My preference is always to run outside. However....sometimes, I must resort to the treadmill. With thunderstorms and (yes) even snowstorms, I had to move my workout inside.
'Twas a workout that I dread and on the dreadmill.
Even knowing a tough workout was in front of me, this morning I felt great. I've been rather particular about my diet lately, given that I am logging serious miles. (It only takes one serious BONK to remind us that we're only human).
The workout was 1600m repeats with 800m recoveries.
~mile repeats (in my ever-so-humble-opinion) are truly a test of a person's toughness. They require a certain level of endurance/fitness. Think about it, even if you only do 2 repeats, at a minimum, you're running about 5-6 miles.....and fast.
It's a workout that you have to work up to, over several years and have experience doing speedwork.
Because these suckers hurt.
As I arrived at the gym, I notice immediately how humid and hot the gym was. I live in Colorado. The only time I feel any humidity is when I get in the shower.
Fortunately, I brought alot of water.
As I was warming up, a guy jump on the treadmill next to me. For whatever reason, he is fascinated with my speed.....not that it's fast because it most certainly was not. He continued to speed up his workout: constantly comparing his console to mine. I'm used to people running faster than me on the treadmill. It's no big deal to me. When I run, I have a goal. Most of the time, gym runs are recovery runs for me. I never feel the need to prove myself. That happens on the race course.
Then, the warm up was over, and it was time to speed up. As I did, I noticed that he was watching me speed up the machine. Shortly thereafter, he sped his up to match my speed.
I just shake my head. What is up with that? Talk about NO respect. But given how this guy was panting, I'm pretty sure he thought I was doing 400's or maybe 800's....and he probably thought he could easily keep up with lil ole me.
My first thought, "Dude, you're gonna hurt yourself. Just admit, you're about to get chicked."
Just when I thought he was going to fly off the back of the machine, he slowed down to a walk. Me? I kept going.
Then, I did it again. Once again, he tried to keep up. After the 2nd interval, he got off.
After the 3rd, I saw him walk behind me looking at my console.
After the 4th interval, I saw him shake his head and finally walk off.
***
You all know me. I have a self-deprecating sense of humor. The reality is that I know where I stand, and I know what I'm capable of, but that doesn't mean that I go around bragging about it. That's because you get your a$$ kicked by a race or two, and you know anything can and often does happen. Having great races is often as much "chance" as it is "training". (Besides talking about stupid mistakes is waaaay more fun and get waaaay more laughs than a PR--satisfying maybe not, but damn funny, definitely).
Today that guy next to me, got a little lesson in
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Respect the 40 something bee-yotch on the machine next to you.
If you don't, it's going to be YOUR ego mopping up the floor.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Metamorphosis
Me: (looking nervously down at the floor, rubbing my hands together): Um, so, um I was thinking about doing a race.
Mike: (half paying attention, half watching ESPN): YAWN...which one?
Me: (running my hands through my hair and now staring anxiously out the window, thinking about how poorly this conversation is going to go): Well, y'know, I'm talking about 2011....NOT this year for sure. But, I was thinking of doing Ironman Boulder.
Mike: (turning to look at me & clearly not happy): I thought you were done with that distance. I thought you were done with the long stuff.
Me: Um well, uh....I wouldn't need you to Sherpa, and I'd make sure training doesn't interfere with anything. And Boulder is a 70.3....
Mike: OH! well then, Heck yea....I didn't know it was a SHORT race. DO it. It'll be fun!
It's happened. 70 miles is now a short race, a sprint, a few hours out in the sun, get up to have a big breakfast, cheer as the athletes run in the water, cheer as they come out of the water, hold up a sign, ring a cowbell, watch the bike take off, back to the hotel for a short nap, grab a bite for lunch, head back to watch the bike return/run take off, catch the rest of the Rockies game on tv, and back to the finish.
The day is done before you know it. All in all a fun quick little race.
Mike: (half paying attention, half watching ESPN): YAWN...which one?
Me: (running my hands through my hair and now staring anxiously out the window, thinking about how poorly this conversation is going to go): Well, y'know, I'm talking about 2011....NOT this year for sure. But, I was thinking of doing Ironman Boulder.
Mike: (turning to look at me & clearly not happy): I thought you were done with that distance. I thought you were done with the long stuff.
Me: Um well, uh....I wouldn't need you to Sherpa, and I'd make sure training doesn't interfere with anything. And Boulder is a 70.3....
