Rev3 Cedar Point - 70.3, September 11, 2011

Rev3's HALF REV was yet again, WONDERFUL. I still can't quite believe it, but I crushed my goal time for the finish, completing the 70.3 miles in 6:19:32. This means I beat last year's time by 30 minutes!

The weather was amazing. Lake Erie was almost like glass, there wasn't too much wind, and the sun was in and out. Near the 50 mile mark on the bike, I rode on some wet roads, but throughout the whole day, it never rained on me.

I watched many of my Grunt Girls / CTC friends begin their day at 8:28 am. Ten minutes later I began my day with the women age 39 and under.

SWIM
The lake had some lovely MUCK at the beginning of the swim. After plowing through that, and fixing my goggles, and walking a bit, and fixing my goggles again, I slowly began my day. I had been nervous for a few weeks about Lake Erie being too wavy. Even though it wasn't, I was still being a bit cautious. It really wasn't until I was about 2/3 done with the swim, that I finally kicked it up and began swimming.
1.2 mile swim - 45:30

T1
Since the weather was cooperating, I skipped the arm-warmers. I cleaned some muck off my feet and legs, dried a bit, and tried to leave quickly.
Time - 4:03

BIKE
Because of road / bridge repairs not being completed, the bike course had some VERY last minute changes. The day before the race I was able to drive some of the new roads, but didn't even know about one change until it was too late to check it out. So, race day had some surprises. I must say, it seemed to have worked out in my favor. There were a few spots where local traffic made things a little tricky, but overall, it was a great day on the bike. I drank plenty gatorade, and ate some gels and a Hammer bar. A BIG plus, was being able to use my aero bars for the first time ever in a race! WOW! I'd say that made a big difference, too.
56 mile bike - 3:04:14 - 18.24 avg mph

T2
Just before entering T2, I realized I could beat my overall goal time as long as I ran the same pace as last year, or a bit faster. I knew a fast T2 would give me even some more cushion in there. I was excited to have TWO of my good GGR friends in transition at the same time. Seeing Matt and the cheering crowd got me pumped up, too. I decided to skip clean sock. After putting on my shoes, all I did was quickly grab my hat, garmin, and race number and took off.
Time - 1:54

RUN
Being so excited, I started off a bit too fast. My garmin didn't locate a satellite until I was at .2 miles, so my times are a little off, but I ran miles one through four around 10:12, 10:32, 10:48, 10:56. I then stayed around 11:08 to 11:50 per mile until I hit the mile 11 marker. With two miles to go, I realized I could get under 6 hrs and 20 min if I could finish in under 22 minutes. I knew I could do it, and picked up the pace. Having the PRO men and women pass me, seeing so many great friends alongside me, and truly enjoying the moment, I KNOW I smiled for all of those last 21 minutes.
13.1 mile run - 2:23:49 - 10:59 avg pace

Total FINISH TIME - 6:19:32.42


Next Up - Well, there might just be a FULL IRONMAN in my future.

Presque Isle Race Recap AND Rev3 Half Race Goals

On this past Saturday, August 27, 2011, I raced in my first sprint triathlon in over two years. It was tons of fun and a great break from all the long distance workouts, especially with my second, half iron distance triathlon just 11 days away!

Friday night five other Grunt Girls and I traveled to Erie, PA to spend the night before the Presque Isle Triathlon. We arrived at the race site Saturday around 7 am, set up our gear, listened to race instructions, and then headed to the starting line at 8 am.

Around 400 participants were divided into 3 start times / swim waves. This made for a very crowded swim start! Plus, we weren't grouped by ability or age group, but by race #, which was mostly alphabetical. I was in the first wave and quickly found myself half covered in seaweed and with foggy goggles, and I was trapped in the middle of a mob of swimmers. Once I was around the first buoy, it seemed to thin out and I was able to finally swim at a comfortable pace. Since we were in the bay, and not on the Lake Erie side, the water was at least very calm. After the second buoy, as we were headed to the swim exit, I got hit in the head with a man's arm, and then as he did the breaststroke, he kicked me. Ouch! I tried to stay away from him for those last few yards!

616 yard swim - 13:50.35

With Diana there to hurry me along through T1, I did my best to be fast.

