Red Rock Canyon

The hubby and I spent some time hiking yesterday at Red Rock Canyon just outside of Las Vegas.  It's one of those places that makes you appreciate the awesomeness of our planet.

The drive into the conservation area would have been worth the trip all by itself.

The area is full of mountains and ridges layered with red, grey and white rock - depending on which minerals were most prevalent in the ground before shifting plates shoved everything up at odd angles.

We hiked the Keystone Thrust trail up to an area of sliding red rocks and a crop of white sandstone.

It was 106 degrees F with a dry breeze, so we carried lots of water, wide brimmed hats and SPF 50.

As we stopped to admire the view, some mountain goats stood on a neighboring ridge checking us out.

We were tired and dry enough after walking up the Keystone Thrust that we decided to skip our second trail goal - the Icebox Canyon - for the day.  But I really want to go back and do it before we leave town.  We would hike up between two canyon walls and approach the face of what would be a waterfall, if it was rainy season.

I would have LOVED to ride the 13 mile scenic drive around the park on a bike.  Good climbs, great descents and unbeatable scenery.  If you can make the trip out to Red Rock Canyon, I'd highly recommend the ride.  Just be sure to bring lots of water.  Once you leave the visitors center, there are no food or water sources in the park.

I've been to Vegas before to do the typical Vegas stuff, so hiking and seeing the desert country is making this trip way more worth while for me.  Next time, I'll have to bring a bike!

In Vegas!

I am in Vegas this week, so I won't be posting much...if at all.  It all depends on how much time I spend in Barnes & Noble.

However, I was excited to see as we drove into town from the airport and cruised down the Vegas strip that people were out making deliveries by bike.  Brave folks in all that crazy traffic and 105 degree F heat!  Go people working by bike!

In memory of Dave Blumenthal

Dave Blumenthal passed away yesterday after a collision with a truck during his ride of the Tour Divide Mountain Bike Race.  See the Tour Divide blog here to read the details.  Check out Dave's blog here to read about his passion for biking adventure.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Dave's family and friends in this time of tragic loss.

Seeking Sport Watch Advice

My current sports watch has sprung a leak and no longer stays dry inside when I swim or sweat. Time for a new one! This time around, I want a watch that has a chronograph with lap/split ability at the very least. What I’d really love is a GPS watch that can also show speed/pace and distance along with time and splits. It’d be cool if it did elevation, too, but that’s not as important to me. And I have to be able to wear it in the water.

Any advice on a women’s GPS watch that is worth the price? They seem to be pretty expensive, but I’m willing to consider a more expensive watch if it does everything I want it to. It’d be great if the watch was a reasonably small size, even if I have to clip a separate GPS unit on my clothing.

I’m also curious about how accurate foot pods are. Do they simply measure foot cadence and then multiply by a set stride length? Or do they measure actual distance? I’m not sure how a foot fall counter would take differing paces into account.  (Nor would it do any good while riding a bike or swimming.)

If the GPS just doesn’t seem worth it, I’m planning to go with something like the Timex women’s Ironman Sleek 50-lap watch, which is going cheap on amazon right now.

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

The hubby asks for advice

The hubby has had a stressful few months at work, which has led to him eating out more than he should and exercising less. At his recent visit to the doctor, the physician told him to exercise more and drop a few pounds or he was going to prescribe a blood pressure medication.

So for the past week, I have been impressed by the hubby’s dedication to his new exercise regimen. He has started with running a couple miles at a time, and I can tell he’s getting stronger quickly. His pace is increasing and his breathing is getting easier. He was a runner in high school and has completed a few triathlons in the past, so it’s cool to see how getting back into exercising is so natural for him.

Though, running might not be the best choice for him. Running is a quick, convenient workout. You can do it any time of day from any location. However, the hubby is a big guy and the impact wears on him. He also enjoys social or competitive sports like tennis, basketball, mountain biking or dodge ball significantly more than solo activities. I think that the best solution would be for him to combine running some days with fun sports leagues other days.

It’s been really cool for me to see the hubby dedicated to improving his health and fitness. I want to be as supportive and motivating to him in that as I can. It’s also been fun to work out with him. There are very few things we don’t enjoy doing together, and isn’t it always more fun to run with a friend than to go alone?