Mike: OH! well then, Heck yea....I didn't know it was a SHORT race. DO it. It'll be fun!
It's happened. 70 miles is now a short race, a sprint, a few hours out in the sun, get up to have a big breakfast, cheer as the athletes run in the water, cheer as they come out of the water, hold up a sign, ring a cowbell, watch the bike take off, back to the hotel for a short nap, grab a bite for lunch, head back to watch the bike return/run take off, catch the rest of the Rockies game on tv, and back to the finish.
The day is done before you know it. All in all a fun quick little race.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
It's a double, double
Alas, my race season is starting.
And wow, I'm starting off with a BANG.
Sunday my double race. 5k first, rest for 40 or so minutes, run the 5 miler. This is the one where the whole family runs/walks/crawls whatever.
My goal for the 5k....same as last year.....run fast and maintain. NO FADING. C'mon it's a 5k. I've been doing my some of my best speedwork to date training for my A race.
This is NOT my A race....more like a C or D or maybe an F race.
The 5k is usually a nice warm up for the 5 miler, I should mention that the family does NOT run/walk/crawl the 5 miler. They prefer to enjoy the post 5k party and let me do my silly "running" stuff.
But I digress.
No time goals for these races. I just like to see what I can do.
2 races in one day....DOUBLE.
That, my friends, leads me to the next Double.
Two race weekends in a row.
Due to my ridiculous planning. The SATURDAY after this SUNDAY's race is Greenland. Just when you think I cannot top the stupidity, I go and schedule another race. I confess, I was oblivious to dates when I signed up.
Greenland is however yet another C, D, or F race. (I don't do E races).
I'm shooting for completion only, people. The course is hard. Oh so hard. When I ran it a few weeks ago, there were +35 mph winds, sloppy mud, snow. Truly, an overall joyful experience.
Not to mention, the whole 5 mile climb, 4 mile descent......repeat....repeat....repeat.
repeat.
But don't take MY word for it. Check it out for yourself. HERE You might have to refresh the page.
The course is open for 8 hours. Do not be surprised if I come crawling in around 7:59:59. Look, all I really want is my medal.
That might sound like a bad attitude, but it's really not. I figure that 5 miles up (into the wind) in mud and slop and 20F degree temps means that race can truly only be better.
Besides when my friend D told me that he'd be finishing in roughly 4 hours. I nearly threw up.
Of course, he's also won this race in previous years. Not like win an AG award, but WINNING the whole race. So, he'll be finishing when I'm approximately HALFWAY.
wow.
But my legs sure do look awesome.
moving along
Two weeks after Greenland is my A race. My first half marathon. I am SUPER excited for this. I think I have made great progress over the winter, and I am anxious to see results. I feel very confident that I can get a course PR. How much is yet to be seen, but if I don't get it, it will not be due to lack of training. THANKYEWVERYMUCH.
That's my schedule for the coming weeks.
Just for fun, today was also a Double. Run in the morning, run in the evening.
Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.
Hate me cuz I'm more fit than you.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Just don't ask me about swimming or cycling. Let's get through the next 3 weeks and see what happens.
And wow, I'm starting off with a BANG.
Sunday my double race. 5k first, rest for 40 or so minutes, run the 5 miler. This is the one where the whole family runs/walks/crawls whatever.
My goal for the 5k....same as last year.....run fast and maintain. NO FADING. C'mon it's a 5k. I've been doing my some of my best speedwork to date training for my A race.
This is NOT my A race....more like a C or D or maybe an F race.
The 5k is usually a nice warm up for the 5 miler, I should mention that the family does NOT run/walk/crawl the 5 miler. They prefer to enjoy the post 5k party and let me do my silly "running" stuff.
But I digress.
No time goals for these races. I just like to see what I can do.
2 races in one day....DOUBLE.
That, my friends, leads me to the next Double.
Two race weekends in a row.
Due to my ridiculous planning. The SATURDAY after this SUNDAY's race is Greenland. Just when you think I cannot top the stupidity, I go and schedule another race. I confess, I was oblivious to dates when I signed up.
Greenland is however yet another C, D, or F race. (I don't do E races).
I'm shooting for completion only, people. The course is hard. Oh so hard. When I ran it a few weeks ago, there were +35 mph winds, sloppy mud, snow. Truly, an overall joyful experience.
