Gotta get my fix...or something like that

So, taking the advice from my fearless Ironman, Jim, I ordered up a bunch of Hammer Nutrition supplements that should aid in my daily workouts as well as races. The golden rule for racing is that you NEVER try this stuff on your big race day. You need to practice with it during training and 'not so important' races first to make sure that your body likes the stuff and responds favorably. 

So... I will be testing these products out during my training for the marathon, as well as that race and see how it goes. It does kinda look like I'm in cahoots with a drug dealer, though, doesn't it? (Hammer actually sent a whole boat load of 'sample' products and goodies with my order....was like Christmas!)

Last night I had Jonny's spin class - weren't too many spinners compared to last week. Jonny was nice to us and we did a lot of high-cadence work and I got a bit of a break on our 'stair sets' (yes, we run stairs between sets) since I'm racing this weekend and I didn't want to kill my legs. 

Jim & Heidi stopped in and we got to watch the Ironman Wisconsin racer/volunteer video that they got in the mail. Was fun to see and there were quite a few people in there that we knew. Was a nice distraction from wattage and cadence for about 15 minutes. :) 

Tonight Jake and I are going to a wedding/reception for his boss's daughter. Tomorrow is running down at the lakes with run club and picking up my race packet for Sunday. I hope we get some good stuff in our packets again this year! Jonny wants me to go 21 mph on the course on Sunday - a pretty high goal since the distance is 22 miles with some really good hills. But... I will try my best to get 'er up around there. Stay tuned for the race report....

Moving on up!

Well, I decided this week to bite the bullet and upgrade my 1/2 marathon distance at San Antonio's Rock N Roll race to the full marathon distance. Figured since I'm already booked to fly out there I may as well get the practice in - since I've never run a full marathon before! We shall see how this one goes. Now I have to bump that mileage up - so much fun!

I got my other workouts set up with Nicole this morning, which was a bit harsh since I had class late last night and had to get up early for our training session. I need to get used to morning workouts again, I'm afraid. 

After work I got to go check out Heidi's new crib and critique her paint swatch selections. I think Andrea and I bullied her into a few colors (Toast!) so we'll see if she follows through or not. And finally, I may become a pseudo-college-friend-auntie tonight! Angie is in the hospital in the throws of contractions... Her little angel is coming soon! Can't wait to meet her!

It's Official - I'm Ironman-bound!

Well, just shelled out my entrance fee (and applicable handling charges) for Ironman Wisconsin. I'm in! No turning back now...

Runnin' in the Rain

Well, today got up at 5 AM to get down to the capital for our run with run club - we had 3 buses hauling runners from clubs all over the metro to Mpls to run back into St. Paul for everyone training for the Twin Cities marathon. Most everyone was running the 20 mile, but there were a handful of us doing around half that distance. I think I ended up running around 11 miles - in the drizzly rain. Wasn't too bad.

Then I headed home to take a nap before going over to my brother's to celebrate Mom's b-day. Was fun to hang out with my nephew, Laike, who is getting so big (picture below in the onesie I got him)! He was giving his dad a run for his money by not wanting to sleep this weekend, which this evening was no different. Which was fine with me - as then I could play with him more!

Now it's time for a little "lite" reading for class, which I'm sure will put me to sleep in no time flat. Unlike Laike, I think I'll be out like a light in no time. I was thinking of getting up early to ride the IronGirl route tomorrow - but that just seems like too much effort to get out of bed that early and get down to the south metro for a ride. I think maybe a little ride around here tomorrow afternoon sounds MUCH better.

Last item to ponder....should I up the ante in San Antonio and go the full marathon distance? Or keep 'er at the half. I think I need to decide next week - cuz my mileage needs to increase appropriately depending on this decision. Hmmmm....I think sleep sounds more fun to ponder right now.

Training Begins...

Well, this morning I met with my trainer Nicole. I've been training with Nicole off-and-on for probably 5-6 years. She's set me up for a fabulous wedding-physique (too bad that was over 3 yrs ago - ha ha!) and the training we've been doing for the past 6 months has really helped this season's races. Now, our next task....Ironman. We ran through my plan, goals for next few months, and got one workout setup. Gonna meet with her again next week to setup a few more weight training sessions for the month.

I grilled Jim yesterday at work on his thoughts on Fall training (the Ironman master) and will be sure to pick everyone's brains on this that I run into. I think my plan for now is to hit the weights, running (for my 1/2 and future full marathons) and spinning. Swimming can go to the way-side for a few months.

I did drop my Thursday night class for an independent study - so at least I don't have to go to that tonight. Whew!

Ironman Madison 2009 - Here we come!!!

Just a quick post... Cindy, Noelle and I got in to Ironman Madison for 2009! The race sold out yesterday (not sure how long it went online) but we are SUPER happy that we got all set and ready to go. I'll post up some info on the weekend and more pictures soon.... I need more hours in the day already!

Ironman Madison Race - Complete...Sign up - Almost there...

At finish line down by the capital

Us at 3:30 AM waiting in line...what beauties!

Well, we made it to Madison and had a great time volunteering yesterday. Currently, Noelle Cindy and myself are sitting in line to sign up for next year's race outside the convention center. We got here at 3:30 AM! (Yes, we are nuts...I've accepted that fact. We're signing up for Ironman - need I say more?). We are supposed to get a special line to sign up in, since we volunteered - but there were over 4500 volunteers...so we wanted to make sure we were safe. I think we'll be OK.... we are 9th, 10th, and 11th in line. hee hee.

Yesterday was fun. We got to the race early to watch the swim start and get our volunteer T-Shirt and wristband. That was a fiasco...they only had XXL T-shirts so we got "dresses" that we had to wear all day. So cute. We had a good spot watching the bikers going out of transition down a parking ramp helix - gotta be careful of that thing next year! 

We then shopped in the Ironman store a little and got ready for our shift in transition. We were "bike takers"...we were busy all day catching bikes from the athletes when they came in. We got a great workout running bikes back and forth all day! After that, we headed to the finish line to watch Jim, Michelle and Heidi come across. They all had PRs and did an awesome job!

I'm so excited for next year already - this race was fabulous and will be an amazing accomplishment once I get across that finish line. 364 days to go!!! The journey begins...

Heading to Madison

Well, we leave this morning for Madison! I ran with run club this morning for 9 miles, hit the grocery store and now am finishing up my packing to head down to get the girls. Should be a fun weekend. Last night Noelle and I went to get her M-dot tattoo. It looks awesome and I told Lucky that he'll be seeing me next year. ha ha!

School's Back in Session

Well, first night of Fall semester has started. It even feels like fall out with the crisp cool air that has been apparent the last few days. Class was interesting and mid-way through was debating if I should drop the class for another or not. This was a required class for my degree up to last year, then they yanked it and said we could take an elective instead. I just signed up anyways, as none of the other electives for this Fall looked interesting. Am not quite sure yet, but need to decide soon. Not sure what New Venture Marketing will do for me and my career...not terribly applicable, but whatever. At least the prof. has a cool Irish accent to listen to for 3 hrs on Thursday nights.

Tomorrow I'm going to go with Noelle to get her M-dot tattoo at Lucky's. She'll get to sport her new "tag" out in Madison this weekend. We're leaving Saturday (Noelle, Cindy and I) to get over there for volunteering on Sunday's Ironman race. Then on Monday...we plan to sign up for 2009. Should be fun to cheer on Jim, Heidi, and Michelle over there - maybe we'll get to take their bikes (our job in transition). I'll be looking for them!

Well, off to make my list of things to do before we leave, things to pack, and things that Jake needs to remember to do this weekend while I'm gone (honey-do list!).