Where do my clothes go??

OK so I have been searching endlessly for my favorite running coat for a month now. I have tore apart everything this week I realized that it might have took my CTC jersey with it too.

...Maybe I changed after some race or run and forgot my stinky bag.

...Maybe it is hiding in my closet or house.

...Maybe it decided it was so stinky that it was time to disappear.

....Maybe I just have too many clothes. But as soon as I get rid of something I suddenly decide that I need it. I turned a whole bedroom into a closet at my house and come next winter, it will be a bathroom... so it is definitely time to downsize. I think I may need to have a clothing purging party.

My husband complained today that while he was ironing he stepped on something wet on the floor (I knew b/c I stepped on them this morning too...ewww!). I laughed as I said it was just yesterday's running clothes and that I got some more wet ones in my bag to dump out when I get home.

I just need to get a better system someday with my wet, stinky, training clothes! Yet...wet stinky clothes = good, hard workouts!!!!!

Getting Crazier!!!

OK so after some debating about what to do about my 20 miler, I decided that was what was going to take priority for the weekend.

Thursday , I emailed Mel to see if she would be up for a Saturday run and then Thursday night at the running club ladies Boston send off party (GO BOSTON PEOPLE!), I talked to Liz about the possiblility of squeezing in a 20 miler Saturday. Well, Liz's family was in town so her only option was super early Saturday morning. I am all for company so I decided I could handle that and told her I would be willing to start as early as she needed. So then Friday, Mel emailed, and I could not believe she too agreed to meet at that early hour for a 20 mile run.

So the three of us planned to meet at 5:20 AM Saturday morning to run a hilly 20 miler. I think my husband thought I had lost my mind when I told that I was meeting at that hour on the weekend for a run. He proceeded to go on that the craziest thing was that I even had two other crazy people meeting me at that hour. Aghhh, these are the runs that you remember and are a little special, in my opinion though!

So hopped out of bed rather easily that morning just after 4 and headed off to Bedford. Actually Mel and I were a little late as I was a bit off on where we were starting, but after some phone calls we found the right place. Thank goodness for cell phones!!!

Liz had a headlamp and I had a little flashlight that lit the way as we took off on a metropark trail. The course started off with a nice long climb. We started out in Bedford and ran out towards the S. Chagrin reservation and then headed back the same way. The funny thing is that when it is dark, you can feel yourself working harder, but you definitely don't realize how rolling a course is until it is light out....and there were a lot more rollers on the way back that I had not noticed on the way out!

The morning was really a perfect one for a run and Liz and I were both stripping our coat off before we got too far along. Before long, the sun had risen and we were done with our run.

This was 20 miler number three in my FIRST training and I am happy to say they are continuing to go well. I attribute so much of this to my company. This run was not one of the faster 20 milers (and my watch kept messing up which may have been a good thing!!!) but it was easily the hilliest. I also will admit that I kind of enjoyed starting the long run earlier as not only was it gorgeous, but I also had a nice long Saturday morning which consisted of other activities besides running.

----------------
Duathlon update
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The duathlon scheduled for Sunday was postponed for two weeks given the weather. I saw the notice on the race website, got an email, saw a post from the NCN Race Director on the Clev Tri Club site and then even got a call from the Race Director who was personally calling everyone. Talk about going above and beyond!!!

Honestly I was thrilled at the news. It snowed over night Saturday and was sleeting, windy, and very cold on Sunday. I would have froze my butt off and there was no way I wanted any part of riding a bike outside in those conditions! So everything worked out perfectly! Now we just need the weather to turn around!!!

Scheduling Issues

Sunday 4/15/07 Forecast -

Rain to SnowHi 42ºF, 6ºC Lo 34ºF, 1ºC

Sounds lovely for the first du of the season, doesn't it???

OK, forgive me but I am set to continue my rant about my distaste for our current weather....

Awhile ago I signed up for the Hinckley duathlon but now the weather is going to be so crappy that I am not looking forward to it only on account of the weather. Regardless, I committed to the event and it is one of the events my team is supporting, so I will do it! BUT, why must the weather forecast be so crappy. I can handle running in this but I hate biking in this!!!!

On the other front,I have been going forward back and forth all week on where to fit in my 20 miler on the schedule. I can't do it Sunday because of the du. I want to do it Saturday as I could probably have company. However, clearly if I do a 20 miler Saturday, I will be less than fresh for the du. Does it matter??? I donno how strongly I feel about it.

The trouble is that A: I really don't want to do 20 alone. B: With my work schedule and daylight hours it is pretty much impossible to fit in 20 on a week day.

So I guess my options are Saturday and be tired for the du or split it up on a weekday and do it alone :-( Not feeling like there is a great option here. Any thoughts???

PS I have decided for long runs sake, Saturday races are ideal for me right now.

PSS I have been stretching the booty and it is feeling better!!

PSSS I want warm sunny weather already! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, WHY DO I SEE SNOW IN THE FORECAST FOR TODAY, TOMORROW, SATURDAY & SUNDAY??? ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!!!!!

Some races feel harder than they should...

