Saturday, July 31, 2010

bike again

Somehow I seem to find a 49 minute route fairly easily...it's the time it's taken me each time I've gone out and rode the last 3 times after IMLP (all different routes). Today was a 15 miler in 48:36. No rushing...felt pretty good overall in the legs, but still feel a little tired. Where I really start to feel it is after 30 minutes...the butt really starts to hurt again. I think I may do a little rowing in the near future instead.

On a side note, something after Lake Placid has motivated my kids. Today, unprompted, Hagen goes for 1.5 mile run, Torben 2.4 mile bike and Sutton a WOD that took over 20 minutes made up by her which included running, jumping rope, squats and burpees! Whatever it is... It's all good : )

Friday, July 30, 2010

hodge podge

Today I felt really good. Started with a swim at the Farms and managed to get in 1200 yards while swimming around some folks..some people just don't want to share.

I actually wanted to do Ironworks today, but I think my body would not have appreciated it in the long run. Instead I headed to the gym and did 30 minutes on the elliptical (haven't done that in forever) and then 2 sets of 12 reps bench press @45# and then 2 x12 @65#. Finished up with some back/side extensions.

Now time to finish up the other half of the lawn.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Wasn't sure if I'd get to a workout. Felt like running, but opted to bike instead. I know that I'll be bringing in my bike soon for a major tune-up, so I'll lose it for a few days. I can always run then, right?

Today I rode 49 minutes again, but this time I hit 15 miles. Topography a little different vs. Lake Placid :) Was sweaty, so mowed the front half of the lawn (tomorrow I'll tackle the garden and other half), and then finished off the day with 100 sit ups for time (3:04).

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

What to do?

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing at this point...should I blog? What's my goal that I'm striving toward? I'll have to spend a few days thinking about what is the next challenge in life.

Today was a bike day where I got those legs moving. Did a 49 minute ride through the bike course and covered 13 miles. Felt pretty good other than the butt still sore from sitting for so long. It was nice to just go and so many moments of Sunday came back to me just from passing several landmarks.

Tomorrow we're headed home. Back to better eating and a plan again for working out...I'll miss being up here, but there's nothing like sleeping in your own bed and being in your own surroundings!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

2 days after

Okay, so I'm still a little bit sore- not so much in the upper body, but the legs are tired. But overall, I thought I wouldn't even be able to walk, so I'm in a good place right now. I have doubted cross-fit for a long time, but I truly believe that my legs survived the day because of it! Crazy to think back and know that I had never done more than 56 miles of biking, and while I had done a marathon to feel out the distance, the months leading up to LP only included about 3 miles of running a week.

I think back to the days when Max trained for an ironman and would sit on a bike in the basement for 5 hours at a time. I don't think I could have trained that way (nor would I have wanted to) - it would have caused some serious stress and crankiness to try and figure out how to fit that kind of training into my life. As I slowly get my body back, I will be ready to continue with cross-fit, but also make sure I include some scenic bikes and runs that clear my head.

Today, I needed to move. Yesterday I did a little walking and this morning I got in a nice 40 minute swim to get the legs are arms going again. It felt so refreshing, but I'm still tired. I may try and get on the bike also, but the butt is probably still not ready to sit on the saddle again. Just playing it by ear and enjoying the sunshine and chillin' with friends by the lake...this is the life.

Monday, July 26, 2010

IMLP '10 Race Report

Where does one begin after a day like IMLP except to say - I am an Ironman finisher- 13:14.50! Woohoo!!

What a day everyone had up here in Lake Placid. It was amazing having so many familiar faces surrounding me-not only those that were my support crew (family and friends), but those that raced along side of me! The Trimax team was in full force and ready to go- and it was great to bump into everyone prior to race day as well. You all are awesome!

