Charmer

I couldn't resist - had to post this. He melts my heart...

Am I Standing Still?

Cuttin through the darkest night
In my two headlights
Im trying to keep it clear
But I'm losing it here
To the twilight
Theres a dead end to my left
Theres a burning bush to my right
You aren't in sight
You aren't in sight

Do you want me
Like I want you?

Or am I standing still?
Beneath the darkened sky
Or am I standing still?
With the scenery flying by
Or am I standing still?

-Jewel

I'm pretty sure Sub 4 doesn't want me like I want him. I'm pretty sure he's got enough members of his club to keep him satisfied.

Ok, so I've been running a lot lately. So much that I obviously haven't had time for blogging between running, biking, demolishing my bike, football, soccer, oh yeah - and work. And yeah, I did say "demolishing my bike". What you see here is the two sides of the fork still attached to my roof rack. The bike is hanging off the back of the vehicle.

After our 40 mile ride Saturday and Briar's football scrimmage I decided to try and drive into my garage while chatting on my cell phone and forgetting that my precious bike is on my roof rack. Crunch. Not. Good. Go ahead and laugh. No, I didn't cry. It's a material possession. You only cry over those on rare occasions. Besides that, what can I say? I was chatting on my cell phone instead of paying attention. My own damn fault. The damage? I need a new fork, new shifters, adjustment to my rear derailer, and my rear wheel is out of true. MOAB says $300 and it's done by Friday. I said do it. Let's hope it's really done by Friday, because Saturday is the Star Triathlon. Something we will discuss further at another time.

Back to the running. I last posted last Wednesday, one week ago. Here's the training since:

Thursday 8/23: 4 mile recovery run and 1000 yd swim
Friday 8/24: 14 mile long run (9:10/mile)
Saturday 8/25: 40 mile ride
Sunday 8/26: 8 mile general aerobic run (9:47/mile)
Monday 8/27: 4 mile recovery run (10:02/mile) *supposed to be 5 but I mistakenly thought it was 4
Tuesday 8/28: 10 mile general aerobic run (9:54/mile)

So while I'm running, sometimes I feel like I'm standing still. Is that crazy? It's like I get into a zone, and I don't even feel the effort at some points. Like I'm just standing there. And like I could go on forever. Of course, after a few more miles I snap out of it. That has just started happening recently. It first started during my 8 mile lactate threshold run on 8/20. When I finished the LT miles that were below 8:30/mile, and I ran the cool down miles up over 9:30/mile, I felt like I was standing still. Little to no effort. And I've been feeling it in other runs too. I like it. It sure beats the hell out of feeling like you are dying. And that's how I felt Tuesday, by the way. No standing still during that 10 miler. Oh yeah, and Sunday's 8 miler that was followed by 10x100 strides - not good. There were times during that run that I had the standing still feeling, but when we got done and started those strides I felt my yet-to-be-digested-greasy-dinner-because-I-ate-right-before-running starting to cause a fuss. As soon as #10 was complete, I went home and bowed to the Porcelain Goddess. It wasn't pretty. Let's just say I've learned my lesson about eating greasy foods before running. This time. For sure. Anyways...

Today is a rest/cross training day. So far it has been pure rest, and I am loving every restful minute of it.

Bo goes to Kindergarten

This is his first full week of school. He is loving it. He has his friends Nicholas and Julia in his class with him. And he has his first soccer practice tomorrow.

Soccer practice, I say. And guess who is his coach?

~sigh~

Yes, that's right. I am. Mary Beth(Nicholas's mom) and I sorta like gotta our arms twisted into it. I know, I know I said I wasn't going to coach any sports for a while. But what do you say? I know NOTHING about soccer. NOTHING. So I got online and printed out a bunch of drills and games. Games, because this is gonna be some very laid back U6 soccer. T-ball is not laid back. It's about winning, right? Hehe...I'm smiling, I swear. I also went and bought myself a whistle, though, too. Because I have to have some order. We'll see how this is going to go. I'm scared. Five year olds that I don't know scare me.

And let me fill you in on Briar. He's playing football, and I'm staying out of it. It seems to work better that way with him. He's having a ball. He's playing QB on offense and cornerback on defense. They had a scrimmage the other day and he caught 2 interceptions on defense!!! It just being a scrimmage I had to just sit there and not, like, stand up and dance, but OMG I wanted to.

