Miscellaneous

A few odds and ends!

1. I had a great weekend. Yesterday was filled with cleaning and chores. Then in the evening we went to buy Mr KT a pair of new lifting shoes. We walked out of the shoe store with $200 in shoes. Two pairs for him and one pair for me. Check these bad boys out!! We both ended up with a pair. Yeah, I know, his and hers is not that sweet. I am pretty much only wearing mine to the hospital. My kiddos are going to love them. Mr KT plans on wearing his everywhere I think!



Today was especially awesome! I got up and went running in Lincoln! Long easy run. Almost 9 miles with a little kick at the end. Apparently I should have run faster. Then we had breakfast/lunch at Panera, yummy bacon, egg and cheese sandwich. Then off to Omaha for Bikram yoga. Felt fantastic. I had a great class, hot, sweaty, intense workout (yes we are still talking about yoga). I absolutely LOVE Bikram. I highly recommend that every single one of you out there. Try it.

2. This second random point is specifically based off of Steve in a Speedo's last post about the really short shorts. I commented that there must be a happy medium between shorts being too short and too long. I just want to throw out there that Mr KT and I have had a standing agreement since we got married. It has to do with clothing and appearance and how you leave the house everyday. This started because what women wear doesn't really say anything about their husbands but what dudes wear definitely reflects on their wives, unfortunately! So, it is my job to make sure that when he leaves the house (if I am home) that he sort of matches, his zipper is zipped, and he remembered all articles of clothing. The same goes for him, its his job to make sure I brushed my hair, got the toothpaste off my mouth, and that my shoes are the same. This does not mean that I get to have a say in what he actually wears, his clothes are his choice and his hair style (which he finally cut back to short and HOT) is his choice. He has a different style than I do and that's fine but doesn't mean he gets to leave looking like a dork and neither do I! All in good fun, I have to wish Pharmie good luck on this one. It's going to be a tough road! =0) Just kidding you too, you are both awesome.

Some days are better than others...

I haven't had a great last few days. For example... I sent an elementary school into panic mode when they couldn't find a preschooler who was with me on the playground after I told three different people that he was with me, I got kicked in the shin on purpose by a 5 year old with Down Syndrome, I was dealing with crazy changes happening at our office, I had/have 14 evaluations sitting on my desk waiting for me, I took a wrong turn on my way home (I know, I know), and that was just at one of my two jobs! It's no big deal. It happens to the best of us. We aren't going to dwell on that though. What I do want to write about is something completely different...

Look at what I found at the grocery store tonight!


The middle one is a pint. The two on the outside are 3.6 oz.



We NEVER buy ice cream but it was one of those moments of weakness. Mr KT loves Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream and the Chocolate Brownie is so yummy!

It even had a little spoon in the lid. They were 10 for $10 at the store I shop at and that pretty much solidified it.

OK, summary: I skipped my tempo run because I had to go to the grocery store desperately. I didn't run and I got ice cream. Some days are just good. =0)

Blarney Stone 5K

So, ran a 5K last Monday. It was a little cold, a little drizzly, and a little well... fast! It was a PR for me!

NAME: Katie Collins
OVERALL PLACE: 82
AGE GROUP: F25-29
AGE GROUP PLACE: 10/40
FINISH TIME: 23:47
PER MILE PACE: 7:40


Yeah, that would be 7:40 miles with NO SPEED TRAINING and a crazy headache. Apparently that base training thing is paying off. I still only placed 10th in my age group but that is top 25% I guess.

Anywho, met up with Blink and Yeti and Yeti's girlfriend. Props to her for completing her very first race!

It was a fairly flat out and back on one of the local trails leaving from the local running store. A couple of the colleges had members of their cross country teams running. In fact, one of those guys was dressed as a leprechaun with short little green shorts, suspenders, and a stinkin pipe. Yeah, the guy got 2nd or 3rd with a pipe in his mouth (pretend of course). As we went by he said, "way to go guys". I thought, "really, geez, this from a guy with a pipe running 5 minute miles."

There was pizza and beer afterwards which we didn't stick around for. My stomach was not all that happy with my pace and was just trying to regain equilibrium.

So that was my latest run! Yay. Mr. KT of course kicked my behind and ran a 20:04. Pace: 6:29 per mile. I know, more than a minute faster than me. I am working on it, really I am.

You guys rock!

So I took a mini break from blogging on accident but in the meantime I was still checking out you all's posts. There is so much good stuff out there! I just wanted to high light a couple of the posts that I LOVED. I hope neither of you are offended if I put links to your pages on mine, please let me know if you are. By the way, both of the pictures below are from their websites respectively.

Benson from Montana wrote a post at the beginning of March about bottled water. Who knew that "bottled water costs 1,000 times more than tap water"? He also had some super interesting info on the health standards imposed on tap water that is not regulated with the bottled variety. I am not sure where that info came from but I dug it. Click on his name above to jump right to that post.

