Go! Keep on Moving! Go!

No more blogging...for now

2011-02-07T15:49:00.002-05:00

Since I am now posting all of my training on Daily Mile and to my coach on Buckeye - I feel really redundant to talk about what I've been doing on this blog. I am not sure where I want to take the blog or if I even have anything write about any more. Perhaps I will keep it for race reports???
If you want to know what I am up to - check out the Daily Mile feed (widget is here on the blog) or follow my nonsense on Twitter.

It is all about time and where to spend it. I am still reading and commenting on other blogs when I get the chance to do that. Life of a busy, single mom who is employed full-time, on a 6 day a week training schedule and plays chauffeur to shuttle her wonderful child to her activities too.
I am looking forward to my upcoming half marathon on February 20! Twitter meet ups and old friend meet ups and a race some place other than home! YIPPEE!!!

Peace!

Brrrrr

2011-01-21T16:24:00.003-05:00

I'm cold, but I'm training.
Here is some good advise for these lovely Winter months: http://tinyurl.com/4sqj7q2

Today is just a yoga and stretching day. I need it. I am tired and a little sore from my week's efforts. Have a run on Saturday to get done and it is going to be bitter out. I am tough! I can do it!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T09:20:00.002-05:00

I welcome 2011. I embrace the new year with an open mind and an open heart. May we all reach the goals we have set for ourselves this year, but also enjoy life and the process to get to those goals.
Peace

Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noel, Frohe Weinachten, Feliz Navidad

2010-12-20T15:24:00.004-05:00

A multi-lingual wish from my mutt of a family to yours. My parents are coming into town this week and today is my last day of work for the week. If you celebrate Christmas of any variety - I wish you and yours well. Enjoy your families.

Peace

Team Fight and My Race Plans through May 2011

2010-12-13T09:38:00.003-05:00

I've been doing some organizing and planning on my end for what I will accomplish in 2011. I have a schedule of races planned through May right now. Also, I have joined Team Fight which is a part of the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. I met several people from Team Fight last October when I did the relay for the Half Full Triathlon. One of my relay mates was a member of Team Fight and another friend of mine, they all spoke so highly of the organization and team spirit that I decided I wanted to join up for 2011. I like being a part of something bigger than me and giving back to help others. I will be doing some fundraising as a part of Team Fight. My goal is $1200! You can help me reach that goal, by donating ANY amount.

First up on my schedule is the Livestrong Austin Half Marathon in Austin, Texas. I wanted to get a half marathon in early in the year, despite the chances of crappy weather in my area that could hinder training. I knew that if I actually paid and put an event on the calendar I would actually get my butt out the door or on the treadmill. Of course having my coach to answer too also helps (he & I start up again in January). I will be meeting up with several twitter running friends and a friend from high school in Austin - multiple good reasons to go!

Next on my schedule is the Cherry Blossom 10 miler on April 3! This will be my first year doing the Cherry Blossom. It is a Washington DC classic! Entry is done by lottery and I found out last night that I got in! Yippee!!

My first triathlon of 2011 and for now I am calling it my "A" race is the Columbia Triathlon. It is Olympic Distance. This will be my first year for this race. It is a lake swim, and a lots of hills bike and a pretty nice run course. I am looking forward to this race. This is an official Team Fight event as well, which makes the event even better!

After May I am not sure yet what I will do. I've got some cycling events that I want to do and I am pretty sure I will throw in another triathlon or two and some more running events - nothing more than half marathon distance though in 2011 - unless another lottery bid I have in the ring comes through. Highly doubtful, but you never know.

Twiddling my thumbs.....

2010-11-30T13:17:00.003-05:00

Not much happening over here. Thanksgiving was nice. Good to see family and spend time with them. I tired not to overeat. I am not sure I was successful. Damn that pumpkin pie!

I ran the Turkey Chase on Thanksgiving morning. I just did it as a fun run. Not worrying about pace or time. I didn't even wear my garmin. I still ended up with a new course PR by 5 minutes. 1:08:42. I will take it for just getting out for a morning jog and for the fact that I have not run but twice since MCM prior to Thursday. It is nice to see that my running has improved over the last year.

I can't believe that tomorrow it will be December 1. Where did November go? 2010 has been a year of ups and downs for me. Parts of it I will gladly let fade into the past. And since I am a live in the present and look forward kind of girl, I am looking forward to what I will accomplish in 2011.

Still trying to figure out what kind of races are going to be a part of my 2011. So many choices! I also have to temper my choices with a vacation I am planning for my daughter and I in the Summer. And there is the nagging worry over job issues....bleh....currently fully billable and busy, but in the contracting world, in a shaky economy, one does tend to worry just a tad... I find it hard to make long range plans with financial implications when that is niggling in my brain. Also, I have to plan a move for next September that will need to be in place prior to school starting at the end of August, so that my lovely daughter can start high school where we will be moving. At this point this is just a local move, but this will take planning on my part and has implications on training and racing schedules. Hopefully, I can get some good key races onto the schedule that are just not local events, as I like to get out of town too! I do think that 70.3 is going to have to wait until 2012.

Swimming! Cycling!

2010-11-15T15:41:00.003-05:00

I went to my masters swim practice yesterday morning. I haven't been in the pool in a while and the last time I swam was my last tri September 26. I had intentions of swimming, but it just didn't happen. IT FELT GREAT! I didn't last the full 2 hours, but 2650 meters after not being the water for while is fine by me. My arms were feeling a bit noodle-like when I decided to stop. Since I am in my "active rest" period, no need to kill myself. ;-p

In other activities, I managed 30 minutes on the bike trainer. I was watching TV and listening to music. BORING. I'd rather do the compu-trainer at the bike shop or be outside, but when those can't happen... I hadn't been on my bike since Sept 26th either. YIKES. My sitbones were a tad bit sore on Sunday. LOL. I've missed riding. I wish I could've gotten outside, but I was needing to be close to home on Saturday, thus the trainer. I hope we continue to have some dry weekends coming up so I can get out there!

I am also entertaining myself by getting back to the 100 pushup challenge, the 200 squat challenge and 200 situp(crunches really). I had started the pushups and squats back in the summer, but never finished. So I am back at it again, adding in the situps. In February, I will be gathering with a group of women triathletes and cyclists as we see if we can complete the challenge(s). We'll even have prizes. We have over 100 women that have signed up.

Keep on Moving!

Lost Runner Found

2010-11-10T15:06:00.007-05:00

I have in the past said I don't like running. I don't know why. Sometime it hurts, I guess, but then sometimes cycling hurts and swimming hurts, but I am not quick to blurt out I hate cycling or I hate swimming as I have with running. I think I had just lost the runner in me for a while. Over the summer months of training for the Marine Corps Marathon, I think I found the runner again. I told my coach once, you're building a runner out of me. Perhaps that was a little wrong, perhaps we were just renovating or doing a little rehab? Okay it is a massive rebuild... ;-p

As I trained, I found that I was running beyond 10 miles, feeling good and enjoying it. Stellar! Of course, there were those runs that were just crap; where I stopped before hitting the planned miles for the day or just really slogged through them at a slower than my normal slow pace. We all have those days, but overall I think I found the lost runner in me. See she was here all the time:

I found this picture while digging in a tote full of knitting needles this past weekend. Why ancient photos of my past were in this tote, I don't know, but there she was that runner! WoW! I've been looking for her. I look like I am hauling ass across that field. LOL. This was taken when I was in the 7th or 8th grade. Dig my striped tube socks to the knees. I ran cross-county and track 7th grade through 10th grade while living in rural Illinois. This girl used to talk about wanting to do a marathon. This girl used to run sub-7 minute miles on the 2 and 3 mile cross-country courses. When I saw the photo and thought back to that time, remembering that girl's dreams I said out loud to the photo - "We did it!" In regards to completing the Marine Corps Marathon. I am still pretty stoked about that accomplishment. There has been a long, winding, and sometimes difficult road between the me in the photo and me now, but the runner has been found.

Now, if I could just channel the speed from my youth I would be set!

Happy Swimming, Cycling and/or Running to all of you!

Still trying to figure out my 2011 triathlon and running plan. I want it all! Half-iron, another marathon, and lots of fun!

Marine Corps Marathon 2010 - My Story

2010-11-02T13:58:00.010-04:00

I DID IT! I FINISHED A MARATHON!

For some of you, perhaps that it is no big deal. You've done many. For me it is a big deal. I am proud, even if I didn't meet my "in my head" time goal. There is always next time. Yep I went there...this will not be my only marathon. Imagine, I once said out loud to many people, "I will never do a marathon". ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Never say Never. Oh, endurance sports you are so addicting.

It was a weird day overall for me and so much of it is a blur. I tend to be very focused when training or in an event. I miss most of what is going on around me. Is that good or bad? I have no idea. I get the same way when I am reading a book or listening to music. I totally focus on what is going on in the story or listen to all the parts of song. Anyway, here is the tale of the weekend and the actual race.

The weekend of the marathon was quite an event in itself. It started with new friends Sarah (@sarahthequeen1) and Ashley (@ashinmo) arriving at National Airport on Friday. I had never met either of these women in person and I had invited them to stay at my house for part of the weekend. Fun! It was extra special too, as this was Sarah's first trip to DC. I picked them up and we went to the MCM Expo at the convention center, after a quick driving tour of the monuments. After the Expo, we headed out to Dulles Airport to pick up Penny (@southbaygirl). Penny and I have known each other since undergraduate school. We were on the same floor in Hess Hall our freshman year and we shared an apartment our senior year at UTK. The last time we had seen each other was in Nashville, when we met to run the Country Music Half Marathon in 2008. That was my first half marathon. Penny talked me into that and then she talked me into the Marine Corps Marathon. She is good at pushing running. I got myself in to triathlon. ;-p

After picking up Penny, we headed over to the tweet up that Kirsten (@ultrarunnergirl) had put together. It was great to meet some of the people that I chat with regularly on twitter - you all know who you are if you are reading this post. After the tweet up it we hit P.F. Changs for a late dinner and then we were back at my place and off to sleep.

Saturday, we all got up and headed downtown to check into the hotel. We hit the Expo again and then Sarah and Ashley headed out to do some sight-seeing and Penny and I went to the DC gathering place of UT alumni to watch the UT Football game and eat lunch. Then after Jen (@jenzenator) arrived at the hotel, it was time for another tweet up back at the Expo. Again a good time getting to chat more and meet additional with twitter friends, including my coach, Josh (@speedysasquatch). After the tweet up it was back to the hotel and then off to dinner, then to bed. We all had to get up early!

I don't think I was nervous about the marathon, maybe excited and a little nervous - either way just like with any of my triathlons, I slept like crap the night before. The streets around the hotel were noisy too. On Sunday morning we were up at 5 am and getting ready to run. I ate my normal pre-run breakfast of oatmeal, banana, cup of coffee, and some water. We all got dressed and we headed out. We took the metro over to the start. It was a seemingly longish walk from metro, through the security check point, to the port-o-potties and bag check vans, and finally to the starting line. We hopped in the port-o-john line first, then hung out by bag check for a bit. I drank my coconut water, finally checked my bag and was back to the port-o-john line before heading to the start. People were lining up with the corrals by time, but in the wrong spot, so then we all had to move. In the move, I lost site of the pace person for 5:30. boo!

Finally, the race started. I got over the start line about 35 minutes after the race started. I had Santa Claus starting near me. I was surprised by the amount of people in costume. I wonder if they trained in them? Between the last potty stop and getting to the finish line. I lost Penny. After the start though, I found her. We stayed together for a bit, then I went on. Of course, I felt like I had to pee from the moment I got in the corral. Around mile 4 there were port-o-johns, so I stopped for a bit of relief. Little did I know that I would do more than pee. Ugh. I didn't want that to start happening. Stupid intestines and colon. I did feel better after the potty stop, but later in the run, my intestines and colon would be talking to me again.

Again, the race is much of a blur for me. I do know that I had a hard time settling into a pace where I was happy in the beginning and I even did a little run/walk during the first half. I think mentally I was trying to keep my pace down because I was worrying about going out to fast, but I think overall I just messed with myself completely. I kept on going. Running through Georgetown was fun and loud and a good pick me up for that point. Some where around the end of Haines point and heading out onto the mall, I starting feeling really gross in my stomach. Adding to the misery, my unpredictable nerve pain in my feet decided to make an appearance too. Really?!?! My feet felt like they were on FIRE and it HURT! After having some ups and downs during training with these same issues, I really did hope they would not make an appearance on race day. Not so lucky. But as I tend to do, I kept on going. I was finishing today, no-matter-what !!! Down the mall, past the Capital, back up the mall. I was struggling here. Then hey - I see Penny! She had been faithfully keeping her pace and there she was again. I was happy to find a friend in the sea of strangers. So we turn onto 14th Street and I tell her -we are beating the bridge... this is it! Thankfully, Penny had some Tylenol in her camelbak and still had some nuun water in it. I took the Tylenol and as we walked a good portion of the bridge, Penny's toes were hurting, ate some m&m's, I started to feel a little better. That bridge seemed like forever. As well as miles 22-26. The highlight of miles 22-26 was beer, candy and more beer! The hashers were handing out dixie cups of beer and several groups were handing out candy (Annapolis Striders - Thanks Ann! @brennanannie). And Penny had a twitter friend Dee (@deefsu) that was waiting for her to hand her a beer. I got to share some of that. :-) Thanks Dee. It helped! We continued past the Pentagon and I got to see another twitter friend that was cheering, it was Keith Dunn (@keithdunn) in his kilt. We were almost done. Once I saw the person with the sign that said 26 miles, I had total blinders on. I don't remember anything about the finish accept seeing some Marines as I turned the corner to start up the hill and I could hear people clapping and cheering, but I was just focused on getting to the finish line. And then it was there!

I got my medal, got my pictures, food bag and headed for a port-o-potty. Glorious!!

Official time 6:10:59 My first marathon. I think I have a 5-5:30 hour finish in me based on my training this summer. BUT - You never know what you are going to get on race day - be it weather, physical or mental issues - and with my stupid myelin damaged body, you really don't know -add a cranky digestive system and it can all go crazy.

I think once I start training again for the next triathlon and other things in 2011, I would like to pay a little more attention to nutrition and elimination issues as I go through training as I think that different eating and schedule in taper week, could have prevented the digestive issues on race day.

OVERALL I am still stoked that I finished!! Yippee!!!

Now I get to rest. Although, I feel a little lost without a training plan.

edited to add: cranky right hip wasn't an issue at all during the marathon. Left leg was a cranky one though. Compensating. Need to work on core strength and balance.

The final week.....

2010-10-25T10:42:00.002-04:00

In today's thoughts...

1. Why do I always have to pee about 5 miles into a long run? Will I have to pee 5 miles into MCM? Will I pee on myself cause there is not a place to stop or because I don't want to stop? LOL ;-p

2. Went to a Physical Therapist last week. My right hip flexor and quad were REALLY angry last week after my wonderful last long run of 18 miles. I was a bit freaked out to say the least. He did some work on it. He is also a chiropractor, a certified Active Release Therapist and an athlete - so he gets it. He adjusted my hips too. I've never had that done - never been to a chiropractor before. Interesting. I have been on a regime of Rest/Walking/ Heating/rolling/stretching/core work/stretching/icing for the last few days. Things are less cranky. :-) I will do some light activity this week on the bike trainer and some wee little jogs. PT did not think things were so bad that I could not run. It is overuse and some imbalances in my body - which I knew I had too - stuff to work on this winter.

3. I am excited about running this thing! Wow! I am also excited about getting to meet a bunch of the people that I chat with through twitter. It will be great to put real faces and voices to this crew. I also get to meet my coach in person! It is going to be a fun weekend all around.

4. Next post will be next week after all is said and done!

Thoughts as I enter the taper zone

2010-10-18T13:34:00.003-04:00

Wow, in less than 2 weeks I will be starting my very first marathon! It got here quick.

1. Sunday, I ran 18 miles - some of it on part of the MCM course. My coach wanted me to keep a steady pace throughout the run. It is something that I have struggled doing on my long runs. I tend to go out too fast and then fall apart. OR start out too slow and never get up to speed. This Sunday my run was awesome. I kept my pace steady for every mile - except the last when I took a minute off my pace just because I felt good. WOOT! Now I can only hope this is how I feel as I go in for the last 8 miles of the marthon and that I can continue to hold this pace for the whole race.

2. Why is it that ONLY yesterday I realized that I had a pace alert feature on my low-tech garmin? This was immensely helpful in keeping my on pace. I felt like such a dolt when I realized this alert existed. I could have used it all summer. I new it had many other features, just not this.

3. Right quad still talking to me. Lots of rolling, stretching, icing - repeating. It feels a little stiff starting out on a run, but then warms up and feels good. It is good if I keep moving around post-run, but if I sit or stand in one place for too long it gets stiff. I hope it sorts itself out by race day or at least performs as well as it did yesterday for 18 miles.

4. I miss Orangina, my bike. She looks so sad. We haven't been on a ride together since my last triathlon race on September 26th. :-( We are schedule for a ride the first weekend of November up in Gettysburg, PA. This will be a good part of marathon recovery.

5. I am still nervous about Oct 31, but I feel more ready since Sunday's good run.

17 Days.....

2010-10-14T12:09:00.002-04:00

I am almost to my taper time. I have an 18 miler this Sunday and then it will be the taper coasting to the Oct 31. My goals for my runs over this week and going into race day is working on steady consistency in pace and NOT going out too fast. Starting slow and ramping up into the groove.
I have been nursing some quad and hip pain on the right side since the half marathon run a couple weeks ago. I also thought I had a kidney issue going on - turned out to be a muscle that was acting out. I am now feeling much better. Last night I ran a little more than 5 miles. It was to be an easy run. After running nearly mile with no socks to the run store (forgot to pack socks!), and then getting going I was feeling good. I could have kept running, but I am sticking to the coach's plan, that is why I have him.

Work is busy still and my world has been eaten alive by marathon training. Looking forward to race day and November being a more relaxing month.

I was so inspired watching Kona Ironman last Saturday. Not signing up for any ironman or half ironman at this point, but a 70.3 is on my list of things to do - just not sure when yet.

Enjoy your training and your racing!

Relay Race Report - Half Full Triathlon

2010-10-05T11:38:00.002-04:00

First let me say that this was the best run event ever! Kudos to the Ulman Cancer Fund for their inaugural event in Columbia, MD.

I participated in relay match and got matched with two other women (Yvette and Theresa)- one local and one further south in VA. We met up at packet pick up on Saturday. We spanned the age groups -20's, 30's and 40's. We coordinated our Sunday morning meet up time and we were off.

Sunday morning came early. I was up at 4:30 am so I could get the dog walked, get dressed and be in transition between 5:30 - 6 am. It was chilly! I had on my CW-X summer weight running tights, run shirt, and then a jacket and sweat pants. I had a long day ahead of me. I met up with my relay team. We all got our body markings, discussed the chip hand off, and then it was time to hang out until the race start. They had area next to transition for relay teammates to put chairs and stuff to hang out. Before the race we were down at the Team Fight tent hanging out as our swimmer is a member of Team Fight (an Ulman Cancer Fund team). I even met Doug Ulman at one point in the day. Nice guy.

Finally, it was time to get the show on the road. I found 2 of the 3 guys that I knew were racing and wished them good luck. And watched all the swimmers get on their way. This race did the swim start as a time trial start, so the people in each wave entered the water two at a time and started their swim. Everyone seemed to liked this very much. While our swimmer, Yvette, was swimming, Theresa and I headed up to transition. She prepped and waited. And I hung out at off the side to cheer the timing chip hand off and Theresa out onto the bike course. The relay wave was one of the last waves to go off - so it seemed like forever when all the individual athletes are coming to T1 and taking off. In reality it wasn't really all that long, but patiently waiting hasn't necessarily been one of my strong traits. Yvette comes in, takes off the chip, Theresa puts it on and she is running with her bike out of transition. Okay NOW the real waiting starts. 56 miles......with HILLS.... I felt bad for Theresa as she had not had the opportunity to ride this course prior to the race. While she was out cycling, Yvette and I hung out at the Team Fight tent. Yvette had to leave for a family event, then I finally went up to hang out in the "relay lounge" in my chair.

I had worried about nutrition for this event. Since I would be up and out the door early and then waiting a long time until I ran. I ended up doing okay I think. I had a pb&j and banana in the morning along with my joint juice (it is helping my old joints) and some coffee. During the wait period I had another banana and a cliff bar. And about 30 minutes before Theresa came in on the bike I had another banana. I drank water all morning and pee'd about a 1000 times it seemed before I ran.

So 4 hours passed and Theresa was in yet. I was starting to get worried. She had an injured calf which is why she was not running and then I knew those hills were tough. I heard from one of the race coordinators that there were some people getting picked up on the course and that there were some women who were walking up the hills. oh no. The bike course was to close at 1:30. We were inching closer to 1 pm. I needed to get a long run in today whether or not it was a part of this race and I was hoping since I had been here all day that it would be at the race! I was so happy to see Theresa coming up the hill into transition! Yes, she made it in. And no she was not one of those women walking up the hills. I high-fived her and put on the timing chip and headed out to the run. It was just after 1 pm.

I have been working on my run form and at the same time trying to just let myself run without stressing about every little thing and looking at my pace all the time. So while I had the garmin on, I tried not to look at it while I was running. I just tried to find the pace that felt good. The run course was great. It did have hills that were tough, but I powered through them. For the first half (and first loop) I did have others around me. I had one guy run with me as I was keeping him going since I was fresh and he was wearing down as he was doing the whole race. I ran into Roy, one of the guys from my tri-club. He was walking and didn't have much further to go, so I egged him into running with me until we split - him to the finish and me off to the second loop. That worked well. I was on my own then at that point which was approximately 7 miles. I just kept going. I was feeling really good. The hill going up around mile 11 is when I started poking a bit. My knees were starting to ache. I just kept going. I wasn't going to walk. I knew I could do this and finish strong. The volunteers were still out there and the aid stations still well stocked. It was great as I knew I was one of the last people out on the course. As I came into the finish area, it was a bit quiet as there weren't many people left. There were a few people cheering and Theresa my from my relay team was there waiting for me to come in. I was done! My knees were talking, but I was done. 2:37:21. A new PR for pokey me on the half marathon - and I love that it was on a hilly course AND I stopped to pee at 3.2 miles where there was a port o john at the aid station. Did I mention I was well hyrdated? ;-p

I got my finisher shirt and medal and went to the food tent. YES while there were only a handful of people still out on the course they still had space blankets, shirts, medals, and food and PLENTY of it. I could have had a free beer, but I knew that would not have been good at that point. I tried to eat the banana and part of the chipotle burrito that they handed me, but I couldn't. I was just tired. I did drink part of a coke.

