There are a few things I would like to accomplish in 2013 that aren't related to running, triathlon, or cyclocross. Last year I made some non-athletic goals for 2012 and I think it's a good tradition to uphold, as it keeps me well-rounded and triathlon is not life (though it feels like it is during the thick of Ironman training)
Read at least 60 books. I just finished my 50th book of 2012, reaching that goal within hours of the midnight ball dropping. Nothing like letting it come down to the wire. At least 15 of these books for 2013 need to be classics (NOT smut) and at least 5 must be in French. Trying to up the ante. I read in a recent article that George W. Bush read an average of a book a week during his presidency. I may not have agreed with some of his policies, but I think that's impressive time management - running the country, staying active, reading a ton, and still going to bed early.
Go to Holy Mass more often and learn/grow in the Catholic faith. I've been Catholic forever, even with the short stint in middle school of investigating the Morman church. Mr. Sweetie wasn't Catholic when we met, but he decided (on his own accord) to be baptized in the faith before we were married. In the months leading up to our wedding, we were spending large portions of our weekends at Church between Mass, pre-cana classes, and Mr. Sweetie's RCIA class. I know this might sound like a boring way to spend your weekends, but in reality it was quite nice. We were good about going to Mass regularly the first few years we were married, then we went to Mass more sporadically, and in the past few months we've been going on a weekly basis again. Going to Mass and having conversations about Catholicism make our marriage stronger.
Learn how to take better-than-decent photographs. We have a nice Nikon camera and I have NO idea how to use it to its full potential. This is shameful, shameful. A couple of months ago I bought a book that was something along the lines of Photography for Dummies and I'm going to start off by reading that book and seeing what I learn. If I get lucky, I might even manage to take a class.
Volunteer. Part of being a good Catholic - heck, part of being a good person, really - is to volunteer your services. When I first moved to the DC area I volunteered as an ESL teacher through Catholic Charities. Then I started grad school and got into triathlon and didn't make time to volunteer anymore. I'm tired of being so selfish and it's time to look for ways to give back.
Write more letters and thank you notes. It's like I have a phobia of the post office and sending anything by mail. I've written plenty of letters and never posted them. I feel guilty about all of the unwritten thank you notes I keep meaning to send people, but then feel like too much time has passed and now would just be too late and silly to send it. But really, it is ever really too late to say thank you? Or tell someone that you are thinking of them? I wrote my grandma a letter last year, as she writes and sends me many cards, and my parents said it made her day. Time to make her day much more often in 2013. As well as tell other people I am thinking of them using something other than email or text.
Be a better wife to Mr. Sweetie. He tops the Husband of the Year list. I know you think I am biased, but if you lived with him and saw everything he does each day AND what a good person he is, I think you would agree with me. I'm going to make an effort to do the little things more often (catbox cleaning, dishwasher-emptying, dinner cooking, animal hair dustbusting). Marriage is not all romance and glamour and when you get right down to it, the day-to-day things are what I appreciate more than any box-of-chocolates-for-no-reason (and you all know how much I like chocolate).
31 December 2012
29 December 2012
The 2013 Race Schedule!! Yee-haw!
I know I was lamenting that my 2013 schedule is going to look alot like 2012. And, well, parts of it will. I'm shooting to do mostly local races, like I did this past season, but I am trying to mix it up a little and do some different local races. The schedule isn't 100% final and I might add in a couple more. But for now, this is what I'm shooting for:
- Rock 'n Roll USA half marathon on March 16th here in Washington, DC. I've done this race a couple times in the past - 2012, 2009. They've changed up the course this year but I expect it will be equally fun and hilly. It's a great local race and so many of my friends run it, I always bump into friends on the racecourse. And my friend from high school, Kim, will be doing this race too, giving us an excuse to catch up!
- Monticelloman Olympic triathlon on May 5th outside of Charlottesville, VA. In 2012 I did the half ironman distance at Monticelloman and I really enjoyed it - great course from start to finish and impressive race organization. I thought about doing the half again, but there's another half later in May I'm interested in doing.
- Kinetic Half Ironman triathlon on May 11th down at Lake Anna. I did this race in 2009 and 2010 and it sucked the life out of me every time :) That run course with the mile-long uphill you get to do three times. But I think I've had a long enough break from the race because I am excited to give it another go. Plus it's a popular triathlon in the DC tri community and lots of my friends will be out there racing, making it that much more fun.
- Rev3 Quassy Half Ironman triathlon on June 2nd in Middlebury, CT. This will be a repeat from 2011 and 2012. Here's to hoping I don't make it a three-peat and end up with a 5:28 once again - I'd REALLY like to go a bit faster. I had originally intended to sign up for Eagleman (good practice for racing in the heat) but I procrastinated on registering and got shut out, womp womp. Rev3 does a great job at putting together an awesome race, the course is fun - hills and all - and it's close enough for my parents to drive down and spectate and I'm able to drive up the day before the race and drive home after the race, so no need to take time off from work. Plus Mindy and Sarah are looking at doing it, making it even more fun.
