Week 8 Wrap Up

Week 8 is in the books. It was a tough week with 54 miles scheduled. Coming off the Middle Half last weekend I wasn’t sure I was going to make it. But not only did I get in the required 54 miles, I rode 13+. This is the second highest mileage week and it is DONE!!!!

So how did I wrap it up?

Thursday was 5 at 5 (that’s am). I met Tracy, Mike, Amy and Mary Beth at the Rec Center. We picked up Lana on the greenway, she was already 6 miles into her 20 mile run and looked strong.
It was a recovery run for me. 5 miles in 51:12, 10:15 pace.
We said bye to Lana as she ran off into the darkness to finish her last 9 miles on her own. She finished in 3:18:44. Great job!

Last night I downloaded 4 pod casts and mixed up 24 oz of OS drink. Lana had had success drinking it on her long run with no tummy troubles so I wanted to give it a try too.

This morning I took the kids to school early, they were getting out early so I didn’t feel as bad about it. Then I came back home and headed out on my 20 miler. Just me and Steve Runner. I have never listened to a pod cast but it was GREAT. The miles ticked off and I just listened. A pod cast is different then music for me because it really makes me listen and I don’t have time to focus on how far I have been and how much further I still have to go.
It was foggy and cool (61) when I started but it didn’t take long for the fog to burn off and the sun to come out. I got hot quickly. I didn’t drink at the start but once the sun came out I took regular sips of the OS. I had three 6 oz bottles and drank every last drop. Happy to report no tummy troubles.
I made it to 20 miles in 3:18:41, 9:56 pace. I walked the quarter of a mile home and text messaged Lana (who had text me while running) that I was DONE!!
I took and ice bath and downed a 12 oz bottle of Gatorade. After showering and dressing, I ate a Weight Watchers meal and then went and got the kids from school.
They let me take about an hour nap and I am feeling great.
Lana reply was “Good job! Its over now - have you a drink.” And I think it is time to follow her advice. I hear a cold beer calling my name.

Not as Planned

When I got up yesterday, I could walk again. I had very little soreness left. I spent the morning cleaning up the playroom so when Lana’s lunch hour was approaching I needed outside. I emailed her and told her I would be there. I got stuck at the intersection while they moved a house down the road so I was late. I hate being late but I hated it even more since Mike and Lana were both on their lunch hours. Sorry guys!!
We rode a nice short loop, 13.22 miles in 44:36. 17.8 mph average. It was a beautiful day and felt great to be on my bike.
I went back home to finish picking up before I had to get the kids from school.

This morning I got up at 4:00. On tap – 11 miles with 6 at half mary pace. I worried about this run all night. I just knew that it was going to be a challenge and it was!
I ran 3 slow miles 10:20, 9:52 and 9:51. Then I picked up the pace for the next 6. 8:46, 9:02, 8:53, 8:58, 9:28 and 9:58. That last one includes stopping right before it beeped at my driveway for water. After the drink I shuffled off for my last two miles. 10:42 and 11:10. OK, so I didn’t hit pace. I am not happy about it especially since this was my first major run alone. I need to be able to push myself and not count on having someone else push me.

It is Just Painful

I have been walking like I am 100 years old for two days.

All 3 of the other people at work asked if I had wrecked my bike again.

It is actually getting better but I have been so sore from Saturday’s race/long run.

Yesterday the schedule called for a 6 mile recovery run and 6 x 100 strides. I met Tracy at the Rec Center at 6 am. We ran the greenway through town, down Hills Chapel to Oak and back to town. I was very slow getting started and even once the stiffness went away, I could not pick up the pace. I kept telling Tracy sorry that I was ruining her run. 6 miles in 1:02:36, 10:26 pace. I had to skip the strides because once I finished running I had to potty too bad that I just had to rush home.

I had a hard time with the stairs at church. Sitting and standing are both also challenging.

This morning I met Lana at her house. She had mapped us out a new route. One part of it turned out to be pretty scary but otherwise it was good. Once again, I was very stiff starting out. I never did feeling like I got my stride right, it always felt short. The downhills were very painful, for once I was glad we had to run up Cracker Barrel hill and not down. We finished about a quarter of a mile from Lana’s and I was so glad to stop running. 12 miles in 1:59:17, 9:57 pace.

Tomorrow is a rest/cross training day. I am thinking about meeting Lana on her lunch hour for an easy ride. I am waiting to see how the legs feel before I commit.

Then I am on my own the reminder of the week. 11 miles with 6 at half mary pace, 5 mile recovery, and the first 20 miler.

The Middle Half

Whew, it was a hot one out there today. Lana and I had to turn a half marathon into a 18 miler.

