So anyway, I'm not proud of my results there on the race itself, but....I guess I will blame the heat. My friend's didnt have trouble in the hot weather, but I race in the cold. For example, tonight it's 58 degrees.
Did my first open water swim last night. It was scary at first, and also cold, 58 again. BRR.
The water was 68, which was quite pleasant, and we just swam about 1/2 a mile. One goes out into the lake, swims around a big yellow duckie and then comes back. The duck doesn't seem to have a name, but you can hold on to him if you get tired, as long as you don't advance your position. You can also backfloat or doggie paddle or side stroke or whatever, as long as you get there. My freestyle needs a bit of adjustment for open water swim as evidenced by my first breath of air turning into a giant breath of water from all the splashing. I panicked and thought I was going to die until Tina made me calm down.
"Relax," she said. "breathe in. You're ok."
"I know I'm ok, I just can't believe I freaked out like that. I never freak out. I have been swimming in open water my whole life."
"But this is different."
I kept laughing.
It is different, though.... there's 70 other people wanting to swim as fast as they can, passing you, and suddenly you realize that all of your swimming here is....different. Tina promises me that 90% of the people who try this freak out their first time. It was really quite funny that I was one of them.
Tonight I called the cops on someone for the first time in my time in Minnesota. Crazy dude was pushing his girlfriend around in public. Now I'm scared to walk home alone and I'm also scared for that woman.
I know you can't solve all of the domestic violence and abuse situations in the world. I know police intervention makes them a lot worse half of the time. But boy is it disgusting to stand by and do nothing.
In the end, I can remember one person standing up for me and I desperately, pleadingly talked them out of it. It would have made things worse, much worse--but I also wonder and look around at my family and wonder why they didn't step in sooner. Did they know it would have made things worse or were they cowards? Or did they simply not know, was it simply that close to the surface?
Ironically, I was thinking of these things independently of my call to the police today. Perhaps it was just a weird luck that I'd witness something that disgusting on the way home. Perhaps that man will think twice before he pushes his girlfriend and kid around. Perhaps he stopped screaming at some point.
But I doubt it.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Taper: Double begin
Yeah, ok. I really really am tapering now.
This week, all I did was play Ultimate Frisbee, kickball, did a spin class where I didn't gear up at all for any of the hills and a pretty easy morning class today.
So yeah, ready for this race.
It's going to be 86 degrees outside at a minimum during the race, so I am realizing now that my hopes and dreams of a short time are less likely--it will just depend on how well I hope up under the heat. Most of the training was in colder weather, so it will be hard to fight this heat.
I have my lucky shirt, my lucky shorts, my forerunner, spibelt, socks, mostly-trusty running shoes... and...well, that's it.
After this race, there are 42oz beers, a hot tub and some of our nicest friends.
This week, all I did was play Ultimate Frisbee, kickball, did a spin class where I didn't gear up at all for any of the hills and a pretty easy morning class today.
So yeah, ready for this race.
It's going to be 86 degrees outside at a minimum during the race, so I am realizing now that my hopes and dreams of a short time are less likely--it will just depend on how well I hope up under the heat. Most of the training was in colder weather, so it will be hard to fight this heat.
I have my lucky shirt, my lucky shorts, my forerunner, spibelt, socks, mostly-trusty running shoes... and...well, that's it.
After this race, there are 42oz beers, a hot tub and some of our nicest friends.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Inconclusive Results
I wish my body would be scientific. I wish it would make sense.
Friday night: Happy HOUR --had one beer, had some cheese, had some fruit, whatever. Walked a bunch with Caroline, walked the dog. Ate one cupcake. Woke up weighing 3 lbs heavier than normal. I figured it was because I had beer and cupcakes.
Saturday night: Had another beer. Did a bunch of walking at art a whirl, ate some fattening German food, had a huge ice cream sundae with Dan's extended family visiting from out of town. Woke up 3 lbs lighter.
Hey, I'm glad I weigh less today but I am pretty sure I had more calories yesterday than I did on Friday, so what gives?
Friday night: Happy HOUR --had one beer, had some cheese, had some fruit, whatever. Walked a bunch with Caroline, walked the dog. Ate one cupcake. Woke up weighing 3 lbs heavier than normal. I figured it was because I had beer and cupcakes.
