Chattanooga Waterfront Race Report

Made the drive down to Chattanooga Saturday and got checked into my hotel room. I enjoyed some quite time after picking up my packet and then met Lana and her family for dinner.
I tried to get to bed early but with the time change it was really hard. 4:45am eastern time came really early.
I got ready and Lana came down to my room. We rode to the transition where we got our chips and body marked. It was dark and hard to set up so I just did the best I could. After Lana and I made sure we would be able to find our bikes when we came out of the water, we got on the bus to go to the swim start.
There was a delay getting the race started but finally it was underway. I was number 411 so it took about 20 minutes before I got in the water.
I was really counting on the current and I am hoping that there just wasn’t one because my time was a lot worse then last year’s time. I didn’t think I was ever going to get to the pier and get pulled out. The swim felt really LONG.
There were some stairs to get to T1 and people were everywhere cheering. It was great. But then I got to T1 and realized I forgot to open my bike shoes. T1 took extra long.
I got my bike and ran to the mount line. I had no goal for this bike. They had changed the route from last year and rumor had it that it was hilly. Rumor didn’t lie. There were no steep hills or hard climbs just lots of them. Lana had started about 3 minute behind me. She caught me at about mile 15. She stayed in site for a while and I pushed hard but finally gave up and let her go, I still had a 10K to run.
As I entered T2 I realized I didn’t get a landmark and just hoped that I was running down the right row. I was lucky and T2 went smooth.
I saw Holly and Kelly as I started the run. Then I heard “Go Michele”. Found out later it was Lana’s mom. The run last year was a death march. It was so hot. This year the route changed a LITTLE, very little. But the weather could not have been better. I felt fine the entire run and after the first mile and some quick math, I realized I had a shot at under 3 hours. I saw Lana just before the turn around and she was cramping. Just after I made the turn I saw Tom. He caught up with me and asked about my swim time. He said his was 4-5 minutes slower then last year and I said so was mine. He said that maybe it was the water.
I came down the last hill and then the finish line was in site. I heard Lana, Holly, and Lana’s mom all yelling for me. I made my final push and I crossed the finish line in 2:52.
The official results aren’t up yet so I will have to update my report once I have splits.
Special thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Flash and Holly and Kelly. Your support and picture taking means the world to me.

Replacement

Last night my dog woke me up at about 2:00 to go out. While she was doing her business, I noticed that I had a text message on my phone. It was from Lana at 12:55 saying that she was still up and not to wait on her for our scheduled 4 mile run.

So when the alarm went off at 4:20, it was extra hard to pull my self out of bed. Somehow I managed. When I got to the Rec Center, Eric was stretching in the parking lot. He asked if Lana was coming and when I said no he asked if I wanted to run with him. I told him that it depended on how far and fast he was running. He said he would do whatever I was planning on doing. So off we went. We did two of the two mile loops on the greenway (I didn’t fall this week). As we where heading back on the second loop, Eric said he was going to go straight on Hwy 41 and get in one last hill. He asked me to join him but I passed. I finished my 4 miles at the Rec Center. I think my pace was 9:18.

Toning class was tough again this morning and made extra tough by the fatigue from last night’s class. I hope that I can move my arms tomorrow. I really need to get in a swim.

Back of the Pack

This morning I drove to the Rec Center where I met up with Lana, Holly, Kelly, Don and Joe. I had mapped out two different bike routes and we picked the one will rolling hills verses the completely flat one. I got out voted!!

We headed out and Kelly, Don and Joe took the lead with Lana right on their tails. Holly was next and I brought up the rear. I think I managed to pass Holly a time or two when I built up speed on the downhills, otherwise I stayed firmly in last place. The good thing about riding with these speed demons is that it forces me to push myself.

Kelly ended up waiting on us at a turn and stayed with us the rest of the ride. We missed a turn and our 16 mile ride turned into a 14.33 mile ride in 47:56. That’s my time, the speed demons finished much faster.

Back at the Rec Center, Lana and I changed shoes and did a 2 mile run. 17:32, 8:47 pace.

Tonight is toning and yoga. Wonder what new forms of torture Cindy will have in store.

Swim and Bike

Lana has been camping this week out a AEDC, so this morning I drove out there to meet up. First we did a short lake swim. We had just gotten started and I took a breath and there was Lana’s face. I kinda of laughed but kept on going. A minute later there she was again and again. This time we both stopped because we were laughing too hard to swim. Here we had the whole lake but we had to swim right on top of each other. After the first buoy, I ran into Lana and we stopped due to laughter again. We finally made it out of the water. Best guess is 650 yards. We were both a lot more tired then we should have been after a swim of that length.

We got on our bikes. Lana had left her helmet at the camp site so we rode down there so she could get it. Then we were off. We rode the Mach Tenn route, about 16 miles. We had a good ride. And I am happy to report that we were incident free!!!!

Klutz

Yesterday I was updating my training log. As I was putting in Tuesday’s hilly ride, I discovered that my max heart rate for the ride was 191. That’s right one-nine-one. Between the fall and high heart rate, I am just glad to be alive.

Tuesday evening I went to toning and yoga classes. The instructors had all just returned from a weekend workshop in Atlanta. They learned all kinds of new ways to hurt us and Cindy couldn’t wait to try some of them out on us. I cussed Cindy, Lana and hills for 2 hours.

Yesterday, I spent in. I sat by the pool. I was enjoying a lazy 4th of July. When Ronnie got home from golf, I was feeling guilty for being so lazy and eating like a pig so I decided to go for a ride. I did a nice FLAT route. 26.23 miles in 1:37:03. I got chased by 3 different dogs, nothing like a little sprint in the middle of a ride.

This morning I hit snooze. I got up the second time the alarm went off but had lost enough time that my 4 mile run had to be cut to a 3 mile run. I decided to do the greenway and town loop. I was about a half mile into my run when I tripped and fell. The sidewalk had a small uneven spot but nothing like the sidewalk in town. I went skidding across the sidewalk on my right knee. I jumped up really fast and looked around make sure no one saw me and started running gain. At the end of the greenway, I stopped to survey the damage. Nothing major, my hands were scuffed and the outside of my right knee was scrapped to match the front. I continued on with my run. I finished the 3 miles in 29:52.

I think is it safe to assume that I have secured the klutz of the month award for July!!

Bike Push

Lana has heard that the new bike route for the Waterfront tri on the 15th is hilly, so she wanted to get in some hill work before hand.

This is the email she sent out yesterday:

Ok - plans have changed just a little. We've decided to do some hills. One of them being Lakeview Rd in Normandy. Meeting time is 5:15. Meeting place is that church behind the track at Westwood Jr. High. Right beside Crestwood Nursing Home. The route is as follows:

Powers Bridge Rd to Old Stage Coach Rd
Left on Old Stage Coach Rd
Left on MG England Rd
Right on Wards Chapel Rd
Left on Lyndell Bell Rd
Right on Frank Hiles Rd
Left on Lakeview Rd
Left on Throneberry
Left On Riley Creek, which turns into Lyndell Bell
and backtrack back to Westwood.

I estimate this route to be around 23 or 24 miles, but Michele is going to plot it in her program and also get the elevation for it. Be ready to climb!

Let me know if you get this, sowe'll know to expect you...

I tried to plot it but it is probably best that I got the message "elevation tracking is unavailable at this time". I don't know that I would have gone had I known what was in store for me.

It ended up being Lana, Holly, Kelly, Don and me. When I told Tracy about the ride she said “Hell no”.

I knew the first hill, I had accidentally gone that way when I first got my bike. I haven't been back.

