Spring's around the corner...

How to: Take a pic of yourself and still look surprised!

Seriously, spring is just around the corner.

Not only the temps are up, but it's also light outside for longer. Sure, it took me some planning ahead to be able to make the most of the longer daylight... But it was totally worth it... The planning included to have my running stuff packed in the car, leave work on time and run close to work instead of driving to Greenville and waste time and daylight on the interstate.

And yes, I am wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt in Febuary!!!! This is pure awesomeness right there.

The run itself was pretty decent too. I did the run course (4 miles) of the Middle Tyger Tri which has two decents hills (one right around mile 1 and the other one in mile 4). The first two miles were alright and the last two miles were better. I smiled from cheek to cheek for most of the run, just because.

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

Last year right around this time, I spend a good chunk of each day checking the weather for the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon. There was talk of snow in the week leading up to MB. Around here, I don't belive in snow until I actually see and when it actually starts sticking on the road. Anything before that.... Complete ignorance of the possibility, unless of course, I am a couple of days out to run my first ever half marathon. A race that I actually trained for several months... with a coach and whatnot. We all know, how last year's race ended.... before it even started.

But just for the old times sake....



Sorry for the crappy graphics... Windows Paint is a pain.

It seriously looks like perfect running weather. The race starts at 6.30am which is about two hours too early for my taste. On the other hand the whole group will be done by lunch (we have several running friends to the half and full) and I heard we'll be at Hooters.... From what I understand, some of the G'ville running folks have that tradition going on. Sounds like a plan to me.

While last year, MB half was basically my triple A race, it's "just" another half this year. We signed up for it, because we got it for cheap (35 bucks, if I remember correctly) due to the cancellation of the race. I don't expect much from this race, I really didn't train as specific this year, especially because my focus (Mitchell, Mitchell) is different this time around. I am once again working with Katie as coach, but that is more geared towards Mitchell and the tri season as well.

Also, last year this was supposed to be my very first half and now, it's going to be my fourth..... in less than four months. I am not saying that I am a seasoned halfer now.... But the new car smell is gone a little. What I am looking forward most to, is spending time with our running friends... Cheer my marathoning friends over the finish line and enjoy a couple of adult beverages at the post race party before getting my head back into the game for Mitchell training during the next weeks and months.

So, to wrap this all over the place post up, here is a quote from Marathon Mama's post from yesterday on the "portability" of running.

"When you’re training for longer races, running is portable the way an infant is portable. Sure, you can just pick up and carry a  baby, but all the insane crap you need to keep it happy is a whole nother story."
~ Marathon Mama

I had to laugh when I read this, because I can sometimes still surprise myself by all the things and I have to remember before heading out for a long run... Looking like a cyborg. ;-)))



What is EASY?

The other day I read this blog post from Elizabeth Waterstraat (athlete and triathlon coach) about the definition of success for athletes. According to her post, the secret ingredient for a successful athlete is PACING. Not only during racing, but also during training. They know when they have to go hard and when to go easy.

That made me think about my approach to training a lot of the time especially when it comes to running (for whatever reason, I don't seem to have this problem with swimming or biking) that I have only one gear. So my tempo runs have the roundabout same speed than my long runs than my recovery runs (what are recovery runs anyways! ;-)... You get the idea. So for Wednesday night I was telling myself, that I want to do easy six miles... And after I read this blog post, I thought to myself.... What is easy? To what pace does "easy" translate to?

So I remembered that a couple of weeks ago, I discovered the McMillan Running Calculator. One use for this sweet little gadget is race time prediction... Basically stuff like... I run a 50 minute 10K, what can I expect my half marathon time to be and so on. Of course this is not an exact science, just a guideline, but it certainly gives you an idea.

I am trying to use this gadget the other way round. My approach is, that I want to run the 10K of the Assault on Cherokee International Triathlon in under 58 minutes and with what kind of paces do I have to train to be able to accomplish this goal*. So I entered my goal time of 57:50 mins into the entry screen.

*Just as a side note, this is not a completely unrealistic goal, my current 10K PR is 58:53 mins.



And out came this table, that basically shows me when I have to run how fast... It defines paces for any kind of distance and intensity and I will print this baby out and use it for my reference in the coming weeks of training.


(Click to enlarge.)

So my "easy" pace based of the table is between 10:52 and 11:22 and I did my easy run of 6.2 miles with an 10:55 average right on target. And yes, it actually FELT easy. In order to keep me on track, I entered a max speed of 10:20 for this run in my Garmin and the little guy beeped at me to go slower and that worked out just fine obviously even though the max pace in the Garmin was so much lower than the target pace.

