Runner's High: March 2010

Calling All Warrior & Warriorettes!

Ok, so this one, I have to give to Beth, who emailed out a link to an incredibly cool race taking place in August.

Immediately, I knew we couldn't pass it up.

I mean crawling through the mud,

hustling over hay bales, tunneling through tubes of terror and even jumping over fire.

All with the hopes and ambitions, of being awarded, YES, the ultimate prize--

a fuzzy warrior helmet... and some BEER. :)

So, we put it on our calendars and thought "we'll tell some people, see who is up for it and sign up for this later".

But, NO! We then realized that it is a wave start and the earlier you sign up the earlier your wave (hence, the more time to drink and party after).

And WHO doesn't want to celebrate their warriordom once awarded? We know where our priorities are. At least in a race like this.

So, we signed up. Ready to become warriors (and warriorettes). The more I told people, the more interest I got. And we are totally open for more people to join in the fun with us. Consider this your open invitation to sign-up and come along!

So who, pray tell, is crazy enough to go with us? Well, so far there is:

Ean-the-Instigator. He double-dog-dared Lee-Anne to sign-up when she was inebriated. Not only is he cunning, but he is working out like a crazy for this and planning on wearing a kilt for the event. To top it off, he's doing it sober. Madman.

Warrioress Lee-Anne (aka the kiwi).

She may not look fierce, but watch out! She has got fire and wit in her like you wouldn't believe. Plus, don't you think she would make the perfect warrior woman with those long locks in braids.

Relentless Ross and Ryan-the-Unstoppable

Don't let this picture fool you. They may look like easy-going fellas, but Ryan has been all over the P90X since this photo was taken. He's gonna bring it fo' shizzle.

Andrea or maybe we should call her Andreas (which is translated as Warrior-- no lie).

**Andrea appears prim and proper, but this is just a picture.**

Me and Rampagin' Renee.

I can't wait to see this girl get down and dirty. I see mud wrestling in our future.

So have I convinced you yet?
Here are more details:
Copper Mountain
Saturday, August 21
Free beer, warrior medal and warrior helmet at the finish.

Ross, Randi, Lee-Anne and Ean are currently in the 2:00 wave
Renee, Andrea and Ryan are in the 2:30 wave
Waves are filling up, so sign-up quick!

Stuff about the actual race, click here. Or more specifically here.
TO SIGN UP: CLICK HERE!

Did I mention they have a costume contest? We are so going to rock this race!

Was lost, but now is found...

If you don't have one of these, you need to get one: a good massage therapist.

Most people look at a massage as a luxury. Something extra and fluffy for when you have extra time and extra money to just spend away.

And, I will admit, I used to be in that crowd as well. But not anymore, oh no.

I started getting some massage after having my second child (within 15 months of the first) at the request of my chiropractor. My chiro wrote down exactly what muscles she wanted the massage therapist to work on and it helped ease some of the back pain. Boy, did it help.

Then I continued on when I started running really long again after said second baby and my back was still a little bit out of whack. Immediately I realized how massage could help but only if you either (a) voiced exactly where you were having pain or tightness or (b) HAVE A GOOD THERAPIST.

I can't tell you the amount of times I have gone to a therapist and, despite my ability to articulate where I wanted relief, I didn't get it. They need to be able feel it and relieve it. And be able to work deep enough in the muscle to get to/relieve the tightness. Not to mention the fact that when you are having pain in one part of your body (like your back), it is usually attributed to tightness in a different part of your body (like glute).

Sidenote: If you are reading this and live in Green Bay, you might want to consider going to see Luke Van Gheem at Power Stroke Massage. I felt like he was really in tune with my muscles and knew what to concentrate on without my even needing to tell him. Plus, very reasonable rates (not necessarily a necessity, but always a plus!)

Anyways, so I think I somewhat forgot the importance of this the last couple of months. See, we got this random email from the massage studio we were going to that stated that, as of that day, they were closed due to complications with the building manager. Huh? Ok, but where did my massage therapist go? Since the studio was part of a chain, it referred all of its clients to another location-- where my massage therapist happen to not work.

Hmph. Time to find a new guy/girl. Great. So, I kinda put it off. I went to see my hubby's massage therapist, but not the right fit for me. So, I put it off. I set up an appointment for a *free* massage I won, but they were so booked out the appointment is not until next month. So, without being in any immediate pain, I continued just doing a lot of work with my foam roller.

UNTIL, I ran into my massage therapist on a night out. Yay! Drunken coincidence or the Divine intervening? I'll choose the latter. It was just what I needed, but I didn't even realize it.

So, he gave me his new card and I went to see him yesterday. Oh man, do I feel relieved. My body that is. It was painful, oh yes it was. But all of my effective massages are that way, you need to press on the muscles to loosen them. But, they never hurt after (at least not the ones when done right).

