Run #1.10 Quantity over Quality

This could also be called the "it wasn't pretty but I survived" run.  Or actually walk as it turned out to be.  I didn't think a run could be much worse than last week's snow filled run but I was wrong.  Take a path filled with icy, slushy mess, add in hail and wind and you get a recipe for disaster.

But let's start at the beginning.  I had 12 miles on the docket for today.  I had hoped the promised rain would have swept through and melted the snow off the path.  I wasn't sure where would be the best place to run but I figured my normal trail was as good as any.  I arrived and was greeted with sloppy, slushy, icy remnants of snow covering the path.  It was quite slippery and I started off nice and slow.  It did cross my mind that I should take this inside and on the treadmill, but I quickly said no as I can't imagine doing 12 miles on a treadmill.  (More power to those who can!)

It finally cleared out enough that I didn't have to watch each step.  Of course it was around this time when I swear it started hailing.  Ugh - hail, really?  After a long stretch of good path, it started getting worse.  And worse.  I was walking on the grass at this point, as it was much easier to keep my balance and not slip.  I finally turned around when I didn't see it was going to get any better.

I really hadn't run very much at this point, thinking it was much safer to walk.  When I got back to the most clear part of the path, I doubled back and made up my missing mileage, running where I could.  I had about 2 miles left when the wind started up.  Sure why not?  It was a strong cross-wind.  And I was so done at that point.  I gave up any pretense of trying to run.  I was ready to sit down on the path and cry.  Except then I would have been even more wet than I already was.  I was wet, cold, and in pain.  Only two miles left, only two miles left kept running through my head.  I got to the last messy, really ice patch and slowed down considerably.  And I could feel my body shutting down.  Finally, mercifully I was done.  These weren't the best miles I've done, but I'm hoping getting 12 miles in, regardless of the type of miles, will help.

In the good news category?  I finished (barely) in under 3 hours which was my goal.  And helps with my confidence for next week.  

Run #1.9 Beware the Snowpocalypse

After my two week hiatus I wasn't sure what to expect from my 11 miles.  Add to that uncertainty the threat of snow.  Snow & Seattle are like oil & water and other things that don't go together.  According to the weather it was supposed to snow during the very early hours of the morning but it would warm up.  So I figured I could sleep in and get a later start.  

I woke up and it was barely snowing and not really sticking so I made my way to the park and bundled up.  I forgot my Garmin, but in the end I figured it was a good thing since I wasn't worried about time on this run.  I was more concerned with not slipping on the snow.  I started off on the trail and the snow started coming down a little bit harder.  But it wasn't sticking (yet).  If course as soon as I said that the snow started coming down.  And sticking.  Ugh!  I kept going.  I can be a bit stubborn at times and I was determined to get my 11 miles in.  The snow kept coming down and down and down.  It switched from fat fluffy snowflakes to hard hail-like pebbles and back again.  The path in front of me looked like a Winter Wonderland.  It started coming down extremely hard and I finally turned around and headed back to my car, figuring I could pick up 2 miles somewhere.  Or not since it finally dawned on me that if it was accumulating on the trail, it would be accumulating on the road and I didn't want to get stuck since I am a wimp when it comes to the snow.

I got back to my car and since it wasn't too bad I decided to keep going to get the last 2 miles.  And of course it started getting bad again - the snow was sticking to my eyelashes but I was so close.  Finally I was done with 11 miles (or thereabouts - it was definitely over 10 so I'm rounding up!).   

Seen during my run: a snowball fight, a kid on a sled, and several snowmen being built.

The more important question is - is tomorrow going to be a snow day? :)

HIgh School Musical Run #1.8

Happy New Year!!  After a very wild night of church and coming home to eat cheese and crackers and watching TV, I woke up ready to take on 10 miles.  I may have mentioned this before but 10 miles is my milestone.  I feel so much better once I have hit 10 miles because after that all that is left is a 5K.  5K?  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! 

I got out of my car and felt the wind immediately so I grabbed my hat and gloves and was off.  Song #1 shuffled on my iPod?  A High School Musical song.  Same with #2 and #3.  For a second there I thought I might have just hit play and we were going in alaphbetical order.  But then All Saints and Spice Girls were songs #4 and #5 so it was just a coincidence.  I think there ended up being several more High School Musical songs throughout the run.

I'm now at about a little over a minute of running at a time.  Towards the end I definitely started feeling it in my knee, so we'll be sticking with the one minute running interval for now.

