Mish-mash

After today, I finally have a much more training related post!! Being on vacation alone with a child really doesn't warrant a lot of free time to get workouts in!! Plus, I was having way too much fun being a kid and soaking up everything I was also seeing for the first time!


So, now home, with a refreshed (or not so much) body, appreciative of the break it had from training, and the rest I gave it (again, not the case having walked for hours around 4 amusement parks in Orlando haha!), and a root canal scheduled for tomorrow (ewwww!), today was the day. The day to fit it all in, otherwise skipping the workouts or trying to catch up later in the week for tomorrow's schedule brick. I chose to get it done :)


Mini-Triathlon -- So I started my day with a 30 minute spin on my bike, followed by a cold, slightly windy 1hr run.  No shin pain! This is a huge deal for me! Tonight was masters swim, knocking out a fairly tough 2600m.... whew! What a day!  Still not sure this will ensure a good night's sleep ahead of tomorrow's dental appointment. :(


Totals -- Pretty pleased with January's totals, and my start to 2010! 14.65k swimming, 191.5k cycling, 65.4k running (highest mileage since my stress fractures!), 14 hours of strength training (thank you P90X!) and 8 hours of Yoga/stretching! YTD combined mileage 271.5k.


Training Plan -- Finally! Tuesday marks the end of the Joe Friel Base Building Triathlon 12 week plan I've been following. I say finally because it may actually be the first time following a plan that I haven't been injured, on the verge of injury, or over-trained by the end of it. I'm feeling stronger, and more confident!  So why change something that's working! I purchased the follow up plan (on TrainingPeaks), the Build-Peak-Race Olympic Triathlon!  This phase will start on Wednesday (with a rest day, gotta love it!) While I haven't signed up for any triathlons yet this year, I will -- just waiting on a few things to see what happens.


Pictures -- a few commented on my last post that I should post some pics! Those of you on facebook may have already seen my pics, but those of you who haven't, feel free to check the highlights out here! Last night, we arrived home after a long day of travelling. As I was tucking Terron into bed, he gave me an extra long hug and thanked me for an awesome week. He melts my heart.♥

ah, the memories

I've just finished packing our suitcases, double checked the room to make sure I'm not leaving anything behind, and getting ready to check out of the hotel.  Vacation is almost over.


This week:

• I rode the stationary bike only once
• Walked countless miles through Seaworld twice, Universal Studios, and Busch Gardens
• Ran 5k on the treadmill, also only once
• Laughed and screamed on roller coasters after not being on one for many years!
• Drove more than 400 miles!
• Raced Terron up the ramps to shows and rides
• Created many memories that will last a lifetime

I'd call this week a success! :)

Through the eyes of a child

I'm happy to have a few things that are not in common with Terron now.  In fact, I'm beaming from ear to ear. :)

So far our week has gone a little something like this. Saturday afternoon we arrived in Orlando after a 4:30am wake-up... we settled into our hotel room, and I even had enough energy to get my back/bicep/abs P90X workout in using my band I thankfully remembered to pack, and the pillar in my hotel room! This gets me bonus points, right??


Sunday morning we woke up early, the plan was to head over to Seaworld.


As I sat watching the shows, I really tried to experience it all as a child would, since I never did! Hearing the laughter and excitement of children all around me, fingers pointing to all kinds of things... I was taking it all in. I even indulged Terron by sitting in the front rows of all the shows... in the soak zone! Shamu decided to pay me a visit during his warm up? That's right, this is even before the show started!! Completely soaked by the end of the show with a white t-shirt on and fairly see-through pants; bad choices but fun times. :)  But have no fear, Terron got soaked too!

I also broke tradition.... since surgery, I've always just made the choice to not go on any roller coasters. Not because I've been told not to, not because I'm scared. But with missing part of my right temporal lobe, why take the chance of anything shifting! HAHA! Seemed important to Terron that I go on a ride with him, so I did. Wow, that was interesting, and 2 days later, I think everything is ok! Phew!!!

Back to the hotel after having dinner, I did the P90X Stretch video rather than Yoga. Part of me wanted to do nothing more than lay down on the bed and crash, the other part of me thought I might appreciate a bit of a stretch. Body won.

