Twenty Ten kick-off with a Bang!

2010 started off with a BANG--migraine. I stayed up late new years' eve ( I barely made it to midnight) and then hit the sack. At 3 a.m. migraine hit and I got up and took my scrip and hobbled back to bed. Woke up at 10 a.m. I never sleep in that late. I had the RESOLUTION Run at 1pm in Auburn so I got up and got moving.

Resolution run 5k was awesome.. 1.2 miles straight down hill. Then last 2 miles up muddy trails. I managed the downhill well. On my way uphill, I tripped on a granite rock and BAM! hit the ground hard. My left leg, left shoulder were scraped and my right hand (which I put out to brace myself) landed on a granite boulder so was sore. But most importantly, my garmin was scatched! Embarrased by the chorus of, "Oh my god are you ok??" by everyone around me, I got up and finished the run. The last 2 miles was completely up hill. Overall my resolution run time was 40 minutes for a 5k but I managed to get 6th place (out of 20) in my age group!

When I got home I took some pics of my injuries. It turned out my right hand had a big hole with pieces of missing skin. Awesome!









January 2 I rested but on Jan 3 I rode 44 miles on my bike in the freezing rain/ fog. Even with the crap weather I really enjoyed the ride. I bonked at about the 35 mile mark and had to stop and eat a Gu, but finished the ride in 166 min.

My half ironman training started on January 5. I am following Half Ironman training plan #4 in Matt Fitzgerald's book, . It has me biking, swimming, and running 3X/week. I've noticed several interesting things with this training program.

1.I find that I am a LOT hungrier now, even after one week of training.
2. I did most of my weekly biking on the trainer since it is dark when I get home from work, but the 5 a.m. swim workouts are not too bad.
3.The running is just ok. I am trying to go slow when I run, so I don't irritate my IT Band, but I haven't been doing my PT strengthening lately, so the IT is IRRITATED right now. Blah.
4. I do not have any time to watch TV any more. The working out takes time, but so does all the planning/clean up etc. Washing water bottles, washing workout clothes, hanging up workout clothes, set stuff out for the next day is a lot of time. I barely got to watch OZ last night.



Today is a rest day and I am very happy for that. I do enjoy doing my YOGA DVD so I'll pop that in tonight and do a few minutes. Unless, of course, the Season #4 BIG LOVE DVD arrives from Netflix today. Then I'll indulge in that guilty pleasure. :)

I'm onto week #2 of training plan. Only 19 more weeks until Auburn Half Ironman!

Ride, Run, Repeat

I had a really awesome xmas long weekend and I hope you did too. Family drama aside, we all ate, drank and were merry (mostly).

On Christmas eve, I worked half a day at work and then vroomed over to the grocery to pick out food for cooking the next day. Hubby took the RR to her mom's house for xmas eve. Since EXW is moving and didn't have time to buy a christmas tree, hubby bought the tree and decorations and sent them over with the RR. Say it with me.. "AWWWWW...".

Christmas morning entailed going to my mom's for indian breakfast. There I met my brother's new girlfriend. She's pretty cool. She's vegan, hippy, and apparently a pagan. Wow. Well, happy saturnalia to her.

Hubby picked up RR#1 and RR#2 from their mom's (No "thank you" from the EXW for the tree, of course)at noon and headed to our house for presents and food. I managed to snag some great stuff--Chanel #5 (mmmm); Two vegan cookbooks (30 Minute Vegan and Alicia Silverstone's new book); a new hand blender; some gourmet tea; clothes from Banana Republic; all new bedroom furniture; and Louis Garneau full shoe covers!

After ripping open gifts, we excused ourselves to the kitchen where I whipped up an almost entirely vegan dinner. The only "non-vegan" item was the ham. I made Ham, Field Roast Celebration Roast; lemon dill carrots, rolls, fried apples, garlic mashed potatoes, two pies (blackberry and apple); green salad (from mom) and sweet potato casserole with pecans (also from mom).

Oh, and wine.
lots and lots of wine.
lots and lots and lots of wine.

between the 9 of us there who would drink wine, we finished 7 bottles.

After my fourth glass, I texted my riding partner and postponed our 8 a.m. ride to 9 a.m. My text looked like this, "hI cn we neeu @ 9 not 8 2morox?"

Lucky for me, she understood and texted back, "Sure no problem see you at 9"

Next morning, I was horribly hung over and trying to eat a barely cooked egg at 7 a.m.before the ride. My husband laughed at me.

I made it to the rendezvous point and my hangover complimented friends, asthma/cold. Between us, we barely did 20 miles at average 14 mph. We were a sorry sight. :) I got to wear my new louis garneau booties though and that was awesome.

I got home, ate, and then ran 2 miles in the evening.

Sunday morning at 2 a.m. it started raining. I was scheduled to ride again, but I HATE riding in rain--especially when I am doing hills. So I postponed Sunday's morning ride to noon. By then it was clear. I did the Shirland Tract ride again, but added a couple of miles at the beginning by going down to the boat ramp and then climbing back up. The whole ride took 1:23--15 miles total. 3700 feet of climbing. My max heart rate got to 191bpm. Really. I thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest. If I do the 220-age formula, I should have a maximum of 183 obviously the formula is wrong--but I really thing 191 is about as high as I can go without passing out.

In any case, after descending at a scorching 28 mph and passing a dead deer on the road (eww), I climbed into my car, drove home, changed to run gear and did a 3 mile run in 33 minutes. I was trying to keep my HR around 165 so I had to slow down a lot to keep it at that.

Back home, shower, food, but I was GRUMPY GRUMPY GRUMPY. Even RR was telling me I was grumpy. I obviously needed to eat before the shower and I needed to eat something other than plain air popped popcorn.

I am resting today, and then running and biking tomorrow. The swim still is not on my radar. Hopefully soon.

Yoga Product Review

I have been doing the Shiva Rea Vinyasa Flow yoga DVD. I can review it in 4 words.

I.
Love.
this.
DVD.

Shiva Rea has done several other DVDs--Yoga Shakti, Core Abs, etc. But this DVD really is special. Here are some highlights:

Yoga Matrix--this allows you to customize your yoga experience. If you only want to select backbends and hip openers, simply click on those two and hit "play". If you want more meditation, click on the appropriate pranayama and you are all set.

Preprogramed routines--DVD has several preprogramed routines ranging from 41 minutes to 108 minutes. Everything to help you progress through your yoga journey. I especially like the "flow" routine that has the hip opener.. Wow!

Music--ok, the music on most fitness DVDs leaves a lot to be desired. We all know that.. but the music on this DVD was pretty cool. It was kind of indian sitar music electronica. But not abrasive. Very calming.

The "FLOW"--this is not a 'traditional yoga' DVD. Downward dog is not held for eternity, rather you do it with a wave flow. The idea of "flow" is to allow non-limber people to become limber/stretchy at their own pace. At first it was a little strange, but I quickly got used to the wave / flow sequences.

Specifically, I really enjoyed the HIP OPENER section of the DVD. It really stretched out my low back, butt, hips, and IT Band. I couldn't believe the difference in my pain level before and after. I was tight and in a lot of pain before I did the DVD and after I am always very limber, relaxed and in no pain at all. In fact, I ran yesterday 3 miles and had no pain at all in my knee or hip. I really think that the yoga (and the PT) is helping.

If you have the ability to pick up this DVD I highly recommend it. Even at twice a week I am seeing a difference in my pain/strength level.

