Pain in the Rear

Every since I had the baby, I've had some trouble with lower leg lateral strength and therefore, I've gotten injured.  I've had some bad shin splints and foot pain and for the last several months I've had some hamstring tightness I just haven't been able to shake.  I've been able to put up with it but it certainly tugs when I'm doing speed work or drills on the bike.  Since my marathon last month, however, the pain has moved into other places.  I've had some pain in my SI joint along with some really bad pain in the same hip.  Some days are not bad and then there are other days, like after my sprint workout last week, where I could barely walk every time I stood up.  Having been around this block a few times, I immediately started doing some PT exercises I knew along with icing like an Eskimo.  Fed up with it not feeling better and starting to feel nervous about the race this week, I called the doctor.

The doctor did a few strength tests, flexibility tests, and then jammed his fingers into my leg.  My doctor does ART (active release therapy) and he went to town on my hamstring.  Gosh, it hurt so bad (good).  It stung for most of the day but did feel pretty good overall.  He also gave me a few more exercises to do.  And we set up another appointment for more ART later this week before the race.

I haven't tested it out on another run yet.  That will come tomorrow.  Either way, I'm doing the race even if I have to be hyped up on a zillion Advil.

Week in Review

I had every intention of writing every day last week, but I blinked and before I knew it a whole week had passed.  Where did it go?  So, I'll try again this week.  Here's what I was up to this week.

Swimming - 5300 yards
Two longer swims this week, one of which was 3000 yards.  I had a biopsy on my ear this week so wearing a swim cap and goggles was not exactly pain free or fun.  My favorite part of my swims this week was the monkey toy on the bottom of the toy that would smile at me with each passing length.

Biking -14.33 miles
Honestly, I can't tell you anything about the bike rides.  They were at the beginning of the week and they were uneventful.  I do remember that I stepped up the heat acclimation with them by not only riding with long sleeves and no fan, but this time I added a winter hat.

Running - 23.76 miles
Running was full of highs and lows.  I had a great track workout where I really tackled my demons and felt great and was moving with speed.  I also had a "long" run that was just terrible.  It was HOT and my hip was hurting (more on this soon) and I just didn't want to do it.  I have no idea what is going to happen in my upcoming marathon.  Training has been crazy sporadic since my last race.

I guess you could say this upcoming week is full-on taper as my marathon is next Sunday. 

My Husband - A Photogenic Runner

The husband ran the Cap City Half Marathon this morning.  He ran a good, smart race and did really well considering his lack of training.  My job was spectating and paparazzi which is a really weird position for me.  I'd much rather be runner.  But, the husband makes it easy as he might be one of the most photogenic runners ever.  Check it out:

I don't know about you, but I've never looked that good in a running picture.  Yeah, he's kinda cute.  ;)

Foto Friday

Anderson has been spending some time with his cousins the last couple of weeks.  He spent the weekend with my parents when I ran with my marathon and then has gone to a few of my niece's softball games this past week.  My sister's youngest child is like BFFs with Anderson.  Anderson loves her just as much.  Here's a couple cute pictures of them two of them from the weekend of my marathon.

April Totals

Even with a taper, a marathon, and a complete week off while on vacation, I still managed some good numbers this month.  There were probably a few workouts I missed, but what is done is done and nothing would have changed the outcome of my marathon except for some better weather and a lobotomy.  Here we go...

Swimming - 13,350 yards ~ 7.6 miles
Sure, it wasn't the swimming of last month, but had I done some of the swims that were assigned during the week after my marathon, I would have been closer.  I think I also didn't do some swims at the beginning of the month because I had a head cold.  Seven miles of swimming is still quite a bit when the main focus is still running.

Biking - 78.94 miles
I had one bike this month that was actually supposed to be outside.  Unfortunately, it was a mere 30 degrees that day so I did it inside.  Hence, I still haven't taken the bike outside yet this year.  I had a few bike rides I missed while I was on vacation, but I have ridden my cruiser up and down the neighborhood.  Does that count?

Running - 78.64 miles
Isn't it amazing how closely my running and biking numbers are?  It's been like this for most of the year.  Wild!  I am right at 400 miles for the year so still on target for over 1000 miles.  That's kinda cool.

YMCA - 12 visits
YMCA Cost Per Visit - $7.11

I can't believe April has come and gone.  What will May bring us (besides flowers)?

