Auntie Em Goes Running

Easy run, HR 133.  I will have to buy more warm clothes for running if this cold weather keeps up and I am going to run so slowly!  My average pace for this HR is soooo slow!  Average was 10:47; very hard to keep warm.

Visiting my family in Eastern Oregon; once again out of internet land.  This was an interval run.  6 intervals, totalling 3.2 miles at target tempo pace of 7:50.  Actual paces were 7:44, 7:46, 8:06, 7:49, 7:36, and 7:49.  The roads are snowy and icy; had to wear my mom's yak trax.

Running with my brother.  Beautiful over here on the east side; cold (8 degrees!) and icy, hard packed snow roads.  The sun is heavenly and I am trying to absorb all I can; I go home tomorrow.

A few easy miles on the trail, and a 40 minute swimming drill session.

Track workout.  Not very cold out, but dark and raining hard and windy.  When will all the darkness end?

1200s were at 7:45, 7:38, and 7:49 mile paces.  200s were 46, 45, 47, and 49.

A little bit of swimming practice, immediately followed by a short run.  

Whew!  I guess I'll have to add my skating boots to the shoe count above.  2 hours on the skate skis at a nice clip in perfect, very fast snow!  Lots of climbing uphill - what a fantastic workout.  This skate skiing is turning out to be the absolutely ideal crosstraining tool for me.  Its easy to get a workout, even intervals, and its a whole different muscle workout.  Anyone else out there skate ski?

Lack of sleep is really starting to make me run badly.  Just easy miles this morning, at an average pace of 9:17.  It was a beautiful morning to get out anyway, balmy and clear.  Hard to believe, since it is literally dumping snow up on the mountain right now!  I couldn't really do the tempo workout that was planned for today (too tired), so I used this run to focus on form.

A low heart run.  I usually hate these runs, because they are so bloody slow!  But, it was snowy and slushy, which slows things down anyway, and I ran with a friend, and it was really beautiful along the trails, so I enjoyed it this morning.  an hour and forty minutes, average heart rate of 136.  The great thing about these runs is that you don't even feel tired afterwards; I think I'll go up and skate ski a bit more this afternoon!

No running today; only yoga class and a 45 minute strength workout.  Two nights in a row now of decent sleep time, and I am actually feeling GREAT!  Can't wait for tomorrow and another snowy run.  

Swimming practice this morning, with focus on glide and length in the water. 

1 hour of low heart rate running at 11:37 average pace and HR of 135.  Trails are still icy and snowy and we still have snow on the ground, with more expected tonight!  Unfortunately, it is supposed to turn much warmer tomorrow and wash it all away.  DRAT!

Track workout tonight.  First Wednesday night in over two months with no rain, wind, snow or freezing cold.  Clear, calm and 45 degrees.  Minimal slush on the track!  Wow.

Warm up with running, strides, and dynamic stretches and drills.

2X800 at interval pace (7:12 and 7:13 mile paces)

3X300 at repitition pace (6:42, 6:40, and 6:39 mile paces)

3X1000 at T pace (7:45, 7:47, and 7:27 mile paces)

Cool down and jog back to the car.

At home after track:  40 minutes of stretching, foam roller rolling and planks.

Easy miles and then yoga and swimming.  Busy day.  

Skate ski day!  This workout kicked my butt seriously.  2.5 hours on the skis, with kind of an interval workout in there with hill sprints.  This is seriously good cross training for runners!  

Did about 40 minutes of planks and yoga before bed.

Downhill skiing in the am; the snow is not good, so I only lasted 1/2 day.  Then an easy run home from the grocery store, which felt so good by mile 4.5 that I did the last bit at marathon pace.  Just felt really good today for some reason.

Long run day; I did this whole run at 133 heart rate - really slow!  It was excruciating, especially since it is raining so hard here that the trails are literally running like rivers!  Ankle deep mud in places and slippery, technical trails in others.  A very interesting run.  I am getting very tired of rain.

A teeny weeny run this morning before a day of skiing.  

Another slow run!  These slow runs are getting tedious.  Thank goodness track is tomorrow. Followed the run with 1/2 hour of strength and stretching.

I swam this morning, and I think that I saw a tiny bit of progress today; feeling pretty hopeful about swimming at the moment.

Nice night for a track workout!  Partly clear with no wind, no rain, no snow.  A fullish moon and 37 degrees.  Kind of perfect!

warm up with drills for 3 miles, dynamic stretches,  a sprint workout, an easy mile or so, then 1.5 at tempo pace.  Then a mile at marathon pace, because I have to remember what that pace is all over again (marathon April 10).  Cool down.

Easy run and some downhill skiing.

Skate ski day!  I love skate ski day.  Snow was a bit warm, but I had actually put the right wax on the skis for a change, so no problem for me.  Skated for 2 hours, with 1,018 feet of elevation gain, 11.75 miles.  Funny, but it really never seems like that many miles while I am skating.  I am always impressed by the mileage.

I did easy heart rate training on the flats to warm up, then did a few hill (BIG HILL) climbs, keeping the heart rate in the threshold range.  More easy training, and finished with 4X4 minute tempo sprints on the flats.  I have figured out how to get some real power out of the skis now, and can really go fast on these sprint bits.  Next time, I will measure them separately on Garmin and see just how fast I am going!

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

Long run, in and around Whatcom Falls, with some marathon pace bits.  It went like this:  30 minutes at easy (133 heart rate easy),  20 minutes at mp, 30 minutes at easy, 10 minutes at mp, 10 minutes at easy, and 20 minutes at marathon pace.  I finished with 15 minutes of jogging and drills.

It is a truly amazing day here.  Somewhere in the 40s, with NO RAIN, and partly cloudy/partly "sunny" skies!

A day off from running!  Yoga class this morning, and a swim this afternoon.

An hour long yoga/stretching/strength session on my own at home this morning.  Such a luxury to have a whole hour to do this at home!  

