Making Memories

I just spent the last week making lasting memories with my boys, my husband and my parents.  I knew that training was going to take a backseat for these days, as I spent literally every minute down there experiencing the magic of Disney World.  I can honestly say it was the best vacation I have ever taken and probably one of the best weeks of my entire life.  There is something about Disney that is magical. I know it sounds so cliche, but it's true.  Especially when you get to view Disney through the eyes of your children.  

I logged almost 10 miles a day walking every day!  Almost 70 miles on the FitBit.  We hit every park from open until almost close.  I ran a 5K distance on Saturday to honor Doug Pink, because I was not able to be at the race.  We had temperatures with a heat index of over 100 most days, so running proved to be difficult.  But I did it.  That's one thing about me that you can count on 99.9% of the time.  When I say I'm going to do something, I follow through.  I knew this vacation would put a crimp in my training, so I made sure to follow my training plan almost to the letter before I left and now that I'm back, that is my focus.

But in Disney, the experience was my focus.  Whenever I would feel anxious about not training, about not looking for a gym in the Orlando area, I would look at my boys and see the absolute joy on their faces.  I remembered that you are not guaranteed another day on this earth, and while you're here, you have to live life to the fullest.  God forbid anything happens to my boys, Shane or my parents anytime soon, but having this week to enjoy fully with them was a gift.  I just have to hope that all the training I put in so far and everything I do from here on out is enough.  I have learned too many times that our time here is never promised.  I thought of Jenna and Kyle and how cheated they were out of more memories with Bryce.  I thought of Doug and Kris and how they will never get to experience this with their grandchildren.  I thought of Mak and Clint and how many life experiences they would never get to experience.  That was what kept the anxiety of not training away while I was gone.

Here are some pictures from my amazing week:

Now I am back!  It's amazing how much your body craves its routine.  Within 30 minutes of returning to Racine, I headed over to Razor Sharp Fitness and put in 2000 yds in the pool, roughly the distance I will have to be able to swim on July 19th.  Then I hopped on the spin bike for another 45minutes.  I wanted to go longer, but it was already 9:30pm and I was exhausted from a day of travel.  Tomorrow I'm planning on a 6 mile run followed by about 30 miles + on the bike-whatever Deanna's hybrid bike can handle :)  I have 3 full weeks of training left after this week.  I'm going to make the next 4 days really count so I can start my last 3 weeks strong.  I'll have several workouts with Justin to keep me mentally strong. Time is running out.  My goals this week and next are to get some open water swims in and practice pool swimming with my wetsuit and make sure to run after every bike, even if it's only for a few miles.  

At this point I'm not sure which part of this I'm most worried about.  I'm both excited and scared, nervous, anxious, etc,etc etc.  I have a group of people coming to Racine to support Joe and I and that means the world to me.  I'm praying for great weather race day.  No wind, no waves, no rain, no humidity.  Is that too much to ask?  It's hard to believe that in 3 1/2 weeks this will all be over.  It's been quite a journey and I've learned so much about myself and have re-prioritized what's most important to me, how I spend my time, what I worry about, what I let roll off my back, who I spend my time with, and focused on being a better person.  I'm so glad I decided to do this and I can only imagine what it will feel like when I cross that finish line (in under 8 1/2 hours) with the people there that have supported me throughout this entire journey.  

                              Razor Sharp Fitness has been my home away from SUPPZ when I am traveling!

My Mindset from here on out in life-even after the 70.3

We're down to the last month!

The clock is ticking as we near the start of the biggest race either one of us has done. We have both completed a marathon and I think it's safe to say that it's quite the accomplishment in endurance sports BUT I feel like this IM may be tougher yet? Time will tell?

