MM 70.3 Blooper Reel

As promised in yesterday's Musselman 70.3 recap, 

a few photos for your viewing pleasure.

Most of these are bloopers 

but I did throw in a few decent ones as well.

I don't really have any swim bloopers, at least ones that were documented on film. 

Onto the bike.

Trying to wave, not fall, and prepare for 56 miles.

And this was coming in after almost 56 miles...

with the last few riding on flat tire. Epic Fail.

& then there was the run.

At least my nephew looked cute.

As mentioned in the recap, I stopped and kissed him on the run.

That is my hand holding his on the right.

About 12 miles later...

I remembered to get rid of the sponges I was hoarding

Oh the finish chute...

at least I managed one good one.

Here's a good one of my sister and myself.

Note that I had ice cream in my hand within 5 minutes of finish.

Would have been less, but I spent that 5 minutes sitting in a kiddie pool full of cold water.

Worth the wait.

And of course, my #1 Fan :) Rocking his volunteer stuff :)

 Not only did I get a fabulous medal, 

but permanent tan lines

and a knot that took me as much time to get untangled

 as it did to navigate the 70.3 miles.

Some random blooper moments not caught on film:

Getting tangled in seaweed and spazzing for 10 seconds trying to get it off.

Slipping and almost falling hard getting out of the water.

 (again, thank you to the young man volunteer who caught me)

Getting caught eating PB&J on the bike, and trying to figure out how I was gonna get the sticky PB&J off my hands while riding.

Getting caught singing on the bike, multiple times (one dude started singing along though! Folks I was singing T.Swift, he held a tune better than I!)

in T2 I unscrewed my water bottle top to dump the remaining little bit on my head...unscrewed but forgot to remove the top...dumping water and the lid on my head. DOH!

Do you have any race bloopers?

What is you "tired running" quirk? 

T-rex arm? tilted head? Bow legged?

Monday Madness & Weekend Recap

First off I hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July Holiday and long weekend. I've been busy, but not so busy at the same time- hope you didn't miss me too much (probably not at all, and that's A-OK).

Today is going to be....hectic to say the least. Moving one office to the other (this is fabulous that both of the people I work for will be in the same place!), facilitating the move and making sure business is not interrupted. 

Today is also day 1 of Allergy testing. I mentioned in early June a few times I was having an eczema reaction all over my hands and that I have always had super sensitive skin. Its now time to try and figure out why. I'll go into detail on this more later this week as the testing progresses (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday appointments).

Now a little recap with some photos for your viewing pleasure.

Let's see here, last week...

John & I went to Cape Vincent, NY to visit my families cottage up there for the holiday. 

Spent lots of time with my little nephew Alden, I can't believe little man is 3 months old now! Feels like just yesterday he was entering this world. 

Had a gorgeous relaxing boat ride at sunset, the water was as calm as I have EVER seen it up there. 

Bonefire and S'mores :)

4th of July run with my mom and my sister, first time ever running with both of them! Mom is doing great getting in shape and starting running, and my sister is getting back into running to work off her post-baby weight! As much as I was sad I wasn't doing a 4th of July race like most others, time with family was more than worth it!

Coming back from a run to this little man is perfect.

Of course Rocking my +Saucony Run Lux Shorts, and Ignite Singlet. Can't see my Kinvara's but they're there!

Did an open water swim in some rough waters with John and then we relaxed in the yard with the little one.

As for the weekend.....

-Friday was my last night ever working at the restaurant, yay! 

-Saturday did an open water swim with a good friend at Kershaw Park on Cananadaigua Lake. 

-Saturday night John and I went and saw Man of Steel.

-Sunday morning was a good bike ride, followed by an afternoon with our friends and their daughter. 

-Sunday night was relaxing and a decent evening run.

I actually backed off training more than I planned to last week. I am trying to listen to my body more and right now I know that backing off a little with 1 week until 70.3 is the best thing for me to do. It was hard to look at my plan knowing I cut workouts short, or out all together but playing the numbers game won't help me right now.

