Hokie Effect!!

Don't forget that tomorrow night's game vs Clemson is the Maroon Effect!!!

Full body painting in maroon - optional....it's gonna be a cold one.

Miracles and Heart Problems

Last night I thought I was going to die. No, not from my heart problem, but because of my cell phone!! I just recently got a Motorola Razr (in pink, but looks purple). I love this phone. Let’s face it, there’s God, my family, and then my cell phone. I know you are like that too, you would be absolutely lost without yours!! So last night while I was patiently (haha not really) awaiting the arrival of my husband from work, I thought I would give the kids a bath. Giving them a bath is a guaranteed 15 minutes of non-crying. I keep checking my phone to make sure I don’t miss the “On my way” text from Kev. No message, so I put my cell phone in my pajama pocket….which happens to be on the side towards the bath water. As I am sitting on the ledge washing both Jordan and Drew’s hair I am thinking that this isn’t so bad…I can handle watching the kids on my own (haha). They are being so funny. Jordan loves to laugh just to make Drew laugh. They both have shampoo in their hair and just look at each other like it’s the funniest thing in the world. I start to dump water on Jordan’s head to wash out the shampoo and then I hear this “plunk”. It startles me more than anything, I thought something fell from the top of the shower. I look down and I see my pink phone in the water! I reach down and grab it and start wiping it down immediately. At first glance, it appears that everything is ok. Then….and then…buttons are not working, the screen part is not lighting up and the screen starts to get warm….as if it’s short circuiting and melting inside. I start to sniffle….then cry. It’s so sad. Meanwhile the kids are left to tend to themselves….they can bathe themselves, right? I finally regain my composure and finish with the kids. I even put clothes on them. I just sit on the couch and stare at the tv and at my phone. This sucks! I just got this phone! Kev finally gets home and I just say, “Well, I know what you can get me for my birthday now, a new phone!” And this is what really bites, over the last few birthdays and a couple of other holidays I have gotten a new camera, because, yes, I tend to drop my camera a lot. The last thing I need is another present replacing an existing (but yet broken) one. Maybe those warranties were made for people like me…..perhaps, but that’s beside the point. I prayed and prayed to the cell phone gods, just to give me ONE MORE chance. Just one!! This morning I jumped out of bed and anxiously put my cell phone back together. I took out the battery thinking that it would help it dry out (haha!). And then I eagerly pressed the power button…..(come on cell phone….please!!)….and there was light. My cell phone powered up, the buttons were working properly….I could even make a call! Wahoo….it’s a miracle! Immediately I tuck my phone into my purse, grab my gym bag and head off to workout. It’s going to be a beautiful day. :-)

And now on to my heart problem. I have confirmed that the caffeine intake is a direct culprit to my premature ventricular contractions. I refrained from my one cup of coffee to test the theory. It took only one day to notice that I didn’t have a single “missed” beat. I went caffeine-free for three days and enjoyed the peacefulness of my heart….not really because I was tired as crap the whole time. The only positive is that I could fall asleep faster. I drank coffee over the weekend and yesterday morning and they now they are back. :-( Now I have to make the decision….coffee or no coffee?? WebMD.com also indicates that PVC’s can be related to stress or too much exercise, I suppose I should test those theories as well….haha, I wish.

Final Race of the Year

Before I knew the splits for the Giant Acorn race, I had signed up for the Saint Mary's Light the Fire 5k. I did this because I wanted to try and get a 5k time under 25 minutes. I really didn't think I had smoked the 5k like I did during the triathlon. At least it didn't feel like I ran it that fast!

As luck would have it, I got my goal of a sub 25 min 5k. Yay! But now I am signed up for another 5k...yikes!! Oh well, I signed Jordan up for the 1-mile fun run, so I might as well do the 5k while I am there. :-)

Ugh...it was soooooo cold this morning. There was even frost on the ground!!! Now I really didn't feel like running. I did the fun run with Jordan at 8am....and she rocked it! Can you believe that my 4 1/2 year old ran faster than some older kids??? She ran it in 12:42!! I am so proud of her and she LOVED it! She said she is going to do more races in the future. I think it's because she got a "Participant" ribbon at the end, so she thought she won, even though everyone else was getting them! Too cute!! She was waving that ribbon like she was the queen of 1-mile runs.

We sat in the car for a little bit to warm up some. I hopped out about 20 minutes until race time to "warm-up". haha....you don't get warm very quickly when it's like 20 degrees out. Still at this point I am thinking to myself, "I really don't feel like running, I am still yawning!". But I head up to the start line anyhow and just hang out and stretch before the gun goes off.

I get my first mile split and I can't believe my ears....7:15....what?? That can't be right! My legs don't feel like they are moving that fast! We head up the big hill to Country Club Dr (the turn around) and I just keep pushing. The cold air is piercing my lungs but after the turn around we get to go downhill some and this helps me relax a little. So after that hill we get to mile 2, and they are calling out times there. I hear "15:08" and I still can't believe it. I thought for sure the previous hill took me longer to complete. At this point I am thinking, "No way, I can't believe that, I can run a sub 24 5k??!! What??!!". This motivates me to have a quick leg turnover in hopes to get to the finish line before 24 minutes is up.