I waited around at the finish to see the very last person come in. Thankfully, she also had some family and/or teammates waiting for her too. That is a lonely spot to be in.

Nice race. I am glad that I decided to do the relay match even with up early and wait around part. Having a good half marathon run before the Marine Corps Marathon is good too. Now, let's hope my knees hold out for the next few weeks.

Naylors Beach Triathlon Race Report

2010-09-27T12:12:00.006-04:00

I signed up for the Olympic distance event for this race put on by Richmond Mutisport in Virgina. These people put on a great event and a GREEN event. Well done!!

Now as you all know I have been training for the Marine Corp Marathon and pretty much that has been my focus since the beginning of July. There have been some swims and some cycling during these past months, but the focus has been more on running. Going into this event I was not sure how I would do, especially since I haven't been in the pool in a few weeks.

Saturday, I drove down to Tappahannock and Warsaw VA from my suburban Maryland location. Amazingly I didn't hit any traffic on I-95 South - that never happens. I went to Naylors Beach campground (start/finish area) to pick up my packet and attend the race briefing. The race organizers were placing the buoys for the swim in the river while I was there. They looked FAR away. "gulp". The river looked like it was really moving too. "double gulp". At the race briefing, the race director tells us that the tide will be going out during the olympic distance waves and should be flat for the sprint distance. Okay. Tide going out, helpful ? maybe?

After the briefing I headed over to my hotel. Checked in. Go to room. Someone else has already occupied this room. Go back to the front desk. She tells me, "Uh oh! This can't be. We are fully booked! I am going to have to call corporate." I am thinking - YOU WILL FIND ME A ROOM HERE OR SOMEWHERE ELSE - and before I have to get uncharacteristically nasty - she flips through some papers and realizes I am to be in room 103 not the 303 she gave me. Whew! After that, I grabbed some dinner and then did some reading and tv watching before calling it a night.

This was a race with reasonable start times. Compared to races in Wash DC, which have really early times. Transition opened at 7 and my wave start was 9:10 am. I got up, dressed, ate some food and headed over to the course. Since this was a small race, I easily found all my Ancient Mariner (my Master's swim team) friends that were also racing. We had people in all the categories - both the olympic and sprint tris, the duathlon, and the aquabike, and the swim -run (I don't know what that is called). This event definitely had something for everyone. I set up my transition, hit the bathroom, donned my wetsuit and went to play in the water. All morning I debated the wetsuit. It was a wetsuit legal event, but the water was comfortable without a wetsuit. The air was in the mid-70's at start time. I ended up wearing it.

SWIM - The swim was in the Rapphannock River. This is a swift moving river and it is a tidal river. Tide was to be going out with our start. It was an in water start and we could stand were we started. The course was set that you went out on a diagonal to the first turn buoy then straight down the river to the next turn buoy and then back into shore. The first two waves went. Then my wave went. I am swimming and swimming. I am feeling constricted and tired and can't catch my breath. The first turn buoy doesn't look like it is getting any closer. I freak momentarily and call a kayaker over. I hang on for a bit. I consider get out. I am thinking "Why in the hell am I doing this?" The kayaker tells me, "you have gone quite a bit. You can do it." I catch my breath and thank her and start swimming again. The tide/current pulling me and everyone else off course. FINALLY I get to the first turn buoy. I get around that and I am just wiped out. UGH, I still have quite a bit of swimming to do. There is a kayak nearby I hang on his tip for a minute. Again considering getting pulled out of the water. WHY DOES THE MIND DO THIS - WHY DO WE GO THERE? The kayak guy says something encouraging and I head out again. With the help of the tide/current I make it fairly easily to the next turn buoy. Then it gets really fun..... NOT . This was the hardest part of the swim. I was right at the yellow turn buoy when I turned and I am swimming and sighting and all of a sudden the red marker buoy is way off to my left. The tide/current is pulling me and many others way off course. I felt like I was swimming in place and not getting any closer to the shore line. I was so happy when I could finally touch ground as that meant I was closer to shore. I swim and walk in to the shoreline. I am beat up at this point. I climb up the berm as I am taking off my wet suit and head into transition. 37:16 for 1500 meters. I bet I swam more than 1500 meters with all of the off course business that happened.

T1: 3:30 - I walked to my bike. I was wiped out from the swim. There were hardly any other bikes left in transition for the olympic distance. I was thinking negative thoughts - like YOU REALLY SUCKED ON THAT SWIM MICHELLE. Helpful, I know. I got the rest of my wetsuit off, tried to get the dirt and crap off my feet - I did put socks on - can't go without -then shoes, got my helmet and glasses, grabbed my gels and gloves and I was out. I was lucky my rack spot was right next to the bike/run out.

BIKE - I was still a little shaky from the swim. I drank some nuun water and just pedaled. I grabbed a gel and proceeded to eat that and goo it all over my left hand, handle bar. Yuck what a sticky mess for the rest of the ride. LOL . Pure talent that is me. While it had been a bit cloudy in the morning, then sun was starting to break through and a lovely breeze (NOT) had started up. First turn and I am heading into the wind. GREAT, first the tide now the wind. But I just barrelled through. I had been warned about a couple steep hills on this course, and there was one that was steep and one that was a long, slow climb - nice rollers for the most part. I was able to pass a few folks so that made me feel a little better after the crappy swim. I needed anything I could get. Edited to add for Tri Diesel's benefit - I had a burp with substance while on the last part of the bike. It hought I was just going to burp, but there was more to it. Blah! It was gross. I was rinsing my mouth out with my nuun water spitting on myself and on the road and trying to keep up the pace. Towards the end of the course the olympic distance merged with the sprint. Those sprint distance folks looked so fresh. (The sprint waves started an hour after the last olympic wave). As you came into the dismount area you hit a road with speed bumps. LOL I started prepping my legs for the run by standing up and going over the speed bumps. I dismount in my normal awkard and slow manner and trot into transition. 1:28:43 - 26 miles. I will take it.

T2 - 2:18 Legs are feeling tired by not totally trashed. I really need tri-specific cycling shoes for these events. I fumbled trying to get my shoes off and I need to put zip ties on my running shoes. Then this would be faster. I grab some honey stingers and pour some water over my stinky gel hand and head off.

Run - The sun was out fully now and it was heating up. So much for the forecast of 69 as the high. It was warmer than that when the race started. Legs are feeling okay, but I am having trouble getting any kind of speed going. I just feel tired. I proceed to run/walk the whole 6.2 miles. At one point, I misstepped off the road and roll my right ankle. (Now I have rolled both ankles in one month). I cuss, rub my ankle, spit on my left knee that is bleeding now and get back going. I walk for a bit then start up my shuffle. You would think with all the running that I have been doing this would be better. NOT SO MUCH. I wasn't the last person on the course, but I was close. 10k - 1:21:34 pitiful

My Official finish time 3:33:20 This is not pretty.

Overall women's olympic distance winner's time - 2:32:59. How awesome is that and she was 16th overall!! Even more wonderful - she was in my age group (45-49). She BEAT many people much younger. And due to her amazing performance, that left myself and one other person for the age group awards. So even with my not so stellar performance I GOT FIRST IN MY AGE GROUP. I will take it as it may never happen again. The joy of a small race. Also getting older - less women in the brackets.

Next up - 13.1 miles to run at the Half Full Triathlon. Yep - I was the bike leg (56miles), but the runner on our relay team can't run as of last week. She is able to bike or swim. Well our swimmer is unable to do 13.1 miles, so since I am in marathon training and this should be something I can do - I am now running. I am not totally unhappy with this switch as MCM is only 33 days away. I need to be running.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far!
Happy Training and Racing

Revenge of the Penugins Race Report

2010-09-20T10:13:00.004-04:00

So for my first 20 miler ever and part of my training for the Marine Corps Marathon, I did this event. It is designed to fit nicely into the schedule for those running MCM as the group that organized this event also trains people for MCM among other races. Anyway.... I went to bed Friday night as a decent hour. I did my usual night before positive visualizations of me running strong and feeling good. I know it may sound silly, but I feel that it really works for me to do this as I am drifting of to sleep.

I got up Saturday morning BEFORE my alarm as my darling, elderly dog walked into my room POOPING and walked out. Gee, Sampson, perhaps a little bark before the poop and I could have gotten you out the door. Oh well. Cleaned that up, then got back in bed for the 5 am alarm. Now this race didn't start until 8 am, but where the start/finish line was in the park had a parking issue and I still needed to pick up my bib, tshirt and timing chip. I took Sampson out, ate breakfast, prepped my bottles of nuun, got my Honey Zinger chews in the container and then I was off to the park.

This race was held on the C&O Canal towpath. It had a 10 miles option as well as the 20 mile option I was doing. We started at Carderock Recreational Area. I haven't run the towpath in all my training thus far. It is dirt and gravel. I was a little apprehensive of this as I can twist my left ankle all too easily on nothing. Anyway. I park, get my bib, tshirt, and chip. Walk around a bit. Sit in my car and reading tweets and playing angry birds. Go to the bathroom twice and then it is time to start.

I wanted to start out slow, but run steady. I am aiming for 12 min/miles or better. I know I am truly a penguin. First we run up towards Angler's Inn and then turn around and run down towards Georgetown. So I get into my pace. A few people around me. Get to the first water stop and turn around point, my Garmin had already gone past 2 miles. The race organizers had said this water stop/turn around was 1.5 miles. Uh oh.... how off is the rest of this course? I get a little water, eat a few honey stingers and keep on going. I find a couple women that are keeping my pace and I stay with them. I am feeling good. Go past 5 miles (according to my Garmin) and of course I have to pee AGAIN! I think my body is conditioned to have to pee at 5 miles. Every single one of my long runs, I have to pee at 5 miles. I am pissed that I have to pee (LOL) cause that means finding a nice spot behind a tree and then losing the women I am pacing behind. I hold off for a bit, but then I can't do that any longer. I find a spot, drop my tights, pee and then I am back up on the course. I am able to get back up on my pace and stay there even without the women I had been pacing behind. As I am running, I am calculating in my head about how far the turnaround should be for the 20 miler. I get to the 13 mile mark and I am still feeling pretty good. I had my fastest consecutive 13 miles ever on this run. I was thrilled! Then I hit 14 miles and my knees decided they had enough of this pounding. It was weird how it hit and then my running form just fell apart from there. The cadence and pace chart on my Garmin download it is so evident to. I am steady and then bonk......all over the place. I found myself not breathing right. I was holding my breath, I wasn't keeping my posture. I tried to focus on form and breathing and it would feel better for a bit, but I just could not get my pace back up or keep it to anything reasonable. Once I got to about 16-17 miles I started walking with the running. My knees were screaming. I can't remember which aid stop I hit, they said "Oh you only have XX miles to go" and I am looking at my Garmin and thinking uh oh the course is wrong - this sucks. But I have no choice but to keep moving towards the finish. My Garmin hits 2o miles. No finish line in site. I keep going not sure if my "jog" was any faster than my walk, but it felt a little better on my body. Everything is hurting now. Finally I get to the finish line and go over the timing mats. I am happy I am done, happy I came in under 5 hours (the 20 mile beat the bridge cut off for MCM) and I look at my Garmin to hit stop and I am at 21.42 miles. Course off by almost a mile and half!!! Measure much??

So while this is the Revenge of the Penguins event - I get down to where post race food and water is. NO FOOD LEFT. NONE! Really people? The true penguins of the day are shafted. There are still others on the course and you have no food left. Oh wait there were some individual slices of warm cheese....gag....really?? I am tired, sore and REALLY NOT HAPPY at this point.

I stretch for a bit then get in my car to drive home. I stop at the grocery for my 20lb bag of ice for my ice bath. While I sat in the ice bath I drank my Generation UCan recovery drink and marveled at the fact that I just ran 21.42 miles (well if you call what I do running) not too many more at I will be at 26.2. While I was in pain and miserable for the last several miles on Saturday, I could have kept going to 26.2. It would not have been pretty, but I could have done it. I spent the rest of Saturday on my couch. I ordered a pizza, had a beer, watched college football...my whole body was sore. My poor running form at the end really beat me up. Sunday, I was still quite sore. I didn't go to swim practice but I did spend some time with the foam roller. Today I feel pretty good, a little bit of soreness.
I have a triathlon this Sunday. What was I thinking?

Getting excited!

2010-09-15T21:05:00.001-04:00

While last weekend's run was supposed to be 18 miles I only ended up with 12. I mentally pooped out. I was also having some gastrointestinal issues, but I think the bulk of it was mental. The funnier part is while I thought of it as a crappy run, my numbers were not so bad. Oh well...

I am excited about this weekend. It is Revenge of the Penguin time! This is an organized race of 10 or 20 miles. No time cut off other than darkness. It will be a great test to see if I can beat the MCM "beat the bridge" cut off as I am doing the 20 miler. My first ever!!!! Ankle is feeling good and even though I have had some things aching lately all is feeling pretty good this week. Woot!!

Earlier today I tweeted asking for suggestions for 70.3 triathlons for late summer/early fall 2011. I can't believe I am thinking about this already, but I want to tackle this next year. Let me know if you have any suggestions!!

I will post a Revenge of the Penguins race report even if it sucks!
Until then - Happy Training and Racing!

Running long

2010-09-09T12:18:00.002-04:00

Last Saturday was a long run of 17 miles. Just shy of 9 miles, I stepped on a patch of uneven pavement and my crappy, weak, left ankle rolled. UGH. I was in a groove too. After a few choice words shouted at the sky, I sat down, rubbed my ankle, did some twists with it and then I was up and moving again. It was a run/walk deal for the next 2 miles. I had no other option that start moving towards home. After about 2 miles of run/walk, I mostly ran the rest of the way to get in the 17 miles. It wasn't the prettiest. My cadence was off, but I got it done and only 6 minutes slower than my 16 mile run from the week before. Obviously something is moving in the right direction and I am keeping my pace better.

This Saturday is 18 miles and the 18th will be 20 miles. Woot! I have been running alone and without music. Your mind goes to some strange places while out there running long on your own. I have a Chi Running metronome too to help with my cadence - I am starting to get it. Sometimes, though, I tired of the metronome noise and turn it off. It does help you keep a rhythm and keep mindfully on the task of running. On the 18th my 20 will be with other people. It is a organized event - Revenge of the Penguins! Fun.

This Saturday and Sunday I am volunteering at the Nation's Triathlon. I had no interest in doing this race, so I decided to volunteer. I am working packet pick up on Saturday and then I have finish line area duties on Sunday. It should be fun.

Also - Saturday there is a blogger meet up for the DC area. I am hoping I can stop by at least on my way to volunteering. If you are in the DC area and what to join in on the fun - see below from Liz Runs DC:

As some of you saw on my blog or on twitter, I'm planning a blogger potluck picnic. I know some of you have already told me you can't come, but I wanted to include you on a DC email list for future meet-ups. Here is what I'm thinking for the meet-up. If a lot of people have conflicts we can schedule it for earlier in the day (but please not too early since I have a 16 miler that day!):
When - 9/11 at 1 pm
Where - Rock Creek Park. If we get enough people I can see if we can reserve one of the small pavilions, but otherwise let's plan on doing it old school (picnic blankets).
What - Potluck picnic. Everyone brings something to eat or drink, and some people bring blankets. Afterwards, people can run, bike or hike together in the park, but you'll probably be too full!
Please respond to the following:
Are you coming?
If so, what do you want to bring?
Do you want to be on emails for future meet-ups?
Feel free to post this on your blog as well because I'm sure there are other DC bloggers I don't know about. Thanks everyone!
-Liz
lizrunsdc.com
@lizrunsdc

Still Here! My life in bullets

2010-09-02T14:34:00.001-04:00

58 days until MCM

Daughter started school yesterday. 8th grade!

I ran my longest run EVER last weekend - 16 miles. Wow. 13 of them were good miles the last 3 totally sucked!!! 17 miles are on the schedule this weekend

I have been on the bike and need to get on it more. 24 days to next triathlon and the course has hills.

Work is still super busy

67 days.....

2010-08-24T11:59:00.003-04:00

Why do we second guess ourselves? I really hate when my mind goes to those places. Live with the decision and get going! I think I must have gone there since my activity over the weekend was totally NOT running related and no real training occurred. Thus I have been having those what am I doing moments and saying things like You can't run a marathon. I DON'T LIKE THAT!!! I don't say can't! The hike on Saturday was good, but being the sweep is a test in patience. I had some women who were painfully slow that I had to prod a few times to pick up the pace. Thus rather than getting the 9 miles I wanted done, I ended up just shy of 7. ARRRRRRRRHGGGGGGGGGHHHH. But it was a beautiful day and all hikers had a great time.

Sunday, I was up at 4:30 am to go get donuts and coffee to take to my tri club's tent at the IronGirl Tri in Columbia. It was great to watch an all women's event. I got to see some friends who were racing finish. I saw the first and second place para triathletes finish - INSPIRING. The weather was a good temp, but it rained off and on all morning. One of my friends said at one point during the bike she couldn't even see because it was raining so hard. KUDOS to all that raced in the pouring rain.

After I left the triathlon, I got home showered and had to run to the fairgrounds to pick up my daughter's art work that she had entered in the fair (she won a couple ribbons too) then off to meet up with 3 friends for a late brunch and some spa time. We were celebrating my friend Katie's birthday. Brunch was awesome and then we hit the Red Door. It was a great afternoon. Very relaxing. I actually began to doze off while I was getting my facial. LOL I was so tired. I was in bed by 8:30 - 9:00 on Sunday night.

Monday - I was going to get up to run, but I got up to a stuffy nose and just felt gross. I think the grass and weeds are getting to me. Time to get the allergy meds rolling again. Last night I went to a stride clinic at my local Fleet Feet. I got some great information from this session and will work on getting my running form better. I got told I run like a cyclist with strong quads. LOL I need to focus on my glutes and hammies doing more work when I run - like a runner. Good to know as I am now in the moving all the miles up and up and up. I want to get through this !!

AND I HAVE TO BEAT THE BRIDGE!
Beat the Bridge: Runners must maintain the 14 minute per mile pace to reach the 14th Street Bridge and successfully "Beat the Bridge" just after mile marker 20. The 14th Street Bridge will reopen to vehicular traffic making it unavailable to runners after 1:15 p.m. Any runners unable to "Beat the Bridge" will be required to board the straggler buses and be driven to the event finish area.

If I can keep my LSD pace of 12:30 from miles 1- 20 this won't be a problem. YIKES! I guess I will see how things go in the next few weeks with my long runs. Sept 18 will be a good test as that is a 20 miler Saturday for me.

Friday Five

2010-08-20T12:37:00.002-04:00

1. I had a good conversation with my coach yesterday. I like the way he thinks.

2. Work is making me a bit crazy. Too many women/estrogen/something. Can we please have a bit of testosterone added into the mix???

3. The hike I am co-leading Saturday is a go. As of right now I have 33 people signed up. That is a good bit! The bus will hold 47. While I was secretly wishing it wasn't a go earlier this week, I am now happy to be doing it. I realized yesterday, that I really need to do an activity I haven't done in a while. Since we have 12, 9, and 7 mile options and I am the sweep, I am hoping that all coming are will be keeping a good pace so that perhaps I can get at least the 9 miles done. Good cross training with all the elevation gain too. I will add a run on Sunday to make sure I get a total of 16 miles in over the weekend since that was my schedule long run distance this weekend.

4. Sunday morning I will be up before dawn to go get donuts and coffee and meet my other tri-club peeps at the Iron Girl event in Columbia MD. We have some members racing. I have some friends racing. Also, the club is trying to generate interest and new members in our fledgling tri-club. I am looking forward to it. I also just found out that one of my relay teammates for the Half Full Tri in October is racing, so I hope to meet her too.

5. What does it say that while I miss my daughter (who is away until Aug 30) that I am not missing any of my parental responsibilities that come with her being home with me? LOL I am going to enjoy it all I can until then... once she returns school starts and then schedules of her activities and my activities have to be coordinated. It is good that I can ride and run just about anywhere.

Consistent pace?

2010-08-17T07:17:00.003-04:00

Why are my running numbers all over the place? I cannot seem to keep a consistent pace rolling when running. Now I do live in an area that is filled with rolling hills, thus where ever I run outside (unless it is on a track) it is constantly changing. I feel like my run pace has just been crap lately. For my long runs, my LSD pace should be 12 to 12:30 min/mile. During last Saturday's run I was all over the place - 9:43 min /mile at some point and then the low point (that last really crappy mile) was 15 min/mile - I think I walked a good bit of that one. And in the end I was off of the 12 to 12:30 min/mile pace overall. Ugh. Need to work on this. I will discuss this with my coach this week. We are scheduled to chat.

I have 16 on the schedule this week - and coach is mandating NO IPOD - just run what your legs want to do. Uh oh. I am not sure where I am going to fit it in. I am co-leading a hike on Saturday and sadly I am secretly hoping it gets cancelled so that I can do my long run on Saturday. If not I may be up early on Friday morning plodding out 16 miles before work. YIKES. I will definitely only being doing the short hike on Saturday if that is the case. Signed up to co-lead back in the Spring before fully realizing that I would be in the middle of marathon training. DOH!

Sunday I am volunteering at the IronGirl Tri in Columbia. My tri club wanted to set up a tent as we have members who are racing. It will be fun to cheer for everyone. This is one of those races that fills up the moment it opens for registration, so I missed the boat to race it this year.

Insominia post

2010-08-16T01:48:00.002-04:00

Things I have done since my last post

1. Spent a weekend with old friends, one I had not seen since I was 16. Which is a long time ago!! I haven't laughed so much in a long time. It was rejuvenating. I miss that I don 't have friends like that here.

