Today's workout:
Run-9 miles
Weights-"Chisel" workout
Perfect weather today! It was in the 50s this morning (a little chilly for my liking), but in the 70s by noon and in the 80s for our workout! I love the 80s. I sweat enough to feel like I am getting a good workout, but not so much that I'm completely soaked. The run tonight was a series of long fartleks in HR 3. I decided to check my heart rate after the long 10 minute stretch, and then again after a couple of the 3 minutes stretches. The 10 minute stretch ended at the top of a hill, so I was really high. 186. (181 is my max heart rate.) At the end of the 3 minutes stretches that were on more flat terrain, I was at a 160. I found some info on line that said for a 40 year old a HR 1 is about 135 and a HR 4 is about a 165. I felt like I could go faster when I was at 160, but I was trying to keep it lower than the 186. It's kind of interesting to measure this stuff once in a while, but I'll be happy when I can just get back to regular running at whatever pace!
I felt good after tonight's workout. Definitely not as tough as the hills last week!
The weights were crazy easy tonight. This week we start the "chisel" phase of the weights. That means no leg weights, except for lunges, and less weight on the arms. And instead of 15 reps we do 12. And we're supposed to do them more quickly then before. It was a really short workout! Our legs are supposed to feel more refreshed in a week or so from cutting out the weights, now that the weekend mileage is so crazy.
I tried to eat a lot more than usual today. It was not pleasant. I hate eating when I'm full. And my guts paid the price too. I made more trips to the bathroom today than I think I usually make in one week. The school nurse thinks I might have IBS. Lovely. Luckily when I was running my tummy went back to normal.
I'm going to be able to take an ice bath tonight because we finished our workout early tonight. Yea!
M :)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Far West stop is open for business!
Today's workout:
Swim-90 minutes
Bike-18 miles
A great workout today! The swim felt really good. I did the whole distance in 89 minutes. I kept a slow steady pace. The first 10-20 laps are always a little awkward-getting my stroke and breath organized. But after that I feel like I can go forever. I felt good afterwards, not dizzy or hungry, or tired. I'm glad I didn't make up the Monday swim-I bet that would have made this swim worse.
I ate a lot today. A lot of healthy stuff, until dinner! I wasn't hungry at all, but Chris wanted Changos so I got some queso and corn torts. Yummy! Once I started eating I was starving again! I wonder if the training is suppressing my appetite somehow. And then once I start to eat I get hungry again!
Nice bike ride tonight-pretty chilly though-long pants and long sleeved shirt. The Far West rest stop is finally open again! It's been our regular stop for the past couple of years, but about four months ago they closed it for complete renovations. It opened again last night at 6pm and it was packed tonight! It's sooo nice in there! I think I christened the toilet.
It's without a doubt the nicest and cleanest restroom I've ever seen on a bike ride! I also like the way it was designed, with the Texas star in the border tile. When I was looking around the store I asked the worker man when the store had re-opened and he said the night before. Then he told me not to scratch up their new floors with my bike shoes! Hahahaha! He was kidding around. To some extent at least!
I'm looking forward to more stops at this nice convenience shop!
Not much else to report-except that the queso is starting to take revenge already....ugh....
M :)
Swim-90 minutes
Bike-18 miles
A great workout today! The swim felt really good. I did the whole distance in 89 minutes. I kept a slow steady pace. The first 10-20 laps are always a little awkward-getting my stroke and breath organized. But after that I feel like I can go forever. I felt good afterwards, not dizzy or hungry, or tired. I'm glad I didn't make up the Monday swim-I bet that would have made this swim worse.
I ate a lot today. A lot of healthy stuff, until dinner! I wasn't hungry at all, but Chris wanted Changos so I got some queso and corn torts. Yummy! Once I started eating I was starving again! I wonder if the training is suppressing my appetite somehow. And then once I start to eat I get hungry again!
Nice bike ride tonight-pretty chilly though-long pants and long sleeved shirt. The Far West rest stop is finally open again! It's been our regular stop for the past couple of years, but about four months ago they closed it for complete renovations. It opened again last night at 6pm and it was packed tonight! It's sooo nice in there! I think I christened the toilet.
It's without a doubt the nicest and cleanest restroom I've ever seen on a bike ride! I also like the way it was designed, with the Texas star in the border tile. When I was looking around the store I asked the worker man when the store had re-opened and he said the night before. Then he told me not to scratch up their new floors with my bike shoes! Hahahaha! He was kidding around. To some extent at least!
I'm looking forward to more stops at this nice convenience shop!
Not much else to report-except that the queso is starting to take revenge already....ugh....
M :)
Happpy Birthday Bonnie!
Yesterday's workout:
Bike-80 minutes on the trainer
Run-3 miles
I didn't get to blog yesterday because we went to Hula Hut right after the workout to celebrate Bonnie's Birthday Bash!
I decided not to make up the swim workout from Monday. Kristi read that you shouldn't make up workouts missed due to fatigue or illness. And I wasn't back to 100% until after lunch yesterday anyway. So on Monday I was on the couch by 3:30 in the afternoon. I got up only a few times, to either eat or use the restroom. Other than that, I was lying down from 3:30 Monday afternoon until 8 in the morning. I sure was exhausted. I started to think about it and then look it up on line, and I've come to the conclusion that I bonked yesterday from being calorie deficient over the weekend. Kristi calculated that we burned over 5000 calories on Saturday and that I had only eaten about 2200 or something like that. Sunday wasn't a big eating day for me either. I read on line about other people training for endurance events who experience the same thing from not eating enough. So yesterday and today so far, I've been putting back the food! My friend Andi, from NJ, who has done two Ironman races, told me that I need to chow big time over the next two months and that I should even put on a pound or two, just to be sure I have enough calories.
Starting this Friday I'm going to use the calorie counter to track my food. I'm also going to try the new mini bagel with the dark chocolate almond butter during the ride. I've been enjoying those all week.
The workout last night was good. It was my favorite type of trainer workout-long steady amounts of time in HR 3 in the aero bars. The run was good too-HR 1 with the pups. At one point Caribia got a piece of wire, like a coat hanger, stuck in her collar. She must have stepped on it at an angle that popped it up to her neck, where it got stuck in her collar! She was dancing around freaking out! I could barely get her to stand still so I could take it out! But she finally did and I pulled it out of her collar and checked her for any injuries. She was totally fine, I think she was just spooked to have some foreign object attached to her!
The weather was nice last night, in the 70s, but super humid! And overcast. Today is in the 60s and sunny. March in Texas is just crazy. Supposed to be windy and in the 80s for our ride this Saturday. At least that's what they say now. We all know that will change over the next two days though!
Hula Hut was yummy as always! Kristi and I went in with a game plan. We both love queso and tortillas, but we both regret it the next day. So we both resisted the chips before the meals arrived and we didn't order any queso and tortillas. I had a fish taco with some chips and guacamole and for once didn't feel sick leaving Hula Hut! Usually I eat so much queso with tortillas that my stomach bloats up to three times its size and then I pay the price the next day! But with the 90 mintue swim scheduled for the next morning, I knew I couldn't mess around with stomach problems! Bonnie got a plate of dessert nachos for her birthday which everyone ate-except for me-they are fried tortilla chips, with whipped cream, chocolate drizzle, mango, and strawberries.
After Hula Hut it was straight to the shower and then bed for me. So I blogged today instead.
M :)
Bike-80 minutes on the trainer
Run-3 miles
I didn't get to blog yesterday because we went to Hula Hut right after the workout to celebrate Bonnie's Birthday Bash!
I decided not to make up the swim workout from Monday. Kristi read that you shouldn't make up workouts missed due to fatigue or illness. And I wasn't back to 100% until after lunch yesterday anyway. So on Monday I was on the couch by 3:30 in the afternoon. I got up only a few times, to either eat or use the restroom. Other than that, I was lying down from 3:30 Monday afternoon until 8 in the morning. I sure was exhausted. I started to think about it and then look it up on line, and I've come to the conclusion that I bonked yesterday from being calorie deficient over the weekend. Kristi calculated that we burned over 5000 calories on Saturday and that I had only eaten about 2200 or something like that. Sunday wasn't a big eating day for me either. I read on line about other people training for endurance events who experience the same thing from not eating enough. So yesterday and today so far, I've been putting back the food! My friend Andi, from NJ, who has done two Ironman races, told me that I need to chow big time over the next two months and that I should even put on a pound or two, just to be sure I have enough calories.
Starting this Friday I'm going to use the calorie counter to track my food. I'm also going to try the new mini bagel with the dark chocolate almond butter during the ride. I've been enjoying those all week.
The workout last night was good. It was my favorite type of trainer workout-long steady amounts of time in HR 3 in the aero bars. The run was good too-HR 1 with the pups. At one point Caribia got a piece of wire, like a coat hanger, stuck in her collar. She must have stepped on it at an angle that popped it up to her neck, where it got stuck in her collar! She was dancing around freaking out! I could barely get her to stand still so I could take it out! But she finally did and I pulled it out of her collar and checked her for any injuries. She was totally fine, I think she was just spooked to have some foreign object attached to her!
The weather was nice last night, in the 70s, but super humid! And overcast. Today is in the 60s and sunny. March in Texas is just crazy. Supposed to be windy and in the 80s for our ride this Saturday. At least that's what they say now. We all know that will change over the next two days though!
Hula Hut was yummy as always! Kristi and I went in with a game plan. We both love queso and tortillas, but we both regret it the next day. So we both resisted the chips before the meals arrived and we didn't order any queso and tortillas. I had a fish taco with some chips and guacamole and for once didn't feel sick leaving Hula Hut! Usually I eat so much queso with tortillas that my stomach bloats up to three times its size and then I pay the price the next day! But with the 90 mintue swim scheduled for the next morning, I knew I couldn't mess around with stomach problems! Bonnie got a plate of dessert nachos for her birthday which everyone ate-except for me-they are fried tortilla chips, with whipped cream, chocolate drizzle, mango, and strawberries.
