Hard Labors

Hi, friends!

Yes, I'm alive and surviving year two of graduate school thus far! Labor Day weekend was much needed and appreciated, and Ty and I had a blast watching football, riding bikes, eating pizza, and best of all...going to his triathlon!

Back in the spring, we visited a new local triathlon store. They were running bunch of promotions and gave us each two free raffle tickets when we entered. Well, a week or so later, I received a call informing me that I had won a free race entry! I opted out of a race this early in the semester and gave my entry to Ty! That's right, he got to race free! (Best kind of race, if you ask me!)

The race took place on Labor Day, and for once it didn't start at 6AM! There were to kids' races before the adult tri, and those ended up delayed due to the cone-roadblock-bearing semi truck breaking down. It was nice to somewhat sleep in and enjoy the holiday, but we definitely payed the price with the heat.

The race was hosted by "Tri Now Endurance" and was located at the Oak Point Recreational Center in Plano (about 30 minutes northeast of Dallas). Ty and I were both impressed by the facilities and the company. They did their best to get back on schedule after the early morning cone mishap.

Friends from church had a son participating in the youth event, so we watched his race first. Because of the delays, we were there in time to see all the youth events. I'm not sure of the distances of "junior class" race (ages 6-10), but we were seriously impressed by the speed and transition efficiency of these little guys! The first boy into the transition area had the most incredible transition -- no joke, about 10 seconds. His shoes were already clipped into his bike and rubber banded to be upright. He put on his helmet and left, still dripping wet from the pool. Ty and I looked at each other and agreed his dad must be an IronMan. And then there were the adorable little girls with bunny helmets and confetti on their handle bars. So stinkin' cute!

Transition area! Can you find Ty?

Finally it was time for Ty's race to start! The swim was 300 meters indoors. All the athletes lined up around the pool based on the order of their estimated swim times. So the people who came out first didn't necessarily have the best overall times, they we're just the fastest swimmers.

Our friends watched Ty's swim, but I stayed central in the transition area, so I could catch the bulk of the action. After the swim, the had to run up this walkway and to the transition.

And here he comes -- smiling after the swim!

Transitioning to the bike (2nd from the left)

Ready to ride and headed to the mount line!

See the "mount" sign? You are automatically disqualified if you mount before reaching this sign.

And he's off!

During Ty's 15-mile ride, I chatted with our friends and gawked at all the nice bikes. It was so nice to have some company!

Proper dismount. Good form, good form.

By the time Ty headed out for the run, it was after 11AM, and the sun was mercilessly beating down. I walked to the car once during the race, and I felt like I had jumped in a pool. I knew Ty had to be incredibly tired from the heat.

Run time!

The race finished in an outdoor amphitheater about a half mile from the transition area. We all walked over in time to see Ty finish strong!

Sprint triathlon number three complete! Way to go, Ty!

It was a tough race for him, but he still had some great times! The swim was a personal victory for him, as he greatly improved his previous time and hit his goal for this race. He said the bike course was very hilly (yes, we do have hills in Dallas) and the run was on the open pavement and ridiculously hot! I checked the temperature when he finished, and it was 97 degrees before the heat index. Those are some seriously tough conditions, but he rocked his race anyway!

We picked up some Chipotle and then enjoyed a good nap. I'm not sure why, but I was wiped out, too! Being a spectator is hard work! Maybe it's like how a husband gains sympathy weight when his wife is pregnant? I experienced some intense sympathy post-race exhaustion. :) Or maybe it had something to do with the whole graduate student thing.

Our day ended with a much-needed trip to Sprouts! Athletes gotta fuel!

I love you, Ty, and I'm so very proud of you!!

The Other Marathon

No, this is not another post about my race. I'm referring to Grad School, Year Two.

We really lived it up this final week of summer! I am feeling so much more energized and recovered from my marathon, which allowed us to have a fun and active week.

Now the real marathon begins.

