Five Minutes

I had what my 7th grade math teacher called a "Tornado Day" yesterday. Just one of those, whatever-could-go-wrong-will, Murphy's Law kinda days. It was already kind of an annoying day where I was slightly frazzled and annoyed. And then I got a text from a good buddy, Running Coach Kara, saying this:

"u need to run 3:35 this year for Boston"

What?!

What the...

I checked my email and she had forwarded us the link to the BAA's announcement yesterday about the new qualification times for 2012. And I totally get why they are doing it. I heard how fast it sold out this year, and I get it.

But this year. IT HAD TO BE THIS YEAR, DIDN'T IT?

$%&$%^^&@(&^#!)^%@@!

So then I was PISSED. Like really really pissed. I drove home with what I'm sure was a ridiculous scowl on my face.

FREAKINGFIVEMINUTES

To which my husband replied, "It's just five minutes."

Spoken like a guy who's never ran a marathon before, right?

So I thought long and hard about it. I slept on it. I lack of slept on it. I got up around 3:58 to pee and couldn't fall back asleep because I was thinking about it. And I realized something.

When on earth have I ever been afraid of five minutes?

I had a long conversation with myself.

And I made a decision.

I refuse to fear five minutes.

And I later confirmed that these five minutes won't affect me in May--all it really does is ensure that 3:40 will be my time until I'm 40. Not until next year, or even this fall, like originally thought.

3:40 it is.

3:40, I'm out for you.

I don't need no stinkin' five minutes. In fact, I would like to state something for the record. In the words of one of the greatest fake Indians players ever, "I say, eff you, five minutes. I DO IT MYSELF."

Year in Review and 2011: Back to the ROOTS.

Looking back, I had a tremendous year filled with more joy than I could have imagined. During this past year, I watched my mother-in-law smack stage 4 cancer upside the head, brought Emery into the world, and watched Jackson become a big brother. It really doesn't get any better than that.

In racing news, I got to cheer on runners at the Cleveland Marathon at Mile 10 with my homey, TriEric. We dressed up like Bert and Ernie, danced like fools, and caused lots of shenanigans. It was pretty much awesome. I knew I wasn't ready to race the half, and figured I'd give back to the runners and help make the race memorable. Little did I know I'd laugh so hard my cheeks would hurt by the time I was done! And by cheeks, I mean both sets--front and back. Booty shakin' and fist pumping in an Ernie suit ain't easy, folks.

IMMEDIATELY go to Eric's blog and read his year report--you will find a video of us dancing like fools. When else will you be able to see Bert do the robot and Ernie do a sweet Michael Jackson dance?

I headed out to WIBA with all my teammies and other assorted awesome tri-peeps and rode the hills of Wisconsin yet again. And each time I do, it always leaves me with one thought: how the FREAK SHOW did I ever do this Ironman? And it always serves as another little reminder that our will is much stronger than we think. And so are our bodies.

Which reminds me of quite possibly my proudest accomplishment in my about-to-be-ten year triathlon "career." The day I went ahead and did something even I thought was nuts (and that's saying a lot). Even I thought I was in way over my head (again, considering the source, that's quite impressive). And that was to race a half-ironman distance triathlon 6 months after giving birth to Emery. The craziest thing is that I raced it pretty well. I knocked off 16 minutes from my previous best time and, best of all, got to share it with my team again and my amazingly supportive family.

So, this season is my 10th. And I swore I would not do a half-ironman distance race this year, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that now I kinda wonder what I could do, since I'm about 15 pounds down from Rev3 and feel like 5:44 isn't even close to what I'm truly capable of. Who saw that coming? Show of hands?

But NO. I said NO long course this year, and I am sticking to that. In honor of my 10th season of triathlons, I'm going to go back to my roots. That being the oddest combination ever: marathons and sprints/olympic distance triathlons. I know. Since when is marathon training considered a break in your workout load? But the fact of the matter is that for me, marathon training is definitely harder on your body, but not as many net hours as long course triathlon training.

And that, my friends, is how Ironman warps your mind.

My first triathlon back in '01 was what started everything. I did that sprint, on a borrowed bike and completely clueless, and then immediately signed up for the Cleveland Marathon. (?!) Not because I was a strong runner, but because that's what triathlon does to you. It starts to make you think you can do just about anything.

So this year, here's how it will all play out according to my master plan. I'm aiming high here. VERY high. Go hard or go home is the theme of 2011. It's time to get back to my roots.

St. Malachi 5 Miler: No date yet, but it's mid-March. Goal here is to go hard and hurt at the end. If I finish and almost hurl, it's been a good race.

Spring Classic Half Marathon: No date on this yet, but it'll be mid-April. My goal is to go as close to 1:40 as I can. That will also hurt. Bring it.

Hermes Cleveland Ten Miler: No date on this, but it'll be a week or two after the Spring Classic. This I'll probably use as pacing practice for the marathon.

Cleveland Marathon: May 15, 2011. Boston or Bust. That is a 3:40 for me.

Lifetime Fitness Triathlon: July 9, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Two goals for this one: have a blast with my teammates, and hammer this as hard as I can. I don't believe I've gone under 2:40 for an olympic distance, so definitely under that. My pie-in-the-sky goal is 2:30.

I also earned two FREE races through a great local race company, NCN. One was because I got injured and couldn't race last year, and the other was because I volunteered which earns me a free race entry! So I'll be cashing those in: possibly at the Huntington Sprint triathlon and the Lorain Olympic.

I also plan on working with my EvoKids again this summer and am working on some ways to make my program even better.

Dances With Dirt: September 24, Hell, Michigan. Words cannot express how FREAKING EXCITED I AM to do this race with some super awesome ladies! I am so pumped that a spot on their team opened up and I can join in this crazy fun relay trail race!

