Tinfoilman Triathlon

After resting for two days I [finally] have enough energy to update my blog about my triathlon experience.
My morning started around 4 A.M.. I got up, ate some breakfast, did my morning rituals, and got my gear together. The transition area opened up at 5 A.M. and it was already filling up when I got there at 5:30.

 The temperature was already 80 degrees when I got to the event course. I knew at that point that it would be a hot hot run. I thought, "Oh well, you better run that 3 miles fast to get it over with." We found out beforehand that this triathlon was sold out; completely full. It was fun to be in that crowd. I could feel everyones' excitement and anxious nerves.

The pool the the University of Arizona welcomed us all.

My nervous smile.

 I was really happy that I didn't have to wait too long to start the swimming event. The event coordinators planned this all out so it went really fast and smooth. Like my hot pink tri suit? I was the only person in hot pink and it made it so much easier for my cheerleaders friends and family to find me.

 I knew the swim would be a challenge for me. I mean, I had two months to learn to swim freestyle and then learn to swim for 750 meters. Around 300 yards I had a moment in the water where I thought to myself, "Holy crap, what did you sign up for?" Honestly, the idea that I would need to swim 750 meters and then jump on my bike and ride for 12 miles and then run for three miles, seemed impossible. I knew this triathlon would challenge me, but I wasn't anticipating the mind F***. Right after my doubts started plaguing my mind, I pushed them away and continued on.
During the swim I was passed by three people. While I could have been upset about being passed, I was enjoying swimming in the other racers' bubbles. Silly, huh? I actually ended up passing a swimmer that passed me. It was a small moment of triumph and retribution. I finished my swim in 18:21.

At the transition from swim to bike. This is me walking my bike to the starting line. 

 The bike event was my worst. It took me 52 mins to finish 12 miles. Blah! Not impressed with that performance. I remember getting on the bike after the 750 meter swim and being super hungry. I probably should have eaten a little something 30 mins before my swim. I immediately downed a GU gel with some caffeine in it. I needed a little pick-me-up. Some of the biking course was on a mile stretch of crappy road. It was full of cracks, pot holes, dips, and fill-ins. I had to slow down and be careful while navigating this road. Admittedly, I am not the strongest biker so I needed to be careful.

 I was so looking forward to the running portion of this triathlon. Running is my strongest sport by far and I was soooooo ready to get to an event that I am comfortable with. Not surprisingly, by the time I tied on my running shoes I was feeling tired. The last leg of this race took every ounce of my will power.

 But I was able to cross the finish line with a smile on my face. I was so happy. There are no words to describe how much relief I felt seeing "FINISH" in the distance. I suddenly forgot all my discomfort and had complete tunnel vision. Seeing finish, I knew I had done it. I completed my triathlon.

What a relief! I am still so proud of myself. I finished the run in 33 mins. My over-all race time was 1:44:51. I was 13th in my age group. Being 26 years old, I was competing in one of the larger age groups. I am happy with my finish. Not too shabby for my first triathlon.

7 miler and California vacation

I'm back!!!
I've been back for over a week now. Last week I was super busy with training, preparing for my triathlon, cleaning up my house post-vacation, and taking my final exam for my Sports Nutrition Certification.

Before I went to California I ran in the Hotshot 7.25 mile trail run. It was a charity run put on by a local event coordinator in honor of the Hot Shot firemen that died fighting the Yarnel wildfire in Arizona. Some of the proceeds from the event went to the Hot Shots charity.

 Cool tech-T huh? It's really nice. I love when event coordinators give out nice tech-T's. This shirt is actually pretty flattering on too.

 My best friend (of a ba-zillion years) ran this event with me. She is also training for a half marathon and was happy to up her mileage during a race. This race was hosted at Colossal Cave mountain park South of Tucson, AZ in Vail. It was gorgeous weather; cool and overcast. It was wonderful! The event coordinators explained that the course was on paved roads and trails, but in actuality it was more of a trail-run than anything. It was so much fun! It was a blast running up and down mountains!

 Above are my race stats. I thoroughly enjoyed this course. My splits were really uneven, but that was due to the course terrain and weather (it started raining and made conditions slippery). There were a lot of legit AZ athletes at this event. Speaking to people, I found out that local people were bumming out over the Summer and how few events there were this Summer. I'm guessing people were itching to get out and race again, so they signed up for this small event to take care of the "race bug". It really is an addiction all its own. I have it and I love it. Overall, I really enjoyed this event and I will sign up again next year if they put it on again.

