I have a bit of an announcement to make. After 4 years of planning the annual Healthy Living Summit, I’ve decided to step away. The event will still go on under the guidance of Julie and Heather but, sadly, I will not be a part of it.

The truth is life has been a little crazy lately. With the busy season for my new job in full effect, training for Ironman Florida, figuring out life as a newlywed, maintaining this blog, and still finding time for myself, it was clear something had to be dropped. As much as I loved being a part of the Healthy Living Summit year after year, I knew I couldn’t devote myself to planning as I have in the past.

I have faith that Julie and Heather will continue with the legacy that Kath, Tina, Caitlin, Jenna, Heather, and I started over 4 years ago and put on a great event. I wish them the best and can’t wait to see what great things are in store for Healthy Living Summit 2013.

It actually feels like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. The truth is I’m still trying to find a happy work/life/training/blogging balance. It’s something that I currently struggle with, but am working on by taking it one day at a time. Please don’t look for me to answers on how to balance it all, because I have no idea. I’m seriously making it up as I go…. but isn’t that what we all do? Never trust someone who says they have it all figured out; they’re 100% lying.

Last night I was lucky enough to have my first night of sleep that was longer than 6 hours in weeks. I slept like a rock for 9 hours and it felt great. Today was a much needed “me” day, spent playing catch up with emails, then hitting the road for a 2 hour bike ride and short run.

It was HOT out there, but I loved having the trail all to myself.

I’m spending the rest of the day running much needed errands. My friend Emily is getting married in October (yay!!!) and I really need to go buy my bridesmaid dress (she’s only been sending me polite reminders for weeks now. no biggie). I might also stop at a coffee shop and just read a magazine for an hour. That sounds nice.

I’m also looking forward to spending the long weekend with my husband doing absolutely nothing. We don’t get to spend nearly enough time together during the week and I always miss him like crazy during the day. I’ve started staying up later in the evenings just so I can spend an extra hour with him.   

What are your plans for the long weekend? Anything exciting? (in my book, staying at home is exciting )

The pool is quickly becoming my favorite place to zone out and recharge. After a very long weekend of work, I couldn’t wait to jump in the pool on Monday morning. Since the rest of my team was in the pool earlier in the morning, I was on my own at 8:00. The sun was out, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the pool was so quiet and serene.

I had a lane all to myself (a rarity during the peak afternoon hours) and followed the first workout of my Ironman training plan. Unfortunately, time wasn’t on my side so I had to cut the workout short. I need to work on that. Obviously 3000 yds is going to take more than an hour to complete.

It felt so good to be in the water. I seriously could have stayed there all day if I didn’t have a job to get to. It was like all the stress from the weekend melted away and I was able to start the week fresh and recharged. If only that feeling would last forever!

This week has been busy, and I’m afraid my days will continue to remain busy until November. But luckily I still have the pool to fall back to when I need it.

I had another session this afternoon. This time my team was there and we were able to all zone out together. All of our lives are very busy at the moment, so I’m thankful we have this time together each week.

Tonight’s swim was a longer ladder workout. There wasn’t a lot of talking between sets, just a lot of swimming.

The workout:

• 200 Warm-up
• 300 Steady
• 100 Kick
• 2 x 150 @ 3:10
• 100 Kick
• 4 x 75 @ 1:45
• 100 kick
• 6 x 50 @ 1:00
• 100 kick
• 15 x 25 @ :40
• 100 kick
• 200 Cool Down
• Total: 2500

Again, I felt like I could have kept swimming forever. Definitely a good sign going into Ironman training!

Lookie what I purchased!

I’m sad the photographers missed me in front of the VAB building, but at least I got a good on in front of the launch pad. This baby is getting framed! It’s also first official triathlon race photo I’ve purchased.

Derek and I are planning a date night for the weekend. Any suggestions? I’m thinking Great Gatsby might be involved, I re-read the book last fall and am dying to see the movie! Anyone seen it? Any good?

It’s time! Training for Ironman Florida officially kicked off yesterday!!!

Whoa, nelly! That means in 24 weeks I will be toeing the starting line for my first 140.6. From here, 24 weeks sounds like forever, but I know it’s going to fly by.

For Ironman training I will be following the plan from the book Start to Finish: 24 Weeks to an Endurance Triathlon.

The book/plan was recommended by the author of You Are An Ironman and after skimming a preview of it on Amazon, I knew it was the plan for me. I bought the book months ago and have since read through all the prep-chapters and skimmed the plan itself.

What I really like about the plan is that it’s geared towards ‘weekend warriors’ (aka someone who works forty-hours a week and does the bulk of their training on the weekends). I also love how easy it is to follow.

The plan is broken up into four phases: Adaptation, Aerobic, Ironman Specific Phase, and Race Phase.

The first phase – the ‘Adaptation Phase’ – is meant to ease triathletes into Ironman training and is all about building endurance.

Each chapter gives a daily breakdown of the week’s workouts, with helpful notes on how to execute the workout. I really love all the details provided, there are even chapters in the front that breakdown all of the training terms even further (ie. what a c/u stroke is).

Then, for easy reference, there’s an index in the back that gives a quick view of the workouts for the week without all the extra details.

There are “base” workouts in bold that are your required workouts for the week and “optional” workouts that are not necessarily required to be able to finish an Ironman, but more of suggestions for those looking to perform at their highest level. I like the different sets, since it makes the plan a little more customizable. I’ll more likely just be sticking to the “base” workouts since my time is tight (work is going to be CRAZY busy the next few months) and I really just want to train to finish, not exactly break any world records.

I already have Phase 1 loaded into my calendar.

