Back to Brickin'

I went to bed at 8:30 last night and it proved to have been a very good decision. Karin G. was riding at 7:00 this morning and I wanted to be on board, so it was nice to wake up before the alarm and be ready to roll. I knew I'd be in for a butt kicking by riding with Karin... and she had also invited a couple other cyclists who, as I'd predicted, were also wolves in sheeps clothing. Gracious, nice wolves, but wolves nonetheless. The predicted butt kicking ensued...

Karin, Johna, and I started out from Zoka just after 7:00 (me wearing several more layers than anyone else, of course) and all I knew was that we were going out toward Snohomish somehow...Johnna had the route picked out. The first few miles on the trail were easy and fast with lots of chitchat and I realized that Karin is brilliant to ride that early--no bike traffic on the trail. Then we turned up 61st in Kenmore and I assumed the chase position that was to be my permanent mode. Another wolf, Carrie, joined us around mile 15, giving me another rider to hope wouldn't get out of my sight. To my credit---or more likely, their kindness---I did keep them in sight and pulled up every now and then. Every time we approached a stoplight, I (the person who usually hates to stop) was thinking "please be red, please be red...." so I could catch up. So, of course, when a light was red for them, it was green by the time I got there, so no rest for me. There was no discussion of bathroom stops or where to fill water bottles. These girls-- who were all riding nice fancypants tri bikes--were serious. And I swear every one of them weighed less than I do and were even faster than me descending (wtf?). Fortunately, Johnna's route bumped into the TDC route on High Bridge after we'd gone past Martha Lake, near Everett and over part of the Lowell-Larimer Rd. They decided to flip for an out-and-back at about mile 30 and I took the opportunity to ride alone and not hold them back. I tried to maintain a good workrate without the gazelles in front of me and felt like I did OK, though I know it dropped off a little. I was going against the Flying Wheels route, so I saw lots of cyclists going the other way and scored the use of a porto at one of their rest stops. Went back out of the valley on the big Woodinville-Duvall hill/TDC route, to Marymoor, and back to Zoka on the trail...and held a decent pace. My stupid HR monitor was all jacked up on the trail and I didn't get an accurate reading---pissed me off since I was trying to push a little harder and wanted to know whether my HR matched my RPE or not. Oh, well. I got back to my car, grabbed my running stuff, and headed back out on the trail for my run. The first half mile was pretty tough, but then I felt really good and went a little longer than I needed to just because I was feeling strong. It was a good brick, and good proof (yet again) that I need to be a faster cyclist. Went to Zoka for a recovery soy latte...and just about then the sun started breaking through the clouds...dangit.

It was great to be done with the whole thing by 12:30...soon going to hang out with my new bff, Heather, who will probably get to have her first experience of me eating a TON of recovery food. We're hoping to find somewhere outdoors for some beers and the chance to manufacture the vitamin D that didn't get made on the bike.

74 mile ride:
4:29
Avg pace: 16.5 mph
Avg HR: Who knows...stupid gadget

3 mile run
25:34
Avg HR = 151 (the gadget rallied for the run)

Bring on Friday the 13th!

I do realize that Friday the 13th is not completely over, but I'd just like to say that I think this one is bringing me some kind of field of good fortune, rather than bad luck...and it's a hell of a lot better than LAST Friday, that's for sure. Let's just start with a re-cap of last Friday and my little IRS debaucle. I just picked up my paperwork at H&R Block and, indeed, the feds owe ME a few hundred bucks, even after the prep fees I paid to have the forms done. SWEET!!! I'm sure that cash can be diverted to a race fee pronto...I'll just pretend that the IRS is my official sponsor for Troika (a girl who'll never go pro can still dream, right?).

Since my Cranky McCrankington week last week, the Phoenix has definitely been rising on all fronts. There are some damn fine human beings who've entered my life recently (not like the roster wasn't already stacked, but there have been 2 significant gifts named Heather and Amy who fell out of I'm-trying-to-figure-out-where so I can send a thank-you note). I've had a ton of fun this week, and the sun even came out yesterday and I was able to Carpe Diem (yes, I'm using this term as a verb now) a sunny 20 mile bike ride in the afternoon. The only down side is the anticipated wall I'm going to hit when I need to re-cap some of the sleep I've lost the last 2 nights for fun things that have been more important...but whatever...that's what the weekend is for. Good times.

OK, back to re-capping the training log.

I thought I might sleep in a little yesterday, but I woke up at 5:00 with no alarm and decided to go to swim team even though it wasn't really a swim day. Later I got out for a nice 20 mile bike ride to Seward Park and back...really sweet ride and wearing a jersey + arm warmers with NO jacket required made me really happy, especially after how crappy the weather has been lately.

Today, I woke up again a bit wired at 5:00 a.m. despite all intentions to sleep in till a lot later...so...I went swimming again. This was my 4th swim of the week and my shoulder protested a little, especially since the main set was 20 x 50's. It was great to do a bunch of short fast stuff, but I was feeling the shoulder twinge a bit. Both Julie and I cut the workout short and went over to Stumptown for coffee and Duncan came along shortly. Tatyana wasn't at the pool, so we called and woke her up (oops) to invite her along. She rallied like a champ and staggered in shortly thereafter for the weekly java. Love the Friday coffee klatch!

I'm shooting for the gym and some weights later if the shoulder doesn't protest...

Thurs:

Swim: 3200
Bike:
20 miles
1:19
Avg HR = 120
Avg pace = 15.5

Coached up again

My legs are getting the mellow day they asked for yesterday...just swimming today and I will try to get in a few minutes of Core at some point. Had a great swim with Tatyana this morning, just the 2 of us in the lane and a few short "social kick" sets with a little chatting...got in the usual 3,000.

After swimming, I had a meeting at the Shoebox with Cheryl to plot out the next 7 weeks of training...the plan is to do Lake Padden, Fat Salmon, and Troika with a few other "maybes," like Flying Wheels this Saturday and the Seattle Century at the end of July. As expected, she told me I have to up the speedwork on the bike. I knew that was coming. But I get a few more days of the post-Hawaii recovery phase (euphemism for the tan-fading weeks) and a long ride coming up on Saturday without any hammering...and, it appears that the forecast is better-than-dismal for the weekend, so it might be possible to manufacture a little vitamin D.

Coldest June in history

OK, did I mention that this is the coldest June on record since 1894???? For godsake, enough already, ENOUGH!

I went for a double-Greenlake run this morning (in long sleeves) with a friend and her dog...it was fun to chat and go for coffee afterwards, although my legs were definitely a bit tired. Oh, and my hands were numb...shoulda worn gloves, although I just couldn't do it on principle--one does not wear gloves in June, it's like wearing white after Labor Day or something, isn't it? Anyway, my legs voted for a single loop, but I thought that going less than 3 miles was way too weenie so I said "sure" when Amy asked if I wanted to go a 2nd lap. The dog had the most bounce of all in attendance, I think. I was still feeling some "heavy" in my legs for the rest of day and will honor their request for a swim-only day tomorrow, I think.

Got in weights this afternoon.

There is sun in the forecast, but I'll believe it when I see it.

5.6 mile run
48:31
Avg HR = 148

Starting to ramp back up...

I have a meeting scheduled with the coach this week and, until then, I'm making up my own workout schedule...I'm preparing for the idea that race recovery is pretty much over and I'll be hammering along hard again soon...so today I figured I might as well start moving in that direction.

I went to swimming this morning and it was just Sue and me in the lane...and no coach. This was fine with me as we got to make up our own workout--no nonsense, drills, or stroke crap--whoo-hoo! Good swim.

It's raining---AGAIN (or still?)---so I went to spin class at lunch. The instructor was pretty bad (surprise, surprise), but I ran into a new friend in class and we heckled him together which made it more fun. I did a few of the intervals at sub-suicide pace to re-introduce the idea of speed work to my legs...they're not excited, but I think they have agreed to show up when called upon next week.

My old hip twinge made a mild re-appearance since yesterday's run. I got out the tennis ball and will work on the hip tonight before I run tomorrow...

Swim: 3,200

Spin class:
51 minutes
Avg HR = 135
Max HR = 149

I usually take Sundays as rest days, but last week was pretty easy and I wanted to run today...plus, I was a little over-served last night and needed to sweat out a little (ok, more than a little) beer.

Had a nice 5 mile run on Lake Washington Blvd.

Also went to a really good film at SIFF tonight with some pals and made them dinner first. Fun day.

5 miles
44:39
Avg HR = 139

Internal Aloha

After sleeping like crap most of this week, I finally got a good long night of sleep...and slept in until 7:30 today--whoop! This unfortunately meant that I missed riding with Karin G. who was already riding when I turned on my coffee maker, but I needed the sleep.

I spent the usual few hours looking outside and watching the weather on TV to determine whether/when to get on my (nice clean) bike. I also reviewed the photos from Hawaii to confirm that I really was racing one week ago today and to remember that I was pouring icewater through the top of my helmet as opposed to searching for my winter hat to wear under it. Eventually, I got over myself and the grief of not putting on a tank top, put on the toe warmers/booties, found the long-fingered gloves and got myself out the door about 10:00.

I have to admit that, despite the clouds and occasional drizzle, I had a very pleasant and comfortable ride on mostly dry pavement. I did the long side of Mercer Island + the south end of Lake Washington and felt good...I kept considering making it a longer ride, but decided it might be better to get off the bike wanting more this time since (1) it's still recovery week, and (2) it's very likely that there will be some tough long bricks in the next 8 weeks before Troika and I'll be wishing I had this option on a few days when it will no longer be available. Holy cow, could I actually be getting a little smarter???

43 mile ride
2:46
Avg HR = 115
Avg Pace = 15.5 mph

Ode to Schedule D

OK, so I discovered a new way to increase HR, blood pressure, and my personal freak-out scale all at once. Last night, after a really fun happy hour/bike re-assembly at Julie & Duncan's (Duncan is my bike assembly hero), I came home and opened my mailbox to a fat letter from the IRS. Yeah, THAT kind of letter. Cause this is just my week and I needed that to top it off. Apparently, they seemed to believe that I owed a boatload of money from my 2006 taxes. My HR shot up and I had 2 meltdown phone conversations (one of which involved a friend trying to tell me that "this, too, shall pass..." wait---wasn't I just saying that?) that were followed by a temper tantrum complete with tears, throwing things around the Shoebox, and yelling at several people and entities not in attendance. I guess it goes without saying that I didn't sleep much or well. So...this morning after swim team and coffee with the usual suspects, I was less hysterical and got myself right to a lawyer friend of mine who helped decode my Letter of Evil. She figured out that I'd omitted a "Schedule D" and actually might be entitled to more money BACK rather than owing the feds. She thought it could all be cleared up with the right form and recommended getting help with it just to be sure it was done correctly. By 2:15 I was at H & R Block where the nice and readily-available-for-consultation nerdy guy agreed with my friend...SHEW! He'll do the paperwork for me by next week and perhaps I will actually get a little more back. Suddenly, returning to my already-in-progress cranky mood seems almost euphoric. Happy Hour is soon to follow and is well in order.