Not to mention, the whole 5 mile climb, 4 mile descent......repeat....repeat....repeat.
repeat.
But don't take MY word for it. Check it out for yourself. HERE You might have to refresh the page.
The course is open for 8 hours. Do not be surprised if I come crawling in around 7:59:59. Look, all I really want is my medal.
That might sound like a bad attitude, but it's really not. I figure that 5 miles up (into the wind) in mud and slop and 20F degree temps means that race can truly only be better.
Besides when my friend D told me that he'd be finishing in roughly 4 hours. I nearly threw up.
Of course, he's also won this race in previous years. Not like win an AG award, but WINNING the whole race. So, he'll be finishing when I'm approximately HALFWAY.
wow.
But my legs sure do look awesome.
moving along
Two weeks after Greenland is my A race. My first half marathon. I am SUPER excited for this. I think I have made great progress over the winter, and I am anxious to see results. I feel very confident that I can get a course PR. How much is yet to be seen, but if I don't get it, it will not be due to lack of training. THANKYEWVERYMUCH.
That's my schedule for the coming weeks.
Just for fun, today was also a Double. Run in the morning, run in the evening.
Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.
Hate me cuz I'm more fit than you.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Just don't ask me about swimming or cycling. Let's get through the next 3 weeks and see what happens.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Moving Target
Maybe I should entitled this post Identity Crisis; except that "crisis" seems a little extreme.
Moving target seemed more appropriate...and certainly appeared to point to my inability to focus on certain aspects of my life.
Until now.
I got the news I was waiting for this weekend, not good news, not bad news, just expected.
I thought to myself, "So this is it. This is the direction I'm going now."
It's certainly not a bad direction. Think of it like this. Let's say you're hiking. You plan out your trail. You know the trail pretty well. You think about taking a different way but nahhhhh you chose Trail A. There's a comfort to Trail A. You know the path. You know what you'll need. You enjoy it. It gives you a feeling of success, takes work, dedication, and it's not very scary.
But you get to trail A and find out that it's closed indefinitely. All along, Trail B was your backup.
Trail B is a little more scary. You've ventured up B before only to back down after a few miles.
Now, you find out you're going down Trail B....no matter what. You're pretty sure all will be well. It's simply an adjustment. There are more "what ifs"....more unknowns.
On the other hand, Trail B also gives you alot more freedom to travel off the path. There are many little trails that branch off of Trail B. You get to cross rivers, walk over fallen trees, climb boulders, and experience things that you haven't before.
Here I stand, at the start of Trail B.
I don't know how I feel.
But I know what I see.
It's a big world, and I see potential.
Moving target seemed more appropriate...and certainly appeared to point to my inability to focus on certain aspects of my life.
Until now.
I got the news I was waiting for this weekend, not good news, not bad news, just expected.
I thought to myself, "So this is it. This is the direction I'm going now."
It's certainly not a bad direction. Think of it like this. Let's say you're hiking. You plan out your trail. You know the trail pretty well. You think about taking a different way but nahhhhh you chose Trail A. There's a comfort to Trail A. You know the path. You know what you'll need. You enjoy it. It gives you a feeling of success, takes work, dedication, and it's not very scary.
But you get to trail A and find out that it's closed indefinitely. All along, Trail B was your backup.
Trail B is a little more scary. You've ventured up B before only to back down after a few miles.
Now, you find out you're going down Trail B....no matter what. You're pretty sure all will be well. It's simply an adjustment. There are more "what ifs"....more unknowns.
On the other hand, Trail B also gives you alot more freedom to travel off the path. There are many little trails that branch off of Trail B. You get to cross rivers, walk over fallen trees, climb boulders, and experience things that you haven't before.
Here I stand, at the start of Trail B.
I don't know how I feel.
But I know what I see.
It's a big world, and I see potential.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Ramblings from a Forgotten Athlete
Have you ever had to wait for something?
I've been waiting for something since Nov. I'm finally getting down to the deadline. It's one of those things that defines your direction once it's done.
With that one little itty bitty thing at the back of my mind, I've been thinking about the upcoming years from an athletic perspective.
Work has been so busy lately that when I get home or when I'm running....that's what I'm doing. I need to set work aside for a little while.
Have I completely lost you yet?
