Covered Bridge 5k-Henniker NH

9:20 I rushed out the door and headed to my 10:00 race. Henniker is the next town over and it was nice to have such a quick drive. I had plenty of time to check in, get my bib, and run my t-shirt back to the car. The starting line was in the covered bridge which was kind of cool. There werent many people and I found myself at the front of the pack. I passed a couple people shortly after the start and held my position for the entire race-even up the hill of death. The top women's runner at the time fell back to 2nd but she was still about 10 yards ahead of me on the hill. The second place runner zoomed up to 3rd which is where she stayed. I think I passed two men on the hill. One of them got  me back towards the end but I was okay with that. After the hill which was about 10 minutes into the race, I thought I was going to puke. It was the first time I ever felt that way in a 5k. I thought maybe it was because I hadnt fueled up enough. I ate breakfast at 7am and forgot to get a snack in before the race. I think I was just exhausted. I pushed myself past that feeling and the nagging cramp in my right side. I tried my hardest to sprint the finish and my body was fighting it. I saw 24 11 on the clock as I entered the bridge. No PR for me today. I felt good though and knew that darn hill slowed everyone down! Ended up getting a pint glass for being 3rd overall for women. I think the top two women where also in my age group or the next one up. No young-ins at the finish line with us! Time to get some lunch, getting that nausea feeling again. Resting the legs today and maybe tomorrow too. Next on my agenda-5 mile trail race on Saturday.

Today's race bling

Playing catch up...Its good to be me!

Since my last post I have completed a trail race, hiked Moosilauke (White Mtn 4,000 footer) took the mtb out for a morning spin, started focusing on running again, completed a 13.1 run, and had a great trail/road run this past Thursday. Today got back on the road bike and back into the water! Its good to be me!

August 20, 2011 Frenzy in the Forest-5 mile run. I didnt mean to, it just happend. I finished second in my age group. I feel I had a great race.  45:01, 2nd in my age group and finished 45/93 overall. I also won a pair of Darn Tough socks and a $10 gift certificate in the raffle. It was a good day!

Frenzy in the Forest bling

August 21, 2011 Hiked up Moosilauke up and down in a little over 3 hours. It is typically a 5 hour hike. I felt great pushing my way up. Down was tough. It was steep and my legs were turning into jello! Overall it was an awesome experience. I was super happy to hike another 4,000 footer. I think I have only hiked 3 but its a start! I was sore for three days after this hike, I could barely walk the next morning my quads ached so bad! I was worried b/c I had the CHaD half marathon to prep for!

Its good to be me!

 August 27, 2011 (the Eve of Irene) Since my Half Marathon was cancelled I decided to get out on the bike. First time since the race. I surprised myself-I am a much better rider after the race! It was a short lived adventure since I was on a time crunch and my riding partner disappeared only to have crashed his bike (a crash that he does not remember) which left him with a head ache and most likely a concussion!

August 29th, I ran the CHaD half marathon. I was feeling guilty for not being able to do the run that I had raised money for so I completed the virtual and sent my picture and time in to be officially recorded. I stated out with the mindset that I was going to take my time and not race but when my running partner had to turn around do to soreness in his leg (his triathlon did not get cancelled the day before) I turned up the speed. I was determined to come in under 2 hours which is ten minutes longer than my PR. I ended up finishing with a time of 1:56. I really enjoyed the run...most of it. There were a couple moments I just wanted to get it over with but I pushed my self hard and met my goal.

Rock on!

This past week I had a great trail run. I ran fox forest over to the forest headquarters then ran the back roads that connect to Mud Bog Pond rd trail then looped around Jefferson Dr. and back home. I was out for and hour and 20 minutes but dont really know what my distance was.  I stuck my Nike sensor in my sock and its not calibrated for that! My pace was 20 min/mile-ha ha. Not quite.

Today I  hopped on the road bike for a good 15 mile ride. It was a hot sticky day and I have a 5k tomorrow so I decided to go for  a swim instead of a MTB ride. 26 minutes, two laps on the levy at Deering Pond. Good times. Henniker Covered Bridge 5k tomorrow. No idea what to expect, I think this is the first time they have held this race.

Its good to be me!

When your body just doesnt cooperate-Growing Pains!

I have to start off by stating that I had a great run this morning. I felt strong and ready for my half marathon on August 28th. With that said there are a few things that I cant help but notice. The little warning signs from my body that I used to ignore. Today it was the ting of pain in my left foot from when I twisted it almost two months ago in a trail race. Pretty sure there must be a stress fracture in there but I dont want to slow down to deal with it (so I guess I am still ignoring some things). Then there is the breathing/sinus thing. Supposedly I dont have a sinus infection but it still doesnt feel quite right and I have an appt. with an allergist to do some allergy/immune system testing. Oh but wait then there is the damn right foot. You know, the one messed up my NCT hiking trip with my dad. Yeah, that bunion started to get sore at about mile 5. Looking foward to the customized orthotics that I will be getting in a couple of weeks($350 later). Hoping I can get them broke in and ready to use for my marathon training! I sat in my Podiatrists office fighting back the tears because I dont want my foot issues to keep me from doing all the things that I want to do, need to keep working on that bucket list. What a hot mess!