Truthfully, phase 1 looks busy, but definitely doable. It’s the later phases that intimidate me. I’m trying to take it one phase at a time and not skip to the end when – gulp – I’ll be riding for 6+ hours when training!

I’m hoping to do some of those longer rides with my brother and sister, but we’ll cross the bridge when it gets there.

I’m also on a couple of local triathlon clubs mailing lists. I’ve already seen emails come through for folks starting training for Ironman Florida and planning group rides and open water swims together. I also plan to still swim with my swim group during the week. I’ll either swim a little earlier or stay a little later when longer swims start coming into play.

This is just the beginning of Ironman training and I honestly have no idea what to expect. I’m going to learn as I go with what works and doesn’t work with my schedule and plan to share my experiences along the way. I’m really excited for this new adventure and see where it takes me!

Any Ironman training advice for a first-timer?

Hi Friends!

Whoops, I sort of disappeared there for a minute. I was in Atlanta for work (it was a crazy weekend to say the least) and was go-go-go the entire time I was there. I’m now on my way back to good ole Florida, where I plan to immediately crash on my big, comfy, beautiful bed and sleep for hours and hours and hours. Aww… sleep. I love you.

Before I sleep, I wanted to drop in and share this amazing restaurant we ate at our first day in Atlanta: Souper Jenny.

My co-workers had discovered the restaurant during their visit to Atlanta last year and loved it so much that they couldn’t wait to return. The way they were going on about the amazing soups and sandwiches, I couldn’t wait to eat there either!

Souper Jenny is an adorable lunch cafe that offers fresh soup, sandwich, and salad selections. The menu changes daily and is based on seasonally available items. Their famous “Dad’s Turkey Chili” is available year round.

When you first pull up you are greeted by a line that generally goes out the door, luckily it moves fast. The line takes you to the counter where the spread of soup, salads, and sandwiches await. For $13 you can get a soup and a choice of a side (salads and sandwiches count as a side). I thought I knew what I wanted based off of the menu in the front entrance, then immediately changed my mind as soon as I saw everything laid out.

Your meal also comes with a cookie, drink, and piece of fruit. All are self serve.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the soda cooler contained my favorite drink in the whole wide world.

A Seagram’s White Peach Sparkling Water! I’ve never seen a restaurant with the Seagram sparkling water as an option. I instantly fell in love with Souper Jenny.

For my meal, I ordered the turkey chili and kale caesar. The turkey chili was chunky, filling, and very delicious. It was a little sweet with just the right amount of spice.

The kale caesar blew me away. Wow. Probably the best kale-based salad I’ve ever had (probably because it was drenched in caesar dressing??). Whatever. It was epic. I wish I had the recipe, I would love to try and recreate this at home. I think as long as you marinate the kale in the dressing long enough, it’ll be good.

The side of bread was also nice and chewy and the cookie was a great chocolate chip cookie.

In the end, Souper Jenny was a winner. Next time I return to Atlanta, it will be the first place I hit. Love, love, loved it!

On another note, my sister competed in her third Ironman 70.3 (Ironman Florida 70.3 in Haines City) yesterday and ROCKED IT!

Here are her notes:

Awesome race overall! Fantastic organization and volunteers. Very enjoyable swim and bike, tough run! It was hot and hilly! I would definitely do it again. A HUGE thank you to Ben and Amber for spectating! Finish time – 6:33:47

CONGRATS, KELLY!!!!!!

Ten years ago today I accomplished a pretty important milestone… I graduated high school.

Part of me feels like it was yesterday, the other part feels like that was a lifetime ago. So much has changed since then. I’ve changed. My friends have changed. The world has changed.

When I think about everything that’s happened between then and now, my head spins. I mean, just looking back at my crummy non-digital photos is proof enough of that. Check out that awesome disposable quality.  

p.s. check out Baby Ben in that photo! He was THIRTEEN when I graduated high school! I was even taller than him back then – I swear he grew like 10 inches my freshmen year of college.

High school was just okay to me. My sister and I always joked that who ever said high school was the best time of their life never went to college. College was so much more fun. I think I was just lost in high school. I transferred schools my sophomore year and sort of latched to a group of friends that I really never fit in with. I was very quiet back then and not as outgoing as I am now. I didn’t break out of my shell until college, in high school I was all about blending in.

I only applied to two colleges my senior year: FSU and UCF. Not a lot of people go out of state for school in Florida because it’s so cheap to stay in state. Thanks to Bright Futures and various other scholarships, I could attend any state school in Florida for next to nothing. I received acceptance letters to both schools and ended up at FSU – my #1 choice. My twin brother was accepted into his #1 choice – UF. The FSU/UF rivalry is something that dated back to when we were kids. I was always a fan of FSU and he was always a fan of UF. We were twins divided.

We took our AP exams two or three weeks before the end of the year and ended up skating through the rest of classes until graduation (there were a lot of movies and “field trips” to the beach). Our school had a tradition where they do a big senior send off the day before. We had senior breakfast and a final assembly before the principal officially released the class of 2003 for the last time. I even remember him stating “We’ll see you in 2013, Class of 2003.” After we were released, we ran a circle around the school, banging lockers, doors, and walls along the way. A few parents came to see the send off and my mom surprised us in the hallway.

Graduation took place at the local community college’s gym. It was crowded, hot, and boring – what graduation isn’t? Since then they’ve moved graduation to the football field where there are more seats and room to breathe. The football field the Class of 2013′s ceremony will take place on in a couple of weeks didn’t even exist when I was there.

I teared up a little when I found the above photo of Amber and I. Amber lost her battle with cervical cancer last year (see more here). She looks so happy there. That’s how I’ll always remember her, happy.

After graduation my family went out for pizza, then my brother and I headed to “Project Graduation.”

