/> SLO in Arkansas: April 2011

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Road Rash and Battle of the Bulge

I finally broke down and bought some bike shoes so I can clip in to my bike and not worry about my feet slipping off the pedals like they do with my tennis shoes. I got them on Thursday afternoon and tried clipping in and out with them one time on Friday after Silas changed my pedals out. I practiced on the trainer in the house, and it seemed ok. Then I was invited to go on a 20 mile ride on Saturday after lunch, which became my debut of trying the shoes/pedals out on the road. Yikes!! I rode with a group of 7, and I only knew 2 of the people there. The shoes did awesome and it all went great until we decided to stop for ice cream.....yes, I surround myself with fellow athletes who like me, exercise so we can eat whatever we want!! We made it to the parking lot and I forgot my feet were stuck to my bike when I went to stop, and I just tipped over right there in the parking lot. It was pretty funny, and it didn't hurt too bad. I am glad I fell, so now I know what it feels like, and will hopefully remember to clip out a little sooner next time. Just a little road rash from the fall, no big deal.

Here is my cool new tri outfit for my race in July. Cute huh!? The only problem with it is that it is all spandex, and very tight! Thus the battle of the bulge. You definitely can't hide anything in this little number, so the battle is on to have as little bulge as possible come race time:) I am not thinking my nightly snack of Oreos and milk will be able to last much longer on this plan. I am pretty mortified wearing this, but Silas and my friends all assure me I won't stand out since everyone else will be wearing spandex suits as well. I am really hoping my appetite goes down a bit as it warms up, so maybe I won't want to eat so much all the time!

Just a close up shot of my bike shoes. Silas picked them out for me. I would usually think white shoes are pretty dorky, but they look pretty cool with my bike:) I feel pretty fierce in them too:)

Not that they ever look towards the camera, but I couldn't resist adding little Jace to the mix:) Anyway, everything is going well and I feel good about my training and progress so far. I am proud, and very surprised, with my speed so far, and feel like I already have a great endurance base built up. So for now I am working on more speed, a little bit of technique, and arming myself with as much information as I can about how to train smart and effectively for a multi-sport event. Next step is to join a gym and begin my swim training, which should hopefully happen in the next few weeks. I may throw in a little weight training as well. My next 5k races are in mid-May, and then I plan to run on a marathon relay team May 28th here in town. I am having a great time and love all the competition of racing:) I was definitely made for this!
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Monday, April 25, 2011

Falcon 5k Recap

I keep surprising myself this year it seems! All week since my last 5k I focused on one race goal, to beat my time of 26:01. I ran twice last week, both runs were 5 miles at a pretty slow pace. But I brought it when it came time to race! I ran my fastest mile yet on the first mile, at 7:33. I held on petty well for the second mile and kept it under 8 minutes, but I get so tired by mile 3. I ran that one around 8:30. I finished in 25:06 with a new personal record:) It was also good enough for first place in my age group, so I got a trophy too:)

The course was pretty tough with lots of hills, which I know made me extra tired at the end. I guess it is time to focus on holding on to my speed when I am tired, which is hard to do! I think I was the 6th female finisher overall. I need to get some new race goals since I keep blowing through them.

The boys had fun playing with daddy while I ran. At least they get lots of energy out at the races too!

Jace got pretty tired during the award ceremony, but other than that everyone did great. I have a few weeks off from racing. Next 5k is on May 14th here in town. Hopefully by then I will have figured out how to keep all 3 miles under 8 minutes! I also managed to squeeze in a 20 mile bike ride Saturday afternoon after the race! I will save that adventure for another post though:)
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Sunday, April 24, 2011

More Easter

Tyson was so excited to check out what was in his Easter basket.

Our sweet little old neighbors love our boys, and got these cool motorcycles for them this year. They love them and won't put them down!

Jace was still a bit groggy while checking out his basket, but got very excited when he saw the candy! He shook his egg full of jelly beans furiously and of course the lid flew off and they went everywhere:)


Here is Jace saying, "Where did they go?" This is one of his favorite phrases right now. The boys have had a great Easter so far. We had a wonderful church service celebrating our risen Savior this morning, and will hunt eggs in the backyard and eat our ham dinner later this afternoon. What a great weekend with fun and family:)
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Happy Easter!

Tried to catch a few pictures before church this morning!

