I've been slacking...

I'll admit it, I've been slacking. I haven't done a workout in a week. I need to get off my butt! That being said, I've gotten a lot done around the house. LOL!

Ok, ok... I have to get moving or this 70.3 in June is going to be PAINFUL! We have been tracking things with our new FitBit One's, so that's a good thing! We've also both been keeping portion sizes in check, so I'm happy about that too.

Now, to get moving!

Thyroid update

Since September 2012, I've been on a roller coaster with respect to my thyroid. In November 2012, my endocrinologist had my TSH, Free T3, and Free T4 (as well as Hashimoto indicators since it runs in my family) tested. Technically, all numbers are normal. With my symptoms, he has diagnosed me with hypothyroid primary.

I went in for a 3 month retest yesterday and got my blood work back today. It hasn't changed much from 3 months ago, so once again, whether or not to medicate. For now, my dr and I have decided NOT to medicate, even though my symptoms are pretty much constant. He said something to me that made a lot of sense.

"It's much easier to make a decision to medicate rather than to come off medication to determine whether or not it seems to be working later."

With my thyroid symptoms being both hyper and hypo, he's concerned that I'll have mixed to no relief of my symptoms and want to come off the meds to see if it was really helping.

Basically, there's no easy decision for me. I'm just glad to have found a dr who listens to me and gives me his straight opinion instead of blowing me off.

Hiking Cadillac Mountain in Acadia NP

And to finish up the posts that were supposed to have been written in August 2012...

The day after we went biking through Acadia, we went hiking in Acadia. This was our first ever hike, so we tackled something "easy" - Cadillac Mountain. Mind you, I was four days out from a half-ironman distance race! This was turning out to be a super active vacation.

We parked our car at the welcome station and rode the bus to the foot of the Cadillac Mountain trail.

Today, we brought our Camelbacks and nutrition (Honey Stingers and a couple of bars). We REALLY should've brought lunch. Oops... More on that later.

Still in a good mood

There were some pretty steep sections of this, but I think we handled it well. Jon whined a little about how it hurt and I just reminded him that I had raced Sunday, so if I could do it, he could too. Guess he got tired of hearing that because he stopped complaining. Every time we thought we were getting close to the top, we'd realize we weren't. It took us just about 2 hrs to do 2.1 miles (or so). Crazy! We did stop several times to take pictures and just admire the view.

Are we there yet?!

A little steep!

Headed up the rock stairs

Once at the top, we went to the bathroom and looked for the actual summit. We also explored the Summit Loop. It was about this time that we realized 1) we needed to figure out our path back down - we could go the way we came or go down the other trail that leads to the summit and 2) that we really should've brought lunch with us. We ended up going down the same way we came since we didn't know if the bus would pick us up from the trail head on the south side. Turns out, it would've. Oh well!

The North Ridge map (the way we came & went)

View from the Summit Loop

On the Summit Loop

Overall, we had a great hike and I can't wait to get back to Acadia to do another!

Biking through Acadia NP

Wow, this post is WAY overdue.

While we were in Maine back in August, we headed to Bar Harbor 2 days after my 70.3. The day after the race, we explored a local state park that houses Portland Head Lighthouse in order to keep me moving around and get rid of that lactic acid. Absolutely beautiful.

Me with the lighthouse in the distance

The next day, we headed to Freeport (LLBean shopping!) and Bar Harbor. It was a pretty uneventful drive, which is always good. Maine's road signs about moose crack me up. We have a ton of them about deer, but all of theirs were about moose. Now... just to see one!

Wednesday, we rented mountain bikes from Acadia Bike and took off into Acadia National Park. It was about two miles or so into the park, which wasn't too bad. I knew we'd be taking it super easy since I'd just done the 70.3 three days before. We had our Camelbacks, some nutrition (Honey Stingers), and a map of the carriage roads with us.

Let me just say... if we lived near Acadia, Jon would NEVER see me. I'd always be on the carriage roads. They'd be so wonderful for training runs & easy bikes. The crushed gravel/rock roads were originally built for horse carriages and take you through some breathtaking places. It took us about 4 hrs to do about 20 miles - way slow for us, but we were taking our time, stopping & taking pictures, and just enjoying it. I'd do this again in a heartbeat. On our next trip, we plan to bring our hybrid bikes and ride as much (or as little) as we want to.

