A time and place for Garmins

I feel like I should take some time off since I just had a big race on Sunday and give my body a rest. Don't people do that after big races? I remember doing pretty much nothing for a week after my first half marathon, but then again, I was also injured with an awesome case of ITBS. I also took time off after my 2nd half due to yet another injury. Well, I'm not injured, my body feels just dandy, so I'm just gonna keep on movin'.

I hit the trail yesterday for an unexpected 6.1 mile run. Initially, I had asked my man friend, Aaron, to bike with me while I ran so we could still "hang out" and I could get my run in. Well Aaron decided to invite our 2 friends to come along - it was 3 bikers and a runner, a good entourage. The biker's plan was to ride to a bar to have a beer and ride back. As much as a pint at the Archer Alehouse was tempting me, I knew it just wasn't right to drink mid run...so I kept on runnin while they drank.

I ended up running till my Garmin hit 3 and then turned around. I figured they'd catch up with me on bikes after they were done with their libations, but I ended up beating them home. I loved that we all were able to do what we wanted to do and still be together for most of the time.

My legs pretty dang good on the run considering I ran the half on Sunday, just a tad stiff. I was getting slightly frusterated with my slower pace due to stiffness, but then I thought "why can't I just enjoy the run no matter what the pace is?!" At that point I stopped looking at my Garmin and enjoyed every step.

I think there are runs that Garmins are perfect for and some where it should be left at home - do you agree?

It ended, just like that.

It still feels like yesterday. At the beginning of 2010, I started my journey into a year full of races. I had never done anything like it before, but I knew racing, especially triathlon, was something that I wanted to incorporate into my life. Do you ever get so excited about doing something before you actually do it? That was me and triathlon from January - June, it's the only thing I could think about.

I spent January - June training for my 1st triathlon. A simple sprint at Lake Padden. I stuck to my training schedule like glue and thanks to my perseverance, I kicked that race's butt and it only made me want to do more.

So more I did. I was able to complete 2 more sprint distance triathlon's this year plus a big handful of run races and biking events. Looking back on my race schedule for this year I am SO amazed that I fit it all in. So proud, really, of what I can accomplish when I put my mind and body to it. My first year really racing has been an awesome experience, and I'm so grateful that I found a lifestyle that fits me, encourages me and pushes my limits.

I feel like the past 9 months have flown by and my racing year ended, just like that. I'm kind of at a loss of what to do with myself. I don't have any training schedule to follow and I don't have any race to prepare for. I guess my main focus this Fall and Winter will be keeping up my fitness levels in swim, bike and run but also add in non-triathlon related workouts like: body pump, mountain fitness class, more weight training, snowboarding, etc. It should be fun venturing outside the triathlon box for workouts, but I also can't wait to plan out 2011's race schedule and get to training again come January.


Congrats to everyone who has ended a year of racing, you should feel proud. Go ahead, raise that beer and cheers yourself!

Bellingham Bay Half Marathon Recap

Yesterday was an amazing Fall day in Bellingham. Sunny, a ton a people out and about, 73 degrees (a bit warm for a Fall day), just a good day to chill before my half marathon.

Didn't have much planned besides going to get my race packet. My friend Abbey came up here to run the half too (her very first half!), so we hung out, walked around a lot, ate food, drank coffee, napped...it was a great day. Here are some photos:

 

Went to see the salmon swim up Whatcom creek

Saw a few salmon.

Me and Abbey

Walked down to Boulevard via Taylor dock. This is part of the half/full marathon course

I managed to get to bed pretty early, but kept being awoken by the POURING rain. Ugh. I knew today was supposed to be cloudier and a lot wetter than Saturday, so it was making me a little nervous.

We made our way down to the start for the race. A really long 5 minute drive. : ) Could have walked, but I knew I didn't want to walk back afterwords. The weather held up - thank goodness. It was cloudy and cool the whole race which was perfect and at times there was this refreshing mist rain. Great running weather.

Nervous...a little scared...