What did you do for the 3rd and 4th?

When was the last time you had S'mores?

Do you run with family members?

Good, Bad & Yummy 6/28-6/30 & June Favs

Business as usual here in my life: going a million miles an hour. This week is going to be super busy but it will be a good one for sure with lots of positive things happening.

Going to do a little mix here and some usual Good, Bad, and Yummy moments from the weekend as well as some highlights from the month of June (seriously, did this past month fly as fast for everyone else as it did for me?)

As for the weekend....
The Good:
John's sister had her baby Thursday night, adorable little Charlie John! Yay for another nephew!

Saturday I got my longest ride to date in...61 miles, I was really happy with it especially considering the elements were not in my favor for most of it!

I'm feeling really comfortable clipping in now, and am starting to utilize the power of it more (when clipped in you get power on the upstroke as well, which can make you more efficient of a rider). I do have to remind myself not to pull up too hard though, it can create lower back pain and tightness in the hip.

I managed to take off my shoes while still riding (thank goodness for fabulous Bontrager Triathlon Cycling Shoes). If I can practice this more, it will make me more efficient in T2 on race day, and get my running shoes on me quicker. BUT I won't do it race day unless I feel 100% ready (it could turn bad quickly).

Dress rehearsal run yesterday went great! I wore my +Saucony Triathlon top and shorts, as well as my Kinvara's (these are the only things that might NOT be with me on race day, I ordered Saucony Flats, but they are not in yet). I even started the run after 11 AM in the heat of the day because that is when I will be running on race day, gotta practice these things!

I was so hot after said long run in the heat, that I didn't even have to be forced into the ice bath. I jumped in without even thinking, and remained there for 25 minutes! My legs feel great today!

Got to spend a little time with John, his sister and her man and the baby last night:)

The Bad:
It was torrential downpour the first half of my long ride Saturday, but in all honesty it really wasn't all bad because it was good prep in case it rains on race day.

The new baby had some respiratory issues over the weekend and had to stay a few extra days giving us a worry(but all is good now, as I said they left hospital yesterday happy and healthy).

Friday night I was worked up about doing my long ride on Saturday. I was tired and cranky and letting the anxiousness of upcoming 70.3 get to me. A good long chat with my man definitely made me feel better.

My Garmin is definitely fading, and quickly. Battery power is lasting less and less and the strap (which partially broke last weekend) is getting even more worn now that it has added strain on one side. I really need to decide what I want to do. Looking at the Garmin 310XT, 910XT and the Timex run trainer 1.0 GPS watch....any thoughts?

The Yummy
After my long ride on Saturday I treated myself to my 2 favorite things from Panera.

All day Sunday John was cooking up a storm in the kitchen. We wanted to make food for his sister since she just had the baby and also has a 4 year old (she's gonna have her hands full!). He made a ton of super yummy (and healthy) recipes, the majority of which were vegan from Scott Jurek's Book Eat & Run. I wish I had taken photos of all of it, it was seriously fabulous and I couldn't even tell that most of them were Vegan!

My contribution was definitely NOT vegan, but it was what his sister wanted: my homemade baked raspberry cheesecake....I love making it, super yummy!

5 Things about the month of June
1. 413 miles between running/biking/swimming! Should actually be a little more but I am really happy with this. I've been consistently training smarter and that has made me able to do more.

2. I tackled my first triathlon this month, and feel really good about that!

3. Although I definitely had my days where it was a struggle to get out the door, I feel like my confidence and motivation is getting back to where I want and NEED it to be.

4. Favorite fitness related moment of the month: there are a few that stick out, but honestly I think it was 2 weeks ago I had a really good long swim where things just "clicked" and it seriously just gave me a big confidence booster.

5. Least favorite fitness related moment of the month: my 40 mile ride where I had a million meltdowns and just mentally felt down and defeated (this made this past weekends 60 miler that much sweeter though).

