Happy Halloween

This morning was the pumpkin painting contest at school.
I got the kids dropped off and took pictures of all the kids in their classroom with their pumpkins. I rushed home to meet Tracy for a quick ride. We did the Matt’s Hollow/Pomroy 20.95 mile loop. I am too lazy to go look at my computer for the time right now but I know we did not go fast. It was a beautiful morning but there was a fairly strong wind. There were times when the cross wind would gust so hard I was afraid of being blown over or into Tracy. The wind also made it hard to hear traffic behind us.
After the ride, I rushed to get cleaned up to meet my daughter at school for the 1st grade parent lunch.
Tonight is Trick-or-Treating. I LOVE trick-or-treating but I don’t need all that candy in the house to really test my will power!!

Tomorrow is 10 miles at planned marathon pace. I am really nervous. I hope I can pull it off. Saturday is the Goodlettsville half marathon and I am substituting it for my 15 mile run this week. Then I will be just 4 weeks from marathon day!! Yikes it is getting close!

Weekend Off & Monday Speed (or lack of)

Saturday was the final soccer game and football game. Yippee!!!!!!

As soon as the football game ended, we piled into the van and headed to Chattanooga.

We went to the Aquarium. First we did the Ocean Adventure then the River Adventure.
After we looked at all the fish, we checked into the Chattanooga Choo Choo. All the train car rooms were booked so we had to settle for a standard room. Once we unloaded the van, we had a wonderful dinner at Sticky Fingers, watched the UT game, and hit the hay.

Sunday morning we got up and went to Crackle Barrel for breakfast then to Rock City
and the Corn Maze. We had great weather and even though I can’t count it as cross training, we did spend most of the day walking. The corn maze took us almost 2 hours!!!



So after two days off, I got up this morning at 4:45 for my speed work. The plan called for 10-20 minute warm up, 3 x 1600 (400 m RI), 10 minute cool-down. Again, I just did it around my neighborhood.
Warm up 1.87 miles in 19:26 (10:25 pace)
1600 8:21
400 RI 5:26
1600 8:08
400 RI 5:18
1600 8:14
400 RI 4:25
Cool down 1.17 miles in 12:23 (10:35 pace)

Does it Always Rain This Much in October?

This morning I woke up to rain. I took the kids to school and found out not only was it raining it was also windy. I weighed my options:
1. run in the rain
2. run on the 1/12 mile track inside at the Rec Center, that’s 240 laps
3. run on the treadmill at the Rec Center
4. some combination of 2 and 3
5. sit on the couch and eat bon-bons
I got on my-cast.com 52 degrees, 10 mph winds, heavy rains with no end in sight. Option 5 was looking good! But I changed into shorts and decided this run would be done indoors. I looked out the window one more time and the rain had slowed to a drizzle. I changed back into my tights and headed outside. I really HATE running inside.
The first 3 miles continued to be a slow drizzle, then it picked up to a steady rain. The rain wasn’t so bad; it was the wind that made the run miserable. I did my 6 mile loop 3 times then the 2 mile loop of my neighborhood.
The first 6 miles went ok
9:30, 9:30, 9:40, 9:42, 9:25, and 9:25
I grabbed a Hammer Gel from my mailbox as I ran past. The next 6 went great
9:24, 9:16, 9:26, 9:19, 9:32, and 9:28
I grabbed another Hammer Gel and continued. By this point my shoes and socks were soaked and starting to hurt my feet. My clothes felt like they weighed 10 pounds. The wind was picking up even more and almost blew my cap off my head several times. The next 6 miles didn’t go so good even though I kept telling myself that it was the last loop.
9:44, 9:44, 9:44, 10:04, 10:15 and 10:12.
I stopped at my mail box to refill one of my Gatorade bottles. Then I was off on my last loop of my neighborhood. The bottom fell out and the wind blew even harder. I tucked my head and just pushed forward. I knew I was going slowly but the wind just wouldn’t cut me any slack. The last two miles, including the refueling stop, were done in 11:01 and 11:05.
I took and ice bath and hot shower. Then I got dressed and went to the school for the kids Halloween parties and parade.
The target for today’s run was marathon pace + (30-45 seconds). My average pace was 9:46. I should be happy but for some reason I am letting those last 8 miles really get to me, especially the last two.

