Thursday Speed Workout

Did a speed workout on my own last night. Felt good too (kinda surprisingly, since I haven't been running). Did a Nike speed mix to OK GO! (great music to run to, by the way). 7 intervals in different lengths of time. Got up to a 6:58 for one of the intervals (granted it was only 30 seconds long, but I wasn't dying when I finished running it). Once my speed workout was done, I did some strength training (arms) and a nice long stretching section. Feel good all around. Ready for my race tomorrow (despite the fact this will be the longest I have run since Philly).

First run since Chicago

Had my first run since Chicago last night. Went to the Niketown running group and did about 4 miles. Took it nice and easy, but it felt good to get back out there and run. My knees where a little stiff afterwards, but lots of stretching made them feel better. I'm doing a 15k this Saturday with NYRR in the park, so this run was definitely key.

Crossing the finish line in Philyl

Here is the "official" picture of me crossing the finish line in Philadelphia. Don't I look awesome? Woohoo!

Nice week off

Had a nice enjoyable week off. And I mean off. Didn't do anything remotely related to training this past week. Going to get back into the swing this week. Can't not run forever :)

Pictures (philly medal + bike) are coming, I promise!

Halfway back to normal

I am still slightly sore today, but nothing too bad. Mainly in my legs. Kinda look ridiculous walking around my office all stiff.

Philly team mis-behaving party tonight with margarita's. You know how I love margarita's :)

Philadelphia Triathlon

Just registered for the Olympic Distance Philly Triathlon. It's next June. Will be a good practice tri for Timberman. Guess I'm gonna conquer Philly in the next year!

Finally done

I am finally done. Philly was great. I finished in 4:17 - a time I am SUPER happy with. My goal time was 4:15, so to finish right near there - I was thrilled. The race was good overall. The weather was much better then Chicago - mid 40's and even misted at times. Didn't rain enough to truly get me wet. I was feeling good for almost the entire time. At Mile 17, Kiernan jumped in and ran with me, which was a nice pick me up. Then Dave jumped in and ran with me until 21. It was after that that it started to get really hard. I had never run that hard for that long before and my body was aching. 21 was definitely my worst mile. Right before Mile 22, I saw Coach Sandy and Krista cheering on the sidelines. They jumped in and ran with me to 26. They were awesome. Kept me moving, would run in front of me if it was windy, ran ahead to get water for me. It was HUGE help in those last 4 miles and definitely kept me moving. Then, at mile 25.5, Coach Steve H and Melka also jumped in and ran with me. I had my own entourage (I hope some got a picture of it!). They all jumped out right at 26 and left me to finish. It was so great crossing the finish line! Finally felt like I had run a race on my terms and was so proud.

I like our medals a lot (I'll post a picture of it soon) and didn't remove it the entire day. So glad its finally done!

I am definitely sore today, but not as bad as after Chicago. Just taking it easy today and plan on treating myself for the week :)

I bought a bike!!!

Yes, that's right. I bought a bike. Its a beautiful Cervelo. I'll take some pictures and post them soon :)

Philly is an less than 4 days! Woohoo!

Ahhh!

I am about to purchase a tri bike! OMG! I mean, since I signed up to do a triathlon and everything, I knew the purchase was going to happen. But there is a big sale going on right now at one of the tri stores in the city and the bike I want is on sale for a ridiculous price. Going to go afterwork to check it out!!! Exciting!!!

Weekend run

Went for a short run this weekend. Looked like the weather was going to be crappy - it was pouring here Friday night and freezing. But by Saturday morning, it has stopped raining, but was still cold. Went for a quick 5 miles run. Less than a week to Philly! This week is all about the taper. And lots of stretching. So excited to eat lots of food at Thanksgiving, which conviently falls 4 days after philly :)

Weeknd Run

This is the last long run before the marathon (which is in 9 days, holy crap!). We'll be running about 6 miles. As of now, the weather looks like it may be crappy (rainy or potentially snowy!), so if it is, I will probably run on the treadmill. I'm feeling like I have a cold coming on and can't risk running outside in that kind of weather.

If you're interested in learning more about the half-ironman, check out: www.timbermantri.com
It'll tell you all about the event I'll be doing :)

Tuesday Workout

Last night was our last "hard" workout before the marathon. We have already begun to taper. It was fairly simple last night - 3 lower loops, 2 at tempo, third on faster. I actually only ended up doing 2 loops. I was feeling like I was getting a cold, so i decided to take it easy as not to wear myself out and actually get sick.

Busy Weekend

Busy weekend, lots to update on. Saturday was the Olympic Trials for the Men's Marathon. Ryan Hall won with dominance. It was truly inspiring to watch some of the best marathoners in the world run. I followed up watching the trials with a 11 mile run. It was a gorgeous day for running, so it was perfect.

Saturday night was the TNT pasta party which we all went too. It was good, made me cry (of course, typical of a TNT event).

Sunday was the NYC marathon. We went out and cheered on all the TNT participants, of course. Jenny, my running partner from New Jersey and my fellow Disney runner, was running. I jumped in with her at mile 18.5 and gave her some encouragement until Mile 23.5. She looked great and I am so proud of her!

And, if you didn't know I was insane already, I registered today at 11:53 for the Timberman Half-Ironman. That's right, a half-ironman. A 1.2 Mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride and a 13.1 mile run. I am NUTS!