Wind

Ah, nothin' like a nice ride in the wind.

I had planned on taking Elle out in the bike trailer today, but then Pete was working from home so I was able to go by myself. I was glad I didn't have her too because it was really windy!

The way out was really fun, I thought the breeze felt good, and I was so excited because I was going 23-25 mph most of the way. I was like, "Wow, this is awesome!" But then I realized it was the wind helping me. I knew it would hurt me on the way back, but I didn't anticipate it being as bad as it was. I had to really push it as hard as I could to get to back to the school in time to pick the kids up. There's nothing like picturing your little boy's sad face when you're late to pick him up from school to get you working harder! It was a hard ride, but it was really fun to just get out and see how fast I could go. And I got to the school just before the bell rang!

On the way out, my average speed was 20.6 mph, but by the end it was down to like 16. I'm amazed it wasn't lower because I was going 10-12 mph most of the way back. It sure was windy.

Total miles: 29

Intro To Mountain Biking

The kids spent last night at my dad's house so this morning we were free to do whatever we wanted! Pete and his friend from work, Paul, took me out on my first mountain biking trip. Paul has an extra bike that he brought along for me to use.

We went to Park City where the trees are starting to change colors, and it is just beautiful!

Paul and Pete are both excellent teachers. Here are some of the things I learned today:

1. Take everything you know about road biking and throw it away. It is a completely different sport!
2. Take the switchbacks wide, then cut in.
3. Outside foot down on the turns.
4. Sit way back on, or even off of the seat.
5. Appropriate gearing helps with stability.
6. Do NOT slam on your breaks, especially your front breaks, when going downhill.
7. Keep peddling on the uphill, even when your heart feels like it's going to explode, because if you stop, your walking up that hill.

Pete stayed behind me most of the time, shouting out instructions for me, telling me when I was doing something wrong. I don't think he's ever been so frustrated with me. I know that it was just because he was worried about me crashing, and he was also very good about cheering me on when I did something right. It was also very comforting to have him there.

On one of the switch backs, I started tipping over and he rushed up beside me to keep me from falling all the way back down the hill. I still landed in a bush, but he softened my fall quite a bit. I felt bad for falling onto him, but it was very heroic of him to put himself in the way like that. I felt a little queasy after this so I took my hammer gel and some water before starting again.

The way up was really hard, and my heart-rate was really high (in the 170s most of the time) for a lot longer than I'm used to, but I made it! It was fun because I like to work hard, and it was cool to be able to just go over all the big rocks that I would normally do everything to avoid.

When we got to the top and stopped to rest, I put my head down on my handle bars and just wanted to pass out, and I just could not seem to get enough water. We didn't want to get our heart rates down too much though so we got moving again pretty quick. I was feeling pretty good, I had made it to the top but my legs and heart were tired and I was excited to go down.

I didn't think about how hard going downhill would be! Oh. Man. This was crazy! I wasn't used to the breaks. They were a lot more responsive than on my road bike. I'd try to just lightly ride the breaks down the hill, but there was kind of a fine line between going too fast and slowing down too fast and tipping over. It was really steep and it was really scary. At one point, I was zooming down the trail through the trees and all the leaves were red and falling onto the trail. I thought, "I feel like I'm going to die, but this is really pretty!"

Here I am getting a little worried I might run into Paul who was taking the picture.

Then we came around a corner and it got even more steep. I think I freaked out a little and pushed my breaks too hard, then my food got stuck in the peddle and I just flipped over my handle bars. Luckily I landed in some nice soft little trees and didn't really get hurt other than scratching up my knee a little. It was weird because I wasn't in pain, but I still wanted to cry and wanted to just lay there on the ground. I made Pete a little worried because I didn't move for a minute. I was fine, though, and Pete and Paul both sprang back into giving me tips on down-hilling.

By the time we got to the bottom, I was getting the hang of it, and was even able to ride through the switchbacks. There were some really fun parts too, where I wasn't scared out of my mind. The weather was perfect and it was really beautiful up there. It took us a little more than 2 hours to do the 8-mile loop. Man, I could have run that faster than that! It was good, though. I'm really glad I went, and I definitely want to go out again. In fact, we're planning on going camping in Moab next weekend with Paul's family so I'll have to do some mountain biking there.

