I'm Trippin'

I've finally felt some redemption during my morning run. I skipped Wednesdays speed work. I just couldn't bear to push my sore legs that hard. Urs and I spent the day moving large rocks around the campground, and after placing a rock, I would race her back to the field where we were picking up the rocks. I won every race, but keep in mind, she was driving the tractor which has the gearing of a tortoise. As I ran back each time, I couldn't help but feel how heavy and slow my legs felt. I'm thinking that maybe I need an extra day of recovery after my Sunday long runs?

Thursday morning I chose to run my scheduled 3 miler verses making up the speed work out. My goal is usually just to maintain a steady, easy pace, but having missed the speedwork, I decided to try to pick it up a little bit. I was hoping to run 9 minute miles and was somewhat disappointed to see that I averaged 9:28. I felt better when I remembered that running on a trail with it's ups and downs is always going to be slower than on asphalt. I also felt good to see that on my previous runs on this trail I usually average a 10:30 pace, so I guess that's a decent improvement.

Tomorrow morning, I plan on doing my 8 mile long run before we leave on vacation. I'll get that run in the bank, and I should be fine doing shorter runs until I get back home.

Barb's Travel Blog

I thought I'd leave you all with a few pictures of where we are going on our trip. These photos are from our trip last year. We always go to the same places every year in September because we love them so much!

This first photo is of Mount Rainier. It is a Big, Beautiful mountain, and can be seen for hundreds of miles. Mount Rainier has twenty-five glaciers and is a prerequisite climb for Americans preparing for Mount Everest.


Ignore the ugly mug and check out what is in the background. Is that Freakin' Amazing or What??? You are looking at Mount St. Helens, our resident active volcano. It erupted back in 1980 which blew off the top third of the mountain. There was so much volcanic ash, the resulting ash cloud more than circled the earth before dissipating. This photo was taken at the visitors center just a few miles from the volcano's rim. Even with the passage of 26 years, the devastation in the area surrounding the mountain is just amazing!

These next three photos (taken by someone else) are of our destination. Olympic National Park is an incredibly diverse place, and has a little something for everyone. The park divides neatly into three major areas... the glaciered mountains and high country of the interior; the lush rain forest of the west-facing valleys; and the rugged wilderness coastline. The first photo is taken from the Hurricane Ridge Visitor's Center. The Western side of the park catches up to 150 inches of rain annually (that's over 12 feet of wet!) which has created a very rare and the largest temperate rain forest in the world. It is a wet and wild forest with huge 500-year-old trees! Olympic National Park is recognized internationally as a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site because of the rain forest.

My favorite place in the park is the 57 mile long expanse of coastline. The Olympic Coastal Strip holds some of the most rugged and picturesque coastline anywhere. It's also the longest wilderness coastline in the United States, accessed by roads at only a few points. We will be spending the majority of our trip at a campground that sits right on a bluff overlooking the blue Pacific. If we are lucky and quick,we will be rewarded with a campsite right on the edge of the bluff, affording us a 180 degree ocean view.
Another great advantage to this part of the state is the numerous rivers which are just starting to fill up with Salmon and Steelhead going upstream to spawn. I fish... this year I hope to catch! These fish range from 10# on the small size up to probably 25# on the big size. They can be very elusive and difficult to catch, but I just keep trying!

So that's it, folks! I'm sure I'll have lots of photo's to post when I get back, and probably a "fish that got away" story to share. Hope everyone has a great couple of weeks!

This Is Easy?

Yesterday was suppose to be an easy 4 mile run. For some reason, my runs seem to be getting more difficult. I chose to run on the trail out in back of the property, where I do the majority of my short runs. The trail has little ups and downs that tests and strains the muscles of my legs, sometimes more than I would like. I read about my fellow bloggers who go out "for a quick, enjoyable 10 mile run". It's been a while since I've been able to relax and enjoyed a run. My legs feel heavy and tired, but I'm refusing to give in. If I start the run, I'm going to finish it... one way or another.

The one distraction yesterday was following the baby hands imprinted into the heavy, dry dust of the single track. Perfect impressions... the smallest being no more than an inch and a half high. They continued down my trail, or I down it's trail, for at least a half mile. So small and delicate, they reminded me of a human infant. But these were the tracks of a racoon. This was the first evidence of racoon I've seen since buying the place 4 years ago. They were down by a dairy farm, so I assume they are getting enough to eat without ransacking the campground. For this I am thankful. These creatures seem to cause major havoc where ever they go.

