Links for the Week

I'm especially excited about the first link. These are my favorites for the week.

• Dude Perfect interviewed on TexAgs radio. These guys rock.
• Easter is coming. Here's why we celebrate.
• CU Yellow Jackets Softball. My alma mater, and they are playing in town. I had to go out and watch!

Sunday: Easy run and weights

Monday: Rest!

Tuesday: Long, long run. Strava stats.

Wednesday: Morning swim, evening long walk and isos interspersed. I love living on the greenway!
Thursday: Morning weights, afternoon ride at Endeavor Performance. This was a great workout.
Friday: Run at PW with Kat. Strava stat.
Saturday: AM ride with the Ride615 guys, lunch ride with Kim, PM walk. Today was a BEAUTIFUL day.

Pictures from the Past Few Weeks

Put up my few Christmas things:
a nice nativity and a little tree

Wrapped Christmas presents...now to send them!

Did the Girls on the Run 5K with Anslee (and her dad Chris) in
25* temps; Anslee was awesome, and we finished in 35:15.

Shopped; apparently "snap-on pants" are the alternative (thanks to
a tweet reply from Kohl's when I asked what other kind of pants there are)

Nissan (where I charge) had a HUGE pile of donated toys

I like to be seen when I run -- if you're looking for a good
vest, I'd highly recommend this lighted, reflective one.

Hot chocolate; I don't know how people can
regularly spend as much on coffee as these drinks cost!

Thanksgiving with my nephew and niece

Getting the Christmas tree with the fam

Pond across from my office (where I walk)
and our office building's entrance

I was hoping to do the Honolulu Marathon (virtually), but it wasn't happening. My stomach was not happy, and I struggled to complete 10 miles on the treadmill and 5 on the elliptical. Ouch. I guess I can try again next weekend.

The Girls on the Run race was one of the only Christmas-related things that happened in Nashville this past weekend, because we were supposed to get lots of ice (didn't) and the Christmas parade, 5K, and tree lighting didn't happen or happened with no fanfare. Franklin's went on, but they were Saturday rather than Friday. It was freezing (25*), and it was the first time my girl Anslee had run in temps that cold. She was a champion despite new feelings she'd never had before. Side cramps were familiar (though not welcome), and I tried from the beginning to encourage her to breathe at least one deep breath every few tenths of a mile. Ice blocks for feet was a very unfamiliar feeling, yet she pressed on. I wish I would have thought to inform her (without scaring her) about those feelings and the fact that extreme temps make it harder to compete and perform. She was hoping we'd finish under 30 minutes like we did a few weeks ago, but her 35:15 was a fantastic time, and she was in the top 20 of at least 100 girls. She cried after...but she earned it! She put everything she had into that race. I was proud of her!

I spend Thanksgiving with the fam and had a blast. My nephew is starting to talk a lot and wants to play even more, and the weekend flew by.

Pink Cookware

This week has been pretty busy. We've had lots to do at work, and I had a practice 5K to run for Girls on the Run. Add in my normal training, running around with my cousin, and life in general, and I needed the 10 hours of sleep I got on Friday night!

This was the last time I'd be able to shop for stuff included in the Pink Cookware rebate, so I took advantage of another great week of sales at Publix. You get to see what I bought :-)

11-22-13 Publix Trip

Publix Trip (11-22)

Item (Quantity)	Regular Price  (multiplied)	Sale Price	Coupons	Final Price
Barilla sauce (2)	2.59 (5.18)	BOGO (2.59)	2 x $0.55/1 MQ	$1.49
Publix oats	3.49	--	--	$3.49
Duncan Hines cake mix (2)	2.89 (5.78)	BOGO (2.89)	2 x $1.00/1 MQ	$0.89
Puffs tissues (3)*	1.50 (4.50)	--	$0.25/3 MQ (multiplied)	$4.00
Sargento cheese (2)	3.99 (7.98)	BOGO (3.99)	$0.40/1 MQ (multiplied)	$3.19
Haggen Daaz ice cream pint	4.69	BOGO	--	$2.35
Downy Unstoppables*	7.99	--	$1.00/1 MQ	$6.99
Cover Girl lip gloss*	4.99	--	$1.00/1 MQ	$3.99
Duracell batteries*	2.49 (4.98)	--	2 x $1.00/1 PQ	$2.98
Bird's Eye veggies (2)	2.19 (4.38)	BOGO (2.19)	2 x $0.55/1 MQ	$1.09
Freshmate wipes*	2.69	--	Free wyb TP MQ (-2.69)	$0.00
BFAST shakes (2)	4.19 (8.38)	2.00 (4.00)	2 x $1.00/1 MQ	$2.00
Charmin TP*	9.79	6.99	$0.25/1 MQ (doubled)	$6.49
Publix eggs	2.00	--	Free wyb 2 Sargento PQ	$0.00
Totals: 22 items	$76.82	$55.64	$4.00 in PQs (**+1.75?) $12.69 in MQs ***$5 in Kroger Qs	+$4.19 tax $37.39 total (saved $39.43, or 51%)