All of a sudden, it was GO time and we were off! Abbey knew of my sub 2:00 goal, so she was going to try and keep up for as long as she could then just let me go. We stayed together for the first 4 miles or so and averaged a nice 8:40 pace for those first few miles. I was able to keep a sub 9:00 pace until mile 8 or so, but from there things were starting to hurt and my pace was falling. My hips and shoulders were feeling it, I just couldn't run as fast as I wanted.

 

I knew I couldn't keep a 9:08 pace for 5 more miles. I had to be realistic at this point, I knew my sub 2:00 goal was a bit lofty, so I just ran at a pace that was semi-comfortable and kept going. I did take a couple walk breaks - 15 seconds at a time to give my hips some relief.

I finished in 2:05 and change - a 9:28 pace. A bit bummed that I didn't get my goal, BUT that is still an 8 minute PR for me! Yay! I was very happy to cross that finish line, I was hurting. 13.1 miles is freaking LONG way to run. I really have to give props to marathon runners - you people are nuts! : ) 

 

 Abbey didn't end up finishing. : ( She was totally okay with it though, she just needs to train more. She did run 8 miles though! Way to go Abbey!

All done, let's eat!

Doing all these events that test my physical ability really makes me proud of what my body can accomplish. MY BODY JUST RAN 13.1 MILES! Thank you body for allowing me to do that with minimal pain. You are simply amazing.

The rest of today is being spent with compression socks on, water at hand and Entourage on my laptop. Thank you ALL for the good luck notes - I thought of all my bloggie friends when I was having a tough time and you guys helped me push through.

Countdown till half

Ahhhh....Friday....I walked out my door this morning and saw this:

This is what I'm rewarded with for waking up at 'o dark thirty.

Workout yesterday was pretty dang easy - 4 miles on the treadmill and some upper body iron pumping. It is HARD to taper. I want to get in my usual high caliber workouts, but I can't because I'll pay for it come Sunday's half marathon. Must. Rest. Legs.

Since there are 2 full days between me and my race, I need to watch was goes into my body. Biggest thing for me is to limit fiber. We all know what too much fiber before any run can do...yikes. I also need to stay away from spicy foods cause it also has similar effects of fiber. Here is a simple article from Active.com on 5 pre-race nutrition mistakes that I take to heart before a race.

On a different note, my friends went to the Food Co-op here in town the other day and near the cashier, there is a box of stickers meant for little kids to take. Well, they took one for Aaron and me. I love mine:

Aaron's just had two sheep on it. LOL. 

I hope you have a great Friday!

3 Things Thursday

1. I took a rest day yesterday because my fisherman came back into town and I wanted to hang out with him. Honestly, I think it was a good move resting yesterday. My legs feel ready to have a good workout tonight (run, swim, lift) and then rest for the race on Sunday.

2. I'm going to Vegas. I've never been to Vegas and honestly, I never thought I would go because it doesn't look like a place I'd have a lot of fun in. But 3 of my girlfriends and I are going down for a 3 day weekend in the middle of October to 1. have a girley/relaxing weekend 2. to celebrate 2 of our birthdays. None of us are "party" girls or gamblers, so we're going to lay by the pool, go to the spa and see a show while we're there. Now that we've planned it, I'm really excited. Now I just have to get the time off of work...

3. Happy 1st day of Fall! You know what I have marked on my calendar for today? It says "Harvest Ale." That's because Boundary Bay is debuting their Harvest Ale for the Fall TODAY and it is my favorite of their beers. Yes, I love beer so much it earns spots on my calendar... Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be having a pint of it until after my race on Sunday because I don't want to drink these few days before the race. It'll be a good way to celebrate after the race though. : )

How do you celebrate after a hard race? Do you eat somewhere yummy? Treat yourself to a massage? Please share!

Feeling good, feeling great, how are you?

Guess that song?

After the Century ride on Sunday (thank you for all the awesome comments, by the way), my legs were feeling it on Monday, so I kept things chill. I do have a half marathon this Sunday, so my workouts will be low key this week so I can keep my legs fresh for the big day. I ran 3 miles at the Y then did some upper body weight lifting. I also went for a nice 20 minute walk through my neighborhood.

