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March 31, 2008

Manic Monday

Do you all remember that song? I think the Bangles sang it? In the late 80s maybe? I would google it to be sure but I'm way too lazy for that at this point in the day. Guaranteed I could sing the whole song right now if the music was playing though. I'm pretty good at memorizing useless pieces of information like the lyrics to a Bangles song but not so good at remembering important things like say where my keys are. Or what time I'm supposed to leave on on my next 100 in the pool this morning. :)

Regardless, it was just another manic Monday, whatever that means! I started the day off in the water for a lovely 30x100 workout with some kick thrown in at the end. I haven't been in the water since Thursday and let me tell you - I was feeling it! If I don't swim or run every other day I feel sort of "weird" and "off" when I return to that activity. Like my stroke and stride aren't quite right. And then there is the bike. I think I could not ride my bike for about 3 weeks, get back on and feel like I never got off. :)

Anyway, after about 5 of the 100s this morning I was starting to become concerned with how I was feeling. As in I felt like pooh. But by 10 I was feeling MUCH better and by 15 I was feeling like I could do these all day. Guess I just needed to get back into the swimming groove!

Work was just fine and then I walked outside to walk up to my car and WOW did it feel GREAT outside! So nice and warm and I even cracked my window a little on the car ride home! I take some back roads to get home now with the construction going on on the major highway, the same back roads that I ride on a lot, and all I could think about was BOY do I wish I had about a 3 hour bike ride to do tonight! I could have worn shorts no problem!

But alas no bike ride for me. And I'm not a workout switcher (unless absolutely necessary). But almost as good was a nice easy run on the schedule and I thoroughly enjoyed it. When I got home weather.com said it was 60 degrees. It felt like 80 and it felt simply amazing! I even used my new HR monitor thing that also tells you how far you ran and at what pace. It's pretty cool, although I don't think I'll use it all that often. A useful tool for fartlek or tempo runs where you don't know the distance but maybe too much information for just your normal base runs. I'm already too deep into the numbers, I don't need to get any deeper!

And so that was my day. Somehow it's already almost 9 pm. Time sure does fly. Good night all!

Posted by beth at 8:30 PM | Comments (2)

March 30, 2008

What a Bore

Hmm...not much to report today. But if you've been reading this blog long enough you know that that doesn't stop me from writing anyway. :)

Let's see. This morning before church my trainer, bike and I had a little together-time. It was a nice ride and I watched Grey's Anatomy (season 3, disc 4 I believe) to keep me company. I'm not as sore from yesterday's race as I expected although my feet are a little unhappy with me. Reminds me of why I switched to triathlons in the first place. Cranky feet. But they will get over it and be good as new by the next time I run (tomorrow). :)

In other news I am getting really excited for the season to start. I was so excited this morning to get up and see all the results of the different races - the ITU World Cup in Mooloolaba and the 70.3 race in California. It gets me soooo excited to race myself. I think I've mentioned this before but as I distance runner there really isn't an off-season per se with cross country in the fall, indoor track all winter and a long extended outdoor track season in the spring and summer. Racing always, one season after another. So the build-up and excitement of a "new" season starting is really fun in triathlon!

I really wish my first triathlon wasn't St. Anthony's only because it's such a big, competitive race and I want to do well. I wish I had a little "warm-up" race in there to help my body remember what it's like. But that just wasn't possible this year so St. Anthony's it is! I know it's a season opener for a lot of people though and even if it's not their first race of the season it's probably their first "big" race. I get so nervous and excited just thinking about it and it's only a mere 4 weeks away!

And finally I would like you to know that once again my spelling got the best of me. Or shall I say my lack of spelling. Or, as Marit put it, my "creative spelling". O and I got into a discussion of the word "bore" today while riding home from church this morning. He tells me that the way you spell the word that means "to drill a hole" is "bore". I disagreed. We discussed that it definitely wasn't boar (as in the wild pig) but I thought it was "boor" because in my mind to "bore" is to make something really dull. Anyway, I was so sure I was right. So sure. And I just looked it up and turns out I wasn't correct. Not at all. Because "boor" means "a person with rude, clumsy manners and little refinement". Hmm.. Sound like anyone you know? Indeed, O was right. Bore does mean "to drill a hole". What kind of boor doesn't know that? :)

Posted by beth at 2:40 PM | Comments (3)

March 29, 2008

Just A Short Run 5K

After some research I just figured out that I haven't run a 5K race since 2003. Umm...that was 5 years ago?! Hello! What the heck have I been doing the past 5 years? I guess mostly triathlons for the last 2 and then prior to that longer races such as half marathons and marathons. So I was really looking forward to doing this 5K, most likely because it has been so long since I had last run one and I had clearly forgotten how badly they hurt.

Good thing they don't hurt for long.

Regardless, I'm calling today's race a success. I had written down some time ago that my goal for today would be to run under 19:30. Then, several weeks after that as O and I were driving to the grocery store one night I decided that there was no reason that I shouldn't be able to run under 19 minutes. I mean come on! Granted I don't do near the amount of running or intensity of running that I used to but triathlon training has left me quite fit overall and I needed to start expecting a little more out of myself. So I declared my new goal to be "under 19".

Fast forward to today. Final time? 18:48. I'll take it! But next time the goal will be under 18:30 and then under 18:00. And then double that time, swim 1500 meters in 20-21 minutes first and bike 40K in 65 minutes second and add it altogether and then I'll be REALLY pleased. :) And although I joke about it, in all seriousness I believe I can do it. One step at a time and small improvements here and there. It will all add up one day!

My splits were 6:00, 6:20, 5:52 and :36. Now let me explain the course so that those splits make some sense (not). First mile is flat and then up a very long (somewhat steep) hill. Second mile is big downhill and flat and third mile is just plain flat. So that leaves me wondering if my watch didn't somehow play a trick on me and switch my first two mile splits. :) The race is pretty well established and has been around for quite a while so I don't think it's a case of misplaced mile markers. More likely is that I lost focus on that 2nd mile and when I saw my 2 mile split and started to panic that I wouldn't break 19, I pulled it together nicely in the last mile.

Regardless, I had a lot of fun this morning. It was great to really run hard and even though it felt super cold (no more than 25 degrees) it was at least sunny and dry! I did have a serious case of smoker's cough after I was done due to running hard in that cold weather, but hey, what can you do? Go to Florida for your next race - now THAT'S what you can do! :)

The only downside of the morning was my missing equipment manager/training partner/personal rival, also known as O. He had a track invitational to go to this morning so I was flying solo. It occured to me somewhere along the way that I don't think I've EVER gone to a race alone. Of course in high school and college I was always racing on a team and then after college I've always been married to O and he has pretty much come to all my races! I'm just glad it was only a running race and not a triathlon because I had major trouble just determining what to do with the car key let alone if I had a bike or wetsuit with me!

Other than the 5K there was a half marathon (really the big draw of the day) and a 30K (crazy people) so after a nice long cool down I watched the half marathoners finish. My cousin (actually she's O's cousin but I just call her my cousin too) ran a great first half marathon in 1:35! She was happy to be done! And I also saw the guys that I was up racing with in the 5K (the 5K, half marathon and 30K all started together) finish their half marathons looking great! I was "racing" them in my race, trying to pick them off and outsprint them when in reality they still had 10 miles to go as I crossed the finish line. :)

And then I came to another realization on the day, I suddenly no longer felt a part of the "running crowd" in this area anymore. Back in the day when I was just a runner I felt like I knew and talked to so many more people at races. And now not too many people look familiar. And I just "felt" like a triathlete out there running a race. I was the only one on the starting line with Lock Laces on their racing flats. :) But that's okay with me. Because it's unlikely that I will ever go back to being a full time runner and the quicker I make the transition to having the triathlete mentality the better. I'm not just a runner who is a bad swimmer and does a triathlon here and there anymore. I'm a triathlete!

So anyway, that was my day! I got some very nice awards (some prize money and a very nice New Balance running jacket) which I was surprised with given it's only a little 5K! And then I headed home. At which point I got a little antsy. Why you wonder? Well I didn't have any other workouts for the day! Almost always when I do a race (other than a tri of course) I have a bike workout later in the day. But not today for some reason. I felt a little lost.

And then I got over it really quickly. Thanks Coach!

I had a nice ice bath, hot shower, awesome stretch and did some odds and ends. And now I'm waiting for O to get home from his meet. I think I may just feel a nap coming on... Hope everyone has a great night!

Posted by beth at 4:26 PM | Comments (12)

March 28, 2008

Packing Bliss

I just remembered why I love running races.

