Today was my last really long run until the Martian Marathon!!! YAY!!!! I did 21 today.  Over the next few weeks, I only have to do long runs of 12, 14, 10, and 12.  I am so happy that the 20 milers are over and done with.  When I started this morning, my legs were sluggish.  I just kept telling them to hold on for one last long run and then I would give them a break.  Thankfully, they held out and I finished in 3:00:28.

I changed things up a bit for my run today and did one big loop rather than lots of smaller loops.  I generally do smaller loops without going too far from home.  It gets boring seeing the same things over and over again, so I decided to do a route I have never done.  It ended up being a great run.  Nearly half of it was on a paved trail or on country roads with little to no traffic.  Very peaceful.  I ran for as long as I could without looking at my watch because I didn’t want to know how far I had gone.  I had a general idea of my distance though because the main roads are all a mile apart and I could count them off in my head as I passed them (44th street, 52nd street, 60th, street… 84th street).

I didn’t look at my watch until well after the turn around point.  I was running low on Gatorade so I stopped at the grocery store to fill up at the drinking fountain using a single serving Gatorade powder package. As I left the store, I broke down and looked at my watch.  17 miles.  YAY!!!! I thought I was only going to be at 15 or so.  17 was a blessing.  I picked up the pace a bit for the next mile.  And then I hit a hill which kicked me in the face a bit and slowed me right back down.

As I hit the driveway, my watched beeped over for 21 miles.  I was very happy to be done.  The run turned out to be hillier than I expected, but I felt strong throughout.

After the run, I took a snow bath and downed a box of Mac and Cheese to refuel before starting my work day at noon.  I made sure to get up and walk around the house every half hour or so to make sure my legs didn’t tighten up too much.

After dinner, I headed up to the pool for open swim.  I figured that the swim would be good recovery for my legs as long as I didn’t push it too hard.  When I got to the pool, it was a ghost town.  I thought that I had the time wrong or something.  Turns out, I was the only person who showed up.  I had the pool to myself for almost a half hour before two other guys showed up.

For my workout, I did:

1 x 500
1 x 400 Pull
1 x 300
1 x 200 Pull
2 x 100 Kick w/ fins
1 x 200
1 x 300 Pull
1 x 400
(1 x 500 Pull Skipped)
2500 yards total

I really wanted to do the last 500 yards to get to a full 3000 yards, but my calves were starting to cramp up and I didn’t want to push it.  It was a very casual swim and I didn’t even time myself.  I just wanted to get the distance in and stay comfortable, so no sense cramping up.

Not sure what the rest of the weekend will bring, but I’m hoping to get in at least one outdoor bike ride if the weather cooperates and another run.

Now, it is time to relax and enjoy a beer (or two).

March 1st.  The start of a new month.  The weather is warming up and we spring forward an hour in just a few weeks, which means that Spring should be right around the corner.  The 5 day forecast here actually looks fairly pleasant with temperatures in the upper 30’s and low 40’s.  Fingers crossed that this weather keeps up for the long term.

Time to look back before we can look forward though.

Last Week

I have thoroughly enjoyed this past week.  It was a light week and I got to rest my legs a bit.  I spent some extra time on the bike and doing core workouts.  I did my first “21” workout yesterday.  I found this work on Steve In a Speedo’s blog and it starts with 20 pushups and 1 crunch, followed by 19 pushups and 2 crunches, etc until you hit 1 pushup and 20 crunches.  In the end, it is 210 pushups and 210 crunches.  I took it nice and easy my first time through because I wasn’t sure if I would make it through.  Nevertheless, my arms were a bit rubbery today during my swim.  Next time, I will try and speed it up by taking shorter breaks between sets.

Last Month

Overall, I had a good month numbers wise despite it being a short month.  At the end of January, my goal was to spend more time biking this month and I met that goal.  Last month, I did 7 rides for 8 hours, 20 minutes.  This month, I knocked out 10 rides for 13 hours 23 minutes.  Not only that, but I was able to do my first outdoor ride to Grand Haven.  My running and swimming were a bit off from last month, but that is mainly because of two scheduled light weeks.  I also did about 10 strength workouts throughout the month.  I say “about 10” because I still haven’t found a great way of keeping track of these workouts – Sporttracks just isn’t doing it for me.

