How will I celebrate? Going to track tonight with Sam and seeing my bff Meg (they are watching the boys).
Sam has his first olympic distance tri this weekend. We are ditching the kids and staying in the team house for the weekend. So fun!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Suck it Lyme's Disease!
Today is my last day of Lyme's Antibiodics! 100mg two times a day for three weeks. Whew! I am feeling 100% and getting back into workouts. Jillian (30 day shred) and Tony (P90X yoga) have been helping whip me back into shape.
How will I celebrate? Going to track tonight with Sam and seeing my bff Meg (they are watching the boys).
Sam has his first olympic distance tri this weekend. We are ditching the kids and staying in the team house for the weekend. So fun!
How will I celebrate? Going to track tonight with Sam and seeing my bff Meg (they are watching the boys).
Sam has his first olympic distance tri this weekend. We are ditching the kids and staying in the team house for the weekend. So fun!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
First run in 4 weeks and SuperGoop!
I'm getting back on the horse. I have not done much for the last 4 weeks due to feeling terrible and Lymes Disease. I've got 8 days of antibiotics left (2xs a day for 3 weeks!) and the first few days on it made me feel terrible!
Now I'm feeling great and need to slowly get back into working out. I have done a few yoga sessions and felt good, so last night I tried running. It was great. I felt like I could run all night, luckily it started pouring so I didn't have to run forever. I ran 2 miles. Good start. All felt great and I was pretty happy. My first mile was 13:00 - just short of super hero speed - the second mile was 11:00 - which will clearly get me into Kona before I know it! :) I still feel really good today so I will do some strength and stretching today and tomorrow is a team track workout.
I also got to use my new Garmin on the run. This thing is AWESOME! I need to read the manual and check out all the bells and whistles. One thing I loved last night is that it vibrated at each mile. That was fun.
One thing that the antibiotics are still doing to me is making me super sensitive to the sun. It's like my skin is burning and on fire. It's kinda crappy. I'm ok in the pool, under the water - but just sitting outside my skin sizzles. Gross. I have found a new sunblock that I really like - SuperGoop. It sits nicely in my purse, doesn't smell like I'm covered in sunblock, and works really well. It only has 4 active ingredients and uses plant derived natural ingredients and I feel great putting it on my kids too. They have a spray and wipes too - the wipes are next on my list to get.
Now I'm feeling great and need to slowly get back into working out. I have done a few yoga sessions and felt good, so last night I tried running. It was great. I felt like I could run all night, luckily it started pouring so I didn't have to run forever. I ran 2 miles. Good start. All felt great and I was pretty happy. My first mile was 13:00 - just short of super hero speed - the second mile was 11:00 - which will clearly get me into Kona before I know it! :) I still feel really good today so I will do some strength and stretching today and tomorrow is a team track workout.
I also got to use my new Garmin on the run. This thing is AWESOME! I need to read the manual and check out all the bells and whistles. One thing I loved last night is that it vibrated at each mile. That was fun.
One thing that the antibiotics are still doing to me is making me super sensitive to the sun. It's like my skin is burning and on fire. It's kinda crappy. I'm ok in the pool, under the water - but just sitting outside my skin sizzles. Gross. I have found a new sunblock that I really like - SuperGoop. It sits nicely in my purse, doesn't smell like I'm covered in sunblock, and works really well. It only has 4 active ingredients and uses plant derived natural ingredients and I feel great putting it on my kids too. They have a spray and wipes too - the wipes are next on my list to get.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Happy Birthday and Lymes Update
Birthday:
I turned 31 on Friday. It was a blast! My party theme was John Hughes Movies (Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller, Sixteen Candles.....). We'll do this in pictures:
It was a great night with great friends. I'm so glad that it went so well. The best part? Our recreation of Sixteen Candles:
Sam also got me the NEW Garmin. I was pretty stoked!
I have done 2 days of Yoga and am over a week into my Lyme's Disease antibiotics. I'm feeling great - after feeling like death for 2 weeks - and I'm kicking Lyme's ass! Stay tuned for tomorrows post and SuperGoop product review!
So glad to be feeling better, thank you for all your thoughts and well-wishes! Getting back on track.
I turned 31 on Friday. It was a blast! My party theme was John Hughes Movies (Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller, Sixteen Candles.....). We'll do this in pictures:
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| Gotta love the 80's mid drift |
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| fluorescent yellow is always a must |
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| I was going for Sloan from Ferris Bueller, but look alittle more Watts from Some Kind of Wonderful |
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| Shitters full! -cousin eddy |
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| no caption needed |
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| Party decor |
It was a great night with great friends. I'm so glad that it went so well. The best part? Our recreation of Sixteen Candles:
Sam also got me the NEW Garmin. I was pretty stoked!