2. Did some training. Thunderstorms and killer headache thwarted me a bit last week, but I managed one bike/run brick, some speed work on the treadmill, and Saturday's long run was 13.1 miles. It was a fine run until mile 9 or 10 when my knees started getting cranky. The last 2 miles really sucked. Today was swim practice. It felt good to be back in the pool after two weeks of no swimming.

3. Re-dyed my daughter's hair pink. She looks good with pink hair. So much fun. If they had made pink hair dye when I was her age I would have been all-over that, but I am certain my parents would not have allowed it. LOL. I am lenient when it comes to hair and as long as she does what she is supposed to do.

4. I can't believe that I am wide awake at 1:45 am. I am not prone to insomnia. Oh well. I guess I will read, since I have now posted.

Happy Monday to all. Hope you all got some sleep!!

Where did the week go?

2010-08-05T17:05:00.003-04:00

Busy here. Will post my stuff from the Catoctin Challenge next week. It was a blast and we had awesome weather.
Heading out to meet up with some people from my way back past this weekend in a place I haven't been to since 1981. It is going to be lots of fun. I cannot wait.

Training is all over the place this week, but happening some and I added the 100 pushup and 200 squat challenge to the mix this week just for fun.
Happy Weekend All!!

My Friday Five!

2010-07-30T11:08:00.003-04:00

1. I got my iPhone4 this week. So far I love it. Have any apps that you love and cant' live without? Please do tell! I am new to this smart phone/iPhone stuff.

2. My other purchase this month was a netbook in order to have a second computer in the house to surf/twitter/etc. My daughter discovered the wonders of skype via the netbook w/webcam and I have had to pry it out of her hands so that I can use it. She is not your typical teen - I usually have to remind her to charge, turn on, and take her phone with her. So to come home to find her skyping was quite funny. She says its the visual and voice connection that is more appealing to her. She is an artist! What can I say.

3. I received my relay match this morning for the Half Full Tri October 3rd. I am excited! I will be doing the bike leg, which is the leg I really wanted!!

4. This Saturday is the Catoctin Challenge! I will take photos and have a nice weekend report to share next week. I am still trying to get to $500. I am riding for Habitat for Humanity. http://tinyurl.com/34e32h7 Please donate if you can. Thank you!! Even if it is only a $1 or $5 -it can help. In total the group is hoping to go over $100,000 this year, which would be amazing. We are getting close!

5. I recently secured the services of a coach. Main goal is to get through Marine Corp Marathon training, but he totally gets my triathlon addiction and is a cross training supporter. So I still have bricks on the plan as well as bike time and swim time. I am hoping this will help my run overall and perhaps my run leg of my tris will be better too!

Everybody have a GREAT Weekend! And PLEASE Donate if you can.

Riley's Rumble Half Marathon

2010-07-26T14:35:00.005-04:00

From the MCRRC website: "Riley's Rumble is the evil half that your mother warned you about. Don't be seduced by the lush bucolic countryside of rural Montgomery County. This race will challenge the best runners. If you want the 3 H's (hills, heat, and humidity), this is the race for you. It is a good workout if you're preparing for a fall marathon but Riley's may not be advisable for your first half marathon. "
As they promised we had the 3H's.
Yes I finished, but it was not pretty. We have been having incredible heat and humidity here. Saturday's heat index was something like 108 degrees. The dew points have been in the high 70's which just makes the air feel like soup. I made sure to hide in the AC and keep hydrating on Saturday as much as possible.
Sunday morning the temp was in the low 80's around 6 am when I got to the start. The race organizer actually decided not to chip time the event due to the poor air quality and heat. The race started at 7 am. The whole time while people were getting their numbers and such, the announcer kept talking about the brutal conditions, etc. I was ready for him to stop! No chip time, but they did have clock for the overall start and so you could see an end time when you finished. My time was something like 3:04. I'll take it in all its crappiness. This was, after all, just a training day for me. I needed the miles. This event is free for club members. So it all worked out and I had nice, smiling volunteers handing out water, ice, Gatorade, GU, candy and POPSICLES during the race and I got my miles done. Actually Popsicles were only at mile 8.42. I got 2!! I found a nice group of three people to run with a the beginning and we stuck together through the whole event. Thankfully, we had a decent amount of shade for the run, there was one out a back leg that was all sun and then in the last three miles you have not shade and some HILLS to go back up to the finish. I would have liked to have stayed on my LSD pace of 12:30/mile - but that didn't happen. There was some (more than I would have liked) walking going on during the second half of the race and even during the last mile. My knees were talking and then my innards were talking a bit. I am glad it is done. I am glad that I did it even if it didn't come with a t-shirt or bling. My first 13.1 since 2008 is in the bad. On my way to the Marine Corp Marathon.

Training ups and downs

2010-07-19T12:55:00.002-04:00

Not much to post about. I have been dealing with a cranky IT band for the last bit and my left knee too. I've been spending some time icing, stretching, foam rollering. Of course this hits when I am trying to get into the swing of my training for the Marine Corp Marathon. I did have my bike fit reevaluated last week. So far with the couple rides that I have done since the fitting, nothing feels worse, so I am hoping the few adjustments that were made helped. It was funny to see myself on the TV on my bike. While I was at the bike shop I decided to get a new saddle too. I had been thinking about it, since Orangina still had the stock saddle on her. After a 35 mile ride on Saturday, I am happy to say I am glad I made the change.

I ran 3.3 miles this morning. Nothing hurts worse. I take that as a positive sign. And I was good and rolled and stretched after my run.

This week I will run again on Wednesday and then a wee run Friday and then Sunday is Riley's Rumble a low key club half marathon. While I don't think I am totally up for 13.1 miles, I should be at 9 or 10 according to my training plan, I think I am still going to go out there and do the run walk thing as part of my training. If anything starts to hurt then I will just walk. I will also get in some bike time and some pool time. 12 days to the Catoctin Challenge. I hope it is not as hot and humid as it has been lately or that is going to be a brutal 65 miles. Have I mentioned the hills?

Work is still crazy busy and I got promoted in responsibility at the end of last week. I am taking it on, so I hope that it will translate into some extra $$ - our review period starts in the fall with salary changes in December. I will be tooting that horn!
Happy Training to all!

10 Training Fundamentals for Cyclists | Active.com

2010-07-14T12:39:00.000-04:00

10 Training Fundamentals for Cyclists Active.com

7 Ways to Be a Jerk on a Bike Tour | Active.com

2010-07-12T16:26:00.000-04:00

7 Ways to Be a Jerk on a Bike Tour Active.com

Half Full Triathlon

2010-07-09T11:09:00.002-04:00

Today I decided to sign up to be matched for a relay team for the Half Full Triathlon which benefits the Ulman Cancer Fund and Livestrong. I will do either the .9 mile swim or the 56 mile bike.
FUN! October 3, 2010

Fund raising plea!!! Please Help!!!

2010-07-07T10:39:00.002-04:00

This is my one charity event that I do every year. Please consider helping me to reach my goal of $1000. No amount is trivial. Every dollar helps! You can follow the link below for an online donation or if you prefer you can write a check out to Catoctin Charities and send it to them. The ride is July 31 –Aug 1. I will be riding 65 miles on Saturday and 40 miles on Sunday. Have
I mentioned that Greg LeMond will be joining us for this years Challenge? If I meet my goal of $1000 I will get a Greg LeMond signed 1989 replica Tour de France jersey. A cyclist can always use another jersey! I am still $795 away from my goal.

I am riding in this year's Catoctin Challenge benefiting Habitat for Humanity of Frederick County Maryland and 1 in 6.org. The Catoctin Challenge is a very difficult and mountainous journey. My personal goal is to finish this two-day ride alive! The overall goal of the Catoctin Challenge is to raise $150,000, or enough to support the building of a new home for a family in need and to provide support for the 1 in 6.org initiative to help adult men who experienced unwanted sexual experiences in their childhood. Would you please consider sponsoring me in this year’s Catoctin Challenge? You can do so in two easy ways:1. Follow the link on this page (credit cards and bank account drafts accepted)2. Send a check made out to Catoctin Charities inc. to Catoctin Charities inc. Catoctin Challenge Bike Ride, 8322 Jordan Valley Way, Frederick, MD 21702
(Please note you are sponsoring me with your check if you send it directly to them)

Thank you so much!Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Catoctin Charities
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Some email systems do not support the use of links and therefore this link may not appear to work. If so, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://CatoctinChallenge.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=333612&u=333612-225415862&e=3535297905
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A Quiet Long Weekend

2010-07-06T12:34:00.002-04:00

After working until after 6 pm on Friday, my weekend was good. My daughter is out of town - so you would think I would be partying or something like it since I have no parental duties. ha ha ha . I was just happy to RELAX! Work has been insanely busy over the past month and is not letting up.

The weather at the end of last week was just awesome. Saturday morning I got up and it was still awesome so I headed out for a 6 mile run. It was wonderful. This is also the start of my training for the Marine Corp Marathon. Exciting! I ran at my slow marathon training pace and felt really good afterwards. I wore my XU calf sleeves when I ran and then spent some special time with the foam roller after I showered and I have had no calf or shin issues at all.

Since I had lots of time on my hands for Sunday, I decided to ride my bike to my swim practice and back. I used one of the local multi-use trails for most of the ride. 1. to avoid some VERY busy roads between my house and the pool and 2. It is in the woods so it had lots of shade! Sunday started out cool, but got hot hot hot as the day progressed. Originally I planned to ride from my house to the trail and then to the pool, but I was running a bit behind in the morning so I drove to the trail head then road. I live about 6-7 miles from the trail head. So I didn't get the full mileage that I was intending for the day, but it was still a good ride. Swim practice was in the middle and was good as always. The pool water was cool too, unlike last week when it felt like soup. Before I made the ride back I stopped and had a yummy everything bagel with egg, cheese and bacon at Bethesda Bagels and an Orangina. The ride down I didn't see to many people, it was 7 am on a holiday weekend Sunday after all, but the ride back the path was a bit busier. I nearly ran over an infant that a parent was letting crawl on the path in a blindspot. Thankfully, I had slowed cause I thought I had seen something up ahead.

Sunday afternoon after I had showered and just before I took a nap on the couch, I had a feeling of total relaxation. It was awesome. I hadn't felt that in a while. It made for a good nap too! Then I was up and out to a 4th of July/40th Birthday party.

With the extreme heat of yesterday and being a bit tired from staying up late Sunday night. I just relaxed and did some cleaning tasks around the house yesterday. I did venture out in the late afternoon as I needed to go buy Sampson his dog food.

All in all a Great, quiet weekend complete with training!
I think I found my next Triathlon too - Naylor Beach in Virginia in September.

Back to work!

Semi - Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-30T17:27:00.003-04:00

Today is dedicated to my giant, lovable, goofy dog Sampson. He is an old boy, but he still keeps me hopping. In the old house he used to sit on the toilet in the bathroom during thunderstorms as seen in this photo. In my new place, he likes to stand in the bathtub.

Can you believe it is July tomorrow already!? Where did June go?

Ahhhhhhhhhh - Friday Five

2010-06-25T07:19:00.003-04:00

1. I took it easy this week. I needed it. Work has been insane busy this month and it is not letting up for most of the summer. Road 10 miles on Tuesday, 20 miles last night and will get in about 40 miles on Saturday.

2. Monday after some stressful personal stuff I had to deal with in the afternoon, I had a massage. I think this should be done after every race. I rarely follow my own advice, but at the urging of another I scheduled it. My quads (and the rest of me) were sore from the race. The massage therapist did an awesome job. JUST WHAT I NEEDED. I was amazed at how tight my feet were. They have felt AWESOME all week since they got worked on. I went to a Massage Envy and have decided that as I move into MCM training - massage will be necessary. I signed up for a year of monthly massages.

3. I am searching for another tri to do between now and the end of September. Olympic Distance. Any suggestions? Is there anything that isn't sold out yet? The races in the mid-Atlantic region sell out so fast!

4. My daughter leaves next Thursday for 16 days. I will miss her, but I will also enjoy my parenting-free time. This will allow me to get back into my training routine. I gotta start MCM training! Early morning running here I come.

5. Sunday swim practice has moved to the outdoor pool! I am excited about this as I like being outside and this is a long course pool (50 meters). I can't remember if I ever have done practices in a long course pool. Maybe when I was 9 or 10 and very serious about swimming.

Have a Great Weekend! Happy Races to All! GO CDA IRONMAN RACERS!

The Inaugural Washington DC Triathlon Race Report

2010-06-21T08:09:00.004-04:00

Well, I finished! I move up to the Olympic Distance with moderate success I do think.

I am proud. I love the medal. It is my favorite one so far. IN TRI WE TRUST! Indeed!

Stats for those that don't want the long, long read:

Overall: 3:20:37
Swim 1500m: 34:20 (I want to shave off 4:30 please!)
T1: 4:4:5 (omg this is so bad!)
Bike 40k: 1:18:24 (I am happy! Still want to be faster!)
T2: 3:48 (no idea why so long)
now here is well it fell apart
Run 10k: 1:19:21 (gee think I might need to work on this!?)

So for the long story... first a little history...

I think back to March 2006, where I was in a hospital bed in the acute care unit on the stroke ward at GW University Hospital wondering what was happening to my feet, legs, hands, arms, head, eyes...etc. I had not done a triathlon at that time. I had thought about them. I grew up as an athlete - swimming, running track and cross country, playing soccer, riding my bike everywhere possible. As an adult I had not given up on those things, I just wasn't doing them all that much. Obviously, and I've mentioned it before, getting a rare syndrome was my epiphany. I completed a mini-sprint tri 6 months after getting out of the hospital...but I didn't do another until last June. I certainly do not know why I waited so long! Although, I will say my life was a bit of a roller coaster between Sept 2006 and June 2009.

ANYWAY.... I am happy to be here doing this, no matter the time. I do have a bit of the competitive bug still though. I want to be faster. I want to get better. But I also want to have fun. If it stops being fun, then I shouldn't be doing it.

Saturday I took Gina (my bike) on the metro to go to packet pick up, the expo and to leave Gina in transition. I love riding around downtown DC. I need to remember to do that more often. Packet pick up was well organized. The volunteers were absolutely AWESOME! Expo was tiny. Not unusual. I saw my favorite bike shop peeps, bought some Hammer Gel and Heed packets. Then I was off to transition. I road Gina down through DC with a couple other women. This was going to be their first tri. This race had a TON of first timers. It was well promoted and supported with training groups for newbies. I think that was great. Got to transition, racked Gina. She was flirting with the cute boy Cervelo on the rack next to her. I took a little air out of her tires as it was HOT HOT HOT and to keep her in line. Some one's tube exploded while I was there...I don't think they were thrilled to find that on Sunday morning.

Then it was off for a practice dip in the Potomac. They had the course marked, but with just little buoys. On race day they had GIANT cubes every 100m and the turn spots for the sprint and olympic. It was nice! Last June, I did the Dextro Energy Triathlon - sprint distance - with the very same swim location. I think the mighty Potomac river won that day. Last year the river was running colder and was rough due to recent storms. Last year was wetsuit legal. This year though.. the temps were up. You could wear the wetsuit, but you would not win awards. At first I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but then I thought - who cares! You know how to swim either way. Back to practice dip. I jumped in and did 750 m. I felt fine. I was happy. Time to get something to eat and head home to relax.

I engaged in my pre-race ritual of painting my toenails, watched tv, chatted with a friend - which helped a ton!, and finally decided I should try to get to sleep, although I was keyed-up. Like most of us, I don't sleep well the night before a race. I think my dog picked up on my vibe, cause he was being a nuisance too. I think I got up to pee 2 or 3 times in the night. Well hydrated I was. Finally 3 am rolled around and the alarm went off. I got up had my pre-race oatmeal with blueberries and a banana, coffee and of course water. Took the dog out to pee - and hit the wall of humidity. Yuck. I was 3:30 and the air was thick. No fun! I gather my stuff, check of my list in my head and headed out the door. I had to park about 2 miles from transition and then catch a shuttle to transition. I got to transition a little before 5 am. I had to touch up my markings as I had gotten marked on Saturday, pick up my timing chip and set up my area - all before 5:15 which is when transition was to close! I was a little nervous that I wouldn't have enough time or I would forget something, but I got it all done. Then it was just the waiting game.

Race complaint #1: ~20-25 port-a-potties for 2500 racers! Are you kidding me!?! Also they were crammed around near the corrals for the start. Just not efficient. Now, since it was now 5:20 I did have over an hour to "hang out", but I really didn't want it spent in the port-a-potty line, but wait I did. I chatted with the people in line and that was fun. Met more newbie women. While in line the announcer starts telling us the start will be delayed as there are still trying to get all the roads secured. The first sprint wave was to start at 5:30. I think they ended up closer to 6 am for the start. My original start time was 6:35. They did shorten the interval between waves to help with the time though. I wasn't happy about standing around longer, but not much I could do about that so I wasn't stressing it. I took in a gel and some water while I waited. I had thought on Saturday I might need something more substantial, but I had butterflies so eating wasn't really an option at this point.

Swim :Interestingly, my age group which tends to be one of the last waves at most races was going off right after the Olympic distance elite age group racers. I didn't mind, but it was different. Finally, it is my turn! We jump off the floating platform, tread water for a bit and the horn went off. I started swimming. It was a bit crowded and I bumped into a few people, but I just tried to get it going. My left arm is a bit weird (I think from above mentioned illness) - it takes awhile for it to warm up. At about 400m all was feeling good. I just kept think strong arms, consistent strokes, steady your breathing, breath both sides. I got a little off course a couple of times. At the turns things were a little congested. Lots of jostling and there were some men from the wave after mine that were catching up and getting into the mix. You are fighting the current the first half of the swim and then it is with you the second half of the swim. I am not sure if I noticed the difference. So I get up the ramp. I was happy with my swim. I didn't let the Potomac get the best of me this year. Also, I was happy to not have to start wrestling out of a wetsuit and make my way to T1.

T1 - was slow. Now it was quite a distance from river's edge to my rack spot, but I know I am slow in this area. I think I may try no socks on bike next time. I think it could work. I also put on my shoes. Then have to run out in them. Not very quick. One day I may master the shoes on bike maneuver, but not a real priority at this time.

Bike course was 2 loops for the 40k. The course had four 180 degree turns - so I got them twice. I liked the course. The false flat up Rock Creek wasn't bad. I had no technical difficulties. I kept my cadence up. I worked on trying to get my heart rate stable. I could tell it was getting hot out there. I took in a gel when I got going and then again at the start of the second loop. I kept hydrated. I took in all of one bottle and part of the second bottle. I enjoyed my ride. I was very happy with it. It was a little shy of my goal, but I am still stoked about it!

T2 - getting off the bike, running in my shoes to my rack. Bleh! My legs had that gee you just got off the bike after averaging 19 mph and you want me to do what feeling. I had to move a rack mates bike over so that Gina could be on her spot. Took off the shoes,helmet, sprayed on more sunscreen, drank some more. put on shoes, hat, grabbed a gel and headed out. My legs were not happy

Run I love running past the monuments! So I am heading out. I start jogging next to another woman and we comment about the heat and humidity. Her name is Pauline. We decide to stick together. I am glad I did. Her enthusiasm was contagious. I needed a little enthusiasm for this run. And she was doing her first tri ever!! We jogged for a bit and then would walk for a bit and we continued that through the whole course. Again the spectators and course volunteers were awesome. Pauline saw people she knew and her husband was also out on the course. I will see the pictures soon as we have been in touch. Towards the beginning of the course I saw my friend and former running coach - Jenn (Coach_Jenn on twitter). Her husband John was also racing. I got a shout out on the course! I was happy. I don't ever have spectators! The hills on this course were tough. Shade was very limited. Motorcycle playing music in the 9th street tunnel was wonderful! Nothing like a little Van Halen to perk you up. Pauline and I were singing. At one aid stop I had the volunteer just toss the cold water on me. I told her that I loved her. It was hot, but the aid stations were ready with cold wet towels, ice, water, powerade. It was nice. I had ice in my bra, my hat, down the back of my shirt. Now, during the run my stomach was not being friendly. Did I take in too much liquid on the bike? I started burping. Yuck. My run buddy was also having some issues. I think we were meant to run together yesterday. The cruel part of this running course was that you run past the finish line and loop around near it before you actually start making your way down Pennsylvania Ave to the finish. Not nice! I love the view from Capitol Hill, but I really didn't need it on the course yesterday. We turned onto Pennsylvania Ave, Capitol Hill at our backs. Pauline and I high-fived it and said lets finish this thing! I kicked in the last of what I had. The announcer said my name as I crossed the finish (a first for me), I put my hands up in the air and shouted a woo hoo! I got an ice cold towel, my medal, hugged Pauline and thanked her and went to find a trash can - the nausea was coming..I had tears in my eyes. I truly thought I was going puke up what ever gel, water, heed, powerade I had taken in. Stomach cramped and I had that feeling in my throat, but it never happened. I went by the food tent. They had burritos! OH GROSS! Not after a tri! No bananas left only oranges. Acid fruit no thank you. I did grab a cookie, but I couldn't even eat that. I drank water. The Pom Juice booth was handing out Pom Juice recovery smoothies. I took one. I kept it down and it was delicious.

Post race:

I got my gear bag, changed into dry clothes. Took the shuttle bus back to transition. Packed up my stuff and then made the awful 2 mile trek back to my car. I think I would have tried to ride my bike, but I had my pump and my pack felt heavy and awkward. I didn't want to risk crashing post race. Thankfully, one of my rack mates was walking back that way too. She and I chatted and tried to find the shady sides of the street. That will be my complaint #2 about this race. It is a lovely venue, but parking near where transition is quite limited. And I totally get why there are not shuttles to take you, your bike and gear back to parking, but man that sucks to have to trudge after you gave your all on the race course.

Time to find the next Tri and start into my marathon training plan.

Pre-Raced Jitters??!!??

