SOLD. OUT. BAM!

I've been meaning to blog for some time now, but you know what's weird about "rest" weeks?  They seem to be busier than non-rest weeks.

This past Sunday ended week 3 of 3 hard weeks.  And I mean hard weeks.  Imagine this:

Long hard bike Sunday (3+ hours), bike workout Monday, swim and run workout Tuesday, bike workout Wednesday, swim and run workout Thursday, easy run and swim Friday, long with fartlek/tempo run Saturday.  Oh and two days of strength and core thrown in there somewhere.

I am a "Run Lead" at the Vernon Hills LifeTime Fitness every Thursday night.  Last Thursday, two of my favorite run club members had to ask me if I was okay because I looked so out of it!

This is, by far, the most intense training I have ever done.  Even when I was running injury free at a D1 college, I don't think I became nearly as exhausted as I do with this program.  That being said, Ryan and I fully took advantage of this rest week.

We stopped being super anal about our calorie intake and even allowed ourselves TWO splurge days (one was for my dad's birthday....you can't just go to Piece Pizza in Chicago and stare at the giant pizzas).

Oh, and on top of all of this.....OUR RACE SOLD OUT!

Yep, that's right. The 2013 Egg Shell Shuffle 1/2 marathon and 5k is SOLD OUT, folks. We sold out last year, but only 4 days before the race.  This year, we sold out SIX WEEKS in advance...and Easter comes even earlier this year!  Ryan and I seriously could not believe it and are so unbelievably thankful for our wonderful friends and family who have spread the word about our race and helped it grow to what it is now.

As only a third year race, we didn't anticipate so many "can I still register?" questions.  Granted, I have personally been one of those people that email the race director, but for some reason we didn't expect so many people still wanting to get in the race!

SO, we are super excited to announce that we are going to open 20 "Charity Slots."  Basically, runners who still want to run the race will pay $100 for entry into either race.  100% of this $100 will go directly toward JDRF (our charity we benefit).  If all 20 slots sell, we have just raised $2,000 for JDRF.  Seriously, how great of a feeling would that be?

In any case, we are extremely thankful for all of the support we have received from friends, family and strangers in putting on this race.  Can't wait to see everyone come race day!!!

The NEW Date Night.

Remember when date nights consisted of going out to eat and to a movie?  Or even just going out to eat?  Maybe just going out for some ice cream?

Well, that's not what my Friday night date night consists of anymore.

The NEW date nights Ryan and I have consist of swimming together at LifeTime.  Yep, we spent a lovely hour and a half together full of pain in the pool.

Don't worry, not only did we then hang out in the hot tub, but we also went out for salads.

This probably does not sound like much of a date night to, well, 90% of the population.  But honestly, it was probably one of our more enjoyable date nights we have had in awhile.

Neither one of us particularly enjoys swimming, so to be encouraging each other to finish each set strong was something nice to have.  You see, swimming isn't like running (or even biking) where you can shout words of encouragement at each other.  Swimming is a "silent" sport seeing as we can't very well shout when we are holding our breath under water!

Instead, we'd use eye contact and hand gestures.  As silly as it sounds, every time I received a "thumbs up" or eye contact was made with Ryan, I felt the urge to push harder.  Whether I ended up going faster is debatable as I have no idea what speed I'm swimming at unless I look at the clock, and a lot of the work we are doing is more for technique than anything (so not necessarily timed).

After we finished our sets (me 3250m, Ryan 4600m), we hung out in the hot tub before showering and heading over to Diced Fresh, a create-your-own (or choose from "favorites") salad and wrap place.

However, before we made it there.....I had parked 5 cars down from Ryan in the LifeTime parking lot as I arrived later and it was the closest spot to the entrance.  After I said, "See you soon, love ya" (something like that) to Ryan, I approached my car.  I thought I heard someone say hi from the car that just pulled in, but was in a hurry because I was hungry.  Next thing I hear, "Hey, how's it going?"... "um, good, thanks, how are you?"..."good, whatcha up to?"...."uh, I just finished working out"...."yeah, I kinda figured that since you're coming out of a gym"...."haha, right"...."so what are YOU doing the rest of the night, would you wanna go out?"...."I'm heading to dinner, actually, but thanks, have a good night!"....about five seconds later, the guy lights up a cigarette.  In front of a workout facility.  Can't even make this stuff up.