Today was a rest/cross training day and guess what I actually did?!?!?! I cross trained!! I got back on my bike at lunch and road a flat route for 14.8 miles in 45:53. It was hot and it felt great! Oh yeah, I also did something else - I signed the dotted line(A.K.A. entering my credit card number into Active.com and clicking "submit") for Rocket City. It's official.

Rocket City Week 3 Days 1 - 3

Day 1 is always a rest day and on Saturday.

My grandmother has been sick. She got sick last Thursday, but got worse on Sunday. I had to skip Day 2 - Sunday's lactate threshold run with Michele, Joe and Mike, because I was at the hospital with her and the rest of my family. The good news is that she is doing a lot better now! And I decided to make up the LT run early Monday morning. This was the first LT run in my plan, and I was a little nervous about it. I never did very well with the LT runs in the FIRST plan last year. So I took off from my house in the dark Monday morning. The plan called for 8 miles total - 4 of them at 15k to Half Marathon pace. My best half marathon was just shy of a an 8:30 pace, and the only 15k I've ever done was a trail run and it turned out to be around 8:30/mile. So my plan was to get the splits somewhere below 8:30. I did the first two miles slow to warm up, and then headed up Hwy 53 to start the LT part. The first mile was tough because it is uphill - 8:40. The second mile, down Interstate Dr., I felt like I was warming up a bit and came out with an 8:20. The third mile I really pushed it - 8:12, and started wondering if I was going to be able to hang on for another one. And the forth one came out at 8:29. Whew! The bad part about this route is that as soon as I finished up the LT segment, my last two miles home have 2 hills that always hurt me. But I trudged on home, feeling all beat up and stuff! I know my heart rate was too high, especially during mile 6, the final LT mile. Here's the splits:


Had I done this run on Sunday as planned, I would have had a 4 mile recovery run next. But since I am a day behind, I had to skip the recovery and go straight to Tuesday's general aerobic 10 miler. My plan was to just take it easy and make it recovery/general aerobic. Michele texted me to let me know that we'd be meeting at 4:45 a.m. at the rec center. Once again, I stayed up too late looking for land on the internet. I finally got to bed around 11:30, and when that alarm went off at 4:20 I SO wanted to just throw it out the window. But I want a sub 4hr marathon worse, so I got changed, brushed my teeth, put up the pony tail, grabbed a gu and some water, some Accelerade for Joe, and my Garmin and arrived at the rec center almost 10, I repeat 10 WHOLE MINUTES EARLY thinking that I would recline my seat and atleast catch 7 or 8 more minutes of sleep before any arrived. But when I pulled in, Michele was already there!!! I was like - You have GOT to be kidding me?!?! Like, what time does she get there? Does she sleep there all night? What time do I have to arrive to ensure that I can recline my seat and catch a few more minutes of sleep?!?! Earlybirds. I don't understand them. I am trying to become more like them, but if I can't arrive 10 minutes early and still be the first one, I give! Michele, have a little mercy on a chronic late chick - please! I'm getting discouraged!
Anyways.
So we take off pretty slowly. I feel some soreness in my calves. We have some seriously crazy drivers on Fredonia Rd. in the dark who, I'm sure, think the same thing about us, but still...One of them refused to move over at all, and Michele had to hit the ditch. And another honked his big truck horn because he had to stop at HIS stop sign for me. And I wasn't going to like make him or anything, but I wasn't sure if he was stopping so I did and then he stopped and I went on and it made him mad so he honked at me. hehe...I got tickled about that one. I mean seriously. The dude got mad at ME because he had to stop at a sign. Oh, the joys of running through the country before sunrise.

So somewhere in there Joe decided to pick up the pace. I was feeling alright, so I tried to follow suit, as you can see from the splits. Our route ended up being a little short, so we had to run down the greenway a bit before finishing up the 10 miles, but it was a good run. I am ready for some rest. And sleep. Sleep just moved way up on the priority list for me.


I love running. As I was almost at mile 7 today I felt a real sense of gratitude for the health and body that God has given me. Granted, I'd like longer,skinnier, faster legs, but the ones I've got just keep on going and keep getting stronger. They are injury-free. And for the most part, they do what I tell them to despite knowing how they are going to feel the next morning. One time last year I had run a pretty hard 20 miler, didn't get much rest that day, and then went to bed. The next morning as I was half awake/half asleep and halfway dreaming, I was dreaming that I was actually lying in bed, and instead of legs extending from body, I had two great big logs as big as tree trunks in place of my legs. Poor things. They just keep coming back for more.

