State of things

Here's a rambly post to fill up some space :)

Training is going well.  I'm getting the workouts done and hitting my targets, which always surprises me. Especially when I need to go fast.  When did I get fast?  I had an interval run Tuesday, with 10x2 min efforts.  Coach's notes said to keep it under an 8:30 pace.  I laughed.  That's fast.  Who does she think she's coaching?  And what do you know, I hit 8:39 to 8:33 for the last 4, all based on perceived effort of going hard but not so hard I would puke.  Amazing.

Bike rides are solid too.  I went and rode my usual neighborhood loop last Sunday, aka Hess/Pradera/Pinery.  Going up Hess, my heart rate was a full 10 beats lower than it normally is.  Interesting. I didn't get to do the rest of the loop because once I got to the top of Hess, things looked like this:

I ended up with 2 hours of road time and 1:30 of pretty hard aerobic stuff on the trainer.  Next time I need to suck it up and get up early and ride with the club.  I would have, except I was out past my bedtime the night prior doing this:

upper left: Former Future Brewing Company (Brett Rye ESB, mango wheat wine)
upper right: Epic Brewing Co (sampler and Brainless on Raspberries)
bottom center: Crooked Stave (I can't remember, but it doesn't matter because they never have the same beer twice!)

mmm, beer.  I don't do this often, and its probably the last time I'll be able to do this until IMBoulder is done.

My left shoulder has been angry at me for at least a month.  I did something to it - or many things - and it is now angry.  The rotator cuff basically does a series of rubber-band snaps with movement and causes my deltoid to hurt.  An extra fun feature is that its been snapping when I roll over in my sleep, which wakes me up.  Yay?  Yesterday, my masters coach and I figured out that I was swimming really flat and that was likely causing the issues with my shoulders.  I needed to work on rotation and REALLY reaching.  I did some 6-3-6 drills and the difference in shoulder flexibility was shocking.  My left shoulder is frozen.  I had a really hard time touching my shoulder to my ear when side-gliding.  Soooo, yeah.  I've got stretching and a bunch of side-glide drills in my very near future.  On a good note, yesterday's practice was the first one that didn't hurt (yay!) and I could hit my intervals without feeling like I was dying (proper form - yay!), and my shoulder didn't hurt AFTER the practice (yay! yay!).  I feel like I caught this in time, which is good.  But I'm also a bit pissed at myself for not figuring this out sooner.  After all, swimming is my "thing"

My left hip is also angry at me.  (full disclosure: my entire left side usually hates me.  I have no idea why).  It hurt pretty bad two weeks ago, which left me limping.  I stubbornly ran intervals and hills on it, using my magical pain blocking powers to make it go away.  It was fine when I was running and then really pissed off the rest of the time.  It finally hit me that I needed to get my chiropractor to adjust my SI joint.  I went in, got adjusted, and *boom*.  Just in time for a massive PR at Colfax.  Its doing better, but still gets tweaky.  I think I strained my upper quad in compensation for my off-kilter SI joint.  So lots of stretching is in order.

Boise.  I think I'm ready.  Before Colfax, I told my coach I wanted to race-race it.  I have a tattered history with that race and I'd really like to give it a go.  Added bonus: I'll have my family there cheering and they could finally see me race to my potential, instead of dying (2010) or DNS'ing with hypothermia and a broken heel (2012).  I'm borrowing race wheels from a friend and getting Merlin tuned tomorrow.  I'm doing my first OWS Saturday (60 degree water - I am NOT looking forward to that)  I feel good (great, assuming my shoulder and hip cooperate) and think I can do well.  Not sure about a PR, but mentally, I want to go for it.

Driving to Idaho is going to be interesting, thanks to Colorado's pot law.  Apparently neighboring states are pulling over vehicles with CO plates for "cause" and then searching the car for pot.  To make things even more entertaining, we're transporting our cousin's beer for his wedding (which is the week after Boise).  In Utah, it is illegal to bring alcohol into the state.  So if we get pulled over and searched in Utah, things could get interesting....  Lets just say I'll be driving through Utah (NOT Will) with the cruise set a hair below the limit and making sure I use my turn signals for a gooooood long time before I switch lanes.  Ugh.

Finally, the Ironman hungries have finally shown up.  I'd like to lose some weight before Boulder.  I'm lighter than I was for St George right now, but I'm not where I was for CDA.  Once we get back from Idaho, I'll be on full food lockdown.  Only good things go in.  No (ok, very little) beer, no sweets, no fruits.  Just veggies and meat.  I did it last year, I can do it again.

Colfax Half Marathon Race Report

aka - when did I figure out how to run so fast?
aaka - PR baby!

So - quick report:  I stuck to the plan (mostly), ran hard, didn't die, and crushed my old 13.1 PR for a time of 2:08:23.  Holy awesome.

Long report:

Pre-Race
As part of my Ambassador duties, I had to work the Expo on Saturday from 8:30-2:30.  That was a lot of time on my feet and my legs were TIRED that night.  We had what is becoming a pre-race dinner tradition of sushi and froyo (they're in the same building, you can't have one without the other) and went to bed at 9:30.

Alarm went off at 4:20 and my neighbor was picking me up at 5 AM.  I got dressed - Ambassador short sleeve shirt and my new Coeur tri shorts, plus some layers because it was 5 AM and cold out.  I made some coffee to drink on the ride over and grabbed my stuff and headed out.  My breakfast was a bit different this time.  I made the coconut blueberry chocolate rice cakes from the FeedZone, only I used raspberries and just mixed everything together and put it in a bowl.  Much easier to eat that way.  No idea how many calories I had, probably 300-400.  We got there at 5:45, found easy parking and did the usual pre-race routine.

With 10 min before the start (which was at 6:45) I wandered over to the start line with my tri club and wedged myself in between gaps in the corral fence to get into the proper start line.  Where I stood for a good long while looking for anyone I knew.  I didn't find anyone, which was weird.  In fact, I didn't see a single familiar face for the entire 13.1 miles, which was also a bit weird.

Race Plan

• Mile 1 & 2: do NOT get excited and run fast.  This will be hard because we're running through the zoo and it will be fun and exciting.  must.not.get.excited.  !!!
• Miles 3~7: keep heart rate around 160, creeping up to 165 towards the half way point of the race.  This is the uphill portion of the course, which according to the interwebs is a whopping 150 feet of climbing.  Still, I need to keep things controlled and in check.
• Mile 7-10: heart rate around 165, push where I can but don't burn too many matches.
• Mile 10, 11, 12: evaluate how I feel and see if I can pick up the pace.  This is downhill and hopefully I can fly
• Mike 13: run hard.  do not die.  simple!
• Nutrition is going to be pretty simple.  I'm going to eat ~400 calories of some FeedZone rice cakes on the way to the race. I'm leaving at 5 AM and the race is at 6:45 AM, so that gives me plenty of time.  Then I'll have some SunRype with me and try to get in ~200 calories/hour.  I'll have 1 scoop of Osmo in my handheld and probably just refill with plain water when that runs out.

