Swim tonight...no really, I will get in the water today

Swim: This was a pace test of 100's. Usually I get in about 1200 yards of warm up before I do my timed 100. Today I did a 200 warm up (100 swim, 100 kick)

6 x 100 timed, 1:00 rest between: Average all the times

1. 1:19. All out, this was hard and I had trouble stopping my watch
2. 1:28. I thought I was going to die. After I pushed off the wall on the last 25 and was holding my breath under water, my heart felt like it was going to pop out of my chest. I couldn't get enough air in or out. I ended up coasting the last 10 yards or so.
3. 1:27. This felt a little better, but still having problems breathing
4. 1:27. Much better
5. 1:26. Better still
6. 1:25. I finally found a groove. I think if I had 6 more sets, I would have swam all of tem in the mid 1:20's

Cool down: 200 kick

 Positive:

I think I am really cut out for endurence sports vs. sprints and short distance races. It took a while before I settled in, but after I did I could have continued for a while

Good night! I guess my coach doesn't know I work for a living. Who schedules 4 hours of workouts on a Tuesday??? I had to chose between family, training or work. Work lost :)

Run: Well I think I am still a little beat up from this weekend and I think his pace goals are a little ambitious. I was supposed to run 4 x 1 mile at 8:33/mile This last weekend I was hauling ass at 8:46/mile.

Warm up:

• I did one easy mile and another lap to stretch.
• Mile 1: 8:30. This was really hard for me. I felt like I needed to scratch this workout, but in the end decided to stick with it.
• Mile 2: 8:48. I Didn't look at my splits I just ran by feel. Apparently it was a little too easy
• Mile 3: 8:38. Better but now I was feeling it. I pushed really hard and popped at the end
• Mile 4: 9:28. Yep, I popped on the last mile. There was an old guy who started running around the same time as my last mile. He was wearing his Fruit of the Loom undershirt, Bermuda shorts, white tube sock and Reebok walking shoes. He also stayed on the outside of the track and I couldn't catch him!!!!! I got really close, too close as a matter of fact and even though I was wearing my IPod, I could hear his keys jingling in his pockets, like he was taunting me...cling, cling, cling. Finally he stopped at the bathroom and I finished the last 2 laps...ugggh
• I walked one lap between each mile run

Bike: On trainer. I played one game of Madden and watched one episode of Mrs. Columbo. I didn't even know they made that show. It was a bonus feature on my Columbo box set. And watched part of another episode of Columbo that I had never seen before. Then I had to go to work

Positive:

I am glad I stuck it out today, but I am tired anddddd...
I am drinking a REGULAR COKE and I like it :)

Probably another rest day for me. Was supposed to swim but Lauren has a scrimmage, "boys vs. girls". These games are classic. The boys are running around just being boys (happy to be outside) and the girls are out there to destroy the boys. Friday night the girls had a little scrimmage against the boys. Lauren absolutely took out this little guy, when she went back to her friends, they all gave her a down low high five. Girls are mean!

Damn, I just looked at the weather for this weekend's century. It is supposed to be cold (hi- 52-lo-30 something) windy and raining. Great! Throw in 40 miles of climbing and this is going to be some fun.

 I am going to go buy a jacket and some gloves this week.

Positive:
I'm thinking, give me a minute :)

Really good ride today. I rode with Alaina (jazz82482). I was surprised at how not cold it was when we started, then as we headed down Torrey Pines I really felt it. My fingers and knees froze. We rode for another few miles, then I got a flat. My fingers were so frozen I could hardly change the tire. I was really nervous about this ride because I have done this route several times, but never leading it, so I was hoping I wouldn't get us lost in the middle of nowhere. Just before we started climbing the mountain into Escondido, we got hit with headwind. Great, we have 2 miles of climbing to come and we hit stop-in-your-tracks headwind going downhill. :) After a while, it started to warm up nicely. It turned out to be a very nice day out. I was beat after the ride, so I skipped the 4 mile run :(

Alaina is the perfect training partner for me. She is faster than I am, but rides at a consistant pace, so I can get used to riding at a pace instead of the surges of my other partners. The only advantage I have is I drop like a rock downhill so I can make up most of the distance she puts on me going uphill and flat.

Here is the profile for today's ride

I went home but stopped first at KFC for a couple of those Fiery Buffalo stackers. I got home and found out I had a hockey game and had to leave in 20 minutes!

Note to self: Fiery Buffalo wings make an Oh-so delicious post workout meal, but a Crappy (pun intended) pregame hockey meal :)

Positive:

Even though my legs were tired and I was a bit dehydrated, I am still faster and thinner than most of the guys in my hockey league, who only get exercise one day a week :)

Great run. Will update my splits after Lauren's soccer party.

Run: Was scheduled for 10 miles at 10 min/mile with 4 miles at marathon pace (9:10)! Ok, here's the problem, 9:10 was faster than my last 5K pace! I had faith in my coach so I tried it anyway. I did the first 2 miles easy as it was uphill and there is no way I could run at 10 min/mile uphill. Then starting at mile 2 (top of the hill) I tried running at 9:10 pace. At first it was easy because it was slightly downhill. Then it flattened out and I started to get tired. My GPS was all wacky, it would read 9:10, then 10:34, then 8:20. I couldn't tell what was my real pace and what wasn't. I continued using it until it said I was running a 7:30 pace, then I knew it was wacked :) I just tried to keep a hard effort going back to my house. After a while the pace was holding in the high 8's, so I couldn't tell if I was really running that fast, but I was optimistic. Because of the way I had my HRM setup, I could tell everything, except time :) When I got home at mile 6, I checked my watch and I was at 56:57:21 (A new PR and a pace of 8:43 for the 4 miles!!!). I was so excited I was doing the recovery-cooldown-gloating-happydance run for the last 4 miles. I think 4 miles was waaay too long to have a cool down run and for the first time in my life I found myself saying "It hurts to run this slow" i had to speed up the last mile just to go back to feeling good.

Positive: I love my coach! I guess he knows more about IM training than I do. Who knew?

Serving lunch at the Senior Center today. Lauren has soccer after work. Since it rained yesterday, she might not have soccer, so I might swim instead.

Just came back from the Senior Center. All went well, old folks got to eat one morre time. I however just had a near death experience. My coworker made some lemon bars and I was going to eat one. I started to put one in my mouth when I inhaled and choked on some powdered sugar that was on top of the bar. I coughed and powdered sugar came shooting out like Mt St. Helens :)

I think I am going to sue the city. I can't work under these conditions ;)

Dinner and the game was fun last night even though the Aztecs lost with a last second three pointer. I can't wait to do this a few more times this season. Lauren had a good time too. We didn't get home until 9 pm, so I was afraid she was going to be a Grumpy-Butt this morning, but she was fine so I would say yesterday was a success. 

Leaving work early today. Swim after work, bike after swim, run after bike :)