Monday we woke up early again, and headed out to Busch Gardens. I couldn't help but giggle when I saw these... anyone remember my flamingo post?! haha

Now, technically I don't think I missed my scheduled. Hear me out on this. I was supposed to do an easy 90 minute run... Heart rate zone 1 only. I practically wake up in HR zone 1.... in order for me stay in that zone, it needs to be a slow walk. So, after 7.5 hours in Busch Gardens, running on a treadmill for 90 minutes was NOT going to happen.  Another great day with lots of smiles and memories :) 

Today, Terron saw the ocean for the first time, 13 years earlier than I did! I was so excited, proud and lucky to be able to share this experience with him, especially after all he's been through since September. We drove to Cocoa Beach today, and will head to the West side of Florida to check out Clearwater on Thursday, and Universal Studios tomorrow! I'm happy to report that the weather is much better now than what it was for the WDW Goofy Challenge weekend! Hope you're all having a great week! I'm not sure I'm ready to go back to being a grown-up yet! This being a kid thing is fun!!!

I'm outta here!

This is going to be short and sweet.... because even though this trip has been booked since the end of October, it still crept up on me! So I've been running laps in my house this evening as I gather everything I think I'll need for a week's vacation for both myself and Terron. 

• Tomorrow, January 23rd is my blog's 2nd birthday! -- But since I'll be off to (hopefully) sunny and warm Orlando, I'm posting it now!
• Started phase 2, week 5 of P90X on Thursday!  So far so good! I saw a friend today that I hadn't seen in a while, and he said I looked awesome! I'll take it! :)
• One-armed push-ups are evil!
• Chest/Shoulders/Back on a masters swim day isn't as bad as I thought it would be! I'm glad I wasn't swimming today, because the delayed onset muscle soreness has kicked in from the above mentioned one-armed push-ups!
• I'm registered! It's official! I handed over my cheque and will be in my first swim meet on Feb. 7th! Gulp!
• Treadmill, I think we're going to break up. The sun outside today was glorious... I headed out for a run before the craziness of the night started. Awesome run!! I don't typically get splits of less than 6:00min/km - but 3 of my kilometers were!
• I got the honor of being Tri Diesel's Cool Blogger of the Week! I had a huge smile when I read his post! Thanks again!! :)

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!!

Happiness is...

Joel at Tri Madness tagged me to write 10 things that make me happy! 

1. Terron - I'm so lucky to have him in my life. He makes me want to be a better person.


2. A simple smile or an unsolicited thank you. Seems too rare these days.


3. Connectivity - Being able to connect with friends and loved ones, near and far. Whether in person, by phone, email, video... distance is somewhat irrelevant.


4. Cycling - When I first bought myself a bike, it was a hybrid. I liked going fast, but wanted to go faster. I sold that one, and bought a road bike.  Did a few small triathlons, and now upgraded to a triathlon bike. I like the speed while riding, the sound of the wind in my ears, the feeling of the wind on my face, the cute cycling kits.


5. My Freedom and Independence - while this could mean different things to everyone, I'm talking about the freedom to walk across the street when I want to without fearing for my life; going to a movie without kicking a poor woman in front of me in her head while I started to have a seizure (true story!!), and being able to use the stove. The Independence to have my drivers' license back after years of being dependant on others, and being able to take a bath without someone there to watch over me for fear of drowning.


6. Brain Surgery - While this was a difficult time of my life, and didn't necessarily make me happy at the time... I'm grateful for an amazing neurosurgeon, and happy NOW to have this second chance at my life.  I was, however, extremely happy when part of the bandage came off and I realized I still had hair, and I hadn't been shaved! :D


7. A job I enjoy!


8. Running, Biking, Swimming, P90X, whatever gets me moving! - They all give me the freedom and independence that were once taken away without a moment's notice, and for which I will always fight so desperately to maintain. I was thinking last night while on the bike trainer that I often think about the things I couldn't do. Laugh at the things that used to intimidate me. I'm proud of the things I CAN do and AM doing!! 


9. Blogging/Bloggers - If it wasn't for the encouragement that each of you provide, your stories, your wisdom, and insight, I may have given up on things a long time ago... so thank you all! You make me happy! Meeting bloggers like Marlene who lives within the distance of a marathon to me, to Damian all the way in Australia! 

