Little darlin'...

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
(I say) It's alright

My favorite song ever. Some of my favorite lyrics ever. And very appropriate for all of us in the mid-Atlantic this week.

The sun is shining, and because the trees aren't blooming yet it's beaming straight down onto our smiling, uplifted faces. The temperatures are warmer than normal for this time of year. People are happier, more carefree, more hopeful. Or at least I am.

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

Dogs are getting longer walks this week. Kids are outside dusting off their bikes and bike helmets, their skateboards and scooters. Neighbors are raking, mulching, mowing, and planning their landcaping. I haven't been, but I bet the Bark Park is packed.

This week also brought us Daylight Savings Time (far earlier than normal). Morning exercisers aren't happy about it, but everyone who relies on the after-school and after-work hours for their leisure time is thrilled with the light/warm combo.

Little darlin', it's been a long, cold, lonely winter

Were truer words ever penned?

The increased daylight and warm temps also are having a very positive impact on my workouts. Now that I can enjoy the outdoors more (and not fear for my life on snow- and ice-packed roads), I am much more excited about getting out there for miles on foot or, hopefully soon, on my bike. My A races also are rapidly approaching. Nothing like a goal race to motivate you!

So yeah. Lots of good stuff this week.

Race #2 - done and done

Race #2, a five-miler, is now in the books as well. There were TONS of friends at this one, all in our DRC uniform singlets. Before the race, two of my friends encouraged me to run with them, saying they'd be doing about an 8-minute pace. Perfect, since my goal was about 41 minutes.

The starting gun went off, and within a minute my two running partners had dropped me. I had them in my sights, but I wasn't comfortable with the pace. "Damn," I thought. "I really suck more than I thought I did! I can't even run 8s????"

Uh, no. I reached the one mile marker -- well behind my two pacers -- in 7:33. 8-minute miles, my a$$! I slowed myself down and congratulated myself on not trying to keep up with them.

Lesson 1 - Run your own race.

My splits were terrible (slower and slower each mile since I started off too fast).

Lesson 2 - Must. Work. On. Pacing.

After about 3 windy miles, my mind started to play tricks on me. I wanted to slow down even more. This wasn't an A race, after all. And I already lost all my friends, so who would notice?

I would. Keep running, Theia.

Lesson 3 - Coach is right. My brain is my worst enemy.

With about a half mile to go (maybe a bit less), I saw PhillyTom running toward me. Yay! He came back to run me in! What a nice guy. Unfortunately, he mostly heard me panting and gasping, but it was really nice of him to come back for me. Other friends were at the finish line, and it was fun to hear them cheering me in.

Official time 40:43. Not bad. Better than I expected, better than I did in the same race a few years ago, and pretty damn good considering how little I've been running.

Lesson 4 - Imagine what I can do if I really apply myself to this whole running thing.

Off to the races

Well, my first race of 2010 is in the books. And my lack of focused training was pretty clear. I have SO much work to do!

Healthplex Indoor Triathlon
(1/4 mile swim in a pool, 10 miles on a Spinning bike, and 2 mile run on an indoor track)

SWIM - 8:58 (a PR for that distance)
BIKE - 22:04
RUN - 15:47
TOTAL - 46:48, good enough for 2nd woman overall

Now, that doesn't sound so bad, so why am I beating myself up over it?

Because I WALKED during the run. A lousy 2-miler, and I had to walk about a quarter of a lap. I just. couldn't. keep. up. the. pace.

Some good stuff did come out of it.
A. My swim PR.
2. A huge improvement on the bike over last year, although we used different bikes so I'm sure that had something to do with it as well.
d. Despite walking, I still came in under 16 minutes for the run. Not too shabby.

I know where I need to focus, and it's on the roads. Now if it will just stop snowing, I might be able to actually get out there and do some real training.

Post #200

Yes, that's right folks. This is my 200th post!

Unfortunately, I don't have anything earth-shattering to say. Hell, I don't even have anything interesting to say! :)

Maybe my 300th post will be better. One can only hope... :)

For Maria :)

Because I know she'll appreciate this workout.

Monday's outdoor class had to be moved inside (again!) because of road conditions. There's no way I can take a group of people outside to run in the dark when the roads are covered with black ice. So it was off to the treadmills we went for pure t.o.r.t.u.r.e.

Run 10 minutes -- any pace, any incline

Hop off the treadmill and do 1 minute of squat thrusts

Run 10 minutes

Hop off and do 1 minute of burpees

Run 10 minutes

Hop off and do 1 minute of mountain climbers

Run 10 minutes

Hop off and do 1 minute of body builders

Stumble over to the mats, panting and sweating like ten whole men, to stretch and then do 1 minute of bicycles and a 1 minute plank.

The End.

Snow, snow go away...

Egad!

25 inches Friday night through Saturday afternoon. Another 8-16 inches expected tomorrow night through Wednesday. Did I move to Minneapolis or Denver or something? It's not supposed to snow this much in the Mid-Atlantic!

But climate change is a myth perpetuated by the liberals. Riiiiiiiight.