Stillwater Half Marathon Update

Sunday we left about 6 am on the Harley to get to the start line of the half marathon. I frozen! I wore leather pants, leather jacket and gloves but that didn't help much. Burr! My back was kind of sore from mowing the lawn on Saturday and I don't think riding on the back of the bike helped much.

So maybe we should go back to Saturday. I know this was just a training run on Sunday but I probably should have sat down for a minute on Saturday. I spent the day picking up sticks, mowing, hand trimming with the weed whip, push mower where the big mower couldn't get. I also thought I could grab onto dead branches from the Willow tree and yank them down...well when you yank down a branch where do you think it lands? On your head. Then we went to a wedding reception that night.

So back to Sunday... I was kind of sore at the start with my back and foot so I did take one Advil. I brought a golf ball to the start so I could roll my foot before running - I'm getting smarter!

The run was good for the first 6 miles. Then we started hitting some hills and my pace slowed because I walked up every hill and down ever so I didn't aggravate my Achilles. It was a perfect day for a run, about 60's when I was done...70's later on. I finished about 2 hours 6 minutes. I was happy with that because I can still walk. I'm so afraid of a flair up of my hip, foot or knee. I don't really have the time to rest it much anymore. I'm just glad I was able to do two half marathons a week apart and still feel OK. The photo is myself and Olaf's friend Jason. He also ran the half.

This week I have a 80 mile bike ride and 4 mile run after wards. I'm taking off work on Friday to do that so I can spend time with Lynn on Saturday trying on a bridesmaid dress and dinner. That will be my treat for Friday!

Ready to Run Again

I biked to Stillwater on Friday after work to pick up my race number. It was only 26 miles to the Stillwater High School so I went farther on Manning to get to 40 miles per my training plan. The traffic was really heavy so I only went about 35 miles. I had to get off the road with Friday pre-Memorial Day traffic. I had to ride down Highway 36 for about a mile, it was a little weird using the exit ramp. I passed a sheriff at a signal light and he didn't seem to care I was heading down the highway.

Olaf is going to drop me off tomorrow morning on his motorcycle so we can get close to the start line and he can go for a ride while I run.

Stillwater Half Marathon on Sunday

I swam on Tuesday just over two miles and felt great afterwards. It seems to help my foot/leg when I swim. I had a chiropractor appt on Wed and I was even and my muscles were more relaxed. Yeah! Wed night I had a massage which was wonderful. I had her not work my left shoulder so hard because last time I couldn't swim for two weeks because it was so sore.

I have just a 40 mile bike ride on Saturday. Yes! Sunday I have a 14 mile run so I thought why not go and run the Stillwater Half Marathon. If I have to run I might as well pay the fee and have a fully supported run. It's not often that your training plan lines up with an event like that. : ) Olaf is going to pass on this one because it's 70 dollars. I'll have to sign up today on-line just incase a lot of people are waiting like me. It sounds like the weather will be perfect too.

Green Bay for my B-day

We left for Green Bay on Saturday for the marathon - that was downgraded to a half because of my foot issues. They have a tiny expo in Lambeau stadium to pick up your race packet.

We stayed at the Best Western Midway which entailed crossing the street to get to the start/finish line of the marathon. That was awesome!

The start area was kind of a mess. We were stuck with a rail and retaining wall to jump down after the gun fired. It was a easy, fun run. We even wore silly hats and I had a Happy Birthday Balloon. It made it a lot more fun to run and even more fun to do the half then a full.




We finished the last mile running through the players entrance at Lambeau and making a loop around the field. The real finish line was just a few blocks away. That made the last mile the easiest.

As soon as we finished a local news station grabbed us for an interview - probably because of the hats. Check out the interview...

http://www.nbc26.com/global/video/popup/pop_playerLaunch.asp?vt1=v&clipFormat=flv&clipId1=3769602&at1=News&h1=Economic Boost From Marathon




Afterwards we went to the Botanical Garden of Green Bay, Captain's Walk Winery, the Green Bay Amusement Park and to Brett Farvre's Steakhouse for dinner. Monday morning we toured the Packer Hall of Fame and headed home. It was a fun weekend especially when you can walk afterwards.

My foot is throbbing again but I can walk which is a positive. I'm still worried about the IM training.

