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January 28, 2010

Camp!!!

I just realized the other day that it had been a while since I had blogged. Oops!! I swear, sometimes I am just on my own planet. Also, I read so many blogs now that I get very busy staying up to date on other bloggers and forget that I have responsibilities to keep other obsessive blog readers busy!!

Anyway here is the biggest news right now - I am going to camp this year!! I went to a tri camp last year that was a ton of fun, most notably because I finally met Beth and Chad, two of my teammates, in person!! That said I wanted to do something new and different this year, so I have decided to go to cycling camp with a few girls. I am super excited, the camp is in Solvang which sounds gorgeous. I have always wanted to go there. Here is the camp I'm doing:
http://www.solvangtriathloncamps.com/wcc.htm

Doesn't that look like fun?? I cannot wait. I wanted to do a big tri camp in March but it's a week long and you have to take your own bicycle which is such a headache. This camp provides bicycles which is just so much easier. My drama will be fitting in some running and swimming but luckily I like to stay busy, and I know they should have a nice pool there as they have tri camps.

In other news I am transitioning to running in my Newtons. It seems to help my IT Band, so that is awesome. It is still jacked and I really should go see my PT but I am super busy at work right now so it's tough to get to Boulder for an appointment. Last Sunday I went for a run with my friend Cathy and switched into my other shoes for the last 1.5 miles of the run, the difference was CRAZY!! Wow. My old shoes felt really heavy and just awful. I did run in them today and they were fine so I think it was the straight juxtaposition of Newtons versus my old shoes that made it seem like such a dramatic change.

And in yet more news I love swimming!! I am not sure what is up but I am continuing to swim well. That is very exciting for me. Swimming was an endless source of frustration for me last year, so hopefully this year I can see some improvement! Now I am off to lift and get FULLY JACKED, have a great fully jacked day!!!

Posted by barb at 10:55 AM | Comments (2)

January 22, 2010

Good Day!!

I don't know what is in the air/water/atmosphere/whatever these days but I seem to be in a permanently good mood and I am having way more good days than bad. So that is awesome!! I always wonder when the other shoe is going to drop but I think I'm going to stop that. I think even that is mostly all about attitude - I could be bummed for example that my IT band almost fell off on Sunday, but I choose not to :)

Anyway, why was today such a good day, you may ask? Well a number of reasons. First off I had a decent tempo ride this morning on the trainer that didn't seem to take 5 bazillion years. For some reasons I just despise tempo rides on the trainer so I build them up in my mind all week and dread them, but once I get down to business they aren't that bad. Luckily there are tons of shows to DVR right now and that really helps. I watched the new show about attractive spunky young attorneys that is stupid but entertaining and then I watched part of Grey's Anatomy which I usually think is stupid and even that wasn't so bad. Hooray!! Then I had a good morning at work. That is always a positive. After lunch I trotted off to take a professional certification exam (the PMP exam for those fellow IT geeks out there), and not only did it take WAY less than the allotted four hours, but I passed!!! I am so relieved. Partly because it would be embarrassing and annoying not to pass, but also because now I won't feel guilty every time I read something that isn't exam preparation material. Oh I just hate that feeling. After the exam I lifted, and I wasn't really excited about that but it was pretty fun, then went back to work for a few, and headed home. The weather was nice today (that could also be influencing my delightful mood), so I went for a nice walk around the neighborhood, and now here I am, reading and writing blog entries!!

I am going to have a quiet weekend as almost everyone I know is in the mountains right now, which I always enjoy. I do have some fun social plans though, including a long run with one of my favorite running partners on Sunday morning. We're running in Boulder, and I love Boulder, so I cannot wait!! Also, although the weather doesn't look awesome for tomorrow (I think the high is 44 degrees), as long as it's not raining or snowing I think I will - wait for it - RIDE OUTSIDE!!! Oh my goodness I just don't even know what that will be like, it's been so long! Hopefully my bicycle will remember how to move forward instead of sitting on its trainer.

