Well picking up from last week down in AL....
Mon 8/4 - 6 miles ran (more hills)
Tues 8/5 - 10 miles mtn biked at Pigeon Mtn in northern GA...this is not really true as probably at least half was hiking carrying the bike--Holy frickin tiring!
Wed 8/6 -off (car again!)
Thurs 8/7 - 6 mile run with the CJ and Salty
Fri 8/8 - 5 miles with 1 min strides at 6:22 pace~40 min (felt great like I was holding back but was not going to go any harder with looming half Sunday), core
Sat 8/9 off (expo)
Sunday 8/10-half iron-sorta! 15.5 miles ran (1.3 mile w/u, 1.2 M run 1, 13.1 m run 2), 56 miles biked
Totals
Ran 32.5
Biked 66 Miles
-----------------------
Moving on to the half iron....
Well the weekend was exhausting to say the least. Friday night hit I had put together a surprise 30th birthday party for the best sister a girl could ask for and crawled into bed after midnight. Saturday I got up, hit the GCT expo and had fun hanging at the Cleve Tri Club tent for a few hours chatting with other tri peeps. Then I headed home to get all my stuff ready which seemed to take forever. Gosh is packing for a run so much easier!!! I told my hubby I so wanted to have a good race as I was so sick of issues this year....maybe I jinxed myself right then!
Then I got dressed up to head out to a wedding reception about an hour away. The reception was one of the funnest I had been too and I was sad to drag my dancing husband out early but again by the time we made it home it was midnight and I knew the 4am wake-up alarm was going to feel early.
4AM--I dragged myself out of bed and was sooo tired. I loaded up the bike and I had parked my car opposite normal to load and when I left I was so tired I threw the car in reverse and nearly took out the car, bicycle and garage door right then and there. After smasking the gas and then the brakes I managed to stop in time to only give myself a small heart attack with a couple inches to spare. With that I was off to arrive at the race plenty early to get my premiere parking spot and rack position.
The morning was very cool for August so much so I was wishing I had pants on because I was cold. I headed to the restroom and was stressed wondering how rough the swim would be as it was so windy by the lake.
Then I heard to news the swim was cancelled by the coast guard. The swim was going to be replaced by a 1.2 mile run. Although I thought it was a bit of a bummer as I would not be able to compare last years time, I really did not care too much as now I may have a better shot at doing well....or so I thought!!!
As a precaution I hit my inhaler hoping to keep asthma issues at bay for the day. Then, Amie and I headed off for a warm-up run as we had about 20 minutes until 7:30 AM start. Yet after a jog and a pitstop we were face to face with a mob of runners heading at us. It did not take long to realize the race went off a few minutes early. That kind of stunk and I was wishing we would have got to the start a few minutes earlier but what can you do except get to the starting line and take out some frustration on the course.
Amie and I hit the start did a 180 and took off around 6:45 pace for the 1.2 mile first run and by the return were already passing some people who had probably a good 3-4 minute head start.
Into transition and with a quick change of shoes I was off running with my bike. I mounted and immediately the front tire seemed to be making a funny bump noise and 20 yards later I pulled over totally disappointed as I already knew what the problem was. Front flat tire. I started ripping into my tail pack to change the tire although as usual the more I hurry the slower I end up getting things done. Tire off, new tube on, inflate with CO2 cartridges. Then the tube looks like some deformed tube and now it is all streched out. Yeah, in my haste and stressed out state I forgot to put the tire on before inflating. Dumb move, as if I haven't had plenty of flat fixing practice already this year. Thankfully I had another tube but now I needed a pump as I was out of cartridges. A friend brought one over and could not get this pump to work as it was different than what I was used to. After a lot of struggling finally it was pumped up. I joked about wanting a do-over for this day already and seriously I was frustrated I just wanted to quit already. I was soooo far behind already.
Finally I was off on my bike to start the race. I was all by myself as the other riders had to have at least a 15-20 minute headstart. Not far down Heisley I heard the familiar holler of ESpeed driving the opposite way in her car and it made me smile to know that at least I had the support of my friends out there. I started hammering on the pedals for awhile and within 5 miles my lower back was killing me. I have no clue what that was about but I spent the remaining 50 having to stretch it out every now and then. I went through a lot of up and down spells where I would push for awhile trying to catch up and then some down times where I felt I was so far behind that there was no point. Pride kept me going and I did not want to be a quitter but I was just so darn frustrated. At one point I must have hit a bumpy stretch of road and I thought I had a flat rear tire and I pulled over to check. I think I subconciously wanted it to be flat as I was out of tubes and air and would have to quit. Yet it was fine and back on the road I went.
All the intersections had officers to let the bikes through. I came across one and thought a car was still coming and then I looked the other way and there was another car coming and noticed the officer just standing there like a deer caught in headlights. I looked at him trying to make sense of what was going on and he shouted at me like it like it was my fault, "I just can't make them stop" while at the same time it looked like a lackluster attempt on his behalf. Not sure why he was there then!!!! After a slowdown I made my way across. The steep hill felt nice and short and with the passing of every mile the thoughts of quitting slipped further away. At one point I grabbed a gatorade bottle to put in my cage by the downtube but it has been so long since I did that I forgot it did not fit. So there I am pedaling with a bottle half in, half out, hitting my right leg every pedal stroke. I could not pitch it by the rules but it was driving me insane. I was desperately hoping to find some spectators I could give it to and 5 miles later I tossed it to some volunteers. I can't tell ya how happy I was to get rid this bottle I never even drank from or really needed. 30 miles or so in I started to finally pass people. I was so glad not to be last anymore and it helped keep me in the game.
I was happy to get on to the last two short loops on Heisly road except for the road bumps which were killing my girlie parts if I forgot to stand up a bit. The balls of my feet were already feeling bruised from pushing on the pedals.
My back was so happy to get off the bike and onto the run. My heavy legs kept turning over and about a mile up the road I was happy to see my girls E and MT!!!! I was plugging along steady but still being so far behind I was not concerned with kicking it in to overdrive as I figured there was not much of a point. So I happily bantered with them for awhile. Let me tell ya when you are exhauseted, it is the little things like the people that mean everything to you, even if you are too tired to truly acknowledge them! I started walking water stops to give my feet a break and because I was sooo thirsty. I was running off the road as much as possible to give my feet so cushion but the pads on the balls of my feet were killing me!
I had a huge laugh as this crowd of spectatators must have said something to one racer which brought out a full moon for several steps. They must have said soemthing to the guy ahead of me too because I could see him shaking his head. As I approached I put up my had and with a smile said, "Don't even ask!" which brought out a good laugh. The aide stations were all full of awesome volunteers. The cool down guy at the Fleet Feet Station always made me smile and I was so happy to be nearing the finish. I just kept the pace pretty comfortable, content to finish!
I should also mention the wind was friggin brutal. The wind on several stretches of the bike course was incredibly grueling and on the run when you were on the path near the lake the wind was blowing the sand so hard it was flying all around in your face. Craziness!
Finally I reached the finish in 5:35:17 and sooo glad I stuck with it. The bummer is that really the only comparable time to last year would be the run as every other leg has an *. Clearly I am totally disappointed with the day. I guess at the end of the day I am glad it was just stupid things like missing the start and a flat rather than an injury or something wrong with me like my asthma which could be an issue that may impact future stuff, but I am sooo sick of the excuses and not performing up to potential. Oh well, no sense dwelling on it, just learn from it and move on. I am still perplexed as to when the tire actually went flat.
Maybe next race we can put it all together. I really had not put a lot of focused half iron training together for this event and at least I managed to pull it off without much difficulty.
Thanks so much to sooo many people yesterday. Mickey the RD for the countless hours in putting this race on, my girls for all their support (YOU ARE ALL THE BEST!!!), the spectators like BB that came out, my Team ER boys and the fantastic volunteers!!!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Mad Mountain Training!!!
Reporting live en route towards home from the south!!!
First the quick prior week rap up...
Following Sunday's 101.5 mile Sweet Corn Ride.
Mon 7/28-10 miles mountain biking at West Branch (my quads were not at all ready for this after Sunday!)
Tues 7/29-6 miles with Salty and E (hit the track for some 200's and 400)
Wed 7/30 --never got the workout in but did some heavy lifting moving a couch!!!
Thurs 7/31 -10 miles road bike with allanjel--work put the kabash on my planned long brick!
Fri 8/1 -off (in car!)
Sat 8/2 -20 miles mountain biked at Raccoon Mountain in Chattanooga TN
Sun 8/3 - 7 miles ran (HILLS!), ~1200 yd open water swim
Mon 8/4 - 6 miles ran (more hills)
Tues 8/5 - 10 miles mtn biked at Pigeon Mtn in northern GA...this is not really true as probably at least half was hiking carrying the bike--Holy frickin tiring!
Wed 8/6 -off (car again!)
So the quads have definitely been getting a workout. There are some crazy mountains and hills everywhere I was down south!
-----
After the long drive south we got in late Friday to my hubby's family in northern AL. After a good night's sleep we met some folks off the SORBA website for a group mtn bike ride at Raccoon Mtn. It was soooo awesome to have our own little guides and see just how wonderful these trails were! It was hot and humid but we had a blast!!!
Sunday and Monday were filled with trail running, swimming and lounging on my raft in the lake! We also snuck away for a dinner & a movie!
Tuesday we went to Pigeon Mtn with his aunt and uncle. They rode horses while we mountain biked the trails there. They had warned us they were some of the roughest trails in northern Georgia and they were right. They also were not lying that the first 3.5 miles were all uphill. I was not sure why I brought my bike instead of my hiking shoes! To top it all off, a bee stung me in the right butt cheek and again my skin is hot and swollen....and yes I have to sit on it all day today! I really should not complain as I was lucky not to see the long fat rattlesnake that scared the horses and my hubby's aunt and uncle. I think I might just have had a heart attack right then!
Now back to the real world and work tomorrow!!!!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Mad Monday Update 7.28
OK so it has been two weeks since the last one and I am scratching my head as to my exact mileage, but I think this is right
Monday 7/14 6 mile lunch run with Salty easy
Tuesday 7/15 20 mile bike with TR
Wednesday 7/16 3 mile treadmill, OBWO
Thursday 7/17 off
Friday 7/18 3.5 mile run with Matches
Saturday 7/19 31.2 Buckeye Trail Run
Sunday 7/20 Volunteered at Xterra -1 mile ran to car, 3.5 miles biked around
Run -44.5
Bike-23.5
Monday 7/21 Off due to bee sting
Tues 7/22 - 5.5 fairwell run to JP (we will miss our downtown running friend)
Wed 7/23 -5.5 mile run with E
Thurs 7/24 - 5 mile mtn bike (cut short due to hubby bike issues)
Friday 7/25 -off
Saturday -14 mile run with Bob(more asthma issues)
Sunday -101.5 miles biked (sweet corn ride)
Totals
Core-1
Ran-25
Biked 106.5 (road-101.5, mtn 5)
These weeks are a little low due to taper for BT 50 and recovery from BT 50. This week I would like to get in some quality training as I leave for vacation Friday and will come home to face GCT half iron (which I still need to sign up for).
Full details to come if I can ever find any time.
Tidbits--
-BT50K --thanks to all the volunteers and my running friends
-XterraOne-I had a blast volunteering and you can be sure this will be on my calendar in the future,(jury is still out but even the hubby might have got inspired)
& Aime kicked butt despit e being a new mountain biker
-Got stung by a bee Sunday at Xterra and had to deal with a severely swollen leg Sun-Thurs...think cankle fat roll thing from knee to arch--I HATE BEES!
-More trouble on long run with Bob and breathing....very humid Saturday
-Despite a bad start to the sweet corn ride, (our friend crashing and fracturing wrist...get well soon B!) the day turned out to be a nice ride. My legs never felt too tapped and I felt good the whole way while trying to ride strong the last 10 miles.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Holy hot humid clumsy day!
Warning not proof read or spell checked...but I am busy so deal with it!
Well I should have known this race was not going to go well. The night before I stayed up later than I wanted to as I searched for a misplaced id, credit card and money. Never did find it, which stressed me out as I wondered if it had blown out of my side pocket on the motorcycle. Who knows !!!
So race morning I woke and had to finish trying to remember what else I wanted to bring. I left the house still half asleep. I get about 2 miles from home and think, “How in the heck did I forget to brush my teeth?” Grrrr, I was to preoccupied with finding my ponytail holders which all seemed to be MIA. A couple miles later I realize I left my Fruit Punch Rockstar and snickers bar at home. I decide to drive to Gville to replace them at Speedway but no favorite drink there. (BUMMER DUDE> So off to meet Nathan at the turnpike rushing down the road to make up for my pitstop.
We stopped for a Boston store drop and headed to the start at Oak Grove in Brecksville. Lots and lots of running peeps there! It is truly amazing how friendly the ultra runners in NE Ohio are. I was feeling pretty revved up to go but wanted to make sure I did not go out to fast so I scooted back a bit at the start by my high school bud, Nathan.
It was going to be a hot one so I had opted for going as minimal as possible with all of my stuff. Sports bra over tank top, handheld over waste camelback. Now I usually detest the handheld but it really did not bother me to carry it as the day wore on (and let me tell ya I was sure thankful to have it) but I wonder if it contributed to my klutziness.
Not even a half mile into the race I tripped and fell down. I landed on my left knee and my hands/handheld. Now my knee already hurts and I have dirt everywhere…just great! Luckily some guy grabbed my arm and right away I was back on my feet. I was really wishing I had sweatbands or a bandana on my wrist to wipe sweat as my hands were so dirty to do it, despite my best efforts of wiping them off on my sweaty shorts.
Somehow within a mile or so I had separated from Nathan and his buddy Garreth. I just tried to run an even comfortable pace while walking hills. I was plugging along feeling pretty good and then I fell again. Just hands this time…nothing too terrible but I was starting to wonder what my problem was. I arrive to the aid station at mile 6 to hear Amie cheering at the top of her lungs for me (gotta love that spirit). With a quick bottle refill I was off.
