Missed Workout

You ever have one of those days at work where your "to do" list gets out of control? Today was one of those days for me....I kept telling myself I would hit one more thing on that darn list and before I knew it, it was 2:30pm....I thought about hitting the gym at that point but a little late in the day and still had some work to do.....my point being- step away and take some time for yourself! I should have just hit lunch / gym at 12'ish like I had planned...the work was definitely not going anywhere.....reminded me of last year where I focused so much on work that the missed workouts spun out of control and gained so much momentum that I couldn't stop it.....next thing I know, I was pulling out of IM AZ & IM Canada.....not going to happen this year! I missed the workout window today but will make sure that it's an anomaly rather then the standard, going forward.

I did hop on the computrainer, post work for a short ride. Decided I'd do some hill work for a change of pace and fired up the IMC Richter Pass course and rode it to the peak and then spun down the backside for a 5 min cooldown......good times...

Bike Stats
45 minutes total: 5 min warm-up / 36 minutes course / 5 min cooldown
11.5mph ave
6.88 miles (to top of Richter)
83 rpm cadence
135 HR ave (Z1- was in Z2 for the 2nd 8.6% roller)

*peace*

A Cure for the Monday Blues....

Well I found out the cure for the Monday morning blues....Chocolate Chip Cookies!!!!! A friend at work was nice enough to make me some delicious Choco Chip / PB / Oatmeal cookies- Thanks Kathy!! Totally unexpected.....those always seem to be the best.....the only problem was my total lack of willpower in keeping my hand out of the cookies all day.....well, we need a reason to get out here and train right?! ;-)
My legs still are a bit sore from that run on Saturday so I went for a swim at lunch. I felt pretty good in the water...ended up doing a longer yardage straight swim to break up the 500's I have been focusing on lately.

Swim Stats
3000 yards total
53 minutes
1 x 2000 free
1 x 250 TI drills
1 x 500 free
1 x 250 TI drills

After work, I rode the computrainer for an hour....kept it on the easier side...did the "winter spin" loop which is pretty flat except for the extended roller mid-ride.

Bike Stats
1 hour as 5 min warmup / 55 minute course ride
16.5 mph ave
15.1 miles
131 watts ave
97 cadence

*peace*

Small Ring Spin

After yesterday's brutal run, I was moving a bit slow this morning. I didn't end up saddling up until about 11:15 which was close to the time I had planned on finishing the ride. Oh well, at least it wasn't raining yet....with the forecast though, I donned all the rain gear and took out the fendered cross bike. My legs were pretty sore for the first 30-45 minutes before they loosened up a bit....I kept it in the small ring all day with the plan to have a nice aerobic ride today. I also avoided all hills except for the rollers around Hagg Lake. It was really nice to ride there today...only saw a couple cars and a couple cyclists...very quiet out there. It was a totally different scene from the trail run yesterday.....as I went around the lake, I got flashbacks from yesterdays race.......couldn't help it with all the course markers still out there to remind me of where we darted in and out of the trail system. When I was exiting the park, it started to drizzle lightly ...not too bad though. I was expecting rain for this ride so was pleasantly surprised that the the bulk of my ride was pretty dry. It did start raining a bit harder for the last 45 minutes of my ride so I was glad I had the rain gear and fenders!

Bike Stats:
4.5 hrs
69 miles
15.5 mph ave
131 HR ave Z1

*peace*

Mud, Mud....AND MORE MUD

Anyone want a slightly used pair of trail shoes? My wet and muddy shoes weighed a bit over 3.25lbs, post run! Nuts....I guess you can train for this race by running in boots.
Well, not much to report besides the fact that I got my ass thoroughly kicked today at the Hagg Lake 25K trail run. In retrospect, I probably should have taken Steven up on his offer to join him for a ride. The course is known for its mud but with the light rain the last couple of days, I didn't expect it to be as bad as it was. The start of the race wasn't too bad, we headed out for an out and back on a gravel fire road...it had a nice incline and provided an opportunity to get up near the front pack. As we headed onto the actual trail, it was a nice mix of rolling single track. I was enjoying the run at this point but it was hard to take in any of the beautiful scenery since you had to stay completely focused on the trail or risk going down. I was ok on the flats or climbs but lost time on the downhills....I'm still not used to bombing downhill and didn't want to take a chance on going down. We had several sections where we veered off the trail and hit the paved road for a bit...a VERY welcome change for me after we started hitting some of the mud.