I have done 2 days of Yoga and am over a week into my Lyme's Disease antibiotics. I'm feeling great - after feeling like death for 2 weeks - and I'm kicking Lyme's ass! Stay tuned for tomorrows post and SuperGoop product review!
So glad to be feeling better, thank you for all your thoughts and well-wishes! Getting back on track.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Diagnosis: Lyme's Disease
Yep. I've got it. I've been suffering from headaches, eye strain, and general "funk" since my ER visit. I went to the Dr. on Tuesday because I was just tired of feeling awful. I typically NEVER get sick. I rarely get colds. So, to have headaches all the time and not feeling good is way out of the norm for me.
Dr.'s first question? Always the same. "Could you be pregnant?" My answer? Always the same "I better not be!" I have two great boys, that's all I can handle! My husband got a vasectomy when Mason was 3 weeks old. Done and done! I really really don't want to end up on "I didn't know I was pregnant". I would like my reality show career to start a very different way.
Blood work came back positive for Lyme's. I started antibiotics yesterday and feel slightly better. I feel a little tired, some headache and that's about it. I don't like feeling tired. It's terrible. Also, it's 104 degrees today!
The GOOD (very Pollyanna of me):
- this happened during the summer when I'm not really working
- I do not have a race until September 11th
- my body probably could use some down time to recover from life
So, taking it easy. Relaxing. Trying not to go crazy. Any good books I should pick up?
Dr.'s first question? Always the same. "Could you be pregnant?" My answer? Always the same "I better not be!" I have two great boys, that's all I can handle! My husband got a vasectomy when Mason was 3 weeks old. Done and done! I really really don't want to end up on "I didn't know I was pregnant". I would like my reality show career to start a very different way.
Blood work came back positive for Lyme's. I started antibiotics yesterday and feel slightly better. I feel a little tired, some headache and that's about it. I don't like feeling tired. It's terrible. Also, it's 104 degrees today!
The GOOD (very Pollyanna of me):
- this happened during the summer when I'm not really working
- I do not have a race until September 11th
- my body probably could use some down time to recover from life
So, taking it easy. Relaxing. Trying not to go crazy. Any good books I should pick up?
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Colonial Beach VA Sprint Tri Recap
I've been on an emotional rollercoaster with this one. I was super stoked to begin this tri. I was with some ladies from my team, my family was there, the weather was great, and I had trained hard.
Here it goes:
Getting there wasn't too bad. We left Friday afternoon, stopped for lunch, and got to the hotel around 2:30. It was right on the water, about 2 blocks from the transition area. It was AWESOME! The lady that owns it has worked there since 1953! She was pretty cute - wish I had gotten a picture of her.
The boys played at the beach and then we got dinner. We just happened to be in walking distance to a ice cream stand, so we hit that up too.
There were crazy storms that night. Pouring rain, thunder, lighting...the whole bit. Made for some beautiful skies.
Race morning!!!! I woke up at 5:20. Had to be at the transition around 5:45. I
got ready and left the hotel. I was about a block away when I dropped my bike. Ugh. The brakes were rubbing, so I walked back and Sam fixed them. Whew! I set up transition, got my chip, got body markings, and then just took it all in.
Swim: There were only 5 swim waves. Pretty tiny race (288 peeps). I knew that I had the opportunity to be in the top or dead last. I really would rather not be dead last, but someone has to be. The water was real wavey - someone called it a washing machine swim. It was tough. My goal was to swim freestyle the whole way and to not panic (Rumpuss I spent 2 minutes trying not to drown). Well? I met my goals! No stopping, no panicking, just pure swimming. I felt good, but I felt alone. I never looked - but I felt like I was the ONLY one out there. Turns out, I was. I was dead last in my wave. I was embarrassed until I did my stats (yep. nerd) and I improved my swim time by 2 minutes! Yeah me!
T1: WAAAAY too long. No clue what I was doing there!
Bike: This course is flat. Perfectly flat. I was really excited about that....until I was on it. Did you know that if there are no downhills then the biker is the ONLY thing supplying speed? I found that out. My quads were on FIRE! My goal was to maintain a 18 mph pace. I came really close with 17 mph! My first race I averaged 15.2 and the 2nd race was 15.4 average. I have to say I'm really happy that I pushed hard and made such a huge change in my bike performance! Once again - Yeah Ann!
T2: Seriously? Long again? Pull your head out of your ass!
Run: Here's where it all goes downhill. I used the porta potty before the race. I get nervous poo (TMI) EVERY race. Sometimes twice. This race was twice, but I only had time to go once. Right when they called my swim wave I knew I had to go again. No time. Oops. So, I swam and biked.....but on the run you just can't hold it. I started out the run and realized I was moving at a snails pace. At about 2 miles I saw a lady watering her garden. Yep. I did it. I asked to use her restroom. She agreed. I blew it up and ran to the finish. I picked up the pace by almost a minute a mile after that. It's the slowest 5K time I've ever had, but what can you do?