Today, I ran 6 miles at my desired race pace for Sunday. I ran 6 miles at an average of 8:55. I really hope I can hold this pace for another 7.1 miles this weekend…Hold the phone! I just did some calculations and I’m realizing that in order to get just under a 2:00 half, I need to keep a 9:09 pace, not under 9:00. Phew! Little bit of pressure of the shoulders!

You know if you haven’t done something in a long time, it is hard to get going with it again? Well that is me and swimming right now. I’ve swam diddlie squat this month and last and because of that, I’m finding it really hard to put on my suit and go to the pool. I know I need to keep swimming to keep all the fitness I’ve gained this year, but now that I’m a little out of shape, I’m afraid to see HOW out of shape I am. You follow?

Anyway, I went to the pool tonight and the minute I hopped in, it felt AMAZING. I secretly love the smell of chlorine and the temperature of the pool was perfect. I took it easy and did 10 x 100. I plan on building on that as soon as my body refamiliarizes itself with swimming. My lats are hurting! In a good way though. :)

So I’m just feeling great today. My workouts were radical, I ate healthy, my work day was super duper productive. I sure hope tomorrow is as good as today.

Some other items:

• Tressa reminded me of the Jog for Joubert virtual 10K race coming up in the beginning of October. I’ve registered – it’ll be my first virtual race.
• I added some photos to my About Mego page because I love to see pictures of myself on the internet…. : )

Have you done a virtual race? Do you feel more or less competitive?

Curry Lentil Soup

In effort to save money and eat healthier, I've made a small list of easy go-to meals that I can plan to make, so I don't eat junk instead.

One recommended recipe from a Twitter friend is Curry Lentil Soup. Since it is very "Fall" in the Pacific Northwest right now, soup is a perfect meal. This one has a balance of veggies, carbs, fiber and protein all in one bowl! It has a little spice kick, which I love and the best part: it will feed me for 8 meals! Plus, I only spent $16 on all the ingredients. $2 a meal? I'll take it. I could make it a bit fancier by adding shredded chicken to it.

Note: I will never turn this blog into a food blog, but I will however post food from time to time.

Check out the recipe here off of Epicurious.com

 Big pot 'o soup

I put spinach in this serving and I wished I hadn't. The only green I see going in this soup is maybe some cilantro.

Chuckanut Century

I got a FREE entry into the Mt. Baker Bike Club’s Chuckanut century from Lorne Rubis. He is the CEO at my work, but he also has a side project which actually sponsored the event. Check out his site at www.lornrubis.com.

I met up with 6 others at Boundary Bay Brewery to start the ride. We all didn’t know how long we were going to ride, just play it by ear. There were some dark clouds in the sky, but no rain yet. *knock on wood*

We did the south loop which took us down into Skagit County on many roads I have ridden before here and here. There was a gnarly headwind going out – we were only holding paces of 13mph or so. LAME! But alas we turned around and the headwinds turned into tailwinds and we FLEW – 21mph averages!

When we came to the last rest stop, we all decided to just do the metric century – 62 miles. Just a note on the rest stops – they had GREAT snacks: licorice, bagels, grapes (my fave), brownies, bananas, chocolate covered pretzels, etc. SO GOOD.

We were headed back with about 10 miles to go and the sky opened and it just POURED. I couldn’t have been wetter if I jumped in a lake. I was already tired, so being wet too, I was plain ‘ol miserable. MISERABLE! I’m not gonna lie, there was one point going up a hill that I had to choke back a tear because I was so over it. I hate feeling that way when I’m doing something I normally love.

But we finished of course. I was so ready to go home that I didn’t even exchange my ticket for a FREE Boundary Bay IPA! If that doesn’t tell you how awful I felt, I don’t know what will. This was my last biking event for the season, so I’m going to take some time off the bike and try to build up my love for it again.

I don’t know if it was because I was untrained for this ride or the fact that it was raining, but it made me think a lot of negative thoughts about my ability to ride. There aren’t many long rides that I’ve been on that have been really good. I’m always so crappy feeling at the end of them. Maybe I don’t ride enough to get to the point where long rides are a breeze, but right now I can honestly say that I don’t want to do a long distance ride (over 30 miles) for awhile.