2010-06-19T09:27:00.003-04:00

I am psyched and nervous about tomorrow's race. Perhaps I will feel a little less after I got to packet pick up and the practice dip in the river today. I also have to rack my bike today.
On Sunday, transition opens at 3:30 AM! Transition closes at 5:15 AM and the Sprint distances starts at 5:30 and the Olympic distance starts at 6:30. I am a little worried about morning nutrition. I will eat before I leave the house, my usual prerace oatmeal and banana. But then I have a vast amount of time before then and race start. I am not sure what I will take to eat after I set up in transition and the go WAIT for my wave to start. I have over an hour from transition closing and my start time.

Okay time to keep all the positive visualizations of me as a strong swimmer, cyclists and runner going. I have trained. I am ready. HUMIDITY be damned! Gotta love living, training, and racing in the swamp of Washington DC.

Race Report will come with photos even!

The Wacky Bridge Ride

2010-06-15T07:30:00.005-04:00

Or I would name it the Hills and Valleys Ride or the Road Kill Express (skunks! stinky!)

On Saturday the 12th, I joined up with my Frederick County, MD friends for what Phil, the ride genius, called the Wacky Bridge Ride. True enough we did cross three bridges that all kind of looked the same, but they were indeed different bridges. We started at 7:30 am and while the temperature was still on the nice side, the humidity was already quite thick. The ride started out innocent enough, until someone noted on the route sheet, "NOT SHOOKSTOWN!" That was the first of many tough climbs of the day - and that was at mile 4! We even had a rest stop at mile 9 to replenish fluids. We road on Bennie Hill Road LOL! It was hill too and the 1st of the three wacky bridges was on that road. I thoroughly enjoy riding out in the countryside. I have gone on roads and been through towns that I would have never driven on or through. I am finding little towns that I want to go back to explore.
We climbed up Arnoldstown Road to Gapland Road which is where Gathland State Park is located. That is the picture of the arch and some of us riders in front of the arch. The very first picture shown is on the road heading in that general direction. The dip or gap in the mountains (above the mail boxes on the left of the photo) is where Gathland is and Gapland Road. Gapland Road was an AWESOME downhill right into the town of Burkittsville. Anyone see the Blair Witch Project?? Right here people! We road some more and more...and finally had a rest stop in Jefferson, MD at the Jefferson Market. COLD Water! A bathroom! FOOD! I was hot, sweaty, covered in road debris, we had gone on some roads that were seemingly a mix of mashed dirt, gravel and just a dab of pavement, surprised we had no flats, and I was HUNGRY. This was mile 32.5 of what was "advertised" as a 50 mile ride but was really only a 45.43 mile ride. LOL. The heat and humidity were on and while I had been drinking my fluids, I am thinking perhaps not enough as later on Saturday I was feeling a bit dehydrated. So from here we didn't have much left, but of course because Phil designed this ride and we are in a hilly area there was more climbing to be had. Thankfully the last few climbs were nothing like the climbs earlier in the day. It was a great ride and a ride of extremes in the mph department. At one moment your flying down a hill at 35 mph and next you are barely making it up a hill at 4 mph! I was wishing for a third chain ring on a few of those hills! I was so happy I remembered to bring a change of clothes so I could shower at Phil and Jeanette's house before driving my 40 minutes home. That was an awesome shower!

Next up! DC TRIATHLON! Woo hoo! They just sent a great email with loads of info and my race number! 2143! I am getting excited!

Behind on Blogging and Embracing the Taper

2010-06-13T07:26:00.004-04:00

Last week was super busy at work and it won't be slowing down any time soon. Since I am behind I will recap from last weekend

After a traffic-filled Friday night drive to my Aunt's in Chesapeake VA (VA Beach), I was up and out the door at 6:30 on Saturday morning to get myself something to eat and meet up with a Fat Frogs Bike Shop in Chesapeake for their group ride. What a well organized bike shop group ride. I highly recommend if you are in the area to check it out. They had 5 pace groups, all with a designated leader. They kept to strict pace lines and everyone took several turns pulling the line. I picked the B pace group 16-18 mph. We were not to go over 18 the leader said, unless we got the wind behind us and it "pushed" us a little faster. The terrain is FLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT. Not even a roller. I am so not used to that! It was awesome. I would say it was an easy workout for me. I picked that group, but could have worked a little harder and probably managed just fine in the B+ group. Next time. I hope to get down that way a few more times this summer, since I have a free place to stay close to the beach, it is hard to pass up!

Sunday after a Saturday afternoon and evening of graduation party for my cousin, I got up to run. While I got out early, I should have gone even earlier. It was so hot and humid already. I managed to eek out about 4 miles. I can only hope next Sunday (June 20) is not super humid. I do not like running in extreme humidity!

Sunday afternoon my daughter and I hit the beach in the intense sun and heat. We were successful in not getting burned and enjoyed the still chilly Atlantic Ocean. I even did a bit of swimming along the shore line. After a yummy pizza dinner, we hit the road and didn't have too much trouble with traffic on the way back. It was a good weekend!

This past week, I got a wee 2 mile run in on Wednesday, a 10.5 mile bike on Thursday and a 45.43 HILLY tough ride yesterday (Sat) - the Wacky Bridge Ride. I will post about it this week. I took pictures!

I am officially one week out and am in taper week. Last night I was thinking I would get up and run 6 miles and then go to swim practice at 8 for at least an hour of it. Well I am sitting here at the computer at 7:41. Doesn't look like that is happening does it. he he
I didn't set an alarm when I went to bed. I let myself sleep until I woke up. I needed to honor my body's sleep need and I did have a hard ride in the heat yesterday. I made it to 6:30 am. After I took the dogs out (I'm dog sitting), I looked at my training plan that I have been quite loosely following all these weeks. I decided I need to embrace the taper and follow what it on my plan all week. Today 30 min easy run, Monday 30 min swim, Tuesday 30 min run - sprint intervals but not too hard, Wed 30 min swim, Thursday Easy bike ride, Friday rest, Saturday easy bike spin to loosen legs and then SUNDAY IS RACE DAY!

I am nervous and excited about moving up to Olympic distance. I think I am ready!

Committed

2010-06-02T11:45:00.003-04:00

I am being good to myself and my training plan. I am quite happy about this as June 20 is coming soon!

Last Friday I met friends out around 8 pm, 'cause I needed to get out and be social. I stuck to drinking water - need to hydrate for this heat - and went home at 11 since I had to be up for a 40+ mile bike ride on Saturday morning. It was a good ride. It was titled the NICE HINEY! ride. All due to the fact that we ride on Hiney Road for part of the route. hee hee. I did take some pictures, but communication between my phone and the computer has been at a standstill. Can't they just play nice? I did see cows, llamas, peacocks, and goats! And we road through one covered bridge. I love riding out in the country where the traffic is light to nonexistent. We did have a couple HUGE tractors that we had to move around, but other than that hardly any cars. LOVELY!

Now, I am going to the VA Beach area this weekend for my cousin's high school graduation (can we say National Merit Scholar and Cornell Scholarship recipient!!??!!). I am proud of him. Now, I tell my daughter and my neices -be like your cousin! No pressure! ha ha h ha Anyway, I have a training plan to keep, so I have found a bike shop near my Aunt's house with an early Saturday (and Sunday too!) morning bike ride of ~21 miles! CHECK! I will be up and out before anyone else is stirring. AND then I just went to map my run and planned a 6.2 mile run from her house. So the plans are there - I just need to execute. I am quite motivated, though, because I do want to finish and finish strong on June 20! I am thinking ride on Saturday morning and run on Sunday morning. I know this plan is missing some swimming, but I will do some laps in my Aunt's tiny pool.

Of course my trip won't be complete without some beach time. There better be beach time! I love the beach. I need the beach. The Atlantic even at VA Beach is still quite chilly this time of year, but I am sure I will still go in.

Okay back to the crazy short work week.

DON'T FORGET! PLEASE DONATE!

The Catoctin Challenge will be here before I know it! Please donate! Every $1 helps!

Thank you so much! Go to: http://CatoctinChallenge.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=333612&u=333612-225415862to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Catoctin Charities

A Thursday Three

2010-05-27T14:55:00.002-04:00

1. I woke up thinking it was Friday and then wishing it was Friday when I realized it was Thursday.

2. Despite the nasty early heat and humidity I am opting to run instead of ride tonight. Since I had noted in a previous post that I need to run more, I should follow through! I road last night for a wee bit and I am riding a long ride on Saturday, so tonight I will run with the fine folks at Fleet Feet to get a little social interaction along with my run. Running with others will help me ignore the heat and humidity I hope!

3. I have been working on my calendar for the past few days. Coordinating my daughter's Summer schedule, with my schedule and her Dad's schedule. Who has her which weekend? When is she away? When are you taking her on vacation? And so on... Whew! And how does all of this coordinate with my race and training schedule? Pretty good! I am thankful for a cooperative and flexible ex-husband. It makes all of the scheduling so much easier. I am also thankful that my daughter is 100% behind me and my activities.

The Catoctin Challenge will be here before I know it! Please donate! Every $1 helps!
Thank you so much! Go to: http://CatoctinChallenge.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=333612&u=333612-225415862to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Catoctin Charities

Catoctin Challenge- Time to raise funds

2010-05-25T15:32:00.005-04:00

This will be my third year participating in the Catoctin Challenge. Please help me meet my fundraising goal of a $1000. Every little bit helps! See more below!

I am riding in this year's Catoctin Challenge benefiting Habitat for Humanity of Frederick County Maryland and 1 in 6.org. The Catoctin Challenge is a very difficult and mountainous journey. My personal goal is to finish this two-day ride alive! The overall goal of the Catoctin Challenge is to raise $150,000, or enough to support the building of a new home for a family in need and to provide support for the 1 in 6.org initiative to help adult men who experienced unwanted sexual experiences in their childhood.

Would you please consider sponsoring me in this year’s Catoctin Challenge? You can do so in two easy ways:
1. Follow the link on this page (credit cards and bank account drafts accepted)

2. Send a check made out to Catoctin Charities inc. to Catoctin Charities inc. Catoctin Challenge Bike Ride, 8322 Jordan Valley Way, Frederick, MD 21702

Thank you so much! Go to: http://CatoctinChallenge.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=333612&u=333612-225415862
to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Catoctin Charities

No Race = No Race Report

2010-05-24T15:23:00.002-04:00

So, yeah.. umm well.. it was raining. Since I am TRULY a novice bike racer and not a big fan of riding my road bike in the rain, I (and my teammate) opted not to go to the race on Sunday. Now, I know that I could hit a triathlon event and have to ride in the rain, but that kind of riding is so completely different than hammering as hard as you can on a 1 mile loop and trying to draft. It is better I didn't risk myself or anyone else. Of course as Sunday went on the weather got better. I hope that the later afternoon races went well.

So what did I do this weekend? Friday I worked until 6 pm, the office was absolutely dead when I left. I know I lead SUCH an exciting life. Then I got to wait around for my teen to let me know which movie she and her friend were going to and what time I should pick them up. Gotta love teens!

Saturday was my normal training ride with my tri club. I did 27 miles. One day I will bring a camera to take a picture of one of the best views in the county. And it is fun descent too! :-)
We had one newbie woman that joined us and did our 24 mile ride. It was her first time riding that far! We gave her lots of encouragement to return next week. She could have done the 27. The woman on the mountain bike returned too, she is a trooper. That bike weighs a ton and she is chugging along. If she gets a road bike we all better watch out. Along our ride, some dude in jeans and tennis shoes on a road bike starts riding with us. He just appeared in a creepy kind of way. He said he had ridden all the way from New York. He was asking which way was south. We provided him with some directional help, but then he followed us. We were not going south. Finally he left us when he realized we were going where he had just come from. DOPE. I am glad that we were a mixed group, I think I could have out ridden (out road???) him if necessary, but you never know. He had a few screws loose I do believe. I will say Saturday that I did get more head nods and waves from other cyclists out. They must have been happier. I am certain I see the same people each week. My little sociology experiment - see who acknowledges a fellow cyclist.

Sunday, once the decision was made to not race in the rain, I was a big girl and instead of going back to bed I went to swim practice. I was bummed that the weather was crappy. I wanted to race! I wanted to leave it all on the course and puke! I am glad that I did not go back to bed though. Swim practice was good - all 3100 meters of it.

28 days until my first Olympic Distance Tri. Hmmm My swim and bike are in great shape. I am not so sure about the run. Well, since it is the first time at this distance what ever happens will be a PR. LOL!

Consistency & Whining

2010-05-20T12:21:00.006-04:00

My training consistency has been a little (probably more like a lot) lacking lately. I am not happy about this. I need to get my act together or June 20th is going to REALLY SUCK! I had this epiphany yesterday morning while getting ready for work. Does anyone else gets some good thinking in while in the shower? I usually start the process while I am out walking the dog and then when I am in the shower I am trying to assess, problem solve, and make a plan. Of course, if I had a coach or personal trainer perhaps this would be so much of a problem, but I am not in a position at this time for such and REALLY I am a true amateur out for the enjoyment of the sport, is a coach really necessary other than being a motivator? That being said, I would like to try it sometime (having a coach or personal trainer) and of course in my fantasy life I do hit the podium. For my reality, I just want to make sure I am prepared to be able to perform to the best of my ability considering the realities of my world.

So after my shower epiphany and planning, etc., I take my daughter to school. First, We have to stop at CVS to get some prints of photos from her camera for a class project. As we are walking into CVS, my left foot bumps up into the graduating curb from where the wheel chair ramp is - and down I go. I am sure it looked lovely in my dress and heels. Anyway, I now have lots of pain in my left knee. I have iced and taking Anti-inflammatories, etc. Externally it doesn't look bad, but man it HURTS. So much for the consistency plan - especially when it comes to running until this stops hurting so much. NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS. Then of course I have work and family commitments that are clashing with my normal training routine, ugh......... I know I am whining. I am not normally a whiner EVER, but I just feel like whining today. Perhaps it is my hormones. Blaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I want to get all my training in consistently!

Okay, back to you regularly scheduled programming.

Up next for me: Kelly Cup/Bike Jam in Baltimore on Sunday. 15 mile crit on a 1.1 mile loop.
I hope my knee issue isn't going to impede my cycling. Of course, I am not a contender in any sense at this point, I am still learning. I will have at least one other teammate racing with me that has experience. I am hoping this will be a good experience for me.

I hope others are having better days!

People are unreal!

2010-05-18T23:08:00.003-04:00

This happened at last Sunday's bike race in Leonardtown, MD . I know I shouldn't be surprised that some idiot or idiots think it is funny to cause other people harm, but I am just amazed.

Wednesday is the National Ride of Silence. It is a shame that we have to have such a day. There are three rides organized in my area. Unfortunately due to work and family obligations I will not be able to ride. Accidents can happen, but so many driver's don't think that cyclists should share the road. I also recognized that it is a cyclist's responsibility to follow the rules of the road, ride with confidence, and be aware of the traffic. While I am still so much of a road cycling novice, I feel I am a safe rider and a confident rider (even in traffic!), but you never know who is driving around you. Recently, I was nearly clipped by a bus. It was moving into the lane I was in, as if I wasn't there. Thankfully, a woman I was riding with saw what was about to occur and alerted me to MOVE OVER and I was safe. So even if you have never gotten on a bike, think a little thought tomorrow evening about those who have been injured or lost their lives while riding a bike.

Stay safe out there!

Nice Ride in Frederick County and I lurve KT TAPE!

2010-05-17T10:08:00.003-04:00

So dear readers I did not take any cow or goat photos during my ride on Saturday, but I did see some some very cute calves and cows along the way. It was an awesome day and a great ride. There were about 14 people that started out the day. Some were only doing the short ride, 40 miles, and myself and a few others were going for the 52.5 (according to the ride genius's cue sheet). All riders are together for about 22 miles. I stayed with a group of 4 others for the whole ride, we all kept a similar pace and it worked well. We got to the first rest/refuel stop at 18.5 miles and little convenience store in the wee town of Adamstown, Maryland. While we were at the stop, one rider gets a call from Phil, the ride genius, that another one of our riders got clipped by a car crossing a rather crazy intersection. OH NO! Thankfully, she was not seriously injured and her bike not totally damaged. She was also lucky that Phil and a couple others were close by. Her left pinky finger was tore up and she ended up having surgery, but was out of the hospital by the evening on Saturday. She was very lucky. The driver who clipped her stopped too. Whew! Glad that wasn't me!
The temp was great the whole ride. There was a bit of a breeze, but it wasn't too bad. This ride had some good climbs. You know you will have a climb when you hit roads with MOUNT anything in the name. Most of the ride was rolling hills that you can maintain a decent speed to get up the next hill without having to get down in the lowest gear to get up the hill. When we were at 35 miles, one of our group had a flat. While we waited for him to change the flat, three other riders caught up to us. It turns out they were supposed to do the shorter ride, but missed the turn. Two of them needed to get back to the start point soon, but were unfamiliar with the area. So all together, with the knowledge of some locals who were riding, we made a changed in the route and ended up at 47 miles for the day. I'll take it!

Sunday was swim practice and I was supposed to get at least a 5 mile run in. Well, I did go to swim practice - 3950 meters! If I had known while I was still in the pool that I was shy 50 meters of 4000, I would have done the extra 50. Oh well. We (my lane) are generally in the 3000 - 3200 m range at practice, so this was a big one today. Coach was challenging us. Some how between picking up my daughter from her Dad's, doing some grocery shopping and house chores, the run never happened. It was a nice day too. Oh well.... TODAY I will get the run done.

KT TAPE - I had a sample of this at home from a women's cycling even I had attended. As I had mentioned in another blog post, my Piriformis or is Periformis?? has been giving me pain. A TRUE PAIN IN THE ASS ha ha ha - :-) It was so bad Friday, it hurt to sit!
Well, KT TAPE has an application for the SI area (the low, low back) that should help- I decided to give it a try and see if it would help me. YEP! I was a happy girl, I road pain free on Saturday, was pain free Saturday night and on into Sunday. I ended up removing the tape Sunday evening as it was starting to come off (yes I swam and showered with it on ). I still have some pain in that area, so I will have to purchase a roll. I am thinking this has helped!

Okay back to the tasks at hand here at work. I am trying to get things done, but stymied while I wait for others to deliver things that I need in order to get my part done. UGH !!!!!

FRIDAY!! The weekend training plan

2010-05-14T14:13:00.003-04:00

I ended up working from home today. I love being uber productive - doing the work from the office that I need to do and getting some loads of laundry done at the same time! That means I can play all weekend without the nagging thought of laundry. I LIKE THAT! The reason I am working from home today, though, is my darling daughter woke up feeling not so hot. She is off to her Dad's for the weekend too. After sleeping all morning though, she is feeling better.

All week I have suffered with my periformis acting up and my IT band aching - both on the left side. It is hard to roll the periformis out or stretch, but I have been trying. Lots of Pigeon Pose for me! I have had total running/cycling fail since Monday. I ran a nice 5 miles on Monday no problem, but then the bottom fell out of my week and feeling the pain didn't' help! Other than core class on Wednesday, I have been a slug. I hate it when that happens and I really have no one to blame but ME!!!!!!!!!!!! and a thunderstorm Wednesday evening that decided I would not be running. I'm certain I would feel less stressed out if I had done some of the miles that I was scheduled to do!

Saturday, I have the choice of 40 or 57 miles with my friends up in Frederick County. The weather is supposed to be awesome, so I am hoping that I can hang for the 57 miles. Hopefully, there is a good group riding. Lots of hills up that way and Phil, the ride master, always sticks the hilliest roads he can find. If I remember to take my camera, I'll take cow and goat pictures along the way.

Sunday, will be the regular swim practice and then if the body is feeling up for it I would like to get in a 5 or 6 mile run.

Next week is another Crit race. This one is in Baltimore!

Enjoy your weekend!

The usual stuff

2010-05-11T12:36:00.002-04:00

First, If you love Peanut Butter check out Early Morning Run's giveaway. Yum I love peanut butter!

I was consistent in my training last week. GO ME! I got runs in, bikes in and a swim in!!!!
Saturday I did a 23 mile training ride in horrible wind. It was blowing all over the place - but never at our backs. I was stiff Saturday night after battling the wind. It almost blew me over a few times. Good training experience though. We had a few mishaps on our ride. One guy broke his chain right at our turn around point. Another guy, a true newbie, had a flat and had NO spare tube, NO air or CO2 cartridge NADA NOTHING ZIP. Guy with broken chain had tube for him. One rider actually had a mini pump with her. I had a tube and cartridge in my bag and would have given them up, but was happy that I didn't have too. :) Guy with broken chain broke out the I-phone and found the nearest bike shop. It was just down the street from us, but it didn't open until 10 am. I was only 9 am at this point. We left him there, he went on to bike shop. Another member of the group, went to find him after we got back to our start point. Always fun out on the roads.

Sunday, Mother's Day, I went to swim practice. My back and shoulder were stiff and after an hour and half of practice they were done. So I showered and took myself to breakfast. My daughter was out of town on her class trip, so I was on my own. She returns tonight! Sunday night I had dinner with my brother, sister-in-law and nieces. It was nice. My brother is good with the grill.

Okay... enough with the boring chatter. Hope all are having a good week!

A Nugget for Your Wednesday

2010-05-05T12:37:00.003-04:00

Not sure where I got this from, but it is on a post-it note on my desk:

You only have control over 3 things in your life.

The thoughts you think,
The images you visualize, and
The actions you take

I think I must have written this down when my life was feeling a bit out of control. I still look at it often (probably because it is on my desk in front of my face), but it is good stuff. My life is no longer feeling out of control, actually it is rather sedate.

Trying to decide what to do with my weekend. Crit race on Saturday? Try, try again? Will she get her ass into the pack at the start and stay there? (I think I need to visualize this happening!) Or stick to the schedule of training ride/run brick on Saturday morning, swim on Sunday morning and if I don't get a long run in on Friday, a long run on Sunday afternoon. I think I may need to stick to the training plan. June 20th will be here before I know it. What will be the actions I take?

Bunny Hop Criterium Race

2010-05-03T07:26:00.003-04:00

Me in my Velo Bella Jersey.

