I have been dreading this last tough training weekend now for a while and managed to focus all my crankiness on today's 22 mile run. It helped that Ruth drove us to Marymoor and dropped us off at 5:30 AM to run to Magnuson where she parked the car for her event.

I am going to say that we did get in an honest 21 miles and I was very very very glad to be done.

21 Mile Run @ 03:30:00

Barbara Rose and I got in a beautiful ride following the Tour de Cure route. Because road signs were missing this time, the markers were a bit more difficult to follow and read so we got turned around a couple times on the route and then quite a few times trying to find Marymoor. The good news is that we still managed to maintain 15 mph even with the 5 extra (getting lost and turned around) miles.

Ruth met us at the end of the ride after her first half century post injury for a scoop home :)

105 Mile Ride @ 07:00:00

Had a wonderful swim this morning with Ruth, Ann and Barbara Rose in Greenlake :)

1.25 Mile Swim @ 00:42:00

Today was just a commute to work and home day. I initially planned to make at least one of them a brick but was not able to do it.

24 Mile Bike Commute @ 01:50:00

I woke up for swim practice but fell back asleep by accident :( Did make it into the gym for core class.

Core Class @ 00:30:00

Then I got in a nice hilly run during lunch.

7 Mile Run @ 01:00:00

Yoga was great this morning and the instructor really focused on hamstring stretches. She did mention that she thought I would be able touch my toes by the end of class but not quite...

Yoga Class @ 01:15:00

Commuted home.

Bike Commute @ 00:50:00

What a wonderful day for R&R! Wally and I hung out at home most of the day doing little chores and loved being potatoes :). In the evening, Ruth and I went to Greenlake so I could get in an open water swim while she studied on the shore. I was glad to not be the one studying but that will change soon because I have been accepted into SU's Alber's School of Business MBA program and will start this summer.

Open Water Swim @ 00:40:00

Ruth dropped Barbara Rose and me off a Seward Park at 7:30 AM this morning and we then ran back to my place. I felt really good after my 50 mile ride (with a nice long break halfway through) but Barbara Rose was a studette because she and Ann had ridden a hilly 95 miles yesterday.

14.75 Mile Run @ 02:20:00

Got in a lift before the gorging myself at the BBQ.

Core @ 00:10:00
Upper Weights @ 00:30:00

Today's workout was 50 miles speed and I decided to just go for a spin around the lake starting on the trail. I didn't start until after 9:30 but I still was able to avoid a lot of congestion. At one point, I passed a couple on a tandem who were friendly but insisted on passing me again for some reason and then, of course slowing down once they did :( Fortunately, I turned on Juanita and got in some good climbing and descending until I flatted in Bellevue on a descent. Fortunately, I was able to change it on the sidewalk away from the road and in the sun! Not bad for my first flat of the training season.

My odometer reset when I flatted so I am not sure of the exact distance but I ended up averaging about 15.5 for the whole ride. Not spectacular but I did enjoy myself and made sure to push it on the ascents and descents :)

50ish Mile Ride @ 03:30:00

Went to SU for swim practice this morning and did my best to keep up with Sue and Karen. Although it was quite humbling, I got in a great swim!

Swim Practice @ 01:00:00

Then I commuted home on my bike and was loving the sunshine~!

12 Mile Commute @ 00:50:00

I got in a really good interval run at Seattle Fitness this morning on the treadmill. It has been a VERY long time since I have done an interval run and it sure showed! I did a 1 mile WU at 10 mm pace, then 4(.75 @ 8:00, .25 recovery) and I was definitely working to keep an 8 minute mile pace!

5.25 Mile Run @ 00:50:00

I hoped to get in a lift right after work before we met friends at the game but did not get a chance.

I put myself to bed by 8:30 last night and slept fairly well, even when Wally decided to emerge from hiding after the thunderstorm and want to cuddle in the middle of the night :)

When the alarm went off, I went through my usual struggle but made it out the door and was so glad I did. We did a 30 minute time trial and whew, I was pretty tired. I am trying not to be too discouraged that I only got in 1800. If I can continue to be consistent about swimming, I should be able to make it through the 2.4 mile swim in a MONTH.

2550 Swim Practice @ 00:55:00

Got in a run around the lake after and my quads sure were tired!

3.2 Mile Run @ 00:30:17

Worked from home in the morning and then commuted into work around 10ish.

12 Mile Commute @ 00:50:00

Had to work until almost midnight last night so I did not plan to go to yoga. However, my internal clock had a different idea and I was awake at 5:30 so I decided to go and was glad I did.

