track workouts

So here's a question - if one runs a track workout on a cinder track that is half grown over with grass and weeds - is that kind of like a trail track workout? ok i know - not funny. Anywho - couldn't make it out to solon yesterday - and my usual track was occupied so i settled for the local cinder track. It was actually kind of nice - i thought the cinders might slow me down a lot - but really it was just nicer on my body - not so jarring - didn't hurt my shins and my back. I wasn't sure if the track was a full 400 or not - so i checked it on the gmaps pedometer thingy - and it said it was .23 miles - so i thought - well that could just be my error in tracing around the track - you can only zoom in so far. Well i did my warmup - that was suprisingly quick - so i thought - well maybe it is a little short. So the plan 3 x 1 mile - goal between 7:00 and 7:25 Ran the first one at a suprisingly easy 6:30. Um yeah - track was definately short. So I got the old Garmin out ran the next "mile" in 6:33 - and then kept running til the Garmin said one mile - so my second real mile was a 6:56 - which i'm thinking made my firt mile the equivalent of 6:53. I was pretty excited about this - that and the fact that there were no weirdos riding bikes or walking dogs on this track - when lo and behold 1 lady and 2 girls came down to the track to start walking across the entire track. So I started my mile and yelled "i'm passing on your left" i've never seen 3 people jump like that - I said "i've got 4 quick ones to do" So they stayed out of my way the entire time. But i felt like after making them move out of my way like that - that I better keep my pace up - final mile 6:46.... hmmm maybe a 21 minute 5k or sub 21 (well let's not get crazy) is in my future soon. So I apologized to the ladies - didn't mean to be a track beotch - but I'm so tired of dodging people when trying to do timed stuff on the track!!! All in all - another pretty good workout under my belt.

where to start

I guess I will start by saying -- great job to everyone that ran the buckeye 50k on saturday. I am so impressed by all of you - what a hard race - what a HOT HOT day. So Steve and I worked the mile 26 aid station. That was soooo much fun. Working a waterstop on a road race isn't all that fun - you stand there with a cup in your hand while someone grabs it from you. In an ultra- you are somewhere between an annoying cars salesman and an annoying mother hen. It's funny - these people would kind of pop out of the woods - and you would say what can we get you - and some people were so tired and hot - that they would just kind of look at you. You'd say - ice? and they'd so oooh ice - yeah that would be good - and you'd say how bout a peanut butter and jelly - ooh peanut butter and jelly that would be nice - i swear you could offer these people tuna fish and they would be grateful. It's really fun helping out - when you know the people really truly appreciate it. One guy went blowing by us - and we tried to stop him - being that we were the last stop - but he kept going - well some how one of the guys talked him into coming back and at least letting us fill up his camelback and we got some food in him. Good thing - or else he would have run out of water long before he reached the end. So - don't know if i am inspired to do the summer 50k - but perhaps the winter one. we'll see-- i really need to get out on the trails.

I had to get my 20 miler in on sunday - the plan was to get up at 5 and run loops around the neighborhood at a 9:20 pace - so if i did my math correctly.. 3hrs 7min. Well i didn't get up til 6 - and by the time i got the water and gu and everything layed out on the front porch - it was almost 6:30 - but - still better than starting at 8. The plan was to run 4 x 5 mile loops - but i knew that that would drive me crazy - so i extended the first loop to 10 miles - which took some creative weaving through the streets. finished the first 10.2 in 1:32 - so about a 9:05 pace - cooled off for a few minutes took some e caps and headed back out for a 6 mile loop... from my crazy math i think those 6 were at a 9:30 pace - but the garmin was having trouble - so i think i ran more than 6 - which would put me a little close to the 9:20 goal. Came back to the house - woke steve up and told him to get his bike out to come with me for the last 3.8 miles. I'm so glad he did - by this point it was getting hot! Finished with a total time of 3:05 -- but I think the garmin was about .25-.5 mile short when i actually mappped out my route. But - in typical me fashion - as hot as i was i had to run back and forth in front of my house until the garmin flipped to 20!
As for this upcoming week - I was planning on doing 18 with solar on the towpath - but we're doing the sweet corn hellish hill challenge on sunday - and steve's signed up for the 2 mile open swim race on saturday - and i want to go see him swim - i think it will be fun. So... that means a nice 18 miler on friday night... anyone interested??? :) let me know!

