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Happy Commuter

I've been trying to take advantage of the outdoors since we have finally found some nice weather here in Lexington, KY. We've been really blessed with some warm sunny days lately. Kelty has been enjoying some daily sunbathing on the deck and some longer walks with me, too.

I've also been riding my bike to work when I can. I actually drive a lot for my job, and having to meet an at home client across town within 10 minutes of my last appointment makes riding my bike difficult sometimes. I also can't carry my 40lb massage table on my back while I ride a bike (not yet at least). However, when I only have to go to the gym and back I can easily ride the 8 miles to get there. It only takes about 10-15 minutes longer than in the car, too. I even caught up with my friend, Beth last week who was on her way back to work at UK from a ride. Since we were headed in the same direction we rode most of the way in to town. It's always nice having company.

Along with my bike commuting, I have been trying to walk to the grocery store, too. Now this should always be very easy because it's less than a half of a mile away. The reusable grocery bags make it easy to tote heavy bags, too. It's also a great time to catch up on some podcasts.

I have found that not only is commuting good on the environment and the wallet, it is good on the spirit, too. It's so much less stressful than sitting in the car waiting for stoplights to change, getting cut off by impatient drivers, or being that impatient driver behind someone driving 10mph under the speed limit. When I walk or ride I can travel at whatever speed I choose (unless I'm late) and enjoy my surroundings. I always arrive at my destination happier and more relaxed than after sitting in the car. I guess that's what those endorphins will do to you.

Bike Lexington is a month long celebration of all things cycling. There are races, special events, and group rides. I was on the website this morning and noticed the "Commuter Challenge Week" May 12-16. Each time you commute you increase your chances of winning a commuter bike that will be raffled off at the end of the week. Check it out: Bike Lexington 2008

Country Music Half Marathon Race Report

Gary and I left Lexington around 11:30am. On time, for once. We got to Nashville, went straight to the expo and were in and out in less than an hour. We even got to see Denise Austin up close and personal. Now that's not someone you see every day. We escaped the expo just as the lines started to form.

Off to the hotel. Oh dear. After hours spent on travel websites and hotels.com I picked a total crapper. It smelled worse than my feet after a marathon, and the noise from the highway was deafening. (I know I'm complaining, but I actually slept on the floor of the bathroom for a few hours to try to get some rest and relief from the noise) I even put the empty bags from my Luna Moons on the pillow next to me so I could smell the sweet smell of blueberries instead of rancid feet.

We woke up in the morning to some pretty serious rainfall. (this is the last complaint of this report, I promise) It was expected, and it also looked like it wasn't going to last the entire morning. After taking the shuttle to the start line, and waiting in the long line for the potty, Gary and I met up with Jill in Corral 4. It stopped raining! A few anxious minutes later we were off. I was glad to have found Jill as we had planned to run the first 11 together. Then she and Gary would split off and run the rest of the full marathon.

I felt comfortable with our pace for the first few miles, but at mile 2 I realized it was because it was around an 8:30 pace. A little slower than I planned, but I felt like I could make it up. I really enjoy running a race with my friend and husband. It makes the miles go by a lot faster. We walked 30 seconds through each aid station and I was feeling great until mile 8 when Gary told me I was no longer allowed to walk through the aid stations. I heard this as "you're off pace, pick it up, no more fun". It was what I needed to hear because I did have a goal of 1:45 in mind. So we picked it up until mile 11. Gary and Jill went to the left and I went to the right. It was a little sad to see them go, but I was SO grateful not to have to keep up with the two of them for another 15 miles. I only had 2 to go! I kept seeing the flag for the 1:45 pace group getting closer and closer. I told myself I'd be happy with 1:47, but each time we turned a corner the flag seemed that much more reachable. I really think I gave the race my all, and I think I ran smart. I guess I could have run faster in the beginning, but I like the way I ran, and still reached my goal. I crossed the finish line in 1:45:18.

The crowd support was fantastic, and the bands were great. The course was a little more rolling than I expected, but it helped me to really enjoy the downhills. I highly recommend this race to anyone, first timer, or not. After I got through the finish line, food, etc. I headed to the marathon finish line which is just a few steps from where I finished. I picked up my gear and realized that the car was probably pretty close to where I was and set out on a search that only took a few minutes. One huge benefit to running a half marathon compared to running a full marathon is that you can actually move around afterwards. I got to the car, changed my clothes and headed back to the finish line to watch the finishers and wait for Gary and Jill. The convenience of the race, and gear check, and parking for this event was all really great.

Gary and Jill came through at 3:46. A PR for Jill by 6 seconds. I don't think she was too pleased, but considering she ran with me for a few 7:30 miles during the first half I think she had an awesome race. She is going to rock Chicago. The fact that Gary can run a marathon on a whim and run 3:46 is absolutely amazing to me. How do I get to that?