PACKING!

Or shall I say LACK of packing?

It just took me ~12 minutes to pack for tomorrow's 5K. Racing flats? Check. Change of clothes? Check. Hat and gloves? Check. HR monitor? Check. Done, done and done!

That is approximately 4 hrs and 31 minutes faster than it takes me to pack for a triathlon trip. Cycling and swimming are SOOOO overrated. :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Posted by beth at 7:34 PM | Comments (5)

March 27, 2008

Googles of Goggles!

Well, I think my new goggles got angry with me for calling them googles because they didn't work all to well this morning at swim practice. Duds! What's up with that?! The right eye socket leaked and it annoyed me and I went back to wearing my old goggles. I'll have to work on it because I'm sure they just need adjusted some. :)

Anyway, despite my google...er...goGGle problems I had a great swim this morning! The pool is still set up LCM which is nice but feels ohhhhh sooooo longgggg while swimming. Today's set was a mix of 50s and 100s with the 100s getting progressively harder. My goal for the very last one (which also happened to be the very last interval of the whole main set) was a 1:19. Anything under 1:20! By the time we got to that point my arms were getting a wee bit tired (understatement of the day) but I was trying my hardest not to let myself off the hook. GO, GO, GO - you can do this! I swam as hard as a could and I could hear Coach Jen yelling the times as we hit the wall and just as I touched "1:20!" UGH! But I was close. And I was happy not to have given up. Despite the fatigue I still managed to descend each of those hard 100s even if I didn't break the magic 1:20 barrier!

And so it goes. This was my first truly hard effort in the water since my shoulder pain started and it help up pretty well so I'm also very thankful for that. My shoulder was a little sore once I got to work so I decided to get some ice from the cafeteria along with one of the "take-out" bags and ice my shoulder right up in the office! My co-workers already think I'm strange so I wasn't in danger of making them think any worse of me. It all worked out well although I will admit there was some bag leakage which got my shirt wet. Good thing for lab coats!

So tonight ~2 hours on the trainer (rain, rain and more rain outside) and then I'll be good to go! Hope everyone has a great day and a great evening!

Posted by beth at 1:18 PM | Comments (3)

March 26, 2008

Spelling You Say?

Well I had to laugh. REALLY laugh at Marit's recent post regarding her spelling misadventures. And please Marit, don't think I'm laughing at you. I merely laughing WITH you because if you are awful speller #1, well than I'm awful speller #2. Spelling is definitely not my thing. I can still remember coming home from elementary school with a "C" on a spelling test and being absolutely devastated for doing so poorly.

Now my blog editor doesn't have a spell-checker (not that I know of anyway) so I apologize for the misspellings you probably often endure. If O's home when I write my blog entry chances are things will be a little better. Here's how it often goes - O is in another room watching tv or grading, etc... and I'm in our "computer" room.

Me: HEY O - how do you spell _______?
O: (he proceeds to spell a different word because he can't hear what I said)
Me: NO, NO! I SAID, how do you spell _______?

And it goes back and forth for quite some time. Like the time I asked him to spell biscuit and he kept spelling viscous. Oiy!

But besides my inability to spell properly there are also certain words that I know how to spell but always write or type incorrectly. For instance when I want to type PSU (as in Penn State University) I always instead type PUS! Or when I mean to write bowl I almost always come out with bowel instead (likely a product of my job where I'm constantly thinking of bowel length, bowel sounds, bowel habits, etc... :) And then the medication Lantus? 99.9% of the time I type Latnuts instead!

Well another one I ALWAYS mess up is the word goggles. Yep, you guessed it. GOOGLES comes out instead. I'm guessing about 15 years ago before the invention of Google I didn't have this problem. :)

Anyway, this morning at the pool we were having a goggle emergency. O's goggle strap snapped and he was left trying to tie it back together. Mid warmup I see what's going on and go back to the locker room to dig an old pair out from my bag. In the mean time he ties his back together. As I continue on in my workout I realize that my goggles are also very old and getting quite annoying. I'm one of those people that wears the same pair of goggles for about 5 years, even when they crack or leak or fog up so badly you can't see your own hand in front of your face. I'm not sure why because they only cost about $15.

Regardless, I decide I too need a new pair of goggles so I might as well stop at the goggle store (not really a goggle store per se, more like a store that sells many things, goggles included) on the way home and get us both some new ones.

So of course I write myself a note to stick in the car to remind myself to stop. And as I climbed into my car after work I had to laugh yet again because in big letters, all capital and with a big "!!!" at the end - G-O-O-G-L-E-S. AHHHHHHH!!!! :)

When will I ever learn?

Posted by beth at 5:27 PM | Comments (3)

March 25, 2008

Ouch?

Oh man. To say my legs are a bit over-cooked right now would be the understatement of the day! Started the morning off with a moderate run, nothing too bad and once we got rolling I felt pretty good. But then at work, tired legs. You know when you can feel it just walking around? So home and onto my speed bike workout of the week, hard intervals on the trainer. Interval number one and my legs are burning already.

And that's when I knew I was in for a long one.

But that's okay. Since I have the race this weekend (sorry I keep mentioning this little race!) my week is a bit front-loaded and I knew going into this bike session that it was going to be tough. I could have at least done the bike workout this morning to help a little but that's not the point. Learning how to go hard...really hard...on tired legs? THAT'S the point! And so it went. By the end of the workout I felt like I was pedaling through cement. Why. Are. These. Pedals. So. Hard. To. Turn?!?!

But now a couple hours later, fed, iced, showered, stretched and massaged I'm no worse for the wear. Stronger actually. And now tomorrow is quite an easy day. Only a swim! Thursday is a normal masters swim/moderate length ride but then easy again on Friday with just a short, easy run. Yippppeee!!

And now I must get back to watching the Biggest Loser. I've totally become addicted to this show. In a world full of bariatric surgery, every gimmick diet in the books and hundreds of useless diet medications, it's pretty refreshing to see people lose 100 pounds + with just a dose of good, old fashioned, hard work.

Good night everyone!

Posted by beth at 9:13 PM | Comments (4)

March 24, 2008

Back on Track

So to be quite honest, last week's training was a bit lackluster. I did 100% of my workouts and even had some good ones (nice hard bike on Tuesday and a good track session Wednesday) but overall I felt all last week like I was doing my workouts just to get them done. Yuck. Perhaps it was in part due to my shoulder freaking out on Monday or maybe I was just tired and not as motivated. Either way, I don't like having weeks like that. Because we all know that just doing the workouts isn't enough. You have to DO each workout. And DO it with purpose. DO it with focus. And make sure each and every workout from the toughest swim intervals to the easiest run are done with a goal and count for something. Randomly pedaling on the bike for 3 hours or running aimlessly for 60 minutes just doesn't get you any where.

Now I try not to be too hard on myself when a week like this comes along because, lets face it, it's hard to be 100% focused 100% of the time. If all goes well my biggest and best races this season will occur in October and November. It's okay to lack a little focus in March. It's not like I skipped all my workouts for the week, laid on the couch and ate bon-bons. But still. It was time to get back on the horse this week!

So this morning I said "Shutt - LETS GET BACK IN THE GAME!" Let's get fired up and ready to go. Focus. Purpose. And remember all those goals (some a bit lofty I will admit) that are not going to get accomplished unless I shape up!

It helped that I had the day off work. :) So I slept in a little, gave myself a little pep talk and then got moving. As I lay in bed right before I got up I had this feeling that it was nice and warm outside. Dare I say shorts for my run? It was still dark outside when I peaked out the window but it just "felt" warm...you know?

A quick check on weather.com though confirmed that I was pretty far off. Low 20s and instead of shorts it was tights, 2 long sleeves, windbreaker, hat and gloves! Oh well!! :)

Even though the temps were cold it still is really starting to feel like spring. I heard birds chirping. BIRDS I tell you! They are smart those birds - they don't come around until it's almost spring. And it's almost April. APRIL!!!! April really is spring. And there will be sun. And I am really, really excited about all this!

So anyway, I started off the morning with a fartlek run and it felt great. Bri wrote a few days back about how she does her running speedwork on the roads or trails because she doesn't feel like track work necessarily translates into fast triathlon running. I agree that that can be the case. Because tracks are flat and they have long sweeping turns and it's all nice and controlled and easy to figure out pace. I do have track work in my training but I also have a good deal of fartlek which I like. Because fartlek day is my chance to run HARD uphills, downhills, around turns, all the kinds of running that you do in triathlon. AND it's my day to force myself to focus and run hard without the help of the track to keep me on pace. It's so easy to say "okay, let's just relax a little up this hill or out of this turn". NO, NO, NO!! The whole first half of my season is short course racing and there is no time for relaxing on the run!

