Behold the TNT Tri-Suit

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So...here's the suit in all it's glory...... What do ya think? I bet you were thinking I would post pictures of myself in the suit, huh? Well...as gorgeous as this saran wrappish suit looks on me, I figured I would leave some suspense until the actual event for all of you who will be coming to watch. Ha! Actually, training was so hectic today we just failed take a picture but I figured this would suffice becuase I don't know that I will have it back on before the race on Sunday. Exactly a week away from today I will be participating in my event - it just seems surreal. If any of you do plan on attending the event - look for these suits and yell as loudly as possible when they fly by ya. I hope to see lots of you there. Crowd support is huge and it would mean the world to me and everyone else out there to have as much crowd support as possible.

We begin our tapering schedule this week so it should be a relatively easy week and I am looking forward to resting my body. =)

Saran Wrap

Today was a big day for all of us trainees. We put in the work, raised the funds and tonight we got our TNT tri-suits and singlets. For me, this is a really proud moment. There is something about anything TNT that just carries this awesome stigma. For those of you who come to the event....you will see it: fellow participants and even crowd support LOVE TNT! People will be calling us by name, people will be thanking us for raising the funds that we have raised and people will be cheering us on the entire way - I cannot wait to feel all that support and its only ONE WEEK AWAY - AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I know we are ready, but I am still nervous/anxious about the whole thing. I just can't believe its almost here but tonight made it feel really official - I am so proud to be wearing green and purple and I am even prouder to be a part of something so incredible. Thanks to all of you who have helped me get here - it means the world to me. A little comic relief in my title for tonights post. Although I am pumped about our uniforms...they are a little "snugglelicious" to use a phrase from my sister Melissa. Susan says they need to be tight in order to work well during the swim and not slow us down. No worries my friends - tight they are, let me just tell you! We will be doing a brick this weekend in our tri-suits so I will take a picture for you.

Lexington Zaxby's Fundraiser Photos

Our information table and TNT mascot (Kennedy)
Two of our mentors (Ruth - long hair, Treacy - jacket) and one of our training team mates Jennifer (she already completed her event in Washington DC - The Nations Triathlon)
Billie Motsch, Jonathan & Abby Burns
Some (not all) of Janine's Class mates

Thanks so much for all your support - thanks to all of you Janine and I have both met our fundraising goals.

The weekend is over already?

Although I enjoy having weekend plans, I hate that it inevitably makes your weekend fly by. I can't believe it's already Sunday but I also can't believe all we have crammed into the weekend either.

Yesterday morning Janine and I did the 5 K which benefited her Physical Therapy class and we took the number one and number two spot in our age division (25-29)! Can you believe that? Neither can we but we are so pumped. I think my time was 24:55 and hers was 25:13. Go us!

Here is a picture taken right after we found out we placed and got our free water bottles.

Once the race was over I ran home to shower and then we took Kennedy to the Kentucky Equine Humane Center because they were having an open house (so cool), had my car washed by the East Jessamine High Cheerleaders (can't beat $5), went to Walmart, came home and watched a movie and crashed.

I was up bright and early with Kennedy and we made blueberry pancakes...so fun! At 10 AM I was at the pool doing my Sunday swim. Janine and I had lunch and then met the others for a bike ride. We rode the Tri For Sight course and it was a tough ride. I think our quads were feeling the heat of pushing it a little bit yesterday and then biking on top of swimming wore us both out!

Now you know why I say the weekend is over already? More training is on dock for this weekend and we have a special tire changing clinic before our swim on Tuesday so I am sure to blog later this week.

I miss my training

Well...it's Friday: yay! The end of another work week always feels good. Tim came home last night rather than late tonight so that was a nice surprise. I have really missed being able to train as usual this week. Although the time with Kennedy each night was wonderful, I just love getting in a good daily workout and without Tim here I haven't been able to do that. So..I am glad I can get back to normal now that he is home.

