The Weekend Wrap Up

Since my Saturday morning was pretty well shot I procrastinated on my spin workout until sometime after 5 pm. I had a 72 minute ride on the schedule called "crest the hill." The idea is to spin hard in your low cadence section as you go up the hill, then keep the momentum going as you "crest the hill." It is definitely a good workout, and I'm hoping that these spin workouts are really going to help for when I can get outside to ride again.

After the workout was done I had a 20 minute T2 run on the schedule. It was getting late...it was -13C...so it was dark and icy out. But I got out there and got it done. Well...okay...I went for just under 17 minutes, but who wants to quibble over three minutes? With the warming, then the snowfall, then the freezing the sidewalks change day to day and they were brutal last night. I'd definitely be running somewhere else for my Sunday long run.

After the run I whipped up dinner. I'd found an interesting recipe in a magazine while I was waiting for my massage and I was keen to try it out - stuffed poblano peppers. These sounded like a great alternative to chile rellenos. I lucked out in finding some poblano peppers and queso fresco at a Mexican grocery here in Calgary, and this dish turned out so well. I'd definitely recommend it! Because I'm all about the pairing I figured some Dos Equis Amber would work out pretty well.
After dinner I went through my stretches from my PT and whipped out the foam roller. Holy...flibberdijibbet... That thing just about made me cry...

Sunday was more procrastination. The weather was supposed to warm up so I took care of a few things in the morning, had some lunch, then decided to head out for my run. I had 15K (or 9.3 mi) on the schedule. I've been running around my neighborhood most of the time and I needed a change of scenery. Not to mention that I wasn't keen to be dodging a lot of the ice on the sidewalks here. So I drove down to Shouldice and ran the pathway along the river towards downtown since I knew the pathway would be cleared well.

It was +2C (35F) when I was leaving my house. After the crazy cold weather this past week that meant capri weather in my books. Plus a long sleeve shirt and a midweight top. It was somewhat overcast and luckily it was nice and calm out. Since the pathway is pretty flat I also wanted to try and keep my heart rate in zone 2 the entire time. There were a lot of people really bundled up for their run, but I felt pretty comfortable. It just felt so good to not be bogged down in so many layers. I really can't wait for spring!

While I was running I was tossing and turning my fall race schedule around in my mind. The lottery for the Nike Women's Marathon opens this week so I had a lot going through my mind:

• Do I want to enter the half or the full marathon in San Francisco?
• Is two months enough time between Lake Stevens and a possible full marathon?
• Is San Francisco the place to go for a sub 4:30 marathon?
• If I do go for the full...that means I'd probably wipe the 2010 Disney Marathon off the slate. This is where I'm fence sitting mostly. While I'd love to go and meet up with friends do I really want to kill a full week of vacation at Disney World for the third year in a row?
• If I don't get into the Nike race, what's my backup? The more Suz (my friend in San Antonio) and I talk about meeting up, I think my backup race may be the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll Race in November. It would be a great chance to hang out and to see friends back in SA. A race in November would really nix the Disney Marathon for sure. But anyhow, we'll see...
  

Anyhow, lots of stuff was running through my mind while I was out there today! I ran an out and back and it was pretty easy to keep my heart rate in zone 2. Slightly tougher on the way back. After I hit 8 miles I gave myself permission to just run without worrying about heart rate.

So the interesting thing is, I was trying to run easy...didn't feel the need for a walk break at any time...and I finished up in 1:33:46. That is a solid 6 minutes faster than the Minnie Marathon 15K last May when I was trying to race. Yay for progress!!

A Mental Shift

Yesterday was Victoria Day - a holiday Monday! And for the first time that weekend I slept in and it was glorious. I was supposed to go out for a ride but just as I was strapping on my shoes I got a call that the weather downtown looked pretty suspicious so the ride was cancelled. I have to say I was really disappointed at not being able to ride. The weather was still fine in my neighborhood so I ran upstairs, swapped the cycling shorts out for running shorts and went for my 3 miler. The run was amazing. I'm starting to see pace improvements which makes me very happy. In fact, I even powered up some hills faster than I was going on the flats. Hurrah! Afterwards the weather was still looking okay, but I was hungry....so the opportunity to spend some quality time on a patio won out. Driving to the restaurant I looked longingly at all those happy cyclists on the road. I was envious...

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This morning I got up way early to get a run in before heading to work. I was planning on driving in because I had to haul clothes and breakfast in with me, and somehow I wasn't sure I wanted to carry all of that in a backpack. I had 5 miles planned but decided to cut it short because:

1. No matter how early I get up, I still waste time getting out the door, so I got going about 15 minutes later than I planned.
2. I have a feeling there will be some bonus mileage at boot camp tonight that may get me closer to 5 miles. And if I'm short I'll tack some extra mileage on when I run tomorrow.
3. The temperature felt so nice while I was running. And today is supposed to be the one day this week that it doesn't rain... So I changed my mind and decided I needed to get to the Park & Ride at Edworthy and bike the rest of the way in.

I'm finding that my attitude towards the bike is shifting. I've always enjoyed riding (although I didn't ride for years...), but now I want more. I'm starting to feel the same way about biking that I do about running - I want to do it, and I have to do it. I bought a pair of *ahem* kind of expensive Pearl Izumi shorts because they have the most amazing padding in them and well, let's be honest, I look good in them! If I weren't such a clutz getting on and off my bike I'd probably be looking at clips and shoes in earnest. And aside from all that, I love that I'm feeling healthy and athletic right now. It's definitely a good feeling.