New strategies pay off

Keith and Henry crossing the finish line!!

It was 2 a.m. this morning and I was wide awake. I took a pain killer for my back (I need a new mattress) and forgot that codeine wires me up big time. So when the alarm went off at 4:15 a.m. I turned it off. Oops. I got up at 5:30 which was the time I was supposed to be at Tat and Steven's for a ride. I called them and told them to leave me but they said they would wait (thanks so much!) I threw on some clothes, grabbed some food, brushed my teeth, poured some coffee in a mug and ran out the door. There was no time for a nice hot bath, stretching, duke out, dog walking, or anything. I even forgot to put on deodorant!!! So needless to say, I wasn't really expecting much for this run. Then we showed up at Turner Field to learn the race started at Centennial Olympic Park.

We got there in time for a duke out and some stretching. Thank goodness. The stretching wasn't necessary, but the duking out is important.

I lined up in my corral and started running. Keith and Henry caught up with me a couple of minutes later. Keith said how easy it looked like I was taking it-and it felt it too! My heartrate was abnormally low for the pace I was holding and I felt good so I just kept running with them until they split off at mile seven. I kept looking at my HR monitor thinking maybe it wasn't working properly, but I felt fine, and I was keeping my HR in my training zones. My pace was still pretty decent at around mile 9 and I was glad that I made it out for the run. It was starting to get really cold and I was hoping it wouldn't start raining. I kept waiting and waiting for the hills because everyone said it was a hilly course, but I didn't see them. I would call these "rollers" at best. There was maybe one hill, but that was it. At mile 11 I decided to push it and get my HR up a little bit more to see what kind of time I could end up with. The last mile was the toughest for me, and it seemed like it was NEVER going to end! The finish area was weird, it was very narrow and hard to get around people and sprint to the finish. Garmin time: 1:58:49, 13.33 miles, 8:54 average pace. Chip time: 1:58:50.

This half-marathon felt NOTHING like Thanksgiving! My legs felt fine afterwards and my average heartrate was 10 BPM lower than Thanksgiving. I came home, watching Keith and Henry finish thanks to the live feed and tracking system, took a bath, then hopped on the trainer until I felt like I was going to fall asleep. (I did only sleep for 3.5 hours!) I tried to nap but just couldn't. So I accidently PR'd. Tat and Victor did too! Congrats to Keith on his first marathon "training run". Kate Brun was 5th place overall female! Nat smoked the marathon like always!

Many thanks also to my mom for picking up Poncey and Bella and taking them to doggie daycare. Apparently Bella bit mom and she had to go to the minute clinic at CVS. She was all doped up when I talked to her (and driving!) and when I told her my finishing time she complained about how slow I was saying "the wheelchair guys got done in 50 minutes!" Bella doesn't like strangers too much yet and says that she is sorry!

Par for the Course

All week long people have been asking me about my goals for the ING half-marathon. To be perfectly honest with you, I haven't really thought anything about it. I am on a single-track mind right now and all I can focus on is two things: Not DNF'ing at Gulf Coast and Ironman Louisville. I am obsessed with it and so worried that I am not training enough, but there isn't much I can do about that until this semester is done.

So the ING half-marathon? I am thinking of it as an organized training run. Really and truly I am! No goals, no PR attempts, nothing. I don't want to compromise my triathlon training for next week by killing myself out there tomorrow. But of course, I don't want it to totally suck either. I didn't taper (probably should have a little bit in hindsight) and now I am regretting it because my legs don't feel fresh and because of this wonderful RAIN my leg is throbbing. This has happened right before my last two road races and the pain from the rain seems to go away after four or so miles.

I got my bib number today. I can't remember what it is, but I am in corral 3 which is not far back enough for my slow self. But I would rather get trampled over than try to navigate my way through slower runners. I saw many peeps out there getting race ready and the expo was far less crowded than I expected. As I was pulling out of the parking lot someone pointed out that my tire was pancake flat. Awesome. I pulled into another parking lot and waited a little over an hour for AAA. There was a large piece of metal in my tire. Always me with flat tires! I had a tasting for a particular Outback pasta only to learn it was discontinued. Drats!! I stopped by CVS for more allergy meds (don't be afraid at my sneezing, it's really not contagious), got some Mama Fu's and headed home to discover.......a big pile of Poncey poopoo! Seriously, he exploded with three days worth and it really ticked me off. So I had to scrub and steam clean and lament on how this evening was anything but relaxing.

Now I cannot find my oxy-socks. The one night that I really want to sleep in them they are gone. Plus I just realized that I am out of gels. I am also in a tizzy about what to wear for the run since the weather is changing again. This is turning into a stellar night!

