Two More Races added for 2009

Today I signed up for the Buffalo, NY YMCA Turkey Trot. And to be honest, I would drag myself across the line just so I can wear the T-shirt. Turkey Trots have been the rock to my late fall training session. I've ran one about every year since I was 9. I've won overall titles and giant turkeys but really is just a great day to go out and run! This year I am following my husband to visit his mother's family in Buffalo and boy was I excited to hear about this race!!
Established in 1896, this race will mark its 114th start on Thanksgiving morning, making it the oldest continually running footrace in North America (even older than the Boston Marathon)!
I've even convinced some other family members to register - and most of them didn't even know this race existed.

Second I've been apart of a two-day email thread that started with one team of three to four teams!! I'll be running the Huff 50k Trail Race as part of a women relay team. We're starting to think that the number for women's relay teams is going to beat out the number of men's teams - Go Team IE!

The Weekend Warrior

Hubby and I have been some serious Weekend Warriors for the past two weeks going to 3 football games in 3 different states. First was homecoming weekend at IU. My baby sis is a freshman and hubby's fraternity was having a together so there was plenty of grilled food, snacks with dip, and cheap beer to go around. Then this past weekend we drove over 800 miles to go Hubby's high school homecoming for an awesome MJ Thriller themed halftime show (choreographed by his sis) in Michigan then head down to Cincy for the Bears and Bengals game. Yes it was a looonnnnggggg weekend.

When being a Weekend Warrior anything goes - food wise. And after this weekend I am in dire need of a detox! I tried to be good and pack a cooler of deli meat, cheese, whole grain bread, apples, pears, and TLC crackers. This all lasted for one meal. My go to road trip foods are McDonanld's crispy chicken snack wraps (no sauce), bottled green tea, and original chex mix but hubby and I crossed the line and got Bear Claws and Twinkies (man i love those!). I really need to stay in the car when we stop for gas - I'm a sucker for convenience marts!

Workout Goals this Week
*Swim at least once
*Try out the Barre bootcamp at the gym (supposed to be like a ballet boot camp, I'm hoping it does ballet exercises that open the hips)
*Don't fall as much and try to catch the ball at least one time in football
*Run 4 times this week
*Get in a long run over 7 miles

I'm Back - Chicago Marathon Race Review

I'M BACK .....WHOOO HOOOO - START THE PARADE. I'm am coming back to my blog.

Two weeks ago I completed my second marathon in 6 weeks. Luckily I had miss LB to pull me along. I was extremely skeptical before the marathon, was I really ready, had I recovered enough since the Ironman to run another marathon and not further harm myself?? After a two week training hiatus/IM recovery I did very minimal training. I slowly ramped it up to a 16 mile run then spent two weeks tapering back down - was this even possible?? The week prior I felt winded running 4 miles and as much as I told myself 'take it easy at the start and you can do this' I had serious doubts. Still LB was there telling me I can do this. Is it bad before a race to plan a bail out point? I checked the race map, compared it with the CTA map, and decided that between miles 16 and 18 I can take the red or blue line to the finish line. So Yes, I ran with my CTA card just setting myself up to DNF.

Well just so you know I did not DNF. I finished the Chicago marathon in 4:07:00. This was the first time I actually RAN a marathon. My last two attempts (2004 Chicago) and (2009 IM Louisville) there was a TON of walking involved. LB was not allowing much walking, maybe a little here and there to get through the aid stations but besides that tiny bit of rest it was run, run, run.

I ran on behalf of Girls on the Run, Chicago chapter raising almost $600.


Now that it is officially my off-season (BTW there is no off season in running) I'm going to change the focus on my blog. I did an Ironman, I ran a marathon, and while training for those events I've gone through a number of changes and have created a list of things I want to focus on. These include to continue with my goal of healthy eating, increase my yoga practice, and start weight training (mostly to combat my hamstring/hip issue).

My very fitting horoscope

The time for thinking about exercise and diet is over; now you must put your good intentions to work or you could start to lose momentum. Mercury's direct turn in your 6th House of Self-Improvement is the natural time to step up your workout routine. Don't get discouraged if the first week or so is challenging. Just keep doing the best you can until you are over the hump of your resistance.

I could have used this a few weeks ago. The marathon is only 2 weeks away - so all the stars and moons out there - thanks!

Good Ol' Quote from BK

Mike sent me this today

“Everyone has got the will to win, its only those with the will to prepare that do win”

- Bobby Knight.

Race Blog Added

Ok, I've been pondering this decision for a while but I have decided to create a separate blog to track race week and the actual Ironman. In coordination with my Girls on the Run fund raising event I am also including information about my Ironman journey. This includes a link to the new blog, how to track me during Ironman, and date/time of the fund raising event.

I do not advertise this blog to many friends - there are a select few and hubby, those people are also triathletes who "understand". I know there are a number of friends out there who I would find to be judgmental against the blog, mostly because they just don't get it.

So for the next few weeks please go to IronKelli to follow me through Ironman Louisville.

10 Days til Ironman

In the past month I hammered in the hardest two weeks ever with logging over 22+ hours and over 250 miles of S/B/R each week. Now I'm half way through a 3 week taper with only 10 days to go and I'm at the cusp of FREAKING OUT! I recently re-read a friend's IM race report from last year and this weekend I plan to watch my DVR'd copy of IM Kona for some more motivation. Its not that I'm struggling for motivation its that I just need to focus and get in the right mind set. Pre race I may seem calm on the outside, just roaming around with headphones on but on the inside its a different world. I stay quiet more in fear if I was to express any emotion I may just loose it all.

Ironman taper time is a strange thing. You go through months of living out of laundry baskets of workout clothes then all of a sudden everything is folded in drawers. Two-a-day works out, 4am wake-ups, 3000+ calories per day to one-a-day short bricks, 6am wake-up, smoothies, salads, and lean meats.

Here I am with another off-day catching up on everything else. This weekend I plan to pack and organize all my lists. Since Ironman camp in June I've begun lists split out in to separate categories (bags). There is Weekly Food, Travel, Transition, Hubby's O-Crap, Swim, Bike Transition, Run Transition, Bike Special Needs, and Run Special Needs bags. Believe me when I say all this is necessary, well I hope it is.