Thank goodness for massage!

You can say that again!! This morning I had the absolute, worst upper back and shoulder pain/cramping. I thought I was going to break. I know part of it is from recurring soreness over the past 3 weeks, but I also lifted too much on Thursday. ouchie! I will have to watch the amount of weight I'm lifting!

Anyway, I had a great easy run, well a little harder than easy, but it couldn't be considered a hard run, today. My legs are still feeling a little fatigued from the Slacker. While running down, if I ran faster than a 7:00mm, my legs ached. That tells me I'm not 100% recovered. Going up was a breeze, so I'm good there.

Tomorrow is my first time up past Barr Camp this year. I am very excited. There is something exhilarating about running/hiking up Barr Trail. It really is one of my favorites. We'll be getting in around 16 miles tomorrow, so I'll take a break Monday. Ella will be in swim lessons, so I'll get an easy swim in then. Swimming is another one of those wonderful feelings for me... letting my sore muscles glide through the water. I love it.

So it was a quick update today. I have a few minutes in between waiting for dinner items to cook. We are having friends over, so I have to get dinner done on time.

Fast times...

Fast times? Oh yes! I'm talking about the road bike I was just fitted for. It sure does fly! I need to get comfortable on it, but I was surprised at how fast it is. Those tiny wheels move!! The weather is way too nice to be stuck in a gym doing a spin class, so I've moved on to outside cycling. Plus, I have the triathlon coming up in September too. I am working on getting used to the bike, then I'll be putting on the clipless pedals and getting some serious riding in. A girlfriend and I will be meeting once a week for around a 30 mile ride. The good thing about the bike is that Harsha is just a little taller than I am, so he can use it too - no adjustments needed. Perfect cross training for both of us!

And now I'm sure you are wondering about the swimming aspect of the triathlon? Well, I am meeting a girlfriend once a week at the pool for regular swims, starting next week. I've been doing some short swims, but nothing serious. Now I really need to get in the pool and start working on the lap swimming. Between the swimming and cycling, I think I have my cross training covered.

So workouts for the next month or two look like this - swimming one day, cycling one day, weight training two days, Barr Trail training two days, easy run one day, and tempo/interval longer training (8-10m) one day. It sounds like a lot, however, the swimming and cycling aren't hard on my body like running can be. I'll be right around 35-40 miles of running, which is still high for me, but it has to be that way while I train for the Ascent. As soon as I am done with the Ascent, my mileage will decrease back down to 25-30 miles. I like that better! And of course, the yoga will continue on an almost nightly schedule. I am a strong believer in stretching out the body!

Funny Me!!

Sometimes I find myself to be very funny. In the last .2 miles of the Slacker, there was a lady who comes creeping up to me. I cheered her on! Then when I turned the corner to the finish, she was still right there and I continued to cheer her on. Well it turns out, she got third in our age group! HAHA!! Oh well, next year, maybe I'll place. It did bring a smile to my face when I saw the results though, because I knew exactly who finished 12 seconds ahead of me. She was an awesome runner, just having the same problems as the rest of us in that last hilly mile, so she deserves it.

Anyway, I finished #18 out of 334 female runners. Not too bad, if I can say so and not sound like I'm bragging. I had a good run. Still awaiting pictures, which I know they got some good ones of me. I wasn't dieing, so when I came upon a camera, I smiled and even waved. Boy, I was a friendly little chickie during this race. Hopefully I can keep it up. I'll post pictures on our website when they become available. YAY!!

And one more note - Harsha got his qualifying time for the Ascent. He can now register for wave 1 next year!! His half marathon goal going forward is 1:40, which I know he can easily do, but it is nice having his qualifier out of the way. Such a smart runner!!

Redeemed myself!

That's right, I redeemed myself!! YAY!!! I knew I had it in me. Coming around the corner to the finish line, I saw the surprise on Harsha's face. It was one of the best feelings.

So what race am I talking about? The Slacker Half Marathon. The name is deceiving though. I wish it really were slacker, but there wasn't much slacking about it. It started at Loveland Ski area at 10, 600+ feet, going down to Georgetown (~8,200ft), all rolling hills. The first five miles were on a service road, which was very rocky. I had to take it easy on that, since I wasn't looking for a sprained ankle. Then we were on hot black top road/trail until mile 12. And I mean hot! The race started at 8:05, so by the time I got to the road, the sun wa s at full beam, burning holes into me. And then the last mile was brutal, with many short hills. I couldn't believe how many hills we had to climb in the last mile. Even the finish line was at the top of a hill!

