Saturday, July 30, 2011

Third Place!!!

I got a medal! I got a medal! I got a medal hey, hey, hey, HEY!

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And well, of course the Sig Pose with J-Ninja's Hubster with his GOLD bling....

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Notice in the top picture I have a medal on a white ribbon, in the above picture it is red....I realized on the walk to the car that my medal said Age Group Male, not Female. This was noticed when a dude walking beside us complained that his medal said Female, Iooked at mine, Male... so Duh, we traded...problem solved.

A full race report to come!! But for now I am going to chilax on my couch and watch a movie!

Friday, July 29, 2011

It's Friday!

Now that I work full time Friday has an entirely NEW meaning. I mean, don't get me wrong, I have worked full time before and this is not a new concept, just a concept I haven't had to face in a LONG TIME! So TGIF everyone!!

I am packed and ready to head to WASHINGTON! Washington, North Carolina that is.

I'm pretty pumped about tomorrow's sprint tri! I have been slacking in the swimming, biking and well actually running departments lately. Dang. How do I expect to win when I am pretty much an all-around slacker? Shoot.....But hey, I'm gonna look pretty high speed (hopefully) in my new 2XU tri outfit!! It came today. Was sitting on my front porch when I got home! I of course ripped it open and tried it on immediately. The shorts are tight. Really tight. I know they are supposed to be and actually I'm not sure if I am supposed to wear them by themselves or not. I'm confused. They are compression shorts with no padding in the seat. I think they go UNDER something else....So i may go with my trusty iZume shorts tomorrow. To Be Decided.

Well, gotta run! I'll check in again soon!!!

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Something You Never Want to Find Out....

Well, wouldn't you think that if it was 100% humidity outside it would be raining? Or something?

Well this AM, after receiving my Wake-Up-And-Go-Run text from CQL, I headed out for my run. I knew it was gross and hot and muggy. I was immediately sweating and melting and suffocating. But I kept on and finished with 3.33 miles (just for YOU Mel!). I came home and decided I would check the Weather Channel app on my phone. To my horror THIS is what I found:


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GROSS.

But I survived to tell the tale and now you know, 100% does not mean rain. It means if you go for a run wear an oxygen mask and bring a butter knife to cut a path.

Hoping you have a more pleasant run than me. Perhaps you'll have a glorious run like my husband apparently did last night in Santa Cruz. Who me? Bitter? What ever gave you that idea?


Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Here's the Deal Pickle....

I'm tired and I want to watch a movie then go to bed then wake up (thanks to my Wake-Up-and-Go-Run-Texting-Buddy, CQL- at Livin' A Little Life). We have begun our Tue/Wed/Thur 5:15 AM texting routine to hold each other accountable for our morning runs....Um, however, I cannot tell a lie: This AM I texted her at 5:20 AM but I didn't actually get up. FAIL. But in my defense....NO! There is no defense! FAIL. No really, I was so sore....SO WHAT! FAIL. Oh no, now the voices are typing on my blog...


Tonight I did do a short Kettle Bell workout on the porch. I hope I am not too sore for my run that WILL take place in the morning. I really do plan on getting up for my run. Today I was still so sore from 50 Kettle Bell swings I did on Sunday I could hardly sit down, or stand up for that matter. I figured I should play it safe with a race coming up this weekend. I don't want to be too sore come Saturday AM. Speaking of my tri, I got the shipment confirmation for my new tri suit. It os scheduled to be here by the end of the day on Friday. What does that mean? by 5? 5:30? I am heading out with J-Ninja and our Tri Crew Friday evening after everyone gets off work. The tri is a 2.5 hour drive so we are spending the night. So I am hoping so bad that my new fit gets here so I can sport it on Saturday! Didn't catch my post about my new ri suit? Check it out HERE.


My plan for swimming this week has not come to fruition. Last night and tonight we had pretty crazy, lightening and thunderstorms. Tomorrow I am interviewing a nanny at 6 but hopefully I can get her in and out in time to hit the pool....but really, I doubt that will happen. The pool closes at 8 so if I got there by 7 o'clock that's just barely an hour. A teaser.


I have some reading to do in the RLRF book so I am off to read then watch a movie! Any suggestions?



Monday, July 25, 2011

The Lonely Post...

Going on 48 hours now that my boys have been on the West coast. It sure is quite! And lonely...and boring....and easy. But I prefer having my boys here, as chaotic and hectic as it can be. I just don't feel right being here, in NC, without them. The Hubs sent me a few pictures of their fun thus far:

Looks like someone got himself a skate board. Oh boy...well maybe if he gets good he can skate next to me while I run:

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And I'm guessing he likes wearing the helmet...

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Today, I drove home in a torrential downpour. A deluge of water coming at me. I could hardly see. Then as soon as I hit my street it was dry. Not a drop of water fell on my neighborhood, until about 20 minutes ago. It was weird. But as I pulled into my drive I saw something sticking out of my mail box! Thank goodness it didn't rain here since it was the Run Less, Run Faster book sent to me by Michelle!! THANK YOU!!! I am pretty stoked to look it over. I'm thinking the philosophy behind it is pretty close to what my plan from The 4-Hour Body. Running less and running faster...theres only one way to do it, fast and short.

