Another Excuse

I find it so hard to get started again after a day off. Should I be well rested and ready to go? I'm not. In fact, I think I'm more tired than before. Of course, it doesn't help when you spend 4 hours power interviewing people and trying to remember who's who. It doesn't help that after a 12 hour day at work, you come home to a dog that was sick everywhere (primarily carpet because pets only get sick on carpet). It doesn't help that instead of relaxing after a mentally draining day, you spend another hour scrubbing said carpet. And it doesn't help that you can't sleep after such a day.

I did get up and swim this morning, which actually felt pretty good. I don't usually swim well first thing in the morning (races are an exception) and typically go after work. But I went last week in the morning and felt great afterwards. I remember having so much energy at work and just felt wide awake. That came to a crashing halt by mid-afternoon, but still it seemed worth it. So I tried it again this morning and voila! Not quite the same magic as last week, but I did feel better than before I had started and it's great to start off the day feeling like you've accomplished something. Of course, it also meant that I was supposed to ride after work and it also seemed like there was a good chance to ride outside. But it didn't really happen. I left work late, felt cold and tired, and jumped on the trainer for 45 minutes instead. A cop-out I know. But at least I did something.

Tomorrow will be better. I'm heading to bed shortly and plan on leaving yesterday and today completely behind me.

totals:

swim = 2600 meters

bike = 15 miles (trainer)

Ouch...I'm Hurting

Sooo, I am unbelievably sore after yesterday's adventures in the yard. I honestly think I'm worse than I was after CDA. Everything from my waist down hurts. I woke up wondering how I was going to get through the day. Considering I could barely get up and down the stairs, running seemed daunting. But fortunately work was crazy enough that I just had to get away at lunch and a run was desperately needed by noon. I was hoping it would loosen things up. I wouldn't say that it happened, but at least I didn't really feel sore running. I guess I got into the zone and stopped feeling it. This was not the case when I got back to my desk. I tried to move as little as possible, which is not easy for The World's Most Fidgety Person. But I had constant reminders to be still. I decided to numb myself with a lovely Zinfandel when I got home (after riding of course, but all the more motivation). And now I can dream of my day off tomorrow.

So, does this mean I'm getting old? Not at all!

But it does mean that I have learned from my mistakes and will NEVER again go another full winter without de-pooping the yard. It was my first winter with a yard. How was I to know? It's not in the Homeowner's Manual.

Time's Up, Break's Over

Well, it's been months and it's time to start posting again. There has been lots of procrastination and not much to show for the last few months. I'll just blame it on life - last year was tough. But now it's 2010 and a start of a new decade, so no more excuses. I'm now about 4 months into training and well behind where I think I should be. Motivation has been tough. Work has been insane. And this weather has been, well, less than desirable is putting it mildly. But I ran into Cisco yesterday during my ride and he promised me that we're done with winter and that it's only going to be good weather from here on out. Power of positive thinking - if you think it, it can happen. Even when you're up against Mother Nature.

I'm about to head into another stabilizer week. I feel like I sort of need it but sort of don't. I've been working pretty hard during the week, but I having been slacking a lot on the weekends. And let's face it - when you work full-time, the weekends are what really count. But since we're only going to have nice weather, next weekend will already be better. In general things are coming along, but slowly. I ended up taking about 2-3 months off in the fall and it's taking a while to get back into shape. My swim and run are definitely getting back to normal. And I guess since I still suck on the bike, I'm back to normal there as well.

I've wasted yet another weekend, but at least I made progress in the home front. I have two garden boxes now built and the yard has finally been de-pooped! This is by far the best part of having dogs. To try and put it into perspective, Matt ran home to get tools, came back, and built the 2 4x8 foot boxes in less time than it took me to sift through the grass looking for smelly presents. And I started the other night, too! My back is killing me and I will never again go the entire winter without doing this. If I can get someone to change around the sprinkler system this week, we can have the boxes in the ground next weekend, and I can hopefully start planting after that - right on schedule.

Mud Hen 5K...Longmont CO

I decided to do this race about an hour and a half beforehand. After some logistical problems surrounding how I was going to get there, I didn't leave my house until 45 minutes beforehand and really had no idea where I was going. I arrive about 5 minutes beforehand and still had to register. Thank god for small races. I was able to accomplish all of this and still had about 2 minutes to spare.

Results:

• 24:59: pace of 8:03 per mile
• 52nd out of 338 finishers
• 11th out of 191 women
• 3rd out of 25 for 35-39 women
• 21:24 was the winning time for women
• 22:39 was the winning time for 35-39 women

All things considering, it wasn't too bad. I wouldn't say I pushed myself super hard. It was more for fun and I have to admit that I had fun.

Boulder Spring Half Marathon

 A freezing cold day. There were many people in shorts and I'm not sure how they did it. I was in tights, hat, gloves, and two long sleeve shirts. I had a really rough week leading up to the race with very little sleep. I had done one 10 mile run and one 11 mile run in the weeks preceding, so I didn't feel completely prepared and it was just going to be one of those Let's Just See How It Goes...

It was something I felt like I had to do mentally to help get over CDA. It was still only my second race since and it had been months since my last race. I was hoping it would help jump start my brain to get back into training mode and back into distance mode. It was also a course I had done twice before and was hoping I'd do similar times, even though it had been 8 or so years since I had run the course. By the time race day arrived, I was just hoping for sub-2, but recognized that this might be pushing it.

I wasn't expecting as large of a crowd (what was I thinking...it's Boulder!). The last time I ran this course, the start line was out on the road outside of the Res. I assumed that was where it still was. We parked in the field. I wanted to use the port-a-potties before the start and headed over to the parking lot with all of my warm clothes still on - I figured the car was midway between the bathrooms and the start so I could drop them off on my way back to the start. About halfway over to the parking lots, I realized that the start had moved to inside the Res by the parking lots and bathroom. Being that there were only about 10 or so minutes to the start, I had to run back to the car to undress and then back to the parking lot where there was naturally a long line for the bathrooms. By the time I finished, it was pretty much time to start. People were already packed into the starting chute. I had barely squeezed in along side of everyone when the gun went off. I was way at the end having no time to push myself up towards the front, and so I was stuck for the time being. It was like herding cattle. We'd run a bit and then slow down. Speed up, slow down. Stop, go. Repeat. The pathway narrowed a lot in the section that led out to the road and similar to the first turn in an Ironman swim, everyone stopped. It was a great start. I finally got out to the road where we were able to spread out a bit, but still, it was pretty packed and there was a lot of weaving. My first mile was over 10 minutes. It took another two miles before I was able to run a straight line. So much for time goals. But that wasn't what this was about, remember.

In the end, I had a really good race. I didn't break 2, but had I started closer to the front, I like to think that I would have. My Garmin also recorded an extra .15 miles, so there's that to consider as well. But the best things were actual "did haves" rather than "could haves". I stuck completely to my race plan, which is a first. I stayed right in mid-Z3 until the last few miles. I felt really good the entire race. I never reached the When Is This Going To End? point. I never reached the I'm Starting to Get Really Tired point. I just felt like I could keep going like this for a while. Which probably means that I didn't go hard enough, but it was only a half marathon and there would still be another half to go come Wisconsin, so it was good to have that sense of control. And most importantly, I think I did get past that mental barrier and was finally able to put CDA behind me and start anew.

Results:


Start                    08:02:00.6


Official Finish  02:02:59.3


Chip Finish       02:01:13.1


Overall               506/1026


Women              204/570


F35-39               38/99