Up the big hill after snowville and a few rocks and roots later I notice my shoes string is untied. As I am looking down to see my shoestring, I miss something on the ground and down I go again. Now on my butt after hitting both knees I sat there for a minute to tie my shoe and let the pain in my battered knees settle. At this point I have fallen three times and am probably not even 9 miles in. I am still in 4th overall female spot and was hoping to stay in the top 5 so onward I went.
Things were coming back together when I heard a familiar voice close behind, Nathan and Garreth had caught up and I was happy to have friends to run with. I was also happy to know Boston store was the next stop and I was looking forward to a bathroom stop to use and also rinse off some of the dirt.
BM and I started heading up the pavement to Pine Lane and in my head I kept thinking it was only 14 miles out to Pine Lane and was trying to figure out where we were going to get the extra miles in…sometimes thinking straight is hard when running I find! There was a group of girls that passed in this section and they all were chatting along looking very comfortable. At this point I was really starting to struggle. My breathing was becoming more and more labored and I started to wheez uncontrollably.
So I should back up. I have had a few stints with asthma-like issues over the last few years but for some reason this year it is becoming more common-place. It happened at Cleveland Mary and I could tell at Muddy Paws that my chest kept tightening up when I would try to speed up so I backed off. So I am out there now walking trying to catch my breath. Pine Lane seemed so far away and I was now getting passed left and right. I would run until my lungs said no and then I would walk until I caught my breath. The thing was even walking up the hills was overloading my system, given the humidity and temperature. Of all days not to bring my inhaler…IDIOT!
I hit Pine Lane absolutely defeated. I was wheezing horribly and could not talk as the saints (volunteers) filled up my water bottle. Then I spied the most uplifting sight. Garreth and Nathan were at Garreth’s wife’s SUV so I made my way over there happy to see my friends. After a bunch of wheezing I finally started having some water and some electrolyte pills as I contemplated quitting.
When the boys were ready to head out I decided to go back out too. Yet not even a half mile in I was gasping for air and started walking some more. This section was incredibly slow for me. I struggled to say anything as runners passed and was just disappointed with the way the whole thing was going. Sorry to anyone I did not say much too out on the trail. I tripped in the rooty section of Pine Lane and fell for the fourth time and hit both my knees which were both bleeding and hurt. I think I got really upset about this point and then my wheezing got even worse.
About this time Patty from my running club happened to be passing by. She walked with me and stuck by my side watching to make sure I was ok. I told her I would be fine and I would just walk when I got tired but she kept close to keep an eye on me. I can not tell you how much I appreciated just having her there through that rough spell.
FINALLY I made it back to Boston store and again I was ready to drop. I did not know who to tell and stood there in my daze trying to eat a quarter PBJ to no avail and just kept drinking water. I was at a loss as to what to do here. I was worried about how far it was to Snowville and that it was only getting hotter and my breathing would probably only get worse. All I could think was that there had to be others struggling as much as me and they would not quit and I have never quit a race so I started off towards Boston Mills on the road. I stopped and almost turned around as I already was breathing hard after 30 seconds. Yet, there were two guys ahead of me just walking. So I just kept walking forward. Only 11 more miles.
We fought to walk up the big hill. I was behind a guy with dark hair and mentally I just needed to have someone there although we did not talk. Up the hill and still walking and then he started to trot along as did I. Down the hill and some more uphill walking and he said he was sorry he was not talking but he was struggling and I said was I too so don’t worry about it. Up another hill and he offered to let me pass but I said I was operating under turtle strategy at this point. Slow and steady was good for me…it was just going to be an accomplishment to finish. Somewhere along the way we found the strength to start talking. His name was Mark and he had qualified for Boston and…..somewhere in this I must have let myself start to relax and I started to feel better. At one of the river crossings I ended up in front and started running and after awhile I let my new friend go after hearing him say he would see me at the end. Just having Mark around through this section was a true lifesaver for me and I needed that!
I now felt I could finish this darn thing and was starting to look forward to seeing friendly faces at Snowville. At Snowville they totally took care of me. Brian had stashed a Rockstar for me and they even had a delicious rainbow popsicle (MMMmmm!). Bridget took care of my water bottle and I was at ease for the first time in awhile and took my time to enjoy this break. I figured I had already been out there that long, what is a little more time?
With newfound energy I was off to finish the race. I started picking up the pace and looking forward to the finish…only 6 more miles. The hot sun was killer in the grassy open sections and I focused on watching my step. I actually started seeing some of the people that had passed me awhile back and it was good to see familiar faces again. Finally I made it back to Oak Grove after getting my second wind and finishing with a time of 6:45. THANK GOODNESS!! Wrap up later....
Well I should have known this race was not going to go well. The night before I stayed up later than I wanted to as I searched for a misplaced id, credit card and money. Never did find it, which stressed me out as I wondered if it had blown out of my side pocket on the motorcycle. Who knows !!!
So race morning I woke and had to finish trying to remember what else I wanted to bring. I left the house still half asleep. I get about 2 miles from home and think, “How in the heck did I forget to brush my teeth?” Grrrr, I was to preoccupied with finding my ponytail holders which all seemed to be MIA. A couple miles later I realize I left my Fruit Punch Rockstar and snickers bar at home.
We stopped for a Boston store drop and headed to the start at Oak Grove in Brecksville. Lots and lots of running peeps there! It is truly amazing how friendly the ultra runners in NE Ohio are. I was feeling pretty revved up to go but wanted to make sure I did not go out to fast so I scooted back a bit at the start by my high school bud, Nathan.
It was going to be a hot one so I had opted for going as minimal as possible with all of my stuff. Sports bra over tank top, handheld over waste camelback. Now I usually detest the handheld but it really did not bother me to carry it as the day wore on (and let me tell ya I was sure thankful to have it) but I wonder if it contributed to my klutziness.
Not even a half mile into the race I tripped and fell down. I landed on my left knee and my hands/handheld. Now my knee already hurts and I have dirt everywhere…just great! Luckily some guy grabbed my arm and right away I was back on my feet. I was really wishing I had sweatbands or a bandana on my wrist to wipe sweat as my hands were so dirty to do it, despite my best efforts of wiping them off on my sweaty shorts.
Somehow within a mile or so I had separated from Nathan and his buddy Garreth. I just tried to run an even comfortable pace while walking hills. I was plugging along feeling pretty good and then I fell again. Just hands this time…nothing too terrible but I was starting to wonder what my problem was. I arrive to the aid station at mile 6 to hear Amie cheering at the top of her lungs for me (gotta love that spirit). With a quick bottle refill I was off.
Up the big hill after snowville and a few rocks and roots later I notice my shoes string is untied. As I am looking down to see my shoestring, I miss something on the ground and down I go again. Now on my butt after hitting both knees I sat there for a minute to tie my shoe and let the pain in my battered knees settle. At this point I have fallen three times and am probably not even 9 miles in. I am still in 4th overall female spot and was hoping to stay in the top 5 so onward I went.
Things were coming back together when I heard a familiar voice close behind, Nathan and Garreth had caught up and I was happy to have friends to run with. I was also happy to know Boston store was the next stop and I was looking forward to a bathroom stop to use and also rinse off some of the dirt.
BM and I started heading up the pavement to Pine Lane and in my head I kept thinking it was only 14 miles out to Pine Lane and was trying to figure out where we were going to get the extra miles in…sometimes thinking straight is hard when running I find! There was a group of girls that passed in this section and they all were chatting along looking very comfortable. At this point I was really starting to struggle. My breathing was becoming more and more labored and I started to wheez uncontrollably.
So I should back up. I have had a few stints with asthma-like issues over the last few years but for some reason this year it is becoming more common-place. It happened at Cleveland Mary and I could tell at Muddy Paws that my chest kept tightening up when I would try to speed up so I backed off. So I am out there now walking trying to catch my breath. Pine Lane seemed so far away and I was now getting passed left and right. I would run until my lungs said no and then I would walk until I caught my breath. The thing was even walking up the hills was overloading my system, given the humidity and temperature. Of all days not to bring my inhaler…IDIOT!
I hit Pine Lane absolutely defeated. I was wheezing horribly and could not talk as the saints (volunteers) filled up my water bottle. Then I spied the most uplifting sight. Garreth and Nathan were at Garreth’s wife’s SUV so I made my way over there happy to see my friends. After a bunch of wheezing I finally started having some water and some electrolyte pills as I contemplated quitting.
When the boys were ready to head out I decided to go back out too. Yet not even a half mile in I was gasping for air and started walking some more. This section was incredibly slow for me. I struggled to say anything as runners passed and was just disappointed with the way the whole thing was going. Sorry to anyone I did not say much too out on the trail. I tripped in the rooty section of Pine Lane and fell for the fourth time and hit both my knees which were both bleeding and hurt. I think I got really upset about this point and then my wheezing got even worse.
About this time Patty from my running club happened to be passing by. She walked with me and stuck by my side watching to make sure I was ok. I told her I would be fine and I would just walk when I got tired but she kept close to keep an eye on me. I can not tell you how much I appreciated just having her there through that rough spell.
FINALLY I made it back to Boston store and again I was ready to drop. I did not know who to tell and stood there in my daze trying to eat a quarter PBJ to no avail and just kept drinking water. I was at a loss as to what to do here. I was worried about how far it was to Snowville and that it was only getting hotter and my breathing would probably only get worse. All I could think was that there had to be others struggling as much as me and they would not quit and I have never quit a race so I started off towards Boston Mills on the road. I stopped and almost turned around as I already was breathing hard after 30 seconds. Yet, there were two guys ahead of me just walking. So I just kept walking forward. Only 11 more miles.
We fought to walk up the big hill. I was behind a guy with dark hair and mentally I just needed to have someone there although we did not talk. Up the hill and still walking and then he started to trot along as did I. Down the hill and some more uphill walking and he said he was sorry he was not talking but he was struggling and I said was I too so don’t worry about it. Up another hill and he offered to let me pass but I said I was operating under turtle strategy at this point. Slow and steady was good for me…it was just going to be an accomplishment to finish. Somewhere along the way we found the strength to start talking. His name was Mark and he had qualified for Boston and…..somewhere in this I must have let myself start to relax and I started to feel better. At one of the river crossings I ended up in front and started running and after awhile I let my new friend go after hearing him say he would see me at the end. Just having Mark around through this section was a true lifesaver for me and I needed that!
I now felt I could finish this darn thing and was starting to look forward to seeing friendly faces at Snowville. At Snowville they totally took care of me. Brian had stashed a Rockstar for me and they even had a delicious rainbow popsicle (MMMmmm!). Bridget took care of my water bottle and I was at ease for the first time in awhile and took my time to enjoy this break. I figured I had already been out there that long, what is a little more time?
With newfound energy I was off to finish the race. I started picking up the pace and looking forward to the finish…only 6 more miles. The hot sun was killer in the grassy open sections and I focused on watching my step. I actually started seeing some of the people that had passed me awhile back and it was good to see familiar faces again. Finally I made it back to Oak Grove after getting my second wind and finishing with a time of 6:45. THANK GOODNESS!! Wrap up later....
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Mad Monday Update 7/14
M 7/7 AM -1550 yd swim in outdoor pool at JCC
noon-3 mile run (ladders), Upper Body Workout
PM-9 miles West Branch on Mountain Bike
T 7/8 noon- 6 mile run on treadmill---BORING!
W 7/9 noon-8.25 m run with E (400, 800, 800) HOT!
R 7/10 noon -5.75 m run with the gals!
eve-20 mile bike
F 7/11 62 mile bike ...first 42 miles I held my own well, then really felt like I was pushing way out of my comfort zone to keep up with GV & TR (crazy hardcore ironmen!) on the hills out by Brecksville and was quite tuckered out by the end
10 miles West Branch
Poor hubby went down & took a bad spill over a log pile and partially down the hill. He managed to get his leg caught between the handlebars and the frame. More carnage to both him and the bike--him, bruises and scrapes on the legs, Bike-tweaked his handlebars, bent his front rim
S 7/12 11.25 mile run-which included the Muddy Paws Trail Run
I had planned to run 15, but I knew my quads were wasted with my first step of the warm up. It was awesome to see so many doggies out at the race and it took all my self restraint not to let the lil kid in me walk around and try to pet all of them (well so I did rub a few heads!!!)
The first 3 miles I kept with Squirrel but every up and every down my quads screamed and finally I decided to ease off, after all I was planning to run this as a training run, not a race. It was humid and I was drenched and ready to call it a day at 5 miles (where we came around from loop one and half the racers were lucky to be done as they were doing the 5 mile race) with my wooped legs but pushed on. The second loop was definitely slower. I felt pretty good on the flats, but let me tell ya, there was not a lot of them! Finally the race was over and me and my dead legs were both glad to be done! Glad I toughed it out as by some miracle I still got a 2nd place AG award which was a choice of a bag or a shirt (SWEET!!!)
S 7/13 42 mile bike
6 mile run
Met BH and MN up at Mentor and we rode the GCT course before heading over to meet TZ for some miles. It was raining when we started and while I was dreading it, it ended up making for some comical relief as I doused BH the first half of the ride and she complained about me not having a fender. Later after it quit raining she was trying to hit all puddles to pay me back. It was a fun morning with lots of laughs and although my legs were not quite recovered from the prior 2 days, they were coming around and felt pretty good on the run.
Now this week I will be keeping everything easy and backing it down quite a bit to rest up for the 50K Saturday...!
Weekly Totals-
Swim -1550 Yards
Ran-40.25 Miles
Biked-143 Miles (124 road, 19 mountain bike trails)
Core -1 session
noon-3 mile run (ladders), Upper Body Workout
PM-9 miles West Branch on Mountain Bike
T 7/8 noon- 6 mile run on treadmill---BORING!