Yoga Class @ 01:15:00

Then I treated myself to Tija's spin class because I have had to work so many extra hours lately and took the 2 hour break to do so. Got in a really good workout and enjoyed catching up with the old gang :)

Spin Class @ 01:00:00

Went to bed very close to 8 and slept in until almost 6:30! Made it to core class and then a good lift after work.

Core Class @ 00:30:00
Upper Weights @ 00:30:00

Met Barbara Rose this morning at Gasworks for our long run. One I advertised as a "tour of Seattle". She and Abby were good sports as we ran through Montlake, the Arboretum, down to the lake and then back and across I90, over to the waterfront, past Magnolia, over the Ballard Bridge to come back via Freemont. I had a VERY difficult time the first three miles but the company pulled me through and we finished. I am not exactly sure of the distance but Barbara Rose assured me that we were going faster than a 10 minute mile pace based on her HR.

21 Mile Run @ 03:17:00

Met Amy for brunch, who politely and generously let me inhale almost ALL of the pre-brunch chips and guacamole and caught up a bit before heading to Ruth's for a wonderful post brutal training weekend recovery massage.

I was up until midnight last night because of an urgent work issue and then got a 5:30 AM call this morning about another one. By the time we were able to work it out, I had missed my planned 7 AM and back up 8 AM start time. But I decided to go to Marymoore and still ride the ADA century route as I had planned -- just with a 9 AM start time.

The route was beautiful and I had a great ride. I was actually glad for the late start once I made it through the 45 mile crowd because I got the roads to myself most of the ride :) This time, I really did focus on nutrition and started with a thick concoction of Perpeteum and 3.5 energy bars. I was able to poach some water at the rest stops but also stopped at a store on the route to get another water and enjoyed a nice iced tea.

I worked to keep my pace and nutrition steady and consistent and achieved it! I got a little cranky about the hills near the end and did throw some not nice thoughts towards the skinny sadistic route designer. However, I was very happy to finish strong and with some energy to spare! To be clear, just some energy. Definitely didn't have a marathon in me but not bad for my first century :) I looked at my notes from last year's ride and had done the 70 mile route at a 15.2 pace. This year, I did the 100 at a 15.1 pace so I feel pretty good about that :)

100 Mile Ride @ 06:30:00 (> 6000 ft of elevation)

Was IN BED before 8:30 PM and that made the 4:40 AM alarm so much less brutal! Got in a really great swim in the lane up with the "big kids" :) During the swim, I was surprised by how good I felt. Perhaps blowing off my run and going out to dinner with Ruth in exchange for a ride home last night made all the difference.

2900 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00
Core Class @ 00:30:00

Had a GREAT commute home in the sun :) Then got in a lift in the evening because I will probably be too beat to lift this weekend.

Bike Commute @ 01:00:00
Core Class @ 00:30:00

Slept in this morning and then rode my bike into work through the rain :(

12 Mile Ride @ 00:40:00

Got in a swim in at my old stomping ground -- Seattle University :)
2250 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00

Threw in a 4 mile aerobic run between work and an evening meeting.
4 Mile Run @ 00:36:00

Last night I got caught up in a TV movie and ended up staying up past 10 PM. Fortunately, I have a dual alarm so I set the first for 4:30 (to get in a spin before yoga) and the second for 5:30 (just yoga). The moment the 4:30 one went off, I had no issue deciding to turn it off and get in that extra hour! Then the 5:30 went off and I was still craving more sleep but did manage to get vertical and make it to the gym only a couple of minutes late.

It turned out that my tardiness was of no consequence because when I got there, I learned that our instructor was sick and was not teaching class. Instead, I hopped on the bike and got in on of Tri Harder's longer spin workouts and finished tired (in a good way) and soaked :)

15 Mile Spin @ 00:55:00

Had to sprint to the bus this morning to make core class and I paid for skipping all last week!

Core Class @ 00:30:00

Got in an upper body lift after work.

Upper Weights @ 00:30:00

Had a very nice luxurious morning with coffee in bed and two beautiful labs Ruth was dog-sitting. We then went to play fetch with them at a nearby park and happily eased into the morning before I headed out to meet Diana for the new Star Trek movie at the IMAX theater. The only showtime that was still open was the 10:15 and that was also sold out when we got there. Definitely fun!

By the time I threw some laundry in and went grocery shopping, I finally headed out for my planned 13-15 mile run around 3pm. I was definitely NOT into it (tummy bloated...) and I shortened it a bit. Okay, more than a bit...

