Making it through the Holdiays

Last weekend we had our first of four Christmas celebrations for 2010. I love this time of year and all of the get togethers and parties, but they sure don't fit into Ironman training! I was a little stressed about it last week when I missed a number of workouts and then I realized that in about 10 days all of this fun will be over and I will still have nearly 5 months before race day. So I have decided to do what I can, go with the flow, and hit it hard again when January rolls around.

We had a blast at the Whiterock marathon relay! I am SO proud of Soren. She woke up at 4:30 am to run a 5 mile leg of the marathon that would not start until nearly noon! We were at the race site by 6:15 and it was pretty cold, so we stayed in the car for a while. Pete and I were running the 3rd leg and Soren was running the 5th, so our buses did not leave Fair Park at the same time. Pete and I loaded our bus and left our sweet 11 year old standing with strangers in the cold trusting that she would get on the right bus, make it to her relay exchange point and be waiting when Nana came running, many hours later. That was a crazy feeling. Pete and I arrived at our exchange point right before the race started, so we would wait for the 1st and 2nd relay members to complete their legs and then we would be off. Zach was handing off to me and thanks to cell phones, I had the warning of our first runner and was warmed up and ready when he came running. I had a leg that was, according to my garmin, 6.8 miles. I took off and was not in the mood to run hard, but felt the pressure of being on a team and pushed myself to a great run of 50 minutes. After I handed the timing chip off to my relay partner I waited with mom for Pete to come hand off to her (my team was a good 14 minutes ahead when Pete got the chip; he made up 8 minutes of that lead in those 6.8 miles!) and then I ran with mom to the 5th exchange and was able to run with Soren to the finish. Those 5 miles of running with Soren in the marathon atmosphere were so awesome! We had a blast taking in the cheers of the crowd and looking at the beautiful neighborhoods we were running through. This was Soren's first time to run 5 miles and she kicked butt! She averaged 9 minute miles and finished strong. She said she was able to take a nap on the bus and stay warm while she was waiting for her leg of the run. I was so relieved to see her waiting when mom and I ran up. What an amazing kid I have. That was such a fun day. I was able to log 16 miles for the day and enjoyed each and every one of them.

This week is Christmas. I am not sure how many of my workouts I will get competed, but I will give it my all.

going going going

So. Do you like how I have been updating more often as promised? :)

I have been able to stick to the program for the most part. Things are going well. I was able to take a girls trip to San Antonio and run the half marathon. It was such a great time. I went with two girl friends and we stayed at the host hotel; that was the first time I have done that. So.worth.the.money!!! I didn't even have to use a port-o-potty! That is unheard of at a marathon! I was able to run my half, run up and shower and then get back to the finish line to watch my friend finish her marathon. I had a great run with a 1:45 finish time. We had so much fun that we signed up for the Austin half on our way home that evening and booked the host hotel there. Can't wait! That run is in February.

Me, Nancy and Kellie pre race on our balcony

a view of the starting line from our balcony

post race waiting for a table at a mexican restaurant on the river walk

I also got to run a fun 5k before Thanksgiving. It was the Grand Prairie Sneek a Peek. Runners from the family included me, Soren, Reese, Nana, Mat, Kara, Wyatt, Ashton, Parker, Zach, Jodi (with baby Anna bulging), Avery and even Alissa! We all went the full 5k! Go Parkers! We ran through the drive thru Christmas lights display. It was strange to run at night and I found that I was picking up my feet a lot more than normal. I ran a 21:38, which is a good 5k time for me. Running is going well.


Danna and I signed up to go to Hell Week in Fredericksburg in March. We plan on doing a 100-120 mile ride on Saturday and then ride again on Sunday (we will decide what distance after we assess the damage from the day before!) and then come home on Monday. I am excited to be with Danna when she rides her first century ride!

Training is going well. I am really glad that I have a good base because my schedule is a lot more demanding this time around and it is good to have the confidence that I can go the distance even if I don't always hit all of my workouts.

This is pre season week 12 and it calls for 11 hours. I will run a 6 mile leg of the Whiterock Marathon on a relay team on Sunday and since I need a longer run than that I will most likely just run on in to the finish. That will give me around 16 miles which is a little longer than I need but I love the race atmosphere so much that I am sure I won't mind! I am on a team with Zach and three of his friends and we are racing against Team Outlaws which includes Pops, Nana, Pete, Soren and Mat. Losers buy lunch. It will be such a great time.