First to note, the guys that I usually ride with on Saturdays from my tri club all congratulated me on my cycling improvement Saturday. It is nice that they noticed! I will say compared to a year ago when I was just starting out on my road bike, I know that I have improved. I can feel it. It is great to have it confirmed from others. I often ride with those that are stronger and faster cyclists, as I think it helps me improve. I guess it is working!

So Sunday, the Bunny Hop Criterium Race! This marked my second attempt at bike racing. I should have not done the race last month, as there were premiums for first time CAT 4 women racers in this event and it turned out there were only 2 in the CAT 4 field. I think I probably would have gotten a premium if it had been my first time. (that sounds kinda of funny). Anyway... There was an awesome showing of women at this race. There were nearly 50 women in the CAT 4 race. I did not race in the CAT 4 race, though. I decided to race in the open Women's 35+/45+ race. ha ha ha ha Little did I know that I would be out there with some amazing women, who are VETERANS of bike racing. There was about 30 women it this field. GREAT showing of women! I did absolutely get my ass handed to me, but I had FUN! The course was fairly flat and even with the wind blowing head on the slight incline of the course is was fast. I need to pull my computer numbers to see my average speed (I will). I only stayed with the main pack for part of the first lap. These women were zooming! The course was a 1km loop. The race was for 45 minutes, so the officials time the first few laps of the fastest group and then determine how many laps will be done. You are pushing it the whole way in this kind of race. Around lap 4 or 5, another racer and I, who was also without other team mates in the race ( and might I add a high level duathlete racer as I met her earlier) , helped each other out drafting and pulling around the course. She had done the earlier CAT 4 race and she was doing this one too. She was tired and still going! At some point, when I took my turn to pull she dropped back. I don't know how many times I got lapped by the lead group, but each time they did I certainly tried to grab on the to pack and get a little drafting help for as long as I could. I know I finished in the back of the group, but I don't think I was dead last. It was still FUN FUN FUN and I want to do more!

Other highlights of the weekend, I bought new running shoes on Saturday. My 10k PR left me with a lovely right shin splint. As I mentioned before, my sign that new shoes were needed. I didn't run at all last week. I was on my bike 3 times though. I am hoping my shin is happier this week as I return to getting my run on. My swim schedule and other working schedule had totally been out of wack. What is going on here! So I do hope to get some swim time in this week and get back to the gym for core class. Why does my job have to interfere with my lunch time core class! Get the memo people, Michelle goes to core class Mon,Wed and Fri - that means no afternoon meetings before 1:30!!!

Have a great week!

Race Report! A PR for pokey me!

2010-04-26T06:48:00.004-04:00

Saturday I picked up my race packet for the Pike's Peek 10k. This is an annual race in Rockville, MD that runs down Rockville Pike. Rockville Pike is a road of many names that actually starts as Wisconsin Ave in Washington, DC and then changes names as it continues on up into Frederick, MD. It is a road that you generally don't want to drive on due to traffic and lights, but is nearly unavoidable. I have never run this race before.

After my packet pick up I decided to get a pedicure. I know you are saying, "So what! Why do you wish to subject us to your toes?" Notice polish color. Look at top photo on race day. Hmmmm I had selected a polish color that matched what I ended up wearing on race day. I did not do this on purpose. It just happened! My shirt and jacket matched even though I did not purchase those items at the same time. I guess I just like this color. Mulberry - Not too red,not too purple.

Okay enough about that randomness. It was pouring down rain when I left my house, but by the time I parked and got to the start it had stopped. I didn't rain again the whole race. We got lucky! The temperature was absolutely perfect for a run. I ran into a few people that I know at the race start. Got into the start area for general pace that I thought I would run. My plan for this race was to run steady and finish strong. My last 10k I was not finishing strong. I didn't even look at what my last 10k time was before this race. I wanted to run based on how my body felt rather than worry about a time. So the waves started and we were off. It didn't take me long to settle into a stride that felt good. I had my heart rate monitor on, so I checked in on my heart rate periodically. I wanted to keep it steady as a I ran. This course is technically all downhill, but it does have rollers in it as it descends. So other than the wee hill climbs I kept my heart rate steady. I felt good. I walked through the water stops mainly to avoid people and cups on already wet pavement. At the 3 mile mark, I had my gel and kept on moving. When I got to 4 miles I picked up the pace a little bit. When I past the 5 mile marker and saw the clock was still under 1 hour, I knew I was doing pretty good for my normal sloth pace. The last bit of the run is truly down hill. I did pick it up a bit more there, but I have some lingering knee issues from ages ago injury and surgery that hinders me letting it all go on a downhill. I respect my knees. I need them! Then I finished! I felt good. I am very happy with my run! No bling for this race. They give you a shirt. This year's is UGLY. This morning I feel pretty good. Not too sore anywhere. My right shin is a tad tender. I think I am due for new shoes, shin pain is my usual indicator.

My finish time 1:04:42 (10:25/mile) a FULL 9 minutes! (i originally wrote seconds) faster than my Turkey Trot 10k time (1:13:42) - what's with the 42 seconds! I would like to break the hour mark for a 10k. Now, what would be totally sweet is to run the 10k of my June 20 triathlon at this pace - after having done the bike and swim. We'll see how that goes.

Next up more cycling! I want the weather to hold out this week. I have the VeloBella monthly ride Tuesday. I want to hit the normal Thursday bike shop ride since I haven't been able to ALL MONTH! And there is a bike race is on Sunday. Of course I will try to throw in a run or two and at least 1 swim this week.

A Bike Fail and A frustrating training week!

2010-04-21T09:40:00.004-04:00

So my bike race last Saturday was a FAIL for me. (I do have a photo just need to pull from camera! I will!) Two of us went up to York County, PA to the race. When we left my house it was sunny and just a little windy. We got to PA and it was dark clouds, blustery and cold. It felt more like November than April. I had brought my leg warmers and such, but it was still quite bitter out. The race was a 2.5 mile loop. A nice downhill in the beginning to a 90 degree turn, a small flat to a false flat that you gradually climbed and curve around then another turn to a small but steep hill to the start/finish area. The CAT 4 women (the beginners) had 15 miles ( 6 loops) to complete. Our plan (my team mate and I) was to stick together being my first ever race and her first race of the season on not much training. Well - the first lap was okay we hung on to the end of the pack, the second lap I was having trouble getting air and my legs were feeling like lead and then I fell out of the pack. On a windy day that sooooooooooo sucks! I was having trouble getting air and stopped at the 3rd lap. I hate that I stopped, but breathing is quite necessary! I have had allergies my whole life and developed asthma as an adult. It has not been a problem in the past couple years, but this year my allergies and asthma have kicked in big time. The wind didn't help. And because I am a dope....I didn't have my rescue inhaler with me.... thankfully it wasn't a totally dire situation, just not a good situation for trying to exercise at a high level. I WILL TRY IT AGAIN!

I also think my body must be trying to fight something off because I've been more tired than usual and my residual symptoms from having Guillian-Barre and Miller Fisher Syndromes back in 2006 are all flaring. Both feet numb and tingly, both hands, eye issues. This happens whenever I get sick or am fighting something - even a cold. I HATE IT!!! It has been 4 years, can't my body just be healed and back to normal PLEASE! Along with a busy work week, my schedule is OFF! Ahhhhhhhhh!

I will say I did have one highlight from last weekend, I went to the Washington Capitals playoff game on Saturday. My friend's husband called me in the morning to tell me he was getting tickets to surprise his wife for her Birthday and did I want to go. OF COURSE! Bonus...he was treating too! WOOT! DOUBLE OF COURSE. We had to strategize though since I was going to be in PA in the afternoon and not likely to be back to head out to the game with them, but it all worked out. I made it to the game right at the end of the first period. The CAPS were down 2-1 at that time. I thought, oh this game has sucked so far! Well things picked up from there and the CAPS won in overtime 6-5. It was an awesome game. And they won in Montreal on Monday. We will see what they do tonight. And since I will be downtown in DC all day on Friday for a training course, I figured it would be fun to just stay for the evening and bought myself a ticket to the Friday night game. Fun stuff!

I hope to get a run done tonight. It is supposed to rain all day, but I will run in the rain. I would like to do 4 miles. I have had no bike time this week. I am hoping it is not raining Saturday morning so I can get in something. Sunday I have a 10K running race (if you can call what I do running or racing LOL!) No pool time this week. I need to figure out some pool time cause the following Sunday is another bike race I want to do, but it conflict with my regular swim schedule. A little less than 2 months to my first Oly Tri!

I end this rather long, rambling and, I am certain, full of grammatical errors post to say:
GO CAPS!

FRIDAY!

2010-04-16T07:33:00.002-04:00

Okay taxes are done and paid. UGH. That was not pleasant. Lat night I attended a meeting to learn all about my daughter's upcoming class trip to Arizona as a part of their peace studies and science/environmental studies. They will be doing some volunteering with a Native American group while out there. It sounds wonderful! The kids are going to have a great week. There are 18 kids total in the 7th and 8th grade at the VERY small school my daughter attends. It is almost magical how it all works, as these kids are quite wonderful even if they are teens. Perhaps it is the fact that they are respected as individuals and expected to give respect back to their teachers and each other. And a bright bunch of kids too.

I am excited about this weekend because I have decided to do my first cycling road race! Now if all goes through with my other team members, I will be doing a race in Pennsylvania on Saturday. I have no idea what to expect. The other two who are going have race experience under their belt. Go Me! Go Velo Bella! I, of course will bring the camera, take some photos - including me in my Velo Bella Jersey. We are the mid-atlantic arm of a women's team based in California. It is a low-key team, but a team none-the-less.

Today is an interval run day. Haven't yet decided if it will be outside or on the treadmill. My intervals are much more disciplined on the treadmill. hmmm..
Okay. Time to get the dog walked, me into the shower and off to work!
Have a GREAT DAY and a GREAT WEEKEND! If anyone is racing GOOD LUCK!

A THURSDAY THREE FROM ME!

2010-04-15T13:48:00.003-04:00

The good, the bad, and the ugly

1. GOOD! Had a great 4 mile training run yesterday. I felt good! Much better than last weeks run. I ran a steady pace, kept my heart rate in the range it should be. I enjoyed my 2XU calf sleeves afterwards too. Even better that they were a freebie I scored last month!

2. BAD! Have to miss my Thursday group ride tonight and the weather is awesome. UGH! Maybe I can hit the pool after the school meeting.

3. UGLY! TAXES ! Part of the reason for missing group ride along with a meeting at my daughter's school. I usually am not such a procratinator on this, but man I was this year! They will be done on time though. Only have myself to blame for being behind on this one!

On the training plan....

2010-04-11T11:28:00.002-04:00

After a couple weeks on not doing much of anything due to 1. Allergies absolutely kicking my butt and 2. Going on vacation, I was back at this week.
Strength and Core:
This week I hit the fitness center at work Mon-Wed-Fri for strength training and core class.
Run (if you can call my pace running ):
Wednesday I ran (and walked a good bit) 4.5 miles. The weather was weird last week. The beginning of the week is was in the 90's and then ended in the 60's. 90 degree weather in April here is a bit odd. Of course, it was 90+ on Wednesday evening, the pollen count was super high, my legs were a bit spent from weight training....so what do I do go run. Blehhh. I felt good for about 2.5 miles then it went down hill. I ended up with a lot of run/walk for the last bit. Breathing was a chore.
Bike:
I usually bike on Thursdays, but my quads were screaming at me, I got stuck late at work and a Thunderstorm was threatening, so not bike ride on Thursday. Saturday I road 43 miles in Frederick County with the Frederick folks. It was a great ride, despite the wind. Mostly we had it coming from the side, but a few times it was blasting head first. And yes, after having 90 degree days, Saturday started out in the upper 30's. So with a breeze it was a bit chilly starting out on the ride. I was glad I wore my arm warmers and my jacket as well as my leg warmers. All in all a great ride. I like riding with these people. My local tri-group has started riding again on Saturday's too. I am sure I will ride with them a few times coming up.
Swim:
Sunday is swim practice. I swim with a local master's swim team. Today's work out was tough but good.
I did a 200m warm-up. Then we did 5 - 100's slow, medium, fast, medium slow. Then we did a set that was 400m, 2-300m, 2-200m, 2-100m. Next up 4 - 50m drills, then the IM set dropping stroke as you went down- 200m, 175m, 150m, 125m, 100m, 50m, 25m. Then 3 - 100's kicking and then I did a final 100 cool down. So a total of 3725 meters swam today. Whew! I do like getting into that zen mind while swimming....focusing on my breathing, my stroke.....it is rather meditative.

I am happy that Monday's will now be a rest day for me! Just core class and some stretching.

I need to update my sidebar with upcoming events I have in my plan. Here is what I have so far:

April 25 -Pike's Peek 10k (it is a local run down Rockville Pike) April 25

May 2??Bunny Hop Criterium bike race (I think it is May2 - need to check and sign up - it will be my very first!)

June 20 - Washington DC Triathlon - Olympic distance. My first Oly distance tri!

July 31-Aug 1 - Cactoctin Challenge Charity bike ride - 60 miles on Saturday, ~40 miles on Sunday (with a camp out, dinner and entertainment on Saturday night.) It is a HILLY but great ride in Maryland and southern Pennsylvania

October 9 - Seagull Century. 100 miles on the Eastern Shore of Maryland! This will be my first century!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE - CAUSE I HAVE ABSOLUTELY LOST MY MIND SIGNING UP FOR THIS ONE:
October 31 - Marine Corp Marathon. Penny is coming in town for this as well as some other bloggy and tweety friends. Initially, I said I would just be the Sherpa and cheering squad, then I read a lovely post by a tweeting friend (@hendy2) and I thought oh WHY THE HELL NOT! Next I knew I signed up. NEVER SAY NEVER! I have said in the past I had no desire to run 26.2 miles. A new challenge for me!

I may or may not do another tri this season - they are so EXPENSIVE, I may do some other organized run events as well as bike events. I will have to see what the budget and schedule can bear.

Okay... time to clean up the apartment and bit and do something fun with my daughter.

I hope all had good weekends!

Testing the wetsuit

2010-03-29T17:56:00.001-04:00

While I am on a little vacay - I am testing out my wetsuit in a very cold swimming pool. I will post video upon my return.....FUN!

Spring has Sprung!

2010-03-22T09:38:00.005-04:00

Spring has popped here in Maryland. In the past few days little buds of green are showing on the trees, forsythia is starting to bloom in all it's yellow glory, daffodils and crocus are showing their pretty faces and my nose is running, throat is itching, and eyes are watering. The early Spring trees are my worst allergens. I've been hit hard in the past week, of course I have been outside torturing myself and thoroughly enjoying the little mini heat wave we had. Sunshine! Glorious Sunshine! I know that my dear friend, Penny, was not so happy about unusual for March east coast weather for her weekend in NYC running the half marathon. Since I couldn't join up with Penny in the big Apple I kept myself busy here in Maryland.

Thursday evening 3/18, 14.5 mile ride with my favorite bike shop. It was a small group, but it was fun. I road with the co-owner of the shop who was "going light" on Thursday since she was racing on Saturday and we had two women, new to cycling, out on their first group ride. As always the shop owner is ever helpful and providing great tips on cycling. She even noticed that my cycling has improved! I am happy about this. I could tell that my indoor training over the Winter was quite helpful! Not that I was on the bike trainer all that often, but I did keep up with running, swimming, and weight work - so it is all good for overall fitness. I am in much better shape coming into this Spring than I was last Spring.

Saturday 3/20 I swam in my first swim meet in 30 years. The master's team I joined in January does this meet once a year. I thought why not swim an event or two. Mind you, I have not been training to swim in meets, just get my base up and train for my triathlon swim. The meet was fun. There were about 200 athletes signed up and ages on up into the 80's. I was inspired by a 78 women, Janet. She swam all the butterfly events offered - 100, 200, and 50 meters. I want to be able to do the butterfly when I am 78. Truly inspiring. I helped out at the event by being a timer. Each lane had the electronic pad and two timers. For those that thought they were going to beat records, a third timer would be added to your lane. I know one man broke the World Record for 100 IM for 60-64 age group. FUN! I did not break any records on Saturday, but I did get a 1st place in the 100 IM for my age group....... sadly I was the only woman in my age group that swam that event! :) I will still take my medal! This was my favorite event as a child and teen. I still enjoy it, although the next time I swim in a meet I will hopefully have learned how to pace myself better. I went out WAAAAAAAAAYYYYY too fast for the butterfly and back portion (44.80 split time) and then I was about PUKE and my heart fly right out of my chest during the breaststroke (my worst and least favorite stroke) and I managed to keep it together to get to freestyle. I was a head in my heat until the breast stroke and I saw the other lanes passing me by.... ugh... Oh well! Next time! I finished in 1:52:24. Nothing stellar, but I had zero expectations for time. I definitely hit my heart rate max for this one! The other event I swam was 50 freestyle other quick event. Why I didn't sign up for say 400 Free or something like that I don't know.... I don't remember my time in 50 free..38 seconds I think. There were more women in my age group swimming this event, I did not place. All in all the meet was fun and I will do it again.

Sunday 3/21, 30 mile bike ride. Sunday was a gorgeous day. I met up with some people I don't know all that well for a ride up in Frederick County, MD. Frederick County is not flat. Lots of rolling hills and some very challenging climbs. Sunday's ride was basically rollers, with a couple steeper climbs and then some awesome downhills. This is farm land, which is awesome for riding as the traffic is minimal on the roads we hits. We also hit the Utica covered Bridge , saw lots of cows and horses and smelled manure on the fields. These folks were great to ride with and I will ride with them again. The guy that routes this also puts together a charity ride that I have done for two years and I will do it again this year. I felt strong and good on the bike. Last night I was a bit tired, but today I don't feel sore at all. So I am pleased with my results for my first long ride of the season.

Now, we can tell from this post what are my favorites out for the three triathlon events. :) I do need to get some running in there. My last run was 3.5 miles a couple weeks ago! other than a treadmill interval run last week. YIKES!!! Now that I am about 3 months out from my first triathlon of the season, it is time for me to make sure all three are getting some attention.

I hope all had a good time this past weekend and I am sure there will be many race reports to read and catch up on!

Gotta make it fun!

2010-03-08T15:03:00.002-05:00

At the tri expo at the LBS on Saturday I bought these:

Sugoi arm warmers! I love that they are not basic black. You have to have fun with this stuff! I also have a new helmet (S-Works by Specialized) on order as they didn't have the color I wanted in my size.

Other weekend activities: I visited the Workhouse Arts Center with my Brother, Sister-in-law, neices and daughter. We all had our creative juices flowing and wishing that we could have studios to create our respective arts interests all day. Many artists were there on Saturday, so it was great for the kids to get to see them working and ask them questions. What a great use of a former prison!

After swimming 3600 meters at swim practice on Sunday, I hiked ~7 miles scouting for hike that will be this coming Saturday. Despite all the melting snow it was not too muddy and only a few spots still had snow. For a close-in hike, it wasn't to terribly boring. The only thing I didn't do this weekend that I wished I had time for was getting outside on my bike. Hopefully, this coming weekend will be dry enough for that activity.

I am happy Spring is showing itself!

FRIDAY!

2010-03-05T10:53:00.004-05:00

The sun was quite bright this morning. It was lovely. It is still cold though, 39 degrees currently. The weather folks are predicting nice, dry, sunny weekend days with temps in the 50's! Very exciting! I hope to get outside and enjoy it on foot and bike!
I have a Friday evening date with the compu-trainer at the LBS. Such the active social life for me! Perhaps there will be others ? The last time I was there on a Friday, it was just me. Saturday morning I am thinking I will go for a run - OUTSIDE!!! Saturday afternoon the LBS is having a tri expo. Various vendors and discussions about training and lactate threshold, etc. I am planning on stopping by. I love to go get information and learn something new. I like drooling over the gear too. Note to self: leave credit card at home! While I really would like to have a tri bike, my lovely, only year old road bike, (Orangina) is just fine for me right now!
I have swim practice on Sunday morning and I have to scout a hike for hiking club on Sunday afternoon. I am sure that the trail is going to be a giant mud pit. The original hike I was to scout this weekend we had to cancel due to too much snow still on the trail. I called the park ranger's office and they chuckled when I asked about trail conditions. Still about a foot of snow on this particular mountain. Hee hee... That will probably take the rest of the month to melt down! Scouting this weekend and taking club members to hike it next weekend not possible! So the alternative hike is a close-in suburb hike. I will have to piece together a group of trails to come up with an 8 to 10 mile hike that hopefully isn't too dull.
Good Weekend to all!

A little of this and a little of that!

2010-03-02T11:06:00.002-05:00

Work has gotten busy again... that is a good thing!
Last week, I got some strength and core work done and a 4 mile run on the treadmill last Thursday.
Saturday 2/27 I did 18 miles on the bike compu-trainer at the bike shop. There were 4 others there - 2 guys and 2 other women. It was good to have others to "ride" with. We did the Ironman Switzerland bike course (18 miles of it for 4 of us - uber athlete dude did 26 miles). There was a killer 6.9% grade hill at the beginning and then it was flat at the 18 mile mark was a 7.7% grade hill...a good stopping point! LOL.. I felt really good about the session. I want to get my cycling stronger, so this is good.

Sunday 2/28 was my Birthday. Another year older! ugh! New age group for events! I started the day at swim practice. 2700 meters... usually we get in 3200 meters but I needed to leave a bit early to meet up with some other women (and a few men) for a bike racing clinic! It was fun! Got some experience riding in a tight pack, drafting, and moving up within the pack, etc. The wind was brutal on one part of the ride, so making sure you were in the pack was important! After the Winter we have had this year, it was great to be outside on the bike! I am contemplating a bike race in March - stay tuned. FUN!
The highlight of my Birthday was stopping at Georgetown Cupcake and getting yummy cupcakes! Chocolate and Devil's Food YUM!

Checking in...

2010-02-22T11:34:00.003-05:00

Knitting - it is happening, but I doubt that I will finish both projects by this Sunday.
Work - Has been busy. This is a very good thing!
Training - 2/14 3200m swim, 2/15 strength and core, 2/16 some treadmill and elliptical it was a lame ass work out - I was having a pants staying up issue -drawstring missing, they are too big and were not staying up very well, 2/17 20 min hill work on exercise bike, strength and core, 2/18 nada or I don't remember so I am thinking it was nada, 2/19 strong interval run on treadmill, core. 2/20 nada - had child stuff going on - see the next day 2/21 nada - missed swim practice as I had 6 teenagers sleeping in my living room.