W 7/9 noon-8.25 m run with E (400, 800, 800) HOT!
R 7/10 noon -5.75 m run with the gals!
eve-20 mile bike
F 7/11 62 mile bike ...first 42 miles I held my own well, then really felt like I was pushing way out of my comfort zone to keep up with GV & TR (crazy hardcore ironmen!) on the hills out by Brecksville and was quite tuckered out by the end
10 miles West Branch
Poor hubby went down & took a bad spill over a log pile and partially down the hill. He managed to get his leg caught between the handlebars and the frame. More carnage to both him and the bike--him, bruises and scrapes on the legs, Bike-tweaked his handlebars, bent his front rim
S 7/12 11.25 mile run-which included the Muddy Paws Trail Run
I had planned to run 15, but I knew my quads were wasted with my first step of the warm up. It was awesome to see so many doggies out at the race and it took all my self restraint not to let the lil kid in me walk around and try to pet all of them (well so I did rub a few heads!!!)
The first 3 miles I kept with Squirrel but every up and every down my quads screamed and finally I decided to ease off, after all I was planning to run this as a training run, not a race. It was humid and I was drenched and ready to call it a day at 5 miles (where we came around from loop one and half the racers were lucky to be done as they were doing the 5 mile race) with my wooped legs but pushed on. The second loop was definitely slower. I felt pretty good on the flats, but let me tell ya, there was not a lot of them! Finally the race was over and me and my dead legs were both glad to be done! Glad I toughed it out as by some miracle I still got a 2nd place AG award which was a choice of a bag or a shirt (SWEET!!!)
S 7/13 42 mile bike
6 mile run
Met BH and MN up at Mentor and we rode the GCT course before heading over to meet TZ for some miles. It was raining when we started and while I was dreading it, it ended up making for some comical relief as I doused BH the first half of the ride and she complained about me not having a fender. Later after it quit raining she was trying to hit all puddles to pay me back. It was a fun morning with lots of laughs and although my legs were not quite recovered from the prior 2 days, they were coming around and felt pretty good on the run.
Now this week I will be keeping everything easy and backing it down quite a bit to rest up for the 50K Saturday...!
Weekly Totals-
Swim -1550 Yards
Ran-40.25 Miles
Biked-143 Miles (124 road, 19 mountain bike trails)
Core -1 session
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Just another busy Monday!!!!
Well folks last I left ya, I had just finished my morning outdoor swim of 1550 yds at the outdoor pool at the JCC.
It was a great way to start the day looking up at the blue sky while the sun rose as I breathed in the air! After a shower it was off to work for a few hours before sneaking away over to the gym.
I was flying solo on my lunch break so I decided to hop on the treadmill for a few ladders (6.5-7-7.5-8-8.5 and then back down on one minute increments). I only did 3 miles (24 min) but for some reason I have always found this workout to my liking. Now on to some upper body lifting. Assisted chin ups, bicep curls, hammer curls, skull crushers, dips, upright rows, shoulder presses, chest presses, pushups and then some abs. Another quick shower and back to work for a few more hours.
Upon arrival home I quickly changed my clothes and hopped into the car my hubby had packed up for our evening mountain biking trip to West Branch. We were meeting a guy, ED, who I graduated with who would give West Branck a go for his first time.
I looked at ED with his new Gary Fisher bike. Nice bike, but that was all he had.
Luckily I had an extra helmet in my car and told him he should wear it and luckily my husband had an extra water bottle that he shared with him. I think those two were lifesavers!!!
I still consider myself an ABSOLUTE trail newbie but here is some advice for anyone going out the first time.
1.) Wear a helmet
2.) Bring Water
3.) Gloves are nice
4.) Airring down the tires helps a lot in preventing tire slides on tree roots
5.) Using the front brake exclusively may be a bad idea
This was my 4th time out at West Branch.
The first time I was very scared. I tend to be a bit of a nervous nelly about some things and it took me over an hour before I felt at all OK.
The second time things started clicking a lot more.
The third time was OK, yet I was so exhausted before riding coupled with the fact that I was now clipped into my pedals (which got in my head bit) that it was just a so-so day.
Yet, last night things started to feel much more comfortable and flowed pretty smoothly. It was an absolute blast!
My hubby has come a long way but he seems to be incredibly destructive to both his bike and himself. So far in his 5 trips he has broke a spoke, a chain, his underseat bag (& lost stuff out of it subsequently), and even his one shoe's sole is ripped. His shins are constantly scabbed and bruised. Last night after blowing a tube, he got a bloody knee and a very bruised hand. So a new chain is on order and tonight we will be hitting a store for a few other replacement items.
When we got home from our escapades we noticed I had a flat on my road bike so we fixed that late last night (since I was supposed to ride first thing this AM) before I grabbed my third shower of the day. I was bummed when I went out to my car this morning to leave for my ride only to find my tire flat again....so much for my morning ride!
Monday, July 07, 2008
Mad Monday Update 7/7
Well hope all of you had a wonderful 4th! I did, thanks due in no small part to some fantastic weather!!!! YEAH!
So coming off last Sunday's 20 miler, the week went as such-
M 6/30 lunch-6 miles Ran at with downtown girls, short UBWO
T 7/1 6AM -20 Miles Biked (hills off River Rd)
lunch -6.5 miles Ran with E (hill repeats)
W 7/2 (Enjoying my sunshine!!) 8.5 Miles Ran lunch, 10 Miles Mtn Biked out at West Branch. It was Amie's first time and boy did we get a little muddy...so much so, that we went down to the lake so her bike could go swimmming to get some of the dirt off!
R 7/3 -Rest day...dead legs
F 7/4 -3 Miles Ran
S 7/5 -21 Miles Ran (4.5 on towpath, 16.5 on BT). Although I was tired I still managed the energy to play quite a bit of volleyball that day!
S 7/6- 80 Miles Biked with Cleveland Touring Club on Emerald Bracelet. Really felt good all day and enjoyed myself!
Weekly totals-
Ran - 45 Miles
Biked- 110 Miles (100 road, 10 mtn)
Swam -0
Core -1 short session
Random thoughts-
*Mtn Biking Miles on the trails should actually count 3 times with respect to the time it takes.
*Fell on the Buckeye Trail running for the second week in a row
*Between my trail running and mountain biking, I am always looking beat up!
*Got stung by a bee on the side of my right knee while cleaning gutters on the roof. It is red hard and swollen (still on Monday) and it hurt every right step of my 21 mile trail run.
*I am an itchy mess between poison ivy, mosquito bites (I must taste good cause bugs love me)and now the bee sting!
*Got called a party pooper for leaving July 5th bash early, but Sunday's ride easily made up for it!
Bonus--I got up today early for a 1550 yd swim in outdoor pool at the JCC. First swim in awhile, yet it was so awesome to just be outside doing it! Maybe I can make this a habit!
So coming off last Sunday's 20 miler, the week went as such-
M 6/30 lunch-6 miles Ran at with downtown girls, short UBWO
T 7/1 6AM -20 Miles Biked (hills off River Rd)
lunch -6.5 miles Ran with E (hill repeats)
W 7/2 (Enjoying my sunshine!!) 8.5 Miles Ran lunch, 10 Miles Mtn Biked out at West Branch. It was Amie's first time and boy did we get a little muddy...so much so, that we went down to the lake so her bike could go swimmming to get some of the dirt off!
R 7/3 -Rest day...dead legs
F 7/4 -3 Miles Ran
S 7/5 -21 Miles Ran (4.5 on towpath, 16.5 on BT). Although I was tired I still managed the energy to play quite a bit of volleyball that day!
S 7/6- 80 Miles Biked with Cleveland Touring Club on Emerald Bracelet. Really felt good all day and enjoyed myself!
Weekly totals-
Ran - 45 Miles
Biked- 110 Miles (100 road, 10 mtn)
Swam -0
Core -1 short session
Random thoughts-
*Mtn Biking Miles on the trails should actually count 3 times with respect to the time it takes.
*Fell on the Buckeye Trail running for the second week in a row
*Between my trail running and mountain biking, I am always looking beat up!
*Got stung by a bee on the side of my right knee while cleaning gutters on the roof. It is red hard and swollen (still on Monday) and it hurt every right step of my 21 mile trail run.
*I am an itchy mess between poison ivy, mosquito bites (I must taste good cause bugs love me)and now the bee sting!
*Got called a party pooper for leaving July 5th bash early, but Sunday's ride easily made up for it!
Bonus--I got up today early for a 1550 yd swim in outdoor pool at the JCC. First swim in awhile, yet it was so awesome to just be outside doing it! Maybe I can make this a habit!
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Please don't take my sunshine away...
For real, are we really going to get two days of glorius sunshine in a row???? Yipppeee!!!!
I am so sick of the rain and the muddy mess it is making of the trails!!
I am planning to take full advantage of today and get outside and enjoy today's sunshine before the rain returns tonight....will things ever get a chance to dry out???
Monday, June 30, 2008
Mad Monday Update 6/30/08
Well another week down and things are starting to feel like they are coming around a bit!
Monday 6/23 Rest
Tues 6/24 6AM -20 Miles Road Bike
lunch -6 miles Ran with the girls
6PM-30 Miles Mountain Biked on Road with Hubby
Wed 6/25 5 Mile Track w/o 1 mile repeats on treadmill...I hate these!
Thurs 6/26 7.75 Mile Run to Edgewater with E
Fri 6/27 AM 3.5 M Run ---feeling sore so kept it easy and short
PM 5 Miles Mountain Bike on Road before hubby tire blowout
Sat 6/28 15 Mile Mountain Bike on Road to Garrettsville Tractor Parade (This one deserves a post all on its own...gotta love the hillbilly town where my husband and I grew up! Let me tell ya how many times I shook my head as I watched the tractors roll down the town streets!)
Sunday 6/29 19.25 Mile Buckeye Trail Run--actuallu felt pretty good the whole way
Run 41.5 (finally over 40...now to keep moving up and not injured!
Bike 70 (20 road/50 mtn bike)
Pics from Run compliments of Chef Bill. It was quite a large group!
PS, can it quit raining already to dry out the muddy trails (for both mtn biking and running!)???
Monday 6/23 Rest
Tues 6/24 6AM -20 Miles Road Bike
lunch -6 miles Ran with the girls
6PM-30 Miles Mountain Biked on Road with Hubby
Wed 6/25 5 Mile Track w/o 1 mile repeats on treadmill...I hate these!
Thurs 6/26 7.75 Mile Run to Edgewater with E
Fri 6/27 AM 3.5 M Run ---feeling sore so kept it easy and short
PM 5 Miles Mountain Bike on Road before hubby tire blowout
Sat 6/28 15 Mile Mountain Bike on Road to Garrettsville Tractor Parade (This one deserves a post all on its own...gotta love the hillbilly town where my husband and I grew up! Let me tell ya how many times I shook my head as I watched the tractors roll down the town streets!)
Sunday 6/29 19.25 Mile Buckeye Trail Run--actuallu felt pretty good the whole way
Run 41.5 (finally over 40...now to keep moving up and not injured!
Bike 70 (20 road/50 mtn bike)
Pics from Run compliments of Chef Bill. It was quite a large group!
PS, can it quit raining already to dry out the muddy trails (for both mtn biking and running!)???
Monday, June 23, 2008
Mad Monday Update 6/23
After the 70 miles Sunday 6/15, my groin / hip flexor on my right side (which is my good side) was aggravated. So I kept things pretty easy M & T. I think when I try to attack hills on my road bike I really have a habit of pulling my pedals up pretty hard which causes my hip flexors to flare up.
So the week went as such.
M 6/16 6 Miles with the lunch girls
T 6/17 5.5 Miles with the Laura & friend (swarmed by muckleheads, one of which died in my sweaty sports bra-ewww!!!)
W 6/18 9 mile Run (1:14~8:14 pace)
R 6/19 30 Mile Road Bike Ride with allanjel AM, 9 mile Mountain Bike Ride at West Branch (2 hours)
F 6/20 14 mile Run (hot day about 5 PM and did and out and back from Mantua to Gville thinking I could hit the drinking fountain and take a gel at midpoint...but drinking fountain broken and that really bummed me out. Ughhh, guess I should have brought my own water.
S 6/21 5 mile road bike...testing out new tires (which somehow flatted twice overnight and before I took it out that day)
I had meant to do the Ohio City 5K that night but severe weather warnings were everywhere, so I decided to take it easy and get a nice dinner and to bed early for...
S 6/22 Summi Tri (400 yd swim~10 min with transition, 11ish mile bike(went wrong way and had to unclip and walk around gate gaining some extra mileage) ~37 min with transition, 5 K Run ~22ish) for a total of ~1:11.
My non-swimming butt still managed to nab first in my AG (which was the best I could do since I did not register as an elite. I am not sure where that put me overall among women. I actually felt pretty good and probably should have pushed a little harder than I did. My swim totally stunk (not a huge surprise since I have only swam about 1000 yards once a month). I really think that my time does not give e justice as I think I swam well over 400 yards with my zig-zagging!!!
All and all, it was fun to do a tri again. I only did one last year (GCT half). This race is well run (my off course jaunt that a group of us done was caused by a ranger that left post to let van in somewhere---only so much you can control) and it was so much fun to see so many familiar faces out there!!!
This week I want to focus on getting back to lengthening out the training sessions and adding some volume and focused training.
Totals
Ran-38 Miles
Biked-50 Miles (9 mtn, 41 road)
Swam-400 yds +++!
So the week went as such.
M 6/16 6 Miles with the lunch girls
T 6/17 5.5 Miles with the Laura & friend (swarmed by muckleheads, one of which died in my sweaty sports bra-ewww!!!)