Lucky Star

I got up this morning at 4:45 ready to run. I ate some blue sports beans (yummy), got dressed (in lots of layers), and headed out into the cold (34 degrees). I had promised myself, after taking yesterday off, that I was going to hit goal today.
With all the switching around, my plan for today was 6 miles (1 easy and 5 at MT). During the first mile I saw a shooting star and made a wish. “I wish that I could hit target pace today.”
I ran the easy mile in 9:52
Time to pick it up. The tempo miles looked like this:
8:35, 8:21, 8:25, 8:13, and 8:02.
Hooray for me, I FINALLY hit pace!!
I had to push myself really hard and kept saying “don’t leave anything in the tank” over and over in my head so that I won’t slow down just for the sake of going slower. I felt great the whole run and it really makes me feel better to have hit target. I needed the boost to my confidence.
After the run, I got cleaned up and took the kids to school. I went with my daughter’s class on a field trip to the pumpkin patch.I was assigned my kids plus another little girl. She was wild! I lost her 3 times while she was in the hay maze. We did have a great time but I am exhausted.
Last night was the last soccer practice, tonight is the last football practice, and Saturday is the last games!!! Then I get a small break before basketball cheerleading starts up.

Slacker

This morning when the alarm went off, I just could NOT get out of bed. I reset the clock for 6:20 and went back to sleep. So much for hard core.
I am hoping with this extra rest day that I will be able to hit target on tomorrow’s tempo run. I really need the confidence boost.
I am switching things around AGAIN this week. The schedule has a 10 mile at marathon pace for tomorrow, a 15 miler for Friday, and a 20 miler next week. But the Goodlettsville half marathon is next week so I am going to do next weeks 6 mile tempo tomorrow and the 20 miles on Friday, then next week I will do the scheduled speed work, the 10 miler and the half marathon as my 3 key runs.
Man, this marathon is getting close!!!!

Just the Facts

This is going to be short and to the point. I still have 1000 things to do before I can go to bed.
Yesterday I rested/recovered after the century ride Saturday.
This morning I got up at 4:45 for speed work. It was a COLD 34 degrees.
The plan called for 3 x (2x1200) (2 min RI) (4 min RI between sets)
Being lazy again, I just programmed my Garmin and ran in the neighborhood instead of driving over to the track.
Numbers look like this
Warm up 1.86 miles in 19:21
Set 1 5:58 and 6:09
Set 2 6:22 and 6:18
Set 3 6:16 and 6:28
Cool down 1.05 miles in 11:35
Nothing impressive or even at target but I am getting use to that feeling now.