So I guess I DID have the option of having a real date night Friday night.  I'm thinking my going-out-for-salads-and-home-to-watch-tv probably worked out better for me than if I had gone out with my cigarette smoking friend from the parking lot.

Moral to the story:  this training to qualify for Kona stuff sure requires a LOT of dedication.  But, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Training recap:
This week was brutal.  Basically, Coach Bill has us beating ourselves up for three weeks, then we get a "rest" week.  And it starts over again.

Sunday I had to do my long run as last Saturday we biked with Bill and the group (my long runs are usually Saturday)...this one ended up being on the treadmill as our furnace broke on Saturday night, leaving our house at a lovely 48 degrees.  Since the furnace guy was coming between 8-11am, I didn't have an option to run outside, which was okay because our heat got fixed!

Monday and Wednesday both consisted of my normal hard bike workouts.  Bill and Ryan pumped my watts up, which made these days TOUGH, but luckily I had my guilty pleasure, The Bachelor, on to help me focus better.

Tuesday and Thursday were run workouts:  hills on Tuesday, 400s on Thursday.  Oh and the 400s?  Yeah they were after swimming the furthest I ever have in my life, 3800.  MORE THAN 2 miles of swimming.  And then, hey, let's go run some super fast 400s and see how that works out.  Fortunately, it did workout and I felt strong....it helped that I kept getting ESPN phone updates on how Illinois was doing (in basketball) against #1 Indiana.  My 10th of 10 400s occurred as I received the score update: Illinois 74, Indiana 72.  You bet that last 400 rocked.

I-L-L....

Friday was an early morning run followed by our date night swim, which brings me to...

Saturday (today).  This was awesome.  Probably 30 of us Dick Pond Fast Track runners met at Barrington High School at 7:30am.  I had on my schedule to do either a progressive 45min tempo or 3x10min at MarathonPace.  Well, my legs were a little tired (can't imagine why...) and my options were to do those segments solo or run a 7:15pace with the rest of the group.

Definitely chose to run with the group.  And let me tell you, it was one of the BEST long runs I've had in awhile.  The people on this team are just so full of energy and encouragement that it is unreal.  Those 16miles flew by and I couldn't believe that we ran so quickly because it felt effortless (after I got over the first two miles feeling awful).

I am SO incredibly thankful for my teammates for the company and entertainment on today's run.  You guys are seriously the best and I cannot wait to run with you in my neck of the woods in a few weeks:)

SO, if anyone wants to crash a date night...Ryan and I will be swimming next Friday night.  We might even take you out for a salad after!

Overdoing it.

This marks the first week of fully working out with my new coach, Bill (coach for swimming and biking).  He told Ryan and I last week to really prepare ourselves physically and mentally for the "H*** Hole" of training we were about to enter.

He was right.

Yikes.  It's only Wednesday and I'm already tired.  In my tired body's defense, it has been through a lot.

Saturday, I ran the F^3 1/2 marathon.  It was originally planned to be a tempo, and it ended up being just a little bit faster than that.

Thursday, I was supposed to run a 45min progression tempo and just didn't have it in me.  I HATE doing workouts on treadmills.  HATE.  So, I tried to prepare myself by putting on one of my "dumb shows" that Ryan doesn't like to watch (Hawaii Five-O for those of you NCIS/CSI mystery show lovers like me) on...I felt really bad because he was biking in our workout room with me, but he knows I need something to keep me focused so was a great husband and let me put on my show.  Unfortunately, it didn't help as I had to stop to stretch my legs a few times during the run.

I told myself I'd just put the tempo into my 1/2 on Saturday.  And that I did.

My overall pace was 6:27 and I purposely ran the first 7miles at 6:20 to SHOW myself I could do it.  The next 6.1 were at 6:35s just to maintain my place as I was getting a lot of cheers and felt pretty strong!  The volunteers and other runners on the Lakefront path (where the race occurred) were just PHENOMENAL.  It was a great race, and one that I would definitely do again.

