Redman Forecast Update - 5AM on Saturday, September 20th!

It's race morning! Good luck triathletes!

The forecast is still on...same as I forecast yesterday. We will have some fog this morning...which means we could have a brief period of mist. Fullers need to prepare for a hot heat index in the low to mid 90s. The storm chances are very low now.  A few models want to show mist or drizzle around 9 or 10am in the Metro but I don't really believe it. It could be picking up on the fog. For current weather resources... www.mesonet.org has everything!

Put on the sunscreen or else this will happen! Lesson learned from my first year!

Have a safe and fun race...I'll see you at the finish line (God willing!).

Redman Forecast Update - 8AM on Friday, September 19th!

Hello friends! Okay, who has been praying/wishing the rain away? Because it worked!

As I suspected last night, the weather computer models made a drastic change...for the better in our case!  It looks like the heavy rain will stay in Texas!  

 

Patchy fog may be possible in the morning. If that's the case we may have a mist but for the most part I'm expecting a dry start to the race (except for the swimming part - duh!). 

The only downside is that we will now have hotter conditions and some sun could peak through for the afternoon.  We will have a heat index to the low 90s in the afternoon.  The hotter temperatures and abundant moisture should result in showers and thunderstorms.  Lightning could be an issue if a storm develops close by.  Stay tuned for updates and happy CARB LOADING! Make sure to hydrate hydrate hydrate! If you aren't racing or volunteering, please come out and cheer on the athletes! It makes a world of a difference!  See you tomorrow!

Hey, I'm Engaged! But Married to Training?

Please donate HERE to help fight leukemia and lymphoma!

Hello friends!

Well, shoot. I messed up again and waited forever to blog. Like many instances, I dread doing something but am actually fine once I've started. That's what it's like for running and for blogging.

JoLynn and I are tri helmet TWINSIES! I used to call these "alien helmets." Triathletes wear them because they are aerodynamic.  JoLynn and I bought these hot pink bad boys at the Arizona Ironman last year when we were volunteering. Supposedly they can shave 5-10 minutes off of your full Ironman time. I'm not sure if that's true but I'll take what I can get. Plus, it's hot pink and hardcore!  We are going to wear them for the first time in a race environment Saturday but we wanted to test them out today! So if you saw 2 hot pink alien heads go by...that was us!

Let's catch up.  What you've missed...
SO YEAH, I'm ENGAGED!

Want to hear the gushy details? If not, skip ahead.

Our Engagement:

We got engaged on June 25 of this year.  Michael came back to Arlington Heights with me because my best friend's first baby was due.  I knew he would ask permission on this trip but I didn't know he would pop the question!  He worked with my parents to come up with a plan and the next night he surprised me at dinner with my parents and brother. It was intimate and perfect. He knew I loved surprises...and he certainly surprised me. We were able to celebrate with both sides of the family the rest of the trip.  We were able to tell my only living grandparent. Grandma approved of Michael...which means a lot because she passed away a few weeks later.  Rest in peace, grandma!

Sunday, August 17 - Lake Arcadia Triathlon

This year the Lake Arcadia Tri was a different distance! It was a made up distance. I don't know why they upped it from a sprint but I really didn't know what to expect!  It was a 1000 yd swim, 20 mile HILLY bike and 4 mile hilly run. I put HILLY in all caps for a reason.

The weather was beautiful. It was a little muggy but not too hot!

He is so supportive!

Swim:

So the swim was interesting because you split it up into two 500 yd swims with a short beach "run" in between. I wrote "run" because it was more of a fast walk. Running would have resulted in us all trying to catch our breaths in the water and that would have been a losing battle!

I LOVE SWIMMING!

All the ladies waiting to swim!

The swim went pretty well, I thought. We swam in a triangle and I focused on staying as straight as I could. No one hit me in the face and I really got into the groove by the second loop.  I was pretty happy with the swim.

T1 (aka Transition 1):

My trick to transitions are counting backwards in my head from 10! I also apply this to life sometimes. I don't know how much it works since I'm late all the time. It drives my Beyonce nuts. He likes to be early to everything. 

