Here's what happens when an over-analytical person is also obsessed with biking, running, and hiking

About two months ago, I made a goal to run 625 miles and bike 3000 miles in a year. (What was I thinking??) 9 weeks into it, how am I doing?

So far, I've ran 84.3 miles and biked 545.8 miles, and according to my goal I should be at 108 and 675 miles. I am little behind, but oh well. I had some pretty pathetic weeks (a few weeks ago I only rode 13.5 miles, and last week I only ran 3.2), but also some good accomplishments (last weekend I mountain biked 42 miles, I rode over 200 miles in the last two weeks, and two weeks ago I ran one of my fastest 5Ks in 24:36). Also, I've commuted almost 273 miles (about half of my total riding), which since my car gets about 25 mpg has saved me more than $28. And honestly, another major accomplishment is not letting the "need to train" take over my life.

Since I am a dork, I've included some charts :). I count playing softball or kickball as running 1 mile, unless it's a really slow game. I haven't done any trail running yet, which needs to change ASAP because it's so much fun.

I have two races I'm planning on doing in the next two weeks: the Boulder Sunrise duathlon on Saturday, and the Winter Park hill climb on June 12. Hopefully I can continue to enjoy all this exercise, and not obsess over it too much, although the pie charts on this post might suggest otherwise ... :)

Holy Crap!

The title of this blog is how I felt when I got home from my run last Saturday. Two Saturdays ago, I planned to do a 9 mile run. This was second longest run ever, so my goal was just to make it 9 miles and keep the pace easy so I could finish. I ran it in 1:45 and was pretty happy about it. So, last week I was planning on a 10 mile run, but kept getting distracted by work (hate it when that happens). Saturday morning I woke up and had a lot to do, but figured I'd run for "only" an hour and a half. Since this is something I know I'm capable of, I didn't really worry about my pace. I just ran something that was comfortably challenging, and stuck to my walking 1 minute every 10 routine that I do for long runs. I was amazed when it was time to turn around and I had made it as far as I did last Saturday! I finished 9 miles in just under 1:30! I don't really keep track of pace on these runs but one of my last miles was 9:30, including one minute of walking. So, I'm pretty excited about that! :) Also, I felt good almost the entire run. Sometimes I was breathing hard but it was never painful or anything. Sweet!

My goal is to run a half marathon by the end of the year. There aren't any official ones around Colorado this time of year, so I'm probably going to end up running 13.1 miles by myself on Dec. 31. Running is funny because I really despise it when I'm not running regularly. But when I do it 3 or 4 times a week - I start to really love it. I'm planning on running 10-11 miles Wed or Thurs this week in San Francisco and can't wait. :)

Next stop, Miami

I'm just hanging out in the Denver Airport. I am really tired but pretty excited! Saying goodbye to Chris this morning sucked. It gets harder the longer we're married, I think. It's crazy that this is the second time this year that we will be apart for more than 10 days. :( Hopefully next year we will do some more traveling together!

There's nothing really exciting to report yet. Although, I must say that traveling for work is really great because of the per diem! I had a ham and cheese sandwich on french toast (with syrup of course) for breakfast with fresh-squeezed OJ. That's the high life. I'm trying to find a good place to get seafood for dinner tonight in Miami.

Last night we went to Coopersmiths with a group of friends. Chris and Matt went to a fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity a while back and Chris won 4 pizzas, 6 pitchers of beer, and 2 hours of pool at Coops. :) Yum! It was nice, there were about 12 of us and we just had to pay the tip, plus everyone threw in a little extra to donate to Habitat. I can handle free food and beer for a good cause. :) Also, our friend Jon was in town and it was really good to see him. He and Kristen were a part of our Bible study for a few months and are great, fun people. They lived in Nigeria at Faith Alive AIDS clinic for about 3 months and now are living in St. Paul. I'm sad they couldn't come back to the Fort permanently!

Also, Mollie and I ran more than 7 miles yesterday. I'm not sure how far, but it took us 1:25. It was great, although my stomach was not very happy. I think it was either the ton of sushi I ate Tuesday night or all of the dairy I had on Wednesday. Either way, it was not good.

I hope that I've remembered everything I need. Traveling so far away by myself is a little nerve-wracking. Whenever I get nervous, I just try to think about something else. Because I'm pretty sure I'm prepared, so worrying will just make the trip less fun. Ooops, I never got travelers insurance. haha. Well I guess I could still buy some tonight. Bye!

The weekend

Today (and last night) have been really nice! Well, for me. Probably not for Chris unfortunately because he has been working :(. His company is hosting a conference in Denver from Thurs till tomorrow. The upside is that it is at a pretty nice hotel and Rachel and I stayed with him last night. First, Rachel and I went out to dinner at Illegal Petes (good food, and margaritas!). Chris met up with us and we had some beers back at the hotel. It was a fun but relaxing evening.

