Run #1 09.28.09

Another run down on the treadmill.

10 min warm up @ 10:30 pace
6 x 800 8:13 pace
90 sec RI between 800's
10 min cool down @ 10:30 pace

total miles 5.45, time 50 minutes

Run with the Striders 09.26.09

After 2 tough work outs I planned to run 10 miles with some of the veteran Strider Runners. I was a little scared of the condition my legs would be in at a 10 mile/9.5 pace. I met Rebecca and Mel at 6am. The pace was easy and alot more relaxed than I expected. Rebecca turned around at 3 1/2 miles to walk back. She has a hip injury that she is trying to heal before her full marathan in 2 weeks.

Mel and I continued on without any idea what we were about to experience @ mile 7....We could hear it way before we saw it. Whatever it was was tearing through the woods aggressively. We kept running, thank goodness because it ran across the trail about 25 meters behind us. What a close call that was!!! An UGLY wild boar. If I never see that again it will be too soon. We finished up at mile 10 and met back up with Rebecca to walk another mile for a cool down. The only ache I had was in my feet. I do need new shoes.

09.25.09 Swim

100 warm up free-style
25 fast, 25 easy
50 fast, 50 easy
75 fast, 75 easy
50 fast, 50 easy
25 fast, 25 easy
1 minute RI
Repeat x 1 more time (the book says 2 more times but i didn't have it in me)
100 kick, 100 arms
100 cool down
total distance 1300

After coming home and showering I could tell that I worked hard because my whole body was tired and sore. The run thurs & the swim drill of today were some of the toughest work outs thus far and I only just started with the book workouts. I'm hopeful that these challenging work outs will push me past the comfort zone I've kept myself in.

track run 09.24.09

i thought i would loath getting on the treadmill. last time i was on one i ran speed drills with Shannon & T. it was the first REAL track run from "Run Less, Run Faster", grouling :0

warm up x 10 min @ 10:30 pace
12 x 400 @ 1:57 (8:13 pace)
90 second RI
10 min cooldown @ 10:30 pace
total miles 10K
total time 1:03

at first i felt like this work out was going to be easy. by the 4th 400 i knew it would be more like a challenge.

Pimped out ride 09.23.09

Hit the trail by myself today for the first time. Tara was sick & T has a job (that gets in the way of my training with her-darn it!). On with the ride. Used my Garmen in bike mode & i rode 9 miles in 31:15. Great time!!! Total miles 13. it got me motivated to head to Suncoast Bikes.

i pimped out my ride with Aerobars, new tape to match the bike, fuel tank and pouch to carry my sports beans in. i am now tri ready. i also picked up my first pair of tri shorts. 1 hour at the bike shop $275.00. riding on the trial looking stylish-PRICELESS!!

Track Run 09.22.09

so i didn't do a "track run". it was raining heavier than a light sprinkle so i couldnt wear my Garmin. since the point was to do some speed training i ran fast at a "pushing uncomfortable" pace. my best guest would be around 8:30. distance was a 5K. next time it rains i think i will wear my Garmen anyway & protect it with a baggie & 2 rubber bands. thats what McGiver would do!!

Swim 09.21.09

speed work in the pool.

100 free-style warm up
2 x 200 drills (175 medium speed, 25 sprint)
2 x 200 kick
2 x 200 arms
100 sprint
100 cool down

total distance 1500 meters..no messin around!!

unknown ride

Mid afternoon ride on the trial with T. we started with a few mock transitions to work out all the kinks and to gage what it is i need to work on before race day. i found that clipping into my bike will probably be my greatest challenge without getting run over or falling trying to get out of them after the ride.

The picture to the right is my best attempt to air my tires to 130 psi. i thought there was something wrong with my pump until T EASILY aired them up where they needed to be with EASE. that is why she is the pit crew & i just ride. T-THANK YOU FOR DOING ALL THE WORK. on with the ride.....

