Music City Triathlon - June 28, 2013

I didn't expect a current.  I didn't expect to vomit.  I didn't expect a perfect weather day.  I didn't expect to make a new personal record.  I didn't expect to cry.

There were a lot of things I didn't expect to happen on this race.  I actually went into the race just hoping I would finish because I had not been able to train properly the weeks leading up to it (due to a quad injury).  I had set a goal for myself, which was a pretty lofty goad, but I quickly let that dream die after my lack of training. 

I arrived at the race site at 6AM.  As i started putting my transition station together, I kept praying and asking for the Lord's strength to come upon me because I wasn't sure how I was going to accomplish this feat.  

We lined up at the start of the swim… This was my first open water swim, so I didn't really know what to expect, but I didn't expect what I got.  the current was strong, and i had to swim against it for most of the swim.  basically I spent A LOT more energy on the swim than I was planning or anticipating.  

Because the swim was so hard, and took so much, I was already exhausted by the time I ran up to the transition area to get on my bike.  At this point, I threw up some, and while that's gross, I had a quick though of "finally, i worked out so hard, I threw up!"  And once i was finished, i got on my bike and off i went!  Cycling is my strongest sport, and so going into the tri, I wasn't worried about it.  However, once I got on my bike and my legs didn't want to move, I knew I was in trouble.  It took me a good 2 miles to get my head back in the game and refocus on what I had to do.  During those 2 miles, I actually had the thought "I'm never doing another tri… this is ridiculous".  Of course I didn't mean those words, but in the moment I did!  Thankfully as I prayed through this moment, the Lord reminded me of how much I enjoy it, and of course I will do another one!!!  How's Sept. 7, 2013 sound?  Good to me!  So the bike was a 12 mile out and back course.  They shut down many of the roads in Nashville just for us, and it was so nice to ride down Ellington Parkway because it is so smooth.  There were a few hills that weren't so fun, but it was a GREAT day for a ride.  

The run, like everything else, had unexpected results.  As i started out, I walked up the pedestrian bridge (because my legs were like jello coming off the bike)… Once I got to the top, there was a sweet man sitting among the spectators.  And what he said was another aspect of this run I didn't expect… he just simply said: "Hey 150, you're doing a great job, I'm proud of you.!"  I broke at that point.  tears started running down my face because it was as if the Lord was speaking through this man directly to me.  I needed to hear those words at that exact moment, and those words are what drove me to keep running.  My goal for the run portion of this race was to run more than I walked.  during my first tri, i walked the entire thing, so obviously I wanted to do better than that.  AND I DID!!!  I ended up walking about 3/4 of a mile total.  HUGE improvement for me.  

As I crossed the finish line, I heard cheers from my adoptive sisters who came up to watch me and cheer for me.  It was such a blessing to have them there, and it meant so much to me!  I don't do these races for anybody but myself and the Lord, but it is always nice to have someone there who is cheering specifically for YOU!!  

After the race, I went through the food line, and then over to the results area.  As I searched for my name, I finally found it.  I hesitantly looked at all my times.  I finished in 1:54:36… As soon as I saw that number, I cried again.  All day long, I felt like I hadn't performed very well, and that I would have a horrible time.  I had set up my expectation to believe that it would be impossible to attain the goals I had set in front of myself- which was to finish in under 2 hours.  I DID IT!!!  I could not believe it!  But that was just the "icing on the cake" of what the Lord had been speaking to me all day.  Way back at the beginning of the day, I prayed: " Lord, may you be glorified through this race today.  You have created my body to move and worship your through this sport, so may you be glorified today."  As I was out on the course, multiple times, when I was weak, I cried out to the Lord in my weakness, and His gentle response was this:  "my strength is made perfect in your weakness."  Honestly, there is no way I would have finished in the time that I did had I done it in my own strength… but it was apparent from the moment I jumped into the cumberland river that I wasn't going to be able to do the race in my own strength.  I must give all the glory to the Lord for this race.  today showed me how easy it is for me to slide into an attitude of pride when if comes to sports, thinking I'm better than I am, but I was humbled today.  Every stroke, stride and step I took today was an opportunity for me to grow closer to the Lord by stepping out of my own strength and depending on HIM.  As I released my expectations and hopes and desires to Him, He was then able to do exceedingly and abundantly more that I could have ever hoped or imagined.  I NEVER imagined that this would be the race where I shaved 24 minutes off my previous tri time.  NEVER!  But In christ, all thins are possible.  Phillipians 4:13 says that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  I have this verse taped to my bike, and it played through my head along with 2 Cor. 12:9- "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  The Word of the Lord is such a refreshing thing.  It is TRUTH.  

It was a great day overall.  I can't wait to see what the Lord does in the coming days in my life as a result of this.  I can't wait to share my story with anyone who is willing to hear because it is a story of overcoming through Christ.

Here are some photos:

Thanks for reading!

