Undeterred

 
The cold and wind at the Forest Canyon overlook did not deter the kids from playing on this bench!

Top of the world

 
Trail Ridge Road is the highest highway in the United States; we crossed 12,183 feet today. It was 50 degrees and windy and snowing at the top.

Top this!

 
So, this is what we did today. Rocky Mountain National Park is amazing!!!

Greenbelt paradise

 
Today we're in Wheat Ridge, CO, a suburb of Denver, on the 2nd day of our vacation (we drove here yesterday, along beautiful I-70 through the Rocky Mtns). We are going to Rocky Mtn Nat'l Park today! First, though, I got up and was out the door just before 6 am while the family slept; I went for a 1.5 hr easy racewalk. I didn't have high hopes for a beautiful walk, but about 1 km from the hotel I stumbled upon the Wheat Ridge Greenbelt, and it was beautiful. The weather was mild (60?) and the stream provided cool air and greenery. I walked 8.63 mi (acc to my iPod) in this beautiful paradise in 1:32:35 for a 10:43 mile. It was a very easy pace, and my heart rate was mostly in the mid-130s (65%).

Work stuff

I don't post too much about work; some of it is just caution because I like my job and want to keep it! However, I thought I'd post a little today about what's been going on. Co-worker DK gave a very good talk today at the RIP (research in progress), and though I was 15 min late (no one told me it was at 11:45 not at noon!), I enjoyed it quite a lot. He discussed differing theories regarding ependymal cell proliferation and migration during spinal cord regeneration in salamanders, and showed some of our data. I was pleased to see that my endless photo sessions of newt spinal cord actually do look good on the big screen :). After his talk, I spent the rest of the afternoon immersed in a bad audio book (hey, it was free from netlibrary.com, so what the heck) while I sectioned some more newt spinal cords. These were embedded in plastic (vs. the usual paraffin or OCT (frozen)), and require a little different technique to section, but they are pretty easy once you get the hang of it. I managed to get 4 spinal cords sectioned (longitudinally) before it was time to get the kids from day care.

Workout update

Yeah, I've been busy this week. But I'm still here, and I did a hard workout today.

Wednesday: 1.5 miles easy for warm-up, then weight training - a very hard day of weights, including walking lunges w/25 lb in each hand. That one always gets my glutes really sore, but it's SO good!

Thursday: I was exhausted, and needed a rest day badly. I had planned a hard workout but my body and mind weren't up to it, so I rested, and even took an afternoon nap. I decided to do my hard workout Friday instead.

Friday (today): I felt ready to go after my rest day, so I did my hard workout. I walked to Liberty Park for a warm-up (about 2K) and then did 4 x approx 2K with a few minutes recovery. Liberty Park is the perfect place to do this workout; it's a rectangle, and 2 long sides + 1 short side is about 2K, and then the other short side can be used for recovery. I did the 2Ks in 11:22, 11:24, 11:31, and 11:32. Pretty darn good, as I planned on 11:30s for all. I was very tired on the last one; even though I probably couldn't have done another one that hard today, I do want to work up to doing 5 x 2K before my race in August.

Track workout #2

Tonight it was HOT. Low 90s, but dry (it's almost always dry here in Utah!). Anyway, we met for the track workout and there were probably 7 or 8 of us (runners and walkers). We did a 1 mile warm up, stretched a little, then did 3 x 800 with 400 rest in between. We were supposed to do the 800s based on our marathon goal pace. For example, if you want to do a 3hr 30min marathon you should do a 3min 30sec 800. Well, I want to do a 4:45 marathon, so I'd do 4'45" repeats. However, since I'm training for a fast 5k and 10k in August, I decided to do 4'36" repeats instead. These are called "Yasso repeats" from Runner's World guru Bart Yasso.

I did my repeats in 4:35, 4:37, and 4:39, with the proscribed 400m rest. Despite the heat, I felt fine, though I did have to drink a lot of water.

It was really fun working out w/runners for a change. Interestingly, I did the repeats faster than almost all of the runners that worked out tonight. Many of them were doing 5:00 times! It was fun warming up and cooling down with them and having someone to talk to. I liked that a lot.

Track workout #1

I have 2 track workouts planned today. Yup, that's crazy. But I kinda wanted to do it. I made my morning one more of a sprint workout, as the evening one is with TNT, training for the marathon, and so it's a slower workout.

I did another one of Sarah's workouts. I thought it would be easy, but no, it was really hard. It was 200m in 58s then 200m in 75s, no rest, x 10 laps. My fastest 200 was 57s (I did a couple this fast) but most were 59s-1:02. The last one was 1:04 (ugh!). The bigger problem was the recovery 200s - they were in more like 85-90s instead of 75s. Oh well. I did try really hard, and my heart rate was at 90% at the end of my fast sprints, so I don't think I could have done much better. I had some gastric distress, though, so all things considered it went pretty well. My total time was very similar to Sarah's when she did hers: 24 min and change (I'm not sure exactly how much); Sarah did 24:27. I sure wish I lived closer to someone exactly my speed like her so that we could push each other. It's a bit lonely doing these alone, even though the track had about 5-7 others on it (runners mostly) the whole time I was working out.

I think it was because of the yummy dinner last night - I made chick pea burgers with Tahini sauce; it was from my Healthy in a Hurry cookbook, and it's supposed to taste like falafel but lower in fat. It was delicious, but every time I eat legumes I end up with problems. I should stop doing this the nights before a hard workout!