Happy Holidays everyone!

School Lessons

First-year students at the University of Saskatchewan Vet school were
receiving their first anatomy class, with a real dead cow. They all
gathered around the surgery table with the body covered with a white sheet.
The professor started the class by telling them, 'In Veterinary Medicine it
is necessary to have two important qualities as a doctor: !
The first is that you should not be disgusted by anything involving the
animal body.' For an example, the Professor pulled back the sheet, stuck
his finger in the butt of the dead cow, withdrew it and stuck his finger in
his mouth.

'Go ahead and do the same thing,' he told his students. The students
freaked out, hesitated for several minutes, but eventually took turns
sticking a finger in the anal opening of the dead cow and sucking on it.


When everyone finished, the Professor looked at them and said, 'The second
most important quality is observation.

I stuck in my middle finger and sucked on my index finger.'

'Now learn to pay attention. Life's tough, it's even tougher if you're stupid.'

Quilts and other Christmas paraphernalia

Here’s what I’ve been doing the past 3 days. Yes trying to finish my brother's easy dumb Cal Quilt.


Should be completed tonight.

I have a resolution run in less than two weeks. I have not run in more than two weeks.

Unfortunately, I cannot post more until after the hohohoho holiday is over.

Merry Christmas!

Registered 4 Resolution Run - booya!

Thank you for registering for the 2010 Resolution Run. You registered in time to get a long sleeved cotton shirt. You may begin picking up your race bibs, chip timing tags and shirts at 11:30 am. See you on the 1st.
J & J Sports Productions

Stuff I like

This weekend's training was a total bust. I did zero. zilch. nada. Rain/storms and looming holiday gift procurement kept me hopping from store to store trying to find that extra special something that could later be returned for store credit by the receiver.

Part of the weekend was spent cleaning out my closet. As I went through and organized my workout gear, I realized there are some things that really work well and others, usually bought in a frenzy, that haven't worked for me at all.

Things that work well for me:

1. nike shorts. These things are the bomb. I have tons of other company pairs that i purchased over the years--but only the Nikes don't ride up my bum as I run. they are nice and loose and comfy. I have three pair now and I love each and every one.


2. skirt sports shirt. I have one skirtsport shirt that I got at a race a couple of years ago. It is by far my favorite shirt. It is not too loose, it is an awesome color -- a nice teal--ish blue--perfect for wiping my nose while I run or sopping the sweat off my neck. It also is tight enough to make me, well, look a little well endowed and sporty at the same time. Go figure! Here's a pic of me wearing the shirt. I'm on the left.

3. Balega socks. Ok, these socks are great. I actually wear them all the time, even when I am not in running shoes. I don't know why but they cling to my small feet really well, don't stink, and no matter how hard I sweat, they never get wet or icky.


4. Nike hat. I love my nike hat. I. LOVE. My. Nike. HAT. I have no explanation.

5. Nike Triax. These shoes work so well for me. I've tried every other road shoe known to woman. These work for my bunioned-yet-narrow feet.


6. Asics Trabuco Trail shoe. As far as trail shoes go, nobody can touch the Asics Trabuco. Wide enough to fit my bunion. Sturdy enough to run hills in Auburn. They are great.

7. Ultimate Water bottle holder-- Ok ok, I know. There are some devotees of the systems that have 7 little bottles on a belt around your waist. Granted, I haven't tried those yet. I am sticking with my ultimate water bottle holders. I have 10+ ultimate bottles. Small ones, large ones and ity bitty ones. I have holders for each. I like them cause I can usually carry some Gu and my cell phone in a little pouch. Someday I might change to the amphipod/fuelbelt system but only after all my Ultimate bottles melt in the dishwasher or break.


8. Gu. I love Gu. It doesn't upset my stomach and they taste pretty darn good.

9.Mittens for really cold days. I have a pair of blue/white striped mittens I bought at Target for 50 cents on clearance last year. I wear them anytime weather is below 40 degrees. Who needs stinkin' $70 gloves???


10.Headband. I must have my headband to run. No, not the kind from Napoleon Dynamite. Just something to hold my hair out of my face, and off my neck. It is a necessity. I have a pack of 10 from Target. They have silicone grippers so that my unruly hair doesn't come loose and end up in my face. That would be a problem.



See this is what I really look like when I wear the headband to run. Really.

Neither Rain, nor sleet, nor snow....

Saturday was a bust in terms of exercise. It was hubby’s birthday so I went ahead and spent the day with him. We hung out, went shopping, got dinner, watched “Angels & Demons”.. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday, I rode the infamous Shirland Tract in Auburn. This area is a part of the Auburn Half Ironman Bike course.

The part I covered yesterday has average 4.7% elevation grade.
Total climbing yesterday 3000+ feet
Mileage= 13
Time to complete=1.25 hours

OUCH!

There are sections that are 45% grade. I rode everything. I did not walk up any hills. My speed sometimes went down to 4.5 mph and I was in granny gear, but I did it!!! During the decent down Auburn-Folsom Road, it began to rain/slushy snow pelt us and the wind gusts picked up. But we finished our ride before the storm really struck. I have to say—I feel pretty darn studly for riding in that weather. Yeah me!

Riding also helped take my mind off the fact that I was missing my marathon yesterday. CIM went on without me. :( Next year????

My riding partner suggested I ride Shirland Tract and the first part of the Auburn bike course every weekend and slowly add distance so by May, I have ridden the whole bike course a few times. I think this is a good suggestion –I would also like to do a little bit of transition run after the bike—to get my legs ready for trail running after a long hilly bike ride.

Anyway, that’s it for today. It snowed in Sacramento last night and our front lawn was covered in snow/ice. Very pretty!

TableRunner pics

Tonight we're going out for dinner for my mom's birthday. I made her a gift..it's a table runner.

Here's pics. I'm getting all crafts-y in my old age.






I ran 3 miles this morning at 5 a.m. It took me 29:32 to finish. Not too bad. My right hip felt a little weird but I realized that I haven't been doing my PT exercises all week. I'm such a weenie. Back onto those tonight after dinner. Oh, and I am picking up my CIM bib/t-shirt today. I tried to sell it but nobody wants to buy it apparently. Oh well, that's ok.

I will also be riding my bike in auburn on sunday. Auburn hills are notorious for kickin' the crap out of people. My riding buddy, Judy, said she is going to 'kick my little @$$' on sunday. Great. I can't wait. I have to get some hill workouts going if I am going to be ready for the Auburn Half Ironman in May.

In any case--I hope to make it a good weekend of running and riding.

Hope yours is good too!

Yummy Recipe for Blue and Yellow Indian Cornbread

Enjoy!



Hopi Blue & Yellow Indian Cornbread
------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Meredith McCarty, www.healingcuisine.com

Makes 16 servings

The intriguing swirl of marbled color in this cornbread comes from
a combination of blue and yellow cornmeal batters. The special
qualities of this recipe are the lack of dairy products and eggs
in a main dish that is attractive, light and delicious. Soymilk
acts as a mild leavening agent in addition to the baking powder.
Baking cornbread in cast-iron pans makes for the best crust.

