A lot can happen in 6 months!

You'll notice that it's been a while since I posted...6 months, to be exact! It seems that committing to triathlon training, working full time with a heinous commute while trying to keep your marriage intact and your kids familiar with who you are leaves little time for things like blogging. Who knew?

So what have I been up to? Well, I really got into the tri training. The Y Triathlon team that I trained with (I like to think of them as the YTribe) grew into a group of really wonderful friends. Bonds were built and friendships formed, and along the way, my inner athlete made her way to the surface.

A typical week's training consisted of 5 days of workouts, and 2 'rest days'. Weekend workouts started at 7:00 a.m. and I would get home somewhere between 9:00 and 11:00 a.m., depending on what we did. During the week, we'd meet at 7 or 8 and run, bike or swim. Weekends were long run days, and on Sundays, we'd do a brick workout, and later on in the season would do some open water swimming. Now that I'm out of the routine, it's hard for me to figure out how I fit it all in! I am incredibly lucky that my husband is so supportive of me; I couldn't have done it without him, and I'm just talking about childcare! At no point did he ever say "Are you sure you can do this?" He was behind me all the way, and I know how lucky I am in that regard.

I entered several 5k races during the summer; I figured it was good practice since I was running a lot anyway! I ran the Run of the Mill, the Seafair Torchlight Run (my favorite run - along the parade route!) and the Aflac Iron Girl 5k (another great race; looking forward to doing that with my Mom next year). I also, in late June, did the Rock and Roll Half Marathon. I walked more than ran, but had a blast and have already registered for next year's race - and I'll be running it this time.

So - THE triathlon. Actually, I competed in three! I attended a seminar at Greg's Cycle in July, and met the amazing Sally Edwards (she's the force behind the Danskin triathlon series) and was inspired to register for the Trek Women's Triathlon - it's the same course as the Danskin, only a month later. In between the two, I rode the bike leg of the Finish Strong triathlon, which was the target race for the YTribe. It was the week after the Danskin and I didn't want to do the full race, but was lucky enough to be on a team with Michael (run) and Steve (swim) so we all got to participate with the rest of the group, which was awesome.

The Danskin was an amazing experience and I will never forget it; likewise, the Trek. It's been said that the woman who finished a triathlon is not the same woman who started it; I have to agree, and will blog about both races later. (I promise it won't take six months!)

And just because I'm a glutton for punishment, I agreed to run the Pineapple Classic 5k obstacle course race; that was today and I'm still recovering from it! Had a blast but lesson learned: deconditioning happens. So I need to get off my butt and back out on the road. The road ahead is calling my name...next up? CF Stair Climb, I think. The Jingle Bell Dash, for sure. And then, who knows? But my athlete is out and I'm going to keep her here, because I think she's a pretty kick-ass woman. She may not be the fastest but she's enjoying the ride.