Workouts, runs and general bloggings.

It sure has been quiet in the blog-world lately...

On Tuesday I decided to get back into track workouts. Something like Yasso 800. I've always liked 800m the most as a speed work thing. It's not too short that I get disappointed for the absence of fast-twitch muscle yet not too long that I get out of breath pushing the pace and can't wait for it to be over. So the plan was 4 miles warm up, 8x800 with 400 jog in-between and a mile home as a cool down. I was pretty scared in the morning as I was turning to the track - 5 weeks is a long time to not do any kind of fast running. You know how Yasso goes: start with few 800m repeats, build up to 10, time in minutes is your marathon time in hours. I thought of it backwards - my last marathon time was 3:45, so I would have settled for it in intervals. First was 3:38, second the same. Then it went 3:34, 3:30 (3 times in a raw), 3:23, 3:22. Neither one of those felt like I was ready to die (may be the last one, but I honestly thought I am not making 3:30 and that's why I pushed more). Hmm, may be I should train for a marathon if I do this with no accumulating and no proper training...Oleg was really excited about this idea - I remember him thinking marathon should be doen once in a lifetime and that's it, but now that I am running longer and often, he'd be happy if I go back to "normal" distance" :)

Monday morning was a cross-training and some serious lifting for upper body, so was Wed with the difference that I worked legs. After work I ran 12 or a bit more miles home. Have to admit - 2 hrs on the roads is too much for my gentle body. It can't take the pounding anymore! Last couple of miles I was really tight and my hamstrings hurt, so did my feet. Not to mention it was hot-hot-hot! I forgot my visor, the sun was beating down the whole way, the sweat was streaming into my eyes, and they burn. Basically, I was running with my eyes closed on the edge of a narrow 2-lane windy road navigating cars, but they were nice not to kill me:) And 2x16oz water bottles prove more and more to be not enough. But I made it, and didn't take walk breaks. I am trying all that "positive talking" to myself. Hey, at least I got even more tan! How is it that being under the sun is considered to be unhealthy yet the color looks so healthy? I love summer and my dark skin:)

Today is rest day - yay for getting whole 7 hrs of sleep! It actually feels worse, may be because the body didn't get a dose of wake-up excercise in the morning, so I am fighting it as I pretend to work. Nah, I work.

We got a nicest letter from Alex. All that mess with my air-ticket changing so we can attend his scholl in August hit him as a fact that we really do love him if are ready to go through so much trouble and money loss for it (like his $4k monthly tuition is not enough). But his words were so sweet, I thought - it was all for the better that it happened the way it did. It had a purpose...Speaking of my trip to Dallas, thanks to Craig who noticed I reserved a wrong hotel (too far from the main site) - otherwise I'd be so frustrated!

I had a short period of battling my old "need to race" and almost signed up for this Sunday's Sunsweet 50k in OR. But with some help from Caroline gave it more thinking and stopped worrying about it - Forrest park it is. I am also getting pumped for JJ100 yet not sure about AC100. I will make my decision based on how the Waldo goes - if I don't feel I can finish I would consider dissing it. Though I am hopeful, because I want to see those trails, and because the guy who will crew me is great - he is chief crew for Lisa's double-Badwater and is super-nice and super-efficient. Actually, I fondly remember Angie crewing me at Zane Grey this year - I can not believe that she just met me and was doing all this thing first time, yet she was absolutely superb! No-nonsence, fast, enough cheering but not too over-sweet, and completely professional about all the needs. Wow! I think she is natural:) Really, so was Jason (a blogging slacker!) who did a fantastic job at Miwok both years. Hey, I don't think I ever had someone who wasn't great!

As I was visiting Rick and saw his CCC buckle, it reminded me as last night, in a haze of sensitivity, I asked Oleg to keep my buckles through generations if I dare to die first...after my kids, my husband, my health and our photoalbums go my 100M buckles as my prized psessions. And I want more of those:) You know how they say - what would you save from a burning house. that would be the order, and if I need to I could forgo pictures and even documents (including green card).

It is creeping up to be 100F this weekend...other than that, as Jessica says, life is good. No, life is wonderful!