When Those Boats Are a Rockin'...

This weekend was my first go at swimming in open water with a full wetsuit. I've swam in open-water down in Lake Powell but needed to get a feel for what it was like all suited up. My whole family went to Rockport for our annual family fest, so I took advantage of the situation. Putting on the wetsuit? Awesome. The way it fit? Great. Water temp? Fabulous. Get out there to swim with the million of boats creating huge wakes? Motion sick. Yep--it did not take me long in my swim where I realized I was literally motion sick from all of the waves and fumes from the wave runners and boats that I had to stop. Who does that?! Apparently I do. I'm not going to minimize the fact that this made me a little apprehensive about my race in two weeks. My hubby assured me that there would not be crazy boat drivers pulling tubes during our race so the heavy waves shouldn't be happening. Husband, I'm counting on you knowing what you're talking about.

Now to my thoughts on the wetsuit. What a huge difference it makes. Not only does it help with buoyancy, but it keeps you straight in the water, keeps you warm...all around awesome. Something to keep in mind, however, is you may be a bigger size than you think. Fortunately, Brad at Wasatch Running, had me try it on before renting it for the weekend because he wondered if a small was going to be a little too small. Thanks to Brad, I jumped up a size and it was perfect. My biggest concern was a full suit restricting my range of motion in my arms but I didn't notice any restriction.

On a biking note, I was able to ride up Weber Canyon with my sister. I'm to a point now in my training when I see a hill I prefer to stand-up and charge it to gain momentum vs. sitting down. I'm sure it's a preference and conditioning thing, but I really thing riding into a hill makes a big difference. If you are looking for a nice balanced ride basically both ways, head up Weber Canyon. It's beautiful. It's not too busy. There are not traffic lights. Wonderful.

Alright, that's it for this mama.
Until next time.

Meet The Momma's

Kim Hackett
Mom of two and my own personal Jillian Michaels. This girl has the mental tenacity like nobody's business and is the silent dark horse of the sport. For example, we went for our first swim and she humbly busted out 750 meters in a casual fashion. She gets her workouts in early morning, late at night, in her living room when the kids are down and out and when her hubby has the kids. Kim's strength is cycling and running and she is willingly throwing herself at the challenge of the swim. She rocks the casbah.

Alisha Worthington
Mom of 7. Let me repeat...Mom of SE7EN!!! She also happens to be my older sister and my in-house training buddy. Not technically in-house because we don't live together but we may as well since we are fortunate enough to see each other so often. Her internal competitive edge pushes her beyond her limits not only in training for this race but in her personal life. This mom is amazing and her wonderful kids prove it. She gets her workouts in in the evenings and on Saturdays with the help of her family. Alisha's strength is the swim, we've got a national champion on our hands here folks.

Jamie Whetman
Alright, let's get to business. Jamie, mom of 4 and also my cousin. This little athlete came out of nowhere. I should have known back in 1990 when she and I decided to have a little competition to see who could sit in the mountain stream made of snow melt the longest. Finally after an hour and a numb bum I called it quits not Jamie. In her first year of dedicated racing she has competed in some of the toughest races in the Rocky Mountain and recently won the Porpcupine Hill climb. She eats wood chips for breakfast (no just kidding). She gets her workouts in early morning in her bedroom (she likes The Biggest Loser workouts), in the evenings and on the weekends. Her strength is...well all of it.

Hillary Paugh
Mom of 4 and may as well be a family sister. She is queen of positivity and willing to give things and life a go. She has really learned that she can do hard things and shows this in all areas of her life. Hillary is just the kind of person you would want to hang around because she will buoy you up like ten dozen helium balloons. Her strength is the run and bike. Hillary gets her workouts in in the mornings, evenings and weekends.

Well there you have it, the TryMomma's. Are you a TryMomma? Introduce yourself!

Fuel

Ok, I know I said I was going to introduce you to the other TriMomma's with this post BUT as I was running tonight I was needing a little push to the end. I started thinking about the race, about the final stretch which is the run and I had the most inspiring images pop in to my mind. It's these faces that are fueling me to the finish.



They keep me accountable, they help me push the final five minutes of my bike, run and/or swim, they get me out the door when I want to sit and vedge--just knowing they will be there cheering me on at the finish line fuels me to the core. Find your fuel. What makes it worth it to you to do more than you would otherwise?? And yes, next up will be the fabulous TriMomma's.