Swam
Lifted Weights
Freaked out and calmed back down to regular homeostatic stress level

Cranky McCrankington

That nice mantra I had of "IN HAWAII" just a few days ago, has, unfortunately degenerated to various less-seratonin-releasing phrases like, "In the &%*@#! rain..." (For example, "I want to continue wearing chaco sandals forever, but I'm putting on f-ing socks and shoes to go out...IN THE *%^&@! RAIN" and "It sure would be nice to ride my bike outside in a tank top, but I'm going to spin class, and to get there, I must go to the gym...IN THE *$@&! RAIN").

I'm trying to pull myself out of this week's lousy mood with minimal success...the post-TDC, post-vacation, post-race + a few more things depletion is causing me to claim the title of Cranky McCrankington. My goal is to start working with a mantra of, at least, "This, too, shall pass..." and to get back to my sunny (please, god, let it get sunny) disposition by...let's shoot for next week, I'm in pretty deep.

As usual, the disposition management strategy I'm defaulting to (well, besides food and scheduling social options to share my contagious crankiness with others, how is my phone not ringing off the hook?) is throwing some workouts at my recent bad mood and poor sleep.

This morning I went for the first run of the week...a 4-miler down into Interlakken and (slowwwwllllly) back up the big hill. It felt pretty good and it was nice to get moving at an easy pace. And...I managed to get that one in NOT in the rain. At lunch, I went to spin class...also kept that one aerobic. My legs felt pretty dang heavy, but I never went over AT and, I think, maintained the cycling muscle memory.

This, too, shall pass...this, too, shall pass (just practicing...)

4 mile run:
39:10
Avg HR = 142

50 min spin class:
Avg HR = 129
Max HR = 138

Sun Salutation???

Since taking the taper seriously last week worked for me, I'm taking this whole recovery week thing to heart, too. I went to swim team this morning and had a good, not killer, workout with Tatyana and Sue.

I brought workout stuff along to work for my 2nd workout and thought about a midday run...nah. Then I thought about the elliptical machine at the gym...ditched that idea, too. So I went to the gym to do a few core exercises and a yoga class. I can't exactly say that I got my zen on (despite badly needing it for various reasons including my period starting, my rent being raised, and a few other less-than-optimal type things that make me want to start swimming back to Hawaii) and I really did question what we could possibly be saluting in the "sun salutation," but I wasn't TOO much of a downward doof. It was a nice little stretch break. I'll try a run tomorrow morning.

3000 yard swim
Yoga!

Hawaii photos

I just came from book club where 3 dogs and several humans were wearing things made of fleece...in JUNE. Sigh. I needed to upload the Hawaii photos from my camera as soon as I got home to get some evidence that the last 10 days actually DID happen!!

This is the Polulu Valley lookout


Duncan and me just after the finish...YEA!!

And, of course...me and my most favorite race support person!

Post vacation drag...

I'm slogging through today and the rainy Seattle post-vacation blues on caffeine. We got back to Seattle smoothly and on time, but it was past midnight when I got to bed. I'd thought about going to swim team this morning, but part way through the very short night, I adjusted the alarm to a slightly less insane time and managed to wake up before it went off. As soon as I woke up, I was already thinking about how early I could get back into bed tonight...jetlag-o-rama. I got up and did an easy spin on the bike trainer for 40 minutes and walked to work (in the rain, of course) via the grocery store. There was almost an echo in my empty frig, and no lunch materials whatsoever (I figured beer + mustard might not fly at the office or work so well).

I lifted weights at lunch...it felt good to be back in the gym, but I'm feeling both body-tired and sleepy-tired so I didn't push it. I want to stay moving this week, but really focus on smart recovery and keep everything light so I'll be raring to hit it again in a week or 2.

40 min bike trainer:
Avg HR = 121, Max 130

Moping across the Pacific

The end of a vacation always makes me sad, especially when I've gotten warm and brown and am going back towards clouds and coolness...I'm super bummed to be going back to Seattle today. We said goodbye to Pele and the Big Island a few hours ago and we're in the Maui airport now waiting for our connection to Seattle. I'd love to just walk right out of the airport and set up camp here on Maui somewhere, but I don't feel confident in my ability to create a decent sustainability plan at the moment. Sigh.

Seujan and I went to swim team practice this morning in Kona...it was a good fun workout and really fun to be in the outdoor pool. Lots of the Kona swim team had done the race on Saturday and at least a few earned local slots for Ironman in October. After the workout, we ate the last of the papayas and dragged ourselves and all our crap to the airport...as nice of a last morning as one can have, I suppose.

Swim team: 2,750 yards

Race Report: Hawaii 70.3

I had way more fun today than I thought I would...it was a really good race and an amazing course. I did pretty well following my mental notes from my race plan (for example, "Damn, my chapstick just flew out of my bento box...IN HAWAII," "One of the lenses from my sunglasses just popped out on the run...IN HAWAII..." "The water is salty and I think I swallowed a little...IN HAWAII").

Race day started when I heard Julie switch on the coffee maker at 4:00 a.m....snoozed a little, then got up and had plenty of time to caffeinate, eat a bagel, assess the wind blowing around the palm tree tops at the condo, and go to the bathroom at least 5 times. Then Glen took us to the race shuttle and we were off to the race as the sun came up. We had the perfect amount of time at Hapuna to prep and get body marked before the 7:00 start and it was a beautiful, albeit blustery, morning.

When I got to my bike and started getting situated, I noticed a very cute, small praying mantis on my bento box...I thought he was so cool that I had to show my next door neighbor triathlete, (#482). She seemed to think he was cute, too, and said that he was good luck...pretty soon another woman across the bike rack saw him and also said that he was good luck. I fussed over him a little longer, did not impede his progress at all as he walked around my saddle and top tube, and he did, indeed, turn out to be a good omen for the day.

Swim: I put 2 pieces of cinnamon gum in my mouth at the start...which did exactly nothing to combat the salt (IN HAWAII). I didn't notice my aversion to salt water quite so much today, however...swimming with about 1,300 other people in race conditions gave a few more stimuli to attend to compared to my totally solo swim earlier this week. It was a mass start and a clockwise course...not too much combat, but a bit of contact here and there. As we rounded the second buoy into the longest straight-away of the course, a healthy headwind kicked up...it was a pretty challenging swim. I also had a hard time seeing the buoys and was at the mercy of the pack to stay on course for a few minutes...fortunately, that worked well (i.e. somebody was going the right direction and not leading us all toward Maui) for the 2 buoys I couldn't sight and then I could see where I was going again. It felt like the field was fast and I didn't think I'd be in the front where I usually am, but this was the first grasshopper (ok, praying mantis, but grasshopper sounds better) gift of the day. I was 7th in my age group out of the water and 171 overall. Good swim and I actually saw some fish (wonder what they thought with 1,300 humans thrashing around their house).

T1: "Calm and efficient: mantra worked...a long way up the hill from the beach to the bikes with a shower on the way, but not bad at all. I didn't want to wear gloves, but was totally paranoid about flat tires on this ride since Julie has flatted here twice in prior races...and I have a hell of a time getting my tire back on even with gloves. So I figured I better take the extra few seconds and wear 'em just in case. Was the only nerd out there with gloves on, but...2nd grasshopper gift: no flats.

Bike: It was blustery in places...but honestly, I thought we got more than we gave in terms of wind benefit. A lot of sidewind that could be heard whistling through the spokes, but it really wasn't as awful as I'd anticpated, not by far. There were a few miles just before the turn-around when it was uphill with a headwind and I was pulling about 9mph (IN HAWAII)...but not for long, and seeing the other bikes flying on the way back--including Duncan who'd passed me long before at mile 12-- made it quite bearable since I knew we were paying it forward. A wonderful volunteer handed me a powerbar at the turnaround and I was flying back down that hill. Lots of pretty scenery and I kept trying to stay in the moment, take the gifts of the course (coast downhill!), and my other mantra of the day was "do what's in front of you..." Just one piece at a time, get it done. Some chunks definitely better than others, but I was happy out there riding in the sun and my legs showed up.

T2: Also pretty smooth...I actually changed my socks, but it didn't eat too much time. Also visited the porto on my way out of transition, but congratulated myself on the fact that this was necessary because it meant I'd hydrated well on the bike. Nutrition was spot on today...no stomach issues and enough energy throughout.

Run: One of the most beautiful courses ever...with the exception of purgatory imitating hell for 2 miles between 10-12, but we'll talk about that in a minute. The run course is a whole bunch of out and back loopy things, many of which are on the golf course. At one point, we ran along the pool/beach front of the resort and it is really beautiful. This course was extremely well supported with lots of great aid stations and friendly volunteers. I think I chomped through the equivalent of my body weight in ice out there. I walked through every station and got gatorade or cola, and took lots of the cold sponges and dumped water on myself. I also took a cup of ice along and ran with it every time... put ice in my hat and in my shirt...and in my mouth. It really helped to keep hydrating and to dilute/absorb the syrupy gatorade from the stations. There is nothing like an ice cold sponge...I was completely soaked the whole race from dumping cups of water and sponges on myself. Most people did the same and many of us could be heard squishing along in our wet shoes...when I took mine off at the finish, my feet looked like raisins!

The wind continued on a lot of the run and, at times, there were some clouds, so it wasn't completely killer hot the whole time. Yesterday at the athlete meeting, the guy had warned us about mile 9 and how "none of it was flat..." I remembered this and was bracing for it, but found that mile to be one of the most enjoyable of the course...up and down on the golf course. What they really should have discussed in more detail was the road Duncan had warned us about...the one I now call Purgatory leaning toward hell. At about mile 10 there is a llllooonnnggg out and back on a boring-ass hot not-fun road (I know, I know, IN HAWAII, but this one is a tougher sell). This is the only place the entire day where palm trees cannot be seen. They fool you by having some really great disco music at the aid station where this road starts...yes, I sang a little "Brick House" to the guy who handed me gatorade here...and happily trotted down the road hearing "upside down, boy ya turn me..." I thought the grasshopper was now providing a disco soundtrack. Unfortunately, the music faded long before the purgatory road did...things in my legs were getting tired and slower. I saw Duncan coming back on the road well before I turned around...I knew I had quite a ways to go. Just after the turn though, I saw this guy running about my pace in Hawaiian board shorts...very very cool. So I had to compliment the look (actually I asked, "dude, those are really cool, but aren't they chafing the hell out of you?" Nope, good news, he'd used lots of vaseline). Anyway, we chatted and ran together and, when finally approaching the disco tunes again, shared our affection for the 80's (he graduated high school 3 years after me), and we both sang a bit of "PYT" as Michael Jackson increased in volume. My pace really picked up on this mile. We agreed there should be a Rock 'N Roll 70.3 and we started to smell the barn and kept up the pace. The last mile I had some kick left and hit it hard for the finish...felt good at the end, but pushed really hard the last 50 meters or so and felt almost like I had asthma and almost couldn't breathe for a couple seconds when I hit the chip pad at the finish line. But it was really fun to feel strong at the end.