Several weeks ago I signed up for the spring classic, known in the area as a flat, fast half. I thought I had a chance to really see what I could do on the half marathon distance and it would give me the opportunity to gauge where I was in terms of my marathon preparation.

Until I saw the weather forecast for that week...so much for a "spring" classic. Snow, wind advisory, just lovely! I am fine with sucking it up for the winter but it is April and now I am in full complain mode as this weather is just WRONG!

I awoke that morning to lots of snow and a sketchy drive over to the race. I met up with two others half way to ride the rest of the way together. I was so mad five minutes down the road from the meeting place as I realized I left my running glasses in my car. "Oh well, I don't really need them," I mistakenly thought.

We arrived a little later than planned as the drive took awhile and we did not want to be one of the many cars that were in the ditch /median/ etc. that littered the roads that morning.

We parked about a half mile away and I was cold fast. My fingers were painfully numb by the time I went to the bathroom and and grabbed my race packet. I jogged back up to the car and started my short warm up with Elizabeth who had been jogging around since I had arrived.

We lined up at the start together and took off with the whistle. The first mile we joked around a bit and came across mile one at 7:00. Whoops, probably a little fast! My goal in my own little head had been to break 1:36 (7:19 pace). I knew it was ambitious, but I always had my B goal of 1:45 to fall back on. I figure the whole rule of doubling the half and adding 10 minutes would make my B goal the 3:40 marathon I am looking for.

Hit mile 2 with a split of 7:10. I am still ahead of the pace!

Mile 3, 7:45. Crap, there goes all the time I thought I had in the bank. I look to Liz and comment that I hope it was a long mile because the effort felt the same.

Mile 4, 7:24---better

Mile 5, 7:24 ---staying consistent

Mile 6, 7:51---somewhere between 5 and 6, I turned on my Ipod. I had started to feel like I was struggling with the pace, my feet were soaking wet, cold & numb and feeling heavier by the step. I knew I really could not talk anymore and I hoped this would give me the boost I needed to continue. I knew already that I had started too fast. I fell into my own little world of suffering a bit.

We looped around a field on an icy path by the finish and I got a momentary surge of energy with race announcer, Mickey shouting my name and some encouragement!

And then it was back out on the road for another loop.

Ughhh, not feeling this at all. And then it started. My eyes were fogging up as if I had glasses on and my vision was blurring.

What is this? Is this some terrible time of fatigue that I should worry about? Are my eyeballs freezing because I am really cold? Do I blink less than the average person and should I try blkinking more? WHY? What is this???

I guess at this point I will back up. When I was a kid I had 3 surgeries on my eyes for extropia, basically lazy eye as most people know it. I had one in 3rd grade, 5 grade, and one in 7th grade. Normally one surgery corrects it, but I was not so lucky. Basically they go in and cut the muscles along the side of your eyes and re-attach them. You can still see the scarring on the sides of my eyes. After the surgery, my eyes bled for a day, then I could see another day later and then for about a month or so after each morning I would go though the process of releasing my eyes lashes as the eye gunk over night would hold them shut in the morning. Too much info? All that is to say I have crazy sensitive eyes now. They pour water when it is bright and I don't have good glasses on. I remember leaving several functions early as I child because my eyes were a teary mess in some smoke filled reception. At any rate, although it was unpleasant, I am so thankful my parents spent the money to take care of this so I do not have trouble with this anymore.

So with this in mind, I think between the cold and the wind, my sensitive eyes are just responding in their own way.

So everything is foggy and my feet are so cold. I am so much colder today than normal because my feet usually are dry and today they are soaking wet. I am seriously hurting and the worst is I cannot see. Where is the next stupid mile marker???

I look down and see my watch over 10. I must have missed it. Now I am happy that at least I must be past 7, but it is bad mentally as I wanted to see the marker which is always a boost and also to see my pace.

Keep putting one foot in front of the next. Where is mile 8? I missed it too. I am so frustrated. I can't see well and I am missing mile markers. I am too stubburn to consciously slow down.

Finally at mile 9, I see the marker. 23:15 for the last 3. I already know A goal is out the window and I don't even care. I am feeling miserable. Why can't I just see normal???

Mile 10, 7:41. We are on the way back now, just a 5K. That annoying wind keeps randomly hitting me!!! My legs hurt a bit, are they freezing? I kept thinking, "Some "SPRING" classic this is!!! It was 80 Tuesday, come on, this is ridiculous! I HATE OHIO!"

Mile 11, 8:04. I feel like crap. Cold, can't see...I want to stop. Why am I doing this? I refuse to let myself stop, it is just a pride thing.

Mile 12, 7:51..."please just one more mile"

I am so friggin happy to come into the final icy loop around the field. I am hoping I can see good enough to watch my footing and had one short slip which scared me for a split second.

Mile 13, 8:04

.1 Mile, 0:49 --mananged a small kick, nothing impressive. I started breathing heavier and heavier. I managed to say my age as they were giving awards out there but I needed to walk. As I stopped for a second my breaths became deeper. I can't stop for award now, I needed to walk. The nice volunteer found it as quickly as he could and I try to recompose myself. I saw my dad's friend and forced some conversation while walking and all systems came back shortly.

