Ski Bunny?

Yesterday was fun. Lots of fun!  I celebrated my 32nd birthday by going skiing with The Husband and our friends, Mr. Fix-It and Nacho Nurse. 

Mr. Fix-It and The Husband

Nacho Nurse & Me

It was beautiful outside when we arrived. The sun was shining and there was very little wind.

The ski resort offers a great deal on Fridays and Saturdays.  For $40 you get a lift ticket, equipment rental, and a ski lesson.  A lesson was definitely in order since Nacho Nurse has never been skiing and The Husband and I have only done this once before.  Mr. Fix-It learned to ski years ago in the mountains of Utah and Colorado, but he was a good sport and took the lesson as a refresher since he hasn't been on skis in about 8 years.

We strapped on our rented boots and made our way out to meet our instructor and fellow classmates (2 people from Chicago whose names escape me at the moment).

Our lesson started off with learning what a 'balanced stance' was and then moved on to attaching skis to our feet and learning how to turn. 

After that, we moved on to a tiny incline to test our new skills. 

It's a good thing we got there when we did - because suddenly a busload of 200 people arrived and the group lessons after us had at least 20 people in them!  Once we proved that we had learned the basic moves of turning, moving on flat ground, and sidestepping uphill it was time to take the tow rope to the top of the bunny hill and put our skills to the test by skiing through a course of cones.

Bunny Hill

After a few practice runs and falls (I fell once. Nacho Nurse fell twice. The guys stayed upright) we moved on to the intermediate hill since the bunny hill was super crowded with all the new arrivals.  The intermediate hill was pretty busy too and we had to contend with snowboarders everywhere.

Intermediate Hill

After a few runs on the intermediate hill, our group decided that we were exhausted from our lesson (seriously, I think I sweat less when I run) and turned in our skis before stopping in the chalet for a few drinks.  I had a delicious drink called the Millionaire's Coffee and the others stuck to beer while we watched the more experienced skiers on the big hill.

A double black diamond run called Holy Moly meets up with the intermediate hill

Moguls!

Finally it was time to say goodnight and head home.  I had a great time with The Husband and our friends and can't wait to try skiing again.  Who knows, maybe someday I'll be ready for The Big Hill!

Branching Out

If you follow me on Twitter, you already know that I've been alluding to and *bouncing* about a purchase for the last week and I've dropped a few hints on the blog: here, here, and here.  I'm finally ready to spill my guts about 'IT'.

At the end of my Expo Run Recap , I mentioned making a non-running clothes purchase.  That purchase was this:

CycleOps Mag Trainer

The only problem now I had a magnetic trainer and nothing to put in it.  That was rectified today when I picked up my brand new Trek Lexa road bike!

(source)

I ordered it a week ago and then spent over an hour with the wonderful guys at the Emery's as they tweaked and fine tuned the bike for me.  I was thrilled by the attention I received, especially since I was purchasing an entry-level bike, not a crazy expensive high-end bike.  They busted out a laser level and a crazy contraption that measured the angle of my knee!  The gentleman that helped me out was extremely patient with me - showing me how to change a flat, how to shift, and generally giving me tips maximizing my riding experience.  I really can't say enough good things about the whole experience. I may know a whole lot about running, but when it comes to cycling, I'm pretty much qualified to ride without training wheels and that's it!

Please excuse the ugliness that is my basement, but here she is, all mounted in the trainer with a climbing block under the front wheel.

I'm beyond excited to start riding - as soon as I buy some bike shorts.  (My bootie is s.o.r.e. from an hour in the saddle today with no padding.)

Of course, I didn't just get the bike to ride it inside on a trainer.  I bought it so I could pursue my goal of branching out into multi-sport events this year, so to that end, I'm officially training for the South Shore Rock n Ride Duathlon in June.  The event consists of a 2 mile run, a 10 mile ride, and another 2 mile run.  I know that the running distances aren't going to be a problem, but I think that going from running, to riding, to running again will be an interesting experience - and I'm sure I'll be over-sharing it here.