Besides work and this little itty bitty thing, there is also my family. Well, the boys are older now. In a couple of years, Jordan leaves for college. Next fall, Justin starts high school. Things...life....changes when your kids get older.
Where does this leave me?
It leaves me with potential training time.
Sigh.
This year, I'm not doing any tri's. Taking the year off. You can see my "racing" schedule on the right hand side if you're so inclined.
I've been waiting for something since Nov. I'm finally getting down to the deadline. It's one of those things that defines your direction once it's done.
With that one little itty bitty thing at the back of my mind, I've been thinking about the upcoming years from an athletic perspective.
Work has been so busy lately that when I get home or when I'm running....that's what I'm doing. I need to set work aside for a little while.
Have I completely lost you yet?
Besides work and this little itty bitty thing, there is also my family. Well, the boys are older now. In a couple of years, Jordan leaves for college. Next fall, Justin starts high school. Things...life....changes when your kids get older.
Where does this leave me?
It leaves me with potential training time.
Sigh.
This year, I'm not doing any tri's. Taking the year off. You can see my "racing" schedule on the right hand side if you're so inclined.
I've been giving serious thought to doing another (full) Ironman. Not this year, not next year...in fact, I don't have a clue when....
In the meantime, I've been giving serious thought to this in 2011.
There are a few things that need to fall into place for me to really commit to the race. First of all, I would like to continue seeing my run times improve. Second, I'd really like to get a new bike. I've put as many upgrades as I possibly can into the one I have. I love my bike. Sometimes you just find yourself at a point where you want to make the jump.
The positives of doing the race...I can ride the course every single weekend....if I so choose. The timing is perfect. August is hot, but the training is during the best months of the year (for me).
The strangest thing is that I miss the training.
I really really miss those long training sessions. They cannot be duplicated when there is no race.
And that's a GOOD thing. For awhile, I didn't think that I would ever ever ever want to do Ironman again. I didn't even want to think about it. Sure, encourage others, cheer everyone else on.
I've done my dance with the devil. Yes siree...I'm not going down that road again.
But time passes and things change and
I just miss it. that's all.
Things are different now. I would even say that things are better now.
So maybe next year, I'll venture out to IM Boulder and see how I feel. Then figure out where I want to go, what I want to do, and who I want to be.
Knowing what I know about training for Ironman and the time committments and sacrifices that need to be made....I want to do it again.
However, this adventure is only for the truly committed because although I say it here that I want to do it again....it could be another 5 or 6 years down the road.
Until that time.....
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Runnin of the Green Race Report
Open water swimming is a contact sport.
Apparently, so is running, Runnin' o' the Green.
Here's your all important history lesson. The last time I ran this race was in 2006. It's ALWAYS cold. The course is difficult. It was never crowded.
That was then. This is now. This race (a 7k btw which is about 4.34 miles) used to be running only. Now, it's open to walkers AND they have a 2.2 mile walk.
That means that it's no longer a little race. WOAH. Registration winds for blocks. At 20 minutes until race start, the RD makes the announcement that althought they are thrilled that so many people came out, they are now at capacity and everyone standing in line (several HUNDRED people) will not be able to race.
Next....this race is always COLD. Yesterday it was 60 in Denver. At the start of the race, it was 90% humidity, 20 degrees with a wind that would just take your breath away. We were expected snow, but it didn't show up until I was driving home.
I trained for this race. My goal which might seem conservative or crazy or just plain weird to some was simple. I wanted to beat my time in the 4 mile race that I did in Nov.
The secondary mission was to set my pacing plan for my half marathon training. As you all know, my BIG goal of the year is a half marathon PR which happened 7 years ago....at sea level....at the age of 35.
But I digress.
People started lining up early....mostly to keep warm. We tried to follow the fine example of the Penguins (as in March of, not 'ockey). Everyone had to take their turn on the outside of the circle to warm the people on the inside.
When on the inside, I found 3 other women. We started talking and sharing goal times. It just so happened that we all had very similar goals. One woman was from Florida. She had just moved here. We decided to pace each other. She was probably in her early twenties, so I made sure that she understood to keep going if I fell off the pace.
When the gun went off, it took us about 5 minutes to get to the start. With all the bustling, I lost my new found friend. Then, I saw her camelback. My goal was to keep her in my sights.
Lemme say one thing....I've never run such a crowded race before. It never calmed down. There was never a time where I felt that I could just bust a move. The downhills were particularly frustrating because (as you know) I am training for a trail race and have learned how to take the hills pretty fast.
