Ealry Bird, Night Owl & Chicken S#!%

If only there were 12 more hours in each day... I need about 4 more hours of sleep every night and another good 8 hours worth of free time to train, read, take my dog to play Frisbee, visit my friends and do any of the other 4 million things I'd rather be doing lately. Lately I've been up at 5:15 and lucky to be in bed by midnight. Tonight I managed to fit in a run as the sun was disappearing below the horizon. It's been cooler so I brought Boomer with me and he pulled me through about 2.5-3 mile steady paced run. I really need to get a running watch, or at least use the handy stopwatch feature on my ipod I always forget is there. I still sometimes prefer not knowing exactly how far I'm running and how fast because I enjoy living under the impression that I'm getting faster.

I made it out to the lake in my tri suit on Sunday and as I waded out into Lake Ontario I quickly pulled a U turn and completely chickened out. Granted there were actual crashing waves and I couldn't see anything through the churning waters. Still, it knocked my confidence as the open water swim looms in my not so distant future. I'm crossing my fingers for clear skies & calm waters... little to no seaweed and a general migration of all fish to the opposite side of the lake would also be nice though.

There's been talk about a relay marathon where each runner runs 6 and a half miles. I'm considering it and even wondering if I can grit my teeth through training for a half for the next year or so. Considering it will probably take me a full year to work up to anywhere near that distance it would at least keep me fit for the tri next year.

I've worked about 38 hours in the last 3 days and I'm absolutely beat... sitting down has become one of life's great pleasures for me lately. The worst part is the lack of sleep is making it very hard to drive so I've resorted to drinking coffee again. Hopefully next week will be easier and my taper week will actually find me tapering. I suppose we'll see.

Listening to: I Would Love/ Lee Coulter

In Search of Runners High

For the second time this year I successfully ran for over 30 minutes (last time was Komen). Tonight I wanted to see if I could run a 5k and since I'm not familiar with a good route I decided to run the length of my play list and that would get me through the distance. So I ran for about 34 minutes. If in that time I didn't cover 5k then I prefer to live in my fantasy world where I can be blissfully naive. I like to think I covered more... but that's more wishful thinking. So finishing strong in the 5k run portion of the Iron Girl is at least possible.

My only question is when does the runners high kick in? It seems to me 30 minutes should have done it and all I got were tight calf muscles. Maybe somewhere in the 45 minute range? Sounds like it's time for a new goal.

Listening to: Wetsuit/ The Vaccines

90 minute Irish hike = 2.5 hour American

Conversions in Ireland

Our massive hike up and over the waterfall

Biking in Kinsale

Guiness for Strength

We're back from Ireland and back from an exceedingly long break from tri training. I was sure I'd find time and energy to run while on vacation but I failed to factor in travel fatigue, late nights, early mornings and busy schedules. We managed to get in a short scorching run on the board walk at Jones Beach the day we left, always nice to switch up the scenery. Once we got to Ireland it wasn't exactly like we were relaxing on a beach somewhere. We walked the streets of Dublin so much the heels of my boots are worn down. I believe there was also a small bit of dancing and toe tapping to all the great music, one massive hike and a few smaller treks, one bike ride, lots of ab workouts from laughing so much and I couldn't possibly forget the horseback riding on the beach. I know we got a good work out riding because on top of my bruised legs from ankle to hip, every muscle in my back and arms cried out in protest for the next two days. So much for a leisurely stroll on the beach... we don't mess around : ) So we remained active as best we could without running ourselves into the ground.

Despite a lingering cough and jet lag I pulled myself together for a run and Angela and I fit in two bike rides over the weekend. I just got back from the pool and managed the 600m without too much trouble. The only problem is that I have less than three weeks to somehow work up to a triathlon. I'm a bit worried this year. I wanted to do better than last year but the timing of the race is just not good for me. I hope I can at least finish strong and not walk during the swim or run this year. Someday I'll hit my stride with this sport!

On the upside I hear Guinness is good for you and it gives you strength as well, and I certainly had plenty of it... so here's hoping!