Got to work now, but will post again after my workout tonight.

Thoughts on freedom

I was in the bookstore yesterday, and I saw a book entitled "The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted: And Other Small Acts of Liberation" there. Naturally, it caught my attention. I glanced through the book, a collection of short stories, and the title started me thinking about freedom. I really have no idea what the book is about, or even whether it's good or not (it looks promising), but my thoughts on freedom started from the title.

Is freedom really doing whatever you want? In the arena of food, I have to say that the answer is a resounding NO. As a recovering foodaholic, I can definitely say that the food made me its slave (and still does sometimes). Freedom in this case means freedom from the compulsion to eat when I'm not hungry, freedom from the compulsion to eat way too much chocolate, freedom from desire for food, and freedom to focus on other things. Even right now as I write this, I am wanting to eat chocolate. Lots of it. I feel compelled, but instead I will have a sugar free hot cocoa and curl up with a book. I want to be free from the chains that have bound me for so long, and the act of liberation here is to say NO to the food that enslaves. Food is pleasurable, true, and can be used for good, but it can also be used for evil. The pastor of our church often says that we don't sin - rather, sin does us. There is a lot of truth in that. I have been set free, and I am being set free, and I will be set free, by the grace of God. A long journey, but a rewarding one.

Today's walk

Easy trip around SugarHouse Park. Took a little over 40 minutes, and I was a bit tired during the workout. I probably should have taken a rest day!

Loves elephants

 Yup, this smirk says it succinctly. He loves elephants, and riding the new carousel at the zoo was the most fun he'd had in a long time. Both kids screamed and wailed when it was time to get off!

From our yard

 We got this lovely rosebush last summer, along with a few others. I'm enjoying them SO much this year!

Qs

 These are Calvin's Qs. Actually, they are a B, D, P, and Q, but turned this way, they all look like Qs. He is obsessed with them, carrying them everywhere. He even wants to sleep with them :).

TNT day

Before I get into my recent workouts, a comment: it looks like maybe summer is really here! And it's supposed to get HOT this week. I'm actually looking forward to this, weirdly enough. I guess my weather rant had an effect ;).

Friday: easy 1 hr; did Liberty Park 2x around (plus to and from my house) in 57:14. That was pretty fast for "easy"! I think I'm getting better :).

Today: First TNT (Team in Training) workout. The team was meeting at 7 am at SugarHouse Park to do 3 miles. Well, I had to do 2 hr easy today for my training for Spokane, so I left my house at 6 am and did 1 hour before the team meeting. Then I did 3 miles with the team (sort of... see below) and then I walked back home. Total: 10.5 miles (16.9k) in 1:53:05 for 10:46/mile (6:42/km).

As for the team - well, I kind of wanted to go out w/the runners, but Diane, the walking coach, wanted me to stay with the walkers (all of whom are new to walking/racewalking) to show them a few things. I was OK with this, as long as I got to do the 3 miles at my speed :). So we did a few drills and warmed up and stretched a little, then we set off. I did the 3 miles alone, because by this time I was waaaaaay behind the runners (who had set out while we taught the walkers some things) and of course I was faster than the new walkers. It was a bit of a bummer, because you can't use headphones in TNT workouts, and I really wanted for someone to talk with. Next time, I'm going to just go with the runners. I do want to help the walkers, but I joined TNT to work out WITH others and that's what I'd like to do!

Weather rant

Where the heck is summer? After a long, cold winter I'd like to see some warm temps. I had my swamp cooler fixed but have not even had to turn it on yet. In fact, it's been downright chilly lately. Yesterday I went to a bbq and nearly froze sitting outside on the porch with a fleece jacket on. Saturday there was snow in Park City (OK, it's at 7000 feet vs our 4300 feet, but still!). This morning it was only 41 (5C) for my workout so I wore tights, long sleeves, and gloves.

SUMMER, YOU CAN SHOW UP ANYTIME NOW!

Pound Cake

This, and other delicious foods like it, are a problem for me. I would like to take off at least 5 lbs in the next 2 months. This is a reasonable goal, but I thwart myself at every turn. Last night, Lois' pound cake, of which I consumed FAR TOO MUCH, seemed more important to me than that 5 lbs. This morning when I woke up full of regret, it didn't seem so important anymore. It's hard to stay focused, but I am writing this in the hopes that it will help me to stay motivated. I didn't find it impossibly hard to lose 105 lbs, but this seems monumentally difficult for some reason.

On the bright side, despite the fact that I awoke feeling miserable, depressed, and angry at myself, I went for my walk. I had a hard workout planned (60 min acceleration), and I decided that was in the can. But I started my walk, and though I still didn't feel like doing the workout, I decided to do it anyway. Some part of me will not give up on things, I guess. So, after 10 mins at a heart rate (HR) of 140, I bumped it up to 150 for 10 minutes. Then 155 for 10 minutes. Finally, I did 160 for 30 minutes and then cooled down and stretched. I'm proud that I finished it against the odds. Now if only I could do that with my eating.

Workout total: 6.08 miles (9.78k) in 1:01:28. 10:06 min/mile - not bad!

Monday & Tuesday workouts

Monday - drove to weight training (got up a little late) but warmed up by racewalking for 6-7 minutes, lifted weights, and racewalked in between sets. Good workout, if a little short. My triceps got sore last night after this, and still are touchy today.

