2014- A Year In Review (What were we thinking?)

February- Sweetheart Run!

When the planning for 2014 was under way in late 2013 I don't think Patrick or I thought it would turn out the way it did.  Of course the year started rough for me; walking around in a boot was not my idea of a good start to the year. I missed the first run of the year, but got a great experience via volunteering to stand out in a horrible storm at the half marathon turn around point.  Then near mid year Patrick faced a rough spot with foot pain and a crash during an event, giving him a cracked rib.  His healing was slow and his motivation shaken by these events.  The year pressed on and with our first Ironman experience in the books, the reflection of the year shows a positive journey.

PBR- 1/2 Marathon- January

Take a look back with us: 

Calloway Gardens- August

    45 Events

                                                       11 of these were Triathlon events. 

MPI Sunset tri- August

2 Super Sprints Distances.
3 Sprint Distances. 
2 Olympic Distances.
3 Half Iron Distances.
1 Ironman Distance
For the first time we also completed a stair climbing event for charity- holy cow that was a tough day. 
This year we participated in a number of new (to us) races.  We also traveled farther this year to race than in previous years. 

269 Running Miles

This year we also made changes to our gear.  
Patrick swapped form cotton shorts to actual running shorts.  

Red Hills- April

March- McGuire's Run

I swapped types of running shorts to a double layer system.  
Patrick also started running topless more, I know scandalous!  
I made the change to Brooks as my running shoe of choice.  
Patrick decided on New Balance shoes, trail runners even for non trail running. 

Freedom Run- July

Double Bridge- February

We were joined by family at many races this year, on and off the course. 

427 Biking Miles

We learned more about our bikes and biking skills this year. 

Chattahoochee Challenge- May

SRI TRI- October

Push and Pull and Push and Pull.  
I swapped out biking seats this year for my tri bike.  I love my new seat. 
Patrick got a new seat too and it has been a love/hate process of getting to know each other. 
We biked our first 100 miles "fun" bike ride, meaning not for an event.  
We learned how great Smuckers Uncrustables are on long bike rides.  
Also Peanut M&M's are amazing motivators for mile treats.  
We learned that hills in Florida are different than hills in Alabama, Georgia, or Tennessee.  
 

Bridge Swims- May

Marineland- June

13 Swimming Miles

In 2014 we swam in the Atlantic Ocean as a part of an Olympic Tri, it was rough and murky that day not the most pleasant swim.
I completed my second year of the 25K swim (not added in total), this year being the first female and second over all finisher.  The next day I raced the 5K swim. 
Patrick finished the 10K swim, even avoiding getting run over by a barge.  He got to swim with dolphins this day too.

Gobble Grind- November

Make It To The Line- December

Through it all one thing remained.  

   We did it together. 

I would never be able to even imagine this journey without my love being there step by step.  He was my healer, my running partner, my encourager, my support, my laughter, my grace; he is what made this possible.  Thank you my love for being there through this year and many more.

A Year in the BEARD!!!

Many of you may have noticed that Patrick sports a full beard.  In the sport of triathlon it is rare to see beards; in fact, it is my number one way of find Patrick in crowds of other athletes or in the mass of photos. This year Patrick's beard was a training beard for IMCHOO.  It has lived on now as his Linus blanket for the purpose of racing, a comfort and reminder of his determination to complete this challenge. 
To fully appreciate and respect the beard you have to see the growth and development over the past year.

January 2014

January started with a little fuzz already growing, but it was cold out.  At this point IMCHOO was on the books to be fought in nine months.  Patrick had proclaimed that he would officially grow a training beard.

February 2014

By February racing the beard was starting to fill out.  I think this photo was taken after a trimming had occurred.  By this point the beard acts as a protection from the cold, but can also cause some dry skin and therefore has to be conditioned regularly.  especially if we are in the pool frequently.

March 2014

March meant more bike training and figuring out how to get the beard as aero as possible.  Even 60 miles into a 100 mile ride the beard was looking good.