Project Graduation was a huge post-graduation party the parents planned for the graduates. Their goal was to give the graduating class one last night together before sending them off in the real world. It was actually a pretty cool event filled with great raffle prizes, amazing decorations, fun games, a casino, lots of food, and friends. I’d say about 80% of the graduating class were in attendance.

I wonder if the school still does it? Back then it was a pretty big deal. Most of us had been looking forward to attending since freshmen year. My dad was on the parent committee and even helped my uncle turn the school staircase into a waterfall. My only regret is the lack of photos I have of the night. The ones I do have are pretty crummy – I’ll never take my digital camera for granted again.

One of the big discussions we had at Project Graduation was where we would all be in ten years. Did I guess I would be married, living in Tampa, about to start training for my first Ironman, working in the race industry, and writing a blog? Heck, no. I didn’t even know what an Ironman was.. or a blog for that matter. I also had no sense of timing back then. I think I said I would be married, pregnant with my second kid (ha!), and some big wig television producer. Twenty-eight sounded so old. Surely I would be a “real” adult then.

I think the older we get, the younger ages seem. Now 18 feels like a baby – a baby! – and 28 is still young. I know I feel young. I don’t feel like someone who’s old enough to have graduated from high school ten years ago (ahh.. I just sounded like my mom there!).

Our high school reunion is planned and set for June 2nd. I can’t wait. I’ve already bought my ticket and everything. There’s a Class of 03 group on Facebook and it’s fun to reconnect with so many classmates I’ve just plain forgot about. I’m not the only one who has changed – we all have. So many of them have kids or have moved so far away. We’re adults. So weird.

Okay. Most of us are still kids at heart.

Happy Ten Years, Class of 2003!

Other high school related posts:

• Homecoming and Prom Dresses
• My Operation Beautiful Story

I’m trying something new this week: a meal plan.

You see, the last few weeks have been sort of crazy in the food department. I’ve never been much of a food planner and my idea of grocery shopping is just randomly throwing whatever looks good in the shopping cart. That’s all good and grand, but when I’m arriving home after a long day at 8:00pm, my creative juices aren’t exactly flowing like they used to in the kitchen.

So Sunday night I took to Pinterest for inspiration and put together a semi-meal plan for the week. Another thing I’ve noticed, I’m more into recipes lately. In the past I would get inspired just by opening the fridge and seeing what’s for dinner, now I feel like I need an actual recipe in front me to make something.

Look, I even put together a grocery list and everything!

And I stuck to it at the grocery store! I’ve found that shopping when you’re tired with a get-in-get-out attitude helps when trying to stick with a list.

Sunday night I did a little prep work for snacks this week:

NO-Bake Oat and Nut Granola Balls

I used raisins instead of chocolate chips and am obsessed with the way they came out. I stored half of the balls at work for snacks during the week and plan to take the rest with me to Atlanta this weekend. They’re surprisingly filling and easy to munch on. I’m a fan.

Cranberry Walnut Paleo Granola

Again, easy to make and highly addicting. I couldn’t stop eating it after I made it Sunday night and I’ve brought little containers for snacks this week. It’s nut based instead of oat and is low in sugar and high in healthy fats and protein.

The granola was also great with some ricotta cheese, blueberries, and strawberries for breakfast on Monday.

Monday lunch:

• Leftover chicken and dumpling soup
• wasa cracker w/ roast beef and horserasish cheddar
• 1/2 avocado

Monday dinner:

I wouldn’t be able to make it through the week without this guy:

The crock pot is still new to me (I didn’t grow up with one in the house and only received my first one as a wedding gift last September), but I’m already hooked. I’m constantly looking on Pinterest for new Crock Pot recipes to spice it up. I had pinned one for Slow Cooker Cabbage Stew a while ago and thanks to my nifty grocery list, actually remember to pick up the ingredients I needed to make it for dinner Monday night.

I prepped the meal before work (only I ignored the directions and instead just threw everything in the pot ‘as is’ and cooked it on low for 10 hours). I had swim practice after work, which meant I wouldn’t be getting home until after 8:00. The stew was a complete meal where all I had to do is get a spoon, bowl, and serve when I walked in the door.

I’m not going to lie, the meal was ugly. It was brown, red, and didn’t look very appetizing. However, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. This stew was good. It reminded me of a deconstructed version of stuffed cabbages my dad made when I was younger. I’ve tried making stuffed cabbages on my own in the past, but have failed. The stew version in the crock pot was a no-fail meal. I loved it.

Told you it was ugly.

Tuesday breakfast:

Something I’d been meaning to make with my 5Lbs of blueberries…. a smoothie!

Derek and i have a rule: no one is allowed to make a smoothie while the other person is still sleeping. I think it’s a good rule. So I filled the blender with blueberries, ice, Lemon Chobani, spinach, vanilla whey protein, and milk and waited until I heard the shower going in the next room. As soon as I was sure Derek was up, I pressed the blend button and was finally able to fill my smoothie craving. I’ll probably have another one tomorrow, too. It was good.

Tuesday lunch:

• cucumbers and tomatoes
• hummus
• wasa crackers with turkey and horseradish cheddar
• homemade granola

Ate at my desk while working hard.

Tuesday dinner:

Cilantro lime chicken tacos with avocado and pan fried brussels sprouted with roasted hazelnut.

I used the recipe linked above as inspiration, but instead of making the chicken in the crock pot I made it on the stove top after work.