Heat Acclimation

I remember back in the day when I some friends training for Ironman Hawaii who did some crazy things to try to get ready for the heat.  I think Sonja used to do trainer rides in the bathroom while she had the shower on and HOT.  Other friends used to overdress during workouts.  And as I mentioned previously, my friend Star (Clove on Salty Running) is utilizing the sauna to help her train for Badwater.

Now, I don't know if my next marathon is going to be hot or even warm, but I want to be prepared in case it is.

I don't have the luxury of making the bathroom super hot and humid and doing a workout in there.  I live a little more rurally and have a well so I don't really want to waste water.  But I can overdress for workouts and I do have access to a sauna, so with a few weeks to go until my next attempt, I've started to put these into practice.

First I started with a trainer ride this week where I wore a long-sleeved Under Armor shirt and did the workout without a fan.  After the initial shock of, "oh my gosh, this is hot" the workout was okay.  It became a contest (with myself, of course) to see how big the pool of sweat could get on the floor.  Seriously gross.

Then earlier today I used the sauna at the Y for the first time.  I'm not much of a hot tub or sauna girl.  I don't like to be hot, nor do I want to share that space with other, potentially gross, people.  But I did it anyway.  I walked in and thought I was going to die.  It was so damn hot!  So hot!  I looked at the thermometer on the wall and it said 140.  That was as high as it went so who knows how hot it really was in there.  Anyway, my goal was to be in there for 15 minutes.  I took in a water bottle and drank every couple of minutes.  I was sweating like a beast.  I had water pouring off my face, arms, and legs.  I have never sweat like that before.  Holy moly!  I made it to about 10 minutes and then I thought my nostrils were catching on fire.  Thank goodness the weird old dudes in there started a conversation with me or else I'm not sure I would have made it the last 10 minutes.  Although I didn't enjoy it and felt like it was pure torture, I know it's going to help.  Probably.  I hope.

What lengths have you gone to train/plan for the unexpected?

The Characters at the YMCA

I used to go to what I'll describe as a "fancy" gym.  The women were decked out in head-to-toe Lululemon, had less body hair than I don't know what, I were pumped full of silicone.  They even did their makeup BEFORE their workout.  I never really felt like I fit in there but I enjoyed knowing I was like a thousand times fitter than those chicks.  That gym was expensive too.  We didn't really realize what we were spending until we did a cost analysis on our costs per visits.  It was insane.  That's when we terminated our membership and joined the YMCA for a lot less.

The Y had a whole host of different characters.  There's the trainer that has tanned so much she looks leather and her hair is so feathered and sprayed it doesn't move.  There's the old people who do more socializing than working out.  There's the meatheads who somehow are there in the middle of the day.  Don't you all have jobs?  And then there are the stay-at-home moms, like myself, who take their kids to Child Watch just so they can have an hour to themselves once a day.  But my favorite peopl I've met in the pool.

I go to the gym mid-morning which seems to be a busy time.  There must be a popular aerobics class for all the moms because Child Watch is usually full of kids.  The pool too is pretty busy during this time.  There's always one swim aerobics class going on, which involves more socializing and standing than actually working out.  And for me it's super weird because many of the now-retired school teachers I had in high school and parents of friends from high school attend that class.  There are usually about six lanes of lap swimming and they are usually all full.  The "real" swimmers during the daytime leave a lot to be desired.  Usually they're doing elementary backstroke or a version of breaststroke or just walking in the lane.  If I have to share a lane, I try to find someone who is actually swimming but those folks are usually hard to find.

But what is it that makes it seem I want my workout interrupted to have a conversation with a complete random person?  There's a gentleman who goes out of his way to awkwardly say hi to me every time I walk in.  There was the strange woman who said my workout was very "scientific."  (What the hell does that mean?)  Sometimes I'll have a person tell me I have a good stroke or swim really fast.  A few weeks ago I had a great conversation with a guy in the lane beside me.  Turns out he was a "pure runner" like myself who happened to dabble a little in triathlon.  He was a really good runner.  He had run Boston last year in 2:50.  Holy wow!   We talked for a long time.  I could talk running all day.  Plus my kid was in Child Watch.  Adult conversation!!!!

Then yesterday I had a very strange conversation.  I was about two-thirds of the way through my workout when I guy asked if I was almost done.  I said no but he could share my lane anyway.  I swear I did another 300+ yards before he actually got started doing one lap.  My last set of intervals had specific send-offs and I'm sure he had to have seen me looking at my watch and counting down to my next send-off.  Regardless, he still interrupted me to ask me what I was training for.  And then the conversation went way off on a tangent about sailing.  He is part of a local sailing club and invited me to come sailing with him sometime.  Um, pedophile much??  He told me his name and to ask for him.  He told me what to wear and what to expect.  And blah blah blah.  Um, sure random dude.  I'd love to come sailing with you.  Weirdo.