I had orientation on Friday, and it was far less stressful this year. In fact, it was just plain fun! The faculty bought us lunch and asked about our summers. We met the two incoming graduate students and reviewed the essentials. I can't say just how thankful I am! This time last year I was studying for entrance exams like a mad woman. Being immersed into the MM performance/ped program last year incurred an incredible amount of change in a short period of time. How grateful I am for returning students and a year of experience under my belt. I have much to learn, but the transition should be much smoother this time around. I couldn't be happier with my program and the opportunity to return for year two!

Enjoy some photos from our final week of summer.

A Hard Night's Day at the Granada Theatre -- first live show we've seen in Dallas, and a fun one at that!

Tuesday swim

Wednesday 10K with our local running store

Friday run in my new kicks!

Saturday ride -- 22 miles and new trails!

High-risk selfie :)

A friend from church snapped photos of everyone at lunch today, just because. I love this candid shot!

Super food salads, week three!

School at 8:45 this morning. I guess no one else wanted to make copies on their last weekend morning?!

Du-Tri (Do Try)

Rewind to June with me. Do you remember anything special about June?

We remember nightly flash flood text alerts, tornado sirens, and constant rain. For two straight weeks, Texas was saturated with rain. We had a brief reprieve, but then Flooding, Part II arrived to seal the deal.

We Floridians are accustomed to rain -- but generally the type that comes at 4PM every summer afternoon and leaves just as quickly as it arrived. The regularity of Florida rain at least makes it easy to plan.

All the best laid plans of race directors here were being thwarted left and right. We didn't let the rain get the best of our training plan, though! We did have to turn around during one ride, however, because the trail was submerged in water. Skinny tires are not made for off-roading adventures.

Mid mud ride

Needless to say, if the sun was out...we were out!

Three days before our scheduled sprint triathlon, we were notified that the lake swim portion of the event was cancelled and that the race was converted into a duathlon. All the flooding had caused a sewage spill in the lake.

Pre-race in front of the water we were NOT swimming in! It was stinky!

This was a triathlon festival put on by PlayTri, so there were three different events: Olympic, Sprint, and Super-Sprint. We still started in "waves" with men or women in our age divisions.

Ty and I participated in the Sprint, which was originally intended to be 500 meters of swimming, 14 miles of biking (two loops on the course), and a 5K (two loops on the course). The swimming was replaced by 1 loop of the run course, so our race shaped up to look like this:

1.55-mile run - 14 mile bike - 5K run

This seemed a fair trade-off to us, but running is after all our most competitive event. In hindsight, though, I think it was fair to my overall time, as my 1.55-mile run time was comparable to my anticipated swim time.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Rewind to the night before the race.

If you know anything about the sport of triathlon, then you know just how much gear is involved. The fact that the swim was cancelled greatly reduced the packing list.

Our duathlon list looked something like this...

Pre-race: race tats, protein bar, energy chews, tri shorts, jerseys, running shoes, race belt

Transition 1: bike shoes, helmet, water bottle, bike

Transition 2: energy gel, hat, running shoes

We spent the whole night before gathering our gear, putting race numbers on everything (ourselves, our helmets, our bikes, our race belts, etc, etc.), and rehearsing our transitions.

Transitions count toward your overall race time, so there is a lot of strategy to placement, order, and preparation. There's also some advantage/disadvantage to where you are within the transition area. Based on your bib number, you are assigned a general rack with a range (1-50, for example). The specific spots on that rack are first-come-first-serve. Ty's rack and my rack were on opposite sides of the transition area, and we both agreed I got the short end of that stick. My bike was the furthest possible rack from the run in/bike out entrance/exit. This means I had to spend more time in bike shoes and with my bike. You are not allowed to mount your bike until out of the transition area and past the mount line. When you return from the bike course, you must also dismount before you reach this same line, or you are automatically disqualified. In other words, there is no riding allowed inside the transition area. My rack was at the bottom of a little hill, which also complicates running in bike shoes.

The men started first, but I saw Ty returning from the first run just as my age group was lining up to begin. He entered the transition area second of all the men 25-29. As we were discussing our strategies for this new "du" format, we both agreed we had to play to our strength: running. In a 1.55 mile run, you don't really have time to pace yourself. It's basically a full-on sprint, except followed by 14 miles on a bike and a 5K. This meant we had to run as fast as possible without red-lining.

