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!!!

Week 4 Day 6 - No Wonder I am Tired

I just logged my workout in my training log and looked back to see when my last rest day was. Aug 18th, almost 2 weeks ago!!! No wonder I was about to fall asleep at my desk today. Tomorrow I am resting and enjoying every lazy second.

Today was a recovery day. I met Amy and Mike at the Rec Center at 5:00 this morning. Lana sent me a text message that she was sick and not coming and Holly pulled a no show. We gave Holly 10 minutes then took off without her. Amy wanted to run the route for the race this weekend. She is concerned about the run being first and a mass start. She doesn’t want to be the last one into transition. She did great and has no reason to worry about the race. Mike and I went on to run another mile since my plan called for 4 miles and we all know how I am about The Plan.

After the run, we all went inside to swim. Saturdays swim in only 200 yards so I swam 2 x 200 to get a feel for my time. Slow!! After that I did 3 x 200 drills. Man, I can sure swim fast with fins!

Week 4 Day 5-Cross Training

So today was a rest/cross training day. I really wanted to rest but my eating habits are not allowing for non exercise days right now. So this morning I went to the Rec Center and rode the stationary bike for twenty minutes before the 5:30 toning class. As I walked into class the instructor asked what I wanted to work today. I said “Core or anything but legs”. We still did some legs and my dead tired legs felt every move I made. We did do a lot of core work. I should be sporting a 6 pack by now.

My bike rack came yesterday and my hitch came today. Ronnie put a hitch on his car a while back. He did it alone and said it was very easy. So I got out there tonight and put the bike rack together and then Ronnie came out to help me put the hitch on. It took forever. We had so many problems it isn’t even funny. My forearms are so sore from trying to hold up the hitch, pull it to match holes and tighten bolts all at the same time. I am thinking it would have been worth the extra 100 bucks to have had someone else do it for us. Tomorrow I will see if I can get the rack on my car.

The rest of this week we are doing some shuffling of the schedule. We have the STAR Tri on Saturday and the long run this week is 15 miles. We are moving the long run to Sunday evening and calling the race our Sunday LT run. That will make Friday a rest/cross train day. I think I will sleep all day!

Week 4 Day 4- Humidity Returns

We have had no rain this summer. All the corm around here is dead. We finally got some rain Friday night, then some more Saturday night. This morning my dog wanted out at 2:00. I knew as soon as I opened the door that this morning’s run was going to be tough. I don’t know what the humidity was (Lana hasn’t posted her BIM report) but it was high.
I met Lana at her house at 4:40am. The route from her house is 8+ miles and we needed 10. I made it clear I was NOT adding Cracker Barrel hill in this morning. It was only me and Lana so I didn’t get any argument. We headed out and felt the humidity right off. It felt like we were running faster but me ended up with just shy of a 10:00 pace.

Just wanted to answer some questions left in my comments:

I am doing the 18 week program. We are going for a sub 4 at Rocket City this December.

This is a fairly small town so we pretty much run anywhere. Lots of country roads. Yes, it is dark when we start. I have to run in the early morning. I have 2 kids and work part time.

Week 4 - Behind

Here it is day 3 of week four and I am way behind on my blog. So in the interest of time I am going to keep this to just the facts.

Day 1- Saturday
Met Lana, Holly, Marge, Don and Mike at 8:30am for a ride. We rode a 40 mile loop to Wartrace and back. It was beautiful. Just enough hills to make it challenging but not so many that it was punishing. Don got a flat tire at 5.5 miles and I got to see a CO2 in action for the first time. I having been carrying that stuff around with me since I got my bike and still hope I never have the need for it.

Day 2 - Sunday
Sunday evening Lana, Holly, and Kim met me at my house and we ran 8 miles. It was a great run. 1:18:17 for a 9:47 pace. My average heart rate was 153. After the run, it was just me and Lana for 10 x 100 strides. I don’t know why Kim and Holly didn’t want to join us??

Day 3 - Monday
This morning was a 5 mile recovery run. So I ran at 5:15 this morning. I ran it alone and ran it SLOW. My legs were tired and I had no mojo. I am embraced to report an average pace of 11:20. But my average heart rate was only 137. Not pushing too hard.

My diet has been horrible again and I am getting it back under control starting right now. It is very frustrating to be running this much and still have to watch everything that I put into my mouth.

Week 3- days 5, 6, and 7

Tuesday night I didn’t sleep well so I skipped class Wednesday morning. I started feeling better during the day so that evening I decided to take my bike out for a short spin. It was great to ride again.