T1 - 1:33.15

Just like the swim, the bike course was pretty crowded. I was happy to be in the first wave though. I passed quite a few people on the bike, and only had a few of the really fast men from wave #2 catch up to me. For a good bit of the time, I was stuck in a group of 4 or 5 people and felt like we were playing a game of cat and mouse. At one point I did my best to sprint and break away from them, but they still caught back up to me a few miles before the end of the bike. If you haven't been to Presque Isle, then you may not know that this bike course is completely FLAT. This was a perfect venue for me. There was only even one turn, because the course just loops around Presque Isle. Around the half way point I was averaging around 20.5 miles per hour. Once done, I ended up with a 20.2 mph average! That is the fastest I've ever averaged on my bike!

12.6 mile bike - 36:30.45

I again hurried through T2. This is a sprint after all.

T2 - :51.80

On the run course I was lost without my Garmin. Being a sprint, I decided to go without it to save time, but it would have been nice to know my average / current pace. I used my watch to try to determine my pace with the mile markers, but I didn't know if they were placed correctly. At the out and back turn-around, I was happy to realize that there weren't too many women in front of me. But, then I remembered that we didn't all start together. That was another bummer with the waves set up in this manner. It can really help to push me by having others in my age group around me. Well, I still tried my best and ran hard.

3.5 mile run - 32:09.00, 9:27 pace

TOTAL RACE TIME - 1:24:54.7

Females 35 to 39 - #9 out of 18
Overall - #146 out of 348 (not including relay teams)

GRUNT GIRL RACING finish line photo:


REV3 GOALS

NOW, I have just 11 days until the Revolution3 Half-Iron triathlon at Cedar Point. Just as I did last year, I will swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles and then run 13.1 miles. Last year I completed this in 6 hrs, 49 minutes, and 19 seconds. As my training began this year, my goal was 6 hr 30 min. I don't think I've trained as much this summer, so I'm altering my goal to 6 hrs 44 mins. I really want to beat my time from last year. I think I can cut those 4 minutes off just with a faster transition time!

Swim goal: 44 min (That would be 31 seconds faster than last year.)
Bike goal: 3 hr 23 min 35 sec, for an average of 16.5 mph (Equaling 2 minutes faster than last year.)
Run goal: 2 hr 30 min (This would be 54 seconds slower than last year, but I'll be happy with that!)
T1 plus T2 goal: 6 min 25 sec (Four minutes faster than last year.)
Grand Total (realistic) Goal = 6 hours 44 minutes

But of course, 6 hrs and 30 mins would be really nice. To cut out another 14 minutes:
Lake Erie would have to be perfectly calm (minus 2 min = 42 min swim)
The wind would have to be at my back on the whole bike course (minus 6 min = 3:17:35 bike / 17 mph avg)
I'd have to run without walk breaks at a 10:59 min per mile pace (minus 6 min = 2 hr 24 min)

Let's just hope we have a beautiful day for this experience again this year, and that it's filled with fun, joy, and smiles.

MiltonMan Triathlon Race Recap - 7/17/11

I had never done this race before, but I'm sure I will do it again now that I know how nice it is! Plus, it's only about a 35 minute drive from my house.

I raced the Olympic Distance and all the females started the swim 5 minutes after the Olympic men. The swim was great in Lake Milton, minus having to dodge a few men swimming on the wrong side of the buoys. The other other problem was trying to site when the swim markers were the same neon green as our swim caps. :-) I ended up with my fastest 1500m swim ever.

SWIM 29:04

With encouragment from Diana, I hurried out of T1.

T1 1:46

A few weeks earlier some of the Grunt Girls and I did a practice ride of the bike course, so I knew it was pretty fast and flat. My plan was to ride hard and go for a PR on this three loop, 24 mile bike course, which I did. :-) On loop one the roads were pretty empty, but on loops two and three, I did have to watch out for slower riders doing the sprint.

BIKE 1:17:18 (18.4 avg mph)

Transitions were uneventful, except that they were my fastest two ever!

T2 1:15

The run course was two, 3.1 mile loops. Very quickly it got hot and I was happy to be wearing my water belt with gatorade. Throughout the run I was calculating how much time I had in order to finish in under 3 hours and hopefully get a PR in the Olympic distance. The run course wasn't super hilly, but it did go up and down a bit.

