I decieded

I'm going to do the Mercer Island Half Marathon (not the 10k).. and even more I'm going to go for my 2 hour goal. The basis for this decision was that I was able to run 10ish miles in around 1:30 and still felt good enough after running up Stoneway hill that I could run another 3 miles in under 30 min - which would be under 2 hours. Another reason is I figure I should use every opportunity to make my goal time so I can move on. The 2 hour goal is from last year and has been almost haunting me since last year which is dumb since I'm a much stronger runner now so it is time to move on and focus on something else. Just get it done. Then on a less hilly course I can have an even faster goal ;)

lets see

Training is going along as usual even though the rest of my life has become kind of crazy lately.

I feel good about my running, I have been getting about 3 days in a week. I have been working on running faster and being able to maintain a faster pace longer. Also Col has been working with me on keeping or even picking the pace up at the end of a long run when I'm tired. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to do the Mercer Island 10k or half marathon. If I did the half it would be more of a training run than an all out race since Vancouver is my priority run race. Which might be good or bad mentally. Either would be good for me physically.

Swimming is going alright. We are leaving the Pro Club so we joined another gym and the pool is not chlorine which is kind of strange - it feels slow but isn't. It is not really set up like a true lap swim pool - no clock at the end or lane markers for when you do back stroke, no kick boards or pull buoys (so I got my own) and totally empty most of the time I was there. It is going to take some getting used to but it will be fine. I may find a new swim coach or clinics instead of doing lessons - I could see clinics being beneficial anyway.

I got a ride in a couple weeks ago outside and have been using my trainer so I'm maintaining my cycling. I am switching over to a full flight deck on my bike which I'm hoping will help a bit more with my fit and be nicer on my shoulder (though it is all in my head so I should just let it go and ride more).

Since I'm leaving the Pro Club and thus also leaving my pilates guy Jim so I have started working with a new Pilates instructor - Monique at Element Studios. Coach Tammy recommended her a couple months ago. Col and I are working with her one night a week and then I'm going to start seeing her another day a week in hopes of helping strengthen my shoulder some more and I just really enjoy it so it is a good way for me to destress.

I think that about covers where I'm at right now. 3 months till Vancouver Half Marathon and 4 months till Hawaii 70.3 :) it is going to be a fun summer.

mixed results

I finally did it I got a trainer and set it up last night for an hour ride. Col gave me a crazy workout with one leg drills and a cadence ladder. I defiantly need to work on my right leg - my left was way smoother. The cadence ladder was a challenge esp the 2nd set - my right leg/hip got really tight - luckily it loosened up enough during the rest between sets that I was able to to keep going. While I was riding I actually felt pretty good - no shoulder pain really, no foot pain, no hip pain. My ass was a bit sore by the end but nothing that bad. In all I worked hard and enjoyed getting my bike work out done. Afterwards I especially streched my legs and my shoulders out just to be good.

This morning I had pilates bright and early at 6am - I don't think I was even really awake till I got to the gym and ran for 5 min to warm up. The instructor I have been working with has been really good about pushing me to really pull my abs in and my shoulders down and back. I sort of noticed right away that my shoulder was a bit tighter than normal but it was no big deal till I was doing a full pike - which is usually one of my favorite exercises. Not today - my left shoulder revolter and cramped up right in the middle of it. I barely made it through the sets for the middle and the sideways ones and had to have help (which I usually don't need). The nice thing is that he just switched gears and we stretched out my shoulder and then did some shoulder opening exercises which helped.

So the shoulder pain has not gone away and it has not been this bad in a while. I'm guessing it is the bike... It totally annoyed me all day. I just want my bike to fit - I'm so sick of this dumb injury.