Thursday Morning I met Lana and Mike at the Rec Center for a 4 mile recovery run and a 1000 yard swim. The run was uneventful and heart rate stayed right where it was suppose to. Lana and I had to share a lane at the pool and swam side by side the entire 1000 yards. I figure she was just staying with me so that she didn’t have to count laps.
Thursday evening Casey had cheerleading practice and I got a peek at the schedule. Her first game is at 8:00am the 8th, the same day as the HOW100. I don’t know what to do. Usually I would just skip the ride and forfeit the registration fee but for this ride I asked for sponsors. I have raised $415 for the Minnie Pearle Cancer foundation. The money still goes to the cause but I feel like I should ride since I told the people who sponsored me I would. I just hate to miss my daughters cheerleading. They are only young once.

Today was the long run, 14 miles. We met at Joe’s house at 4:30am again. I drake an Accelerade and ate a gu before we started. Joe had put out water and gu at mile 3. Lana and I were feeling fine so we skipped it and just kept on running. Joe caught right back up with us. We finished the first loop and grabbed gu and water at Joe’s mailbox. We knew we were going to be short so I was trying to come up with a plan so we didn’t have to run past Joe’s house for an out and back. I finally thought of Danbury. Lana and Joe were both ahead of me at this point so I yelled to Lana I had a plan and was going to catch up. I picked up the pace and told her the plan. Joe heard us discussing a change in route and came back to find out the new plan. I hung with them for a while and even got ahead when they stopped for water at mile 10. I enjoyed my short lived time in the lead. It was very short, within a half mile Lana was next to me and then Joe was there too. They both passed me again. I finished out the run almost catching up with Joe and Lana who were already walking the short distance to Joe’s. For some reason my Garmin’s miles are longer then Lana’s Garmin’s miles.
Splits look like this:
9:52, 9:33, 9:22, 9:20, 9:24, 9:01, 9:37 (water and gu), 9:13, 9:11, 9:13, 8:55, 9:22, 9:01, 8:41
14 miles in 2:09:46, 9:16 pace. 158 average heart rate

Week 3- Days 3 & 4-They can’t all be pretty

Monday was a 4 mile recovery run. I couldn’t do it early because Ronnie was still out of town. After work it was still too hot so I waited until 7:15pm. My legs were tired from Sunday’s LT run and I felt them screaming for the entire 4 miles. 41:39 with an average heart rate of 148.

So this morning I met Lana and Joe at 4:45 at the Rec Center for a 10 miler. I had stomach issues yesterday and wasn’t felling 100%. I tried to drink some accelerade but it just wasn’t going down this morning. We decided on a route and headed out. Now this route was my idea and it has some hills including the Cracker Barrel hill we are always talking about. We started slow then picked up the pace. Lana and Joe kept picking up the pace and I gave up and just fell back. Along the way, I fell into a ditch. There was a car coming in each direction so I stepped onto the “shoulder” and just stumbled into the roadside ditch. I jumped up and ran in the grass until I could jump back across the ditch. Neither car seemed concerned where I disappeared to.

I finally made it back to the rec center where I had to do another small loop to get in my last 0.8 miles. Final time 1:40:17 and 152 average heart rate.

I had planned to meet Tracy at 9:00 for a ride but my legs were toast and my stomach wasn’t doing so good so I just went home and got the kids to school. I miss my bike and need to get some saddle time in, those 100 miles in a few weeks are going to HURT!!!!

Week 3- Lactate Threshold Run

Today was the first lactate threshold run of this training program. 8 miles with 4 at 15k-half marathon pace.

Ronnie is in Memphis playing golf so I hired a sitter and told everyone we were starting promptly at 7:00pm. Lana called this afternoon and said she wasn’t going to make it. Joe and Mike were both prompt and we took off right at 7. We ran the first two miles nice and easy, picked up the pace for 4, and then ran the last two really easy. It was lightening the whole run and we even got about 10 rain drops. Don’t think that will help much around here.

I am happy with the run. My best half marathon was the Tom King in ‘06 at an 8:29 pace. Today’s run looked like this:
first two miles- 10:02 and 9:35
4 LT miles- 8:38, 8:45, 8:31 and 8:34
last two miles-10:18 and 10:05

I was planning to do a nice easy ride tomorrow afternoon after Ronnie gets home from his trip, but when I looked at the schedule I discovered I have a 4 mile recovery run to do. Guess I will be running late tomorrow and then getting up early Tuesday for 10 miler.

Finishing Week 2

Yesterday was a 5 mile recovery run. I met Lana and Mike at the Rec Center and we ran interstate drive and through town. The loop was a little short so we had to do an out and back on the green way. 5 miles in 51:30, 10:19 pace. Average heart rate was 142. Nice recovery. We all then went inside to the pool. I did 2 x 500 very slow. I worked on form and felt pretty good.