Repeat after me: there is more to life than flat tires and dog poop.........there is more to life than flat tires and dog poop.....

May tomorrow be filled with fun times and PR's to everyone else that's racing and "training running"!!!

J.Lo is a stalker!

First Jennifer Lopez names her daughter after Joe and Heather's new baby, Emme. Then she decides to do a triathlon to get into shape after have twins?!? Sounds like someone has been reading joereger.com!

Endurance isn't really all that great sometimes!

The motto "Go long, go hard" may be great for training. But when you apply it to alcohol consumption, not so much. Let's just face it: endurance training and endurance drinking do NOT go hand in hand. I learned this the hard way this weekend. Ouch. I am STILL hurting! After the reception we went on a boat ride for a couple of hours. I seriously should have ended my night there. But nope, instead I went out to the bar at the Hyatt, then Wet Willie's, then back to the hotel room. We closed down Wet Willies! They turned the lights on at 3:30 a.m. and everyone started scurrying like little rats, not wanting to expose themselves in the light. I am not normally a heavy drinker at all, and a bottle of wine can last me a month. But my competitive nature got the best of me and I didn't want to be the first one to throw the towel in and go to bed. Waking up on Sunday was awful. My joints hurt, my neck and back hurt, even the hairs in my nose hurt. I was having some serious sinus issues from allergies on top of a huge hangover. I went downstairs to get some coffee and a bagel looking like something that had just gotten run over. Remember how cute my hair looked in the wedding pics? Well, not so great the next morning! Of course I ran into everyone in Mandy's very Catholic family in the lobby on their way to Church. Ugh. I am such a loser.

I would have preferred to stay in bed all morning but I had to come back to Atlanta because it was Easter, a holiday that required a visit to mom's house. Let me tell you that drive back really sucked. The sun was beating down into the car and I wanted to crawl into a dark hole. I would have given everything I owned to someone to just drag my sorry self back to Atlanta and put me in my bed. Big thanks to Mom for warning the rest of the family about my diminished state of being so they weren't really expecting much out of me.

I obviously screwed up my plans of getting back in town early enough for a bike ride. I am now even more of a loser. You guys didn't help matters by being so good and training all weekend.

This may have been my Joe Reger defining moment of giving up alcohol for good. Or at least for the rest of the month!

WooHoo! Mandy and Tim are married!!!

What a totally amazing weekend it was in Savannah! The weather was great, the flowers were all blooming, and everyone was so excited for Mandy and Tim. The wedding day was mayhem like they usually are, and we were like total celebrities. People were honestly stopping us and taking pictures! There were people stopping at Layfette Square where the ceremony was and taking pictures. It was really crazy. Mandy was SO beautiful, her dress was so incredible, she's the only person I know that could have looked that great in it! The reception was at Paula Deen's restaurant, Lady & Sons, and the food was heavenly. Lots of butter and heavy on everything that makes me fat and happy. But who cares, it's a wedding right?

Funny story: After the reception we were waiting for the trolley to come get us and a random guest walks up to me and says "Don't you feel like the odd man out?" Me: "Not really, why?" Him: "Because you're the only bridesmaid that isn't pregnant" Me: "Oh...no..no..no..that is not correct!!" Him: "Oh you're expecting too? Congratulations!" Me: "No you idiot! I am not pregnant and SHE isn't either! Unless you see a head crowning, a woman IS never pregnant!" Him: "Oops, sorry." Moron.

Here's the link to the pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/danig34/

Where oh where have my panties gone?

Today I am leaving for the beautiful, historic, Savannah Georgia for my best friend Mandy's wedding. I am VERY excited and relieved. Actually we both are. Mandy is the elope and tell you about it later type and this planning has been really hard on her. We've probably exchanged about 300 phone calls with her asking my opinion on everything, literally, everything. It's very flattering that she values my opinion so much, although we don't have similar taste and she didn't go with a lot of my recommendations. I just cannot wait to get this party started and see her in her dress. It's the most beautiful dress ever and totally Mandy's style! So I have been REALLY busy this week with two tests and trying to compress all my training into a short week. I am not doing too great at it and I'm hoping that I can get up early tomorrow morning and get a quick run in before breakfast. But if I don't? Well, that's not really the end of the world. It is my best friend's wedding after all, and that's more important than me logging my miles this week.

