Mountain Brick

 Can you believe, that I made it to July, without a brick workout on the training plan? Me neither. But today, I ran out of luck. On tap was a 60 mile ride in the mountains followed by a 3 mile brick.

Ride 61.4 miles in 4:18:59 (14.2 mph) and 10,570 ft of climbing according to TP.

Because of the current heat wave, I made sure to get an early start for my ride. I left the Tigerville Elementary parking lot at a little after 6.40am. Later on, there would be a group ride to Saluda starting at 8am, so I just did a couple of out an backs on a some rollers to get some mileage in. By the time the group ride headed out, I already had 17 miles on the Garmin. Booyah!

I really enjoyed to have some company in the middle of my 60 miles, so I ended up chatting a lot for the ride up until the real climbing started and the whole group kind of stretched out a lot. We made a quick stop at the pick-nick shelter in Saluda to regroup and eat something and then enjoyed the downhill, that we worked so hard for! ;-)

In order to get my mileage in, I split from the group once we got back to the Watershed and took the road towards Flat Rock with some more climbing.

While I really enjoyed the ride, I was glad once I was finally back in Tigerville, even though I dreaded the brick run. It was close to 11.45am and needless to say, it was stinking hot.

Run 3 miles in 32:56 (10:54 pace -> boooooo!) and 486 ft of climbing according to TP.

I already laid out my stuff in the car before I started the ride, so the transition to the run was fairly fast considering that I stowed the bike away and changed shorts. I know, I should have just worn tri shorts, but I am a little hesitant for rides over 40 miles and rather got changed.

To make a long story short: The run sucked big time. I know, that I am not braking any speed records, but for 3 miles that is even on the slow side for me. It was just plain too hot. I don't really know anything about running in Tigerville, so I ended up on a fairly hilly route and not a ton of shade. There was a lot of walking, especially when I felt that I might loose my breakfast/ clif bar.

Fortunately, it was a short run and it was over soon enough.

Once I got back to the car, I did some stretches under a big tree (the only shade around) and then booked it home to the comfort of air condition!! ;-)

Now it's taper time: Countdown for the olympic distance next Saturday is on.

Mark Your Calendars! 7-28-2011

8/4

Sports Specific Nutrition for Women Seminar

@ Pedal Chic

TIME 6 -8pm

COST $10.-

8/6 Run 2 Overcome
5K and 10K Options
Information and Registration here.

8/6
Greenville Cycling Center - 1-Day Nutrition Workshop, Focus on Sports Supplements
TIME: 10 - 2pm (break for lunch)
COST: $10.- Lunch not included
Register here!

8/13
Back To School 5K
@ Middle Tyger YMCA Duncan SC
5k (starts at 7:30am) and One Mile Kid's Fun Run (starts at 8:15am)
Register online at http://www.spartanburgymca.org/ or http://www.strictlyrunning.com/

8/20
Flight of the Dove
Rides begin (8:00 a.m.) and end at Bailey Stadium on the campus of Presbyterian College in Clinton SC.
Features a metric century (62 miles), a 30 mile ride, and a 13 mile leisure ride. A 50 mile variation of the metric is also available.

8/20
Nike Day @ On On Tri
- 8am FREE Fun Run 5K - Open to Everyone
- Nike Giveaways
- Nike Technical Reps On-Hand
- 20% Off Selected Spikes and Training Shoes - and, Special Spike / Training Shoe packages Available
- Proaxis Physical Therapist On-Hand to help with Athlete's Injuries
- 12pm - 5pm FREE Pizza and Beverages
8/27
Hickory Nut Gorge Olympiad VII (1-mile, 2-mile)
Location: Lake Lure, NC

8/27
4th Annual Ride for M.A.C. in Easley SC
10, 20, 40, 62 (Caesars Head ride) and 100 mile (Super Challenge)
starts at 7:30am

9/3
Cherokee Foothills Bicycle Tour
Time: 8AM (100 and 66 mile routes), 9AM (28 mile route) and 10AM (10 mile route)
Where: N. Greenville University Stadium

9/10
Setting the Pace at Whitten Center 10K and 5K Run/Walk at 8:30 a.m.
Clinton, SC
Entry $25 before August 26th. Late entry is $30.