10. My gadgets of course. My running started because of Nike+, evolved to my Garmin which I love, my iPhone :) 


I'm a little late in the game on this one, so if you're suffering from writer's block, or want to play along, consider yourself tagged!


Catch ya later! 3 more sleeps until vacation! That's #11 on my list :)

Swim, Bike, Run, Rinse, Repeat.

Life has been hectic lately!! Whew!! It's Tuesday, and this week has worn me down already. With only 4 more sleeps until Disney for Terron and I, though, the mini-meltdown I had last night was neither unexpected or long-lasting.

Figured I should catch you up on a few things... 

Swim -- Sunday night's swim was interesting to say the least. Sitting there watching Terron's swim class before mine, I was wondering how I would possibly stay awake for mine. Got my second wind as I hit the water thankfully. Led the lane during our 800m warm up before coach started talking. Remember in my previous post when I mentioned that I hate being the center of attention. That's the last time I mention that... haha. After warm up was done, he was talking to us about his plan for building endurance, and how he has a passive way to correct our strokes. "... and Melanie, who has only been with us for about the last 8 or so weeks, has improved dramatically without even barely saying a word!"  Thanks coach..... oh great. Everyone is looking at me. Feeling strong that night, I continued to lead the lane for the rest of the workout. He said it was an easy night, an easy night it was not.  After some hard kick sets, coach approached me as I pulled myself out of the pool at the deep end. "Um, you ARE signing up for the Burlington swim meet right?" I gave him a half smile, raised my eyebrow a bit, and asked if my 'wanting to spectate' excuse would work again. He said no, and that he wanted and needed me to compete with the team!! What a confidence booster!

Then the pin that deflated the ego..... thankfully something about which I can laugh. At the deep end, coach split us up in to 6 relay teams of 4. I was in the second heat, lane 6, wall to my left. First relay was 50m free. No problem.  Except that I'd have a huge one. I have a really hard time with my goggles flipping up when I dive in, so I tried putting them under my cap.  Ugh, they still completely flipped off. As I came up, I quickly tried to empty them mid-stroke...but ended up with a goggle full of water. Sometimes I might still be able to see, but not this time, I was wearing my contacts and they were burning.... I had no idea where I was going, how far until I would reach the end, except that I was totally going crooked and swam into the wall. Yep, the wall on my left.... Took that moment to empty out the goggles and continued on my merry way. Got back, and one of the girls asked if I was ok... she laughed hysterically when I told her what had happened, as did I.  Despite my little blunder, we STILL won that relay! :D I'm signing up for the swim meet. February 7th. Gulp.

Bike -- January 16th. Toronto, Canada. Typically we have feet of snow on the ground, with a wind chill in the minus teens or twenties. I wish there was someone to take a picture. Home alone saturday morning, above zero temperatures, beautiful sun shining, and a 40min ride on the trainer scheduled. I contemplated for about 5 minutes, then made my decision. It took about 15 minutes to have my tire changed from the indoor one to my regular tire, I was taking my new tri bike for it's first ride on the road! I was excited and nervous. Happy and worried. UA Cold Gear tights, bike shorts, UA Cold Gear hooded top, bright orange race shirt, black cycling jersey with fall colored leaves on the back, UA beanie for under my helmet, shoe covers, thick cycling gloves. Ready to roll. So EXCITED!!!  I got maybe 500 meters from home, approaching a traffic light which was red, so I coasted along. I look to my left as I hear a voice... and older lady sitting in her fur coat and fur hat, gloved hands calls out the window "I love your outfit!!" I waved, said thank you, and wanted to say but what about this sweet bike?! But I'm sure she wouldn't understand.  As we both started moving forward from our standstill, she waved again as she accelerated.  Too funny... nothing like looking cute while having fun!  Few things I noticed on my bike. I use my quads a WHOLE lot more than when I was on my roadie.  Wonder if I used my calves more on that bike, maybe contributing to the burning of my shins while running afterwards? Hmmm.  I also had Shimano SPD pedals on my road bike -- I could clip into it on either side; now I have Look Keo full carbon pedals, which I can clip into on one side only. Will need to get used to this.... had a few awkward starts from a red light. Being in aero on this bike-- so much more comfortable... it's the beginning of a beautiful relationship :)  I only rode for an hour as I was getting cold.... took most of the day afterwards to warm up, but I was STOKED to have that first ride outside

Run -- Dear Treadmill.

