Running Friends Rock

First, running friends are the best! I love that almost all of my friends in Portland are active and like to be active together, it’s certainly motivating.

Wednesday: Trifecta success with Jen! I was kinda dragging my heels about this workout. It’s intimidating and I was tired. But the minute I saw Jen in spin class I was ready to go. We had Chrisanthe, our favorite spin teacher, which means class was HARD but the music was AWESOME! After class I hopped on the treadmill aiming for 15 minutes of running. It wasn’t a great run but it was a strong run (15 min/1.43 mi). I definitely feel like I’m getting better at the bike/run bricks. I told myself I would get in the pool if there was a lane open. Sure enough, the pool was empty! I got in and told myself to do an easy swim. I did Emily’s skips for 1000 yards, one 400 at my “push” pace (which for all the runners out there is kinda the equivalent to tempo pace) and a cool down of 100. Yardage-wise it was kinda pathetic but at least I got in!

Thursday: Awesome run with Mr. Pi in Forest Park. I took Mr. Pi up to Forest Park, where I had run with the girls over the weekend. We ran the first 2.25 miles together! It was great to have him by my side, knowing that he was going snail pace for him. He said I was a lot stronger than last summer. I definitely feel that I have improved a LOT on hills. (Member, the first 1.5 miles of this run are a good steady climb.) I ended up running 6 miles total, thought about going 7 but forgot bodyglide and was starting to feel a little chafing! 6 miles/1:07

Friday: I had great intentions of swimming in the morning but got up too late. Instead I did the Shred video in the morning and I ran to happy hour with the crew, hopefully Amy will have photos. 3.7 miles/37:47 (You may be thinking, “wow, that’s fast for Alisa.” Well, it was almost all downhill from work to happy hour.)

Saturday: Due to a sick pup, we slept in and went for a long walk and to breakfast instead of biking. (Note: Zoey is fine. She got new vaccinations on Friday and she seems to always have allergic reactions to them.) Breakfast was tasty and our walk was fun.

Unfortunately, Saturday after breakfast, I dropped Mr. Pi at the airport. He’ll be gone for another week and a half again.

Saturday afternoon, I met Jen at her apt and we eventually moseyed to the pool. We did a long warm-up and some intervals. I ended with 1100 yards, not too bad. Then, we sat in the steam room for a bit before parting ways.

Sunday: I met the crew for our long run. The marathoners-in-training were running 15 miles, I was happy she was there, since neither of us wanted to run 15 miles. In fact, she only wanted to run 6 miles. I convinced her to do 8 with me and I’d tack on a few extra after we got back to the car. Well, she toughed it out and went the whole way with me. 10.2 miles/1:58

The best part of Sunday was breakfast! The girls, Bloody Mary’s (which the restaurant called Bloody Gary’s) and yummy food—what else could you ask for!?!

Random Catch Up

I had a nice blog post typed up Monday but things got crazy at work so I forgot about it and ended up not saving it. BOO!


Best news of the week: Mr. Pi (aka bestest husband ever) returned on Sunday evening!!!


Worst news of the week: MAJOR bathroom issues on Sunday during and after the run BUT they went away in the afternoon and all was well again.


I haven't been keeping up with my crazy workout plan very well. But the workouts I have done, have been good quality sweatfests! I have started to go back to strength training and I'm definitely feeling it. I do feel that my running, especially on hills, is stronger. I’m not sure if it’s because I now live in Holy Hills land and am forced to run on hills more often or if it’s from my cross training (i.e. Tri training). Most likely, it’s a combination of both factors but it sure is nice!

Sunday, JM picked me up bright and early and we met Gazelle and her kick-ass neighbor, plus Melanie all the way from TN and her friend. It was quite the group. We ventured to Forest Park (I know, scary, trails!) but this particular trail was awesome. It was a wide packed dirt road with few obstacles (i.e. roots, rocks, etc). It was a little hilly but with my new found strength on hills it didn’t feel too bad. What did was my tummy! I knew it wasn’t quite right by mile 2ish but by mile 5, our turnover, it was painful! By mile 8, I took off from the girls (which I NEVER do b/c they are all fast than me) and sped my way down the trail to the port-o. For me, a good long run is 11:30 AP, mile 8-9 8:55 AP, 9-9.5 8:25 AP. I now know what motivates me to go FAST! It was also downhill, hehe.

