sick

How is training going? bad

Ive been sick for 3 days, havent done a thing.

Point Defiance Park, Tacoma, Washington

How is training going? Good.

Lan and I ran for 90 minutes at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma this morning. We parked by the picnic area and started at just about the 1 mile marker. Ran out around 5 mile drive and back to the car, then went out past the zoo and around the opening of the park again & back to the car.

Saw lots of squirrels.

This is a really tall tree, it has a sign and everything about its height and age. I didn't read it but I think I have before.

This is a grassy area at the front of the park, when you first drive in. Its been this way for ever, as long as I've known it and I've been coming to the park, since I was a little girl. Today the grass is mowed in circles, not lines.

There goes Lan, running up to the 4 mile point. This is at the front of the park too, the grass is to the left. We went through this part twice only on the second time around we cut through the grass by the trees here so we could avoid cars better. The park is very bicycle and runner friendly, everywhere except right here.

Riding the new bike

How is training going? I got in trouble.

Ryan got a little upset that I went on a bike ride without running it by him first. I hadn't thought a 13 mile ride would matter, but maybe a 30 miler might?

I just wanted to try out my new bike on a nice sunny day. No rain, no traffic, no wind.

But it sure as hell was a nice ride on the new Felt. Its light weight, it slices through the wind and takes very little effort.

Today I rode the road bike, it weighs about twice as much and the gearing is so different; harder going up hills for sure. Both of the bikes will be good for me and my training though, I need the road bike for 90% of my training, the Felt will be my specialty bike. I'll ride it just enough to be used to it come Ironman day.

Swim Lesson with Ryan

How is training going? Very well.

Tonight I had 3 choices, go to the lesson with Linda & Marilyn and blow off Ryan, or not swim at all. I'm pretty sore from the race yesterday but I thought swimming might help. I also didn't want Linda to know I was having a lesson with Ryan so I let her talk herself into her not going.

I met Ryan at the Bremerton YMCA pool at 7pm. He let me warm up a few laps, then he filmed me for 2 laps. Then we proceeded with the lesson. He was very impressed with how fast I was learning and how well I already knew how to do some things, like the little stick trick Marilyn taught me last week. He showed me more things, how to lift my elbow high but drag my hand through the water, how to do the Superman float, how to twist/rotate just enough but not enough while keeping my head neutral. He was really happy with it all and had me doing things that he said normally take people a lot longer.

At the end of the lesson he took another video of me swimming again with the new things I had learned.

Of course, I'm not telling him either that I'm taking lessons with Marilyn.

Hes going to put the video together and send it to me so I can see the differences.

One thing I learned is that I need to breath more to help  me float better. I can easily go 6 strokes without breathing but then I start to sink.

Overall, I'm quite glad I went swimming tonight. I have every confidence that I'm going to finish the IMCDA in well less than 17 hours.

Race For A Soldier race report

How is training going? Better than ever before.

Today I can in the Race For A Soldier half marathon in Gig Harbor. This is the one that Linda & Steve signed me up for a couple months ago. I wasn't happy about it then but today I definitely was happy. Let me tell you about my race...

The start and finish at Gig Harbor YMCA in Gig Harbor. Lan and I arrived at 6:45am, still black outside. Went to packet pickup, walked around the vendors a second time looking for the toilets. Finally found them way out back in the woods. They couldn't be seen from the area most people were and I wondered why they weren't in the parking lot since there was lots of room there.

Me. It was pretty chilly and I didn't want to freeze my body before hand.

On  the corner of Borgen/112th and Peacock hill rd, 1 mile into the race. These are some of the first people to get here, I'm still farther back.

Here is Steve banks, he and I ran together for a few minutes but it was too slow for him. He left his son, Brayden, with the lady, Betsy Rogers, pacing the 2:30 hour people. I stayed with her for a while, until the 3 mile mark. I had to pee so bad that I lost 4 minutes waiting for a toilet to open up at the 1st aid station. Then I ran slowly with Linda for another mile, before I left her in the dust. She has bad knees and they have been very painful for her.

Here's me, in the blue jacket in the middle. Brayden is the boy in the white with the glasses next to me and Betsy Rogers holding the 2:30 sign. There are several people who have found themselves in the photo, cool.

Here's me again at the 4-5 mile point. I was running about 11 minute miles so I could catch up to 2:30. It wasn't as hard to run up those hills as I thought it would be, I just took smaller steps and kept my heart rate at 164.

2:30 pace was still being elusive to me at this point, they were about 1/4 mile ahead of me at this point but I didn't know it. Sherpa Lan took all these photos. And Brayden is still there talking her ear off.

2:30 kept a steady pace and it took me 6 miles to catch up with her. At just past 9 miles I did, stayed with her for a few minutes and then left them behind. I really wanted to beat my previous time and needed to make up about 3 minutes to do it. I finished in 2:24:58, a full 4 minutes faster than my previous half marathon time.

I finished feeling good and strong, I had a smile on my face and IT WAS ALL WORTH IT.

I'm not sure who Kyle is but at Mile 9 we als aw this sign. Cool. Way to go, Kyle.

This soldier carrier a full pack, someone said it was 75 lbs, and he ran in his boots. And he beat me, by about a minute.

Linda and me after the finish. I went back and found her and ran the last 1/4 mile with her like she has done for me so many times. Her finish time was 2:49.

The medal

Flip side

Steve, Linda and Brayden.

And also way cool, Sanjaya, from American Idol, was there to sing for us at the end of the awards ceremony.

I'm wearing myself out

How is training going? Very good today.

I did a brick on the bike trainer and treadmill today and this evening I swam in a lesson with Marilyn at the high school pool. I'm so tired now that I need to get my ass into bed.

Swimming: 25x25 laps. She said some nice things to me about my stroke and form and no one has ever said good things to me about it before so that was really nice to hear. I am still slow and that is something I'm going to be working on.

Marilyn had me blow all my breath out a couple of times when she saw me freaking out ( not really but I left like I was) and it helped me. She had me hold a stick in front of me so I know to hold both hands out in front of me instead of windmilling.

All of the other swimmers are so talented and a lot faster than I am  but are totally willing to be patient and help me. I love it.

From now on all my Monday and Wednesday nights are going to be at the pool.

Linda went too, she like sit too and there are at least 3 other TriBabes there. Way cool.

Today was a very nice day

How is training going?  Pretty good today.

Torreys class then swimming. I somehow forgot my tempo thingy so couldn't use it and hadn't printed out the swim requirements so I didn't do it all. Oh well, I'm swimming a LITTLE. I have a swim class tomorrow night with Linda in Silverdale with Marilyn, I should learn a lot there.

I felt good today after Torreys class even though it was really hard. Last week I told her I had weak glutes so she gave us all an excellent glutes workout. My butt is hurting now and its going to be worse tomorrow.