Mile Splits
1 - 10:48
2 - 10:10
3 - 9:56
4 - 10:59
5 - 10:35
6 - 9:49
.2 - 1:18

RUN 1:03:35 (10:20 pace)

Sure enough, I finished almost 7 minutes faster than ever before at this distance!

TOTAL RACE TIME 2:53:01

Yippie!!

In my age group (Females 35 - 39) I ended up 5th out of 7. It would have been nice to earn an age group award, but I don't think I could have pushed it any harder.

For ALL females in the Olympic race I was 13th out of 20.

On this same day my husband was racing at the Colavita Time Trial just 10 miles away in Deerfield . It was GREAT having him show up to see us finish.

Grunt Girls:

Flag City Triathlon Race Recap

Just over a month ago I raced in my first triathlon of the year, the Olympic Distance HFP Flag City Triathlon in Finday, OH. Better late than never. :-)

Like last year, my plan has been to do an Olympic Distance tri in June, July and August to help with training for the Rev3 Half iron at Cedar Point. The Flag City tri seemed perfect for the June triathlon

The day before the race two other Grunt Girls and I headed to Findlay, found the race start / transition area, got our race packets, and drove the bike course. Nice and flat.

Saturday, June 11, 2011 we got up early from our hotel, ate and got ready, and made it to the start with plenty time to get set up in BOTH transition areas. First was T2, setting up running gear, then we biked over to the swim start / T1 and set up our bikes.

The swim was in a reservoir. The water was flat and pretty uneventful. We did begin with a jump off the pier though:


In T1 I made the mistake of putting on a long sleeve T because I was a bit cool. That took up way too much time with my wet body.

1500yd Swim Time + T1 - 34:43

I loved the bike course. It was all flat, except for a hill out of T1 - and that was DOWNhill. :-) The only problem was the wind, but the tailwind was nice on the return to transition.


24 mile Bike Time - 1:20:11

T2 - 1:18

The run course took us up a flight of stairs and then around the lake where we swam. It was rocky and windy, but totally flat.

6.2 mile Run Time - 1:05:54

TOTAL RACE TIME - 3:02:08

I missed a race PR by just over 2 minutes.

This coming Sunday I will be racing the MiltonMan Olympic Distance Triathlon by ChampRacing at Lake Milton. Last week a few Grunt Girls and I rode the bike course and it looks to be a fast course. If I can hold it together for the run, I hope to break my PR!

Twinsburg Du - June 5, 2011

A few days ago the opportunity came up for me to do the Twinsburg Duathon, so I went for it! It's run by a great guy, it's close to home, and I knew lots of friends that would also be there participating. It's a two mile run, ten mile bike, and two mile run.

Sunday I got up around 5 am, drove to the Twinsburg Rec Center, and was setting up my gear in transition by about 6:15. It was GREAT having so many others there that I knew! I had fun chatting with everyone, but I still managed to fit in a short warm-up. The weather was good, too, no rain, no wind, and sunny.

The race was a mass start at 7:30 am. First was a 2 mile run that was out and back with a loop in the middle. (like a lollipop) With only one speed workout so far this year, I wasn't sure how my time would be, but I was quite pleased with 17:31.

This was my first "sprint distance" multi-sport event in almost two years. So, I did a short transition practice the night before. I think that paid off.

At packet pick-up the day before the race I drove the bike course. Minus one hill around mile 7, it was really nice. It was fun passing people all throughout the course. I'm quite happy to say that only ONE person passed me, and it was while I was standing on the side of the road putting my chain back on at mile 2.5. My bike time is listed as 37:45, but that includes T1 AND T2. On my bike computer my time showed 34:52. The extra 3 minutes are from both transitions and the time spent putting on my chain.

Bike Computer Stats:
Distance - 10.36 miles
Avg Speed - 17.8 mph
Max Speed - 31.1 mph

Like always, it took me awhile to get my running legs back on the second run. Around the one mile mark I finally caught my breath and felt good. Of course, during that first mile several of the people I passed on the bike passed me back.

Once I was feeling good, I heard footsteps behind me and I decided that I wasn't going to let anyone else pass me. I powered up a short hill on the loop and tried to stay strong. At the next turn I was able to see it was someone I knew behind me. Sorry Marsita! She had really given me the push I need though. I tried to just continue to push harder and harder til the finish. Once I could see the finish line I gave it my all, and came in at 1:14:10. Run #2 took 18:54. I was thrilled to beat almost all the goals I had set for myself!