Tomorrow, I am going to race in the Reedy River 10K. That's actually the race were I PR'd last year. So far I haven't even thought about a specific goal for this race... We'll see what is going to happen.



On a completely different note:

So the race organization of the Myrtle Beach Marathon Weekend finally made an announcement this past Tuesday about how they are planning to "reimburse" the runner's that were not able to run the half marathon or marathon on Feb 13th 2010. If you picked up your package for the half or the full, you'll get a 50% discount for your 2011 entry, but you have to sign up by March 31th. I guess that will give us close to four weeks to decide what we are going to do.

Closing Comments and Where To Go From Here

At the post race party we actually got our finisher medals. Of course this is silly... Getting a medal without doing the race and in my case not even doing the distance that day. But they already had the medals and the date was engraved on the back, so they were not able to use it for next year... Probably cheaper for them to hand them out than having to scrap them.

Here it is. The little silver one for half and the bigger golden one for the full... They are pretty, but I much rather would have liked to earn it.

The regional running blog community is buzzing and there seems to be an agreement, that the city of Myrtle Beach (they pulled the plug, not the race organization) overreacted with their decision to call off the race. A simple delay to an 8am or 9am start would have been plenty of action. Still no word about possible partial refunds or a discounted entry for next year's race. I know they state a no refund policy, but I read online on Saturday that there are talks about those options.

I felt disappointed and I still feel a little disappointed. The first thing I did after assessing the conditions on the streets from our hotel room on Saturday morning was looking up the next half close to home and actually, there is one in Columbia on the 27th. For a brief moment, I thought about doing it, since I already put in the training. But in the end, I am not willing to spend that kind of money so soon again. Especially since there is a local duathlon (5k run, 15 mile bike, 5k run) put on by the Upstate Tri Club that is free for members. Spending money on registration fees and have to drive 2 hours to the race or spend nothing on registration fees and drive for 15 minutes. Yeah, in the end the decision was pretty simple. Also, the tri season is here soon enough and I need to start getting in some quality time on the bike OUTSIDE and not on the trainer.

And since I already put in the miles, I might go ahead and do the Green Valley 10-miler. That distance as a race would be a first for me too... PR time! ;-)

Relax, It Was Just A Drill

The race is off. Here is the press release.

Last night we went to bed early early as planned. At 10.30pm we got a call from Brian and later a text message from Kerrie both saying that the race was off. I slept horrible the whole night and now I am already awake... wide awake.... And guess what, the streets look pretty free at least from the hotel room. The beach is covered with snow.





Right now, I don't know what I am feeling about this. It's the time spend for the preparation and no other big goal in sight for next couple of months... hmmmm.... In the meantime, I'll wait for Terry to finally wake up, get some breakfast and enjoy the weekend in MB. As I understand, the after race party is still ON! :-)

The Big Question Mark

We made it. We are here in Myrtle Beach in our warm hotel room. The snow is here too!

As of right now, the race has been delayed for 30 minutes. But there are also rumors of a possible cancellation due to the weather.

In the meantime, we relax in our pretty hotel room and watch Seinfeld.


The snow is melting on the streets and nothing sticks yet, hopefully that is not going to be a layer of ice in the morning.


I wanted to snap a picture of the ocean from our balcony, but the only thing to see is snow flurries.


We already have our race packages and I have to say the goody bag is NICE. The obligatory t-shirt (pretty big/long for a small), a cap and a metal bottle. SWEET!


We already had dinner. Actually twice... Well, we started out at one place and the pasta was horrible and they said they were not able to do it any better, so we left. The second place was really really tasty. All is left now is weather monitoring and constantly checking the race's web page for updates. We expect a final statement by 10pm. Also some relaxing is in order and I will keep on foam rolling.

I still haven't decided on a race outfit, but the shorts are off the table. It's going to be my thick tights at the bottom and probably even foot warmer. Up top there will most likely be some layering. I brought all kinds of gear to have every option tomorrow morning.

Keep your fingers crossed for us!

10 Miles For Confidence

Today was my last 10 miler in preparation for the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon this coming Saturday. My training plan called for 15 miles last Sunday and 10 miles the week before that. I didn't to any of these runs due to getting sick again.

