Gardening

So, according to my Hal Higdon training plan, I was supposed to Swim for 30 minutes and Run for 60 minutes today. I was going to trade a bike for the run, since I messed up last week and ran instead of biked for 60 minutes.

However, I got carried away with my gardening and was too exhausted to do all those things. So, I switched my strength day (supposed to be tomorrow) for today and the stuff I was supposed to do today I will do tomorrow. Very confusing I know.

As you can see by my lovely picture, I have been working on my address sign garden. I moved all of those rocks that line the garden, minus the giant one in the middle of the circle. All of the rocks were underneath my deck, which is down a hill from this garden. I had to move these rocks in 3 wheel barrel loads. It was exhausting.

Then, I moved 6 loads of pine straw out of my driveway garden to the bottom of our backyard hill. I had to go up a large hill, then down the backyard hill to do this.

Oh yeah, I also pulled a dead lilac bush out of one of the front gardens. It was an epic battle of Deeann vs. Nature. I won! The offending dead bush is in the fire pit!

I also planted Calla lilies where the lilac bush once was.

I watered the backyard. Greg is working on re-seeding 1/3 of our acre yard. Since he is in Scotland, it is up to me to make sure it is properly hydrated. So, I worked on moving the sprinkler often, and hand watering the odd areas.

I also weeded my gardens in preparation for mulching on Wednesday.

Oh yeah, I also moved wood from one wood 5 foot tall crib to another. We had a bunch cut wood against the house, and it needed to be moved so the mice have one less location to work their way into our house from!

With all of this, I didn't have the energy to workout. I thought for a moment about going for a bike ride, but the winds picked up again. We are having a cold front move through the area. We were supposed to get some rain, but only got a few sprinkles. The drought continues!

By the way... 7 more days until the Triathlon!

60 Min Run

I had a big day planned, so I had to get my run in first thing in the morning. Those of you who know me, know that I am NOT a morning person. Add a run to the mix, and it isn't pretty. Luckily, Greg wasn't here to share the "fun."

I woke up, fed the dog, and hit the pavement for my run. I didn't realize how windy it was outside. There were 20-25mph gust coming from the north. My biggest hill is while I'm heading north. This is also 1/4 mile into the beginning of my run. NOT fun!

Add in the fact that I didn't eat breakfast, nor did I have my coffee. Just plain BAD! I ran about :30 seconds slower on my mile. UGH!

I toughed it out though and did the entire 60 minutes. It felt so good once I was finished. One big workout behind me and it was off to my busy day. Tomorrow should be better with a long bike, a swim and some gardening thrown in for good measure. Plus, there will be storms tomorrow! Great for the weather geek in me :)

Swim 30, Run 30

There was so much to do today. We had the plumber come out and Greg had to head to the airport. There just wasn't time to hit the pool during their lap swim hours.

So, I decided to substitute a bike for the swim. I need to ride the bike more, as I've been reminded by a few people now. I rode 33 good minutes. I went back to that hill again, to get ready for some of the Austin, TX hills. It felt good, and I discovered new higher gears on my bike. I'm getting more comfortable with the bike. It's a good thing.

I came home and got Skeeter. He needed a good run too. Boy, is he out of shape. I kicked his butt on the run. We was so far behind me. I ran it the same 5K about 5 minutes slower due to him. It was good though. We both needed the run, and I just wanted to hit the trail.

Tomorrow is a rest day. I'm having lunch with my best friend, Lael. Then, I think I'll get in my gardens again. They need just a bit more love. It will be a great day!

45 min Run

I did a nice and easy 45 minute run today. I'm sad though, because I've slowed down to my pace from 3 weeks ago. Being sick didn't do me any favors.

It's good to be back in the swing of things. We'll see if I can keep this up all week.

30 Swim 60 Run

I'm not so sure about pool times, plus I need more bike time. So, I switched biking for running. I remembered some good hills I could try to get ride up to help prepare for that HORRIBLE hill on the triathlon. It was a good 35 min ride, but there were a ton of cars in my quite little neighborhood I ride in. What gives? Oh, St Olaf University has graduation today. Dang visitors!

I made it home, recovered my headphones from Greg. He had just said that his were beginning to hurt his ears, so I had him try mine out. He liked them, so now a few more pairs are winging their way to our house via Amazon! Yeah!! I love these Panasonic headphone. They are so light and sound pretty good too.

Anyway, the run. I ran for 60 minutes today! Yeah me!!!!! The first 3 miles were pretty good. I can just feel that I have better form. I was bouncing pretty well. Strange I know, but it just feels better now.

The last 2.5 miles were tough. I really wanted to get the full 60 minutes in though. For the last 5 minutes, my arms started to tingle a bit, as did my face. I know that feeling... not good. So I slowed it down just a bit. I made sure I was breathing deeply. It went much better then. I got all 60 minutes in.

Now, I'm beat. It feels good, but tired. Kari just reminded me that tapering in just around the corner. That corner is 1 week away, and I can't wait. However, it's pretty cool to see that I can do this stuff now :)

55 min Run

Could I actually run for 55 minutes today? Has this nasty cold sucked all the life out of me? Did I wait too long, and is it now too hot out?

So many questions, and only one way to get an answer. Just go out and run!

Run I did. The first mile seemed to go well. I just loaded 2 new songs that really helped me move. May I recommend "I Run for Life" by Melissa Etheridge and "Say Hey (I Love You)" by All Rebel Rockers. Plus, I re-worked my running play list to bring some old favorites forward. Very motivating.

Things were going well, and I thought I had the 55 minutes in the bag. 2 miles hit and so did this massive brick wall. UGH! All the exhaustion from my cold was bubbling up. Doubt was surfacing. The heat was getting to me. Thoughts of running to the hospital (my 2 mile + point) were running through my head.

I thought, I'll stop at a 5K. That would be then end of my route anyway. My plan was to go that far, then turn around and run for 10 minutes and head back home again.

At 2.5 miles, I started to feel disappointed in myself. I started to try to talk myself back into this 55 minute thing. It helped that the next .5 miles were all down hill.

At 3 miles, I realized I could do the whole 55 minutes! Or so I thought. At 5K, I turned back around to head out for another 20 minutes. See, this was a slow run with my 5K being 35 minutes.

At 4 miles, the wall hit me again. However, this time I was 1 mile from home. I had to run home now. No turning back :)

So, I ran 5 miles in 55 minutes! Yeah me! It was slow, but it is done!! I think I now have the upper hand on this cold. I'm still congested, but I can breathe! Yeah me!!!

Slow workout

Well, I'm not completely well, but much better than before. So, I hit the road this morning for an easy workout. I figure I shouldn't push it too hard, but I needed to do something.

I went for an easy 30 min bike ride, then got Skeeter and we went for a 15 min run. The ride was tough at first. I felt like I had weights attached to my legs. About 15 minutes in, things started moving much better. I didn't have the energy to really ride hard, but I did ride almost 6 miles.

Skeeter was so excited to go for a run that he hit his head on the coffee table. You think that would teach him to calm down, but once he left the door, he was a bouncing ball of excitement again. He did a great job running! We went to the end of the path, then turned back for home. I set him loose on the way back and he was never more than 5 feet from me. I think we'll try this again tomorrow :)