1 hour of running at HR 133 in the afternoon.  There was sunshine for about 1/2 of a second during this run.  I thought I would faint just from the effort of sucking it into my body as quickly as possible.

I rode my bike outside today!  It was 54 degrees at 4:45 when I left my house.  Wow.  I went to ride up a hill that my bike club is considering for a sprint race we are putting on.  After that, I was going to ride to the track for our track workout, but it was really dark out by 5:30, so I rode back to town on a trail instead of on the road.  Even with reflective clothing and flashing lights, I am not so comfortable on the highway in the dark.

Changed clothes at the track, and did 9X200m at .51 pace.  Actual times were between .39 and .45.  Too fast as usual.  Then some 30 second hill sprints and cool down.  So all the "workout" was hard effort stuff.  We did a bunch of push ups, planks, squats, and pull ups in between sets.  I really cannot do 25 push ups without a break; I am getting to be a weanie!

Skate skiiing.  2.5 hours.  No hills or intervals, just the equivalent of a long, easy run!  Resting up for a 1/2 marathon on Sunday.

Race day in Olympia!  I drove down here on Saturday afternoon because it is 2.5 hours away, and because my son lives here and I wanted to visit with him.  The race begins and ends on his campus actually.  An interesting 1/2 marathon, because it is a fund raiser for Evergreen College's XC team, and also a qualifying run for many college athletes trying to get to nationals.  So, I had to adjust my thinking about where I would be in the pack overall!  Quite a ways further back.

Anyway, my goal was not to "race", but to run the whole thing at my marathon pace.  This is a great exercise for me, since I have NEVER paced a 1/2 well in my whole life.  I go out fast (not just a little fast, but WAY to fast), and manage to finish well usually anyway.  I have never had the experience of starting out at an appropriate pace and having fuel to burn at the end.  

Until today!  Pace is supposed to be 8:25 and the first 8 miles were average of 8:19, with the first three at 8:22!  Wow.  I expected the beginning to be difficult, but I didn't expect to be "holding back" so much during the middle of the race.  Maintaining this pace was challenging every mile.  Course was beautiful, rural roads in and around the Evergreen Campus, with some rolling hills and one big dip into a ravine and up the other side.  Course support was minimal, but adequate.  I actually managed to consume 5 shot blocks and three tiny cups of water during the run, also a first for me.

At the beginning of the ninth mile, my watch stopped, because apparently the lap counter was full!?!?!?   I still felt fantastic.  My mantra "Just relax and enjoy the ride" was still workin' for me, and I was truly relaxed and enjoying exactly where I was.  So, without the watch, I had no choice but to try to hold the same pace I had managed thus far.  I felt like I was doing that.  Miles 10-12 were an out and back, with the last water at mile 11, and a turn around.  Mile 12 started a rather short, steep uphill climb, which I pushed up, still feeling very strong.  By the middle of mile 12, I started looking around for where we were to finish, but the flaggers were pointing us in a different direction.  So, always a wise decision I think, I followed their direction.  I kicked as hard as I could the last 600m, and was met by my son and his friend.  I drank my coconut water, then jogged back to find my friend who was about a mile back when I found her, struggling just a bit.  Jogged her in and then checked my time.  I was in shock!  1:42!  I don't know what happened in those last few miles, but this is NOT a 8:25 pace.  I think its more like just under 8:00.

Anyway, I'm happy about the PR and how freakin' strong I felt.  I really feel like I could have gone faster!  I am not at all tired today (posting this Monday).  Went for a swim this morning and will jog this afternoon.

WhooHoo!

Day off of running, resting up.  I went for a swim in the morning, and did some gentle yoga in the evening.  No muscle tiredness at all from yesterday's race.

Grrrr, still no running!  I don't even feel tired from the race, and I would LOVE to run today.  More recovery.  So, I'm roller skate skiing!  These roller skis are trainers for snow skate skis, and I use them on paved roads and trails.  They are actually super fun; I can go fast and its just like skiing - almost!  I went for an hour and forty minutes.  

This morning, I did a strength workout on my TRX trainer in the basement.  This is another really fun toy!  Core workouts, lots of arm and shoulder work, as well as stability.  This is the first time I've been able to use it; my husband installed it while I was racing this weekend.  

30 degrees this morning; very cold for these parts!  No rain though.  Early run up Interurban Trail then straight on to yoga class.  My shoulder (pectoral muscle to be exact) is slightly torn and bruised, as well as a skinned knee and hip from my skating accident yesterday, so yoga was both painful and good.  Had to back off on some poses due to the bruised pectoral muscle.  I have black tape on the shoulder and large band aids on the knee and hip.  Kind of a mess.

Yoga class this morning.  I waited as long as possible in the day to do my run, since I don't like to run after yoga, and I was far too lazy this morning to run at 5am.  

five easy miles Northshore trail with hubby.  

Track workout this morning.  It is 44 degrees, very windy, not raining at the moment.  It rained so hard and howled so hard last night that I was dreading the workout, but the rain stopped just in time.  All I had was wind.  

Warm up on the track, a mile and a half or so, and then some dynamic warm ups and running specific drills.

4X600 at 6:40 mile pace (2:30 per 600).  Mine were 2:29, 2:30, 2:30, and 2:29.  6X200 also at 6:40 mile pace (.51 per 200).  Mine were .46, .51, .52, .51, .50, .50.

A nice cool down jog on the trails near the track, then home for 45 minutes on the TRX.

Low heart rate run.  1 hour 59 minutes of low heart rate running.  10:54/mile.

Yuk!  I have a cold (check out the NINE hours of sleep!)  On top of that, its grey and raining, even on the mountain where it should be snowing.  I went for a "recovery" skate ski in the rain anyway.  Felt great to be out of doors working out anyway.  When its grey like this and wet for months on end, I keep having to remind myself that I DO live in a place where I can actually get OUTDOORS 365 days a year and workout.  It is NEVER prohibitively cold or hot and there are trails, mountains and lakes everywhere.  I am LUCKY!  Still it is grey and depressing.

