A Dog's Perspective

A few weeks ago, I took Bandit with me to drop off the recycling. It was a short trip, but to him it was paradise. He was *so* happy to go for a car ride, *so* happy to get out of the car and walk back and forth between the recycle bins and the car as I sorted and dropped things off, *so* happy to jump back in the car to go home, etc. He enjoyed everything about it.

After a few days of wallowing in self-pity, I've realized (once again) that I need to start living more like my dog. He has truly mastered the art of enjoying every moment of every day. Taking simple pleasure in a long walk or a car ride or the fresh wind blowing on his face.

Thanks, buddy. I'll try harder to follow your example.

"Don’t let your life pass you by, focus on the present and enjoy today!" - Glen Hopkins

finger update

Okay. I'm a lot less freaked out about my finger, but remain equally frustrated.

After seeing me yesterday, the hand doc doesn't think it's anything to be concerned with. She removed the splint and simply 'taped' the finger to it's neighbor for support. She wants me to practice making a fist many many times a day. And be careful not to bump it.

I'm doing the best that I can, but it's harder than it sounds. The finger is still tender, badly bruised, and swollen. Really swollen. It's currently the fattest finger on my left hand, with the exception of my thumb. And it just doesn't want to bend down very far. Not to mention that it hurts.

Here is my attempt at a drawing of what I saw on the x-ray:When I was talking to the hand doc, she asked if I've ever injured that finger before.

Why Yes, I have. Three times. Once as a very young child, playing dolls, a cradle rocked over my finger. Once in grade school playing softball. Once as a teen playing volleyball. Fractures each time.

Unlucky finger or clutzy me?

Knowing that, she said she wasn't 100% sure that this little fractured piece is a new injury. It might be. Or it might just be leftover from a past injury.

The main thing is that she wants me to keep it moving. Take ibuprofen to control swelling. Be careful with it so it can heal.

I think I can do that.

Of course I wanted to run this morning, but Husband intercepted with some other ideas.

Something about taking care of myself, that doesn't seem like such a good idea, what am I in a hurry for, just take a few days and do what the doctor says and be careful, and go ahead and make a fist and shake it at him. Whatever.

I still plan to run the 5K on Sunday, though.

Tough Break - literally

Yesterday I had a terrible awful no good very bad experience with my run group. (To the point that I think I might need to break up with them) But that's not what I'm here to blog about.

Instead, I wish to share what will soon be my excuse for at least a few weeks for not going to the gym, cycling, or swimming.

This morning I somehow managed to smash (the doc used the word crushed, but that truly makes it sound worse than it is) the little finger on my left hand (of course, becuase I'm left handed and people usually injre their dominant hand) with about 85lbs of weight at the gym.

It occurred so fast that I can't exactly recall the exact details of what exactly happened. One minute things were fine, the next minute I heard a crash, and realized that my finger was purple, swollen, and bleeding.

Immediately went home put ice on it. (I hardly ever cry, but I started sobbing on the way home from the gym because I was in so much pain) Then had my son take me to urgent care.

Xrays confirmed broken bone. No stitches required, luckily. They splinted it, wrapped it up, made an appt with the hand specialist for Friday afternoon, gave me a shot of pain meds and a script for more, and sent me on my way. (All wrapped up, it doesn't look so bad. But trust me, the finger itself is rather grotesque right now.) Bummer, eh?

I wasn't home more than an hour and the hand clinic called. They want to see me tomorrow morning instead of friday afternoon. Apparently they are concerned about nerve/tendon damage bcause while my finger will bend, I am unable to bend it (I can straighten it though, and that uses differnt tendons, muscles, whatever). Guess my piano career is over (that's a lame attempt at a joke. I'm not a pianist!)

I'm not sure what to make of this right now. (perhaps that's cuz i'm jacked up on pain meds at the moment) but if this messes up my ability to do the splash&dash at the end of the month i'm going to be ticked.

Nuun

[No, Nuun didn't send me samples to test out and review. I just felt like sharing recent personal experience.]

I've been using Nuun on and off for a year or so, but started using it more regularly since the tight quad incident a few weeks ago. I'm using it at times that I previously would have just had water, not when I would have used Accelerade. For example, still taking Accelerade with me on longish bike rides, but adding a Nuun tablet to my water bottle when I go to the track.

Each Nuun tablet contains four essential electrolytes (sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium). Drop one into your water bottle and they fizz up a bit. Two minutes later, you have a slightly flavored, sugar free, electrolyte drink.

My observations. I've had zero muscle cramping issues since using it more regularly. And I'm feeling less "thirsty" which I assume is because it's working well to hydrate me.

Nutrition/hydration seems to be very personal. What works well for me might not work well for you. Having said that, this is one product that I'm keeping in my bag of tricks.

Santa Fe Wine Festival

This afternoon, Husband & I drove up to Rancho de las Golondrinas for the annual Santa Fe Wine Festival. This is my favorite of the local wine festivals, because of the scenic location. This one is held on the grounds of a historic living history museum.

Admission price includes the annual wine festival glass. I like the one they gave us for this year.


It was a nice afternoon, not too hot, with several tents set up for sampling wine & local foodstuff. There were a few artisans present as well. We shared Carnitas for lunch - yummy!

Came home with two bottles of wine. The first is Milagro vineyards "Corrales Red" which is a dry red table wine. The second is Gruet Syrah. Gruet is known locally for their Champagne. I was pleasently surprised to discover that they also made a few red wines, and the Syrah was quite good.


It probably goes unsaid that I will not be running this afternoon.

Which would be okay but I also didn't run yesterday. Or the day before. And for that matter, I've consistently missed my long run for the past 4 weekends. I'm pretty much back at square one - 5K distance.

Yeah, not so good.

BUT...weather permitting, I will run tomorrow morning before work. At least 4 miles. Because, I've decided to start ramping up my mileage over the next month to test my knee to see if Duke City Half Marathon might be in the cards for me this year.

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

[Edited to add - I did indeed get in a 4 mile run this morning before work. Took it at a leisurely 12 min/mi pace. Followed by some yogurt and fresh berries. Not a bad way to start off the week if I do say so myself!]

Making Plans

FYI - I've made a few small but meaningful changes to my blog header to shift focus a bit, otherwise decided to maintain my blog identity and keep it as is.

Yesterday Husband & I finalized dates for an upcoming trip. We're flying to northwest OH to visit my mom, then driving east to Cedar Point, then to Niagra Falls, then up and over to Toronto, and back around to OH before flying back home to NM. If anyone has any ideas of fun things to do along that route, please drop me a line!

In the process of firming up the dates, I realized that we were going to be out of town for the Socorro Sprint Tri. D'oh! Sent an email to the race director asking if I could have a refund or have my registration forwarded out a year. Seems I only manage to do that race in even calendar years. Oh well.

I was able to confirm, however, that I will be in town for Splash & Dash #3, and officially signed up for that. In addition, I signed up for the Women's 5K next weekend. Woot!

Whatever your plans, I hope you enjoy your weekend.


"If our country is worth dying for in time of war let us resolve that it is truly worth living for in time of peace." ~Hamilton Fish

Change of Focus?

Received the Splash & Dash results in my email. A few observations.
- My swim was solidly middle of the pack. Woot!
- My run and overall finish was back of the pack. Third from last, to be exact.
- Most of the participants were under 30.
- Only one person older than me showed up.
- I believe that it would be understandable if this makes me feel old and slow.
- But it doesn't.
- I feel alive and happy!

I've been thinking that it might be time to modify the theme of my blog. I find myself relating more to the words of Jon Blais than to the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. That's not to say that I don't relate to the tortoise at all, but I'm finding that my focus is less about getting to the finish line and more about enjoying the life that I've been given.