My breathing that spiked after my kick (and stop which I just can't do at the end, sometimes I really need to keep walking) returned to normal and within a minute my vision came back.

I finished in 1:40:21. 4th overall female, 1st in my age group. I had suffered a lot.

I was excited to see that my running ladies, Elizabeth and Melissa took 5 and 6th! Sweet! Between the 3 of us, we claimed the 1st place age group awards for 20-35!!!

Things learned.

#1 Don't start out too fast.
#2 Cold and windy requires glasses.
#3 Even when I feel very miserable, I can keep going for a long time.

Met the B goal with plenty of room to spare which puts me in great shape for my marathon goal. I PR'd the half marathon by over 7 minutes! So feeling OK on the day.

One Dirty Dog!

Mr. Matches spent the Monday and Tuesday outside playing in the gorgeous weather at the mother-in-law's kennel. I think he had way too much fun!

P.S.: For those wondering about the puppy pics before, my mother in law breeds and shows goldens.

P.S.S. There is little doubt in my mind why my house gets so dirty all the time!

The Old Gym

Everything feels a little messed up this week.

For starters, the weather.

We had beautiful 80 and sun Tuesday and now it is so blustery out that we were awoke in the middle of the night because my husband had to go salt and plow. Yes, got to love Ohio. The worst part is it will be hanging around and now I see a high wind advisory for Friday and Saturday. Perfect half marathon weather!

The gym-

Tuesday I headed my normal gym for a workout only to realize the super nice Jewish Community Center I go to was closed for Passover on April 3, 4, 9, &10. Ooops, not being Jewish I still forget when the holidays pop up. I suppose I should pay better attention to the signs as I rush by on my way out to the office. What am I going to do since I typically hit the place at least once a day during the week?

So I took the opportunity to go back to my old gym Wednesday morning.

Yes, I am pathetic and have 2 gym memberships. My old one was a small, yet nice community gym out 7 miles southeast of where I live which is the opposite direction of work. Work is 27 miles from my house west and the Jewish Community Center is a little over a mile from there, so super convenient. So when I started my new job 7 months ago I joined the gym by the office and though I pay my old gym under my contract, I haven't went in months as the convenience thing always wins out (plus the bigger pool, spin classses, more equipment, ...). It was weird to be back this week. The equipment is moved around and they now have tanning and massage there. There was a new face working...strange I say! But as I took in all the changes I hopped on the treadmill between two familiar faces...some regulars from months ago. At least those have not changed! It just felt so wierd to be back after going there almost daily to this long hiatus and now to be back again, with several wondering what had happened to me.

I suppose I will be hitting the old gym tomorrow since I am off work and not driving to Beachwood and probably Monday and Tuesday due to the holiday closure. The old gym folk will really wonder what is up!

Cleveland Marathon come already!

Ever feel like you are ready for an event and you just want it to get here as you are afraid something is going to pop up and make things more difficult down the road?

I feel confident about my goal for the Cleveland Marathon.

My training has been going well. Lots of long runs in the bag with no problems. The dread of the 18 and 20 milers has disappeared.

Yet....

I have been having issues for the last week with a wierd pain in my butt. It does not hurt bad, and I don't really notice it when I run, but it is always there when I sit or stand, just a tight, gripping soreness in my behind.

Whazzup with dat???

I am thinking a tight left hamstring is the root of the evil. Must focus on streching.

I just want marathon time to come now to ensure nothing else more serious crops up!

But I guess it can wait a little while as I am disappointed by this weekend's half marathon forecast--snow and high of 31. What is going on with my half marathon weather this year? This will make 0/2 in good weather! Grrrr!

A First for me!

To start, hats off to JT on her first half ironman. What a fantastic performance!!! It was totally not a surprise given all of your dedication that you really rocked out there in Cali!

The 5K this weekend was called Jog into Spring, and the night before the race I sat making up my Itunes playlist for the race. I burned a copy of it out for my car and one for my cousin who will be running Chicago marathon. I called it Sprint into Spring as it was packed with fast, up-tempo tunes which were sure to get your feet moving!

Saturday, I left bright and early to head out for the race after a restless nights sleep. I think I have started to overthink races these days and get excited yet very nervous the night before and then I have trouble sleeping. This makes sense to me as it is really the only time I have ANY trouble sleeping!

