Author: devonpass

I got really sweaty just walking home from my bus stop tonight thanks to the glaring sun, so I kinda made a snap decision to do my run in just shorts and a sports bra.

Hey, men go shirtless all the time! So do confident, badass women! Why couldn’t I?

OK, so I felt a bit self-conscious, but I decided to do it anyway. Honey badger don’t care!

I ended up smoking the first mile because it’s along a busy street and, yeah, I felt like everyone was watching. That tired me out for the next two miles and I got a bit slower, but I felt like I had to uphold the whole “badass runner woman in just a sports bra” image, so I pushed it. 

This was a very exhausting run, but satisfying and confidence-building!

There is a lot of sweat going on here. Extremely rare stomach photo alert.

Then I rinsed off and sped over to a nearby community pool to meet up with therevickigoesagain, a badass triathlete who was kind enough to teach me some swimming fundamentals! She’s training for a marathon in October and is doing a half Ironman in May, so you’ll want to follow her fo sho.

Vicki gave me tons of great tips and ever-so-patiently watched me swim and helped me work on my stroke, breathing, kicking, etc. It’s hard for me to keep in mind all the different things I need to do, but this type of hands-on learning is what I really need to improve. Thanks, Vicki, for being my swimming hero!!

Aaaaand I’m exhausted. Good night!

… and TRI training!

Today I learned how to clip in to my clipless pedals (confusing, right?). I was really, really afraid to fall, and I ALMOST did a few times, but I always caught myself!

We went to Aaron’s parents’ house to gear up. Aaron’s mom got ready to ride with us, and his stepdad played photographer.

At first, Aaron held my bike steady as I practiced clipping in and out.

Then I practiced clipping in while riding, with Aaron nearby to catch me if I did something crazy.

We circled the neighborhood a few times so I could get used to riding with my shoes clipped in…

…and then we were ready to go!

We biked 13.5 miles on the road. There were a few steep hills and one bout of tears — mine, of course, because at one point I was trying to clip in while I was about to go down a hill and COULD. NOT. GET. MY. LEFT. FOOT. IN. THE. PEDAL. The tears were a mixture of frustration and fear.

I ended up walking my bike down the hill and clipping in at the bottom. The other things that scared me were the CARS and the METRO BUS that ended up right behind me at one point. I loved riding my bike and felt I got the hang of the clipless pedals, but I could really do without the cars. Yup.

Aaron and his mom were so helpful and patient with this newbie. Thanks, guys!

Once we returned from our ride, it was time to SWIM!

Wheee! Aaron’s mom loaned me a swim cap and goggles, and Aaron and I walked to the outdoor pool in her neighborhood. It wasn’t a lap pool, but trust me, it was just the right length for Aaron and me to practice freestyle from one end to the other. Swimming is EXHAUSTING!

I’m happy to report that my skillz are a few steps above a doggy paddle, and I’ll definitely survive the tri swim. More practice is definitely in order, though, especially an open-water swim.

So that was my very productive day! Back to running on dry land tomorrow…

Oh, Brooks, I will love you forever, and not just because you send me fun stuff sometimes. Your shoes are the best and I’ll never stray. Amen.

I took my new Ghost 4s on their first run tonight, and they felt pretty great! I’m in a deep, committed relationship with my Ghost 3s right now, but I know by the time my half-marathon/triathlon/marathon (sheesh) training is over, they’ll be finished. I jumped on a Road Runner sale so I could start gradually breaking in the Ghost 4s and make a seamless transition when the sad, tragic day comes to say goodbye to the 3s.

The first run was a success!

Another completely exhausting run, followed up by a trip to the gym for strength training. I am love-love-loving Tuesdays and Thursdays because I get to lift! Who knew I’d like it so much? Now that I’m not intimidated by the scary, muscular guys by the free weights, going to the gym is fun and I leave feeling strong.

I’m inspired by Emily at Daily Garnish and Tina at Carrots ‘N’ Cake when it comes to strength training. They’re both huge advocates for women to hit the weights, as it helps not only overall fitness, but also running ability — a strong upper body and core = good times.

I should take a before-ish picture to compare with an after-ish picture to see if there are any noticeable muscular changes over the next several weeks! I’ll put that on my to-do for this weekend…

This is definitely a PR for four miles!

I’m trying to push myself on these shorter runs because it’s easy for me to get lazy and just run them at a comfortable pace. I meant to hit a 9:15 first mile, but obviously that didn’t happen… I guess my natural pace has adjusted itself closer to 9:00. No complaints here!

I really pushed for all those negative splits, and was completely spent when I was done. I had a frustrating day and it felt really good to leave everything on the trail.

I wanted to stop and walk when I had about .40 left to go, but I just kept thinking, “Think of how good it will feel to finish in a few minutes knowing that you didn’t stop.”

And you know what? It did.