MUD

This is what off road mountain biking is about..getting a little dirty in the mud. This is what happens when you bike down a dirt road that's closed to traffic. 

It was one of those perfect biking weather days, around 66*F and sunny with a light breeze. 

Steve and I took our normal part dirt road, part pavement.. Its a smaller loop since we had less time this morning. Finished in 47 minutes 10.90 miles. 

I had to hose off the bikes when we got home. We were covered in mud and so were the bikes. It was still a lot of fun and I'd do it again even through mud!

This weekend, I met a woman that does a lot of mountain bike races. She wants more women to get into the sport and asked if I ever wanted to ride, give her a call. She loves company riding even if I'll be a lot slower. She even offered to show me how to jump over obstacles (logs, rocks, wood planks) on the path. How cool would that be! No more getting off the bike, or riding around it.. and mostly not falling off my bike. Maybe now that I know some other woman doing mountain bike racing I'll try that some day? You just never know.. ??? 

What I could have done better

There are a few things I could have done better to prepare for my 5K race. 

1. Don't drink wine the night before, this will dehydrate you big time during the race. (I was extremely thirsty before the race even started. I didn't even drink 20oz of water before 8:45am, race time. plus having 2 glasses of wine didn't help my hydration plan.)

2. During training, do some speed work, run at the pace you want to run during the race. (I got in the habit of running a nice easy pace, no faster then 9 minute miles.)

3. Don't run every day at a nice easy pace and expect to be super speedy race day. (I wanted to run 7:30 minute miles or faster race day. It won't happen if you don't practice.)


4. Don't try new fuel before the race. You could have stomach issues, cramping or worse. (I ate my normal whole wheat bread with Pb, but tried a Stinger gel 20 minutes before the race and I think this also caused me to be extra thirsty)

5. Remember to smile at the end.. through the pain.. (I completely forgot to stop my Garmin and just wanted to finish the race I forgot to even open my eyes, let alone remember to smile. I'll have to practice when I do speed work)

6. Tell the person who is taking photos of you to practice with the camera BEFORE you are at the finish line. (Steve said my camera was slow. Might want to change the shutter speed?)

7. Have fun.. because it should be fun. (It won't be so painful if you practice race pace, smile and just be happy your doing something scary that makes you feel alive! That is worth smiling about!)

That's all I've got.. maybe I'll listen to some of my own advice on the next race? 

I never did finish with the time I was looking to get from this race. I wanted to be able to run a 7:30 minute mile race for 3.2 miles. I averaged 8:14 per mile. This was not a PR race for me but definitely a good learning lesson to do 1-7 above to get a PR next time I do a race. 

Even though I ran it faster then 70% of the women my age, placed 3rd in age group, it didn't mean that much to me this race. I just was off on my training and my expectations. Don't get me wrong, I'm still proud of my accomplishments. I haven't been in racing mode at all so this was a huge step out of my comfort zone. 

5K Susan G Komen Race for the cure

3rd place in age group. 

I went into this race not knowing if I'd run. The weather report for days was not looking good for the day of the race. I'm okay with a little rain but lighting. No way and I'm sure the race would be called off at that point! Luck would have it, no rain, just cloudy and very humid for 8am.

We got to the race early, because when you don't pre-register you have to arrive before the cut off time. It's usually 45 minutes before the start of the race. I also like to look around, check out my competition and not feel like I'm rushing. 

We are all lined up.. can you see me? The woman in the pink with the sort blond hair took 1st place in my age group. She was speedy!

These short races are always really painful running. My lungs hurt and I just want to stop after mile 1.. I'll do a mile by mile recap!

The race course was pretty flat.. That old guy, #487 passed me around mile 2.. I met  the woman in the black hat while waiting for the race to begin. She was in my age group and fast. She placed 2nd..She was always at least 20 feet or more in front of me. 

I'm never sure where to line up for these races. I don't want to run a second more then I have to, so I don't ever line up back in the pack. I also don't want people running around me.. I was pretty much 3rd row behind a bunch of others.. By the time the race started. 

With a count down from 10.. we were off. I ran a fast 1st mile. I checked my Garmin and it was a 7:10 pace and then I started to slow down.. I was trying to keep that pace the entire 3 miles but I knew at mile 1 that was not going to happen. 

The crowd  thinned fairly fast. At mile 1, there was one guy telling us our mile times.. I kept thinking.. I'm dying already and I have 2 miles left to run.. 