A tempo run.  Actually partially sunny skies and about 50.  Shorts weather for sure!  

So, why is that a tempo run is so hard.  I have just run a half marathon at faster than this 7:50 pace, so why is it so hard to do it for 25 minutes in the middle of a training run?  Just askin'.  

The run kicked my butt, so I met my running group this evening and did a walk with the pregnant lady, then joined everyone for dinner afterwards.  I really didn't need two runs today anyway.  

Yoga this morning, then some extra strength training with TRX, then an OUTDOOR bike ride!  Almost got blown off of my bike by the wind, but it was sunny and delicious!  Easy ride, 16.97 miles.

Long, easy run.  Averaged 11 min miles.  Some road, some technical trail, some sunshine, some frozen ground.  That is a chunk out of my Wednesday morning.

No running today.  Yoga class followed by a swim!  Haven't been in the pool for 10 days, slacking off here.

An early morning run, just some easy miles with fartleks thrown in the middle to keep my speed muscles awake.  I have a 5K in Seattle tomorrow.

5K race in Seattle this morning.  It was HOWLING wind in Bellingham all night, and was still howling when I left for Seattle at 6am.  By race time, though, it was calm at Greenlake Park, clear skies, and 51 degrees!  Oh my, all I brought was 39 degree clothes.  That was my first mistake.  I figured that I would just be really warm for about 20 minutes and then it would be over.  But really, I was WAY to warm and don't think I ran my best because of it.  Finish time was 23:21, not my best for sure.  But a really fun race nonetheless.  

As soon as the race was over, the wind began to howl in Seattle, and they had to quickly take down tents and displays as things were blown all around the park.  The rain started, and my friend Aeron and I did not even wait for awards, just hopped in the car and headed up to Steven's Pass, about 2 hours away for an afternoon of skate skiing.

We left without eating or getting any post race coffee, so we stopped in a small town about an hour away, Monroe, at a the first roadside espresso stand we saw.  It was called Cowgirls Espresso.  I pulled into the drive up lane, and was kinda surprised to see the barista dressed in her underwear.  Nice underwear, but still.  I asked her if she always made drinks in her underwear and she said she does; all the baristas there do.  I thought it was terribly funny, but my friend thought it was terrible.  The coffee was not very good either!  

Skate skiing was nice at Stevens.  I took a lesson for one hour and got a few pointers to work on.  The instructor called me "advanced", and I told him that I learned everything I know from u tube.  He was impressed ; )

After skating, the long drive back to Bellingham, arriving at 7pm, dropped Aeron off, then stopped by my house, collected my cats, and headed up to our Glacier cabin, 45 minutes away.  I got there just in time for dinner, which was great, because all I ate all day was apples, nut bars, and the terrible Cowgirl coffee.  The not so great part was that my husband had invited 10 people for dinner, and I showed up in my multi sport attire and very tired, so I am sure I was not such great company.

Fun day!  Another 5K soon to work on my 21:30 goal time.

Edit:  24:14 finish time official.

No running on a powder day!  10 inches of new snow and people on the mountain are so hungry for it its crazy!  Spent the whole morning backcountry hiking and skiing with my husband, my two "kids", and another couple and their son.  How awesome to have raised two children who can break a trail through deep powder for the aged parents!  Super fun day with the family, snagging fresh powder lines.

After lunch, I began to feel that my quads were starting to feel all of yesterday's efforts and the hiking in the morning.  But, I was in snow, so I switched out to skate skiing gear and practiced some of the techniques that I learned yesterday in my lesson for a couple of hours.  I really feel that I am getting a whole lot better at this skating thing.

I am considering getting a rifle and becoming a biathlete.  Doesn't that sound FUN?  You just ski 5K or so, shoot at targets, then ski another 5K, shoot some more, repeat until they tell you its over.  The really challenging part is dropping your heart rate quickly so you can shoot straight.  There is a summer training camp in the mountains here where you run and shoot.

Easy run.

Yoga.

Swim.

Track workout.  4X5 minute 5K pace intervals.  I didn't have to do this on the track, but I thought it would be easier to get the right pace.  

PM - an easy five miles before class tonight, on trails in the dark!  

Up in Whistler, BC today, skate skiing.  Two hours and thirty minutes of skating, to be more or less exact!

Longer skating workout today, with 90 minutes of tempo skating.

Back from my skiing trip to Whistler, BC!  No alpine skiing, just skate skiing, and some running.  We had perfect snow conditions, and the trails were perfectly groomed for skating.  I am so impressed with the whole area for nordic skiing!  There is a trail system right in Whistler Village, circling a lake and using woods and part of a golf course.  Must be at least 60k of trails.  Groomed for both classic and skate skiing.  I explored this area the first day, and skated for 2.5 hours.

The second day I traveled about 20 miles south of Whistler and went to the Calaghan Valley, where the 2010 Olympic nordic, biathlon and ski jumping events took place.  What an absolutely beautiful place!  So nice to see it available to the community here after the Olympics.  They've maintained the area as an incredible nordic ski area, with probably 100k of trails at all skill levels.  I skated a "workout" here, warming up for 40 minutes at a low heart rate, then tranisitioning into a 90 minute "tempo" skating session at tempo heart rate, and then finishing with a 50 minute cool down.  My body really felt tired, as if I'd just had an incredible workout, but without ANY muscle soreness or any of the after running feelings.  I felt that I didn't even need to stretch!  

Last day (today) was spent back at the town trails at Lost Lake, skating 2 hours and 15 minutes at easy heart rate, immediately followed by one hour of running.  The transition to running gear took me 15 minutes, very awkward.  The the muscle transition was easy, nothing like switching from bike to run.  Running was very slow, very icy roads, and no yak trax!

Glad to be home, but I will have to visit this winter playground again for more skating soon!  Have a great weekend everyone!