April 2014

April was about half way till IMCHOO.  There were times that the beard had to be tamed.  Once the mustache portion of the beard grows too long it causing problems in the swim and if the cheek portions are not kept under control it causes Patrick's goggles to be ill-fitting.

May 2014

July 2014

In May the beard begins to bleach some from the sun.  It turns a little blonde this time of year.  As you can see the lighting of the color does not change the thickness of the beard.  While in winter the beard needs a little extra conditioning the spring changes nothing.  Since the weather is getting hot it is necessary for good beard washing and upkeep.  

June 2014

As summer approaches the beard can sometimes cause an increase in body heating; so it is important to train in to a summer beard and to stay hydrated.
As you can see in July the beard begins to come into its own.  It is full and requires combing and proper post eating food checks in order for it to stay maintained.

August 2014

September 2014

The August beard can appear light and fluffy.  But this still takes work.  Patrick was debating int he summer about shaving his beard but it had come so far he just could not let it go at this point.
 The September beard needed a little trim before IMCHOO; it was holding a bit too much water.

The IMCHOO Beard 2014

In September the IMCHO beard was final.  It was fluffy, it was soft, it was full!!!!  while IMCHOO did not go as Patrick had planned his beard did help him to stand out in the crowd of people making him easy for our friends and family to spot. The beard would continue on beyond IMCHOO since again it was a comfort at this point.

October 2014

The October beard is also known as the Lebowski.  This year it double as a Thor beard too.  The October beard closes out tri season and is a representation of a lot of hard work.

November 2014

Oh yes the November beard.  This year the November beard was very much needed as we had a cold weather 13.1 in Kansas City.  The beard helped to filter the cold air and keep Patrick's face a steady warm temperature.

December 2014

To close out the 2014 year there is the December beard. The December beard is a let it all loose kind of beard.  Since water training was not high this December it was easy to let the beard just grow free.
Since this photo Patrick has trimmed up the beard as he prepares for the 2015 year of running.  This year is sure to be epic and I expect that the phases of the beard will not disappoint.   
        

It all started with an OLLIE

That's Ollie in the upper left corner.

Many of us look back and can pinpoint in our lives when things changed and made us who we are today.  Looking back I now know that my triathlon training really started way earlier than 2010.  It all started with OLLIE.  Ollie was a ride on toy I had as a child.  According to my parents I loved my Ollie and would push myself around for hours of play outside.  As I grew Ollie was replaced with a red trike.  This was my first racing bike.  My brother and I would race each other down our steep and slightly curved front walk.  I still remember the idea of "pedal pedal pedal...... HOLD ON!!!"  I think this is where I learned to crash and get back up, back then it was fun and a badge of honor to have a "boo-boo".  After the trike I went on to a bike with training wheels, I think it was pink (my mother was still trying to make a girl out of me). I do remember it had tassels on the handlebars, this meant I was going fast because tassels only blew in the wind at top speeds.  It also had a basket on the front; teaching me the importance refueling on the bike- I could put a drink, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a stuffed toy all in one basket.  Tools to change a flat were not of importance- that's what dad's were for.  After the tasseled bike came what would be my favorite childhood bike- my purple huffy.  This bike was fast, it could go off road, I could hop dirt hills and sidewalk gutters.  The Huffy was not a "baby" bike. In fact when you put playing cards in the spokes or an aluminum can at the top brake it was an Evil Kneival machine, crossed with a ticket to freedom.  I loved this bike but as I grew it did not, meaning a new bike was in my future. 

Mountain Trek, Years after HS.

