.

The morning started a little rough with a down pour.  I was in transition and I remember saying to myself this sucks and I started letting it get to me and I stopped. I knew I couldn't let myself get that negative on race morning so I just embraced it.  Unfortunately we had about a 30min delay getting out of the terminal.  When it comes to the swim I made two key mistakes again this year.  Mistake number 1 bring more food.  I had breakfast at 4:15 and then one cliff bar 4 hours later.  For me that isn't enough. Number two get off the boat early. Once the international athletes start jumping I need to be down low on the dock and ready to go (more on that later). Either way, amazingly fun way to start a race and you honestly cannot beat it!

Now for the bike.....eh is my feeling on my performance here and it is mostly due to rain and crowds. Because I was in the back of the pack on the boat, most people were out on the bike course along with the international athletes.  On top of this the course was wet. I am not a risk taker on the bike, its just not my style. I race, I push but I will always reach for my break going into a turn and there were people who didn't want to do that.  I remember this guy specifically who would pass me on the outside at every turn and then I would get him on the flat.  Coming into one of the final turns he took it way too high, lost control, crossed into the on coming cyclists and then into the guardrail he went.  Just not cool and that made me hold back on the bike a bit more than I wanted to.

On to the run and I'll be honest with all of you about this run course because I love you....It SUCKS!  There are two sand runs for the sprint course and I am not talking nice flat hard sand runs, NO! soft sand, high dune, full suck runs.  I was holding a good pace on the flats but those sand runs just punished me.  I could remember looking down at my watch and just thinking man this isn't gonna cut it today.  The owner of my company has a house right along the run course though and it was super rad to hear him yelling out there.  I could remember hit the turn and heading back and thinking I couldn't let him see the struggle! Pull it together!!  I got back on to the road and I knew I had 800 meters to go and I just dropped it and went for it.  I almost collapsed after crossing the line and that's how it should be.

Once I handed in my chip and got some water and settled it was time to hit the results tent.....Well it was time for someone else to hit the results tent.  For whatever reason I like the element of surprise so I have someone check it for me and let me know if I need to stay for awards or not.  I knew I had to stay but I had no idea where I stacked up against my field.

They went through the international awards first and then went from oldest to youngest.  I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.  I knew in the back of my head I was going to get my time on the stage but I just wanted to know if I was going to get to step on that RedBull podium for top 3! Finally my AG came up and I made my way towards the stage. They started with 5th, not me, then 4th not me and I knew right there I would get to stand on the podium. I took 3rd overall and I was happy.  I wanted to have times closer to 1st and 2nd but I had to tell myself that training for long course is way different than training for the short course. I was satisfied with my times but for my later season short course stuff I really need some speed work and hard runs off the bike if I want that top spot!

For now it is on to Challenge Half in a few days and like I said at the start I am just a ball full of all kinds of emotions.  There are a lot of unknown factors that come with a new distance but I am sure that I followed my plan and it will just be another day at the office on Sunday.  If you are interested in tracking me you can find me on the other social media forms!


Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself!

Tomorrow is my birthday!

August 12th....it is always bittersweet when this day comes around.  It is sweet because it is my birthday, obviously that is exciting as always!  However it always indicates that the end of summer is near.  I am excited for the end of this summer for so many reasons.  I start student teaching in the fall and it means I am in the last stage of college.  It is the final stage, something I have been waiting for, for the longest time.  I know I still have a long road of job hunting after I graduate but it is one step closer to teaching.  The other reason I am excited is because my race is in September as you already may know.  It is what I have been working my tail off for since September of last year and I will finally be put to the test!

 This past week was another one which wasn't too exciting.  I worked and I trained.  No sailing this week because I took over at my buddies house to babysit his three dogs and they left early so I didn't want to leave them for that long.  I have continued to lift two days a week and I can definitely feel myself getting stronger in the weight room.  For whatever reason when it came to to my bike and run this week though it was very difficult to get myself going.  I think taking so much time off last week definitely hurt me.  I also did not swim this week, which I don't like but I will be back in the pool this week, I can promise you that.