Since I had to buy $30 worth of product to qualify for the rebate*, I'd say this was a pretty good result. Also I'm pretty sure my math is off, and I'm not sure if I included all the Qs. I didn't mark up my receipt right away and can't remember now what goes with what.

* Qualify for the Proctor and Gamble Pink Cookware rebate
** The top of my receipt shows three Qs I think came from my Publix card: 0.25/Charmin, 1.00/Pasta, and 0.50/Duracell. This would contribute to some of my math issue in the table above.
*** This was a competitor's (Kroger's) Q for $5 off when you spend $50.

Workouts for the week

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: cardio/iso workout in the morning, isos in the evening
Wednesday: isos in the morning, run in the evening (7mi)
Thursday: isos in the morning, GOTR run (with my girl Anslee) in the afternoon (6mi total with warmup and cooldown from Radnor Lake parking area)
Friday: isos in the morning, too many push ups to count in the afternoon
Saturday: 11-mile run (1:34:10) in the morning

My goal this off-season/pre-season is the get stronger, so I've been spending more time in the gym and less time outside. When it's 40* outside, I don't mind being inside. When it's 60* outside, I'd much rather be out running or riding!

Some of the Week in Review

Good mail day, thanks to Michelle from
I Heart Saving Money and Kohl's!

Monday was a rest day and I walked a few miles. Tuesday I lifted weights at lunch and then rode home. On my way, I rode up to Radnor Lake and then stopped in some intersection to pick up 75 of these:

Pennies!

Wednesday I rode in to work and then hiked 5 miles with Kat at Radnor Lake:

A nice lady took our picture

Thursday I went on the step mill instead of running because it was raining and super windy. I wanted to make it 60 minutes (I did) at a level between 6-8 (I started at 6). I always put it on random play, and it varied, starting at level 6 and making it to level 13 somewhere in there. My goal was to stay aerobic the entire time and use it in place of an easy run. Besides that I wanted to lower the workload the final 6 minutes (I didn't), it was a great workout and I finished up with 61 push ups. Friday I started the morning with 3-minute extreme slow isos.

Florida 2013

Here are some pics from my recent vacation to Florida with the family.

Birthday cake. The candle sang!

Sisters' families; more family
me with Isaiah; Isaiah and Caleb
me with Isaiah; 3 generations: Caleb, Gramps, and Dad

Amazing Race game pieces, Belladium football, Rummikub, and Shuffleboard

Rays stadium inside and out, Tropical Storm Andrea note, alligators

I ran a lot (44 miles over the first 10 days of the month) and worked out a couple times. Otherwise, we chilled, sat at the pool and ocean, walked a lot, went to a Rays game, went to an Alligator Attraction in Madeira Beach (I've been to that beach before in 2009; race results here), had a little birthday party (Amazing-Race themed, planned by my sister, where I had a bunch of challenges), ate at Big Olaf Ice Cream, ate at The Salty Dog, went to Kohl's, ate a lot, and basically ate often.

Some of the challenges from my birthday were the following:

• Dive for 30 pennies in 30 seconds
• My mom threw in the entire bag and I got them in about 3 seconds :-)
• Carry both nephews for a quarter mile in less than 3 minutes
• This turned into treading water with Caleb for 1 minute because Isaiah was gone
• Do 30 pushups in 30 seconds or less
• Attempt 1: 29 push ups because my dad asked me a question in the middle
• Attempt 2: 33 push ups
• Do a backwards triathlon (optional haha!)
• Score exactly 30 in one round of shuffleboard -- either 3x10 or 2x8+2x7
• Dad and I played a game, and I could never get closer than 2x8+7 or 2x7+8
• I used all 16 and did a rolling 4 -- still couldn't accomplish this
• Finally used all 16, in any order, and accomplished it -- after a lunch break!
• Walk with Aunt Judy (and accomplish a few subtle things)
• Draw an updated phone for Uncle Ed and Aunt Lucy
• Beat Gramps in a game of Rummikub
• Get these phrases from their respective common speaker without using key words (like Taboo)
• Mom: Someone can help you with that!
• Jean: Waiting for Guffman
• Mike: Turkey hunting
• Lucy: Shark! There's a shark in the water!