After Hula Hut it was straight to the shower and then bed for me. So I blogged today instead.
M :)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Absolute and total exhaustion
Today's workout:
90 minute swim-that I didn't do
Today was horrible. I am so completely exhausted I was forgetting things all day, dropping things, and bumping into things. I think a big part of the problem is that I've been up since 4:30. No real reason, I just couldn't sleep. And then I started thinking about stuff I had to do for work. Finally I think I fell back to sleep at 6:15. Then my alarm went off at 6:20. It was as if a big mack truck was plowing through the bedroom window. I got up, and thought about doing my regular sit-ups. But even thinking about doing them hurt. So I just had breakfast and went to work.
I realized today that we were moving for 17 hours this weekend, including transition times and drive times in between events. I don't even think I slept 17 hours this weekend.
I thought maybe I'd wake up once I started working-that usually happens. But not today. I somehow managed to get a lot done, but I can't really remember how. Around one o'clock my intern asked me if I was really ok, and I said I didn't think so. I had a crazy headache and I could barely keep my eyes open. I had an upset tummy and was slightly nauseous. So I left work at 3pm. I was asleep on the couch at home by 3:30. Out cold. Poor buggy was pretty concerned. She decided to lie down right next to me to make sure I was ok. I woke up drooling at 4:30. Chris gave me a little neck and shoulder rub which helped a little with my headache. I thought I'd go to Massage Envy and have them work on my neck, but that place is highway robbery for the amount they charge. So I have a heating pad around my neck now. I don't want to sleep anymore because then I won't be able to sleep tonight and that starts a vicious cycle.
So here's my plan. Obviously no swim for me tonight. It's the first workout I've missed due to feeling too exhausted. Not bad for four months of training. I'm going to take tomorrow off to catch up on sleep-no point in getting even more tired with the next crazy weekend only a few days away. As long as I feel up to it, I'm going to swim Wednesday's 90 minute workout tomorrow morning. Then do the regular trainer/run tomorrow night. Then on Wednesday morning I'll do Monday's workout. That way I can take rest stops if I need to and even cut it short to 60 minutes. That was I can also eat some queso at Bonnie's Birthday Bash tomorrow night!
Ok, time for some more Office and puppy snuggles.
M :)
90 minute swim-that I didn't do
Today was horrible. I am so completely exhausted I was forgetting things all day, dropping things, and bumping into things. I think a big part of the problem is that I've been up since 4:30. No real reason, I just couldn't sleep. And then I started thinking about stuff I had to do for work. Finally I think I fell back to sleep at 6:15. Then my alarm went off at 6:20. It was as if a big mack truck was plowing through the bedroom window. I got up, and thought about doing my regular sit-ups. But even thinking about doing them hurt. So I just had breakfast and went to work.
I realized today that we were moving for 17 hours this weekend, including transition times and drive times in between events. I don't even think I slept 17 hours this weekend.
I thought maybe I'd wake up once I started working-that usually happens. But not today. I somehow managed to get a lot done, but I can't really remember how. Around one o'clock my intern asked me if I was really ok, and I said I didn't think so. I had a crazy headache and I could barely keep my eyes open. I had an upset tummy and was slightly nauseous. So I left work at 3pm. I was asleep on the couch at home by 3:30. Out cold. Poor buggy was pretty concerned. She decided to lie down right next to me to make sure I was ok. I woke up drooling at 4:30. Chris gave me a little neck and shoulder rub which helped a little with my headache. I thought I'd go to Massage Envy and have them work on my neck, but that place is highway robbery for the amount they charge. So I have a heating pad around my neck now. I don't want to sleep anymore because then I won't be able to sleep tonight and that starts a vicious cycle.
So here's my plan. Obviously no swim for me tonight. It's the first workout I've missed due to feeling too exhausted. Not bad for four months of training. I'm going to take tomorrow off to catch up on sleep-no point in getting even more tired with the next crazy weekend only a few days away. As long as I feel up to it, I'm going to swim Wednesday's 90 minute workout tomorrow morning. Then do the regular trainer/run tomorrow night. Then on Wednesday morning I'll do Monday's workout. That way I can take rest stops if I need to and even cut it short to 60 minutes. That was I can also eat some queso at Bonnie's Birthday Bash tomorrow night!
Ok, time for some more Office and puppy snuggles.
M :)
Sunday, March 27, 2011
The Phoenix
Today's workout:
I discovered two new yummy food items today with Ironman potential. One is to take a Thomas's wheat bagel, the mini kind-they were really fresh today-and put some chocolate almond butter on it. I don't think it'll melt too badly because it's the consistency of peanut butter. I'm going to give it a try on Saturday. The other food is something that I forgot. But I know there were two items. Hmmm. I'll have to remember and blog about it tomorrow.
The ice bath felt wonderful tonight. And now I'm excited to snuggle with the bug on the couch while watching an episode of the office before bed.
G'night!
M :)
Run-12.5 miles (140 minutes)
Bike-60 minutes (12 miles maybe?)
Weights-2 x 15
What a weekend! And today officially marks the end of four months of training. Pretty incredible! I can definitely tell that the training has entered the "Ironman Specific Training" as it says in the book. This weekend in particular my legs were tired the entire time, for each different event. (I'm not sure if it was because of the hill workout on Thursday, or if they were just tired.) But I kept powering through. Kristi and I were saying on our run today that we feel like this training is 40% physical and 60% mental. It's as if as long as you follow the training your body can physically do the distances. But it's the mental piece that gets in the way. I think this weekend gave my mental confidence a boost. I can't believe I completed everything when my legs were so darn tired. I've ice bathed for the last three days and that seems to have helped a little. Today the stretching after the weights really helped also. My quads haven't been sore since that stretching.
So let's see, where to start. The book told us this weekend to do the run first, before the bike. So we did. It was cold today-and overcast. About 62-65 degrees for the run. Brrr. Actually perfect running weather so I can't really complain. But I do like my 90s! The run was pretty good considering my legs. It was funny, today it hurt so much to go downhill! It was easier to go uphill. Each time we'd have a downhill I'd start to grunt and groan. My poor old muscles. But somehow we (my legs and I) made it the 12 miles in one piece. Cheyenne came with us since it was so cool, and she helped us keep a slow pace the whole way. She was so cute. At the 7-11 when I stopped to refill my water bottle, she sat down next to Kristi and leaned up against her leg. She was pooped! And at about mile ten she pulled over to a patch of grass. I thought she had to pee. Instead she just sat down, looked up at me, and started munching on some grass! As if to say, "I'm done now mama." She is just too adorable. I asked her if she wanted me to carry her the rest of the way, but she decided to get up and run it in with us. Thank goodness, because that would have been a very difficult two miles for me if I had to carry her and run! I think today may have been her last long Sunday run with us until the fall. :(
Then it was time to bike. Oh, the madness never ends. It was still only about 65 degrees so I put on long pants, arm warmers and a jacket. Brrrr. We went so ridiculously slow, it was wonderful! We decided to cut the 14 mile route to about 11-12 miles since we were going slowly and we only had to do 60 minutes. Thank goodness, because it was hard to get my legs to keep moving in circles.
Then to Club Macca for weights. This was the last time we have to do the full weight regime. The book says to cut out the leg weights from now on, and to just do lighter quicker reps of 10-12 instead of 15. At first I thought I'd want to continue the weights for injury prevention, but I read the book again and it says that our legs will start to feel better on the weekends with the longer distances once we cut out the leg weights. So I'm down with that. The book hasn't let us astray yet!
While I was stretching after the weights, my legs were still really sore. I had trouble getting into some of the stretching positions because of my sore muscles. So I thought about The Phoenix. The Phoenix was a tv show that I remember from growing up. It was about a man who was like a superhero. He could transport himself to wherever he wanted and he would help people. For example, if he knew, through his telekinetic powers, that there was a car accident somewhere, he would go there and touch the person who was in the accident. He would feel their pain for them until the ambulance arrived. I told Kristi and Wayne that I wish The Phoenix would pay me a visit and take my leg pain away. They had never heard of the show.
So I looked the show up on my phone. And here's what I found out. It aired for one month in 1982. Only four episodes were ever aired. I have no idea why I remember it, and I'm sure I probably only ever watched one episode.
"The Phoenix, an ancient astronaut, is revived by scientists and escapes from their facility to search for his partner, Mira. She is the only one who knows what their task is while they are on Earth. While searching for Mira, he must avoid being captured by government agents."
Bennu, The Phoenix, is an ancient extraterrestrial who displays superhuman abilities and behaves in a manner meant to represent an enlightened culture (kind, non-violent, environmentally responsible, etc.) It's no wonder I was drawn to the show. He's just like me! Hahahahaha!
But I had to call William just to make sure I'm not loosing it. I simply asked him if he remember a tv show called The Phoenix, and he told me everything about it that I already knew. He couldn't believe that it was only on for a month either! The 90 minute pilot was aired on March 19th, 1982, which was a Friday. We were allowed to watch two hours of tv on Friday nights. And that was the night before William's 9th birthday. I'm going to have to see if I can find the pilot and watch it again just for kicks. Here's the intro to the show, just in case you're interested.
"The Phoenix, an ancient astronaut, is revived by scientists and escapes from their facility to search for his partner, Mira. She is the only one who knows what their task is while they are on Earth. While searching for Mira, he must avoid being captured by government agents."
Bennu, The Phoenix, is an ancient extraterrestrial who displays superhuman abilities and behaves in a manner meant to represent an enlightened culture (kind, non-violent, environmentally responsible, etc.) It's no wonder I was drawn to the show. He's just like me! Hahahahaha!
But I had to call William just to make sure I'm not loosing it. I simply asked him if he remember a tv show called The Phoenix, and he told me everything about it that I already knew. He couldn't believe that it was only on for a month either! The 90 minute pilot was aired on March 19th, 1982, which was a Friday. We were allowed to watch two hours of tv on Friday nights. And that was the night before William's 9th birthday. I'm going to have to see if I can find the pilot and watch it again just for kicks. Here's the intro to the show, just in case you're interested.