I think, I mentioned previously that my pre-race jitters are out of this world sometimes and the only thing that helps to reduce those are racing on a regular basis and have a solid preparation. Well, I didn't race in two months and I lost several long runs due to this cold. Awesome premises, isn't it? But on the other hand, I am determined not to go crazy over it.... I can't do this to myself and the people around me... specifically Terry who calls me "intense" on race mornings were I feel well prepared. So right now, I am reminding myself, that ALL of my long runs, that I actually was able to do, did go pretty well. That is great news and I am planning on reminding myself of this fact whenever doubt tries to creep in.

So today's 10 miles were done in perfect running weather. Temps in the high 40s, scattered clouds and only little wind. I did the run from that train wagon at the Swamp Rabbit Trail up to the entrance of the Travelers Rest YMCA and then did a loop around Furman lake on my way back. The plan was to split the run in three even sections. First section as an easy warm-up (did a 10:25 pace), the next section at half marathon pace (did a 9:52 pace) and then finished up with half marathon pace plus 15 seconds (did a 10:05 pace). That gave me an average pace of 10:06 minute/ miles for the whole run and a total time of 1:41h and change. I am pretty happy with that. In the second half, I was struggling with a little bit of stomach stuff, but not too bad. All in all, this run made me more confident for this Saturday and this is what I was hoping for.

Now, the only thing left is, to get my race outfit together and study the course map a little. Here it is in case you are interested!


(Click to enlarge)

As I type this, the Superbowl is on TV. Until bedtime anyways, since I will make sure that I get as much sleep this week as possible... Superbowl or no Superbowl. Also, my left hamstring is tightening up like crazy and I have to get up now, to stretch it out again.

Tuesday Tidbits

1. I don't want see this crappy weather anymore, but it doesn't look like it's going to get better anytime soon... More ice on Friday... Oh joy!
2. After feeling drained for over a week, I start to feel human again... And my feet start itching (no... I am not talking about athlete's foot) and want to RUN... Tomorrow, I will do an easy run! YAY!
3. Not working out for the last couple of days, but already feeling better, made it possible to have social commitments two nights in a row... I have a dim memory of a time where I had a social commitment every night of the week. It was fun, but for the long run, I prefer my new fitness lifestyle.
4. The D.N.R. All-Stars are officially registered for the Palmetto 200 relay! Today's e-mail trail back and forth makes me look forward to this race already. Currently, I am up as runner #3 with a total mileage of 14.1 over three legs (3.4 - easy, 3.1 - easy and 7.6 - hard), but we are still early in the game!
5. I try not to freak out about the Myrtle Beach Half... Que sera sera. Whatever will be, will be.
6. I used to be a complete music snob... Stressing "USED" here... At the Grammy awards last Sunday, I didn't know half the people being honored and maybe 2/3 of the people that tried to make an impression with a skimpy outfit on the red carpet.
7. Planning a wedding is tough... Planning it on a tight schedule is tougher... Just sayin'.
8. I think it's time for a new laptop... The laptop I am currently using goes into it's 8th year... All the time my point was that as long as it still works, why replace it. Over the last couple of days I changed my opinion on this a little... I think in favor of my sanity, it's time for an upgrade... Like wireless... Crazy - right? ;-)
9. Speaking of crazy... Last weekend while grocery shopping, I felt a little crazy (yeah right!) and got me some Greek yogurt after every health blog out there is gushing about it... It's yummie... I can only recommend it.
10. There are a couple of possible additions to my tentative race schedule for 2010: 3-6 Reedy River 10K, 5-29 XTERRA 15K and 8-14 XTERRA 7K.

Warning: RANT Is Coming In

It's Friday and I should be happy since it's weekend. FINALLY!

Instead, I am pretty grumpy.

The cold that started to creep up on me again made me bed bound on Wednesday. Yesterday, I felt better and went to work again. Today at work again, but didn't have a good day and instead of getting better, I was getting worse. So I stopped by the plant nurse and got a prescription for antibiotics. And here is were I started to get really grumpy. I HATE taking antibiotics. On top of them making me sick to my stomach, I really don't believe in taking antibiotics for a cold since a cold is a viral infection and antibiotics treat bacterial infections. On the other hand, I have been struggling with these non-specifics symptoms for way too long now, that I think, I will just have to suck it up and take them. Of course you can ask me now, what my problem is, since I got it prescribed (and the doctor is always right). Well, I grew up with antibiotics being the last resort for a doc and around here it's the first thing they do. Besides the stomach issues that I get from taking them, I don't like the idea of getting resistant against antibiotics and when I really really need them with a big bacterial infect that the body can't handle on it's own, they won't work anymore.