Franklin County Fall Finale 100

I picked Kim up at 6:00 and we drove to Winchester. It was 32 degrees and frost was covering everything. The forecast was still calling for 68 by noon. So how do you dress????
We got signed up and Woody, the bike shop owner, told us we could drop clothes at the rest stops. That was all it took for me, I piled it on.
We started the ride a little after 7:00. It didn’t take long for me and Kim, the only females riding the 100, to fall to the back. Joe had decided to ride the 100 vs. the 62 because I told him he could ride with us and we were taking it slow. He stayed with us and so did his friend Rick.
It was cold and foggy. But after a few good hills I was getting warm.
The first rest stop was at about 12 miles and I was ready to shed clothes. I took off my fleece shirt, headband, and gator. They informed us we were the last of the 12 100 mile riders.
The first MAJOR hill came at about 25 miles and I pushed. The next rest stop was at the top. I ate two of the best brownies and drank some Gatorade. On we went.
We continued to ride the hills. I surprised myself and gutted it up the next major one. Joe was at the top cheering me on. He then told me I couldn’t push anymore hills because that was by far the worse and if I could make it up that one then I should be able to make it up the rest. I laughed and said “watch me”.
Turns out Joe was wrong!! There were still may more hills in store for us.
The next rest stop was in Lynchburg. The 62 mile rider caught up with us at this rest stop.
Kim wasn’t sure if her legs could hold out for the 100 and was thinking about taking the 62 mile split but when the time came she took the left turn with us.
I gutted out the next hill and had Jell-O legs at the top and was sucking major wind. I was rewarded with another steep hill not far down the rode. I pushed again.
At 85 miles we get to a sign that says “damn overlook” with an arrow pointing the same direction as our route arrow. I looked at Kim and say “sounds like another climb to me” And it was. I made it without pushing but just barely. At the top was the rest stop. We got there just in time. They were packing it up. They had called Woody to say that we hadn’t made it there yet and he told them to just leave some water bottles in a pile of ice along the side of the rode and go ahead home.
The guys at the rest stop told us we had a major downhill followed by a steep up hill then we were mostly flat until the finish. Just 15 miles to go, we can handle it.
The downhill was steep and so was the uphill. Again I made it without pushing. I was home free now.
The last 5 miles took FOREVER. But I was riding for beer now.
We finished!!!!
We loaded up and drove to the square for our “free lunch”. The bike shop was closed and our clothes that we had shed along the way were in a tub outside. We got our stuff and walked next door to the café that was having the lunch only to find out they were CLOSED. WTF. I would have done the 100 today no matter what but I think they should have told us that there would only be support for x amount of time and that the café sponsoring the lunch was closing at x:xx. Not to mention the emergency number they put on our arm bands was for the bike shop that closed at 1:00.
The ride was beautiful and challenging as promised. They did a great job marking it. I have now gone long. Another item checked off my list for 2006

Hard Core?

The alarm went off at 4:45 this morning and I hit snooze. I hate snooze and rarely use it but I was just so darn tired this morning I just couldn’t get up yet. I finally got up, got dressed and noticed that we lacked water pressure while brushing my teeth. I got outside to discover it was cold and misty. Ugg, should I run or go back to bed. Run!! When I did become so hardcore? I went back inside and changed from shorts and my new shoes into my cool gear pants and older shoes. Back outside I started my run. Tempo run was on tap for today. The plan called for 1 mile warm up, 4 miles at MT, and 1 mile cool down. I told myself before I started that the faster I ran the sooner I could get out of this cool, wet weather. As I ran I noticed that some of the ditches were really full and flowing pretty fast. Hmm low water pressure and water flowing in the ditches…must be a busted water main nearby. I finished the 1 mile warm up in 9:37. I picked up the pace and thought about Phil’s comment about my pace being faster while the dog was chasing me Wednesday so I headed over to Amberwood. It was starting to be more of a sprinkle then a mist. None of the dogs were out so it was just up to me and my desire to get out of the rain to hold my pace. My 4 tempo miles were done in 8:34, 8:44, 8:44 and 8:23. Then the cool down 1.21 miles in 12:42. I went the extra .21 because that is how far I was from home and didn’t feel like walking in the rain.
I got home and got to enjoy a hot shower in a small trickle of water.
When I got to the school, I was told that they had no water and therefore school was closed. Great. I called work and told them I was coming by to see if there was anything I could do at home. By the time I got there my boss had rounded me up some stuff to take home.
The forecast for tomorrow is still looking good and I just hope these weathermen know what they are talking about. I have no desire to ride 102.4 miles in this weather.
Well, better get started on that work I brought home.

Back in the Pool

Thanks for all the comments about my son. He seems to have fully recovered and returned to school today. Now lets just hope the rest of the family can avoid catching it.