After the run, JM and I went to breakfast, where I had the yummiest hot chocolate ever! Despite the tummy issues, I enjoyed every minute of breakfast and ended up eating my leftovers in the afternoon when the tummy issues subsided. JM, wanted a Bloody Mary but there was no vodka to be found in the restaurant so she settled for a mimosa, mostly champagne mimosa. Yum! We decided to start planning runs around breakfast.
Monday, I gave my third swimming lesson to Gazelle (and Mr. Pi joined for this one). Both students improved over the course of the lesson and Gazelle even learned to breastroke! I’ve had a few questions come up about swim lessons and swim drills so I thought I’d post a few Utube links I found with some decent swimming drills to try.


Free-style catch up drill:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Si6VeAfluQ

A video of 3 drills:
Digit Drill, Zipper, Sharkfin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-NE8_1OG3w

Side-kicking drill (Gazelle and Mr. Pi didn’t like this one):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6rMSz6qIxk&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo%2Egoogle%2Ecom%2Fvideosearch%3Fhl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom%2Emicrosoft%3Aen%2Dus%26q%3Dpull%2Bdrill%26um%3D1%26ie%3DUTF%2D8%26ei%3DVziMStneNIv8sQP%2DotG4CQ%26sa%3DX%26oi%3Dv&feature=player_embedded#t=31

After the swimming part of the lesson, we all did a good abs workout and I did the Shred video (Jillian make me shredded!).

Tuesday, I was going to run or run and swim but I really wanted a burger, a beer and the couch. Mr. Pi made these burgers, mmmmmmmm, so tasty!

Today is my Trifecta workout day with Jen! I didn't make it last week due to puppy mom duties, I'm really looking forward to it!

New Running Partner

Most of you know I have a fab group of running friends in town, in fact, Jen and I were marveling about how many friends we have that run! Since I’ve been flying solo for the last 10 days, it’s just been me and the pup at home. I leave to go to work every morning and have to say goodbye, not sure how you peeps with kids can leave for work every day! Zoey is a dog, she can’t even talk, yet those sad little eyes make it hard to leave. I’ve been feeling extra guilty about leaving her alone that it’s been hard to get out the door to run when I get home from work because I know she’s been home alone all day. That’s when it occurred to me, why don’t I just take her with me!?!

Mr. Pi and I used to take her for short runs a lot more often but I stopped taking her because she never behaved very well for me, she would pull and yank on the leash. But I decided last week to try and run with her again. She did yank on the leash for about 5 minutes but after that she settled down and kept pace right alongside me, in fact, I’m sure she could run a lot faster than me! I’ve taken her now 3 times and each time we went a little farther. I started with 2 miles, then 2.5 and last night she did 3.5. I think her distance PR is 4.5 or 5 miles, so we’re working back to higher mileage.

I’ve begun to think like Nik and Dan, “how do I incorporate my dog into my training?” I’ve been inspired by Kylie and Emma, Aron’s doggies and by Velcro, Miss Penny’s pooch. I will never give up my awesome PBR’s but sometimes my four legged munchkin and her enthusiasm is just what I need. Running with Zoey is also helping me learn to run sans iPod, since I don’t like to listen to music when I run with her. If you’ve never run with your dog, try it, I think both you and your pooch will end happy. Aron, posted a bunch of great tips on running with your doggie!

Happy Friday!

Solo Gal Day 6

First, thanks everyone for the book recommendations! I’ll be looking through the suggestions and picking out a few. I’m confident that I can get in 8 more books this year, especially with my Hawaii trip—lots of travel time.