Call me paranoid... Whatever. I will take them this time... Promise... Terry will kill me, if I don't... Nevertheless it sucks... And I am grumpy... And I think I already mentioned that several times.

I haven't been working out since Tuesday and I won't unless I am able to breath properly again. I took the doggy out for a short walk on Wednesday just to catch some fresh air and started wheezing... Just the thought of running right now makes me mentally collapse with exhaustion. Hopefully by Sunday (and with the help (?) of my trusty medication) I will be able to resume some sort of physical activity... Even though it's probably not going to be the 15 miles that I have on the plan.

Of course I start to get worried about the half marathon in two (!) weeks. Coach said that I won't loose anything at this point, but how long of a break can one take without loosing the fitness? I think I read somewhere that up to a week should be fine. But I also catch myself adjusting my goals... From "it'll be nice do to the race in around 2:10h"to "comfortably crossing the finish line". In additional to all of the above, I am one of those people that need to be over-prepared in order to not go crazy at the starting line and even being overly prepared that doesn't prevent pre race jitters and a squirrly stomach.

Seriously, I don't know what I can ask my body to do after two colds within one month in the last third of half marathon training. And I guess I just have to suck it up once more and keep on looking forward to a weekend in Myrtle Beach that I am going to spend with a lot of nice people including several members of the relay team, instead of focusing all my energy in coming up with race scenarios.

Ouch!

I am in pain... In lots of pain actually! But I am also proud and happy.

Yesterday, I did my longest run in my life so far with 15.09 miles in 2h 38mins.

The run was split up in a six mile warm up, three times two miles at race pace with a five minute recovery in between and then finish up with one to two miles cool down.

My game plan was to shoot for around 10:30 minute/mile for the WU, 9:30 minute/mile for the repeats and cool down with whatever is left in the tank.

It was just as cold as every other day this week around here, but sunny with blue skies and only little wind. I bundled up in UA tights and long sleeve, t-shirt, head band, gloves and shades and drove over to the Furman track to leave the car there, basically as my supply vehicle.

From there, I started my warm up over the campus heading for the Swamp Rabbit Trail and once I was on the trail always north towards Travelers Rest until the Garmin beeped for three miles. Starting out, the toes in my left foot were frozen, but during mile two they dewed and burned and once that was done, the feet felt toasty for the remainders of the run. I also had my first three Shot Blok pieces around the three mile mark as well as a perfect stranger saying "That's beautiful" to me while I passed him... I took it as compliment to my gait and kept on going. On the way back to the car, I had to slow myself down every now and then. You see, the way back is slightly downhill the whole time and that makes it easier to go faster than supposed to. On the second half of my warm up, I also felt a lot of discomfort on my right toes and ankle. I wore my new Mizunos again and I don't think those shoes are a good fit for me, especially not on long runs. Once I got back to the car after my first six miles, I called Terry and asked him to bring me another pair of shoes. In the meantime, I did some stretching and had another three pieces of Shot Blok.

After I changed into my Adidas (my toes and ankle felt better right away!), I started my first two mile repeat on the track. I pretty much nailed the pace with a lap time of a little under 19 minutes for the two miles. During the recovery jog, I had a little more to eat and did a pit stop. The second repeat was right at 19 minutes followed with five minutes of recovery. In the last repeat, I had a hard time holding a constant pace. I was either way too slow or way too fast and had to keep on looking at the Garmin and correct my pace. I also kinda ran out of steam by then just barely hanging on. On my second to last lap, I heard somebody approaching from the back fast. I ran my repeats in lane number seven to stay out of the way of the fast people, but for the last 15 or so minutes, I was alone on the track, so hearing somebody running behind me surprised me a lot since I just didn't know where the person was coming from. I thought to myself, I am exhausted, but I am ready to smack you in the face, so bring it on. (Note to myself: Watch out for paranoia around mile 13!) It turned out to be Terry. He did a trainer ride and then ran from the house to the track to finish up with me. So we ran my last lap together and when I hit stop to put my stuff back in the car before my cool down the Garmin was at 13.16 miles. I ran a half-marathon distance for the first time in my life and I felt it everywhere.

The cool down was horrible. I didn't feel that much pain on the last repeat, but once I did the cool down I was about to cry. The last two miles were long and slow with an over 11 minute/mile pace average, but I got it done... Before driving back to the house, we did some stretching and once we were back, I had the hardest time to get out of the car. I can't remember that I ever had such an instant soreness after a workout.