Some where around 1.5 miles we hit a few rolling hills. So much for a completely flat course. I actually didn't mind the hills so much but that's when that 70 year old passed me.. Ugh! The rest of the run was a long blurrr... a never ending run that I wanted over. I kept thinking only 7 more minutes.. 1 mile.. that never helped me run faster. I didn't care where I finished I wanted the pain to be over. 

Steve thought the woman I was talking to, was me.. so I never got a finish line photo.. this will have to do. A finish line photo before the race.. Official time 25:34 @ 8:14 per mile pace. 

Best of all.. I placed 3rd!

1) I really need to work on hydration! 2) Fast practice miles.. 

I Have way too much to share

Its the honest truth, I do have too much to share while I've been MIA. I have a very good reason and it's called VACATION at Gull Lake in Brainard Minnesota to be exact! It was a wonderful 4 days hang out at a friends cabin. 

We arrived Thursday afternoon at the cabin. I'll leave it mostly to photos to tell the weekend story.. 

Logan and Celina caught a lot of small mouth bass and sunnies, but not big enough to keep. 

We ate out a few times.. dock side.. 

We made some really good tenderloin steak sandwiches for lunch. 

We took turns cruising the lake on the jet ski. The kids and Steve went for tube rides. The water was a bit too chilly for me and I'm not crazy about being bounced around in that tube. 

I never did get in to swim, but did stand in the water for a bit waist deep. 

Lazy cabin days... 

All the meal we ate were so good. Beef tenderloin grilled, baby fingerling potatoes, garlic bread, salad and garlic/butter Brussels sprouts. We let the guys do all the cooking. Which is a great plan because I don't grill or cook.  

Of course I have tons more photos that I'll be adding to our Nelson family 2014 blog.. There are just too many to add here. 

 I wasn't completely lazy the last 4 days. I managed to do planks every day, and run a few miles  every morning. 

The kids ran with me one day. It was 2.3 miles round trip of running. Friday, I ran it two times to get in almost 5 miles at a nice slow pace. Steve biked and the kids ran the first 2.3 miles and then I was on my own for the 2nd lap.. It's really a great way to start a morning and I can't feel 100% lazy about my day. 

Lastly, the most exciting thing I did this weekend? A 5K race while on vacation!!! My first race of 2014! That's a whole other post.. 

Almost Race Time...

In 2 days I'll be running my first race of the year. It's a 5k with a flat easy course. Yes, I checked out Google maps and looked at the terrain. They give age awards to 3rd place and I think I might have a chance at getting one. Of course that also depends on who shows up the day of the race. I did check last years results and compared my fastest race times from last year and the year before plus my training miles from yesterday running 3.5 miles faster. I need to get 22 minutes for the 3.1 miles.. that's pretty fast and I haven't exactly been training to run 7 minute miles. I'll be happy with 7:30 minute miles or a time of 22.30 Which I could take any place at that time... right? Its going to hurt! 

I'll be wearing this hat.. and maybe listening to music but I really don't think I'll need it. 

Today is suppose to be my biking day, but I wanted to get in a quick 4 miles one last time before Saturday's race. I tried to run each mile faster. It was a comfortable pace the whole time, but I was pushing myself a bit which is good. 

My heart rate maxed at 159 from the sprint to the mail boxes. I always try to sprint at the end to get use to doing that for races. 

I'm really hoping this flat course will give me a record time. Even if I don't place, I want to beat my old fastest time of 24:26 back in the spring of 2012. That was a hilly race and all uphill at the beginning and end. Can I shave off 2 whole minutes? I think I can... I really hope I can.. I'm going to give it all I can... 

Following my heart ..

I tried something new today with my running miles. I had my Garmin set to only heart rate. my goal was to stay above 130 the entire run and try and push myself a bit. I didn't pay attention to speed for the first 3 miles. The last 3.. almost 4 miles I ran a slower, cool down pace because it was after my 30 minutes of Strength training. 

Before I had a GPS watch, I use to only run according to my heart rate and over all time. I never knew my mile times. I think both can be useful to know your heart rate and pace. I just like to do what ever 80% of the time. Now that I only run every other day. I'm trying to make the most out of my fresh legs. 

I finally ran three 8 minute and something miles.. out of almost 7 miles of running. #4 mile was a warm up, after lifting weights. I decided to do legs and they felt a little tired, either from the weights or running a bit faster the first 3 miles? Nice and easy on the run home from the gym... Not a bad day of running! That's definitely more like it for speed! 

