No pain, no gain.

Always Running - Women's Open team

Mt. Si Relay Run

After the races.

No big deal.

No pain, no gain. Such truth in that statement. I took off for my ride early last Saturday morning. I was going to follow the path of the Always Running group ride to Fall City. I was hoping my ride that day would be at least by 60 miles, but ideally more.

It was 36 degrees when I left my house, with a windchill of 31. Add more wind to that (I usually ride between 15 and 22 mph) to create my very, VERY frozen and throbbing fingers. Let's just say the pain was bad enough to force me to stop at Starbucks only 8 miles in. I thawed out my digits and enjoyed a hot cocoa and scone. An hour later I took off again, as the temp had risen to a lovely 38 degrees.


From there on, the ride was great! I rode and rode... and rode... almost all the way to Snoqualmie Falls, where I was to turn around so Rob could catch me sooner than later. It was a great ride on the Sammamish River Trail and then through Fall City and back. 88 miles later I was back at Greenlake. And dreading the run to come. Deep down I wanted to keep riding and go 112 miles... because why not? But I knew I had a hard Sunday run ahead of me, so I stopped myself and biked into the drive of my house.


I threw on my running shoes, ate a banana and chocolate gu (yep, that's right!) and hit the lake running. My legs were JELLO. That's a tough transition. Finally by mile 3, my legs were feelinng quasi-normal. By the time they felt normal, my run was over.


So all in all a really great workout. The perfect boost of confidence I needed right now in my training.


And then the pain came. Again. Not frozen fingers but frozen legs. My loving fiance graciously escorted me to Greenlake where we icebathed our muscles. For ten whole minutes. Ten looooong minutes. The cold water helps to decrease inflammation in the muscles and speeds recory. Again there we have it. No pain, no gain.


But do not fear, there is still more to come! Sunday morning I woke up at 4:15.... PAIN! ;) I ran with the women's team of Always Running in the Mt. Si Relay in the Snoqualmie Valley. And lucky me... Tony so kindly assigned me to legs 5 (6.5 miles of uphill) and leg 10 (anchor). So good to me!

Turns out it was a really fun day. I had fun meeting new people and oddly enjoyed pushing myself up a big hill and then again to the finish line. My temporary pain in my extremely fatigued quads was TOTALLY worth it when I was presented with that beautiful 3rd place ribbon. Looks just like the ribbons from St. John's Track and Field days :) I mean, what a prize!

And topping off the great weekend was a delish dinner with Rob. It included veggies, fresh fish, and toasted sourdough bread. YUM. And then I hit the bed hard!

And now I've finished my post-work powerbar. Time for Greenlake...

T minus 80 days!

Jambo (the way Ugandans say hello)! I'll start off with a couple of pics. I figure I must put in a picture of the most epic run of my life! At the end of a 10 mile run at Discovery Park on March 13th, Rob dropped a knee! And my mouth dropped. And we are getting married!!!!

BUT most workouts aren't that exciting. And probably will never be ;) Usually they are about like this. Me on a trainer at L.A. Fitness going for miles but moving nowhere... well at least moving to the beat of some Michael Jackson or featured artist of a spin class.

Now time to write. Hello my long lost blog. Turns out when you are training for an Ironman, planning a wedding and busy being a resident... you don't have much time to do things like blog. But here I am :)

Well, the good news is I haven't been pantsed again! Praise the Lord! Bad news is that I got really sick last week and only worked out 3 times in the whole week :( BUT more good news... I'm better and back on track!

Here are my most recent tallies as of last Sunday, April 4th.

6 months of training has lead me to:

88 miles of swimming
2, 121 miles of biking
464 miles of running

I guess it seems like a decent amount of mileage put in so far... but the thought of waking up in less than three months to do an Ironman still is quite an incomprehensible thought. My feelings & thoughts about this whole thing currently are a nice little combination of fear and excitement. Luckily, I tend to be more excited than afraid. Yet in all reality, I have those moments where my stomach turns into a huge knot when I think about the task at hand. Moments of fear take over my whole body when I'm on a bike with a huge stomach cramp and thinking... 112 miles... and THEN a marathon. It seems impossible.

But thanks be to God, it's not. What reminds me that I can and WILL be an Ironman is knowing God has me in His work for a reason. He reminds me of why I'm doing this: His people in Uganda. Friends in Uganda who will have clean water. I mean CLEAN water that is CLOSE to their homes! Water that will not take life away but give life and hope.

And... people in Uganda, in far away villages, will be provided sustainable means and education that will empower them to live longer and healthier lives. I've experienced and seen the fruits of the work of UVP, so recognizing that and hoping in what's to come... is powerful. Powerful enough to get me to train like a madwoman. Powerful enough to take away my fears.

So, that's me as of today! I'm ready for a weekend ahead of a loooong bike ride in the sun and some running in a Mt. Si Relay with the Always Running crew. Should be good times!

And if you haven't checked out the Racing for Relief website, you should! Spread the word about Uganda Village Project and to those who you think may be interested. I only have 3 more months to promote His work and the amazing work of Uganda Village Project!

http://ugandavillageproject.org/racing-for-relief

OH and one more thing I would like to annouce to the world, to God and His people. I am giving up drinking diet coke. WOW. That is the heart of an Ironman. No more cool, crisp, rejuvinating diet cokes at 3:00 in the afternoon when I'm getting that wave of tiredness. Instead I will have water. I decided I need to be more hydrated for my workouts -- they are getting long and intense. And water is free and we have it available :) And it will better prepare my body for race day! Ok, I said it. Now you can all hold me accountable!