First Swim Meet in 4 Years!!

I have my first race (meet) report...Rebecca and I swam in our first meet since being done with swimming. I came into the day with very low expectations and kind of surprised myself in a couple of events. I swam the 200, 50, 500 free and the anchor on a 200 MR.

The 200 was my first event, and I went in not expecting much. The race actually felt pretty good, and I ended up at 1:48.4 Up next was the 200 MR, and we ended up breaking the state record for the 18+ age group with a 1:47.3, although I have no idea what I split it was a lot of fun to swim on a relay...they always were my favorite. After a little break, and lots of entertaining swims, I swam the 50 where I supprised myself again...21.8. Then the last event was the 500 free. By this time, I was geting tired, and my legs were feeling a little worn out. I went in with the goal of breaking 5:00, and ended up at 5:06 which overall is pretty good.

Most importantly, I had a great time. Swimming with the masters was very laid back and a universally supportive atmosphere...everyone was cheering for everyone. And at the end of the meet, one of the more senior swimmers brought out cookies for everyone to take, sweet!!

On a different note, I know that I had a 5k listed for yesterday, but Rebecca ended up not needing to volunteer so we got to spend the whole day together...kind of a rarity these days. We had a good ride, a good nap together, and made a great valentines dinner together. Valentines is a special day for us...1 year of being engaged!!! I am extremely lucky to have Rebecca in my life...I wouldn't have gotten into med school without her and having someone to share this entire med school/ironman process with makes in that much more exciting. I love you Rebecca and I always will.

Time to get down to business

I had always thought that once I finally got accepted to medical school somewhere, I would miraculously have all sorts of free time. However, even though I don't technically have as much on my plate, the time seems to get filled up anyway and I always have an excuse not to post...well I am going to do a better job of keeping in touch and updating here in 2009. Anyway, lots to talk about.

Thanksgiving: Rebecca and I went to Greensboro for thanksgiving again this year. While we were only there for two nights, we competed in the Greensboro Gobbler 5K on thanksgiving day. It was only the second 5K I have ever run (the first one being at the '08 gobbler!) and I was pretty happy with the outcome. I ended up 20:35 which is almost exactly one minute faster than last year. The course is relatively hilly, and so I don't have a flat race to compare to but we are planning on competing in a 5K on valentines day here in Madison. I had a great time in Greensboro, and wished we had had some more time to spend there.

Christmas: Rebecca and I went our separate ways again this year, although we were only home for a couple of days. I had a great time at home and ate way too much as always. It was very nice to see my Grandma, and we even got her to go bowling on my parents wii!!
With the new year came the beginning of our training plan for IMWI. With the first week, I realized how much I have neglected my core over the past few months, so I have been playing catch-up in that area. Besides that, we are two weeks in and I am quite sore and loving every minute of it. I really missed the soreness that follows a good day's workout and am very excited to be starting this journey toward 140.6 miles. Happy new year everyone, and thank you so much to everyone's well wishes and support thoughout my entire medical school application process.