And so it began...

I started off my glorious day cleaning! My house is top to bottom clean, clean, clean! I love a clean house, but who doesn't?! Today was the day... I started P90X/Tri-Training! I am going having to change up my training schedule a little bit, just until I get access to a pool. Tim and I need to make a trip up to Luke Air Force Base to get an ID so I can use the gym on base. I am too cheap to pay for a gym membership! Luke is about 10 miles from the house so it will make a good run or bike to the pool! 

So when Tim got home from school, we took off for our 12 mile bike ride! It was so windy! Like crazy windy! Tim and I pushed on! Unfortunately my knee started aching around mile 4, by mile 8 it was hurting but we were on our way home! The only thing was... home was 4 miles away! Our total mileage shows we are pretty hardcore for just starting out.  I think we push each other to keep going. On Friday, we biked just under 8 miles too! It is nice to have a workout buddy!

So then I moved on to... P90X baby!  Chest and Back + Ab Ripper X. It was hard and I am weak! I pushed through it the best I could. I will improve with time and a little hard work. Chest and Back had a lot of push-ups and pull-ups.  It also used a little bit of weights.  Ab Ripper X.... well I did the best I could with that but I was a little tired by the time I got to it.  

Today was successful.  I am proud of myself!  Now time for dinner, a movie and bed!  See you tomorrow!

-Kristal

Monday, Monday, Monday!

Let the training begin!  My MRI shows that I have no tears… The knee still hurts but at least I don’t need surgery! I am taking this as my green light to start up again.  The DOC put me on an arthritis medication called Diclofenac and it might be doing something for inflammation but sucks as a pain reliever. Extra Strength Tylenol works better than this stuff.  What do you take for extremely achy/sore knees?

It all begins Monday!  Yesterday I got a cute Nike 2-piece swim suit… so I can get my tan on while getting fit! I don’t look so cute in it yet but I am gonna look smokin’ in a few months so it was worth the investment! Tim might be getting a road bike (cross your fingers), so I might have company on my bike rides.  I am super excited for tri-training, I know I am going to love mixing it up! I really enjoy my long solo runs but it will be refreshing to have company every now and again. I am hoping to get Tim into Dulathons (He isn't big on swimming). 

Here is my training schedule for the next 13 weeks… This is a very tentative plan!  We will see how much my body can actually handle.  I still need to work out the specifics of each weeks swim/bike/run workouts.

So what races are in store for me?  Unofficially the Tempe International Triathlon on May 15th, 2011. It has an Olympic/International Distance and a Novice/Sprint Distance. I am also looking at Pat's Run on April  16th, 2011. We will see how training goes for the next couple of weeks then register if my knee is still holding up!  I am super excited!  Whoop Whoop!

It's almost swim suit season!  Lets get crackin'!

Kristal

Who Me? Yay You! Couldn't Be... Than Who!

Well Amanda from 5 Miles Past Empty thinks I’ve got a super stylish Blog! No I am not blushing... the sun is bringing out my freckles!  I have never won anything on a blog before!  I feel all so special!!!

Thanks again Amanda!! I am more than honored!! I need the love to get more followers! Followers are a magical entity that motivate me to keep going strong! So if you haven't checked out Amanda's blog do so, she is awesome (Click Here).

Here are the rules.
1.  Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.
2.  Share 7 things about yourself.
3.  Award 7 other bloggers.   Sorry, gone with 6….
4.  Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award

So Here is goes…

Thing 1

I ran my first Marathon last weekend (Rock'n'Roll Arizona Marathon)!  It is an accomplishment that I am so000 proud of.  It feels great to officially be in the "club"... the Marathoners Club.  I was having knee problems (possibly a torn meniscus) so I ran it under trained and in pain... but I finished.  It felt awesome to cross the finish line but I couldn't walk for the next two days. I think I am going to focus on 1/2 Marathons and Sprint Triathlons for awhile. 

Thing 2

I am an Army Veteran!  I served 5 years active duty and deployed twice. I deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, running kept me from going insane over there.  I ran my first 10 Miler and 1/2 Marathon while deployed.  

Thing 3

I am a nursing student... hopefully.  I will find out for sure if I got a spot doing my clinical requirements here at ASU in a few months.  Cross your fingers! 

Thing 4

I secretly want to be a cop... and not the  skanky type that comes out in October!  A real life police woman that gets to carry a gun and catch bad guys.  I want to taser someone make the world a better, a safer place, I want to make a difference! 

Thing 5

I got a sick road bike for Christmas!  Timmy got it for me, and my brother Andy got me areo-bars for it! I love love love it!  It is the most awesome bike ever.  I still need to name it but I want to get a few more miles on it first.  I need to FEEL the name, get a connection before I name it.  I might spin off of Amanda's idea to have followers name it (with my final approval of course)!

Thing 6

I love quilting!  Looking at the finished product makes me feel accomplished.  Some people watch TV or take naps in their free time, not me, I quilt!  I have something to show for my wasted time!  Then... I give them away which gives me the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with making someones day, week, month, year, lifetime... 

Thing 7 

I miss Washington but would settle for anywhere in the PNW!  I miss the green landscape.  I miss snow capped mountains. I miss clean rivers and lakes. I miss my family and friends.  But mostly I miss the girl I was when I left... It's crazy how long I have been gone. 


And the Award goes to...


1.) Our Love On The Run: I absolutely love reading their blog.  They inspire me to just have fun with my blog, my running and my love... Hopefully I can get Timmy to start running so we can blog our adventures too!


2.) I am Boring: Now this is one funny dude! He makes blogging fun!  He also has inspired me to rock out the Rock'n'Roll series too.  Maybe next year! 


