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January 29, 2007

good running weekend, more weather

I am beginning to sound like a broken record. I like running. It's cold out. It will snow this week. Um, let's see what else. I like candy. I guess I do not discuss my love of candy all that often though.

I thought I would try to put a picture of the forecast here and sadly I do not know how. But here is a link. Generally when I am running at 6:00 am it is the coldest time of the day... so I may move some runs around this week. Or I will take an easy week and do a lot of reading for class, inside on the bike! That might not be a bad idea since I am still terribly behind. But I am catching up! I swear!

This weekend was pretty cold but it was still nice for running. I am truly amazed that I have not slipped and fallen since sometime in early December, since I nearly fall just about every day - the more melting of the snow on top that occurs, the more ice is left at the bottom.

I am going to catch up quickly on the last few days of training here -
Last Thursday - I did run in the morning and then biked and lifted after work (the pool was crowded, ick).
Friday - 8 miles at lunchtime. I was exhausted and decided to sleep in. It was a great, hard run. The conditions were REALLY nice - I was actually in short sleeves - and just kind of windy.
Saturday - 7 miles in snowy, cold conditions first thing in the morning. Got home, headed to the gym with Matt, and swam for 30 minutes. This was a good swim. I get really bad goggle eyes - I think I need to loosen the straps.
Sunday - 10 miles easy. I felt good and ran in areas that had good footing overall so it was one of my faster runs.
Monday - Today was just 5 easy miles this morning. I wanted to do some cross training but I really need to do laundry and reading instead. I am feeling kind of lazy and whatnot but I really need to get past it. And I really need to wash my running clothes, so that's that!

That is about all the news of excitement right now. I am also making chicken fajitas tonight, and I remembered everything at the store except the limes (which are truly critical for the marinade), so I am heading out of here and on my way to the store and home in a minute. My schedule is not terribly hectic this week so hopefully I can actually do some more blogging.

Posted by barb at 4:58 PM | Comments (1)

January 25, 2007

Am I insane?

This is something I have been wondering lately. And let me tell you why. I have been pretty busy lately what with work, training (running and some triathlon training), social life, and wedding stuff. And since I have been busy, I decided to say yes when the coordinator at my department at school said I could start in the spring semester instead of waiting until summer. Not only that but I chose a course on Victorian literature which as many people know is extremely high volume. Meaning that there is barely a Victorian novel out there under 300 pages, and some are over 1,000. So on top of my already somewhat hectic schedule, I have added my first graduate course. Which I started one week late. Meaning that Tuesday night I was supposed to read over 400 pages for my class last night. It did not quite happen, but luckily for me I had read the novel we are working on now for high school and undergrad. Thank goodness! Otherwise I would have had to cut out sleeping for a day!

So that being said I am pretty excited about school. It is nice to be in a school environment again. We are reading a LOT this semester but most of the stuff is new to me so I am pretty excited about that. And in spite of the fact that I am freaking out about my schedule, I do not think the class will be too challenging.

Anyway if I am not writing too much here over the next few months, my faithful readers will know why! But I am going to attempt to keep my blog updated at least on a weekly basis or so.

So running has been going well. After last Saturday's tempo run, where the roads and trails were clearing up nicely, it started snowing again! It basically snowed all day Sunday so everything is slippery and messy again. However, this week has been pretty warm so far (I think it may even hit 50 today) so we should have a lot of melting. Now just keep your fingers crossed that it does not snow again this weekend - that would make the sixth week in a row or something.

Here are the numbers for this week:
- Sunday - slippery 9 mile run
- Monday - 5 miles (treadmill); 15 minutes on the bike
- Tuesday - 7 miles
- Wednesday - 8 miles very early in the morning; 45 minutes on the bike after work while reading furiously for class
- Thursday (today) - 6 miles not too early (I slept in). I am going to the gym after work to hopefully swim and lift. If the pool is too crowded I will probably bike and lift.

And that's the week. Wish me luck balancing all my activities! I guess it would not be the end of the world if I didn't sleep for 8.5 or 9 hours a night :)

Posted by barb at 8:47 AM | Comments (2)

January 20, 2007

I guess running in the snow does make you stronger!

So, when I was frustrated by the continuing snowy and icy conditions here, Alison commented that she had heard someone say running in the snow made people faster. I had a hard time believing it since it seemed like I had been running 10 minute miles for weeks... but I kind of think it was right! I went to practice for the first time in over a month today and did pretty well with my 6 mile tempo run, in spite of worrying that 8:00 pace would be a stretch. So that was cool! I felt good. I am tired now and I certainly did not feel like working out any more today, but I think I should be able to get a decent long run in tomorrow.

