Our First One!

Our First One!

Monday, June 27, 2011

My First Tri!

What a feeling of accomplishment! I know that as usual I didn't train like I should for this event but anyone that knows me knows that is just how I "roll." I did practice some in the pool at the gym with Jason and at home. He coached me on my form and proper breathing techniques in order to have an efficient swim and to be honest I felt the MOST prepared for the swim. I've always felt confident about being a strong swimmer thanks to growing up with a pool in my back yard and years of swimming lessons. I had also rode my bike some with Jason riding beside me giving me pointers on changing gears and "continuing to peddle" no matter what! I've been dealing with some back pain when riding my bike for a while now and on my last 18 mile practice ride with Jason he noticed my handle bars needed to be tilted forward a little in order for me to be able to ride with a flatter back and he also tilted my seat down just a bit. After that my back didn't hurt near as bad and I truly believe this helped me have a great ride on Sunday. But the "none runner" that I am I did very little running to prepare for this race.
We got up early Sunday morning, around 3:30am, just like every race day, to get ready and load up. Jason took care of me the best he could by making me my breakfast of choice, a bagle and our usual pre-workout drink, NOxplode. Today was his day to sit back and cheer me on. Being the competitor that he is I was surprised that he was doing so well with it. :)
Our crew for the day, Tammy and Manual, showed up around 4:15 to finish loading and head out to Pearland. Tammy was her usual self. Full of energy and excitement. Me on the other hand, just the opposite. Everyone knows I am NOT a morning person so it took me about 45 min and a few gulps of NOxplode to become alive. We made it to Pearland in plenty of time. As we walked to get in line for our markings the excitement finally hit me and I was truly ready to do this! Tammy and I were happy to find that our transition ares were close together and so we set up what we needed for the race and went to get in line for the first part of the race, the swim. However,I was disappointed when, as we got in line, we were toward the back of the pack. This was because we had put a time that I assume was slower than everyone elses. I think we were just being realistic. But as I watched the swimmers get in and start their swim, every 10 seconds, I realized I should have put a faster swim time. I could swim a lot faster than some of these people and I had to WAIT, and WAIT, and WAIT. As it became my turn to get in the pool I was jumping with excitement. (thats what I do before I perform or compete. I jump around) I started my swim and felt great. I was actually singing a song in my head as I swam. (advice from my husband) It didn't take long before I was running into the person in front of me and I knew I needed to pass so when I saw my chance I took it and passed. WooHoo I felt good! I passed several other people along the way and soon was out of the water and into the transition area where I would dry my feet, put on my socks and shoes, helmet and sunglasses. Grab my bike and run out! All the while Tammy was right there with me. The bike ride, surprisingly, was easy for me. Tammy and I stayed together and we helped push one another. We turned into the final stretch of the 11 mile bike portion, one behind the other. Quickly took off our helmets, grabbed our race belts and took off for the final leg, the RUN! :( It didn't take me long to realize I had a rock in my shoe and as I passed our cheering squad- Jason, Kate, Jackie and Hank I shouted out to Jason that I had a rock in my shoe but kept going. Then it hit me! I was tired, my legs felt heavy, my feet were soaked along with my socks and shoes BOY was it HOT and I had to get this DANG rock out of my shoe!! :) Once it was out I start back running again.  I knew this 3 miles was going to be the hardest 3 miles I had ran.  I was tired but I wanted to get a good time and was hoping to reach my goal of under 2 hours. So I decided to go with my 4:1 pace. Run for 4 minutes and walk for 1 minute. All the while I'm calculating in my head and hoping to get 1:50 as a finish time. We ran through several neighborhoods and I was delighted that several families had put out sprinklers for the runners to run through and cool off! It was just what we needed. I loved that close to the finish line, before we could see it, we could hear the crowd cheering. Manual was just before the finish line shouting and encouraging me on and telling me "Jason is right at the finish waiting to take your picture! you can do it!" As I ran toward that finish line I looked for that bright orange shirt and saw my coach waiting for me with his phone in hand ready to take my picture!  I crossed that line and felt a little light headed and at one point thought I might puke! But I also felt accomplished and strong! Tammy had finished a few minutes ahead of me, she's a strong runner. We met and hugged feeling proud to be WOMEN! :) I still didn't know my time but I wanted to get out of my wet clothes. So I gathered my things and went to change. Jason met me at the transition area and said "I think you are going to be happy with your time." I was thinking "Yes, maybe I got around 1:40." He said "Honey, you got 1:24 and Tammy got 1:20." I said "YOU ARE KIDDING" he said "Nope it's posted" I was so HAPPY! I asked what was your time last year and he said 1:14. I couldn't believe it! We did great! I was so proud of us. Now the question is....... WHEN IS THE NEXT ONE!