Bike: 

Okay, so I tried to bike the course a week ahead of time with my friend JoLynn but one of the roads was closed due to construction. I guess they changed the bike course. I tried to drive the course the evening before but I missed a turn so I gave up and got sushi.  So in other words...the course was a surprise!

Go Scott, Go!

I have trained several times in this area with my training buddies JoLynn and Janna several times before so I knew the territory and despite what people think, Oklahoma can be hilly! The Lake Arcadia/Pops/Edmond area is very hilly. And SHOCKER, the course was REALLY hilly! It had a mix of extreme hills and steady inclines...but mainly, extreme hills. (Okay, not Colorado hills but extreme Oklahoma hills!)

Knowing it was 20 miles I pushed myself and listened to coach's last minute advice to still charge down the hill and if I have to coast, wait until halfway to the bottom. That advice scored me my fastest speed ever...41 mph! WHOAAA! I was squealing on that hill!  On the flip side, I think my slowest on the course was a snail's speed of 6 mph. Ooops.

I loved being able to see my teammates on the course. It's really encouraging and at the same time, it keeps me competitive and motivated because I don't want them to pass me :)

T2:

I counted myself down and I made sure to put on my visor and put my hair in a pony while I was running.

The Run:

Stupid hill.

I see the light!

I'm going to eat a burger after this.

Even before I started the race, I knew the run was going to hurt. Not like anything was wrong, it's just any short distance means you have to push to run fast and that usually hurts.  I didn't know how much my legs would hurt on the run given I pushed myself so hard on the bike.  My legs definitely felt heavy but I kept pressing on. It was a two loop run.  I mentally break loops down. So for this run I thought, "just get through the first loop." After the first loop, I thought, "just get to the next water stop" and then it was "just get to the finish line." Seeing my teammates on the course and knowing my fiance and friends really motivated me to keep a strong pace to the finish line.

And of course, the race had to finish uphill...contributing to the heart attack feeling at the finish line!

Results:

I finished second in my age group! First place went to one of the wonderful coaches of Terra Tri...duh! Emmy rocks.

All in all, I was happy with the finish. I have nothing to compare it to because this was my first time doing this distance but I felt like I pushed myself.  That's all you can ask for!

Next is the OK REDMAN!

Come out to Lake Hefner on Saturday to cheer on the athletes!  I will have the honor again this year of singing the national and them and racing!  Stay tuned for forecast updates.  The computer models keep changing on me! In their defense, this is an out of the ordinary situation where remnants from a Pacific hurricane will be impacting our weather in Oklahoma!  Right now the models are backing off on the rain.  It looks like the morning will mainly stay dry.  We may see some mist or drizzle...or mizzle. Showers will move in late in the afternoon...this is when a few rumbles of thunder will be possible. It will likely be cloudy and extremely humid with temperatures in the 70s and 80s. The wind will be out of the south around 10-20 mph.  I will have a more detailed forecast tomorrow. 

Please donate HERE to help fight leukemia and lymphoma!

Kanye West and Kelly Clarkson Were Right - What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

Please donate HERE to help fight leukemia and lymphoma!

So my last post's title is "Track Hell." Thankfully, going through hell and back paid off.

Oklahoma Strong 5k

I had the honor of singing that National Anthem for the inaugural Oklahoma Strong 5k and Okie was the official mascot! The run helped raise money for the Oklahoma Strong Monument to remember lives lost in the Moore tornado last year. I figured I'd run as well especially since I've been busting my butt in track practice.

Temperatures will cool in the 50s with cloudy skies and a breezy north wind.  I decided to run without a jacket. Typically colder temps help me run and swim faster. I don't think it makes a difference with my cycling except increase my desire for sweatpants and hot chocolate.

Other channel 4 buddies joined the race as well including Lance West and Aaron Brackett. We wore the sparkly ties we were supposed to wear for the Memorial Marathon relay "Mike Morgan & The Bedazzled Ties" but the group disbanded before we ever had the chance to sport these gems!

I ran with my "Rise & Shine" buddy Lacey Lett.  It turns out that we have a similar running pace and we have been running buddies ever since!  I knew the 5k would hurt...and it did.  If you are pushing yourself, it will hurt.

