Running in the early morning - first 6 mile run.

I woke up at 6am for my early run. My wake up times seem to get earlier and earlier as it gets hotter and hotter! I had a motto for today. My purpose was to complete 6 miles. It would be a first. I repeated to myself, 6 at 6. Let's go! My second purpose was to not get eaten alive by mosquitoes which had me for breakfast last week. 17 bites. YES, you read correctly and it's not a typo - 17!!  

I was out the door by 6:05 covered in "OFF Deep Woods" which I highly recommend now! It will be my new perfume for early runs. I returned without any bites and as I rounded the corner to my house, I looked at my watch showing I ran 6.18 miles. I did it! I started my day with a decision to try 6 miles and I accomplished it. You can do so much if you set your mind on a goal and remove all boundaries around it...

8 weeks - KEEP GOING!

8 weeks and counting! I've been hard at work for 8 weeks now and some friends have mentioned I look thinner. I have been weighing myself every 4 weeks to not add pressure and another 2 lbs are gone. As nice as it is to see that post baby weight saying bye bye, I have not been starving myself in any way. You need to nourish your body if you expect it to perform. I've continued eating very healthy but that scale that used to be so important is now an afterthought. My main thoughts encompass getting healthier, stronger and pushing myself farther. On the agenda, a triathlon in July and a half marathon early winter.  

8 weeks ago, jogging 1 mile was a pretty great accomplishment. This morning I jogged 5 at a steady pace. A half marathon has gone from an unattainable goal to something I'm probably going to do by the end of the year. I like this new me, a lot!

Running in the rain - my first time and tips for the future.

I set out on my morning run at 6am this morning. I've started a habit of going this early to avoid the overpowering heat and humidity that sets in after 7am. Anyone in Miami understands what I'm talking about. Midway through my 5 mile goal, it began to sprinkle. I cursed. I kept going. A few more minutes and there was a full downpour on me. I cursed hoping it would stop but I kept going. Then a few minutes after that, instead of cursing, I thought of how many times I saw runners in such downpours and thought they were absolutely crazy. It made me smile and chuckle as I kept seeing cars go by me and people giving me that look. I know what they were thinking - "Look at this crazy woman running in the rain!". I smiled at all of them.  

Then it happened, for the very first time, I felt like a runner. I welcomed the rain because it cooled me off. I welcomed it because I remembered loving to play in the rain and running around with my friends under similar downpours. I felt like a little girl that has been caught in a severe rain storm far away from her house selling raffle tickets for her school (this happened with my best friend when we were in 7th grade). I finished my run, soaked, dripping like I had just jumped out of a pool. It wasn't so bad after all. Uncomfortable, yeah. Clothes were sticking to me and I was worried about my GPS watch but it wasn't bad at all. It was, dare I say it, kind of FUN...  

I found several tips online for next time that I will share with you.

• Wear a hat!  I didn't happen to have one and it would have been very useful to keep the rain out of my eyes.
• When you get home, take the insoles out of your shoes and stuff them with newspaper.  This helps maintain the shape of your running shoe and helps it to dry out faster.  
• If you are somewhere colder, you should layer up.  We're lucky in South Florida and can skip this step.
• BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU ARE GOING!!  I am super clumsy and instinctively kept looking where I was going because I didn't want to hit a puddle and find it was a pothole.  
• My personal tip to you - think of being a young kid again.  It makes you run faster and freely!  Oh, one more, try to have two pairs of good running shoes so a rainy day doesn't keep you from going out the next day! 

Challenges welcomed - next stop, TRIATHLON!

One week after my first duathlon, and another year older (yesterday was my birthday), I just signed up for my first triathlon to be held on July 22, 2012. Next week it will be 8 weeks from the day I decided to begin my journey back to health and my goal to take on new challenges. If someone told me 8 weeks ago that I would be doing this, I would have laughed and thought to myself "I wish". It's not a wish anymore. After weeks of hard work, it's a challenge that I am taking on. 

I am happy to report that I am feeling strong and empowered. There are women that are emailing me on how to get started and just like many women inspired me to get on this track, I am inspiring others to start as well. That makes me incredibly happy. I hope others join in with their journeys so they too can inspire all of us. I was once feeling tired, heavy and slow.  That has been replaced with energetic, swifter and ready. Ready for new experiences. Ready to try harder. Ready for a triathlon. Bring it!

I DID IT!! - 2012 Mack Cycle Key Biscayne Duathlon Trilogy #1 Results

So my first duathlon was yesterday. I woke up at 4:30am and rushed to have breakfast and get ready so I could be out the door by 5:15am. I packed what I needed the night before. This included a visor, sunglasses, bike helmet, bike shoes, etc. My husband was doing the duathlon as well and we were at Crandon Park Beach by 6:00am. I walked into the transition area and got my timing chip. I placed it around my right ankle and then an event volunteer wrote my race number on my arm and my age on the back of my leg (Sharpie markers are used so it doesn't smear). Then the wait...

The wait was the absolute worst part. Nerves kick in and there is absolutely nothing to do but wait for that start time to come. You can feel the nervous energy from everyone that is walking around and feeling the same way. Everyone just waiting to take off and try their best. Some people want to challenge previous times. Some people want to win. Some people enjoy challenging their bodies with something new. I was in the latter and met 5 women that were doing their first triathlon and 2 that were doing their first duathlon. I was in good company! 