Race

For once, I actually had a decent time of sticking with my ~155 bpm goal for the first two miles.  It helped that those were sort of "padding miles" where we were running around City Park and nearby roads.  Nothing special there.  Ok, in looking back at my garmin file, my HR was closer to 160 but the pace felt easy.

The weird/not-so-fun part was running with my new Coeur tri shorts.  You know the "never anything new on race day" thing?  Well these shorts were BRAND new.  I had 3 SunRype bars (120 cals) for my race nutrition shoved in the very generous pocket in the back of the shorts.  And almost immediately, the shorts began to fall down.  They fit great and I didn't want a smaller size in the store (to minimize waistband-belly rolls), but maybe I do need a smaller size.  Or a drawstring.  Or something.  It was so bad that I ended up cramming a bar down my sports bra, and cramming a bar up each leg.  Fortunately the shorts have leg grips and the bars stayed put there.  I think I spent the first 1.5 miles fidgeting with my shorts, trying to make them stay put.  They finally settled into a happy spot and I didn't mess with them for the rest of the race.  But I need to tweak these (or get a smaller size) to make them functional for 70.3s or longer.

At ~mile 2 we got to the zoo, which was pretty cool.  I really haven't been there since I was a kid and it was nice.  They had people out with semi-educational signs, telling you which animals were coming up next.  The only one I remember was "the color of a flamingo depends upon what they've eaten" (paraphrased).  I saw monkeys, turkey vultures, a hippo, elephants and flamingos.  It was pretty cool, maybe the highlight of the course.

Once we got out of the zoo and onto Montview Blvd, I knew the work was going to start.  They changed the course from when I did it in 2012, mainly by reversing things.  We went out on Montview and back on Colfax (sorta).  I actually liked this, as Colfax really isn't that scenic.  I knew there was a big, long (not very steep) uphill for several miles.  I just went by HR and tried to keep my form strong and my feet light.  I was checking my watch at every mile and doing the math.  For a 2:10, I'd need a 9:55/mile pace, so at mile 4 I'd need to be around 39:40, mile 5 at 49:35, etc.  Pretty easy race math.  I kept checking my HR and pace on my watch and was amazed to see I was already at my goal pace, going uphill, with a pretty comfortable HR between 160 and 165.  Interesting.  I knew that things were either going to go very well or go very badly with these numbers.  My hope was to just hold on and shoot for very well.

The nice thing about running along a straight road for miles and miles is you can see when the hill ends.  Thank goodness.  My left foot was not doing me any favors by going completely numb.  It did this during my tempo run earlier in the week and I was *hoping* it wouldn't happen during the race.  But it did.  I walked through the aid station and the numbness went away a bit, but not completely.  I just said screw it and hoped that my leg/foot would release when I got to the top of the hill and started running of flats.  Fortunately, this was the case here and my foot was just fine for the rest of the race.  *phew*

We got to what I thought was the top of the hill around mile 6 and in my head, we should have been turning and headed back down Colfax - DOWNHILL.  This was not the case.  We kinda meandered around for another ~2 miles (seemingly uphill) until we got to the fire station (which was absent of shirtless firemen, big bummer) and THEN we got our downhill.  Sorta.  It turns out that we were on rollers and the big downhill I was hoping for just wasn't there.  

Based on my plan for the race, I was beginning to push faster around mile 6, but in reality, I was just aiming for consistent HR and pacing as we went up and down these rollers.  Faster on the downhill, steady on the uphill.  I had a few key words I would say (aloud or in my head) to my self: "fly" for the downs, "keep the wheels on" for all other times.  Based on my garmin file, my HR was at 170 bpm from mile 8 to the finish. I'm not sure I've ever run for 5 miles with that high of a HR. Normally I want to die at that HR (or slow down) but I knew I was doing great and my effort actually felt really good.  I'd look at my watch and see 9:4x or faster and was just amazed.  So I turned off the part of my brain that normally looks at numbers and freaks out and slows down and just kept my effort steady.  Foot on the gas, as it were.

I think around mile 5 I ate some of my fruit snack bar. Maybe at mile 6, I'm not sure.  But it was about an hour in.  Maybe around mile 8 I got a bit fuzzy, probably from lack of calories, so I tried to eat a nibble of the bar every mile.  Thus the "keep the wheels on".  I was just inside the line of falling apart, from effort and maybe a bit of nutrition.  (I still haven't found a way to really eat much when you're going hard).  

So "wheels on" just became my thing until we made it to the sweet, sweet downhill at mile 11.  That's when I really started passing people.  Fun!  I really don't remember a whole lot about those last few miles, other than "fly" and "wheels" and trying to catch a woman with a Denver RnR 2011 race shirt.  City Park showed up and I knew we had ~1 mile left and I needed to keep pushing as much as I could.  I don't think my pace really increased all that much (TrainingPeaks does have my fastest 5 minutes as the race finish).  I was just trying to go hard and not die.  There's a little uphill at the finish that sucks and they're not very nice and place the finish a good ways behind the start line, so you see a blue arch, think its the finish, and realize its the start arch.  I knew about this and it still got me a bit.  Lame.  But I just ran and ran and ran. And then the finish showed up, I ran though it (I think the RnR shirt woman came across the same time as me), and I got a medal from a friendly fireman.

And then I was a bit asthma-y, with no inhaler, and wandered over to medical, where they had zero inhalers (WTF?)  I thought about finding my friend who was cheering at the finish (she had one) but by that point I just wanted to sit down.  Fortunately the asthma chilled out and I was fine.

Time: 2:08:23 - that's a 9 min PR and WELL under my "scary" goal of 2:10.  Amazing.

Pace: 9:48/mile - that's a 0:42/mile PR pace.  Wow.

Place: 377/1325 AG (F30-39), 1944/5839 OA  

Yes, in a running race, I placed in the top ~1/3 of the finishers.  I can't say that's ever happened before. Sweet!

Post-Race

I spent the post race walking back and forth between my charity tent (Smart-Girl) and my tri club tent, making sure the charity was ok and chatting with my friends.  I brought some shoes to change into and I'm so glad I did.  My Gone for a Run PR Soles (review) are pretty ugly but oh-so-comfy.  I wandered over and cheered on my club's relay team (my husband did leg 3 - his longest race distance ever with 6 miles).  And then we got crappy beers (again, Mich Ultra for a CO race, really?!?) and some nice looking but eh tasting BBW.  And then it was a long walk to my husband's car. 

Altitude Multisport -we had a lot of runners!

Both of us were finishers!

I think this is the first time we've both received medals at the same race!

Walking the next morning wasn't fun, but it was tolerable.  Probably due to all the post-race walking.

What's next

Boise 70.3!  I told Coach Michelle that I wanted to "race-race" this one a few days prior to Colfax.  Now, after setting this HUGE run PR, I'm really excited to see what I'm able to do at Boise.  It should be fun.  And painful.  But a good kind of painful :)  

Its race weekend!