Before even getting to the actual race report, just have to sum up a few things. The people were fantastic; screaming at us like we were rock stars as we run from the swim start to transition, roaring and ringing bells as each biker moved along the road, yelling and motivating runners to get it done! The volunteers were incredible. All day, I made sure to thank many of them - they are what makes this race a huge success. And having family and friends share this experience was priceless. It was a perfect day - each little thing wrapped up into one big package of fun, excitement, mental games, pain, and everything else you can imagine going through the head for many many hours. If anyone ever wants to attempt an IM, do it in Lake Placid - the feeling is something you'll never forget!

The weather was almost perfect. All my prayers worked! It was a bit cloudy and windy and it rained a little on the bike course, but it was not too hot and I felt pretty comfortable all day long.

So RACE REPORT:
Early morning, 4:30, the alarm doesn't even have to go off...I'm already up and going to the bathroom. I'm quiet and get my things ready to go -special needs bag: check, water bottle: check. Coffee is going, so I make myself a large bowl of oatmeal - it looks like triple of what I'd usually eat, but I knew it was going to be a long day and that the calories were needed. I did my best to get it all down, ate an egg and had my much needed coffee. In total, probably went to the bathroom 3 times before actually getting the shoes on to go.

Knowing that I was walking a bit to the swim start, I grabbed my water, gatorade and ipod and hit the road. The sun was not quite up yet - this time of the morning is my favorite. It is so peaceful. Just before I reached transition, I dropped off my special needs bag and headed down to be body marked. "#2689 please", I said to the marker man. Done and off to the next thing which was getting rid of my morning bag. I headed to my bike to make sure all was set - filled the tires, poured in the water and that was all that was needed to be done. It felt as if something was missing, but it always does. Went over and dropped off my clothes, grabbed the wetsuit, cap and goggles and walked up to the swim area. I, of course, needed to pee once again, so to the porta potty line I went. It was sooooo long, but worth the wait. After a 10-15 minute time lapse, I found some open space and put on the wetsuit. Time was going by quickly and before I knew it, they'd be calling for all the competitors to cross the timing mat to get in the water. At this moment there was a sense of calmness going through me - we did still have 20 minutes before we'd actually be starting. Sue and I hugged and wished each other luck and into the water we slid.

I got out under the flags and saw Max, smiled, and then proceeded to find a space where I could just chill. It didn't take long for the area to fill up and my space was completely invaded. I actually started wondering if we'd be able to even get going since everyone was so close together. Being a female upfront can be a little dangerous, so I settled in a few people back and ended up next to a few men that didn't know how to tread water. Anyway, adjusted the goggles a million times and waited and watched...the crowds and lake full of athletes ready to be ironmen were amazing to see. The gun goes off and here we go!

Swim
It was a blood bath out there of hitting. I actually kept my head out of the water for maybe 200 yards just to not get kicked in the face. There's nothing worse! I seemed to be right on course, a little to the right of the buoys so I got going. Felt great on the first loop and even better as I came toward land and heard the crowd and announcer. Jumping out of the water, the clock read 39:10ish which meant I had done the lap in 29 minutes. That worked for me...in I went for lap # 2! This one had a little more going on. I immediately got toward the buoy line and found a swimmer or two that I could hang with for the race. It helped time go by quickly. I was having a small wetsuit issue where I could feel water going into the arms, which gets annoying quickly, but I tried to just focus on staying on course and getting home. On the way back a little water was swallowed and the goggles came off slightly due to an arm flying in the face, but other than that I was pumped to get to the next leg. I ran out of the water, saw my time of 1:01, got my wetsuit stripped off (this is such a bonus), took off the cap and goggles and headed to the transition! This was the most amazing feeling - I almost lost it here. People were everywhere cheering you on- gives me goosebumps! I run through the bags and pull mine and run to the tent only to see one of Sue's friends, Benz (you rock!), who helps me with my stuff. She gets everything organized, puts on my race belt, says some encouraging words and off I go to get the bike.