The plan for the rest of the week:

Wednesday:

• Breakfast: fruit, yogurt, and granola (or maybe another smoothies?
• Lunch: Leftover Cabbage Stew
• Dinner: Leftover chicken and broccoli frittata

Thursday:

• Breakfast: Apple, almond butter, granola
• Lunch: wasa crackers, turkey, cheese, pickled tomatoes and cucumber slices
• Dinner: Out – family visiting

Friday:

• Breakfast: Smoothie w/ granola
• Lunch: Atlanta!
• Dinner: Atlanta

And that’s it.

Any ideas of what to add to the menu for next week?! I hate eating the same thing over and over again, so I’m always open to suggestions.

Yesterday Derek and I surprised his mom with a Mother’s Day breakfast feast.

The plan was to arrive early and have his mom wake up to a house smelling of bacon and fresh coffee, but she decided to be an early riser for Mother’s Day. Oh, well. We didn’t exactly give her the surprise we were going for, but she did have the chance to sit back and relax as we prepped some of her breakfast favorites.

On the menu, we had:

Egg Casserole with Spinach, Leeks, and Goat Cheese

Fruit Salad

Bacon

Hashbrowns + Whole Wheat Toast (unpictured)

And Tiramisu Brownies

I know, right? Helllooooo Gorgeous!

The brownies were a special treat Derek and I made from scratch the night before thanks to a little care package courtesy of Barista Prima Coffeehouse (as part of the K-Cup Ambassador program).

Included in the package were all the ingredients needed to make the brownies, plus a few optional surprises we could include to make them our own. Anyone who knows me, knows I’m not much of a baker, but I love a challenge and the brownies sounded like a good one.

Here’s my version:

Tiramisu Brownies

Courtesy of Chef Maureen Joyce and Braista Prima Coffeehouse

Brownie Layer:

• 12 oz dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup salted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 whole eggs
• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup cake flour

Ladyfinger Layer:

• 1 package soft ladyfingers
• 1 c Barista Prima Coffeehouse® Italian Roast coffee, brewed

Top Layer:

• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped, roasted hazelnuts
• 8 oz Mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips. Stir until smooth, then set aside to cool. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13″ x 9″ baking pan and set aside.

Add the melted chocolate to a mixing bowl, fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat in the butter, followed by 1 cup of sugar, then the 4 whole eggs and 4 egg whites. Add the cake flour, Mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, minus 1 cup of brownie batter.

Place the ladyfingers upside down on top of the batter, pushing down slightly on each one. Brew 1 Barista Prima Coffeehouse® Italian Roast K-Cup pack. Using a pastry brush, carefully brush the coffee & rum mixture over the ladyfingers until they are saturated.

In another bowl, combine the mascarpone cheese, cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar, 4 egg whites, hazelnuts, and the vanilla extract. Carefully spread topping over ladyfingers. Then, place spoonfuls of the reserved brownie batter on top of the creamy filling and swirl it lightly with a toothpick or knife. Sprinkle with any remaining hazlenuts.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until center is almost set and brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool completely in the pan before slicing.

Derek and I made the brownies together. It was his first time ever using a double boiler and my first time messing with lady fingers or mascarpone cheese. The recipe was easy to follow, but a little time consuming. Tip: Don’t be shy with the coffee and the lady fingers. I wish I would have been a little more heavy handed there.

The brownies were amazing. They were fluffy, moist, and the perfect mix of brownie and tiramisu. The recipe also made a TON. We took half the pan to Mother’s Day brunch and still had plenty leftover.

And Mom’s verdict? She kept going back for “just one more bite.” I’d say that means they were a hit!

Did you do anything special for your mom/ mother-in-law for Mother’s Day this year?

Good evening.

How was everyone’s weekend? Mine was full, but wonderful. I got to celebrate Mother’s Day with my beautiful mother yesterday and my equally beautiful mother-in-law this morning. It doesn’t get much better than that.

I also got to enjoy my second-to-last free weekend before Ironman training officially begins next Monday. My weeks of taking it easy are quickly coming to a close. Bring it on!

Monday

AM: CrossFit

PRESS TIGE

Warm up:

• 400 m run; shoulder mobility; 10 pvc pass thrus, 10 pvc windmills ea dir; 2x: 10 squats, 8 swings, 6 close grip push ups (elbows tucked in), 4 strict pull ups

Skill Focus: Press

• 5 rm press (2-3 attempts)

WOD: w/ a partner (at a 1:1)

• 7 front squats 115#/85# (I did 65#)   
• 7 swings 70#/53# (I did 35#)
• 7 C2B pull ups
• 5 rds ea for team time

My 5 RM press sucked. Without the power of a push, swing, something I’m WEAK in the press department. Luckily I made up for it in the WOD. I partnered up with one of the stronger girls in the class, which ended up working to my advantage because Speedy McSpeedy kicked some major butt. Her kicking butt inspired me to kick butt and we ended up being the first team done.

Tuesday

AM: 4 Mile Run

4 miles is officially my favorite distance to run during the week. It’s the distance of my favorite route and I can usually finish the run without pushing time. That’s why you see me do a lot of 4 milers.

Wednesday

AM: CrossFit

UPSIDE DOWN HOW?

Warm up:   

• 300 m shuttle (50 forward, 50 backward); sh mob; 10 pass thrus, 20 straight legged toe touches, 4 wall climbs + push up, 10 alt lunges w/ arm raise, 10 sq jumps, 10 back x

Skill Focus: HSPU

• 3 x max reps hspu

WOD: AMRAP in 15 min

• 1, 2, 3, 4. . . DL to HPC to PC 135#/95# (I did 55#)
• 10 plyo push ups
• 20 yd shuttle x 2
• Push ups and shuttle stay constant, add a rep to bar complex each round.

My shoulders were sore for DAYS after this WOD. I started with 65# on the bar, but ended up dropping right before we started and I’m so glad I did. After the third or round, I had trouble keeping the DL (dead lift) to HPC (hand power clean) to PC (power clean) sequence straight.