It just so happened that I was also second into my transition area. There were three girls, myself included, who were closely spaced on that initial run.

When it came to the bike course, Ty and I had such similar experiences. We had great times based on our training, but we just couldn't keep up with the competition. It was a hilly course, and I was averaging nearly 18 mph the entire time. I definitely have room for improvement as a cyclist, but it's a bit discouraging when you realize that the bike that's blowing past you is a minimum of $5K, and probably closer to $8K. No joke.

Like I said, gear is a big deal in this sport.

Since the bike course was two loops for the sprint (three for the Olympic), it became impossible to keep track of your competition on the course. Because the Olympic racers had started first, they had flooded the bike course by the time the Sprint racers arrived. I never saw the girl ahead of me again, but I also didn't think I was passed by anyone in my AG. I seriously had no idea how I was doing. I think this actually pushed me and helped my overall time.

I saw Ty twice on the bike course, but he was too focused to notice me. :)

On the bike in, I decided to try something different to shave off some T2 time and compensate for my lousy rack placement. Instead of running in my bike shoes through the transition and back to the rack, I decided to take my feet out of the shoes while approaching dismount, leave the shoes clipped in, and run the transition in my socks. It was a great idea -- and one lots of racers do-- but I hadn't rehearsed this in several years....Let's just say the dismount line came faster than anticipated, and I had to jump ship in my socks to avoid disqualification. And in the process I may have almost crashed and looked a little less than professional. Ahem.

At the run out, I grabbed my energy gel and took off. I was surprised by my fatigue, but I had a lot of adrenaline. It's actually quite difficult to run slowly after biking for so long. You feel like you are crawling, but in reality your pace is significantly speedier than what you feel. This is why brick workouts are important; they help you get used to the transitions between events.

The run was HOT, not at all scenic, and entirely crowded with Olympic and Sprint racers. It was after 9AM at this point, and the sun was beating down so hard. Thankfully there were lots of water stations. As I was starting out on the run, Ty and I made eye contact on the course. He was making his last turn and heading into the finish, while I was only finishing my first loop. When he saw me, he hollered nice and loudly, "That's my girl!" Can you say adrenaline boost? That gave me the energy I needed to finish strong.

Ty was there to cheer me on as I crossed the finish line, and that was magical! My overall feeling was one of teamwork! Even though we had two separate races, I felt so proud of what we had accomplished together. I would have bailed on so many swim (moot point) and bike sessions if it hadn't been for my training buddy!

It was a fantastic race experience, but I have to say that I was slightly blindsided by the effort required to maintain a competitive pace throughout. As a runner, I can compare this to the effort I would put forth in a 5K, but in this case for an hour and twenty-five minutes! It felt nothing like the effort put forth in long-distance running, in which you have time to pace yourself and get into a groove. Each event was relatively short, thus the "sprint" nature of the race. But there is also an endurance component, because this "sprinting" must be maintained for a good chunk of time. I think I would actually prefer the longer triathlons, because I am stronger at endurance.

So are you ready for the stats? This is one of our favorite things about the sport of triathlon. There are so many ways to improve your time, because there are so many timed things!

Jess:
Total time: 1:25:01
Run 1: 11:34 (7:28/mi)
T1: 0:52
Bike: 47:42 (17.6 mph)
T2: 1:09
Run 2: 23:42 (7:36/mi)

Overall place: 65 out of 225
Gender place: 16 out of 93
Division place (Females 25-29): 2

Ty:
Total time: 1:21:11
Run 1: 11:07 (7:10/mi)
T1: 0:44
Bike: 44:49 (18.7 mph)
T2: 0:46
Run 2: 23:43 (7:36/mi)

Overall place: 35 out of 225
Gender place: 30 out of 132
Division place (Males 25-29): 3 out of 25

We were both so surprised when we saw we had placed! In addition to these little hanging plaques, we both also got a pair of 2XU compression sleeves. Now I have an orange and green pair! Woot! I'm all about those practical prizes.