Blue Cornmeal Batter:

3/4 cup blue cornmeal
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons light vegetable oil (I prefer Spectrum walnut oil)
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, brown rice syrup or barley malt syrup
1 cup soymilk (I prefer Edensoy Original)

Yellow Cornmeal Batter:

3/4 cup yellow corn flour (preferred) or cornmeal
3/4 cup unbleached white pastry flour
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons light vegetable oil
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup, brown rice syrup or barley malt syrup
1 cup soymilk
Kernels from one small ear of corn (optional, in season)
2 small serrano or jalapeno peppers, halved, seeded and very
thinly sliced (optional, in season)

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Brush a 2- or 2 1/2-quart baking dish or
a cast-iron skillet with oil. Heat the pan in the oven while you
make the batter (this is an optional step).

2. To make each of the batters, in two bowls mix dry ingredients.
Mix wet ingredients in separate bowls and gently whisk with dry
ingredients. Batters should be thin and pourable.

3. Pour blue cornmeal batter into baking dish. Pour yellow batter
on top. With a utensil, draw a large spiral through to the bottom
of the batter. Bake until cornbread tests done, 30 to 35 minutes.

Variation: Barbecue Beans and Cornbread Casserole: Visit Meredith's
website for this recipe that contains just 14% calories from fat.

For 16 servings, per serving:
Calories: 182 Protein: 4gm Saturated Fat: 0.4gm Fiber: 2.5gm
Carbohydrates: 27.4gm Fat: 6.4 gm Cholesterol: 0 Sodium: 178mg
Calories from Protein: 9% Calories from Fats: 31% Calories
from Carbohydrates: 60%

Chad Gurlach encounter

Hubby talked to a panhandling Chad Gurlach this afternoon in front of Target.

So very sad.. Chad was on US Postal Team with Lance but fell into drugs.
He was featured on an episode of Intervention...

Check Season 5 , #64

As of today, he's still looking for drugs and a place to sleep every night. He hasn't seen his baby daughter.

How very sad.

The Biggest Loser is... me??

Last night on the Biggest Loser, the last four contestants ran a marathon.

Oh, you read correctly...

they.
ran.
a.
freakn.
marathon.

People, who barely moved except to get the remote control, just ran a marathon.

I've been trying for YEARS to run a marathon and I have not succeeded.

:(

Hubby told me to turn it off because he could see, with my PMS looming, that it was going to end up an ugly week if I continued to gape at the TV.

Really? I don't begrudge these people because they were/are overweight. More power to them and I hope they accomplish every single one of their goals. I am frustrated that I train for years and can't do something that recently sedentary people can do after 6 months of training. What is wrong with me??? Am I a big loser?


The fastest --Rudy-- completed in 5:10 I think.. The slowest two took over 7 hours.


Hmprhummmmpph.

In any case, I signed up for two short races. Both are trail runs--6 miler on December 13th and a 10K on January 1.

Is it too early to think about racing again? Probably. But I've got to put something on my short term calendar or I'm not going to run at all.

And one last query--WHY oh WHY is the biggest loser on the channel next to the food network? I think it is a consipiracy... :)

Good Eats. Good Fitness. Good Times.

Ok, I have to say several things are making me feel better about my injury.

1. It is projected that a rainy/stormy CIM. Check out http://cimweatheroutlook.blogspot.com/ for details.

2. I know other people who are having the same exact injury/issue and are just as frustrated. They also have the fun of being told in a public forum that they shouldn't run CIM. Check out Steve from Roseville's question here.

3. I ran 3 miles this morning in 29:10. I. kick. ass.

4. I have been biking like crazy. I'm getting a little faster. I look awesome in my new Ophir Milan kit. Knee warmers are on their way.

5. Life is good and shiny.

6. Thanksgiving went off without any problems. I stayed calm while I cooked a huge meal. Everyone loved it. I did a new turkey recipe and it turned out AWESOME. Even though she's a felon, Martha Stewart has some great turkey recipes.

7. I drank a lot of wine with turkey dinner.

8. I drank a lot of wine after turkey dinner.

9. RR#1 came over. We all got along fabulously. I realized, she doesn't have to agree with my viewpoint on every issue. We can be happy and ignore the differences.

10. Hubby and I getting along really really well. I mean really well. It's kind of a Romance Renaissance. After 10 years of marriage I guess things can re-bloom?

Paula Deen Takes a Ham to the Face

Paula Deen Takes a Ham to the Face

Friday Five

1. I haven't run in almost two weeks. I'm scared to run. I'm scared of knee pain. Tomorrow. I'll run tomorrow. Really. Tomorrow.

2. I have been riding my bike quite a bit. I rode both saturday and sunday--30 miles each day. I also rode on the trainer on Wednesday morning--watched Spinervals DVD on endurance but only did 30 minutes or so. It was too boring. Maybe another dvd will be better.

3. I'm still trying to work out the swimming thing for the winter. New aquatic center opened nearby. But it is opposite direction from my work and traffic is awful before work. There is a gym I want to join that is near my work but it is $134/month. A bit pricy. I'm still trying to figure this out.

4. I joined a cycling group called Ophir Milan. They are hard-core. I hope I can keep up with them when we ride.

5.I bought the OPHIR jersey and shorts. I also tried on an OPHIR tank. Hubby said it wasn't very flattering to my figure since it shoved all my back fat to the side.. uhm. Yeah. thanks.

From Velo News

Foolish foolish man..

Landis to leave OUCH
By VeloNews.com
Published: Nov. 17, 2009
Landis has struggled through much of the 2009 season.

Photo: Graham Watson

Floyd Landis and the management company running the OUCH professional cycling team have agreed to end his contract a year early.

Landis and the Momentum Sports Group (MSG) announced Tuesday that they have mutually agreed to terminate his contract – originally slated to expire at the end of 2010 – releasing both sides from their respective obligations for the remainder of the 2009 and 2010 racing seasons.

"I wish to thank all of the sponsors for their support this year. I would also like to thank everyone at Momentum Sports Group," Landis said. "While I'm excited to pursue other opportunities, I will miss all of my teammates and everyone on staff."

Those opportunities, said Landis, include a hoped-for return to the European stage racing he’s missed since his two-year suspension for doping at the 2006 Tour de France. Landis returned to racing at the start of the 2009 season as a member of OUCH and has not enjoyed the level of success he saw before his ban.

According to a release issued by MSG on Tuesday, Landis told the team that he hopes to ride to ride “the longer, tougher stage races offered in Europe and internationally that better suit his strengths.”

The release went on to note that since the team will continue to focus on a domestic schedule, “MSG and Landis mutually agreed that it would be best for both parties to part ways at this time and allow Landis to seek a position with a team that could better accommodate his desires.”

Neither Landis nor the team mentioned if Landis is in discussions with other teams that might afford him the opportunities he hopes to pursue.

Dratsdratsdratsdratsdratsdrats

Sports Med doc says no CIM. She said that I have a significant right leg weakness and there isn't enough time before CIM to correct the imbalance with weight training. The weakness is in turn totally screwing up my gait and causing my IT Band problems--

She said if I try to run CIM I probably would cause enough damage that I wouldn't be able to run for 6 months.

Drats!!!

So I guess I'll do the strengthening exercises she prescribed and see what happens. I don't really have a choice. I did indulge in half a glass of wine last night. I've been a teetotaler for the past few weeks because of my training. I guess that's a silver lining.

Double drats!

Funny Venn Diagrams

Thanksgiving and Giving Thanks

So for some great news. Doc said I can run starting Thurs or Friday.
Yeah! My knee already feels better I am soooo thankful !!!

Onto other, more important business.

