Iron Girl Triathlon Details

First of all, THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who donated to The Leukemia and Lymphoma society and helped me reach my goal of $1400. The final amount raised was $1577!!!! Maybe one day we will find a cure for Leukemia, which is the #1 disease killer of children. Also, Thank you to everyone who congratulated me, supported me, cheered me on, and helped me to keep going. I could not have done this with out my amazing family and friends. I truly feel blessed to be able to do something like this and I feel inspired, motivated and accomplished.

It was a great day. I woke up at 4:30 because I wanted to get to Columbia by 5:30ish. There was a little bit of traffic coming in but not too bad of a drive. When I got there, I found some TNT friends, set up my transition area and pumped up my bike tires. Right before the race, a huge storm came in with a torrential downpour of rain so the race was postponed a few minutes. 

The race start is broken up in to swim waves of different age groups starting with the pro-athletes and then the oldest to youngest so I had a while to wait around until it was my time. I wasn't nervous for the swim at all. This is my element! I wanted to make sure I got out in front so that I wasn't slowed down by the huge crowd of swimmers. Unfortunately, right after the race started my time chip fell off my ankle and I stopped to see if I could find it. I ended up getting swam over by a few people and wasted some time so I just kept swimming. When I got out of the water, I got a new time chip and ran to transition. I was very out of breath (something I was not expecting to be after getting out of the water) but I felt like my transition went smooth and was fairly short. 

The bike was the part I was most nervous apart. I had this huge fear of getting a flat tire half way out on the course and being stuck not knowing what to do. I was thankful for all the support personnel that were out on the roads helping people with mechanical malfunctions. This definitely calmed my nerves. 

Columbia has what everyone likes to call "rolling hills" because the whole entire course is UP a hill.. DOWN a hill... up another hill... down another hill... so the up hills suck but the down hills feel great. There are about 5 HUGE and I mean steep/long hills on the course. I was not looking forward to any of them but I am very proud of myself for biking up all the hills and not walking at all! After the second big hill I stopped at the top because I was having an asthma attack. I am glad I took my inhaler. A few puffs and some water later I was back on the road. I stopped again at the turn around point to grab some gatorade. By that point I was so hungry it felt like my stomach was eating itself. My very favorite part of the race was the last 2 miles of the bike.. HOME STRETCH!! It felt so good to be going up and down those mini rolling hills. I kept thinking to myself... "I can finish this now! I will finish this triathlon! WOO HOOO!" It was a lot of fun.

Coming into transition #2 I was still on my "just finished the bike" high.... and then there was the run... ugh! The dreaded run. I can't lie. I didn't run the whole thing. I ran a lot of it..not all of it. But you know what... I finished it and that's all that mattered to me. 

I sprinted the last few yards to the finish. OH it was the mentally the best feeling in the world. (physically one of the worst that I have experienced in a while)...still, I would highly recommend it to anyone. It was emotional crossing the finish line but so so so much fun! I can't wait to do another tri. I still really want to do Nations (The olympic distance triathlon that I was originally signed up to do but dropped out after feeling overwhelmed). Next year I might even do both Iron Girl and Nations! 

I was a little bit disappointed when checking the official time. Because my time chip fell off in the water, they have my time as being 3 hours 4 mins. This was definitely not my time. Dad's unofficial time for me was 2 hours 33 mins. I should have been 33rd in my age group, instead it says I am 40th.. Unfortunately, that will never be the official time and that is somewhat disappointing to me. Now I have something to beat for next year! 

It was bittersweet saying good bye to all my TNT friends that I trained with over the past 3 months. I had a lot of fun and will never forget all the wonderful and inspirational women I have met. I am happy I can cross this off the list of things to do before I die, happy that I finished and happy that I raised money for such a great cause. I have rediscovered myself in a whole new way and I now have the confidence that I can do anything I want with some hard practice and a lot of support from family and friends.

-Until Next Time www

July Training Might be the death of me..

I just made my training schedule for July... It is TOUGH! I am now on a 6 by 7 schedule which means 6 out of 7 days I will either swim, bike or run (or a combo of the three).
   So here it is:
      - Monday is Break day (because Mondays suck)
      - Tuesday is boot camp day with Coach Carol (Running/Biking HILLS.. UGH!)
      - Wednesday is Swim/Run day
      - Thursday is Group Transition Practice (Bike/Run.. Have you ever gone running after biking several miles?.. your legs will feel like bricks!!)
      - Friday is Interval/Endurance practice with Track star brother aka "Trub" (by the end of July I want to be able to run 5 miles straight through)
      - Saturday is Short/Fast run practice with Music star brother aka "Sunshine"
      - Sunday is long bike with whoever I can get to go with me..


I don't have too much going on in July so I won't have a reason to stray from the plan.


Dad and sunshine think I should give up all alcohol until the race..HA! Apparently they don't know I am 23 years old and it is my summer break. I am considering the no drinking rule for the last 4 weeks though. We will see...


I am not doing as well as I thought I would be doing with fundraising. I have a few events up my sleeve that will hopefully get Leukemia and Lymphoma Society some money.