props to the hubbie

I just have to say that i have the best husband in the world. Not only does he put up with my ridiculousness on a daily basis, and get out of bed every morning to help iron my pants and make my lunch so i can get out the door on time. But last night I still had yet to get my weekly track workout in. And b/c it's been hot - i've become a baby about running in the heat. Well Steve was patient enough to run up to the track with me at 9:20 last night - and since his legs aren't up to the pounding of a track workout just quite yet - last night - he walked the track while i did my 5 x 1000 m repeats in the pitch black dark - and then ran each of the recovery 400's with me and then ran me home the two mile cool down. It ended up being a pretty good workout - 1000's needed to be between 4:16 and 4:32 - i ran the following:

4:23
4:24
4:26
4:21
4:17

I think it's interesting that i always get faster towards the end of a workout - does that mean i'm holding back during the work out - or just excited to be done???
We didn't get home til 10:45 - and I know steve would have liked to have been in bed by about 9:30. I wouldn't have gotten the workout in - if he hadn't gone with me - I really appreciate it - and I know that most people wouldn't have done that!

I swam in a lake and i didn't die.

I would just like to inform the blogging world that i swam about 1200 yards in a lake with out a wetsuit - and not only did i not die- i didn't hate it either. Ok - so it wasn't lake erie - and there were places where i could touch - but it was dirty water and it was ok - and i'm going to go back next week i think.
So i mentioned in my last post that i think my body is handling hot weather better than i use to. Well knock on wood. Went for a run a lunch today it was about 84-85 degrees. This was the workout
1 mile warm up
4 miles at 7:47 pace
1 mile cool down

This is what happened.

1 mile warm up 9:47 - breathing really hard and very tired.
1st mile 7:37 - stopped to drink some water
2nd mile 7:48 - stopped in the middle of the mile though so as not to pass out
3rd mile - told myself to suck it up - and that i was being dramatic. I think it was around a 7:40 - not sure if it was a whole mile b/c i was feeling pretty delerious and couldn't quite remember where the mile mark was. Stopped and hid under a tree for awhile to try and cool down. Decided it would be ok - to forgo the 4th mile at pace - and ran/walked the last two miles back to the gym.

It took me so long to get through those last two miles that i took an extra half hour at lunch. I was planning on an hour and a half - by the time i walk to the gym and shower afterwards etc etc - but i was gone for two hours! i almost called my boss to come pick me up. It was HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT. I think i finally have enough water in me that i'm finally not feeling so sick. We'll see how this evenings swim goes - maybe i'll forgo the swim and just watch the synchro swimming competition....