Next time I'm wearing a full head-to-toe burka and maybe then people will leave me alone.

Do you belong to a gym?
Do random people talk to you at the gym?
What's the weirdest conversation you've ever had at the gym?

Florida

Just a few hours after finishing my marathon last week, Dave, Anderson, my parents, and I hopped on an airplane and headed south to Florida.  We vacation every spring in Venice where we have friends and where my parents hope to retire soon.  There's not a whole lot to do in the town, but that's kind of the point of some vacations.  My plans were to lay on the beach and chill out in the evenings.  Unfortunately, with the little one off his normal schedule he was exceptionally challenging which did not lend itself to relaxing, but it was fun nonetheless.  Here's some pictures from the trip.

Lessons Learned from the Marathon

When I worked as a beginning engineer, I had a manager who would sit with me after every meeting I chaired to give me a "lessons learned" session on what worked and what didn't and how I can improve.  He was a great boss.  Too bad I got laid off.  Whatev!

Now I have a coach to do the same thing with my running.  Last week after a few days of sulking and then getting pissed, we broke the marathon down into things that worked and things that didn't.

My training was spot-on for a PR and/or Boston Marathon qualifying.  My fitness was not the issue.

This was my 17th marathon and I've been using the same nutrition throughout.  Although my stomach hated me during the race, I don't believe my nutrition was the issue either.  I could have helped my stomach problems earlier in the race by eating some Tums.  I had them in my bag.  I should have asked Dave for them.  This one was my fault.  Next time, I'll carry them with me.

One thing that did affect me during the race was the heat.  Sure, it wasn't that warm, but the starting temperature was 60 and the ending temperature was over 70.  I'm not sure I've done one run this whole training cycle in the 70s, except for inside on the treadmill.  You can sure use fans and hydrate a lot to help that when training indoors.  If the temperature had been in the 40s or 50s, I would have been golden.  Spring marathons are a mystery.  You train through terrible conditions (at least, if you live in the midwest like I do) and then you might get lucky with a beautiful 50 degree day or it might be 85 and hotter than hell.  I got unlucky.  My friend Star is an amazing ultrarunner who is currently training for Badwater.  I know she does a lot of sauna training and whatnot.  Coach and I have developed a plan for the next one that includes some heat adaptation.

Obviously, my head got in the way too.  Ever since Ironman Louisville, my head has been kind of a mess when it comes to racing.  I used to enter races confident or at least oblivious to the pressure at hand.  The one thing I love about running is it allows me to turn off my brain and just be.  I don't hear anything; I don't see anything; I just breathe and move my feet.  But recently, I've had a hard time turning off the chatter.  When things started happening, when things got bad, I just thought about how horrible I was feeling, and would I be sick, and were they going to have to pull me off the course, and how much of a disappointment I was, and how this was a waste of time, and how much time I've put into this and not spending time with my son, and on and on and on.  Aside from physically removing my brain, obviously not an option, I'm not sure how to get back to the confident, carefree runner that I was.

But, we have come up with a plan.  For my PR/BQ attempt, I need a bigger race - one with spectators and lots of runners and undulations to the course.  I need to feel the energy and move with the crowd.  I need others to call out for me and push me.  I want to go out with a pace group and see what I can do. 

Yes, there is another marathon on the schedule in a few weeks.  For now, I'd like to keep the details to myself (to my Maine friends who think I might be coming to join their party, unfortunately, no).  I basically took the whole week off after the marathon (I was on vacation) but did do one very, very short run when I got home.  It felt great.  I mean, good grief, I walked a TON of that marathon.  This week we are going to take it day-to-day to see how I'm feeling and how much more running my body can handle.  The heat adaptation with start two weeks out from the race. 

I want to try again.  I deserve the race I trained for!  I'm pissed that everyone else I know had great spring marathons and mine sucked.  I want to be added to that list! 

See you at the starting line...

Athens Marathon 2015

Well shit.

The Athens Marathon was not the PR party or Boston qualifier I had hoped or trained for. Unfortunately, I did not win the weather lottery and it took its toll.

PS - I would have loved the weather they had for the Boston Marathon.

Let's start from the beginning. Although nervous I felt like I was doing well the morning of the race. I was able to eat breakfast, got to the race site easily and calmly, and I took some port-a-John stops and snacked on some gummies. I lined up and felt relaxed. I turned on my iPod and it was Taylor Swift's "Fearless", my power word of the day. It was going to be a good day.

Seriously, look how much leaner and fitter I look than my last marathon.

The plan was to start out easy, take the first hour to warm up, and start to build pace. The first mile was mostly downhill until you got to the trail and then the rest of the race was flatflatflat. My pace felt easy. I felt relaxed. Everything was going to be great. After mile 4 I noticed how warm it was getting. My pace was around an 8:16 average but it wasn't feeling easy. Although I was carrying water I used the water stops (few and far between as they were) to dump water on myself. I saw Dave before the half marathon turn around and let him know that it was just going "okay."

 This is my look of "I don't know how this is going to happen."

And then my stomach started bothering me. I started panicking. I was dry heaving and freaking out. I was hot, my pace wasn't falling, and I just felt horrible. I told myself that it would pass, that I always felt low in the first part of the race. Unfortunately, it wasn't passing and the voices in my head were starting to talk. Near the halfway point I decided I was going to drop out. This was ridiculous. There was no way I could set a PR, no way I could qualify, and it was going to suck for quite a bit longer. Dave, being the voice of reason said no and made me continue on. 

The next couple of miles were not slow but I was already doing some walking. It was too early to be doing any walking. The next time I saw Dave I was toast. Done. Finished. DO NOT WANT TO RUN ANYMORE!  I was at mile 16ish and there was still a long way to go. I stopped and tried to reason with him. He was having none of it. The medical staff calmed me down, gave me a bag of ice (awesome) and somehow, I started moving again. The ice was a godsend. It stuffed it down my sports bra and sucked on some. I, obviously  needed to cool down. 

Note...it wasn't 'that' hot. But it was in the 70s and that's way hotter than anything I have trained in this winter. 

For a while after I saw Dave I was able to get my head back in the game. I was running pretty well and holding some sort of a pace. Although there weren't many people on the course (gosh this race was small), I was starting to pick off people. At mile 19ish I saw Dave again and he said I looked like I had perked up a little. He gave me some Coke to settle my stomach and ran with me for a few minutes. The next time I would see him would be the finish. 

Those last couple of miles were long. There were points where I did not see anyone in front of me or behind me. I tried using tricks like counting my steps or finding landmarks to focus on but all I could focus on was the pain - my stomach, my feet, my legs, my head. I turned off my watch. Just move forward, Meredith. 

The finish seemed to take forever to get to. It was incredibly windy and there was nothing to block the wind. I swear I would have been faster walking faster than the doing whatever shuffle I was mustering. There was one last water stop at mile 26 and I yelled to the volunteer "Jesus Christ where is the finish?!?!"  I apologized to him for the language. I apologize to you. 

Finally, there was a left turn onto a patch of grass (stupid), down a homemade ramp (even dumber), and then onto the track for the finish.

 That look pretty much says it all.

4:02. Ugh!!  Pathetic, pitiful, disappointing, but mostly sadness. I worked too hard for this result. I had great training. I sacrificed so much time.  I gave up drinking. I ate better. I recovered like a boss. Whatever.  I really cried. I cried a lot. I cried most of the day, actually. I was so disappointed. 

But then there was this...

Only one woman went under 3:30. I was the 10th place female and second in my age group (my award was a travel mug). The conditions got to everyone. You've got to work with what you're given and this was the best I could do that day. Disappointing, but there will be other races.

One of the ugliest marathon medals ever.

Seriously, a travel mug?  I think I would have preferred a cheap trophy instead.

Tomorrow, more on what I learned about this marathon and thoughts on my next attempt. 

37

Today is my 37th birthday.  It feels so weird to be 37.  I don't feel 37.  I don't think I look like what 37 looks like.  I remember when my parents were this age.  All very weird.

Anyway...

We had a little celebration tonight at home with my parents, Dave, Anderson, and me.  Dinner was spaghetti and garlic bread.  I mean, of course, I'm tapering!  There was also chocolate cake, which Anderson loved.  Me too.  Then I got a few presents.  My parents got me some construction/garden gloves.  These will come in very handy at this house.  They also got me a VISA gift card that I plan to save for something special.  (Not that I've figured out what that something special is yet.)  Anderson drew me a picture which he said is a picture of cake.  The kid loves cake.  Dave got me a new bikini (oh yeah, have I mentioned that a few hours after my marathon on Sunday we're hopping on a plane to the beach for a week?), some new Lululemon running shorts, and signed us up for a glass blowing class in a few weeks.  How cool is that? 