Off!

24 degrees, sunny, clear and DRY!  It doesn't get any better than this.  2.5 hours in and around beautiful Whatcom Falls.  SLOOWWW.

Off to the mountain now to enjoy an afternoon of euro style skiing (groomed runs) and some sunshine with the family.

Yoga class and an easy run.  Strength workout tonight, if I get all my work done.

Early morning yoga, too early to run first, so I had to wait until about 4pm to go running.   Worked all day in my basement studio, with no windows, and I think this really made me tired.  I am not used to getting NO daylight for so long.  If I am to use the basement more, I really need to get a window put in there!

The run was a 50 minute workout with 3 miles at marathon pace in the middle.   

We were supposed to get snow during the night, but, as usual, we didn't.  I was looking forward to this morning's early long run in the snow.  I started at 6:30, finished at 9:00, and went straight to yoga.  I wasn't sure if this was a great idea, to go straight to yoga, but it worked out OK.  I had absolutely no power left in my legs and was unable to jump up into handstand, but other than that, it was sort of reviving to do yoga right after a long run.  The class is supposed to be 1.5 hours, but she kept us an extra 20 minutes!  

I am good and tired right now. 

Day off.  Jogged with hubby.

two hours and 15 minutes on the skate skis.  I was supposed to do a race prep run today for my 5K tomorrow, but I screwed up and didn't sign up for my race tomorrow, so I don't get to run it.  I guess I thought there would be day of race registration.  I am disappointed, since I really have not met my 5K goal this winter, and I wanted one more chance to do it. 

Skiing was fun, though!  We have snow back locally, and its cold and sunny here - just perfect for me.   I did sort of an interval workout on the skis, and went until I could hardly walk.

2 hours.  Very cold with some snow flurries.  Northshore Drive, Whatcom Falls, through downtown to the waterfront, into Fairhaven to breakfast.  

Zero running miles.  It was a rare powder day at Mt. Baker today, snowing hard all day long, and exceptional dry, light powder.  Dry light powder may not seem like anything special to all you Utah folks, but for us it is truly unusual.  Enjoyed the day with my family, hiking and skiing backcountry lines all day!

Easy 40 minutes along the waterfront before yoga.  

Tempo run.  Icy trails!  We must have had some frozen rain in the night.

Resting today; yoga only.

still resting!  A strength workout only.  

An easy run with some 1/2 marathon pace intervals.

Warm up ok.  Race pace OK for the first five miles, and I just couldn't hold it, knew I couldn't hold it, and ran the last 8 miles as the hardest miles I have ever run in my life.  Just slogging along trying to keep going.  I am strangely tired; I was completely out of fuel by mile 5.  Hmmm...

Easy easy skating skiing.  Beautiful day today; sunny and 34 degrees.  Sparkly snow.  Still tired.

Easy miles.

5.68 miles in the am, all easy.  4 miles pm, with 5X3 minute mp intervals.

Easy run in Whatcom Falls.  HR 132.  Rain, wind and colder, just when I thought Spring might be here!

Added a plank workout late this morning.  My daughter is on a campaign to get our "bikini" bodies ready for Hawaii in 10 days.  Yikes!  I didn't realize it was so close.  Sadly, my daughter does not admit that my bikini body was a while ago (years?)

Track workout this morning.  It had to be early, at 5am, because I had yoga at 7 and had to get on the road after that to drive down to Olympia (2.5 hours) and bring some of my son's stuff back up here for Spring quarter.  He will be studying in Panama for 9 weeks and wanted to move his personal things out of his shared house.  We spent HOURS figuring out which back pack to take - the big one or the really tiny one.  Honestly, I don't know how he is going to sleep in a hammock for nine weeks and have only two pairs of underwear, but I am sure he will make it work.  He also has two knives, which just shows the relative importance of these items in his life.  Anyway, he agreed to the larger backpack, because he needed more books and stuff for his field work.  He's very excited about this trip, but I probably won't hear from him much - he is getting a SAT phone for emergencies, but doesn't expect any cell phone service or internet.

I did the assignment for track this morning, then felt frisky, so I added a couple of 400m at 1:40 each.  It was super windy out!  On one side of the track, I was being blown back so strongly that I felt stalled.  I really love fighting the wind this way - its like arm wrestling for control.  I like winning too.

No running today!  A little skate ski instead.  Just an hour and a half, since I really didn't have so much time today,  but worth it all the same.  We have had some new snow and it was still snowing when I got up there at 3pm.

Long run today with MP miles in the middle.  It winded and rained so hard all last night that I couldn't really sleep; the little sleep I had was so disturbed by the wind.  I really thought it would be all over by morning, but no such luck!  We started at 6, with driving rain and 24 mile an hour winds, with even stronger gusts.  So, the warm up bits along the waterfront were a bit rough, but, as usual, once you are out there and wet, you really don't notice it.

I am very happy with this run.  11.5 miles at average pace of 8:26 (mp is 8:20, so a bit off), and some 9:30 average stuff the last five miles.  Managed to consume a lot of fuel and drink a lot of water.  Felt like a strong long run. Next week's long run will be just as long, but fewer MP miles I think. 

I hope everyone is having a good weekend.  The world is so turbulent right now; I am truly wondering where this all leads.  So much chaos.

Recovery day of skate skiing.  

Easy miles.

An easy am run and an afternoon run with mp intervals.

No run today, yoga and a TRX (strength) workout, plus a small swimming practice.

Eary am tempo workout on the track, since it is once again pitch dark at 5am.  Tempo went better than I expected, since I have had a rather tired right hamstring this week.  I didn't think the proper speed would be happening this morning, but by some miracle, I felt great.  T pace was a bit too fast - 7:30 instead of 7:45 (well, a lot too fast, actually).  Kind of hard when its so dark out.  I also think that doing tempo runs on the track results in a gradual speed up.  