I treated myself and Celina to a Luxury pedicure yesterday afternoon. They just massage your legs and rub salt/oil all over your legs for the "luxury". She also pounded with her fists on my calves. It kind of hurt.. I have very ticklish toes and feet, it just makes me tense and doesn't feel very relaxing. I had so many callused areas on my feet, just glad I got that all smoothed out for the summer. 

I have a lot on my mind this morning..

I have a lot of random things running through my mind. Having time to think while working out gives me that time to let my mind wander.. but first I'll tell you all about my morning workout. You know that's the first thing I love to do every morning. Get it done and out of the way to start off my day on the right foot! 

It's Tuesday and I promised myself that I would alternate running with biking. I stick to my mountain bike because I'm kind of afraid of our road bikes tires. They easily go flat and I don't really don't want to be stuck miles from home trying to figure out how to fix a flat on my own. I know I need to get over this fear and I promise to work on that! It's silly, right? 

Steve's been hanging up my bike in the garage. It's a good thing I'm lifting weights every day because I need the arm strength to get my mountain bike down. It's pretty heavy. We just don't have enough room in our three car garage. I know.. too much junk and we really have no excuses to be storing so much other junk. 

It was a really nice morning for a bike ride. I rode up to the gym, did 30 minutes of strength training concentrating on my arms, chest and abs. 3 sets of each, with 10 reps for arms. I'm lifting heavier weights the first 2 sets and back down a little on the last. 30 minutes goes by pretty quickly by the time I finish all the weight exercises I want to do. I pretty much like to do the same things each day and vary only a little. I really should be mixing it up more. I always start with my abs and finish with them too. 

7 miles of biking.. Wish I had time to bike 20 this morning but I need to work too. I really have zero excuse not to bike this afternoon, other then I'm too lazy. I'll be working on that one too. 

Here is my random thoughts.. I have been really liking this Greek Yogurt in place of a nightly dish of ice cream. I don't think it has enough fruit. I wanted to get some strawberries to add in but for a weird reason the store didn't have any. I picked up raspberries instead which I think is a better option. Easy to mix in, no cutting up. Just wash and throw them in and mix. To be honest, I wish this came in a little bigger serving size. I'm always wanting another one right after.. adding the extra fruit should fill me up. 

I am not sure how many months I've been eating this breakfast, but I still love it. Which brings me to another random thought.. I've been hearing a lot about others doing weight loss cleanse or protein shakes, etc.. I'm not into eating non-food replacements. I'd rather eat real food then have a protein diet shake for lunch. I guess you have to do what works for you. I just don't have a desire to even try it. 

I need to give those mom's that run with their babies and little ones a lot of credit. I take care of my Grandson Evan every Monday. Babies are a lot of work and they tire you out. I completely understand why I didn't try workout while taking care of my three babies. Those mom's that run and take care of their baby.. are Super Mom's. I wish I would have learned in my 30's that taking care of you is just as important as taking care of little ones. It can be fun doing both. Evan loves to go for stroller rides and he also falls a sleep easily when it's moving. I just have to remember to get us out of the house and go for a walk every Monday that I have him all day long. Fresh air, getting fit is a win/win for both of us. 

The last bit of random-ness.. I love my popcorn. It's been my I'm hungry and just want to eat something and keep eating food. I do the air popped in the microwave and use some spray butter and Nacho seasoning. Its delicious and low calories. After reading about how bad the microwave popcorn is for you, (chemicals in the bag that leach into the popcorn) I've switched to a healthier choice. 

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What is a random thought your having? 

Do you have a silly fear? 

Any other low calorie foods to eat and eat? 

Summer running days

Don't you just love a good sweat when your done running? 

I felt really good running my 7 miles. My average pace was 9:32 per mile with only one of those miles, my warm up at 10:14. I'm picking up the pace. 

My running already has improved due to my cross training, biking a few day of the week to give my running legs a rest. I feel so much better and look forward to running. Variety is just good for the mind and my body!

While I was running this morning, I had 3 red fox run in the opposite direction right by me. They were running on the side of the road. How cool is that! Too bad I didn't get a photo. 

Its Evan day.. Our Monday together. He is getting a bottom tooth. I knew it. Last week, he was a little fussy all day long and wanting to bite on everything. 

Goals for the day... play with Evan as much as possible. Take him for a stroller ride on the path behind our house to get in a few more miles. Shower and then work tonight for a few hours. 

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How are you spending Monday? 

What's your average mile pace?