I Feed Off INSANITY

The last month of my training for IRONMAN CANCUN 70.3 started off with being told that I should lay off running completely and spend little time on the bike. Thats one of the worst things you can tell a aspiring triathlete. The IT BAND MONSTER that moved in with me won the battle of having to take time off. I somewhat welcomed it. If it promised results on stopping the pain in my knee then I'd do it.

It really had gotten to the point I would do ANYTHING. From stretches, icing, foam rolling, new shoes, to NO shoes, to chi running , to ACTIVE RELEASE TREATMENT, to praying 3 times daily , I was doing all that I could possibly do. Only medicine left was REST.

So fine REST won. But what would happen to my cardio? Oh man was I scared! I remember when I started running again after having my youngest ( a whole 10 months ago ) I could barely run a .25 mile. I knew it wouldnt get to that point , but at times like this you think the absolute WORST.

Keeping up with all my wonderful friends on DAILYMILE , I kept seeing INSANITY posts. INSANITY? What the heck is that? I'd read their crazy sweaty write ups and just wonder. So I put out a message asking what would be best to do at this time in training. I was bombarded with INSANITY suggestions.

So I watched the YOUTUBE videos, and I was intimidated. They looked so hardcore, but all the cardio was what I needed to keep me up in fitness, and the plyometrics would only make me stronger AND faster. Talked to hubby into doing it with me and I placed my order.

Until my package arrived I watched the infomercials and videos on YOUTUBE. I continued to read friends posts and got pumped up.

Then when the DVDs arrived , I unleashed the INSANITY.

Tough , challenging and sweaty. I LOVED IT. I dont think I have sweat so much in my life.

The last 3 weeks have been dedicated to INSANITY workouts , as I put my triathlon training on hold. Just this past week did I go for a run , without pain and without the slightest difference in cardio. I feel and look stronger and Im lighter. Losing 4 lbs in the first week! Yeah, didnt see that coming, but welcomed :)

Going for my first long ride this afternoon I look forward in feeling how the strength I've built up in my legs will come into play. I'd suggest this workout for anyone that needs that extra speed in their running. The workout feels as though it was designed for track stars and works those calves and quads to LEAN strong muscles. There are no weights involved. Only using your body weight as resistance. Its MAX INTERVAL training with short 30 second breaks. So it pushes you to give all you got in you at your MAX speed. I would also suggest this to people that are sidelined like I was . I felt it worked all the same muscles I needed as a triathlete , and then some.

Its a 60 day program and I'm really excited for the results at the end! Sticking as much as I can to the Elite Nutrition plan , which is pretty simple, inexpensive AND easy. Also found it to be somewhat toddler friendly. But then again I can barely get my 2 year old to eat anything , all I get is "Milk, PlEASE!!" **sigh** I try.

113 days till IRONMAN CANCUN 70.3 and I'm itching to get out there. Summer is on its way and this mom is going to totally BRING IT, Im slapping it on thick this summer , with INSANITY, children rearing , wife loving and triathlete craziness. Wish me luck as I kick my official training into gear. I thank all my supportive readers, Dailymile/Facebook/Twitter friends for you positive feedback and constant encouragement. My love goes to my family for supporting me and my radical habits and being there when the tears come down when things get to tough and I dont think I'll be able to push through. But as I say to myself daily "If you cant do this, you cant do IRONMAN".

** If you would like to know about INSANITY you can go here. Or can answer all your questions via email here**

Clowns Slowing You Down?

ahhh people. I took a late run , to come home to babies going to sleep and a fresh mind to blog away :).

Today was a happy day with the news of Our little Team DAILYMILE being selected to run in the NIKE Women's Marathon & Half. I was THRILLED, but at first I was confused. I opened the email to only say " what does this mean? Dude, Im so confused" . Yes, I call myself dude. I was doubting our luck of getting in only to think that the email was confirming that I had registered. But no, they have charged the credit card. It was official we were in. I loved seeing the outbreak of happiness on DAILYMILE posts that we had gotten in. I felt as though I couldnt type fast enough to spread the news. For some reason I am more excited about this than going to Ironman Cancun, I think Im more scared of that ;)

Moving on to training, it has been a SLOW week. I look at my weekly mileage and say "PATHETIC", but whatever I got a run in today with out TOOOO much pain and Im happy about that. Tomorrow I will hit up the pool and my bike (which has been lonely since this weekend).