I finished up my 10 miles in a little over 2 hours, which means I'm averaging around 13 minute miles.  Not bad, not bad.  Definitely giving me some picture and wiggle time to come in under the 3 hour and 30 minute cut off.

And I finished in time to make it to hot yoga! 

So it might have crossed my mind that a Tinker Bell 10-miler would be way more fun!  Ha!  That's just the fear talking.  This half is going to be mine.

Run #1.7 Brought to You by the Letter W

W as in windy!!  Or it could have been B as in blustery!  I probably sound like a big baby, but in reality, I do like running in the winter.  It's much easier to bundle up.  You can only take off so many clothes when it is hot. 

Back to the run at hand - I took the morning off work so I could get a "quick" 8 miles in.  I started and about a mile into it I realized my Garmin wasn't doing it's thing.  Grr.  So I restarted it and continued on.  But my mojo was discombobulated after that. 

The trail was fairly empty, probably because it was a weekday rather than the weekend.  I got to the turn around and started back into a wall of wind.  Okay, so maybe I exaggerate.  But just a little! :)  It was at that point that I really wished for my gloves.  I had been doing fine up until then but the wind made me wish for all things warm.

In the land of coincidence, Colbie Calliat's Brighter Than The Sun came on my iPod just as I rounded a corner and the sun was directly in my eyes.

And then I was done and off to find warmth!!  

Frozen Fingers Run #1.6

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas!  I'm using my time off to get caught up on my long runs!  But with nothing going on today, I slept in before heading to the park.  What's sleeping in?  Not waking up until after 8 and not getting out of bed until 9!!  Holy cow!  But oh so enjoyable.

Knowing I would be visiting the park quite a few times in the next few weeks, I decided to mix it up and start at a different spot.  And I got to use one of my favorite Christmas presents - a super cool headband from my super cool friend Kathy!

I realized I need to work on my transitions from walking to running and back.  Running - no problem.  Walking - no problem.  But going from running to walking I find my walking slows down.  When I notice I try to speed up and find my pace.  Once I find my pace, I'm good to go.  

I decided to go without gloves, since it wasn't extremely cold out and I usually warm up by mile 2.  Not so in this case.  My fingers were so cold by the time I finished.  Brr!!

It was good to do a section of the trail I hadn't done in awhile.  I passed by a ton of ducks at one point.  I'm glad it was ducks and not geese - geese scare me.  Lots of geese are gaggles, what are lots of ducks?  According to the Internet, there are lots of terms for groups of ducks, depending on what type of duck and what they are doing.

I finished up and was so happy to jump in the car and get warm again!!  

Christmas Eve Run #1.5

Yikes!!  Have you looked at the calendar lately?  I have got one month.  I repeat, one month until the Tinker Bell Half.  And I'm oh so behind on my long runs.  Which meant bright and early Christmas Eve I was lacing up my shoes.  Or at least early, it wasn't so bright.  In fact as I pulled up to the park, I could see the Christmas lights on the trees still lit up.  It had started raining and once again I was without a hat.  I really don't like hats, umbrellas or hoods.  But fortunately I had a random baseball cap in my car for emergencies such as these.

I still haven't figured out how to do intervals on my watch (probably because I haven't spent any time trying to figure it out!) so at the start of every song I ran for one minute.  My knee is still doing good.  I'll have to figure out a good interval.  It'll probably still be heavily weighted on the walking, but it is nice to be running.

And guess what was in the mail when I got home from my run?  My Tinker Bell tutu!!  I'm just about set with my outfit now.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!

Foggy & Cold Run #1.3

Wow, December is speeding by!!  But thankfully I will not be boarding a plane for the rest of the year.  I love getting on a plane and going somewhere, but after three almost back to back to back trips I am ready to be at home. 

I came back from Vegas (which means I didn't hit the jackpot - darn!) late Sunday.  So I took Monday morning off to sleep in as well as get 7 miles in.  I went to my more hilly route, but I was determine to avoid doing the big bad hill twice.  Once is bad enough!!  Which meant a few loops and zig zags to pick up distance and make my loop that much longer so I would only have to do it once, rather than doubling back.  And I succeeded!!  Hooray!!  Stupid hill.  My running increments are now up to one whole minute!  I haven't figured out how to input intervals on my Garmin so instead, at the start of each new song I would run.  My knee held up again really well.  Towards the end, it started getting a little achy, but no real pain.

There was more I was going to say, but the words are not coming to me so I'll leave at that.