Oh, did I mention Tera Moody (5th place 2008 Olympic Trials) was there and I got to talk to her?  Yeah. I was pretty freaking psyched.

Once again, an amazing shot by photographer Ali Engin.

My brother, Nic, was the 4th place overall male...which was AWESOME to see since he wasn't expecting much from himself for a winter 1/2.  We ended the day by going to Tommy Guns Garage, a dinner-show type thing about the 20s in Chicago.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Really missing my sister.

Ryan and I headed straight to Schaumburg for a good night's sleep because....

...we were racing an Indoor Tri the next day!  I know this sounds crazy to a lot of you, but I did talk with Bill and we were on the same page.  My only regret was that I had to push  little harder than I had wanted to on Saturday and came up short in the bike on Sunday.

An indoor tri consists of a 10minute swim, 20minute bike (stationary), and 15min run (on an indoor track).  Your volunteer adds up the distance you accrue and that is how the places are determined.

I knew my run would cancel out anyone's swim, so that my bike would really have to be strong if I wanted a shot at top 3.  I was right.

I swam 22 laps, which was where I expected I would be.

I biked 7.8miles....I had expected that I would do 8.0-8.4.  Yeah those quads were a little sore.

I ran 20.5 laps (just over 2.5miles, so like 5:50something pace I think), but didn't really have a plan for that as I had left it all on the bike.

Four other females all biked over 8 miles, thus beating me.  One was Pro Triathlete Lauren Jensen.  Another girl that beat me was the girl I took to practice over the summer.. Alex Lorenz.  Her mom also beat me with an awesome bike.  I didn't know the other female, but will definitely have to watch for her come next indoor tri.  Overall, though, it was a fun day for all!

 Me with pro triathlete Lauren Jensen, the overall female winner.

 Me with some of the MMTT girls crushing it on the bike.

Clearly super pumped about riding this bike.

Bill  had me do a computrainer workout on Monday, and as expected, it kicked my butt.  I did well, but tonight's workout was MUCH better according to Ryan who observed them both.

I've been getting more into this swimming thing too.  Still no progress on flip turns, but feeling better in the water....which is the first step in getting better at swimming.

Bill is having us come to his training place on Saturday for 3 hours of, um, "fun" on the computrainer.

Wish us luck....we'll need it.

Working out while sick... the verdict is in.

I'm no doctor.

But I have been running long enough to know what my body is/isn't capable of and when to call it quits.

That day happened on Friday.

After having an upset stomach on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I kind of figured by Friday that working out wasn't such a good idea.

After a fun swim workout (serious, no sarcasm), I did my first real run workout since Snow Fun Run (5x 2min at 6:30pace, 2min at 6:10 pace, 2min at 6:03 pace, 2min at 8:00 pace) on Tuesday.  My stomach just had an empty feeling...nothing I ate seemed to solve that problem, so I figured I'd just workout anyway.  The run didn't quite agree with me, though, and I visited the bathroom quite frequently during that whole 40minute stint (sorry if that is TMI).  I ran with the LifeTime Fitness Run Club that night and surprisingly felt fine.

On Wednesday, I biked and ran, despite having that empty-nothing-can-get-me-full feeling in my stomach again.  Working out was much more successful than it was on Tuesday, but I did decide to start taking cold medicine just as a precaution.

Thursday was worse.  Unfortunately, it was also the day of our Faculty Basketball Game.  My students REALLY were looking forward to this, and despite my never playing basketball in my life, I knew I had to play.  I took some ibuprofen and hoped adrenaline would get me through the game.

It did.  And I even scored three 3-pointers in the process.  TOTALLY worth it when my students continuously talked about the game on Friday at school.

Thursday night, I had a Tastefully Simple party to go to at a friend's place.  I had never been to one of these, but figured my stomach wasn't upset while playing the game, so I had to be okay.  I was glad I went as it was SO much fun catching up with everyone, but I definitely paid for it on Friday.

