Pine Belt Pacers Forum

Went to Thames this evening to do my favorite thing, Speed Work. NOT!!!!! Light rain was falling which was probably enough to make any of us that showed up not run. But with all of us there, we bit the bullet and got 'er done. The crazies that were there with me were: Dawn, Ginny, and Vicki. Jim and Kily joined us later. My workout was:

Walk 1/2 mile
Jog 1/2 mile
4X (200R, 200J)
Walk 1/4 mile
4X (200R, 200J)
Walk 1/4 mile
Jog 1/2 mile
Walk 1/4 mile

Total time: 1:00:05. Avg. HR 139. Max HR 172. Total Run 3 miles. Total Walk 1.25 miles.

As usual, I dreaded this workout. My mental strategy was to take one lap at a time without thinking ahead to what I had left to do. Sometimes I get overwhelmed at the beginning of speedwork when I think about having to do 8 of whatever. So it helps when I break it down and do just one more, then one more, until I'm done. As usual, I felt extraordinarily good after I finished the workout.

Good for you! I like your statement about how you felt after you finished.

Glad you were there. I like speed work, I know - I am a weirdo. It makes me feel super good. Yes, I am addicted to "the high."

Sorry I missed you Susan. I just couldn't drive back in, besides it was storming at my house so I figured it was up here, too. Sounds like you had a very good workout, good for you.

On Thursday, I ran with a group of other Pacers in the Track on Tap. We started out at Gateway and went East, then South to Keg & Barrel. After sitting there for a little while, we then ran to Nick's Ice House. Last time I was in there was in the mid-80's and I was slamming shots of Jack Daniels. It's still as crusty as I remembered. I'm thinking it's time for a little remodelling. After Nick's, we ran to the End Zone where Vicki and I left the group and ran back to our cars. Total miles covered: 3.30 in 40:43. Avg. HR 158. Max HR 173. Did I say the humidity was horrendous?!

This morning, I drove to Forest, MS for the Wing Dang Doodle 5K. I ran into Laura and Adrian. Like me, they chose this race for the t-shirt and the name sounded fun. I think there were about 150 runners and walkers. I finished in the upper 70's and placed 3rd in my age group. Best of all, I set a PR of 34:31. And, it was rolling hills. It was very humid. Not a stitch on my body was dry when I finished. Thankfully, I brought a change of clothes. Here's my splits:

Mile 1 - 10:37 (Avg. HR 156, Max HR 170)
Mile 2 - 11:15 (Avg. HR 167, Max HR 172)
Mile 3.1 - 12:39 (Avg. HR 167, Max HR 172)

Total - 34:31 (Avg. HR 164, Max HR 172)

Congratulations to Laura for placing 1st in her age group and to Adrian for placing 2nd in her age group. Pacers rock!!!!!

Way to go Susan! I'm proud of you guys.

I have been working out, just haven't had time to post. Will catch up this weekend.

Gonna try to get caught up on my posts.

Sunday, 9/27/09 - biked 19.45 miles in just under an hour and a half. Took the same route that I did in June when I got my "injury". It was a little scary, but all turned out fine. Only averaged 13.6 mph which is horrendously slow. Climbed 1,580 feet during the ride, so I got some hills in. Avg. HR 142, Max HR 165.

Tuesday, 9/29/09 - Did speed work at Thames. My workout is as follows:

Walk 1/2 mile - 8:50
Jog 1/2 mile - 5:50
2 Sets of 4X(300R, 300J) w/ 1/4 mile walk b/t sets
Set 1 (1.5 miles) - 16.53 Avg. HR158, Max HR 167
Walk 1/4 mile - 5:18
Set 2 (1.5 miles) - 17:01 Avg. HR 158, Max HR 166
Walk .41 mile - 8:43
Jog 1/2 mile - ? Forgot to start my Garmin for the last mile
Walk 1/2 mile - ? Ended up walking an extra lap because Eric and I were talking to a woman I see at the track on Tuesdays regularly. I think she said her name was Candy Voss.

Wednesday, 9/30/09 - Swam 1/2 mile at Payne Ctr and rode 8+ miles on the stationary bike.
Thursday, 10/1/09 - Ran 3 miles for Breast Cancer Awareness at Veterans Memorial Park Downtown. My time was 33:40-something. I won 3rd place in my age group. There were a few other Pacers there. Sheryl won the overall. Paige Phillips won in her age group too, but can't remember if it was 1st or 2nd. Don won but wouldn't reveal his age, so he didn't get a prize. LOL

Friday was a rest day.

Today I ran the Caillet 5K at Bellegrass. I knew it was gonna be hilly, but that was ridiculous! I think my time was pretty good considering all the hills. I finished in 34:49.

Another I-yi-yi week! I did nuttin' dis week. I guess I should be proud of my efforts at emotional damage control because I didn't visit my old friend, Jack. It continues to amaze me and is actually more important than even working out. As I tell my patients, if you don't put recovery first, all those things you "think" are most important will be gone. . . . . . Quick-like!

I had some frustrations this week in my attempts to work out. Well, not all of them were frustrations. On Monday, I was headed to the Payne Center after work to swim when a good friend called and asked if I wanted Mexican. That's a no-brainer! On Tuesday, my mom needed me to bring her something (I forget what) and asked if I wanted to eat supper with them. Hmmmm. Do I see a pattern developing here? On Wednesday, I took my bike to Drew at H'burg Bicycles for a tune up and handebar re-wrap and thought he wouldn't have anything else to do but work on MY bike. Wrong. No riding on Wednesday, so I decided to go to the Payne Center to swim. Parked my car and couldn't find my ID. No ID, no swim. Or so I made up. Didn't take much this week to disuade me. Ok. . . . I am absolutely gonna ride the EagleMan course on Thursday. Picked up my bike at lunch and took it home. Got off at 5:10, drove home, changed, loaded the bike, and drove out to Heritage Subdivision. I arrived at 5:45 and it was already dusk. Check the time for sunset on my handy iPhone. 6:33. I was on the phone with my daughter as I arrived and she talked me out of riding the roads at this time of night. So I turned around and went to a friend's house for a short visit. Friday was rain, rain, and more rain. Picked up my race packet at the Y, got my stuff ready for the EagleMan, and turned in early. The whole week was a wash! But I stayed clean.