i'm either getting crazier or tougher - or both

whew what a week! Finally had a break through day on the swimming. The big pool is closed at CSU for the synchronized swimming championships - but the small 25 yard one was open on friday. Apprently the short distance pool is what i need to give me that boost to go further. I usually swimm 100 meters straight - or maybe 200 meters straight and then i stop. why - i don't know - i guess because tackeling another 50 meters seems daunting. Well with only 25 yards between walls in a pool where i could stand up at any point i felt ok going just 25 yards more and then just 25 yards more. well before i knew it i did 400 yards straight - again i know that's not getting me through a mile in open water - but it was a break through - i felt like i could keep going. So... i'm hoping that there is a chance that i will someday be able to actually get over the issues in my head and just swim.
Back on the running front -i didn't get my second key workout in til friday night. 1 mile warm up 5 miles at an 8:05 pace and then 1 mile cool down. Well it was HOT out - so I was a little nervous - i know how my body reacts pretty well to cold weather - but hot weather is still a bit of a new frontier - I always assumed that if i did much more than go for a walk on a 90 degree day that i would get sick - i guess that's because at one point in time that was true. So - i tend to baby myself a little in the heat - b/c i don't want to get sick. Well i ran my warm up mile at about a 9:30-9:40 pace. Well the mile ended right at the local ball field. Well this guy comes blowing past me in front of this whole crowd of parents and kids. And i'm thinking ok - buddy well just wait til i start my actual workout - i'll show you. Well I waited for about 30 seconds - go some water - and then like a dog chasing a bone i went after him. i don't know why i do this - it's I feel the need to race when ever an older guys paces me - why - i have no idea. well about 3/4 of a mile later he turns left i turn right - for the next 2-3 minutes i slow waaaaay down. my mile time - under eight minutes - so apprently i went out waaaaay to fast - great thing to do when it's a million degrees out - so i keep running into my second 8 minute mile - and my shins are on fire- and i am on fire - b/c it is soooo hot. so i call steve to come get me. No need to push myself in these heat i say - especially with 17 miles on the forcast for the next morning. Well i call steve 4 times - no answer - so i took it as a sign to stop being such a baby and get out there and finish my workout. It took my 38:10 to do my 5 miles - which is a 7:45 pace i think - when i mapped it out i was probably about a .10 of a mile short of five - but either way - under the goal of 8:05 - with a cool down uphill mile of 9:14 --
Fast forward - saturday morning. plan - run 10 mile trail race followed by 7 miles for total of 17 miles - figured this would be a fun way to break up the 17 miles. ha! i had no idea what i was in for. Trail running is a whole different world. i have muscles on my legs that are still hurting - that i didn't know could actually hurt! Got almost a mile warm up in with the serc peeps before the race. I started off a little fast - even though i said - i'm not racing this - i'm going to run this nice and easy b/c i still have 6+ miles to run afterwards. Holy cow was this course hilly - and I had probably more trouble running down the hills than up them - especially the stairs - i can not run down stairs - especially if they are uneven. At one point i just started laughing thinking about how ridiculous i probably looked tippy toeing down the stairs. Well around mile 3.5 i was soo hot - that i my short were actually dripping. The only sport drink they had was heed. aka. poop. So again i started worrying about my pale self in the heat. i started thinking that maybe i would just do the 5 mile loop and call it a quits - after all it was early in my training plan -and i should be careful in the heat. Well I got past the finish for the five mile and managed to steer myself towards the second loop. I told myself - just take it easy and finish it. finish it in under two hours - that will be slow - but it will be a finish. So my feet started blistering like crazy - guess that's what you get for wearing a pair of shoes that you've only worn twice. Well i actually enjoyed being out there by myself on the second loop - i walked up the hills and ran through the inbetween sections and just enjoyed the views - all why telling myself - just finish this - toughen up and finish it. So i did. Final time 1:53 something which is waaaay slow. But - this was my first trail race and only my third trail run ever - and it was hotter than hell - so i can't be disappointed. Espeed got second and amie and janet and todd all got age group awards - so that was fun to watch. I changed my shoes to do a warm down with Barb and Espeed - but my blisters hurt so bad I passed. I went home got some food a bottle of gatorade and a ton of water and a nap. Woke up waited for the storm to pass and went out to complete my remaining 6+ miles. I stopped every mile to drink water - b/c again i'm afraid of the heat. but i managed to maintain a 9:10 pace - goal was 9:05 - but i'm ok with a 9:10. Now - i don't know if there was any point to finishing my 17 miles 3 hours later or not - but it proved to me that i am getting both tougher and crazier. i never would have done 17 miles in any sort of heat. I never would have started the second loop of that course and i sure as hell would not have gone back out to finish 6 more miles. I also wouldn't have finished my friday night workout - and actually had it be a good work out. So i am either crazy - crazy obsessed and i can't let me workouts slide - or i'm a lot tougher and i won't let myself quit when i know i'm capable of more!
So all in all it was a good weekend. Tell me though - how does one do this - not go drinking like normal and actually cook at home rather than eating out - and gain 4 pounds. maybe beer=weight loss! ha! i don't know but I don't like it!!!

track twilightzone.

I have a question - how many of you - if you were not doing a track workout - would go to a track? ok - so I can maybe understand people walking at a track - not really - b/c i think half the fun of going for a walk is looking at neighborhoods and streets etc... but ok - i'll concede and say i can understand walking at a track. However, why do people bring children in wagons to a track? Why do they think that the long jump pit is a place to bring shovels and sandbuckets? I know the track that i go to - does not have anyone using the long jump pit - however go to home depot depot and buy your kid a bag of play sand! Oh and the people with dogs- why why why do you insist on walking your dogs in a lane one? First off - what happens when your dog poops on lane one? Are you going to clean that up - or leave that as a special suprise for my final lap of my timed mile? Now i don't mean to be a track snob - but i don't get it - take your dogs for a walk - give them something to look at - they can't honestly enjoy walking around circles. then there is the guy that likes to bring his two dogs and let them run without leashes all over the track... seriously? Nothing against dogs - but it's a track - not a dog park - i shouldn't have to dodge wrestling dogs while i'm trying to get a workout in. Oh and my newest favorite - have you ever gotten on your bike and said "gee i think i'll go up to the track and get a nice bike ride in?" There was a woman last night wearing a purple cardigan sweater with a green and purple skirt (no not a running skirt - a wear to a nice brunch skirt on) who was riding her bike in circles on the track. I've never seen anything like it. But - i guess it's good the community uses the track - i just wish more people would use it - just to run...