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Sunday after I swam 2,500 meters with Sarah I stopped at the PX (in other words the tax free store on the Army post) and found a Kettle Bell. My plan is to use it. Duh...ok, use it for working out and not as a door holder, paper weight or book end. Last night I did 50 Kettle Bell swings and all I can say is YEEEEOWE!!!!

Anything knew with you? Have you ever had extended periods of time when you were home alone sans kids and sans spouse? I've been without The Hubs many times, but without LB is just plain weird. I guess I could get used to it though...maybe.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Mechanics of Running....

Yep, I must have some time on my hands if I am about to give you some tips on running mechanics.

To date I have run 3 marathons. I think it is funny that I ran my best time in my first (OKC Memorial), and I am certain I could have done better. I held back because I didn't know, the unknown made me err on the side of caution. I thought it was too good to be true, that I would certainly die...but mile 13.1 came and I hit a sub 2hour half (only my second sub two out of about 10 previous halves), I felt great. Mile 16 came and I was smiling and still holding back. Mile 20 more the same...Mile 21, 22 I was getting worried about how great I felt. Mile 23 was the roughest but still, I did not die. I climbed a wall but didn't die.

I say all this because I was looking at plans for my fall marathon. I found plans with crazy running, tempos, pace, speed. I did all that, sure. But what stands out most was the simplicity of the plan I used for my first marathon: Hal Higond's Novice 1 plan. I know, I said I wanted to try something new And I still do BUT tick tock, time is passing and I am 15 weeks out from OBX. I need a plan and I need it fast. So I have printed off Hal's Novice 2 plan. It's still simple and has 4 runs a week with a Wed mid-distance run topping out at 8 miles, and it has pace runs thrown in. I think I can handle getting up early three days a week and heading out for a Saturday long run. Wait, let me rephrase that: I will have no problemo with three early AM runs a week.

There are two rest days and one cross train day thrown in. I am still going to be trying something a little new from the 4-Hour Body book, Ultra-Endurance I: Going from 5k to 50k in 12 weeks- Phase II. In his book, Mr. Ferris lays out a plan that employs a lot of crossfit and 400m repeats. I am thinking I can do some of the shorter runs in the 400m format. And well, who wouldn't benefit from some crossfit? I would, that's for sure. Plus the workouts are done in about 20 minutes and The Hubs has promised to create a home-gym on our awesome back porch. So I can do this in the evenings. The benefits are two fold: lean, toned muscle and strength. This will help me when it comes to Tri season next summer. Strength means power on the bike, stronger run, and stronger swim. As the Sigma boys in college would shout out as a pretty girl crossed the Student Center, I'll take it....!

Ok, so get to the Mechanics of Running right? This is nothing new or Earth Shaking. It's just a little something I read from the 4-Hour Body book which is written by a dude who is independently wealthy and goes to top researchers and scientists and puts his body to the test. Every thing in his book is backed by research and science and people who are WAY smarter than me, WAY faster than me, WAY better than me (think Scott Jurek,7 time winner of Western States Champ). Most of them are elite athlete coaches and athletes themselves. So they speak, I listen. And hopefully I improve.

  1. Use gravity for forward motion instead of push-off and muscular effort.
  2. Land on the balls of the feet and aim to have the feet land under your center of gravity instead of in front of you.
  3. Never fully straighten your legs. Keep a slight bend in your legs at all times to prevent push-off.
  4. Pull each foot off the ground and towards your buttocks (rather than pushing off) using the hamstrings as soon as it passes under your center of gravity.
  5. Maintain at least a 180 step/min rate, which means at least 90 steps per minute with each leg. This will use muscle elasticity to your advantage. Michael Johnson, who held the 200 m world record for 12 years, and also won 4 olympic gold medals at different distances, was known for eschewing (not my word!!) a high knee lift in favor of short steps. His per-minute step rate was 300! -Taken from Timothy Ferris, The 4-Hour Body

So how do you measure up? I actually have no idea how I measure. Pretty sure if I did #1 I would fall on my face. #2 I think I'm good. #3, I have no idea?? #4, I know I have a lousy back-kick. #5, I have no idea but maybe I should fill my iPod with tons of songs with 90 beats/min. Is that possible? What does that even sound like???? If you know of a 90 beat/min song send it my way so I can hear what that is....

Well, remember how I said I was afraid to push harder in my first marathon? Yeah, I kind of do that for all my races. I have talked about that before. I know I could do better, run faster, swim faster, ride harder. Why don't I? I guess I just don't have to. Do I really want to? I don't know, I guess it would be cool. But this quote struck me:

"Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through to obstruction" -William James

I told you I would be back and be bored. So maybe there will even be another post today, like after my swim I am about to go to...

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Greetings Earthlings....

From the stinking Sun.

Oh wait, the sun probably doesn't have 157% humidity like we have here. Heat indexes have been well over 100 every day this week. I'm talking like 111, 112. That is like melt-your-face hot. But the stupid thing is that it is actually like 98, 99 degrees but with the humidity it officially feels hotter. Around here it's referred to as Wet Bulb. It's super dangerous because you dehydrate and turn into a raisin or something. Maybe you just keel over and melt into the ground before anyone even knows what happened to you. As a matter of fact I saw this yesterday: Awful isn't it?

