the long ride

I did not do my long run this weekend and opted for the bike ride instead.  I figured at this point in my training a  swap would do no harm.  we didn't do the full 3 hour ride, but cut it short (it ended up being 2h20m of riding) so I could get home quicker to the babe.  we were a little unsure if she would take a bottle, as I had previously determined she would not (after one failed attempt.  hey, I hate pumping.)

so anyway, the ride...

we did the legacy parkway trail, starting at the redwood road trail head (not sure what it's actually called) and rode north.  the trail is pretty flat and long, so it's a great place to get a longer ride in.  my friend thinks we did about 30 miles.  effort miles, to me at least, seemed more like fifty.  it didn't help that we had a head wind on the way back.  stupid head wind.

my, oh my I wanted to just get off my bike and die towards the end.  my legs were really not ready for that.  they were like, what is this?  spinning?  we don't do this.  and definitly not for this long.  get off that bike, girl and go lay in the grass!  (we did pass a park with a splash pad and let me just say I was VERY tempted to call it quits right there!)

every part of my body hurt.  my neck and shoulders were really tight.  both of my hamstrings were screaming.  even my wrists weren't loving life.   but after it was all said and done I was glad I got out there.

pioneer day run

I went running on tuesday.  the park.  on the inside road.  in the recent past I wasn't able to run around the whole thing, I'd always walk up the hills.  but now I'm able to do it.  I'm slowly getting more endurance, though I still feel pretty slow.  all in due time.

I haven't gotten a workout in the rest of the week, though.  I am such a slacker and it's not good.  it is too hard to get out of my bed in the morning!  someone!  please!  help!!  I can't let this pattern continue.  I can't let the sleepiness rule my life.  I just have to get over myself and get out the door.

I have an 8 mile long run scheduled for tomorrow, but my friend wants to go on a 3 hour ride...  tempted.

epic long run and the rest of the weekend

I actually mapped out my route, mileage and all, for last saturday's long run.  y'all should be proud of me.  I'm actually starting to get my act together again.  so I planned out a nice little six miler, no biggie. I even ran in the opposite direction I usually take, so it was quite exciting!  (though it was on a route I often go biking--hey, I knew it was pretty nice and shaded!)

so I'm not going to go into all the reasons it was epic.  or really any of them for that matter.  I will spare you all the details. but let me just say that I feel like a true runner now.  it's only taken ten years.

by the end of the run it was getting hot and my legs were getting tired.  I'm glad it was only six miles.


we also went up to lava hot springs, idaho this weekend and peter and I got a nice ride in.  I'm pretty much out of bike shape, so it kinda wiped me out a lot more than it did peter.  any hills kill me!  I bailed on riding up this one canyon pretty quickly, but I really don't feel too bad about it.  pete said that right after we turned around it starts getting really steep and you have to grind it in your granny gear.  I told him I was already grinding it in my granny gear!

I think our ride was about an hour long, and I have no idea how much distance we covered.  my bike computer is out of batteries, and pete hasn't been biking with one lately.  I'm just glad we got out there at all!

and today?  well, I let myself sleep in.  I really wanted to get to the pool this morning, but when morning came it didn't really sound like a fun idea anymore.  kate was up like three times last night/early morning so I was pretty tired.  as an athlete mama of two little ones, I've learned to be very flexible about my workouts.  if it doesn't work out, it's not the end of the world.  I just can't let days and days of missed workouts go by.  it's a fine balance my energy levels ride.

anna jo and the crinks

yesterday was just one of those days.  I had a horrible night's sleep.  spent the day in an exhausted stupor.  obviously didn't go running since I didn't want to get out of bed.  I debated going on a ride first when I went out to my mom's so she could watch the kids (didn't even end up going out to my mom's) and then later with a friend (though she couldn't go until her husband got home from his flag football, which wasn't until about 8:30p which to me is just too late to be starting a ride), so needless to say that never happened either.

so it was a rest day.  good enough.

this morning I knew I had to get out there again.  and luckily the baby agreed and woke up at 6:30a to eat.  I must have slept weird because I have a huge crinked neck this morning.  I stuck it out anyway and went on my run.  it was good to be out there, at least.  about 3'ish miles.

but my neck is still crinked.  boo.

the journey

thank you, baby, for waking up at 6a to eat.  I really do appreciate it.

headed out in the cool early morning.  it felt good.  I couldn't help but think of my running journey.  of where I started and how far I've come.  and then again, my journey post babies and drop foot.  I thought of those runs that helped define me as a runner.  the struggles, the accomplishments, the people along the way.  it's been a good journey so far, and I know the second phase of the journey is just beginning.

I tacked on a little bit extra to this route.  I just mapped it out and it was 3.68 miles.

the normal aches and pains.  my right hamstring bugged me a little bit.  et cetera, et cetera.  I'd like to think I would be the fastest runner out there if not for these random nagging injuries.  oh well, it keeps me humble.

last week

m - h:  nadda

f:  a 3'ish mile run?  it was the big loop around the local park.  I really need to figure out the distance on that bad boy.

s:  a 5'ish mile long run.  I should double check on mapmyrun.com.  just one moment, please.  okay, it was just 4.8 miles.  not quite what I was hoping for.  oh well.  next time I should actually map out the milage/route.

let's not even talk about this week.  yesterday I didn't work out.  and I didn't work out this morning, so it's a safe bet I won't be working out at all today.  I can get out the door if the baby wakes up around 5:30a - 6:30a to eat, but if she doesn't and I get to sleep in a little later--forgettaboutit.  and then it's just too bloody hot.

maybe I should just start setting an alarm?

the big recap

okay.  I realize I've been away from this space for over a year.  but now that I'm actually back in a regular exercise groove (with the past week being an exception.  whoops!) I feel I need to document my kenyan again.  I have some big races coming up, so I really need to stay motivated.  hopefully this helps.


but first, a look back.

after having miles and all the nerve damage working out was really hard to do.  last year things were starting to feel somewhat better and I did a couple races.  I did the cache valley triathlon, sprint distance with a friend.  it was fun even though I didn't train too much for it.  I remember the swim being pretty hard (the water was kinda choppy) and running off the bike seemed hard too.  at that time I couldn't run a straight 3 miles, though, I don't think.  so it was a definite run walk.  I also did the ladies pamperfest in the rockwell relay series.  it was an all-woman roadbike relay race in the wasatch back.  it was so much fun and wished I could be doing it again this year.  unfortunately, all the woman on my team are pregnant right now!  (except for one; she just had her baby last week!)

and then I got pregnant.

and I don't think I did too much exercising after that.

but after my amazing homebirth VBAC (so a vaginal delivery is much easier to recover from than a c-section, just so ya know.  especially if you don't get drop foot!) I feel renewed and have started the journey again.  I've even already done a sprint triathlon this season.  I didn't really train too much for it, since I was only like 8 or 10 weeks postpartum, but it felt great to be out there again!  (it was the daybreak tri, I should post a race report at some point.  stay tuned.)


what's next on the horizon?

::a fun little woman only 10K in midway with some friends :: august 2012::

::the big cottonwood half marathon (running down big cottonwood canyon in autumn?  yes please!) :: september 2012::

::the tuscon marathon to commemorate the ten year anniversary of my running life, plus state number 7 :: december 2012::

::the st george half ironman triathlon!!  a little nervous about this one.  how does a mom of two little ones actually find the time to train for something so big? :: may 2013::


so with that I will try and update with weekly workouts and musings.