9/17

Kings Mountain/Moss Lake Open Water Swim

Distances: 5K, 3K, 2k, and 500m

Information/ Registration here.

9/17
Tour of Oconee presented by Wilderness Wheels
Start location is Fair Play SC. Fully supported road ride. 118 mile ride, following the perimeter of scenic Oconee County SC. Also 64 mile ride and 26 mile ride. All skill levels welcome. All riders receive a custom designed jersey and t-shirt included in the registration.

10/8
iRecycle Run Half Marathon and 5K
in Spartanburg
click here for registration

10/15
Bluffton SC Half Marathon and 5K

11/12
Leaf Tour - approx. 42 miles

Tigerville to Table Rock, Aunt Sues for lunch, then return. In Marietta we stop by Slater Drug Store for a homemade milkshake, on the house!

11/19
2011 Hope Relay in Greenville SC
RUN - 48 MILES...12 LEGS...6 RUNNERS...1 VAN...
WALK - 24 MILES...6 LEGS...6 WALKERS...1 VAN...
Register here.

12/31
Final Fifty - approx. 55 miles
Furman University (pending approval) to Table Rock and back.  What a great way to end the year with one last group ride before the New Year celebration begins. This ride heads to Dacusville from Furman then through some beautiful valleys to Table Rock where the turnaround and break is set up.  We then return to Furman via Tubbs Mt. Road through Travelers Rest.

********************

Weekly Activities @ On On Tri

MONDAY @ 5:30am : GO RUN - Speed Training, Intervals, or Hill Workout w/ Nova
MONDAY @ 5:45pm : GO RUN -  w/ Traci
WEDNESDAY @ 5:30am : GO RUN - Speed/Intervals w/ Wendi
WEDNESDAY @ 5:45pm : GO RUN - w/ Traci
SATURDAY @ 5:30am : GO RUN "Marathon Training" w/ Nova
SATURDAY @ 8am : GO RUN Walk to Run Program

Greenville Track Club Paris Mountain Trail Run Series

8/13 - 7K
11/5 - 15K


The Y Tri Series:

07/31 –Blacksburg, SC
08/27 – Toccoa, GA
09/10 – Surf City Beach, NC
09/17 – Hartsville, SC
For more information (pricing, distances, if duathlon event is available etc) check the website.

Other YMCA Tri/Du Events:

8/ 6 Union County YMCA
8/ 13 Laurens Family YMCA
9/ 24 Tri the Ridge Pickens County YMCA


2011 XTERRA South Carolina Trail Run Series

8/20 Table Rock 15K

********************

GROUP RUNS organized by the Greenville Track Club

* Tempo Runs at Mauldin Middle School every Monday night at 6:30pm
* Track Workouts at Greenville High Track every Wednesday night at 6:00pm

ON THURSDAYS

"Girl's Morning Out" at Carolina Triathlon in downtown Greenville. Gather at 7:45am to pedal promptly at 8am (time change!). This is a 30-mile "C" ride hosted every Thursday by GHS EveryWoman Cycling Team and Carolina Triathlon. Road bikes and helmets are required. Everyone is welcome and nobody is left behind.

Normally gets canceled, if rain is in the forecast.

Not according to Plan

Life is sometimes really funny. One week (last week a.k.a vacation week), I was able to stick to the training plan and then some, putting in record miles on the bike and running and this week has just barely started and just nothing seems to go according to plan.

Sunday was supposed to be a double brick, but after snapping at my husband for no good reason and then snapping at my mother on the phone for no good reason, I decided to give myself a mental health day and took the day off from my workouts. Most of the time exercise helps me to decompress and sometimes, the workout on the plan is an additional stress source. I don't know if it was post vacation blues or PMS... but not doing anything other than walking the dog was the better alternative for me.