For high school graduation my parents bought me a Trek Mountain bike.  This would be my college bike.  I didn't notice on the streets of Charlotte it was slow and tough to push, what I knew was it got me to the grocery store, the homes where I was a nanny, and through the town.  I also realized when taken to the nearby mountains it got me up the hills and back down alive. It also got me across much of the state in a 150 mile bike ride (oh the days before I knew about the need for a road bike).  I still ride my Trek and love spending time with her on trails.  To ride this bike reminds me it does not have to be the newest bike with the most gadgets to be a great bike, great bikes are made in our hearts and in our free spirit those bikes bring to life.
It would be some time before my next bike purchase.  It was not until Patrick and I decided to try out triathlon that I bought my next bike.  It was another Trek, I figured I loved the one I already had, it was a hybrid bike.  I enjoyed this bike, even though it was not a great match for my sizing but it was for my check book at the time of purchase.  As with many triathletes, we started off with a "let's-try-it-and-see-if-we-are-going-to-stick-with-it" bikes.  My bike was nothing special compared to the other ones around, but it was mine and I was learning.  This bike served its purpose in introducing me to the sport and in making me realize how much I enjoyed biking.  Well, most of biking, hills were still not on my top ten list.

The Orange one is Allie.

That's Luci.

I upgraded to my Specialized tri bike, it was a great find, it fit well and, bonus, was a great price.  It was this bike, Luci, that made me LOVE the sport of triathlon.  I enjoyed being out on the bike, down in the areo position, the wind really blowing in my hair (through my helmet).  I would soon also sell my hybrid Trek and purchase a new road bike, another Specialized, Allie. 
Allie and Luci are the bikes I still ride and love today. But I look back on my list of bikes and it all started there in the lawn with Ollie.
Life happens and we grow.  We grow out of our old bikes and into new ones, but it is in those first pushes and pedals that we learn the joy of the sport. Those moments, moments of joy, we should hold on to through long bike rides, bad weather, and right up to the dismount line.             

Thanksgiving

As a child on the eve of Thanksgiving my brother and I would discuss the things we were grateful for; well, the things we could say at the dinner table.  And while they were true, we were thankful for our mother and father and for our pets and for our home and for freedom.  We were also thankful for school being out and that Christmas presents were merely weeks away, but those things were not really said at the table with family gathered.  As a teen and young adult I began to be a different type of thankful.  I wasn't thankful for my parents just because they loved me (which they did); I was thankful for them because of all they gave to me to make me who I was in my heart and in my soul. I was thankful for the approach of Christmas because it meant for a few weeks people would smile and be kind to each other and they would remember family and forget hardships.  As an adult I am thankful for so many things and I am thankful in ways that words do no justice.  I am thankful for my parents because they just "get it", "get me". I am thankful for my pets because they teach me to be better at forgiving.  I am thankful for Christmas because of all the wonderful memories I have of family and friends and joyful moments shared together.
Just as our lives change and we grow up, our views on thankfulness and Thanksgiving change and grow. That said where does Thanksgiving fit in to topics about running?  No, I am not going to tell you how many miles or hours you have to run to have a slice of pecan pie with no guilt (eat the pie).  I am not going to tell you which races are in your local area on Thanksgiving morning.  I am not going to tell you to be thankful for your ability to run.  All these things you already know.  So  I am not going to talk about another thing I am thankful for knowing about and having this Thanksgiving. 
While I have many things to be thankful for in my life, and many of those things and people I don't appreciate enough or say thank you to enough through out the year, I want to talk about one part of my life that for me changed this year.  It is sort of the running part, but it is actually bigger than the physcialness of the running (or biking, or swimming). I am thankful this year for having had experienced that moment when I truly felt a part of the running (athletic) community.  You have to understand when you realize you have become a part of this community you realize the full overwhelming level of support surrounding you and you realize you are the overwhelming support for others around you.

It does not matter if you run side by side in silence or if you run telling stories of the day.  What matters is no one out there is alone.  Even when you run alone, you are not really alone, because you know someone is thinking, "Wow, she got up and ran today.  I wonder how that went."  Or you are thinking, "I told so-and-so that I was going to run today, guess I better get up and go."  You are already engaging in your community without knowing it, supporting others just by thinking about them.  Beyond the training and racing I am thankful to be a part of this community because I am surrounded by people who understand with compassion.  They know I am not crazy to do this, no matter time of day, or distance traveled.  They know at any time I may be healing physically and mentally and emotionally.  They know running is not a motion I go through but a process of feeling alive, whole.  I am thankful to have people who know; they know without words. 

