Celtic 5k- new PR!

Okay so it is starting to seem like every race I run lately is yielding a new PR. I guess that means my training is working, I am getting faster, and I am starting to believe I still haven't found my run pace. I am happy to see my winter training- known to some as "off-season"- is paying off and should be pretty awesome to see the payoffs this season!

So anyway back to the race. D and I did this race last year- mainly because it is maybe half a mile from my house. It seems silly not to sign up for a race we can jog to the start line. The Irish Cultural Center plays a big part in this race and a few other races in the city and they seem to do a GREAT job with their races. This one is big. It takes place the morning of the Worcester St. Patty's Parade. Let me tell you if you haven't been to the Worcester Parade it is second to Southie- HUGE! So the streets are already closed down and the city is ready for it so it is a pretty well oiled machine.

We ran down to the start line running into a friend of ours on the way. The weather was perfect- the mild winter continues. I used the race course as my Lactic Acid run test a few weeks ago and ran a 26 min 5k so I was pretty psyched to see what this race would bring. My coach didn't taper me down for this so I swam and biked Friday and Saturday then raced Sunday. I knew I wasn't going to have a well rested body to have the BEST possible time. I had my previous PR on my hand and my course time for the year before- I had some goals set in my mind. Of course- my coach had on my training plan 5k- take it easy (OOOPS!).

The run down to the start helped loosen up my legs and when we headed off I felt pretty good. I set my watch to stick around a 8:50pace- I hadn't done the math but I knew if I stayed under 9 I would be good to take off my time from the year before. The course is pretty flat and fast. I rolled my ankle around mile 2 but lucky for me I think my ankles are double jointed so I had no issue.

I crossed the finish at 27:32 according to my watch which was a 1 second PR. The official results came out 27:29- so that is a new PR by 4 seconds and a course PR by 29 seconds. It wasn't the 26 something I was hoping for but I'll take it given I wasn't rested and tapered.

We did pop down to the parade after we took a shower so D could witness the insanity. It was a good day. The race also entitles you to free admission at all the parade course bars and free drinks but we decided to skip that. All in all a decent race day. And another PR in my TEAM SPARKLE SKIRT- the purple just keeps bringin the good luck!

2011- Athletic Year in Review- 10 Things

Two years ago, in Dec 2010, if someone had sat me down after just having hip surgery and said you would have a fantastic 2011 season I would have told them they were nuts! I had just had my hip surgery and was in the midst of training for my second half marathon- Hyannis 2011- running was slow. Miles on the bike were purely for recovery from a long run and swimming was a filler for days when I didn't feel like running or cycling. As you can see from my New Years Blog from last December there wasn't much written down for goals. I am not one for resolutions but I do like to use the New Year for trying out new things to see if they stick and generally like to use it to set new goals.

That being said and since I didn't set any outright last December I am really amazed at some of the things I did this year. My 10 things I learned blog and my 2011 season: how to learn from your season blog wrap up some of the accomplishments and lessons learned. But lets get some of it down here:

1. I DID IT! I managed to log over 2000 miles for 2011- actually finishing 2011 with 2003mi. Since I didn't ultimately plan this for the year I was psyched that it happen.
2. I DID IT! I finished an Half Ironman. Yes that is I trained for and finished the 70.3 miles! I can't wait to try again and see if I can get under 7 hours
3. I got a new bike! DAMN SHE IS SEXY! Can't wait to get her out on those roads when it gets warm. I also got an aero helmet for Christmas- Thanks D!
4. I did 2 Half Marathons this year! Not bad after having hip surgery in 2010.
5. I did my first Olympic Distance Triathlon. I learned a lot about racing at this race. I did 3 sprint triathlons. A mile swim! and LOTS of 5ks and 10ks!
6. I learned a ton about fueling and nutrition this year.
7. I am getting faster this off season! The time I am spending running hill repeats and doing plyo runs is really adding up to great new PRs!
8. I am hoping to get faster on the bike still! Time in the saddle this off season compared to last year will help!
9. I still struggle with finding my balance- training/everyday nutrition.
10. I just want to figure out why I can't seem to lose weight! PLEASE! anybody?!

Hot Chocolate 15k- Race Recap- Logistics/Course Nightmare

(pre race on the bus heading to the race)

To be honest I have been holding off on posting this race report because I didn't know how to write this. Lets start with this- I had hoped to finish around 93 minutes- that would be a 10min pace. Figured that would be pretty good for me. Finished in 1:34 so pretty close and I am happy with that given the race issues.

Lets get into that. We flew down Friday to do our packet pickup- took a very expensive cab ride (thanks D!) out to National Harbor. The jacket sizing was a mess and we finally got the right sizes then realized even though we had received a corral assignment they were not on our bibs and had to go back in and fix that. Spent Friday night with my Aunt and Uncle who graciously hosted us at their house. My Aunt spent the night trying to convince us that a run along the Patomic would be so much better than getting up at 4:45. (we should have listened!)

Since we signed up for a shuttle from Crystal City to get us to the Harbor start line we arranged for a 5:15 cab. The cab driver was a lovely gentleman, by which I mean I was subjected to an early morning death metal concert in his cab where he told me he would die if he tried to walk 15k. This is where the day started to go wrong!

We loaded a shuttle quickly and she headed us toward the harbor or so we thought... after getting lost 2 times and 2 u-turns and some very interesting driving we arrived at the "plateau". The start area. It was about 6am at this point. The race was supposed to start at 8. The wind was howling and there was really no where to stand to get warm. Warming tents would have been nice!

Since we got up early and I know myself with fueling I had planned to eat oatmeal w almond butter at 5. A protein shake at 6 and at 7 shoot a hammer gel before the start. I followed that plan.

We met up with some friends and all hung out talking about the mess that things seemed to be this morning having no clue how bad it was going to get. We heard announcements about traffic issues and heard the 5k start about 40 min late. No one told us what was going on with the 15k. With it becoming obvious we were not going to start at 8 somewhere around 8:15 they moved us to corrals.

We stood in corrals till 9! No updates- no planned start time. NO NOTHING! I knew my stomach was not going to cooperate with the new start time and I was down to the pack of chomps I had for during the race. I figured wait it out eat the chomps as you run. At 9 ish we started- the course was awful down and back for 3 miles with hairpin turns on one lane of an open parkway! Anyone else read that as- NOT SAFE?! At about mi 3 the lack of fuel kicked in. My brain went okay don't usually eat this early but today we are gonna... slowly eat the chomps so you a have enough and over the next 3-4 mi I ate the package. I grabbed gatorade and water at the aid stations that actually had it- yes some had no water or gatorade!

