Leaping to another 100 mile month

February 27, 2012 --

Hello all! I really have not had much to write about on here lately, and hope I was not too sorely missed during my absence.

Here's an update about what has been happening over the last two weeks.

Marathon training has been going very very well!  I was sidelined for a few days after I got my tattoo (maybe I will remember this and not get inked at the peak of marathon training in the future).  I recovered quickly and was quickly back on track.  This past weekend I completed an 18 mile long run, and am looking forward to a 20 miler this coming Saturday!  I currently have 93 miles racked up for the month of February, and with 2012 being a leap year and 8 mile runs scheduled for tomorrow and wednesday, I will again surpass 100 miles in one month!

With the race being just under 3 weeks away, I am beginning to realize that the day of those 26.2 miles will soon be upon me.  Back in October when I first decided to run a full marathon, I felt as if March 17th would never come.  After the marathon, I will be focusing on triathlon season and have my first tri just 6 weeks after the marathon!

I have entered a Biggest Loser Competition at work, and was challenged to lose 8% of my body weight by April 4th.  For me, that 8% would bring me down to 189 lbs. I weighed in today at 195, which means I have only 6 pounds left to lose over the next five and a half weeks.


That's all the updates for now.  Check in for my marathon goals and expectations in the coming days!

24th Birthday Recap

February 12, 2012 --

Yesterday was my 24th birthday!

First I would like to give the final update to 23 by twenty-four.  I weighed in this morning at 195 pounds; fifteen pounds less than my goal of 210 pounds!  I feel great and am very proud of myself!  

I received my first official birthday present last Friday from my wonderful girlfriend, Amy.  She and I had talked about what she wanted to get me for awhile, and I knew she had planned to get me a new wetsuit!  I really like TYR's Hurricane series, so she had told me she was going to get me the Category 1.  We discussed what size I might be, and I thought that was what I was getting.  Well, last week, the wetsuit arrived, and Amy couldn't wait to give it to me just to make sure that it fit properly.   To my complete shock and surprise, she got me the Category 5 Hurricane wetsuit!  I was so shocked and thankful!

To go along with my new wetsuit, my family got me a TYR transition bag! It hasn't come yet, but should be here sometime at the beginning of next week! I am very excited to be more organized for Triathlons this year!

On my actual birthday, I sat for a new tattoo I had wanted to get for quite awhile.  I had always promised myself when I got back to 215 pounds I would get the tattoo, and now that I have I finally got it.  I have always wanted a cross with the awareness ribbons for ovarian cancer and ALS (Lou Gherig's disease).

I brought the idea to Ronda Xanthos, the same artist who had done my first tattoo and she drew up a design for me.  I just want to say now that I highly highly recommend her, she does great work and always takes the time to make sure everything is perfect!

Anyway, I decided to get this tattoo on my left side on my ribs...

Step 1: Stencil on!

Step 2: All Line work done!

Step 3: Shading of the cross' edge and draping.

Step 4: Adding in cracks to make marble look begin to come to life

Step 5: Shading and coloring to give that true marble look.

Marble cross. Only have to put the color on now!

Step 6: Coloring the ribbons.  This was the most painful part of the tattoo.

  

Final product! In a week or two the swelling and redness
will go away!

I could not be happier with how the piece came out! I now will never forget my 24th birthday, just I like will never forget my 18th when I got my first tattoo. 

I will post pictures of the tattoo after it has healed! Enjoy the Grammys and the work week!

Elevens

The rules:

1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Tag as many as 11 people to answer your questions

11 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME

1.  I was adopted at birth, and consider my adoptive parents to be my only parents.  I have never thought or wondered about my birth ‘parents’

2.  I grew up knowing more great grandparents than grandparents.  My only living grandparents were my mom’s parents, but I only met her dad once or twice (none that I remember).  So really I only had my one grandma.  But, I did have two great grand mothers who lived into their nineties, and were a big part of my life.

3. I HATED running in high school and thought it was torture.  I now get sad when I miss a scheduled run.

4.  I really want to have LASIK vision correction surgery.  Without glasses or contact lenses I consider myself blind.  I can’t make out anything that is more than a few inches from my face.

5.  I hate change, and love routine.  I rarely try new things at restaurants unless forced to.  I really would like to change this.

6.  I think of everything in terms of math, and can do pretty complex math when I run.  I am able to determine my average pace as I’m running based just on my lap splits.