My buddy who I am house sitting for was a personal trainer and is still into working out and staying fit.  One morning when I woke up I found an omron machine in the bathroom.  I decided to fire it up and plug in my info and see what it had to say.  I could see the little lines blinking across the bottom and the anticipation was building.  When the numbers popped up I had to rub my eyes and look at it again.  It told me I had 18% body fat.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME 18%!!  I didn't have one of these machines when I first started so I cannot give you an exact number for where I was, but it had to be somewhere between 25-30%.  I couldn't believe it...I was beside myself. 

Last week I was talking with a guy Brandon who I work with at my health club.  I used to see Brandon when he would come in to swim when I first started working there and I was super inspired.  I knew he was a triathlete and I knew that, that's what I wanted to become.  He has definitely been an inspiration throughout this whole thing and he has helped me more than I could ever imagine.  When I was talking to him, I told him that I wanted to get better and faster on my bike.  I am averaging about 15 mph on every ride when I go out but I want to be faster.  I also can feel how I am still a little hesitant when it comes to descending hills.  This is obviously something I need to work on because there are so many hills where I ride.  After talking awhile he said "it will come with time man, don't worry about it!"  This is so true....I constantly need to remind myself that I have just entered into this new world of triathlons.  I did not run or ride before I started.  I am basically starting from square one and he is right, it will come with time and practice. 

Today I woke up and grabbed some coffee before I went to church.  I knew after church that I needed to do a brick workout.  I was just delaying the inevitable.  I grabbed my water bottles, my Powerbar gel and I was off.  I started my ride and it was hot.  Not nearly as hot as a few rides I have done, but the sun was definitely beating down.  As I was descending one of the first big hills I went to change gears and my chain totally locked up.  I couldn't pedal and I immediately started freaking out on the inside.  I knew I just had to make it to the bottom of the hill.  When I got there I jumped off and started fooling around with the chain.  For whatever reason it had popped off.  As I said before I am totally new to this and I had to idea what to do.  I was over 6 miles from my car and I have no idea how far I was from home.  I wanted to just call it quits, call my friend to come get me who lives right in the town of Oxford and go home.  I finally figured it out and jumped back on the bike.  I rode some more and as I was descending another hill the same thing happened.  Luckily this time it was easy to fix because I knew what to do.  I popped the chain back on and finished my ride.  It was just over 17 miles.

Strava report from my ride.

When I got back to my car, I popped the wheel off and switched my shoes and started off for my run.  I headed over to the park across from where I parked my car and my legs felt like jello.  For my first mile it felt like I wasn't even moving.  I got through two miles in around 18 minutes and I knew I had to finish....I had to hit my 5K just for myself.  I was already over an hour into my workout and my legs were dead. In this moment I wanted to quit so bad.  As I was running I thought of a picture that I posted on my instagram last week and it pushed me to keep going.  I finished my 5K and although it wasn't my fastest time, I some how managed to go 8 min on my last mile!

Strava from my run with my first negative split!

As I said multiple times in this post, I am entering into an entirely new world here.  I am someone who wants things instantaneously.  I see something and I want it right then and there.  I have become better about this on this journey however.  If you go back to previous posts or check out my twitter(ForYourself15) You will see how I have gotten faster since I started running at the end of last year.  I know that I am getting better and better with each training sessions.  I can see my body changing and adapting to everything I have been doing and I am so happy with how far I have come.  I would have never thought when I started that I would be where I am today.  2-3 years ago....HA! I would have never even dreamed of doing what I am doing right now.  Still is it selfish of me to want more, to want to be faster?  No I don't think so....I have never wanted something quite as bad as this and I can promise you that I will stop at nothing until I get there.

I am not sure how you found this blog but I can tell you that I have found some amazing people through instagram who have been incredibly inspiring.  If you are on there or not on there, you should check it out and find me if you want to put a face with the blogger (doing_it_for_yourself).  People post their story and their progress and it is awesome, I love it!  It is insane how your body responds to the pressure you put on it!  