"Live more than your neighbors. Unleash yourself upon the world and go places. Go now. Giggle, no, laugh. No...stay out past dark and bark at the moon like the wild dog that you are. Understand that this is not a dress rehearsal. This is it. Your life. Face your fears and live your dreams. Take it all in. Yes, every chance you get. Come close. And by all means, whatever you do, get it on film." - Jon Blais

Hill repeats tonight, if we don't get rained out again. I can't wait!

Track Workout and Monthly Totals

~TRACK WORKOUT ~

Tuesday is track day. I never look forward to track day, but I always show up. Today we were scheduled for 1 mi warm up followed by 3x [1000M @ 10K pace with 600M walk/jog]

I did my first 1000 in something faster than 10K pace, not necessarily intentionally, and then my pace and energy level really faded off somewhere between 600 & 800. That's not at all what was prescribed. Drat.

Coach walked over and told me he wanted me to run 600 for the next one instead of the 1000. He instructed me to push it beyond my comfort zone, but hold a steady pace throughout. And, he added "you're going to surprise yourself"

At first I felt like I was getting a remedial workout - I had failed at the 1000s so now I was getting shorter intervals. But then I reminded myself that he's there to help each of us do the best we can. He probably had something specific in mind.

So 600s is what I did.

And boy was he was right, I did surprise myself. I found myself holding onto the pace that the rest of the group was doing for their 1000s rather than my usual going out to hard and then falling off to the back. Amazingly, I felt strong throughout. I was pushing it, but not to the point of failure.

Looking at the numbers, my 600s came in at 3:02 and 3:07. I think that's something along the lines of 8:10-8:20min/mi. Shazam!

Coach was very pleased with how this worked out. For the next month or so, he wants me to focus on shorter intervals at the track with a faster pace vs longer intervals with a slower pace, continue with the hills, and long slow runs on the weekends.

~MONTHLY TOTALS ~

numbers
- ran 36.8 miles
- cycled 70.3 miles
- swam 4450 yds
- did strength at the gym 12 times (clearly, I'm still lovin' the gym)
- events: one half century ride, one splash & dash

thoughts
- I had fun with both events and had a more 'balanced' training month.
- My training volume isn't all that high, but I'm focussed on short stuff at the moment and trying to stay injury free, so I think I'm right where I need to be.

plans for July
- keep on keepin' on. :-)

Random Thoughts

• Sometime last week I lost my purple sport watch. It's the one I use at the pool and also for days when I don't care for data overload from my garmin. I'm bummed. I guess I can look for a new one at Target or something, but I'm mad at myself for losing a perfectly good watch for no good reason. D'oh!

• I bought a new pair of BRIGHT orange Nike shorts from Marshalls the other day. Super comfy and in a you-can't-miss-me color. What's not to love about that?! [Hey, if you know me on facebook, please try the how well do you know me quiz just to make me feel loved and oh by the way Marshall's is an answer in case you haven't figured that out by now. ]

• I feel compelled to share why my rockin' swim from the splash and dash is particularly awesome (for me). As I've mentioned before, I didn't learn to swim until just before my 40th birthday. Some of you may remember that; others may not have ever known it. Anyway, it amazes me how comfortable I am in the water now. My swim just gets better and better. [I wish I could say the same for my running, but alas, that's an entirely different story.]

• The local Women's Distance Festival races are coming up weekend after the 4th. Last year I took third in my AG and got a cute charm bracelet. Might do that again, although I truly don't expect to place.

• We had a lot of rain on Thu and Fri. No big deal, right? But then on Fri and Sat nights the family was kept awake by the annoying loud croaking of frogs/toads. In the freaking desert!! Where the heck did they even come from and why are they so annoyingly loud?!?!? [I was ready to hunt them down and relocate them last night, but they were smart and kept quiet. I'm on to you, stupid frogs!]

Splash & Dash Race Report

This morning I got up early for the 2nd in the series of four local splash&dash events. I missed the first one and wasn't sure what to expect.

Showed up at the location and discovered that this would be a VERY SMALL event. Maybe 25 participants. Guess it is a bad weekend for them. There's another local race this morning, one this evening, plus the serious local triathletes are in Lubbuck for BSLT 70.3.

No worries, I like small events.

The format was 250yd pool swim with a seeded start. Up and back in each lane, then over and so on until you make your way to the end. Out to transition on a patio area. Then a short run over to the Bosque trail with the bulk of the run on dirt.

Set my transition area up and chatted with the other participants as we waited for the start. Got comments again on my too cute Turtle bag.

Seems that most of the people were nervous about the swim. Not Me. I was actually nervous about the run. I've missed my long runs the past few weekends for various reasons, our hill repeats were cut short by a thunderstorm, as was my 'make-up' run on Friday. Just wasn't sure how this was going to work out for me today

They lined us up by number (based on estimated swim time) and started us 30 seconds apart. I had estimated 5:25 based on my past few swims which put me at #11. It looked like most everyone was lined up in a reasonable order except for one lady who seeded herself way too far in the front. Plus the 30 secs between starts provided plenty of room.

The swim was comfortable and I felt strong. I noticed that I was gaining on the guy in front of me and losing the lady behind me. I was surprised and happy afterwards with my actual swim split which works out to 2:01 per 100 yds. That's smokin' fast for me. I'm very happy with my swim.

swim (250 yd) : 5:05

Removed the swim cap and goggles as I was getting out of the pool. Jogged to the transition area to put on my socks and shoes and grab my hat. I hadn't remembered to put my fast laces in, so I had to take time to tie my shoes (vs slip them on). Still, my transition time wasn't too bad.

transition: 0:59

Then it was time to run. Uggh. Right from the beginning, I could tell it was going to be a struggle. Luckily it was a short course. My favorite part of the run was seeing the other participants out on the course. Everyone was encouraging to each other which made me smile. My run time wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible either. It worked out to a 9:49 pace which is just a bit off my 5K pace. Coming off a swim, it's basically what I should have expected.

run (3 mi): 29:28
total : 35:32

Here I am shortly after finishing. Still breathing hard and squinting from the sun, but happy.


I hung around the finish area to cheer for the final participants as they crossed the line. Everyone seemed to be happy and was talking about whether or not they would be able to do #3 and #4 in the series. If they work out with my schedule, I'm in!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend folks. :-)

Eenie Meenie Miney Moe

My hamstrings were screaming at me Wednesday after my three-rer on Tuesday. Not in a bad way, more in a man-i-really-pushed-it kind of way. I opted not to cycle commute, in favor of stopping at the pool for a short swim and a dip in the hot tub after work.

Mission accomplished, but not without being hit in the head a few times by wild arms in the pool. [Note to self, stick to morning swimming. Apparently everyone and their brother, cousin, sister, aunt, and neighbor have the same idea about using the pool in the late afternoon/early evening.]

Came home an mulled over some options for this weekend.

option 1 - free memorial 5K sunday morning.
option 2 - 5K sunday evening
option 3 - splash & dash #2 sunday morning
option 4 - skip the races all together, just run/bike on own

I have chosen option 3. Why? I missed the splash and dash in May by sabotaging myself with a long bike ride the day before. Swim/Run still sounds like fun to me. Hopefully I'll be motivated to get to the race this time!

Resting this morning. I'm scheduled for hills this evening. Yipppeee!!

Two-fer (or maybe it was a Three-fer)

For some reason, I woke up early this morning. Since I was up, I figured I'd head out for an early swim before doing my scheduled strength workout.