Lana and I left extra early and got the race way before we needed to. We picked up our race packet and the rested in the car until 6:30.

At 6:30 we started our 2 mile run. We kept it slow. 9:49 and 10:04

We grabbed a water bottle and headed to the start line.

While looking for Mike, I found Rae. I didn’t get to say much except Hi I had Mike’s race number and had to find him before the start.

The race started and Lana and I went out a little faster than I would have liked but I was feeling good. We had to do quite a bit of weaving to find room to run. We got behind Jerry from swim class and just let him pace us.

We made it to the half way mat. I could tell Lana wasn’t feeling great. We slowed a little. I started having a lot more fun. I was able to speak again. I talked to everyone. I thanked the spectators and volunteers and cheered for the runners heading the other direction.

I held my pace and made it to the finish line. My official time was 1:55:11.

I got a bottle of water, my medal and returned my chip then walked around waiting on Lana. She wasn’t far behind but she wasn’t feeling well. She told me to go ahead and do my 3. I grabbed an orange quarter, ate it really quick, and then ran back out. I cheered the runners heading into the finish as I ran. I got some strange looks and told I was going the wrong way. I was one of “those” people today. 13.1 miles wasn’t enough for me. I turned back around and continued cheering for runners. I hit 18 miles right before the 13 mile marker. I walked back into the track. I ran into Rae and Brent and we talked for a while. I finally got another bottle of water, a diet coke, and an ice cream sandwich. Turns out I cold only eat half the ice cream but I managed to drink 2 diet cokes.

I saw Lana coming back into the track after her 3 miles. She still wasn’t feeling great.

We checked out the results. Lana won a door prize which she collected before we headed out.

I am not thrilled with my race today but I am glad to have the 18 miler in the books.
Splits:


Big congrats to Holly, Mike, Lisa, Kim R. , Kim C., Tim, Heather, Pam, Rae and of course Lana.

More Changes

We are doing some shifting of the schedule again.

Wednesday was a rest/cross train day. Originally Lana and I had wanted to ride outside that morning but it was way too dark. So I got up at 5:00 and did the Spinervals “No Slackers” DVD on my trainer. It has been a while and I wasn’t able to do the super spins at 120 rpm. Going to have to work back up to that again.

Thursday morning I met Lana, Joe and Mike at the Rec Center. Lana had mapped out a new (mostly) 7 mile loop. It was dark but a lot of the route was in town where there are street lights. Good thing since I forgot to borrow a head lamp from one of the kids. BTW, my dad told me he got them at Lowe’s for 10 bucks. I will be going to pick up one for myself soon.

Today the schedule has an 18 miler on it, but we are shifting it to tomorrow and taking a rest day today.

Tomorrow is The Middle Half, a half mary in Murfreesboro. Lana and I are going to run 2 miles before the race and 3 miles after the race to make it into an 18 miler. So ANOTHER race that I am not racing.

Then today the race director for Old Timers Day called me to see if I was doing the 5K next weekend. I told her no and she pretty much bullied me into it. I have a 20 mile run the day before that race. So once again I will be taking a public spanking.

Week 7 - Feeling Better

Monday was a recovery run. I met Lana, Mary Beth, and Gina at the Rec Center at 5:00am. We ran 2 loops of the greenway. 4 miles in 45:36, 11:23 pace. I am so excited for Mary Beth and Gina. 4 miles is a longer run for them but they did GREAT. We didn’t take it easy on them and forced them to run a couple of tough hills. Great job girls!! Maybe we can get one of you up to 13.1 by May????

Yesterday my kids got a package in the mail from my dad. Head lamps!! They were both so excited and ran all over the yard in the dark last night. I asked Casey if I could borrow hers this morning for my run and she said I could. Now I was excited.

So, I met Lana and Joe at 4:30 this morning. We ran Bushy Branch Road over to Holly’s, who put out water for us (Thanks), and back on Ragsdale. It was foggy, a cool 56, and DARK!! The head lamp worked great. No close calls with cars or inlets. I felt really good the entire run. Maybe recovery week is paying off now.
splits:
10:12, 9:29, 9:24, 9:20, 9:20, 10:20 (water and Gu), 9:07, 9:05, 8:54, 9:10, 8:56

Music City Triathlon

Last tri of the season.

The schedule called for 10 miles with 5 at half marathon pace. Lana and I replaced it with the race.

My strategy going into the race was to swim and bike at a lower effort so that I could run the 10K at 8:30 pace. No racing for me.

We got to Nashville Shores and it was cold. There was a sign at check in that said “water temp 44 degrees, wetsuits legal”. Boy was I glad I threw mine into my car at the last minute.

