Runners LOVE Vizslas

It's been way too long since I last posted! I've just been so super busy with grad school, work and my puppy. I figure now is better than never! It's about 9:30 PM and I have to wake up at 5:00 AM tomorrow morning, so I should probably be sleeping, but I'm not tired... Anyways, in this post I'll talk (write) about last weekend's Duathlon and then my preparation for 20 MILES tomorrow at the Road Runner Akron Marathon. 

Good thing Gary took pics, since this guy got in the way of my professional finish photo!

BLAKE! Needless to say, he beat me. :)

Last weekend was the Portage Lakes Triathlon and Duathlon. Blake and I competed in the Sprint Duathlon, which was a 5K run (3.1 miles), 12-mile bike, followed by another 5K run. It was not AS BAD as I thought it would be! It was pretty chilly in the morning, but I felt pretty good overall during the race. My overall time was 1:52:15. My first 5K was 26:56, 12-mile bike was 55:57 and my last 5K was 26:35... Not the best, but I didn't want to burn out, even though I felt like I could have pushed myself harder afterwards. I think I'm going to do more duathlons and actually train for them next year. They're a lot of fun!

On another note. We also met Miles' brother's owners at the Duathlon! One of them was competing in the triathlon. Runners LOVE vizslas! Here are some pictures of my little pup. Well, he's not so little anymore, about to be 14 weeks on Monday! Can't wait until he can start running with me. Dexter's (Miles' brother) owners said they've already starting running a couple miles with him. I tried running a little with Miles that same day, but he kept getting in front of me and whining. May take a few more tries. I'm also going to check with the vet on Monday first to see if it's alright if I start running him. Don't want my baby getting hurt, he's got a lot of training and races ahead of him!

Well, tomorrow is the Road Runner Akron Marathon! I'll be running in a relay with Blake, his dad Gary and two other people. Blake and I will be starting at the beginning and running to the last leg of the race to 19 miles, run an extra half mile and then run back and get on the bus to ride to the finish! I'm thinking (hoping) it'll be somewhat easier running with thousands of other people for 20 miles than just the two of us. It'll keep our minds of the pain! :)
Here is my preparation check list for a big race like this:
1. Dinner - Whole wheat pizza with broccoli and green pepper, with some almonds on the side.
2. Prepare breakfast - PowerBar and Gatorade!
3. Set out clothes and have bib by them
4. Put sensor on shoes.
5. Go to bed early (ehh, not happening!)
6. Set alarm for 5:00 AM (BLAH!)
7. Ice lower back for 20 minutes
8. Lay in bed and visualize how I want the race to go. Mentally go through the run and prepare myself for the ups and downs.
9. SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

About to go complete steps 7-9 now! I'll try to post again tomorrow on how the 20 miles went.

Stay fit my friends!:)