Re: the mud, it SUCKED....literally. In a couple spots it almost sucked my shoe right off....I can't even remember how many times I almost went down....the mud during the first 1/3rd of the course didn't seem too bad...this is where we had to deal with alot of the hills. Once we got on the last half of the course, it flattened out but the mud was horrible. I was sliding all over the place....very frustrating to be on the flats and have to run so slowly or risk going down. If you tried to run off to the side of the actual trail to avoid the worst of the mud, it was pretty off-camber and uneven so you risked twisting your ankle. In certain sections this was unavoidable so just crossed my fingers and prayed I wouldn't twist anything. I finally shuffled to the "1 mile left sign" and was thinking how lucky I was that I hadn't actually wiped out with all the near misses. I guess I should have saved that thought until after I crossed the finish line. We hit a really long & slick/muddy section of trail and I tried to lift my pace just slightly- big mistake. Shuffling along at this point really got old so when I tried to increase the speed just a tad, the next thing I know I was on my ass...real nice!! (NOT). I did a blazing 10+ minute last mile including my wipeout....I guess I wasn't alone in the wipeouts based on the amount of mud several people had plastered on them post-race. One poor girl was fighting off tears as she was tended to by some staff after twisting BOTH her ankles on the course! I can't imagine doing two loops of this course for the 50K....those guys/gals are monsters! As for the 28 people who finished ahead of me- big congrats!! I am definitely not worthy! ;-)

Hagg Lake 25K Trail Run
2:13:08 Total Time (8:35 pace ave)
171 Ave HR low Z3

I don't think I will ever do this race again unless it is totally mud-free. It is just not worth the risk of getting injured...twisting an ankle, etc. I really enjoyed the single-track though...will definitely hit some DRY trail runs / races when the sun pokes out a little more consistenly up here.

The rest of my day was pretty darn lazy......Hope you all had a much better training day then I did! :-)
*peace*

D.N.A

Today was a pretty good day at work. My group was invited to a tour of D.N.A (Department of Nike Archives). It is basically a museum of all things Nike...very cool to see some of the original Nike shoe designs / models. Some of the early running shoes made by Bowerman looked like ballet slippers..basically nothing to them. Also, very interesting to see the evolution of shoes and advances in design / materials when you get a chance to examine shoes that were considered "cutting edge" 30+ years ago.

Today was a light training day due to the massive dose of suffering I'm subjecting myself to tomorrow. 25K trail run race....15.5 miles.....I can almost taste it.......uugh. Come back for a post-race report some time tomorrow.....it ain't gonna be pretty.

Run Stats
Treadmill 2% incline
16 minutes total
1 x 8:30 mile HR 153 Z1
1 x 7:19 mile HR 164 Z2

Swim Stats
34 minutes Total
Quick dip in the pool, post run
1500 Yards Total
1 x 500 free
1 x 250 TI drills
1 x 500 free
1 x 250 TI drills

*peace*

Just A Swim Workout Today

I am leaning toward entering the 25K Hagg Lake Trail Run this weekend. I've never entered an official trail race so thought I'd give it a go- I'm sure it will be a great opportunity to get schooled by the real runners out there!;-) My legs haven't felt the best the last couple of days so not sure what kind of race I will have but it will give me a chance to peg my HR in upper Z3. With Boston in a couple months, any faster running I can get under my belt will be a major plus. The course is infamous for being a mudfest...hopefully it won't be too bad this weekend.

In light of the potential race, I limited my training to a swim today. I was able to get in a couple faster laps as I had some company in the pool. They probably had no idea we were even "racing". ;-)

Swim Stats
3000 yrds total
6x500 w/45 seconds rest
54 minutes

*peace*

Easy Day

Steven had asked about my swimming TI drills. I took a Total Immersion Workshop when I first started doing long-course triathlon and it has definitely improved my swimming. I've never had any formal swimming instruction prior to taking the TI course and it helped improve my IM swims from around the 1:16'ish range to around 1:04'sh when the conditions were right (ie- the pool like conditions at IM Canada). All while staying aerobic throughout the swim and allowing me to exit the water feeling pretty darn good for having swam 2.4 miles. It definitely helps to start the bike without feeling thrashed from the swim. I typically throw in a mix of these drills (scroll down the page to the video links) between my longer swim sets. I also wear fins when I do the drills because my kick is pretty weak. The drills have helped me lower my stroke count to about 14-16 per 25. For anyone that hasn't already, I would suggest picking up the TI book and/or dvd - it definitely can't hurt your swimming and could potentially help shave some serious time off your swim. TI definitely provides alot of bang for your buck, not to mention your time. I know it would take a serious chunk of serious training time (and pain) to get my IM swim below one hour and not sure that would really provide any major benefit in an Ironman race that is so heavily weighted toward the bike / run. I'd rather spend any extra available training hours on the bike!