Monday was supposed to be a 30 mile bike ride. I felt like company, so I decided to join a group ride that starts on Monday, just a couple of miles from where I work. I packed the bike and my gear the night before and then changed right after work. While in the bathroom, I noticed that I forgot my sportsbra and my first reaction was: "Forget it. Just go home and hop on the trainer for the ride, the weather looks bad anyways!" But then I thought: "Suck it up, buttercup!" and went to the ride anyways (in my regular bra and it didn't feel right, at least there was no chafing). We got in 17 miles, while the last (maybe) five miles was through a thunderstorm... it poured down on us, the wind pushed us around, the rain and the debris from the trees hit us, it was dark.... I have never felt so scared on my bike before and I am happy to report that everyone in our group made it back to the cars safe and sound.

Today I had a 6 mile run with some hill repeats on tap. After the rain from last night, it actually felt fairly decent this morning. I started out from the Y for my 2 mile warm-up and then did my first hill repeat on McDaniel. After I topped the hill, I felt a rumble in my tummy and I knew, I was in trouble. For a minute, I thought about hiding in some bushes, but it had gotten light by then and there are just a ton of runners out and about around that time in the area.... So I made it slowly back (jog-walking) to the Y, losing a lot of time. After my pit stop, I headed out again to Faris this time, because that hill is just so much closer and did 5 more hill repeats there, before running out of time and having to head back to the Y. At least I got my mileage in this morning, but unfortunately not the number of hill repeats that I was supposed to, but I guess, it's better than nothing.

I know, life doesn't end, when things don't go according to plan and a race is not being made or lost by a handful of workouts... Call me OCD or a control freak, but I just like to do things according to plan for the most part... All is not lost for the week yet, I think I'll have a comeback in the second half! ;-)

Manatee Springs

You know, that you are not ready to go back to work, when you just came back from vacation and you are already researching the next possible trip. Labor Day weekend is not that far away anymore and let's see what the credit card reward points can get us! ;-)

In the meantime, let's reminiscent a little longer about the trip just completed.

**************************

Cedar Key is not mass tourism. People kept telling me, that it's the "old Florida". The town has a population of around 900 people b.t. (before tourists).... The pace is very relaxed. We wanted a relaxed vacation and that's easy to do there. We only did one half way trip off the island to visit the Manatee Springs State Park*.


*Okay, this is my best tourist tip ever: Talk to people! I know that by now, you can research everything and anything on the internet, but nothing beats reports of experiences from other tourists or what the locals have to say. The first day, I talked with the kayak rental guy (unfortunately, we didn't end up renting kayaks) for about 30 minutes and he gave be the scoop of the town and on another occasion, I talked to the husband of a lady that worked at the boat rental and he gave be that tip about Manatee Springs, otherwise I would have never known.

The Manatee Springs are a first magnitude spring and it produces an average 100 million gallons (say what?) of water per day. It gets it's name from the West Indian Manatees that swim up the river in winter to enjoy the warmer temps of the springs. The water is 72 degrees year round and on a hot Florida summer day, 72 degrees are heaven!!!

The springs are at the bottom of this pool and the water is crystal clear, so you can see the bottom easily. Where the water is actually pushed out, the pool drops to a depth of around 25 feet and when I say drop, I mean drop. I just swam along in maybe 5 feet of water, when suddenly the bottom drops into a deep blue hole. The pictures just don't do this justice.

Oh and when I say the water is being pushed out: You can't see the current when just standing on the shore, but in the water, you actually have to lean against the current to stay upright. It almost felt like swimming in one of those endless pools (aka swimmer's treadmill), you had to really paddle your little heart out to get somewhere, while when swimming back with the current, I was never faster in my life... It felt awesome!

Even days later, I am still talking about the water and how beautiful the whole setting was... We seriously discovered a gem there, I can only recommend visiting the springs if you are in the area.