Splits from my watch:

mile 1 - 8:26
mile 2 - 8:28
mile 3 - 8:26
mile 4 - 8:09
mile 5 - 7:46
mile 6 - 8:11
mile 7 - 8:17
mile 8 - 8:08
mile 9 - 7:32
mile 10 - 7:30
mile 11 - 7:50
mile 12 - 7:57
mile 13.1 - 8:38

Actual race splits:

5k - 26:13 (8:27 pace)
6 mi - 49:28 (8:14 pace)
10 mi - 1:20:54 (8:05 pace)
13.1 (finish) 1:45:18 (8:02 pace)

Ready for Derby, er uh, Nahsville

So I got an email last week stating that the Derby Marathon and Half Marathon were closed. Which was fine with me since I had registered months ago...or so I thought. Turns out I never registered! Oops! So I started thinking about doing the Pig, but it's a week later. Then I started thinking about Nashville. Jill is going and running the full marathon, so I'd have a friend to go with. Lucky me, my wonderful Gary is coming with me, too! Nashville is a good race, nice course, lots of support. It's just not what I had planned.

The taper is going well. I feel like crap as usual, but I've been able to get some rest. I think it will take a few more days of feeling out of shape and slow and I'll start feeling like I might actually be able to run a half marathon. KY allergy season is in full swing as well, so that adds to the crappiness feeling. As far as tapers go however, it hasn't been so bad. I'm not super crabby at least.

I feel prepared for this race. I've had some great workouts with the girls, and I feel like I've been running pretty strong. I have a goal of 1:45:xx for this weekend. I think it is a reasonable goal. Last year at Derby I went 1:50:xx and I was pretty happy with that. I think I might be in better running shape this year, though. We'll see! It should be a good day.

There are a few things I still need to do before we leave Friday. One of which is coming up with a race strategy. I will definitely use the run/walk plan, probably walking 30 seconds through the aid stations. I'm assuming aid stations are about every mile. Have I mentioned that I'm really glad this is only a half???

How can you miss that?

Quit whining it's only winter!

Lately I've been trying to complain less. It's something that I do everyday, and I'm sure more than I even realize. I don't know how well I'm doing, but I figure that the more I work on it, or am aware of it the better it will get. That being said I'm going to un-complain myself through this blog.

This morning as I dressed in layers upon layers to brave the 15 degree temp with 4 degree wind chill I wondered how many miles it would take me to warm up. Standing outside with the group for the few seconds before we took off I heard someone say something about Chicago and I thought of my poor friend, Jeannie. I talked to Jeannie on the phone last night and we talked a bit about running and how she has had to do most of her training on the treadmill. Yuck! I told her how it was pretty cold here but I've only had to do a few treadmill runs because of the weather. Lucky me! February in Kentucky can be pretty messy, but what would I do if I couldn't train outside for months?!? Still...I can't wait for spring!!!

This is usually the time of year that I get the winter blahs and find myself unmotivated and a bit lazy compared to the rest of the year. It's really an easy season to be this way. This year I have been trying to vary my training by staying more balanced in all of the components of fitness. Obviously with the sport that I have chosen there is a lot of emphasis put on my cardiovascular endurance. I am still maintaining fitness in that area, but my flexibility (thanks to Yoga) and muscular strength and muscular endurance are also much better than last year. Hopefully this will result in a better race than last year's Derby Half Marathon. Last year was great, but it would be nice to PR.

Tomorrow is Friday which I usually take off from running. This is a good thing because as I sit here and type I am listening to the rain outside. Rain that will most likely freeze into an ugly messy ice storm overnight. But who cares because I don't run tomorrow anyway!

One benefit of crappy weather is that there's more time for this...

New Training

I signed up for the Chicago Marathon Saturday. It's October 12, 2008. It's pretty far away, but I like that. Not that I did too much last year, but it will be nice to have a more relaxed race schedule for this year. I might not even do a triathlon this season. I do love triathlon, but I don't have much desire to race just yet. I might change my mind when it starts getting warmer again, but as of today the only races I plan on doing in '08 are the Derby Half Marathon and Chicago.

So how is training going? The month or so after a race is always the time I need to be the most cautious. Its always a challenge to figure out how much time I need to take completely off, and how slowly or quickly to return to exercise. I have some strong telltale signs of when I am being too ambitious. I think we all have them, so what happens when we don't listen to the signs? In most cases it results in injury. Every time I have had an injury, achilles tendinitis, knee inflammation, etc. it has always been in the first month or so after a big event. My achilles tendinitis occurred when I started running again after the Derby Marathon. Knee pain followed the Ironman. It's not every time that I have an injury after a race, but it can be often if I am not careful. Knowing that my running group is out there pounding the pavement every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning makes me want to come back as quickly as possible because I fear losing fitness... of course also for fear of missing out on the great early morning conversation.

Since I am still within one month of the Phoenix Marathon I have been trying to be very careful about my training. I've been doing this by taking a few days off when I feel something not quite right, and adding some variety into my training. Strength training is something I always do reluctantly and infrequently, but for now it has been a bit more frequent, but still with reluctance. Example week:
Monday: Strength training 30 minutes, cross training (usually elliptical) 30 min
Tuesday: Run 40-50 min
Wednesday: Trainer ride 45min-1hr, Hot Yoga 1hr (flexibility and strength)
Thursday: Run 47-49 min w/Starbucks group
Friday: rest
Saturday: Run >1hr
Sunday: Trainer ride 1hr, Hot Yoga 1hr

I've been really enjoying this yoga class. I think the instructor is great and it is always more challenging than I anticipate. The room stays a very humid 90-95 degrees which makes it great
for keeping the muscles warm and loose. I think it is really helping my hips and hamstrings. Hope it helps me stay injury free as well!