Thank you Pete and Paul!

High Speed Chases

I haven't had a computer very much lately, hence the lower post count. I also haven't been doing very much worth blogging about, though I'm sure you'd all love to hear about me canning 12 quarts of apple pie filling...

Last week Pete was in Chicago for work all week, so I couldn't write about the awesome workouts I did.

PR 5K

One of the days I went to the track at the gym for a tempo run. I did one mile in 10 minutes to warm up, then I ran 3 more miles and tried to keep my pace at 9-minute/mile. The good news is that I was able to do this! I finished the 3 miles in 26:47! I did one more lap to make it a 5k in 27:45! Not bad, I must say.

The bad news is that my heart rate was high for the first mile (like 173), and it just kept getting higher until it maxed out at 183. It stayed around there until the end. How do I get my heart used to running faster??

I ran another mile to cool down, making it a total of 5 miles in 46:45.

Great running day.

Spin Class

Last Thursday I went to spin class at the gym. I haven't been since I started getting into longer training times for Ironman. I love spin class. That was how I started training for my first triathlon 5 years ago, and it helped me out A LOT. It was where I learned correct form and cadence for cycling, but it was also where I learned how to keep going even when it's hard and it hurts. This is what spin class is good for. This has helped me in swimming, biking, running, walking, and whatever else life throws at you.

This time was no different. It was hard! I got my heart rate way higher than on the road or on the trainer. I had to work hard, and it was fun to have those other people working with me and someone to tell me what to do. I really liked it, and when it was over, I stayed for yoga. I've wanted to do this before, but with both Ethan and Elle in the daycare, another hour was $4. This time it was $4 for 2 hours! Alright! Yoga was nice, and I know I could use it. I decided this would be my new Thursday routine.

This week

I haven't been feeling well the past few days so I already broke my new Thursday Spin/Yoga Routine, but I did go running on Monday with Elle in the double running stroller. Running hasn't made my legs sore for a while, but that sure did it! I hate running with the stroller, but you do what you gotta do. I also know that biking with Elle in the bike trailer helped make me faster on the bike, so maybe the stroller will do the same thing for my running. What do you think?

I also ran on Tuesday. I hadn't planned on running. I had actually planned on riding my bike, but then Elle fell asleep on the way home from Walmart just when I wanted to go ride, and I decided to just let her have a nice nap in her bed instead. Later that evening, Pete put on the new Muse album. How could I not want to go running when I hear that? As soon as the first song comes on, I want to be running RIGHT NOW!

I ran almost the same route for the same amount of time as Monday, but I was able to get further without the bulky stroller. I also saw a high speed chase involving a go-cart and a police car on the bike path. Ok, so it wasn't that high speed, but I did think the go-cart could have slowed down a little when they passed me, and I was able to point the policeman in the right direction when he asked me about a "motorized vehicle" on the path. I will probably never know what that was all about.

Elle's 3rd B-day

This weekend Shane, Aria, and Katie drove down to Heber from Logan on Saturday and they stopped at our house on the way to pick up Elle’s old toddler bed for Aria. They were so awesome, and generous, and wonderful to trade vehicles with us and take the kids with them the rest of the way to Heber with them so Pete and I could have the night to ourselves. That was so wonderful because he had just gotten back a few hours earlier from Chicago where he’d been all week. I missed him so much so it was really fun to have a nice, relaxing date night.

We went shopping at Nordstrom Rack and got me some designer jeans (my first pair ever) and some killer heels to go with them! Now I just need somewhere to wear them….

We also did some shopping for Elle’s birthday, and got Mindy some new ballet slippers. This is her 4th pair, can you believe it!? Ballet is not cheap, which, I think, is one of the reasons I never did it.

Anyway, we also had dinner at this yummy place called Cedars of Lebanon. Oh so good!

We headed up to Heber Sunday morning and got there just in time to go to church. After church I got the cake ready, then we went visiting my grandparents where we got to see the baby deer and baby goats, then we went back to Dad’s house for the b-day party. All of my family was there (except for Heather who we missed very much! But I’m glad you got to have a nice rest this weekend.), and we had delicious burgers and fries.

