ANOTHER PR??? Is it possible?!

Been a few days since the Derby Half Marathon (4th on that course, 11th overall), and somehow I ended up pulling out a course PR, even though it was a tough race for me. I hadn't ate well for a few days prior to the race, and the morning was rather muggy with rain off and on. The course was moved to accomodate a new finish, so the hills of Iroquois Park came just a mile into the race, rather than 3 like the previous races. It didn't take long (probably mile 6 or so) for my legs to become somewhat sore, and my breathing was labored - eventually got side stitches and had to slow it down some. Overall, it was a pretty hard race for me, and now that it's all said and done, I have noticed the outside of my left foot is tender when I walk on it. Not sure what that's all about, but hoping it goes away soon, considering I have a tri both this and next weekend. Which brings me to my next bit of news.....

My tri training group got together yesterday morning for an open-water swim clinic. This was my first-ever open-water swim and I was really nervous when we all walked to the edge of the dock in our wetsuits to jump in for a 200m warm up. Found out my wetsuit is apparently too big, but it felt just fine while I swam, and kept me plenty warm enough, so I'm not too concerned about it at this point. All but me and one or two other people were in the water before I got the cajones to actually jump in. The initial shock of the 60 degree water was rather breathtaking, but it wasn't long before that I felt pretty good.

The water was rather choppy due to a windy day, and I got a mouthful more than once. But feeling pretty good about Knoxville in two weeks now that I know what to expect. We worked on sighting and talked about transitioning into the water and back out heading for T1. Like I said, the clinic really put my mind at ease and I'm so glad I did it. Hopefully it will allow me to experience less anxiety in a few weeks.

Ahhhhhh, Spring!

Ended up doing an hour long bike ride the day after my 1.5 hour ride due to anticipated rain later in the week. Booty was severely sore for the first five minutes, but got better the longer I rode. Felt good throughout the ride, and did lots of hills. Ended up forgoing the second scheduled training swim due to working late and then thunderstorms Friday afternoon. Did get my butt out of bed at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday to meet Alicia for a 7 mile run through the park with lots of hills. Felt really great throughout - never got winded, legs felt great, cardio going good - although I'm not sure why I'm so amazed at this considering how much training I've been doing.

Alicia is definitely in for the San Fran Marathon in July, and I've looked up a training schedule for us to follow over the next 16 weeks. Told Shane I was actually kinda excited and taking this marathon so much more seriously than I did Chicago. Feeling really good about it, and about the upcoming triathlons, half-marathons, etc. Even thinking of doing a trail run on Halloween night just to change it up a bit.

Tomorrow starts another training week, and looking forward to getting a 1600m swim in - will be my longest yet! And in another 6 days I will run my 11th half-marathon (and 5th Derby half-marathon). Will it be another PR (or even, COURSE PR?) Stay tuned....

Feelin' good

Did an hour and thirty minute bike ride today - my longest on-road cycling to date. Imagine my surprise when I scrolled through the bike computer and saw that I had achieved 15.8 miles an hour into the ride (my norm is usually no more than 14 miles). Ended the ride with a solid 22.3 miles, and a very sore tooshie! I MUST invest in some cycling shorts - the ultra thin and non-padded running shorts just aren't cutting it. Felt pretty good throughout, but the shoulders and upper back got a little stiff - I'm guessing that's just the nature of the beast. May end up getting re-fitted for my bike soon just to make sure that everything is in order. Can't imagine doing a half or full Ironman with shoulders and neck feeling like that. Or maybe it's something I just need to get used to? Tomorrow's agenda: a 1300m swim.

Keep swimming, keep swimming, keep swimming

Swam my first 1500m today and didn't struggle much doing so. Had a guy sharing a lane with me, and found myself getting water in the mouth a few times due to waves and kicking, but other than that, it was pretty uneventful. I actually did 3 x 500 with 25s rest between, but this is the furthest I've swam thusfar, and the same amount I have to pull out for the Oly in 3 1/2 weeks, so I'm feeling confident that I'm ready to do this.

We have an open-water swim clinic in a few weeks, which is something I really need to participate in. I've never worn the wetsuit in actual water, and doing an open-water swim where I know I can't just stop, hang on the side of the pool or put my feet down is going to be a little intimidating. Looking forward to the "practice round" if you will, so I'm not completely freaked out come race morning .

Tomorrow's plan: a 1 - 1.5 hour bike ride outside. 75 degree weather is a little daunting, but you know what they say - No pain, No gain!