I got to the pool and found an open lane. Nice. Decided to time my first 400, and then do the rest of the workout without a watch. Here it is in 100 increments

My 100 splits for the first 400

1:51 <- always go out fast
2:13
2:14
2:12

For me, that's pretty darn good. I enjoyed my time at the pool with the expection of some creepy guy in the lane next to me who seemed to want to strike up a conversation while I was swimming. Bleck!

After swimming, I headed off for my lower body strength work and a little bit of abs and with some stretching. It was a good workout and my quad was still doing okay.

I was feeling pretty good about my swim/strength morning, but wasn't looking forward to the track workout with the group this evening: 1 mile warm up, then 3x800M HARD with 400M Walk/Jog in between. Ick. Nothing about that sounds appealing, but I did it anyway.

My 800 times surprised me.

4:17
4:37
4:31

While the last two are close to my pace target, that first one was smokin' fast for this body. What amazes me is that I was able to pull this off after the swim/strength work this morning.

All in all, a solid good workout day. I expect to sleep well. :-)

Addressing my Quad Issue

I tried everything I could think of:

* massage
* "sore no more"
* ibuprofen
* foam roller
* a tennis ball
* rest (vs running/cycling)
* hot tub
* nuun

That last item (nuun) came as a suggestion from a cyclist friend at work who felt that the knot was brought on by muscle cramping caused by dehydration/electrolyte imbalance. After reviewing my training/nutrition/hydration for the past few days, I decided he might be right. I believe that I do a decent job of hydration/nutrition when I'm cycling/running. But on gym/swim days - not so much. I distinctly remember commenting after my gym session with Trainer on Friday that I was sweating, yet I did nothing to replace fluids or electrolytes for some reason. Woke up the next morning with the quad issue. There could be a connection.

I've also ordered "the stick" because several of you use that and it seemed worth giving a try.

Anyway, at this point, the quad is feeling mighty fine. Not sure which of the thing(s) that I did are responsible, but for now I'm back to normal - whatever that it!

Injury Avoidence

Just the other day, I was talking with someone about my goals for this year. Two years ago I wanted to go farther. Last year I wanted to go faster. This year, I just want to remain uninjured.

It's a good thing to remember, the wanting to remain uninjured part, because I learned last year just how NOT fun being injured is.

I woke up early Saturday to join my run group in a scheduled 6 mile run. Got up, fed the cats, made coffee, putted around the kitchen a bit, looked out the window, and contemplated my situation. Not sure how it happened, but my right quad was very sore and tight, enough to make me limp around a bit as I mulled things over.

I was concerned that running through this type of pain would cause me to hurt something else in the process. So I went back to bed and skipped the run.

Later in the morning, after sulking around for a while, I decided to head to the pool for some laps. I also thought the hot tub at the gym would feel good on my leg. And it did.

But by early afternoon, my quad seemed to be getting worse and I was limping when I walked. I asked Husband to massage it and he confirmed that it was VERY tight like a giant knot. It hurt so much when he tried to help work out the tightness that I was nearly in tears.

Today it's still bothering me. Again no running or cycling. However, I did return to the pool. At least that doesn't bother my leg.

We've also tried massaging it a few more times. Also some new tennis balls to roll on it. It finally seems to be getting better, but I'm not sure what exactly is going on. I can't figure out what I did that caused this.

Seems like no matter how much I try, I just can't avoid injury. Sigh.

Bike Jersey and Such

First, my contribution to photo friday - me looking all cute in my new bike jersey for my commute!


The backstory is that I found the "postcards" jersey on clearance online at velowear.com. It's one of the jerseys that has the potential for custom or semi-custom work because of the big white space. One of the semi-custom options was the "save the planet bike to work" logo which I though matched the jersey nicely color-wise, fit the theme because of the postcards from various places around the world, and would be perfect for my bike commute! And now that I have it, I think it makes me look thinner as well, always a good thing!

Went to the gym Wed after commuting into work. Returned to the gym Thursday for upper body and then met with the running group for hill repeats. YAY! Love hill repeats. The prescribed workout was 1 mile warm up, 8x20sec HARD/sprint uphill with REST/walk downhill between each, then 1 mile cool down. I try to make it a game whereby I try to hit or better my mark each time. Oddly, about half the group opted for an optional workout (tempo run). Guess the hill love isn't shared by all.

This morning I was scheduled for lower body "torture" with Trainer. I casually mentioned to him that I was tight in my hips and hamstrings and Boy Howdy did he loosen me up. Wasn't fun in the process, but admittedly I feel much better after being "pretzeled." Also did several lower body strength exercises while I was there. I'm beginning to love squats. I'm strange that way.

This afternoon I have a lunch date with Daughter. We're going to have Indian food. Doesn't get much better than that. I am also returning to the salon in attempt to "fix" a cruddy haircut. Wish me luck!

Updated to add self portrait in car on way home from 'do-over. This single length, slightly angled bob is much better than the weird choppy layers from my latest cut, at least in my opinion!

This and That

* There's another 50 mile ride this weekend with a similar climb to the albq century. We seriously though about doing it, but it just seems too soon. We might have missed the registration deadline anyway. I do wish to do another, but want to spread things out a bit to keep them all special in my mind.

* Had a track workout with the group tonight. We did a 1 mi warm-up, 4x600 at 10K pace with 400 walk/jog in between. Let's just say that was not my favorite workout. However, we're doing hills on Thursday and I'm looking forward to that.

* Thinking about maybe doing an evening 5K next weekend. Evening isn't my favorite race time, but it does mix things up a bit.

* Not sure if I mentioned that I got daughter a student special gym membership for the summer and she *finally* used it for the first time yesterday. My hope is that she gets in the habit of going 2-3 times per week, but I'm not pushing it.

* I'm excited about my newest cycle jersey. Rather than try to describe it, I'm hoping to get a photo - maybe tomorrow morning if I can get my lazy butt out of bed to cycle commute in as planned.

* Something about this time of year always zaps my energy. Was tired/yawning all day. What's up with that?!?!

* Finally got the paperwork that I needed to title/register/license my new car. Glad that's all taken care of. Celebrated by taking it to the car wash. Still lovin' my diesel Jetta Wagon.

Breathin' EASY

I've been very slug-like for the past week, minus one hot humid run and a short lap swim in Texas. This moring I had hoped to cycle commute to work, but it just isn't happening. But that's not what I want to post about...

I want to ruminate on my little Texas run for a bit.

Not sure what the elevation was exactly, but it clearly wasn't up at a mile above sea level like it is where I live.

I was scheduled for 4 miles easy. I didn't have my garmin, but I had my sport watch. We were running around a park on a course that was 1/2 mile long. I made note of the time on my watch at 3 miles which was 29:15. Now this works out to a 9:45 pace which is fairly close to my normal 5K pace, only this was an EASY run. Even if the route was a bit short, I was definately moving faster than I would on an EASY run at home.

I define an EASY run by the ability to hold conversation or talk while running. It's all about breathing easy.

Up here at altitude, it doesn't take much speed to push me past EASY. But down there, EASY was just easier.

I've always known that I *should* be able to run faster in an oxygen rich environment, and now I'm more interested in actually finding a race down at sea level and see what this body can do.

Out of the Loop

Back home and feeling very out of the loop.

Daughter & I had fun visiting relatives in Texas, but neither of us can imagine living in a hot/humid environment like that.

I am in awe of those of you who run in that weather. I ran 3.5 miles on Thursday. I did appreciate the oxygen rich air from a lower altitude and found myself moving faster, but the humidity about did me in.

Son is back with stories and photos from his week and will be sharing them with me later after dinner. But his short version is that it was "AWESOME"

I'm hoping Husband enjoyed a few days of peace and quiet without the family. He's making a roasted chicken dinner for us now. House smells yummy.

I've got lots of catching up to do (including laundry!).