My stomach hurt, my throat hurt, I was a mess.  So, I came home after school and literally laid on the couch for 5 hours straight.  Looking back on it today (36 hours later), I actually kind of enjoyed just doing nothing.  The pain sucked, but I caught up on quite a lot of reality tv!

I woke up Saturday morning, seriously hoping that I would be able to run.  I had a 15mile run planned with 4x5minutes at 6:10 pace in the middle.

Naturally, I ran on the March Madness course.  Every one of my 4 segments was on one of the (many) hard hills on the course.  My lungs were BURNING on the warmup, so I kind of figured this would be a long, hard run.

Surprisingly, by the time I hit the 4th and final segment, I was feeling SO good that I actually ran a full mile (6:09) instead of just the 5minutes.

Now, I would never recommend doing something like this to anyone.  It definitely wasn't smart, but I've run while sick and failed miserably before, so I knew what my limit was.  I knew that a day of rest (something my body rarely gets) was enough to kick the cold/flu bug out of me.

With the flu being worse this year than ever, it is very important to take care of yourself.  If you miss a workout or two in January, WHO CARES? All that matters is what you do come race time.  This is a super important lesson that I have learned the hard way many years.  I'm stubborn and hate nothing more than taking a day off of working out.  If you get anything out of this post, please know that your health is much more important than getting a workout in...chances are the workout won't even be that good (and could possibly cause more damage).

Knowing your limit is SO important when it comes to training while sick.  Sometimes, you just need that workout to remind your body that it can fight off the cold/flu/whatever.  But, it is a very fine line.. a line I have been on the wrong side of many times.

Being healthy again today, Ryan and I went into the city and did a LONG, HARD computrainer bike workout with our swim guy, Bill.  It Was Awesome.  3hours/50miles of a workout.  The last time I rode for 3 hours was maybe two summers ago, so today was huge.  Today was the first day that I really got PUMPED about my attempts for Kona (it's constantly overshadowed by my goal of qualifying for the Olympic Trials for the marathon).

Hopefully more tips to follow in my next post now that I'm healthy again.  Stay warm and healthy!

Swimming. It's just not the same as running.

My closest upcoming goal is to qualify for Kona.  You know, the Ironman World Championships.  Yeah, that race where you swim 2.4miles, bike 112miles and run 26.2miles.  All in one day.

Luckily for me, my qualifying race is just a half Ironman, so 1.2mile swim, 56mile bike, 13.1mile run.  And even better, I've already completed three half Ironmans (70.3's).  

My first 70.3 ever was Buffalo Springs Lake in Lubbock, Texas in June of 2010.  I missed qualifying for Kona by 9 seconds.  Short version of the story:  inexperience did me in.  

Little longer version of the story: I came out of the water better than expected, caught a ton of girls on the bike, started the run with about 15 girls ahead of me, passed all within the first 11miles of the run...

...and then, with ONE MILE to go, I ran up to the ONLY girl standing between me and Kona, planning to make my move on her just as quickly as I had on the other girls.  She notices my last name (I was wearing my Duathlon Worlds shorts, which say "Aubert" on the butt) and asks if I'm Ryan's girlfriend.  When I respond yes, she SPEEDS OFF.  I try to respond, but my legs didn't know how.  (after the race, I talked with the girl and found out she's a phenomenal athlete, so not only did I then feel better about myself, but I also realized that she definitely deserved that spot at Kona!!).

I watched her take my Kona slot.

I told myself after that race that the next 70.3 I raced competitively WOULD qualify me for Kona.  

Seriously thought this was the coolest thing ever.

And here we are.

Ryan and I started our swim training this week.  YIKES.

The last time I swam was at the HyVee Triathlon on September 2nd.  Yep, 4 whole months ago.

Let's just say that by the time I hit 1600m of my 2100 total meters last Tuesday, I was ready to be done.

And then I had to do a 2450m workout on Thursday.  And then we met with our swim coach on Friday to swim some more (and get evaluated and such).