Publix Easter Week

Publix Trips (3-23, 3-28)

Item (Quantity)	Regular Price  (multiplied)	Sale Price	Coupons	Final Price
Luna Protein Bars (4)	0.99 (3.96)	--	2 x $1.50/2 Whole Foods Qs	$0.96
Scott paper towels	6.99	4.99	$0.75/1 MQ $1/1 PQ	$3.24
Scott wipes	2.29	--	$0.50/1 MQ (doubled) $0.55/1 PQ	$0.74
Dove chocolate eggs (2)	4.29 (8.58)	1.50 (3.00)	$1/2 MQ	$2.00
Blue Bell pint	2.39	--	--	$2.39
Purity pint	2.29	1.67	--	$1.67
Smithfield turkey	3.89	2.50	--	$2.50
Eat Smart veggies (5)	2.50 (12.50)	1.00 (5.00)	--	$5.00
Totals: 8 items	$42.89	$25.80	$2.75 in MQs, $1.55 in PQs $3.00 WFQs	+$1.49 tax $19.99 total (saved $22.90, or 53%)

I shopped this ad once earlier, too, on March 21 (spend $10.91, saved $28.79/73%). See that trip here.

Super sale on infant formula for my nephew!

Kroger Trips (3-25, 3-27)

Item (Quantity)	Regular Price  (multiplied)	Sale Price	Coupons	Final Price
Gerber formula (2)	24.76 (50.52)	6.19 (12.38)	$3.25/2 Kroger eQ	$9.13
Cookies (2)	1.99 (3.98)	0.99 (1.98)	--	$1.98
Prestone coolant	6.99	4.19	--	$4.19
Planters PB (10)	3.59 (35.90)	1.99 (19.90)	4 x $1/2 MQs 2 x $5/5 KQs (mega deal)	$5.90
Romaine lettuce	3.29	1.09	$0.40/1 KQ	$0.69
Diet Coke	1.79	1.59	free product MQ	$0.00
Totals: 5 items	$102.47	$41.13	$5.59 in MQs $13.65 in KQs	+$2.41 tax $24.30 total (saved $78.17, or 76%)

Monday's workouts were good ones. Tuesday's ride at Endeavor kicked my butt. Todd broke me, and I cried. Twice. Ouch.

Wednesday's PB deal

Wednesday I got in a good long walk outside, spent some time on the elliptical, and had a good workout. I finally hit the pool on Thursday, the first time since February 14, and got in 1,000 yards. They all felt pretty good, so I'm glad I braved all the spring break kids having fun int he pool. Thursday's class at T's was just as hard as Tuesday's, but I'm getting stronger and faster, so it's all good.

Lagooned

Easter box for my soldier

I also sent a box to my younger sister and my mom this week. I am grateful for the USPS this week! Monday was a rest day. After the time change this weekend, I needed it!

Quick Kroger trip

The MetRx bars ($1.99 originally, on closeout for $0.99) and Perfectly Simple bar (rang up as Zone Bar, $1 each) were free with Qs (Kroger home mailer - $2/2 MetRx MQ; catalina - $1/1 Simple bar), and the protein was on closeout plus I had a Q ($23.99 regularly, $11.99 sale price, $1/1 Pure Protein MQ = $10.99). That plus $1.38 tax = $12.35 total (savings of $16.62).

Monday was a rest day. Tuesday I did a morning workout and then rode at T's. This series is my favorite and least favorite all rolled into one. It is a strength series, so I can't really do all my other workouts, but it is the one that has the most benefit, by far, for my training. I can't simulate it outside, so I like the challenge. It hurts, though, as evidenced by my sprints (628 and 632, which should be much closer to 700). Wednesday I did a tempo ride on the trainer. Thursday it was back to T's for the same workout, but it felt better than it had on Tuesday. See, it's already making me stronger!

GMS Spring Play

Friday was amazing, and I met Kat at PW for a red-trail/candy-cane-trail 7-mile hike after a fun solo ride. Then it was off to Lauren's school for her spring play, Lagooned. Lauren did a great job, and it was fun to watch her perform.

Friday's ride

Saturday Val and I hit the road and enjoyed the sunshine. I had church later, and we had the biggest class, with 9 kids; that was our smallest class yet and quite fun and manageable.

Saturday's route with random mile and kilometer markers

Sunday we all (minus 2, it was amazing to have most of the team together!) rode another 50 miles, and it was a great team ride. Lots of hard work, lots of learning to communicate, and no one was super frustrated with others or super tired by the end. That is a good day's work and a good ride.