Back in the Game

I missed a key workout last week. Yup - and I'm not going to worry about it. I got a good track workout in - a 5 mile glorious tour of downtown canton ohio and a thrilling 15 miler on the towpath. The 15 miler was tough - first of all I went out the night before and had two weeks of eating and drinking crap prior so needless to say my stomach was not happy - so... i didn't get started til after 12 - so yes it was hot... but i had to get it in. I'm also trying to see how i react to long runs on the towpath by myself. If I'm going to run this towpath marathon - i need to be mentally able to do it myself - and we all know how not exciting that path can be. I'm hoping i'll be able to keep pace with others when i run the towpath - but you can never count on that - what if the girls are havign a great day - and go out for a 3:30 pace? then i need to be able to get through it on my own. So - I think i did alright - goal 9:05 pace - ran the first 7 out in 8:46 took a break at peninsula b/c the stomach was still pretty funky. headed back north - stopped at boston store and basically took a shower in the water fountain because i was so hot - Not counting the two "breaks" i took I did the second 7 in 8:53 pace. followed by mile number 15 - that i did at a 9:40 pace... yeah i know dropped off the pace a bit - just wanted to get that last mile in though...
So now what? now - I'm starting this week fresh - no missed "key" workouts - and back to the bike and the swim. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that work stays calm for a bit. Oh - so i was reading espeed's blog - and saw she got the new 405 garmin... oh i'm so jealous - i have the old school garmin that won't work in cities or trails... great for around the neighborhood - but oh how i want that 405... so then it hit me - duh that's what i'll save all my quarters for - so hopefully by the end of this marathon training i'll have enough to buy the 405 -- guess i better really work at getting my miles in.

bridget and the terrible, horrible, no good very bad day (well days)

I don't talk about work on my blog - because i don't ever want anything to get back to someone etc. etc. but i have to say that last week and this week so far have been the most awful terrible days in recent memory. And I know i'll get through it - I will - but I am so tired, stressed, burned out etc... that at times i doubt that I will even have a job by week's end - because i won't be able to get through this stuff. And the worst part of this is the toll it's taking on my training - I managed to get all of my running in last week - but i biked 0 and swam 800 meters - before barely pulling myself out of the pool b/c i was so tired. i know that that happens - and i'll have more weeks like this - but it sure doesn't help motivate me to want to do a track workout by myself tonight in the dark after I finally get out of work. well bitching about it doesn't help - i'm just taking a ten minute break here to feel sorry for myself.
let's see what else is new here... i have raised $90 of my $250 for ms - so that's a positive light... oh and my training run down for last week.

Mon - 3 miles easy - 1 hr flag football (rushed the quarterback the whole time so i'll count that as some speed work!)

Tues - drank beer with boss after late night of work

Wed - a.m. track workout
1 mile warm up
400 strides
3x miles with 400 ri (7:26, 7:16, 7:17)
1 mile recovery

Took the first mile a little slowly - b/c i haven't done mile repeats in about ... oh ... ten years - would like to have all three closer to 7 flat

Thursday - work function at night - drank beer

Friday a.m.
2 slow (18:10)
2 short tempo (7:05, 7:26 -- second mile all uphill)
2 slow (18:00)

Saturday - worked in yard

Sunday - Ran columbia station half marathon. Goal - run 8:50 pace - ran a 1:56:00 so a pace of 8:55 - know i should be able to run a half marathon faster than that - but the training plan said 13 miles at a 9:20 pace - so I figure that was good. That and it was a p.r. by about 8 minutes for an actual half marathon race... Won my age group - not as fun when there is only one other person in your division though...

oh and get this - got to the race and signed in - kind of milled around for a bit - warmed up a little bit - about 5 minutes before the race starts - the race director says - oh the start line is .6 miles down this road. You're telling me they couldn't figure out a 13.1 mile route that started and stopped a little closer together than .6 miles? not that i minde walking .6 miles - but it just seemed silly to me! but no one asked me!

scattered showers update

I finally got some examples of our invitations up on my scattered showers blog. If anyone is looking for help planning a shower - or a party let me know - and check out my blog...

http://scatteredshowersonline.blogspot.com/

Bad Idea Bears

Steve and I often joke about the "bad idea bears" they're the little guys that tell you to turn off the alarm and go back to sleep rather than going to the gym - or the ones that say on a tuesday night - don't eat that grilled chicken - go to bw3's and get some wings and some beer. I'm sure you all know those guys. Well I must say i am very proud of myself this week - because i defeated the bad ideas several times - which is hard for me to do on a normal basis - let alone a week like last one where i got my schedule all out of whack.