Post race included a Grunt Girl Racing team photo from everyone on the team that came out to race. What a GREAT group of ladies! (I'm on the far right with my hand on my hip.)



To top it all off, during the awards I found out I placed 3rd in my age group for females 35 - 39. :-) The frame was I given now holds the GGR team photo above.

My first marathon, The Cleveland Marathon

I finished.

My goal was to finish, and I did. Standing at the starting line, I wasn't sure I'd be able to go 26.2 miles. Even at mile 12 I still wasn't sure, but once I passed by the half marathon turn off point, I knew I'd finish, because I HAD to!

Race day conditions were almost perfect, I made it to downtown Cleveland without any problems, and I found myself SUPER lucky to be able to park right by the start/finish line. (HUGE, HUGE thank you to Liz F.)

After chatting in the parking lot, I dropped off some clothes at gear check, used a restroom in the Brown's stadium with NO LINE (that was a BIG bonus in my book), and then met up with the Grunt Girls and some other friends.
Here:

Just before heading to the starting line:

While standing with Stacy and Patty at the starting line, we were joined by Jen C and a friend of hers. It was so nice having others around that I knew. The gun went off, and about 5 minutes later we finally crossed the starting line to begin our race. We barely moved for the first mile, but I was near the 4:30 marathon pace group, and happy with that.

Every now and then when the road had some pot holes or was uneven, I had a little knee pain, but nothing too bad.

Miles one through six: 11:08, 10:21, 10:08, 10:49, 10:26, 10:45.

At mile seven Heidi caught Patty and I here:

I continued with Patty until she split off for the half-marathon finish. I was worried I had been going a bit too fast though, and slowed up a bit.

Miles seven through twelve: 10:50, 10:50, 10:57, 10:53, 11:12, 10:51

I think this is when the 4:45 pacer caught up to me, and I believe they pulled away from me just as quickly as they approached. I was happy with my 1/2 mary time, but knew I needed to slow down to get through this whole thing. I even got a bit emotional when I made the turn WITH the other marathon runners. I had never made that turn before. WOW, I then knew there was no where else for me to stop until I got to the END.

Miles thirteen through seventeen: 10:40, 11:06, 11:56, 12:49, 12:43

At mile 17.5 I looked at my garmin and realized I had never run this far before, so I stopped running to walk. I'm not sure why. It was like I was happy to have made it this far, and anything more was just a bonus. Yes, my training should have including more distance, but I was worried about my knee. So, I walked for .3 miles, found an empty port-o-pot to use, and then decided it was time to run again.

I enjoyed running down MLK. I was running alone now. Well, no one I "knew" was around me. This gave me lots of time to think. :-) I did chat with a few strangers. I even found a guy from Cincinatti that had completed the Full Rev3 at Cedar Point while I was there doing the half last year.

The rain drizzled on and off. Most of the time it wasn't too bad and almost feld good. A pic from somewhere in the second half:


Miles eighteen, nineteen and twenty: 14:52, 11:53, 13:07

THEN, the FIVE HOUR pacer caught up to me. I didn't want to let her get away, so I sped up to stay with her and the few runners hanging on as well.

Miles twenty-one and twenty-two: 11:29 and 11:48

BUT, I had to let them go. I was tired.

Miles twenty-three through twenty-six: 14:13, 14:46, 13:30, 13:11

It was a shuffle at this point, but I was finishing. When I saw the "MILE 26" sign, I got a bit emotional again.

I ran the last .2 and celebrated.



Final Time: 5 hours and 13 minutes

TWO 25k Race Reports

Race #1

On Saturday April 9, 2011 I ran the Jackson Laughs 25k (16.14 miles) in Kent, Ohio. We started just after 8 am on a cloudy, 50 degree morning. The race took us all over Kent by way of roads and a bike path. I really enjoyed the course filled with some rolling hills, the flat bike path, and one really steep hill around mile 12.5.