Well, today was the day. The first hill comes pretty quickly and my legs were screaming already. Holly told me she wished that she could say that was the worst of it but she knew better.

Hill number two...Don took a spill going down. He got banged up pretty good, but he wanted to continue. Now for the up hill. I didn't have enough speed and didn't get into my easiest gear. I tipped. I unclipped my left leg and fell over right. My right knee took a good bang. I pushed up the rest of the hill.

The Lakeview Road hill Lana mentioned in her email was up next. I started too hard and lost steam. I told Holly (as she passed me) that I wanted to cry. She said "You've almost made it" and I yelled back "I don't want to make it!!!". I couldn't do it. I had to get off and push AGAIN, I was not falling over this time.

We changed the route a little and eliminated one of the hills on the return trip. The two that remaining took everything I had, but I climbed them.

I was so glad to get back to the starting point and my car. All those hills made for a very long ride and I had to rush home to get ready for work.

Lana is never allowed to be in charge of picking the route!!!

Speed Work Monday

After hitting snooze one time this morning (I don’t know what is wrong with me), I got out of bed at 5:00 for Speed Work Monday.

I had programmed my Garmin last night with a workout from the FIRST program that I did last fall. I like this one because the distance gets less each interval.

I put a water bottle in my mailbox and took off for the warm up.

I took the warm up nice and slow, stopped at my mail box during the 200 RI, and then took off for the first speed interval.

Speed work on Monday mornings is TOUGH, but I got it done. My final 200 interval was even fast for me!

Here are the numbers.

Evening Brick

Friday I sent Lana a text message to see if she wanted to do a brick on Saturday. Then I left my phone in the house and forgot to check it before bed.
She had replied that she wanted to do a 30-35 mile ride and a 5 mile run at 6:00am.
I saw the message at 9:00am Saturday. I replied that I was sorry I missed her.
Turns out she didn’t go so we made plans to do it at 5:30 Saturday evening.I am not use to evening workouts and after a day of yard work all I wanted to do was join Ronnie with a cold one. I was really glad that I had made plans with Lana otherwise the workout would NOT have gotten done.

So about 6 Lana shows up at my house and we decide on a route and take off.

My legs were really burning and I was struggling to keep up for the first 8-10 miles. I don’t know if Lana slowed a lot or I managed to speed up but we stayed together for the rest of the ride.

This was mostly new territory for me and Lana had picked it because of a hill. Thankfully it was a downhill. She warned me that it was pretty steep and curvy. Then so did this sign. I rode my brakes pretty hard. I want to go back and ride this hill some more. The pavement is smooth and there isn’t a lot of traffic. I think we could get some major speed.
The scenery was beautiful. We were way out in the country. As was made a curve we saw a rooster crossing the street. We stopped so that I could take his picture. Just after I took it, his buddy came out to the street. This was one giant bird. At first we were unsure what he was then we determined that he was a turkey, a huge turkey.When we made it back to Maple Springs Road we had the wind at our backs and it was down hill, no wonder I was struggling so hard at the first part of the ride.

.
We finished with 32.15 miles in 1:54:21. Average speed of 16.9 mph (that counts the picture taking stops).

Back at my house we changed shoes and got told once again by my husband how insane we are.

We ran my same old loop. It was dark. On Wayside Road both Lana and I swallowed a bug at the same time and started choking. It took us some time to recover and both us complained about bug parts the rest of the run.

We took out to fast and I was paying for it. I tried to convince Lana that 5 miles was excessive but she would not listen. By the time we made it back to my neighborhood I was ready to be done. We made the final loop and stopped as soon as Garmin said 5 miles. 45:18, 9:03 pace.

I took off my heart rate monitor and discovered that I had picked up a huge beetle type bug. He was clinging to my sports bra and I could not get him off. I held my bra out and Lana smacked at him twice before finally knocking him onto my chest. I screamed and knocked him off and onto her arm.

We finally made it back to my house. I grabbed a couple of cold ones from the fridge and Lana and I jumped into the pool. Man that water felt GREAT. We sat on the pool steps and drank our recovery drinks.

Lana decided to just leave her bike here instead of trying to get it back up on top of her car. I think I am going to hide it from her for trying to kill me last night!!!

Today has already started off as a lazy day. I hope to get motivated later and swim some laps. My pool is only 40 feet long so it is hard to really swim laps here. But I guess it is better then nothing

Good Intentions

Last night I packed my backpack with my swim stuff and laid out running stuff.

When the alarm went off at 4:50 this morning, I hit snooze. I don’ know what is wrong with me lately. I am not a snooze kind of person. I set my alarm for the time I want to get up, no sooner. My husband, on the other hand, sets his alarm 30-45 minutes early and hits snooze so that he can “wake up slowly”. It drives me nuts.

Anyway, after hitting snooze, I did get up. I put on my running clothes and drove to the Rec Center. I ran the 2 mile loop backwards. This made me have to run up jail hill. I ran through town then hit the greenway. The second time up jail hill wasn’t pretty. It was more of a shuffle then a run. Back through town and the greenway.

I got to the Rec Center and my heart rate was high. My hamstrings were on fire. My stomach hurt. I was tired. I got in my car and drove home.

I really needed to swim today, even more then I needed to run. Now I don’t know when I will get a swim in. Slacker!!!!!!

The numbers:
4 miles in 40:47, 10:12 pace (speed work next week!!!)
splits 10:19, 9:57, 10:30,10:02 (notice mile 1 and 3 when I had to go up jail hill)
average heart rate 151 bpm
max heart rate 173 bpm

Detox

Tuesday was spent with Angie poolside drinking beer. Then I stayed up too late watching a movie. So when the alarm went of at 4:30 Wednesday morning, I turned it off and went right back to sleep. No 4 mile run, no toning class.

The good thing is I started my detox Wednesday. First Angie and I took all the kids to The Discovery Center in Murfreesboro. Then Angie headed back to Memphis and I took Bryce and Casey on a hunt for a new computer. It turned out to be an all day adventure. I did find a good cheap computer and got it set up last night. Training wise, nothing!

So when the alarm went off this morning, I KNEW I had to get up. I didn’t want to. I drug myself up and ran a very slow 6 miles in 1:02:34, 10:25 pace. My legs hurt the entire time and I just could not get them to turn over any faster. The good thing is I was totally in fat burning zone and I think I have finally sweated out all the beer I have drank this week.

Less then 3 weeks until vacation, time to take this diet SERIOUS!!!!

Pictures from McMinnville Tri:

Too Much Beer, Too Little Sleep

Sunday was a post race rest day. It was also girls night out. We had two birthdays to celebrate and I did my part.

While out Lana and I made plans to do an 8-10 mile run Monday morning.

So at 4:15 I drug my hungover butt out of bed and drove over to Lana’s house. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to run one mile much less 8-10. We did a loop through town. I did make Lana take a detour to the Rec Center to get a drink before I fell over dead. Then we went back to her house where her son was waiting to run with us. I threw in the towel and let them go on without me. I did 8.52 miles in 1:28:24, 10:23 pace. It wasn’t my best effort but given my state it is just amazing I even showed up.

My friend Angie came in town from Memphis Monday evening. Angie is my drinking buddy. After Sunday’s drunkfest, I wasn’t up to drinking but managed to get down two beers and stay up until midnight.

So 4:45 came REALLY early this morning. I thought really hard about sending Lana a text message that I wouldn’t be there. I finally decided to go ahead and rode the 5 miles to the Rec Center.