I am packing and trying to remember everything and hoping to not leave without my dress. Of all the things that I cannot locate....it's my dang underwear! I have a very specific pair that I need to wear with my dress because they are nude colored and just the type to wear. I don't wear them often because they are so uncomfortable. But Mandy has insisted that I deny myself the comfort that I so much love (she banned me from wearing Crocs and is instead making me wear THREE inch heels! The agony!) for the sake of beauty. Ugh. Being a woman is SO difficult at times! I cannot seem to think of were these panties are, other than the drawer where they belong. So I will keep searching for another 30 minutes or so, and if you are the creep that might have stolen them, please return them. I will keep your identity anonymous!

Tat's blogging!

My Luna teammate and friend Tat is blogging now! Welcome! Check her site out at http://tater-tat.blogspot.com/

Weather Challanged....

I have no clue how to dress for running. Biking? That's much easier. Running requires a lot of thinking and checking outside and internet consulting before I leave my house. It makes me crazy. At the Chattahoochee 10k I wore tights. BAD idea! Nat told me I would be burning up and I said I would be fine. She was totally right. I was heated up like an ant under a microscope. Did I learn my lesson? Of course not! I set out yesterday in almost the same outfit for a 12-miler, when it was 45 degrees and getting warmer every second! After seven miles I was hot and on the verge of hitting the wall. That's my second running issue. Fueling: Either too much and my stomach starts cramping or not enough and I bonk. Today I bonked. I ran to Hunter's house in search of some shorts and some food. He wasn't home so I ran to Stone Mountain thinking maybe someone I knew would have a gel pack. Nope not today. So I just slowed down and ran home, thinking to myself how much running has made my cycling suck and how miserable it is to run when you're starving and how not awesome the ING half is going to be.

Would YOU trust me?

Proof that the applications are off!!

Keith doesn't trust me to do certain things. He knows that I will hem and haw and wait to the last minute if it's something that I don't care too much about. Material things are of no importance to Keith. Drive his car? Sure. Ride his bike? No problem. Using his race wheels? Anytime. Getting his Starbucks order just right? Never!! So imagine my surprise when on Friday he told me that he was going out of town and I had to get his Peachtree application off! What?!? Me??? He made a really big deal about it, so I said okay, I understood he's all super-seeded special and needs that low number. Whatever. So Saturday after my 2:40 trainer ride from hell I went out and bought two early-edition Sunday papers. Of course I didn't have any stamps so my next stop was the post office. They were closed but the automatic machine was there ready to help. It would not take dollar bills! I managed to get $8.20 in coins thanks to a bag of quarters in the car. Then I went looking for the applications that were supposed to be in section G14. But there wasn't a G14!!!! I was pissed thinking that someone had STOLEN the applications out of the newspaper! Then I looked in the sports section and found them! Whew!!! At approximately 2:32 p.m. the applications went off, in time for 3 p.m. pick-up. I was actually pretty proud of myself for getting it done like promised.

I should have known it wasn't going to be good enough! Sunday Keith says "Did you make copies of everything you sent off?" Ummm....no...why? "In case it gets lost" Ummm....if it gets lost your screwed, what's a copy going to do? "Did you write down my estimated finishing time?" Ummmm...no there wasn't a spot for that, but I put a copy of your Buckhead Sizzler time in there. "I'll just get a copy of the paper and look for myself." "Did you put a copy of my drivers liscense in there?" Nope....I checked the website, they didn't need it. "Are you sure???"

I told you he didn't trust me!! Next year figure it out for yourself!!

Psychotic Mini-Breakdown.....

I am not one to normally just "take" things. But Hunter gave me one of these things to try and I liked it. So I bought a couple more . I drank one last week and it was great, just mostly Vitamin B12, no harm there right? This Wednesday I drank another little vile and about an hour later went to the gym. I ran seven excellent, fast miles with no problem. I then went swimming and about 1200 yards into it, my tummy started hurting. I made it to 2275 yards before deciding that I needed to stop. I showered, came home and Keith called to check in because he saw me leaving the pool, citing an upset stomach. I must have sounded a little confused, because Keith said he was coming over. I got up and got really dizzy. I tried to go upstairs but for some reason they looked too steep so I just laid down at the bottom of the staircase and that is where Keith found me. He made me go upstairs where I started picking things up off my floor and insisting that he vacuumed. Keith wouldn't vaccum my floors and that made me mad. He wanted to know what I had taken, so I told him and he dug the bottle out of the trash and looked it up on the Internet while I proceeded to spill a drink on myself and tell him that I had to stay awake and do "really important things". I wanted to call my mom but he said it wasn't a good idea. I kept telling him that this was like being high, but since the only high Keith's had is from running so he really didn't get it and thought that I was going all Britney Spears on him. I kept telling him that he could leave, I was okay, because my dog Poncey would take care of me. Then I talked some nonsense to Poncey for about 30 minutes about breaking my leg and what a good job he did taking care of me, etc, etc.