9 Mile Run @ 01:30:00

I spent the entire morning puttering around and managed to even make a dent in my post-Om marvin-ness. But finally made it out on the bike around noon and staged an out and back from Mt Baker park going around the south end of the lake to a turn around point on Mercer Island. Kept an average speed of 16 mph although I was hoping to maintain the 16.2 I had for a bit but the wind (and my legs) would not cooperate. During the last couple of miles, I was super crabby about the headwind but realized that it was probably more of a nutrition deficit as I did not take in a SINGLE calorie the entire time. I know. I know...

50 Mile Bike @ 03:05:00

Made it to swim practice this morning but skipped core in favor of a homemade breakfast :)

2150 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00

Nice commute home in the SUN this time :)

12 Mile Commute @ 01:00:00

I had a great commute into work this morning -- my first this season! On the way in, I decided that I really do not need my heavy back rack and trunk now that I have a great backpack.

12 Mile Commute @ 01:00:00

Had a less than great commute home because of all the rain the first half of the ride. The good news is that I am definitely stronger than I was at this time last year. I noticed that when taking some of the hills on the Hindenburg yesterday on my way home.

12 Mile Commute @ 01:00:00

Definitely feeling super wiped yesterday again and my body said "hell NO" when my alarm went off for swim practice. I re-set it for 7 AM but I was having a dream, and in it someone said "get your ass up and go for a run" and so I did @ 6:20 :)

Ran down to Greenlake and then did a tempo paced run around the lake. Actually felt good!

5.5 Mile Run @ 00:51:00 (tempo @ 00:27:30)

I picked up a replacement inflatable exercise ball (my last one got a little too close to the heater...) and did a quick home weight lifting set using my dumbells and balancing on the ball.

Upper Weights @ 00:20:00

I took yesterday completely off and even slept in a bit.

This morning, I got up at 4:30 AM and drove into the gym to get a "do it myself" spin workout before yoga.

Spin @ 00:45:00
Yoga @ 01:15:00

I had 20 miles on my plan today and was hoping to get started around 8. My plans were foiled by some work stuff so I did not get started until 10:30. I decided to run from Greenlake to the waterfront via the trail and Ballard Bridge and back. I managed to get a bit tangled up (I need to learn to STOP taking the first right off of the Ballard Bridge) but found my way to the waterfront.

Because I was tangled up, I figured I needed to run a little longer before turning around but once I hit the Happy Hooker bait and tackle shop, I just turned around even though I SHOULD have run a bit longer. I had a bit of an attitude the entire time (mix one hangover with one work crisis) and I figured that at least I ran 18.5 miles longer than I even wanted to...

18.5 Mile Run @ 03:03:00

Jeff and I met this morning at 7 AM at Gasworks for our 90 mile ride. We got separated at Lake Washington Blvd but he said in the beginning he was fine with finding his own route if needed. Jeff, I hope you had a good ride!

I felt terrific the first couple of hours and was very happy with my route (S end of Lake Washington, through Factoria and around Lake Sammamish to Marymoor, down the trail and then over Juanita, back through Bellevue, over 90 and back to the car).

When I hit Bellevue, I did and out and back on that road thinking I might connect with Jeff again but even though I did not find him, I was rewarded with some more time in the aerobars on a friendly road.

I tried to find the route Ann had taken us on before the long side of Sammamish but ended up riding the road that I hated (and Ruth loved) to Cougar Mountain. But that extra climbing out and back was good for me. I did manage then to find the route and go through that lovely bike path. I think I now have it memorized.

I ate a bar at Marymoor and was still feeling good and made it over Juanita fine, although I had a VERY wet and cold ride down :( By the time I hit Bellevue (75 miles in), I realized I was bonking both physically and mentally so I made the decision to go to Burger Master and ate a veggie burger before finishing my ride. Great call! Better call will be to get better nutrition for the bike. On my "to do" list this week.

I got in some extra credit miles because the Montlake Bridge was closed. Up to mile 75, I had maintained 15mph average speed but it fell after that :(

96 Mile Ride @ 06:37:00

I was disciplined enough to make it to lights out at 9 PM but the 4:45 AM alarm still was brutal. Wally and I discussed sleeping in but I headed out anyway.

2300 Swim Practice @ 01:00:00

Then core class.
Core Class @ 00:30:00

Got in a quick upper body lift in the evening.
Upper Weights @ 00:30:00