Thanksgiving.
IT
IS
MY
FAVORITE
HOLIDAY

Even better than Christmas. Even better than Fourth of July. I think it is because I have such good memories of being a child and having a house full of guests, yummy smells coming from the kitchen, watching “chitty chitty bang bang” on TV and stuffing myself with cranberry jelly and dressing until I thought I might throw up. And then eating pumpkin pie slathered with Cool Whip.

I <3 thanksgiving!

I start planning thanksgiving every year around August. Seriously.
I plan the guest list, plan how we’re gonna make it all happen. Plan the food.

Hmm.mmm food.

This year, even though I am trying to eat more vegan-like, thanksgiving is going to be a time that I will still indulge.

I’ve drafted the menu.

Turkey
Dressing
Fresh Cranberry Relish
Canned Cranberry jelly
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Candied Yams
Stir fried Green Bean with toasted almonds
Apples-n-onions
Brussels Sprouts cooked in bacon fat with pine nuts.
Gravy
Apple Pie (2)
Pumpkin Pie
Pecan Pie
Mincemeat Pie

I am also getting the Tofurkey Supermeal . It contains a tofurkey, cranberry sauce, vegan stuffing (yes the Tofurkey is stuffed), “wishstix”, vegan gravy and some sort of potato/cranberry dumplings.

I am having 15+ guests over for Thanksgiving . It is going to be a BLAST!
All food is made entirely from scratch. I make the pies, including the crusts from scratch. Dressing is made from bread I bake at home, Gravy made from a roux, etc. Almost nothing ‘packaged’ other than the turkey and the canned cranberry jelly.

All this cooking and planning means I will take two days off from work to shop, make pies, clean house, etc. I won’t be able to do any of the local Turkey Trots because the cooking schedule is so tight, even with a double oven.

I am considering deep frying the turkey outside—this will make a yummy turkey plus it will free up one of the double ovens for all the other goodies.

I cannot wait!

Spreadn' the funk

warning--this post contains some foul language. Be advised.

Several bloggers have noted a decrease in energy, an increase in sadness (funkitude), or general illness/injury.

The funk has now spread over here.. I got the H1N1 and regular flu shots so it is not illness. I am not 'sad' per se. No peeps, I am INJURED.

During 4 bridges my right IT Band started to flare a bit. I rested it afterwards, Iced, rolled-- I even took 4 days off and cut my speed workout.

On sunday's 20 mile long run, the IT Band kicked me in the nads.

Two miles into the 20 miler it woke up and said, "uh, no. we're not going to do this today." I yelled the the ITB, "fk u. We're going to finish 20".

At 15 miles, I'd had enough. ITB won. I called hubby and asked him to pick me up on the bike trail and he did.

I am sad and depressed. Went to doc. He says, that technically, my IT Band is ok.. Good flexibility, stretch, and movement. So what's the problem? My old lingering ankle injury has screwed up the shock absorption of my right leg. The issue is really a combination of bad shock absorbers in my calf and a slight pulling of my Tensor Facia Lata. This is causing my IT Band to have to pick up the shockabsorbing slack and it is quite angry.

After doing some deep tissue/fascia work, my A.R.T. guy said I should try to run again today. I think I'm going to wait until tomorrow morning and see how a few short miles go. I was able to walk down stairs today (hurray!)and the side of my leg is extremely sore (uh, hurray???) from the work he did yesterday on it.

I did tell my A.R.T. guy that if I need to wrap my knee stiff straight and peg-leg it to the finish of California International Marathon, I will do that. I don't care. I just don't want the stabbing pain.

In any case--blah fkn blah.

So now for some good news--my MA diploma came in the mail yesterday! Honestly, I was still half expecting that I would get a letter from the Graduate office saying that they made a mistake and I was a unit short or something. But alas, the fools sent me a diploma so I can add a MA after my name..

Tri-Karen-Tri, M.A. (aka Peg-leg)

Four Bridges Half Marathon Race Report

Doing a second half marathon in 3 weeks seems crazy, doesn't it? But I promised my mom that we would participate together so we both signed up. A great bonus was that my brother also registered the day before the event so it was going to be the three of us participating together! Whoo hoo. Family stresses and crazy dynamics be damned!

I got to the run early because I had 17 miles on the training plan and I wanted to get the additional 4 miles in before the race. I ran 4 miles early at a pretty slow pace (10:45-11 min/miles). That was all good.

I had a 45 minute wait until the start of the race so I called my brother and mom to gauge their ETA. We hooked up about 10 minutes later. Mom was really nervous.

I was originally assigned to wave 2 based on my estimated finish time (2:10) but I switched to wave 3 so I could start with mom (2:15+). Bro started in our wave too. He was very irritable for some reason. Whatever.

The horn blew and we were off. The biggest thing we coached my mom on was for her to slow down during the first 5 miles. She kept trying to speed up and we were telling her that the first 3 miles were downhill and she would blow it if she sped away. It was like trying to keep my dogs from chasing a squirrel. I on the other had was trying to keep a slow steady pace. I did sprint up the hills because I enjoy it--but then I waited at the top of the hill for mom and bro.

I felt great all the way to mile 7 (which for me was really mile 11). By mile 8/12 my right IT Band was KILLING ME! I couldn't believe it! I hobbled on through miles 9/13 , 10/14 and 11/15. I saw my husband and RR#2 at mile 12/16. O M was i in pain!

At mile 12.5/16.5 my mom and brother started arguing on the bike trail and my mom, now really angry, took off on a sprint, leaving us (her support team) in the dust.

Bro and I almost caught up to her (we stood with our mouths open staring at each other for a few seconds) by the finish. We were about 2 seconds back.

Finish line photo of all three of us will be posted soon. But you can see it here

Find Bib #217

Finishing time was 2:27 -- but for all 17 miles it took me 3:09

Chuckle for the Day

I think this is really funny.

Four Bridges Race Report coming up soon!

Speed Work

Just a quick note. I did my speed workout last night

2 mile warm up.
6X800's at threshold pace w/ 90 second recovery
2 mile cool down.


My TOP SPEED while running???? 6:28 min/mile!!!!!!!!!

Don't MESS, er, with Kalyfornya.. (as our illustrious governator stays).


Woot Woot!

Kickn' A$$

Working long hours has kept me incredibly busy -- too busy to post anything lately.

This weekend (Sunday) is the Four Bridges Half Marathon. I am set to run it. I am hoping for a 2:15 time or better. My mom is running with me, despite a slight calf muscle pull. My brother is planning to run it too--as a surprise for my mom.

I wish there was a lot more to tell but there isn't.

I ran 15 miles last week. My longest run ever in my life. I felt like crap afterward but by the next day, it was all good.

I am looking forward to the cheering spectators on Sunday. I am going to run 13.1 miles for the race, then another 4 miles (2 mile warm up/ 2 mile cool down) after--in order to reach my 17 mile training goal.

That's it for now. Tonight's workout is 6 half mile repeats at intensity pace + 1.5 mile warm up/1.5 mile cool down for a total of 6 miles.

I'll post after Sunday's race!

Cowtown Race Report

First my sincerest apologies—I have no pictures. I was too lazy to carry the camera with me.

However, here’s report.


I woke up at 5 and had coffee and PB & J toasted sandwich and water.
Read the weather report—40 degrees outside--Perfect for shorts and shortsleeve top when running. I donned skirtsports skirt with compression thigh length shorts underneath. Wore my blood sweat and beers top and also brought my hat.

Did the usual ‘bodily functions’ packed up my stuff and left the house by 5:45. Fleet feet said to reach their tent by 6:45 for a warm up.