But what really made me feel good this week was when the hubby asked me for training advice. He wanted to know if I thought he should run every day or take a day off. I explained that he should take at least one rest day a week to let his body recover from the building he’s doing – and a second day if he feels any pain or fatigue. Especially as he’s just starting a new workout regimen, he should ease into it so he doesn’t get injured in the first week preventing him from continuing a regular fitness plan and damaging his resolve to stick with it.

I guess when you train hard for three months and best your spouse’s triathlon time on your first try, it earns you some major fitness knowledge respect points. :)

Sunday – Run 2.5
Tuesday – Run 3.1 with 9 minutes at tempo (26:02, 8:24 mile pace)
Wednesday – Run 2

Running Boom

The Grand Rapids Press has a cool article today about how more and more people are taking up running in West Michigan and around country.  Read it here.

"While running has been popular for decades, it also has seen a boom in recent years for a number of reasons. From health and fitness to stress relief to the fact it’s cheap, all you need is a pair of shoes and a sidewalk and off you go.

According to RunningUSA.org, an estimated 467,000 people nationwide finished marathons in 2009, a 10 percent increase from ’08 and the largest bump in more than 25 years.

West Michigan races are seeing their numbers swell as well..."

Photo from Grand Rapids Press

More Ann Arbor Triathlon 2010 Photos

Thanks, Mom, for taking so many great photos on race day!

Up the hill to the transition area

The hubby and I - ready for the race

Food and registration tents

Swim cap - practical but not flattering

The swim is done.  Now time for a strong bike ride!

Bike Out. Run Out.

Transition area - dropping off my bike

#102 running strong

I did it!  I kicked butt!  I love my cheering squad.

Triathlon music - a piano on a bike!

Warrior Dash Midwest 2010

I’ve felt more accomplished after other races – like the triathlon and the half marathon that I ran – but the Warrior Dash was probably the most fun race I’ve ever done! The hubby felt the same way.

We started to get an idea for how big this thing was going to be when the hubby and I arrived at the Comfort Inn in Joliet, IL and three other people were checking in who were also doing the Dash the next day. In fact, our hotel was full of Warriors. I’m not surprised, because when we arrived at the parking lot Saturday morning and hopped on one of the 67 busses circulating from the parking lot to the race area, we learned that 13,000 people would be doing the race over the course of the next two days. It was seriously a giant, muddy party with music, beer, food and an obstacle race. Awesome!

"Team Awesome" (me) and "Team Not So Awesome" (hubby) before the race with Dark Wing Duck

We arrived with plenty of time to get ready for our 10:00 wave (they ran waves every half hour all day for two days!). As our start time approached, we joined one to two hundred other runners in the start area. Many people wore costumes or shirts that they had made, like ours. One couple ran as Calvin and Hobbs. We met a girl dressed as Dark Wing Duck. And we had a lot of fun with a group of seven women from Ann Arbor, MI who dressed in their best 80’s garb – with side ponytails and everything. It was fabulous!

And finally, we counted down the last 10 seconds and were signaled to start by blasts of flame shooting from the top of the starting arch!

The entire course was full of slick mud and grass – through the woods, out in fields, everywhere. Over the first half mile, the field of runners began to spread out. Then the obstacles began. We ran down slick hills, on planks across a pit, over junkyard cars and wooden spools, we crawled through tunnels, sloshed through a swamp, clawed up a muddy hill. We climbed hay bales and a cargo net. We ran up and down a field of dirt mounds. We jumped over burning logs, walls, giant pipes. And finally, we crawled through a mud pit under barbed wire. At the finish line, volunteers were waiting to put our finisher medals over our heads.

The reward for finishing this awesome 3 mile race coated head to toe in thick grey mud? Free beer! The first beer, that is. After rinsing off under fire hoses, we dried quickly in the sun talking with our new friends, eating turkey legs and BBQ sandwiches and dancing to the music.

Soon, we joined in a massive tug of war game in the mud. (Are you seeing a theme here?) We won!

And finally, we learned how to throw axes like real warriors. I hit the target with more axes than the hubby. Go me!

At this point, we decided we were ready to head back to the hotel to clean up and rest up before going out on the town with the 80’s girls for the evening.

Unfortunately, we had to cut our trip short when we received word that the hubby’s grandpa was in critical condition. We packed the car and headed home hoping to see him one last time in the hospital. Sadly, we got a call on the road that Grandpa was gone.

