Mile Time

TK and me—she is beautiful and I'm so glad I was able to support her by attending the wedding.

My mile time is coming down! Last time I went and ran miles, my fastest mile was 6:46. Previously, I'd run 6:40 in a race, and my goal at the beginning of the year was a 6-min mile. Today I ran a 5k in Kannapolis, NC, with the goal of running fast. And run fast I did! My first mile was 6:20. A new PB! The remaining 2.1 miles weren't nearly as fast, but I did end up 3rd in my AG and with about my same time as I've been running lately (that just means that I slowed a ton).

Now it's off to Tricia's wedding.

What I sat in, crawling, for an hour. But look at the amazing view!

Tricia and Michael "Hutch" Hutchinson's cake

At the wedding, I met one of her ushers, who called himself Farmer (I think that was his last name, but I don't remember his first name). (Her other usher was her brother Jon.) Farmer asked what I do, and I explained that I edit practice exams for Microsoft and Cisco certifications. I was hard to read his face, as in, was he understanding or not understanding what I was talking about. It was less of a blank stare than an "I can't believe this girl does that" kind of look. Then he asked who I worked for. I realized he probably knew a little about IT certs, and I said I work for Boson. He'd heard of it. In fact, he's used some of our stuff! When I mentioned that NetSim 8 is due out shortly, and I (though biased) think we have the best stuff on the market, he seemed excited and agreed. I think this was the first time I've actually met someone who's used our stuff, and it was as exciting for me as it was for him!

Sleeping In

It's sad when sleeping in still means getting up before 5. But that's what happened this morning. And though I didn't have to get up that early, it meant that I could spend some time reading Psalms and being encouraged by knowing that God is always with me. "Be still and know that I am God," He says. Wow. What more could you ask for in terms of presence and promise?

It's been a good day so far: $72 worth of groceries for $39 (yesterday), a free movie ticket, and $200 worth of awesome 2XU triathlon clothes for $53. I needed more shorts, and one pair alone would have cost $65 at regular price. Instead, I got 2 pairs and a tank for even less, including shipping!

Deals

Tricia and Michael's wedding gift—my sister gave me a great idea for a gift since we couldn't find them registered anywhere.

Today's workout was all about being fast, fast, fast. Lots of phasic impulse exercises: 10 seconds on, 10 seconds off, 20 times:

• Bent-over front delt
• Bent-over row
• Leg curl
• Leg extension
• Standing front delt
  
• Bicep curl
• Hip extension
• Hip flexion

Sometimes I swear Will knows what I'm going to have time for even though I don't tell him. This was a workout I could do at home, and that was wonderful. It meant I could multitask, which was required to get everything done that I needed to get done. After I ran to Publix (well, I guess it wasn't really a "run" since it took me nearly an hour to find everything I was looking for and stay within my budget), I went home to do laundry, work out, bake cookies, roast almonds, pack, wrap a wedding gift, clean, and more. Training would have kept me out for another hour and would have meant no laundry or baking. Packing and wrapping are about all I could've completed.

Not the best percentage (47%), but I did get some actual food.

I'm pretty happy with today's shop. Although I only saved 46%, I bought some actual food (and some not). Nothing gave me overage, but the pop tarts (which cost $0.43 each) will give me a free movie ticket (valued at least $10, and I would never spend that much on a ticket) and half of it was for gifts. Here's the rundown of what's there:

• Pizza: 4, $0.50 each ($2)
  
• Pop tarts: 5, 0.43 each ($2.15)
  
• Skillet meals: 2, 0.50 each ($1)
  
• Mozzarella cheese: 2, $2 each ($4)
  
• Dates: 2, $2 each ($2)
  
• Limes: 2, 0.25 each ($0.50)
  
• Raisins: 2, $1.95 for 1, free for the other ($1.95)
  
• Dip: $1.59
  
• Dip mix: $1.49
  
• Olive oil: $2.19
  
• Sun dried tomatoes: $4.29
  
• Oregano: $2.29
  
• Garlic: $2.99
  
• Bow tie pasta: $1.15
  
• Black olives: $1.19
• Steak: $1.06

For some reason, this isn't adding up, which means not all my Qs go scanned and I should have saved another $3. Next time I'm going in a line with people in front of me so I have time to unload my cart in the order I want and then watch the cashier scan my Qs. Jacqui, my favorite cashier, wasn't there, so I had try someone new. Also strange, the cashier scanned my PQs but they didn't beep, and they're not showing up as PQs on my receipt but I noticed money coming off as she scanned them. I also forgot to count my Qs before handing them to the cashier to know how many should've scanned and how much money should have come off. Oh, well, I'm still pretty please with spending under $40 for all that stuff, which meant I could run to the Party store to complete the wedding gift I was working on.