I came in just under 6:10 and was really really happy with all 3 segments of the race as well as my nutrition, hydration, transitions, and head game...It was a really really fun day! All 4 of us were happy with our races and none of us had flats!! Whoo-hooo!!

Swim: 34:16
Bike: 3:23:10 (Avg. 16.54)
Run: 2:04:28 (Avg mile pace: 9:30)

Overall, I felt really good through the whole day and had a lot of FUN. I'm a little afraid that this means I need to work harder on the bike, but for now I'll take it.

Hawaii race plan

The day before a race is NOT my favorite kind of day and today has been no different...however, spending a day of escalation in Hawaii doesn't exactly suck. Today there has been a lot of lounging around...and I even turned on the TV at one point (French Open) when I was at a loss for sedentary activity (at least watching Serena running around was better than nothing). The 4 of us (Karen, Duncan, Julie, and me) also biked down to Hapuna to check in our bikes & helmets. This was a 30 minute/7 mile easy spin...well, easy except for the big fat gale force wind that was blowing us all over the road. I'm not sure if it's good or bad to have THAT in my head going into tomorrow, but I think it was probably good to spin a bit and get a handle on staying aero in the wind.

So it appears that I haven't done a race plan for tomorrow yet... I just looked at my race report from Osoyoos last July since that's the only 70.3 distance race I've ever done. I haven't been biking as much yet this year and, for whatever reason, I'm not feeling as confident as (a) I did last summer and, (b) as I'd like. Plus, we just came from the (totally worthless) "mandatory athlete meeting," where I had the mandatory pleasure of sizing up the field and more of their bikes...which was damn impressive and intimidating, as usual. Karen and I did meet a guy, though, who did an Ironman 25 years ago and this is his first race since then. He also was diagnosed with lymphoma and had just come from a hospital/treatment and will assess in the morning whether or not to do the race at all...gives a little perspective.

So, regardless of how lousy and heavy my legs felt today, I am looking forward to getting out there. Taking into account the wind, heat, and early season, my super stretch goal time is about 6 hours. My time in Osoyoos was 6:19, so the idea of going faster than that is certainly a stretch. 35ish minutes in the swim, 3:30ish on the bike, and 2:00ish on the run would be great.

So, today, while I was poolside, I read one of the Tri magazines that actually had some good reminders and I decided to work on some mental training tomorrow (as recommended by Mark Allen, the guy obviously knows a few things). Of the 10 tips he gave, there were a few worthy of focusing on tomorrow:

1. Keep your mind quiet. OK, joke. Nevermind, we all know that one is unattainable for me. I'll continue reading "The Power of Now," which I left in Seattle, when I get home. NEXT.
2. Suspend judgment. I can work with this one...his advice is to let go of labelling each segment of the race (i.e. "I'm feeling good," "I'm going too slow," etc.). You don't have to feel good to have a good race. Hm. Let it go, don't spend energy assessing every single thing.
3. Break it down. I already do this, just a good reminder. Chop things up, especially the run. Yesterday when I did my short run, I was thinking that it was a quarter of the run distance and pretty painless...If I have to just make it to the next aid station, so be it.
4. Stay Calm. Another good reminder. I re-read one of my mantras from last summer that worked great. It was "calm and efficient," especially in transitions and whenever it's possible to get rattled.
5. There is no such thing as the perfect race. But you can race your race perfectly and deal with things as they come up (including feeling like crap and solving unexpected problems that inevitably arise).
6. Race with gratitude. Tatyana reminded me of this recently when she said that if/when I feel like crap out there, just remember I'm feeling like crap IN HAWAII. Good point. I am healthy, I am on a great Hawaiian vacation with really fun people, and...after meeting that guy today who had just come from the hospital, it seems my life is pretty damn good. Hopefully, it'll be good WITH a time of about 6 hours tomorrow, but I think it'll still be good regardless.

Is it time to start yet?

2 days to race day...

Well, it appears that this race is really going to happen soon (whether we all want it to or not!!). Yesterday we hit the little retail swag area where Julie and I bought some really cool fleece jackets (buying fleece in Hawaii = really wierd).

Today is registration and check in of the T2 bag (buh-bye running shoes)...tomorrow is bike/helmet check in and the mandatory race meeting at 3:00. Also, tomorrow I will taper my happy hour behavior from the usual 2 drinks at daily happy hour to 1 beer since it'll be the night before the race. Oh, the sacrifices we make.

Today I did my last short workout...a 30 minute easy run. I felt pretty good and the HR wasn't as high as the other runs I've done here...hoping I might be getting a little bit used to the climate (as if). Anyway, it felt good and a pretty minimal effort...taper on.

The rest of today will be a little sight seeing, more sun worshipping, and picking up my race packet...oh, and happy hour of course!!

30 min run
3.4 miles
143 Avg HR

Taper on...

Mellowing into the taper week quite nicely now...yesterday was my last bike ride with a little speedwork followed by some more "acclimating" (aka butt in the beach chair on Hapuna beach with a magazine)...and I've sampled many Hawaiian beers at the daily happy hour.

This morning, I went to Hapuna for an early morning swim...I was so early that the gate to the parking lot was still locked and I had to sneak in. I saw a couple of other people along the beach, but pretty much had the place to myself for a nice sunrise swim...water was calm and perfect. I tried swimming with some cinnamon gum and trying not to get too much salt water in my mouth, but it didn't really help much and my tongue still felt a bit swollen and gross by the end of a 30 minute swim. Oh, well...all things considered, it's not a high price to pay!!

The rest of today's planned activities include hitting the start of the Expo for retail-o-rama and possibly group Henna tatoos in town...and, of course, more vitamin D production. Aloooohhhaahh.

Think I can swim with Tic-Tacs?

The week of Hawaiian paradise and tapering continues...yesterday was a fun, mellow day...I went for a walk, did a short weights workout in the condo mini-gym, and swam a whopping 20 minutes at Hapuna beach in the afternoon. By the time Seujan and I went to the beach, it was afternoon and a bit choppy, so I decided 20 minutes of bouncing around with the fish was enough. The water is as clear--and almost the same color---as a swimming pool, just gorgeous. The only thing I'm not so thrilled about with the swim is the gross salty-mouth situation...I really prefer open water swimming in fresh water. I was wondering yesterday if I could possibly do the swim on Saturday with tic tacs in my mouth...might try to experiment with that one before Saturday.

This morning I woke up before 5:30 again (crashed by 8:30 last night), and went out to do my interval run right away. It wasn't that hot yet, but definitely humid and my HR was pretty high. The first few intervals were OK, but by the last 2, I was glad there was nothing in my stomach as I think I'd have tossed it. Nice to have it out of the way...perhaps a swim later, but not much else on the vacation schedule...yea!

Run:

1 mile warm up (9:00, avg HR = 150)
5 x 2 minutes hard/2 minutes recovery (HR up to 176 max, Avg 158-166 on hard ones)
1 mile cool down (8:46, Avg HR = 159)

Total: 4.25 miles
36:47

Thanks, Pele'!

It's been way too long since I've been in Hawaii...but I fully intend to make up for it and today was a great start. We got here yesterday and after a day of travelling and eating the usual travel-fare of well, basically too much processed crap and nothing resembling a vegetable...I was feeling pretty gross internally and externally this morning. I barely made it till 9 p.m. last night and woke up promptly at 4:30 this morning (time zone)...and started the coffee for the troops. Before too long, Julie & Duncan stumbled out and we hung out with several more cups of coffee before Karen & Glenn, who'd slept till a more normal hour, also got up.

I'd dropped my bike off at the bike shop in town yesterday for re-assembly and a tune up and had to wait till this afternoon to get it, so I stayed at the condo while Julie, Duncan, and Karen took off on a ride of the race course. I had to move, though, and got in a nice 4 mile run. Then I napped at the pool and hung out at our HUGE residence (Julie & Duncan's master bathroom is bigger than the Shoebox, I swear) till they returned.

The group took me into town and dropped me at the bike shop this afternoon...they brought the bike box back to the condo for me and did a costco run for the household while I rode back. My 28 mile ride turned out to be a big 'ol gift from Pele' herself as the super island goddess breathed one of the biggest tailwinds I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing on me. I pretty much flew due north on the highway and averaged 19.5 mph with not much energy expenditure. I wasn't wearing my HR monitor, but I know it was low. This was probably the perfect ride for my first day here...I've been feeling really body tired lately and just being able to spin easy and feel fast was really fun. It almost never happens that the grass on the side of the road is bending the same direction as I am in the aerobars...LOVE THAT!!

This evening we had a nice happy hour in the palace, I mean condo, with some local resident friends of Julie & Duncan, and then went to a sunset gathering on the beach that the locals do once per month...it's kind of a combo of Hawaiian stories and cultural performance and really cool. It was a beautiful setting/ sunset and a great picnic potluck. To end a great first day on the island, we got ice cream on the way home...excellent!

Ravenna Park run

Only about 13 hours until liftoff for Hawaii...not that I'm counting or anything...

Today's long run was (only?) 8 miles. I went out early this morning and created a route that ended up being exactly 8.0 miles...nice. I drove down the hill and started at Boyer and ran around Portage Bay, along the BG trail past UW, and circled through the Ravenna Park trail and back. That trail is so great...and it was very cool and green...I tried to soak up some of the shady coolness and store it up at least mentally for the race course in Kona. I felt pretty good up to about 6 miles and then slowed down a bit the last 2. Later in the day, I was really tired again and it kind of felt like I'd have run a lot longer than I did. Dragged myself through a light weights workout in the afternoon, but it was very under-inspired.

It is SO time for vacation!

8 mile run
1:11:00
Avg HR = 143

2 days till palm trees

2 days till Alooooohhhhaaaahhhh! I can already see those palm trees and am daydreaming about eating dinner outdoors in shorts and not being cold. I'm also looking forward to the taper next week and sitting by a pool or on a beach with the next book club book that I have yet to start. Still a bit tired and wanting to relax a bit and let the training catch up.

