One bad apple...

This week did not go quite as planned as far as getting my runs in so ended up a few miles short. Today's long run, well what can I say it kind of sucked. I didn't get started til about 9:30 and it was still pretty cool but warmed up way to quickly. I was suppose to be doing 10 miles but when at 9 I was almost home I could not take the idea of running around the neighborhood to get the extra mile. I was just kind of hurting all over. As you can see from the profile here it was a bit of a hilly run.

A couple of those hills really sucked the first one of course but at least I was fresh and new it was coming, but that one at 4.5 that went straight up for 100' yea not really fun, and as I was just kind of wandering around not really expected. I was starting to hurt about that time and put on my music which I rarely take with me, it was great to have the distraction until mile 5.5 when it stopped working. Ear phones seem to have a short or something. So then the thoughts start creeping in...you know the ones....this is no fun...there is no way I'm going to be able to do that 1/2...what was I thinking...wow my knee is not feeling to good...I don't like this....and on and on. Why is it when you have one bad run you start to doubt everything, even if all your runs in the recent past have felt pretty good. I'm not going to let this get me down...I'm not. This week will be better. Next weekend I will pick a flat route for my long run.

Kicked back in the glider to tired to get up and go stretch and shower.

Ahhhh what a weekend....

Truly a wonderful weekend filled with friends and exercise. Started this weekend with a pretty nice 6ish mile run Saturday morning. I was once again joined by a friend so that helped to make the time go pretty fast. It was a very cool morning which was also nice. I accidentally stopped my Garmin at around mile 4 and didn't notice for almost a mile which wasn't nice. :( But we had a pretty good idea what the mileage was. Changed it up a little and ran over by Stanley lake. Almost all gravel roads/paths so that was really nice for a change. A little hilly as we ran up one side of the dam back down around and up the other side. Not big inclines but almost always going up or downhill. It was soooo nice to look at some new scenery! Definitely need to change up the long runs in the coming weeks since I will be doing so much running around the neighborhood during the week.

Had dinner with a friend to pick up my new Miche purse ( have you seen them?) Very Cool! I think I'm going to love it! We met at California Pizza Kitchen were I proceeded to eat an entire thin crust of one these...a Greek Pizza and can I just say yummy!!!! The crust was so thin and crispy and all the yummy Greek salad stuff on top...well lets just say I'm drooling just thinking about it! I need another one....soon...

Now to work that pizza off today was a beautiful almost 40 mile bike ride with another friend who has recently moved out toward beautiful Watkins, CO, ok it's not all that beautiful but as the eastern plains go it's not bad. And the bike ride was fantastic! We started out around 9:30 and it was still pretty cool but warmed up quickly.

This was headed toward Bennett we then turned and road to Strasburg.

This is me in front of the Strasburg post office and then I turned and saw this sign.

Beer to hold to cold...was sounding pretty good! Just heard on the news we hit a record breaking 96 degrees today! We headed back to Bennett and stopped at a Subway for a yummy sandwich and then road back the final 14 miles. The roads were pretty nice for most of the ride and there really was not much traffic except one stretch.

Jen at mile 30 and still smiling!

My self portrait

One last note, I happened upon the blog of a woman who has lost some weight on Weight Watchers and recently road in the NYC Century bike tour and did almost 90 miles, what's the big deal you say? ( I've come even close to that yet!) Well she did it on a Pink Cruiser in a pink bustier with garter attachments, black back-seamed thigh highs, a short black skirt and black 4" heels! *Bitch Cakes* is not for everyone and some of her pics might be a little over the top for some, but I'm just amazed that she could do this! I mean seriously in 4" heels! Not to mention the fact that it was on a cruiser and some rain! Wow! Call me impressed! Check her out if you dare!

What a difference 10 years makes!

I can't believe I'm going to post this picture. This is one of the worst pictures I have of myself.

It was taken almost exactly 10 years ago in July of 2000. I'm surprised I don't have a cigarette in my hand too. I wish that I could say seeing this picture helped to turn my life around, but sadly no it didn't. As much as I disliked this picture I did nothing at the time to change it. I've been thinking about this alot since I did the post below for the Cherry on top Award The truth is I didn't change until after my divorce in 2001. I lost a lot of weight when I was going through that time and shortly after started walking and doing DVD's. I gained some of the weight back when I quit smoking but continued to exercise. The rest didn't come until around 2007, when I started the Couch to 5k. My weight has been a struggle always. Sometimes up and sometimes down. I seem to get about where I am now and just kind of stall. I would love to lose more. In fact I feel that I'm not sure I want to take that next step to a 70.3 until I can lighten the load some. :)

This photo is from Tri for the Cure August 2010 I'll be 46 in a coulple of months and I feel and look better then when I was 36.