All the food that could have cost me $72.37 but that I got for $38.61.

Running

This morning I got in a quick run before work (3mi). Will and I miscommunicated yesterday's workouts--he thought I was doing one thing, while I did another that he thought I was going to do today. Definitely my fault for not communicating that. So since I woke up to no workout, I decided a jog was in order. It was really a jog, with Mile 1 at 9:08, Mile 2 at 8:18, and Mile 3 and 7:24. My kind of tempo run. Granted I should have done them all at least at the 7:24 pace, but I wasn't looking at my watch, wasn't aiming for a pace or a time, was just aiming for the next street light, and then the next and the next and the next.

The lunchtime workout was no tougher than yesterday's PM workout, but I definitely had to focus. Fortunately DHY has an unused (at lunchtime, that is) spin room that is perfect for what I need: quiet and no distractions.

• Lunge, 15 sec on, 10 sec off, 10 times, then switch legs
• Altitude drop legs, 10 sets of 5, 30 seconds rest between sets
• GHR, quick-style reps to arm's length, 10 sets of 4
• Push up, 5 minutes, standing, ultra-wide (I used a couple stationary bikes instead of a door frame since I didn't want to be in anyone's way for 5+ minutes)
  
• Altitude drop bench press, 45 lb, 10 sets of 4
• Curl, quick-style reps with a 1-second continued contraction at the top and bottom, 10 sets of 4

The afternoon workout was slightly different but still challenging and fun.

• 5 sets of the following:
• Bench press, 65 lb (Will said 75–85 lb, but it was much easier to do the same weight for both exercises and not have to take up multiple stations), 10-sec hold, 1 rep, repeat for 3 total reps
• Bent-over barbell row, 65 lb, 6 reps
  
• GHR, 6-6-6 EDI, 3 sets, reps to arm's length
  
• Phasic leg curl, 300 each leg
• Lunge, 5 on, 5 off thru 25, each leg, then repeat
  

Then it was off to watch Team B and the crit and do my second run (and 4^th workout, tho Will is really just splitting my one workout into 2 manageable pieces) of the day. Kathy and I did around 1.65 miles in about 15 minutes. She had just raced the crit and we were running her pace; it made me remember my runs like that last year and made me want to do that again next year.

Grati-Tuesday

Every Tuesday, I try to think of something I'm grateful for. This is an idea I got from Ironman Champion Linsey Corbin. Today I was grateful that I could roll with whatever happened even though it wasn't what was supposed to be. Yesterday was a rest day, and overnight Will emailed me the workouts I'd done the previous 2 weeks. He told me he emailed it, and I checked in the morning to see what it said. I didn't read all the way to the bottom to notice that he'd also added a new workout for this morning.

I kinda messed up by going back to what I'd done 2 weeks ago. Later I realized that he'd sent a new one, so at lunch I did the AM part of that, after work I did the PM workout, made some brownies, then headed to Mexicali Grill for supper (well, a second supper for me) with some of the cyclists from the Harpeth Bike Club. My 3 workouts today didn't permit a ride, but maybe I'll be able to get out there Thursday.

• 6-6-6 EDI, 1 set, visualizing recovery between each exercise
  
• Lunge w/RL (I wished Will could've seen these; I felt fast and strong and like I was jumping high and landing soft—all the stuff he does that I can never get right)
• GHR to top
• Bench press w/45lb
  
• Plate front delt w/10lb
• 10-6-3 EDI, 3 sets
• Wall squat
• GHR Standing ham
• Bench press w/45lb
• Plate front delt w/10lb
• Repeat the following 6 times:
• Lunge, 30 seconds each side, alternating legs, 3 times
• Alt drop GHR then overspeed up, 3 times
• Russian twist, 10 times 3 each side
  

The thing I'm the most grateful for, though, is life. Not just my life as a living, breathing person, but my life as a child of God. Because Jesus came and died for me (paying the price for every sin I've committed or have yet to commit) and then rose again and now lives, I don't have to fear death or being separated from God forever—I can look forward to living with Him and worshiping Him forever in eternity. It's a life I don't deserve and am thus all the more grateful for.