Despite the sad end to the weekend, the Warrior Dash itself was one of the most fun events the hubby and I have been to! It was truly a blast, and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

More from the AA Tri

Less than two miles

Have you heard of that pledge where you commit to riding your bike instead of driving your car for any trip that is less than two miles from your home?

Well, I performed one of those trips today.  I had to run to the restaurant at the end of our street to get a receipt for the hubby to turn in to work.  It truly would have taken longer to drive a car there than it did to bike.  And the sun is finally out after a stretch of rainy, grey days, so how could I not hop on the bike?

Recovery

I'm still a little sore and tired from the triathlon this Sunday, so I'm taking a couple well-earned recovery days.  Though, I've still experienced that craving to exercise.  To get out there and move.  Particularly to run.

Maybe I'll get the hubby to go on an easy run with me tonight.  Which would be a good thing to do, because we're headed to Joliet, IL for the Warrior Dash this weekend!

3.1 miles with 12 obstacles to overcome like a cargo net, junked out cars, a wall, a line of flame and a mud pit covered in barbed wire.  Following the race, we will be handed furry, horned warrior hats, beer and chicken drumsticks.  How is that not awesome?!

Ann Arbor Triathlon 2010 Race Report

Sunday morning, my mom, the hubby and I were up early for a pre-race breakfast and arrived at Halfmoon Lake in the Pinckney Recreation Area with plenty of time to get me signed in and set up for the Ann Arbor Triathlon.

I put my race numbers on my equipment. A volunteer wrote my identifying information on my body with permanent marker (which still hasn’t come off after a swim and two showers). And I set up my transition area.

Then I tested the temperature of the lake, which was 75 degrees F – plenty warm for a comfortable swim. I squeezed in my final snack, porta-potty visit and a little warm up jog before walking down to the water for the start.

All of the women were starting together in the second wave, so I wandered down to the congregation of people in blue swim caps and met some other tri-women.

The women were very encouraging, giving me tips for my first triathlon. They said that the Ann Arbor is one of the hardest courses in the area, so I should not let its difficulty discourage me from trying tri again if I wasn’t entirely happy with my race. They also pointed out that if I had a slow swim, that would account for only two or three minutes – something I could easily make up in the bike and run.

Finally, it was time to start! The high level men started in the first wave. Then the women followed three minutes later.

We were off! I made sure that I stayed off to the side of the group so there wouldn’t be many people around me. As we started into the lake, I found that the other swimmers didn’t bother me much and the lack of visibility in the water was not a big deal. Nonetheless, I got scared – not panicky but I just couldn’t slow my breathing down into a rhythm for swimming. I tried several times to settle into the freestyle stroke like I’ve practiced so much over the last few months, but I couldn’t do it. So, I decided that my next fastest option was the back stroke. It let me focus on calming my breathing while I just kept moving in the water.

The group of women pulled farther and farther ahead of me except for two or three other slow swimmers. As I paddled away on my back, I knew that I could finish the swim. Because of the lovely women before the race, I was OK with the fact that it was just going to be slow. And I was not going to let the swim stop me from finishing this race. About 23 minutes in, I ran out of the water and up a long hill to transition. I was unhappy with the swim but determined to take advantage of my stronger bike and run legs.

My transition from the swim to the bike went really smoothly. I moved quickly but stayed relaxed. The run from the water through the exit of the transition took 3 minutes.

Now it was time for the bike! Fourteen miles seemed like an easy ride, even with the constant rolling hills. We rode the streets around the lake that we had just swum and then back into the park again. I definitely pushed my legs and kept a strong pace, but I was ready to kick butt in the run and knew I had the legs left to do it.

The second transition was a quick minute and a half, since all I had to do was take off my helmet and gloves and change into my running shoes.

My family was amazing. My mom, my husband, my dad and his fiancée were at every transition point loudly cheering me on and capturing the moments on camera. I was so happy knowing that they would be there rooting for me throughout the race.

I knew that the run course was going to be challenging. It was almost entirely on a dirt trail through the woods. The path was narrow enough that every pass required an “on your left” and shift to the right by the person being overtaken. There were some long hills, some steep hills and some sandy areas. I heard one woman before the race worry that she would have to walk up one particular hill. I did have to walk a couple times, but only for a few quad-burning seconds.