My weekend in review. With Mr. Pi out of town I was solo gal this weekend. Friday night I did NOTHING, sat on the couch and watched Buffy! Saturday, I had the greatest of intentions to go for a long bike ride, instead I took the doggie for a 4.5 walk/run (mostly walk) on some trails near my place that I’ve been meaning to check out. Here are a couple of photos:

Audrey said they look very “Twilight-esque.” It was a pretty trail though, mostly straight down and straight up, hence, the mostly walking instead of run/walking. Zoey was in heaven and it was fun to finally explore those trails. The rest of Saturday was spent cleaning the apt, baking banana-oatmeal muffins and you guessed it, watching BUFFY!

Sunday, I woke up at 6:00 am, checked my email to see if my run with JM was still on for 7:30 am. It wasn’t. I went back to sleep for another 45 minutes and then dragged myself out of bed to run alone. Without JM I knew the run was going to be a slog. My route was straight through holy hills land. Don’t get me wrong, I love my new neighborhood BUT it is HILLY! The run was long and slow but I finished! 10 miles/1:58/11:48 AP

I came home, showered, took the doggie for a long walk and hit the town to shop! I found a wool BCBG coat at Nordstrom's Rack for $9.97, I'd say that's a good find.

Monday was uneventful, I took it as a rest day. I did my second swimming lesson with The Gazelle and already her stroke has improved! I love teaching and I’m so happy that I can do something to help. The best thing about Monday was that I finally got to talk to Mr. Pi. He’s been in the woods backpacking so we haven’t been able to talk on the phone. It was great to hear his voice and hear about his trip. I think Zoey missed his voice too since this is what she was doing while I was on the phone…precious!

Busy couple of days at work. I couldn't drag my booty out of bed this morning, no surprise there especially since I have the world's cutest doggie who snuggles. (ChicRunner, wanna start sending each other drill sergeant texts in the morning?) I have a work dinner tonight but I'm hoping it doesn't go too late and I can get home to fit in a short run, we shall see.

Goals Evaluation and Giveaway

First, the giveaway. It's not my giveaway, it's Tall Mom on the Run's! She's doing a Nuun giveaway. I've tried Nuun a few times and really enjoy that it's not as sweet as standard sports drinks. Head over to her site if you're interested in the giveaway, of course, for my own chances at the win I hope you stay away =).

I mentioned earlier this week that I was going to go back to my 9 goals for 2009 and evaluate. Below are my goals and progress, I'd say I'm well on my way to a great year!

Goal #1- Run 3 marathons. I’ve done two and have decided against running a third this year. Mostly due to burn out but also because as many of you know, I found my new love, triathlons!!!!

Goal #2- Half marathon in 2:15. I don’t think I ran enough half’s this year to tackle this goal. I only ran one and I only have one more on my schedule, Nike, which I am planning to run for fun. I am considering one more in October or November but haven’t made any final decisions. I think I will tackle this goal in 2010.

Goal #3- 1000 miles for the year. I’m currently at 602.19, I think I’ll get close to 1000.

Goal #4- 100 mile month. I smashed this during SD training. I had 3 months over 100 (March with 113.4; April with 131.8; May with 121).

Goal #5- Read 1 book a month. Miserable FAIL! I think I’ve read maybe 4 books total. Anyone with recommendations?

Goal #6- Contribute more to savings. This is getting better but I should be building savings more.

Goal #7- Pay off my car. SUCCESS, paid in full as of June!

Goal #8- Be more social. I think this is a success too, I’ve gotten much closer to the PBR’s.

Goal #9- Lose 15 lbs. FAIL. Still working on it. The Daily Plate is fantastic and I've been consistently using the site for awhile. I think I'm still trying to figure out how to fuel for workouts without going overboard. I will be going to Hawaii in October so my mini-goal is to work on toning up before my trip.