If you're not running long, you don't know what you're missing.

Rocket City Training: Long Run #2

Wow...wrapping up week 2, and I've never felt better. Let me tell you, I think Pfitz really knows what he's talking about with these recovery runs. I had a hard time with my 10 miler Tuesday, took the prescribed rest day for Wednesday (except for a few minutes on the eliptical and then weights), did my 5 mile recovery run on Thursday and kept my heart rate where he said it should be, and honey, I was seriously back for the long run Friday morning at 4:30 a.m. I wasn't sure if I'd be ready or not. You never really know until you get a few miles down the road, ya know. But we started out steady and just kept getting better. Beautiful scenery, beautiful weather, beautiful sunrise that I wish I had a picture of, and a beautiful negative split. I even kept my heart exactly where it should have been - except for the last mile where I really pushed the pace. With 1.5 miles to go, I checked my Garmin and decided to try and finish the 13 miles in under 2 hrs. So I pushed on, met the goal, and then actually went another .3 miles to the end of Gowen Rd. Gowen Road is a long straight road and it just didn't feel right to stop .3 miles from the end of it. Michele and Joe both had really good runs, too. Joe paced me for most of the way, then had to stop and tie his shoe and, unfortunately, everything tightened up on him near the end. Michele kept coming and finished strong with a negative split too! This week was 36 miles. Next week goes up to 40, and will include our first lactate threshold run on Sunday. But for now, it's rest, relaxation, Michele's pool, football practice, drafting a soccer team, washing cars to raise money for the football league, and the list goes on. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 1112 ft Location: Manchester, TN Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 08/17/07 Up/Downhill: [+488/-488] Time: 04:34 AM Difficulty: 4.2 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 78F temp; 76% humidity 81F heat index; winds S 5 Performance Distance: 13.30 miles Time: 2:02:28 Speed: 6.5 mph Pace: 9' 12 /mi Heart Rate: 153 bpm (Avg) Calories: 1767 172 bpm (Peak) Map Heart Rate (bpm) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 42 +0' 30 6.2 -0.3 130 -23 ft 2 9' 50 +0' 38 6.1 -0.4 145 +60 ft 3 9' 43 +0' 31 6.2 -0.4 148 +6 ft 4 9' 36 +0' 24 6.3 -0.3 152 +26 ft 5 9' 27 +0' 15 6.3 -0.2 155 +59 ft 6 9' 26 +0' 14 6.4 -0.2 152 -3 ft 7 10' 50 +1' 38 5.5 -1.0 148 -10 ft 8 8' 55 -0' 17 6.7 +0.2 154 -17 ft 9 8' 48 -0' 24 6.8 +0.3 154 -13 ft 10 8' 33 -0' 39 7.0 +0.5 158 -27 ft 11 8' 35 -0' 37 7.0 +0.5 160 -20 ft 12 8' 17 -0' 55 7.2 +0.7 164 -39 ft 13 8' 03 -1' 09 7.4 +0.9 170 -7 ft end 8' 30 -0' 42 7.0 +0.5 171 +6 ft Versus average of 9' 12 min/mi

Posted from bimactive.com

Well, I'm what I am and I'm what I'm not
And I'm sure happy with what I've got
I live to love and laugh a lot
And that's all I need
- Never Wanted Nothing More, Kenny Chesney

Hot Weather

I love it.

It reminds me of when I was 8 years old riding my bike up and down the driveway out in the hot summer sun.

It reminds me of seeing my Dad walk in from outside with sweat dripping off his head and saying "It's a hundred degrees out here, Girls!"

It reminds me of Little Crow Creek. Digging up potatoes. Sleeping with the windows open. Waking to the rooster crowing. And butterscotch pies.

It reminds me of a go-cart and Lakewood Acres.

It reminds me of a garden, a bug zapper, Ma and Pop, and me and Holly running around in their backyard.

It reminds me of cruising the roads with my friends when I was in high school - the windows down and the AC on...Windows down so that we could hear anyone who might yell at us, and the air conditioner on to keep our make up from melting off our faces!

It reminds me of 800m repeats and stadium stairs at 3:15 p.m. in August during the same temps for basketball conditioning.

It reminds me of Courtney, Kris, Erica, Kimberly and The Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Under The Bridge"(I don't eva wanna feeeeel...like I did that day)...and rope swings over Fire Lake, and watching guys jump off of bridges into the water to impress us.