Not Quite Algebra

Spicy Mexican food for both lunch and dinner = yummy at the time, but tummy trouble the next morning. Note to self, don't do this before an important event.

(Son out of the house + no cell phone) (while working with underpriveledged kids for a week + camped out at a church downtown) = proud, but sad mommy. I miss my boy.

(Mom + Daughter) -> Texas to visit (Neice + husband + Sister) in Texas for a few days this week = Excited, but wonder if it's too late to lose 5 lbs by Wednesday?

Tuesday track workouts on schedule = mixed emotions. Love/hate track workouts.

Plan to get back to the pool = FAIL! *sigh*

Tearing down planted aquarium + frustration = rethinking it.

--> cleaning up aquarium + betta + cherry barbs = happy again

What's Next?

It's a good question, actually. Right now I honestly don't know.

The only thing definately on my schedule is a sprint triathlon in August. There's another one in September that I'd like to sign up for (and better hurry before they sell out). Nothing else is really inspiring me at the moment.

I guess that's okay. But without something out there to work toward, my motivation will likely wane over the next few weeks. I need try to find something interesting to do.

Oh, and the century ride had event photographers. I found two photos of husband, one of me, and one of us together. Please do me a favor and look at the one of us together . I need your help deciding if I should order this one.

* Pros - We're riding together, we're in process of passing someone, the look on my face captures how I felt the whole time (determined).

* Cons - I appear to have no neck, my hair looks stupid, event photos are pricey.

Albuquerque half-Century Finishers

Turned out to be a nice day to ride - overcast in the early morning. Much better weather than last year which was all kinds of hot & sunny.

Husband looked all spiffy in his new Illinois jersey -an early father's day prezzy from yours truly :-)

Did better this year and didn't need to stop going up that stinking hill. Lived up to my Slow & Steady moniker. Wasn't moving fast, but I kept on moving. Average pace for the whole ride was 14 mph. Top speed was 29.2 - brave for me not to grab the brakes at 25mph coming down the other side!

At the rest area, I noticed that there were lots of men, but not many women. Took a photo because it seemed so odd.

Right now I'm exhausted. And hungry. And stinky. And sweaty. Food, Shower, Nap required. in that order.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend folks!

Recovery Day

I'm determined to take it a bit easier this wee, a pseudo-taper for the upcoming cycling event. I didn't go to the gym this morning and I opted for walking today in lieu of running.

Anyway, my exercise for the day was walking around the zoo! It was actually a work-sponsored thing. We were there for a good 3.5 hrs in the afternoon. Part of the time was standing looking at animals and part was sitting eating lunch, but I'm sure we got in *at least* 5 miles of walking.

FYI, this is the profile I captured last year from the bike event we're doing this weekend. It's not so much the distance that I'm worried about, but the climb in the middle. Yikes!

Money-Pit Drama

Remember the automobile reliability drama that eventually led me to the decision to buy a new car? Well, because I bought the new car out of state when I flew to KY to visit my dad, I ended up not able to trade in the money-pit that is my old vehicle.

And with Daughter days away from getting her provisional license, somehow I was talked into keeping said money-pit and just "fixing it up a bit" so that it is reliable enough for her to drive around town.

Remember that first day of cycling less than two weeks ago when I included dropping off a car at the shop and riding my bike home? It was the money-pit that needed to go in.

And guess what? The money-pit needed to go back to the shop again on Monday. Sigh.

Somehow, despite buying a new car (which continues to amaze me with it's awesomeness, I might add) I haven't been able to rid myself of the money-pit drama. Somehow that just doesn't seem fair.

Same routine. Tossed the bike in the back, dropped off money-pit, rode the bike to fitness center at work. Did upper body workout. Rode bike from fitness center to work in street clothes after cleaning up. Rode back to pick up money-pit in the afternoon, drove home.

On the bright side, it has been providing extra incentive/opportunity to get on my bike.

At this point, we've replaced practically everything on the money-pit. What else could go wrong?

Don't answer that.

Seriously. Just don't

Recent Workouts:
Sun: Yoga
Mon: 7 mi bike, core+upper body strength
Tue: lower body strength, track/drills run (~4 mi)

May Tally

Numbers
- Ran 36.4 miles
- Cycled 112.7 miles (all within the past 8 days!)
- Did Strength at the gym 10 times
- Did Yoga 6 times
- Races: One 5K, One DNS*

Thoughts
- I just might be able to pull that rabbit out of my hat afterall. :-)

Plans for June
- Alb Half-Century next Saturday!
- Get in the pool again
- Decide on next running event.

*As it turns out, a 43.7 mile bike ride as the 5th ride in 8 days after taking a 6 mo cycling hiatus was enough to wear me out completely. And having done this particular ride 18 hrs in advance of a splash & dash, turning the alarm off & getting extra sleep seemed like a *much* better idea than waking up early for said event this morning. Who knew?!?!

5 Things I'm Happy about Today

1) My favorite women's Novara bike shorts with the crossover waist band. Everything about these shorts makes me say "ahhhhhh"

2) Polar Bottles that kept my liquids sufficiently cold for the duration of the ride.

3) A brand new pair of Novara gloves that fit nicely and have enough gel padding to keep my hands happy.

4) Injinji socks. This is the first time that I've worn them. So far, I'm liking them!

5) A shady rest spot at mile 30 (of 43.7)

Making Progress

Tuesday I rested in the morning, and did drills with the run group in the evening.

Wednesday I cycle commuted to work and spent a little time at the gym doing stretches and strength work. The commute was all kinds 'o sucky, so I resolved to do it again the next day.

Which I did. I also spent a decent amount of time doing upper body and core at the gym. And met with the run group this evening for a 30min easy trail run. Yeah, it was a busy day.

Tomorrow I have an appt at the gym with my Trainer, then head off for a chiro appt. If all goes well, I'll also get daughter signed up for the gym (that turned out to be a no-go a few months ago, but now that school is over it seems more feasible). Other than that, I'm resting.

I have a 40 mile ride on deck with Husband for Saturday in preparation for the half-century ride the following week. That is a key workout; don't want to miss it.

And then there's a little Splash & Dash event Sunday that I signed up for but haven't trained for at all. I actually haven't been in a pool since Splash-Dash-Push! Oops! I'm not concerned about it though; my goal is to have fun and get motivated to put swimming into the mix again.

Feels like things are coming together. I hope it's not an illusion!

Half Century Thoughts

I signed us up last night. Decision made.

It's a tour not a race. It doesn't matter how slow we go or how many times we stop. What matters is that we get through it and (hopefully) have some fun in the process.

Made it through a 28 miles ride yesterday with Husband. Sure it was mostly flat and my body aches all over today, the point is that I survived. And I think I can go further next weekend.

We can probably modify the course a little bit, start from home instead of the heart hospital, and join up about 10 miles into the ride. Then cut back to home instead of the heart hospital and still get in the 50 miles.

I got my commuter bike back, so I'm on for cycle commuting Wed and Fri this week (weather permitting). Every time I do that, I get in some good hill training.

We're going to aim for a forty mile loop on Saturday. The next weekend is the century event.

I really need to find a slow cycling buddy to train with after this. Trying to keep up with Husband is exhausting. It's also a bit depressing when I'm working my tail off and he casually says "I think I could go forever at this pace"

Slow Six

I was supposed to run 6 yesterday, but it was raining in the morning and then on & off all afternoon. All I could get motivated for was Yoga.

My "alarm cat" went off at 5:45. She has grown accustomed to a 4:30am feeding (Husband gets up crazy early on weekdays) and having not been fed by the time the sun came up, she was concinved she was starving to death. After ten minutes of being jumped on, nudged, and meowed at, I figured I should just get up and go for a run.