Monday - rest day - dropped bike off for tuneup - ordered new running shoes and bought a wetsuit.

Tuesday - awful first open water swim - was upset - didn't do track workout afterwards

Wednesday - headed up to the local track (not a very nice track considering there were broken bottles and grass growing through cracks on the track -but hey it works.) I've never done a track workout by myself - b/c well they are hard and usually i don't push myself that hard by myself - i usually need the motivation of others - I got up there and did the same workout e speed had us do a couple of weeks ago -
1 mile warm up
800 meters strides
1 x 1600 6:59
2 x 800 3:28 and 3:27
2 x 400 1:38 and 1:39
with 1/2 distance recovery in between and 1600 cool down

oh and swam 1200 meters at lunch

Thursday - really wanted to just go for a run at lunch - stuck to the training plan of 2 easy 2 short tempo speed and 2 easy so...
i did
2 (17:00)
2 (7:12 and 7:03)
2 (17:00)

everything was a little faster than what it was suppose to be - but i'm just getting a hang of this pacing thing.

Swam 1200 meters at night - finally started to link a few more laps together - my endurances still stinks!

Friday - rest

Saturday - "easy" 3 mile run - had to work really hard a running a 9 minute pace - and not going too fast.

Sunday - was not free to run until around 3:00 when it started thundering and lightening - then had to go to dinner with the father in law - got back still raining. so the bad idea bears told me that my training doesn't technically start til today that i should not go out in the rain - that i should sit and relax - then i decided to go to the grocery store. Finally around nine o'clock - i said to myself - this is ridiculous - get out there and at least do something! So a little after nine - i headed out in to the rain to get a run in. I was suppose to do 11 miles at a 9:05 pace. I decided just to run and see what happened - it felt great! I was able to get 10 miles in at a 8:40 pace - too fast i know - but it was a great run. I cut it a mile short - b/c it was almost 10:30 - and i was starving and sleepy! but i got it in. I know it wasn't necessary to get it in - but i was proud of myself for at least sticking to my 3 key workout days this week! Also - really proud of pushing myself on my runs - this is the first time i am following a training plan that is more specific than "run 5 miles" I've never followed something that says "run 5 miles at mid-tempo pace" So - this is new for me - and hard - but i'm discovering that i am capable of a lot more thant i thought.... sixteen weeks and counting til towpath!!!
Hopefully this week will be a little better for getting all of my workouts in swimming, biking and running - but it will be tough - it's a rough week at work - so wish me luck!

Motiviation

I'm not sure if any of you read the lastest edition of runners world or not - but there is an article about two women who train to do the nike women's marathon. As a source of motivation the one woman gives herself a dollar for every mile she runs. I thought that was a really cool idea until I realized that if i stuck with my schedule that could add up to $40 or more a week - which is $120 a month - and that as motivating as it would be - is not going to happen - not unless someone would like to donate that to me. So I decided that maybe $.25 a mile would be more appropriate - well then i decided to have a little contest with steve. It started Sunday June 8th - and ends the day after the greater cleveland half ironman. Well we needed to make it fair so we've decided to count biking and swimming too.
Here's the deal - if a half ironman is approximately 1.2 miles swim, 13.1 miles run and 56 mile bike - we decided that if each running mile was worth 1 quarter and 56bike=1.2swim=13.1 run - then for every 4 miles bike you get a quarter and about every 200m swimming you get a quarter. I think the 200m is a little low. But that's ok. Steve is currently up but quite a bit - guess that's what happens when he can swim almost twice as fast as me!
We're not sure what the winner gets besides bragging rights - but i'll keep you posted!
oh - we got our wetsuits- if the weather holds - tonight will be my first ow swim and wetsuit swim!