Garmin Mile Splits
1 10:30
2 10:27
3 10:24
4 10:20
5 10:25
6 11:03
7 11:59 - This might be when the place where a dog chased me down the road!
8 10:58
9 11:08
10 10:30
11 10:24
12 10:59
13 11:23 - HILL!
14 10:34
15 10:19
16 9:42
.14 1:19

Total Time = 2:52:32
Average Pace = 10:41

Race #2

Then, this past Sunday, April 17, 2011, I ran the Forget the PR 25k (17.41 miles) at Mohican State Forest in Loudonville, Ohio. Friday night I drove down to our cabin at Mohican Adventures with A and S. We stayed up late enjoying a camp fire and chatting with other friends already there. Saturday more friends arrived and we spent some of the day hiking a portion of the race course. The 8 am race time came early on Sunday morning, but at least we were staying just yards away from the starting line. The temperature was in the mid 40s, it was partly sunny, and sometimes pretty windy.

PreRace Grunt Girl Photo:



The race course was BEAUTIFUL, but VERY HILLY! One hill was even labeled "Big Ass Hill." They went on and on... Plus, we had to climb over and under fallen trees, run through streams, climb up hand-over-hand using rocks and roots next to a waterfall, run behind a waterfall, AND the course included crossing through a RIVER. It was about 25 yds wide and up to thigh deep - and cold!

Garmin Mile Splits
1 10:32
2 13:01
3 13:49
4 19:49 - this was where the "big ass hill" was located
5 14:34
6 14:23
7 16:52
8 13:02
9 19:42 - this might be where we were climbing
10 17:09 - very technical area
11 15:27
12 15:36
13 19:34 - water crossing / covered bridge
14 13:58
15 15:19
16 16:25
17 15:04
.41 4:32

Total Time = 4:28:57
Average Pace = 15:26

Thankfully, I had the wondeful company of my fellow Grunt Girl Stacy for the entire race. It made the experience that much better. :-) Here we are MidRace:


I should probably point out though, that I was officially DQ'd from this race. My name and time will not appear on the race results. I did NOT cross the river in the water. It was deep and cold, and there was a bridge right there to use, so I did. I was particpating in the race to have fun - which I did! If I had gone in the water, the last 5 miles would have been miserable for me, and I didn't want to have negitive feelings about this experience. I watched Stacy cross the river, and unfortunatly she ended up wet up to her neck after slipping. I might have quit if that had been me! So, I did not follow the course, but still had FUN.
Me, just after finishing:



This was my longest race / run ever! I can't believe how much running distance I've been covering this year!

Next up: My very first marathon ever... The Cleveland Marathon on May 15th!

Fools 25K Race Report -

This past Sunday I ran my first 25k race. AND it was a trail race; the Fools 25k, in the CVNP. When I arrived at the park, it was still totally dark. I watched the sun rise and then did a .75 mile warm up in the cool 20 degree weather. Thankfully it was at least sunny, and it probably warmed up to about the mid 20s during the race.
The race began at 7:30 am, and I made sure to start near the back, knowing I'd be slower than a lot of the other runners. Many of those racing were running the 50k - two loops of the course I was running!
The course was very hilly - almost no flats. I was happy that I had experience running on every trail that the course consisted of - thanks to my fellow Grunt Girls! (Of course, I had never run them all at once before though!)
A few miles in, I felt a blister on the arch of my left foot. Ugh. I tried to shift my sock around and eventually I was able to not feel it. (It was still there, but at least not causeing any pain.)I tried to keep a good pace and was enjoying the run.
THEN - around mile 11.5 of the race I was running downhill and felt some pain in my right knee. Ouch. Every downhill step hurt. Around mile 12 you can see the finish line in the distance and I thought about heading there and calling it quits. Two things kept me going - one was knowing I had some good Grunt Girls friends at the finish line (didn't want to quit with them there) and knowing that I really liked the last loop of the race - a trail called Salt Run. So, I walked the downhills because of my knee, and I walked the uphills because I was tired and they were steep. That didn't leave me with much running for those last few miles. BUT, I finished.

Garmin Mile Splits
1 - 11:44
2 - 11:25
3 - 10:18
4 - 11:49
5 - 13:26
6 - 12:20
7 - 11:09
8 - 10:48
9 - 13:32
10 - 12:11
11 - 11:26
12 - 14:26
13 - 15:37
14 - 16:11
15 - 16:35
.7 - 10:06

Total time - 3:23:13

A pic of some of the Grunt Girls at the Fools Run: (Some ran the 25k and some were just wonderful and greeted us at the finish line.)