For me talking to others is difficult.  I am a sit and watch and learn type of person. The athletic community gave me the opportunity to be that person while engaging with others.  You can't talk and swim (not if you are really swimming), but you can watch and learn and slowly gain comfort with people just by being at the same place at the same time (5am at the pool, you get to know people).  This community also embraces everyone (seriously everyone, I didn't believe it at first either).  You can walk five steps or you can run a four minute mile and you still get to be a part of this community. Because you were not only there but because you are trying, giving effort to something.

We have been running since 2008.  We started triathlon in 2010. We
have been members of one local running club for about 4 years and another one for almost 2 years. We have been members of our local tri club for 2 years.  But it has been in this last year that I have finally felt as ease in this community and have finally felt like I belong here.  It is strange too because belonging had little to do with feeling accepted and more to do with being able to feel as though I could give back. Don't misunderstand it is not my giving that I am thankful for; it is the time, patience, support, nurturing, and guidance from others that I am thankful for today.
Much like my thankfulness of my parents, I went from being thankful for this athletic community because it simply existed and allowed me to participate, to being thankful for this community because they gave to me a piece of what makes me who I am as a person, to being thankful that this community and I "get each other" without explanation we just get it.
While I have a list of things to be thankful for, so long it would wrap the world in a hug, today I wanted to share how thankful I am for this journey within the athletic community.
Thank you to all of those who have been on this course with me.  Thank you for your wisdom.  Thank you for your patience.  Thank you for your laughter.  Thank you for all that you have given without knowing you gave at all.  Thank you for making me a better person.              

The Race of Marriage

You may not know this because we don't talk about it often but we fight sometimes.  Not the knock out kind of fights, so I guess I should say we argue sometimes.  SURPRISE!!  Now that we  ripped that band-aid off, let me talk about our fights. No, I am not going to tell you the down a dirty about our fights, the topics of our fights are not important; what is important is that when you are in it together you have arguments.  It isn't the topic of the argument that makes a difference it is about how you handle the argument  and the aftermath which can change everything.
Let me step back a moment, people ask us how we make our marriage work?  As we are currently in our early 30's and only 11 years into our marriage. I often laugh at why anyone would see us as experts on the topic.  But then I realize statically only 64% of first marriages last over ten years (and that does not include separations, only divorces).  We may still not be experts but we must be doing something right. When we give advice about why it works this is normally our advice, "We had no expectations of each other."  I laugh because this was the answer Patrick gave me as we drove down the road speaking about a recent friend's divorce and what was different for us.  Now, this does not mean we didn't expect things of each other as far as commitment, understanding, and unconditional love; simply we didn't expect each other to change or be something they were not, instead this commitment was an exercise in individual and relationship growth.     

Those of you who are expecting the to relate back to racing, here you go!!  When I think about our marriage it looks a lot like our race life.  It started small, an idea of "maybe we could do this".  Our marriage was challenged as it grew.  We moved from a 5K to longer distances.  In our relationship this meant devoting time and efforts to relating to each other, supporting each other as we changed due to work, life, and growing up. Much like road races the rains came, the sun shone, we felt alone, we felt lifted, and the finish line was a brief accomplishment in time of efforts made over weeks and months and years.
Then as in our racing life there have been moments of boredom.  In these moments it would have perhaps been easy to say, "I'm done" or to look for something outside of this relationship to peak interest.  But that's not what you do with something you love and enjoy, you don't give up on it because of moments of boredom.  No, you figure out how to reshape it and build it.  For our racing that was opening our race life up to triathlon.  Adding swimming and biking to the running. 