- Diabolical Double Gran Fondo on June 22nd out in Garrett County, MD. Did this last year - probably the most time I have ever spent on a bike. Beautiful ride and the only part I didn't like was doing DOWN the steep hill near the Westernport Wall. They are holding a "gentleman's race" for teams of 4-6 in 2013 so you will find Mindy, Sarah, Katie and I riding together (and laughing and stuffing ourselves with sandwiches and M&Ms at the rest stops and commiserating about our poor rear ends that have sat on bike seats for far too long).
- Ironman Lake Placid on July 27th in Lake Placid, NY. I've not had the race I wanted to have in 2011 and in 2012 - neither race was a disaster but I crossed the finish line feeling unfulfilled and a little dissatisfied with my performance. I want to give it another go before moving on to an Ironman race in a different venue. And this seems like it is going to be the unofficial DC area triathlete race so I'm excited to see lots of familiar faces on the course, and my friend Stacey from tri camp (she is a mom of three kids under 7) is doing it too. Stacey is the one who pulled me up that last hill on the run course at Mile 24, waving a giant bag of mini eggs at me like a carrot. I'm so excited to have so many training buddies doing IMLP - it will make the long bike rides and long runs double as social time too.
- Luray Olympic triathlon on August 17th in Luray, VA. I had wanted to do Age Group Nationals again this year, and I found out a couple of weeks ago that I qualified. I also found out that they were being held a week earlier than last year - and with IMLP being a week later, that left only two weeks between Ironman and AG Nationals rather than the 4 weeks in 2012. I don't think I'd be in recovered enough to do well and it doesn't make sense to spend the money, at least not in 2013. Luray is a fantastic local race and I can even drive down the morning of. Beautiful hilly course, lots of friends doing it. I'm excited.
- Vegas 70.3 World Championships on September 8th in Las Vegas, NV. I had no plans, initially, to do this race again anytime soon. I didn't think I'd be fortunate enough to qualify again and I did so terribly in 2012 that I wasn't too broken up about the prospect of never biking in 110 degree heat again. But then 70.3 Poconos happened and I nabbed a slot and that was that. I'm going back. Fingers crossed that the fact it is on Mr. Sweetie and my 7th wedding anniversary that it will bring me some luck and fast feet.
The latter half of my season after Vegas isn't ironed out yet. I'd like to do one or two more half ironmans and maybe one more shorter race. I've heard great things about Rev3 South Carolina and Beach2Battleship half has been calling my name for years. There are some shorter local races - Giant Acorn or Waterman's that I'd be interested in doing too. I'm even still working on some stuff in the early season, Rumpus in Bumpass isn't happening in 2013 and I'm still undecided about a triathlon in April. New Orleans 70.3 is on my radar, but finances make that hard to swing. I also want to get in an off-road triathlon. I know I need a mountain bike first - working on that. After tri season there will be some Backyard Burn trail races and MORE cyclocross - weeeeeeee!
- Rock 'n Roll USA half marathon on March 16th here in Washington, DC. I've done this race a couple times in the past - 2012, 2009. They've changed up the course this year but I expect it will be equally fun and hilly. It's a great local race and so many of my friends run it, I always bump into friends on the racecourse. And my friend from high school, Kim, will be doing this race too, giving us an excuse to catch up!
- Monticelloman Olympic triathlon on May 5th outside of Charlottesville, VA. In 2012 I did the half ironman distance at Monticelloman and I really enjoyed it - great course from start to finish and impressive race organization. I thought about doing the half again, but there's another half later in May I'm interested in doing.
- Kinetic Half Ironman triathlon on May 11th down at Lake Anna. I did this race in 2009 and 2010 and it sucked the life out of me every time :) That run course with the mile-long uphill you get to do three times. But I think I've had a long enough break from the race because I am excited to give it another go. Plus it's a popular triathlon in the DC tri community and lots of my friends will be out there racing, making it that much more fun.
- Rev3 Quassy Half Ironman triathlon on June 2nd in Middlebury, CT. This will be a repeat from 2011 and 2012. Here's to hoping I don't make it a three-peat and end up with a 5:28 once again - I'd REALLY like to go a bit faster. I had originally intended to sign up for Eagleman (good practice for racing in the heat) but I procrastinated on registering and got shut out, womp womp. Rev3 does a great job at putting together an awesome race, the course is fun - hills and all - and it's close enough for my parents to drive down and spectate and I'm able to drive up the day before the race and drive home after the race, so no need to take time off from work. Plus Mindy and Sarah are looking at doing it, making it even more fun.
- Diabolical Double Gran Fondo on June 22nd out in Garrett County, MD. Did this last year - probably the most time I have ever spent on a bike. Beautiful ride and the only part I didn't like was doing DOWN the steep hill near the Westernport Wall. They are holding a "gentleman's race" for teams of 4-6 in 2013 so you will find Mindy, Sarah, Katie and I riding together (and laughing and stuffing ourselves with sandwiches and M&Ms at the rest stops and commiserating about our poor rear ends that have sat on bike seats for far too long).
- Ironman Lake Placid on July 27th in Lake Placid, NY. I've not had the race I wanted to have in 2011 and in 2012 - neither race was a disaster but I crossed the finish line feeling unfulfilled and a little dissatisfied with my performance. I want to give it another go before moving on to an Ironman race in a different venue. And this seems like it is going to be the unofficial DC area triathlete race so I'm excited to see lots of familiar faces on the course, and my friend Stacey from tri camp (she is a mom of three kids under 7) is doing it too. Stacey is the one who pulled me up that last hill on the run course at Mile 24, waving a giant bag of mini eggs at me like a carrot. I'm so excited to have so many training buddies doing IMLP - it will make the long bike rides and long runs double as social time too.
