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July, 2009:

Weird week….

Jul 26th, 2009
by gazelle.
6 comments

This was not a good week for following my workout plan.

I was so sore from my too-fast 14 miler last Sunday, that everything got pushed. Friday turned out to be oddly scheduled, so I didn’t get my trail run in. I didn’t run between last Sundays 14 and today’s 15. By the way – I do not recommend that plan!

Yesterday I did an open water swim – by myself. It sucked. I decided after that I would most likely drown during my triathlon. I kept panicking and not being able to catch my breath. I’m going one more time this Wednesday – and Jen has promised to swim with me & make sure I don’t die (she also said it was very unlikely I would die during my tri- since I will be wearing a wetsuit & they do have rescue personnel to watch).  All previous confidence I had was shot, though.

After the OWS, I did some schoolwork and then headed to the Oregon Brewers Festival to meet her & her & him & a few others w/ no blogs. It was much fun, and I tasted some beers, but had to head home to do more school work.

This morning, I met Sarah at 8 AM for our 15 miler. We had run 15 miles together once before, but that was an accident. Today was tough. It was HOT! And neither of us had run all week (FAIL!). But, we made it. We totally needed to water refill stops, and have decided that we will have to start earlier until the temperatures go down again, but we ran 15 miles! My final time was 2:59 – which was slower than we’d wanted – but the last 5 miles were super slow due to walk breaks. We were so hot & dehydrated (we both stopped sweating at about mile 10).

After a brief cooldown, we headed for brunch (yum) and then back to the Brew fest to meet the architect. I am now trying to cool down and will soon shower & do more school work. And probably eat again. And make that damn pie!

I am feeling a lot more confident about the running – although I definitely need new sports bras – the chafing is not pretty, people. Not pretty at all!

Midweek update

Jul 23rd, 2009
by gazelle.
6 comments

This has not been my most successful of workout weeks. I have done zero cardio since Sunday. Why? you might ask. Well, because JM & my kick-ass neighbor killed me on Sunday (you might even say that they collectively KICKED MY ASS!).

That 14 mile run (10.2 miles at 45 seconds faster than my HM race pace) did some damage. My right hip has been killing me ever since. To the point where I haven’t been sleeping well due to the achy pains.

I also remembered that I do need to schedule one rest day every week. If I feel good & decide to do something that day, bonus! But if I don’t, then a workout isn’t lost. I took Monday off due to ow, and then pushed Monday’s workout to Tuesday, skipping my 5 mile run Tuesday. Wednesday, I really did intend to hit the pool before yoga in the park (thanks for coming JM!), but couldn’t get there in time, and yoga was the priority yesterday. We worked on some hip openers, which was good.

This morning, I still couldn’t get up in time to run, but am hoping to crank through my workload today & leave a bit early to get in a short run before tonight’s regular yoga session.

Tomorrow I will do my trail run, and, time permitting, a pool swim. Saturday I will do an OWS & bike, and then Sunday I’m doing a 15 miler. With JM. Who has promised to not kill me this time (and even claims to be a bit sore herself). According to the Runner’s World calculator, my long runs should be at about an 11:30 pace. Which, in case you really suck at math, is much, much slower than a 9:36 pace. Much.

I understand why long runs go at slower than marathon pace – and it’s so we can walk the next day & continue training! So – goal for tonight’s run is 11:00 pace (4-5 miles). Goal for tomorrow’s run is 12:00 pace (trails, that is always the goal). Goal for Sunday’s run: 11-11:30 pace (15 miles, between 2hrs, 45min & 2hrs, 52min). The last time I ran 15 miles was an accident, and we did it in 2:57….most of that was on trails, also we got lost (getting lost is kind of our MO), so I’m pretty sure we’ll be fine. As long as we get started early enough to beat the heat.

So – Saturday…..I am doing my 2nd OWS, and the first w/ the wetsuit. I’m a bit nervous about that. What are the chances I’ll get stuck in the wetsuit all contorted and be trapped for hours?

PORN!!!

Jul 22nd, 2009
by gazelle.
4 comments

I know – it’s been forever! Triathlon & marathon training + grad school + gardening + still having to go to work are kicking my ass! I need to become independently wealthy STAT!

