June 30, 2012: Dirty Girl 5K Mud Run

This was AWESOME!!!!

I was so nervous I barely slept, barely ate, and felt like throwing up until about 5 minutes into the race. :) Once I started running with my teammate J, and noticed all the other non-athlete crazy costumed ladies around, I relaxed and really had a BLAST!

I army crawled through multiple mud pits, climbed a freakin' 8 foot plywood wall, over a net wall, under a net, through tires (twice!), up a rope, down a rope, over rocky hills, a water pit (although it was so dirty from all us Dirty Girls the water was brown), and 5K of "watch your step or twist an ankle" paths.

It was untimed, thank goodness.

Things I have learned.... 1. the loose outfit... NO GO! I thought it would be more comfortable once covered in mud. But in actuality I felt a bit frumpy compared the most of the girls in tight tanks. 2. DRINK WATER. 3. Consider putting my plastic bags over my socks and under my shoes. The water/mud squishing between my toes after Obstacle 2 was gross and eventually bothersome.  3. Watch were you leap. I was showing off for my kids at the last obstacle, leaped into the mud pit, and strapped both knees. Ouch. And 4. Bring a lot of towels for washing up afterwards.

Overall it was MUCH more then I anticipated. So much fun that while enjoying my free celebratory beer, my sister, brother-in-law, and I signed up for another 5K called Mud Wars. I'm just doing my part to spread the mud love. 

The last time I'm clean!

Over the 8 foot wall

Over a huge net wall... my sister took a great distance picture... I'll try to find it.

Running and trying not to twist or break anything... t

MUD!

The other side of the net wall

I was threatening to muddy my sister/camera woman. ;)

Day 102, Bricks

My trainer is on vacation this week, so getting to the gym today was up to me. It's been too hot to bike outside, so I got on the stationary bike on level 10 for 6.2 miles (22 minutes). Feeling crazy, I then got on the treadmill and did 0.5 miles in 5 minutes.

I am a sweaty mess right now but I feel GREAT!

I'll be off this weekend at a Strawberry Fest with the family! Be back Monday!

Day 101, So Sad!

I came to post, and I'm ashamed that I missed my 100th day post. Yesterday was Day 100 on my journey to the triathlon, and I did nothing. I could have run. Or biked. Or swam. But I did nothing fitness related. Sure, I did other things, like haul kids around and play in the pool. But that seems pretty anticlimactic for day 100.

At least day 101 I ran. I shaved about 40 seconds off my 2.5k and a minute off my 2 mile run. Actually, I was pleased with myself. I am up to running consistently 6.2-6.4 mph throughout my run. I still walk a little at 4.0 mph, but my running used to be 5.5 mph. :-)

ONLY 10 DAYS UNTIL MY FIRST 5K!!!!

Day 98, Happy Fathers Day!

I have THE BEST husband and father to our children ever!!

I worked late last night and got to bed around 4 am. So for Fathers Day my husband took all the kids to his father's house for pizza. His brother and niece were there too, so it was a great day of celebrating fatherhood.

I got to sleep in and have some rare time to myself. This is what I've done so far: Glee x2, Smash, two glasses of wine, four loads laundry, vacuumed, washed the kitchen floor, cleaned the panty (omg, I had a box of rice that expired in 2007!), and read a book. Best day!

My ankles and calves are still hurting. Tomorrow the older munchkins start summer school (fun classes) and I want to get a run in. My trainer is on vacation this week so I need to make an extra effort to do my own lifting. :)

Day 97, Rest, Work

Rest... But not relax. Having issues with neighbors. Very high stress. If my legs worked right now I'd probably go for a run to let off steam. Its to the point of buying security cameras, thoughts of lawyers, and dreams of pressing charges (of some kind, just to get our point across).

I may or may not have had an extra glass of wine tonight... ;)

Day 96, Chicago Tri Kickoff Event!!

What an AWESOME DAY! My sister and I caught an 10:20 ish train to Chicago. We walked to Millenium Park, where the Kickoff was being held. Our goal was to get there around noon, when it first started, to get wetsuits for the Open Water Swim.

I had never worn a wetsuit before, and getting into it was interesting. First I couldn't get my foot through. So I applied this nifty product called Body Glide to my feet, ankles, and calves, and I could finally get it on. And then the wetsuit feels thick. I know its to keep me warm in the water, but on a sunny 89° day its just plain toasty.

Once we were registered and had our wetsuits, we sat in the shade and people watched. We watched them stare at us. Lol. At least three people asked about the wetsuits. My sis got a pic that I'll post of me waiting around.

We checked our bags with the staff, and around 1 pm we all headed to the spray fountains for a warm up. Picture 150 people in wetsuits doing jumping jacks, pushups, and crazy poses in 1 inch water....

Then we "jogged" to the Chicago Bean for more pictures.

After the photo ops came the run. Supposedly it was 2.5K, but it felt much, much longer in a thick wetsuit in 90° sunshine. However, I'm proud of myself.

