Running into Spring 3/16-3/22

[Urlea]

Really enjoyable 12miler today!! Body felt great and my route was perfect. That puts me at roughly 124 miles between swim,bike,run this week which seems a little crazy, but I am so thankful that it is definitely feeling like endurance events are my strong suit.

I thought you all might like to see what DH got me as a surprise b-day present. The card attached read "May this fuel your efforts, and remind you that I am with you each step of the way."



It's the new ipod-shuffle. So far I am really happy with it, but getting use to headphones that don't wrap around my ears is an adjustment. This model holds 4gigs of music and you can select playlists by a button on the headphone cable. Very handy. Listened to some sermons on my run today.

Sorry to hear of those of you suffering with injuries this spring, sounds frustrating & painful. Hoping for a quick recovery for you!!

Best wishes to those of you doing your long runs as well this weekend. May you have better weather then last!

[solobiker]

I had planned for a 6 mile run but I was not feeling good at all. My legs felt very heavy, I was dizzy and felt pretty dehydrated. I didn't eat many carbs in the past 3 days so I am wondering if that is what is going on. When I say I didn't eat many carbs I basically had some grapes (1 cup), some raw veggies (1 cup), and 1 slice of bread. Otherwise all I had was protien based foods. When I was younger my body could adapt better. Ah the power of carbs.

My race is coming up fast. May 9th for my duathlon..I am not too concerned with my speed, I just don't want to be miserable during the race. I have been their before and I refer to it as my death day.

Have a great weekend everyone.

[solobiker]

Urlea: What a great husband you have. That is one nice gift. I am sure it will pull you through those long training runs.

[michelem]

getting use to headphones that don't wrap around my ears is an adjustment.

How nice of your hubby to get you such a cool, fun, and practical gift! The only way I've gotten the earphones that came with the iPod to stay in is if I run with a "beanie" on over my ears. Obviously, this doesn't work too well in warmer weather! So, I finally gave in and bought some new ones that come with interchangable small, medium, and large rubber adapters that fit on the buds. I find if I use the smallest ones, they actually fit and stay in my ears! There are all different models and price points. Mine were around $20, but I did see some less expensive ones in the store (I liked that these have an extension cord):

http://shop4.frys.com/product/560519...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Anyway, I've heard lots of complaints about the earphones that come with the new iPods --especially getting them to stay in when doing high-impact sports such as running -- so don't blame yourself if you can't get used to them.

Have fun with your new toy!

[ASammy1]

Great bday present Urlea!

I did the Shamrock 8k this morning. Fast and flat through the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Nothing like running 5 miles and then downing some beer at 10 am!

[OakLeaf]

Urlea, what a great gift! I hope he doesn't expect you to swim with it though.

Sammy, do we get a race report? Or just beer? Mmmmmmm, beer.

Solo, that doesn't sound like very good nutrition... when you say "protein based foods" do you at least mean vegetables, nuts and beans? Be careful eh.

I did 11 today - almost 5 on the beach, a couple miles boardwalk, and the rest sidewalk/pavement/sand streets. My left glute was getting pretty sore toward the end and I really had to concentrate on keeping my stride short. Even so I kept a pretty consistent pace and it felt reasonably good.

[solobiker]

Urlea, what a great gift! I hope he doesn't expect you to swim with it though.

Sammy, do we get a race report? Or just beer? Mmmmmmm, beer.

Solo, that doesn't sound like very good nutrition... when you say "protein based foods" do you at least mean vegetables, nuts and beans? Be careful eh.

I did 11 today - almost 5 on the beach, a couple miles boardwalk, and the rest sidewalk/pavement/sand streets. My left glute was getting pretty sore toward the end and I really had to concentrate on keeping my stride short. Even so I kept a pretty consistent pace and it felt reasonably good.

Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking. DH thought it would help me lose some weight. By protien I mean chicken, some beef and veggies. I usually eat far better then that...whole grains, lean protien and some veggies. No more high protiens for me as my main fuel source. Later this week I will have a nice long run once I get better fuel in my system.

[Jolt]

I went for a half-hour trail run today--would have liked to go a little longer but had somewhere I needed to be. I felt slow today and am not sure why. It was a nice day and I think tomorrow is supposed to be good too, so tomorrow will probably be another run.

[michelem]

I did the Shamrock 8k this morning. Fast and flat through the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. Nothing like running 5 miles and then downing some beer at 10 am!

Congrats! Have you offically caught the racing bug now?

[ASammy1]

Sammy, do we get a race report? Or just beer? Mmmmmmm, beer.

Oh, you'll get a race report allright! Just not today

I'll post one tomorrow. Indigoiis is looking for it too!

[ASammy1]

Congrats! Have you offically caught the racing bug now?

I think I might have! DBF certainly has, that's for sure. We are now looking for our next one.

Thanks for asking!

[eclectic]

Lot's of reading - great job everyone!

Urlea - what an awesome gift and awesome DH to support you so well. And WOW on the mileage!

How is the flooding situation down there? Hopefully this front will miss all of you. We have been getting thunder and lightning, rain and hail this morning and it is only 35 F. We have blizzard warnings for early this week. No outside running OR walking from the sounds of things.

Will this winter NEVER END?

I did see some Canadian geese yesterday though - I LOVE the sound of them in the spring. No robins though

RocknRoll - that was a great compliment from the HS track kids! you truly do Rock!

ASammy1 - sounds like my kind of race

Oak - nice run and it sounds like the scenery was great. I would LOVE to be able to switch surfaces like that! We have pavement, concrete, very loose gravel,(I won't run on it - too much slipping and ankle twisting) ice, mud, or compacted snow

Yesterday was supposed to be a tempo run. Because I am still having so much trouble w/ my calves I decided to switch over and start doing the Jeff Galloway approach of a run/walk combo. I walked the first mile and last at a 14:00 pace then did a 2:30:1 min ratio for the middle 4. I liked it AND my calves aren't bothering me nearly as bad today. I was slower than if I had run the whole thing (averaged a 12:50 mile including the WU and CD walked miles)

BUT a lot of the problem was, like you solobiker I wasn't hydrated or fueled well and my calves were sore. I am anxious to try it on Tu when I have an 8 mile run scheduled. The 8 miles don't seem so intimidating anymore

[yellow]

Well, y'all have been busy!

I've been running through a nasty flu and cold but feel pretty good (except for the copious amounts of stuff coming out of my nose and lungs). Did 12 yesterday and then 10 today...I have a 25k "race" next weekend and then it's ramping up for a 50k May (and might do a trail marathon in April). I hope I can mentally stick with it. Luckily I've found a new running buddy...I just hope I can get him to do my really long training runs with me.

[solobiker]

I didn't go out for a run today, but went on a nice hike in Boulder which kept my HR up for about 1 hour ( took about 1 hour to reach the summit.) Feeling better now that have a re-hydrated and have had better foods. Hope for a long run this week.

[Jolt]

I went to a local hill for a trail run this afternoon but ended up walking most of it due to the trail conditions. There were still patches of snow up there, and lots of mud. So, I ended up just walking to the top and back, which was still nice. Those trails actually are a decent training ground for some of the harder stuff I do b/c there are steep sections and boulder-strewn areas that are good practice for talus fields; it was good doing it in the VFFs since I think I would like to do some of my hiking in them this year. I was impressed with the feel and the traction, except in the patches of snow!! Those areas were slippery and cold to walk through. I had several other people on the trail comment on my footwear and ask about them. Definitely a conversation starter, and some of the reactions from people are amusing!