Sunday ride

I love my girls and was so happy to be able to spend a lot of time with them this weekend. I also got some stuff done around the house and finished a book. The only thing I should have done but didn't do was get my emissions tested. That is going high on my list for Monday!

I got some sun on Friday. Thank you, Garmin and Road ID, for helping with the tan lines. Of course, I still won't leave home without them!

Quick Weekend Review

Fellowship Bible Church has partnered with a few places in the city to give us a chance to donate food and clothes. I picked up the bags at church on Sunday and filled them to take back next Saturday or Sunday. I love giving!

Food to give

Clothes to give

Coupons to use toward giving
(My fave from this week's inserts)

I always buy two newspapers when I know there are Qs. Today I ran into Kroger because The Tennessean is only $1.50 there. I bought 2, left, and went home. When I opened it up later to read it, I realized that I'd bought last week's paper. Boo. But that wasn't the worst part: Someone had taken all the inserts out! So not only did I get the wrong paper, I got no inserts or coupons out of it. So I ran to Publix to get the right paper. Which actually had Qs in it. It was my fault for not checking the date, but I was still disappointed!

Mom's late birthday present...
it will be in the mail to her shortly

Sunday team ride: Hell of the South recon

Saturday team ride: practice, practice, practice!

Friday I worked out before work, got my work done, finished the extra project I was working on for a friend, went to Edwin Warner Park and hiked over to and around Percy Warner Park, and then walked at EWP with Anna for a total of 11 miles. Such a beautiful day! Anna and I headed back to her house for a little while to work on a little thing we got done. Love that girl!

Saturday morning I got up and joined my girls and T for our team ride. We rode a different course and worked on a few things. I wish I had HR data from it because it was an exhausting but super rewarding ride. I had to do some laundry and take a nap before church, where we taught our 5-year-olds about how Jesus healed the paralyzed man and how He wants to be our friend forever! Then I had (a super late for me) dinner with a new friend at a restaurant I'd never been to at The Factory. Also, that area of Franklin is being developed quite a bit--I could tell it had been a while since I'd been running through there because there were tons of new buildings.

Sunday morning we drove a few miles south to recon the Hell of the South road race course. This will be our first race of 2013, and I am looking forward to it. I came home, cleaned my bike (cassette and everything) and changed my front tire (I had a bulge in it through which I could see the tube; thank God it didn't burst while we were riding!) before I even considered showering. Priorities.

Test Week Again

Tuesday's test did not go as I had hoped. On the plus side, I have tested pretty consistently for the last 3 years. However, I hoped for better success on Thursday and had a different plan.

Before Thursday's test, Todd said, "You need to learn to pace yourself." I know! He said that for the first half mile on Tuesday, I was at 300W. You can see by the results below that dropped quite a bit over the next 4.5 miles. Well, Thursday I did what he said. And, shocker, it worked. I took 3 minutes rather than my usual 3 seconds to ramp up and then basically used 3-minute intervals to pace. We looked at my stats after and you can see each 3-minute segment distinctly, so I was right on with that. However, we then looked at another person's stats and I noticed how much work I really have yet to do.

Pink = Kailin
Red and Green = Geoff' 

I'm not exactly sure what the lines are representing (I think two are cadence and watts, but I'm not sure what the third is), but it's obvious that one person is slightly more consistent than the other! I did, though, achieve my best results to date, improving my time by 11 seconds and my watts by 8. My average heart rate for this test was 190 bpm. And yes, that is correct. Yikes!

Date	Test Number	Completion Time	Average Watts
March 5, 2013	TT #11a TT #11b	13:44 13:19	227 watts 246 watts
February 23, 2013	TT #10a TT #10b	13:30 (6 mi: 16:45)	238 watts 239 watts
January 10, 2013	TT #9b	13:50	223 watts
January 8, 2013	TT #9a	14:04	213 watts
March 29, 2012	TT #8b (tempo)	13:50 (tempo)	220 watts (tempo)
March 27, 2012	TT #8a (tempo)	14:01 (tempo)	212 watts (tempo)
January 26, 2012	TT #7	13:46	226 watts
January 24, 2012	TT #6	13:43	228 watts
May 4, 2011	TT #5	13:37	237 watts
March 3, 2011	TT #4b (tempo)	14:26 (tempo)	202 watts (tempo)
March 1, 2011	TT #4a	13:38	229 watts
January 6, 2011	TT #3b (tempo)	14:58 (tempo)	185 watts (tempo)
January 4, 2011	TT #3a	14:06	217 watts
March 25, 2010	TT #2	13:56	223 watts
January 28, 2010	TT #1	14:22	208 watts

Kiki and I headed to Inversion after. My other workouts this week have been 3- or 5-minute isos with one 20-minute TRUE elliptical and one 30-minute regular elliptical efforts thrown in for good measure.

