Gumby

I have found that the past few weeks, I have had more time on my hands. I am not sure where it all goes because I have still felt rather 'busy' (what? instant messaging with my mom? noooo.....) but I have been using the month of January to do some Bikram Yoga classes. I started these back in Colorado Springs, maybe...oh....5 years ago. I did them for maybe 3 weeks. I HATED THEM with a passion. They were so tough, I mean why would you purposely go into a room of 110+ degrees for 1.5 hours and do all of these extended strength-type poses? With a bunch of other sweaty people, nonetheless? Well, I picked them back up last winter (Dec '06) after we moved to Austin because a local place had $29/1 month unltd. I have to say, something changed in my 5 year lay-off. While I cannot say that I 'love' it, I can embrace it knowing that it serves my body well. If you have not tried it, I do recommend trying a few classes. Some things to be aware of, however, before you dive in.

1) Do not try to do these classes in the midst of a really heavy triathlon training schedule. One sport, you can handle it...and work them in selectively with regards to your training days...but if your legs are enduring cycling, running and (overall body) swimming fatigue, you'll struggle in here and it is another workout added to the week. Not recommended.
2) Hydrate before class. If you drink too much in class, you'll feel sick. Trust me.
3) Don't look around. Not sure if any of ya'll have done it, but there are some rather thin and um...well,...rather too thin? people in these classes sometimes. Additionally some are human-gumbys and can do insane things with their bodies. I am as stiff as a board compared to them, but I still push myself to MY limits. Since you're all virtually naked (minimal clothing), you'll be judging yourself if you look around too much. Just look at yourself in the mirror and your posture and poses and be thankful that you can do this stuff at all. It is not easy.
4) I could go on and on but...essentially, I do think that these classes are advantageous in that they work on our flexibility (which as endurance atheltes we can all improve upon) and I firmly believe they can help with overuse injuries, as well.

So...give it a shot if you have not done it. Since most of December and January have been devoted to running for me, and the cycling and swimming are purely recovery and very easy, I have thrown in Bikram Yoga classes 2-3x/week as a good cross-training activity. I'll never be Gumby, but through the blood, sweat and tears (ok maybe it is not THAT bad....) I do know I am doing my body a huge favor.

So Much More

...So, I just got back from a run. I did 4x1-mile on the trail here in town, Town Lake Trail. It felt great, as did my long run on Sunday, which considted of 19 (?!) miles...my longest run ever. When I was finishing up today, after I had completed my last mile repeat to which I was grooving to Rusted Root's "Virtual Reality" (who wouldn't feel good running to that song?), I had this slight smile on my face. I had just felt so strong in the workout, and it made me really happy. I could not wait to call Derick and tell him how well it had gone. (Technically, I don't have a 'coach' but he often times gives me advice or will help 'tweak' my workouts so he is the person I usually call if it goes well...and my mom, of course). Anyway, it got me thinking as I had had this same feeling of elation or giddiness on Sunday, when I was finishing my run and looking at my time, realizing that the week prior I had done 16.5 miles, this week 19 miles, and only run an extra 10 minutes...woa, that is progress.

Anyway back to my feelings of elation. I was cooling down, running towards RunTex and on the home stretch. A common question that I am asked is "Why do you do it?"..'it' being training and racing. Yes, it is an awesome feeling to accomplish ones goal, to work hard all season (or for years on end) and then see the 'reward' all come together in one race. But, it comes down to so much more than that. While accomplishing 'big goals' gives us confidence, I gain that much if not more from the day in-day out training. Struggling through hard days, or weeks, and then seeing that 'light' when we have great workouts and achieve the goal of the workout if not surpass it. Doing these 'little' things makes me realize a) I CAN achieve my goal for the race (I may or may not, but I do believe that the performance is in me...) and b) I can achieve almost all that life hands to me, whether it be sport-related or not.

So, try to remember this when you are heading towards your next workout...or challenge with work, a relationship or anything else in life. Stick to the task at hand and have faith that doing your absolute best will pay off in the long run. And stop every so often and appreciate your abilities and the gifts you have. I think that we sometimes go through our day-to-day routine so focused on the next 'task at hand' that we forget to stop and appreciate the moment. The moment may be full of pain or challenge, but once you finish it, you become so much stronger for it. Use these little 'daily successes' to give you confidence that you have all of the tools to achieve something bigger.

That is my rant for today. Now I am off to get poked by needles...that is, acupuncture with Karen Smith. If you haven't tried it, I recommend it. It's not scary, as some people (...Derick, ahem...) may think. :)

Vacation and Austin Marathon

Yes, lack of consistent blogs for awhile on my part. I guess this comes with the holidays and the ‘off season’. I am not sure if triathletes get much of a real ‘off-season’, simply because (I know personally) I enjoy swimming, cycling and running, and well we always have some type of variety in there! Nevertheless, I think it is SO important to force ourselves to have some down-time and simply a change of pace/routine for a good month or two out of the year.

