It is getting closer...

Yikes! I just got the first of a series of e-mails from the event organizers for the Ironman 70.3 in September. It forced me to assess how close this race actually is from today. Five months. Whew... I better get on the training program after the Flying Pig!

So 22 miles was just a theory...

I had a great run today. It was the last long run of the schedule before I conquer the pig the first weekend in May. Nothing but tapering ahead! My plan was to go for 22 miles even though every plan you ever see tops out at 20 before a marathon. My theory was it would help me mentally. Yeah, well. I ran at Stone Mountain today which is incredibly hilly so what I lacked in distance I made up for in difficulty. (that would be the new theory...).

As I headed out the door, I was a little worried about the run. I had an insane number of tennis matches last week, topped off with two yesterday which all amount to quads that don't want to run much more. I knew the run might be tough if I felt the need to biofreeze my quads before heading out!

As it turned out, it wasn't bad at all. I decided to just put it on cruise control and finish the mileage instead of trying to stick with a particular pace. I didn't even bring the heart rate monitor or watch so there was no temptation to start looking at the times. I felt strong even to the end. On previous long runs at the mountain, I typically have to negotiate with myself to tackle the hills. You know, make it to the next light pole then you can walk to the next light pole - that kind of thing. Today, I just kept a steady pace and chugged up the hills. I did have a different hydration strategy today which helped. I had been stopping every 5 miles at the car for GU Gels and water and relying on the water fountains in between. On the last run, the water fountains were not all working so there were longer stretches than I would have liked without water. Today, I didn't wear the fuel belt but carried one of the small bottles with me for the final 10 miles so I could drink up as needed. It was a brilliant plan as the bottle was completely empty by the time I got to the car each lap. I probably should have just worn the fuel belt but it is uncomfortable to me (yeah, it might not be if I wore it more than once, I know...)

All in all, a great run by my standards. I saw one of my buddies from Tri Your Best out there riding his bike around. He slowed down to chat which was nice. I fully intend to get back to their shop for some group rides after I finish THE PIG. It is literally a mile from my house so I feel terribly guilty that I don't stop by often especially since I see them at the mountain almost every week. Maybe I will go pick up a new riding shirt this week :)

Speaking of "Tri'ing Your Best", as I was running I further developed my training plan for my 70.3. I managed to go from being intimidated by it to thinking it was totally doable during my 20-mile trek today. I won't be breaking records, but will finish and that is all I want to accomplish! Looking forward to getting started o n the training... How is that for a successful run? Not only did I log the miles but mentally set up my training plan for my 70.3 Ironman!

Weekend Update

I have been off work for the past day and a half or so taking a mental break. I have thoroughly enjoyed the time off but haven't accomplished nearly as much as I had envisioned. Of course, I caught up on almost all my Tivo (which, let's face it - priority one...). I did loads of laundry and cleaned up the guest room which serves as my closet. To be honest, the only reason I tackled the "closet" was that I had lost my favorite necklace and *had* to find it. Not only did I find the necklace shoved into the pocket of a duffle bag but also ran across a new pair of adidas tennis shoes (still in the box) that I had forgotten about. GOLD MINE, considering I was thinking it was almost time for a new pair since the tread was beginning to wear. I love finding forgotten about treasures!

Friday, I took a vacation from boot camp in anticipation of a full weekend of tennis and running. I had two matches today which I am proud to say I won. The first was singles and was a long three setter. I pulled it out in the end in a tie break but would have been happy even if I had lost since it was such a close match.

Tomorrow is the dreaded gleefully anticipated long run. Actually, it just occured to me that this is my last long run before my marathon on the 3rd so I need to make the most of it! If the fact that this is my last long run doesn't make it exciting, I don't know what would. The weather is going to be great so I just need to figure out where I want to log my 20ish miles. According to my mentor who does not know that I exist, Hal Higdon, I only have to do 20 but in my head I feel that plan failed me at Disney. I am thinking that by logging 22 it will give me a little more of a mental edge. At least then I would know that I have at least run 22 miles prior to my marathon so I will only be doing those last 4 miles on the "momentum of the day" as all the training plans like to call it. Just a theory...

Speaking of things to get me through the marathon, my nutrition plan has been pitifully out of control the past 2 weeks. Ever heard of stress eating? right... Well, I have been doing PLENTY of that. I have a weird addiction to chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream right now. I think I have shaken it or should I say eaten so much of it that I don't care to see any more chocloate chip cookie dough ice cream for a looong time. Prior to this, there were a few days there were there was some over consumption of frozen dairy products in my house and lets just say Rick has not been home so I can't blame him! Monday, I am getting back on the food log as that can only help the whole marathon plan. I am determined not to bonk at mile 20 like I did at Disney!

Have a great Easter! I will be celebrating by churning out some miles. Hmm, I wonder if I have someone hide some easter eggs every mile or so if that would help me with my run? At least it might keep me interested! :)

Getting back into the groove...

Last week was amazing in that I did not step foot inside Lifetime Fitness one single time. I had intentions, they were just poorly executed. This week is all about getting my mojo back. Or my groove. Or whatever term you might you for grabbing yourself up by the bootstraps and kicking those lazy feelings to the curb. THAT is what this week is all about! and it will be one busy week too....

I DID manage to get up and off to boot camp this morning. Give me a gold star! I loved it. I missed it. I don't know I would ever not want to go. What was I thinking last week? Truly, I have issues to deep for this blog. ;)

Have I mentioned I started tennis up again? It turns out I reallllly missed it when the weather started getting nicer. I missed it so much I immediately signed up for 2 singles leagues and a team. Not so bad in and of itself but in one of the leagues I was a late season replacement which is GREAT because they are so desperate to find someone to replace the player who dropped out that you play for free. It is not always so great if you join so late in the season that there are only a couple week left and you have a full season of matches to play. So far I have managed to work it all in despite to torrential downpours we have had here over the past week. Tonight, I played match number 6 and have one match to go in that league before playoffs. Whew...


