Week 13??!! Already

Man, time is flying now.
Here it is week 13, the end of October.
Ironman Florida is Saturday and Sunday I secure a spot for next year. I am nervous just thinking about it.

Anyway, marathon training...
as a single mom, today I had to ask my neighbor for a favor. Actually I called to get her daughter to babysit but she offered to just have my kids come over and play with her son. So at about 11:00 I took my kids next door and told her husband that I was running 8 miles but would just do loops of our neighborhood. If he needed me just flag me down.
I really dreaded the idea of running loops of the neighborhood but luckily there are two slightly different ways to run a mile. So I alternated. I am sure the whole neighborhood thinks I am insane, but that isn't new. At least this time I wasn't riding my trainer in my driveway with my helmet on!!!
I started slow, but really wanted to get done as fast as possible so I wouldn't have to impose on my neighbors for long.
It was fairly windy. When the sun was out and the wind was at my back, I was comfortable in my shorts and long sleeve shirt but when the clouds took over and the wind became a head wind I was cold.
I pushed a little hard for a general aerobic run and finished the 8 miles in 1:11:35 8:57 pace. My average heart rate was 159 but maxed out at 174. A lot of that last mile was at the higher end.
My husband will finally return tomorrow but not until later in the day. So my 9 mile VO2 max run will have to be done after work sometime. I have sent Lana sleepy thoughts in hopes that she sleeps in tomorrow and has to run with me in the evening. I don't want to break and enter at the track alone!!!

17 Solo

I didn't realize just how much I have come to depend on Lana to keep me on pace. For Friday's long run were were not able to do it together for many reasons.
So Thursday night I downloaded some podcasts.
Friday, I dropped the kids off at school and started my run at 7:45. It was cold and drizzling. I didn't have a route mapped out but had an idea of where I was going.
I started the run out listening to Steve Runner's Phedippidation Cheers from the World. It really helped motivate me to keep going. Then it was Results for Beyond the Couch of Doom. Cool hearing all the race reports and more motivation to keep going.

I felt ok the whole run expect for the cold drizzle which made me miserable. It became more of a rain for miles 8-12 and that pushed me to run a little faster just so I could get it done.
When the rain slowed back to a drizzle, I slowed a little too. Mile 16 was running down Maple Springs back to my neighborhood. I got run off the road three times by cars. I had to run in the grass ditch and it slowed my pace for that mile. I made it back to my subdivision for my final mile. I had to run just past my house before Garmin beeped.
17 miles in 2:44:39. 9:41 pace. Average heart rate 152 max 166.
Splits:
9:45, 9:41, 9:37, 9:44, 9:41, 9:58, 9:49, 9:48, 9:48, 9:26, 9:34, 9:29, 9:42, 9:34, 9:39, 9:51, and 9:33

I took a ice bath and a hot shower. When I looked out the window, the sun was out. Just my luck.

It is going to be tough getting in my Sunday and Monday runs, since I will still be single. I think the neighbor is going to let the kids play at her house Sunday while I run 8. Monday's run is just going to have to wait until Ronnie gets home, whatever time that may be!

Getting ready for tomorrows 17 miles

Tune Up 10K

The plan called for a tune up race this morning. 8-15k

Well, there aren't any Thursday morning races and being a single mom right now, I couldn't even go meet Mike and Lana for their "race" at 5:15am.

So I programed my virtual training partner on my Garmin with my one and only 10K race time. 52:00 at the Franklin Fall Classic September 06. I ran alone after dropping the kids off at school.

I started out too fast determined not to let that little guy get ahead of me. My heart rate was way too high but I push on just trying to stay ahead.

Garmin finally signaled the end of the race, I won!!!! It wasn't by much, 100 feet or so, but I needed the boost badly.

Final time 51:49, 8:20 pace. My heart rate averaged 170 and peaked at 184.

I Didn't Sink

Yesterday I managed to get in a few sets of weights before I got bored. Not enough to really count.

This morning I met Lana, Tracy, Amy (Happy Birthday), Mary Beth and Mike at the Rec Center at 5:15. We did our 2 mile loop twice. We talked about the strides while running then forgot to do them!! That is the second time that has happened. I HATE messing with the plan. When I don't get a sub 4, I will blame those missed strides.

Lana, Mike and I went inside to swim after the run. This is the first time I have been in the pool in over a month. I did 800 yards of pull. It wasn't pretty. I didn't time it and I wasn't even going to count but some habits are just too hard to break.

I rushed home and got the kids dropped off at school, my husband dropped off for his golf trip, and myself to work by 8:00.