Welcome to your mid-thirties. Let your body slowly fall apart.
It all started November 2008 when I had a pimple that just wouldnt go away. I never get pimples but this one was festering on the edge of a raised white spot. I had that white spot as long as I can remember. My mom said she thought it was a chicken pox scar so that is what I went with. When I still had that annoying little red pimple in January I finally decided it was time to go to the dermatologist. I had visited the dermatologist yearly due to all the raised moles on my body. I would get yearly body scans and inevitably would end up getting a mole or two removed and biopsied ever year. The doc looked a little nervous as he checked this one out. He did a biopsy and sure enough I had finally heard that word CANCER. I didnt freak out. It was only basal cell cancer which means its a slow growing cancer that doesnt spread to the rest of your body. Come to find out that little white spot wasnt just a scar...it was cancer. Most exposure to skin cancer occurs before the age of 20. I estimate that cancer had been growing for about 10-15 years. After an ugly surgery all was good in the world (minus an huge scar on my face). That experience triggered me to stop ignoring the little things.

Next was the gastrointestinal issues. Embarrassing conversation but a very common concern. I had these issues before and was "diagnosed" with IBS. After moving to NH the symptoms had disappeared (probably b/c I had somewhat of a stress-free lifestyle compared to how I was living in MI). This time I got scared and went to the doc. I met with some specialists, did an informal elimination diet, and had a colonoscopy...IBS was the diagnosis. Its pretty much a BS diagnosis but there is not anything physically wrong which was good news because colon cancer and gastrointestinal diseases are in my family history. The other positive was I found out what foods I SHOULD avoid because my body has a slight intolerance to them. In the meantime I had banged up my thumb (and my knee) playing rugby and that took over a year to heal (and still bothers me every now and then).

Next was my breast cancer scare. I wasnt ever really scared but it was a process. I had a mamogram about 10 years ago b/c of a lump which ended up to be nothing but here I was having this problem again.  Oh you have a lump in breast, but no maternal history? I do have history, paternal history. Oh that doesnt matter, why dont you jump through these 20 hoops before we can actually tell you that you dont have cancer! Super annoying and I had to miss work.
Then I was sick. I feel like I missed a million days of work this last year. Doc chalked it up to new strains of virus the kids are carrying. Since I do work with some snotty noses, it was inevitible I would get sick but 3 sinus infections in 4 months? Sinus surgery (and surgery to fix my deviated septum) was in my future and while I was on antibiotics prepping for a pre-surgery CT Scan I got really sick, bed ridden for an entire weekend. I was on antibiotics from Dec-April more than i was off. I had the surgery during spring break. Retired from rugby after my surgery-boo hiss. Between May and August I have had three throat infections-Pharyngitis, only one time was it strep. I feel like I still have sinus issues but doc says-its all good. So on to the next thing-allergies and immune system

In reality many of these "issues" have been with me all along. People have commented on how I sure do have a lot of things going on (health wise). I know I look like a hypochondriac but I dont want to risk not listening to my body anymore. I dont look for things wrong with me, they just happen. Better to deal with it now then when I am 80. Overall I am healthy and I recognize these are just growing pains and there are people who are worse off than I am!

Skyline Bikers-The year of the Orphan...

This past weekend I joined the Skyline Bikers team at the 24 hours of Great Glen MTB race. It was an amazing and physically exhausting experience!
The year of the orphan:
The week of the race our team captain Ann double checked the race information and to her surprise she found that our 4 person team-Skyline Bikers was not there. After some phone calls she found out that because Skyline Bikers had two teams signed up, the system thought it was a mistake and kicked our team into the Orphan File.  Ann's brother Pat and her bf Remi had signed up as Skyline Bikers in the men's pair category. Our team made up of Ann, her sister Kathleen, friend Nick, and myself were supposed to be signed up as Skyline Bikers in the men's sport class. Our team not only went into the orphan file, we were deleted! Fortunately Ann had all the payment info and we were allowed to re-register the Friday of the race BUT there was one more snafu. Nick had a last minute work commitment and was not able to make the race. Ann had someone in mind to take his place but she was already competing that weekend in the The Annual Wildman Biathlon (which is a crazy race too!). In comes Christine (sister to Anne and Kathleen, wife to Nate and mother to Kenny and Jimmie) to the rescue! I cant say she was excited but she is definitely a team player.  She was also the fourth woman on the team, which meant that we didnt fit the qualification for a men's sport team. Had we not been orphaned or deleted we would have been stuck in that category but because we were given a fresh start we were able to be a women's sport team. We didnt know it at the time but we were the only women's sport team. This meant that no matter what we were getting some BLING. You know how I love my bling!