Many people don't like you, I, on the other hand, have tried to defend you, even on this blog, to point out some of your good qualities! The warmth you provide being indoors during the cold winter months, your consistency, helping me keep pace. And this is how you repay me?? If this doesn't change, our relationship will suffer, and I will have no option but to sever all ties with you effective immediately. I've been *almost* exclusive to you during this base building phase... but the few short runs I have had outdoors have been glorious. I'll tell you why. Even with the wind, the hills, the cold, the changing scenery, my pace is where I imagined I would be. But with you, treadmill, you SUCK! Maybe it's me, but don't get your hopes up, but know that you're walking a very thin line with right now, very thin.

Signed, Faster Than You're Telling Me

Anyone else have this issue? I'm not fast.... but I don't get it.  Perceived effort while running outdoors with all the elements, etc seem lower while my speed is higher.  Treadmill, my pace is very slow for a higher perceived effort.  If I were to set the treadmill up to match my outside pace, I can't hold it very long!! What's up with that?  Is it because I can't visualize it, the scene doesn't change, and the monotony of it all? Is it me?!  (If it is, please don't tell the treadmill, I wouldn't want him to have the satisfaction of knowing...)

So that, my friends, is what I've been up to! Yes, I'm still doing P90X.. in fact, today, I finished week 4. This week was a recovery week, and admittedly I missed two of the workouts due to time constraints... I've mentioned before that on the workout side of things, my tri stuff is more important to me at the moment... so if it's a choice of doing nothing, tri workout and/or P90X.. I will always try to fit in at least my scheduled run/ride/swim.

I will be in lurking and catch up mode until I'm back from vacation, I'll try to comment as much as I can! Be safe!!

Beautiful Blogger? Who me?!?

Thanks to Kerrie for passing along the a Beautiful Blogger award to moi!

Here's my list of 7 (hopefully) interesting things:

1. I should have known life would throw me obstacles from birth! I was born by C-section... during which the doctors cut my forehead during the incision. So that first "supposed to be cute" baby picture? Bandage covering my fresh stitches. :(
2. I was 26 when I saw the ocean for the first time!!
3. Fully bilingual in french, and Terron is well on his way to the same! Most people are surprised at this despite the fact that I live in Canada.
4. I wear my heart on my sleeve. You'd likely never need to question if I'm happy, sad, excited or whatever.
5. My decision to have brain surgery took all of about 43 seconds when the doctor called to tell me he had an opening about 2 weeks out. An 80% chance of being seizure-free and about a 20% chance that I could wake up not remembering even my son. You can read the full story here if you want.) Odds seemed good, and I really had no quality of life anyway, so why not?! He asked more than a few times to make sure I didn't want to discuss with family first. Nope.
6. I love my gadgets. If it wasn't for the Nike+ kit, I doubt that I would have gotten hooked to running since I HATED running as a child, which has obviously led to triathlon!
7. I embarrass pretty easily. I hate being the center of attention, those moments when all eyes are on me.

So, now to tag 7 others, I've gotten some fairly new readers lately, so I'm going to pick on them so I can find out about about 'em! :)

1. Heather - Side of Sneakers
2. Becca - Tough_2blittle
3. Maureen - Mo Sho Runs
4. Brea - BREAthe.Train.Live
5. Jill - Run With Jill
6. Frozentriette - Epiphanies of a Quirky Redliner
7. Tara - Colorado Runner

Wait till you find out what I did on Saturday!! Post to come! :)

Inspiration Showcase: Episode 7 - Fighting the Enemies

Inspiration. Dedication. 

Motivation. Perseverance. 

Kindness. Willpower. 

Innovation. 

Determination. 

Bravery. 

Human Spirit.

Excuses are far easy to come up with... I'm too tired, it's too hot, I don't feel like it, tomorrow is another day, it's too cold, it's raining, something hurts.

When I had my stress fractures earlier this year, I saw the story of Brian Boyle (about which I have previously posted). Suddenly, the pain I was going through seemed insignificant, and it really made me realize that we all have our own enemies and hurdles. It's what we choose to do with them that will help determine the outcome.  

Dreaming big, and realizing that he had a purpose driven life, Brian has worked and fought hard to achieve his goals... still too cold or tired to nail your scheduled workout today?