How was your weekend?

Have you read Eat & Run by Scott Jurek?

Garmin vs. Timex GPS watch thoughts?

What were your favorite/least favorite moments from June?

Boston, Triathlon Training and Life in General.

My mind has been going a million miles a minute lately (unfortunately my feet haven't been following), so today is just a few things spilling out of my head. 

Related to Boston Marathon
The memorial was removed from Copley Square this week, all of the items are going to be cleaned and archived. Runners World also reported "a Remembrance Committee will be formed to help establish a permanent memorial or some type of event or structure to honor victims and survivors". Some runners were upset that the memorial was removed before the One Run For Boston running relay reached Boston, but they are still running for a great cause and that is what counts. I think that removing the memorial doesn't mean forgetting, it means moving forward in honor of all those affected.

Image from Runner's World Article

For those of you who don't know, Monday is going to be a big day for many. The Boston Athletic Association will be announcing the September registration dates/procedures for the 2014 Boston Marathon. Seeing as the interest in running the race has drastically increased, registration dates/procedures are going to be key for those (like myself) who will be trying to register. I plan on stalking watching the B.A.A website on Monday while waiting for the information to be released.

Related to my Training
Last week was a big training week for me, and I got through it pretty well (a few naps were necessary). This week I actually backed off a little Monday-Wednesday, I listened to my body and that's what it told me to do. I'm not in pain, I am not even crazy sore, but I am tired. I know that training for a half-iron distance triathlon is supposed to be tiring, but with less than 3 weeks to go I WILL NOT risk burning out or getting injured. The good thing is though, I backed off of my running and cycling for 3 days but actually swam all 3 days. It's my weakest of the 3 events, so I know that I need to be doing it the most. This weekend I have another long ride planned, on top of a few "dress rehearsals"--wearing my +Saucony Tri-top and shorts on the bike, in the pool and on a run. Hopefully my new racing flats come in soon so I can break them in before Musselman.

On Life in General
Working between 2 offices right now has been, interesting to say the least...but FINALLY we have a set move date so that both of the people I work for will be in the same office. Although this eliminates driving between 2 offices, it also eliminates that extra caffeine I would pick up on the way.

Studying has been going awesome, well as awesome as studying can be. I'm really getting comfortable with my Series 7 information and have been doing well on the practice questions(Kaplan has been AMAZING help, FYI). Also studying for my ACE CPT has been a little much on top of everything else going on, but the good thing about that information helps me with training and keeps me interested. So my 7 studying relates to all the work I do each day, and the ACE CPT relates to all of my training and workouts; so at least I can tie this overwhelming amount of information into my daily grind!

There are lots of exciting things going on with our families right now. My Soon-to-be-sister-in-law is a few days past due with her second child, can't wait to meet our new little nephew! Next week John and I will be going to Cape Vincent in the 1000 Islands to vacation with my family for a few days; (read: I will be holding my 3 month old nephew the ENTIRE time). AAAANNNDDDD just because I haven't shared any photos of my sister's little one recently.....here you go....

I'm not bias, he really is just THAT cute. Little Alden turns 3 months on Tuesday!

What are your thoughts of the removal of Boston Marathon Memorial?

Are you waiting to register for a fall Marathon until you know what registration dates are for Boston? 

(in attempt to try and qualify before it opens)

What are some random things going on in your life right now?

Good, Bad, Yummy 5/1-5/2

Why is it that Monday always comes so soon?

This weekend was definitely a mix of good, bad and yummy. Since I haven't done one of those posts in a while, no time like the present. 

The Good

Saturday morning had a nice easy run with Jen, great to catch up on each others lives, talk about training, and get some miles in. All-around win.

Drove to Keuka Lake for packet pickup Saturday. It was really sentimental being over there, because that is where John and I will be getting married next year. Then headed to Seneca Lake to stay at his parents house for the night.

Finding out my friend Hollie won a half marathon over the weekend, getting to break the tape and have a bike escort....never ceases to amaze me.

