Another rough sleeping night but I slept in this morning rather than go to swim practice. I was propped up enough to get an hour or so in before the coughing woke me up again.

Got in a lift during lunch.

WEIGHTS

UPPER
3 x 15 Pull Down @ 67.5
3 x 15 Row @ 67.5
3 x 12 Triceps @ 45
3 x 10 Biceps @ 15

CORE
3 x 1 Min Plank
3 x 15 Back on Ball
2 x 10 Lower Abs with Ball

Planned to run after work but ended up working late and continuing to feel like crap -- actually worse than I have felt the last couple of days. I have had enough of this and went to the pharmacy to get the anti-biotic prescription I had filled because I am pretty sure I have been sick long enough for it to be in the bacterial stage.

Again, another crappy sleeping night and woke up at 3:30 AM coughing badly. Biked into work on the Hindenburg and to an appointment on Capital Hill. Ruth picked me up after and drove me home because she was in the neighborhood after her ride around Mercer Island. My lungs hurt and I am so damn tired of being sick. Oh and to top it off, I now have cramps from hell....

20 Mile Bike Commute @ 01:40:00

Another night propped up on the couch and woke up coughing about every 1 - 1.5 hours. Had a good swim this morning -- and even had the lane to myself. Got in a lift at lunch and ran around Greenlake after work. Running was definitely the hardest and I was sucking wind.

2450 Swim Practice @ 00:50:00

WEIGHTS

UPPER
3 x 15 Pull Down @ 67.5
3 x 15 Row @ 67.5
3 x 12 Triceps @ 40
3 x 8 Biceps @ 15

CORE
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball
3 x 15 Lower Back on Ball

3 Mile Run @ 00:30:00

I was very excited about getting a "bed wedge" yesterday so I can sleep in bed (I have spent the last week propped up on the couch) and possibly get a good night's sleep. My sleep has been terrible punctuated by coughing fits and it is really beginning to wear on me.

Unfortunately, the angle was not right and the coughing started about 30 minutes in. I ended up yet again on the couch and did not fall asleep until after midnight. At 6:30 this morning, Ruth was up and about, dressed in her Viking kit and making coffee. I retreated to the bedroom and was able to fall asleep again right after letting her know that I did not want to ride the Hills of Kirkland today. I just would not have been able to keep up with her, nor do the century distance she wanted to and it would have been a very frustrating day for both of us.

After almost two more hours of sleep, I am up again and ready to go for a ride on my terms.
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Had a good ride today from home around the South end of the lake, around Mercer Island and finally ending in Kirkland to meet Ruth at the end of her ride to get a scoop home. Definitely not feeling 100% but was able to push it a bit harder than I was the other day.

50 Mile Ride @ 03:30:00

It has been a week since my last blog entry and I did keep up mostly on my training log while neglecting my blog.

Fortunately, when I went to the Dr. on Wednesday, the diagnosis was a bad cold and not anything bacterial. However, the coughing has been persistent and is easily irritated by any effort. My first 3 mile run on Friday since getting sick was dismal and was followed by about 30 minutes of constant coughing. I have been taking my cough syrup but saving it for nights -- the last week of those have been spent propped up on the couch in order to sleep. I did try to go to bed last night but in less than an hour, this effort was awarded with consistent coughing that continued through 3:30 AM. :(

This week has been a good exercise in keeping my ego in check. I have been passed running and biking by those who appear to be the most casual of athletes. The two things I am able to do is swim and lift so I got in a lift yesterday after a very slow longish bike ride.

I did learn that my new work schedule will be 7-4 Sun thru Thurs and this means unfortunately that I will not be able to swim with my favorite team but will swim instead with Greenlake for the duration of this schedule. However, I will be able to swim open water with everyone on Fridays so that summer joy is safe.
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Had a nice swim at Helene Madison and finished the day with some planking.

2900 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00

CORE
3 x 1 min. Plank

I am sitting here on the couch under a blanket watching Ruth put her bike on the trainer to get in a ride this morning. I slept very poorly last night because being horizontal triggered coughing fits. I spent the majority of the night on the couch sleeping propped up on the couch.

I really have no idea if/what I will do today. It may end up being another sick day -- and my stupid voice is not yet back. So damn frustrating because I have things to say!!!