I met up with Lana, Holly and Don. We did a modified version of the Normandy loop. Don and Lana pushed me really hard, I need to ride with them everytime. I finished the loop with everyone then rode back home alone. I ended up with 26.23 miles in 1:41:42. It sure felt faster. I must have really slacked on the way to the Rec Center and home.

McMinnville City Triathlon Race Report

Amy picked me up at 5:30 Saturday morning and we went to McMinnville.

Amy had picked up her race packet on Friday so she just waited in the car while I ran in and got mine. They had the age group break downs hanging up. I checked out my age group. There were 16 35-39 females, the largest female age group. I think the next largest female age group had 7.

We got our timing chips and set up our transitions. We had plenty of time to hang out around the pool before the race finally started.

I was number 119 based on the estimated swim time I had entered when I signed up. I used last years swim time of 6:54.

Tom, a guy that works with Lana, was 120. We talked while we waited for our turns to get in the water. I told him about my concern to swim that fast and told him that last year I had Lana a few people ahead of me and wanted to catch her.

Finally I was off. Tom caught me in the first length. We battled back and forth then more people joined the battle. There was at least three of us reaching the wall at the same time at each wall. I would just touch and go deep and get under everyone. It was a full contact swim and I didn’t get that minute back.

350 meter swim 7:42

Tom and I came out of the water at the same time and he says “Lana would have beat you this year”

T1 was 1:38. This race is the only one I have done that we are allowed to ride out of and into transition.

My magnet for my bike computer must have gotten bumped on the way to the race because the speed and distance where not showing up. I HATE not knowing how I am doing.
The bike route for this race is some rolling hills, nothing steep.
I caught up with Amy at mile 5 and cheered her on. She was doing great.
Mile 13 is a long hill and my legs were feeling the toning class I did Thursday night.
Finally, I rode back into transition.

15.25 mile bike 48:05

T2 was 1:07

I remembered this run from last year and knew that there are several short steep climbs. It was getting hot. I passed some people and got passed by others. I saw the finish line but was all alone at that point so had no one to chase down and no one to prevent from passing me.
I crossed the finish line with less push then usual.

3 mile run 25:43

Total Race time 1:24:17, that is a 20 second improvement from last year.

Amy and I hung around for the awards. I tried really hard to win a door prize but guess I wasn’t loud enough (can you believe that).

Our friend Leslie got 2nd overall female, she is awesome.

Amy beat her personal goal that she had set for herself by 4 minutes. Way to go Amy!!!!!!

I ended up with third place in my age group. I was SHOCKED. I got a nice plaque and a bag of powerade.

Saving Up

At least that is what I hope I am doing.

Saturday’s race is a sprint distance with a 350 yard pool swim. So yesterday morning, I went to the pool to see how my 350 yard swim time is coming along. I did 3 x 350. I felt like I was really pushing myself. Results: 7:47, 7:50, and 7:57. Not so great considering last years swim time was 6:54. How am I going to get that minute back???

Last night was toning and yoga. I told Cindy not to hurt me since I have to race Saturday. I don’t think she was listening (or maybe she just didn’t care). We did tons of upper body again.

This morning, I met Lana and Briar for a run. Briar did NOT look happy to be there, but he did great. Lana and Briar did one two mile loop. The first hill kind of took away a little of Briar’s steam, so they walked a little but I could hear them on my heals the rest of the loop. I continued on for a second loop. 4 miles in 38:34, 9:38 pace. Not the tempo run I was planning.

After the run, I went to toning class for more pain. She got our legs good this morning. I have a feeling I will be cussing Cindy come Saturday morning!!!

Some days you have, some days you don’t

Today was one of those don’t days.

I got up at 5:00 and took my time getting out the door. It was 5:30 before I started my ride. I rode the Matt’s Hollow loop and I was SLOW. 16.9 miles in 1:04:00. I don’t know if it was yesterday long run or what, but I just wasn’t feeling the love.

I got off my bike with the intentions of running three miles. After all I DO have a race this weekend. As I finished up the first mile, I HAD to make a pit stop. I ran the 0.1 miles home, straight to the potty. So that was it. A 1.10 mile run off that took 10:40.

I guess it was better then sleeping in and I came really close to doing just that.

I spent the entire afternoon painting my den. (I am counting it as cross training)

For those that asked (and those that didn’t but wondered), Bonnaroo is an outdoor music festival.

If you tried to sponsor me but didn’t find my name, it is now on the list. Thanks for any support (even if it is just cheering me along).

Bonnaroo Fun

Friday morning I got up early and ran my normal 6 mile route in 58:46, 9:48 pace. My average heart rate was 153.

The kids and I went to Wal-mart that afternoon and got to see all the people in town for Bonnaroo. Driving down the road we saw LOTS of people with tickets to sell. Then there was one guy holding a sign the said I Need Tickets. Bryce yells “Mom, turn around. Go tell that man that there is someone with tickets just up the road.”

Saturday I had already decided I was skipping the Moonpie but had every intention of getting on my bike. It never happened. I didn’t worry about it too much after I talked to Lana and we decided to meet this morning for a 10 mile run.

I got to the Rec Center at about 5:10. Lana was supposed to be there ready to run at 5:15. At 5:25 I sent her a text message to see if she was coming. I decided I would give her until 5:30 then I was just going to go do a short run.

At 5:30 my phone rang, she was on her way.

Once she got there we did a quick stretch and decided we would head out toward Bonnaroo.

It made for an interesting run. We were surprised that we were allowed to just run right up in there. We had one guy in a car yell at us “Hey a-hole, if you want to jog go home” but then we had another guy start running along with us. I wish I had taken my camera. It is quite a site.

We got to just over 4.5 miles when we made it to the other gate and decided to turn around for fear these people would stop us from getting back in without armbands. We ran back through the way we came. The turn around made us a mile short when we got to the Rec Center so we ended up having to run up and back down jail hill to get 10 miles. It took 1:35:55 for a 9:53 pace. My average heart rate was 152.

Some Begging and Training

Today I signed up for the HOW 100, a woman’s only cycling event to be held as a fundraiser for breast cancer research on September 8, 2007. I will be riding the 100 mile route. If you would like to sponsor me, you can go here or follow the link in my side bar.

Enough begging…on to my training.

This morning I had to drag myself to the pool. On the way, I talked to anyone who would speak to me. After I had prolonged the swim as long as I could, I took the plunge. I swam the slowest 1750 yards of my life. I am surprised that I didn’t sink straight to the bottom.

This afternoon, I rode 20.78 miles. It was 95 degrees and sunny. I was thankful I had the option/excuse to ride vs run in the heat.

Thing You Should Never Tell the Instructor

Last night I went to toning class followed by yoga. The instructor is competing in a weight lifting competition this weekend so she can’t lift. Therefore, she used 2 pound weights during class and would “forget” that the rest of us had real weights. She did lots of upper body, even while doing legs we were still doing some sort of upper body weights too.
After class I told her that I am really unhappy with my thighs. Then during the conversation I also mentioned that I really like the butt exercise where we lay on our backs with our feet on a step.
Little did I know that this conversation would come back to haunt me.

This morning I met Lana at 4:45. We ran 4 miles in 35:37 (8:54 pace). My average heart rate was 159 and a max of 180.
After the run we went inside for toning class. Average heart rate during class 91, max 126.
We did tons of legs and butt and I got blamed for the entire class. I will never complain to the instructor about body parts or say I like any exercise ever again!!!!

Pack Ride

This morning I got up at 5:00 and rode the 5 miles to the Rec Center.

I met up with Lana, Tracy, Kim, Terry, Tisha, Amy, Don, and Holly.

