Better Late than never kind of report- Gillie Girl Race Report

I haven't been logging all these swimming, biking and running miles for nothing!! July 21st I participated in the 2nd Annual Gillie Girl Sprint triathlon race in Camillus, NY. The race was designed for a first timer race as well as to challenge a seasoned athlete. Right now, Im calling myself the come-back racer. This was my first Triathlon race postpartum, 7 months after the birth of my amazing little man. I came into this race with a few goals, Come in around 1:30, place in my age group, and give it all on the bike (as this is what my honey wanted me to do). After all it was a puke it or nothing kind of race as Sprints are balls to the wall the whole time, right?!! The night before, I settled my transition back, ate healthy at all meals and settled in early. Not only did I deal with a son that didn't want to sleep, but my stomach was upset all night as well. I was not happy that my race may not turn out with the goals I mentioned above. I wanted to get to the race fairly early, but I think everyone had the same Idea. I did however find a nice racking spot closest to the bike out as it was a long bike out without shoes on. I decided I was going to keep my shoes on the bike and hop on after the mount line. More about my ever so graceful mounting in a bit. I met some fellow racers and chatted about future racing, plans for the future, etc. (I even made a pact to maybe race 2015 Lake Placid, which may come true) I did my pre race meal I always do from the time I started training with my former coach, Mary Eggers. Man do I miss being coached. I cannot think for myself, or plan a freaking workout to save my life working full time and taking care of 2 children, a hubby and a house!! Anyways, back to the race.
I decided since the swim was so short and the weather was rather hot leading up to the race that I would go sans wetsuit. Im so glad I did because I was hot right after the turn around! This course was a 2 loop Lake swim in a really tiny lake. The second loop was less than desired as I was weaving in and out of people from different waves trying to make their way through the swim. I felt like I pushed hard and felt good about my swim The transition was about 200-300 yards away from the lake.
When I got to my bike, I Grabbed my helmet, got my bike and ran down about a 100yards out of transition to the mount line. While at the mount line, I had a hard time getting into my shoes and lost a little time on the bike. The first 1/2 mile is all down hill and could've made some serious time here if I wasn't fidgeting with my shoes and my Garmin!! (For future reference, never put transitions into the freaking mode. I totally messed the whole thing up and didnt get my splits right!) I felt like I gave it my all on the bike course, I was well above 20mph. But it didn't reflect it on the bike time due to my need to leave my shoes on the bike and jump off my bike. Maybe a flatter course would've been better to try this on!!


The transition was uneventful. I think I was out in less than a minute

The run was a fairly challenging run with one bigger climb back to the lake. I admit, I had to stop for a second to catch my breath on the hill but it was short lived as my determination to not be defeated took over. Granted I still have about 15 pounds to lose to be at pre baby weight and be faster like I was a few years ago.

I like that a lady at the top of the hill introduced herself and said she was feeling tired. Yep, I coached her into just breathing, relaxing, telling her she is doing great and what did she do right at the end?! Took off on me!! ha ha! At the end she asked me if I was a coach and that I should be because I gave her so much encouragement. Nice to hear!!

At the end, I was 22nd overall, 3rd in AG 30-34!!!! I am so proud of this! All the hard work and determination is paying off!

Next up, Cazenovia Intermediate triathlon August 11th!!!

Life is Good!!!

I cant believe its been 2 months since my last post!!

It s hard sitting here trying to blog while your son is sitting on your lap playing musical instrument with the keys. So, I must say I have to do it when he naps and in between my training sessions!

Now that he is almost 6 months, its getting a little bit easier to get back into the routine somewhat. Now its trying to juggle 2 kids, a job and a husband and fitting all the exercise in without losing my sanity.

In the last few months, I have tackled the Moutain Goat Run in 1:45:08 (10:31 pace). This was the first "true" race post baby and I think I did pretty well 5 months after having him!


I have ridden a few hundred miles on my bike and did the 40 mile Tour De Cure ride for Diabetes. That was a blast as I managed to get my hubby out for the day to ride it with me. Our dates now seem to revolve around working out, but this is fine with me!

 Paiges Butterfly 5K run at the beginning of the month showed me how far I've come in the last 6 months! I had a 28:26 (9:09 min per mile). My watch had be a 9 min per mile even. This is truely a great accomplishment for me.

In regards to my triathlon training. Well, we can say it hasn't been stellar. I try to get what I can in and make it important. The workouts are focused and to a end goal.

Swim: The last swim I did was about a week ago. I have been using my Garmin 910 XT in the pool to guage how well Im doing and I managing to pull of 1:40/100yd in the pool. Also, I just snagged the swimming secrets book for my Android Tablet and am Highly engrossed in reading it. Who would've thought the pull was the most important thing about swimming competitively?!! I am doing this resistance band exercise that has been teaching my muscle memory the high elbow!! So far so good. I will continue to work on this and hopefully it will pay off race day!