That was the frustration, but the good was that maybe it forced me to slow down in the beginning and hit a negative split on the return. At one point, I had to stop completely and walk for about two minutes. I couldn't get around the guy with the stroller, the lady with the 3 dogs, the three little girls and mom running holding hands (how freaking adorable).
Still, I was having a good time. I knew my face was completely windburn, and my green beads kept hitting me in the face. But what better way to spend a Sunday morning.
That's when I realized that I had lost my little friends. I figured that they are probably so far ahead of me (with getting stopped and all) that I was just going to try to re-gain my lost time and try to hit my goal.
As I round mile 3, I notice the camelback! She is only about 20 feet in front of me all the way over to the left. I was feeling really good (tired, panting, cold, sore, but good). I decided to push it and see if I could pass her.
A few minutes later, she pulled up along side me and said, "I can't believe you just blew past me. You think I'm ok with that?"
I started laughing....but I think it came out like some kind of grunt at this point. We round the 2nd to last corner. We round the last corner. She says "Kick it!"
I responded....
cant
kick
it
feel
sick
With 30m to go, I realized that there was a WALL of people right at the finish. I look at my garmin which already read 4.6 miles but I'm beating my pace. I'm not going to run all this way only to not make my time because of a line.
Camelback turns to me and asks "Is that a wall of people?"
rumpf
I respond.
We are running. She's running. I'm sprinting to keep up with her. With the wall right in front of us, we both see a tiny itty bitty opening. We make a mad dash for the opening and slam our feet down onto the timing mat and exactly the same time.
**
I didn't see camelback after that.
The flood of people engulfed us and I saw her being pulled off to the left.
With the storm overhead and the buildings of downtown Denver as a backdrop, my garmin wasn't accurately reporting distance, time, or pace. Official results aren't in yet.
I.am.going.crazy.
I'm SURE I beat my goal time. I'm sure of it. But I don't know yet.
I made my way over to the water station and got my t-shirt. My beads were wrapped around my neck like some sort of choker, and now that I had stopped running....I realized how truly cold it was.
I head toward my car and looked up at the sky just in time to see the first snowflakes falling.
Apparently, so is running, Runnin' o' the Green.
Here's your all important history lesson. The last time I ran this race was in 2006. It's ALWAYS cold. The course is difficult. It was never crowded.
That was then. This is now. This race (a 7k btw which is about 4.34 miles) used to be running only. Now, it's open to walkers AND they have a 2.2 mile walk.
That means that it's no longer a little race. WOAH. Registration winds for blocks. At 20 minutes until race start, the RD makes the announcement that althought they are thrilled that so many people came out, they are now at capacity and everyone standing in line (several HUNDRED people) will not be able to race.
Next....this race is always COLD. Yesterday it was 60 in Denver. At the start of the race, it was 90% humidity, 20 degrees with a wind that would just take your breath away. We were expected snow, but it didn't show up until I was driving home.
I trained for this race. My goal which might seem conservative or crazy or just plain weird to some was simple. I wanted to beat my time in the 4 mile race that I did in Nov.
The secondary mission was to set my pacing plan for my half marathon training. As you all know, my BIG goal of the year is a half marathon PR which happened 7 years ago....at sea level....at the age of 35.
But I digress.
People started lining up early....mostly to keep warm. We tried to follow the fine example of the Penguins (as in March of, not 'ockey). Everyone had to take their turn on the outside of the circle to warm the people on the inside.
When on the inside, I found 3 other women. We started talking and sharing goal times. It just so happened that we all had very similar goals. One woman was from Florida. She had just moved here. We decided to pace each other. She was probably in her early twenties, so I made sure that she understood to keep going if I fell off the pace.
When the gun went off, it took us about 5 minutes to get to the start. With all the bustling, I lost my new found friend. Then, I saw her camelback. My goal was to keep her in my sights.
Lemme say one thing....I've never run such a crowded race before. It never calmed down. There was never a time where I felt that I could just bust a move. The downhills were particularly frustrating because (as you know) I am training for a trail race and have learned how to take the hills pretty fast.
That was the frustration, but the good was that maybe it forced me to slow down in the beginning and hit a negative split on the return. At one point, I had to stop completely and walk for about two minutes. I couldn't get around the guy with the stroller, the lady with the 3 dogs, the three little girls and mom running holding hands (how freaking adorable).