Its finally here!  The Colfax Half Marathon!

I've been running pretty fast lately, which is bizarre.  I'm not used to running fast and not dying.  My last 4-mile tempo effort was at a 9:58 pace with an average heart rate of 154 bpm.  I'm still not convinced that was me running.  And then last week I had 30 minutes of tempo, where I ran the bluffs and beat my friend Ryan up the hill and he couldn't catch me on the top rollers.  So apparently, I'm ok with running now!

Physically I feel pretty strong.  My SI joint was out of whack and causing some hip pain, but I got that worked on Tuesday so hopefully all will be well by Sunday.  It hurts a little bit, but things have definitely improved.

I had my coach pep-talk/race strategy call today and here's the plan:

• Mile 1 & 2: do NOT get excited and run fast.  This will be hard because we're running through the zoo and it will be fun and exciting.  must.not.get.excited.  !!!
• Miles 3~7: keep heart rate around 160, creeping up to 165 towards the half way point of the race.  This is the uphill portion of the course, which according to the interwebs is a whopping 150 feet of climbing.  Still, I need to keep things controlled and in check.
• Mile 7-10: heart rate around 165, push where I can but don't burn too many matches.
• Mile 10, 11, 12: evaluate how I feel and see if I can pick up the pace.  This is downhill and hopefully I can fly
• Mike 13: run hard.  do not die.  simple!
• Nutrition is going to be pretty simple.  I'm going to eat ~400 calories of some FeedZone rice cakes on the way to the race. I'm leaving at 5 AM and the race is at 6:45 AM, so that gives me plenty of time.  Then I'll have some SunRype with me and try to get in ~200 calories/hour.  I'll have 1 scoop of Osmo in my handheld and probably just refill with plain water when that runs out.

My PR is 2:17, which is from the Oilman Half Ironman last November.  Yes, I PR'd with a swim and a bike. I don't have a specific time goal for this race, mainly because I have no idea how fast I'll be able to run.  This is a pretty flat course and my fitness and strength are pretty good right now.  I'll just run fast, hope I don't die, and see what I can do.  (is it too much to hope for a 2:10???)

Oh, and the big goal is to not break my heel this time.  The last half marathon I did was the 2012 Colfax race.  I broke my heel during that race and spent the next 4 months in a boot.  That won't be happening this year.  

April 2014 Training Totals

Not much to report.  I did what was on my schedule and survived another month :)  I thought my numbers would be a bit higher, but eh, no worries.

Also: no skiing.  Boo.

April 2014
Swim: 12h 30m - 31878.83 Yd
Bike: 26h 55m 25s - 370.03 Mi
Run: 13h 33m 19s - 68.77 Mi
Strength: 30 min
Hiking: 1 h 15 m

March 2014
Swim: 12h 30m - 33737.97 Yd
Bike: 23h 44m 19s - 323.62 Mi
Run: 10h 21m 09s - 53.22 Mi
Strength: 1 h
Skiing: 18h

well, that didn't turn out how I thought it would

*warning, big long rambly post as I try and figure out what the hell happened this past weekend and some future type stuff*

So, if you joined a cycling team which advertised a 3 day "Spring Training Camp" which included a 70 mile option on Friday and Saturday and a 3,500+ (15 mile) hill climb up a mountain, wouldn't you think that meant this was a weekend meant for work?  Also some fun, but some real, hard, honest work on two wheels.

That's what I thought and woooo boy, was that a mistake.

Also, if you knew that multiple board members were triathletes, the whole club was volunteering for the finish line at an Ironman, and they sold tri kits to wear at races, wouldn't you assume the group was triathlete-friendly?

Again, ASSume and wow, I was super wrong.

And finally, and again the ASSume rule here, is that my friends will back me just as solidly and loyally as I would for them when they're in a bad place.  Sure, I may not agree with them, but if they need me, I will keep my thoughts to myself and do whatever I can to help.  Again, wrong.  And that one hurts.  A bunch.

***

Back late last year I was looking for a new group to ride bikes with.  One that didn't try to "out tri-dork" each other with egos and establishing territory.  I just wanted a friendly group to go and ride bikes for miles and miles over lots of hills.  A pretty simple request that I suppose is hard to fill when you're me.  My friend has been a part of a Boulder-based women's cycling club.  The few times I ran into them, they seemed nice and my friend had very good things to say about them.  Sure, I don't get a ton of the benefits, like sponsor discounts, but I was hoping for a nice group of people to train with and I was very excited over the idea of a training camp.

I did a few rides with them and they went well.  People were friendly.  I did get one comment about my TT bike from the president, but it was more like "technically I'm supposed to tell you not to ride your TT bike because its a rule and I'm club president, but as a triathlete, I get that you need./want to ride that bike."  So I took that as I could pick and choose when to ride my bike.

I was really excited to do the out of town training camp.  Three BIG days of training would greatly benefit me for IMBoulder - lots of endurance, time on the bike, and with a huge climb on the last day, lots of mental and strength training.

I show up to Training Camp planning to ride long (70 miles) on Fri and Sat and do the hill climb Sun.  We met with the group and immediately I got a "you brought your TT bike!?!?!"  I played it off as yeah, its my bike and I ride this a ton. Its fine.  No big deal.  And hey, I brought fruit snacks and I'm really friendly.

I have ridden in groups before, and I typically stay up on my bars until I had ~2 bike lengths in front of me and then I would go down on my aero bars.  I feel safe and comfortable doing this based on countless rides and miles of riding this way with groups, from clubs to century rides.  I think this experience is fairly universal for most triathletes.  Its just how we ride and its fine and safe.  An hour into it, one girl (a multi-IM person) said "don't ride down on your aero bars when you're in front of me because you scared me and J."  I tried to explain that I had 2 bike lengths in front of me and apparently that didn't matter.  I get squinty-eyed thinking over this complaint for a few reasons.  1) why is this girl, a triathlete, scared of someone riding aero?  how does she manage to race?  2) how am I supposed to know how close someone is behind me and why is this MY issue.  I've always treated riding (just like driving) as you need to watch what's ahead of you and make sure you can react.  Its damn near impossible to control/watch what's going on behind you.

I approached J (who I also "scared") and apologized and she said "oh, that's just this person, you're fine and don't worry".  So now I'm wondering what the hell is going on and I'm also feeling really self conscious and a bit anxious.  I just want to ride and have fun.  I don't want to be causing problems but I also want to be able to ride the way I want to, which is, I feel, very safe. (again, based on years of experience of riding)

My legs were feeling really good and the hills were treating me well.  We were having a bit of fun playing cat and mouse on the rollers.  I heard someone say "hey, I recognize that hill" and I just went for it.  I was riding along and I got to a potential turn and quickly realized that I had lost my group.  I wasn't leading and I didn't know the route.  I circled back and quickly realized that I had messed up and started hammering back, all the while really beating myself up because I had messed up.  I came upon the group (10 women, all in matching outfits) who were standing there waiting for me.  I felt even worse.  I immediately started apologizing and was very strongly told by 3 people "you CANNOT do that".  Which made me feel really bad and even more self conscious.