The duathlon I was participating in was going to consist of a 1 mile run, a 10 mile bike course and a 5K (3.1 mile run). The start time came and off I went. I looked down at my GPS watch and saw that I was holding a 9:30 minute pace. I was running a 9 minute mile? I thought to myself, "Great, my watch broke on my first race because I have never gone that fast!". I finished the mile run and went to the transition area. I caught my breath and put on my biking gear and off I went to cycle the 10 mile course. It was soooooooooooo windy but that wasn't stopping the hundreds of people out there and it certainly wasn't going to stop me. I was on a mission. The worst part is that you have to go over the bridge in Key Biscayne, make a u-turn and hit that bridge right again. The first time the wind was at my back and I was soaring but the next time, the wind was at my front feeling like a wall pushing me back telling me I wasn't going to be able to go over again. I cranked down my gears and thought to myself, if I keep counting every time I pedal, I should be up the bridge by the time I hit 200. Some people have mantras, I had a steady count in my head.  200.  199.  198.  197.  196.  195. I held my head low and counted down... I don't remember what number I was on when I realized I was at the top and had made it. What a view and what a sense of thrill. Downhill I went against the wind feeling ecstatic. Wind or not, the ride back was going to be easier than hitting the bridge a second time with this wind. I made it back and into the transition area again and on went my sneakers, visor and running glasses. I caught my breath and drank some water/Gatorade and away I went.  

This was it, I was going to finish my first duathlon. There was only a 3.1 mile run between me and the finisher medal. I checked my watch, it was telling me I was running a 12 minute mile. I guess I had run a 9 minute mile previously. It wasn't broken. SWEET!!! I ran faster at times, then slower at others.  I tried keeping it at 12 for the most part. I'm used to running with music and had none so my run got quite philosophical and I thought of how living in the same place your whole life leaves hundreds of memories in every corner of that place. I bounced images of times I had been here at this beach as a child with my family, as a little girl, as a teenager, as a mommy to be, as a mom. I went from being a little girl to being a woman. As I turned a roundabout, I looked and saw my husband smiling taking a picture telling me I was almost done. I had three quarters of a mile to go. I thought about walking. I was tired at this point but something told me to finish it and keep going. I did. I turned another corner and there it was. The finish line. I made it. I did it. I crossed and got my medal.  

After checking times, we learned that my husband finished first in his age group and I had finished third. I had podiumed! MY CRAZY LUCK! There weren't that many women in my age group. The triathlon (swim, bike, run) has a lot more people and is way more competitive. I could have gone faster. I could have spent less time in transition which added to about 6 minutes. But I finished it. I did it. I now have new goals I can beat. Yes, believe it or not, I'm looking forward to doing more and trying harder. 

What a great way to begin Father's Day. The rest of the day was spent with family and a major happy feeling of accomplishment!  :-)

The day begins.

Transition area.  I'm ready!

I'm turning the corner to look a the finish line!

Done!

Podium - I got very lucky.

My buddy - Pedro Perez

The hubs - Thanks for your support.

Time to go back home and switch to mommy mode and have a great Father's Day!

Pre-race jitters...

I'm sitting here packing my things for tomorrow morning. (Did I really get myself into this?) Wake up call is at 4:30am. I have to leave the house by 5:15am. (What was I thinking?) I picked up my race packet today and got my number and everything I need for tomorrow (What if I can't finish it?).

(What if I fall?)

(What if I collapse and can't finish the run?)

(What if I am the last person in?)

(What if I go the wrong way?)

So how am I feeling you ask?  Well, I'd love to say that I am nervous and excited and leave it at that but I find myself thinking that maybe there will be a torrential downpour of thunder and rain tomorrow morning and I can gracefully bow out. Suddenly, the stronger side of me, the one that has spent hours running and cycling answers all my questions:

You got yourself into this because you are strong and you can do it.

You were thinking it would be an adventure and it will be. 

You can finish it.  You've trained.

If you fall, get back up like you have from harder things that have happened in the past.

Collapsing is not an option - this is why you prepared!

It doesn't matter if you are last, so long as you finish what you have begun.

There are signs telling you where to go!!  

My strong side tells my nervous side to shut up and just go out there and have fun and do it. And I will. I'm hoping to post tomorrow with a very simple, short title. It will say, "I DID IT!".

Wish me luck!  :-)

3 days until the duathlon!

Found this great logo from a t-shirt store that sells gear for athletes in different sports. Check it out at:  http://www.triathlontshirts.com/all_sport/duathlon_duathlete.htm

I received an email giving me the instructions for my race packet pick up. For those that are new to this, when you register for a race, you will get your race packet prior to the race. The packet contains your timing chip (my nemesis, lol), your number and other rules on what to do to be prepared for race day.  It's this Sunday morning.  

I got excited and then it hit me, "OH S%$#! This race is in 3 days!!!!". Then I got nervous, then I got doubtful that I could do it, then I got really upset that I would doubt I could finish this and now I'm really ready and thinking I got this covered. I am 7 weeks into training. I've gone from barely jogging 1 mile to jogging 5. I went from cycling 5 miles to cycling 24 and then running a mile right after. I'm ready. Very ready. It will be a challenge but it will also be an accomplishment.     

DO I really think I'm going to do this and finish it and feel great after? I DU! :-)

Anyone out there ready to try and start training for something? Drop me a line!  mommyathlon@bellsouth.net