Eight Years

It doesn't seem possibly that eight years can come and go so quick.  Don't get me wrong, they've been amazing, but time has to slow down at some point, right?

It was eight years ago today that I finally got the courage to meet that mystery guy behind all the emails.  I mean, by this point we had spent hours upon hours talking on the phone and spilling our lives in the form of email.  Dinner should be a piece of cake.  But why was I nervous?  I mean, he liked what he had heard enough to keep talking to me. And I did to.  But what if he didn't like what he saw?  Or what if we didn't have anything to talk about in person?  Could that really happen - I mean, I felt like I had only cracked the surface of our lives, our goals, our dreams.  I remember sitting at work, not being able to concentrate on anything.  What would I eat?  What would I wear? What if his picture was from like 20 years ago (okay, maybe that didn't really cross my mind, but we had met on Match.com so you never know).

6:13pm

That's the time we set to met.  And like clock work, we both arrived at the restaurant at the same time.  My mom warned me to meet in a public place when it was light out because after all, this was a blind date in a sense.

Ooh... he drives a sports car.  And is fit.  I like what I see.

Dinner went smooth (quick, but smooth).  We might have been a bit nervous.  But we were both nervous about the same thing.  We went to a movie - always a dumb thing on a first date since you can't talk.   I had butterflies.  I liked him.  Really liked him.

We ended the evening with a hug (he'll argue that I wanted a kiss, but whatever).  We agreed to see each other again.  I called my mom on the way home and told her that I would marry him someday.

And I did.

And the 8 years it's been since meeting him have been the absolute best years of my life.  I look forward to a lifetime more!

Love you Brady...

Sunday recap

It's been a busy week.  This was the first "hard" week of training - ie, 12+ hours and I felt it by the end of today.  It feels good to be back into the swing of a program though. I'm enjoying pushing myself and being spent by the time my workouts are done.  And not once did I sit and think to myself "why did I sign up for another Ironman". Always a good week when that happens.  I'm happy that I had my EFS Grape drink to get me through my workouts and then my First Endurance Cappuccino Ultragen for my recovery.  Seriously, if you are looking for a great tasting product that is easy on the belly, check out First Endurance.  Yes, they are a sponsor of my team, but I am a believer in their products.  I've only been using them for a month or two and I am really happy. Oh, and check out my testimonial about Recovery Pump on their newish website!  HA... love it!  Okay, enough product raving! :)

So my totals for last week looked like this:

Swim - 5100 meters

Bike - 76.4 miles

Run - 27.6 miles

I'm happy with that.  I feel like I'm getting stronger - it's a slow process and I have to be patient.  I have a half marathon in two weeks which will be a good test for me. I'm not looking to PR, but I'm hoping to feel confident going into it!

Tom ran the New Jersey Ultra marathon this past weekend with the Team Type 1 Running Team.  Mad props to these guys.  You all know that they are all type 1 diabetics, yada, yada, yada.  But, one of the guys came in 2nd in the marathon with a 2:55, one of them came in 1st in the 100k in 8:55 and one of them came in 4th in the 100 miler in 17:28.  The team had a great debut - I can't wait to see what they all do the rest of the season! By the way, check out the team's new website (here).  I may be a little biased since I'm married to him, but I think the web guy did a great job with the new site! :)

Team Trakkers totally rocked this weekend too.  Tons of teammates racing and training all over the place - 70.3's in exotic locations, the new 5150 series, half marathons, 10 milers, 100+mile bikes, 4050m swims.  So motivating! Congrats to everyone.  I can't believe that it's only 56 days until my first tri with these guys.  Not only is it a huge eek because it's my first tri of the season, but also because it's a half Ironman.  In May.  What was I thinking???

I keep an eye on my followers and I've been stuck on 143 for a while.  If you read my blog and I don't know about it (through you being a follower or commenting), come out of the woodwork. I'd love to know!  So many people say "I saw your picture on your blog", but they never comment or aren't followers. I want to know that you are out there!  

And I'll leave you with a quote that I saw on twitter today that totally made me laugh:

"Every time you fart as you're walking through first class getting on a plane, Jesus high-fives your grandmother."

 

Me Irish? How'd ya guess?

I was on the phone with a lady the other day (booking a little mini vacation for the hubby and I, but that's besides the point) and she asked my name.  I told her and her response was "well you're going to have a good week aren't you?".  Huh?  I asked her what she meant and she just said "being Irish and all... must be a big week for you". I smiled... I guess.

Yes, my name is Colleen.  It is of Gaelic origin, and the meaning of Colleen is "girl".  And although Kingery sounds Irish, it's actually German and well, I'm married into that name anyway so it doesn't really count.  My mom's maiden name is Lynch.  Okay, so that's a bit more Irish.

I love St. Patty's day, but I'm not an Irish freak or anything.  I don't drink green beer (usually) and I really can't stand corned beef and cabbage.  But, in spirit of the holiday, I did my best to represent the green on my ride outside today (yep, you read that right... I rode outside!)