We started out flying with a 7:30 minute/mile pace. I knew I couldn't keep that up the whole time but I tried to stay around 8 minutes. The last half mile was brutal. Lacey dropped back a bit and I knew I had to stay strong. I just mentally repeated "strong, power, strong, power..." and that seemed to help.

I finished with a personal record (PR)! HOORAY!

Route 66 Festivus

"Festivus" is the term used for CRAZIES that sign up for triathlons two days in a row. I am one of them! My goal this year is to get as much racing experience as I can.

Last year the Route 66 triathlon fell on June 1.  As many of you know, the day before was a horrific weather day with the widest tornado on record hitting a few miles from the race site. It wasn't debris as much as flooding that actually washed away part of the course.  Race directors rescheduled the race for July. I was excited because there was no way I was trained for the races at the end of May so I thought I at least had time to prepare.  The first day went well but storms the second day caused the race to cancel after the swim started.  See the post earlier on the blog for more!

Saturday, May 31, 2014 Route 66 Sprint Triathlon

I was surprisingly anxious the night before about racing. My boyfriend Michael helped me put Clark Kent (my tri bike) in my trunk and I discovered I had a flat. I FREAKED OUT.  I worried I would not be able to properly change my tire. Thankfully I remembered how to do it. I hoped this would not be a sign for the weekend ahead.I realize now that I can't use the excuse of being a tri rookie. People now call me a "triathlete" or as my parents still say "runner." Ha.  I also have been working hard with training, especially running, so I wanted to do well and make my teammates and myself proud! Just as a reminder, a sprint triathlon is a 500 meter open water swim, 13 mile bike and 5k run.

I woke up around 5am and with the exception of high humidity, I couldn't have asked for much better race weather.  Once I arrived I set up my transition and found Scott Hines. It was his first triathlon! I was nervous and excited for him.

The start of the race was very casual. A little too casual. I didn't have my head in the game.  I also started in a bad place, the front inside.  I swam next to a few kids - yes kids - and a larger man.

This man took me down within the first two minutes. No matter what I did I  could not swim away from him and his arm dunked me. I came up for air and said "holy $*CK." Yeah, real classy.  That was my wake up call to kick it into full gear and the rest of the swim improved. In all fairness, this was my first open water swim of the season.  Although I am completely comfortable swimming, I usually am not aggressive in this part of a triathlon. I need to work on that.

The bike ride went well. I felt strong and tried to stay around 18-20 mph.

I loved hearing my GMG teammates cheer me on. It was very encouraging for the run! Like I mentioned in the 5k experience above, I knew the 5k would hurt. Thankfully the clouds kept the hot sun from steaming up the atmosphere. I pushed myself and pulled through a strong run.

I finished the race in 1:16. Okay, I just looked at past blog posts and realized this is a PR! WOO HOO! This year I jump to a new age group...and it's harder to win. USA Triathlon uses your age on December 31st of the year...so that would make me 30...even though I am still very much so 29!!!!!! Any hoo, I was surprised that I won first in my age group! BOOM!

A big shout out to my homeboy Scott Hines. He did a fantastic job on his first triathlon! I didn't see him on the bike so I was nervous that he didn't survive the swim but then I saw his smiling face on the run course!

DAY 2 - Sunday, June 1, 2014 Route 66 Olympic Triathlon

So if doing two triathlons in a row wasn't enough, I worked in between as well! What?! We are down a meteorologist right now so I had to work the evening shift. Therefore, I did not get a full night's rest before the Sunday tri.

Once again, I was a little anxious about doing the triathlon.  This time it was for a different reason.... I wasn't fully confident in my training this early in the season for an olympic distance. Just a reminder, an olympic distance triathlon is a 1 mile swim, 26 mile bike and 6.2 mile run.

This time my boyfriend was there for moral support at the start! I also had several teammates to race with.  After the previous day's dunking during the swim I knew I had to have my game face on before hitting the water.  This time I went on the left/outer side of the swimmers. The wind was a bit higher so we had to deal with waves for part of the course.  I definitely got into a groove on the second lap. I just remember thinking, MAN - this is long. What did I get myself in to?

