Just make it to the parking lot...

Ok, so on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I meet with my trainer. Therefore it is easy (or easier) to get up and make my way to the gym because I know I have to pay for it even if I don't go. However, on Tuesday and Thursday it is up to me to have enough motivation to get up when the alarm starts going off at 4:15am.

I have really enjoyed sleeping in on many Tuesday's and Thursday's. I wanted to sleep in today! I was soo tired. It sometimes feels like my head barely hit the pillow before the alarm starts buzzing. So my new thing is that I have to get up and make it at least to the parking lot of the gym. If I am still too tired to work out then I can turn around and come home.

My parents always did this when we were kids. We always had countless activities at night. Frequently we would want to play with our friends instead of going to swimming, or track. My mom would always say we have to get to the parking lot...if you really want to come back home after we make it to the parking lot then we can leave. That never happened. We were always very happy to be at the activity once we were there.

Sure enough when my alarm went off today, I forced myself to get out of bed...I kept telling myself "just make it to the parking lot...just make it to the parking lot." Guess what?! I made it to the parking lot! I ended up taking an xCyclying class. It was AWESOME! Marvin, the instructor, was amazing. He had way too much energy, but it helped to keep the class motivated that early in the morning.

If it worked today, hopefully it will work again next time! All I have to do is make it to the parking lot. :)

Pictures from the Rocky Gap Triathlon

Here are a few of the pictures from the triathlon. There are tons more on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2089329&id=38001150&l=50dcc0d295

Here I am getting registered.

This is me taking off my clothes so that I could get numbered.

This is a picture of the three of us just before heading into the water for the start. Here is Katrina and me right before heading into the water.

So this picture does a very good job at showing how overly excited I was to get started.
Coming out of the water...just after the swim.

Starting the bike leg of the triathlon.

Starting the run leg of the triathlon.

Here is a picture of me actually running the run.


We did it! We all finished. This was taken literally seconds after I crossed the finish line.

Me: "I finished...do we really need more pictures?" But as you can tell, I was too happy to complain...
As if the day could not have gotten any better, we found this awesome restaurant to have lunch at. It was so great having my daddy there to share this whole experience with! He sure is the greatest.

I FINISHED!

Ok, so I met my #1 goal for my first triathlon...I finished! I am a little disappointed that I was unable to meet the #2 goal of running the entire run, but maybe next time. Just for the record, I was able to run most of the run (although I am certain I could have walked faster).

I am amazed at the camaraderie of all the athletes during the triathlon. It was awesome! Everyone cheered for everyone. It really made it a lot easier to keep going.

I am not going to make any excuses for my finish time (even though it was roughly 26 minutes slower than I was hoping for). However, if I were in the business of making excuses, in this case I would totally blame my bike and my goggles.

My trusty old goggles kept fogging up. Not a big deal because you cannot see anything anyway. But it did make it difficult to keep an eye on the orange thing in the water I was trying to swim to. I have already invested in a new pair of goggles. So no excuses on that one for next time.

Second, my bike is not made for triathlons! I have a hybrid commuter bike. It is a great little bike, but just could not handle the hills (or in my opinion MOUNTAINS) of Cumberland, MD. My chain popped off a total of three times. Every time I downshifted to go up a *mountain, it popped off. Finally, towards the last 4 miles I decided to just leave it in a high gear. It took too long to fix. The downside to leaving it in a high gear is that it was quite a work-out on my legs...the same ones I needed to use to run the 5K.

But like I said, I am not in the business of making excuses. I am in the business of helping politicians make excuses for broken campaign promises in the last election so that they can get re-elected. ;)

So with one triathlon under my belt, I am ready for my next one! I have already began a more intense training schedule and regimen. As of next week I am going to start a more intense (as in more nutritious) diet. Oh boy...not looking forward to that part.

My personal trainer, John, kicked my butt yesterday. Today I met with a different personal trainer, Dan, at the new gym I joined and he kicked my butt too! After I spent an hour with Dan, I went for an hour long swim. Not sure if that helped, or if it is a contributing factor in the pain/soreness I am currently experiencing. Meeting with John again tomorrow morning...

Have not edited the photos from the triathlon yet, but will post soon!

First Sprint Triathlon Tomorrow

My first triathlon is tomorrow. I am super excited! I guess I should be nervous, but I know that a big part of this sport is mental so I refuse to allow my nerves to overtake my mind. My two goals for tomorrow are finishing (I guess that is a no-brainer) and running the entire run.

I think this race is going to show me how much work I have to do over the next five years if I really want to become an Ironman finisher. I know one thing is for sure...it is absolute craziness to even think about an Ironman anywhere in my future. But I am a firm believer of being able to do ANYTHING you put your mind to. This weekend will help me determine my level of motivation, and will hopefully mark the start of an awesomely exhilarating and exhausting new hobby. :)

The details of my first race are below. Will post some photos and my split times soon!

Saturday, June 13, 2009
YMCA Rocky Gap Sprint Triathlon
Swim ¼ mile, Bike 8 miles, Run 3.1 miles
Rocky Gap State Park
Flintstone MD
Race Website
http://home.comcast.net/~rockygaptri.2009/site/
Description
2009 YMCA Rocky Gap Triathlon:
Lake swim followed by a rolling country road ride finishing with a run on hard surface in the park.
Course Info
Sprint Course Information:
The swim is a 1/4 mile basicly straight swim in Lake Habeeb.(temp 70-72).
Bike course is 8 miles on paved roads. the course is out and back with rolling hills.
The run is 3.1 miles inside the park on paved surfaces. Directions