Janine and I had our second and last Zaxby's fundraiser on Wednesday and there was a pretty good turnout. All of Janine's class mates really came to bat for her and all showed up even after a long day of hard classes. We really appreciated their support! Kennedy came with me and was such a trooper - we were an hour past her bedtime by the time we left and she was such a good girl despite being exhausted. The manager told Janine when the fundraiser was over that we had made almost $150 so thats pretty good. Thanks to everyone who came to show their support - we will post pictures this weekend on both of our blogs.

Tomorrow is the 5K run to benefit the Physical Therapy Department (Janine's Class). I am really looking forward to it. I haven't decided yet, but I am considering having this be the 1st race Kennedy and I do together (if they allow jog strollers). I am sure to post pics tomorrow.

Until then...

My little swimmer....

Not much has happened since my last posting, which is why I haven't posted until now. Last week was pretty usual - swim on Tuesday and Thursday at the aquatic center on campus and then again on Sunday. Saturday, however, my daughter Kennedy had her first swim lesson (a birthday gift from Grandaddy and Kathy). It was so much fun and so precious! I just have to post pictures of my little swimmer! I am just happy to know that if I can keep her in the water, I will spare her the humiliation of learning to swim as an adult (like I did). Thankfully, I have the best babysitter in the universe and she came to the lesson to take pictures for me. Her favorite part was jumping off of the wall and into the water (it was more like falling that jumping but she doesn't need to know that).

I am already looking forward to our lesson next Saturday. Hopefully Daddy can swim with her then and I can take pictures.

As for a training update for this week - Janine and I plan to do a brick this evening but then I am parked all week because my hubby is out of town and my sitter is all booked up. A body needs rest every now and then, right? Thats what I am telling myself! I will be up for a run Saturday and then our swim/bike on Sunday for sure.

My First Triathlon

Today, Janine and I participated in the Bowling Green Sprint Triathlon in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Susan encouraged us to participate in one event prior to the one we have been training and fundraising for. So....today was the day to do that. We drove up last night and got up bright and early this morning to get there and get going. There is much more to this type of an event that what I am used to. For runs you just have to calculate time for digestion really and time for driving to get to your event location. This type of an event requires much more planning: time to eat, time to get water bottles ready, time to air up bike tires, time to travel to your location, time to get your ankle bracelet (with timing microchip attached), time to get body-marked (with Sharpie marker I might add), time to set up your transition area and rack your bike, and in this particular event: time for a pre-race meeting. So...Janine, Tim, and I were up at 5:45 this AM! I am glad for the strict agenda in that it seemed to distract me a little from my case of unrelenting nerves. I was so super nervous/anxious.

Once the pre-race meeting was over we lined up in numbered order for the swim. Janine was about 15 people ahead of me (it was based on your estimated swim time). The swim was a snake swim in a 50 meter pool, and swimmers were released every 5 seconds. Chaos cannot begin to describe what occurs in a triathlon swim (now I know, whereas before I had only heard). First of all, people WAY UNDER-ESTIMATED their swim times. There was some guy in the first 20 racers who was swimming with his head totally out of the water and was walking by like lane 4: what is that all about? There were several folks who had not been trained or possibly refused to cross under lane lines how we were told to and so they would stand up at the end of the lane line and then bob underneath and never push off a wall or anything. The problem with crossing under like that is that it created major clusters at the end of each lane and slowed people up - it was a mess really. The other issue in the pool is that you get kicked, slapped, pushed and you name it - it's brutal really. All I could think while I was in the pool was - wrap it up and get out girl. So...at one point I heard my Dad say "two laps left Lindsy...go!" "Sweet", I thought "I can do this". I was never happier than to get out and jog to that transition course. My swim time was right around what I expected but it never really felt good or relaxed and I hope that at Tri For Sight in October I can say differently afterwards.

The transition area was no where near as hard as I anticipated. Once you get in there you are on such an adrenaline rush you just move like a robot and do what you need to do and get out. So...no complaints or worries there: yay!

