I Love the Tavern Triathlon

I've got to work on updating my blog more often but so many other things come up that take priority. For starters, work has been super busy. I'm studying to become a PMP this year and OPEX Blue Belt certified. It's hard work but I absolutely love it. I just hope I do well and learn a lot.

On a personal note, I'm all moved in, and just got back from a wonderful family vacation down in Ft. Myers, Florida. John and I flew down last Wednesday thru Tuesday to celebrate the long holiday weekend. We read a lot, went on morning runs, played tennis at the club, went on the boat, went to the club pool, and enjoyed many tropical drinks and incredible seafood. It was a blast and very relaxing. I didn't bring my work laptop and for the first time, I was somewhat disconnected from work-hurray!

On the fitness front... I successfully completed my first open water triathlon 2 weeks ago! I was great. I loved the open water swim in the James River. The water temp was 83 degrees and outside it was only 66 by the time the race started at 7am. You could see the steam on the surface of the river just before the race. This year they reduced the swim distance to 400 meters but extended the bike to 18.5 miles. Fine by me since my swimming isn't all that great. In fact, I'm pretty bad. The bike ride was beautiful... Mostly country road with farms and animals; plenty of hills and one gigantic hill at the turn-around point that honestly took my breath away. I thought I was going to have to walk my bike up the hill because I was pedaling so slow - but I made it!

The run was a trail run thank god. I love trail running so as soon as I hit the 5k, I was in heaven. And by heaven I mean I couldn't feel my legs at all, but I somehow managed to grit through it. When I came out of the woods and saw the finish line, I was happy as a lark. Or insane from exhaustion as you can see I'm smiling like crazy in my running photo. All in all, it was a great race and I can't wait to do it again next year. The atmosphere is friendly and casual, with lots of athletes from all levels. I felt very comfortable and welcomed. I highly recommend this race to anyone!

The wishbone wasn't the only broken bone on Thanksgiving

I broke my arm on Thanksgiving. Yep I sure did. I was trail running with my boyfriend on our favorite run down Riverside Drive. Usually I'm the careful one, watching every rock, every tree root and every steep hill. I even commented on the all the leaves on the ground the day before and to be careful when I took my friend on the trail for her first time. But I did it. The one time I trip over a tree root, I fall so hard on my right elbow that it fractured the radial head. I honestly felt like it snapped in half. John had to wave down a car to give us a ride home. My knee was bleeding, and I couldn't move my arm. John was insistent on going to the ER but I couldn't do it. Not on Thanksgiving. I managed to take a shower and get dressed on my own. We arrived at my parent's house only to have my dad, a cardiologist, assess the damage. He wrapped my elbow in an ace bandage and gave me a script for an x-ray the next morning at his hospital.

The next morning I woke up in horrendous pain. My right arm was completely swollen and throbbing. It was almost 3am and so I decided I might as well venture out for Black Friday shopping. My best friend Brian and I go every year. It's tradition. We hit up Target, Wallmart and sometimes Best Buy, always focusing on electronics first. This year John and I decided to get a flat screen TV since our 20" Memorex tube TV with a constant ringing noise wasn't cutting it. We aren't big TV people, but we do love a good movie, sports and the news from time to time.

Brian took care of everything for me since I couldn't move my arm. He helped load the car, push the cart, pick up all the items I wanted and even put my car in gear for me when we hit the road. I dropped him off at 7am, came home, unloaded everything for John to set up, and hit the road

again for my 8:30am x-ray. When the radiology tech took off my ace bandage and asked me to move my elbow so he could take the appropriate shots, tears streamed down my face and I couldn't hold them back. It was so painful I could barely breath. The radiologist took a look at my x-rays and gave me the bad news. They put me in a sling and called around to schedule an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon. Eventually I got one and by that afternoon, I was in my split and sling, gimped up and ready to go.

So depressing. Why me?! I have to do everything with my left hand, I can't run for 2 weeks

at least, and the pain sucks. But I'll survive. I went to the gym this morning, 2 days after my break. It felt great to get some cardio done. I hit up the bike, elliptical, and stair climber, trying to at least get my heart rate up and sweat going. It worked. I'll get back to running soon enough. I have a marathon to train for! I will not be able to run the Kiawah Half Marathon though. I'm so bummed. There goes 100 bucks and an incredible vacation to Charleston, SC. Plus, I was unable to go to Abingdon with John to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family. I can't wait for this all to go away!

