Spring it on!

After Wednesday’s rant, the week went uphill! Thursday I did an awesome 8 miler with 7 miles of tempo running in 1:25:15. That was the longest tempo stretch I’ve ever attempted. I counted it toward RunningLaur’s Hooray for Spring 6-miler b/c it was the most spring-like weather of the week.
Friday, I did my own mini duathlon at the gym. My legs were really heavy from the tempo run so I decided NOT to do a mini-tri. I ended up with 30 minutes on the Bike and 1700 yards in the pool (had the lane all to myself). I tried Emily’s SKIPS (swim, kick, IM, pull, swim). I loved the SKIPS! I will definitely be adding them into my routine more often. I even busted out fly for the 200 IM. I figured it was only 2 laps of it.

My best friend Kristen and her hubby arrived late Friday night from CA to visit for the weekend. It’s always fun to have company. Saturday we went to Washington Park, which was really nice. I even decided that when it gets a little less muddy I’m willing and actually, a little eager, to try trail running with the Gazelle!

Sunday, we were running late and missed the meet up with these gals. However, we all trekked off to run along the waterfront and Springwater. Kristen and hub K were trying out a new distance- 14 miles! They killed it and went 14.5! Mr. Pi did 18, finishing only a few minutes behind despite the extra mileage. I did my scheduled 14. Wasn’t the fastest I’ve gone but wasn’t the slowest either. Finished in 2:40:XX---ish! I say “ish” b/c I paused my watch around mile 10 to stretch and forgot to turn it back on---whoops! I’m pretty sure that I held the 11:15-11:40 pace though so I’m claiming 2:40. One thing I love about Portland is that it’s such a small town. Not only did I eventually see her and her but I also bumped into her. This often happens and I love it! (Something else that is great…while shopping on Saturday, I found a bright pink shirt that says “I love sunshine” in downtown Portland! I decided this is my new staple shirt for weekend wear.) It wasn’t sunny for our Sunday run but luckily the rain held off (except for poor Mr. Pi, who had to run his last mile in the rain but I suppose 1 mile out of 18 isn’t too bad).

Sunday, post-run The K’s, Mr. Pi and I met Sarah and The Gazelle for brunch. We waited a long while, Gazelle and Sarah waited 2 hours!!!!!! It was a good thing there was free coffee and excellent food at the end of our wait.

It’s certainly not the best picture but I’d say it is damn good for post-double-digit runs, being cold and waiting 2 hours for food. Mr. Pi, me, Gazelle, Sarah, Kristen & hub-K (I don't know if he has a nickname or if she uses his real name so I'll leave it as hub-K).

The rest of Sunday was spent lounging around and playing with the doggies. The K’s brought their doxen, Griffey. He and Zoey had a field day playing all weekend.

Back to the grind today. I had high hopes for a yoga or shred session tonight but I’m exhausted and am thinking that is NOT going to happen. However, since my lazy butt didn’t do my SBSD for the weekend I have 600 abs to do tonight…yikes!

Before this post gets too far out of control, I’d like to give a few quick updates:

1. Toe nail update. I lost yet another last week (not painful though), so at the moment I have only 5 of 10 toe nails. Good thing it’s not sandal weather here yet. Feet are feeling much better in the new shoes; I am officially a Saucony convert.

2. Monthly Mileage. I’m at 80.3 (even though G said the 9.3- 15K race was really 9.65...whatev!) miles so far this month; I will easily (unless something bad happens) make 100 miles which means this will be my highest mileage month-EVER! (I hope I didn't just jinx it but I was so excited when I ran the report on Buckeye that I had to post about it.)

3. Aches and pains. I have a new inner-ankle/calf pain. It starts to become sore after about 5 miles. Been icing and taking Motrin and really using my rest days to rest it. Hoping it goes away soonish!

4. I added a new race to my schedule…Nike Women’s! My team got in through the lottery over the weekend. Hot firemen and Tiffany’s necklace here I come!