My husband and I went on a week-long vacation in San Diego, CA the very next day. It was so nice to see the ocean again. I've missed it terribly. Once there, the first thing we did was head to the beach.

The weather was a little warmer than the norm for CA, but being from Arizona the warmer weather was PERFECT. I loved it! Derek and I were very active on our trip. We put an extra 40 miles on our Strava activity logs. Pretty impressive I think.

 We discovered this cool local path that goes directly to the Oceanside Harbor/beach. We hopped on our bikes for a long ride to the beach. It was gorgeous out (perfect weather) and the path was flat. It was easy to just crank it down to the beach! How cool is that?

Pure elation that we made it to the Ocean.

Beach Squirrel! 

The rest of our trip was relaxing and fun. We spent lots of time with our friends/family/loved ones. Our last run was spent in Balboa Park. I read that it has some of the best running trails in the San Diego area. We were spoiled by the mild San Diego weather; we were able to sleep in until 9 A.M. and then get ready without rushing. There was really no need to wake up early to beat the heat because it never got too hot for us to run. Fabulous!

The gorgeous rose garden in Balboa Park. I had way too much fun running circles through these roses.

Posing in front of a beautiful fountain. Like my compression socks?

 Balboa Park was huge! We ran a 10K across that park and didn't even make a dent in it. There are so many different parts and sections to the park. We went from running through courtyards, to perfectly manicured lawns, to standard park-scapes, to city streets, to trail runs, to rose gardens, and back to the museum courtyards.
I had the best time in California. It was the best trip I've taken out to the west coast. I love how active my husband and I were. I felt great, the weather was fabulous, and it was great to see my loved ones.

Kregan's running preferences

Good morning!
I am up bright dark and early for a 7.25 mile race through the Colossal Cave park in Tucson, AZ. It's the Hotshot's Run to Remember. I am running this event for charity. Some of the proceeds go to the families of the Hotshots that died in the Yarnell, AZ wildfire earlier this year. I am happy to participate in this run. I am SUPER excited for the route; it's on a mix of paved and rocky terrain!
So right now I am relaxing on my couch, eating oatmeal and drinking my coffee. It's the process every runner must go through; put something inside your body while waiting to have something removed from your body. (You know what I'm talking about.)  While I'm waiting for the show to start [wink] I will post this quick blog.

I came across this questionnaire on another blog and I thought I would fill it out and post MY answers for my readers.... I know there are one or two of you. Just in case you are interested...

1. Who is your running shoe twin? Skinny Runner! She turned me onto the mizuno waveriders. I love them!
2. When do you pause your watch on a run? I have yet to pause my watch while on a run. I do two things: I start it and I stop it. I want ALL the data!
3. What is worse – being called a jogger or hearing someone call a 5K a “marathon”? I HATE the word "jogger". I think it diminishes all the effort and hard work you put into your run. Even if it isn't the fastest run, I will refer to it as a "slow run", NEVER a "jog".
4. What is your preferred running shorts inseam length? I've noticed that I like my running shorts to have a longer inseam. I get less chaffing that way. Yes I am thin, but my thighs still touch. No inner-thigh gap for this runner! (and it's fine with me)
5. Spitting when you run – gross or necessary or neither? I spit sometimes. I started chewing gum and it's helped with dry mouth and I no longer have a bad urge to clear out my mouth.
6. What is more exciting randomly seeing a friend on a run, or hitting a goal pace/workout? I would be excited to see a friend. I like to see my loved ones being active.
7. What has been your worst running injury (something that happened on a run orsomething caused by running)? Nothing yet. I've been REALLY careful about preventing injuries. Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself. [knock on wood]
8. What is your perfect running temp? Anything in the 70s.
9. Do you follow a running plan or make your own? I like to make my own. I blaze my own trail.
10. Preference – treadmill, road, groomed trail, or technical trail? I prefer a road and groomed trail. Technical trails can be fun in moderation because I don't want to roll an ankle. I absolutely hate running on treadmills. I tried to run on one the other day and only made it through a half mile. Treadmills make me unhappy.

Happy [belated] Labor Day!!

Hello all!
Last week was a fun and relaxing week in our household. I kept up my running, biking, swimming, and T25. Gosh, that sounds like a lot! It probably is...
Wednesday I had a lazy morning and decided to try on bikinis to pick some to take with me to San Diego. Trying them on I saw how some new muscles and some abs peeking through!

My husband decided to put my bikini-picture next to my "Before" picture so I can see how much progress I've made. It is hard to see your own progress when you are looking in the mirror everyday. Seeing these two pictures side-by-side really opened my eyes. I really have made progress!