Craptacular

Sorry guys, I don't really have a good update for you this week.  I've been feeling under the weather and have been mostly hiding under a blanket on my couch, watching Supernatural, petting the bunnies, and hoping to feel better.  Hopefully I'll be feeling better in the next day or so and I'll be back to my usual shenanigans!

The Groundhog Day Workout

Happy Groundhog Day!  Seriously, what's not to love about this cute, furry, little fellow - other than that America's most famous groundhog, Punxatawny Phil, saw his shadow today?

(source)

Today's workout was more reminiscent of this Groundhog Day.

(source)

Yep, it was a 400 meter repeat day. I got home from work, pulled on my cold weather gear, set my Garmin to give me 30 seconds of walking (rest) between intervals, and headed out the door. After a 1/3 mile warm up, the first 3 repeats felt good, but that may have had something to do with the fact that my route has a decidedly downhill grade for the first 1.5 miles.  On the way back, it's all uphill baby - and if you've been reading this blog for any length of time you know how much I loathe hills!  After my final repeat, I decided to push myself and run the last 3/4 of a mile home instead of taking it easy and walking.  When I uploaded the data from my Garmin, here's what I found:

Warm Up: 0.31 miles @ 9:40 pace
Interval 1:  0.25 miles @ 8:39 pace
Interval 2:  0.25 miles @ 8:30 pace
Interval 3:  0.25 miles @ 7:44 pace*
Interval 4:  0.25 miles @ 7:48 pace*
Interval 5:  0.25 miles @ 9:00 pace
Interval 6:  0.25 miles @ 8:44 pace
Cool Down: 0.16 miles @ 9:19 pace
Overall Pace (including 30 second walk breaks): 9:18/mile
* I almost fell out of my chair when I saw these!

The last 3/4 mile was also run at 9:19 pace.

Why do I care about these statistics (aside from the whole bean counter/data junkie thing)? Because my 5k PR pace is 9:18/mile and I really thought it would be a lot longer before I saw numbers like that again.  I may not be exactly where I want to be yet, but I'm definitely making progress!

Wiggle War Recap: Week 4

Is it just me, or did January fly by? I'm a solid month into my Wiggle War and overall, I'm pretty pleased.

Total Weight Lost: Approximately 6 lbs.
Total Miles Run: 38.38 Miles
Races: 1 ( I refuse to call the Tundra Challenge a race)
Race PR's: 1
Number of Active Days: 20 (the goal was 24)
Pants: Fitting Much Better
Injuries: 1 (nagging muscle strain in the back of my left leg - fine when I run, hurts like a beast during yoga)

Areas to Improve:

• I need to get better about eating at home, but sometimes I just can't resist the siren song of my favorite restaurants!  In the grand scheme of things, going out to dinner isn't the end of the world, just something I need to do less frequently.
• Activity level. I enjoy being active, but the cold weather provides me with endless excuses to stay on the couch under a blanket.  I need to quit making excuses and get my butt out the door! 

I'm looking forward to see what happens in February!

Expo Run 10k Recap

What a weekend!  It started with a trip to the Great Lakes Multisport Expo on Saturday afternoon to pick up my bib # for Sunday's Expo Run 10k.

The expo was definitely a sight to be seen.  There were team cycling challenges (done on indoor trainers), transition races (saw a woman stripping off a wetsuit in the ladies room), and vendors as far as the eye could see.  One of the vendors was offering running clothes at up to 50% off the regular retail price, so of course I went shopping!

New acquisitions include:

Saucony Arctic LX Tights (thermal lined)

Saucony Omni LX Tights

I've never worn Saucony's clothes before, but I already love that their tights have a small pocket that can hold my id and a key when I go for a run.  Many companies seem to think that women don't need/want pockets when they run - but I certainly do!

After the expo, we headed home and I started doing my usual pre-race ritual of obsessively checking the forecast and laying out everything I'd need in the morning and then it was off to bed!