I have many struggles ahead of me I'm sure. But I'm feeling confident and strong right now. I believe that I can and that I will get where I want both with my weight and my athletic abilities.

J is for

Julie and all kinds of stuff....

Jiggly
For $25 Aflac Iron Girl will put together a video of you during the
race. The other day they sent out a quick clip that would appear in the
video. The one they sent me shows me running more like trotting at
the run turn around. It was not pretty and I would probably pay more
then $25 not to have seen it.

Join
I had a friend join me for my long run this past weekend. It was so nice
to have someone to keep me company. I was amazed that I was even able to
keep up a bit of a conversation while running, not something I ever
thought would be possible. We completed 9 miles 7 of them were actually
fun.

Jubilant
This last week I hit 25.2 miles running. The most I've ever run in one
week. Now considering in the not to distant past I've had months that
barley reached 25 miles I feel really good about this.

Jittery
Just 32 days until the Rock n' Roll 1/2 marathon.

Jillian
I have such a hard time trying to get myself to do any strength
training. Do you find you either like cardio or strength training? Seems
to me people are generally drawn to one or the other. Me I prefer
cardio. I've been thinking that maybe I will try to do some Jillian
DVD's in the morning to get in some strength training.

Joyous
I'm planning to do some riding this weekend with a friend. It's been so
long since I've just gone on a nice easy ride maybe stopping for coffee
or lunch and just generally having a nice relaxing time out on the bike.
I can't wait!

Jump
I really need to jump back in the pool. It's been weeks, in fact I don't
think I've swam since the last tri.

Jumbo
I just wanted to send out a really big thank you to all of you that take
the time to stop by and find out what is going on in my life. I
appreciate the encouragement and advice that you take the time to give.
It means a lot to me.

Woo Hoo!!!

Just wanted to post this pic of myself and Kathleen from the Park to Park 10 Miler. And give a huge shout out to Running Guru, finally a sports photographer that will sell you the download of your picture for .99 cents...yes can you believe it that's NINTY NINE CENTS!!! You can also order prints from them and even those are reasonably priced. Now this isn't the best photo and unfortunately it was the only one I found but I bought it...for .99 who wouldn't. I would not however have ordered it. Thanks Running Guru and I hope that other sports photographers will start something similar.

Park to Park 10 Miler race report

So my 10 mile race this morning was perfect! The temps were perfect, around 65, the course was perfect, a few hills, some great downhills and mostly flat with lots of shade and occasional breezes, and the company was perfect as I ran parts of it with Kathleen from Dare to Dream. I had begun to freak out just a little as I realized that I hadn't done my 9 mile long run so the longest I had run to date had been 8 miles and here I was going to run 10. Met Kathleen at the Washington Park were we would finish. It's a point to point race and then we drove to the starting line at City Park. Race started at 7, I had a bagel thin with peanut butter and 1/2 a banana before leaving the house for the race. Had a "nervous stomach" as usual before the race and hit up the porta potties a couple times before the start. And then we were off! I ran the first mile or so with out stopping but soon decided that I would need to take some breaks so I would be able to finish. Kathleen went ahead and I just kept up a pretty steady pace and a 3/1 run/walk ratio.
mile 1 10:44
mile 2 11:54
mile 3 12:02
Mile 4 11:56
At about this point we start the biggest hill of the race it's not steep but it is long a little over a mile or so. Changed to a 2/1 for awhile. I was really feeling good at this point and was amazed when I hit the 5 mile point at how fast the time had gone. I had a Mocha flavored GU at this time...can I just say YUMMM. I had seen Kathleen hit up the porta potty at the beginning of the hill but just kept moving, She caught up to me around mile 6 I think, just as we were starting down hill. We chatted a bit and then she kept running as I stuck to my run/walks. Over the next few miles I had 2 gu chomps a little bit of Powerade Zero and of course water. I didn't however drink near as much as I usually do, owing I'm sure mostly to the beautiful weather.
Mile 5 12:39
mile 6 12:08
Mile 7 11:36
Mile 8 12:27
Mile 9 12:45
At this point I can tell that my longest run to date was 8 miles it's starting to feel a little harder but I still feel pretty strong and just keep plugging along. I also caught up to Kathleen at this time and repeated to her what the mile 9 sign had said..I think it was "Dig deep your almost there" I went just a little in front of her but by 9 1/2 after we took a walk break together we decided to run it in from there and we finished at the same time.
Mile 10 12:40
according to my Garmin I was a little long
.13 10:38
And that my friends is an average 12:04 pace which for me is fantastic!!! And for me to do 10 miles with that average is well, beyond words! I could not be any more thrilled with my time. I am feeling much more confident about the 1/2 especially as I still have 6ish weeks to train.