PM: Swim 1650 yards

• 300 Warm-UP
• 6×50 @ 1:00
• 50 easy
• 300 medium
• 50 easy
• 4×50 @ 1:00
• 50 easy
• 200 medium
• 50 easy
• 2 x 50 @ 1:00
• 50 cool down

Thursday

AM: 3 mile run

I love my runs with Maddie.

Friday

AM: CrossFit

The Volkswagen

Warm up:

• 200 m row/run; 10 pvc pass thrus, 10 ring rows, 10 good mornings, 10 sit ups, 10 ea alt lunges; hip, calf, ankle mobility

Skill Focus: Deadlift

• Deadlift 5 rm (1-3 attempts max)

WOD:

• 21. 15. 9
• bench press bw/70% ( I did 65#)
• pull ups

Holy bench presses!!! This one was brutal! In other news, I set a new PR for my deadlift 5 rm: 145#! Considering my 1rm is currently set at 155 and my last 3 rm was 125, I’d say that’s a huge improvement. I felt strong at that weight too, like I was really giving it my all. Makes me want to try for my 1rm again!

Saturday

Rest

Unless you count walking around Magic Kingdom?

Sunday

Run: 6 MIles

Sticking with my trend of keeping a decent pace for my Sunday runs – managed an 8:45 average! Unfortunately I didn’t plan my time well and was almost late for Mother’s Day Brunch afterwards – MAJOR fail!

____

On my mind lately: sticking with CrossFit while Ironman training.

As I count down my final weeks to Ironman training, I’m afraid I’m also counting down my final days of CrossFit. Unfortunately, I’m afraid there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do CrossFit and train for my Ironman. Some friends have recommended checking out CrossFit Endurance, but the thing I love about my box is that it’s so close to my house. The closest CrossFit Endurance box is about 20 minutes from me and I can tell you right now that I’m not willing to make the drive.

I’m going to miss CrossFit, but I’m afraid it’s time for a break. *sniff *sniff

Remember the 2+ lbs of blueberries I came home with from the u-pick blueberry farm last weekend? Well… they were gone all gone by Thursday. Besides the blueberry pie (which we actually made using the berries from my parent’s stash), the blueberries were all ate fresh either with ricotta cheese/yogurt for breakfast or straight from the container. The blueberries just were too good, I couldn’t resist munching on them every time I opened the fridge.

Despite eating so many blueberries over the course of four days, I was still hungry for more. Luckily my friend Beka had the hook up. A friend of hers had a test plot of blueberry fields that needed to harvested and was looking for folks to help her pick the field, in return they could keep all the berries they picked. Me! Me! Me! I was interested!

We headed over to Dover after work on Friday and spent the evening picking all the blueberries we could carry for free! It was pretty epic.

The bushes were FULL of blueberries, I could have stayed there for hours picking blueberries and still have found more. They were beautiful blueberries, too. So plump, ripe, and deliciously sweet.

I’m not sure if more blueberries went in our mouths or in our bowls/bags? Blueberries are one of those things you can just keep eating and eating and never feel full.

Check out my haul!

I ended up coming up with 5+ lbs of blueberries!!

That’s a LOT of blueberries. I plan on freezing half and working my way through the rest this week. I already have my heart set on some blueberry pancakes and blueberry smoothies. Any other blueberry suggestions?

We celebrated Mother’s Day a day early with my family at Disney World.

For Mother’s Day, my mom got an annual pass to Walt Disney World this year. She and my dad have been talking about getting passes for a while now, so she’s really excited about it. I’m also excited because now I have two more people to randomly go to Disney with.

Despite the crazy Mother’s Day crowds, the lines for the rides really weren’t bad. I think the most we waited was 30 minutes and that’s only because Pirates of the Caribbean had a momentary delay after breaking down right before we boarded. We managed to make our way through Magic Kingdom in just a few hours and just had a blast exploring.

I seem to get in a routine of going on the same rides over and over again when I visit the parks and tend to completely overlook old favorites. The speedway ride in Tomorrowland is a perfect example of a great ride that I always forget about, usually because it doesn’t have a fast pass option and the line is usually long. Before today, I couldn’t tell you the last time I’d been on it!

This was THE ride when we were kids, mainly because it was the closest we could get to driving at that age. It was also a pretty big deal when we were finally tall enough to drive the car without a parent present, especially when the younger siblings still had a few more inches to go. Oh, the joys of being an older sibling.

Bumping each other never got old either.

It started raining around 4:00 and we called it quits shortly after that.

I know it’s still a day early, but Happy Mother’s Day to the best mommy in the world!

Seriously, how did I get so lucky to have as great of a mom as I do? I could spend a lifetime thanking her for everything she’s done for my siblings and I and it still wouldn’t be enough.

I love you, Mom!! Thank you for always being you and allowing me to always be me.

Rocketman will forever go down in history as one of my favorite triathlons of all time.

Not only was course above and beyond AMAZING (it’s probably the only course I’ll ever see multiple participants stop in the middle of the bike portion to take photos), but I felt GREAT during the entire race. Like, really, really great. I can’t tell you if I’ve ever felt that strong or happy during a triathlon. Even when the roads were bumpy and the wind was strong, I still felt like I could do this. There was never an inkling of self doubt or disappointment, just self love and motivation.

Also, I’ve never stayed so close to a race start before. So weird to have a race right in my hometown. My alarm was set for 4:45 and I was in race transition by 5:15. That was definitely a first.