Seriously, though, this was one of the most enjoyable things we have ever done together. It was Team Welsh all the way, and I loved just knowing my racing buddy was on the course, facing the same obstacles, and cheering me on. Writing and remembering makes me think it's time for another tri soon. Maybe one with a swim? :)

See! I told you he was cheering me on! :)

Vacation Preview

This is not one of those posts where I recap the preceding months of silence and detail my summer saga. For my own memory's sake, I shall simply bullet notable summer occurrences and hopefully return to write a proper post on each at a later date. (Update: I'll add links as I go!)

After completing my first year of grad school...

1. I visited Florida for a week in May, gave a recital with my classmate, Mary Anna, and showed off my hometown (i.e. Wekiva Springs, Tijuana Flats, Anna Maria Island, and Disney!) (See that post here!)

2. Ty & I competed in a triathlon, which became a last-minute duathlon. Flooding, anyone? (See that post here!)

3. I ran the craziest half marathon ever, and Ty won his first 10K (flooding, anyone?). (See that post here!)

4. My Papa passed away after a long struggle with dementia, and I took two unexpected 48-hour trips to Florida. I was blessed to play his memorial service and attend the military interment. (See parts one and two.)

5. Two of my best friends visited us in Dallas, and I laughed more than I had in years. (See that post here!)

6. Glenna returned again this summer and spent a hot and festive Fourth of July with us, local-style! (see that post here!)

7. We celebrated our third wedding anniversary! (See that post here!)

8. I'm an aunt again -- my sweet niece, Annie, was born last Tuesday!

Now onto the real reason for this post!

We're going on vacation! This is not just any old vacation; it is the vacation to beat all vacations! I consider this our first official family vacation, mostly because we're not camping, returning home, or trying to scout out a new place to live. We're going to vacation.

Where are we going, you ask? Let me tell you all about it. I have already created a five-page itinerary with a quickly growing packing list: day-by-day plans, hotel addresses, gas stations in The-Middle-of-Nowhere-West-Texas, gluten-free restaurants in every city stop, trailhead locations, race day information, etc. You know, just the essentials.

Our ultimate destination is Ridgway, Colorado, but we're taking our time to get there; we have planned stops in Albuquerque and Colorado Springs.

We'll spend one night in Albuquerque, visit Ty's great aunt and uncle, do some southwestern shopping, take a hike (literally!), and catch the sunrise and sunset.

Dallas-Albuquerque: 650 miles, estimated time of 10 hours.

From there we'll drive to Colorado Springs, where the main attractions are Pike's Peak and Whit's End. (Yes, I'm talking about the Whit's End from Adventures in Odyssey.) Oh, and the gluten free bakery and raw juice bar a mile from our hotel. Thank you, Yelp.

Albuquerque to Colorado Springs: 380 miles, estimated time of 6 hours

Finally we'll make our way to Ridgway, where the original True Grit with John Wayne was filmed, and the population totals 924 people.

Colorado Springs to Ridgway: 256 miles, estimated time of 5 hours

We'll stay in a mountain B&B for five nights and divide our time between the neighboring cities of Ridgway and Ouray. Nicknamed "The Switzerland of the United States," Ouray boasts beautiful mountain ranges, hot springs, off-roading adventures, fly fishing galore, rock climbing, networked biking trails, and even an opera house. And those are just the summer highlights! But truly, I'm fine to miss out on the ice climbing, snow shoeing, freezing, etc. As of now, the mornings are in the mid-high 40s!

Some of our trip plans include hiking, a guided jeep tour, a scenic drive, the local farmer's market, fly fishing, a trip or two to the hot springs, the Railway Museum, eating at all the local hangs (again, Thank you, Yelp!), enjoying our lovely B&B, and running a couple of races. Oh, and not dying from a lack of oxygen at 7800 feet during the race. Crazy as it is, we chose the mountains of Colorado for a race-cation. Lord willing, I'll run my first marathon and Ty his first half marathon in the Switzerland of the United States.

Post-race, we plan to return to our new favorite restaurants, maybe visit the hot springs again, and take in the mountain scenery from the couch. The following day we'll drive the long way down...back to Texas.