I discovered two new yummy food items today with Ironman potential. One is to take a Thomas's wheat bagel, the mini kind-they were really fresh today-and put some chocolate almond butter on it. I don't think it'll melt too badly because it's the consistency of peanut butter. I'm going to give it a try on Saturday. The other food is something that I forgot. But I know there were two items. Hmmm. I'll have to remember and blog about it tomorrow.
The ice bath felt wonderful tonight. And now I'm excited to snuggle with the bug on the couch while watching an episode of the office before bed.
G'night!
M :)
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Yeah us!
Today's workout:
Swim-30 minutes
Bike-331 minutes (88.5 miles)
Run-59 minutes (5.5 miles)-time includes water stops and a food walk!
Wow, what a day! My alarm went off at 6:20. Smoothie and bagel. Then a walk with the pups. I decided to walk them before the swim this week to give the food a little longer to digest and that seemed to help. I could barely walk when I got up. The second day after a tough workout (Stratford) is always worse for me than the first day after for some reason. The walk with the pups helped to loosen them up a little. But the first few times I pushed off the wall during the swim...omg....so painful! I just swam nice and chilled, I didn't count how many laps. I just wanted to loosen up a little more since I knew we had a long day and I was starting out on sore and tired legs!
9:30-Kristi and Wayne and I got our gear and bikes ready for the 88 miler. I think this was our second longest ride ever. We sure did pack it in for the ride. Here are some pre-ride pics.
And we were off. Mayling and Brad came along with us for the first 15 miles and then turned around. Photographer Brad was on the route today and he took this really cool photo. I think it's our first action shot ride ever to appear in the blog!
And thanks to Mother Nature, it was a beautiful day! Sometimes she can really get some good wind gusts going, but today the wind wasn't too bad at all. Nothing compared to the San Marcos ride a few weeks ago. We even had some cloud coverage towards the end of the day to cool things down a little.
Here's the route we did today. Wayne's phone conked out so I'm uploading this from my Map My Ride directly. It's two maps because I don't feel like putting it all together on one.
We had one crazy hill. It started at 1047 feet and went down to 858. The hill was one mile long. I was in my aeros and didn't have to pedal at all the entire way down! Then we had to do the same hill on the return route. It wasn't too bad at all. Wayne, how does that hill compare to the Ironman course? The entire course today went roughly from 600-1000 feet in elevation.
It looks like it just drops off to nothing!!! The high was forecast to be about 92 today. Kristi and Wayne's bike thermometers got up to 108! I took a pic of it, but it didn't come out good enough to put in the blog.
Kristi and I were loving the heat today, but it was too hot for Wayne's liking. He tried out a new training food today. They're called Duck Bill Chips. Here he is eating them at the Andice rest stop.
Hahahaha! Unfortunately he thinks the Pringles may have been the cause of some GI issues today. I felt good food-wise today. Here's what I had on the ride.
Goldfish-new ride item-really good idea. They sat well on my tummy and kept me full.
Three Accel-gels-these are only good for the longer rides. Not the most palatable, but they work well and have some protein in them.
Powerbar-Good old standby-Fruit smoothie flavor
Honey stinger-Another favorite stand-by
Recovery bar-I had one of these around mile 75. It was totally melted and difficult to eat. Not a good option for event day. I may have to try the cliff chocolate chip bars as a back up.
I think that's all I had on the ride. I may be forgetting something.
On the return trip from Andice it was a little windy. Our backs were really getting sore so we made a pain reliever stop. Advil for the McCullochs and Aleve for the Beer. Note to self---Be sure to pack Aleve on event day!
I was telling Kristi how happy I am with my new helmet. It's really super comfy. I had it on all day and didn't notice it. At our last water stop I did take it off though. Just to air out the old melon. Even though it's really comfy, it still left a pretty funny imprint in my forehead!
Wow, look at the size of that forehead. It's huge! I guess that part of the helmet usually sits at people's hairline, so the indentation isn't noticeable. It's a good thing they make a helmet large enough to accommodate my wide cranium.
We finished up the ride around 5pm. Then it was time to run five mile. This day just never seemed to end! It was 89 degrees when we were heading out for the run, so sadly the pups couldn't join us.
It was almost physically impossible for my brain to get my legs to start running. I had to resend the message from my brain to my legs a number of times. Finally the leg department got the order and started to move. I always make lots of grunts and groans when we start running. And keep in mind that I had started the day on tired and sore legs. And now, after 8 1/2 hours of exercise, I was asking them for one more favor. Kristi always thinks I'm playing around when I start to run. Nope, just trying to keep moving forward! Hahahaha! But by mile two or so they started working normally again. Just in time for a walk break for a powerbar. Then more running. We did get to an 8:30 pace or so, which is pretty impressive for this old bag o' bones! Hahahahaha!
Overall, today was a good workout. By no means was it easy, but again, I have to say that the training is really moving us right along. I feel like it was just challenging enough without pushing me over the edge. Next weekend may be another story though!
I can't wait for tomorrow when we get to get up and start all over again with a nice long run, a short bike ride, and weights. (not sure how to indicate sarcasm in a blog!) I can't believe that in exactly eight weeks from today, with a little luck, I'll be on the run portion of the Ironman! Wow! The end is in sight!!!!
Yeah us!!!!
M :)
Swim-30 minutes
Bike-331 minutes (88.5 miles)
Run-59 minutes (5.5 miles)-time includes water stops and a food walk!
Wow, what a day! My alarm went off at 6:20. Smoothie and bagel. Then a walk with the pups. I decided to walk them before the swim this week to give the food a little longer to digest and that seemed to help. I could barely walk when I got up. The second day after a tough workout (Stratford) is always worse for me than the first day after for some reason. The walk with the pups helped to loosen them up a little. But the first few times I pushed off the wall during the swim...omg....so painful! I just swam nice and chilled, I didn't count how many laps. I just wanted to loosen up a little more since I knew we had a long day and I was starting out on sore and tired legs!
9:30-Kristi and Wayne and I got our gear and bikes ready for the 88 miler. I think this was our second longest ride ever. We sure did pack it in for the ride. Here are some pre-ride pics.
This is Kristi's Bento Box chock full o' goodies. She likes to open them up ahead of time so they're easier to get at while riding. Good idea!
This is Wayne checking his goodies. Everything seemed to be in order and properly glided.
Except for the nips. Gotta glide the nips! Wayne made a pretty mean face here-but he wasn't mad that I took the photo. Even though he was having a slightly grumpy morning. There's no grumpy mood that a fun photo can't change!
Here's a photo of my back pockets chock full o' my goodies. Bulging at the seams.
And here're Wayne's pockets bulging at the seams.
And we were off. Mayling and Brad came along with us for the first 15 miles and then turned around. Photographer Brad was on the route today and he took this really cool photo. I think it's our first action shot ride ever to appear in the blog!
And thanks to Mother Nature, it was a beautiful day! Sometimes she can really get some good wind gusts going, but today the wind wasn't too bad at all. Nothing compared to the San Marcos ride a few weeks ago. We even had some cloud coverage towards the end of the day to cool things down a little.
Here's the route we did today. Wayne's phone conked out so I'm uploading this from my Map My Ride directly. It's two maps because I don't feel like putting it all together on one.
We had one crazy hill. It started at 1047 feet and went down to 858. The hill was one mile long. I was in my aeros and didn't have to pedal at all the entire way down! Then we had to do the same hill on the return route. It wasn't too bad at all. Wayne, how does that hill compare to the Ironman course? The entire course today went roughly from 600-1000 feet in elevation.
Here's a photo from the top of the crazy hill.
It looks like it just drops off to nothing!!! The high was forecast to be about 92 today. Kristi and Wayne's bike thermometers got up to 108! I took a pic of it, but it didn't come out good enough to put in the blog.
Kristi and I were loving the heat today, but it was too hot for Wayne's liking. He tried out a new training food today. They're called Duck Bill Chips. Here he is eating them at the Andice rest stop.
Hahahaha! Unfortunately he thinks the Pringles may have been the cause of some GI issues today. I felt good food-wise today. Here's what I had on the ride.
Goldfish-new ride item-really good idea. They sat well on my tummy and kept me full.
Three Accel-gels-these are only good for the longer rides. Not the most palatable, but they work well and have some protein in them.
Powerbar-Good old standby-Fruit smoothie flavor
Honey stinger-Another favorite stand-by
Recovery bar-I had one of these around mile 75. It was totally melted and difficult to eat. Not a good option for event day. I may have to try the cliff chocolate chip bars as a back up.
I think that's all I had on the ride. I may be forgetting something.
On the return trip from Andice it was a little windy. Our backs were really getting sore so we made a pain reliever stop. Advil for the McCullochs and Aleve for the Beer. Note to self---Be sure to pack Aleve on event day!
I was telling Kristi how happy I am with my new helmet. It's really super comfy. I had it on all day and didn't notice it. At our last water stop I did take it off though. Just to air out the old melon. Even though it's really comfy, it still left a pretty funny imprint in my forehead!
Wow, look at the size of that forehead. It's huge! I guess that part of the helmet usually sits at people's hairline, so the indentation isn't noticeable. It's a good thing they make a helmet large enough to accommodate my wide cranium.
We finished up the ride around 5pm. Then it was time to run five mile. This day just never seemed to end! It was 89 degrees when we were heading out for the run, so sadly the pups couldn't join us.
It was almost physically impossible for my brain to get my legs to start running. I had to resend the message from my brain to my legs a number of times. Finally the leg department got the order and started to move. I always make lots of grunts and groans when we start running. And keep in mind that I had started the day on tired and sore legs. And now, after 8 1/2 hours of exercise, I was asking them for one more favor. Kristi always thinks I'm playing around when I start to run. Nope, just trying to keep moving forward! Hahahaha! But by mile two or so they started working normally again. Just in time for a walk break for a powerbar. Then more running. We did get to an 8:30 pace or so, which is pretty impressive for this old bag o' bones! Hahahahaha!
