Preparation

The Ohio Women's Tri for the Cure is tomorrow! I am really excited about doing it and a little peeved.

Like--"Why the heck did I sign up for this thing that has me swimming when i just learned how to swim right four weeks ago?" I didn't know that you had to wear a swim hat and goggles or that you should exhale through your nose in the water.

Every time I get ready to do a race, I get testy and just want the gosh darn thing to be over with. For me, the best part if planning it and signing up for it -- the rush of excitement, my goals going through my head, marking off my training schedule.

And then race day comes...

Or the night before...and my stomach hurts all day.

Having the girls and Brandon cheer me on are about the only thing I look forward to.

Wednesday night I swam with Heather again and felt a lot better. We did the swim race course twice so I would feel comfortable. And can I tell you how amazing Heather is? I just love her spirit and how much she goes for her goals--hello Ironman! She has a race in September and I know she will do amazing.

And Brandon is letting me ride his rode bike, which is sweet. I told him now I know why road bikers name their bikes. Going from the hybrid trek to his road bike was like going from peanut butter to nutella.

So, how do you handle new situations? Do you become more outgoing? Or less? I have all of my things on the floor, ready to go.

I would love to finish the race under one hour. Second goal is to finish the race under 55 minutes. I know I can run pretty fast, but not sure how I will run after swimming and running. I would love to run a sub 8:30 for two miles.

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.