I had shifted my work schedule around this week for the long run yesterday and a field trip with my daughter’s class today. I have such a great flexible job. But due to the rain forecasted for today, the field trip to the pumpkin patch was rescheduled for next week. Therefore, I decided to go ahead and work today, but not until a got a swim in. I dropped the kids off at school then went to the Rec Center. It has been a while since I have been in the pool, so long in fact, that I forgot to take my earrings out. About 2 years ago I lost both my diamond earrings in the Rec Center pool. I was able to find one but could not find the other. A life guard offered to look for it on his break. Much to my surprise he was able to find it. I have not swam in my earrings since. But today after swimming 9 lengths I realized that I had forgotten. When I reached the wall at 10 lengths, I jumped out to remove them. I got back in to finish. I swam 1750 yards in 37:52.
Tonight’s soccer practice was cancelled, I think due to loss of hope. The last cheerleading practice was at the Rec Center tonight. So Tracy and I lifted some upper body weights while they practiced. We didn’t work too hard, it was as much killing time as it was workout but maybe we burned a calorie or two.

A New Level of Insanity

Today is my husband’s birthday. He hardly ever reads my blog but thought I would give him the shout out anyway. Happy Birthday, Ronnie!!!

Kim has decided to do the Franklin County Fall Finale 100 on Saturday so now I don’t have to ride alone. She did ask if it was safe to ride with me. :)

Yesterday I planned on doing some light weights or yoga but that got canceled when I got a call from the school a little before 10 telling me that my son had throw up twice, was white as a sheet, and asking for me. I quickly finished up the storm sewer calculation my boss needed for a submittal and headed to the school. I found my son curled up in a chair in the office with paper towels on his head and a trash can at his side. He had the shakes and was not looking good. I got him home and he watched TV and slept the rest of the day. At about 5:00 he told me he was hungry and wanted a peanut butter sandwich. I had been trying to get him to take some Advil so I hid it in the sandwich. I think he got one down but I got caught on the second and then he threw up two more times. I put him to bed at 7 and told Ronnie that I would be getting up at 3:30 to get my 20 mile run in before he had to go to work. After getting my daughter cleaned up and to bed, I got in bed to read. Ronnie left at 8:45 for poker and Bryce woke up again covered in sweat. I got him settled back down and asleep then tried to go to bed myself. Bryce woke up one more time after that. I heard Ronnie come in at 12:15, but I dropped right back to sleep. The alarm went off at 3:30 and I dreamed I got up. I got dresses then started picking up around the house. The alarm went off again and this time I really got up. I started running at exactly 4:00 am!!! It wasn’t raining just misty, cloudy, and dark. I ended up pretty wet by the end of the run but not soaked.
I knew that with the lack of sleep I was just logging miles and was not trying to hit the goal pace. Since it was so dark I ended up just doing loop after loop of my neighborhood and Amberwood. I did more loops of my neighborhood because there was this little poodle looking dog out in Amberwood that barked at me when I passed the first time. The second time he started barking as soon as I entered the subdivision, 0.2 miles from his house. Then he ran next to me for a tenth of a mile. He continued to bark after me for another tenth. That is about 4 minutes of barking at 4:20 in the morning, bet the neighbors just LOVE that little guy!
By 6:20 it was getting lighter out so I ventured down the road to Creekside. I ran 3 loops in there, then back to Amberwood, and finally 2 more loops of my subdivision.
I got home in time to pack a lunch for my daughter, comb her hair, and drop her off at school. I picked up Bryce’s school work and hurried home so Ronnie could get to work.
According to my Garmin I burned 3111 calories this morning. But even better news is that I lost 7 pounds. That is a lot of water weight!!! Too bad it won’t stay off.
I took my ice bath and hot shower, ate a banana, and am looking forward to a day of lounging around with my son. Who, by the way, could not understand why he was not going to school today.

Like I said I was just logging miles today but here are the numbers anyway.
20 miles at 4:00 am in 3:28:10, 10:25 pace.
Average heart rate 155, max heart rate 167
9:45, 9:47, 9:58, 10:03, 10:07, 9:55, 10:08, 10:00, 9:43, 10:09, 10:26, 10:19, 10:29, 10:35, 10:33, 11:05, 11:11, 11:23, 11:11, 11:24

Am I a Bear???