W 6/18 9 mile Run (1:14~8:14 pace)
R 6/19 30 Mile Road Bike Ride with allanjel AM, 9 mile Mountain Bike Ride at West Branch (2 hours)
F 6/20 14 mile Run (hot day about 5 PM and did and out and back from Mantua to Gville thinking I could hit the drinking fountain and take a gel at midpoint...but drinking fountain broken and that really bummed me out. Ughhh, guess I should have brought my own water.
S 6/21 5 mile road bike...testing out new tires (which somehow flatted twice overnight and before I took it out that day)
I had meant to do the Ohio City 5K that night but severe weather warnings were everywhere, so I decided to take it easy and get a nice dinner and to bed early for...
S 6/22 Summi Tri (400 yd swim~10 min with transition, 11ish mile bike(went wrong way and had to unclip and walk around gate gaining some extra mileage) ~37 min with transition, 5 K Run ~22ish) for a total of ~1:11.
My non-swimming butt still managed to nab first in my AG (which was the best I could do since I did not register as an elite. I am not sure where that put me overall among women. I actually felt pretty good and probably should have pushed a little harder than I did. My swim totally stunk (not a huge surprise since I have only swam about 1000 yards once a month). I really think that my time does not give e justice as I think I swam well over 400 yards with my zig-zagging!!!
All and all, it was fun to do a tri again. I only did one last year (GCT half). This race is well run (my off course jaunt that a group of us done was caused by a ranger that left post to let van in somewhere---only so much you can control) and it was so much fun to see so many familiar faces out there!!!
This week I want to focus on getting back to lengthening out the training sessions and adding some volume and focused training.
Totals
Ran-38 Miles
Biked-50 Miles (9 mtn, 41 road)
Swam-400 yds +++!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Still here!!!
Well I have been slowly trying to unbury myself! Seems I have been spending so much time running around with a variety of things going on, time has just been at such a premium...which means blogging sits in the back seat!
In News-
On Sunday, June 8, Bill and I as Co-Directors along with the Cleveland Touring Club put on a capacity filled successful event, the Sunday in June Ride which had distances ranging from 25-100 miles! It was a scenic route out by my stomping grounds.
My husband bought a mountain bike about a month ago. We have been riding about 3 times a week together and so finally last week I broke down and got myself one too. It was time to upgrade the ole garage heavy model that had trouble shifting into the big chain ring!
Monday 6/9
noon 6 mile run
eve 13 miles on mtn bike with hubby on roads
Tues 6/10
14 mile mtn bike ride on roads with hubby
Wed 6/11 track workout~ 5 miles
Thursday
6 mile run with girls
11 mile mountain bike ride at West Branch which took about 2.5 hours
This was my first time on real trails. We went with CTC Xterra newbie group...really appreciated them showing my husband and I the ropes and waiting on our beginner behinds! First 30 minutes were a little scary. I have a whole new appreciation for this sport. Husband and I definitely broke our bodies and bikes in with scrapes, bruises and crashes, yet we managed to have a blast! Now to get better!
Friday
1000 yard swim
Saturday
13 mile trail run
Sunday
6 AM-46 miles on road bike with TR. Started at River Rd and had fun climbing up and down the hills off that road!
1 PM -24 miles on mountain bike with hubby
Totals
Swim-1000 yards (I know, not my thing!)
Biked-108 miles (46 road, 62 mtn bike)
Ran -30 miles (really need to get this higher asap)
In News-
On Sunday, June 8, Bill and I as Co-Directors along with the Cleveland Touring Club put on a capacity filled successful event, the Sunday in June Ride which had distances ranging from 25-100 miles! It was a scenic route out by my stomping grounds.
My husband bought a mountain bike about a month ago. We have been riding about 3 times a week together and so finally last week I broke down and got myself one too. It was time to upgrade the ole garage heavy model that had trouble shifting into the big chain ring!
Monday 6/9
noon 6 mile run
eve 13 miles on mtn bike with hubby on roads
Tues 6/10
14 mile mtn bike ride on roads with hubby
Wed 6/11 track workout~ 5 miles
Thursday
6 mile run with girls
11 mile mountain bike ride at West Branch which took about 2.5 hours
This was my first time on real trails. We went with CTC Xterra newbie group...really appreciated them showing my husband and I the ropes and waiting on our beginner behinds! First 30 minutes were a little scary. I have a whole new appreciation for this sport. Husband and I definitely broke our bodies and bikes in with scrapes, bruises and crashes, yet we managed to have a blast! Now to get better!
Friday
1000 yard swim
Saturday
13 mile trail run
Sunday
6 AM-46 miles on road bike with TR. Started at River Rd and had fun climbing up and down the hills off that road!
1 PM -24 miles on mountain bike with hubby
Totals
Swim-1000 yards (I know, not my thing!)
Biked-108 miles (46 road, 62 mtn bike)
Ran -30 miles (really need to get this higher asap)
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Closing the Book
So the more I think about Cleveland marathon, the more irks me!!! While all you worry warts out there can rest assured that I am taking it easy these two weeks, I feel like there is a fire lit under my butt to prove something now!!! So I am closing the book on that pathetic showing and looking forward.
Yet first let's note a few of the good things surrounding Cleveland marathon.
First and foremost-Time with Friends.
The day before I spent time with my ole college roomies and E during a run, the expo and lunch!
TriSaraTops and TriShannon
Trishannon, me and E!!!
Running into friends out on the course like GV here...not to mention all my peeps out there spectating! (I am actually hiding on the other side of him in the pic.)
-THE BEST CHEERLEADERS ON THE COURSE, E & A at my side!!!!
-Watching other friends putting forth some amazing efforts duing the day like my girl BH with us!!
-The rain ending and the sun coming out!!!
-The beer afterwards!
-The afterparty with with SERC buds!
At least it the weeekend had some real highlights, even if the result was not what I was looking for!
Yet first let's note a few of the good things surrounding Cleveland marathon.
First and foremost-Time with Friends.
The day before I spent time with my ole college roomies and E during a run, the expo and lunch!
TriSaraTops and TriShannon
Trishannon, me and E!!!
Running into friends out on the course like GV here...not to mention all my peeps out there spectating! (I am actually hiding on the other side of him in the pic.)
-THE BEST CHEERLEADERS ON THE COURSE, E & A at my side!!!!
-Watching other friends putting forth some amazing efforts duing the day like my girl BH with us!!
-The rain ending and the sun coming out!!!
-The beer afterwards!
-The afterparty with with SERC buds!
At least it the weeekend had some real highlights, even if the result was not what I was looking for!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Mad Monday 5/19
Monday 5/12 -noon-5 Mile Track Workout on treadmill, 2 mile warm up, 4-600's at 1:30 (max treadmill speed) short cool/down
- Evening weight training session with HPL ( a little less reps and lighter weights than normal
Tuesday 5/13 - 5 Mile recovery run with the girls at lunch
Wednesday 5/14 - 6 AM spin class at JCC, evening stretching session with HPL
Thursday 5/15 - 3 Mile Race Pace Run ~23.59
Friday 5/16 - Rest
Saturday 5/17 - 25ish??? min run with TriShannon, E, and TriSaratops
Sunday 5/18 - Ran 26.2 Miles
Totals-------
Core - 2 sessions
Bike-20 Miles
Run-42.2 Miles
- Evening weight training session with HPL ( a little less reps and lighter weights than normal
Tuesday 5/13 - 5 Mile recovery run with the girls at lunch
Wednesday 5/14 - 6 AM spin class at JCC, evening stretching session with HPL
Thursday 5/15 - 3 Mile Race Pace Run ~23.59
Friday 5/16 - Rest
Saturday 5/17 - 25ish??? min run with TriShannon, E, and TriSaratops
Sunday 5/18 - Ran 26.2 Miles
Totals-------
Core - 2 sessions
Bike-20 Miles
Run-42.2 Miles
Monday, May 19, 2008
Finishing what I started
Yeah, the marathon did not go at all as planned.
I was targetting 3:30 and was pretty to pace through 11. Then I lost some time in the with a bathroom stop and was already starting to feel a little off. I so wanted to just turn at the half course and call it a day!
When Elizabeth and Aimee picked me up at the half (~1:51), I changed my plan to target 3:40 as I was just not feeling very good.
As I approached mile 14, I glanced down at my HRM my HR was starting to really sky rocket. After reaching 180 I started walking and proceeded to wheez uncontrollably. It took forever to catch my breath and about this time, I decided my goals were out the window and I would have to take finishing as an accomplishment.
I mean if I was not going to PR or BQ, what is the difference of finishing in 4 hours vs. 4:30?
The rest of the day continued in this matter. It seemed any period of prolonged running resulted in HRs ranging from 170-185 when I would have to walk again. Thank goodness for Aimee and Elizabeth as they kept me going with fun chit chat while we pretended that I felt good for camera men!
I felt terrible. My stomach felt binded up and I thought I might hurl at any moment and my chest ached from the heart working so hard. I can't seem to put my finger on the problem.
Here is what I do know-
Contrary to my normal routine, I had taken two Excedrin pills which contain caffeine and two Immodium pills prior to my run. The week prior was insanely busy and stressful and I had not had a good nights sleep in 5 days. Plus I felt off on Saturday.
I feel pretty blah today and it seriously feels like my chest is still sore. At this point I am just looking forward to a couple weeks of downtime.
In the grand scheme of things I am obviously disappointed that I was so far from my goal, but in life things don't always go as planned. I will take some small comfort that I finished while feeling so crappy and heck at least I got in some extra girl time with my ladies! I am now just ready for some R&R the next 2 weeks or so!
I was targetting 3:30 and was pretty to pace through 11. Then I lost some time in the with a bathroom stop and was already starting to feel a little off. I so wanted to just turn at the half course and call it a day!
When Elizabeth and Aimee picked me up at the half (~1:51), I changed my plan to target 3:40 as I was just not feeling very good.
As I approached mile 14, I glanced down at my HRM my HR was starting to really sky rocket. After reaching 180 I started walking and proceeded to wheez uncontrollably. It took forever to catch my breath and about this time, I decided my goals were out the window and I would have to take finishing as an accomplishment.
I mean if I was not going to PR or BQ, what is the difference of finishing in 4 hours vs. 4:30?
The rest of the day continued in this matter. It seemed any period of prolonged running resulted in HRs ranging from 170-185 when I would have to walk again. Thank goodness for Aimee and Elizabeth as they kept me going with fun chit chat while we pretended that I felt good for camera men!
I felt terrible. My stomach felt binded up and I thought I might hurl at any moment and my chest ached from the heart working so hard. I can't seem to put my finger on the problem.
Here is what I do know-
Contrary to my normal routine, I had taken two Excedrin pills which contain caffeine and two Immodium pills prior to my run. The week prior was insanely busy and stressful and I had not had a good nights sleep in 5 days. Plus I felt off on Saturday.
I feel pretty blah today and it seriously feels like my chest is still sore. At this point I am just looking forward to a couple weeks of downtime.
In the grand scheme of things I am obviously disappointed that I was so far from my goal, but in life things don't always go as planned. I will take some small comfort that I finished while feeling so crappy and heck at least I got in some extra girl time with my ladies! I am now just ready for some R&R the next 2 weeks or so!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
A slip of the tongue!!!
Get your mind out of the gutter!!!
So I try not to swear.
However, when passion flies every now and then a flagrant word may spew out of my mouth.
So I just watched my beloved Cavs lose in game 5. On a side note they are to blame for me sleeping in and missing the swim I wanted to get in. Darn them for keeping me up late and getting me so worked up I could not fall right to sleep after already staying up past bedtime!!!!
I am laying in bed sulking the loss and I flip over to the news to catch the weather.
Fox was doing their 5 day forecast and there I saw it-Marathon Sunday's forecast.
And then it flew with emotion-
"F-ing BREEZY!!!"
I think the CAVS passion was carried over into the heat of this comment.
My husband, who sitting in bed surfing the net on the laptop, looked over at me and started laughing. "Did you just say F-ing Breezy?"
Caught red handed with my swear, I sheeplishly explain that I can deal with some light showers but what I really don't want is wind...especially coming back Marginal into town!
What can you do though? Hope the forecast changes and I get some friggin awesome weather, of course!!! If not, oh well, at least I got my secret weapons, E & A!!!!!
Monday, May 12, 2008
Mad Monday Update 5/12
Holy crap, is the Cleveland Marathon week already here???
Monday 5/5
- AM -2 Mile Run, 9.5 Miles Biked
- LUNCH- UBWO with E
Tuesday 5/6
- LUNCH-Track workout with E -6.7 Miles 6X400 repeats 1:28 dropping to 1:25 (I was totally sucking for air feeling out of shape!)
-EVE- Lower Body workout with Sean at HPL--squats and lunges galore (tail soreness kept getting worse through Thursday peak)
Wednesday 5/7
-5 Mile easy run with the girls-E, LP, JP
Thursday 5/8
-6 Mile Tempo Run 2 easy, 3 at 7 min mile, 1 easy. Between me having to go to the RR and my sore legs from HPL workout, I really struggled!
-EVE-Strectching session with HPL
Friday 5/9
-UBWO with Monica
-1000 yards swam
Sat 5/10
-10 Miles ran with TR and BB
Sun 5/11
Rest Day---Spent time with the mothers, saw Ironman, and played with the pug puppies Joey's aunt and gma got (I want one too!)!
Totals-
29.7 Ran
9.5 Biked
1000 yds swam
3 Strength, 1 stretch
Monday 5/5
- AM -2 Mile Run, 9.5 Miles Biked
- LUNCH- UBWO with E
Tuesday 5/6
- LUNCH-Track workout with E -6.7 Miles 6X400 repeats 1:28 dropping to 1:25 (I was totally sucking for air feeling out of shape!)
-EVE- Lower Body workout with Sean at HPL--squats and lunges galore (tail soreness kept getting worse through Thursday peak)
Wednesday 5/7
-5 Mile easy run with the girls-E, LP, JP
Thursday 5/8
-6 Mile Tempo Run 2 easy, 3 at 7 min mile, 1 easy. Between me having to go to the RR and my sore legs from HPL workout, I really struggled!