I arrived early to pick up my stuff. It was a cloudy cool morning that should be great for a race. After seeing some familiar faces, my ladies, Mel & B and I headed off for a 10 minute warmup before the start. With the gun, I was off to run my own race. Sometimes I think I get caught up in trying to pace with others and I had decided the night before I was not going to get caught up in that. We headed out down the road, hung a right by the the track which had a slight incline and I could already feel my chest and lungs tightening up as I went up. I kept moving my feet to the beat and kept making turns and approached Mile One-6:22. Another turn, another incline and I felt like I was working hard. To my surprise, I was thinking that I had not seen any females in front of me so I kept thinking that I was going to have to keep pushing to stay in front. Mile two 6:38. "Gosh, I am really sucking air it seems. Is it cold, am I sick, or is it just think pace that is hurting me?" A guy passes me, but unfortunately he does not seem to be going any faster than me. I was bothered as he seemed to always run where I wanted to run. Every corner he would cut in where I wanted to go and for some reason it felt like it was messing up my rhythm. I could not get around him so I just fell in behind him because I did not want to burn out before the end. I did not get the Mile 3 time as I had enough of the guy in front and decided it was time to sprint it in. Final time 20:29 (6:35 pace). Another PR!! The best thing about it was this course had 4 small inclines and lots of turns, so it was not even one of the courses that I would call fast....not that it was really hilly or slow, but just not super fast.

I was not sure if I was correct but I was thinking, "Holy cow, was I actually the first female?" The awards confirmed it and I took home my FIRST first place overall female plaque ever. Woohoo, that doesn't happen everyday so I will enjoy it! I finished 1/127 females and 25/287 overall.

On to Sunday...another long run with the running pals. 18 miles came and went. I thought we were in for a really rainy morning but it ended up being a pretty nice morning for running. It was actually fairly warm and at some points the rain even felt refreshing as I had worked up a decent sweat. We were pretty consistently hitting the mile markers at 8:30 - 8:45 pace and I felt good the whole way. Between being in better shape and the tremendous company I have had this year, I have come to really enjoy and look forward to my long runs in a way that I did not know was possible before.

Saturday night, my sweetie of a cousin was in town from Chicago and we had a family get together. My cousin has recently started running on a regular basis and is looking forward to her first marathon in October-Chicago. Guess what cousin can't wait to go out there and run Chicago too??? Needless to say, the icing on the cake of a good running weekend, is getting to talk running to an excited running family member!!!

Ittzzz Friiiiday!!!

Happy Friday to all! Today is supposed to be sunny and 60's so it is a good way to start the weekend!

5K race on tap for Saturday morning and a 18 mile long run Sunday morning! Should be a good weekend on tap!!!

Also I will be cheering from Ohio for Jodi, who will be rocking the Cali half this weekend!!! Go #1705!

This week stopped by my husband's parents to see the cutie pies!

Another pair of new shoes!!

New shoes came my way on Saturday at the best price ever!

They were a lightweight neutral trainer, a well-known brand that I had not realized even made running shoes.

Even though I am an Asics junkie, I was still psyched to try this new product out.

I think I can be called an overpronator who needs some support in my shoes to keep all issues in check.

I was smart enough not to attempt trying them on my 20 mile long run Sunday.

I had a speed workout planned for Tuesday, but it was so gorgeous out that morning that I just needed to try the new shoes out for a run outside!! So I was off on down the road in my new shoes. Pretty cushy, but not feeling so great. A little bit later, "Something kind of hurts" and then " Feet are going numb" and then "Please no blisters now." And then the 5.5 mile jaunt was over. All & all, not really feeling these shoes. I knew going in that these were going to be a short distance pair but they were not even feeling lightweight like I thought they would. A couple years ago I had a lightweight pair of the Nike Air Milers which were so light I just felt faster when I wore them...not supportive enough for long stuff, but I kind of miss them for runs less than an hour.

So, perhaps I should give this pair another chance...they were just getting broke in!

So this morning, laced them back up for my make up speed workout on the treadmill. Ouch, it is not even a mile into my warm and I am hurting. I had a 7 mile workout planned but cut it to 5, my feet hurt. My arches up to my big toes areas hurt and still are a little tender 8 hours later, but thankfully no evident blisters which should nag me. I figure I really did not need the last 2 miles as much as I needed to keep my feet happy!

Guess the shoes are going into my running shoe graveyard. Don't worry, I think I will dig them out for something like aerobics or weight training or just for kicks. I would feel bad had they not been the perfect price.

Note to others...if shoes hurt on day one, a second chance is probably OK, just not the next day!

I have a new pair of Asics waiting for me in the closet so perhaps I will try them out next week!!! No worries here though!

Busy busy!

First off, thanks for the comments on my FIRST training question. Really the ultimate goal is a BQ and I just want to train smart so I will have to take your comments into consideration!



What a difference a year makes!!

Saturday was Hinckley Du training day. First ride outside for 2007!!! I headed out to Hinckley through the fog and was pleasantly surprised how warm it was. It actually was a pleasant morning for a ride and we only had a few sprinkles which were not even enough to get the roads wet and the sunshine was trying to peak out!



A new CTC member was out there for his first ride on his new bike. There was also another CTC member that was out there to run the course. It was good I was there so I could explain the course to them since I actually knew it from last year. With that, the 2 of us on bikes took off for a casual 15 mile ride. The other rider was having lots of issues with his derailer and finally dropped a chain. I was able to help him to get it back on and we finished up our loops problem free. What a switch from last year when I was a total train wreck...Last year I had no idea what I was doing and it was my first road bike ride ever, popped a valve off trying to pump up my tire, lost a chain, and relied on the help of others the entire time, to this year when I was actually comfortable, confident and able to help others.



