Another year older

How is training going? Good.

I am now in the last year of my age bracket, officially 49. Next year I'll be racing against old ladies. But in Ironman Coeur d'Alene I'll be the oldest in my age bracket, which could actually be a disadvantage. Like I'm going to be competitive!

I ran 7.5 miles yesterday, from home toward Lindas house. I was only a short distance from her but I kept getting side aches and I just can not run with those. I'd breath deep and slow down but the pounding kills me. Right after I took this photo Lan drove up and I got a ride the rest of the way.

We went to Lindas and enjoyed a delicious chicken noodle soup lunch then helped them assemble and decorate their Christmas tree.  Lindas got more tree ornaments than I've ever had and she used every single one of them. Plus shes got tons of THINGS that go around the house.  To me its just stuff to have to put away again later.

Today I did go shopping and got a bunch of things to make my own home made gifts. I hope no one hates me for the cookies, pies and hot chocolate they will be getting from me.

740 miles

How is training going? Better today.

Only 199 days until Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

As of today I have gone 740 miles on my counter. That's this year. For a long time I was only counting my running miles, not spin or swimming. But as I did more and more and found out my friends were counting theirs, I decided its OK to do those miles too.

Today I snuck in a spin class and a core class, then tonight I had a swim lesson with Ryan. I was going to tell him that at the new year Id be firing him but I couldn't do it. Its like breaking up with a boyfriend. Sigh.

Not quite healed

How is training going? Not quite 100% yet.

I was in Torreys class at the YMCA this morning, we were doing reverse crunches when I realized I'm not quite 100% better after that little truck wreck a week ago. My neck got sore way too fast. I still completed all the exercises and the entire class but I was feeling it. Just a little bit of whiplash.

But I'm working on healing, staying strong, not letting a little pain stop me. I know not to do too much and I'm damn lucky that I didn't hurt myself worse.

Today I did 1/2 hour of spin, the core/strength class and ran 35 minutes in heart zone 2-3, got about 3 miles. I'm happy with it.

Then I came home and cleaned the barn, played with horses and I actually got a 20 minute nap before I had to get back to work in the barn again. Sigh.

I think Linda and I will plan on going to Coeur d'Alene for the pre-Ironman in May. That's when we'll ride the course, about 100 miles of it, so we can all know what to expect and when/where on the course. I'd like to actually see if there is a half marathon while we're there so we could run the course too. And of course, we'll have to swim in the freezing cold lake.

I'm going to change coaches

How is training going? Fine.

I've made the decision to use Lisa B. starting in January. I'll finish up with Ryan this month, I'll have my 2 personal meetings with him, both at the pool and then I'll start with Lisa. I want to go with her because I know her better and shes finally excited about this. 4 months ago when I signed up for this she was busy doing all the TriBabe things, she had no time for Linda and me and she was very cavalier about out training.

Now there's a mere 6.5 months to go and shes finally getting serious about it. But there's more to it than that:

1. I can't afford Ryan any longer, Lisa is half his price.
2. She includes Yoga classes, running clinics, swim clinics, and will do these things with us.
3. I want a girl coach now.
4. Ryan pushes me to buy a lot of STUFF.

I don't need any more excuses. I'll pay him what he is owed and let him know this is the last month.

Went to a swim clinic with Lisa today, I was in the shallow end trying to swim without a nose plug. I did more than half the lesson but then I had to use it again. I'll continue to try to not use it more and more, until I can do it comfortably. But this evening I have water in my ears and my sinuses hurt.

Otherwise we only covered stuff I already know, there was nothing new. But it was good to get a workout and have the opportunity to go plug less.

Linda is in Las Vegas tonight, she did the Rock & Roll half marathon, finished in 2:45, 3 minutes faster than her Race For A Soldier time.

Jingle Bell 5k Run

How is training going? Good. 

Today Lan & I went into Port Orchard for their 1st annual Jingle Bell 5k Run. It was a lot of fun!!

The temp was only 41* so I had on a heavy shirt and mittens, with my jacket and long tights. We got there at 1pm and Lan got into line for registration. They were going pretty slow though so it took 40 minutes to get him all done and there were only 50 people in front of him but by race time the line was WAY back so they closed registration and just asked that everyone be on the honor system for payment after the race. I hope everyone did. Most of the people were dressed in Christmas outfits and everyone had bells on, some had lot of BIG bells on.

It was so cold that people were dancing in the street to keep warm, see, out past the cold people waiting in line.

They had a 1k run for the kids first, that was FAST!  Those kids were all so cute and they all had #1 so they were all winners.  This lady barely got her kids registered in time for the race, I saw them finish and they were all smiling and had a good time.

 Anyway, The race DJ/MC asked for all the kids and strollers to be in back of the runners and the walkers back too, that was cool. I hate having kids run around my feet when I'm running and their parents just seem to not give a shit that their brats are all over the place.

I ran as Linda because shes in Las Vegas, shes running the Rock & Roll Half Marathon tomorrow night.

I started out right at the front, only 2-3 people in front of my position but I was quickly swallowed up by a LOT of faster people. That's OK, I had planned it that way. Lan was right with me for the first 20 feet, then he went ahead and I didn't see him again. Port Orchard is flat so there was only a very slight rise in the road, can't even call it a hill. We ran from the courthouse out to the Annapolis dock and back.

These were taken about 3/4 mile into the race, I was being passed like crazy. But I didn't care.

I had started out a little too fast so had to slow down and get a good pace going on.

That dog in the white tee shirt was real fast, he passed me here and was done breathing hard before I got done.

I wish I had texted photos off my phone, there were some good ones.

Anyway, I finished the 3.1 miles in 29:21, a Personal Record for me. I'm pretty glad of that since Lan had asked me what my goal for the race was right before we started it.

Lan finished in 25:11 and Steve & Brayden finished in 26 minutes.

I saw a lot of TriBabes, including Lisa, Terry Harter, new FB friends and more. A lot of women recognized me & I have no idea who they are.

It was a good race, for a good cause (Rheumatoid Arthritis) and I'd like to do it again. Maybe not next year but sometime.

Lan and I had this huge cinnamon roll for our reward. Shame on us!

Back at it

How is training going? Finally.

I was able to go out and run today, 6.15 miles in 1:15:58. Not fast, a 12.21 pace, but I went out and got it done. It felt good to know I could do it and not have my head hurt, feel pukey or be sore from the wreck. But after ward my left knee hurt pretty bad so I iced it and now its not so bad.

Soren is here!

How is training going? Much better today.

My niece, Andrea, had her baby, Soren, a little boy. 9 lbs 6 oz and 19 inches tall.

I think hes kinda cute, but these are the only photos I have so its hard to tell. They say hes perfect so that makes me glad for them.

I've sent Andrea a few boxes of baby things, I hope its enough for her. I know she had no income of her own to do anything with. I have more clothing to send her for when hes older but I don't want to send it yet. I don't think she even knows where she'll be living in the future. But I do have stuff for up to 4 years, lol.

Today I was able to make it to Torreys spin/core class and it wasn't too hard to complete. Then I have a nice hour long massage & then met Linda for a 35 minute run/walk at the local high school track. We actually went 3.25 in 40 minutes. Not fast but as much as I wanted to do on my first day back after 2 illnesses and a truck wreck. sigh.