Today - decided to use one of Sarah's workouts. Because I don't have a coach, I have to make up my own workouts, and so I like to look at what other people are doing so I can try new things sometimes to keep things fresh. Sarah has a coach and is about the same speed as me (someday we'll race and that will be fun because it will be a close contest!), so her workouts are perfect for me to use. My goal was 4x400 in 2:06 and 4x1000 in 5:40, with 2 min rest. My times were: 2:05, 2:07, 2:07, 2:07 for the 400s and 5:41, 5:43, 5:46, 5:44 for the 1000s. Not bad! I was pretty tired on the 1Ks, but managed to hold it together to make my last one faster than the 3rd one. Also of note this morning - I met Paul Sagers at the track today, after reading about his weight loss in our local paper. It was really neat to meet another "big loser" and chat a little bit. He still has 40 lb to go, he says, but it looks like he's motivated and will get there just fine. Finally, the track was a bit of an obstacle course today, as the school is preparing for graduation ceremonies. On one end there was a large piece of wood across the track, about 3-4 running strides long. I had to cross it each time I went around, so I broke form and ran over it because it didn't seem to be terribly racewalking-friendly. It did make my workout more interesting, though.

The weekend

Awesome.

Friday night I went up to Park City with some girlfriends from church, and we stayed in a condo up there for the weekend. The husbands took the kids, and we did WHATEVER WE WANTED for the duration. It was truly relaxing!!! Watched a movie, played a game, read a book, hung out and talked, took a walk, did some window shopping (OK, so I did spend $2.69 on a microfiber cleaning cloth - last of the big spenders!), watched the Belmont Stakes, went in the hot tub, ate a LOT, and got some racewalking in.

Saturday morning I did 6.7 miles easy in 1:13. It was drizzling slightly and pretty cold (mid-30s), and as I ascended the hills, it started snowing a little bit, but I was warm in my long sleeves, gloves, hat, and tight, so no problem. Sunday morning it was clear and colder, and I did 5.3 miles easy in 56 minutes. The views were beautiful and I didn't take any photos, but trust me, they were great. It was super not having to worry about the kids bugging Loren while I was out walking :).

Threshold workout

I still hate these. Probably always will, but I do feel very virtuous when I finish them!!!

I warmed up by walking over to Liberty Park, which takes about 12.5 minutes when I'm fresh and going downhill (it's a slight downhill all the way there). Then I did 4 x 2k (approx 2k, pretty close anyway) with about 3 min easy walking in between. My times were 11:20 (umm, too fast!), 11:37, 11:37 and 11:36 (yeah! finished strong!). I wasn't too concerned w/the times, but wanted to keep my heart rate at 85% max, which is about 162 for me. I did keep it there, and it was probably 165 on the last 2k. I was really pleased with the times, though, as they were pretty fast 2ks (for me, anyway!). Then I did a cool down, walking home in about 16 min (uphill, and taking it very easy to cool down). Total workout time was 1:25ish and I did 8.05 miles (my calculation from the car) or 8.18 miles (iPod, which is probably not quite right).

My average heart rate, including the easy walking and the warm-up and cool-down, was 150! Yowza! That was a tough workout.

Aggravating

In January, (the 25th, to be precise) we took my son in to get his forehead sutured when he fell at school and needed stitches. We got a statement from Blue Cross telling us how much they paid for the services, but then never got a bill from Intermountain Health Care (IHC), the company that runs the urgent care. I actually did not notice this, because we get lots of medical bills for various things, and it never occurred to me that they had failed to bill me.

Fast forward to today. I got a call from IHC, complaining that I had an outstanding balance of $197. I told them I had never received a bill, and they replied that they had sent me a bill and two letters regarding the balance. I asked them to what address they sent the bills, and it turns out they sent the bills to our old address, where we have not lived for SIX YEARS. Um, hello!???? I asked Loren if they had asked him for his updated info when he took Calvin in, and he can't remember. So, either they got the new info and didn't enter it into the system, or they didn't even bother to take it down. ARRRGH! Fortunately, I was able to simply give the woman my credit card number and pay the bill, and they had not sent it to collections yet, so it won't be a problem. Whew. But it's VERY aggravating, all the same.

Racewalking to save lives

I have signed up to do the Nike Women's Marathon with Team in Training! I'm very excited about this race, because I will be doing it in honor of my dad, who has chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and my son's friend Diego, who has acute lymphocytic leukemia. I thought about doing the Portland Marathon, because they have a racewalking division, but I decided I would rather help raise money for research and patient services for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I can still racewalk in this one, and though I won't get an award for my time like I might in Portland, the rewards for this race are much better for my dad, Diego, and other blood cancer patients.

The race is October 19, 2008, and after my races in Spokane in early August, I'll be ramping up the mileage for the marathon. San Francisco, here I come!!!

Here's my fundraising page, if you would care to donate. Every penny helps in this fight. Please feel free to forward the URL to anyone you know who might want to help.

June rush

June came in with a rush! It's been SO busy. Work was just relentless Mon & Tues - taking lots of pictures on the scope all day each day, with no time for anything else. Wednesday was crazy, too, at home. Grocery store, Costco, vacuuming, 3 piano students. Today and Friday look to be lots more relaxing.

Still have managed to get some workouts in.

Sunday I did 60 min easy recovery. I felt a little sore in my lower back after the race, but it was just achy muscles. My calves were a little tired too, probably from pushing up the hill for the first half.

