Back From The Dead

Long time no blog! Things have been a bit busy to say the least. I've gotten in some solid training in the past few of weeks...lots of solid INDOOR training I might add. My bike trainer and I have been very friendly, and my feelings towards the treadmill are actually softening a bit! I'm back to early morning swims with the "grumpy old men" group at Steiner---they are so much fun! Work has been really busy too which is not surprising for this time of year. We always get a large influx of "New Years Resolutes" in January, plus this year with Bally's closing we had a lot of people switch over to our gym. So my schedule has filled out nicely---with little effort on my part which is always nice!

Coaching is keeping me on my toes as well. I do Tues/Thurs am in addition to Wed pm workouts now. Add that to a Monday night pilates class and Tuesday night pottery...and you get a very busy me! This weekend is the first Triathlon Clinic hosted by Utah Masters Swimming. I'm not officially in charge, but since I have experience with putting on this sort of thing I've really been responsible for quite a bit. The focus this time around is open water swimming skills. We've got a GREAT group of volunteers involved and hopefully we'll get a good turnout...I'll post an update after the fact. If anyone reading this is interested, check out the flyer above.

I've also been busy on the weekends with some local "tune-up" events. Albert and I are signed up for the Salt Lake Track Club Winter Series and we did the 5K a few weeks ago (still both recovering from illness so we jogged through it together), but we flaked out on the 10K this past Saturday. We woke up to snow and wimped out, justifying it with the fact that we had a lot of other things we had to do that day and driving in the snow would take too long. Apparently we weren't the only ones who thought this! However, the next day I did get my act together and swim in the QUAC swim meet at the U of U pool...a 50 back, 100 IM and 50 fly. Ugh! Everything except the 50 fly was terrible. There just isn't time to get up to speed in those short events! But it was a fun event and good to get out and show support for the Quackers.

What is coming up next? More solid training, then a 15K next weekend followed by more training before the Moab 1/2 marathon towards the end of March. That should be a fun little trip...I may even bring the mountain bike along!

I Love My Dog!

I'm sure that every dog owner is convinced that their dog is really something special...but how can you look at that picture and NOT admit that my doggie is just so handsome?! The bandana is a recent addition, we found it on the floor of Albert's car a few weeks ago...I think it was a remnant left behind from when his brother Val was visiting before Thanksgiving. I think Sherman really likes wearing it and getting it touch with the rogue side of his nature.

In other news, I missed a bunch of training last week after coming down sick with "post-marathon" illness. Albert started it then was kind enough to share. So we were both pretty much sloths for a few days...I didn't even bother to get out of my pjs all day Saturday! This week is much better and I'm hitting all my workouts. The focus has switched back to multi-sport after doing more running and strength training for the past few months.

Also, if there are any local (as in the state of Utah) triathletes out there reading this who are interested in becoming a better open water swimmer, please join us for the Utah Masters Open Water Swim Clinic on Saturday, Feb. 21st from 9-noon at the American Fork Recreation Center! Swing by www.utahmasters.org for more info and a registration form.

This weekend is the beginning of the Salt Lake City Track Club Winter Running Series...the 5K, my favorite (NOT!!!). Albert and I are both scheduled to run but I think it'll be a real leg and lung burner for both of us considering how much gunk we're both still hacking up. Lovely! Albert designed the t-shirts so we are "honorary entries".

More soon!

PF Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Phoenix Half Marathon

Last weekend Albert and I flew to Phoenix for the PF Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon (he did the full, I did the half). It was a great time to leave Salt Lake because the first bad inversion of the winter had set in so we had a welcome escape from the nasty air for a couple of days. The Arizona sky seemed to blue and sunny in comparison---and it was WARM! The high was 77 degrees on race day, a little too warm in fact. Luckily neither Albert nor I were out there long enough to really get toasted in the (relative) heat. The run was a success for both of us: Albert PR'd with a 2:41:21 in the marathon, while I finished with a respectable 1:32:53. It was a solid training day, good enough for 50th overall female (out of 14,000 and some) and 8th in my age group. I took it out at sub-1:30 pace and held it for the first 10K (it just felt so good!) but then realized that holding that pace for another 7 miles was going to be a little more than I can handle at this point. I'm sure that if I had taken it out more conservatively I could have been closer to even splitting...but it's a good place to start with some valuable lessons learned.

Pictures to come if I can figure out how to upload them!

Escaping the Inversion

Albert and I are headed off the Phoenix tomorrow morning for the Rock 'n Roll Marathon (I'm only dong the half). It's a good weekend to go because the first real inversion of the winter has started settling over the valley the last couple of days and it's only supposed to get worse this weekend. Lucky timing! It's not very nice when you can see the air you're breathing. The winter inversions are really the only unpleasant part of living in Salt Lake---otherwise it's a pretty spectacular place to live.

Phoenix has just recently opened a light-rail system so we should be able to get around very easily this weekend. I'll have a full race report as well as a report on the light rail when I get back to Salt Lake!

Snow Globe!

Today it looked like a snow globe outside the windows all day long! I don't think it let up at all until the evening. It made the pm commute a nightmare because all the roads turned to sheer ice (thank goodness I rely on my own two legs to get me to and from work!). We officially met the across-the-street neighbor today because he accidentally slid into Albert's car and put a big dent in the door. Not the best circumstances to meet someone, but he was a good sport and rang our doorbell to confess and give us his insurance info. I did my intervals inside today---not my favorite way to do speed work but it was effective and saved me from any mishaps on the ice.

Sherman Meets His Nemesis

Today we took Sherman for a quick walk through Miller Park, a relatively secret little ravine where the Red Butte stream slices through one of the more upscale older neighborhoods in Salt Lake. We take him there sometimes when we're a little pressed for time because it's close and you get a lot of bang for your buck. This was the first time I've brought my camera along and I'm really glad I did because it was a gorgeous (albeit freezing!) day, and we also witnessed a priceless moment when Sherman met his nemesis in the form of a 3-pound toy of a dog in a little fur-lined pink sweater! Sherman: meet Daisy.

Happy New Year!