This morning we were all up early. Chris to work, and Rachel and I to go to Veloswap, which is a big convention-type event with a ton of bike-related stuff for sale from any one who has something they want to sell. I've never been before and it was great! I got a Specialized helmet, High Road bib shorts, Chipotle long-sleeve jersey (I love the argyle!), CSC jersey (for Chris), and handle bar grips for $95! Sweet! Rachel got a nice pair of road shoes for $10! It was nice, and we were done by 11:15.

I was feeling good and it has been a gorgeous day, so I went to Cherry Creek Res. for a run. I ran 55 minutes (well, walked for 10 of those)! My longest run since July and I felt pretty good. :) The beauty of where I was running definitely helped. I had some nice views of the mountains, which have a dusting of snow. I ran 3 days this week (about 12 miles), which was my goal, and have felt pretty good for all of them. I am excited about getting back into running! Who knows, maybe I will run tomorrow and make it 4?

I got done running just in time to watch the amazing Georgia-LSU game. I figured that Georgia SHOULD win, but that doesn't always mean anything. But they looked great! I guess the defense could have done better, but other than that I was very impressed. I think they are ready for Florida, which will be an even tougher game. Go Dawgs!

Now I'm hanging out waiting to hear from Chris. Maybe we will have time to eat dinner together. Then I will probably head back to the Fort for the night, although there are a few football games tonight I would like to watch, so maybe I will stay. Who knows. I'm also trying to decide if I should see Obama speak at CSU tomorrow. It will be an all-day affair because of the crowds, but it is also a pretty great opportunity to see the possible future president just a few miles from my house. Hmmm ... I am going to get political for the first time ever on my blog!

I think I am voting for Obama. I was kind of on the fence but you know what pushed me over? I've always been a little leary of McCain because he is old! What if he dies in office?? Seriously. And as I get to know Palin more, I really don't think she could be president. I think it would be a disaster. I think she is probably a fine governor of Alaska, but I can't see her being the ruler of the free world and sitting down with foreign diplomats and using her hockey-mom language with them. So, that is what tipped me. But I like a lot of things about Obama. I like his views of energy and the environment. I like that he wants us out of Iraq sooner than McCain, although I hope he doesn't rush it. I like the idea of universal health care coverage. I don't like McCain's ideas for health care. When was it, 2000, I was hoping McCain would get the republican nomination. I would have voted for him then. But I like Obama. And I don't want Palin to be president. So, there you have it! Politics! Scary! Oh, one last thing, THE SINGLE GREATEST MOMENT in the debates was when Obama and McCain were talking about helping in Darfur. Please, please please, next president, do something to help those people!

ALright that's it. Thanks for stopping by!

10K Race Report

Last Sunday Chris and I ran in the Colorado Marathon ... 10K. It went pretty well. My goal was to finish in under 53:00, and I was really hoping for an 8:30 pace. My PR for a 10K is from the Loveland Lake to Lake Tri in 2005 - 52:14. I've been gradually working up my mileage, with my longest run being a few weeks ago at about 8 miles in 90 minutes. I also started working in some more speed work the last few weeks. So anyway, the first mile I ran too fast. Everyone else around me was booking it, and I figured I could keep up with them so I should run fast too. When I got to mile 1 in 8:10 I knew I needed to slow down! I gradually worked into a more even pace. My heart rate was in the high 160's to low 170's - right around 170 is where I tried to keep it. That is funny to me because it is so different on the bike. I am pretty sure I can't hold that HR for 50 minutes when I'm riding. But running it was a challenge but not impossible.

The last two miles were on the same course as the marathon and half marathon. People who were finishing the half were just flying by me, it was very impressive. I started to feel pretty crappy but kept up the pace. I was extraordinarily happy to see the finish line, and crossed in 52:47 - an 8:31 pace. Woohoo! :) Chris came in not too long after in 57:06 (my secondary goal was to beat him).

I do the Lake to Lake in 7 weeks, so who knows how fast I can be by then :). It is exciting to see some of the fruits of my training. Today Chris and I ran up Maxwell (the "hill" behind the stadium). It took 24:50 to get to the top from Overland Trail. So we'll see how I can improve on that, but it was definitely a butt-kicking type run.

That's it for now. Tomorrow I am pretty excited about watching the Collegiate Cycling National Championship road race. It is awesome to have the country's best young cyclists racing a mile from my house (on some of my favorite roads)! GO RAMS! :) It is a little weird/sad to not be racing this year but I am mostly just fine with watching instead of racing!

Here is a picture of Chris from the race. Luckily there isn't a picture of me b/c I probably looked like an angry wreck.