Met at a friends house who lives close by the race location and parked the car in front of her house. Went in, used her bathroom and then we walked to the race start (about a mile away).

Oh.
My.
It was cold. Walking in shorts in 40 degree weather (remember this is California and it was 110 high only 1.5 weeks ago) is difficult. I forgot gloves. Drats.

Anyway, got to the fleet feet tent in time to see the group leaving for their warm up. I warmed up with a mile on my own. Talked with a few friends and then stood in the 10:00 min/mile section behind the start line.

At 7:15 I ate a GU Espresso Love.

At 7:33 a.m. the gun went off and I started pretty slow.
First mile split was 10:30. All felt pretty good. No ankle pain. Breathing was regular.

Second mile split 9:20. WTF? Ok, slow down slow down… I kept thinking I have to slow down.

Third mile split was 9:25. SLOW DOWN!

Fourth Mile split 9:15. Ok this is ridiculous. Right then my shoe lace came untied. Perfect!! Never have I wished for an untied shoelace, but I was happy to stop and tie so I would force myself to slow down.

Fifth mile split –10:20. I also half-rolled my bad ankle in a pothole. I kept running—was it hurt???? No, it was ok. I kept going.

Reached the half way point—6.5 miles. Mile split was 9:40. Fk.
At this point, I should have eaten some GU but was so focused on trying to slow down, I forgot to eat. This would come back to haunt me later.

Mile 8---Why do my legs hurt??? They feel like they are filled with concrete. Split was 10:00

Mile 9---This is a long freakn’ mile. Side stitch started and wouldn’t quit. Saw some friends on the sideline and got some much needed, “GO KAREN!!!” and high-fives.

Mile 10---Only a 5K to go. Why does this hurt? Just keep moving forward. No walking. At this point I noticed a man behind me continue to cough and cough as if he had some sort of contagious (SWINE FLU) disease. He was also telling his running buddy that he’d had a bad fever [Cough cough cough hack]. Lovely. This was a good incentive to run faster. Noticed my overall time was 1:38. I could make 2:10 if I kept up the same pace.

Mile 11—I had to walk for a minute or two. The lack of calories at halfway point and 10-mile marker (forgot that fueling point too) was really starting to hit me hard. I heard the cougher coming up behind me and took off.

Mile 12—cheery high school students were handing off water and cytomax. I tried to smile and say thank you, but I think it might have come out as a grunt. Mile split was 11:22

Mile 13---I could see the finish line and started to sprint with a smile on my face. ,I grabbed the finisher’s medal at the end of the chute-- the finishers medal is a COWBELL (of course)!

Final time 02:11:37. All things considered this was a good race for me. My goal was about 2:15 so I beat that.

Things to learn: EAT EAT EAT when I need to eat. I kept forgetting to eat because I was so focused on going faster and putting one foot in front of the other. Maybe I can figure out how to set a timer on my Garmin.

Other than that I was pretty happy. I am surprised at my fast mile splits in the beginning. I wanted to maintain 10:00 min/mile splits the whole way. This is a great race, nice and flat and even though I love hills, I enjoyed the flatness of it. I discovered later that they had a gear check (I didn’t see that info on their website) so next year, I’ll definitely wear my sweats to the start …

Cowtown Miracle

I finished Cowtown in 2:11:37!

So sore today but I can't believe it!

Detailed report to follow ... BUT I ALREADY SIGNED UP FOR FOUR BRIDGES HALF MARATHON ..

Race of the Year

As you may have noticed, I haven’t raced much in the last 18 months or so. My thesis/feces took priority. On Sunday, October 4 I will endeavor to complete the Cowtown Half Marathon. I am a little worried and nervous. I have been sick for two days this week; had a bad ankle for 4 weeks; and now have some shin pain.

I ran 4 miles this morning in 40:32 and felt great after so I’m keeping my hopes up that Cowtown will go well. I’ll try to take pics and post them after the race.

If all goes good with Cowtown then I intend to register for four bridges half on Oct 25. CIM group is slated to run 17 that day, so I’ll do the 2 mile warm up before the race and a 2 mile cool down after so I can get in my mileage. My mom (58 years old!) is running Four Bridges – her first half marathon ever!. She rocks it. She started running when she was 50 –and had absolutely NO athletic background before she began running a few years ago.

Anyway, that’s it for now.. Send good vibes my way on Sunday morning.

Rolling is awesome

Foam Roller and Trigger Point Therapy set.

These things really work in terms of helping my pain / injury from IT Band, Piriformis pain, etc. You roll on them slowly and deeply. It helps to break up adhesions and scar tissue and really helps with pain.

Hoo Haa HA Six' Oclock

I am so exited.
I
Ran
11
miles!
And
I
Can
Still
Walk.


Yes. I ran 11 miles on sunday with my CIM group. I should have only dont 8 (75 % of workout) but got to yammering with a lady and before I knew it I was at the 5.5 mile turnaround point. It took me 53 minutes to reach turn around. The way back took a bit longer and I stopped my garmin at 2:00:17 for 11 miles.

Whoo.
Hoo.

I rolled my hips, calves, Psoas, and tensor fascia, etc when I got home. OUCH. I rolled them again at about 4 pm. I took the trigger point ball and ground it into my hip for about 20 minutes at 9 pm. This morning, no pain other than the expected muscle soreness. I can't believe this rolling stuff works!

Today is rest day and then swim tomorrow.

Hoo Ha Ha Six'O' Clock!

~ From a book I read in 8th grade called, The Divorce Express. It is an expression of fun and excitement.

Spreckles

Haven't posted in a while. I have been consumed with
a) feeling sorry for myself
and
b) being angry at feeling sorry for myself.

anyway, now that is all 'sorted' (as my brit friends say) I am back on the horse, er bike and run and swim.

I ran last week several times. I ran half the perscribed distance for my fleet feet group. Here's some totals


Anyway, with all my extra time NOT training, I've gone back to doing some quilting. With the crappy econonomy here, I've decided to give handmade quilts for christmas this year. I have probably 20 quilt kits in various stages of production in my house. I blew the dust off the ol' Janome sewing machine and got to work this last week on piecing together a new quilt top for my mom. I was planning on giving one to my mom for christmas, but was at the same time struggling with what to do for my brother. My bro is the kind of guy who buys whatever he wants--so it is hard to figure out christmas gifts for him. As I was sewing away, I was pondering his likes/dislikes and all the presents from past christmases' that he hated. Then an idea hit me--he is a NUT for CAL Berkeley football. As an alumni, he still buys season tickets every year and travels to all the games. So I thought, I should make him a CAL Berkeley QUILT. Ok, I know it sounds crazy, but it just takes blue and yellow (ok-california gold, I know). I even made a quick design.. Here.

Waddya think? Yes that is the cal bear, my drawing sucks..

Workout? What Workout?

I thought about listing all the things I did this weekend in chronological order, but really, that would be boring. So instead, I will list my injuries/aches and describe how they came about….So from the head down:

Skull—Achy because of high estrogen/low progesterone. I feel a migraine coming on this week. I also haven’t been eating breakfast at all and stuffing my face with crappy food instead of staying on my low salt diet.

Eye (right)—stye forming on the top lid. It fkn hurts. Probably from swimming in dirty lake water with leaky goggles.

Cheeks – Flushed and irritated from too much sun and not enough SPF.

Nose—Stuffy and runny. I better not be getting sick.