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Well I am officially flying solo for 16 days. The Hubs and LB are off on a grand adventure....

What the heck am I supposed to do for 16 days? I have a nice idea but if it really turns out I'll be surpassed. As of now I plan to wake up in the AM and be out the door running by 5:50 or 6. So much less time is required when I don't have to get LB ready and out the door too. Then to work as usual, head home for a quick minute to let Lazy Dog out (lucky Lazy gets to chill in the AC these days), then head to the pool! I am pumped to get in at least three swims this week! I need to in a serious way since I have my next tri coming up on Saturday! I also have the option of swimming in the morning before work! That would be double-decker-awesome! But lets be honest here, I like my sleep BUT on the flip side I can be in bed by 8:30 PM! Now that is triple-double-decker-aweosme!

I mentioned my next sprint tri is on Saturday. I decided to bite the bullet and finally get me a real, live, big-girl tri racing suit! I ordered it from my *AHEM*sponsor...onetri.com (check them out HERE). They have a lot of great gear and some of it is on sale! Score! So if you are in the market, considering coming to the Dark Side (not naming any names here Marlene or TMB) go ahead and check it out! I had hard time picking out what I wanted and before I knew it my Shopping Cart was up to like $600. Uh, nope. Unless that suit will swim for me, bike for me, and has an AC installed I don't think so....(then there is always the awesome possibility of some co. sending me a totally amazing suit to try and review here on my blog).

I finally settled on these pieces: think those are sewn in abs? I sure hope so...

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But I may try these, because well, you know I think they are totally fast looking! And all red/black and some grey to match Nelly C.I.R.N. What do you think???

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Pretty sweet, huh? Yeah. I'm kinda getting big time. Not bragging or anything....Ok in my dreams guys, come on. Don't boo me off stage.

I asked The Hubs yesterday if he would give me ONE YEAR, just one year with a real coach, to try to do amazing things and become a pro. Tri as my J.O.B. He didn't shoot it down immediately. "So you're telling me there's a chance!" He did say there was a few things that would need to be in place first, and I can respect that...so we will see.

Anyways, back to my awesome new race gear, we'll see how the gear measures up to the ole polyester speedo. I haven't tried them on, of course. So hopefully they get here before Friday and I can try them on and hopefully they fit. I'm not worried about the Never Race in Something New rule. A sprint tri is pretty short and I'll just take a bath in Chamois Butter or whatever it is called. I think I'll live...Now if they don't arrive by Friday then I may not live. I may throw a fit (ok not really. I'll just have to find another tri to do the next weekend so I can wear new outfit...you know, like wearing new clothes to school or a date, you gotta do it!).

Well off to figure out something to do with my evening. I wish I was't too lazy to take myself out for a movie. But I'm sure I'll end up Netflixing something and falling asleep. I'm a rock star like that!!

Happy Saturday! I hope those of you who raced had a great showing!! I can't wait to catch up on all your blogs! I'll certainly be doing that tonight.

Friday, July 22, 2011

True Story...

I'm too lazy to do a blog post.

So I'm not gonna....

And you can't make me....

Don't even try.

I will rebel and stand strong.

But tomorrow The Hubs and LB are headed to CA for a week, then The Hubs is headed to summit Mt. Rainier while LB stays in CA with the "City Grandparents". Do the math...TWO WEEKS alone. Two weeks with only me and Lazy Dog. This means I'm headed to pool and gym every night after work! Oh shoooooot! Is this turning into a blog post? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll be back tomorrow evening when I am all lonely and bored. I promise you will hear from me...

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Insanity....

Clinically I'm not sure I agree with Einstein's definition of Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. But for my own sanity, I'm going to go with it.

Do you ever do the same things, day after day, and really without thinking about it expect it to be different this time? Ok, maybe I'm the only one. Anywho, things have to change. Today I have started a new way of eating, it is hard to explain but I am pretty much cutting out bleached wheat, and wheat in general, breads, pasta and grains, cereal, crackers. I know it, sounds like the Atkins diet but its not. Carbs are good. The right carbs anyway. The right carbs that don't cause a huge insulin spike. Slow carbs if you will. After all I am an endurance athlete and I need carbs.... I really should stop tying right now since I am in no position to speak about this intelligently. I am not a nutritionist, an expert, a dietician...nothing. I am just me. Me who is stuck on this plateau. I have been on this stupid plateau trying to get off for a year now. Trying to get off by doing the SAME STUPID THING OVER AND OVER AND EXPECTING TO SEE A DIFFERENT RESULT. Every time I try to get down, I end up crawling back up to the safety, the comfort of the familiar. Working out, running, swimming, calories in calories out.....but not really considering what kind of calories I am putting in my mouth. Time for a change. Time to get off this stupid, desolate, annoying plateau. Time to get to my ideal racing weight. Time to get a sub 4 hour marathon in OBX this fall. IT. IS. TIME.