Bike: I have been getting out about 2-3 times per week to Ride. I just got a new ride and absolutely love it! I just bought a Fuji Supreme 1.0 Road Bike. I sold my Triathlon Bike and I am anxiously awaiting the premiere of the Fuji Norcom to hit the Bike shop my honey works at!! I have been feeling quite good and relaxed on the bike. This is my strongest leg. Still working on positioning on this bike because I haven't really been on a road bike in a few years!! Seeing this is my Strongest leg and I have a road bike again, I have signed up for a few Bike races!!! Woo hoo!!! Tour de Loop and Cazenovia Hill Bender. Maybe next year I will get into racing a bit more.

Run: My running is just going, Nothing too interesting to talk about. I have noticed that I really roll my left foot out, so really trying to work on a more forward foot strike. My right foot is good, just trying to concentrate on getting that left foot going in the same direction!! I have been trying to get out to run at least 15-30 min when I can and a longer run on the weekends. I usually am pushing the jogging stroller along to get this part in!!!

Happy Training!!

Month 4

My baby is now 4 months old! Its amazing how much they change in the first year! Im loving being a "new" mommy again. Despite all the late night awakenings, the colic, I wouldn't change it for the world! Im so blessed!

Its been hard on training having a newborn as he is a very needy little one!! I am still working out about 4-5 times a week. On my runs, if it is nice out, I strap the baby into his jogging stroller and off I go! Good thing the Parkway is so close to my house! He loves the ride!

I have lost most of my baby weight but just cant seem to shake the last 10 pounds right now. I am cutting calories but not too much to Jeopordize my milk production as I am breastfeeding. People ask me how I do this with training and the only thing I do differently is try to stay really hydrated to continue to produce milk.

The Weather has been beautiful here in NY!! Saturday, I road with some great people for 35.5 miles while training for the Tour de Cure at Verona Beach State Park on June 9th. This is a ride to support the American Diabetes Association find ways to beat the debilitating effects of diabetes. If you are interested in donating to this great cause, you can go to http://main.diabetes.org/goto/kmullally
Please consider donating. Im sure you know someone who has been affected by diabetes!!!

Yesterday, I ran the Mountain Goat 10 Miler here in Syracuse. Once again the temperatures soared and it was a hot run! I did great the first mile, 9:17 but then it went downhill after that! The hills really got me! Overall I was happy with my time of 1 hour 45 min. I need to give myself some credit as it has only been 4 months!!

Hope everyone is staying active and enjoying this weather!!

Happy Training!

Kids Zone Perfect Ambassador

Im so excited to be sharing my new sponsorship opportunity!

Throughout the year, 100 Team Zone Perfect moms nationwide will be at local community events sharing samples and using Zone Perfect to help keep their families active. I have been one of the chosen moms.

I have been a fan of Zone Perfect bars for years for myself and am happy to announce they have Kids flavors now! They were built in a build a bar developmet workshop with the help of parents and children ages 4-10.  They had the opportunity to develop their dream nutrition bar from fruits to protein sources and grains, to chocolate chips. As a result, 3 nutrition bars were made for kids, by kids!! They feature 5g of protein, 23 vitamins and minerals and 3g of fiber.

The 3 flavors are- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, Yellow Cupcake and Carmel Crunch.

They are all 140-150 calories per bar, and taste great. My daughter really loves them! She Says they are all yummy but really likes the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip bar, which ia also my favorite!!

I got this nice t-shirt, totebag and zip up sweatshirt to promote the product!! Also 500be at  bars to give away!!

I will be at our local YMCA April 27th handing out samples at healthy kids day and Im excited to announce Abbott is giving away a $500 gift certificate for parents input!! Cant wait to let other people try this.


The only thing missing is a peanut free kind!! They are made in a factory with peanuts. :(

As you can see we loved them!!

They are available at grocery stores, drug stores, mass merchandisers and also online at www.abbottstore.com

To learn more go to www.ZonePerfect.com!!

Update, Update, Update!!

Where has the time gone?! I cannot believe I haven't blogged in almost 2 months!! Im slacking!

Alot of things have happened in the last 2 months.  Lets start off with the good.

I ran the 4 mile Tipp Hill Run in 41:19!! This was my first "race" back after having my son just a mere 10 weeks prior! I forgot how hilly that race was! I ran with my Friend M and her Cousin. He was running for his cousin who was killed in Combat. You can read all about it at cplkyleschneider.com We also decided to run in his honor as well.

