Week 2 So Far

Just a quick update on Week 2 of marathon training. So far so good.

Monday
8.0 miles/1:08:09/8:31 average pace
I did 4 miles alone at an easy pace (9:12 ave) before Zach got off work. Then, he changed and we went back out together for the 4 miles of Tempo Pace. We started off a little slow at 8:22, then dropped our pace each mile with the last mile coming in at 7:17. Average for that 4 miles was 7:50- not bad. It was hard but I did it.

Tuesday: bike
about 45 minutes on the Mtn. bikes just around town (scoping out Zach's bike commute)

Wednesday
11.0 miles/1:43:17/9:23 average pace
Really slow and easy long run solo along the waterfront. I turned on my ipod and just zoned out. I didn't feel like I was going very slow, but I was, especially at first. Whatever though, it felt very easy. I didn't take any breaks and it was done before I knew it.

Oh, I've also been doing some light weight training at home after my runs. I'm shooting for 2-3 times a week and it's going good.

Tonight Zach still has to do his run so I think I'll take my bike out and ride along with him.

So that's it for my boring training update! Have a good day everyone. :)

It rains in Portland?

It was another fun week for these unemployed Portlanders. We ran, we partied, we cycled, and we celebrated... because Zach got a job!! He will be doing some kind of analysis for a utility company. It all sounds very complicated and impressive but YAY! Now it's my turn to re-join the labor force. I hope soon, because it is not going to be as fun exploring Portland alone. Plus, you know, the money thing.

The first week of training was good. My right shin felt a little sore, so I shortened my Friday run a little and iced it a lot. It feels better now. I am not surprised considering I have ramped up my running like tenfold in the past month. I will play it by ear this week and take any extra rest I may need.

Here's the three training runs since my last post, but you can skip to the end because that is where the awesomeness can be found.

Wednesday

9.0 miles/1:21:20/9:02 average pace

Waterfront trail, some with Zach and some solo

Thursday: cross training

bike 19.5 miles in about 1 hour and 1/2. I had not been on my bike since my half ironman! It felt odd. Needless to say, I was slow.

Friday

3.0 miles/27:12/9:04 average pace

Easy solo run

Saturday

13.0 miles/1:55:05/8:51 average pace

Long run at Marine Drive with Zach. This pretty paved pedestrian path parallels the Columbia River. How's that for alliteration! It's positively peaceful. We kept a really consistent pace and the miles flew by.

Cloudy and cool:

Zach consuming a Gu:

TOTAL miles for the week: 33

Saturday night, after a bit of rest, we made our way down to a busy bar to meet up with KK and her gang from Boulder who were in town to kick some serious ass in the triathlon. We had so much fun!! She is amazing. Her sister and their husbands were so nice. It was yet another reminder that triathletes are the coolest and friendliest people around. I feel like I found a real friend in KK and even though it's too bad we live in different states, I hope to meet up again for future races (cough, ironman, cough). Check out her blog for her race report, by the way. Incredible. Stay tuned for pictures.

So, on Sunday we went out and did a little shopping:

After making our purchase, we decided to ride around. We made our way up to Forest Park when the strangest thing occurred... The sky turned very dark and this water just started falling from the sky!! What is this phenomenon, we wondered? Then we realized, this must be the "Rain" so many people had warned us about. Fascinating!!

Hehe. Actually, it was an incredible downpour and it was freaking rad. We were soaked to the bone and tearing through mud puddles and having a blast. The bikes are so tough that I didn't feel scared just because it was wet. We did get pretty cold on our ride back down the hills to our apartment, but a quick dip in the rooftop hot tub fixed that. Life in Portland is GOOD!