3.) Grand Adventures of Michaela: She motivates me to finish school and become a nurse!  Plus she is just and awesome woman! 


4.) Keep on Keeping on: Now thats a title to keep you running! She is such a sweetheart and is super positive and motivating! 


5.) The Running Diva: She an Army wife and a rockstar!  We have the same camera but she takes way better pictures than me! Thanks for all you do for our country! 


6.) Silly Girl Running: Because we are both silly and who doesn't love silly people!  :) 

I can move my legs again!

So, I was a little sore the past few days... I couldn't really move my legs Monday or Tuesday but Wednesday was promising!  And today--- like brand new legs (minus the new knees)! I have the itch to start working out hard again but I know I shouldn't so I will resist the temptation.  I am still waiting on the doctors word to see whats up with my knee. I am hoping for good news so I can start training for a triathlon!  

So other than Swimming, Biking and Running in my set of training I am also going to complete P90X... For those of you who don't know what it is, its a hardcore full body workout to strengthen your whole body!  I feel as if I strengthen my whole body I will be less prone to injury!  Fingers crossed! I hope to be getting the green light soon!

Happy Training!

-Kristal

Rock'nRoll Marathon- 0, Kristal Reszler- 1

Race Report!

Injured and ill prepared, Kristal still finished the P.F. Chnag's Rock'n'Roll Arizona FULL MARATHON! 

Pre-Race Photo OP

Beautiful Arizona sunrise to start the race!

Kristal is ready, ready to run! Bring It!

I am officially a "marathoner", Whoop, Whoop!! I knew there was no way I would be holding the pace I was running before the knee injury but I was gonna go out guns smokin'... I decided 8:30-ish would be a good starting point.  I totally lost that pace and by the time I was finishing up, crawling was looking like an option! Here is how it all went down....

Splits/Graph (click to enlarge)

Race Photos By Tim!

Mile 5, still looking fresh! 21 miles to go...

Me holding up the 1-1, represent! (Mile 11)

Trying to smile... A quick stop in mile 19 to put one the knee brace!

Coming into the Finish! Hurting Bad!!

Smile for the Finish!

My BLING!

Ice and ready to GO HOME!

If... I don't fall over!

So what are my excuses for running slow why was this Marathon challenging?

• Mile 7 was slow due to a emergency pit stop (Power Poo).  
• Mile 16 was me hitting the "WALL"... Note that 16 miles was my longest training run due to the knee injury! So I just told myself, hold 9:30-ish for as long as you can, keep on keeping on!
• Mile 19 was a pit stop to put on my knee brace. At this point I thought my knee was going to fall off.
• Mile 21 and on was me hanging on wishing I hadn't been injured and been able to train more!
• Mile 25 I really felt like walking, crawling, anything but "running", well actually it was more like a jog but still sucked!

Overall it was a success because I finished.  So, will I do another one? Right now... NO WAY! Maybe you should ask me again in a few months.  I have an MRI/x-ray on Tuesday.  I think I am going to focus on a Triathlon! And I really love 1/2 Marathons, maybe I will just stick to those for awhile.

P.S. I love my husband, thanks for the support!

-Kristal OUT

What the torn meniscus is going on here...

I went to see my PA today. Drum roll please! The bad news is that she thinks I have a torn meniscus! Oh wow! Really? An x-ray and MRI is to be scheduled for confirmation.  So here is the plan-- well not really a plan but the scoop/the down low... I have been "resting" my knee so much lately that I haven't been putting in the miles. I have gone on a few bike rides here and there but definitely not sticking to any training plan WHAT-SO-EVER. The big race is Sunday... I have decided to change my goal from completing it without walking to just completing it!  The doc gave me a knee brace and told me to listen to my body during the race. She didn't say I couldn't do the race, she didn't even say that I had to walk! The only thing she said could possibly happen by running on this is the torn cartilage, depending on how it is torn, could flip/flop and catch on the surrounding ligaments. So bring on the miles and pain meds! Marathon, here I come! It might not be fast but I WILL FINISH! I am gonna go out strong and hold it for as long as I can... slow down if I need to and walk if I must! One way or another I am crossing that finish line!  :)  

Yours Truly- Silly Kristal 

It's been too long...

So here is my story.  I ran 11 miles on 12/18 and a 4 miler on 12/20.  Then I headed out on a ROAD TRIP north!  I went home to Washington for my Christmas vacation.  Surprisingly it wasn't that fun to drive 25 hrs, it's just too far/long.  I also found out that sitting in a vehicle hurts my knee... OH NO, not good!  So I decided to give it a little rest, plus I didn't feel like running in the snow!  This Arizona runner brought shorts and t-shirts north to run in, Silly-Silly-Kristal.  So after taking almost 2 weeks off... yesterday, I hit the road for a "long" run.  (Sad Face Here)  I only made it 3 1/2 miles before I called it quits.  The knee just doesn't want to work right.  And for the bomb shell news----- I called the doctor as soon as I got back from walking home, I was about 2 miles from the house when I stopped running.  The P.F. Changs Rock'n'Roll Marathon is the 16th and I will be seeing the doc the 11th.  Looks like I might be walking my first Marathon.  On a more positive note, next time I do a marathon, it will for sure be another PR!!  I guess this is just the way life goes sometimes but I will keep pushing on and someday I will RUN a marathon.  Today I am going to take my new fancy road bike out for a long spin to boost my spirits, as long as my knee holds out, I will be going strong.  The bike is way less impact so I hope to get some good miles in! 

I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season and I hope the new year brings great things for everyone!  

-Kristal