I had already been talked to for "scaring" someone and now I made the whole group mad at me.  I was now "that asshole".  With a group of new people that I wanted to be friends with.  I was just seeing things spiral downwards and spent the next 30 miles dealing with some pretty dark social anxiety issues that have been plaguing me for the past several years.  Not to mention, an honest mistake that caused the group to wait a maximum of 8 minutes (according to my garmin), which  resulted in me getting yelled at publicly by several people.  This caused a very large dose of WTF?!? to circle around my head.  All of this combined made for a pretty miserable ride to lunch.

Most of the time after that I was riding by myself (aero, but looking backwards enough to make my neck really hurt at the end of the day because god forbid I was aero when someone snuck behind me and I didn't realize it....) I was sandwiched between the lead and the back back.  There was a corner where I waited for the back pack (because I god forbid I don't wait and I get yelled at again).  The back group zipped in front of me, placing me firmly at the back of the line, which was too slow for me.  There was a huge rumble strip preventing me from swinging out onto the road to pass.  I said something to the person ahead of me about wanting to pass and she either didn't hear it or ignored me and blocked me.  Given my already bad mental state, I just wanted to get away from these people and passed them on the right (on a decent sized shoulder), apologizing to every person I passed for being yet another asshole and passing on the right.  So more anxiety for me.  But I just didn't feel comfortable riding with them in a pack.  And really, the people who yelled at me were in the group and emotionally, I just didn't want to hear their voices.  I just wanted space.

At lunch, I decided to have a talk with the president about the incident where I missed the turn and how I felt like they dogpiled on me.  I explained that I'm pretty emotionally beat up, have some anxiety issues, and the reaction of the group for my innocent mistake really pushed me into a bad emotional state.  I suggested that maybe humor would be a better approach when they're dealing with someone new, so the person wouldn't spend 30 miles feeling awful.  We talked for a bit.  Apparently, contrary to her statement 2 weeks ago, riding my TT bike is a very bad thing.  I explained that I've put a lot of $ into my TT bike and in order to ride safely and comfortably, I'd have to dump a lot of money into my road bike or buy a new one - something which seemed really unreasonable for a group to ask me to do.  Her response was a cold "maybe you can develop new skills".  Which is really confusing because she is ALSO an Ironman.  She then decided to bring up some other things I had done (example, passing on the right) and we parted ways.  This left me upset enough where I spent good 5 minutes curled up on the floor of the bathroom sobbing while everyone was enjoying smoothies, salads and cookies.

Because THAT's how training rides should go, right?

I got myself cleaned up and hid in a corner by the bikes waiting for everyone to finish lunch.  During that time, only one person of the group of ten noticed me and talked to me.  And that person was not my friend whom I was sharing a room with, which upset me a bit as well.

So we rode home.  There were some comments about how I needed to treat this as a fun ride, not a training ride (again, 70 miles... wtf? and what's wrong with training during a training camp?).  Afterwards, in our room, I tried to have a conversation with my friend about how the day had upset me.  She agreed that the dogpiling was unnecessary but there was also a very underlying unsympathetic "we're a Boulder group and this is how we do things".  All I really wanted was maybe a hug and a sympathetic ear and perhaps even a white lie about how she understood and yes I was justified and yes, the entire day was crappy.  Later, after I overheard part of her conversation with her fiancee about how "it will all blow over and be ok."  After she left to meet with people, I called my husband and started bawling because things were definitely NOT ok.  In fact, they were so not ok that if I was not responsible for my friend's ride home, I would have left that night. I was so upset and wanting to be alone after that, that I was seriously thinking of spending the night in my truck.  I was in full, backed into a corner, paranoia, no one sees my perspective, or worse CARES to see my perspective, including my friend, crying on the phone to my husband, misery mode.

Because THAT makes for a fun training weekend.

The next morning, we got ready for a the hill climb (the 2nd 70 mile ride was cancelled for wind).  And finally, someone was nice enough to say she heard what happened and gave me a hug.  And for that I'm thankful, as it made my day a bit better.  It felt like someone got me and was a bit on my side and that I wasn't alone.

The ride up the ski hill was ok.  There were sevearl miles of riding at 3.8 mph because it was so steep, which is sucky.  And it was cold.  And I was an idiot (because I was still upset) and didn't really pack any cold riding gear, so I froze on the way down.

I realized later on, when people gathered downtown for shopping and lunch (including me because I was so worried what people would say about me if I didn't participate) that this weekend was a girl's weekend away disguised as a training weekend.  It was not a training weekend.  People wanted to get away from their lives and shop and drink and talk and do girl-type stuff.  Which is fine.  But don't call it a training weekend.  It even included a big group dinner that night with wine that ended up in a birth control discussion.  That sort of stuff makes me want to poke my eyes out.  Really, most group things drive me batty (there's something about herding cats, getting people to all agree on where to go and where to eat that REALLY does not go well with my independent spirit.  I am much better with groups no larger than 4).  Most people were into it.  I think I was the only one who wasn't.  Really, it was the same thing with Ragnar.  Everyone thought the weekend was amazing.  For me, even without the drama, I would have given the weekend a solid "meh".  Mainly because I just don't need/like girls weekends.  I just wanted to ride my bike, eat good food, have a beer, sleep and repeat.  Shopping and chatting aren't ever high on my list of things I want to do and I never feel like I need to go out of town for these things.   I really felt that for the money I spent on travel/food (money I don't really have right now), I could have taken Friday off of work and ridden the same schedule and terrain and gotten more out of it.  No criticism for "training", no spending money, no social anxiety, no me being tortured by groups of people chatting over wine.  (I'm exaggerating on the torture, they were nice, but the topics on conversation were sooooo not my wheelhouse)

So lesson learned on many levels.  Now I just need to figure out if I want to be a part of this group moving forward.  A large part of me is saying no, that I should sell my gear (or cancel a pending order) and just get out.  Really, any group who has board members treating a new member that way is really not a group I want to participate in.  And then the whole "Boulder elitist" crap that was underlining everything.  They only have their Boulder experience and that's all that they're willing to acknowledge.  Just because they're "Boulder" doesn't mean that there aren't many other ways of doing things and ending up with happy people on bikes riding on roads in groups.

In other words, I think I'll go back to just riding solo and doing my own thing.  Or maybe next year I'll join Rocky Mountain Tri Club.  They did a Moab training weekend this same weekend.  My friends got in 185 miles of riding in 3 days - probably all in aero.  In the end, I'm not sure a pretty kit isn't enough for me to stay.  And, I'm pretty sure that any time I ride with this group again, I'll have a bit of PTSD and paranoia.  Bike riding is supposed to be fun (and sometimes hard,, but never to the point where you're sobbing on the floor of a bathroom during lunch.)  Always looking over my shoulder (figuratively and literally) trying to stzay out of trouble just isn't how I want to ride.