Starting Over

On September 17 I started carrying around a notebook. In this notebook I wrote down everything I ate and drank during the day and all my workouts. In the beginning I wrote everything down. I ate less, some days not enough. I lost a few pounds. Then I got lax about the notebook, not carrying with me, forgetting to write stuff down. I have gained weight.
Marathon training can not mean weight gain this time around.
Time to get back to the notebook.
Eating healthy is a lot of work.

The eating has been horrible but the workouts are still happening,even if they haven't been the best.

Saturday-rest/cross train
I finally got back on my bike. It felt great to ride again. We had a good group. It is great to see all these people riding. Going to have some new triathletes come spring. My legs felt good in the beginning but after a few hills, I started to feel the fatigue and fell to the back of the pack, behind even the beginners. Man I suck. Nothing new. I need to be spending more time in the saddle. We rode about 24 miles. Then I hurried across the street to Casey's game.

Sunday- VO2 Max (8 miles with 5 x 600)
Ronnie had golf scheduled. I promised him when I got into all this that I would try to impact his golf as little as possible. He had already skipped Saturday so I could ride. So I got up at 4:15 for my run. I don't run fast early on a Sunday morning. I tried but did not hit my intervals. 7:51, 8:08; 8:30, 8:20, 7:51. No where close to the 5k pace I was suppose to hold. Lana is giving me extra credit since I didn't run them on the "flat, springy track".

Today - 11 miles middle long run
Lana met me at my house at 4:30. I had mapped out a route Sunday and once again hit it dead on. I had no big hopes for this run, just get it done. I was way over dressed and got hot quickly. Lana was kind enough to wear her fuel belt and carry Powerade for both of us. I could have made it without, but it sure was nice to have a little boost in that second half. It took us 1:48:07 to finish, 9:50 pace.

Tomorrow is a rest/cross train day. I have high hopes of doing some weights. I have tried to fit some weights in on this program but if it isn't on the schedule, it has little hope of getting done. I am just keeping my head above water to get in the scheduled workouts.

Over the Hump

After yesterdays 5 mile recovery run, all I had left for "peak week" was a 20 miler.

So last night I mapped out a route.

It stormed pretty hard during the night. As a matter of fact, I got woke up by the storm at one point and decide if it was still raining at 4:00 I wasn't running.

When my alarm went of at 3:45, there was no rain so I got ready and went to Lana's house.

It was so dark and we got blinded by headlights several times. Then somewhere in the 8-10 mile range I ran into a tree! It had fallen over onto the road in the storm. I was running along and never even saw it. Lana and I got a great laugh about that. She tried to take a picture but it was still too dark.

With about 3 mile to go, Lana was still feeling great but I was starting to fade. I told her to go on. She never got so far ahead that I couldn't see her but she differently finished much stronger then me.

The route was perfect mileage wise. I beeped 20 miles just past Lana's street. Of course, Lana's Garmin was 7 hundredths ahead of mine but she came back and then finished with me. What a great training partner. She has a sub 4 in the bag!!

No one can say we take the easy way out either. Here is the elevation chart...

And here are my splits:

All in all, it was a good run. I wish I had felt stronger the last few miles but I still held pace. Another negative split run.

Yesterday was my wonderful husband's birthday. So it is time to go out and celebrate.

Another Weekday 12

Yesterday was a rest/cross train day. I thought about going to the pool. I ended up cleaning bathrooms and going to Wal-Mart instead. Swimming would have been more fun.

Today was another mid week long run. 12 miles. I met Lana at her house at 4:20. After a scary car encounter Monday, Lana wanted to stay in some areas with more light today. So we ran toward town and then just winged it from there. Of course my Garmin was short again, so in the end we had to run a tenth of a mile past Lana's street to get to 12 on my Garmin.
Splits look like this:
9:56, 9:47, 9:45, 9:43, 9:22, 9:41, 9:29, 9:22, 9:32, 9:34, 9:58, 9:34
for an average pace of 9:39/mile
I don't know what happened on that eleventh mile. There is no reason that I can think of that we would have had our slowest mile. I am waiting to see Lana's splits and see if that is where my Garmin lost time.
Even with that slow mile, we still had a negative split and an overall good pace. I am pleased with the run.
Tomorrow is a 5 mile recovery run and then Friday is 20.

On the Ironman front...we got our assignments. Lana and I will first be doing body marking and move on to peelers.

Start of Peak Week

It is peak week. 55 miles planned!!!

Saturday - Rest/Cross Train
I went with the rest option. I was so tired all weekend. I did clean up the back yard. Put all the pool floats away for the winter. Cut the grass.

