Abigail's a Hammerhead

Abigail started swim lessons the spring of 2010, around 15mo old. We did basic lessons that summer and the following year. In January 2011, another swim establishment offered a deal too good to pass and Abigail started swimming there after she turned 3. In the beginning there was a lot of "tough love" but we decided swimming was/is a life skill and she needed to learn regardless of the tears occasionally shed. Secretly, I was thrilled not to be the bad guy in the water. After a good few lessons, she started to trust her swim coach more and really enjoy herself. Since Abigail wasn't in pre-school and I wasn't working, we had the luxury of attending more lessons throughout the week. She swam 3-5 times a week for almost two years. Over that time frame, she continued to progress in her swimming and continued to love it.

This year we decided to let Abigail try a summer swim team. We know lots of families who swim with this team or have swam with the team in the past, so we should be in for a good season. Abigail was thrilled she would be swimming again. Between my work schedule, her preschool schedule and this pregnancy it was a bit difficult coordinating activities for Abigail. September 2013 was her last month of lessons. Abigail was so cute at her first swim team practice, so anxious! She eagerly listened to all the high school coaches introduce themselves and listed pool rules like no running on the pool deck, no walking in flippers, no one in the water if a lifeguard isn't present. As you can see in the photo, other kids weren't nearly as interested or anxious! Swim team practice takes place Monday through Friday at 8am.

Abigail's first team suit!

To help volunteers keep track of the kids throughout the meets, we write on our swimmers. Their name and age go on their right shoulder blade. On their arm or leg we write the details of the events they are swimming. The 5-6yo girls events are 11, 23 and 45. Event 11 is individual freestyle, Event 23 is the freestyle relay and Event 45 is the individual backstroke.

Abigail ready to swim her first relay race; she is the second swimmer of the relay.

Abigail and Annabelle

Abigail really enjoyed her first year as a Smyrna Shark. It was fun watching her improve throughout the month and we look forward to her swimming again next year.

Training Recap: July Week 3

It's now Thursday/Friday, ideally my weekly recaps would post on Sunday or Monday immediately when a week is finished. This rarely happens. There's no one specific reason, life happens. We go to church Sunday mornings and usually get together with our community group in the afternoon or evenings. It's a major plus if I'm able to squeeze in some sort of a run. So as much as I really enjoy my recaps, I'm happy if I get something posted regardless of when.

Monday

My morning started off fairly lazy, including re-entering my application into the Starbucks online system. I was feeling defeated because this was application #3. The most convenient location to me was over staffed and after a couple interviews with another location, our schedules weren't lining up. Sigh.

Abigail and I were finally getting out of the house when I realized I had numerous text messages from Linzie telling me INKnBURN announced their Ambassadors and I made it! I was confused, in a bit of denial, and while I did apply to be a brand ambassador I really was not expecting to land a spot! I am crazy excited and look forward to representing INKnBURN.

I was so excited I threw on a pair of INKnBURN shorts and went to the gym to ran 6mi on the treadmill. As an InB Ambassador I will be getting a discount code to share with my friends and family! I hope you'll go window shopping so you'll have an idea of what you'll try first. :)

Tuesday

My morning started bright and early as I dropped Brewer off for a temperament test at a local Doggie Daycare. It was a peaceful morning without him, he's usually jumping and biting me as I check email or try to drink my coffee when it's hot. When Abigail and I picked him up 4hrs later he was worn out, and he received a good review so he'll be going back in future weeks!

Abigail had her usual swim and dance classes scheduled. She actually informed me she would no longer like to take dance, wanting "only gymnastics". I have to admit, it broke my heart a little. She seems to have so much fun in her class her teacher, Miss Ashley, couldn't be more wonderful too. I headed to the gym after where I was able to get in a quick 3mi run before the CORE class. 

Wednesday

Pictures posted from the Summer Steamer 10K and I was super excited to discover a race photo good enough to share and purchase! Finally. Training wise, I took a rest day since hadn't taken one since the Thursday before. My runs are feeling great, and I love that my speed is improving. It's honestly not about speed, I just appreciate the fact that it's not taking me as long to run certain mileage. This leaves more time for cross training (especially when I'm limited to 2hr time limits with Abigail in gym childcare) or just being able to get more in a day because running doesn't consume every waking hour.