Music City Triathlon and NashvilleCyclist.com Crit

Michael C and me at the finish—his wife was at the finish to catch both of us :-)

I almost don't want to recap this weekend because it was so brutal and I did not end up with the results I wanted, but I have pictures and want to share them!

Saturday was a 40-minute crit put on by NashvilleCyclist.com. I ended up in 7th place behind a breakaway of 3 and 3 others I couldn't out-sprint because my legs died. But I did win one sprint and a cash prime, so all was not lost.

Me, Laura, Valerie, Marsha, Shelly

Jessica, Marsha, Olga, me, Lisa C, Laura, Valerie, Lisa S, Cali

Sunday was an Olympic-distance tri put on by Team-Magic, the Music City Triathlon. The swim was brutal, keeping me in the water 10+ minutes longer than I should have been in there. It all went downhill from there, with me not being able to get my HR down and probably not regulating my body heat well. I drank at least 32 ounces (water) before the race, at least 64oz (water, gatorade) during the race (not including any river water I might have consumed), and up to 200 oz (water, gatorade, recovery drink) during the rest of the afternoon, but I still didn't feel totally quenched. And that was after having up to 132 oz (water, gatorade, recovery drink) after 1pm on Saturday. Yikes! Needless to say, it's been HOT here!

I loved being able to race with Team B on Saturday, and loved that a few of them were out there on Sunday to cheer us on. It definitely helped with my motivation, and I was glad that Lisa and Lisa were there at the finish and especially glad that neither had to accompany me to the med tent (tho I know Lisa S would have); thankfully after I spent a few minutes in the shade I felt well enough to watch them all crush the crit in just has hot or hotter weather. The asphalt and open parking lot are completely unforgiving.

Finished with the swim, finally!

Coaching

There are definitely some benefits to working with a coach or a trainer. The biggest ones for me are always having someone to train with (if you live in the same city, that is) and having someone know me well enough to know when I need a rest and when I need a shove. Yesterday I needed a rest and got it. Today was back in the groove: 3:30 extreme slow iso, followed immediately by 50 quick-style reps.

• Wall squat, then body-weight squat (definitely not fast during the first 20, but the last 30 were slightly better)
• GHR from top, then wall squat (faster on these than the bw squats)
• Curl w/30-lb bar, then towel curl (1-second contracted pause at top and bottom)
• Bench press w/45-lb bar, then bench press w/45-lb bar (paused at 30 because I was slowing down, but I picked it up again for the last 20)

The afternoon workout will be similar but slightly different: 1-minute iso, 30 rebound reps, 65-seconds rest, 3 sets.

• Front-foot-elevated lunge, then rebound reps (all on first leg, rest, then switch legs)
• Standing ham, then rebound GHR
• Push up, then rebound bench press w/35-lb bar
  

Attitude

It's amazing how much difference a good attitude can play in making a better workout. This morning was 100 times better than yesterday, just because I remembered when I awoke to thank God for all He's done and to ask Him to help me have a better attitude. Then I went to the Y. (It also helped that Will gave me a slightly different workout than I'd had the previous two days, and this one did not include any altitude drop legs or dynamic glute ham raises!)

The morning workout was 5 on, 5 off thru 45, short water break, 45 on, 5 off thru 5:

• Front-foot-elevated lunge R, L
• GHR at parallel (as if I have another option; interestingly, this morning, someone actually knew that what I was doing was a hamstring exercise—usually I get funny looks and questions from people wondering why I'm napping or what kind of push up I'm doing)
• Push up on knees (I felt like I could barely hold myself up, but I did keep pulling into the deepest position possible)
• Preacher curl, light bar

The afternoon workout will be amazing: 10-20 minutes of breathing and visualizing. I used to hate this, but I've been practicing and found that it really is beneficial—it helps me focus and relax and think. Then it will be off to watch Team B rule the crit course again! (Which they did, coming in 1^st, 3^rd, 4^th, 6^th, 8^th, 10^th, and 13^th.

As soon as the women finished racing, I hit the road for a quick 2.5-mile jog. I had to know whether I could do it how I was feeling, so that if Sunday comes around and I'm still kinda sore I can still race. And I can. Got my confidence back up, especially since I ran the pedestrian bridge twice (which will be part of the race Sunday). I can't wait!