PS: It's a state park, so there is a small fee to enter (6 bucks per car per day -> DEAL!)... They do a great job of keeping their facilities (bathrooms and showers) nice and clean.

Island Running

Hmmmm.... Vacation is really over... so sad... But by typing up the vacation posts and looking at the pictures again, it's not all gone quite yet.

During our one week stay on Cedar Key, I got in three runs for a total of 27 miles (the last time I had a week over 20 miles was back in April!). All the pictures from this post are from my Wednesday long run, since I was just slogging along anyways and turned it into a photo safari. So if you are not interested in the runs, just enjoy the pics! ;-)

Monday 6.5 Miles

The first run on the island was a little rough. I looked at this town on the map, but of course missed a couple of turns or remembered stuff wrong and ended up doing silly circles. We also got kinda of a late start and it was blazing hot already at 8am.

 The main set of the run was 4x 6 minutes at tempo and I hit the paces alright, but definitely got slower with each interval. We also seemed to have found the only "hills" in Florida for this little number.

Wednesday 12 Miles

A mid week long run.... Oh joy! I got a little earlier start that day, but really it didn't make much of a difference at all. I was soaking wet by mile 2.

No fancy footwork for this run. I was just slogging along for 12 miles. Before the run, I did a better job looking at the map and actually mapping out a route, so that worked pretty good. But 12 miles on Cedar Key takes a ton of out and backs and one double out and back to make the mileage.

The mosquitoes and  horse flies were chasing me relentlessly and some of my walking breaks were cut way too short for my liking... And of course there were all the picture taking breaks as well.

Even with all the break, things started to fall apart at around mile 10. The last two miles were not pretty, but I got it done.

When I got back to the condo, I didn't even bother going upstairs, but jumped into the pool right away to cool off a little. Then I laid down a little and tried to cool off some more. The rest of the day I felt like I was overheated, so I took it pretty easy.

Friday 8.5 Miles

I got my earliest run start of the week on that run and it turned out to be the one day, I could have slept in, because by mile 4, it was pouring down on me and I actually felt fairly comfortable temperature wise.

The problem with this run was, that my legs felt like crap. At this point, I already had 160 miles on the bike (separate post) and 18.5 miles running for the week and I was feeling it. I had a three mile warm-up before doing 5x 3 minutes on tempo and boy, I needed that warm-up. Funny enough, once it was time for the intervals, my paces came back pretty good.

For the cool down, I checked out what seemed to be the only road/ trail on Cedar Key, that I wasn't on yet and it turned out to be a pretty boardwalk over the bayou. Fortunately, it was still raining at this point otherwise the bugs would have probably eaten me alive.


Vacation Week Running Total: 27 Miles!

I am very very happy about this and even though the first run was a little so-so, it later on turned out as a ton of fun, to discover every corner of this little gem.

Time Flies...

When you have fun.

While you are reading this, we are on our way back from our vacation in Cedar Key, Florida.

I was ready for vacation for the longest and last week really recharged my batteries.

Cedar Key is a pretty quiet town on the Gulf Coast. From our condo, we could easily walk to all the restaurants and shops around town. We had a kitchen, so we also had a ton of meals at home. The condo was directly located on the ocean. There wasn't a vast beach, but there were beach chairs and palmetto trees and not a lot of other people, so I really just enjoyed to kick back and relax and listen to my audio books while watching the pelicans fly over me and the horseshoe crab stop by for a visit every day at high tide.... and the dolphins in the afternoon.

There was a lot time being spent lazy, but I also got a ton of miles in on the bike and running... There will be separate posts for that.

Well, there was a ton of food and a good amount of beer and sleeping in... Hmmmm, it's going to be hard to go back...

Mark Your Calendars! 7-14-2011

7/15-7/17
A Ride to Remember

7/16
Ride On Group Ride
@ 8AM from the Woodruff Road location
different groups available

7/17
Bakery Ride #5
Leave Tigerville Elemtary School at 8am.
A very scenic ride with a relaxed pace. Planned stop at the shelter in Saluda for 15 to 20 minutes.
For beginners with enough fitness to handle 35 very hill miles.