I made the mistake of making this face when I crossed the finish line:


It was a nice day, but with my knee hurting, I was GLAD to be done!

Race day was supposed to be an 18 mile running day in my training for the Cleveland Marathon, but with my knee pain, there was no way I could finish my miles. So, it was just a 16.5 mile day with my warm-up and race.

I took off from working out Mon and Tue, and was able to bike on Wed. I planned to run yesterday, but life got in the way - big time! - - - I found a local school district that is hiring TWO teachers (grade one and five) and the deadline to apply is today. SO, I spent almost all day yesterday applying for the jobs. WOW!

Today I hope to run some, and then I hope to run an 11 miler this weekend. We'll see how that goes, and then I'll decide whether to run another 25k race next weekend.

THEN - the week after that is the "Forget the PR" 25k (17.1 mile) race down at Mohican. I'll really have to be careful on the downhills there!!!

A Race and Long Run

Workouts have not been as consitent as I would like. You'll see, I haven't been swimming at all in the last two weeks. My one son has been pretty sick, and so we didn't even go to the pool one night for his swimmming lesson. I've been good about not missing my runs, just need to keep up the biking and swimming.

Last Sunday I ran my first race of the year, the Shamrock 15k. There had been a snow storm the day before, but thankfully the roads weren't too bad. The HILLS were still there though. :-) We run down into the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and then back up and out. So, the first few miles have good splits, and then it all falls apart. I haven't been working on speed work yet this year, so my time was much slower than last year - by about 9 minutes. BUT, it was still a fun day. 9.3 miles in 1 hr 37 min.

Today I ran my longest road run EVER! Thanks to some great Grunt Girls, they helped me through 15.1 miles in 2 hrs and 33 min. (I ran 15.5 miles one time back in December, but that was on a nice soft trail.) The pace today was pretty good, too - 10:07 avg. :-)

In two weeks I'll run my first 18 miler, two weeks after that another 18 miler, then I have a 17.1 mile race, then just one 20 miler before Cleveland. (of course many other shorter runs in there, but that's the stuff over 13!) Just 9 weeks until the Cleveland Marathon!!!


February
27 - Run 13.1 miles outside, 2 hr 22 min

March1 - Run 3.5 miles, 34:05
2 - Bike on Trainer, 45 min, 12 miles
3, 4, 5 off - home with sick child / lazy
6 - Run 9.3 miles, Shamrock 15k, 1 hr 37 min
7 - Bike on Trainer, 30 min, 7.6 miles
8 - Run 4.5 miles, outside in my neighborhood, 43:20
9 - off
10 - Run 4 miles on treadmill, 42:20
11 - off
12 - Bike on trainer, 35 min, 9.1 miles
13 - Run 15.1 miles, outside, 2 hr 33 min

snow day

February
12 - Run 9 miles outside, 1 hr 33 min
13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 - off SICK
18 - Run 11 miles outside, 2 hr 11 min
19 - rest
20 - Run 2.5 miles on treadmill, 27:45
21 - Bike 1 hr 35 min on trainer, 26 miles
22 - Swim 1400 yds, 29:33
23 - Run 5 miles on indoor track, 49:49
24 - Bike 1 hr on trainer, 15.5 miles AND Swim 1500 yds, 31 min

I was so sick, I could barely move for a few days. Thankfully, I didn't miss any of my long runs though. The weather was so nice on Fri Feb 18 that I decided to not only do my 11 miler alone, but also 2 days early. I was very slow, but I'm glad I took advantage of the warm sunny day! I even passed a guy in shorts and short sleeves. (I still wore a long sleeve top and my running pants.)

My boys are now taking swimming lessons two evenings a week. Since they are in the same class (age 6 and up - level 4), I discovered that I can swim my laps at the same time!!! So, I have about 40 min to push through as many laps as I can - while half watching my boys in the lane next to me. :-) It's fun to hear "Hi Mommmy!" as I'm mid lap, taking a breath.

Today we are in the middle of another snow storm, and of course the schools are closed. I had planned to go run 4 miles on the indoor track at the Nat, but I don't think my van will make it down our cul-de-sac street. (which of course has NOT been plowed yet) Guess I need to talk myself into heading into the basement for a treadmill run now.