Sunday morning, I FINISHED MY FIRST TRIATHLON...with a smile on my face:) I promise I will do a recap, but I want to take a few days to really let it all sink in. 

My nephew turned 2 months old yesterday! :)

The Bad

On the car ride to Keuka Saturday I noticed little bumps all over the palms of my hands and on my fingers.....It still hasn't gone away even after a weekend of taking Benadryl and putting Cortisone cream on them as suggested by MD. Looks like I'll be calling my dermatologist today. From what I gather it's some form of eczema, or a possible allergic reaction. It isn't contagious or anything, but it's itchy and my hands feel like leather. BOO.

We had a little health scare from a family member this weekend, luckily everything is okay and she was released with a clean bill of health. It definitely made for a Saturday night of being on edge though.

The Yummy

I had Seneca Farms homemade ice cream Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, if you ever make it to Penn Yan, NY make sure you go there...it's amazing.

Last night I went and got FroYo, another fabulous treat. Yes this was a "sweet" weekend, but I'm okay with that sometimes!

How was your weekend?

How did workouts or races go?

Ice cream or FroYo, which do you prefer?

Bike rides & babies

Happy Thursday!

Officially over the hump for the week...maybe?

I feel like the 2nd half of the week is always busier for me!

Tuesday night went for a bike ride around Conesus Lake,

which is in my hometown. 

I have run around this lake many times for training, 

but it's a great ride too, mild rolling hills & great views!

18.5 miles in the 70 degree sunshine, I was happy girl.

Start/Finish at one of the parks on the water

Post ride happy girl!

I was happy girl after the ride,
then went to stay at my parents for the night.
Then my dad was looking at my bike,
and pointed out I had a flat.
Must have happened at the end because I didn't notice.
I figured I needed to just change the tube,
until I found a sharp rock had punctured my tire too.
I was less than pleased to see this.
New tube and new tire....$$$
Oh well, at least it didn't happen during a race.

 Made some dinner at my parents that night:

Spinach salad with Sauteed garlic zuchini, mandarin oranges and feta :)
No dressing necessary!

I had the day off yesterday, 

no work

no emails

no phone calls

no blogging

no scheduling...

nothing.

Was up early and on the road by 7 with my mom...

All for a VERY good reason.

[Just a heads up, there are going to be LOTS of baby pictures today]

I spent my day with this little man:

My nephew Alden Alexander <3 

 My mom and I drove to Elmira for the day

 to hang out with my sister and her little man.

Hung out at the house, went to lunch and relaxed some more!

Kept myself occupied playing Risk while he slept on me....

My little peanut :)

I spent the day snuggling with him,
playing tummy time with him,
changing him,
helping feed him...
and taking lots of pictures of him.

Pure innocence 

Okay, I know I know, lots of baby pictures.

I love my little nephew,

my sister is lucky to get all her time with him, 

(and I am lucky I get to sleep more than she does).

Anyways.

Remember that time I told you about my living situation?

Well 5 is down to 4, which means....

I FINALLY have my space for my stuff!!!

Last night I got home, and spackled some holes.

No Hollie, not hoes, HOLES (in the wall).

(btw. that conversation totally made my morning.)

I am redoing one of the rooms in the house.

It needed some SERIOUS cleaning.

John was also seriously impressed with my spackeling skills.

No more swiss cheese walls!

Can't wait to paint & decorate this weekend!

Once I get the room painted and redone this weekend, 

Laura-cave/office/guest room will be all ready!!! :)

Today started off right...

Therapy & Starbucks.

(really doesn't get much better.)

Working all day

then home to run,

then dinner with John, our friend and her daughter:)

And tonight...

IRONMAN 3 premier with the boys!

It's going to be a good day :)

Oh & today Alden is 1 month!

Happy day to my little nephew!

What have you been up to last few days??

Have you ever punctured your road bike tire so bad that you needed to replace it (and not just the tube)?