T's computer & garmin was dead so i proudly said "no worries, i've got mine" only to have to tell her half way through the ride that i didn't even start my watch. that is why this ride is titled "the unknown ride". who knows how many miles or how fast. it was a good ride regardless. T did say this ride was more difficult and that her legs were tired. later in conversation she figured out that she didnt eat breakfast or lunch. alot of mysteries are solved on these Sunday rides. after leaving the trail T decided she would eat a meal and I would go home & work on my upper body strength. she may not always be there to air my tires :0

Run with Striders

Up at 5:30 this Saturday morning for a run with the Striders. Me, T & Andrew hit the trail before the sun came up. It was a little erie at the start but that all changed once the sun provided some light. It's usually a rough roll out of bed that early but as soon as I hit the trail I know its all worth it. We ran 6 miles at around 10:15 pace. My Garmin was dead this morning after leaving it on all night....bummer. T ran strong and confident today and I was so proud of her. Derek snuck up on us around 4 miles into the run and him and Andrew finished strong together. Me & T took a couple water breaks and popped a few sports beans for fun. Always enjoy the Saturday runs with great friends and great conversation. Tomorrow the bike :)

Swim 09.18.09

Best swim to date....100 meter free-style warm up and 900 meters continuous swim at medium speed (was so excited)....then 200 kick board, 200 arms and 100 cool down..great swim, total distance 1500 meters...whoop whoop!!

Hottest run ever!!! 09.17.09

2:30 in the afternoon is not a smart time to run outside, no clouds, no wind, no shade. 93 degrees with 100% humidity. the plan was to run 6 miles with 3 being short tempo pace, that did not happen.

first 2 miles were done at 10:21 pace. (per plan)
1 mile at short tempo pace of 8:46. (2 miles short of plan)
1 mile at easy pace 9:28. (too fast per plan, wanted to get it over)

it was a smart decision to not prolong the agony because it took a good hour to recover afterwards. next run will be before the sun rises or after it goes down.

bike w/ Tara 09.16.09

Another 15 mile bike with Tara. Proud of both of us since we again remembered to air up our tires, stretch and not do an figure 8's on the trail in front of other riders. The bike felt good & the sun felt hot. Good company and calories burned :) I do need to get my cadence sensor to work. Haven't set it up and I've had it for 3 weeks.

swim 09.15.09

Strong mid-afternoon swim today. I tried out a swimming drill that "Run Less, Run Faster" suggested...

100 meter free-style warmup
25 meter fast, 25 slow
50 fast, 50 slow
75 fast, 75 slow
50 fast, 50 slow
25 fast, 25 slow
1 min RI (I was suppose to repeat that 2 more times for the whole work out. I felt it too challenging at this point to complete it.) So, I substituted and did the following:

200 (175 medium, 25 sprint)
100 kickboard & 100 arms
100 cool down.........Total swimming distance 1050 meters.

run 09.13.09

First run after reading "Run Less, Run Faster". This book focuses on a 3 day a week run with 2 days of cross training which will make it more feasable to train for the 1/2 marathan & triathalon. Since I missed my long run which was rained out yesterday I ran it tonight.................
8 mile run without T, long & lonely...according to this book my goal pace is 9:46 for 8 miles.
Mile 1 9:54 ave pace,
Mile 2 9:43,
Mile 3 9:51,
Mile 4 9:53,
Mile 5 9:48,
Mile 6 9:40,
Mile 7 8:32, I sped it up to get home faster
Mile 8 9:28.

The next 2 runs for the week will be track repeats of 12 x 400 meters @ 1:57 and a tempo run of 2 miles easy at 10:21, 3 miles @ short tempo at 8:46 and 1 mile easy at 10:21. I'm excited to put this running plan with cross training to the test & change things up. 1/2 marathon pace goal is 9:26.

Mock Tri 09/10/09

With no intensions to swim/bike & run this afternoon i headed to the pool. i did a 100 warm up & felt strong. thats when the idea of timing my swim & adding the bike & run came to me. i had the time & felt good. i swam 400 meters in 7 1/2 minutes & swam 225 more for more training. ran after the swim since i did not have my bike w/ me. i ran 2 miles & shaved the last mile off due to the extra swim. 1st mile at 8:42 pace & 2nd mile at 8:36 pace. the run was sooo hot at 1 pm. i then got in my car & drove home, got on my bike & rode 9 miles in 34 minutes. my bike time was dissappointing however i had to slow down a few times to avoid the inconsiderate drivers that wouldnt get over. without transition my total time was 1:07:11 (i had to estimate mile 3 for the run at around 8:45). i reviewed last years Longleaf results to compare my time to who placed. the time to beat was 1:10:50. i now question my swim time since first place swim was 8:32 for the 1/4 mile. i will time myself again on my next swim & see how accurate i was. im now motivated to train a little harder.