The hills on this course were awful. I had no idea the first 2 or so mi were downhill until I was looping back on it- going up! We all then realized when we came back down that we were going to have to go up a hill to the finish! OMG really?! finish on a hill? We then looped out to a part of the harbor- again HILLY- and then hit 2 off road sections, one was a loop and the other a 2 person wide path for close to a mile of the race. My hip doesn't deal well with running on unpaved paths- its similar to sand- the running is like me being on a balance ball and I have to work twice as hard to stabilize. Guess I should get back to some PT exercises to help this if it ever happens again.

At this point my hip is hurting and I know I have to go back up that hill. My heart rate sky rocketed but I just wanted to be done and I knew I was close to my goal time even with the logistics/course mess! When I came to the finish I couldn't even cross b/c there was a backlog of people. I found D and my friends and just shook my head they all burst out laughing because they felt the same way.

We headed to get our promised TONS of chocolate- we were only allowed one container with a little dipping chocolate and 5 things to dip. One coco. Not a SINGLE chocolate bar to be had! Every time we tried to stop to enjoy our fruits of our labor (running 15k) we were yelled at by volunteers to keep moving! Finally we had had enough. Our friends headed home and we tried to get in the shuttle line. The line was at least a couple hour wait. We decided forget it lets get on a metro bus. Unknown to us the metro suspended service to the area. Now it was 1pm we were cold tired and hungry. We got in a cab and headed back to the house. It ended up being a mess of a day.
(post race photo- notice the half hearted smile)

After taking a nap I quickly realized how outraged the other runners were, there was a facebook page created, and a post on the Washington Post just to name a few. People's blog recaps explain a lot of the issues. A email from the race director followed on Sunday filled with excuses and shed light into issues I didn't even know happen- like the lead cyclist of the 5k took them in the wrong direction resulting in a 3.3mi-5k. I will never again sign up for an event by RAM racing- and I don't suggest anyone else reading this does. As of 5 Dec 30 complaints have gone to the better business bureau against RAM for this race. Everyone is demanding a refund- there's even a petition on change.org. I'd like my 65 bucks back please- you did NOT provide the services you said you would!

(D and I while getting ready to find an alternative way home- shuttle FAIL!)


We did have a good vacation down in DC following the race- here's one of our touristy photos ;)

New Challenge- No OFF season Just Winter Training

To quote my coach "Remember there's no OFF season, just winter training ;)" So I finished out the DVD challenge current weight 180.6 <- ended up down about 5lbs. Can't fight with that. I figure with today being Dec 1st- Its time for a new challenge. I was going to try another DVD or another something. But to be honest- I just don't really have an interest in that right now. So- new thoughts a twitter friend, www.thefitbee.com, has a challenge #backtobasics for the month of December. I think my #backtobasics focus and challenge will be to make sure I am eating ENOUGH good foods!

I am going to continue my workouts as planned for the month. Soon I enter my "unstructured training" with my coach. I am going to have my runs I need to keep up since I have Hyannis Half Marathon in Feb to get training for but I will be having a bit more time for yoga and fun workouts. This is at least my hope- I have not done an "unstructured training" time yet with my coach so we will see what it brings :)

This weekend we head to DC for the www.hotchocolate15k.com. I am excited for the jacket we get for our swag bags and of course for the chocolate at the finish! Coach and I still haven't talked pace plan for the race. But I am looking forward to this one a lot. Never done a 15k before- so automatic PR! Tons of friends are going to be there! And another race in my sparkly purple skirt from www.teamsparkle.com. I will keep you posted on the weekend in DC should be a good time- Keep you posted on the #backtobasics plans :) Happy December Everyone!

New December Challenge:
1. #backtobasics - make sure I am eating ENOUGH good foods!
2. "unstructured training" plan- enjoy the time with unstructured workouts add in more bikram and just have fun with training.
3. Get my 2011 mileage to be 2000 total miles! I am at 1909 right now... I think it is do-able. Follow me on http://www.dailymile.com/people/DoubleDAthlete#ref=tophd

10k Turkey Trot- New PR!

Every Thanksgiving since 2009 D and I have done the Thanks-4-Giving race in Lowell. The first year I did the 5k last year was 10k and this year 10k again. I have gotten to know the course very well since I have run these races on it and the New Years 10k and all the Lowell Triathlons are on a similar route.

Earlier in the week I wrote down my course PR and my 10k PR on a post it in my office and calculated the pace I would want to go if I wanted to break either. First goal: beat course time of 1:05:14 Goal 2: beat PR of 1:03:05 Goal 3: go for an hour or under.

Like I said I know this course pretty well- I know where the hills are and where to kick it in. We hit the first hill and the not so often 5k runners started walking like crazy. I think I should for my next turkey trot put myself further forward- not do my usual start farther back. Did a bit of dodging and weaving around folks for the whole 5k route. Since it is a double loop course the 5k runners peal off and the 10k'ers continue on. I crossed the timing mat at the 5k feeling pretty good. Mile 1- 9:50, Mile 2- 9:31, Mile 3- 9:40

The only change on the second pass is there is a jump into a neighborhood. It is on the hilly part of the course and it is through very winding roads so my time for this mile dropped. Mile 4- 9:58

I had seen my other paces and knew I was going to be able to beat goal one, and I was getting close to being able to beat goal two. Okay time to be sure to kick it in- only 2 miles left come on.... Back on pace with mile 5- 9:33. Miles 5 and 6 are the flat stretch of road on the course so I knew if I could get comfortable and cruise I would be okay. Somewhere in mile 5 it hit me not only was I going to beat goal two now but I was possibly going to make it for goal three. Okay Juls put your head down and get this done.

Mile 6- 9:39. I honestly have no idea where the mile marker was or when my watch went off but I knew it was time to finish strong. D came out and finished with me. I told him I couldn't talk. I just wanted to put my head down and finish. I wanted to finish in 1:00 or under. He helped push me through to a strong finish. As I crossed the line a friend who had finished around the same time as D was cheering and taking photos. I looked down at my watch when I crossed 1:00:48. I DID IT! Goal One, Two and Three done! I couldn't have been happier.