The trail was indeed tough, but I was pushing it and feeling great! Every time I saw another woman ahead of me, I knew I could catch and pass her. I passed a lot of people during the run. Each time I came upon another woman racer, I checked her right calf where each of us had our age written in permanent marker. I was so excited when I flew by a girl in my age group! That meant that I was one person closer to placing in my age group, which was one of my goals for the day.

Coming out of the woods, we ran about a half mile on the road back into the park. On a long uphill grade, I was sure that I was going to run out of gas. My hip was sore and I thought that I would have to drag myself in the final mile. But amazingly, I got a second wind as we entered the park and I knew I was almost done.

I kicked a strong pace past the transition area and down the hill back toward the lake. The hubby was there screaming for me as he ran alongside the tape.

I took the final turn and raced down the shoot across the finish line. Final time 2:01:41 – faster than I expected, especially with the slow swim! I was so incredibly happy and proud.

I finished the swim despite the mental struggle, I rode a good bike portion, and I really ran strong meeting both my bike and run time goals. I passed a lot of people making up places that had I lost in the swim.

When we checked the results board, I had worked up to 5th place in my age group (from last after the swim) as of the finish of the bike. Since I passed one of the women ahead of me during the run, that meant a 4th place finish in my age group! Awards went to the top five in each group, which meant that I earned myself a medal!

Here it is! The fourth place medal. Maybe next time I’ll get one of those cool trophies!

Thanks to everyone who gave me support, encouragement and advice as I trained for my first triathlon. I had a great time, satisfied an abundance of goals and have concrete things to work on to improve for future races.

I can now officially say that I AM A TRIATHLETE!

Sunday, June 13, 2010
Swim 0.5 miles – 23:21 (It was a really slow swim, but if I worked on it and actually swam freestyle, I could take 4 minutes off my time moving me up several places in the rankings. I was last in my age group for the swim portion, 5th for the bike and 3rd for the run. An improved swim would really help me finish better – and under 2 hours, which would be awesome!)
Bike 14 miles – 49:34 (16.9 mph average)
Run 5 miles – 44:16 (8:52 average mile pace)
Total time with transitions – 2:01:41
4th place in 30-34 Women
191st out of 269 overall

Ready to race

This will probably be my last post before the Ann Arbor Tri on Sunday! I can hardly believe it’s here.

Despite the fact that I feel like the last few weeks have been less than ideal as far as training goes, I still think I’m ready. I’ve got one more light workout to do today, and that is the last one before the race.

Tonight, I will go to a friend’s birthday party, where we will be playing a murder mystery game in a 60’s hippy style. I’m playing a woman who is a groupie to the “Strolling Bones” and the inventor of tie dyed fashion. I think it’s going to be a fun time! I just have to remember that it’s time to be hydrating, not drinking beer and whatever other 60’s themed boozahol is provided at the party.

Tomorrow I will make an obsessive packing list and go over it repeatedly as I pack everything I need for the race in my car and drive with the hubby to my mom’s house near Ann Arbor. There, I will have dinner with my family and attempt to go to bed early while steadying my pre-race nerves.

Sunday will be an early morning up for breakfast, setting up my transition spot and warming up for the race.

I still haven’t found a wetsuit to take along in case the water is cold. I have one more craigslist contact to try. Otherwise, Aquaman is going to be at the race renting suits for ridiculous prices. Horray for the captive audience!

I’ll be sure that my camera is on that obsessive packing list tomorrow, and I’ll enlist one of my lovely family members to get as many photos of me racing as possible. I look forward to reporting on the event early next week!

Wish me luck!

Friday, June 11, 2010
Swim 600 (100 warm up, 8x25 sprint, 2x100 threshold, 100 cool down), Run 1.75 (14:52 minutes)
That's it!  Ready as I'll ever be, as they say!

Summer Rain

For some reason, I have always loved running in a warm, light, summer rain.

Some friends and I had plans to play kickball last night, but they called to cancel saying it was too cold and wet to play outside. Not so!

Don’t get me wrong. If it’s cold out, being wet is miserable. If it’s raining really hard or there’s any sign of lighting, it’s just not a good idea. But a light rain on a warm summer day is wonderful!

It’s hard to get overheated running when a sprinkle from the sky washes over your face. And that fresh ozone smell seems to cover up any amount of traffic exhaust.

I feel more connected with nature when I run in the rain. And I guess I probably feel just a little bit hard core because I don’t mind being outside when most other people cancel their outdoor plans.