7/17
You Go Girl - Sprint Triathlon
250 yd swim - 10 mile bike - 2.5 mile run
Greenville's only Women's Only Event!
Register here.

8/4

Sports Specific Nutrition for Women Seminar

@ Pedal Chic

TIME 6 -8pm

COST $10.-

8/6
Greenville Cycling Center - 1-Day Nutrition Workshop, Focus on Sports Supplements
TIME: 10 - 2pm (break for lunch)
COST: $10.- Lunch not included
Register here!

8/13
Back To School 5K
@ Middle Tyger YMCA Duncan SC
5k (starts at 7:30am) and One Mile Kid's Fun Run (starts at 8:15am)
Register online at http://www.spartanburgymca.org/ or http://www.strictlyrunning.com/

8/27
Hickory Nut Gorge Olympiad VII (1-mile, 2-mile)
Location: Lake Lure, NC

8/27
4th Annual Ride for M.A.C. in Easley SC
10, 20, 40, 62 (Caesars Head ride) and 100 mile (Super Challenge)
starts at 7:30am

9/3
Cherokee Foothills Bicycle Tour
Time: 8AM (100 and 66 mile routes), 9AM (28 mile route) and 10AM (10 mile route)
Where: N. Greenville University Stadium

9/10
Setting the Pace at Whitten Center 10K and 5K Run/Walk at 8:30 a.m.
Clinton, SC
Entry $25 before August 26th. Late entry is $30.

9/17

Kings Mountain/Moss Lake Open Water Swim

Distances: 5K, 3K, 2k, and 500m

Information/ Registration here.

9/17
Tour of Oconee presented by Wilderness Wheels
Start location is Fair Play SC. Fully supported road ride. 118 mile ride, following the perimeter of scenic Oconee County SC. Also 64 mile ride and 26 mile ride. All skill levels welcome. All riders receive a custom designed jersey and t-shirt included in the registration.

10/8
iRecycle Run Half Marathon and 5K
in Spartanburg
click here for registration

10/15
Bluffton SC Half Marathon and 5K

11/12
Leaf Tour - approx. 42 miles

Tigerville to Table Rock, Aunt Sues for lunch, then return. In Marietta we stop by Slater Drug Store for a homemade milkshake, on the house!

11/19
2011 Hope Relay in Greenville SC
RUN - 48 MILES...12 LEGS...6 RUNNERS...1 VAN...
WALK - 24 MILES...6 LEGS...6 WALKERS...1 VAN...
Register here.

12/31
Final Fifty - approx. 55 miles
Furman University (pending approval) to Table Rock and back.  What a great way to end the year with one last group ride before the New Year celebration begins. This ride heads to Dacusville from Furman then through some beautiful valleys to Table Rock where the turnaround and break is set up.  We then return to Furman via Tubbs Mt. Road through Travelers Rest.

********************

Greenville Track Club Paris Mountain Trail Run Series

8/13 - 7K
11/5 - 15K


The Y Tri Series:

07/16 – Columbia, SC
07/31 –Blacksburg, SC
08/27 – Toccoa, GA
09/10 – Surf City Beach, NC
09/17 – Hartsville, SC
For more information (pricing, distances, if duathlon event is available etc) check the website.

Other YMCA Tri/Du Events:

8/ 6 Union County YMCA
8/ 13 Laurens Family YMCA
9/ 24 Tri the Ridge Pickens County YMCA


2011 XTERRA South Carolina Trail Run Series

8/20 Table Rock 15K

********************

GROUP RUNS organized by the Greenville Track Club

* Tempo Runs at Mauldin Middle School every Monday night at 6:30pm
* Track Workouts at Greenville High Track every Wednesday night at 6:00pm

ON THURSDAYS

"Girl's Morning Out" at Carolina Triathlon in downtown Greenville. Gather at 7:45am to pedal promptly at 8am (time change!). This is a 30-mile "C" ride hosted every Thursday by GHS EveryWoman Cycling Team and Carolina Triathlon. Road bikes and helmets are required. Everyone is welcome and nobody is left behind.