Run #1.2 With Actual Running

That's right! It is officially December which means I can run again! It has basically been a year since I have run (give or take a few weeks when I was in between physical therapists).

I got up early this morning to squeeze in six miles before my flight to Houston. Once again I started off in the semi-dark but the trail still had a good number of people on it. I didn't want to overdo the running so once I was warmed up I decided to run 30 seconds at the start of every song. It felt good to break into a run. The questions that kept going through my mind were "is it time to run?" followed by "does my knee hurt?" which I am happy to say it didn't. Towards the end I did start to feel a little twinge in my knee so I stuck to walking for the remainder of my run.

Not only did this run have actual running, but I also had an encounter with an otter. He looked at me. I looked at him. And then he jumped back into the grass, back towards the river. Whew!

All that is left to say is - I'm back, baby!!

Sent by T-Mobile. America's First Nationwide 4G Network

Wet and Cold Run #1.1

Okay, so I'm stealing a page from Fruit Fly's book and I'm going to try and chronicle (at least my long) runs for the next year.  Okay so that isn't new.  But what I really am stealing is the numbering.  Why?  Well I'll let you in on a little secret.  Secret probably isn't the best description - maybe secret ambition is better.  I'm going to be 35 next year.  Wow.  Thirty-stinking-five.  That's not the secret.  But because that number ends in a 5, my secret 2012 ambition is going to be to complete 5 half marathons.  The numbering system will help (me anyway) keep track.  (And I'm going to call them runs even though there will be a lot of walking involved - it's just easier, and shorter!)

The next step would be to figure out which half marathons to choose.  I'm already signed up for the Tinker Bell, Princess, and Seattle RnR.  I've delayed signing up for Portland RnR because I keep hoping they'll post the course time limits.  Which leaves on more to sign up for.  There are so many to choose from.  Do I do another Disney one, say the Disneyland Half or the Wine & Dine?  Do I throw the dice and try to get in for the Nike Women's Half?  Do I do a location one (Hawaii, CA, or someplace else say London)?  Or a local one?  I have a lot of choices.  We'll see how the year goes.

Okay, back to this morning.  The forecast was calling for rain, but not until later in the morning.  So I got up early and started off just as it was starting to get light.  Again, I technically could have mixed some running in, but I decided to wait until December 1st.  Part of me wonders if I'll remember how to run?  I'll bet it's just like riding a bike - it'll come back to me.

The sky kept getting lighter and lighter.  I hadn't gone too far when the rains came.  While it wasn't a light mist, it wasn't a torrential downpour.  It was somewhere in the middle.  Medium rain.    

It's funny the games you can play with yourself to help pass the time (or miles).  Or at least I play.  How many Christmas trees can you see through the windows?  (2)  How many big birds did you pass?  (7, although one or two might have been double counted)  Can I make it to the next tree, shrub, mile marker, etc before the song ends?  

And finally 8 miles was done!  Yay!  On my way home, the rain started coming down more and more so it looks like it was the right call to get up on the early side.

First run ("walk") done.  Tinker Bell training has officially begun.

What's Next?

I am a planner at heart.  I like plans.  I like schedules.  I like to put things on a calendar (so I can later cross them off!).  And while January and February seem like a long way off, throw in a couple of holidays, a vacation or two, and pretty hectic work schedule for at least a couple of weeks and all of a sudden it is time to plan out my training schedule for the Tinker Bell and Princess Halves.  (Or would it be more proper to say Half Marathons instead of trying to pluralize half?)

My loose training schedule looks a lot like this:

Monday - hot yoga
Tuesday - walk/run 2 to 4 miles
Wednesday - hot yoga/Pure Barre/weights/something else?
Thursday - walk/run 2 to 4 miles
Friday - rest
Saturday - hot yoga
Sunday - long walk/run

I can pretty much guarantee I won't follow this to a tee (look at me - I rhymed!) but I will try to stick close to the schedule and definitely hit the long walk/run.  Notice I threw run in there?  That's right!  I am almost back to running!!  Only 2 more months!

I have a feeling the trick will be to keep up my motivation between Tinker Bell and Princess.  Any tips out there on staying motivated?  And not letting the high of finishing a race turn into a low?

In the meantime, I need a November race and a December race.  December is easy-peasy.  I'm so doing the 12Ks of Christmas - it is easily one of my favorite races of all times.  November isn't as easy.  I'm out of town for most of the Turkey Trots.  But I think I'm going to do the Seattle Marathon 5K.

And off we go! 