What I have to look forward to this weekend is my first open water mile swim. Ive found a couple of sitters so there is no stopping us this weekend. We will head out to Pleasonton to participate in the Catfish Crawl!! Our wave of "wetsuit men and women" will take off at 10:20 am. You dont even know how thrilled I am that I will be able to swim with the hubby on this one. There have been so many times lately in the pool that I looking at the bottom of the pool and realize that in my triathlons I wont even be able to SEE the bottom. When I think of that I have a small heart attack in the pool... just a small one. So if I do have a freakout I know Mark will be there to keep me from drowning. We all have our weaknesses.... and clowns.....cant forget the clowns.

What does everyone else have going this weekend? What are you weaknesses?

GOOOS-FRA-TRI

egh , arrr , egh and one more EGH!!
Today was supposed to be my first triathlon. My first check in this magical world of triathlons that I have submersed myself in training for the past 3 months. That was not to start this weekend though. The hubby and I both registered for the Baby Ice Breaker Triathlon ( Hubby was doing just the ICE Breaker, no "baby") in Folsom, CA. Not till Friday did we realize that Folsom is 4 hours away. Now we are not wusses but traveling with family and 2 children under the age of 2 for a 45-55 min triathlon ... well the math was adding up. With babysitting issues and the drive haunting us we decided it would be best to NOT attempt to make it up there :(
Now we both have spent the weekend in a MAD/SAD attitude towards this. I mean it would be the first TRI of the year for both of us and we had money into it .... Since this is my blog I will say that there has been time (even today) that I have wanted to throw my bike shoes through my living room window and scream. What made matters worse was with this "mad/sad" attitude I hovered over DAILYMILE looking at everyones races and tri's and while I was so happy and inspired by other athletes posts I was pissed that I was not out there with my notch in my belt. I will admit, I just ready Heather's race recap from RunFasterMommy and I loathe her, yeah Heather I loathe you for the next 2 min. The competitive athlete in me knew she was doing her first tri this weekend as well and wanted to WHOOP her in the bike and swim portion ... she would rape me in the run :)
**breathe** GOOOS - FRA - BA **breathe
wait ... one more time
**breathe** GOOOS - FRA - BA **breathe
Must think positive thoughts ... like this all happened for a reason. Gives more time for my IT band to get over its mood swings. 4 more weeks to be faster for my actual SPRINT distance at the Morgan Hill Triathlon.
What did happen this weekend though was a GREAT and EXHAUSTING workout with my husband. I really wish we could be training partners but with 2 little ones, while one is being the triathlete the other is the babysitter or "parent" :)

Another thing to take note in my training is that I bought a new pair of shoes and POWERSTEPS, has anyone else tried those bad boys out? Its going to take some getting used to but hoping it will help my flat feet and overpronating. The sad thing to say right now is that I have no clue what kind of Mizunos they are , they are purple that is all I can say.

Now that I think to myself we did a lot of crap this weekend. Yesterday we spent most of the morning at the Sea Otter Classic. Which was intense! So many vendors I was totally blown away. Dropped some of the hubbies cash (which he calls anniversary gift) at the LUNA tent and cruised around picking up free stickers. Also I hit up a tent with people doing custom bike/tri jerseys, totally psyched about designing my own jersey :)

Ahhh... well Im rambling. I feel a bit relieved and while typing this my husband read the first part and decided to put on the movie ANGER MANAGEMENT for me, what a sweetheart, now let me go and give him a dead leg.

Dirty Legs Spring Run # 2

(check out the awesome view , I couldnt help but smile)

Bluff running , that is what I did on this BEAUTIFUL Sunday. Took part in my second trail run put on by SV Endurance. I had a good time. Unlike the first trail run ( which was fun, but ..) there werent mountains to climb, and I was OK with that. The race was located in Wilder Ranch State Park in Santa Cruz and it was a spectacular view. We ran along the bluff and while trying to keep a good pace and not bust my ankle I was able to look down off the cliff and see the waves crash on the rocks. To me THAT is trail running , not having to walk up mountains because I am unable to physically run up steep mountains ( I dont think I'll get over the shock of the first run). There was a bigger turn out for the 5k this time , and there were runners there that had come to the first one , which I now am proud to say I introduced myself instead of just giving the "nod".

