My mother has been scouted!!

The other day my mom received an email from a local running group. Apparently this group really keeps track of race data and noticed my mom's name at the top of her age group in every single race she has done. They invited her to come and join them to be part of the club. Anyone can actually join the club but I thought it was pretty cool that she was given a personal invitation.

I think I am going to join the group as well and participate on some of the runs the group does. I definitely need some motivation. I know when I swim with a master's group it's much easier to go faster and keep training consistently. I am hoping the same goes for running!

www.eastsiderunners.com

A Lesson From Phoebe!

I love the show Friends! I was running last night (go me, it was hard to get my rear off the couch!), and I totally thought of Phoebe and how I should be more like Phoebe!

If you don't know what I am talking about take a look at the video. Phoebe doesn't care what she looks like, doesn't use any fancy gadgets, she is able to get her friend on board with her and she is having a blast! I need to be more like Phoebe. Well, maybe not so silly looking!! I want to be able to enjoy running as much as she does!

Enjoy!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_0Ta_DIWuU

(for some reason I couldnt' get the video to post in the blog)

Last Tri of the season: Done!

This past weekend I met up with a friend from high school swimming and her friends for an Olympic distance triathlon! It was great fun to meet new people who are into working out and doing triathlons! Camping was spectacular and the race was less than spectacular.

The race was super small, 75 racers in all! The swim was the worst open water swim ever. The Columbia river is freakin' cold! I almost didn't make it to the bike portion I was so cold! It's time to invest in a wetsuit! The bike was OK, except that it was on a highway in which cars were traveling upwards of 60 miles per hour! A little too scary for me. No bike support on the course either. The run was boring, two loops around a park. We all decided we were not going to be going to this race next year. I didn't improve my time, but I didn't do any worse either. The one good thing about the race is that my race pictures didn't turn out all that bad. I am considering ordering one!

Training: I am going swimming tonight as this will be one of the last times the outdoor pool will be open. I must run tomorrow for sure!!

Ice Skating Sister!

I picked up my 12 year old sister yesterday from her ice skating lesson! Yes! I have a 12 year old sister! She looked so great out on the ice and she even practiced her axles yesterday for the first time! I am so proud of her. I took ice skating lessons when I was younger but never really liked it. I am so glad she has found something she loves to do!

She is spending two nights with us and we have some shopping, swimming and just hanging out with each other! Yay for sisters!!

8.65 Miles with Mom and my HUSBAND!!!

My mom drove out to our house this morning and we all went on a nice 8.65 mile jaunt down at Alki beach! It was beautiful! My husband rocked it because he usually doesn't run as much, or really not at all and he did 7 miles! We picked him up in the car when we finished, much to his happiness!

Then we all went to Starbucks (of course) for a nice cup of coffee and good conversation! Did I mention in any of my previous posts, this is really the only thing that keeps me running?

Training: I have ran a total of 15 miles since Saturday (I don't usually even run this much during the entire week, I'm a running slacker!), I feel great, but a little sore! Tonight I am going to my beloved Zumba class and new routine awaits me!

Next Sunday is my second Olympic distance triathlon. I am excited because I am going on my own and meeting some people I don't really know... well one I knew in high school as we swam together and we will all be camping together. There will be 4 of us doing the triathlon. It should be fun and quite the adventure! All of these plans put together through the social experiment known as Facebook!

Really? We are racing in two weeks??

I'm back from Omaha and met my mom today for a run. We ran around Greenlake, but this time we did the outer circle, which we found out was a little longer than the inner. We did 7.5 miles today and I did my very best to not complain! My mom even said I did really good without much running the past few weeks! That was a confidence booster for sure.

As we were running we started talking about our races and then it hit me that not only would we be running our first in a series of two half marathons in two weeks but it also means that I will be doing my second Olympic distance triathlon next weekend!! How did that sneak up on me so fast??? Some how I thought I had a little bit longer before our races.