It reminds me of skipping school, the lake, a red Dodge Dakota, and a guy I thought hung the moon (and that I now call my husband).

It reminds me of listening to Bob Seger, even though that was supposed to have been for a different generation. Roll Me Away. Night Moves. You'll Accompany Me. I didn't care. It was good stuff.

It reminds me of a blow up swimming pool, a cute little play fort, and two cute little boys running, splashing and playing...and not realizing how hot it was.

I love hot weather. I can breath in hot weather. I can sweat in hot weather. I can be myself in hot weather. I wish it never went away.

Sure, it affects your pace, I know that. But c'mon - it's 68 degrees at 5:00 a.m. That's perfect running weather. And you've always got the wind in your face on the bike. It's the best of both worlds.

...and the fatigue sets in

Ok, the party is over. I have been going, going, and going and still having great runs. But today, I got the call to slow down a bit. You know I did the Mtn Lakes tri on Saturday, right? After my 12 mile run on Friday. And then we started week 2 of the Pfitz 18/55 plan on Sunday. It called for an 8 mile run with 10x100m strides at the end. I figured my legs would be dead, but they weren't. I felt great during the run - all kinds of energy, until right at mile 7. Around mile 7 I could tell I was getting a little tired. Then we went on to do the 10x100m strides, and I felt very tired. I was actually had a sick feeling in my stomach by the time they were over. I was drinking Accelerade while doing them, and I thought maybe it didn't set well in my stomach.
Monday was a rest day, and I did just that. Other than the normal work day + cooking dinner + cleaning around the house and doing some laundry and packing lunches for the next day, I rested. I really wanted to be able to get in some weight training, but I felt like the rest was more important, especially after doing a triathlon on my weekend rest day. So this morning called for 10 miles, general aerobic pace, taking off at 4:50 from my house with Michele and Joe. I didn't feel great, but I didn't feel terribly bad, either. We ran 3 miles and then decided to take a detour down by Cracker Barrel and run down and up the infamous "Cracker Barrel Hill". This was Joe's idea, of course, but neither Michele nor myself was going to back down on the challenge. So we did the hill, and Joe commented that it was easier in the dark, and he was right. When you can't see the grade at which you are climbing, it really is easier. Everything is so mental. So we continue to run through town, and we pass Heather and Pam at the same place we always pass them. Michele said she thinks they must hide around the corner and pop out when they see us coming...hahaha! It is funny that we always pass them in the same spot, regardless of where or when we start. I have to say, though, it is good to pass other runners out in town at that hour. I believe they are training for the Memphis Marathon which is a week before Rocket City.
Anyways, with about 2 miles to go I really felt spent. My heart rate had been too high for most of the run and my legs were tired. I backed off the pace a little and let it come down. Joe had tons of energy this morning, and was pretty much running back and forth. Michele and I finished the 10 miles in 1:37:59, a 9:48 pace. My average HR was 159 and my max was 172. Now that I think about it, 159 is not too terribly high. I just didn't feel good and strong during this run like I have all the other ones. But those days happen.

Speaking of heart rate, I have created a little calculator for calculating the correct heart rate zones according to Pfitz. If you'll look to the right, under my "Links" section, you will see it. Pfitz, in his book, Advanced Marathoning, suggests that using a calculation consisting of your max hr minus your resting heart rate, called Heart Rate Reserve (HRR), as the more accurate way to determine how much your heart rate can increase in order to provide more oxygen to your muscles. So if you provide your maximum and resting heart rates to my calculator, it will take the resulting HRR and multiply it by the percentage of HRR that Pfitz suggests for each type of run. It then adds back your resting heart rate to give you a low and high number of beats per minute to stay within. He actually recommends starting the run at the lower end, and then increasing to the higher end by the end of the run. And for recovery runs, you should just keep your heart rate below the one number for the entire run. I'll talk more about this later, especially as I get more involved with getting an accurate max and resting heart rate for myself. Right now, I am using 190 as my max and 49 as my resting.

Mountain Lakes Triathlon

Ok, so after running 12 miles on Friday morning, Michele and I met Amy and took off to Guntersville, AL, that evening. It took us a little less than 2 hours. We got our packet first, then got checked in to the hotel. We had dinner at Ci Ci's pizza, and then crashed at the hotel. My alarm on my phone went off at 5:20 the next morning. I hit snooze one time, then got up and showered. We got over to the race site around 6:30 and had plenty of time to get set up. The start was delayed for some reason, and as we were waiting around I heard someone yell my name. I knew right away who it was - my dad! He, and his friend Doug, had rode their motorcycles down to watch us!