Saturday night: Had another beer. Did a bunch of walking at art a whirl, ate some fattening German food, had a huge ice cream sundae with Dan's extended family visiting from out of town. Woke up 3 lbs lighter.
Hey, I'm glad I weigh less today but I am pretty sure I had more calories yesterday than I did on Friday, so what gives?
Friday, May 18, 2012
Let the taper begin
One week until the race for the half marathon. Right now, I'd like to say that I feel that I've done enough training. But that's probably not the case, there's always MORE training to do. I could have run more than I did, I guess, or did more tempo runs.
But I think I've trained more for this race than I have for the marathon or the half marathon in 2008. Let's be happy with that, my little chicken.
This week's workouts in review:
Monday AM: Skipped the two fitness classes I had planned for the morning. Sorry, waking up for work at 515 AM is just too damned early.
Went to Somsen Circuit when I was done. Ran for one mile after the Somsen. Walked home for 2.8 miles, then walked around Lake Calhoun with Dan for another 5.25 miles. Had a mid-day massage as a birthday present from my office.
Tuesday: .My first Ultimate Frisbee game. Woooohoooooo. Our team is called Iron Man. I was pretty nervous about this game. I really still have no idea what I'm doing in the game, but the best thing to do is run around and defend the opponent. I was happy that I could keep up with the pace of the other girls running for most of the game. We had no subs, so I had to play the whole time. It was a fun workout--a lot more field sprinting than I'm used to, but that's really good for me.
Wednesday: Another rest day. My quads did not recover from the squats on Monday. In fact, my legs didn't work well at all. I skipped my Wednesday class, in fact. :( All I did was walk the dog for a mile or so.
Thursday: I was 15 minutes late to the Thursday class that just started. Guess what we were scheduled to do? more squats. I did them and my legs squeaked like baby rabbits but I pretended not to notice.
Thursday, I left work a little early to take care of some very small carpet installations and came back to spin just in time. It was a pretty good class--and then I went straight into the running from the bike. This is really good for your leg training during a triathalon and also really hard when you want to maintain race pace. Yowzah. Then I lifted weights for awhile & came home for a walk.
Friday: I drank beer and had cupcakes. This was a bad idea but also a good idea.
The taper should start now but I really want to swim tomorrow. It's going to be 90 here.
But I think I've trained more for this race than I have for the marathon or the half marathon in 2008. Let's be happy with that, my little chicken.
This week's workouts in review:
Monday AM: Skipped the two fitness classes I had planned for the morning. Sorry, waking up for work at 515 AM is just too damned early.
Went to Somsen Circuit when I was done. Ran for one mile after the Somsen. Walked home for 2.8 miles, then walked around Lake Calhoun with Dan for another 5.25 miles. Had a mid-day massage as a birthday present from my office.
Tuesday: .My first Ultimate Frisbee game. Woooohoooooo. Our team is called Iron Man. I was pretty nervous about this game. I really still have no idea what I'm doing in the game, but the best thing to do is run around and defend the opponent. I was happy that I could keep up with the pace of the other girls running for most of the game. We had no subs, so I had to play the whole time. It was a fun workout--a lot more field sprinting than I'm used to, but that's really good for me.
Wednesday: Another rest day. My quads did not recover from the squats on Monday. In fact, my legs didn't work well at all. I skipped my Wednesday class, in fact. :( All I did was walk the dog for a mile or so.
Thursday: I was 15 minutes late to the Thursday class that just started. Guess what we were scheduled to do? more squats. I did them and my legs squeaked like baby rabbits but I pretended not to notice.
Thursday, I left work a little early to take care of some very small carpet installations and came back to spin just in time. It was a pretty good class--and then I went straight into the running from the bike. This is really good for your leg training during a triathalon and also really hard when you want to maintain race pace. Yowzah. Then I lifted weights for awhile & came home for a walk.
Friday: I drank beer and had cupcakes. This was a bad idea but also a good idea.