The last lil bit was at 8:42 pace. The course was 6.3 mi according to my garmin and 2 other people's also- so 6.3mi 1:00:48 works out to 9:39 pace. Race results with 6.2 mi course say 9:49 pace.

I knocked 5 minutes off my time on the course from last year and knocked 3 minutes off my PR! Not a bad Turkey Trot morning! D PR'd too! We both had a great Turkey Trot and definitely deserved our deep fried turkey that night! Goal 3 for the next 10k: under 1:00

For the record: that's 2 PR's in my new Team Sparkle skirt.... maybe the thing has magical powers?!

DVD Challenge Week 3- 30 Day Shred

I have been remiss in my blogging of this past week's challenge. Sorry all I was on the road. But I did do my photos and I did do my DVD and I did weigh myself- so let me get down to it. It was an interesting week or so... hard training week w 5:30 planned hours from coach then the week after was my recovery week. And- being that time of the month with a rough training week made me exhausted and of course didn't help with the scale! I stuck with level 2 but I think it might be time to get ready for the jump to Level 3! :) Thinking I won't be losing the "up to 20lbs in 30 days" like the tagline says

I am not overly impressed with the photos this week but maybe the same thing as the scale... that time of the month?! who knows!




yes diff background because I was traveling and wanted to be sure to take my photos :)


And the Stats:
This week's workouts- Tues- hill repeats, DVD#12, Weds- bikram yoga, Mon- Cycling 6.52 mi, DVD#13, Fri- off not feeling well, Sat- Cycling 18mi, DVD #14, Sun- run 3.06mi, DVD#15, Mon- yoga, Tues- cycling 9.58mi, DVD #16, Wedns- off from training but did DVD #17, Thurs- short run on the beach in FL 1.6mi, DVD#18, Fri- day off from training but did DVD #19, Sat- Cycling 15.4 mi, Sun- run 3.06mi, DVD #20

Weight Tuesday Morning- 182.6lb (up assuming this is water weight from that time of the month~ we'll see next week?!)

Nutrition- Example: Breakfast- Apple w honey spices and granola- 247cals
Lunch- stir fry chicken w veggies and brown rice- 350cals
Dinner- lasagna home made with meat and veggies- 469cals
Snacks- cereal- 160 cals
Total: 1226 cals <- NEED to get this up!

Thoughts- Still low on the calories... counting seems to always do me in. So only 10 more DVD days left to get to 30. Hopefully the scale and the pictures show some progress. Starting to think what my next challenge may be....

Review: Marathon-Photo

For those of you that follow me on twitter you saw my tweet about this but here's the story. I ordered my 5x7 photo from the Army Ten Miler on 19 Oct. On 31 Oct I was told they shipped and it would be 2 weeks for the picture to arrive and in just under 2 weeks I received my picture. I promptly went out and bought a 5x7 frame for my new race photo got home and IT DOESN'T FIT! I spent 23 bucks on a picture that I can't frame?! In order to frame it at the size it is at 5x7.5 I would have to buy a custom frame.

Frustrated I turned to contact the company, . They don't even have a number or email I can contact them in the US! WHAT?! So I entered into their automated system my frustration.

======== COMMENTS/QUESTION =========
I am very disappointed with the service of this company. It took almost 3 weeks for me to receive my photo. The photo I received was supposed to be a 5x7 and when it arrived it will not fit in a 5x7 frame and is actually 5x7.5. I would like a refund given the fact that the photo is not what I ordered! I am so unhappy I will gladly send the image back (if you provide a shipping code- I will not be charged to send back a photo I am not happy with). I look forward to your response.

Thank you,

Julia

And this was the response I received:

Hi Julia,

To have our quality control check this photo and possibly offer a replacement or refund, we need you to post back this photo.
Please enclose a note of explanation - a print out of this email would be good - and post to:

Marathon-Photos.Com
Global-Pix.Com
PO Box 60
Hamilton 3240
New Zealand

You might try writing "Return to Sender" on the original packaging to post back to us - please check the address is clearly as above.

Or post to:
Chris Parry, Dean Lodge, 16 Frieth Road, Marlow, Bucks, SL7 2QT, England

* Also, in case of a refund, please give a Visa or Mastercard number ( WITHOUT the expiry date).

Kindest Regards, Sheryl

Sheryl Laurie
Customer Services
Global-Pix.Com
Marathon-Photos.Com

Which prompted me to return this message:

Sheryl,

You have to be kidding me? I have to pay to ship back a photo that you obviously printed wrong and now you want me to just send you my credit card information. You have to be joking send your credit card number to a foreign country with a package. This is rule one in protecting your identity. I am appauled that this is the way you treat customers and I have sent a detailed email to the Army Ten Miler support staff explaining my issues. I will not be returning the photo and I will not be sending my credit card information for a POSSIBLE refund. I will never be ordering a photo from your company again and plan to let all my friends know that are athletes too to keep an eye out for your company in future events.

Thank you. And best wishes in the future!

Julia

I am awaiting a response from them. I will keep you posted with any further developments. I have sent my issues to the race directors of the Army Ten Miler, also.

Just an FYI companies out there- you need to realize that customer service is bigger now than ever! In a second I can say don't use this company and my 800+ followers on twitter read it and one of them retweets it (@trirunner302) and you have your name disgraced to over 2000 people. Then add in the fact that @runteamsparkle put the comment in their newsletter and the reach goes exponentially. You just need to take the time to realize what you are saying and whether you want that out there in public because it is no longer I tell 2 friends I don't like you and it stops there. To be quite honest I didn't even realize how far my reach is but it is really worth while for companies to keep in mind especially with the economic times when people are worried about spending money and not having it be a worth while experience.

5k for Pre-K Race Report- #sparkle

Saturday 5 Nov was the second year I put my toe to the line of the 5k for Pre-K. This race is TINY! They allow no registration online the only pre-registration is to drop off at the church where the preschool is that they run the race for in Holliston, MA. So obviously registration day of is popular. It is a cheap race at only 20 bucks for registration. There is no race shirt just a simple number no chip. Kinda nice. And super local.

I grew up pretty close to the start line so my parents were up for racing too. Mom did it last year and won her age group. D raced last year and placed in his age group too but this year a duathlon rescheduling caused him to decide against a double race weekend. Dad decided to join us this year even though he was doing the same duathlon as D (his first) the next day.

Last year my time on the course was probably my slowest 5k. Mind you I was 2 months in to being able to run again post surgery and this course is no walk in the park. It is possibly one of the hilliest courses for a 5k I have ever done. It starts at the bottom of a hill and ends with a nasty climb. Since I knew the course was gonna be tough I just wanted to beat my time from last year and have fun with it.