Still, I was having a good time. I knew my face was completely windburn, and my green beads kept hitting me in the face. But what better way to spend a Sunday morning.
That's when I realized that I had lost my little friends. I figured that they are probably so far ahead of me (with getting stopped and all) that I was just going to try to re-gain my lost time and try to hit my goal.
As I round mile 3, I notice the camelback! She is only about 20 feet in front of me all the way over to the left. I was feeling really good (tired, panting, cold, sore, but good). I decided to push it and see if I could pass her.
A few minutes later, she pulled up along side me and said, "I can't believe you just blew past me. You think I'm ok with that?"
I started laughing....but I think it came out like some kind of grunt at this point. We round the 2nd to last corner. We round the last corner. She says "Kick it!"
I responded....
cant
kick
it
feel
sick
With 30m to go, I realized that there was a WALL of people right at the finish. I look at my garmin which already read 4.6 miles but I'm beating my pace. I'm not going to run all this way only to not make my time because of a line.
Camelback turns to me and asks "Is that a wall of people?"
rumpf
I respond.
We are running. She's running. I'm sprinting to keep up with her. With the wall right in front of us, we both see a tiny itty bitty opening. We make a mad dash for the opening and slam our feet down onto the timing mat and exactly the same time.
**
I didn't see camelback after that.
The flood of people engulfed us and I saw her being pulled off to the left.
With the storm overhead and the buildings of downtown Denver as a backdrop, my garmin wasn't accurately reporting distance, time, or pace. Official results aren't in yet.
I.am.going.crazy.
I'm SURE I beat my goal time. I'm sure of it. But I don't know yet.
I made my way over to the water station and got my t-shirt. My beads were wrapped around my neck like some sort of choker, and now that I had stopped running....I realized how truly cold it was.
I head toward my car and looked up at the sky just in time to see the first snowflakes falling.
Friday, March 5, 2010
It's like this
When I don't blog for awhile, I have all these unwritten blogs floating around in my head just dying to get out.
They just never make it there. Weeks go by, and I have to try to figure out what interesting little tidbits I can pull from those lengthy unwritten blog posts.
In a way, I present to you THE BEST OF THE BEST. If it doesn't live up to your expectations, well....I am SUPER sorry about that.
Work, work, work. We had a meeting last week to try to adjust our plans for the year. We have been so busy. In some ways, I feel out of control. It's hard to get to the gym. It's hard to find time for anything else. We are re-adjusting our hiring plans and possibly moving up some other plans that we had in place for the next 2 years.
Let's just say we're doing our part to get the economy rolling.
We had to do it without a bailout.
Don't get me started on banks.
Let's see a corporation do that.
**
Because of the above, we are trying to get a vacation scheduled. Trying isn't the right word. We're comparing schedules yadda yadda and are going to get it booked.
I couldn't be happier.
All work and no play makes Tea a dull girl.
**
Training while healthy
I have a race on 3/14. I am SO excited for this race. It's a 7k. I've really trained hard for this race. I don't expect to PR, but I am hoping to beat my 4 mile time from Nov. I don't think I've ever really trained for a short race. I done hill repeats, speedwork, tempo runs, long runs, recovery runs. I feel great.
if not a little nervous. I am going to give it everything I have!
After the 7k, I have a number of races starting the end of April. In May I have Greenland followed by my first half marathon of the year.
**
Training while sick
Unfortunately two weeks ago, I got the cold that was running through the house. Due to lack of sleep, the cold stretched into over two weeks. I'm just about over it now.
But there were a few days (4) that I was completely wiped out and even walking was difficult. No swimming, no cycling, no running. I tried to keep up some fitness by walking but mostly I just skipped workouts.
This week I was back to running and am still amazed at how sore I am from the time off. At the same time, I physically feel really good. The forced rest was really good.
**
I get so tired of people who do or say thing for the sake of image.
**
I have no patience for wussies.
**
Sometimes I am rather wussy.
**
Doggies
We took the doggies in for their annual check up. Our stupid-big German Shepherd (Brinks) is probably going to live until he's 20. (He's 6 now).