Vegas

Ok - so last week was officialy 18 weeks til the towpath marathon - aka my first attempt at a bq. which means - i have a ton of work to do in the next 18 - scratch that 17 weeks. I know i can do it - if i put the time and work into it - which means going above and beyond just getting enough long runs in to just complete a marathon. So i followed amie's lead and decided to go with a modified version of the FIRST program for "those who have completed their first marathon but want to finish faster" Keep in mind i'm also still toying with the idea of greater cleveland half im - as long as training for that doesn't take away from running. So far it's been ok - and i've been able to squeeze both in.
So last week - was week 18 - official first week of training. Also the week that I was going to Vegas for four days. I should have just waited for today to start. But oh well - between monday and wednesday I was able to get in a couple of runs, two swims and a shortened awful bike ride. Why awful you ask?
Well here was my idea - fleet feet was having a wetsuit demo day out in westlake - so I thought - i'll have steve meet me down near edgewater - we'll ride out to westlake - it's about 13 miles - try on the wetsuits and head back. Good idea in theory - bad idea when played out. First of all Lake road near downtown is in pretty bad shape - which is a problem for two reasons - i don't know about you - but i'm not riding at 18 mph over potholes, manhole covers, potholes and more potholes - so you end up going really slow - in certain stretches which makes the ride take a really long time. Number 2 - you end up riding further into the street to avoid the really rough part - which you know makes cars angry - which in turn makes me quite upset and nervous - and then you add on to it my fear of my new clip shoes still - and it was not a very pleasant experience thus far. Well bad idea number 2 - don't go for a ride if you don't know how to get to the place you are going to. I thought we had gone too far - and we ended up spending a half an hour or so turning around and then turning around the other way. Well we finally stopped to ask directions again and I popped out my left foot and decided to lean to the right instead so i fell flat over on to someone's lawn in bay village. I layed there for awhile - I was upset and the grass was very soft. As steve said - i picked a great place for my first clip related crash!
Well eventually we find our way to the five seasons. Jody tries to give me a small wet suit to try on - and after my last experience i opted for the medium. This went much better than the last time - and it was awesome having that on in the pool - i can't wait to get my suit and try it out in the lake. So Jody says that suit is big on you - you have too much room in it still. So i say fine - i'll try on the small. I think it probably took jody and heather a half an hour to get this suit on me - and quite awhile to get it off - i couldn't even get my hands out of it - let alone my big old feet - so i guess i need a small and a half. which isn't going to happen. Meanwhile while i was wrestling with the wetsuits - steve had tried his on - and was calling his mom to come pick us up. It took us so long to get there and to try on the suits that we didn't have enough day light to get back. So... my mother in law dropped us off at our cars and we went home - it was 10:30 by the time we got home! So we finished packing for vegas and had a couple of beers to celebrate being on vacation. I'll leave my vegas stories for another post - but we were able to get out for one run while we were there - we ran from our hotel to the las vegas sign which was about four miles - we added another mile to that and called it a day - because by that time in the morning it was already pushing 100 degrees -- which is just too hot!!
So where does that leave me? I guess today is my official first week of training (which is good since i'm actually falling a 16 week plan!)

A week's worth of thoughts...

Training Recap:

Swimming and running doing well. Ran my first track workout in forever on tuesday - and my first trail run ever on wednesday. Currently running about 3 days a week with a 8-10 miler on the weekends. Going to keep doing that for a little while here - I think I am 18 weeks out from the Towpath marathon - so i need to decide what program to follow. i've done some research on the phitzinger, first, and hal higdon. Not sure what to follow - phitzinger (however you spell it) seems a bit intense, first seems not quite intense enough - any thoughts and what you guys think has worked best for you? Swimming is getting there - getting in the water 2-3 days a week - yardage is not quite what it should be yet - but i am getting better - i'm anxious to get in the open water - but am having some wetsuit issues...

A thought on wet suits

Per the sizing chart on the wet suits at 128lbs 5'6.5" I should be a medium - or maybe even a small. Well let me tell you - that is not that case - b/c apparently wet suits were not made for bodies shaped like mine! Went to bike authority to try on some of the sales rack wetsuits. I made steve come into the dressing room with me - b/c i knew i was going to need help. didn't really think the small would fit - but for 30% off - who knows it's worth a try. At the point where steve was grabbing the wetsuit to try and pull it up over my butt - but was only succeeding on picking me and the wet suit up off the ground i figured we better get the small off before i got stuck. well - onto the medium - went on much easier - steve zipped me up - and i said i'm choking - and he said no you're alright - well i turned around to look at him - and he was like oh my god - you are choking and unzipped it. I don't know what was wrong with me or the suit - but it was litterally choking me! so we got that off and tried on a large with no sleeves - which wasn't what i really wanted - and seemed like it might be a bit big. So i left the store - a bit defeated - really hot and kind of worn out. I think i can actually say that i've found something worse than trying on bathing suits... wet suits!!!