By the way, this is post # 400!!! Wow, I've had a lot to say! Who would have thought!! ;)

The fire is OUT!

My fingers were crossed as I started my scheduled workout on Monday, Brick #2. 30 minutes on the bike followed immediately with a 60 minute run. Sigh.

I was excited, yet apprehensive. My mind was flirting with positive thoughts, but cluttered with memories of my two triathlons, burning shins as soon as get into my run off the bike -- on FIRE!

Brick #1 of this training plan went fine two weeks ago, but I did have an unexpected gap in between the ride and run as I ran into some neighbors and stopped to chat... my mind tried telling me that it wasn't a real brick; no wonder I didn't have any pain.

It's funny how much planning goes into working out these days! Not only in fitting everything in which I discussed in my previous post, but getting everything organized! The plan was as follows: Cycling on my tri bike mounted on the trainer, change my clothes, run across the street, into the office building, up the escalator to the gym, drop jacket, start treadmill and run.

Garmin 305 unit in the quick release mount on the bike - check.

Garmin quick release strap on my wrist, ready to transfer from bike to wrist - check

ipod ready, playlist selected - check

changed into my cycling stuff - check

socks that I can wear to ride and run - check

heart rate monitor on - check

capri pants and top ready to get changed into quickly when off the bike - check

hat for my head to run across the street since I will already be sweating - check

jacket ready to go - check

running shoes by the door, ready to go - check

Water bottle ready to go, placed by my shoes so I won't forget it! - check

What, that doesn't count as part of the workout?! Pffft.  

30 minutes on the bike passes by rather quickly, bike shorts off, capris on, tank top off, dry tank top on, switch Garmin to wrist, bike shoes off, running shoes on, hat on, run back to grab my ipod I had set down while changing, back to the door, shoes on, jacket on, triple check to make sure I also have my iPhone... yes, I have priorities... grab water bottle, and I'm finally out the door heading to the gym -- running! Check both ways before crossing the road, stopped to hold the door open for a elderly gentleman with a walker, eyes down to avoid eye contact with anyone familiar that might be around, run up the escalator, swipe my gym card which stays in my iPhone pouch. Phew! Good thing I went back for it! Head straight for the treadmill while I'm switching my Garmin from bike to run mode, drop my jacket, and I'm setting up the treadmill for a 60 minute steady run!  Transition time, 7 minutes, 46 seconds!

I ran the full 60 minutes with no calf or shin pain at all! During my last triathlon, I walked more than I ran in the short 5k distance due to the intense burning -- even walking was painful!  I was glowing by the end of the brick -- it was done!

While my mood was elevated, the little mental negativity kicked in later on -- 'all good on a treadmill, but whatcha got for a real run on the roads?'

Brick #3 was Tuesday, yesterday... which would happen to be another milestone! 45 min higher cadence ride, followed immediately by a faster (this term is relative, people! haha) 10 minute run. My planning and process as described above was the same, except that instead of changing into capris and a tank top for a treadmill run, I needed tights, an Under Armour Cold Gear top -- both which can be difficult to put on while already sweaty by the way -- and gloves. Since my stress fractures, this is the first time I was attempting any sort of back to back days of running. Knowing it would only be a 10 minute run, it really didn't make me nervous.  

I felt great! I was bounding over puddles! It was my fastest run since injury, probably because I knew it would be over quickly, but completely forgetting that I had run the day before!  The best part is, no burning!

So, I'm not sure if things are going so much better because:

• I'm riding the new tri bike while training? Is it that much better fit for me (even though I had proper bike fits done on both my road and tri bike), or are tri bikes that different?
• Has following this training plan pretty diligently done what it was supposed to? Am I just better conditioned, and better trained?

Somewhat rhetorical questions, and I'm really not seeking an answer... I'm just going to keep riding this wave as far as it'll take me! I'm stoked!

Do Any of Us Have Enough Of IT?

Time.

1 day. 24 hours. 1,440 minutes. 86,400 seconds. It's the same for each of us.

We're all busy. We work. We live. We play. We train.

I've gotten many more comments recently about how time consuming training is, and how am I fitting everything in, especially with the recent addition of P90X?  Lindsay's comment made me smile -- 

"ok, marathon training is time consuming enough (ie i have no life). triathlon training, i can't imagine. tri + p90x? and you work? and you raise terron? and you have a social life? you are super woman, but i've told you that before!"