Dad offered to help pace me to beat my time from last year. I wanted to be sure I had enough in the tank to make it up that last hill so I told him around 10s- knowing I could probably do better than that. And as for having fun- I raced my first race in my Team Sparkle skirt. I made a decision a couple weeks ago to buy my first skirt and join the team when I realized all I was going to be doing was running races for a few months. I am not a fan of running races. I always feel so slow so I wanted something to add a little fun to it. The #sparkle added a lot of fun. I got lots of compliments!

Dad and I ran the first mile in 9:24- not bad did I mention it starts UPHILL! The plan was to try to stay around a 9:30 now for the rest of the race. Mile 2- 9:41- well a bit off. The last mile of this course is the worst mostly up hill with a killer hill at the end managed a 9:49 pace. Worked out to a finishing time of 29:58 with a 9:36 pace. Crushing my previous course time by 3 minutes! Mom managed to stay right on Dad and I's heels so she finished 30 something also beating her time by 3 minutes from last year.

This race also has a lovely tradition that the parents of the preschool make baked goods for all the award winners. There is a table full of goodies that you get to take a WHOLE plate of cookies, brownies whatever after accepting your award. They also did a fun little raffle. The times weren't posted when they started awards we were all hoping Mom would repeat her AG win. WHICH SHE DID! GO MOM!

The 18-39 age group- I know HUGE age group- was called and I couldn't believe it when they said 3rd place- ME!? I was in total shock! I have never placed in a running race. I have never gotten a medal at a running race that wasn't the medal they gave everyone who crossed the finish line! I think my #sparkle may have helped. Coach told me it is all the hard work of the season paying off. I have to say I have worked hard and I am glad I could wear my skirt and have a little fun too!


Mom and I with our awards :)

Side note: the rest of the weekend I was support for D and Dad's duathlon. It was Dad's first and he went all in with a costume for the Halloween themed race. D ended up doing great with a new course PR and got 4th in his AG. SO PROUD! I think Dad has a new found respect for multi-sport events. Maybe we can shame him into actually training to do another next season! My friend Julia was there too- she rocked out a 2nd place OA female award- WTG Jules!

My 2011 Season- How to Learn from Your Season

I know I did my 10 things I learned this season but I read this article on Active this morning which got me thinkin I should try to answer these questions. So here goes
1. In hindsight, were your season goals clear and attainable?
Considering my big season goal was to finish a half iron and I did. I would say yes the were clear and attainable.

2. What were you most proud of this season?
Top would be finishing the half ironman with a close second of keeping the dedication to train for the half ironman. It took a lot of hard work and dedication to get to that finish line, not just on race day but for the months leading up to it.

3. What would you like to duplicate next year?
I am definitely going to stay with my coach, Balance Multisport. Sorry your stuck with me! I want to continue to take on new challenges like I did.

4. What frustrated or disappointed you the most this season?
I want to work on my run and cycling speed. I am starting to work on that now for the off-season with hill work and speed work.

5. What do you not want to happen again next year?
Nutrition issues! No more puking, swelling etc. I need to get this all figured out!

Here's where the questions get tough!

6. What did you learn by going through these experiences?
I really learned that it is going to take a lot to keep me from finishing a race! Not puking, not a flat tire, not even a incoming storm could keep me from crossing the finishline.

7. What decisions did you make that were empowering for you?
Deciding to change coaches to go with someone who was more similar to me really paid off. I am still working on nutrition in daily life and racing. I found I have a great support group around me now, with D being my biggest supporter!

8. What habits seemed to hold you back from achieving your potential?
My mental preparedness. I need to work on mentally being prepared for a race and going into it with a level of confidence. (I need to work on this for other parts of my life not just racing!) Along the same lines I need to learn not to rip apart my performances and see the accomplishment for what it is!

9. What decisions should you make in order to have your best triathlon year ahead?
Decide what races are A and stick to it, those are the bigger deal and the larger focus. This will help with the mental racing issues, I'd think. Every race can't be an A race some days are meant to build up to bigger things and I need to be sure to keep that in perspective. It will also help in appreciating the accomplishment of that A race or that not A race!

Army Ten Miler- Race Recap

After my much needed break in London I was home for a mere 3 days before heading to Washington, D.C. Now anyone who knows me knows I am in DC enough to potentially call it home if not my second home so flying there was no sweat. The plan was to fly down Friday afternoon get to the expo spend a bit of Saturday sight seeing then run Sunday. Well the best laid plans don't always work out. I have seen all the sights of DC MANY times but D in all his travels to DC hasn't seen any so I was planning on playing tour guide.

When we arrived Friday afternoon we were still fighting jet lag a bit from London. We decided not to rush to the expo and be rushed looking through it and just take the night easy. We went to what is quite possibly D's fav restaurant for dinner Chic-fil-a. It was nice to have a very low key night. We decided to get to the expo in the morning.

It was CRAZY packed. The line to get in almost reached the street. But like any good military operation things moved quickly and we had our numbers quicker than expected. While walking around and spending WAY too much money- like I always do at an expo we ran into a couple co-workers who were running. Always nice to see friendly faces.

We headed back to the hotel to relax and get off our feet. Now to be 100% honest- I didn't have much expectation for this race. I had heard it is very crowded and I honestly just wanted to take it all in- running around the mall and just being in the environment. Somewhere in my brain I came up with the idea of wanting to finish in about 2 hours seemed to make sense with my half marathon times. After a great dinner of risotto (a gluten free GEM pre race!) we picked up some breakfast options that we could do in a hotel room with no fridge and no microwave- cereal soy milk and some bars.

I laid out my race clothes after laboring over the capri, short, skirt decision- I went with capris and my new headband- "this is my race pace" and my new arm sleeves "if it wasn't for me you'd have no body to pass". The plan was to walk from the hotel to the Pentagon- I went with the follow the crowd method. It paid off and we got to the gates just as they were opening the start area. D was in wave one and I was in wave 3- slightly different paced runners huh?! D hung with me for a bit back with the slow folk and then headed up toward the start a little before 8.