And with that I am off for a relaxing evening of not studying!! Have a great weekend all!!

p.s. Wouldn't it be cool if I got an exclamation point counter on this blog? That would be an easy way to gauge my mood :)

Posted by barb at 5:54 PM | Comments (3)

January 20, 2010

The Winter Blues

I think I have finally caught the winter blues, and I am feeling blue that we have two more months of cold temperatures and short days! The blues hit me a few minutes ago when I checked the forecast for this weekend with high hopes that I would be riding my bicycle outside on Saturday. I am sure some people would ride outside with the forecast but I am a wuss - 37 degrees with snow showers is too cold for me, and it means I'll be riding my trainer for three hours Saturday morning. Oh boy, I am not too excited about that! I think I got pretty spoiled last winter - it was my first winter when I actually rode my bicycle a reasonable amount, and somehow the winter weather was mild enough that I could ride outside just about every weekend. This year, not so much. I really don't mind the trainer for up to two hours, but three hours just drives me crazy. Also, this winter I have not put on a bunch of winter weight, which is a good thing but I am constantly freezing!! It is hard for me to get out of my bed in the morning because it's so cold outside. Also I have to give myself a pep talk to get outside to the pool, and again to jump in the pool, even though I know it's warmer in the pool than it is on the deck!

Speaking of swimming, though, my swimming is continuing to go well. I am having goggle issues and I am too lazy and cheap to go buy new goggles which I am sure would alleviate my issues, but it just isn't that bad dealing with an occasionally leaky goggle. I am doing full catch-up drills every time I swim which seems to help a ton with my body position and speed. If you are reading this and feel like you aren't improving on swimming, do catch-up drills!! I cannot blame you if you don't do them for two years like me though, ha!

Posted by barb at 1:10 PM | Comments (1)

January 19, 2010

Half Marathon and Weekend in Phoenix Race Report

Well here I am, back from Phoenix and alive although a bit worse for wear in the personal exhaustion area. I just did not sleep well when I was out of town for some reason, so I am just toasted. I went to bed at 9:00 last night, slept like a log until 6:00 this morning, and I think if I can do that four more times this week I will start to feel like myself again. I love traveling, but it is tiring sometimes! So here is the deal with this past weekend and with the race.

Michelle and I arrived in Phoenix after approximately a two hour delay in the airport in Denver. Late flights are the worst but we used it as an excuse to have a nice dinner. Options are pretty limited in the airport but we ended up eating at a steak restaurant. Yummo!! We got to Michelle's friends' house around 9:00 on Friday evening and I met her awesome friends that we stayed with and we chatted for a bit and went to bed. The next morning we got up and went for an easy pre-race jog which was nice. Then we headed downtown to the expo. It is so nice just traveling for a half marathon - you don't freak out about being on your feet wandering around the expo, so we got to enjoy the huge expo as much as we wanted. We got some smokin' deals and then just enjoyed walking around. The organization of the expo, and the race as a whole, was absolutely top notch. After the expo we got some awesome breakfast/lunch and then relaxed at our hosts' playoff party. I felt so bad for all the Cardinals fans, it was not much of a game! We went to bed pretty early although we enjoyed a very late wake up time of around 5:45 am. Oh, traveling for running races is so fun and laid back, ha!

Sunday morning we got up and headed to the race site. Traffic was crowded but it could have been so much worse. I ran to the marathon start to find my other Denver friends and found all of them except the one who was running the marathon. It was really fun to watch the start (the marathon starts an hour before the half). The marathon as a race is so much smaller, it was kind of funny!! After the marathon started I ran back to the car and got the half marathon participants. We found the only quick porta-potty line and then off we went to the start. I was in the first corral so I had about 3/4 of a mile to go just to find my corral!! My one complaint with the race organization is that there was no enforcement of the corrals so it seemed like a person could start in any old corral. One small hiccup in an otherwise flawlessly organized race, I'll take it!!

The weather on race morning was maybe in the 50s or 60s with cloud cover, in other words perfect. I went out in 7:03 which was not bad for me, I tend to get overexcited and start out a bit too fast. The course is really really boring but it's very flat except for mile 9. All the miles between 2 and 9 were between 6:53 and 7:13. I felt good. Then literally the second my foot crossed the 9 mile marker my IT band totally locked up on me. Oh wow it really hurt. It was hard to bend and it would kind of send shock waves down from my hip to my knee. Mile 9 was definitely the worst mile and my time of 7:55 showed. I was so annoyed because I knew I was on the way to a PR before that. Oh well, I'd rather have this annoying pain now and get it taken care of than have it hit in another half IM this year, so I am looking at it as a wake-up call to get it looked at. I should be going in within a few weeks, so hopefully I am on the road to IT Band health. Anyway the last few miles were around 7:35 so I recovered somewhat but it really hurt and I just didn't feel like I had any pickup in my legs. I was happy to finish and overall I'm really happy with the race, just disappointed that I was so close to a PR. Luckily I am really fired up to PR in the half marathon at some point this year... now I just need to convince someone to travel to another fast half!!