It wasn't raining, but still wet outside. The skies were overcast and it was about 55 degrees. Nice conditions for running, if you ask me, so that was the plan.

It's about three quarter miles from my front door to the ditch bank. It was a bit muddy due to the rain, but still a decent surface for running.

My plan for the day was 6 easy miles with short walk breaks every mile. I wanted to put in the distance, but take it easy on my body so as not to further aggravate the hammy.

I was hoping to get an interesting picture every time I took a walk break, but for the most part it all looks the same! The only somewhat interesting photo that I got was this pair of horses.

Left my muddy shoes on the front patio when I got home and looked at my watch. That was depressing! It took forever to complete my 6.2 mile loop. I'm sure my body is thanking me for the easy pace with walk breaks, but my mind is still coming to grips with how slow I was moving.

Have a good rest of your weekend, folks!

When there's a will, there's a way

Since my commuter bike is still in the shop, I can't commute to work. That takes out a significant opportunity for getting in some miles to prepare for the upcoming half-century.

However, there was no good reason for me not to ride my race bike to the gym this morning - I simply needed to workout in my bike clothes.

One of our cars needed to the shop today as well. Since I was already dressed in my bike clothes when I got home from the gym, the perfect plan was to shove the bike in the back, drop off the car, and cycle back home. No need to arrange a ride!

Granted, it's not the perfect training scenario, but with a little creativity I found a way to get 15 miles in the saddle this morning, including one challenging climb.

On top of that, I had a solid lower body workout with the Trainer today.

Not bad, eh?

Workouts this week:
* Monday morning - upper body strength
* Tuesday morning -Yoga
* Tuesday evening - Run drills with group.
* Wednesday - unplanned rest - bike commute NO-GO due to rear wheel
* Thursday - Tempo run with group
* Friday - Bike to gym, Lower body strength with Trainer, Bike to home, Car to shop, Bike to home - Booyah!

Hey Rocky...

Bullwinkle: Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of a hat.

Rocky: Again?? That trick never works!!

Bullwinkle: This time for sure.

Lion: ROARRRR!!

Rocky: Wrong hat!

Who watched Rocky & Bullwinkle as a kid and remembers this running joke? Right now I'm pretty much feeling like Bullwinkle. Let me back up and explain.

I mentioned on Monday that I wanted to put a few events on the calendar to help me out of my funk. Put a few things out there including a 250M swim/5K Splash&Dash on the 31st. I also talked to Husband about things he might like to to do together.

As it turns out, he was under the impression that we were already planning on doing the Albuquerque Century Ride on 7-Jun, less than three weeks away.

Ummmm. Small problem. I haven't been on my bike for awhile.

Like.Since.December.

Given that he's done every event I've ever asked him to do with me, I rather not disappoint him and bail on this. So, I told him that I'd work really hard for the next two weeks to try to position it so we can do the half-century which includes 1250 ft of climb over 10 miles. If that doesn't seem feasible, we can do the quarter century which is basically flat.

Get ready in roughly seventeen days for a half-century with climb?!? I pretty much need to pull a rabbit out of my hat to make that happen.

I looked at the calendar and tried to devise some plan to get there. I counted six opportunities to bike commute to work. Each of those gives me 12.5 miles round trip including a hill climb on the way in that replicates the tour climb (just a lot shorter). I also have two friday afternoons available to get some riding in. And we can take advantage of the Memorial Day holiday for a long ride this weekend.

There's really no time to spare, so I got all geared up to commute in this morning only to find that the rear tire on my commuter bike is horribly out of true. Spent 30 mins trying to adjust it so that it wouldn't rub on the rear brake and finally gave up.

Loaded it up in the back of my Jetta to take it into the shop. Luckily, they expect to have it back to my by Friday afternoon.

However, this plan to pull a rabbit out of my hat is clearly not off to a good start.

Monday Miscellany

* I haven't been able to find my new favorite running shorts in the local stores, but found a taupe colored pair on ebay in my size. Happily used "buy it now" to get them on their way to me. Yes, I sometimes buy running clothes on ebay. What does that say about me?

* Bailed at mile 5 of my 6 mile run on Saturday due to the return of hamstring tendonitis pain. Walked the final mile back in. Not happy about that, but trying not to get to discouraged. I think the hill sprints on Thursday were too much too soon. Simply need to back off a bit and make sure I'm 100% healed before pushing myself too hard.

* Did yoga on Friday and Sunday for the first times all month. I need to conciously make more time for yoga. I like how it makes me feel. Intending to do it again tomorrow morning and then run in the evening.

* Can't put my finger on it but I'm lacking motivation and I don't like how that feels. Put a few events on the calendar to try to keep the lazies at bay.

Sharing Small Wins

In the spirit of celebrating what I CAN do and not berating myself for what I CANNOT, I wish to share some recent victories. I've learned that positive self-talk can significantly affect my mood and I choose to be happy today.

* I can now do 3x15 ab curls unassisted. When I started, I couldn't do a single one without help. On a related note, I've upped the weight on rope crunches. Clearly my ab strength is improving.

* While doing Yoga today I was able to hold a few poses for the entire duration. Previously, I needed to stop, take a break, and restart on those.

* Last night the scale returned a number that I haven't seen in a very long time. It was a bit crankier this morning, goal weight is within sight.

* Did well with the hill sprints workout last night. One of my fellow runners even commented at one point "wow, you're good at these hills"

Share with me and be happy with yourself! What small wins are you celebrating?

Drills & Hills

Got a call yesterday afternoon from Coach reminding me that we were meeting at the track that evening. Eek. The track?!? I do not like the track. He assured me it wouldn't be so bad - we were doing run drills, not intervals. Phew!

Arrived to find that we were actually running on a grassy field near the track. He had cones set up. We did all kinds of drills. Butt kicks, high knees, hopping, running backwards, pickups, short sprints, running backwards up a hill (tricky!), high cadence high knees, etc.

Interesting observation #1 - Most of the runners were complaining that they felt it in their calves or their hamstrings, or quads or whatever. As for me, I really didn't feel sore muscles at all. Maybe because I've been pretty diligent about going to the gym and doing strength stuff that's more taxing than these drills? Or maybe I was just doing them wrong...

Intersting observation #2 - Similar to when we do hill intervals, my short sprints put me solidly in the center of the pack. When we run longer, I'm generally the last to come in. Too bad the 200M dash isn't as popular as the local 5K/10K. LOL.

Clearly I do better on drills and hills than distance running. What do you think that means? I'm seriously wondering if maybe the heart arrythmia is somehow responsible by not permitting sufficient O2 transfer to my muscles. Your thoughts?

Lighter Side of Life

First off, wanted to Thank you for the kind words, prayers, well wishes, vitural hugs, warm vibes, and everything else. I have found the blogging community to be highly supportive and it has really helped. I truly appreciate each of you. :-)

We ate breakfast at Denny's on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. Had the same waitress each time. We have no idea what she said to us when we sat down. "Hah Do" or "Har You" or something like that. Figuring that out became a game. If any of you can translate that for me, i'd appreciate it!

I ended up buying a car* Saturday afternoon while we were there. The original plan was to have them ship it to us, but my amazing-awesome-supportive-wonderful husband decided to drive it back instead. I told him that it had that new car smell when I last saw it on Sunday morning. Now, not so much. Guess 1450 miles in 28 hours will do that. Here's a photo that I took with my cell phone Sunday morning in Louisville.

The hotel we stayed at had a fitness center with a 25 yd indoor lap pool. I thought I would get up early and swim, but when the clock said 5:30, my body said 3:30 and refused to budge. That's a new one for me. I guess I need to add "time difference" to my list of excuses not to exercise.