We rode the Star route, which is about 15 miles. We all got pretty split up during the ride. By the end, I was alone. So I just rode past the Rec Center and took the long way home.

Lana took some pictures so maybe she will get those posted on her blog.

I ended up with 27.31 miles in 1:42:25. My average heart rate was high at 161. Guess there was no fat burning today. Darn it, my eating habits have sucked lately.

Tonight is toning and yoga.

Speed Work

This morning I got up at 5:30 for speed work. I had programmed my Garmin for 400 w/ 200 rest intervals. I did a one mile warm up then started the intervals.
I swear I thought I programmed 8 but as I was running number 7 thinking “when is my stupid Garmin going to beep?” I looked at it and discovered I was already 0.4 miles into my cool down. I walked for a little bit to get my heart rate back down then jogged home.
Splits look like this
Warm up: 1 mile at 11:43
400’s 7:50, 7:37, 7:37, 7:49, 7:25, 7:45
Cool down: 1 mile at 10:47

Total distance 4.28 miles with an average heart rate of 125 and a max of 174.

My test results from Monday show my target workout zones to be
Low 79-138
Moderate 138-147
High 147-169
Peak 169-176

The goal of this mornings run was to stay in the low and moderate zones. It was foggy so I just did two loops of my neighborhood and the neighborhood across the street.
Just running to the end of my driveway my heart rate was already at 110. I continued at a slow pace and kept an eye on my heart rate. Running slow is hard. I ended up with 5.35 miles at an average pace of 11:27 and an average heart rate of 145.

LAZY

This morning the alarm went off at 5:00 and I just turned it off!!!! I got up when Ronnie left for work and have spent the day cleaning house and the yard for our pool party tomorrow. I have Bunko tonight so don’t see how I can squeeze in a workout.

Otherwise it has been a good week.

From where I left off…
Tuesday night I did go to toning and yoga. Both classes where really good.

Wednesday morning I met Lana at 4:45 and we ran 4 miles and then went to toning class. The 4 miles were done at a 9:00 pace and my heart rate was well above the fat burning zone. I am having a hard time slowing down. I think I would end up walking to keep my heart rate under 130.

Thursday morning I swam 1750 yards. I was slow but really worked on my form and I felt good. Hopefully I burned some fat.

So that is it.

Fat Burning

This morning I got up at 4:50 to ride to the Rec Center. I met Tracy, Kim and Terry (Lana and Amy both had to cancel). We rode the Normandy route. Kim is really strong on the hills. I focused on keeping my heart rate in the “fat burning zone” that I got from my test yesterday..
I ended up with 27.37 miles in 1:49:49. My average heart rate was 130, right at the top end of the zone.
Tonight I am going to toning class and yoga. It has been a LONG time since I have been to yoga and I look forward to getting a good stretch.

Bryce got his new face today. I don’t think it is going to be a problem getting him to wear his glasses, he is excited to be able to see. Casey is a bit jealous and decided she needed glasses too.

Why Does Good News Always Have to Come With Bad News???

Yesterday I took a post race rest day.

This morning I planned to do speed work but last night I remembered that I had scheduled a VO2 and body fat test for this afternoon. No workout for 24 hours prior to test. Darn, I HAD to sleep in.

So I went for my tests this afternoon. That is where I got some good news…and some BAD news.

First we did the VO2 test. I was happy with the results. My peak VO2 was 47.2, putting me in the superior fitness level.

Next up the body fat test. It was done in a dunk tank. He told me that air counts as body fat so let out as much air as I could. I just could NOT let out all the air. But enough of the excuses, my body fat is a whooping 26.3%!!!!

I did learn that I have been working out at too high of a heart rate to burn fat. I need to slow down and eat less!! Also my desired weight just isn’t going to happen. I need to lose about 20 pounds and that should get me to about 15% body fat. So the new plan, slow down, burn fat, and count calories!!!

Mach Tenn Race Report

Ah…a race that is close to home. We made this a family affair. So we all got up at 5:45, got ready, and went to Tullahoma. My son gave me a lucky ladybug and Ronnie a lucky 7 of clubs.

It was overcast, perfect racing weather, and water temps were low enough to make wetsuits legal.

I saw Ashley, my swim coach, as soon as we pulled in; she parked right next to us. While getting my packet and body marking, I saw TriSonq and Tom.

This race does not have assigned bike racks so I was happy that I got one up close to the bike in/out. I set up my transition and Lana showed up. She got the spot next to me. Ronnie found the swimmer on his relay team and was introduced to the biker.

The Swim 0.6 miles
I was number 230 so I got to do a LOT of standing around on the beach waiting for my turn. I heard, “Oh my God” behind me. I recognized the voice and turned around. Sure enough, it was Laurie checking out the swim. We chatted for a while and she introduced me to some of her friends. Finally it was time for me to line up. I saw Ronnie and the kids sitting on the pier and waved to them. When I got to the start I realized I hadn’t reset my watch. The starter was really nice and she saw I was trying to get it reset and asked “Are you ready?” I gave her a panicked “No”. She told me to take my time and tell her when. So I got my watch reset and was off. I passed a bunch of people in the water and felt good the whole swim.
Swim time 20:11
Last years swim time 20:38. I am disappointed that I didn’t make more of an improvement. After all, I was wearing a wetsuit this year.

T1
Coming out of the water it is an up hill climb to transition. My legs felt rubbery and it was hard to make them run.
T1 time 2:16
Last years T1 time 1:52
I am not surprised it took longer this year since I had to deal with the wetsuit removal.
The Bike 16 miles
This is where I hoped to make some improvement. I saw Holly just as I was mounting my bike and waved to her. The route is “rolling hills”. I have meant to get out there and ride prior to the race but just never made it. I did remember some it from last year. I picked someone in front of me and tried to catch them. Once I passed them, I would pick the next person. After a while, I saw a guy in a yellow jersey. I fought the remainder of the race to catch him. I got really close a few times but he always slipped away. I got passed my 3 people during the first 15 miles and then got passed by 2 more right at the end. One of those two was a female and 3 numbers higher then me. That one hurt.
Total Bike time 51:18
Last years bike time 54:20
I am happy with the 3 minute improvement here and hope that I can continue to shave time off.
T2
I was shocked to see Ronnie in transition still waiting on his biker. I waved to him, changed shoes and was out. T2 time 1:07
Last years T2 time 1:18
The Run 4 miles
I didn’t think I was going to make it. This run is hilly, one hill after another. It took about half a mile to get my legs feeling right. During that time 233 passed me again. No catching her. Then I saw yellow jersey guy. We ran side by side most of the time. I told him how I had fought to catch him and he told me he has a problem killing himself on the bike and leaving nothing for the run. Great!!! I saw tons of people on the run heading back. Just before the turn around I saw Lana and she told me someone I wanted to beat was just ahead of me. I made the turn around, with yellow jersey guy. Up and down the hills. As we were climbing a hill yellow jersey guy says “Where the heck is mile 3?” I said maybe at the bottom of this hill. When we got to the top, we saw no mile marker ahead. We went down that hill and up the next. Then we saw the water station and mile maker 3 at the bottom. About then, I saw Ronnie starting his run. I finally made the turn onto the road that takes you to the finish. I got passed by several people here and tried to be like Lana but I just didn’t have that much left in the tank.
Total run time 31:59
Last years run time 31:55
I am impressed that I was able to run that fast this year. Last year I had just come off marathon training with speed work every week.
Total race time 1:46:49
Last years time 1:50:00
The results show me as 5th place out of 17 in my age group but I question the second place results. According to her results she ran 4 miles in 2:14. I don’t think that is possible. Therefore, I am unofficially moving myself up into 4th place. Still no hardware, but gives me that extra push for next year.
Post Race
This race has one of the BEST post race parties. Ronnie, the kids, and I hung around until the very end. The kids played in the water catching frogs and tadpoles while Ronnie and I sat on the hill drinking free beer.