And I feel a million times better today. A gazillion. And I didn't even realize that I needed it, until it was done. Which is why I say if you don't have a good massage therapist-- GET ONE! You don't know what you are missing until you have someone who can work your muscles just right to relieve them without hurting you. Additionally, it helps a million times over in injury prevention and body maintenance.

Where as I used to look at massage as a frivolity, I now find it a necessity.

**If you are in the Denver area and want to book mine, email me and I will give you his number. He works in Englewood and is so inexpensive. Or you can email Stephen directly.

Learning to climb

I have to admit, the best part of being in Colorado is the mountains.

They are pretty and fun to play in and to ski in. What they aren't fun to do in is train in. (Well, not at first, anyways.)

So, last year, we pretty much avoided them.
We had plenty of excuses NOT to ride our bikes up in them.
- We didn't know any good routes.
- Cars/road riding scared us.
- In general, we were worried about doing the amount of mileage we were training and we didn't want to make it harder than it needed to.
- Mountains were steep. And hard. And that altitude. Geesh!

I know, I am a wimp.

Anyways, I guess there are no more excuses this year. I see on my schedule that we are supposed to ride up Deer Creek Canyon-- TWICE. The first time I rode that was last week and, I will admit, there was some swearing involved. Now, to ride it two times in a row-- Eeek! Granted, it is only 18 miles of climbing, but that is 9 more miles than I have ever done.

So I try not to think about it too much and just treat it like any old workout.

Starting off, I lead because Ross has a tendency to go out too fast and I want to set the pace. This works, and helps. But, for some reason, the first 5 miles are unbelievably hard for me. Not because the terrain is that difficult, but Steve (my coach) thinks it may have more to do with anxiety and I hope that as I get more used to this, this goes away. Here's hoping.

Miles 5-7.5 are not too bad for me. I have settled into a groove and am working on my climbing skills. At mile 7.5 there is a sign and I know that sign all too well. The first time I rode DC with Ross he told me that the top was only a half mile away. He was wrong, and I paid for it.

This time I know that I still have a 1.5 miles to go of probably the worst part of the trip and I try to take it in stride. It doesn't really work. At 8.25 I tell Ross that I don't think I can make it. So, he tells me we can stop for a break, but we should go to the top. So we stop.

Here is where we came from.

And here is where we have to go.

After we rest, I conquer the last three-quarter mile no problem. Yay! We are at the top.

58:11 it takes us (not counting rest). Now, the fun part. The downhill. It flies by. We make it down in 22 minutes.

Quick wardrobe change to stay dry and warm.

Yes, if there is one thing I need, it is coordinating biking clothes. And now to do it all again.

Second time, not so bad. I figure, if I am going to go this slow, I should take some pictures. It IS beautiful after all...

Over the shoulder shot... didn't really work.

Amazingly enough, we made it to the top for round two in 56 minutes! It's not so much that I am impressed with our time as the fact that we did it faster than the first time. And, with no stops! (Even though I desperately wanted to.) So, we were quite proud of ourselves.

I know that it is a long way from where we are going to be, but it is a start for us. I am hoping to look back at this blog and see how far we've come and how, even though it is a big deal for us now, it will be nothing for us in the future. And hopefully, that day will be sooner than we think!

Balance

So, I had a pretty fun and relaxing weekend. With (get this) even a rest day built into it. How lucky am I?

First, Girls Night Out-- Yay!

Followed by a fun day at the parade with friends

And husband

and kids

and Bloody Marys.

And today, today (Sunday) was just a relaxing day at home with the kids. Making pancakes, watching movies, coloring, napping, etc. OK, so I did throw in a little 18-mile run in there, but it didn't take precedent over the family and the weekend.

I know, I know. This is a triathlete blog, so what the heck am I doing writing about my weekend?

Balance.

Too often when we are training with a specific goal(s) in mind, we forget about the other parts of our life that are so important. Training takes over our time, our diet, who we can hang out with, how late we can stay out, everything. It also limits the energy we have to spend on and with the people we love who may (or may not) be part of the sport.

Training can make us forget about the friends that support us through anything-- sporting or non-sport related.

We often take for granted the spouses that would do anything for us, who give us the confidence and ability to continue on doing what we love.

And the parents and family that support and love us unconditionally...

...even if they don't always "get it" they are always there for us.

Prior to this weekend, I will admit I was feeling drained. Tired. A tad sick of working out. But now, I feel rejuvenated, happy and can't wait for my next key workout. I think it is the energy of my friends and the other aspects in my life that even it all out.

It's the balance I strike between time with and support from you that makes me a better athlete and person. So, thank you. Thank you to you all for being a part of my life. For your words of encouragement. For celebrating in my successes and seeing the positives in my not-so-successes. Thank you for being patient with me when I am training and supporting me with my goals. I know that I wouldn't be able to achieve them without you. I feel so lucky to have you all in my life.

Mojave Run Pictures!

Details of this trip are posted: Pre-Run: here Run: here
I just got my camera back, so here are the pictures that go with the postings above. *** There may be some pre-run duplicates

PRE-RUN