Training Week 8:
After my 10 mile run with Mr. R&R the day before, I spent Monday night foam rolling my legs, doing dishes, and generally recovering. By Tuesday I felt good enough to do the 4.5 miles my training plan prescribed. I felt good enough to run negative splits!
Wednesday night was another Strider Fun Run at the same park as the last one I attended. Once again it was chilly and windy when we started running, but that didn't really bother me much since I actually prefer cooler weather when attempting to run my ass off. I took off like a bat out of hell and found myself as the 2nd place female at the one mile mark. Unfortunately, I think the real speed demons showed up and I was passed shortly after Mile 1. I really didn't mind getting passed by that woman - she was obviously having a better night than I was. What did bother me was the woman who popped out of a side trail and pushed me into 4th. Yes, I know it wasn't a real race, so it's technically not cheating, but COME ON!!!! The turn into the wind didn't help matters any since I didn't have my two human windshields this time. I admit fully that the bullshit voice started whispering at that point and a few more women slipped past me. The monster hill allowed a few more to get in front of me. Grrr. I tried to put the irritation out of my mind as I looped around the pond (the goslings are growing fast!) and pushed up the final hill. As I came down the last hill, I was the 11th place female from what I could tell. I saw one girl not too far in front of me, so I sucked it up, started running faster, and sprinted past her for 10th place. That is why you never slow down as you approach a finish - someone might be gaining on you.
Afterward I was discussing the whole "woman who popped in off a side trail" with Mr. R&R and he said that another woman did the same thing later in the course. For almost 2 miles there were no females in front of him and then all of a sudden, one popped in off a side trail! What the heck!
Thursday of that week was my Friday since I'd decided to give myself a 3 day weekend. After work, I had the opportunity to act as a running coach to two of my co-workers. I took them out for 3 miles after work and it was a very different experience for me. They're both very new to running and both run at very different paces, so the majority of the miles were spent running back and forth between them and motivating them. I give them both credit...they were both struggling, but they kept going and when we finished they both said they wanted to do it again soon. No bullshit voices there! It also made me incredibly grateful to the people who have coached me (namely Mr. R&R and the Iron Cheerleader) - this coaching stuff is tough stuff! I had originally planned to use the run with them as a warm up before hitting the bike when I got home, but when I walked in the door I found Mr. R&R all suited up in his running clothes and decided to join him for a couple easy miles. My legs felt light and springy, and it felt good to run at my normal pace. Afterward, we hit up a nearby Mexican restaurant where I may have had one more mango margarita than I should have - but it was my Friday!
Friday was a fun day for me. I slept in, took my time getting a few things done, and then got to join Little Sister and Tiny (but growing like a weed) Nephew at the zoo! We only spent about two hours at the zoo, but my nephew really seemed to like it. According to Little Sis, he really likes watching the fish. I have to say, I was really skeptical about this claim, but as soon as we entered the fish building he was straining to get out of his stroller and Little Sis happily obliged.
He was mildly amused by this wily looking fellow
but as soon as she held him in front of one of the giant fish tanks, his little arms and legs began flailing everywhere and he was all smiles. Once he grew bored (and Little Sis and I had enough of the shrieking school groups surrounding us) we moved on to the aviary with one purpose in mind: penguins. We sped through the stinky, open aviary and headed straight for Little Sis' favorite animal.
Watching Little Sister show her son her favorite animal was really cool. Actually, just watching her with him in general...well...let's just say it made me a little misty-eyed.
And the penguins put on quite a show for them. One kept swimming back and forth in front of them, making Tiny Nephew shriek with laughter.
After the penguin show, we stopped out for a quick lunch before Little Sis had to take Tiny Nephew to his Grandma's and herself off to work.
My next stop on Friday afternoon was Emery's (aka: The Toy Store for Triathletes). After last summer's spectacular wipe out at the Shoreline Duathlon I had some doubts about the state of my helmet. There are no visible cracks in it, but the general rule of thumb is that if you crash in a helmet, it's time to replace it. I also wanted to replace my shoes since I've never been able to get rid of the annoying clicking noise under the right cleat. When I walked in, the store was completely quiet and Brent Emery himself was available to help me out. We discussed what I was looking for in a helmet as well as my price point and I soon found myself having Brent fit multiple helmets on my head. Eventually, I settled on this:
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| Bontrager Circuit |
Next up was new shoes. Brent brought out several styles and helped me figure out what was best suited to my needs. I originally wanted a triathlon specific shoe, but he helped me find one that was good for both road and triathlon riding - and made sure that I wouldn't bang my toes against the ends while I'm riding. We figured out which cleat type I have (he had to look it up since I suck at remembering these things) and set up a cleat fitting appointment for Monday evening.
I drove home with plans to drive out to the pool and spend some quality time soaking up chlorine, but no sooner had I walked in the door than Mr. R&R called to let me know that his plans for drinks with his friend from out of town (The Groom from the wedding in Puerto Rico) had turned into a full on Usual Suspects reunion. My pool plans were quickly abandoned and I spent the rest of Friday night catching up with The Groom (and getting to know his absolutely lovely wife, The Bride), Mr. Fix-It, Nacho Nurse (and their little girl), Dancing Queen, Maverick, and Who-Ha. The only ones missing were Goose, Miss Placed, and Black Betty. We've all kind of moved on to different places in our lives, so we don't get to see each other much any more.
I probably should have gone for a long run on Saturday or Sunday, but since we were a week ahead on long run mileage, Mr. R&R and I opted to spend the weekend ripping out the rotted old boards and railroad ties that surrounded the flower beds along the side of our house and replacing them with a new, brick border. Sounds easy, right? Let's just say that ripping out the old border was the easy part. Next came leveling, re-leveling, and figuring out how to make a clean break in a brick in order to fit the allotted space. By Sunday afternoon, we'd finally gotten both flower beds edged and popped in a few plants. It's amazing how big of a difference a little change can make!
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| Let's Hope I Don't Kill Them All! |
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| Looks obscene. Tastes Divine. |
I closed out week 9 with:
Swim: 0 yards
Bike: 0 miles
Run: 12.95 miles
Strength: 0
Total Miles: 12.95
Total Time: 2 hours, 9 minutes
1 comment:
When Tiny Nephew is a little bigger maybe get him a fish tank? I always had one in my room growing up, they make awesome night lights!
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