I'll submit a race report, so you'll have to read my experience there. Overall, I was pleased with my performance and, although I forgot to check my time from last year before the race, I thought I raced a little faster than last year.

Went to Thames tonight for a speed workout. There were a few Pacers there. The batteries were low in my Garmin (argh!!!!) so I didn't bother keeping track of time. I gave this workout good effort, so I'm satisfied with not knowing.

Walk 1/2 mile
Jog 1/2 mile
2 sets of 6X (200r, 200w) w/ 1/4 mile walk b/t sets
Walk 1/2 mile
Jog 1/2 mile

Total run = 4 miles
Total walk = 1.25 miles

Swam 1/2 mile at the Payne Center this evening. Did 2 sets of 400 with 2 minute rest between. Each set took 10 minutes. I felt good. Was able to maintain 4 strokes per breath the whole time.

One day I will be that good! I can to a 2 stroke/breath, then I get tired and revert back to 1:1. I was tired, hot and actually sweating when I got out of the pool at lunch. I never knew one could actually sweat in the water, how does that happen?

When did you say your next triathlon was?

I finished the 2009 triathlon season with the 17th Annual Try Andy's Tri in Sugar Land, TX. My daughter and son-in-law completed with me. It was her 3rd and his 1st. I started off the morning by busting my knee and hyperextending my left wrist while walking from the car to the race. There were no street lights, it was pitch black, and we had to walk 1/2 mile from the car to the race venue. I tripped on an uneven sidewalk and skidded on the pavement. Took every bit of skin off my left knee. The first aid tent wasn't even open when we got there, so I had to wait about 30 minutes. They told me if I swam in that dirty water, I would get an infection. My only option was to not race, and that wasn't an option for me. I'll deal with infection later if it happens. I got it cleaned out and took two cups of water to my transition area to flush it as well as I could after the swim.

It was pretty chilly this morning. I actually wore a jacket. I think it was warmer in the water than out, but the water temp was still cool enough to qualify for wetsuits. With only 300 yards to swim, it would be more trouble than it's worth to put on a wetsuit. There were 8 wave starts every 5 minutes beginning at 7:30. There were 3 or 4 blind competitors in the first wave. They each had someone tethered to them in the swim and the run and they rode a tandem bike. Andy expected one of the blind guys to win the whole race. Not sure if that happened or not. I was in wave 4. I was sooooo paranoid about the water. I won't tell you all the stuff the EMT said is in there, but suffice it to say, it's gross and I won't be doing this race again because of that. My swim time was 8:45. I finished it 24 out of 34. I never did get in a groove during the swim. I kept zig-zagging. I washed my knee off as good as I could in T1 and headed out on the bike.

The bike leg was good. The 10 mile route was pretty flat and went through a neighborhood with million dollar houses. I felt really good on the way out and again thought I was doing good on my time. When I reached the turn-around to come back, I hit the headwind. Argh! That's what happened a month ago at the Gulf Coast Tri. At any rate, I averag
ed 17.2 mph which may be a PR for me. I came in from the bike, and one of the volunteers said, "Nice road rash!"

My goal for the run was to not walk and try to keep my pace close to 12 min/mile. I did that and did not walk at all (except for about 10 steps when I got water twice.). I was very pleased with my run time. Actually, I was pleased with the whole triathlon. Believe it or not, I'm ready for a little break. Can't greak from running, though. Gotta get ready for my half marathon.

Swim: 8:45 (24)
T1: 2:29 (13)
Bike: 34:48 (17.2 mph) (18)
T2: 1:43 (20)
Run: 35:46 (11:55/m) (24)
Total: 1:23:32 (23/35)

OK. So I got tired of posting and just quit for a while. I'm ready to come back to it. Part of my problem was with my laptop being out of commission. Since using my laptop, I find it darn near unacceptable to sit at my desktop. I know. I'm spoiled. At any rate, I'm back in business with my laptop, so here I go.

I did 3 miles on the treadmill at USM this evening: Walked 1/2 mile, 2 miles at 12 min pace, walked 1/2 mile. I plan to be at Thames tomorrow evening - weather permitting. If not, I'll be back on the treatmill again. The date for my 1/2 marathon is getting closer and closer. Now, I'm wondering what was I thinking when I signed up for it?!

What a yucky day! It was a good day to be at home in my jammies watching tv or reading a good book. That wasn't in my plan for the day, so I'll have to save that for another day. I met Becky at JavaWerks to get my final marching orders (workouts) that will take me up to 1/17/10 - race day. It is definitely time to get down to business if I have any hopes of being able to complete the race. I'm ready for the challenge, and I'm committed to give it my best shot. Did 4 miles on the treadmill at USM this evening: Walked 1/2 mile; 3 miles alternating between 12, 12 1/2 and 13 min pace; walked 1/2 mile. I'd like to get on a schedule where I run in the mornings. I don't want to run at night and then again in the morning to get that started, so I think I'm gonna wait til Saturday to do a morning run. Then I'm gonna try to keep that up for the remainder of my time. I always feel better when I get my workout done in the morning. It feels good to be back on my plan. Thanks, Becky!