Week in Review

With only a few weeks left until the You Go Girl half marathon I thought I would bring back the training week in review.

Monday - hot yoga, nothing too exciting

Tuesday - early morning 2 mile walk.  Won't be too many more of these as it's getting lighter later.

Wednesday - Pure Barre class

Thursday - 3 mile walk where I just beat the fading sunlight. 

Saturday - hot yoga, this was a hard class.  Not sure why.  The beauty of yoga - it is never the same.

Sunday - 11 mile walk where I kept an average (are you ready for this?) 14:38 pace!!  Holy cow!  Let's pause for a minute and reflect.  Wow.  Okay, so this was my basically flat route, but still I'm feeling pretty good about it.  I knew I went out fast, but I was feeling pretty good so I just kept going. 

Almost there...

A week from today I will be done with my triathlon!  Hooray!!  And then I can focus on the half marathon.  I will be so glad to have only one (main) event to train for.  More importantly, I can put my bike away and never see it again.  Well, never again until next year.


Monday - hot yoga, it was a class - not much more I can say.  Not good, not bad.  Just was.

Tuesday - my terrible, horrible, no good bike ride, followed by walk.

Wednesday - pool swim.

Friday - lake swim.  We got to the lake (my mom usually goes with me to make sure nothing happens, or if something happens, she's is there to get help) and walking down towards the water we notice something.  I think it is an animal of some sort, probably a beaver and my mom thinks a log, except it is moving way too fast.  It dips under the water and we don't see it resurface.  My mom is a little freaked at this point but I'm doing okay since I'm thinking its probably long gone.  There happened to be a park worker and so my mom asks him and he confirms my suspicions - a beaver.  Apparently the beaver has been seen a lot recently.  Beavers are nocturnal and most likely he was heading home after doing his beavering stuff all night.  With that excitement over, I step carefully into the water.  A couple of days of sun and the lake has warmed up a tad!  I was a few laps into my swim when I started thinking the water was really calm for it being Seafair weekend and sure enough as soon as that thought entered my mind a boat drove by setting off waves.  Now that's more like it.  Waves are always good practice for race day.  I finished up and went on with my day.

Saturday - another brick, and my second to last time on the bike before the triathlon.  It was actually a decent bike after Tuesday's debacle.  Helped it was a fairly flat course.  There was a lot of people on the trail, more so than usual, and I finally noticed the little bib numbers.  A race!  Also seen on my bike ride?  A rooster and a guy on a segway.  Add that to the beaver and it has been one interesting week.  I finished up the bike, and started off on the walk.  It took awhile before my legs started moving well, but they finally did.  Brick done.

In non-racing, non-training tidbits, I had an appointment in Seattle and as I was driving back across the bridge traffic slowed to a stop.  Why?  Because the Blue Angels were flying over the bridge in perfect formation!!  How cool!!  I seriously heart the Blue Angels.

Sunday - long walk day.  I remembered sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat!  Woot!!  It started off slightly overcast, but towards the end the clouds had cleared and the sun was starting to beat down.  Thank goodness I was almost done.  And thank goodness for shady spots and a breeze!  With that - 10 miles done.  10 miles is my magic number.  I usually feel pretty good if I can make it 10 miles.  After all, it's only another 5K to finish a half marathon!!  I went to hot yoga next (yin yoga, or gentle yoga) and during shoelace, I hear the Blue Angels flying overhead!  Yay!!

And there you have it!

What the bike??

Tonight the calendar called for a brick.  A short, hilly brick.  I left work and drove to the park.  As I was getting my bike out of the car a little girl (maybe 8) says "I know you!  You were here last week on the trail."  Which, yes, yes I was.  I thought it was cute that she remembered me.

I started off - up the first hill, second hill, third hill and fourth hill.  I barely make it up the fourth hill.  Again on the lowest of low gear.  Me and this gear - we are becoming BFFs.  I paused at the top at the drinking fountain and gulped down a few sips of water.  I continued on, up the next hill and then I was approaching the bridge.  It was on the bridge I got very, very discouraged.  I made it up the hills (which is the point, right?) but it was such a struggle.  Since I've been doing triathlons, usually there is a discipline I feel will be my weaker one and it varies between biking and swimming.  This time it is definitely biking.  I am so struggling with the bike right now.  Normally I can power up hills, but I have not found that gear (ha ha!).  Even on the flats I'm not doing too well.  Its not that I ride too far either.  I mean most of my rides are for short distances.  If someone were to tell me that the bike portion was eliminated from the triathlon I would literally jump for joy at this point.