Because Rocketman was made up of three different distances (Half Iron, International +, and Classic +) and had over 1600 participants (wowza!) the swim waves stretched over two hours (6:45 am – 8:45 am). Unfortunately, since I was doing the shorter distance, my swim wave was one of the last ones at 8:30am. This was only unfortunate because transition closed at 6:15am to make sure it was ready to go for the first half iron wave. So I had to have all my stuff set up by 6:15am even though my wave wasn’t for another two hours. Sigh.

I have to say that the transition set up was my only big complaint with Rocketman. It was just SO disorganized. The bike racks were a mess and there weren’t enough on them – they were all overloaded with way too many bikes. I felt squished and there was no rhyme or reason to which direction everyone was facing their bikes.

I set my transition area the best I could and just walked away. There wasn’t much I could do about it.

It was randomly chilly race morning, especially by the water. Poor Presley was shivering.

The wind and chill in the air worried me for the bike. I crossed my fingers the clouds would move on (and take the wind with them) before it was my turn to gear up. The swim ended up being wetsuit legal by just two degrees. It was the same water temp as Miami and I was fine not wearing a wetsuit then, so I opted out of wearing one for this race, too. Ben was doing the longer distance and decided the wetsuit was worth it.

While I had plenty of time to kill before my swim wave, Ben was lucky enough to be one of the first in the water in the 6:45 wave.

I had – briefly – debated signing up for the half iron distance when I first registered for Rocketman, but I have to say I’m so happy that I didn’t. I’m just not trained for the distance at this moment and I didn’t have the desire to train for a half iron before diving right into training for my full Ironman. I was perfectly content watching all of the longer distance triathletes line up and take their extra long swims around the river while I watched and waited from my chair.

At about 10 minutes until the wave start we watched the group of bright green caps make their way from the main dock to the pier to enter the water. They entered one at a time from the ladders (the water was REALLY shallow, jumping or diving was strictly prohibited and just plain dangerous).

The boys lined up at the red buoy for their resting (wading?) start. It felt like they were there for a while. I could feel the anxiety building on my shore as we waited for the start. There was no countdown or gun shot that we could hear, they just started swimming.

(Photo Credit: The Downtown Gallery – Titusville, FL)

My sister-in-law had a stopwatch and pressed start as soon as we saw the green caps starting to move. I thought that was pretty smart. This way she had her own countdown of time for the race and had somewhat of an idea of when to expect Ben (though it did make everyone nervous when he didn’t return from the bike when he was supposed to).

(Photo Credit: The Downtown Gallery – Titusville, FL)  

From what I heard, the swim course for the half iron and international distances were tough. In both instances the athletes entered the channel for a stretch and had to fight the current pushing them in the opposite direction. A friend of a friend was lifeguarding on a paddle board on the course and at one point one of the triathletes looked up at him and asked if he was even moving since he didn’t feel like he was going anywhere.

We waited patiently as we watched the mix of splashes and swim caps round the buoys and eventually start to make their way back to shore. When the stopwatch hit 30 minutes and the first male wasn’t even back yet, we started to get worried. The top guys usually finish in 26 minutes, either this was a long course or just really tough. We finally saw the first guy pop up just after 30 and a steady stream soon began to follow after that.

I grabbed my camera and waited for Ben’s sleeveless wetsuit to appear. Around 45 minutes we finally saw him.

I don’t think he saw me. He was definitely in the zone.

I followed him to transition and learned that swimming in the channel sucked. Noted.

He took the wetsuit off, put on his bike helmet. and was off, ready to conquer 56 miles around the space center on bike.

I still had an hour for my wave. Luckily the wait wasn’t that bad. I finished my breakfast (a scone with peanut butter) and watched the rest of the half iron/ international swimmers come in.

Once I saw my fellow red caps start to line up, I knew it was time to start getting my own butt in gear.

Swim caps are so hot right not.

umm.. no.

It had been a cold and misty morning, then all of a sudden (right before my wave start) the clouds cleared and the sun came out. We had beautiful, picture perfect blue skies the rest of the day. It actually ended up being a beautiful day to race.

I always love lining up with my fellow age groupers before a triathlon start. Everyone’s usually so friendly and full of the same nerves you are. There were a lot of newbie triathletes in my group and I told them not to be nervous for the swim, just remember the really cool bike ride you have after that!

Oh, I almost forgot! I randomly ran into my old high school boyfriend at Publix the night before the race. Considering I’ve only seen him two or three times since we graduated high school 10 years ago, it was really, really random. To make it even more random, I told him I was in town for Rocketman and he goes “oh, yeah. I’m doing that, too.” Oh, really? Then, not only does he end up being on the same bike rack as me, but he’s also in the wave right in front of me. What the heck? Of course I took this as a sign that my sole goal for this race should be to beat whatever his time is, because what else are exes for than to spur your competitive drive, right? Right. So that was my goal. Beat the ex. Considering he was wearing board shorts and didn’t have goggles for the swim, I took it as a good sign that this was possible. Hey, a win is a win.

I entered the water just in time to wish the ex good luck with his swim (with a goal to catch up and pass him. obviously.) then prep for my own send off.

The two women at the end of the dock with the stop watch were amazing. They asked who the newbies were, then tried to calm their nerves by saying this swim was nothing. I mean, compared to the other distances, it really was. When I was on the shore with my dad watching the first “classic” wave go off, I pointed to the rocket buoy they set up right next to the dock and told him that’s where I was swimming to and back. He didn’t believe me. The other buoys were so far out there, there’s no way this close one would be it for my race. Sure enough the first wave went and they rounded the rocket buoy before quickly making their way to the start. My dad just started laughing. Yep, I picked the short race and I was pretty happy with that decision in the water.