Part of the Mt. Baker Hill Climb

Hi! Lets take a step back to yesterday, shall we? I woke up early and when to spin at the Y for an hour before work. I had never been to this spin instructor’s class and I wasn’t the biggest fan. Oh well, she got me sweating.

After work I was going to go for a run, but then made plans to do part of the Mt. Baker Hill Climb Saturday morning, so I decided I needed to rest and not run. Instead Team Sweat got together to drink wine and eat cheese. Awesome!

Woke up and drove up to Glacier, WA to meet Kirsten for a bike ride. The Mt. Baker Hill Climb is a 24 mile bike ride that takes place on Sept 12th and climbs 4,100 feet to Artist’s point at Mt. Baker. Since I knew I had my century tomorrow I didn’t want to burn out so we did 15 miles up the highway then turned around.

The climb up took 1:21. The decent took 47 minutes. It was a perfect Fall day – slightly misting, a little foggy, cool and the best part – no cars! Since it was a “Fall day” there weren’t a lot of people making the trip up the hill to go on hikes and such, which made the ride very peaceful.

Kirsten and I plan to do the whole climb in a couple weeks. We only climbed about 2000 feet in 15 miles. The next 10 miles hold a lot of elevation gain and are the toughest part of the ride…I know I can do it though even if I only have 2 chain rings….

I might go for a light run this evening, but want to keep my legs fresh for tomorrow’s century ride. Crossing my fingers that the weather is much like today’s…

Hope you’re enjoying your weekend. Later Gators.

3 Things Thursday

Is it already Thursday again?! I'm not complaining, it just means tomorrow is FRIDAY!

Here are the 3 things of today:

1. I'm building a good list of yummy, healthy dinners. I want to have a go-to list, so when I can't figure out what to make for dinner, I'll have my handy list to resort to. I'm also going to start planning a few meals a week. Aaron and I aren't very good at planning, so when it comes time to make dinner, we can't think of anything and just end up eating out. Don't get me wrong, I love eatting out, but my figure and wallet don't always love it.

Do you have any healthy dinners you can share?

2. Body is feeling alright after yesterday's 11 miler. I used my stick to run over my hurt calf and I think that did the trick. I iced it a bit too. The Stick is wonderful - it makes it "hurt so good!"

3. I'm returning my Zensah compression sleves I purchased last Saturday. They don't feel tight enough. I'll probably go with CWX socks instead. Any suggestions on compression socks/sleeves? I want 'em TIGHT!

Long run Wednesdays

Thank you everyone for the great comments on my eating dilemma. Got some ideas on how to conquer my junk food mountain.

One way to conquer it is to run long runs and burn a ton of calories which is exactly what I did today. 11 long miles. If I averaged 100 calories a mile, I burned 1,100 calories. Dang! But my body hurts too much right now to even think about doing that everyday, so I’m gonna keep trying to work on that nutrition thing and leave running 11 miles a day to Marathon Maiden.

I had the pleasure of running today with my friend Caitlin and her friend. Caitlin is fast and is training for the Bellingham Bay Marathon to qualify for Boston. Luckily, she needed to get in a mid-range run at a slower tempo, so it worked out for the both of us. I’m very thankful for her because 1. She is SO motivating 2. She hydrates properly which forced me to hydrate 3. She knows a lot about running, so she’s a great resource 4. because she is awesome.

The run itself was meh. To quote Jim Carrey in my favorite movie Liar, Liar, “I’ve had better.” I ate a small amount of cereal pre-run that caused side ache and other stomach issues and the Raspberry Hammer gel I had at 5.5 was good, but had a horrible after taste. So the first 2/3 of the run was me trying to fight the urge to puke.

The last 1/3 brought pain. I must of strained my left calf in my efforts to run a fast 5k on Sunday cause it didn’t like 11 miles at all. I am now slightly limping…but icing! To balance things out, my reoccurring blister on my right big toe decided to go full blown on this run even with gobs of Body Glide. Must purchase mole skin.

Yes, we all have bad runs sometimes and then life goes on. I’m still happy with my time: 11 miles in 1:40 which is a 9:08 pace. If I can sustain this pace or go slightly faster for 2.1 more miles, I’ll be able to run a sub 2:00 half marathon in 10 days. Is it possible? Probably. But anything under 2:13 will be a PR for me, which I KNOW I can do.

