Why My Massage Therapist is the Best There Is!

My massage therapist's name is Sara:





Let's get something straight--she's the best, and I am REALLY REALLY lucky. Here's my top ten reasons.

10. She can fix my hips. I mean, really fix them. It is amazing how much better I feel when I see her.

9. She leaves 7:30 on Thursdays open for me. That is SO cool.

8. She saves the best sheets for me. The cute ones!! So when I am in pain, I get to look at the adorable pinks and purples as I cry ;-)

7. I get to control the music when she works on me. That can work against me though, if I pick something she wants to dance to while working on my IT band...or abductors.



6. She has worked on me after a race, on a porch, overlooking the ocean.

5. After my Ironman, she worked on my back, and unstuck all of my muscles from my ribs, and I could BREATHE again. It was really incredible. And after every massage, my entire body adjusts itself, which is SO cool :-)

4. She comes with me to every race she can to cheer and to make sure I am straightened up after wards! She will be at the goofy challenge AND even more importantly IM St. George!!!

3. She has taken me to see Dave Matthews.....TWICE! (Including last night!!!!!)

2. She believes in me as an athlete. I mean truly believes in me, and is willing to go above and beyond anything she has to do to help me reach my goals.


1. She is my friend. How lucky am I?

Motivation

Motivation--sometimes it wears thin. All day long Monday, everything on me hurt and I just wanted to sleep and sleep and sleep. So, I got home from school, and went to sleep for an hour. I am not a napper at all, so when I woke up, I just wanted to go back to sleep. I mean, seriously, I felt awful mentally and physically.

Of course, it was only saturday that I was telling TyTy, "it doesn't matter if you WANT to run, or if you feel GOOD running, it matters that you run." Great advice Kacie. Came back to haunt me 48 hours later, when I didn't want to do any of it.

But then, there is this guy in my head:


So, of course, I went to the pool. Swam a miserably and embarrassingly slow 2500 that I was mortified to put into my training peaks for my coach to see. Yeah, it was that bad. But I did.

Then, I went to bed , and got up super early to get my run in from 5:30-6:30. Yuck. On a treadmill because it was raining. Double yuck. And my headphone buzzed loudly in my ears. Triple yuck. Cant think of anything else to get to a quad yuck, but I feel like I earned it.

Why so yuck? Because I don't feel like it. I love all of the support I have from my friends and family, but sometimes I just don't feel like it, and I mean I REALLY don't feel like it.

But if I have learned anything from achieving so many goals that I once thought impossible for me, it is that you DO have to suck it up buttercup. There really are not many excuses that get you out of a workout--at least not if you really want to reach that goal. And, well, I have a lot of goals that I want to reach. And they keep getting bigger--which means that the dedication is even more important than my motivation.

Quick review to myself of WHY I must stay dedicated:

Next Thursday, this will be a race effort:


Three weeks from Saturday is my longest run EVER:

Less than two months until the Goofy:



And Ironman St. George is in 5.5 Months:


My amazing friend TyTy told me this weekend that she believed I can do anything I put my mind to. I must agree. I have to agree. I wouldn't do this stuff if I didn't believe in myself. BUT--it doesn't mean I want to do every workout or I don't get tired or overwhelmed by it all. I do. It is hard. But anything in life has its ups and downs. Anything worth doing anyway.

Great Weekend, and Very Tired Legs!

So this weekend has been---epic---to take a cycling word!

First, it started with a spaghetti dinner, sparkles, george

and a trail race. That's about as good as things get! Then, brunch with TyTy, and shopping at West Stride. Early to bed, back out and on the bike up north with Laura and Friends, and now home, and very very tired!

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First, the trail race--

So, we got up early, ate some bagels, listened to some music, and drove down to Serenbe, which is a beautiful development south of Atlanta. Here's the crew that came from my house! George, me, and then Sparkles (who is rocking the visor from her first half!--love it!)

My sweet husband and me before his first running race in 2.5 years. His words to me were, "I either need to break an hour or win to be happy at this race." No pressure. None.

And the wonderful and incredible Sparkles, who is up from Athens to run her first trail race. An ambitious undertaking.

At the start, they asked people to raise their hands if they have run this race all three years they have had it. I raised my hand and cheered. Then some guys lined up a the start who heard me asked me some questions about the course, and I said I had no idea, and I couldn't remember anything......oh, and I told George and Sparkles it wasn't very hilly.