Strength and Power; Reading List

New reading material!

Thanks to my mom (happy birthday!) and dad for the new reading material. At the rate I read last year, these will take me all year to finish, so I'm hoping to get through them all before I get another Amazon gift card. They haven't all come in yet, but here are the books currently on my "Read in 2013" list:

• Nineteen Minutes, Jodi Picoult (finished 3-05-13)
• Custom Nation, Anthony Flynn and Emily Flynn Vencat (finished 3-17-13)
• The Bible (currently reading Psalms and Matthew)
• Through My Eyes, Tim Tebow with Nathan Whitaker (finished 5-17-13)
• Microsoft Manual of Style, 4th Edition, Microsoft Corporation (currently reading)
• The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law, The Associated Press
• The Winner's Brain, Jeff Brown and Mark Fenske with Liz Neporent (finished 6-15-13)
• Mind Gym, Gary Mack with David Casstevens (finished 4-15-13)
• As Good As Gold, Kathryn Bertine and Katherine Switzer (finished in October)
• Moments of Truth, John MacArthur (year-long devotional)
• The Truth About the Lordship of Christ, John MacArthur (finished)
• Firehouse, David Halberstam (finished 6-20-13)
• The Penny, Joyce Meyer and Deborah Bedford (finished 6-23-13)
• How to Be a Best Friend Forever, John Townsend (finished)
• How to Get a Date Worth Keeping, Henry Cloud (finished 9-5-13)
• The Guide to Healthy, Pain-Free Shoulders, Will Roberts (finished 12-30-13)
• Love by the Letter, Melissa Jagears (finished 12-29-13)
• What The Fox Learnt, Aesop (finished 12-28-13)

For the next 4 weeks at Endeavor Performance we are focusing on strength and power. Basically getting better on hills. This is my favorite and least favorite series. Tuesday's workout was GREAT. Surprisingly. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I felt like I rode well (100 times better than last week, so definitely a success). I still have a lot of work to do on these hill-like workouts, though.

Tuesday: worked between 165 and 181 bpm; rested between 135 and 158 bpm; sprinted to 701W

Wednesday I spent a lot of time at the computer and except for doing 58 push ups and a few other little things, my only workout was 40 minutes on the step mill. But it was the cardio that I needed and wanted, so it was a good workout.

Thursday: worked between 165 and 184 bpm; rested between 140 and 161 bpm; sprinted to 696W

What are you currently reading?

What's on your 2013 reading list?

First Race: Indoor TT

Saturday race crew: me, Chrysa, Rachel, other
people I don't know, Ashly, more strangers

Tuesday I was scheduled to ride at T's in the morning, so I went, set up my bike, and filled up my water bottles. The class was full, and four of my teammates were there, so all was good. Then I got on the bike. I did not make it past the warm up, which was approximately 22 minutes. I could not continue, and I didn't know why. So I got off, showered, and got to work an hour earlier than I'd expected. In the afternoon, I did a good workout at the CSY and then headed home to ride. I had to prove to myself that I could ride my bike, so I started a 69-minute CD and changed up the work load at the beginning of every song. It wasn't the same workout I was supposed to have, but it was better than no workout at all!

Wednesday I did a couple workouts and then went to Jason's deli for dinner. That is definitely one of my favorite restaurants. All you can eat veggies and salad plus free ice cream? Yum!

After a Thursday morning workout it was back to Todd's for this week's take 2. I honestly did not know how it was going to go, but I did know Will was praying, so that definitely helped me focus. Just making it through and past the warmup was a success. At one point during the first tempo effort (around minute 20 in/ minute 46 total), I hit a wall and Todd lowered my watts a little. I didn't look at what he changed it to, just kept riding and determined to finish that interval. During the 4 minutes of rest, I saw he'd lowered it 20 watts, or ~10%. I asked just before the start of the next interval whether I should keep it there where I knew I could finish or raise it up until I hit a wall. He said go up, so I did. This time is was around minute 19 in when I lowered the watts, but then for the final 5 minutes I went back up to where I had been. And let me tell you, those last 5 minutes hurt! I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have made it through had it not been for Kiki and Catherine's encouragement -- love those girls! My sprint at the end was 726 W, tied for my best yet. Kiki also had her best, as did a couple other people in the class. It's amazing how a hard workout can bring out more than you knew you had!