I have been acting like a bear getting ready to go into hibernation. I have been eating non-stop, even when I am not hungry, and packing on the pounds. And I am so tired, I just want to crawl into bed and sleep until it is spring.

But alas I don’t get to sleep the winter away, heck I don’t even get to sleep all night. This morning my lovely daughter woke me up at 4:00 to get her a drink of water. Of course then I had to pee while I was up. I finally got back in bed and tried to force myself asleep but couldn’t. The alarm went off at 4:45 and it was time for speed work.

The schedule had longer distance with walking rest intervals, so I had just programmed my Garmin with the workout.

I checked the temperature before heading out the door (51) and knew I had on too many clothes. I ended up shedding the fleece vest after the warm up.

warm up- 1.87 miles in 21:25
1 mile in 8:30
400m rest interval for 4:45
2 miles in 18:46
800m rest interval 9:15
800m in 4:20
400m rest interval 4:25
800m 4:02
400m rest interval 4:36
cool down of 1.09 miles in 13:04
So a grand total of 8.21 miles in 1:33:12, that’s an 11:21 pace.

I had a really hard time pushing myself this morning especially on the longer distances. I would totally get distracted and fall back to a slow pace. The weather was crappy too. It spit rain on me a few times and the wind was blowing pretty hard. It has turned out to be a crappy day. The positive from that is football practice was canceled. So while Casey was at gymnastics, Bryce and I went to Wal-mart. We got some food and I actually cooked tonight. I think this was our first meal at home in 2 months. Which leads back to my first point, I have been eating junk and a lot of it. My workouts are suffering and it is time to make a change. Garbage in, garbage out.

A Visit from Old Man Winter

Yesterday, the schedule called for cross training or rest. Since I have such a crazy week coming up and Ronnie was gone to an all day golf tournament, I went with the rest. The kids had an 11:30 soccer game that was another slaughter. After the game we went to MOAB so that I could get new bike shoes. My new shoes are TWO sizes bigger then my old ones. Granted they are a different brand but still two sizes!!! When we got home I sat out in the driveway and put my new cleats on my new shoes. My son come outside and declared himself “Old Man Winter”.


So I was not surprised this morning when I got up at 6:30 to find the ground covered with frost again. A quick check on weather.com informed me that it was 32 degrees. I decided to add a fleece shirt to my layering for my ride. I got dressed and headed out on my bike in my new helmet and shoes.


I rode to Amy’s house and because I wasn’t sure how long it would take me I was about ten minutes early. Amy came out in shorts and I gave her a once over and said “It is COLD, you are going to want pants”. She didn’t have any and said she is very hot natured anyway. I just nodded a whatever you say nod and off we went. Amy had a great route that was beautiful. I wished several times that I had brought along my camera. My favorite sight was the fog coming off the lake with a boat trolling across the smooth water. I don’t know who the crazy fools were that were out in a boat in that weather but I couldn’t say much as I rode by on my bike.

I did end up getting hot but did not regret putting on that extra layer, it sure helped in the shady parts and early on.

I rode a total of 35 miles in 2:42:41. Amy is still struggling with the fear of downhill but I can’t believe how good she is doing in the short time she has had her bike. I told her today that I won’t be surprised if she is ready to take on Music City Tri with me next year.

I LOVE my new shoes, my feet didn’t fall asleep. Amazing what happens when you get shoes that fit!! My new helmet is also very cool, but since it is the same helmet I had only a different color there isn’t much to say about it.

As more “crossing training”, I pushed mowed the fenced in part of the yard. I hope that it is for the LAST time this year. I then rode the riding lawn mower for the rest of the yard, guess there is no cross training there, just a lot of time. Next I shoveled 9 or 10 wheel barrel loads of gravel from the pile that has been sitting in the yard since they put the pool in last Oct. I hauled it to the ditch and dumped it. I didn’t make a very big dent in the pile but my back was killing me so I quit.