In other news: I still have yet to see the Engagement photos from 2 weeks ago BUT they are in the mail!! Anyyyy Daayyyy Nowww!!

-Until Next Time www

OBX!

Last week was my Sister's wedding! It can't believe how fast it came and went. It seems like yesterday that they decided on having the weekend in the Outer banks. Despite the 5 years I lived in North Carolina, I have never been to this part of the Outer banks. It was absolutely beautiful! We could not have asked for better weather.


Jman and I drove down there after work on Wednesday. We got in really late and were very tired but some how managed to stay up and party for a few hours. We swam in the pool and went ghost crab hunting on the beach. It was quality time with my Jman, R and K. Thursday was the rehersal dinner so the beginning part of the day was spent doing errands. The rehearsal was short and sweet followed by a fantastic dinner hosted by K's parents. Then we had a party on the beach where all of our family and friends came out, drank and celebrated.


The wedding went off without a hitch. The bridesmaids were able to relax for most of the day and it was unusually calm for what you would expect of a bride on the big day. The wedding was on the beach and then we all limo bussed it over to the reception hall. Great food. Great people. Great Drinks. Great time.


I haven't loaded my pictures on my computer...they are coming soon along with..........


Engagement photos!!! After 6 months of being engaged we FINALLY were able to get to Raleigh for some pictures. I have been checking the photographer's website 100times a day... still not up.. hopefully they will come soon.


Tri-Training got put on hold while i was in NC.. Will start back up and update soon. ;)

-Until Next Time www

p.s.- SCHOOLS OUT!! I made it through my second year of teaching! Woot Woot!

Drum roll please......

INTRODUCING MY NEW GOAL......


So I went to a professional development a few weeks ago about building relationships with my students so I am going to use one of the activities I learned at the professional development to introduce my new self goal.. here it is:
    If you knew me you would know.... I like to swim
    If you really knew me you would know.... I am very out of shape
    If you really really knew me you would know... Participating in a Triathlon has been on my bucket list since I was in high school.


YES THATS IT! I have officially signed up to participate in a Triathlon in the Fall. Here are the details and how I got involved.
    A few weeks ago I saw a whole bunch of my facebook friends donating money to a girl's fundraising page called "Team in Training". This particular girl is someone I knew in my childhood (We did swim team together) but I was never really friends with her. Her story about her cancer treatment and how she was going to do the Iron Girl Sprint Triathlon in the fall inspired me to look into Team in Training.
    Team in Training is a wonderful organization that works to raise money for  Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. "A health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services". Team in Training is a charity group that motivates, trains and supports athletes (or in my case incredibly out of shape but optimistic people) to complete events such as marathons, hikes or triathlons. After watching a few videos on their website and reading more information I signed up!
   I just came from an information meeting. I got to meet coaches, mentors and participants who all encouraged me and inspired me to sign up.
    Now going into this meeting I was sure I was going to do the Iron Girl Sprint Triathlon. Why? Because although I love to swim (and consider myself to be a good swimmer), I HATE running. Last week my little brother, dub, and I went out for a mile run. NO LIE...I practically passed out after one mile. A sprint triathlon consists of a .6 mile swim, 18 mile bike and 3 mile run..tough but reachable. After talking to all of the coaches about my abilities I was convinced to do the full olympic-distance triathlon. Now If you really know me you knowwwww that this is a HUGE challenge for anyone but this will be a especially HUGE challenge for me. The coaches insured me that 16 weeks is plenty of time to get in shape for the .9 mile swim, 25 mile bike and 6 (YES I SAID 6!!) mile run. The good news is that if after a few weeks of training if I don't think it's going to work out I can still drop down to the sprint distance. So I have officially signed up for the Nation's Triathlon in Washington DC on September 11th.!! WOO HOO! (can you feel my excitement and enthusiasm?)
     The whole reason for doing this (besides my selfish reason of checking it off my bucket list), is to raise money for a really good cause. So many people have benefited from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and knowing that by doing this I am helping even just one person get through their cancer treatment will push me and inspire me to run that extra mile. I will be doing a lot of fundraising for this event. Hopefully I can gain the support of all my family and friends (and their friends) so that we together can help change lives and even one day cure cancer!!!


More posts to come about my progress on training, fundraising..etc..

-Until Next Time www

A 23 year old's Reflection on 45 days without Alcohol

I decided to give up alcohol for Lent to cleanse my mind, body and soul.. In other words my goal was to save some money, lose some weight and become closer with God by praying more and drinking less. My intention was to update the blog a few times during Lent so I could share my struggles about giving up alcohol. That obviously did not happen!

   So here it is: A 23 year old's Reflection on 45 days without Alcohol. 

Week 1: Got through the whole week like a breeze. Friday night I got hit by a deer who broke it's back legs and was laying alive in the middle of a road near my house. The police came and shot it so that it wouldn't cause another accident. I took this as a test from God. As much as I wanted to drink.. I did not!

Week 2: This week went by really fast. It was overall a good week at work. Spring is in the air! The students are getting antsy about spring breaking coming. I officially lost 15 pounds! I am down to the weight I was sophomore year in college and feeling/looking good! Now I just need to maintain and not gain it all back. 