-EVE-Strectching session with HPL
Friday 5/9
-UBWO with Monica
-1000 yards swam
Sat 5/10
-10 Miles ran with TR and BB
Sun 5/11
Rest Day---Spent time with the mothers, saw Ironman, and played with the pug puppies Joey's aunt and gma got (I want one too!)!
Totals-
29.7 Ran
9.5 Biked
1000 yds swam
3 Strength, 1 stretch
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
The Doghouse
So Matches still has his mohawk as it has not yet grown out yet! (PIC NOT HIM, JUST WHERE HE IS IN MY BOOK AFTER LAST NIGHT!)
And last night about 4 AM, I am jolted awake by the loud thunderstorm crashing outside. I roll over hoping to go back to sleep when I hear the gate at the top of the stairs start banging.
You see we have these swinging cafe doors like a western saloon at the top of the stairs with a little clasp to keep the dog downstairs.
Yet lately he has learned that if he bangs and scratches hard enough, it will shake the hook right out of the clasp and whalla, time to eat Zippo the kitty's food! This just started this week and has now happended 4 times.
Well last night the banging was for quite another reason.
Scardy tough mohawk dog was so shaken from the storms that he wanted to come hang out with us. Despite my best efforts to coax him back downstairs it was not happening. I gave up, shut the door to our bedroom with Matches in there and went downstairs to go to the bathroom. Next it was my husbands turn as now he was awake.
He kicks Matches back downstairs and we go back to bed. A few frantic pawing moments 10 seconds later and he was back in the bedroom. My hubby and I looked at one another and I gave up and got up to shut the door to let Matches sleep in our room for the first time ever.
So after Matches quit panting and pacing so bad and settled down, I finally fell back to sleep. Like 15 minutes my alarm rang to get me up for spin class but I was now too tired to go.
I am blaming this one on my whoosy dog!!!! That mohawk did nothing to make you any tougher, you poser!
Now it is time to figure out a new way to keep the dog downstairs I suppose!
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
All wrapped up in one post!
OK folks I have been struggling with finding time for blogging so again, here is the short version so I can get back to the work I should be doing!
Delayed Mad Monday Update
Monday 4/28- 6 Mile run -46:59 in the rain
Tues 4/29- LBWO with HPL
Wed 4/30 (3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!)- 6 AM spin class, UBWO with MT
Thurs 5/1- Took Matches to park and ran intervals-5 Miles, Stretching with HPL
Friday 5/2 -7.75 Mile Run with E in thunderstorm, picture 2 very drowned rats
Saturday 5/3- Rest
Sunday 5/4 -Silver Springs Du -7 Miles Ran (2 5K's plus w/u), 18 Miles Biked
Weekly Totals
2 Strenth Training Sessions
36 Miles Biked
25.75 Miles Ran
Silver Springs Duathlon
WARNING--This is what you don't do!!!
The night before was the big wedding. Tons of family and friends. Everyone had a blast, as I knew we would. Yet I had more than my share of beers, shots and then Taco Bell.
Ahhh, yes, what could be a better idea after a lot of beers and a looming duathlon the next day???
Yeah, not so much...............
I woke up after a little sleep to drag my butt out of bed to the du. You see I really I had thought long and hard about not signing up, as I knew I would probably be hungover. I knew inevitably when you get these fun people together the night before at a wedding what was going to happen. Yet, for the Beast Series and for Team ER, I kind of felt obligated to participate, even if it meant not putting my best foot forward. And not being an A race on my schedule, I was going to party it up at the weddding!!!
With shades covering my blood shot eyes, I made my way to transition area and I think E knew immediately it had been a rough one (or one heck of a fun night, depending how you wana look at it).
So I haven't ate Taco Bell for like 2 years and for good reason!!!
So this is quite disgusting to me, even as I type this a few days later, but after all that drinking I managed to stuff down 2 cheesy gordita crunches and 3 soft tacos. The race was starting and even with my short warm-up I had not yet gone to the bathroom if you know what I mean....yeah, that means bad news bears.
With the horn we were off. Up hill the first mile and already the Taco Bell burps were starting. I just tried to keep myself dialed in and not get caught up in attempting to keep up with my girls E and A....like that could happen on this day anyway!!!
Around the 5K loop in 21:59 and into transition I went. After an ugly transition and taking forever to snap my helmet strap, I was off on to my bike. I played cat and mouse with one girl for awhile passing her for the final time about the half way point. I stayed about 200 yards behind one guy the majority of the ride. Up and down the hills I gulped the most quenching water of my life from my aerobottle as the alcohol gushed out of my pores as my speed ranged from 12-30. After 3 laps I pulled into the parking lot to see A heading out for her final run.
As I headed out of transition I saw E coming in on her bicycle. I was confused as to how she was behind me as I knew I did not pass her on the bike and she ran like the wind the first 5K. I exited transition behind one strong female cyclist who had passed me with about 3 miles to go, and I passed her right away. My heavy legs were not happy and neither was I, as I continued burping Taco Bell. The stomach was churning as I plodded along the first uphill mile. I knew E was going to catch me if I did not speed up, but not crapping my pants was higher on my priority list, so I kept myself in a maintainable range.
Just after mile 1, she passed me and said she had missed a turn on the bike course. Bummer for her, as she would have won! I wanted to tag along as she pulled away but I was afraid that pace might risk total taco bell meltdown, so I let her go. As I came around toward the finish line, you could hear A & E cheering me on like I was leading the olympics or something. What a way to finish the race!!!! My Team ER friends were also all on the sidelines cheering! Let me tell you how happy I was to cross that finish line!!! Heck, somehow I even manged to nab 3rd overall female (1:44:27), just behind my ladies A (1:41:56)& E(1:42:56).
Without further adieu, I was off to the bathroom. After hitting the bathroom and all that sweating out the poisons I felt like a new person! It was a gorgeous morning and I was glad I had sucked it up and came out to race after my fun night the evening before.
The whole morning was a blast (minus the hangover /taco bell issues) made possible by my two amigas, E & A (HOW FABULOUS THAT WE COULD CLEAN SWEEP THE PODIUM, if I am going to lose, I want it to be to them!!!), my CTC friends, my Team ER pals, the great RD and volunteers, and some nice weather!!!!
So next up is the big show at Cleveland. Have no fear friends, there will be no alcohol and no Taco Bell anywhere near that one (well maybe a little beer afterwards, but it is going to have to be at least another couple years before anymore Taco Bell!!!)
Delayed Mad Monday Update
Monday 4/28- 6 Mile run -46:59 in the rain
Tues 4/29- LBWO with HPL
Wed 4/30 (3 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!)- 6 AM spin class, UBWO with MT
Thurs 5/1- Took Matches to park and ran intervals-5 Miles, Stretching with HPL
Friday 5/2 -7.75 Mile Run with E in thunderstorm, picture 2 very drowned rats
Saturday 5/3- Rest
Sunday 5/4 -Silver Springs Du -7 Miles Ran (2 5K's plus w/u), 18 Miles Biked
Weekly Totals
2 Strenth Training Sessions
36 Miles Biked
25.75 Miles Ran
Silver Springs Duathlon
WARNING--This is what you don't do!!!
The night before was the big wedding. Tons of family and friends. Everyone had a blast, as I knew we would. Yet I had more than my share of beers, shots and then Taco Bell.
Ahhh, yes, what could be a better idea after a lot of beers and a looming duathlon the next day???
Yeah, not so much...............
I woke up after a little sleep to drag my butt out of bed to the du. You see I really I had thought long and hard about not signing up, as I knew I would probably be hungover. I knew inevitably when you get these fun people together the night before at a wedding what was going to happen. Yet, for the Beast Series and for Team ER, I kind of felt obligated to participate, even if it meant not putting my best foot forward. And not being an A race on my schedule, I was going to party it up at the weddding!!!
With shades covering my blood shot eyes, I made my way to transition area and I think E knew immediately it had been a rough one (or one heck of a fun night, depending how you wana look at it).
So I haven't ate Taco Bell for like 2 years and for good reason!!!
So this is quite disgusting to me, even as I type this a few days later, but after all that drinking I managed to stuff down 2 cheesy gordita crunches and 3 soft tacos. The race was starting and even with my short warm-up I had not yet gone to the bathroom if you know what I mean....yeah, that means bad news bears.
With the horn we were off. Up hill the first mile and already the Taco Bell burps were starting. I just tried to keep myself dialed in and not get caught up in attempting to keep up with my girls E and A....like that could happen on this day anyway!!!
Around the 5K loop in 21:59 and into transition I went. After an ugly transition and taking forever to snap my helmet strap, I was off on to my bike. I played cat and mouse with one girl for awhile passing her for the final time about the half way point. I stayed about 200 yards behind one guy the majority of the ride. Up and down the hills I gulped the most quenching water of my life from my aerobottle as the alcohol gushed out of my pores as my speed ranged from 12-30. After 3 laps I pulled into the parking lot to see A heading out for her final run.
As I headed out of transition I saw E coming in on her bicycle. I was confused as to how she was behind me as I knew I did not pass her on the bike and she ran like the wind the first 5K. I exited transition behind one strong female cyclist who had passed me with about 3 miles to go, and I passed her right away. My heavy legs were not happy and neither was I, as I continued burping Taco Bell. The stomach was churning as I plodded along the first uphill mile. I knew E was going to catch me if I did not speed up, but not crapping my pants was higher on my priority list, so I kept myself in a maintainable range.
Just after mile 1, she passed me and said she had missed a turn on the bike course. Bummer for her, as she would have won! I wanted to tag along as she pulled away but I was afraid that pace might risk total taco bell meltdown, so I let her go. As I came around toward the finish line, you could hear A & E cheering me on like I was leading the olympics or something. What a way to finish the race!!!! My Team ER friends were also all on the sidelines cheering! Let me tell you how happy I was to cross that finish line!!! Heck, somehow I even manged to nab 3rd overall female (1:44:27), just behind my ladies A (1:41:56)& E(1:42:56).
Without further adieu, I was off to the bathroom. After hitting the bathroom and all that sweating out the poisons I felt like a new person! It was a gorgeous morning and I was glad I had sucked it up and came out to race after my fun night the evening before.
The whole morning was a blast (minus the hangover /taco bell issues) made possible by my two amigas, E & A (HOW FABULOUS THAT WE COULD CLEAN SWEEP THE PODIUM, if I am going to lose, I want it to be to them!!!), my CTC friends, my Team ER pals, the great RD and volunteers, and some nice weather!!!!
So next up is the big show at Cleveland. Have no fear friends, there will be no alcohol and no Taco Bell anywhere near that one (well maybe a little beer afterwards, but it is going to have to be at least another couple years before anymore Taco Bell!!!)
Monday, April 28, 2008
Mad Monday Update 4/28
M 4/14 Track Workout-6 400's -5.5 Miles
T 4/15 Worked out with Sean from HPL (squats, lunges, etc)
W 4/16 4 mile-ish run with E to find Amtrak station
R 4/17 Stretching session with Sean from HPL (really was tight from Tuesday's session and it felt great!)
F 4/18 Rest-train ride
S 4/19- 5 miles, 5X100 strides
S 4/20- Approximately 3 Miles easy
Totals-
18.5 Miles Ran
1 weight training session
Good streching
--------------------------
M 4/21 Boston Mary
T 4/22 Rest - Train
W 4/23 5 Miles Ran, felt great and actually held back...only complaint, sore toenails
R 4/24 off---outside work!
F 4/25 1.5 Miles Treadmill, Upper Body Weight Training
S 4/26 Walked around Hocking Hills State Park with hubby~ 3 Miles
S 4/27 Off ---Rode motorcycles home from Hocking Hills
Totals-
32.7 Miles Ran
1 Weight training session
One week later and feeling totally back to normal and totally inspired to get back to training!!!!!!!!
T 4/15 Worked out with Sean from HPL (squats, lunges, etc)
W 4/16 4 mile-ish run with E to find Amtrak station
R 4/17 Stretching session with Sean from HPL (really was tight from Tuesday's session and it felt great!)
F 4/18 Rest-train ride
S 4/19- 5 miles, 5X100 strides
S 4/20- Approximately 3 Miles easy
Totals-
18.5 Miles Ran
1 weight training session
Good streching
--------------------------
M 4/21 Boston Mary
T 4/22 Rest - Train
W 4/23 5 Miles Ran, felt great and actually held back...only complaint, sore toenails
R 4/24 off---outside work!
F 4/25 1.5 Miles Treadmill, Upper Body Weight Training
S 4/26 Walked around Hocking Hills State Park with hubby~ 3 Miles
S 4/27 Off ---Rode motorcycles home from Hocking Hills
Totals-
32.7 Miles Ran
1 Weight training session
One week later and feeling totally back to normal and totally inspired to get back to training!!!!!!!!
Boston continued....
Why is it when you go away for a few days, everything else sort of stacks up on ya???
So here is the shortened version so can get it down before it gets skipped altogether.
Sunday, we awoke to watch the trials! They were oh-so-inspiring. I really was impressed with Maggie running in front for the majority of the race with such a commanding league. Yet on the last loop we watched, it was obvious Deana was closing in and in the end caught her! It was fun to cheer on the girls and every now and then, get a smile like one from the chick in the Running Fun outfit!
E and I headed over to meet blogger Kurt and his wife for lunch (very nice to meet both of you!). My butt waas dragging after my late night Saturday and then we made it back to the hotel with about an hour of downtime before heading out to our final run. After a shower, the ladies headed over to to our friend's house for a nice dinner and some awesome music with our Southeast Running Club peeps. It was the perfect relaxing evening before the big show!
After a rough night of sleep, I woke up ready to run my first Boston! For a 10:30 AM start, it is still amazing how early you got to get up to start the day. We were up at 5:25 and even though I was stoked about the day, I felt so tired that I was still in zombie mode until I started running.