Maybe one day we will get the whole family in one picture too:)

My favorite guys:)

This was the best one I managed of just the boys! They would not put their new toy motorcycles down for anything though!
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Sunday, April 17, 2011

HMG 5k Race Recap

I may be pushing my luck with this post since I finally got some pictures up, but here goes! I ran my first 5k of the year yesterday morning and it went great:) I had decided not to run the 1/2 marathon, and on race morning I was super glad I made that decision. It was cold and WINDY! Not great for running at all. I was one of the few people in shorts and short sleeves:) Anyway, the race went out fast as usual but it felt slow due to fighting the crowds and the wind, which never seemed to be at your back. I knew I was good when I hit mile 1 in a record pace of 7:50! Now to hang on. I managed to hang on for mile 2 but mile 3 had hills, lots of wind, and the finish line was all uphill with the wind in your face. I felt like I was barely moving. I tried to get in under 26 minutes but official time was 26:01. Average pace of 8:24 I believe.
Even though I know I can run faster than that, I was very pleased overall. I even walked away with 2nd place in my age group and a trophy! It was my first time to place in the top 3, and I was so excited:) I ended up being the 11th female finisher overall, and finished 54th overall (men and women) out of 286. I can't believe I almost made it to the top 10 women finishers! I guess that will be my next goal. I run this coming weekend again, and hope to set a new PR.
This is me and the guy that works at the shop next door to Silas. He has run several of the same races I have:)
Showing off my 2nd place award...it's a nice etched glass mug. I love starting off my short distance season with a Personal Record for the 5k and have high hopes of setting some new ones in the next few months! Next race goal....break 25:30.
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Family




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Monday, April 11, 2011

April Showers

I still can't get my pictures to post at the moment, but now Silas is trying to help me figure it out, so hopefully I will be back in business soon:) Spring is in full swing in Arkansas, complete with windy days and lots of rain. The wind was blowing 26 MPH during my run on Saturday with gusts up to 35 MPH! It was crazy and not so much fun. What was fun was seeing my time. I have gotten into the shorter distance frame of mind with my triathlon coming up this summer, so I decided to go out on Saturday morning and just see what I could run a 5k in. (Oh yeah, I have decided not to run the 1/2 marathon this coming weekend. I just wasn't feeling very motivated at all, so I think I am going to run the 5k if I can get the online registration to work! ) Anyway, last year my fastest 5k time in a race was 27:20. Now I am a firm believer that anything you can run in practice, you will beat in a real race, since you have some little helpers called adrenaline and competition! That being said, my goal for a 5k this year was to run a sub 27 minute race. Well, I may have to re-evaluate my racing goals, since I went out and KILLED it on Saturday. I ran my 3.1 miles in 25:39! My pace averaged 8:15 miles. I was pleased as pie to say the least. Especially when I looked at my watch when I hit mile 1 and it said 8:00! I haven't run a mile in under 8 minutes since I was 18 years old and in the best shape of my life. I am now thinking my new race goal will be to run a sub 25 minute 5k. I am definitely interested to see what time I can post in a real race, especially for the first race of the season this year:)

posted by Lauren at 11:18 AM 1 Comments

Friday, April 08, 2011

Spring Training

We are loving this time of year and doing lots of things outside these days. The boys are addicted to dirt, tractors, and shovels, so we spend a fair amount of time digging in the backyard:) We continue to make lots of progress back there, which is great.
I am starting to feel the lull as we hit the downhill slide towards summer. Work has slowed a tad, which has given me more time to spend at home. It always goes up and down, busy then slow, so I am trying to enjoy the down times when I am in them! The boys and I continue to enjoy library story time once a week and have had fun checking out all kinds of books, DVD's and books on CD. The library is a fabulous free resource!! So glad I finally starting taking advantage of it this year:) We have even made a few new friends along the way with other regulars there.
I am still running and loving this warmer, yet still cool weather. Too bad we can't have spring temps all year long:) I am gearing up to start running one morning a week, once it gets light enough for me to go and get back before Silas leaves for work. I have been having late nights and need to get myself up and moving in the mornings instead! I am planning to run a half marathon next weekend in town, but still need to register. I might want to get on that! Other than that, I have really enjoyed not having the stress of any official training or schedules. I guess I have also officially started my triathlon training. I have been riding my bike several times a week and am really feeling comfortable on it. Next step is to purchase some new riding clothes and clip-in shoes. Still taking this bike thing one thing at a time:) I think the riding has really helped my running too. I seem to feel stronger now, and my pace has picked up since I added the bike in several weeks ago. It's fun to see your watch tell you numbers you never thought you would see:) I have even come in from running a few times and hopped straight onto my bike for a bit, to practice the back-to-back workouts for the tri. It has been fun. I can't wait to actually get my bike back outside though and take it on the road for a while. Maybe this weekend will cooperate for that. We also purchased a new grill since ours was on its last leg. Silas is loving it, and we have already been enjoying some grilled filet and hot dogs. Hopefully I can get some pictures of it up soon.

posted by Lauren at 11:29 AM 0 Comments