I don't know what it is - was it the months inactivity due to my knee?  Is it my lack of cross-training (again due to my knee)?  Why is the bike so hard for me this time?  Why?  I haven't had a good bike - oh wait, I take that back.  Besides last Saturday I haven't had a good bike ride.  I just haven't felt comfortable.  Not that it was ever easy, but it has never been this hard.

I finished my ride, threw my bike in my car, thought a lot about just getting in my car and leaving but decided walking the mile and completing the brick probably would be the best thing.  And it was.  It was good to clear my head and just walk.

So if anyone has any bike ideas, please pass them on!  I am all ears!  I will take any help I can get.

Here We Go Again

Monday - hot yoga, and let me just say I rocked this class!!  Probably had something to do with the fact it wasn't super humid (it was hot - just  not humid) so perfect conditions for me.  I even managed to do the first part of dancers which I haven't really done since I hurt my knee!

Tuesday - 2.5 mile walk, nothing super exciting here. 

Wednesday - pool swim.  So I got to the usually empty pool and it wasn't empty.  The swim lanes were all occupied so I got into the little open area and created my own swim lane.  When one lane finally opened up, I missed my chance to grab it.  Which, okay, lots of people in the pool and not everyone can get a lane.  But this person wasn't even swimming - they were doing weird jumping exercises and mainly using one end of the lane (while putting their feet into the other lane).  Really?  You couldn't stay in the open area and do this nonsense?  Grr.  Finally another lane opened up and I grabbed it.  At this point I had no idea what lap I was on, so figured I'd go for time.  I was in the process of turning when I heard a voice asking if they could share my lane.  It took me awhile to realize they were talking to me but when I did I turned around and gave them the thumbs up sign.  It was my old pool friend - I usually see her in the pool around this time since we are both generally training for the Danskin.  I got back from my lap and we started chatting.  Which then meant I really didn't have a good idea of how much time I'd swum.  I think I ended up doing about 30 minutes give or take (after I subtracted out the chatting time).

Thursday - time to go conquer the hills on the bike.  Only this time, ride all the hills!  I got up the first three (which are really just one somewhat continuous, very long hill, but I like to think of it in three pieces).  I got to the next hill which is my nemesis hill and once again got really familiar with my down shift.  Pretty soon I was on the lowest possible gear.  And still struggling.  But I made it to the top.  Barely.  And stopped.  My legs were shaking and I really needed a drink of water.  Fortunately there is a water fountain at the top of the hill!  As I paused for my drink, I thought for a second about ditching out again on the rest of my ride but then I reminded myself that I only have a few weeks left.  Well, crap.  Guess it's time to bike then.  So across the bridge I went.  I ended up in the lowest of low gears a couple more times.  Which is not normal for me.  However, making it up the hills does help with my confidence, even if I made up in a super low gear.  After all, isn't that why bikes have gears?  So you can use them all? :)   

Friday - lake swim.  It was really, really cold.  Guess the few hours of sun didn't do much to warm up the water!  Ha!  I did my usual routine to get into the water.  Step in, stop and stand.  Okay, my legs are getting used to the water.  Step in a little more, until the water is up to my waist.  Stand still.  Splash a little water on my arms and chest.  Creep in a little more.  Splash water on my neck.  Inch a little further into the water.  I'm now about chest high.  Deep breath.  A couple more deep breaths.  One more deep breath.  Okay, maybe one more deep breath.  And submerge myself!  There - that wasn't so bad was it?  The waves were definitely on the wavy side today.  But all in all a good swim.

Saturday - Boy, I am long-winded this week in review.  And still two more days to go!  With basically two weeks left until the triathlon (gasp!!  two weeks!?!) it was time for a brick.  A brick is basically doing two activities back to back.  For me that usually means bike followed by a walk.  I packed up and drove to the park only to find the parking lot being used for some sort of festival.  Plan B - drive up the road to the next parking lot.  With today supposed to be "hot" (yes hot in Seattle has a very different connotation than in other parts of the world) I decided to break out the running skirt.  When I got on my bike I realized I had put on the wrong skirt, I had grabbed the one with the shorter shorts underneath.  Oh snap.  Well not much I could do at this point.  So I showed everyone on the trail a little more than I would have liked.  But not a scandalous amount.  At the beginning I was super self-conscious but eventually that passed and I just rode.  It was actually a really good ride!  I got back to my car, threw the bike in, grabbed my hat, and was back on the trail.  The first couple hundred yards or so were quite painful, with my legs feeling like concrete.  But finally my legs started feeling more normal.  Two miles later I was done with my brick.