Bike
I hate running in my bike shoes, but I knew it would be over soon. Fortunately, I was out of the water before most of the masses (which is why I love the swim), so I had someone hand me my bicycle so I could get to the start of the bike. The mount was fine, and it felt to get the legs going. My heart rate felt pretty good and the legs felt strong. I relaxed and pedaled away. People were passing me on the left minute by minute, but I remained calm and kept my pace. I knew I needed to stay in a certain zone in order to have anything left for the marathon. This was going to be a long day. I started taking gus 25 minutes into the bike, so my gu eatings were at 25, 45 and 05 every hour. The first 7 miles were fairly rolling and up hill and then we had a lovely downhill which is when it started raining. It felt great, but the roads were slick. I couldn't believe how fast some of these men were going down - I know I hit speeds of 44 mph and I still looked as if I was standing still. Once at the bottom of Keene, the turn and trip to Jay was lovely. I managed to pee on the bike - I really had to go. It was a good ride- I saw Brittany pass me at mile 30ish and John get me closer to mile 50, so I knew I was holding a pretty good pace, even though everyone else seemed to be flying by me. Pretty uneventful except for a 2 bike crash right in front of me on a hill no less (a woman and man)- I asked if they were okay, and they seemed to be alright so I kept going...I did see a man come toward them to check. Also, hit a huge bump and my salt tabs and bike lever fell out, so had to stop and go back to get those. Didn't take much time and I knew I couldn't afford not to have those things.

Climbing Papa Bear toward the 2nd loop was crazy. People were in the streets, getting in your face and I felt a surge of energy rushing through my body. I saw some friends on the side and then saw Max at the crest of a hill yelling some encouraging words! The kids were the best at the turn into town...screaming and smiling....they were probably shocked to see me still alive and going strong :) Got to the special needs, pulled over and grabbed my bag to refill on gus and got a PB and J sandwich. My legs were quivering - maybe from the excitement and nerves! Got going again and once headed out of town, I attempted to eat a quarter of the sandwich and it was just too messy. That was a mistake...no more of that. Back to gus. Also, the sun came out, so did a salt tab on the 05 of every hour.

The 2nd loop was pretty strong too. I probably could have picked it up a little, but just made sure I wasn't pushing too hard - you can tell I was nervous about running after the bike. I have never done over 56 miles on the bike ever, so every mile after it was an accomplishment! Sue caught me at around the 70 mile marker and we chatted for a few minutes. She looked great, happy and strong! Off she went! I ended up on route 86 climbing towards Hazelton and looked up to see that Ariel was right in front of me...we said hi and then kept going. I hit the turnaround and glanced at the porta potties and knew I needed to use one- much easier than attempting to go on the bike. It actually felt good to get off, stretch a little and squat. Back on I went and knew there wasn't much time before I'd be back in town to begin the run. Chris caught me at mile 105ish and I knew he was having a good bike - he looked relaxed and strong and there's nothing like seeing a familiar face as you're on your journey! Thanks for the pick me up! So, again, coming into town - you feel like a million bucks and a rock star! I know I was thanking the gods and my bike for holding out for so many miles - the day was only going to get better! Bike time was 6:50.

THE RUN
Benz met me in the tent again! It's so nice to see a happy smiling face! Got some fresh socks, put the shoes on, used the potty and headed out. Got some water on the way out and started chuggin' away. The hard part was coming off the bike and getting those legs going and to get out of town, much of it was down hill so a little rough at first on the legs. Max had the kids jump into an aid station to volunteer so that was a nice surprise as I was coming down the hill to grab a water and see them. So far, I had stuck to my nutrition plan and felt great, so I wasn't going to give up on it. Come mile 4 aid station, I stopped the gus and hit the coke w/ water. At this point, the sun was still out and pretty strong, so still did a salt tab every hour just to be safe now that I didn't have the sodium from the gus. The first leg felt pretty strong and on the out and back on River Rd. I got a little surge of energy each time i would see someone I knew! I continued walking every aid station to get what I needed and ran in between. So far this was working for me. Out on River Rd, there was a Ford motivational tent set up and a little note from the kids that choked me up for a moment, but made me realize that I was getting close to town. I hit the kid's aid station again, and this time I was going up hill. I started walking a bit, but all those people got me going within a few seconds. It may not look like I was running, but I was! Hit the turn-around at the top of Mirror Lake Drive and knew that I'd have to be fairly mental to get through another 13. The feet were starting to really hurt and I could feel a significant amount of chaffing going on around the boobs and neck (from the swim).