Checking out the map

Chillin on a rock

Having a great time

Definitely not something we get to see on our normal rides!

Loved how much room we had

Beautiful

Can we stay?

Proof that we were there

Really the only part that was paved

GW Birthday Marathon Relay Race Report - February 17, 2013

This was hands down the weirdest race I've EVER done.

A couple of months ago, a bunch of Team Z people formed a lot of relays for this marathon. It's the first marathon I've heard of that does relays, so I figured I'd be game for it. Fast forward to this weekend, and we were all thinking one thing... the weather could've cooperated a bit more!

Packet pickup was in a small youth center in Greenbelt, MD. We got there at 8:30am for a 10:30am start. Given that it was about 25 degrees outside, we all huddled inside until they told us it was time to walk to the start. Everyone was shedding layers to not overheat before the race.

Waiting around

More waiting

Around 10:10, the race director asked us to start moving towards the start. This is where things get REALLY weird... The race start was literally a timing mat and a chalk line. They've been running this race for 52 years now. It's still a pretty small race!

The race was three loops around farm country in PG County, MD. It was super hilly... rolling hills... and not Eastern Loudoun County rolling hills. I was doing the first loop - 9.7 miles. The start wasn't too bad, and then we had a nice long downhill, and then we got hit with the wind. By mile two, I was FROZEN. The wind was so crazy. Sometimes, it'd just stop you (or slow you to a walk). If I didn't have teammates waiting for me, I would've thrown in the towel.

Along the course, I met some great people. I love chatting with people while I'm running. I knew this wouldn't be a super fast run based on the conditions, so I chatted for a bit, walked when I needed to, and ran when I could.

Once we got to Powder Mill Road, the car traffic got a little crazy, as did the wind. I really just wanted to be done. I've never wanted to stop in the middle of a race more. It was COLD, and HILLY, and WINDY. Right around mile 9, there was another freakin hill. I was so close to being done and was feeling so defeated.

Then, right when I needed it the most, I could hear the "cry of the Z" (horns). I still couldn't see them, but I could hear them. I got to the top of the hill and turned the corner and could see Jon. Oh thank goodness. That meant I was almost DONE. FINALLY!!!! I handed the wrist band off to my #2 relay person and wished her good luck. Poor thing... right after she left, it started to snow... sideways... twice. I felt so bad.

Team Z rockin the grill

I love my Zers

So. Cold.

Hi honey!

Gettin this done!

Jen welcoming me into transition

Making sure the wrist band read across the timing mats

As I walked back to the Team Z transition area, all I could think about was trying to get warm. I've never asked for hot chocolate right after a race. That's all I could think about though.

Oh hot chocolate and warm food!

Z camping out

Just chillin... literally!

One of the MD Zers dropped and did some pushups during his run!

I got warmed up and changed as much as I could in the back of the car and then headed back to the Z area to cheer for my teammates. Thank goodness for handwarmers, warm food, music, and the crazies that make up my tri team. Seriously. My relay team turned in a 4:55 marathon. Not too shabby given the circumstances.

I can't even describe why this was such a weird race. It just is. Probably because it's a 3 loop course and it was miserable conditions, and yet I had a good time (well, overall, not running!).

Getting back on track

My big race is 19 weeks from yesterday. YIKES! You know what that means? I HAVE to get back on the wagon. Thankfully, this week is a gentle reminder about what the workouts for triathlon are like.

I did a 30 minute "run" today. I use the word run VERY lightly here. I walked more than I ran. I did TNT before the run and probably should've done the run first. Ah well. My body needs to remember moving when it's already tired again.

Tomorrow's going to be a swim and a bike. The tires on my bike are pumped up and ready to go! All I have to do is get my butt to the pool tomorrow during the day for the swim. Gotta do it! Maybe I'll even get moving early tomorrow morning. We'll see!

Been a while...

There's been so much going on lately, I've forgotten to post in here! I'll wait until this weekend so that I have pictures to do a full post, but we now have a mobile triathlon staging unit (aka: travel trailer).

There are 19 weeks until Rev3 Williamsburg Half distance. AH! Ok, that was the kick in the pants I needed.

Also, I have FINALLY settled on a name for my tri bike - Dart. (I also decided Dart is a "he".) He likes to go speedy and dart around, so... Dart.

Not the most compelling post, but it's something. :)