The Afternoon Run

On the plate for today- run, drills, strength.

Running has been the questionable factor in my training plan lately. Not because I am not doing the work or that I am slow, but because I am not doing my runs during the best part of the day. I am not a morning person- I am a lazy bum in the morning. Well, let me take that back- I am not completely lazy. I get out of bed at 4:50am to make it to swim several times a week. I also have to be at school between 7:30-8:00 on most days. So, I don't really sleep in too much. But, there are days when I should get up early to run but I choose to wait until later in the day. BIG MISTAKE! I live in Memphis- second only to New Orleans, and hey, I lived there too. It is not unusual for the heat index to be 110 right around this time. Plus, with the humidity of the south, your sweat never cools you down simply because it cannot evaporate. Our natural cooling systems are ineffective around here.

So, today I had a choice- wake up early and get my run in, go at lunch, or wait until after school. I have learned that running at noon around here is not good, so I scratched off that option. Angie offered to do the smart thing with me and run in the morning, but the thought of sleeping in until 6:30 was just too good for me to pass up so I had to decline. That left only one option- the late afternoon run.

The afternoon run, or any run between the hours of 9 and 7, are very risky in Memphis. Your HR can easily reach LT even though you are at a snail's pace. It doesn't matter how slow you go, the HR is not going down. How unmotivating to see a slow pace and a high HR! But, I guess I am a glutton for punishment; or rather, I don't learn my lessons the first time around because I have written in my training log several times- DO NOT RUN IN HEAT OF DAY. MAKE MORE EFFECTIVE USE OF RUN TIME. etc....

Back to the story- so I sucker Jan in to my run. Heh heh! Perfect! I get out of school, running shoes on, hop on the bike, and head to Jan's house. She lives a whole mile away, and wouldn't you know I ran into another friend in that one mile- Brian Wamble! Yea Brian! (IMUSA08 finisher!). So, I coerced one other friend into joining me for a run!

I hope Brian didn't mind me groping his body. Ha ha! Look at the first-time Ironman finisher! And, wouldn't you know he said it was much easier than he thought it would be, never bonked, never felt bad, yada yada.

Jan and I ran with our little HR monitors on and compared our escalating HRs every 5 minutes or so. It made me feel so much better to know someone else had such a high HR on hot run days. And, Jan is the fittest girl I know hands down- so a high HR for her has everything to do with the heat and nothing to do with fitness. Speaking of fit, see below.

Look at Jan's p90x body! She has gained some serious strength.

And I'll just keep my shirt on when standing next to these two studs- Bri and Jan.

So, we ended up having a good run. Afterwards we did all of our little run drills, and we decided that I favor my left leg (lack of strength or ROM, we aren't sure?) and we tried to figure out the best time to start having kids. Don't ask me how those two things go together.

To wrap it up, I made myself do Jan's p90x ab workout with her. She did the highest degree of difficulty on the exercises and I did the weeniest. Okay, so I have a ways to go. But, I think Jan could be the girl on the video- or on a p90x infomercial.

And, Brian would like for us all to learn how to pee on the bike during an Ironman. Apparently he had to pee 5 times on the bike and could not make himself go while riding. So, start practicing!

Wedding Weekend

After watching the slideshow at Gina's rehearsal dinner, I realized that Gina and I don't have any good pictures together. I mean, we have tons of sweaty, nasty race pictures together, but no dress up pictures. So, here you go!

Friday Lunch:  lunch honoring Gina and Matt.  Now, I will confess, I did just do a two hour run before this.  I did shower, but didn't have time to wash and dry my hair- so back in a pony tail it went! 


Friday Night Rehearsal Dinner:  hair washed this time around.... couple of outfit changes....

Saturday morning:  Wedding!  Look at the beautiful bride!  I was so honored to be her bridesmaid.  I loved every minute of it.  

And, for kicks I threw in a picture of me with Frances- another sweaty friend that never gets a picture in a dress.  

Happy weekend!  The only way to describe the past week for me is - FULL.  I plan on getting my workout in tonight and s-t-u-d-y-i-n-g.  Thank you for the nice comments on my Thursday, stressful school post.  Of course with just a little time I felt better about everything, and I am back to working hard.  Thanks for reading :)

Sigh

Deep breath in...deep breath out.