First big weekend of 2014

I had Friday off and we have now started my Friday Deer Creek / High Grade bike adventures.  It was fun this time but I'm pretty sure I'll be over it in 2 months.

Oh wait, back to the beginning, before the big ride.  Based on my whiny-ness earlier in the week, I asked my coach if we could have coffee on Friday morning so we could lay out the plans for the summer.  I think, for me, knowing the purpose behind all this work will alleviate some of the whining.  We had a really good conversation and I left feeling relieved instead of "holy crap, 4 more months of this training... blech".  I'm in a wedding in June and there's some wedding-related things like a shower, and a party, and the wedding.  I was getting a bit stressed about fitting it all in, but Michelle is great and understands balance.  Any wedding stuff will be worked in and I will not be stressed out over trying to get in a workout on the same day.  *phew*  Also, I was commenting on how Boulder basically killed our summer - ie no camping because I'd be on my bike every weekend from now until August 3rd.  She told me to think about a weekend in late June or early July for camping.  No s/b/r.  Just camping, a long hike, and maybe some mountain biking.  Thank goodness - now I have some fun to look forward to.

She also confirmed that she was making my workouts especially awful when I was going skiing, in a sick and twisted way of torturing me (while helping me!) while she was on the couch with a ski-induced ACL tear.  And as I suspected, last year's training was the Michelle-beginner level.  Now I'm on the Michelle-Intermediate plan.  Much harder.  But I feel better with her saying this, versus me just thinking things are that much harder in Year 2 with her.

The meeting went really well.  We discussed some plans for the rest of the year.  I have a potentially crazy race I want to do next January.  And trail running.  Loads of trail running after Boulder.  I left feeling less whiny with more purpose.  Exactly what I was needing.

Then it was off to conquer the big hill.  A friend of mine has signed up for St George and Tahoe - both are HUGE climbing races.  So I made her ride with me on Friday.  We did a ~50 minute warmup around Chatfield then started up the hill.  I no longer have every turn memorized and for some reason, the first part before the left hand turn seemed harder than I remember it being.  It could be partially because it was my first ride of the year here or it could actually have been just as hard last year.  Who knows.

The deal with my friend was that I would wait for he at the left hand turn and at the top.  She was trying to weasel out of it, by saying I could ride up to the top, turn around, and she'd turn when she saw me.  I had nothing to do that day and it was really important that she made it up, so I was really mean and made her ride to the top. :)

This also gave me time to mess around taking selfies :)

this is a very expensive stop sign to run...

I waited probably 10 min at the turn and 15 min at the top.  She came up the hill with a huge smile on her face.  Success!

51 miles and 3500 feet of climbing

My ride was pretty good.  I had to stop in my usual spots on High Grade.  My heart rate hit 180 and I just didn't feel like pushing it any higher.  I feel like it was over 170 for the last 5 miles.  My legs were actually ok and I did feel pretty strong.  I went and checked my files and I think I was only 3 min slower off my best time from 2013.  That's a pretty good way to start the year.

only a little bit of snow....

It was pretty warm - 76 degrees.  I drank all of my water (almost 4 bottles).  I'm playing around with nutrition options.  This time it was some Salty Balls.  I ate them pretty consistently on the way up - at least I'm pretty sure I ate more on this ride than I normally did in 2013.  My stomach felt good but I'm not sure the texture (mushy) will work with me over the course of 7 hours.  Its a start, though!  I got home, showered, and was lured to my friends house by promises of margaritas.  Not the smartest thing, as there was no real food.  Just margaritas, chips, guac, and queso.  We got home at 9 and I ate half of a real dinner.

I woke up starving.  I was riding with my outdoor DIVAS group in Boulder and they were doing the Morgul-Bismark crit course, which involved something called "the Wall".  I pretty much stuffed my face the entire way up to Boulder.  It was ridiculous - every 10 minutes my stomach would end up growling at me.  Note to self: must eat real food after riding Deer Creek.

The ride was around 35 miles.  I was just going to take it easy-ish and see how my legs felt.  Part of the ride was on a road that my friend took me on in 2011 when I was training for IMTX.  I remember the hills being hardish and me dropping my chain in the middle of one of them.  Something must have triggered in my legs with that memory and I zoomed up the hill past the 6 other DIVAS and beat them all up the hill.  Full disclosure: I promptly died after that hill and was very much back of the pack for the rest of the ride.  Unless we were going downhill.  The Wall was delivered as promised.  Its felt like High Grade but I'm thinking that was just because my legs weren't happy with me.

38 miles and 1800 feet of climbing

A few of us did a quick 30 minute run afterwards.  My legs actually were doing pretty well, which was shocking.  Then I had to go and try on bridesmaid dresses for a December wedding.  Yes, after bike riding.  I did manage to hit the buffet at Whole Foods in Boulder.  It was an.... experience.  One whole buffet dedicated to cold foods, two more dedicated to hot foods.  And it was Boulder.  So food then bridesmaid dresses, where I realized while trying on my first dress that I had a huge smear of bike grease on my arm.  Classy!

Sunday (if you're still reading) was a 2.5 hour run.  Friday and Saturday were gorgeous.  Sunday was rain turning into snow.  I like doing my long runs on the Highline Canal.  Its flat-ish and dirt, so its really nice on your body.  My friend Ryan was really nice and kept me company for the whole time, even though I was running a ~12:00 pace to keep my HR under 142.  The idea of running this on a treadmill seemed horrible.  Fortunately, the rain turned into snow at the start of our run, so we didn't get too wet.  My legs were actually ok with running after 2 days of cycling and the entire run went pretty well.  I had to run faster for my last 20 minutes and managed a 10:18 pace with sub-9 at the very end.  I'll take it!

And then we gorged ourselves on $12 all you can pile on a plate (including really yummy bacon and bread pudding) brunch at the brewery.  And then I came home and took a nap.

It was an encouraging start to my big training volume.  Everything worked really well and I even had some fun.  Just as it should be :)

Gear Review - Gone for a Run Arm Warmers

My old arm warmers are looking pretty ragged.  I got them in Jan 2010 at the expo for my first Half Marathon.  The velcro on my aerobars have done a number on them - they're pulled and ratty looking.  

As part of my Gone for a Run Ambassadorship, I thought I'd give their arm warmers a try.  They come in all sorts of fun designs and well, I needed new ones anyways.  I ended up selecting the "Will run for beer" ones.  I thought it was appropriate.  Especially since I've been known to run to the local brewery and meet my husband for beers/dinner.

these are pretty cool looking

The Specs:

• Top nylon-spandex fabric
• UV protection 50+ and anti-bacterial fabric
• Compression fit with "stay put" grip
• Available in multiple sizes

Depending on design, the arm warmers range from $21.99 - $25.99.

sizing: 

SIZE	LENGTH	WIDTH (at top)
X-Small	16.25"	4.5"
Small	16.5"	4.5"
Medium	17.5"	4.75"

I ordered a small.  I measured my old arm warmers (laid them flat on the counter and measured the diameter at the top) and thought I'd be ok.  What I forgot was that my old arm warmers are VERY stretchy.  As a result, these arm warmers are pretty tight. 