So the fartlek was good. I felt strong and on top of my mental game. I have a 5K running race coming up this weekend, my first stand alone 5K in a longggggggg time. And I'm getting REALLY excited for it. I'm sure around the 2.5 mile mark I won't be too excited but this is my opportunity to get out there and really run hard.

Anyway, after the run I came home, stretched a bit, ate breakfast and did some odds and ends waiting for my breakfast to digest.

After about an hour I deemed myself ready for my swim workout and lift. To the YMCA I go!

I was determined to make my swim workout a good one too. My shoulder is definitely feeling better so it was time to stop babying it.

I've been doing pretty good with my flip turns so I decided today I would try them for my whole workout (usually I just do them for wu/cd). I've done this about 3 or 4 other times but not in a workout where there are long intervals (anything 500 yds+). I feel good doing them for 50s or 100s or even 200s but I get oxygen greedy in the longer intervals and I want that extra breathe that the open turn provides. The swim coach at O's school told me I just need to commit to doing the flip turns all the time and then I will get to the point where I can handle them all the time. But I'm a flip turn sissy. Slowly but surely I will get there. Slowly but surely.

Regardless, during my warmup today I was doing my flip turns pretty well but I started to feel like an hour wasn't quite long enough for that breakfast to digest afterall. Hmmm. Flip turns definitely made the situation worse so I did end up with open turns for the main set. Oh well. I usually swim on an empty stomach so during my next swim I won't have an excuse. :)

As for the actual workout, I was thrilled. My sholder didn't hurt and I felt strong and fluid in the water. And with less effort I swam faster. The workout was a mix of longer stuff (800s) with shorter stuff (150s). I always find it challenging to pick up the pace for the shorter intervals after swimming at a more controlled pace for the longer stuff. But today I pretended I was trying to swim hard to get up on someone's feet in a race and my visualization tricks worked. So good swim and good shoulder. I won't call it 100% yet because it still gets sore but it has been fine in my workouts.

Last workout of the day was the weight room and then home for lunch.

So that's my story for the day! I was very excited to get a box in the mail from MarkAllenOnline, my team, with our uniforms and some other goodies! The team is sponsored by a couple different companies, one of which is Polar. So we got some Polar HR monitors for running that actually have a sensor you wear on your shoe to monitor distance and pace. Not sure I will want to know that kind of information ALL the time, but it will be useful for some of my runs. :) Also a Polar cycling computer for the bike which I'm also looking forward to! Now if I can only figure out how to make them work. O might be a busy equipment manager tonight! :)

Posted by beth at 3:34 PM | Comments (5)

March 23, 2008

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Easter! O and I have. Great church service this morning where our pastor reminded us of how God's strength can change our lives. True, true. Very, very true. And Easter type songs are some of my favorites to sing. There was a trio that sang a song this morning called Arise My Love that was very powerful. Amazing the talent that exists in our church!

Anyway, before church O and I did our long run and were treated to a beautiful sunrise. It was a touch cold (about 22 degrees) but once the sun got up not too bad. Roxy even behaved herself on the run which is quite a change from the usual. I think after last week when we threatened not to take her running this week she got the message. Much more focused this morning she was. Which makes for happy owners. :)

After the run and church we headed to O's parents' house where we ate good food and watched basketball. Much to O and his father's surprise and utter joy Davidson (where my father in law went to college) pulled the big upset over Georgetown (sorry Audrey!). It definitely hurt my brackets but I always enjoy watching the underdog pull it off. Don't we all though? I think that's because we all have a little underdog in us. And it's fun to watch them take down the giant.

So now I'm off to ride my bike. Inside of course because there isn't much sunlight left in the day. Hope everyone has a great week!

Posted by beth at 6:36 PM | Comments (2)

March 22, 2008

Easter Eve

Well first I would like to thank everyone for the drill set ideas! HUGE help for me. I knew you guys would have really great ideas too. I LOVE MY FELLOW BLOGGERS! :)

Also nice of you all to comment on O's blog. He was quite thrilled to see that he had comments this afternoon. He didn't even know! (blogging newbie...what can I say?) Regardless, I told him he has to find his own blogging friends because I don't want to share mine. :) Just kidding of course...

As for training today...ho hum...what can I say? It snowed here yesterday so the roads were wet and it was actually pretty cold too so it was the trainer for my long ride. Nothing exciting to report other than I'm glad the work is done. Went swimming too. Shoulder is hanging in there and actually feeling pretty much back to normal. Because I have a race next weekend I actually only have 3 swims next week and so hopefully after another easy swim week I'll be 100% on the mend. Thank goodness for that!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

Posted by beth at 5:08 PM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2008

Swimming Question

Okay all your swimmers - I have a question. If you were going to design a pretty short (1500-3000 yds) set that was focused on drill/technique work, what would it look like? All drills? Mostly drills with some swimming? Any examples? Thanks guys!

Posted by beth at 3:43 PM | Comments (6)

Good Friday

Today's been a very Good Friday indeed. O and I both have the day off work so we've been hanging out, getting things done and (of course) watching a lot of basketball. You'll all be glad to know that my brackets are looking pretty good thus far and I'm excited for the possibilities. Obviously Duke gave me a big scare but otherwise things have been going pretty much to script. I've even picked a few upsets. Most importantly, I'm beating O. That's my goal every year. But the tournament is very young thus far and much has yet to happen.

This morning I had a very nice run with O and Roxy and then off to the weight room where I did all my prescribed exercises including those that involve shoulders. I went very light on the shoulder exercises and my gimpy shoulder did pretty well. Everything I've read and learned about shoulder injuries seems to indicate that keeping it moving and strong is of utmost importance so that's what I'm aiming for. Obviously I wouldn't be doing this if my shoulder wasn't feeling better though! It feels a little weak and sore but overall much improved. I did still get a script from my PCP this morning (when I was at the doctors for an unrelated reason) for PT just in case the shoulder started acting up again.

And that's the (very exciting) news for the day! Tonight we are off to watch our church's production of their famed Easter Drama. It's a huge production and actually quite amazing when you realize that everything is done by church members - actors, makeup, set design, lighting, etc... Nothing professional is brought in! O was actually in the drama last year (he was a disciple) but couldn't this year with track season as the drama is a huge time commitment. Hope everyone has a great Good Friday!

Posted by beth at 3:31 PM | Comments (0)

March 20, 2008

Happy Spring!

If you recall, the last several Thursdays have been very good to me. Riding outside in warm weather and sun. Swimming LCM. What more could a girl ask for? I woke up this morning wondering what this Thursday would bring. Especially exciting was the fact that it's the first day of spring!

Of course we all know that it's usually cold and miserable on the first day of spring. :) It wasn't miserable here - actually pretty sunny! But it was cold. I looked outside all day at work thinking - "wow, it looks great out there!" But as I stepped outside to walk up to my car...um...very cold. Windy. And not really fit to ride outside.

Regardless, I'm getting ahead of myself. I was pretty excited to try some swimming again today but I decided to skip masters practice and just do my regular, easier Wednesday workout instead of an intense, longer swim. I didn't trust myself to stop and get out of the pool at masters if my shoulder was really bothering me.

So to the YMCA O and I went this morning and I'm happy to report my shoulder did pretty good! Not 100% but not the intense pain I was worried about. If anything my shoulder just felt "tired" so I did my full workout and came home for ice and Advil. I think I'm on the mend, just have to take it easy and pay attention to taking care of it now!

Work was busier than ever. I do have to say that one good thing about my job is that I'm never worried about losing it. We are always short handed and trying to hire more dietitians. There are always so many patients to see. Unfortunately sick people aren't going away any time soon... :)

O drove me in this morning (if you remember he has the whole week off from work) so he spent the day in Oakland after his track practice this morning. Then we got to ride home together which is the best since he drives and I sleep through the traffic jams. Not that he was minding today given the fact that the NCAA tournament started today and he is all about BASKETBALL (and listened to the games the whole longggggg ride home).

When we got home he immediately parked himself (and his 2 computers) in front of the tv to watch b-ball the rest of the night. I, on the other hand, packed up the car with my bike and gear and headed to the bike shop to use the computrainers for my ride. It was already close to 5:30 and the windchills were in the low 30s, high 20s so I decided the trainer it was! I did have a good ride though. I did the St. Anthony's course +. Amazingly enough it won't be long before I'm doing the real St. Anthony's course!