After class, Kiki, Cath, and I met Kiki's dad and his friend for dinner at P.F. Cheng's. I had never been there before and got what was recommended -- Mongolian Chicken with brown rice. And tons of water. It was very good, and I'd definitely order it again if I went back.

Friday I met Anna for a beautiful walk in Edwin Warmer Park after a good hard workout.

Saturday morning was the first in a Time Trial Series at Endeavor Performance, and I raced with a bunch of other people (pic at the top). Here's my competition, and there were some strong ladies!

The ladies: Rachel, Kailin, Kristie, Jess,
Emma, Chrysa, and Paige

Then I stuck around for the next race:

Michael, Shannon, Catherine, and Josiah

For below, #10a = 5mi stats and #10b = full 10K stats; these were not two different races.

Date	Test Number	Completion Time	Average Watts
February 23, 2013	TT #10a TT #10b	13:30 (6 mi: 16:45)	238 watts 239 watts
January 10, 2013	TT #9b	13:50	223 watts
January 8, 2013	TT #9a	14:04	213 watts
March 29, 2012	TT #8b (tempo)	13:50 (tempo)	220 watts (tempo)
March 27, 2012	TT #8a (tempo)	14:01 (tempo)	212 watts (tempo)
January 26, 2012	TT #7	13:46	226 watts
January 24, 2012	TT #6	13:43	228 watts
May 4, 2011	TT #5	13:37	237 watts
March 3, 2011	TT #4b (tempo)	14:26 (tempo)	202 watts (tempo)
March 1, 2011	TT #4a	13:38	229 watts
January 6, 2011	TT #3b (tempo)	14:58 (tempo)	185 watts (tempo)
January 4, 2011	TT #3a	14:06	217 watts
March 25, 2010	TT #2	13:56	223 watts
January 28, 2010	TT #1	14:22	208 watts

This was my best TT yet (I looked at the screen at 5 miles and remembered those stats), and I held it for the next 1.2 miles as well. Score! My w/kg for the fill 10K was 3.4; that's better than I thought but not where it needs to be yet. And now I just have to remember what I did for this TT that was more successful than the others. Basically I did the warm up easy without looking at the screen. When we started, I went all out for 4 minutes, geared down for 4, and then went on 2-minute intervals for hard, not-so-hard, hard, etc., until the end. It kept me engaged and focused, and it forced me to work hard. I also helped that Emma caught me at one point and Jess was within reach (her time was 16:20, so that is the time to beat for next time.

And now I'm pretty exhausted!

Sunday we had a team ride that only Todd, Cath, Val, Shelly, Kiki, Jeremy, and I were able to make it to. But it was a great ride. Here is our out-and-back route:

Big East Fork Road is a GREAT road to ride on!

We climbed a little, sprinted a little, attacked a little, and learned a lot. It is always a treat when Todd rides with us, and today was no different.

Hard Work

Tuesday afternoon's class at Todd's kicked my butt. This was by far the hardest class so far, even though it wasn't much different than last week's classes. What was different, however, was my seat. I was trying a new saddle, and it was fine on Sunday when we rode outside. On the trainer, though, was a completely different story. It was so uncomfortable and annoying that it was all I could think about and by minute 56 I'd decided to get off, get my saddle from my car, and have Todd change them out. It meant 7 minutes off the bike, but it was worth it since the final 30 minutes went so much better. I rode at my normal 230W threshold and sprinted to 714W at the end. We did one 10-minute tempo block and two 25-minute tempo blocks, the final 5 minutes of which reduced me to barely pedaling. Like 80 RPM rather than the prescribed 95-100 RPM. But besides the equipment fix I never got off and never lowered my threshold, so success!

Tuesday morning I did a short but tough workout at home. Monday afternoon was another similar workout. Wednesday was a different, fun workout that I haven't done in a while, and because I actually left on time, I got in the entire workout before work.

Wednesday was great. The morning and afternoon workouts went well (I'd forgotten how much I like the step mill), and then I went over to my teammate Shannon's house for dinner. We chatted a ton about training with power, something I've been having a hard time understanding and appreciating.