I think the start of 37 was great and I can't wait to see how the year unfolds.

Marathon Outfit

The weather is looking not so great for Sunday (rain - more on that later in the week), but temperatures are going to be great for a PR attempt.  And here's what I'll be looking fab in...

Shorts, tank, compression calf sleeves, my socks which I call my "Buckeye socks", and my super fast Kinvaras.  The sunglasses will be if the weather is nice (not likely) or I'll wear my lucky Boston 2006 hat. 

Foto Friday (on a Tuesday)

(I have other posts planned for later in the week so I'll show some pictures of the kiddo earlier.)

We're starting him on the path toward triathlon early.  He's been in swim lessons for a year and a half, loves to run races, and now this...

And then look at this cuteness.  He said he was watching the clouds.  I just love him.

Week in Review

The taper started this week.  I caught a cold.  I lost my mind.  I missed some workouts.  Whatever.  I'm trained and ready.  Nothing I do now will change the results next week.

Swimming - 3000 yards
I had three swims on the schedule this week, but I only did one.  I lost motivation to get over to the Y and do the swims.  Plus I was sick and yuck and I didn't want to take the little one to childcare only for him to catch his millionth cold this spring. 

Biking - 24.28 miles
I did two indoor bike rides this week - one shorter, one longer.  Neither of them were especially hard.  Mostly they focused on cadence.  Oh how I wish all bike rides were like taper bike rides.  That'll change in a few weeks.

Running - 24.29 miles
Monday was the long run where I hit the intervals but felt terrible.  I also tried a track workout that was disastrous.  Finally, the week ended with a fun, strong run with friends. 

Strength - 0 hours
There were no strength workouts this week.  Yahoo!!!

One more week!!!

Running Friends - Good for the Soul

The last time I ran with friends was at the end of December when Amanda came home for the holidays and joined us.  I have done 100% of my training since that time by myself.  I don't mind training alone, it builds character, but sometimes I miss my friends.  For my last weekend run I got a babysitter and headed up to Highbanks to see my friends and enjoy a group run.

It was so good for the soul.  Having a cold this week and being in the taper, I was feeling quite blue about my race next week.  But six miles with my friends was a great pick-me-up.  Plus it was a fast pace and I was able to hang quite easily (and it didn't hurt that they told me I looked as fit as they've ever seen me).  This run was a turning point in this taper and I'm now very excited for the marathon.

I love having a coach.  It takes the thinking out of training and keeps me accountable to my training plan and goals.  But every once in a while it's nice to share a run with my friends and enjoy a lovely Saturday out on the trails. 

Do you run with a group or a friend?
How much training do you do solo?

Foto Friday

This week we had some typical spring weather - warm, wet, and stormy.  We also discovered that Anderson may be afraid of storms.  Wednesday we put him down to sleep and just a few minutes later he was screaming and crying and telling us he didn't like the thunder.  I rocked him and soothed him to sleep and he slept through the night and the storms.  I hope this isn't a 'thing'.  We get A LOT of storms during the night.

And check out how big he is.  Good grief he is tall.

Thursday Thoughts

Back in the day when I had a job that paid real money and Dave was working too and we were childless, I found that I liked to afford luxuries.  One of my favorite luxuries was having a house cleaning service.  Once or twice a month we would have someone clean our house top to bottom.  When I was a kid my mom used to have specific chores for my sister and I and we weren't allowed to do certain things until those chores were done.  And Saturdays were house cleaning day.  The house got cleaned before anything else got done.  When I live alone in an apartment I kept to this schedule.  I always got the house cleaned every week and everything was put away.  When I got married and bought a house this type of discipline fell to the wayside.  My life partner, aka The Husband, doesn't have the same feelings as me of always having the house clean and picked up and minimalism, etc., so I've slacked too.  If I'm not getting help why should I do all this for two?

Anyway, I loved having someone clean the house.  It was a luxury I wish I could still afford.  Or frankly, have the motivation to do myself.

If you had the money, what luxury would you indulge?

The Taper - It's Driving Me Crazy!

I guess I'm officially tapering now.  And it's already driving me crazy!  I headed out to the track to do a pretty simple, short ladder workout and my head was already a mess not even two miles into it.  Part way through the first interval I decided to modify the workout.  And two intervals in I decided to call it a day.  I've still got a lingering cold which has induced a cough and a tight chest and a Nyquil coma. 