- Luray Olympic triathlon on August 17th in Luray, VA. I had wanted to do Age Group Nationals again this year, and I found out a couple of weeks ago that I qualified. I also found out that they were being held a week earlier than last year - and with IMLP being a week later, that left only two weeks between Ironman and AG Nationals rather than the 4 weeks in 2012. I don't think I'd be in recovered enough to do well and it doesn't make sense to spend the money, at least not in 2013. Luray is a fantastic local race and I can even drive down the morning of. Beautiful hilly course, lots of friends doing it. I'm excited.
- Vegas 70.3 World Championships on September 8th in Las Vegas, NV. I had no plans, initially, to do this race again anytime soon. I didn't think I'd be fortunate enough to qualify again and I did so terribly in 2012 that I wasn't too broken up about the prospect of never biking in 110 degree heat again. But then 70.3 Poconos happened and I nabbed a slot and that was that. I'm going back. Fingers crossed that the fact it is on Mr. Sweetie and my 7th wedding anniversary that it will bring me some luck and fast feet.
The latter half of my season after Vegas isn't ironed out yet. I'd like to do one or two more half ironmans and maybe one more shorter race. I've heard great things about Rev3 South Carolina and Beach2Battleship half has been calling my name for years. There are some shorter local races - Giant Acorn or Waterman's that I'd be interested in doing too. I'm even still working on some stuff in the early season, Rumpus in Bumpass isn't happening in 2013 and I'm still undecided about a triathlon in April. New Orleans 70.3 is on my radar, but finances make that hard to swing. I also want to get in an off-road triathlon. I know I need a mountain bike first - working on that. After tri season there will be some Backyard Burn trail races and MORE cyclocross - weeeeeeee!
28 December 2012
The little things add up. Or subtract. Depends on what you do with them.
So last night - and tonight for that matter - I found myself at the pool because I was too cool to get up early to get my swim on before work. Neither workout was particularly painful; though I neglected to fuel properly before the swim and was ravenous by the time I got out, womp womp. Good thing my house was stocked with chocolate oranges and Lindt chocolates from Christmas. Lord those taste amazing when you are starving.
Some of yesterday's swim sets were hypoxic. According to the Finis website, "hypoxic swimming is a technique used by swimmers to improve their tolerance of oxygen debt." For someone who likes to breath every time I take a stroke with my right arm, hypoxic sets are not high on my list of things I like to do with my time. Rather than taking a breath every second stroke, I was taking a breath every 5th stroke on the way down the pool and then every 7th stroke on the way back for a few hundred yards. While completely doable, it was not the most pleasant feeling that whole running out of air by the 6th stroke and gasping for air on the 7th. There came a point during the set where I thought to myself meh, who will know the difference if I just do 3/5 instead of 5/7? I'm still in off-season mode, I don't have to do things I don't want to do. But there comes a point where those little things I don't want to do start to add up when I skip them ALL THE TIME. Sure, making the hypoxic set easier or not doing it at all just this once probably wouldn't have made a difference in the long run, but the danger is when you start setting precedents like that and you find yourself on a slippery slope. Skipping it once becomes twice becomes three times becomes habit and the overall quality of the work you are doing suffers.
We all know the big things matter. Get to the pool at least a few times a week for a solid workout. Get on your bike when you are scheduled to. Do that long run over the weekend. Don't eat chocolate 24/7. Jen told me awhile back that once you master the big things, you need to focus on the little things because that's when they start to matter that much more. Get sufficient sleep so you can wake up in the morning and go to the pool before work. Do that hypoxic set you hate because one day it's going to seem so much easier. Do those flip turns because even though you don't do flip turns in open water, it's going to make the other 99% of your swimming - done in a pool - that much faster and more pleasant. Work that bike interval hard, don't half-ass it - you're already on the bike doing the workout, might as well do it right and make it count. Hit those intervals your coach set for you on the run, there's a reason for it and you'll become a better, faster athlete if you don't cop out. And, for crying out loud - DO YOUR STRENGTH TRAINING. I'm not perfect in regards to any of these aforementioned items. Sometimes laziness gets the best of me. In the off-season I let laziness get the best of me because your body just needs a break after a long season - but I've realized that the cop-outs can only go on for so long before they are suddenly out of control.
Some of yesterday's swim sets were hypoxic. According to the Finis website, "hypoxic swimming is a technique used by swimmers to improve their tolerance of oxygen debt." For someone who likes to breath every time I take a stroke with my right arm, hypoxic sets are not high on my list of things I like to do with my time. Rather than taking a breath every second stroke, I was taking a breath every 5th stroke on the way down the pool and then every 7th stroke on the way back for a few hundred yards. While completely doable, it was not the most pleasant feeling that whole running out of air by the 6th stroke and gasping for air on the 7th. There came a point during the set where I thought to myself meh, who will know the difference if I just do 3/5 instead of 5/7? I'm still in off-season mode, I don't have to do things I don't want to do. But there comes a point where those little things I don't want to do start to add up when I skip them ALL THE TIME. Sure, making the hypoxic set easier or not doing it at all just this once probably wouldn't have made a difference in the long run, but the danger is when you start setting precedents like that and you find yourself on a slippery slope. Skipping it once becomes twice becomes three times becomes habit and the overall quality of the work you are doing suffers.