Thus, after finishing with Clearwater 70.3 World Championships, I took some down time. I then made the decision to train for the Austin Marathon (see? we cannot stay away!). I did at least not ‘officially start’ the training until early December, and with the race being February 17th, this is more of a ‘crash training’ effort for the marathon. So I wrote up a decent training plan and have done my best to stick to it. I did a 2-hour run when I was up in Indiana visiting my parents over Christmas, and I then had (after a 3-week build) a recovery week. During this week, before New Years, I decided to kick a 10 lb. dumbell quite hard, either jamming badly or breaking my middle right toe. Stupid, I know, but it happened. I limped around for a weekend which fortunately coincided with our drive to Santa Fe, NM for New Years. Luckily, I was able to ski for 2 days (one day at Taos, one day at Santa Fe) and the toe didn’t hurt too much…plus, would have been pretty painful to run so it all worked out beautifully! We returned from New Mexico on January 2nd, and by Friday amazingly enough, I could run again. How nicely it all worked out! Almost like I ‘intentionally’ hurt my toe so I could enjoy skiing w/o the guilt of not running.

In any case, as I ramble away…the marathon training is going well, as I did my longest run ever this past Sunday of 16.5 miles. Whew~! I even took a gel at the 1:10 mark, and it seriously felt like I was on drugs for about 30 minutes. Those gels raelly work! I am keeping my cycling and swimming to a bare minimum, and even picked up Bikram Yoga (Davenport) here in Austin for a 30-day membership. Great! It is incredibly challenging, but with only running being my ‘key’ workouts right now, I think it is a great compliment to the run training, pounding and aches and pains which seem to crop up.

I’ll try to keep the updates coming a bit more regularly. Getting back to the beginning of this post, while at times I feel ‘guilty’ for the lack of cycling and triathlon preparation, well…’tis a long season, and I am staying fit! Sometimes, it is good to challenge ourselves in a different way. For me, it is a run focus/challenge. And no matter what happens, I will learn about myself, my capabilities, limitations and well…experience some new horizons in the process. Try something a bit different during the off-season! It will refresh and invigorate yourself, your training and I believe lengthen your season. :) Thank you for listening to my rambling!

Engaged. :)

Well, I am not the type to get all obnoxious about these things...but, it is very exciting. On December 4, the night before my big 3-0 birthday, Derick proposed to me! It was completely unexpected, to say the least. He had made me dinner of prosciutto-wrapped prawns, polenta and asparagus...and of course, wine. That did not throw me off, as he likes to make nice fancy dinners for 'special occassions'. We ate dinner, and I had some gifts that people had sent in the living room. He pulled them into the kitchen and said, "Open your gifts!" I of course wanted to finish the dishes (he loves to make a big mess when he cooks). I told him I wanted to do the dishes first, it is NO fun to open gifts then have a big old pile of dirty dishes. (What's that you say? I should not have been doing dishes in the first place, it was my birthday?....) Anyway, as I am cleaning away, he says to our cat, Shackleton (the Explorer), "Shackleton, maybe THIS will make her stop doin' dishes..." And then I turned to my side and there he was kneeling down w/ a beautiful little ring in his hands! YIKES!! WOA! I was shocked. Floored. And, very very happy. I had wanted this for quite some time, but I firmly believed, until it was 'right' for both of us, it was not yet the right time.



So that is my big news as of late! We will get married in Indiana, near my parents place, next September. Actually at an amazing old general store called The Story Inn, check it out! This was started by Rick Hofstetter, who was a swimmer at Indiana University back when my old swim coach John Crist managed the team (back in the day of Doc Counsilmen). Anyhoo...this place is beautiful, had tons of character and will be a lovely, rural and laid-back setting. I was very set on doing something at my parents place, too, as it is so pretty there, so we'll do the rehearsal dinner there. I am not sure what we'll 'rehearse' so to speak, it'll be a simple and quick ceremony and a big ol' party.



I added a picture above, while it is a bit ridiculous sometimes when I see girls oogling over engagement rings, this one is different and has a lot of character. And it has this 'hammered' look to it, so I cannot beat it up, it already is! :) :) I hope you all had a safe and happy Christmas and New Years. Thanks ya'll for reading!

Drunken Kitty.

Wow, is this blog-worthy or what? Last night we were sitting on the couch and as you can see, Shackleton likes to make himself nice and comfortable. He had laid out on Derick's legs as we were watching 'Superbad' (flipping HILARIOUS by the way), and after Derick finished his beer Shack just reached up and decided to take the last bit of it. Didn't take the poor little guy much before he passed right out. Hmmm....passed out on the couch after drinking, is he trying to be like we were on Friday night after the G&S Lounge visit with our friends?? Anyway, moving on...I had to send this to New Belgium Brewing in Ft. Collins, since his beer o' choice was a New Belgium 2 Below. Guess the little guy has good taste in his beers! But then again, in our house there are only good options as we are quite the 'beer snobs'...Enjoy the pics. And watch your pets and the holiday alcohol, this was just a few sips. Wonder what a whole beer could do to him, especially at 6+%?

