So on Wednesday my schedule called for 30 miles of biking and 2000 yards of swimming. However, the only thing I managed was 12 miles on the recumbent bike that morning. Not only that, but also Wednesday night I has devoured dinner like nothing and had to have my icecream (hence what brought on the lastest vow yesterday)! Let's talk about some guilt.
So Thursday I wake up resolute in my decision to get it together. My schedule for Thursday was a 7 mile run. In my mind I was going to do my 8 mile route option as it would be perfect for my morning run and then make up for yesterday later in the day. However 3 miles in the stomach started hurting (darn icecream) and I cut my run short to 6 very miserable (bad stomach) miles.
I went to work and had a mini whole wheat bagel for breakfast. Mid morning, I had some cottage cheese and an apple. Lunch time I went for a swim on my lunch break. I timed my 1000 yards for the first time ever, every 200 yards. No laughing at my slowness, but this can serve as a starting point.
200-1: 4:04
200-2: 4:18
200-3: 4:24
200-4: 4:22
200-5: 4:21
Total time for 1000 -21:31 Now it is time to improve on this.
Came back to work and had some turkey burger sloppy joe sandwich and some carrots for lunch.
Upon leaving work I headed up to North Chagrin to meet the Cleveland Touring Group for a ride. I munched on a 90 calorie Special K bar and drank a Monster Energy drink (20 cal,6 carbs, bunch of caffeine and stuff).
I had time to kill so I ran for a half hour. I felt great this run and let myself just run with the brisk pace. Approximately another 3.5+ miles
Upon my return to the car I wiped the sweat and went to put my bike together for the ride. Crap, rear tire is flat. Attempted to change it (very slowly) and had some help. Even with all the extra time I was now pressed to get everything together before the ride. This sort of thing is classic Janet for the first time I meet up with a new group!! Not cool!
Tossing a bottle into the holders without time to fill my aerobar unit I was off. I was working to hang with the lead group. 15 miles in or so I could no longer hang on up one of the hills. I was tiring. I settled back and soon they were out of my sight. At a stop sign I waited for the next group to catch up. Even though I had a map I figured I would just get a drink and fall in with the next group. I kept sipping from my 20 oz bottle of propel. I realized I forgot my water bottle so I was on limited fluids the whole ride...not good!
The hills kept coming and being a cloudy day, it seemed night time was coming fast. I had many moments where I sailed to the front and others that I thought my legs were just wiped out and I was dying going up the hills. Finally as the sun set, we pulled back into the park about 41.5 miles later. I was tired but happy I had put in such a solid training day.
1000 yards swam, 41.5 biked, 9.5 ran
I searched forever to find my keys that I could not find in my mad dash before leaving and 20 minutes later I found them. By the time I got on the road it was 9:30 and I still had a 45 minute drive home. My husband called to see if I wanted him to pick me up something for dinner. I had no appetite but asked him to just grab me a side salad and baked potato at Wendy's. As I drove down the road, I had intended to eat another Special K bar but I could not find it from all the routing for my keys.
I was just happy to have something to drink. However 15 minutes down the road I felt like I could peuk and felt light headed. I pressed to continue on my way but thought I may have to pull over to get sick. I ended on making it...felt like such a long drive! I was shakey like I have never been and sat down and stole 6 of my husbands fries as I entered the room. I felt awful. I needed food right then. I sat down and ate my Wendy's and felt better right away. Thank goodness he had got me food!!! Fueling the body must not be forgotten!! Lesson learned.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Must focus!!!
Battle of Ohio Event One is out of the way and number 2 will be coming up July 22. I am so psyched to see that I have three whole weekends in a row with no races! This is long overdue!! Time for some nice long training sessions!!!
It seems as though I have been having a hard time finding my groove since the marathon. Training seems all over the place where there are some really good long days and several days that are blown off. At the moment I am trying to refocus and try to figure out how to best strategize my time ahead.
I know things will be a little out of sorts with starting a new job Monday!!!! However I can not use this as an excuse, but perhaps an opportunity to embrace a new schedule. At some point I will be joining a new gym downtown Cleveland and joining a new place always seems to re-energize my workouts.
I have started to really fixate on the big event looming, the half iron coming up on August 12. I am 100% confident I can make it. I am bothered that my swimming is going to put me so far behind and exert so much energy as I just plain stink at it. So my choices are -
a) Just keep what I am doing and make sure I at least get in a minimum of 3 swims per week. Just get through it knowing it will be crappy but it is my only swim for the 2007 season.
b) Take some private leassons to see if there are a few things that could make a difference. Our CTC club has one listed I could get 3-30 minute sessions for $90...perhaps it would be worth it??
c) Join a masters group next week and target two masters swims a week plus one on my own
I am 7 weeks out and this really is my only concern. I have no doubt I can swim it, it just may not be pretty!! So any feedback on the choices?
Today I am vowing to do 3 big things. 1. I am ordering a yoga DVD (based on Bbop's reccomendation) and vow to do yoga twice a week and stretch everyday. I must break this nonchalent attitude I have in this area as the problems keep cropping up due to my ways. 2. I am going to give up ice cream until after my half iron. Did I just really say that of my most beloved stuff? Yes, I had my favorite ice cream last night and another horribly uncomfortable run due to my body not seeming to like dairy products. 3. Drop some weight- I have added back a few pounds and they are not going to help me to carry around over the half so I have a target and certain amount I want to lose each week to get to my goal by August 12.
It seems as though I have been having a hard time finding my groove since the marathon. Training seems all over the place where there are some really good long days and several days that are blown off. At the moment I am trying to refocus and try to figure out how to best strategize my time ahead.
I know things will be a little out of sorts with starting a new job Monday!!!! However I can not use this as an excuse, but perhaps an opportunity to embrace a new schedule. At some point I will be joining a new gym downtown Cleveland and joining a new place always seems to re-energize my workouts.
I have started to really fixate on the big event looming, the half iron coming up on August 12. I am 100% confident I can make it. I am bothered that my swimming is going to put me so far behind and exert so much energy as I just plain stink at it. So my choices are -
a) Just keep what I am doing and make sure I at least get in a minimum of 3 swims per week. Just get through it knowing it will be crappy but it is my only swim for the 2007 season.
b) Take some private leassons to see if there are a few things that could make a difference. Our CTC club has one listed I could get 3-30 minute sessions for $90...perhaps it would be worth it??
c) Join a masters group next week and target two masters swims a week plus one on my own
I am 7 weeks out and this really is my only concern. I have no doubt I can swim it, it just may not be pretty!! So any feedback on the choices?
Today I am vowing to do 3 big things. 1. I am ordering a yoga DVD (based on Bbop's reccomendation) and vow to do yoga twice a week and stretch everyday. I must break this nonchalent attitude I have in this area as the problems keep cropping up due to my ways. 2. I am going to give up ice cream until after my half iron. Did I just really say that of my most beloved stuff? Yes, I had my favorite ice cream last night and another horribly uncomfortable run due to my body not seeming to like dairy products. 3. Drop some weight- I have added back a few pounds and they are not going to help me to carry around over the half so I have a target and certain amount I want to lose each week to get to my goal by August 12.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Battle of Ohio Series Race #1 of 3
After a long night Friday, I awoke early with a slight hangover Saturday morning to carry furniture for the majority of the day for my cousin's big move into their new place. Then I headed home for a quick shower before getting on the road for my 2.5 hour drive to Columbus to spend an evening with my old college roommate, Liz, who had offered me a place to stay before my Columbus event the next morning.
After dinner and falling asleep during a movie, I made my way to bed. I was exhausted!!! However then I could not fall asleep and even when I did manage to finally fall asleep, I awoke to the heavy rain. I was not sure if the bed was harder than what I was used to or if my nerves thinking about the race were just making it difficult to sleep.
Finally just before 5 AM it was time to get up and drive to the event. I was a little nervous as I got there and there were so many people there. It seemed like such a process to get our packet, then our chip, then the bodymarking. Lines were sort of long and everything took longer than I had anticipated. I chomped on a 90 calorie Special K bar as I waited. I was also nervous that I was not able to go to the bathroom that morning as it was a long event and the food I ate the night before was probably not the best.
I ended up with very little extra time so I really did not get my typical warm-up in which was probably not good.
As we lined up for the start (the International Du was the first to go off), I noticed that with all the people there, not many were doing this event. The triathlons were definitly the big draw. With all the rain overnight everything was wet and slick and it was sprinkling on and off throughout the morning. The temperature felt plenty warm.
With the 7 AM start, I was off. I was towards the front of the little pack and fell in behind a bunch of guys. We headed down the sidewalk and then made a left onto a grassy path. This stretch was about 1/2 mile long and had some rollers which seemed mainly just uphill. I was trying to be careful of my footing and thankfully they seemed to have slippery roots and holes spray painted well. As we hopped onto the road I was feeling pretty good but wanted to be somewhat conservative with my pace as I knew it would be a long race. At the turnaround I saw the nearest female and she was about 20-30 seconds back. I kept with the pace and felt OK and as we came back through the park, my thoughts were shifting to what was ahead.
They announced the first female triathlete is now crossing the mat just as they announced me as the first female duathlete right behind her. 5K Run one- 21:03 (6:46 pace) I made my way out of transition (1:06) and for some reason I had the ugliest bike mount ever, which I think drew a couple chuckles. It was one of those in which you don't have the pedals where you want them you just kind of sit and try to get going.
Anyways...! My breathing and legs were all getting into a groove when about 4 miles in I got passed by the female duathlete who had been a little back in the run. She passed me with authority and while I tried to keep her in my view, it was not happening. The course was basically a big square and was wet. I was definitely being very conservative on the corners as I just did not want to have any trouble. I was trying to keep one of the males that passed me in my sights and that seemed to help me stay focused and push a little harder. I think 3 other female triathletes also passed me on the bike and with each lady, I resolved that I must spend more time to get stronger on the bike.
About 10 miles into the 24.4 mile course, my back was killing. Perhaps it was the furniture moving or the hard bed, but in any event, I was uncomfortable. I started shifting around in my seat and trying to stretch it out periodically. I was taking in water from my Profile design bottle in my aerobars which was so refreshing with every sip as I was so thirsty!
The 2 loop, 12.2 mile course was pretty flat with only one .25 mile, grade 6 climb which was back to Alum Creek State Park, which we did twice. By the end of the bike, my adductor (groin) muscles start to ache horribily. I cannot figure out why I had a pain there. The only thing I can think of was that perhaps in my shifting around, I had started started to bring my knees inward and was pushing outward with my feet. Who knows!! In any case when my feet hit the ground, it felt like both sides were about to seize completely. Oh the pain! Bike time 1:13:18 (19.8 mph)
With every step into transition I was whincing with pain. I took the extra seconds to stretch a little before pressing on. T2 time 1:24 I grabbed my last drink of race, a couple sips of gatorade before heading out.