T-in your age group you missed 1st place by 16 seconds....OH MAN!!! your transition time was so much faster than the rest, all of your events were impressive...You are amazing!!!

bike w/ tara 09.09.09

we started the ride out by stretchin & airing our tires up (T would be proud). we also decided that if we encountered other riders that we would communicate & stay to the right (its the little things that save lives). we started the first few miles out around 15 mph & finished the second half of the 15 mile ride at 18 mph. we saw one red fox & a turtle that we had to swirve to miss. as usual on that trial the wind was at our face riding out & the wind was at our face riding back. after our ride we stretched again. AMAZING. still dreaming of the fall weather. the ride was
H-O-T.

best swim so far 09.08.09

Best swim so far!!..started with at 300 meter free-style warm-up then did 100 meters kick, 100 arms and proceeded to do 2 x 200's (175 medium speed & 25 sprint). this swim was worth noting since i found a medium speed. i use to only have 2, slow & sprint. i then did another 100 kick/100 arm and finished with 400 meter free-style medium speed with the last 100 being a cool down. i felt strong & enjoyed it today. Total meters 1500...YEAH!!

on a side note i did drown my cell phone in between laps when i was checking my voice mail :0

Run w/ Striders 09.07.09

Special Labor Day run this am with the Striders. we all met at 6:30 am for a 6 mile run. this was Jenn's longest distance so far. she kept a great pace & when she needed to take a break she walked a fast pace. me & T ran ahead a few times & doubled back to get her to add distance & encourage Jenn. the last couple miles were the toughest. T pushed herself through it and we helped run Jenn in. GO TEAM! it felt good to start the holiday off that way with good friends & an excuse to eat junk with our families:)

bike 09.06.09

Rode the trail with T in the heat of the day. we rode about 11-12 miles at an average 18 mph. came real close to running into a deer, close encounter. i was suprise at how fast my hands reacted to grabbing the breaks. my speech was alot slower to respond-i yelled "oh deer" which did not give T a clear indication that we were about to run into one. she was looking towards me in conversation & the deer came out from the other direction. luckily T's bad luck had run out :)

run w/ striders

6 miles this am while the sun was coming up....BEAUTIFUL..felt good to meet other striders going out and coming back with words of encouragement..With T with me we occupied our 1:08 run with good conversation..Great start to the holiday weekend :)

swim 09.04.09

1200 meter swim..started with 300 meter free-style warm-up, then drills of 100 kick & 100 arms then 175 free-style with 50 sprint then back to 100 kick/100 arms and 300 free-style..good swim and off to small group with goggle rings around my eyes :)

Run 09.03.09

Thought I was running with jen but she never showed..where did my jenny go...first mile was with Hannah & Grace-run/walk. they are excited to run the Julia's Run For a Reason 1 mile at starkey next month. Grace talked the whole time, the more we ran the more she chatted (so funny). After dropping them off I continued to run...Total miles 4...Average pace breakdown:
mile 1- 9:21
mile 2- 9:00
mile 3- 8:54
mile 4- 8:31

cant wait for the fall weather :)

spin 09.02.09

woke up this morning excited to hit the trail with Tara & noticed that the skies were grey. unfortunately it started to rain enough to be concerned about a slippery trail so I settled on spin class instead. glad i did. Robin taught an excellent 45 minute class.

run 09.01.09

since it was overcast i had a great idea to run at the hottest part of the day. funny how it seems less hot outside until you start running. total miles were 4 with an average pace of the following: mile 1: 9:01
mile 2: 8:51
mile 3: 8:46
mile 4: 9:45 (cool down)

my face was glowing red & my body was in need of hydration. looking forward to the fall weather :)