I stuck to my plan of walking each aid station as best as I could and walked very infrequently. I also used the potty probably every 3rd station and it helped to squat and stretch the legs a bit. Between mile 16 and 17, Martin caught up to me. He was looking strong! We chatted a bit and then I watched him go by. I didn't let him out of my sight and he had a run, walk strategy going on, so he would start walking I'd just about catch him and then he'd begin running again. This went on for about 1 1/2 miles and at the turn around we met up. Something hit me and I felt better and stronger. From that point on, I knew there was not too many miles to go and it gave me hope. I also had a pretzel or two at each aid station and I think that little bit of a change plus the coke really kicked in and made me feel pretty good overall.

Running up into town, I caught up to a guy that was dressed as Elvis, who was on his first loop of the race. He was hamming it up with everyone and having fun! This is just an awesome race and I almost started thinking that it's going to be sad when this all ends...but my goal was to get done. I had a huge smile going into the last turnaround - Sue and I had always thought that there should be a better one than going by some older folks sitting in chairs with their bells - but hey, they were motivation enough for me to finish up that last mile with some energy. Taking a right hand turn and then going into that oval was electrifying. I high fived a few on the right and then just was in awe at the crowds there to support everyone! Finishing felt spectacular! I was so happy that I was able to complete this and was thrilled with my time! Max was there to great me with open arms - thanks honey for all your support through this journey. I thought I would have cried, but I just felt too good and there was so much positive energy in the air. I was happy to see all my kids who I thank for putting up with me when I had to get my workouts done or if I was cranky!

The day finished up with an average massage in the tent and then a walk home with Max carrying the bags and me with my bike. But to top off the day, we cross paths with the one and only Michael Phelps!! Max asks for a quick photo, and as Phelps is refusing politely because he has to get to the oval to see his sister finish, Max convinces him to take a photo with me (told him it was my first ironman)! Shocked, I jump into the shot and get a great one with me looking like I'm crazy and Michael looking cool as a cucumber! So fun.

Home was a place to collect, shower, have a slice of pizza (hard to stomach after 27 gus, coke and water all day), and head back to the finish line for the folks coming in up until midnight. We caught our friend, John, finishing his day after a bizzare twist of events, Erica coming in with a huge smile (you are an Ironwoman!!!), and many others finding their way to victory!

While I do not have any intention of doing another Ironman, I can see why people would want to do this race year after year! It is an amazing feeling of accomplishment to come across that line and there is no other place that you feel so much energy from the crowds and the volunteers! Thank you, Lake Placid, for providing a place for so many athletes to come together to create this feeling of home and family! Now it's time for the next goal....but first a few days of rest and relaxation and getting this body back to normal!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

oh dear helen ...

today was helen at 70%. warmed up with some jump rope and went at it. so as i'm about to start the run, my legs are shaking and i'm nervous about doing it..what's wrong with me...breathe....is this the beginning of it? got going and felt better as i was going through it - the KBs were with 20lb and the gravitron was at 50lbs...total time was 11:24. probably could have relaxed a little more, but it's done.

tomorrow's workout says 8x200s. Don't know when i'll get that done, if at all since we're driving up and then doing stuff when we get there. So i did go to the track just for 2 of them...held 57 and 58 comfortably, without a warm up. That's enough.

Dropped the kids off at ironworks and just had to jump in the pool to feel out the stroke. For me, this is key in a taper. If the arms feel good, then i just want to try and keep that feeling until race day. So far, so good. Only did a relaxing 20 to work out which goggles to choose...still undecided so bringing up 4 different pairs...decisions, decisions.

Now resting while doing a little packing which is almost all done. :)

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

going in circles...

tick tock tick tock....stomach flipping a bit. excited, nervous, scared...all those feelings circling in my head! started putting some stuff together - a little packing here and there. not quite as focused as i should be for that right now....a bit like walking around in circles.

headed to the gym for the 5 sets of 3 back squats at 80%. Warmed up with 1/2 mile and then stretched a lot. For the first time, I had to wait for the squat rack - the guy using it was doing a CF WOD believe it or not. Did 95# for all sets.