Happy Summer,
Holls

Monday, May 9, 2011

The Ride of our Lives


Preparing for this event seemed to take more effort than any other event we have participated in. From getting our bikes inspected to putting on my lazy bars the night before the ride. From getting all of our last minute supplies on Friday and then rusing home to pack. We seemed to rush the entire day before the ride.

4 am came early that Saturday morning. We had most everything laid out and set by the door. So we could just grab and go. Manual was to meet us at our house, we were to load our luggage and bikes then head to pick up Tammy before heading to Magnolia to meet Tammy's friend Jeff and along the way our friends Jami and Joy joined the caravan. We unloaded at Jeff's, took group pictures, waved goodbye to Jami's husband Robert who dropped Joy and Jami off. (he would act as their personal SAG)

We were off........

The group came to a busy road.... Jeff and Tammy took off. Thinking that there was room for all of us to cross none of us hit out brakes. But as we got closer we realized there was not room for all of us and we had to SLAM on our brakes in order to not get hit by on coming traffic. Jason slammed on his brakes with Jami sliding in right behind him. Jason lost his balance and fell. Our first accident of the ride less than a mile from where we started. As we cautiously crossed the rode things seemed to be back on track but after a while Jason seemed to be falling back. I slowed to ride beside him, asking if he needed anything and if he was alright. The group rode ahead of us some while I checked on Jason. He assured me he was fine but as I watched him ride it seemed he peddled extremely hard. I asked again and this time we stopped. He checked out his tire and realized his back breaks were locked. Thank goodness we had packed a few tools and he was able to loosen them up in order to ride. The group got separated a few times that morning. But we seemed to all meet up for lunch and enjoy some rest time together. This part of the ride was easy. We enjoyed a sandwich, potatoes, pasta salad and for me two ice creams! We had a chance to refill our camel packs and take advantage of the porta potties. Then we were ON THE ROAD AGAIN. :) We finished up that day by taking a left at a state park right outside La Grange where we would be staying the night with Tammy and her family in their RV. Our friends Jami and Joy, who we got seperated from after lunch, rode on to meet Robert who would take them to their hotel for the night.  We awoke the next day to sore behinds but other than that we were ready to go. We were dropped off right outside La Grange to join the other riders for day two of the ride. The group decided on day one that on day two we would be taking the "challenge course." This would involve lots of hills..... As we took a left from being dropped off we were introduced to our first hill and BOY was it fun!! (Jason didn't think so, he was too worried about me) We soon hit the challenge course and it was beautiful but HARD! We had all talked about no matter what we wouldn't get off our bikes on the hills. Well that all sounded good on flat land but once I got on those hills I STRUGGLED! Once I went so slow I had to get off or I would fall over. Baaaahaaaa! The other time I just had to get off. It was SOOO hard! But I didn't stay off long. I got right back on, on the hill! Another factor is that my lower back was KILLING me. Everytime I pushed hard my back would tighten up and I would just want to cry. One time I want to brag about was on one of those HARD hills on the challenge course I was struggling so hard up this hill. The woman at the top of the hill working the course and Jason were cheering me on..."Don't stop!" "You got this!" and sure enough I pushed and pushed through the pain until I made it to the top. What I didn't know was behind me was a SAG wagon (a van that comes by periodically to pick up those who can't go on or whose bikes are broke down). As the SAG wagon drove by me a lady stuck her head out the window and yelled very excitedly "You owned that hill!" "That was your hill!" I was so releved at that moment to be up the hill and a little proud of the accomplishment. The hills on this challenge course were tough but once we exited the park I felt an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment as well. It was hard but we did it and it had great down hills! :) Jason stayed with me after that and the rest of our crew after lunch went on without us. My back problems were getting worse and I couldn't ride long without needing to get off and apply more biofreeze and have Jason rub my back. Jason was great, just like the coach that he is. He coached me the whole way. Once we came into Austin the hills returned and with those hills came congestion of riders. The riders were so jammed that there was no way to get a good speed going downhill in order to help you on the up. I struggled once again. But Jason was always at the top of the hill encouraging me on. As we made that final stretch, looked down the street at the capital, hearing our friend Robert calling our names and Jason reaching and holding my hand as we crossed the finishline I relized we had added another chapter to our amazing life and the extra curricular events that we are blessed to be involved in. Although Jason and I finished together and not with our original crew we were proud of each other and assured one another that we would be doing that one again next year!!