Because Jeff and I were both sick, we agreed to ride the 45 mile Tour de Cure instead of the century ride we had planned. The germs were repositioning themselves in my body and my voice was completely gone.

I struggled through the ride against my body and the eternal headwind. Despite Jeff's hacking up a lung throughout the ride, he was very sweet to me -- and sweetly and completely kicked my ass on the hills. Near the end of the ride, I saw one last hill and said "who is that skinny bitch race director who put this ride together?!?" :)

45 Mile Ride @ 03:30:00

Looking back, it was probably not the best decision to ride but it was important to celebrate our 1 year anniversary with Jeff and I do not regret it :)

I decided that chlorine would kill the germs taking over my body and went to swim practice with Ruth. It actually felt pretty good even though I was very very slow. After practice, I went to my last day at the store and home for a bit before heading to Marymoore to pick Ruth and her mom up to go to her event's wine and cheese reception. The CODRAL kept me upright even though I was beginning to lose my voice by the end of the day.

2000 Swim Practice @ 00:50:00

With the CODRAL, I was able to make it through the opening shift at Starbucks but nothing else. After work, I went home and slept most of the afternoon before Ruth came home. That evening, her mom and Rolf came from Georgia to visit and help with her event.

I tried to do some light weights at home but even that was too much...

SICK DAY (No Workout)

Today was my first day of my three day Starbucks "store immersion" and my shift was scheduled from 1:00-9:30 PM. I started out the morning with Swim Practice and then had breakfast and home and assembled all my workout gear for two days, picked something up at the SCC and headed to Bellevue for my favorite run around the Slough before reporting into work.

2550 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00

6 Mile Run @ 01:00:00

I had a feeling that something was wrong when my usual leg muscle soreness did not go away after 30 minutes of running and the entire run felt very hard and long. When I went to the shower after, I was on a pretty strict time line but the hot water felt SO GOOD. I gave myself 48 extra seconds under it and then forced myself out, into my "barista uniform" and reported to work.

That was when it hit me that I was getting sick. I could not focus on the training they put me through and was feeling simultaneously hot and chilled. I made it through until about 8PM and dragged myself home where I found the CODRAL medicine from our trip to New Zealand and took some of that and went straight to bed.

This morning, I got on my bike to commute to work and my back tire flatted about a mile from our home. Repairing it was a bit tricky and I went through 2 CO2 cartridges and many f-bombs... Once I finally had it on after repeated tries, I noticed that one edge of the tire was popped out of the rim so I headed home instead not even sitting on the seat hoping to get home before it popped. I managed to make it about halfway before I heard that loud pop and ended up having to carry it the rest of the way home because the flat would catch on the brake when wheeling it.

So I drove in instead and got in a lift and a short bike ride after work. Ruth has been pretty stressed and with my crazy schedule this week, it was the only time we could get together.

WEIGHTS

UPPER
3 x 15 Pull Down @ 67.5
3 x 15 Row @ 67.5
3 x 12 Triceps @ 40
3 x 8 Biceps @ 15

CORE
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball
3 x 15 Lower Abs on Bench

14 Mile Bike Ride @ 01:00:00

Tonight is my "work until midnight" night so I slept in a bit and planned a swim with a bike ride around Mercer Island during a long lunch. Unfortunately, my morning peace was disrupted once I realized I had a 10 AM meeting so I shot into work and then went for a ride around the island before starting work.

I felt good for most of the ride and kept the pace aerobic and easy.

24.5 Mile Bike @ 01:45:00

This morning, we ran the Kirkland Half Marathon. It was a cold, windy and cloudy morning with an unfortunate late start. I did not even bother to write a race plan up because it was so short (nutrition focus, 9ish pace, sub-two hour finish). I used my watch workout setting that has a 30 minute warm-up and then a 1 minute recovery every 14 minutes to remind me to eat/drink.

The first three miles hurt like usual as my leg muscles protested actually having to move after the last couple of slacker days. I kept the pace easy and my HR around 145 even though it climbed a bit on the hills. I did a really good job of keeping it My race. My Pace. At one point near mile 8, I had three women around me who had the lean runner body type -- one of whom was simply an Amazon with legs that came up to my shoulders and I thought, "look at me in gazelles". And I ran with the herd happily. For a few moments until I realized that my HR had hit 160 and not going down anytime soon. And so I came back to reality (and a real pace) and watched the Amazon chick float away.