Thursday morning was another good workout and then a good swim at lunch. Each hundred was fairly consistent (albeit a little slower than elite level), but I was happy with a slightly longer and good-feeling swim. Todd's class again was brutal. I asked midway through whether it was the same workout as last week's in terms of intensity, and he said yes, the first two blocks (warm up and subthreshold) were the same. I knew then that I was pretty tired and knocked down my watts. Both Tues and Thurs my HR was well above my normal aerobic zone within the first 20 minutes. That meant I was working super hard to achieve the same results and was outside the zone I needed to be training in. With about 20 minutes left, I went from 230W to 200W to keep it in my aerobic zone. So. much. easier. and tolerable. Here's the results of the first 56 minutes from the last four workouts:

2-05-13: 168 bpm (final sprint: 701 W)
2-07-13: 166 bpm, (final sprint: 726 W)
2-12-13: 174 bpm, (final sprint: 714 W)
2-14-13: 176 bpm, (final sprint: 709 W)

This is not trending in the right direction!

February Already?

2013 USAC License - Woohoo!

I cannot believe it is already the end of the first full week of February. Weeks and months definitely go by faster and faster. This week I spent a little time riding my bike at Todd's (a couple good, hard workouts), ran a few miles outside, walked a bunch (it's been beautiful!), spent an afternoon with Anna S, got some free breakfast from Bruegger's Bagels, worked a bunch, wrote some blogs for work, wrote a couple press releases, and more. Add in sleep, eating, and driving and you have my week.

Monday's workouts and run were good. I ran from the BFY up Knox Valley for 1 mile and turned around to run down. And yes, it really is up and down. With the wind blowing at me on the way out and pushing me on the way back, I did mile 1 in 8:28 and mile 2 in 7:41. Some day I'll do multiple repeats of the same just for fun. The workout after this hurt a little bit!

Tuesday I rode at T's in the afternoon, after a good workout in the morning. It was very similar to last week's workouts except that a few minutes were added to each interval (so we were doing 25 instead of 20). Threshold: 230 W. Sprint at the end: 701 W. Average HR for the first 56 minutes of the workout: 168 bpm.

Wednesday morning I did some 30-second sprints on the TRUE elliptical machine. Short as they were, I worked hard and they were a challenge. But I like that machine because I can get in at least a mile more than if I were on a traditional elliptical. Then I met Anna at Edwin Warner and we walked a good 5 miles on the paved paths around there and Ensworth. It started out perfect but ended up quite chilly. It took me a good 45 minutes to warm up.

Thursday morning I did my workout at home before stopping for free breakfast. Thursday afternoon before Inversion I stuck my bike on Todd's CompuTrainer again for the same workout as Tuesday. Only this one felt easier. I must be stronger than I was on Tuesday! It consisted of a 10-minute sub-threshold interval and two 25-minute tempo intervals. Plus a few other little things in there to break up any potential monotony. Threshold: 230 W. Sprint at the end: 726 W (my best yet). Average HR for the first 56 minutes of the workout: 166 bpm.

Publix is typically my grocery store of choice (here are a few shopping trips), but sometimes Kroger has great deals (example, example) and even better coupons. They sent me all of these in the mail, and I was pretty happy :-)

Free peanut butter and free eggs...plus $$ of bars and
peanut butter and produce. It was a good mail day!

And more $$ of Qs! I expect to save
lots of money this weekend!

Back At It

I spent all last week working on my IT band. Boo! So I haven't run since the 18th (6 miles outside) and the 19th (6 miles on the elliptical). I trained hard last week, though, to try to regain strength where I need it and was feeling good enough Monday to hit the road.

This was my route, from the CSY, and my time was 55:59. The first 3 miles were as close to tempo as I get: 7:47, 7:45, and 7:30; then I ran around Aspen Grove Park, stopped at the bathroom/bubbler, and had crosswalks and stoplights to deal with. All things considered, I'm pretty happy with sub-8s!

Monday afternoon run

Tuesday morning was back at Todd's for the CompuTrainer. As soon as I sat down, I felt the same tug on my knee, despite having spent forever Monday stretching and rolling and having rolled on the foam roller before riding. It worked itself out somehow and didn't bother me too much, but man was this a hard course!

Tuesday afternoon after a good 3-minute ISO workout I came home to find this at my door:

Bike stand

I won it in a giveaway Amy at Who Said Nothing In Life is Free??? had, and I was super excited to get it and put it up. BB was in the car, though, so you'll have to wait for a picture of the stand put together and doing its job.

Wednesday morning I worked out and then, in the afternoon, I did a sprint workout on the elliptical. Thursday morning workout and then ride at T's in the afternoon. Either Thursdays are better for me or afternoons are better or I'm just that much stronger by then, but this workout, although the SAME EXACT workout in terms of course and difficulty, went way better than Tuesday.

