Running in the Rain

Saturday, we woke up at 7:15, looked out the window, and it was raining. Definitly raining. By the time we were dressed, and stepped outside to check it again, it was only a drizzle, so we hopped in the car, and drove to practice. (Kyle wearing shorts and a t-shirt again). However the level of rain increased again. and once we arrived at the arboretum, it was very much rain, not just drizzle.

But at that point of course, we had to go. So we ran four miles in the rain. Did I mention it was our first hilly practice also? Once we got going though, I warmed up pretty fast (and got soaked through of course). Kyle and I ran the whole way together, which made the 4 miles go by really fast. And we realized we probably should have done the 6 miler (we would have if wasn't pouring). Anyways, we finished it, and were then, of course, happy we had gone.

I was warm. Until I stopped running, then the fact that I was soaking wet, in 40 degree weather hit me pretty fast...

I'm off skiing for the next week, so I will probably not be posting much. or training much :)

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 42.5 miles
Swim: 5950 yards
Bike: 35 miles

Running

Saturday evening I told myself (while looking out the window at the pouring rain) that if it wasn't raining on sunday, I would take Boomer and run around greenlake.

While, I woke up disappointed to a bright day, with no rain. So I dilly dallyed around the house, and at 3pm when it STILL wasn't raining, I gave in grudgingly, and ran around greenlake. In the end I was happy I went, but I definitely was hoping for rain when I made that promise. sigh.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 38.5 miles
Swim: 5950 yards
Bike: 35 miles

Bike run ICK

We had our first brick this Saturday. aka - bike run ick. though in this case it was run bike run ick. As usual, I went to bed to pouring rain, and woke up to a almost bright sky, with no rain. We ran a mile for warmup, then hopped on our bikes. I was excited to see if my clipon pedals made me any faster... so I sped off (after my slow transition, since I now must change shoes!). We were told which street to turn around at for 8 miles, and for 10 miles. So I biked, and I biked, and I found neither streets. I was looking for 65th, and finally found 70th, (and no bikers around me) and decided I had gone too far. I turned around, and found my mom, who had managed to find 65th (but was looking for 60th?) but had a bike computer to tell her she'd reached 5 miles.

So when I finally made it back, I was grumpy, and only did a one mile run (instead of two)... hmph. Then we went to essential bakery and ate LOTS of yummy carbs.

It turns out I only biked 11 miles, so I didn't go too far off course. But I think I somehow am slower w/ my new fancy schmancy bike shoes. Hmph. Who knows.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 35.5 miles
Swim: 5950 yards
Bike: 35 miles

Boo for traffic

Wednesday I left work early so I could make it home to run with a dog from the Seattle Animal shelter (Part of their Fit with Fido program) but traffic was of course worse than normal, and I didn't make it home till 6. And I should have been there dressed and ready to run at 6... sigh. So I instead took Boomer on a short run, and explained to him that he is spoiled and lucky and should be grateful that he's not in the shelter in a pen all day.

Then went to swimming. (look at me go, two workouts in one day!). Last week at our swimming practice our lane (2nd slowest lane) finished our workout like 15 minutes early. Thus we decided we are speedy, and moved up to the medium lanes workout. Well, the week we picked to move up, was also the week the workouts looked a lot harder. Anyways, we did all but about 150 yards of the workout. I think we all did well!

And more impressively, we swam exactly the race distance (.9 miles!). And given that our workout included many slow drills (kick on your side 6x25? blah I hate kicking!), and we finished it in an hour, that is exciting! Last year I don't think I swam the full race distance till a few weeks before the race.

So overall my training is going well. However if you glance below at my miles logged - you'd notice that I've ran 10 more miles than I've biked. aka, I really really need to bike more.

And one final note - I've added links to a few of my team mates blogs on the right. So check them out if you want more reading.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 33.5 miles
Swim: 5950 yards
Bike: 24 miles

shorts

So, I woke up at 7:15 to get ready for our 8 am run. The sky was beautiful and clear. And I saw kyle all dressed for the run... in shorts. So instead of checking the weather, I figured that meant I should wear shorts as well.