What is your most favorite movie to quote? I LOVE Liar, Liar and Waynes World.

bento box = action shots

Hi Bloggies. I just got back from a fun little bike ride with Team Sweat. Rebecca and I rode the Lake Samish Loop backwards and ended up getting in about 26 miles.

It was a lovely night, albeit a short one with the sun setting around 7:20 and it felt nice to get out on the bike. I put my Bento Box on the bike and brought my camera along for some action shots. Not really safe, but I ensured no cars were around. : )

Team Sweat in action! 

Samish way up to Lake Padden

Lake Samish

 

Going toward Lake Samish State Park

Rebecca. Love her purple leggings!

Having tons of fun, of course! I need new "sporty" shades...maybe some Ryders??

 

Love Lake Samish.

So it was a good ride. I think we averaged 14.5 mph which is okay considering the hills on that route.

Before I left on the ride I wrote up a whole post on how I have been eating really crappy and since I've been putting in less workout hours, I have gained a few lbs. Nothing that anyone could notice, but I do. I didn't publish the post because I thought I was being too whiny and making excused for eating tons of sweets and drinking a boat load of beer over the last month - you guys don't need to read that. So I'm trying to figure out a way that'll get me eating healthy all the time and lay off some of the beers and sweets. Any suggestions?

knee pain?!

Hi!

My daily sweat consisted of a 5 mile treadmill run at the Y. Hadn't planned on 5 whole miles after my harder runs this weekend, but it happened. I got to wear my sweet new shirt I got from the 15K too. I ran the 5 miles pretty slow, I didn't feel a need to go fast, just wanted to run and sweat a bit.

 I just wanted to show you the shirt...but I know this looks like a picture of my chest...dang...

After the run I did some weight lifting and when I was doing the leg press, I noticed my right knee starting to hurt when I pushed out. Weird. I finished up my other workouts and then went to do some squats and oh my was that a bad idea. When I tried to push up I got this horrible pain below the knee cap toward the outside. I tried to squat again. Pain again. Oh no, what did I do?!

I came home and was baking pumpkin chocolate chip walnut bread (I know you want some) and squatted down for something and it hurt AGAIN! AH! I'm going to do a little icing tonight and see what it feels like in the AM. I can't get injured now, I just have 2 more events to finish...THEN I'll welcome injuries...well not really, but you know...

I'm off to ice and eat my pumpkin bread, but I'll leave you with this great video about the town in which I live in - Bellingham. Bellingham State of Mind.

Aflac Iron Girl 5K

I am so pooped. 2 races and 2 round trips from Bellingham to Seattle in 3 days has taken it all out of me this weekend. BUT I had a great time, so all the running around (literally) was worth it.

This morning I joined about 2500 other women and girls to run a fun 5K around Greenlake in Seattle. If you aren’t familiar with the Iron Girl series of races, they are women only events and they promote the greatness of being a girl! Girl Power! They are great events for people that aren’t comfortable in “serious” race situations, but still want to get out there and get active.

Kim, Bri, and Jenny – pre race

My sister organized a group so we had me, 2 of my sisters, my mom, my friend Bri and some of my sister’s co-workers. We all split up though for the actual race because we were all at different paces.

These events are FANCY! Tons of swag, post race breakfast, table with flowers on them to sit at, the works!

 
Family! Kim, Lindsay, Mom and Me

Me and my great friend Bri

HUGE Aflac duck!

To start the race we were all put into a coral based on paces. However, there were SO many women that I couldn’t get up to the 9:00 area, so I was back in the 10:00 area. Mistake. My goal was to run a sub 25 minute 5k, but my poor placement in the coral didn’t allow me to do so.

The Aflac duck yelled “AFLAC!” and the race was off! I tried to weave through the slower paced people and finally just popped out of the actual course and ran on the outside of the cones. I knew I needed to make up time, so I just ran. Didn’t know if I could maintain that fast of a pace for 3.1 miles, but I didn’t care at that point. I just wanted to run and run fast.