Race recaps:

I ran the eagle 5 mile race on May 24th and the Aetna Race for the kids 5k on this past sunday. I've had run the eagle run a few years ago - and the course is now in a different place - same sort of course though - winds through some pretty neighborhoods and is flat. They also do a nice job of giving you a wicking hat and long sleve tech tees. Well i knew going into the race that if i ran a decent race (sub 40 - which i've only done once before) I had a good shot at an age group award. And as age group awards are still very new to me - i get very excited at the prospect of winning one. I ran the race with my garmin for once so that i could keep track of my pace a little better - i needed to make sure that i kept my pace under 8:00 at all times. Tried to take it easy on the first two miles. mile one 7:30, mile 2 15:01 - perfect. Mile 3 23: something Mile 4 - don't remember - but i knew it was under 32 - pushed it in for a fnal time of 38:05. I almost threw up in the shute and the guy from hermes was like are you alright? i said oh i'm fine - just have a banana that wants to get out - and said oh ok - can you tear off your own number then? ha! I said it's not a good race unless you almost puke at the end! Got to the end of the shute - and they handed me 2nd place in my age group!!! yeah! It was a star shapped paper weight - one can never have too many of those! I looked up my time from the last time i ran this race - it was a 48:00 - so 10 minutes better!! woo hoo -- oh and I ran back out on the course to go get steve - he had said his legs were hurting and he was hoping to break 50.... well i came around the corner and there he was finishing in 43:59!!! that's his best time ever! So all in all it was a great day.

ok this is the longest post ever -- i'll tell you about sunday's race a day or so... i know i know - you are all very exctied - but contain yourself - you'll be ok...

a blast from the past....

found these pictures on my parents computer of the first duathlon that steve and i did in 2005... i'm not sure if you can tell from the attire, the hybrid bicycle, or the fact that there is no one left in the transition with us - that we had no idea what we were doing!!! It's funny to look back at how far we've come! I bet some of you were out there at hinckley zooming around me on my hybrid!!! and the best part -- i got 1st in my age group! (i was the only one ha ha!!)

deep thoughts on flag football

I've been playing flag football off and on now for about the last five years. During that time period our team has not gotten any better - well maybe we play a little better - but we still lose most games. When I first started playing - I enjoyed football for the exercise - but as I started training for the marathons I found that I didn't enjoy football as much. It became an obligation that got in the way of my training - playing flag football for 40 minutes is sooo not the same as getting a run in. Then I found that running the short sprints during the game in a pair of spikes was starting to hurt my shins - so i would center the ball and just go out for short passes. Well lately i've decided to make football more of an actual workout - run longer patterns - see who i can beat off the line, oh and volunteer to rush the quaterback on defense. Not a good idea. Especially this week. On monday I had a good 5.5 mile run at lunch followed by 1300 meters in the pool after work followed by some ab and back work in the weight room... followed by football.
Now the only reason i volunteered to rush is b/c the girl who has been rushing - is really short and not any faster than i am - so i thought at least my height could cause some distraction. I find that rushing is sooooo frustrating. In flag football you have to wait a 5 count before you can cross the line of scrimmage - well i know not to run diretly at the qb - to approach him from the side and try to force him to one side, get his flags or block the pass. I also know that if I am running right - he's going to cut left - but there is a clog in the system that runs that message from my brain to my feet - i swear i look like an elephant in slow motion trying to chase this guy down. I did not get his flags ... not once!!! And to make matters worse - my quads hurt so bad still (2 days later) even though i made yesterday a rest day ... that i am sort of picking my legs up and moving them to get out of the car! unbelievable! how can i not be this sore after running 20 miles - but make me run a bunch of little sprints for 40 minutes and I feel like my legs are going to explode!

buckeye 50K????

I've been intrigued for awhile by the buckeye 50k. I've been told a lot of good things about this race. I've been thinking that I would really like to give trail running a try and that I would like to do the buckeye 50k at some point ( i even went and bought trail shoes). But here is my question - how does one train for a 50k? I just completed a marathon 2 weeks ago - so obviously I've got a decent base - but can i go from that to running a 50k in 2.5 months? and what kind of training schedule does one follow for that? Anyone have any advice for me? (besides get out there and start doing some trail runs of course!) Any input would be helpful - can i do this or no?

congratulations

Congratulations to every who ran yesterday in the cleveland marathon! This was the first time in a couple of years that I haven't run one of the events... so it was kind of weird. I must say i was glad to not be running when I was laying in bed at 7:30 and it was pouring rain! I had told brian that I would come and run miles 16-26 with him - and fortunately for me - the sun came out just as I arrived at mile 16. I saw my friend Dave go by at mile 16 - and i ran with him for a bit - turns out - he made a wrong turn and turned with the half marathons - so he ended up running an extra 2 miles - i told him to think of it as training for an ultra marathon. He didn't find that amusing... I saw him after the race - and he had stopped his garmin at 26.2 - if it hadn't been for the extra distance he ran - he would have qualified for boston. Hopefully he won't get frustrated - and he'll qualify in the fall.... we'll see.
So - i picked up Brian and at mile 16 - he had a great race - and looked really good all the way til the end. I just hope that i was more motivating than aggervating -- b/c i know i can be a pain to run with. So I ended up getting a little over 11 miles in yesterday - not too shabby.

