Sparks Indoor Triathlon

Today,  I competed in my 2nd tri, but I'm counting it as my first (last one was in 1996). I signed up in December and thought I could get a few swims in so I wouldn't drown. That didn't happen. Then I thought I could get some biking in... Maybe a mile total. Oh well. Just hope I don't drown 

I was in the first wave (right a 7am) and I was happy to see that I wouldn't have to share a lane. Started out and was feeling pretty good. First lap was 55 seconds. Turned for the second lap and about halfway through I could feel myself starting to panic. Not good!. So I flipped over onto my back and kicked until I had control of my breathing. And I realized that I was going to have to slow down to just swim to finish.

I climbed out of the water at 11:42 and hurried to the transition area/ bike area. Got dried off, put my shoes and socks on and climbed on the bike, completely forgetting to put on my shorts (I still had on my swimsuit...)

Climbed on the bike and got paired with a very talkative volunteer. He was really nice, but I wasn't really wanting to talk to him about training for a marathon...

Bike went fairly quickly and before I knew it I was heading to the track. The first lap was interesting as I worked the jello out of my legs and found my stride. Every few laps I had to remind my volunteer to tell me my splits and what lap I was on (surprising, because he had been so talkative by the bike...) Before I knew it, I was finishing up lap 40. Two more to go and I would be finished!

I crossed the finish line in 1:05:11. And 4th in my age group. If I had been 8 seconds faster, I would have been second. There was only about 45 seconds between 1st and 4th place.

Overall I'm happy with the race. Maybe next year I'll actually train for it

1st place overall female: Robin, me and 1st place in my age group: Holly

Cavanal Killer

A couple weeks ago, I ran/ walked/ crawled the Cavanal Killer here in Poteau.

Since I live on the backside of the World's Highest Hill, it taunted me the entire drive in.

Can you see the towers on top?  This is from the parking lot that we started from...

The first part of the race is nice, gently climbing.  I got to almost 2 miles before it *felt* hard.  That was just the hill playing a trick on me lol!

I've had dreams that I'm running up steep hills and had to crawl on my hands and knees to make it...  This hill put those dreams to shame.  The switchbacks were terrible, then around mile 3 there was a false sense of hope with a slight downhill and *flat* section.  

About a quarter mile from the finish, some of the top finishers were coming down the hill and said I was on the last climb of the race...  Um, last climb?  Hasn't this been one continuous climb?

Finally the finish!  My goal was to finish under an hour...  I finished in 1:00:03.  Grr...

The final stats...  Close to 1800 ft gain in elevation in less than 5 miles.

After I grabbed something to drink and a snack, I decided to be one of the crazy ones and run back down the hill.

Here's a view from the top.  The pictures were taken last summer.

Now that I've had a couple days to recover, I want to do it again =)

Ouachita Switchbacks

On Saturday I had the chance to run the Ouachita Switchbacks 25k.  

I think I should have paid a bit more attention to the description...

"Oklahoma's Most Challenging and Scenic 50K and 25K.  The race is located in the Ouachita National Forest near Big Cedar, Oklahoma.  Big Cedar is an intersection where highways 259 and 63 meet but there is not really a town there.  There are no stores in Big Cedar and there will be no restroom facilities at the race site.  It is a primitive location without electricity and so be prepared."

Primitive, but beautiful.

I carpooled to the race site with a bunch of other crazy trail runners.  All who I was meeting for the first time that day.  But don't worry, we're runners.  That means that we're friends =)

After getting checked in (and reminded numerous times that we needed to check out before we left) figuring out what I was going to carry, what I was going to wear...  We lined up to head out.

Within the first few miles, I knew this was not going to be an easy race.  I had to be talented enough to keep my eyes on the trail to avoid falling flat on my face and to be looking for the blue markers on the trees...  At times I didn't think that we were still on the trail.

Yes, we were still on the trail...  See that deer path?  That's what we were following.  Until we got to the river of rock.  Then we followed the blue marks across.

