Memorial Day Weekend

It has been such a nice weekend that I didn't have the desire to spend a lot of time indoors working on my blog. So here is what I've been doing for workouts the last few days.

Friday: 3 mile run with some quick bursts
Saturday: Tri-swim and 18 mile bike ride
Sunday: 4 mile run and an open water swim in Newfound Lake

Only 5 days until the Mooseman! Time to taper and enjoy :)

A Break in the Heat Wave

After riding in the heat yesterday, it was a welcome break to have day in the 70s today. I did another ride today that was slightly shorter than yesterday--just shy of 17 miles. I am feeling stronger every day on my bike and am really starting to enjoy that time on the road. It is an escape from the craziness of teaching and such an adrenaline rush when you go down the big hills! I got up to 39 mph this afternoon! Good times :)

Open Water Suggestions?

This evening I went for a great bike ride with Melissa. We did the Sewalls Fall/Oak Hill loop in Concord and Loudon. I say it was great because it is much cooler on my bike than in school or in my apartment. It was about 18.5 miles and I kind of wish it was longer because I stayed pretty cool. Melissa and I both concurred that we felt so much better after having done something active for the day! The next thing for the evening is 50 minutes of swimming at the YMCA. S2 has 20 X 100s planned for me, yikes!

On a side note, does anyone know of a good place to open water swim that is close to Concord or in Concord? I am going to swim up in Bristol this weekend, but for future reference I am looking for closer swimming areas.

Sweltering, Hot Day

Today felt like a mid-August hot day. It got up to about 94 degrees, which for May is pretty extreme! My body didn't quite know how to react to the whole temperature jump. It was too much for me to attempt the track workout at Memorial field. However, I did make it to the gym to complete the workout on the treadmill. It was nice to have the AC. Mark and I do not have AC in our apartment right now, so I am roasting at the moment!

Tomorrow I have bike ride and swim workout planned. Hopefully it won't rain, but it would also be great if it cooled down a bit for the ride.

Gotta Tri

Mark and I woke up early today to head up to Bristol to meet Melissa for a ride around the Mooseman course. I put quite a bit more effort in today, so it took about 1:54 to complete 29.6 miles. After the ride, Mark and I headed out for a 4 mile run along Newfound Lake. It was an intense day and overall an intense week in training! I'm still feeling pretty good :)

Catching Up

Well, my week got a bit crazy so I am playing catch up on my blog today. It is a gorgeous day to sit on my porch and write about the week in training. It is hard to believe but it is exactly 2 weeks until the Mooseman! With that said, I hope I have been doing enough to complete it and enjoy it. Thursday was a easy 15 mile, rolling hill bike ride and yesterday was a rest day. Today I had every intention of getting up early and going to tri-swim, but the play went late last night and I really needed my sleep this morning. However, I did not play hooky from the workout; I met Melissa at the YMCA at 1 and we followed the workout that the tri-team left on the board. In the end, it was 39 laps and many of them were fast or all out 50s and 25s. I only missed 1 workout this week (a swim) and I will try to tack it on tomorrow if I have energy after the Mooseman ride/run brick.

Rock 'N Race 2010!

I woke up early this morning and completed a 40 minute steady swim (1 mile overall). I felt confident and relaxed during the whole 40 minutes, so I think the swim portion of the triathlon is all set.

However, the main event tonight was the Rock 'N Race in Concord. I joined a team called Team Snooch and was able to raise a little bit of money for cancer research. It was also a lot of fun because 5000+ people participate in the event! I saw many of my S2 teammates out destroying the race course---great job all! I had pretty good pace 9:06 for just over 28 minutes. Unfortunately, I replaced someone on the team so my results are recorded under someone else's name! I was Rachel Roberge in this particular run. Oh well, still had fun :)

A Little Jog

In preparation for the Rock N' Race I did a short 3 mile jog at an easy pace. My chosen destination--Memorial Field. If it was quiet at the track I had planned on doing a few laps around, but it was bustling with activity so I just turned around and headed back home. It was a nice afternoon though and it felt nice to get outside. Tomorrow is an off day and then the 5K is Wednesday.

Only 18 days until Mooseman!

Bricking

The wedding yesterday was a lot of fun, but I did not have a chance to workout. However, it worked out well because I got a full day of rest/recovery and then had a bricked workout today.

This afternoon Melissa and I biked 29 miles and then I followed the ride with a short 2 mile run. It felt pretty good--especially considering that I was up late, etc. last night at the wedding. I think this triathlon might turn out ok :)

Swimming 200s

Tonight I did a fairly intense workout of 10 X 200s. It ended up being about 50 minutes of swimming. I tried to do a short run after the swim, but my hamstrings were pretty angry with me, so that didn't last very long. I am hoping to get up early tomorrow for tri-swim and then I off to a wedding for the rest of the weekend.

I am definitely getting a little nervous for the open water swim--look at all the people in this picture!

Evening Ride

Yesterday I finally got out for a run. My legs felt pretty good and after 3 miles they were a little stiff. I think I have made a full recovery from Big Lake on Saturday!