As I got going I knew I still had a 10K to go and while the groin pain was easing slightly, it was ever present. I was taking things very conservatively and as we neared the turnaround I saw the girl I thought was in the lead a good ways in front and thought she was too far ahead to catch, so I might as well take it easy. However then I saw another girl that was not that far ahead of me with the same jersey and I thought she might be the duathlete lead woman so I picked up my pace slightly. I was gaining ground and was only about 100 yards back at the 5K mark.
On the second loop of the cross country course, it felt even harder than the first. As my legs were hurting (primarily I could feel tight groin, hamstrings and piriformis /sciatic nerve) I actually thought about Jodi and if she could go an ironman distance, the least I could do was to suck it up a little longer. As I was finally able to read the lady's leg in front of me I saw she was in the tri, so I just fell in behind her and eased off the pace slightly. My stomach was also beginning to twist. Not good! I definitely knew I could have pushed harder but since I knew I was not going to catch number 1, I just took it easy as my groin was not my friend either. I coasted into the finish line with a time of 48:44 (7:50 pace) which was well off what my pace should/ could have been. I finished with a time of 2:25:35 nearly 7 minutes behind the lead female.
Overall I am happy anytime I place in the top three so I was pleased even if it was a tiny field that ran the du. My take aways are that I am not stretching nearly enough and really need to start spending some time on it. My piriformis /sciatic nerve has been bothering me for awile, nothing serious but always there. Also more bike time is nescessary because I really don't care to get passed on the bike by other females.
Overall I wanted to be under 2:30, so at least I accomplished that. However, I am definitely intent on putting up a stronger performance next time around on 7/22!
After the race I enjoyed catching up with a Team ER teammate who tied for second overall male in the sprint tri and talking with ALW. After watching the awards and treating myself to a cheeseburger I was back in the car for the drive home.
Monday I rested and moved around some more furniture, this time at my own house for a change!
After dinner and falling asleep during a movie, I made my way to bed. I was exhausted!!! However then I could not fall asleep and even when I did manage to finally fall asleep, I awoke to the heavy rain. I was not sure if the bed was harder than what I was used to or if my nerves thinking about the race were just making it difficult to sleep.
Finally just before 5 AM it was time to get up and drive to the event. I was a little nervous as I got there and there were so many people there. It seemed like such a process to get our packet, then our chip, then the bodymarking. Lines were sort of long and everything took longer than I had anticipated. I chomped on a 90 calorie Special K bar as I waited. I was also nervous that I was not able to go to the bathroom that morning as it was a long event and the food I ate the night before was probably not the best.
I ended up with very little extra time so I really did not get my typical warm-up in which was probably not good.
As we lined up for the start (the International Du was the first to go off), I noticed that with all the people there, not many were doing this event. The triathlons were definitly the big draw. With all the rain overnight everything was wet and slick and it was sprinkling on and off throughout the morning. The temperature felt plenty warm.
With the 7 AM start, I was off. I was towards the front of the little pack and fell in behind a bunch of guys. We headed down the sidewalk and then made a left onto a grassy path. This stretch was about 1/2 mile long and had some rollers which seemed mainly just uphill. I was trying to be careful of my footing and thankfully they seemed to have slippery roots and holes spray painted well. As we hopped onto the road I was feeling pretty good but wanted to be somewhat conservative with my pace as I knew it would be a long race. At the turnaround I saw the nearest female and she was about 20-30 seconds back. I kept with the pace and felt OK and as we came back through the park, my thoughts were shifting to what was ahead.
They announced the first female triathlete is now crossing the mat just as they announced me as the first female duathlete right behind her. 5K Run one- 21:03 (6:46 pace) I made my way out of transition (1:06) and for some reason I had the ugliest bike mount ever, which I think drew a couple chuckles. It was one of those in which you don't have the pedals where you want them you just kind of sit and try to get going.
Anyways...! My breathing and legs were all getting into a groove when about 4 miles in I got passed by the female duathlete who had been a little back in the run. She passed me with authority and while I tried to keep her in my view, it was not happening. The course was basically a big square and was wet. I was definitely being very conservative on the corners as I just did not want to have any trouble. I was trying to keep one of the males that passed me in my sights and that seemed to help me stay focused and push a little harder. I think 3 other female triathletes also passed me on the bike and with each lady, I resolved that I must spend more time to get stronger on the bike.
About 10 miles into the 24.4 mile course, my back was killing. Perhaps it was the furniture moving or the hard bed, but in any event, I was uncomfortable. I started shifting around in my seat and trying to stretch it out periodically. I was taking in water from my Profile design bottle in my aerobars which was so refreshing with every sip as I was so thirsty!
The 2 loop, 12.2 mile course was pretty flat with only one .25 mile, grade 6 climb which was back to Alum Creek State Park, which we did twice. By the end of the bike, my adductor (groin) muscles start to ache horribily. I cannot figure out why I had a pain there. The only thing I can think of was that perhaps in my shifting around, I had started started to bring my knees inward and was pushing outward with my feet. Who knows!! In any case when my feet hit the ground, it felt like both sides were about to seize completely. Oh the pain! Bike time 1:13:18 (19.8 mph)
With every step into transition I was whincing with pain. I took the extra seconds to stretch a little before pressing on. T2 time 1:24 I grabbed my last drink of race, a couple sips of gatorade before heading out.
As I got going I knew I still had a 10K to go and while the groin pain was easing slightly, it was ever present. I was taking things very conservatively and as we neared the turnaround I saw the girl I thought was in the lead a good ways in front and thought she was too far ahead to catch, so I might as well take it easy. However then I saw another girl that was not that far ahead of me with the same jersey and I thought she might be the duathlete lead woman so I picked up my pace slightly. I was gaining ground and was only about 100 yards back at the 5K mark.
On the second loop of the cross country course, it felt even harder than the first. As my legs were hurting (primarily I could feel tight groin, hamstrings and piriformis /sciatic nerve) I actually thought about Jodi and if she could go an ironman distance, the least I could do was to suck it up a little longer. As I was finally able to read the lady's leg in front of me I saw she was in the tri, so I just fell in behind her and eased off the pace slightly. My stomach was also beginning to twist. Not good! I definitely knew I could have pushed harder but since I knew I was not going to catch number 1, I just took it easy as my groin was not my friend either. I coasted into the finish line with a time of 48:44 (7:50 pace) which was well off what my pace should/ could have been. I finished with a time of 2:25:35 nearly 7 minutes behind the lead female.
Overall I am happy anytime I place in the top three so I was pleased even if it was a tiny field that ran the du. My take aways are that I am not stretching nearly enough and really need to start spending some time on it. My piriformis /sciatic nerve has been bothering me for awile, nothing serious but always there. Also more bike time is nescessary because I really don't care to get passed on the bike by other females.
Overall I wanted to be under 2:30, so at least I accomplished that. However, I am definitely intent on putting up a stronger performance next time around on 7/22!
After the race I enjoyed catching up with a Team ER teammate who tied for second overall male in the sprint tri and talking with ALW. After watching the awards and treating myself to a cheeseburger I was back in the car for the drive home.
Monday I rested and moved around some more furniture, this time at my own house for a change!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Congratulations Dr. Jodi!!
Serious congratulations are in order for one of my favorite training partners, Dr. Jodi!!
She smashed the ironman cda course with a time of 12:37! FANTASTIC!!! The most amazing feat though, had to be the 4:35 run on 5 miles of actual outside running over the last 8 weeks. It must have been sheer will power to get through this day with your smile on!!!
Congratulations woman!!!!
Friday, June 22, 2007
Ready for the weekend!
Another chaotic week is almost through and I am already thinking about the weekend. Time for another busy weekend!
Tonight I will rush to shop and clean house after work for friends who will be coming over for dinner around 8.
Tomorrow I will wake up early to help my cousin move as her and her boyfriend just bought a home out close to me!!! I am excited about this move as I can't wait to have her and her boyfriend closer. You see shortly after my husband Joey and I met, my cousin Michelle and I had decided to live together. And instead of the two of us in one apartment, it ended up being the four of us which included our men. That one year the four of us had an absolute blast and lived the crazy life and will forever treasure some of the funnest memmories and best stories!
Then after the move, I will head to Columbus to see an old college roommate to visit and who also graciously is providing me a place to stay the night before Sunday's first big event of Fat Rabbit Racing's Battle of Ohio Series for me which will be an international du. I will be ranked based upon my performance in three key events for this series. Time to step it up...hopefully!!!
Why is it all big events this year are falling the day after helping people move though??? Please no one move July 21 or Sept 29!
Then I will drive the 2.5 hours home and hopefully be showered up in time to attend a birthday party Sunday night!
Bring on the busy weekend already!!!
PS--got my stuff back from the gym!!
PSS--Have enjoyed some gorgeous morning training sessions this week!
Tonight I will rush to shop and clean house after work for friends who will be coming over for dinner around 8.
Tomorrow I will wake up early to help my cousin move as her and her boyfriend just bought a home out close to me!!! I am excited about this move as I can't wait to have her and her boyfriend closer. You see shortly after my husband Joey and I met, my cousin Michelle and I had decided to live together. And instead of the two of us in one apartment, it ended up being the four of us which included our men. That one year the four of us had an absolute blast and lived the crazy life and will forever treasure some of the funnest memmories and best stories!
Then after the move, I will head to Columbus to see an old college roommate to visit and who also graciously is providing me a place to stay the night before Sunday's first big event of Fat Rabbit Racing's Battle of Ohio Series for me which will be an international du. I will be ranked based upon my performance in three key events for this series. Time to step it up...hopefully!!!
Why is it all big events this year are falling the day after helping people move though??? Please no one move July 21 or Sept 29!
Then I will drive the 2.5 hours home and hopefully be showered up in time to attend a birthday party Sunday night!
Bring on the busy weekend already!!!
PS--got my stuff back from the gym!!
PSS--Have enjoyed some gorgeous morning training sessions this week!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
I swear this sort of thing could only happen to me!
I guess I will start from the top.
Monday night I embarked on my first Lake Erie swi of the year which confirmed again that painful fact that I already know. Janet=crappy swimmer
No real surprise there but I made it through the session and it reinforced the fact that I better get my butt swimming more before the half iron coming up in August. At least I got a reward at TriSaraTops after the swim with food and conversation!
