Feeling good

I realized yesterday I hadn't posted about my race on Sunday- so here you go.

Let me start by saying I didn't meet my goals of 1:20 time or placing in my age groups.  But that's just incidental.  My time was 1:22, which is 6 min faster than when I did the same race 7 years ago.  If I was a year older and in a different age group, I would have placed.  (But I don't want to be closer to turning 4- that much.)  And considering I have 2 kids now and family commitments, then I'm very happy.

Here's the rundown:  Despite being really nervous the week before, I was pretty relaxed in the several days leading up to the race.  That is, until 5 minutes before the start.  I was in the 3rd of 4 waves of swimmers.  The swim was the most uncomfortable part of the race.  I just wanted it to be done.  But I only went to breaststroke twice to get re-oriented when I had several people right around me.  Was able to run out of the water and get through the transition quickly.

I was surprised how fast I went on the bike.  I pegged a couple people ahead of me to try and keep up with, and after a couple miles went ahead and passed them.  I was in a small group the whole ride, and was pleased at how well I could keep up.  And because everyone had their age written on their left calf, I could see who was in my age group and who wasn't.  One woman, the same age as me, had a tri-bike, aerodynamic helmet, and a very fit body- I was able to stay with her until a long hill at mile 12.  Even then, I was happy I had done all the hill repeats as I powered up the hill.

Transition to run was fine- I was tired, but I appreciated all the bricks I had done.  I wish I was just a little faster on the run.  I decided to try and stay with another woman just ahead of me who was my age.  She kept me going a bit faster than I may have done on my own.  I was hoping to pass her at the end, but couldn't quite pull that off.  I did narrow the gap.  She must have known I was there b/c as soon as we crossed the finish line, she turned and shook my hand. 

And my cheering section was the best.  Donny, Tavyn, and Brenna gave me high-fives on the run and were fantastic.  My dad was there as well since my mom did the race.  She did a great job.  

So lessons learned?

I am pretty fast- and next year I'll be faster.

Have electrolyte-drink on the bike.  Since it wasn't a long race, I only had water and my legs were cramping a bit at the end of the bike.  Could I have passed my running friend w/ a little more energy?  Who knows.

Spend more time in open water swims so I'm more comfortable with it.

You know, there were more 'lessons learned" but I can't think of them right now.  And quite frankly, I need to go wake kids up, head to work, and train for the next race.  But that's a different post....

Catch Up Post & Almost There

I've realized I was behind on posting blogs.  And then I realized how behind I've gotten when one of my loyal readers (that would be 1 of all 3 of my readers) wondered when I'd post something again.  Aaaaah, I feel so flattered and important to have such a loyal following.  And before I build up my ego too much, here's what's happened in the past few weeks.

Last time I wrote, I was deciding to go gluten-free and sugar free in an attempt to slim down a bit.  And I'm still going strong.  Yep, I've taken my kids out for ice cream, made them s'mores camping last week, bought them candy at the movie theater, and eaten out at a really elegant restaurant (including watching my husband eat his amazing dessert)- all without sugar and bread.  Admittedly, I've had a few more diet cokes than I normally would considering I gave up soda a couple years ago.  But I gotta have something, right?  And did I slim down the first week?  Nope- not a bit.  Because someone can eat the best quality foods and if it's still more calories in than out, not much will improve.

So I'm still working on it....but since I don't need to ramble about the saga of my waistline, let's get back to the race.

Two days til the first race.  Last week I called Brett in a panic b/c I was sure I wasn't ready and 10 days before the race I was already incredibly nervous.  Also- through this blog and conversations w/ friends, I've made my goals rather public.  And who wants to fail and have everyone know about it?  Not me.  Fortunately, Brett doesn't beat around the bush and gave me the pep talk I needed.  And now two days to go and I'm pretty relaxed.  The butterflies are there, but it's a quiet flutter.

We planned on camping two nights at the state park where the race is in order to avoid a crazy-early drive w/ two young kids.  After camping last week and realizing I felt like s--t Sunday morning, I realized that wasn't the smartest choice.  So now we're camping one night w/ an air mattress.....luxury camping w/ an air mattress.  Especially since I don't even take a pillow when I camp.

So I'm feeling pretty good about the race.  I will be fast- how fast, I have no idea.  But regardless of how I do, I will learn a great deal about how to do it better the next time.

The next time?  Yeah, that's only three weeks away, the course is longer and harder, and Brett and Tam will be there for it.  Even better, Tam's in the same race.  Nothing like a challenge- right?  Right.

A bit of rambling....

So it was recommended to me to post daily on my new gluten-free, sugar-free commitment- I'm assuming for accountability and to stay focused.  But that could be pretty tedious for all of my dozens of readers....ok, three of them, all of which are related to me and one's my husband.  He HAS to read my stuff- it's just part of that marriage deal.

So I may not post every day- but I will more often.  The past two days have included sitting w/ my kids while they eat M&M cookies, ice cream, and sweet popcorn- lovely.  Thank goodness for my iced coffee.  I have done two days so far and although I've certainly missed certain foods, it hasn't been terrible yet.  (I'm not looking forward to camping next week w/ another family complete w/ s'mores, etc...but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.)

What I realized yesterday is that this GFSF way of eating is also a modified Adkins diet of 20 years ago.  I'm eating protein, lots of veggies and fruit.  Some grains- but not alot, obviously.  So it's not exactly like Adkins, but it certainly feels similar.

Fortunately, there are lots of GF foods out there and after a trip to the store last night I have plenty of rice cakes, corn tortillas, bean chips, and quinoa.  Doesn't that all sound yummy?  That's ok-it'll all be worth it in the end.

OK- enough rambling for now....