I am rearranging things this week. Monday will be the normal speed work day, Tuesday rest maybe yoga, Wednesday 20 miles solo, Thursday swim, Friday Tempo, and Saturday my first ever century ride. I will be going on my ride solo too and am a little nervous about it. Hope I can finish.

33 Degrees??? It’s October!

This morning, after discovering that it was 33 degrees out, I decided on my cold gear pants, bra, tank, and long sleeve shirt. I took the kids to school and was COLD. I came home and had to fight the urge to add more clothes. I did allow myself to add gloves. I got my fuel belt and MP3 player and headed out at 8:15.

Lucky for me the sun was out and it didn’t take long for me to warm up. By a mile and a half I was already shedding the gloves. Great now I get to carry them for sixteen and a half miles!!

At two and a half miles I got greeted by a chocolate lab puppy. He jumped up on my left calf and I spent the next 50 yards stopping to yell at home trying to get him to go home. I know from experience that it is not fun for runner or dog to get tripped.

At 6 miles I ate a hammer gel. I was starting to get tired.

At 10 miles I figured if I ran Danbury, then I would hit just perfect heading back across the highway and running those neighborhoods again.

12 miles I ate another gel and was really feeling the miles.

13.1 miles I was at 2:07 and knew this was 2 minutes FASTER then I ran my first half marathon two and a half years ago. Still 4.9 miles to go.

At 15.5 miles I realized I was going to have to do a third lap of Amberwood or 3 laps of my neighborhood. I didn’t trust myself being so close to home so I went through Amberwood again. I was dragging.

I finally made it to the home stretch. As I ran past my house I still had 0.2 miles to go. I ran as hard as I could to the stop sign, turned and headed home. Funny, it was 0.12 miles to the stop sign but only 0.7 on the way back so I had to run up my driveway too. Finally 18 miles!!

I stopped the Garmin and could hardly get one foot in front of the other. Total time 2:57:27. That is a 9:52 pace. Goal pace was PMP + 30 seconds. In order to get a 4 hour marathon I have to run a 9:10 pace. So that makes today another missed pace!! Comment: I was actually shooting for a 9:40 pace PMP + 30 seconds.

I took and ice bath, ate a grilled cheese sandwich, and took a power nap before having to claim the kids at school.

Here are the splits:
9:20, 9:30, 9:33, 9:43, 9:46, 9:37, 9:53, 9:42, 9:38, 9:42, 9:40, 10:04, 10:07, 10:01, 10:16, 10:11, 10:30, 10:16
Avg HR: 158 Max HR: 168

Joseph: Want to make a road trip? How about the first weekend in Dec. I hear Memphis is the place to be. I might stand a chance of that 4 hour marathon if I could get you to slow down and pull me to the finish line!

marathon maritza: I am running the Memphis St. Jude Marathon Dec 2nd. Day before yours. It’s getting close!!!

Another Bad Tempo Run

I am starting to think at a 4 hour marathon is just dreaming, at least for this December anyway.

This morning I woke up 7 minutes BEFORE my alarm went off because I had to pee. I refused to get out of bed and tried to force myself asleep for those last few precious minutes. The alarm went off at 4:45 and I drug my butt out of bed. Six and a half hours of sleep just isn’t enough for me.

I got dressed and headed outside for my tempo run. The plan called for 2 miles easy, 3 at ST and 1 easy. When I got outside it was raining. Ugg! I thought about going to the Rec Center but didn’t feel like driving, plus I had on long pants and long sleeves (which turned out to be too much even outside). It was actually barely sprinkling so I said heck with it and started the run.

I knew last night in toning class when she had us doing all those squats I was going to pay for it today. I noticed right off that my legs felt like lead. The two miles easy were done in 10:23 and 10:25, how is that for easy????

Then it was time to pick up the pace. My three tempo miles were done in 9:02, 9:07, and 9:15. The only thing tempo about that is that they were faster then the warm up. :)

The last easy mile was done in 11:08. By the end I was wondering how slow my legs could move before I would stop forward motion.