The water temp was chilly, but not bad. It was better when we started moving, but standing still waiting for the start was a pain. Luckily we didn’t have to wait long. The five minutes between wave starts flew by and before I knew it we were counting down to our wave start.

5-4-3-2-1- GO!

I started my stop watch, then fought like hell to be the first to the buoy. I wasn’t first, not even close, but it was fun trying to be. For once I didn’t stay to the side and just let everyone pass me, I was actually in the middle of things proving that I could hold my own. They say the swim is how you set yourself up for the rest of the race. If you have a good swim, you’ll have a good race. If you don’t, well…

I had a good swim. A really good swim. I felt strong, confident, and happy just to be out there. The water was good, life was good, everything was good.

The race company had built a dock off the gazebo for the race. Once I made my turn around the rocket buoy, I saw two bright orange buoys ahead of me and the dock with ladders in the middle. I picked up the speed in my feet and just gunned it.

(Photo Credit: The Downtown Gallery – Titusville, FL)

Unfortunately the set up for getting out of the water wasn’t the greatest. There were two ladders connected to the dock and more than two people needing to get out. I was patiently waiting my turn to get out, when a girl cuts in front of me and grabs the ladder to get out. How rude.

I knew my family was right at the exit, so the first thing I did out of the water was look for them. I saw my mom, but missed my dad. Looks like he missed me too.

Photo fail!

1/4 mile Swim: 9:00 AG Place: 8/24

I booked it to transition to prep for the bike. The run to transition was all on paved surface, which was nice since I didn’t have to worry about my feet getting dirty. I ran into The Ex in transition and used that as motivation to get my butt moving. I turned my Garmin on, slipped on my running shoes, put a Luna bar in my pocket, and grabbed my helmet. I kept the transition fast and efficient.

T1: 3:28 AG Place: 3/24

Time to ride!

Obviously this was the part I was most looking forward to! I couldn’t wait to get out to the Space Center and see this incredible course everyone had been raving about for months!

Because of the unique set-up of the course, the bike route was a bit longer than your typical sprint triathlon. The race director wanted to ensure everyone had a chance to see the Vehicle Assembly Building (V.A.B.) and launch pads on the bike, so he created a 33 mile loop for the “Classic +” and “International +” distances. The Half Iron was the typical 56 mile route and, according to my brother, they were able to see a few “extras” on the course that we missed out on.

I hopped on my bike at Space View park and headed straight to the one monster hill on the course: Max Brewer Bridge.

(Photo Credit: The Downtown Gallery – Titusville, FL)

I’d run up the bridge a few times in the past and knew it was going to be a beast of a climb on the bike. We had to go up once in the beginning, then again on the way back. The beginning wasn’t bad. My legs were fresh and I was still full of adrenaline and energy – just excited to be out there!

(Photo Credit: The Downtown Gallery – Titusville, FL)

From the bridge, it was a straight shot out on “the beach road.” The locals call it “the beach road” because, well, it takes you straight to the beach. I’ve driven that stretch of road hundred of times, but this was my first time getting the up-close-and-personal view from the bike. It’s a gorgeous drive and an even better ride on the bike. The road cuts through a wildlife refuge, which is nothing but miles and miles of protected Florida wetlands and beaches. The views were breath taking.

I started off feeling really good on the bike. I moved into aero position and stayed there for most of the ride. Usually cycling is my weakest sport, but for some reason I felt really strong out there. It was like everything sort of clicked on the course with gears, form, and pushing it. I was averaging 18-19 mph (which is FAST for me) and didn’t question it.

During Miami 70.3 last October I didn’t pass one single person on the bike – not one! During Rocketman I was constantly passing people and it. felt. GREAT! I wasn’t used to passing people, I must have had the goofiest, stupid grin every time I passed someone. Of course, all the passing could be due to the higher-than-normal amount of triathlon newbies out there. A lot of folks were on mountain bikes riding with running shoes. I passed one guy who had sandals on! That was definitely a first.

A few miles in, the International racers started flying by in the opposite direction on their way back to transition. It was when I saw how much they were struggling going the opposite direction that I realized why I felt so good heading out – I had a tailwind. The athletes heading back were fighting a bad headwind and looked miserable. Gulp. I knew I would have to deal with that eventually, but opted to just ride out the great tailwind and enjoy it while I could.

Instead of heading all the way to the beach, we made the right to the Kennedy Space Center employee gate and officially entered KSC property. This was the also the one and only bottle drop on the course (a mere 5 miles into the race). I had a toss away bottle full of Gu Brew that I opted to keep instead of taking the Gatorade being offered.

From there you could start to see the V.A.B. – we were getting close! I was still enjoying the tailwind at this point and stuck with my crazy-faster-than-normal pace. The miles flew by and I was riding on cloud 9.

When I finally made it to the V.A.B., I was in awe. I’d seen the building hundreds of times in photos, on tv, and from across the river, but this was the first time I had ever been this close. The building was so big and just plain impressive. So many cyclists began slowing down and some even stopped to take photos! I’ve NEVER seen anyone stop during the cycling portion of a triathlon before to take a picture, it was definitely a first. I really don’t blame them though, I was kicking myself for not having a camera myself.

I didn’t take my eyes off the building as I passed and just tried to soak it all in.

(Was waiting on official photos. I hope they got a good one. )

From the V.A.B we headed to the first launch pad, which is the last launch pad that is still fully constructed. The road had been recently paved in this area and was really smooth to ride on – I liked it.

This had to be the friendliest race I’d ever been a part of. More than a few people rode by exclaiming “How freaking cool is this?!” Then, when the course got tough, we all sort of banded together in pain… but I’ll get to that.

Riding by the launch pad was just as cool as the V.A.B. Again, cyclists stopped to take photos with the pad in the back ground.