Tonight I completed a 20 mile bike loop in the Concord/Loudon area. I started out on N. Main Street, went right on Sewell Fall Road, left on Mt. Rd, right on Holt, and then another right on Oak Hill Rd. The Oak Hill portion is the most challenging part as it has a fairly long gradual hill, but the ride is really nice after that! The picture for tonight is of Turtletown Pond--I passed that on Oak Hill Rd. My least favorite part of the ride is going right next to the highway on the bike path. I always feel a bit unstable.

During the ride, I was thinking that it will soon be time to do open water swim...hmmm....I wonder what the temperature of Newfound Lake is right now? Has anyone done any open water swims yet?

Yoga Night

Tonight was my yoga for athletes class at Quest yoga. I did not make it to track practice because I felt I needed one more day of stretching/recovery from the half marathon. The plan is to get up early tomorrow morning and get in the track workout that I missed. Yoga was great tonight--so relaxing and inspiring. I always feel refreshed and calm at the same time after class.

Second Recovery Day

This cartoon has nothing to do with working out, but it is how I feel about my students on some days. Although, many are too apathetic to even make as much effort as Calvin does in this cartoon!

Anyway, tonight I did a 30 minute 30 lap recovery swim. My quads seem to be loosening up a bit. I think yoga class tomorrow night should help finish the stretching. Then, it is back to some more intense training for the triathlon. It is only 25 days away!

Recovery Swim

Ouch! That is what I feel today. I did manage to get to the pool for my 20 minute recovery swim, but that is all I could do. My muscles are very angry with me today! I spent most of the day watching movies and grading. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel a bit more functional....

Big Lake Half Marathon 2010!

Well, the Big Lake Half Marathon 2010 is over and I met my three goals for the run. I completed it in 2:03 which was better than the previous two half marathons that I ran! I also had fun (at least for the first 8 miles :)) In addition, my pace was 9:27 which is my fastest to date. The weather was pretty good for most of the run--cool with a slight drizzle of rain, but it did get pretty wet around mile 9. People didn't really stick around very long after the race due to the poor weather, but it certainly was better weather for running than a hot day would have been.

Overall, I am content with my performance, but now my next goal will be to finish a half marathon in under 2 hours :)

Next up, Mooseman International Distance Triathlon on June 5th!

The Night Before Big Lake

Tomorrow is the big day! I enjoyed a much needed off day today and purchased last minute items for the race. I picked up a new quick dry shirt because it looks as though the weather is not going to cooperate tomorrow...arghhh.

I have a few modest goals for the Big Lake Half Marathon 2010:

1. Beat my time from the 2004 Big Lake which was 2:27:54 (approx. 11 minute miles)
2. Beat my time from the 2006 Seacoast Half Marathon 2:13:28 (approx. 10 minute mile)
3. Have fun!

I'm ready! I've trained hard for this so I think it should be a good day. I am excited to have Mark and his sister Vicki on the course as well!

Tapering

Well yesterday I took the day off from working out (sort of) because I had to work Cinco de Mayo at Hermanos. It was super busy and I got plenty of exercise going up and down the stairs to the lounge! Today I did an easy 2 mile run and then a 20 minute swim tonight. Tomorrow I plan on really taking the day off (no stairs at work) because Saturday is the half marathon!!! Woo hoo. I am getting really pumped up for the race :) I hope we get a decent day weather-wise as well.

Easy Run with a Bit of Roadrunner

It was a gorgeous morning when I jogged in the direction of Rollins Park. I completed a 3 mile run with 3 X 100 yard sprints mixed in. The vitamin D seeped into my system from the warm sun as well. Tonight was another yoga class and I found out I really have pathetically weak core muscles. Instead of doing a dolphin pushup, I fell face first into the mat! I really need to improve my strength in the middle. On a positive note, I have very bendable hip flexers :)

Any suggestions for core moves that you have success with are appreciated!

Also, what is your favorite healthy/energizing breakfast meal?

"Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?"

At school today we began our Shakespeare unit. Of course I selected Sonnet #18 to analyze. Not only did it go along with the iambic pentameter activity, but it also went well with the weather. Today was a hot, muggy, summer day! My body was pretty sore from intense workouts last week, but I only had a 30 minute swim tonight so I managed to get that in. I am excited for this tapering week before Big Lake on Saturday!

Yield to Cyclists Please!

I drove up to Bristol, NH today to do another round of the Mooseman course. I am starting to feel more and more comfortable with the ride; however, Melissa and I both encountered rude people in trucks today. Just an FYI, cars/trucks must yield to cyclists! This does not mean honking (aka scaring the cyclist and possibly causing an accident!) to get us to move out of the way. We make every effort to stay over as far right as possible, but sometimes you might just have to wait to go around. Sorry, but that is the way it is. Oh, and if you hit us, the cyclists definitely have the stronger case! So save everyone the hassle and just slow down and give a friendly wave. It is much appreciated!


Tip: Safety Article

6:30 AM on a Saturday--Swim Practice!

I jumped out of bed a 6am to make it to tri-swim practice by 6:30. We whipped through a 35 minute workout followed by a 200 yard relay race. I think I would have been all set for the day, but alas, I had to run 5 miles as well. I did take another catnap in between (too bad there are not beds along the race course!) and then went out during the peak sun part of the day. It was nice to see Mr. Sun shining all his happiness down on us again :)