Overall, today was a good workout. By no means was it easy, but again, I have to say that the training is really moving us right along. I feel like it was just challenging enough without pushing me over the edge. Next weekend may be another story though!
I can't wait for tomorrow when we get to get up and start all over again with a nice long run, a short bike ride, and weights. (not sure how to indicate sarcasm in a blog!) I can't believe that in exactly eight weeks from today, with a little luck, I'll be on the run portion of the Ironman! Wow! The end is in sight!!!!
Yeah us!!!!
M :)
Friday, March 25, 2011
Yeah Peanut!
Today's workout
Off
Walk with the pups
What a nice day! I love this temperature. 67 at night and 85 during the day. Sunny with a light breeze. Just perfect.
I rolled out my legs this morning from the hill workout yesterday and felt pretty good until I sat on my butt at work for about an hour without getting up. Holy cow, my quads got so tight that I could barely stand up! It was like that most of the day. I'd get up to walk around and they'd be fine, but as soon as I sat for longer than 15 minutes or so, oh boy. Little old grannie lady Mary had to use the arms on her desk chair to stand up! Hahahaha! So half way through the day I just stood at my desk doing stretches while making phone calls and answering emails! Then after work I took the dogs for a nice long walk so that really helped, and then an ice bath to top it all off. I really don't like sitting most of the day to begin with, and then after a hill workout it's even worse! But I don't mind too much, it's not too bad. And it's just a reminder that I had a great workout the night before! And when I look at these adorable little faces, all the soreness goes away and I just melt.
So there is a member of the Ice Bath Club. And it's not Caribia or Cheyenne......that's right! Chris took an ice bath! Well, not a full one, but he did soak his calf/lower leg for a while after I got out. We had to fill the tub a little more and I added some more ice. His calf turned bright red, but he said he could see how the ice baths must help me feel better.
Chris has been running for three mornings in a row now!!!!! Yesterday he was having some calf pain, and I don't think he stretched. So this morning he didn't make it too far before he had to turn around and walk back from the pain. But he's on day three, and that's all that matters! Yeeehawww for Peanut!!!! Before too long he'll be back to his 6:30 mile pace and signing up for half-marathons with us!
Ok, time to figure out what's for dinner and what show to watch on tv.
G'night!
M :)
Off
Walk with the pups
What a nice day! I love this temperature. 67 at night and 85 during the day. Sunny with a light breeze. Just perfect.
I rolled out my legs this morning from the hill workout yesterday and felt pretty good until I sat on my butt at work for about an hour without getting up. Holy cow, my quads got so tight that I could barely stand up! It was like that most of the day. I'd get up to walk around and they'd be fine, but as soon as I sat for longer than 15 minutes or so, oh boy. Little old grannie lady Mary had to use the arms on her desk chair to stand up! Hahahaha! So half way through the day I just stood at my desk doing stretches while making phone calls and answering emails! Then after work I took the dogs for a nice long walk so that really helped, and then an ice bath to top it all off. I really don't like sitting most of the day to begin with, and then after a hill workout it's even worse! But I don't mind too much, it's not too bad. And it's just a reminder that I had a great workout the night before! And when I look at these adorable little faces, all the soreness goes away and I just melt.
Caribia was sporting the Cheyenne Ear-do with both ears back! She looked so happy! And Cheyenne took up residence on top of the a/c vent for about 30 minutes after the walk. They are just so darn cute.
So there is a member of the Ice Bath Club. And it's not Caribia or Cheyenne......that's right! Chris took an ice bath! Well, not a full one, but he did soak his calf/lower leg for a while after I got out. We had to fill the tub a little more and I added some more ice. His calf turned bright red, but he said he could see how the ice baths must help me feel better.
Chris has been running for three mornings in a row now!!!!! Yesterday he was having some calf pain, and I don't think he stretched. So this morning he didn't make it too far before he had to turn around and walk back from the pain. But he's on day three, and that's all that matters! Yeeehawww for Peanut!!!! Before too long he'll be back to his 6:30 mile pace and signing up for half-marathons with us!
Ok, time to figure out what's for dinner and what show to watch on tv.
G'night!
M :)
Thursday, March 24, 2011
I couldn't eat another bite.
Today's workout:
Run-70 minutes or so
Weights-2 x 15
Stomach-more food in one day than usually in an entire week!
It was 84 degrees for our run workout tonight. I love that temperature for running! We warmed up for about 15 minutes, did accelerations, then ran Stratford to Red Bud and back along Stratford again. It was a great workout! We all had really good runs. It was hard for me to tell if I was in heart rate four, or if my asthma was kicking in at the top of the hills. I felt fine muscle-wise and strength-wise, but I just couldn't seem to get enough air into my lungs. Meanwhile Kristi was talking up a storm, but said that she felt her legs just couldn't power her up the hills. We decided that if we took my power and her lungs, we'd be a machine! Hahahahaha! Wayne had a great run too, and it was hot for him. He doesn't like anything above 60 degrees.
We did the drills after the cool down run, and we could definitely tell that we'd done hills before. Our calves and thighs were burning during the butt kicks and high knees! The weights felt ok and the stretching felt great. I'm going to ice bath tomorrow night for sure.
Tonight's workout reminded me of something I heard one of the contestants on The Biggest Loser say. She said something like, "My body is doing things it could never do before, but my brain just doesn't believe it's doing it." And I think that sums up so much of this training for me. I look at the workouts in the book and think, "Holy cow, there's now way I can do that." And then when I'm in the middle of doing it, it seems ok. We've run Stratford before, but tonight for some reason, it just felt better for all of us. It's like our mind has to catch up to what our bodies are able to do now. We are almost officially four months into the training and I think the training is paying off big time. Of course the big test will be on May 21st, but I think we're all feeling pretty physically confident, thanks to the training. It's the mental piece that will make or break us.
So today I ate like I hadn't eaten in weeks. Kristi wanted me to blog everything I ate today, so here goes.
Bowl of cereal
Chia gel
Glass of OJ/Water mixed together
Pancake
Donut
Hash browns
Fruit salad
More has browns
More fruit salad
Three mint milano cookies
Bowl of tortilla soup
Devils Mint Cupcake (vegan)
Easter cookie (vegan)
Little baggie of parmesean goldfish crackers
Recovery bar
Small veggie sandwich from Thundercloud (minus the tomatoes which were gross tonight)
Bag of Sun Chips
Three more mint milano cookes.
Oh my goodness. I feel sick just looking at all that! Gross! But I didn't feel overly stuffed or full at all today. I certainly didn't feel hungry either! I probably didn't need the Thundercloud, but I know that I need the calories and I got one for Chris so I thought, what the heck! The donut, pancake and hash browns were an extra bonus today-the administrators cooked breakfast for everyone at school, because it was the principals birthday, but also as a thank you to the staff. I sure did eat a lot! I'm feeling overly full now for the first time today. Time for some Tums I think!
And it's definitely time for a shower. I am Stinky Stinkerson. Pee yoo stinky. Grossy Josie.
I'm glad we're off tomorrow!
M :)
Run-70 minutes or so
Weights-2 x 15
Stomach-more food in one day than usually in an entire week!
It was 84 degrees for our run workout tonight. I love that temperature for running! We warmed up for about 15 minutes, did accelerations, then ran Stratford to Red Bud and back along Stratford again. It was a great workout! We all had really good runs. It was hard for me to tell if I was in heart rate four, or if my asthma was kicking in at the top of the hills. I felt fine muscle-wise and strength-wise, but I just couldn't seem to get enough air into my lungs. Meanwhile Kristi was talking up a storm, but said that she felt her legs just couldn't power her up the hills. We decided that if we took my power and her lungs, we'd be a machine! Hahahahaha! Wayne had a great run too, and it was hot for him. He doesn't like anything above 60 degrees.
We did the drills after the cool down run, and we could definitely tell that we'd done hills before. Our calves and thighs were burning during the butt kicks and high knees! The weights felt ok and the stretching felt great. I'm going to ice bath tomorrow night for sure.
Tonight's workout reminded me of something I heard one of the contestants on The Biggest Loser say. She said something like, "My body is doing things it could never do before, but my brain just doesn't believe it's doing it." And I think that sums up so much of this training for me. I look at the workouts in the book and think, "Holy cow, there's now way I can do that." And then when I'm in the middle of doing it, it seems ok. We've run Stratford before, but tonight for some reason, it just felt better for all of us. It's like our mind has to catch up to what our bodies are able to do now. We are almost officially four months into the training and I think the training is paying off big time. Of course the big test will be on May 21st, but I think we're all feeling pretty physically confident, thanks to the training. It's the mental piece that will make or break us.
So today I ate like I hadn't eaten in weeks. Kristi wanted me to blog everything I ate today, so here goes.
Bowl of cereal
Chia gel
Glass of OJ/Water mixed together
Pancake
Donut
Hash browns
Fruit salad
More has browns
More fruit salad
Three mint milano cookies
Bowl of tortilla soup
Devils Mint Cupcake (vegan)
Easter cookie (vegan)
Little baggie of parmesean goldfish crackers
Recovery bar
Small veggie sandwich from Thundercloud (minus the tomatoes which were gross tonight)
Bag of Sun Chips
Three more mint milano cookes.
Oh my goodness. I feel sick just looking at all that! Gross! But I didn't feel overly stuffed or full at all today. I certainly didn't feel hungry either! I probably didn't need the Thundercloud, but I know that I need the calories and I got one for Chris so I thought, what the heck! The donut, pancake and hash browns were an extra bonus today-the administrators cooked breakfast for everyone at school, because it was the principals birthday, but also as a thank you to the staff. I sure did eat a lot! I'm feeling overly full now for the first time today. Time for some Tums I think!
And it's definitely time for a shower. I am Stinky Stinkerson. Pee yoo stinky. Grossy Josie.
I'm glad we're off tomorrow!
M :)
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Another early day!