And last but not least I must mention that O has decided to start a blog. No telling how much he'll write or what he'll write, but I'm pretty interested to see the outcome! I'm guessing his entries will mostly be devoted to sports talk but who knows what he might have up his sleeve... :)

Happy spring everyone!

Posted by beth at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)

March 19, 2008

Drug-Free

Well I've been off the Advil all day and so far so good with the shoulder. It's a little achy but much improved over the pain-fest that was Monday. I still did skip the arm/shoulder exercises in the weight room this evening because I want to make sure it feels as good as possible for my return to the pool tomorrow. We shall see how that goes.

I did have a good track workout this morning though. O and I awoke to the sound of some pretty serious rain outside which made me want to roll over and sleep another 5 hours. Dark and rainy does not yell out "GREAT DAY TO GET MOVING AND RUN A GREAT WORKOUT ON THE TRACK!". :) When I went to let Roxy out she wouldn't even go outside. Dumb dog. Well, actually, SMART dog!

I quickly considered doing the workout this afternoon instead. When I move workouts around I always have to consider the pros and cons and make sure there really is benefit to moving it vs my "it's 4:45 am and all I want to do is sleep" mind playing tricks on me.

After a glance at the weather is was confirmed that I was going to be doing the workout in the rain regardless of when I did it so that was equal. If I waited until the afternoon it would actually be light and I would have an easier time seeing my splits, etc... Oh, and it's easier to run fast later in the day when one's body is actually alive and awake (or at least it is for me). But the down side was that O wouldn't be able to do the workout with me and I'd be doing it myself if I waited until after work.

So on with the baseball caps and out into the rain we went!

As we were warming up the rain really wasn't that bad and it was 48 degrees which made it much more tolerable than if it had been 38 and raining.

Anyway, the workout was a mix of 400s and 800s and although most of last year I aimed to do my speedwork at 6 min pace I've recently decided that 5:40 pace would be much better for me. (faster for the 400s of course because they're so short).

I've got to admit, 5:40 pace doesn't feel that easy right now at this time of year when I've only been on the track one other time. But it will start to feel better. And even if I can't quite hit those kind of times on longer intervals now I figure it's best to aim a little high and probably end up faster than I would have if I aimed lower anyway. How does the saying go? Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Yep, I think that's it.

As I was so nicely reminded this morning, there's nothing like running hard to put you in a world of hurt. And hurting I was. But in the dark, through the raindrops O and I got a really good workout in. And hopefully next time 5:40 pace won't feel so difficult. :)

Good night everyone!

Posted by beth at 6:11 PM | Comments (4)

March 18, 2008

Updates

Well I was lucky enough to talk with Marit on the phone and all I can say is WOW! What an amazing person. Upbeat and positive despite her circumstances and of all things asking about my races. Who cares about my races at a time like this? Marit, that's who. I was really hesitant to call for several reasons, one of which is I don't actually know her and didn't want to bother her if she was sleeping, in pain, or busy with family or friends. But also because I really don't like talking to people on the phone. I guess I'm always worried of that "silence" when I can't think of anything to say. But no such worries with Marit. Despite her pain (the most painful trauma injuries are always said to be rib fractures and pelvic fractures because every time you even think of moving those bones are involved) she was absolutely delightful and so easy to talk to. People like me are always so thankful for people like Marit in this world. She should be in surgery right now (5 pm west coast time) so send good vibes and think good thoughts and lots of prayers! GET HEALTHY MARIT - we are all cheering for you!

Update #2 is regarding another call I got today - this one bringing VERY good news that my very closest friend of all had a healthy baby girl this morning at 5:03! This is Krista's second daughter. And get this, Krista's birthday is on March 14th. Her first daughter's birthday is on March 14th and THIS baby was due on March 14th but had to be a bugger and wasn't actually born until today. That would have been REALLY cool (albeit a little freaky) for all the girls of their family to have the same birthday! :)

And finally update #3, the shoulder is feeling a little better. Of course I've taken a lot of Advil but I did refrain from taking some left-over oxycodone I had from last year (that stuff will take away ALL the pain...) because I didn't want to mask all my pain. A little pain isn't a bad thing. Regardless, Bri suggested that my use of paddles may have contributed and I very much agree. I don't use them often but I've been using them more, along with a good deal of hard swimming, some more intense weight lifting and viola, we have a painful shoulder on our hands. Anyway, from my research I've determined it's probably an aggravated rotator cuff (as based on the fact that it doesn't hurt at all unless I try to lift my arm above my head or lower my arm from a raised position). And I think I just need to give it some time. Despite how frustrating it can be, time does heal most ills.

Have a great night everyone!

Posted by beth at 6:54 PM | Comments (3)

Meltdown Mode

Ever have one of those days where it all seems to be going wrong? That was my day yesterday. Which lead to complete physical and mental meltdown last night. Ugh...one of those days.

I should be very glad that I really don't have days like this very often. I work hard (yes, it's hard work!) to keep my life very low stress by not over-commiting, being very organized so there are no surprises, having plans A, B and C just in case... And about 99% of the time that does the trick, but of course you can't come even close to controlling everything in life and bad days happen.

Yesterday was mine. Started off just fine though. I woke up very tired for my swim but that's what hard training does to you, makes you tired. So O and I got to the pool and despite my fatigue I had a strong workout and felt pretty good about things. My right shoulder was hurting me a little but I figured I just slept on it wrong and during the swim it wasn't hugely painful.

Off to work and my day was so-so. I was with an intern that just would not SHUT UP which really isn't my kind of thing when I'm trying to get work done (and she wasn't taking my oh so subtle hints to zip it) and that kind of put me in a bad mood. But still, not a horrible day.

What I did notice throughout the work day though was that my shoulder was REALLY starting to hurt. Like really bad. Like "I can't lift my arm up" bad. I knew something was wrong when, at the end of the day, a co-worker had to help me get my coat on because I literally could not lift my arm due to shoulder pain!

Okay, this is not too good. But I tried not to panic. I've had shoulder pain like that before and as quickly as it came it left. So I walked up the hill to my car and decided that I would still go to the YMCA to lift but just skip any and all exercises that involved my shoulder.

And then I hit the worst traffic that every existed on the face of this earth. (okay, big exaggeration, but at the time it felt that bad). Construction on the main highway that I take home has restarted and although I left work at 3:15, I didn't get home until 5:40 pm. It was awful. We were parked. And every single time I had to shift (which was about every 5 seconds because it was stop and go, inch by inch backup) my shoulder felt like it was going to fall off. Shifting hurt it so badly but I couldn't shift with my other arm because that would force me to hold the steering wheel with the bad arm and that hurt just as bad as the shifting.

Tears.

Mostly of frustration but also of pain.

When I finally got near home I decided I had to stop at the house before lifting because I was just a mess. My arm hurt, I was tired and angry and hungry and just generally unhappy.

And you know when everything feels like it's going wrong even when people (ie: your husband) try to make it better in your eyes they are only making it worse? Oh man.

Things just went downhill from there and I just had myself so worked up about everything that I couldn't think straight. So I took lots of Advil, iced my shoulder and went to bed at 8 pm.

Then I woke up this morning to do my run and before leaving read on Jen's blog about Marit and Liz's cycling accident.

And my heart just sank.

Of course I'm thankful that they are both alive and relatively healthy but I can almost taste the disappointment Marit must feel for having to miss IMAZ. It brought back all my memories of June 1, 2007.

And it put everything into perspective for me.

During much of my run this morning I prayed for Marit and Liz, for their recoveries and all the aftermath and for the fact that the accident happened so far away from home. That has to be scary. I don't know either of them personally but I feel like I do and I'd put a lot of money on the fact that they are strong, amazing people that will get through this just fine.

There is no question that this sport is dangerous - cycling very much so but also all the stress we put on our bodies. The thing is, that stress builds a strength that is not easily sapped and a spirit that refuses to be broken. And that's the strength and spirit that carries us through things we aren't sure we can get through. Marit and Liz will get healthy. They will race again. They will race brilliantly again. My shoulder will heal. I will get back in the pool eventually. And life will go on.

Get better soon Marit and Liz - we are all thinking of you and praying for you!

Posted by beth at 12:47 PM | Comments (4)

March 16, 2008

Sports Mania

For those of you that don't actually know my husband O (or don't know him very well) I should tell you one thing. His real name is Mr. Sports Man. That's Mr. Man to you and Sporty for short. The moral of the story is, he is everything sports. Literally. He is a math teacher but he just wrote an entire curriculum for a summer math program based on sports. And the whole time he was smiling and saying things like "I can't believe they pay me for this".

