5 mile run with T

It's been a few months since my last night-run with Teresa. We ran our old route which brought back memories of when Shannon was still living here.

The heat was relentless. No wind to speak of and the sun directly at our face for the first half of the run. T stuck some G-rades in the freezer before we left which offered encouragement to get back. 2 miles into our run we realized that we would need water alot sooner than we'd planned. We ran into her mom's neighborhood, knocked on her door and begged for water. It offered a nice break but made it more difficult to return to the heat. I enjoyed the conversation as usual which always motivates me and makes me look forward to every run. We finished those 5 miles dripping with sweat with a layer of salt on us. We enjoyed our chilled orange G-rade and made plans to run later in the evening next time.

running hills in Atlanta

The picture just doesn't do it justice. 80 degree heat at 7am this hilly run was one of the most difficult I've done this year. This Atlanta neighborhood had steap hills which offered very little time of recovery between them. My calves and back end was on fire. I initially planned to do 5-6 miles until I soon realized that my heart rate staying in the red zone would make for a very miserable longer run. I ran 3.5 miles which felt more difficult than our 13 miles on Saturdays on the flat Florida trails. As I'm posting this blog 3 days after this run my calves are still on fire. I need to do a run like this more often. My next run away from home will be California. Looking forward to 60 degree weather for those runs!

saturdays longer run

Balmiest (if that's a word) morning thus far this year fo sho! Started our run at 6:15am. Andrew, T and I decided 6 would be a good distance considering that Andrew hadn't run consistent for 2 weeks and T has Dunedin Tri tomorrow. I was relieved actually since later today I will be at the gym for my first instructional work out with Dana. We will be hitting the weights. I won't note all the uncomfortable moments of heat we experienced along the way. More memorable was the laughing at ourselves and light-hearted convo. No husband/male bashing today so the pace was slow and steady, although Andrew did mention he wanted to do some w-punching, LOL. Oh the memories we will have for years to come. Here is how it all went down:

Mile 1: 9:31
Mile 2: 9:18
Mile 3: 9:27
Mile 4: 9:24
Mile 5: 9:32
Mile 6: 9:30

Total time: 56:42, burned 540 cal (which I ate more than that after my run :)

Longer run with the Striders

It always amazes me that I won't set the alarm for anything else during the week until Fridays nights preparing for my Saturday run with the Striders. I literally pop right out of bed and get to it. This morning I didn't pick any of my girls up. They decided to meet me there because they had post run errands to run. Just before the sun came up we all met at the trail and joined about 50 others that show to enjoy this morning run. It was me, T & Dana. T was hurting from a spill she took at work and I think some back-to-back Tri soreness as well. We all ran out 3 miles and 3 back to get in the miles T wanted to do. Despite T's injury she pushed through and completed the 6 miles saying that she was "glad she did". From there Dana and I headed back out to put in 2 more. Our plan was to put 8 in and add a mile each week to gradually bring us back to our 13 we were running. From there, who knows, maybe the momentum will take us to a marathon distance.

8 miles: 1:15:06
Ave pace: 9:23 (I'm sure we will see this creep up over the summer)

Holy hamstrings

My hamstrings are really hurting tonight. Yesterday I lifted weights for the first time since I began training for Madiera Beach. Lots of lunges and squats, OUCH!! Tri training left little time for anything other than swim-bike-run. Tonight I had to force myself to run. I've learned that when I'm sore and stiff I need to push through it and eventually it gets better.

Tonights run started out tough due to the tight hamstrings and sore shoulders. The first 2 miles were not enjoyable. By mile 3 I felt myself settle into my comfort pace and relax. By mile 5 my shoulders were stiffening and I was thirsty. Not too many more nights left like this with less humidity. Come summer the night runs wont feel any different than the day ones, yuck. But, I prefer any run outside to the dreadmill. The 5 miles went down like this:

mile 1: 9:35
mile 2: 9:07
mile 3: 9:03
mile 4: 9:03
mile 5: 9:03

A little slower than I had hoped. I'm hoping to regain my pace in the next couple months with my weight training, track runs and intervals.

Madiera Beach Tri

I'm very disappointed in myself for not blogging the last few months. During this time I trained for my second Triathlon. My first was Longleaf which was 1/4 mile swim, 9 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. Madiera Beach was 1/2 mile swim, 15 mile bike and 3.1 run (3.25 according to my Garmin). This go around I decided to join the Master's Swim at the Y which I feel really made a difference in the swim. It really helped my confidence; which I'm sure if you were standing at the water's edge with me on race day this past weekend you wouldn't have believed me. I knew I could go the distance but I feared the unknown. The unknown of the ocean and swimmers around me. I did get the privaledge of being in the same wave with 2 great friends who were able to give me encouraging words before heading into the water. Teresa said something that really put the race into perspective for me. She said "don't let anyone get in the way of YOUR race today". That helped me realize that it wasn't realistic to worry about all the other athletes around me, I was to focus on all the training I did up until this point that prepared me to run "my race". I have to admit that I had a few moments of slight panic during the swim when I felt someone claw me and another few brush up against me. I was able to talk myself down easily and finish the swim in a respectible amount of time.....This was my first open water and 1/2 mile swim....swim time 19:34



Scott and the girls were waiting to cheer me on as soon as I got out of the water. Scott said I looked alot stronger leaving the swim than what I did at Longleaf. I would have to agree, I felt like I could've swam further. I did well in transition....T1 1:41



The 15 miles on the bike were not difficult however my time was alot slower than I planned. I climbed 2 bridges which was also a first for me. I never even attempted a climb in training. I did however get comfortable going through my gears which was a step ahead since my first race. I left it in one gear the entire time training for my first tri and during my first tri.....bike time 48:56 (a Tri bike would improve this time for sure)



Another job well done transition 2. I opted to not wear socks which saved me time but did allow a couple blisters to spoil my fun....T2 1:20



The first half of the run was on the road which made it hot and sticky. The second half was on the sand. My pace was an impressive 8 until I hit the sand. I was thankful for the breeze once I neared the water but the Garmin only delivered bad news of my pace being a 9 for most of the rest of the run. The loose sand close to the finish line made it feel as though I was never going to make enough progress to cross but I dug deep and did finish strong...run 27:55

Total time 1:39:24

29th/73 in my AG

Post race I felt releaved. I think I'm ready for a break, more so mentally then physically. I feel the playfulness of summer nearing and I'm looking forward to finding enjoyment in my running again. All the classes I use to take at the Y that I enjoyed so much have been on the back burner. But I can't help but feel a little torn about waiting until this fall for my next race. Especially when I think about my Tri friends doing Dunedin and a few of the others coming up. I'm going to try to stick to my decision of taking the summer off of tri training but it's going to be difficult.

03.02.10 track run

With the wind gust 20-40mph it was a real challenge to get through this run. Without plans for what type of intervals I would be doing I set out with a goal of 5 miles. For majority of my run the wind was at my face and while my Garmen read 9 pace at times my legs felt like they were running 7. Although the road was flat it felt as though I was running uphill all 5 of these miles. It was a challenge mentally. I told myself that the harder the wind would blow the better the workout would be for me. After 3 miles my legs were tired. I struggled to commit myself to the last 2 miles. I'm glad I did because once it was over I was proud of myself.

Mile 1: 8:58 (wind at my face)
Mile 2: 8:38 (wind at my face)
Mile 3: 8:08 (wind at my back)
Mile 4: 9:13 (wind at my face)
Mile 5: 9:08 (face again!)