Hills are H-E-double Hockey Sticks!

Let me begin by saying I am not, repeat NOT, an early morning person. But this is going to have to change quick because our weekend trainings are early. This morning was my first training session with the team (sorry, no pics this time...). We met at 7am to run in the Arboretum. One lap around is 2 miles and I have been running 3 miles pretty consistently. So, Linds and I decided it would be good to push to 4 miles (2 laps around; should be cake, right?). Well, this course is hella-hilly! And I don't do hills. I run on flat land, avoiding hills at all costs. But I decided to not be wimpy and push through it. Ok, so I did fine on the first lap...the second lap kicked my bum. We actually ended up doing a pyramid technique on the second lap (run 1 min, fast walk 1 min, run 2 min, walk 1 min, run 3, walk 1...etc) because I was gasping for air. The run parts seemed all uphill and our walks downhill. WHY?! Thank God for Lindsy or I would have walked the entire thing--she could have run it no problemo! But we did it...and did 4 miles in 40 minutes, so despite walking a little bit of it, we did a 10 min/mile pace. YAY. And now I have my workout finished and out of the way and it is only 9 in the morning! (maybe being an early bird isn't such a bad idea--but I'll probably crash later!)

The Starting Line

As you have probably figured out, I am training for the Susan Bradley Cox Triathlon for Sight with an incredible organization called Team In Training (TNT). This organization supports The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's search for a cure for blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. I am very excited to be a part of this team and to race for a cure. I am also very excited to be doing this with my best friend, Lindsy Taylor. She is an experienced (marathon!) runner and since college I have always tried to tag along--the max was 5 miles with her. I mentioned to her a while back that I wanted to do a triathlon and she said it had always been a dream of hers, so why not do it together?? And better yet, let's do it for a GREAT cause!! So, long story short, we signed up with TNT and have been training for a little more than a week now. Here are some pics of the Tri-team, our first bike of the season (17 miles!) and my first swim. Please check back often as I hope to keep this updated with training progress.




The Tri-team (not pictured: ME! I was in Portsmouth, OH, for my PT internship)

Lindsy and Me on our first Bike Ride this year

We look so HOT! (just part of the job, kids!)