Lips (right corner) – Cracked. I have no idea why. Probably from the crappy food I’ve been eating.

Forearm (right) –In an attempt to ‘bond’ with the family, agreed to play badminton for a few hours in the sun. I haven’t really played since high school—20+ years ago. I also decided to show off by beating everyone in the family. Now I’m paying for it, because I can’t even pick up my coffee cup.

Kibbles & Bits – 20+mile bike ride early Saturday morning. First time on the bike since August 5. It hurts. A lot.

Ankle (right)—went to the CIM workout with Fleet feet early Sunday morning to try out the ankle, finally. They ran 7. I did 2. It felt good while running but now a little bruised.

Foot (left)—While getting ready for CIM workout (above), walked into the dark bathroom and rammed my left foot into the corner of the cabinet under the sink. Someone (RR#2, but I’m not pointing fingers) left the cabinet door open all night and my foot impaled itself on it. The foot is swollen, bruised and nasty looking.

TonightI will attempt to run another 2 miles and make a decent low salt low fat dinner. Cheers!

Doing Swimmingly

Since my ankle catastrophe, I decided to focus more on my swimming--particularly, swimming endurance.

On Tuesday, both Rugrat #2 and I reached a milestone.
She has been in the open water swim class this summer. She learned to swim using the Total Immersion method. She learned to put her face in the water, push on her buoy, sharkfin, etc.

On Tuesday, she agreed to 'swim long', meaning instead of staying close to the shore and doing skills and drills, she would swim up the lake shore to a predestined marker and back. She chose to do the 1/2 mile swim.

I wanted to stay with her (motherly instinct and all) but the teacher told me to scram and that a kayaker would stay next to RR#2 the whole time so she didn't panic.

I took off and reached the 3/4 mile turnaround and then looked longingly at all those people who swam the extra mile lap around an island in order to get just over a mile in the water. Someone in my group stopped and said, "c'mon! Stay on my feet and i'll pull you around the island".. Well, i'm so slow, I couldn't stay on the feet--but I did make it around the island!!!! I swam back to the shore exhausted but proud that I made the 1900 yard swim in about 43 minutes. When I reached shore, RR#2 gave me a high five and told me about her jaunt to the 1/2 mile turnaround!
I was so happy for her. She said it was really difficult and she was scared but she persevered and made it! She is so excited to continue swimming in the lake until it is either 1. too dark after work or 2. the water gets icy cold.

Anyway, phew. I can swim a mile and she can swim 1/2 mile. Just maintain now until next year.

TriKarenTri's Tuesday Tantrum Twelve

I wish I had something really interesting to write about, but I don't.

I am resting my ankle since it has been puffing up. I think my wednesday 5 mile run to test out the ankle actually hurt it worse.

So here's a list of a few things about me. I'll call it "trikarentri's tuesday tantrum twelve"

1. Reading Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. I'm on page 13 and I love it.
2. Joining the Capital Athletic Club in the next week or so.
3. Volunteering at XTERRA Lake Tahoe on August 29 so i can earn a free race voucher for next years' race.
4. My ankle still hurts
5. I think I will do Millenium Restaurant's aphrodisiac night for my birthday.
6. My boss just told me "good job".
7. I am confused and sad about rugrat #1 and the Cult.
8. I am amazed that I have so many great friends. They are super supportive and very fun to hang around.
9. I want to obtain a great base level of training so I can do a half marathon effortlessly. (ha!)
10. I have a rash from stress.
11. I am thankful that for the most part my body works like I want it to.
12. Hopefully, Active Release Therapy appointment tomorrow will help my ankle.

Baggin' it

I decided to bag the race (or hobble) on Sunday. So no "Blood Sweat and BEERS" for me. My ankle was throbbing last night and this morning. I can take off two weeks now and still head into CIM training with some good conditioning. If I keep aggravating it, i might be out of contention for CIM altogether. Soooo I'm going to pick up the T-Shirt and hat but not the timing chip.

My husband said he'd buy me a beer on Sunday to make up for missing BS&B.. Say it with me.. "AAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" He's really great.

Thanks for all the kind words regarding RugRat#1 and the ankle. I was a little PMS-y this week so everything seemed to be a deadend. Aunt Flo just showed up and now the world is full of sparkle and sunshine.

In any case, I also signed up for Total Body Fitness' Half Ironman Triathlon (HIT)for next year. So that makes two half ironman races next year AND an XTERRA next year. I think that is really good enough, don't you? Well, maybe I'll throw in a sprint or two; maybe even an olympic. Like I said, the world is full of sparkle and sunshine these days.

I ran 5 miles in the dirt

Our last weekly workout last night. The trail run class was awesome.

I ran 5 miles in the heat and dirt.
I was really slow and today my ankle hurts. Not as bad as it did before but it still hurts.

I am angry. REALLY ANGRY about all the effort I put into this class and that my speed gains have been blown 1.5 weeks before the race. I don't know if I should do the race or just bag it or cut to the 5 miler or what. Doc says no risk of permanent damage, but "Karen you need to respect the pain and be smart."

Blah.
Sorry i'm in a bad mood about my throbbing ankle.

Oh, and RugRat #1 (17 years old) wants to join a cult. We tried to talk her out of it, but she's been brainwashed pretty quickly. Woke up at 4:30 a.m. to find my husband crying his eyes out. He doesn't know what to do; I don't know what to do since she lives with her mom full time (hubbies beeach-ex--wife)She bailed on our plans for her to come spectate my race on sunday--because the CULT wants her to do some things with them on Sunday. I told her it hurt my feelings to be dumped and left it at that. Double Blah.

Diet Fail

I had a chili burger with fries and a coke for lunch. It was to celebrate my new promotion.

I wonder how much salt & saturated fat I just ingested.

Back on the horse for tonight's dinner.

Adieu Adios ArriveDerci Sat Sri Akal Bye See Ya Xaire Vale Zay gesunt

Garmin is going back.

I couldn’t take it any more. It refused to work the last two days. It would not record time properly. It would not charge. It turned on and off by itself. It discharged it’s entire battery. It lost workouts. All these things happened a few weeks ago and then magically corrected themselves. They also magically returned on Saturday. I need stability in my life. I need structure. I need to know that my Garmin will charge when I hook it up to the charger.

I was ready to throw it against the wall or flush it down the toilet last night.
Instead I packed it back in its box and I’m taking it back to fleet feet where I bought it. Hopefully they can exchange it out. I do have an email from Garmin Tech Support that says, “Please return to place of purchase and exchange for another.” I am not sure what I should do. Should I get another Garmin? Should I switch to Polar or Sunnuto? Or maybe I should simply stick with the good ol’ Timex sports watch?

In any case I am trying to relax before I have a stroke.

In better news, my ankle feels a lot better. I’m gonna try the 5 miler workout tonight and see how it goes. And if all is well I will race on Sunday (“RACE” is a bit of an exaggeration. I hope to finish).


_________________________________________________________________________________


UPDATE: I exchanged the old Garmin at Fleet Feet. They were laughing at how it was angrily stuffed back into its box, "Frustrated, Karen??" I got my new one and started charging it at my desk. First think I noticed was that it clicked to charge IMMEDIATELY. I also noticed that it had none of the "wiggle" that my old Garmin had at the charge sites on back. So yes I obviously must have gotten a dud before.

tentative

Ran 1 mile this morning in order to try out the ankle.

It went ok.
Doesn't hurt any more than it has the last few days.