And let me just say that I am so, so, so excited that it is going to be in the 40s all week! Well, starting Monday, because tomorrow it's supposed to snow all day. This has been a long winter already!

So I had a good week of running. I did not get a spinning class in but I did bike once, swim once, and take a yoga class once. Wow, I guess I didn't realize how good my week's been, actually - I've run 45 miles in six days (which is a lot for me). I can get well over 50 miles for the week, so that is cool!

I have also finished a book I've been reading and started to contemplate my existence about grad school. I think I may start here in Denver (if/when I am accepted, which seems to be likely), hopefully get some good recommendations, and then maybe apply to a more well regarded school in a year or two. On the east coast maybe. Now I just need to convince Matt that this is a good idea. And I need to be accepted and start school here. Small things!

Posted by barb at 6:19 PM | Comments (1)

January 11, 2007

no more weekly snowstorms

Well I am very excited. It appears that this week we will be breaking out of our cycle of having a big snowstorm each week. How exciting! It is going to be really cold starting today through the weekend but at last we will not be adding to the snow and ice on the roads and everywhere else.

So, because of the impending freeze, I wanted to do a decent amount of running early in the week. Tuesday night I did swim for about 15 minutes (I am a wuss and I hate sharing lanes), followed by 15 minutes of biking.

Yesterday morning I ran 8 miles, which made me somewhat late for work but I was not too far behind. It was nice and the footing has been improving steadily every day although I had a terrible side stitch for the first 5 miles or so. The only thing that allowed me to run was breathing through my nose. That was an interesting experience. Basically it showed me the truly alarming amount of car/truck/whatever exhaust I inhale on a daily basis, even though I start my runs at 6:00 am when traffic is light.

This morning I ran 7 miles and had another side stitch! I wonder what could be causing it. Happily I can run through it but it is kind of unpleasant and I'd prefer not to deal with it again for a while. I thought maybe it could be related to dehydration - even though I drink a lot of water during the day, sometimes I am bad at drinking enough in the evening. So today I am going to make a concerted effort to drink more water.

Tonight I am going to M.'s house for Grey's Anatomy (I cannot wait! This show is really an addiction for me), but I should have some time beforehand so I am thinking about attempting another swim or maybe doing some cross training or yoga. Just doing something to get my heart rate up a little.

Tomorrow is scheduled to be an easy day, which is good since it will be really cold and I have a lot to do. I think I will be running 5 miles in the morning and that is about all. I am thinking about maybe heading to the gym after work but I am taking the GRE Saturday morning so realistically I should study instead. Speaking of which, I will be running at a weird time on Saturday - probably early afternoon. The good news is that it'll be the warmest time of the day!

Posted by barb at 3:00 PM | Comments (0)

January 9, 2007

tri training makes me sleepy!

Wow, okay so I was thinking last night about how tough and hard core I am. I really was. And then I remembered Beth, and I felt like a slacker again. Seriously. Four workouts in a day. That is all I have to say about that, except that I love this community of runners because you are all very inspiring! And you make me sound less crazy when I tell my family and friends what I do.

Anyway once again I have been bad about writing in my blog. So let's see... I think it was last Friday, when it was snowing. Okay, I checked my blog. I had no idea. Here are the last few days in running:
- Saturday - 1:33 near my gym, followed by one lifting exercise (I was tired and famished). This is sad to admit but there were some spots with very bad footing and I think this was about 9 miles, maybe barely over. I do agree with a comment Alison made the other day that running in snow makes me stronger. It is also a great way to prepare for cross country racing because my ankles are totally rubber now and I am used to running on very bad footing. Go me!
- Sunday - Matt went skiing so I had the morning free, although I had a lot to do. I ran for 90 minutes which, due to much better footing, I really think is about 10 miles. I thought about swimming but decided to accomplish a few things instead.
- Monday - easy running day, 5 miles. In 55 minutes. I actually have always thought this 5 mile run is a bit long - usually, especially early in the morning when I am slow, it takes almost 50 minutes. So really I am not running 11 minute miles on this crazy snow. I promise! After work yesterday I went to the gym and lifted, and then did a 75 minute spinning class. This was a much better class than the one last week - the instructor was really nice, she had good music, and I liked the workout part better. So that was fun. And it made me kind of tired when I finally got home around 7:30!
- Tuesday (today) - Ran 7 miles this morning. I felt great in spite of the moderately big training day yesterday. I am planning on swimming after work. Speaking of swimming, I bought a wet suit. How exciting! Now I am a real triathlete.

