Thursday, April 22, 2010

Fun races, long runs, and blister triage

The title of this post pretty much sums up my non-work life lately. Things have felt a bit chaotic, so I'll just jot down some random thoughts.
  • Beaver Freezer was cold and not as put together as previous years (what the heck happened this year, race organizers?), but it was still tons of fun because of my awesome friends and hubby. Compared to last year I had a slower swim (no big surprise...I've been in the pool less than 10 times since Ironman), a much faster bike, and a slightly faster run. My overall time was about a minute slower, but that can be mostly attributed to the long transition this year due to the women swimming in a pool further away. Aside from a crash coming out of the pool (I slipped on the wet tile, crashed onto my right hip and elbow, and flew across the floor taking out an entire row of chairs), I felt pretty good and wasn't sore afterwards. My weight was the same as last year -- TOO MUCH! Overall, I'm satisfied with performance, but clearly I have a lot of work to do this summer.
  • Me, Jenn, and Laura - cold, but finished:Dirty, muddy bikes:

  • In prep for the Eugene Marathon that is quickly approaching, I have been running lots. Well, lots, by my standards. Lately my feet have been developing blisters and hotspots after about 4 miles. Sometimes it's 1 annoying blister, or sometimes it's like 8 or 9 of them. Our Sunday night ritual is blister triage on the couch. Sexy, huh. I have no idea why this is happening since it has never been an issue before. As a result, I've bagged a couple of my long Sunday runs after only a few miles. No good. I've tried 4 different pairs of shoes, I have invested over $100 on all sorts of new spiffy socks, and applied body glide, vaseline, and sport shield. The most frustrating thing is that my legs feel GREAT. I wasn't even sore after 20.5 miles last weekend. If I can't figure the blister thing out, I'll likely drop down to the half marathon for Eugene. Or just walk it once the blisters show up.

    On that note, does anyone know of a super super super clean salon that doesn't mind touching feet covered in dead blister skin? A couple of toenails may fall off in the process. My feet really need help.

I present to you, the most hideous (yet comfortable) racing flats available on the market. Probably my footwear for Eugene. Not one item of my workout clothing matches these beauties.

  • I ran the Bridge-to-Brews 10k last Sunday. So did Jenn, Kevin, Jen, Laura, Cory, Lori, and Jason. Fun crew! It was also sunny and warm...the first run this year that I wore a tank and shorts and was still sweating.
  • I started the P90X program this past week. You have probably seen parts of the infomercial on tv. You know, the annoying ripped dude that won't shut up, and tons of success stores with "before and after" photos? Yeah, I bought it. Thanks, Lori, for the hookup! Day 1 was Chest and Back. Pushups, pullups, pushups, chinups, pushups, pullups, pushups, chinups, and then lots more pushups. Day 2 was Plyometrics. Meaning, do different variations of jump squats for an hour. Day 3 was Shoulders and Arms, plus Ab Ripper. I may not be able to lift my arms to wash my hair and it may take me an extra few minutes to lift myself off the toilet. But if this helps me gain some points on The Chub, then who really cares.

Yes, he really is this abnoxious:

  • I've lost 4 pounds since April 12th. So at least I've got that going for me.

  • Vancouver Bike Club Time Trials have started! Every Thursday night at the Port of Vancouver. 10 mile course. $2/rider for non-members. I had my slowest time ever, but at least I showed up. And I was so out of it after P90X, that I forgot to don my Zipps or aero helmet. Argh! It was Ken's first time trial...and he beat me by 25 seconds. I didn't even let him. But it's ON next week!