Sunday - 6 miles recovery
I ran at 5 before Ronnie left for golf. My normal 6 mile route. It was slow and easy. 1:01:32 10:15/mile. After the six, I did the required 6 x 100 strides. By the last one my form had gone to hell. Then I spent the day as a slug.

Monday- LT run 12 miles with 7 at half mary pace
I met Lana at her house at 4:30. She had mapped us out a new route. We ran a 3 mile warm up and then picked up the pace to half mary. We had a few car issues. At one point I stopped because I was blinded by the headlights. doesn't help the pace.
We made the turn off Matt's Hollow and Lana assured me she knew where we were going. It was a spooky road but I just kept up and trusted her. Then we reached the end of the road. Now what??? We made a 180. We found the turn and knew that we were going to be long. We trudged on. When we finally got back to Lana's house, Lana's Garmin said 12.88 miles while mine said 12.83 miles. Also her splits look better then mine so I am including hers. At first, I was disappointed that I had two miles at +8:40 but using Lana's numbers there is only one. I can handle that, since it was uphill and we had to dodge cars that mile.
I am concerned about my heart rate, it seems low. I think I might need to change the battery. My Garmin reports an average heart rate of 153 and a max of 172.
Here are the splits as reported by Lana's Garmin vs my Garmin. I like her numbers better so that is what I am going with.

Lana's mine
Mile 1: 9:45 9:47
Mile 2: 9:49 9:51
Mile 3: 9:23 9:23
Mile 4: 8:31 8:30
Mile 5: 8:35 8:39
Mile 6: 8:27 8:28
Mile 7: 8:42 8:45
Mile 8: 8:34 8:41
Mile 9: 8:30 8:32
Mile 10: 8:13 8:16
Mile 11: 9:50 9:55
Mile 12: 9:32 9:30
.88 extra: 8:28(9:40/mi pace) .83 extra 8:02 (9:39/mi pace)

Ten Weeks - Done!

Ok, first off, I didn't get enough of you to cross your fingers for me Wednesday. I got put on the jury. At least it was a one day case and I hope that will be it for me for the month. We will see.

Thursday, I met Lana and Mike at the Rec Center at 5 to run 8 miles. I forgot my Garmin so have to wait on Lana to get the time/pace.

This morning, Friday, Lana met me at my house at 4:25. It was cold (44) and I was waiting on Lana in my driveway wrapped in a blanket. Thankfully the picture must not have turn out because it didn't show up on her blog today. Thanks Lana!!!
The run went very good. Felt great the whole time. 14 miles in 2:11:35. 9:24 pace complete with a negative split.
9:46, 9:32, 9:39, 9:32, 9:31, 9:17, 9:11, 9:38 (drink stop), 9:26, 9:20, 9:19, 9:06, 9:07: 9:12
Funny how Lana and I were side by side the entire time but her splits are all faster then mine!!!!

Civic Duty

OK, as if training for a marathon, working, and having two kids doesn’t make me busy enough, let’s throw in jury duty.

Yesterday I had to be at the court house at 3:00 for jury pool. I picked the kids up from school when the bell rang at 2:40 and rushed to the court house. They explained how it all works. I will be “on call” from yesterday until Nov 6th. Then they told us, “oh, by the way, we have trial tomorrow. And just to show you how random and fair this all is we are going to pick the 25 people for tomorrow’s jury pool right now” And of course whose name did they pull??? You got it, me.
So, I called my boss and told him. I am a contract employee, I don’t work, I don’t get paid. Oh, except for that $10 a day jury pay. So I am really hoping that when I show up at court today, I don’t make it to the 12 on the jury and I can go to work.

Other then the hassle of jury duty life and training have been moving forward.

Saturday- 20 mile ride
I did a short flat ride Saturday when Ronnie got home from golf at about 2:00. I averaged 16.9 mph. We went to Kim’s surprise b-day party that night so I knew I wasn’t getting up early Sunday morning for my 8 miles.

Sunday-8 mile run
It was 3:30 before Ronnie got home and HOT. I ran 8 but it was slow.

Monday- 8 mile VO2 Max
Our first VO2 max run of the program. I met Lana at the Rec Center at 4:30. We ran over to the middle school, about 3 miles, and slid through the gates to get on the track. I wish I had a picture of us trying to squeeze in that fence. We then ran 5 x 600 with 90 second jog between sets. Slid back trough the gates which was harder on tired legs and ran the 3 miles back to the Rec Center.

Tuesday-5 mile recovery
I met Tracy, Amy and Mary Beth at the Rec Center at 5:00am. Lana was a no show. We ran a 3 mile loop and then a two mile loop on the greenway and town. Amy had just run her first 7 mile run a few days before so she was tired and dropped off after the 3 miles. Mary Beth thought about dropping off too but hung in there and finished all 5 miles. It is so great to run with these girls and watch as they get stronger and faster.