Luckily as Katy and I headed to the drop, the sun poked out and the temps warmed up. I made the wise choice to not wear the arm warmers and sport some shades.
By the time we weaved through a million people on our way to the 15th corral, I had did an awful lot of walking and made it there with only 2 minutes to spare. Before I knew it we were off.
I was so excited as I watched the sea of people heading down the first hill.
The plan was to run a comfortable pace the whole way. Regardless of how I felt, I did not want to feel like I was pushing too hard as I really want to run Cleveland Marathon as my A race. I planned to run around 4 hours or 9 minute miles which I thought was feasibble taking in considerastion that I wanted to be careful to avoid injury and not leave too much at Boston that I should be saving for Cleveland.
Splits-
Mile 1- 8:45
Mile 2- 8:25
Mile 3- 8:33
Mile 4- 8:36
Mile 5- 8:52
Mile 6- 8:49
Mile 7 - 8:54 Already thinking my feet hurt and there is a long way to go! Gel #1
Mile 8- 9:05
Mile 9- 8:56
Mile 10-9:07
Mile 11-9:23
Mile 12-9:55 Cherry Flavor ice popsicle munching ensued!
Mile 13 9:31 Gel #2
Mile 14-9:54
Mile 15-10:02
Mile 16- 15:03 POP stop #1, lubed up
Mile 17- 10:38-Gel #3
Mile 18- 13:20 POP stop #2
Mile 19- 9:54
Mile 20- 11:04- Strawberry Flavor ice popsicle munching ensued!
Mile 21- 10:23
Mile 22- 9:49- Gel #4
Mile 23- 9:30
Mile 24- 9:58
Mile 25-9:48
Mile 26+.2- 11:05
Total time 4:17:44
In short, I felt great all day. After I got off pace at the POP stops, I decided I was not going to try to get back on pace but to keep runnning consistent race. I know the latter half of the race my pace seemed pretty even but I was definitely spending more time than nescessary walking through water stops. I was thirsty and really was not too worried about my time!
The worst part of the day were my bruised feet. I have been plagued for some time now with some random foot issue and I knew this would be my trouble spot. I really need to get in to see a podiatrist. Pain reliever around mile 11 seemed to help. It is like I have little pinhead bumps under my skin that start down under my pointer toe on both feet. No real issues with sore quads that most Boston runners get, perhaps it was just that I was running slower???
The best part of my day was definitely eating the flavor ices (THOSE PEOPLE GIVING THOSE OUT RULED--wink, wink to Cleveland watchers!!).
So here is the shortened version so can get it down before it gets skipped altogether.
Sunday, we awoke to watch the trials! They were oh-so-inspiring. I really was impressed with Maggie running in front for the majority of the race with such a commanding league. Yet on the last loop we watched, it was obvious Deana was closing in and in the end caught her! It was fun to cheer on the girls and every now and then, get a smile like one from the chick in the Running Fun outfit!
E and I headed over to meet blogger Kurt and his wife for lunch (very nice to meet both of you!). My butt waas dragging after my late night Saturday and then we made it back to the hotel with about an hour of downtime before heading out to our final run. After a shower, the ladies headed over to to our friend's house for a nice dinner and some awesome music with our Southeast Running Club peeps. It was the perfect relaxing evening before the big show!
After a rough night of sleep, I woke up ready to run my first Boston! For a 10:30 AM start, it is still amazing how early you got to get up to start the day. We were up at 5:25 and even though I was stoked about the day, I felt so tired that I was still in zombie mode until I started running.
Luckily as Katy and I headed to the drop, the sun poked out and the temps warmed up. I made the wise choice to not wear the arm warmers and sport some shades.
By the time we weaved through a million people on our way to the 15th corral, I had did an awful lot of walking and made it there with only 2 minutes to spare. Before I knew it we were off.
I was so excited as I watched the sea of people heading down the first hill.
The plan was to run a comfortable pace the whole way. Regardless of how I felt, I did not want to feel like I was pushing too hard as I really want to run Cleveland Marathon as my A race. I planned to run around 4 hours or 9 minute miles which I thought was feasibble taking in considerastion that I wanted to be careful to avoid injury and not leave too much at Boston that I should be saving for Cleveland.
Splits-
Mile 1- 8:45
Mile 2- 8:25
Mile 3- 8:33
Mile 4- 8:36
Mile 5- 8:52
Mile 6- 8:49
Mile 7 - 8:54 Already thinking my feet hurt and there is a long way to go! Gel #1
Mile 8- 9:05
Mile 9- 8:56
Mile 10-9:07
Mile 11-9:23
Mile 12-9:55 Cherry Flavor ice popsicle munching ensued!
Mile 13 9:31 Gel #2
Mile 14-9:54
Mile 15-10:02
Mile 16- 15:03 POP stop #1, lubed up
Mile 17- 10:38-Gel #3
Mile 18- 13:20 POP stop #2
Mile 19- 9:54
Mile 20- 11:04- Strawberry Flavor ice popsicle munching ensued!
Mile 21- 10:23
Mile 22- 9:49- Gel #4
Mile 23- 9:30
Mile 24- 9:58
Mile 25-9:48
Mile 26+.2- 11:05
Total time 4:17:44
In short, I felt great all day. After I got off pace at the POP stops, I decided I was not going to try to get back on pace but to keep runnning consistent race. I know the latter half of the race my pace seemed pretty even but I was definitely spending more time than nescessary walking through water stops. I was thirsty and really was not too worried about my time!
The worst part of the day were my bruised feet. I have been plagued for some time now with some random foot issue and I knew this would be my trouble spot. I really need to get in to see a podiatrist. Pain reliever around mile 11 seemed to help. It is like I have little pinhead bumps under my skin that start down under my pointer toe on both feet. No real issues with sore quads that most Boston runners get, perhaps it was just that I was running slower???
The best part of my day was definitely eating the flavor ices (THOSE PEOPLE GIVING THOSE OUT RULED--wink, wink to Cleveland watchers!!).
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
We interrupt this Boston report with an email from home!
Mr. Matches, my golden retriever sweeetie pie had got quite stinky and it was time for a bath. My hubby's mom, who breeds and shows goldens was nice enough to give him a bath and get him all trimmed up for us. Imagine my surprise when my husband sent me a picture of him while I was in Boston.
Apprently she thought it would be nice for Matches to get shorter hair for the summer and a new tough look. My mother in law must have got a good laugh doing this! Good thing her son and I (and hopefully Matches) all have a good sense of humor!!!
Apprently she thought it would be nice for Matches to get shorter hair for the summer and a new tough look. My mother in law must have got a good laugh doing this! Good thing her son and I (and hopefully Matches) all have a good sense of humor!!!
The Boston Experience
In a word, FANTASTIC!!!
Where to start???
So we arrived to Boston after our long train ride late Friday night to stay and finally meet the infamous Locked and Loaded, KIM! After some pizza, wine and talking we hit the hay for our big Saturday!
Saturday morning we awoke early, showered, grabbed a cab, dropped the bags by the hotel, hit Starbucks and was at the expo as it opened at 9 AM. The Boston Marathon expo was jam packed with cool stuff to see and I felt like a kid in the candy store that could not get enough. I purchased an Adidas Boston Marathon black jacket, a race belt with a pocket for my gels and when I thought I was done buying I found these insane arm warmers that I just had to have! They looked like full sleeve tattoos chalk full of colors, flowers and even some lucky dice! Yeah, they were pretty cool to say the least.
Us girls all took a moment to get our gait analyzed. Apparently I have a nice clean forward gait motion and I am a pronator. That was what I thought, but good to get it confirmed that stability shoes are the choice for me.
We cut the expo a bit short to head over to Legal Seafoods for lunch, ESpeed's pick for her "cornicopia" salad of flavors. I opted for a grilled shrimp ceasar salad and about 5 big glasses of water before we headed over for our duck tour.
Now I had heard the Duck tours were quite cheesy but I got to say I had a blast and laughed a ton while learning about the city. Captain Hardly Davidson who was hiding from a local scooter gang that had too many bake sales took us around the city and into the water. About the time my bladder was about to burst we made it back to Prudential center in time for a tiny bit of shopping. Then it was time to head up to the Charles River for a nice 5 mile run with 5-100 yard strides. About this time I decided I needed to definitely sit on my butt more as my feet were tired on the run from walking around so much!
We got back to the hotel, hopped in the hot tub briefly and then showered up for the evening fesitivities. We headed to Vinny T's with Southeast Running Club peeps for some Italian food which was quite good. Then Dawn and I headed out with a couple others for some drinks and finally drug our butts to bed about 1:30 AM.
First tiring day in the city down and two more to go!!! Next up Sunday's trials!! Lots of fun pics to come!!!
-------------
I know you are all wondering how my race went? The abbreviated version is just as planned. I had planned to take it all in and just have fun while trying not to beat myself up too bad so I can race at Cleveland in 4 weeks.
I went out faster than I wanted to and was consciously trying to hold back. Then at mile 11 I hit the port o potty which took forever. Picture 2 POP with 5 people waiting in line to go and everyone is taking their time crapping! So 5 or 6 minutes later I was out with the realization that my chaffing legs needed some vaseline. Over to the med tent for some of that. I gotta say I was in no real hurry. I thought about trying to make up the time. Then, decided who cares, letz just have fun!! I ran the miles comfortably and had another long POP stop. I smacked hands like crazy, took it all in, had a blast and felt good the whole way finishing in 4:17.
Where to start???
So we arrived to Boston after our long train ride late Friday night to stay and finally meet the infamous Locked and Loaded, KIM! After some pizza, wine and talking we hit the hay for our big Saturday!
Saturday morning we awoke early, showered, grabbed a cab, dropped the bags by the hotel, hit Starbucks and was at the expo as it opened at 9 AM. The Boston Marathon expo was jam packed with cool stuff to see and I felt like a kid in the candy store that could not get enough. I purchased an Adidas Boston Marathon black jacket, a race belt with a pocket for my gels and when I thought I was done buying I found these insane arm warmers that I just had to have! They looked like full sleeve tattoos chalk full of colors, flowers and even some lucky dice! Yeah, they were pretty cool to say the least.
Us girls all took a moment to get our gait analyzed. Apparently I have a nice clean forward gait motion and I am a pronator. That was what I thought, but good to get it confirmed that stability shoes are the choice for me.
We cut the expo a bit short to head over to Legal Seafoods for lunch, ESpeed's pick for her "cornicopia" salad of flavors. I opted for a grilled shrimp ceasar salad and about 5 big glasses of water before we headed over for our duck tour.
Now I had heard the Duck tours were quite cheesy but I got to say I had a blast and laughed a ton while learning about the city. Captain Hardly Davidson who was hiding from a local scooter gang that had too many bake sales took us around the city and into the water. About the time my bladder was about to burst we made it back to Prudential center in time for a tiny bit of shopping. Then it was time to head up to the Charles River for a nice 5 mile run with 5-100 yard strides. About this time I decided I needed to definitely sit on my butt more as my feet were tired on the run from walking around so much!
We got back to the hotel, hopped in the hot tub briefly and then showered up for the evening fesitivities. We headed to Vinny T's with Southeast Running Club peeps for some Italian food which was quite good. Then Dawn and I headed out with a couple others for some drinks and finally drug our butts to bed about 1:30 AM.
First tiring day in the city down and two more to go!!! Next up Sunday's trials!! Lots of fun pics to come!!!
-------------
I know you are all wondering how my race went? The abbreviated version is just as planned. I had planned to take it all in and just have fun while trying not to beat myself up too bad so I can race at Cleveland in 4 weeks.
I went out faster than I wanted to and was consciously trying to hold back. Then at mile 11 I hit the port o potty which took forever. Picture 2 POP with 5 people waiting in line to go and everyone is taking their time crapping! So 5 or 6 minutes later I was out with the realization that my chaffing legs needed some vaseline. Over to the med tent for some of that. I gotta say I was in no real hurry. I thought about trying to make up the time. Then, decided who cares, letz just have fun!! I ran the miles comfortably and had another long POP stop. I smacked hands like crazy, took it all in, had a blast and felt good the whole way finishing in 4:17.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Half way to Boston
Yep folks, the train is rolling and us chicks are already getting silly. Between some crazy random folks on the train, some nasty bathrooms, shady food and almost get exorcised....we may just get there yet!!!!
Stay tuned for this exciting adventure......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh and on the good chance that Elizabeth and Katy beat me marathon day, I will have you all know they did not win rummy!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
My road to Boston
OK so this is my first time so I can't help but to be really excited about it!
Here is a little history of my marathon progression....
1998 - Ran Columbus marathon in the fall of my senior year of college. This was particularily hard for me to fit in the training between trying to maintain decent grades, work about 15-20 hours a week, and keep to a very rigorous party schedule.
TriShannon and I trained countless hours together and when marathon day arrived, I felt strong and ready in my cotton race wear with no real nutrition strategy. I ran the first 18 with Shannon and then ran the last 8 alone feeling really strong the whole way. With a time of around 4:40, I decided this marathon stuff was not for me as it took too much training time.
Fast forward 8 years.
2006 - Ran Columbus marathon again. After a couple years of getting back into running and realizing I was already training so much I might as well attempt a marathon again, I was back for the challenge.
I ramped up my mileage way too fast and had bad IT band issues. To complicate matters my stomach gave me the bird race day and I made 5 miserable port o potty stops and felt like crap. Ran a disappointing 4:15.
2007 - Cleveland Marathon -I was ready to show Columbus that was not me that day. I trained hard alone on the treadmill forcing myself to keep up my paces repeating "Boston Baby" over and over in my head. I trained consistent with my girls E and MT through the winter and arrived at the starting line feeling strong. I ran the first half 1:43:19 and slacked up the second half knowing my goal was simlply the BQ. Crossed in 3:38:32, victorious in my goal!