As for my routine, I am still adjusting. THANK YOU ALL for your comments last night. Sure enough I did read them this AM when my alarm when of at 5:15 AM. And I couldn't just ignore you all and go back to sleep. I got up and headed out the door. I only had 20 min before The Hubs had to go so I tried to make it a FAST run. Tried.

I decided I would head to the street on the far end of my neighborhood with the longest, biggest hill. I took the right turn off my street and was minding my own business when I passed the house who just put up a new, ghetto chain link fence (don't get me wrong, we have a chain link fence, but this one is ghetto because it is a fence around a wooden fence and goes from the front door all the way around the house to the other side for the front door. Make sense? I'll try to take a picture tomorrow).

Anyway, they have this fence around a fence and on the wooden fence there has always been a sign "Beware of Dog" and two dogs tied, or tethered, inside the fence. Like double security. Remember how Monday morning a dog took a taste of the heel of my shoe? Yeah, well it was a dog from inside the double fence. How do I know this? Well, this morning as I jogged along these two dogs came bolting out of the wooden fence. They now have a second bit of yard between the wood fence and the newer chain link fence. I looked at them and kept going. As I neared the end of their yard and they hit the corner of their fence I thought I would leave them behind. Nope. They scooted UNDER THE FENCE AND CAME BOLTING OUT INTO THE STREET AT ME. Now i am not really scared of dogs. I really think I could defend myself again one dog, two is kind of different. They were all over me. Not biting but barking and in front of me, behind me, coming at me, running around me....just all up in my space.

I stopped in the middle of the street, at 5:45 AM and yelled at these two nuisances "GO HOME!" They didn't really listen and I figured I was waking up the whole entire street. Oh well....keep your dogs put up. I decided I should just try to get out of there and started jogging. They did not like that. So I kicked at one of them. I missed but he back off. I ran backwards while yelling at them and they finally must have seen a squirrel or something because they took off in another direction.

The bad news is that I had to run back by there to get home....I opted not to. After I knocked out a few times up and down the hill (see elevation chart below) I headed out of the neighborhood in a second entrance that leads to the main road that I generally avoid these days (think crazy, redneck autobahn in huge trucks with shotguns and beer cans-no offense). It wasn't very far on that road before I got to our entrance to the neighborhood and had only maybe .25 to my house. barely over 2 miles done. Weak sauce. I miss my 4,5,6,7,8,9,10 + miles runs. Soon I'll get back into the swing of things....soon. Maybe it will be easier in the fall/winter when it isn't 100 degrees outside.

My Neighborhood Elevation---or lack thereof....

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Uhhh.....So, I was looking at my Garmin stats because I was curious about my hill work. Um, yeah. I don't see a hill either, really. I had a whopping Elevation Gain of 34 feet. Ladies and Gentlemen....NO WONDER I DIED IN SEATTLE. I thought my hill here was a good one. It's not. It's weak. Lame. It's a baby hill....I must find a hill. Actually I know where one is but it's about 3 miles away. I'll have to figure out a way to work it in so I can go and run up it. A lot. But watch, it's probably like an elevation gain of like 45 feet.

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Tomorrow I plan to get up at 5:30 for my run. Hopefully the people have their dogs put away (The Hubs went and gave them a talking to...) so I can run without any issues.

Random info for the day: I keep having a muscle twitch in my right tricep and it is annoying....like super duper annoying....what's up with that?

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Blech...

...where is my good, positive mood from yesterday?

I have no idea!

This AM I was unable to get up for an early run since The Hubs had to leave for work at 5:30. Ugh....I wanted to go with him since he was leading PT and going for a 6 mile run leading PT. But I couldn't. So I slept until 6:30. And then there is tomorrow. I was hoping to maybe do a Mon/Wed/Fri early AM run schedule but again The Hubs has to leave for work by 6. Maybe I can get it done before that. Maybe. I think there just isn't enough time in the day.

Today I am feeling defeated and challenged. I am starting to feel like no one else in the world has as many obstacles and issues getting their workouts in. But I know it's irrational and selfish for me to think that way. I know we all have roadblocks and obstacles that get in our way. But seriously...I have a lot of challenges. Ok, ok...I know you do too. Enough whining and complaining. Let's try this again....

Nope. Still cranky and Negative Nancy. Must be due to NOT getting my sweat on today.

LB's Mean Mug face....
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Tell me something funny. Something happy and encouraging....Maybe when my alarm goes off in the AM I'll read your comments and be motivated to get out the door!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Yes, It is Certainly Monday...

...thank goodness it is only Monday for a few more hours.

This AM I hit snooze when my alarm went off at 5:30 AM. No biggie. I had a plan. Snooze for one round and get up on the next pass, in 10 minutes. Plus Sarah was supposed to send me a Go Run or Else text...fail proof. Except she must have slept in or something because she didn't text me. Sure enough, at 5:40 AM my alarm went off again. I hit snooze and The Hubs mumbled something to the effect of, "Aren't you gonna get up to run?" Uh....yes. I flung the covers off and stumbled to my dresser. I was dressed and out the door by 5:53. No contacts in my eyes, blind as a half-blind bat, nothing in my stomach, no iPod. Dang it, I forgot my iPod. I didn't really have time to go back in for it. I only had 30 minutes for my run since The Hubs had to leave by 6:30. I also realized about 1.5 miles into my run that I should probably have returned the favor and texted Sarah a Get Up and Go Run text. FAIL. EPIC FAIL.

