I'm back!!!

After a year off from blogging about triathlons, I'm back! Did you miss me? :)

Last year was a whirlwind, starting with me and Adam's wedding! It was an amazing day and I'm so blessed and happy to have him. This weekend will be our 1 year anniversary -- I cannot believe how the year has flown by!


We had lots of other things going on include both our brothers graduations and busy summers with other friends weddings.

With all these exciting events, I didn't have a lot of time to train for triathlons, let alone keep up with a blog.

However, this year I am hoping to get back into it and hope that logging my workouts will help me stay on track. Last year, I competed with Dawn, Erika and Karissa in the Trek Women's Triathlon in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. Its my favorite place to race -- I've raced there every year since I've started competing in triathlons. However, I got my worst time last year and I think part of that was due to the fact that I didn't record my workouts like I had in the past. So I'm back to the blogging world, which blends two of my passions -- working out and writing.

Tonight I started my triathlon training season with a 2 mile run. Adam joined me for the first mile, then I completed the second one on my own. I was very pleasantly surprised that I was able to run the majority of the two miles! Usually I dread my first run of the season because its a rude awakening to how out of shape I am! I have tried to work out a few times a week with zumba and kickboxing classes and workout dvd's at home, so I think that helped. I'm glad to kick off the training season on a good note and look forward to what the summer brings!

4 days until the Chicago Tri!

So here I am 4 days away from the Chicago Tri -- one of the biggest triathlons (besides the Ironman of course) and I'm so excited! Last week I did a swim on Monday, stationary bike ride Tuesday, swim on Wednesday, a run on Thursday and then a brick workout with Micheala, my brother's girlfriend who also will compete in the Chicago Tri -- on Saturday! I would have to say the best workout of the week was on Saturday... it was great to have someone to work out with and also talk about triathlons with!

We went on an hour and fifteen minute bike ride around Champaign and then came to the house to get some water and then did a 1.8-mile run in my neighborhood. I was really tired after our workout, but in a good way! My legs were hurting at first during the run but after awhile they were feeling good.

Now its my week to taper off so I'm doing really short workouts -- Monday I did a 500 yard swim and yesterday I did a 1.8-mile run/walk. I'm hoping to get in one more swim and a bike ride before the race on Sunday!

Tomorrow I will head to the burbs, so tonight I will have to make sure I have all my gear:

• tri suit
• googles
• swim cap
• waterbottles (at least 2)
• bike
• helmet
• running shoes
• flat tire kit
• baseball cap
• sunglasses
• sunscreen
• INHALER (definitely can't forget that!)
• fleece jacket (it will be freezing at 5 a.m. when we have to head to the race site)

Back to Reality

Well, after a week of only a couple swim, no bike rides or runs at the Lake of the Ozarks, I'm back to hitting it hard this week in my training.

I brought my running gear, but never got a chance to use it because it was so hot and humid! I did some swimming in the cove we were at and I got a good workout doing that Friday and Saturday because there were a lot of waves coming in from the main part of the lake.

Yesterday, I went to the Park District pool and did a 1500-meter swim and it felt great! I was worried about how I would do since last week I didn't work out too much, but I felt strong and was glad to be in the pool again! The lake was good practice for me, but I had no idea how to measure the distance in the cove.

Today, I'll be heading to Cardinal Fitness to ride the stationary bike since its looking pretty cloudy out and it's supposed to rain today. I'll do some weight training as well... I haven't done a lot of that since training in June which is not good! Its important to do some kind of weight/resistance training if you want your muscles to stay strong during competition. This goes back to the whole time-management concept that I struggle with sometimes... its hard to do enough swimming, biking and running workouts on top of weight training to build up your muscles and yoga/stretching to work on your flexibility. But I guess that's where your priorities come in... if you make a priority, you'll get it done.

Last week before heading to the lake, I got a magazine article about the Chicago Triathlon that my friend Katie found and sent me! It talks about the course and what it takes to train and compete in the race... Reading it made me so psyched about the race!

Motivation after the big moment

After I completed my first triathlon, I went through this feeling. Once the excitement of all you accomplished with competing in the race goes away, its hard to get back in that groove of working out five to seven times a week.
This is the first week since my race that I've really felt good about my workouts. Maybe part of that was because you need some recovery time, but also I think it's hard to start up on training.

Last week I did swim twice and rode my bike once and ran once, but I didn't feel strong during any of the workouts. I kept getting stomach aches/cramps during my swims, my legs were just exhausted during the bike ride and I felt nauseous during my run (in which I only lasted 23 minutes). My allergies were bugging me all week so I thought that might be why I wasn't feeling great.

However, this week I'm doing good so far! I swam 2,000 meters on Monday and felt strong. Only took a couple breaks, which is a huge improvement from the beginning of summer when I was taking breaks after every 100 or 200 meters! I feel like I've increased my endurance in training this summer more than any other summer training for triathlons, and its a great feeling!

Today, since there was a monsoon in Champaign -- OK maybe that's a stretch, but there was a huge downpour -- I decided to head over to Cardinal Fitness and use the stationary bike. I set it at 7 for resistance and did a 40-minute random program. Then I hit the weights for some upper body toning -- biceps, triceps, shoulder and back. I hadn't done weights in months and so it was a challenge since my body wasn't used to those exercises anymore.

So far, so good this week! I'm hoping I can keep it up! I'm looking forward to next week when I'll be on vacation at the Lake of the Ozarks, so I can get more practice with open water swimming as I prepare for the Chicago Tri on Aug. 30th!

