The Big Sha-Bang!

As many of you know, on July 21st the competed in the race I had been training all year for, the Door County Half Ironman!

Going in to race weekend, I felt so many different emotions.  I knew people told me this would happen, but I didn't realize what an impact they would have on me.  Waking up on Sunday morning, I felt ready.  I was excited and nervous.  As I had my peanut butter thinwich, I began to cry.  Not because of nerves, but thinking of how far I have come since January.  Mentally and physically I had changed so much, mostly because of my desire to compete in this race. 


As we made our way down to transition, I was ready to get the show on the road!  With about 30 minutes until race start, I wiggled into my wet suit, gave hugs, and made my way toward Lake Michigan. 

My wave went off at 8:16am, and my heart rate immediately went through the roof.  With about 50 other women in my age group around me and s

mall swells in the water, I just couldn't get into a groove.  After side stroking my way to the turn buoy and letting my heart rate come down, I finally was able to swim like I had practiced for so many months. 

After 50 minutes and 38 seconds, I was on my way to T1 where I heard Amy cheering me on for doing the right thing with the wet suit stripper, saw Craig, Laura, Tim, Tracy, and Lauren! 

Nose Picking Swim Finish!

Quickly, I hopped on the bike for a 56 mile out and back through Door County.  Going into the bike, I was hopeful that I could complete it at a speed of 15 miles per hour.  After the first hour, I realized that I was going to exceed my goal.  This made me a little nervous, but I felt great the whole bike.  I maintained my nutrition, and rolled into T2 at a pace of 16.1 mph. 

Now, I was ready for the run!  I came out of transition to see Craig, Tim, and Laura waiting for me.  Craig ran the first quarter of a mile with me, and we went over how I was feeling.  Then, I headed out for my 13.1 mile journey.  For the first two miles, I felt great.  Then, into mile 3 my stomach really started to bother me.  I just felt glazed over.  I saw Amy S. and Amy MG around mile 4, and they reassured me to take it one step at a time.  From there I maintained a run/walk pace for about a mile.

As I came up on mile 5, I met a few guys who were going about my pace.  I thought I would pass the time by chatting with them about races, and it got to to mile 6.  At mile 6 I started to feel like myself again, and saw the first large climb of the run.  Here I made friends with a gentleman in his 70's who will be competing in his 19th Ironman and 9th Kona this fall.  He really helped me get through 6 & 7.

Craig and I climbing the bluff.

As I continued on, mile 8 was a walk/run pace. Then, at mile 9 I hit another wall, as I climbed the "bluff". About 2/3 of the way up the climb, I saw Craig running down the hill! He had come to push me through the next few miles. From miles 10-12 Craig and I stuck together. He asked me about the race and helped push me to pass the time. I was so grateful to have him with me.

With a little less than a mile to go, I told him to wait for me at the finish.  With a steep downhill ahead of me, I ran into the finish with a time of 7:27.  While this was about 27 minutes slower than I had hoped, I finished.  I ran into the shoot with all of my friends cheering me on.  Emotions were running through me, and I couldn't help but cry.  It felt amazing not only to have so much support, but also to do something that one year ago I could have never imagined. 

Thank you to everyone who stuck with me on this journey.  The triathlon family I have joined is amazing, and I look forward to many more races, friendships, and fun.  I have a new outlook mentally and physically, and I am proud to say I made all of these changes. 

FINISHER!

People always say, "I could never do that".  I used to be one of those people.  I truly believe with dedication and drive, anyone can achieve physical/mental/emotional goals.  I'm proud to say I made the changes that will stick with me as I face my next challenge. 

Cheers,

Samantha

Verona Triterium: Rain, Mud, and Hills

Coming out of the swim

A few weeks ago, I competed in my first olympic distance triathalon.  The Verona Triterium is a .93 mile swim, 25 mile bike, and 6.1 mile run known for it's three loops around around the quarry, steep hills on the bike, and shirt grinds on the run. 

This was the first race that Craig and I were both competing in, so I was very excited since this was his first tri since Ironman Louisville 2012.  As we both loaded our gear in to the car that morning, the clouds started rolling in, and I knew we were in for a rainy day.  Luckily, when we arrived at transition, the rained stopped, and we were able to get set up. 

After saying "good luck" to all my friends, and giving Craig a good luck kiss, my wave was off!  We headed out on a 3 loops swim through the quarry.  The only part that threw me off was that between loops we had to exit the water, run around a tree, and re-enter the water for the next loop!  Once I got into a groove and settled my heart rate, I was just fine, besides the rain.  It was great practice to be swimming with a large group of people in preparation for Door County. 

