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July 2, 2008
Camp Continues
1) Boss is still cute.
2) I've deemed Liz the healthiest eater of all time. A dietitian's dream. When I was telling O of this this afternoon when I talked with him on the phone he said "oh no, does that mean we are going to have spinach and hummus on our grocery list?" You could sense the fear. Worry not O, I could never give up pizza. :)
3) I've also deemed Liz World's Fastest Typer - she types fast and furious.
4) Chris is the the fixer of all things bike. He's currently building wheels. Who in the world knows how to do that?
5) Ness just plain makes me laugh.
6) Jen could very well be the spunkiest person I know. Spunky being a very good thing of course. :) I'm amazed at her energy.
This morning we went to the track. Well, to me it seemed like it was more like 3 in the afternoon. But that's because I'm an hour behind here and also because, as previously documented, I usually do my workouts very early in the morning.
Getting up at 4:45 am for a track workout (done purely so I can get to work at a decent time) isn't always fun but it does have it's benefits. First and foremost of which is, the temps are usually in the 50s or 60s and sometimes if there is a heat wave going on, in the 70s. In other words, the conditions are usually ideal for running fast.
This is good and bad. You have the confidence of knowing that you can run fast and that you can feel good doing it. It's a lot easier to recover from a workout done in the 50s than done in the 80s. And the list goes on.
But enter Liz and Jen who apparentely eat nails for breakfast (although they claim to always eat oatmeal). Don't believe these tales of oatmeal. It's pure nails.
They apparently always do their workouts at this 10 to 11 am hour when it's...oh, I don't know...80 degrees, humid and windy. Ouch.
So we drove to the track and I knew it was going to be rough. Jen and I did the same workout while Ness and Liz were also off working hard running their own version of crazy laps. Crazy laps indeed.
I had some time goals in my mind for the workout we were doing as based on the last time I did this workout but after the first repeat I immediately ammended those goals. Jen graciously agreed. There was no way I was going to be able to repeat the same performance when it was 30 degrees hotter.
And the workout was still painful and I still suffered. But it was SUCH a great workout regardless. Because it was really good practice for racing. In fact it was very much like the run portion of a race where it's hot and humid and you feel like pooh. And you want to stop. And mentally you are struggling to stay in it. But you keep going anyway. Because that's what you do.
I wouldn't want to run my track workouts in the high heat every week, but I realized today that it's not such a bad idea every once in a while. You learn to perservere better that way. And we all know perserverence is what racing is all about.
Regardless, when we were all done with our workouts we cooled down together and then back to Liz's for lunch and recovery and mostly me being lazy while everyone else did work. I'm good at being lazy.
The next agenda item was swimming. An open water swim race was on the docket but the weather had other ideas. Unfortunately the swim was cancelled as storms rolled in so instead we went to Liz and Chris's gym to swim with a few others.
The pool was really nice! And the water chilly. Which at first didn't feel good but was REALLY nice while we were swimming our 500s. Yeah - 500s. But all was well and other than almost getting lapped when we were doing 250 pulls and then Ness trying to take my hand off (I've renamed her LANE HOG), all was well. I can't say it enough - just how nice it is to be around and train with strong, talented women who share the same passion and focus. I'm so thankful for it. And I've already learned a lot from these guys.
Oh wait - did I forget to mention the hot tub after the swim? Um yeah...my YMCA definitely needs one of those!
Finally we finished up with some dinner at Noodles which is the bomb. O and I had eaten there last year when we were in Portland, OR but I had forgotten about it because there are none in Pittsburgh. That might be a good thing - because I would ALWAYS want to be eating there!
And so it goes. Camp day #2. Looking forward to seeing what day #3 holds!
Posted by beth at July 2, 2008 5:53 PM
Comments
BETH! Oh, so much fun! Glad you guys had a nice swim last night and doing all those 500s! We were going to go to Noodles after open water too...so, glad you got in a super swim! I am off to swim right now! Have a good run this AM!
Posted by: Jennifer Harrison at July 3, 2008 6:32 AM
Sounds like a GREAT time - way to nail those workouts! Sweet!
And for the record - I LOVE Noodles. I have the menu on my fridge, even though we don't have any in Florida. My favorite meal? Japanese Pan Noodles with extra broccoli, mushrooms, chicken and NO sprouts (I hate sprouts!). Delicious. Nate always goes for the Indonesian Peanut Sautee. Very spicy but good. AND, its the first place he ever told me that he loved me... :) (Madison, WI on State Street). Okay okay - sappy, I know.
I just love noodles! Go there again for me!!! :)
Posted by: marit c-l at July 3, 2008 9:29 AM
Wow! Love the list and if I just keep reading this blog, you won't even have to update me when you get back on your trip. Never mind, I take that back because I still want the update. Plus I am riding my first century on Saturday and I will want to update YOU on how that goes! Running at 11am.. really?? Yeah, I'm with you mostly.. before 6am or after 6pm are the ways to go! Talk soon!
Posted by: Kim at July 3, 2008 10:31 AM
the fun continues...Sounds like a great few days.
Not sure what I'd do without Noodles. I eat there ALL the time-you'll ahve to try the Thai Curry Soup-Excellent.
Posted by: cathy yndestad at July 3, 2008 1:54 PM
Sounds like you guys are having a fun time at camp. I can't even imagine doing track workouts at 11:00 am. I do them after work, and it is still very hot and windy, but 11 is about the toughtest you can get. It will definitely toughen you up!
Posted by: maija at July 3, 2008 4:58 PM