Thankful

I am most thankful for her
God certainly blessed me

My Princess, My Lola.

She makes me smile daily. 

(the apple did not fall far from the tree, did it?!)

I am thankful for family and friends, near and far!

I am thankful I get to do this

Life is not about THINGS.

It's about moments, 

the people you love, 

finding joy & being happy

DO not-for a minute-dwell on what you do not have. Instead, take a moment to think of all you DO have. 

Happy Thanksgiving 

An AG Championship Series with Rev3!!

Where is time going the last couple weeks!!
Craziness I tell ya...one of the crazy-awesome things that got released this week--

So did you hear about the Rev 3 Age Group Championship Series that is being launched for the 2013 season? I am SO flippin' excited for this!!

New for our 2013 race season will be Rev3′s Age Group Race Series. This series will provide our Rev3 athletes an opportunity to race against the best age groupers in the country in a season finale, championship Rev3 race. The series will also include Clydesdale and Athena divisions. Our inaugural Rev3 Championship Race will be Rev3 Knoxville Half in 2014. Rev3 races of the Olympic, Half and Full distances will serve as qualification races for the championship race.

In addition, Rev3 will have an age group leader board on our website. We will do weekly stories on age groupers competing in the series and we will provide links to these athletes social media pages and blogs. Lastly, we will highlight the age group championship race with a video, the same way we do the pro races! Not only will age group winners be able to compete in the super-competitive series championship race, first, second, and third place winners will be awarded cash prizes. Prizes from our Rev3 sponsors will also be awarded to our fourth and fifth place winners in each age group, to include Clydesdale and Athena athletes.

Beginning this race season, Knoxville 2013, Rev3 age group athletes will start accumulating points. Take a look at some of the series specifics below:

1. Races of Olympic, Half and Full distances for 2013 will serve as a qualifying opportunity for the 2014 championship race.
2. The distance for the championship race, will be the Half at Knoxville and it is mandatory to compete in if you want to win your age group in our series.
3. You will have to compete at a minimum of 2 Rev3 races (Olympic, Half or Full distance events). You can race multiple events, but we will only count your best 2 races.
4. A cross country scoring format will be used. 1st place is 1 point, 2nd place is 2 points and on down the line. So the lower point total you have at the end of the 2013 race year, the better.
5. We will have a limited number of slots per age group, based off the % of athletes that raced with us in 2012 (TBD still). So, the Male 30-34 will probably have more spots then the male 60-64, as more athletes race in the 30-34 category.
6. Tie breakers for the series will be determined by the lowest overall percentage to the winning time of your age group in the 2 races that were used to qualify for the championship event.

We will be offering the following slots for our age group championship race:

Age	Male	Female
- 19  20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39  40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60 +  Clydesdale/Athena	6 12 25 39 37 35 23 14 8 6 10	6 13 15 21 20 19 13 9 6 6 8

As the nitty gritty details become known, we will be posting them to the Age Group Series link on our website. In addition to the new series, we will be offering the ALL ACCESS PASS once again. The pass will be available through the month of November, at which time we will discontinue sales for the remainder of 2013.

It should also be noted that Rev3 will be working closely with USAT to determine the best course of action in regards to age group drug testing at our races.  As more information becomes available, we will share it on our website, but please know that we WILL be testing age group athletes.

Age group athletes your opportunity is here. We are excited to serve YOU.

Revol-U-tion3 Triathlon. The revolution begins with U!

I know I have TONS of super-fast-friends who will absolutely have a blast with this series!!

As a member of the Rev 3 Team, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the series!!
Tell me what you think!

ABtastic!

This getting up at 2am business is starting to get old...and least I can embrace the quiet time and get stuff done. RIGHT??

I think I have had an epiphany about it though. Not only is it the time change having an impact in my internal clock but I am not training the amount of hours and putting the miles on my body like I was just a few weeks ago so my body does not require that much sleep. Maybe?
Seems like a good theory to me!

I am really happy to be back in the weight room (yes,  I am saying it again!) and cleaning  up the diet is having quick effects! My hands are starting to get calloused again (no gloves for me!) and "The Vein" is making an appearance again! 

While most of October was focused on running and planning for the marathon, I was easing into some circuit training and doing my own classes again (something I avoided during tri season). There is also this little Rev3 Abtastic Challenge I am doing with some of my Rev3 team mates and I have to be rocking a killer 6-pack for Knoxville (in May 2013) but I also have this little 200 mile run to complete in January.

So here is a peek of how things are progressing:

SEPTEMBER: my starting point. I was not happy with how "soft" I had become without weight training.

OCTOBER: dropped a bit of belly fat and starting to get back to a learner mid-section. Obliques and that lower V are starting to come around again...

NOVEMBER: (this week, so mid-November) two solid weeks of clean eating and lifting heavier than I have been. Throw in some high intensity circuit training and running/biking and we are finally seeing progress!