Things were quickly getting crazier and crazier until finally I got sick to my stomach, went to the bathroom, puked about 4 times and then out of no where my head got totally clear.

I walked out of the bathroom and said "Wow.....that was really weird wasn't it??"

I told my mom today who said that is sounded very much like a LSD trip she once had in the 70's and that Keith should have let me call her because she would have understood.

Lesson of the day: It's possible to become under the influence of Vitamin B12!!

Lonely, oh so lonely....

Well, I was out of luck getting anyone to ride with me yesterday. Most everyone bailed citing cold weather, injury, or just wouldn't return my phone calls! So I set out to ride 50 miles all by my lonesome self on the Silver Comet. It wasn't where I really wanted to ride, but I was limited to someplace were I felt safe. I checked the weather as I was walking out the door and was surprised to find that it was only 30 degrees with a windchill factor of 23. 30 is my limit and I knew this wasn't going to be fun, but since I was already dressed and ready I didn't want to abandon things just yet.

Let me tell you, my friends that wouldn't ride because it was too cold were way smarter than me! I was battling a head wind for 25 miles going out. I was cold and my heart rate was much higher than it should have been. I was starting to get frustrated and remembered that it was day 10 of training in a row and I should just back off and ride. So I did. It wasn't my best 50-miler and my back was killing me at the end thanks to a smushy bed but I made it back in one piece. The trail was totally empty making this a really boring ride because there was no one to chase down and pass. I found the parking lot full of people who waited for it to heat up before they took off. Smarty pants!

After a stop by the house I went for a swim. I was totally exhausted and didn't expect too much out of myself but it ended up being an awesome swim for me! I finished it feeling better than I did when I started! I made it to 7000 yards this week without crapping out on a swim!! I am the Queen of skipping swims/cutting them short, and you can tell by my results. I am trying really hard to rededicate myself to the pool this season!

Concourse Triathlon Expo

Today was the triathlon expo at the Concourse Athletic Center. I went and checked it out and it was pretty much the same as last year with one exception- All3 Sports was having a "power" contest. Basically you got on a bike that was set-up to a computrainer. They had a course that was set and you rode as hard as you could for two minutes. They weighed you and then gave you a power to weight ratio. They also measured your average watts, speed, and max watts. When I was there earlier in the week picking up my bike they told me about the contest. I think Matt's exact words were "With those legs you are going to do awesome!" In case you haven't met me my legs are gigantic! The exact body type that excels in something like putting out power quickly. When they told me the contest was for $$$ I was in! Bob and Sue were there giving me some pre-race advice. I warmed up for about 8-10 minutes on a stationary bike and then put my shoes on and took off! It started with a gradual uphill and then got really hard at the end. At first the crowd wasn't paying attention to me, but when they noticed my speed they started yelling for me and in the end chanted "go! go! go!" As I got off the bike my legs felt fine, but I was light-headed. I ended up averaging 380 watts, with a max of 608. I forgot what my weight ratio was, but it was really high. Awesome part- I was the overall female winner! Plus I beat about 85% of the guys! I got a really cool trophy, plus a $250 All3 gift certificate!! I got to meet Kellye Mills also, who won second place! Way to go!

Dear Mother Nature,

Dearest Mother Nature,

I think that you are doing a really awful job right now. First this week you made it rain. I didn't complain about the rain because we are in a drought and everyone complains about how much we needed the rain so I felt guilty complaining about it raining. But it still made my leg hurt- a lot. I had to wait until the pain went away before I could run, inside of course, because it was raining. But I tried to keep a good attitude about the whole thing. Then on Thursday you made it 20 degrees warmer than it was on Wednesday. Again, I was thankful for the warm weather, but when I woke up and could hardly get out of bed, I knew that you had done something drastic and it was causing my leg to hurt. You see Mother Nature, my leg doesn't like all the switches and changes. It would really just prefer gradual changes in weather or actually none at all. Rain is the worst offender but I think we need it so keep giving us the rain as you please.

Today you pissed me off the worse with snow, rain, sleet, and a 30 degree drop in temperature. What are you thinking??? Are you drinking on the job? Watching too many YouTube videos? What gives? Not only was I in tons of pain today but I got a fat knot on the side of my leg to boot. I tried to get my long run in and had to abandon it for the bike. Ugh. If I knew who your supervisor was I would let them know about this! So please, please, stop with all the changes! I am begging you!

Sincerely,

Dani and my formerly broken left leg

Team Luna Chix!