Rock and roll. Love this life!

Training!

Training. Check. Blogging. Not Check. Sorry. It is going great! This is week 6 in a 36 week program. It started slow; taking the entire summer off didn't help my speed or endurance-go figure. But my body is slowly remembering how to train for an Ironman. I ran the Reuel Little Classic half marathon two weeks ago. 1:51. Not bad for where I am and considering I ran it as a training run. I was happy with it. Funny thing is - I was the overall female winner! I guess all of the fast girls slept in that day. Sweet. I can pick 'em! I promise to update more often on this road to IM Woodlands.

I will just pick up where I am. This week's schedule:

Swim: 2:30
Bike: 4:15
Run: 2:10

Total: 8:55

Easy cheezy.

Swimming is going well. I am swimming at a new gym across the street. I set the alarm for 10 til 5 and I am in the water at 5! Love it. I was timing myself on my 100s last week and I was frustrated that they were slower than last year. I felt like I had made some improvement and I was giving it all I had for these. Then when I was leaving the pool it dawned on me that it could possibly be a 25 meter pool rather than yards. I asked at the front desk and indeed it is meters! Sweet! It is always nice to not be slower. I am so excited to have Danna to chat with about training. She is racing with me! It is going to be so fun!

On the Program

This week Pete and I started introductory week 1 of a 36 week training program for the Woodlands race. I am trying not to be frustrated at my lack of speed and endurance from my long leisurly summer. There is much work to do and I am very excited to get back into the groove of a regular workout schedule. Today I stumbled across a quote for some running motivation:

LISTENING TO YOUR FEET crunch gravel for an hour can erase a day's worth of stress

Here We Go!

It was nice to take 2010 off from racing, but it is again time to get serious. Let's do this!

Yep.

It is a good life.

I am still going strong, though it be in a little different way than last years' relentless ironman training. We are still doing boot camp! 10 weeks! We generally meet 3 mornings a week now and a few of the girls and I do yoga on one of the off mornings. I am still running regularly (the heat is amazing!) and biking sporadically. Summer schedule (lack of) is in full swing, so the girls and I are travelling around like crazy. I have been good about keeping up with my workouts on the road, generally doing some kind of run/push-up/sit up circuit for a an hour or so.

I have not swam in months. Not sure why. Miss it. Must do something about that.

Diet. Great! I actually WANT to eat fruits and vegetables now. I really cannot believe that. The downer is that for the first time I am experiencing food guilt when I eat crappy food. I guess I didn't before because I was working out 15-20 hours a week and could afford to do that. Now, with an hour a day, not so much! I can tell a difference from just one day of poor eating. Luckily it is not as much of a temptation for me as it used to be; however, when you are on the road a lot like we have been, it makes it difficult to eat well.

Still not signed up for any races for this year. Considering Whiterock marathon in December and maybe the ultra at Cowtown again. I got a top ten finisher's jacket in the mail a couple of weeks ago! It is pretty cool; it says "Cowtown Ultra Marathon Top Ten Finisher" right across the back. Sweet.

So there you have it. Not training for a race, but training for a healthy, active life.

Still on the Wagon

Today started week 4 of boot camp! Lakeview Circle kicks butt! I am so proud of my neighbors. I am totally hooked, too. I had the opportunity to spend the night in Denton so I would not have to leave so early for work today, but I did not want to miss the workout! I have to say, Pete is the boot camp trainer champ. He is keeping us on our toes; we never know what the day will bring. Fridays are fun days and we have enjoyed flag tag, relay races and team activities. We are all learning some fun yoga lingo, too. It is so hard not to laugh at some of those moves. So anyway, we are really enjoying it and have no plans of quitting. We have up to 10 people some mornings; 6 has been the fewest. We are total dorks and are considering getting "LVC" (Lakeview Circle) t-shirts made. You know you're jealous.