As I was standing by myself waiting on my start time of 8:15 I made friends with the girl standing next to me. I know shocking huh?! We got to chatting and realized we both wanted to run about the same pace- hopes of a 1:45 with actual thoughts of being around 2 hours. She had never run a 10 mile distance before and honestly it was my first 10 miler but not my longest run so I figured this could be fun. We decided to stick together. To be honest it was great. Sometimes you worry about wanting to run a race with someone you don't really know (at all) but pacing was good a little bit but not too much conversation. We hit the 10k timing chip and I am fairly certain it was a 10k PR at 1:03- though the silly timing pad company had a different time.

On the loop back around the Air and Space museum I slapped hands and saw a co-worker. Let me just say that city isn't as flat as it looks. The long slow down hills killed my quads and the long slow up hills were crushing my calves. The 14th street bridge was a smasher! The sun was coming up and it was starting to get hot and that up hill climb was tough. Just as we hit the mi 9 marker we went by 2 Wounded Warriors both single leg amputee's. I turned to my new running buddy and said "okay that's all I needed to make it to the finish- I think this is tough on 2 legs I can't imagine how hard that is!"

With that we finished out the last mile- I was trying so hard not to puke before I crossed the finish. I crossed the finish at 1:44:50 by my watch- 1:45:50 officially. I can't believe I not only killed my thoughts of 2 hours but made it in the lower end of the time I thought. My new running buddy crossed a bit before me and was so excited to have finished her longest race. The finish line was congested and I quickly started to seize up and was desperate for water. When I could finally get some moving room and some air and water I felt like a million bucks. I had a good race.

D had a great race too when I found him around the Finisher Coins. He had a 10 miler PR by 3 min! I was happy to have a new found running buddy and to have finished in well under the time I expected. I will definitely do the Army 10 Miler again- hopefully next year. Next time I will write down a faster race time so I don't have to do so much weaving around people walking before we even hit mile marker 1. But great race awesome environment and if you want a race filled with motivators what is better than running by a ton of Wounded Warriors?

London- A much needed break!

About 2 weeks ago while driving to a meeting on travel I called my coach. I had a horrible feeling- did my half ironman steal my mojo? We had a great talk. I told her I had a AWFUL break down on reach the beach the weekend before. I was running my second leg at about 1 am it was a VERY hilly 9 miler. I was so mad about people passing me and how slow I felt. During my run in my head I composed the email to my coach saying I was quitting. No more swimming, no more biking, and definitely NO MORE RUNNING! Obviously after I finished I realized it was just the run talking. But given that I had just done my half ironman then a sprint triathlon then reach the beach I had reached my physical and mental breaking point. Coach told me that was completely normal experience for reach the beach, and after doing an half iron and my mojo would come back.

On Monday I left for a much needed vacation to London for 7 glorious days. A few months ago D and I found a great deal on tickets and our friends offered to host us at their lovely home. We got on the plane with little plans for what to do when we landed- other than the booked tickets to Buckingham palace and a 5k the other 5 days were whatever we felt like.

Both of us quickly realized when there isn't anything else to stress you out sleep is so grand! We both slept like rocks. It also helps that the guest bed was SOOOOOOO comfy! We did go see everything we planned to see: Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, Eye, saw a show- War Horse, Piccadilly Circus, shopped on Carnaby St., and went to the British Museum. In between all the walking all over London was the 5k.

London was in the middle of a week of indian summer- temps 80-85 everyday. The race was a lunchtime 5k. It was hot and my legs were dead from all the walking. My time was slow- but I ran a race in London.

Other than the walking around everyday and the 5k all the workout clothes I packed didn't get used. I actually took a break. Mostly because by the time I got out of bed each day it was so hot and humid. I had no bike to ride for my planned training and the one day we were going to swim we slept through the alarm. I have to say normally I would feel horrible about this but right now I am starting to think it was the much needed break I was looking for.

Work had me stressed to my max. I was physically and mentally done with training and now I can honestly say I am looking forward to my next workout. I think London was just the break I needed. Hopefully I will feel the same way when I am slugging through the Army Ten Miler on Sunday. EEEK! I think I will just go out to enjoy it!

10 Things I Learned from My 70.3 and This Season

I have learned a lot about my abilities as an athlete and a lot about myself this season. I had a great season! It finished far better than I could have imagined! My triathlon season is over with 1 half iron, 3 sprint triathlons, 1 olympic distance, and a couple OWS races but these are the top 10 things I have learned.

10- I LOVE the sport of triathlon- I have found my new athletic love. I enjoy the competition I enjoy the goals I enjoy the drive and I enjoy the finish! I also have found that I love how accessible the pros are in this sport. I met Cait Snow at Timberman and walked right by Chrissie Wellington setting up her transition. It is amazing how much they are just like other racers on race day and how much they appreciate age groupers.

9- Trying out your gear is key and knowing chafe spots! After spending more than one race nursing back some nasty cherries under my arms from chafe spots I now live by the train in your gear. You can't keep them from happening all the time but it sure helps- I also now put everstride under my biceps and anywhere else I tend to chafe.

8- Wet suit strippers are awesome! As I said in my Timberman Race Report they are the best. No more evident than my sprint this weekend where I wore my wetsuit but had to get myself out of it :( I missed my wet suit strippers.

7- SOCKS (and cut toe nails)!!! I learned my lesson at my first Olympic distance tri that it is worth the couple seconds to put on your socks for longer distance runs. I still have a scar on each ankle from the holes I wore into my feet. I also learned this past weekend the power of trimmed toenails. Even tho it was a short run and I didn't wear socks, I still ended up bloody thanks to a long toenail. PEDICURES are key!

6- I enjoy endurance racing. Honestly I am starting to think fast twitch muscles are just not my thing! I think I need to train more to learn the differences between going all out at a sprint and the speed and endurance for a half iron. But for now I just enjoy the longer stuff.

5- I need to work on my run speed. I am by no means a fast runner. My PR for a 5k is just under 28. I need to work on getting a faster turnover and then work on maintaining that for my runs. I plan to work this one in the off season!

4- I need to work on my bike speed. I am not a fast cyclist. The goal of this season was to make it so that I could do the distance of a half iron. I was no where near the time cut offs but I want to get faster. I am a fast swimmer- I come out of the water at the top of my age group without really having to work it. I want to work the other two parts of the race to bring them up to my swim.

3- I CAN DO IT! and I DID IT! I set my mind early this season for a goal that I didn't know if it was possible. I worked hard to train for it and I DID IT! I learned a hell of a lot about what I CAN DO! I am pretty determined and I will push myself to do it. And know this now DON'T TELL ME I CAN'T! That is what my road ID says and it is what has driven me through a lot of things in life!