Not as Planned

In the excitement of posting about the GJCC, I forgot to post about my training.

Saturday I planned to do a hard, fast ride. So when Ronnie got home from golf at 3:00, I headed out on my bike. It didn’t go as I had planned. I ended up with 29.34 miles in 1:49:19. Not exactly burning it up.

Sunday I rested.

Monday I had planned to run at the race while everyone was out on their bikes, but with the way everyone was split up, I never had a chance. So I took another rest day.

Tuesday morning got up at 4:45. I planned another hard, fast ride. Again, I failed to produce. I ended up with 21.21 miles in 1:13:39.

Wednesday I met Lana at 4:45 at the Rec Center. We ran 4 miles in 35:52, 8:58 pace. Then we went to toning class, where the instructor tried to kill us again. Swim class was that night and it was tough. Ashley had me exaggerating my finish pull. I felt like a wet noodle when I got out of the pool.

This morning, I was too tired to get out of bed, so I skipped the ride I had planned and slept in. Turns out it was raining and no one rode anyway. Glad I didn’t get out of bed. Guess it is yet another rest day. Maybe I can get the kids to go around the block with me a few times.

This weekend is the Mach Tenn sprint tri. 0.6 mile swim, 16 mile bike, and 4 mile run. My husband is on a relay team, he is doing the run, so he and the kids will be at the race too. It is a super fun race and they have a great party after the race.

Cheerleader

This morning I took on a different role. I rode to the GJCC tri with Lana and her son. He was a volunteer and I was a cheerleader. I had 5 friends racing, 4 doing their first ever tri. I wanted to be there to cheer them on.

David, me, Lana, and Laurie

As we pulled in the parking lot I spotted David and his wife. We chatted for a second but had to hurry to check Lana’s son in for his shift. We found out that he was going to be working at the finish line handing out water bottles.

Then we found TriSonq doing body marking. I introduced him to Lana and he marked her.

I was walking back to the car when I found Don and Amy and then Laurie.

Amy, me, Lana, TriSonq, and Laurie
Lana started way before the others so it was a challenge for me. I got to see everyone but Laurie go into the pool. I ran down to transition as Amy came out of the water. I saw Don, Amy, David and Laurie all head out on the bike and Lana come in. Then I ran back and forth between the bike finish and the run finish waiting on everyone. I saw Lana come in for a strong finish (I will let her tell her results). Don had an awesome bike and caught me by surprise when he came in. More running back and forth. When Amy came in, I waited for her at the run out and ran beside her. She was doing great and feeling fine. I ran with her until she told me to go away. I ran back to where Lana was cheering and cheered with her until everyone we knew came in.

We stayed for the awards then headed home.

I had a great time and got lots of pics that you can see here. Sorry they are all taken sideways.

Floundering

The alarm went off just before 6:00 this morning. I had no one waiting on me and I had thoughts of sleeping in instead. I finally managed to drag my lazy butt out of bed and go run. I did the same ole 6 mile loop in 56:29, 9:24 pace.

I am in the same rut I hit after Memphis. Here I am without a training plan, nothing telling me what to do each day. So I swim a mile, I bike 20, or I run 6. I need a plan!!! I love structure. It is time to decide what is next. I have several sprint distance tri’s and an Olympic distance planned, but what is the next big race? I keep ruling out Atomic Man then reconsidering it. Also, I really want to try for a 4 hour marathon again, but where/when?

Recharged

Last night, I was tired. But Lana was going to swim class, so I went too. I also had some petty, bitchy reason for going but am too embarrassed to put it in writing. Swim class was good. I left there total wiped.

After another night of too little sleep, I got up again this morning to meet Lana, Tracy and Amy. I rode to the Rec Center, we all did an out and back, and then I rode home. I ended up with 26.6 miles. When I got home, I crawled back in bed. Bryce was already awake and kept coming in there but I stayed in bed until 10:00!!!! When I finally dragged my butt up, the kids and I went to Cracker Barrel. I had French toast with cherries (they forgot the whipped cream). I am feeling better now. Some time in the sun watching the kids swim helped too.

Done!!!

I am behind on my blog because of scrapbooks. Somehow, I get myself into doing scrapbooks for the classes each year. 2 years ago, when Bryce was in kindergarten, I had to do all 18. Last year I had to do 13 (8 1st graders and 5 kindergarteners). This year it was much better and I had 6 (3 each of 1st and 2nd grade). Anyway, I have been up late all week to get them finished for today.
So workouts?
Monday I swam. 1750 yards slowly.
Tuesday I did nothing. Couldn’t get my lazy butt out of bed.
Then this morning, I got up at 4:30 (after going to bed at 12:00). I meet Lana at the Rec Center and we ran 4 miles in 36 something. 9:08 pace. Afterward, we went to toning class. I haven’t been in a while and paid dearly for it. We did lots of legs and boy are my legs tired.
Tonight is swim class and I am TRYING to get kid coverage so that I can make it. Not sure yet.

Today is the last day of school!! Friday morning we go and pick up report cards and Casey gets her perfect attendance award. She is also put into a drawing for a bike with the 3 other K-2 graders that also have perfect attendance. Now, Bryce has been in the drawing the past two years and hasn’t won so we are not getting our hopes up.

Yesterday, Bryce went for his eye exam and he IS near sided. We picked out some really cute glasses and he will get them in a week to ten days. He in none to happy about getting glasses. He is afraid everyone is going to laugh at him. The good thing is that he has all summer to get use to wearing them and by the time they go back to school in August it will be old news. I hope anyway!!!

Still in Recovery

It has been a beautiful weekend here.
Yesterday, I went for my first post race run. I did 6 slow miles. My quads really started to burn at the end. Total time 57:52, 9:38 pace.
Today, I rode. My legs are still tired and I felt it the entire ride. 20.76 miles in 1:12:52.
I was planning on getting back to speed work Monday’s but I think it is going to have to wait a week. My legs still need some recovery time.

Congrats to Lana!!!! She rocked in Memphis. Hopefully she will get a race report up soon.

I am a Snail

This morning took some extra effort to get to the pool. I didn’t sleep well last night because of my cough. When the alarm went off at 5:30, I got out of bed. While brushing my teeth, I had to fight with myself to keep from getting back into bed. My husband’s alarm would start going off at 6:00 (he is a snooze hitter) so it wasn’t like I was going to get a lot more sleep.
I finally convinced myself to go swim. I did 1500 yards in 32 minutes. I am getting slower every time. Hope I find some speed in the next two weeks. The swim is the only thing I might have a chance of improving from last year at the Mach Tenn.
Good luck to Lana!!! She is doing her first tri of the season in Memphis, my old stomping grounds, this weekend. Have Fun girl!!!

Back at it

Last night I finally got some sleep. So this morning, after dropping the kids at school and my van to be serviced, I rode to meet Tracy. I was running a bit early, so I ended up almost to her house before I spotted her heading in my direction. I turned around and we did a nice easy loop. We did have a few dog encounters and since I don’t have much of a voice it was up to Tracy to yell at them.
While we were riding, Tracy commented that she was hungry. I said that I had had a bagel. Wait a minute. I put the bagel in the toaster oven, but I never got it out. Oops.
I dropped Tracy at her house and rode back to get my van. I ended up with 22.42 miles in 1:30. It felt good to get my legs moving again.
I don’t know what is going on with the pictures in my race report. They all use to be there now they are just x’s. If you want to see them and all the other pictures Mary Beth took, just click here.