Now, when I said this was a 25k (15.4 miles), I really meant to say it was 17.77 miles.  And not because we got lost.  It just happened that the climb to the top of Winding Staircase was 8.85 miles- across a river of rock and a stream that you had to wade through.  Which on the way back felt wonderful on the calves.

Where there was a shelter and an aid station.  After refueling, we headed back down the mountain.

And to the finish line where there was plenty of potato soup, chili, cornbread, sandwiches, cookies and great camaraderie.

And since this was my first official race as a Tough Chick, the required selfie proving that I was still able to walk =)

For those of you wondering about the elevation.  The lowest point was around 940' and the highest was 2440'.

It was much more challenging than I had anticipated, but also a lot of fun.  So much, that I'm already planning on next year =)

Week 11 Recap

If the fact that it's Thursday and I'm just now getting to last week's recap doesn't tell you how my week has been...

Things have been even more busy around here than usual.  Why?  Well, because we put our house on the market this week and spent most of last week/ weekend getting it ready.  Lots of lots of cleaning, organizing and getting rid of stuff (I'm not even sure how to count the 2 van loads and overflowing garbage bins for my yearly total...).  But, the house was officially listed yesterday.  AND!  We had a showing!  Now to wait and see if there's an offer with that...

In the midst of all that (as if that wasn't enough!) Mom 4ce met on Tuesday for another group workout 

yes, I had the longest arms so we could all fit in the picture =)

and on Saturday for the C25k workout.  Our group grew a bit this week!

All of the ladies did a great job this week!

Like last week, I headed out early to run a few miles before we met- 13.3 to be exact.  And in the process officially earned the St Patty's Day Virtual Half Marathon Medal.

Another half completed for my goal towards 13 for the year.  And the next few weeks will see me checking off a few more!

And with trying to keep the house clean and *show* ready, we're spending more time outside.  Good thing the weather's cooperating!

 He really will eat his veggies.  And now that I have proof, he can never say he doesn't like broccoli ;)

Sarge demonstrating how they ate when he was in Afghanistan   

Girly caught the Easter bunny...

Playing is such hard work.

It was a delicious cookie.

I love finding these messages all over the house.

That about wraps up this last week...  And a couple days into this week.

Keep reaching for your goals!

232.48/ 1000 miles

5/13 half marathons

1411/ 10,000 push- ups

40/ 180 school days

296/ 1189 chapters in the Bible

Week 10 Recap

Had a busy week again last week.  Lots of running around, but not really feeling like I accomplished much.  Sigh...

Tuesday night Mom 4ce had their fist group workout.  It was a small group, but lots of fun.  Kelli did a great job leading us =)

Thursday night we ended up in the ER with one of the kids.  Sweet Pea fell and cracked her noggin pretty good.  Course by the time we were seen, the swelling had gone done and she was acting normal...  Well, as normal as a overly tired toddler acts =)

Saturday I headed over to the Cedar Hill Levee to run some miles.  I had the pleasure of running into a couple of runners from the local group that I knew from on- line, but hadn't had the chance to meet in person yet.  It was fun to run a couple miles with them =)

There were two purposes for heading out on Saturday.  The first was to run the Fit, Fab and Lean in 2013 Virtual Half Marathon.  Finished that in about 1:56.

And the second was to kick off Mom 4ce's Couch to 5k training group.  Again, a small group, buts lots of laughs =)

So, that was my week.  Still getting things organized and ready for the start of my Turbo Fire challenge.  There's a couple spots open yet if you're interested!

201.15/ 1000 miles

4/ 13 half marathons

1368/ 10,000 push- ups

35/ 180 school days

249/ 1189 chapters in the Bible

30 bags and a couple big pieces of baby gear out the door

Week 7 Recep

I'm a day behind this week.  Sarge had a long weekend, so we spent some time in OK with his parents.  Beautiful country that recharges the soul...  So much better running out there than in the concrete jungle =)

Mountain views and sunny skies...