We went to the New Glarus Brewery on Saturday (yeah, I realize this has nothing to do with swimming, quite the opposite in fact).  My shoulders were so sore that even lifting our beers caused me to feel the soreness.  

 Outside of the New Glarus Brewery.

After the Illinois vs Wisconsin game, we needed a beer... :(

So, moral of the story... I'm super out of shape when it comes to swimming and need to really stay focused and hit all of the swims I'm supposed to.  In the summer, I'd swim whenever the kids' triathlon team did (2-4 times a week) for whatever I felt like, or whatever my friend/amazing triathlon coach Jen Harrison recommended.  Having Ryan swimming as well will really help me in terms of staying motivated/committed. 

Alright, so now that we got the "Jacqui really needs to swim a lot more to be able to compete in a 70.3" issue out of the way, let's move on to the most exciting part of this blog.

I have ANOTHER coach!  

Cari is still going to write my run workouts as qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Trials in the marathon is really my MAIN goal.  BUT, now I also have a coach to improve my swim and bike as well.

His name is Bill.  His credentials include the following:

-was beat out by HUNDREDTHS of seconds to compete in the Olympics for swimming... by Michael Phelps

-won Rev3 Cedar Point in 2011 (that's an Ironman) for amateurs

-beat all but TWO pros out of the water at Ironman Wisconsin.  Did I mention that pros get a TEN minute head start on amateurs?

So, he's pretty good.  AND he understands my drive for the Trials and that this race is on my list and I want to qualify for Kona, but my BIG goal is the Trials.

What does this mean for my blog?  Well, I still plan on doing a lot of running races, but this blog is going to start to be more about triathlon training as well.  I think this is HUGE as cross training is SO important for runners.  I'm learning a lot from Bill, Cari and Earl and by piecing it all together, I think we have a huge chance of qualifying me for Kona and the Trials. 

Hopefully my experiences will be able to help my readers, running friends, and triathlon friends gain some knowledge as that is the main reason I write this blog.  I absolutely love giving advice, and working with these three people (plus many more who will be mentioned in future blogs) has already made me 10 times more knowledgeable than I was in college.

Stay tuned as this triathlon adventure is just getting started... :)

S-No-W Fun Run Recap

S-No-W Fun Run. Those three little words = massive amounts of craziness.  And this year was no exception.

This is midway through the night.

 John's sweet dance moves helped him win the Hunk Dance.

For those of you who live under a rock and don't know what S-No-W Fun Run is, it is a 5 mile run with a 5 hour after-party.  Big emphasis on the 5 hour after-party.  Truthfully, most people do the run so that they can party party party.  

When I say after-party, that is probably an understatement.  As soon as you finish the race, you are greeted inside by the Schnapps Stop.  Literally hundreds of Schnapps (and Rum Chata this year!!!!) to choose from. 

After you get your Schnapps, you go inside the grand ballroom to get in line for the food.  Standard burgers, brats, chips and cookies, but when you're partying for 5 hours, you need any fuel you can get.

Then there's the beer.  Four stations in the four corners of the ballroom.  Stacked with beer and pop throughout the night (yes, this year they did run out, but only for like 15 minutes).

So there's the drinks and food that make this race fun. 

And then there's the dancing.  There's this thing called the Sausage Dance, which is when all of the ladies get out on the dance floor and pretty much have a dance off.  There are a bunch of male judges (plus the two Playboy Playmates, really) who come out the first round and put a mini sausage necklace around you if they like your dancing.  Those who don't have a sausage by the end of the song are asked to leave the dance floor.  The next round, same thing goes on but there are less sausages to give away... this goes on for probably 3 rounds before it goes up to the audience for a narrowed down dance off.  6 or so girls are chosen as the winners by the judges, then the crowd cheers for them.  The winning 3 then have a dance off to see who is the true Sausage Queen.  

Unfortunately, we missed this part this year....because we were getting these crazy outfits ready.

More on this after the Hunk Dance recap.

