Today I did...nothing.

Exercise wise that is, unless you count a post-pizza walk around the neighborhood. Which, not to be down on walking, it just doesn't count for me. I have a mere two miles tomorrow and then more nothing on Thursday and Friday. If tapering for a 1/2 makes me feel like I am seriously forgetting to do something, what will the marathon taper be like? that is today's question.

But at least I know I have a seriously dedicated support team for the marathon- my boyfriend, and #1 cheerleader at my first 1/2 marathon, isn't going with me for the trip to my race this weekend and in his words is feeling "very guilty and sad" and said he can't wait to do anything and everything at Portland. I had scheduled the trip for this race knowing he couldn't go with me, so it wasn't a surprise and my mom will actually be there which will be fun. It is nice to have him planning to be involved for the marathon though-- I might just have him run that last 6 miles with me because I think that's going to be the mental challenge of my lifetime- those last 6 miles.

Bike Week

So this week is officially Bike Week in our house, because I'm on the limited running schedule and because I've finally reached my gas price breaking point. Most of the places we frequent are easily within biking distance so in an effort to not put any more gas than necessary in the car that gets good gas mileage and makes me seriously glad it's so little when I drive by the gas station and see the numbers reaching higher and higher, we are on a car diet. This is all a moot point in some respects since we have a longgg car trip planned for the summer and will be driving a 6MPG moving truck northward one month from tomorrow. So perhaps we are not saving so much $ or gas as delaying the inevitable. But for now we're going to be spending time on our bikes not just as part of tri training!

Today's a four mile run, which I might just go do in a minute since it's still nice and early and cool. We went backpacking this weekend and my legs felt super strong which bodes well for the race next weekend!

And I should get out the door and go running before all this drooling over the Garmin turns into retrieving my wallet and having one en route to my doorstep :-) the joys of online shopping for those who lack any self control for fun gadgets!

Today's Run Brought To You By The Letters H-J

Another Hornet Juice fueled run today- quick and easy 3 miles, but I feel like I could have done twice at much at that faster-than-usual pace, so that's always a good feeling! No music since it's raining today, which between that and all the freshly rained on plants, it was a very refreshing run.

No running from now until Monday either, which will be weird. When was the last time I didn't run for 2 days?!

Yoga for Runners

I think the sport most likely to change the most people's lives is yoga. And though it's sometimes months between classes for me, I am such a believer! and the Yoga for Runners class has me looking forward to Thursdays now. It's taught by a running/triathlon coach and is JUST the right mix of strength, vinyasa, running-muscle focused stretches! I am so going to miss this class when we move! but for today I've got that on the schedule as well as 1-2 hours of biking, most running errands and commuting, but still enough to keep my bike-ride-the-day-after-a-long-run tradition alive (and my legs happy as a result!). But I feel great today- no soreness at all, so that's fabulous too!

Tour de Jacaranda

I did my last long run before the See Jane Run Half Marathon this morning. I realized part way into my first mile that it was prime time for the purple trees that are in bloom right now and a slight alteration to my route would take me down numerous streets that were just teeming with jacarandas. I felt great the entire run. Tried to have it be as much of a dress rehearsal for the race as possible- similar time, food, etc. So that meant I started to take an espresso flavored Clif Shot at mile 5 and nursed it the rest of the way like I do in therace. I don't know if I stopped paying attention or what, but I managed to get sticky goo all over my hands and ipod...oops.

So I'm feeling really good about the race and the distance, etc. My left IT band was really bugging me today- usually it's my right side so who knows what's up with that. I'll focus on stretching a lot between now and the race and hope that I'm loose enough that they just go with the flow.

Today's entertainment was the Zen and the Art of Triathlon podcast, which coincidentally is singing the praises of chocolate milk today- something that I was just about to do. I try to religiously do an ice bath after a 10+ mile run and I think that helps enormously. My other recovery tool is a high protein, high sugar fuel immediately after the run (as in today I ended my run at the grocery store and walked my sweaty self in to buy my chocolate milk to drink on the walk home). I swear it's a miracle drink- especially if you are prone to any blood sugar issues. I used to spend my long run days starving and then eating nonstop, but now that I am fueling immediately afterwards I avoid the blood sugar disaster that is not consuming anything until after the ice bath, shower, etc. Try it!

10 Miles to go

After taking yet another practice GRE test going on a 10 mile run tomorrow morning sounds GREAT. My last long run before the 1/2 and then it's taper time!

Marathon Planning

I am in the midst of serious GRE studying and went to the air-conditioned library for yet another practice test today. I found myself fully engaged in reading marathon training books for some of my time though. I think I have decided on Hal Higdon's Novice Plan for my First Marathon Training Plan, with some modifications. If nothing else, I have learned a lot about my body over the past year of triathlon & 1/2 marathon training and I know I'll need to make some personalizations to my plan in order for it to work for me.