Going to take my bike for a spin around the block to make sure the odometer is working the right way. I think it's showing Kilometers instead of miles....hmmmm...

I'm so looking forward to seeing everyone and feeling the vibe of Lake Placid. You are all in my thoughts - thinking lots of positive ones!!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

20 of each

Bike, run, swim...in that order. 22 minutes bike...1 minute transition...20 minute run (2.3m) and then headed to Simsbury farms for a quick 1200 yards...nothing too straining. Gotta love it!

Saturday, July 17, 2010

biking for 45min

45 minute bike at 80% - again, headed out early to get out of the heat that's comin'. 14.8 miles - averaging 19.7 mph. Felt good and bike felt good too...adjusting to odometer in different spot (put it on aerobars), but other than that, everything seemed to be working fine.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Cycling Concepts in Rocky Hill Rocks!

Cycling Concepts called yesterday to let me know my bike was ready. So after dropping off Sutton at camp, doing my run, getting the kids off to ironworks and dropping a friend off in Bloomfield at a doctor's appointment, I headed down to Rocky Hill. All before 12 - phew.

I get there and Sondra proceeds to tell me it's ready, but that as he was taking off the wheel, an important part of it crumbled away due to corrosion. That being said, I started to panic and asked if it would at least get me through the race and he said "sure it would" with a smirk on his face. Well...a few seconds later, they roll in this bike that doesn't even look like mine. It's got zipp racing wheels on it. They decided that since it would be a bit of a fix and that the race is next week, they're letting me borrow the wheels for Lake Placid. Oh, so relieved and so excited at the same time!

Had I not brought it in, some serious damage to myself and the bike could have occurred during the race! Dan, Dave and Sondra at Cycling Concepts - you rock!! Thanks for getting me through next week!! I'll be thinking of you guys while I'm out there in style and speed!

5K - done early

Hit the 5K early since I knew it would be hot out. I mapped out a 3.1 route and went for it. I came in at 25:35. I was happy with it since I had run that same route 2 weeks ago and was a minute 1/2 slower then. In comparison to my treadmill 5K it is 2 minutes slower, but the hill gradient is different. I find that it's easier to push myself on a treadmill by just pressing the buttons, rather than forcing myself to pick up speed. Overall, the legs felt good...it was just difficult breathing-just plain old hot..my face is beat red, still after 45 minutes.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

ooo- buoyant

Nothing like a wetsuit to get used to. I went swimming today...a good thing...my neck for some reason is really stiff and swimming loosened it up a bit. Don't know if it's from sleeping poorly or just something I did yesterday.

Warmed up with a 500 and did 5 x 50's on a minute holding 36s and 35s. Easy 100 and repeated the 50's and held 35s and 36s. This was all without the wetsuit.

What was not so fun was getting the wetsuit on when wet. Headed to the bathroom and began the struggles...the plastic bag on the feet were key but still it was tough getting over the hips...one older woman passed by me and stopped to stare for a while. I decided to try the bags on the wet arms too and that seemed to help too. Once it was on I zipped it up and strolled into the pool area where I got a few more strange looks...but ignored it all and hopped in.

Did a few laps to feel it out and get the arms/legs comfortable. Decided to try it out, but when I did flip turns, water seemed to flood into the wetsuit making it uncomfortable. So instead, I did about 5 or 6 50s but with open turns. I held 31s and 32s...what a difference a little buoyancy makes! But boy, was I hot after wearing that thing...hoping the the waters of Mirror Lake will be quite frigid and make it worthwhile to wear the wetsuit, not only for speed but for warmth!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

WOD and 500TT

I did not want to do this WOD today. I knew it would be less than 15 minutes, but all those burpees....boohoo. Hit the gym and warmed up with jumping rope (wow, that got my heartrate going) and then a 1/2 mile run.