Sunday I'm scheduled to run 13 miles. Not sure how that's going to happen with all of this snow? Monday's forecast shows a high of 53. Maybe my 13 miler will be a day late.

Running, Biking, Swimming and thoughts of Spring

Jan 31 - Bike on trainer 1 hr 30 min, 25.3 miles
Feb 1 - Run 4.5 miles on treadmill, 45:15
2 - Bike on trainer 30 min, 8.5 miles
3 - Run 3 miles on treadmill, 31:15
4 - sick
5 - sick - hip exercises and ab work
6 - sick
7 - sick -push ups and ab work - hurt knee on stairs
8 - Run 4.5 miles on treadmill, 49:15
9 - Bike on trainer 30 min, 9.1 miles
10 - Run 4 miles on treadmill, 46:20
11 - Bike on trainer 1 hour, 18.6 miles AND Swim 1,500 yds, 32:53

I need to run 9 miles tomorrow or Sunday. Sunday has the better forecast, so it will probably be that afternoon.

Last weekend I was sick. Thankfully it was a "rest week" for me on my marathon training schedule. There was no way I could have done a long run, much less anything.

Today's swim went much better than my last attempt. I was still slow, but I was much more comfortable and able to do a complete workout.

PUSH-ups are back! I can finally do them again - AND I can sort of do sit-ups again. My time off in December was all worth it. The body is responding. :-)

Looks like nicer weather is on the way next week. Can't wait to be out running in the mid to upper 40s! (Please remind me next fall that I said the 40s sound good!) :-)

Over half of our driveway still has a coating of ICE that is about 1 1/2 inches thick. I've slowly been trying to chip it apart and throw it to the side. Twice now I've almost fallen while trying to walk down for the mail. UGH!

What's getting me through this right now are thoughts of Spring Break. I'll be doing a couple of 5 mile runs that week in Florida and the Bahamas! :-) YES! Matt and I are headed on our first cruise. :-) I'll actually get to wear a bikini again for the first time in 8 years! I CAN'T WAIT!

A whole day will be spent here, at Coco Cay, Bahamas. Ahhhhhhhh....

Running in Snow and Back in the Pool

Sat - Run, 7 miles on indoor track, 69:43

Yes, I ran 56 LAPS on the track at my gym. This is because the temperature was between 0 and -4 here that day! At least I was able to change directions after the first two and half miles.

Sun - Lift - Chest, Bi, Tri, Shoulders, and Hip exercises
Mon - Bike, 21.1 miles on trainer, 1 hr 15 min
Tue - Run, 4.5 miles on local streets, 47:30
Wed - Bike, 17 miles on trainer, 60 min
Thur - Run, 3.2 miles on treadmill, 32:30

Fri - Bike, 12.5 miles on trainer, 45 min AND - Swim, 1000 yds, 23 min

For the first time since Nov 8 I went swimming!!! That was two days ago and I'm still sore in my arms. HA!!!! Also, I didn't realize how much the ab muscles are used in swimming. :-)

Sat - Run, 7 miles in SNOW on trails in the woods, 1 hr 49 min

In some places the snow was at least 8 inches deep!!!! Almost everyone else we saw on the trails in the park were either wearing snowshoes or cross country skiis. We were in our trail running shoes! Oh - and that time is correct - our average pace was 15:38 per mile! Ha! Thank goodness for my Grunt Girls friends who got me through this.
Oh, I am also okay with counting this "7 Miler" as my scheduled 8 mile run for the week!

Sun - Off, much needed rest

Cuts, workouts and weight

Finally made it to my family doc on Tuesday. Thankfully, he said the spot/cut on my leg that the dermatologist made a mess out of - isn't too bad. Or well, at least it's not infected and will eventually heal. He recommended I wait a few more days before swimming though. So, maybe next week I will try out the pool and see how many laps I can swim.
If you want a laugh, I'll let you know when this funny show will occurr.