A frequent blog topic of mine is my stress with school. You already know I don't enjoy school anymore. I am an older student here (meaning I am not 24), and I sometimes feel very alone. I am friendly, but don't fit in. I have a husband at home and a life that is a little different from my classmates. I am okay with the choices I have made with life and school (I sacrifice some study time and the A standard in order to pursue other interests), but sometimes the stress does get to me. Take for instance, last night. I couldn't sleep from stress of an upcoming test...stayed on the couch with Rooney....just felt terrible. Right now I am about to cry but refuse to do it in public. I am happy generally between the hours of 5 in the afternoon and 8 in the morning- when I am not at school. Most days I am happy at school too- or I at least try to have a cheerful attitude, but I would honestly rather run 50 marathons in 50 days then to put up with the stress I experience here.

When I sat down at my desk today, I saw a card in my seat. Here is what is said on the inside:

Damie,
I wanted to let you know what an inspiration you are to me. You probably laughed when you read that last sentence, but you are. You have so many things going on and you handle it all so well! Whenever I don't want to workout because I feel tired, I just think of you. I don't know how you do it, girl! I know you joke about your grades slipping because of your training, but you know what...in about 10 months, we will all be PTs and who cares what anyone made on test 1 of Neuro? Well, I can think of a few people that might care, but not me! ha Just wanted you to know how great I think you are and know that others admire your dedication and perserverence. I hope that one day I'll say I was friends in Pt school with Damie Roberts and she won the Boston Marathon. Ha...Well...maybe not! But, anyway...we're almost to the end and just keep at it and finish strong.

Love ya,
L

The card was out of the blue and so nice. Funny how angels and kindness come just when you need it, because I just received the worst grade on the test I took this morning that I have ever received here in PT school. The kicker is I thought I did well on the test. The bigger kicker is everyone else did well. So, here I am in the lab fighting back the tears. I keep re-reading the card and reminding myself that I will finish this and be fine-that this stress will end one day.

This Week

And Passing Thoughts...

• Congrats to my friends Laura, Charlie, and Brian- first time Ironman finishers at Lake Placid. I mean, I still want to cry when I think of how proud I felt when they finished. Congrats to all of my other IMUSA finishing friends, too. I continue to be amazed every day by the strength and wonder of my friends here in Memphis.

• I did get to save a turtle this morning. I don't get to do that on group rides less my butt get dropped, but today I was solo...yea turtles! Oh, and I saw a wild turkey and 6 fledglings!
  

• Gina gets married in 3 days!!!

• Congratulations to Joy, Deb, and Alyson on their great Mighty Mite races. Joy won first overall- it must be from training with me! JK :)

• I woke my butt up and rode 3 hours at 6:00 am this morning. My morning mantra was: I am doing what I don't want to do now (this ride, by myself, this early), so I can do what I want to do later (finish Ironman Florida).
  

• Oh yeah! I met the coolest guys last night at the track- Fletcher and Bob. They were working on their sprinting form and doing some easy strides in the grass. Bob is also almost 80 years old- with legs of steel. Seriously, any 30 year old male would be proud to have his muscle. Bob holds a bunch of state track records in Tennessee for his age group. I was so inspired to meet him yesterday....I mean...almost 80!!!!! He could whip my butt, too! With the right attitude in life, we have so many good things waiting for us at every age.

• I don't know if I have anything else on my mind right now. I seemed to have a lot this morning on the bike ride. Would you all still be my friends if I told you Hannah Montana was motivating me this morning? Ha! I am not kidding, either. :) Okay...time to study and rest before I head to work this afternoon.
  

Gina's Last 5k as a Vanderwert

Just a little something non-triathlon related :)

Today I threw a bridal shower/bachelorette party for my friend Gina. It was a little different from the normal girls night out- it was a 5k followed by breakfast!

So, I had to trick Gina into meeting me for a "workout". I told her I had this serious workout to do and I had to have a partner. We were to pace the first mile of a 5k at 10 seconds higher than what we wanted to average. For the second mile, we were to take turns drafting off of each other to learn to stay on someone's shoulder. And for the last mile, we were to focus on passing the person in front of us over and over again- counting how many people we passed. I told her I absolutely could not do this on my own, but I promised to take her out for breakfast if she would please help me. (PS, I just made this workout up, and I think I like it! We may really have to try it sometime!)

She was so pumped and showed up ready for the 5k. Well, when we got there, surprise!!!! Her girlfriends were all waiting for her- wearing pink and silver (her colors) and ready to...ummm....walk. It was so funny and cute when Gina turned to me and said, "So we aren't racing?" She had the biggest look of disappointment on her face! What a competitor! But, she loved that we were all there to have fun with her!