So, lets get something straight. I don't remember THAT much about races, or locations, or well, anything geographical is general.

Moral of the story, it was a tough, hilly course! In 2008, I ran with my awesome friend Katie in 1:50. In 2009, I ran with my snappy up the hills friend Cate in 1:33. So, in 2010, I had to improve a ton again, right? No pressure. None

And, we're off. Tough and Hilly it was, and I had clearly forgotten...

At the front of the race, George (who I am clearly a bad influence on), took the lead group off course, and spent a couple of minutes trying to find the course. To his credit, it was not well marked there. When he realized he wasn't going to make it under 1 hour, he realized he had to win. I wish I could do that! 1:01:50 including a detour.

I put way way more into the race than I was really all that trained for, and finished in 1:19:45! 8:33 pace on trails! Yes!!

My friend Chris that I work with came in right behind me at around 1:20. We decided we had to make it an "epic battle" story to tell the kids monday. Here is the battle in pictures.

And that, kids, is exactly how it happened.

Ok, maybe I just saw Chris before the race, one time on the trail, and after the race, but that TOTALLY makes a better story!!!

Sparkles came in, and I got to cheer for her!!! Yippie!!! First trail race, and I am SO impressed with her, considering she started running in the spring! I don't really know her time, but it was for SURE way faster than my first time out there!

My coach, and his wife Nancy came out and raced too, and it was awesome to have them out there and to cheer them off at the finish!

Isn't george's medal in that picture great? It was made by a local blacksmith!

He also won a $50 gift certificate to phidipides, which he handed to me and told me to get some new running shoes before the build to the 50K!!!

AND, we won a great duffel bag, which he is using for his new swim gear!

AND, we won one of these, which he also handed to me to train with on the trails. YES! I love it when george wins, and I am also INSANELY proud of him, which is a great feeling as his wife!!

Here we are in our great shirts together after some flying biscuit breakfast.

The rest of the weekend update will have to wait. Apparently, I have to go buy food now with george!

Race Across the Sky

So, last night, George and I went to go see race across the sky (the encore).

Last, year, it was JAMMED at the theater, and this year, it was much much smaller.

Last year, when I left, all I could think was, "I gotta get a mountain bike."

This year, when I left, I though, "that's really cool for those people. It's like their Ironman."

Now George thinks it is because I have changed, and not really the movie--which is amazing when you think about it. Last year, the idea of a challenge like this was almost beyond me, and this year, I could relate, or at least in my own kind of way.

Of course, last year, I ate candy in this theater, and this year I had a protein shake too :-)



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So, this weekend I had a truly killer run at Kennesaw Mountain with my friend Laura.
I picked her up, and she intentionally locked herself out. On the way down the road, she realized that her "gluten free butterscotch chocolate chip bars" were still in the oven, and no one was home. Clearly, as I was watching her try to break into her house, I knew we were destined to be friends. By the way, her mom saved them, and I had one as a "recovery bar" after the run.

So, Laura's garmin said my 17 mile route was really 16 miles. Stupid satellites. Oh well, we had a blast and got a good, hard, hilly run in!

I rode in the cold on sunday, and by sunday night, my quads hurt to the touch!!!! Feeling better now though!

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This weekend is one of my favorite races of the year! I love love love it! Should be a great day racing with George and Sparkles. I am hoping my legs feel good and recovered enough to have a little speed in the on Saturday. Would like to improve my previous times, of course. Afterwards, the three of us are meeting Ty Ty for......flying biscuit and west stride. It's going to be a GREAT Saturday!

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I have an exciting interview for a team coming up, and I am really seriously crossing my fingers. I think I would fit right in, but I guess, I'll see what they think! If it turns out well, I promise I will tell more about it.

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I am right on track with nutrition. My 50K is four weeks from Sunday, which is seriously terrifying......

Spectator Training

I found this plan on:

http://rwdaily.runnersworld.com/2010/11/a-training-plan-for-spectators.html

I love love love it :-) I have been really lucky and had some incredibly well trained spectators in the past!

Week 1: Base building. Especially if you're starting from zero — i.e. you haven't done any real spectating since, say, your college years — it's important to start out slow.

MON: 15 minutes standing around
TUE: 5 mins standing around; 5 mins clapping; 5 mins standing around
WED: rest
THU: posterboard sign drills — lift and lower a handmade sign 50 times; warm up and cool down with 5 mins easy cheering
FRI: rest
SAT: 15 mins standing around
SUN: 30 mins spectating fartlek — freestyle blend of standing around, cheering, clapping, and/or raising arms, as you feel

Week 2: This week we'll add some "quality" workouts to the mix.