Walked for an hour in the pm with my husband, because he put his back out and I think he needs to keep moving when this happens.  We fed the ducks in Derby Pond; they are all paired up now.  I tried to throw duck food only to the females, since they really need it right now, but the boys were very greedy.

Easy miles along North Lake Whatcom Trail with my husband (he walked; I jogged).  A beautiful, sunny and clear morning here!

 I headed straight to the pool after for a swim practice.

I have not been able to keep up on posting, since I've been limited to the use of my Ipad most of this week.  It will be the same starting Wednesday, all the way through April 16!  I'm heading to Hawaii for 12 days, then straight on to Paris for the marathon.  I will be able to check my blog and receive comments, but can only post as a comment to my own blog. 

This "supermoon" has kept me up at night for three nights in a row, and I'm getting tired!  But, it was truly lovely at 6am, still pitch dark outside, with that beautiful moon hanging right over our head for the first hour.  When the sun came up on the other side, they seemed equally bright - just gorgeous.  

Three hours of running, but fewer miles than last week's run, because I only did an hour at MP instead of an hour and a half.  

We ran the first hour on the roads, to get in some pavement miles for our marathon, then went into Whatcom Falls Park for a bit.  No bathrooms open at this hour, so I ran for the bushes as soon as we entered the park.  I was quick, and caught up to my partner, glanced down at my legs and noticed dark streaks.  I figured that somehow I got mud all over me.  My partner looked closer with her headlamp and said it was blood, and sure enough it was!  We could see no reason for it, and I didn't hurt, so we kept running.  But I kept bleeding (a lot!), with long streaks running down and into my socks.  We stopped at a bathroom after 2 hours, and I tried to clean it up a bit, but it just started the blood flowing again.  When I was finally done running and in the bathtub, most of it washed away, but there are some nasty scratches from blackberry bushes around my knees.  I guess even when they are "dead", they still have stickierness to them.  Ugly legs for a few days I guess.  The hazards of dark running!  I am grateful that I didn't sit on any!

No run.  Yoga then swimming practice.

Track workout!  wu, then 6X1mile repeats, alternating between 7:30 mile pace and marathon pace (8:30).  I have done this workout before, and I really love it!

Off to Hawaii in the morning, then on to Paris.  I may not be able to blog, except to record mileage until April 16.

First run in Hawaii!  The heat and humidity really zapped me.

Tempo run.  Getting used to the heat now.

Easy run with strides.

Longer run, with mp bits.

Srength workout and an easy run.

Track workout, only on the road.  Mile repeats, alternating between mp and one mile per minute faster than mp.

Easy run.

Tempo run.  

Easy.

Last longer run.  Some MP.

Easy

Travel day.

Back late last night from Kauaii for Spring Break, so this run did not happen until late in the day.  I haven't been able to blog any of my running in the two weeks I've been gone, but, trust me, I ran.  And tapered.  I am off in the morning to Paris!  Again, I'll be unable to blog while I'm restricted to my Ipad, but if you really have to know, you can find me on facebook (Kelly Krieger).  I will post a report there on the 10th.  Otherwise, I'll be back the 17th!

 Happy Springtime everyone!

Travel

First Paris run!  Jogged to the beautiful Luxemborg Jardin.  3X4 minutes at MP.  Jogged back to apartment.

We were going to do a race prep run today, but decided to forgo it, as we spent quite a bit of time on our feet between going to the expo in one part of the city and practicing our metro trip for race morning, plus all the walking that accompanies that.

  I have spent the last two weeks in Hawaii, tapering and enjoying the sunshine, then flew directly to Paris, stopping for an overnight at home to collect some fresh running clothes.  Needless to say when I arrived in Paris on April 8th, I had no idea what time zone I was in!  We arrived about 3 in the afternoon Paris time, checked into the apartment, and jogged over to Luxemborg Gardens for some marathon paced intervals.  Then dinner in our neighborhood and in bed by 11pm.  We spent the 9th visiting the expo, learning the metro, and rehearsing the metro ride over to the race start.  Since the race begins and ends near the Arc de Triumphe and Place de la Concorde, it was no hardship to go over there anyway; it gave us an opportunity to wander around the courtyards of the Louvre and visit Tuilleries Jardin.  We spent a bit of time walking, so we decided to forego the pre race run on this day.  Instead, we got some carry out food on our way back to the apartment, plus some groceries for the next few days, and tried to go to bed early.  

Race Morning!  Up early, bag packed, and off to the start.  The start is at 8:45, which is pretty strange, and it is clear and warm in the morning.  Already shorts and a light sweatshirt feels pretty comfortable.  Arlane (my running buddy on this trip) and I check bags and agree on a meet-up place for post race, then make our way to the start line, pausing for a few minutes to take a few pictures in front of the Arc de Triumphe.  There are no corrals or anything, but there is an 8:45 pace person, so I get in the pack near that marker.  In just a few minutes we are off and running, amazingly on pace.  I feel packed like a little sardine, and find that I am running a bit defensively, elbows out!  First few miles are a bit off pace, due to rounding the Place de la Concorde and slowing at the tight turns.  I am at 8:40ish for the first two miles. After that, I settle into exactly 8:25-8:30, which is what I am after.  It is surprisingly not that hard even in this crowd; self seeding has apparently worked out pretty well, and everyone around me is running about the same pace.  I try to run as straight as possible and not dodge and weave too much, always keeping the pacer in sight just ahead.  

The crowds on the sidewalks are enormous and VERY vocal!  Really wonderful.  For the first 10 miles, we are running South, down Champs Elleysee and towards a large forrest called Bois de Vincennes.  We pass Notre Dame, Paris Opera House and the Bastille along the way, but my focus is in a sphere about two feet around my body just because of the crowds.  There is a water and refreshment station every 5K, where the water is served in tiny plastic bottles.  My first reaction is that this is a horrible waste of plastic, and it is, but the bottle allows you to grab a bottle and sip it for a mile or so before discarding it.  There are also oranges and bananas AT EVERY AID STATION!  If there is anything in the world that makes me completely sick it is a banana.  I cannot stand the smell of them, so I spent a lot of time near the refreshment stations dodging plastic water bottles, caps, gu cylinders, and banana peels.  I was pretty sure that if I stepped on a banana peel, the race would be over.   I grabbed a water bottle at just about every station, drank it, and, as it got warmer, poured some over my head.  