I put them on for a chilly recovery ride on my bike.  I rarely use arm warmers for running but I like them for cycling.  

the true sign of a recovery ride: nothing matches

Thoughts

• they seemed to have more of a cooling effect than a warming effect when I was riding.  That wasn't so good as it was pretty chilly out.
• the text is screen printed, which is a bit stiff but not so stiff that you really noticed it.  I imagine it would soften up with time and use.
• the stretch was pretty good.  I didn't have any bunching at my elbows or too much tightness anywhere.
• the length was really good
• I really didn't like the grippy stuff at the top of the sleeves.  It irritated my skin.  If it did that on a 1 hour easy bike ride I don't think it would be pretty for a run.
• I almost wish I'd ordered a medium.

Overall, these were just ok.  I think I like my old arm warmers better, mainly because I like the fabric better.  (sorry)

But, if you need grips on your sleeves and want something with a cute slogan or colorful fabric, give these a try!

snazzy!

*disclaimer* Gone for a Run provided these arm warmers to me to wear and review.  All opinions remain my own.

Moroccan beef hash

I'm trying to find some quick, easy and tasty recipes to cook up when I'm busy/tired.  I've never made this the same way twice but the basic recipe is very flexible.  All you need is ground meat, spices, and veggies.  It takes about 20 minutes to make and makes REALLY good left-overs. (I am all about left-overs.)  I've made this probably 3 times and each time its been a winner.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground meat (beef or elk work really well)
• veggies!  the photo above has sweet potato, onion, and eggplant.  I've also used carrots and squash.  This is a good "I need to use up my veggie-bin" recipe.
• cooking oil - I use coconut oil
• green onion and cilantro
• spices - I typically use cinnamon, cumin, coriander, garlic, and salt

Directions

• I usually cook my veggies first since they need a while to soften.  A trick I started with sweet potatoes is to microwave them first and then dice them up and toss them into a pan.  Its way quicker this way, although you do risk burnt fingers when you chop up a hot potato.
• Remove veggies from pan and set aside.
• Cook beef, add spices
• When beef is cooked, add the veggies.  Give it a good stir to distribute the spices.  
• Finish off with cilantro/green onion, stir to mix, and serve

whiny

I've been trying to write this post for about a week and can't even manage to just get it done.  I am suffering from major whiny-ness and just general blahs.  BLAH.  And I don't know how to get past it.  Work is very blah (mind-numbingly, which is probably a bit part of the problem).  And then my IM training.  I'm getting my workouts done but there is a ridiculous amount of whining being done on my end.

For example:  the past Tue/Th bike workouts have been 1:30 or 1:40 in duration - and HARD.  This means I either have to get up at 5 AM to get it done before work.  Or I ride after work (6 PM) and then I don't eat dinner until 8, go to bed at 9, and get up at 5 AM for swim practice.  Ick.

Once I'm actually doing the workout, I'm fine and I'm doing well.  But getting to the workout is terrible.  I don't know if I'm burned out (shouldn't be) or tired (probably).  What I do know is that I have ~14 weeks until taper and I'd better get my shit together.

Really, I think if I was sleeping better, I'd be less whiny. I don't know why I'm not sleeping better (I'm blaming my cats) but the lack of sleep is getting to be soul crushing.  I'm getting to work and I'm just so tired that I want to stare at a wall and do nothing.  This is bad because I'm only up to 13-14 hours a week of training.  If I'm a zombie now.... I don't want to see how bad it is in 2 months.

I'm trying my usual motivation tricks.  Some new clothes.  New nutrition to try (Osmo and Feed Zone portables).  I got a bunch of new music to listen to.  And I joined a women's cycling club in Boulder so I'd make new friends and see new places on my bike.  That's all fine.  What I'm having a hard time with is the mental game.  The weeks upon weeks of workouts.  Days (sometimes twice a day) of workouts.  Always doing.  Always being tired.  For 4 months.

Maybe this is what happens when you're training for your 3rd Ironman and its an easier race on home turf? Its a challenge, but in the way that St George or CDA terrified me.  I have targets for Boulder and I want to do well, but I don't quite have the same fire under me.  Last year it was "I need to get going or I won't finish my race".  Every week I had a workout that was new and challenging.  I was seeing growth.  This year I'm still growing - my workouts are definitely more intense than they were at this point last year.  But I know the course and it doesn't terrify me.  The wind and heat terrify me, but I know that I can't control those things, so I'm really not spending much mental energy on it.

So, I'm just trying to find a way to stop being whiny.  Stop being tired.  And find my happy place in between the workouts.  If I don't, its going to be a long 4 months.

March 2014 Training Totals

I got over my February cold and training really picked up.  Running would have been a bit higher but I went skiing on 2 of the days where I should have been running.  I can run any day of the year but I can only ski during a portion of the year.  And the skiing really has been great this year.  Oh, and zero yoga was done in March.  So much for that off-season goal.....

Bikes have been getting more intense and my weekday rides are a bit on the long side (1:30 to 1:40).  Not so much a fan of this as I can't start riding until ~6:10 PM and this means I don't eat dinner until 8 PM.  Running has all been slow MAF runs, which is fine by me.  And swimming is just swimming.  Although a few weeks back, I finally remembered how to swim again, so that's been a helpful change.  Oh, and I've been lifting weights.  This is a bit on the sucky side, because I lift at lunch and then I have a really hard bike ride after work.  My legs are trashed after that.  And then I'm pretty sore for days.  Two weeks ago I decided to do a ton of single-leg calf raises (I think it may have been 3 sets of 20).  My calves hurt hurt for 4 days, even with taking Aleve and wearing compression socks.  That sucked.

I fully expect April to get more intense and longer.  I'll probably have to do Deer Creek / Highgrade twice and I have a 4 day cycling camp in Sante Fe.  Lots of bike miles.

March 2014
Swim: 12h 30m - 33737.97 Yd
Bike: 23h 44m 19s - 323.62 Mi
Run: 10h 21m 09s - 53.22 Mi
Strength: 1 h
Skiing: 18h

February 2014
Swim: 6h 35m - 17607.18 Yd
Bike: 12h 12m - 154 Mi
Run: 9h 11m 59s - 51.13 Mi
Skiing: 12h
Yoga: 1h

Food I'm Eating

Thought it would be fun to put a little collection of some foods that I'm having a good time eating.

Lunch is really hard for me.  I'm ok eating the same thing nearly every day, but its the planning ahead and making sure I can quickly grab something on my way out the door at 5 AM.  And make sure it is enough to fill me up.  Somedays, I think the latter issue is worse than the former.  I always have some sort of protein and lately (since buying the books Well Fed and Well Fed 2), I'm trying to add more in the way of veggie side dishes.  I'm also trying to figure out how to boost the calories of my lunches (so I don't want to eat my desk 2 hrs later) but to do that in a healthy (but nutritionally dense) way.

