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November 26, 2006
Whew!
Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and I'll have to admit I'm more than a little sad that I now have over 350 days to wait until it comes around again. That just isn't right. We should do this holiday more often don't you think?
Where to begin?! Thanksgiving day O and I and my grandparents set out on our journey to my sister's house in North Carolina. Long trip yes, but let me tell you - it was soooooo worth it! Somewhere along the way my sister and her husband (could have been his influence I guess) learned how to cook and they learned how to cook GOOD. Oh man. One of the best Thanksgiving meals ever folks. I briefly considered moving down to NC to live with them so they could cook for me all the time but I don't think they would be too pleased with that decision. Unfortunately that means back to eating cereal and frozen dinners for me. Oh well. :)
We got to their house around 1:30 and so before dinner commensed O and I went out for a run. It was a beautiful day. The sun seems to shine a whole lot more in NC than in Pennsylvania. We ran 51 minutes (with some striders thrown in there) around Duke's campus. So beautiful that campus. It's no Penn State but really, who could compete with Penn State? :)
Friday O and I woke up and ran just about the same thing we had done the day before, again around Duke's campus. I was hoping some of the fast karma that must hang around Duke (afterall, they have a LOT of fast women runners) would rub off on me.
Later in the day on Friday my sister, brother-in-law, O and I all headed to the YMCA. Those three played raquetball while I hit up the pool. It felt good to swim. It was an easy workout - just 2000 yds total w/8x50 on :90, but it was nice to loosen up some from the running and the long car ride south.
Saturday morning dawned even sunnier than the previous two days; hard to believe. I haven't seen that kind of sun in a long time. I was pretty excited because I had a 2 hour run on tap Saturday morning. O ran with me and I'll tell you guys - it was great. I haven't run that long since I was training for Columbus 2 years ago. And it felt really, really good. Triathlon is my sport now and I have no plans on leaving it any time soon but I will never forget that running was and always will be my first love.
After the long run we had to leave. I hate leaving. But it was great to see my parents, grandparents and sis and brother-in-law. Of course the ride home was long and evil. I'm about the worst traveler there is. I can't sit still in the car. After about 2 hours I'm ready to pull my hair out. O is quite a trooper for putting up with me. And of course when we were about 3 hours from home we sat in some nasty traffic for about 30 minutes because there was an accident on 79 in West Virginia. UGH. We finally got home around 10 pm last night even though we left at 1:30!
This morning I was feeling the post-holiday blues. You know those? That realization that life is back to normal. But I got my stuff together and headed to the shop so I could do a ride. For some reason I didn't have today off like I normally do but that's okay. I was actually looking forward to some time to myself to ride and be out in the fresh, cool air. I rode for 1:20, just kind of taking it easy. My legs felt like I had run 16 miles and then got in a car for 9 hours but they feel better now that I rode and stretched and am moving around more. I'm working at the shop now (working...blogging...it's all about the same thing... :) and when I get home I'll do some lifting and that will end this week of training.
Week summary:
Monday - 3600 meter swim w/8x300 in am, 45 minutes on the trainer w/ILT in pm, core/feet exericses
Tuesday - 2700 yd swim w/2x500,400 kick in am, lifting session at lunch, 55 minutes on trainer w/7 spin-ups in pm
Wednesday - 2500 yd swim w/10x100,300 kick in am, 1:20 run in pm, 2x25 pushups/2x100 crunchers
Thursday - 51 minute run w/5x20 sec striders, LOTS of eating :)
Friday - 50 minute run w/5x20 sec striders in am, 2000 yd swim w/8x50 in pm
Saturday - 2:02 run (16 miles), 2x25 pushups/2x100 crunchers
Sunday - 1:20 ride (25.5 miles) in am, lifting session in pm (yet to be done)
I hit 40 miles for the week for running! I was very excited about this fact, although coach didn't seem nearly as thrilled. :) I suppose it sort of just makes me feel like I really am "back" as a runner...or something like that. I didn't do much riding at all this week although I'm consistently keeping my swimming yardage over 10,000. O was telling me how a "hot" saying right now in football talk is "just keep chopping wood"...as in, keep playing hard, keep putting in the work, keep chipping away and in the end it will be worth it. It's a good mantra for me too. My races are so far away right now but I know the training I do now will make the difference for me. Just keep chopping the wood. As tiring as it may be with no end in sight, the reward will be worthwhile!
Posted by beth at November 26, 2006 1:01 PM
Comments
"The sun seems to shine a whole lot more in NC than in Pennsylvania."
You wouldn't be saying that if you had spent Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh. The weather here this year was beautiful.
Posted by: brian at November 26, 2006 3:57 PM
re. chopping wood...a flippant alternative from the other side of the Atlantic... if you like Monty Python... from Monty Python's Flying Circus... the memorable, Lumberjack song..
-----
Oh, I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK
I sleep all night and I work all day
countervoice: (He's a lumberjack and he's OK
He sleeps all night and he works all day)
I cut down trees, I eat my lunch
I go to the lavatory
On Wednesdays I go shopping
And have buttered scones for tea
countervoice: (He cuts down trees...)
(He's a lumberjack...)
I cut down trees, I skip and jump
I love to press wild flowers
I put on women's clothing
And hang around in bars
(He cuts down trees...)
(He's a lumberjack...)
I cut down trees, I wear high heels
Suspenders and a bra
I wish I'd been a girlie
Just like my dear papa
(He cuts down trees...)
(He's a lumberjack...)
Posted by: corrado giambalvo at November 27, 2006 7:40 AM
I'm glad your holiday travel was safe...
Posted by: Kranky C Dale at November 27, 2006 8:24 AM