Ridgway to Dallas: 894 miles, estimated time of 15 hours

But first, a fourth trip to Florida for me this weekend...

The Marathon Rematch

I've decided it's time to face the Marathon Beast again.

Most people just hope to finish a marathon. My goal is to at least start this one. This will be my first time running a marathon, but my second time training to that end. Due to unexpected illness, things didn't quite go according to plan last time. (Read about my Almost Marathon experience here and here!)

It's been hanging over me like late homework, like to-do list items left uncrossed, like a dominant seventh chord unresolved. This stage of my life, however, is devoted to my academic and pianistic pursuits, so I've had to say no to many days on the trails.

My summer will be dedicated to learning my graduate recital music and to part-time teaching. It's the prime time to also focus on mileage and running goals.

My goal? Start and finish a marathon. Is that asking too much?

I don't want to count my chickens before they're hatched, but I'm thankful to say my health has been much improved over the last year and a half. Graduate school notwithstanding, I still have energy. And besides, we all know the Weimaraner needs daily exercise.

Here's the part where it gets crazy.

I'm registered for the Mt. Sneffels Marathon (don't laugh!) in Ouray, Colorado. Ouray is called the "Switzerland of the U.S," and the John Wayne classic, True Grit, was filmed in its mountains.
Colorado! Yes, the girl with Florida gills is registered for a race that takes place at 7000+ feet. 
(What was I thinking?!)

According to my research, we should be arriving with plenty of time to adjust to the altitude. Tyler and I are planning a vacation that just so happens to coincide with this race. We have a bed and breakfast booked, and we can't stop looking at photos of this place!

Photo: David Huddleston

Time goals are out of the question. Some of the literature I've read said I can expect to run up to a minute per mile slower! Wow! No wonder elite athletes train at high altitude. The best advice I've been given is to run based on effort and forget the stats. Listen to my body and pace accordingly. Someone else also recommended running in the heat, as a way to counterbalance the altitude. Texas shouldn't disappoint on that front!

Training doesn't officially start until after finals, but I may have "unofficially" begun this week.

Running significantly helps with end-of-semester blues. Thankfully, I've kept my staple weekend long run, so I've maintained half marathon shape. So far, I've had no trouble jumping into structured training.

Our "Heartbreak Hill" at mile 8 around the lake

We have a couple upcoming races in preparation for the biggie. One involves glow sticks, and the other involves a lake swim. Both involve my husband, which makes me the happiest! Speaking of Tyler, he rocked his first triathlon. I'll save that story for him to tell. Our Tyler Tuesday feature is way overdue anyway...

Just Keep Swimming...

That's right, I'm just trying to keep my head above water over here. Ty is racing in his first triathlon next weekend, so he's been doing a lot of that in the literal sense. But I digress...

My recital came and went. Ty's birthday came and went. Everything was wonderful. We were having too good a time to remember to snap any video or photos. I've included a copy of the program, mostly so I have a record. I loved being on stage and sharing my hard work with others. It's so rewarding to get out of the practice room and finally perform.

Thanks to Dr. L for snapping this photo!

On Sunday, we were just plain wiped out. After I played our church service, Ty and I snuck away for a lunch date at a new restaurant. My beet salad and poblano pepper soup were phenomenal. My date was even better.

Fear not, Mamas, the photo and video documentation will henceforth commence a hundred fold.

We purchased a GoPro! Did I mention we're taking a family trip to Colorado this summer?

(How could you not purchase one, when you're staying here??!)

We've been joking about how everything will now be EXTREME. (Extreme teeth brushing, extreme lounging, extreme piano, etc, etc.)

Our first trial video (aside from the teeth brushing) was at the school pool. We've also filmed an 11-mile cycling trip, and I've tried out some still shots on the run.



This might be the coolest toy I've ever owned. Did you know it can be controlled from an app? It has video, continuous photo, single photo, and photo burst settings. It is virtually indestructible. (And if it does break, ours is covered by Best Buy!)

Can't wait to take this 1.4 ounce baby to Colorado!!

And now to finish that paper before church.

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming...