Although it was strange traveling alone with Campy on Thurs, I wanted to come a day early to visit my parents. First I visited my good friend Kelly in Tampa to see baby #2, 7-day old Alex. Campy was super excited to run around in Kelly's backyard but was 10x more excited to see his grandparents at his mansion-resort (aka - a house w/ a pool in the backyard). On Friday morning I met up with one of my athletes, Andrea, at the Gills YMCA and we had a great 1-hr tempo run on the treadmill (chatting away), followed by a good core session and a 30-minute swim in the chilly outdoor pool (they just re-filled the pool and turned on the heater.....brrrr).
Karel and our friend Tyler came in late to my parents on Friday night and I was super excited to see Karel. My good friend Mallory was supposed to come with Tyler (her BF) but she is sick :( Get better soon Mallory!!
My alarm went off at 6am on Sat morning and I was SO excited for my long run. Almost 2 hours of running on the schedule and I couldn't think of doing it anywhere else, besides Starkey Park. My parents live 3 miles from the entrance of Starkey Park (paved and off-road trails for bikers, walkers, runners, etc. which connects to the Suncoast Trail, also for bikers and runners) so I had a good 9 miles in the park to look for deer, squirrels, turtles and bunnies.
It was a little cool in the morning but it warmed up fast. With my garmin, music, pink fuel belt and Hammer visor I was set and ready to go.
The run was great. This was my longest run of the year, thus far, so I tried to run a bit slower than normal. Well, everytime I looked at my Garmin, cruising along at my comfortable pace, I was running under 8 min/miles. I figured I would just stay steady and enjoy my pace while it lasted. After my run in the park, I headed home and picked up the pace for the last 2 miles. Still feeling good in an aerobic-zone, I was pleasantly surprised with my pace. I was smiling my whole run because it's been a while since I've felt comfortable running. Sure, I still get my leg weakness every now and then (piriformis syndrome) but I know how to deal with it and not let it slow me down. I took the whole off-season to work on my weakness's (strengthening my butt and hips) and I'm glad I'm focusing on quality workouts over quantity.
No more 'Junk' mileage for me and based on my splits, I think I'm heading in the right direction for the Rock N' Roll Half Ironman (Macon, GA in May) and Ironman Wisconsin.
Stats for my run:
1 hour and 55 minutes
Total: 14.8 miles
Average Pace: 7:49 min/mile
Mile 1: 8:11
2: 8:03
3: 8:08
4: 7:44
5: 7:48
6: 7:48
7: 7:46
8: 7:47
9: 7:50
10: 7:43
11: 7:46
12: 7:47
13: 7:37
14: 7:33
.8: 6:10
(I saw Karel taking Campy for a walk so I finished my last .2 miles walking with my boys).
After my run, I wished Tyler good luck for his race (Karel's race was at 6:30pm, Tyler raced at 11:50am) and I joined Karel for an easy spin on our bikes.
I absolutely LOVE riding my bike (typically I bike my run route but sometimes I just spin on the trainer...it's not a fast ride and I don't look at my pace) after I do my long run. Because of my past injury and experience with eating after a long or intense run (it takes me a while to be able to feel comfortable putting something in my stomach), I need a long warm-down after my longest run. I was super happy to ride with Karel and even more happy that we saw a group of our Gearlink Friends as we were riding. We turned around to catch them and it was great to ride like old times (Karel and I met/were set-up on a Gearlink team Wed. night bike ride). I guess I was so excited to see everyone that I jumped in on their rotation and after 2 times rotating I told Karel that my legs were toasted and I would need to stay in the back.
It was great to just draft behind the group and enjoy TriMarni (what a comfortable and smooth bike!). After 10 miles with the group, Karel and I headed home (in the wind-OUCH!) but once again, gotta love drafting. Karel was steady and fast and got us home quickly. What a great 1 hour, 20 mile recovery ride.
When we got home from our ride my dad was anxious to try out a new lens on his camera so Karel and I had a little photo session with my dad. How fun! :)
After the photo session, Campy woke up from his nap.....
and joined me by (not in) the pool as I stood in the water for an "ice" bath.
After 10 min of icing and a quick shower, it was time for eggs, a strawberry and blueberry whey protein smoothie and my homemade whole wheat walnut and blueberry pancakes. YUM!
Karel and our friend Tyler came in late to my parents on Friday night and I was super excited to see Karel. My good friend Mallory was supposed to come with Tyler (her BF) but she is sick :( Get better soon Mallory!!
My alarm went off at 6am on Sat morning and I was SO excited for my long run. Almost 2 hours of running on the schedule and I couldn't think of doing it anywhere else, besides Starkey Park. My parents live 3 miles from the entrance of Starkey Park (paved and off-road trails for bikers, walkers, runners, etc. which connects to the Suncoast Trail, also for bikers and runners) so I had a good 9 miles in the park to look for deer, squirrels, turtles and bunnies.
It was a little cool in the morning but it warmed up fast. With my garmin, music, pink fuel belt and Hammer visor I was set and ready to go.
The run was great. This was my longest run of the year, thus far, so I tried to run a bit slower than normal. Well, everytime I looked at my Garmin, cruising along at my comfortable pace, I was running under 8 min/miles. I figured I would just stay steady and enjoy my pace while it lasted. After my run in the park, I headed home and picked up the pace for the last 2 miles. Still feeling good in an aerobic-zone, I was pleasantly surprised with my pace. I was smiling my whole run because it's been a while since I've felt comfortable running. Sure, I still get my leg weakness every now and then (piriformis syndrome) but I know how to deal with it and not let it slow me down. I took the whole off-season to work on my weakness's (strengthening my butt and hips) and I'm glad I'm focusing on quality workouts over quantity.
No more 'Junk' mileage for me and based on my splits, I think I'm heading in the right direction for the Rock N' Roll Half Ironman (Macon, GA in May) and Ironman Wisconsin.
Stats for my run:
1 hour and 55 minutes
Total: 14.8 miles
Average Pace: 7:49 min/mile
Mile 1: 8:11
2: 8:03
3: 8:08
4: 7:44
5: 7:48
6: 7:48
7: 7:46
8: 7:47
9: 7:50
10: 7:43
11: 7:46
12: 7:47
13: 7:37
14: 7:33
.8: 6:10
(I saw Karel taking Campy for a walk so I finished my last .2 miles walking with my boys).
After my run, I wished Tyler good luck for his race (Karel's race was at 6:30pm, Tyler raced at 11:50am) and I joined Karel for an easy spin on our bikes.
I absolutely LOVE riding my bike (typically I bike my run route but sometimes I just spin on the trainer...it's not a fast ride and I don't look at my pace) after I do my long run. Because of my past injury and experience with eating after a long or intense run (it takes me a while to be able to feel comfortable putting something in my stomach), I need a long warm-down after my longest run. I was super happy to ride with Karel and even more happy that we saw a group of our Gearlink Friends as we were riding. We turned around to catch them and it was great to ride like old times (Karel and I met/were set-up on a Gearlink team Wed. night bike ride). I guess I was so excited to see everyone that I jumped in on their rotation and after 2 times rotating I told Karel that my legs were toasted and I would need to stay in the back.
It was great to just draft behind the group and enjoy TriMarni (what a comfortable and smooth bike!). After 10 miles with the group, Karel and I headed home (in the wind-OUCH!) but once again, gotta love drafting. Karel was steady and fast and got us home quickly. What a great 1 hour, 20 mile recovery ride.
When we got home from our ride my dad was anxious to try out a new lens on his camera so Karel and I had a little photo session with my dad. How fun! :)
After the photo session, Campy woke up from his nap.....
and joined me by (not in) the pool as I stood in the water for an "ice" bath.
After 10 min of icing and a quick shower, it was time for eggs, a strawberry and blueberry whey protein smoothie and my homemade whole wheat walnut and blueberry pancakes. YUM!