Today's workout:
Swim-91 minutes
Bike-74 minutes
We got the workout done nice and early today because Annabelle is coming to town! Yeehaww! She's in Houston for a job opportunity, so she's renting a car to come and visit! I took a personal day from work to get the workout done early so I can spend the day with her!
The swim was fine, uneventful. Boring. It took me 91 minutes to swim the 2.4 miles. Then Kristi and I biked 18 miles. It was a nice morning! Started out a little overcast, but cleared up on the ride and it got hot! It's going to be 89 degrees today! I'm glad we get to train in this weather so we're ready for May 21st. Some people will be coming from completely different climates and will have heat and humidity for the first time on race day.
Caribia is keeping my sunning chair warm for me.
Short blog today!
M :)
Swim-91 minutes
Bike-74 minutes
We got the workout done nice and early today because Annabelle is coming to town! Yeehaww! She's in Houston for a job opportunity, so she's renting a car to come and visit! I took a personal day from work to get the workout done early so I can spend the day with her!
The swim was fine, uneventful. Boring. It took me 91 minutes to swim the 2.4 miles. Then Kristi and I biked 18 miles. It was a nice morning! Started out a little overcast, but cleared up on the ride and it got hot! It's going to be 89 degrees today! I'm glad we get to train in this weather so we're ready for May 21st. Some people will be coming from completely different climates and will have heat and humidity for the first time on race day.
Caribia is keeping my sunning chair warm for me.
Short blog today!
M :)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Still loving the back week!
Today's workout:
Bike-70 minutes on the trainer
Run-38 minutes
This training is amazing. Besides the typos in the book, it's working out well for us. We all felt really good doing tonight's workout. I felt so refreshed. The trainer ride was a lot of steady heart rate three, in the aero bars. Here's a photo of the bikes set-up before the workout.
It almost looks like a professional gym! It was such a great evening-it was about 85 degrees and a little cloudy. Perfect weather! We were certainly Sweaty McSweatersons, but it felt great.
The run was good. A little pain in my right ankle, but nothing to worry about. It'll go away. I got my new sneakers-they're exactly the same as the other pair I have, so there won't be much for my feet to get used to. Carib and Chey came along and they had a great run!
So back to the opening cartoon! One of us has athlete's feet. It's incredible it took this long for it to happen. Especially because for the past four months someone has been walking around the gym barefoot. And using the pool shower without flip flops. And stepping on the gym floor without a towel under their feet! One of us is a major germ-a phobe, so we know it's not that person, and one of us always switches out their socks in between activities, so it's not that person either.
The athlete sent me an email of her condition today. Here it is.
There seems to be a block on posting photos of infected feet on here! Hahahaha!
I think I posted this little guy's photo in the blog about my toe. I guess he decided to take a trip to downtown Austin! Apparently his name is "Digger." And Chris liked this other photo of Digger because he's digging into a toenail like he did to me!
Ah, the joys of training. They don't include all this fun stuff in the training manuals!!!!
Hahahahahaha! We just need to replace the baseball and football players with little swimmers, bikers, and runners!
Ok, time for bed!
G'night!
M :)
Bike-70 minutes on the trainer
Run-38 minutes
More on this cartoon later in the blog.......
It almost looks like a professional gym! It was such a great evening-it was about 85 degrees and a little cloudy. Perfect weather! We were certainly Sweaty McSweatersons, but it felt great.
The run was good. A little pain in my right ankle, but nothing to worry about. It'll go away. I got my new sneakers-they're exactly the same as the other pair I have, so there won't be much for my feet to get used to. Carib and Chey came along and they had a great run!
So back to the opening cartoon! One of us has athlete's feet. It's incredible it took this long for it to happen. Especially because for the past four months someone has been walking around the gym barefoot. And using the pool shower without flip flops. And stepping on the gym floor without a towel under their feet! One of us is a major germ-a phobe, so we know it's not that person, and one of us always switches out their socks in between activities, so it's not that person either.
The athlete sent me an email of her condition today. Here it is.
There seems to be a block on posting photos of infected feet on here! Hahahaha!
I think I posted this little guy's photo in the blog about my toe. I guess he decided to take a trip to downtown Austin! Apparently his name is "Digger." And Chris liked this other photo of Digger because he's digging into a toenail like he did to me!
Ah, the joys of training. They don't include all this fun stuff in the training manuals!!!!
Ok, time for bed!
G'night!
M :)
Monday, March 21, 2011
I'm so thirsty my skin is peeling off.
Today's workout:
Swim-90 minutes
I haven't figured out how to get cold water to the pool to drink on Monday evenings. In the winter I'd just fill up my bottle at home and it'd stay cold in the car all day. Now it just gets really hot in the car all day and I end up drinking tea temperature water. So I didn't even pack a bottle today. There is a water fountain in the pool area, but as a general rule of thumb I try to avoid water fountains. So no water today during the swim. I drank a lot at work today, so I thought I'd be ok. But nope, I was soooo thirsty. At the end of the swim I noticed I had little bubbles on my arms. I rubbed the bubbles and they fell apart and the skin rubbed off my arm. I guess it was from getting burnt on the bike ride last weekend. I'm pretty sure there's no direct correlation between my thirst and the skin, but it sure sounded like an interesting title for today's blog.
The pool was extra cold for some reason today. It was chilly getting in and each time I'd stop to take a short break I'd freeze. I had major prune fingers.
So now I'm starving and have no idea what I want to eat. We don't have any dinner items in the house because we never cook. Chris isn't hungry and I don't feel like going to pick up anything. I was going to make a smoothie but the blender is in the dishwasher. Ugh. I wish La Madeline was still open. They have a really good three salad meal. I used to get a regular salad, a fruit salad, and a cup of soup.
Oh yea, so I'm signed up for these consumer studies where they call you to see if you qualify for a study and then they pay you to sit around and talk about a particular topic or product. I got an email last week about a workout study. They called today to ask a few more questions and told me that I qualified because of how much I work out and because of the number of athletic events I do each year. They said the study was going to be next Monday, so I said that would work, I could take a couple hours from work. Then she said the study was from 8 until 10 at night! I thought, "Seriously? How can they really expect anyone who works out this much to be awake that late on a Monday night!" So I told her that because I worked out so much I was asleep by 9pm. What a waste! Too bad they didn't do the study during the day.
Ok, I seriously have to find something to eat or I might start to eat Caribia's food.
TTFN,
M :)
Swim-90 minutes
I haven't figured out how to get cold water to the pool to drink on Monday evenings. In the winter I'd just fill up my bottle at home and it'd stay cold in the car all day. Now it just gets really hot in the car all day and I end up drinking tea temperature water. So I didn't even pack a bottle today. There is a water fountain in the pool area, but as a general rule of thumb I try to avoid water fountains. So no water today during the swim. I drank a lot at work today, so I thought I'd be ok. But nope, I was soooo thirsty. At the end of the swim I noticed I had little bubbles on my arms. I rubbed the bubbles and they fell apart and the skin rubbed off my arm. I guess it was from getting burnt on the bike ride last weekend. I'm pretty sure there's no direct correlation between my thirst and the skin, but it sure sounded like an interesting title for today's blog.
The pool was extra cold for some reason today. It was chilly getting in and each time I'd stop to take a short break I'd freeze. I had major prune fingers.
So now I'm starving and have no idea what I want to eat. We don't have any dinner items in the house because we never cook. Chris isn't hungry and I don't feel like going to pick up anything. I was going to make a smoothie but the blender is in the dishwasher. Ugh. I wish La Madeline was still open. They have a really good three salad meal. I used to get a regular salad, a fruit salad, and a cup of soup.
Oh yea, so I'm signed up for these consumer studies where they call you to see if you qualify for a study and then they pay you to sit around and talk about a particular topic or product. I got an email last week about a workout study. They called today to ask a few more questions and told me that I qualified because of how much I work out and because of the number of athletic events I do each year. They said the study was going to be next Monday, so I said that would work, I could take a couple hours from work. Then she said the study was from 8 until 10 at night! I thought, "Seriously? How can they really expect anyone who works out this much to be awake that late on a Monday night!" So I told her that because I worked out so much I was asleep by 9pm. What a waste! Too bad they didn't do the study during the day.
Ok, I seriously have to find something to eat or I might start to eat Caribia's food.
TTFN,
M :)
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Mac Hiney
Today's workout:
Run-64 minutes (7 miles)
Weights-2 x 15
I have to say it again, I love the back week! It's been such a fun week, but the fun is over. I put together a new calendar with all the long weekend workouts on it, to help me get mentally psyched up for the next six weeks. I think I need to think of something that I will treat myself to at the end of the six weeks, just before the tapering starts. Hmmmm....maybe another chocolate chip pancake from java? That sounds good. Heehee!
Before I start today's blog, I have to start with last night's events. It was a night filled with live music, good friends, queso, fries, chips, guacamole, pizza, beer and wine! Chris invited us all down to his venue for SXSW. He was the stage manager at Stephen F's bar. Here he is in action:
Such a cutie! He had to organize all the bands comings and goings, make sure all the stage hands were doing their jobs, make sure the musicians had everything they needed, and report any shady goings-on. He had a pretty calm week except for a few crazies. But it's hard to escape the crazies entirely. This was the first group to go on last night, the lead singer's name was Patricia Vonne.
She was fun, very entertaining, getting the audience involved, walking around and playing the castanets. She played kind of Tex-Mex music. Kristi, Wayne, Brad, and Mayling came along too! Kristi, Wayne, and I decided to go a little crazy ourselves. We had the Dinner of Champions. Wayne had the "Sliders" which are mini-burgers, with fries. Kristi and I shared a Trio Dip Plate, including chips, salsa, queso, and guacamole.
And, we all had a drink! I think it was our first and only drink since the whole training began! And just in case nobody believed us, we of course took pictures to document the debauchery.
Mmmmmm! There is just something about queso which is so enticing. That is until the next morning when it tends to come back with some revenge! Hahaha!