 Check out the socks.  Can you see them?  They look like this up close (and yes, my legs look really gross from that angle - it's hard to take a picture o:f your cute socks by yourself!)

Thanks to Chrissy at Chrissy's Knee High Socks for them.  Too cute!

And then this little blinged out gem that my sister-from-another-mother Kristin bought me!  I love it!  Pop over to her blog (here) and send her some love.  She's awesome!

And of course I needed to show you my awesome Kestrel bike just once more because I was so happy to be able to ride him today.  Definitely going with Papa Smuff as his name!  He rode like a machine today!  So impressed. 

I'll leave you with this... my favorite Irish blessing! Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!

For the ladies...

Sorry fellas, this one is for the ladies.  Hum, well maybe you'll enjoy it.  I know that a few of you are kind of strange like that (and for that I enjoy having you as followers!) Or you could be the best hubby/boyfriend/significant other and read this review and purchase one for your leading lady.  I'm just throwing that out there...

The other day, I won a blogger giveaway from Marcia at The Studly Runner (if you haven't gone to her blog, do it.  She's great and you'll love reading about her life!)  It was for a Zensah Running Bra.  Did you know that Zensah made running bras?  Yeah, I didn't either.  I was super excited.

When Marcia told me that I had won, she told me that I needed to contact Zensah and that they would walk me through what they needed to get my bra.  Corey was my contact and was super helpful.  I was sent to their site and told to pick any color and size I wanted. So I picked this one:

**HA - you actually thought that I would post a picture of myself in this running bra on my blog.  I. Don't. Think. So.  My abs don't look like Emz! :)

I was excited that this was a seamless bra.  TMI, I'm sure, but I often get really bad chaffing from my sports bra anywhere there is a seam.  I usually use the C9 ones from Target and they work great, but sometimes I find that they aren't the best support for a girl like me (aka, I'm a little bigger in the top than most runners/triathletes) and they aren't the best at "wicking" away the sweat.  The discription from the Zensah site about their bra is as follows:
 
Finding a proper fitting running bra is essential. Runners know that many running bras often feature seams or rough fabric that causes chaffing and irritation. We at Zensah understand this have developed the most comfortable running bra within the running market. Each running bra is made our properity Zensah fabric – meaning the running bra is thermal regulating, as well as moisture wicking. The Zensah Running Bra will help to keep dry when you go running.

Unlike a typical running bra, the Zensah running bra is available in 10 colors including yellow, pink, purple, orange, blue, and many more; making it the most colorful running bra on the market. You are now able to add some color to your running apparel!

This high-performance running bra offers unmatched comfort and support.

The Zensah Running Bra fits all body types.

Running Bra Features:

*Seamless design = no chaffing
* Anti-Bacterial
* Superior Comfort from the proprietary Zensah fabric in each Running Bra
* Thermal Regulating
* Moisture Wicking – to prevent the running bra from becoming heavy with perspiration
*Available in 10 colors including pink!


I contacted Corey on Wednesday and the bra arrived on Friday!  I took it out and decided to wear it that day for my speed workout at the gym.

Let me just tell you, I freaking love this bra!  It was super soft right out of the box (just like my Zensah calf sleeves which I love and the same color!)  I ordered a M/L and it fit perfect and was tight enough to offer support without squeezing me to the point of no return.  After a hard 5.5 miles of sprinting, it didn't feel soaked (which says a lot because my clothes were drenched, as was the treadmill!) and there was zero chaffing!  I was so excited! 

I'm telling you ladies, if you are looking for a great bra, check out the Zensah Running Bra. I've been through my fair share of crappy sports bras trying to find something I like. It definitely lived up to the hype from the website! And the 10 color options are great for those of you with bodies that can rock no shirts! :) 

Thank you so much Marcia for the blog giveaway and thank you again to Zensah for providing me with a great product!  I can't wait to order a few more!

Chugging along

I'm chugging along.  That's kind of how I feel life is going right now.  Nothing new and exciting, but busy as ever.  I guess I shouldn't be disappointed by that should I? :)

I finally decided to break out of the "I'm going to work out every day but just do what I feel like" phase of training.  I can't complain really - January was a slightly slow month for me. February picked up a bit.  But I have a half  marathon in 26 days that I'd like to live through and then right around the corner is the REV3 Knoxville half Ironman (are you doing a REV3 race?  You should...).  Part me of keeps thinking "what the eff was I thinking signing up for a half IM in May" but I'm actually quite excited.  Now if it can just warm up enough to not have to wear 8 trillion layers just to run (and don't mention biking outside... ain't no way) I'd be happy.


I digress...

So I finally pulled out the ole' Ironman training plan (since yeah, that's in 187 days too... which means I'm officially training for that as well).  I'm actually sticking with the plan for once.  We've always followed this plan, but mainly gone by hours and miles, versus drills, heart rate, pace, goals, etc. 

Hum... sticking to a proven plant to be 100% prepared come race day?  Novel idea for a self coached athlete who wants to get better.

