Tri training

One of the things I love about being outside training for the Ohio's Women Tri for the Cure is being in nature. And learning from awesome athletes. We ventured as a family to Alum Creek on Wed. night for a gorgeous night of open water swimming. My first ever. We grilled hot dogs, swam and had a great time.

Our friend Heather was there coaching me on how to swim in open water with the waves, murky waters and my small fear of open water.

Ok. Alum was a lot better than I thought it would be--the swim was even refreshing! I swam and Heather, who has completed Ironmans, coached me on how to position my head (further in water) and to relax my shoulders. The hard part for me was learning how to breath without sucking in water and sighting (spotting distant tree or landmarks). She let me know that doing the breaststroke to sight works for her.

We had a great time and I am going back more to work on my swimming. Heather's next Ironman is in September. Thanks friend!

On Monday I ran at Glacier Ridge and had a great run. The weather was pretty hot - 80s at 7pm, but it got better as the sun went down. I ran around a 9:15 pace since I was going seven miles and haven't ran that far for awhile. That's almost 40 sec/pace faster than I was doing in the spring, which made me feel great. And I wasn't bursting at the seams running fast either. It was just a solid, steady pace.

At the end the sun was coming through the trees and it was so beautiful and holy. Like devotions in the woods. I always love those runs when it's just this experience of seeing the beauty of God in nature.