I ran pretty much as fast as I could without hitting a wall for the entire 3.1 miles and boy did it feel good. I ended up finishing in 25:22. Dang! Next time I’ll make sure to get farther up in the coral so I don’t have to weave my way through people. But all-in-all I was happy with my hard push the whole time. Mile 2 and 3 were sub 8:00! Killer!

Finish chute

After race with our sweet medals. : )

After I finished, I started running the course backwards because I wanted to cheer on my sister and my mom. I found my mom and walked the last .5 miles with her. This was my Mom’s first event – I’m really happy that my mom and 2 sisters were able to do this together, it was a lot of fun to have my family at my kind of event. : )

Me and my Momma!

Now it is time to relax and mentally prepare for another work week. What did you do this weekend? I’ve read some of your blogs and a few of you had some fun races – way to go!

Fairhaven Runners Waterfront 15K

What a fun race! This was my first year doing the 15K and I had a great time.

I allowed myself ample time to grab a coffee, find parking, grab my packet, pee, etc. I hate being rushed on race days. The weather couldn't have been better - sunny with a slight cool breeze - a perfect Bellingham morning.

 Have to have my coffee and H2O

Fairhaven Village Green

You can see from my times below that I started off pretty fast, well, fast for ME. I was pacing off my friend Christie because I knew she could hold around an 8:30 pace the entire time. The first 6 miles FLEW by and that's when I started to think "how much farther?" thoughts. When I start to think like this it means I'm getting tired. Holding those sub 9:00 paces were catching up with me. I took at Hammer Gel at mile 6 - vanilla! Yum!

I lost Christie at about mile 7 and realized I would not be able to make my 1:20 goal. This goal was unrealistic. I chose that time based off of 9 miles not the additional .3 I had to run.  Although I knew I wouldn't make 1:20, I still pushed as hard as I could to finish near that time. I had a lot of luck choosing someone to pace off of and then eventually passing them - this seemed to keep me going.

I sprinted toward to the finish line and was done. Just like that. The whole event felt SO quick. That's the great part of organized races, right? They seem to fly by compared to training runs.

Mile splits:

Mile 1: 8:31
Mile 2: 8:30
Mile 3: 8:19
Mile 4: 8:35
Mile 5: 8:51
Mile 6: 9:08
Mile 7: 9:30
Mile 8: 8:59
Mile 9: 9:13
Mile 9.3: 8:45
Total: 1:22:24

These times are off my Garmin. I'll be curious to see what my official chip time is.

Had a few friends do the race too and everyone did great. I hung out with Diana from Diana-Tries-a-Tri for a bit too.

Pre-race with Diana

Finish area

Dang hat shades my face so well you can't see me..I guess that is what it's supposed to do...

Me and Diana after race

Now I'm blogging in my UW shirt (GO DAWGS!) and sporting my new compression sleeves. I'm curious to see how well they help me recover. Are they supposed to be super duper tight? Cause mine aren't and I got the smallest size...

I'm headed BACK down to Seattle for my Aflac Iron Girl 5k tomorrow. I love these back to back races! Let's see if my legs do... Have a good Saturday

September 11th

Non "Daily Sweat" related post...

I seriously can't believe that 9 years ago 2 planes crashed into the World Trade Center. 9 years ago. I'll always vividly remember what I was doing when I first found out what had happened. I think we all will.

Today we can take time and remember those who were courageous enough to help people, risk their lives and even give their lives that day in 2001. And we can remember those people that were unfortunate enough to be in the buildings at that time. And to all the families that lost a loved one, and the friends that lost friends, my heart goes out to you.

9/11 We will never forget.

Source

lunch boxes for bicyclists

I swear I hit publish on this last night...

Good evening! I've had a good day today besides the fact that Aaron has left for Westport to fish for albacore, so I'm lonely yet again. Well, I'm lonely, but when he is gone, I don't feel guilty working out for hours and leaving him behind. So on that note, I went for a bike ride.

Team Sweat met up for our seemingly regular Thursday night ride. We decided to take it easy because I do have to run a 15k day after tomorrow. We had a nice tail wind for the first 10 miles which made us easily hold 19-20mph. Seriously, I didn't feel like I was pushing at all. Of course on the way back, we got the head wind. We did about 20 miles in 1:15? Something close to that anyway.