After the ride the three of us all headed out for the 3 mile hilly run around the lake. All and all, a good training session and enjoyed company.



Team ER

After the session I killed a bit of time and changed out of my stinky clothes and headed to my first meeting with Team ER. This Team is sponsored by Eddy's Bike Shop and Ritchie's Sporting Goods and the meeting was held at Ritchies. It was my first time visiting Ritchie's as its location is not quite as convenient for me. However if you have not been there it was worth the trip. They recently remodeled and it is very nice with a huge selection. Needless to say, I will be doing some shopping there now! Anyways, I enjoyed meeting the other team mates and hearing about their goals for the season. After trying on some very small uniform pieces I have decided it is really time to recommit to losing some of thir excess body fat I have as it was not pretty. Nothing like trying to squeeze my body into a 10 year old girl's pair of spandex, not pretty!! Thankfully I was able to change my sizes as the sizing chart we ordered from had to be way, way off.



Exhausting Sunday

Sunday, I met down at the towpath for a run with some friends. I ate a banana on the way out there and was surprised how cold it was at the start (about 35 degrees) With my running buddies, Bob and Melissa, I headed out for 20 mile run on the towpath. As usual, with some conversation, the miles flew by and all was well. From what I could tell we were averaging pretty close to a 8:45 pace for the majority of the way. It was warming up fast and by the half way point, I was running in shorts and a tank top. Oh it is just so exciting to feel the sunshine after a long winter!!!



I left as soon as we were done, I rushed to the car without changing and chowed down another banana and a special k bar. I was in a hurry as we had plans to meet up with a group of people for a 240 mile motorcyle ride. Within 10 minutes of getting home inluding a super fast shower I hopped on my new bike for the ride and met up with the group. (It is so hard to rush like that after just running that far!!!) But I made it just in time! What a beautiful day for a ride! Finally about 120 miles in we stopped for food. Let me tell ya I was so hungry that I could eat a horse and chase the rider by this point in time. After food, we were back off for the long country ride through fantastic twisty roads. I arrived home after 6 from the long day and was just plain exhausted. Sport bikes are just not the most comfortable for a long day, especailly when you hop on them fresh from a 20 mile run.



Needless to say, I hit the hay early last night and slept like a rock!

The good, the bad, the ugly and the rundown!

We will start with THE BAD-

I am not sure if it is day light savings time or if it is the new mattresses we got, but I have had trouble get my butt out of bed this week. I try to get up during the week at 5:15 (enough time to brush my teeth, dress, grab my bag, and drive 30 miles to the gym to arrive at 6 AM)

This week I totally skipped 2 morning sessions and was late to a few others.

The UGLY-

Spin class, followed by missed Key Workout One on FIRST marathon training plan...anyone need a recipe for one sweaty chick???
I did a quick mile w/u (as I was plenty warm already) and started into 2 x (6x 400m) (1:30 RI) (2:30 RI between sets)...surprisingly these felt pretty easy, even after spin class. 400's were always my favorite back in the day! Had to cut the cool down short on account of time, but felt good about the session.

The Good-
Friday arrived late to the gym to make up Thursday's Key Run number 2. It called for 2 miles easy, 3 miles at Short Tempo Pace, 1 miles easy. I hopped on the treadmill, increased the incline slightly, the speed, and my tunes and was off. It felt easy to the point that I held a conversation for 5 minutes during the tempo and when the 3 miles was done, I went longer until I needed to start my cooldown on account that it was time I get ready for work.

Current Question-
When I did my FIRST calculations back in December on my 5K time, it was based on a 22 minute 5K. Now my PR is a 20:45, should I revise my FIRST times down so I am pushing a little harder?? I think I will. If it is too much, I can always go back. Many of my long runs have been over what my PMP plus 30-45 seconds calls for and I have felt good for the most part for all of them.

The Rundown since 3/9

3/10 St Malachi Run - 5 Mile Race 33:32 (6:43 pace)
3/11 20 miler with SERC (2:44 running , 2:59 total)
3/12 rest day
3/13 7 mile FIRST Key Run 1 session- main set 6x800's
3/14 Upper Body Workout
3/15 7 m FIRST Key Run 2 session - tempo run, Lower Body Workout
3/16 1 hour spin class, 1000 yards swam, Upper Body Workout
3/17 16 mile run
3/18 rest day
3/19 45 min bike
3/20 Upper Body Workout
3/21 1 hr spin class, 5.5 miles ran (missed Key run 1 mentioned above)
3/22 Lower Body Workout
3/23 6 miles ran (missed Key run 2 mentioned above), Upper Body Workout

Pretty open weekend on tap, hoping for some sunshine and good training!!!

St. Pats / Surprise 30th party

So sis surprised me with a 30th birthday party on Saturday with an awesome showing of friends and family!!! I am so thankful for having so many wonderful people in my life.

Decked in my Irish attire, we celebrated into the night and I managed to reign supreme on the ping pong table...this ole girl is not about to lose any tricks!

