Thursday: 6 AM Speed Work and a Lot of Nothing and Such

So, I was up at 5:30 AM to go and get my track workout in on a treadmill at the gym. Honestly, let me tell you that getting up to start my track workout when it was still dark, and I was all sniffly felt pretty bleak. It felt even bleaker when I ate five Girl Scout cookies while waiting for my oatmeal to microwave. I then pulverized the rest of the box of Girl Scout Cookies and trashed them, because I can tell you right now, those cookies were destined for a blood sugar spike that would not leave me with enough energy to crawl through the rest of my day. I had no choice but to be proactive in response to my lack of control over slamming Girl Scout Cookies at 5:30 AM in the morning.

After scalding my tongue on both my oatmeal and my tea, I said several expletives that it was a luxury to say while I was all alone in the kitchen. It is so rare that I have the opportunity to really express my misery, and it felt pretty great. I froze in the car all the way to the gym and was honestly so tired that I babbled at poor Stephen. You know those sleepy mornings where you just can't articulate? That was me this morning. ANYWAY, workout as follows:

• 1 mile warmup
• 6 x 800 @ 3:10
• 400 jog in-between each 800
• mile cool-down (though actually I just cooled down until Stephen left, and then I slunk off the treadmill after a mere 800 instead of the mile cool down that was prescribed)

This ended up being 6 and three quarter miles, and the last two 800's were not pleasant. As per usual, it felt great to get it over with before 7:00 AM in the morning, and to have a gross cup of rec center coffee on my way home. Why am I so loving rec center coffee? I swear, I know it isn't good.

At home, I watched The Wiggles with Ivan, made some breakfast and headed out to take Ivan to practice his swimming and run some errands. At home, I got ready and headed into work. My husband made sweet potato pizza for dinner, and I curled up on the couch to watch Project Runway.

While so curled, I have made the decision to take a few days off. I have been doing a lot and going pretty hard. I will be taking a Pure Barre class in Birmingham on Saturday, and I MIGHT still go to swim on Sunday, but nothing else.

Wednesday: Double Swim, Gilad, Girl Scout Cookie Time and Yogurt World Coupons

So today, was overall a stellar day. I had a slight morning swim disappointment, but overall a stellar day. I made it to swim reasonably on time anticipating my mile swim. Workout as follows:

• 500 warm-up
• Mile Swim for time (26:19)
• 400 easy swim
• 8 x 100 swim on 1:45
• 300 kick

Now, I have been pretty excited about my mile swim. I swam in a swim meet three or four years ago and I swam a 27 something minute mile. Since then, I have been swimming a lot, AND I have assumed that I am getting faster all the time. I decided to see if I could swim fast enough to qualify for master's nationals in Atlanta. I needed a sub 23 minute time, and I thought maybe I could make it. Now, Nina, the German Au Pair, swam it in about 19 minutes. I swam it in 26:19 and NICK, who I used to swim with , beat me my 50 yards. What is wrong with me? Am I getting slower OR is everyone getting faster and leaving me behind?

At home, I got in a Gilad workout and accomplished some routine stuff around the house. The laundry was just about it take over, I swear.

In the evening, I headed back out to night swim. I was going to skip, but then I got word that I was picking up Girl Scout cookies tonight from Shelley in my swim class from whose daughter I bought the cookies. I am not one to let Girl Scout cookies sit unattended, so I headed into swim. Workout as follows:

• 6 x 100 swim
• 400/300/200/100 @ 1:50 per 100
• 2 x 25 pull with no buoy and no kick (oh so hard)
• 300/200/100 @ 1:50 per 100
• 4 x 25 pull as above
• 200/100 @ 1:50 per 100
• 6 x 25 pull as above
• 100 @ 1:50 per 100
• 8 x 25 pull as above

Now after swim, two great things happened. I picked up my Girl Scout cookies and Diane gave me three coupons for Yogurt World!!!! I was thrilled. SO, the Girl Scout cookie situation is already out of control, and there is a very good chance that I am going to dump them under my car wheel and crush them to bits in the gravel. Now, after I get enough willpower to say "Get behind thee, Satan" to the Girl Scout cookies, I am going to go straight to Yogurt World with my coupons, because it is my favorite place.