God Grew Tired Of Us.

I just finished watching a movie called 'God Grew Tired Of Us.' If you have not seen it, it should be your next rental. Simply beyond words. It was about a man named John Dau, who was at age 14 a 'Lost Boy' of Sudan. Taken from his website (http://www.johndaufoundation.org/):

National Geographic writes, “Dau is one of the thousands of African males in Southern Sudan attacked in the 1980s and ‘90s by the Arab Sudanese government in the north. For 16 years, Dau was either on the run—from the Arab militia and the Sudanese Army, from wild animals, from starvation and thirst—or living in refugee camps.”Even while he was still just a boy himself, John dedicated himself to saving others, becoming a caregiver to younger children, helping them dodge bullets, scavenge for food, and cross the crocodile-infested swamps. In 2001, he was among the lucky chosen to immigrate to the United States, a place he had never heard of until he learned to read at the age of 17. This gift of literacy allowed John to pursue an education, working toward completing a degree in public policy from Syracuse University.Since arriving in the US, John has dedicated himself, heart and soul, to giving back through humanitarian service. With the support of the First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles, John built and opened the first health clinic in Duk County, Sudan in May 2007.

This really makes you stop and think about things...especially around the holidays, with the hurried life, the rushed feelings we all cannot get away from...have we gotten everyone gifts, are we going to make it to our destinations, will our planes be on time...seeing this movie makes us realize that our 'worries', so to speak, are really nothing of the sort. It is tough because it seems so much needs to be done in other parts of the world, and the amounts of money we can donate may not be much, but it can add up. It just made me re-think some of the 'remaining gifts' I have left, as you can donate to these organizations in others behalf. If nothing else, rent the movie and see it for yourself. It will really get you to thinking, about what is truely important in life. When we think that we have it tough or the day is not going our way, we have no idea...this is a good reminder to stop, be thankful and realize that we can help others even if in small ways. Please see this movie for yourself, and also check out these websites as well.

http://www.johndaufoundation.org/

http://www.iwashungry.org/ (You can get a gift card as a gift here)

http://www.pghglobalalliance.org/

Each one of these is tied in with one of the men from the movie 'God Grew Tired of Us,' and is an extension of what they have done since having had the opportunity to come to America. Look them over yourself and pass on the word to others as well. 'Tis the season of giving. :)

Decker 20k: It Is As Hard As They Say.

So, I follow up a post titled 'Down Time' with well,...a race report. Guess I just cannot keep away from it. :) But this was a fun one; Well, that term is used loosely. 'Fun' as in I have been taking a few weeks not spending a lot of time training, so I could go into this one with little expectations. Did I go into it with little expectations? Of course not. Derick could tell I was all nervous this morning. I guess I could say this was the 'kick off' to start some structured training again.

It was the Decker 20k, which is put on by the Austin Runners Club here in Austin. The course is touted as being extremely challenging, which, well, it was. It was I believe east of Austin, about 20 minutes, and the entire thing was rolling from start to finish. My 'goal' today was CONTROL. I always seem to go out too hard in running races, and if I really want to complete a marathon, I have to learn to control the front end and save some energy for the middle 2/3 and the end of the race. I was very pleased with the 'control' today, granted my first mile was a 5:50 however I was trying to keep the top few women 'in sight'. And, the hills to come would surely slow that average pace so I had to roll with it when the course was 'giving it to us'.

I felt good and rather comfortable for about 4-5 miles. By the half-way point, I was in second place but I was definitely starting to feel the challenge of the terrain. I really tried to push up the hills and let myself 'roll' down them and on the flats. Just before the mile 8 marker, Derick rolled up to me and said, "Great job, Kel, she is right up there. Now's the time to stay on it, keep it strong and reel her in" (or something to that effect). I believe I mumbled back, 'dying'. Then I told myself not to think that...no negativity. The miles continued until 10, when I saw the hill most talk about, which at that point in the race is a sizable hill. I turned to the last water station and just had about 2 miles to go. I tried to kick it up for a mile or so, then (how MEAN is this?) we had 2 more small hills before mile 12. Are you kidding me? I was able to grit my teeth and really dig deep, and by the time I came to mile 12, I was toast. But I tried so hard to hang on, as I seem to get caught @ the very end all too often. Luckily I was able to hold second place and finish in 1:20, a bit off what I had hoped but considering it was warm, muggy and a TOUGH course, I was pleased with it. Tired, but pleased.

I guess this is the start to my 2-month running block! This week I'll just focus on recovering, and of course going to see a great friend in Bend, Oregon next weekend (which I am sure will involve a lot of beer, and hopefully some running and cross country skiing, too). The rest of today will be spent doing as little as possible. :) I can say now, that I have run it, I have a lot of respect for the Decker 20k. Excellent job to Chris Kimbrough, the womens winner (who was chatting away the whole time, I heard!) and Bernard Manirakiza, who won the mens race, as well as fellow 3 Stories'ers Lance Parker (4th) and Derek Yorek (2nd). Way to go on a tough day, ya'll.