It was an ugly, painful run this morning but it is over. Tomorrow I rest then it is 18 miles on Friday. Looks like the 18 miler is going to be done solo, boo!

By the way, my crash wounds are healing up nicely, thanks for asking. I think I could even swim now, if only I had the time.

Cross Training

This morning Tracy had a hair appointment so I was riding solo. As I was airing up my tires, my phone rings. Tracy’s appointment was cancelled! Yea for me. I told Tracy I would meet her at the Rec Center in about 15 minutes and I hopped on my bike. We rode the Normandy loop and she dropped off as we passed her road. I continued on just like Sunday and ended up with 32 miles in 2:05:32.
Then this afternoon while Casey was at cheerleading practice, I went to toning class. Joyce taught and she was TOUGH. I am sure I will be cussing her in the morning when I am attempting my tempo run! Still no yoga this week, maybe next week.

Oh So Close

This morning the plan called for
10-20 minute warm up
2 x (6 x 400m) (1:30 RI)
(2:30 RI between sets)
10 minute cool down
Target pace on the 400s was 1:47

I went to Westwood track at 5:00 this morning. I had sent Lana a text message last night and I was really hoping she would show up. I knew by the time I finished my warm up that I was on my own and would just have to push myself.
Warm up 2 miles 19:25
First set
1:45, 1:43, 1:44, 1:46, 1:46, 1:44
Second set
1:48, 1:48, 1:45, 1:44, 1:48, 1:45
Cool down 1 mile 10:03
Funny how the first two 400 after the extra rest period were 2 of the 3 slowest. Go figure.

Perfect Day for a Long Ride

I never managed to get a workout in yesterday, so I will call it another “rest day”.

Today I rode the 4.75 miles from my house to the Rec Center to meet Tracy and Gary for a long ride. We started out on the Normandy loop. When we turned off the highway Tracy and I got startled by a very large snake crossing the road. We screamed like girls! Just as we got past the snake, Gary said “I have an idea for a different route”. His idea involved a 180 and passing the snake again. Lucky for us the snake had chosen to move so we didn’t see it again.
I am not really sure where we went but it was beautiful. There were lots of rolling hills and the weather was PERFECT. We stopped at a store somewhere along the way to buy more water and a candy bar. I had a payday. Both Gary and Tracy warned me we had a monster hill coming up and then we would get back to the normal loop with the big hill at Fire Lake. They were right, the hill was killer. At one point I was in the easiest gear on my bike and could go no faster the 5.5 mph. I sure was wishing for that third chain ring and was glad to make it to the top. We finally got back to where I knew where I was. Today’s max speed going down Fire Lake hill was 42 mph. Weeeeeeeeeeee!!! We looped back through town and Tracy and Gary split off to go home and I continued down the highway to Wayside to go home. All in all I rode 46 miles with a ride time of 3:00:12. I stopped my computer at the Rec Center while waiting for Gary and Tracy and at the store for fueling.

I think my bike shoes are too small. I need to find a conversion chart to figure out what size I should be wearing. My left foot fell asleep and really started hurting at the end of the ride.

I am still a little nervous riding beside people and put my brakes on going down some hills that I usually would not. But I am getting my confidence back quickly.

I hope Lana posts soon. She gave herself a great 30th birthday present. I am so happy for her!!

Cross Training

First off, I have to say Happy 30th Birthday to my good friend and training partner, Lana!!! Hope you have a wonderful day.

Since Ronnie is gone I could not ride this morning and the wound on my elbow is still too bad to swim so I got up and went to the 8:00 toning class this morning. Joyce was out and Josh said he wasn’t teaching for just me and the other girl that was there. I BEGGED. He finally gave in and did a great class.

Toning class is one hour of light weights/high reps. Goal is overall toning.

13 Miles IS a Long Run

First off, here are my heart rates for my 800s yesterday. 165, 166, 165,168, 167, and 168. I will try to get that hill workout in soon so that I can see just how bad I suck!