As we near close to the race, summer break has tried to interrupt our training. I was on vacation last week with my wife. We went bear hunting in Canada and this week Missy is on vacation in Florida. I learned that it is extremely difficult but yet possible with the right mindset to maintain healthy eating habits and still train. The outfitter we were hunting with made us every meal of every day that we were there. So as you can imagine the cook is use to feeding men who typically don't care what they eat. The food was great but you had to watch yourself a lot! I did manage to overindulge on cookies throughout the week and was well aware that I would have to work a little harder during the training days I had. So while we were there Ashley and I would go to the gym 30 minutes away and work out. I rode a spin bike every time I went there and put some serious Kilometers on that bike while we were there! By the time we would get back we would eat lunch at 1pm and then go hunt from 4 pm- 3 am and then do it all over again! We didn't want to let vacation interrupt how we feel mentally and physically after we exercise or train BUT yet we wanted to be on vacation! Most people think of vacation as the opportunity to do nothing…and that's perfectly ok. That's just not me. I view it as the opportunity to train without other interruptions that I might have at home. So now I'm back home and I have been hitting the training schedule as hard as ever along with the food. Any race I ever train for I take the last month extremely serious when it comes to food and drink. I won't drink any alcohol, junk food, soda (which I haven't drank since 10th grade) etc…etc.. It may seem crazy but it's my way of preparing myself to be in tip top condition for race day. My race day weight goal is 178 lbs (184.3 when I got back from Canada). If I feel lean, I will feel fast!!!!!

Next week I get to test myself and my gear in a triathlon that's held in Verona. This will be my first race of the year and this will be my first Olympic format triathlon. It feels rather strange to be doing something that most people won't even attempt and it's just a link in my training program. I am super jacked to go out and test myself in these distances! Hopefully Missy will be back and ready to tackle this with me!?

I look forward to meeting and seeing all of you that will be coming to watch Missy and I in Racine very soon!    BSTRONG!

Another Milestone

Well, I did it! I successfully completed my first open water sprint triathlon in Lake Mills, Wisconsin! That was a big step in this journey!  Up until that point, I had never done an open water triathlon and had never swam in a lake in a wetsuit.  I felt ready!  I wasn't even nervous on race day, which was awesome. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that my mindset going into it was to finish.  I had no worries about my time, my place, nothing! Just wanted to get one under my belt.  My original plan was to start in the back of the pack and way off to the side.  That way I wouldn't get stampeded by better swimmers.  I hear panicking is a big issue with new wetsuit open water swimmers.  I panicked only a little.  The competitive part of me took over as we started and I came out way to fast.  I found myself breathing really hard about 75 yards in and for a moment got a little wigged out. But, luckily I have an amazing friend and trainer who has been working hard with me to control my breathing.  When I started to get worried and panicky, I just repeated to myself what he says to me when he's pushed me past my limits and I'm having a hard time catching my breath.  "Slow down your breathing".  That really helped and by the time I rounded the first corner at 100 yards I was fine!  Swimming breaststroke with a wet suit takes a lot more work in my opinion.  I would just rather swim without one, but the chances of Lake Michigan being warm enough on race day is slim to none.  According to my dad, it's about 40 degrees right now.....

The biking went really really well.  I'm used to climbing huge hills in Lancaster.  I think that really prepared me well.  I finished the biking portion in 1:03, which I felt was probably on the slow end, but my legs felt great when I was done.  The run was probably the hardest part, which was really surprising because it was only 3.1 miles.  My legs didn't feel heavy.  I just felt tired.  I had a hard time catching my breath.  I felt like I was crawling, but actually finished in 28 minutes, which was great because my training runs have been much slower than that due to my bum hamstring.  

I ended up finishing in about 1 hour and 50 minutes.  That's 9 minutes faster than the last pool triathlon I did a few years back.  It's not fast by any means and I was only 16th in my age group, but thought at the end of the day, I did what I set out to do.  Finish.  The hard part was the thought after I was done that I have to go distances 4 times that on July 19th.  It's really overwhelming to think about it.  But I know I have been working hard with my training to make myself physically strong and my trainer has been working hard with me to make me mentally tough.  As long as I finish in under 8 1/2 hours, I will consider this a success.  I know I'm not fast and that's ok.  