Tuesday I awoke tired and drove to the gym. Speed workout on tap. I was not feeling it at all. My body was aching from my Monday lower body workout. I could also just feel the blisters in my shoes from the weekend racing in my other shoes. Paces and distances were not at all where they should have been but after 52 minutes and several intervals, I called it a day when I hit the 6 mile mark. I took off my shoes and saw something like out horror movie on my zombie-like feet. Not only do I still have bad blisters, they are green and brown. EWWW! No not an infection! Darn dirty lake Erie!
I had no time to do anything about it at the gym so upon getting to work I found the first aid kit and decided I was opening these suckers up to disinfect. It turned out that my blisters were not infected but contained a bunch of sand. So I cleaned them out and hopefully now all will be well.
Then upon my return to the gym at 12:30 on my lunch hour for an upper body weight session, things started to get really crazy.
Storms hit and the power went out. Definitely different lifting weights in the dark by only emergency lights. However power quickly came back on and it was time for me to go (1:15)
I get to my locker and my lock is gone and so is the stuff in it. What the heck? My oversized gym bag is still on top so I am certain this is the place as I always use the same locker. I head out to the fitness desk to ask "Did someone cut the lock off a locker for some random reason?"
Cue to employee with panic face "Oh my goodness, we must have opened the wrong locker."
So some older lady had taken a fall in the pool/ locker room area. EMS was called and transported her to the hospital. She had mentioned her stuff so the staff went to retrieve it and when it was not where she specified, they tried my locker with her combination on my lock and it opened so they assumed they had the right stuff. However I have been having trouble with my lock and apparently it will open for anyone. So my stuff was bagged and sent to hospital with ladies husband.
Cue to Janet and the Oh crap, what do I do now look. I have no car keys and I am in my workout clothes.
They said they would send an employee to switch stuff. The hospital is only 10-15 minutes away so I figure this will delay me 30-45 minutes or so. No big deal. So I hopped on the stationary bike. I am trying not to get sweaty as I need to go back to work. After 20 minutes I was starting to work up a good sweat at my conservative pace so I went for abs. After this I hopped on the recumbent bike for 20 minutes. Then I checked at the desk as it had been an hour. (2:15) No word yet. Crap, this is all I need with work as I already am feeling guilty about leaving.
So I head back to fitness center to kill more time. I set recumbent bike for another 20 minutes and then another and another. My patience is leaving and I am totally stressed about work. Feeling like a jerk, I called the office to explain this saga of me being held hostage at th gym. (3:15)
Director comes to see me at 3:30 to explain employee could not find people right away and by the time they did they had already left. Everyone very apologetic and they are upgrading my membership to include Club J which has some nice perks. I am not mad at them. I worked at a rec center for a long time and could see how this crazy thing happened, but that is not helping me at the moment.
So I call my husband. Wouldn't you know this would be a time I could not reach him? I leave messages but don't even have my cell phone which is locked in my car so I have no idea what is going on. Finally I call my sis to come rescue me. She says she will come get my pathetic self. While I waited I took a shower in Club J as it has complimentary towels, shampoo & conditioner, razors, etc. and put on the extra set of clean workout clothes that I kept in my bag. My husband finally called and was going to come with my keys. I told him to call sis off but they were having trouble connecting for some reason. So frustrating. She picked me up at 4:30 and took me to him where we met at 4:45 to drive back to get my car just after 5.
So then I ended up having to take the afternoon off from work and still have not heard anymore about my stuff.
Let me tell ya how good beer tasted at the end of that pathetic afternoon. Oh well, guess I burned off a few extra calories over the day!
Monday night I embarked on my first Lake Erie swi of the year which confirmed again that painful fact that I already know. Janet=crappy swimmer
No real surprise there but I made it through the session and it reinforced the fact that I better get my butt swimming more before the half iron coming up in August. At least I got a reward at TriSaraTops after the swim with food and conversation!
Tuesday I awoke tired and drove to the gym. Speed workout on tap. I was not feeling it at all. My body was aching from my Monday lower body workout. I could also just feel the blisters in my shoes from the weekend racing in my other shoes. Paces and distances were not at all where they should have been but after 52 minutes and several intervals, I called it a day when I hit the 6 mile mark. I took off my shoes and saw something like out horror movie on my zombie-like feet. Not only do I still have bad blisters, they are green and brown. EWWW! No not an infection! Darn dirty lake Erie!
I had no time to do anything about it at the gym so upon getting to work I found the first aid kit and decided I was opening these suckers up to disinfect. It turned out that my blisters were not infected but contained a bunch of sand. So I cleaned them out and hopefully now all will be well.
Then upon my return to the gym at 12:30 on my lunch hour for an upper body weight session, things started to get really crazy.
Storms hit and the power went out. Definitely different lifting weights in the dark by only emergency lights. However power quickly came back on and it was time for me to go (1:15)
I get to my locker and my lock is gone and so is the stuff in it. What the heck? My oversized gym bag is still on top so I am certain this is the place as I always use the same locker. I head out to the fitness desk to ask "Did someone cut the lock off a locker for some random reason?"
Cue to employee with panic face "Oh my goodness, we must have opened the wrong locker."
So some older lady had taken a fall in the pool/ locker room area. EMS was called and transported her to the hospital. She had mentioned her stuff so the staff went to retrieve it and when it was not where she specified, they tried my locker with her combination on my lock and it opened so they assumed they had the right stuff. However I have been having trouble with my lock and apparently it will open for anyone. So my stuff was bagged and sent to hospital with ladies husband.
Cue to Janet and the Oh crap, what do I do now look. I have no car keys and I am in my workout clothes.
They said they would send an employee to switch stuff. The hospital is only 10-15 minutes away so I figure this will delay me 30-45 minutes or so. No big deal. So I hopped on the stationary bike. I am trying not to get sweaty as I need to go back to work. After 20 minutes I was starting to work up a good sweat at my conservative pace so I went for abs. After this I hopped on the recumbent bike for 20 minutes. Then I checked at the desk as it had been an hour. (2:15) No word yet. Crap, this is all I need with work as I already am feeling guilty about leaving.
So I head back to fitness center to kill more time. I set recumbent bike for another 20 minutes and then another and another. My patience is leaving and I am totally stressed about work. Feeling like a jerk, I called the office to explain this saga of me being held hostage at th gym. (3:15)
Director comes to see me at 3:30 to explain employee could not find people right away and by the time they did they had already left. Everyone very apologetic and they are upgrading my membership to include Club J which has some nice perks. I am not mad at them. I worked at a rec center for a long time and could see how this crazy thing happened, but that is not helping me at the moment.
So I call my husband. Wouldn't you know this would be a time I could not reach him? I leave messages but don't even have my cell phone which is locked in my car so I have no idea what is going on. Finally I call my sis to come rescue me. She says she will come get my pathetic self. While I waited I took a shower in Club J as it has complimentary towels, shampoo & conditioner, razors, etc. and put on the extra set of clean workout clothes that I kept in my bag. My husband finally called and was going to come with my keys. I told him to call sis off but they were having trouble connecting for some reason. So frustrating. She picked me up at 4:30 and took me to him where we met at 4:45 to drive back to get my car just after 5.
So then I ended up having to take the afternoon off from work and still have not heard anymore about my stuff.
Let me tell ya how good beer tasted at the end of that pathetic afternoon. Oh well, guess I burned off a few extra calories over the day!
Monday, June 18, 2007
The word is out
Friday I put in my two weeks notice at my job. It was a tough day as I had been stressed about it since I made my decision as the firm has been good to me and I had only been there 9 months. I was feeling guilty in that there seemed there was so much more I had hoped to have accomplished for them which is left undone. I am certain they were less than thrilled and caught off guard by the announcement However another opportunity (which I am very excited about) had landed on my lap which I could not pass up. Somehow even when change is good, it does not mean it is easy.
Afer that uncomfortable day, I was ever so ready for the weekend! Northeast Ohio continues to smile upon us with this fantasic weather we have had the last couple weeks so I enjoyed yet another beautiful weekend outside!
Saturday I ran the Jim Klett 10 K down in Cuyahoga Falls. I had an ice cream bet going with a friend so several us met up and watched the kids race as we prepared for our own.
Per Janet style, I went blazing out way too fast for a 10 K and then between the heat, hills and slightly off stomach I had to slow down.
Mile 1 - 6:12 --Heck ya I am feeling good! Hit the split and think 10K not 5K, slow down!
Mile 2 - 6:51-Still feeling good
Miles 3 & 4 -14:57- Realization of length left is sitting in and I am slowing down. I get passed here. The shade felt good but as I turned the one corner into the hot sun I started to wish for the shade again.
About 4.5 in the huge hill started coming. This hill seemed so much longer and steeper than I remembered. Angry mexican in stomach started to yell that he does not like me anymore.
Mile 5 - 7:25- Relieved the big hill was over but nice roller jumped in my view to anger mexican again.
Mile 6 -7:28-No one close enough to reel in so I just decided to maintain position. I was so ready for the end!
.2 - 1:20--Managed to smile and wave to cheering friends at the line!
Finished 2nd overall female at 44:14 with a 7:07 pace and some more very blistered feet. They are out of control at the moment. Apparently my new Nike super light weight shoes are ripping my feet all up which are not recovered from the maraton blister breakdown. My oh so cute feet are not at all cute anymore!
I hanging out with a bunch of others after the race...perhaps I will have to post some additional photos later of some of the fun we enjoyed!
Oh and the ice cream bet was so close we called it a draw...but of course all of us went for icecream anyways after the race!
Sunday on account of my feet, I opted for a nice bike ride with a few CTC folks on the GCT course. There were 3 fast boys and one other chick out with the group. I had to work my butt off to keep up on their "comfortably paced" ride! Very fun ride though!!!!
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Since my chest did not explode...
on Tuesday at the track, I decided to push it again on Wednesday night.
I finally made it out to New Vision Cycling after a hiatus which was altogether too long due to scheduling issues, marathon taper & recovery, etc.
On tap, 2 sets of 5 one mile repeats in Zone 5.
After fighting with the traffic and hoping I might actually get there with a little time to spare, I made it. As I opened the trunk I knew right away we had a problem. No front skewer. I knew exactly where I had set it in my garage and that I had not grabbed it in my mad dash of packing crap up that morning.
I was packing things back in, totally bummed that I had drove all the way out there only to forget such a critical part. The guy next to me saw me packing it in and asked what was wrong and I explained. He told me to hold on and proceeded to ask around if anyone had an extra.