Team Sweat and a couple other friends are riding the Chuckanut Century a week from this Sunday and we signed up for the 124 mile route... Last time I rode any distance over 20 miles was STP 2 months ago. Needless to say, I may either take it slow or do the 100 mile route.

Earlier, Aaron told me that I needed to go to UPS and pick up a package. A package of what?! Presents?! My sweet boyfriend bought me a Bento Box! If you don't know, Bento Boxes are bike bags that attach to your stem and top tube, so you have a bag right in front of you rather than under your saddle. And he got me a red one to boot to match my bikes! The package says "mini lunch box for cyclists." LOL.

I had mentioned to him that Bento Boxes are great for longer rides because they are accessible while riding. I'm pretty sure he only bought it for me because he liked the name of it... Anyway, they're perfect for carrying Hammer gel, my phone/camera, money, etc. I also like them because if I don't want to wear a bike jersey, I don't have to because I have space to put stuff I'd usually carry in the jersey. Thanks Aaron!

Alright blogtown - enjoy your evening. Go relax.

3 Things Thursday

1. I ran 10 miles yesterday. Yes, it can be done all by yourself with out an iPod. Miles 1-8 were a-ok, but I definitely struggled with 8-10. I think it was a combination of starting too fast in the beginning miles and just being on my feet for 1:30, but by the time 8 miles rolled around I was feeling it big time. I stopped for water/Gu chomps at mile 5 and 9 which helped a lot. Today, my body feels okay - my feet hurt most of all.

This may have not been the smartest thing to do 3 days before I run a 15k race, but I needed to get a longer run in and I'm confident that resting today and tomorrow will prepare my legs for another 9.3 miles.

2. My fisherman is leaving AGAIN. At least this time he will be in the state of Washington. But he is still leaving and that is no bueno.

3. Tomorrow I am attending my good friend's Mother's funeral service. I've known my friend since 5th grade and grew up around her Mother a lot. She was a kind, caring and loving person and I am so sad that she is gone. I really can't even wrap my head around what my friend is feeling - I can't imagine loosing my Mother at the age of 25. And it is all because of cancer. Cancer ruins SO many lives and it really makes me angry that a good portion of people experience one form or another of cancer throughout their lives. Cancer does not do any good. I refrain from using any profanities on my blog because I don't like to use them, but I can't help but say F cancer.

Opening up on the bike

Good evening friends. Don't you love starting a work week on a Tuesday rather than a Monday? I do!

To start off the week on a positive, yet sweaty note, I woke up and ran 5 miles at the Y. It felt so nice to knock those miles out before 6:30am. I've really noticed the shortening of the days lately, and I'm not a fan of running by myself in the dark, so I'm just fine with the treadmills at the Y.

I thought this workout might set a healthy tone for the day, but somehow I ended up eating a half of a Costco chicken bake for lunch and quickly wished that I hadn't. All those things are is bread and cheese. Yuck. I won't be eating one of those ever again. I need to remind myself that although I ran 5 miles this morning it does not give me the go ahead to eat whatever I want....

After work it wasn't raining so I hopped on my bike and went for an 18 miler. Completed in 1:09. That seems to be a good bike mileage for me lately. I did a few pick ups during the ride and I really felt like I laid out everything I had for a good 30 seconds or so. Gosh, that felt amazing. Just go all out, nothing left at the end, push those legs harder and harder. I probably did 4 of those, but they pooped me out. I need to incorporate more of those pick ups on the rides - I know they'll improve my speed.

WORST sweaty helmet hair picture ever! If you think you can beat this, show me! Even better that I'm making a freaky face... Maybe we should have a contest: "The worst sweaty helmet hair" LOL

Or is this one worse? 

New pump installed on bike - thanks to Aaron who figured out I could have both my pump AND waterbottle

Pump sits nicely below waterbottle causing no interference with pedaling.

Nighty night. See you tomorrow after my 10 mile long run. Wish me luck

beer and 7 milers

Yesterday I woke up and was determined to get in a run. Although I swam on Saturday morning, I didn't feel that fulfilled my need for working out. I needed to RUN!

