So Far

This is what I had planned as of Tuesday.  Wanted to check in on how I'm doing so far.

• Bike ride Wednesday ~28-32 miles - I ended up riding 31.4 total, but it wasn't quite the bike experience I had hoped for.  You can read more about our cycling woes that day in a previous post.  
• Long run Thursday 7.8 miles (weird distance, but that's how far the route is, so that's the plan) - Ran 7.8 per the plan.  I was exhausted afterwards for some reason, but otherwise it was a good run.
• Easy run Friday 3.5 miles - Ended up running closer to 3 miles, but walked 2 so it's in the ballpark of the plan
• Bike ride Friday ~30-38 miles depends on how things go Wednesday. - Rode 32 miles and no flats this time!  Yay!
• tbd Saturday (If I was smart, I'd plan to swim!) - Ended up meeting one of my running friends for a 5 mile run.  Still no swimming, so I guess that means that I'm not smart!
• Bike ride Sunday ~30+ miles hopefully - TBD.  I'm writing this early in the morning, but at this point we are still planning to go out. [updated:  We went out this morning for 34.6 miles on bike.  Yay!]

In summary, I'd say, so far so good!  Also, it's worth noting that I've ridden my bike nearly as much this week so far as I did all of June.  [updated: Adding in today's ride, I've surpassed June's bike total in the first 8 days of July.]

TTT: Bike Woes, Long Run, Lazy Afternoon

BIKE WOES - Yesterday Husband& I celebrated Independence Day with an intended 28-30 mile bike ride.  Before we even left the house, I had to put in a new tube due to a front flat.  Once we were on the road, he told me that his rear tire was really low when he was adding air, but he didn't change the tube (no, I have no idea why he didn't change it).  I was certain that it wouldn't be long before he had a flat.  About 3 miles in, we stopped to change the tube.  Then about 11 miles later, his rear tire was flat again.  Again, a tube change.  About 3 miles farther and flat again.

Fixing the *first* flat

At this point we decided that something was wrong that he wasn't figuring out on the road.  Rather than put in (and waste) another tube, we decided that I would turn around and head home to get the car.  Unfortunately, at this point we were 16 miles away from home, so it was going to take awhile before I got back to him.  I rode as fast as I could and got home in about an hour.  Grabbed my purse, made a pit stop in the bathroom, and took off to go fetch him.  Driving out to him seemed to take forever, but it was probably more like 40 minutes.  I seemed to catch every red light possible. At home, he seemed to get his tire situation sorted out.  We're going to try again on Friday.  *fingers crossed*

LONG RUN - This morning I met my running partner for our long run.  Normally we do the long run on Saturdays, but her daughter is having surgery tomorrow and since we both took some time off around the holiday we decided to bump up our long run (7.8 miles) to Thursday morning.  It went pretty well, but I was exhausted afterwards (probably more from doing it after yesterdays bike adventure).  I wasn't going to run at all on Saturday, but now I'm thinking I'll do something like 4-5 miles, essentially swapping days. It all depends on how I feel after tomorrow's ride.

Which leads me to LAZY AFTERNOON - While I'm typing, Husband is napping on the couch, the dogs are napping on the floor, and the cats are napping in another room.  I'm thinking they are onto something; I am ready to join them...   ZZzzzzzz

Best Laid Plans

Okay, the title sounds like something is going to go awry with the plans.  Which might happen.  But at this point, the plans are the plans until the plan changes.


Here's the deal:  Wed is a holiday and I am taking off the back half of the week to make it a 5 day weekend!  So is Husband, (er, I guess maybe, now he's not so sure they will let him go). 

So the plan is:

• Bike ride Wednesday ~28-32 miles
• Long run Thursday 7.8 miles (weird distance, but that's how far the route is, so that's the plan)
• Easy run Friday 3.5 miles
• Bike ride Friday ~30-38 miles depends on how things go Wednesday.
• tbd Saturday (If I was smart, I'd plan to swim!)
• Bike ride Sunday ~30+ miles hopefully

I'll check back in later to see how well I was able to adhere to the plan.  What are YOUR plans for rest of the week??