I did do a good job of keeping my attitude in check and did not kill myself to pass anyone wearing pink (as I have in my not so distant not so mature past) but I could not resist that temptation with anyone wearing a "runner skirt". I mean, really...what the hell? They deserve to be dusted. Well, at least the ones I could actually catch.

At mile 10ish, a woman running the other direction was calling out to the women letting us know our place and she told me I was 80th woman overall. I thought "What did you have to say that for? I was so happy with my pace and now I have to pass 10 women." Sigh. And I am pretty sure I did -- kicking up the pace a bit for the last 5k. At the finish line though, one of the last women who I passed (looked to be early twenties) dusted me right at the finish line.

Oh well, I had a really good time and was happy that I could still race the distance -- the results are not official yet but I came in according to the clock at about an hour 52. Ruth also had a terrific race -- not a bad way for her to end her killer training week that included 200 miles of cycling!
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It appears that they posted and fixed the results and my name is now posted correctly even though Ruth no longer appears.

Kirkland Half Marathon & 5K - Half Marathon
number of finishers: 642
number of females: 385
number of males: 257
average time: 02:12:09
bib number: 678
age: 40
gender: F
overall place: 196 out of 642
division place: 10 out of 58
gender place: 64 out of 385
time: 1:51:49
pace: 8:33

It took a lot of teamwork but Ruth and I convinced one another to go to the gym to get in our lift.

WEIGHTS

UPPER
3 x 15 Pull Down @ 80
3 x 15 Row @ 70
3 x 12 Triceps Dip @ 125
3 x 15 Biceps @ 12

CORE
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball
3 x 12 Roman Chair
3 x 12 Back @ 15 Weights, 2 x 15 Side

Took it easy during today's rest day. Had the kid over for a pancake breakfast and then walked her to GI Joe's (she considered the 3 mile round trip walk to be a bit of a death march) to buy her a baseball glove. Then after discussing the care of this new glove, and the consequences if she does not care for it (we will take it away and she can only use it when she is with us), we walked to the park where she and Ruth played catch for a bit and broke it in.

CORE
3 x 1 Minute Plank

Swam in the morning and managed to cram in a lift during lunch and cram for my ITIL exam.

2550 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00

WEIGHTS

UPPER
3 x 15 Pull Down @ 67.5
3 x 15 Row @ 67.5
3 x 12 Triceps @ 45
3 x 15 Biceps @ 12

CORE
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball
3 x 12 Lower Ab with Ball

Was overwhelmed last night trying to get my stuff together and coordinate my workout on Thursday so Ruth had the great suggestion to just get on the rollers in the morning and leave it at that.

12 Mile Ride @ 00:50:00

CORE
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball

So I did an easy 50 minute roll when I got up and went to my second day of ITIL training. After, I walked to meet Ruth at the Pike Place Brewery to pick up stuff for my Bike to Work team and from there, we went to another bar and grill so she could spend time with a team captain who was hosting a team meeting and I could sit at a table and study for my test.

Had a tough time getting to sleep last night and was up late because of Monday's late work night. When the alarm went off at 5:30, I promptly fell back asleep but fortunately woke up a few minutes later and made it to swim practice.

2550 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00

I was in ITIL training all day and even though I brought my workout bag to the training, I was not feeling particularly optimistic about getting another workout in. But the training was in a building across the street from Quest field and I was eyeing the steps there during my breaks. So at lunch, I changed quickly in the unisex bathroom (where I was delighted to learn there was a shower) and put together a terrific workout! Alternating between the steps (where I went up and down about 12 times) and a section that had a long series of short posts I wove through like an ungainly dog doing an agility course, I had a great time and did 4 series before I ran out of time.

Run Stair Workout @ 00:30:00
130a, 177m

Commuted to work this morning after sleeping in. These late hours are going to be a tough adjustment. The ride in was beautiful and sunny. The ride home was cloudy and windy :(

24 Mile Bike Commute @ 02:00:00

CORE
3 x 1 Minute Plank

Today is the start of my transition to my night hours of work. For the rest of the month, I will be working until midnight on Monday nights so I get to go into the office a bit later. I planned my long run around this and slept in until 7:00 and after half a bagel and a few sips of coffee, I headed out the door to Greenlake, around Lake Union and then back home again.

I did focus hard on my nutrition and set my watch to eat or drink every 15 minutes. It was just a beautiful morning and I kept my pace slow and steady. I forgot to actually turn on my watch until I hit Greenlake so my total time is a bit of a guess.

15 Mile Run @ 02:25:00
136a

Nutrition = 10
Attitude = 9
Performance = 8

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At the (almost) last moment, I realized I only had 30 minutes until the gym closed so I dashed upstairs to get in my lift. And just in time because they were closing around me.

WEIGHTS

UPPER
3 x 15 Pull Down @ 65
3 x 15 Row @ 67.5
3 x 12 Triceps @ 40
3 x 15 Biceps @ 12

CORE
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball
3 x 12 Back on Ball

Today's workout was a long bike followed by a 2 mile run. I hitched a ride with Ruth to Issaquah where she met a group for a Tour de Cure training ride and took off from there. My route started at Eastlake Sammamish and then followed I90 to Bellevue and across Mercer Island (the long way). From there, around the South end of the lake and up North again over Juanita and finally home on the trail. I was hoping it was 85 miles but my computer indicated I had 7 to go. I had been fighting headwinds the entire day and was pretty grumpy so I let myself go home after promising that I would finish the miles on the rollers. I did but it wasn't pretty and finally ended with a 1.5 mile run around my neighborhood.

I struggled again with this ride and I know it has to do directly with nutrition -- or lack of. I only had half a shake, half a powerbar, a banana and a p and b sandwich. From now on, I am going to set my watch -- just like during a race and be certain to eat/drink every 15 minutes.

Long Bike with Brick @ 06:26:07

85 Mile Bike @ 06:11:01
124a

1.5 Mile Run @ 00:15:06
127a, 137m

I slept in an extra delicious hour this morning while Ruth went to swim practice. And it was a fabulous idea!

Had an easy aerobic run planned this afternoon with Chris but realized I forgot my running bra when I was in the middle of changing. I lucked out though because the girls at the front desk suggested I check out Sears to get one. So I gave it a try and their selection was dismal but I bought a couple of cheap ones and double-bagged.

Chris took off without me but left word at the front desk with his route so I ran towards him and hit him at almost 30 minutes where I turned around and we ran back. It was a good run and he made me sprint the very end (OUCH).

6 Mile Run @ 00:57:53
138a

CORE
5 x 15 Crunch on Ball

Today was a challenge but I managed to get in my training anyway. We had a team off-site at our manager's home in Issaquah so I went to Swim Practice in the morning and then hit the weight room at SU before heading East. Did my core during a break because I did not get time in the morning.

2300 Swim Practice @ 00:50:00

WEIGHTS

UPPER
3 x 15 Pull Down
3 x 15 Row
3 x 12 Triceps
3x 15 Biceps @ 12

CORE
3 x 1:00 Plank

I brought my bike with me and watched the sky anxiously throughout the day. But it remained clear and I drove and parked at Marymoor and had a really nice ride around the lake.

22 Mile Ride @ 01:20:00

Today's long run was only 8 miles so I did it before work. My legs felt pretty much like lead but I made it through...

8 Mile Run @ 01:18:34
137a, 194m

CORE
3 x 1 Minute Plank

Swim was okay this morning.
2500 @ 00:55:00

Got out at lunch and did hill repeats in West Seattle on Avalon starting at Luna Park cafe and finishing at the gas station at the intersection at 35th.

12 Mile Hill Repeat @ 01:00:00

Int 1 @ 03:57
138a 145m

Int 2 @ 03:42
139a 151m

Int 3 @ 03:39
141a 153m

Int 4 @ 03:35
142a 156m

Int 5 @ 03:27
146a 160m

I was pretty happy with the workout and needed it because I am kinda pmsy...did not turn today into a triple and skipped the make-up run I thought I would try to get in.

CORE
3 x 15 Back on Ball