After the race I dealt with my usual nausea issues but they weren't too bad so once we left I was feeling pretty good. Michelle and I got our car and went to In & Out for awesome cheeseburgers, and then took an ice bath in our friend's amazing pool. OMG that would be a must if you lived in Phoenix!! Sunday night we went out for dinner with my brother's girlfriend and then yesterday we woke up very early for our flight back to Denver!! I was in pretty rough shape yesterday, not only was I physically and mentally exhausted but my legs were very sore. I swam, which felt incredible, and took Bodie for a nice walk. I think walking is the best activity for recovery - it's not strenuous at all, but it gets the circulation going, which is key. And Bodie likes it!! I know I am obsessed with my dog to an unhealthy degree but I really missed that cute little beast. This morning I swam and after work I am going to attempt an easy 30 minute jog followed by some quality time with the foam roller. My IT bands will be happy and sad about that!!!

Posted by barb at 1:19 PM | Comments (2)

January 13, 2010

I'm Ba-ack!!!!!!

I am sure all my five readers really missed me, ha!! Anyhoodle, holy cats have I been busy the last week or two. My training class last week was great and I learned a ton. Now I am back in the office and it is insanity!! It serves me right for being out two out of three weeks though. Luckily I prefer being super busy over being bored, so I'll take it!! I am leaving for Phoenix Friday afternoon for the Rock & Roll Half Marathon this Sunday, which I am so excited about!! It should be nice and warm there, I cannot wait. I want to take my bicycle but it seems impractical for such a short trip, I don't really know. I think I will just take my swimming stuff and hopefully find an awesome outdoor Olympic sized pool on Saturday, ha!! Ooh with salt water instead of chlorine, that would be IDEAL. Okay, well I can dream, right?! If anyone knows of a good pool in Phoenix please do let me know.

Training has been going really well this week. For some reason my swimming is great right now. Hopefully I am having a breakthrough that will have permanent speed gains in store for me. Oh that would be awesome. Once again I am daydreaming about my 5 x 100 on the 1:30 pipe dream, I think it is slowly getting closer to becoming a reality. Ha, life is all about perspective - my pipe dream is swimming as fast as a mediocre high school swimmer!! But you know we can't help what our dreams are made of. Other training is going well although it's hard to tell with cycling since I haven't ridden outside for a month! Hopefully this streak of mild weather will continue, the roads will melt, and I will be back in business next weekend. That would be excellent. If not I may have to make another trip to Arizona sometime later this winter!!

Posted by barb at 1:37 PM | Comments (2)

January 5, 2010

I'm alive, really!!

I am kind of disappointed in myself for falling off the face of the planet this week, even though I knew I would. But I'm still here!! I am training a little and going to this intense boot camp training class most of the time which is fun but tiring. I am proud to say I do think I'll get all my training in this week, with a little help from last week :) It is actually nice having a light, easy week.

And with that I am off to bed, so I can wake up, do a fartlek workout, and go back to class!!

Posted by barb at 8:38 PM | Comments (1)

January 1, 2010

Race Pictures, and Happy 2010!!!

I am excited for 2010, even though this year makes me feel old!!! I feel like I'm going to start saying 'back in college 10 years ago...' which is crazy. I am having a great year so far. Rode my trainer this morning, swam and ran this afternoon. How fun!! It is a beautiful day today and the snow is finally starting to melt.

Anyway here are a few photos from my last race in 2009, Longhorn 70.3! The first one is on the run and the second one is in the medical tent, when I was high on IV :)

And here is me in the med tent!

Hopefully I will be able to post more awesome pictures from great races in 2010!!!

Posted by barb at 4:20 PM | Comments (2)