In other news, I officially registered for the Pacific Crest Half Iron today. Steven had suggested I register since it fills up pretty quickly due to entrant limits (thanks for the tip!) - nice to get that out of the way. I wish the training were that easy! ;-)

My training day was pretty light and easy today. I think I have been ramping up the swimming / cycling too soon while trying to keep my run frequency up. My legs (especially the joints around the knee area are feeling a bit sore today). I ended up hitting the gym for an easy treadmill run.

Run Stats
Treadmill 2% incline
45 minutes total
5.15 miles
8:41 / mile pace
149 HR ave (Z1)

Post work, decided to do a high cadence recovery spin on the bike. I hopped on the computrainer and set the ergo-mode on a massive quad-busting 125 watts (ok, maybe not quad-busting) and spun at a high cadence. Seemed to help the legs a bit...hoping they come around in a couple days.

Bike Stats
30 minutes total
18.3+ mph ave
104+ cadence
122 HR ave (Z1)

*peace*

Two for Six Dollars

Let's talk about weakness...my weakness.....yes, the twofersix special on Ben & Jerry's ice cream rotating through most grocery stores out there....certain flavors are even available at Trader Joes for $2.59. Lately, I've had a weakness for Coffee Heath Bar Crunch- excellent stuff! It's sad but I usually buy a couple pints a week with the intention of just taking a couple bites here and there and spreading out the madness over time...didn't happen. I seem to polish them off pretty darn quick....I guess my saving grace is that the majority of my diet is pretty clean and I'm getting enough exercise to burn it off.....something I need to work on for sure.....baby steps right!?
Training went okay today....thought about running but felt a little tightness in my right hamstring so hit the pool at lunch instead....went okay

Swim Stats
3000 yards total Free
1:04
1 x 2000
1 x 250 TI drills
1 x 500
1 x 250 TI drills

Post work, I rode the trainer split between the computrainer and tri-bike. Still trying to get accustomed to riding in the aero position....it definitely does not feel comfortable right now but I haven't ridden that bike in ages so it's going to take some time.....can definitely feel it in my hip flexors so will need to start rotating that bike into the training.

Bike Stats
1 hour Total
30 min on Computrainer
7.8 miles
15.7 mph ave
138 watts ave
90 cadence
30 minutes - Tri Bike trainer
131 HR ave

*peace*

Caffeine Is A Helluva Drug.....

More on the caffeine later......had a pretty lazy start to my day....legs were feeling a bit fatigued so I decided to hit the campus to run on the trail...the sun is gone and, with the cloud cover, had to bundle up but had a good run...kept it on the easier side

Run Stats
8 miles (4 x 2 mile loop)
1:02:22 Total time
15:38 loop 1
15:30 loop 2
15:38 lap 3
15:36 lap 4
Ave HR 159 Z2 (z2 HR 158-168)

Immediately jumped into the pool post-run....wasn't feeling too motivated through the set but was able to make it through 2500

Swim Stats
48 minutes total
5 x 500 w/ 45 sec to 1 minute rest

I was going to cut my training day at the run / swim but decided to have a super-size mug of coffee in the pm....probably not the greatest idea since I'm sure it is going to be tough catching some zzzzz's tonight but it motivated me to hit the bike.....surprised at the effects of the mighty bean....I did the "25 mile loop" course on the computrainer....hard to get any kind of rhythm on this course as it is littered with a number of rollers throughout...some extended climbing....it was no match for the coffee though.....I zipped through an hour like nobody's biz! ;-)

Bike Stats
1:05 (5 minute warm-up calibration / 55 minute course ride / 5 minute cool down spin)
15.8 Total miles
17.0 mph
151 watts ave
96 Cadence
133 HR ave (Z1)

*Peace*

Learning The Hard Way....