My running continues to improve. For the third month in a row I went to the Burleson Run Club 5k and shaved a little more time. I am down to 23:30 and my PR is 22:45, so I am closing in on that. I think I could have run faster yesterday but Pete and I put in 120 miles on the tandem over Saturday and Sunday. Before the run on Sunday we rode in Glen Rose and busted out 40 crazy hard miles. The group we were with took off at a cool 27 mph. If I had not been on the tandem I would have turned around after 1 mile, but I had no choice given my position in the rear! It was one of those days where you sigh and think "I do NOT want to work this hard today" but when it is over and you see how fast you went and know how hard you worked it feels great and you go reward yourself with some Hammond's BBQ! Saturday we rode from the house to Panera (stopped and enjoyed a sandwich) and back for a nice 80 mile ride. Since we had the break in the middle we decided to push hard during the ride, so that made for two hard ride days in a row with my 5k to round out the weekend. I am not disappointed in that.

Want an update on the eating thing?! I am STILL with it! I have eaten vegetables at every lunch and dinner. Last weekend I rode in the Meunster German Fest bike rally and was invited to eat at Catfish Platter after the ride. I, obviously, could not refuse! My meal came with catfish, pinto beans and hush puppies. No green vegetables to be found on the menu. So do you know what I did? After we ate I went to the grocery store and bought some V8 garden vegetable soup and I ate it. Pat me on the back.

And Fruit... I have had a break through. I was pretty stuck, because I just don't like fruit and for some reason could not choke it down like I have been able to do with the vegetables (do not misunderstand me, I still HATE vegetables, but for some reason I can get them down). So I decided I was going to make a smoothie. I don't like yogurt (surprise!) so I was just going to use ice and frozen fruit, like a snow cone! So I got the fruit out of the freezer and a frozen blueberry rolled out of the bag onto the counter. Remember, this is just about 2-3 days into my craze and I have not had my processed carbs that I love so much and my sugar crave is in full force. So this tiny frozen blueberry looks dangerously like a piece of chocolate and before I knew what I was doing I grabbed it and tossed it in my mouth. Shock and fear rushed over me as I realized that I was, in fact, chewing up a piece of fruit. Oh my gosh...no gagging! It didn't taste bad at all! In fact, could it be, no certainly not, but yes, I actually kinda liked it! Then I tried a tiny piece of frozen strawberry and that was ok, too! I did it! I ate fruit! I ate a small bowl full and was so unbelievably proud of myself. I don't know what freezing does to the nutrition of blueberries and strawberries, but whatever, I am eating them. They are organic with nothing added, so I say they count. What an ordeal.

So life goes on. And it is going on for me as I add new exercises and foods for the first time in my 33 years of life. As I have been composing this we broke for lunch and I ate, for the first time in my life, broccoli. Gross. I put a bite in my mouth and had to spit it out. It was making my throat close up and I could feel a gag coming on. That would be embarrassing at work so I discretely did the napkin thing and got rid of that crap. Then I decided I had to eat it because it was the only vegetable (besides those little strings of carrots) that came with my meal. So with every bite of chicken I piled on a small piece of broccoli, so small that even I didn't mind it, and I eventually ate a few stalks of the nasty green stuff. Go me.

Life is good. Mine is blessed. I am extremely grateful.

I think I can I think I can

We are in week two of the Lakeview Circle Boot Camp. So far, so good. It is still difficult to get out of bed at 4:45am to exercise but once I get up I feel good. The boot camp type exercises are good for me; I do not ever do arms and abs and I am also enjoying the variety of cardio that Pete brings each day. It has been fun and challenging and I look forward to the results.

As part of the camp, Pete has instructed us on nutrition. Many are out there for weight loss and he emphasized that most of their results will come from their diet, not from an hour of exercise. He cautioned them to not let morning exercise let them become more sedentary throughout the day as it tends to do when you first start an exercise program.

For me, I have finally taken the next step toward healthy eating. A few years ago I started concentrating on lean proteins (rather than chicken nuggets) whole grain carbs (rather than french fries) and reducing sugar. Those are good things, but in my 33 years of life I have never eaten fruit and I can count on one hand the vegetables that I will eat and I can also count on one hand how many times a week I actually eat them. I hate all of them. So I started this week making myself eat vegetables at lunch and dinner, at least 2 servings. I am still out on fruit. I ate half a strawberry last night and only gagged once. I tried to eat a whole strawberry this morning and just could not do it.

I know I can make progress in this area. It is all in my head. I could not take gu until recently and that was a huge thing for me to overcome, so I can overcome fruits and vegetables, too. A little at a time. I eat a lot of carbs and my goal is to one day take in 80% of those carbs from fruit and vegetables rather than grains.