Oh - i've started a 1/2 ironman training program. Obviously i'll need to get a couple of sprints and open water swims under my belt before i attempt that - but I like to have a goal and a training schedule. First week was a little short on the swimming and running and waaaay short on the biking - but it was the second week after my marathon - so i can't be too unhappy with my totals. Here they are for last week..

Swim - 2600 meters
Bike - 20 miles
Run - 16.4 miles

Goal for this week

Swim - 4500 meters
Bike - 100 miles
Run - 20 miles

Not sure - if i'll get there this week - but i've got pretty good odds - especially with the holiday weekend and half a day on friday - if the weather holds out - hopefully i can get a nice afternoon ride in!

Oh - went for a run at lunch today and boy is it W-I-N-D-Y!!! i know the run down marginal yesterday was not exactly wind free - -but i am so glad that it wasn't as windy as today - i thought i was going to get blown away today!

no south bend and mom's day 5k

I've been going back and forth on weather or not i should do this marathon in south bend on the 31st. so i finally did the old list of pros and cons - and it looks like the cons have it. Running another marathon now - is not going to make me run a better marathon next fall - and the $3.89 sign on I saw at the gas pump is another reason - not to drive all the way to south bend.
So now what? time to focus on my first triathlon and columbus marathon in the fall.
I ran a 5k on sunday - the first one i've run since december - so i have to say - my body wasn't quite sure how to react to the distance/pace. The race felt a lot faster than it was - my hamstrings were still very tight from the pig - but I finished in 23:39 - which is not the greatest - but is still what i call a "post high school p.r." (high school p.r. is a 20:50 -- i'll get there soon) It was good to get out there and do a 5k again - i look forward to doing more this summer. I warmed up with the serc group - and that was a lot of fun - they are really nice people - and usually I go to races by myself.
I had been toying with running either the zoo race or the 5k in strongsville that weekend instead... but chose the mom's day for it's location...looks like i would have probably been able to get an age group award at one of those races... i didn't realize that the this was the race for the crazy elites! The winning female time was 16:43!!!! that is crazy!!! Well the results are finally posted - and it says i got 4th in my age group. it also says i'm from chester maryland and that some other girl named elizabeth got third - and apprently amie who actually got third - didn't run the race at all - since i can't seem to find her name anywhere on the results! how weird is that?

in other news - i finally got bike shoes and speedplay pedals - haven't gotten to use them on the road yet - i'll be sure and post pictures of the bruises i'll get when i fall the first time out! and it's back to the pool - swam 1300 meters at lunch yesterday and felt like my head was going to explode... i keep telling myself that the swimming will come together eventually if i just keep at... as dori from finding nemo would say "keep on swimming ... keep on swimming" ok i'm done.

Confessions

I don't know how to change a tire. on my car or on my bike. and so far i have gotten through life ok with this secret confession. Thanks to triple A and some good luck... But - it's finally catching up with me. I got my new bike shoes this week. Used them on the trainer last night to try and get a feel for them before i take them on the road and break my neck. Well i decided that maybe it would be nice to get out on sunday (weather depending) and go for a nice ride. well i realize that i always ride with steve - (and he can't ride with me this sunday) which made me realize that I don't know how to change a flat tire... which made me realize that going for a ride on my own would not be a good idea - b/c what do you do if you are alone with a flat and don't know how to change it? I've decided that this situation is ridiculous and I need to learn how to change a tire asap!

going the extra distance

From the flying pig website...


"The Flying Pig Marathon has always prided itself in taking the event one step above the others. This year, unfortunately, due to a race morning fire emergency on the course, we have literally gone beyond 26.2 miles. The last minute re-route added .2514 miles to the original course.

The time that was recorded at the finish line is your OFFICIAL 2008 Flying Pig Marathon time. To obtain a comparable 26.2 mile time to your 2008 Flying Pig time, please use this online calculator"


So I guess according to the calculator - my actual time would have been 4:22:30. Do you know this is the second time this has happened to me? i ran a half marathon in dc last year - and they told us a few days after the race -that the 1/2 route was really longer than it should be. ha! i think that is funny. well a 4:22:30 looks better than a 4:25:01 - so i'll take it! That's a 25 minute and 40 second p.r!