It was a great race. I pushed a little, but not all out, I'm going to die, type pushing. I used my inhaler before the race, so I could breath without difficulty. Starting at mile 6, I walked through all the water stops and made sure I drank a full cup of water. It was a refreshing break every two miles. I did take a GU at mile 6 too, so I had plenty of energy. I did die the last mile though. All the hills and winding through town really killed my momentum. I was ready to be done! At one point, the guy next to me and I said "you've got to be kidding me!" and then I proceeded to walk up the hill. I did that a few times in the last mile. Up until that point, I was keeping a 7:40 min mile pace. It felt good, but then it felt great to walk in that last mile.

So my unofficial finishing time is around 1:42:58. They haven't published the results yet, so we'll see what my timing chip came in at. I felt great. It was a little faster than my goal half marathon time, which is 1:45. I can't say this race was easier than a flatland half marathon. I wish it were, but it didn't turn out that way. It was a great race and I do plan on doing it again next year. We plan on getting a big group together to do it. Stay the night with the night and let the kids run. It sounds great.

I'll write more about my coming week later. We're going camping, so gotta go prepare for our little trip. It will feel great to dangle my legs in the lake, that's for sure! Pure relaxation!!

Excitement - still have it?

I had the pleasure of volunteering at a 5k/10k race over the weekend. I worked the finish line, so I got to check out all the faces of the finishers. As I watched them cross the finish line, it struck me how excited newer runners are about racing. For me, those are the ones I enjoy watching the most. I have only been running a couple years and have only done around a dozen races, but somewhere along the way I lost that excitement I see on newer runners faces. I do get excited about most races, but I'm also too goal oriented and don't think so much about enjoying the experience.

A couple weeks ago, I had my worst race experience and it made me think "why do I do this when I enjoy all my training runs?" I have a wonderful group of runners that I enjoy training with and even when I'm having a bad day, I enjoy myself. I do like the challenge of races, so I will continue doing them, but I need to find that excitement I see on the newer runners faces. It is somewhere in me still. Rather than focusing on goal time and my watch, I need to relax and enjoy the experience. My goal, for the rest of my summer races, is to enjoy the races and not worry about my time. Easier said than done, since I am one of those driven individuals. I am going to try hard and let my friends help. Rather than pushing ahead at the start of the races, I will enjoy a more relaxed pace with them and then pick it up. It sounds like a good plan to me.

As far as my workouts go, I am ramping up training for the Ascent. As a result, my mileage is going to be hovering around 40 miles, which is more than I normally like to do.
Round trip to Barr Camp is 14.5 miles, so I don't have much choice when it comes to mileage. I am trying to figure out how to best stay connected with my ladies too, so we'll be figuring that out over the next couple weeks. I will need to use some of my weekend time on the mountain. Right now, I think I'll alternate Fri and Sun on the mountain. We'll see how that works though. Most likely, I'll be playing it by ear.

And this blog... It was supposed to be for one year, which has already passed. I'm not sure how much longer I will keep doing this. Shoot me a mail if you have an opinion. I know some of you enjoy reading my exercise exploits still.

Body image?

Body image, this is always an interesting topic. In this month's issue of Runner's World, there is an article about weight and running. It lists out how much time one would shave off races, if they lost 5lbs, 10lbs, etc. So the first thing that goes through my mind is "how much weight do I have to lose?" It took me a few minutes of thinking about it to realize that I am already at an ideal weight for myself. I did a quick search for the BMI calculator, which calculated me at 20.1 to 20.4, based on my 5'7" frame and weight that fluctuates up and down by three pounds. It is pretty good, when considering that 18.5 to 24.9 is within the normal weight range.

So why is the first thought that goes through my mind, "how much should I lose?" I guess I have to give the catch all answer that it is something that has been programmed since I was a teenager. I'm much healthier now. My weight doesn't yo-yo. I'm very committed to exercising. Still I have to stop to think about losing weight, it doesn't just come to me automatically that I am where I need to be. I wonder if this will change with age? I wonder, if it does change, will I remain at a weight I am happy with? I sure hope so.

