Gasparilla Ultra Challenge 2016

I think this is how the conversation went...

Tammy: "Hey, you know what sounds like fun? A little 5K at the Gasparilla races in Tampa.
Kayla: "We should just go ahead and do the 8K, 15K, and half marathon, too...haha!"
Tammy: "Okay."

And that is how this crazy idea of 4 races in one weekend with 5 ladies got started. But by golly, we had a lot of fun.

4th Annual Swenson 10K Super Run World Cup

It's Thanksgiving, so that means it is time for the 

Annual Swenson 10K Super Run World Cup! 

IM 70.3 NOLA

After finishing Augusta 70.3 last year after juggling a few challenges, I knew I needed to find another 70.3 to focus on. So even though I knew I was going to register for Augusta 70.3 and IMFL, I figured New Orleans would be the perfect place to start the season. I somehow convinced Josh, my dad, and my mom to register as well. I don't know if they hate me or love me for it...but it is such a cool experience to have with so many family members.

We've arrived and it's a family affair! This would be my mom's second 70.3, Josh's first.

Banded and ready for some NOLA fun. (Yes, for some reason I imagined that it would be a little like Mardi Gras on the run.)

It has become a tradition for me to get a jumping photo at the races. Check!

And it was morning race time. This photo is following a completely stressful morning of sitting in the car in the parking line for over an hour and a half while and missing the transition time. Obviously since so many people missed the transition time, they extended it and hour and pushed back the start of the race. Josh and I were ready to roll and look forward to the race. I will admit that with the move to DC and the amount of snow we had over the winter, we struggled getting the distance in, especially on the bike, but we did way too many long hours on the trainer to miss out on this day.

Checking my swim time. Someone should have told me I was also rocking a mud beard.

Rocking out the bike. Although we hit very strong head winds on the second half of the bike, I managed to cut some time (even with the limited indoor training) from Augusta.

And on to the run. This is my favorite part and you can always tell by the pictures how much I actually enjoy running.

And as usual, having fun with the 'in air' photos on the run.

Coming down the chute and nothing but smiles.

And that is what winning feels like. Truly seeing and feeling the training pay off. So excited to have PR'd the race!

Post race photos of Glory!

I Aced the A Race

I have two "A" races this year.  Augusta 70.3, because all this training is part of my "Road to Augusta 70.3" and my first half ironman. And Pinappleman.  Pinappleman Triathlon is the only race this year that I've done before and since sprints vary so greatly, this would be the only race this season that I could directly compare to last year to judge improvement (this goes back to competing with myself).

This year, as both my parents are also training for Augusta, they decided to also register for this triathlon.  It is so cool do these kinds of events with them.  They are beasts!  Prior to the race, we were able to capture this great photo of the three of us.

And your standard pre-race, dorky smile, hiding nerves photo that I always take.

I did better in the water than I expected.  Compared to the race the previous year, I had improved by over 4 minutes in the water.  As I ran to the transition area, I was all smiles and very excited to see this accomplishment in action.  And of course, that dang beard is back!

Bike time.  Check out those fancy clip-less shoes.  I just put these on my bike days before and only had 2 opportunities to try them out prior to the race.  Regardless of that, I clipped in with ease and was off on the bike.  I knew the course was nearly flat, but expected there to be a lot of wind.

 Just as I got going on the bike, a mini-storm came through.  The winds picked up, the rain poured down, and the fun of riding through puddles and playing in the rain began. (You can't see it in this picture but I promise you...it was storming.)

Although we had a mini-storm on the bike, the sky cleared up and the sun came out for the run.  So not to disappoint, it was incredible hot for the run.  I told myself..."run till it hurts, then run through the hurt till you finish, or till you pass out."  And that is what I did.  I ran...and it hurt.  I didn't even have any push left for me to give a little gusto cross the finish line but it felt nice to definitely be cruising along faster than the previous year.

Look at that intensity...or is that the look of, "I might kill over and die."  Either way, a finish for the records.  I had accomplished over a 15 minute PR from previous year.  No matter where I finished in my age group, I couldn't help but celebrate that as a win.  The biggest win was in the swim...no the bike...no run.  Okay, lets be honest, for someone that shows up to 'Complete' races, I sure did an awesome job 'Competing' against myself in this race.






Pineappleman is the race I signed up for in 2012 and didn't have the water confidence to even start, then in 2013 it was my third race of the season and this year, I finally had the confidence up and the training consistent.  I took 4:01 off my swim, :23 off T1, 3:38 off my bike, and 7:18 off my run.  Aced that race!

Not so Savage

This was the calm before the storm.  Literally, a super crazy storm. We took our pre-race photo and lined up to start the race.  It began to sprinkle and a mile in, the sky just opened up.  It down poured like crazy, followed by thunder and lightning.  The closed the obstacles, closed the course, and we could finish.  Luckily they were willing to accommodate us with free race entries to the October race...so we will be back to dominate.

I forgot the best part...