Onto the WOD - it should go 30, 20, 10 instead of 10, 20, 30 (ending with that many is torture). The set was box jumps, squats, knee pushups, burpees. By the last set of burpees, I was exhausted and sweating like I had just run a 10K in 85 degree weather. Total time: 11:56.

Came home and got the boys to take a drive to drop off the bike at cycling concepts. A guy heard me mention LP and said he was headed up to volunteer on the bike course in order to get a slot for next year...it just makes me realize that a year just went by so quickly!!!

Pool later and warmed up and did a 500 TT - 6:39!! So excited. Broke the 6:45 mark. Thrilled and felt pretty strong...came out of nowhere. Did a 100 to see what I'd do and hit 1:12. Had a raging headache and still do, but somehow pulled it off. YAY! At least for today.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

20K bike and squats

It wouldn't be right if I didn't say the nerves have started...the countdown clock for LP says 11 days, 18 hours....it is right around the corner. I have had dreams just about every night focusing on different parts of the race, along with some strange twists. I guess it's just my mind/body preparing me for whatever the day will bring :)

Today's workouts:
20K @ 80%. Shoulders still a little sore and legs still sore too, but hoping the bike would loosen things up. Odometer was off today by a smidge so ended up doing 13.88 miles in 41.20...average of 20.2 mph. Finished in 56.30 - 18.6 miles: avg mph 19.8. Felt pretty good coming off bike.

Later: 3x5 sets of back squats. Started off with my heaviest weight to see how far I could go...135 x 2, 145 x 2 and 155. The legs were quivering on all of it. When I was done I just squated with 45lbs and it felt like a PVC pipe. Finished with a few back and side extensions. Now off to shower because I can't stand the smell of myself.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Wall balls

Saw that I had 150 wall balls for time again. My hips/quads are sore from the squats yesterday so I went for a bike ride and quick .8 mile run to warm up.

Onto the WOD. I immediately started sweating. I got to 42 and had to stop. I wanted to quit. I actually started walking away and then got pissed at myself for even thinking of stopping. So within a 15 second turnaround, I convinced myself that I needed to finish it, and then back to the wall I went. With the stop, I finished in 6:14. I could barely breath by the last 50 and the ball was slipping from all the sweat, but happy that I completed it.

After feeding everyone + a friend lunch and mowing the lawn, I took everyone to Westie to swim. I didn't get much accomplished other than a 500 swim and 10x100's (not very fast), but it was good to get in and stretch out. I did feel pretty tired.

Is it 9pm yet?

Saturday, July 10, 2010

45min TT & WOD

I had told myself that I'd get up early this morning to get the 45 minute bike TT in since it was supposed to rain. When the alarm went off at 5:55, I peeked outside and it was sunny. So instead, I went back to sleep until 7:30.

Got going around 8. Decided to do a hilly route to sweat it out and get the legs working. Went down West mountain, and up Drybridge to Bahre ?? Road and then East Mtn Rd to North Mountain road...do you notice all the roads with the word "mountain" in it? So when I hit the bottom of Shingle Mill, I knew I just crank it out until I got home since it was fairly flat and rolling.

Overall, my average speed was 18.3 for 13.5 miles.

2nd WOD - 5 pushups (knee)/10 situps/15 squats - 20 min AMRAP: 19 full rounds, 5 push ups, 8 situps.

Friday, July 9, 2010

The track

Kids to camp...one home...got to the track for this workout. Why does a 1/2 mile seem so much longer on a track than on a treadmill? Anyway, the workout today hurt.

Warmed up with 3/4 mile..of course, ran into some friends who I worked with at a pre-school. But said my hellos and off I went to do the 800M/30 sit-ups x 4 workout.

My first 1/2 mile came in around 3:44, so I was really pleased...after that I didn't really keep track of my splits but noticed that the last one was around 3:59/4 minutes.

Total time: 19:33 - legs felt pretty good, but just tough on the breathing. And as usual it was bloody hot!!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

1650/2100 yds for time

Headed to indoor pool today. Warmed up with 300 yards.