As much as I'd love to BE super woman, I'm far from it! No capes, no super human powers, no super-tight clothing. 

I think it's just about decisions, motivation, and flexibility.

Ok, here it is. 

Part of my motivation to start running back in 2007 was to shed a few pounds. In the beginning I did, but it plateaued. Normal. Added cycling and swimming, still not much change. Have weight trained in the past, but never consistently, so still not reaching my goals. In the last 3 weeks, I've noticed changes... good ones, and I'm enjoying it! I'm motivated again!

Flexibility is hugely important. I had previously commented on my expectations with adding P90X into my days... If a workout doesn't happen because I'm too busy, too tired, over-extended, then it will be missed, and I will not cry over it. This is just to supplement time in a gym that yields few results because of my lack of discipline there. I admit it! I'm concentrating and focusing on triathlon stuff, the P90X is bonus. Funny thing is, I've only missed one day of P90X since I started... Christmas Day. I did my 30min scheduled run after we had breakfast and opened gifts, and that's all I could manage that day. 

I'm a mom first, time at home is important -- I've done my P90X in the living room while Terron is playing a PS3 game... do you know how awesome it is to hear him say "Wow mom, you can do that?!" while I'm working out! Or him peeking from overtop of the ottoman, saying "Come on Mom, you can finish it...!". He's even joined in for a minute or two here and there. I work full time, but have a huge advantage of working at home, for which I'm extremely thankful. Typically, I wake up at about 7:15am to send Terron to school, and usually start teaching at 9. I can work out during the time where I'd otherwise need to commute. My masters swim sessions are generally when Terron is asleep, my bike is on the trainer and I'm riding indoors during these winter months -- not as enjoyable but makes it easier.

I think a lot of it comes down to decisions. The old me; before brain surgery, before I quit smoking, before I found the joy in life and being active, would come home from work, laze around a bit, grab something quick to eat for dinner and perhaps spend the rest of the evenings watching tv, on the computer or on the phone. Now, the new me is embracing life, and enjoying everything I'm doing, ambitious and can't wait to see what's next! If there's something on tv that I really want to watch, but conflicts with something I want to do, I PVR it instead of planting myself on the couch for the rest of the night!  Yes, it's all cutting into my blogging time-- reading, commenting and writing... I'm trying to keep up! :)

If you're waiting for the days to get longer, more time to be made available for you, then it's time well-wasted.

Today is my second brick of this training cycle! Keep your fingers crossed for me!! Thanks :)

Double the fun... and uh, double the fees!

I never thought it would happen! First, I became a triathlete, and then Terron, my 11 year old figured, 'well, if my mom can do one, I can too!'  He did, and loved it!

So in late November/early December, as I was getting my 2010 spreadsheet started, where I will track my distances and make cool little charts, I scoured the local triathlon race sites to figure out race dates for both the adults and the kids' series. Now I trying to make sure that there are no conflicts in dates! Yesterday, I received an email from the TriKids series, announcing that the races were open for registration. Oh ya!!! It was at that moment that I realized that both of us participating in triathlon means that I'm also paying for us both too! Ouch! Expensive, yes, but SO MUCH FUN! I couldn't be more proud!

Quick update about the P90X... yesterday I started week 3. I'm still enjoying the workouts, noticing some changes, feeling stronger, and have a renewed confidence that my scale does know how to subtract! Awesome!!

I'm also currently on Week 9 of my 12 week base building triathlon plan already!  Monday will be my second of two scheduled bricks, which has been my ultimate struggle with triathlon. Running off the bike. My first one went well enough, but I ran into a few old neighbors and stopped to chat, so the gap between bike and run was longer than I had hoped... let's  hope I see no one familiar on Monday!  This was a training plan I purchased from Training Peaks, one of Joe Friel's plans... I'm thinking of purchasing the build/peak plan from there as well leading up to triathlon season, it seems to have worked well for me so far!

I'll be spending a good amount of the weekend catching up with what you've all been up to! The downfall of two-a-days -- triathlon training with P90X is that I'm falling way behind! Oops!  Good luck to those racing this weekend, especially Marlene (and other real life friends there with her as well!) doing the Goofy!!!

Game of Survivor!