It was a cold start and we had to park a few blocks away due to the amount of people running this race. In Syracuse, this race starts the New race season for most people. Its fun and spectator friendly!
I froze running back to the car after the race. So in all I think we did about 6 miles that day!!
My legs were screaming because of the hills, but I was so proud of the accomplishments I have made since having my son. This has been a great Post Partum recovery. I am so blessed to have a very supportive spouse and family!!

Next a very tragic incident happened a few weeks ago to my daughters gymnastics teammate and her mother. It was a very hard time for her as well as for myself. I'm sure alot of people reading this blog have heard all about the news and all the media coverage so I will not go into details about what happened. All I can say is that I was very shaken up over the whole ordeal. What I felt was a safe place for my daughter turned out to be a nightmare for the last few weeks. My daughter and I took a self defense course so that if anything were to happen we could be prepared. Knowledge is power. 2 things you can do, always be alert, and act confident. Not looking in your bag, using your cell phone, etc, etc. I will not sit in my car and look at my emails, I will not talk on my phone, I know my surroundings. Who would have thought this would happen in such a safe neighborhood. I had to really convince my daughter that the world was still safe and that this was just a random, sick, act.

Next up, My son turned 3 months old yesterday!!! Time has flown by! He really is starting to babble and use that voice of his!! He also has found his fingers to suck on and stick all the way back in his throat so he gags himself!! Poor buddy!!
2 nights ago, I noticed one of his pupils were bigger. I immediately took a flashlight to them to see if they reacted. Thank god they did. He did see a great physician in the office I worked in and reassured me everything looked good. He is meeting his milestones, hes gaining weight, etc. We still have an appointment to see an opthamologist and a peds neurologist just to be overly cautious here.

On the exercise portion, I have been exercising at least 3-4 days per week. I ran 5.15 miles in 50 min today!! It is still flurry-ing here but I went outside anyways to run. Im so glad I did!!

I am now training for the hilliest Syracuse run....The Mountain Goat Run!!!

Thats all for now!!

SIGH

Happy Training!!!!

Ready to Race?

I am gearing up to run my first "Race" of 2013. Tipp Hill Shamrock Run 4 miler on March 3rd. While we are almost a month away, I feel I am gaining some running fitness back already!

Yesterday here in Central New York, I was running in 60 degree weather!! I had a short sleeve shirt on and Capris!! Today, the weather is less desiring with a mere 31 degrees and 30mph winds!! BRRR!!

I tried my hardest to run the whole time I was out running yesterday and just to live in the moment of running. No goals in mind but to just run and see how far I could get before my route was done. I did a little crazy loop around my develpment. I thought about everything in that time I was out there. What I wanted to accomplish, how much more I had to lose, Could I beat my friend at this race, how is the baby going to do when I go back to work, You name it I thought about it.

I only thought about my breathing one time, when a car decided it was going to turn the corner right in front of me! I really hate it when people are in such a hurry and dont give a darn or dont care to look around them! The lady didn't even look at me as I was yelling at her! UGH!

In all I managed to get this out of my run......

I have been trying to eat pretty clean but I have slip ups every now and then. Especially now that my mother is down for a few weeks and the goodies have just been appearing in my house!! Arg!

I am almost in my pre-pregnancy clothes. A few more pounds and inches, I will be there. Of course my body has definately gained some curves, which I hope will even themselves out!!

What has your training been like??

1 month already?!

January 25th marked my baby as 1 month old!! I cannot believe he is 1 month old already!! I soon will be heading back to work. I am having extreme anxiety about returning to work! I know it will be fine as my honey will be hopefully staying home with him for the most part.

Its funny how much they grow in that first month. He is already smiling and cooing and batting at objects which makes me overjoyed to see his progress day by day.

He has been colicky but they say it peaks at 6 weeks so we are almost at the worst of it! YAY for us!!
Sleeping has been on and off of course. One day he is sleeping all day, and awake at night and then the next day is the complete opposite!!

I have been working out pretty consistently. Taking days off when I feel my body needs a break. I finally ran a 5K yesterday in 37:49. Its a start and Ill work from there!! I have been only doing the bike and treadmilll as I cannot swim until my Post partum check.

My family has been adjusting well. My daughter is finally learning its not all about her..or should I say working on this as she has been the only one for 9 years!!

I signed up for Gillie Girl Triathlon this last week as I had a deferrment from last year. I am excited to be getting my feet wet again in the sport! I am thinking of just competing more in individual sports this season as it wont take up too much time to do as I want to spend as much time as I can with my family.

So far on the books I have Tipp Hill 4 mile run in March, Mountain Goat run in May, and Gillie Girl Triathlon in July. I might do a few cycling races that are local as well. Nothing fancy, but something to keep motivated!!!

Happy Training!!