Now for today. Thursday is my scheduled rest day but Ronnie is going out of town for golf tomorrow and Saturday so it was long run this afternoon or never. Tracy had called me this afternoon and wanted to run with me for part of my run. She wanted to run during cheerleading practice and I wanted her to run the last 6 miles with me instead of the first 6. So I told her I would start a little before 5 and for her to call me as she was heading to the Rec Center so that I could head back that way. On my way home from work at 3:00 it was 87 degrees but looked like rain. By 4:30 it was sprinkling and the temps were falling. I headed to the Rec Center and on my run. Three and a half miles into my run it started to rain. I ran in the pouring rain for the next three and half miles. Tracy called. She was not running in the rain. I told her it was stopping, that I NEEDED her but she refused and told me I should be running inside. I headed to the Rec Center anyway. She was not outside so I kept going. I had run 7.5 miles by that point. It was no longer raining and I was cursing Tracy. I ran to Old Stone Fort Park and back. I still had 2 miles to go. They were the longest two miles. I ran the greenway and back through town. I even had to do “victory laps” in the parking lot just to get to 13. I will say that I did not take the easy way out tonight and I included a lot of hills in this run. But I did not hit target pace overall. How long can I use the “I had an accident” excuse???
The splits look like this:
9:25, 9:18, 9:26, 9:17, 9:15, 9:18, 9:17, 9:25, 9:40, 9:54, 9:36, 10:04, 10:14
Avg heart rate: 167
Bring on the rain!!!!

800s

Last night cheerleading practice was at the Rec Center instead of the park. So while Casey cheered I went to toning class. It was nice to get back.
This morning was 6x800s (1:30 RI). The track is still officially closed but since I have the inside connection (and the combination to the lock) I was able to get on the track. I started out with a nice slow 2 mile warm up in 19:44. My target pace for the 800s is 3:39. Ha, that was just dreaming. My actual times were 3:46, 3:51, 3:54, 3:54, 3:58, and 3:58. Then a 1 mile cool down in 9:29.

Note:
I forgot to mention, Ronnie is a LAIR!!!

Back in the Saddle

Whoo, am I glad that is over. The alarm went off at 6:00 and I looked out the window, from bed, and deemed it still too dark to ride so I hit snooze. When the alarm went off again, I knew I was just making excuses so I got up. I took my time getting dressed and almost just said heck with it. I finally made it out the door at 6:30. I will admit I was nervous getting back on my bike but I had to do it sometime. I decided that since it had only been 9 hours since my tempo run that I would just do the Matt’s Hollow route. I rode the 16.75 miles in 1:06:15. Nothing to brag about but I got back in the saddle and felt good.

Recovery Tempo

Fall break, Ronnie’s golf trip, and the bike crash are all playing havoc with my training schedule this week. I knew that I was NOT getting up at 5:00am this morning for 6x 800s. I thought I would see how I was feeling after work and hauling the kids to gymnastics and football. At 7:30 this evening I was still not up for 800s but FIRST allows you to do the three key workouts in any order. So I thought I would try the tempo run instead. On tap, 1 mile easy, 6 miles at LT (8:38), 1 mile easy.
Getting dressed proved to be as much of a challenge, if not more, then the actual run. I had gotten cold at football practice so I over dressed for the run. Long sleeves were defiantly overkill. David, do you have clothing chart ready yet?
I decided before I left the house that I was not going to beat myself up over the pace. For the first tenth of a mile I really questioned if I was ready for this run, but then I found my groove. Warm up mile 9:55. The 6 tempo miles were done in 8:37, 8:43, 8:49, 8:45, 9:03, and 8:52. The cool down was a slow and painful 10:50. I didn’t hit pace but it felt good to run.
When I got home, Ronnie redressed my shoulder and elbow. I get my eyebrows waxed every 8 weeks, but that is NOTHING compared to have wounds “debreeded”. It took a lot of fancy talking on Ronnie’s part to let him redress them. He assures me that the first time is the worst. We will see how truthful he is in a few days.