Another beautiful day...I could definitely get used to the sunny weather, just wish it was about 30 degrees warmer! ;-) I bundled up for my bike ride and all was well....very cold (in the low 30's) but not too much wind to speak of so didn't have to deal with the monster headwinds like those brave souls who saddled up yesterday. I was feeling good and made it a point to bring enough fuel this time so I wouldn't bonk......kept it in the small ring and worked on high cadence spinning.....climbed up and over Bald Peak Mtn...the pic is near the top as I was heading back down the other side...the pic definitely does not do the scenery justice...it was clear without any clouds in sight....all the snow covered mountains in the distance were beautiful...if you look closely you can see one in the pic..not sure which mountain that is but nice to stop at the top and soak it all in for a few minutes.....coming back down the other side was PAINFUL...I didn't take enough glove for the cold temps and my hands were burning on the way down.....the icy winds were cutting through my gloves as if I didn't have any on........reminds of the frozen hands I used to suffer while surfing in Monterey / Santa Cruz during the winters- ouch!!....I think this was worse .....I learned my lesson though as I was left with two useless frozen paws making it difficult to brake.....Going forward, I'll definitely keep my route in mind while planning out my all my gear........once I hit the flats, my hands slowly thawed out and I ended up spinning for a bit. At mile 38 I could no longer ignore the Snickers in my back pocket and pulled over for a quick break to enjoy my treat....sugar rush- nice! Exactly what I needed for the push home.....overall good ride except for the freezing hands on the descent down Bald Peak.....

Bike Stats
59.25 miles
4:05 total time
14.5mph ave
137 HR ave Z1

*peace*

Mele Kelikimaka In February

X-mas came very early for me as I finally got all the cold weather riding gear I ordered awhile back....always nice to get new stuff...I should be ready for most cold /wet weather now so no excuses.....waterproof jacket & a windbreaker (both in a "drivers have no excuse not to see me obnoxious yellow"), windfront thermal bibs, windfront leg warmers, thermal arm warmers, thermal knee warmers, thermal hoodie, summer gloves that I won't be using anytime soon....saddle up!
Had a nice training day......woke up a bit late after watching the olympics all night and thought I'd skip my semi-long ride until tomorrow.....not a big fan of the 25 deg / feels like 18 deg weather forecast this morning....damn, that is cold.....headed over to the campus for a soft run around the campus trail....suited up in my tights / thermal long sleeve/ vest and hit it for multiple loops.

Run Stats:
10 miles
1:14 total time
5 x 2 mile loop
14:30 loop 1
15:15 loop 2
13:45 loop 3
15:20 loop 4
14:50 loop 5

Definitely working on several of those loops, HR jumped into Z3 on some of the rollies and while pushing into some strong headwinds....felt good though....i'm not fast but at least I'm semi-consistent! ;-) Immediately suited up for a recovery swim, post- run....a bit tired but figured it would provide some recovery for the legs.....glad I decided to bring a gel that I sucked down before I hit the pool.

Swim Stats
2500 yrds / 45 minutes
4 x 500 / 45 sec - 1 min rest
1 x 250 TI drills
1 x 250 cooldown

Vegged out at Barnes and Noble post-swim after wolfing down a Turkey sandwich then headed home for an hour on the computrainer.....did "Chris's Winter Spin"....nice course with an extended roller right in the middle.

Bike Stats
1 hour: 5 min warm-up calibration / 55 minute ride
16 miles / 17.1mph ave
141 watts ave
98 cadence ave

Time to watch the Olympics....*peace*

Happy Friday!

You gotta love Friday leading into a 3 day weekend! Looks like we have clear weather through the weekend but it is FREEZING!! With the wind chill it will be in the low teens in the am tomorrow....not sure if I will bike or run in the am but will definitely bust out some layers. Today was a pretty good training day....on the way to gym today at lunch, I had delusions of running outside but the 5 minute walk across campus quickly nixed that....my vest and gloves wouldn't cut it today.....ended up hitting the dreadmill:

Run Stats:
Treadmill
45 Minutes Total
Low Z2 HR
8:30 pace @ 2% incline for 42 minutes
3 minute cooldown for about 5.2 miles
Quick weight session post run: 3 x 15 tricep curls / 3 x 15 seated row / 3 x 15 lat pulldown

