tired ...

Earlier in the week, I had talked about an easy ride on Sunday with a friend of mine. We managed to dodge the rain and rode about 14 miles on the paved trails at Longview Lake. It's pretty flat and we took it pretty easy.


When I got home, I wanted to test out actually carrying something in the panniers of my commuter, so I rode to the store. I didn't have alot to buy, but I did carry home a cantalope and a pound of little potatoes. It worked pretty well.


Monday morning, however, I felt like I was even stiffer than I had been on Sunday, plus my knee was a little sore. So I blew off spinning, which I don't do very often. I figured a yoga-only day would be good.


Yoga seemed to help alot. Even though she started with alot of Hero Pose ( http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/490_1.cfm ) which I cannot do very well when my knee doesn't hurt. Let alone when I have tight quads and a sore knee.

I think I will get me a little swim cap at lunchtime today.

tongie library 10K

Beautiful morning for a race ... upper 50's at the start, sunny but it never got above 70 during the race. I was up early to trek out to Tonganoxie for the Library 5k/10k. I really didn't feel that confident about my run endurance for a 10K but I didn't want to go all that way to run the 5.

The race is a benefit for the library, where a friend of mine is the director. They had record turnout this year and they put on a nice race! The 10K field was pretty small. Both races started together and about 1.5 miles, the 5K runners turned around.

After that point, the course was rolling hills. I was all alone after the 5K turnoff. There was a little pack in the distance that I thought maybe I could catch, but they were too far out.

I hit mile 1 in 8 flat, which surprised me because I spent a fair amount of time going around people and it felt so easy. Mile 2 was right at 16 and I still felt pretty good. Then I think a big uphill came, because I lost some time in mile 3. I think my mile 3 split was 24:30. I managed to get back to 8 minute pace and hit 4 at about 32:30 or so. Ah, the joys of being gadget free! I just glance at my watch when I cross the mile marker.

I didn't lose much by mile 5, but I was really spent at that point. I somehow managed to hang on for a sweet 51:02 finish. Good enough for second woman overall. A woman young enough to be my child ran a 46-something to win.

While a 51 minute 10K really isn't THAT fantastic, I was very pleased. In fact, I even asked my friend about the course and she said they had it certified. I really didn't think I would be able to hold that pace (average 8:12) for 6 miles. And it really didn't hurt. My knee felt good for the whole race. I had a few other minor aches during the race but that's normal.

It seems I am running faster by running less. All that cross-training really pays off. I credit the spinning more than anything. All those intervals have really boosted my cardio fitness.

I stretched and stayed mobile after the run and then came home and did several hours of yard work. So when I can't get out of bed tomorrow, I won't be sure if it's the running or the yard work.

But it gives me confidence that I'll be able to train for and run the half in October.

And check out my coolio gender-appropriate trophy!

Next up: I think I may do a mountain bike race in July at Landahl. Beginner category.

post slackers

Some people are not posting all their workouts. Or maybe they are. Slackers.

Today: swim, 1000 m. Did not time it. The last few swims have been so-so. I think I need that lesson or something. I ended up with alot of water up my nose tonight. Or I should do some of the drills.

Yesterday: Spin. Yes I dragged my old lady butt out of bed, despite my beat legs.

Tomorrow: Off Day. Rest for 10K on Saturday.

my little SMP duathlon

What a beautiful day! Low 80's, low humidity, lots of sun, no wind. Perfect for hitting the SMP trails after work. I thought I would see how trail running felt again also, so this morning I loaded up my mtn bike and running shoes so I could go after work.

Had an excellent close to two hours of activity. Two laps on the bike, both orange and purple trail, great rework of the trails. And then I ran the orange trail (2.5 miles).

I need to get a computer on the mtn bike, because I'd really like to see how far I ride. I don't want to see how slow I ride. Both trails are 4.5 miles, I did them twice for 9 miles. It took a little more than an hour once I got going. I did get in a nice rhythm though, and the second lap was much faster.

And no ticks, it appears. Of course, I coated myself in DeepWoods OFF first.

So we'll see if the old lady can get out of bed for spinning tomorrow. And if I ride to work on Thursday, will I be too whupped for a good race on Saturday??

Monday was the usual Monday: spinning in the am, yoga in the pm.

getting used to clipless ...

I am a really big weenie or the new Trek is really heavy or clipless pedals make a huge difference in how hard you work on the bike. I may go out and get the same pedals for blue Trek so I can really compare. But my legs were whupped going up hills and I am not really going that much faster. I'm not sure what to think of that. It has to make me stronger eventually. I can really tell that you are pulling as much as you're pushing.

I would like to name the new Trek "Silver Bullet" but it's too utilitarian for that.

One nice thing about my increasing bike stable is that I feel like I can work on them a little without fear of screwing up my only ride.

I did the first part, not quite half, of my route to work, out to Antioch. So about 15 round trip, ~13 mph. Though my super cheap computer doesn't have average speed. Should have checked out what the six functions were exactly ... Oh well, this bike isn't really for training.

I made some adjustments and then went back out for about 3 more easy miles.

0602

Had a make-up spin class Saturday morning, which worked out well because that was the only time I had.

I did not make it to Chaka Khan because I was entertaining my relatives on my porch. I even had good hair too. Oh well, I wasn't sure I was really up for it anyway.

I hope to get in a decent ride today.

tgif why not

Even though I am playing hostess all weekend.

Did 1000 meters (44 lengths).

First 500 in 13:20 but that did not include about 30 secs of goggle malfunction.

Didn't time the second 500.

I think a private lesson or two would be a good investment for me.