We all know the big things matter. Get to the pool at least a few times a week for a solid workout. Get on your bike when you are scheduled to. Do that long run over the weekend. Don't eat chocolate 24/7. Jen told me awhile back that once you master the big things, you need to focus on the little things because that's when they start to matter that much more. Get sufficient sleep so you can wake up in the morning and go to the pool before work. Do that hypoxic set you hate because one day it's going to seem so much easier. Do those flip turns because even though you don't do flip turns in open water, it's going to make the other 99% of your swimming - done in a pool - that much faster and more pleasant. Work that bike interval hard, don't half-ass it - you're already on the bike doing the workout, might as well do it right and make it count. Hit those intervals your coach set for you on the run, there's a reason for it and you'll become a better, faster athlete if you don't cop out. And, for crying out loud - DO YOUR STRENGTH TRAINING. I'm not perfect in regards to any of these aforementioned items. Sometimes laziness gets the best of me. In the off-season I let laziness get the best of me because your body just needs a break after a long season - but I've realized that the cop-outs can only go on for so long before they are suddenly out of control.
26 December 2012
LAST post about 2012. I promise.
I'm in a mood to reminisce, so please humor me.
I've recapped how I did in terms of the athletic goals and non-athletic goals I set for myself in 2012. And while I finalize the goals and race schedule for 2013, I wanted to take a quick look back at this past year, which will go down in the history books as one of my favorites.
Favorite Race?
That would have to be AG Nationals up in Burlington, VT. I managed to eek out a PR and went sub-2:30 for the first time in an Olympic Triathlon. Even though this was a slow time compared to many other girls in my age group, this was hands down the most fun race weekend I had all year, with fun friends, my family coming to cheer, and hotel swim starts.
Least Favorite Race?
Least favorite race moment?
Favorite Trip?
I've recapped how I did in terms of the athletic goals and non-athletic goals I set for myself in 2012. And while I finalize the goals and race schedule for 2013, I wanted to take a quick look back at this past year, which will go down in the history books as one of my favorites.
Favorite Race?
That would have to be AG Nationals up in Burlington, VT. I managed to eek out a PR and went sub-2:30 for the first time in an Olympic Triathlon. Even though this was a slow time compared to many other girls in my age group, this was hands down the most fun race weekend I had all year, with fun friends, my family coming to cheer, and hotel swim starts.
 |
| Basking in post-race glory |
This will be the last time I ever talk about Vegas 70.3 until next year when I start talking smack to build up my confidence going into the 2013 70.3 World Championships. I melted into a puddle of pavement on that run course and I have zero pictures that do the race justice. Best part of race weekend was watching Andy and Mel take tequila shots.
Favorite Race Moment?
It's hard to pick just one. One of the high points during a race was when I was keeping my target pace during Poconos 70.3 and not letting my head get the better of me. One of my most favorite post-race moments was watching the midnight finish at IMLP and eating chocolate cake with Mindy, Kristin, Melanie and other friends while cheering in the last finishers.
 |
| Post-chocolate cake binge |
During my terrible run leg at IMLP, the one thought that kept running through my head was crap, you get to come back and do this same thing NEXT YEAR because you are dumb and already signed yourself up. That was a low point. I'm much more content with my race registration decision now, especially because so many of my friends are doing the race and I feel it in my bones that 2013 is THE year that I will conquer Ironman in Lake Placid. But at the time, when I felt like poo, this was not a high point of my race season.
 |
| Do I look as pathetic as I felt? This is NOT the face of someone thrilled with her performance. |
I traveled alot this year, with April being the month with the most trips. Out of the trips to Burkina Faso, Paris, Tucson, Phoenix, NH, VT, Vegas, Cape Cod, Lake Placid, and Nashville it is hard to choose just one. Paris was great because I got to spend time with Chelsea, who I NEVER get to see anymore. And Tucson for triathlon camp always tops my list as a favorite vacation - I love the people there, climbing Mount Lemmon, and the trail running (minus the cacti). And the other travels brought me to see family and friends around the country. And going to Burkina always broadens my perspective on things, and sometimes that is desperately needed. So no, I can't pick just one. I choose them all.
Changes?
One of the biggest changes this year was leaving Team Z to move over to Team Ignite Endurance. It was a really cool opportunity and I didn't want to pass it up. I've gotten the chance to meet some great people in the triathlon community, become closer friends with a group of awesome athletes, and partner with Tri360, a fantastic tri shop in Arlington, VA.
I think that caps off the favorite/least favorite things of the year. If 2013 is anything like 2012 was in terms of race successes and training partners, I think it will be a great year!
25 December 2012
Christmas Traditions
Merry Christmas!! This is the first year that Mr. Sweetie and I have spent the holiday as just the two of us - though we will go out to my aunt's house in Virginia for dinner tonight. I have to admit, we felt a little like Christmas Vacation's Todd and Margo - though with a better decorated house and more holiday spirit. Our families have always had various traditions and this year it was nice to mix some old traditions with what will hopefully become some new traditions.