Today's swim was awesome:

• 300 WU
• 200 Kick
• 4x50 increasing each 50
• then something I loved 1/1, 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, 5/5, 5/5, 4/4, 3/3, 2/2, 1/1 meaning that I would swim 1 lap hard, 1 easy, 2 hard, 2 easy, etc. 
• 6x75 decreasing each 75

If it weren't for the ladies in water shoes waiting to get their groove on with the mardi-gras-masked-high-top-and-bathing-suit-wearing water aerobics instructor, I probably would have kept swimming.  I just felt good. (Those women though... freaking crack me up.  They annoyed me a little today because I wasn't quite done with my workout and they were in the water, in my lane, waiting for me to finish, with water weights (you know, the foam ones) in hand.  I got annoyed because it was only 9:15 and the class didn't start until 9:30 so I should have had to rush, but it made me swim faster so I shouldn't complain.  As soon as I was done with my laps, they swarmed the pool, bobbing up and down likes ducks in a row to warm up.  The swim instructor begged me to stay, probably because I would have been the youngest person in there by about 20 years! And although it looked like an absolute blast, let me tell you, I passed.  Oh to think of the "people of the gym" post I could have written about that.  Maybe someday...)

Came home to sun and warming temps.  This is Ohio right?  We decided to run outside.  First mile was 8:50 and we felt like we were booking it.  I didn't have my Garmin but know where the 1 mile mark is.  When we got home, we had done 5.4 miles (it's a common loop that we do and have garmined a bajillion times so I know the exact distance) in 45:30.  That means that we ended up managing 8:25's for the run.  Miles 1-5.4 were obviously very fast.  I felt great.

I'm liking this plan.  I'm going to get fast.  Or at least not die when my races come.

That's success in my books!

Spin class sightings

I've talked a little about some of my favorite people at the gym - yes, I'm there to work out, but you can't argue that people watching at the gym is BY FAR the highlight of each workout.  Spin class seems to attract the best of the best and I've written about some of them here (one of them being here) but I feel like I need to add a few more after our classes Wednesday and today.  These are classic!

 

First, the gentleman three bikes down from me and up one row.  I know you are older, but you knew enough to have bike shorts and a dri-wicking shirt on so I don't know that I can excuse this.  First you wore these:  

 

And I'm totally fine with them (although I'd never be caught dead biking in sandals, but that's just me and I won't judge you), but you then did this to those sandals:

Yikes.  That's all I can say about that.

To the guy next to me.  The music in the spin room is REALLY loud.  Like, Tom's biking next to me and I can't hear him loud.  I can only imagine how loud your iPod had to have been because you were clearly jamming to a different beat.

To the lady that walked in on Wednesday with two inch wedge leather sandals and a cardigan.  Oh boy.  First, it's winter in Ohio.  I think the high on Wednesday was close to 35 - I know, warming trend, but not THAT warm.  Obviously you felt the same because you did the whole spin class with your cardigan on. A very nice black sweater cardigan.  While I was dripping buckets, you were wrapped in your cardigan.  Maybe you were cold because while we were busting our asses on intervals, you were checking your email between each 4 minute interval.  And responding to said emails.  But I'm so glad that you got your workout in and mentioned to me that your husband has done the Ironman 3 times.  I needed to know that.

We're thinking of doing a double spin class tomorrow instead of a trainer ride at home.  I can't wait to see the characters that come out of the woodwork for that one!

Joining the ABC bandwagon

All the cool kids are doing it right???
 

A~Age: 31

B~ Bed Size: King - just got a new mattress too!

C~Chore you hate: cleaning the bathrooms. UGH

D~Dogs: two - Buddy who's 10.5 and Charlie who's almost 7.  Both are mutts and rescues. :)

E~Essential Start your Day Item: Hum... diet coke
 
F~Favorite Color: It changes... pink now.

G~Gold or Silver: Silver... or white gold.

H~Height: 5'7.5"

I~Instruments you play: None... I'm not musically gifted at all!

J~Job Title: Owner and Director or Marketing (and order processor, order filler, supply orderer, janitor, account payable, accounts receivable...)

K~Kids: None for now.  None for maybe ever.  None for a few months.  None for a few years.  :)

L~Live: Ohio... the land of gray skies.

M~Mom’s Name: Nancy

N~Nicknames: Colls, Booley

O~Overnight Hospital Stays: None!!!

P~Pet Peeve: People who are always in a hurry to get to their next place (*cough* *cough* honey)

Q~Quote from a Movie: "You have a baby... in a bar" Sweet Home Alabama

R~Right or Left Handed: Right

S~Siblings: Older sister, Kristen

T~Time you wake up: 8:30-9:00

U~Underwear: always...

V~Vegetable you Dislike: Brussel Sprouts , tomatoes

W~What Makes You Late: Kingery Standard Time... we're late for everything (although usually by only like 2-3 minutes)

X~X-rays You’ve had Done: My arm when I was little, my mouth.

Y~Yummy Food you Make: Everything I made is yummy - right Tom?  Except that one meal that you can't remember but don't want me to ever make again. :)

Z~Zoo Animal Favorite: Monkeys - we could sit and watch them all day.  Gibons, Gorillas, Chimps - they are all great!