I got in weights and an hour-ish ride yesterday to Seward Park and back...didn't break any speed records, but got it done.

Today started with swim team and a nice coffee klatch with Tatyana afterwards. Then I went on an errand festival around the east side wrapping up loose ends from TDC,which included picking up those 3 abandoned signs I noticed near Monroe on my ride on Sunday. Today, however, it was dumping rain and I got soaked each time I hopped out of the car to grab a sign and throw it in the back of my car. Again, I was thankful that the weather was stellar when those signs were necessary...

Later this afternoon, it was a little less rainy, but I still opted for the bike trainer. My legs weren't sure they wanted to pedal and I figured I could get more quality in less time here in the Shoebox and, if I gave up, I wouldn't be out there somewhere limping home. Fortunately, I had a tape of last week's Grey's Anatomy and, with fast forwarding through commercials, it helped me last 45 minutes. It was supposed to be an interval ride and I did 5 x 2 minutes hard/1 minute easy in the middle of all the surgeries and hookups in the show.

As I put my indoor bike and the trainer away, I had the very nice thought that I won't be biking indoors for at least a couple of weeks...did I mention I'm going to Hawaii day after tomorrow????

3000 yard swim

45 minute bike trainer:
5x 2 min hard/1 min recovery
Avg HR = 131
Max HR = 152

Had to throw up the white flag...

Well, the weekend finally caught up with me yesterday...I got up and went to swim team where I was fortunate to have my own lane and the coach was still out of town. I did a moderate workout, but just didn't have it to push much. I thought maybe I'd get in a second workout later in the day, but as the day went on, I just felt more and more wiped and the thought of my running shoes and/or my bike made me crave the fetal position. I'd returned a truck from TDC in the morning, so I was downtown without my car...usually, this would have made me quite happy as I'd have had a nice walk home. Yesterday, however, I located a bus schedule to get home as I couldn't even mobilize myself to walk up the hill...I threw up the white flag and asked the coach for a one-day raincheck on the hill repeat run yesterday. She relented and told me to do a more aerobic fartlek run today and skip the hard hill repeats. What a beautiful word, aerobic...

After a good night's sleep, I felt much better this morning and went out into the rain for a nice early morning run. Still sunburned from the weekend and 3 days from a trip to Hawaii, I had no complaints about the fact that it was pouring. At this point I'm so far in the bonus, who cares!!?? I went down into Interlaken and it was nice to be under the tree cover and hear the rain...I did a few small 1-minute surges and threw in 5 extra short hills, plus the .5 mile climb back up Interlaken, but kept it mostly aerobic (HR in the 150's, but not much and not for long).

I plan to get in the weight room later today and possibly do an easy spin on the trainer or outdoors if the rain stops.

5.75 mile run
51:39
Avg HR = 142
Max HR = 159

TDC wrap and brick...

Well, I seem to have survived another successful Tour de Cure...kind of hard to screw it up when there's sunshine and record breaking temperatures, but there WERE a lot of moving pieces. Those pieces actually moved in synch for the most part and about 575 cyclists seemed to have a good day out there, although a few looked like they might wilt in the 90ish degree heat. "Evening Magazine" shot some of a show out there and we'll get to see how it all looks when edited professionally on Tuesday night's show. Pretty cool.

So...after a few 13 hour workdays (including yesterday which started with waking up at 3:30 a.m.) in the heat and a lot of lifting cases of water (incorrectly, of course, and thus getting a sore back), and carting various things in and out of trucks, the coach seemed to think that my celebratory reward should be a 5-hour workout today. And, of course, if it's on my color coded schedule, I follow the marching orders, even if reading the paper and laying in the sun sounded like a much better idea. I did get a cold beer, a good dinner (thanks, Seujan) and some good sleep after yesterday's event, so the idea of getting on my bike today wasn't toooooo bad. Plus, it was sunny again and in the 70s which is my favorite weather.

I went out to Marymoor (since my car almost drives there by itself at this point) and did chunks of the Tour de Cure routes with some other stuff thrown in. Today's brick was a 70 mile ride with 2x 5 mile TTs and then a 20 minute run. I took off with a nice tailwind and headed up to Snohomish where I did the 2x 5 miles on the Lowell-Larimer Rd., a totally flat 6 mile road with a big shoulder---perfect. Well, perfect except for the wind. My second TT was about 2 minutes slower than the first, but I figured that might be good practice for Hawaii. My legs didn't have enough to get my HR as high as usual on these, but my pace was OK.

After the Lowell-Larimer Rd., I went through Snohomish where there was a huge motorcycle rally happening....the whole downtown was closed off and the place looked like Sturgis. Since my 2 wheels had much less horsepower than the others in town, I went a few blocks around the downtown and then headed down the Old Sno-Monroe Rd. to Monroe, then picked up the TDC routes again there. I happened to notice 3 TDC signs that our crew must've missed when the sign pick up happened yesterday, but couldn't do anything about it on my bike...one more wrap-up task for work this week. By the time I got to about 40ish miles, I really lost enthusiasm (wait, did I have enthusiasm in the first place?), but hung in there...there were more windy spurts and more hills in the 2nd half of the ride. By mile 60 I decided I was buying myself sushi for dinner and that there must be a massage very soon...

The combo route I made up ended up being exactly 70 miles. I got back to Marymoor, did a quick transition, and headed out on the run. It was pretty tough at first (hamstring really hurting), but I settled in OK. A few minutes in, I looked at my watch to see if it was time to turn around soon and realized I hadn't started it...crap. So I guesstimated, hit the lap at my turnaround, and just doubled the second half to get the stats.

When I got home, I started googling and calling...and in just over an hour, I will be on a massage table at Massage Envy. I wonder how much they'll charge me if I sleep on the table until Wednesday. I still haven't unwrapped the newspaper...

70 mile ride:

26 miles
5 mile TT: 14:12, avg. pace = 21 mph, avg HR = 142
1 mile recovery
5 mile TT: 16:16, avg pace = 18.4, avg HR = 143
32ish miles

Total ride:
4:24
Avg pace: 15.8
Avg HR = 122

Run:
22 minutes
2.5 miles
Avg HR = 145

Here comes the sun...

Whew, busy week and 2 days to TDC...but it appears to be coming together and the weather forecast is fantastically accurate. It was beautiful today and the next 2 days could be record high temps in the 80s with sun, sun, sun!

In between week of event stuff like "truck gymnastics" and picking up thousands of bottles of water, boxes of fruit, donated hard boiled eggs and the like, I've managed to get in the training on my "recovery week" schedule with a little extra credit thrown in. I swam yesterday and today I got in a run, a quick weights session, and a short bike ride in the sun...not bad for crunchtime.

Wednesday:
Swam 3,100

Today:
5 mile run
43:09
Avg HR = 145

19 mile bike
1:14
Avg pace = 15.5
didn't wear HR monitor

Another indoor bike ride

I slept in a little this morning and turned on the coffee and the news about 6:00...to hear that today was to be a rainfest. DANGIT. I'd planned to do my last "route development" on the TDC 45 mile route this afternoon...instead I went to work at 7:00 a.m. and pretty much sat there till 4:00 when I got restless leg syndrome and HAD to move. I was still thinking about biking outdoors, but when the rain hit the windshield on the way home, I knew it was a trainer day.

Got on the bike trainer with Oprah and survived through part of the news. I was shooting for 2 hours, but lost enthusiasm at 1:45...while watching the forecast for 80+ degrees and sunny on Friday and Saturday. Didn't help much today, but if that forecast actually happens, I could be quite the happy event manager in a few days!!

Bike Trainer:
1:45
Avg HR = 128
Max HR = 136

Monday recovery day

OK, I'm sore. Nothing like the day after IMC or anything, but I'm feelin' the legs a little. Must mean I did it right yesterday.

Today is not the usual killer double Monday, but a nice recovery day...had a good swim this morning and did not kill myself. Then I did weights at lunchtime. That'll be it for today in workout-land...hoping my legs will be up for a bike ride tomorrow.

Swim: 3,050 yards

Kirkland Race Report

I got the PR! I had a good run today in Kirkland, although I had a stomach ache most of the race...I had some restaurant food yesterday for both lunch and dinner and didn't think any of it was that odd, but it must have been. My stomach was just not happy this morning. Fortunately, my legs and other things were OK and by the time I was running, I had made enough trips to the bathroom and portos that I know it was just uncomfortable and I wouldn't have to stop...let's just say there probably couldn't have been any reason to by the time I was running...

Anyway, got to the race a good 40 minutes before the start, leaving plenty of time for several trips between the portos and the car where I could stay warm and read a little of the newspaper. My stupid GPS never "found the sateillite" so I ditched it and used my old watch with no HR monitor. Oh, well...good that I had the back up watch.

I tried not to go out too fast, but my split for the first mile was 8:10. Oops. I slowed down what I thought was a little, but my next split was my slowest of the day at 10:23...I was really wishing I had the GPS to see if the mile markers were accurate--there were a few that seemed too far or not far enough. But whatever, I just went on RPE and kept a steady pace without trying to push too hard. My new cue word for myself up the hills was, "float." The climbs weren't exactly easy (esp. the ones in miles 11-12), but I had the confidence of hill training behind me and tried to convince myself that I was floating up the hills. I did pass a few people and could hear some of them breathing harder than I was, so that was nice. In the middle, my stomach thing was really annoying and I thought I might not make my goal time...but tried to keep the steady pace going and hoped it would be enough. Miles 8 and 9 were a LOT of downhill (as I'd remembered from last year) and I tried to take advantage of it and let it go as much as possible on the descents. I got a nice complement around mile 9 when a woman said to the guy she was running with, "There's another one who makes it look easy..." I was glad it looked like that to her, at least...I wasn't pushing out of my mind, but easy it was not. I also had a nice chat with a guy who started talking to me about mile 10...he didn't know how many hills were going to be on the course, so I got to inform him that guess what, they aren't over yet. As soon as we hit the one coming up Market St., he told me to "have a good finish...." I wished him the same and said, "Go ahead and drop me, I know you're going to..." Well, he kept running right next to me and then I dropped HIM (aw, yeah, the float was working), and I didn't see him again.

I pushed last mile/fast mile and my 13th mile was a 7:44. Felt good about that.

In the middle of this race, I remember thinking, "I don't think I ever want to run a marathon...I need to remember that I'm thinking this later..."

It was a good hilly race and I'm really happy I hit the PR I wanted...it was about 1:30 faster than Tucson, my prior fastest (and Tucson was an all downhill course, btw) half and about 12 minutes (!) faster than my time on this course one year ago. Yea!

It took a while for my stomach to be interested in food...I certainly did NOT go for the Pizza Hut booth at the finish...but by the time I got home and showered, I was ready for a good mountain of food and will happily continue feeding throughout the rest of the day today.