We then finished up our run with a visit to Starbucks, which is always my favorite thing about running with my mom!!

I Fired My Mom

Not really! She hasn't been blogging and I keep telling her she needs to post something. She's been keeping up with her running... of course and she is kicking some marathon ass with the training she has been doing!! Way to go mom!!

AWAY: Always Welcome at the YMCA!!!

I had heard through the grapevine that you can go into any YMCA and use the facility free of charge if you are a member somewhere else. Well, apparently it's true! I went to the YMCA of Greater Omaha today at their downtown location and was pleasantly surprised when they took my card!

The temperature today was well over 100 degrees with awful humidity and there was no way in hell that I was going to run in the heat. I ran on the treadmill, only three miles and hit the pool for nice easy 2400 yards! It was perfect. Definitely going back tomorrow!!

Too hot to run!

How do people do it?? How do they run or exercise in hot weather? I could wake up early and run, but it's still hot and humid. Everything feels wet and sticky the minute I step outside. I will take a day of rain in Seattle than a day of 100 degree heat and humidity!

Omaha Masters

I found a team: Omaha Masters. Now I just have to get up at the crack of dawn to try to make it to a practice or two. I'm used to swimming in the evenings here and not so early in the morning. I found out that the coach has won a Masters Coach of the Year award, so I am looking forward to a workout!

To find a masters swim team in your area check out www.usms.org

Off to the Heartland

Tomorrow morning I leave for the beautiful city of Omaha, Nebraska!! Wooo, hooo!! My husband and I will be visiting family and I get to leave first at 5am. Then he will join me on Saturday. This was a last minute decision for me to go with him. I wasn't sure what my plans were going to be as far as teaching goes this summer. Now I get to vaca in the Heartland!

Training in Omaha will be interesting as it tends to be very humid and hot which I am not used to. My goal is to run as much as I can in the next seven days and I am trying to find a masters team to swim to join for a couple of practices. I won't be able to do any biking, I don't think anybody there has a bike I can borrow.

Monday Training

I have the next month off from work so time to concentrate on my running. My mom and I went for a nice 6 mile run today and of course we had coffee afterwards. We also signed up for a half marathon on September 7th. Tonight I am going to ride my bike down to the pool and do a masters workout.

Not sure what the plan will be for tomorrow, probably a 45-60 minute run, maybe a bike ride. Who knows!!

2 Year Anniversary!

August 4th will be our 2nd anniversary. We just got back into town after a brief visit to the coast! The plan was to stay until Wednesday our actual anniversary. We couldn't believe how awful the weather was; cold, rainy, windy, foggy. Just plain gross! I even brought my bike and running gear to keep training while we were away. The small town we stayed in died at about 8:30 when everything closed and there was nothing to do, it was so boring.

We left yesterday afternoon and returned this morning at about 11:30. I forgot to mention the house we were staying in. My husband's co-worker let us use his beach house which was very nice of him and his family. We walked into the house and we were immediately transported to 1971. The carpet I am sure has not been cleaned or changed since the 70's, it was gross! It was musty, damp, cold and smelly. My husband suggested that we leave at around 9pm last night. We decided to see if the weather would improve in the morning and maybe we could hang out on the beach. No such luck! :( We left at 8:15 am and we were so glad we did, because back here in Seattle it's a hot 90 degrees!!!

I did receive a very nice gift from my husband a beautiful frame with pictures of me at my last triathlon! What a fabulous gift!

Training: I signed myself up for another Olympic distance triathlon. I am super excited as this race apparently has the best swag in the state! And the race description promises the fastest swim in the state as well. The swim will be located going downstream on the Columbia River!


I have fallen behind in my running. I haven't been on a run since my last triathlon. I've been able to get on my bike and swim but no running. The weather here has been really hot; 103 the other day and I am not a morning runner so no outdoor running in a long while. Mom and I will be running together tomorrow. We both have a half marathon at the beginning of September and I need to run or I will get another serious ass kicking by my mother!