I had to get the kids all cleaned up before the presents and the cake because they snuck out with their neighborhood friend to make sand castles in the garden. But then we had presents, and Elle (not to mention Mindy) was so excited she could hardly contain herself! It was very fun, and I’m glad Sabel and Garison, Shane and Aria, Katie, Dad and Angela could all be there! (Elle won’t officially be 3 until Tuesday, but don’t tell her that).

Here's the birthday girl, drinking some juice.

Here's Katie looking ravishing in her beautiful blue scarf.

Mindy eating a hamburger. Yum!

Elle opening presents

Butterfly cake.

The big moment!

Cousin Aria, painted fingernails and all! Such a little sweetie!

Who Knew it Was Possible?

I haven't done anything training-wise since I ran with Elle in the stroller last Tuesday. Our whole family got a nasty cold so we've been laying low for a while.

Today I was feeling better, though. Maybe not 100% better, but well enough, and I was sick enough of not doing anything so I decided to do some speed work. I dropped the kids off at school, then Elle and I took my dad's huge truck (we swapped vehicles for the week) up to the gym. Elle was a little reluctant to go to the day care by herself, but the lady there got her into a game of catch then she was fine. I headed up to the good ol' track. I really like running on that track. I like that I know how far I've gone, and I also feel really safe because I can run and use the restrooms if I need to and if I get hurt or something I don't end up having to walk 2-3 miles home. Not that I've gotten hurt that often while running, but still. Plus, it helps me feel really fast with all the walkers up there. I always imagine them thinking, "Wow, look at her go!" I'm sure they're really just thinking, "Wow, she looks like she's in pain!" though.

I started out with a quick warm-up mile, and ended up doing it in somewhere around 9:15! It was weird that it was so fast because I felt really good, like I could keep that pace up forever. (Keep in mind that my usual speed is 10-minute miles or slower) I focused on moving my feet faster, but also tried to stay relaxed.

Next, I was going to do 4 x 800 and try to do them at around 4:00. When I got to the end of my first half-mile in less than 4:00, I decided to keep going and try a whole mile at that pace. It was awesome! I realized today that when you run faster, your adrenaline kicks in a lot faster too! I finished the mile in 7:47!

7:47

I never thought I could run that fast! I know, it was only one mile, but still! I've never even tried that before. I'm really glad I tried it today because it felt really good! If I can run one mile that fast, there's hope for me to run more at that speed right? (someone please tell me I'm right...)

I was wearing my heart-rate monitor, but I didn't look at it until I was finished. When I did look, it said 183. Wow, that's really high! Amazingly, it only took me walking one lap to get it back down to 150, then I ran another lap nice and easy before starting my timer again to do another mile.

This time I was tired, and I only managed 8:12. I'm happy with that, though. If I could run at that pace for say, I don't know, 6.2 miles, I'd be ecstatic! Or, maybe I'd just want to get faster, who knows! :)

So, deep thought for the day: You never know what you can do until you try!

Bear Lake Classic Tri - Race Report

We headed to Bear Lake Friday afternoon, by way of Logan, Utah. We had to stop in Logan for packet pick-up, to see my sister who just moved there, and to have dinner at Firehouse Pizza. Packet pick-up took a lot longer than we had planned. For some reason they only had 1 person (well, 2 by the time we left) handing out packets, and the line wound around the room. It was kind of weird because they had Ronald McDonald roaming around chatting with everyone. I thought it might have been better for him to be helping with the packets, and I was even about to volunteer to help out at one point, but I just stood my ground.

Anyway, we got our stuff, then had a great dinner with some family and headed up to the KOA in Garden City which was another hour drive. We got there just before dark. Pete set about putting up the tents and had me go buy some firewood and matches from their little store. The firewood ended up being wet, though, so we never did have a fire, and we just went to bed as soon as we got everything set up, at about 10. Not the funnest camping experience.

We had a nice air mattress, though I forgot to bring sheets or anything to put on it, other than our comforter. We didn't really plan for cold as much as we should have because it was just so hot in Salt Lake. We all slept well, though. That is, we all slept well until I woke up at 3am feeling like my throat was about to close in and my nose was running like crazy. I don't know what it was, but I was seriously allergic to something up there! Since I haven't had allergies for so long, I also forgot to bring allergy medicine. I was also so cold on that air mattress!