We did the normal packet pick up, body marking and transition setup.

Transition was very crowded and I did not like the way I had to set up. Everything was backwards.

We made our way down to the beach. They explain the swim route. Boy did it look long. We were told after the race that it was in fact long.

I was in the 8th wave.

I lined up and waded out into the water when instructed.

3,2,1..go

I was off. Like I said I was going easy. I got passed by everyone in my age group, or so I thought. Then came a wave of men. Great, I had a 3 or 4 minute lead on them. But worse was when I got passed by the wave of females. I stopped twice during the swim to look around and see if there was anyone behind me. I finally made it to the beach again. 1.5 k swim time 32:17

As I was walking, yes I said walking, up the beach to transition, I wasn’t feeling so good. A little dizzy and stomach cramps. Then I heard Ashley, my swim coach, yell for me and ring a cow bell. I thought “I can’t let her see me walking”, so I jogged the rest of the way to transition. T1 time 1:50

I ate a Gu as I got on my bike. It started raining. I was cold. I pushed on but not hard. It stopped raining at about mile 4. The stomach cramps were getting worse. I thought to myself “I wonder how bad it would hurt to crash my bike and take a DNF.” I didn’t want to have to blog about another fall. At mile 14 I threw up in my mouth. At mile 16 it started to rain again. I finally made it back to transition and TriSonq yells from behind, “I almost caught you”. I don’t even want to know what wave he started in. 40K bike time 1:14:07

The bike rack was very crowded. I had to scoot bikes over just to make room to get mine back on the rack. Guess that is the price you pay for taking so long . I had left out a Gu to take on the run but with the tummy troubles on the bike I wasn’t risking it. T2 time 1:20.

The run starts on grass. Then we moved onto some rough pavement then it was up hill. There was a spectator walking down the hill and he tells me “keep pumping those arms, and your feet will follow”. I made it to the top and said to the guy next to me “man that was hell”. I made it to the first mile marker. I had forgotten to hit the lap button so I had no idea if I was on pace or not. My toes were frozen and it wasn’t until the first mile when they thawed some that I realized I had mud between my toes. At the second mile marker I saw that I was on pace. The third mile marker I was still on pace. My stomach was feeling better so I grabbed some powerade at the turn around. I started up the hill and the girl next to me starts talking to me. She was running a rely and had on a Garmin. She told me my pace up the hill was 9:00. We talked all the way up the hill and this year I didn’t walk any of it. It was great to have the push. I drank another powerade at mile 4 and was at little off pace, due to the hill and the two walking drink stops. I got to mile 5 and saw a woman in a blue tri suit. I pushed to catch her. Finally on the down hill I passed her. We ran the final mile together pushing each other. 10K run time 53:21, 8:35 pace.

Total race time 2:44:29

I was almost a full minute behind last year’s time, but last year I had a different goal. It is hard to look at the results and see 11th out of 19 but I achieved what I set out to do. And I think that I made a fair trade on my 10 mile LT run.

Huge congrats to my training buddy-Joe had an awesome half mary on Saturday. 1:44:25. Way to go!!!

Week 6 -Recovery??

I thought this was recovery week! So why am I so darn tired?

Yesterday (Thursday), I met Lana, Holly, Amy, Mike, Joe and Tim at the Rec Center at 5:00am. We ran the greenway loop twice. 4 miles in 41:30, 10:22 pace. Then Lana, Mike, Tim and I went inside to swim. I did 1500 yards in 30:25. Lana and I had our own lanes but swam neck in neck the whole time. Anytime I would start to slack she would pass me and then I would have to catch back up.

Today was the long run. Only 12 miles, it is recovery week. Lana mapped us out a route and put water and Gu at mile 8. We met at 4:30am. I had big plans for this run, after all it was only 12 miles. But right from the start I knew I was in trouble. Why am I so tired? It took a lot of effort to finish and if Lana hadn’t been there to pull me along I don’t know that I would have made all 12. She said she was more tired then usual too so maybe that is how we are suppose to be feeling at this point in the program. I don’t know.
Splits:
9:56, 9:33, 9:16, 9:43, 9:36, 9:34, 9:14, 9:17, 10:03 (water Gu stop), 9:22, 9:34, 9:16

Sunday is our last tri of the season. I can’t believe the season is over, it went by so fast.

Week 6 - Day

I met Lana at her house at 5:00 this morning for our mid-week long run. Since this is recovery week, it was only 8 miles. We did the same loop from her house through town and back. My legs were very tired and a little sore starting out but by the end of the run they felt good. The route is just a little long and I joked with Lana before hand that it didn’t matter with my Garmin anyway. So the first time my Garmin stayed right on track with Lana’s Garmin and then even reached 8 miles seconds before hers.
So eight miles in 1:16:44, 9:35 pace.
We walked the extra quarter of a mile back to Lana’s house as a cool down.