Treadmill Speed Session tomorrow (with Stephen, A SAINT), because it is going to be 8 DEGREES tomorrow, and that is where I draw the line at running outside, friends.

Tuesday: Misspent

Oh today my time has not been used wisely. Last night I realized that Bible study, schools and most of life in the Nashville area would be cancelled because of the snow. Normally, I do a speed session on Tuesday morning, but it was cancelled based on the snow situation.

I got in a Gilad workout and watched my computer vigiliantly for weather and speed session updates. Every Tuesday there are two speed sessions: 6 AM and 6 PM. I attend the 6 AM session, or I have once. There have been three speed sessions and only one has actually happened at 6 AM. Weather has cancelled the other sessions. The cancellations are a real kink in my day. For instance, today the morning speed session was cancelled and the evening speed session was pending cancellation depending on the weather.

Now, when I got to work without my track clothes assuming that the evening session had also been cancelled today, I received an email that the evening speed session was officially on. There is no way to get from work, to my house for my track clothes and then to the track to run on time. SO, I am out of a track workout for today and must figure out a way to do it on my own later in the week.

It was a serious bummer of wasted time. I could have gotten on the trainer, BUT was afraid that the speed session would happen and was afraid to wear out my legs. BUT, now am not going to speed sessions, so I should have ridden the trainer. I will now end up on the trainer after Ivan goes to bed tonight and will hope to run early on Wednesday morning.

I mean, until I went into work today, I honestly wandered around the house playing with Ivan and watching the computer for news and emailing other people in my track group complaining about the weather. So frustrating. I should have at least cleaned out a closet.

So, after work, I headed home where my husband had a made a whole wheat sweet potato pizza for dinner. It was very delicious. As soon as Ivan went to bed, I hopped on the trainer and rode for 30 minutes. My Spinervals DVDs have not yet arrived, and I had to ride while watching Valentino: The Last Emperor. I can tell you right now, Valentino Garavani is no one I want to meet in person. And, it is rather interesting to be riding a stationary bike at top speed sweating profusely and slightly miserable while watching a tiny Italian queen announce with passion that "a women's ankles in an evening dress is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen".

Aaahhhh perspective!!

Timing the mile swim tomorrow!!!

Monday: Swim, Run and Is the Snow for Serious?

So, today I got out the door to swim in reasonable time as Ivan was at my parents' house, and I did not have to shuttle him to the nursery. Our workout was as follows:

• 400 warm-up
• 3 x 100 drill
• 100 drill
• 8 x 75 (kick/drill/swim)
• 10 x 25 (breakouts - first part of 25 very fast, last part easy)
• 100 easy
• 8 x 50 drill
• 100 easy
• 10 x 25 (breakouts)
• 8 x 50 drill
• 3 x 100 kick

This was 3100 and the speed work should be good for my mile swim on Wednesday!! Very exciting.

After swim I drove out and picked up Ivan at my parents house and then headed home to get in an afternoon run. I was very fast, by the way. I clocked sub-8 minute miles though out and an 8:17 mile on Deerfield hill, the worst of all hills. I was quite pleased with myself, even though it seems that these faster miles in the beginning are not paying off on my long runs. I seem to keep falling apart in the end.

At home, it was started snowing immensely, which did not stop my trip to Yogurt World. Nothing apparently stops my trips to Yogurt World.

Speed Work is cancelled for tomorrow morning, which is a real bummer as I will either have to drive out to Centennial Park tomorrow or do the speed workout on my own. Also, Bible study is cancelled, which may be just as well since I did not do my lesson this week.

Sunday: Church and a Super Bowl Party

This morning, as seems to be a habit with me after my long runs, I didn't do a thing. We did make it to church and then to a Super Bowl party. Ivan had a great nap, and then shuttled off to my parents. We made some avocado dip and headed out. I'm back in the game tomorrow and timing the mile swim on Wednesday!!!