This morning I met Joe and Lana at Joe’s house at 4:30 for our 13 miler. We had decided to do the Matt’s Hollow loop and Joe offered to put water and gels out at halfway. I hung pretty close to Joe and Lana for the first half but still behind. We stopped at 6.5 miles, drank a bottle of water and took a gel. I was feeling great. I picked up the pace for the second half and finished still feeling great. 13.25 miles in 2:05:55, 9:30 pace. Average heart rate 160.

Here are my splits.
9:47, 9:54, 9:43, 9:37, 9:40, 9:18, 11:02 (water and gel stop), 9:24, 9:09, 9:08, 9:13, 8:55, 8:59 and the extra 0.25 miles to get to the end of the road was done at 8:38 pace.

I am thrilled with the negative spilt and how I felt the whole run. I still can’t keep up with Joe and Lana but…

Small Steps

Today is a rest/cross training day. I didn't get up for class this morning. I needed the sleep. Then I cut the grass (the riding lawn mower part) and blew up a ton of dust since it is so dry. When I was done I grabbed a beer from the fridge and all chances of working out went out the window.

Despite the lack of workout today, I am closer to my goal.

Today we booked a room down in Panama City for the first weekend in November AND signed up as volunteers.

I got butterflies in my tummy just signing up as a volunteer, how am I going to feel when I sign up for the real deal? Ironman ’08 here we come!!!!

Week 2 Sunday, Monday, & Tuesday

Week two of the Pfitz plan kicked off with an 8 miler Sunday night. Mike and Lana came to my house again but we ran a different route. I felt ok despite the two hard training days on Friday and Saturday. We spent most of the run talking about what kind of bike Mike should get. It made the run go by fast. We finished the 8 miles in 1:18:05 and then did 10X 100 strides.

Monday was a much needed rest day.

Today I met Lana and Joe at Lana’s house at 4:50 for our scheduled 10 mile run.

The loop from Lana’s is only 8 miles so we knew we needed to add on 2 miles somehow. At 3 miles Joe comes up with the idea to run and out and back down and UP Cracker Barrel hill. I was against the idea stating my heart rate would get too high and then I wouldn’t be able to keep up. But I have never been one to back down from a challenge so over to the hill we went.

I was right my heart rate went to 172 going up that hill. I still was able to hang with Joe and Lana for a few more miles. Then Joe ran with Lana then back to where I was then back up to Lana. At about 8 miles Lana must have started to slow down a little because I was able to catch her again. Joe ran on ahead and stopped at Lana’s street. Lana and I ran on past him for a short out and back to finish out our 10 miles. 1:38:05, 9:48 pace with a 157 average heart rate.

I haven’t decided if I am going to make toning class in the morning. Tomorrow is a rest/cross training day and I could really use the sleep, but we will see.

Mountian Lakes Race Report

Lana, Amy, and I drove down to Guntersville, AL Friday evening. We picked up our race packets and checked into our hotel. We had a great room right on the lake, too bad we were just crashing for the night.

We decided to go to Cee Cee’s pizza. We had a hard time finding it but finally got there and loaded up on salad, pasta, and pizza. Yummy.

Race morning we loaded everything up and went to the race site. We did he usual set up and body marking. As we were standing around the lake before the race we hear “LANA”. Our photographer had made a surprise appearance. So now I have some great pictures for my race report. Thanks Flash.


The Swim-600 yards open water

Before the race they announced that they had mowed the lake. They had only cut a strip around the buoys so they warned us to stay as close to them as possible otherwise you would end up getting into the grass (she gave it some other fancy name that I can’t remember) and it would “tingle”. I didn’t know what that meant exactly but I was staying as close to the buoys as I could.
When the race started and the first swimmers went out we noticed some people walking as far as the first buoy then walking again after the last buoy. It was kind of funny to see some of them act like they were swimming when in fact they were really just running.
I have had a series of really bad swims this season so I put in 13 minutes as my estimated swim time. This and everyone wanting to stay in the mowed area made for some full contact swimming. When it was my turn to start, I ran to the end of the carpet and started swimming. I noticed the guy that started behind me running along side of me. He was running faster then I was swimming. When he finally started swimming, I passed him. I got kicked in the cheek and smacked in the head along the way. I had lake grass hanging on my arms. What a fun swim. Turns out it was one of my best swims this season. Go figure.
Swim time 11:55