Total time: 1:52:02

Mile Splits: 8:10
10:23 (don't think this was marked correctly)
9:20
8:46
17:44 (missed a mile marker, so this was 2 together)
7:37 (no way was that distance marked correctly, either)
8:07
8:27
8:11
8:32
8:07
7:44 :45ish seconds for the last .1

Race Plan

I haven't put too much thought into my race plan for tomorrow (until this morning)...this is partly due to the busy-factor lately and I also, I must admit, it's probably because I didn't want to freak myself out. My running has been faster and stronger in the last couple of months than it has been in years, so I'm half excited to get out there... and half feeling a bit of internal pressure to get out show some good numbers. I'm also 3 weeks out to the Hawaii Half Iron, so I want this to be a confidence-builder.

I just re-read my half marathon archives from the last couple of years (5 of them) and my race report from this race one year ago. Looking at my race times, and my last few long runs, I should PR this race tomorrow. There, I said it. I'm still really trying to figure out how to wrap my head around the idea of "racing" a half marathon as it still feels like the kind of distance one must simply "survive" more than race, so this race can be an experiment in mentally re-framing this whole idea and pushing a little more. It's also my first race in a few years that is totally solo without anyone else on the course or in support.

OK, the race plan. The course is hilly and starts with a bit of a climb in mile 1 and just after mile 3. I want to go out a little conservatively and think "confidence" on the hills, but start and maintain a pretty consistent pace...I've trained on hills and they don't scare me like they used to. The fastest miles are 8 and 9 where there is a lot of downhill where I want to relax and re-charge without putting on the brakes...who cares if I'm sore on Monday, I want the help of the descent. There's another uphill at about mile 11/12 where I want to try to push a little before the last descent to the finish. I will go through every aid station and hydrate...not planning to carry anything and I've practiced drinking a lot of different sports drinks, so whatever they serve up will be fine. The plan is to negative split which should be possible with the hills at the beginning and the descent in the last mile.

I want to average an 8:30 - 8:40 pace and finish in 1:54 or better.

Now I just have to make it through the taper day...can't I go NOW, please???

Friday

Today I did the usual Friday swim and weights. I would have liked a bit more sleep this morning, but I definitely was not dragging as much as I am on some Fridays...the slight taper is kind of nice. Tomorrow is a rest day before the half marathon race on Sunday and tonight appears to be a mellow night at home...the activities planned for my evening in the Shoebox include a netflix DVD and another attempt at a self-pedicure.

I picked up my packet and shirt today for Sunday while I was running around on another errand-fest to the east side for work. I haven't pinnned on a race number for anything since the Seattle Half...holy cow, that means it's been 6 months without a timing chip! It's definitely time to get back out there...will have to think more about the race plan tomorrow.

Swim: 3,000 yards.

Taper-esque run

I got in yesterday's swim today...nice to be back in the pool. It was just Anna and me in the lane this morning and a fairly no-nonsense workout...good start to the morning.

Since it's a taper-ish week, the "long" run today was supposed to be only 3 miles...nice. I went out at lunch and did 4 since that's my regular route at work. I figured a 4 miler with a few hills wouldn't kill me, especially since I'll be off my legs now until the race on Sunday. I haven't exactly had time to create a race plan for Sunday, but will try to make that happen by Saturday...

Swim: 3,200 yards

4 mile run:
35:23
Avg HR = 142

Wed. hill repeats

I didn't swim this morning...Cascade's bike-to-work breakfast was this morning and I didn't want to cut a swim short, so I moved today's swim to tomorrow. I must admit that I was totally lame and drove down the hill with my bike in my car (!) and then walked a few blocks over to the breakfast. It was a fun event, as usual.

I went out on my bike at lunch to do my prescribed hill repeats. Since it was the only exercise of the day and I knew I'd be at work late, I added some extra miles after I did 5x hills up and down Interlaken and got in about 22 miles. I had been feeling sluggish all morning (let's see, pizza for dinner last night at book club and then the heavy breakfast this morning, plus a bit of work stress...no wonder), so I really needed to get some fresh air and pedal for a while. I felt much better after getting out for a while and moving and ended up staying at work until almost 7:00 p.m. (a workday length usually against my religion) and was really glad I took the long lunch ride earlier.

22.5 mile bike:

3ish mile warm up

5 x Interlaken Hill (.6 mile)
All were between 3:02-3:07 and avg HR of about 146 (157 max)
2ish minute recovery

14 mile ride

Total
22.5 miles
1:38
Avg pace 13.8

Busy Tuesday

Just the facts...crazy busy work day...11 days till TDC and getting slammed.

Did an hour on the trainer when I got up today...smooshed a quick weights workout at the gym in between things.

Bike trainer:

1:00:00
Avg HR = 128
Max HR = 136

Half Marathon week

Had a good rest day yesterday...and a few extra helpings of wine last night, oops. But I was up before the alarm and ready to start sweating it off in the pool...I had a good swim and, apparently, Savingnon Blanc can be converted to fuel (who knew?).

I was out buying first aid supplies for the Tour de Cure rest stops this morning and had the opportunity to swing by Greenlake to do my interval run on the way back to the office. It's kind of a taper week since I have the Kirkland Half Marathon this coming Sunday, so the coach (aka "No Mercy Marek") backed off a little and didn't assign a super killer workout this week...just garden variety hard. It was 5 x 2 minutes hard/2 minutes recovery and I did them around the outer loop of Greenlake. It was perfect out, about 60 degrees and sunny...and I did my lunges and planks in the grass afterwards. I hit each interval really consistently and jogged (didn't walk at all) each recovery.

Good Monday!

Swim: 3,100 yards

Interval Run:

1 mile warm up: 8:30

5 x 2 minutes hard/ 2 minutes jogging recovery

Each interval was .29 or .30 with Avg HR of 156-160 and max of about 165
Each recovery was .21 with Avg HR of 146-149

.7 mile cool down: 6:21

Total: 4 miles
32:52
Overall Avg HR = 142

Brick day

Ah, Sunday...I'm leisurely drinking coffee and thinking about the people (Cheryl, Nancy, Julie, Ann, etc.) who are running the Eugene Half/Full marathon right now...and I'm on a rest day!! But I definitely feel that earned and need it.

Yesterday was a long ride/brick day. We had a Tour de Cure training ride scheduled at the Issaquah Chipotle, so I went out there to do the first part of my ride with the group. It was raining when I left the Shoebox, but Issaquah was dry with dry pavement...for a little while. We had about 20 people and Ed and I took them on an out-and-back to Marymoor via East Lake Sammamish...I got about 8 miles down the road before the consistent pattern of showers/dry/cool/warm/repeat started (and continued the whole day) There were a lot of stops for lights, re-grouping, Saturday strip mall traffic, helping a dude put his chain back on, and sheep-dogging the strung-out group, but it was OK. We got back to Chipotle where the group got their free burritos and were happy with their 25ish mile ride...I had one of my brief longings to be a "normal" person and throw my bike in the car, but practiced thought stoppage, ate a banana, topped off my bottles, and took off for more miles. I did the Rte. 900-May Valley-Issaquah Hobart loop and then went around Lake Sammamish through Marymoor again. With all the repeats of East Lake Samm and the sheep dogging the first round, I know I passed the same dead smooshed racoon at least 3 times. Not very creative on the route, but who cares, I got the miles.

I was supposed to do 70 miles and had to add a short out-and-back near the car to get to 65, but my legs were really done, so I figured I could round up from 65. I was never miserable, but it was a hard ride and with the off and on showers all day, it wasn't exactly a ride I'll remember as "fun," either. I got back to the car for a quick transition and ran toward the back of the strip mall...right away I found a cool little running trail (who knew there was a scenic trail behind Target?) and I had a nice little 20 minute run. In the middle of the run, I felt really good (much better than I'd felt on the bike) and considered running longer, but then my body reminded me that I was hungry and had to pee so I promptly bagged that idea and stuck to the original agenda. It was a bit of a long day and close to 4:00 p.m. by the time I got done.

When I got back to my car in the strip mall, I inhaled the usual V8 recovery drink and went into the Panera Bread store for a snack...wow, walking into that place after a 4+ hour workout is a little overwhelming...mountains of bread, muffins, bagels...a regular wheat/carb festival. I managed to choose a bagel from the mountain of options available and it held me over until a BIG guac cheeseburger a couple hours later...and a lot of chips...and some chocolate chip cookies...

I got in about 13.5 hours of training this week...good week and I was really body-tired by last night, for sure.

Brick:

65 mile ride:
4:05
Avg HR = 122
Avg pace = 15.9

20 min run
2.3 miles
Avg HR = 135

The $10 loaf of bread

My mom used to have a saying about "The $10 loaf of bread," which was basically the experience of going to the grocery store for a loaf of bread, but ending up with a whole bag of stuff...obviously, the $10 figure is a little outdated as now the loaf itself would be almost that much, but you get the idea. Anyway, I think I've one-upped the $10 loaf of bread with an $1,100 oil change at the Toyota dealer. I took my car in yesterday for an oil change and got it back today with a new timing belt, water pump, radiator hoses...and a list of several more things that should eventually get done, too, but were not mission critical. Holy crap! Then, of course, the car was almost empty and I had to go right to the Chevron to throw $45 more at gas to feed it. Fortunately, I have another TDC/Chipotle thing for dinner tonight and will eat free burritos for the 3rd night in a row!

Clearly, the pain that Toyota inflicted on my cash reserves was far greater than the swim workout this morning, although Emily did throw out a set of 10 x 125's that kicked our butts. We had 4 people in the lane today and it was a really good swim. I also got in a walk to work and the usual Friday weights. Feels like Friday and I'm hoping to rally for tomorrow's long ride/brick if the weather is decent.

May Day

It says May on the calendar...and they are giving free tulips away in our office building for May Day...but I ran this morning with gloves, tights, and long sleeves which does not exactly scream "May," in my opinion. Oh, well...at least there is daylight early now and it wasn't snowing. I had to take my car into the shop this morning on Lake City Way by 8:00, so I was up at 5:00 to get in a 10-mile run first. I trotted away from the Shoebox at about 5:20 a.m. and was happy to have daylight from the get-go this time...did the capitol hill downhill weave to Broadway, down the Howe St. stairs...down to Eastlake, over Boyer, down through the arboretum and back, finishing UP Interlakken and that nice (not) long hill toward the end. My legs were a bit tired, but I felt fine...didn't push, didn't slack, just steady and kept about a 9:30 avg. mile pace.

