Track & Treadmill

Today Noelle and I met at the Moore Lake gym and did our long run 'track and treadmill' style....reminiscent of our 20 miler that we did last fall in this same fashion due to the weather. We ran 15 minutes on the dreadmill, then ran 15 minutes on the track. Alternate for 2 hours, or roughly ~13 miles (give or take).

 

During the run I was pretty hungry towards the end. Noelle gave me some Cliff bloks - but didn't fill the gap. So we went and had a bite to eat afterwards. Corrine showed up and hung out for a bit too, which was fun since I haven't seen much of her lately due to me boycotting running outside (run club), due to my broken @ss and my paranoia of slipping on the ice lately.

I think that future 'long runs' will probably be done in the 'track and treadmill' fashion in the coming weeks - as this was much, much better than going straight on the treadmill for that duration.

Snow Day

Yesterday with the looming snow storm, I left work and headed for home at lunch to avoid a 2+ hour commute. (I think this was a smart idea) After working from home for the afternoon, Jake and I went to the gym and I got in some intervals on the treadmill for a few miles and some weights.

 

This morning I decided that I was going to avoid the roads again and save some time by commuting 20 feet to my dining room table. Now, what annoys me is that 20 years ago, when I had 'snow days', I pulled out a cardboard table and would sit for hours putting together puzzles. I don't have that option today - boot up the laptop, log in and work. Oh well, I get paid much better for working vs. putting together puzzles...which helps pay for my Zipp wheels. Fine! I'll get to work! Man!

Tonight I have a swim planned with maybe a little spin down on Pink Lightning to round it out.

It's Coming....

Oh my... The countdown is in the 100's now. No panic attacks yet, but when they start, I'll put up a counter for you all to watch and participate with me in. (My peeps know what I was like last year for my Half IM...I'm predicting worse this year). Let's hope not.

I Almost Broke Down...

Yesterday at the office, the fridge had no water in it. The office was warm, my mouth was dry, I was close to coughing up hairballs. I was dying... I looked into our break room fridge, only to see 2 cans of Diet Coke left. What do I do? Die of thirst? Or have a can of Diet Coke? It's just one can... Oh the temptation.

I took the can out of the fridge (OK, I'm so screwed now), walked back to my desk and cracked it open (Yes...it was open!). Ironman Jim is sitting next to me and he noticed this behavior that I had just openly displayed. He swiftly thanked me for opening 'his' can of Diet Coke, took my delicious looking soda from me, and told me to go get some water from the tap. Which I ended up going in and making a protein shake (gross!) and wetting my whistle with. Didn't satisfy me like I know a Diet Coke would have...but Jim was too quick for me (Thanks Jim!).

Party Time!

Yesterday I got up early and headed to the gym to get my long run over with...11 miles was the goal. I attempted some more Jedi Mind Tricks like last week, but I think my mind got wise to me today. As I was quickly bored out of my skull and about to gouge my eyes out. I toughed my way through it and got the hell out of the gym as soon as I could (after rolling on the foam roller! I swear!!!). 

Then it was off to a celebration of my nephew (and god son) Laike's first birthday and my little brother's 30th birthday. It was fun to see Laike all excited with his cake, new toys, and all his cousins running around. I was a little exhausted from the morning's run, and didn't make it too late into the evening. So, I went home and relaxed a bit on the couch (caught up on my Grey's Anatomy), then made it an early night. 

This morning, Suzie came to the house for my massage. I had an hour & a half massage, which was wonderful...up to the end when she was wailing on my broken @ss. Curses were flying through my brain at that point in time. It was funny though...Suzie commented on the following areas as she got to them (when I say 'comment' that means, these need some work!): IT bands, Quads, Calves, Hamstrings, and of course my broken @ss. 

I pretty much accepted that my lower extremities are in need of some TLC if I'm going to get through my training for IM in Sept. Guess I'll be spending more time on that damn foam roller. Now, it's time for me to get some work done at my kitchen table this morning/afternoon and then this evening I'll get today's workout(s) in for the day. 

Planned workouts = Warm up run (1-2 miles), Lifting + a little bit of spinning (timeframe questionable at this point...we'll see how lower extremities are feeling at this point).

According to Dora: Just Keep Swimming...

Tonight after work I hit the pool for some yards, as I had been a bit delinquent with my swimming for a little while. I pulled out a workout and hit it pretty hard. I was very surprised, however. I have not swam all that much this winter (yet) and really should be fairly rusty - but I'm thinking all of my cross-training has helped my swim, maybe? No idea. But in one of my sets I had a 400 yd swim. For giggles I timed myself. I finished it in 7:00 flat.