Once we were all three sheets to the wind, the fun began. (Ok, maybe one sheet to the wind, after all, we only had one drink each!) But anyway, there was still fun to be had. (Isn't there always?) Kristi decided to class up the joint and order a glass of wine. Wayne and I stuck to beer flavored water, with Dos Equis and Mich Ultra. Kristi's wine kicked in pretty quickly, affecting her vision early on. She was trying to read the blog on Wayne's phone, and couldn't quite get her eyes to focus. She tried to hold the phone farther away from her, and then even tried to cover one eye.
Run-64 minutes (7 miles)
Weights-2 x 15
I have to say it again, I love the back week! It's been such a fun week, but the fun is over. I put together a new calendar with all the long weekend workouts on it, to help me get mentally psyched up for the next six weeks. I think I need to think of something that I will treat myself to at the end of the six weeks, just before the tapering starts. Hmmmm....maybe another chocolate chip pancake from java? That sounds good. Heehee!
Before I start today's blog, I have to start with last night's events. It was a night filled with live music, good friends, queso, fries, chips, guacamole, pizza, beer and wine! Chris invited us all down to his venue for SXSW. He was the stage manager at Stephen F's bar. Here he is in action:
Such a cutie! He had to organize all the bands comings and goings, make sure all the stage hands were doing their jobs, make sure the musicians had everything they needed, and report any shady goings-on. He had a pretty calm week except for a few crazies. But it's hard to escape the crazies entirely. This was the first group to go on last night, the lead singer's name was Patricia Vonne.
She was fun, very entertaining, getting the audience involved, walking around and playing the castanets. She played kind of Tex-Mex music. Kristi, Wayne, Brad, and Mayling came along too! Kristi, Wayne, and I decided to go a little crazy ourselves. We had the Dinner of Champions. Wayne had the "Sliders" which are mini-burgers, with fries. Kristi and I shared a Trio Dip Plate, including chips, salsa, queso, and guacamole.
And, we all had a drink! I think it was our first and only drink since the whole training began! And just in case nobody believed us, we of course took pictures to document the debauchery.
Mmmmmm! There is just something about queso which is so enticing. That is until the next morning when it tends to come back with some revenge! Hahaha!
Once we were all three sheets to the wind, the fun began. (Ok, maybe one sheet to the wind, after all, we only had one drink each!) But anyway, there was still fun to be had. (Isn't there always?) Kristi decided to class up the joint and order a glass of wine. Wayne and I stuck to beer flavored water, with Dos Equis and Mich Ultra. Kristi's wine kicked in pretty quickly, affecting her vision early on. She was trying to read the blog on Wayne's phone, and couldn't quite get her eyes to focus. She tried to hold the phone farther away from her, and then even tried to cover one eye.
I had a flashback to our England trip last year, when I needed to borrow my aunt's glasses to see the map. I told Kristi that it's all down hill after 30, and that vision is usually the first thing to go. I also told her not to worry, she was in good company.
Ok, so now onto today's workout. We decided not to do the optional bike ride today, seeing as how it's really our last "back week". We ran 7.04 miles in 1:04:27 seconds. (or something like that.) I had both dogs with me, which I always love. It was perfect weather, maybe a little humid, but a great temperature. Poor Bonnie and Kristi were swapping their drunk stories. Bonnie went to the rodeo on Friday night and whooped it up, and Kristi had put one back last night, so they were both a little under the weather today. They were both hurting, but I felt ok since I had stuck with one XX. Plus we didn't ride 80-plus miles yesterday, plus we didn't ride this morning, plus it was nice weather....so I had a good run. They felt yucky, but we still all ran the same pace! They are truly Iron Men with Iron Stomachs!
Then we went to Club Macca to do the weights. Kristi told a fun riddle, but I can't put it in the blog or it will ruin it. It's one of those riddles that you have to hear.
We all tried to do a pull-up today, I'm not sure why, but we just did. Kristi jumped right up there and almost got her chin above the bar! I swear those weight gloves have made her even stronger! And Wayne got up there and cranked out like three in a row! Very impressive! And me, well, let me tell you about my upper body strength. Or lack there of. I held onto the bar and tried to pull up. Kristi and Wayne asked if I was being serious. (I'm always very serious, so I don't know why they thought I was playing around...) I physically couldn't pull myself up at all.
Here's Wayne on his way back down from his pull-up.
Here's Kristi on her way up. Check out the gloves!
And here's little old chicken wing me. Trying to pull myself up.
Hey, at least I got my feet of the ground! Hahahahaha!
I was setting up to do my push-ups today. I said to myself, "I hate push-ups." And I started to do my 15 push-ups. I got to number six, when Wayne said, "When are you going to start doing your push-ups?" I stopped mid push-up and shot him the stink eye. Just because I don't have any upper body strength he thinks he can pick on me. Oh well, it's true. My push-ups are pretty pathetic! I only bend my arms about two inches and then try to angle my head so that it appears I'm closer to the ground than I really am! Hahahaha! That's ok, I don't ever want to do the Human Flag, so my poor little push-ups are just right for me!
What another great short workout day! I'm still waiting for the sun to come out as promised by the weather man, but I've already talked about how well they do their jobs here in Central Texas. The pups are still napping from their workout this morning and I'm about to turn on some Office.
Back to work tomorrow!
M :)
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Glorious glorious back week!
Today's workout:
Swim-30 minutes
Bike-128 minutes (31.5 miles)
Run-15 minutes (1.8 miles)
It's 1 pm and we finished the workout half an hour ago!!!! What a treat! I don't even know what to do with the rest of my day! Oh, wait, yes I do. Read a book and work on my tan on the back deck, then go out for some live music tonight at SXSW! Rockin day in Austin Texas!
The swim was good. Nothing special. Whole pool to myself. Always nice and relaxing. The ride was good. Last night Brad had said that he might not make it because he lives at Party Central and that people had been up partying until the wee hours of the morning and he wasn't getting any sleep. Bonnie decided to sleep in and ride later today since she saw Josh Turner at the rodeo last night-there's just to much fun to be had in Austin in March!
I texted Brad to see if he was coming along, and we didn't hear back so we assumed he decided to sleep in. We left at 9:25. Around mile 12 or so I wanted to check to make sure he hadn't texted, and sure enough he had! And May-ling was along for the ride too! Since we had already left, they went a different route, but we were able to meet up for the majority of the ride. Brad's text said that he should have turned his finger on. Yup, his finger. Dang auto-correct! His ringer had been shut off so he didn't get my 9am text. Oh well, all's well that ends well!
The ride was a nice chill 31-miler. The run was only 15-20 minutes so we did one loop of Central Market. Brad came along for the run too and rocked it out! He said he's thinking about doing the Ironman with us.
And now the workout day is over. We really need to enjoy this day because we are heading into six weeks of complete insanity. Our next "back week" has a 50 ride on Saturday and an 18 mile run on Sunday. What kind of back week is that!??!
Time to shower.
M :)
Swim-30 minutes
Bike-128 minutes (31.5 miles)
Run-15 minutes (1.8 miles)
It's 1 pm and we finished the workout half an hour ago!!!! What a treat! I don't even know what to do with the rest of my day! Oh, wait, yes I do. Read a book and work on my tan on the back deck, then go out for some live music tonight at SXSW! Rockin day in Austin Texas!
The swim was good. Nothing special. Whole pool to myself. Always nice and relaxing. The ride was good. Last night Brad had said that he might not make it because he lives at Party Central and that people had been up partying until the wee hours of the morning and he wasn't getting any sleep. Bonnie decided to sleep in and ride later today since she saw Josh Turner at the rodeo last night-there's just to much fun to be had in Austin in March!
I texted Brad to see if he was coming along, and we didn't hear back so we assumed he decided to sleep in. We left at 9:25. Around mile 12 or so I wanted to check to make sure he hadn't texted, and sure enough he had! And May-ling was along for the ride too! Since we had already left, they went a different route, but we were able to meet up for the majority of the ride. Brad's text said that he should have turned his finger on. Yup, his finger. Dang auto-correct! His ringer had been shut off so he didn't get my 9am text. Oh well, all's well that ends well!
The ride was a nice chill 31-miler. The run was only 15-20 minutes so we did one loop of Central Market. Brad came along for the run too and rocked it out! He said he's thinking about doing the Ironman with us.
And now the workout day is over. We really need to enjoy this day because we are heading into six weeks of complete insanity. Our next "back week" has a 50 ride on Saturday and an 18 mile run on Sunday. What kind of back week is that!??!
Time to shower.
M :)
Friday, March 18, 2011
It's Friday :(
Today's workout:
Off
It's Friday. Usually I'd be happy about that, but it's my last day of Spring Break! Oh well, summer is just around the corner! I got so much done today. It's been a good day. I think I'm all ready for school to start back up again on Monday. Clothes are ironed, groceries are bought, car is washed and tank is full.
I don't really have anything to blog about today. Except that I'm going to have to start double bagging my ice baths now for sure. The ice melted in four minutes yesterday. It was warm outside, my legs were warm, the tub was warm, and even the cold water wasn't really cold. But it still felt nice. Even though I was pretty warm! Haha!
Here's how I spent my afternoon. Sharing my sun chair with Caribia! A perfect Spring Break afternoon!
TTFN,
M :)
Off
It's Friday. Usually I'd be happy about that, but it's my last day of Spring Break! Oh well, summer is just around the corner! I got so much done today. It's been a good day. I think I'm all ready for school to start back up again on Monday. Clothes are ironed, groceries are bought, car is washed and tank is full.
I don't really have anything to blog about today. Except that I'm going to have to start double bagging my ice baths now for sure. The ice melted in four minutes yesterday. It was warm outside, my legs were warm, the tub was warm, and even the cold water wasn't really cold. But it still felt nice. Even though I was pretty warm! Haha!
Here's how I spent my afternoon. Sharing my sun chair with Caribia! A perfect Spring Break afternoon!
TTFN,
M :)
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Where the heck is the sun?