My run in the rain last night was short as I’m tapering for race day. But it was definitely sweet.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Run 4 miles total (30 minutes with 3x3 minutes at tempo – 3.75 mi, 3x100 strides, drills)
3.75 miles in 30 minutes is an average 8:00 mile pace. It’s interesting to me that I actually ran faster splits after biking in my last bike/run brick workout. That’s either because my legs were already warmed up, my adrenaline was already pumping, or I was only running a couple miles. In any case, I hope I can maintain a pace like this on race day. That would make me very happy!

Misdemeanor Swimming?!

I asked the hubby to go out to Millennium Park beach with me to swim in the lake last night. I felt like just having him in the water with me would get me over the hump of discomfort about the open water.

As we walked into the surprisingly warm lake, we started talking about where we were going to swim. The beach had a long, very shallow buoyed off swimming area along the shore. The occasional sign warned not to swim past the buoys where the bottom dropped off. But we thought that swimming across the lake and back would offer the best practice for the race. So even though I was worried about what the park officials might do if we passed the swimming buoys, we decided to give it a try.

As we started out past the drop off, it didn’t feel as strange as I had thought it would. It’s not that I’ve never been in the deep area of a lake before. I have. It’s just that this time, I had to perform an athletic activity in that water. Not being able to see very far due to the stirred up sand actually made it seem less scary.

After a about a minute of swimming, I heard a whistle and knew that someone must be calling us back beyond the buoys. We turned around, swam back and walked up to talk to what turned out to be a bicycle police officer.

Apparently this particular lake is unique in that a number of people have died swimming in the deep areas, so the city decided to make it a Misdemeanor offense with a fine of $300 to swim past the buoys. Holy cow! The hubby and I explained that I was practicing for a triathlon and that we had had no idea that swimming across the lake was punishable by criminal charges. And of course, we promised not to do it again!

After that scary conversation, I swam up and down the shallow area a few times and called it a day.

The police officer took our names but did not charge us. Thank goodness! A Misdemeanor would not be a good thing for the hubby’s community organizing job. I suppose the police department may still mail us a couple citations, but I don’t think they will. I get the feeling that we got off with a warning this time.

Can you believe that?! A Misdemeanor for swimming past the buoys?! Wow.

Monday, June 7, 2010
Swim approx. 300 yards in a lake
This swim wasn’t much of a workout physically, but it allowed me to do a lot of mental preparation for the race – getting comfortable in the water, practicing sighting (because apparently I swim quite crooked without lines to look at) and finding my pace for the long distance. If I don’t get criminal charges out of the deal, it was a good, productive day!

Fitness in the family

T minus 5 days to the big race!  Woo!

Friday night, the hubby and I had the pleasure of hosting my step-dad, who was in town for a big track event. He was an awesome college runner and now coaches track and cross country at a high school near his home. It’s cool to have someone so knowledgeable about running in the family.

On Saturday, the hubby and I went to a couple’s wedding shower for one of his cousins. The hubby’s aunt is really into fitness and looks great, though she kept complaining about how old and unattractive she is. Bologna. She looks fantastic.

Anyway, my in-laws started talking about their ride at the 100 Grand that morning. Then, I was telling people that I’m doing a triathlon next weekend, and the whole family got into conversations about the intricacies of riding bicycles, how hard swimming is, similarities between riding bicycles and motorcycles… It was great to see such a large and varied group of people talking about fitness! And in the family, too. I love it!

Friday, June 4, 2010
Swim 1200
100 warmup, 8x25 sprints, 800 endurance, 100 cool down

Sunday, June 6, 2010
Bike 20 miles (approx. 76 minutes), Run 2 miles (15 minutes)
I rode 14 miles in about 51:30 at a pretty normal pace – working, but not uncomfortable. If I can pick up the pace just a little bit on the hilly race course, I’ll hit my 50 minute time goal and still have some legs left for running. At least that’s how it’s supposed to work. ;)

"We're doing Timson?!"

“We’re doing Timson?!”

That’s what I heard as the ride organizer handed out the route slips for last night’s ladies’ group ride. Even without asking, I knew that meant we were going to do some climbing.

The street called Timson is one hill followed by a short plateau followed by a hill and so on for about two miles. We only really climbed about 300 feet over that stretch, but it felt like work nonetheless.

After the ride, I was talking with a friend who moved to Michigan last year from California. When I said that we had a hilly ride today, she promptly differentiated that this was Michigan-hilly. Not actually hilly. No – I did not climb switchbacks up a mountain. Sorry. I can only ride what we’ve got here in the mitten state, and for Michigan, it was a hilly ride. So hmpf. ;)

Thursday, June 3, 2010
Bike 32 miles at ladies’ ride
It was a hilly ride and the longest I’ve done yet this season. I was supposed to do 10 minutes of running after the ride, but my legs were pretty toast, so I opted out. I really need to do a couple more brick workouts before the tri. I’ll just have to be intentional about it over this last week and a half.

A Medium Maintenance Woman

When did I become medium maintenance?

There’s a set of terms that many people use to describe women in relationship to how much energy and importance they assign to their appearance. High maintenance women spend a lot of time doing their hair, fret about getting wet in the rain, try on multiple outfits in the morning before finding the perfect combination… Low maintenance women don’t value looking nice any less, they just don’t care to spend as much time on it. They often choose a hair style or clothing for practicality over trendiness and don’t worry about wearing the same outfit for both a game of Frisbee golf and dinner at the local bar and grill.

I am historically a low maintenance woman. Sometimes to a fault. Though in recent years, I’ve tried to care a little more about looking attractive. I’ve shopped for sexier clothes, I’ve tried out more flattering hair cuts… My recent perm is a step in this direction. I love how it looks, but it does require a little styling for optimum curliness.

Don’t get me wrong, though. To achieve the best curls, I do use product and blow dry with one of those crazy diffuser thingies. BUT... It actually ends up taking me less time to dry my hair than it did when it was straight.

So, I’m calling myself a medium maintenance woman. I still prefer the low maintenance lifestyle in almost all cases, but I’m spending a little more mental energy on my appearance than I use to.

The thing that weirds me out is that I’ll actually think twice before shoving a motorcycle helmet on my head because it will flatten my hair. I carry a blow drier to the gym, so I can re-style my hair after a swim workout. Considering prioritizing my perm over freely doing something fun or active is strange for me.

I’m working on coming to peace with this. I’m sure it’ll all balance out in the end. Like the force. Come to the dark side, Missy. Right? ;)

Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Swim 1000 yards
100 warm up, 8x25 sprints, 4x50 sprints, 4x100 threshold, 100 cool down

Yankee Springs back in the swing

Memorial Day weekend didn’t prove as productive as I had hoped as far as home projects went, but I did have some fun in the sun! I got my grass cut, cleaned out a clogged gutter and went tubing down the Thornapple River.

I also eased back into my training schedule, which feels very strange considering I missed all of my long workouts last week due to a minor cold. I decided just to pick up with the schedule and not worry too much about what I missed. I’m sure I’ll be ready for the race in two weeks whether I do a couple more endurance workouts or not.

Saturday, some coworkers and I drove down to the Yankee Springs mountain bike trails. It was the first time any of us had ridden them. We rode 7.3 of the 14 or so miles of trail available, and it was pretty nice! The difficulty of the loops closest to the trailhead are comparable to what I’m used to riding at the Cannonsburg State Game Area – maybe even a little less technical. However, there is a lot of sand at Yankee Springs, which made some areas more challenging than they otherwise would have been. Overall, it was a hot, sweaty, fun ride followed by Mexican food and tall beers!

Sunday, I skipped my workout again, simply because I was busy with other activities. Tsk tsk!

But Monday I ventured out into the heat for my first run in over a week. How weird is that?! I was a little nervous at first that my pace was suffering, but I must have gotten warmed up after a couple miles, because it ended up being fine. I ran 10k in 50 minutes (8:04 average miles) and then continued on for another 5 minutes of “cooling down” – if anyone could cool down in the heat and humidity that we had yesterday!

So, I feel like I’m back in the swing of training and haven’t lost too much to my lazy week. This week’s plan is to maintain my current fitness level, and next week I taper to race day! I can’t believe it’s almost here!

Saturday, May 29, 2010
Mountain Bike 7.3 miles
Rode at Yankee Springs for the first time, and enjoyed it despite all the sand!

Monday, May 31, 2010
Run 55 min, 5x100 strides (approx. 7 miles total)
Ran 6.2 miles in 50 minutes for an 8:04 average mile pace. It was so humid that it felt like running through water. Yuck!