Friday I decided to wake up early and enjoy a run. The weather was overcast 75 degrees with 70% humidity. Sounds like it would be hot, huh? Nope, it was perfect! I love cloudy days.

This app says I ran 4.9 miles, but I'm counting it as 5 miles. Also, I am pretty sure I burned more calories than 467, especially since the first 1.5 miles is uphill. Oh well. I finished off my Friday with my T25 workouts. I'm still enjoying them!

Saturday I ran some errands but mostly I just relaxed around my house. I was really tired and not really up for doing much, not to mention it was my rest day. My only rest day. Oh, but I did give myself a manicure. I tried out some at-home gel nails. I used Nutra Nail Gel Perfect at home kit in "Ruby Slippers". The process of painting my nails was a little tedious, but the results are really pretty! 

Pictures taken by Dempsey.

 That evening my husband and I met up with my mother and stepfather at the Sonoran Desert Museum for a night tour. It was a lot of fun and we saw a lot. A lot of desert animals become more active at dusk/night (and dawn) so it was a great opportunity to see these creatures moving around. My stepfather, Dempsey, and Derek brought their fancy SLR digital cameras and captured some great photos. The Desert Museum was also hosting some photography classes that evening so we sat in on a free Night Photography class. It was actually really fun and informative. For the first time I could really tell how much Derek knows about photography. It's a hobby of his and has been for years now.



Sunday we decided to host a BBQ at our house that evening so Derek and I teamed up to clean up our house. Remember that sports-stuff disaster I was blogging about last week? It's ALL cleaned up. Bikes are put away and even the spin bike was put back in Derek's office/gym area.
I went on a short run that morning and it was BAD. No overcast skies to keep me cool, even though it was still in the 70s. The sun just sucked my energy out of me like a syphon. Blah! My pace was a bit slower than previous 3 milers, but hey, ANY run is a good run. In spite of the bad run, I was still happy to have gotten out and got some exercise.
Derek and his buddies decided to golf that afternoon [like crazy people] so Derek spent his Sunday afternoon in the hot AZ sun on the golf course. I took my butt to the gym to swim some laps. 1000 yards later, I was reading my book poolside and enjoying the sunny weather. I took it easy on that swim. I didn't push my pace. I focused on my form, breathing, and relaxing in the water. Yes, I am still working on relaxing in the water. Hey, you're face down in the water people! It can be stressful at times.
Our BBQ went well. We served steak, turkey burgers, chips with salsa and guacamole, and my low-fat potato salad. Oh! And we grilled up some veggies too. The BBQ was fun and it was great catching up with friends.
Monday was LABOR DAY! Derek and I were a bit lazy, but we still took our Boo Bear on a walk.

"Mmmmmmm grass..."

He loves playing in tall grass. Our little guy walked a total of 1.25 miles! That's a long way for a little chihuahua. When I got home I relaxed some more. Derek needed a nap (AZ sun got to him). I worked around my house and jumped on the spin bike for 45 minutes of HIIT. Halfway through my workout THIS GUY showed up at our house:

Winston got to have a slumber party with Louie (AKA: Boo Bear) last night. Winston's house had some water damage to it and he needed to be out of the house so the restoration people could fix the issues. He's a big dog, especially compared to my chihuahua, but he is incredibly sweet. Louie and Winnie are best friends. They've been snuggling and napping, and enjoying chewy-bones together. Merlin the cat doesn't like him much; he's been holed up in our room for the last 20+ hours. I've never seen my cat so puffed up! I told him that if he's going to have his tail all puffed-up he could at least dust my room for me. Merlin must have understood me because I got a scathing look in return. [laugh]

Tuesday events

Tuesday was a rather fun day. I had my workouts, my errands, my house cleaning, my laundry... Ultimately, I had a lot to do.
My morning started at 5 A.M. with another early morning run. I had every intention of running 4 miles, per my Half Marathon training plan. Getting out of bed, I quickly noticed that my calves (specifically my left calf) were really sore. I decided to wear my compression socks to alleviate the discomfort during my run. I love my compression socks. Yes they are hot pink, but it's not just their good looks that I love. I am convinced that my compression socks are helping prevent common running injuries. Ie: shin splints, tendinitis, etc. My husband turned me onto the magic of compression socks a couple months ago. At first I was like "Holy moly those are some EXPENSIVE socks!" But honestly they are worth the money.
Anyhoo- my calves were really sore (Thank you Saun T and T25) so I put my compression socks on an hit the pavement running. It was an awesome run and started off really nice. Shortly after a mile in my calves were really hurting. I decided not to push my luck and seriously injure myself, and cut my run short.

