I Am Going To Tri

Yes I am going to attempt to complete my first triathlon this summer.  It's a sprint distance triathlon so hopefully it will be manageable.  I am nervous about the swim and the bike.  So basically I'm only comfortable about running a 5K.  So when Chris from OC Tri Running started talking about putting together a swimming group to prepare for triathlons, I was all about it.  My first swimming session was a disaster.  I really thought I was a much better swimmer than that!  I couldn't get the breathing right, the stroke felt awkward and I was really slow. 

Last night was our third session of swimming.  I have definitely made a lot of progress from that first session.  Coach Kelly is awesome and really helps us out a lot.  She told me that my biggest problem is that I don't put my head down far enough.  I'm working on getting better at that.  She also told me that I have a gorgeous stroke!  YAY!  So I'm not as bad as I thought I was the first session.

Now I have to find a bike...that's kind of important in a triathlon.  I have a dear friend named Abby who lives in Columbia MD.  She does all sorts of "crazy" races like ultra marathons, triathlons and the Bay Bridge swim.  I go to her often with questions and concerns about running and training.  I emailed her last year with one sentence:  To Half or Not to Half.  She knew exactly what I meant and of course she encouraged me to do the Half!  She has always told me that she's afraid of the bike because she doesn't like to go downhill.  The more I think about it, the more I agree with her!  That's kind of scary.  So the triathlon I picked as my target was a sprint distance and the bike course was clearly marked as a flat course.  We shall see how flat it really is!  And as with any new type of race, my goal is first to complete it.  The second one will be for time!

Yay Kate!

I love running with my running group!  They are wonderful people and so much fun to run with.  We have a range of abilities...some who run REALLY fast and some who walk.  Most of us fall in the middle somewhere.  Here is a before shot...everyone is shivering a bit...it was early and cold...probably 27 degrees.

Left to right...Laura, Barry, Colleen, Keith, Lisa, Mo, Pat, Michelle, and Kate.


Kate and I met a year ago.  We ran the same pace and she became my running buddy.  She and I trained for and ran the Ocean City half marathon together.  Here we are still smiling at about mile 10. 

Over the summer she moved to Annapolis but she visits every now and then.  Every time I show up for a Saturday run and see Kate, I do a little Yay Kate dance.  I don't know if anyone really understands why I get so excited about seeing Kate.  Sure I think she's an awesome person and I love catching up with her.  But the real reason I do a Kate dance is that she reminds me of who I was when I started this journey.  I was determined to complete a half marathon but I had no idea how to achieve that goal. I'm a much stronger runner today.  I'm a much stronger person today. But it's kind of nice every now and then to look back and remember.  So thanks Kate for showing up today and reminding me of me.

Kate has been running and it shows...she definitely killed it!  Colleen and I ran 6.14 miles in 1:04 (10:35 pace).  Not a bad effort considering it was the longest I've run since November.  I was pleased at how easily I was able to cover the distance.  Today was a good running day!

What's In A Name?

So I called this blog "As The Ponytail Bounces".  You might be wondering why...well I have a lot of hair...A LOT OF HAIR!  It's thick, there's a ton of it and I break every other ponytail holder I try to tie my hair back with.  When I run, my hair bounces. 

I never realized exactly how much it bounces until my husband took some photos of me during the running group's track workout one day.  My hair was crazy!  I'm the one in the dark pink shirt in case the ponytail didn't give it away!

Colleen always used to tell me that in a race she would just look for my ponytail up ahead of her (that's her in the white tank top..Barry is in front, Katherine is next to me).  I couldn't understand how she could always pick me out...until I saw the photos of my crazy hair bouncing around like that. 

So I guess a crazy bouncing ponytail is kind of my trademark.  For some races I have braided my hair to try to keep it from being so out of control, but people say they have a hard time finding me.  So I suppose I will keep the ponytail and let it bounce as it may!

Tomorrow the running group is meeting at 7:30 am and the goal is to run 6 miles.  Considering I am way behind on my mileage, this will probably be a big challenge for me!  Run recap tomorrow!

Welcome!

Welcome to the first post!  I am writing this blog mostly for myself so I can document my progress but if along the way someone can get something out of it, that's a bonus!  I love setting goals for myself and tracking my progress.  But one of the other things I LOVE about running is watching other people accomplish their goals!  In this blog I will talk about my running buddies and their goals too.  I always do much better when I'm cheering for someone else.  So I hope you enjoy my celebrations of my own accomplishments as well as the accomplishments of my friends.

So let me introduce you to the base crew.  Colleen is a friend who I met at Live Long Fitness.  We became close through tons of squats, lunges, wall balls and sprints at 6 am.  She kind of reluctantly joined the running group, although she said she didn't run in the cold (she does now) and she said she didn't run long distances (she does that too)!  I was so honored to run a 10 mile race with her and help her get through her longest run ever.  I realized how much I loved encouraging her to do her best!  Barry is another of the 6 am workout buddies.  He is a machine and is just now realizing how strong and fast he can be.  He has signed up for the Tough Mudder in April and I can't wait to see him muscle through those challenges!  Lisa is the owner of Live Long Fitness and has run just about every distance race.  She has been a huge help to me in developing training plans, coaching me and calming me down when I get the pre-race freak outs.  Chris is the owner of OC Tri Running.  He has done the Ironman races and is such a wealth of information on training!  I have set a goal of completing a sprint triathlon this summer and I am leaning on Chris for a great deal of advice.

My next race is a 10 miler on March 6th.  Since I haven't run anything more than 4 miles since November, I'm a little nervous about it.  Colleen, Barry, Lisa and I talked about our training plans this morning and I feel much more comfortable about the plans for the 10 miler.  Last year I ran the race completely unprepared and I don't ever want to run a race like that again!  We will see how my long run goes on Saturday.