Official results:

Julie 1204/1299 2:03:35 2:02:07 45 F 701/778 45 to 49 94/101

Thanks Kathleen for a great day!

All this and a Cherry on Top too?!

Thanks Aimee for passing on the Cherry on Top Award to me!

Here are the rules:

#1 Answer this question: If you had the chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?

Really I don't think I would change to much of the past because well, let's face it, it made us who we are today and who I am today is pretty ok with me. On the other hand... :) relating to being an athlete (and I say that with some hesitation as I don't often think of myself as such) I do wish that I had realized at much earlier age just how good it can feel. I wish that I would have discover years ago that exercise does not have to be "work" that it can be fun, an adventure. Now that's not to say that every workout is fun, but I have enjoyed the last 3 years of doing triathlons and running races so much that I keep feeling I need to try and do everything because at the ripe old age of 46 who knows how much longer I have to do this? How much have I missed!?!?! I read this analogy just this morning on Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit

I play basketball with some young cats, and they often seem tickled (and somewhat perplexed) by the fact that I still hoop so competitively and so often. I explain it to them like this: “We’re both at Disney World on a bright sunny day. For you, it’s 10 o’clock in the morning and you’ve got all the time in the world to do anything you want. For me, it’s thirty minutes before the gates close and I want to get in every ride I possibly can.”

Says it all!


#2 The second thing you have to do is, pick 6 people and give them this award. You then have to inform the person that they have gotten this award.

First off I want to tell you all how much I appreciate your reading and commenting on my blog. I know there are some that read and don't comment and I appreciate you too, but would love for you to come out of hiding. :) Since many of you have been given this award already I'm just going to give it to anyone who takes the time to read my blog!

#3 The third and final thing is, thank the person who gave you the award

Aimee thanks so much for passing this on to me! I just want to say again how much I enjoyed meeting you last weekend...was that just last weekend?! And for anyone who might not know Aimee had a fantastic race at IronGirl 1st in her age group and 9th over all! Did I tell you she was fast? Make sure to check out her blog! I Tri to Be Me !



Now in other news I'll be running the Park to Park 10 Miler with Kathleen on Monday. It's a point to point run from City Park to Washington Park. I'm a little nervous. The course is only open for up to a 13 minute mile pace and we all know that I am not the fastest runner. :) I'm hoping to be able to stay ahead of the street opening but if not it's not like you can't finish the race you will just have to watch for traffic and the final 1.5 miles is in the park so not a problem. It should be fun though not only will I get to see Kathleen again, (and maybe Aimee, her husband is running but I imagine they will be long gone by the time I cross the line! :) ) but it fits right into my 1/2 marathon training plan and makes just one less long, lonely boring run I will have to do on my own!

Starting the day off right!

Today's 1/2 marathon training called for speedwork. 8 miles. The only problem with that is that 8 miles is just a little to much for me to squeeze in in the morning, so 6 miles it would be. (I'm up at 4:20 to get that done and be to work at 7:30.) So this morning it would be 3 x 1600 in 11:50 plus warm up, cool down and 800/jogs. Well as you can tell from my "speed" I don't do much speed work, but I really enjoyed it this morning. The time went so fast. I did my warm up and had to hit the porta potty at the park..sometimes a real draw back to morning running. :) It's kind of scary to go into a dark porta potty and not be able to see what you are getting into, I knew it was going to be a good day when it was clean! So I hit my first mile with the Garmin beeping to speed up frequently but ended up with an 11:46 mile, mile 2 was 11:39 and the 3rd was 11:34! Can I say I was pretty happy with the results! That includes dragging the dog occasionally. Now my rest 800 jogs were pretty slow but really I can't say that I pushed myself to the limit. I felt good, really good when I was done. Did I say it really was the most beautiful morning for running. It's so quiet out there in the dark and the temp was right around 60 with a light breeze...beautiful! With any luck maybe a little more of this and I will be able to get a little faster. What a way to start the day!