The sun was rising, at least I could see the beautiful colors of the sunrise. Lots of orange and pink....That is one thing I had forgotten about NC, the beautiful sunsets and sunrises. The colors are just so vibrant and beautiful. I didn't really mind running without music. It was quiet and calm outside. It was almost, almost chilly. It got me to thinking about fall. I love summer, it is my favorite season. I know I gripe and complain A LOT about summer heat and humidity but really I LOVE summer. Life just seems right in the summer. But nonetheless the chillness in the air had me thinking about fall, pumpkins, dark mornings, tights and long sleeve shirts. This led further to my thoughts of my fall marathon, OBX. Am I ready for a fall marathon? No. Can I get ready? I think so...I hope so! I better because I am doing one dad-gum-it. What will my new co-workers think of all this? I have no idea. Will I even tell them? To be decided....

Speaking of co-workers, how many of you share your blog and running with those you work with? I think I will, eventually. Maybe. Not many of them are, er....like me. For lack of better terms. They aren't fitness-minded really. There is one girl who spoke to me about going to the gym and wanting to gain weight. What would that be like? I talked with her about weight-training and working out. I briefly mentioned that I like to run and she said she wasn't a fan but ran in high school. No biggie but at least I can talk fitness with her. I wish I could start a trend in the office, and I might. It just might take some time for me to get settled in my job before I start making waves about getting fit and healthy.

All this I thought about while on my three mile run. In my last half mile a random dog came out and chased me down. He was circling me and barking. Uh, seriously. Get your dog. I yelled at him, "GO HOME!" about three times and he decided that he wanted to taste the heel of my Saucony before heading home...I wasn't really worried but I did think, "Great, I'll have to tell my boss about my running when I call and tell her I got bit by a stupid dog while on my morning run at 6 AM. The cat will be outa' the bag then..." Luckily the dog missed my skin and must have gotten scared when I said something like "STUPID DOG I WILL BEAT YOU!" and went home.

I made it home at 6:27 AM and was greeted at the door by The Hubs with a nice, cold recovery drink and scrambled eggs. Um....mmmm.....yummy combo?

And still blind, I decided to update my Dailymile. This is what happens when you try to do things, at 6:30 in the morning, when you are blind: Yes, I swam 3 yards in 89 minutes for my AM run....


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And in case you need to see the pace for my amazing run....here it is: It says, 52516:26 pace. I'm awesomesauce.
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And yes, Chelsea, I would LOVE a slimy new trining partner....thankyouverymuch!

Thanks to all of you who have offered advice and tips on the Run Less, Run Faster plan! I really, really appreciate it! Michelle will be sending me her copy of the book (THANKS A JILLION!!). I'm pretty stoked to look it over. I'll be working with the plan and seeing if it will work for me. I also just got the other book I was waiting on. I look forward to looking at and comparing the two plans. I do think I will use both, one for my fall marathon (OBX) and one for my Spring marathon (...already registered!!! To Be Announced Soon). The idea of using different plans is really appealing to me right now. I would like to broaden my experience a little bit, especially since I will be taking the RRCA Coaching Certification class in the fall. I want to be able to offer future coach-ees a breadth of knowledge, plans and experience. How can I create and implement plans that I, myself, have not tried?

Awesome things are happening here at 5 Miles!! And all because I got up on the right side of the bed for my early AM run.....And let's do it all over again tomorrow!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

50%

Maybe I know what half the problem is these days.....I am seemingly running aimlessly. I have no plan really. I am just running around with no direction. I need a plan. Pronto.

I mentioned waiting for a book to arrive that has a plan I want to look over. It still isn't here. Grrr....I got a lot of great suggestions form you all yesterday as far as plans go. The one I am really interested (if the one I am waiting for doesn't seem like a winner) in is the Run Less, Run Faster plan but that poses the same problem, I have to order it...and read a book about it, I think??? Can you say PROCRASTINATOR? I should have planned this out a while ago but I guess I was counting on using Hal's trusty ole plan. But the Run Less, Run Faster plan seems great since I have limited time now-a-days. Any of you who have used this, is there just a straight up plan that I can find or do I need to get the book and read it? I don't mind reading it but I am on borrowed time here....17 weeks until OBX and I feel like I need 57 weeks.

On the note of needing a 57 week training plan....What the heck is going on? I feel so frumpy and slow. I just cant seem to figure it out. I used to feel light on my feet but now I feel like a stinking two ton wrecking ball trying to run up a tiny mole hill. It's not pretty and it's not good. I am WAY off track. This is worse than a rut it's like I have tumbled down the Grand Stinking Canyon. It may be that I am getting about half an hour of cardio in 3 or 4 times a week instead of my usual 2 hours at 6 or 7 times a week. Ya think? Good news is I'll be hitting up the pool for a 4,000 meter swim this afternoon then yoga with J-Ninja this evening. That should be, uh...interesting.

How was your weekend? Anything amazing going on? Lots of races this weekend! I can't wait to hear how every one did!!
And because no post of mine is truly complete without a picture, I leave you with this photo from The Public Market or Pikes Place Market in Seattle....