Treadmill Tuesday/New Training Plan

Yesterday I had a track workout scheduled post-work (since I had to be at work at 6:30 am). I got home, exhausted from a busy day, but changed and was ready to head to the track when I saw it! It was wet and falling from the sky--RAIN! Anyone who's read this blog knows I'm not a fan. I went to the gym instead for a treadmill speed workout instead. Unlike most runners, I actually like the treadmill (not as much as I used to but I still like it). I feel that the treadmill gives me consistency that I sometimes don't have when I run outside. Anyway, here's how the treadmill speedwork went:

mile 1 : 11:19/5.2
800 #1: 9:23/6.4
RI 4:00
800 #2: 9:05/6.6
RI 4:00
800 #3: 1st .25 8:49/6.8; 2nd .25 8:34/7.0
RI 4:00
800 #4: 1st .30 8:34/7.0; last .20 8:06/7.4
RI 4:00
cool down: .75/11:32/5.2

Total: 4.5 miles
I feel good about this workout. I kept the RI at 4:00 which may have be a little long, my heart rate was pretty much back to normal at the end of 4:00. But I was also able to increase my 800's each time, partially due to the longer recovery.
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Other training news:

I’ve been perfecting my training schedule for the next few months keeping in mind I will likely have one (maybe two) more Tri’s for the season and at least one half marathon. I also went back to my goals for 2009 to evaluate my progress and I think I’ve been doing well. I’ll be doing a post later this week on my 2009 goals progress.

If I can figure out how to upload my spreadsheet (anyone know how to do that?) I’ll post my new and improved (slightly crazy) training schedule. The schedule goes through Nike Women’s Half Marathon in October. Essentially, it’s a Tri plan (maintaining 3 x per week of running, biking and swimming). The running portion is a modified FIRST half marathon plan. I’ll be stealing my swim workouts from various tri plans. My plan for biking is one short ride during the week, one spin class with Jen (yay) and one long ride on the weekend. I’d like to get my long ride up to 40 miles before the end of the season, just to see how my body does so I can evaluate my goals for next Tri season. After September 27th, my last Tri for the season, I’ll be concentrating on maintaining Tri fitness (prob 2 x per week swim/biking) and emphasizing toning. Which means I'll be going back to Crazy Weights twice a week.

The next few months will give me a good sense of my commitment to Tri training. I've been scoping out some training plans for next season, some are quite intimidating. My current "schedule" is also intense and I likely won't follow it to the T but I decided I needed something on paper to follow as a guideline. With that, operation rogue is officially over.

Dogs Life

Mr. Pi and I have been dog sitting this week. We’ve had JM’s pup Vaughn. He’s also a Beagle, though larger than Zoey, she is like his mini-me. It’s been a blast having both pups! They keep each other entertained; it’s like a dog park 24 hours a day. Vaughn apparently couldn’t keep Zoey out of the trash the other day though, guess he needs to work on his big brother skills. Zoey is back to 100% and hopefully has learned her lesson about the trash (i.e. stuff in the trash can make doggies sick). Here are a few fun pics of the pups:

Vaughn left, Zoey Right

Being very "Beagle" noses to the ground.

Play time!

Nap time (they like to do this a LOT).

(shhhhh don’t tell JM we let Vaughn on the bed, he’s not allowed at her house…we couldn’t resist)

Nighty Night!

Sometimes life…

Gets in the way, sometimes it’s just laziness. That’s how it’s been for me this week. Sunday, I did lots of walking with the doggies but basically took the day off. Monday, I meant to workout, really I did, but for some reason after walking the dogs I was too tired (I think maybe I did not eat enough that day). Tuesday, was Mr. Pi’s birthday so we had evening plans. I set the alarm to get up for a pre-work track session however; I ended up having to be AT work at 7:00am. Yesterday, I was sad to miss my awesome trifecta Wednesday workout with Jen but my little munchkin Zoey was sick and we spent from 1:30 – 7:30 pm at the vet. She is doing much better today! So there is my lovely 4 days off. I haven’t taken 4 whole days off in…well, I can’t even remember!

