After Louisville last year, I experienced the fairly common post-Ironman blues. For about 3 weeks I was pretty down in the dumps. All of my energy in 2011 leading up to the race had been focused on the race, and suddenly it was done. My body needed to rest, but I wanted to keep training. I didn't really know what to do with myself. Immediately after the Ironman was over (like the next day) I knew I wanted to do another one. Until then, though, I needed to recover and try to have a life. So what did I do? I registered for the first Duke Ramblin' Rose in Durham in October of 2011. It was a beautiful, hilly course that showcased some of the prettiest parts of Durham. It was a great race for me. I'd hoped to PR with a time of 2:15, and instead I PR'd with a time of 2:09:55. Even better! Below I am pre-race at the race start in downtown Durham, at the Durham Bulls ballpark.
After the half marathon in October, I registered for the Tobacco Road marathon in March of this year. I spent the winter running and training for that marathon. I continued to swim 2-3 times a week and cycled sporadically, but mostly I focused on running. My great half in October inspired me to try to PR at the full marathon distance. As evidenced by my time goals for the marathon on my arm below, I thought I would maintain a 10 min/mile pace (with a 10:15 pace just in case). As it turned out, I held 10 min miles for the first several miles until GI distress kicked in. Alas, there would be no PR for me this marathon.
Here I am post-marathon, smiling for the camera but sorely disappointed. At the time I felt terrible but have since come to appreciate some of the lessons learned that day.
In April, I became completely taken with the idea of running the Umstead 100 mile ultra-marathon. Umstead Park is here in Raleigh, NC - my backyard! I've fantasized for the past 2 or 3 years about trying to run an ultra. It seems insane to try. Running 100 miles? I want to do it. I found myself doing a long run out at Umstead Park, which was open to the public, the second day of the 30-hour run. The course was sprinkled with signs similar to the one below, with inspiring and sometimes humorous messages.
A couple weeks later in April, I flew to Florence, Italy with 5 girlfriends for vacation. We spent an entire week eating, drinking, and shopping our way around Florence and Tuscany. It was fabulous! I also made a point to run nearly every morning we were there. On a more memorable run, I found an incredibly beautiful and steep climb that led to the most spectacular view of the city. It was stupendous. The sign below attempts to warn drivers (never mind runners) of the steep and extremely hilly road ahead. It was narrow, too, at times barely big enough for one small, European car.
On another morning, I took the picture below as I stood on a bridge crossing the Arno River. The sun shining through the thick clouds made for an almost divine photograph. This is one of my favorites from the entire trip.
Here I am at the Piazza Michelangelo, overlooking Florence. You can see the famous Duomo in the background, to the right of my left shoulder.
And here I am as I take a break along the Arno River.
A few weeks after I returned from Italy, I raced the White Lake half iron distance triathlon in White Lake, NC. Several of my pals from the downtown Durham Y also raced it, and we captured our post-race bliss below. For the record, White Lake half is notoriously hot, and this year was no different...temps topped out in the 90s. It was hot and very sunny. We were all cooked by the time we finished.
Many of the White Lake crew from the Y also swam in the Little Uno (1 mile) or Big Deuce (2 mile) open water swim in July at Jordan Lake. I have made some great friends at the Y, and we have an awesome time doing races and events together.
The picture below is of me exiting the water after completing the Big Deuce. I have the most spectacular coming-out-of-the water pictures, meaning they are always terrible. I always have some kind of awful, pained look on my face. I love it, because that's exactly how I usually feel.
In August, I flew to Oklahoma for my brother's wedding. The last two pictures below were taken during that trip. I am including them because my awesome younger sister, Stephanie, is flying from OK to be my cheering section and emotional support when I compete in my second iron distance race, Beach2Battleship, in Wilmington, NC on October 20, 2012. She is my best friend, and the best sister a girl could have.
My eyes are now focused on the Beach2Battleship prize. Here I go again.
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