As for the spot on my back that needs done again to get the rest of bad skin, well, I called a doctor (plastic surgeon) that I know and trust - and he's going to check it out and probably do the removal for me. (instead of my dermatologist - who I never want to let cut into me again.) He's going to look at it in two weeks and then the plan is to have it done in May - just AFTER the Cleveland Marathon.
I figured if I have to take 2 weeks off from swimming, biking and running, that was the time to do it. Then, I just have to get back to a schedule quickly before the Deer Creek Oly tri in early June. Ugh.

Training hasn't been too bad this week...
Mon - Bike on trainer, 60 min, 14.6 mi
Tue - Run on treadmill, 3.5 miles, 38 min
Wed - Bike on trainer, 65 min, 17.1 mi and Lifting Bi, Tri, Chest & Shoulders
Thur - Run OUTSIDE in the snow, 3.1 miles, 35:30
Fri - Bike on trainer, 60 min, 14.7 mi

New cycyling shoes have helping my motivation. Plus they fit so much better than my old ones. Same brand and style, but a size bigger. (and cuter)
For my first outside run since early December, some new running mittens really helped! These are neat; there's two 'pockets' inside. The back is fleece, the front is mesh - which is cooler after you warm up! They are Asics Ecoline.
Hopefully tomorrow I will run between 6 and 7 miles. The forecast shows it will be about EIGHT degrees. So, it's either the treadmill or track at the Nat. Yuck. I will try to make the best of it!

OH - I figured out my cramping problem! See, I've been cramping up while running and not knowing why. ?? WELL, while making lunch for my 5 yr old it occurred to me that the low sodium diet I've been on (while supporting my husband) is tooooooo low for me! I was making VERY high sodium and Ramen Noodles and realized I needed a bit! Sure enough - there was NO cramping during my afternoon run that day.

As for my weight...
Overall, I'm pretty pleased. This is January, and I'm at the LOW end of my typical SUMMER weight. :-) Just about 7 lbs to go and I'll be at my ultimate goal. It would be so neat to race at 110! I think it'd be so much better for my joints!
Plus, it'd be nice to look good in the little bathing suit I bought myself. :-)

More set-backs

Sun - Bike on Trainer, 1 hour, 13.3 miles
Mon - Lift: Chest, Bicep, Tricep, & Shoulders and Hip exercises
*Since the return to running, my knees have been hurting, that's why I put the hip exercises back in there. I think my form isn't so great from sitting around for too long.*
Tue - Run on Treadmill, 3.5 miles, 37:12
Wed - Bike on Trainer, 1 hour, 14.1 miles
Thur - Run on indoor track at Nat, 3 miles, 29:54
Fri - Bike on Trainer, 50 min, 10.5 miles
Sat - Run on Treadmill, 5 miles, 57:20

My return to running and cycling is slow. I tire easily, and I seem to get cramps easily.

I want to get back in the pool, but I'm worried about a cut on my leg.

See, part of time off from working out was due to moles being removed by the dermatologist. I had stitches in my right thigh and lower back for 2 weeks. My thigh spot has not healed correctly. Stitches have been out for a week and it still bleeds and hurts a little. I tried to get to a doc yesterday, but of course everyone was closed for the weekend - and probably tomorrow, too, for the holiday.

When I signed up for the full Cleve Mary, I thought all was fine. Turns out the mole on my back isn't good and needs worked on again. Two more weeks of stitches and no working out. Plus, who knows about my leg, until I see a doctor on Tues at least.

My return to work-out land

First of all, I'm now officially registered to run my VERY FIRST MARATHON! Yes - 26.2 miles of running! On May 15 I'll be running the Cleveland Marathon. :-)

Now, the training needs to begin - from the very beginning. See, I took off from working out for a few weeks. Four to be exact. On December 5th I ran my furthest ever, 15.5 miles, and then I took some time off. Some by choice / some because I had to, but I'm okay.

Fast-forward to Jan 3. I began with some walking. At first it was slow, but then I got it up to 3.6 mph on the treadmill.
Mon - 1.6 miles
Tue - 2 miles
Wed - 3.4 miles
Thur - 3.56 miles

Then on Friday I was set free.
Run 1 mile (12 min.) and Bike 6 miles (30 min.)
No record times here, but it sure felt good to sweat again.

Today: 3 miles of running on the treadmill. Before getting off, I got the speed up to 6 mph. So, for at least one minute I was going at a 10 min per mile pace. :-)

Here is what I'm now working towards:

AND One of these: