Success x2

Today I ran 9 miles. It was great (although this time my left leg was the pain). Ran around seward park and then up Lk WA Blvd for a total of 9 miles. The lake looked beautiful and the foliage looked beautiful...all around beauty. plus I ran it in 1:28 which means less than 10min miles for 9 MILES. I was very happy!

I also succeeded in completing the silver BfitBday challenge with the aid and encouragement of my mom and TheCap. I had a fantastic birthday weekend (The joy of a Friday birthday). I am working on a yay-bfitday post.

the Cap's out of town this week so between my crying for him and stuff I am going to try to catch up this blog.

We'll see.

Adios 27!

So my 27^th year (28 really though, huh?...the way we count ages is kind of misleading) is coming to a close.

On 10/10/08 I posted this. I felt like I'd finally gotten to a place where I was just happy. I was triathlon-ing, I was hanging out with my family, I was running, I was getting a handle on where I wanted to be for work, etc. Life was good.

I can't believe that it has gotten better. Last night I went for a 4miler during a break in the rain. Averaged 9:38mm; thought about how (no matter how agonizingly slowly) running has become something that I just do.

Saw a rainbow when the sun was fighting down the clouds; thought about the adventures that I've had this summer (I went to my 10yr reunion! SHEESH!).

Met up with TheCaptain to celebrate our 0.75 anniversary of our first date (J); thought about how happy and lucky I am to have him in my life and how much I am looking forward to new adventures with him.

Tonight I meet up with my mom at 11ish and am heading out to swim. It has been weeks since my last swim, so wish me luck.

Raining on my parade

Well, i have 5 days now until I go for the silver in my B-fitBday challenge!

I went for gold last year and it proved to be one of the coolest b-day gift's I'd ever given myself.



In my adult years, my birthday has become a pretty introspective time. I usually have tried to make a change in my life, even a really small one.



Last year's challenge really felt like a celebration of the changes I'd been working so hard on in my 26th year. Plus it was a really great night with my mom and a shared experience I am really grateful to have had.



It also felt like a great way to celebrate what a huge impact triathlon (running) has had on the person I am today.



This year though, I am going for the silver. I've not been in great training shape so going for the gold would have been a stretch. Not to mention that I am excited to get to spend my birthday with people I love both old (Mom, sister, supernephew and crazynephew) and new (theCap, nephew so new I don't have a descriptor for him) so I can't spend the whole day B-fitBday-ing. Plus, my b-day is on a weekend this year so I can be leisurely about the whole thing.



My current dilemma though is whether I get to give myself what I've been calling a "Misery Pass"? The weather forecast is rain on top of rain. Last year I did the whole Gold Challenge indoors...the bike portion SUCKED. I won't do it again but how wet and cold do I want to be on my b-day?



Anyhow, I hope to post here how it goes.

The tentative plan is:

Friday 12am (my actual b-day!): swim 2000yd with my mom counting laps for me

Friday ~1am: Eat b-day pie with said mom

Friday evening: 8mile run...where: TBA (it'll get dark!)

Friday night: party it up!

Saturday: Ride form the Cap's to my place +3miles (to make it 28!)



That will be easily good for a silver

(back-up run plan is to do 4mi on Fri and then get 4mi in on sat or sun)

_______________________________________

The Official Challenge:

Take your age and in any order:1) Swim the number of yards in the first number(# multiplied by 1000 yards),
2) Run the number of miles in the second number,
3) Bike the number of miles in the combined number.
So a 45-year-old athlete would:
1) Swim 4000 yards 2) Run 5 miles 3) Bike 45 miles
If you choose to accept the B-Fit B-Day Challenge you must....
Bronze: Do all three (swim/bike/run) during the week of your Birthday.
Silver: Do all three (swim/bike/run) in the three days before, after, or on your B-Day.
Gold: Do all three (swim/bike/run) in 24-hours to celebrate your B-Day!
Platinum: Do all three in miles (swim first number in miles not yards/bike/run) in 24-hours to celebrate your B-Day!
Important Note: Since “0” Birthdays like 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and so on are important milestones the "0" in your birthday represents a 10. This means that on those “0” Birthdays you get to celebrate this big milestone by running ten miles.

1/2M: week 4

OK, week 4 is in the bag and it was marginal. My excuse is that I have been having all sorts of aches and pains that I am blaming on 1) Jillian's 30day shred and 2) That damn HILL OF DEATH in front of the Captain's house. My right leg in general has been a PITA; the tweaky knee, aching ankle and, most recently, pretty strained shins. So I took it a bit easy early last week but ramped up to a not too shabby week.

I guess to be fair I have to also mention that it is birthday season for the loved ones in my life and eating/celebrating has taken precedence over running/training.

Here's the breakdown:

Week of 9/27

1. Fashionably Flexible: Long runs on Fri, Sat OR Sun - whatever day works best for me. All good here, got in a lovely 7-miler on Saturday
   
2. Weak Weekdays: Only 3 times per week MAX and not over 5/6 miles. No need to go out and get injured. I was feeling achy and so I went a bit easy in the early part of the week only really got in 1 weekday run.
   
3. Cerebral Caloric Intake: If you remember I gained weight on my first marathon, but I was a svelte sister on my 2nd one. Gotta watch what goes in the pie hole. This area is exciting but sucky, The Captain and I decided to pull ourselves out of the depths of "too-much-in-love-to-watch-what-we-eat" and try to be a bot better. (on a related note, we got Top Pot donuts on Saturday…those are the tastiest things ever…how've I lived here 3 years without knowing?)
   
4. Luscious Longies: 3 runs of 20+ plus miles, maxing out at 22 miles. Not there yet
   
5. Yoga Yahoo: Continue to do Bikram at least 2 days a week - aiming for 3 Crosstrain. Had a pretty good long swim. Man, swimming long is tough for me right now!
   
6. Healthapotamus: I pretty much suck at remembering to wear that darn HR strap. Ugh!
   

Here are the real numbers:

9/27/2009		4mi hills
9/28/2009	shred
9/29/2009	nothing
9/30/2009		long swim
10/1/2009		3.5 mi run
10/2/2009		run failure ;)
10/3/2009		7mi run
10/4/2009		roller-skating with the nephs (not really a workout though)

Rock permeable?

I think I need new shoes. They are OK comfort wise but they are starting to look a little bare and one thing has really been bugging me lately. Is it possible that they are becoming more rock permeable with time? I cannot go 3miles without having a shoe-full of pebbles. Usually I just suck it up and deal with it because I HATE stopping to do anything while I am trying to get a run in. It messes up my rhythm. But lately I've had a blister on my poor oddly shaped index toe (are toes named the same as fingers?) EVERY SINGLE RUN. I'm truthfully surprised it's taken this long to have problems with that toe…it is strangely shaped and I always thought it'd be prone to blisters if I ever ran (which I didn't…probably in deference to the toe) but it's been a trooper all this time.

Time to get new shoes that will cushion and pamper it.

I'm pretty sure I'll try to just replace my Saucony Progrid Rides but am open to going back to my formerly favorite Brooks Glycerin IF they have corrected the horrendous (to my foot) heel that came with the Glycerin 6's. I have only had 3 pairs of running shoes in my running career: Brooks Glycerin 4, Brooks Glycerin 5 and these Saucony. By far my favorites were the 5's. They felt immediately right; good roomy toe box, nice arch support for my semi-flat feet, good stability without being boats. The Saucony have worked out too so I guess I'll go shopping for new shoes with an open attitude and see if my new faves are out there somewhere.