My plan for this race was to give a good, solid effort, but not to kill myself. This was supposed to be a rest day on the Pfitz plan, so I didn't want to go blowing out my legs or anything. We had an 8 mile run scheduled for the very next day. We saw lots of our peeps before the race - Trisonq and his friend Sarah, Lynn, Tilghman, and their friend Amy, our swim coach, Ashley, an old friend of mine, Tonya, who grew up in Manchester but now lives in Franklin, and ofcourse Tom - one of the guys I train with at work. And K's friend, John, was lined up right behind me! I was 618 and he was 619. Very cool. It's always fun to chat with everyone before the race.

So we finally got up to the starting line, and took off. Within the first few strokes I could feel my mouth getting dry from the muddy water. This water was probably the worst I've ever experienced. You couldn't see anything with your goggles, and they had even to "mow" down a strip of the weeds for us to swim in. John passed me within the first 100 yards. I felt like I was having a good swim, though, for most of the way. It was 600 yards, and I would have liked to have been under 12:00, but as I got out I realized I didn't get it, and was a little ticked at myself. What is the deal? I do so much better in practice! I had a great swim at Memphis and have done terrible ever since. I guess that's probably a direct reflection of the time (or lack there of) I've spent in the pool since Memphis. Swim Time(600yds): 12:21

I ran up through transition and ran one rack too far. I realized that I had gone too far, and did the bear crawl under that rack to get back to the correct row. I was a little flustered and really didn't have good focus during this transition. T-1 Time: 2:25

I took off on my bike and heard my dad yelling for me and saw him on my left. I could tell that my legs were a little tired, but I felt pretty good. I pushed hard enough to get my heart rate up close to the threshold, but also kept my cadence manageable. I wanted to be able to run strong at the end, too. I felt a little sense of desperation since I had not had the swim that I wanted, so I put my head down and pushed pretty hard. I like looked up and realized I was about to run over a car! There was some room to the right of him, so I passed him and I think it might have scared him. I don't know why, but there seemed to be a lot of traffic during the first few miles. Then fairly close to the end, as I was approaching a turn, I got behind a big dump truck. This time there was no room to pass on the right, and he had his blinker on to turn left. So I had to just wait until he turned. I consider myself a nice and considerate cyclist, but I got a little upset with that dump truck!!! Bike Time(16 miles): 47:00

I finally made it back to transition and this one went smoother. T-2 Time: 1:03

I took off on the run and saw Lynn finishing up at about a half mile. She looked like she was having a great run. She yelled to us that "it was all flat". And she was right. And it was also in the shade. I got to mile 1 in a little over 8 minutes, and pretty much held it stead from there, even though I felt like I picked it up during the last mile. I felt strong and happy, and passed a few people as I approached the finish line. Run Time(3 miles): 24:01

I still would have liked to have had a better run time. I don't understand. My pace was like 7:50 at Mach Tenn, and that was a 4 mile run as opposed to a 3 mile run, and it was a much longer swim (and same bike distance)! It was actually good enough for 3rd place in the 30-34 AG, though, and I totally was not expecting that. But I will take it! Total Time: 1:26:52

Amy, Me, Michele

Tagged by Tri-Dummy

We're back from Mtn Lakes, and I'm tired - had a blast, and came home with some hardware, believe it or not! Report to come, but for now, I've been tagged by Tri-Dummy. Enjoy...

Jobs I've Held:
Software Programmer
Database Consultant
U.S. Air Force Clerk
Wal-Mart Cashier -worst job of my life. I despise Wal-Mart.

Movies I Can Watch Over and Over:
Pre

My Guilty Pleasures:
Poker
Red Wine
Frozen Margaritas
Ice Cream

Places I Have Lived:
Manchester, TN
Nashville, TN
I hate that this is the end of the list. Sad.