After I got home I immediately laid on my couch with ice packs on my legs. My calves were aching so terribly it was like having charlie-horses radiate up my legs. It was super uncomfortable, but that didn't stop my cat from climbing up on me asking for pets. Cats have zero social awareness. Me: "Hello! I'm hurting over here!" Merlin: "Oh... well, your hands aren't hurting so pet me some more."

Matching facial expressions with my cat.

Judgemental-Cat will judge you.

After a good icing, my legs were feeling much better. I was able to get up and move around with little discomfort. Running errands was my least favorite part of the day. I love having groceries in my fridge, but I don't enjoy shopping for groceries. Thankfully, Derek came along with me and helped me shop.

In the afternoon we decided to head to the gym and swim some laps before doing T25. My goal was to swim 800 yard consecutively and time myself to see where my progress is. 

I enjoyed my swim-cap face lift! HAHAHA!

I swam 800 yards in a total of 19 mins. Woah! A wee bit slower than I was shooting for. I definitely have some room for improvement. The next 26 days will hopefully be enough time for me to shave off some minutes. I am still happy with my swimming progress. I mean, the fact that I can even swim 800 yards is an accomplishment.

After a nice 25 minutes of T25, I called it a day. I was wiped out. 

Rare days

Greetings blog-osphere!
I hope your Monday was as awesome as mine was. I was really on top of things. It's rare for me to have such a productive day. I honestly think I was the best version of myself, and I am so glad for it.
I started my day with a 5 A.M. wake up. Time to get ready to run! After preparing coffee for my husband and I, I sat down and ate some steel cut oats. [Yummy] The run-route I picked for the day was  3 hilly miles. I am starting to really love running hills, especially if they are at the beginning of the run.

This is my 5K route. I call it "The Snake" due to the shape the red lines make on the map. Silly, I know. This might be my fastest 5K time yet. Kudos to me! I seem to have run faster due to the shorter distance... or maybe I was running faster to get home to my second cup of coffee? I knew it was waiting for me all steamy and delicious.
The rest of the day I cooked, cleaned up, took two Sports Nutrition quizzes (Almost finished with my certification!!), and did my T25 workout for the day. I kept myself busy ALL day.
I am still enjoying T25, but the other day (last week) I think I was a little overly ambitious with it and ended up with super sore calves. My left calf is much more sore. Micro-tears? I don't know for sure. Unfortunately, it has become uncomfortable to run because of my calves. I am going to baby them for a bit. I've already started the R.I.C.E. to help me recover.

Weekend of greatness

Howdy y'all!
(Proof I live in the Southwest)
Derek and I enjoyed a fun and relaxing weekend here in the desert, and we didn't have to escape to the mountains this time! Saturday morning I found myself wide awake at 4 A.M. so I got up and made some Bob's Red mill Steel Cut Oats. It takes 20-30 mins to make this stuff, but it is literally the tastiest oatmeal out there. Really, they won an award and everything. I let Derek sleep in a little bit, but eventually woke him up so he could eat and prepare for our long run. It usually takes us an hour due to eating, digesting, bathroom visits, dressing, etc.
Our route for the day took us through the rolling foothills of the mountains. It was gorgeous out! Not too hot or humid. I wasn't feeling 100% due to digestive issues, but I pushed through. (I also forced Derek to carry toilet paper in his pack just in case I needed to use a bush.) Aside from the crappy start (pun), I had other troubles on this run. Everything exploded out of my pack at one point, then the zipper pull broke off of my pack when I went to secure everything back inside of it, my shins and calves started hurting pretty early on (Thankfully I brought Ibuprofen), and I kept getting bad cramps. Yuck! However bad this run was, I pushed through it. I finished my 8 mile run happy and proud of myself for persevering.

I actually maintained my target pace pretty well on this run. The spikes on the graph correspond to me having to walk a little bit. Unfortunately, I had to walk a handful of times, but I am still very happy with my 8 mile performance.