I think I was called "darlin'', "honey", "hon", "dear", "sugar" more often in one weekend that in the entire last year. It took me aback the first few times. It must just be something about the south. :-)

Today is running group day. It will be good for me to get back on track after taking an extended break (Fri-Mon). Happy Tuesday everyone!!

*It's a Jetta SportWagen TDI - clean diesel, a green alternative. It has the utility of a compact SUV with the fuel economy of a small car. Plus it is fun to drive. It averaged 35.5 mpg on the last tank. Sweet, eh?

Visiting Dad

preface: I don't want to get into the whole back story but the short version is that my dad left when I was maybe 6 years old and I never really spent much time with him. I'm home now after traveling to visit him this weekend and need to write this for myself..

Arrived Sat morning at the rehab center where they had just moved my Dad the day before. A few nurses were in with him when we arrived so we waited outside the room for 10 mins or so.

Haven't seen my Dad since 2005. If it wasn't for his voice, I wouldn't have recognized him.

Apparently he told all the caregivers that he was expecting us that day. They let him postpone his rehad exercises so we could wheel him to the sunroom to talk That might not have been such a good idea, he hardly had the strength to sit up.

We took him back to the room, but it was time for rehab exercises. We went with him. Attaching clothes pins to a post was too difficult, so they tasked him with putting pegs in holes. He told me that it was difficult today but he wasn't giving up and there would be no stopping him when he got stronger.

Took him back to his room and they pu him back into bed where he was more comfortable. That's where he was the rest of the time we were there.

Cut up his meat for him. Helped him order food for the next day. Tried to find the channel he wanted on the TV. Brought him water. Got the nurses when he wanted to shift positions.

He spent a lot of time talking about memories of his live. He said that it seemed he had some important things to say to me when he asked me to come, but he couldn't remember what they were.

It was okay.

Tuesday miscellany

* I alternate between two pairs of running shoes. The past several runs in my blue shoes (which are older) have resulted in icky blisters on my left front toe. I think they are breaking down and my foot is sliding forward. It's not happening in my orange pair (newer). Retired the blue ones and adding a brand new pair of red ones into rotation. Swapped out the inserts from blue to red, but maybe that's not a good idea. I think I should buy new inserts when I find time.

* Son's provisional license turned one year old on Saturday. Took him to the DMV yesterday to obtain his unrestricted license. He's a happy boy. Me, not so much. Why? Because he's grown up too fast. Seriously - where does the time go?!?

* Think I've finally decided on what car to purchase. There is one and only one in the state of New Mexico at this time. And it's really not optioned the way I want. Told them I'd be willing to put a down payment on it if they get the price to the figure I have in mind otherwise I'm in no hurry to pay too much for a car that's not optioned the way that I want. Will hear back today. I expect it will be too high. But it doesn't hurt to ask.

* Went to the gym yesterday for upper body. Trainer has kicked it up a notch in the past few week on my upper body work and it leaves me sore every time! But sore in a good way...

* Our travel plans and related arrangements (kids, pets, etc) are finally coming together wrt the trip to see my Father this weekend. Not looking forward to this, but I'm doing okay.

* On a whim, checked online and found at least *two* of the vehicles that I'm interested in at a dealership in Louisville - optioned as desired and in the right price range. Seriously considering the feasibility of purchasing out of state if I can figure out how to get it back home.

* As much as I love running skirts, I bought a pair of running shorts (nike something or other) at Marshalls a few months ago and they are now my favorite of all things to run in. Need to figure out what they are so I can get another pair...

* Daughter woke up sick. Stuffy head, pink eyes, sore throat, head ache, coughing, didn't sleep well. Normally I'd make her go to school (I'm pretty sure it's just a cold) but with all the brew-ha-ha about swine flu, I'm keeping her home. Don't want the village to come after me with pitch forks for sending sick kid to school.

* Running group tonight. Yippeeeeee!!

Run for the Zoo 5K Race Report

I had originally planned to do the 10K targetting a PR, but backed off to doing the 5K for fun. For me, this was a good decision. This is a huge event and really not a good one to test yourself at because of the crowd. But I'll get more into that later...

We arrived at 7:45 for our 8:30 start time. We thought that would be early enough, but apparently not. By then it was already difficult to find a place to park. We eventually found a parking space a good mile away. No worries, still plenty of time before the scheduled start.

The temp was 48deg when I left the house so I was wearing shorts, a short sleeve shirt, and a long sleeve shirt over it. Walking in, I realized that it was warming up and I didn't need the long sleeve shirt. The car was too far away to put it back, so I tied it around my waist.

They ask folks to line up by estimated pace. If people would actually do this, I think it would be a more pleasant experience for everyone. Instead, people seem to ignore the pace markers and just try to get in as close to the front as they can. Grrrrr.

No Garmin today, just my sport watch. I hit start when the gun went off, hit the split button when we crossed the start mat, at each mile marker, as I crossed the finish mat, and eventually hit stop when I was off to the side.

It took 40 seconds from gun time to cross the start mat. Even then, the crowd wasn't moving much faster than a slow jog. I spent the entire first mile looking for holes to get through. Generally, I had luck getting through on the inside near the sidewalk, but I still found myself wasting energy darting left and right and trying to get through. Very frustrating.

It was a little better for mile 2. I stayed to the inside and occasionally went up on the sidewalk to get around the crowd. After the 2 mile marker, I found space. By then I think I had worn myself out with all the darting around trying to get through the crowd. When I saw the finish line, I kicked it up a notch and started passing folks. I am pleased with myself for being able to finish strong.

I'm not sure what the official time will be. If it was gun timed, it will be close to 30:45. However, my watch says start line to finish line took 30:06. I would have liked a finish under 30mins, but I'm not too disappointed. I put in good effort, had some fun despite the crowds, and went into it uninjured. That equals success in my book. :-)

[updated - official results are in and they have me at 30:02. I missed my target of sub 30 by just a few seconds. That's closer than I expected, and I'm okay with it!! Additional stats include 387 of 1037 women and 35 of 113 F40-44.]

Enjoy the rest of your weekend folks!

April Tally

Numbers
* Ran 44.5 mi
* Swam 500 yds
* Gym sessions - 8
* Yoga sessions - 3
* Races - 1 (DSP)

Thoughts
* Lots of personal "stuff" this month and race plans were adding to the stress. I'm glad that I backed off so that I could have fun again
* I'm uninjured at the moment. This is a very good thing.

May Plans
* Run for the Zoo
* Take it one day at a time
* Stop and smell the roses whenever possible :-)

And about running

Had a good run Tuesday thanks to a run buddy and a pace bunny. Plan was 12 min warm up, 9 min 10:30 pace, 8 min 10:20 pace, 12 min cool down. Pace bunny put us at 12 min 10:55, 9 min 10:30, 8 min 10:15, 12 min 10:45. Mission accomplished.

Yesterday I was scheduled for 2 miles easy as a warm up to cross traininng. I wasn't in the mood for cross training. I decided on a route that took me up a hill. That's not necessarily easy, but I did keep my pace in check (12:20). It was just one of those days when I needed to conquer the hill. An analogy to life, hills aren't fun when we're faced with them, but they do make us stronger.

As explained in my last post, my blogging may be hit and miss and comments few and far between for the next few weeks - I've got some hills to conquer.

MIA - An explanation

My father's health has deteriorated significantly. I spoke with him briefly this afternoon and he's asked to see me. Will be travelling later next week.

Family history is complicated. I really don't want to get into the details, but just know that this is not an easy time for me on more levels than are evident on the surface.

Prayers appreciated - I need guidance and peace.