Monday I biked to weight training and did a hard workout for my upper body. My chest got super sore on Tuesday from this! Still hurt a bit Wednesday too. I did bench press, cable chest press, and push-ups on the Bosu.

Tuesday I did a speed workout at the track. Aside from my warm-up and cool-down, I did 12 laps with fast straights (sprinting; about 25 sec each) and slow curves. I also threw in some drills on a couple of the laps to work on technique. Then I co-taught the racewalking class.

Wednesday I biked to weight training and did a legs workout. It was a toughie and my quads are a bit tired today.

This morning I walked to the track from my house (about 1.5 miles the way I went) and did several fast laps before teaching the racewalking class. I need to do a hard track workout, but it was raining pretty hard this morning and I was not in the mood, so I just did the easy workout and will do the hard one tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be lots better tomorrow :).

Bridal Veil Falls 10K

A bunch of us carpooled to the start in Orem, Utah (about 45 min from my house in Salt Lake). The weather was WINDY but pretty warm (61 degrees). However, before the sun got very high, it was pretty cold due to the wind. We got there pretty early (7:30 am for a 9:00 start) so we stayed in our cars until 8:30 am and enjoyed some good conversation). We got our bibs and warmed up from 8:30-9, and then sauntered to the start line, getting a few photos on the way.

The start was pretty congested, as the race is on a narrow paved trail, but after the initial congestion, it was pretty smooth sailing. I felt like I knew my desired pace pretty well.

The first 3 miles were uphill along a beautiful stream, and I just paced myself by my breathing: hard, but comfortable. The last 3.2 were downhill, which was good, because by then I was getting tired. I'd say that I started feeling tired about mile 4, and by 45 minutes I was uncomfortable. By 55 minutes I was very tired, but was able to keep pace pretty darn well to the finish.

Here are my splits:

Mile 1 10:02
Mile 2 10:03
Mile 3 9:58
Mile 4 9:23
Mile 5 9:11
Mile 6 9:19
Last 0.2 1:39
Total time 59:35

This is only 10 seconds off my PB from last summer in the Deseret News 10K, which is an all-downhill course. I feel like this is a new PB, in a way, since this course was half uphill. I'm VERY pleased with my time! I'm also pleased with my splits; I did slow a bit in mile 6, but not much. I think I need to work a little more on endurance and I'll be fine for the 10Ks I have planned later this summer.

All in all, a great test race and I'm feeling splendid about my performance.

A special note about some of my teammates: Boyd, age 79, finished in about 1:12 - amazing for a guy his age. I am pretty sure he beat me, age graded. Diane, age 69, was racing with 2 broken ribs from the Ogden Half Marathon 2 weeks ago, and she still finished in about 1:18 (? not sure of the time, but this is within a few minutes). Normally she'd finish in about 1:13 or so. She is one gutsy lady!

Here are a bunch more race photos.

Pre-race Friday

Biked to weight training and did some easy lifting; taught a few people some racewalking basics because the total body fitness class had to share our room today, and they wanted to learn some racewalking. I took them outside for a few laps around the Huntsman Center (basketball arena). It was fun!

I'm really getting psyched for tomorrow's race. I have no idea how well I'll do, since it's a hilly course and that will mean slower times. However, it's really a practice race for later this summer. I need to see how I'm doing in terms of my endurance, speed, etc., so I can tailor my workouts to where I feel weak. I want to peak in early August for the USATF Masters' National Championship races.

Anyway, tomorrow will be fun, and there are 7 Wasatch Walkers doing the race! That alone makes it all the more exciting. I'll have to take pictures of everyone at the finish, so I'll bring my camera phone.

Easy 5K

I did an easy 5K at 5:30 am this morning, so I could finish before the racewalking class at 6:15 am. I did a large loop from East High along Guardsman Way and then up to the Huntsman Center at the U, returning via Foothill and Sunnyside. It was gorgeous this morning; about 52 degrees (11C), clear, and beautiful. The clouds were a wonderful shade of pink and it was relaxing and enjoyable. I did the 5K in 32:36.

The racewalking class went great; we did some drills, including some short hill work, and then did a short threshold workout to give the class an idea of what a harder workout is like. They all did really well!

Recipe: Chicken Mole Poblano

This recipe was incredible! It's pretty spicy; so if you want it cooler use less chili powder and less of the chipotle chile. I got it from the Salt Lake Tribune; DeAnn Hilterbrand submitted it for a recipe contest.

Chicken Mole Poblano

1 cup salsa (I used fresh salsa, medium hot)
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (I used PB2, to save calories)
1/4 cup raisins
1 small chipotle chile in adobo sauce (from 7 oz can), seeded (I did not seed it for a little extra heat)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 T semisweet chocolate chips
1 T chili powder or ground ancho chile pepper (I used chile powder)
1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t ground coriander
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
flour tortillas for burritos
avocado (optional, for garnish)
1/2 c crumbled queso fresco cheese or fresh mozzarella
1/2 c reduced fat sour cream

In a blender or food processor, place salsa, peanut butter, raisins, chipotle chile, broth, garlic, chocolate chips, ground chile pepper, pumpkin pie spice, and coriander. Cover; blend until smooth.

In a 12 inch frying pan, place chicken breasts. Add salsa mixture. Heat to boiling over medium heat, turning chicken occasionally to coat with sauce. Reduce heat to low. Cover; simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is 160 degrees. Remove chicken from pan to cutting board; cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices. Return to pan and stir to coat w/sauce.

