Race Schedule and Results

Thursday, April 29, 2010

I'm still here in the land of relaxation

I was supposed to come home last night, but I love it here too much!!! That and I wasn't ready to leave my hubby (all together now... "Ahhhhhh"). So I forked over some miles, taught my mother in law how to fill some orders and extended my trip 2 full days. :) Such sacrifices I'll make.

I got to hear Tom talk last night - super cool experience! Quite a few type 1's came out to hear his story. They were all active which is awesome and in awe of what Tom and Team Type 1 does. I love seeing Tom in his element!

So after much sun, relaxation, trashy books (Chelsea Handler's new book is really funny), runs up Diamond Head, shopping, eating and sleeping, I'll head home tomorrow. But, I have one full day left with Tom. We're heading to Pearl Harbor tomorrow and then spending the day at the beach before we part ways (we don't get to fly home together as I'm heading to Ohio and Tom's heading to California to run The Relay with his team).

Oh, and I thought that it was smart to sign up for a half marathon on Saturday. Between the overnight flight, the layover in Dallas (which should be voted the World's Worst Airport), and the 6 hour time difference that I am finally used to, my 8am 13.1 miles on Saturday should be fun.

Good thing I already hit my sub 1:50 'cause I don't see it happening in 3 days!

Pictures of paradise to come...

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Time Trial Tuesday

Tom and I used to do a "time trial" of sorts on the bike each Tuesday. It's our own thing... nothing official. There is a loop from his mom's house that if done twice, is 21.25 miles. We always thought that it was just a good way to measure our bike fitness. 9 times out of 10, it's windy as hell in 2 of the 4 directions so you struggle for half of the ride and get a nice benefit the other half. I'm not used to going all out, and hadn't done the workout yet this season so it was a good day to do it.

In the past, I think the best I ever did was 1:06:xx. There are 5 stop signs along the route and inevitably someone is coming the opposite direction when you want to make a right hand turn. It happened twice today. Totally an average killer if you ask me! :) In any event, I got geared up and ready. Tom asked if I was going to do a little warm up before I started.

"Nah... I'll just go guns-a-blazin' right from the get go."

Who was I kidding? I started my watch and took off. Within about a quarter of a mile, I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest. My legs burned so bad. Hum... maybe I should have done the warm up mile or two!

For the first 10.1 miles, there was no one... I was able to make it through the entire loop without stopping for a car which is a huge plus. I felt good once I got my heart rate down. There seemed to be a wind from every direction that I turned. At least that's how it seemed (always seems that way doesn't it?) I could just tell that I never benefited from a tailwind. My guess, it was as calm a day as Ohio's ever seen.

Lap two was a little faster than lap one. Tom had caught up to me so I needed to show him what I had in me. (only to have him say afterward "you really need to learn how to switch gears because you were spinning and you could have been doing much faster". Thanks honey... my legs couldn't take much more). I had the obligatory two car stop this loop. They obviously had the right of way and as soon as they saw me, slowed to a crawl and looked, just long enough for me to have to come to a complete stop and start up again.

I ended up finishing the 21.25 miles in 1:02:50. I was super thrilled with that. It's not the fastest that I've ever raced (I think my max was an Olympic at 21.7) but it shows me that I have improved on the bike so much in the last year. I'm anxious to do it again sometime soon. And maybe by the end of the season I'll see a sub 1 hour.

Off to Hawaii my blogging friends. I'll think of you all as I'm laying on the beach, drinking fun umbrella drinks (or more realistically hiking, running, swimming and enjoying the new forms of fitness for 6 days).

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Maybe it's me...

I'm beginning to wonder if I'm the one who's weird in spin class. You've all heard my sagas, today might be the icing on the cake! :)

I had a 1:20 ride and a 50 minute run schedule. Decided to do a spin class with a little before and a little after to reach the 1:20, then transition over to the treadmill and call it a day. I get to the spin room about 30 minutes early, set up my bike, put on my headphone and start riding. Slowly a few people trickle in. There are 45 bikes in the room - I counted. I'm one of 5 with about 5 minutes to go before the class starts. In walks a guy and picks the bike right next to me. Figures. There are 2 whole rows of bikes without people, but he chooses the bike next to me. I keep biking.