I may fall down, but I don’t stay down

Saturday morning I rode 20 miles with Mike. We averaged 17.9 mph. It wasn’t my best effort but following the 17 miler on Friday I will take it.

Sunday evening we met at my house at 6 for an 8 mile GA run and 8 x 100 strides. Joe was feeling awfully spunky and kept pulling ahead and then running back to us (me, Lana, and Mike). We got to talking about the up coming marathon and the missed goals last time. This lit fire under Lana and she took off with Joe. I got a little ahead of Mike so was running alone, again. I ended up with 8 miles in 1:13:10, 9:09 pace. My heart rate was a little high for a GA run. I averaged 162 and maxed at 176. Back at my house we regrouped for strides. Joe is still having knee issues so was only able to get in 3. Lana, Mike and I knocked out the 8 and were very thankful that we didn’t have 10 this week.

This morning(Monday), I got up at 5:00 and ran my 5 mile recovery run. Man, was I TIRED. I did two loops and it took everything I had not to stop when I passed my house the first time. The 5 miles took 55:12, 11:02 pace. Heart rate was on target at 140.

Huge congrats to all you IM Wisconsin finishers. I spent a large part of yesterday tracking bloggers and watching Ironman Live online. It was so cool.

Week 5 - Done

I met Lana and Joe at 4:00 this morning for our 17 mile run.

We left the Rec Center and ran out to the highway. The sidewalks around here are horrible so I run on the roads as much as possible. We were on the highway and had just finished the first mile when two cars came over the hill toward us. I decided to step up onto the sidewalk out of the way. Problem is it was dark and the headlights had me blind. I stepped right into an inlet and fell. I jumped up really fast and continued to run. Lana asked did I need to walk it off, I just gave her a short “no” and kept going. I couldn’t see the damage to my knees but I know my ego was hurting. We made it to some light in about half a mile and I saw both knees where bleeding. My shoulder was really hurting but I saw no signs of damage.




We continued on. The route had us passing Holly’s, Lana’s sister, house at about 5 miles and again at about 10.5 miles. Holly had put out a cooler of water and Joe had Gu. I had also left a bag of water at my friend Tracy’s mailbox.

The route ended up a little short and we started an out and back on the greenway. Lana looked and me and said she had to get to the bathroom ASAP. She turned around and ran back to the Rec Center while I finished my run.. It is just as well because my Garmin was running a tenth of a mile behind hers again.
Details: The slower miles are the ones with water stops.

I got home at 7:05 and got the kids dressed and to school at 7:15 in time to meet my mother for Grandparent’s breakfast.

I met Joe and Lana at the Rec Center at 4:50 this morning. Amy left me a text message that she wasn’t going to make it and Lana called Mike and woke him up to find out he wasn’t going to make it either. So the 3 of us headed out on our 5 mile recovery run. We ran a 3 mile loop on the greenway and through town and then a two mile loop. 50:35, 10:07/mile. I think it almost killed Joe to have to run so slowly. I had a average heart rate of 147.
After the run Lana and I went in for a swim in the pool. We each had our own lanes but swam at the same pace. Not our best swim but we covered the distance. 1 mile in 36:18.
Today was also the rebel run at school for the kids. This is a big fund raiser. the kids run laps around the gym for 20 minutes. After each lap they get a card marked.
Bryce's run was at 9:15. He ended up with 65 laps.

Then Casey’s run was at 12:00. She ran 52 laps. She was really upset when she found out her brother beat her this year.

Behind Again

I just can’t seem to stay on top of this blog. Too much working out????

Lana and I had decided last week that we were going to adjust “The Plan”. I knew that she was going for an overall finish Saturday at the STAR even though she didn’t admit it (she got it, she has a great race report posted). She wanted fresh legs on Saturday so Friday’s long run got moved to Sunday.

Sunday morning we met at Joe’s at 6:00. The first loop Joe stayed a few steps ahead of me and Lana. We stopped for water and Gu at about seven and a half. I fell a few steps behind. Lana turned and gave me a look. I caught up with her and she told me she didn’t want to run alone. Joe dropped back with us too. Then he kept dropping back while Lana and I continued to hold the pace. I could taste a negative split then and pushed a little harder. By this point my Garmin was a full tenth of a mile behind Lana’s Garmin. So she grabbed the water from the cooler we had set out while I continued moving hoping to gain on her. No luck. It was really hard to keep running once her Garmin beeped 15 miles, but we picked up the pace and finished strong.
9:45, 9:51, 9:53, 9:29, 9:23, 9:27, 9:28, 10:16 (water/Gu), 9:33, 9:34, 9:26, 9:01, 9:16 (water), 9:12, 8:31

My legs were toast. I went home and got back in bed and slept until the kids woke me up at 8:45.