Right before I turn down the final street I have to count steps in my head so that I distract myself from the distance I still have to run. Once I turn down the final road and catch a glance at the clock I see it's 23:36 (ish)! I am sprinting the rest of the way baby!! I cross the finish line at 23:46! WAHOO!!

I can't believe it, I started the race not really wanting to run, then end up getting a PR! This time puts me at a 7:40 per mile pace, and THAT my friends is pretty darn cool. ;-)

Oh yeah, not to mention....I was the fastest female in my age group (24-29). 1st place baby!

My first 5k of the year was done in 27:16. I was able to shave 3.5 minutes off of my time over a period of 6 months. What a way to end the year! Now I can put those racing flats up for the season and start the training for my marathon.

Yes, you heard me correctly, my first marathon. Stayed tuned for more details!! ;-)

Triathlon - the 2nd attempt

I suppose a lot of training CAN help an athlete! haha. So my first experience at a triathlon wasn't all that great. I finished saying it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life and didn't plan on doing another one anytime soon. This idea was quickly dismissed once I realized a couple of things. First, triathlons are in fact difficult....imagine that! Second, I am a competitive person, I was not going to let this "triathlon performance" win the psychological battle. Third, it was my first experience, so the whole process was just overwhelming. Lastly, if I could figure out how to swim properly and efficiently, the rest should be a piece of cake! right??

On one particular morning of my swim training, my Coach video taped me so that I could see exactly what he was talking about with my movements. This video tape was the light shining down from the heavens, so to speak. We noticed that my kicking was out of control. I was kicking way too fast. In fact, as I have learned, the kick should be almost non-existant. This was the turning point of my training! All of a sudden I could swim for minutes upon minutes. The only thing I had to do was be able to think of things to pass the time! What a difference! So I can now check off learning to swim efficiently from my list.

So over the last few months I kept working on my swimming, with some running and biking mixed in there. And before I knew it, it was race time again. Like I mentioned on Saturday, the weather outlook was not all that great. It was actually quite miserable. The type of weather where you just want to crawl up on the couch with a nice warm blanket and your favorite paperback! But Sunday proved to be exactly what I wanted, weather-wise. Overcast without the rain. I would have liked for it to be a little bit warmer, but you take what you can get.

On to the results! This race I competed in the Athena's division. This group consists of women of all ages but they have to weigh 150+ lbs. Honestly, I barely make this weight so it might seem to others that I have advantage, but the numbers don't lie Velvet > 150. ;-)

There are a total of 7 girls in my group and I finish 3rd.

The Breakdown:

Swimming 750m - 20:20
The swim part....haha....I placed last, but that's ok! It was my first lake swim ever!! The most important part was that I didn't feel like quitting after I swam! The hardest part about swimming in a lake is the fact that you can't see where you are going. This is something that I will definitely have to work on. At one point I was going in the wrong direction and had to turn almost all the way around! ha! Oh well, room for major improvement here, that's for sure.

Transition 1 - 2:26
Getting better at putting clothes on! At least better than last time. I have these great triathlon shorts that I actually wear in the water. That helped me save some time here. Also, I had to take off the wetsuit....rather hard when you are in a hurry!

Biking 20k (~12.4mi) - 41:35
This is where I start to make up my time from the water-logged swim. I thought for sure I did this one faster than my first triathlon....but a couple of minutes longer this time. There were a couple more hills on this course which I suppose made the time difference. But the key here is that I didn't feel miserable like the last time. I was able to actually ride and enjoy the scenery!

Transition 2 - 0:48
Here you run in from the bike dismount line and put your bike on your assigned rack then grab the needed items for the run. Since I don't have clip shoes (like all the real bikers) I just have to throw on my running hat and go. If you look at the overall female results, you will see that I was the 3rd fastest female in T2. Sweet!

Running 5k (~3.1mi) - 24:50
Did you read that??? TWENTY-FOUR minutes and FIFTY seconds. Oh yeah, that's right, 8:01 per mile pace. I kicked some serious butt in the run!! haha....seriously though, my goal the whole year was to run a 5k in less than 25 minutes. Obtaining this goal in a triathlon made me realize that all of my hard speed-work during the summer had paid off.

Completing this Sprint Triathlon in a total time of 1:29:58 makes me so proud of myself. I am so glad I decided to try another triathlon.....and now I believe I am hooked! ;-)

Thanks Coach Jim for all your training!

And thanks to Kevin for at least humoring me when I get these "great" ideas.

View my pictures here!

Outlook promising?

Upon arriving at Lake Anna this afternoon, it was 51 degrees, raining, rather windy and nothing but fog. You could barely even see the lake!! If this is what race time will look like tomorrow, then I am in trouble! Maybe the weather gods will be nice and at least stop the rain!