I also attended a singles event in the hopes of sparking some life into my social life.... it was lame! I will keep trying.... ugh...

This week...I hope I can get in the pool at least once before Sunday 2/28. We'll see. I want to also get on the compu-trainer with the bike. I miss my bike! The standard strength training, core work and treadmill runs will happen.

I know this is a dead dull post!

Knitting and the Olympics

2010-02-12T15:33:00.003-05:00

When I am not doing my activities related to triathlon, hiking, running, etc, my parental duties, or any socializing, I am usually knitting or reading in my down time or tv watching time (or ignoring my house chores time). I have been knitting since I was 10. It is just something I do, a part of who I am. In the crazy knit blogging world we have a Knitting Olympics during the Winter Olympics. This year I am taking the plunge and joining in on the fun. Here is the pledge: from the Yarn Harlot's blog

The Knitting Olympics Athletes Pledge I, a knitter of able hands and quick wits, to hereby swear that over the course of these Olympics I will uphold the highest standard of knitterly excellence.I will be deft of hand and sure of pattern, I will overcome troubles of yarn overs and misplaced decreases. I will use the gifts of intelligence and persistence (as well as caffeine and chocolate) and I will execute my art to the highest form, carrying with me the hope for excellence known to every knitter.I strive to win. To do my best, and to approach the needles with my own best effort in mind, without comparing myself to my fellow knitters, for they have challenges unique to them.While I engage in this pursuit of excellence and my own personal,
individual best, I also swear that I will continue to engage with my family in conversation, care for my pets, speak kindly with those who would ask me to do something other than knit, and above all, above every stitch thrown or picked, above every cable, every heel stitch, every change of colour, I swear this: That I will remember that this is not the real Olympics, that I'm supposed to be having fun and that my happiness and self-worth ride not on my success....but on my trying.Let the games begin!
So what will I be knitting???? Well for the Olympics you must be
starting something new as of the torch being lit. So I will either knit this vest in a blue yarn that I have or these socks in a crazy multicolored yarn that I have. Also while I
am working on the new item and trying to get it done in 17 days, I will be
working to finish my current project in the same time frame. I have
the back and one front done of the Nantucket jacket, so another front and 2
sleeves to go! I will take some pictures of all of it. Knitting fun
On the exercise/training front.... shoveling snow.... snow ball fight with my daughter and we had a nice walk through DEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPP snow that was fun and then a walk to the grocery store (we just had to get out of the apartment). I did some stuff with the Wii fit and I did some yoga and stability ball stuff too. Today I am back at work, so I am going to the fitness center this evening. I hope to get a run of substance on the treadmill. SUNDAY I hope to get to swim practice. FINALLY... It has been 2 weeks since I swam last. I hope to get back to normal routine soon!
Happy Weekend to All!!!

LOTS OF SNOW!

2010-02-07T09:27:00.003-05:00

Shadow art of me and Sampson

The tree behind my apartment

My van is in there!

The road at the front of my community

We have somewhere near 30" of snow here. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. It is absolutely gorgeous though. This morning, while still below freezing, the sun is out, the sky is blue, the snow is sparkling. It was a wet, heavy snow when it came down. It is a bit lighter on top now since it got so cold last night. Under the snow there is a good crust of frozen slush since the temperatures had been above freezing before it started. FUN! In some ways yes, in other ways no! The GO MDGIRL GO van will not be going anywhere until it is dug out! There is my work out for today. I do love how the snow brings people outside and all seem to be feeling social. I have met new neighbors in the past couple days because of the snow. Yesterday, I met a nice couple with children from Russia. The kids wanted to pet Sampson. This morning, I met a woman from Serbia who was out walking and taking pictures. My community is very international! I have a Nigerian family across the hall from me too!

Okay time for some breakfast and then it will be time to dig the van out while the sun is shining. Then I will have to do my prep for SUPER BOWL - well.... not much prep to sit at home and watch it by yourself, but I will make fresh guacamole! And while I am very happy that the New Orleans Saints made it to the Super Bowl -I did cheer them on this season, as my Redskins were just awful, but now the Saints are playing my boy Peyton so I have to say.....

GO COLTS!

Those University of Tennessee ties run deep.....

ummmm I think it is going to SNOW!

2010-02-04T14:30:00.003-05:00

Below was emailed to me from the county:

Major winter storm comparable to the Dec19th event now imminent for the region. Winter storm preparations should be rushed to completion.[I LOVE THIS LINE! Hurry get your bread, milk and toilet paper!!]
16-24" of snow possible for Montgomery County with near Blizzard conditions likely
Saturday. Event onset is around noon tomorrow with several inches expected
by the Friday Afternoon rush hours. Travel may become extremely difficult if
not impossible Friday evening through Saturday. The National Weather Service has upgraded the Winter Storm Watch to a WINTER STORM WARNING. This Warning is effective until 10PM Saturday. A WINTER STORM WARNING means that significant amounts of snow, sleet, or freezing rain are expected or are occurring in the warned area. Significant amounts of freezing rain are possible as this storm passes. Travel disruptions within the County and region are likely as roads quickly become snow covered and icy. Caution should be used during any travel and please remain alert for ongoing plow/salt operations. Deteriorating weather conditions are now imminent in the next
24hrs .

I guess I better get my outdoor run in tonight. It is 37 and sunny right now. I already hit the grocery store and that crazy place COSTCO yesterday....I really did need toilet paper, I was down to my last roll! Now I have toilet paper and paper towels until Summer! LOL I am sure the grocery stores will be insane the rest of today.
In addition to reading, knitting and copius tv watching. I am planning on doing some baking this weekend. I am testing out a couple chocolate cake recipes and a raisin shortbread. The cakes are for my daughter's 13th Birthday on Monday...testing to see which she would like for her upcoming party with friends and to surprise her Monday when she comes from being with her Dad. The shortbread is to see if it is close to a yummy raisin cookie thing that I LOVED as a child that is no longer produced.
Good news! I have lost 6 lbs since the beginning of the year! Something is working! I will try to keep my cake sampling and just generally boredom eating down during the apocalyptic snow storm this weekend.
Stay warm and dry! And to all that have races or events this weekend ENJOY!

Olympic Distance Here I Come!

2010-02-02T10:23:00.002-05:00

Sunday, I signed up for my first Olympic Distance triathlon. The Washington DC Triathlon right here in lovely Washington DC, June 20, 2010. Of course, this means another lovely swim in the Potomac and this one will be longer than my last..... hmmm... Can we hope that we don't have torrential thunderstorms in the days leading up to the event? The debris factor in the river is high when it rains so much as well as a whole host of crap you would rather not swim in due to run off. A new distance and I will be in a new age group this time! Woot!

While I did want to do the Rev3 Tri in Knoxville, TN in May, the hills on that bike course just freaked me out. I didn't think that would necessarily be a good thing for me to do my first time moving up to Olympic distance.

I have continued to be consistent in my workouts (other that my weekend set back - see below). I ran last Thursday with the lovely folks at Fleet Feet Gaithersburg and ran at a faster pace ~11 min/mile ( that used to be an all out race pace for me not so long ago, not a training run!). I am getting to be a stronger runner! I like this! Friday evening, I had a happy hour date with the compu-trainer at the bike shop (Contes in Bethesda). I did 15 miles in a little more than an hour on a rolling hill course. My legs and butt were dying after being on the saddle for that long on the trainer, but it felt good overall! While I thought after a good run on Thursday and a strong trainer ride on Friday that my legs would be toast on Saturday, they were not. This is also a good thing! My stomach was toast on Saturday for some reason.... I was in bed all day barely able to keep water down. YUCK! Sunday I felt much better, but I did not go to swim practice since I had had basically no nutrition the day before.

This weeks schedule
Monday - strength train and core (on my own yesterday didn't make the core class)
Tuesday - Treadmill intervals (I am liking the run/ squat combo - I am doing half mile hard run, then 50 squats - I try to get to 2 miles total run and 200 total squats.) And a good stretch at the stretching class
Wednesday - strength train and core class day
Thursday - Run day - may get split into a ~2 mile run at lunch and then ~3 mile run in evening -since a long run day has been hard to get with the weather.
Friday - Light strength and core class at lunch, bike compu-trainer and/or an hour swim in the evening.
They are calling for crappy weather again for our weekend, so I am not likely to get a long run in on Saturday and swim maybe iffy for Sunday depending upon what the weather does.

Back to the desk job!

A Wednesday with Words

2010-01-27T15:02:00.002-05:00

My scale read 4 pounds lighter this morning. I must be doing something right this month! YIPEE! I will continue!
Since I finally resolved to be consistent and regular with my exercise after a sporadic first few weeks of January, I have worked out everyday for since Saturday Jan 23. I have hit the fitness center at lunch every day this week. I went to core conditioning class on Monday and today. Both times an excellent 15 minutes. Today at the end of class, I was doing pikes on the swiss ball. Jeremy, one of the trainers, brings over the Bosu ball and challenges me to do pushups with my feet on the swiss ball and hands on the flipped over bosu ball. I managed to get into plank position with out falling over, but could not get balanced enough to do a pushup. I now have a new challenge to conquer!
As I was heading into the locker room, I got pulled in to be in a video for the corporate website showing our fitness center. They put 3 of us on elliptical machines and video taped us while on the machines. I am fearful to see what this will end up looking like! LOL...

Enjoy!

I got tagged -10 things that make me happy

2010-01-26T16:13:00.008-05:00

I have never been tagged before! So here is a first! Thanks to Big Daddy Diesel.

10 things that make me happy.

1. My daughter. 90% of the time she is a great kid and I enjoy her company. I hope to still be saying this as we venture solidly into the teen years in a couple of weeks.

2. My animals. Sampson, Willow and Sunday. Sampson is such a wonderful, big, lug of a dog. He is the best! He will be 11 in April - which is ancient for a Great Dane, so I celebrate every day with him. Doggie Joe Joes for all! :) Willow has finally come out of mourning (our cat, Shadow, died in October and I truly think she was in mourning) and is her lovely self again, interacting with all of us and she is enjoying the bundle of fun that is Sunday. Sunday is a crazy kitten and she is just what we all needed after the long battle of Shadow's decline. Sunday is a chatty girl and is so loving, sweet, and full of personality. She is a nice balance to Willow's mellow.

3. Knitting. It is my meditation. The feel of the wool (or other fiber) and the rhythm of creating the stitches and then ending up with a finished piece. Of course there are those times when it is not so meditative... but we won't focus on that here!

4. Days when I don't have anything scheduled or planned.

5. Triathlon and all the craziness that comes with training for one of any distance.

6. My bike, Orangina (gina for short)....I am so happy I bought it last year.

7. Ferrero Rondnoir - this is the best crunchy, dark chocolate, wonderment ever! Found it on sale at the grocery store this week too! WOOT! 2 boxes for $4......now to keep them away from that person in #1.

8. Haribo Gold Baren (gummi bears) Haribo macht kinder froh und ewachsene ebenso! Best tag line ever - especially since I have remembered it all these years and in German! Got to put that BA to use somewhere. I am a fan of almost all things gummi, but these bears are my top favorite and they make me quite happy!

9. My friends and family

10. Creme Caramel or Creme Brulee - very similar but yet slightly different versions of the same dessert. YUMMY!

Notice my penchant for sweets? hmmmm Of course now that I have waxed fondly about Haribo Gold Baren I have an intense craving for these.

I am supposed to tag others I do believe..... I will tag three....

Not Born to Run

PlanetYennepRunning

MagazineSmiles

Chugging along

2010-01-25T10:19:00.005-05:00

I am starting to feel like I am getting into a rhythm with my training/workouts. Although last week was a bit sporatic. I did do run/squat combo on Tuesday last week. Ran 1 mile at a decent pace for slow poke me, then did 50 squats, ran another mile, did 50 squats. Then I did an additonal 15 minute on the treadmill mixing steep inclines with flat sideways walking (doing both sides). I was sore for three days after this! Thanks to Shannon for posting this workout idea.

I did not get on the compu-trainer last week, but I am calling today to schedule a session. Or if the weather keeps nice I may actually get outside on the bike. Need to start getting some serious outside hill training under my belt....or the bike leg of REV 3 tri in Knoxville in May will kill me.

This past Saturday was a nice weather day. I got out and ran 4 easy miles. It was in short sleeves and capri tights. No gloves, no fleece hat over my ears. I hadn't run outside since mid-December! This was great!

Sunday morning I was up early for 8 am swim practice. 2 hours! I am starting to feel like I am getting my swim self back. I actually pushed myself a little harder on sets this week. Other weeks I was worried I wouldn't be able to make it through the entire 2 hours. I am feeling more confident now. The people (mostly other women) that are in the lane with me are very nice and several are also triathletes. I might actually find more women to ride with out of this.

My goals for the rest of this week: Get the strength training and core work in Mon (this is my light/rest day)-Wed-Fri. Run/squat combo on Tuesday. Thursday tempo run ~3 miles. Friday computrainer. Saturday 5 mile run. AND ALL WEEK WATCH WHAT I PUT IN MY MOUTH! I am looking at cleaner eating and keeping my calories to 1400-1600. Got some pudge to remove and it is so damn hard in your 40s!

Have a GREAT DAY!

Edited to add: I went to the core class at the fitness center after my "light" work out at lunch - mostly weights and 15 minutes of cardio warmup. Jeremy the trainer who led this class - kicked my core! I will going back to this one!

I'm here!

2010-01-19T16:55:00.003-05:00

Let's see. I had a cold from January 4th until January 10th or 11th. I felt like absolute crap. I did get a few treadmill runs in, but overall not much was done during that time. I have started using the fitness center at work. Trying to go at lunch, but that doesn't always happen - thus after work for the other times.

Last week I went and did the compu-trainer at the bike shop. I liked it. It kicked my butt! There were three others there riding that day. They were all faster than moi. It made me work harder, which I need. I will go back for more compu-trainer time and hopefully I will be able to get outside on the bike too. Winter weather oddities, lack of day light and CRAZY metro area drivers make me a bit leery about being on the roads right now. The potholes around here could swallow me whole on my bike.

Since I was snot free this past weekend, I went back to Master's swim practice. 2 hours of swimming on a Sunday morning in the best! I was really tired yesterday (Monday) - so now I am thinking that Monday may become my rest or low workout day with the remaining days being the combination of run,cycle, strength and core training and the Sunday swim. Since I should being doing my long runs on Saturday and then 2 hours of swimming on Sunday, I think that may make more sense. I try it this week.

New Orleans half marathon update. I don't think this is going to happen for me this year. Due to financial issues, job insecurities and a major car repair I just funded (ugh), going to NO to run is out. I am sad as it is on my bday, but I will find some fun around here. I did look for a closer race in Feb or March, but alas they are either sold out or have cut off times that I have not met yet.

I do need to start look at tris that I want to do and I hope that they are still open for registration. I think I may do the REV3 race in Knoxville in May. Although the bike course is a bit hilly.
Again, with the current job insecurity situation I am reluctant to spend $$ on a race at the moment and especially an out of town race.

My company has been doing some "staff alterations". Some gone, some asked to go part time. It doesn't give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. I am trying to be proactive about this too, but the market is not great for that either! UGH!

Okay off to the fitness center to run off some stress!

Earthquake Help

2010-01-14T16:20:00.002-05:00

I think the Doctor's Without Borders is an awesome organization. Please consider contributing today. Every dollar is helpful and you will know that your dollars are going to a legitimate and worth while organization.

Sore Arms and Shoulders!

2010-01-04T14:44:00.002-05:00

I went to my first master's swim work out yesterday. 2 hours! My arms and shoulders hurt. It was a good workout though. This should definitely help my swim come tri season.

Last week I planned out my workout schedule through February. I hope I can keep to it! Basically a 6 day a week plan, mostly focused on running since I have a half marathon the end of February, but I did pencil in some cycling time and of course my swim on Sundays.

Happy New Year to all! I am hoping that 2010 will be a good one!

Off to finish my packing for my office move....My company exists in several offices on our "campus". I am moving back to a building I was in before. I think I have had an office in all of the building we are in except for one. :) Today's exciting discovery while packing was mice feces in my desk drawer and chewed up paper and pee spots. YUCKY! I had those clorax wipes out in a flash!

Time to get moving Slugo!

2009-12-28T11:03:00.003-05:00

I have not done a single run or work in over a week! UGH! The snow has finally melted, thus I should be able to run outside again. I have avoided the gym completely. LAZY!! So this week, I will get back to it. NO excuses!

I did enjoy spending time with my parents and the rest of my family. It was good to see everyone. I wish that I was off this week, but alas I am in my office. It is very quiet around here that is for sure!

EDITED TO ADD: Signed up today for Masters Swim for one day a week. Get my arse in the pool! Good deal too; only $90 for one day a week from now until April 17th. I also checked into the compu-trainer cost at my local bike shop - only $10 bucks. I can't decide whether or not buying a trainer would be good or just going there on occasion. I am geared for cold weather riding now, so unless it is icy and really windy (like today), I should get outside mostly. I am putting my slow work day to use for my training plans!

Wow!

2009-12-22T13:26:00.003-05:00

That was all I could say about the 20" of snow that fell near my house. WOW! Sampson and I enjoyed a few walks. I did take some photos and I will add them to this post later. I am typing from my office thus no photos to upload. You know that you have a lot of snow when it is almost hitting your Great Dane's belly! My boy has some long legs and this now was just shy of hitting is belly. It was a beautiful fluffy and sparkly snow when it first fell. Now is it pretty where it hasn't been touch and just an ugly mess everywhere else!

No running, cycling, swimming, or working out of any sort to be reported - although I guess shoveling a mini van covered in 20 inches of snow could be considered a workout!

Tonight my parents arrive to stay with me and my daughter for Christmas. FUN! Let's hope that my Dad is in a jovial mood.
I will check back in again next week! Celebrate!
10 days to 2010!

The snow is coming! The snow is coming!

2009-12-18T13:44:00.003-05:00

Whew....the news people now have something else to talk about rather than the Sampson and Sunday scandal, Tiger Woods and the resignation of Vinny at the Redskins front office. SNOW! Historic Snow Storm according to some reports. I love SNOW! I like to be outside when it is falling, no cars driving....the world sounds differently when there is a blanket of snow on the ground. Sampson and I will have some good walks this weekend! I am in the 8-16"+ band.

I have had one crazy week. Work was busy. My daughter was in tech week for her play, which means three hour rehearsals each night.....- TONIGHT IS OPENING NIGHT! I am excited! The only bummer about the major snow storm that is predicted to hit late tonight is that it may cause the Saturday show to cancel. These kids, and their families, along with Imagination Stage have managed to sell out both nights in the ~800 seat theater. This is a student production of kids about 10-14 years of old. Truly awesome. Normally the student productions are in the smaller theater, but since this is the 30th anniversary ensemble they are in the larger theater where the professional productions are held. I hope that the region doesn't totally shut down.... except for when it comes to Monday and Tuesday next week, then I wouldn't have to go to work! LOL! I am off 23rd and 24th.

I did get one excellent run on the books this week. Wednesday night I ran for about an hour in the lovely 36 degree evening. I had fun looking at the lights on the houses. I have no idea how far I ran, but I just ran until I felt like stopping. It was lovely. With snow on the ground, it looks like the tread mill will have to be my running partner in the coming days. YUCK!

Happy Weekends All!

Scandal Rocks the Maryland Girl Household!!

2009-12-14T07:41:00.003-05:00

"It was happening right under my nose. I had no idea that this was going on."

Saturday afternoon after a fun three hours or so of working on work at home (my favorite! NOT!), Maryland Girl goes to the living room to discover that Sampson and Sunday were SLEEPING TOGETHER!

Of course this news story is to distract all of you from the fact that I have been a slug lately. Saturday was the nice day of the weekend, I didn't go run. I said, I will go to the Jingle Bell Jog 8K on Sunday. Well, Sunday came around. I got up, it was hovering around freezing and raining outside. Somehow coffee, the couch and the fireplace seemed like a good option! I will pay for it this week!

This is a busy week in my household. My daughter is in tech week for the production of Mulan, Jr. The stage production of Disney's Mulan movie. Three hour rehearsals Monday through Thursday and the Friday and Saturday is showtime! This is a 30th Anniversary Student Ensemble for Imagination Stage - an awesome theater and educational facility in the Washington DC region. Due to the lovely traffic in our region, once I am down to the theater for her rehearsal, I am stuck down that way. Time to get creative with how to spend three hours! Working out or running will probably hit the circuit.

How did it become December 9th?

2009-12-09T16:47:00.002-05:00

So. Wow. We are in December. My daughter was sick last week (FLU!). Even though I was at home with her, I wasn't on the computer much and didn't post. I did get a 4 mile run in one morning and multitasked it with a stop at CVS to get her some OTC drugs. :) Go MOM! I haven't been to the gym at all for my regular stuff. We had snow on Saturday thus running outside has been hindered by snow and icy, poorly cleared sidewalks and such. I did go to the work fitness center on Monday and did a 30 minute running gig on the treadmill. I can't handle more than that on the treadmill. ugh It is Wednesday. Somehow I am thinking nothing exercise related is going to happen today. After some time of nothing to do at work, I got busy this week. FEAST or FAMINE here - seriously. It has been wierd in my building lately, as they have been laying people off. A project has had its scope severely crushed and there had been some rampant over hiring, but it is still YUCKY. Doesn't give you the warm, fuzzy feeling that the December Holiday month should be giving. While I don't think I am at a huge risk at the moment, I am still concerned. (note to self perhaps you should put a resume together!)