2- Fuel/Food. I am apparently a freak of athletic nature. I can and enjoy working out with a full stomach. The only times I have ever had issues with racing nutrition wise- are when I didn't eat ENOUGH! I have never had a race where I said man I shouldn't have fueled that much. I thought that might happen at the half iron especially when my coach warned me about fueling with solid food but I NEED that heavy stomach feeling. I get sick without it! I guess I am just a freak in that way- sok apparently my Dad is the same way.

1- Weight/Body Image. Those of you that know me, know I am not a little girl. I am 5'10" and somewhere in the area of 170lbs. I know I do not look like the women on the cover of triathlete magazine. I also have come to realize that athletes come in many different shapes and sizes. My nutritionist actually made it akin to the dogs of the world they are all different sizes and shapes but they are all dogs. I have noticed that triathletes- mainly females- come in many different sizes even pros. Most are very well built bean poles but some are not. Even the great Macca says he can't race well when he is thin- he actually strikes a balance with his weight to get the best performance.

All that being said I know I may not look like what you think can finish a 70.3 but I know I DID IT and NO ONE can take that away from me! So I may not be a fitness model anytime soon but I think I am okay with that. I would rather have 70.3 Finisher on my resume!!

Cycling... New Equipment... Great Training Day

For those of you that have known me for a while you know that I did my first tri in 09- it was off road so I used my old mountain bike to train and borrowed D's to race. In April of last year I had my hip surgery so that made bike riding a big part of my recovery and potential come back to triathlon. I bought a bike (trek 2.1) soon after my surgery and tried my first ride when I was allowed bout 4 weeks post surgery. On my very first attempt to clip in I fell over onto my NEWLY repaired hip. I rode with flat pedals for the rest of the 2010 season.

With the new endeavors I was taking on this season in triathlon I had to give the clips another shot. My friend Julia bought some speed play pedals and when I saw how easy they were to use I had to get some. I swapped to the speed play light action . Love em and get in and out of em easily!


So my newest edition to making my training and racing better I added aero bars to my road bike! Last Thursday I had aero bars put on my bike. In order to do this I had a fitting, I just needed to be sure that the add of the aero bars wasn't going to totally screw me up. Glad I went. Ended up adding Profile Jammer bars to my current road bike. I just can't afford the purchase of a tri bike right now so I am making it work. At the fit we ended up leaving most of my geometry the same but taking out a spacer in the handlebars.

I took the bike out for the first spin on Sunday- 2hrs on the road. It felt so good. I had a great training ride. I rode almost 31 miles in the 2 hours. Which is about 2mph faster than I usually ride my training rides. Then hopped off the bike and ran 2 miles. It was one of those great training days that boosts you mentally. I needed one. I was starting to get to the point where I thought I wasn't going to make the time cut offs for Timberman. This ride and run made me realize I have come a long way and my training is paying off. It was really just a great training day! :)

Happily Training- Endurance Athlete?

I just wanted to let you know lately I have had a few revelations related to my training. The biggest one was last weekend- after slugging through 2 hours and 10 min on the bike on Saturday and a 2 hour run on Sunday. On Sunday after my 2 hours out on the road I walked up the stairs to my condo and I realized I was unphased by the 2 workouts. I mean don't get me wrong I was tired but I wasn't beaten and feeling like a wet noodle. Made me realize I've come a long way... The fact that these kind of miles and hours of training don't kick my @$$ really makes me realize I have taken huge strides at becoming a ENDURANCE ATHLETE!

After running a half marathon on 5 June and setting a PR by about 10 Min. (more to come on this in another post) I had a hard training week. I logged 87miles! I was on the road all week for work and somehow pulled off the most miles I have done yet!

This week started a new week of training- with a new coach. I did a running speed workout on Tuesday. Wednesday had a nice long swim and a speed bike workout. And yesterday was a long run- mid week! The fact that a 45 min speed workout on the bike wasn't a big deal and the run on Thursday night tho HOT and HUMID was 7 mi. really solidified my thoughts from last weekend... I am becoming an ENDURANCE ATHLETE!

**All of you out there: please remind me of this when I am hating my training and I am FREAKING out pre 70.3- btw- 65 days but who's counting!**

Reach The Beach- 2days. 10.5 well then 9 girls. 200 mi

This is going to be a hard one to sum up in a blog post. I spent a lot of time thinking about it but it still isn't going to do the relay justice! But here goes... My team mates @rtdanielle09 and @kissing_frogs have written their commentary- guess its my turn.

So- I wanted to do a reach the beach but J and I didn't want to be capt and try to pull together a team with the schedule we both had for work in May. The relay went out the window and I went on with training. Then a twitter friend @fiftyforbilly asked me to join her team. Well when I responded they had already found a replacement. Then sometime in late April I got another message from @fiftyforbilly asking me to join- this time I responded promptly and was added to the team.

I know my coach and I had discussed not adding anymore races to my schedule but this opportunity looked way too fun to let it pass! I signed up then told my coach. I wasn't really sure what legs or distances I would be doing but I was on team #dirtylittlefreaks and really looking forward to it.

A couple weeks before the race we needed another girl to join- of course I offered up @kissing_frogs. It worked perfectly that she could get the time off and wanted to run! I was excited that I would actually know at least one person going into this!

The week of the race I was out of town traveling for work like always. I didn't get to eat too much with being on my feet in an airfield so I had a hard time getting my runs for the week in. I got home and started to pack up. @kissing_frogs came over Thursday night- we went to the grocery store and tried to be sure I packed everything. And let me tell you I packed EVERYTHING! hahaha

Got up in the morning made my awesome French Toast- don't believe me ask D and @kissing_frogs?! We met up with @RTdanielle09 Sarah, Kelly,and Katie at Wachusett. We almost got tossed out of orientation- sorry I am not a morning person and the only way to get me through mornings when I am exhausted- LAUGHING!

Kelly had the first leg STRAIGHT up wachusett- better you than me! @kissing_frogs and @RTDanielle09 were next. Then my first leg:

Leg 1 STATS: 5.95mi, Moderate
Time- 1:06
Avg HR- 164
Cals- 1189

My leg ended with a uphill to the finish. It was a tough one. I wanted to be sure I would have enough gas to make it through the whole race so I wasn't going to kill myself in Leg 1. It was a humid and hilly but I got it done- slower than I had hoped but such is life.