Saturday I was surrounded by the yellow shirts of the Skyline Bikers-racers and pit crew. This is a great bunch of people who were very welcoming, I was the only one in the group that was not related to or a significant other of the Brophy family. I had to chuckle because I had several "one of these kids is not like the others"  moments-the team picture for instance. I guess I must have looked like a little orphan trying to fit in. Thank goodness for this great group of people who eased my mind and accepted me as I am. They are an amazing group of athletes and mountain bikers and they welcomed my average-ness.

This was the most physically challenging activity/event I have ever been a part of. We took a little spin Friday night and I felt good however, we didnt ride that darn blueberry hill. That thing was the death of me! I was the 3rd rider on the team and surprisingly wasnt all that nervous until I hit the hill. Steep up and then some steep switchbacks, a few downs and then a big up with some technical trail down, more switch back down and then some steep downhill. I rode most of it the first lap. Most. I didnt make it up the steep up hill before the technical section and I did NOT take one of the steep down hills in the middle of the technical section. I did find that sometimes its good to not know what is coming up. I accidentally took the steepest down hill I had ever taken. You know, the kind that when you are at the top you cant see the bottom even though ist just a few feet down. I hit that and had to make an immediate left at the bottom...there were bales of hay stacked high in case you missed your turn.  Thank goodness I made it...that would have hurt. I held my breath the next 4 times I took that little down hill and made it every time-white knuckled and all. The rest of the ride on the mountain side felt like a piece of cake compared to that darn blueberry hill even though the rest of the ride had a gazillion up hills and some pretty intense technical trails. The first lap on the mountain side I took it all accept the "stairs" that they put in at a steep drop down.
Lap 2 was not so glamorous and was rather humbling. I totally felt out of my league especially at that darn blueberry hill! Walking the bike was humbling at first but later it was a life saver and I learned to not let it bother me. I had to talk myself through it but the competitive side of me mellowed out a little and I learned to enjoy it for what it was and to take pride in the fact that I was even participating in this crazy event! This was also my first night ride ever-wow, super fun! At least I felt that way after the first loop (10:30-12am). I took a quick bathroom break and then went back out (12:15-1:50am). I thought I was going to DIE the second night lap. I was hurting and no longer enjoyed the night ride or should I say WALK. I made it through and within a half hour of finishing the night ride I was napping. Three hours later I was up and getting ready for my 5th and final loop. I made that one count b/c I was pretty sure I wasnt (and physically couldnt) going out for a 6th lap.

Ann and Kathleen are ROCK STARS and make it look easy! Someday I am going to be just like them...probably not but its a nice thought. Believe it or not, I am happy with being an average mountain biker. Christine is very determined and she was able to take on the trails with no training leading up to the race!

 

(Ann won this single-speed bike in the raffle)

Our team did 19 laps total. Overall we placed 80/182 teams and solo racers.  I raced 5 laps...40 miles. Our team placed 1st for the women's sport division. We received medals, cash prize, and a gift certificate for 40% off  Felt bicycles at EMS. Cha-ching!  While the bling is a nice touch and great to add to the collection, the experience was priceless!

Congratulations to Nate for his 15 laps in the Solo Men's category and to Pat and Remi for their 24 laps as a Men's Pair. Kenny and Jimmie also rocked the 24 minute race and Jimmie won another helmet this year (3rd place). He gave the helmet to his brother :-)

Cigna/Elliot 5K

What a great race. I was feeling a little sluggish the first mile but once I figured out what my pace was I was able to stay strong and steady the next 2 miles. My shoe came untied just before mile 2 which was a little nerve wracking and there was no way I was going to stop and tie it. I had visions of me sprinting the final yards of the race and falling flat on my face. Thankfully that didnt happen. I actually felt pretty strong on the little hill at the end of the race and I passed a few people going up and just before the finish. I am super psyched with my time. To think that I am finishing in the 23's is exciting for me. My first race was 27+ minutes back in September 2010.
So, I finished 860 over all...craziness. What I am really excited about is that in my age group (35-39) I finished 17/353. Not bad. My time could be my PR 23; 52. Just checked- guess its not a PR for me. My PR still stands at 23; 14  at the Keene Sports Medicine Center 5k.<--I think that was a short course!
Off to Great Glen for another new adventure. Should be a fun and challenging weekend!