It was a happy run, I was glad to be there , I was happy to see other runners and well it was just a HAPPY day. I did start off the race not knowing if I was going to go all out or take my time. I decided to just "GO". Decided to find my happy pace and to greet/cheer any runner that ran past me while on the trail. I had known before the race that I didnt think I could win female over all , there was an older lady ( older lady=super endurance) that was doing a Rocky warmup around the parking lot before hand , I was hoping she was running the 10k , but nope , 5k runner. She had started off really strong and I wasnt going to go to the point of sprinting to catch up to her. She kept a strong pace in front of me , I was hoping she would start fading but she was stuck with it. So the only thing I could think was that NO ONE else would pass me.

( Lady is green is Rocky warmup lady)

The result was 27:04 , which Im pretty psyched about. 2nd overall and 1st in my age group. I finished strong and not to the point of blowing chunks... Like last time , egh. I wish I could share more , but this race went by so fast and I was in la la land with the view, gotta savor the moment right?

( Happy Day and new running friends who I will have to cross over to the "Daily Mile side" )

Nike Women's Marathon

Alright here it goes ...

After hearing back from a Nike contact the best bet for getting into the Nike Women's Marathon is registering as a team. Most of the teams she knows have ALWAYS gotten in that way. So now its time to gather your friends, family and fellow DM'ers and lets "JUST DO IT".

Now this is how it goes :

ONLINE REGISTRATION opens MONDAY APRIL 5th through FRIDAY APRIL 16th. On the online registration form there will be a box for GROUP ID. Please copy and paste the GROUP ID that will be emailed to you (yes, I will email out GROUP ID) correctly onto the random drawing application in order to be identified as a member of the group.

It's really that easy!

Now I've been wanting this to be a DAILYMILE team , but PLEASE invite everyone you know to join you! Be your own ambassador to the sport and encourage your friends and family to strap on their shoes and get out there! As for myself I am starting a running group here with women (and whatever men want to run along) to train for this race and prepare for a triathlon. Some people don't want to do this alone! Remember we are a team!

Even though we are a TEAM it does NOT mean that you have to stick with the team when running. We are all at different fitness levels, and some of us are faster than others. So no one feels as though they CAN'T (egh, bad word I know) do it, I will run the 1/2 marathon at a run/walk. No one will be left behind to run on their own. This is a time to encourage and work with one another so we can ALL cross the finish and receive some cool gear.

Other than the GREAT views and WONDERFUL spectators in this race there is some really RAD gear waiting for you at the finish line. First and foremost all finishers receive a unique finishers necklace designed by Tiffany & Co. 100% Recycled Nike dry Fit Finishers Tee-shirt and what is the BEST part (after running for so many hours) is an ICE COLD CHOCOLATE MILK! I know some of you are thinking "Milk? Really?", to me it was the most amazing thing ... Next to the hot firemen in tuxedos handing me that glorious little blue box :)

One more thing. This is not a WOMENS ONLY race. Will you see many men ? NO. I know it bothers some women that they allow men at all. I am one that welcomes it. On the race course last year I saw only motivating husbands (like mine), boyfriends, brothers and sons. Running as pacers and support machines. If I hadn't ran with my hubby I would have been solo and would have broke down at mile 11. So please bring them along as well, the more the merrier. I also saw men running for family members that couldn't be there due to cancer, I teared up many times reading the back of peoples shirts...

I think that covers it . All you now have to do is just decide! AND email me christinahebert(@)live.com . I'm looking forward to meeting all of you nationwide!

REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED!!

Please share on your blogs.

Please inform me if you have a group of people signing up with the GROUP ID , so I know how many people will be in the group and I can email ANY updates sent to me from NIKE.

You can email me OR leave a comment with your info or blog and I will get you the GROUP ID.