Our Crazy Bitch....well....she's not long for this life. (She's 4 or 5). Some of you might remember when we adopted her. She was on deathrow as she'd been given up by 3 previous owners. She was malnourished, abused, neglected, dog aggressive and was scared to death of men. This will be our 3rd year with her. She still cries in her sleep, but it's happening less often. She's no longer afraid of men. She's no longer afraid of sprinklers or hoses or haribrushes. She's still dog aggressive, but she's no longer destructive and goes outside to use the bathroom. I doubt she'll ever learn any commands, but she did learn sit and shake. So, maybe one day she WILL learn stay or place, or down. And, she no longer buries my swim caps and goggles. She's come a long long way. She's so happy now. She's not the smartest dog, but she really does try. Besides, she's the cutest thing ever.
Her tests didn't come back good. She has problems with her pancreas and her kidneys are starting to fail. Medications will help and a special diet will help. I just hope she's not in alot of pain. She's such a good girl.
It's hard when you adopt a dog that experienced such a life. Even though she might not live to even 8 years old, I sure hope she is happy and that whatever life she has left wipes out those bad memories.
**
I guess that covers the last month or so.
Hope you all have been well. I really enjoy reading your blogs. I just don't always respond.
They just never make it there. Weeks go by, and I have to try to figure out what interesting little tidbits I can pull from those lengthy unwritten blog posts.
In a way, I present to you THE BEST OF THE BEST. If it doesn't live up to your expectations, well....I am SUPER sorry about that.
Work, work, work. We had a meeting last week to try to adjust our plans for the year. We have been so busy. In some ways, I feel out of control. It's hard to get to the gym. It's hard to find time for anything else. We are re-adjusting our hiring plans and possibly moving up some other plans that we had in place for the next 2 years.
Let's just say we're doing our part to get the economy rolling.
We had to do it without a bailout.
Don't get me started on banks.
Let's see a corporation do that.
**
Because of the above, we are trying to get a vacation scheduled. Trying isn't the right word. We're comparing schedules yadda yadda and are going to get it booked.
I couldn't be happier.
All work and no play makes Tea a dull girl.
**
Training while healthy
I have a race on 3/14. I am SO excited for this race. It's a 7k. I've really trained hard for this race. I don't expect to PR, but I am hoping to beat my 4 mile time from Nov. I don't think I've ever really trained for a short race. I done hill repeats, speedwork, tempo runs, long runs, recovery runs. I feel great.
if not a little nervous. I am going to give it everything I have!
After the 7k, I have a number of races starting the end of April. In May I have Greenland followed by my first half marathon of the year.
**
Training while sick
Unfortunately two weeks ago, I got the cold that was running through the house. Due to lack of sleep, the cold stretched into over two weeks. I'm just about over it now.
But there were a few days (4) that I was completely wiped out and even walking was difficult. No swimming, no cycling, no running. I tried to keep up some fitness by walking but mostly I just skipped workouts.
This week I was back to running and am still amazed at how sore I am from the time off. At the same time, I physically feel really good. The forced rest was really good.
**
I get so tired of people who do or say thing for the sake of image.
**
I have no patience for wussies.
**
Sometimes I am rather wussy.
**
Doggies
We took the doggies in for their annual check up. Our stupid-big German Shepherd (Brinks) is probably going to live until he's 20. (He's 6 now).
Our Crazy Bitch....well....she's not long for this life. (She's 4 or 5). Some of you might remember when we adopted her. She was on deathrow as she'd been given up by 3 previous owners. She was malnourished, abused, neglected, dog aggressive and was scared to death of men. This will be our 3rd year with her. She still cries in her sleep, but it's happening less often. She's no longer afraid of men. She's no longer afraid of sprinklers or hoses or haribrushes. She's still dog aggressive, but she's no longer destructive and goes outside to use the bathroom. I doubt she'll ever learn any commands, but she did learn sit and shake. So, maybe one day she WILL learn stay or place, or down. And, she no longer buries my swim caps and goggles. She's come a long long way. She's so happy now. She's not the smartest dog, but she really does try. Besides, she's the cutest thing ever.
Her tests didn't come back good. She has problems with her pancreas and her kidneys are starting to fail. Medications will help and a special diet will help. I just hope she's not in alot of pain. She's such a good girl.
It's hard when you adopt a dog that experienced such a life. Even though she might not live to even 8 years old, I sure hope she is happy and that whatever life she has left wipes out those bad memories.
**
I guess that covers the last month or so.
Hope you all have been well. I really enjoy reading your blogs. I just don't always respond.
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