Heat tortillas as directed on package. To serve, place each tortilla on serving plate; spoon 1/4 of chicken and sauce mixture onto each tortilla. Top w/avocado, cheese, and sour cream. Fold tortillas in half over filling. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

WW points - 5 points for sauce and chicken only, per serving. Add points for tortillas (depends on what kind you buy), cheese, sour cream, and avocado. I personally eschewed the avocado and used the teeniest amount of cheese and some reduced fat sour cream. The tortillas I chose were 2 points each.

workouts

Tuesday: 30 min easy, and 3 x 400m @ 10K pace. I did the 400s a bit fast, which probably defeated the purpose. I did them in 2:16, 2:16, and 2:13. After that, I taught the racewalking clinic, so I got in a lot more walking (not sure how much, but a decent amount, chasing people around the track and helping them w/their technique).

Wednesday: biked to weight training and lifted for 50 minutes; total body workout including abs.

It's nice having an easier week of workouts after the last few weeks when I've pushed really hard. It's good to give my body a break!

Malaria awareness

My friend Sarah posted about malaria about a month ago. According to UNICEF, over 1 million people die each year from malaria; most are children in Africa.

Only $10 can save a life - it will buy a mosquito net for a child. Compassion International distributes mosquito nets and educates people on how to use them.

After reading Sarah's post and an article in Compassion's magazine, I decided I had to donate at least a little bit to help out. I'm writing this so you might consider it too. Money is tight, but $10 to save a life doesn't seem a like a lot.

Wimpy

Yup, I wimped out. I was thinking of maybe doing a harder track workout this morning, but then it was pouring rain when I woke up. So I did 4 miles easy, instead. With the race on Saturday I wanted to take it easy this week anyway, but still, it was lame of me to wimp out.

Still, 4 miles in the rain isn't THAT wimpy, and I did it in about 42 minutes, which is pretty good for an easy day.

Tomorrow morning Diane and I are teaching another session of the racewalking clinic, so I've got to get up pretty early. I'm going to do an easy workout with a few fast 400s (at 10K pace, to prep for the race) before class starts at 6:15 am.

Better today

I felt better today, so I did an easy 4.5 miler with a few fast pickups; total time 49:11 for a 10:53 mile overall, according to my iPod. The dogs didn't like the pickups, and I was practically dragging them. I guess they like my easy pace better :). I am taking it easy this week because I am doing a 10k race on Saturday, and I want to be fresh & ready to go. Plus I've trained very hard for several weeks, so it's time to have an easier week and let my body recover a bit.

Then I have got to start planning my hard training for Spokane in August! I need to clamp down on the diet, too. I did very well yesterday but not so much today at the church picnic. I need to be more careful if I want to get a few lbs off before August.

Kids are napping after enjoying running circles around us in Liberty Park. Beautiful day today - warm (65) and partly cloudy. A little cool when the breeze kicked up, but all in all a perfect day to be outside. We biked to church today and to the picnic and back home, kids in tow in the bike trailer. It's a no driving day at our house! Maybe we can do this every Sunday and be a little more green.

I'm going to rest and read the paper now while I have the chance!

End of the week workouts

Friday: Biked to weight training and did a hard total body workout. Did lots of pushups. My chest is a bit sore today.

Saturday: Woke at 5 am sick to my stomach. I thought I was going to throw up, but the nausea passed. Needless to say, I didn't go work out. I might go for an easy walk later. I feel much better now (1 pm) and was able to eat a small lunch. Actually, I feel surprisingly normal.

With Sir Topham Hatt

 
Michelle LOVED Sir Topham Hatt and would not leave - we had to drag her away so the next kids could get there photo! Poor thing cried a lot, but it was really cute.
LOTS MORE PICTURES HERE if you are interested.

Day Out With Thomas

 
We thoroughly enjoyed our Day Out With Thomas. It was a huge hit, and because I won the tickets ($18 each; 4 tix = $72!) from Utah Mama, it was FREE!

Purple Mountains' Majesty

 
Taken tonight from Baskin Robbins, right across the street from SugarHouse Park. The light was just perfect, and I happened to have my good camera. The mountains were gorgeous with a fresh dusting of snow from the storm that just came through here. Now you see why I like to walk in SugarHouse Park so much!

And yes, I did eat some goodies at BR, but I stayed within my points :). It was a good end to a hard day.

in memory of Samson

Samson, our friend.
7/5/1999-5/22/2008

We had to put Samson to sleep today. The vet took one look at the eye and said the infection was worse, and that the alternatives were: 1) remove the eye, for $550, or 2) put him to sleep. Samson was almost 9 years old, and most rabbits only live to age 10 or so, so the combination of old age, a major surgery, and economics made the decision simpler (though not easy). We will miss him.

Another wet morning

I went to the track at 5:15 am and did 4x2k. It was drizzling and cold and breezy (6C; 43F) and I felt tired when I started. My times were very slow: 12:00, 11:46 (that one was the only fast one - my goal time!), 12:05 (UGH!) and 12:02. I just felt tired and discouraged.

True confession time: I have been eating way too much dessert. I can't seem to stop. I need help! I have not really gained any weight, so that's good, but the problem is that I'm trying to LOSE. I do well all day and then at night I am tired and sabotage my efforts from the day by stuffing my face, even though I'm not hungry; I just enjoy eating junk. AARGH! Fortunately I'm only eating enough junk to maintain my weight, so I guess it could be worse.

