Fall Series #3

Today was the third race of the Fall Series. Like the others, it was a half a mile longer, so instead of 5.5 miles it was 6.1. It was a great run. The weather was in the low 70s and most of the snow had melted. It was super muddy, with lots of big puddles. I ran it like any other training run and had a great time. I will admit that I'm not very good at running fast with a couple inches of mud on my shoes. That's something to work on, ha ha. The series has definitely high lighted what I need to work on and gotten me more excited to run trails. Now I'm just disappointed the winter is here and I can't run trails very often. I will be running trails as often as I can though.

Last week was a pretty good week. I had a couple nice easy runs. Monday is my day for spinning and that was enjoyable as well. I am so happy it is time for the time change. Wed is Incline day and it was way too dark coming down. Going up was fine, because my headlamp works great and I'm not going very fast. Going down is another story though. I rolled my ankle two times, thank goodness for trail running shoes! And then when we were coming to the little river, my toe caught a rock and I almost did a face plant. After my almost face plant, I realized how important stomach muscles are! I actually felt my stomach muscles start pulling me up from my lower abs, all the way to my upper abs. I also pulled something, which has made life a little painful the last four days. I'm hoping the pain will be gone soon.

The coming week is looking great. I have some great workouts planned and am excited about them. Such a good feeling these days :-)

My weekly update

Time for my weekly entry :-) All is going well. I missed the incline last week due to the weather. I did have some great workouts though. Two spinning classes and three runs. My week was light on yoga and weight lifting, but hopefully I will get back on it this week. I did arms on Tuesday and legs on Saturday, so one can see I need more weight lifting. Yoga was just the morning sun salutations, not a real concentrated yoga session. Tonight I plan on doing an hour session of yoga and do arms.

I had a great long run on Sunday. The first six miles were done at an easy 9:30 pace. We chit chatted and really enjoyed it. After the six miles, I dropped the ladies off at their cars and headed out for a few more miles. I did a little over two miles at an 8:00 pace and then cooled down. I am making progress and not feeling as tired as I used to. After six or seven miles, I used to be pretty tired where as now I still have lots of energy to run. This coming weekend I have a race, but the following weekend I plan on doing an eleven or twelve mile run with a friend on Saturday and then the usual Sunday run with the ladies. I'm really enjoying the weekend runs. My weekday workouts have been switched around so I'm really enjoying them as well. Now I feel like all my workouts are motivating me. Thank goodness for that!

I am looking forward to racing Chris up the incline tomorrow morning. Our usual chit chatting, 40 min walk up the incline is going to be picked up a notch. It's funny, because that really means I'll just try to get up in under 30 minutes. Amazing how cutting out the talking only gives me a few minutes... next spring I'll be flying up there :-) and making sure Chris is moving along with me! I have to keep up my 'pusher' reputation.

2nd Fall Series

The 2nd Fall Series race was a lot of fun! I wasn't expecting to run through the water with this race, but we crossed the creek six times. Not much time was spent in the water, however running with wet, muddy shoes wasn't expected. There were two hills on the back side that I had to walk. I wish I was in better shape, but that will come with time. And unfortunately, I mean walk... Not the speed walking breaks I used to take when the hills were way too steep to run up (like parts of pikes peak). I did great everywhere else though. The rope climb was a lot of fun. I was worried about it at the start of the race, but by the time I made it there, I was ready to be done with it. The bottom third of the embankment was pretty slick and muddy, which made it hard to climb. The top two thirds were dry and easy to climb. I will definitely do this race next year. I think I will enjoy the next two races as well, so I'll have to run the series again next year. Harsha and I will have to do it together.

As for the rest of my workouts, they have been great! I had a great time in my spin class this morning. I've been working out with some people I really enjoy. It's amazing what a difference that makes. I feel so motivated these days. I'm bummed I was so unmotivated most of September, but I'm making up for it. I have some great workouts planned for the next few weeks and it will just get better from there. I need to talk to a girlfriend about swimming though... my swimming seems so slow. If I plan on doing any type of tri next spring, I will need to improve. So many people I talk to say the swimming is the hardest part. We'll see how much I can improve over the next six months.

And the weight issue... I can fit in my clothes. The weight is a few pounds more than it was before, however I think it will come off with time. I don't want to diet, so I'll watch what I eat and wait for my little one to be done breastfeeding. I think the last few pounds will drop off with no problem when I get closer to weaning. With my first, it came off when we were down to two feedings. I went from 135 to 130ish. There were times when I dropped down to 127-129, but that is a little too thin for me. I'm a bigger medium framed woman, so at 5'7" that makes me a little too boney. My hubby is already commenting on the bones that are poking him! It sure beats having too much wiggly though! There is still some, but we are working on it.

Sore legs

My bottom side is looking a little firmer. There is still some jiggling, but it is an improvement. My legs are pretty sore right now, but that only means I'm making progress... that's what I keep telling myself. I need to give them a rest. Saturday I did an 11 mile run, then 6 mile trail run on Sunday, then spinning on Monday, swimming yesterday and more trail running today.

The long run on Saturday was great. Our pace was around 9:20, which is training pace for my friend. It is a little faster than I am doing for a training run, so it was great to push myself. It did leave my legs a little sore though. I felt great all day after the run, but the following morning I was stiff. And since I made a commitment to meet a friend to do a trail run, I was out the door!

I am feeling pretty good lately. I will do a run tomorrow and another on Friday, then swim Saturday morning. I have the second fall series race coming up this Sunday. I have no idea how I will do. The rope climb is going to be an interesting experience. The rope is very small and the embankment is very steep. I'm excited about it. I won't be able to break any time records, of course, but I sure will enjoy myself. I plan on doing the series again next year, so that's when I will be running all out. Right now I am enjoying myself. It's nice not being exhausted after a race, but I won't let that become too much of a habit

My mountain legs

I am getting my mountain legs back! It may sound funny to some, however there is such a big difference between running trails and roads. Roads are flat, so you don't have to pick up your legs too much. The trails I have been running have lots of rocks and tree roots that make you pick your legs up. A few weeks back I was so worried I would trip, which made me feel very awkward. Yesterday morning was different. As I ran down Barr Trail, I was jumping over and off the rocks. It felt great! I don't have quite as much speed or power that I used to, but I am on my way there. Building up the confidence again is a big accomplishment for me. I think I will be getting back into trail running as my primary type of running real soon. It is very exciting for me!

Race 1 of the fall series

Yesterday was race one of four of the fall series races. It was so much fun! I kept a steady pace until I hit the water, which lasted about half a mile. There were spots where the water was up to my waste. I knew it would be tough to run in the water and it did kick my butt! I had a great time though.

The whole week was great. I started running with some old training friends from last year. I really missed them, so it was great catching up and running with people that are in a lot better shape than I am. It helped me push a little more than I had been doing. As I ran along, I was reminded of the great shape I was in last year and I am once again motivated to work toward that. I was definitely in a rut, so now I'm feeling like I am back!

As for my clothing, now I only have a couple pairs of pants and skirts that are a little too tight for my comfort. I'm still working on those last few pounds, but I am seeing my old body return. The skin is really starting to shrink away too. I hadn't seen any changes for a few weeks, but I am seeing changes now. There is very little left around my tummy and my hips/thighs are looking so much better. Still jiggly around my hips/thighs, but I'm working on that. I think my goal to have it all gone by the end of October is doable!