Until Next Time, which should be in June for both of our tris.
Holls

Friday, April 8, 2011

Two Big Success Stories

Within the past couple of weeks Jason and I have both achieved big things in our "extracurricular" lives. Success for us may differ from that of other people but we definitely achieved some personal goals.

Our first success hit for me at our Dallas half marathon. My personal goal for this run, being our last long run for the season, was to get at least below my time at Fort Worth of 2:38. There were a few things I was worried about regarding this race. I DID NOT want it to be hot and  the weather man was mentioning rain. Well the good Lord was watching out for us that day,  as far as the temperature went. It was nice and cool, just the kind of weather I liked to run in.
As we all know, Jason took off ahead of me being in at least 5 corrals ahead. (corrals are determined on what time you said you would finish the race, during registration) On the other hand my running buddy Jami took it easy during this run due to recouping from prior breathing issues. Before we started our run I reminded Jami that she was to keep it easy and I was to not turn around and see her there. The race began and I took off at a decent pace, weaving in and out of the crowd of people. Within the first 5 minutes I look to my left and who would be there but my buddy Jami! I gave her my "look" and said "what are you doing here?" She started giggling and assured me that it's only been 5 minutes and that she would take it easy she promised. Throughout the race I felt extremely good. My breathing was under control. I wasn't experiencing any pain in my body and as I ran mile after mile I realized I was pacing myself well and I may achieve my goal of being under my PR. I stayed focused the entire way. I remember reminding myself to look around and check out the scenery as I ran. The course was actually through a extremely beautiful part of Dallas. I remember checking out the immaculate landscaped yards, filled with the most amazing tulips, that lead up to extravagant homes. I had a moment when a random stranger interrupted my intense focus to let me know if I didn't twist so much when I ran I wouldn't expend so much energy. As many of you know I can give deadly looks when I'm not thinking about it and I tried very hard not to let my annoyance come across my face. I politely said "Ok" and "Thank You."and quickly plugged my headphones back into my ears and continued on my way. As I hit mile 11 I had convinced myself that I would come in around 2:32. Not a bad time but at the same time I was secretly hoping for 2:30. Right at mile 13 I looked over to my right and there ran beside me the 2:30 pacer. I couldn't believe it!! I was right there where I wanted to be and I knew that if I pushed just a little harder I would come in under 2:30. So that's what I did! I ran harder and came across that finish line at 2:29. :) I had surpassed my secret goal and how proud I was! I looked hard throughout the crowd, looking for my coach and best friend. We had spoke before the race and told each other we would meet in the family area under the H. Sure enough I found Jason waiting for me under the H, wrapped up under his shirt looking frozen. I thought it was strange and asked him "are you cold or something?" I hadn't realized how the temperature had dropped or that it started to rain. All I could think about was the goal that I had just achieved! Jason asked how I did and all I did was smile and show him my watch. :)