Remember that I mentioned the spring cleaning? Well, the cleaning that actually took place was not what I had in mind. I did go for a run around my mountain. (it is mine. don't even think about claiming it.) I came home and washed my car. By hand. Myself. It was punishment for only running 5 miles instead of the 10 I through I should have run. I am a hard taskmaster. Although the car was not part of the plan, that was not the unexpected cleaning.

Friday night, I kept getting these pop up messages about a virus on my PC. How this is possible, I have no idea. I rarely open anything, am crazy vigilant about it, etc. I guess my PC has been getting around PCs that are from the wrong side of the tracks. I'm just sayin... word on the street is my infection came from Canada and it was a doozy. The Windows Virus Care couldn't clean it. Saturday morning, I spent an hour on the phone with Ravi from India while he tried to clean it. I amused myself eating doritos and giving myself a facial while I watched him remotely try to fix my PC. His parting chat words to me were "go ahead and restart your PC". Had I known that was the last I would talk to him, I would have said something more meaningful than "OK". Sadly, I restarted and my PC crashed. Ravi never even bothered to call me back at the alternate number I provided "in case we get disconnected". I should have known he was just using me for my PC. Good bye Ravi. We were never meant to be.

With my PC now completely lifeless, I pick up the phone and reached a customer service rep. She helped me get the PC going again but didn't know what to do about the virus issue. Hmmm.... Well, at least the PC is working. All I could think was - here's hoping this isn't one of the viruses that sends weird e-mails to everyone in my address book! Left to my own devices, I found a service online to seek and destroy the little worm/trojan/hantavirus thing. The service must have scanned 20 times over the weekend and kept coming up with new issues every time that needed to be cleaned. Finally, I started deleting files on my own every time they provided a list since the cleaning wasn't working. After 8 or 10 more tries I think my PC is ready to interact with the world again. She has learned her lesson. No more fraternizing with PCs of questionable origin. So, not the spring cleaning I had in mind but cleaning nonetheless!

Be afraid of the Tri!

Apparently, it can kill you quicker than a marathon. OK, the chances are slight but you would think it was an epidemic based on this article. Good luck all you tri-bies, I hope you survive the swim :)

Thanks for the encouragement. I am feeling back on track today. It is amazing what a night of sleep that does not end in the buzzing of an alarm clock will do for you! I am headed out for my weekly long run in a few and actually looking forward to getting out there. What else am I looking forward to? Believe it or not, coming home and cleaning the house! I know... what drugs am I on? Seriously, Rick is out of town for the next two weeks doing some training and it is the perfect time to spring clean this house! I have no idea why but I find it impossible to get things organized when he is here. it is a sickness I have, perhaps some weird case of spring fever but my house thanks me. This cleaning project is long overdue....

Motivation is such a funny thing...

(warning depressing post ahead proceed with caution!) :)

Motivation is so here today, gone tomorrow. It is funny how things in your life around you impact it. Last week, I couldn't imagine not wanting to get up to go to boot camp. This week, I haven't been one day as you might be able to tell by the lack of activity in my workout sidebar. OK, technically I was out of town for 2 of the 4 days but you think I would have been excited to get back into the groove especially after such a great race on Sunday.

I think I mentioned in one of my previous posts that I moved my mother into assisted living this past weekend (the reason I was unable to get to boot camp 2 of my 4 days). The extremely short version of the story is that the reasons for getting her into assisted living are things my sisters and I have lived with as long as we can remember and really just kind of came to a boil about 6 weeks ago. My Grandmother used to take care of my Mom and then my Great Aunt. About 6 weeks ago it got to the point that my Aunt no longer was able to help and called me to come in and "do something". I can't blame her, my aunt did more than anyone could have asked. She is 86 and was ready for some of her own time. The move to assisted living did not go particularly well. When I left my mother at the facility on Monday night, she was extremely agitated and disoriented. Tuesday I was told she "flipped out" and had to go back to the hospital.

I was kind of proud of myself over the past 6 weeks for dealing with this without really feeling any emotional effects myself. It was something I knew was coming eventually and now it was time to step up and deal with it. All that seemed to change Tuesday. My alarm went off for boot camp Wednesday AM and I just couldn't get up to go. It wasn't the usual, "I'm just so tired I can't bear the thought of getting up at 4:44" but more of a just feeling unable to do it. Thursday was the same way. My bag has been packed for boot camp for 2 days now. Big Sigh :) I *know* I would actually feel better if I could just get out the door and go. Maybe today is the day!

As if all that wasn't enough, I was robbed TWICE yesterday in Mafia Wars on Facebook. You just can't trust the mafia.... I went to work and when I came home, my apartment complex and valu-mart had been looted. I promptly added those two guys to the hitlist!

In all seriousness, I am excited it is Friday and it is supposed to be a nice weekend. (All this rain we have been getting is probably not helping things either!). I have a tennis match tonight, a long run on the schedule for Saturday and two more matches on Sunday. I am pretty sure as long as I can get to boot camp this morning, I can get over this speedbump! Wish me luck :)

Check out my cool new bag...

Pardon the craptastic quality of the photos (darn energy saving light bulbs!). The bag is from Mile 22 Bags. I ran into them at the Disney Princess Expo. Basically they take your race momentos and make a bag out of it. You can send them as little as a heat sheet and a race number or a t-shirt, multiple race numbers, whatever. If you had a special race and wanted to do something with the momentos, this is a cute idea. Love my new bag!