My lifesaver found me another lifesaver who I will award the prepared cyclist award. He had a tool box with at least 3 extra skewers and all sorts of random other bicycle parts you could ever want. Hmmm...I should learn from this guy! I will at least learn to take the couple extra seconds to throw my skewer back in my wheel everytime so this never happens again which was what I usually do but have been neglecting this step lately for no good reason.
So tragedy averted and I headed out for the warm-up.
As we started into the mile repeats, the first observation was that it was not a flat course. Each direction presented some very modest uphill and subsequent downhill at different points. Sometimes I powered up the hill and passed a rider only to have him pass me a few moments later. There was definitely different approaches that could be tested to see what was the most efficient use of riding the course the fastest overall.
Each mile I pushed as hard as I could muster and was wheezing hard with a tight chest at the end of each one. Then as soon as it would end another one would start again. We seemed to start and end at slightly different points (even though they were close) so I did not bother recording splits. 10 mile repeats later with a soft pedal break in the middle, I started into a short cooldown. It was good to see some familiar faces before I loaded up the car an headed my sweaty butt home for some food and sleep. Then popped up this AM for another fun-filled 6 mile tempo run outside this fine morning!!!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Back to the track!
Tuesday I was pysched to head out to the track for the first time in probably 2 months. My new goal is to alternate cycling and track weeks so I can at least hit the track every other week.
The evening was warm, yet gorgeous and I was looking forward to pushing myself a bit. I arrived early so I had plenty of time to warm up. I started running circles just around 5:40. New arrivals kept popping in so I did warm-ups with several ladies and finally around 6:30 it was time to start into the real sets.
I was running 8- 400's with 200 recoveries and my goal was to stay under 1:30 for each of them.
400 #1 - 1:21:45 Wow, my lungs feel tight! It is hot tonight! After walking a few seconds, MT and I jogged to the other side. My breathing was still labored as I started into the next 400.
#2 - 1:25:51 -Ouch, tight chest! At this point I decided I was walking the recoveries as I needed it. I grabbed some water.
#3 - 1:22:86 - Better, walking helped!
#4 - 1:25:13
#5 - 1:25:63 - Stomach feeling off...made quick beeline for bathroom break
#6 - 1:25:92 - At least I was consistent!
#7 - 1:25:51 - This lap and final lap had to move over a bit for boys training in lanes 1&2 on the one side
#8 - 1:21:21 - Had hoped to get under 1:20, oh well!
Then did a 800 meter cool down before heading home. It was definitely good to be out on a track!
All my normal speed workouts have been on a treadmill and for the most part I just set whatever the speed is supposed to be which is good and bad I suppose. I always force myself to hit the paces, yet I never try for more.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Random thoughts from the gym!
You can tell school is out and summer is here. My gym is just slammed. The Subway line is filled with teenagers. The parking lot is full of people there to swim in the outdoor pool and my normal weight room is packed with teenage boys during the lunch hour.
Yet my workouts go on the same.
Today was one of those days where I did not really feel like heading over to the gym but went anyways!
The door guys know me well and upon entering the security guard asked if I wanted to leave my motorcyle helmet up with them. AWESOME, sure!!! The helmet won't fit in a locker and it is a pain to lift up my seat to strap it to the bike so I usually carry it in and try to trap the neck strap in a locker. It works but I like this idea way better!
My workout bag won't really fit into a locker well either so I lock up the important things and set my bag on top generally. If I could dream of my perfect gym it would definitely have oversized lockers to accomodate my big bag and my helmet. Also I could rent it so that I could keep stuff in there that I used daily so I would not have to lug so much back and forth all the time!
There is a gray haired, heavy set man who I see during my lunch hour sessions on a regular basis. While perhaps he may have good intentions, he always has comments for me. The one time I was using the hip machine and I pulled the knob out only to have it go flying across the room. He told me I was not supposed to twist it, I had to pull it out(Yeah, thanks for the input but someone else had loosened it just enough for me to set it off). Then another time I was doing lunges and he said that he thinks doing lunges is what ruined his knees. I smiled politely trying to muster a polite response as I went on to do several more sets. Then today I set down a the 20 pound weights and one was not perfectly down and he said I had to be careful because if one landed on my foot I would have to do an Irish jig. This comment made me chuckle, but again I swear this man just likes to critique me!
The boys were all polite and seemed to accomodate the lone chick in their free weight room.
Then I went into the other room to use the floor for some shoulder exercises while on the upside down bosu ball. Before I could do anything I picked up 2 exercise balls and 3 mats and returned them to their homes. It drives me crazy when no one picks up after themselves at the gym! As I went through my reps, my stress seemed to disappear temporarily and in turn I was getting in a solid weight training session. Typically I do not get too sweaty on weight training workouts, but on this day things were clicking and as I worked, the sweat started to build. Oops, thank goodness I sit in my little cube all alone all afternoon!
As I started on my barbell bench presses on the exercise ball this older lady came over to ask if those were 20's I had and I said yes. I had to laugh as she said "Wow, you're really strong!" as I was on my warm-up set with my light weights. I kept thinking that although dumbbells are a little more challenging, my 2 20's do not even weigh as much as lifting an empty bar and most people would not tell someone they were strong if they were just lifting an empty bar.
So many different perspectives from everyone at the gym!
Monday, June 11, 2007
The best Sunday in June!
Sunday was the Sunday in June Ride put on by Cleveland Touring Club.
As it is one of the only events that are actually out in the boonies of my house, I had volunteered with the director of the Cleveland Touring Club to help out. Being that I lived out in the area, I helped out by checking out the course and making some route suggestions. You really realize the amount of planning that goes into these events when you help out...even as I only helped out on this one little piece of all the many other items that went in to this great event. Major props to Bill and Cleveland Touring Club for such a wonderfully run event!!!
Many of the roads had potholes or were gravel or currently under construction. So one evening my husband borrowed his dad's Harley to ride about 100 miles through the country roads. I sat on back with a map of tenative roads making notes and suggestions for the event coordinator. Now this ride is also known by its incognito name the “Horseshit Ramble”, so I was trying to carefully make sure I was keeping in theme with our ride characteristics all through Amish country! Then after the event coordinator nailed down the course I was to check out the 50 mile course and make sure everything was marked and looked good. So my hubby and I once again hoppped on our motorcycles and rode the 50 mile course. All looked good!
Sunday I awoke to 50 degree gorgeous morning. I thought about throwing on my arm warmers but figured I would warm up soon enough. A few of us from Cleveland Tri Club and a decent sized group from Shaker Cycling took off just before 7:30 AM. The first downhill was chilly!!
To back up, I have been so focused on running this year that I have not done much in the way of long rides. I did some inside on the trainer over the winter but my longest ride outside this year has probably only been around 30 miles. JT was in a strict taper so I was content to ride with her and catch up while we enjoyed the scenery.
The sun was quickly warming things up for this most beautiful day. I was excited to be back outside pedaling with friends! Just before 40 we stopped at a rest stop and I refilled my water bottle in my aerobars and grabbed a nutrigrain bar. YUM! They had lots of cookies but I refrained somehow! After regrouping we continued on. However after a bump and subsequent bottle launch, Jodi and I again dropped back behind the main group. We had looped around back to where some of the shorter routes were also riding and passed many people with ease. We regrouped as we made the final 10 mile push toward the end at a decent pace with the wind to our backs and made the final climb to the finish.
However the day was not over. JT needed a 4 hour day so we headed back out for another 35-40 minutes to finish with ~70+ miles on the day. Fortunately I had my running shoes, as she also needed to get in a 10 minute run outside afterwards, so I got the priviledge of running with her for her first outside run in some time!!! This dedicated chick is going to rock her ironman in two weeks and is just such an inspiration and great fun to train with!
For someone who has not rode more than 30 miles outside this year so far, this day went amazingly well. Perhaps it was the gorgeous day, the wonderful company or just the excitement of getting back out there for a long ride, but I felt fantastic the entire time. The only trouble area was in the girly seat area which training really cannot seem to help much with!!! So I am feeling totally re-energized with such a terrific ride!
I managed to replenish some of my calories burned over the rest of the day before hitting the hay crazy early from my tiring, yet fantastic weekend! Oh well, unfortunately I apparently did not miss much as I slept through the CAVS game. :-(
Bluto: Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
Otter: Germans?
Boon: Forget it, he's rolling.
Bluto: And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough...
[thinks hard]
Bluto: the tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go CAVS!
The girls!!!
Auntie Jan has not posted any pics for a bit, so it is time for some pics of my sweetie pies at 9 months!
Uncle Joey with double trouble!
The HAWT chicks!
"Can I get any help from up there?"
"You know you can have anything you want because you two are so cute!"
Uncle Joey with double trouble!
The HAWT chicks!
"Can I get any help from up there?"
"You know you can have anything you want because you two are so cute!"
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Irish Festival 5K
Beautiful day, good tunes, old friends faces...aghh the running gods were smiling on me today!
I headed out with to Cuyahoga Falls this morning for my 5K race. Legs still aching quite a bit from Wednesday lower body workout. I stopped on the way for some delicious Rockstar but only drank about 8 ounces before the race as I was nervous to have too much of something new before running. I was also wearing my new super light and cute Nike Zoom Air which I was stoked to try.
MT and I did a nice little warm up and then I tried to stretch out my tight legs. As I was stretching I was stoked to see an old high school girlfriend (who incidentally has always been one heck of a runner) and a few other people from my hometown. Always exciting to see some old faces, so we caught up a bit before the start. Since it was a new race, the field was very small...only about 100 people.
MT and I lined up near the front and with the start we were off! Mile one was uphill a bit. I turned up my Ipod and settled in behind bunch of guys. There was one girl in front for the first .5 mile but I passed her after she settled in. Mile one 6:36. Not bad. I was nervous given my lackluster training that I might not be ready for running too hard so I was just going to check out the paces. I planned to not beat myself up over them if something was not where I usually expected of myself.
Mile 2 also was rolling, nothing big but you definitely noticed it. Course was nice through neighborhood streets and I was excited when we went around th block as we started to make our return for the out and back course. Mile 2-7:02.
Mile 3, we were told had a little downhill, again nothing too drastic, but every bit helps. A couple guys passed me and with everyone I would get nervous that some chick would pass me. I definitely was pushing outside of the comfort zone but just wanted to hold the pace. As I came into the finish area I gave it one final kick and finished the last 1.1 miles at 7:02.