Not pictured: Shoes, Garmin, iPod & Clif Bar

I awoke to quite an interesting sight this morning: an inch of fresh snow on the ground!  I had expected arctic chills, but snow? Really?!?!  Obviously there was nothing I could do about it, so I jumped in the shower for a wake up call and began piling on my gear.  I ended up making two changes to what I had laid out last night: I swapped my hat for an ear band and decided not to wear the grey hoodie, thinking it would be overkill. 

After a torturous drive to the race site (about 25 minutes away) due to snow-covered roads, I made my way inside to wait for the 10k race to start. While I was standing around, I ended chatting with a couple of other runners.  We talked about races we've done (and I now have first person reviews of several I'm interested in), what a pain it is to run in winter, and how we thought we'd fare today.  One of the guys was looking to win his age group (Men 65-69) and thought he had about a 50/50 shot at it.  Before long, we were ushered outside and began the long walk to the starting line.  The wind was brutal! Fortunately, we didn't have to stand around and shiver for long.  As soon as the gun went off, I turned on my iPod, hit the start button on my Garmin, and tried to pretend that I wasn't getting blasted in the face by freezing cold 20mph winds!

The course was an out and back, and the first 5k was not fun.  There were a few hills and a couple of snow-covered bridges (although the majority of the course was shoveled), but the most prominent feature was that icy wind.  I kept getting blasted in the face with blowing snow!  There was no doubt in my mind that any hope of a PR was out the window due to the conditions. The wind was so strong it was literally pushing me backwards and I couldn't even come close to getting up to a reasonable speed. The runners came up one more hill, hit the turnaround point, and headed back.  And then something awesome happened: The wind calmed down and the sun came out!  The second half of the race was far more pleasant than the first.  In fact, it got so warm that I was able to push my hood off and had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't out for a little stroll - this was a race!  Finally the last downhill came into view and I picked up the pace a little, looking to finish strong - and I did.  I crossed the finish line in 1:03:40.  Not the best pace in the world (10:15), but all things considered, I'll take it since it's a new PR!

I wandered back inside to see if I could find the man I'd been talking to earlier and see if he'd won his age group.  I couldn't find him, but I later learned that he'd taken second in his age group with a time of 53:30 (8:37 pace).   While I was wandering through the expo and catching my breath I decided to reward myself for my new PR with a shirt, so I picked this up to go with my new tights.

Saucony Primo WXT Long Sleeve

After that, I made one more purchase before heading home - but that's a subject for a different post!

Wiggle War Recap: Week 3

Week 3 was a good week.  I didn't quite hit my mileage goals, but I did: eat at home, have a lot of fun, feel really good, and I'm less than 5 pounds of my 'fighting weight' (total weight loss: 4 lbs)!  

The Dirty Details:
 
Miles: 6
Week 3 included my return to the indoor track and 400 meter repeats (to build speed).  Unlike last year, I have a new tool in my training arsenal - my Garmin Foot Pod.  I like it, but I think it's going to take a little tinkering to get the calibration right. At any rate, I was really pleased by my splits for the workout since they ranged between 8:16 and 8:52 pace.   I definitely need to improve my mileage over the next few weeks.

Other Activities:  2 
I had yoga on Tuesday night and I went to a sledding party on Saturday night.  I love when a fun activity like sledding can double as a workout.  Lots of dashing up the hill was involved.  I was sore after that party! Fortunately the hosts planned ahead.  A friend of theirs is a massage therapist and she was offering massages for $1/minute.  She managed to loosen up my slightly strained left hamstring and she got all the knots out of my back and shoulders.  That may be the best $30 I've spent in a while!

Eating: I mostly ate at home this week, which is a huge improvement.  I indulged over the weekend, but not nearly as much as I have in the previous 2 weeks.  Menu planning has definitely helped in this department.

Overall, I'm calling Week 3 a win! 

How are your health/fitness resolutions coming along?