We started at the front group, with the athletes, professionals, and coach. I stayed in the front pack until halfway. Someone said, "we just hit halfway," and my body said "wth?? I thought we were almost done. Shutting down...." At that point I walked a little and ran a little. I made an effort to walk up the hills and RUN AT FULL SPEED down the hills. Seriously, running down a hill is like carefully falling. Not a ton of effort for a bit of speed. :-)

A big issue was heat and dehydration. Next year I need to bring a water bottle with me. By the end I was dying. Not my muscles or breathing, but I'd have killed for ice water. Those wetsuits are freaking hot.

The end was awesome. I got to the beach, grabbed my water bottle, sat in the lake, and searched for my sis. She wasn't there. I LOVE my little sister, and unknowingly beating her felt great. Like "maybe I don't completely suck at this Triathlete thing."

Then she completely whooped my butt in swimming... :-) LOL!

The swimming was next and the cold water was heavenly after the run. This is when I really felt like we were all a team, a group, in triathlon training. Everyone helped everyone with zippers, sunscreen, caps, and goggles.

Half went to swim 0.5 to 1.0 miles (my sis) while the other half (me) attended the open water swimming class. Considering all my swimming has been in a pool, this was a shocker. Like, "panic can't breath" shocker. I'm a little embarrassed, but I couldn't do all the exercises. Between panic, sports bra, swimsuit, wetsuit, and upper respiratory infection, I could not breath. In hindsight I wish I had unzipped my wetsuit and tried without that layer of constriction. But c'est la vie. However, I learned a lot, my sister told me my stroke is actually good (Thank goodness), and I practiced swimming in open water, in a wetsuit, with people. Definitely a great experience.

Now I just need to practice more. And more. And more. In a lake.

After the swimming we had trolleys to take us back to Millennium Park and beer. Free beers! Then we had raffles, giveaways, and plenty of time to talk to other new and experienced triathletes. (I left with a shirt, towel, hat, and 2 pairs of sunglasses for the twins.)

The best way I can summarize is that I felt like a part of something. A part of something important. I AM going to be a triathlete.

Day 95, Weights

I'm not really sure what we did today, but I liked it. :) Drop sets? It was a fast, high weight workout. I'd do 10 reps on a high weight, drop the weight a little, and do 10 more with no break. Rest. Repeat. Done. On to the next exercise. Lets see... back, chest (both push and pull motions), shoulders, dead lifts, lunges....

For my lungs I did 70 pounds and 60 pounds, for a total of 80 reps. More weight then a brother-in-law and more reps then my husband. Not bragging or anything. ;)

Day 94, Recover

I can't even label today rest... its all about recovery today.

On a Tri note... Friday I'm attending the Chicago Triathlon Season Kickoff Event with my sister. Its a "relaxing" 2.5k jog in a wetsuit followed by either an open water swim or an Open Water Swim Clinic. I'm doing the clinic! In fact, that's the whole reason I'm going... I've never worn a wetsuit or swum in Lake Michigan. I'm nervous and excited.

Day 93, 7 Hour Walk

I took the kiddos to Six Flags today. Oy vay. I pushed a 30 pound child in a stroller for 7 hours while chasing two other kids. My legs are aching. :) Not a big day for speed, but I got in a great endurance workout today. LOL!

Day 92, Faster run

Today's run I wanted to pushed myself. Days are ticking away, and I need to be faster and run longer (even if its just a minute). So I extended my C25Kish run to 5 minute blocks rather then 4 minute blocks, increasing my actually running by 10%. I was pretty consistent in a 4 mph walking speed and 6 mph running speed until the last run. Then I just wanted to see how fast I could go comfortably....

6.6 mph. That is a 9:05 minute mile. 6.7 mph was just a little too much, so 6.6 was like a sweet spot. So my next run at the gym I'm going to aim to do my running portion at 6.6 mph.

Today's workout was 2 miles in 24:10, and 2.5 miles in 30 minutes.

Day 91, MIA

I'm sorry I've been gone for the past week. I was sick, and the baby also had a temperature up to 103°. So we did nothing from Monday to today (Sunday), went no where but the couch.

Baby still has a runny nose, but we're all heading to the gym tomorrow.

Only three more weeks until my 5K Mud Run!

Day 83, Wind

Went for a solo bike ride. It was so windy I found it a challenge to keep up my pace, much less work on going faster. It was disappointing. I need to be in the 16-18 mph range, and I'm in the 12-13 mph bracket right now.

Day 82, Swimming aversion

I've come to the conclusion that I don't enjoy swimming laps. It's not relaxing or rewarding. Rather, I find it frustrating and time consuming. However, I KNOW that if I don't at least practice a little my time at the Tri is going to be so bad that I may as well give up now and walk the whole thing. :(

I'm looking at more classes, preferably something for adults, unlike my last lessons...

Anyhow, in lieu of swimming I ran 2.15 miles in 25 minutes doing a modified C25K run/walk pattern. (With a cool down it totaled 2.36 miles/30 min.)