Shows I Enjoy:
Man Vs. Wild
The Andy Griffith Show
News

Vacation Spots:
Destin, FL
Gulf Shores, AL
Disney World
Jamaica
Cayman Islands

Favorite Foods:
Pinto beans, turnip greens, and corn bread
Grilled Salmon & steamed veggies
Ice cream, Ice Cream, Ice Cream

Websites I Visit Daily:
YahooNews and email
Blogs


Body Parts I Have Injured
Ankle - H.S. basketball - tore everything inside it

Awards I've Won:
American Legion Award
Miss CCHS
Several Triathlon AG awards & a couple overall awards

Nicknames I've Been Called:
Lana Banana

Pick 5 Other Bloggers:
Michele
Cliff
Trisonq
Amanda
TriJack

Week One Long Run

I have been so excited about the Rocket City Marathon and everything we have planned for 2008 that I just can't hardly contain myself. The other day I found myself craving the feeling I have previously had at mile 25 of the marathon. The 'I can't go another step but OMG I'm almost there' feeling. That's sick. Anyways, yesterday Michele and I ran our 4 mile recovery run in the correct heart rate zones and it came out to be over 10 minute miles. I have a phobia about 10 minute miles, but we won't get into that. Today, however, was our first long, or I guess I should say "medium-long" run of 12 miles. We met Joe at his driveway at 4:30 a.m. Actually, I didn't show up until 4:39 because I have a problem about being late that really needs to be addressed. But they weren't too hard on me, and we took off. I felt good the entire run and had no problem keeping my heart rate between 141 and 159, which is where Pfitz says it should be according to my heart rate reserve. Well, actually the last couple of miles it got up to 165...but close enough. If you are interested in those heart rate zones and stuff....I'm working on a little calculator that I'll post here soon. As for now, I'm about to head out to the Mountain Lakes Triathlon. The long run numbers are below... Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 1078 ft Location: Manchester, TN Elev. Gain: -3 ft Date: 08/10/07 Up/Downhill: [+482/-485] Time: 04:43 AM Difficulty: 4.1 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 79F temp; 76% humidity 83F heat index; winds Calm Performance Distance: 12.00 miles Time: 1:53:05 Speed: 6.4 mph Pace: 9' 25 /mi Heart Rate: 152 bpm (Avg) Calories: 1605 168 bpm (Peak) Map Heart Rate (bpm) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 10' 03 +0' 38 6.0 -0.4 127 +6 ft 2 9' 51 +0' 26 6.1 -0.3 141 +36 ft 3 9' 48 +0' 23 6.1 -0.3 146 +20 ft 4 9' 26 +0' 01 6.3 -0.0 145 -46 ft 5 9' 25 +0' 00 6.4 -0.0 151 +30 ft 6 9' 11 -0' 14 6.5 +0.2 153 -36 ft 7 10' 30 +1' 05 5.7 -0.7 151 -10 ft 8 8' 44 -0' 41 6.9 +0.5 157 +10 ft 9 9' 05 -0' 20 6.6 +0.2 161 +46 ft 10 9' 04 -0' 21 6.6 +0.2 162 -10 ft 11 8' 47 -0' 38 6.8 +0.5 162 -39 ft 12 8' 59 -0' 26 6.7 +0.3 165 -10 ft end ** ** ** ** 167 ** ft Versus average of 9' 25 min/mi ** Insufficient data to calculate this split

Posted from bimactive.com

Houston, we have lift off...