June Tally

Digits

• 115.9 miles by feet (65.9 running, 50.0 walking)
• 83.0 miles by seat 
• 10 hill workouts
• 0 races completed
• 2 race registrations sent in
• 0 swimming
• 1 weekend getaway to visit son.

Thoughts

• All in all, a very good month. 
• I'm amazed at how much walking and running I got in. Yay me!

Plans

• Maintain run base
• Build cycling base. Get in more than one ride per week (d'oh!)
• Women's Distance Festival 5K
• Stop procrastinating, and get into the water!!

This and That

I ran in a skirt yesterday for the first time this summer. I don't know why I was wearing shorts every time and not skirts.  I guess I forgot how much I like running in skirts.

Sunday we rode 32 miles on bike.  I think I hit the wall at 27.  Those last 5 were not fun.  I suppose part of the problem is that I continue to ride only once per week and really need some mid-week rides to get my cycling fitness up to a decent level.  The other problem may be that we rode at the HOTTEST part of the day.  Next week I have an extra long weekend, hoping for some extra riding to help on both fronts.

Had another good 7 mile run on Saturday. Really looking forward to going 8 this coming weekend. But to balance things out, I had a total failure of a run today.  And by failure, I mean I turned around 3/4 mile in and called it quits at 1.5.  Energy was low and I was experiencing some pain near my right hip (IT band?).  I figured it just wasn't my day.  I'm hopeful that Thursday's run will be better.

I seem to be a bug magnet.  Even though I live in the desert where there are few mosquitoes, and I put bug spray on before running by the river, I end up with new bites practically every time way more than anyone else that I run with.  It's making me crazy! Is there something else I could do to make them leave me alone? [updated to add:  I've been told it's probably the sand gnats that are getting me, not mosquitoes.]


I have the worst tan lines ever.  Sock lines.  Bike shorts lines.  Running shorts lines.  Running/cycling shirt lines. Cycling glove lines.  Eee gads.  It's not at all sexy.  Please tell me I'm not the only one with this problem!

Three Things Thursday - Fire, 15K, & Beating the Heat.

FIRE:  The latest New Mexico wildfire sprung out very close to where I live. This is the view I had from our hot tub patio shortly after the fire started.  A little too close for comfort. Luckily they were able to get it contained over night.

15K:  I signed Husband & I up for the Hot Chocolate 15K at end of September.  I know this race had issues in DC, but it seems to have gone well in other locations.  I've never run a 15K, and I'm excited about it!

BEATING THE HEAT:  It's been freaking hot out. Running in 95+ deg temps just isn't my cup of tea. I finally bit the bullet and started running in the morning before work. Speaking of which, I've also decided that I am *not* doing the Sunday evening race that I mentioned earlier.   

Monday Miscellany

Thursday I had a good 4.0 mile run with a couple of friends.  But man, it was hot!  I really need to think about running in the morning during the week.

Friday morning I was scheduled to run with my friend, the new runner.  She hadn't had breakfast and just wasn't feeling it.  We ended up walking instead.  She tried again Saturday (after having breakfast) and had a good run.

I was also supposed to swim (yes, I said SWIM) with a friend of mine, but she cancelled.  I could have gone by myself, but I did not.  Another lost opportunity and nobody to blame but myself.  Instead, I came home and started the process of re-purposing my son's bedroom.  I want to remove the dresser and clean out half the closet so I can move my sewing stuff in there.  I put the clothes from the dresser into plastic bins for now.  Got the dresser cleaned out, but that's as far as I made it on that chore for now.  Oh, and I found a whole mess of pocket change in his drawers.  Too funny.

Saturday was a 7 mile run with friends.  It was AMAZING.  I felt good the whole time.  We started picking up the pace at mile 5.  And really kicked it up for the final quarter mile.  Gotta love runs like that!

Shady Rest Stop

Went on a "Father's Day Bike Adventure" with my husband on Sunday.  We went in the afternoon.  There wasn't much wind, but again it was HOT.  We ended up doing 30.3 miles which was about 5 miles past the point where I was ready to be done.  I really need to be more consistent with my riding and pick up some mid-week rides.

Thought about running again this morning, but decided that walking the dogs was a better idea.  I think my legs need rest.

