Hoorray it's Saturday! And another 3 day weekend at that. It's so nice to have some extra time to call my own. And what am I going to do with that time? Train and sleep, essentially. Oh, and have some fun, too.
Here's a little update on what I've been up to. Wednesday night I headed over to GF for a little running and some sit ups and push ups. I find that I won't make myself do it on my own, so it's good to keep going. I had to cut out early since it was my roommate's birthday, and we had a night on the town planned. It was entirely too much fun.
Thursday I spent recovering....
Friday night was another Adventure Run, and my teammate and I picked up another recruit, so there were 3 of us, and were cruising through the woods checking off controls like we were old pros. Well, that might be a slight exaggeration - huffing and puffing up hills to keep up with the boys might be a better description! The good news was, this week we weren't last!
This morning it was off to a 5 mile race through apple orchards and corn mazes. There were 4 of us, and we agreed to keep the pace "leisurely." Ha! It wasn't a PR, but the pace was definitely not leisurely! Especially with the all out sprint to the finish... It was a lot of fun, and the day turned out spectacular. The weather forecasted was for 40's and rain, but the morning brought clear blue skys and plenty of sunshine. I think it's going to be a great weekend! Until next time...
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Friday, October 21, 2005
Race Finish Times
5k
April Fools Race - April '04 26:45
8k
Minnetonka - June '04 40:10
Run for the Apples - October '05 47:3?
10k
Healthy Kids - May '04 52:26
Legends - July '05
10 Mile
Freedom - November '04 1:24
Freedom - November '05 1:21:57
1/2 Marathon
Urband Wildlands - August '04 1:55:35
Earth Day - April '05 1:55:31
Big Woods - October '05 2:01
Marathon
Honolulu - December '03 4:43
Twin Cities - October '04 4:09
Bayshore - May '05 4:38
Triathlons
Turtleman - August '05 3:09
1 mile swim 37:42
t1 2:04
25 mile bike 1:51:29 (flat actual 1:15)
t2 2:04
5 mile run 44:12 (8:40 pace)
Square Lake Long Course - September '05 6:48:37
1.2 mile swim 43:39
t1 3:32
56 mile bike 3:28:15 (16.3 avg)
13.1 mile run 2:30:19 (11:29 pace)
April Fools Race - April '04 26:45
8k
Minnetonka - June '04 40:10
Run for the Apples - October '05 47:3?
10k
Healthy Kids - May '04 52:26
Legends - July '05
10 Mile
Freedom - November '04 1:24
Freedom - November '05 1:21:57
1/2 Marathon
Urband Wildlands - August '04 1:55:35
Earth Day - April '05 1:55:31
Big Woods - October '05 2:01
Marathon
Honolulu - December '03 4:43
Twin Cities - October '04 4:09
Bayshore - May '05 4:38
Triathlons
Turtleman - August '05 3:09
1 mile swim 37:42
t1 2:04
25 mile bike 1:51:29 (flat actual 1:15)
t2 2:04
5 mile run 44:12 (8:40 pace)
Square Lake Long Course - September '05 6:48:37
1.2 mile swim 43:39
t1 3:32
56 mile bike 3:28:15 (16.3 avg)
13.1 mile run 2:30:19 (11:29 pace)
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Tuesday
Another beautiful Minnesota afternoon, breezy, clear, low 70s. So I decided to give my running legs a break, and I headed out on the bike.
It was more than a little breezy - it was downright windy! My usual ride into Watertown, about 4 miles which takes me maybe 15 min on a good day, took me over 18 min, and an average speed of 15 mph.. feeling out of shape on the bike, I turned for home - You've gotta' love a tail wind! I was now cruising at 20 mph, and was back home in 14 min... The ride home was entirely too much fun. I wish all my rides were as fun as the return trip was today.
Then I headed back to the pool - first time in 2 weeks... So much for my goals of getting there twice a week... After 800 yards, my arms were on fire, and my legs felt like lead... So I called it a day. My arms may have been more tired than usual after throwing around 80 bales of hay today at work...
It felt like a decent workout night all in all.
It was more than a little breezy - it was downright windy! My usual ride into Watertown, about 4 miles which takes me maybe 15 min on a good day, took me over 18 min, and an average speed of 15 mph.. feeling out of shape on the bike, I turned for home - You've gotta' love a tail wind! I was now cruising at 20 mph, and was back home in 14 min... The ride home was entirely too much fun. I wish all my rides were as fun as the return trip was today.
Then I headed back to the pool - first time in 2 weeks... So much for my goals of getting there twice a week... After 800 yards, my arms were on fire, and my legs felt like lead... So I called it a day. My arms may have been more tired than usual after throwing around 80 bales of hay today at work...
It felt like a decent workout night all in all.