Sore

I went to BFY this morning for the workout and struggled through it:

• Front-foot-elevated lunge, 10 seconds on, 10 seconds off, 15 times one leg, then switch legs; think about quiet landing, pulling hard, the powerfully pushing off the crate.
• Altitude drop GHR, 6 sets of 3
• Zurcher squat, 10 sets of 5 from bottom to halfway up
• GHR to top or arm's length, overspeed, 3 sets of 6 (I completely forgot this one)
• Bench press, 20 sets of 1 (I basically just did 20 reps), to top as fast as you can

Then I called Will all frustrated because it did not go well.

At lunch I went to DHY to swim, 1,600, however I felt like. I just needed to do something that would make me forget how sore I was.

The afternoon workout was this:

• Front-foot-elevated lunge, bar between legs (65lb), 100 rebound reps
• GHR to top or arm's length, overspeed, 10 sets of 3
• Altitude drop bench press, 55lb, 10 sets of 3 overspeed with a 1-2-second hold
• Russian twist, 10 sets of 2 each side
  

Mile Repeats

I was supposed to do 3 or 4 mile repeats this morning, at sub-7. The 4th was to be optional if I was keeping the right pace for the first 3. I went to the trails behind BFY, warmed up for about 10 minutes, then started the first one. 6:46. Woohoo! The rest didn't go so well. I started out around the same pace, but I could feel myself slowing down significantly, and when that happened I stopped, turned around, and tried again. After the second one, I decided to not necessarily stop after slowing down but rather look at my pace; if I was still under 7, I could keep going until I couldn't stay under 7 any more. That worked a lot better for me because I realized I could keep going a little farther each time. So the second, third, and fourth attempts were 0.3 miles, 0.4 miles, and 0.5 miles respectively. Interestingly, I was able to go longer each successive time.

I wish I could have gone for another full mile at that pace, but I think I would have had to do another 5 intervals to have attained that. So we'll have to try again next time. But I'm in no way complaining about the first mile or my overall pace for each interval. Some day I'll get to where I can run 4 miles at a sub-7 pace. With all the walking to rest and return back to a good starting point, I managed a total of 5 miles. Short but pretty intense.

The only problem was that my legs, specifically my quads, felt super heavy and just like they were getting in the way. That was not a fun feeling. It was OK when I could forget about it but not fun when I thought about how heavy they felt.

My average HR for the whole thing was 136, with my max being 193.

Now it's off to the pool for a nap!

Repetition

Lauren, Emma, and me as giraffes in the Zoofari store

Today's workout was a repeat of yesterday's PM workout, and that means running (fast) tomorrow.

• Scap pull up, 3 min
• Standing curl, 3×3, 35 lb
• Preacher curl, 3 min, light bar
• Standing ham, 3 min
• Z squat, 3×3, 45 lb
• Wall squat, 3 min

I did this in the AM, then headed to the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere with Lauren and her friend Emma for the entire afternoon. We had a blast admiring all the animals, all the things that God created. By far my favorite place is the Underworld, where you see all the night critters and ground creepers that you wouldn't normally see. Frogs, snakes, spiders, all those gross things but all the necessary environmental animals.

Beautiful flowers outside the aviary

Giraffes. They would only come so close.

They were enthralled by the geese. Yes, geese.

Lauren's fave, the red panda

Continuing On

This morning I didn't get the workout in time to complete it, so I'll do some combination of AM/PM this afternoon. We'll see how it goes.

AM Workout:

• Push up, 3 min, visualize every muscle fiver in lats and pecs being stimulated
• Bench press, 3×3, 75 lb
• Preacher curl, 3 min
• GHR, 3 min
• 1-arm dead lift, 3×3, 65 lb
• Lunge, 3 min

PM Workout:

• Scap pull up, 3 min
• Standing curl, 3×3, 35 lb
• Preacher curl, 3 min, light bar
• Standing ham, 3 min
• Z squat, 3×3, 45 lb
• Wall squat, 3 min

Well, I did these all, but in a very seemingly random order. I didn't get it until too late, so I had to do whatever I could at work, then met Valerie for lunch, then finished the workout later. It was a good fun workout. Hard.