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Isn't that just yummy looking? Ah man I wish we had a market around here. I miss going to the Farmer's Market on the weekend to get fresh local fruits and veggies. Such a treat! and speaking of the Farmer's Market, my sister and her family helped my parents sell their first crop of grapes at their local market! How fun is that? Here is a picture of my parent's vineyard from when I was there in June:

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Friday, July 15, 2011

Hello Friday Morning!

Yes, I am morning blogging...I guess I should/could be out for a run but I am STRUGGLING with the morning run thing. I think it will take time...but seriously, how long will it take to get into a routine? I have been evaluating What is Working and What is Not Working lately....it has given me some insight into my daily routine and what I need to do to get in my workouts. I'll try to share my list this weekend when I have a few extra minutes. As of now a three mile run once a day is about all I can do. A far cry from my two hour swims and hour + track workouts. I am hoping that I will eventually get into a better routine but for now I just don't have the time. Yesterday morning I hit snooze and had my run hanging over my head ALL day. As soon as I could after getting home last night (which was about 7:30) I headed out for my run. Being an evening run I know I could have gone farther than 3 miles but I was tired and I had dinner sitting heavy in my stomach. FAIL.

Monday, as in just this past Monday, marked the beginning of Fall Marathon Training. Uh....so yeah, off to a not-so-good start. I haven't even gotten a plan together for that. While I am going all True Confessions of a Failing Runner on you.....I haven't even registered for OBX yet. Don't worry, I WILL register.

I have used trusty ole Hal Higdon's plans for my past three marathons. His plans worked really well for me but this time around I am considering going with a new plan. Experimenting a little if you will. In fact I have a book ordered and hopefully it will get here soon so I can read it and get started training. Hal's plans are 18 weeks long, this new one is about 12 weeks (which gives me time to get settled in my routine) and would start in mid August. I like this idea. It also has a diet that goes along with it that I look forward to reading more about. It is designed to fuel your body and provide it with the protein and carbs that it needs without the insulin spike and sugar that often goes along with the high intake of high carbs and sugar. I'll share more with you after I get the book and start on it. I hope the plan, which is a 5k to 50 plan (sounds like a stretch doesn't it??) works out because otherwise I will be behind on Hal's plan.

I think it will be fun to experiment with other plans for the marathon. Have you ever done that? What plans have you tried that you liked? Any that just crashed and burned? Yeah, I want to steer far away from that one! Any that led you to a killer PR? I want to hear all about it!!

Also, any of you blog with a Mac? I love my Mac but it is lousy for blogging....or at least that is what I have experiences thus far. What program do you use to blog or do you use the dashboard of blogger? I used to use Windows Live Writer and if you use a PC or Windows or whatever I HIGHLY recommend that program. It was AWESOME!! But now, on my new Mac I am using Ecto (had to pay $19 for it too) and it stinks. Half the time I can't publish my post and it completely loses my post out there in cyberspace. Which is part of the reason I haven't been blogging as much lately. In fact my post was deleted last night and I said forget it and went to bed. So I need help!!!! Man, I am quite needy lately!!

In other news....It's Friday!!! Have a great weekend and happy running!! Any grand plans for the weekend? Good luck to the racers out there!!!

Monday, July 11, 2011

My Sprint Tri Recap...

Think I can keep it short and sweet? Maybe. I'll try...

Here I am setting up my transition area:

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Here is the lake. You can kind of see the buoys out there with the first one off to the far right, then we made a left turn and and a final left turn to take us to the end of the 750 yd swim.

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The Hubs and J-Ninja's Hubster were in the 3rd wave. The 4th wave, mine, was 4 minutes after that.

Here we are at the start, waiting for our waves to start. I think my swim cap was doing something funky to my left eye. That's hot...And poor A-Dog was in the Novice category, awarding him the manly pink swim cap...So weird but he took it like a man.

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I had high hopes of catching The Hubs during the swim but as I watched his wave move further and further away from me I knew it would be tough if not impossible. Finally it was my turn to swim and I took off. I swam pretty well, keeping my stroke even and my legs kicking. I couldn't stay in a good breathing rhythm though. No matter how hard I try my breathing gets all crazy. I was breathing every second stroke and it was making me mad but I just kept going. I finally rounded the first buoy and felt like I was on the homeward stretch. I caught my first blue cap (was it The Hubs??? No, dang.) before the second buoy. Then I caught a couple more and passed them, still not The Hubs. As I made my way to the shallow water and stood up I recognized J-Ninja's Hubster....not my Hubs but still I was pretty excited. I ended up being 9th of my age group out of the water. Not too shabby!

I felt good coming out of the water and made the LONG run to the bike transition area. It was one of the longest shoots I have ever experienced. But I hit my bike and needed no wardrobe adjustment. I threw on my socks, bike shoes, helmet, and sun glasses and hit the road. J-Ninja's Hubster was right in front of me but as soon as his bootie hit the bike seat he was GONE...like LONG GONE. As in I choked on his dust then he was so far gone his dust settled before I ever hit it...