The start of another week
Somehow the last few days have managed to slip away, and I've gotten slow on keeping up on my blog...
The good news is that I have gotten some fun and good training in since last wednesday.
Friday night was a fun adventure run in the dark. We had to find these points on a map using a compass and headlamps to get around. My teammate and I came in dead last... but we had fun, and probably ran close to 3-4 miles. It's totally different running trails in the dark, especially when you don't know your way around!
Saturday morning it was off to Nerstrand/Big Woods for a half marathon on trails. Having not gotten in a long run over 10 miles in three weeks, and not having ran a half marathon distance since Square Lake, I wasn't feeling overly prepared. Plus I was slightly sleep deprived (my own fault... but we'll leave those stories for another blog!!) My goal was to simply run the distance, maybe keep a 10 min/mile pace, and enjoy the woods in the autumn.
I started out at about 9:30 miles, and felt good, after about 3 miles, and leapfrogging through the crowd (and nearly getting hit by a deer - no joke!) my pace slowly started to increase, and I found myself running 8:30's when I could and 9 min/miles as the terrain got more challenging. I was a little nervous as I clicked off the miles, and found myself ahead of some of the other people I knew. I wasn't sure how much I had in my "tank" and didn't want to totally crash the last few miles. I felt myself starting to run out of steam at about 10 miles, and decided that I would hold onto what ever pace I could to take it in the last 5k. I ended up running it in with another triathlete who'd been running near me all race, and we struck up a conversation, and soon enough we were on our way up the road to the finish line outside a church. I finished in 2:01. I was so happy with that. It's not a PR, but for trail conditions and not being prepared, I felt I ran a strong race. It was a gorgeous day with blue skys and sunshine - cool temps before the race started, warming to the 60's probably. It was a fun morning. Then it was off to work for the remainder of the day... no post-race savoring of your acomplishment...
Sunday was a busy day, with being at work at 6:30 am, getting off later than expected, and plans that afternoon, my training went out the window.
Monday I went for a "therapy" run - and it was great. Another beautiful day, but very windy. I plugged into my MP3 player, grabbed Henry's leash, and ran until I decided to turn around. I didn't have much time, so it was only just over a half an hour, but I came back with a much better lease on life. It was great. It was one of those days that reminds you why you love to run, and why you keep getting out there day after day.
Well, another beautiful afternoon is beckoning -- maybe it'll be a bike ride and swim... so I'm off to seek inspiration.
The good news is that I have gotten some fun and good training in since last wednesday.
Friday night was a fun adventure run in the dark. We had to find these points on a map using a compass and headlamps to get around. My teammate and I came in dead last... but we had fun, and probably ran close to 3-4 miles. It's totally different running trails in the dark, especially when you don't know your way around!
Saturday morning it was off to Nerstrand/Big Woods for a half marathon on trails. Having not gotten in a long run over 10 miles in three weeks, and not having ran a half marathon distance since Square Lake, I wasn't feeling overly prepared. Plus I was slightly sleep deprived (my own fault... but we'll leave those stories for another blog!!) My goal was to simply run the distance, maybe keep a 10 min/mile pace, and enjoy the woods in the autumn.
I started out at about 9:30 miles, and felt good, after about 3 miles, and leapfrogging through the crowd (and nearly getting hit by a deer - no joke!) my pace slowly started to increase, and I found myself running 8:30's when I could and 9 min/miles as the terrain got more challenging. I was a little nervous as I clicked off the miles, and found myself ahead of some of the other people I knew. I wasn't sure how much I had in my "tank" and didn't want to totally crash the last few miles. I felt myself starting to run out of steam at about 10 miles, and decided that I would hold onto what ever pace I could to take it in the last 5k. I ended up running it in with another triathlete who'd been running near me all race, and we struck up a conversation, and soon enough we were on our way up the road to the finish line outside a church. I finished in 2:01. I was so happy with that. It's not a PR, but for trail conditions and not being prepared, I felt I ran a strong race. It was a gorgeous day with blue skys and sunshine - cool temps before the race started, warming to the 60's probably. It was a fun morning. Then it was off to work for the remainder of the day... no post-race savoring of your acomplishment...
Sunday was a busy day, with being at work at 6:30 am, getting off later than expected, and plans that afternoon, my training went out the window.
Monday I went for a "therapy" run - and it was great. Another beautiful day, but very windy. I plugged into my MP3 player, grabbed Henry's leash, and ran until I decided to turn around. I didn't have much time, so it was only just over a half an hour, but I came back with a much better lease on life. It was great. It was one of those days that reminds you why you love to run, and why you keep getting out there day after day.
Well, another beautiful afternoon is beckoning -- maybe it'll be a bike ride and swim... so I'm off to seek inspiration.
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