Colleen has upped how many days I do my shoulder pt exercises to every other day and hope that that will help build some strength into my upper back and shoulder. But I can't get away from that it gets worse when I ride :(
I love my bike and I hate not wanting to be on it in fear of my shoulder hurting... Tomorrow is a recovery day and I have a massage which will help as well. I'm really looking forward to solving this issue and moving on..

strong run in the wind

This morning may not have been my best morning but my weekend was actually pretty good. Well both Friday and Sunday I was supposed to get a ride in and did not but I'm letting it go. I'm working on a solution - most likely a CycleOps fluid trainer (I would have got one tonight but all local REIs were sold out can you believe it). Anyway so the bike thing should get better.
Saturday after doing house stuff - while the guys watched the Seahawks game and Colleen was on her trainer I went for an 8 mile run. It was crazy windy - it felt like I had a head or side wind for 6 out of the 8 miles which sucked. Otherwise my only thing was that my right foot was sensitive and kind of hurt most of the run. I'm not really sure what caused the flare up, maybe skiing but I'm not sure anyway. I'm pretty used to running with it and it never got higher than a 5ish on the 1-10 pain scale so no big deal. I was sort of pleasantly surprised by my time (I did not always stop my watch at stops either) - I finished the 8 miles in 1:09:44. So my run in getting faster :) About 20 min after the run my right foot really hurt - I had to limp it was horrible (7 out of 10). Luckily it sort of faded as the night went on. But still not a good sign.

My new Fischer Vision Zeal fat skies showed up on Friday and we managed to get them mounted by Saturday night so I had to go test them out Sunday morning up at Alpental. Kyle was still recovering from his Strep throat the week before so I went up by myself - not my favorite but I understood his reason and I really wanted to try the skis out. I left super early to beat traffic and get there before the lifts opened. It was snowing the whole drive up. Got in line took a few runs on the lower mountain before chair 2 opened up. The skis are good - sadly the conditions could have been better - it was 4 inches of power on top of crust/ice so my fatties were not the best. I sort of wished I had my race skis with me. Oh well they still handled pretty well on the groomed. Chair 2 opened and the clouds started to part as I headed up the mountain. It was perfect.The conditions were a bit better up top and I found some untracked areas which is always fun. After about 6 runs up top I got kind of bored skiing by myself so I did one last run down international and headed home for the day. All in all got some good exercise and I like my new skies (really look forward to skiing them on some softer snow).

Tonight since I could not get a trainer on my way home I went to the pool. It was way more crowded then I like but I felt tired and just wanted to accomplish something training wise today. So I got 2000yrds done - I managed to do six 100s each under 1:50 so I was happy with that since I feel so out of it.

I failed

I planned on riding my bike into work today - my bag was already packed, my clothes ready but instead I tossed and turned all night and morning and will be driving in. I have been really horrible about getting on my bike so I have been wanting to ride to work to get he time and mileage in well.. Now I just feel guilty of skipping a work out and something I planned on doing. All because I psyched/scared myself of riding in the dark. The route is basic enough most of it is on the I90 trail but I have no idea how much of it is lighted and since I have to be ready to work by 9ish my ride would be almost entirely in the dark. I feel so dumb and disappointed in myself for not going and just doing it. I woke up stressing about it all night, I looked at the clock at least once an hour - which was horrible. To add to it is snowing out side right now.
I really feel like I'm letting myself (and my coach) down huge right now. I guess Bryan does have reasons to make fun of me for not doing my work outs on my own enough. Though I have been good about both my run, swim and my strength stuff (even my pt stuff). It is just the dumb bike - last year I did the pro club spin class to make it through the winter.

So I need to find a solution, I don't like spin class at the pro club (and my membership ends soon), It is to dark and usually wet to ride to work this time of year. So maybe a spin class somewhere else or get my own trainer or spin bike so I can ride at home. I could also go to work early a couple days a week (or at least when it is a nice day) so I can come home and ride outside before it gets to dark.

2008 goals

I have been thinking about this for a couple of weeks now. 2007 was a huge year for me so now what do I want to do in 2008... I on doing at least 1 half marathon, 2 half Ironman events, and a marathon in the fall. Those are the events but this year I know I can finish them so it is a matter of speeding things up a bit. These are still a work in progress...

Overall/general goals for the year
- manage time better between work, life and training - all three are important
- stay injury free
- improve eating habits - make healthier choices
- ride my bike to work depending on weather - save gas and get more time on the bike
- learn how to skate ski


run time goals
22 min 5k
50 min 10k
sub 2 hour half marathon
sub 4:30 marathon

triathlon time goals
sub 6:30:00 half Ironman in Hawaii

big long term goals
qualify for Boston
sub 13 hour full Ironman
sub 6 hour half Ironman