T1
Before the race, I made sure I knew where my bike was racked. Someone had drawn a blue heart on the pavement on my row. I came in from the swim and the blue hart was washed away. I still made it right to my bike.
T1 time 2:05

the Bike- 16.2 miles
I started the race about 9 seconds before Lana. I saw her bike was still in transition so I knew she would be catching me soon. I was surprised it took her until 4 miles. I passed her back once and then she was gone. I kept her in sight for a LONG time and pushed hard but she finally got too far ahead to see anymore. Meanwhile, I was battling back and forth with red bikini girl, speedo man, and 42 year old Athena. In the end, I made it to T2 ahead of all 3 of them.
Bike time 49:08

T2
This time I went one row too far and had to run around the other end and back to my spot. I was slipping and sliding in my bike shoes.
T2 time 1:14

The Run - 3 miles
The run was on a flat running trail. There was lots of shade. Perfect. I saw Trisonq just as I was heading out. He was ALREADY finished. Then I saw Flash. I yelled “Hey Flash” He took off running to get ahead of me and got my picture. My legs starting getting tired right before the turn. I was thinking about my 12 mile run the day before, then I saw Lana. She was still going strong. If she can do this so can I!! I never thought about tired legs again. I saw Amy at the last water station (first for her) and cheered her on as I was trying to drink. As I was coming close to the finish chute, I saw a girl ahead of me and picked up the pace. I passed her and crossed the finish line strong.
Run time 26:06

Lana, me and Amy Pre-Race

and Post-Race

Total Race time 1:30:30
I finished 12th out of 40 in my age group, the largest female age group. Be sure to stop by and congratulate Lana on her outstanding performance. I would say the same for Amy but she has yet to start her blog.

We hung around for the awards and then made the long drive home. We discussed upcoming events. We still need to sign up for I Run for the Party, STAR, Music City, and Rocket City. $$$$$. We also talked about our trip to Panama City in November. Time to start looking for a room and volunteer. I also need to break it to my husband. I have been waiting to make sure Lana was really in and I think this is about as sure as I will ever be about her.

I Have Been Tagged

Lana and Lance tagged me so here it goes:

Jobs I've Held:
Hostess
Waitress
Department Store Clerk
CAD Tech
Civil Engineer

Movies I Can Watch Over and Over:
Anything that I really liked the first time

My Guilty Pleasures:
Chocolate
Beer

Places I Have Lived:
Frankfurt, Germany
St. Paul, MN
Palatine, IL
Cordova, TN
Manchester, TN

Shows I Enjoy:
Desperate Housewives
Survivor

Vacation Spots:Destin, FL
Gulf Shores, AL
Frisco, CO
New Orleans
Jamaica
Cancun
Cruise to-San Juan, St. Maarten, St. Thomas
Bahamas

Favorite Foods:
Mexican
Chocolate

Websites I Visit Daily:
email
Blogs


Body Parts I Have Injured
Knee-snow skiing crash

Awards I've Won:
Creative Writing- 7th grade (bet you would have never guessed that)
Divisional Award of excellence - FedEx
Quality Success Story - FedEx
STAR - FedEx
Engineers Council Achievement Award
Various Age Group Race Awards

Nicknames I've Been Called:
Spunky

Pick 5 Other Bloggers:
Jen
Laurie
MNFirefly
Joe
TJ

Last night I told Ronnie I was going to go ahead and meet Lana and Joe for the run, but I was sticking to my heart rate plan. I did the calculations in the book and determined my max. heart rate for the run should be 162.

So this morning I met Lana and Joe at 4:30 at Joe’s. I ran with them for the first 4 miles. My heart rate was near the max. and I was sticking to my plan. So I dropped back and let them go ahead. It was tough. They continued to get further and further ahead and soon were out of site. I was on my own. I continued to watch my heart rate and adjust my pace as required. I was approaching Joe’s mailbox where we had left water and I could see Joe and Lana. Lana was stretching and I knew it was driving her crazy to be taking a break. I yelled out “Don’t wait on me.” Off they ran. I stopped by the mailbox for a quick drink and was off for the last five and a half miles. Lana and Joe were heading back as I was getting close to the turn around point. Joe gave me a high five and Lana told me the light pole was the turn around. I made the turn and headed back. Lana drove by just as I was approaching the end and asked me how I felt. I told her great. I ended up having to run past Joe’s house before Garmin beeped 12 miles. Joe was still in his yard and said “You have no brain, how do you run past your car?”. I responded that I had to get 12 miles or I didn’t finish the workout.

I went home and got the kids breakfast and took an ice bath. 12 miles usually wouldn’t require an ice bath but since I am racing tomorrow I wanted to speed recovery of the legs as much as possible. I tried to take a nap but work called with some questions so I just gave up.

