I have never been more excited…

Stuart and I at the top of the first climb.

2013 was a busy year.  A lot of really good things happened for me although it was not a big year for me running/triathlon wise.  I was supposed to run Boston in April of 2013.  But is was apparent by January that my body wasn’t ready for Marathon training so I stopped training and decided not to go.  What a blessing that was…

I did a couple Olympic distance triathlons. I did a big bike ride in Big Bear.  And I did a big swim in Oceanside.

This year had a lot of personal “events”.

I bought a house with my boyfriend.  We merged our two families (4 boys, 11 and under).  We adopted a dog.  We got engaged.  We made each other smile and feel loved everyday!

So now we are getting ready for 2014.  We are laying out our plans.  Race plans.  Wedding plans.  Vacation plans.  Money plans.  The WHOLE plan.

I have never been more excited!

Wildwood 10K 2013 Trail Run Race Report

That pretty much sums it up.  And up was where we ran!  We got a new local 10K here in town on a local trail I have run many times.  We signed up and though this should be fun.  I was excited for my first run as  Vanderkitten VIP!  Had my new snazzy hat and couldn’t wait to run!

It was fun but OMG it was hard!  Everything was great for the first 2 miles; nice and fun and easy.  We even ran by a volunteer keeping us away from the baby rattlesnake!  Weather was perfect.  A little breezy and warm but really really nice.

And then the climb started… Up to Lizard Rock.  I had never run it that way before; I guess I had always run down it.  WOW!  I was walking and had a HR of 192!  It was really challenging.

Once we got to the top we got a nice quick downhill followed by some tricky technical rocky miles. We went back down to almost the very bottom again just so we could climb up one more time!  That was when they snapped a picture and I actually managed a smile!

Overall it was a really hard run but I had a blast.  It was great to do something local with all the local runners we know. Can’t wait to run it again next year! But I think I might practice that climb a few more times!

Garmin data can be seen here.

The Sufferfest ISLAGIATT Review

 

Nobody really wants to ride on the trainer.  We all want to ride outside.  But sometimes you have no choice.  And sometimes not only do you need to ride on a trainer, you also need to do a long(er) ride on it.  Enter in ISLAGIATT (It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time).  This workout is long and hard (TWSS).  But it really makes the time fly by.

The premise of the workout is you are competing in a race for the most aggressive rider award.  The footage is from the 2013 Giro d’Italia, you know the one where it was snowing?!?! In 2 hours you are taken on 4 climbs and one run into the finish.  One thing that is different is that instead of having rest periods after you climb you have descents. So even though the period is less intense it is still very structured so you never really get a break. Can you say “Extra Suffering for Free”?

The footage is amazing! You have never seen a race like this and once again you feel like you are right in the mix.  They have created a great story and excellent characters that you are racing against.  It really helps the time go by.  They are long intervals as you climb but the action is non-stop and you want to win so you never let up.

The music is pretty good.  I have a preference for music with words (helps me focus) and this Sufferfest has a fair amount of music like that.  There are a few techno/trance songs that don’t have words but that isn’t the overall feel.  I find myself drawn to some Sufferfest because of the soundtrack.  It is something that helps motivate me on the trainer. This one works for me.

Now, 2 hours on a trainer can be brutal.  But they got the mix right in this workout.  You change your cadence, RPE, and position enough that you don’t get bored or uncomfortable.  The only discomfort come from climbing a volcano (you will see what I mean).

Once again, this ride is a hit.  Well worth the $14.99 and well worth your time. Below are the graphs from my ride and here is a link to my Garmin data.  #HailSufferlandria

The reasons I have been quiet…

I  have been pretty quiet on the blogging front lately for a couple of reasons.  First I haven’t had any huge races lately so that tends to keep me quiet because there isn’t much going on training wise.  Well, now that I have signed up for Ironman Arizona expect that to change.  I have a lot of training and several big races leading up to my A-Race in November 2014. Get ready for some graphs and training summaries!!! Second, we have a new addition to our big complicated family.  Some of you may know I have a blended family with my partner in all things, Quadrathon.  We have 4 young boys between us so life was busy already, but…. we had a girl! Girl dog that is!  She was rescued from a great rescue out of Apple Valley California.  She is a coon hound mix, we named her Cali (for California), and we couldn’t be more head over heals for her! She even has her own Twitter and Instagram (@adognamedcali)!

And the last thing (but most exciting) is Quadrathon and I got engaged!  I couldn’t be more excited! He is my soul mate and I am so excited to be with him now and forever!