I finished the swim in 38 minutes and was off to the bike.  By this time the ground was pretty wet, and I was running through mud on the way to T1.  Because the sky was so dark, I didn't wear any sunglasses, which resulted in lots of rain drops in my eyes!  As the rain slowed down, the hills picked up.  The bike was very tough, but I made it back into T2 to see lots of friends cheering me on through the slip n' slide of transition. 


Finishing up the Run!

As I started the run I knew there would be a few grinds, but I was okay with it because I was just happy to be off of the bike.  The first loop (2 miles) went just fine, and as I started the second loop, I saw that Craig had just finished.  Craig saw me and decided to run a loop with me.  We had a chance to talk about how his race went, and take my mind off the running.  Then, I went out for my last loop.  By this point I was feeling pretty fatigued, and ready to be done. 

I finished the final loop with an overall time of 3:49:01.

Next up, Door County Half Ironman.  I'm ready!

Cheers,

Samantha

The Land of Beer and Cheese!

Since Craig and I moved to Wisconsin, we have enjoyed craft beers and cheese curds a time or two, but never ventured to a Wisconsin Brewery. 

 When Groupon threw out an opportunity to go to Minhas Brewery, we were all over it! 

Craig and I decided that it would be fun to bike to Monroe, WI, since it was about 40 miles away.  We would leave on Saturday and come home on Sunday.  As we headed out of town on Saturday morning, the sky was looking a bit gloomy, and we hoped the rain would hold out.  After about 45 minutes on the bike, it began to downpour.  We found ourselves soaking wet, surrounded by steep hills and corn fields. 

 Needless to say, we were beyond ready to make it to Monroe!  As we got closer to the town, they sky started to clear.  We made it to our hotel with enough time to eat lunch before our brewery tour. 

 After seeing Baumgartner’s on the Food Network, we knew we needed to go to try their cheese! We went and had a cheese plate that was surprisingly mediocre compared to other Wisconsin cheese.  One cool thing we did get to experience there was the community table.  This was a long table where everyone sat together.  We chatted with locals, people from Iowa, and others from around the states who were visiting this small town. 

 Soon after, we headed over to Minhas Brewery for our tour.  As we walked inside it was PACKED!  The 1pm tour was just ending, and guests wanted to get the most of their “unlimited beer pours” before they were asked to leave.  As people cleared out, Craig and I sampled a Chocolate Bunny Stout and a Double IPA. 

 We watched a video about the “Oldest Brewery in the Midwest” and learned about their packaging and distributing.  We viewed all the bells and whistles of the brewery and headed back for more samples.  We left Minhas each with a 8 beers and 4 root beers!



Sunday's Ride Home!

 After an exhausting day of biking, walking, eating, and drinking, we finished the evening at Pancho and Lefty’s, a small local restaurant known to be the best in town. 

The quaint atmosphere of the town was great, we got up the next morning, and headed back to Madison…this time in the sunshine! 

 I can’t wait to explore more of Wisconsin’s hidden gems.  Next stop, New Glarus Brewery!

 Cheers,

 Samantha

The Chronicles of the Once Unathletic Triathelete

After much hesitation and pressure, I have decided I might as well share my first triathalon experience.

I'll call this the Chronicles of the Once Unathletic Triathelete.

While many of you know this, some of you may not...Just about 7 months ago, I was an unathletic yogi who attended Dragonfly frequently, and enjoyed the classes and the heat, but if you asked me to run a mile, it would take about 14 minutes (if I was lucky) and I would walk after about .5 miles.

Most of the time I considered myself to just be "unathletic", and accepted that I would never have the endurance or drive to be a triathlete. In 2012, my partner (Craig S.) was an Ironman Louisville finisher. I thought this was amazing and inspiring, but even still, I thought "That would never be me, it's Craig's thing".

IM Louisville 2012

 

At this time we lived in a small town in Ohio, attended grad school, and had very few friends because they had all jet setted, while we remained with our noses in books in a town of 20,000 people. Training became Craig's outlet, mine was sleep. At this time, I was my highest weight ever, and my lowest self esteem ever.

Fast forward to June 2012, when we packed our bags to move to Madison, Wisconsin! This is when I joined Dragonfly Hot Yoga, and soon after met Amy. I immediately connected with her because she often discussed triathalons and I was learning the lingo from Craig, 2 months away from IM Louisville.