I think of healthy women and I think of all the wonderfully strong, active women that I am friends with, related to, or just see around. I think of my grandma, who is 84 and still walking regularly, lifting weights, stretching and doing all her own cleaning and gardening. I wonder if they have the same doubts about their body image that I have. I'm almost sure they do, however they are probably not as hard on themselves as I am, that is what my Harsha tells me. So I guess I shouldn't be so hard on myself... but then there is that nag in my mind about my dad saying I aged... that's an altogether different story though!

Quick Changes

It's been a couple days and I have had time to think about Sunday's race. I kick myself for not using the inhaler, however I have never had a full out asthmatic fit like that. After my experience, I really appreciate what professional athletes, like my friend Sharon, go through with asthma. I had no idea until Sunday, but now I know first hand. After my experience, I have to make some changes.

I ran this morning. Even though it was a recovery run, there were lots of hills, so I used the inhaler. My breathing was much easier. When my breathing was heavier on the hills, it still felt good. So for the next couple weeks, I will be using my inhaler to get a good feel for what it will do for me and the best way to use it. My friends who use inhalers tell me it will make a world of difference. Let's hope that is the case for me.

And fuel! I'm so bad about eating before and during long runs. This morning, I ate a Pria bar. It doesn't have too many calories, however I think it is enough to give me some energy without weighing down my stomach and causing cramping. Tomorrow I will be training on Barr Trail, so I'll try the Pria Bar before I start and then an hour into it, I'll try either gel or clif blocks. Not sure which I will carry yet... I'll decide tonight when I pack my bag. I'm hoping I can figure out the fuel thing and be peppier the last half of my runs. I have a few weeks to figure it out before my next race. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will run a good race next time around... a steady pace, some pain (I'd say none, but then I wouldn't be pushing hard enough), and overall enjoyment. The worst part about the race Sunday was that I hated every minute of the run after mile 6.

So the rest of the week will be good. I will do Barr Trail tomorrow, Ultimate Conditioning on Thursday, a longer tempo run, 7 miles, Friday, swim Saturday and Bear Creek on Sunday. It is a full week, but not too demanding. Next week will be more laid back.

Breakdown!

This morning was the Garden 10 Miler. I finished in 1:25:18, which is a huge improvement over my 2005 time of 1:34:59. It was the worst race I have ever run though. This is how it went down.

I asked Harsha to help pace me, so I didn't wear a watch. Started out too fast, which I can normally recover from. I was walking 3 miles in and feeling like total crap. My breathing was worse than it has ever been, which resulted in horribly heavy legs. Note to self - use the inhaler! At that point, Harsha started giving me irritated looks. It persisted throughout the rest of the race. There were a few really great moments of him trying to motivate me, but the majority of the time I felt he was disgusted with my need to walk (he says differently, but that is what it seemed to me while in my asthmatic haze). Around mile 7, he swears he told me we could still make 1:20, however I heard "we probably can't do 1:25." So I totally lost all sense of drive and was too focused on my wheezing breath and tired legs. As I got closer to the finish line, I realized I was coming in right at 1:25, which was a huge shock to me. Since I didn't wear my watch, I figured I would be closer to 1:30.

So I suffered a total breakdown this morning during my race. I know I can run a whole lot better than I did, but I am still proud of my time. Despite all the struggles I was dealing with, I did it. I made my back up, things aren't going real well, goal. Haven't seen the results, but I know I finished 355 out of around 1400 people. I should be extremely happy, but the experience is outweighing the happiness right now. I need to kick myself in the butt and redeem myself. I know I am better than this, but it was a very hard run for me today. I will never run without my watch again though! Good thing, I just have a few weeks until the next race. I'll scrape myself back up for that one.

One good note - my great friend, kicked ass! She beat me by over a minute - YAY

Taper week

Whew! The week before the garden 10 miler! I am trying to taper and take it easy. I am getting excited, since I get to run with Harsha. I was driven last week and now I am just excited about running it. I know I will come in under 1:25, which is 10 minutes off 2005 time. Then I was driven to be under 1:20, but now it doesn't seem to matter as much. I don't get many chances to run with Harsha, so I want to enjoy it and not worry overly much about my time. I know I can run well. I'll do the best I can and have fun doing it. We'll see how I feel after the race though... there is always the "if I did this instead..." If so, there is another race two weeks after this one that I can try harder at.