I was hoping that this was the only 15-miler, I will have to do for the MB half preparation only to find out this morning, that the next one is already lined up for this Sunday. Actually, this whole week looks pretty darn tough on paper... Oh well... I'll survive... Somehow.

Seriously? You Like Running?

It's amazing to me, how much of a difference the last five weeks, since I am working with Coach Katie, made in my running. No, I don't run an 8 min/mile yet... Actually not even close. But I seem to be getting faster and also, my heart rate is getting more under control as I am getting a little faster at a time. But also, my mindset towards running seems to change more and more.



When I started running last year, I didn't like it. I did it, because it was challenging my body in new ways, in a time where my weight loss slowed down. With my decision to start in a triathlon in 2009, I basically committed to stick it out since running is part of the triathlon deal. Before the triathlon was even over, I already committed to do the relay race which gave me another reason to stick it out. And somewhere between back then and now, I started to like running and I started to miss it, if I wasn't out there in a couple of days. I enjoyed to be outside and to look around while running and the solitude when I was out there on my own and the camaraderie when I ran in a group. But all I ever did was running without any focus. My whole approach to running was to log miles and a couple of weeks ago I realized that that isn't going to make me a better or faster runner.





Since I am on the coach's plan every run has a purpose, a focus, a goal and I LOVE IT. Seriously! Not only do I like running, I look forward to most of my runs. I know that I like structure, but that I would embrace the run workouts like I do, even surprised me. Even the treadmill isn't as dreadful anymore when the run is structured.

Five weeks ago, I did the first 10-miler in my life and it was a good run. I kind of did the whole thing completely unplanned. I didn't have water or food with me, just stopped by the house to drop the dog off around mile 4 and had a sip then and went out to complete the 10 miles. I was pretty spent afterwards... Thirsty and even more hungry.



Yesterday, I had my first 10-miler on my training plan. The outlook for that wasn't even very daunting, since I had several 7-milers in the last couple of weeks and got more and more secure in doing longer distances. My task was to do the second half faster than the first half of the run and also to start practising proper nutrition during the run. I am fine with drinking during a run, but I don't like eating on them very much. The recommendation was to take a gel every 30 minutes and I didn't comply. I had one piece of shot blok (ca. 33 calories) every 30 minutes which is way less calories than a gel (ca. 100 calories) would be, but I thought I start out easy since my stomach is not very cooperative when it comes to taking in calories while running. It worked out pretty good and I will try to increase my intake over the next long runs. The pacing worked well, too. I did the first half with around a 10:30 min/ mile pace and the second half with around a 10:05 min/ mile pace. I might have been a little conservative in the first half or/and a little too fast in the second half, but it sure was a negative split. Even more than the pacing and nutrition, I just enjoyed my run.... I felt good physically and mentally throughout the run. A good half marathon seems to get more and more doable.

People are already asking me, what my goal time is and I don't have an answer for this yet. The next couple of weeks are going to determine that and I will share then! ;-)





COUNTDOWNS:
10 weeks until Myrtle Beach Half Marathon
10 days until departure for Germany

About Commitment, Shock Waves and Getting Soaked

The title is a pretty good summary about this weekend's activities! ;-)



Commitment

I have been talking about it for a while... Set a goal... Changed my mind. But I still had it in the back of my head to do a half marathon and I wanted to do it soon. Why I don't even really know, but it just seemed to me, that with a goal like that, it would make me work on my running... Hopefully make me a better, faster runner with more endurance. Hopefully get me in a shape that an Olympic distance triathlon next year with a decent time doesn't stay a pipe dream. Now that Terry has been battling a knee injury for the last four weeks, he most likely won't be able to run the marathon that he planned on in Charlotte on 12/12. So he was also already talking about the next possibility to do another marathon. We needed a venue with a marathon and a half far enough out for me to start building and so we decided on Myrtle Beach. We talked about it, I even hired a coach a couple of weeks ago, so things got serious. But on Friday we closed the deal. We signed up. No turning back anymore. We are committed! (They don't do refunds! :-)

That was all I did on Friday, that was sports related... I really did enjoy my rest day... Thanks for asking!