So, because this is a very strange winter, we are expecting another big storm at the end of this week (Thursday/Friday). It is also going to be very cold so I may be doing some treadmill running this weekend. That is of course assuming that I can actually get out of my neighborhood, which is still covered in snow and ice. Seriously, how did we have far superior plowing in rural Maine? I will never understand this. And frankly, with this winter I am missing the nice calm winters of midcoast Maine.

Posted by barb at 9:26 AM | Comments (1)

January 5, 2007

You have got to be kidding me

Well, it is snowing. Again. I swear, Denver is not usually like this. I do not know what is going on with the weather this year but I do not enjoy! I heard on NPR this morning that yesterday it was almost 60 degrees in Boston. And here we have another 4 inches on the ground, on top of roads that haven't cleared from our last two storms. I am thinking I may permanently attach my YakTrax to my shoes!

So in spite of the annoying weather, it has been a good week of running so far. On Wednesday I ran 6 miles in the morning and finagled Matt into doing a spinning class with me after work. It was fun, and a good workout, although the music was truly the worst ever. We are going to try a few other classes in the hope that some of the other instructors have better music. I do really enjoy the variety that tri training provides.

Yesterday, I ran an easy 8 miles around the park and the surrounding neighborhoods. The path around the park was getting a lot better, and the roads were pretty clear. It was warm so there was not too much ice, which was really nice.

Today the alarm did not go off, which is moderately annoying. So I woke up at 7:00 and came to work instead of running. It will probably be a fairly short day here so I think I can get an easy 5 miles in after work, or possibly at lunchtime. I am driving to Boulder tomorrow morning for a workout, as long as the roads do not get significantly worse, and after that I'm heading over to the running store to look at wetsuits. I am really hoping to have a relatively quiet and relaxed weekend, so hopefully I can stop myself from overcommitting to activities!

Posted by barb at 8:55 AM | Comments (0)

January 2, 2007

Scared into training

Wow, it is funny how signing up for a race can add a level of panic (or motivation) to one's training. I am always kind of a slacker over the holidays but signing up for three tris on New Year's Day is a pretty good way to shake off the slacker in me and buck up! I don't remember if I mentioned this yesterday but I am going to try to spin once a week from here on out. Because I was a slacker this morning and slept in, I am not spinning today - I need to run in a few minutes - but I am planning on a class tomorrow. I haven't done spinning since I was 18, but back then I really enjoyed it. So I am excited to try it again. I have also resolved to attempt a yoga class every few weeks, and instead of buying an expensive membership to the yoga studio, I am just going to do yoga at my gym. It can't be bad for me, right?! In fact I am sure it will be just fine, and maybe I will even quit being a yoga snob.

Matt and I are officially on our diet. I hate diets! But sometimes they really are necessary, like when someone (I am of course not naming names about myself) eats four Christmas cookies a day for about a week and a half. I just need to break my sugar addiction, and then I think I will be just fine. Luckily I am young enough, and I work out enough, that it's not too hard to undo holiday damage in a couple weeks.

That is about all for today, I am off to the gym!

Posted by barb at 4:47 PM | Comments (0)

January 1, 2007

Goodbye 2006, Hello 2007!

Well this has been a good year and a fun New Year's Eve weekend. We got back from our friends' house a few hours ago (a bunch of us went to their place in the country to spend a quiet but fun New Year's Eve), and Matt and I went to the gym for a short workout - I ran about 5 miles and lifted a bit. We ended up sleeping on an air mattress in the living room so I felt that a longer workout would just be exhausting!

I just totaled my running log for last year and my total miles run is just over 2,000 - which is pretty good considering that I didn't really feel like I ran that much this year. Also, in other news, I signed up for this series today. I don't really know what possessed me to sign up for one sprint, one Olympic, and one half Ironman when I've never even done a triathlon before - I guess it is party foolhardy courage and partly knowing that it's a reasonable discount to sign up for the entire series, and that the Olympic distance usually fills up pretty quickly. I am excited about it although it means that I need to start biking more - I think the plan is to do one spinning class per week until I can get outside on the bike again.

That is about all. I have been running all week and weekend which has not really been exciting. I'm sick of running in snow - we had another big storm last Thursday, so everything is covered. The footing is so bad that my runs are all taking about 10 minutes longer than normal. I am sure that in the long run it's good for me but it certainly can be annoying! Luckily we get a lot of sunny days here so hopefully we'll have clear roads soon.

I hope all the running-blogs bloggers, and anyone else who is reading, has a great year!

Posted by barb at 5:20 PM | Comments (3)