I'm Back!

It has been a little over a week since I posted and a lot has been going on.
First was our vacation, of course. We had a fabulous eight days away. It was great to get away and get some rest, but I'll admit I slacked on the exercise. It felt good, even though I had that pestering to run. I did get in a few little workouts and then there was all the hiking, lots and lots of hiking. The couple days before we left I was feeling pretty stuffy and it did turn into a nasty head cold, so I wasn't real motivated to run while I was away. My favorite vacation workout was my Sunday run. My sis and I ran a 3 mile loop at a 10:00 pace, then I dropped her off to pick up Harsha. He and I did the same loop at a 7:30 pace, and then we picked up the neices to do a quarter mile with them. I got a little running time with everyone. I couldn't ask for more out of a workout. The rest of the week wasn't anything worth tracking, so I didn't bother. Then we got home and I didn't have a computer until Sunday evening... which still won't let me onto this blog website... Thanks honey for posting for me!!

I did get home feeling very motivated. I planned to run Saturday, however we had a party to go to and unpacking and the list goes on. Regardless, I didn't get out on Saturday. Sunday we were supposed to do drills, but the ladies and I decided to get a good long run in before the Garden 10 mile instead. We did 14 miles and I was feeling it after ten miles. I forgot how much the weekly runs help my weekend long run. I was achy after the run, but after a shower and an advil I felt great. We spent the day at the zoo with the kids, wonderful!

Yesterday I had plans to do the Incline. I woke up with a very stiff left knee and pain on the outer part of the knee. I almost cancelled, but once I was up and walking, it felt ok. The Incline was great. We chit chatted the entire way up, with a couple water stops, so we could turn around and enjoy the view. With all the talking and the couple stops, we finished in 40:15, which is pretty darn good. I do think I need to push myself one day to say I can do it in under 30. I know I can, but I haven't done that just yet...
I guess I'll make a date to do it after the 10 miler. Anyway, back to the Incline. We went up, up, up to the top of the hill, then down to Long's Ranch Road, at which point, we had to go up, up, up again. While on our way up Long's Ranch Road, I was thinking I mustreally enjoy torture. After doing a 14 mile run Sunday, all the uphill was burning my poor legs. When we finally got to the real downhill portion of our run, I was feeling some pain in my knee. Since I'm not stupid (sometimes I think otherwise), we walked down Barr Trail rather than running. It took us a little over an hour longer than normal, but I enjoyed every minute of it.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out with Harsha and the kids. I took a two hour nap with the kiddos. Wow, I must have been tired! Then I went for my massage. Normally we get massages every two weeks, but since we were on vacation, this time around was 3.5 weeks. It's amazing what regular massages do for my body. I feel like a new lady today!

So what do I have coming up? The Garden 10 is in two weeks, YAY!! I'll admit that during Sunday's run, I was doubting my readiness. I plan to do some half mile intervals on Wednesday, which will boost my confidence. I've been reminding myself that Harsha and I did it under 1:24 just a couple weeks ago and that was in the evening when I am a slug and the day after I did 10 miles so my legs were already fatigued. So if I am having an ok day, I know I can finish under 1:25, but if I am having a great day, I can finish uder 1:20. Of course, I would prefer 1:20, but it all depends on that day.
This week is a little mixed up. I'm resting (yoga) today, Wed intervals, Thur UC class, Fri Tempo, Sat swim, Sun trail run. Looks to be a good week.
I need to figure out what my plan is for the week prior to the Garden 10.
I think I might spend my Wed doing some speed work in the Garden and then Fri do an easy run in the Garden. We'll see after this week though.

Week Recap

What a great week! I had some awesome workouts and got to spend time with some great friends. Couldn't have asked for more. I think the cold finally won out though, since my run this morning was pretty stuffy. By the end of my run I had gotten really good at the farmer's nose blow. I was very tired and unmotivated this morning, something I need to work on. My club had the end of the year banquet last night, so I was out late and then we were trying to get some last minute packing done. It was midnight before I hit the hay and I am definitely paying for it today. I need at least 6.5 hours of sleep, more is better though.