Brand New Triumph Daytona 675

I purposely had planned to do the paperwork and pick up my new baby on the 19th to ensure a happy birthday. Here she finally is!!! Still have not decided on what I will call my new sweetie...any good ideas???

I must be getting old....

Today I dragged my tired butt out of bed after hitting snooze way too many times.

I grabbed my backpack that I had packed yesterday with clothes for work today. I was excited because my sis had bought me this totally cute top I was so excited to wear with my favorite pants today.

I was running late for the gym so my workout was shorter than normal so I decided to really push as hard as I could. About the time I was to leave, my ole man Stan who always chats it up with me, pulled up to the stationary bike next to mine ...so I overstayed my bike time a bit more than I should have.

Rushed through the shower, skipped the lotion, grabbed my bag to get dressed...

Crap...you have got to be kidding me!

I see my socks, bra, underwear, belt, jewerly, but no shirt and pants! NO!!! They must still be nicely laid out on my stand at home.

IT IS MY BIRTHDAY BUT I HAVE NO INTENTION OF WEARING MY BIRTHDAY SUIT TO WORK!!!!

What to do, already running late; going home is not an option as it is 28 miles away and I have no extra time as it is.

So I grab the extra tshirt and shorts in my bag and proceed as planned, thinking I probably have extra clothes in my trunk for just this sort of emergency.

So I get outside and find my extra clothes that have probably been there for nearly a year. I think at some point they have got wet and smell and are horribly wrinkled. EWWW, but I need clothes! So I put them on in the back seat of my car and proceed to work where I can put a suit coat on to cover up my wrinkled shirt. If only it would cover up this not so fresh smell!!!

Thankfully I am seeing the hubby at lunch for something awesome so he will bring me my clothes!!!!

So this is how 30 starts......I may be in trouble!

This and that

What a crazy week! Yesterday evening was a beautiful 65 degree sunny night and today as I braved my way to the gym before work I cautiously treaded on the ice, slush, and freezing rain. Dang, why can it just not stay warm for good yet???

But I did get to go out and play on this super sick little bike Tuesday night!!! My sweet hubby just got my that new helmet for my birthday which I love to death. I am set to pick up my new motorcyle on Monday so fornately for me, he has two bikes so I got to roll his supermoto as pictured above this week! That little monster is crazy fun! It was a totally rad group of motorcylists we had together for our evening ride; me on the Suzuki DRZ supermoto, hubby on Ducati S2R, Uncle on his Harley, cousin on his Yamaha cruiser, and other cousin on BMW cruiser...rolling with my family motorcyle posse is so sweet!!! Bring on more riding weather!!

The trouble is that there is so much I like to do outside and right now we get so little nice weather that it is always hard to pick what to do-- ride motorcyles, bicycle, run, and on and on!!!

In other news, my hubby parents are on vacation so in addition to some kennel responsibilities at their place, we have a little house guest as well. She is so good and cute that she is welcome to stay as long as she wants.

Monday was rest day, so let's talk about my latest CD purchase!

So the week of the new release for the new Korn Unplugged CD, I made a stop at Best Buy to purchase the new CD.

I have been a hardcore Korn fan since their first album release. I LOVE to play Korn so friggin loud it is going to bust the windows out! Their music makes me feel so bad ass and ready for anything! Yeah this may have been slightly out of character for the typical Miami University gal, but this was Korn and I didn't care!!

Now...to the unplugged....I knew they were great before but this just blew me away and gave me goosebumps at times. Jonathan's voice is just so powerful and it was really cool to hear the lyrics in this setting. Korn showed that they are without a doubt truly talented musicians! I can say that this unplugged version was a pleasant surprise and that Korn is still the best, perhaps even better for this gutzy descent from their typical heavy production.

One review I read from a non-Korn fan stated....
"I'm a Korn fan, not a big Korn fan. Admittedly, I can't sit through a whole album without a headache. Too redundant. (YEAH WHATEVER, BUT I WILL LET HIM CONTINUE) I tuned in to Korn unplugged mainly to see the Robert Smith and Amy Lee. I never expected what I saw or heard coming from Korn in an acoustic session: raw musical talent. 1. they utilized instruments not commonly heard, 2. Johnathon can sing--I mean he can really sing on tune and in harmony and with the likes of Robert Smith and Amy Lee. 3. The blend of orchestra and the arrangements of the songs chosen for performance was outstanding. 4. I was hesitant to allow myself to hear "Creep" covered one more time--it is such an important and powerful song for so many--especially by Korn they pulled it off well--I've added it to one of my favorite covers. The emotion conveyed through the subtleties of this acoustic session from Korn lend more to the lyrics then anything I've heard from them before. Their studio albums tend to bash the lyrics into submission (I DISAGREE, but go on) while this "unplugged" session, lets the lyrics out to be felt and interpreted by the audience--in fact, I never realized just how potent the Korn's lyrics are. (YEAH, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!!)


Bottom line, this is a F-ING AWESOME CD and even acoustically, they rock like no others!!

Kick Ass Weekend in Review!