How does this translate to marriage? You have to look at the bored times and figure out if you are bored with the place, the person, or the day to day.  We realize in times of boredom we have to change things up.  If that means taking extra vacation days (maybe including a running event).  It may mean picking up new hobbies to engage in or returning to old hobbies.  It could be as simple as remembering to take time from the boring pattern to remember what you love and to accentuate those things, CHANGE THE PATTERN!!!  Often times when you can do things together that may be new you realize how many new things you want to experience with the person you fell in love or are in love with.       
For us racing together is not a story we tell about 5Ks, half marathons, or Ironman events; it is a story we tell about our life.  We do all of this together.  We understand each other has to grow and we don't expect each other to be more than who they are, although we cherish and encourage the greatness we see in each other.  It is about never letting life get boring; instead changing it up, looking within and to each other for strength, and pushing forward when times are tough.
Lastly, we always remember the finish line in marriage is not three miles or 16 hours, it is a lifetime; filled with peaks and valleys.  It is a bunch of races and race days all combined into one.  And if one day there is no more racing for us, that's no problem as we together will continue in our race, our journey, it will simply grow and change.   
Through it all we remember we have each other, through good or bad times, expecting only commitment (staying the course), understanding (knowing not everyday is a good day), and unconditionally love (remembering we love what we are doing).    We race together on the road and in life.

What Do You Do When It Doesn't Go Right?

If you race long enough (or even just once for some) you will come upon a day where the race conditions force changes in your race plan.  In light of the swim for IMFL being canceled this morning I felt it would be a good time to mention that... well, it happens.  It isn't easy to deal with this sudden and unwanted changes.  There you stand ready to enter the water on race morning, feet wet and cold in the sand, you heart pounding, your eyes darting watching race officials, your ears listening to chatter water side, your heart hoping it can't be true. But then as if you didn't think it could happen the swim is off, plans are made to space out athletes onto the bike course, and you slowly march back to the transition area feeling a loss of sorts and feeling out of sorts.
Again this happens.  It happens in triathlon.  It happens in cycling events.  It happens in running events.  It happens.  Now that we have established that it happens what do you do about it?  How do you move forward?
For me the coping and processing is different based on event and type of changes.

Running Races
Patrick and I have stood under the pavilion at the Beach waiting for a call to be made on a race due to lightening.  The race was called but we ran out there anyway, trying to beat the strikes and just making it back before it all came down.  We have huddled in a restaurant waiting to see if the skies would part so we could run 13 miles, then if we could run 6 miles, maybe a 3 mile run, then even hopes for a 1 mile fun run were lost.  We ended up running a 13 mile course the following morning.
For running events that's our normal plan, we make up the miles for the run by running either the course or the distance within a few days of the race.  We try our best to do it on the same course but sometimes it is not possible due to distance or weekday.  As Patrick says, running the miles ensures we "earn the shirt".  More than the shirt it is a positive affirmation that we will push forward despite set backs.  This forward motion has always been a part of who we have been as athletes.  I can honestly say there is not a single running race that we have not completed in one fashion or another.

Cycling Races
Patrick and I have only participated in a few biking events.  For one of them we had planned to ride across a few states.  Well the morning of the event the weather turned against us.  The waters were breaking over the sea wall due to a harsh south bound wind.  The race was delayed by about four hours and moved about 20 miles down the road to get us away from the water.  Due to the time change and the only slight move we ended up riding into a very congested area as it was getting dark.  To add to the danger concerns it was a Friday, people were getting off work, going out to eat, heading to the bars for drinks.  We got notifications about other teams dropping from the course.  The night began to turn cold and dark.  We made the decission to stop our travels by bike and finish our way home by car.
For some time we struggled with the factor that we had not finished this race.  We toyed with the idea of going back over and starting again.  We thought about perhaps riding the distance here at home, making loops and bigger loops till the miles are done. In the end we would not finish the race or finish those miles, as we had for other events.  But we would push forward.  We would look to future events with this race in mind knowing what it felt like to call a day and knowing what all went in to that decision, with safety being the primary concern.  This was a learning day.
It was a day that we at times look back on and wonder "what if'.  But it is a day that is done; the only thing left to do was to learn from it.  We learned it was okay to let go.  We learned it was okay to accept.  We learned that together we accomplished a great feet.  We learned to be proud for every effort we would make.