Amy invited Craig and I to attend the APG class at Dragonfly that winter, and we hesitantly attened. Afterward, we went to Buffalo Wild Wings with many of you. I remember everyone being so friendly, and Craig discussing training. Chris Lopez asked me, "so, what do you do?" and I responded, "yoga", and he immediately flipped the conversation from bikes, wet suits, and nutrition to something I could relate to. From that moment on, I started to feel that I was around people who were so encouraging and non-judgemental.

I went home that night and thought to myself, "I'm going to do a triathalon".

Several weeks passed, and I was secretly doing research, without ever mentioning it to anyone. Then, one evening, I told Craig, "I am going to do Door County Half Ironman in July".

Shocked, as I had never ran a 5K, Craig said "okay, let;s do it."

I still don't think he believed me (for about 5 months).

Fast forward to May-

APG mates' have become our Madison family. I had competed in my first 5K, 10K, half marathon, OWS, Key West Trip. I was 20 pounds lighter, my confidence has sky rocketed, and I felt like I was becoming more of a better person everyday.

The time had come to compete in my first tri...Lake Mills.

We arrived on race day, and I was nervous, yet excited. I through on my borrowed wet suit (thanks, Karla!), sprayed on some lube type substance that is an over priced WD-40 that swore it would help me pull that thing off faster, and headed to the water.

Everyone around me seemed so nervous. "Those are big waves", "They reversed the swim course", "Do you see all those people panicking in the water?".

 

 

For some reason, all that didn't matter to me. All I knew was that I was getting in that water! The horn went off, and myself and all the other novice women took off. I think I saw 5 women being pulled out of the water, and about 10 men. Mr. Lopez taught me when I began to panic, just to take deep breaths, and "don't kick so damn hard".

Exiting the Water

Surprisingly, I started passing people (how did that happen?), and made my way out of the water in just over 10 minutes.

I saw Emily Lopez, Craig, Amy, and The Serraults on my way to transition, threw off my wet suit, and away I went.

The bike was very cold and windy, but hey, I made it through. Little did I know, I have a big ring on my bike! So, I rode about 15.5mph all in the small ring. (Thanks Tracy and Jessi, next time tell me these things before the race :))

 

Starting the bike

I transitioned to the run, where I saw all my favorite people cheering me on.

I headed off on the run (where I felt like I was moving like a snail), and saw Mr. Lopez. He yelled, "You're my hero!" So, it gave me a little boost to the finish.

I crossed the finish line to receive hugs from everyone. Tears from Amy, hidden tears from Craig, and a 9:12 pace on the run.

 

Heading in to the finish!

 

Overall, I'll take a 1:46 for my first triathalon ever. Next up, Verona!

Thank you for making me stronger (mentally and physically), more light hearted, more confident, and a better friend/partner. I am happy to say I am no longer the slightly overweight girl who was on the sidelines cheering for her Ironman boyfriend.

Soon, Craig and I will be out there doing one together. I couldn't have done it without all of you! I look forward to many more races, workouts, parties, and continued friendships. For those of you I haven't had a chance to chat with yet, I'm excited to be apart of the crew.

Cheers to an awesome summer ahead of us-

Samantha

Just Keep Running: Madison Half Marathon

So, I have to admit, I am a little behind on my posts!

On May 26, I ran my first half marathon here in Madison.  I had spent the last 5 months working on my running endurance and speed.  My longest run before the event was 10 miles, and I went into the event feeling good about being able to complete 13.1 miles, but I didn't know how fast I would be able to do it. 

Last fall I was running a 14 minute mile.  That's right, you could walk faster than I could run.  I couldn't run more than about 1/2 a mile without feeling winded and cramped.  Over the course of running more frequently, I could sustain a 10:45 minute mile for the duration of 10 miles, although I was apprehensive I could do this on race day. 

With that being said, I wanted to give myself a half marathon goal time.  I told myself that if I ran the half marathon in less than 2 hours and 30 minutes, I would be happy. I told myself that if I could run my half marathon in less than 2 hours and 15 minutes, I would be ecstatic. 

On race day Craig and I made it downtown around 6:15am, to meet our APG crew.  I was very nervous yet excited.  We made our way down to the start, and off I went. 

APG Runners!

There were moments when I thought, oh I totally got this!  Then, moments would hit when I thought holy cow! Can I make it any further?  Craig and Amy Mosher- Garvey were there for me all along the way.  They gave me encouragement when I needed it, and pushed me through to Mile 10. 

