A perfect run

On Friday night, P and I agreed that we would not leave the house on Saturday until it was tidy. We didn't have any plans apart from some shopping and a vague intention to go for a ride (my "schedule" suggested two bricks this weekend in the lead up to next week's sprint). But Saturday morning dawned clear, sunny and beautiful and I knew I had to be part of it as soon as possible. So I mapped out a 7.3m route and started getting ready. As I was debating ipod or no ipod I had a Eureka moment. What's better than music on a "long" run? That prevents boredom without interfering with the experience? Company!

So I jumped on P to wake him up and invited him out. I may have downplayed the distance a little, but he seemed enthusiastic. Anyway, the run was perfect. We ran out around the bays and over the Maupuia track- my favourite place! It was early enough that it wasn't hot, and somehow our pace managed to fit just right. Usually we're a little out of sync when we run. We tampered a bit with the route, and went up some extra hills at the end, so we could push a downhill finish instead of having to finish on the up! I ran fast for the first bit of the downhill but pulled back a little when I got scared! But still, finished strong and fast. We bought choc-ice blocks from the dairy (I almost fainted from the stale air inside after pushing down the hill and being out in the sun for too long) and then wandered back home. Our stats are a little off, but I think we averaged roughly 9 min miles, which is good considering that we had to walk down from the trail back to the road as it's quite treacherous!

Sunday I had planned a long walk with a friend, but the weather had deteriorated and was looking pretty awful at the time we'd planned to leave. A little disappointing, but the silver lining was being able to fit a swim in, and have a lot more time to catch up on that housework. I was pleased with myself for doing 2500m in the pool- that will be small potatoes once my swim training starts (next week!!) but is still a good effort for me now. Time not so good (not sure exactly), but the suggested workout involved a lot of rest and a lot of technique. It also had 600m or something of straight kicking- not something I'm used to, but it wasn't as bad as I anticipated! My stroke has improved so much, and I was able to decrease my stroke count during my cool down. Yay!

We met at my sisters' place on Sunday evening for a thanksgiving dinner. We have been meaning to have a thanksgiving celebration for so many years now (since we came back from CO in 1988!) but this is the first time we've done it. We made candied sweetpotatoes (my word those are weird!!) and I tried my hand at my first pumpkin pie (which, served with gingerbread ice cream, was really good!) We also started planning our Xmas and our summer holiday. It's really feeling like the festive season now! I'm so excited.

As you can probably tell, I am still feeling great after last week. And after to sinking to new lows weight wise (131.2!), I have managed to regain all that I lost (thanks to a dinner out with P on Saturday and unofficial thanksgiving dinner on Sunday). Hopefully I will be able to start losing the fat for real now- I'm feeling very flabby indeed and can't wait to hit the weights tomorrow. This week is mostly a weights/cycling week and spin class this morning was fun, if not the best workout ever. This instructor tends to run the class more like an aerobics class than a cycling class. Today we did a lot of very slow, mostly out of saddle, climbing on very high resistance. My HR was reasonably steady and I felt pretty good. Good enough for a fast 6 minute run-off at the end (1.4km, 6:51min/m). I have to do a 6 min track time trial by next Tuesday for this season's track programme, so hopefully will be able to do at least 1.4km in that. Most of my speedwork to date has been on the mill, so I'm not really sure how I'll go when I don't have that external motivation (keep moving or fall off on my butt) spurring me along. We shall see!

Hopefully will be doing some mini races this week- 5k tomorrow and a splash and dash on Weds. I hope I don't get too discouraged if I bomb out in the 5k. I'm thinking about just doing the 200m swim on Wednesday- I don't want to be dead last!

I am feeling OK about my running speed and endurance at the moment and thinking seriously about finishing this season without doing an Oly, then training for Rotorua (the closest we have here to Boston!) in April. I'm thinking 6 weeks of AeT base training (using Maffetone) and 6 weeks of marathon specific training. I won't expect too much of myself, so I think that balance should work. I guess I am feeling inspired by everyone's training logs and race reports! I am also learning that I don't need to get the time I want to achieve my goals. I will still be a marathoner, whether I finish sub 4, sub 5 or whatever! Tri-wise, I'll have 2 more sprints after next weekend's, as well as the century ride and the 2.8k swim, and I think that's a good enough first tri season, even without the Oly.

Anyway- hope everyone out there is feeling happy today :-)

Update: Life's so easy when you finish work on time! I was out the door before my secretary tonight, on the early bus home and in the door by 5:30!! Amazing. I made tofu and vege stir fry for dinner, made lunches and packed for tomorrow, finished most of the cleaning we neglected over the weekend, spent too much time online, read some of my book, did some ab work, watched some bad TV... and it's still only 9pm (nearly bedtime!) If only it was always like this...