Despite the lack of motivation and sleep this morning, my week was wonderful. We have a very busy week planned for next week, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that we find time to get our workouts in. I'm not even sure how it will all play out, so I don't know where to start with the planning. I'll just go with the flow and enjoy.

Hard week ahead

This week is full of hard workouts. It started Sunday with an easy long run, however it was in the Garden, so not as easy as one might think. I did take it slow though. Then I did a tempo run with Harsha yesterday. It felt great. I knew going into it that the last couple miles would be tough for me and they were. I started feeling fatigue from Sunday's run around 7.25 miles. Until that point, I kept the hill pace under 9:15, but after the 7.25 miles I was crawling up the hills and feeling weak on the downhills. Our ave pace for the first half was about 8:10, with the overall pace being 8:23. Quite a slowdown for the second half, but I expected it. I am confident that with fresh legs, I can surpass my goal. Harsha will be running the Garden 10 with me, so I'll have a great pacer.

I hit the sack last night at 9:15, so I didn't get in my yoga. I did it this morning, fulling expecting to have sore muscles. I didn't! That is a great sign. I was worried I pushed it too hard over the last couple days, but I didn't. My body felt refreshed this morning... ok, not fresh enough to do another 10 miles, but not sore.

As a recovery, I did my Tuesday spin class where we did sprints and focused on our hamstrings. I tried not to push it, but Pam keeps an eye on me, so I feel obligated. I have to keep that smile coming, even though I felt like resting. I didn't push nearly as hard as normal though, so I can say it was a recovery ride.

So for the rest of the week we have 1min on/1 min off up Barr Trail tomorrow morning, then Ultimate Conditioning on Thursday and a Garden training run on Friday. Not sure if we'll end up doing speed work on Friday. If the ladies want to, I might just do a steady run instead. I don't want to overwork myself this week. I am enjoying these crazy hard workouts, however I am looking forward to an easier week next week!

Learning to swim

Yes, I am learning to swim all over again. Or at least, that's what it feels like. Saturday I did a swim clinic where they re-taught us how to swim. It was great. The techniques they taught were much easier than the old way I learned to swim, much more effortless. So starting now, I will be swimming on a weekly basis. I figure if I swim regularly now, I should be ready for my September tri.

And I am also getting fitted for a road bike. A great friend of mine has a spare, so I get to use it. Our plan is to ride once a week, most likely at the Air Force Academy (lots of hills and little traffic). So the swimming and biking portion of my tri is being addressed finally! I'm so excited!!

In other body news, Harsha told me my triceps weren't very strong. Well then, I'll just have to work on those more! ha ha! Actually the swim clinic lady said we use our triceps a lot for swimming, so I really will be working on them. He says the rest of my muscles look great. I will bask in the compliment!

The ladies and I had a great run yesterday. Lots of catching up and running, of course. We did a 12 mile run. Glad I have great ladies to share my long runs with. Last week I made it up to No Name in the rain. Despite the weather, I made it up there in the 3:15 - 3:30 Ascent window. If I can keep up the training the way I have been going, I will be able to break 3:30 with no problems. And I also did a great tempo run in the Garden. Right now, since the distance isn't too much, I have been keeping my average pace around 7:30. I will be adding a half mile each week to the tempo portion, so I expect to start getting a little slower. My goal is to be doing a 7.5 tempo run at an 8:00 pace. It shouldn't be a problem, especially since I am working up to it. I would love to do the Garden 10 in under 80 minutes, but my goal will remain 85. You never know what the day will bring.

So this week will be interesting. The in-laws are here, so not sure how that will impact my workout schedule. I will get my usual mornings, so Wed Incline, Fri Garden Tempo and Sun Long run. Not sure how Tues, Thur & Sat will work out. We'll figure it out as we go and get back to normal next week.