This had me in a funk this morning. I feel I need to take off a few lbs for Spokane (yes, I decided to go, and even booked the hotel). I ate junk last night. I was slow this morning, plus it was raining and cold. Not a good morning for me.

After the workout I felt a bit better, and taught the RW clinic for PEAK Academy. It was good - despite the rain, at least 10 ladies showed up to learn to RW. We warmed up, did flexibility drills, and then did a bunch of drills to teach them to roll through their feet from heel to toe and get good toe push-off. Then we did a little RW for a few laps, cooled down, and stretched. Next time we're going to do some more technique stuff followed by speed work to get them really in the groove. They all did pretty well. I was really wet after being outside for 2+ hours in the rain, though, and the hot shower felt amazing.

In kid news, I just made Calvin a chore chart and we're going to start giving him stickers for getting dressed, putting away toys, etc. He's excited about it!

Funny Calvin quote from yesterday: "I'll eat a good dinner if you make me green beans, carrots, and mushrooms. I'll eat a lot. That's a REAL dinner."

Pet news: my rabbit, Samson, has an eye infection. We took him to the vet last week ($169... ouch) and it's still not a lot better. I'm taking him again this morning. He might have to have surgery to remove the eye. How do you decide how much $ to spend on a pet? Especially when it's a rabbit, vs. a dog or a cat? Even more so when groceries and gas are becoming astronomically expensive? Where do you draw the line? I don't know the answer to that, but I am going to have to think fast. I love my bunny, but the sad reality is that he is 9 years old (old for a bunny), and money is limited.

All in all, I'm in a bit of a funk. However, it could be lots worse (this impacted me because I really like his music and he has 3 adopted daughters; plus, I'm afraid of this happening to my kids). I am grateful that everyone is healthy, we are financially solvent, and hey, we are going to ride on Thomas the Tank Engine tonight!

Soaking wet

Biked to weight training this morning. It was only slightly drizzling when I left. Well, it started raining steadily during class, and when I biked home, I got wet. Very very wet. My jacket (waterproof) and gloves (also waterproof) kept hands and torso dry, but my shorts and shoes and socks were totally soaked. I got pretty cold, too, because going home it's downhill all the way, and it was chilly out. Should have worn my pants - my waterproof pants. Oh well. Live & learn. I had a good workout, and I dried off when I got home. No real harm done.

Early, and not-so-early

First, the not-so-early. Yesterday I turned my alarm clock off, or hit the snooze bar, or something. It was 6:14 and I wasn't out of bed for my 6:30 weight training class. I usually bike there, and have to LEAVE my house at 6:10. Oops. I decided to skip and just go for a bike ride, since I'd be super late if I went. I biked from my house up to 800 South, past the zoo, and a good ways up Emigration Canyon (past Ruth's diner, but not to the Sun & Moon Cafe) before I turned around and biked home. It was SO WARM I could have sworn it was a summer morning. Fabulous.

***

This morning I got up MUCH earlier. I had to get my workout in before the racewalking clinic I'm co-teaching (6:30-7:30 am). I got up at 4:17 because Michelle was crying for her binky ("nini NINI NINI!!!!!"), re-binkified her, and then rested for a bit until my alarm went off at 4:40 am. I got up, dressed, and was at the track just before 5 am (it's a 3-5 min drive). I warmed-up, and did:

1600m in 9:25 (goal 9:25)
1200m in 7:01 (goal 7:04)
2x800m in 4:36 each (goal 4:36)
400m in 2:19 (goal 2:18)
400m in 2:16 (goal 2:18)
400m in 2:09 (goal 2:12)

I rested about 1-2 min in between each interval, and that last one I basically just went as fast as my tired-out legs would carry me. 2:09 after that workout was pretty good, I thought.

Then it was off to teach the RW clinic with Diane. We had about 10 ladies show, and we got them started on posture and arm position, and we had a great time. This is going to be a lot of fun. We're teaching it on Tues & Thurs mornings for 3 weeks. The only bad part is going to be getting up early to do my own workouts first. Oh well - it's only for 3 weeks, and hopefully we'll get some new club members and get some people to sign up for Dave McGovern's RW clinic in July.

10-miler

This morning I did an easy 10.4 miles (16.7k) in 1:51 and change (10:40 per mile, or 6:39/km). I was pleased with how fast I was able to go at my "easy" pace - it has improved a LOT (for comparison, my racing pace for the 1/2 marathon in April 2007 was 10:43 per mile!!!). My average heart rate was 135, and I felt pretty good the whole time, except for some intestinal cramps. This always seems to happen to me on longer workouts, and I'm not sure why. I have read that the body diverts more blood flow to the muscles and away from the gut, and that is why some people have gut issues in endurance sports. In any case, it wasn't too awful today, so no biggie, but I am planning on doing a marathon this fall, so I'm a bit concerned about it in general. Any input is welcome :).

A few more notes about the workout: 1) I ran into Tom McClenahan, former co-worker at Salt Lake Theological Seminary, in SugarHouse Park on my first lap, at about 5:55 am. He said that was LATE for him to be there! He walks there every day but I never see him, probably because I never get there much before 6 am. It was great to see him, as he is such an encouraging person. I miss working with him. 2) I did from my house to SugarHouse Park, around the park 3x, and back to my house in 68 minutes or so. When I first started losing weight it took me that long to walk to the park, around only ONCE and back to my house. WOW! How cool is that that I have improved so much in just 3 years? 3) My route continued after a water break at my house over to Liberty Park, around Liberty Park, and back home.