I also tried again to make fancy graphs using bimactive like Lana but I can’t get my Garmin to export my workout. I keep getting an error message that the export failed. So I give up and here are my plain boring Garmin graphs.



I feel great and consider the run a success. I will say that was the easiest 12 miles I have ever run. I hate that my pace wasn’t any faster and feel that I could have run faster but I am not the expert. Joe laughs at me and says “If the plan says to stumble at mile 6, you will stumble” and the sad part is, it is true.

Rest and Recovery

Yesterday was a rest day. So I just went to 5:30am toning class and skipped the usual pre class run.

Today was a 4 mile recovery run. I met Lana at the Rec Center at about 5:15. We ran the greenway loop twice. I was having trouble keeping my heart rate down and still keep up with Lana. We ended up with a 10:48 pace. My average heart rate was 148. After the run we went inside to swim. I did a 600 (since that is what the swim is at the race this weekend) and then 3 x 100 drills. Then I had to rush home to get ready for work and get the kids ready and to school.

Tomorrow is 12 miles. I am off work but am still going to get up met Joe and Lana to run at 4:30. We are having extremely hot weather right now and I think 12 miles will be taxing enough, no need to make it any tougher.

Nine Miles – Check

On tap for today, a 9 mile general aerobic run. I met Lana at the Rec center at 5:00am. We had no planned route so just headed out.
My heart rate got a little high fast due to a small hill right at the start. So we back off the pace a little. But when we got to mile 3 and were at 30:19, I could tell Lana couldn’t stand it. Nothing over 10:00/mile works for her. Sure enough she picked up the pace and I trudged along. We did a couple loops in neighborhoods in town then headed back to the Rec Center. We could NOT have planned it any better. We hit 9 miles just as we got back. It is small things like that that can really make my day. Final time 1:28:36, 9:51/mile. Average heart rate was 163 with a max of 180.

When I got home, I noticed my rear tire was flat AGAIN. I decided it was time to have the professionals have a look at it. I headed up to M’boro. The duct tape hadn’t held. They replaced the rim tape but they were all out of 650 tubes. Lucky for me I still had one left at home. I did really good this time putting the tire back on. I think I am getting the hang of it. I still don’t want to have to try it during a race. I am holding off on any happy dances until I see that I still have air in my tire tomorrow.

Road to Rocket City-Week 1, Day 1

Saturday, while at the race, I noticed how dirty my chain was. So yesterday I got my bike out to clean the chain and discovered I had a flat rear tire. I changed it, fairly quickly. Then while inflating it, it popped. I checked both tubes and discovered that they both had a little round hole in the same spot. So then I checked my rim. Sure enough there was a hole in the rim tape. A little duct tape and I put in my second tube, inflated, and was back in business. I noticed during this whole process that my tire had a little dry rot. So I got on line and ordered rim tape, tires and tubes. Last night I noticed my tire was flat again. So today I went through the whole process again and found another hole in the rim tape. I covered it with electrical tape and seem to be back in business again. I hope my supplies get here before Friday. I am doing Mountain Lakes Triathlon on Saturday and do NOT want to have to attempt to fix a flat during the race.

Speaking of Mountain Lakes, I FINALLY got Lana to sign up. So who is going to be there? Anyone up for a Friday night dinner?

Training wise...yesterday kicked off Rocket City Marathon training. Lana, Lisa, Joe and Mike met me at my house for a 7 mile run with 10 x 100 strides at the end. It was hot even at 7:00pm. We did my same old loop, which you can check out on Lana’s blog. Joe and Lisa quickly took the lead and Lana stayed right behind them while Mike and I pulled up the rear. Joe dropped out after 4.5 miles and Lana and Lisa missed a turn and had to run extra. My numbers look like this:
8:58, 9:26, 9:41, 9:48, 9:53, 9:41, 10:09
Total 7 miles in 1:07:34, 9:39 pace. My heart rate was 169 average and 183 max.
After the 7 miles Lana and I got a drink said good bye to everyone else and then did our 10 x 100’s. I was surprised how good I felt doing them. I messed up my Garmin program so don’t have my pace for them but best I can tell we did them all in between 6:30 and 6:45 pace.
Lana and I jumped in the pool to cool off after the strides. Perfect ending to a good run.

Today was a rest day and since it is the only one I am taking I enjoyed it.

Tomorrow is 9 miles bright and early. I gotta go read up on general aerobic paces/heart rates so that I can convince Lana to slow down some before she kills me!!

Staggerwing Race Report

First, I want to say thank you to Flash and Mrs. Flash for cheering for me and all the pictures.

I got to Tullahoma about 6:30 and got my packet, body marked, and a spot in transition.