Friday night I hit the tri club meeting and enjoyed listening to a interesting speaker on running and got to try out some new exercises at Velocity Sports, where the meeting was held. Of course afterwards, we headed to bar for some food and beer. (Carb loading for Saturday's run!)

Saturday I awoke early to head out to the race and had some extra time so I made a new play list for my Ipod. I left a little early so I would have plenty of time to get a decent parking spot and a good warm-up. About 6 miles down the road I realized I could not find my Ipod. After pulling over to search my bag I decided I would turn around to get it. In my head, I just felt I would not run as fast without it. So I get home and still can't find. Then I head back out and grab my bag and dump it out to find I had it the whole time. Guess now I am running late for no reason as this has now taken about 1/2 hour. A little frustrated, I get back on the road.

This morning was as warm as it had felt in some time. My car said it was 46 on the way up there and it was pretty cloudy. As I drove it started to get darker and finally just let loose with rain. Fortunately as I neared the race it quit raining but I saw no where to park. I ended up parking in the total ghetto. I was nervous even being at my car by myself. I rushed to grab my stuff, get back to my car to drop off the bag while looking over my shoulder a little uneasy. This really was not a good neighborhood. After a short warm-up I caught up with a friend who was droppin stuff back at his car so i went with him as there was still about 15 minutes. He parked in a good spot and I spied an open spot in his lot so I ran to grab my car to move it. Thank goodness as I had been feeling so uneasy about things before. Knowing I had my nice camera, my purse, my sirius unit, and a bunch of other stuff in that car in that neighborhood just was not sitting well with me. With the car moved, I was ready to race!

I started near the front of the big crowd. There had been a 2 mile that started 45 minutes earlier and between that group and the 5 mile group there was over 2700 runners. As the start was signaled I was off. The first mile had a lot of downhill and everyone's times were fast. I was feeling good but when I looked at mile watch at mile 1 and it read 5:49, it scared me a bit. Crap, I thought...this is a 5 mile race. Slow down!! So I eased off a bit and came through mile 2 at 6:44. I was in a good rhythm and was just trying to run a nice steady pace. I started to wonder where the heck mile 3 was. I looked down to see my watch read 12 something and knew I had missed it. That was not great for my mental game but at least I knew I had less than 2 to go. At mile 4 the watch read 14:03 for 3&4. as I came back into town I knew I still had a decent hill to climb so I dug in and tried to finish strong. After the steep grade at the bottom I managed to increase speed to the finish line. I was stoked to see the clock read 33:37 as I crossed the finish line. Going into the race, my goal in my head was to break 35:00 or 7 min mile pace. So this finish was fantastic at a 6:43 pace! Even bettter! I ended up 2nd in my age group and 9th female overall. The beers tasted good after that!

This was year 4 of the St. Malachi run for me. It is amazing to see how far things have come!!

2004 50:08
2005 41:20
2006 37:35
2007 33:37 !!!

So after Saturday I woke up feeling a little less than fresh for my 20 miler. Perhaps it was the beer to a degree, but my calfs were also pretty tight. Thankfully I was running with the terrific people from SERC who are an inspiration. After some good conversation, everything sort of fell into place and we were moving along a a decent pace. We did a 12 mile loop and then an 8 mile loop. The pace was even and the weather was beautiful. Total time was 2:57, actual running time was 2:44 ish (I think). Holy crap, I can't believe we were averaging and 8:12 ish pace if that is right. So we finished our 20 strong and I felt good. I only ran one 20 before my fall marathon and I felt AWFUL. This time, all is good and not even ridiculously sore or tired. Woohoo!!

Alright I better go as I need to get my butt in the shower....no time to proof read as I must get into the shower!!!

TGIF!

This week as I walked into the gym I actually heard bird's chirping. The temperature feels as warm as it has been. Daylight savings time is pretty much here. It is actually sunny in northeast Ohio today. Oh and it's Friday!!! This will require a beer or 2 tonight!

Anyways to sum up the week it has been pretty good. I can not seem to get the crap out of my throat, but it does not seem to be slowing my pace down so I can live with that!

I am currently in week 11 of my FIRST to the Finish Marathon training plan and I am proud to say that I am sticking to it pretty well and actually feeling pretty good about things! I like the challenge of the various workouts and have really learned to enjoy my long runs this time around.

For the last 3 months our tri club has been participating in the National Club Challenge where participants have been tracking there mileage. For the first time ever, I started to track my mileage and my goal now is to continue to do so.

So since the end of the challenge on 2/28, here is what the things have looked like...

R 3/1 - 6.1 mile run -2 miles easy, 2.5 at 7:25 pace (should have been 3, stupid cold killing me), 2.6 easy pace

F 3/2 - 1 hour spin class, 30 min stationary bike, 5 mile run (ladder increasing from 6.5-8.5 by .5 every minute until dropping back down)

S 3/3 - 3 hour easy trainer ride and 40 minute run with JT & her dad--it really amazes how fast time flies on these!!!