I'm also trying to make more things from scratch.  My latest kitchen triumph is making homemade mayo.  It sounds scary but it is really, amazingly easy.  The first batch, I ignored the warnings and used EVOO and yep, it was very olivey tasting.  I added a bunch of roasted garlic to it to mask the olive flavor, but it was a bit too much for me.  The second batch I used "light" olive oil.  (random side note: I'm irritated that Sprouts didn't carry this and I had to go to the big box grocery store that I really don't like and only go there when I'm desperate)  This batch had approximately zero flavor.  My most recent batch used a 1/2 cup of EVOO and the rest "light" olive oil and seemed to have a good balance.    Mayo recipe

I am addicted to the Todd Munn Chicken cakes in Well Fed 2, only I give them more of a meatloaf treatment instead of pan frying individual patties.  Less time on my feet and its less messy.  No recipe online (you need to buy the book) but they're little asian-curry-ginger chicken meatloafs of tastiness.

I've been experimenting with making my own "sausage".  Some have been good, some have been really, really dry.  I may go back to just getting the chicken brats from Sprouts.  They're $2.99/lb and already mixed up.  I can't make them for any cheaper on my own.

For sides, I've been doing a lot of cucumber things.  Asian cucumber salad (cukes, red onion, cilantro, rice vinegar, sesame oil, salt).  Well Fed also has a nice cucumber/vinegar/mayo salad.  I'm also trying to incorporate fresh fruit and avocado.

And this week I made a killer chicken salad that hits all the comfort food needs.  Its rotisserie chicken (Sprouts), celery, apple, salt/pepper, and mayo.  That's it.  And its super good.

I finally remembered how to swim!

My swimming this winter has been really, really, REALLY sucky.  Like "frustratingly what the hell happened?" sucky.

I think part of it was that I had a REALLY long tri season last year.  I was pretty focused from February to November, with the exception of a break in July after CDA.  Lots of yards, lots of fast sets, lots of swimming.  Probably the most swimming I've ever done in a year.

And then after my race in November I kept swimming but it was VERY lackluster.  The month after my race I just was putting time in the pool and not really trying to go fast.  December - February was spent trying to swim at my old pace but I was having issues with speed and more importantly, consistency.  I was hitting 1:50/100 meters swimming HARD and no matter what I did, my pace kept slipping slower and slower through sets.  Last year 1:50 was my cruise pace.  WTF?!?!

I've been trying to be very zen about this.  Just keep putting in the yards knowing that sooner or later, I'll remember how to swim.  Just play along, get the yard done and everything will be ok.  These are the things I'd tell myself when I would see a 1:55 on the clock.  I really was pretty good about not beating myself up over this, which is amazing, because a 1:55 is stupid slow for the efforts I was putting in.

I think in the beginning a good deal of this had to do with the fact that I was deeply fatigued from a long season of hard training.  It took me probably a good 2.5 months to get past that.  What's weird is that my run and bike were cruising along really well - I was improving.  But my swimming was going terribly.  Again, I was determined to be zen and just let things be.  (who am I?)  In all honestly, I probably checked out a bit mentally on swimming because I've been doing it for so long (10 years on a masters team) and I was maybe just a tiny bit burned out.

On Friday while I was in the pool, I finally had a bit of an epiphany.  I think that during my down time in November I quit kicking, probably because I was really tired and I just didn't feel like kicking.  Then that became a (very bad) habit and I simply forgot that I needed to kick.  Or I'd kick and get tired.  I was literally wearing my arms out with every 100.  No wonder I was getting slower with every 100 repeat!  I have strong legs - I should use them for swimming.  Duh!

Today was a really good test to see if I've solved my swimming issues.

500 warm up
25 x 100 free pace, broken up into 5 x 100 with 1 minute rest between each 5.
#1 and 2 were on a 2:05
#3 was on a 2:00
#4 was on a 1:55
#5 had the first 2 on a 2:10 (so a bit of a recovery swim) and then 3x100 at the fastest interval you can make

I'm really happy to report that I swam sets 1-4 on a very consistent 1:47/8 pace.  I kinda crashed and burned on the last one, hitting 1:50 on the 3 fast ones.  But I was really tired and had zero recovery time between each 100.  The super cool part is that I'm on week 3 of pretty hard (early season) workouts and yesterday's workouts (weights and a really hard bike) were killer.  And yet I killed this swim.  I nailed it to the wall and finally swam like my usual self.

What did I do differently?

• KICK.  A nice, strong, steady 6 beat kick.  No just dragging my feet behind me, a real kick.
• PAY ATTENTION.  I noticed that I'd forget what I was doing once in a while and almost frantically wave my arms trying to take strokes.  Those kind of strokes are worthless because you're just moving your arms and not actually grabbing any water.  I'd catch myself doing that (usually off the wall) and remind myself to chill out, stretch each stroke and grab the water.
• ROTATE.  I knew I was swimming flat and my coach confirmed it.  I think I have a harder time rotating on my non-breathing side (who doesn't?) and I really focused on driving from my hips, reaching with my arm, and feeling the water/air on each side as I rotated.

My new favorite commuter mug

Will and I have been a bit cheap this year (or smart, depending on how you look at it) and are taking breakfast with us on our ski trips instead of stopping somewhere along the way.  This usually consists of either a protein bar or if I really am organized, a breakfast sandwich.  And coffee.  Definitely coffee.

Our commuter mugs are all at least 5 years old.  Will has poached been using the best in our collection leaving me with the remaining mugs, which all leak to varying degrees.  Leaky mugs are annoying.  I was getting frustrated and was even thinking of getting a new mug this year.  I mean, its no fun showing up anywhere with coffee dribbles on you!

Lo and behold, Gone for a Run offered up a commuter mug as part of my Ambassadorship!  Bingo!  I selected the 140.6 theme, so I can be a triathlon snob, even when I'm heading to the slopes.  (I'm not quite a tri-snob on the slopes but do keep meaning to get an M-Dot sticker for my helmet.)

I used my new mug last Friday on our way up to the slopes.  We left at 6:30 and coffee was *definitely* required.

somewhere along I-70....

Thoughts:

• I really like the size.  We have a Subaru which has *terrible* cupholders - they're tiny.  This mug fits no problem!
• I like my coffee to stay HOT.  The mug seems to be well insulated.  The outside stayed nice and cool, which tells me that the heat is staying with my coffee, where it belongs!
• The lid has a flip cap which seals really well.  So well that I had sealed it up on the mountain when I was done and it was pressurized when we returned to town.  I haven't actually done a proper seal test (ie hold it upside down) but I think it would do well.
• The lid is a rubberized threaded gasket. NO LEAKS!  Yay!  I can drink coffee without fear of getting dribbles on me.  Hurray!

a little nicer photo.  Source: Gone for a Run

Specs:

• 15.2 ounces capacity
• stainless steel
• available in black, red, or blue

I think this mug would work really well in the summer with some frozen recovery drink as well.