Total time 20:40 (6:39 pace) which was good enough for first female!!! The time was only 12 seconds off my PR so I guess I have not really lost much especially just taking into account some course differences. Now I feel much better as I was quite concerned!!!!
I believe my highschool girlfriend took 2nd female and MT took third. It is awesome to see your buds all up at the front!!! So we stood around in the sunshine and grabbed our awards! Aghhh, such a great way to start the day!
I headed out with to Cuyahoga Falls this morning for my 5K race. Legs still aching quite a bit from Wednesday lower body workout. I stopped on the way for some delicious Rockstar but only drank about 8 ounces before the race as I was nervous to have too much of something new before running. I was also wearing my new super light and cute Nike Zoom Air which I was stoked to try.
MT and I did a nice little warm up and then I tried to stretch out my tight legs. As I was stretching I was stoked to see an old high school girlfriend (who incidentally has always been one heck of a runner) and a few other people from my hometown. Always exciting to see some old faces, so we caught up a bit before the start. Since it was a new race, the field was very small...only about 100 people.
MT and I lined up near the front and with the start we were off! Mile one was uphill a bit. I turned up my Ipod and settled in behind bunch of guys. There was one girl in front for the first .5 mile but I passed her after she settled in. Mile one 6:36. Not bad. I was nervous given my lackluster training that I might not be ready for running too hard so I was just going to check out the paces. I planned to not beat myself up over them if something was not where I usually expected of myself.
Mile 2 also was rolling, nothing big but you definitely noticed it. Course was nice through neighborhood streets and I was excited when we went around th block as we started to make our return for the out and back course. Mile 2-7:02.
Mile 3, we were told had a little downhill, again nothing too drastic, but every bit helps. A couple guys passed me and with everyone I would get nervous that some chick would pass me. I definitely was pushing outside of the comfort zone but just wanted to hold the pace. As I came into the finish area I gave it one final kick and finished the last 1.1 miles at 7:02.
Total time 20:40 (6:39 pace) which was good enough for first female!!! The time was only 12 seconds off my PR so I guess I have not really lost much especially just taking into account some course differences. Now I feel much better as I was quite concerned!!!!
I believe my highschool girlfriend took 2nd female and MT took third. It is awesome to see your buds all up at the front!!! So we stood around in the sunshine and grabbed our awards! Aghhh, such a great way to start the day!
Friday, June 08, 2007
Back in the saddle again
So there was taper week.
Then there was recovery week.
Then there was vacation week.
And the theme throughout these 3 weeks has been very light workouts and sleeping in!
My rhythm is off.
Waking up hurts bad!
This week I jumped back in.
Monday I did a 20 mile bike, an upper body workout and spent my evening sweating as I was cleaning my very dirty house. Oh the cold beers while I worked tasted good...but then I had get up up Tuesday morning for a speed workout.
OUCH...not sure if it was the time off or the beers, but this workout was punishing. My paces were off and I did not even care. I got through it. Then I forced myself back to the gym on my lunch hour for a 1000 yard swim. This was rough too as my arms ached from the prior days upper body workout.
Wednesday I slept in as I had planned to go to New Vision Cycling in the evening. I hit the gym on my lunch break and managed a very solid lower body workout. Evening plans got changed and I ended up missing cycling. :-(
Thursday I woke up all kinds of sore. Lower body workouts totally kill me. Everything south of my waistline screamed with every step and let's not even try to talk about sitting down. I made myself get outside to go for my tempo run. I was soooo tired and sore. It took so much effort just to get dressed and outside but as I started I saw the neighbor out and I did not want to let on as to how miserable I was feeling so I put on my happy face and the running followed. The run surprisingly was going well until the prior evening's Mexican decided to kick me while I was down and make for a very miserable return trip home.
Friday, I awoke even more sore than Thursday. I thought about a day off since I had a big weekend in store. However I decided perhaps I would try to loosen things up a bit. I did a 20 minute easy spin and spent some time stretching. Yeah, slacking a bit on the day but I think it was the right thing to do!
So why take it easy today besides the legs are still angry at me?
Tomorrow I will see my running gals as we run the new Irish Festival 5K down in Cuyahoga Falls which should be fun. It will be interesting to see if my fitness level for 5K performance is slacking too or if I have not lost much ground.
Then Sunday I am doing the metric century ride for the very scenic, Sunday in June ride out in my area with my gal, Jodi and other CTC teammates!!! Weather looks great for the weekend and I am just stoked to be back at it!!!!
Then there was recovery week.
Then there was vacation week.
And the theme throughout these 3 weeks has been very light workouts and sleeping in!
My rhythm is off.
Waking up hurts bad!
This week I jumped back in.
Monday I did a 20 mile bike, an upper body workout and spent my evening sweating as I was cleaning my very dirty house. Oh the cold beers while I worked tasted good...but then I had get up up Tuesday morning for a speed workout.
OUCH...not sure if it was the time off or the beers, but this workout was punishing. My paces were off and I did not even care. I got through it. Then I forced myself back to the gym on my lunch hour for a 1000 yard swim. This was rough too as my arms ached from the prior days upper body workout.
Wednesday I slept in as I had planned to go to New Vision Cycling in the evening. I hit the gym on my lunch break and managed a very solid lower body workout. Evening plans got changed and I ended up missing cycling. :-(
Thursday I woke up all kinds of sore. Lower body workouts totally kill me. Everything south of my waistline screamed with every step and let's not even try to talk about sitting down. I made myself get outside to go for my tempo run. I was soooo tired and sore. It took so much effort just to get dressed and outside but as I started I saw the neighbor out and I did not want to let on as to how miserable I was feeling so I put on my happy face and the running followed. The run surprisingly was going well until the prior evening's Mexican decided to kick me while I was down and make for a very miserable return trip home.
Friday, I awoke even more sore than Thursday. I thought about a day off since I had a big weekend in store. However I decided perhaps I would try to loosen things up a bit. I did a 20 minute easy spin and spent some time stretching. Yeah, slacking a bit on the day but I think it was the right thing to do!
So why take it easy today besides the legs are still angry at me?
Tomorrow I will see my running gals as we run the new Irish Festival 5K down in Cuyahoga Falls which should be fun. It will be interesting to see if my fitness level for 5K performance is slacking too or if I have not lost much ground.
Then Sunday I am doing the metric century ride for the very scenic, Sunday in June ride out in my area with my gal, Jodi and other CTC teammates!!! Weather looks great for the weekend and I am just stoked to be back at it!!!!
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Dog Rant
First off, I love dogs...especially my golden retriever, Matches and my parents little Shiba Inu, Dakota.
However every year I take this trip I have so much anxiety about going out to do my runs and bike rides because of dogs.
In the area I stayed in AL, I would assume 2/3 of the people just let their dogs roam free. Many of the other people just have them in cages outside the home who just alert all the other area dogs that I am on my way.
As we drove in I watched as one dog chased the trailer and I already started to get nervous about what was in store for me. However aimed with my Halt I was ready to take my chances.
Run one, nothing too terrible. Two owners yelled at their dogs to back down. A few other dogs met me on the road but seemed pretty harmless. No real slow downs to speak of.
Bike ride- Several dogs made it to the edge of the property as I nearly escaped as I really can pedal fast when barking dogs are approaching. One had me a bit on edge as he showed his teeth. Later as we drove by safely in the car, again my evil friend came out to chase that vehicle too and my husband took one look as I pointed him out and could not believe the people let that aggressive pit bull roam free.
He was the brown tiger color as well and really did not like me or my bicycle. His other two dog friends of other breeds also seemed to think I would make for some good lunch. After my first pass I started to dread coming back through another time for my return home but there was no other option. Let's just say these two passes had to be some of my fastest paces hit on the ride!
Run 2- I had a few more visitors on the road, 9 in total in that 2.3 mile stretch. One I had not heard approaching and I felt something on my leg. Nervously I jerked around to see a little black terrier that kept pouncing on my leg as if to say "Pet me, pet me". I decided I was not going to encourage it as I was still planning to repeat the circle 2 more times, so he proceeded to accompany me another .25 mile before giving up.
This dog problem definitely unnerves me when I train there. I kept thinking why can't they keep their dogs confined to their property. Why can't more people have friendly goldens instead of mean pit bulls? I really like cats that are scared and just run away as I approach. Then I start thinking that my halt may not save me, should I carry something else? Are their owners inside laughing as they watch their dogs scare exercise lady? At least one man called them off me two different occasions, but seriously his dogs should not be running people down in the road to begin with. People really need to learn to be more responsible with their dogs, bottom line!
Thank goodness I made it out of there with no bites or major issues!!!! If I lived there, I would seriously have to figure out a better solution to this problem.
Then back at home, pet my little golden Matches a good long time who must have missed me and my kitty Zippo who could not have been more excited!
However every year I take this trip I have so much anxiety about going out to do my runs and bike rides because of dogs.
In the area I stayed in AL, I would assume 2/3 of the people just let their dogs roam free. Many of the other people just have them in cages outside the home who just alert all the other area dogs that I am on my way.
As we drove in I watched as one dog chased the trailer and I already started to get nervous about what was in store for me. However aimed with my Halt I was ready to take my chances.
Run one, nothing too terrible. Two owners yelled at their dogs to back down. A few other dogs met me on the road but seemed pretty harmless. No real slow downs to speak of.
Bike ride- Several dogs made it to the edge of the property as I nearly escaped as I really can pedal fast when barking dogs are approaching. One had me a bit on edge as he showed his teeth. Later as we drove by safely in the car, again my evil friend came out to chase that vehicle too and my husband took one look as I pointed him out and could not believe the people let that aggressive pit bull roam free.
He was the brown tiger color as well and really did not like me or my bicycle. His other two dog friends of other breeds also seemed to think I would make for some good lunch. After my first pass I started to dread coming back through another time for my return home but there was no other option. Let's just say these two passes had to be some of my fastest paces hit on the ride!
Run 2- I had a few more visitors on the road, 9 in total in that 2.3 mile stretch. One I had not heard approaching and I felt something on my leg. Nervously I jerked around to see a little black terrier that kept pouncing on my leg as if to say "Pet me, pet me". I decided I was not going to encourage it as I was still planning to repeat the circle 2 more times, so he proceeded to accompany me another .25 mile before giving up.
This dog problem definitely unnerves me when I train there. I kept thinking why can't they keep their dogs confined to their property. Why can't more people have friendly goldens instead of mean pit bulls? I really like cats that are scared and just run away as I approach. Then I start thinking that my halt may not save me, should I carry something else? Are their owners inside laughing as they watch their dogs scare exercise lady? At least one man called them off me two different occasions, but seriously his dogs should not be running people down in the road to begin with. People really need to learn to be more responsible with their dogs, bottom line!