Seeing how my body has responded with and without weight training over for the last two seasons was an eye opener and I will work to KEEP it part of my regime next season. 

I have been asked many times about my tummy (considering what it used to look like). 

Yes, being fat heavy and carrying Lola to an astounding 42 weeks of pregnancy took it toll on my body, but luckily genetics are on my side with this one. I don't have any stretch marks on my belly from either life event...but neither did my Mother.

I also contribute it to my weight loss being slow and healthy. I was losing the weight slowly, I was eating nutritious foods and I drank a TON of water. I think this certainly played a role. 

I am also asked often HOW to get a lean belly.

You can crunch away until the cows come home but that is not going to do a thing for you if there is a soft layer of fat covering up those abs! So how do you get a lean midsection?

EAT CLEAN!

There is a little saying "Abs are made in the kitchen" 

What you eat and how you eat plays a huge role in this. Eating clean simply means eating REAL food. Ditch the processed stuff, get rid of the sugar- and sodium- filled foods. Alcohol needs to go too...look to eat lean proteins, lots of veggies (green ones!), fiber rich complex carbs and water, water, water! 

CARDIO!

and while nutrition is 80% of the battle, you need to add in cardio (I love HIIT drills in conjunction with steady state cardio). Cardio is going to help rid the body of some of that fat and water covering up those abs! Core stabilizing cardio activities like kickboxing are a great way to have fun AND work your body!

CORE!

you need the above two along with CORE specific training. You need to target the upper, lower and sides of your core. Twisting crunches, bicycle crunches, hanging leg raises, planks...

I also like to incorporate compound exercises that force the core to work-a favorite being walking lunges holding a weight overhead and my all time favorite body-blasting exercise-

BURPEES!! (cardio blast-core engaging, upper body!)

So with less than two months until the Ragar Relay in Florida with my FFtFL crew and Knoxville a good 6 months from now, I've got a lot of work to do to get HERE...

So with that, I am off to work my abs at AnneMarie's Core Class and then I'll do some running and lifting. Getting up at 2am has it's benefits...I'll be ready to rock and roll at 5am.

What is your favorite CORE exercise?

Adventures!

A tree recently downed by Sandy

I am thoroughly enjoying my little off-season break from any scheduled training. I have a general idea of WHAT I am doing on a certain day but there are no scheduled workouts, no yardage to hit in the pool, no HR intervals on the bike and no track-tasticness to tackle. That will be here soon enough!

I've been hitting up the weight and I am pleased with how quickly my body is responding to getting back into the gym. I really did miss weight training this past season and definitely feel that this needs to stay in my training regime this season.

I'm now teaching another group exercise class and the Y on Thursdays (awesome!) so I had a killer set planned for Thursday and then I have my normal bootcamp class on Friday morning. I have been actually DOING my classes (wow! work!!) so between Thursday, Friday, running and some additional workouts I was doing, my lower body was WORKED. My shoulders and core were that sublime sore that is a gentle reminder of how hard you worked.

I have been loving running and have been getting in at least 3 miles every day for the last week or so...Saturday morning, I hit up the TM at the house early for a quick run. It was one of those runs where the first 10 mins was a little rough and sore but then my body responded and I felt fantastic. Happy. I could feel every muscle in my body and I was just enjoying the feeling of the run.

Then I got for out a "naked" bike ride for a couple hours. It was a bit chilly but it was so nice to out and just riding with no plan, no agenda, no destination and no Garmin. JUST GO and enjoy the day.

Sunday I hit up some trails and just ran, had fun and was my dorky self--Enjoying every minute of it. I don't know why I don't do this more!!

I was seriously contemplating taking a swim...there was this little waterfall then lead into a somewhat shallow pool at the bottom. Maybe in warmer temps...

There were all kinds of trails all color coded so it made it pretty easy to follow. I never once thought about getting lost-except the HOPE of getting lost! I could have stayed out there all day, running around and playing.

This was the "pink trail" and we had a lively conversation about what the colors stood for. Was the "black trail" black like a black diamond trail skiing? My running buddy has his own idea of what the pink trail was for...PANSIES! (not his exact words for the pink trail...lol)

Showing that tree some of my sweet moves!

It has been my intention all along heading into the off season to get onto the trails running and to get some mountain biking in. I tend to avoid these kinds of activities during big training cycles and near races since I fear injury (my middle name is NOT Grace).

Rev 3 has an adventure race series and this year they are doing this pretty epic race in Wyoming. The Cowboy Tough Expedition Race in July. It is a four day race covering 320 to 485 miles.
*drool*
So.Want.To.Do.THIS.

So maybe I have a tiny bit of motivation to get out there and get a little more adventure into my life. Now to learn orienteering...

Five Things Friday

Five Things Friday...total and absolute random things I am thinking about today.