Trek Women's Series Triathlon race

Well its been a long time coming, but I'm finally writing my post about the race!

To start this off I'll say that I was unsure how well I would do this year. Every summer I go through the doubts that every triathlete faces -- what if I can't make it across the lake, what if I get a flat tire, what if I just run out of steam? Well I had that on top of moving back to champaign and wedding planning, so I was hoping and praying I could still come out strong this year. I really hadn't started training hard until June, when I moved to Champaign. WIth only six weeks to prepare (about half the time of what I trained for me first race) I was hoping I could just make it through. But seeing as how I did in my race, I think I put in a lot of good quality workouts -- increased the duration and worked on my form, which in the end helped me tremendously.

So the weekend of the race, Adam and I drive up to Pleasant Prairie, Wis., to meet up with Dawn and Erika, as well as our supporters -- Sissy, Karissa, Derek and Kyler. Then Dawn, Erika, Karissa and I head over to the expo to pick up are race materials and other freebies for the race. Usually the race in PP is sponsored by Danskin, but we chose to do the Trek one this year because the Danskin event won't be until late september. Well I guess we got spoiled with all the free stuff at the Danskin expos because we were really disappointed at the trek one! The only freebies they gave you were the sports beans (the jelly beans with electrolytes and carbs infused in them)... no waterbottles, hats, etc. Well of course you could buy them, but they were really overpriced. I did buy a tank top to wear over my trisuit for the run portion of the race, but I called my parents to see if they could bring us some waterbottles to use during the race. And thankfully I had packed a hat to wear during the run.

Then later my parents arrived and we all went out to dinner at this great Italian restaurant... the food was amazing but I couldn't eat all of the food because we had a big lunch earlier at Chili's. Then we got back and went to bed early because our alarm clocks were going off at 4:45 a.m. on Sunday morning!

So Sunday we head over to the race site and watch the elite group take off in the water... and before we know it they are on the run! Before we've even started the race. It's so inspiring to see how strong these women look during the run after flying through the swim and bike portions of the race!

Then, as Erika, Dawn and I gather with the other women in yellow swim caps, I found myself getting nervous! This was my 4th triathlon, but I still had the pre-race jitters. So we start off on the swim and I'm panicking because there are so many women around me kicking and slapping their hands into the water... about 1/3 of the way down the lake people are spreading out and I finally get my rhythm down. The rhythm that I've been practicing everytime I go to the pool... I never felt this strong in a race and I was proud that I was able to keep my swimming form! Running up the sandy hill after the swim, I feel strong and ready to take on that hilly bike ride!

On the bike, I had my rough moments conquering those hills, but it was a lot better than last year when we had 17 mph winds! Once again, a lot of the Pleasant Prairie residents were out on their lawn chairs cheering us on and I love hearing them root for us! Its a big motivator to keep pushing yourself. As I came back to the transition area, I saw all our supporters which made me smile and push myself even harder!

Starting out on the run, my legs felt a little heavy, but I still felt strong! I did have to walk a few times, but I ran more during this race than any other triathlon I've done so far! The last 1/2-mile I sprinted and felt so elated when I crossed that finish line! I was excited that a few minutes later I got to see Erika and Dawn cross the finish line together with big smiles on their faces!

Once again I was so happy with do this race with them! I love sharing fun (and healthy) experiences with good friends and I'm hoping next year we can recuit some more to do it with us!

1:50:15

.... is my new record time!! Sunday I raced in the Trek Women's Series Triathlon with Dawn and Erika and had a blast!! Below are a few photos from the event... I'll add more later with a post about the experience.... enjoy!

A new milestone

Last week I accomplished something I never dreamed I could -- I swam more than three miles! Monday I swam 2,000 meters, Wednesday 750 meters and Friday 2,500 meters! On Wednesday I went to Cardinal Fitness to sign up for a membership because I was sick of not getting any biking or running in because of the 90+ degree weather. So, after I signed up, I spent about 15 minutes on the stationary bike and then headed to the pool. When I got there the pool was packed, so I asked this older lady to share a lane with me, and she wouldn't share! I was like what?! I couldn't believe it... but luckily the guy in the next lane was just about to finish, so he let me take his lane. I got a good swim in, considering I didn't get there as early as I'd hoped, but when I was in the locker room, that same lady said "well you didn't get a long swim in today, huh?" Excuse me lady, who are you -- my MOM?! I just ignored her....

Tuesday I skipped working out because of the heat (this was before I got that pass at Cardinal), but Thursday I spent 45 minutes on the stationary bike at the gym and completed 10 miles with an average heart rate of 143 -- not too shabby! Saturday I went again, this time with my dad who also has a membership there, and did a 10-minute warm up on the eliptical, followed by a half hour on the bike. (I got lost in the magazine I was reading and forgot to check how many miles and average heart rate...oops.) I was really struggling to get through the half hour on the bike, though, and I think I might have pushed myself too hard Friday at the pool. Or maybe I was still dehydrated from that workout.

Saturday night was filled with some non-training fun! The family, Adam and I went out with Katie, Josh and the rest of the Wetzel clan to celebrate Katie's mom's 60th birthday at El Toro and then back to their house for cake and opening presents... just a great time celebrating with friends! :)

Now I'm in Elk Grove Village for the week and I'm looking forward to seeing the future in-laws later this week for 4th of July! Of course, I'll try to get some training in this week too! Today was a pretty nice day (minus the crazy wind) so I got out on the bike for a 7.2-mile bike ride and was zonked. Not sure if my body is still tired from last week's workouts or its allergies bothering me...

Tomorrow, I'm off to the pool for another swim!