Sunday - long (run) walk day.  Okay I had something really good here, but it got eaten by blogger so I will attempt to recreate it.  I headed to the park.  The weather had definitely taken a turn from yesterday.  But 9 miles in overcast weather makes for a much more happier Emily.  For whatever reason I decided I didn't need my hat.  And I didn't until the light mist turned into a heavy mist and then into full out rain.  The rain was streaming into my eyes and it was now that I wished I had a hat or sunglasses or anything really to keep the rain out of my face.  I think people are generally more friendly when the weather isn't the best.  One guy said "another crazy" as he ran by me.    With about a mile to go to my turn-around the rain finally subsided back to the light mist.  Much better!!  Finally I reached the turn around point.  I thought I was moving at a good pace but then Will Smith's "Getting Jiggy With It" shuffled on my iPod and a big smile came across my face and I found I could push the pace a little bit more.  As usual, I kept checking in with my knee.  I spend so much time on any given walk thinking about my knee.  Is that a normal pain?  Did I step wrong?  Is it a real knee pain?  What about that?  Is that a knee pain?  I'm  happy to say my knee did well.  I did have some hip pain, but believe you me, I was almost happy to have hip pain and no knee pain!  Finally 9 miles completed.  I decided to hit hot yoga (for yin yoga or as I like to call it, gentle yoga) to help work out my muscles.

And there you have it.  Another week of training in the books!!  I will be so glad once the triathlon is over and I can focus on the half marathon training.   I am now in my comfy clothes relaxing with a couple ice packs watching TV.  Oh 9 miles, it has been a long time.

Happy Sunday!

Time Keeps Marching On

And here we are with another look back at the week that was.  But first, I think I’ve finally decided on the half that I am participating in!  I was weighing the You Go Girl Half (in Tacoma – local, sort of) and the San Jose Rock ‘N Roll (not local at all).  My potential plans to go to Europe have been moved from September to November (still potential, but I have my fingers crossed) which means I’m free to do the YGG in Tacoma.  Oh wait, I forgot some fanfare.  TA DA – I’m doing the You Go Girl Half in Tacoma!  It’s not that I won’t ever do the San Jose RNR, but it’s probably not in the cards this year.   So in less than 4 weeks now I will do my one and only triathlon of the season and then four weeks later I will do the YGG Half!  Yikes!!  Completely walking it to test out my ability to walk a half and hopefully come in close to 3 hours and 30 minutes so I can feel much more comfortable about doing the Tinker Bell & Princess Half in 2012.  Oh the things I do for Disney races! :)

Monday – hot yoga (again it was ridiculously hot and humid and so I spent a good deal of the class on the floor)

Wednesday – got up early and went swimming (36 lengths).  But I wasn’t done yet!  After work I rode my bike to start working on my hill skills.  Oh boy.  Maybe I should have started earlier.  I was definitely struggling and dropped down to the lowest gear possible (which I usually don’t need to do) but the good news is I made it up my really big nemesis hill.  The bad news – it took a lot out of me so I decided to cut my bike ride short.  I ended up skipping out on four hills, but I did add one in.  Did I wimp out?  Yeah, hindsight being what it is, I wimped out.  I should have kept pushing, but I didn’t.  I still have time and I know now I really need to work on hills!!

Thursday – got up early and went for a 2 mile walk.  We’ve been having raccoon issues so I was a little  nervous that there might be raccoons out and about.  But apparently it was late enough in the morning (even if my alarm didn't feel all that late) that the raccoons were all asleep after any nighttime activities, such as getting into garbage cans.

Friday - BRRRRR!!!  With the triathlon not that far off it was time to go jump in the lake.  Holy cow, it was cold.  Chilly!!  Freezing!!  I swam for about 20 minutes and that was enough.

Saturday - time to get up early and go for a bike ride.  I thought for a second about going back to the hills but decided to keep it flat and simple.

Sunday - I think summer has finally arrived!!  Which means I probably should have gotten up a tad earlier to beat the heat to do my 8 miles.  Okay, so it's Seattle and really not that hot.  And I shouldn't complain since all I've been doing lately is complaining about a lack of of summer.  And now I'm complaining that it is here!  Have I mentioned I like to complain? :)  Anyway, back to the walk.  I got to the turn around point and I was so thankful because it meant I could head back towards shade.  Beautiful, lovely shade.  Hey, but guess what?  The sun moves.  And so did my shade.  So my long stretch became only small little patches.  But I still enjoyed them, along with the slight breeze that would blow through every once in awhile.  And I might have slowed down a tad while in the shade to prolong the coolness.  Finally I was done!!  