I set out on a trail I have ran before - a BEAUTIFUL trail that goes on the west side of Lacamas Lake in Camas. I've ran trails in a lot of different places, but I absolutely LOVE this trail. I don't know if it is because its fairly flat with some small ups and down or the fact I'm running next to the lake or just the plain old beauty of it. I have enjoyed every run I've ran on it. I almost feel like I'm in a picture of a Rave Run out of Runner's World, it's that awesome.

I didn't have mileage planned, but once my Garmin friend rolled 3.5 miles I realized I would have to run back those 3.5 miles and 7 miles sounded like a good run, so I turned around. I ran it at a 9:06 pace - pretty happy with that. My last 7 miler though was run at sub 9:00 pace. Meh...I ran 7 miles, I should just be happy with that no matter what the pace.

Later in the day Aaron and I headed to Portland with no plans. We usually have to hit up the same spots we like: REI, Stumptown, 1 brewery (either Bridgeport, Rouge or Deshutes) and Powell's Books.

I picked up a bike pump at REI because I've been nervous that I'm going to get a flat when I'm out riding myself. The pump I got can attach to my bike - HANDY!

And at Powell's I purchased Once a Runner, which I've been wanting to read for some time and I found a used copy for cheap!

We did stop at Deshutes for a beer and lunch. I tried their Amber Dawn beer which I would compare to a Harvest ale/Amber ale. Not as bitter as I usually like my beer, but good nonetheless.

Didn't get a run or ride in today because it was pouring when we got back up to Bellingham, lame excuse I know. I have my bag packed for the gym tomorrow AM and will try to get in a ride or swim after work.

Swimming is hard

Happy Labor Day weekend! I'm around a lot of Canadians a lot, and I ALMOST spelled that "labour."

Anyway, I'm down in Camas, WA for the weekend, which is pretty much just across the river from Portland. Aaron and I made the long drive last night - we pretty much covered all of I-5 in the state of Washington... We got to Aaron's parent's house around 10:30 and didn't make it to bed until 11:30. I really can't remember the last time I stayed up to 11:30 - I'm NOT a night person.

I still woke up this morning to go swim although I was tired. I knew I'd feel better after, plus I haven't been swimming I knew I'd feel guilty if I didn't go. Aaron's mom was taking a water aerobics class, so I went with her to her pool to swim laps.

We went to the Marshall Center in Vancouver, WA which has a really nice pool that I've been to before. I really like it because it's 25 meters long - compared to the Y's 20 yard pool. I swam 1600 meters with a few kick and pull drills. I could definitely feel the lack of swimming in my breathing and shoulders. Those 1600 meters pooped me out - in a good way. I GOTTA keep up with my swimming because I don't want swims to be this hard every time.

Not too much planned for the rest of the weekend besides running and going to Portland at some point. Oh and drinking some wine. : ) Peace out bloggies!

Sore body

We made it to Friday!

Last night Team Sweat (Rebecca and I) reunited for a much needed bike ride. I rode like 4 measly times in August, so September is the month to ramp that up. I had a time constraint, so I rode out 35 minutes then turned around to get home. I ended up doing 18 miles in 1:09, averaging 15.4mph.

Since we were time constrained, we decided to do a harder ride and went south. Basically, it's not steep climbing, just gradual climb most of the time, then a nice downhill on the way home. Still working hard though.

My legs felt good on the bike - strong. Although I didn't ride a lot in August, I still feel good on hills. Thank goodness!

This morning though, I awoke to semi-sore legs and upper body. I lifted before the bike ride yesterday and my legs must be feeling the ride a bit. I still got out of bed and went to the Y for an early morning run. Nothing amazing, just 3.5 miles on the treadmill. Since Aaron and I are going down south tonight, I won't have time to get a sweat sesh in, so I needed to do it this morning.

My body now feels a little worked and I love that feeling - it seems like I haven't felt this way in a long time and I miss it. It is a feeling of accomplishment. I like that everytime I get up from my desk, I can feel all my hard work in my legs.

How are you getting active this weekend? Please share!