I'm contemplating doing an evening 5K this coming Sunday, mostly for fun.  Weather report shows a high of 96 with partly cloudy skies.  Hmmmm.  To do or not to do, that is the question.

Happy Monday!

Weekend Wrap Up

Met a running buddy and other friends for a 4 mile run only to realize that I wasn't wearing my running shoes.  Yes, you read that right.  How does that even happen?  Yeah, it's a long story.  Anyway, my running buddy agreed to follow me home and run from there rather than wait for me to do the round trip or cancel entirely. Run salvaged!

Friday, another friend & I met with a new runner who has been doing the couch-to-5K plan.  This was her first time to try running 25 mins straight somewhere other than a treadmill.  She didn't think she could do it, but she did great!  So exciting to watch the progression of a new runner.  Glad we could help her out.

Saturday, I had 6 miles on the schedule.  Met the group again (this time actually wearing my running shoes - go me!).  My running partner actually did it as a progressive, each mile slightly faster than the one before.  It was the first really good run that I've had for a long time.  Next week, we're aiming for seven.  Go us!

Before the ride, thinking I could do it. Hah!

I also attempted a 25 mile bike ride with my husband later afternoon.  However, the wind was fierce, and it was just too much for me.  I decided to bail 4 miles in.  So I turned around, cutting it short at 8.  Blah.  Then on Sunday, I attempted a 16 mile ride with hills.  Went much better than Saturday's ride, but again I ended up cutting it short.  This time because my left hamstring was bothering me, not the wind, and I did make it farther than the day before  (a 12.4 mile ride).

It probably goes without saying that I'm not feeling really good about my cycling progress (or lack thereof) right now.   Tomorrow's a new day though, right?

It strikes me that I have a sprint tri in about 2 months.  Maybe it's about time that I add some swimming in, ya' think?

May Tally, Running Update, & Life

Numbers

• Cycling - 64.8 mi
• Running - 47.5 mi
• Walking - 50.3 mi
• Hill workouts - 12 (mostly walking though)
• 1 5K race early in the month 
• 1 daughter graduated from HS
• 1 son visiting for just a week

Thoughts

• Did a lot of walking!  And enough of everything else to make it a good month.
• Life is changing.  More on that below.

Plans

• Possible 5K fun run this month.  Maybe not though.
• Try to ramp up long runs to 7 miles each, knee permitting.

Running Update

• Didn't run at all last weekend, but walked a ton.  Ran at the track last night and did 8 400s.  My Garmin died so I don't have all the data for it, but it was a good workout.

Life

• Since Son is staying in CA over the summer, we make a whirlwind trip this weekend to SF&Berkeley to visit with him.  We were on the go the whole time trying to pack in as much as possible over a weekend. I feel like I need some down time now, but it was so nice for our little family of 4 to have some quality time together. 
• Son got an internship in CA, which is why he's not coming home.  It's been difficult for me to come to grips with the fact that he's only going to be visiting with us from now on.
• Daughter registered for her fall classed at UNM last week. Then yesterday she signed a lease for student housing.  I think it will be good for her to live on campus (vs. the long commute from our home), but the reality of the the empty nest when she moves out this fall hasn't quite sunk in yet.
• I was sad thinking about all these changes; they are growing up and moving on. But then I saw an absolutely beautiful sunset the other night. I think it might be a sign that everything is going to be okay. :-) 

3 Things Thursday: Cycling, Running, & CFB

CYCLING - Sunday we went on a 9 mile bike ride in 25+ mph winds.  I had wanted to go farther, but the wind was horrible, so we called it a day after 9.  Made up for it on Monday with a 30.2 mile ride.  Took a different route than usual, so it was more of an adventure.  It's nice to mix things up sometimes.  Experienced our first roadside flat of the year, on my bike no less.  Luckily, it was the front, so it was easy to take care of.

RUNNING - Monday morning I also met my running friends for another 5 mile run.  And followed it up with 2 miles with the dogs, walking half and running half.  This was before the bike adventure.  Tuesday was scheduled to be a track day.  I did show up at the track, but when mentioning to Coach about what I did on Monday and the fact that I was feeling sore all over, he suggested that I skip the track workout for active recovery instead.  So I went home and walked the dogs again.  I think that was a good call; I felt much better the next day.