Week in the Rear View Mirror

Here we are again - at the end (or beginning?) of another week.  Before we look back at last week's activities, let's talk about gnocchi!  (Ha!  Did you think I was going to say Harry Potter?  Don't worry - that's next.)  Friday night was an exciting night.  I started off at a cooking class to learn how to make gnocchi.  It was a really good class (and yummy!) and now I think even I can make gnocchi!  So much so that I bought several kitchen tools to help me.  The question is will I ever use these new gadgets?  I don't know but I was very impressed by the gnocchi and how simple it seemed.  Okay, maybe not simple, but definitely do-able.  And the teacher mentioned you could make pumpkin gnocchi!!  Color me intrigued!  What color is intrigued anyway?  Maybe an orange hue?

Gnocchi class done and it was time to head to the movies!  I had been hopeful to re-read the book or at least re-watch the movie but I ran out of time.  I am so, so, so not a late night person, but here I was ready to watch Harry Potter at 11 PM.  I think this calls for some diet coke!  Surprisingly I did not fall asleep.  I was so drawn into the movie.  I won't say too much about the movie (in case you haven't seen it) but I laughed and I cried.  I was impressed at how much they fit into the movie (even though there was a few things I really wished would have made it like Percy and Kreacher at the end) but you can't include everything.  Such a good movie.  I am going to miss looking forward to the next installment of HP.

Okay, back to what's going on in the world of training.  Especially since I realized I have 4, count 'em 4 weeks left until my triathlon!!  Holy cow!!  Um, when did that happen??

Monday - early morning 2 mile walk through the woods and I capped off the night with hot yoga (it was a much better class than last time)

Friday - pool swim (36 laps)

Saturday - after my late HP excursion, I slept in.  Until 10!  Yikes!!  Well really 9 something but I didn't get out of bed until 10.  My calendar called for 7 miles so I laced up my shoes and headed out.  It was so humid and sticky.  Now when I say humid, I realize Seattle humidity is not that bad (and somewhat non-existent some would even say).  I used to live in Houston and that is serious humidity!!  But for Seattle, this was quite humid.  I was regretting my choice of a long sleeve shirt and was even contemplating ripping it off.  But that would not be a pretty sight.  And besides, I'd have to carry my shirt.  So that was not a real option.  Ugh.  The air was so heavy, but finally I was done.  Back when I first started walking (and long before I started running), several people had told me walking was way harder than running.  At least harder when doing longer distances.  I scoffed at this thinking.  How could running be easier?  But as my walking miles are increasing I am remembering back to these comments and realizing how true they are.  I think a lot of it is how much faster you can go when you are running.  Anyway, walking is where I am at now and I am happy that I am able to do at least that.

Sunday - After the See Jane Run (Walk) 5K, I got back in the car and drove to the park.  I probably could have stayed and ridden my bike near the race site, but I wasn't super familiar with the area so I decided to go to my park.  It had started raining as I was leaving.  Boo.  But maybe it would stop?  Nope.  I got to the park and started off on my ride.  And then realized I had forgotten my sunglasses.  But it wasn't sunny!  Yes, but it would help keep the wind/bugs/rain/etc out of my eyes.  I hadn't gone far so it would have been easy to turn around and go back to the car.  But I was afraid that if I went back to my car I would pack up and leave.  So I rode on.  Through the biting rain.  It let up a little until I reached the turn around point and then it got worse.  But at least I was heading back to my car.  I finished up, completely soaking and shivering.  First stop - Starbucks for a nice WARM cuppa!!  Second stop - home and a nice HOT shower.

And there you have it.  Time to step up the training since I only have 4 WEEKS!!  Ack!

Where Did the Week Go?

Up here in beautiful sunny, no, wait – rainy, no, wait – sunny, no, wait – overcast, no wait...  Restart.  Up here in Seattle where the weather can’t seem to make up its mind if we are in summer yet, time keeps marching by and here we are at the end of another week.  It is also a crazy time at work so not much has gotten done in the world of training.  But we’ll take a quick peek back just for fun!

Monday – this was the day of the bloody shoe walk.  Seven long miles and all I have to show for it was a blister!  The knee felt good and I think I may have made a breakthrough in physical therapy. 