At the halfway mark, I was at 1:51:something, exactly where I wanted to be!  Pace felt fine, and I was trying to eat a shot block every mile or two.  At about mile 15, I heard "merde!" off to my right, and a 200 pound man fell over right on me, absolutely smashing my right big toe!  It hurt so badly I wanted to cry, and my left arm came up, caught him mid fall and literally threw him off of me!  I didn't even look at where he went, but I imagine him sort of splatted all over the runners behind me.  My toe hurt like absolute hell for about a mile, and the whole thing was a bit scary.  The race at this point was still elbow to elbow, no different from the start really.

I hit my wall at about mile 19, and just felt no fuel left in my legs.  My pace from this point slowed a whole lot, and I finished in 4:05:23, a little bit off of my 3:45 goal.  But of course this is the best marathon I've ever run anyway.  No injuries, no ambulances, just the running!  Just to finish running with everything feeling good was such a hurdle for me.  I obviously need to get in more fuel during a race, but I'll figure that out for next time. 

I didn't even find Arlane at the end, and had no idea if she was ahead of me or behind me, so eventually I just got on the metro and headed home.  There were thousands of people crowding onto the trains, so many that they just opened the gates and let everyone just stream in.  I felt sorry for the few people on the train who hadn't run a marathon; we must have smelled pretty bad!

I didn't think I'd be saying this, but already I am looking forward to the next one!  I won't do a Fall marathon, thought, because I want to focus on biathlon, triathlon and duathlon over the summer, plus mountain biking.   I am looking forward to running speed workouts and doing some track events too.   I will plan another marathon for Spring 2012. 

Just wanted to add a couple of things.  It got very warm on marathon day!  70 plus by finishing time.  I don't think the heat was a factor for me; I wasn't too hot, but was rather surprised that it got so warm.  Also, I ran the marathon in the Saucony Kinvaras!  I have really loved that shoe, but never imagined that I'd run a marathon in such a light shoe.   I don't see any reason to ever have another shoe now.

Just got home from Paris last night, but I was up early, so decided to go meet my bike club for a "rabbit" ride.  Haven't been on my bike in WAY too long, and haven't run or really done much except walk all over Paris for the last 6 days.  Plus a lot of sitting on airplanes.

Anyway, this bike club is determined to kick my butt.  I am the only woman who comes; I will really have to change that.  The goal in a rabbit ride is to try and catch up to the group ahead of you.  Then the last person in that group has to drop back to the group behind.  I started out in the middle group, and was doing pretty good for most of the ride.  I am a pretty strong hill climber, and can usually catch and ditch others on the hills, so that saved me.  I am not very good at the downhills because, duh, all these guys weigh a lot more than I do!  Also, jet lag maybe, but I was toast after 25 miles, and just tried to hang on and draft for the last 7!

I just posted my Paris Marathon report on April 10 blog, if you are interested!

Jet lag sucks!  I haven't slept for days.

But, life goes on.  Yoga this morning, and it felt so good to be back in class after my long absence.  Absolutely delicious.

Track workout this evening.  Warm up, with jogging, drills, etc., then 6X200 at .43, .48, .48, .50, .49, and .43.  Kind of all over the place on my pace tonight.  I guess it is because I am so tired.  Felt good to run a bit fast though.  Cool down on the track.  Short workout.

First brick workout!  I was looking at my training calendar this morning, and realized that I am supposed to do a duathlon near Mt. Ranier Saturday the 30th!  YIKES!  I am not even sure if I registered in time.   Its a 5.2 mile run, a 28 mile bike ride, and then a 3.3 mile run.  Better get ready.

Bike ride this morning was 16.42 miles, average pace of 15.3.  Low heart rate of 137 average.  The effort felt easy, just as it was supposed to.

The run was also at a 137 heart rate.  Stopped only long enough to change shoes and shorts, longer than a racing transition, but enough to simulate going directly from biking to running.  I ran 4.12 miles.

I would like to another (longer) one of these on Sunday, but it is unfortunately an Holy Day for our family (last of lift assisted skiing on Mt. Baker).  Choices are hard.

Early am track workout.  Its almost light enough at 5:30 to not run on the track!  Spring is coming I guess.  Warmed up, did drills, jogged, then 4X400 at 7:30 pace, with 1 minute rest intervals jogging.  Cool down around Western campus and on to yoga.

I picked 7:30 pace because this will be my goal pace for a 5K I'm running this weekend.  I am actually going to try something different on this race, since it is just a social race and sandwiched in between two bike rides anyway.  I am going to start at 7:40, go to 7:30 the second mile, and speed up more the last mile.  Usually on a 5K I go out on pace and try to stay there.  But 5K has not gone so well for me this past winter; it proved too difficult to train for a marathon and speed at the same time, I think.  Anyway, something different!

swimming only.

Decided to run a local 5K this morning.  Amazingly, I was able to keep splits fairly consistent and get a PR!  Splits were 6:59, 7:03, 7:18, and 6:34 (for .1).  Time was 22:04.

I hung around and ate pizza for awhile and then went on to the rest of my workout.  45 minutes on the bike at slightly above easy HR (average HR was 133).  40 minutes of running at easy HR (HR was 140), and then a final 45 minutes of biking at a slightly higher HR than the first bike ride (average was 139).

No running!  Skiing in the sunshine to celebrate Easter and the final day of Mt. Baker with lift assisted skiing.  We have such an incredible amount of snow up there (and more on the way this week), that it seems unbelievable that they are closing!  I see lots of great back country coming up for Spring!