Getting my smile back :-)

In the book Born to Run you learn about "the real secret of the Tarahumara: they'd never forgotten what it felt like to love running." Since reading the book I have focused on a few things in my running. Stand tall, dont run heal-toe, and SMILE. Lately its been hard to focus on the smile part. I started to look at running as something I had to do, not something I want to do. Today I set out on my run. When I exited the woods back into the real world I decided to smile, even when I was pushing myself up that hill on Blair st. Once I got down town I noticed something...people were smiling back at me! It was a little weird but it did keep me smiling! I cant help but wonder what they were thinking as they saw me running down the street with smile on my face.
On another note-damn it is humid out there! I was dripping with sweat, my shirt was soaked, and I was only out for a 30 minute run...gross!

Tri

In an effort to check another fitness goal off my bucket list I completed my first triathlon (sprint) last weekend.

1/4 mile swim, 8 mile bike, 5k run. I almost drowned. I forgot everything my swimming partner had taught me. He said: make sure you stay on the outside and near the back of the pack, avoid the congestion, relax. I started near the back of the pack but I was in the middle. BIG mistake. The adrenaline kicked in and I started off on a speedy side stroke. Yes, I have to side stroke because I dont quite have my breathing down for freestyle. I have issues. I couldn't get into my relaxing groove. Every time I did, I bumped into someone. Every time I bumped into someone I got anxious. Anxiety affects my breathing...asthma attack...totally mental. I tried relaxing and working through it but no luck. I felt like I was swimming but going no where=more anxiety! I sucked it up and called for one of the Kayak people to come over "Help". Other swimmers immediately began spreading the word to the Kayak people who hover on the edge waiting for people like me. Kayak guy to the rescue. Sorry ladies, I am interrupting your swim pattern but I just can make it over to the kayak, he had to come to me. It was a little scarey. I was a little freaked and maybe a bit over-dramatic. "I cant breath, my asthma, I want to finish this race, I need to finish" Kayak guy: "relax, you will finish, I have asthma too, take a minute, you can do this, I have done this race, you will be fine". Me: "Will you stay with me?" LOL sounds like a Lifetime love story in the making (not so much). I wiped the saliva and slime off my face and headed out, with Kayak guy keeping a close distance. Suddenly I see people running in the water, could it be that shallow so close out. I touched down...mucky heaven. I am not going to drown, or am I-sand bar. Back to the deep waters. Not much farther to go says the Kayak guy. I gave him a very gracious yet oh so pathetic "Thank you" and we parted ways. I got to the boat ramp and began thinking: "F this. I have been looking forward to this for so long. I was going to be a triathlete but I cant swim, I hate the swim. this might be my last tri. I bought a wetsuit for this? Bike, must get to the bike".  To my surprise my bestest NH friends were waiting for me at the bike transition and that helped me out of self pity mode and back into competition mode.
I rocked the bike and the run. No one passed me and I felt like I passed everyone! Thats what happens when you finish near the end of the swim. To my surprise when all was said and done, I wasnt as slow as I thought I was. 10: 47 for the swim...not bad, I was hoping for under 12 minutes! Ended up finishing 81/202 in the end. I was 163/202 coming out of the water!

I was told I need to do another sprint Tri this summer to get over my swimming fear and I cannot turn down a challenge so the search is on for my next Tri.

I will be taking swim lessons over the winter and I will complete a full tri next summer!

You dont know until you tri. It never hurts to push yourself beyond what you think your limits are!

Thank you Brigit and Scotty for my race bling!

“Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way.” ~Dr. Seuss

I originally was going to post this as a "note" on Facebook but decided not to. This is why I am here, blogging, opening up myself for you to see...

"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us" ~Joseph Campbell

I am definitely not living the life I had planned. I am not married (divorced), I do not have any children, no dog, and I am not quite financially stable. I have a choice to make. I can chose to focus on the life I don't have or I can celebrate the life that I do have. I am healthy, I am making a conscious effort to be fit, I live in a beautiful state, have a somewhat simple lifestyle (drama-free) and I can make a difference in the life of a child or family everyday with a job that I am good at. I do have my moments of self pity because lets face it, being single and independent can get a little lonely. I have decided to focus on the things that I do have control over-being fit and challenging myself physically is a start.

"Set goals, be selfish and make 2011 your year" ~a quote from a friend of mine

Fitness goals for 2011:

(list was originally generated in January 2011)

Continue to run 5k races

Run a 10K

Run a half marathon

Complete a triathlon (sprint)

Hike another 85+ miles of the upper peninsula with my dad

Complete another century ride

Rugged Maniac September 24

Fun Stuff:

Brigit's Wedding

20th Class reunion

Day hikes in the Whites

Plan a getaway just for me

Get a dog?