I also thought about getting this design.  I like the trees.
Source: Gone for a Run

Price: $17.99

Website link: http://www.goneforarun.com/Commuter_Cups_s/1487.htm

There are 30 designs, so odds are pretty good that you'll find a commuter mug that you'll love!

*disclaimer* Gone for a Run provided this commuter mug for me to use and review.  All opinions remain my own.

Snowman Stampede 10 Mile Race Report

This won't be a typical race report, mainly because I didn't really race it.

This was the 3rd race of the Winter Distance Series and the second 10 mile race I'd done in a month.  My training was going *awesome* and I was really hoping for a PR.  And then we went to New Orleans to see family, and my husband was sick the whole time, and then he gave me his cold.  Or rather, my body resisted pretty good until the day after I "raced" a 10 mile race.

I knew when I got to the race site that this wouldn't be a "race-race" as my lungs didn't feel great.  I scrapped the warm-up, as I usually have asthma issues when I stop running, even between a warm up and a longer run.  I just decided to treat this as a training run with a bunch of people. Instead I hung out with friends, which was nice.  Among the usual group of tri dorks, two of my high school friends were also racing. I found one, and then lost her at the start when I went to drop my gear bag.  I was a bit bummed but I normally don't run with people, so I was fine with running alone.

I ate SunRype during the run (strawberry Fruit Source).  So good!

It was pretty nice out so I wore shorts and a short-sleeved shirt (in February!  in Colorado!).  The race started and we went down a hill and around a corner and suddenly I was right behind my two friends.  Its so funny how that worked out.

We ran pretty easy and chatted the miles away, catching up on life.  It was actually really, really fun.  

Sadly, the photographer didn't realize we were friends and we didn't get a group shot...

At mile 8 I just gradually pulled away.  I don't know if I was in race mode or if they were getting tired, but I just somehow ended up going faster than they were.  I pushed a bit to the end, but nothing crazy.  

Finish time: 1:43:47
This was only 42 sec or 4 sec/mile than last month, which included an epic asthma attack at the finish and a really icky last 3 miles.  And the best part - this race felt EASY.  Confirmation that my training is heading in the right direction.

And then I got pretty sick for the next 5 days and didn't really train.  Oops.  But hey, at least I had a fun Saturday :)

February 2014 Training Totals

January was full of training.  February was full of skiing, trips, and then being sick.  

But the skiing was incredible.  Knee deep powder and face-wide smiles.  I also had a really awesome run in NOLA and a pretty good 10 mile race.  Since I was coming down with a cold, I didn't "race-race" it.  Instead, I ran with 2 of my friends from high school and chatted away 8 miles.  Then I upped the pace a bit for the last 2.  I ended up being only 42 sec slower overall (4 sec/mile) and I felt GREAT afterwards.  Unlike the last 10 mile race where I was dying for the last 3 miles and had an epic asthma attack at the finish.  Progress!

February 2014
Swim: 6h 35m - 17607.18 Yd
Bike: 12h 12m - 154 Mi
Run: 9h 11m 59s - 51.13 Mi
Skiing: 12h
Yoga: 1h


January 2014
Swim: 9h 15m - 26137.36 Yd
Bike: 10h 03m 11s - 131.59 Mi
Run: 14h 20m 35s - 75.87 Mi
Skiing: 7h
Yoga: 1h

Running high at sea level

Runners highs are one of those things that are mythical and elusive.  I can count on one hand the number of times that I've experienced this.  Probably just 3 times and really, the first one probably didn't count.

1. during my first half marathon.  Probably not endophin related - more like, "wow, this is FUN, I get it now".  It was the first time I'd had fun while running.  (it made training for that half marathon a fairly long and not-so-fun process)
2. a ~6 mile run while at the family ranch in Southern Idaho.  I remember this run and the huge endorphin high vividly, even though this was a good 2+ years ago.
3. my run on Sunday.  I remember being mid-run and thinking to myself "wow, endorphin highs are awesome"

Endorphin highs are what keeps me running (among other things).  You never know when you'll experience it, but when you do, wow.  Amazing.

This past weekend, we were in New Orleans visiting our super cute 3.5 month old nephew.  Because I have a 10 mile race coming up, I had to get in a 1:40 run on Sunday.  In New Orleans.  Pros: sea level!  Cons: I may get shot or run over while running!

I posted on a forum I like for suggestions on where to run.  They suggested Lakeshore Drive or City Park.  The family we were visiting looked at me a bit crazy but also thought City Park would be good.  Although they suggested I drive there because it was "kind of far".  (It was 2 miles away).  I decided, since they're night people and likely wouldn't be up to drive me (we didn't rent a car) that I would just run from the house.  Besides, it was 8 AM on a Sunday morning, the morning after the local Mardi Gras parade.  No one was going to be out.

I had 20 min of warmup, then 1 hour at my half marathon pace (10:30), and a 20 min cool down.  City Park was ~2.25 miles away, so my tempo run started a bit before I got to the park.  I really didn't know what to expect.  I looked at the park on a map on my phone but didn't really register anything.  I was just hoping I'd find roads or maybe a bike path to run on for about 6-7 miles.  Along the east side of the park was a really nice bike path that followed a bayou, so I headed south on that for a bit.  Then a encountered a highway that ran east-west and I didn't feel like taking the path under the highway (it looked sketchy) so I took a road west that paralleled the highway but was within park boundaries (is it just me, or is it weird to have a park be bisected by a highway?).  I ran along that for a while and took a road called "diagonal" where I encountered a bunch of frisbee-golfers.  I think by this point I'd only seen 2 other runners (wearing M-dot visors) and a cyclist.  

It was a bit strange but also fun to not know exactly where I was.  I knew I was in a park, but I really didn't know where the roads went.  I was just exploring and having a fun time.  I hit a traffic circle at some point, took a road west and encountered a group of ~6 runners.  My people!  I asked if I could run with them for a bit and they said no problem.  I ended up running with two other women on a really, really nice trail.  It was very soft, which my legs appreciated after running on icky concrete for 4.5 miles.  These women were a bit faster than the pace I was supposed to do, but it was fun to run with people and the trail was really confusing.  I didn't want to get lost so I just kept up.  It was SO MUCH FUN.  Leave it to me to find not only runners but runners ON A TRAIL during a random run while travelling.  

We did 2 loops (about 1.25 miles each?) of the trail before we parted ways.  They were really nice ladies and they even gave me a tip about a beignet place inside the park.  I did a quick out and back to take some photos and then I started heading back home.  I was about a mile over my distance, but that was ok. I was riding my running high and really having a good time.

On my way home, I just enjoyed things and really absorbed the feeling of joy and luck.  I really lucked out with this run, in so many ways.  Its like the running universe knows when you need a good run and delivers it when you least expect it.  I plan on holding on to that endorphin high for quite a while and use it as motivation to keep running towards the next one.

I didn't realize it until this weekend, but I miss live oaks.  They're just so big and old and awesome.

City Park

Auntie E and Clark

tasty golden fried pillows of sugary happiness.....