Really slow, easy run with my friend Aeron before yoga.  45 degrees, with a gentle rain, and large black slugs everywhere.  Ran to yoga and darn near fell asleep at the end, during relaxation.  

Happy Monday everyone!

It is the kind of day that is hard indoors!  Nevertheless, I waited until this afternoon to do my bike ride.  Swam this morning, and I'm adding swimming to crosstraining miles now, since I'm officially training for a tri!  I seriously doubt my ability to swim at times; we will see if I can actually pull it off.  I don't mind if I come out of the water mid pack; I'll definitely be able to catch most people on the bike and the run.  My fear is coming out of the water dead last...

Bike ride was a sustained hill workout.  30 minutes wu, 30 minutes tempo effort on the hill, and 30 minutes cd.  Perfect day for it.  I believe Sunday's race has a large hill in it, which I will do twice, since I am doing the longer course.

Things are so busy in my house, with my smallest chick graduating and leaving the nest!  Prom, graduation, gowns, senior projects!  Best for me to stay busy and stay out of the way.  Trying to drop a few tidbits of guidance as I disappear into the background.....

I was planning on riding for 1.5 hours, then transitioning quickly to running shoes for a 45 minute jog.  Instead, I was forced to transition directly into a hot bathtub and give up the running.  After I left on my bike, it began to rain, then the temperature dropped by about 10 degrees and it rained harder.  I was wearing tiny little tri shorts, and thankfully a jacket on top, or I would have frozen to death, instead of just becoming hypothermic.  I do not own any of those little neoprene booties that cover the bike shoes, so I was thoroughly soaked, in shorts, in 37 degrees, with driving rain.  Never have I been so miserable and cold.  Thank goodness my wonderful daughter was home when I finished, so she could take off my shoes and helmet for me and make me hot tea.

It is not yet Spring in Bellingham!

Track workout and yoga.  Tempo run.  One of my goals for summer is to perform better on tempo runs.  I really suck at them.  I will have to slow down to actual tempo pace and run for longer at 7:50ish.

No running today; kind of a "rest" day for Sunday's race.  I swam, rather a lot.  I've started getting real swim workouts now, not just my lazy little drill practices.  So, they are harder, and I actually swim a fair amount.  So, I add the equivalent crosstraining miles for the time actually spent doing lap-like swimming.  I don't count laps that are drills.  Today's workout was challenging, and I really couldn't complete the required laps without stopping.  I am a bit discourage, because I am not used to not completing my workouts well!  I guess I have to look at it as if I am a beginning runner, and take walking breaks.  I WILL get this swimming thing.

Strength workout following swim, focus on arms, abs, and hips.  No leg strengthening stuff.

Just a race prep run, sort of a farlek experience, followed by a strength workout.  Ready, ready, ready for the duathlon!

Lucky me!  The nasty weather we've been having turned quite a bit better for today's race.  I had to drive down to Enumclaw on Saturday afternoon, and just packed all kinds of layers for running and biking, not really knowing what to expect.  I am warm running, and will run in shorts until it is below 32, but I get cold on the bike.  This morning was about 49 and the start and 52 and the finish, so I opted for bike/tri shorts under a pair of capri length running tights, thinking I could strip these off after the bike ride.  I was a little warm in the initial run (5.1 miles).  Average pace here was 7:33.  I felt I could have gone a bit faster, but was trying to hold something back for the bike ride.  I didn't transition particularly quickly to the bike, too much gear to put on.  It felt good to be riding, and the first few miles were easy and flattish.  Then the mountain!  2.5 miles of rather large mountain!  Fun, but slower.  Then the fast downhill to compete lap 1.  I have no particular advantage on long descents (body weight issues), so people were screaming past me.  Not very encouraging.  The second lap was a repeat of the first, but I felt that I was dropping even further behind, although my overall pace of 15.8 was pretty constant across the two laps.  The last four miles, all I could think about was getting back into my running shoes!  I wanted to run so much!  Finally, back at transition area and quickly this time, into running shoes. Forgot my nutrition at this point, since I was so excited to run!  This second run is only 3.78 miles (4k).  My pace started out way too fast (7:00), and I couldn't feel my feet for about two miles, but I finished it at an average pace of 8:09.  AND, the best part was, I passed nearly everyone who passed me on the bike!  Hooray!  For those of you runners who have never run after a bike ride, try it sometime; it is a humbling experience.  And awkward too!

Totally fun race, with bagels, peanut butter, nutella, oranges, lunch meats, drinks, the whole kitchen afterwards.  I really liked that part.  I was so busy stuffing my face that I almost missed my award!  1st in my division, but pretty good overall too I think.  Results are not up on line yet, but my total finishing time is 3:03:something, according to the timing clock, and I am happy with that!

Whoa!  I slept so much last night that it counts as today's workout.  I was super tired after yesterday's race, had a nice dinner with my beautiful and conversationally gifted daughter, watched part of a movie and went to bed.  

I am taking the day off today, except for yoga, which felt great!

Easy "recovery" bike ride.  Rather long, but I wanted to get as much as possible in before the rain starts up again!  Then swimming.  

Wow!  All these "crosstraining" miles and no running at all today.  This triathlon stuff is weird.  Not judgin' it, just sayin', its DIFFERENT!  

I want a long run.

Strength and yoga workout at home this morning.  Used TRX a lot.  

Swim practice for 40 minutes.

Track this evening.  wu, 6X400 at 5K pace (1:24, 1:36, 1:38, 1:40, 1:41, 1:39), cd.

Too bad I didn't ride my bike to the track.

Tired.

An hour of super slow, low heart rate running.  

Group bike ride, with a very intimidating group of riders!  This is just what I need to push myself a little and get faster on the bike.  40 something degrees and absolutely drenching rain - pretty nice for MAY!  I was soaked on my bike in about 5 seconds, but stayed warm enough in my full winter biking gear, except for my feet, which, despite neoprene coverings, were totally numb.  32 miles at an average pace of 16.9/mile! 