Now, my fastest swim leg for a .25 mile swim in a tri was 6:58 (which is roughly the equivalent to a 400 yd swim, plus a little run time to the timing mat). So that surprised the crap out of me to pull that split out of nowhere since I basically haven't been in the pool much. I'll take it!

I ended up swimming around 3200 yds total. The swimsuit dryer at the gym was broken, so I have a soggy suit that I still have to hang up... Tomorrow is an 11 mile run for me - with the slick conditions + broken @ss, I think I'm going to opt for another dreadmill day for safety sake. Last thing I need to do is aggravate my pulled muscle or fall and get hurt. I'll have to dream up a new Jedi mind trick for tomorrow, I guess.

Busy Week...

I've been a bit negligent this week with blogging - been a tad busy. Work has been super crazy, but I've actually been slightly productive this week (which is kind of unusual lately). I now get to report to Ironman Jim for some of my project work, so that is kind of fun at the office.

 

Workouts have been so-so this week... My @ss is still slightly-broken, so am going to get a massage on Sunday, which I'm told that I shouldn't expect to be able to sit on Monday at work. Hmm....sounds painful. Can't wait. But, have to get it taken care of now, I'm told...lots and lots of training time in my future. But for now, gonna keep this short and get to bed. Am dog tired....

Jedi Mind (Treadmill) Tricks

Yesterday I woke up and got all ready to run my 9 miles outside (route by my house). I got my running tights on and extra pant layer, wicking shirt, running jacket, hat, gloves, garmin, iPod - all set!

I stepped outside and got blasted by the COLD wind. Hmmmmm..... let's think about this plan for a minute here. Do I want to run in cold gusty winds for an hour and a half? Or can I muster up the courage to get it over with on the treadmill at the gym? Dilemma!

I walked inside, pulled up the internet and saw the wind chill was -5 below and that made my decision for me. So, I went to the gym with Jake that afternoon and prepared to be bored out of my mind. For some reason, I decided to play a little game with some 5 minute intervals to make the time go by.

Jen's Jedi Mind (Treadmill) Trick for Valentines Day:

5 min @ 6.2 pace

5 min @ 6.4 pace

5 min @ 6.6 pace

5 min @ 6.8 pace

(Repeat 4 times)

Surprisingly, the miles peeled away and I was done before I knew it! Great workout! And the pace was comfortable - which makes me believe that my goal with Andy that we set last week to run the Earth Day 1/2 marathon in under 2 hrs may not be that hard.

Then Jake and I went home for a relaxing Valentines Day of king crab legs (yum!), a little wine, and veging on the couch. Perfect! Amongst our kitchen duties, we did find out our plumbing under the sink is faulty (water leaking from garbage disposal line) - so Dad should be on his way over today to assess and work his magic.

All Curled Up...

Thursday I went spinning and had a little nagging pain in my knee and lower back when running stairs. I rolled it out on the foam roller and then got 'worked on' by one of the massage therapists who basically said I had an irritated muscle in my @ss (gluteus medius, I think), up by the top of my IT band. So now I think I need to line up a few massages to work this kink out (darn - twist my arm!)

 

Yesterday after work (and after happy hour...was one of those weeks and all my co-workers basically walked out at 3:00ish to the bar), I headed to get my hair trimmed. Has been a nightmare mess lately. Not sure if it is the chlorine exposure now, the lack of humidity, or combination of all things...but looks like hell. So my hair guy and I chatted and I ended up getting a loose spiral perm!

Woah! I haven't had one of those since I was in high school (As everybody knows, I have naturally curly hair that emerged somewhere in my middle school / high school era). I needed a little evening out of my curl and a tad more body. I'll see how it settles down to be in the next few days, but I think it turned out OK. In my opinion, the common person who sees me probably won't even notice I did this, unless they scrutinize the angles of my curls at the top of my head (a bit more perky). Now this means that I have a get-out-of-pool pass for at least 48 hours. Recommended duration = 1 week. Hmmm.....we'll see how hard and fast I follow that rule.

Last night Jon & Stacy came over and we went out to dinner and a few cocktails...since they were kid-less for the evening. Was fun to hang with them for the night! Today is a 9-10 mile run and probably doing some work-work before 'Valentines Day' evening ensues. Plans are low-key...stay in for dinner (king crab legs) and maybe go out to a movie? Jake want's to see Friday the 13th - how romantic! Ha ha!

