Trail Smitten Mom: Let the Games Begin!

Favorite wetland view from this morning's sweet bike ride with my daughters

So what's in store for me from today until the next, well, I don't know, say EIGHTEEN weeks? Let the countdown begin! I am officially two weeks away from Hagg Lake 25K trail race, eight weeks away from the Beaver Freezer sprint triathlon, ten weeks away from Corvallis Half Marathon, fifteen weeks away from the Duckbill Thrill Olympic distance triathlon and (drum roll, please!) eighteen weeks away from Boise 70.3! Bring it! It's so good that I'm not a man. I would be engaging in some serious testosterone-enriched chest bumping and primal grunting right now. What can I say? I'm stoked! It's hard to think about anything else.

I've got my horsey blinders on and I see nothing in front of me other than my plans and goals. It's all business here. Each and every workout has an uber-specific purpose. I friggin' love it! I know, I'm no elite athlete or anything but I sure like acting like one. It won't take long for folks to be tired of my self-centered jockish ways. Sorry, I can't go out with you tonight. I have to wake up early for a gazillion mile progression run at time warp speed. Yeah, no. I don't drink. Impacts my workouts too much. Hell no! I ain't eating that! Are you kidding me?! I'd be paying for it at mile nine or lap 26. I really need that extra sleep. Where the hell are my compression socks? Will you give me a massage? Can I please steal a nap this afternoon?

Here's what I did in my final week of unregimented training bliss:

Monday:

6 mile progression run with my half marathon performance group. 2 mile w/u then cut down 20 seconds every two miles finishing with 8:20 pace. Dang, that felt way harder than it should have. Why? Was I still feeling effects from long, fast run? Remember all those LSDs? They are a thing of the past.

Was going to swim 800m but my gym pool had other plans. I don't know all the details but was a bit peeved to discover that the water level was lower than usual and had a hose that sprayed freezing cold water that shot across a lane and into my face. I tried to suck it up or at least dive under the frigid water but after six laps, I just couldn't take it anymore! I retreated to the hot tub. I watched the maintenance guy pace around the pool. I got up enough nerve to ask him if there was any chance he'd kindly turn that (fucking) hose off? He looked at me like I was nuts. "(HELL), no, it would destroy the pump if the water level dropped any further." I didn't quite see the relevance of his argument. Oh well, these things happen. Time to put on my flexibility hat. I was tired from my run anyway.

30 minutes of weight training. "I be up in the gym just working on my fitness" ~Fergie

Tuesday:

unplanned, unscheduled and highly-fretted over rest day. House was a flippin' mess, kids needed attention and the report cards were not going to finish themselves.

Wednesday:

17.2 mile/1hr 10 min bike ride in the sunshine. Used my handy dandy new cadence sensor to keep my RPMs up at/near 100 range. Wow. That little gadget is going to help decrease those slow, luxurious rides.

Life Behind Bars (a sentence I'll take)

Thursday:

6 mile run. w/u, 12X400s at 5Kpace 7:34 min/mi, c/d.
800 m/20 min swim. Came to the conclusion that I need a swim coach to help me move to the next level in terms of form and speed. Recommendations gladly accepted! The two folks that I contacted aren't going to pan out.

Friday:

rest day. I was going to make up for Wednesday's unplanned rest day, but decided what the hay? I want to be fresh for tomorrow's long progression run with group.

Saturday:

9 mile/1hr20min run with my super awesome half marathon training group from whom I'm learning so very much. Nice easy warm up makes the world of difference before cranking it up to marathon, half marathon and then 10k speed. Started at conservative 9:15 min/mi, bumped up every couple miles and finished at 8 min/mi (at Hayward Field nonetheless!) Felt like a million bucks!
45 minute weight training and core session. Skipped what was supposed to be my long swim in order to relieve my hubby from kid-duty. He needed to squeeze in a workout before we took our plus two extra kiddos to the women's college basketball game. Hooyah!

Sunday:

6-1/2 kid-free hours = date afternoon/evening! What might a couple do on a sunny Sunday afternoon? How's about a 29 mile/2hr4min bike ride complete with rolling hills, views of two rivers and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup refuel at half way point? While I'm delighted that my man is getting into cycling, I'm also a little miffed that he had more power on a bike than me after he had run 20 miles just hours earlier. JERK! ;-) The rest of the date is highly confidential, but I will mention that I was so relaxed by the end of it, that I actually took my pulse to make sure I still had one. That was before my Sunday evening glass of red wine. Now that's how you wrap up a week.