This week is a busy week coming up, yes tomorrow is my birthday but to me it will just be another day.  I am going to train, I want to swim and honestly I wouldn't have it any other way.  I had a great dinner with family tonight and I am so thankful for them. They have been absolutely amazing through this journey and I would be truly lost without them.  Wishing you all a wonderful week and I hope you enjoy what is left of your summer!

All for now

Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself

That could have gone a lot worse...

It's Monday....and oh what a start to the week. I set my alarm for 4:45 with the anticipation of hitting snooze 1 time. Well the second time it when off, I shut it off. I'm sure you can guess what happened next. I accidentally fell back to sleep and leaped up at 5:30. I had a half hour to get to work and the club is 20 min away. No breakfast and no coffee. So I fired on the coffee maker and grabbed a granola bar. I some how left the house in about 5 minutes. I rolled into work with about 3 minutes to spare. Although the old ladies were not happy that I was opening the pool at 6(which is when it should open) they will get over it.

Last week was fairly uneventful thanks to a little scare on Tuesday. As you already may know I went to the beach last weekend. I went out Friday and Saturday, had a great time, road my bike on Sunday and I was exhausted when I came home. It was a normal Monday last week. I woke up early, went to work, did my lift, etc etc. Tuesday was the same again. I had work and then rushed out to sailing Tuesday night. I was exhausted and not feeling like myself when I got to sailing. It still didn't feel like anything was terribly wrong however. When we got back in after our races I started really feeling bad. I was holding on to the boat while one of the guys went to get the car. Next thing I knew I was getting tunnel vision, my ears started ringing and I felt myself going down. I handed the boat off and immediately ran to the bathroom to splash some water on my face. I had put my body under so much stress from the weekend and then during the first two days of the week that it just shut down. I got home and started sipping fluids until I went to sleep. Luckily I didn't have to be at work early the next day so I could get some rest. As the day went on I started to feel a little better but I was still hurting on Thursday! I know rest is important and I never gave my body a chance to rest and boy did I pay! Everything went back to normal though and I am drinking water after water again to prevent this from happening again. 

Over this past weekend my buddy and his family did the Governors Cup in Annapolis Maryland. I drove down in their car with all of their stuff to meet them at the party after. Although the party was pretty lame this year I still had some fun down there and met some cool people. I am just thankful that I had my health and a car that could get me their and back to enjoy time with friends. Saturday night we left St. Mary's college and sailed back to Annapolis. It's a 70 mile trek up the bay and it took us just under 12 hours. Most of which was in the dark of night. Watching the sunrise over the bay was definitely one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! Check it out

Last week I came home and I found these shorts sitting on the dryer. I loved them, they still had the tags on and they were my size! So I'm thinking hmmm who could these belong to? So I take them upstairs, try them on and they fit like a glove. I find a shirt I bought down the beach and throw it on and it looks sick, so naturally I am super pumped. I am walking around the house and my brother comes down and says "dude what the hell are you doing in my shorts?!" Hahaha uhhhhh WHAT?!  Go ahead, read that again....yes you read it right!! I was wearing my brothers shorts. It was the most incredible feeling I have ever felt on the journey. I am sure I've said that before and guess what?! I'll say it again later too, get over it!

After more rest yesterday it was back to the grind today. I had a good lift and I am blessed to have multiple clients coming through today, one of which passed her swim test so I am super excited to see her! Tomorrow is back to biking and running, hopefully, if the weather holds off. If not we will be moving things inside. I am also headed over to a friends house to watch their dogs for the week and I can't wait. It's like a mini vacation every time I go over there and I love when they ask me to take care of their place. Like I said, other than my mishap Tuesday, things were very slow last week. I am looking forward to getting back in the swing of training this week. Only a month out from the biggest accomplishment of my life! When talking with someone the other day, they asked "could you imagine doing this two years ago?" No absolutely not. It was merely something I just dreamed about two years ago. They always tell you to chase your dreams though, don't they? ;) I'm running and I am not looking back. Thanks for the love y'all, it keeps me going!

All for now

Keep FSU and Do It For Yourself