I take my headphones off once the instructor starts her music. That must have been the cue to dude next to me that I want friends. A conversation that was one for the books ensues...

Him: "I need to get me some shoes like that. Can I buy them at Dick's?" (he's in baggy sweat pants and trail shoes)
Me: "I'd probably head to a bike store."
Him: "Your handlebars look really low."
Me: "Yeah, I like them like that. It's more realistic to my outdoor bike this way."
Him: "Oh. Are mine too high?"
Me: "Nope, they look right."
Him: "Cause some people like them high like this (he raises his arms to nipple level) and that's like a mountain bike."
Me: "Yep, it's a preference thing I guess."
Him: "So are you going to bike outside when you are done here?"
Me: "Nope. I have a run scheduled."
Him: "Do you run outside because I can't imagine running on cement."
Me: "Yep, but today I'll run inside."
Him: "How do you count laps on the track?"
Me: "I'll run on the treadmill."
Him: "How fast do you run?"
Me: "Today, I'll probably try to run 8:30's."
Him: "That's smokin' fast."
Me: ... nothing. What was I supposed to say??
Him: "You don't have enough water. I drink two bottles during this class."
Me: "I'll be alright." (looking at my 32 ounce bottle... the class is 45 minutes max)
Him: PUNCHES ME IN THE ARM and then says "Where'd you learn to work out like this... in prison?"

WTF???

He literally punched me in the arm and asks me if I learned who to work out in prison. Where do these people come from? And why are they attracted to the same classes that I'm in, let alone the bike next to me. We ended up with 11 people in the class. That left 34 bikes that I could have moved to, but that would have been obvious.

My luck he would have followed me...

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Xenia Race Report

I made a goal at the beginning of the year (okay, maybe last year but to accomplish this year). It was to break 1:50 in a half marathon. I came close last year with a 1:51:10 at Xenia, but last year I was faster. My training runs were all in the 8:25-8:35/mile range. This year I feel like I'm dying at 8:40's or comfortable at just under 9:00's. I know that 90% of the time I run with dead legs (that happens during Ironman training). Not really dead legs, but you know the type... I'm recovered, I'm rested, but I never really have fresh legs. In any event, I had very low expectations for this race today.

Yesterday I picked my mother in law up and we drove to Xenia. Tom was biking there (it's about 80 miles). We picked up our packets and were expecting Tom. I get a call that his map was wrong and he's lost. Ugh... I can't help him because I don't really know where he is so I finally get him to tell me cross streets and we backtrack about 15 miles and find him in the next town. Poor guy - ended up biking 75 miles into the wind and was still 15 miles from the final destination. We grabbed some dinner at this fabulous place called Youngs (it was like home cooking. I had beef and noodles and could have eaten plates and plates of it... it was yummo). We checked into the hotel and of course our room is between two rooms filled with people yelling and smoking pot. I lived in the Netherlands for 5 months. I know what pot smells like. Oh my gawd where they smoking a lot of it! They seemed to be leaving for the evening (I'm sure hitting the clubs in Xenia Ohio which is about the size of my pinky nail) and were all so tired that it just didn't even matter to us.

I fell asleep quickly, only to be woken up around 3am by the yelling of the neighbors. It wasn't a good night's sleep. Luckily we were 2 minutes from the start and the race was starting at 8:30 so we didn't have too early of a morning. Looking back, I wish I had been really loud in the morning. I should have banged on the walls and screamed for no good reason because I'm pretty sure that the people in the rooms on either side of us were still sleeping (and probably still high). I digress...

We got to the race start around 8:10. It was a beautiful day and there were runners everywhere. Tom kept saying that he felt like he was forgetting something. Oh the joys of a simple running race! We lined up, listened to the national anthem and they started the race. Tom, his mom and I all decided to stick together.

