Him Training Week #5: Feelin' alive!!

Holla atcha!  What?  I need some new ways to say hello :-)  Welcome to Monday!  How's your day going?  Mine...could not be better.  Not because it's

Haha!

gorgeous here or the countdown to my vacation is....ohh.....5 days!! (thought hose things certainly help on a Monday!) but, MORE IMPORTANTLY, my bestest friend, Rachael, had her first baby this afternoon...a gorgeous baby girl!  (11:58 am, 6 pounds, 14oz of cuteness!)  Awaiting more details, but congrats to Rachael and Don for bringing a new ladybug into our world!

Now, onto lesser important things, but hey, I suppose thats all relative, right?  Right.  I wrapped up training week #5 yesterday, and damn, do I feel good.  Let's take a look!

Week #5:

Swim yardage: 4900(2 swims)

Bike Miles: 72 miles ( 2 rides)

Run miles: 28 ( 3 runs)
Strength: 2 full body workout, 3 stand alone abs.

Week Low: Hmmm....my swim, maybe?  Finding it hard to hold onto the speed  I had last year, but that's obviously due to the fact that I've been slackin' on speed work and swimming LSD.  Note to self-incorporate more speed work and lay off the drugs (kidding!  LSD= long slow distance if you didn't know)
Week High(s!): 10 mile run that felt great, 30 mile tempo ride (could have gone much further but ran out of time instead of energy!) and my tempo run where I nailed it hard core!

Clearly, I feel pretty good about this week!  I'm not in Ironman or PR shape, but I didn't want to dire during any of my workouts, and that's great to me.  This week will be a challenge-I have 5 days to fit in 7 days worth of workouts, so I'm expecting some early mornings and two a days.  From Saturday (21) to Saturday (28) it's a big rest week-odd to have two weekends (almost) but for Jamaica...I guess I'll suffer :-)  I'm fully planning on activity while I'm gone, but it's most definitely a rest week.

Speaking of which....I'll have a few blog posts up while I'm gone (pre written, of course!) but if anyone has a burning desire to throw out their wisdom (please, this blog could use some class!)  shoot me an email if you'd like to write a guest post-I would be honored to share your thoughts on my blog!

RPG

One last note....need a Monday LOLz?  Check this bad guy out!  If I ever look like that at the end of a race (well, in girl form)  or....even 1 mile in....I will kiss the ground. Sorry ladies, apparently he's taken!  I sort of hate you, ridiculously photogenic guy.  But you're also sort of adorable, too! :-)

The Baconator

Happy Sunday, folks!  I know, it's strange to see me blogging on Sunday, but, rest assured...it'll be quick.  I've got some bad TV to watch and coupons to clip, so here goes the whirlwind post :-) (such a wild woman, I know)
This post is brought to you by BACON.  No, Pam, not your favorite kind....I'm talkin another kinda meat.
Specifically, the famous kind.
Kevin Bacon!
Th hubster and I were eating brunch this morning (sadly, no bacon was involved) and reading the paper, when I stumbled upon this:

Public Service Announcement:  Make a Difference Day rocks.  And, of course, it's super cool that Kevin Bacon is getting involved in the effort.  But the best part is....the title "Six degrees of Service".  Freaking awesome journalism, hitting the 25-40 crowd right there.  Why's that, you ask?
Have you NEVER played the Kevin Bacon game?
Best road trip game, drinking game, boring, waiting in line anytime kind of game-
The six degrees of Kevin Bacon! Back in 1994, Kevin Bacon stated in an interview that he's pretty much worked with every actor/actress ever.  And, OF COURSE, we have to turn that statement into a party trick, right?  Right!
 The theory is....you can relate any actor or actress to Kevin Bacon within six degrees.  For example...let's pick one of my hotties.
Joshua Jackson.
He was in Mighty Ducks with Emilio Estevez (1), who was in The Breakfast Club with  Molly Ringwald (2), who was in Sixteen Candles with Joan Cusack. (3), who was in Runaway Bride with Julia Roberts (4) who was in Flatliners with Kevin Bacon.  (5).
After you've established the degree of Bacon involved (har har), you challenge the next person.  Awesome game.  Not gonna sugar coat it, the hubster and I play this game quite a bit....trying to fall asleep, he'll challenge some random actress like "Susan Sarandon" and I've gotta figure it out
(Susan Sarandon was in The Client with Anthony Edwards (1) who was in Top Gun with Tom Cruise (2) who was in a Few Good Men with Kevin Bacon (3).  (Actually, he just gave me that one....took me about 5 minutes to figure it out!!)
Madding.  But highly amusing.  C'mon, you know you wanna play it!
In other news, I did a 10 mile run today.  Easiest 10 miles I've ever done.  No lie.  Did I hit my goal pace?  Nah, I was a few seconds off.  But who cares?  I played in the rain for almost an hour and a half.  Life is good!
The Workout
Distance:  10.02 miles
Time:  1:28:07
Pace"  8"49/mile
Humid, but rock back sound track and a glorious run!  Mud puddles are where it's at!
And just in case you need a bit more bacon in life, check this buddy out:

Either you love me or you just had a heart attack.  Or maybe a bit of both :-)
Have a wonderful Sunday eve....enjoy what's left of the weekend.  And enjoy The Kevin Bacon game...please don't hurt me!!