Regardless, if you know anything about sports, you might guess that he's in all his glory right now. March Madness. Spring baseball training. AND today, the annual Juan Samuel Fantasy Baseball League draft. (don't ask about the name, I just did and got a *really* long story about it)

Anyway, professional baseball is by far the favorite sport and then probably college football, college basketball, professional football, professional hockey and then somewhere around #86 on the list is triathlon. So this is a good time of year because the college basketball tourney is starting and professional baseball is almost there too. And the big draft today where O and 4 or 5 or 6 of his college friends conference call each other and for 4 or 5 hours auction players off until they have their team. All I know is that in the time he was partaking in the draft I took a nap, did my long run, rode my bike, showered, stretched and iced.

But I will have to say, being married to Mr. Sports Man has been interesting in that I've increased my sports knowledge about 10,000 fold. I've always followed "endurance" sports but never the big pro sports. But O is a very educated sports fan and knows his players and his stats like no other person I've ever met. And I don't think he was about to have a wife that couldn't at least converse about the top players and teams in all the big sports. So I can. Mostly because he tells me good stories about the players and that's how I remember. And I've enjoyed it truthfully. I would never have had the respect I have for these sports had O not helped me to understand that just because they don't swim, bike or run until they bleed internally doesn't mean they don't play and train very, very hard.

So if you want to know what we talk about at the dinner table it usually goes something like "how was your day" (insert random story about a cantankerous patient or unruly student) and then the *real* conversations start about my training, his coaching and what went on in the sports world. Simple people we might be. But I dare you to challenge us to a game of all sports trivia! :)

Right now O is smiling ear to ear. Probably at least in part due to the fact that he has all next week off (their spring break) but also because he is knee deep in basketball brackets and very pleased with himself for securing the top player that he wanted for his fantasy team. Life really doesn't get much better does it?

Posted by beth at 8:30 PM | Comments (5)

March 15, 2008

Spring is Almost Here!

Well there's nothing like inviting yourself to a party and having wonderful people actually play along with you! Yes, yes, thank you to all the very nice people who invited me on training trips after my plea on yesterday's blog! And of course you are all invited to Pittsburgh ANY TIME! We have an extra room and Roxy doesn't bite and we have LOTS of peanut butter! Now why you would want to come to Pittsburgh, I'm not sure. But we could make it fun somehow!

Anyway, if you are coming to Pittsburgh to visit I recommend waiting until at least May, maybe June. The weather is better then. Hey, perhaps all those people that live in the south will want to visit when it's 100000 degrees with 30000% humidity in July down there and it's only about 80 up here?!

As for today, I had a GREAT day of training. I tell you, riding outside really does wonders for me. But first things first, I went to the pool for a good, strong swim. Swimming is really starting to click for me. No need to worry, I won't be doing 100s on the 1:10 any time soon but I am getting stronger and after being frustrated with swimming for 1.5 years I'm thrilled and thankful to see some progress. Now translating that progress from the pool into open water - that will be the real cherry on top.

Next up was my long ride for the week. I was pretty excited about this because I was going to get to ride outside YET AGAIN! The temps were hovering around 38 and it was sort of wet and misty outside but anything above 30 is fair game so on with the layers and out for the ride! I actually didn't wear that many layers to tell you the truth and I didn't even wear tights (I did wear leg warmers though). And after about 30 minutes I was pretty toasty warm EXCEPT my feet. My feet always seem to be cold when I ride though, sometimes even when it's pretty hot outside so that's nothing new. It was somewhat annoying when I started my transition run and I felt like I was running on little blocks of ice, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles if you know what I mean.

Anyway, the ride was fantastic. I feel like I'm falling in love with my bike all over again. I really do love to ride but I struggle with the long trainer rides mentally through the winter. So to get outside again and RIDE - I mean uphills and down the other side and standing up out of the saddle and just the whole package - it's just great. Really, really great. Scotty (that would be my bike in case you were wondering) and I are now a happy, happy couple again. :)

And other than the frozen feet my T run was good too. I felt strong and my legs were ready to roll right off the bike.

So that made for a good day! Lunch, ice bath, shower, stretch, roller and now it's almost dinner which isn't such a bad thing considering O and I have a very exciting dinner planned at...wait for it...Bob Evans! Yes, we are quite the jet-setters, going to Bob Evans for dinner. But I've been thinking of their omelets (you can get breakfast all day there) and flaky buttermilk biscuits for about 7 hours now. And boy are they going to taste good!

Posted by beth at 4:01 PM | Comments (2)

March 14, 2008

Where to Begin?!

I have a plethora of topics to discuss tonight. See, this is what happens. I won't have anything to write about on my blog for days and then in one night I have about 20 things I want to write. But instead of saving them up for when I don't have anything to write, I'm just going to throw them all at you right now! AHHH!!

First of all, I want to say that I can't hide it anymore. I'm jealous. Jealous of all those people that are training in San Diego, Tucson, Australia, South Carolina, Florida and other sunny places where there are fast and fun people to train with. It's not so much the nice weather that I'm jealous of (especially now that I've been able to ride outside TWICE in the past week) but more the camraderie of having really neat, talented, positive, driven people to train with. So I'm making a case for all you neat, talented, positive, driven people to invite ME to train with you next time you go somewhere warm to train hard.

1) I'm an okay runner and a pretty good cyclist so I won't hold you back too much and you won't have to wait for me on rides and runs or worry about me getting lost. If you do drop me, I'm excellent with directions so I can find my own way home (okay, that's a big lie).
2) My swimming leaves something to be desired but just think about how good you'll feel about your own swimming when you lap me multiple times. Plus, I have yet to get lost in a pool (I know, give it some time...) so even if I am way slower in the water I still won't hold you back.
3) I don't take up much space and I'm really neat.
4) I don't eat that much (okay, another big lie). I do mostly eat peanut butter though and I'll bring my own supply because peanut butter travels very well.
5) I'm generally clean and don't smell horribly.
6) I hardly talk at all so I won't give you a headache.
7) The only thing I absolutely require is internet access but if the trip is less than 4 or 5 days I can probably survive without it.
8) I can sleep anywhere, no bed or couch required.
9) I can put my own bike together and I might be able to help you with yours (but don't count on it).
10) I don't complain (much).

So what do you think? Any takers? :) Of course I'm kidding (okay, yet another big lie)....

ANYWAY, in other news I'm very excited to announce I received a package today! When I was on my way home from work to the YMCA this afternoon I thought I spotted a package sitting on our front door step (I practically drive right past our house to get to the Y) but I was good and kept driving. Of course upon arriving home from the Y I raced to the door to find that there really was a package! YIPPPPEEEE!!

And it was a good one! An Easter package from my parents:

At first I was really scared it was all chocolate goodies as I wasn't sure how I was going to resist (if you recall I gave up chocolate for Lent) for another whole week. But luckily it contained lots of other goodies besides some yummy chocolates - pears, apples, and mixed nuts!

Thanks mom and dad!

Next on the topic list is some very good swimming news. O has been talking just about everyone at his school into doing a small sprint triathlon in our area in July. Of course the swimming coach was a prime candidate. I met this swim coach (he's actually the assistant coach I think) at the swim race I did back in early February. Anyway, he has already done a few triathlons and obviously has the swim part down but wanted some help with his running. Running is something I know how to do so O offered my help (which of course I'd be thrilled to give). They were talking about this again today in school and the swim coach invited me (via O of course) to their masters practice which...get this...is in an OUTDOOR LCM POOL!?! How awesome is that! Of course they won't be starting until May (given the whole outdoor thing) and it does start pretty early (5:15 am and I'd have about a 45 min drive there) but I was totally thrilled with the idea. Especially given the fact that my current masters team is going to get kicked out of the Pitt pool soon for pretty much the entire summer since they are re-doing the whole pool. How about that for timing?! Very, very exciting!

And finally, I leave you with this, a little video sent to me by my sister. Please check it out. It is SOOOOO awesome!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Posted by beth at 6:57 PM | Comments (7)

March 13, 2008

Thursdays Are My New Favorite Days

Thursdays have been treating me well lately. Case in point, last Thursday when it was 45 degrees and sunny and I got to ride my bike OUTSIDE for 2 hours.