There were even ducks swimming on the pond, but the mutt scared them off when we came by.

This was overlooking the quarry hill I ran down (thankfully down and not up!) on Sunday.  

My Sunday run was also my Sweet Cupcake Virtual 10k (turned into 8.5 miles).  For my effort, I earned this sweet bling.

Y'all may be wondering way I'm running virtual runs.  For the most part, virtual runs work better than *real* races.  I can fit them around my family's schedule.  And almost all of them benefit a charity.

There you have it.  A look at what I did last week.

133.9/ 1000 miles

3/ 13 half marathons

1073 10,000 push- ups

25/ 180 school days

182/ 1189 chapters in the Bible

26 bags and a couple big pieces of baby gear out the door

What are you most proud of this last week?

Week 5 Recap

I'm starting to feel like a broken record with how fast the weeks are going by.  It seems like Monday comes around way too fast =)

To update my totals... 
96.1/ 1000 miles
3/ 13 half marathons
768/ 10,000 push- ups
18/ 180 school days
130/ 1189 chapters in the Bible
9 bags and a couple big pieces of baby gear out the door

My decluttering efforts will need to pick up steam the next couple weeks.  Sarge received PCS orders this morning, so now we have to get the house ready to sell.  Sigh...  Just when I thought my life couldn't get any more hectic ;)

I ran my third virtual half marathon for the year this last weekend.  Ran the first 4 miles with my dog and then the last 9 by myself.  Felt pretty strong the entire way.  Finished up in 1:52:19.  That's pretty consistent with the other 2 I've run this year.  It will be interesting to see how I do in a real race with lots of other people to push me =)

I'm still working my way through Les Mills Combat.  I start week 5 today.  I can definitely tell a difference in my strength and coordination.  Week 1 I struggled with the front kick/ back kick combos and now they're feeling a lot easier.   

I'm starting a new challenge group this week and am pretty excited about it.  I have big plans for the group, and once we start seeing results, I'm going to use this format for all my new challenge groups =)  The next group will start mid- March and take us through Memorial Day- Just in time for all the summer fun!  Let me know if you're interested in joining!

Jiggle Butt 5k

This last weekend I ran the Jiggle Butt 5k.  One of my friends had posted that she wanted to run it, so I said I would go with her.

Up early on Saturday to get ready for the race.  Very thankful for a pot of hot coffee =)  Got the kids up and loaded into the van (Sarge had to work, so I was taking them to my friend's house).  And left just before 7am...  Which is actually a *late* start considering most of my other races I'm leaving before 6.

When I stepped outside I realized it wasn't going to like running a whole lot.  It was 65* and about 200% humidity.  I started thinking it would actually be easier to run if it was raining...

Dropped the kids off, picked up my friend and headed to UT Arlington for the race.  Once there, we wandered around the expo, got a free massage and picked up some free samples.

Pretty soon it was time to line up for the race.  This year (I ran this race 3 yrs ago) they had pacers starting at 8 minute miles.  And they lined up at the front.  

I always get a kick out of the younger kids who line up at the very front.  Especially when they're about 8 yrs old.  Do they really think they can run a sub 21 minute 5k?

So, I lined up behind all the kids and waited for the start.  Pretty soon we were off and running.  About a half mile into the race, one of the little girls (maybe 8 yrs old) in front of me started doing cartwheels.  So, not only did I have to weave around the dying teenagers, I now had to watch out for flailing arms and legs...

Mile 1 went by in 7:53.  I knew I had to pick it up some.

Mile 2 flew by in 7:30.  Much better.

Mile 3 slowed down again to 7:50.  The humidity was really getting to me.

I finished in 23:55, AP 7:42.  I was 11th overall and 2nd in my age group.

Runkeeper link

The medals this year were really cute.  So glad I was able to get one lol!