When I was growing up, one of my favorite Christmas traditions was having Christmas Eve dinner with our good family friends the Mercers. They have been our closest family friends since I was three years old and even now when I visit my parents in NH, I always make sure my morning running route goes by their house so I can knock on their door and say hello mid-run. They would supply the sweet rolls and sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies and we would supply the minestrone soup (which in later years became seafood chowder - my dad's singular annual culinary feat of strength). Now that I am married to Mr. Sweetie, I've gotten a chance to participate in his family's traditional Christmas Eve, which consists of a big dinner of tamales with family friends and aunts and uncles and cousins. My sisters-in-law are also well-versed in the art of gingerbread cookie making and decorating. Never in my life have I seen so many Christmas cookies in one place as I see in their kitchen each year.
This year we started a new tradition of our own, getting together with a group of our close friends to celebrate Christmas Eve. Last night we had a wonderful dinner (tamales, fried catfish, baked haddock, ham, gumbo, and pasta with fruits de mer) and went to Midnight Mass before enjoying some good wine and hot chocolate post-Church.
As kids, and even into adulthood, Christmas morning was all about rolling out of bed, eating a big breakfast, and opening gifts. Mr. Sweetie's family always makes a super yummy egg bake dish for breakfast. In my family, we have Christmas Bread for breakfast with oranges (or, if you are weird, grapefruit - bleck). My nana made Christmas Bread every year when my mom was growing up, and my mom proceeded to do the same. We have this sweet bread only on Christmas Day and it's one of the things I most look forward to on Christmas morning. My mom always made a number of these breads as gifts to give to our close friends and I've tried to uphold that tradition since moving to DC.
This year we kept the Christmas bread and oranges (and grapefruit - bleck) tradition and added some homemade biscotti to the mix. We also went for a run BEFORE digging into the bread and presents, making our morning run with the dog much more enjoyable (Christmas bread is sweet and rich and not the best food to fuel a run). We had perfect weather for the run, crisp air, blue skies, and moderate temperatures. I'm hoping the pre-bread/presents run will be a tradition we keep up for many years.
Another Christmas tradition - enjoying a nice quiet afternoon with our newly-opened gifts. Mr. Sweetie and I spent much of today parked in the Reading Room with our tree, Christmas music and mugs of hot chocolate. We started reading books we received as gifts, set up the Nativity set that my parents sent to us (THANK YOU!!!) and set up the Kitchen Aid mixer Mr. Sweetie's family spoiled me with (a lifelong dream fulfilled - thank you!!!).
I love Christmas. I love Midnight Mass, spending time with those who mean the most to us, and seeing the reaction when someone opens a gift they really enjoy (and, let's be honest, I like opening gifts too :) ). I hope everyone had a REALLY great Christmas!
When I was growing up, one of my favorite Christmas traditions was having Christmas Eve dinner with our good family friends the Mercers. They have been our closest family friends since I was three years old and even now when I visit my parents in NH, I always make sure my morning running route goes by their house so I can knock on their door and say hello mid-run. They would supply the sweet rolls and sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies and we would supply the minestrone soup (which in later years became seafood chowder - my dad's singular annual culinary feat of strength). Now that I am married to Mr. Sweetie, I've gotten a chance to participate in his family's traditional Christmas Eve, which consists of a big dinner of tamales with family friends and aunts and uncles and cousins. My sisters-in-law are also well-versed in the art of gingerbread cookie making and decorating. Never in my life have I seen so many Christmas cookies in one place as I see in their kitchen each year.
This year we started a new tradition of our own, getting together with a group of our close friends to celebrate Christmas Eve. Last night we had a wonderful dinner (tamales, fried catfish, baked haddock, ham, gumbo, and pasta with fruits de mer) and went to Midnight Mass before enjoying some good wine and hot chocolate post-Church.
As kids, and even into adulthood, Christmas morning was all about rolling out of bed, eating a big breakfast, and opening gifts. Mr. Sweetie's family always makes a super yummy egg bake dish for breakfast. In my family, we have Christmas Bread for breakfast with oranges (or, if you are weird, grapefruit - bleck). My nana made Christmas Bread every year when my mom was growing up, and my mom proceeded to do the same. We have this sweet bread only on Christmas Day and it's one of the things I most look forward to on Christmas morning. My mom always made a number of these breads as gifts to give to our close friends and I've tried to uphold that tradition since moving to DC.
This year we kept the Christmas bread and oranges (and grapefruit - bleck) tradition and added some homemade biscotti to the mix. We also went for a run BEFORE digging into the bread and presents, making our morning run with the dog much more enjoyable (Christmas bread is sweet and rich and not the best food to fuel a run). We had perfect weather for the run, crisp air, blue skies, and moderate temperatures. I'm hoping the pre-bread/presents run will be a tradition we keep up for many years.
Another Christmas tradition - enjoying a nice quiet afternoon with our newly-opened gifts. Mr. Sweetie and I spent much of today parked in the Reading Room with our tree, Christmas music and mugs of hot chocolate. We started reading books we received as gifts, set up the Nativity set that my parents sent to us (THANK YOU!!!) and set up the Kitchen Aid mixer Mr. Sweetie's family spoiled me with (a lifelong dream fulfilled - thank you!!!).