Monday was back on “The Plan” with a 5 mile recovery run. Ronnie had a golf scrabble so I was up early (4:30) again. The first tenth of a mile was very comical. My legs were so sore it hurt with every step. Finally I got my running legs and then I had to potty. I looped back around to my house and made a pit stop. I also stopped my watch, this run was going to be slow enough. After the potty break, I finished the run. 5 miles at a 11: 32 pace.

This morning I met Lana at her house at 4:30 for yet another mid week 10 miler. I stopped along the way and left us some water bottles. Neither one of was sure how this run was going to go. I didn’t sleep well last night (good thing I got in that nap yesterday morning) and my legs were still pretty tired. We did the same route except we added an out and back on Hwy 55. Lana was telling a story and we ended up running out a little too far. On the way back Lana needed to potty. Walgreen’s wasn’t open yet and by the time we got to the next gas station she decided she could wait, but she picked up the pace. We beeped 10 miles and had to keep running to get back to Lana’s. 10.13 miles in 1:36:02, 9:29 pace.
9:31, 9:36, 9:52, 9:26, 9:20, 9:43, 9:36, 9:21, 9:09, 9:16 and the last 0.13 miles at 8:49.

My bed is calling me now. Tomorrow is a rest day. I am skipping toning class and sleeping in until 6:00!

STAR Race Report

Ronnie’s golf club has been under construction all summer so he has only played there once in August. Yesterday was the last day of the month so we had to go up there and spend our $40 minimum spending. Not exactly the best way to spend the night before a race.
I am calling my beer drinking carb loading. We didn’t stay out too late but much beer was consumed.

Lucky of me today’s race was our local triathlon, a reverse sprint distance. So I got to sleep until 6:00. I got up and got myself ready and then got the kids ready. We got to the Rec Center at about 7:15. I sent the kids to the child care room to play. I got my t-shirt and body marked. I picked out a spot in transition and listened to the pre race instructions. Lana and I did a very short warm up jog and then it was time for the start. Some more announcements and then 3,2,,1 , go.

The Run 5k
It was an out and back to Old Stone Fort State Park. I started in the middle of the pack. I passed some people and got passed by others. I chatted with the people around me. As I approached the turn around, I cheered for Lana and Don who were both ahead of me and heading back in. I hit the turn around at about 12:40. I cheered for Mike, Amy and Gary as they approached the turn. I was going to get a cup of water at the water stop on the way out of the park but they were not keeping up and I was not going to hang around and wait for water. I chatted with more people. I made it back to transition.
Run Time 25:12 (I am not sure where transition times got added in, so this might be run +T1)

T1
I put on my helmet, changed shoes and grabbed my bike.

The Bike 14 miles

As I headed out of the parking lot the guy in front of me starts swerving in front of me. I yell on your left, on your left, ON YOUR LEFT!! He just kept coming over. I just knew we were both going down. I had no where to go. He cut right just in time and we both stayed on our bikes. He explained that he didn’t think he was clipped in. Not off to a good start. The route was changed this year to an out ad back on highway 55. After the near crash the rest of the ride was uneventful. I am not really happy with my ride, I have had much better. I had trouble staying focused and would find myself slacking. The turn off 55 is down a short steep hill and I was nervous so I slowed down more then I should have and got passed. I couldn’t catch the guy and he made it into T2 ahead of me.
Bike Time 46:02 (again I don’t know if this is T1 and or T2 also)


T2
In transition, I removed my shoes and socks, yes I wore socks since I didn’t have to put them on wet feet. I grabbed my goggles and ran to the pool. On the way I realized I still had on sunglasses. I handed them to Cindy and asked her to hold them for me.

The Swim 200 yards
I got to the pool edge and the girl reminds me no diving feet first. I realized I didn’t have on my goggles yet. I fumbled with them for a second and then was in the water. It felt good. I passed 4 guys in the water. I pulled myself out of the pool and crossed the ‘finish line”. last year there was a table and people there recording your time. This year there was no one. So I just stood there thinking “am I done?” Lana’s dad got my picture all dazed and confused (it I so bad I refuse to post it).
Swim time 4:04 (I am fairly sure this does not include any transition times)

Total Race Time 1:15:18 First 35-39 Female


Thanks again to Flash for the pictures.

Time to go watch football!!!