Behind

I started the morning frustrated, knowing I wouldn't be able to get everything done before work and not knowing when I'd get it done. Still, I went to the Y determined to finish what I could and then realized that I was 15 minutes off on my math and definitely wouldn't finish it all. But the morning workout is pau, and the afternoon one, though it will cut into the crit party, will be better in that I will take all the time I need to complete it correctly (even if I'm at the gym all night, which I think could happen).

AM Workout:

• Do the following as a loop 3 times total:
• Push up, 1-min iso
  
• Phasic leg curl, 100 each leg
• Bench press, 45lb, 3 deep breaths, 1 rep, repeat as many times as possible (I would still be there; I limited myself to 15 because I had to get out of there)
• Preacher curl, 30-lb, 1 min iso
• Glute ham, 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, 10 times
• Lunge L, 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, 10 times
• Lunch R, 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, 10 times
• (I did the previous 2 a couple hours later at work, but I did them.)
  

PM Workout:

• Do the following as a loop 3 times total:
• Push up, 1-min iso
  
• Phasic leg curl, 100 each leg
• Bench press, 45lb, 3 deep breaths, 1 rep, as many as you can (first time: 65 lb, 15 reps; second time: 75 lb, 15 reps; third time: 85 lb, 4 reps; I think I found my limit! I had asked Will how many he expected I should be able to do, he said maybe 5, add weight!)
  
• Preacher curl, 30-lb, 1 min iso
• Glute ham, 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, 6 times (done at the crit)
  
• Lunge R, 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, 6 times (done at the crit)
• Lunch L, 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, 6 times (done at the crit)

I got to watch Team Belladium put on another great show at the crit, with Lisa S (she won), Parri, Cali, and Lisa C all finishing within the top 5.

Day #2

I had a little trouble with some of Will's instructions this morning, but hopefully we can get it hashed out before the afternoon workout. Today is all 6-6-6 EDI, 1 set:

• Lunge with RL (L, R), visualizing recovery between legs
• GHR with reps to top (did first 7, then rest to arm's length because I wasn't using my hamstrings and glutes any more)
• Bench press with 45-lb bar
• Plate front delt (standing) with 10 lb
  
  
• Z-squat with 30-35lb bar
• GHR with reps to top
• Push up on knees
• Curl with light bar

We did talk about the visualizing recovery/stimulation and he said what he said was right—do both. That was a struggle for me and I don't think I did either, even though I tried. I don't feel anything, and that's what frustrates me the most. Anyways, after I got both workouts done, I headed over to Anna M's house for a great night of watching the tour with other cyclists (Anna, Lisa, Marsha, Jonell, Jen), fellow triathletes (Lynn, Kevin, Kathy), and some new non-cycling friends (Shea, Liz). It ended up being a late night, but it was worth staying up for.

Experimenting

Today begins a 2-week experiment. We are going back to the kind of training I was doing in December/January to see whether I get faster between yesterday's race and the Music City Triathlon in 2 weeks. I anticipate improvement, so I am excited to see what happens. The only thing is that Will is not here, so I'm just going to have to push myself as hard as I know he would were he here.

Morning workout:

• 3 min iso push up on knees
• Repeat the following as a loop 6 times:
• 50 scap pull up
• 25 towel front delt
• 1 bench press, 75lb
• 1 min iso preacher curl, 15-lb dumbbells
• GHR, 30 sec on, 30 sec off, 6 times
• Lunge R, 30 sec on, 30 sec off, 6 times
• Lunge L, 30 sec on, 30 sec off, 6 times

Afternoon workout (which happened at lunch because I don't know when else I'll find time today and which was SIGNIFICANTLY harder physically than the morning's workout):

• Bench press, 65 lb, 10 deep breaths then 1 rep@65lbs then rest (as if another person was going), repeat for 10 total reps (holding the bar the entire time)
  
• Rebound curl, 15 lb (Will said approx. 25, but 15 was my option and 15 was plenty) bar, 10 reps, rest, repeat 10 times
• Squat w/ bar (I did it with a stick—no way could I have done it with a weighted bar), 5 reps, rest 10 seconds, repeat 10 times
• GHR to arm's length Standing ham, 10 reps, rest, repeat 10 times

The afternoon holds a much-needed visit to Dr. Berger, dinner at Carraba's with Nancy and her friend Sharon (we tried Chuy's but it was ridiculously busy!), and baking for Anna's tomorrow and JO's Wednesday.

Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon

This was the 4th Olympic-distance triathlon I've done this year, after Knoxville, Memphis, and Quassy. Today's times are pretty comparable (as in, little improvement) to those races.

• Knoxville (5-9-10): 2:41:01, 8 of 16 (AG), 39 of 107 (females), 164 of 359 (OA)
  female winner: 2:03:48
• Memphis (5-23-10): 2:35:49, 25 of 56 (AG), 92 of 388 (females), 395 of 1,119 (OA)
  female winner: 2:05:55
• Quassy (6-05-10): 2:53:05, 6 of 25 (AG), 23 of 134 (females), 112 of 375 (OA)
  female winner: 2:27:58
• Chattanooga (7-12-10): 2:41:26, 13 of 66 (AG), 57 of 406 (females), x of 1,234 (OA)
  female winner: 2:13:41; AG winner: 2:28:57
  

Today's time was good enough for 13th in my age group of 66. Not quite the 5th place or higher that I was hoping for, but I felt like I raced well and went about as fast as I could on that course.

Stats from the watch and the Garmin (full results and stats to come):

• Swim: 25:41 (I thought my time was about 23 minutes); T1: 2:33
• Bike: 1:22:01 (watch); 1:20:22 (Garmin), 1:14:54 (results); 25.84 mi, 19.3 avg (40.1 max), 1,676 cal, 160 HR (187 max); T2: 4:57
  
• Run: 53:21; 8:31, 8:29, 8:15, 8:27, 8:36, 9:25, 1:38
  
• Swim: 23 of 68; fastest was 20:37; T1: 20 of 68; fastest was 1:46
• Bike: 3 of 68; fastest was 1:12:47 (Mindy)
• Run: 17 of 68; fastest of 43:44
• Fastest bike for females was 1:07:41; I was 19 of 406 for bike time!

Cow Appreciation Day

I started out the morning well—5 on, 5 off thru 40 isos at home before work:

• Wall squat
• Standing ham
• Scap pull up
• Curl
• Crate crunch

Then it was off to work before riding (if the rain holds off) and swimming (if it's not lightening and thundering). And the best part of the day: Chick-fil-A with Anna for Cow Appreciation Day. Dress like a cow, and they'll give you a free entree or a free meal. Can't beat free, and I like Chick-fil-A and appreciate their business model.

Brick

Well. I ended up not doing my brick and getting totally drenched on my bike. However, all was not lost—I tend to ride well in the rain and today was no different. Maybe not the fastest average, but considering the pouring rain, the fact that I kept getting stuff (I'm sure it was salt and rainwater mix) in my eyes, and my continually slowing down because I couldn't see out my glasses lenses, I'm pretty happy with how the ride went.

• 1:21:04, 24.94 miles, 18.5 avg (35.6 max), 1484 cal, 148 HR

The run didn't happen. By the time I got off my bike, all I wanted was to be dry. Thankfully it wasn't cold and by that time it had stopped raining, but I didn't even have a towel to dry even my hands and didn't like the gritty rainwater all over me. So inside for a shower I went, and then I got to cleaning my nasty-looking bike.

Tempo Run Part II

Because of my walk with Valerie at lunch, I skipped today's swim. Hopefully it won't affect my race this weekend.

My tempo runs have been less than stellar lately. I can do the warmup OK, and the cooldown is usually a little better, but when I get into the meat of the run I struggle. I try to run at a faster pace than the warmup and either can't run as fast as I'd like to or can't run as long as I need to at the pace I'm at. So today I warmed up, ran some sprints, and cooled down.

• 50 min, 5 mi, 10:00 pace (yes, I really went that slow) (5:05 best), 561 cal, 159 HR (193 max)
  
• 21:11, 2.14 mi, 164 HR
• 58 sec, 0.17 mi, 5:49 pace (5:16 best), 165 HR
• 1:06, 0.19 mi, 5:50 pace (5:05 best), 156 HR
• 1:02, 0.18 mi, 5:49 pace (5:12 best), 151 HR
• 34 sec, 0.10 mi, 5:34 pace (5:12 best), 167 HR
• 10:20, 1.14mi, 9:15 pace (5:37 best), 158 HR

(I didn't include all the walking time between the 4+ intervals (I did more, but they weren't all up to 1 minute so I didn't include those either). I really felt like if I kept going any longer, I'd trip over my feet!

If Will is game, I'll be doing a little experiment for the next two weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to run as fast as some of these sprints for longer than 0.20 miles after it!