As for this month, more of the same.  I have one more long run this week – 22-23 miles.  After that, the taper begins for my marathon.  I took the final step yesterday and actually registered for the race.  Yeah, I know, I like to procrastinate.  I had until the 9th before the price went up so I figured I would wait until the bitter end to make sure my training was going as planned.

One last note.  I emailed the Honolulu Marathon race director to find out when the 2010 date was going to be (the website still has 2009 info).  December 12th is the date.  It looks like we have some planning to do now! YAY!

Saturday was my first brick session this year.  In one aspect, I was looking forward to it because it signaled that training is well under way and the racing season is just around the corner.  On the other hand, I was dreading the fact that it is still winter and I would have to do my brick session indoors.  I wanted to at least do the run portion outside, but after having biked on the trainer, I was way too sweaty to just head outside.

I started the session with 1:15 on the bike at a consistent, steady pace. I watched part of Modern Marvels: Walt Disney World to kill the time.  Absolutely fascinating.  It made the time fly by.  I am going to have to schedule more from the series for future rides.

After the ride, I hopped on the treadmill for 20 minutes.  I hate running on the treadmill.  The only reason we actually have a treadmill is because the previous owners left it behind when they moved.  I can count on one hand the number of times I have actually used it.  However, Jennie does get a bit of use out of it.  Nevertheless, it was easier to just go from the trainer to the treadmill rather than get showered up and dried off before trying to go out into the cold and run outside.

Overall, it was a good first brick of the season.  Hopefully it warms up soon so that I can move the training outdoors.

After training and lunch, Jennie and I headed to the West Michigan Brewers Guild Festival at Fifth Third Ballpark.  We got free tickets from a friend’s husband who works in the industry.  The tickets included 15 beer tokens, each redeemable for 3 ounce samples of beers.  They had over 50 microbrewers and 300 varieties of beer available for sampling.  It was a blast.

 
Friends Chris and Noelle – our ticket connection.  Thanks guys!

At first, it was very overwhelming.  Tons of people (around 5,000 tickets sold), beer everywhere, and not knowing where to start.  Chris had lots of good advice on what to try and what to avoid because of his work – such a horrible job working in the beer industry.

We started off at the Mount Pleasant Brewing Co. with a Train Wreck Amber and Coal Stoker’s Blackberry.  The Train Wreck was aptly named; a couple of those and you would be a train wreck.  It was a strong (8% ABV) beer brewed with honey and maple syrup.  The Coal Stoker’s Blackberry was much smoother and just as good.

Throughout the area, they had fire pits setup to warm up by and dry your feet.

After that, we headed to Old Hat Brewery and Grill.

 
Jennifer sampling the Peche Lager from Old Hat Brewery.  It was her favorite of the day. 
I sampled their Dirty Red Milf, which was good as well. 

We continued on to the Old Boys’ Brewhouse for Old Boys’ Brown Ale and then to the Corner Brewery for Michael Faricy’s Irish Stout.  If you know me, you know I’ll never turn down an Irish-style beer.

We made sure to stop by a couple of the breweries that we recognized – namely Hopcot and Rochester Mills Beer Co.  Both are restaurants we have eaten at before (and plan to again), so it was nice to be able to try some of their beers ahead of time to know what we’ll like.  The beer from Rochester Mills was an organic beer, which gave it a unique taste, but that also might have been due to the fact that it was served from the right breast of a bikini clad mannequin.

 
Rochester Mills unique beer delivery system.
I sampled from the right.

After about two hours in the cold, Chris and Noelle shared their VIP passes with us, which allowed us to go inside, sit down, and warm up for a bit.  Once we warmed back up, we made the rounds again and hit a few more breweries.  I had to try Schmohz Brewing Co’s Kiss My Scottish Arse Scotch Ale based on the name alone.  I also tried a beer from The Livery in Benton Harbor.  Benton Harbor is where one of my half Ironman races is going to be this year, so maybe we can visit the restaurant this summer for a post race refueling session.

Jennie isn’t much of a beer drinker (she’ll take a Cosmo over an Ale any day), so I ended up drinking sampling for two at some of the breweries.  As you can see, I was very disappointed about this.