Chicago Mary 2007-My 4th marthon ever. It was more of a bonus for me. I had a BQ in the bag and was there to support and run with my cousin, Ar. In the heat, my girl accomplished her goal with me at her side!
2008--The MASTA PLAN!
Enjoy Boston Mary 4/21, Race Cleveland 5/18
Injuries feeling better and training is coming along, but that does not mean let's run harder at Boston. It will be one long training run and the goal is not to kill myself at both races, but to save myself something for Cleveland (I gotta feeling I will need to keep telling myself that over and over again Monday). That said my plan is to run a comfortable pace at Boston somewhere probably around 4 hours, recover smart and run strong at Cleveland!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Mad Monday Update 4/14/08
Can Boston really only be a week away? It is close enough I can look up the extended forecast.
Apr 21 Monday -Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the mid 50s and lows in the mid 40s.
Now if only that was indeed the actual weather Monday, I think I will be very happy! I need to try out the skirt of my new Southeast Running Club outfit before then!
All and all, things all seem to be coming together on the running front which I am stoked about.
I am forcing myself to suck it up and mentally toughen up and stay on my paces when my body desperately wants to walk.
Monday 4/7 -4 Miles treadmill, 3 ladders (6.5-8.5), 3 alternating 2 min hard/easy 6/10mph)~33 minutes, core work
Tuesday 4/8 -8 mile general aerobic run with ESpeed 10*30 second strides. Gorgeous day and loop from downtown to Edgewater.
Wednesday 4/9- 3 miles easy on the treadmill, stretched good
Thursday 4/10 - 9 Mile "Track" workout - I went ahead and did the w/o on VR site after a 3.75 mile warm-up which included running to a local track with E and realizing the kids were on it, so we went back to the treadmills to git-er-done.
2 x 800 w/ 400 recoveries (ran at 9.8 ~6:07 pace)
2 x 800 w/ 200 recoveries (ran at 9.9 ~6:04 pace)
2 x 800 w/ 400 recoveries (ran at 10.0 ~6:00 pace)
1 x 1200 @ Goal Marathon Pace (ran at 7.9 ~7:36 pace)
Friday 4/11 - Moderate Spin -10.25 miles on recumbent bike with ladder program, level 10 - 30 min
Saturday - 12.33 mile run with Nathan. Felt good and strong the whole time
Sunday-Laid on couch nursing hangover...good thing I had planned it as an off day!
Apr 21 Monday -Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the mid 50s and lows in the mid 40s.
Now if only that was indeed the actual weather Monday, I think I will be very happy! I need to try out the skirt of my new Southeast Running Club outfit before then!
All and all, things all seem to be coming together on the running front which I am stoked about.
I am forcing myself to suck it up and mentally toughen up and stay on my paces when my body desperately wants to walk.
Monday 4/7 -4 Miles treadmill, 3 ladders (6.5-8.5), 3 alternating 2 min hard/easy 6/10mph)~33 minutes, core work
Tuesday 4/8 -8 mile general aerobic run with ESpeed 10*30 second strides. Gorgeous day and loop from downtown to Edgewater.
Wednesday 4/9- 3 miles easy on the treadmill, stretched good
Thursday 4/10 - 9 Mile "Track" workout - I went ahead and did the w/o on VR site after a 3.75 mile warm-up which included running to a local track with E and realizing the kids were on it, so we went back to the treadmills to git-er-done.
2 x 800 w/ 400 recoveries (ran at 9.8 ~6:07 pace)
2 x 800 w/ 200 recoveries (ran at 9.9 ~6:04 pace)
2 x 800 w/ 400 recoveries (ran at 10.0 ~6:00 pace)
1 x 1200 @ Goal Marathon Pace (ran at 7.9 ~7:36 pace)
Friday 4/11 - Moderate Spin -10.25 miles on recumbent bike with ladder program, level 10 - 30 min
Saturday - 12.33 mile run with Nathan. Felt good and strong the whole time
Sunday-Laid on couch nursing hangover...good thing I had planned it as an off day!
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Piece of sh!t car
Dear stupid car,
So you want to fight? Yeah so you thought it would be funny to leave the windshield wipers straight up saluting the sky not working the day we are trying to leave Ohio about a month ago for a week long vacation? You must have knew that part to fix you would not be in that day and you would not have to handle a 2000 mike drive. Very funny, but had a semi went by and buried us in slush and we could not see and crashed you, that would not have been very funny.
Maybe you are mad that my sister's husband backed into you two weeks ago and you had to spend several days in the shop for your hurt door. Poor baby, get over it. I was the one that had to scramble to find something else to drive!
And now this! That noice you started making was just abnoxious. Are you doing this just because my 80,000 mile warranty that I have blew through in 2.5 years is up already and you like to stress me out? I know you have become friends with the other cars at the dealership but now you are going to hang out there for at least another week and leave me high and dry again?
Car, that is it! I am done being friends with you! Get over your jealousy with my new redhead. The snow is coming back to town and I need you back to cart my butt all over the place!
Monday, April 07, 2008
Mad Monday Update 4/7/08
Alright short and sweet...if I try to get creative I won't take the time so without further adieu...
Monday 3/31 - off at Tribe Opener
Tues 4/1 - 6.5 Miles Treadmill, 800 and 400 repeats
Wed 4/2- 22 Miles Outside Bicycling!!!!! 1st time of the year!
Thurs 4/3 - off
Friday 4/4 - 7 Miles with Espeed on treadmill-59:30
Saturday 4/5 - 15.7 Miles Run with Nathan! Conquered a big climb early and a bunch of rollers! Managed to consistently drop pace the last several miles on Headwaters Trail and finished strong ~overall 8:45 pace
Sunday 4/6 - 40 Miles Bicycle with Cleveland Touring Club then followed up with incredibly long motorcycke ride (my poor lil bruised butt is mad at me!!!)
All and all, slowly getting back to feeling better....maybe it has something to do with the weather!
Totals
Ran -29.2 Miles
Biked - 62
Swam--Zilch...yeah, I know!
Core-Zilch!
Monday 3/31 - off at Tribe Opener
Tues 4/1 - 6.5 Miles Treadmill, 800 and 400 repeats
Wed 4/2- 22 Miles Outside Bicycling!!!!! 1st time of the year!
Thurs 4/3 - off
Friday 4/4 - 7 Miles with Espeed on treadmill-59:30
Saturday 4/5 - 15.7 Miles Run with Nathan! Conquered a big climb early and a bunch of rollers! Managed to consistently drop pace the last several miles on Headwaters Trail and finished strong ~overall 8:45 pace
Sunday 4/6 - 40 Miles Bicycle with Cleveland Touring Club then followed up with incredibly long motorcycke ride (my poor lil bruised butt is mad at me!!!)
All and all, slowly getting back to feeling better....maybe it has something to do with the weather!
Totals
Ran -29.2 Miles
Biked - 62
Swam--Zilch...yeah, I know!
Core-Zilch!
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Daisy got a Duc again!
When I started this blog I had a Ducati Monster 620 and played off my Duc for the blog name.
Last year I sold it in favor of my sport bike, a Triumph Daytona 675.
This year I decided to trade it in in to get a more comfortable bike with bags that I can more comfortably do longer rides with. I got me a wicked deal on this gorgeous Ducati ST3! The hubby also picked up a new motorcyle Saturday, a KTM 990 Adventurer, so he can go "adventuring." We must be excited as we spent the better part of Saturday on our new motorcyles. When we left it was 27 degrees and it warmed up to a balmy 35! I was warm except for my hands. Thankfully my handy hubby installed some heated grips yday so now I am pysched to try those out!
----------------------
Catching up, I have just been buried with work and in a state of blah with the cold weather, dealing with car repairs and frustration with trying to gain my fitness back. I am majorly looking forward to April with the Boston trip and a weekend away at Hocking Hills at the end of the month!
Two week rundown!
Oh I cannot wait this long to recap as I did not write everything down and now I am scratching my head!
So what I can remember for sure...I am definitely missing stuff but don't want to count what I am not certain of.
M 3/17 Lifted with E, Running Drills
T 3/18 Track workout, warmed up with E and Salty 12-400's on icy track 8.5 Miles
W 3/19 Went to JCC and worked out -???3
R 3/20 Ran 6 on treadmill
F 3/21 ?
S 3/22 Snowed in
S 3/23 Ran 17 miles with SERC
M 3/24 off
T 3/25 ?
W 3/26 1 hour trainer
R 3/27 5 Miles treadmill with BH, UBWO
F 3/28 20 min treadmill, 2.5 miles
S 3/29 Off---best laid plans tossed for motorcycle riding
S 3/30 19 Miles with VR on Boston Simulation course
M 3/31 Off- Home Opener ---WOOHOO Tribe!
T 4/1 6.5 Miles Treadmill, 800 and 400 repeats
Week One
Ran 31.5 Miles and ??
Week Two
Ran 27 Miles plus ??
Trainer
Lifted
So what I can remember for sure...I am definitely missing stuff but don't want to count what I am not certain of.
M 3/17 Lifted with E, Running Drills
T 3/18 Track workout, warmed up with E and Salty 12-400's on icy track 8.5 Miles
W 3/19 Went to JCC and worked out -???3
R 3/20 Ran 6 on treadmill
F 3/21 ?
S 3/22 Snowed in
S 3/23 Ran 17 miles with SERC
M 3/24 off
T 3/25 ?
W 3/26 1 hour trainer
R 3/27 5 Miles treadmill with BH, UBWO
F 3/28 20 min treadmill, 2.5 miles
S 3/29 Off---best laid plans tossed for motorcycle riding
S 3/30 19 Miles with VR on Boston Simulation course
M 3/31 Off- Home Opener ---WOOHOO Tribe!
T 4/1 6.5 Miles Treadmill, 800 and 400 repeats
Week One
Ran 31.5 Miles and ??
Week Two
Ran 27 Miles plus ??
Trainer
Lifted
Monday, March 17, 2008
2 Week Rundown
Well folks I am back from vacation. While the weather could have been better and our timing (as we left my husband's dad to do all the plowing ---woops!) we made the best of things.
I have been limping back into running again.
Following my week and a half off, I started into running the tail end of the week before we left and capped it off with Ytown half on 3/2.
Mon 3/3 - 8 Mile Recovery Run with ESpeed to Edgewater with 8*100M strides-9:17 pace. Is is bad when you have two stop in two random places to go to the bathroom on a short run?
Tues 3/4 - Packed, Lost Electric, No training
Wed 3/5 - Left for vacation and returned with broken wipers, left again and rode in car forever, ate fast food twice--ewww!
Thurs 3/6 -Went out for run but cut it short due to prior days fast food- 3 Miles, rode through trails with hubby on dirt bike & 4 wheeler
Friday 3/7 -shopped, went up to Chattanooga
Sat 3/8 -13 Mile run in AL, it snowed for the second time of the year there. It was in the 20's, snowing and windy. I WAS MISERABLE b/c I was underdressed and frozen to the bone in Alabama on vacation!!!!
Sun 3/9-Played outside
Mon 3/10 - Rode to Fort Walton Beach, drank at patio bars, ate steamed seafood basket-yum!
Tues 3/11 - Hit Gulferium, shopped
Wed 3/12- Drove 1001 miles, butt hurt
Home at last! Time to quit with all the southern foods and get my butt back to work!
Thurs 3/13- 6 Mile Run, 6X100 Meter Strides~50:30, lifted bi, tri, shoulders
Friday 3/14 - 5 Mile easy run ~45 Min
Sat 3/15- Saint Malachi Run 5 Miler, ran 6.5 incl 1.5 mile warm-up with Aimee. Time -37:46~7:33 pace.
Short story version. It is hard not to be disappointed after running 33:32 (6:43/M)last year. Yet, just coming back after several lackluster weeks, I need to build my aerobic capacity back up. Last year at this time I was injury free and building strong.
HOWEVER, what makes me feel better about this??? Beer with my pals of course!
I hit the race afterparty in the morning and then had a pretty big bash that night!
Somehow my liver survived after drinking until 2:30 AM and I got up at 7:25 AM to
Sun 3/16- Run 18 Miles at 8:50 pace with SERC peeps. Surpisingly, I felt pretty good and really enjoyed hot salt bath afterwards!
------------------------------------------------
Weekly Run Down Totals for week of 3/3-
Run-24 Miles
Weekly Run Down Totals for week of 3/10-
Run-35.5 Miles
----------------------------------------------------
So my training has been sporadic at best. I was trying to do Pfitzinger's Advancing Marathoning Plan. Yet, since my mileage is not where it needs to be and I don't want to subject my recovering piriformis and hip flexor to high mileage, I am switching back to Furman's First to the Finish Program. It worked pretty good for me last year, I think it makes sense for me right now. I will focus on the Cleveland marathon. Boston is only a training run and will not kill myself with any time goal.
I have been limping back into running again.
Following my week and a half off, I started into running the tail end of the week before we left and capped it off with Ytown half on 3/2.
Mon 3/3 - 8 Mile Recovery Run with ESpeed to Edgewater with 8*100M strides-9:17 pace. Is is bad when you have two stop in two random places to go to the bathroom on a short run?
Tues 3/4 - Packed, Lost Electric, No training
Wed 3/5 - Left for vacation and returned with broken wipers, left again and rode in car forever, ate fast food twice--ewww!
Thurs 3/6 -Went out for run but cut it short due to prior days fast food- 3 Miles, rode through trails with hubby on dirt bike & 4 wheeler
Friday 3/7 -shopped, went up to Chattanooga
Sat 3/8 -13 Mile run in AL, it snowed for the second time of the year there. It was in the 20's, snowing and windy. I WAS MISERABLE b/c I was underdressed and frozen to the bone in Alabama on vacation!!!!
Sun 3/9-Played outside
Mon 3/10 - Rode to Fort Walton Beach, drank at patio bars, ate steamed seafood basket-yum!