After the Sausage Dance is the Hunk Dance.  Same thing, but instead of a girls' dance off, it's a guys' dance off.  Naturally, Ryan's best friend John (an incredible dancer, a PE teacher, and just a crazy energetic guy) was getting pumped up about this dance.  As his friends, we coached him throughout his dances and he kept getting to the next round.  Finally, when it came down to the final 6, he stripped down to his LMFAO outfit (minus the above box on his head) and just went crazy: break dancing, shuffling, the worm...it was unreal.

He won.  This was his crown.

With probably 30 minutes left in the evening, the DJ FINALLY played LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem"....we all stripped off our jeans and put our dancing wigs/sunglasses/mustaches on and got on stage.  Those of you who know me know that I'm not a dancer.  However, when your husband's best friend is as good as he is at dancing and reeeeally wants you to learn the dance, it's hard to say no.  So Saturday morning before the 2:30pm race, Ryan, RJ and I had John teach us the dance.  This was the same dance that John did as his entrance with my cousin Lindsey for the wedding party entrances.

Honestly, it was awesome.  We were all coordinated and didn't miss a beat.  The crowd went nuts.

They do awards at some point, too.  They call you up in 10-year age groups (i.e. 20-29) and hand out medals to the top 2.  Well, the Playboy bunnies hand out the medals.

Nic and his friends with their awards.

Aaaand these are the Playboy Bunnies.

SO, this race is more than a race.  Of course, competitive runners come to compete, but it really is more about the after party.  That being said, here is my race recap.

MILE 1-- 5:50.  My Saucony Dick Pond Fast Track racing teammates [Joe (running buddy), Mike (pushing and pacing us all), Shannon, Jessica and a few others] all got in a nice group.  Joe and I had texted the night before about what our goals were, and decided breaking 30 sounded achievable if we could work together.  When I saw him with Shannon and Jess, I knew that's right where I needed to be.  This mile felt easy and relaxed, but it was only the first mile...and we had another teammate ahead of us.

MILE 2--5:59.  Still felt pretty good going into this, and we were gaining on our teammate, Emma, ahead of us.  If we could catch her, we could all work as an even BIGGER pack to get after our attempt at breaking 30.  What a cool race for all of us.

MILE 3--5:57.  At mile 2.3x is where the turnaround is.  So it's not really halfway, but you feel like it should be. It was at this point that I started hearing cheers.  My DPFT teammates, my parent's Hillstriders Running Club friends, Lauren, Aunt Nancy, Nic's friends... it's pretty hard not to speed up when you hear so many positive cheers of encouragement.

MILE 4--6:02.  At about 3.25, I saw my dad walking along the side of the road.  He yelled to me that Ryan was winning and to "go get her"...meaning, Emma, the girl in front of me.  When I picked up the pace with the cheering, I had to break away from Jess and Shannon.  Joe had already sped ahead with Mike a bit, so I did have people that I could run with.  At probably 3.5, I caught up to Emma, who was running with Dave Schaefers (head guy of DPFT and someone who is super motivational).  Just before mile 4, I passed her and caught back up with Mike and Joe.  Joe and I took turns pushing each other as we were both definitely feeling tired.

MILE 5--6:04.  Right after mile 4 is a small uphill that winds through the Grand Geneva's groundskeeping area and someone's house I think.  During this part, Dave called to me that I was doing great but to keep it up.  Words I definitely needed to hear as at about 4.3miles, you get to go up this HUGE uphill that you started the race with (but running downhill in the beginning).  Ann Schaefers-Coles, Dave's sister, was at the hardest point in that uphill cheering and taking pictures...seriously what I needed to motivate me to push hard up that last part of the hill.  Once we turned, I knew we had just under a half mile to go.  This is where Mike got me going.  He told me to "run like you're scared."  He wasn't by any means saying there was a girl close to me (though there was), but moreso he was saying it to help me finish strong...