Auto Gear on My Bike

I didn't ride on Saturday because I didn't get my bike until noon and thought that Sunday was supposed to be warmer and less windy. I headed out about 9 on Sunday through Scandia to Lindstrom. By the time I got 25 miles my toes were frozen. The farther north I went the colder it got. I crossed Highway 8 and then crossed back to go home. I stopped at the DQ for fries (thinking they would warm me up). I really wanted to put the fries in my shoes to warm up my toes. I headed home and thought I should really get another 10 - 15 miles in so I went down the Highway 61 trail to stop and visit Celeste. She wasn't home yet so I just used their bathroom and then waited outside and realized I was really hungry and frozen so I left before she got home.

Lucky for me that Olaf turned on the heat in the house so I could warm up when I got home. I only rode about 63 miles but that was better then nothing. I felt good riding and rode only in the three biggest gears. My bike has something wrong with it since getting the new cassette because it would shift on it's own. I would be in one gear and it would move up and after a few minutes move back down. It's a weird feeling when your chain slips like that over and over. I have to take it back to County Cycles on Wed. and pickup on Thursday. That's the biggest pain going there to drop off and pick up.

This week is a down week. I ran yesterday and today I'm swimming just a short swim. My foot has been good, so I'll see how my shoulder is today at the pool.

The Ups and Downs

My foot was still a little sore so I still haven't ran since April 23. Kind of a long time but I think resting it is more important. I haven't biked, except a quick ride last night on my mountain bike, since last Saturday. I also haven't swam since last Friday. Between my foot and sore shoulder I'm left with nothing I can do to train except water jog. I am getting excited to go for a bike ride with my new gears on Saturday. I might just go north on Olinda Trail as far as I can (hopefully 40 out and 40 back) and turn around and head home for something different. It's really beautiful out heading through Chisago County.

New Cassette for my Bike!

Monday I did not get to bed early. Actually we had 9 unexpected people in about 4 hours. It was a crazy evening. Somehow I managed to plant dahlias, ride my horse, worm all the horses, clean the stalls, play with my nieces and nephew, check my bees and meet with all the unexpected people. I did not get to bed early and finally had dinner about 9:30 that night. That was supposed to be my relaxing night because I was still so sore from my Saturday bike ride.

Tuesday after work I went with Susan's Rohl wheels and my bike to County Cycles to get some advice on what to do. My bike has a 12/25 8 speed cassette and 53/30 in the front. Lucky for me I have good components on my bike and I didn't even know it. They are going to put a 12/28 in the rear and a new chain. It should be about 80dollars. That will give me a few more gears for the hills in Madison and during training. I'm supposed to get my bike back before the weekend. It's supposed to be rainy all week so I picked a good time to be detached from it. Ha ha!

He said I should save my money and get a real road bike and that my Softride is in excellent condition and would bring a great re-sale value because there are not many around. I'm certain I can probably get double what I paid for it on eBay - not that I want to sell it. I know it's a heavy bike but it's all I have.

Last night I was going to run but my foot was bothering so I'm still resting. My shoulder is sore so no swimming. I'm falling apart lately but that's just part of the training.

70 mile bike ride - done

Saturday morning I headed out on what was supposed a lightly breezy day. It was 42 degrees when I left with not much wind. I went out Highway 97 to Olinda Trail north to Lindstom, south on 95 along the river (then the wind picked up) to highway 96, supposed to get to 15 or Manning Avenue to go north...I got to 5 and thought maybe 5 was Manning. I even asked another cyclist and he said Yes this is Manning. I started North and the shoulder ran out, the houses didn't look right. I headed East on a random road and found 61 North which went to the south and somehow ended up on Merlyn or something like that. I had tried calling Olaf back on 5 to let him know I might be lost but I wasn't sure. I think an hour later I called him to let him know I found Manning and it's really 15. I headed up Manning and stopped about 15 miles from home at a store for an ice cream bar. I needed that to get me home. The wind was so bad at that point. On my way home on a flat road I was going 9.7 MPH. Ahh!

I learned that I should carry a map of the area even if I think I know where I'm going you get a little floaty in the head after so many miles on the bike.

My shoulders are really sore today, almost like they are bruised. I spent the first in my aero bars, the second half on my regular ones. The last hour of my ride my left shoulder really hurt.

I skipped swimming due to my sore shoulders and Barb showed me how to use this softer ball to release muscles. It seemed to really help.

I still haven't ran yet but maybe tomorrow I will go for a few miles and see how my foot it.

Today I have a chiropractic appointment. I also think going to bed early will be helpful too - I'm exhausted.