Still Resting

I had my alarm set and my stuff ready to swim this morning but when I was still up hacking at midnight, I turned off my alarm clock. Then I thought about going to swim class tonight, but didn’t think I could handle the drive. I haven’t slept much the past two nights; this cough gets worse when I lay down.

I have no soreness left over from the race. I am ready to get back to training. Next race is in two and a half weeks. I just have to get rid of this stupid cold.

Gulf Coast Triathlon Race Report

Friday morning I got up at 2:30, got dressed, and picked up Amy, Tracy and Wendy. We met Mary Beth, Sage, and Wendy at the Golden Gallon. We got on the road at about 3:15 and arrived at the condo about noon. We packed up coolers and headed down to the beach. After enjoying a few cold drinks, Tracy, Amy, Mary Beth and I wondered over to the expo. I was the only person drinking beer. Go figure!!! We did some shopping then I went back to the condo to get my ID. I went back to the expo and got checked in. We sat on the beach a little longer then I went and checked my bike in. I got to transition only to realize I forgot the bike stickers in the room. So back to the room I went. Found the stickers on the counter and went back to transition to drop off my bike.


When I got back, I got cleaned up and we all went to dinner.
We were all sitting at dinner and everyone kept telling me to eat. I just couldn’t get anything down. I was just sitting there looking at my plate with everyone looking at me. Then I hit me. I am attempting a HALF IRONMAN tomorrow. What the hell am I thinking? I can’t do this. Then I started to cry. Now everyone was really looking at me and this made it worse. I was having serious doubts about the race.
I managed to get down one bite.
We left the restaurant and they dropped me back at the condo. I think I was asleep within seconds of my head hitting the pillow.
I woke up one time at 3:30 to potty but fell right back to sleep until the alarm went off at 4:30.
I got up feeling great. No more nerves. I was here to have fun and that was what I was going to do.
Amy got up with me. We made it to body marking by 5:15. I was marked quickly and got my transition set up. They made the announcement that water temperature was 75 and wetsuits would be legal for age groupers. Great news!!!
I realized I had left my pump in my car so we went back to the room and got the car keys to get the pump. I got my tires pumped and met up with Patrick before transition closed at 6:00.
Amy and I walked up to the boardwalk. She went to put the pump away and I squeezed into my wetsuit.
I was standing there waiting on Amy when a camera man walked up to me and said “Your numbers are all smudged, does that mean you are really fast?” I felt like a bumbling idiot and could not come up with any good responses to his questions. Great, now I get to look like a fool on TV too. Lucky for me, we never caught any race coverage on TV.
When Amy got back, unable to get back to the room with the pump, we walked to the beach and found Tracy and Mary Beth.
Age does have some benefits. I got to be in the 3rd age group to go out.
They called my age group into the chute. Tracy, Amy and Mary Beth got right up front and cheered me on. While waiting for the gun, I got the best advice. This lady next to me said to take the race in small pieces. Focus on the first green buoy. Once there think about getting to the next one. So that is what I did for the whole race. The gun fired, I jumped, and then it was into the water. It was a mass of bodies. I found some water and just swam. All the swim classes went right out the window. I just kept the first green buoy in sight and fought to get there. Once there, I fought to get to the next and the next… Finally the buoys became orange and it was time to turn. I got a leg cramp and had to stop and rub my leg. Then I kept hearing this man talking and thought someone was trying to tell me I was off course so I would stop and look around. I didn’t see anyone. Then I would hear him again, stopped again, saw no one, and then started again. Turns out it was the announcer starting the other waves. Then I saw something that I thought was a leaf. No there is another one. Hey those are jellyfish. There were bunches of them and I was terrified of getting stung. I shortened my stroke trying not to touch them. Once I was past the jellyfish, I was almost to shore.
Getting out of the water I tripped. Amy assures me lots of people did. Tracy, Mary Beth and Amy were right there cheering me on.

Swim time 41:28

In T1, I got out of my wetsuit and got my bike. I was out in 3:31

As I came out of transition, my girls were right there cheering for me again.
The first part of the bike was a short out and back and as I passed the transition, my girls were there again cheering. I was on top of the world.
I used my swim advice and focused on each 5 mile marker. At mile 30 we had to do a 180. I HATE 180’s and have always tried to get to them alone. There was no way I was going to make the turn alone so I Just hoped for the best. I saw this guy in front of me unclipping both his feet and wondered what he was doing. Just after the turn he came to a complete stop. I almost ran right into him. I managed to get my foot unclipped and catch myself before falling over. It wasn’t long and he flew right by me again.
I had tried to call my friend Leslie Friday night to find out about this whole bottle drop thing but never got in touch with her. So I just watched the first couple. At the next water stop I decided to give it a try. I yelled water as I approached and a guy ran along side of me and I grabbed it. Success. I drank some and poured some over my head. So at the next drop I got Gatorade. It was so good to have something cold.
On the bike, I kept thinking about how great my friends are. They were spending the whole day running back and forth from the beach. Timing each leg and being there for me. I told myself they might not make the bike run transition. I was doing better then I had told them I would. But as I approached T2, there they were. Tracy, Mary Beth, Amy and Wendy all yelling and telling me how awesome my bike was. “Right at 3 hours, you are doing awesome, keep it up. It is hot take the run slow” They were outside the fence at transition talking to me the whole time.

Total bike 3:03:27

I got changed, took a gel and headed out, with my friends right there cheering me on.
T2 time 1:47


There was a water stop right away and I got something cold to drink.
It was HOT, but they had stops every mile and I walk through each one getting water, ice sponges, and oranges. I dropped the ice in my bra and it would make a jingling noise. I am sure people wondered what the noise was as we passed.
I had to stop 3 times during the run to get rocks out of my shoes. I tried to ignore one for too long at first and now I have a very sore foot.
At one point, I was walking and this guy walks up next to me and says “I will race you to that sign.” The sign was about 5 steps away so I jogged to it. He laughed and told me I won and he didn’t think I had it in me. I continued to press on.
In the mean time Tracy was getting worried. She knew how long a half marathon took me and I was gone too long. She set out walking. When she spotted me, she ran along beside me, in her flip flops. She kept telling me “You are almost there” I would ask “How far?” She would say “Almost” “I don’t see the chute” “Almost”. Finally I saw the chute and picked up the pace. I had a strong finish with all my girls there to cheer me on.

Total run time 2:19:07

I got my medal.
Tracy, Mary Beth, Amy, Wendy, Wendy and Sage all came running over yelling and screaming.
I gave big sweaty hugs to everyone (except Sage, she passed).
I dumped a bottle of water over my head while we talked about the race.
They told me that they had all my stuff at the beach, all I had to do was get my body down there.
We stopped by transition, but it wasn’t open until 1:00. I was allowed to get everything but my bike.
Amy and I went to the room. I mixed up a drink, showered, got on my swimsuit and spent the afternoon on the beach.When I got to the beach, I discovered that not only had they hauled all my stuff to the beach but Amy, Tracy, and Mary Beth had bought me a cool Gulf Coast Triathlon beach towel. Aren’t they great???
We went to dinner. I had planned to go out dancing but fell asleep waiting.

Official race time 6:09:18

Finisher

Last Swim

I got up this morning at 5:30 to do my last swim. The plan called for 15 minutes of easy swimming.
The door to the pool was open but I didn’t see any lifeguards. I got started anyway. The water was cold and it took me a while to make myself get in.
I swam a nice easy 700 yards in 14:41.