The bike route was good. Hilly as all get out but still good. I had no idea where I was distance wise (I really need a bike computer) and all I knew is that the hills just kept coming. The good thing with hills is that you go up then you go down...I came out of my aero bars for the down hills, bad bad bad but after hurling off my bike on a long downhill going 25 mph I am a little on the chicken side, I need to have breaks in hand. I was brave though and with my hands on the breaks, just in case, I let myself go down the hills, even gearing up so that I could peddle and go even faster. My average speed was 17.3 mph. I am pretty happy with that since that was my second ride in two months. ***Ahem...*** Cough*** Cough*** I used a GU tablet in my front water bottle to fuel during the ride. It worked really well and now I am liking the GU drink for fuel as well as Cytomax. Both seem to get the job done.

I came off the bike in bad shape. My legs, as usual, were all crazy and felt like maybe they were going to fall off. That or run off without my body. Either way, what a sight to see, huh? They always seem to be moving faster than my body can follow. Does that make sense? It's like they wanted to have a faster turnover than my body can follow and it is really weird/hard/painful/awkward. But I made it to my transition area and racked my bike. Off I went on the 5k run...I forgot my Chomps. FAIL.

The first half mile of the run was on the paved road. No biggie. But then we took a turn and headed into the woods. Uhh....don't get me wrong, I love trail running BUT I haven't done it in a long, LONG time. Running on grass, gravel and dirt is completely different than road running. I think it takes more energy, at least for me it does. Just like the bike course the run course was hill after hill. I was hitting a pretty good pace every once and a while. I would be sub 9 min/mile on the down hills just to see a 10 min/mile on the next uphill.

There were ample water stops and I took drinks and poured lots of water on my head. By this time it was getting pretty hot to accompany the already, ever-present humidity. I was happy to hit the 2 mile turn-around and head back to the finish...only 1.1 miles to go. I could do this. The run was pretty uneventful, as I like it. I made it to the home stretch and saw J-Ninja, LB, The Hubs (and Hubster? I don't remember) all there...My own cheering crowd! I crossed the line and the lady wanted my timing chip but I just couldn't stop my legs from going. Weird. That doesn't usually happen.

Overall it was a good race and I am happy with my performance. It was a tough, hilly course. The only flat part was the swim...I'm surprised they didn't have us swim up a river....Of course I would have like to have done better but there is always next time...like July 30th in Washington....Ah, hold on, don't get all excited all my WA peeps, Washington, NC. Cruel, I know, but there really is a town named that and I think it is only fitting for me to participate in that event. So I am excited!

Here are more pics for you...courtesy of J-Ninja (THANKS BTW!) Coming to the finish...

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Me, J-Ninja and LB after the race:

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The Hubs doing his thing, heading to the bike from the swim:

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And nothing says, CELEBRATION like Mexican food after a good race!! Me and J-Ninja down'n some food:

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And I have a question...if there are any Race Directors reading this: Why no finishers medal? I would say maybe 25% of tris give out medals. That seems weird to me. How am I supposed to do my signature pose without it?

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Raleigh Triangle Tri...

Middle-of-the-packer....I guess I'll take that. Of course I would like to be a font-of-the-packer but that will take a little more, er.... work? Training? Effort? Yes, all of that.

Here are the Age Group results...

750 yd Swim/17 mile bike (longest sprint bike course EVER)/5k run

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I'll give a full recap as soon as I get some pictures from J-Ninja, wh had to sit this race out due to her stupid ITB. It stinks to have an injured racing partner. But she was awesome as a Race Support and hung with LB!!

Peace out y'all....

Friday, July 8, 2011

GO RUNNING!!!

Who likes to receive a text like this... ONE minute after your alarm goes off?

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I do....And I NEEDED it!

Here is the back story:

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I got in bed at 9:36 PM and had plans to get up at 5:30 AM to run. But I know ME and I knew there was a 90% chance I would hit snooze and roll over and go back to bed. Lucky for me RED is visiting from WA and like a true, good friend she volunteered to text me a wake up call. I was prepared to go back to sleep, even after the text. But when she said, "Zero ICK when you're done." I knew she was right! I knew I didn't want to be mad at myself tonight, like I was last night. So off I went....and now, as we sit hanging out I am super duper glad I hit the road early! Otherwise we would be running and not doing this:


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Just like old times, RED and I are back at it....so good to have her here!!

Rock n Roll Seattle

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Sometimes I just need a little extra push to get up and hit the road....I know if she hadn't sent me that text I would not have gotten up.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Negative or Positive?

Good or bad?

Happy or grumpy?

What do you want to hear? What should I tell you? Bad? Oh good! I wanted to totally unleash on you all! To be a Super Dooper (or is it duper?)Debbie Downer and get lots of sympathy!

I wanted to tell you how grumpy I am because I rolled over this morning after hitting snooze at 5:45 AM. I wanted to tell you that running early in the AM is awful and I hate it BUT on the other hand I feel so great afterwards. I was wanting to tell you that the good outweighs the bad AFTER I actually get up and run. I already know all these things, that the sacrifice is worth it and I feel worse in the evening after having NOT gotten up to run in the morning. I know this. Yet I still hit snooze so that I could get measly 40 extra minutes of lousy sleep. I didn't even get to get good sleep because I knew I should be up and out the door. Yet I laid there. Comfy in my bed.