I am also taking steps to cut out processed foods. That has lead to a major sugar detox. Wow, I knew I was addicted to those kinds of foods, but my body is freaking out right now. I switched from whole grain bread to bread made from sprouted grains, so for two days I have not had any processed carbs, so essentially no sugar (since I could not eat the strawberry!) and I am having extreme cravings that make me fight the grumpies. Everyone says that when you are "on" sugar you crave it constantly and when you are "off" sugar you do not even miss it. I cannot imagine that, but I am going to try to achieve it.

I have been able to add in a bike or run workout each day in addition to the boot camp and the running is feeling better and better. Saturday I was able to run in the rain and that was so refreshing! I forgot how great that can be. Now I need to get back in the pool. We turned off the heater to save on the electric bill and I think it is still a little chilly (78 degrees) but it is time to get back in there.

Nice

It is warm. I am so happy. VERY windy, but that is to be expected this time of year and I will take wind over cold any day.

It is so nice to be out. I get some kind of workout in most days. I have been running on the trail while Soren is at practice now that it stays light so late and I have really enjoyed those evening runs.

We get "Inside Texas Running" magazine and this month my name was in it! I noticed that there was a writeup about Cowtown so I looked over it. I knew I was in the top 10 women finishers, but I did not know that I was in the top 20 overall finishers! I was 19th. It was cool to see my name in print. I saved it :)

I am still recovering, I guess, from the 50k. I can run, but it is slower and much more labored. I have lost almost 2 full minutes on my 5k. We did the Burleson run last Sunday and I ran a 24:14. Terrible. But I know I can get back to where I was and I am really in no hurry.

I need to sign up for a race. It is really the only thing that motivates me to push myself hard and not skip workouts. Pete thinks I should do some olympics and he usually knows best. I will decide this fall what IM I want to do in 2011. Leaning toward Arizona or Florida. To get into FL you have to be at the race, so it will most likely be AZ.

One Week

Well. I worked out everyday this week. Wow. I have lost a lot. When I run I am so out of breath running at a pace that I ran 31 miles at just a month ago. It is crazy windy right now, so I try not to pay attention to my pace on the bike but just give a good effort. One week down. Just keep going...

yes, I am still here.

no, I have not been training.

I have been painting. For like 2 weeks or something crazy.

Now I am done. I will start working out again. I promise.

A Little Excitement

I went to the results website for Cowtown to look up a friend's race and my eye caught my name on the front page, which means I was in the top 10! WooHoo! I was 9th overall female in the ultra marathon. They only go one deep for awards and I was 4th in my age group, so I will have to be happy with my finisher's medal. Pretty neat.

Slow and Steady as She Goes

Well, I did it. I am a 50k finisher. I am not exactly sure what my overall feeling about the race is. As of right now, as I sit here in pain 4 hours post finish, I am thinking that long distance running is for the birds. It was about 7 miles too long, meaning, the excitement of the race atmosphere and seeing 20,000 runners wore off about 7 miles before the finish line. Those last miles were pretty brutal. Up to mile 22 I was really enjoying being out there; extremely happy with how I felt; knew I was on pace to finish in 5 hours or less; and had the great company of my friend, Nancy. At the Ultra turn off at mile 23.5, we had a 6 mile stretch on the trinity trail that was very lonely and difficult. I decided it was time to break out the ipod and do a little walking. I walked for at least one minute at each mile marker during that stretch. Once I made it back to the main course with the marathoners I just scooted (can't really call it running at that point) on in to my finish in 5:01. I am happy with my time, for sure, but I am going to pay for it for the next few days! I can barely walk and it usually gets worse for me before it gets better. I am happy that I did it. Not sure if I will ever do it again.

**the funniest poster I saw on the course read: "That's not sweat, it is your fat cells crying"

Oh, what else have I got to do on Saturday?

The dog is ours. We left him at the shelter for a week to see if anyone claimed him and then brought him home. He goes running, sometimes up to three times a day, with Pete, me, Soren and anyone else who is willing. He seems to be very sweet and pretty smart. Oh, and we named him Prefontaine, for obvious reasons.

As for Saturday (Cowtown 50k!)... I don't have anything else to do. No where else to go. The weather looks pretty perfect for running. Dang it, I guess I will go. This will be interesting. How bad can it be? I mean, it's just 31 miles. Oh crap. Stay tuned, I will report, no matter how bad it may be.