Normally gets canceled, if rain is in the forecast.

More Bang for the Calorie

My favorite food in the moment is cottage cheese... I gobble it up by the container... No, I am not kidding.

This morning I had a container of cottage cheese and a cantaloupe for breakfast:

And the best part of it: All of this for 470 calories! That is awesome.

While the cantaloupe combination is pretty good, but my absolute favorite is with pineapple.... Okay... Did I bore you enough now?

Couch Potato for a Day

Sunday, I didn't work, train, cook, clean or run errands. Sunday, I slept in and sat on the couch for hours watching TV while organizing my iTunes library. We even got take-out for dinner, because I didn't feel like getting dressed. The only thing, that I put on my "to do" list was walking the dog, but she ran off sometime in the afternoon and walked herself for about an hour, so I didn't think that another walk was necessary.

I think I desperately needed that. My normal rest day (rest day = no training) is during the work week and nothing is really restful to get up early and go to work... Not having a workout, doesn't make it a "rest day".... Oh, and this is mostly self inflicted. All those Sundays when I had optional workouts on the schedule and I chose the option of working out.... As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I think, I ran myself down over the last couple of weeks.

But after a day of watching every show on TV possible, including parts of the Tour de France and most of the game US vs Brazil, I think I am all set. Also good news, that this week is sort of light on the training front. Goody.

DNS

DNS= Did Not Start

I was supposed to be the swimmer in a triathlon relay today and I had to call it off last night. Fortunately, our runner is also a good swimmer, so she was able to take-over. I just talked to her and they made 4th out of 8 relay teams and they were the only all female team. YAY TEAM!

After feeling pretty normal all day yesterday and even got 40 miles on the bike in, I once again had stomach trouble after dinner. After a while of going back and forth in my head, I eventually called my relay team mate and break the news.

It just sucked! Normally, You are racing or you don't and it doesn't make a difference for anybody around you... Once you are part of a team, that changes...

I have another DNS on my resume and that one was also due to a stomach bug. So, I don't know what's going on right now, but I know that I am prone to stomach issues and maybe, I just ran myself down a little over the last couple of weeks. So today, I am vegging on the couch and trying to get some real rest and hopefully, I am back to normal by tomorrow.

And before you even ask: No, I am not pregnant and yes, I am sure.

Ride Report: Fabulous 4th Bike Tour

Better late than never...

The Fabulous 4th Bike Tour takes place every year on the 4th of July. The course is 67 miles long and starts/ ends at Harmon Field in Tryon NC.

This is a hilly ride and honestly, I didn't know how it's going to go down especially since I haven't done any serious hill rides since Mitchell.

With that being said, I was very happy, that my partner in riding crime (Stacy) was doing the ride to and we both had the same goals... Getting it done and taking it easy.... Fairly easy anyways.

To follow up on my comment from the other day... When I told Terry that Stacy and I are going to ride together and that it's going to be our first ride since Mitchell, he just said: "Finally, you and your bike wife are going to be reunited!" Hehe. And really, we spend as much time flapping our traps than we pedaled! ;-) Looks like we needed a couple of hours to catch up on stuff!

Pre-Ride:
Got up and had some breakfast before heading out. I was kind of running late and got to Harmon Field with not a ton of time to spare. Picked up the package and ran into Stacy right away. They didn't have t-shirts for the events, but cycling socks... You won't hear me complain, I always appreciate when my extensive active apparel collection gets an addition that is not a white cotton t-shirt!

