The Rest of the Story

A lot of times when I'm running a race or a training run, I think about how I'll report about the event on the blog. I'll tell myself I have to remember to include certain details. And then, when I get home and finally get around to writing up my post, I get too focused on the big picture and forget the little minute details. So I decided to share a couple of the small things with you that should have been included in some prior posts.

When I wrote about my 18 miler last Saturday, I really should have mentioned that I had to poop so bad during the second of my 6 mile loops I could hardly stand it. I stopped at my house, where Sophie was hanging out with her babysitter, for a much needed bathroom break. Sophie got all excited and started telling her babysitter she had to leave. I told her that I just had to go to the bathroom and I still had 6 more miles to run. Sophie ran down the hall and I could hear her tell the babysitter, "Chelsie, my mom is running 6 more miles. She just has to poop." The girl learns fast.

When I wrote about my adventures at the Mora Vasaloppet, I really should have told you about the last water stop. I skied up to the water stop and the volunteers (all men) immediately noticed my bleeding face. They asked if I wanted water and some Tylenol. I told them I would rather have a beer. One guy reached down into a cooler and produced a can of Bud Light. I stood there and chugged it. Now Jamoosh, don't go throwing a rock at my head all the way from Texas for saying this, but it actually tasted good at that moment. And it definitely made the last 10K of the race better.

When I wrote about my 5K in Center City back in January, I really should have included the fact that I peed my pants. I was working so hard coming up the last hill about half a mile from the finish, a little bit of pee came out. For a long time, I've peed myself whenever I do Jillian's 30 days shred, now apparently 5K races also bring on the pee. Note to self: do more kegels.

So there's the rest of the story. Hopefully that wasn't oversharing. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Sun is Shining, Must be a Rest Day

Isn't it weird how it can rain all week - every single training run in the rain and the mud - and then, on a day when the schedule says yoga and bike on trainer, the sun comes out? Oh well. Once Sophie gets up from her nap, I might take her into the park so we can enjoy the beautiful weather a little bit.

Even with the wet weather, I had a pretty decent week of marathon training:

Monday: 7 miles hills
Tuesday: 1 hr kettlebells
Wednesday: AM - 800 meter swim; PM - 5 miles (not quite tempo . . . worn out from a REALLY hard kettlebells workout Tuesday night)
Thursday: 3 miles easy
Saturday: 18 miles
Sunday: nothing yet, but planning on a 45 min bike & yoga later

I decided to do my 18 miler yesterday on a 6 mile loop by my house. Pros of a loop - I was able to ditch my jacket and my fuel belt in my mailbox, and stop at home after the first two loops for a bathroom break. It was hard to get out the door for the third loop, but definitely worth it.

First Swim

I was out the door at 5 a.m. this morning to meet a couple of my friends from kettlebells and go to the pool for my first swim. And by first swim, I mean first for real swim. This morning was the first time since middle school where "swimming" has meant more than hanging out in a hot tub or splashing around with a toddler. I was so nervous, I barely slept last night. What if I drown? What if I didn't do a good enough job shaving?

I was pleasantly surprised in that I felt I could maintain relatively good form doing a front crawl and breast stroke. I alternated - 25 meters front crawl, 25 meters breast stroke. I lost count, but I think I did 800 meters total. What I would like to know from all you swimmers out there is whether clinging to the side of the pool between laps and gasping for breath is normal. Or am I just that out of shape?

My plan is to try to get to the pool twice a week. I want to get strong enough to have some confidence going into the swim portion of the triathlon - I don't have to be fast, I just have to survive. It's pretty rainy here, so I may have a second chance for swimming after work on my tempo run. Rain + melting snow = massive puddles. Good thing I have my goggles in my car.

Oh Capris, How I've Missed You

Gorgeous weather this weekend in Minnesota had me outside for my long run this afternoon in capris and a 3/4 sleeved shirt - YAY! I was so happy with the sun shining on my face and the breeze blowing through my leg hairs (guess it's time to shave), I barely noticed that I was running up 1800 ridiculously steep hills. My husband, on the other hand? Not so happy about spring. He almost cried when I told him the forecast is for 50 degrees tomorrow. The man really loves his ice fishing. Freak.

Week four of marathon training was all about flexibility - my husband was out of town (ice fishing, as if you needed to ask) and I had meetings three nights this week after work. But I still managed a pretty decent week:

Monday: 3 miles easy
Tuesday: 1 hr kettlebells, 45 min bike
Wednesday: 6 miles tempo
Thursday: bowling counts, right?
Friday: 4.6 miles hills
Sunday: 13 miles mega hills

Have a great week!

Look Ma, No Pants

That title might be a little misleading. Sorry. But today at 4:00 it was 42 degrees and I ran for the first time in recent memory in just one pair of pants and one long sleeved shirt. No thick Under Armour tights. No gloves. No three shirts and a wind jacket. And no hat. I felt sort of naked. And wonderful.

Apparently the lack of clothes helped me because I had an awesome tempo run. One mile warm up, four miles at mid-tempo pace (which actually turned into a little mini progressive run with each mile a little faster than the last) and one mile cooldown.

Now, I need your help. I got the e-mail today saying I didn't get picked in the lottery for Grandma's half marathon. So I'm trying to decide if I should run the full. The race is June 19th. I'm running the full in Madison Memorial Day weekend, so that would give me less then a month between the two. What do you think?

Triathlon 101

I may have mentioned that, due to a little bit of peer pressure, I'm planning on doing the Chisago Lakes Sprint Tri in July. The thought of doing a triathlon is a teensy bit terrifying for me, so when I saw that one of our local (and by local, I mean within an hour - that's what happens when you live in the boonies) hospitals was doing a Triathlon 101 class AND giving a discount to Chisago, I was all over it.

Last night was the class, and it definitely got me pumped up for the tri. Most of the information was stuff I already basically knew from reading blogs (thanks to all you smarty pants!), but it was reassuring to be in a room with other people who have no clue what they are doing. So now I am really looking forward to the triathlon and trying to figure out how I am going to get my butt in the pool. Must learn to swim NOW.

I also had a little happy surprise yesterday. While waiting for our taxes to get done, my hubby and I stopped into one of the big sports stores in the Twin Cities. I was thrilled to find my favorite Saucony shoes on sale for $50. That is so cheap! I picked those babies right up. I love the first run in the cushiony goodness of new shoes. My happiness was only somewhat dulled when I looked down and realized that the dress pants I was wearing had ripped and my entire ass was exposed for the world to see. Next stop: new pants.

Marathon Training, For Realsies

After an odd first couple of weeks of marathon training, I was able to pull together a pretty good week for Week #3 of my training for the Madison Marathon. Behold:

Monday AM: 3 miles easy
Monday PM: 6 miles hilly
Tuesday AM: 3 miles easy
Tuesday PM: 1 hr kettlebells
Wednesday PM: 7 miles progressive run
Saturday: 17.6 miles
Sunday: 30 min bike, 15 min yoga

My hill and progressive runs were awesome this week. The long run was pretty good, but my legs and the bottom of my feet were killing me the last mile. Time for new shoes! I would have liked to get in easy runs Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning, but Wednesday and Thursday were too cold for my tastes and Friday Sophie decided to wake up at 5 am.

This week will require a little rearranging because I have meetings during the evening a couple of nights, but I'm determined to string together TWO good weeks of training.