Thursday

Abigail's swim coach peaked my interest on Tuesday mentioning he uses the stairs outside the building for a workout. So I "delivered" Abigail to class then headed outside to run some stairs. I ran a loop through the parking lot, up and down the stairs, then repeated x5. Goodness gracious, this was tough! Probably due to the extreme heat and there is absolutely NO shade. I lasted a measly 11mins in the heat. I seriously considered diving head first straight into the pool after I was finished. If I had a change of clothes and an extra towel I would have, otherwise I would have been even more of a wreck taking Abigail to her gymnastics class after swim!

Later that evening, I went to the gym and had an awful time trying to run on the treadmill. My shins were bothering me a bit, which was completely new to me. I felt like a quitter, but I called it a day and headed home early. I am hoping my five laps up/down the stairs worked different leg muscles and needed rest instead of also running same day. 

Friday
I took Abigail to a local indoor "playground" of sorts to play with some friends in the morning. She was able to jump and run around and I was able to catch up a bit with another mom friend. Later we had to run around town a bit to drop off a few things and since they were going to be quick errands, we decided to bring Brewer along.

Brewer wears a harness I can loop the seatbelt through, and it really helps keep him contained when I'm driving. We rode with the windows open, which Abigail and Brewer both enjoy. On our way home, we picked up a pizza since Abs and I would be solo for dinner as Matt was meeting his softball team at a local brewery for beers. Knowing what was in store for my back to back run weekend, this was a nice rest day from training.

Saturday
I decided to take Brewer to a local trail to attempt a 5mi loop with me. He normally runs with me through the neighborhood so getting off the pavement would be a pleasant change of scenery. The trail was absolutely beautiful! The paths were different widths in different areas but were all well kept, some with mulch or hay. The first portion of the trail crossed over a creek numerous times so I let Brewer walk through and drink from it. There were also a couple of water fountains on the trail. Somehow I took a wrong turn and our 5mi loop ended up closer to 8mi. We didn't run the whole thing, since the there were hillier portions we ran, walked, hiked. It was great but Brewer needed to cool off when we got home!

Sunday
After church I headed to the Silver Comet Trail for my long run. My training plan called for 15 miles. Now if you're familiar with my race schedule (always posted on the right side column of this blog), you might think back to back runs (a 5mi and a 15mi) might be longer than necessary since Dopey isn't until January.

Have I mentioned yet I have a Goofy weekend in October scheduled? For those of you not aware, runDisney's Goofy Challenge is held during Walt Disney World's Marathon Weekend in January and the challenge is finishing BOTH the Half Marathon on Saturday and the Full Marathon on Sunday. The last weekend in October, I will be running a Goofy weekend here in Atlanta! While this is a bit extreme, I feel like it will make sure I'm keeping up with my training and give me an early deadline to best gauge how my training is going so I can tweak as necessary before heading into the last two months before The Dopey Challenge. I'll be running this challenge as a St Jude Hero and I really want to make sure I've done everything I can do to train and do my very best in this challenge.

I chose the Silver Comet Trail for this long run because it'd be an out and back course. I knew I would feel great during my first 6-8mi so as long as I didn't turn around before Mile 7, I knew I would get my full miles in regardless. I had not run 13mi straight since April's Finish on the 50 Half Marathon and while I did 13 total on July 7th, it was very broken up mileage. I decided to run intervals of 3:1 to keep my endurance up. I forgot my Nike+ watch but used the RunKeeper App, which signaled each interval change and gave me 5min updates with mileage and current pace. Somehow, while I thought I was taking this run easy (I felt great!) my split times were faster than I was expecting. I cannot believe how great I felt after these miles! I stretched, used my foam roll and made sure to drink plenty of water and NUUN to keep me hydrated. So thrilled to end this week on a high note!

QUESTIONS
-Does life "get in the way" of other unimportant deadlines you give yourself?
-Have you ever been selected as an Ambassador for a company?
-Are you familiar with INKnBURN? Let me know what's at the top of your wishlist!