(Stolen from the Rocketman Facebook page. I wish I had my camera!)

We made a loop around the first pad then circled back to see the second. This pad had already been disassembled and was simply just a slap of concrete with two towers sticking out. It was kind of sad to see the piece of history already discarded.

The wind changed after the second pad and I finally lost the great tailwind I had been enjoying, now I was riding in a full force headwind and it definitely sucked. However, I think I was still riding on cloud 9 from the sights because it didn’t really get to me like the headwind in Miami did. I still had a smile on my fas as I circled back behind the V.A.B and started my journey back to transition.

The stretch of road from the V.A.B to the guard station was kind of rough. The mix of wind and the bumpy, uneven road wasn’t a great combination. My arms were going numb in aero position because of the constant vibration thanks to the bumps. My pace also dropped. I went from 18-19 mph to 14-15. Yep. That’s more my speed.

Despite the conditions, I still felt pretty strong on the bike and was proud of my performance. I definitely needed this.

I hate to be one of those people who states that the course is long because my Garmin says so (#1 pet peeve!), but when I hit mile 33 – and could only barely make out Max Brewer Bridge in the distance – I started loudly bitching the course was long. Dang it. Where was transition?! I wasn’t the only one – everyone’s GPS was off by 2+ miles. If my Garmin was off by .5 miles – no biggie – but 2? That’s worth mentioning.

I kept pushing past the 33 mile beep and finally – FINALLY – reached the ascent for Max Brewer Bridge. Heading back up the bridge the second time was my least favorite part of the entire triathlon. I had just fought wind and bumps for the last 10 miles – my legs were done. I threw my bike in to a low gear and fought to get up. It helped knowing my friends Eric and Rachel were cheering triathletes on at the top – there’s no way I was going to let them see me get off the bike and walk!

First I heard Eric and Rachel’s cowbell and screams, then I saw their crazy smiling faces. I made it! I was at the top!

I may have had some choice words about the wind and bridge when i saw them.

From there, the rest was cake. A fast ride back down the bridge, then just a couple of turns into transition.

Done and done.

“33″ mile (Garmin said 35.59) bike: 2:10:57 A/G : 4/28

My dad followed me to transition and stood right outside the fence as I changed shoes. I told him the wind sucked, but the rest of the course was amazing. He asked me if I had seen Ben out on the course (I hadn’t), apparently he hadn’t made it back yet. He had 23+ mile more to ride than I did – I wasn’t surprised.

T2: 2:23:24 A/G: 7/28

My mom ran over as I exited transition and handed me an orange slice. It was a nice surprise.

I had no plans for the run – just to, well, run. I settled into an 8:30 pace and felt good. The course was a basic out and back along the river road. The road was shaded and a few of the residents were in their lawns cheering on the runners. I thought the course for the Classic + was great, but I heard the longer distances weren’t as lucky. We turned around right where the shaded part ended, while the other distances went on for another mile and a half in the sun – my brother was not a fan of that.

I soaked up the shade and tried to encourage my fellow triathletes who had started to walk, “Come on! We’re almost done!” Unfortunately, I didn’t take in enough Gu Brew on the bike and my legs started to cramp a bit on the run. I need to get better at drinking on the bike. There were two aid stations on the run and I took in double water and Gatorade at both stops, that helped.

I saw my brother and gave him a high-five before rounding the last corner and seeing the final stretch to the finish line – I was almost done! The crowd started to pick up and my energy picked up with them. My family was on the left – I smiled and waved. Transition was on my right and I looked for anyone I knew. The final cones seemed to go on forever, I was hoping to see the finish line at the end of them, but instead I was directed to go left and make a final loop around Space View park before crossing the finish line.

The finish was pretty cool. The final loop causes you to run past all of the shuttle monuments and statues which fit so perfectly with the space theme of the race. Then, after that final shuttle statue, the finish line was mine. I took my time and soaked it all in. I was done.

3.1 mile Run: 26: 27 A/G Place: 5/24

Finish: 2:52:30 A/G Place: 4/24

I grabbed my medal and found my dad in the crowd. I had passed a food truck selling italian ice on my way to the finish and told him we needed to make a beeline to the truck. I got a small mango/wild berry combo and it was awesome.

We walked back to where the rest of the family was and started the waiting game for Ben. He had two loops of the 6+ mile course to complete. My mom and I went for a walk, then I called my sister to fill her in on the race. While I was on the phone with my sister I saw The Ex come out of transition and make his way to the run. So I achieved one goal – i beat him! But really who cares? This was his first triathlon and he was out there just for the hell of it. I put Kelly on hold and cheered my little heart out for him!

It wasn’t long before Ben made his first appearance.

He grabbed a couple of orange slices and headed back out for lap two.

The run is his least favorite part of any triathlon and I could tell he was particularly hurting on the hot course.

I decided to check the official race results after Ben left for his second lap. I was STOKED when I saw I placed 4th in my age group! And couldn’t believe it when I saw I was only TEN seconds away from being 3rd and taking home an award! TEN seconds!! If I would have known that, I would have pushed it a little harder in transition or at the finish. Sigh.

On the way back to my family, I saw The Ex finish the race strong with a smile. That made me happy for him.

My dad ended up running out to meet Ben on the course and ran the last half mile with him.

Gotta love my dad.

Ben pushed through and finished the final lap like a rockstar.

He is now a three-time Half Iron distance finisher and is more than ready to take on that full Ironman in November!

When all was said and done, I thought Rocketman was a great race and I’m so glad it’s a race that took place in my hometown.

If Rocketman returns for 2014, you can bet I’ll be there racing again. It was definitely an experience worth repeating!