The last 3 miles, I was on my own.  I knew I had begun to slow down, but I wanted to keep a steady pace.  I went a little fast out of the gate, so I was hopeful I had some flexibility to still meet my 2:15 goal. 

I ran the last few miles with a man from Milwaukee, and he helped pass the time when my toes weren't so happy.  Once I reached Capital Square, I got my medal and saw Craig glowing with pride.  It was an awesome moment.  I went from the girl who couldn't run .5 miles, to someone who just ran 13.1. 



Craig and I Post-Race

WAHOO!

Then, I went to the tent to get my official time...2 hours and 12 minutes!  I ran at a 10:08 min/mile pace! I am still in awe at how much once can accomplish with perseverance.  I am looking forward to this summer!

Cheers,

Samantha

Key West or Bust!

 

This past week, Craig and I ventured with some friends to the Florida Keys for the Keys 100 Ultramarathon. 

A few months ago, Craig got this crazy idea to run 50 miles through the heat of Florida from Marathon Key to Key West.  Craig completed several training runs, some breaking personal records in speed and distance.  Not only were were excited about the race, but also about an awesome vacation with great friends. 

 

The night of arrival, we stayed in Key Largo, where we went to Wahoo's Restaurant with the APG crew.  The place had a great view of the ocean and some amazing key lime pie. 

 

Wahoos, Key Largo

The next day, we took a snorkeling excursion into Molasses Reef.  Here, we were able to get up close and person with fish, coral, and all kinds of sea creatures!  Needless to say, it was a great time, besides the bout of sea sickness after about 45 minutes in the water! 

Saturday was the big race!  Craig and a few other APG members started in Marathon, FL on their 50 mile adventure.  To make a long story short, they did amazing and pushed through every challenge they encountered! Craig even placed first in his age group! 

Finisher!

That evening, we checked into La Te Da, a quaint hotel in Key West on Duvall St.  Since we were all exhausted, we ate a nice meal, and went to bed early. 

 

The next day, we enjoyed an early breakfast, and went to the awards ceremony to celebrate all of the APG crew's accomplishments, then headed to the beach for some R & R.  The beaches in Key West are small, but beautiful.  The water is clear, the waves are mild, and the sun is hot.  We were in paradise. 

That evening, we headed to Duvall St. and Mallory Square, where we cut loose, enjoyed lots of laughter and fun. If you have the opportunity to go to Key West, there are two locations I would recommend checking out:

- Sunset at Mallory Square (be sure to watch the "cat man" performance!)

- Flying Monkey Bar, here they have the best frozen drinks! 

 

Mallory Square Sunset

After such a great week, I have never been so proud of both Craig (my hero!) and my awesome friends.  Each of them are such an inspiration to the type of person I am striving to be.  They say, you are the company you keep, and I keep awesome company! 

 

On Monday, we headed back to Ft. Lauderdale and enjoyed sometime with an old friend.  Now, we are back in the groove of our routine.  Next up, Sunday's Half Marathon! Updates to come!

 

Cheers,

 

Samantha

 

 

 

Your Daily Dose of Stillness

 

 

 

 

I am constantly on the go. Wake up, work, volunteer, workout, dinner, friends, family, boyfriend, dog, and life in general each have their own demands. Typically, by Wednesday or Thursday of each week, I am on overload and need some sort of rejuvination.

 

A usual week night wind down would include talking with Craig, eating dinner, watching TV, and social networking.  Most would consider each of these things "relaxing".  What I have realized is that what I actually needed was to quiet my mind.  Each of these activities involve some type of stimulation, when in reality I needed stillness. 

Whether it be sitting on the patio with my eye closed listening to the birds, laying in the bathtub, stretching after a workout, or driving down the road with no music and the windows down, these activities are now becoming part of my daily routine.  I am finding that these few moments of stillness allow me to become more in tune with my needs and perspective.  My mind doesn't seem so scattered, and I am embracing each day (not just the weekend). 

This aspect of mental health is just as valuable as any physical activity.  As I continue training, I am learning more about mental strength.  Physical changes are those you can see and feel, while mental toughness can be more of an ebb and flow.  These moments of stillness serve as reminders to both my physical and mental abilities. 

I am in love with the person I am becoming, mentally and physically.  As I continue to evolve, I am learning more about my inner stregth and capability.  My daily dose of stillness is one way to appreciate myself and share this gratitute with those around me. 

Cheers to Continued Evolution,

Samantha