Shock Waves

Yesterday, I had a bike ride on my plan. It was a gorgeous day, so of course we decided to go outside. We haven't been to Donaldson Center in a while so we ended up going there. I have to say that I underestimated the temperatures and had one layer to less on me up top. But what can you do, you just start pedaling and hope that you warm up. Which I did... At the end of the first loop, I felt fine even if I would have still preferred to have a little more fabric on me. Halfway in my second loop I hit that rough piece of road that sends little shock waves through the body and just in general shakes you around a little. Under normal circumstances that wouldn't really bother me, but then I noticed that me toes froze in the meantime. The shock waves due to the road wasn't a big deal, but the vibrations that I felt in my toes made me cringe. But fortunately, that is only part of the road and as soon as it got smoother again, I was back in the game. It's really weird how my toes go dead first, especially since I only had half gloves on and my fingers felt great. After three loops around Donaldson center, I called it a day. But I was glad that we got the chance to ride outside in the sun.

Getting Soaked

Today, I wasn't this lucky. 2 miles into my run it started coming down... BAD! My own fault, if I hadn't procrastinated all afternoon, I guess I would have been fine, but no. 10 minutes after it had started raining hard, I was soaked... soaked... my clothes were not able to take on any more water. If I remember correctly than this was my first rain run EVER. So far I was always lucky that it subsided to a drizzle or light rain by the time I headed out OR I just bagged the outside run and opted for the treadmill. But honestly, I rather run in the rain and get soaked than spend an hour on the treadmill. I got back to the house and left my shoes outside, peeled off all my layers and left them in the sink before I headed into the shower for a long hot soak. I didn't realize how cold I was until I felt my hand and legs hurting from the hot water... But fortunately it didn't take long to warm up.

Hopefully, I will have more luck with my run tomorrow... We'll see! ;-)

Halloween 2009 Weekend

Something completely unrelated up front: Can you believe it's November already??

Yesterday I reached a milestone in my running. I did my first ever 10-miler and when I started running that day, I didn't even plan on doing that much. After getting some stuff around the house done in the morning, I got ready for my run. I decided to take the puppy along for the 2 mile loop around the block and then drop her off at the house again. Instead of the 2 mile loop, we did a 3.6 mile loop before I dropped Karma off. I sure wore the doggy out... Terry said that she curled up and fell asleep as soon as she got back in! ;-) I made a little pit stop and had some water and actually told Terry, that I will shoot for another 6 miles since I felt good. And I kept on feeling good looping around the neighborhood streets up and down the side of Paris Mountain. I just enjoyed the fresh air and the light breeze and the little drizzle of rain every now and then. Around mile 8.5, I started to get hungry and thirsty... I didn't have any water with me nor any food. That was quite a blond moment right there. But I stuck it out even though the last half mile was just tough. As soon as the Garmin beeped for 10 miles I hit stop and walked back to the house, which was another half mile. But the walking felt good by then... I had a smile on my face the whole way back... My first 10-miler... Now, that I seriously think about doing the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon in February, it just seems so much more doable. Funny thing though is that I seem to have only one speed, a 10-minute-mile. No matter if I do a 4-miler on flat terrain like on Wednesday or a hilly 10-miler like yesterday... I have a 10-minute-mile pace... That needs to change!!!

For Halloween we went to a party that a couple of Salsa buddies give every year... And as every year, it was a great success! As I mentioned previously, my scary fairy outfit kept me pulling down the skirt all night Thursday, so I decided to go as a TRIATHLETE! ;-) I know, that was super creative, but I tell you something... The costume was readily available in my closet and I was SUPER comfy all night long. Here are a couple of (random) pics from last night.


Cop and criminal... Just a couple of centuries apart! ;-)


The Shimmy Girls!


Mafioso and Triathlete dancing Salsa.

Since the party was so much fun, we kinda got in bed late... For us it was late anyways and Karma also made sure this morning, that we wouldn't sleep in. ARRRRGGGGHHH!

In the early afternoon, we set out to do a short bike ride. Both Terry and I haven't been riding the bike outside for maybe a month... The weather was perfect! Around 60 degrees, light breeze and dry... I actually overdressed a little and was warm after 5 minutes on the bike. We rode from the house to Travelers Rest and back and then did our 4 mile running loop. We ended up with a little less than 14 miles and a lot of hills. My legs felt crappy... I guess due to the run from yesterday and the fact that I didn't get a lot of sleep last night... The food and beverage intake at the party might have played into it on top of it. Crappy legs or not, it still felt great to be out there on the bike again. But honestly, I think I have to opt out of the Leaf Tour next Saturday. I think I would be able to make it, but it sure won't be pretty. Well, I still have almost a week to make up my mind about that!