S 3/4 - Youngstown 1/2 - 1:47:26 official 8:12 pace

M 3/5- 1 hour spin, 5 mile run at easy pace ....run not scheduled but felt really good!! Upper Body Weight Training

T 3/6 - 7 miles Ran - 2 mile w/u. 2X1200 (6:40 pace) , 4X800 (6:35 pace), cooldown

W 3/7 - 1.5 hour stationary bike at high intensity probably grossing other gym people out by the amount of sweat dripping, Abs, Lower Body Weight Training.

R 3/8 - 7 miles ran, 5 at moderate tempo (7:40 pace)

F 3/9 - 1 hour spin class, abs, 30 minute stationary bike, Upper Body Workout

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This week wraps up 3 weeks since the tattoo which now seems to be healed (YAH!!) ...guess next week it is time to go back to splashing in the pool!!!
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So another busy weekend is on tap which I am excited about!!!! Tonight is our Tri Club meeting, tomorrow one of my favorite races, the St. Malachi 5 mile run (complete with afterparty & beer!!), and Sunday will be a 20 miler morning! Oh and Monday will probably be a rest day!

Mill Creek 1/2 Marathon Update

The Mill Creek 1/2 Marathon is known as one of the hilliest half marathons around. This year mother nature decided to make this half even more interesting with a nice layer of snow.

Pre-Race

I awoke Sunday morning to about 3 inches at my house. About the minute I was ready to hit the door, I got a call from Espeed saying roads were bad and to take my time as she was running late on her way out there too. So instead of grabbing a banana, I took the time to have some toast with with my hubby and hit the door. Being that it was a Sunday, the roads had not been touched, so it took a little longer than I expected to get there so instead of the planned long warm-up, it became 5 minute jog around the parking lot.

The decisions

After debating a bit about what I wanted to wear I opted for my heavy under armor tights and shirt with a wicking coat, my head phones, light under armor gloves, oakley glasses with yellow lenses, normal running shoes. All and all the clothing seemed about right for me as it was mid 20's and still snowing and blowing. Although the glasses fogged up here and there, I was happy to have them as I hate getting snow in my eyes and it was coming down the entire time!!! Even though I kept my hands tucked in my coat, they were still a bit cold, but not too bad. Though my traction could have been better, my shoes did OK and I don't know how much my trail shoes would have made a difference. I was glad I had my headphones for the last 4 miles of the course, so all was well with my choices!

The course

Not only was it just as hilly as I knew it would be, it was covered in snow which made traction on the uphills more difficult and slightly treacherous on the downhills.....

Other runner's comments posted on the web regarding Sunday's conditions include-

'Toughest conditions yet for my 3rd Distance Classic. Opted for the trail shoes for more traction on the snow-covered road course.'

'It was the toughest footing ever for race day.'

Given these conditions, I knew it was not destined to be a super fast half but I still had my goal in my head that I just wanted to break 1:50. See I figure that is the pace I am hoping to hold for Cleveland Marathon and I thought if I could hold it on this tough course it would be a nice confidence builder for that race. (I know they say to double your half time and add 10 minutes for marathon estimate, but I will work on that one on a more normal course....maybe spring classic coming up on 4/7)

And we're off

So I headed out with Espeed hoping I could try to keep up. We decided given the course conditions we would run a conservative pace for awhile. Miles kept passing by as we would climb and descend the hills. I must admit though, I think I had made these hills mountains in my head as they were not as bad as I thought they were last year.

I was nervous about how I was going to feel for the race as I had had a cold all week and a flu bug the week before. I had been struggling to hit my paces for my FIRST training plan, but had managed to get all of the workouts in...little accomplishment even if they were not perfect. But, as we got into the miles I remained feeling pretty good. It was nice as we got 8 or so in we could see the leaders heading back and I started to get excited about the finish.

About mile 9, I decided there was only 4 to go and I would just pick it up till the end. With that, I tuned on the tunes, cranked up the volume, and picked up the pace.

As I climbed the final hill at the end I was in sprinting mode and wanted to catch the chick in front of me but ran out of course. The last kick had spent me anyway and I was happy to see 1:47 and change on the clock!! Yeah!!! Goal of 1:50 nailed and then some.

Splits

1 8:32

2 7:20

3& 4 16:57

5 8:23

6 8:42

7 8:31

8 8:17

9 8:29

10 8:08

11 7:46

12 7:20

13 ?? (I get way to excited about the end to ever remember to hit the button on the last one!)

Finish Time 1:47:21 -I think...seconds may be slightly off. So an 8:11 pace or so!

A PR!

So for those keep track, my halfs always involve a fair amount of talking, so I have always figured I was capable of a better time but currently my fastest half was a 1:53, so I guess I have a new one! Woohoo a PR in these conditions! Oh and another small victory was my time last year was a 1:59 +....and this year, a 12 minute improvement!

The icing on the cake

Somehow that time was good enough for 11th female overall and a 2nd in my age group award. Even sweeter, Espeed, took third in our age group. This will not be 'OUR" age group much longer as someone has a birthday coming up which will put me in a new age bracket for most races! So as usual the best part of the race was hanging out afterwards over some coffee to warm up and catching up with all the other crazy peeps who had journeyed out to run on these fine conditions!