Viva Las Vegas!

Back in January, my husband put in writing (and signed it) that he would run the Las Vegas Marathon with me. Really, I have it in my house and have considered scanning it and sending it to his mother in case he tries to hide it! So, yesterday I got an email with a offer to register so I sent this on to my delightful spouse and he replied to sign us up! I DID! So...VIVA LAS VEGAS! He has not run a marathon before but I have written him a training plan and he assures me that he is running! So, now he has to put his money where his mouth is...and RUN!!!!!!

FUN! FUN! FUN! We love Las Vegas and maybe we could even get hitched again. We went there last year for our 10 year anniversary but we did not get to get married again...maybe year 11 is the lucky year!

My best laid plans...usually go kaput!

It is not always bad when things do not work out the way I plan...this is what I keep telling myself anyway.

Monday-swim and taught one spin class
Tuesday-run with Ginger (absolutely delightful and got some confidence back into my run), yoga, and ride with Hal (kept HR under 130 most of the time as I planned)
Wednesday-swim, run, weights, taught spin class, yoga
Thursday-I planned to do my long brick today. Have a summer cold and spent half the night up coughing and overslept....Hopefully, I can ride this afternoon for a few hours before the rain comes.

Rest of week plan
Friday-swim, weights and run
Saturday-ride in Carthage
Sunday-long brick

Usually people pick on me constantly for being slow and it does hurt my feelings, however, one of my good friends, Furman, told me yesterday someone I would have never expected actually commented me. Last Sunday, we left to do our regular Sunday ride but I forgot something in my Jeep and then my friend, Quincy, forgot his gloves...needless to say we got left so Hal, John, Quincy and I set out on a different but pleasant 56 mile ride. When the other group got to the parking lot, Furman was teasing about me not wanting to ride with him because I was afraid of his speed (this actually is not that far from the truth) and another rider who does not often hand out compliments said I had been to the top of Mount Mitchell and he had not! It made me feel really good...maybe I am better than I think I am.

Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

"Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about." This is from an email that my good friend, John K., sent me. Sometimes I spend so much time comparing myself to others' that I forget their lives are a journey too. Perhaps they are good at one thing but may have other struggles in their lives. Triathlon sometimes is one of those things. I think I wish I was a better cyclist like __________ or a better swimmer like ________ or a faster runner like __________. This frustrates me a lot. This quote reminded me that other people might struggle with things that are easy for me. Luckily, my parents raised me to be an independent and pretty level-headed with money. I do okay by myself, which is good for my husband as he is gone ALOT and I keep our money straight and he never has to worry about that (except for I might buy another bicycle ;)) I take these things for granted while others may struggle with them. Thanks John for the reminder! So, today remind yourself of the things you do with ease that others may struggle with and be thankful for them.

Again, my weekend workouts did not quite go the way I planned. I rode 90 miles Saturday and ran .74 miles. I sort of felt crappy with a sore throat. I got home after a lovely dinner with one of my favorite friends and it only got worse. Finally, I figured out I have a little summer cold. Sunday, I rode 56 miles with a great small group of Hal, John, Quincy and me. The pace was good recovery pace but my saddle was killing me and I struggled especially on the last 15 miles.

Honestly, I am very worried about my run at Ironman. I haven't been running long. I have been running 3-4 days a week but not long. Luckily, my friend, Ginger, is coming to run with me on Tuesday. I am so excited! Hopefully, we can run more often together!

Workout Schedule for next week
Monday-swim, run and teach spin
Tuesday-run, ride, weights, yoga
Wednesday-swim and teach spin class
Thursday-long brick
Friday-Swim (hair appointment, too! SO EXCITING!)
Saturday-100K ride in Carthage
Sunday-Run (maybe easy ride)

Friday...

Run on treadmill for 7 miles (4x1 mile intervals with 4 minute recoveries after 1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down)
Swim 3700 yards...Started to actually visualize Ironman even down to time on the clock coming out of the water, after bike, and final time. I can do this...

Tomorrow 6:30 hour ride and 1 hour run

Got my new Trigger Point stuff to roll out the lactate acid in my legs. My legs were hurting quite a bit and feel a bit better now. Hope I will ride great tomorrow.

Back in the saddle again...

Went for my first ride on my regular ride in a week with one of my favorite friends, Hal. At first, I felt like everything was all wrong on my bike but after about an hour, I felt pretty good. Practiced climbing out of the saddle alot and sent my heart rate into the higher zones...I just keep reminding myself how hot my quads are going to look and what an awesome climber I will be when it hurts like heck! Don't think I ate enough because I sort of bonked in the middle and thanks to Hal (Clif Blox) and Tim (Gatorade) I got home. Did a little yoga earlier and plan to lift weights while watching So You Think You Can Dance in a few minutes! Have to get up earlier and get to Operation Spin Cycle in the early am, then a run and swim.

My Mom's 24 inch Huffy

Back from vacation...got a lot of workouts in but the most enjoyable were my 2 bike rides on my mom's 24 inch Huffy...I am sure I looked ridiculous but it was great fun. I really enjoyed my short rides and loved the scenery. There was this great donkey who followed me and I longed to pet it but he wasn't having it! It was a nice vacation and I needed it. Now, only a few more weeks until IM Louisville. Got to refocus and get my stuff together and then taper and work my bootie off to hopefully get my PR. My running is not going great. I can't seem to get to it like I did before. My swimming was great when I was on vacation because I needed a change of scenery...tomorrow will tell.

Today-bike, weights and yoga
Friday-run and swim
Saturday-long brick
Sunday-run and ride

Friday

Wednesday-taught spin class
Thursday-travel and walk 4 miles
Friday-run 30 minutes, swim 3250, weights

Change of scenery was good for swim - did not feel like I was swimming in jello. Run did not go great but there is hope for tomorrow.