A New PR

Home from St. Louis, and although the course was continuously hilly with temperatures in the mid to high 70's, I was able to pull out a PR for the half-marathon course with a solid 2:25:03. This is my 5th PR of the year, and 7th event overall for 2010. I am SMOKING on these competitions this year and..... I think I have decided that instead of doing just the half in San Francisco, I'm going to go for the full! I have a schedule ready to go, and am just lucky enough that the training starts at week 16, precisely the week we are in right now.

I was a little intimidated by the schedule at first, but seeing that there are only about 5-6 long runs that are more than 13 miles, I'm certain I can pull it off. And I'm determined to do better this time around rather than my near crash and burn in Chicago in October last year. I now know that a marathon cannot be done with minimal training, and although the bulk of my training right now consists of swimming and biking, I'm confident that as long as I get in the long runs on the weekends, my racing will only improve.

I've also decided, along with Shane, to take on all fifty states as far as events/races go. Marathons, halves, tri's, etc. I plan on doing at least one event in all fifty states by life's final call - if said events don't kill me first :) Either way, at this point I'm extremely satisfied with my recent PR, looking forward to another Derby Half Marathon in 2 weeks, and also getting back into my tri training tomorrow with a 1300m swim. Go ME!

Training going SWIMMINGLY - pun intended

Feeling back into the groove of training, and have decided that I will more than likely participate in the half-ironman in September - the same weekend as my 34th birthday! Am feeling more and more confident in the water, and my endurance is amazing! I was just telling a co-worker today that I remember being a teen and swimming from one end of our backyard pool to the other and being exhausted and out of breath. Whereas now, I can swim a continuous 800m and feel great throughout. I'm still working on breathing every 3rd stroke rather than 2 - thinking this will only enhance my swim. I've done this the past two training swims and it seemed to work well. The only thing that would hamper this I think is the adrenaline and competitiveness during the actual tri's that inevitably kick in and I end up getting winded - forcing me to breath every two strokes.

Went on an hour bike ride today, and logged 14 miles. This is fairly slow by cyclist standards, but all I can do is continue to work on it, building up my endurance and leg muscles, and hope for the best. I still need to purchase some clipless pedals. Everyone is telling me this will only improve my ride - guess I'll find out sooner or later. Was hoping to get the two-hour ride out of the way, but it was incredibly windy today and I was paranoid that I was going to have a wipeout on the bike - plus thunderstorms in the forecast and I didn't want to get too far away from home and get caught in a downpour.

Plan to swim again tomorrow, bike on Friday, then it's off to St. Louis for my tenth half-marathon! Shane didn't get into New York so he's looking at alternatives, and is pretty certain he'll be doing San Francisco in July. If I go with him, of course I'm going to run the half - this will make my prospective half-marathon count for 2010 a solid 5 - the most I will have done in one year. Oh, the BLING!

Papa John's 10 miler

Completed the Papa John's 10-miler this morning with a PR 7 minutes faster than my previous record - woo hoo! Felt good the whole time. Started out with great weather (and the $50 dollar bill I found near the start didn't hurt my moral either). 3 miles in we entered the park which is nothing but another 3 miles of hills - some quite steep - and 6 miles in a calm drizzle came into play. Felt great though, because at that point I was getting a bit hot and it was a welcoming cool down. It ended by about mile 7 though, and it was smooth sailing from there. Did the regular 6:1 intervals and was able to finish strong.

I think a lot during races - that's really all you can do. The music playing in the ipod is just a pick-me-up if needed. Feeling good throughout the race, one of the things that I realized is that all of this cross-training has really helped my running. It's amazing! I was just telling Alicia on the car ride in to complete this mornings race, that I really don't run much for training - with both the endurance races and triathlons - but the biking and swimming are doing wonders for my muscles and endurance. It's really great. The workout schedule for the swims this week were 1100 for both days. I mis-read the second schedule and thought I had to swim 800m straight (supposed to do 600m), but I was actually able to do it and breathed only every 3 strokes rather than 2 like normal. I think I've begun to realize that I really can do this triathlon stuff - especially the Oly distance coming up in just over a month. Still up in the air about the half-Ironman in September. If I can talk Alicia into it, it's on! Otherwise, we're definitely in for next year. I'm just feeling so great now, and the training is going great - and I'm doing nothing but gaining muscle and endurance. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks. Will probably make a definite decision after the Knoxville Tri in May. Next week: My 10th half-marathon in St. Louis. Another PR? Hmmmmmm......