Court tomorrow for the 10 minute hearing. All those years and it all comes down to some pieces of paper and a 10 minute visit before the judge. Hmmm... I am looking forward to going back to my birth name (I hate the term maiden name so archaic!) Looking back at 2009, I accomplished all the goals that I set out to accomplish except for one. Not bad! And the one I didn't accomplish was only because I couldn't seem to find an event that fit on my schedule! The goals were: Do another triathlon (did 2 sprint distance events), sell townhouse, get final divorce, and do a century. Final divorce will be tomorrow. The Century is the only thing I didn't do - now I DID do almost a century over a weekend - 60 miles day 1, 30 miles day 2 and I did a couple other 50 mile or so rides - so it was almost accomplished. I guess I will have to think of what my 2010 goals will be. We already know that another half marathon is on the list. And I am thinking of doing Olympic distance tris in 2010. And, of course, a century and specifically I want to do the Seagull Century on the Eastern shore of Maryland. So I guess I have a start of a list!
Okay... back to reading a really boring draft manual. I am feeling bloaty and really don't want to go weigh in at the holiday weight maintenance challenge today, but I have too.... ugh....

Is this what they mean by "Active Lifestyle"???

2009-11-30T14:13:00.004-05:00

Thanksgiving Weekend 2009. Since my normal family routine was blown apart for this Thanksgiving, I kept myself busy in other ways. First there was the Turkey Chase 10k documented previously.
Friday - I spent in my office, bored out of my mind, but not wanting to waste a day of leave since I was not going shopping any where!
Saturday - I hiked with the Capital Hiking Club. It was a gorgeous late November day. We did a 9 mile loop, inside the beltway. We started at Roosevelt Island along the Potomac in Virginia, crossed the Key Bridge into Georgetown, then went up the tow path along the C&O Canal, then crossed the Chain Bridge back over the Potomac and back into Virginia to head back to parking taking the Potomac Heritage Trail. It was nice and a few rock scrambles to keep your brain entertained. I had an excellent nap on the couch later in the day! I love a good afternoon nap!

Sunday - I did a 30 mile bike ride with a few people from hiking club. Gina (my bike) was very happy to be out on the road! Again, another stellar late November Day. People were outside every where! We started in Bethesda, MD and meandered through several old neighborhoods, along the Capital Crescent Trail, through Sligo Creek, and through Rock Creek Park. In several of these areas the roads are closed to motorized traffic on the weekends. It was a wonderful ride, a few good hills in for good measure. We finished up with lunch at an Irish pub. Lunch and a couple beers! YUM!!

Whew! Sunday night I visited with an old friend I haven't seen in a while. When I got home, I mustered my last bit of energy to take Sampson for his walk and then I was off to bed! I think that was pretty good for a weekend known for notorious over eating! Today, I made into a rest day. Tuesday it will be back to the run and work out schedule.

Turkey Chase 10k 2009 Race Report

2009-11-27T06:31:00.008-05:00

It was a misty, cool morning for the Turkey Chase 10k. Along with the 10k, there is also a 2 mile fun run/walk and little kids event. There were dancing Turkeys and I got my picture taken with one post-race. There were people dressed as Turkeys running/walking the 10k. There was a little boy running with his Dad. I think he was 6 or 7. It was his first 10k! Awesome! And there was a this really old man running with his daughters or granddaughters ( I didn't ask). It was awesome too see. He was all hunched over from age, but he was still going!

This was my longest run of all of 2009, so I am pretty happy with myself and my time. I finished in 1:13:42 for an average of 11:52 mile. Not the speediest of people, but I really haven't been out there training for this either. This will however give me a good base for my continued half marathon training. I was the 4052nd finisher and there are many women in my age group that are much faster than me as I was 238 out of 256....but that all doesn't matter. What matters is that my ass was out there running period! I only walked at the water stops and when I had to take a layer off. For this race I wore my new Iniji compression socks. They worked wonders because my calves and shins are feeling pretty good today. My quads and hammies are a little on the sore side. I also wore my new purple jacket made by Craft. I bought it in the hopes that it will work for running and cycling during these colder months. I will test it out on the bike soon!

I hope all had a Happy Turkey Day and didn't eat too much. Enjoy your weekends!

Fingers, toes and girly stuff

2009-11-23T16:32:00.006-05:00

I have only had 1 run since the 5 k race. And it was only 2 miles. YIKES! I signed up for the 10k Turkey Chase on Thanksgiving day morning. I am just going to run slow and steady and walk if I need to, I know its a race, but...... I will get a run in tomorrow morning. As a friend of mine, who is also a running coach, said, you will be able to run the 10k, it just may not feel very good later! ha ha SO TRUE! I think I may need an ice bath aftewards before I go over to my brother's for Thanksgiving dinner.

I had a headaches off and on all weekend. Mostly they killed in the morning and then when they finally had faded, my day had too many other things going on to get in a run. UGH... I even had to cancel a bike ride yesterday due to headache and schedule issues. My child keeps me busy with her activities ... driving all over the county I am.

Plus side of my weekend, I got a pedicure AND manicure. A lovely navy blue on the toes and a red on my short fingernails. Normally I am just a pedicure girl. I stay fairly consistent on the toes, especially in the Summer. August was the last time I went in for a pedicure. My toes needed some serious pampering. You can still see evidence of blisters on toes in the photo. Because I was killing time while my daughter was in 3 hours of rehearsal, I decided to go for the manicure. I hardly ever get a manicure. It was a really girly weekend overall because I also attend a makeup event at Ulta put on by Smashbox. I got my makeup done and then my daughter had hers done... and of course then we spent money on some Smashbox products and got some free products. So girly... and I am not all that girly that often... I do love to play with the make up though...

King of Road 5k Report

2009-11-16T10:34:00.009-05:00

After several days of yucky weather from the remnants of Ida that became a Nor'Easter, Sunday dawned absolutely lovely. There was a bit of fog earlier on, but by race time the sun was out, the skies were clear and I was going to have to get rid of the vest I was wearing or I would be burning up on my run! By race start I was wishing I had on short sleeves! Ahhh the mid-Atlantic area in the Fall, very changeable.
I haven't run just a 5k alone since May of 2008 (Police Week 5k May 2008 time 32:24 - 10:25/mile). The rest of 2008 was longer runs or I was on my bike. All my 2009 running has been with triathlons. So according to the web postings My gun time was 33:22, my net time was 32:59, with a 10:37/mile pace. NOW according to my Garmin I had a 10:26/pace. Either way I am happy with it. Now can I train myself to run this pace for 13.1 miles???? For these shorter runs I would really like to get down to a 10 min mile pace, but in the end it really doesn't matter. I am having fun! I felt pretty good the whole run. Although, my lovely tendonitis was talking to me after about 2.5 miles. PLEASE STOP BEING A PAIN! Next up the Turkey Chase 10k on Thanksgiving morning. This one has some hills. I need to add some into my training between now and then.

The rest of my Sunday was running errands, house chores, shuttling daughter to class... etc...
I need another weekend. I wasn't ready for this one to be over.

So far so good

2009-11-11T10:34:00.002-05:00

Another run on the books on Tuesday. I ran 3 miles. Poky slow, but it was three miles. I have decided that I need a new Garmin. I have an ancient model - it is huge! I would like to incorporate the garmin and the heart rate monitor, thus reducing the amount of crap I have to wear on my wrists. Lately, I've been leaving the heart rate monitor at home. Any suggestions out there?? I don't need it to integrate with my bike. I have and like my bike computer.

This morning I did my strength work out at the gym. A noon today I will go to a Yoga class at my work's fitness center and since I am a bit slow on any work tasks I may even stay for the core conditioning class. While I don't have work at my desk, I can work on my total being.... :)
I am joining the Maintain for the Holidays challenge at the work fitness center. You can stay the same weight, lose weight, but you cannot gain more than 2 lbs. It starts Nov 18 and goes until right after the New Year. I am pretty good on maintaining... I really would like to lose. But all in all I just really want to remain and be HEALTHY!

So I am on a Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday run cycle, with Sunday's being the long run day. Mon, Wed, Fri - strength training and then I hope to have Alternate Thursday nights a bike ride and then a longish bike ride on Saturdays. On the Thursdays that I will ride at night (bike shop ride), I will run in the morning. On the Thursday nights I don't ride I will run in the evening with the Fleet Feet night run. In case you are wondering (probably not but I will mind dump it anyway), the alternating Thursday's correspond with the child schedule with her Dad. Thus if he has her I don't have to drive all the way down to Bethesda to pick her up from rehearsal, thus I don't do the bike ride... Although, this production she is in ends with performances in December. So I guess I will figure out what I will do with the schedule then.. I will probably still alternate as I like to socialize at the Fleet Feet run as well as at the bike shop.

On a personal note, the papers were filed yesterday. Nearly three years since it all went down, we are finally getting to the legal finality. It is TIME!

A little bike and a litte more run

2009-11-09T14:02:00.002-05:00

So I ended up at a Happy Hour on Friday night. I didn't drink that much, but then I slept like crap Friday night and subsequently woke up feeling crappy. I did not ride on Saturday, although it was a nice day to be outside. I did finish up some stuff I needed to do at home, so still productive.
Sunday! I woke up and felt like a ride. So I geared up for the weather. It was sunny, but in the 40's. That can be quite chilly once you are on a bike. I have an ancient Bell Weather hooded, long sleeve pullover that is awesome for this weather. Nice to have that head toasty in the helmet! I wore a bike jersey over that. I had my leg sleeve thingys with my shorts and then full gloves. My hands were still cold which I didn't like. My butt was chilled, but where my leg sleeves were I was comfortable. Perhaps a thicker bike short or tight is needed???? I rode for about a 40 minutes or so. I was failing on fuel. While I filled a water bottle, I forgot to put it on the bike before I left the house and I didn't eat enough before nor did I have any CarbBoom or sportbeans with me. DUMB! Thus once I made it back home, I was done. I had orginally wanted to do another loop. NEXT WEEKEND!
After making some awesome chocolate chip pancakes for me and my daughter, we did some house activities and caught up on our dvr'd shows from last week. At 4 pm I dropped her at her 2 hour class and then I went for a run. I only did 2.5 miles, but since I haven't been running outside much (or doing much of anything lately) I am slowly ramping up my miles. I did 2 on Friday, 2.5 on Sunday, and I have 3 scheduled for Tuesday morning. My ancient Garmin finally picked up signal a mile into my run, so at least I know it is working. So my run plan is Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. I am hoping to get up to doing 5 miles on each Tuesday and Thursday and then using Sundays for my long run to start ramping up the miles for the Mardi Gras half. In the coming weeks, I will ramp it up too, so that perhaps I won't have to walk for the Turkey Trot 10k. My shins stay happy when I don't run two days in a row and when I slowly ramp up the mileage. On the tendinitis front, it is still tender, but not in constant pain as it has been. Running has changed anything either... GOOD!
Today I am thankful that I am getting myself back out running! Quite the mood enhancer!

PHOTOS! and Trying to break through the blaaahhsss

2009-11-06T08:49:00.004-05:00

Sunday, our new kitten. In our mourning of our old man cat Shadow we found a new baby to love. She is cute and fiesty.

Willow, the princess. She likes the cubby with wine bottles and secretly enjoys playing with the kitten.

Me at the start of Capital Hiking Club hike on Halloween. We went south along the Appalachian Trail in Maryland. It was tricky with wet leaves covering wet rocks! We still had fun and a gorgeous day.

This is Sampson. He is 10.5 years old. Very old for a Great Dane. He likes to sleep in the sun.

As my friend Jeanne at Not Born to Run suggested on my facebook page - FORCE yourself to go out for a run, you will feel better. So yes, this morning, after I took my dear doggy friend, Sampson, out for his stroll, I went for a run. It was only 2 miles, but it was a run! It felt good. It was a slight down hill for the first mile and then I turned around and had the slight up hill for the second mile back home. I didn't wear my heart rate monitor nor my garmin, but I had mapped the run thus knowing the distance. I didn't care about the time since it was just to get out there and move!

I truly love Shannon's suggestion for a Turkey trot run or a Jingle Bell jog....very good things to add in to the calendar to keep motivated and as a part of my training plan for the Rock and Roll Mardi Gras half marathon in New Orleans coming up in February. So today I will look for those events and get my ass out there!

Saturday morning I will go ride my bike, OranGina, in the cold morning air. Hey you cyclists out there....are the shoe/foot booties really worth it? I haven't experienced my feet getting cold on the bike yet. I do need to find a good outer layer for riding. The last jacket I found that I liked was waaaaaaaaaaayyyyy expensive.

Enjoy your weekend! I am determined to break out of the blahs..... it is a no blah zone here!

Edited to add: See events I signed up for this morning! A 5k on the 15th and a 10k on the 26th. I hope I will be ready for a 10k by then!

Enough with the ennui!

2009-11-05T10:09:00.000-05:00

en·nui [ on w ]
noun
Definition:

boredom from lack of interest: weariness and dissatisfaction with life that results from a loss of interest or sense of excitement
[Mid-18th century. < French< Latin in odio (est) "(it is) hateful"]

This is my total mode at the moment! I hate it! I not sure what to do to break from it. I just can't seem to get jazzed about anything. Work is dead, dull and boring at the moment, my personal life has nothing happening in it, I can't seem to get back on the training stick (although I know that makes me feel better).

BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Good luck to my bloggy friends that are participating in B2B this weekend! I am certain you will rock! I can't wait to read race reports and live vicariously since I can't seem to get out my current state of mind.

Why is it...

2009-10-30T14:05:00.000-04:00

that I never seem to get to the blog when I am at home, where I can load the photos from my camera and post them? I do take pictures. I do wish to share. I think some of it stems from sitting in front of a computer at work all day (and work is a bit on the slow side for me these days) thus I have caught up on my blog reading and posting, so I have no desire to do it at night when I am home. I will see if I can change that up a bit. You all need to see that sweet little kitten, Sunday; my big goofy boy, Sampson; and the gorgeous Miss Willow. Yes and of course the places I ride and run.

So, this weekend I am co-leading a hike on Saturday. I hope that the rain stays away for the whole hike. Since it is Halloween I will bring candy to give out to the other hikers. Everybody needs a little candy on Halloween. I am going to wear my $5, newly obtained from Target, ghost t-shirt over my technical tee to provide a little Halloween flair.... or maybe I will wear my skelaton shirt that says Shake your booooooo teee?? hmmmm such choices.

Sunday morning I hope to either get a ride in or get a run in. I have got to get myself back to exercising because my mood has been total crap for the past few days and I know some of that is because I have not been regularly exercising. I was entertaining thoughts of my first triathlon in 2010 to be Olympic distance other morning while I was pondering life in the shower (lots of pondering life thoughts in the shower). I figured my running will be up since I am starting up my half marathon training for Februrary ON SUNDAY!. I will continue to cycle outside unless there is snow and ice or it is crazily below freezing. I will also have a trainer for indoor work (on my to purchase list) .. now if I can just get myself to the pool for really meaningful swim time - the Olympic distance thought really shouldn't be a problem.

hmmm....
Good weekend to all! Let's see if I can manage to post some pictures soon! Maybe even just a post of pictures!

Not much....

2009-10-26T14:56:00.000-04:00

I was a slug last week. Only one day in the gym... I did ride on Thursday night, but I was struggling. I wasn't my muscles, but my lungs. I just couldn't get air. Plus all the hard core riders are out on Thursday nights. I struggle to keep up with them on a good day! Fall can be like that for me, aggravating my allergies and asthma symptoms. FUN!

I need to get the motivation train to come by my house and kick my butt! Last Monday, I did see the podiatrist. I had self diagnosed myself correctly. Posterior tibial Tendonitis. I also found out that I have a little extra piece of bone near my navicular bone that can often cause and aggravate this condition. Of course, the doc confirmed that the crappy shoes didn't help! So while he said to take it easy for a bit - he did not say SIT ON YOUR ASS AND DO NOTHING! So, I need to get back out there. It is still tender, but feeling better. Gotta get running so that I am not walking the New Orleans half in February.

While we are still missing Shadow from the household, my daughter and I had a very weak moment over the weekend. I had to go get Sampson's dog food and gee there just happened to be kitties available for adoption.... pictures to come.... she is so tiny and cute. She hisses at Sampson and he looks so hurt! Willow, my other cat, has been a little put off, but was showing some interest this morning. Hopefully all will living happy together.

How about those Marine Corps Marathoners this weekend??? They had an awesome day for the run. I didn't go spectate, but I did follow a friend from Texas who was running via the online tracker. He had a good race.

RIP Shadow

2009-10-21T14:39:00.000-04:00

Shadow (aka Pookies) June 1994 - October 20, 2009.
I don't have picture on this computer. I will try to add one later.
He was a lively, personality filled tuxedo cat. When I used to read out loud to my daughter, Shadow always came to listen too. He accepted all other animals into our household. He liked all people too. He will be missed by all. Last night I found Willow, my other cat, sitting on the dining room buffet looking down at the chair Shadow had taken to being in 24/7 during the last week. I haven't vacuumed it yet, thus is still has his hair, etc. on it. It was a strange moment to see her looking at the chair. It makes you wonder what goes through their little heads when one of their own is no longer around.

Sorry no photos - a rather uneventful weekend

2009-10-19T10:34:00.000-04:00

Saturday was just disgusting as far as weather goes. The other hike leader and I did go scout and we even hiked in the rain for over an hour. Hey all my rain gear works! Good to know! Thanks REI! I really felt bad for the two weddings that were setting up in the covered pavilions in the park where the hike starts. It wasn't even 40 degrees out and the rain was just steady all day. I bet those vows were all said quickly!
I did bring my camera with me, but because it was raining and foggy you would not have seen much in a photo. We bailed after trudging for while and then checked out the where the bus has to pick up at the end of the short hike and the end of the long hike. Then is was HOME! After a really nice warm shower, I put on my pjs... Mind you it was 3 in the afternoon! LOL... I didn't go anywhere the rest of the day... I only ventured outside one more time to take Sam for his evening stroll and poop - and we were quick for that! I took a nap on the couch during football and then I watch movies that I had seen before on HBO - The Women and the Slumdog Millionaire.
Sunday - I cleaned, and actually hung a few things on the wall in my apartment (finally) and then went to Walmart (YIKES). That place makes me crazy. Picked up my daughter from her Dad and then she and I hung out until her class at 4 pm. Sunday's are like that...
No running or exercising on this front. My foot is still tender. Doc appt is at 2 pm today. I just hope his only answer isn't custom orthotics. I have had custom orthotics before and I have never been happy with them!

Tomorrow is a probably sad day... I think I will be putting my beloved, old Shadow cat to sleep. He has been suffering from some kind of allergy that we cannot seem to figure out and resolve and he is having some neurological issues. He has withdrawn and lost weight, although he still eats. He is scratching always - to the point of open wounds. We have try natural things, steroids, food switches... you name it....He is 15 years old. He has lived a good long life and was a great cat in his day. Awesome personality. It is sad, but he looks like he has had enough. It is always tough to make these choices. I have had to make it one other time with another cat, it was hard then too. My other dog, Trixie, died in her sleep after being ill, so I didn't have to make the choice there. With another elderly pet in the mix, these things are on my mind. Sampson is 10.5 years old. This is ancient for a Great Dane. Thankfully, he is healthy. Although Trixie was too and then it all fell apart for her in the span of a few weeks. My furry friends...

Okay, lets see if I can be productive at work today.

Brrrr...... and OUCH!

2009-10-15T14:27:00.000-04:00

It is October! It is 45 degrees today. That is pretty chilly for a day time high in the 'burbs of Washington DC for October. And it isn't going away for the next few days. To top it off it is raining off and on. I can deal with cold and snow, but I truly hate a cold rain!

Here is my joy for this weekend from weather channel's website
Daily Details for Cascade, MD (21719)
Rain / Snow Showers
High38°F Precip60%
Wind: From NNW at 10 mph

Did you catch that word SNOW?!!? Again, it is OCTOBER! I am scouting a hike Saturday for the hike I am leading on Halloween. This is our starting point town. It is going to be COLD and WET! YUCK... I'm not ready for gloves, hats, and thermal layers. I will try to remember to take pictures and then actually post them for all your viewing pleasure. I'm sure the leaves are lovely up here. A good part of this hike is on the Applachian Trail. Let's hope the actually club hike day enjoys better weather.

Working out and running.... Not so much this week. I did strength work on Tuesday morning and again this morning. I also did intervals on the stairmaster for 20 minutes this morning. I gave my foot a rest this week. It turns out that my arch pain - is a tendonitis (I think Posterior Tibial Tendonitis- to be truly diagnosed next week). I have been icing, taking anti-inflammatories, stretching my calves, and working on some myofacial release to get at this tendon that runs behind the calf muscle and into the foot and making sure that I have my foot well supported at all times. I was in so much pain on Tuesday that it just hurt to walk - even in my running shoes. YIKES! Today, it feels so much better. NO MORE NON SUPPORTIVE - but very cute and chic - summer sandals for me! I know that is what has aggravated this and I should have known better.... being a slight fashonista got the best of me! It has been nagging for a bit and just got really bad over the past couple of weeks. Ignoring obviously was not the answer...duh..

A weekend fail!

2009-10-12T14:23:00.001-04:00

Okay I was a big, lazy this weekend.... Saturday morning I intended to ride...I got up it was cloudy, looked like rain... I totally bailed...I did end up emptying some boxes in the apartment and doing laundry, so at least I was productive with house activities on Saturday. Sunday, I got up felt kind of achy and crappy. So morning run was out. Then as I got going during the day, I thought well I will run while daughter is in her class this afternoon. ha ha ha ha .... FAIL! Oh well.... there is this week....

I hope all that were busy this weekend with rides and races and training were much more productive than I !

I got my 3 miles in...

2009-10-09T11:41:00.001-04:00

Last nites run at Fleet Feet was good and well attended. I had not done one of their Thursday night fun runs. Last night's was also sponsored by Mizuno. You could try Mizuno shoes if you wanted and they provide us with some beer and pizza after our run. YUM! I ran with two women who kept a similar pace and we had good conversation the whole run. I like that - a little exercise and little social time, meeting new people. Its all good.
New Balance 1224 - I was happy running in these. I haven't run outside in several weeks and I felt good and stable in these shoes. Knees, shins and ankles all felt good. I think I made a good purchase. I also wore my SKINS compression pants last night. I won these in a raffle drawing a few weeks back at women's cycling event I attended. LOVE THEM!