After Lana and Holly got there and set up, we all headed up the hill to the race start. We made use of the port-a-potties and listened to the pre race instructions.

They sent us out in waves of 25 three minutes apart. Holly was in the second group. This was her first ever multi-sport event. We cheered her on when they yelled go.
Lana, Kim, Mike, and I were in the 4th wave. I knew that there was no way I was keeping up with Lana, so I didn’t even try. The first run started by running over to the runway, an out and back on the runway, down a little gravel hill over to an asphalt trail where we did another out and back before going to transition. It was hot!!! I ran the 4K in 21:00 for an 8:28 pace.

I was in and out of transition in 0:54.

Then I was out on my bike. I felt good; it was much cooler riding then running. It didn’t take long and my right calf started to cramp. I thought if I just ignored it, it would go away. No such luck. It just kept getting worse and worse. I tried drinking knowing that it was probably dehydration causing the cramp. Then it moved up into my quad. I just pushed on. A girl passed me and said “You are one hard woman to catch” I noticed the 106 on her arm and the 35 on her leg. I commented that I had a 3 minute head start on her and it gave me a push. The course is basically downhill on the way out and uphill on the way back. I knew since I was heavier then this girl that I stood a better chance of beating her on the downhill. I tried to ignore the leg cramps that had moved to both calves now, and pushed hard. I made it to the turn around and saw that I didn’t have that big of a lead on her. We ended up passing back and forth for a while until I had to slow down to rub my legs. I was wondering if I was going to be able to run again. Finally I got back to the final flat and made my last push. 40K bike 58:51, 19 mph average.
I ran into T2 and the guy working there was talking to me, Flash was asking me if I saw someone on the course, and I was wondering if I could even run. I changed shoes and ran out of T2 WEARING MY BIKE HELMET!!! I realized just as I crossed the mat. I stopped, took it off, CROSSED THE MAT AGAIN, and then just threw my helmet in. Both women working the mat, yelled “she crossed twice” but I just kept going. T2 time 0:55.
The second run is just the first run backwards. I was amazed to find that my legs cramps were gone, but my heart rate was soaring. I saw Holly after the first turn around and then saw Lana not far behind. I told Lana she could catch Holly. At the second turn around when I saw Holly, I saw Lana wasn’t far behind and warned Holly that Lana was going to catch her. I made the turn and headed in to the finish line. Again I found myself all alone. The person ahead of me was way to far ahead to even try to catch and there was no one coming up from behind that I had to prevent from passing me. So my finish was not as strong as I would have liked. 4k run 22:28, 9:12 pace. Mach Tenn knows how to put on a post race party. I drank some water then headed for the beer truck.

Preliminary results were posted. Lana was 4th overall, Holly beat me by 24 seconds, and I was first in my age group. Then penalties were posted. The first overall female was hit with 6 minutes of penalties. The awards started and Lana got 3rd overall female. Holly got 3rd place in her age group (pretty impressive for her first multi sport event). I got second place AG. The girl with the penalties was in my age group and knocked me down to second!!!!!

We stayed until the party ended then walked back to our cars. Lana’s, Mike’s, and mine were the last 3 cars in the parking area.

The party continued at my pool.

Today kicks off marathon training. We are planning to do our first run tonight at 7:00 hoping that gives us time to rest today.

Back to School and Big News

Yesterday, I didn’t workout. It was the last day of summer vacation so I spent it with my kids. I took them down to Lake Winnie in Chattanooga and we had a blast. My son has never been big on rides but he rode all the ones that Casey was tall enough for, which included one that even made my heart drop.

On the way home from Chattanooga, I got a crazy text message from Lana.
She wants us to do Ironman Florida ’08.
Now this is the race I wanted to do but was planning on ’09 or ’10 because I figured it would take me that long to convince her. I was excited and the wheels started to turn.

Then last night I couldn’t sleep. I kept worrying about getting the kids off to school. You would have thought I was going back to school.

I got up at 5:30 and went to the pool to get a short easy swim in. I did 2 x 600, and am still as slow as ever. I didn’t want to push too hard, the Staggerwing duathlon is tomorrow. I am not really ready. Too late now, I am just going to give it my best shot.

After the swim, I rushed home and got my kids off to school. I am not ready for this. I hate to see the end of summer vacation. I have heard horror stories about 3rd grade and the amount of homework. I know what to expect from 2nd grade and it is no picnic either.

When I got to work, I saw Lana’s post. I was shocked, she is really serious. I am not make travel plans yet but…

OUCH!!!

I was suppose to meet Lana at 4:45 this morning but she sent me a text message at 4:50 that she had overslept and to go on without her.