Triathlon Races
We have only once had a full triathlon canceled on us.  It was a sprint tri at a nearby college.  The weather kept us from racing that day.  The rain downpours caused safety concerns when matched in combination with the steep hills on the course.  As is usual safety becomes the primary decision maker.  Again this event was easy to complete in later, less wet, days. 
The safe factor came into play when the swim was canceled for a 70.3 tri we were doing the past spring.  Having just the swim canceled was almost more difficult. This meant no warm up; no favorite part of the event; no clear transition plan.
This cancellation was difficult to "make up"-- do we "redo" the whole race or just swim the mile in the pool in following days?
For me the decision was to race the race as it was.  It was still a good race.  It was still a challenge.  It was still a race.

Sometimes things change- We call it LIFE.
When they change on race day you have to change your plans in your head and in your body.  You have to regroup quickly and change the plan in order to still be successful, no matter what your success looks like and remember the definition of that success is always changing.  

The most important thing is to not focus on the difficulties or challenges.  Instead to focus on how you work to overcome those challenges; this work can be figuring out how to push on in the race or change the race; or it can be figuring out how to learn to let go.  

Gulf coast Half Marathon Mandaville- Together Across the Line

Club Member Motivation!

On the cool morning we had not planned to run together, in fact we both just planned to get this race done how ever we could.  What happened at the shortly after the start changed things for me.  Let me back up just a little.  I could tell Patrick was nervous; it wasn't about the race per say, but it was about his faith in himself.  Could he do this the way he wanted to do it?  I could see the question in his body language, in his slightly longer gaze into the distance, in his remark to me to "have a good race."  His mind was not on the first mile, it was lost in miles three and five, six and eleven; his mind was already focused on how those miles would feel to him.  The horn signaled our start and we were off.  Together we crossed the start line.  Patrick passed me before we made it out of the shoot.  I stayed a few feet back steady and watching him.  When the crowd was able to open out on to the path I was able to catch up to him.
He smiled at my arrival, then encouraged me to run on ahead.  But I was happy here at this pace.  I was happy here with him. 

The day was starting to warm up as we jockeyed back and forth with another couple from PRRC.  The four of us ran at similar pace for about 5 miles.  We had an opportunity to hear their story of running together.  Watching them slow for each other, look for each other, and push each other, made me realize that here side by side with Patrick was where I truly wanted to be for this run.
Each mile after the first three miles was the furthest we had run straight in months.  Together we pushed onward mile by mile.  We laughed about things in life, life which seemed far away in this moment.

I had to stop at the porta potty, once again being left back by Patrick.  But in all honesty he warned me he was going to continue and I agreed with his continuation.  However, I jokingly said to him that he must have picked up his pace in my time away since I had to sprint to catch him.  He laughed claiming he did not intend on speeding away.      
As we hit the final trail portion the day began to feel long.  I was now urging my legs to move forward, step by step.  In the moment when I felt as though I was done for, Patrick looked at me and said, "Let's just keep going."  It sounded reasonable so I just kept going.  We made the final turn back to the park, now Patrick looked at me to inform me it was less than a mile till the finish line.  Less than a mile to continue to have run the full distance of the half marathon.

We approached the finish line, together.  With one other run club member in front of us we grabbed hands and gave words of encouragement to our club member, telling her to push on and to give it all she had in that moment.

Once again crossing the line hand in hand was a great moment for us.  It was the furthest we had run in almost five months.  Run meaning no walking stops.  It was a good come back event since training and racing had not been going well as of late.  Today those things in our heads holding us back faded a little and together we pushed to the finish line. And we pushed with grace (Patrick may have forced this grace on me, but I still did it.)


Lastly, on this day we once again were surrounded by a great group of runners.  It does not matter you pace, your style, or your clothing, here amongst the Pea Ridge runners we feel welcomed and supported.