CALCIUM FRUCTOBORATE (CFB) - I've been doing some research on supplements that might help my knee.  There has been a lot of recent press about CFB having a positive impact on knee osteoarthritis, so I've been taking it for about a week now.  There are some other exciting benefits about this form of boron, namely an increase in Vit D levels without taking more D.  It seems to improve absorption.   It is widely known in the scientific community that developed nations are experiencing boron depletion in the soil.  What seems to be a new finding is what effect the boron depletion has had on our bodies, and the positive impacts of supplementing with it.  I recommend everyone looking into this and consider whether you might benefit from it.

Retail Therapy

On Thursday, I had lunch with my running partner. Afterwards, we decided to stop in at Dick's Sporting Goods for a little retail therapy. We ended up buying matching Nike "Running Wild" shirts with the intention of wearing them at an upcoming Women's race.

When I was putting it away, I realized how well the "Wild" matched one of my new pairs of Puma shorts.  Decided it was too cute not to try out, and got it in my head to wear it Saturday for our group run.

However, we had smokey skies on Friday due to a wild fire in southern New Mexico, and the group cancelled.  Drat!  It seemed the debut of my cute running outfit was going to be postponed

I texted a couple of my running friends because I really didn't think it was that bad. We decided to meet anyway.

I felt great on my 5 mile run despite questionable air quality. When I got home, I got the leashes so that I could take the dogs for our regular 2 mile walk and actually decided to run about half of it!  Haven't done that (run with the dogs) for a *long* time.  

Moral of the story?  Never underestimate the motivational power of a cute running outfit. 

Evening at the Track

As I mentioned in a previous post, I never used to like track workouts, but they are growing on me this year.  Went back last night and had a pretty good workout.

Started with a warm up of about 1.3 miles, then went into 400s with 200 walk in between.  Holy Buckets, that was tough!  I didn't really know how fast I was running until looking at the data afterwards.

Looks like the best one was at a 7:20 pace and the slowest was 8:30 pace, averaging somewhere around 8:00 min/mi.  For me that's pretty darn fast, a pace I cannot maintain much past a quarter mile. It's probably good that I didn't look at my Garmin while I was running, I probably would have pysched myself out.

BTW, those shorts I posted about last time are awesome.  I actually found some in other colors on clearance online.  Just waiting for them to arrive. Score!

Mid-week Miscellany

Went to Marshall's the other day and scored two pair of Puma "Lincoln" shorts (see photo).  I haven't had a chance to try them out running, but I like the colors, style, and fit.  Has anyone tried these?

This weekend we were originally planning to do the Santa Fe (half) Century.  However, that's now off the table.  This week is busy with commencement activities for my daughter.  Last night, the Seniors Honors Assembly.  Tonight the Commencement itself.  Sunday (day of Century) is the Graduation Ceremony at church.

My son is home from Berkeley for the week.  He goes back Sunday evening.  Sure was nice to have both kids home on Mother's Day.

Track Workouts

Last night I did an actual structured workout at the track. The format was as follows:

• 3/4 mile warm up
• Drills (an assortment)
• 8x200m with 100m walk between
• Reverse direction walk around the track cool down

It felt good to do something structured, and I was happy to be able to put in my best 200 at the end.

Here's how it looks from my Garmin (I turned it off when we were standing still getting instruction between drills, otherwise, I just left it running the whole time):

I don't normally enjoy track workouts, but this time I did.  How about you?  How do you feel about track workouts?

Run for the Zoo 5K Summary

Preface

• My training hasn't been going well.  I was having problems with my knee that kept me from training the way that I wanted to. I've been running conservatively and my knee seems okay at the moment. However, this past week I started having problems with my back.  
• I told Husband that I wanted to come in under 31 minutes, preferably closer to 30 minutes.  That's quite a bit slower than those ~28 minute 5Ks that I was doing last year, but seemed doable under the circumstances and I just really wanted to finish without pain, finish strong, and have fun.