I love Christmas. I love Midnight Mass, spending time with those who mean the most to us, and seeing the reaction when someone opens a gift they really enjoy (and, let's be honest, I like opening gifts too :) ). I hope everyone had a REALLY great Christmas!
22 December 2012
Recap - 2012 Athletic Goals and Season
I looked back at my blog entry from early January to find the six general goals I had set for myself in hopes of having a good 2012 season. We'll just caveat this recap now by saying I'm not going to count the offseason because I've not met any of these goals on a consistent basis since October, when I had my last triathlon. So, how did this year go?
- Improve daily nutrition habits. I think I spoke about this one a bit in my post earlier this week about trying to eat more fruits and veggies and less butter after I chatted with Beth in the spring. And let's be honest, my chocolate chip and Mini Egg habit needed to be checked at the door if I was going to fuel my races well.
- Consistently strength train and improve functional strength. I was more consistent in my strength training in 2012 than I have ever been in previous years, but there is still loads of room for improvement. Having the TRX in our basement is helpful and I tend to get the best workout when someone else is doing TRX with me, keeps things on task and focused. When I'm doing it alone, I take longer breaks or skip exercises I don't feel like doing. Even though I would skip a strength training workout here and there, it wasn't at a higher rate than when I would skip any of my other swimbikerun workouts.
- Get more sleep. Ehhhh. Didn't do a stellar job with this. Took the computer to bed with me far too many times and allowed myself to waste too much time on Facebook and reading blogs. Before I knew it, an hour had passed and I was still going to need to wake up at the same time the next morning, leaving me with one less hour of sleep. I also feel like I'm always trying to fit in just one more thing into my evening and I don't make sleep the priority it needs to be. This will still be on my goals list for next year, with the added steps of no computers in the bedroom and unplug from electronics (except the Kindle) an hour or two before bed whenever possible.
- Do my workouts on the appointed days at the appointed times of day (i.e., get my lazy self out of bed before work in enough time to do something meaningful). Even with the lack of sleep on days where I stayed up far too late the night before, I generally was able to get in two-a-days and do the workouts when I was supposed to. My favorite days were the ones with 5:30am Morning Masters at Hains Point that started with a bike ride in the dark to the pool and watching the sun come up while doing laps. On days where I would oversleep, I'd try to get a workout in before work through bike or run commuting. In the spring, summer, and early fall when it was light out early in the morning, it was much easier to get up when my alarm went off. Now that it's dark in the AM and I still sort of feel like I'm in the off-season, I've dropped the whole concept of an alarm clock. I found that if I told myself the night before that I had to get up in the morning and do the workout, there would be no excuse to push it off to later, I would generally get up and get things done. It was when I'd tell myself you can just do it after work, it will be a piece of cake to do an hour bike and hour swim in the evening that I'd find myself in trouble, not get up, and try to cram things in at the last minute.
- Be competitive in my age group. I'm really happy that I was able to achieve this goal in a number of races - and in a few of the smaller races, I was competitive overall and not just in my age group. The Monticelloman Half Ironman in May set the tone, with a 3rd place overall finish. I snagged a 5th place AG finish at the Columbia Oly tri in May, 2nd overall at the Summer Super Sprint tri in August, 2nd AG in the 70.3 Poconos triathlon in September, and 2nd overall at the Watermans Oly in October. I got my rear handed to me at Rev3 Quassy, IM Lake Placid, Age Group Nationals, and lets not forget 70.3 Vegas. But I think the experiences where I didn't do as well were just as valuable as the ones where I had a strong race. And while I didn't place super well at Quassy, IMLP, or AG Nationals, they were relatively solid races with most mistakes in IMLP being related to nutrition, and my weak swim leg being a liability at Nationals. In short course you can't have a liability and expect to do well.
- Become faster in each discipline (sub-35 in the half iron swim, sub-1:15 in the iron swim, sub-2:45 on the half iron bike, sub-6 on the iron bike, sub-1:43 on the half iron run, and sub-4 on the iron run). I finally figured out how to have a decent ironman and half-ironman swim: practice, practice, practice and then on race day, find fast feet and swim your heart out. I finally made myself work hard during the swim leg of my races, rather than just la-la-la-la-ing through it, and it paid off. I'd get out of the water winded, but see a 32 or 33 on the clock (once I saw a 29, but the course was probably short, womp womp). With the exception of Vegas, all of my half Ironman bike splits were under three hours, and a few times I found myself in the 2:40s. I made myself focus during the bike leg on my pedal stroke and turnover and really try to keep a cadence around 90rpms so I didn't burn my legs out for the run. While I never found a sub-1:43 run (or a sub-1:45 for that matter) during a half-Ironman, I did alot of self pep talk on the bike to get myself excited to run. Whenever I did that, I found I had a better run than when I thought negative things. I've yet to conquer the Ironman bike and run, still finding myself well over 6 hours and 4 hours, respectively. I think some of this was due to nutrition fails on the bike - too many calories, not the right kind of calories, not nearly enough water for the heat we were running in. And not staying mentally focused during the bike and run, that played a role in it too. I have my work cut out for me in 2013. I'd like to get the Ironman monkey off my back and actually do well at that distance.