The Dread Pirate Rackham wrote a post also at the beginning of March called "training with 5 year olds". It was a fantastic post about being a mom and a triathlete and it really showed what a wonderful mom she is. My husband and I don't have any children at this point and as I watch many of my friends enter into that chapter of their lives it is a little scary to think of how much life changes. It is a little hard for me not to be bitter about the fact that when I am pregnant I probably won't be out training for the local marathon, or doing 1:15 hundreds in the pool, or hammering on my bike until I feel like my quads can't take it and my heart is going to jump out of my chest, while my husband is doing all of those things. But then I think about how that will sort of be my own personal training event and after reading Pirate's post that life does go on and teaching your children to do what they love while taking care of yourself is reward in itself. Thanks Pirate!

So there are two of the posts that have kept me thinking. Hope you enjoy them and all the other blogs you read whether they are about triathlon or anything else for that matter.

Update

Wow, it has been awhile. I got way behind. I have been training, I swear. I am starting to try and pick up the pace a little bit. I actually registered for the Lincoln Half Marathon in May, the HyVee Olympic triathlon in June and the Spirit of Racine Half Ironman in July. I am quietly, calmly, and collectedly freaking out about that last one but as one of my triathlon buddies pointed out,"you're ready for the swim and almost ready for the run, you just need to bike A LOT!!! once it gets nice out". And he is right. I could do the first and third legs of that race. It is that middle part that is going to take some dedication.

Also, the last week of training was a bit on the lighter side because Mr KT and I were in Las Vegas for his sister's wedding. The temps were not nearly as warm as I had hoped. In fact, it got warmer here today than it got the three days were were in Vegas. Oh well, nice to get away.


Our goofy self portrait in front of the Bellagio fountains.

I also have been doing my long runs diligently as I train for the half. I am determined to have my entire body ready for that race so that my IT bands and feet don't complain one little bit. Last weekend I ran 9 miles or so at a 9:39 pace. I had to laugh because I do a lot of my 4 milers at that pace. I called the friend who is helping me put together my run training and he said, "yeah, if you can do 9 miles at that pace then you are running your shorter runs way too slow". I knew that was coming so that was what I have been trying to do. I have done a couple of 3.5-4.0 milers where I run the first mile slow as a warm up and then try and push it for the middle and slow up on the last mile. My times have been hovering around 9:00 but that includes the two slower miles so I am going to have to keep better track and see where I am at in the middle of those runs. I am excited to go into this season with a much better run base than last year. I also know that as it starts to get nice out I am going to have to cut down on the swimming so that I can get back on my bike. Poor baby has definitely been neglected. Watch out road. Here I come. (Yes mom! I ALWAYS wear my helmet.)

New swim suits = less drag

It was definitely time. You ladies know the feeling, saggy, baggy swimsuit butt. I finally sucked it up and bought a new suit.

It's a dolphin!


Obviously this is not the same material, but this is the style of the back. I have had several of these in the past and I love them. They don't rub and make marks that look repulsive (aka attacked by the vacuum cleaner) and they are very free moving. I don't however recommend diving off the blocks with them. They don't stay in one place all that well and you may show off more than your gracefully executed flip turns!


Two of my coaches feigned disgust at the "ugliness" of the green and pink suit but I took matters into my own hands...

I wore my pink skull and cross bones swim cap. Awesomeness. (I will post a picture of it when Mr KT brings home the cord to connect the computer and camera.)

I don't care if any of you think it is ugly. I like it and I was sick of black and navy. Boring. Just cause you all can't pull it off... just kidding. =0)

Anywho, I promised a friend I would post a picture of it so here it is. And no, not in a million years are you all going to get a picture of me in the actual suit on my blog unless someone captures that photo without my knowledge and then it is look at your own risk. Anyone who ends up with permanent (or temporary for that matter) eye damage is on their own. Consider yourselves warned.

58 freakin degrees!!!

Yeah! Watch out, brick workout here I come. I actually had that scheduled for tomorrow but in March in Nebraska sometimes you have to be flexible as the weather fluctuates. I mean, last year it snowed for the first three weeks of March!

Anywho, this will be the first brick of the year. I can't wait to get off my bike and run on wobbly legs. For some crazy reason, I totally dig that. Then tomorrow... long run. Woot woot. Bring it on.

Update...

I rode this morning with Mr KT. 8.38 miles. Yeah, you read that right. A lame-ass 8 miles. Why, you ask, because I flatted 4 miles in. 4 freaking miles. Mr KT fixed me up right. (I know what you are thinking but we were in the middle of the Keystone trail in the middle of the day.) Anywho, it went flat on the way home and he added air to it and I made it home. I have gotten a flat back tire on that bike the last 4 or so times I have been on it. So off to the bike shop for new tires, tubes, and CO2 cartridges. I am sort of feeling like I should buy stock in those companies.

So, I am going to consider it the first part of a build on the bike. Easing in, if you will.

The brick workout also fell apart as Mr KT had to go in to work. He mentioned that he would run with me and the dogs after he got done so I am going to take him up on that. Flexibility, remember?

The day was salvaged however, when 3 boxes of girl scout cookies showed up at my door. Phew. Sometime when I actually do a tough workout, I will have a reward waiting for me...if my husband doesn't find them first. =0)