TOTAL-- 29:55...and that I did.  Once I saw that clock hit 29:49, I just HAULED it in.  Luckily, there were only probably 30 guys ahead of me that had to witness that ugly sprint...but, man, was it worth it. I achieved my "break-30 minutes" goal, which was truly my only goal going into the race.  The second place female, Shannon, finished 5 seconds behind me.  The girl I passed around 3.5, Emma, finished third, just 5 seconds in back of Shannon, and Jessica finished pretty quickly after her.  HUGE shout-out to Mike Cauley for kicking my butt and pushing me to finish strong--I cannot thank you enough:)

How incredible is it to run a race that is loaded with competition?  It was SO much fun working the Shannon and Jessica throughout this race.  I can't even count how many people told me how cool it was to see three bright pink jerseys pushing each other and running together.

Here's to hoping everyone else's first weekend of January was full of fun!

2013

As 2012 comes to an end, I cannot help but think how hard it will be to top this year.

 I married my best friend.

I found an incredible teaching job.

I moved into an adorable little house with the love of my life.

Our race that we put on (www.eggshellshuffle.com) sold out in only it's SECOND year!!!!!

Oh, and running wasn't too bad either;).

Truth be told, going into this year, I had been telling everyone that there is NO way that 2013 (or any other year for that matter) could ever beat 2012.  However, as 2012 comes to a close, I am starting to think that 2013 could be just as good, if not better.  

Obviously I won't be getting married or buying a house again, but I'll still be living in that house with the man that I married, so that's pretty cool.  I am hoping budget cuts stay away from my incredible school and that I'll be "safe" this year as well.  And, naturally, I am hoping that our 1/2 marathon and 5k, Egg Shell Shuffle, will sell out again and be another success in 2013 as well.

That being said, my goals have shifted a bit for 2013.  

The 2016 Olympic Trials for the Marathon are still a big goal and will be until I qualify.  However, Ryan and I have something unique that we want to do.

We got married on October 13, 2012.  Guess what happens on the weekend of October 13, 2013?  Yeah, it's our one year anniversary.  Yeah, it's the Chicago Marathon.  BUT, it's also the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS WEEKEND FOR THE IRONMAN.

Yep, we are trying to qualify for KONA!!!

Coach Cari and I talked about this as it obviously means a small shift in priorities (sarcasm is hard to convey in text, but that was a sarcastic comment).  For me, my weakness is swimming.  Most people would see that as the area that I would need to focus on.  But, the cool thing about an Ironman is that really it is a LOT about the bike.  My swimming and running basically cancel each other out.  This means that if I want to qualify for Kona, I need to bust my butt and get my bike speed up there with all of the other fast girls.  

Ryan and I did a power test before we left for our cruise.  The last time I did a power test, my average was 200 watts, and this was while training for the World Duathlon Championships (before I got my teaching job).  When I did my power test 10 days ago, my average was also 200 watts.  This tells me that I have not lost too much on the bike, which is really good since I only have a good 5-6 months of training in me before I need to start tapering a bit.

Ryan and I have a workout room in our basement.  We painted the walls with a chalkboard paint so that we could write our goals and such on it.  The power test is written right next to the tv, so we know how we do every single time.  We also have our goals written down so that every time we go down to either bike or run, we see "QUALIFY FOR KONA" on both of our goals.  I really believe that having someone close to you having the same goal as you is SO helpful, motivating, and inspiring.  

I am hoping that we qualify in our first attempt.  That definitely sounds (and looks) crazy as I'm typing it, but we both have other goals that we are putting aside until we qualify for Kona, so this first attempt is extra important.  

Training for the 2016 Trials is still happening as well.  My body thrives when I incorporate cross training as I had SO many stress fractures and stress reactions thoughout college, that cross training is a welcoming break from running.   I really believe that it is possible to continue to improve my tempo runs (critical parts of marathon training) while also training to qualify for the Ironman World Championships.  

BUT...every little thing will matter.  Sleep.  Diet.  Vitamins.  Stretching.  Strength.  My future posts will detail some of those things that many of us take for granted and don't think twice about.  

I'll still be updating my blog, but now it will just include more biking and swimming stuff too.  Plus, I have my secret motivation that I'll probably be posting soon too.  Everytime I think of this, it fires me up and I just want to go out and prove this person wrong! 

Here's to hoping for an incredible 2013--congratulations, running and triathlon friends, on all of your accomplishments in 2012 and let's bring on 2013!