Our second success story comes from Jason. This past weekend Jason completed his first open water, Olympic triathlon. I wish that I could have Jason give his side of the story and maybe someday I can get him to  but for now this is all from my point of view. It started Friday afternoon when we headed to Kemah to pick up Jason's packet for the race. My grandparents and mom had headed there earlier in the day, with their RV, to set up in the RV park where we would be staying for the weekend. After packet pickup we went over to have dinner with them before heading back home. We had to be back in order to watch Marcus in his first baseball parade and game. Saturday morning we were up early for the parade and then later headed to his first t-ball game. After those events we headed to Kemah, with Katlyne, to camp out with my grandparents and mom. Yes we are use to going 90 to nothing all the time. :) As we pulled up to the red light that would take us into the RV park Jason noticed smoke billowing out from under the hood of his truck and I was driving! Jason told me to run the red light if I could and get us into the park in case the truck died. So I looked for an opening and I took it, gunning the gas I ran the red light! Luckily we pulled up to where my grandparents were parked . My mom came out with a puzzled look on her face and I told her of my daring act of running the red light and how the truck was overheating. Needless to say this kept Jason and his mind busy for a while. My grandparents grilled hamburgers that night and we enjoyed great family time. As night fell over the RV park we all climbed into the RV to watch a movie and get ready for bed. Jason needed to be in bed early, atleast to rest his body. It was tough sleeping that night partly because of nerves and partly because of the bed. The dreaded time of 3:30am came to quickly but luckily mom was up making coffee. Jason and I got up quietly and got dressed. Him in his triathlon gear and me in my orange "Team Harrison" shirt. We loaded his bike and other required items and headed for the boardwalk. We found a place to park, Jason checked his tires and added air as needed and we were headed to the transition area where he would keep his bike and lay out his shoes and other gear. I walked Jason to the area where he would load the boat and then be taken out to the open water to await starting the race. After leaving him it was my job to get the rest of the family there and find a good spot along the race course to "set up camp." Little by little our family showed up in their orange "Team Harrison" shirts, chairs slung on their backs, excited to watch Jason race. When the time got closer to 6:45 Katlyne and I headed toward the area where the racers would emerge from the water and continue to the transition area. We were quickly followed by Jason's mom, stepdad and my grandmother. We stood there patiently waiting, well Kate wasn't very patient. The announcer came over the PA to let us know that they are running a little behind. Finally at 7:20 the pros were let into the water and the race began! Swimmer after swimmer came onto shore and we anxiously looked out into the water hoping to see Jason emerge. We saw a group of swimmers coming in, all looking like a school of fish swimming across the ocean. FINALLY Jason's head popped up from the group and our group of orange shirts erupted into cheers. I ran toward the area where Jason would come out of the water and continued to run beside him cheering him on all the while dragging Kate, with her "Jason is our Hero" poster, behind me. One of the most interesting part of the whole race happened at this moment when Jason hit the ground and the volunteers pulled Jason's wetsuit off with one quick swoop and handed it back to him. Kate, me, Jason's parents and my grandmother headed back to wear we were camped out to finish watching the race with the rest of our crew, Jason's aunt and uncle, my grandfather and mom. Up next was the bike portion of the race. After a while we started to worry because he should have been in, or so I thought. I was worried that maybe his bike was giving him trouble but soon after an hour we saw Jason coming in to drop off his bike and start the running portion of the run. Once Jason was on his way we moved our group to the finish line. We stood there cheering on the different racers as they came in. We were amazed at the ages of these different races. One man that stood out to me was a 62 year old man that came in well under 2:30. Wow! I'm amazed and inspired by that. As Jason rounded the corner we were sooo proud and impressed by how quickly he just ran his 10K after swimming 1500 meters and biking 25 miles.  I was highly excited about his race and couldn't wait to hear him talk about his next one. However it took Jason until the next day to really get excited about racing again and his excitement grew when he saw his official time of 2:56.

Up next, our long, crazy bike ride of 180 miles from Houston to Austin next weekend. Here's to sore butts!! :)

As I reflect back on our season, I am amazed by the advances we have made in our "extracurricular" lives. Of course it's not over yet nor will it be for a long time. But if we continue to excel year after year like we have this year we are going to achieve great things!

Until next time,
Holls

Monday, March 28, 2011

We are Warriors!


We are Warriors!

This past weekend we experienced the well-known Warrior Dash in Conroe. I can only say that I've never had so much fun in the MUD and I have improved my backstroke skills!!......This Dash included 3.1 miles of crazy obstacles such as climbing over hay bales, jumping over fire, scaling up and over cargo nets, wading through water and over logs, and lots more! As we ran this event I saw many people over come their fears. Whether they overcame their fear of dark tight spaces while climbing through an inferno induced dark tunnel or overcoming their fear of heights while scaling an extremely tall wall of cargo nets. People pushed through and finished the race. My only concern was the heat and boy did it get to me quickly. But with the worry came the ever familiar feeling of accomplishment when I did finish the race, slower than I have ever done a 5K before, but I finished.
Many different people attended this event and it's encouraged that you dress up. We saw people dressed as the band KISS, we saw the smurfs, "speedo" man, indian warriors, men dressed in pink and bras, people dressed as super heros and much more! Many of our friends were doing the "matching shirt thing" so Jason and I decided Heck! we will do that too. We made a stop by walmart and found bright green tank tops and while we were searching we found the discounted green Saint Patricks day hats! We were in luck! We then decided we would go all out and paint our faces. I love having a husband who is fun and will try pretty much anything. :)
All in all it was a great experience. Of course like any warrior we came home with battle wounds. Jason had a twisted ankle, a bad scratch on his back, and many bruises. I came home with sunburned shoulders and bruised knees. But anyone who knows us knows we were on the internet the next day trying to find another one!