One more workout tomorrow then it is the main event on Saturday. How did it get here so fast???

The weather forecast is calling for t-storms on Saturday. Won’t that be fun. On the plus side, the water temp looks like it is going to be low enough for wetsuits to be legal.


Any last tips/advice????

Notes Work Too

This morning my son lost a tooth and I didn’t know it. He left the tooth on his plate that I rinsed off and put in the dishwasher.
So for the second time he had to write a note to the tooth fairy.

I am taking my laptop with me to Florida this weekend so that WHEN I finish Gulf Coast I can order myself a reward!!!

Unscheduled Rest

Saturday was suppose to be a swim and ride, but when I got to the Rec Center I found out the pool was closed for a life guard training class. It was starting to rain so I just went home and did the 2 hour Have Mercy, Spinervals DVD.

Sunday I got up at 5:45 to get in my 80 minute run before Ronnie left. Then I went to swim class at 2:00.

Yesterday, I did my 20 minute swim in my backyard. My pool is short so it is hard to get in a rhythm. I wore my wetsuit and gave my husband and kids a good laugh. After swimming I did a 30 minute ride and 30 minute run.

Today had a 50 minute workout doing all 3 sports again, but I am tired and felt a rest day would do me more benefit. So, I slept in (until 6:30), got my hair done, got my toes done, and came home to cut the grass before picking the kids up from school. Now it is time to help finish homework then go lay in the sun!!!

Sluggish

Thanks to everyone for all the reassurance. Taper time does have a way of messing with my head. Also, I will try to remember to drink while on the bike. I am BAD about that and have feared the “death march” anyway.

This morning, I got up at 5:00. It was barely sprinkling. I did my 40 minute run with strides. I don’t know if it was the humidity or just an off run but I felt very slow and just could not go faster. I ended up with 4.14 miles, 9:39 pace.

Two field trips in two days has left me wiped. Tomorrow is field day, but thankfully a rest day for me. Busy week!!!

Yesterday’s 1st grade field trip to the Discover Center and Chuck E. Cheese

Today’s 2nd grade field trip to Sam Davis Home

Almost There

This morning I set my alarm for 5:00. When it went off, I got up, looked out the window and decided it was still way too dark to ride. I reset my clock for 5:10. When it went off that time, I hit snooze. Finally, I got up. I did a flat loop, 16.58 miles in 1 hour. Not very impressive, but I felt good the whole ride, maybe a little tired.
Gulf Coast is just over a week away. Am I ready? I can’t say that I FEEL ready. I don’t feel any more fit then at this point last year. Any pointers from people who have done this race or gone the distance else where?

Trainers-They aren’t just for winter

Sunday and Monday were scheduled rest days. I had planned on swim class on Sunday but when Lana had to back out, I decided to stay home and enjoy the beautiful weather.

So this morning I got up right before the alarm went off at 5:20. I went to the pool and swam a total of 1400 yards in 29:46. My 100’s were all done right a 2:00 each. I am disappointed in how slow my swimming is, but I guess if I have to have a slump this close to race day, it is best to have it in swimming.

This afternoon, I set my trainer up in the backyard and did my 45 minute ride while the kids swam. Multi tasking. When I got my trainer I never guessed I would be using it on such a beautiful day. It was sunny and quite warm, I was soaked when I finished. 12.82 miles for a 17.0 mph average speed.

Oh, the lengths I will go to

Today was totally messed up. First off we had to be at the post office at 8:00 when they opened to get pass ports. This put a crimp on all the rest of the day’s plans.
Tracy called and wanted to join me on my 3 hour ride but she wanted to go earlier then I had planned. I tried to find a sitter but couldn’t. She had her mother-in-law lined up to keep her daughter. To make a long story short, I ended up leaving both my kids with Tracy’s mother-in-law so that I could ride with Tracy.
Tracy and I had a great ride. It was sunny, it was cloudy, and it was WINDY. This was Tracy’s longest ride ever and I think she still hates me. But we ended up with 47.94 miles in 3 hours. I felt great the whole ride and could have pushed it even harder. I am feeling good about the Gulf Coast ride for the first time since I signed up for the race.
When we got back to Tracy’s she told me to go ahead and do my 20 minute run. So, I ran down the street to a new neighborhood they are putting in and ran up and down that street 3 times then back to Tracy’s house. I ended up with 2.44 miles in 21:37, 8:51 pace.

Training Continues

Yesterday morning I intended to get up for a 30 minute ride and toning class, well, I changed my mind as I was setting my alarm clock. So, after work I got on my trainer and did a 30 minute ride. It went much better then Tuesday.
Then Lana and I went to swim class. I am continuing to work on my stroke. I don’t know who is more frustrated, me or Dee. I am TRYING to do what she says but apparently I just don’t get it.

Today, when I woke up, it was raining. I got the kids to school and tried to figure out my game plan. I had a 30 minute ride and a 2 hour run on schedule. I could do the ride inside but I did not want to run inside. I checked the forecast and things did not look good. I looked out the window and the rain had stopped. I quick grabbed my stuff and got on my bike. I rode 8.09 miles for an average speed of 16.2 mph. I didn’t push too hard knowing that I had the long run still, but I felt great the whole ride.
Back at home, I changed shoes and grabbed my fuel belt. No sooner had I started running and it started raining again. The rain didn’t last too long, just enough to get me good and wet. Then the sun came out. Great, I had on a soaking wet long sleeve shirt and the sun was beating down on me. Not to worry though, it wasn’t long until the wind picked up. The rest of the run was done with alternating sun and clouds with lots of wind. I made it home after 12.47 miles for a 9:38 pace.

Horrible

That is the only word to describe my workouts today.

I got up at 5:30 and went to the pool. I did 2 x150 warm up and a 3 x 750 main set. I had to skip the cool down due to time. I almost skipped a 750 but stuck it out since it was going so bad, figured I needed the work. I think this is the worst I have ever felt in the water. At one point I had to actually stop mid length and choke. My final time for the 2550 yards was 56:01.

Then I got to make yet another trip to Nashville. Today was the field trip for the second grade reading points.

When we got home, I got on my trainer for a pathetic ride. I knew I was not up to a Spinervals workout so I just watched a movie. It didn’t go well.

Now I am just drowning my sorrows in pizza and wine.

For the record:
JKRunning: the tooth fairy is done here for now, hope she makes it there soon.
Joe: Actually we have an acre and a half. I can use the riding lawn mower on the front and side yards, but the back I have to push and it takes as long as the riding part. I like to think of it as cross training.
Trisonq: I am not doing the CMM this year; it just didn’t fit with my training schedule.
Lance: nice tan lines.

My daughter’s lost tooth


My son at the Sound’s game

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

Man, it was one crazy weekend.

Saturday morning I got up at 6:00 and got myself and the kids ready. We made the drive up to Nashville to see my friend Dawn who was in town for her son’s soccer tournament. We got there at half time of the first game. We watched the second half then went to Subway for lunch. The second game was at 12:10 and they kicked butt. After the game we rushed home. Ronnie promised to be home from his golf tournament by 3:00 so that I could get to the pool before they closed. I got home, changed, and went to the pool. I did a 10 minute warm up, 450 yards, and 1500 yard main set in 34:12. I had to deal with some rude swimmers but won’t get into that. I hurried out of the pool and out to my bike. 80 minutes, 23.48 miles. It was beautiful out and I felt great. I rushed home again to get cleaned up and head back up to Murfreesboro to my friend Laurie’s bachelorlette party.