Training update

Thursday evening, I ran with one of my new run buddies. There are actually two new people in the group that run a pace similar to mine. Only one was there on Thursday. We did 4 miles in about 41:40 which works out to a 10:25 pace. It was a good partnership. I was trying to move a bit faster, the run buddy was trying to run without stopping. We pushed each other along and it was a win-win.

Friday morning I had an appt with Trainer. Lately he's been working my upper body hard. In a way that causes sore muscles (in a good way) the next day. Friday was no exception. Owie my arms!

Saturday morning I was scheduled to run six with my run buddies. The plan was to run 4 miles easy, then pick it up for the last two miles and run those at a 10:20-10:30 pace. We agreed that if anyone couldn't keep up for the last two miles, the others could leave them behind at that point. We also planned to walk about a half mile afterwards as a cool down.

Let's just say...it didn't quite go as planned.

I'll start with the good stuff. I'm very happy with my 'easy' pace for miles 1-4. Those came in at about 11:15 average. If that's my new easy pace, I'll take it! Plus it was awesome having *two* run buddies during that time. And I'd be remiss not to mention that I was running without pain; that's always a good thing.

Now the not so good stuff. When it came time to pick up the pace, one of the run biddies did a great job and surged on ahead. The other stayed back and was just going to maintain an easy pace. As for me, I tried to pick up the pace, but to no avail. I hit the target pace for about a half mile, but was really struggling. Not fun.

So I changed strategy. I slowed down so the other run buddy could catch up. We decided to make the final mile enjoyable and took a walk break when we hit a shady spot. There was no shade on the trail and it was taking a toll on both of us. Next week, she wants to show me a different loop with some trees. Sounds good to me!

Here's what Garmin says:

mile 1 - 11:01
mile 2 - 11:15
mile 3 - 11:12
mile 4 - 11:26
mile 5 - 11:03 (half mile at 10:20, the other half at 11:25)
mile 6 - 13:33 (includes walk break)

Today is a scheduled rest day, although I might do some yoga later this afternoon. I could use the stretch.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend folks!!

Quick Catch Up Post

My internet has been up and down and down some more lately. We've been trouble shooting, think we've figured it out, and hope to have it working this weekend. Until then, a short post.

* I seem to have a run buddy in my run club for now - someone who runs a pace close to mine. Happy happy! Makes it so much more enjoyable.

* Son's traffic court date was yesterday. He showed the receipt that we had it fixed the day after the citation. They inspected the vehicle, dismissed the citation, and excused us from court. In the end, a good result - no fine or ticket on his record.

* My car search is progressing. I'm narrowing down to a few vehicles and feel less overwhelmed. None are "perfect" and meet all my criterica, but a few are close. Hope to finalize on this soon.

* Taking the early May 10K off my race calendar was a good decision. My outlook changed for the better almost immediately. The Dash-Splash-Push was good for me too. Definately low pressure, high fun. Get this - I've discovered new local Splash & Dash race series. Not sure if any of the events are going to work with my schedule, but it sure sounds like a lot of fun to me.

Have a great weekend everyone. I hope to catch up with you all soon - I'm having blog withdrawl!

Dash-Splash-Push Race Report

Hubby and I stopped over at the JCC on Saturday for packet pickup. Packet consisted of a technical t (nice!), race number, 2 week pass to the JCC, and some info on personal training.

While picking up the packet, I learned a few things about the event:
1) That it was a smaller field than expected, so they would have everyone start at one time, vs two waves. No problem.
2) Due to the recent inclement weather, the pushups would be inside in the gym instead of outside by the pool. I guess I always expected them to be inside, but I was glad to find out that we weren't going to be doing them outside in the cold after getting out of the water.

Spent a little time planning what to bring/wear and packed up my new Turtle Club bag. Isn't it the cutest thing? One of the ladies in my run club made these for the returning members from last year. How could that not put a smile on my face? I just love it!

Fast forward to this morning. Arrived at the JCC at about 7:20, got body marked, and made my way to transition area. I had been wondering what transition would look like for such an event. As it turns out, there were rows of chairs eached marked with a race number. Here's mine all set to go.

There was a quick athlete's meeting to explain the run course, etc. We congregated in the parking lot and started with a count of "3-2-1 Go!"

The run course was mostly off road on some dirt along side of an arroyo. The out portion was uphill toward the mountains. Aye carumba! I had been expecting a flat course, but instead we had an uphill climb for about one mile. I was able to pass a few fellow back-of-the-packers who stopped to walk the uphill portion. Thank you, hill repeats.

What comes up must come down, so that meant downhill after we turned. Ahhhh. Much nicer. Then we ran through the the parking lot and around a grassy field and were done.

I don't know how well I did with capturing splits with my watch, but my watch says 30:22 for the run. Bleh. I was hoping for something closer to 29:00. Oh well.

Off with the jacket, race number, hat, shoes, socks. On with the swim cap and goggles. And over to the pool. My watch says :38 for transition. Really?!? That surprises me in a good way. It felt slower because I struggled a little with my swim cap and shoes.

Hopped in the pool and started making my way up and back and over as directed. Passed one person in the first lane. Passed another in lane three. Passed one more in lane five. Sweet!

My watch says 6:39 for the 300yd swim. This works out to 2:13 per 100. Not great, but not too shabby either. I'm happy with my swim.

At this point the time was stopped. My watch says 37:47, but the official time should be a little less because I stopped my watch after I got out of the water whereas they stopped it when I touched the ladder. In any event, I put in a good effort and was exhausted and breathing pretty hard when I was done.

But I wasn't quite done yet. Still had to get over to the push-up station. We had to 15 minutes from swim exit to do our pushups, otherwise the pushups wouldn't count. That was enough time to gather my belongings, put on some sweat pants, put on shoes and socks, and use the rest room.

The pushup station was a bit intimidating because we had to stand in line, watching others as they did their pushups. There were two lines. I picked a line that several women in it. And watched as they cranked out pushups. One lady did over 60! Holy smokes! As for me, I only managed 26 before collapsing. Oh well. That's not as many as I hoped for, but respectable enough not to be embarrassing.

Each pushup is worth 2 seconds, so those 26 pushups bought me 52 seconds, bringing my finish time down to 36:55 by my watch.

All in all, I'd have to say that this was a fun little event to mix things up and get re-energized. I'll definately consider doing this one again if they have it next year!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, folks!

Thinking out loud

You all had a lot of good comments to my last post (and I thank you!).

I think Vickie nailed it when she said "Maybe what you need a break from is competition. You still want to be fit and healthy, meaning you still want to exercise, but maybe the stress of everyday life and trying to fit in workouts to meet your goals is too much right now. Maybe a scaled back approach would work best for a while."

This car issue is consuming a lot of my attention and energy. When I figure out what I want to get and actually buy it, I will probably feel a lot less stressed. I'd love to be able to buy the first thing that met my criteria, but since I wasn't in the market for a new car until recently, I haven't figure out what my criteria are! I need a few weeks to figure that out and then which cars meet my needs. So this distraction isn't going away for awhile.

Meanwhile, the pressure of shooting for a 10K PR in early May is too much for me right now. And thinking of anything beyond that make me want to curl up in the fetal position.

So, how can I scale things back?

How about...doing the 5K instead, possibly with Daughter (almost convinced her). Yeah, that sounds better.

Oh, and I've had a run buddy the last two times I've run with group. That was nice. To top it off, I didn't bring my Garmin to my run on Tuesday. Less data + a run buddy = less pressure + more fun.

Final thought - even though the Dash-Splash-Push is just days away, I haven't been in the water for a few weeks, my back is still iffy, and my push-up progress is stalled - I'm not stressed at all about the event.

Why is that?