7.  I really want to own my own home, and do not want to live in an apartment.  This is one of my biggest life goals.

8.  I have always wanted a Husky because they have blue eyes like I do.

9.  I used to wake up and dress myself to go to school an hour early every day.  I never had to be woken up by my mom or dad for school.

10.   I was in 8th grade Biology Class when I found out about the attacks on the World Trade Center.  From my school and home, I could see and smell the smoke.

11.  Because of #10, I got a Bald Eagle and American flag tattooed on my right shoulder blade on my eighteenth birthday.  My tattoo turns 6 this year.

I was tagged twice, so I guess I have to answer 2 sets of 11 questions...

JAMIE’S QUESTIONS

1. What is your proudest accomplishment?

I would say that my proudest accomplishment is earning my Master’s Degree in Education.  I graduated a year early from my undergrad program, and went straight into my master’s program.

2. What is your biggest regret?

I think right now, my biggest regret was stopping wrestling after 10th grade.  I would not have wrestled in college or anything major like that, but I definitely enjoyed it and only stopped to prevent injury before baseball season which I wound up hurting myself anyway.

3. What was your biggest fear as a child?

I think as a child my biggest fear was getting lost.

4. What is your biggest fear as an adult?

Right now, my biggest fear is not being able to find a job.

5. Your most embarrassing triathlon story, using exactly 11 words.

I’ve done only three, no embarrassing story to share with thee.

6. What  is the one piece of advice you’d give the 10 year old version of yourself.

When you think you’re giving something 100%, give another ten percent.  And when you think you’re doing that…give 10% more.

Also, don’t be embarrassed swimming in a speedo. Wear it proud! (I quit the swim team because we raced in speedo man-kinis)

7. What is the best meal that you’ve ever made yourself?

I’m a big fan of Italian food, so I’d have to say penne ala vodka with grilled chicken.

8. In or out?

Insane and OUT of my mind crazy about triathlon and road racing.

9. What is your dream car?

I really wanted a Toyota Tundra Pick Up truck, but now I’m leaning toward a Nissan Maxima

10. What is the fastest you’ve ever gone on a bike?

I hit 51 MPH on a steep downhill during my first triathlon.  I later learned we had to turn around and climb back up this hill.

11. What is your least favorite part of triathlon training/racing?

My least favorite part is finding a good place to ride my bike.

AMY’S QUESTIONS

1. What is your favorite race you've ever done?

My favorite race I’ve done was Rock’n’Roll NY 10K in prospect park.  It was a perfect day to run, and I wound up finishing almost 10 minutes faster than I thought I was going to!

2. What is your favorite thing to do in your downtime?

My favorite thing to do in my downtime is watch TV. I am always training or on my toes at school with the kids, so being able to relax and mindlessly watch TV is great for me. 

3. Who is your favorite running partner and why?

I usually run alone, but I would really run with anyone just for the company.

4. If you got a new dog what would you name him/her?

If I were to get a new dog, I think I’d like to name him/her Max

5. Where is one state you would live other than state you live in now?

This is a tough one. I can’t really see myself living outside of NY.  I guess I’d have to say Florida or the Carolinas would be the first thing that comes to mind.

6. Pool or Ocean?

Ocean

7. What is your favorite race shirt or medal you received?My favorite shirt and medal both come from the same race, the Newport Amica Marathon shirts and medals.  (I did the Half Marathon)

8. What is your opinion on lululemon?
I think it is overpriced for clothes you are meant to work out in.  But I do have to say their pants are magical for a girl’s booty!

9. What is that one thing you do when you get nervous? (Bite nails etc.)
I sing to myself.  I don’t think anyone knows this but me haha.

10. How old were you the last time you pee'd in a pool...honestly.
Not very recently.  But maybe a few years ago during a long swim I didn’t want to stop in the middle of.

11. What is one tip you would give to a new runner?
Start slow, don’t be afraid to walk, but always keep moving forward!

MY QUESTIONS
1.  What do you like best about triathlon/road races?
2.  What was your favorite subject in school? Why?
3.  Do you have any tattoos?
4.  What is your greatest racing accomplishment?
5.  How did you get into racing triathlon/road racing?
6.  What brings you back to triathlon/road racing?
7.  What advice do you have for someone looking to start racing?
8.  Cats or Dogs?
9.  What do you feel is the weakest part of your triathlon?
10. Do you like to cook?
11. What is your favorite sports related movie?

People I'm tagging...

1. Amy

2. Meaghen Harris

3. Nathan Matsui