Thank goodness I made it out of there with no bites or major issues!!!! If I lived there, I would seriously have to figure out a better solution to this problem.
Then back at home, pet my little golden Matches a good long time who must have missed me and my kitty Zippo who could not have been more excited!
Monday, June 04, 2007
Vacation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How does time go by so fast???
We left Friday after work and drove the 700 miles down in the van. We were such zombies by the time we got there but thankfully I made the most tasty discovery on the way which woke me right up to keep Joey company on the drive.
Yeah, the blue Rockstar totally rules and is caffeine-filled, wildberry deliciousness!
After arriving we slept a few hours and then hopped on our motorcyles to ride up to Tennesee and the Great Smoky mountains. Our aunt and cousins had already rented out a cabin so we just slept on the futon of this cute little place.
His aunt and uncle rode horses duing the day. I was glad I was not with them the day his uncle was riding up there in TN and came across this rattlesnake. I still cannot believe his uncle handled this!!! (As a side note I am petrified of snakes. Between this pic and seeing a black snake at his aunt's house I even had a nightmare one night about snakes!)
In the evenings we relaxed by the hottub!
And then in the days we rode our motorcyles through the mountains and took in the gorgeous views.
And we visited the Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort which is located at the south end of the famous Dragon, home to 318 turns in 11 miles of scenic and twisty US 129. With no distractions, the Dragon winds its way up and over the mountains of Tennessee into North Carolina.
We rode back to Alabama late Monday for some R&R playing by the lake. Joey and I relaxed in our two person raft, took in some sun and swam around in the lake.
I even caught some fish!!!
Wednesday, Joey and I drove down to Barber Motorsports Park, a world-class road racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. We visited the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, a 144,000-square foot, four-story museum which includes the world's largest collection of vintage and modern day motorcycles (1000+) and the largest collection of Lotus race cars. This place is just amazing. It has motorcycles back to the 1890's which look like ordinary bicycles with a motor to the modern day superbikes.
The layout of this place is just fantastic!!!
Aghh, was it really already time to come back home and go back to work and the real world???
I did manage to get in a couple runs, a bicycle ride and some swimming. However training was pretty light and country food was quite the opposite. Time to jump back in now that I am home and fully rested! 10 weeks to the half ironman!
We left Friday after work and drove the 700 miles down in the van. We were such zombies by the time we got there but thankfully I made the most tasty discovery on the way which woke me right up to keep Joey company on the drive.
Yeah, the blue Rockstar totally rules and is caffeine-filled, wildberry deliciousness! After arriving we slept a few hours and then hopped on our motorcyles to ride up to Tennesee and the Great Smoky mountains. Our aunt and cousins had already rented out a cabin so we just slept on the futon of this cute little place.
His aunt and uncle rode horses duing the day. I was glad I was not with them the day his uncle was riding up there in TN and came across this rattlesnake. I still cannot believe his uncle handled this!!! (As a side note I am petrified of snakes. Between this pic and seeing a black snake at his aunt's house I even had a nightmare one night about snakes!)
In the evenings we relaxed by the hottub!
And then in the days we rode our motorcyles through the mountains and took in the gorgeous views.
And we visited the Deals Gap Motorcycle Resort which is located at the south end of the famous Dragon, home to 318 turns in 11 miles of scenic and twisty US 129. With no distractions, the Dragon winds its way up and over the mountains of Tennessee into North Carolina.
We rode back to Alabama late Monday for some R&R playing by the lake. Joey and I relaxed in our two person raft, took in some sun and swam around in the lake.
I even caught some fish!!!
Wednesday, Joey and I drove down to Barber Motorsports Park, a world-class road racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. We visited the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, a 144,000-square foot, four-story museum which includes the world's largest collection of vintage and modern day motorcycles (1000+) and the largest collection of Lotus race cars. This place is just amazing. It has motorcycles back to the 1890's which look like ordinary bicycles with a motor to the modern day superbikes.
The layout of this place is just fantastic!!!
Aghh, was it really already time to come back home and go back to work and the real world???
I did manage to get in a couple runs, a bicycle ride and some swimming. However training was pretty light and country food was quite the opposite. Time to jump back in now that I am home and fully rested! 10 weeks to the half ironman!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Tagged. for 7 random things about my self
TriFolk has tagged me for 7 random things about myself.
My mind is already on vacation so I will just go with it!!
7. I loved sports throughout school. I loved volleyball, basketball, softball and track. Problem was that when I was a freshman I could not run track and play summer softball as high school softball was the same season. So I ran track my freshman year and had to switch to softball the last three because I missed it too much.
6. My bus driver used to say we should rename our road to Evans street because my entire dad's family lived on the same stretch of road by my grandparents farm. Growing up on a farm means lots of farm chores, kickball with all my cousins while doing hay, getting lost in swamps chasing cows and many hilly-billy sounding stories!!! And...I love cows! I used to have a collection of lots of cow stuff. Even as a kid when I was sleeping, all mom had to say was "Janet, Look at the cows!!" and I would instantly wake up and look around everywhere for my beloved animals.
5. People sometimes laugh at me when I Q-tip my ears because I always do both at the same time. I have to, otherwise one feels so jealous. Such a good feeling!!!
4. My dad, being the accountant penny-pincher type, has instilled this sort of deal finder gene in me. Sis got it too, maybe worse!!! I will shop around the mall for the best deal which drives my husband crazy. I love restaurant coupons, Dick's coupons, big sales, etc!!!! I do draw the line with grocery coupons though.
3. Huge, huge music fan. Always embarassingly rocking out in my car and pretty much anytime I do anything. Music must be loud for housecleaning. I spent over $70 at Best Buy just yesterday on CD's. Choices included the newest CD's Static X, Linkin Park, Nine Inch Nails, Saliva and Tim Armstrong. If only the new cd from The Used would have been there, I would have bought that too (darn, I really wanted that too)!
Quick music note on Tim Armstrong's A Poet's Life (from Amazon's Editorial Review): This began as a thank you from Tim to Rancid fans, to be released one track at a time on the Internet to tide fans over until the next Rancid full-length. But when KROQ in LA began heavily playing the explosive track, "Into Action", plans changed. So here's Armstrong's first solo release, backed by some of the strongest radio support since the days of "Time Bomb" and "Ruby Soho". With a killer old-school two-tone groove, helped along by Hellcat label mates The Aggrolites, "A Poet's Life" is loose, punky, infectious, and shamelessly danceable. Bonus DVD features videos of every song and a cool featurette on the making of the album and videos. From what I have heard, this sounds like a fantastic laid back summer CD!!! You can sample it here!!! http://www.amazon.com/Poets-Life-Tim-Armstrong/dp/B000OY8NEM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-4213706-2772922?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1180098577&sr=1-1
2. A few years ago I got my tongue pierced. It hurt so bad and proceeded to swell so big my tongue was fatter than the barbell ends and I could not eat very well for a week. During this time, I tried to hide it from my parents (even though I was 25 at the time). At the family gathering, I was so hungry and I got busted because I barely ate and was cutting my deviled egg up into the tiniest pieces just trying to get something into my hungry belly. Sis knew something was off and called me out. It always seemed to agitate me, but it hurt so much to get, that I kept it out of spite for 3 years before deciding I could not take it anymore! The husband still has his.
1. One time when I was probably about 7, I was sitting on our basement steps playing dollies with my sister. I kept scooting over to make room for all our dollies and I scooted to far and fell off the one of the top steps of the stairs. I managed to grab the railing and looked to my sis for help. She ran up the stairs screaming for mom and I fell. I landed on my head on the concrete basement floor and had a nice concussion. Does that explain it???
I will now tag TriShannon, Mallie, and Jen...
Your it.
My mind is already on vacation so I will just go with it!!
7. I loved sports throughout school. I loved volleyball, basketball, softball and track. Problem was that when I was a freshman I could not run track and play summer softball as high school softball was the same season. So I ran track my freshman year and had to switch to softball the last three because I missed it too much.
6. My bus driver used to say we should rename our road to Evans street because my entire dad's family lived on the same stretch of road by my grandparents farm. Growing up on a farm means lots of farm chores, kickball with all my cousins while doing hay, getting lost in swamps chasing cows and many hilly-billy sounding stories!!! And...I love cows! I used to have a collection of lots of cow stuff. Even as a kid when I was sleeping, all mom had to say was "Janet, Look at the cows!!" and I would instantly wake up and look around everywhere for my beloved animals.
5. People sometimes laugh at me when I Q-tip my ears because I always do both at the same time. I have to, otherwise one feels so jealous. Such a good feeling!!!
4. My dad, being the accountant penny-pincher type, has instilled this sort of deal finder gene in me. Sis got it too, maybe worse!!! I will shop around the mall for the best deal which drives my husband crazy. I love restaurant coupons, Dick's coupons, big sales, etc!!!! I do draw the line with grocery coupons though.
3. Huge, huge music fan. Always embarassingly rocking out in my car and pretty much anytime I do anything. Music must be loud for housecleaning. I spent over $70 at Best Buy just yesterday on CD's. Choices included the newest CD's Static X, Linkin Park, Nine Inch Nails, Saliva and Tim Armstrong. If only the new cd from The Used would have been there, I would have bought that too (darn, I really wanted that too)!
Quick music note on Tim Armstrong's A Poet's Life (from Amazon's Editorial Review): This began as a thank you from Tim to Rancid fans, to be released one track at a time on the Internet to tide fans over until the next Rancid full-length. But when KROQ in LA began heavily playing the explosive track, "Into Action", plans changed. So here's Armstrong's first solo release, backed by some of the strongest radio support since the days of "Time Bomb" and "Ruby Soho". With a killer old-school two-tone groove, helped along by Hellcat label mates The Aggrolites, "A Poet's Life" is loose, punky, infectious, and shamelessly danceable. Bonus DVD features videos of every song and a cool featurette on the making of the album and videos. From what I have heard, this sounds like a fantastic laid back summer CD!!! You can sample it here!!! http://www.amazon.com/Poets-Life-Tim-Armstrong/dp/B000OY8NEM/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-4213706-2772922?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1180098577&sr=1-1
2. A few years ago I got my tongue pierced. It hurt so bad and proceeded to swell so big my tongue was fatter than the barbell ends and I could not eat very well for a week. During this time, I tried to hide it from my parents (even though I was 25 at the time). At the family gathering, I was so hungry and I got busted because I barely ate and was cutting my deviled egg up into the tiniest pieces just trying to get something into my hungry belly. Sis knew something was off and called me out. It always seemed to agitate me, but it hurt so much to get, that I kept it out of spite for 3 years before deciding I could not take it anymore! The husband still has his.
