Learning New Tricks, in Week Twenty-Six

Sorry, no pictures of my new bike yet. I don't think it has come in yet, but I should have it in my hot little hands by the end of the week. I went shopping for new shoes this week in Des Moines. My intention was to go visit a bunch of bike shops in DM so that I could try on various brands and sizes, then take that knowledge back to Skunk River and have Ronn order them for me. A little shady, I know. But how else I am supposed to know what feels best? However, my plan did not go as well as I had hoped. Had I known that there was a big sale last weekend on shoes in DM, I wouldn't have been surprised when I got to the store and they were all out of my size - in EVERY SINGLE shoe model that they carried! At the second store, I had just slightly better luck. They hadn't received their spring shipments of shoes yet, but the ones they did have in my size were north of $200! Granted the $200 shoes fit like a glove and had a cool ratchet-thingy on the side, but still, $200 is $200 and that is way out of my budget. I'm pretty sure that $200 shoes are not gonna get me to the finish line THAT much faster than something in the $100 range.

I can't complain at all about my running right now. I am finding the time to fit in the weekly runs as well as shooting over my mileage goal for the "long" run on the weekends - thanks to Team Vardo. These guys are all training for a spring marathon and are in the midst of ramping up their mileage. Good for them, great for me. I get to run a bit longer than my schedule dictates and I have a great group to help keep me motivated. The biggest bummer with that comes this week when my new running group starts. Every year I get anxious about this time. Will this year's group come together like groups of the past have? Will they be as much fun as last year's group? Will one or more of them drive me nuts (there is always at least one per year...)? Worst of all, will they get my sense of humor? My anxiety usually lasts no more than about 10 minutes into the first run, but it gets me every time. As added pressure this year, the weather forecast for the first night (this Tuesday) is for snow showers and a daytime high of 31. Yuck.

I am surviving my trips to the pool. This week I did both swims at 5:30 and I think getting up like that gets easier every time. Not more fun, just easier. But even with all the drills and the sets to keep me occupied, my mind can just wander all over the place and I have a hard time staying focused on the job at hand. It is especially important to keep engaged in the process of swimming because it is so technique intensive. That will become a major goal for the future.

Speaking of goals, I've had to stop and remind myself of some of the previous goals I had set for myself. First, I had originally thought that I would try to keep up some sort of strength training program during at least the first 10 weeks of training. I can already see that that ain't gonna happen. The timing of those workouts and the extra hours in the weight room just make it too difficult to fit into my schedule. So, with a little bit of extra creative planning, I'll be able to sneak a bit more strength work into the classes that I teach. My other goal that hasn't been as good as I'd have hoped is my stretching. I usually do a very good job of putting in at least 10 minutes of flexibility training if I run on the treadmill at work. But if I run outside, it doesn't happen. So, again I resolve to make that more of a priority.

On the injury front, I am happy to announce that my hamstring no longer bothers me when I run!! I get a twinge or two if I sit one way or another for too long, but I am basically pain-free!! I think that the massages are really starting to pay off. For the next 5 weeks, I think I'm gonna stick with the every other week massage, but I may have to get more aggressive with 20 weeks to go.

Weekly Round-Up (Sunday thru Saturday):
Swim: 4200 yards
Bike: 2 hours, 15 minutes - all on trainer
Run: 19 miles
Cross-Training: 10 minutes on Elliptical Trainer and about 60 minutes of lunges, squats, and core with various clients throughout the week.

Finally, because everyone asks about them all the time, here are a few more pictures of the girls. Tomorrow they will be 10 weeks old (but these pictures are from their 8th week):


I am trying to figure out (training-wise) how to fit in another trip to Vail to see them in April. I know I couldn't get away for long, but a long weekend would give me just a little more baby-time until I can see them again in May.