Still not sure...

More snow for us today. This is a crazy, cold, wet winter for us. I am SO glad I did not sign up for Lonestar. I would need to be doing a lot of outdoor riding and running and it is nice to not have that pressure right now.

Cowtown. I have done two 22 mile runs. The first (two weeks ago) was awesome. It was in the 60s and I ran easy, felt great, no recovery time, averaged 9:01. Yesterday's 22 miles was a very different story. It was only in the mid-upper 30s and I have not been out in the cold enough to let my body get acclimated to running in that temperature range. I had to bundle up and that alone makes a long run more cumbersome. I started out and felt heavy and slow. By mile 6 I started walking for 1 minute every 3 miles because I still was just not feeling it. I tried hard to psyche myself up to enjoy being outside but to be honest, I was not having fun. At mile 12, a black lab older puppy ran up beside me and he ran with me all the way back to the highway (to the 22 mile mark). I had two miles up the highway back to the house and knew that this dog would not find his way back home, would not stop following me anyway, and was getting very tired. I called Pete and he came and picked us up. I averaged 9:30s for those 22 miles and stopped my garmin when refilling my water 3 times so really, it was even slower than that.

So now I have a dog to find a home for. We are hoping he is chipped; I will go today and have him scanned. As for the race...well, if I run it, it will be nothing more than a finish for sure, and possibly a painful one. Is it worth it? I do really love the race atmosphere. It is so fun to be out there with all of those athletes. But will the fun wear off long before the finish line? Did I mention that I am not signed up for the marathon? I came home from IM Cozumel feeling like I could conquer the world and signed up for the 50k. Stupid, I know. Coach Pete just shakes his head. He is pretty mad at me as a coach right now because I don't run for 6 days and then go out and run 22 miles. He says I am begging for an injury. If it is freezing the morning of the race that will most likely seal the deal for me. I just cannot stand being cold right now. I don't even get very warm once I start running. I love being on the trainer and sweating all over the place; it is the only time I truly get warmed up.

So there you have it. Still undecided.

Oh, yea, and I missed the boat on Boulder! Crap! That was the one race I was sure about for this year and it already sold out. I am so bummed. But on the bright side, I really did want to watch Danna race and now I can do that. She is training hard and will do so well! Now I don't know if I will race at all this season.

hmm...what to do

I may have given myself permission not to run Cowtown. I have never signed up for a race and not run it.

I feel fine. I am excited about how I have recovered from IM Cozumel, but I sure am enjoying working out a little to stay in shape with no great pressure of an upcoming race.

I run 10-12 miles and then I want to be done. I don't want to run 26 miles right now. I know I could do it, but it would not be a well trained for run and Pete has never trained me to "finish". He trains me to race and he gave me a program to race Cowtown. I have shortened the last two long runs and that is not going to work. I decided that if I do not have a good 22 mile run this weekend then I do not need to run the marathon. Not sure if I will run one of the other distances or drop it altogether.

On a riding note, Pete and I have enjoyed an entire week of outdoor riding. It has been windy, but not cold. We rode the tandem a lot. It is a blast and we can cover a lot more ground because our average is a few mph faster than when we ride individual bikes.

So I guess I will decide on Monday about Cowtown. Oh, and I need to sign up for Boulder. Danna signed up and the price goes up on 2/1. That is the only race I know I will do for sure. I need to find a few more and get committed.

Cold Weather Blues

I hate to use the word "hate", but I HATE cold weather! The older I get the grumpier winter makes me. And this winter seems especially harsh.

I did my 14 mile run with Zach and we averaged 8:20s. That was too fast for me to be able to hold for much longer, so for my 16 miler this weekend I slowed down to 8:50s and that was fine; except that I was freakin' COLD the WHOLE TIME. As soon as I walked in the door, I showered and left to take the kids to Six Flags for the day and I stayed cold all day long. Miserable. Then my foot started hurting. Grrr.

We were at Great Wolf Lodge for the next two days, so I skipped my 10 mile run on Sunday and did a lot of stretching and massaging on my foot. It seems fine now. I will go do a short run on it this afternoon to see how it feels.

I am scheduled to increase each long run by 2 miles until I reach 24 and then back off. I love to run, but man, this cold weather is making me think twice about my marathon plans. Cold to me is 40-50 degrees and this 20-40 degree crap stinks.