Tri-less again?!!

Well....I can't believe it. Last summer I did no triathlons because I couldn't afford to. This summer, so far, something has gotten in the way of every scheduled triathlon I had hoped to do. Every single one!!

This weekend I was going to do the Luna tri. I held off on registering on the remote chance that picking up my son from Civil Air Patrol encampment would conflict with the triathlon.

Sure enough it does. I could pick him up a bit later, and skip the graduation closing ceremony --but---no way am I missing it!

I feel pretty cool with this, I just can't believe the season is turning out this way after I had been so excited about doing triathlons this summer. Actually, I'm surprised at how flexible and chillin' I've been about it--downright zen-like in fact!

Anyway, there will be one more triathlon I intend to shoot for at the end of the month. If I can do it I will. I found this photo posted online, my son is second in line waiting for lunch.

Thanks for stopping by ;)

It's Summer and everything is happening.

This blog post is going to look a little like the show notes for Zen and the Art of Triathlon because it's kinda a little of this and that. So here we go.

>I've been doing my runs Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I'm now giving a try to moving run workouts to something like Monday, Wednesday and Friday in order to accomodate Saturday long bike rides with my husband.

>Speaking of bikes...do I live in bike war zone...? Recent events in my neck of the woods Here- and here, here and lastly, here.

>I bought trail running shoes...the cushioning appealed to me but now I think I should have looked for a lower profile shoe.They are the Mizuno Wave Ascend 3, they are light weight and have good traction but they are kind of on a high platform--that is, my heel is a bit high and the foot in general is high because of the amount of cushioning in the shoe. Last week I turned my ankle running right after a 25 mile bike ride (so I was tired), and it swelled up and hurt like crazy- but I was pretty confident it was okay (and it is), because I had no pain or loss of strength in it until the swelling began. So back to the shoe issue- the second time I went out to run in the Mizuno's I nearly turned the other ankle! I'm pretty sure these shoes would not be my best choice for unstable trail running. I will probably use these for shorter road runs where I just want some cushioning.

>Nutrition 53-- I dig it! I've been using Nutrition53 products. Lean (Banana Cream) and Neuro (Mocha Latte). You can check out the products on their site. Lean Banana Cream tastes great and I like the texture and I feel content after having it. Neuro I don't enjoy as much...it has a bit of a bite and aftertaste--but wow does it deliver. I feel like my brain is operating so clearly after I drink it. Neuro is different than just a shot of caffeine-it doesn't just jack you up on adrenaline! I feel like it gives mental energy and stamina not just alertness.

>I'm going to add raw local honey to my diet (trying out Brett's idea). The purpose of this is to try to alleviate allergy symptoms. I have a perpetual runny nose on runs and rides for 2 months out of the year( at least) and my skin itches at the end of the workout. I go to sleep taking most antihistimines. I can tolerate Claritin or the generic equivilent but I accidently took two of them (they are 24 hr release) close to one another recently. This was was not a pleasant experience!! It would be great to not have to take anything!!

>Did you know google docs has a running log?

>The new Javelin is waiting for a new stem riser. After riding on it and tweaking with it this is the next step to what I believe will be a perfect fit. I love riding it!

>It's camp time! These next two weeks are filled with church camp, theater camp, art camp and Civil Air Patrol encampment depending on your name and age at this house. Thanks for stopping by...

The First Program

I mentioned in earlier posts that I've decided to go ahead and do a fall marathon. I've chosen the Portland Marathon because it is a race with a great reputation and it's close to home. I was a bit hesitant to do it for several reasons. First, I just finished my very first marathon in May and at the end of training for it I was injured. Second, this will be two marathons in the same year as my very first. Lastly, the marathons are spaced only five months apart.

The strongest reason I have for doing the Portland marathon is because I found a program that I think I can do and incorporate lots of cross-training. (Which I had hoped to, but did not do in training for Eugene.) I am pretty excited about training with the FIRST program because it includes what I had hoped to get around to doing first time around and didn't---speedwork!

Even though this is not my first marathon, I am doing the FiRST program for first-time marathoners. (Hey, it is my first year of doing marathons!) Right now, I feel like the regular FIRST plan is more that I want or need. I am only running three times a week, which is weird, because last time I ran 5 or 6 days a week. I liked the frequency of running but I often ran feeling worn out. With this current program I look forward to each run and because they are all different. I do a speedwork run, a tempo run, and a long run and I feel pretty rested for each. The program also calls for cross-training, so I do 3 other workouts in between the runs of swimming or biking. In addition, I also strength train and include some pylometrics.

So how is it going? So far so good! I am truly enjoying it. I love doing the track workouts! It is fun trying to hit the splits evenly and consistently and it forces me to concentrate on form and pace. I started out with the splits and paces given to me in the book based on the last (and first) marathon I did. (As suggested.) But I am now a few weeks into the program and I have found I can consistently run faster than those paces so I have upped the bar. If I find myself unable to recover or be consistent with this faster goal I will back-off, but so far so good. It's all good.

Thanks for stopping by....