Not a great running day

I went out for a run today and it sucked. First of all, I went too late in the afternoon when it was still too hot on the road but that wasn't my problem. Second, I had this pain in my foot the entire time. I was supposed to go out for 45 minutes but I got 10 minutes out and, bothered by my foot, decided to just go to the bridge in Keene Valley and turn around to go home. I slowed down to make sure I was planting correctly and not pushing off too hard. So, I did 3.06 miles in 34 minutes. Yuck!!! I have ice ready for tonight. Hopefully, tomorrow will be easy with a swim and a short bike and then it will be fine for Race the Train on Saturday.

Other random updates, I have become addicted to the Twilight series of books by Stephanie Meyers. I read Twilight and New Moon is a couple of days and have ordered the third book Eclipse and the new one so I should have them by Monday or Tuesday. They are intriguing even though they annoy me sometimes with teenage angst and a relationship far too developed for a teenager. Joe is also reading them and is as intrigued as I am (well, maybe not as intrigued but he is being entertained by the writing) and I think we got Joe's sister hooked as well. Sorry about that!!!

Finishing the second book is the reason I went out far too late in the afternoon for my run. Oh, well. It was well worth the trade-off.

Kayaking in Lake Placid

On Tuesday, Joe and I checked the weather forecast and decided that it was the day to go out on our kayaks. The weather was forecasted to be high in the mid 7o's with partly to mostly cloudy skies. Wednesday, Thursday, and possibly Friday was a chance of rain and we didn't want to go out in the rain. Last week we were supposed to go out but it rained all week long. So, we had our first voyage out in the kayaks yesterday. It was fantastic. We went around the entire perimeter of Lake Placid. It was the first time we had ever done this in this lake. What beautiful houses there are on the lake. One was a new construction boat house that had a lot of Asian influences and was absolutely gorgeous. We found a little beach area and stopped to eat our peaches and granola bars (do we sound like outdoors people with that type of a snack!). Joe went into the water for a little swim but I didn't because I was freezing. It was cool without the sun. We did 8.58 miles in about 3 hours - not fast at all but we had a great time. Joe and I are always competitive in races that we just wanted to have fun. Mission accomplished. The sound of the water under the kayak and the paddles in the water is so soothing. We had a great time. We got to see a few loons as well, which were really neat. Next kayaking trip we will probably go to Lake Flower and try to navigate into Saranac Lake.

Ironman - coming to see us

I was thinking this morning (like every other morning) about how excited we are about Ironman. We are so excited that we sent out an e-mail to about 40 people letting them know about our debut in the Iron distance. Joe and I are the type of people who don't talk a lot about our events unless we are asked because we know that other people don't necessarily enjoy things like this. We have made our lives revolve around training and participating in events but understand that others are not really into that and that is fine. So, we don't usually ask people to come and watch our events unless they express interest. This time is different though. Joe and I are so excited and awed by this distance and we need spectator support this time because we are going to be working out for at least 11 hours (in Joe's case) or in my case between 15 and 16 1/2 hours!!! So, we invited everyone. We want those around us, family and friend, to come and see this event that we are so awed and moved by and even if you are not an athlete this event is moving. It brings tears to my eyes every time someone crosses that finish line not because of what they have accomplished in that day but what they have accomplished in the year that preceded that day. And now, we want others to come and celebrate with us this monumental accomplishment. Joe and I have already gotten married (on a fabulous day last June), we will probably never be having children, so this is our accomplishment that we want our friends and family to be a part of with us. We know that this may require planning on the part of our friends and family but we are so excited to have this be an accomplishment that both Joe and I can celebrate and our family and friends can celebrate with us. I want everyone to get the feeling that anything is possible just by watching this fabulous event especially the smaller ones of our group (in one of our friends case - a 5 month old baby!!! I won't give her away yet!!) I just hope that this feeling of excitement and want to share this with others will be well received as this is really important to us. Joe and I realize that all of our friends and our families have lives of their own but we just want to feel supported on the 2nd most fabulous day of our lives (the first of course was our wedding!)

Another Mini Tri in Lake Placid

I did not realize that I PRed last night at the Monday Night Mini Tri until just now! How exciting. I actually thought that I really sucked in comparison last night. I felt awful last night for the most part. My swim was really difficult as I just couldn't catch my breath and I got a couple of mouthfuls of water in the process but it ended up being really good. My bike was tough but because there was this 12 year old girl that was right in front of me I just kept pushing. My run felt slow and I had some abdominal issues (an injury that I have been wrestling with for the past year) that made me feel slow. But overall, I guess I did really well as for the third week in a row, I PRed. I can't believe it. The end was what helped me. I heard footsteps behind me in the last 200 meters of the race and refused to have someone pass me here so I gave it all I had left (which wasn't a lot) and he got right up on my back and told me "Good work" and I thought that he was going to pass me. He didn't though. For those of you who know me, this was not my type of race outcome - if you are going to get right behind me and not pass me before the finish line, then you let me win. This was not cool for me. As I went over to Joe, he was laughing a bit and told me that the guy behind me was just running around the lake and not part of the mini-tri but pushed me in. So, he actually helped me to PR. I felt awful though at the end. I have PRed a lot this year in all different kinds of races. What strikes me the most is how bad you feel at the end when you PR. You have left all of your guts, sweat, sometime blood out on that course and you feel completely spent!!! That is how I felt yesterday, like someone had hit me in the chest and legs with a baseball bat. I was done. Joe says that that is how you are supposed to feel when you give it your all and I agree but does it really have to feel so bad. The best part is the next day when you feel like yourself again and are so proud of yourself for having accomplished something that you didn't think possible. But then again, that is how I feel about everything I am doing lately. Who would have thought that I would have done the Tinman or would be doing the Ironman??? Not me 5 years ago but here I am. So, everyday is work toward an ultimate goal and I am getting faster all of the time. That is really exciting!

Rundown of 3rd mini tri of the season:
Swim: Fastest of the year - 9:37.90
T1: 2:02.31 (yuck - couldn't get my wetsuit off)
Bike: 45.16.88 (not a bad time)
T2: 1:32.95 (slow - I think I thought that I wasn't doing well so I slowed down in transition)
Run: 29:20.36
Total time; 1:27.36 another PR

Ironman

Joe and I are now officially registered for the Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid 2009!!! We completed our online registration today!!! 1 year to go!!! I am so excited for this.