After our van finished our legs we went to @RTDanielle09 friend's house since it was right near where we needed to start up again. Nice to wash some funk off- repack the car and just relax a bit.

Our next set of legs was going to take us into the night which meant the fun of running in vests, head lamps, and flashing lights. My second leg actually started at the Middle School I went to growing up. So my parents came down to say hi and brought us some chips and some more water. And I asked D to meet me at the end of my leg at the HS in the next town.

Leg 2 STATS: 5.23mi, moderate
Time: 54:37
Avg HR: 165
Cals: 893

It was tough in the dark to navigate and I had a really hard time feeling comfortable on the wrong side of the road in the middle of the night- pretty scary. Luckily the girls stayed close in the van. I was passed just as I finished by the team who ended up winning the whole thing- ya they avg like 6 min miles over the whole race!

The team was off for a few hours so we drove to get some rest. I slept in the van which was actually pretty comfy and I think I was just exhausted. We planned to get up get coffee and food then run our next set of legs. Well that didn't happen. We got the text at the last minute and got lost going to the transition. We got kelly out there and supported her run then got @kissing_frogs out there. I was up next and I was doing everything I could to get some food in my system. I ate a couple odwalla bars and had some water and had some other snacks we had in the car. But knowing me and knowing what I need to fuel to run I knew I needed more for my long leg being next. But what can you do? You eat what you can and make the best of it.

LEG 3 STATS: 8.34mi, HARD
time: 1:33
AVG HR: 155 (kinda low for a race)
Cals: 1296

Leg 3 is where the wheels fell off. I couldn't find a pace- Id look down one min and I was running 8:30s Id look down the next minute and I was running 14:30s? WHATS GOING ON?! I feel okay I just can't find a comfy pace. I brought 2 sets of Gu Chomps with me to help get me thru and the girls stopped a ton to support me. I threw up 2 times. At one point I had to walk b/c I thought it would come out both ends if I didn't! When I finished I hit the porta potty. Took @kissing_frogs with me b/c I thought I might pass out. She had to pull my compression shorts back up on me I was so swollen.

Before my 3rd leg started we had a team mate get sick. So I knew her long 8mi hard run was going to have to be taken my somebody. Everyone else in the van was already running 4 legs. After they saw how hard my 8mi was for me they decided to split it between them. I got in the van and told em I was not going to let them do that and not have me take part too. So we split it into 4 each taking about 2mi.

LEG 4 STATS:part of a 8mi, hard 1.85mi
Time: 19:38
Cals: 266
AVG HR: 151 (low considering pace- prob b/c I was beat)

All in all I totaled over 20 miles. Our team finished the 200mi in just under 32 hrs- avging a 9:30 pace. Not too shabby. I burned over 3600 cals! I have to say I had so much fun! I would do a relay like this again! I had a great group and wouldn't trade them for anyone! I am actually looking for another relay I can do with these girls :)

*this post took forever to write- i wasn't sure how to even write it but I think this covers the basics. I learned a lot from this race and had a blast*

Season Opener Recap- Nerves? Fueling?

I was really anxious and nervous getting ready for this race. I knew I could get through it but I wanted to do well. This is the start to a big season and I wanted to get it going on a good note. The fact that I had to wear a wet suit really messed with my head and I didn't like that they changed the start time a week before hand. Packet pickup was on Saturday and my plan was to pick up my packet and do a short ride/run brick at the race site- well thunder and lightning made that a NO GO! After picking up my packet went to the gym- did 25 min on the bike and 5 min on the treadmill. I spent a lot of time stretching. We went home and made dinner- corn pasta and ground turkey in the sauce and lots of veggies. Picked a movie and hung on the couch for a couple hours.

Race Day- I got up at 5:45- tummy growling.D made me some breakfast. I am a big eater before a race- 2 eggs, GF toast, and a bowl of cereal. I had a cup of coffee and lots of water. Finished packing up my race clothes and headed out at 6:45. We got pretty decent parking and got to the transition at around 7:15- got some premo spots!

I laid out my transition area and tried to stay calm with my ipod. Scoping out the field around me I settled into the idea that I wasn't going to be taking home any awards at this race. There were some serious triathletes around! I tried to sit as much as I could to get in the zone but my nerves and my stomach were not getting into the game. I got into my wet suit put on my cap and goggles and got ready for the pre race meeting.

8:30- pre race meeting- They went over how the swim would start and possible pit falls on bumps on the bike course. they talked about how pretty the run was too. That's all I remember.... We were the first wave of women so I moved toward the start.

9:00 Duathlon starts- is that I'm hungry or is that I'm nervous?

9:?? SWIM- we walk into freezing cold water. For the first time I was thankful I was in a wet suit. As I was treading water my arms got cold and I felt my feet get really cold- I got that omg I'm cold headache feeling. I decided my best plan of attack with the swim being a shore line swim was to get to the outside far from the shore. The extra 25/50 yds weren't going to kill me and would give me clean water to work with. The start was messy. There was lots of kicking and bumping. I did finally find some clean water. My stroke felt out of sink. Wet suits make my body float too much and screw with my catch. I had some trouble with sighting. I am not sure if it was the cold or the locations of the bouys but I had a bit of a tough time. My lips were so cold. I could feel my bicep tendon not liking the wet suit across it. I was getting close to the end and I started to feel the OMG I am STARVING! I came out of the water and saw my father. He told me I was in the middle of the pack. That bummed me out- that swim did go as bad as it felt. 9:11- slowest swim I have ever had at this distance

T1- not a bad transition with a wetsuit. Dropped everything grabbed my number water and more chomps. headed out on the bike.

Bike- well lets just say things didn't go so great on the bike. First set of bumps in the road and there were water bottles strewn all across the street and out bump my chomps. Well I am down to one pack. I keep drinking my pure sport and water and try to get chomps in me since I was hungry. The rolling course proved to be pretty challenging at times. It was really hard to tell who was in your age group who was a triathlete and who was a duathlete but I tried to pass folks and had a few women pass me. But at mile 5 I started to feel kinda gross- and there it was I threw up. Just as I look at the half way point sign my body decided we didn't like the way today was going. And from there I knew this was going to be a tough one. I muscled my way through the rest of the ride and came into T2.

T2- knowing the dismount was going to be a mess of folks trying to clip out unprepared I clipped both of my shoes out early- since it was a downhill coast. I yelled to D in t2 that I had puked on the bike and he said he knew something happen. Guess my time wasn't too great. Well no time to think now off for the run. I grabbed my water bottle to sip on for the run and took the blocks I had to hopefully refuel a little.