Fast forward to this Thursday. Okay, I'm just going to throw it right at you. What was the weather like in Pittsburgh, PA today, March 13, 2008 you ask? Well I'm glad you asked! BECAUSE IT WAS 62 DEGREES AND SUNNY. YES, I SAID SUNNY!!!!!!! YES, I SAID 62!!!!! I seriously nearly had a heart attack when I walked outside after work.

But I'm getting ahead of myself because this morning (when it was more like 28 degrees) I got a very nice surprise when I walked onto the pool deck at swim practice. LONG COURSE! YIPPPEEEE!!! I haven't swam LCM for over a year, not since I last swam with the Pitt masters team in 2006. All during swim season they seem to have the pool set up for SCY and so now with Pitt on spring break and swim season over we are back to meters. Oh goody!

I'm not entirely sure why I like swimming long course better other than the fact that it's much easier to keep track of what lap you are on. What I did fail to recall very well is that swimming meters is not the same as swimming yards in terms of time. News flash - swimming 100s on 1:30 is MUCH more difficult when those 100s are in meters and not yds. Oops. But I did it. Just barely. :)

Anyway, after swim practice I went to work during which I kept looking outside and thinking "wow does it look nice out there". It was supposed to rain though so I was trying not to get my hopes up for my ride this afternoon. And then I had to go to the never ending meeting at the end of the work day wherein I stared longingly out the window at the big blue sky! I had to escape somehow but I wasn't sure how. I kept looking at my watch, desperate to get moving when finally my co-workers excused herself. Of which I quickly jumped on board. Yes, yes, sorry but I have to get going too. Of course then she comes up with the good excuse that she has to be home to get her daughter off the school bus. Although I considered it, I refrained from telling everyone I had to get home to get on my bike. DUH!!!!

Regardless, I was beyond thrilled when I walked outside and felt the amazing, wonderful, warm air. Sweet, sweet warm air. It was like a repeat of last week, power walking up the hill to my car, driving home quickly and praying for no traffic hold ups. I could be a little more relaxed today though because of the time change and the fact that it doesn't get dark until after 7 pm now! Plus, I learned my lesson last time and now at least one of my bikes is 100% put together with pedals and wheels and the whole bit just in case a 62 degree day happens!

Let it be known - I wore shorts and a short-sleeved jersey on my ride!! And it was an absolutely brilliant ride. I went straight to the hills and rode and rode and smiled and rode and smiled some more. It was very windy but I just didn't even care. Plus, I rode into the wind for the whole first half of the ride so imagine my joy when I turned around. Into the wind and up my favorite hills. Could you ask for more?

And so I'm wondering what wonderful things next Thursday will bring? One can only hope! Hard to imagine it getting much better!

Posted by beth at 7:54 PM | Comments (5)

March 12, 2008

100K and Still Kicking

So our car celebrated a very momentous occasion today - it's 100,000 mile birthday!

It's just a car of course, but I have a bit of an emotional attachment to this particular one. It's a red 2002 Jetta, nothing special about it really. But it was the first car O and I bought together. Actually first item ever bought together, right before we got married in May of 2002.

And it's a stick. Again, nothing special. Except for the fact that when purchased I didn't know how to drive a manual.

So that summer, after we got married, we moved to Virginia. We only had that one car. I didn't know another soul in Virginia and so if I wanted to go ANYWHERE without O I HAD to learn how to drive the dang thing.

It could be argued that I wasn't that good of a driver to begin with so O had his work cut out for him teaching me on the Jetta. Around and around the mall parking lot we went. First gear, second gear, stop, first gear, second gear, stop, first gear, second gear, stop. Driving out on the roads for the first time was a MAJOR happening. I can't remember now but I'd bet a lot of money on the fact that I stalled out many, many times. Regardless, I eventually learned. And I eventually stopped sweating bullets every time I had to stop on a hill. We have 2 cars now, both manual and I couldn't imagine driving a standard! (in fact when we went to Clearwater last year our rental car was a standard and my left foot didn't know what to do with itself!)

Besides learning to drive it, I have a lot of other great memories with the red Jetta. It has been EVERYWHERE with us - on our honeymoon to New England (Cape Cod), to Virginia (MANY times), to North and South Carolina, to Michigan, to Illinois. It's covered a lot of miles. And besides the cup holder being broken in the front (good thing O rigged it up with some gum-bands) and the sticking radio buttons it's in pretty good working order! Happy birthday red Jetta! Here's to another 100,000!

Anyway, you may or may not read this blog because you are interested in triathlon training so I will stop boring you with car stories. :)

I did do a little of that so-called triathlon training today with a swim first this morning before work and a fartlek this afternoon after work. It was a gloriously sunny, bright (and somewhat warm) day so I was really excited to run. I gave some consideration to going to run on my favorite trail but then I remembered trying that last year around this time and the trail being covered in ice/snow/slush (despite the roads being clear). I guess it has to be pretty warm for pretty long before the snow melts down there. Anyway, instead of the trail I went hill hunting, formulating a loop that I could run the maximum number of hills. That's not too difficult around where I live. It felt really good to try to power up some uphills and let loose on the downhills. Anyway, good workouts all around.

And now it's time to pack for masters tomorrow morning. The alarm clock will soon be sounding! :)

Posted by beth at 8:33 PM | Comments (4)

March 11, 2008

Day by Numbers

10 - number of hours of sleep I got last night (yipppeee!!)

2 - number of hours I probably still could have slept when I decided to finally get out of bed

1 - number of HARD bike workouts completed today

LOTS - amount of sweat lost while grinding out intervals in basement on aforementioned bike workout

60 - number of minutes run today

37 - number of degrees outside on aforementioned run (oh yes, I sure did wear shorts!)

26 - number of emails received today thus far (mostly junk)

5 - approximate number of times Roxy and I played ball

3 - number of minutes of playing ball before Roxy lost interest and started barking at an imaginary person outside our house

2.5 - number of meals eaten so far today (I'm about to add to that number in a very short time)

7 - number of items crossed off my to-do-list today

4 - number of treats Roxy bummed off me (but don't tell dad!)

1 - number of core workouts done today (while watching an episode of Grey's Anatomy of course!)

0 - number of naps taken today (something I might have to remedy after adding to my meal count)

Have a great night everyone!

Posted by beth at 5:03 PM | Comments (3)

March 10, 2008

The Usual Suspects

Nothing too exciting today. More swimming (600 pull PR by A LOT!) this morning and then some lifting this evening after work. Lifting is now entering it's "power" phase which would be the period where I actually try to get stronger. I will have to say that I am much stronger than last year in the weight room which is certainly translating into better swimming. It also means my shirts are a little tighter in the shoulders. Not a bad thing at all!

One of these days I'll have something super exciting to write about on my blog. But for now it's much of the same. It has occured to me more than once though that this is what good, solid training is all about. Day after day of consistent effort, never missing a workout, keeping the nose to the grindstone and working hard.

Regardless, in other news, I read this article today and it really saddened me. Stay safe out there guys. Speaking from experience, it happens in a blink of an eye. And to Kristy's family and friends, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Posted by beth at 6:59 PM | Comments (3)

March 9, 2008

Spring WILL Come (eventually)

I definitely wasn't pleased when my alarm went off this morning at 6 am for our run and of course it felt like I got one less hour of sleep (I did) and it was VERY dark and VERY cold and VERY windy. But it was all made worth it when, at 7:30 pm it was still light outside. YIPPEEEE!!! And if I remember correctly the darkness in the morning doesn't last very long before it's really pretty light pretty early too. Spring is but 11 days away!

Anyway, we did get that run in and while the wind literally chilled my bones, it was still a good run. I just kept trying to imagine us doing the very same thing in 2 months time, likely on the trail instead of the roads (hopefully the snow will be gone by then!) and in shorts and t-shirts instead of fleeces, tights, gloves, hats, and many, many other layers.

The rest of the day was spent doing the usual Sunday things - church, cleaning up the house, riding my bike, and of course taking a nap! We also finalized all our travel plans with my parents for St. Anthony's which is amazingly only 7 weeks away! Both of my parents are able to come (and of course O too!) and for that I'm really excited! They came to Clearwater last year too - I think they may just like the area but they appear to be interested in my race as well. :) They were happy to find out that this race was only 2 hours instead of 5 hours like last time.

And that's my story for today! I can't believe another week is upon us already. Hope everyone has a great one!

Posted by beth at 7:58 PM | Comments (2)

March 8, 2008

To Grandma's House We Go

Me, happily pedaling away this morning on the trainer.

