Girls on the Run

Part of my sponsorship with Team StayPut, is that I have to work a "Girls on the Run" race. Well, I signed up for the Atlanta 5k race in November. I wasn't sure what to expect. I was nervous about finding the race site, since I'm not familiar with Atlanta. Yes, I did get lost on the way there and even trying to find my way back to my hotel, but it was worth it. It was so neat to see all those kids running with 5k with their parents or coach. A 5k is a long way for most kids. Girls on the Run is such a neat program that prepares girls for a 5k race. They promote health and fitness for kids, which I'm a big believer.
When I finally got to the race site, my Goody's StayPut sponsors had a couple of tents set up with tables full of cute hair products for the girls. The girls could pick out what they wanted in their hair and we would fix their hair for them. Well, I'm not very good at that (you can ask my daughter,) so I felt sorry for my little victims. All the kids seems really happy just getting some really cool hair products, so that great. Even though hair styling isn't my thing, I had a blast. I would definitely volunteer again.

I have lost my mind!

You would think that injuring my back would discourage me from doing something crazy, like signing up for an ironman, but it didn't. I went to watch friends compete in the Florida Ironman race in Panama City Beach. I do this every year, because it is truly inspiring to see these athletes finish such a long race. And in the past, even though I admire those athletes, I had no desire to race that distance. Well, this year, I've been going back and forth about doing an ironman. One day, I would search for a cool ironman race to do, then the next day thinking there's no way I could do that distance. After Ironman Florida, I had a strong urge to sign up. I felt like I was ready. I didn't get up at the crack of dawn and wait in line to sign up, like most people did, but I drove the 2 hours home, went for a run, and decided that if there were still spots left, I would sign up online. Sure enough, there was. So, I signed up. Immediately after, I thought, "What the heck did I do?!?" Not sure if I made the right decision, but I'm committed. I'm not looking forward to it either, although I feel so out of shape and like a big blob right now. Maybe in August I will feel like I'm ready. I will keep you posted.

How time flies by!

Well, an Aussie friend of mine reminded me that I was neglecting my Blog and to update it. If I could only do it from my cell phone, it would be updated daily. :-)
A lot has happened since my last blog. Seems like a week after my last blog, I hurt my back. Not sure exactly how it happened, but I went to my chiropractor one morning and by the evening, I couldn't walk. Had an MRI done on it and found the a had a tear in one of my disks. Let me tell you, it was painful! I hate taking medicine, unless I absolutely have to, but I was tempted to ask my doctor for some pain meds during that time. Well, I got through it without anything. A good friend of mine works at Florida State University as a physical therapist for the all the athletes. She was kind enough to rehab me. I tell you what, those athletes have it made at FSU. I felt like a kid in a candy store. They had all the coolest equipment, had a room of just orthodics, and a huge storage room of anything an athlete might need (compression socks, etc..) Robin, my physical therapist friend, had me run on an underwater treadmill. No, it's not water running, but a treadmill in a pool, where the water was chest deep. After the first time I ran on it, I left with a huge smile on my face, because I had gone so long without running and I missed it terribly. Eventually, Robin not only had me run on the underwater treadmill for an hour, but moved me to their on land treadmill. Now, I am back running on the road and slowly building my mileage back up. I'm supposed to run in a 15K on Thursday and not sure if I'm going to be able to complete the whole race, since the longest I've run in the last month is 6 miles. Should be interesting.

What to do in the off season?

Now that my triathlon season is over, I am now figuring out how I should train. Before, I had to get so many swims, runs, and bike rides in, because of an upcoming race. How weird it is to actually sleep in. It just doesn't seem right not getting up at 4:30 a.m.. Do I scale back on everything? I mean, my next triathlon isn't for 6 months. But will I lose my speed in the meantime? Thought about taking up yoga, because my hamstrings couldn't be any tighter. Well, I think in the end I will continue swimming, until it gets too cold for me to get out of the locker room in my swimsuit, bike once or twice a week, and put in some serious running miles. I'll focus on running races until next April. Actually, there really isn't an off season for any triathlete I know. Who was the person that came up with that idea?!?

End of Triathlon Season

Wow, I can't believe my triathlon season is already over. This year has been my most successful year yet. I have thoughts of doing an IM next year. Some days I am ready to sign up for one, then other days I'm thinking, "No Way!." I am not a planner, so we'll see. I do know that I want to place better in Gulf Coast Half Ironman in 2009. I came in 4th overall this year, so we see what happens next year. I will also plan on racing St. Anthony's Triathlon and its sister race, Morton Plant Mease Triathlon. I loved that race in 2007. It was cancelled in 2008, because of bad weather. I will also plan on competing in Age Group Nationals in 2009 in AL. Other than that, who knows?!?
Well, I'm excited to actually have a blog page now and look forward to playing around with it. Take care, everyone!