Today's beverage of choice was good old Gatorade, although I chose a new Tiger Woods' flavor called "Quiet Storm." I suppose the Gatorade marketing dept. thought Tiger's face and "quiet storm" would sell better than a more accurate description like "synthetic purple somewhat resembling fake grape." It wasn't bad...much better than the junk I used last week.

I also test drove some new running socks that my buddy, Joel, gave me for my birthday. He swears by these "Injinji" toe socks and I must say I liked them and understand the appeal, especially for blister prevention. Comfy. Not sure I'd want to deal with the toe sock format in transition during a triathlon, but I'll very likely use them for the Kirkland Half next weekend...they're pretty cool.

10 mile run:
1:34:38
Avg HR = 140

Spinnin' Wednesday

I would have liked to sleep longer again today, but it wasn't happening. Swam with Anna this morning and had a good workout...the usual 3,000 yards. Last day of the month, so we'll rotate and be off the wall lane on Friday--yea!

It's also a bike/intervals day and the weather is improving out there...however, due to meetings and work stuff, I just went to spin class at noon to economize the time/effort/coordination of gear. Even minimizing the gear, I forgot a sports bra (again)...I swear, it's always something. Anyway, it was a decent class and I did get in a few 30-40 second sprints. It wasn't nearly as good as being on the real bike woulda been, but it'll do for today. Speaking of spinning, the details of the to-do lists are spinning around in my head...

spin class:
50 minutes
Avg HR = 142
Max HR = 157

Basic Tuesday...

Just a basic Tuesday today...did an hour on the bike trainer with the morning news when I got up...and hit the weight room midday. I'm a little sore from the hills yesterday, but not bad and not in my quads, so that's good. I hadn't lifted since last Tuesday...good to be back in the gym.

Bike trainer:
1:00:00
Avg HR = 128
Max HR = 137

Return of the killer Mondays...

Again this morning, I was not done sleeping when the alarm went off...8 hours really isn't a big enough helping of sleep lately. Once I got moving and pushed myself to the pool, though, swimming was good as always...just Sue and me in the lane this morning and I got in 3,200 yards.

The other thing on today's schedule was running hill repeats...10 of them, 90 seconds each...and I can't say I was exactly looking forward to this one. I was out and about for a meeting, so I went to Greenlake to run. I started by Peet's Coffee and ran over to the the hill behind the tennis courts/track at Lower Woodland...and it just so happened that the paved hill by the dog park is exactly a 90-second hill for me; how painfully fortuitous. I did 5 hills, then did a half mile loop run to try to re-install the lung I felt I'd lost on the first set (and to settle the peanut butter burps I was experiencing from the sandwich 2 hours prior)...then did 5 more. After #9, I had to say out loud, "one F-ing more..." I felt like I was falling apart, but the distance covered and HR was pretty consistent for all 10. It was sunny and about 60 degrees--quite a nice day--so I did my planks and lunges in the grass by the ball fields, got myself a soy latte for recovery, and came back to work blasting my radio with the windows open. This workout was not fun, but I kept thinking that it should pay off in the Kirkland Half Marathon since it's a hilly course.

RUN:
9 min warm up (just over a mile)
5 x 90 second hills (all .17 - .18 mile and 152-159 Avg HR, hit upper 160s on each)
.6 mile
5x 90 second hills (all .17 - .18 mile and 154 - 160 Avg HR, hit upper 160s on each)
9:30 cool down (1.1 mile)

Total: 6 miles
50:33
Avg HR = 149
Max HR - 170

Back home...

Well, the California vacation was a bit different than anticipated...Malia's partner, Sandra, had surgery on Friday (during my little side trip to San Diego). Fortunately, she got to come home yesterday and some of their friends hung out and made dinner for all of us in between Sandra's doses of vicodin and assorted other drugs...yikes. It was a bit stressful in their household, but I still had a good time and it was good to see them and also to have a change of scenery. In between everything yesterday, I took a short solo trip into San Fran. It was about 80 degrees and sunny and I was psyched. I spent a few hours walking around the Castro (saw a naked guy walking down the street at Castro & 18th) and hung out a bit in Delores Park with a zillion other people---it was like the beach without the water. It was great to lay in the park for a while and charge my solar panels.

Today I returned to Seattle...another flawless flight on Virgin Air (I'm now brand loyal, no question) and I was home before noon. Not exactly sunny and 80 here today, but it was pretty balmy in the 60s and I dropped all my stuff without unpacking and got out on the bike. It was a good thing I took off ASAP as the rain was just beginning when I got done. My training plan said 25 miles on the bike with a 10 mile TT, but I changed it a bit...I ended up doing a 42 mile ride with 2x 5 mile TT's on Lake Washington Blvd. and then bricked it with a 20 minute run. I did not feel particularly inspired on the bike, but it was OK...the run was a little tough at first, but felt fine. I don't know why, but running is more fun than biking these days. Anyway, I felt good about the workout and am quite happy to be going out for a belated birthday dinner and some beers shortly!

Brick:

42 mile ride:
5 mile TT: 14:51 Avg HR = 156
5 mile TT: 15:05, Avg HR = 157

Total ride:
2:38:55
Avg pace: 15.9
Avg HR = 133

Run:
20 minutes
2.37 miles
Avg HR = 140

Trip within a trip

I'm in the San Diego airport about to fly back up to San Fran...I had a little half day trip to SD for a professional fact-finding mission. I liked the facts I found and am calling the day a likely success...will know more soon.

I started the day today with a good swim at the Albany High School pool in Malia's neighborhood...I'd intended to sleep in, but woke up about 6:00 and decided to walk over to lap swim. The pool was really old with a pretty dang cold locker room...but the place had character and not a lot of swimmers, so lap swim road rage was avoided and I had a good swim. The pool seemed long, though, and after I timed myself on what I thought was a 200 and it was about a minute slower than it should have been, I asked the lifeguard if the pool was meters or what. She said it was 100 feet long, or 33.3 yards. How the hell are you supposed to figure out your yardage on THAT base? I think I figured out that I did about the usual yardage and called it good...definitely a little more intersting than usual :)

I forgot to report the other day that Virgin Airlines is my new favorite airline...way cool entertainment features and the flight crews have been really cool.

It's supposed to be 83 degrees in San Fran tomorrow...whoop!

California Dreamin!

My 2nd day as a 42-year old has been great! I am in sunny California at Malia & Sandra's place in the East Bay area. I slept in this morning and woke up to blue sky and sunshine...and the only thing on my agenda for the entire day was to get in my long run...after coffee, breakfast, and a short walk with their cute dog, Dallas. Unfortunately, Sandra is having some major health issues (like in the ER yesterday type of serious) and they had to go to the doc this morning. However, they are wonderful hosts and gave me the spare vehicle, a cute VW beetle, and directions to a great running/biking trail just a few miles away. I was quite happy to put on shorts, a light short-sleeved running shirt, and not even have a thought about gloves...ah. The trail where I ran went to an area called Richmond and a marina. Within 3 minutes from the car, I could see the Golden Gate bridge and San Fran across the water in the distance...so nice. There were lots of flowers and parks along the way and the Marina was really cool. Unfortunately, the trail only went about 4 miles out and I had to make up a lot of loopy and zig-zaggy things to get in my miles...but in warm weather with nice views of NEW, dry scenery, I cannot complain.

The one thing I can complain about, however, was today's choice of beverage/fuel from the "I'm trying new fuel every week" project. I love the Hammer Perpetuem stuff on the bike, so I decided to try "HEED" in the same flavor, the orange creamsickle (now to be said with the emphasis on the SICK syllable). This is the most plastic aftertasting crap I've ever used...ew. I was really glad I'd had breakfast today before running, so I didn't need the calories as much...but I did need some hydration and the one water fountain I tried by a park wasn't on. I managed to choke down about 3/4 of my bottle, but each time I took a sip, I had to get mentally prepared for how gross it was going to be. Serious BLECH!!


Anyway, 13 miles felt long...as usual, 8 miles was about where the threshold of "fun" was passed, but it wasn't bad and I did fine...kept about a 9:15 average pace and felt good about it. Had plenty of time to walk a cool down and do some lunges...damn, I love vacation! On the way back, I found a Jamba Juice and had a great recovery protein smoothie...then got back for a long shower, lunch with Malia, and a nap on the couch. Ah. The only other potential activity for the day might be another stroll with Dallas...

13.1 mile run
2:01:13
Avg HR = 140

Earth day + Birthday

Yesterday was earth day...and other than the tatoo of the earth on the back of my left shoulder, I didn't really do much to honor our nice planet...had to drive to work and carbon footprint my way out to Redmond for some meetings, so I didn't even do no-car Tuesday. Yesterday was a non stop long day, but I did get in an hour on the bike trainer in the a.m....threw in a few 1-min intervals to break monotony, but nothing fancy. Also managed to wedge my weights workout into the afternoon.

Today is my 42nd birthday...holy crap, that's 21 twice and I swear I negative split the second one as it has kind of flown by! To celebrate my birthday, I am flying to San Fransisco in a few hours to see one of my BFFs, Malia until Sunday. My colleagues at work now know me pretty well and, instead of the obligatory cake, they gave me a bag of Luna Bars and a bike route book yesterday! This was GREAT as I chose to spend those extra non-cake calories on 2 Black Butte Porters at Smith Tavern later in the evening...Whoop!! My pal, Nancy, at work also gave me a gift certificate for a massage from Mish and I can't wait to use it when I'm back from San Fran. I also had a fun package to unwrap this morning from my friends, Brenda & Megan and a nice present from my parents...nice to be spoiled :)

I went to swim team this morning and announced to our coach, Emily, that it was my 42nd birthday and that I wanted a set of 4 x 200's to celebrate...and that I wanted as much freestyle as possible--no stroke crap-- in the workout. She obliged and people were quite nice to me at the pool.

I also got in a bike ride today...I would like to report that I rode 42 miles in honor of my 42nd birthday....or that I did 42 hill repeats....but both of those would be big fat lies. I did have a nice 30 mile ride around Mercer Island and back, however...overdressed and sweated like crazy, but too hot is always better than too cold. It wasn't the balmy sunny day I'd hoped for, but dry pavement and no rain is a good enough birthday present for me! My legs were a little tired and I realized I've biked 3 times in 4 days and did that tempo run on the other day...so 30 miles was plenty and I felt I did a pretty good push. I'm planning to do my long run at Malia's tomorrow...a change of route will be good!

Yesterday:
1:00 bike trainer
Avg HR = 127

Today:
3100 yard swim

30 mile bike
1:58:53
Avg HR = 126
Max HR = 159
Avg pace = 15.1

Lake Union Tempo Run

I went to bed at 8:30 last night...the regular Sunday cleaning of the Shoebox and folding of the small mountain of laundry was postponed until tonight because I was just too wiped out from the weekend. This proved to be a really good decision and I was back in action today with the usual Monday double.