Well, our nice weather from Thursday didn't really stick around too long. This morning it was in the 30s and raining, which turned to a "wintery mix" which turned to snow. And now the windchill outside is 8. But it was nice while it lasted and that one outdoor ride on Thursday should be good to hold me over for at least a few more weeks.

Plus, yesterday after work I headed to the bike shop to work a little on my bike fit (my left leg was feeling funny), get new (different) pedals, and get the new cleats put on my new cycling shoes (that I got a while back but haven't worn yet). All this means that a nice long trainer ride this morning gave me the perfect opportunity to pay attention to how all these changes felt! And they felt good!

Off the bike it was off on a run and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. I think that run was truly the only 30 minutes in the day when it wasn't raining/icing/snowing. It was windy but at least we didn't get wet!

And then finally to the pool where...oh you won't believe it...I actually did flip turns for the WHOLE ENTIRE workout including the main set! I got brave because the main set was just 200s and I felt like I could handle flip turns for that short of an interval. I will admit to wanting to change over to open turns after about the first 3 200s but I forced myself to stick with the flip turns. And it wasn't so bad! I'm still alive and for once my flip turns didn't slow me down. At the very least they were as fast as my open turns. :)

But by far the best part of the day was going to visit my grandparents. We arrived just in time for some of my grandma's amazing cooking - dinner of mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, gravy, corn, rolls. It was the best! And tomorrow is my grandfather's 80th birthday so of course there was cake too! After dinner we sat around and talked about any and everything for quite some time before, sadly O and I had to head home. The roads weren't too good on the ride back but we made it. Not that Roxy and I would know as we were both sleeping on the ride home while poor O had to do all the driving!

But alas - time for bed! Don't forget to set your clocks forward! Painful to lose an hour of sleep now but just think how much lighter it will be in the evenings now! Spring really is almost here!

Posted by beth at 10:05 PM | Comments (4)

March 6, 2008

Freedom

Ahem. Attention please. I want everyone and all to hear. I RODE MY BIKE OUTSIDE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!! What's that? You didn't hear me? Well okay. I RODE MY BIKE OUTSIDE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!! I RODE MY BIKE OUTSIDE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!! I RODE MY BIKE OUTSIDE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!! I RODE MY BIKE OUTSIDE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!! I RODE MY BIKE OUTSIDE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!

I couldn't believe my good fortune. O had told me at dinner last night that it was supposed to be dry and in the 40s today and we briefly discussed the possibility of me riding outside. But then we just as briefly dismissed the idea because by the time I got home from work there probably wouldn't have been enough daylight. I think I just didn't want to get my hopes up.

Fast forward to this afternoon after work as I walked outside. It took me about 3 seconds to decide that yes indeed I WAS going to ride outside. And once I have my mind set on something WATCH OUT!!

I went into RIDE OUTSIDE MODE. I power walked up the hill to my car (I would have ran but I was carrying an incredibly big, heavy bag full of swimming gear from masters practice this morning) and then drove home FAST (not too fast, don't worry mom ;). I was praying the whole way home I wouldn't hit any major traffic or an accident to back things up. My drop dead time to leave on my ride was 4 pm and I knew I was cutting it close.

I pulled into the garage at 3:32. Haul my crap into the house, let Roxy out, feed Roxy, get the mail, make a quick phone call (that I couldn't put off or trust me I would have). Next up? Change into riding gear. WHAT TO WEAR?! I checked the weather quickly. It was sunny and amazingly beautiful outside. And get this - 45 degrees!! Tights or leg warmers? I settled on the leg warmers and shorts. Long sleeve. Cycling jacket. Gloves. Socks. Helmet. Sunglasses (yes, that's right - SUNglasses!). Road ID (after I got hit this summer while riding and didn't have any ID on me and was unconsious, my mom bought me the Road ID bracelet - I recommend it for everyone). I was on a roll!

Now the problem was - which bike?! I had been thinking about this the whole drive home. On one hand the TT was in one piece and was in working order (it's the bike I always ride on the trainer). But then again the tire was looking BAD on that particular back wheel due to much trainer riding. That's just asking for a flat.

The road bike was my other option. But it was lacking some key pieces. Namely a back wheel and pedals. I've not tried it before but I suspect it's difficult to ride a bike with only one wheel. But I had convinced myself that stealing the pedals from the TT and putting on the back wheel that was just laying around in the basement would be quick work and that the road bike was ride of choice today.

I checked my watch as I headed down to the basement for bike repair. 3:48. Okay - 12 minutes to get A bike, ANY bike in working order. I can do this!

I grab the extra wheel and of course immediately can't get the dang road bike to accept it. I'm the kind of person that can get a back wheel on about 85% of the time on the first try. And if I don't get it on then, call in the husband because there is NO WAY I'm getting it on. Unfortunately back wheel would not budge and there was no husband around. And Roxy isn't very good with back wheels either. CRAP!! Now what?! I struggled with it some and then just gave up. The TT it is! Change back skewer, pump tires and PRAY I don't get a flat on that nasty looking back tire.

And at 4:01 pm I pushed off on my first outdoor ride since January 11th.

And it was more glorious than I have words for.

I haven't felt that good on the bike since last October. It was amazing and wonderful and warm and I'm here to tell all those people that have been riding their trainers for the past 3 months that you are SOOO much stronger for it. The trainer makes your legs strong and when you get out there on the open roads you will fly!

I rode for close to 2 hours and was sad to turn towards home. I considered doing my long ride TODAY but of course I was barely going to make it 2 hours in daylight so adding another 1.5 wasn't going to happen. But that was just greedy thinking.

For the first whole 15 minutes of the ride I thanked God over and over again for such a beautiful day. For being alive. For finally getting to ride outside. Then for the next 15 minutes I thought of all those people still imprisoned by bad weather and prayed for them to catch a weather break too. Then for the next 90 minutes I didn't think. I just smiled. And smiled. And smiled some more.

It really is the simple things in life isn't it?

Posted by beth at 9:03 PM | Comments (8)

March 5, 2008

Challenge Day #1 and Sharp Beaks

So day #1 of the complaining challege has gone pretty well. But I have to admit - I got off to a very easy start. I had the day off work so no commute and in general more time to get things done, not feel rushed and relax a little. All of which means less likelihood of complaining.

But if we are going to be totally honest about it (Danielle fessed up, I might as well too) I did get a little whiney this morning when I jogged over to the track for my first interval session of the year and noted the gale force winds on the homestretch. Wind and I don't generally get along, especially when I'm trying to run hard into it. But I immediately took notice of my attitude and forced myself to turn it around. Embrace the wind I told myself. Or, at the very least, ignore it. :)

The track session went very well, especially considering I haven't run that hard for quite some time. I do love track workouts I must say. Danielle wrote a bit ago about how her comfort place is the pool and the whole time I was reading her entry I was thinking about how the track is my comfort place. It just feels like home if you know what I mean.

Anyway, a few hours later I was at the YMCA getting in a swim and having a great time with my paddles. My paddles (whom I've lovingly named Ziggy and Zoggy) and I were getting along very well this morning. We only had one small mishap and otherwise I was using them to actually make myself go faster. Sort of. I'm not exactly a pro with them but I'm getting better. :) I did have a very interesting encounter with a strange man while swimming though.

I noticed him about half way through my swim, just standing by the ladder talking to himself. He later got in and would randomly swim a 25, take a big long break, swim another 25, etc... You know the type. But he caught my eye because he sort of looked like a viking (minus the pointy hat) and he was always saying something to himself.

I started to get curious as to what exactly he was saying. And I finally got my chance to hear it when he and I ended up at the same end of the pool (he was in the lane right next to me) and I was resting between sets.

"Since when did your beak get so sharp?"

Um....

Over and over again he was saying "Since when did your beak get so sharp? Since when did your beak get so sharp? Since when did your beak get so sharp?"

I swear - I'm not even creative enough to have made that up on my own.

Of course I thought I was hearing things but since he said it over and over again it was confirmed.

"Since when did your beak get so sharp?"

Unfortunately as I glanced over our eyes met and I knew I was toast. He stopped his beak question long enough to ask me:

"So are you training for the Olympics this summer?"

Yeah, not so much. :)

Overall though, a great day. Later I got a massage (oh man did Lucy work the lower back and hips - just what I needed today!) and did laundry and ironed and made dinner and caught up on emails. And now it's time to join O in watching some basketball on tv and relaxing. Have a great night everyone!

Posted by beth at 5:46 PM | Comments (5)

March 4, 2008

Take the Challenge

Well, we made it through the swim challenge so now it's time for a new one - the complaining challenge! I was reading about this challenge here, in one of the devotionals I read each morning.