Well, day 4 of Rocket City training is in the books. I met Michele at 5 a.m. this morning, we took off for our General Aerobic 9 mile run. We ran through town on the sidewalks that are in such bad shape, and commented that we need fountains here like Rae and Brent have in NashVegas. This was not Michele's best day, but she hung in there and we got through 9 miles, our longest run yet. If you like numbers, see the them below. Then this afternoon as I was leaving work at 4:30 and it was 101 degrees, my cell phone rang. Me: Hello Other end:Did you get your 9 in ?(it was Joe) sidenote - Joe is also training for the Rocket City Marathon and following the Pfitz plan with Michele and me. Me: Yes! We got ours in at 5 a.m., you? Joe: I just got done. Me: No WAY, man - it's like 100 degrees! Joe: Yep, just finished it. So I proceeded to inform him how insane it was to be running 9 miles in this heat, but I think he was so stoked that he had done it that he didn't care. No fuel belt, no Gu, nothing. So I told him he'd better go get hydrated ASAP. He said he was going to get a beer. Well, atleast he'll get some carbs, I guess. Briar had his first football practice in pads this afternoon. While he practiced I pitched baseballs to Bo. Then after practice we stopped at the rec center for a swim in the outdoor pool. I had planned on swimming, but had left my goggles at home. So I lifted some weights and did core exercises instead. That being the case, I believe I'll be swimming tomorrow on my rest/cross training day. Oh - and I'm going to the Mountain Lakes Tri this weekend, against my better judgment. They are giving away a QR Lucero frame...so send positive vibes my way...all of you, please. I need that Lucero frame. If I win it I'm going to buy some sexy, hawt Zipp 808s for it, and you will never see me again...you will only see the blur as I fly by. Snap! Snap! Did I just say that?!?! I'm back now...sorry, I had a temporary lapse in modesty, there. Wishful thinking, I guess. Anyways...I am feeling lucky for that Lucero. If you are in the Guntersville area Friday night and you hear someone chanting "Lu-cer-o! Lu-cer-o!" Never mind it, it's just me trying to align the stars the right way. I really want that Lucero frame.... Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Manchester, TN Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 08/07/07 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 05:24 AM Difficulty: 0 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 76F temp; 84% humidity 79F heat index; winds SE 3 Performance Distance: 9.00 miles Time: 1:28:17 Speed: 6.1 mph Pace: 9' 49 /mi Heart Rate: 156 bpm (Avg) Calories: 1221 171 bpm (Peak) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 52 +0' 03 6.1 -0.0 148 +3 ft 2 9' 51 +0' 02 6.1 -0.0 147 -66 ft 3 10' 16 +0' 27 5.8 -0.3 154 +66 ft 4 10' 04 +0' 15 6.0 -0.2 155 +3 ft 5 9' 36 -0' 13 6.3 +0.1 156 -23 ft 6 9' 36 -0' 13 6.3 +0.1 160 +20 ft 7 9' 16 -0' 33 6.5 +0.4 164 -20 ft end 8' 49 -1' 00 6.8 +0.7 167 -72 ft Versus average of 9' 49 min/mi

Posted from bimactive.com

Rocket City Marathon Training: Week 1, Day 1

Well, here's week 1, day of my new marathon training plan. I guess it's actually day 2, because day 1 was supposed to be rest/cross training. But it was the Staggerwing Duathlon. Our long runs are going to be on Friday morning, though...so the rest day is Saturday, and we kick off each week of running on Sunday. We had quite a group for this run, it was me, Michele, Joe, Mike, and Lisa. Check out the temperature below. We ran Michele's route, and because of a temporary wrong turn I ended up with 7.38 miles instead of 7. Then Michele and I proceded to run the 10x100 meter strides immediately afterwards. Afterwards, we jumped in her pool and talked about whether or not I should sign up for the Mtn Lakes Triathlon this Saturday. I'd like to, but then again it fall on the rest day for the Pfitz plan. I'm a little concerned about racing on rest days. I fear it might be like squandering your sick days when you aren't sick - I might be okay now, but give it a few weeks and I might wish I had rested instead. I don't know...it's about to sell out...but I think I'm going to sleep on it tonight and decide in the morning. Back to this run, though, I believe I ran it entirely too fast. My avg heart rate was 164 bpm, and this was supposed to be a General Aerobic run. I have yet to see if Pfitz actually gives you HR range or a pace for the general aerobic runs, though...so if anyone has any advice here, please send it on over. Tomorrow is a rest day. And rest will be taken! Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 1087 ft Location: Arnold Afb, TN Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 08/05/07 Up/Downhill: [+275/-272] Time: 07:05 PM Difficulty: 4.0 / 5.0 Weather: Mostly Cloudy 93F temp; 45% humidity 99F heat index; winds W 9 Performance Distance: 7.38 miles Time: 1:06:31 Speed: 6.7 mph Pace: 9' 01 /mi Heart Rate: 164 bpm (Avg) Calories: 986 175 bpm (Peak) Map Elevation (ft.) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 52 -0' 09 6.8 +0.1 143 +3 ft 2 9' 08 +0' 07 6.6 -0.1 157 -13 ft 3 9' 05 +0' 04 6.6 -0.1 163 +13 ft 4 8' 54 -0' 07 6.7 +0.1 169 +17 ft 5 9' 05 +0' 04 6.6 -0.1 170 0 ft 6 9' 23 +0' 22 6.4 -0.3 170 0 ft 7 8' 40 -0' 21 6.9 +0.3 172 -14 ft end 8' 52 -0' 09 6.8 +0.1 172 -3 ft Versus average of 9' 01 min/mi

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