I ran the greenway twice, nice and slow. I wanted to run faster but my legs felt like lead and it took everything I had to just get one foot in front of the other. 4 miles in 41:25, 10:22 pace. OUCH!

After the run I went inside for toning class. Someone had told her they wanted the whole class to be abs and legs. She had us using the big balls for most of the class. OUCH!

Last night I finally made the decision to do Mountain Lakes Triathlon on August 11th. Amy has wanted to do it all along but didn’t want to go alone. I have changed my mind at least a dozen times. But last night I booked the room and let Amy know I am in. I am going to sign us up today. And since I have waited so long, now I have to pay the extra high price. OUCH!!!

This morning was registration for school. Both kids got the teachers that I wanted them to have so I am looking forward to another good year. But I can’t believe it is the end of summer vacation already. First day back at school if Friday. OUCH!

Recovery

Saturday after the race was Casey’s slumber party. Those little girls stayed up until after 3. And they only went to bed then because I told them “I have been up for 23 hours now, y’all HAVE to go to sleep now.” I hoped they would at least sleep late, but noooooo they were up before 8:00.

So Sunday I was dead tired. I did no workouts and called it race recovery.

Monday morning I did a slow 6 mile run. Same old route. I did have to stop just short of 3 miles and pet two of the cutest puppies. Mama dog ran across the street when she saw me coming and her puppies came trotting after. They were just too cute not to stop and play with for a minute.

Today, Tuesday, I met Lana and we did an 18+ mile ride. She told me to set the pace and I didn’t set it as fast as I would have liked. Oh well, consider it a fat burning workout.

I ate horrible all weekend so yesterday I started from square one. I did really good and am proud of myself. I am off to a great start today, I made a banana/strawberry smoothie for breakfast after my ride.

Sunday kicks off marathon training. I look forward to having a schedule again.

Cedars Race Report

I wasn’t feeling very up for this race so when I woke up and heard rain on the skylight, I just wanted to roll over and go back to sleep. But since I was picking Amy up, I had no choice but to get up and ready.

Despite the downpour, we made good time to the race site.

When we got there the rain had stopped but it was still cloudy. Great race weather, other then the humidity.

We got checked it. As I was setting up, I got my helmet out of my race bag and noticed that it still had the sticker on it from my last race. I have ridden twice since then. When I saw the sticker, I laughed and thought about TriShannon.

Once set up, we made our way to the pool and waited for the race start.

Finally it was my turn in the water. I used last years swim time for my estimate. With the way I have been swimming lately that was wishful thinking. I only had one brief moment of full contact swimming, otherwise the swim went as smoothly as I could expect.

I assume they had problems with the mat at the swim exit because the results only show swim + T1 time. Mine was 8:15.

I had no issues in T1 and think I had a fairly good time, making my swim time worse then last years.

Mike and Amy

I got on my bike. This is one hilly course and I planned to push it as hard as I could. I started out good, I was picking off the people in front of me. Then I was all alone. I think I started to slack at that point. I got passed by a couple of guys. Then a girl with a 27 on one leg and a B on the other passed me. I thought to myself, “no way am I getting beat by a beginner” I passed her right back. This continued for the rest of the race. The girl who beat me at McMinnville joined in the battle and since she got in the water after me I knew she was beating me. We all made it to T2 at about the same time. My 16.5 mile bike time was 53:55, 17.8 mph average.

me, Laurie, Wayne, and triSonq

T2 time 1:11.

I ran out with both those girls. The girl who beat me pulled out ahead and that was the last I saw of her. The beginner and I ran side by side passing back and forth for a while. I finally got a step ahead on a hill. I ended up finished just a minute before her. 3 mile run time 25:34, 8:31 pace.

Total race time 1:28:57 which is almost a minute faster then last year. Shocking with all the extra vacation weight I am carrying

We hung around for the awards and I snagged 3rd place age group.

A Whole Lot of Nothing

Yesterday I planned to really push myself on a ride. I got up at 5:00. It was barely light enough at 5:15 to be riding. Morning riding is coming to an end!!! :(

I started out ok. But it didn’t take long and I would find myself slacking. Then I would start pushing again only to be slacking a few minutes later. What is wrong with me?? Why can’t I push myself on my bike when I am alone??

This morning the alarm went off at 6:00. I got out of bed. I started thinking how today is my last chance to sleep in. Tomorrow is the race so I will have to get up at about 4:30. Then Casey is having 4 little girls over for a sleepover tomorrow night for her birthday (which is today). There will be no sleeping going on. So I got back in bed and slept until 7:45. Ahhh heaven!!