1. One time when I was probably about 7, I was sitting on our basement steps playing dollies with my sister. I kept scooting over to make room for all our dollies and I scooted to far and fell off the one of the top steps of the stairs. I managed to grab the railing and looked to my sis for help. She ran up the stairs screaming for mom and I fell. I landed on my head on the concrete basement floor and had a nice concussion. Does that explain it???
I will now tag TriShannon, Mallie, and Jen...
Your it.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
So now what?
Well since the marathon the week has been busy getting ready for our trip departure THIS FRIDAY NIGHT!!! The plan is leave Friday after work in the van and trailer our motorcycles down to Joey's family's place in Ider, Alambama. Ider is on top of of a mountain about 15 minutes from both the Georgia and Tenessee state lines and is absolutely beautiful!
We will sleep for 4-5 hours and then hop on our motocycles to ride up through the Great Smoky mountains and Deals Gap, which rate among some of the most popular motorcycle roads in the country. His family will already be up in that area which is about 3 hours away riding horses up at Pigeon Forge, TN over the long Memorial Day weekend. We will be staying in a little cabin in Townsend, TN for the weekend with my husband's aunt, uncle, cousin and his wife. While they spend the days horseback riding, we will ride motorcycles and then regroup in the evenings for dinner and perhaps a dip in the hottub!!! Sounds like a weekend I can handle!!!
Then Monday we will all ride back down to Alabama to relax for the rest of the week by the lake where I will relax by the water. I see some fishing, jet-skiing, and a lot of swimming (in the lake pictured above) in my near future. The forecast looks beautiful and I am so ready for a vacation!!!!
So the next week will be another very light training week. This week I have took it very easy, resting Monday and Tuesday, went for a short 30 minute easy run Wednesday, did a easy 30 minute spin and a quick upper body workout. I may try to fit in another easy run or swim tomorrow AM and then after that, I will just be pretty flexible and fit in what I can while enjoying the getaway with my husband!!!
I will leave ya with a few afterthoughts from the marathon....
1) My feet have hurt the worst of any body part these last two marathons. I wonder if any amount of training would ever change that due to the fact that I seem to run on the balls of my feet so often.
2) Perhaps I could avoid blisters on my feet with some baby powder in my socks and I even heard to Body Glide the bottoms of my feet. Hmmmm....
3) Speaking of Body Glide, there is no pointing of stocking up on some, if you are going to forget to use it on race day. Yes, I don't know how I did this, but I guess there were other things on my mind. And I have so many random chaeffed spots!!!!
4) My husband was a pretty good pit crew for the marathon and I really appreciated his support although I am fairly certain it is not his thing.
5) Changing tents after marathons are genius!
6) The gel flask race belt idea thing totally did not work for me. The minute I started running it was bouncing around like crazy. Then, I still had trouble with getting the gu out of the flask. Perhaps it was the thick Powergel (even though) I had diluted it with water, but I think I will try something different next time around.
7) One of these marathons I will make it though without hitting the port-o-potty. I know I cut my stops down this time around by at least half, so that is progress!!!
8) My head must be insanely round or oddly because any sort of headband sort of thing no matter the type (rubberized, thick fabric, whatever) all falls off.
9) In the face of wind, tucking in behind someone makes a huge difference.
10) Someone to talk to and keep your mind off things, really is helps!!!
11) Although I don't think I have drank chocolate milk in 15 years, something made me grab it and it was the best tasting thing after a marathon!
12) SO much of the marathon is mental.
13) I can not say enough about having great training buddies to get to the marathon!
14) I don't think I like the chocolate Powergels anymore but I have a lot of them left in the case I bought.
15) Knowing you have trained properly is a huge mental boost!
16) Reaching your goal at the end of the day makes it all worth it!!!!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Cleveland Marathon Part II
At the half way point I was feeling fine and was doing a mental check of where I thought I might finish. I figured even if I faded, I should be able to keep around a 3:30 marathon time which would be just fantastic.
The scenery heading out east was pretty boring and there was not a lot of crowd support. Just before mile 14, I squeezed as much gel as I could out of my little flask which was not really cooperating and walked to get in some water. Mile 14 8:03.
Miles 15 through 18 just ticked away and I was just counting down the miles. I think back as being pretty bored during this time. The Ipod tunes were ones I had heard a million times and all I could think about was there was still a lot of road to go. 15-8:14, 16-8:11, 17-8:11
I started to really look forward to water stops as I was so thirsty and hot and I was looking forward to my 10-15 second walk breaks as I took in water. My feet were already just killing me (as usual in my long runs) because I run on the balls of my feet typically and they already felt pretty bruised.
Mile 18 8:20
I was happy to come around by Case and have some more enjoyable scenery and was starting to dread coming all the way back on Marginal against the wind.
Mile 19 8:46, Crap my pace is starting to slide and seven plus miles is going to be a long road back. I just kept thinking I can do this under and hour.
In my head I decided I was not going to push myself so hard to hit the 3:30 paces, that as long as I made sure I was on track to be under 3:40 I was very fine with that.
Mile 20 The stomach started acting up again and somewhere around Mile 20 / 21 I hit the port-o-potty again. Mile 20-8:51 Mile 21 -9:02
There was this van that must have made a wrong turn and decided to totally cut off one runner and to turn around right in front of us. The closest lady which he really affected smacked the van in dismay as myself and another guy both commented on what a jerk move that was. As if that lady was in need of another obstable this late in the course.
The miles now seemed to go by soooo slowly and the water stops seemed so far apart.
Upon heading back into town it was tough. I kept seeing folks taking walk breaks and I was yearning for one myself. The city looked so far away. My feet were killing me and the wind was so tough. A few times I would try to tuck in behind someone to shield me from the wind and it was amazing the difference I could feel. There were no spectators and a couple times down this stretch I let myself walk for 15-20 seconds knowing I had the time in the bank. The gel flask had me irritated as I really could not seem to get gel out which I attempted every time I was saw a water station ahead. Mile 22 must have included some walking as I was discouraged to see the mile split at 10:17.
That time was unacceptable and I was not going to miss my BQ goal so I tried to pick it up. "Gosh, why did I have to go and tell everyone that I was doing this and I was confident that I would qualify? If I fail, I will feel so stupid!!!" Must suck it up!!!!
There was a tall guy that I tucked in behind and pretended I had a rope connected between us. It helped some and hope he did not mind. I got excited to see friends LE and GH on the course cheering. A small mental boost such as seeing them meant so much at this point in the race. It is really too bad this long last stretch for the most part is so lonely and boring.
Mile 23 9:01. I was gaining strength as I knew I was coming into the city. I repeated the mantra I have used for in my training so many times and throughout this second half "Boston Baby!" I knew I had it in me to get there under 3:40. As we came around the stadium I saw Salty one and tried to manage a wave but I was so exhausted I am not sure it was much of one.
Then there was the uphill climb into town that we did at the 1.5 mile mark. Oh my goodness, it is sooo much harder now!!! I shortened my stride and ran up that hill just dying to get to the top. I hate this stupid climb that I have done in so many races! I think I hate it because it is usually near the end of a race when I am already tired. Being back in the city was a huge mental boost. I knew the last hill was over and there was again crowd support. Mile 24 9:33.
My feet were absolutely killing me (yes, this is all I could think about!) and I could not wait for the next water stop. At this point I was totally in get-to-the-friggin-finish-line-already mode and in usual Janet fashion, this is when I stop hitting the splits on my watch.
There was a water stop at 25 that I decided to skip as I knew I just had 1.2 miles to go. Only 1.2 miles to go, which felt like the longest 1.2 miles ever!!!
I kept thinking we should be getting there and making the turn in soon, but it seemed we ran down the street forever before making the turn to come back around towards the finish line. I desperately wanted to walk but my stubbornness pushed me on. I was so excited to see the finish line and as others around me started their final push, I picked up my pace as well. Final 2.2 miles 19:47
My official time was 3:38:32. (Second half 1:55 compared to first half 1:43--ouch!!)
I was so excited (and relieved) to have come in under 3:40. However as I started to walk, my breathing became extremely labored. I was wheezing so hard and could not catch my breathe. Volunteers were handing me water and a medal and all I could try to do was to try to catch my breathe. I shoved some stuff to my friend, Bob on the sidelines and continued to try to walk. Every step hurt so much. I even tried to talk to myself (as I remembered talking helped before) as I staggered around like a drunk around the finish area trying to recompose myself. A good three or so minutes later I finally was able to catch my breathe.
I grabbed a banana, a couple water bottles and a chocolate milk before heading out to the grass. I downed a water and then I drank the best tasting chocolate milk in the whole world. I kept trying to stretch as I drank as I kept getting horrible tight charlie horses randomly in the calves. After getting in some fluids and stretching I walked around to see a few other folks before heading back to the CTC drop site to sit down. I did not want to step on my feet anymore as I whinced in pain with every step.
I was so thankful that that Cleveland West Road Runners had a changing tent that I could use to put on some dry clothes as I was freezing. As I took off my socks I could see what part of my problem was...the pads on the balls of my feet were horribly blistered. I was so excited to see ESpeed at the end of the race with her positive energy. I had hoped she had been able to have a decent experience as well and when she energetically remarked that she had partied her way through the marathon, I knew all was good. She had another ugly blister on her foot too!
I had intended to stay down at the race longer to cheer on others but even though I was excited and happy, I really felt just too exhausted and sore to enjoy it.
So at the end of the day, even though I felt just totally drained, I was so excited to have scored the BQ and now I am just waiting for the pain to go away so I could get back there and pound the pavement again!!!! Time to make some Boston plans!
Monday, May 21, 2007
Cleveland Marathon Race Report
Pictures to come. I will spare you some of the icky ones that I could have took afterwards!!!
Race Prequel
I was pretty optimistic going into the weekend. I knew I had trained and tapered very closely to plan. Saturday I met MT and Espeed for some breakfast and race talk before we headed up to the expo. I was psyched that ESpeed had signed up to the the full mary and that I would have some company! After grabbing some goodies and a new sweet coat, I was off to go help my sis move. (Yup, so much for a nice relaxing day before the marathon).