By the way, walking a 5k is hard. It was so hot, and I was out there forever! At one point I realized I would normally have been finished with the 5k, and I wasn't even half way done! It was super fun, though, and Gina was such a good sport. We followed it up with some mimosas, bloody's, and breakfast at my house.

It was such a good-spirited, girly thing to do. I hope Gina enjoyed it. We are all very happy for Gina and Matt!

Just for Sam, here is another butt picture.  I can't tell you how many of these I have (I think since it says Thunder on my butt, everyone feels the need to take a picture of it)- and I hate posting them.  But, a little butt picture adds to the humor of the day, and Sam made fun of her butt too.  So, here is a not-so-great angle shot.  

Luckily Sam has a sense of humor, too, because I have been meaning to write about this all week.  Anyone that has seen Sam's running pictures will definitely get the joke.  

    

Sam vs Damie

Sam runs really fast.  She just ran a 1:25 in a half IM.  Unreal.  See Sam go! And, while you are checking out the pictures, pay special attention to the facial detail.  It explains everything.  

Damie tries to run fast like Sam.  Oh, there is a camera!  I need to smile and wave!

Sam doesn't miss a beat while passing people.  Hitting the splits on the watch, that takes a special grimace too.  

Oh look, there is Damie running a marathon with Frances.  Social hour!  Hello camera!

Now, Sam doesn't know I have this picture of her.  This is the Valentine's Day 10k of this year. We were in the same race.  Sam won the race....and made her special face.  
I was somewhere behind her, giving a peace sign to the world.  

Really, the joke is on me, though.  My goal is to run as hard as Sam-to make faces because I am working so hard, to not notice the camera because I am working so hard, to not move a finger to wave because I am pumping my arms as hard as I can.  

Sam is my inspiration!   Hee hee!

Some Version of Chattanooga Oly

I have written this race report a couple of times, but the computer has crashed, class has started, you name it. So, it keeps getting shorter and shorter! Suffice to say it is now Tuesday, and I have moved on to thinking about the next thing on my life agenda.

In a nutshell, I had a great swim for me(minus a brief goggle malfunction) on Sunday, followed by one of my slowest bikes and slowest runs in the past 2 years. There was the rain factor that took some time away, but mainly I just got my butt kicked. I thought my head was in the game, but looking back on the race, I can see some areas that I really still need to work on.

For one- being able to chase down or hang with a rider that passes me.

And two- getting back to my negative split, strong running.

And three- not talking so much to other people during the race. Okay, that should be easy to change. I am a camera hog, though. I wave for all kinds of pics- I could stop that and conserve the energy. I even met a new friend on the run. I don't think you are supposed to meet new buds in the middle of the 10k, but she talked first! I swear! (I feel a cringe somewhere in the world right now. I think somewhere near Chicago!)

So, my goal for my Olympic race did NOT happen this year. And, that is okay- for now. Just get ready because I am getting ready to bust out an amazing race in the future...I feel it coming on!

Okay, so that is the pleasant version of the race this weekend. I have a couple of other versions that have gone through my head- such as what the f#@k? What a disaster! I find that those versions are counterproductive to my progress, plus I have already taken my full 24 hours to complain and whine about my race.

When the going get tough- the tough get going.

A Couple of Pics Before Bed

I am a little too tired to write a full race report right now, so I promise to do that for tomorrow- along with my many thoughts about my performance that will hopefully be condensed by the time I sit and write. In the meantime, here are some pics of the weekend. Dave and I made a mini-vacation out of the trip since we have not had a chance to spend a lot of time together lately.

Friday night in downtown Chattanooga: free concert with a great brass band from New Orleans! Dave and I had our own little date, complete with dinner and music!
Saturday at Lookout Mountain: Dave and I are total tourist. We ride the rail up lookout mountain. I have to admit, I did not like the steep incline at the top. I am getting old and scared.

Sunday morning: Dave at 5:30 am (4:30 our time!). He is such a little trooper when it comes to the early morning races. :) Here he is trying to block out the light in the room and sleep 3 more minutes.

Sunday Race Time: Damie getting on the bike and getting feet in shoes. Like the wet street? Oh, it got worse. This was just the beginning!

Sunday Post Race: Lisa F. and Damie: great friends make it through the struggles of the day and ask the never ending question- why did we sign up for IMFL?
Sunday Post Race: The Los Locos hang with Michael Lovato. He seemed to be a very friendly, easy going, nice guy. I am sure they were all talking training and picking his brain :)

Mail Surprises

Who else love to come home and find presents in the mail?


