Trail Mojo

the legs are still a bit stiff from sunday's shenanigan's and the weather was warmer than i would've preferred especially since i forgot my hat and shades. my garmin was acting weird and didn't pick up a location until a mile into the run. 

today was hot and i felt overheated and irritable. you have some exposed areas and abit of climbing to do before your rewarded with the lush canopy and single track.  my mood immediately lifted as the shade started cooling my core down and there i was winding my way through manzanita, oaks and redwoods.  i crossed bridges and climbed 60 plus steps. i saw lots of lizards and heard an owl off in the distance. 

i didn't have a map but i had an idea of where i was going having talked to a few others who'd run here before.  i just sort've followed my instincts.  there was plenty of daylight and i could double back if necessary...but my sense of direction on the trail held true and before i knew it i was back on the main trail.

this was a fantastic run.  i didn't feel as strong or as comfortable as i would've on fresher legs but i've always preferred trails over roads for running and i think maybe i might be getting my trail mojo back.  

Track

Do gut-wrenching dry heaves count as core strengthening?

OK, I'm exaggerating a bit but I was on the verge of puking a few times.  I ended up at the Albany Middle School track this morning.  My mission was to sprint the straights and walk the curves 8x's.  I haven't figured out how to capture intervals on the Garmin so that's something else to throw on the need to learn pile.

I started out on the BART trail trying to re-set the Garmin, running and stopping and running then stopping again...it occurred to me " hey, this is a little like Fartlek"..such an absurd word, seriously..... I then came upon the track and decided to do the above workout.

I practiced running on the front and mid sole versus the heel and could tell i was moving faster, a couple of time I was paced at 6:30 ...perceived rate of exertion: oh. my. god. I'm gonna hurl.  After wards,  my legs were toast and I stretched for awhile before leaving.  I dragged my sorry ass across the field and the basketball courts and hobbled across the street to start jogging home...a minute into the "run" i knew I'd be walking home.  Note to self: drive to the track next time.

Truth be told yesterday's shitty swim was my motivation for  track today.  As hard as speed work is I have a clear advantage on land.  I'd like to work closer with Coach Nancy (she was down a coach yesterday and had to stay on the beach watching us) regarding the swim, she gave me some good tips yesterday and I just need to relax more and not compare myself to others so much.

I heard about an open water swim coach through Forging Ahead.  I contacted her yesterday about private lessons and she emailed me today. So stay tuned for a more positive swim posts in the not too too distant future as I figure out our schedule.

Coyote Point

met up w/the Y Tri Club this morning for  a swim...most swam a mile in like 30 mins ...i swam half as far in approximately the same time...but i'm not bitter...just tired.

i brought my bike and explored the SF Bay Trail...very flat and scenic with strong headwinds on the return...i burned crazy calories...according to the Garmin...and my appetite when i got back...glad i packed a big lunch.  so it was great day for training...despite my miserable swim...i met some nice people and had a great ride .  unfortunately my families  return flight today didn't correlate with my training so i'll have to drive back out there in a few hours.

It's a Balancing Act

Drama camp potlucks, bake sales for Haiti, performances, laundry and packing for an upcoming trip has this mom in full lock down.  i wanted to get a some kind ride in yesterday...but i needed to replace that adaptor thingy for the Co2 cartridges and my  sun glasses were all scratched. T still had some credit over at Mikes Bikes, so i changed to ride and threw my bike into the back of his truck and after i got my stuff i still wasn't sure where i was going to ride because M needed to be at Bentley by 1pm (it was already noon) and the performance didn't start till 2:30...i just couldn't think straight... it was T that said,  "you've 2.5 hrs to get to Lafayette, are up for it?"  Duh, i could just ride to the performance and so what if i showed up in bike shorts and smelled bad.  i am in training after all, right? T would drop M off and get some errands done in Lafayette before the show...for  all my complaining about his lack of planning my man can think on his feet!

Mike's is close to the base of Spruce, a longish gradual climb to Grizzly Peak.  from there I entered Tilden past Inspiration Point and then had a BLAST on the fast downhill to Orinda. i practiced not riding my breaks so hard  and reacquainted myself with what gear does what...i practiced going into a high gear to go even faster downhill.  i stopped for a little frozen yogurt then headed over Santa Rita....i'd forgotten how steep this part was and after the first climb i managed to clip out w/o breaking my neck and hoofed it to the top. the rest was downhill to Bentley. I arrived at 2pm.

M went out with friends later that night and T and i discovered a yummy indian buffet..7.99 per person.  the chicken tikka was off the hook, spicey potatoes and bell peppers and naan, deeelish!
the ben and jerry banana split we shared later kinda kick the frozen yogurts ass.

I'm All In

It's official...i just registered for the Marin County Triathlon 2010.

The Y Tri Club starts next week, our first training will be swimming at Coyote Point.  I used to go there with my family as a kid for picnics...that was ages ago...the scent eucalyptus trees permeated the park.

My ankles are a bit stiff but other than that no real complaints. T and M are leaving for NYC on Tuesday so trying to spend quality time with them this weekend will take priority but i have time to run now... 

Pushing Myself

running fast is hard .

a 10k after 25 miles on the bike is harder. 

doing hard stuff is good. 

that's what i keep telling myself anyway.

3 miles at 10:07 pace....not quite puke worthy but freaking hard nonetheless. 

hard to imagine maintaining that pace for 6 miles post swim/ride.

Summer Days

for the first time ever my family and Monica's family got together at McNears Beach. Monica and I swam , our daughters -who met at the that 5k we 4 did last year and our husbands,  both artists talked all things art related. 

it was kinda crazy how it all came about... i'll spare you all the texting and what not back and forth over the past 24 hrs....but in our lack of planning a good time was had by all.

McNear's Beach is the swim site for the Marin county tri.....and naturally i wanted to check it out well in advance.   the beach was rocky and the water while flat had a pretty good current going and because my swim sucks ass it felt like what i would imagine an endless pool workout would be like...we'd be swimming and then start cracking up because we took forever to nowhere.

the other funny thing was it seemed no matter how far offshore we swam we could touch the squishy mud floor, sink up to our knees and the water was still about chest level.   from the shore you could see the drop off point and it was really far off...and since we could swim we just stayed (literally)where we were swimming for about 45 mins.  my arms got worked!

after a snack on the beach Monica had to get back home and the family and me headed over to Stinson to sun bathe on a real beach with ocean breezes and tattooed boys who complained loudly at the lack of hot bitches on the beach.   T cracked up when i peered over my sunglasses and said "ooh what a catch"