March 29, 2010

I was gone, but now I'm back

Sorry I've been MIA for awhile.  Last week was pretty sucky.  Let's just say that stomach bugs, sleep deprivation, and depression from more snow got the best of me.  Needless to say, not many workouts got done.  But, by Friday things started to turn around and I was really looking forward to my long run on Saturday.
My sister-n-law and her husband were coming for a visit Saturday evening (the reason I didn't get my Sunday Sampler post done...sorry!), so I wanted to get my run done early before they got here.  But, when we woke up on Saturday the wind was here with a vengeance!  The high was supposed to be around 45, but it felt like 35 with the wind chill.  That should give you a good idea about how strong the wind gusts were.  I decided to wait until the late afternoon to see if the wind would die down.  But, it never did.  So, I put on my tights, wind jacket, gloves, and bondiband and headed out.  It was cold and I was glad I had my jacket to break the chill from the wind.  

I decided to run on a new trail that started by my house.  I was originally going to do 5.5 miles out and back since my plan called for 11 miles.  But, once I got on the trail and realized where it was headed I figured out I could do a loop back to my house.  The wind was pretty brutal the entire run, but it still felt great to be outside running and working up a sweat after being inactive for a couple of days.  The trail turned out to be awesome and actually linked up to part of the Highline canal trail that I wrote about awhile back.  The only part that kind of sucked was around mile 8 when I had to run uphill for about 1.5 miles.  My legs were tired, but I still felt strong.  It's amazing how my fitness has changed since beginning my 1/2 marathon plan.  It's nice to actually feel the difference in my strength and endurance and realize that my hard work is paying off.  I am so excited for my 1/2 in a couple of weeks! :)


On another note, I had my second swim lesson with my coach on Sunday.  He said my balance is much better in the water and my hips aren't sinking as much as they were.  Woohoo!  One thing he said I needed to work on was my hand entry.  Apparently, I'm entering the water too close to my head.  We did several drills to help with correct entry, but I really have to be conscious of what I'm doing the entire time.  We took a moment to watch a guy swimming that was just amazing.  He made it look so effortless.  I wish I could wave a magic wand and make my swimming effortless too.  But, we all know that isn't going to happen.  So, I'll have to settle with waking up at 4:30 3x a week for the rest of my life!  Ha ha.

Anyways, I'm sorry I didn't get my Sunday Sampler post done.  Like I mentioned above, my family was in town and we were out and about all day Sunday enjoying the beautiful weather.  My blog and posting had to take a back seat to my life and I know you all understand that!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! :)

13 comments:

misszippy said...

Good for you for getting out in the elements. It is hard at this time of year when you are soooo ready for spring! Hopefully that will be the last of your challenging days.

Velma said...

you can't do everything every week. Nice job getting the run done!

Christi said...

Great job on the run! Hey, I just noticed that you are doing the Platte River Half. We should try and meet up.

Aimee said...

Christi- we should definitely try to meet up. Have you done it before? Do you know of a good meeting place? This is my first year doing it so I have no clue what the course/venue is like! Let me know!

Unknown said...

Aimee - if you ever find that magic swimming wand could you tap me on the should with it as well ...haha. I have the same problems with my hand entry being too close to my head. Everytime I get tired I end up falling into the same pattern. Good luck with the new coach will be interested to see how it all works out!

Maggs said...

Changing how you swim is a hard task. It's taken me a year of my coach telling me what I'm doing wrong (and how to do it right) to finally figure out what it feels like to do it right, so I know when I 'forget' and go back to the old way. Keep working at it and it will happen.

Chef Amber Shea said...

I ran a half this past weekend and it was terrible, my worst race ever :[ The freezing rain (and some hail) were bad enough, but my issues with my right knee decided to return with a sudden vengeance, so miles 6-13 were excruciating. Somehow I made it, though. I've never ever had knee problems before this - have you? I think it's just plain old runner's knee. Know any good tricks besides the usual RICE?

Big Daddy Diesel said...

Like the new look

Swimming lessons very well in my opinion is the best money spent on training.

Sunday sampler is forgiven as long as Wednesday (my fav) are still there ;-)

teacherwoman said...

I feel that sometimes when I focus on one thing while swimming, something else suffers. LOL. Not always, but sometimes. It definitely takes time, practice, and attention! Keep up the great work, girl!

Julie said...

Hi Aimee,
Welcome back!! Life is crazy sometimes and we just have to roll with it:) Nice job on your workouts girl!! You have a great week!!

Anonymous said...

lol @ "rest of my life". You'll get there..jsut gotta keep on keepin on!

Jon said...

Welcome back :)

Kathleen said...

Good for you for getting out in that weather!
I am also signed up for the Platte River 13.1
I haven't said anything about it as I don't feel ready for it (I never feel ready for running) and I actually went on the website to see where the aid stations will be incase I need to have someone drive me to the finish(I think I was in a bad place when I did that). Anyway, I will most likely be there and would love to meet both you and Christi. I too am new to this race and have no knowledge of it.