After I finished, I parked my butt on the couch and put my feet up. Oh, and I put an ice pack on my head to prevent over-heating. Derek laughed at me and said I looked like a nun with the towel over my head. Between my red face, towel, and icepack, I think I look pretty stylish. [laugh] Seriously, if you still look good after an 8 miler, you are either inhuman or not doing it right.
We took a nice long nap after this long run. I certainly needed it. It seems that runs longer than 4 miles make me tired. I often go back to bed once I get back from my runs. I guess it isn't so bad considering I usually get back from my runs between 6:30-7:00 A.M..
I also got a delivery Saturday! Look at my new tri-gear! So pink and pretty! I even took the time and effort to try it all on, which is really impressive due to how sweaty and sore I was from my run. It fits perfectly, if a wee bit more snug than I would usually wear but I've read that it is normal. I have to swim in this gear, so it has got to be tight-fitting. Hey, it's tight, but I don't look like a sausage so I am happy.
Sunday morning I had every intention of getting up and going on a 20+ mile bike ride... however, the vodka sodas I had Saturday night had a different plan. (Super fun night, btw) My hangover prevented me from getting on my bike. [Sad face] I'll have to make up the bike ride sometime next week.

Changes you never saw coming

Friday was a happy day! (And very productive) My husband has been away for work all week long and finally came home. YAY! I've missed him terribly, but it is true what they say. Distance does make the heart grow fonder.

Louie and I went on a nice long walk in our neighborhood. It was a gorgeous day!

He did so good. It was mildly hot but really humid so he drank lots of water on this walk. I am so glad I bought him a Gulpy water bottle. I know he's a chihuahua, but he came still get overheated fast.

The rest of my day I spent cleaning my house. Admittedly, I let the house go while Derek was away. Naughty naughty. It was kinda nice not having to clean up every day. As I was working around the house I noticed just how much athletics and sports have taken over our house...

It's an organize chaos, I promise.

Exactly when did this happen? 6 months ago I would never have allowed clutter on my countertops. Now it seems that I don't mind having easy access to my sports nutrients. I like that my running hats are all stacked up and ready to grab. The trunk by the front door is a perfect "transition station" of sorts. My mom would certainly not approve of our new style of decorating, but I don't seem to mind it. I don't even mind that our spin bike is now a permanent fixture amongst our living room furniture. What? I like to spin while I watch The View. Don't judge.

Still kickin'

I took a little [unintentional] break from my blog. Life has been a little ho-hum lately and I haven't felt very inspired to blog about it. I'm still training for my triathlon... still training for my half marathon... still doing T25. Still still still.
Here's a quick update about what I've been up to during my blogging absence.

Last weekend Derek and I slept through our 5 A.M. alarm so we missed our long run. [insert sad face here] I believe I've mentioned before that we have to wake up at dawn to run due to the extreme heat here in Arizona. Unfortunately, waking at 8 A.M. means that it is already 95-100 degrees out, AND it has been humid here! Ew!! The dew point has been high enough to where it is a health concern to do any endurance sport out in the heat. Blah!

Anyhoo- we decided to switch up our run and escape the heat. We piled into the car and drove up the mountain. Yay for cooler temps! The mountain is always really gorgeous and the temps were a good 20 degrees cooler than the valley. We put in nearly 6 miles trail running and hiking. It was awesome! Afterward, we went to eat at a local restaurant that seems to cater to road bikers. (We saw many road bikers ride up and down the mountain. It's 25 miles up! Crazy!) On the menu was muscle milk blueberry and banana pancakes! YES PLEASE! They were delicious! 

 Back down in the Valley, life continued as the week progressed. I continued my triathlon training. I have been more diligent about waking up at 5 A.M. to get my runs in. My new "normal" is a 5 miler!
Swimming is going well. I tried swimming with a cap the other day and found that I much prefer it! It's nice not having stray hair in my face while I swim. So far I have timed my swimming and I can swim the 800 yards in 16 minutes. Not too fast or too slow. I think I fall right there in the middle.

At home I am continuing my T25 adventure. I still love these workouts. It's been three weeks now and I am still going strong. I really enjoy the lower focus workout. The Ab intervals workout is also really fun. I've seen some really amazing T25 results pics on Instagram. I am hoping to have good results too.

I took a selfie the other day to see my progress. I'm certainly not where I want to be (I want to drop some fat %) but I need to remind myself that my body is still pretty cool because I can run half marathons AND triathlons. I'm trying not to get bogged down by what my body looks like. I want to focus on what my body can do. As long as it can still run long distances, bike for hours, and swim lengths at a time, I AM HAPPY. 

I made it through another BIG section of my Nutrition class. I spent a lot fair amount of time reading my textbook. Merlin, I guess, decided that I was working too hard for his taste. I ended up with a fat cat on my lap purring away. He is an awful awesome study buddy!