Julie, Sue, and I had a good swim at Seattle U. this morning...the usual 3,000 yards and we got to move out of the wall lane to an open lane in the middle...nice.

I kept track of Seujan's splits at the Boston Marathon online all morning and after I saw that she was done, I went out for my tempo run. I figured that if several thousand people could dig deep for 4 hours including heartbreak hill, I could push it on a flat route for 4 miles. The strategy worked pretty well if I say so myself. I ran at Lake Union...started on the south end with a half mile warm up and then went out-and-back up almost to Fremont on the Westlake side. I'm happy to report this was my fastest tempo run ever and I averaged a 7:27 mile pace!! Whoop!!

Swim: 3,000 yards

Tempo Run:
.5 mile warm up: 4:26

4 miles hard: 29:47
Avg HR = 162
Max HR = ?? (gadget said 206, but there's no way...more like 167, I think)

.75 mile cool down: 6:39

Total: 5.25
40:42

April is the new December

I'm a little off my game training-wise this weekend...I had to work all day yesterday which meant a mandatory rest day and a one-day weekend (today) to do a lot of things that are not exactly done yet...added to that have been 2 (really fun but really late) nights out and not the usual amount or quality of sleep. Oh, and for one final excuse, the weather has been crazy cold the last few days and there were mentions of snow/rain in today's forecast. Apparently, April is the new December. ANYWAY...I should have done a brick today with a long outdoor ride, but I settled for 2 hours on the bike trainer with a bad movie I've seen before ("Girlfight")and am calling it good. I think I might be able to make up the longer ride during the week this week and I just need to get some stuff done around the Shoebox today...and am planning to go to bed super early tonight.

Bike trainer
2:00
Avg HR = 126

TGIF

TGIF. I can still see the taillights of that truck I mentioned yesterday, but I don't think they are coming back toward me...and I might actually be up off the figurative pavement by tomorrow. At the moment, I'm still pretty wiped. Did the usual swim team (3000 yards) this morning and weights at lunch, and am committed to getting a nap before going out with Stacey, Shane, Duncan, and Julie tonight...It's a pre-birthday thing for both Duncan and me and should be fun, but I may need a little extra caffeine to rally since the show we're going to see starts at about the time I usually go to sleep...!

I can tell that I'm 4 weeks out now from the Tour de Cure and closing...I slept like crap last night and at 4:45 a.m. was thinking about the changes that need to be made to the Porto Potty order...yup, I can tell I'm within a month of the event.

If you lived here, you'd be home now...

So here's how the last 3 days have felt: Tuesday I was hit by a truck. Wednesday the same truck backed up and hit me again. This morning, just to make sure I was flattened, the same truck ran over me again. I'd like to think that the truck is now driving out of town so I can pick myself up off the pavement. OK, OK, a little over-dramatic, but hey, this is my blog and part of its purpose is for me to whine.

Today was long run day...I went to bed (on a full stomach, oof) at 9:00, woke up before the alarm, and felt OK. I didn't really know what my route was going to be, but I did know I was NOT going to run from the Shoebox and do that damn hill at the end, a decision I was very happy to have made 2 hours later. I drove down to Boyer/23rd and started by running about 5:35 a.m. I started down Boyer with no traffic and a lot of very enthusiastic birds chirping...over the bridge, toward UW on the BG trail, up into UW for a quick tour of the quad, back to the trail...then I realized how close I was to Ravenna Park. Cool. So I went up the Ravenna Park trails to Cown Park...and then realized how close I was to Greenlake and started calculating mileage in my head. I thought if I did the long side of Greenlake and down Stone Way, it'd be about right (oops, shoulda done the short side). By the time I got to Greenlake (6ish miles), I was thinking that maybe I should re-consider doing Olympic Distance races instead of Half Ironmans...this was just seeming really long already. Kind of like those signs on new buildings that say, "If you lived here, you'd be home now!" a 6-mile run would've been just fine today. But, too late, entry fees have been paid and I know I will not feel this tired ALL the time...plus, I was out there with no other way to get back, so of course, I kept on going. Turns out I under-estimated the distance and hit the 12 mile mark about 1.25 miles away from my car giving me an opportunity (well, necessity) for extra credit...exactly what I did not want this morning. Oh, well. I decided to practice the run/walk thing and did 1 minute run/1 minute walk that last 1.25 miles and that was much better.

Today's beverage selection was Clif Electolyte Cran-Raspberry flavor. Not bad...less syrupy than the Cytomax I tried a couple of weeks ago...might use it again.

Tomorrow will be swim-only and I have to work all day Saturday...something I am completely dreading, but will force a rest day that may be a gift from the universe and give me a little more recovery before Sunday's bike workout.

Long Run:

12 miles: 1:54:16
Avg HR = 136

1.25 walk/run: 14:00
Avg HR = 121

Total:
13.25 miles
2:08:15

Still draggin' Wednesday...

Swimming was fine this morning...but the rest of the day, I was really dragging again/still. I got to bed at 9:15 last night, but when the alarm woke me up this morning, I was not done sleeping.

A couple hours before bike group this evening all I wanted was to sleep...and eat. So I ate a Clif Bar and got myself down to Madrona to do the workout. We did some speed/cadence/power stuff down to Seward Park...or, well, we were supposed to. I kind of kept with the program on the way to the park...and in the park we alternated hard/easy laps of the top of the park. I had time to get in 8 loops and I did really push it on the 4 hard ones...HR hit 162 on one of them. Coming back to Madrona, I must admit I basically cheated and went 1 min hard/1 min easy and didn't do the prescribed cadence/gear ladder we were supposed to do. When we got done, the evening and the temperature were quite nice and I almost wanted to do a few more flat miles, but then I remembered how damn tired I've been for 2 days...went directly home to shower, eat and very soon will tuck myself in for some needed recovery sleep.

Swim: 3050 yards

Bike:
55 minutes
15 miles with intervals/speed

Low energy Tuesday

I slept in a little today...I did NOT want to get up and did NOT want to get on the bike trainer. But auto-pilot took over and I did both, though neither with much gusto. Fortunately, the bike workout was just an hour aerobic with no bells & whistles and I could just watch TV...and look across the Shoebox at the coffee maker which served as the finish line. Didn't have the time or the enthusiasm for walking to work/no-car Tuesday today and kept daydreaming all morning about where I might be able to wedge a nap into the day...still thinking that maybe it could happen in the dentist chair when I get my teeth cleaned later this afternoon. I lifted weights at lunch and started feeling a little more energy after that (and lunch), but am glad there are no more workouts today. I have a Bikeworks board meeting tonight and am hoping it ends on time so I can be in bed early.

Bike trainer:
1:00
Avg HR = 124

Regular Monday

Here we are back at Monday again...that whole Dalai Lama compassion theme happening in Seattle these days doesn't really apply to triathlon training, at least not today. It was the usual Monday swim/run double.

Swim team was really good...just Karen W. and me in the lane and the workout was pretty no-nonsense...3,200 yards.

The run today was intervals on a pyramid of 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1 minutes with a minute recovery between each. When I got to work this morning, I discovered that today's forgotten object was the GPS/HR monitor and I really didn't want to do this workout without the gadget (OK, I never want to do workouts without the stat read-out, I admit it). I had to do an errand for work anyway, so I went home and did my run/shower there...ran down the hill to Interlakken and ran back and forth in Interlakken for the intervals...then UP the hill back home. I'd have preferred a nice flat warm up/cool down, but I'm not nearly as scared or annoyed by hills as I used to be, so it was fine. I tried to work on stride length and the lean on the speed work...I was noticing my tendency to try to stride out long, especially at the beginning of an interval (visual of a triple jumper)...but I kept thinking about that "Chi Running" stuff and keeping my steps smaller (which was NO problem on that hill home, btw). I was not getting my lean on very well, but did try to shorten the strides. I wasn't quite as fast today, but maybe the varied terrain had something to do with it...yeah, that's it. Anyway, good healthy butt-kicker and off to another week.

Swim: 3,200 yards

Run:
9:30 warm up (1.1 miles)
Pyramid with 1 minute walk/run recovery:
1:00: .16 mile, Avg HR 165
2:00: .29, 158
3:00: .41, 158
4:00: .54, 162
3:00: .41, 160
2:00: .28, 157
1:00: .13, 154
12 minute moderate run 1.25 miles)

Total:
5.1 miles
44:05
Avg HR = 155
Max HR = 170

Summer preview!

Tough day on the bike today...weather was the best day of the year and I got to ride with Karin G...or well, I got to intermittently ride with her in between chasing her. I got a bit of a butt-kicking, but the times she let me catch up we enjoyed the sun and had some really good conversation. It was totally sunny, smelled like summer, and I think everyone in Seattle who has a bike was riding it today, with the possible exception of people who have a bike AND a boat who were floating around on Lake Washington...I doubt anyone in this city was indoors today. 72 degrees and perfect!! Can I have another????

We took off from Magnuson and Robin rode with us to Logboom...then she turned back and we continued over Juanita and Kirkland out to Marymoor on the path by 520...then we went to Lake Sammamish State Park and took a break. We decided then to return over Newport and the short side of Mercer Island and up the trail to Magnuson. Karin would've gone the hilliest route possible home, but I was already falling apart and asked for the Mercer Island route which she charitably agreed to. She weighs nothing (i.e. scampers up hills) and is a more accomplished athlete than I am, but I'd hoped to stay a little closer to her on the bike. Not to be. For whatever reasons, my legs didn't have it...my avg. pace was a little slower than usual today, but my avg. HR was higher and I was pretty whipped by the end. At about 40 miles, my legs felt a little like hamburger, which made me THINK about hamburgers...which provided a guacamole burger fantasy that was in my head for the rest of the ride. Karin peeled off for home near Magnuson and I went back to my car and bricked around Magnuson Park with a 20 minute run.

This was another good hard training week and I'm more than happy to have a rest/recovery day tomorrow...and am still shooting for that burger tonight after a much-needed shower.

58 mile ride
3:50
Avg HR = 130
Avg Pace = 15.2

20 minute run
2.3 miles
Avg HR = 153

Sun!!

Workout-wise, the usual Friday: swam 'n lifted...also walked downtown 'n back while making a little vitamin D...because...

Weather-wise: drastic and welcome improvements...spring sprung and it appears more to come tomorrow!! Bring it!

Happy hour wise: Liberty sushi again...I think I'm hooked :)

Heavy legs Thursday...