The bike was great - beautiful scenery...felt good....Janine and I stayed relatively close: not much to add to that. There was a massive hill we had to climb that took all the breathing skills I had in my bag plus some major sweet talking to my quadriceps if you will. I was happy once that climb was over because we were told that was the worst part. The only complaint I have about the bike is that it is so hard to keep three bike lengths between you and the person in front of you. If you don't keep that distance you can get time-docked as a way of penalizing you for breaking that rule. From then on it was pretty simple. Towards the end of the bike I ate some Shot Blocks to give me some energy on the run and then back to the transition area we went to get ready to run.

When we started the run I felt like I had gumby legs but probably 1/2 mile into it we started to develop a rhythm and pace. The run was pretty uneventful too besides being hot because the sun was coming up. I felt like I needed a little kick towards the end to help me finish strong so I ate some sport beans and had H20 at the last water stop and then kicked it into the highest gear I had left available. Janine and I wanted to finish together and we did. It was so fun and so exhilarating. I CANNOT believe I did a tri - finally. This goal has been one of mine for as long as I can remember and I can finally say I have accomplished it. I feel really ready for our event now and I am so thankful to Susan for getting us so well prepared.

Here are some pictures from the day.

Our Transition Areas

All those who know our coach Susan get to proudly sport the calf smiley

Janine getting ready for her pool entrance - check out all the guys she has to swim around!

Here I am getting ready for my pool entrance - green and blue suit.

Transitioning from swim to bike

And, we're off!

Transitioning from bike to run

Off again!
And this, my friends is what it is all about - crossing the finish line with your best buddy and accomplishing a goal you have had for a LONG time! It doesn't get any better!

Ahhh....we did it.

Zaxby's

Wednesday was the night of mine and Janine's fundraiser at Zaxby's. We had gotten the word out as best as we could and it was time to see if people would come. It wasn't a huge turnout but plenty of our friends showed up and we really appreciated it. Thank you to all of those who joined us in the restaraunt or via drive-through. Your support means alot! The manager was really nice and said once she figured out the profit from this evenings sales between 6-9 she would send us a check for 10% of that amount. We can't wait to see how we did. Here are some pictures from the event.

The Banks and Wiley Clan, including the cutest member: Matthew

The Best Babysitter in the world: Chelsea Rearick and her friend Ashley

Eric and Beth Bentley

The McCaws..Will, John, Laura, and Lily

Our Information Table

We hung some signage outside and I was able to convince these two to let me take their picture - who could have been cuter? John Tyler and Lily Elizabeth

What day is it again?

You know you have officially gone over the edge into "Mommy-hood" when you can't even recall what day it is. Having off work yesterday totally has me off kilter and I kept thinking it was Monday all day today. Craziness!

To report on my swim Sunday as promised - it was a doozie. I was nervous about the workout and I should have been because it was killer. I am proud to say I only cut 400 meters out of the 2300 meter workout. I felt great about finishing the majority of it. What I didn't feel so great about was the fact that a dead mouse was pulled out of my neighboring lane about 1/2 way through my swim - YUCK! Supposedly it happens all the time - chalk it up on the list of things I wish I never knew.

Monday I took a much needed break from training and Tim and I did a ton of stuff around the house to prepare for our little ladybugs first birthday party this coming Saturday. I can't believe she is almost one.

Tonight we were back at the UK Lancaster Aquatic Center...affectionately referred to as "my sanctuary". They made some much needed improvements to the center since we were last there and the pool was so super clean. No chlorine smell leftover tonight: yay! The workout she had planned for us was actually more planned for her masters swimmers and so Janine and I did what we could and had a good swim. It is hard to be back at short course (25 m) versus the 50 m length we have been swimming outdoors. The silver lining to swimming that 25 m course is that they won't be pulling any dead mice out of our lanes! ha! We practiced crossing under the lane lines like we will be asked to do at our upcoming events. I think I am starting to get the hang of that but we'll see when I actually do it during our practice tri this weekend in Bowling Green.

Tomorrow night is mine and Janine's fundraiser at Zaxby's. If you are in the area, please eat at Zaxby's between 6-9 PM because 10% of all earnings will be donated directly to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We hope to see you there.

Until next time.....