The first 2 miles are always quick of this race. They are through a neighborhood. You kind of get sucked into the emotion of the race... first half of the year for many people. The first mile was an 8:18. Didn't feel too fast, but I was cautious not to kill myself. Second mile was 8:21. Tom had incredibly fast legs having just biked 75 miles into the wind the day before.

Miles 3 and 4 are pretty hilly. My shin started hurting and I thought that I was in for it. I've never had shin problems and today wasn't the day that I wanted to know what it was like to have them! Splits were 8:25 and 8:28. Then we turn to a bike path. The rest of the race is on a bike path - and it's an out and back. I've run this race 3 times and I swear to you that its uphill both ways. I don't get it.

Mile 5 and 6 I felt like I was finally into a groove of sorts - both were 8:32's.

Then it happened. I got my legs! :) I felt like I was finally just running and not thinking about anything else. My shins stopped hurting and it was just nice...

Mile 7 was 8:19
Mile 8 was 8:19
Mile 9 was 8:20
Mile 10 was 8:05
Mile 11 was 8:08
Mile 12 was 7:53 (might have been a little slower since Tom took off and ran ahead of me with the garmin)
Mile 13 was 7:54 (was probably a bit faster since I sprinted like hell to catch him!!!)

Um... so that was a super negative split. And a 1:49:21. And a PR by 2 minutes! :)

I am so excited that I was able to cross my first goal off of my list for 2010. I honestly thought that I'd struggle to maintain 9:00's today and I ended up averaging 8:21's! Anxious to see what this year's going to bring!

And I want to give my hubby due props because he truly is a rockstar (although I didn't just learn this today!). He's been training his butt off for Race Across America and biked himself into the ground this week and yesterday. He did amazing today though and kept pushing me to the finish. He even finished 7 seconds before me... just enough time to turn and cheer me on as I finished. You are awesome Brady!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Stupid fun

I was awarded my brave badge today. After a good morning swim (2000m in 35:04!!!) I just couldn't bear being inside anymore. I think Tom would have opted for the trainer, but seeing as how it was 80 degrees with not a cloud in the sky, I wanted to get out on the bike. Big problem... winds were 22mph with gusts over 35mph. :) I'm used to crazy winds though... remember this race? Or what about every ride that I'm on where it seems to ALWAYS be at my face? What would a little wind do to me today?

HA! As if I had a clue! I've labeled my workout today "stupid fun". Stupid, because I could barely keep my bike upright and I believed my husband when he said that we would have a side wind the entire time (we did have a side wind most of the time... too bad I literally had to bike at a 45 degree angle lean into the wind to stay up). Stupid because I didn't eat enough before the ride and felt like my legs were encased in cement the entire ride. Fun because, well, I can't complain about being on my bike in a tank top and shorts the first week of April. Plus the wind makes me better (right? I'm not lying to myself am I?) Oh, and I got a double workout in because my abs and back are totally killing me from tightening them as I held on for dear life with the gusts!

So, might have been stupid, but it was fun and that's really all that matters. Plus I'll sleep well tonight which kind of cancels out the stupid part of it! :)

This weekend is our first half marathon. It's this great little race that we've done the last two years in Xenia Ohio. Last year I ran a 1:51 and I was hoping that by this time I'd be able to knock out a 1:49:xx, but I don't see that happening. I'm actually thinking that I'll be happy to run under maybe a 1:58:00. We'll see what happens. Maybe I'll surprise myself. I have a few more chances to hit my sub 1:50 goal this year so I'm not sweating it, but I know that as training gets harder and longer, the chances are more slim! Eh, we'll see what happens.

Oh, and a great thing happened to me this week. I've been cleaning up my diet a lot the last few weeks as my training has gotten progressively harder and longer. I'm down about 7 pounds and am just about where I was at Ironman Florida! I'm excited. I always put on weight after the Ironman and when the sun stops shining here in Columbus (for those of you that don't know, that's usually November - April/May). So with my Hawaii trip only 2 weeks away, I'm right at my goal weight for the trip. YAY! I have a new secret goal weight though for Ironman Louisville. It's all about the power to weight ratio! :)