Inspiration

• "If you don't like something, change it;  if you can't change it, change the way you think about it."  - Mary Engelbreit

The Good

• I started, I ran, I finished.
• As usual, this is a well organized race with lots of volunteers.
• No knee pain, no significant back pain.
• Officially placed 41 of 111 F45-49, 1065 of 2175 total participants.  Sounds pretty much middle of the pack to me.  Nothing wrong with that.

The Bad

• My Garmin says 31:53, exactly the same as my Garmin read last year at this race.  Last year I ran this after several months off, so I was happy with my time.  However this year, I've been running (albeit not very consistently) since mid-February, and for that reason I'm not so happy.   [Official time: 31:48 10:12 pace.]
• Last year it was cold and windy for this race.  This year it was sunny and warm.  It was definitely more comfortable this year, but I wish it had been a bit cooler. 
• I wanted to finish strong, and while I did run the last stretch quite a bit faster than the rest of the run, I never really pushed it the entire time so it was more of a relatively strong finish rather than an actual strong finish.  
• I am disappointed.  Logically, I should not be unhappy with my time because I treated this more like a training run than a race, but I still find myself feeling disappointed.  It's not so much that I'm disappointed with how I executed the race, I'm disappointed that I'm not where I want to be because my body isn't cooperating.  

The Ugly

• Other than my attitude right now, nothing.

More Inspiration (because I need it right now)

• "To be upset over what you don't have is to waste what you do have." - Ken S Keyes, Jr.  

April Tally

Numbers

• 43.2 miles walking
• 24.9 miles running
• 95.2 miles cycling
• 11 workouts included hills

Thoughts

• I feel like my running isn't doing very well because of my knee, but I'm pleased with my cycling and walking volume and so is my knee.  My back decided to act up at the end of the month as well.  Sigh. Trying to be happy with what I can do, and not lament what I cannot.

Plans

• Run for the Zoo 5K
• Santa Fe (half) Century 

Was out of town for about a week.  Back now.  Lots of blogs to catch up on...

Two for Tuesday

...both unrelated to running, we'll see how well this works...

365 Photo Project - I've mentioned a few times about joining a 365 photo group that started on March 1.  The idea is to post one and only one photo taken each day.  At first I tried to find interesting photos to share with others. That didn't work out too well. I've since learned that it's best to stick with what I know:  just take photos of subjects that are interesting to me, and try to learn how to better use my camera in the process.  I'm much happier with the results now that I'm staying true to myself.  Here are a few of my photos from the past few weeks: a pretty sunset, one of my cats napping, and a flower starting to bloom in our back courtyard.

Santa Fe Century - I also mentioned that Husband & I drove up to Santa Fe to check out the 50 miles routes for the Santa Fe Century.  To be clear, we drove the loop and I captured it on my Garmin; we did not ride our bikes.  As far as I can tell, the half-century loop is pretty close to 50 miles.  The marker in the center is the turn point for the out&back, which is also described as a 50 mile route.  On the graph, that one would be from the end, to the marker, then back.  From my measurements, that route looks more like 42 miles.  My conclusion was that the loop is definitely more scenic, the stretch in the center has some rolling hills that are a bit intimidating, and the climb at the end will be a struggle no matter which route we sign up for.  Its also worth noting that the *starting* elevation is ~6000 ft above sea level.  Aye carumba!

Then on Sunday we went for a 38.4 mile bike ride, almost the distance of the out & back, but no climb.  We don't need to sign up quite yet, but right now I'm learning toward the out & back simply because it's shorter and the event is only 4 weeks away.

Finding my way back

Earlier this week I was contemplating quitting two things:  running and blogging.  Running because I suck at it and I can't confidently train for anything because I never know when my knee is going to act up. Blogging because without running, I seem to have nothing to blog about.

I still might quit blogging, but I probably won't be so fast to give up running.  I just need to find my way back to my happy place.  I'm frustrated because it seems that I take two steps forward, then one step back.  I'm not seeing the progress that I want.  But I think if I can measure success in some way other than speed or distance, I may be on to something.  Generally, my goal at a race is to finish with a smile on my face and feeling strong.  I think I need to take the same approach to all my running right now. Keep the pace and distance reigned in so that I can finish strong.  Choose my routes to maximize smile time.  Things like that.