However, despite the set-backs and pain, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at my parent's house. My brother-in-law cooked an amazing turkey in his turkey fryer outside. It was delicious. I'll keep everyone posted in the meantime on my broken arm. In 2 weeks, I'll be back and running in no time!

Mayor of Buttermilk Trail

Since I just won the mayorship of the Buttermilk Trail yesterday on foursquare (#nerd), I thought I'd share two of my latest and greatest hobbies that I picked up over the summer.

I've always been a treadmill runner. When I first started running, I'd focus on endurance and

consistent speed as I trained my body to run longer and faster. Now I know

exactly when my muscles will start to fatigue based on various speeds and times without even looking down at the stats on my machine. I'm perfectly comfortable staring at the same crack in the brick wall in front of my treadmill for a full 5 miles and not even think twice about it. I actually enjoy it. It's a chance to blank out my mind, forget about everything and just run blindly. I don't even enjoy people watching, imagine that!

But recently I've picked up a new hobby. Trail Running. At first, it was awkward. Tripping over tree roots and rocks, unstable ankles as I try to "run" down steep hills and then squat-run up-hill while my hamstrings scream in agony and my heart rate shoots to an all-time high. I didn't realize that trail running would be absolutely NOTHING like treadmill running. My first time on a trail was Buttermilk back in April. Buttermilk will always be my favorite I think. It was such a rush to run through the woods and along Belle Isle, leaping over boulders and avoiding tree limps along the path. My first thought was the movie Avatar and every time I run I still think about that damn movie.

So now I've had the opportunity to try other trail runs and they all are different in their own special way. Like Powhite Park. That place has a huge half pipe that I never thought I'd run through but I did it, screaming the whole way. Forest Hill Park has an incredible view of a man-made lake at the bottom of the trail, followed by the steepest hill I've ever had to climb. Although most of the time I feel like I'm going to throw up after this up-hill sprint, after that sensation goes away, the feeling of accomplishment eventually kicks in (after sucking in all the air I possibly can into my lungs while I recover).

I recently traveled to Abingdon, Virginia where I got to pursue my other new hobby of mountain/road biking. I'm not good at it, but with few months (or years) of practice I hope to actually keep

up with my other bike friends and not be scared of bridges anymore (Yes, a certain someone thought it was a good idea to bike across the Huguenot Bridge as my first ride on my new road bike...). My first time in Abingdon was nothing short of amazing. After a tour of the town, we stopped by the Farmer's Market to pick up fresh goat cheese, braised ground pork, dark chocolate fudge (made out of goat cheese), and marmalade to bring home to my Mom (she loves that kind of stuff).

After the Farmer's Market and our 4th or 5th cup of coffee of the day, we headed over to a bike rental store along Creeper Trail and rented our mountain bikes. We hit the trail and enjoyed the ride. Creeper Trail is absolutely gorgeous. I've never seen views like this in Virginia. Who knew this kind of scenery was right in our backyards? The trail went through rough roads, long wooden bridges over small waterfalls, and stretches of grass where cows dined as we passed by. We got about 9 miles out, just 7 miles shy of the town of Damascus before the sky fell on us. We were already covered in rain and mud, but turned back anyway to enjoy a chili dog at the Old Alvarado Station for lunch (about half way along the trail between Abingdon and Damascus) and watched the rain fall.

As soon as the rain lightened up, we hit the trail home, trying to beat out other riders and runners as we raced to the end. It was quite the experience despite the soreness in my butt and legs. I was looking forward to a long hot shower and maybe another cup of coffee. Or a beer.

The rest of the trip was fantastic, but that'll be another story since I wanted this post to be about my new outdoor adventures in running and biking. Trail running has transformed the way I look at my normal fitness routine. It's definitely opened up a new door of opportunities and fun. I don't think of it as exercise at all even though I reap the benefits of just that. As a result of picking up new activities, I'm training for my first triathlon and hope these adventures will help with my training. I'm also somewhat of a chicken and these adventures have made me a little less fearful, which could be a good thing or a bad thing. We shall see!