Post work, I hit the pool for a swim...nothing scheduled in the pool on Fridays so the whole day is open for lap swimming. I was feeling good hitting 1:30's for my 100's during my 500's when an older guy got in the pool, he was a bit overweight but an awesome swimmer....in an instant he could put 20 yards on me and didn't look like he was working too hard. Granted I was at the end of my workout but based on the way this guy could swim, it wouldn't have mattered. Definitely reinforces the fact that regardless of your fitness level, someone with great technique will have the upperhand every time......I'm sure he enjoyed kicking my ass! ;-)

Swim Stats:
1 hour
4 x 500 w/45 second rest
1 x 250 TI drills
1 x 500
1 x 250 TI drills

*peace*

Flogging via Computrainer

Took a lunch run today ..weather was clear but it was COLD out there...probably in the low 40's....not bad once I started moving....funny but tripped on some rocks about 10 minutes into the run and almost took a tumble....ended up with too much momentum bent over stumbling with my hands on the ground doing the wheelbarrow.....not sure how I avoided going down completely but it was on a pretty rocky section of trail so glad I was wearing gloves!

Run Stats:
38 minutes Tualatin Hills Park loop
5 miles / Low Z2 HR
Nice workout.

I followed that up with a brutal computrainer ride after work...figured I would do some hillwork so picked a course that had some mountain right in the middle ....can't remember the name of the course now which is unfortunate because I'll probably get sucked into doing it again since I won't remember which course to avoid! It started off pretty normal...couple rollies in the 5-6% range but then on the actual mountain climb it jumped to a 8% grade and kept getting steeper....couple times I checked the screen and it was rocking a 14.8% incline....ridiculous.....pretty much averaged over 10% grade with the brutal 14's thrown in to totally trash your quads.

Bike Stats
1 hour
Computrainer
Brutal, HILLY COURSE

Post-ride, I was glad i ended up doing the hilly ride.....makes those 6% grades feel like I'm on the flats! ;-)
Tomorrow's Friday and it's a 3 day weekend- yeah!
*peace*

Easy Swim & Run Today

It is really nice to get some structure and consistency back into my training.....I had serious doubts of whether I could ever get back to a point where I could stack on 18-20+ hr training weeks when a single long bike or long run wiped me out last summer.......lately I have been feeling pretty good and looking forward to the next workout everyday so hoping I can get back to my former training self here in the next couple of months! ;-) Today I swam at lunch......still trying to build some aerobic fitness in the pool and was planning to do my typical set of 500's but once I started, I just kept swimming.....and swimming......

Swim Stats
45 minutes
1 X 2000
1 x 250 TI Drills
1 x 250 cooldown

Doing a straight 2000 after only doing a handful of swims definitely was a good feeling........after work, went back to the gym for a treadmill run....

Run Stats
Treadmill / 2% incline
45 minutes total
8.5 min pace
42 min running / 3 min walk cool down
low Z2 HR

The only bummer about treadmill running, besides the BOREDOM , is the temps....without any breeze to keep me cool, I end up baking near the end of any treadmill run and my HR seems to jump about 3-5 bpm.....probably not an issue since I kept the run pretty easy......also, with how beat up my legs felt during the later stages of the marathon a week ago, I am planning to make a concerted effort to run on the road whenever possible.......didn't have any cold weather training gear with me and it is COLD right now in these parts so slunk my way to the treadmill....well, a treadmill run is better then skipping a run altogether right!? thought so.........*peace*

Happy Valentines Day- Let's Run!

A bit cold today but without any rain in sight, I decided to hit the trail around campus for a lunch run.....excellent choice since they just laid down a fresh blanket of wood chips.....my feet / legs were definitely happy with the extra cushion.

Run Stats:
3 x 2 mile loop
Low Z2 with some drift into Z3 fartlek
48 minutes

I followed that up with a spin on the tribike tonight while flipping between the Olympics and American Idol.