After I finished, I went back out to run in with my friend.  I'm glad I did, and so is she.  She was having a mental struggle during the last mile and needed a shot of confidence to finish strong (which I knew she could do!)  She was about to take about 8 minutes (yes, minutes) off of her previous 5k time.  I'm so proud of her =)

Hot and sweaty after the race.

Back inside for a bit and then on our way home.  When we came back outside, it had finally decided to start raining.  And then the best thing about running a race with a friend...  Coffee!

13 in '13

To help me reach my goal of 1,000 running miles this year. I've committed to running 13 half marathons this year.  

They will be a mix of virtual and for real runs.  The virtual runs are great, because I can complete them on my own schedule and they're cheaper...  But I still get some bling for them =)

I started the year with the Runningnerds Winter Blast Virtual Half and I have at least 5 more virtual ones scheduled this year.  Now I need to decide which for real half marathons I want to do.  There are so many great ones offered in the DFW area it will be hard to pick.

What are some of your favorite races?

Dallas Marathon

Like any night before a race, I hardly slept.  I'd drift off for a bit and then wake with a start thinking I had missed my alarm.  When it finally did go off at oh dark early, I crawled out of bed, pushed start on the coffee maker and hopped in the shower.

A cup of coffee and a peanut butter sandwich later, the first of our little entourage arrived.  Since Jax was going nuts thinking I was taking him out for a run, we decided to wait outside for the rest of the group.  When I stepped outside, I realized it was pretty warm and humid (yuck!).  I started rethinking my race plan.

Agent J and Dark Rye managed to find my house without getting lost in the dark.  We got loaded up and headed into Dallas.  After figuring out the parking and deciding what we were going to wear and carry with us, we headed into the convention center to wait...  And wait...  And wait...

Finally about 0730 we headed out to the start corrals.  Since it was so warm out, I wasn't worried about getting chilled before the race ;)

While we were waiting, we bumped into some friends of friends who had also done Capitol to Coast.  We chatted with them for a bit and heard another amazing transformation story about how diet and exercise made all the difference in her quality of life.

Right before the start...

Announcements finally started, National Anthem was song and the race was on.  Except we still had a few minutes before we crossed the start line.

Just a few people in front of us lol!

It took us about 5 minutes to cross the start (The elites were already about a mile into the race by the time I crossed the line.).  There were cannons blowing confetti in the air and as I got closer, I saw that it was shaped like TX.  It felt good to be running in my hometown =)

Trying to keep a conservative pace, I wove my way through the crowd passing people and admiring their costumes.  Especially this one...

Or was it a costume?

Around mile 7, the race went past Texas Scottish Rite Hospital.  There Agent J's beautiful wife and equally as lovely daughters were cheering on the runners.  She snapped this picture of us...

Agent J hamming it up and me, well, I have yet to take a flattering race photo ;)

Quick bathroom break and we were off running again.  It was about this point that we started hitting some rolling hills.  After a bit *steeper* one Agent J told me to go on.  He was having problems with his IT band and didn't want me to wait for him.  So I started pushing for the 4:15 group- I could see the balloons in front of me.

I caught up to them, was feeling comfortable and continued to run my pace.  Shortly after the halfway point, I got a text from my dad.  It was just the bit of encouragement I needed at that point.  

By the time I hit White Rock Lake, it felt like the humidity was starting to break.  It was still overcast (thankfully!) and there was a decent breeze off the lake.  It made for a comfortable run.

Around mile 15, the 4:15 group caught up to me (I had been walking through the water stops, haven't perfected drinking and running yet ;)).  I stayed with them for the next few miles, but the pace leader was way to chipper for me.  

At the Cliff Shot stop, I took a bit longer to down some Gu, water and oranges.  It was here that I lost the 4:15 group.  I was still feeling pretty good through the Dolly Parton hills...  Although I didn't really feel like they were hills.  Hmm.  Maybe I'm stronger on a hilly course than a flat course.