Wednesday- rest cross train
Last night we went out for Lana and Amy’s birthdays. So again, no getting up early think it will be a rest day.
Guess I better get to jury duty. Cross your fingers they don’t pull my name.

Week 9 - Halfway

Today marks the end of week nine and also make us halfway done with the training program. I love the halfway mark. It just always feels good to me to get to that halfway point of anything. It’s a milestone. So I was very excited to get today’s run done and reach that halfway point.

But first, yesterday...6 miles with Lana, Mike and Joe. Recovery run. We ran a slight different route and it finally worked out to be exactly 6. We finished with 6 x 100 strides. The 6 miles took 56:38, 9:26 pace. I had some slight stomach issues again.

OK, now about the long run. On tap for today, 15 miles with 12 at marathon pace. I met Lana at the Rec Center. We got started at 4:50, Lana had some sleep vs alarm clock issues ;)
The first 3 miles of warm up were tough (10:17, 9:40, 9:35) and I questioned if I could do 12 at pace. When that third mile beeped we picked it up some. I was fine for a while but in the end I just couldn’t do it. My pace was too slow and I was so mad at myself. Lana wasn’t that far ahead but I just couldn’t catch her.
9:04, 9:05, 9:12, 9:14, 9:14, 8:55, 9:16, 9:28, 9:35, 9:33, 9:33, 9:29
Goal pace was 9:09.
I am very frustrated, I was feeling really good about the training but know I am full of doubt.
I know everyone has bad runs, how many times have I left that comment, but it is so much harder to deal with when it is your bad run. And the fact that is was a goal pace run and I failed makes me really question if I have a sub 4 in me.
Either way, I am done with week 9 and have 9 weeks left. Next week is recovery and the following week with be a 55 mile week (the highest).

Fall Break

The kids are out of school for fall break this week. We aren’t going on a trip anywhere so I am trying to make it as fun as possible while just staying here. It is taking a lot of time and energy. Therefore I am way behind on my blog.

Saturday- Old Timers Day
I was suppose to run the 5K but after the 20 mile run Friday, I decided to stick with the rest day and flake on the race. The kids and I went to the parade and Casey game. Big congrats to all my training buddies who did so well at the race.

Sunday- 6 miles recovery
I got up at about 7 and ran nice and slow and alone. I did my usual 6 mile route in 59:11, 9:53 pace.

Monday-14 mile mid-long run
Got up at 4:20 and was out the door by 4:30. Once again I was alone and this run didn’t go so well. I had tummy issues right from the start. By 11.5 I HAD to stop by the house. Then the last 2.5 seemed endless. Finally my Garmin beeped 14 and I could stop. 2:21:17, 10:06 pace. I had stomach issues the rest of the day.

Tuesday-6 mile recovery
Finally, someone to run with. I met Tracy at the Rec Center at 5. Amy was a no show. We ran the interstate road route. More stomach issues. We had to lap the parking lot to get to 6. As soon as I beeped I jumped in the car and rushed home. 1:03:48, 10:38 pace.

Wednesday-Rest/recovery
I have been reading Going Long and it stresses that if you feel tired take a rest day. So this morning I slept in. I can’t say I was really tired but the idea of sleeping in really appealed to me. Then I took the kids to the zoo. I am glad I didn’t get up and workout this morning. I don’t know if I could have kept up with the kids if I had. We zipped from one exhibit to the next. As soon as they spotted the animal, off we went. After the zoo, I drug the kids to Fleet Feet. I have blisters on the ends of every toe so thought maybe I should get refitted for shoes. They were surprised that the other Fleet Feet put me in the shoes that I am running in and they put me in a more neutral shoe. I hope they help my poor toes.

Week 8 Wrap Up

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

So how did I wrap it up?

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

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

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

Not as Planned

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

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

It is Just Painful

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Middle Half

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

More Changes

We are doing some shifting of the schedule again.

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

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

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

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

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

Week 7 - Feeling Better

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

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

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

Music City Triathlon

Last tri of the season.

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

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

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

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

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

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

I was in the 8th wave.

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

3,2,1..go

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

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

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

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

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

Total race time 2:44:29

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

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

Week 6 -Recovery??

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

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

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

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

Week 6 - Day

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

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

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

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

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

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

Week 5 - Done

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

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




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

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

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

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

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

Behind Again

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

STAR Race Report

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

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

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

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

The Bike 14 miles

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


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

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

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


Thanks again to Flash for the pictures.

Time to go watch football!!!

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!