Yoga...does a body good

On this dreary rainy day I decided to give my body a nice looooong stretch.

I tried a new yoga class today and it was just what my quads and hamis needed!

My body feels back to normal now. I felt good Sunday, but was a little sore this morning after riding yesterday too.

It's amazing what some reclining hero pose, frog pose and a million and a half hand to foot poses can do to restore your body.

SUNday!

Today was the most gorgeous day we have had so far this spring. Breezy and 85 degrees (maybe a little warmer). 

The first part of the day we spent at Wags park with Sid, Floyd, Blake and Sarah. Today is Floyd's 2nd birthday so it was quite the party for him! They had a great time and we got to enjoy being outside soaking in some rays. Perfect!

Then Marc and I met Kelly and Marvin for a bike ride. It was my first ride on the roads, so I really appreciated Marvin and Kelly's expertise. They were great and very helpful. 

The route had some rolling hills, but nothing too challenging. It was the wind that got us. The wind ranged from 16-22 mph. This made me very nervous on my bike, I was convinced I was going to get blown over. A nice strong headwind greeted us on Butler Warren for a few miles towards the end, I started to struggle, but kept pushing on.  We survived! I was pretty happy with our ride. It was a little shorter than I was hoping, but I think the wind made up for that. We ended up at just a little over 16 miles. Not too shabby after running for 22 miles yesterday.

I think my favorite part of the ride was seeing the donkey and peacocks. Not something I'm used to seeing my little piece of suburbia!

Let the Taper Begin!

Lots of catching up to as I had a few technical difficulties this week...

Thursday was the perfect day for a not too fast, not too slow, not too long and not too short run to keep the legs moving and fresh for the big run this morning. It felt good and the weather was gorgeous. That night Marc and I had planned on going for bike ride, but the sky began to look rather ominous so we opted for our first game of tennis for 2011.

Justine and Joel's nugget

Friday's long run prep included hanging out with a very cute little nugget named Harper. She helped me relax and de-stress and stay off of my feet. And thankfully there wasn't any spit up, dirty diapers or much crying.

This morning was the dreaded 22 miler. It was perfect weather: overcast and low 50s - nice shorts and short sleeve running weather! It was a new course for us which was nice. A change in scenery is always welcome especially for such a long run. It was a great run even with the sprinkles that began with about 5 miles to go. I was pretty cold and wet by the time I finished, but I didn't even really notice while I was still running.

I feel pretty good about the upcoming marathon. Of course you never know what you will get on race day, but I've run in just about everything possible this training season, so bring it on!

Now that a picture has been uploaded, make sure to make your suggestion in the contest!

First Master's Swim Take 2

Today was a rough day. Didn't sleep well last night and the day at work seemed to drag on. It was hard to concentrate.

All I wanted to do after work was take a nap.

I know, poor me, right? 

Aren't they adorable?

Sometimes the workouts you feel like doing the least are the ones you  need the most. Today was definitely one of those days.

It was gorgeous outside (still is even at 10:30 p.m). A nice long playtime at the park for Sid and her boyfriend Floyd helped me feel a little better and relax.  Then relaxing time was over.

My first Master's swim team practice finally occurred tonight. There were no mistakes about time this week! The people are amazing. So helpful, so kind and amazing swimmers (and a few beginners too!).

Our workout looked something like this:

Warm up 200 m freestyle

5 x 100 m drills (kick, side, one arm pull, count strokes, scissor) for 100 m each

7 x 100 m at different RPE - it all feels like a 10 to me.

Sight drills (200 m maybe, I didn't get this far so I'm not sure)

200 m cool down - easy, breast stroke or freestyle

I'm sure this isn't much to a seasoned swimmer, but attempting to pack this into an hour is hard! I didn't finish the entire work out, but I swam freestyle the whole time. No breast stroke for me except for the last 50 m cool down! The worse part was that I did have some foot cramps again - I must remember to increase my water intake on swim days.

The spa feels so good after hard work out. I just needed someone to bring me a cocktail while I soaked.

Time to start mentally preparing for 22 miles on Saturday. After I get through this it is taper time!

Contest!

BIG prizes are to be given away, so you're going to want to get in on this!

I've had my bike for about a month now and it is still nameless. Awww, poor bike.

So, please leave your suggestions. Like I said, BIG prizes will be awarded.

Isn't she pretty?

Goodnight, Weekend

It's been a fabulous weekend, I'm so sad it's almost over.

Marc and I took the road bikes out for a while on the trail. We were slightly crunched for time (cook out at Marc's parents!) so we didn't get too many miles in, only about 16. I had my first near crash, but thankfully I was able to unclip at the last second and saved myself. it did fluster me for the rest of the ride and took quite a while for my heart to work its way out of my stomach and back to my chest.

Looks like this week will be tricky with rain and the possibility of severe weather. I'll be attempting an early morning run tomorrow to beat the storms.

Now it's time to finish the cleaning and clip my coupons!

Happy Saturday!

Another 15.2 miles in the books. So what if I was planning to do17?

It's amazing how much shorter 15 feels than 20. 

There isn't really too much to say about this run. I feel good. Marc had a fabulous breakfast waiting when I got home. Life is good.

Weather looks like it may cooperate to get the road bikes out tomorrow, so this afternoon may be spend tweaking a few things on my bike and practicing in the living room again.