Is this taper thing going to my head?  Is the cold effing me up?  Am I crazy or just a few days out from my major race?

I've had such a good training cycle.  Everything has gone really well.  I've hit all my intervals and workouts.  I've got stronger, leaner, fitter, and faster.  Next week I'm going to kick ass at the marathon...if I can get there.  I'm feeling like things are falling apart! 

Am I going crazy?  Is this just the taper talking?  Am I going to get over my cold in time?  What the hell is going on???

Not All Workouts Are Great Workouts

I have to admit, my training has pretty much gone off without a hitch.  I'm nailed, like, 99% of my workouts.  I have rested, recovered, nutritioned (it's a word), and caught every stinking cold my son has had (although I've gotten better quickly and missed very few workouts). 

Seriously kid.  Can you stay healthy for one week?  You don't go to daycare.  What the heck?

Anyway, yesterday was my final longish run.  I ran just shy of 15 miles and to be honest, it kind of sucked.  It sucked right from the start.  I'm fighting another tiny cold and Aunt Flo paid her monthly visit too.  Then, I was not even a mile from home and it started raining and pretty much kept raining the rest of the run. 

I warmed up for about a half hour and then the middle hour had some intervals that were to be done at marathon pace and then faster.  And, those intervals went pretty well.  I hit all of them, although maybe a little slower than last week.  Then things just fell apart.  After the last one, I took a bathroom stop at the library.  When I came out it was pouring.  I was in the last 30 minutes of the run and heading home.  My legs had other plans, though.  Everything stopped working.  My calves felt like rocks, my hamstring said "are you stupid", my hip didn't want to go, and overall I wish I had just stayed at the library and called the husband to come get me. 

I finished the run and felt terrible.  My husband massaged my legs, I put them up against the wall, I rolled them on the foam roller, and then had a terrible time sleeping I was in so much pain.  It was like I had run a whole marathon in racing flats (which I will; I just shouldn't feel that awful after a training run). 

My friend D (gah, I can't find her blog!!!) mentioned recently she wished more people wrote about their bad workouts instead of being all rainbows and sunshine.  Well here it is, folks.  I had a bad run less than two weeks out from my marathon.  And that's okay.  I think you should have bad runs.  You need it to learn what not to do and what works for you.  What did I learn today?  I learned I hate running in the rain.  Looking at the forecast for next week I had better learn to like it quickly.  I learned that I always feel fat and slow when I first start my period.  Thank goodness I'll be missing that for my race.  I learned and should have learned this lesson long ago that I should not work out when I'm sick.  And most importantly, I learned to live for another run.  There is a better one around the corner.  Don't sweat just one bad run. 

Week in Review

My weeks have been all screwed up for a while.  I do some workouts from a week ago; some from this week and then put them in whatever order makes sense.  In the end, I do all the workouts and that's what is important.  Right?

Swimming - 4750 yards
Only two swims this week - one long, one shorter.  The longer one was about 150 yards longer than expected as my coach can sometimes not add correctly.  At least it was only 150 yards and not 1150 yards longer.  Glass half full!!!

Biking - 24.49 miles
I actually had a workout that called for outside biking this week.  Unfortunately, it was 35 degrees outside.  Um, no.  I'm not that hardcore.  And also unfortunately, the kiddo keeps ripping apart his train tracks while I'm on the bike (and Dave's not home) so every few minutes I had to get off the bike and fix the tracks.  I'm not sure the bike rides were very productive this week.  I may need to put the baby back in the chair and show cartoons while I ride so I can do my workouts continuously.  Any of you have any good suggestions for keeping the kiddo occupied when I need to do my workouts at home alone?

Running - 22.84 miles
Yes, I know this is not a lot of miles, but really, I've still got a workout or two to do this coming week that were part of last week.  I like to think of my workouts not as weekly but as a collection of the bigger picture.  I get them done.  Whatever.  I had a great 11 miler earlier in the week that included a lot of faster running.  My overall average was faster than my last half marathon pace (of course, that was in the snow).  Mid-week I had another speedy workout that Dave and Anderson were able to join me on (on the bike).  It was nice to have company for once.  I have done this entire training cycle alone.  One last semi-long run that I'll do today and then I guess I'll officially be tapering!!!

There were no strength routines this week, although I did do some pushups and core routines by myself during TV commercials.

Almost there.  Almost there.  Almost there.  Almost there.  Almost there.