I loved the 2012 race season. Not only did I find more success than I ever have before, I met so many new people and forged some really strong friendships and found some fantastic training partners. By far, the friends I made and spent time with were my favorite part of 2012. Mel Yu - I loved having the same race schedule as you and seeing you out on the course was always the boost I needed. And now we have cyclocross too!! Mindy, Sarah, and Katie - I can't decide which I love more, our training rides or cupcakes, or the fig/bacon/balsamic glaze pizza. I can't wait to become an Ironman again with you guys in 2013! Next year also calls for more social kicking with Kendra, and training runs and rides with Dawn! Emily and Karen, you two were so, so great in helping me get into cyclocross this year. I've totally found a post-triathlon season sport and that never would've happened without all of your help and encouragement, and bike-lending. Jenny - we still need that baking and biking binge date. With champagne. And Kristin - you've been super generous in sharing with me tips of the trade and what you've learned about the sport and you are the a great example for how triathlon should be done - humble, hard work, discipline, yet still fun. And Sarah, Stacey, and Julia do you have any idea how excited I am about Tucson Tri Camp in 2013??!! I look up to and admire you all SO MUCH and I cannot, absolutely cannot thank you enough for all of the encouragement and support and cards and cheers you guys gave me throughout the 2012 season. I feel so, so lucky to have friends like you. And Jen - you are an amazing coach. Truly incredible. I honestly don't know how many athletes you coach and I can't imagine how hard it is to balance everything, but you always make me feel like I'm a top priority, you always have great advice, you always take the time to answer my questions, tell me what I need to hear, and you are super, super patient. In short, you are awesome and I can't thank you enough for all you've done for me.
- Improve daily nutrition habits. I think I spoke about this one a bit in my post earlier this week about trying to eat more fruits and veggies and less butter after I chatted with Beth in the spring. And let's be honest, my chocolate chip and Mini Egg habit needed to be checked at the door if I was going to fuel my races well.
 |
| 12 months later and the sign is still here. |
 |
| Love is when your husband buys out the local CVS for you during the post-Easter candy sale |
Mr. Sweetie and I made an honest effort each week to cook most of our meals at home. I also found it helpful that we signed up for the Washington Green Grocer, which delivered a bunch of fresh vegetables and fruits to our door every week. We tried (mostly successfully) to plan our meals around the veggies that would be in these deliveries. During the race season I didn't eat meat, but I like turkey and bacon too much to give it up during the holidays. I have mixed feelings about eating meat - I don't believe it's a bad thing to have it, but I'm wary of the way much of it is raised here and the whole meat production process. I read an article, I think it was in the NYT magazine a month or two ago, about the habits of the people living on a relatively secluded Greek island that led to their longevity. One of the things they noted, besides the fact that they ate very little processed foods and lots of fruits and vegetables, was that they ate meat sparingly, about 5 times a month. Food for thought (harharhar). I don't know if I will give up meat completely in 2013, but I do like the idea of having it here and there, not every day. I still need to drink more water daily.
- Consistently strength train and improve functional strength. I was more consistent in my strength training in 2012 than I have ever been in previous years, but there is still loads of room for improvement. Having the TRX in our basement is helpful and I tend to get the best workout when someone else is doing TRX with me, keeps things on task and focused. When I'm doing it alone, I take longer breaks or skip exercises I don't feel like doing. Even though I would skip a strength training workout here and there, it wasn't at a higher rate than when I would skip any of my other swimbikerun workouts.
- Get more sleep. Ehhhh. Didn't do a stellar job with this. Took the computer to bed with me far too many times and allowed myself to waste too much time on Facebook and reading blogs. Before I knew it, an hour had passed and I was still going to need to wake up at the same time the next morning, leaving me with one less hour of sleep. I also feel like I'm always trying to fit in just one more thing into my evening and I don't make sleep the priority it needs to be. This will still be on my goals list for next year, with the added steps of no computers in the bedroom and unplug from electronics (except the Kindle) an hour or two before bed whenever possible.
- Do my workouts on the appointed days at the appointed times of day (i.e., get my lazy self out of bed before work in enough time to do something meaningful). Even with the lack of sleep on days where I stayed up far too late the night before, I generally was able to get in two-a-days and do the workouts when I was supposed to. My favorite days were the ones with 5:30am Morning Masters at Hains Point that started with a bike ride in the dark to the pool and watching the sun come up while doing laps. On days where I would oversleep, I'd try to get a workout in before work through bike or run commuting. In the spring, summer, and early fall when it was light out early in the morning, it was much easier to get up when my alarm went off. Now that it's dark in the AM and I still sort of feel like I'm in the off-season, I've dropped the whole concept of an alarm clock. I found that if I told myself the night before that I had to get up in the morning and do the workout, there would be no excuse to push it off to later, I would generally get up and get things done. It was when I'd tell myself you can just do it after work, it will be a piece of cake to do an hour bike and hour swim in the evening that I'd find myself in trouble, not get up, and try to cram things in at the last minute.