New Kid on the Block

We did it!  We bought a car!!It took 5 hours and a drive about an hour out of our way, but it was super well worth it.  2012 Chevy Equinox, all the bells and whistles, On Star, Sirus, and all the bells and whistles.....4k below sticker price, complete with oil changes.
Meet Vanessa:

Of course, before we could drive off with our new baby...there was alotta paperwork!

And car instruction (blue tooth syncing, On Star installation, fancy schmancy!)

And some REALLY big check and credit card forking over (too painful for a picture, lol)

Ready to rock on!

To celebrate our newfound car payment (joy!) Dad G.  took us out to lunch.  Yummmmm.....burgers!

Of course, he played it safe and had something healthy. I hear he's watching his figure.

What, got a hot date later?

Nahhhh...just kidding (about the salad....the sly devil!)  He got a big ole burger n fries, too!

Meanwhile, I tried to feed the hubster some pickles.

Do I look like I want a pickle? (Bwahahahaha)

All in all, a successful day! I'll just try hard not to think about that car payment :-P We made it home in one piece and parked Vanessa in the garage next to Mr. Tibbs...who will hopefully be sold in a week or two (anyone want to flip a car for cheap, email me!) So strange to know we won't be driving that car anymore.....11 years and 160,000 miles-the hubsters and my first date, our first tri, when we got engaged....Mr. Tibbs played a part in all of that. Bon voyage, ole friend!

Whew, what a day!  Wrapped up with a 30 mile tempo ride and a late dinner, now it's time for some netflix and visiting with Mama TFB :-)  Busy, happy, crazy day!
How's your weekend going?

Tempo Insanity

Well, today was the day...for the big challenge of the week. What big challenge?
Do the effin tempo run.
I hate tempo runs.
They aren't enjoyable (long runs-easy pace and chill).  They aren't quick speed bursts with breathing time in the middle (speed work).
They just....suck.  25-50 minutes of running at an uncomfortable speed?  Bite me.

Oh, you want a PR, Rae?
Well then you have to learn to run FASTER.
Definition of Insanity-Doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.
Insanity running:  going at the same speed over and over again, expecting to get faster.
Point taken :-)
So, during lunch, I headed out into the sunshine for 4 tempo miles.
This time I tried something different.
I warmed up for a mile. 
Now, I know you think I'm silly.  If you're a runner, you would think..."No kidding, sparky, it would make sense to warm up your body to get to a quick tempo.  duh!"  If you're not a runner, you would think "Um, HELLO!  You're going to run, yes?  So why would you need to run to get ready to run?  Silly girl".
Well, let me tell you, up until today, save for speed work (where you have to warm up or you'll hurt yourself)  I was firmly in camp 2.  Why in the heck would I warm up when I planned to put my body through 4 miles of hell?
Um, because it works.  I took the first mile easy (9:15-9:30 pace) then took off for 4 miles.
I won't sugar coat it.  It was hard.  But....32:16 later (8:04 pace...planned 8:05-8:10 pace...WOOT WOOT) I finished my tempo miles.  Then I did something even weirder.

Tempo Runs-there's gotta be a better way!

I turned away from my house and went on a cool down mile!
WHAT??  Usually I just walk the rest of the way home and call it a day.  But it was gorgeous, I was riding a high, and I felt like relax running for a bit.
It. was. Awesome.
Best part, aside from nailing the tempo?
At mile two, I saw a truck coming toward me labeled "Oxygen".  Either a concerned neighbor was trying to help, or that's irony at it's best :-)
So, I learned something ( that might be freakin obvious to everyone but me).  Embrace something you laughed at before when it comes to a challenge.  Even if it seems dumb.  It just might work!
Now, warming up for a marathon or Ironman?  That's just whack...unless you're planning to BQ or KQ.  What are you, a masochist? :-P
Are you pretty much set in your ways, or are you open to trying something different that you poo pooed before?  I'm gonna keep my mind open from now on!

From Anotha Motha

Welcome to this sleety, rainy Wednesday!  Brrr.  Ehh, could be worse, right?  I just keep telling myself...11 days....11 days....till Jamaica!  Can't freakin wait. I just keep telling myself every day....just hang in there, just hang in there....(deep breaths).

In other news, did you know today is National Siblings Day?  I'm an only child (biologically speaking), but have always wanted siblings. 

And, as luck would have it, I have the best "big brother" in the world that I've known since I was 12.  Bonuses-I didn't have to share a bathroom with him, he's always been there for me, gives the best hugs/back cracks, and is the best (though truly infuriating in a loving way) Euchre partner. 

Drawbacks-He lives 6 hours away.  Boo.  Lucky for me, I've gotten to see him 3 times in the past 6 months (score!) and we manage to stay in touch via technology.  Love ya bro.