Okay it is Friday! I hope to get about 25 miles in on the bike on Saturday morning and then I am scheduled for a 4 mile run on Sunday.

I am truly bummed that I can't take the Carl Burke swimming stroke clinic offered up for triathletes that starts thisSunday. It starts at 6 and my daughter gets out of class at 6 -by the time I would get to the pull the clinic would be over! Hopefully there will be another opportunity! I need to get some pool time in over the Fall and Winter to be ready for next years tri-season!

Cycling and Running

2009-10-08T16:42:00.000-04:00

My cycling weekend in Amish and Mennonite Country was wonderful. I did the 49 mile ride option on Saturday. Lovely rolling hills through the farmland. I marvelled at the beautiful farms and yards that were every where. I think there are some parts to simple living that the Amish and Mennonite have that are spot on! The ride was great and Gina (my bike) and I had a great time. I didn't ride on Sunday due to 1. wine headache from too much wine on Saturday night and 2. I had a time constraint to get home and going out for 20 miles just didn't seem worth it. So I hit a couple outlet mall stores on the way out of Lancaster County and went home!

On the running front... I haven't done anything stellar, but I did buy new running shoes last night! I bought New Balance 1224 - Here is a review from someone else. I bought them at Fleet Feet. I was overdue for new shoes. My old shoes (now relegated to dog walking) were Brooks don't remember the model. I almost bought the same model of Brooks that I have, but I really liked the cushion and extra stability that the New Balance provide. I need that! To benefit my purchase I had $25 in frequent buyer coupons to use and I was the the monthly winner for the spot and win car magnet contest (my picture is on their website YIKES) . I knew one day having all those silly stickers and magnets on the back of my van would pay off! LOL So another $15 towards my Cadillac of running shoes. I also use super feet in my running shoes and my other pair were over 2 years old, so I bought new super feet. And then 3/4 length super feet for my casual flat shoes, cause my arches have been complaining when I haven't been wearing supportive footwear. The price for fashion and too many years on my feet.... I have them in my loafers today and no complaints from my arches! YIPEE! Tonight will be my first real run in the new shoes. I will post what I think!

Normally, Thursday evenings are dedicated to cycling with the bike shop, but I need to get a run in and Fleet Feet has a Thursday night run. So I am doing the run tonight. I think I may alternate my Thursdays during fall and winter, weather permitting, one week bike shop ride, one week running store run. Bike shop ride we ride a good bit in the dark since the sun sets earlier now. I recently put lights on Gina. We rode last Thursday. Riding in the dark and in some traffic was a little unnerving, but fun! I did get the bike handling award last week for managing not to crash and get back out on the road when it narrowed and I didn't notice. I was off on the grass/dirt shoulder in an instant, but I managed to put myself back on the road without crashing, stopping, or flatting out. Not such a big feat on a mountain or hybrid bike, but on a road bike going about 16 mph in the dark, I was impressed with myself!

Exercise totals so far this week: LAME! One day of strength training in at gym. Love those pikes with push ups on the exercise ball. 1 mile on treadmill.

Tonight I hope to get in 3 miles.

Renewed purpose! (and a wordy post....I must be bored at work)

2009-09-29T15:47:00.000-04:00

Since Southbay Girl and I are meeting New Orleans to run the Mardi Gras half marathon, I feel I have renewed purpose in my workout regime! Obviously that vague or perhaps just to broad goal of health, fitness, etc...just doesn't do it for me..although I am generally always working out..I like have an event goal. So this week I am starting my running plan. Monday was a strength and stretching day. I was at the gym on Monday morning doing strength and stretching. I am sore today. One move I was doing was pikes with a pushup on the exercise ball. Those are hard! I superset them with a dumbbell deadlift, row combo thing. I have worked up to 5 or6 pike/pushups and then 10 deadlift row things.... rest and then do another superset. I am feeling the hurt in all the right places. I, of course, did other exercises to round out my ~45 minute workout.
I find many of my strength and core work outs from Women's Health Magazine . I like that it is not the same old thing all the time and I am not using those machines that I hate! I also can tailor the work out timing to fit the time I have in the morning for the gym. My mornings have to be on almost a precision schedule...be at gym by 5:20 am, leave gym by 6:15 am, get home wake daughter, walk the dog, get coffee, eat, get in the shower, dress, etc, out the door by 8 am, drop daughter at school, get to work. Some mornings I am lucky as her Grandparents (my former in-laws) will take her to school, then I can just head to work at 8.
Tonight, I have a 3 mile run on my schedule. While the weather is nice out, I may do this on the deadmill at the fitness center here at work. Although I may change my mind by the time I get around to this. I don't have an outdoor run route planned and I hate running around here during rush hour.
My darling daughter set off this morning for a class trip for the remainder of the week. They were off to do some work with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and then do a little backpacking/camping. They have been studying about the environment and specifically water quality issues in their science component. I am sure they will learn much from the folks at CBF. I love her school and am thankful that her Dad and I can afford (and give up a bit) to allow her to go there. The environment is so supportive and empowering, which is awesome for adolescents. They are treated with respect and they must also be respectful... which comes very easy to practically all of them because they are treated with respect. Funny how that works...
This weekend I am off to Amish Country. I am doing a weekend bike trip with some people I know from the hiking club. There are about 15 people going. I know a few of them as I have hiked with them, but I have not done any cycling with any of these people. I think it will be fun... as long as mother nature doesn't decide to rain on us all weekend...it is in the forecast.

I will check in again with my workout updates later in the week.

NEW ORLEANS ANYONE???

2009-09-25T12:03:00.000-04:00

So as SouthBayGirl had put in my comments - why not the Mardi Gras half marathon in February as an event to train and plan for??? I looked it up. It is on my Birthday! I think that sounds like an awesome plan to usher in 45. I can have a bit o' fun in the Big Easy and run (if you can call my shuffle a run) a half marathon! I even have a voucher from Southwest Airlines that I need to use before May 2010 to cover my airfare! I think this is a hands down winner of an idea! I even printed out my Hal Higdon Half Marathon Training program sheet this morning in order to get me thinking about my training needs. I hate running until I get into it and settle into a pace. I think this will work well with my trim down and strengthen plan.

MOVING IS A TIME SUCK!

2009-09-22T14:09:00.000-04:00

Wow, how did it get to be September 22nd? Happy Autumn! I love Autumn! I want to be outside riding my bike, hiking, running, or something in the lovely Autumn weather. I love the word Autumn. I prefer it to Fall. I don't know why. I do use both though.

I have moved since my last post!!! I moved out of the house that I had bought with my now ex-husband when we were brand-spanking new newlyweds. It is officially the longest place I have ever lived in (14 years) and as of this Friday, Sept 25th, it will belong to someone else! SEE YA! With that milestone coming to a closure that means I can finally, finalize my divorce! After over 2 and half years of separation (with two of them legally separated!) IT IS TIME!
I like my new place. I am renting for a couple of years to figure out what I want to do, get my finances in order, plan and scheme..... and then my daughter will be out of private school too! That will help with the finances too. My animals have adjusted very well and my Mom came this past weekend and helped get me unpacked and organized! It was awesome! Thanks MOM! Having been the wife of a military man, this woman understands packing and unpacking!
She was a huge help. Now I am in decorating mode! I like that part!

Exercise has been sproadic. I did a 50 mile bike ride with my brother and some other friends Sept 5th. It was great and my bike adjustments that had been recently made worked because I had no pain or soreness anywhere! Yipee! I've made it to the gym a few times and the employee fitness center once. I am trying to get back on my regular routine. This weekend I am attending a women's ride clinic on Sunday morning at Conte's in Arlington, VA. That should be fun. Next weekend, I am joining up with some friends from Capital Hiking Club on a bike trip in Lancaster County, PA - - Amish country. I have heard from others that have done this weekend before that it is fun. I am looking forward to riding with some new people.
I have no runs, tris, or other competitive events on the horizon.... I miss not have a training goal. Need to start looking ahead and see what I want to do !!

Getting back into the routine

2009-09-01T15:56:00.001-04:00

I finally went to the gym this morning. I don't remember exactly when I went last! Pretty bad for a person that is pretty good about the morning routine! I guess with school starting for child and such I am needing to get back into the routine! My move won't disrupt the routine too much either! YIPEE!
I have been looking for a fall triathlon nearby, but have not had much success, so I am focusing on Fall cycling events. Although I will still get some run and pool time in to keep those in shape. This weekend I have decided to do a 50 mile route being offered at the Bay Country Century which starts in Ownings Mills, Maryland. A lovely ride on the Chesapeake Bay's western shore. My brother is going to join me and I think I may have recruited a few others to join in the fun.

At the gym this morning, I left plenty of time after my regular stretching to meet with the foam roller. My IT band is a happy camper today. Rest and a foam roller are amazing! I will make sure t0 regularly schedule some foam roller time each week. Now that the IT band is feeling much better, I am hoping that I will be able to tell if my recent bike adjustments have made a difference!
Moving day is now 10 days away! Wow! Even though this move signifies an ending it is also so much a new beginning! I know I am only moving up the road, but I am very excited!

I had a full physical yesterday. Dr.'s report: Excellent health! Keep up the good work, but you really should lose about 10 lbs (more if you can). UGH! I know this! I am trying! So my Fall to Winter goals: strength and weight loss. As the colder weather comes, I will start to focus less on the triathlon training plan, but still maintain my toes in the water. Hopefully, I will get some of the pounds off and then towards the end of Winter I can start ramping up the tri-training for the Spring and Summer season - - as a lighter athlete - -2010 I go into a new age grouping, perhaps that will be good!

I feel sloshy..... and I guess a bit wordy!

2009-08-28T09:54:00.000-04:00

I am totally off routine and I feel gross! I have gotten in a couple bike rides, but I have done nothing else!
I had a bike re-fit on Wednesday. I have been experience significant IT band pain and knee pain on my left leg. Since my running game has been almost non-existent, I was pretty sure it was the bike. I have been pretty comfortable on the bike, but with the bike even a minor shift in saddle height and angle can make a difference. So I made an appointment with Clovis at Conte's for a bike fit. He is a master! I needed my seat lowered just a dab and he moved the position of the cleats on my shoes. And just cause he is a nice guy he noticed that I was reaching a bit for the breaks, so he was able to adjust those so my wee hands don't have to work so hard! Last night was the first ride, post adjustment. While I still have some inflammation in my IT band, it did not feel worse at the end. That is a good sign! I did have trouble all night clipping in, due to the new position of my cleats! Muscle memory has to shift! The Thursday night group ride has grown, it is great. Still not a lot of women, but there were more last night than earlier in the year. I hung back and helped (I hope) to encourage a woman who is a newbie to the ways of the road bike. While I didn't get the full mileage and work out I would have like, I hope that I helped her gain a little more confidence on her new bike! Gotta help out the newbies!!

I am quite please with the progress I have made over this Spring and Summer on the bike. After riding only mountain bikes and hybrids for years, I made the leap to the road bike! The first month was a little awkward, but now this bike feels like second nature. I want to try my hand at a few road races next season! Of course triathlon will always be a part of the routine until I can't do it any more!

Okay Air Conditioner guy just left. Home Inspection repair work. This one was a real joke! For $110 dollars, he moved some pipe insulation that had shifted, thus causing condensation to build up and drip. If I had known what this all was from the inspection report, I could have fixed this! ARGHHH Of course, the inspection report notes that a certified HVAC technician needed to perform the repair! Oh the ways of business!

Moving...... Wow! After looking this past weekend and early this week at so many CRAPPY, GROSS , DISGUSTING and OVERPRICED rentals, I found a clean, nice, pet-friendly, affordable, 2 bedroom and 2 bath condo to rent. YEA! So now I am in packing and downsizing mode. I can start moving in September 11. I don't close on my house until Sept 25th! So hopefully that gives me enough time to weed out all the junk! I am having a blast selling furniture and other things I don't want on Craig's list. Now I have yet to fully unload the attic and the closet under the stairs, but that is coming. A yard sale will be in my future too. If I am not taking it and my ex isn't taking it, it needs to be sold, given away or thrown out! I am not paying to store crap no one wants! It is very cleansing! We accumulated way to much shit over nearly 12 years of marriage and having one child. Way too much.....for what?? Some of the stuff, like power tools and such have a useful purpose, but there is so much that doesn't! We were totally caught up in the over-consumerism trend that so many have been a part of! No more! I am mending my ways!

Okay time to take a shower and get into the office...... Happy training, racing, etc. to all! I need to find an October triathlon or bike event and get my ass back on the training and exercise routine!

North East 2009 Sprint Triathlon Race Report

2009-08-22T13:15:00.000-04:00

So last Sunday, August 16, I completely my second official sprint distance triathlon. I am liking the sprint distance. It fits well with my life as of late - as I can train, work, and take care of my child without too much craziness. While I do have goals of completing longer distance triathlons one day, I am enjoying the sprint.

I was happy with my performance. The weather in Maryland finally turned to the three H's of our normal summer. HAZY, HOT AND HUMID. It was that an more in North East! The water temp was 85, no wetsuits for this race. Thank you CGI Racing for having a practice swim time in the morning! I think that truly alleviated any open water anxiety I would have possibly encountered at race start. The river felt like a bath tub and it was smooth as glass.

The sprint race had 4 waves. As I am in one of the older age groups, I was in the fourth wave wearing our bright pink swim caps. It was a floating start. I did get caught up with a bunch of women at the start. It was tough to get a swim rhythm going as I kept bumping up against feet and bodies. Finally, after the turn I was able to really concentrate on swimming and siting my way back to land. This swim was a breeze compared to the swim I did at the dextro energy race in June. The run back to transition was long, thus I wasn't expecting a short T1 time. I got on the bike and out on the road. I had a bit of trouble getting my heart rate down once I was on the bike and it took a bit for my legs to feel good. It was a smooth, but hilly course. No giant mountain type hills, but plenty of hills. I took full advantage of any downhills to generate extra speed and also try to catch my breath and lower my heart rate. I felt good about the bike, although I do think I need to work on going up hill a bit faster. I would pass the same people going down hill...zooooomm.... and then they would some how pass me on the up hill.... I was poking I guess! It was getting hotter as the bike continued, I was happy that the bike course was fairly shaded. Coming into the dismount, I lost my mind because I unclipped out of both pedals before I stopped. Then I was having trouble trying to stop and dismount. I am so lucky I did not just fall over! There were tons of spectators at this point! I just shouted, " Man I suck at the dismount!" and ungracefully got off my bike and began the run into transition. T2 wasn't too bad. I ran out onto the course and the heat was awful, my legs felt crappy, my heart was pounding. I just did my penguin shuffle. The course was boring. It was an out and back and it was a slow incline going out. It sucked! The volunteers were the best though. They cheered and cajoled! I actually started walking at one point and a volunteer yelled, "Get Moving 361! No walking!" I thanked him as I passed....running once again..... The best part of the run was coming into the finish and my wonderful daughter was on the side lines and ran into the finish with me! That made me so happy! This race had some awards, but no general bling for finishers. I kind of missed getting the medal at the end. It was a well run event and I will probably do it again. Perhaps I'll be up for Olympic distance next year.

750 m swim: 17:15 A new swim PR!
I shaved over 6 minutes off my swim. I think the calmer river helped and not having a panic attack at the start!
T1: 4:27 Nothing stellar, but it was a long jog to go from swim exit to transition and get on bike, etc. Still faster than my lovely 5:18 T1 in June! So I am moving in the right direction.

15.5 mile bike: 1:00:32 (15.4 mph) I was happy with this as it was hilly. It is slower than my June race, but that was a super flat course.

T2: 2:16

5K run: 37:06 (11:59 per mile) Nothing stellar on this run. I ran a bit faster in June, but the course was flatter and it wasn't nearly as hot as this race.

Overall 2:01:34 (June race I was 1:46:55) I will take both! I would like to get all of my sprint races to under the 2 hour mark consistently. But considering how my training went during July , I will take this race and be very happy with it all!

I didn't take any pictures. My daughter did take a couple, but she is away with her camera, thus I don't have any photos to post!

Okay back to the search for pet friendly rental housing that is not is scummy part of town!

Where Michelle Remembers She has a blog....

2009-08-14T09:42:00.000-04:00

So blogging in the Summer hasn't been my strong area. In my defense, I have been busy since I returned from Washington and Utah. In that time period, I got my house all spruced up, decluttered, cleaned and put it on the market. On Monday, 2 weeks from when it went on the market, I got a contract on the house. It is contingent on the findings from the home inspection, which was yesterday, and the appraisal. Whew..... I hope it all goes well, because if this sale doesn't go through that means I have to get back to the constant state of clean, since you never know when someone wants to come look at it. What a pain! Especially when you have an elderly Great Dane who can be a bit messy sometimes and a 12 year old who thinks nothing of leave a trail of crap in her wake. I was so happy that she was gone during the first two weeks it was on the market! LOL...

Triathlon training....hmmmm....MY training has been crap! CRAP! I have done some runs, and some bikes and a few swims.. I am glad I am only doing a sprint this Sunday.. Yes-- two days from now.... I hope I can do it! My sleep is a mess on top of it all! The stress of home selling has been weird. The house sale is part of the divorce that has been in process for over 2 years now. [Note to self and others... try not to divorce during economic crisis and housing market collapse].. anyway it brought up all sorts of emotions that I thought I was done dealing with.... ugh.. thus sleep has been quite elusive..
It looks like it may not be a wetsuit legal race since the water temps will be up. I really wanted to try out my new SailFish wetsuit! I guess I will have to wait and try it out in October... Oh yeah... need to find an October tri.... We get all sorts of weird weather in October and tri could be quite interesting then!

I will post a race report !!

Bad blogger!

2009-07-31T13:09:00.000-04:00

My apologies. It has been a crazy world since I returned from my trip. I've not only been trying to get back on my training schedule, but I've been prepping my house to go on the market. My house went up on Monday after painters, much de-cluttering, tossing, donation and putting into to storage and of course cleaning and dusting. I am tired of it! The realtor is having an open house on Saturday. Can I please get an offer in the first week.???!!!!???? I don't know if I can handle the madness that is keeping a house in ready to show mode. Good thing my ex took Sampson for a few days. Old dog doesn't need to be a part of the madness and as much as I love him, he is a messy beast. If we sell then I will be able to check another thing off the list that leads down the path to final divorce. You would think after 2.5 years of separation we would get this over with. Stupid economy got in the way. I didn't even want this divorce, but now I am so ready for all of it to be final, done, etc. And it hasn't even been ugly. I am just ready to close this chapter!

I will get a trip report with pictures on here soon! Here is some training stuff - not too interesting

I have been hitting the gym and doing my strength work. I am killing the 1 minute plank - forward and both sides. I think I may be ready to hold it longer! woot! I have been doing a series of mostly body weight strength and core work consistently since March. I can tell a difference in my core and my arms the most. I still have stubborn over 40 year old, mom, fat that I can't seem to melt... but it is all looking a bit tighter. I have gain muscle too, that is always good!

Bike - Last Saturday - 28 miles. I hung with the guys at 20 mph for about half of it then they left me on this slow, long incline. I averaged a bit slower after that with no one to chase - except for the lovely downhills! Tuesday - 11 miles on the monthly women's ride. We kept a good pace in air so thick you could chew it. There were only 3 of us and I was the old lady! Thursday - ~18 miles. Kept a good pace through most of this. I was one of three women with a bunch of guys riding. I mostly road with the woman who owns the bike shop we ride out of. She is nice and super helpful as an experienced rider. She was giving me some good tips. I like it when experienced riders do this! I am here to learn every day.

Run - Most of my running has been on the treadmill. I hate running outside in high humidity thus I haven't been out there. I can only stand about 30 minutes on the treadmill though.. good thing I am only doing a sprint distance tri on Aug 16. I will try to get an outdoor run in on Sunday and for longer than 30 minutes.

Swim - I only got one swim in this week. YIKES. I did about 1200 m on Monday. Nothing stellar, but it was pool time.

Hiking - Last Sunday I scouted for this weeks small hike. This weeks hike is only about 3 miles and then we go tubing. So really the trip is about tubing, but since we are a hiking club we are making a nod to hiking. LOL... I will take pictures while tubing since I have my Canon waterproof, shock proof camera. I even have a floating wrist strap for it in case I lose hold. I don't plan too!

Happy Running, swimming, cycling, hiking, and relaxing to all!

Back from Trip!

2009-07-16T17:19:00.000-04:00

I will post a photo filled Mt. Rainier trip report later! It was wonderful, even the work trip add on to Salt Lake City was fun!

I am most excited today as I decided to join the DC Tri Club before I left on vacation as they have lots to offer and many people to learn from. And Born Not to Run kept telling me I should join. Thanks Jeanne! I belong to a newly formed tri club in my county - and they are great, but it can't hurt to belong to both, especially while the new one is growing! First benefit of DC Tri Club at this time....they had extra slots saved in the North East Triathlon in August! So today I was able to sign up! I decided to go for the sprint distance. I modified my goal from Olympic distance to sprint, because my training has been a bit off for the Olympic goal AND the worst part..... my residuals from Guillian-Barre have been flaring up all through June and into this month. I think I may have been overdoing the training just a bit, plus the June 21 tri and the long bike ride the following weekend...my body was talking....I have to listen to my body as I want to be doing this for a long, long time and I don't want to risk injury. My residuals flare in the form of exhaustion - just want to sleep nothing else, and numb fingers and toes... they really are always numb, but the sensation is heightened when I have over done it and have not gotten enough sleep... I also get some nerve pain from time to time. Just gotta keep on moving!

So back to the training plan.... I am missing my group bike ride tonight...blogging not riding (LOL).. actually I am still tired from my trip (just got home last night) and I don't have my shit together! Tonight I will get myself organized physically and mentally to get back on schedule!

Friday -Swim - about an hour (usually a rest day, but I need to get back on track)
Saturday - Brick - Bike ~25 miles and run about 2.5 miles
Sunday - Long run day.... I haven't been running much lately... so I will go for slow a 5k.

Twitter

2009-07-08T13:35:00.001-04:00

I have succumbed to twitter. I am MKSINMD if you wish to follow me.

Back to getting ready for my trip....