25 Meters vs. 25 Yards

At lunch, I headed to DHY for a swim. Another pull, 1,000 meters. I finally called to find out the length of the outdoor pool because I'm slower out there than inside: 25 meters. That would explain it!

Before the ride, I did a few isos. Not the entire 5 on, 5 off thru 60, but between yesterday and today I probably got the full 5 minutes in.

Today's ride with the Harpeth Bike Club (and a few strong women from Team Belladium) was fast and windy. I did again what I've been doing the last couple weeks—started out with the fast, long group, then split off at the turn for the short ride and went that on my own.

Last week, the week before, the week before that.

• 1:04:46, 20.86 miles, 19.3 avg (34.4 max), 1318 cal, 166 HR (192 max);
  1:35:50, 28.26 miles, 17.7 avg (35.5 max), 1763 cal, 150 HR (189 max);
  1:02:01, 20.01 miles, 19.4 avg (34.9 max), 1249 cal, 172 HR (191 max);
  1:05:37, 20.69 miles, 18.9 avg (34.4 max), 1291 cal, 164 HR (190 max)
• From house to CS: 22:27, 5.53 mi, 14.8 avg, 129 HR)
  16:09, 3.68 mi, 13.7 avg, 117 HR (I had to stop, twice, to fix my seat)
• 25:04, 8.87 mi, 21.2 avg, 161 HR;
  24:06, 8.91 mi, 22.2 avg, 145 HR;
  21:45, 8.01 mi, 22.1 avg, 171 HR;
  27:43, 8.81 mi, 19.1 avg, 160 HR
• 39:41, 12.0 mi, 18.1 avg, 170 HR;
  39:34, 12.0 mi, 18.2 avg, 172 HR;
  40:16, 12.0 mi, 17.9 avg, 174 HR;
  37:54, 11.88 mi, 18.8 avg, 168 HR
• From CS to house: 20:10, 3.93 mi, 11.7 avg, 129 HR
  16:00, 3.68 mi, 13.8 avg, 140 HR

I Run for the Party 5K

Bek and Lauren with their patriotically decorated cake

Today's July 4^th edition of the I Run for the Party race started out rough for the organizers because half their volunteers didn't show up. But they somehow got it together and we started only 15 minutes late. This was 15 minutes too late (yesterday's race started right on time, and I loved that!), but it was well-enough supported and I was happy with my results (even though again, I wasn't even close to my goal time of 21:xx; in fact, I was farther away today than yesterday):

• 24:39, 7:50 pace
• 5^th female of 215, 38^th overall of 364
• 2^nd in age of 57

Then I headed out to do the course again. There was a 10K race that started just behind us, and I felt great so I continued (after about a 10-minute break and a little Gatorade Recover (which I hate, but it didn't bother my stomach at all even though I drank it at the wrong time).

The rest of the day will mean heading to Farkas' to celebrate our country's independence. Thank you, God, for sending Jesus so that I can be completely free from my sins because He died on the cross for them!

Maryland Farms Firecracker 5K

Today I rode 1:20 before racing the Maryland Farms Firecracker 5K, one of my favorite races. I enjoy it so much because the course is pretty much my home course--I run in Maryland Farms more than any other place but from my apt, probably. I was aiming for 21:xx and didn't make it, but I did my best.

• 23:42, 7:39 pace
• 40^th female of 498, 186^th overall of 990
• 6^th in age of 60! This is a huge age group, tho females 35–39 was even larger with 81 women.

The rest of the day was pretty much relax, but I'm going to try to hit my goal again tomorrow in the I Run for the Party 5K in downtown Nashville.

Beautiful Riding Weather

Today's workouts were a run at lunch (about 5 miles, 1-minute sprints) and a ride after work (1 hour). Again, another rough day at my second office. I'm hoping it gets better by tomorrow. On the plus side, I ran to Publix and found some good sales, spending $18.17 for $40.69 worth of groceries. And it wasn't just groceries, it was actually food: veggies, eggs, meat, pasta, ice cream sandwiches, and salad dressing. The two things not on sale, the veggies and eggs, cost $9.74, and minus those my sale items look even better! (It would have been $6.55 + $1.88 tax = $8.43 for $30.95 worth of groceries; my total savings, with coupons and sales, was $22.52). I like the couponing game a lot—it's all numbers game!