Now. Now at 7:51 PM I am kicking myself. I had plans to go to the Recreation Center FREE gym that I discovered a few weeks ago while LB was half a mile away at his Ju Jit Su class. But circumstances happened and I wasn't comfortable leaving him at his class alone. A big thunderstorm rolled in and frankly lately I have been a bit tornado-shy. So I sat there...thinking about the gym.

Now, lightening is still streaking the sky but the rain has slowed. Maybe I will get out of my grumpy pants and slip on my happy tempo shorts for a quick neighborhood run. That sounds nice. Plus The Hubs said, so reassuringly, "Most people survive lightening strikes." Great. I feel so much better now.

Off for a quick jaunt around the neighborhood.

Give me a tip for managing my workouts and not gaining 20 pounds with my new job. I know it will take time to get in a routine but I am afraid that by that time I will have lost all my fitness and be starting over. I am thinking, if I can get my self in gear and be disciplined enough, two to three early AM runs (I hate getting up early) and Mon/Wed hitting up the small Recreation Center gym for only one hour (good for weights and a quick treadmill run). I just have such a hard time getting up so early. And week after next The Hubs will be heading to work by 5:30 AM so that means even earlier than now...ugh. How?! HOW!!!?

***Addendum!!
I just completed 3.5 miles with no lightening strikes and no rain!! AND I did a weights workout on the back porch!!! YEAH!! Maybe I will be an evening worker-outer!!!
And because no post is complete without photos this is for your viewing enjoyment....
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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Swim Across the Lake!

Whose idea was that???

So the weekend of camping was fun. Hot, but fun. I had forgotten what it was like to be dirty 24 hours a day. At least the camp site had running water to include a shower (score!!) and flushing toilets. Hardly roughing-it camping, I know. Nothing like backpacking miles up into the mountains with nothing but what is on your back. I enjoy that kind of camping for sure but car camping is fun too. It was great to hang out with good friends and just relax, as best you can with bees, bugs, dirt, and hotness surrounding you. LB had a blast and if the level and degree of dirtiness was a measuring tool he was OFF THE CHARTS, despite getting stung by two yellow jackets, one on the thigh and one on his poor lip. A wasp was chilling in his drink and he nearly drank the stupid thing but it decided to sting him first. He was a trooper and only cried a little bit.

Here is LB cutting down a tree, or something. Oh yes, and notice the Mohawk? Yes. I came home Friday from my first day of work to find my son's head in this state...summer=Mohawk around here I guess...

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It was so hot during the afternoon that we drug some stuff down by the lake to take a nap by the water in the shade. LB, Lazy Dog and I crashed under the trees while The Hubs went for a bike ride.

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There was fun to be had in the lake, of course. The Hubs drug our (sleeping) air mattress down to the water since we didn't have a boat (note for next year: get a boat). They decided it would be fun to row that thing all over the lake. Good news is they didn't get hit by any speed boats. Bad news is they looked totally ridiculous out in the middle of the lake on a sleeping air mattress...

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LB had a blast! We threw the life jacket on him and he swam around like a champ. Lazy Dog got some quality swim time too!

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Sunday afternoon we decided to do a real swim. The Hubs, J-Ninja's Hubster and I wanted to swim across the lake. Our other friend had a kayak so he volunteered to "ferry" us across the lake, right through the speed boat/jet ski/water skiing/enter tubing path. Pretty sure this is not allowed and frowned upon but we needed to train, or so The Hubs said. We picked a spot across the lake, not really sure how far it would be. We set out to swim across. We stayed together for the most part, for the sake of safety. Once we reached the other side the consensus was that is was probably 800 yds, at least. The guys were resting and I wanted to head back, swimming a little faster this time. Our Kayaking friend agreed to ferry me across solo and return for The Hubs and J-Ninja's Hubster. I was across in less than 15 min. I had to fight some killer speed boat wakes but overall it was an excellent swim in the open water.

We just hung out most of the time. LB grabbed my camera at one point and this is what he got for me..Mmm....hot dogs and Dorritos.

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Sunday night I caught the sunset over the lake. It was pretty beautiful...

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So it was a fun-filled weekend with little training. But I think next time we will head back to the beach house!

I need to get back on track. I have had a lot of things come up over the past few weeks and I can feel myself moving away from the level of fitness I was and would like to be at. With my new job things are still crazy and my schedule is all over the place. This morning was the first of my Early AM runs. It was awful. Not good. I was tired and grumpy. I didn't even put in my contacts. I ran blind. It was hot and early and I was hungry. I also didn't wake up early enough to give me enough time. I only had time for 3 miles. So it will take a lot of getting used to but it is my only option. Racing may go by the way-side for a while, while I get situation and get my schedule ironed out. But I will get it! I HAVE to. The good news is that I like my job so far...

Ok, sorry if I bored you with my camping weekend! I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!!

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Saturday, July 2, 2011

Camping!

A quick note to say Happy 4th of July! And Happy Canada Day to my friends north!

We are camping with limited cell service. I'll be back Monday!




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