Tuesday thru Thursday – instead of saying nada, zip, zero I get to say I came home each night and did 100 sit ups.  Hey – something is better than nothing!
 

Friday – I woke up, didn’t push my snooze button and got up and ready for a swim.  I get to the gym and find a sign saying “The Pool is Closed for Maintenance”.  Boo!  Well what to do now?  I didn’t want to waste my early morning wake up!  Fortunately I had my extra gym bag in the car, so I walked all the way back to the car to get my gym bag and ended up on the treadmill.  Not quite swimming, but still good.  I did 2 miles in just over 31 minutes.  Which is keeping with the 15 to 16 minute mile pacing I’ll be needing.  Plus another 100 sit ups when I got home.

Saturday - Another wake up, another urge to press the snooze button...  But I made it out of bed and did a 3 mile walk through the woods.  With a squirrel, a few bunnies, and several dogs - most of them friendly, but two suspect dogs but fortunately they stayed close to their owners.  Oh, and shoelace that looked an awful lot like a snake!!  I've decided to take FF's advice and pretend I am Snow White while walking through the woods! :)  I felt super slow at first - I think my body was still trying to wake up.  I found my stride close to the end.  So what if it wasn't the fastest walk I've had.

It'll probably be pretty quiet around here for the next week or so.  But I promise I'll be back!!

Week in Review

Me: Hello?
Caller: Is Kevin there?
Me: No, I'm sorry I think you have the wrong number.
Caller: This isn't XXX-XXX-XXXX?
Me: Nope
Caller: Are you sure?

I don't know why but this cracked me up but it did.  I mean, I think I know my own phone number. 

Official "training" posts and plans will start soon, including what Sept/Oct half marathon I've decided on.  Soon, as in two weeks after my busy time at work.  Until then another week in review of what has been keeping me busy.

Monday:  An early morning two mile walk through the woods.  But only bunnies this morning!  And then since my hair cut was moved, I ended up at hot yoga.  Oh my gracious, this was a super tough class.  But I survived.

Wednesday:  30 lengths in the pool (I was running late and not quite feeling the thing so I cut it down.)

Saturday: About a 4 mile walk (About since I still haven't set up my Garmin.  I know, I know.  It's actually a bad habit of mine to buy something and then wait forever before using it.)

Sunday:  12 mile bike ride - this was not the easiest ride.  On the way back I was riding into a headwind.  It wasn't a bad headwind (I've had worse) but there were times I felt I was moving backwards.  I was just struggling to push through.  Little by little..  I just was not feeling this ride and was so thankful when it was over!!  But the good news - I finished my ride and my knee did well!  It might be soon to start trying out hills...

Happy 4th of July!!

Week in Review

How exciting is this?  A really and truly training post!  With official "permission"to do a triathlon, I am starting my training.  Plus I am starting to train to walk a half marathon in either September or October.  And with that - full steam ahead!!

Tuesday - Pool time!  I am up to 36 lengths in the pool.

Thursday - My early morning 2 mile walk through the woods with all the critters.

Friday - Pool time!  I kept it at 36 lengths.

Saturday - 10K trail walk, where I thought I was last, but really I wasn't.  Hooray!  And I got super muddy.  But I finished!

Sunday - My first bike ride of the season.  It was a beautiful sunny day and I caught glimpses of the mountain here and there.  I kept to my normal, very flat route along the river.  I felt pretty good.  And so did my knee!!   It was a nice 10 mile ride.

Five Senses Friday

Ha ha!  Oops!  Guess what happens when you try to schedule a post for tomorrow, but forget to actually schedule it?  Five Senses Friday on Thursday!  Oh well - enjoy it a day early!! :)

Seeing

• My BFF Michelle (can you guess where??  I'll give you three guesses!!)
• A random green balloon floating by my window at work

Hearing

• Cars zooming past me

Smelling

• Waffle cones, popcorn, fireworks, and oranges (in an "orange field"), oh yeah and apple pie (while I was "being a guest")

Feeling

• Sweat dripping down my back and the humidity in the air

Tasting

• Ice cream, churros, and corn dog nuggets

Did you guess where I was?  If you guessed Walt Disney World you would be absolutely correct!!  But this time was with Michelle.  I'll tell you all about it in a later post.

Training

• Swim: only one swim
• Bike: nothing yet - I'm hoping to start biking next week
• Run: almost 5 miles - I walked my "hilly" bike route along side the freeway, not my favorite walk route since it is so loud