Pandora, I think I love you. Oh and waterproof headphones too :)

Discovered a new Pandora station tonight that basically rocked my running world. I introduced Salt-N-Peppa to my Pandora stations and magic was created. Enter fabulous old school hip hop of the 90's. I'm not sure if it gets better than a little Biggie, Missy Elliott, S & P and more.

As for my swim, I decided to switch to a little more 90's grunge, enter Stone Temple Pilots. Wait, I haven't shared with you my new swimming secret weapon when it comes to training. The ipod Shuffle in a waterproof case. Really and truly I think my capacity to swim laps doubled overnight. I don't know about you, but this momma loves her music. I realize I can't become completely dependent on it because I can't use headphones in my race but when I'm just needing to endurance train, music is the way to go.

Run: 2 miles (run 4 mins, walk 1 min)
Swim: 750 meters (2 breast stroke recovery laps)

Next Post: Who are the other trimomma's on our team? I'll introduce you :)

Cloud 9 and Support

First things first. I have been reeling in my cousins victory for the past two hours. My cousin, who got in to cycling about 3 years ago, won the Porcupine Hill climb! Who does that after starting a sport in their midlife and just wins? If you even knew her story you would be above and beyond impressed. I always tease her that for her first race ever she decided to start with a half iron man. Not a 5k, not a little cycle race but a half iron man. Now a couple of years later, she takes one of Utah's most respected races. She honestly is so inspirational for me. I am very, very proud of her.

Secondly, it's been a bit of a crazy week. Crazy may describe life for most mom's out there so i'm sure you can all relate on some level. I tend to always be juggling a lot of balls but there were a few more up in the air which made training difficult some days, and by difficult I mean non-existant. Between seeing clients, the lightning, playing with my kidlettes and all of the other mom and wife things to be done, I'd say I was able to get about 50% of my workouts in. I'll take it because it's 50% more than zero.

In a brief and little nutshell:

My swimming is up to 800 meters a workout
I am running more than walking
My ride to Little Cottonwood Canyon and back was 15 minutes quicker

I was telling my hubs what a difference his support makes. The other night I really didn't want to go to the gym and had he not been a support or been there to push me it would have really been so easy to bail. It's amazing what support will do you for you, not only when participating in a race but in all facets of life, especially new momma hood. Who's on your "life" support team?

Pennies By The Inch

Thanks to my cousin, I was able to accomplish a 650 meter swim tonight. She suggested i count out a penny for every lap I swim. Put them in a pile and with every lap, move one over to a new pile. When the first pile is done, you're done! This was great because I decided beforehand how many I was going to do and it also gave me a great visual of my predetermined goal. I felt like it was me vs Lincoln and I wasn't going to let him win. So first swimming feat accomplished and my injury seems to be just fine.

I'm learning with two kids and one of those is a nursing baby that my gym membership is invaluable. I'm able to get my workouts in at odd times, late and early hours and they have good childcare if I need it. These workouts are not just my exercise but my self care. If I hadn't scheduled my time, I know i would have been more likely to let my workouts slide. Whether you're self care is use or it's something else, I recommend you setting it up a week in advance so it's a priority for you and doesn't slide.

Roaaad Block

Really? I'm two days in to my training and already sustained an injury and a quirky one at that. Let's just say it's not an honorable injury like my knee got hurt because I ran over 10 miles across a 115 degree desert or I cycled for 2 hours straight uphill both ways...nope, it's none of those. It's an injury sustained on my lady part where my swimsuit rubbed when I was swimming, irritated it like crazy and now it's a flared up angry mess. Let me clarify. It's right where your swimsuit hits your tendon where you thigh is. I tried to get on my bike tonight but no cigar. Hmmm. Maybe I'll have to hit the incumbent bike at the suggestion of the hubs. Classy. We'll see how tomorrow goes. Now that the doc gave me a prescription steroid cream, hopefully I'll be good to go and hope that I don't get a REAL injury.

Speaking of trainers, if you aren't familiar with what a trainer is, it's basically a piece of equipment that let's you ride your bike in a stationary position in your house. This is a great option if you lack childcare and/or it's dark outside, and/or you hubs doesn't want to be stuck at home every night you go out and train. Hook up your laptop, your music and/or your tv and get your miles in. Yay.