Sunday, I was feeling a little slow after a few too many beers at the party. So I picked up around the house for a few hours before getting to my workout. At about 10:45 the kids and I went outside. I set my trainer up in the driveway. The plan called for 8 x (run 4:00, bike 10:00, run 4:00). I ended up with 6.95 miles of running and 20.98 of trainer riding.
It was sunny and about 80 again, the warmth felt great.

After the workout, I got myself and the kids cleaned up, drove through McDonald’s, took the kids next door to the sitter, and then went back up to Murfreesboro for my friend, Mary Beth’s, birthday dinner.

Thankfully today was a rest day. Just work and yard cutting.

Time for the tooth fairy to make an appearance, my daughter lost tooth number 2 today.

swim and rest

Yesterday was a swim. Speed day. 250 yards warm up, 10 x 100 (25 easy, 25 build, 25 easy, 25 hard), and 150 cool down. I did the 100’s on 2:30. I tried to really push the 25 hard but took the easy really easy.

Two things that have been really eating up my time are now taken care of. First of all my son wanted to get 200 AR (reading) points so that he would get a plaque from the principal. We have really been cramming every night to get it done. Today was the final day and he got his 200 point. 204.6 to be exact. I am so proud of him and the effort he has made to reach this goal. The other thing is the Sounds game field trip. I got the tickets and got them delivered with time to spare.

Today, Friday, was a rest day.

Piece of advice for all you men. If your wife/girlfriend is wiggling into a pair of jeans that are just a little bit tight today, make no comment, she already is feeling fat enough!!!

Long/Tempo Run & Some Toning

This morning I got up and went to the 5:30 toning class. The instructor knew I was running after class, so I think she had a little mercy and we did more upper body and LOTS of abs.
After class, I came home and got the kids to school.
It was 8:30 before I got out the door for my long/tempo run.
It was cloudy and cool. I need some more hot weather to train in, otherwise I am going to be in a world of hurt come May 12th.
I did the 20 minute warm up, 2.04 miles, 9:48 pace
Then it was 10 x (3t, 2r) they went like this (I am showing pace because that means more to me then time)
8:23 (10:51), 8:11 (10:24), 8:22 (10:34), 8:17 (10:34), 8:21 (10:28), 8:13 (10:37), 8:14 (10:07), 8:12 (10:45), 8:15 (10:09), 8:11 (10:47)
Then a 20 minute cool down, 1.98 miles, 10:05 pace.
Totals are 1:30, 9.55 miles, 9:25 pace, 160 average heart rate, and 177 max.
I felt really good the whole run.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday

Saturday was the third 1000 yard time trial of this program. Even with the stroke changes that Dee has made, I felt really good in the water. Too bad I wasn’t faster. 21:08 compared to the 18:45ish time of the other two TT.

By the time I got home from church Sunday the weather was nasty, but my husband was HOME!!! I changed and ran. 45 minutes, 4.83 miles, 9:19 pace. It was SNOWING. Come on people it is April. After the run, I changed and meet Lana for the drive to swim class. The pool was set up on long course, 50 yards. Man, I didn’t realize how much harder long course is. But she took it easier on us since it was the first long course swim class, just 2800 yards! After class, I talked to Ashley about my slow TT time from Saturday and she says she isn’t worried. I hope she is right.

Monday I got up at 5:30 and was at the pool as they opened. I had finished my first 3 50’s when Joe showed up. He asked where my kick board was. I looked at him funny and he informed me that the plan said the warm up was to be 6 x 50 odd swim, even kick. I did not see the part about kick. Anyway, I finished the 6 x 50 warm up just swim. Then went right into the 3 x 600 and the 200 cool down. Total swim time was 50:54.

Today was a brick (1 hour ride, 30 minute run). Tracy came over at about 11 and we did the Matt’s Hollow Loop. It was windy and it really slowed us down. After a quick transition, the run went well.

Wimp

This is today’s plan:Notice in the totals at the bottom there is 45 of bike but no description in the top part. The bike hours are added in the weekly total, I checked. I took it to mean, my choice!
So, I left work at 11:00 and went to the pool. I replaced the first kick with pull. I get so bored doing the kick and my pull needs more work.
After the swim I drove home, noticing the outside temp was only 51. I wimped out and did my ride indoors. I did the Spinervals No Slackers Allowed DVD. I am so excited. They do super spins two different times during the workout and say your cadence should be above 120 rpm. I have NEVER been able to hold 100 for the required time, until today. I stayed above 117 for each set and even peaked at 132 for two for the sets. It is so great to see progress!!!

Mother of the Year Award

I am getting a Mother of the Year Award.
The school called me Tuesday (while I was enjoying my alone time) to let me know that my daughter was in the office. Apparently one of the other little girls in here class reported to the lunch room ladies that my daughter did not have a sandwich in her lunch. So the school calls me to let me know that I did not pack an adequate lunch for my child. Never mind she had fruit. They tell me she can buy a lunch. So they put my child on the phone, who is sobbing, and I tell her to buy a lunch. She doesn't want to but I promise to take her for a special treat after school. I am not above bribery. The reason she did not have a sandwich in the lunch is because she won't eat them and I am sick of throwing them away every afternoon. I was unaware that they had a policy on lunches brought from home.
Then to top it all off, when I went to pick the kids up on Tuesday my son's teacher asked me when I was going to send home the permission slips for the baseball game field trip. What??? I didn't know I had to do that. I thought that I was just adding up reading points, collecting the money, and going on the field trip. So I went to the principal, got a sample letter, typed it up and handed it out today. Turns out I was suppose to have had the money turned in Tuesday. Oops. The lady at the Sounds is being very nice and helpful and I will get the tickets (I might have to drive to Nashville to get them but...)
As you can see I am very deserving of the mother of the year award, wonder when it will arrive.

Training? I am doing that too.
Wednesday morning I got up at 4:20 and ran for 30 minutes very slowly (3.1 miles) then did six 20 second strides. After the run, I went to the pool. I did 5x 200 (50 easy, 50 build, 50 easy, 50 hard) and a 150 cool down in 25:46. My splits were 4:40, 4:27, 4:22, 4:24, and 4:22.
Today, being a single working mom, I did my ride on the trainer after putting the kids to bed. The schedule called for easy spinning all in the small chain ring. 10 minute warm up, 5x (2t,1e), and 5 minute cool down. Since I was watching Survivor, that I had taped, I just continued to soft pedal for 30 more minutes.

Alone Time

Monday was suppose to be a rest day but my husband is going on his semi-annual golf trip this week so I can’t make swim class on Wednesday. Therefore, I made the hour long drive to Brentwood ALONE (Lana had T-ball practice).

Ashley had us doing a circuit training class that went like this
1st station: Abs
Plank, crunches, oblique, flutter, and scissors
2nd station: Legs
Repeat 6 times
10 squats, 10 step up on bleachers, 30 sections of vertical kick in pool, and 50 yard swim
3rd station: ArmsRepeat 12 times
30 sections pull on band, 30 section rest
4th station: Lungs
Repeat 2 times
25 yards with 4 breaths, 25 yards with 3 breaths, 25 yards with 2 breaths, 25 yards with 1 breath, 25 yards with no breaths, and 20 pull up on side of pool

Not what I was expecting but it sure made time go by fast.

Today, Tuesday, is my first day off work with no kids and nothing to be at school for in a long time. I dropped the kids at school and since it is still cold here I opted to do my 30 minute tempo ride on the trainer. I then changed into warmer clothes and ran for 30 minutes outside. I covered 3.34 miles for an 8:58 pace.

Now off to enjoy my day off alone!!!!