this-n-that

let me start off by saying that NO, i am not whining about the weather, so there! i cannot complain because while most of you were relegated to riding the trainer to get your cycling miles in this weekend (Sorry Mandy!), i was riding like a mad woman outside with a sleeveless jersey and shorts on. today is another story. although i am off from work, it looks like a washout for a while. no problem, i always have LA Fitness, which is on my this-n-that list to update you all on. remember this post from january 4th where i posted the email exchange between me and Mr. So and So at the Y where i WAS swimming? key word is WAS. after sending out some feelers and polling a few people that i knew were in the know about LA Fitness, i decided to make the switch. best decision i’ve made in a while. should have done it last year but since i paid a year in full at the Y, that was not an option. live and learn, right? i was finally able to get in 3 solid swims in one week … imagine that? no longer do i need to worry about the outside temp being 43 degrees or higher for the pool to be open, no more worries about over sleeping lifeguards who either don’t show up on time or don’t get there early enough to remove the pool covers by the time the pool is posted to open. so this past week was one of the best weeks of training that i have had in a while and i finally feel like i’ve recovered completely from the 140.6. who knew it would take that long? anyway, everything just fell right into place finally and here is what the week totaled out to:

swam: 6,629 meters
biked: 157.2 miles
ran: 27 miles
weight trained: 2x’s

i’m so happy to be FOCUSED and ON TRACK with the training again, it’s crazy! but a good crazy!
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first race of the season coming up; a half marathon, the Clearwater halfathon. you get a gold starfish medal too! the one pictured below is mine from the inaugural gulf beaches marathon in january 2002.
am i ready for it? probably not! did i know i wouldn’t be? yep! after the 140.6, my legs were trashed, at least running wise they were. i just couldn’t get a good rhythm going with the run. i wasn’t injured but was probably on the verge of injury a couple of times, which is why i backed off a bit and didn’t do the Palm beaches marathon like i wanted to in the early part of december. my shins and left hip were giving me fits. the good news is, the last few weeks of running have been great and the speed is coming back slowly but surely. i hope to be back to form by the next half marathon at the end of February and i think with the swimming back in the picture, it will only get better from here. i will approach the upcoming half mary as a training run for the next 2 events on my race schedule. 

the first being the next half marathon i mentioned earlier at the end of february; the Gasparilla half marathon and the other event is the gator half iron tri in sarasota, on march 20th. so that’s all on the training front for now but i can see the big picture unfolding in front of me and i have some plans in place to rock out the swim this year. work in progress … always!
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now for an update on a recent post regarding my lovely running pal, Tia. as you may recall from this post recently, she ran the Disney marathon last sunday in hopes of qualifying for Boston. however, sometimes the best laid plans don’t always go as planned and so we get back up, dust ourselves off and get ready for round 2! Tia in action!

i’ll let her tell you about it in her own words: “So...I didn't qualify for Boston at the marathon. The last 7 miles were really rough and very painful. Finished in 4:01 which is 45 min better than my 1st one. I'm proud of myself because I know I gave it everything I had! Thanks for your support. It just wasn't my day to qualify. I'm thankful for my Johnny, Mom & Grace for being there. it was still a good day! Onto Nashville Marathon 4/30 for another attempt! N.G.U. = Never Give Up!”

if you’d like to read Tia’s blog post with more detail, go HERE! it is a great post; you will love it, i promise! by the way, on last check, i think Tia is doing the Snickers Marathon in Georgia, in early March instead of Nashville at the end of April. you go girl!  and, if my running is on track by that time, i may just join you in GA Tia.
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 Don’t forget you have 1 more week to enter the Trinity Multi-Sports giveaway on my blog by going HERE and following the instructions. Thanks!
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well … still pouring here so i guess i better get my gym bag packed and get this party started! much love and peace out!