Around mile 22, the outside of my right shin started tingling and shortly went numb.  My foot felt like it was flopping up, which was a really odd feeling, so I walked to see if that helped.  While it got the feeling back in my foot, it got to me mentally.  I spent the next 3 miles convincing myself that I could in fact keep running and I didn't need to walk more than the through the water stops.  A few more walking breaks than I wanted and a metal struggle to keep going...

Soon I saw the sign for mile 25 and I was determined to finish the race running, err, shuffling, or whatever it was that I was doing at that point.  So I started and kept chanting one more step, one more step.

Somewhere in there my phone died and I lost the audio cues from my Runkeeper.  By the time I turned the second to last corner, it didn't really matter.  The energy from the crowd was amazing.  The cheers, the clapping...  It pulled me along and soon I was turning into the finish shoot.  I looked up and saw 4:26 and change on the clock.  I was happy.  The *marathon curse* had been broken.  I did not add 30 minutes onto my time.  I had taken time off from my last marathon =)

I collected my medal, a reflective blanket and continued to weave my way through the finish area.  Once back inside the convention center, I headed to the finisher area and grabbed my bag, my shirt and some food.

Into the family reunion area to use the complimentary phones and chargers to call Sarge and my dad to let them know I was done.  A quick change into dry clothes and then sitting down to wait for the rest of the entourage to finish.

Once everyone had finished, we headed back to the parking lot and realized the cold front had moved in.  It was actually colder after the race than it was before.  I would have liked the cooler weather to start, but was glad we didn't have the wind =)

 

Those are some big balls...

The results page is pretty cool.  The first one shows how I finished compared to everyone else, gender division and age division.

RESTART PLACE FINISH MAP Info Email Print		NAME: Lynette Berger EVENT: Marathon DATE: Sunday, December 9, 2012 BIB/DIV:   431 / F 30-39 TIME: 4:26:22 (gun) / 4:21:06 (net)

Result in Entire Field - 1673rd place 3193 finishers behind. 34% of finishers ahead. Result in Gender (Women) - 475th place 1425 finishers behind. 25% of finishers ahead. Result in Division (F 30-39) - 206th place 504 finishers behind. 29% of finishers ahead.

LEGEND The location of the figure on the line shows your position in the finish order of the race. The closer the figure is to the right, the closer you were to the winner. FACTS Who's who Of the 4866 who finished, 39% were Women and 61% were Men. Opposite Sex For the record, you were ahead of about 60% of men runners. Timing Info Your start delay: 5m 16s. Note: This page based on NET  times.   Click images for GUN times.  Over Final 6.2 miles  You passed 176 runners And 46 passed you

This one shows my average pace and when I finished who was around me.

RESTART PLACE FINISH MAP		NAME: Lynette Berger EVENT: Marathon DATE: Sunday, December 9, 2012 BIB/DIV:   431 / F 30-39 TIME: 4:26:22 (gun) / 4:21:06 (net)

YOUR SPLIT TIMES		YOUR SPEED

YOUR FINISH - a bird's eye view

 Lynette Berger

 Runners in your division (F 30-39)

 Other Women Runners

 Men Runners

And this one shows how I did over each section of the course and where I was when the winner finished.

RESTART PLACE FINISH MAP		NAME: Lynette Berger EVENT: Marathon DATE: Sunday, December 9, 2012 BIB/DIV:   431 / F 30-39 TIME: 4:26:22 (gun) / 4:21:06 (net)

LOCATION ON COURSE

WHERE WERE YOU? This chart estimates your location when selected leaders crossed the finish line. WINNER The winner of the event was in division M _NoAge and achieved a time of 02:19:38. SECTION MPH -6.2mi 6.2- Half Half- 20mi 20mi -Fin Mouseover for info FRIEND'S LOCATION To compare results of this race, enter LAST NAME or Bib ID of another entrant. Overall, I'm happy with how I did.  I didn't feel like I had gotten the training in that I wanted, so to finish like I did felt good.