The first thing I need to do is account for 2 full weeks of no running in July- early August because we'll be on a long backpacking adventure. We'll have some serious workouts in there but I have found that only running prepares you for running... So that means my marathon training has actually already started once I tack those 2 weeks on to the beginning of the plan. So it's already underway- Portland 10/5 Here I Come!

(In addition to getting in 2 posts today, I got in 2 workouts- Biked in the evening with the BF)

Motivate me!

I discovered the entertaining world of podcasts a while ago as a way to catch my favorite radio shows This American Life and Good Food on the weekends that I missed them. And then during my training for my first tri I got hooked on a triathlon podcast. Just this weekend I discovered this new running podcast. It's recorded by someone around my age training for her first marathon too, so the relevancy got me hooked! check it out for some marathon-related entertainment : Confessions of a Runner

Today's workout is in the bag already- got up at 6:15a.m. to try to avoid the heat as much as possible. Got 4.25 miles in in 42 minutes. The first half of the run was perfect, comfortable, cool-ish even. Second half was sweaty and uncomfortable but I didn't slow down to compensate so I was happy with that! I'm going to try to swim this evening too and then tomorrow's an off day in prep for my Last Long Run Before My Next 1/2 Marathon on Wednesday. 9-10 miles planned- and thankfully Miss Jackie the well-endowed weather woman here in L.A. thinks the weather will cooperate and it'll be a little cooler by then. Let's hope because I am hoping to break 2 hours on 5/31 and need another good long run in before then for insurance!

Blogs!

Get this widget!

Does reading running blogs count?

The master of wasting time this weekend, I just read other people's running blogs for about 2 hours. Can I log that?

On tap for today: another treadmill run, weights and core. Have I mentioned my intense loathing of core work?

Feeling the heat.

Quite literally, we're all feeling the heat here in SoCal. Which makes running oh so hard to fathom for the heat (overly)sensitive. So I headed to the gym for a 5 miler on the treadmill. Fueled by a new magic potion - Hornet Juice - I cranked it out and felt great. I'm seriously wondering what's in that little packet of powder but boy did I feel good! I think my exact words when I came home were "so either the power of suggestion is Really strong, or there's crack in that powder!" I'll have to do a little more research on what exactly is in there, but for now we're headed out of this hot house and to the gelato stand.

Why now?

The longest run I have ever completed is 13.1 miles. During my first 1/2 marathon. The longest training run that I've finished is 11.5 or so miles, also run last fall. And the number of 10+ mile runs I have behind me probably add up to about....10? So perhaps the jump to the marathon seems premature?

Here's the thing, a very long time ago I bet my sister that I would run a marathon before I turned 30. I can't remember what we bet, and she probably doesn't even remember the bet at all. And it's funny how the things we decide on the spur of the moment (when we're 12 or 13) stick with us. It's been with me since then, always in the back of my mind, but 30 was so far off! I had so much time!

And then I turned 27 last summer, hadn't yet run my first 1/2 and thought "if I am going to do this, I better get on the ball!" So I started running, with a great training plan (thanks google search, saved me again) and finished my first half marathon on December 2. At the time I thought "that was great! when is the next one?!" but I didn't think "time to register for a marathon now!". In fact, I think I thought "30 is so far off! I have so much time!".

Getting into triathlon in the last year has opened my eyes to how much FUN it can be to work out if you mix it up. Running is a lot of things to me, and I feel great when I'm done with a workout, but I don't think I'd say it's fun. I have soaked up other people's Half Ironman reports this spring and thought "hey, maybe I should do one of those before I turn 30 too". So with 26.5 months until I turn 30 here's the challenge for a, at the crux of it, not so athletically inclined girl: a marathon and a HIM by the time I turn 30. 807 days to go. I think I can do it!

Call me crazy. Or not.

It's inaugural post! I am fresh off a 10.81 mile run followed up immediately by a chocolate ice cream cone and 48oz of water. I am 2 weeks away from my second 1/2 marathon and 6 days past my potentially crazy decision to run the Portland Marathon on 10/5/08.

I have 11 years of running (not always very consistently, such are the college days- who does anything consistently in college?) behind me, and not very many races post-high school cross country. So call me crazy, but I think I'm ready for the next BIG challenge :-)

Like many other triathletes and runners I find that I learn something new each time I head out the door. Sometimes it's something small, something maybe I should have learned long ago, like the importance checking the air in my tires. Other times the pendulum swings the other direction and mid-way through a long run I find the answer to something that has been rolling around in my brain for too long- a decision left unmade that suddenly becomes so obvious. For me, triathlon and running are a way to reach that "space between". The space where, even with a list of so many things to do waiting for me at home or at work, all I have to do right now is make sure I put one foot in front of the other, stay alert on the bike and always *or almost always* remember to unclip, try not to run into the other person in my swim lane, and monitor my water/fuel. The glorious simplicity of it is what inspires me. Which is not to say that I am a naturally "zen" person: perhaps this is why I need to exercise- my zen moments are forced upon me by sheer exhaustion?

In any case, it's all worth it for a chocolate ice cream cone and an awesome excuse to take a nap!