But a girl really needs a sister, too, right?  Well, luckily enough, I married a man with a great older sister.  She threw me a sweet bridal shower before I even made it into the family, and has loaded me up with great advice based on her life experiences-including a big cache of baby supplies that is just chillin' in our spare room, waiting for the hubster and I to find our parent gene (someday!).
Along with an awesome sister, I got another brother, Jeff.  What can I say about Jeff?  Well, technically, out of all of my "siblings", he is the oldest....ha.  Yeah, I couldn't say that with a straight face.  Jeff is the quintessential "big kid"....rock climbing, skiing, mountain biking, dirt biking, basically anything that works up a sweat and is a challenge. 

And yep, you guessed it....Jeff gets credit for implanting the "Iron" seed into my brain.  You see, in 2005, he did Ironman Lake Placid-which put a bug in the hubster's head bout a triathlon....enter Sodus Point Sprint 3 weeks later....and now, 7 years down the road and two Ironman's later....thanks alot, Jeff :-)  No, really.  What's next?  Well, we both like running, and Jeff's got a little bucket list going...with the Leadville 100 on it.
I am so in. 
2013?  2014?  Whatcha think, Jeff? :-)
A big shout out to all my siblings.  You guys rock, and I am so lucky to have you in my life!

Do you have any biological siblings?  In laws?  "From anotha motha" siblings?  Take a few minutes today to give them a giant hug!  (real or virtual!)

HIM Training week 4: Stuck in a box

It's that time of week again!  Well....one day late, but I plead chocolate bunnies and wacky families as an excuse....sound good?  Good.
4 weeks down, holy crap.  Does it still feel like the off season to anyone else?  I suppose I need to get my a$$ in gear....in 3 short months....14 weeks...I'll be dipping a toe (and then much more) into Seneca Lake.  Yikes.  Truth be told, I know I could finish this race tomorrow if I needed to.  Not overly fast, but I could complete it.
But.

Easily Amused.

I want to compete.  And my training really has been a bit "blah" lately.  One speed runs, one speed bike, and one speed (slow as F%$) swims.

Kinda feel...trapped in a box.
Hardee Har har. 
Let's talk numbers, shall we?

Week #4:
Swim yardage: 5100(2 swims)

Bike Miles: 110 miles ( 4 rides)
Run miles: 21( 3 runs)
Strength: 1 full body workout, 2 stand alone abs.
Week Low: Tempo run turned easy run.  Why am I so afraid of tempo runs?  Cause they're hard?  Nah.  Probably because I'm afraid I cant hold an 8:10 pace for 6 miles anymore :-(
Week High: 45 mile ride-longest so far this year, held steady 18.5-19.0 mph pace on a rolling course.  This is my bike year.  I know it!

Some thoughts for week #4:
Do not skip thy tempo run.  Speed play is fine, but how else are you gonna try for that sub 1:50 if you don;t get used to running fast (er)?  NOTE TO SELF.
Getting much better on the bike-feeling better in aero in general, which will help for musselman. 
I'm feeling stronger from my strength workouts (wow, such a deep concept, lol) but it's time to stop phoning it in with the abs.  I'm feeling a bit "fluffy" and I don't like it.

Week #5 goals:
3 15 minute ab sessions.  No bullsnot.  I'll be kickin my OWN .....abs.
Legit tempo run.  4 miles.  No excuses.
10 minutes of stretching, at least 3 times (seeing as I'm writing this on Tuesday and have not stretched yet :-P)  I know this will help me feel better.

Today's session:
warm up half mile @ 9:00
3 x 1 mile repeats @ 7:25 pace (2' recovery)
1 mile easy jog
Time:  45 minutes
Distance: 5.18 miles

Rawr.  Maybe I should go make good on my goal and stretch now :-D
Got any fun goals for the week? Ready, set, go!

Indecent Tattoos, used tires, and a pickle

What in the heck do any of those things have to do with Easter, you might ask?
First of all, don't ask :-)
I didn't expect that one would work...heh.  Well, apparently, in my wonderful blended family, they all constitute great dinner conversation. 
Backing up....

The huz and I started Easter with some basket love ...

 6 30 minute massages/foot rubs/hair brushing...yes, please!!

We then headed out to my cousin's for our traditional Polish Easter Brunch.

Times 2.  Plus a piece of kuchen, of course.  Yum yum.

Post brunch, we hit the cardio button to empty our tummies out for round two.  Greg-long run.  Me-long ride.

Then, round two....at Aunt Diana's house!

 Dinner time!  (Plus, of course, some second helpings)

And of course....the usual shenanigans.....

 Stick a (spoon) in it?

Well, I didn't know it was that scary :-P

Dinner conversation:  Tattoos on sensitive parts, soup that tasted like used tires, and gifting unwanted pickles.

Say what?

Yup, you got it. My family-strange.  Greg's family-strange.

A perfect blend :-)

How was your Easter?  Eat too much chocolate?  (You bet I did.)  Have any family get togethers?