Training Thursdays

Ok all, we've decided hijack Thursdays and make them all about TRAINING!!!  For the next few weeks (at least) I will be focusing on my triathlon training.  In case you  missed my post, I'm doing a Sprint Triathlon on July 28th.  I'm a much stronger cyclist than I was when I competed in my first triathlon, so I'm not worried about that part of it.  Swimming, doesn't concern me too bad, but running might be my demise.  All that being said, most sprint training schedules are 8 weeks.  Since I only have 4 weeks to train, I've taken an 8 week schedule and modified it to what I need... I'm still going to train in all 3 events and we will see what happens.

You might notice that on my training plan, Tuesdays are strength training days, and Fridays are my "rest" days.  Let me just stop right here and point out how important it is to have both of those days in your training.

Strength Training
Strength training days help you focus on muscles and areas of your body that aren't being worked out in bike rides, runs or swims... It can help increase your speed and endurance while decreasing the risk of injury!  I know you all probably think that running, swimming and biking works all of your muscles, but the reality is, those specific sports only target the large muscles and maybe some smaller muscle groups, but strength training, you can focus on those smaller muscle groups, thus helping to have much better overall health.  Now, there is much more to strength training than just weights, but I'll cover that in another post. :)

Rest
Um... you've been working your body out really hard, it's time to REST!!!!  Your muscles (and mind) need a little time to recover!  If you work and work and work, with no rest, you will burn out mentally and physically, and you also increase your risk for injury!  I'm a huge fan of rest days... not because I don't have to work out, but because I know that if I rest, then my workouts will actually be much stronger!!

Brick workouts
Another thing you will notice about my training plan is that many days it says "Swim 45 Run 30" or something like that.  Since triathlons are multisport, we must train with that mentality.  Some days you only train in one area of endurance, but ultimately you will want to train in multiple areas so you build your endurance!  Again, I'll probably write an entire post on this as well, at a later point in time.

All that said, here is my training schedule.  I don't recommed doing this one if you aren't already somewhat fit.  If you are training for your first tri, I highly reccommend doing an 8 week training program.  My favorite is Hal Higdeon, and you can find his training schedule here.  He has a whole bunch of training schedules for different events (click here to see an entire list of training programs)

Enjoy this and happy training!  I'll "see ya on the road"

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	Run 30	Strength	Bike 45, Strength	Swim 30 Run 25	Rest	Run 30 Min	Swim 30 Run 30
2	Bike 40 Run 15	Strength	Swim 15 Run 30	Run 30 Strength	Rest	Run 35	Swim 30 Bike 60
3	Run 35	Strength	Bike 40 Strength	Swim 30 Run 30	Rest	Run 40	Swim 30 Run 40
4	Bike 30 Run 30	Strength	Swim 30 Run 30	Run 30	Rest	Rest	Triathlon

Happy 1st official day of summer

Well, on this first day of summer, I did something that now I'm going to be held accountable for... I signed up for my 2nd Triathlon!!!  I did my first triathlon in 2010, i had never really ridden a road bike, I couldn't run to save my life, and I hadn't swam really since high school.  Now, 3 years later, I am a cyclist, still can't run to save my life, and I can swim so much better!  Training for my first triathlon is what got me started in cycling.  I LOVE IT!!!

So, I signed up for the Music City Triathlon on July 28th.  It's a 400 yard swim, 12 mile bike and 5K.  I'm currently dealing with a quad injury, but I know I'll be able train for this (even though it's 5 weeks away)... really, the only part that worries me is the 5K... I know that my partner in crime Annie, will give me tips and tricks for running, now that she's a half-marathon runner!

My first triathlon, I didn't have a goal for time.... I just wanted to finish!  and I finished in 2:16... This time, I do have a timeframe I'd like to finish in, and I think I can do it... of course I'll blog about it after the fact.

So, some of my posts over the next few weeks will be focused on training for this triathlon..

Never done one before?  you should TRI!!!! (see what I did there?)

Stacee

Good Bye Spring, Hello Summer!

Hey everyone! 

Long time, no see! I've been gearing up to wind down the school year and have officially finished my 2nd year teaching 4th, 5th, and 6th graders! (I teach music, art, and sometimes drama) It's flown by and this year held many new opportunities that wouldn't have been available had I not been living an active lifestyle.  Not only was I able to be the main event coach for one of my schools (had some of the kids advance pretty far in the district meets!), but I was also able to pick up a PE position for next year!  I'll be doing double duty teaching Music/Art and then I get to run out to the field to switch gears and teach outdoor activities. It's going to busy but it should also be really fun :) 

Now that I'm on summer vacation I have many, many posts I want to share with you guys on what I've been doing since my intro. Not a whole lot has changed per say but it has definitely been charged up!! It's been great, especially the last 8 weeks! But you have to wait for that haha 

I hope everyone is enjoying their last week of spring, Summer is almost here!! 

I'll leave you with a shot I took of my morning run today. Gorgeous view of Morro Rock about halfway through our 3 miles, of course the running was in between stopping to dig up huge sand dollars that were EVERYWHERE! Haha it was a great way to wake up. 

Have a great week ahead!