I am not excited about the race tomorrow. I am not in any kind of race shape. Anyone know how I can lose 10 pounds TODAY??? Cedars was my very first triathlon 2 years ago. Last year I made improvements on every part. This year I just hope to finish.

Return of my Running Partner

I thought I was going to be running alone this morning but last night Lana sent me a text message that she would be there. I was very excited, I knew I could use the push she always provides.

So we met at 4:45 this morning. I had programmed my garmin for a tempo run. 1 mile warm up, 4 x (3 minutes fast, 2 minutes recovery) and 1 mile cool down.

Here is how it went (numbers are pace)
warm up 9:52
tempo
3min, 2min
8:03, 9:56
7:35, 10:31
8:08, 10:28
8:21, 10:12
cool down 9:33

that 7:35 pace was down hill and the 8:21 was uphill.

That is a total of 4.28 miles in 39:25.

We finished right at the front door of the Rec Center. We went in for toning class. We did lots of abs today and I was thankful. Vacation has left me feeling fatter then normal.

I ordered a copy of Advanced Marathoning this morning. Training for my next marathon starts August 5th. Lana and I have decided it will be The Rocket City Marathon on December 8th. We are both going for sub 4. We have to make it this time because next year we want to go to San Francisco and run the Nike women’s marathon for fun.

I have until July 31st to raise another $150 and then I get this cool jersey for free. There is a link in my sidebar if you feel the desire to sponsor me. thanks.

A Ride and Vacation Pics

This morning I met Tracy at the Rec Center and we rode the Normandy loop. We went too slowly and I ended up not having enough time to swim. Darn! ;)

Tonight is toning and yoga, I hope to make it to at least toning. I just have so much to do getting caught up after being gone for a week.

Here are some vacation pictures and a few stories, feel free to skip this part.

Casey and Baylee did everything. Dance lessons, water balloon toss, balloon race, horse shoes, talent show, hair braids… Bryce joined some of the fun too but not always.

One day the entertainment director took the kids inside and taught them a dance to do at the talent show. Bryce decided that he would rather tell a joke. He got up in front of everyone and told his joke after that Casey and Baylee did the dance they learned. It was very cute.

One day Tracy and I were sitting pool side and Tracy needed a drink. Bryce was standing right there so I told him to go tell Ronnie (who was sitting on a bar stool in the pool) to order a Bloody Mary and then bring it back to us. Off he went across the pool. But instead of going to Ronnie, he walked up the steps and around to the other side of the bar. We couldn’t see him any more but all three bartenders were looking down and talking to someone so we knew it was him. Then here came Bryce back without a drink. He said “I told them Ms. Tracy needed a blood Larry and they said for my mom to come get it” Bryce spent the rest of the trip collecting “blood Larry” cups.

We went on a catamaran and snorkeling. Bryce freaked and refused to snorkel while Casey had a blast. There were tons of those little jelly fish and Baylee started screaming and wanted out. The boat people finally told her they were not jelly fish. She asked what they were and they told her “little pieces of algae that floated up off the coral”. She got back in the water and never said another thing about it.

When we got back to Nashville and my car, I noticed that someone had stolen the 70.3 magnet off my car. Now I HAVE to do Gulf Coast again next year so I can get a new one!!!

Bahama Mama

Chattanooga Waterfront Race results finally got posted on Tuesday but I was already on my way to the Bahamas. Lana set me a text message so at least I knew my official numbers.

Official race results:
1.5 K Swim 29:42
T1 1:21
40 K Bike 1:25:28
T2 1:04
10 K Run 57:10
Total race time 2:54:46 21 of 59 in age group.

Monday I was too busy getting ready for vacation and working so I took a post race rest day.

Tuesday was travel day.

Wednesday I ran 3.49 miles in 33:08. I had set out to do 4 miles but I kept hitting dead ends and just gave up and went back to the resort. I thought I would run up the 13 flights of stairs back to our room but the lady at the front desk told me there were no stairs. (I found out later that there was in fact stairs but I never found them from the ground floor.)

Thursday I met Tracy and we ran 4.73 miles in 49:40.

Friday I did nothing.

Saturday I ran 2.64 miles in 27:59 with Tracy. We planned on 4-5 miles but had to go back due to potty emergency. All those fruity drinks.

Sunday I ran 4.60 miles in 47:06 alone.

We got home late Sunday night. It was a great vacation. All inclusive so I drank and ate way too much. I won’t bore with details.

This morning, Monday, I ran 4.00 miles in 41:18 and then swam 5 x 300 yards in 32:38.

I have Cedars coming up this weekend and hope I can get into some form of race shape before then. I think I would die if I had to do that race today.

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.

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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