Another Setback

Last Friday I went to the MN Horse Expo from about 8 in the morning until 5 pm. I wore my running shoes with orthodics. I was so sore by the end of the day - hurting to walk sore. I have not been running, just swimming and biking.

I got a massage on Monday from Kelly which was excellent. She came to my house with her table. I'm planning on getting one every down week...that would only be 4 more massages until IronMan. Wednesday I went to the chiropractor. He said it will be fine and it's just a setback and to lay off running until I feel better.

Some friends told me about Shueler Shoes wool clogs that help with foot pain. I have been wearing them at work and at home. So far they are great and do a great job managing my foot pain. I have been wearing sneakers to work and clogs at the office and at home. I'm hoping I will get better before the half marathon on May 17. If not I guess I will be cheering for Olaf.

IronMan Bike Ride

Saturday night Susan called and said that Linda wasn't going to ride due to the 90 percent chance of rain on Sunday. I said I would change my 65 mile ride to the 30 and go no matter what. Since I said I was going, Susan and Connie came to ride with me. Funny thing is they said they would call about 6 am if they were going on my cell. I went back to bed about 6 am without a call and thought I would skip it, but they called at 6:14 so I jumped into my clothes and headed out the door...I didn't tell them I went back to bed and decided to not ride. I found them both in the bathroom when I got there. Great timing!!

It rained, it was cold (OK freezing at the end) but it was good to do it to learn how to ride in the rain if I need to. Next time I would put bags over my socks in my shoes and rubber medical gloves over my hands to keep them dry. My hands were so cold that when I was done I sat in the car until I could move them to get my shoe covers off.

Connie learned that the tri seats (especially designed for women...probably by a man) special hole in the middle for ventilation, etc is designed perfectly for rain to spin off your tires, up into the whole and into a critical area of your body. Then after a while it feels like you wet your pants and drips down your legs. She even thought about putting a credit cred over the hole to sit on because it was so uncomfortable.

We determined during the ride that my bike is pretty heavy which is why I rocketed down hills but going up them I have a hard time. They went up hill with ease. I struggled a lot. I always run out of gears and end up standing up to get up the hills.

A Monkey on My Back

Last Friday was a beautiful warm day. I was scheduled for a 1 hour bike ride and 9 mile run. I decided on a 30 minute bike ride and 9 mile run because I didn't want to push it. I'm sore from the run, but it wasn't bad considering my foot/leg/hip issues. I get the most sore from running yet I aerobically able to run faster/harder then biking. That's a little weird.

Yesterday it rained so I ran errands. I got my bars taped at Penn Cycle with bright yellow bar tape. I went to Run N Fun because they charged incorrectly on some items I bought on Sunday after swimming. I stopped at Erik's and used my gift card I won last year at Eriks Spring Cup Mountain Bike race (1st place!) I bought a yellow cycling jersey with Curious George on it. It made me laugh and it matched my bike. I only paid 8 dollars of my own money. I'm going to wear it on the IronMinnesota Bike Ride on Sunday. I will probably wear this for IM too if the weather is nice. Look for the biker with a monkey. I really wanted something with a Bee on it but it's too expensive to have one made and this is just as fun.

150 Days!!!!

Time sure flies. 150 days doesn't seem like much time left to train.

Yesterday I did leave my house about 3:15 and biked out 97 to South on Manning. I didn't realize how hilly Manning was. One hill after another...it was quite a workout. I was able to keep an average speed of 15.1 which I thought was good since this was my first outdoor bike ride all year and considering the hills. I went to Highway 96 and turned around and headed back. Olaf picked me up right at Hwy 61 and Hwy 97 about 6:20 or so. I wasn't going to cross 61 during rush hour. I probably shouldn't be on the highway at all. It was about 43 miles and I biked for just about 3 hours. Whew! I'm sore today so it's a rest day for me. Plus I'm getting a sore throat. I think it's due to allergies. The leaves are budding in our area.

My house is a disaster. I have clothes all over because I got home, changed, fed the animals and went on my bike. After that I got home starved, ate dinner, went to the barn to clean stalls, feed, water, picked up a little in the barn...then to Walmart and Cub. What a long day, but I couldn't sleep after my bike ride. It's hard to wind down sometimes. I always get the feeling when I'm done with long workouts that my heart is beating so fast and it takes it time to slow so it's hard to sleep.

The Return of my Barn Shoes

Friday morning I received a phone call from my neighbor, Ralph. He said they had my shoes there. Another neighbor saw my shoes in the ditch and left them at Ralph's house by the front door thinking they were his daughter in-laws. She brought them in the house and Ralph thought they might be mine. They were so nasty and had horse manure and chicken poop with shavings stuck to the bottom and boy did they smell. I can't believe they had them in on their carpet. I got my shoes back - ahhh, life is good!

Yesterday I had to swim for 2 miles. It was swim 100 yards, 30 second rest. It felt great and easy. After my swim I went for an outdoor 6 mile run yesterday and felt great. I had a little foot pain for the first 10 minutes but after a while it was gone.

Today I'm hoping to get in a two and half hour bike ride and tomorrow I will take my rest day especially since I have to go to the chiropractor. My plan is to bike to Stillwater turn around and head home and at some point Olaf will pick me up on his way home from work. If I leave my house about 3:30, he should find me somewhere north on Manning...I hope!

Who would want icky barn shoes?

I went for a bike ride today. It was my first real ride outdoors this year. I probably went for about an hour. I felt great. I would have gone farther but I took the Hardwood Creek Trail along Highway 61. They still had wood chips over the bridges for snowmobiles. I hit one going north so I went south until I ran into another one. After that I thought that was good enough for my first outdoor ride and came home. I always wear my "Muck" shoes (green, rubber, comfy slip on made for horse people shoes) to the end of my gravel road. Once there I put on my bike shoes and put my shoes in the ditch. I have been doing this for a year. I got back and no shoes. Someone took my shoes...my FAVORITE shoes. I wear these in the garden, horse shows, barn. I had to walk home over the gravel in my socks and and sad face. Worst part is they are about 80 bucks and only sold at Tractor Supply. : ( The only good thing is that I bought a 'reserve' pair a couple months ago and they are in a box in my closet, so I do have another pair. I'm not going to break them out yet. I'm going to put a sign there and maybe someone will return them. It's worth a try!!

I have a right to change my mind, I'm a woman.

Green Bay Marathon is back on but it's now cut in half. I downgraded (or upgraded depending on how you look at it) to half the distance and we are now doing the half marathon. I'm back running again with my orthodics and up to 5 miles. It's a slow/steady pace. So far the pain in minimal to none if I don't get too crazy and go too fast. I'm hoping to get up to 10 miles by May 1. That would put me in great shape for doing the half marathon. Of course that I'm injured Olaf is training now. He's doing really well and runs most mornings on the treadmill. He wants to finish under 2 hours. I will just have to see how I feel the day of the race and keep in mind that I have IronMan and that is my priority this year.

Swimming is still going great. My workouts are about 2 miles now. Biking is going good. I'm itching to get outside but waiting for upper 50's - 60. I tried biking outside last weekend and it was just too cold for me.

I had a great test of my feet on Monday with the grass fire in the area. I left my house in my old running shoes with my old arch supports. I was in them all afternoon/evening running around the neighborhood helping people get out of their houses, etc and my feet didn't hurt. That's a great sign. I was kind of worried when I saw the smoke, first about our house burning down, and second wondering when will I get my run in. I got my run in just find that day. Some obsession this IM training is. I bet it has 98 percent of my mind consumed in something IM related.