Bike Stats:
1 hour TV Trainer - Tribike
Spin with ~ 5 to 6 x 5 minute intervals in the aero bars

I don't watch alot of TV, I have a few shows I try not to miss like "The Office" (love it).....my remote has been sticking on American Idol lately as well.....you gotta love the conviction and courage those people have.....I definitely could not do that (not that I have choice with my "singing" voice)....and judging by some of their voices, they should not have made that decision either but damn, they are out there letting it fly.......nice.
On another note, this Valentines Day, I want to throw out some XOXO'S to Deb....she has always stuck by me and supported me through thick and thin and I love her for that.....sometimes you can get so focused on training and your next swim / bike / run that you can lose sight of what is really important- the special people in your life....I know I have made that mistake in the past and she has always stuck by me......that is huge! I am definitely going to maintain some perspective and balance going forward......training, races, etc are all good but at the end of the day it is just a healthy way to spend your "free" time....don't forget the important people in your life - let's make sure we all acknowledge the sacrifices they make so that we can continue on our silly quest for ultimate fitness! ;-) *peace*

Punching the Clock...

Well I took a chance yesterday and washed my car....woke up today to a light drizzle...argh......had a busy day at work and was planning to get out at lunch for a run but discovered that the pool was available all afternoon for lap swims so took a dip instead.....I had a good swim.

Swim Stats:
3000 yrds
1 hour
5 x 500 with 45sec rest
250 TI drills
250 cool down

Felt good.....one good thing about the loooong break from the pool is that I really enjoy getting in the water...hope it lasts until I get my swimming back on track..... Followed up the swim in the evening with a trainer workout while watching the olympics.....did this on my tri-bike....rode for an hour with multiple 5 min intervals at an upper aerobic pace with 2 minutes rest.....first time on the tribike this season so felt a bit awkward in the aero bars.....with more time this should subside I hope......how about the Olympics!?!.....GO USA!! I love watching the speed skating....those guys are smoooooooooth...... *peace*

Back In The Saddle

I dusted off my cycling gear and went out for a bike ride today.....beautiful clear skies...since those seem to be few and far between up here lately, especially on the weekends, I wasn't going to waste it.....really nice to get out there ....just to get in a zone and spin circles......a bit on the chilly side...in the 40's but with the blue skies, I saw a ton of other cyclists out there today.....everyone seemed to have a smile on their face.....probably a weather induced euphoria... ...no close calls with any cars.......just a good ride.....nice........since I haven't been cycling at all with the run focus, I decided to keep it on the flats which was a good idea....i felt fine for the first 2 hours but the last hour I was in a "bit of a bother" as Phil Legget would say.....the legs were a bit sore along with my arse which was compounded by the fact that I ran out of fuel....forgot that my cycling fitness is not to a level where I can do 3 hrs on a couple bottles of cytomax.......the last 30 minutes seemed like an eternity as I was thinking about how I was going to stuff my face when I got home.....ended up eating some spaghetti with turkey meatballs....yum.......

Bike Stats:
3 hours
Not sure on mileage- no computer on the cross bike
Semi-bonk

I'm back!! back in the saddle again!....peace and good night!

Saturday Workouts

The morning was a bit chilly but with no rain in sight, I decided to get out there for a run....first run post-marathon and it felt good to get back out there after the extended break this past week.

Run Stats:
1 hour
~6.5 miles
Z1/Z2 easy / aerobic over a rolling course

I then decided that I should probably get some work done and had good intentions right up to the point where I was finally driving into work but decided to bag it at the last minute.....since I was already on campus, decided to hit the gym and get a swim in.......the swim was GREAT! I am pleasantly surprised at how the swimming has been coming along.....this was only my 3rd swim after close to a 1.5 year break after Ironman Canada 04 and it went pretty well.

Swim Stats:
3300 yrds
1 hour
6 x 500 w/30 to 45sec rest
250 TI drills
50 yard cool down

Surprised at how "doable" the 500's felt....granted I am not swimming fast or trying anything fancy...in my book that would be anything other than freestyle while breathing on my left side every 2 strokes (swimming is definitely not my strong suit- I think my PR over the 2.4 mile IM swim is 1:04?? I can't even flip turn).....right now just getting the body used to the idea of regular swimming.........I can feel it a bit in my arms now but that's okay.....it was a good day.....and it ended with the most beautiful sunset....I heard that we are now gaining 20 minutes of daylight weekly....GREAT NEWS.....now we just need the sun to stay out on a regular basis.......*peace*