While lining up for the start, we also found another team mate Lou and Coach Katie... We talked a little and then the gun went off and that was the last I've seen from them! ;-)

Ride:
The first 30 miles of the ride are on rolling hills around Tryon and Landrum and when I say rolling, I mean ROLLING. The type of stuff that is not a ton of climbing, but just slowly and surely fries your legs... up and down and up and down. Not my personal favorite. Fortunately, the first half of the ride was also cooler, but it heated up FAST. Just in time when it we started to hit the longer climbs after the 2nd water stop. But before we embarked on the second half of the course, I got stung by something and it stung the rest of the day... Awesome. I didn't have much of a reaction, but the stinging was highly uncomfortable.

Onto the second half of the course: There was Callahan Mountain and the Greenville watershed. While the watershed is one of my favorite climbs, Callahan Mountain is the hill, I am always afraid of. But before we got that far, we started some longer hills and actually on some roads that I rode a couple of days earlier on my way back from the lake. And it had gotten HOT! We stayed a little longer at the 3rd rest stop and fueled up. Right before we came to the turn with the water stop, I told Stacy that I have to stop and eat something, because I felt like I was running out of steam. I think, I stuffed around 600 calories in me within a couple of minutes and felt much better after that. Right in time for playing chicken on Hwy 11 for a couple of miles before turning on back roads again and climbing my dreaded Callahan... which once again wasn't all that bad, I should really stop making this thing bigger than it is.

Last big task was climbing the watershed and while the climb is always a climb, at least there is some shade. At the end of it, I was mentally done with the ride... Good thing, that the way back to Tryon was done the Saluda grade and mostly cruising! SWEET!


Post-Ride:
We got back to Harmon Fields and basically empty parking lots... Well, I guess I am kinda used to that kind of thing. But, they still had food and drinks for us and that's all we really can ask for... Oh... One more thing: They had an air conditioned indoor space to sit down and eat and after burning up all day, it just felt great.


Ride Review:
This event is in it's 20 something year and it's organized very well. From what I heard, they ran out of food on some of the water stops last year especially for those in the back of the pack. I packed extra food because of that, but I didn't need it. There was plenty of food when I got through... They had water and gatorade, fig newtons, chocolate granola bars and fruit... plenty.

If it fits in the schedule next year, I think I'll be back.... Hills and all.

Nailed It!

Soooo.... I am still alive and also have halfway recovered from Monday. Still not sure, if the bike ride or the poor food choices at the cookout that night did me over or maybe even a combination of both. I haven't even started on the ride report of the Fab 4th, but that's going to be done eventually as well.

Besides my autopilot mode on Tuesday, I kind of bounced back the following days, just by doing what needed to be done: work, workouts and cleaning (can't wait for the project to be completed, we are so close)... in that order and very little to none computer time at home.

I had early morning workouts each day this week and besides the swim (3,000 meters) on Tuesday, I also got all this in:

• Wednesday: 7 miles on the track
• Thursday: 3,600 meters in the pool (my longest swim ever) and a 25 mile trainer ride with intervals in the afternoon
• Friday: 8 miles progression run

Let's talk about the run today:

I NAILED IT!!

Okay, that's the super short version.

Well, it was a negative split progression run thing and honestly, I was super nervous about this run since I saw it on the training plan. Why I was nervous, I have no clue. Last night, I put the paces in the Garmin to help me with pacing during the run and... I nailed it. I almost died in the last mile, but other than that, it was a great run.

I guess, I was also nervous, because my stomach was acting up for a couple of days, but it didn't give me any problems during the run. Then at lunch or right after that, all hell broke loose... By now, I am feeling better, but not quite there. My dinner consisted of crackers and hopefully, by tomorrow things are going back to normal.

Recovery from the long Weekend

Long weekends are supposed to be relaxing, but honestly, I feel completely run down today and I am dreading everything that I have lined up for this week. Maybe things are going to fall back into place and if not, I will have to cut some corners and maybe skip a workout in exchange for more sleep. We'll see.... But I'll definitely keep the blogging at a minimal right now... Something's gotta give - right?

This is the text I wrote my "biker wife"* this morning:

"I feel as exhausted today as I felt a day after Mitchell and I am pretty sore too! WTH! Still got in my swim in the AM, surprised I didn't drown, because I can barely keep my eyes open..."