Well, I had my first bit of success with this approach on Saturday morning.  Rather than run the crazy hill route with my friend, we choose someplace where we haven't run for awhile.  It's mostly flat, rather than crazy hills, and partly shady, rather than relentless sun.  We also shortened the route and went 4 miles instead of 6. The result was astounding.  I *almost* enjoyed it.  Plus we managed negative splits (granted we started at a fairly easy pace), which allows us to finish strong.  That, my friends, is how you turn a frown upside down.

Later in the day, we went up to Santa Fe to check out two of the 50 mile route options for the Santa Fe Century (more about that later).  While we were there, we stopped at the Nike outlet.  If I hadn't had such a nice run earlier in the day, I probably wouldn't have even wanted to walk into the store.  But since I did, I decided to do just a little bit of shopping.  I came away with a black featherlight cap which I already love, and blue dri-fit shirt with reflective bits. Score!  Now I have something to wear on my next "fun" run, right?

Hopefully I'll be able to find my way back to my happy place with running.  I wouldn't exactly say that I'm totally there yet, but I think I'm headed in the right direction.

How about you?  Have any of you had to reset expectations and/or totally redo your training plan to find your way back to the love of the sport?  Or maybe a little retail therapy to help find the mojo?  

Excuses and walking buddies

Not sure what was going on exactly, it might have been the weather (seriously, I think I have a barometer knee), but my knee was not happy on Tuesday so I ended up skipping my run.  If nothing else, I have learned to listen to my body.  I also didn't run on Wednesday (same reason) or Thursday.  Thursday's excuse was that my running partner bailed, and I was too lazy to head out on my own.

But I *did* walk a good 3.5 miles on Friday and ran a measly 3.2 on Saturday.   It was supposed to be longer, but my running partner has that insane uphill race today, and I convinced her to save her legs for that.  Again, I could have gone longer, but was too lazy to run on my own after that.  Yes, there seems to be a theme.

Side note/rant:  Wanted to go out on a bike ride yesterday, but the winds were CrAzY. Seems like it's going to be the same problem today. Uggh.  Why is it that the weather can be beautiful during the week and then the weekend comes around and the weather straight up SUCKS!?! 

Anyway, decided to go for another walk today.  This time on the two mile hill route that I like to do with the dogs.  Thought I'd share a couple photos from the walk.  As it turns out, with one hand busy holding the leashes, trying to get a decent photo from a cell phone camera with the other hand is no easy feat.  But I did manage to get a couple of photos worth sharing.

This next one needs some explanation.  Right before we get to the base of the hill, we pass a house with three things that always do the same thing as we walk by. The white dog (far right) barks at us as we walk by.  The brown dog (also right), barks at the white dog.  The puppy (center), uninterested in all this barking,  runs around with some sort of stuffed animal in his mouth.  Here they are doing their thing.  It totally cracks me up!

In the final photo, we're back home, right outside the front door.

So, it wasn't a great training week for me.  But it wasn't a total bust either.  Granted, I may have some motivation issues running solo, but I have some great walking buddies that don't complain about the weather and have *never* once turned down the chance to head out with me.

I wish I could take them out running with me. I've tried on several occasions, but Stymie runs too fast and Bandit doesn't have the stamina to go more than a couple of miles.  So they are my walking buddies instead.

Double Trouble

If you read my previous post, you know that I ran 6 hilly miles Saturday morning as part of the jelly bean virtual race (and it you didn't read it, you missed out on one of my more colorful posts).

Well, decided to follow that up with a bike ride with Husband later in the afternoon. We had a 28 mile route on the agenda.  It was my first double workout in 2012.  Go me!

Felt pretty good on the bike.  Afterwards, however, I was tired and sore. 

On Sunday, decided to go for another short ride.  The goal was a 16 mile route with 2 hills.  I guess that was too much for my body, because I pretty much ran out of steam heading up hill #1.  Ended up calling it at day at 9.5 miles, skipping hill #2.  

I was bummed out about cutting the ride short, but in the end I realized that I still managed to get in over 37 miles by bike for the weekend. Plus a 6 mile hilly run.  Not bad, if I do say so myself.

Today, however, I am REALLY sore.  Good thing it's a rest day!