The moral of this race? You really can only compare yourself to yourself. I compared myself at first to other racers. Big time sadness. 13/15 in my age group. Dead last on the swim. That all sounds terrible. Awful. BUT - today I got out my nerdy chart and put my times in. Here's what I found:
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| We look ready to rock, right? |
Getting there wasn't too bad. We left Friday afternoon, stopped for lunch, and got to the hotel around 2:30. It was right on the water, about 2 blocks from the transition area. It was AWESOME! The lady that owns it has worked there since 1953! She was pretty cute - wish I had gotten a picture of her.
The boys played at the beach and then we got dinner. We just happened to be in walking distance to a ice cream stand, so we hit that up too.
 |
| Complimentary clothes line. Did your hotel have that? |
Race morning!!!! I woke up at 5:20. Had to be at the transition around 5:45. I
got ready and left the hotel. I was about a block away when I dropped my bike. Ugh. The brakes were rubbing, so I walked back and Sam fixed them. Whew! I set up transition, got my chip, got body markings, and then just took it all in.
Swim: There were only 5 swim waves. Pretty tiny race (288 peeps). I knew that I had the opportunity to be in the top or dead last. I really would rather not be dead last, but someone has to be. The water was real wavey - someone called it a washing machine swim. It was tough. My goal was to swim freestyle the whole way and to not panic (Rumpuss I spent 2 minutes trying not to drown). Well? I met my goals! No stopping, no panicking, just pure swimming. I felt good, but I felt alone. I never looked - but I felt like I was the ONLY one out there. Turns out, I was. I was dead last in my wave. I was embarrassed until I did my stats (yep. nerd) and I improved my swim time by 2 minutes! Yeah me!
 | |
| one is the loneliest number.... |
Bike: This course is flat. Perfectly flat. I was really excited about that....until I was on it. Did you know that if there are no downhills then the biker is the ONLY thing supplying speed? I found that out. My quads were on FIRE! My goal was to maintain a 18 mph pace. I came really close with 17 mph! My first race I averaged 15.2 and the 2nd race was 15.4 average. I have to say I'm really happy that I pushed hard and made such a huge change in my bike performance! Once again - Yeah Ann!
T2: Seriously? Long again? Pull your head out of your ass!
Run: Here's where it all goes downhill. I used the porta potty before the race. I get nervous poo (TMI) EVERY race. Sometimes twice. This race was twice, but I only had time to go once. Right when they called my swim wave I knew I had to go again. No time. Oops. So, I swam and biked.....but on the run you just can't hold it. I started out the run and realized I was moving at a snails pace. At about 2 miles I saw a lady watering her garden. Yep. I did it. I asked to use her restroom. She agreed. I blew it up and ran to the finish. I picked up the pace by almost a minute a mile after that. It's the slowest 5K time I've ever had, but what can you do?
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| pre pitstop |
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| post pitstop |
| Date | Swim 750m | Bike | Run |
| 10/10 | 22:57 3:03/100m | 47:05 12 miles Ave: 15:29 | 29:38 5K 9:32 pace |
| 4/11 | 22:46 3:02/100m | 48:24 12.4 miles Ave: 15.4 | 28:30 5K 9:10 pace |
| 7/11 | 20:13 2:41/100m | 49:23 14 miles Ave: 17.0 | 33:30 5K 10:46 pace |
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Racing Weight........HELP!
I love working out. I love training. I love racing. I have days that "I don't want to" - but not too many. Training for my first marathon I gained 10 pounds. Not muscle. I checked. I can't find it. I'm not sure how it happened - or at least I don't want to believe I overdosed on GU and electrolyte drinks (but I'm pretty sure I did).
Instead of hating my scale and poking my fat (you do that, right?) I'm going to celebrate!
I'm going to work on getting to my racing weight.
First step: line up a babysitter for Wednesday nights. Sam and I go to a team track workout/date night. (done!)
Second: Up my veggie intake and back off the sugary crap
Anything you would like to celebrate? Blisters? Black toenails? Chub rubs scars (I got those)
Instead of hating my scale and poking my fat (you do that, right?) I'm going to celebrate!
I'm going to work on getting to my racing weight.
First step: line up a babysitter for Wednesday nights. Sam and I go to a team track workout/date night. (done!)
Second: Up my veggie intake and back off the sugary crap
Anything you would like to celebrate? Blisters? Black toenails? Chub rubs scars (I got those)
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
PowerBar Winner...and some 4th of July pics!
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| Mason went fishing for the first time |
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| Scored some loot at Potomac River Runners 4th sale |
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| Ready for some fireworks! |
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| Dancing to the music |
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| It's getting darker..... |
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| Getting comfy |
The winners are......................
#2: SupermomE12
#6 Ozone3
Send me your mailing address at ann _ hardman (at) hotmail (dot) com. Congrats! and Thanks for following my journey
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