- Be competitive in my age group. I'm really happy that I was able to achieve this goal in a number of races - and in a few of the smaller races, I was competitive overall and not just in my age group. The Monticelloman Half Ironman in May set the tone, with a 3rd place overall finish. I snagged a 5th place AG finish at the Columbia Oly tri in May, 2nd overall at the Summer Super Sprint tri in August, 2nd AG in the 70.3 Poconos triathlon in September, and 2nd overall at the Watermans Oly in October. I got my rear handed to me at Rev3 Quassy, IM Lake Placid, Age Group Nationals, and lets not forget 70.3 Vegas. But I think the experiences where I didn't do as well were just as valuable as the ones where I had a strong race. And while I didn't place super well at Quassy, IMLP, or AG Nationals, they were relatively solid races with most mistakes in IMLP being related to nutrition, and my weak swim leg being a liability at Nationals. In short course you can't have a liability and expect to do well.
- Become faster in each discipline (sub-35 in the half iron swim, sub-1:15 in the iron swim, sub-2:45 on the half iron bike, sub-6 on the iron bike, sub-1:43 on the half iron run, and sub-4 on the iron run). I finally figured out how to have a decent ironman and half-ironman swim: practice, practice, practice and then on race day, find fast feet and swim your heart out. I finally made myself work hard during the swim leg of my races, rather than just la-la-la-la-ing through it, and it paid off. I'd get out of the water winded, but see a 32 or 33 on the clock (once I saw a 29, but the course was probably short, womp womp). With the exception of Vegas, all of my half Ironman bike splits were under three hours, and a few times I found myself in the 2:40s. I made myself focus during the bike leg on my pedal stroke and turnover and really try to keep a cadence around 90rpms so I didn't burn my legs out for the run. While I never found a sub-1:43 run (or a sub-1:45 for that matter) during a half-Ironman, I did alot of self pep talk on the bike to get myself excited to run. Whenever I did that, I found I had a better run than when I thought negative things. I've yet to conquer the Ironman bike and run, still finding myself well over 6 hours and 4 hours, respectively. I think some of this was due to nutrition fails on the bike - too many calories, not the right kind of calories, not nearly enough water for the heat we were running in. And not staying mentally focused during the bike and run, that played a role in it too. I have my work cut out for me in 2013. I'd like to get the Ironman monkey off my back and actually do well at that distance.
I loved the 2012 race season. Not only did I find more success than I ever have before, I met so many new people and forged some really strong friendships and found some fantastic training partners. By far, the friends I made and spent time with were my favorite part of 2012. Mel Yu - I loved having the same race schedule as you and seeing you out on the course was always the boost I needed. And now we have cyclocross too!! Mindy, Sarah, and Katie - I can't decide which I love more, our training rides or cupcakes, or the fig/bacon/balsamic glaze pizza. I can't wait to become an Ironman again with you guys in 2013! Next year also calls for more social kicking with Kendra, and training runs and rides with Dawn! Emily and Karen, you two were so, so great in helping me get into cyclocross this year. I've totally found a post-triathlon season sport and that never would've happened without all of your help and encouragement, and bike-lending. Jenny - we still need that baking and biking binge date. With champagne. And Kristin - you've been super generous in sharing with me tips of the trade and what you've learned about the sport and you are the a great example for how triathlon should be done - humble, hard work, discipline, yet still fun. And Sarah, Stacey, and Julia do you have any idea how excited I am about Tucson Tri Camp in 2013??!! I look up to and admire you all SO MUCH and I cannot, absolutely cannot thank you enough for all of the encouragement and support and cards and cheers you guys gave me throughout the 2012 season. I feel so, so lucky to have friends like you. And Jen - you are an amazing coach. Truly incredible. I honestly don't know how many athletes you coach and I can't imagine how hard it is to balance everything, but you always make me feel like I'm a top priority, you always have great advice, you always take the time to answer my questions, tell me what I need to hear, and you are super, super patient. In short, you are awesome and I can't thank you enough for all you've done for me.
21 December 2012
Random Friday Facts
- I love Gouda cheese. Love it.
- Mr. Sweetie wrapped all of my gifts and put them under the tree today. While he was out running errands, the dog unwrapped ALL OF THEM and chewed the packaging.
- We have only done photo Christmas cards once. I haven't wanted to do them again because I don't think we can top our 2010 version.
- I prefer white wine over red.
- Mr. Sweetie wrapped all of my gifts and put them under the tree today. While he was out running errands, the dog unwrapped ALL OF THEM and chewed the packaging.
- We have only done photo Christmas cards once. I haven't wanted to do them again because I don't think we can top our 2010 version.
 |
| It would be redundant to feel up the leg lamp for the Christmas Card every year, right? |
- We finally, FINALLY have a new desk. Well, a new-to-us desk. Thanks Katie and Thom, I'm very happy to say goodbye to the Ikea desk that was the bane of my existence during grad school.
- The baking of my family's traditional Christmas bread has started. It's typically a multi-day process. I've had this bread for Christmas almost every year of my life. And yes, it is better than bagels.
- I was up until almost 2am baking last night. The spirit of Christmas is to give away goodies at the same rate you receive them.
- When I was a kid I hated the color pink but now it's one of my favorites.
- Speaking of pink, I treated myself to a Smashfest Queen pink headband at their trunk show at Tri360 on Tuesday night. Best headband investment ever.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)