*explanation to follow, whenever I write the ride report for the Fabulous 4th Bike Tour that I did yesterday

Thinking about it, I really don't know if my body feels so crappy because of the ride yesterday or if I am just completely food hung-over. After weeks of eating very healthy and clean, I think all the sodium that I consumed in the last 72 hours makes me retain fluids and stuff... I feel like I could pop any second.

Quite Enjoyable

This view is kind of worth getting up early to be at the Lake for an early morning open water swim before everyone is getting out there on their boats for the holiday weekend.

My swim was so-so. I grabbed into a dead baby bird and swallowed (yet again) a bug a little later on. Today, I just went out for a swim.... No workout and other than the bird and bug incidents, it really was a nice relaxing swim.

I am especially proud of Terry for doing is first open water swim today! My baby rocks!

Right after.... Okay, not really right after... We were sitting around quite a while after the swim, just talking... But after that, I took off for a bike ride. Terry still has some back trouble from his trail run fall a couple of weeks ago, so riding wasn't happen.

I mapped out a ride from the Lake back home for a total of around 30 miles and just took my time. It was quite a hilly affair of course, but the weather is just gorgeous and I enjoyed being out there.

I passed this entry way which was completely overgrown, but funny enough, the metal initials on the gate looked like somebody just polished them... It's probably a little hard to see in the picture.

Just a proof that it was really me out there. ;-)

A covered bridge. There are supposed to me more in the area, but this is the only one, I've ever found.

A little swamp for good measure!

Happy Holiday Weekend everyone. Get out there and be safe!

Month in Review: June

Half of 2011 is done!!

June was basically my return to structured training (May was more taper, racing, recovery) and shorter races. I did 2 triathlons (Middle Tyger Sprint and Tri The Dam Sprint), my first open water swim race and a metric century tour.

Training has somewhat slowed down to a level that I can think is not a problem to maintain for the rest of the season. While pre-AOMM training had two double training days in normal weeks, I am now down to one training session per day and between 8-10 hours (tri sports) per week. That is still a lot of time, that I spend training, but it feels like a walk in the park to the 11-15 hours I logged leading up to AOMM. It is also easier for me to maintain better eating habits on this lower load, because I am not constantly hungry.

While my cycling mileage is only a mere shadow of what I did in previous months, my running mileage has almost tripled and my swimming mileage has doubled. As usual, I completely ignored my yoga practice and the "walking" log was for a day when I didn't feel like doing anything else... I really have to start logging all my walks with the dog ( >15 minutes), because over the course of the month, it would probably mount up to a couple of hours. In June, I just had two days in total, when I was swimming, biking or running... But today is complete* rest day for me.

*Unless we take the dog out for another 1 hour walk like we did last night. At the very end, she was dragging her feet a little, but it's just something that Terry and I enjoy doing together since we get to talk without any distractions (cell phones, laptops, TV) and having the dog is a really good motivator to get out of the house.

Actually, on the Plus3 Network, I do log my walks with the dog as well, because the more activities I am able to log, the more money will be donated to World Bicycle Relief.... But I don't log my stretching here, because that's only 5-10 minutes at a time.... I probably should. Anyways, just with logging my workouts for June, SRAM donated USD 45.02 to WBR! YAY!

And because we are halfway through 2011, let's also have a look at how the first six months in 2011 compare to the year of 2010.

I am just 140 miles shy over meeting my 2010 overall cycling mileage and that should happen within the first couple of weeks in July. My run mileage is not even close to the halfway point compared to last year and I guess my late 2011/ early 2012 run race plans are going to determine, if I even get close to last year's numbers. For the swimming, I am just 16K yards away from the 2010 mark and that also should be accomplished in July.

So overall, I am pretty happy on how the year is shaping up. It's sad, that I haven't spend any time in a kayak yet, but I think that's going to change during our vacation in Florida in a couple of weeks. The place we are going to stay at, has kayaks available for their guests. I am sooooo ready for vacation.