Well, there was no way I could go back to sleep feeling like that, and Pete looked on his iPhone and found an alleged pharmacy not far from our KOA so I got up and went in search of some meds. I felt bad starting the Jeep at 3am. It was so loud, I felt like I woke up the whole campground for sure. No one yelled at me or anything, though. I drove around for a while without finding anything open, and headed back to the camp. Luckily I found some decongestants in our first-aid kit. I took those, put my compression socks and jacket on and that made me feel much better so was able to go back to sleep.

In the morning, we got up bright and freezing early. My sister, brother, sister-in-law and their little girl arrived at about 6 to help out with the kids and bring me allergy medicine. We had planned on riding in to the race, but since it was freezing cold and we had less time than we planned, my sister drove us in. Then we realized that we forgot the water bottles so I called her and she brought us those too. What a great support team we had that day! They took down our tents, packed up our Jeep, took the kids to breakfast and played with them until we were done with the race. It was so great to have them there, otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to do it.

All the olympic women started at 8:15, 15 minutes after the men. I really didn't love the swim start. The water felt nice and warm compared to the air, but it was hard to get in and warm up because it was shallow for so far out. When the gun went off, we ended up running through the water for several minutes before we were able to start swimming. There was a lady racing who I'd done Masters Swim with back in Heber, and I was going to try and stick with her because she said she'd probably do it in about 30 minutes. Well, that was hopeless. It's impossible for me to stick with anyone in the water. The water was really weird too. It was so clear and blue that it felt like we were swimming in a pool, but there was no bottom. That was more freaky to me then swimming in the nice murky water I'm used to. It was also hard to see the buoys with such bright water, and I kept finding myself veering way to the right. I'd get so mad at myself for wasting precious time when I'd do this, but the I'd end up doing it again. I also forgot to start my timer at the beginning so I could only guess how long I took. When I got out, I thought I'd only taken 30-31 minutes, but then I had to run a ways back up to transition.

Swim Time: 35:54

Worse than my last 2 olympic races (not counting Spudman of course). I'd like to think it was because of the shallow water and the longish hike to transition, but that couldn't have added 4-5 minutes!

Anyway, I took a little longer in T1 than I liked because I had forgotten to put my socks out. I took a few seconds rummaging in my bag for them, then decided to forget it and go sock-less. I was worried it would really bother my feet because I've never done that, but it ended up being just fine. I didn't notice it at all. I think I'll start doing that from now on. Socks take forever to put on. :) I also made sure to get my shoulders dried off and spray sunscreen on. Another time killer, but probably worth it not to get totally burnt.

T1 Time: 3:42

The bike was really fun and fast. It wasn't as fast/flat as Spudman, but I like having hills. I enjoyed it a lot, and the best part was that only 2 people passed me (not counting the crazy fast guys coming in from the half), and one of those was when I had to stop and put my chain back on right after the turnaround. I felt nice and fast, and I didn't see anyone from my age group so I started to get hopeful that I might be able to place. (hahaha)

Bike Time: 1:19:50

(That's an average of 18.9 miles/hour.)

I was nice and fast in T2. I just took my bike stuff off, put my hat and race belt on, grabbed my shoes and ran bear footed to the port-a-potty. I love it when they put them right before the run start like that! (Kudos to Bear Lake Classic!) That way, I was able to multi-task while putting my shoes on.

T2 Time: 1:08

I got out on the run and soon found all the women in my age group. I counted 5 that went flying past me. I felt like there was no way I could keep up with any of them, but when I got to the finish, I wasn't dead. I definitely could have pushed it harder out there. So disappointing.

Run Time: 1:02:00 (My usual pace of exactly 10 minute/mile)

Total Time: 3:02:32

The most disappointing thing was being over my goal of 3 hours by just two and a half minutes! If only I would have started my watch when the gun went off...

I did beat Pete by 1 minute! He also didn't have his Garmin, though. It was dead when he put it on in the morning.

Here are my stats:

#10 out of 12 in my 25-29 age group

#26 out of 38 olympic women

#81 out of 106 olympic finishers

I'm so tempted to do another race this year to try and to better, but I think the fact that I didn't push it as hard as I could have means that I'm burnt out or still recovering from Ironman or something. I'll have to save the better times for next year after I focus on running this winter. I WILL get faster!