Maybe because it's a quirky little event and never seemed like something to take too seriously.

That's what I need in my life. Fun events that I don't take too seriously. Clearly, that's what keeps me happy.

anxious and confused and overwhelmed and unhappy...

My vehicle (which broke down twice within a week) is back in my possession, and I can tell something is still wrong with it. I have very little confidence that it won't break down again and am almost afraid to drive it.

I want this vehicle out of my life.

I've been doing some research and test driving various makes and models. Maybe it's just me, but this whole car buying process is making me anxious and confused and overwhelmed and unhappy.

I'm hoping for a fairy tale ending where I drive my vehicle to some dealer in the next few weeks, leave it with them, drive home in something new and reliable, and feel good about the whole situation.

But my reality has me driving my unreliable vehicle, hoping it doesn't break down again, while I try to make some sense out of the information that I have on the cars I'm interested in.

Meanwhile, my back is still not quite right.

I was scheduled to swim today, but i didn't feel like getting up early nor do I think that will be the best thing for my back. Instead, I managed to rau two miles on the treadmill. It was okay - not great.

Dash-Splash-Push is on Sunday. I had really been looking forward to it, but now I'm feeling fairly indifferent about it. Run for the Zoo is about three weeks out. I was hoping to PR, but instead I'm horribly under trained. Bleh.

This whole runing and multi-sport thing started out as something fun that made me happy and kept me healthy. But lately, it's just another aspect of my life that leaves me feeling anxious and confused and overwhelmed and unhappy.

Talked to Coach today and he thinks I need a break.

He might be right. Need to do some soul searching...

Back Progress

My back was feeling much much better by Wednesday, but still not 100%. I went to the gym Thursday and did some strength work, being careful to guard my back and tried running one mile on the treadmill.

The running experiment was disappointing, my back felt worse and worse and the little test run went on. Conclusion - the Sore No More is awesome with regard to pain management, but it isn't solving the root cause of the problem. I need to be careful not to re-injure my back. It needs more time to heal.

On Friday, I had an appt with Trainer guy. He spent the whole time "torturing" me with stretches and exercises that were aimed at improving my back. While I'll admit that I felt much better after leaving, the experience was right up there with the first time he came after me with that evil foam roller. Yeeeouch!

I also went to the chiropractor. I didn't go earlier in the week because my car died AGAIN and spent most of the week in the shop.

So my plan for today is 4-6 miles EASY - a run/walk is okay. Unfortunately, it is currently rainy, windy, and cold. At the moment, it is not inspiring me to get up off my rear and get running.

Edit to add - Well, I did it. I got out and "ran" 4.25 miles easy in the rain. 6 miles 11:10 min/mi pace was on my schedule, but that wasn't going to happen. Figured it was better to under-do than over-do

mile 1 - 12:00
mile 2 - 12:33
mile 3 - 12:20
mile 4 - 12:30
last .25 - 10:19

Mood - Discouraged.

Easter Blessings

"Sore No More"

[Thanks for the well wishes. And sorry for being such a grump for the last few posts. I try to keep a positive outlook, but sometimes life gets the best of me.]

Sometime last year or the year before, Husband & I found samples of Sore No More in our race packets. We held onto them for some time, and both tried it out for muscle pain of some sort or the other. Liked it well enough to buy an 8 oz pump bottle.

I had forgotten all about it until yesterday when I was doing the my-back-is-killing-me walk past the counter where the Sore No More was sitting. I decided to massage some into my back.

Either it is coincidence or this stuff is nothing short of amazing. By lunch time I felt good enough to pop in my Ultimate Stretch Yoa DVD and do set 1 (lots of gentle back stretches which also seemed to help). And this morning I'm standing up straight and will be heading into work shortly.

No, this is not a paid endorsement. I'm just a pleased customer; this worked wonders on my back pain. Apparently, you can get three "free" sample packets for $1 shipping. Go check out the website if you are interested.

Anyway, my outlook has changed from yesterday. I now think it will be only a matter of a few days before I'm back at it in full force.

The best laid plans...

Dash-Splash-Push is in Twelve Days. 3 Mile run, 300 Yd swim, all the consecutive competitive judged pushups one can muster. Four weeks later, I'm hoping for a PR at the Run For the Zoo 10K.

This is supposed to be my peak training week, with one week "taper" which mostly means that I wouldn't be moving on to week 6 of the push-up challenge (would hang onto whatever day I got to previously and repeat) and wouldn't be doing hills or speed work the Thursday before the race. Up until now, I'd say my training has been going well for Dash-Splash-Push, but not quite as well for positioning myself for a 10K PR four weeks later.

Until this weekend, that is. At that point everything began to unravel.

From my last post, you see that I missed my long run this weekend. I also didn't start my pushups for the week. Nor did I swim.

No cause for panic. Stuff happens, right?

Sure, but yesterday morning I started having back spasms. Ever have those? To say they suck is an understatement. I could barely move. My assumption is that this is related to pushing that darn car. I knew I needed to use my legs, but at some point, I probably strained my back.

I stayed home from work. Called into a few very important meetings, but otherwise spent the day stretching, using ice, ibuprophen, moist heat, and whatever tricks I could find to try to get my back to calm down. This was so that I could do simple thing, you know, like getting up to go to the bathroom. Nice, huh?

Today my back is better (no spasms), but not good (hurts like crazy). I'm going to work from home again and might try going to the chiropractor.

There is no way I can run or swim or do pushups or go to the gym. And in fact, I'm wondering how long it will take to be able to do any of that stuff without back pain. I sure hope it's less than twelve days.

Sigh.

Things That Make Me GRUMPY

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1) Going to the gym to sign up Daughter only to find out that she left her required ID at home.

2) Having keys made for two vehicles then discovering that the keys don't work.

3) Making another trip out to have keys remade

4) Having the car die while driving home from having keys remade

5) Pushing the car down the street and up the driveway after it died

6) Missing my Sat morning run to get car repaired

7) Being greeted with "Weren't you just in here?"

8) Crazy windy weather preventing me from making up my run in the afternoon

9) Being told that my Car was ready to be picked up - when it wasn't

10) Waiting at the shop after Son dropped me off on the way to pick up his Prom date - only to find out they couldn't finish all of the repairs and I have to bring it back in next weekend.

11) Paying for car repairs

12) Waiting up for Son to come home

13) Son missing curfew by an hour and fifteen minutes and not answering his phone

14) Not sleeping well.

15) Grounding Son in the morning - this is not what we wanted to do after all the excitment surrounding prom, but he was very clear on the agreement about when to be home and simply didn't think it was a big deal to be late - not acceptable.

I am due to start Week 1 D1 pushups, but I think I'll postpone that until tomorrow. I was also thinking of making up my run from yesterday today, but at the moment I think I'd be better off with a nap instead. Maybe after some rest I'll wake up HAPPY.

Three for Thursday

Short post about three things on my mind.

First is that I actually make it through Week 4 pushups. Un-freaking-believable if you ask me. Week 5 starts for me on Sunday. It looks tough though, but the really scary week is week 6. Eek.

Second is that we did a 1 mile warm up then 8x20sec hill sprints, followed by 1.75 mile cool down today. I was secretly looking forward to the hill sprints all week. Oh my gosh, those were tough!
Here's where it is interesting to me. While I'm usually (as in I can't remember the last time when I wasn't) the last one in our group to come in on runs, I found myself solidly middle of the pack on the hill sprints. Interesting, no?

Third is that Daughter has asked for a gym membership. Taking her tomorrow (after lunch and pedicures) to get her signed up. We pay month to month, so it won't be a big deal if she decides it's not for her. But at the moment I am thrilled that she's interested in the possibiliity of becoming the Gym Princess.