In my laziness/life getting in the way, I’ve also become obsessed with creating a new training plan. I think operation rogue is over and I need a little bit of structure. I’ll be unveiling my new plan sometime this week, as I start it next week! I’ve tried to be realistic, knowing my schedule, my body and knowing that I will want to spend time with my wonderful hubby and friends. I’m not quite as obsessed as some, I’ve only planned through October and the Nike Women’s Half Marathon (which I’m not planning to “race” rather to go and have a good time and support my friend who is running her FIRST MARATHON-YAY). However, I have been beginning to think a lot about next year and what type of goals I want to set for myself. I think I found my focus already—Tri’s! I’ve already publicly stated that I will NOT be running any marathons in 2010 and I think that’s a good decision.

Tri season is more than halfway over for 2009, however, I’ve scoped out a few more races for myself. I’m doing a test ride out at Hagg Lake this weekend to see how bad the hills really are, if the ride goes well and my creaky mountain bike can handle them, I’ll be signing up for the Scoggins Valley Triathlon on Sept. 5th. I’ve already committed to the Black Diamond Triathlon on September 27th. And, if I’m feeling overly crazy, I may also throw in the Portland Triathlon on August 23rd (if I can muster the guts to ride Terwilliger at least a few times before the race).

Planning for 2010 Tri season. In the off season, which I’m going to say begins after my last Tri of this year (Sept 27th), I need to do the following:

1) Get a new bike

2) Get a bike trainer for the winter months when it’s raining here and I won’t want to go outside (recommendations for trainers?? Mr. Carolina John gave me one already, thanks!)

3) Lose a few lbs/tone up (i.e. back to crazy weights!)

4) Probably join Masters (I could definitely benefit from coached swim workouts)

5) Work on run speed

6) Learn to swim in a wetsuit/continue OWS (even though I HATE wetsuits, I should probably get one since it is an advantage in the swim)

7) Choose a goal race for 2010

8) Find/create a tri training plan which culminates with my goal race of 2010

To all my Tri readers, suggest other items to add to the list. I’m all ears!

Blue Lake Sprint Triathlon Race Report

Saturday I became a Triathlete! 2009 has been an awesome year race-wise for me. I set 2 marathon PR's (Jan and May), a half marathon PR with Julianne in April and I started training for a triathlon. A little background, I've been a spin class junkie on and off for a few years and I've been swimming since grade school. I played water polo in HS and college and swam with a Masters team for a little while. I started running 5k's in college. I haven't gotten any faster since college but I've certainly loved to enjoy the challenge running brings. I've wanted to do a triathlon for a long time but never had the courage to sign up for one until I met these lovely ladies. They've been my training buddies and supporters, along with my awesome hubby Mr. Pi of course. Okay on to the race report.

First impressions post-race for those that don't want to read the LONG report below:
1. I LOVED IT!
2. Can't wait to do it again!
3. All women's races are great everyone was so supportive.
4. Now that I have a baseline time and I know I can finish all three sports, I'm ready to kill it next time around.
5. Loved it, loved it, loved it!

Mr. Pi and I arrived pretty early since I was nervous about picking up my packet and getting a good transition spot (even though I really had no idea what a "good" spot was from a "bad" spot). I got my race packet and had my first experience with being body marked (in fact, all you seasoned veterans, how do you get it off? I've scrubbed and scrubbed and it ain't coming off!). I set up my bike and transition area next to this really nice woman, who gave me some good pointers. Pretty soon it was time for the swim.

Few shots of me setting up transition.

SWIM 1/2 mile
This is my sport! I love the water and am really comfortable swimming. I've done a few open water swims in training so I felt ready to go. I was also prepared for getting kicked, scratched and dunked. Non of that happened. I didn't even make any contact with another swimmer until the first buoy. I took the swim very conservative since I wasn't sure how my body would react to all three sports. Next time, I'll attack it! Swim time: 16:46.