In the case that you don't feel like reading about it, the quick explanation is that a pastor in Kansas City gave a challenge to his congregation—to go 21 days without complaining (the amount of time some say it takes to develop a new habit). What a great idea I thought! Not that I'm a huge complainer but I do complain and you can see how one little complaint turns into another into another and before you know it you've got one bad attitude on your hands. (anyone ever watch Wedding Crashers? - one of my favorite lines is when Vince Vaughn tells Owen Wilson to stop "taking a turn to Negative Town!" ;)

So on my drive into work this morning I decided to categorize what I complain about so as to be more aware of it and try to stop it before it goes any further.

1) The Weather - no explaination needed, but as the weather gets better and better this should get easier. I got some practice this morning with this one as O and I were running in my LEAST favorite conditions of all time - about 37 degrees and RAIN, RAIN, RAIN! Wet, cold and not too happy but no complaints!

2) The Traffic/My Commute - both O and I have long drives into work and the road we travel in on is known for it's accidents/backups/mudslides/etc that cause even further delays. PLUS, the evil construction that shut down both inbound and outbound lanes all last spring/summer/fall on said highway are slated to start again next week which means my ride into work will be more like 65-80 minutes instead of 45-60 and my ride home will be more like 50-65 instead of 35-45. Sometimes it drives me insane, other times I handle it better but the fact is, we live where we live and we can't afford to move any closer to the city right now! So as I sat in traffic this morning thinking of all the OTHER things I could be doing I tried to turn my complaining/negative attitude around and think how nice it is to live where we live. I have a great trail to run on. My swimming pool is but a 5 minute drive away and there are literally 100s of miles of great country/hilly riding right out my door. This wouldn't be the case if we lived close to our jobs. (I secretly think the solution is to quit our jobs but O doesn't seem to agree :)

3) Household Jobs - you should just hear the complaining when O and I have to clean the house! We are awful. You would think we are marching to our death. Scrubing the floors really isn't that bad but we certainly make it out to be.

That's about all I could think of. I don't complain about my training at all but I do admit to being really tired at times to O. I've decided that is more of a statement of the truth vs a complaint. :)

So there we have it - no complaining for 21 days starting right NOW! Care to join?

In other news I did my first hard workout on the bike today since...um...October? And WOW was it out of this world! I chose WAYYYYYY too big of a gear to start with but then I was WAYYYYY too stubborn to change it. I thought my head was going to explode! I was loving every second of it though! Hard bike workouts are one of my favorites. Nothing like turning the pedals as hard as you can as fast as you can, sweat flying, heart bursting, pain so acute you can taste it (or was that my lunch I was tasting?) to help you to remember why you loved this sport in the first place.

Have a great night everyone. No complaints! :)

Posted by beth at 9:27 PM | Comments (12)

March 3, 2008

Cartwheel Joy

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I was going to save the best for last but I just can't...I must scream it from the rooftops...it was 64 degrees here in Pittsburgh today!! And I repeat AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

I had heard that it was going to get this warm today but I was very skeptical. Besides the warm temperatures the weather people were also claiming sun and that all seemed like a bit to much for March 3rd. But it was true and so incredibly glorious!

I started off the morning at the pool (great swim by the way) after which I walked outside and it felt SOOOO warm (it was probably in the low 40s by then) that I nearly did a cartwheel across the parking lot! Pure joy! And the sun was just rising and it was incredible. O and I were also treated to a beautiful sunrise on our run Sunday morning. Beautiful bold pinks and purples and dark oranges. Still, in my opinion, one of the best parts of being a triathlete (or a runner for that matter) - you are usually up early enough to catch some amazing sunrises.

Later, at work, I was explaining to my attending physician how happy I was to feel the warmer weather this morning. "I felt like doing a cartwheel I was so happy!" to which he replied "what's a cartwheel?"

Now he's from India so I'm sure he knows what a cartwheel is but just not the English word for it? Or maybe he really doesn't know what a cartwheel is? Either way I had no idea how to explain what a cartwheel is and beyond that I really started to hate the word cartwheel. Like what in the world does a cart have to do with a cartwheel? I guess I can see the wheel part but cart?! After some frustrating attempts at explaining the cartwheel motion I was ready to bust one out in the middle of the hallway (at the hospital) but decided against it. He already thinks I'm crazy enough... :)

I couldn't get through my work day fast enough. I wanted out of that hospital BAD! I couldn't wait to get home and get started on my run.

I usually don't run on Mondays but you just can't let a 64 degree day go by. Plus by running today I have the opportunity to take Friday off and that's exactly what my body is telling me I need right now - a day off!

I ran in shorts and a t-shirt and I definitely didn't need the shirt. IT FELT SO GOOD! I don't know about you guys but my body just feels so much better running in warmer weather. I headed to the YMCA after that to lift and when I left the YMCA at 7 pm it was still warm enough to walk around in shorts and a t-shirt. Oh how that makes me long for summer!

Of course tomorrow morning when I run it's supposed to be in the mid 30s and raining. And more snow is on the way on Wednesday. But today's little slice of heaven was such a blessing I don't even care. Spring really is on the way. Which means racing season is on the way. Which makes me one VERY happy triathlete. So happy, I might just go do a cartwheel.

Posted by beth at 9:28 PM | Comments (8)

March 2, 2008

MELT Snow MELT!

The sun is shining in Pittsburgh, PA today! Wow! Long time no sun and so when it does appear it's a glorious day.

This of course is very good for many reasons, top on the list of which is to MELT all our snow! I had heard that it was supposed to warm up today and *really* warm up tomorrow so I was very hopeful for the snow melt. But then when I looked at the weather this morning before we left for our run I was quite disappointed. 11 degrees. Boo.

But it really is warming up now and just in time. Because you see this week - this very first week in March - marks a VERY exciting thing for me and my training. The return of speed work!! Can we get a big yah-hoooooo for that? I've been waiting a longgggg time for it (I always get so excited for it and then during that first hard interval on the bike when I feel like throwing up I wonder what all this excitement was for?)!

Regardless, first up on the running speed work front is a track workout Wednesday. Holy cats! Which is awesome and great if the track wasn't covered in about 4 feet of snow. I had prepared myself for the fact that I might be doing this track session on the roads instead but now I really am hopeful that the snow will be gone. MELT snow MELT!

Anyway, right now I am procrastinating getting on my bike because I am obsessively following the Big Ten women's indoor track championships online! PSU is in a very tight battle up front for the win with Minnesota and Michigan with only 5 events left! I can just tell this is going to lead to a CRAZY 4x400 relay (the last event of the meet) where I'm VERY glad to report Penn State has the top seeded time. I can feel my HR raise just thinking of how loud that fieldhouse will be! Because everyone KNOWS the 4x400 is the most exciting track race of all especially when there is a championship on the line! Penn State get 'em get 'em!! :)

Posted by beth at 3:35 PM | Comments (4)

March 1, 2008

March Madness

Well, March certainly did come in like a lion so I'm hoping (as the saying goes) it will go out like a lamb! Snow and muck aside though I'm *really* happy it's March. March is like the light at the end of the tunnel for me. Still cold and at times snowy but SOOOOO much closer to spring than February. Sooooo much closer.

I do have to admit that I was pretty glad that I didn't have a run on the schedule today. It's still pretty messy out there and not so warm either. But it's supposed to warm up tomorrow and through the beginning of next week so I hope all our snow will melt! Yeah for melted snow!

Instead of running I did have some swimming and cycling to accomplish. So O and I headed to the YMCA this morning to knock out the swim first. Had a great swim. Felt good and strong and the flip turns are becoming a little more consistent (as in I actually end up headed in the right direction when I'm done :). Things got a little hectic as more and more people were coming in to swim (when we got in the water O and I were the only 2 there). At one point I think there was even a swim lesson going on in the same lane as me! I sometimes get annoyed when the mayhem starts - lots of people sharing lanes and lots of waves - but then I remind myself that I am a triathlete and triathlon swims are the definition of mayhem! So it's always nice to get a little practice swallowing water every time you take a breath and learning how to focus on yourself and your stroke when things get hairy.

Anyway, came home for my long ride of the week while O did all the shoveling outside. And the scary part is - he wasn't done that much more before I was!

And that's my story for the day. I've been checking out all the indoor conference track championships results and hoping for the PSU women to pull of a victory at Big Tens! Another reason why March is fun...March Madness for basketball AND indoor track! Hope everyone has a great Saturday!

Posted by beth at 3:32 PM | Comments (1)