Catch-up

 
Posting catch-up. Got busy again!

This photo was taken on my SugarHouse Park workout this morning. It was SO gorgeous; 52 degrees (~11C) and still. I did an easy 1 hour - 2 loops of the park plus a little extra to and from my house.

***

Friday's workout: biked to weight training and lifted for 50 mins. Felt awesome.

***

Thursday's workout: intervals at the East High track. This track is wonderful - great surface in great condition, and only a 5 min drive from my house. I did 3.2k (8 laps) in 18:36 (goal was 19:00; a bit fast), then 1.6k (4 laps) in 9:24 (goal 9:25), then 2 x 800m (2 laps) in 4:44 and 4:40 (goal 4:42). I felt so much faster and looser than on Tuesday. It was great!

***

Wednesday: same as Friday.

Got to go, piano student here!

better

I've been kinda moody & grumpy; today was better. It started with a beautiful trip around SugarHouse Park - 40 min easy walking; 6k - the sun was just coming up, the Oquirrh mountains were purple, and the Wasatch range was snow-covered and gorgeous.

Work was all right; experiment sort of worked, which is usually about all you can hope for.

Took the kids to Noodles & Company for dinner. The best part of the day was our dinner conversation, in which Loren offered to help out with some simple things like picking up the kids on Mondays, watching them this Friday so I could have a night out w/the girls, etc.

Got home, put the kids to bed, and then we watched Juno, which was a very charming flick.

Wow, how did it get to be 10 pm already? Tomorrow morning I have weight training, and I plan to bike there, so I'd better get some sleep!

not quite

This morning's workout: warm-up, drills, then 4x1600m in 9:25. Not quite. I did 9:27, 9:27, 9:38, 9:37. I just didn't have it in me to go fast enough this morning. I was moody and felt tired after our weekend away. At least I finished. I thought about quitting after the 9:38 but decided that a slow time was no reason to stop; the endurance is part of the training, right?

***

I should have posted this photo from the trip. My friend Sarah rightly pointed out that it's the best of the lot :). Michelle fell asleep in the backpack while we were hiking, and stayed that way even when I took the pack off!

***

Ironic: while sectioning newt limbs today as part of a study we are doing on the involvement of matrix metalloproteinases in limb and spinal cord regeneration, I was listening to a Scientific American podcast that mentioned the new Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine; our lab is currently funded by DARPA and is part of this new venture.

Bryce Canyon - the amphitheater

 
It doesn't get much better than this.
LOTS more pictures here.

At Bryce Canyon NP

 Family picture!

More workout scenery

 

Workout scenery Saturday morning

 Not bad, huh?

I haven't posted since when???

I just realized I have not posted since Wednesday. Yikes. Guess I got busy.

***

Thursday - did a threshold workout; 2x around Liberty Park in 26:40 (a record for me in training, I think!). That is my goal 10K pace for later this summer at the USATF Masters' Championships in Spokane, IF I can go (it's looking good right now, I think!). I felt good but it was really hard and I did wonder if I could really do that for just under 1 hour. Probably - but it would be painful!!! That is 58:54 for the 10K.

Later that day I took the kids to the zoo :). Fun times were had by all.

***

Friday - Easy 1 hr racewalking and then Kindermusik. Then packing for our camping trip! I only forgot a few things - ketchup, mustard & mayo (oops... our burgers were condimentless but at least we had lettuce & tomato!).

We left on our trip at 5:15 pm and got to the campsite just before 10 pm. Michelle WAILED as we set up our tent and I felt really bad for the other campers. Fortunately, she calmed quickly and we slept OK. It was windy, though, so I woke a lot from the tent flapping noise, plus had to get up at 2:30 am to use the bathroom. Woke at 5:30 and went for a 1 hr easy walk in the beautiful scenery (see next posts).

***

Saturday - after the easy walk, breakfast (COLD outside and kinda windy; was OK for the walk but not for sitting around - probably mid-30s). It warmed up quickly, though, and we enjoyed a day at Bryce Canyon National Park.

***

Today - REST day from workouts - just felt I needed to help Loren with the kids this morning. Kept them amused/sleeping until 7:30 am so Loren could sleep. Then we got up, breakfasted, and packed up camp. We went and did a gorgeous hike in Bryce Canyon on our way back home. Got home at 5:00 pm and pretty much unpacked. Tired now.

Recovery day; food & swamp cooler

1 hour easy walk this morning; did about 5.5 miles in 58 minutes or so. It was a totally gorgeous morning & the weather could not have been much nicer for my walk. It was 51F (about 10C) and I watched the sun come up over the mountains in SugarHouse Park. Right after I got home, the clouds rolled in and it's been raining on and off the rest of the day.

***

Bargains galore at the grocery store today. OK, food prices are up, but I still love finding deals. I got boxes of Fiber One bars for $1 each, 14 oz Cheerios for $1, 93% lean ground beef for $2.99/lb, and chicken breasts for $1.69/lb (all at Albertsons). The produce at Albertsons is generally lousy, so after I got that stuff, it was off to Smith's for the rest of my shopping.

***

Good thing I saved some $ at the grocery store, because we had our swamp cooler repaired today. The blower broke last September, and we were about to shut it down for the fall anyway, so we didn't have it fixed. I know we're going to want some cooling come the end of May, so we shelled out $239 for the new motor, pulleys, mounting clips and installation. Well worth it, since the swamp cooler uses lots less electricity than central air. Still, after the $815 for the roof last week, it's all starting to add up.