Run- The run started out up hill. Just what I needed after that bike. I sipped on the water and ate margarita cliff blocks. The salt and sugar were a friend at that point. I had to walk a bit up the hill to drink more water. I knew I needed fluids. And just then my friend passed me and said good job jules! It was a great boost! I just slugged through the run. It wasn't pretty. I had really hoped for the 3 mi I could be around a 9 min mile. I had a PR 5k avg 8:45s so a 9 wouldn't be that big of a stretch. Well every time I pushed myself- I felt like I was going to puke again. I got to the point that it was either this needs to be over and I need to finish or I need to puke again and feel better. Well it happen that I finished. It wasn't the race I had hoped but I crossed the finish line.

I am now on the search to try to figure out what went wrong. What is my new way of fueling? Am I not eating enough? Am I not drinking enough water? Did I just have a bad day? SO many variables but I am going to try my damn'd ist to figure it out- I better or that 70.3 is going to be really hard!

2011 Season Plans

So I decided to take the plunge this season and sign up for Timberman 70.3 on 21 Aug in New Hampshire. I know I have the swim in the bag. The bike is gonna take A LOT of work. My runs seem to be coming along nicely. I know this is not going to be an easy undertaking but I don't fool myself with any thoughts of a goal or even placing in this event! I just know this is a goal to finish race.

Since this will be my big race this year I will do mostly racing to prep for that- as opposed to my past 2 seasons of um I feel like racing this weekend race schedule. This is going to be different for me. I have a actual race schedule May 8th is the season opener sprint tri in hopkinton, june 5th worcester half marathon, june 25th 1 mi swim, july 10th mill city olympic distance, and then the big one Timberman!

It is going to be an exciting season. I am terrified about the bike and terrified to put it all together in one day. But I have plenty of time to train. This is going to hopefully be an exciting season ahead!

Reflection on my ONE year hip-versary

So April 9, 2010- a day that will live in infamy- well in my life anyway. It was the day I went under the knife to fix my hip. I had a torn labrum tendon and needed to have the top of my femur shaved (FAI old post) I thought I was never going to walk again much less run.

Surgery was a very scary thing for me- thanks to my friends and my family I got through. It was tough 4 months without running. But in November I got back to it.... RUNNING!

Since then I have finished a few 5ks, a few 10ks and a half marathon. I honestly couldn't believe it had been a year. My core isn't back exactly where it was pre surgery- with months of no ab work but I am getting there. And I have to say that even tho my run this weekend my legs felt heavy and tight. I just enjoyed the fact that I can still run!

I know a lot of people decide not to go with surgery but for me it was the only option. I wanted to keep running and I wanted to keep doing triathlons! I just didn't see any other option. I have to say a year later and I am so glad I did what I thought was right.

On saturday- my hip surgery anniversary- I recorded myself running and sent it to my coach. It was kinda sweet it worked out that way. I have some work to do with my left leg but funny thing is my surgically repaired hip and leg strike very well. I am going to try these new techniques in hopes it will help me avoid having to have the left one fixed- since heel striking is bad for your hips. I think my right hip had problems to start and if I was a heel striker I wasn't helping them along.

Well- I spent a lot of time this past weekend thinking about where I was a year ago. I looked at my old pictures of my scars and looked at how little they have gotten in a year. Its amazing how different things are now! And I like it!

iPod Security Blanket

I was always an iPod runner when I started a few years ago. I needed the iPod to get through every run. I had a zillion different play lists changing them almost monthly or maybe even weekly to get me through. But at some point in training for my half marathon I just stopped using music to get me through. Maybe it was because I was training with friends but at some point I didn't need the security blanket anymore.

So when it came time to hit the start line for the Hyannis Half Marathon I had this idea- hey why run with my iPod? I was going to be running with friends and the biggest weighing factor- for my trithlons iPods are out of the question. Might as well get used to running without it.

I have to say the half wasn't bad without it. And it makes me think I can race my tri's this season without it. I have to say I get geared up for my runs now and I look at the iPod and wonder if today I really want or need it. I mean don't get me wrong I am far from a technology free runner- I've got my Garmin and my heart rate monitor. But now I think about whether my brain could use the quiet time on the run to just enjoy the run. I know it isn't for everyone and I know some of my runs I welcome the distraction but I have to say it is nice to know I don't need the security blanket anymore!

Barefoot Running- Less is More

After my hip surgery I started looking into new shoes with my new stride. I saw a lot of articles talking about all the benefits of barefoot running or less cushion. With my hip injury- come to find out caused by my nice big femoral head- I had a swing to my right leg. Whenever I got fitted for shoes they wanted to give me lots of stability to help "the kick". Since I also read articles that all the cushion in our shoes could be to blame for my problems with calves and possibly even my hips- I decided to try less is more theory.

I started with a pair of nike frees. The minimal cushion shoe from nike was perfect as I started running again I could break my feet and legs into the world of barefoot running. The frees worked well for my shorter distance runs but as soon as I was comfortable up around 6 miles I knew I needed some more cushion to help with my training.

I went back to the running store I always go to- Marathon Sports. Told them I was liking the frees but wanted a bit more cushion for longer runs. I was fitted into some mizzunos. The shoes were super light and didn't have too much in the world of stability but seemed to work out fantastic for long runs. I still wore the nike free for the shorter mid week runs.

Slowly my stride has seemed to completely get rid of "my kick"- it comes back when my hips are out of alignment. For the last couple years I have had calf problems- my chiropractor thought it was blood flow problems- after many graston technique sessions and a lot of active release it would go away for a few miles then come back. Compression sleeves would help with recovery but I would still get pain when I was running. As my legs got used to my less cushion and less stability shoes my calf pain just melted away. I can now run 10 or 11 miles with no calf pain at all.

As I started to realize maybe this barefoot craze was for me. I looked into my first pair of Vibram Five Fingers. Following my surgery I had not been able to run on a treadmill without pain but I thought these might be the way to fix it. I hopped on a treadmill at the running store to test them out and had no pain and shockingly D commented "no kick". I am slowly trying to work the Vibram's into my training. I am not able to do long distance in them yet but I can't wait for warmer weather when I can actually train in them!

I think barefoot running isn't for everyone but following my surgery it seems to be exactly what I need. Less is more for me!