Transitioned quickly to the running shoes.  Well, as quickly as I could with frozen fingers.  My cold hands made it impossible to get the wet bike shorts off (I had running capris under), so I just ran in them.  I did get my shoes changed, thank goodness!  I got 5.6 miles of running at an average pace of 8:44/mile.  Loaded up my car with wet gear and went home to a hot bath!

I hope somewhere, some of you are having an actual Spring.

Epic mountain run with 25 other Bellingham moms to celebrate mother's day!  3 + muddy hours on Galbraith Mountain.  Lots of good conversation and excitement.  And for once, a clear and partially sunny day.  The perfect beginning to Mother's Day!  

Happy Mother's Day all of you moms!

Yoga and a longish bike ride.  I am tired, tired, tired.

Skate ski practice on the mountain!  Beautiful sunny day; first sunshine in weeks.  Practicing for the big ski to sea relay race end of May.  I have a fever and feel kind of crappy, little energy, but cannot be on the snow and skis and not smile!

Sorry, haven't been checking in very much.  Kinda depressed.  Was diagnosed with mono on Friday, and have been feeling sick, unhappy, and all that since.  

I was not cut out for this couch lifestyle I am now leading.

a walk AND a yoga class! And a vitamin B12 shot. Still no nap, which seems like a good thing.

Yoga class this morning, Early yoga class, which meant that I woke up early.  Surely a sign I am getting better.  No walk, but I'm going to ride my bike over to my Drs. office later (3 easy miles).  And, I did a mini strength workout just to see how bad things have gotten.  

Pretty bad!  

walked, with some jogging intervals.

A walk in the morning.

Ran for 15 minutes, then walked 5, ran 5, walked 5, ran 5, then went to yoga.  I didn't have to rest at all during yoga, which is progress.

Running felt good. This mini run did a lot to salvage my mojo.

Roller skate skiing out the Northshore Road for one hour.  I am still a bit on the fence about whether or not I can compete in this weekend's Ski to Sea Relay race.  Funny, but on our team of eight people, two are sick, and one is trapped due to Iclandic ash.  Poor team captain, he has back up plans for everything, and he won't know until the last minute.

I had my blood drawn this morning, so having "clean" blood will be one deciding factor for me.  I should know by Thursday whether or not I'll be skiing in the race.  

A little yoga, and just resting up today.  

Yoga this morning, minimal amount of work accomplished, then off to the mountain to practice skate ski for Sunday's relay.  We still have 30 feet of snow on the mountain, and it was snowing today!  I don't believe that it will ever be summer this year.

This is about a 10K course, very very challenging.  I have raced this leg before, so I know that is challenging.  Tons of big hills.  I figured that, even though I have lost much fitness in the past few weeks, and also many muscles, I could gut this one out on determination and technical skill.  

My lungs just could not handle the effort, and I didn't ski today at race effort.  Lungs were hurting, and the hour I spent skiing ended with a huge coughing fit, that lasted until I got into the sauna.  I am canceling my participation in Ski to Sea this year, just doesn't seem like a good idea.

A sad day, but I'd rather give this one up and be able to do some other things that I'd like to do in the next few months.  That's how it works, right?  I trade this one for other things?  I hope so.

Bike ride.  Warm and wet.  Very slow, but the body felt OK.

Track workout - well, a mini one anyway.  Warm up on the track, including .5 miles in barefeet.  I did some intervals at 5K pace, which felt much harder than 5K pace, but didn't cause any excessive coughing or difficult breathing or pain in the lungs.   So, all is good, just some fitness is missing here!  Ready to get it back.

Ran this morning, and rode the new bike this afternoon!  That was fun; the new bike goes faster just by being its fast self; I don't really do anything different, and it goes about 2 miles an hour faster than my other bike (that's a lot on a bike)!  And, that was me still all weak and puny from being sick, so wow, just wait until I am my old self again and strong and really TRYING to ride fast!!!!

It is, however, a whole lot different than my regular road bike, and I think it is best for me to get used to it in small bits.  It feels so different in terms of body position, and it is also a bit friskier to control.   Baby steps.  

We have actual full on sunshine here today, and 70 degrees.  I have been pinching myself all day; still think I might just be dreaming.

A second sunny day in a row!  Started the morning with a ride over to the start of the Girls on the Run 5K Fun Run.  I am not coaching this Spring, so I was a running buddy for one of the girls I coached last Spring.  So much fun to run with her and see how much stronger she has become.  Last year, she walked at least half of the 5K; this year she ran the entire thing, and surprised herself by passing some girls she thought were way ahead of her.  

After that, I did my own little run, and bicycled home.  Busy day, trying to get a lot of gardening done and dealing with the mess the house painters have left around the yard.  They haven't started painting yet, they are just cleaning the cedar shake sides of the house.  I can't remember what that is called, and I keep calling it "waterboarding".  I know that is not right, but the only other word I can think of is sandblasting, and that is not quite right either.  Waterboarding does describe what they are doing.

Two bike rides today.  First bike ride at 8:30 with my bike group.  Wasn't sure my fitness level was up to this ride today, so I dropped back down to a slightly slower group than I usually ride with.  We averaged 16.8 mph for the 32.3 miles.  I felt stronger than I thought I would, particularly since it is a quite hilly route, with some major climbs near the end.

I then met some girlfriends at 11:30 for a more casual ride.  We rode 28.9 miles on flatter terrain, at a slower pace, probably 14.5 mph.  I was good and tired by the end, and had a flat tire 5 miles from the end of our ride!  Between the four of us we had all the proper equipment to change it out, and it only took us 30 minutes!  Clearly, we could all use some practice with bike maintenance.  I was lucky to be with friends who could help.  

It is 76 degrees now!  And we actually have a few more days of "summer" weather ahead, according to the weather forecast.