Pro Luna Tri Team

I am so very excited to announce that I will be racing as part of Team Luna Chix for the 2008 season! This is the first year that they have an Atlanta team and I haven't had a chance to meet all of the other members yet, but I know a couple (Tat and Sarah) and of course, our team captain Jenny Selan. We also have two honorary members, Kate and Jill who are preggo and will race with us next year! Team Luna Chix primary goal is to encourage women to get out and do something! We will be hosting clinics and doing weekly group rides and runs. Team Luna encourages women from all levels of fitness to become active-so don't be worried if you aren't super-fast and would still like to join us!

Another obvious goal is to turn people on to Luna products. If you haven't tried them yet they are wonderful, and although their labeled for women, I know men that eat them too! Luna is owned by Clif Bar and has the same really high standards for ingredients and quality. I will have plenty of samples in the near future for everyone to try!

Some team members are going out to San Franciso for Summit, three days of training with the pros and meeting with coaches and nutritionist. Unfourtunately it's the same weekend as my first race so I can't make it this year which is too bad because it looks like it will be really fun! I am a big fan of Heather Gollnick, who won IM Arizona and IM Louisville and races for Team Luna and would love to train with her! I will hopefully be able to make it in 2009!

More details about groups rides, runs and clinics as we plan them!

One year anniversary!

It was this week last year that I went to see my orthopedic surgeon and got the wonderful news: my leg was finally healed and I could start the process of walking on it again! I healed an entire two months ahead of schedule so this wasn't expected news and remember him telling me that I didn't have the wear that dreaded boot anymore, or use any crutches. I was so happy I called everyone that I knew to share the awesome news! Of course, it wasn't easy, and the walking part was SO very painful!! But I got home and took my dog for an hour walk and just grinned through the pain because it felt like I was finally free! It's incredible to think that in just one year I have gone from being on crutches and not walking to finishing three triathlons, one half-marathon, one 10k and one 5k! Many thanks to all the people that were so encouraging to me during my recovery and kind enough to run and bike with me when I was getting back into the swing of things! I couldn't have done it without you!

RUI

It was truly difficult to get up and ride after less than 5 hours of sleep. The fact that my stomach was killing me didn't help matters. I ate some Landmark Diner french toast for breakfast with my mom. I seriously didn't think I was going to make it back to her house before I got sick. Ugh! I passed out in her bed and slept it off, awakening with the idea that I was good to ride.

Maybe not so much!!! I got lost on the way to meet Keith to ride. The actual turning of the pedals to make the bike move wasn't really that horrible. We cut the ride to 30 miles to make it more manageable. I was really dehydrated and hadn't eaten anything for lunch, so I was okay with this decision. I ended up getting on 285 the WRONG way to get home too! HELLO?!? I should have stayed in bed a little longer because I don't usually act this dingy!

Mandy's Bachelorette Party......

Oh goodness. Where do I start? It was a great evening and I cannot believe that sweet little Mandy will be married in less than three weeks! I am so excited and cannot wait for it! This was a fun bachelorette party. I drank more in one night than I have in the past three months combined! Guess you can tell that I am not really that big of a drinker huh? We started off at the restaurant Shout, and ended up going to Whole World Theater for an improv show. There were a bunch of other parties going on, and as promised, we didn't embarass Mandy. I wish we could of. Sorry for the lame pics. The more that we drank, the less pics that we took!!! Please note that there is hand in the "kissing" picture!

Chattahoochee Road Runners 10k

Well, my first 10k of this year is done and over with! First of all, let me say that I love technical t-shirts. I wish all races would please get rid of the outdated cotton and make the switch.

Race morning started with me having an upset stomach. I think it was my body just knowing how much I was going to hurt! I ended up at the race site super-early (as always!!!) but felt pretty good once my stomach got settled. Chatted with Nat for a bit and met Steph.

I made the mistake of starting in the back and had to navigate my way around literally hundreds of people. This was the first time that I actually felt fast in a road race because I am not used to passing people! But there were tons of people that were running SO slow! I couldn't figure out what was wrong with them! I got into a groove and just ran. This was only my third "stand-alone" 10k that I have ever run so I didn't really expect much. I was hoping to go sub-52 minutes which seemed like it would be really fast for me. I wasn't too optimistic because of how much my leg was hurting this week and the little amount of speedwork that I have been doing. This was a great course though, and I made my time goal! Garmin said time was 50:51 or a 8:08 pace for 6.26 miles, official time was 50:31 I think. I was 25th out of 90 in my age group, not great, but not the bottom of the pack either.

Congrats to Nat and Steph who tore up the 35-39 age group with 1st and 2nd place! They are SOOOO freakin' fast! Maybe one day.....