I Tri'd

Almost.  It was more of a 1/3 of a Tri.  I completed my 3.2 miles and I did better than expected.  I ran the entire thing, no walking from this lady.  But to be honest, had I needed to run another 2 feet my two legs would have fallen off, they were on fire.  I ran it in 36 min.  When my brother rode his bike back into the transition area I knew it was time, I had butterflies in my stomach because I was nervous...I wanted to do well.  I put the timing chip on my ankle and away I went.  I had so much adrenaline at the start I ran the first mile in 10 min and 20 seconds.  The next two miles were a little slower clocking in at around 12 minutes or so.  I did not pass anyone, but I sure did get passed by lots of people.  Oh well, you know what?  I did it and that was my goal.  I was tired yesterday, but I think that had more to do with getting up at 3:45 and less to do with the fact that I ran.  I am not even sore today.

Our group before all the fun started.

(Terra, Kristi, Michale, my dad, me, and my brother)

There I go, just getting started

And here I come, looking...sweaty.

And the crowd erupts in cheers...sorta, lol.

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Another sweaty shot of myself and my brother.

Will I do it again?  I will tri.  :)

Sunfish Tri

Tomorrow is race day!  That is a loaded exclamation point because not only am I excited I am also kinda of scared.  I am competing (and I use that term loosely) as a part of a relay team.  I am only doing the 5 K at the end of a sprint triathlon.  It's only 3.2 miles you say.  Yes, yes I know it is ONLY 3.2 miles.  But do you know how far that is to a semi couch potato as myself?  Far!

I have been running over the last two weeks.  So I am in a little bit better position today than I was a month ago. But running with your brother or your dad is a lot different than running with oh a hundred or so people.  Am I going to make a fool of myself?  I sure hope not.  I would love to be able to run the 3.2 miles straight without having to walk, but I haven't been able to run that far consecutively at one time.  I also hope that I don't trip, that my thighs rubbing together don't start a fire, and that I don't choke went I try to hydrate while running. So many things to think about.

To top it all of, I am worried about what to wear.  Kind of trivial to be worried about how you look when you are running...running equals sweat and bad hair.  I have to make up for the sweat and bad hair.  I gotten several running shirts that are thin and dry fit, so my shirts aren't a problem.  What I am torn about is my shorts.  I have a pair of tight compression shorts that help my thigh rubbing problem, and I think I would be most comfortable wearing them only.  When I wear shorts over them it is just an extra layer that makes me HOT.  Tune in tomorrow to see if I sucked it up and wore the tights.

If you are awake tomorrow around 8 o'clock central keep your fingers crossed for me that I manage to run my measly little 3.2 miles and cross the finish line not on a stretcher.

GO TEAM Langford/McWilliams/McWilliams!!!!

What is chasing me?

I started running, something I never really had the desire to do.  Sure, in my mind I always kind of thought it would be nice to say I could run a mile, but I didn't have the gumption to make myself do it.  With Matt being in the Army and having to adhere to certain physical standards, one of which requires them to run two miles for a PT test, I have watched him run.  On rare occasions he talked me into lacing up my tennis shoes and going running with him...I never made it that fare, and running "with" him turned into more running "behind" him.  Let's face it, it is easier to run with a partner, at least it is for me, and by the time Matt would take off and leave me in the dust I just had one thing on my mind... "What is the fastest way back to my couch."

With Matt being gone for the past 8  months, I have made some changes in my lifestyle.  I started going to work-out on a regular basis, making healthier food choices (most of the time), and most recently I started running.  I have no grand illusions of being a  long distance runner, it really does not appeal to me at all.  But I do like being able to say, "Hey I ran 2 miles today".  I feel accomplished.  Am I fast?  No, actually quite the opposite.  But speed doesn't matter to me right now, just doing it.

Staying motivated was/is my #1 issue.  I have only been running consistently for two weeks and in that short 14 day span there have been days that I really DO NOT want to run.  My dad suggested registering myself in some sort of race, pay for it, and commit to it...that way I either have to train/run or look stupid in front of a bunch of people on race day.  So I did it.  I signed up to be part of a sprint triathlon relay team.  My dad is doing the swim, my brother is doing the bike, and I am going to tackle the 5K.  That is next weekend, so it has served its purpose in keeping me motivated.

I also like to know that when Matt comes home and he suggests we go run, that I can actually go and run with him.  Before if someone had asked me how far I could run, my answer would have been, "Whats is chasing me?".  Now I can say, "Eh...around 2 miles."