I learned a few things for next time:
1) Push harder on the swim! When I finished I felt like I could have done another 1/2 mile easy! Next time, I'm going to attack the swim. My swim time was a little disappointing given that I've swum the distance faster in a pool.
2) Don't line up in the back. I spent a lot of time dodging other swimmers.
3) Continue open water swims.
4) Add a little more speedwork into my swim workouts.

I'm in here somewhere. Pink shirt, blue cap.

Again, somewhere!

Exiting the swim. The girl to the right is the one that I had swum with a few times and would later meet up with on the run.

T1: 3:14
I'm pretty happy with this for T1. There was a relatively long run from the swim to the bike area and from the bike racks to the bike start. So I'm happy with this time.

Me in T1 getting ready for the bike.

On the move with my creaky mountain bike. HEHE!

Almost to the mount point.

And...I'm OFF!!

BIKE 12 miles
Holy headwind on Marine Drive heading out, thankfully it was nice and flat. However, this is where I got passed, A LOT! Like I mentioned, I've been a spin class junkie on and off but I've only been biking on a real bike outside for about month. I expected my creaky mountain bike to get passed so it wasn't a big deal. I pushed as much as I thought I could. Most of the women who passed me were so nice about it, telling me I was looking strong. I did pass a few other women on mountain bikes so all was not lost. My overall goal for the bike was to come in under an hour and I succeeded. Bike time: 49:16/14.61 MPH

Lessons for next time:
1) Get a new bike. Smooth non-creaky mountain bike would be great.
2) Practice, practice, practice! I know I can average a 15+ next time!
3) Learn how to drink and ride. I was a thirsty girl after the swim.

Dismounting the bike and into T2.

T2: 2:23
Again, I'm pretty happy with this time. Since I have nothing to compare it to it's a great baseline. One thing I'm really happy I did was grab my hand held water bottle. I knew there were water stops on the run but I was happy to have my own water source.

Exiting T2 and going off on the run.

RUN 3.1 miles
I'd done a few brick runs after spin class but I think I really need to work on running faster with tired legs. The run went up a small hill after mile 1, I felt every tiny incline. However, right after the mile 1 marker I saw this girl! It was awesome to high five with her! Her swim wave started two before mine and I had already seen her once on the bike. So fun to have racing buddies. Her high five helped me kick it up for a few steps. I did have to walk a little. However, after the first water stop I met up with a girl who I'd swum with a few times during some of the open water swims, for the life of me, I can't remember her name! She and I chatted as we vowed to keep our feet moving at faster than walking speed. When we re-entered Blue Lake park she wanted to kick it up a notch and I was saving my sprint for when I had the beach in sight. All along the run there were lots of friendly spectators, it made me miss my iPod less. Right before the finish line I got a big high five from Mr. Pi and the announcer called out my name. I kicked it up and sprinted in! Run time: 37:50/12:12 AP (yikes, that was a SLOW 5k)

Lessons for next time:
1) Do more brick runs.
2) Work on improving overall run speed.
3) Practice running sans Ipod.
4) Try a few two-a-days to get used to running the second run faster despite having tired legs.

Few pictures in the final finish chute.

And, finishing!

Post-race I gave Gazelle a BIG hug and congratulated her on her race. Gave Mr. Pi a BIGGER hug and smooch for being the best husband and race supporter ever. Grabbed a bit of food and we headed home.

As I said up above, I will definitely be doing another Tri. I absolutely LOVED it! I think I set good baseline times that I know I can improve. I'm really happy I decided not to wear myGarmin for the bike and run. It felt good just to push and not worry too much about time. I wore my Ironman watch which is basically a stop watch but it's water proof so I could wear it in the water too. Overall, it was really accurate only 23 seconds slower than my official overall time. Overall official time: 1:49:29 and I'm happy with that.

I got 10 hours of sleep last night and am feeling great today. My booty is a little sore, probably from the bike since it was on fire when I got off. My arms and rest of my body feel fine. However, I'm still taking the day off and will resume training tomorrow. Now that I have baseline times I'm all about creating a plan to smash them next time around. Yes, I did say plan!

I am a triathlete! HOORAY!