The taper should start now but I really want to swim tomorrow. It's going to be 90 here.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Back to the real world
Yes, yes, back to reality now. The party is over. The house is 90% clean after the party. I gained 4 lbs because I didn't skip alcohol or desserts this week. But before Dan and I start back up with life the way it used to be, I will pause and remember the last week. Before you find me too self-indulgent (which I admit to being), just remember that you only turn 30 once.
On MOnday, life was normal. I went to the gym and came home after work instead of staying @ work late.
On Tuesday, we went to Trivia against the Bill Paxtons. Our team won! I am of little help in the categories of obscure movies from the early 1990s, which seemed to be a theme this week, but it was still a good time. I had my pre-birthday dessert and got a free beer. We even won without Bartles, our genius trivia teammate.
WEDNESDAY WAS MY BIRTHDAY! My coworker gave me a 30 Mug and 5 different people wanted to have lunch together. I felt special all day long, just like I did when I was 10 years old. And Dan was the sweetest man in the world, who drove me to the 6 AM session and then picked me up for sushi groupon. After a full table of trivia friends, we were happy to be alone together on a nice date. The waitress (is it still OK to call people waitresses instead of servers?) said we were the only couple to eat all the food. I said that made us sound fat and she said it meant we were adventurous with the sashimi.
Thursday: Had my teeth cleaned and had some sad news about tooth #8--root canal-ed after my bike accident in 05/06, it needs a replacement filling because all fillings only last about 5-7 years. Nothing I did wrong, but every time we go in there, it creates less and less tooth structure and eventually will have to be crowned--and after a few crowns, I might lose the tooth entirely. This was sad but necessary news. Gum and tissue wise, my teeth are fine with no cavities. This was my last day of the work week. I popped my birthday balloons, thanked my friends and started to clean the house for the party.
FRIDAY! I took Friday off for some carpet installation, which didn't quite pan out because I was back at the dentist having the tooth drilled when the installer wanted to come. I wasn't going to drive back from Burnsville twice, so I just went to MOA while I waited for Dan to finish work at noon. Bought two new work-out shirts, a jogging hat and some chacos. Bought Dan some tshirts, one of which says RUNNING SUCKS, which I think he might laugh about. :)
Dan and I decided to try out the sandals for our 5 mile walk around Calhoun.
BIG MISTAKE! Sandals caused immediate blisters and I couldn't finish the 5 miles. By mile 2, I'd taken off the shoes, by mile 3 had placed them back on, stopped to rest on mile 4 and by mile 4.5, Dan walked home and picked me up with the car. They seriously hurt that badly. Chacos are going back to the store. I am giving up on all sandals outside of the Columbia kind that I love. I am NEVER deviating from the shoes I love again, my feet (and yours) don't deserve that!
SATURDAY WAS THE PARTY. Dan and I seriously worked from 8 AM--7 PM getting things ready, with a 3 PM lunch break with Holly, who graciously drove up for the weekend. It was great to see her and she's always so spunky. Neither a wallflower or a doormat, which is good for me to experience, since I can be both. We partied like it was 1999. Fireworks, an obstacle course, TONS of liquor, candles, a pinata, people with kids, people without them and lots of drunken reunion times. It was great--and we are so greatful/lucky/blessed to be friends with everyone up here. Viva Minneapolis life.
I couldn't have really asked for a better night. Also, I am in love with little Aurora. :)
Also, friends, have some parties, so I can bring all of this booze back to YOUR parties.
Wasn't hungover at all, in the end, which is amazing--I guess I spaced it out enough or got lucky.
On MOnday, life was normal. I went to the gym and came home after work instead of staying @ work late.
On Tuesday, we went to Trivia against the Bill Paxtons. Our team won! I am of little help in the categories of obscure movies from the early 1990s, which seemed to be a theme this week, but it was still a good time. I had my pre-birthday dessert and got a free beer. We even won without Bartles, our genius trivia teammate.
WEDNESDAY WAS MY BIRTHDAY! My coworker gave me a 30 Mug and 5 different people wanted to have lunch together. I felt special all day long, just like I did when I was 10 years old. And Dan was the sweetest man in the world, who drove me to the 6 AM session and then picked me up for sushi groupon. After a full table of trivia friends, we were happy to be alone together on a nice date. The waitress (is it still OK to call people waitresses instead of servers?) said we were the only couple to eat all the food. I said that made us sound fat and she said it meant we were adventurous with the sashimi.