Week 3: One year to go until Jman and I get married!! Went out with some friends and felt really boring. Starting to understand why being a recovering alcoholic would be very difficult.
Week 4: Broke my computer screen and had to live a week without a computer. That sucked. Apple does have great customer service though! They were quick, very friendly and cheap!
Week 5: Counting down the last days until spring break! The kids were crazy at school. We had a group protest our gay students and a ton of people from our school came out to counter protest. It was quite an amazing sight! I spent way too much money buying clothes to help me get through the last week of lent.
Week 6: SPRING BREAK!! It was all down hill from there... I sat around and did nothing all break...which was great! I wish the weather was better so I could have laid out by the pool. About mid week I realized that I needed a summer job because there was no way I was going to lay around and be lazy all summer. I applied to some jobs and actually landed an interview today! (I think it went well!)
On Good Friday, (which is when I consider the end of lent) my friend col, Jman and I went to Baltimore to celebrate making it all the way through! We celebrated a little bit too much to make up for lost time. Saturday my family celebrated Easter with an easter egg hunt for my nieces, dying eggs, and eating wayyyy too much! Sunday we went to Church (I even convinced Jman to come with us!) and worked out in the garden.


Overall, I enjoyed the experience. It was very challenging but I got through it with the help of prayer. I didn't lose any more weight after week 2 and the money that I was hoping to save by not buying alcohol went to buying clothes.


I have decided to set a new challenge for myself. I can't wait to reveal it to my family and friends.. (It's not official yet so everyone will have to wait another week or so). I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS THOUGH! It is something that has been on my bucket list. It is going to be very challenging for myself but it will also be very rewarding! Hehe ;)

-Until Next Time www

Who is THAT person for you?

So I have learned a few things since my last post. First of all, I neglected to say how THANKFUL I am to even have a job in this horrible economy. Some days it's easy to take for granted having a job and getting paid when there are so many people in this country who don't have jobs, don't get paid, don't have health care, don't have a car, can't afford rent or gas or a hot shower. I am soo soo thankful everyday that I have these things and I am truly blessed.

This past weekend a dear friend of mine, K, and her wonderful husband hosted an engagement party for Jman and me. It was awesome! It was just my very close friends getting together for a few (or more than a few) drinks. We decided to do a potluck style party so everyone brought food and we did a taco bar. The night was spent sitting around the kitchen table talking and playing games and ended on the couch singing karaoke. 

During the party, I got to talk to K's hubby about my current debacle and he had some great words of wisdom. First of all, I learned that if life was easy all the time I would get pretty damn bored quickly. I like having a challenge but it frustrates me when I am not automatically good at something. I should use this frustration to push me to become a better teacher. Second thing I realized is that many people go through these little ruts. I shouldn't give up teaching after a few months of being tired after work. After all.. I did just spend 4 years in college and $100,000 of student loans to have this job.


The biggest thing I learned from our conversation is that I have 180 students however all of my energy goes into not being able to reach the 10 "bad" kids. I want so badly to help these kids for a number of reasons. I feel sorry for these kids because they do not have the opportunities and support that I did when I was in high school. I imagine what it would be like to be "THAT" person who made a difference in their life and changed them from becoming high school drop outs to being successful/productive citizens.  I should spend my energy with the 170 other kids who want to learn and generally like being in my class. Why do I let these "bad" kids affect me so much? Why can't I separate them from my life? Why do I go home every day and thing about them? Is this normal!? I might not ever know the answers to these questions..


I thought long and hard before making a decision on what I was going to give up for Lent this year. I love Lent because it gives me a challenge and makes me feel like I have more control over my life. I decided to take the ULTIMATE challenge. Alcohol. Now I am not a huge drinker.. I like to go out on the weekends sometimes but since Jman and I have pledged to save money towards a house I haven't had too many nights out on the town. What will be challenging is the more than occasional glass of wine (or two) after work. Taking a break from Alcohol will help me lose weight and will help me cleanse my mind, body and soul.

-Until Next Time www

How many more weeks until summer?

I want a new job.


I am soo tired of teaching. Every day I come home exhausted. Not motivated to do anything. I don't feel like I am making a difference or an impact on any of these kids. I feel so overwhelmed and unorganized and I don't have any time to do anything about it. I am trying to figure out what happened to my attitude/out look on life since I have been here and since august. I used to come home every day so happy, loving my job and the kids and the school. Now I just feel tired. What has happened to me?!


I would love to go back to grad school and study educational technology but I have NO money for that. I can barely afford the $1,000 every month from undergrad (and no that number is not an exaggeration)! I want to stay in education because I truly think that is where I belong but I am tired of alll the things that I (and other teachers) have to do/put up with everyday. If it was just planning, grading and teaching everyday my life would be so much easier..but add the constant meetings, forms, professional development, conferences, discipline problems and it just wears me down.

-Until Next Time www

Anyone who says teaching is easy needs to come spend one day with me.


On a brighter note, J and I booked the place where we are going to have our wedding! I am so glad I have fun things to look forward to every day when I come home.