How about some lucky shoes from a friend?


Or, this looks like someone we know is graduating very, very soon! I bet they are really happy!

-To be a friend a man should remember that we are human magnets; that like attracts like, and that what we give we get.
From the The Art of Living

Thank you, friends, for making my day. What great surprises to find at home!

The End...

of two weeks off from school.  Tomorrow I hit the books and classroom again, but this is my last semester of classes!  Through all of the late nights and tears, I finally know now that I can make it through.  (I might need to limit my blogging time on the computer, though, and spend more time studying!)

This weekend was fantastic.  I had a great 70 mile ride on Friday- reminding me that I can keep up- my legs can do it!  It was so nice to know that after some hard days of training, my body would respond if I asked kindly enough.  

Saturday was a good swim.  I held some intervals that I normally would've changed the minute I thought coach Rob wasn't looking.  I had a great lane partner, Alyson, pushing me to keep up.  I kept the self-talk positive and told myself I can do this!  We followed our swim up with a small run and lots of girl talk- super fun!

My early weekend hard work called for a Saturday afternoon pitcher of margaritas with Joy.  I think we even discussed IM nutrition while drinking our nice summer drinks- how ironic:)  And, of course to sober up we walked to the Irish bar for some Irish coffee- hee hee!  We made sure to quit drinking early enough to drink lots of water and hopefully recover for our run on Sunday.    

Today was a good tempo run at 7:00am (I am not a morning person, but I am trying).  The first hour took us through the trails of Shelby Farms.  The trails are always more tiring to my legs than a normal run- the hills, the jumps, the concentration, the hills...:)   The last few miles were supposed to be fast.  I found myself saying to Joy- I am topped out...this is it...go on without me...I am just tired.  Excuses.  (Joy does not put up with excuses, by the way.  She said she was not leaving me just to make sure I did my 10k pace like I was supposed to.)

I am getting so much better at understanding myself-body and mind.  I quickly realized that I was going to that place where I give up.  I immediately stopped and took in a gu (post-margarita morning run usually means I have no nutrition to call upon).  I told myself- hey, yea, you are tired- and you will be tired at every race.  You still have to find the way to pick it up.

The gu+ some extra concentration=doing my run the right way.  I am learning how to push through uncomfortable times and believe in myself.  I am learning that when I start getting down, maybe I need some extra nutrition.  I am replacing the thought- "this sucks" with "this is making me stronger."  :)  

And, this one is for Laura-

I have been enjoying a great afternoon at home:  coffee, Wimbledon, cleaning my room and finding my wedding veil and shoes (so cute!), and hanging with the dogs.  Next thing I know the dogs are kind of quiet- I think to myself that they are playing so well together.  I finally look over and

They are playing with my panties.  Ewwww!!!!!!  Both of them!   First they played tug of war.  I went to save the panties, but they were already stretched to the max.  Then Latte just sat there chewing and chewing on them.   

Now I know why Latte likes to come visit!  hee hee!

Welcome To My Blog

It seems that I have a few new readers!  This blog is a place for me to talk to friends, meet new people, talk about the joys and difficulties of Ironman training, and put thoughts into words.  I am glad that I have people interested in reading and knowing how my life is going in general.  I learn so much from all of you, and I am glad we have this place to share.  

You may read about tough days in my blog.  I try to paint a picture of my day in the way I experience it.  This includes amazing days where I feel like I can conquer anything- and it includes bad days where my legs, mind, and heart were left somewhere in a gutter.  And, that is okay- so is life- and definitely so is life in the midst of Ironman training!  

If you are new to reading about me, I appreciate your interest and time in stopping by.  You will see the many angles of my life- the fun, the smart, the dumb, the happy, and the dark.  The best thing about it all, though, are the extraordinary friends that I have in my life that love me for the person I am.  Thank you for listening to my victories and my rants.  I am such a lucky girl to have true friends that are there for me when I set a PR and when I just can't keep up.  

There are only 4 months left till Florida!  It will be interesting to see all of the curve balls that come my way.  I'll keep challenging myself to find the positive in the day to day- and enjoy the small victories along the way.  

Thanks again for reading.  

PS:  You will also probably read a lot about Rooney.  He is my BFF.  :)  

Some Randomness

1. I am tired today. Yesterdays swim, 3.5 hour bike, and 45 min run left me cooked.

2. Mental training is important- dealing with fatigue, boredom, self-doubt, and loneliness.

3. I swam with Greg from Los Locos yesterday. Great guy. He said that if I can swim 4000 yards right now, I am not an okay swimmer, I am a great swimmer. That was just the positive energy I needed to get me through the day.