Thursday: Had my teeth cleaned and had some sad news about tooth #8--root canal-ed after my bike accident in 05/06, it needs a replacement filling because all fillings only last about 5-7 years. Nothing I did wrong, but every time we go in there, it creates less and less tooth structure and eventually will have to be crowned--and after a few crowns, I might lose the tooth entirely. This was sad but necessary news. Gum and tissue wise, my teeth are fine with no cavities. This was my last day of the work week. I popped my birthday balloons, thanked my friends and started to clean the house for the party.
FRIDAY! I took Friday off for some carpet installation, which didn't quite pan out because I was back at the dentist having the tooth drilled when the installer wanted to come. I wasn't going to drive back from Burnsville twice, so I just went to MOA while I waited for Dan to finish work at noon. Bought two new work-out shirts, a jogging hat and some chacos. Bought Dan some tshirts, one of which says RUNNING SUCKS, which I think he might laugh about. :)
Dan and I decided to try out the sandals for our 5 mile walk around Calhoun.
BIG MISTAKE! Sandals caused immediate blisters and I couldn't finish the 5 miles. By mile 2, I'd taken off the shoes, by mile 3 had placed them back on, stopped to rest on mile 4 and by mile 4.5, Dan walked home and picked me up with the car. They seriously hurt that badly. Chacos are going back to the store. I am giving up on all sandals outside of the Columbia kind that I love. I am NEVER deviating from the shoes I love again, my feet (and yours) don't deserve that!
SATURDAY WAS THE PARTY. Dan and I seriously worked from 8 AM--7 PM getting things ready, with a 3 PM lunch break with Holly, who graciously drove up for the weekend. It was great to see her and she's always so spunky. Neither a wallflower or a doormat, which is good for me to experience, since I can be both. We partied like it was 1999. Fireworks, an obstacle course, TONS of liquor, candles, a pinata, people with kids, people without them and lots of drunken reunion times. It was great--and we are so greatful/lucky/blessed to be friends with everyone up here. Viva Minneapolis life.
I couldn't have really asked for a better night. Also, I am in love with little Aurora. :)
Also, friends, have some parties, so I can bring all of this booze back to YOUR parties.
Wasn't hungover at all, in the end, which is amazing--I guess I spaced it out enough or got lucky.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
30 NOW
I am now 30 years old and 1 day.
And I went to work on my birthday, like a grown-up. Because there's really no point in staying home when all of your friends are at work, right? Plus I could never have skipped my Wednesday AM personal training sessions at the gym, starting at 6:15 AM.
Dan and I got up early so I could get to the gym (express bus doesn't run until 7) and he gave me my present: A purple hot wheels car.
Except that it really means that my new present is going to be a new car.
I'm torn on this! I really, really, really miss having a second car, but I know it would be a huge waste because I'd drive to work when I shouldn't and spend almost as much on the car payment to park downtown.
However, it would mean no more #18 bus in the winter, with my gym bag, when I'm sweaty. And I'd have so much more freedom every other day.
I shall hold my thoughts on the car until we see if Dan gets a new job--and if that new job is downtown.
Hope I'll know something soon, fingers crossed.
And I went to work on my birthday, like a grown-up. Because there's really no point in staying home when all of your friends are at work, right? Plus I could never have skipped my Wednesday AM personal training sessions at the gym, starting at 6:15 AM.
Dan and I got up early so I could get to the gym (express bus doesn't run until 7) and he gave me my present: A purple hot wheels car.
Except that it really means that my new present is going to be a new car.
I'm torn on this! I really, really, really miss having a second car, but I know it would be a huge waste because I'd drive to work when I shouldn't and spend almost as much on the car payment to park downtown.
However, it would mean no more #18 bus in the winter, with my gym bag, when I'm sweaty. And I'd have so much more freedom every other day.
I shall hold my thoughts on the car until we see if Dan gets a new job--and if that new job is downtown.
Hope I'll know something soon, fingers crossed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)