I know that I've probably said this more often than not, but I have such an amazing support system.  Deanna, the one pictured above competed in her first open water tri with me.  It was way out of her comfort zone, but she did it to support me.  Recently she went on a 25 mile bike ride with me on her hybrid bike.  Not fun.  My friend Megan is going to go on some long rides with me as well.  My friend Stacey jumped in the pool and swam 1500 yards with me yesterday.  And those friends that aren't able to do these training things with me give me encouraging words all the time.  They don't even realize how much that keeps me going.  I know that my kids are watching what I'm doing and I'm hoping it encourages them to try something big one day.  

I leave for Disney on Monday.  I'm so excited to finally get to experience this with my family. Because I won't have the ability to get all my training in (and that really worries me) I've been working really hard this week to get in as many swims, bikes and runs as I can. When I get home, my 70.3 will be less than a month away.  But, as worried as I am, I'm trying to remind myself that this trip is an opportunity to step away from everything and just enjoy watching my boys as they experience this trip.  I'm so lucky to have two healthy, happy boys and the training can wait for a week.  You never know how that can change in a heartbeat. I'm going to enjoy every second with them and Shane and make memories to last a lifetime. When I return I will continue to put in the miles and on that day, I'll have an angel by my side pushing me to the finish line.  Several of my friends are planning to make the trip down to Racine to cheer me on and their energy will help as well.  

Below are a few more pictures from my first ever open water tri.  

Dreams and Goals

Many people are motivated by dreams and/or goals.  Some people know what they are right away, some people stumble upon them, and some people are still figuring it out. I'm a very goal-oriented person. I think it's important to set goals for yourself and work towards them. When I was a little girl, I always knew I was meant to teach.  There was never another option for me, at least in my mind.  I grew up playing school, helping out in my grandmother's classroom and dreaming of being a teacher.  Some people dream of becoming a professional athlete, I dreamt of teaching kids.  As I am getting older, I'm realizing that our time here on earth is limited.  If you have a dream you want to chase, now's the time.  I saw a Facebook post about an 87 year old woman who completed a triathlon.  You're never too old to dream.  

Fitness has always been a passion of mine, but never did I think I would be given the opportunity to combine my two passions of teaching and being a fitness instructor (what I almost consider 'coaching'.)  Today I got the opportunity to be a personal trainer. I was a little nervous at first, but the minute we started, it felt like I was meant to do it.  It felt comfortable, challenging and fun.  I'm now hooked and only hope I can find the time to do more of it. 

You might wonder what this post has to do with the 70.3.  Doing a half ironman has never been a dream of mine.  The thought of it actually made my stomach turn-even after signing up.  There are times while I'm training or even just thinking about the race that my stomach turns, just a little.  But I always go back to that idea that our time on this earth is limited.  Competing in this triathlon in memory of Bryce has inspired me to put myself out there-make myself vulnerable-make the most of this life.  It's not the actual triathlon itself that has become the goal or the dream.  It's knowing what it symbolizes.  I don't have any experience losing a child, and I hope my children long outlive me, but I can imagine all the unrealized goals and dreams that parents who have lost a child feel on a daily basis.  By completing this journey in memory of Bryce, I hope it will inspire others to dream big.  I hope it inspires others to take a leap of faith.  I hope it reminds everyone that our time on this earth is limited and we have to appreciate each day and live life to the fullest.  

This journey will end 49 days from today.  Along the way I've made new friends.  I've further explored opportunities in the area of fitness that I may never have had the courage to try.  I've learned how to ride a road bike, on a highway! I've realized that if you set a goal and you are determined to meet it, that all it takes is a little creativity to fit it in.  If you ask my kids or my husband, I don't think they'd say their life has been altered much by my training.  There have been many early mornings and many trainer bike rides long after the kids are in bed.  I've learned that there are people willing to help you...all you have to do is ask.   I've learned who are the biggest supporters in my life. 

This is going to be a monumental week for me!  I will be heading to Governor Dodge to do my first open water swim in a wetsuit.  I will be competing in my first ever open water triathlon on Sunday in Lake Mills.  I am hoping that these two training milestones will continue to give me confidence in this journey.  Hopefully I will have some positive experiences to share in next week's blog!  Wish me luck!

Kelly, Joe and I after our 32 mile ride