45 Days?

First of all, Walter and Spot asked me to thank everyone for indulging them and their Easter Walter & Spot Day blog post.  And now...back to your regularly scheduled program...err...blog posting.

The Madison Half Marathon is just 45 days away. Gulp. Where did the time go?  I haven't been very good about training, but I think I can still pull it off (although probably not at the best pace).  I realized about a week and a half ago that I'd been slacking big time, and rather than bemoan my lack of training, I decided to do something about it.

Last week was all about the bike.  Over the course of 3 rides I logged 33 miles, including my first solo ride outside with the new bike.  I was sort of nervous before I took it out alone.  What if I got a flat? What if I hit a pothole and went flying over the handle bars? What if I had to stop, put my feet down, and face-planted while trying to get my feet back in the toe clips? All that anxiety was for naught.  My biggest problem on that ride was bugs. I literally had to spit out some microscopic bugs at one point and let me tell you...they taste terrible!  I also discovered that I have a long way to go with my bike training before the South Shore Duathlon in June.  I'm definitely faster and more consistent on the trainer, but that doesn't surprise me that much.  I think going from riding on the trainer in my basement to riding on the road is a lot like going from running on a treadmill to running outside.  The trainer and treadmill don't have terrain, traffic, or bugs - the roads do.

I also went for a hike with Mom on Easter.  We went out to the Scuppernong Trail and hiked the 4 mile Orange Loop.  I can't think of a better way to spend a holiday - especially since we pretty much had the trail to ourselves and had a nice picnic lunch afterward.  It also reminded me how much I want to get out on the trails and run - soon!

Mom at the beginning of what I've called my 'Running Nirvana'

Workout Statistics for April 2- April 8:
Monday, 04/02: Trainer Ride
Distance: 11.1 miles
Time: 45 minutes
Avg. Speed: 14.8mph
Avg. Cadence: 89rpm

Thursday, 04/05: Trainer Ride
Distance: 14.07 miles
Time: 45 minutes
Avg. Speed: 18.8mph
Avg. Cadence: 85rpm

Saturday, 04/07: Outdoor Ride
Distance: 7.79 miles
Time: 37:12
Avg. Speed: 12.6mph
Avg. Cadence: 64rpm

Sunday, 04/08: Hiking with Mom
Distance: 3.95 miles
Time: 1:24:36
Avg. Pace: 21:24/mile

This week has been all kinds of crazy on the running front.  I've been running with The Husband, which is always fun.  We started off on Monday with 6-ish miles in 30mph winds. Wednesday was just over 7 miles. Tonight was 2 miles of intervals.  The long runs were definitely not fast, but they served their purpose.  We're both trying to get used to longer workouts again, so long runs with walk breaks were the way to go.  I always whine at the thought of a run over 5 miles, but for some reason I'm actually enjoying the return to longer distances - and looking forward to piling on more miles this weekend!

Workout Statistics for April 9-12:
Monday, 04/09: Running
Distance: 6.27 miles
Time: 1:09:26
Avg. Pace: 11:04/mile

Wednesday, 04/11: Running
Distance: 7.25 miles
Time: 1:14:52
Avg. Pace: 10:19/mile (*getting better*)

Thursday, 04/12: Random Intervals
Distance: 2.0 miles
Time: 19:36
Avg. Pace: 9:48/mile
Best Pace: 4:58/mile (obviously that was held for approximately 1/100th of a second, but I almost fell off my chair when I saw it!)

Tomorrow will be a rest day, since The Husband and I have tickets to see Rodrigo y Gabriela.  I'm ridiculously excited - and so is The Husband.

 I'm hoping to get a short brick (run/bike/run) workout in on Saturday and a long run (8-ish miles) on Sunday, but we'll have to see how things go!