Recovery Week, Half Marathon and Dad ... In No Particular Order

WARNING: this is LONG ...

Well, this past week was a recovery week and was fantastic! Time to train was manageable, work was pretty calm and I was able to get a few things done around the house and enjoy the week! So, I <3 recovery weeks.

On Tuesday of this past week, with my extra free time, I was able to stop by and see my Dad. You never know what you are going to get when you see him, so I always go in a little nervous. It was an average day for him, so nothing terrible, nothing fantastic (a Dad word). I do have to share this. I miss my Dad. Yes, he is still alive, but he is not really my Dad anymore. He knows me about 50% of the time and the conversations are not conversations anymore, I try, and he really wants to have them and I believe he thinks they are, but they really aren't as, in general, they make no sense. I SO miss the talks we were able to have, whether it be laughing about nothing, or having serious life conversations.

Some of my favorite memories of time with my Dad were when we were still in Cherrywood and he was still driving. He would call mid afternoon and ask if he could come over. "Absolutely" was always my response. I knew what was coming next. He would generally arrive in about 45 minutes, with about the same mix of stuff in his hands. A case of beer for Brendon, a bag of random food from Copps usually containing, fried chicken, "nice ham" as he called it, some jello thing with fruit in it, a crab salad and fruit snacks for the kids. Lastly, he would almost always hand me a $20 dollar bill. Funny combination, but always predictable. Then we would proceed to sit and talk and talk until it was about 4:30. That tme was his magic alarm for him to go home. He didn't feel comfortable driving at rush hour. God, I miss those days. Sometimes, a girl just needs her Dad, you know??

Back to why you are all here reading ... Training. Well, on Saturday, I had my first race of the season. The Wisconsin Half Marathon in Kenosha, WI. I have been working really hard to prepare for this race and was ready to go. Got up at the pre-buttcrack of dawn to meet Alison and Ann to make the trip to Kenosha (I am attaching a beautiful sunrise picture from our drive - and no, I was not driving when I took the picture). When we got the the race, we went our separate ways, agreeing to meet after the race was over. My plan was to meet Terri (one of my dearest friends EVER) and her husband Clint to run together. We had a plan. The one thing always consistent with my plan ... I run every race in honor of a cancer survivor. Yesterday was for Ann Melton. I have never officially met her, but another friend of mine Jan connected us and we have talked several times. She is going thru treatment for breast cancer, actually the same treatment that I received, so there is a definite connection there. And, besides that, she rocks!!!!

So, the race starts at 7:00am sharp and we all take off. Up ahead we see a friend running and thought it would be a good idea to catch up ... Hmmmm, maybe not the best idea. Said hello and let them go on their way. Terri, Clint and I, well, Clint slowed down ... We did not for a little bit. All was going well. At about mile 4, Clint veered off for a minute and caught us in a little bit. At about mile 5ish, Terri took her turn to veer off and said she would catch up with us. We were in track to crack a 2 hour half marathon. Something I have been unable to do in the past.

Clint and I were on track and feeling good ... Then mile 9 came ... I was beat and it was going to be close. Clint kept talking to me as I was unable to at this point. At mile 10, he said we needed to step it up a bit ... I think at mile 11, he was running backwards as he was feeling great and this was completely aerobic for him, while me ... I was in definite zone 4, almost threshold running. The two guys next to me said, "What is he doing?" My response, "He is trying to get me to go faster." I appreciated it, although I was not showing him ANY love at that moment. In fact, he was getting some pretty interesting choice words from me ;-). Mile 12, he continued to encourage me in his own way and I literally gave it ALL I HAD for that last 1.1, well 1.2 miles, as the course was a little long). When I saw the 13.1 on my garmin, I saw the 1:59 and change ... Where was the finish line. Apparently about a minute away...I pushed as hard as I could and crossed the finish line with a time of 2:00:35. I have to say, I was ecstatic!!! I gave it everything I had and although I did not finish the race in less than 2 hours, I ran a half marathon in 1:59 and change :-).

So proud and so happy!!!! Thankful that Terri and Clint were there and believed in me that morning. Thanks to Clint who pushed me ... although I did not really enjoy him at the time, i am so grateful for him now. I was so glad that when I saw Alison, she said ... "Go, go, go!" So happy that my husband and friends believed in me and helped me train for the race. So happy that my coach gave me the tools to be able to do what I did yesterday. I not only PR'ed (personal record) my half marathon time by over 2 minutes, but I PR'ed this particular course by 14 minutes!!!!! That was huge!!!!!! Thinking and hoping with continued hard work, that my Ironman day will be a good one too :-). It is now 18 weeks away!!!

This week, I am back to the reality of getting up a little before 4:00am to swim, really start to work on my biking as there are some longer rides than I have been used to on deck (no one appreciated my joke when Blake told us we'd all be tired as I said, "Tired?!?! I'm out ;-). ), the running is about the same, so that is good, but man, am I SORE!!!! Not sure how my recovery run will happen tomorrow, but it will. I am hoping my friend Scott will join me to make it less painful.

So, let the true Ironman training begin ... Not that it didn't before, but I wanted to focus on the half marathon ... Now that that is done, it is all triathlon from here on out!!!!!

I hope you have all been able to get out to enjoy this incredible day and hope you all have a fabulous week! And remember, life is good. Enjoy it, love it and be kind to one another!!! Until next Sunday!!!