Tues 3/11 - Hit Gulferium, shopped
Wed 3/12- Drove 1001 miles, butt hurt
Home at last! Time to quit with all the southern foods and get my butt back to work!
Thurs 3/13- 6 Mile Run, 6X100 Meter Strides~50:30, lifted bi, tri, shoulders
Friday 3/14 - 5 Mile easy run ~45 Min
Sat 3/15- Saint Malachi Run 5 Miler, ran 6.5 incl 1.5 mile warm-up with Aimee. Time -37:46~7:33 pace.
Short story version. It is hard not to be disappointed after running 33:32 (6:43/M)last year. Yet, just coming back after several lackluster weeks, I need to build my aerobic capacity back up. Last year at this time I was injury free and building strong.
HOWEVER, what makes me feel better about this??? Beer with my pals of course!
I hit the race afterparty in the morning and then had a pretty big bash that night!
Somehow my liver survived after drinking until 2:30 AM and I got up at 7:25 AM to
Sun 3/16- Run 18 Miles at 8:50 pace with SERC peeps. Surpisingly, I felt pretty good and really enjoyed hot salt bath afterwards!
------------------------------------------------
Weekly Run Down Totals for week of 3/3-
Run-24 Miles
Weekly Run Down Totals for week of 3/10-
Run-35.5 Miles
----------------------------------------------------
So my training has been sporadic at best. I was trying to do Pfitzinger's Advancing Marathoning Plan. Yet, since my mileage is not where it needs to be and I don't want to subject my recovering piriformis and hip flexor to high mileage, I am switching back to Furman's First to the Finish Program. It worked pretty good for me last year, I think it makes sense for me right now. I will focus on the Cleveland marathon. Boston is only a training run and will not kill myself with any time goal.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Prelude to our escape
So awhile back my husband had asked if I minded a trip south to Alabama in March. He wanted to shoot some Championship State match in Birmingham. Being that I have drug him around to a few events with me, I figured I owed him. Not only that I was ready to get the heck out of the cold!!! I even managed to sucker him into a few days at Fort Walton Beach for me!
Now for those of you who may not know, we have not had the best of luck with vacations. The trip before last we spent more time on the road than where we went due to a vehicle breakdown and a whole assortment of issues. Yet, my plan was for this trip to go off issue free like last trip.
Yeah, not so much the case.
Tuesday Joey and I were trying to get everything ready for the trip. Some laundry, some packing, oil change, vacuum car, etc. I was really busy with work that day, even though I was working from home so time was at a premium. About 7 o clock we decided to go drop the dog off at Joey's mom. On our way, we realized just how incredibly icy it was out. Joey, who plows, decided he better go hit a few places to salt and I was stuck along for the ride. This was not helping out our schedule as we had not had dinner, still had more to pack and more laundry to do.
Just before 9 we made it home. As I was packing up the bathroom stuff, the lights started to flicker. Joey, my all-knowing husband, set out to find a flashlight and no sooner did he find one, our electric went out. So I finished up packing by flashlight, ate by candlelight and so much for the laundry.
Now we were planning to leave bright and early at 5AM. So I set the battery powered alarm and Joey and I discussed the plan. Do we leave if the power is still not on?? We decided we were getting out of this icy he!!.
Joey was a bit grumpy as we laid in bed as he had not showered. We were both hoping the power would come back on so we could shower before we left. Finally I drifted off to sleep only to be awoke about an hour later. Joey exclaimed something hit the housee. While we did not know it then, a huge tree limb, a good 10 inches in diameter came down on the back deck. I hear from the house sitter that it made a nice hole in it...GREAT!
I should back up now. Saturday we came home to a cold house. We were out of oil Not good, especially since I could not even call for more until Monday. Oil was finally delivered Tuesday morning and for the first time the house started to finally get warmer. It sure did not last long because not even 12 hours later, the house already was getting cold again.
After a cold night of sleep, we crawled out of bed to get on the 10 hour drive. We left just before 6 on the icy, snowy roads. The roads were not good and we were not driving the speed limit, but we were heading south to somewhere warmer!!! Woohoo!
Well that lasted for about an hour until my car's windshield wipers decided to quit straight up in the windsheild. Now the roads were covered in crap which meant our windshield was too. We managed to navigate over to the off ramp to check things out.
Upon inspection, these suckers were just not going to work, so we turned around to head directly to the car dealer by our house. It was an awful drive there. We could not see well with the windshield and I was totally on edge. We headed down ST RT 700 through Hiram, to Garrettsville. ODOT was cutting away trees from the road as they were down everywhere. Power lines were down at least evey mile down the road.
When we made it to the car lot, we found that it did not open until 8, so we had some time to kill and went for breakfast. This is the second time on vacation that we have waited for a car dealer to open!
Thankfully we know the dealer and owner well and he told the guys to do whatever they needed to do to get us on the road even if it meant taking the part off another car.
Joey's mom came to pick us up and we went home to her house to grab a shower. No sooner did we get done with our showers, and our luck rubbed off on her and she lost power.
Joey decided he might as well go plow since the snow had kept coming. The call from the dealer came in. Big shocker...they can't fix it with any parts within 100 miles. So no car until the next day. Now what???
Joey's mom came to the rescue and said we could take her car. So finally just before noon we took her car to the dealership and switched everything into her car and finally hit the road.
We drove pretty much all day. One thing for my work got revised, so I ended up having to redo all the work that I had did the past two days in the car on the way down. After awhile I would start to get a headache and would take periodic breaks.
I am still catching up on all the work and it is Friday and more keeps coming in...uggh!
Tomorrow's weather down here is supposed to be snowing and 32....not quite the weather my husband thought it would be for his match. Guess our luck followed us.
Well I will report back with some of the good highlights later, but for now I guess I still have more work to do. Rant over...
Now for those of you who may not know, we have not had the best of luck with vacations. The trip before last we spent more time on the road than where we went due to a vehicle breakdown and a whole assortment of issues. Yet, my plan was for this trip to go off issue free like last trip.
Yeah, not so much the case.
Tuesday Joey and I were trying to get everything ready for the trip. Some laundry, some packing, oil change, vacuum car, etc. I was really busy with work that day, even though I was working from home so time was at a premium. About 7 o clock we decided to go drop the dog off at Joey's mom. On our way, we realized just how incredibly icy it was out. Joey, who plows, decided he better go hit a few places to salt and I was stuck along for the ride. This was not helping out our schedule as we had not had dinner, still had more to pack and more laundry to do.
Just before 9 we made it home. As I was packing up the bathroom stuff, the lights started to flicker. Joey, my all-knowing husband, set out to find a flashlight and no sooner did he find one, our electric went out. So I finished up packing by flashlight, ate by candlelight and so much for the laundry.
Now we were planning to leave bright and early at 5AM. So I set the battery powered alarm and Joey and I discussed the plan. Do we leave if the power is still not on?? We decided we were getting out of this icy he!!.
Joey was a bit grumpy as we laid in bed as he had not showered. We were both hoping the power would come back on so we could shower before we left. Finally I drifted off to sleep only to be awoke about an hour later. Joey exclaimed something hit the housee. While we did not know it then, a huge tree limb, a good 10 inches in diameter came down on the back deck. I hear from the house sitter that it made a nice hole in it...GREAT!
I should back up now. Saturday we came home to a cold house. We were out of oil Not good, especially since I could not even call for more until Monday. Oil was finally delivered Tuesday morning and for the first time the house started to finally get warmer. It sure did not last long because not even 12 hours later, the house already was getting cold again.
After a cold night of sleep, we crawled out of bed to get on the 10 hour drive. We left just before 6 on the icy, snowy roads. The roads were not good and we were not driving the speed limit, but we were heading south to somewhere warmer!!! Woohoo!
Well that lasted for about an hour until my car's windshield wipers decided to quit straight up in the windsheild. Now the roads were covered in crap which meant our windshield was too. We managed to navigate over to the off ramp to check things out.
Upon inspection, these suckers were just not going to work, so we turned around to head directly to the car dealer by our house. It was an awful drive there. We could not see well with the windshield and I was totally on edge. We headed down ST RT 700 through Hiram, to Garrettsville. ODOT was cutting away trees from the road as they were down everywhere. Power lines were down at least evey mile down the road.
When we made it to the car lot, we found that it did not open until 8, so we had some time to kill and went for breakfast. This is the second time on vacation that we have waited for a car dealer to open!
Thankfully we know the dealer and owner well and he told the guys to do whatever they needed to do to get us on the road even if it meant taking the part off another car.
Joey's mom came to pick us up and we went home to her house to grab a shower. No sooner did we get done with our showers, and our luck rubbed off on her and she lost power.
Joey decided he might as well go plow since the snow had kept coming. The call from the dealer came in. Big shocker...they can't fix it with any parts within 100 miles. So no car until the next day. Now what???
Joey's mom came to the rescue and said we could take her car. So finally just before noon we took her car to the dealership and switched everything into her car and finally hit the road.
We drove pretty much all day. One thing for my work got revised, so I ended up having to redo all the work that I had did the past two days in the car on the way down. After awhile I would start to get a headache and would take periodic breaks.
I am still catching up on all the work and it is Friday and more keeps coming in...uggh!
Tomorrow's weather down here is supposed to be snowing and 32....not quite the weather my husband thought it would be for his match. Guess our luck followed us.
Well I will report back with some of the good highlights later, but for now I guess I still have more work to do. Rant over...
Mad Monday Update 3/2
So coming to you from vacation on Alabama....
Last week I just started easing back into running again.
Monday -Lifted Upper Body
Tues - off
Wednesday - 5 miles easy at JCC indoor track ~42:40
Thursday-Upper Body Workout with ESpeed
Friday-5.5 ish mile run with ESpeed outside
Saturday - off
Sunday -Ytown 1/2 marathon
Not a bad week back, but just easing back into things. My aerobic capacity seems a bit off. Hip flexor is feeling remarkably better. Piriformis still tender but not as bad as it was.
Last week I just started easing back into running again.
Monday -Lifted Upper Body
Tues - off
Wednesday - 5 miles easy at JCC indoor track ~42:40
Thursday-Upper Body Workout with ESpeed
Friday-5.5 ish mile run with ESpeed outside
Saturday - off
Sunday -Ytown 1/2 marathon
Not a bad week back, but just easing back into things. My aerobic capacity seems a bit off. Hip flexor is feeling remarkably better. Piriformis still tender but not as bad as it was.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Tagged
OK so I have two of these that I need to do-
First up, the tag by Mr. Skin about 7 Weird/Random Things-
1. My whole entire dad's side of the family lived on one stretch of road around the family farm. Consquently I have shoveled a lot of crap and put my hand on more rats gathering eggs than I ever care to think about! Most all my cousins were boys so we played a lot of kick ball and sis and I grew up as Tom boys.
2. I hate poison ivy. I used to always get into it growing up. I remember having it so bad in high scholl between my fingers that I would tape up my hand to try to play volleyball. I had it even worse another time, but I am not going there! My husband doesn't get it. He can weed the stuff and have no trouble. Yet I have got poison ivy from the oil on him.
3. My parents are thrifty and rarely throw things away. I think I am way better but sometimes I still have a hard time pitching stuff. This is especially the case with my clothes which leads to issues having enough closet space.
4. My sister was a class behind me in high school. We fought some over the years mainly about sharing clothes and bathroom space, but she has always been my best friend. We played all the same sports and did all the same stuff.
5. I was the salutatorian of my class but I almost failed out of college. Apparently Miami University's pre-med weed out program and me did not agree. So I followed my dad's footsteps and switched in businesss. Grades were much easier after that and I ended up doing a double major in Finance and Marketing and I use them both!
6. I love garlic. Before sports in high school we would always go for food after school, before the games. Sometimes garlic wings were my food of choice. Sweaty Janet was told by the coach to lay off the garlic before the games as I guess I smelled strong enough to keep vampires at bay!
7. I have a terrible habit of chewing my pens and pencils. I have had ink leak all over me way too many times for this reason. I just cannot seem to break myself of this habit. I chew a lot of gum to try to keep this in check. Just don't ask to borrow my writing utensil.
One down, Kim's to go another day.
First up, the tag by Mr. Skin about 7 Weird/Random Things-
1. My whole entire dad's side of the family lived on one stretch of road around the family farm. Consquently I have shoveled a lot of crap and put my hand on more rats gathering eggs than I ever care to think about! Most all my cousins were boys so we played a lot of kick ball and sis and I grew up as Tom boys.
2. I hate poison ivy. I used to always get into it growing up. I remember having it so bad in high scholl between my fingers that I would tape up my hand to try to play volleyball. I had it even worse another time, but I am not going there! My husband doesn't get it. He can weed the stuff and have no trouble. Yet I have got poison ivy from the oil on him.
3. My parents are thrifty and rarely throw things away. I think I am way better but sometimes I still have a hard time pitching stuff. This is especially the case with my clothes which leads to issues having enough closet space.
4. My sister was a class behind me in high school. We fought some over the years mainly about sharing clothes and bathroom space, but she has always been my best friend. We played all the same sports and did all the same stuff.
5. I was the salutatorian of my class but I almost failed out of college. Apparently Miami University's pre-med weed out program and me did not agree. So I followed my dad's footsteps and switched in businesss. Grades were much easier after that and I ended up doing a double major in Finance and Marketing and I use them both!
6. I love garlic. Before sports in high school we would always go for food after school, before the games. Sometimes garlic wings were my food of choice. Sweaty Janet was told by the coach to lay off the garlic before the games as I guess I smelled strong enough to keep vampires at bay!
7. I have a terrible habit of chewing my pens and pencils. I have had ink leak all over me way too many times for this reason. I just cannot seem to break myself of this habit. I chew a lot of gum to try to keep this in check. Just don't ask to borrow my writing utensil.
One down, Kim's to go another day.
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