And for road bike riders...Do you think it's worth it to go to a higher priced tire (that claim to be more durable)?

Good, Bad, Yummy 4/19-4/21

This weekend was...INSANE.

It was a great weekend, but the entire thing was on a strict time schedule 

which didn't leave much room for error (no room for error in some cases).

And the only way to describe how I feel today, TIRED.

Friday: 

Worked all day

Errands/packing for the weekend

Played a Game all night with J's friends for one friends Birthday

Saturday: 

10 mile Run with Hollie & Jen

Wedding Venue tour on Keuka Lake

Seneca 7 Packet pickup/pre-race briefing 

Pasta dinner with our relay team/goofing around all night

Sunday:

Seneca 7 Relay (Full recap of this to come tomorrow)

The Good

*Not working Friday night was a nice breath of fresh air.

*I actually got to relax Friday night and have a beer.

*They caught that monster of a terrorist. In a boat. (The jokes are endless.)

*Friday night I was sent this picture of my nephew in my mom's glasses. Priceless.

*Running with Hollie and Jen was great, nothing like running with 2 women who are insanely talented but the most down to earth people to spend time with...I wish we could run together more often.

*The Wedding Venue John and I toured Saturday was...amazing. I think we found a winner!

*Saturday night pasta dinner with out relay team was great. I knew all but 2 on the team, and by the end of the weekend I felt like I knew everyone for years. 

*Having an adorable nephew makes for great pre-race texts.

I got this text Sunday morning as a "good luck picture" of my Nephew from my sister.

*Seneca 7 falls under good category simply because I don't have an amazing category (I might have to make one). The race was one of the most fun things I have done in a long time, and I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to spend all weekend in close quarters with. We had a VERY fast team, which was incredibly inspirational...it took 7 runners (and 1 amazing chauffeur) 8 hours and 32 minutes to run 77.7 miles (6:34 average pace). 6th place out of 208 teams, BAM! I will write much more about all this tomorrow in a full recap, there is too much I don't want to leave out! 

The Bad

*I didn't get my run in as planned Friday afternoon, but I'm okay with it. But since it is a missed workout, we will file that under bad.

*The game we played Friday night for J's friends Birthday was... LONG. Let's just say it took 5+ hours and could have gone longer. It was fun but...yeah. 

*It snowed/hailed Saturday morning, who made Mother Nature mad?

*There were a few times yesterday things got stressful (we were going so fast, there were times it got difficult to get from checkpoint to checkpoint), it meant some sacrificing. We worked great as a team though which made us successful, but there were definitely some things on the course that made it hard! Stretching, warm-up/cool-down and proper fueling became challenging as the race went on and legs got closer together.

*My hamstring has a giant knot in it, that decided to show up halfway through the day yesterday (running fast, and multiple times and cramming in a van between probably didn't help)

*My stomach is NOT happy with me from this weekend (mainly yesterday), it was so confused as to what was going on. (run, ride in car, eat, cheer, repeat 3 times)

The Yummy

*Friday had some seriously yummy food bar stuff from Wegmans for dinner. 

*Double chocolate stout while playing the game Friday night...AMAZING.

*Sunday's relay was fueled by Bananas, brownies, cookies, and cheeseballs. It was amazing. 

For the record we had lots of healthy things too...but I will say, I DID eat 5 cheeseballs right before running a sub 20 5k on my second leg.

1lb. GONE after 77.7 miles and 7 runners.

 How was your weekend?

Any races/relays or fun things that you did?

What was your Good, Bad & Yummy for the weekend?

Friday recap and facts

I can't believe it is Friday already....
As I talked about yesterday though, at some point we must carry on.
As a part of the running community we run on and never forget what happened,
but honor it by moving forward and standing together in support.