Peace and Love,
Warrior Holls :)


Saturday, March 12, 2011

Lack of Training vs. Overtraining

These two concepts have been on my mind recentely. As I struggle to get over the stomach virus that I got last week and as Jason trains intensely for his upcoming triathlon. I struggle with the idea of when are we not doing enough and when are we doing too much.

For Jason and I training is part of life. Well more Jason's then mine. Anyone who knows me knows I hate to train. Not that I don't train at all but not like I should. Jason takes his training seriously and makes sure to get up several mornings a week at 3:45 to get in a training session before work. I, however, am good with a couple of workouts a week. Usually on the weekend, other than the spin class and swim on Thursday nights.

This morning our crew got up and did a 22 mile bike ride. As I rode, the wind played a toll on me. My legs pumped and pumped but I seemed to be going no where. It soon became very hard to breath and I realized that my lack of training this week due to illness and other things beyond my control had made me weak. I knew 22 miles on my bike should not be that hard. Shoot! I run 13 miles so biking should be lots easier. You would think. After the ride I felt so tired and drained. My legs ached somewhat. What happened to me? I only took a week off. Why would I be so weak? Well my guess is lack of any cardio the whole week and lack of being able to eat much.  Point of this story- Training and Nutrition is vital!

Flip the coin and focus in on Jason's intense training. His training equals lack of sleep, tired muscles, and sometimes complete exhaustion. I know that he wants to be as prepared as possible but is he training too much? Is this exhaustion playing a toll on him and will that effect him during his race? I really don't have an answer to this. I'm sure there is an expert out there who could shine a light on it but for me I just want my husband to be healthy and successful.

As we get ready for our upcoming events, Warrior Dash this coming weekend, Dallas in 2 weeks, Jason's triathlon the next weekend and then our 180 mile bike ride for the MS150 I find myself pondering on random thoughts such as the ones I have had this week. More random thoughts to come as Jason and I Train, Compete and Succeed 2gether!

Peace and Love,
Holls

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

What Keeps Us Going?

There comes a point during a run, more specifically a half-marathon or any challenging event, when your mental strength has to overcome your physical strength. What should a person focus on to overcome the physical pain they endure during a race? For me I focus on several things. 

1) I think about beating my personal goal. I hope that all the training that Jason and I have done will benefit me and my time. I hope that my pace is correct and that I'm on track to achieve my goal.  2) I think about my training partner, my best friend, my coach. How is he doing? How is he feeling? Will he achieve his goal? I also think.... Man he will be so proud of me if I do achieve my goal. :) This type of mental focus keeps my mind off the physical pain that my body goes through and helps me to keep going.  


I have to say that we were more physically and mentally prepared for this race then we have been for the prior races. However I believe you can never be totally prepared. The two weeks before the race Jason and I did many different forms of training. (please make it known that Jason trains almost everyday, usually twice a day) Our week of training starts on Sundays after church. The Sunday prior to the race we went with our running friend Jami, to our special running place. Our goal was to get a long run in. Us girls would get in 6 miles and Jason would do 8 miles. Many of you may or may not know that I have issues with my hips, Jami was having pain in her legs, possibly shin splints, and Jason was having well lets just say he was having stomach problems. :) His 8 mile run was cut short to 5 when he had to leave the running area to find a bathroom. Jami and I struggled to get in 4 miles. This day of long runs had quickly turned into short runs for all of us. On Monday, Presidents Day, Jason was off and was able to get in a 23 mile bike ride by doing the triangle from our house to Coldspring and back home. Once home he jumped off his bike and continued with a 5 mile run. I was home by this time and joined him for 2 miles. On Tuesday Jason left the house around 4am in order to get in a workout before work. He did a 3.5 mile run on the treadmill and a 15 min leg workout. That evening he returned to the gym to get in a 750 meter swim. Wednesday morning Jason got in a chest and back workout before heading to work. We started taking spin classes on Thursday evenings. We initially started this to improve our cycling but we later found it also helped with our cardio and leg strength. The spin class instructor was intense! We were sweating like pigs and our muscles were crying out in agony but we knew deep down this would benefit us greatly. We decided that after our hour intense spin class we would hit the pool in order to get in a good swim. This 1000 meter swim for Jason and my 300 meter swim would help our muscles recover much more quickly and it would also allow us both to train for our triathlons coming up soon. And this was just Thursday evening! We took Friday off to pack and Saturday we traveled to Fort Worth.  This week of training, focusing on our cardio and leg strength, definitely helped with our run in Fort Worth where we were faced with heat, humidity, and the cruel, cruel hills that plague the Cowtown Marathon.