I might be ok to go for the race on sunday?

I hope.

Doc says....

First of all—ankle is not broken. Only strained ligaments/tendons. That is good news. Doc says I can start running using “pain as my guide” .. Well then fill me up with some Vicodin so I can run soon. I had to bag my Sunday long run with the trail run group because I was in so much pain Saturday night/Sunday early morning.

Bad News: I have high blood pressure. My doc was really surprised. For years I’ve had the standard 108/60 or 110/65. No problem. I exercise. Well since May 2008 my BP has steadily crept upward. 125/78, 130/75, 138/80, 141/80. On Friday at the docs office it was 157/92!!!!

He was really shocked and said I need to radically change my diet. He told me to monitor my BP at home regularly and if it doesn’t improve in a couple of months, I’ll have to go on meds. Here’s the thing—He said, “you are not obese,(yeah!) you exercise a lot(yeah!) so it is either too much salt or it is hereditary” In this case, two positives, makes a negative.. I have to admit I am a total SALT WHORE! I don’t have a sweet tooth, I have a salty MOLAR. Oh and EVERYONE in my family (both sides) has very high blood pressure. My dad and his brother died from complications of it, as did his sisters, & my grandparents. Oh my mom has high BP as does my baby brother. So I hit the crap lottery with the Blood Pressure Gene.

In any case, I have decided on a radical new diet. No animal products at all—and little to no salt. Oh and no alcohol other than ½ glass of red wine. This is going to suck big time but I have to give it ago before I blow a vessel in my brain.

Later!

ANKLE pain

last night's 5 mile run was going well until I felt a sharp pain in my right ankle on the outside.

When I got home I couldnt' walk on it.
Last night's ICE and Anti-Inflamatory didn't help. Still excrutiating. No swelling though.

I'm scheduled for Dr. Appt and x-ray/MRI tomorrow a.m.

I hope it isn't a fibula fracture.
Sad when you are wishing for tendonitis, isn't it?

Finger's crossed!

New Stuff

Here was last sunday's "easy" run... Good times!

Picked up the garmin soft-strap heart rate monitor and matched it to my garmin.
It says that I had a heart rate of 244 on sunday's run.

I mean, I knew I was good, but 244 means I have better cardio than Lance or Alberto or Floyd..

I e-mailed garmin to ask them about it, they said that sometimes if it is getting jostled around too much our touched too much by clothing (really? Heart rate monitors are supposed to be worn without clothing?) it can register each 'touch' as a heart rate.

In any case, I tried the heart rate again today on my tuesday 4-miler and it was fine. I set my maximum at 183 and it said my average was 147 --- 80%.

Garmin seems to be working fine now--I figured out how to set the darn thing so my heart rate and heart rate % show on the screen. Today, I kept looking down at it as I ran to see it. Now, I just have to figure out how to make it vibrate or beep when it goes over, say, 90%.

Only two more weeks until Blood, Sweat, and Beers. I am doing a practice run of the course next Sunday. Coach Tim Tweitmeyer told us on sunday, that the 10-mile course is a "killer". Coming from him--that scares me to death!!



Other than that, I am simply trying to stay consistent with my training over the fall/winter months. I would like to add in a little trail running and mountain biking too.

I wish I could quit my job and just workout all the time--That Would Be Awesome.

Weird but True

Weird but True

Hold your breaths. Wait…Wait for it…

I am getting faster.

Yup! Faster.

F
A
S
T
E
R
!

Every week trail run group meets and runs 5 miles. The same 5 mile out-n-back route.

First week with the group it took me 65 minutes.
Second week: 56:48
Third week: 54:01
Yesterday: 51:02


I passed people running yesterday. I passed them at the END of the run. I felt so strong and awesome! People even commented to me after the run, “dang you were fast today!” Last two miles yesterday were 9:37 and 9:08! Wow.

I
AM
FAST(er)!


Ok, back to work for me!

Nathan Intensity Hydration Race Vest Review

New Nathan Intensity Hydration Vest
As promised –the new Nathan Intensity Hydration Vest review.

This pack is awesome. It works exceptionally well for my long trail runs where I am out for over an hour and there is no water source.

The Intensity is the women’s specific hydration race vest. Specifically, it is designed for a shorter torso—perfect for me. The vest is made of some exceptionally soft ultra space age material. I think I could get away with wearing this pack without any shirt—only a bra top—and be fine.

The pack has two main compartments. The first compartment holds the 2 Liter water bladder—the bladder is held in place wit a couple of clips. The second compartment is smaller and will hold a small jacket or some arm warmers. I usually put my keys in the smaller compartment.

The front of the water pack has two smaller holders. One is zippered—this one I use to hold my TP and plastic bags, just in case of runner’s trots. (This is a very handy thing to have it in the front of the pack. I do not want to be wrangling with my pack trying to find the TP in the back of the pack when I have dropped trough and am trying to avoid poison oak—I want easy access to the TP).The other compartment in front is draw string-like and that’s where I keep my Gus and Cliff Shot Blocks.

The hose is easily locked into place on the front sternum strap. The bite valve works fine and water comes out quickly and easily.

The sternum strap adjusts well. For me, I wear it beneath “the girls” since they seem to be in the way. It’s ok though.

The water bladder holds enough to last me 2.5 hours running in 100+ degree weather There is little to no water bounce when I run. My only complaint about the entire thing is that occasionally, my WIDE shoulders get stuck in the vest when I try to take it off.

All in all, the Nathan Intensity Hydration Pack rocks it.

Tidbits & Progress Made

Now that I have the garmin whining out of the way, I can tell you that it has almost miraculously started working really well. Only one part of it doesn’t work (training center) but I realize I have an older version of it on my computer so that should be fixed soon too.

AnyHOO, I just looked back at some of my recent 5 mile trail runs—since I got my garmin, I have done a particular 5-mile trail run 3 times. The times are as follows:

#1 Run 1 hour 5 minutes
#2 Run 56 minutes 21 seconds
#3 Run 52 minutes 1 second

Is Garmin making me faster or WHAT? HA!

This weekend my trail group will be running 10 miles on Quarry Road. Fred and Wilma and Barney and Betty will be out there.

Signed up for the 10 mile trail run, Blood, Sweat and Beers.
I’m scared.
I’m scared that they might run out of beer before I finish.

I found a new love—early morning bike rides. Rode Wednesday AM at 5:15 to 6:15. It was quiet and peaceful, roads were sans cars, & the air was clean. AWESOME! I’ll be doing it again next week.

I’m scared of the Master Swim group I have joined. I have not yet attended a workout. I need to do that, but even the thought sends me into a panic. Swimming fast at 5 a.m.? I need to SUCK IT UP and get in the water.

I am running Cowtown half marathon with my mom. She signed up, so we will run it together. My mom rocks it!

I haven’t thought about school or my thesis in weeks. I am so glad it is over.
Just informed I got a promotion—since I have that illustrious M.A. in hand. Hurray!

I'll re-test my Nathan water pack again on Sunday's 10-mile trail run and have a review next week.

Posting Dread

I have really dreaded writing this post.
Not because I have writers’ block, but because I really wanted to like the Garmin 310xt.

I really REALLY want to like it.
But I can’t. It is too frustrating for my short fuse.