Even if you know nothing about beer (and I know very little), it can be a lot of fun.  If you don’t know what kind of beer you want, just pick it based on name.  Some of the best named beers of the day were: Kiss My Scottish Arse Scotch Ale, “Hands Off My Goat!” Stout, Sage Against the Machine American Pale, Ghettoblaster, Pooh Beer, Kilt Tilter, More Cow Bell IPA, Motha Pucker Dark Sour Ale, and Bees Knees Honey Ale.

Overall, it was a ton of fun and many great beers were had.

Friday

Friday was my long run for the week.  Only 14 miles scheduled after 21 the week before.  Despite the shorter distance, it was a really tough run.  My legs were really beat up from my bike ride on Thursday.  On top of that, I was having acid reflux problems for nearly the entire run.  Very unpleasant.

In the end, I only made it 13 miles.  Part of it was exhaustion, part of it was poor distance estimating.  I thought that my final loop would get me up to 14 miles, but alas, I looked at my watch as I turned on the road home and was only at 13 miles.  I was too tired to even consider adding on an extra mile at that point.

After the run, I was still getting that acidy burning feeling in the back of my throat.  After a quick Google search, I found a couple potential remedies.  I tried what looked like the easiest solution – chewing gum – and it worked like a charm.  Within minutes, I was better.  I couldn’t believe it.  I may have to pack some gum for my next long run.

I finished off Friday with a 1950 yard swim in the evening.  Yes, I spend my Friday nights at the pool.  Exciting, I know.  I had a record swim, but more on that later.  I am hoping to devote a whole post to swim-related activities.

Saturday

I got a quick strength session in on Saturday morning before we packed up and headed across the state to the in-laws.  We have been wanting to see one of my bro-in-law’s basketball games, but they are normally during the week, so that doesn’t work.  He had a basketball tournament this weekend though, so we were able to catch 2 games. (They won both and the tournament.)

On top of that, I helped my father-in-law mount their new 50” plasma TV above their fireplace.  We still have some more work to do to hide the wires, but that will wait until the next trip.  Always fun to do projects.

Sunday

We got home late Sunday evening, so I had a late evening run ahead of me.  I didn’t start until after 9:00, so I donned my head lamp and reflective gear and headed out.  It felt great to stretch the legs out after a couple hours in the car.

Monday

Well, we got snow again – surprise, surprise. I spent a good part of the day shoveling the heavy wet snow.  It made for a pretty good cross training workout on my day off from running.  However, it is getting to the point where I don’t have anywhere to put the snow.  The piles at the end of the driveway are over my head, so I have had to start shoveling the snow down the street before I can pile it up in the front yard.  When is spring?

So, there you have it.  My weekend in review.

This week should be a bit easier as it is a recovery week.  A much needed recovery week.  Hopefully that means I will have more time to keep this blog updated so I don’t have to keep doing extended summaries.

Stay tuned!

7 is my lucky number.  Yes, I know, how unique.  However, 7 has been a big number in my life.  My birthday is July 7th (7/7).  I got married in July 2005 – the sum of the digits in 2005 = 7.  I got my dog Spunky when I was 7 years old.  Etc. Etc. The one thing I have never liked about 7 is 7 mile runs.  I don’t know exactly why, but I have never liked running 7 miles.  6 miles is fine, 8 miles is good too.  I think part of the problem is that I have never had a good 7 mile course. 

That changed yesterday.  I finally found an awesome 7 mile route and I flew.  I did 7 miles in 53:24 for a 7:36 pace.  All of my miles came in under 8:00 with my final mile coming it at a blazing 7:00 flat.  Not only did I have a fast run, but I was completely pain-free.  No calf pain.  No hamstring pain.  Let’s hope this streak keeps up.

Today, was a light day for me.  And it couldn’t have come at a better time.  I had a busy day at work and my stomach was upset all day long.  I did manage an hour on the trainer this evening after my stomach settled down a bit, but kept an easy pace.

Tomorrow, I am hoping to do a swim and run.  Because this is a lower mileage week than last week, I am planning on doing some more speed workouts during my runs.  I’ll be careful to listen to my body though and back off if I start experiencing any soreness.

Finally, Anne at Iron Dreams has a giveaway going on (see details here).  The giveaway includes some Tri-Swim gear including shampoo and conditioner to help defeat that post swim chlorine smell.  Also, cruise on over to Tri-Swim’s website if you are in need of a good swim workout.  They have a couple dozen different workouts available for free.