I tried to take it easy moving things, but I could feel a little strain in my back and my legs were tired. As usual, things took longer than planned and finally my hubby and I rushed home to get in a late dinner. I had some ceasar salad, garlic dough balls, and penne pasta with marinara and mushrooms which was oh so good at Jimmy Dadonna's and headed home to pack up my stuff. I crawled into bed just after 10 and fell asleep without too much difficulty.
Race Day
I woke up at 4:45 AM and was ready to go. After my normal mini wheat bagel with some black raspberry jam, I was in the car rocking out with some tunes driving downtown. You know you are up too early on a weekend when the radiostation I like on Sirius still has the club dj spinning tunes b/c some people are still partying! Anyways, I found a sweet free parking spot close to the race finish and met up with Espeed and a bunch of other CTC, SERC and many others prior to the start.
As Espeed and I were feeling ready to go that morning we lined up close to the 3:30 pace group and planned to keep them in sight and stay steady around an even 8 min/mile pace. The temperature was pretty comfortable and although there was some wind, I was delighted that it was not raining!!!
The energy at the start was amazing. Espeed was hollering it up finding all the SERC girls at the start. With the announcements, we were off. As usual with all the people it was tough to get moving at planned race pace and we were OK with it. We were still just bouncing off the walls with all the excitement and taking in the crowd. Mile One - 8:28
Very early on in the race I had the realization that my gel flask on my race belt was never going to work as it was bouncing around like crazy, so I had to carry that. Thank goodness it was light. Later I found that my gel was so thick that it was a project and a half to get the gel out of the flask even though I had put a little water in it which I thought would solve the problem. I will do something different in the future about this!
The first little climb came about 1.5 miles in and with all of the excitement, it really seemed so minor. The second mile remained crowded and we were still totally psyched- 7:59
Mile three was out onto the highway. There was wind hitting your face and although I knew it would feel good to have at my back the middle of the race I knew it would be at my face the last long stretch. (not liking that notion!!!) Espeed and I were trying to reel in the 3:30 group which had gotten ahead due difficulty getting around the tight crowds 7:39
Some of the partipants were great. There was one guy who saw a bunch of kids lined up on the bridge who yelled, "Who has high fives?" and proceeded to high five all the smiling kids!! I would see him later in the race as his high energy must have waned as well.
The miles seemed as though they were flying by effortlessly and I passed Mile 4 to see a split of 6:57. Whoa, I don't think it felt that fast so I am assuming it was short.
Around mile 5 it started to sprinkle and Espeed told me she was thinking she was going to need to slow and for me to go ahead when we hit the 6+ mile water stop. I just wanted her to do whatever was going to work best for her as I felt confident I was on target for a strong race but I was going to miss her company. Mile 5- 7:58
Mile 6 had a bunch of great spectators sitting out in there lawns and lining up the streets. It really makes a huge difference! Espeed and I hit 6 at 7:46. With a parting cheer from Espeed, I was off to catch up to Kathy, one of the other SERC ladies in my sight. About this time I rolled though the water stop and saw TriSara handing out water and with a shout and a wave, I continued on.
Mile 7 I picked up the pace a bit to catch up to Kathy and now I had the wind to my back. 7:25, half of me thought that I really need to slow down as I was trying to run even 8's but the other pig-headed part of me thought maybe I just could hang on and have a really great race.
I was happy having someone alongside to talk to and the miles effortlessly came and went. About Mile 8, I thought I should take some water in as I had not yet had any at this point and I had to work a little to catch back up to Kathy. For me, it is still takes less effort to just walk the water stops so I can get in some water and then try to catch up vs. me trying to get it in on the run. Mile 8 7:31, still fast.
I seem to recall a few uphill grades on the way back on the boring highway and I had pretty much resolved myself to the fact that I better try to level off closer to 8's as I had a lot of race to go. I was chatting along and miles were flying by. Mile 9 - 8:03, Mile 10 7:58.
Around mile 10, I took my first gu and all was well. I had carefully planned out when I was taking my gels based on water stops and I thought I had it all figured out.
Mile 11, we were heading up the long bridge back into town. 7:59
Around mile 12 from out of nowhere I saw JT and I was so excited to her and her smile!!! With a few words as she jogged with me I continued on. By mile 12, I was trying to psych myself up to run the last half alone. I was looking forward to coming into town knowing my husband and friends would be there cheering. Mile 12 - 7:51
As Kathy made the turn to head into the half finish, I wished her well and continued on my way. I saw my friend Bob hollering and waved. Then I saw my husband taking a picture and holding my headphones out. Sweet, hopefully these are just what I needed to get me through. And as quickly as the crowds had come, they disappeared again and now it was just me and my headphones.
For a bit I kept them turned down and thought about starting up a conversation with some random person. I decided it was my race to run and I was going to go ahead and do this on my own now.
Now I will back up a bit....at the start of the race I decided that I really had to pee and I was awful nervous as I had not been able to go to the bathroom that morning. Well after mile 12, I saw a port-o-potty and decided I was just going to go ahead and go, more of preventative maintenance as things were feeling a little off. Mile 13 including stop 8:48.
I crossed the halfway point at 1:43:19 (~7:48 pace even including my little stop!) Now if only the second half was so easy!!!!
Race Prequel
I was pretty optimistic going into the weekend. I knew I had trained and tapered very closely to plan. Saturday I met MT and Espeed for some breakfast and race talk before we headed up to the expo. I was psyched that ESpeed had signed up to the the full mary and that I would have some company! After grabbing some goodies and a new sweet coat, I was off to go help my sis move. (Yup, so much for a nice relaxing day before the marathon).
I tried to take it easy moving things, but I could feel a little strain in my back and my legs were tired. As usual, things took longer than planned and finally my hubby and I rushed home to get in a late dinner. I had some ceasar salad, garlic dough balls, and penne pasta with marinara and mushrooms which was oh so good at Jimmy Dadonna's and headed home to pack up my stuff. I crawled into bed just after 10 and fell asleep without too much difficulty.
Race Day
I woke up at 4:45 AM and was ready to go. After my normal mini wheat bagel with some black raspberry jam, I was in the car rocking out with some tunes driving downtown. You know you are up too early on a weekend when the radiostation I like on Sirius still has the club dj spinning tunes b/c some people are still partying! Anyways, I found a sweet free parking spot close to the race finish and met up with Espeed and a bunch of other CTC, SERC and many others prior to the start.
As Espeed and I were feeling ready to go that morning we lined up close to the 3:30 pace group and planned to keep them in sight and stay steady around an even 8 min/mile pace. The temperature was pretty comfortable and although there was some wind, I was delighted that it was not raining!!!
The energy at the start was amazing. Espeed was hollering it up finding all the SERC girls at the start. With the announcements, we were off. As usual with all the people it was tough to get moving at planned race pace and we were OK with it. We were still just bouncing off the walls with all the excitement and taking in the crowd. Mile One - 8:28
Very early on in the race I had the realization that my gel flask on my race belt was never going to work as it was bouncing around like crazy, so I had to carry that. Thank goodness it was light. Later I found that my gel was so thick that it was a project and a half to get the gel out of the flask even though I had put a little water in it which I thought would solve the problem. I will do something different in the future about this!
The first little climb came about 1.5 miles in and with all of the excitement, it really seemed so minor. The second mile remained crowded and we were still totally psyched- 7:59
Mile three was out onto the highway. There was wind hitting your face and although I knew it would feel good to have at my back the middle of the race I knew it would be at my face the last long stretch. (not liking that notion!!!) Espeed and I were trying to reel in the 3:30 group which had gotten ahead due difficulty getting around the tight crowds 7:39
Some of the partipants were great. There was one guy who saw a bunch of kids lined up on the bridge who yelled, "Who has high fives?" and proceeded to high five all the smiling kids!! I would see him later in the race as his high energy must have waned as well.
The miles seemed as though they were flying by effortlessly and I passed Mile 4 to see a split of 6:57. Whoa, I don't think it felt that fast so I am assuming it was short.
Around mile 5 it started to sprinkle and Espeed told me she was thinking she was going to need to slow and for me to go ahead when we hit the 6+ mile water stop. I just wanted her to do whatever was going to work best for her as I felt confident I was on target for a strong race but I was going to miss her company. Mile 5- 7:58
Mile 6 had a bunch of great spectators sitting out in there lawns and lining up the streets. It really makes a huge difference! Espeed and I hit 6 at 7:46. With a parting cheer from Espeed, I was off to catch up to Kathy, one of the other SERC ladies in my sight. About this time I rolled though the water stop and saw TriSara handing out water and with a shout and a wave, I continued on.
Mile 7 I picked up the pace a bit to catch up to Kathy and now I had the wind to my back. 7:25, half of me thought that I really need to slow down as I was trying to run even 8's but the other pig-headed part of me thought maybe I just could hang on and have a really great race.
I was happy having someone alongside to talk to and the miles effortlessly came and went. About Mile 8, I thought I should take some water in as I had not yet had any at this point and I had to work a little to catch back up to Kathy. For me, it is still takes less effort to just walk the water stops so I can get in some water and then try to catch up vs. me trying to get it in on the run. Mile 8 7:31, still fast.
I seem to recall a few uphill grades on the way back on the boring highway and I had pretty much resolved myself to the fact that I better try to level off closer to 8's as I had a lot of race to go. I was chatting along and miles were flying by. Mile 9 - 8:03, Mile 10 7:58.
Around mile 10, I took my first gu and all was well. I had carefully planned out when I was taking my gels based on water stops and I thought I had it all figured out.
Mile 11, we were heading up the long bridge back into town. 7:59
Around mile 12 from out of nowhere I saw JT and I was so excited to her and her smile!!! With a few words as she jogged with me I continued on. By mile 12, I was trying to psych myself up to run the last half alone. I was looking forward to coming into town knowing my husband and friends would be there cheering. Mile 12 - 7:51
As Kathy made the turn to head into the half finish, I wished her well and continued on my way. I saw my friend Bob hollering and waved. Then I saw my husband taking a picture and holding my headphones out. Sweet, hopefully these are just what I needed to get me through. And as quickly as the crowds had come, they disappeared again and now it was just me and my headphones.
For a bit I kept them turned down and thought about starting up a conversation with some random person. I decided it was my race to run and I was going to go ahead and do this on my own now.
Now I will back up a bit....at the start of the race I decided that I really had to pee and I was awful nervous as I had not been able to go to the bathroom that morning. Well after mile 12, I saw a port-o-potty and decided I was just going to go ahead and go, more of preventative maintenance as things were feeling a little off. Mile 13 including stop 8:48.
I crossed the halfway point at 1:43:19 (~7:48 pace even including my little stop!) Now if only the second half was so easy!!!!
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