So here goes:

THE GOOD:
• Small on the wrist
• Snazzy orange color
• Moves through the screens quickly
• Very very accurate GPS (I was expecting it not to be, but it is very accurate)
• The functions sound great—and would be very useful… BUT

THE BAD:
• It took two hours on the phone with Garmin to get the ANT+ and garmin connect to work properly on my computer.
• Then it still didn’t work
• ANT+ stick doesn’t always recognize my garmin
• Garmin charger is flakey and won’t charge my Garmin. There is supposed to be a fix for this on their website but I can’t find it. But the worst part is…

THE UGLY:
• Garmin turns off and on by itself when charging (that is when it actually agrees to charge)
• Garmin has spontaneously erased several of my workouts only to load workouts that I never did. For instance, it says I did a run workout on April 6. I did not get my garmin until July 6. The April 6 workout was not on my device until AFTER it spontaneously erased several workouts.
• Workouts will not load to Beginner Triathlete properly.


I really want to like this device. I am hoping that as the software bugs get cleared out, it will start to work better. The last 2 workouts have been saved on Garmin Connect but cannot be loaded to Beginner Triathlete properly. BT said they are working on it.

In any case I’ll test it in the water on Tuesday so that will probably generate a whole new round of software bugs.

Races:
I signed up for Blood, Sweat, & Beers trail race 10 mile distance
I will sign up for Cowtown half-marathon in October
I will sign up for Buffalo Stampede in September
I will sign up for Four Bridges Half Marathon in October
I will sign up for Clarksburg Country Run 20-miler in November.
I signed up for California International Marathon (CIM) in December
I signed up for Auburn Half-Ironman Triathlon in May 2010.

Workouts:

With the intense heat I bagged my Wednesday run.
I rode my bike for the first time in a month and half on Saturday. I did 24 miles up and down some pretty good hills. Beal’s point to Sunrise, then around Lake Natoma and back to Folsom Lake.

Sunday’s 9 mile trail run in the searing heat was too much. I walked a lot of it. It was around 1500 feet of climbing. I cut it short to 7 miles and drank 1.5 Liters of water. I used my new nathan water carrier and it was pretty good. Detailed review to come later.

That’s it. I watched the Tour yesterday and was blown away by Alberto Condator’s acceleration(s) up the mountain. GO ALBERTO!

Up NEXT... Review of my new Nathan Intensity Water Carrier

Garmin 310 Review

Coming soon...

Garmin 310 REVIEW


IT IS AWESOME!

F*KN HOT OUT THERE!

Not much to say today.
It has been HOT HOT HOT here.

Saturday 105
Sunday 112
Monday 103
Tuesday 103
Wednesday 97


Running in such extreme temps has sapped every bit of energy and charm from me.
Last night's five miler felt like a 100 miler.

I did just switch shoes for trail running. My ol' Mizunos were giving me blisters, so I exchanged them at Fleet Feet for a new pair of Asic 2140 trail shoes (PINK!)

In any case, I just got a call from Fleet Feet.
My new Garmin 310XT will be available for pickup on Monday July 6th!!!

Kool Running Article

Good luck to all who are doing the Western States 100 this weekend!

Weather forcast is for 105 degrees on Sunday--scorcher.

Double Workout: (Almost) Triple Digits

Haven’t had a double workout day in a long time but I punched one out Tuesday.

Got up at 5 and got dressed for my 4 mile fartlek workout (I still snicker at the word fartlek—it’s those Swedes again). I was supposed to leave around 5:15 but I logged online and got sucked into the Jon&Kate+8 vortex –started reading E-online updates on their sucky marriage and suckier divorce.

Anyway, suddenly it was 5:30! Cripes! I headed out with my new IPOD Depeche Mode / Duran Duran playlist.

I felt pretty good at first. The workout was 4 miles with 8-10 30second pickups. First two or three pickups were pretty easy. Later , the 30seconds whittled down to 10 or 15 seconds. But I finished.

Tuesday night I swam in the lake for an hour. There was a group there and I was lucky enough to join them. Fun. We did sighting, drafting and drills. At the end I tried to really concentrate on lengthening my stroke and GLIDING.. guess what? I was freakin’ passing people!!!! I have to remember that tactic—GLIDE—not flail with windmill arms.

Last night, I ran with my trail running group. 5 miles, 100 degrees. Never again will I eat a full Thai restaurant dinner before my run. Never. Again.

I managed to finish the run and as I sat down in my car let out a big burp. Finally.

Blech!

Trail Run Du Jour

Sunday I participated in the first trail run with my trail run group (natch) at 8 a.m. Tim Twietmeyer showed about 5 minutes before. He said we were to go on a 'short' run (ha!) of 6 miles with 'no real hills --just a few rollers.' (HA! again.)

I was exceptionally nervous because, A) I have not been running as much as I should and B) from the looks of everyone else, they HAD been running as much as they should.

In any case, we started off--I positioned myself in the back of the pack so I would not get trampled or shoved into poison oak.

The first couple of hills were fine. No biggie--and at the end of the hill we were blessed with the sight of a beautiful clear Folsom Lake--the sun was reflecting off the surface and the wind was blowing. It really was stunning. I wish I had brought my camera to take pictures. I stopped to look at the serenity of it for about 10 seconds.

Then we turned left away from the lake and went up a 12% grade hill.

The remaining trail run was LOTS and LOTS of hills. Steep hills.

Up,
Down,
Up,
Down.

At one point, I looked skyward and saw my ol' nemesis---Suicide Hill.

Suicide Hill is 22% grade hill that I used to run up during high school cross country races. My friends and I named it Suicide Hill because--well it just about killed us to run up it. When you run up Suicide Hill, your arms swing and almost scrape the ground.

I couldn't believe it.. I haven't really seen you in 20 years, SH. How you doin'?

I attacked Suicide Hill. As my feet made crunch and scrape noises across the gravel I set my mind to finishing it at a run. I was going to do this.

Sure enough, I ran to the top of SH. Awesome! Tim was standing at the top of SH and urging us all onward. Great feeling! Great!

I'll be back SH..

There were 4 more big hills before we returned to the start area.
I mapped it on my BT page--Look for Cavitt Stallman Trail Run in Granite Bay California.

I am really looking forward to the next group run on Wednesday night after work. It will by mid-to-upper 90's, no breeze.

Good times~

--------------------------------UPDATE---------------------------------------


My quads are super sore today from the UP, DOWN, UP, DOWN yesterday. Happy that I have a rest day today.
Tomorrow morning I run 5 on the roads. Hurray!

From the Weird Files

From the Weird Files

A Swedish company has invented, what I think, is a product designed to bring about the apocalypse.

Cheeseburger in a Can.

Yes.
I’m not kidding.

Designed for backpackers and campers, Cheeseburger in a Can simply requires heating in water for a few minutes. Pop the lid and Voila – instant burger.

I don’t eat cheeseburgers – I haven’t since 1995. But when I did eat them, I can tell you, I would never ever ever eat one that was stored in a can. Especially one from Sweden—don’t they eat Surströmming & Lutefisk?? (Please don’t send me any email about my anti-Swede sentiment—I married a Swede and sport a nifty Swedish last name. Ha--gotta love globalization!)

In any case, I think even the ham-burgler would not eat this.

On the training front, I had my info session with Tim Twietmeyer for the trail running class on Wednesday night. AWESOME! I am very very excited to start on Sunday. The most interesting thing??? After we run, we will all do the “tick-check” on each other. Like Chimps in the wild, we’ll be grooming and pulling any creepy crawlers off of another person.

Ingestion of said crawler is optional.

Have a great weekend!