Before going, wanted to see the distance for actual mile - it's 1756 yards..then I input for 1.2 miles...that's 2112 yards. So I set off to do the 1650 first, hit the split for that and then kept going to finish the 2100 yards for an approximate 1.2 mile time.

1650: 24:03
2100: 30:39

Happy with both times-felt like I was pretty consistent throughout. Need to get the wetsuit on and practice though. Also, tried clear goggles...thinking i will stick with those so I can see better...have to get those worked out too as they were pinching my eyes and head.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

4x5K bike

Odometer still not working, but wanted to do this outside. Feel like I have not been on my bike in a while. I went with 10 minute increments, figuring that would be close to 3.1. When I got home, I mapped out where I started and stopped after 10 minutes and this is what I got:

1st: 3.3 miles
2nd: 3.21 miles
3rd: 4.06 miles (a nice big downhill helped)
4th: 3.1 miles

Total distance 20.8 miles

Taking in bike next week to fix odometer and get a new chain for Lake Placid!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

All pooled out.

5 sets of 3 squats: 105, 125, 135, 135, 135

2500 swim- 4x500s descend. Felt strong. Did it outdoors...nice cold water, but it's hard sharing a lane with other swimmers who don't know where they are going half the time.

The water today was really cloudy...all those sunscreened bodies jumping in. So hot today that we had to go back to the pool after dinner for a dip. This time I just got in to cool off...ahhhh.

Monday, July 5, 2010

5K and WOD

Swapped out today's workout for tomorrow's. Hit the gym - warmed up with 1/2 mile run.

WOD - 10pullups/10 wall balls/10 pushups x 4 - time of 5:44

5K run - time of 23:22. Thought I had done a few of these, but the only one I could find was back in January- I was one second faster this time, however, I had a treadmill malfunction last time which gave me a little time to recover within the 5K. Felt pretty good other than the fact that my legs felt wobbly by the end and I was overheating. Glad to have it done. Don't think I could have done it outside today unless I ran in my swimsuit and someone was spraying me with a hose.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

3 weeks from today

That's race day. Aside from having some night awakenings due to bad dreams, this morning I woke up really early with not such a good feeling in the chest. I told Max that it might have been due to some anxiety over what's to come - had a hard time getting a good solid breath in. I am getting nervous, as normal, but it's starting way too early. Need to do some mental thoughts and good breathing exercises...that's on my to do list.

Today was a long run. I have been wanting to do this 9.3 mile run for a while, but have been intimidated by the hills...up 309 and into Westledge and HighRidge. So off i went. It really wasn't as bad as I thought. Even though the first 1/2 of it was all up hill, coming back was pretty much the opposite. I felt pretty good and ran every hill without stopping. Total time was 1:28.

Lake Placid- here I come.

Friday, July 2, 2010

early ride

Another beautiful day...while I love the sun, I sometimes wish for a day of rain to catch up on all those errands or maybe see a movie with the kids. Got up early again this morning...I was tired, but knew it had to get done. Had a 50K on tap so headed out around 6:30am while kids were still sleeping. Managed to get in 44 miles in 2 hours and 38 minutes...the ride was great, but once again, I had no odometer to check speed/distance/time so I went off my stop watch and then mapped out the route when I got home. It took me about 20 minutes to warm up the legs, especially starting off with some fairly big hills going up 309 and out toward barkhamsted.

It's now 6:30pm and I am ready for bed. Sad.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Already?

July 1st - the month is here. where did the time go?

today -woke up early and went swimming. just don't feel great in the water lately. 2700 yards - mainset was 5x200's pull - held around 2:50's and then 12x50's on 50 holding 39s. Blahhhh.

WOD at gym: wasn't looking forward to it...20 box jumps (more of these again?)/5 50lb push presses/10 burpees (hate these) for AMRAP in 15 minutes. Completed 6 full sets...I probably could have pushed myself harder, but was in that mood.

Just played a little tennis with my son...beautiful weather out there...and may just go for a mini run while he is doing Ironworks...tempted by the lovely air.