Today's workout:
Run-60 minutes (5.8 miles)
Weights-2 x 15
We worked out this morning for a change! (The change was in the time of day, not that fact that we worked out. There's always plenty of working out going on around here!) There's now way I'd find parking by K and W's this evening, and it was cool enough that both pups could run with us! We ran up to Central Market, did the accelerations, then did about 25 minutes of fartleks. On one of the three minute pick-ups Kristi was about ten feet in front of me and the pups. Caribia made it her goal to catch up with Kristi. And I made it my goal to keep up with Caribia. Not that I had much choice since we were attached at the hip, literally! Cheyenne even took up the chase and I felt like Fred Flintstone trying to start a car. It was actually kind of fun being dragged around at that crazy speed! After the fartleks we did the drills. Caribia and Cheyenne were tied up to a lamppost for both the accelerations and the drills, and Caribia took it upon herself to cheer me on. "Ruff! Ruff! Bark! Bark!" each time we'd pass by them. My biggest fans, I'm tellin' ya.
So instead of trying to find parking downtown at Club Macca I went to my regular gym. I've never done weights there before. The hand weights aren't as nice as Club Macca's. They are slippery around the grips. But since I was only using the eight pound weights it wasn't a big deal. The machines are all different and much older than Club Macca's. I knew something was off when I sat on the leg press and had it set on 70 lbs!
I'm wondering if it was measured in kg instead. Wayne, would that make sense? Is a kg more than a lb? I also did 60 lbs on the lat pull down which is crazy too.
The leg curl machine was really weird. It just didn't fit me correctly. I tried two different brands of machines and I couldn't get the back to a place where my ankles could still reach the ankle pad. I did the best I could on that machine. It was also funny because it has a big gap in the seat that makes it feel like you're sitting on a toilet. Here's that photo.
I did like the abductor and adductor machines a lot though. You can do both legs at the same time and it's a seated machine. Like this...
Then there's another machine that has the knee pads on the other side so it works the other muscles.
I was glad that the gym was relatively empty. There were a few people there with personal trainers. And there were a few nutbags too. I could barely keep from laughing while I was doing some of the free weight stuff. There was this dude using a machine where you pull weights out in front of you. It's one of those cable machines that you can turn into any kind of exercise. So he was leaning forward and pulling weights from behind him to in front of him. Each time he would pull the weights forward he'd screw up hie lips, nose, and eyes, into the funniest ugliest looking face and then blow out really exaggerated when he's release. then when he finished the set, he'd dramatically drop the handles, turn and walk away from the machine while shaking out his legs. Ridiculous. Just ridiculous.
I was also trying to figure out how I could take a photo of this guy wearing dickies and a collared shirt. He was doing the most crazy yoga poses I've ever seen. He was doing a complete backbend and while in the backbend, he would contort his neck so that the top of his head would practically touch his back. Then he would do these crazy headstandy things. He was really, really flexible, it was just a little weird that he would choose to do all his yoga moves right in the middle of the free weight section.
And the germs. Oh, the germs. I could just about see all the germs crawling all over the machines. It was grossing me out. At least I had a towel so I was sure to sit on that at all times. And they had the hand sanitizer stations so I used those a bunch too. And I showered as soon as I got home. Grossy Josey.
So now I am all set to enjoy a nice Spring Break afternoon of doing absolutely nothing, but there's no sun!!!! I just want to sit on the back deck and chill in the sun. Oh well. At least it's warm out. And I guess I can get some more work done on my stupid portfolio. This portfolio is really sucking the fun out of this Spring Break.
All right, time to go and proofread. Yuck.
M :)
Run-60 minutes (5.8 miles)
Weights-2 x 15
We worked out this morning for a change! (The change was in the time of day, not that fact that we worked out. There's always plenty of working out going on around here!) There's now way I'd find parking by K and W's this evening, and it was cool enough that both pups could run with us! We ran up to Central Market, did the accelerations, then did about 25 minutes of fartleks. On one of the three minute pick-ups Kristi was about ten feet in front of me and the pups. Caribia made it her goal to catch up with Kristi. And I made it my goal to keep up with Caribia. Not that I had much choice since we were attached at the hip, literally! Cheyenne even took up the chase and I felt like Fred Flintstone trying to start a car. It was actually kind of fun being dragged around at that crazy speed! After the fartleks we did the drills. Caribia and Cheyenne were tied up to a lamppost for both the accelerations and the drills, and Caribia took it upon herself to cheer me on. "Ruff! Ruff! Bark! Bark!" each time we'd pass by them. My biggest fans, I'm tellin' ya.
So instead of trying to find parking downtown at Club Macca I went to my regular gym. I've never done weights there before. The hand weights aren't as nice as Club Macca's. They are slippery around the grips. But since I was only using the eight pound weights it wasn't a big deal. The machines are all different and much older than Club Macca's. I knew something was off when I sat on the leg press and had it set on 70 lbs!
I'm wondering if it was measured in kg instead. Wayne, would that make sense? Is a kg more than a lb? I also did 60 lbs on the lat pull down which is crazy too.
The leg curl machine was really weird. It just didn't fit me correctly. I tried two different brands of machines and I couldn't get the back to a place where my ankles could still reach the ankle pad. I did the best I could on that machine. It was also funny because it has a big gap in the seat that makes it feel like you're sitting on a toilet. Here's that photo.
Very strange.
I did like the abductor and adductor machines a lot though. You can do both legs at the same time and it's a seated machine. Like this...
Then there's another machine that has the knee pads on the other side so it works the other muscles.
I was glad that the gym was relatively empty. There were a few people there with personal trainers. And there were a few nutbags too. I could barely keep from laughing while I was doing some of the free weight stuff. There was this dude using a machine where you pull weights out in front of you. It's one of those cable machines that you can turn into any kind of exercise. So he was leaning forward and pulling weights from behind him to in front of him. Each time he would pull the weights forward he'd screw up hie lips, nose, and eyes, into the funniest ugliest looking face and then blow out really exaggerated when he's release. then when he finished the set, he'd dramatically drop the handles, turn and walk away from the machine while shaking out his legs. Ridiculous. Just ridiculous.
I was also trying to figure out how I could take a photo of this guy wearing dickies and a collared shirt. He was doing the most crazy yoga poses I've ever seen. He was doing a complete backbend and while in the backbend, he would contort his neck so that the top of his head would practically touch his back. Then he would do these crazy headstandy things. He was really, really flexible, it was just a little weird that he would choose to do all his yoga moves right in the middle of the free weight section.
And the germs. Oh, the germs. I could just about see all the germs crawling all over the machines. It was grossing me out. At least I had a towel so I was sure to sit on that at all times. And they had the hand sanitizer stations so I used those a bunch too. And I showered as soon as I got home. Grossy Josey.
So now I am all set to enjoy a nice Spring Break afternoon of doing absolutely nothing, but there's no sun!!!! I just want to sit on the back deck and chill in the sun. Oh well. At least it's warm out. And I guess I can get some more work done on my stupid portfolio. This portfolio is really sucking the fun out of this Spring Break.
All right, time to go and proofread. Yuck.
M :)
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Kristi has a tick, and I don't mean an involuntary muscle spasm.
Today's workout:
Swim-90 minutes (2.4 miles)
Bike-60 minutes (14 miles)
I woke up this morning and my back was killing me! It had to be from 90 pounds of extra weight I had on the hike yesterday-pulling on my waist for three hours. I figured it was nothing a couple aleve and a swim couldn't cure. And sure enough, it felt fine within a couple hours.
I wasn't the only one with an ailment from the hike. Poor Bella had an allergic reaction to something and ended up with little scabby bites on her head! She went to the vet and got a shot and some special shampoo which should make her all better.
And Kristi ended up with a tick! It hitched a ride back to the city in her scalp and she just found it tonight! I told her that Wayne should make sure that its head is out of her scalp or else it will grow a new body.
McKinney Roughs sure was rough on us! (Except Carib and Bug ended up scott free!)
I went to the gym this morning intending to swim for only 60 minutes. But on my way there I started thinking about the Open Water Swim that is less than three weeks away and thought that I'd like to practice swimming the entire distance as much as possible. So I told myself that if I was having a crappy swim at 60 minutes then I'd get out, but that if I felt ok, I'd go the full 90 minutes. Well, I got in a groove and just kept going. I was going really slowly and comfortably, and I still swim the whole 2.4 miles in the 90 minutes. Yea! I had my very own wave maker today because Michael Phelps was back again. It's really good practice for the actual event swim.
So Kristi said to me, "I know you don't want to, and I know we don't have to, but do you want to ride?" I told her I'm not Wayne and that her powers of persuasion won't work on me. So I agreed to ride fourteen miles.
The ride was nice and chill, just the regular fourteen mile loop. It wasn't as sunny as I was hoping it would be, but it was still a nice temperature.
I felt pretty good today besides the back pain early on. I finally slept really well last night. I don't know if it's because I'm in vacation mode or because of the Lavender Vanilla scented aromatherapy hand lotion I used before bed. But in any case, I slept through the night for the first time in weeks. It's amazing what a good night's sleep can do.
And just because she's so darn cute, here's a pic of Cheyenne licking the bottom of a yogurt container. Her eyes get cross eyed and her ear flips back. She's just so adorable. And then after she finishes, she has some yogurt on her snout which Caribia then licks off! It's so cute!
I am so full right now. I feel like I'm eating more this week than normal, which is odd since it's a back week. It's like my body is playing catch up this week from not eating enough during the crazy busy weeks.
I'm definitely going to ice bath tomorrow. I have some aches and pains in my shins and the ice baths really help. Hopefully it'll be sunny tomorrow, I need to work on even-ing out this horrible triathlon tan I'm developing!
Well, that's about it for today! Another great Spring Break day!
M :)
Swim-90 minutes (2.4 miles)
Bike-60 minutes (14 miles)
I woke up this morning and my back was killing me! It had to be from 90 pounds of extra weight I had on the hike yesterday-pulling on my waist for three hours. I figured it was nothing a couple aleve and a swim couldn't cure. And sure enough, it felt fine within a couple hours.