1-Lola was watching a cartoon the other day when this commercial came on. My first thought is this a joke. My internal conversation was interrupted by Lola's squeals of delight Mommy can you get me that? Of course Lola, of course...I mean look how happy THIS little gal is to play with some fake dog doo.

source

2-It's been about two weeks into the triathlon "off season" for me and it's been nice to just do what I want with no schedule to follow. I've changed up my diet and been hitting the weights. Lots of running, short runs though. My body is responding quickly and I am happy to be putting some muscle back on even if I did lose a lot of strength over the last season.

It's my goal to be rockin' a killer 6 (or 4) pack for Ragnar in January and of course, there is the little Abtastic Rev3 challenge I've got to be ready for in time for Knoxville in Spring.

3-Speaking of Ragnar...this whole adventure is less than 2 months away and it blows my mind that it is almost here already. I cannot wait to finally meet everyone face to face. This is going to be such an amazing experience.
As for costumes, I have a vision of what I want to wear...it'll all come together soon! Now to find the perfect ammo belt!


4-Speaking of bullets...I'd like to lay a few into this sleep schedule of mine. Now, I am up early early as it is--3am--since I need to ready to rock n roll to teach boot camp at 5am, but with this time change I've been getting up every day at 2:00 am. I mean, really...COME ON! I think I am going to stay up really late one night this weekend just to try to reset my body clock. Ever the optimist though, I have been using that quiet time alone to get work done and be productive.
HAS THE TIME CHANGE EFFECTED YOU?

5-Sunday is Veteran's Day. Make sure you take the time to thank a veteran for their service to our country. You were able to vote on Tuesday because of them. You are able to complain/celebrate the results because of them.



I am planning my own little long run on Sunday and will be honoring those who are no longer with us. Running and triathlon has brought so many amazing people into my life, people like Bob and Nancy Kelly. So on Sunday, I will especially be thinking of Nancy & Bob Kelly, and Captain Christopher Cash, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2004.

 

Running Through History

I was a very good student in school and while I did the work required for each class through my years of schooling, history was never one of those classes I got excited about. But now that I am older and so much wiser (ha ha), I have a much deeper appreciation for history. It could be that a certain teacher in high school scarred me for life with an essay project on the subjects listed in the song We Didn't Start the Fire, but I digress...

My new-found interest in history all started many years ago with a simple television show called Band of Brothers, the story of Easy Company and their battles in World War II Europe. I was just fascinated with the stories and started reading about WWII and found myself watching old WWII movies like Patton, Bridge on the River Kwai along with modern day tales like Inglorious Basterds.

Then I moved into a Civil War phase and it only deepened my interest in my own personal family history with the Civil War. My great x howmany grandfather and his brother were prisoners of war at Andersonville Prison (Camp Sumter) in Georgia. Both are buried in the Andersonville Prison Cemetery. What makes this story even more interesting is that of all of the graves in Andersonville Prison, there is one grave that differs from the rest-nearly 13,00 graves-and that would be the head stone of my ancestor, Corporal Lewis S. Tuttle, who died as a POW on November 30, 1864 . There is a white marble dove atop his marker and no one has ever solved the mystery as to WHY there is a dove. 

This is a picture of the dove and head stone, photo from NPS.gov

A couple years ago my parents made the trip down South and to visit Andersonville along with other historic Civil War sites through out the South.

This summer the mini-series Hatfields & McCoys came out on History Channel. I don't watch much television but being the geek I am, I watch several shows from THC and Discovery. When I saw the previews for this, I knew it was going to be DVR'd! I was familiar with the basic story about the decades long battle between the two families-the Hatfield and McCoy clans- that almost sparked a civil war between Kentucky and West Virginia. 

The movie was excellent and the story did not disappoint. I've actually watched this series two or three times. These people were flippin' crazy with hate for one another and I found myself reading about these batshitcrazy folks when I discovered there was an actual

HATFIELD & MCCOY MARATHON

...are you kidding me? I had to take out the list immediately and add this race to the "The List". This year it was run on June 9th and there is no date listed yet for 2013. If the 2012 date is any indication to when it is run, it will most likely be around the same time which is just after Quassy. How much punishment am I willing to put myself through? Quassy and then a marathon. In Kentucky and West Virginia?

A SHOTGUN start in the middle of the Food Mart parking lot? yes, please!

(here's a little video of Jeremy doing his first half marathon at the H&MM, pretty funny)

oh, wait. You mean, it gets even better than that?

Yes, it does. My friend Connolly sent me this link the the World's 15 Toughest Marathons. 

Well that pretty much sealed the deal and you can bet that THIS Yankee will be bringin' her butt down south to run this in the near future!

Another gem on there is the Blue Ridge Marathon (also on said list). Check it out.

Is there a Marathon there that you want to do someday?

Have you done any of the Marathons listed?
Is there an interesting race on your "list" of must do's?

Let's hear it!