Quick recap of the week so far

Monday:

Work both Jobs all day

Night time run (4 mi)[7:56,7:41,7:25,7:25]

Tuesday:

Morning run (4 mi)[8:12,7:56,7:41,7:35]

Work all day

Afternoon run (4 mi)[8:20,7:58,7:47,7:47]

Studied/relaxed all night

Wednesday:

Work all day

40 minute ride outside (11.38 mi)[17.1 mph]

Play date with a 4 year old (J's nephew)

Studied for Series 7

Wednesday's post-ride

Thursday:

Work all day

Afternoon run (5 mi)[8:05,7:42,7:37,7:23,6:56]

Studied all night for my Series 7

Sweaty Thursday! 78 and sunny!

Today marks 1 month until marathon #5 , I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am not going to be prepared as I should for this. The last few weeks have been off and I know that will affect it.  I am not going into the race with a PR goal (but that was always the plan for this race), it's another marathon and another long run. After lots of thinking, and bouncing ideas off some people... my plan for the next few weeks is to just be consistently running. I do NOT plan on tapering much for the race, maybe a few days (with the exception of biking, I most likely will not bike the week of the race, need fresh quads). Cleveland is not my goal race...Musselman 70.3 is(July), therefore killing myself  for a better time in Cleveland next month wont do my any good.

As for the duathlon I am doing next weekend, let's just say it won't be pretty. I'll make it happen, but I am very ill-prepared for it. I won't make excuses like some people will do, I will simply say I haven't been dedicating enough time for it lately and that is at the fault of no one but myself. My goal is to finish, and hopefully not fall on the bike or during transition.  If I can do that, I'll be a happy girl.

Weekend plans:

Friday:

Work all day

Afternoon run planned (3-5 mi)

Afternoon ride planned (30-45 minutes)

Spending night playing games with J and his friends 

Saturday:

Morning run planned (maybe 10 mi) with Hollie and Jen

Baking some yummy stuff for tomorrow

12:30 meeting with a possible wedding venue on Keuka Lake(eek!)

2pm Seneca 7 pre-race meeting/packet pickup

Spending the night on Seneca lake with the rest of our Seneca 7 relay team!

Sunday:

Seneca 7 relay! (my first road relay!)

I am runner #7, so I run legs 7,14 and finish it off with 21.

I will be running a total of 10.9 miles 

(each person runs 3 times, with a total of 9.4-12.1 miles)

My first leg is 4.1, 2nd is 3.1 and my final leg is 3.7

Cheer for team "Sloppy Sevenths!" :):):)

Some Friday Facts:

• 1 month until Cleveland Marathon
• 86 days until my first Half-Ironman 
• 505 days until our wedding (tentatively!)

• Fact: I heard a girl last night at Barnes & Noble telling her friend that she went to go for a run, and collapsed at 1 mile and had to call for a ride. Then she said how she 'googled' it and found out it was because she ate a salad before she ran, and that its a common problem among runners and that it happens to elites all the time when they eat salads before they run....I kid you not, I smacked my forehead and wanted to pull her hair for this. Seriously ladies, don't make yourself sound like an idiot, I highly doubt you read that on the internet, and if so, you need to learn to judge quality of info! [my assessment: she got tired at mile 1 and called for a ride, due to the fact that she is overweight & out of shape and it was extremely hot yesterday...keep running, it will get easier and you will get healthier and not have to make up stupid excuses why you can't run more than a mile. I am not trying to be insensitive or mean, I'm simply stating that it won't get easier until you keep working at it, and making stupid excuses isn't fooling anyone]

• Less than a week until I get to see my baby nephew again! Isn't he just the cutest thing EVER! ( No, I am not biased...he really is the cutest)

Boston Tribute Updates: I am loving all of the planned tribute runs around the country, makes me proud to be a runner. I am implementing my own small little tribute...I am going to be making some blue/yellow ribbon pins to wear at races over my heart.... something little but sentimental. Let me know if you want one or have any ideas (I'll post a picture when I get one made up)!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Have you ever done a road relay (Ragnar, etc.) before?

Whats the lamest excuse you have heard before regarding someone's workouts?