Monday, April 26, 2010

20 WEEKS -- are you kidding?

Twenty weeks until IM Moo. That is Ironman Wisconsin for any one that has not been paying attention.

Like me.

Twenty WEEKS? TWENTY? How did that happen?

You'll note my training log on the side has been devoid of any mileage updates for quite a while. Oh, I've been working out. I've been training. I've been swimming, biking and running.

I haven't been blogging. (Or tracking calories, if the truth must be told...)

The good news is that I got through a couple of the races that Coach Dan put on my schedule for this year.

Human Race/ Earth Day 8K on March 28th. Ran it in 50:15, which was a very good time for me.

Trail Mix 25K on April 17th. Two loops through a really wonderful park, nature preserve and ski area. (In other words: HILLY). Finished it in 3:11, which was a 14 minute PR for me for the course. (The last time I ran Trail Mix was in 2004).

Last weekend, I was supposed to do two events: Get in Gear (GIG) 10K and 65 miles on the Ironman Bike Ride - Minnesota. Hubby's plan was to run the GIG 5K event and then play in his first Minnesota golf tournament for 2010.

Mother Nature had other plans.

Hubby and I woke to thunder and lightening on Saturday morning. We had planned to run if it was rainy, but did not want to run if it was pouring. So we went back to sleep.

We did end up running later in the day, so it was not a total wash out (pun intended).

Sunday was rainy too, but there was no lightening. Just rain. Oh, and wind.

Since I was riding this event with my friends Gary and Nat, I could not just go back to bed. So, I loaded up the bike, picked up Gary and went to the start line.


Nat's been under the weather and decided to not risk getting sick again, but Gary and I went out on the course.

We did decide to only ride the 30-mile route, which was a smart choice. My feet got soaked by rain and got very cold. I don't think they could have really handled 35 additional miles.

Despite the cold/rain, the event was really wonderful! Nice course with some challenging hills. Terrific rest stops manned by very helpful volunteers and yummy stuff like HOT oatmeal, HOT coffee, HOT chocolate, muffins, candy (?), Cracker Jack, Trail Mix and other deliciousness.

I was also happily surprised at the number of riders that braved the weather. Had the day been nice, I'm sure there would have been thousands of riders out on the road.

I definitely will do this ride again next year. I can not say enough good things about it.

Okay, back to reality:

Twenty weeks!

Really time to get serious about the mileage, the time and the training.

Cuz now it is nineteen weeks and six days....

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Fast and furious....

Been a while since I've updated my blog or my training log.

I am a bad girl.


Quick update:


All is going well -- meaning, I'm getting workouts done and I'm not injured or too overwhelmed.

I am worried that I'm not doing enough, but this is every runner/triathletes issue. I just have to trust my coach.

I also worry that if I talk/write/obsess about this much more in public/out loud, that I'll jinx myself. And yet, here I am writing and obsessing once again.

Ces't la Ironman.

I went to Madison last weekend on a SOUL-o journey. (yes, soul). I needed to do some personal / emotional work on my own before going back for training weekends with friends.

I did have a chance to ride and run a bit on the IM WI course, which was great.

I also took walk after walk after walk down memory lane.

I'm glad I went.

I took a bunch of pics and will post more later.

I took a self portrait of me at the IM WI finish line (minus all the finish line stuff...)


Because there is no way in heck that I'm finishing in daylight, I went back to the Capital to take a more realistic shot of what it might look like for me fright before midnight on September 12th.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

New York, New York. Hopes dashed again....

Year TWO of not making the NY Marathon cut.

DANG!

I ran NY in 2007 (I got in that year because I was a sponsored amateur athlete for Team Toyota). It is a really wonderful marathon. The course is exceptional, the crowd support non-stop and fantastic, and really is quite the experience.

Last year, I entered the lottery and so did my friends Mary and Nat. Nat got in, but deferred to this year. She opted out for this year because of Ironman.

I put my name in the lottery for this year. I put my name in the first day registration opened.

I was hoping that I'd be still in pretty decent shape after Ironman (how ever that ends up...) and that NY would be like a swan-song for 2010.

Nope.

No such luck.

I guess the gods are really just taking care of me, allowing me to train fully for IM WI so I can ROCK THE HOUSE there (or at least finish before they turn off the clock...)

Still and all, a little bummed about NY 2010...but there is always next year, right?

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Readers, weepers and update


Readers: for Beth:

Yes, I actually own all these pairs of glasses.

My eye sight started to change when I was in my mid-40s.

All of a sudden, I could no longer read shampoo bottles or cereal boxes. (I know, I know "squeeze out a dime size squirt of shampoo; rub on to wet hair, rinse, repeat"...)

Now newspapers, magazines, basically any lettering smaller than font size "10" or up close is tough Hence, the collection of readers.

Fortunately, I only need magnification "100" and my distance eye sight is great.

Once my eyesight started to go, I figured that if I had to wear glasses, they were going to be fun.

I buy my glasses at the funky kiosks you can find in malls like The Mall of America. I've had to buy a couple of emergency pairs if I suddenly find myself with out a set at work. Macy's Optical Department has a few pairs that are cute and reasonably priced at about $10.00.

And yes, I am actually contemplating taping a pair to my bike when I do IM WI. If I have to change a flat, I'll be lost without glasses.

Unless, of course, I start training like the military and practice changing a tire while wearing a blindfold...

Weepers: for Nat and Steve (All others be forewarned. Skinned knee pic ahead.)

Nat, I think you'll appreciate this and Steve, you'll definitely appreciate this:

SECOND three hour ride of the season so far done today. Yippee!

Unlike the 3 1/2 "sit-fest" I did on the trainer, this time I rode outside! The weather was warm and comfortable. I started about an hour before rush hour, hoping to avoid rush-hour crazies on the road and the biking novices that swarm the bike paths when the weather warms up.

I was just past Minnehaha Creek on my way home, riding along the parkway when I approached a to a bike path crossing. There were signs warning cars, a stop sign and the road was marked.

This woman driving a SVU of some sort was approaching the cross way. She looked to her left (my way), looked me straight in the eye and started to slow down.

"Cool", I thought! "She must be a biker!"

Nope.

Once the light dawned on for her that, if she hit the gas, she wouldn't have to stop for the nano-second it would take me to get across the street, she put the pedal to the metal and ran the stop sign.

I braked, but didn't clip out in time and THUMP. There I was on the sidewalk.

A skinned knee, a little road rash and a good story.







UPDATE: I'm glad tomorrow is Friday.