Swoosh Addiction

Well...haven't worked out in 4 days and it feels pretty good...nice to refresh and recharge my batteries after the less then stellar marathon last week. Looking forward to punching it again in training and throwing in a fair bit of cycling and swimming.
I just picked up a couple pairs of running shoes ....one of the benefits of working for the BEST shoe company in the world is the great shoe deals .......on new product as well as deep discounts at the "sample sales" that happen on a pretty regular basis...I love new shoes......and have a major problem saying no when they are such a bargain....I always justify it by telling myself that a nice rotation of shoes helps to keep me injury-free! ;-) Yeah ...that's it....here's some of my recent purchases:
Upper Left, the new Structure Triax 9..nice update to a great stability shoe...will definitely put some mileage on these
Upper Right: Structure Triax...last year's model....got these cheeeep so will rotate them with the new model
Lower Left: Air Max 360...beautiful sneaker...pretty awesome update and really raising the bar on the whole air franchise...probably won't wear these running since these are my "dress sneakers"...is there such a thing? I decided to take them out of the box a couple times this week since it wasn't raining....very comfy!
Lower right: Air Cesium...pretty interesting concept here....nike has built the features of an orthotic into the shoe....I would have to give them a thumbs up...have done several 2.5 hr runs in these sans orthotics without any problems...no knee / ankle pain....great shoes
Have a great weekend people! *peace*

Beautiful Sunny Weather

It is just my luck that we had nothing but rain prior to the marathon and now that I am hobbling around, post-marathon, the weather is BEAUTIFUL up here.....**sigh** Well, glad everybody else is able to enjoy it....I won't be running for the next couple of days. It is nice to walk around and see blue skies though.....initially, the clear weather was supposed to hold through the weekend but now it looks like there is a possibility of rain. I am keeping my fingers crossed though.....I'd like to get a dry bike ride in this weekend if possible....didn't get in a workout today...took a total rest day....legs are still sore but getting better....need to start thinking about the bike / swim.......good night!

2006 Pacific Shoreline Marathon

The marathon was tough! I knew it was going to be a long day when maintaining pace seemed a bit difficult from the start....not the typical "easy" start where you can settle into a pace effortlessly....I had to focus to keep it around 7:20'ish pace.....check my pic, that is from around mile 9 and I don't look happy! The weather in Huntington Beach, CA was perfect for a marathon....the wind wasn't too strong, nice cloud cover for most of the race....just didn't have the legs.

Pacific Shoreline Marathon 2006 Stats:
2/5/06
1/2 marathon point 1:36:41
Finish 3:17:10
11 / 73 in my age group
Ave HR 176

...I typically carry a bottle during a marathon and this time tried to use the aid stations which was probably a mistake...had to walk several times to get some hydration and it seemed to disrupt my rhythm. I slowed waaay down for the second 1/2 and pretty much suffered in the last 4-5 miles.
I was a bit disappointed in my performance but coming off a serious block of training on a treadmill, I'd have to say it wasn't a total disaster. I did the majority of my training on a treadmill and even though I always set the incline to at least 2.0, it just doesn't translate well to road racing for me...and my legs paid for it. I ended up catching a plane home in the afternoon and my legs weren't happy.....tried to stretch them on the plane but that was a tough call.....I definitely had a hard time walking today- OUCH!
I did end up swimming at lunch which helped to loosen up the legs a bit but any extended sitting and they get pretty stiff. The swim felt good though...second swim in the last year- yes!

Swim Stats:
2250 Yards
1 x500
250 TI drills
1x1000
25o TI drills
1x250 Cooldown

**peace**

Total_Rest_Day

Well, I decided to skip all workouts today and just go with a 100% rest day...had thoughts about getting in a swim but the day had a meeting sandwiched right in the middle of the lap swim hours in the campus pool......after work, met some friends for dinner so closed that window as well......probably a good thing......looking forward to Sunday and getting this race out of the way....legs have the strange aches and pains but nothing I can do about it at this point so just going to run my best on Sunday and keep pushing until I cross that line.....forecasted temps look to be in the low 70 with clear skies.....gotta love that SoCal weather!.....see you on the other side...*peace*

Legs of Iron....literally

Hmmm.....did a 25 minute run today at lunch with some pickups and my legs felt like crap....heavy...achey.....definitely not a confidence booster with the marathon in 4 days! I am hoping the legs come around....planning to take the next two days off....maybe swim ....maybe not....definitely not running though........at this point don't know what it would do to my fragile psyche ;-) yes, I definitely need to "man-up".....stop my bitching and go with the flow.....Oh the joys of tapering.....to be continued.... **peace**