Being the 4th of January, the gym is full of them. You know who they are; they're easy to pick out. The ones that have made a New Year's Resolution, are in there for the first time, or after finding their existing gym membership card from last year's failed attempt. You likely won't see them again after a few weeks.


No, I didn't win a million dollars or have my flame put out, but tonight's treadmill run felt like a game of Survivor.  Let me explain.


Scheduled endurance building run on the training plan for tonight, 1h20 min non-stop run. I've never done that before -- certainly not since injury.  Since it was supposed to be in my zone 1 (which because of my naturally high heart rate would mean walking, I figured zone 2 will work....an easy slow run. Picked a speed on the treadmill which fell in the middle of my zone 2 heart rate range hoping that I could last the entire 80 minutes.


When I arrived, there were 2 empty treadmills, one of them being right between two people walking. Soon after I started those two left, as did some of the others... all fresh faces now on the treadmills. About 35 minutes into my run, this teenage-looking guy gets on the treadmill next to mine, fumbles with a few of the buttons, and gets off, deciding to get onto the elliptical instead. 


The treadmill stops after 60 minutes, so I straddled the belt after pushing the stop button to try to reset it as quickly as possible to get back to running. Less than a minute later, I'm running at the same pace I started, tackling the last 20 minutes.  That same guy's friend comes over to the same treadmill he had attempted earlier, looks at my screen, overhear him shout to his friend that he was going to run for 10 minutes through the music on my ipod.  He looked at my screen again, fumbled with the buttons until he's satisfied with his speed. Within 20 seconds, he's pushing the up arrow to increase his pace, constantly glancing at my screen. I mentioned that my pace was pretty slow... it was, and yes, he was going faster... but by this point, I had already run for about 64 minutes, with another 16 left to go. He continues to increase his pace, glancing at mine, almost like he wants to initiate a race, to see if I'll feel defeated enough to pick mine up... but I didn't.  


I didn't because I had already won... his hands were now on the rails, holding up his body, his breathing labored, beads of sweat are building and dripping on his brow, he's looking like he's close to his puke-threshold. He slammed down on the stop button like he was playing a game of jeopardy, and nearly slid off the treadmill, the time on the screen reading 1:13.  Yes, one minute, 13 seconds.  

I outwitted him by picking a speed that I could maintain for my planned duration. I outplayed him by sticking to my original plan and not letting my ego get in the way, and I outlasted him by 78:47! At least it provided some entertainment and made my treadmill run somewhat enjoyable!  :)


I also wanted to share the following with you all. My friend Jerry will soon embark on an incredible journey. He's currently serving in Afghanistan with the US Army, counting down the days until he comes home mid-march. Days later, he will be starting an amazing charity run; 26 marathons and 1 Ironman within a year to raise money for Freedom is not Free, a charity that helps disabled veterans and the families of fallen soldiers. Please check out his website 262forsoldiers, and if you can help him with your support and a donation, I know he'd be grateful.  Hope you all had a fantastic Monday!

Great Minds Think Alike

"There is no comparison between that which is lost by not succeeding and that which is lost by not trying"  Francis Bacon. 
This quote seems to perfectly sum up 2009 for me.  Wonder if there will be a single quote at the end of 2010!? 

Happy New Year everyone!

• Christmas came twice for me this year! Yesterday, I received my gift from CAUTION: Redhead Running for the blogger gift/card exchange that Morning Runner/Tall Mom hosted. I was happy to be matched up with Morgan because it led me to a brand new awesome blogger! Funny that we thought so much alike for the gift exchange, since I also ordered a necklace for her which reminded me of her blog!! :D  Injuries in 2009 led me to triathlon... so this awesome heart iTri locket necklace couldn't be a more perfect gift to remind me of the year that started this journey!!  Thanks again Morgan, I absolutely love it!! 
• Started off 2010 off on such a high note! A light snowfall started last night, enough to cover the ground. With the gym closed today, I had no choice but to do my run outdoors, so thankfully it was quite mild when I was ready to get my first run of the year done! Anyone else hate seeing zeros for year to date mileage?  Despite the sidewalks still being slightly snow covered, with puddles of slush and water, this ended up being my fastest and most enjoyable run since my injuries!  No better feeling than to start off the year like this! Here's to hoping that we can all continue doing what we love this year, and remain uninjured in the process!