Fort Worth was definitely a test for the mentally strong. It was full of ups and downs and many obstacles were overcome during that race. As we awoke at 5:15am on Sunday morning Jason and Jami felt extremely groggy and the dreaded stomach problems were back! As for me, I felt ok. No stomach problems and I actually felt good. We loaded the shuttle that would carry us from our hotel to the starting line of the race. We found very quickly that the organizers of this race had not planned well. Yes, we were starting from a new location but being herded like cattle to the starting line and then finding that there was not enough room for us to spread out into our corrals became VERY frustrating! As the race began Jason left Jami and I in pursuit of a new PR. (personal record) Jami and I had planned to just finish below a 2:40. Has we ran the temperature started to heat up and the humidity felt very heavy. This caused problems for many runners and Jami was one of them. It became hard for her to breath and she couldn't get a good breathing pattern down. My main focus had turned away from us achieving our goal and toward helping Jami. Let me tell you,  Jami is one tough cookie!! And I truly believe the good Lord was running with us that day. We knew before hand that with the change of course came a MONSTER of a hill at mile 9 that was 100ft in elevation! But we never really understood how much of a monster it was until we were staring it down. Jami had succeeded in controlling her breathing for the most part but she was quickly becoming concerned as we got closer to the monster. I'm not sure what brought it on but as we started tackling this hill Jami's throat begin to constrict and her asthma began to flare. As I topped the hill I turned back to look for Jami. I met her eyes and knew there was something wrong. She was having an asthma attack right there at mile 9, on monster hill, without an inhaler. My coaching skills had been kicking in ever since we had begun the race but I had to dig deep,  think quick and be calm in order to help Jami. We slowed down and walked, all the while I'm encouraging her to calm down, take deep breaths, and try to relax. One of the biggest successes we achieved that day was Jami overcoming that attack and being able to continue the race. She continued to struggle breathing throughout the race but every time she hit a "wall" there would be a sign. Maybe it was a child encouraging us on the corner, or a poster someone held up that quoted a scripture regarding strength, or another poster reminding us to "Just Keep Swimming." We both believed this was God's way of "Keeping Us Going." I have to say that mile 9 was tough but the last 5K was a struggle as well. It seemed the finish line was never going to appear in our sights. I had to keep looking over my shoulder and encouraging Jami that we didn't have much further. To just keep running. I can't explain the relief that flooded her and myself when we reached that finish line and at a time of 2:38 beating our goal! As I looked up that emotional feeling came over me and I had to fight the tears back as I looked into the smiling face of my husband, my best friend, my coach who was waiting there at the finish line to pick me up and swing me around, so proud of Jami and I at achieving our goal. But little did I know he had achieved a huge goal himself, a time of 2:02!! Wow his fastest time before that had been a 2:12. He knocked 10 min of his time. Tell me that training doesn't make a difference!! One good thing I can say about Fort Worth, It has never let us down. It's a huge challenge but every time we run it we get our best times and the most wonderful feeling of accomplishment ever!

Holls

Friday, February 25, 2011

My First Post

As I sat down and started developing my blog the first hurtle I had to overcome was what would my title be. I wanted to have a place where I could jot down a few words about mine and Jason's training, events and the many adventures we experience a long the way. I wanted a title that described exactly what we did in just a few words. So what do we do.... we train, (well Jason trains more than I do) we compete (marathons and triathlons) and hopefully at the end of the day we succeed in achieving our goals. This is how I came to the conclusion that Training, Competing and Succeeding 2gether would work for my title.
 We have already started this season with two 5Ks and two half marathons. I know what you are thinking, ONLY two 5Ks and two marathons! But we really have 9 events scheduled for this season and we are soooo excited about them. We are experiencing two new events that we have never participated in before this year. The Warrior Dash, which is  3 mile obstacle course style race and then the MS150 which takes you, on a bike, from Houston to Austin. Jason will be doing another triathlon this year but he's going a little bigger with an Olympic size tri. I, on the other hand, will be competing in my first triathlon in June. This is a small one called a sprint which involves a 300 meter swim, a 11 mile bike ride and a 3.1 mile run. We will be competing in our 3rd half marathon this weekend in Fort Worth. The forecast is for rain on Sunday, we are keeping our fingers crossed that the rain holds off until we run! I'll keep updating as we keep training, competing and succeeding!!

Peace and Love,
Holly