What if no one were fat?

This article explores some what might happen if we all achieved a healthy weight. It was an interesting read.

6:15 am

In 20 minutes, at 6:15 am, I'll be out the door for my spinning class. I'm not really looking forward to it. I guess it really isn't my thing, but at least I tried it. I have just 2 classes left, this Tuesday & Thursday, and then it's over.

***

Yesterday I did a good racewalking workout: warm-up for 1600m, flexibility drills, then 12x400m in 2:18. Then I did 1600m cool-down and stretched. My actual times varied from 2:14 to 2:19 (only one at 2:19), and it wasn't too hard to do. Next time I'll speed up my goal pace, but I wanted to ease into my faster workouts, since I've been doing mostly slower stuff earlier this year.

4:30 am

I’m up early because Calvin was screaming at 4:30 am “I want a new pull-up!”. He had taken off his pj pants and pull-up and was crying; he said the pull-up was wet, but it wasn’t – it was dry. Then he said he had to go potty. I figured he probably did, and I told him he probably woke up because he had to go potty. He really DID have to go, and I got him settled again. In some sense, I'm happy about this, because it means he woke because he had to go; that's a good sign.

The real downer was that at 5 am Michelle woke up screaming because she got twisted around and her legs were stuck in the bars of her crib, hanging all the way out. Poor thing. I helped her, and then I knew I'd never be able to get back to sleep. I'm going to be really tired today!

Gorgeous spring day

Today was beautiful - 70ish, sunny, and lovely. We turned on the outside water and filled up the water table and let the kids play outside. They got a little sun because I forgot to put sunscreen on them, but they weren't out too long during the middle of the day, so it wasn't too bad. They got more time at the water table after their naps, while Loren and I relaxed and read the paper (me) and did puzzles (him).

***

This morning's workout: nice weather! 42F (6C), sunny, and calm. I did 10 miles in about 1:50, for an 11 minute pace. It was very easy; my average heart rate was only 133. I think maybe I'm getting better at this! I found it a bit hard to push myself this morning, though. Good thing I just had an easy workout scheduled.

Winnings part 2

 Here's the other basket we won.

It's full of stamping stuff & scrapbooking stuff from Stampin' Up.

Winnings

 Tonight we went to a fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (Team in Training) and entered a raffle for scrapbooking supplies & stamping supplies. Guess what? We won BOTH! I was utterly amazed because I usually don't win things, but I did buy a lot of raffle tickets, so I guess the odds were more in my favor than usual.

Saturday workout

Today I was recovering from the hard intervals yesterday. I feel fine, but took it very easy and did 2 loops of SugarHouse Park plus a few extra blocks on the end in just over 1 hour. Probably about 10:45-11:00/mile pace for most of it, and maybe even some 11:15-ish pace. My average heart rate was 135. I think my technique is getting better because my HR is lower at the slower paces than it used to be. Either that, or I'm getting fitter.

***

WW today - weighed in at the exact same weight I was at the end of March and in the middle of April when I went. I have been trying to lose a bit but not very hard. I need to ramp up the efforts; I'd like to be 4 lbs less for the big race in August!

Slide

 
Meanwhile, Michelle tried to walk up the slide!

Proud of his creation

 
Yesterday at Liberty Park, Calvin made this picture! He counted all the numbers (up to 37) on the picture as he did it. He's quite the counter now - he likes to count to 100 and only misses a few numbers (13, 16, and sometimes the 30s!).

Yesterday in Liberty Park

 

What a gorgeous morning, with the new leaves poking out! It was chilly but nice in the sun (44F).

Fast intervals

I did long intervals at race pace this morning on the indoor track (it was cold; just above freezing and I was feeling wimpy!) and it went great. I did 1 mile warm-up and cool-down w/stretching, and 3 x 1 mile at 9:30 for goal pace. My actual pace was 9:17, 9:20, and 9:20 for each mile. Fast, I know, but I felt so good and it was fun, so why not?

***

I took some fun pics of the kids at the park but no time to post them now. We got a Wii (finally able to get one after LOTS of trying!) and Loren wants to play it with me :).

Someone forgot to tell the weather that it's spring...

 
May 1st, and this scene greeted me upon leaving my spinning workout at the U this morning. I think this is the first time since we moved here in 1999 that I've seen snow sticking in May. I have now seen snow in September - May! That only leaves June, July, and August snow-free. I'm not a big fan of the white stuff, but Loren is, so that helps. At least it's not sticking to the road. It's just above freezing (33.3F; 0.7C) so I think we may avoid that. Whew.

***

Spinning today was better. I was more prepared this time: wore the bike shorts instead of the regular shorts, and brought my water bottle. I adjusted the bike better, and was more comfortable. Though the bike shorts make me feel like I'm wearing an enormous maxi-pad, they are really helpful. Oh, and the water - for a 45 min racewalking workout in the early morning, I almost never bring water. I just don't need it. But indoors in the DRY and fairly warm air of the spinning room, I really need it. I also really liked the playlist the instructor chose today. She's going to burn a CD for me, which is awesome.

***

Errands/stuff today - library, get ink cartridges refilled for my printer, clean house, pick up license plates for the new car (if I have time; maybe I'll do this tomorrow? Why couldn't they just mail them to me?!), call a repair person for the swamp cooler. Our blower is out and despite the snow today I know we'll need it by the end of the month.