So how was class?

I Love Diet Coke...

So I haven't been publicizing this too much, but I have been Diet Coke free now since before Christmas (almost 2 months!). I'm not going to say I'm cutting it out of my life forever...but just cutting back with my new diet and training program that I'm following since it isn't a terribly beneficial to my training efforts (besides keeping me awake). I think I'm going to need to allow myself a 'treat' every once in a while in the coming months (in moderation) so that is why I'm not saying I 'quit' the addictive drug that it is. As that will bite me sooner or later.

 

Hardest part? The office I'm consulting at has a fridge FULL of Diet Coke for free. Just go on in and grab a soda anytime you want (which I did a few months back...all.the.time)! I look longingly at those cans every time I go to the fridge for my good 'ol, plain water. I swear the other day they were actually calling my name when I was in the break room, but I stayed strong. Now I just grab my water and quickly exit the room...is the safest bet.

New Phone, Blog Updates & Random Stuff...

So yesterday, after run club (7 miles with the crew) and cleaning of the house - I spent a little time tweaking the blog. I added a little 'flair' to the header (since lots of people ask me what a 'M-dot' is) and added a few widgets to my sidebar including "Twitter". Since I got a new phone last week (yes, it is pink...isn't it cute?) - I now have much more flexibility with my web capabilities and texting (technically and via my phone plan that was upgraded), so thought I'd try 'er out since I've been following Alicia & Megan using it on their blogs. For those who are not familiar with Twitter - it is really a service that allows you to post random thoughts and comments via web or mobile device. Example: So if I'm waiting in a line at a store and feel like bitching about it - I can 'tweet' via my phone and you'll see it on my blog right away. So...watch the blog for some future 'tweets'! 

Last night I met up down in St. Paul with the girls (and former co-workers) for Maggie & Andrea's birthday party, which was very fun. There were a lot of people that I had not seen for quite some time there. I wasn't intending to stay terribly late, but ended up doing so anyways since I hadn't talked to everyone for a while. Miss them!

Today's plans: After finishing my coffee, go downstairs and spin for a while (Spinervals - Hillacious workout...Madison here I come!), shower up and meet Noelle at the 'bike swap meet' they are having at the National Sports Center today (maybe I'll find some new toys!). Then the day is dedicated to "work-work" and "home-work" for the afternoon, before heading to the gym with my hubby to lift weights and do some interval training on the dreadmill tonight. I'm starting to get into my 'routine' now for workouts, which is nice.

Off to Morning Run!

Well, just logging on before heading out to run with run club this morning. Sounds like Noelle and I have a 6-8 mile run planned (it's a recovery week) - so that should be nice. Last night consisted of a really boring, yet productive, Friday evening. Jake went to a hunting banquet, so I popped in the "Sex in the City" movie and spun for 2 hrs on my new trainer (so nice) while intermittently throwing in a load of laundry. Can you say multitasking? I think that I will need to become an expert at that in the next few months...to survive!

Protect The Klutz

OK, really... What is with my Wednesdays lately? Last Wednesday I fell on the ice running with run club and tonight after swimming I had another little slip. I was getting out of the pool after my workout and simultaneously tried to grab my water bottle. Bad idea. Upon trying to stand up (on the gutter) I lost my balance and started tipping backwards. I gave up trying to fight it and just jumped backwards into the pool. Luckily, I didn't fall onto anybody in the lane, but was close! Man! I officially need a bubble or something to get me through this winter. At a minimum, next Wednesday I will be on guard.

School Starts Tomorrow...

This weekend felt good to be back on track for some longer workouts (e.g. not traveling and/or partaking in activities that are non-training related). As mentioned, Saturday's 10 mile run was fabulous out at the lakes with Noelle. On Sunday, I ended up getting in 1 hr of weights, 3 miles of intervals on the dreadmill, and swam 2000 yds. Not bad for the weekend's training plan, all-in-all.

Then Jake and I veged out on the couch and watched the Super Bowl in the evening. Gotta say...didn't see any really good commercials. Maybe I missed them - or maybe they just all sucked. Either way, the game was pretty good - kept you guessing up until the end at least.

Tomorrow I start class up again. I opted to only take one class this semester due to my busy schedule and am very glad that I did - I think 2 classes would have killed me. Tuesdays are my 'rest day' for training - since I have class at night. I may sneak in some weights in the AM occasionally, we'll see. We all know how much I love getting up early! Grrr.....