Saturday: 16 Mile Run at 25 Degrees and a Bit of Yoga

It was a great Saturday morning because we started our run at 6:30 AM instead of 6:00 AM giving me 30 minutes of extra sleep. It was not great because it was 25 degrees outside, and it was sleeting. It was a great Saturday because I ran some really fast miles, but a bad Saturday because I dropped off after the first 7ish miles, and I clocked a 9:30 something mile on 9 mile hill.

Today, we ran a 16 mile hill run that covered both Percy and Edwin Warner Parks. It was a serious bummer that I got slower and slower as the run progressed. It is true that I had a cold this week, and really only ran on the day I did my speedwork. Also, my nutrition was poor. I needed more than the Cliff bar that I had before the run. You know, it sometimes seems that all the elements that have to be perfectly coordinated for optimal performance at whatever planned event are rather impossible to achieve.

I really need to put in some longer midweek runs and get up even earlier on Saturday and eat something more substantial. BUT, whenever I talk about doing more than I already do, I begin to feel overwhelmed. If I, a low-level athlete who participates but does not place, puts this much effort into my training, it must be a full-time job to do all the preparation to actually do well. Do those people have more hours in their day or do they have time-turners like Hermione Granger in The Prisoner of Azkaban? If I had a time turner, the sweater I am knitting would have been finished three weeks ago.

Anyway, at home I have eaten all kinds of healthy foods, as I was starving but determined not to go to the dark side that results in me eating a box of cookies and all of Ivan's gummi-vitamins in one fell swoop. We headed out to a party tonight and had loads of fun and a quick sushi pit stop at Shintomi on the way home. A bit of yoga before bed will hopefully negate all the tightness that a sixteen mile run in sub-freezing temperature will give you.

Super Bowl party tomorrow!!!

Friday: Great Swim and Gilad

So this morning, I was up on time, but still late to swim as Ivan slept late and I felt seriously guilty dragging him out of the bed and pitching him into the car to go to swim. For this reason, I had a leisurely breakfast before putting Ivan in the car and getting to swim. If I could live completely free of mother-guilt, I would get a lot of places on time and do a lot more things that I want to do. Also, I would take much longer showers.

Anyway, swim was great. Steven had the workout going when I got to the pool. I will recall it as best I can:

• 2 x 100 swim @ 1:40
• 100 easy
• 6 x 75 (kick/ drill/ swim)
• 100 easy
• 8 x 25 surge (which means you swim half way all out and the other half of the lane easy)
• 8 x 25 IM order
• 400 swim
• 100 easy
• 100 kick
• 400 pull
• 100 cool down

I think I ended up with 3200 meters, so I am leaving something out as per usual.

Now, after practice, Steven showed us the times needed to qualify for the Master's Nationals that are held in Atlanta. I would love to swim the mile, but I have only swum in one other swim meet and it was somewhat tragic. I swam the 1650, and it took me 27 minutes. By the time I finished, the first place winner had already showered and changed clothes and come back down to watch me finish. That was three or four years ago though, and surely I am a better swimmer now. I need to swim the mile in around 23 minutes to qualify, and honestly, that is a stretch for me. Steven is going to time me on the mile on Wednesday just to see if I can qualify.

At home, I got in a Gilad workout and firmed up my running plans and party plans for tomorrow night. After dinner, I headed in to Yogurt World and guess what???? I have enough punches on my punch card and my next yogurt is FREE!!!!! Chances that I am going tomorrow are skyscraper high.

Also, I have made the decision to order three Spinervals DVDs instead of enrolling in Todd's class for this session. This is mostly because I am filled with dread at the thought of getting up at 4:30 AM to go to class. Todd has moved to a new location, and it is farther away from my house. My New Year's resolutions are only to get up at 6:00ish AM. Getting up at 4:30 AM is just a lot to think about, especially when I already have 6:00 AM speed sessions on Tuesday mornings.