I wasn't the only one with an ailment from the hike. Poor Bella had an allergic reaction to something and ended up with little scabby bites on her head! She went to the vet and got a shot and some special shampoo which should make her all better.
And Kristi ended up with a tick! It hitched a ride back to the city in her scalp and she just found it tonight! I told her that Wayne should make sure that its head is out of her scalp or else it will grow a new body.
McKinney Roughs sure was rough on us! (Except Carib and Bug ended up scott free!)
I went to the gym this morning intending to swim for only 60 minutes. But on my way there I started thinking about the Open Water Swim that is less than three weeks away and thought that I'd like to practice swimming the entire distance as much as possible. So I told myself that if I was having a crappy swim at 60 minutes then I'd get out, but that if I felt ok, I'd go the full 90 minutes. Well, I got in a groove and just kept going. I was going really slowly and comfortably, and I still swim the whole 2.4 miles in the 90 minutes. Yea! I had my very own wave maker today because Michael Phelps was back again. It's really good practice for the actual event swim.
So Kristi said to me, "I know you don't want to, and I know we don't have to, but do you want to ride?" I told her I'm not Wayne and that her powers of persuasion won't work on me. So I agreed to ride fourteen miles.
The ride was nice and chill, just the regular fourteen mile loop. It wasn't as sunny as I was hoping it would be, but it was still a nice temperature.
I felt pretty good today besides the back pain early on. I finally slept really well last night. I don't know if it's because I'm in vacation mode or because of the Lavender Vanilla scented aromatherapy hand lotion I used before bed. But in any case, I slept through the night for the first time in weeks. It's amazing what a good night's sleep can do.
And just because she's so darn cute, here's a pic of Cheyenne licking the bottom of a yogurt container. Her eyes get cross eyed and her ear flips back. She's just so adorable. And then after she finishes, she has some yogurt on her snout which Caribia then licks off! It's so cute!
I am so full right now. I feel like I'm eating more this week than normal, which is odd since it's a back week. It's like my body is playing catch up this week from not eating enough during the crazy busy weeks.
I'm definitely going to ice bath tomorrow. I have some aches and pains in my shins and the ice baths really help. Hopefully it'll be sunny tomorrow, I need to work on even-ing out this horrible triathlon tan I'm developing!
Well, that's about it for today! Another great Spring Break day!
M :)
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Gotta love the back week!
Today's workout:
Bike-70 minutes on the trainer
Run-15-20 minutes
I love the back week. From a shortened swim yesterday to an easy-peasy trainer workout tonight, this is a great week! The trainer workout tonight was really confusing. It said to "descend from a HR 3-4" and we all had different interpretations for what it meant. So I took it to mean that I should "ascend the stairs" to get a powerbar and then "descend the stairs" back to the trainer, while the others were still spinning! Hahahaha! What a chill week! So I looked up what it meant, which I probably should have done before the workout, but I think we did the right thing naturally. Here's the definition:
"What does "descending" mean?
In a set with a given number of repititions, you may be asked to "descend" the set from beginning to end. To descend the set means to get progressively faster with each repeat until you are going as fast as you can (or as fast as is required) on the final repeat of the set. Generally, the first repeat is done at a moderate speed so you don't begin too fast and run out of steam before the end of the set. Also, it is best to try to shave off the same amount of time from one repeat to the next, so that your progression throughout the set is both gradual and consistent."
The weather was great today, about 70 something for the workout. The run was nice too. We only had to run 15-20 minutes in HR 1. Quite a difference from last week's craziness! And the pups came on the run too. They were exhausted from the hike today. And that brings me to the best part of the day!
Last night I told the girls that we were going hiking with their aunt and cousin today. They were so excited they woke up extra early this morning and started singing their cute little whiney songs. We packed up a bag with snacks and water, and loaded up the car with towels in case they went for a swim. We drove downtown and picked up Kristi and Bella, the the five of us drove out to McKinney Ruffs Park. (I mean McKinney Roughs, but the pups like the first name better....) We hiked for three hours. Here are some of the awesome photos from the wonderful hike.
Bike-70 minutes on the trainer
Run-15-20 minutes
I love the back week. From a shortened swim yesterday to an easy-peasy trainer workout tonight, this is a great week! The trainer workout tonight was really confusing. It said to "descend from a HR 3-4" and we all had different interpretations for what it meant. So I took it to mean that I should "ascend the stairs" to get a powerbar and then "descend the stairs" back to the trainer, while the others were still spinning! Hahahaha! What a chill week! So I looked up what it meant, which I probably should have done before the workout, but I think we did the right thing naturally. Here's the definition:
"What does "descending" mean?
In a set with a given number of repititions, you may be asked to "descend" the set from beginning to end. To descend the set means to get progressively faster with each repeat until you are going as fast as you can (or as fast as is required) on the final repeat of the set. Generally, the first repeat is done at a moderate speed so you don't begin too fast and run out of steam before the end of the set. Also, it is best to try to shave off the same amount of time from one repeat to the next, so that your progression throughout the set is both gradual and consistent."
The weather was great today, about 70 something for the workout. The run was nice too. We only had to run 15-20 minutes in HR 1. Quite a difference from last week's craziness! And the pups came on the run too. They were exhausted from the hike today. And that brings me to the best part of the day!
Last night I told the girls that we were going hiking with their aunt and cousin today. They were so excited they woke up extra early this morning and started singing their cute little whiney songs. We packed up a bag with snacks and water, and loaded up the car with towels in case they went for a swim. We drove downtown and picked up Kristi and Bella, the the five of us drove out to McKinney Ruffs Park. (I mean McKinney Roughs, but the pups like the first name better....) We hiked for three hours. Here are some of the awesome photos from the wonderful hike.
This was near the start of the hike. Notice how far Bella is sitting from her cousin Caribia who likes to eat small children.
I wish the pups were looking at the camera!
Bella and her mama by the river.
It was so green and lush by the river. When we hiked down into the valley everything was suddenly bright green! (The photo doesn't do it justice.)
A nice little area on the river.
Cheyenne and Caribia wanted to get in the water so badly, but it was pretty gross around the little island we were on and the current in the river was pretty strong!
This is the view as we were hiking back out of the valley.
The view from the top of the hill.
Cheyenne posing in front of the season's first bluebonnet. It's pretty hard to see the bluebonnet in the photo. It's even with her right eye, almost smack dab in the middle of the photo.
And would you believe this last photo.....
Caribia and Bella gave each other kisses! And Caribia wasn't just having a little appetizer, her fur wasn't even ruffled and her tail was even wagging!!! I think they're going to be friends! Yea!!!!
The hike was great. It's unbelievable how much energy little Bella has! For such a small dog she can really keep up! She kept up with Bug and Carib no problem, in fact, Bella was walking right up front next to them most of the time! It was funny to watch Bella's little legs go four times as fast to keep up with Carib and Bella's more casual gait.
There were a couple parts of the trail that were kind of steep, either up or down. Kristi was a little off balance because Bella was pulling her along. Bella's four pounds of extra weight threw off Kristi's balance. (And don't get me started about Kristi's balance to begin with...heehee!) I told her that I'd trade Bella's four pounds for the 90 pounds I had pulling me along! It was good training for my back and knee strength today!
I love to hike! I was telling Kristi all about the hikes that Chris and I have done, and in my mind I was already trying to figure out plans for another great hiking trip! My bucket list has two hikes on it. I really want to hike the Grand Canyon from rim to rim. I want to start at the north rim, hike half-way down and camp, then hike to the bottom and camp for a night, then hike half-way up and camp, then the rest of the way up and get a hotel room. And a delicious muffin and bowl of oatmeal from the Bright Angel Lodge. We've done the whole thing before, but only to camp at the bottom and then out the next day.
My other big bucket list hike is to hike the Cinqua Terre in Italy. Here are some photos from google images.
It's five towns along the north-west coast of Italy, each connected by a hiking trail. You hike from one town to the next and spend the day/evening in that town. Here's a description of the Cinque Terre from wikipedia. Maybe one day I'll make it there!
A walking trail, known as Sentiero Azzurro ("Light Blue Trail"), connects the five villages. The trail from Riomaggiore to Manarola is called the Via Dell'Amore ("Love Walk") and is wheelchair-friendly. The stretch from Manarola to Corniglia is the easiest to hike, although the main trail into Corniglia finishes with a climb of 368 stairs. The trail from Corniglia to Vernazza is steep at certain places. The trail from Vernazza to Monterosso is by far the steepest. It winds through olive orchards and vineyards and is rough in places, but offers the best view of the bay and the spectacular approaches to both Monterosso and Vernazza. The difference in height for the whole Sentiero Azzurro is more than 600 meters and the length is more than 10 km. It takes approximately 5 hours to walk it.
There are fees to use the more popular walking trails, but the less frequently traveled (and most arduous) are free of charge. You can purchase a pass that includes access to the paths as well as unlimited train trips between Riomaggiore and Monterosso. There is also a pass with an additional cost to include the ferries as well. These are great options if you are planning to spend the day between all of the towns. All of the trails are relatively narrow and are usually crowded in high tourist season. Experienced travelers know that short rains will clear the trails, and will jump back on the path after one has passed. The Park has trails that can take hikers up into the steep hills. Casual travelers should look at one of the park maps, which will give some idea of how difficult a trail is to travel. Although more challenging and strenuous, these high paths offer different sights from the main trail.
All the villages have small hotels or inns and there are many bed and breakfasts throughout the area, many with beautiful views of the Mediterranean and the surrounding hills. There are youth hostels located throughout the area. Also, many small apartment owners in some of the villages have banded together and offer use of their apartments through small, locally-owned hospitality businesses. The quality of these accommodations varies greatly, from great to something less than ideal for some. Finding an available room in the height of the tourist season can be virtually impossible in several of the towns, and because cars are not allowed, be prepared to drag your bags for miles over uneven stone streets, up steep inclines, and up staircases in the sweltering summer heat.
Someday! But for now, I'll just dream of completing the Ironman!
M :)
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