As soon as I hit the bike course I could tell my legs were fatigued from the day before. The bike involves two loops around El Reno.  This allows me to see who is in front of me and who is behind me.  My training buddy Jolynn caught up with me on the second loop of the bike.  For some reason this shifted my attitude from negative to positive.  I just thought how blessed I am to even be able to do this and how many people physically cannot swim bike and/or run. Knowing this was more of a training session than a race, I kept a steady pace around 16 mph. I The wind picked up by the end of the race and that final hill to the transition was definitely at a snail's pace.

I did not look forward to the run.  Running is my least favorite part of a triathlon any way and I wasn't sure if my endurance was high enough to run 6.2 miles well after the swim and bike.  However, I felt blessed. I kept my pace a little bit back from the day before and tried to just enjoy the journey.  That's all I could do. All of a sudden I just felt completely blessed. I felt blessed to be physically able to run or do a triathlon. I thought of my aunt with leukemia. She can no longer run. Mitchell Whitaker loved to run, but he passed away from leukemia. I will run for the people who can't.  I smiled and cheered on other runners. I can't tell you how many times fellow athletes have encouraged me in the past.  One guy even said I was smiling too much. Who would have ever thought I would be SMILING while running?  I ended up passing a few teammates and felt strong until the end. Once again, I guess my track training is working! WOO!

I finished in a little over 3 hours...and that includes a port-a-potty stop! OH YEAH

When you gotta go...you gotta go.

Scott cheering me on...hahah.

So the moral of the story is DO WORK and GET RESULTS. BOOM.

Thanks for reading friends and I will talk to you soon!  My next event is the Tour de Cure this Saturday! It's not too late to join. Just register here. I will likely be doing the 62 mile ride.

If you'd like to help...
Please donate HERE to help fight leukemia and lymphoma!
And please spread the word! Have a fantastic week!

Track is Hell

Please donate HERE to help fight leukemia and lymphoma!

Hello friends!

I hope everyone is doing well! Training for the IMAZ officially began 3 weeks ago and as I'm getting back into the routine of training I need to do the same for blogging. Sorry it's been awhile!

Catch Up

Dad, me &

Me & Aunt Liz!

The last week of March I visited Phoenix to join my parents for a visit with Aunt Liz.  Every day was sunny, warm and wonderful.  I went hiking or running, layed out by the pool and ate delicious food everyday! Rough life!  Just as a reminder, I am doing the Full Ironman in honor of my Aunt Liz who was diagnosed a few years ago with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.  I found out that it is the most common type of leukemia in adults and there is no cure. My goal, with the help of my TEAM OKLAHOMA teammates, is to raise $200,000 and write a grant in my Aunt's name to the MIT David H. Koch Center for Integrative Cancer Research through The Go Mitch Go Foundation.

Launch Party

We moved the Mardis Gras Launch Party to Sunday, March 30.  A big thanks to everyone who showed up to support the cause. Thank you to Tapwerks, Coop Ale, Prairie Wolf Vodka, Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill, The Band Drive and all of our auction item donors! BOOM!

Training

Here's what my Training Peaks App looks like.

Here is what a (brick) workout looks like.

Let the training begin!  My triathlon coach, Coach Ryan, is also the coach for GMG Team Oklahoma. Convenient!  So we are using a program called "Training Peaks." We train 6 days a week with 1 rest day.

Here's a picture of TEAM OKLAHOMA's first official practice!

Although I am in shape, I am definitely out of endurance shape. I know my teammates will challenge me.

Track

Okay, I have a confession to make. I have been doing triathlons since 2011 and successfully avoided track workouts...until now.  A track workout usually involves a series of sprints to improve running speed and form.

If you've read previous posts, you are aware that running is my least favorite out of the 3.  So obviously track isn't a highlight of training.  However, I know to achieve a new, bigger goal I have to try new, challenging things!

I learned that 200m on a track is a half loop, or as I see it, a "candy cane."

Ladies represent! We ran while it was hailing! #legit

Track make me sore in places I wouldn't think would get sore. My stomach muscles hurt the next day and my legs are sore all the way to my butt! However, I know track will make me stronger in the long run. PUN INTENDED! Get it, long run?  Also, it tests my mental strength which is a big part of the Ironman.

That's all for now! I will try to keep up with the blog posts.  Please spread the word about The Go Mitch Go Foundation and if you haven't already, please donate HERE to help fight leukemia and lymphoma!