4. A certain Wednesday night bike group needs to get some manners. Dropping the hammer at a red light leaving people by themselves is just rude. Since you are all Cat 4 riders and I don't see you attending the real hammer fest on Tues, let's keep the Wed night ride a good, solid, fun ride. I have so much more to say on my disgust of the cycling group manners I saw last night. Grrrrrr...

5. And, why do men feel that they have to start every group ride in their aero position and hammer? Since you won't even come close to averaging that for a ride, why don't we start off like normal people- the same way you warm up for every other dern activity you do. Leave the ego at home.

6. I had an encounter with the nicest car driver yesterday. After he cut me off and I threw my hands up in disgust, he rolled down the window and...
did not yell at me. He apologized and said he did not realize he had done anything wrong. I thanked him for being so kind. It really made my day.

7. Just one more time- I have ZERO tolerance these days for egos on bike rides. Save if for the races.

8. I finally get it. I asked for 2 hard weeks and I am almost through with them. I must say, I get the point. IM training is hard. There is a reason other people are pros and not me.

9. How in the heck do pros with a career like Eileen Swanson and mothers like Bree Wee do it? I have no obligations this week, yet I am exhausted from training and the house is a mess. I have so much respect for the athletes out there that are juggling careers, families, and high volume training.

10. I am heading off to volunteer at the St Jude Firecracker 5k. I hope everyone has a Happy 4th of July.

Pass It On

Mira made me...;)

10 Years Ago I Was...
In between my 3rd and 4th year of college. That year I came home to live with my parents for the summer (and I swore to never, ever live at home again after that! ha!). I had just started dating Dave, and I remember being sooooo into him. I was so gaga it was disgusting- my daughters better never act like that. I also took summer classes at the University of Memphis and worked as a lifeguard.

5 Years Ago I Was...
Living in New Orleans. Dave and I were still dating. I had received my Master's Degree in counseling and was working my first post grad job helping families that had children with disabilities. Even with my new degree, though, I still felt that I was supposed to be a physical therapist. I would talk about it with my co-workers all of the time. They still remember me trying to decide what to do.
I was also playing lots and lots of soccer. I would run for fitness, but I never even entered a 5k in New Orleans, much less a triathlon.

1 Year Ago I Was...
Having a really hard time in PT school. I did not enjoy going back to school full-time (and I still don't enjoy it). I was finding outlets like running the road race series and entering triathlons to help bring some happiness and fun into my life. Oh, and Gina and I were embarking on our Chicago marathon training plan. That was fun!


5 Things On My To Do List Today
1. Go to the grocery store
2. Email Laura and Lisa
3. Order my wedding pictures from 3 years ago (I still don't have a wedding album)
4. Send out thank you cards and get well cards that I have been meaning to put in the mail
5. Call Sister Trudy, my grade school principal to say hi after 16 years

5 Snacks I Enjoy
Do I really have to answer this? Let's just say I snack all day long. Seriously. I don't count how many snacks I have in a day- it could easily be 10. And no, they are not all healthy. Everyone knows that I eat like crap.

If I Were A Billionaire I Would...
Follow the Dave Ramsey plan and be debt free- along with making my family members debt free too. Then I would buy all of the wedding presents that I have been meaning to buy friends. I would follow this up with buying a lot of beautiful land somewhere so I could have my farm. I would travel everywhere around the world- but it doesn't need to be first class. I would save, and save, and save while thinking of something very special and helpful to do with my money.

6 People I Want To Have Lunch With Tomorrow
1. My granny, if she were still alive
2. Fernando Torres (see the below post)- and I would ask him to bring Zidane (not that the Spaniard is friends with the Frenchman, but I could ask).
3. Christy Bohannon- I sure do miss her. We haven't had lunch in forever.
4. Any of my friends from New Orleans that I had to leave behind after Katrina.
5. Deena Kastor, Paula Radcliffe, and Kara Goucher
6. ??? Is there anyone that wants to have lunch with me???

5 Places I Have Lived
1. Memphis
2. New Orleans
3. Mobile, Alabama
4. Little Rock, Arkansas (as a baby)
5. Blacksburg, Virginia (as a little girl)

5 Jobs I Have Had
I have had over a dozen jobs, so here is just a taste of them...
1. Bartender
2. Special Education Teacher
3. Pottery Barn associate
4. Individual, couples, family, child counselor
5. Short order cook