It all counts and we are all in this together

April 22...Earth Day. A day to celebrate the natural beauty that surrounds us and that we often take for granted. A day to be thankful for being given the opportunity to live amongst the beauty, natural and human. This is no more true as the world, especially those in Boston, begin the healing process from the horrific acts last Monday. As despicable and ugly as that has been, there is beauty in how not jus o e city, but the entire world has come together to help those in Boston heal. Rivalries set aside, religious differences set aside, race set aside, humanity pulled together.

And on this earth day, I wanted to show my love for the outdoors, be active as many are doing across the country in honor of Boston ( #BostonStrong), so I hopped on my bike. I think Mother Earth is still crying from the devastation of last week, for although sunny-ish out, she was howling like a banshee in Irish folklore. Cold and windy, blowing snot-rockets seemingly every other minute, I pedaled on. No Mother Earth, we will never forget, we will forever honor and love and stay strong.

Peace & love,
Megan

This one's for you, Bob Otto!

I decided it was time. It's actually past time. Training has officially begun, albeit somewhat late, for the 2013 triathlon season. First race up, the "new" Tri Rock Phily Olympic race the end of June.
With the weather finally changing and getting to ride outside instead of on the trainer, my spirits were lifted and renewed. Watching the Boston marathon and all that has happened this week only makes my will to train and tri and even run all the more powerful.
I think I will shoot for the half-ironman for 2014... this year, Olympic and Sprint distances and a some 5ks before I FINISH the Philly full marathon in December. I finished the half marathon in 2012, had a great experience and now, it's time to step it up. Go hard or go home.

Whatever your goals are for this year, or the next several years. Don't give up. There will be good days and bad days, trust me (and any other person who is an athlete). But it is part of the journey, and that journey is remarkable. It is powerful. It is inspiring to others. And damnit if you don't feel great in the end! And that is what truly matters. That and having fun. Because, if you're not having fun, what's the point. So put some fun in your workouts. And I promise to practice what I preach.

swimbikerun

Peace,
Megan

Lost mojo, coaching and who knows what else

Yikes.... I have been incredibly lax in my blogging. Truth be told, I've been incredibly lax in my training since the end of last season (2012). Once the National Harbor 70.3 race was cancelled I sort of lost my mojo. Haven't quite regained it yet either, despite running my first half-marathon in November. Yes, I somehow managed to run the Philadelphia half-marathon the week before Thanksgiving on very little training. I surprised myself and finished half an hour faster than I thought I would. Just imagine what I could have done if I had actually trained.

WIth my cousin, Chris Conti at the finish in Annapolis

FINISHER! Philly Olympic Tri

proudly displaying my new age category!

SheRox. Check.

FINISHER! 2012 Philly Half-marathon!

Thank god for the heat blankets at the end!! 

Although my 70.3 was cancelled last year--which BTW was my goal for turning 40 last year--, I did manage to get in 3 good races... TriRock Annapolis (thanks to my cousins Suzanne Martin & Chris Conti for coming out to cheer me on), Philadelphia Triathlon (Olympic distance) and Philly SheRox (sprint).
No races registered for yet this season. In all honesty, I have to wonder if my racing days are over. Either that or I am just too damn poor to afford the entry fees. Maybe both.

In the meantime, I will continue coaching my awesome Master's Swim program at Bryn Mawr College. Brings me much joy to see them all improve and push themselves to beyond where they thought they could go. Same holds true for the undergraduate students at Bryn Mawr who have to take beginning swimming in order to graduate. Most of these young women have never set foot in a swimming pool and would have been just fine in life if they never had to. But, alas, they chose a college with a swimming requirement. And, much to my delight, and more importantly theirs, 90% of them actually end up loving the water and swimming! Talk about pushing beyond what they thought themselves capable of. I am so proud of every single one of the students I have had so far this year. They keep me going.

Change of plans...

Three months until race day. I get an email from Ironman saying that 70.3 National Harbor has been cancelled. No explanation, just cancelled. Needless to say, their Facebook page is blowing up with confused and angry athletes from all over the world. I feel for those who had to book air travel for this race. They're not going to get that money back. Thankfully the event is (was) only about a 3 hour drive for me. And thank god I didn't pre-pay for the hotel. So, now to find a new "A" race for 2012. I'm considering Steelhead in Michigan Aug 19 or Timberman in New Hampshire, also Aug 19. Hopefully there are still spots open...

Cast-off!

It's back to business... The cast came off one week ago. Crazy sore and stiff for several days. Today, however, I hit my threshold. It was time to get back on the mat, yoga mat that is. I have to say, it felt damn good, even though I wasn't able to hold some poses yet. First race of the season is in 2 weeks. Annapolis, MD. Sprint distance. This will definitely be a training day for me. Not going to go all out, just gonna get my tri groove back. Having all the shit happen to me last year that thwarted my season has me a little rusty on transitions and other race-day type of things. It will be good to 'practice' before the other races. Race dates planned: Annapolis, May 12 (sprint) Philly, June 24 (Olympic) National Harbor, MD, August 5 (70.3, half-ironman) If I survive Aug 5th, there's always the possibility of late season races. Maybe even the Philadelphia Marathon in November. Maybe. Not going to get ahead of myself...

Injury update

UPDATE:

the sprained fingers/wrist actually broken thumb and wrist and sprained fingers. cast for 3 weeks. of course i went with the waterproof version so I can still swim! Feels weird in the water, but it works!

Good times are being had trying to do everyday tasks... just sayin'

Be careful out there

Had to crash at some point, right?

So spring sprang in amazing glory last week. I felt like I was in Hawaii, mi us the beautiful blue waters, erupting volcanoes and birds of paradise.
I went for my first real run... A great 3 miles at Valley Forge. Unbelievably gorgeous. The it was yoga for the second time that day. Thursday was ridiculously gorgeous...nearly 80 degrees. No way I wasn't getting on my bike for a good 30-40 mile ride. Yoga in the morning, and then to the Schuylkill River Trail I headed. I even put on sunscreen for this ride!
It was lovely. Riding the SET during the day during the week is great, never crowded, no swerving around families and little ones...smooth riding! Mile 10. Feeling great, good pace, good cadence. Slight curve on the paved path. Take the slight downhill curve steady and not too fast. At least that's what I thought. I don't know if I got a piece of gravel that had found its way onto the path or if somehow my pedal really did graze the pavement, but the next thing I knew I was on the ground, next to a tree which I thankfully didn't hit, with my bike laying on top of me. WTF just happened?? The only thing I know for sure is that,had I not been wearing my helmet, I would have been really screwed. As we used to call them when I was. Limbo g, thank god for my "brain bucket." felt things rattling arou d in there as I hit the ground hard and rolled toward that tree.
Mostly road rash a d big ass bruises, or so I thought. Even though I landed on my right side, I managed to sprain my left thumb and wrist. Well, sprain is what the told me initially in the ER Thursday. This morning, Monday, I get a all from the ER saying that I actually BROKE my thu b and wrist. WTF??? So, off to the ortho I go this afternoon to get my first ever cast. Ia,most made it to 40 without a broken bone. Almost.

So what does this mean for my training and tri plans for this year? They better put me in a waterproof cast so I can still swim. I have no plans to not train. I just have to adapt. So adapt I will.

Until next time...
-M