(I'm leaving the possibility open for a fall marathon, but I don't want to need it.)

I'm not sure much can top this past year. But I'm going to try. As you can see, I have big, crazy dreams for 2011. Here's to making my 10th year in this sport the best yet.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Coming Back

So I'm getting there, alright.

But not without a few bumps in the road. Like Saturday, when I had an absolute irrational meltdown for Matt about not being able to fit into my jeans perfectly yet. I can get them up and buttoned, but HOLY HADES do I look DISGUSTING with my muffin top. Everything else is fine, just the lovely post-partum muffin top that anyone who's been there understands. And it set me off BIG TIME.

Good thing Matt is a patient guy. He just let me have a good cry and then go for a run. Sometimes that's the best remedy, after all. I mean, for crying out loud. I gained 62 pounds. I'm down quite a bit now, but I need to be realistic here. I'll get there. It's been 8 weeks. CHILL, SELF. That's an order.

This shirt rocks the universe. Preggy swim pal Bridget's husband surprised JenC and I with them after he told us we should get some shirts made when we were running the Reindeer Run back when I was 30 weeks preggers. And the boy delivered. Thanks, Steve! I can't wait to wear my "race t-shirt" as soon as it's a little warmer...and I'm a little smaller. Check the new shoes, too--Brooks finally changed the color! WOOT! That's what I call a comeback outfit.

Speaking of which, had a fantastic run with Bean in the BOB this morning. I found a nice smooth trail and we did 4 miles. Check that pace, yo'. I was in disbelief, but felt great. The Boston Marathon is today, and I thought about how I hope to be there in 2 years...and even though this pace and distance is a far way off, I have to remember that a) I'm 8 weeks postpartum and b) I'm carrying not only a stroller, but a good 28 pounds more than I usually do. So after I had a moment and thought about that, I felt about as good as if I had just run a sub-22 minute 5K.

Patience, patience, patience. I'll be back soon.

Teensy Little Run

So I snuck in a teensy weensy little run today.

Don't worry. It was ridiculously slow. And on a treadmill. And a total of six minutes. I mostly wanted to be sure I remembered how.

But it was a GLORIOUS six minutes. Six minutes that made me feel like myself again. Despite the chub I've still got. Running slow is still running, and still awesome.

The really, REALLY weird thing was the absolute VOODOO that my iPod cast upon me. Because I kid you not--during those two little 3-minute segments that I ran (surrounded by walking), do you know what songs came on? And I have, like, 8,000 songs in this thing.

Runnin' Down a Dream (Tom Petty) and Boston (Augustana).

For realz.

I can't make this stuff up, folks.

In other news, I got a whole SIX! HOURS! of uninterrupted sleep last night, because Bean took a bottle for Matt (although it took some arguing and a bit of time) and I feel like a person again. Yay!

Baby steps...baby steps.

Back in the Saddle...Kinda

First and foremost, thanks for all the well-wishes on my last post! It was kind of scary last week. I'm not gonna lie. We dodged a HUGE bullet over here. My quarantine efforts paired with OCD levels of Lysol wipes and sprays seemed to have worked, as Bug and Matt are walking away with this unscathed say for a slight cold.

Whew.

Baby Z and I are doing well. I sure do have me a kicker in there. Baby's made it very clear that this diet of soup and grilled cheese is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. But, on the bright side, I doubt my OB will be upset at me about my weight gain this month! Boo ya. Silver lining, baby.

I just swallowed my last Tamiflu, but have been ordered by my OB to be out of school for ten days. TEN. FREAKING.DAYS. Do you know how hard it is to get sub plans for 10 days?! Ugh. I'm very lucky and have the best sub in the world, my mentor Barb, for 4 of the 8 days I'm missing. But the other ones I don't, and that's been rough because I can't expect a sub who doesn't even have a history background to be able to jump into AP History and be fine leading a discussion on the Jacksonian Era. So next week should be quite interesting.

This past weekend I totally had some 26.2 fever. It could be because I am seriously popping out like nobody's business--I mean, there ain't NO denying what's going on now. I'm getting huge. And last time I was 23 weeks pregnant it was early June and everyone was gearing up for their seasons, so it is very reassuring that this time, everyone's winding down. I definitely timed this one up better for many reasons, and that's one of them.

So I, like all of you, are looking ahead to next season. And I think I'm really going to go for it.

The theme of next season shall be, From Baby To Boston.

It means that I will have to make the Rev3 NOT my priority, though. It will be a fun race and one I'll enjoy, but I'm going to have to focus more on being the hostess with the mostess to my Team and use it as a long training day. And I'm okay with that. I actually swore that I wouldn't do any 70.3s next year, until the Rev3 had to go and be all in my backyard and stuff. Because I was really thinking that sprints and olys might fit into life better and also help me get into better shape (going harder for a shorter period of time really helps me drop weight). So, I'm making peace with letting go of the Rev3 as an A race.

My focus will be on Columbus. I think I really thrive off the crowds and races with good support. Chicago has perhaps too much crowd for me in a BQ attempt, and Columbus is only 2.5 hours away. I could easily sneak down there for 24 hours or so and be home afterwards to snuggle with my little guys/guy and girl.

(Yes, that's right. I don't know what I'm having. Well, I do...when people ask me, I reply "human." I like to be surprised. Plus, it gives me some motivation to get through the extremely uncomfortable final weeks--not to mention labor...)

Maybe it's because one year ago, I killed my PR there. Maybe it's because it's now a year away, and I'm stuck here with a big ol' butt and the swine flu, but whatever it is, I just think I'm going to do this.

Next year, at this time, I'm going to punch my ticket to Boston.

And that's the end of the discussion.