They crowned us and gave us booze.
That's the perfect end to an awesome race!
Excalibur 10 Miler

Run, Fun, and Finish

What could be more fun than waking up at 4am on Sunday morning to go run 10 miles?  How about waking up at 4am to run 10 miles with a theme!  That's right, the Excalibur 10 miler was in full renaissance mode last Sunday morning.  And I was in full running mode.  This was actually my first 10 miler race, so my expectations were low.  Just finish, have fun, and run.  Well, and if I broke 1 hour 30 minutes...that wouldn't be a bad thing either.

Starting the day with Tammy and a few new friends.

Great start to the morning.  First 3 miles flew by.  I was in my running/music zone and didn't notice how fast they flew by.

 I might have been having too much fun out there.  I ruined this poor ladies picture.  But yeah, I kinda love races like this.

Speaking of having fun.  Tammy was having more fun than anyone.  She was taking photos, facebooking, and meeting new friends.  She always makes this look way too easy.  But she kept me motivated to keep a solid pace.  We scored this sweet goofball photo along the way.

Somewhere around mile 7 and I was still having a good time, jamming to my music, dancing, and of course smiling.  This was probably around the time that I realized I could actually run a sub 1:30. Maybe all the effort, time, and of course intervals were paying off.

With a strong sprint, I managed to finish 1:28:51.  8/83 for my age group.  Definitely can't complain about that.

A year to celebrate...

...leads to a year to work harder.

Over the last year, I found my inner athlete and took my running to another level, I discovered my drive to get faster, I found more inspiration and dedication to working out, and I finished 8 races including 4 triathlons and a tough mudder. I really couldn't have asked for a better race year.

2013 Race Results and Division Place:
(11/28/2012) The Annual Swenson 10K Super Run World Cup 56:41 (3)
(11/02/2013) Tough Mudder (12 Miles w/Obstacles)
(10/27/2013) Cooter Triathlon (.25/12/3.1) 1:39:55 (4/4)
(06/02/2013) Pinappleman Triathlon (.34/15.4/3.34) (1:56:18) (20/26)
(05/05/2013) Rocketman Triathlon (.25/34/3.1) 3:35:33 (27/35)
(04/11/2013) IOA Corporate 5K Finished
(04/14/2013) Cocoa Beach Triathlon (.25/12.5/3.1) 1:38:31 (8/10)
(01/13/2013) Color Run 5K Finished

Swenson 3rd Annual Super Run World Cup

Swenson 3rd Annual Super Run World Cup

After 3 consecutive times, something becomes a tradition.  And on Thanksgiving this year, our "Swenson Annual Super Run World Cup" finally became that.

With new rules this year (set by last year's first place finisher, Josh), everyone had a solid shot of taking home the trophy...but my money was set on Mom.  The weather was a brisk 34 (yes, we were in Florida...WTF?) that morning and I wasn't looking forward to freezing my butt off.  But none the less, we suited up (SASRWC gear and all) and headed out to the starting line.  In normal Reese spirit, he took off like a bat out of hell and had a solid lead for the first mile.  But soon after that, gimpy (okay, that isn't nice, injured dad) caught him and the gap between the remaining three of us started closing in on Reese yet getting became more spread out among us.  With the sun on our side that day, we were finally warming up at this point and getting into the groove.

I had been in training mode for months and knew I would make my moves between mile 3-4 (which is where I caught Josh and Reese the first year).  So when I hit the 3 mile mark I decided to start sprinting for periods of time.  Really, it was one mail box to another in the distance. So no real rhyme or reason, but it helped me quickly cover some ground, pull out 2 sub 8:30 minute miles and catch Josh. With Reese just ahead (dad way ahead of him), I continued on with the sprints and got really close.  Like really really close...but not close enough.  I think that little snot trained this year and I just couldn't catch him.

As the race came to a close I finished in at 56:41. It isn't my fastest 10K time, but given the cold cold weather; I'll take it.  That put me in 3rd yet again this year.

And although Dad finished first, when we added in handicaps, Mom did ultimately take the cup (she is already talking smack about next year's race...now that is true Kelly style).  Reese took second, me in third, Josh in fourth (which is baller considering he ran carrying the winner's cup and a six pack of beer...all part of the rules), and dad in last (the whole reason the rules change, helps keep the fastest from winning every year).

Next year...that cup is MINE!

Tough Mudder

Fun, Friends, Mud, & Miles...enter Tough Mudder.

I've been wanting to do the Tough Mudder challenge for about 2 years now.  But not too many people want to spend their Saturday morning running nearly 13 miles, in mud and water, and...oh by the way, lots of obstacles.  And lots of tall obstacles. Lucky for me, I met a couple crazy MBA classmates that were crazy enough to take on the challenge (willingly).

Happy, clean faces at the start of the race and decked out in our Gator gear.

We barely even began and the mud started; plenty of mud.

No monkeying around here.

The carry.  Finally a challenge wear my leg strength helped. Thank goodness we had some tough dudes on our team, lots of upper body strength challenges.

Oh look, then there was more mud running.

And some "walking the plank."

But no challenge was too big for us (approaching the finish line).

Finally, what we really came her for...the free beer.