Slept in till 6:30 today...legs were a bit cob-webby from the bike hills last night and this week's long run was only 8 miles and I knew I could get it done during the day. So I declared a "no car Thursday," had the usual lots of coffee with the Today show and walked in to work to wake up my legs more slowly. Unfortunately, the cobwebs weren't totally gone from the legs by the time I set out for my run a few hours later...at 2 miles they were pretty heavy and not excited about the excursion AT ALL, despite the opportunity to run through Interlakken. Things improved a little by about miles 4-5 and I got it all done with minimal internal whining...Glad tomorrow is swim/weights and a day off the legs.

8 mile run
1:12:32
Avg HR = 137
Max HR = 154

Hunger trumps warmth

Today started out well with a good swim. It was only Tatyana and me in the lane and she came over to the Shoebox after swimming for coffee. We solved all the world's problems by 8:00 a.m. and then I had a nice walk to work...I didn't do "no car Tuesday" yesterday, so I wanted to get in at least one walk to/from work this week. I didn't work out at lunch (but did hike to the Licensing Office to renew my driver's license where there was NO line, wow) because Cheryl asked me to help out with her Wednesday evening bike group. Tonight was the first night for the group and several of us dressed for the weather/temperature that was in effect about 2 hours before bike group...we were cold and slightly cranky about it and anxious to get going. Fortunately, it was a hill workout and for a decent amount of time in the middle, I could almost feel my fingers and toes. We did some great hill stuff over on 45th by Metropolitan Market.

By the time I got back to the Shoebox, I was really cold...the only reason I got out of the shower before I tested the outer limits of the building's hot water heater (and turned an even brighter shade of pink than the shrimplike one I already had going) was that I'd have eaten a shampoo bottle if I stayed in there any longer...hunger trumps warmth. Overall, it was a good day...I also managed to chop down my inbox at work from 150+ to about 22...sweet.

Swim:
3000 yards

Bike:
1:00
Hill repeats
Avg HR = 109
Max HR = 159

Hellooooo legs

OK, so that stair workout yesterday blew up my quads a bit...I could tell they were starting to get progressively more sore overnight. But I guess I can call it good sore, not debilitatingly sore. Fortunately, today wasn't a hard day...did an hour of steady spin on the trainer this morning and lifted weights later. My HR monitor also seems to have had a blowout, so I had to guesstimate a bit on HR on the bike, but I didn't care since there were no intervals.

Tonight will be watching the Women's NCAA basketball final on TV and being quite happy to watch others run around!

Bike trainer:
1:00
Avg HR = 125ish (?)

Stairs 'n hills

Off to another power Monday, though I was not quite as on fire as the last few... I'm, um, almost done sweating off a few extra beers from the weekend...

Had a good swim this morning despite the fact that Anna suggested to Julie and me in her innocent little voice, "Maybe we could do 100s on the 1:25 and push it a little today?" Julie and I looked at each other in apprehension, but figured we should buck up and not be wussy...and we held the first 5 of them. Then, fortunately, Anna went over a lane before the second set so I could come back down to a humane send off.

The midday run was to be 4-5 miles including hill repeats...10x 1 minute + 5x 30 seconds. I decided to change the 1-minute hills to stairs because that sounded more fun. Ran over to the Howe St. stairs and hammered my legs up 'n down as prescribed. I did 5 in a row (1 min up/1 min down), then ran about a quarter mile to get my legs back...then did 5 more...ran a quarter mile...then did 5 x hills up the steep street right next to the stairs. Oof. They were all hard, but a good workout and my quads didn't totally blow up...felt good, especially afterwards.

Swim:
3000 yards

Run:

1.4 mile warm up
5 x 1 minute up stairs (8 flights)/ 1 minute recover/down
.25 mile run
5x 1 minute up stairs/ 1 min. down
.25 mile run
5x 30 second hill/ 35 sec. recover
1.4 mile back

Total:
4.66 miles
54:30
Avg HR = 145bpm
Max HR = 166bpm (Hit 160+ on each set of stairs)

Good brick!

Today was a brick day...and a really good tough one, yowsa. I drove my bike out to Cycle U this morning to help get the first TDC training clinic off the ground. Once Ed and the other uber-competent coaches got my peeps going (10 showed up, yea!), I made an exit and took off from there on my ride.

I needed to do 50 miles with a 10 mile TT in the middle + run 20 minutes. It seemed cold, so I took off on the trail wearing my whole arctic-ready ensemble (lobster gloves, beanie hat, booties, "teflon" jacket) and went out to Marymoor to do the TT on East Lake Sammamish Pkwy. I was toasty by the time I got to the park and downgraded to normal-person gloves. The 21 mile warm up getting out there felt OK, but not great and I wasn't quite sure how well my legs had recovered from the week and how this one was going to go...I hit E. Lk. Samm pretty hard and it was apparent pretty soon by my HR that it would be a tough one...but actually not as awful as I'd thought it might be. Well, except that damn little hill at about mile 5. I tried to attack the hill. It attacked back. I didn't give up, but my HR hit 163. I kept at it, hammered on up and down and into Issaquah. In the last half mile I got a little jacked up by the traffic and had to unclip and hop up to the sidewalk, but I don't think it messed up my time much. I was happy with how hard I pushed this 10 miler...just under 31 minutes.

After the TT part, I was surprised that I felt better for the rest of the ride than I had warming up...it was a little odd and I kept wondering when the bottom was going to fall out, but I felt OK all the way in-- never fell apart (kept on the nutrition, so maybe that was it?). I came up Newport, over Mercer Island the short way, back through the arboretum, the UW, and back up the trail to Magnuson. Despite having a gazillion clothes on, I still had a pretty quick transition to the run and looped Magnuson Park. My legs piped up immediately when I started running...still feeling my hamstrings from Thursday. But the run was OK, too and 20 minutes is nothing. I really like doing bricks because they make me feel like a real triathlete! I ended the run loop by coming up through the off-leash dog park. I love going through there and looking at all the cool dogs...it was a typical crowded Saturday there today and it turned into a bit of an agility test as I had to dodge a lot of 4-legged moving targets, puddles, and dog parents throwing sticks and herding their pets. Not the smartest thing to do at the end of a long workout probably, but it was fun scenery!

This was a really good, strong training week--quality (tempo run and tempo bike) and volume were both up there --got in 14 hours this week.

I'm going to "Hot Flash" later and I hope I can get a bar stool as I'm not sure how well or how long I'll be able to stand up or dance. Glad tomorrow is my rest day.

Brick:
55 mile Ride:

21 miles warm up/moderate

10 Mile TT:
30:51
Avg HR = 149
Max HR = 163
Avg pace = 19.4

24 miles

Total:
55 miles
3:30
Avg HR = 126
Avg pace = 15.7

Run:
2.3 miles
20:05
Avg HR = 144

Concise summary

Swimteam workout, good.
Body, tired.
Coffee, essential.
Weights, later.
Nap, I wish.
Friday, shew.

Back-to-back butt kicking

Long run day this morning. I woke up a few times during the night slightly anxious about the fact that I could still feel yesterday's bike ride in my legs and had to run 11 miles when I got up. But...whatever, good to run on tired legs, right? And I'm still pretty happy that I CAN run, so off we go. I was up early and started running by about 5:30. I had some ideas, but not an exact route, so I kind of made it up along the way...ziz-zagged capitol hill, down the Howe St. stairs, a little of Eastlake and the bridge (sunrise starting, sliver of moon, very cool view there of the mountains), Portage Bay, UW, and out-and-back in the arboretum, and back up through Boyer/19th/Interlakken. It didn't seem that cold when I started, but by the time I was in the arboretum, I was fantasizing about having my hands around a warm cup of coffee...my fingers felt frozen and really hurt, despite the smartwool gloves. My ears were even cold and that almost never happens. I was not setting any speed records, for sure, and the last mile or so was ALL uphill (and took about 11+ minutes)...my legs and I know each other quite well at this point and they have informed me that they will be sore tomorrow and that they will be taking a personal day. Do not expect to be called up on until Saturday or you will get the voicemail...the arms will be handling the swim/weights tomorrow. My hamstring hurts now and my hip could use a little WD-40, but all things considered, I actually felt pretty good this morning.

I have a new project of sampling different brands and flavors of sports drinks on my long runs. Since I hate carrying the bottle, I decided it might make things more interesting to have a new drink to try each week. Today's beverage was Cytomax, pink lemonade flavor. After the first sip contrasted yuckily with the residual toothpaste in my mouth, it wasn't TOO bad. Really sweet and kind of syrupy, but I needed the calories and it certainly wasn't as bad as anything fruit punch-flavored. Not sure I'll use it again, but I did drink most of it and I'll give it a "decent" rating...

11.25 mile run
1:48:37 (Avg mile pace of 9:39)
Avg HR = 141

Humbled on the bike

Today was one of the days when I appreciate the best perk about my job: route development. I had a meeting in Tacoma this morning and then drove to Marymoor to meet one of the great volunteers on my committee, Rebecca, to ride the 45 mile Tour de Cure route. We started out about 11:00 a.m. and it was pretty cool, but sunny... we agreed that sunshine makes pretty much everything in the whole world better and happier. Rebecca is a really strong athlete (i.e. placed in Fat Salmon last summer) and has been on her bike a LOT in the last few months, so I sort of expected to be humbled...that expectation was quickly met. Fortunately, on the several occasions when she dropped me, I could at least keep her in sight. I'm going to choose to believe that me being able to stay within range was due to my cycling ability, but if I'm honest, I should probably admit it was because she is nice and because I knew the route so she needed me to keep up and tell her where we were going. I kept thinking that I really need to get my butt out on the bike on the ROAD more and not on the trainer so much...I can really tell that I need it. Anyway, I was humbled, but not demoralized, and had a great ride in the long overdue sun. It was really nice to ride with someone who made me push a little harder and also have some nice conversation along the way. We also actually did do some work I needed to do on the route related to the rest stops, etc.

Then I got to come home to the Shoebox which was toasty from the sun and smelled great because I'd left some really good barley/corn/tomato/Mexican seasoned stuff in the crockpot...ah, beer and burritos. A good day NOT in the office!

46.8 mile ride
3:03
Avg HR = 126
Avg pace: 15.3

Urban hiking

Didn't get a lot of sleep or very good sleep last night, but was up and off to swim this morning anyway...today it was Mackenzie, Anna, and me in the lane and I got a little more than the usual yardage...good 3,250 yard swim. It was an "optional" bike today and I opted for NOT...I walked to work and back, and to a meeting over at the Columbia Tower in the middle of the day, so I'm sure I got in at least 5 miles of miscellaneous urban hiking throughout the day...and lifted weights...so it's not like I didn't get in a little supplemental movement. Had 2 social things after work, so there was no more time in the day to bike anyway. All the walking was nice...it was a bit cool today, but there were now snowstorms, rain, or ice pellets and seeing some blue sky in our fair city was a very welcomed change! This spring thing might actually happen...