Well, when we got to practice, we were the ONLY two in shorts. because it was COLD. aka. 33 degrees when we got there. Once we started running, my legs went numb, and then I wasn't cold, so I suppose it was fine. But in the future, I shall not follow kyles lead. It turns out he was wearing shorts because he does not own pants appropriate for running. Hmph.

Then we played this game where you run around on trails in the woods, and try to find someone, then run back w/ that person, and get another name to run after. It was fun. And two people said they found me, because when they asked who Rachel was, people told them it was the girl with shorts on.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 28 miles
Swim: 5250 yards
Bike: 24 miles

swimming, and fundraising!

We had another swim practice tonight. I was excited cause we did less drills than last time, and more of a main set. I had Cathy (coach) watch me do a length, and she said my legs look pretty good! Last year the main thing I worked on was keeping my legs up, ie my body parallel to the water. Now I need to start working on my hands entry to the water. Woohoo.
Also, our lane finished like 15 minutes too early, which means we are super speedy fast. Like speedy gonzales. So we are going to do the medium workout next time, instead of the slow lane workouts. Its pretty exciting.

Fundraising news:
First off, I am currently just under $100 ahead of my mom in fundraising. Help me stay ahead of her! (No, I'm not competitive at all....) Last year I almost caught up at one point, but she stayed ahead of me the whole time. Hmph! (click HERE for link).

Also, who knew that bakesales where hard to organize? We were going to do one this weekend, as an additional fun fundraiser. Well, Safeway won't let you use their storefront due to a past lawsuit. Fred meyer will. But not in the month of December (??). Costco won't. Trader Joes wont. Ugh. We'll see if I have better luck calling around tomorrow. I had sort of thought they were easy to arrange... and common.

And finally, thanks to linda and andrea for posting comments! They make me feel special. and loved.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 24.6
Swim: 5250
Bike: 24 miles

Interval Training

It rained and rained and rained all day Monday. Streets where closed due to flooding, there was a mudslide down town, traffic was terrible. But magically, as the 7pm hour arrived, and we showed up at green lake track for our running practice, the rain took an hour break.
I'm not sure who team in training talks to, but these types of things keep happening. The snowing starts an hour later than predicted (right after practice ends), and storms take breaks. I have to say its pretty convenient.

Anyways, we did interval training yesterday evening. We ended up running in the parking lot instead of the track to avoid puddles. We warmed up, then ran at a hard pace for 5 minutes, then a slow pace for 2, and repeated 3 times. As usual I had trouble pushing myself hard enough for the hard parts, though at least my hr was above my "moderate" pace. The idea (as far as I understand it) is to train at your anaerobic threshold, and this will slowly raise that threshold, and allow you to maintain higher speeds for longer.

The practice was relatively short, I guess when you are doing this type of training you do short and hard, instead of longer slower runs. But I was happy I made it out, as I definitely would not have ventured outside if we didn't have a coached practice.

Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 24.6
Swim: 4350
Bike: 24 miles

Lovely weather we're having

Saturday day morning we got bright and early, spent a while loading bikes, showed up in redmond, and found lots of snow. So we ran instead of biked. Boomer was happy, because he was allowed to join us for our run. We did about 4 miles (40 minutes) down the burke gilman and back. Kyle got his gait watched by our coach, so I think he found that useful. It was good for me, since when I run alone, I often do only 20-30 minutes, due to laziness :).

Then we got home, and watched the snow begin falling on this side of the bridge. It started at 1 pm, and then just kept snowing and snowing! It was very pretty, and Boomer enjoyed rolling in it, quite a few times.

I plan on fitting in a swim today... and hopefully the weather will clear up eventually, so I can get in some hours on the bike.


Miles Logged since signup:
Run: 21.6
Swim: 3450
Bike: 24 miles