MON: 20 mins standing around; optional: sip coffee for duration
TUE: rest
WED: cowbell repeats — ring a cowbell for 90 seconds, recover with 30 seconds easy "woo-hoo-ing" repeat 8 times ; warm up and cool down with 5 mins easy cheering
THU: 20 mins standing around
FRI: street-crossing sprints — stand around for 5 mins on sidewalk; wait for break in traffic; sprint across to opposite sidewalk; repeat 10 times
SAT: rest
SUN: 45 mins standing around with sign

Week 3: Time spent cheering and standing around will peak this week.

MON: rest
TUE: 30 mins standing around with sign, plus intervals of screaming (e.g., "Go!", "Looking good!", "Woo hoo!"), 10 x 30 seconds
WED: 12 cowbell repeats (see Week 2)
THU: rest
FRI: 40 mins standing around with sign
SAT: 15 mins easy cheering
SUN: 60 mins standing around, interspersed with cheering and sign holding

Week 4: It's taper time. This week you'll drastically cut the quantity of your cheering and standing around, while maintaining quality. Remember to get lots of rest, and drink plenty of fluids. The day before your event, sip hot water with lemon and honey to really prepare those vocal cords.

MON: 15 mins easy standing around
TUE: street-crossing sprints (see Week 2)
WED: rest
THU: 20 mins standing around
FRI: rest
SAT: 10 mins very easy standing around
SUN: Race day — stand up and cheer!

Disney is Growing!!

Time for a Disney update!
Holy cow! The crew to Disney is getting bigger, AND George is going to run the half marathon!!! I am so so so excited about that! We are doing a few races together this year, and I am thrilled



Here is the current Disney Crew, who they are, and their distance of choice for the weekend!

Me: Goofy (half Saturday, full Sunday)
George: Hubby: Half

Sparkles: Long time friend/wonder woman: Full
Chris: Sparkle's Boyfriend: Full

Mia: Long time friend: Cheerleader Extraordinaire
Ryan: Mia's Hubby: Full

Kelly: Rock star Climbing Partner: Full

Sara: Massage Therapist: 5K plus massage all weekend

Kendra: Sara's Friend: 5K and possibly looking for the party at Disney (says Sara!)

Erin (TyTy): Long Time friend: Half
Dave (?): Cheerleader

Jason: Ryan's Brother: Full
Kristi: Jason's Fiance: Cheer Squad

Zach: Ryan/Jason's partner in crime: Full
Brooke: Zach's Wife: Cheer Squad

Erica: Chris' Friend: Full
Charlie: Chris' Friend: Full

So the crew is kind of HUGE, and I am so excited! Anyone else want to join??? It is going to be a BLAST, and the races are close to filling!


Saturday night, Sparkles and her mom are going to be cooking a huge spaghetti dinner for the crew! That is going to be GREAT fun!





Food, continued--first off, I am kind of rocking the nutrition plan. Three frog sticker AND three monkey stickers already. I doing great (for me), and not surprisingly, and having a very good training week! Those two things are so very closely linked for me. Train hard, eat right, sleep lots, go fast!

Silver Comet Half Marathon

This weekend, my mom and I ran her first half marathon!

We had SUCH a good time. It was a beautiful and flat course, and we just talked and ran and talked and ran the whole time. It was GREAT!

Not only that, but my mom is fast! We finished in around 2:10-2:11 (they still haven't posted the results). Not only that, but we stopped so she could use the bathroom 3 times (we knew that going in), and we waited in line. Which means, my mom is actually closer to a 2 hour half, because, well because my mom is AWESOME!

When we finished, she said, "well that went by fast!" Love her!!!!

(on a side and obnoxious note, they didn't have water at the end of the race! What's up with that! Great day, awesome volunteers, but nothing to drink at the end!!!)

Then, we went to J.Christopher's (very thirsty, I might add)

And we had a SUPER yummy brunch. I love brunch after a half. You have run long enough to be hungry, but not so long that your stomach rejects food!

It was a wonderful experience, and Mom is ready to take on the next challenge. I am putting it out there in the universe that Mom seriously wants to do a full next year :-) Like I said, my mom is AWESOME.

I will try to post a picture of the medal later on when I have our camera. It's cute!