Tuesday: HR was 174, I started at 230W and ended at 200W, and I did only 60 minutes of the workout. No sprint.
Thursday: HR was 170, I started at 230W and stayed there, I did the entire 90-minute workout. Sprint watts: 698.

Isaiah 1:16-20
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. 

“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword”; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Friday I woke up to this! Snow makes everything look so much more beautiful and cleaner!

Psalm 51:7-13
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.

18 Laps = 1 Mile

Thursday's fun: the carousel at Opry Mills Mall

Monday I went to the BFY to work out after work. I'd wanted to run but didn't want to spend time on the treadmill, so my options were MFY and BFY because they have "tracks." Brentwood is slightly more convenient, so that's where I ended up. I laced up my shoes and headed upstairs, expecting to have to count lots of laps. For some reason, I had in my head that 14 laps was a mile. Much to my surprise (and dismay), 18 laps was a mile. That meant even more counting, turning, leaning, and laps. I started my timer and set off, catching the mile splits on my watch. Mile 1: 7:30. Mile 2: 7:15. Mile 3: 6:55! Hooray for an unplanned tempo run and a 21:41 3-miler (the extra second must have come from the decimals). I finished with a mile cooldown, half in 3:50 and the other half walking (6:20), for a total of 31:51 and 4 miles. Not too shabby!

Then I did a good 5 minutes extreme slow workout--my hips definitely needed something that didn't require running around in circles.

Tuesday's class at T's was much better than last week's, but I had to get off early to make it to work on time and missed a 19-minute tempo block. I had time to stay on for a few more minutes than I did, but I didn't want to get off in the middle of a work set so I didn't do any of it. In the afternoon I went to the DHY, where 20 laps = 1 mile. No, I did not run. But I did do 300 squats, and even without any weight that's a lot of squats!

Wednesday I ran 5 miles at the Cool Springs Y while watching The Flying Scotsman. It was a pretty interesting cycling movie, so I'm glad I'd decided to go into the cardio theater. I few of the miles were running, and a couple were walking at up to 5% incline. I wanted to get in some hills and work out some of the soreness from Tuesday's squat workout.

Thursday all my coworkers and I went over to Opry Mills and had lunch in the food court. Everyone was happy because we all could get what we wanted. Then we all jumped on the merry-go-round and had a fun 3-minute ride. Oh, the little things in life. The afternoon meant a GREAT ride at Todd's and Inversion. I knew from being sore that I'd have to work hard, and the workout did not disappoint. All my big leg muscles were tired, so my little muscles were forced to do their share of the work, and they did. By about 10 minutes into the 90-minute workout, I knew I'd be able to product my best sprint watts yet, so I rode the rest of the workout with that in mind and smile. Sprint watts = 719, 5 more than previously (1-03-13). Success!

At Inversion, Dr. Easley gave an overview of Why We Believe What We Believe, and I can tell this is going to be an informative, interesting series.

Friday I went for a run through Maryland Farms, finding a new path and exploring. Six miles, done.

Saturday I did 6 miles on the elliptical in the morning, rode a good 42 miles in the afternoon with Jes, Kat, Valerie, and Shannon, taught my Pre-K kids that we all can talk to Jesus and show Him that we love Him, and then did another 6 miles on the True elliptical.

Sunday after a 3-mile walk and church I met up with Anna, Parri, Shannon, Kat, Kiki, and Catherine for 38 fun miles:

Week's run miles: 30
Week's bike miles: 155

Rain, Rain, Rain

Yep, it rained a lot this weekend. Not as much as we had a couple years ago when it flooded (May 2, 2012; May 3, 2010), but definitely enough to cause some minor flash flooding, raise water levels, and keep me from riding outside. So Friday I went on a long run:

Friday run route

Saturday I went to the Y and did 5 miles on the TRUE elliptical and a good iso workout. This makes 30 miles running and 3 iso workouts for the week. Success!

Sunday I swam in the morning and then rode at Todd's with my teammates for about 2 hours. This makes 80 miles riding and 500m swimming for the week. Slightly less than last week, but we also had test week at Todd's so the mileage there was lower.

I also worked on goals. Every year for now 4 years, I've written out goals on the computer and then transferred 5 main ones to a piece of paper. After laminating it, I put one copy in the pocket of the sweatpants I wear most often and another in my gym bag. I write some other things I need to remember in there as well, and then I periodically take it out, look at it, and remind myself why I'm doing what I do. It's been a great exercise, and one I hope to continue.

Here are a few of the additions to my goals:

Job 5:8-9 But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause—who does great things, and unsearchable, marvelous things without number.

Psalm 139:14, 23, 24 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. ... Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.