So – PORN! Can you believe that the fall styles are out? It’s still mid-to-late July, and still hot, so I’m having trouble getting in the autumn groove, but I want the rest of you to be prepared.

It looks like fall will be muted (color wise, anyways – I can’t speak for the sounds of fall). Grays are in style in a very big way.

Many places are also trying to talk me into suede. Many places that aren’t the Pacific NW, that is, and don’t have to deal with the frequent rain & drizzle! I have a couple of pairs of suede shoes, and they hardly ever see the light of day due to weather concerns.

Also in – platform pumps. This is a trend I can get behind. I love pumps. I love platforms. I love this combination! Anything that will make me look taller!

And, of course, the best thing about leaving summer behind – boots! Boots and sweaters are the main things I look forward to in autumn. Well that, and the cooler weather, and the beautiful tree shows! (Actually, autumn is my favorite season – or at least is in the top 3!) (I am purposefully ignoring the scads of peeptoe boots I have just seen, and instead concentrating on the more cowboy-chic styles that seem to be popular – even without the fringes that made them so cool in 1990.)

So – enough of my blathering – lets look at pictures!

Bandolino Zaffle

Bandolino Zaffle

Bettye Muller Milestone (I 3 Bettye Muller)

Bettye Muller Milestone (I <3 Bettye Muller)

Pour la Victoire Ynes

Pour la Victoire Ynes

Wanted Draw

Wanted Draw

Thoughts? Opinions? Gifts of money to support my shoe habits and/or my desire to have more leisure time to devote to school, working out, searching the internet for shoes….. let me know!

Product Review – POM! Wonderful

Jul 21st, 2009
by gazelle.
8 comments

A few weeks ago, I got an email from Janny at POM Wonderful wondering if I wanted to try their 100% pomegranate juice. Being the freeloader giver that I am, I of course said yes! I wanted you all to reap the benefits of my sacrifice.

A few days later, a case (yes, a case) of POM arrived at my house. The architect followed the box’s instructions and put the whole thing in the fridge.

Upon arriving home, I immediately delved into my product review duties and drank an 8 oz bottle of POM. It was delicious! I was not surprised by that. I love cranberry juice, and this is not quite as tart. The inevitable comparison to cranberry juice led to some interesting bartending experiments.

My opinion – POM does not substitute well into a cosmopolitan. The triple sec makes it way too sweet – almost cloying. However, simply mixed with vodka and served on the rocks, it is a terrific cocktail.

However, as wonderful as POM is in a cocktail (and it is good), I found that it is an excellent post-workout beverage (sans vodka). I downed the last two over the weekend. One post swim/trail run on Friday and one post 14 miles on Sunday. Both days I felt that it aided my recovery.

This stuff was fantastic! The only thing it doesn’t have that I think it should is more vitamin C. Which, you know, is probably not something we can do anything about. It does have a myriad of other (well researched with footnotes & everything) health benefits – especially for you men! It’s good for the prostate AND for erectile function! It’s good for the heart and has plenty of antioxidants – which is probably the part that made it such a good recovery drink.

I did decide yesterday that I want to make a recovery smoothie with Silk Chocolate soymilk, POM and maybe bananas…..that sounds like heaven to me!

So – my advice? Buy some POM next time you come across it at the supermarket (if it’s not too expensive – the one thing I haven’t done yet is check out the price….in these days of personal economic downturn, we tend to buy as cheap as possible for those who like to eat well). It’s great for post-workout recovery AND mixes very well with vodka.

Thank you Janny & POM for letting me try your juice!

CONTEST!

Jul 20th, 2009
by gazelle.
1 comment

Head on over to the lovely Amanda’s homestead to give her props for having some pain free runs (does that sound gross, or is it just the 14 year old boy in me?) and enter her contest to win Nasoya Silken Creation tofu.

As always, when I promote someone else’s contest, I really don’t want you to enter & lessen my chances of winning. I am, however, super excited about this.  The Nasoya site has tons of great tofu recipes that aren’t stir-fry! Next week is my week to cook again (we take turns lately) and I think I’ll be busting out some awesome tofu burritos and tofu lasagna! YUM!

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