On a somewhat different note... Urs and I have been asked to be Pillow Testers for a large bedding company. I don't know if we were selected because someone feels we need more beauty sleep, because we've made several purchases from the company, or maybe because we have a family member that works for the company and they need people to try out new stuff. Ya, I think that's probably it.

We've been told that we will get all kinds of stuff to try out. We're excited to see what the UPS guy will be bringing us. (Although, all this would have been even better had it happened Before we bought two down comforters, six feather pillows and a feather bed.) Who knows... maybe that is why our opinion is valued... because of our experience with their products!

One of the products I hope we get is the pillow case that is suppose to reduce fine lines and wrinkles on the face. Oh yes! Send me the Extra Strength version, please! Maybe they'll come up with a whole body bag that I can crawl into that will reposition and reshape all my parts to how they looked 20 years ago? I know... we can't expect miracles!

So anyway, we have yet to receive our first box of test goodies. Looking forward to it! Will keep everyone informed as to what we are "testing" at the moment.

We are leaving for Olympic National Park in three days. Will probably be gone 10 days or so. Will try to post again before we leave. If not, you'll understand why my site is more quiet than usual. I'll bring back lots of pictures of one of my most favorite of places!

Sunday Long Run

Today was my long run day. Not too far compared to what some of you do, but my 7 miles was the longest non-race run I've done to date.

I chose to run on the Columbia Plateau Trail, a paved rail trail, because it allowed me to do two out and back runs from the trail head. I timed it so I returned to the trail head at about mile 4.5 to use the restroom and fill my water bottle. The other benefit to this trail is that about half of it is shady.

The best part of the run was helping a turtle get back to where he belonged. I'm actually pretty sure the turtle knew exactly where he was going, heading down the dry, rocky ditch and away from the cool stream that follows the trail. But, I thought he'd be happier back in the water, so I took a second to put Mr. Turtle back over on the wet side of the trail. Off he went on his turtle way.

All in all, the run today wasn't too difficult. My legs felt very tired and heavy, which is probably a result of missing several running days, but I just pushed through it.

Yesterdays 3.5 mile run was a real killer. I almost quit at mile two, but refused to give in. Lower abdominal cramping forced me to walk several times, but I'd feel better after a little bit and continue on.

I'll blame my competitive nature for the sore knee that I'm nursing at the moment. The other day, I took the Jeep in to get an oil change, took my bike and rode it home after dropping the car off. Aside from some leisurely spins on my mountain bike, I haven't ridden since my last triathlon. Upon leaving the mechanics parking lot, I meet up with a guy on a mountain bike heading the same direction I was. He was on the sidewalk and I was riding in the bike lane.

He was about 50 feet in front of me, and of course, my immediate goal was to catch up with him. I started spinning, but didn't seem to be making any headway on him. Crap! My carbon fiber steed and I should be blowing by this guy and his knobby tires! Ok... lets put a little more effort into it... all while maintaining the upright posture of someone who's pretending not to be trying. La de da, de da... here I am.. out for a Sunday ride... oh good, I passed that sucker! Well, he didn't much like that, and stood up and sprinted out ahead of me and turned at the next corner and went on his way.

When I got home, I realized that the muscle (?) on the inside of my knee was quite sore. Fortunately, it doesn't hurt to walk or run... just to stand from a sitting position or visa versa. So... I'm trying not to stress it. Today's run didn't make it any worse, so I'm pretty happy about that.

Tomorrow is Strength and Stretching day, followed by 4 miles on Tuesday and speedwork on Wednesday.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Birthdays, Waterfalls and Lava Lamps

Well, what do you know? It's my Birthday! The big 42! Oh Gads! I feel absolutely ancient! I actually thought I was going to be 43, so I've gotten a year for free. What more could a person want?

I just returned from a short trip to The Middle Of No Where, Wa., aka, Soap Lake, Wa. Soap Lake is so named because of the soapy feel that is left on your skin from the lake water. On windy days, a pretty sizable head of sudsy foam forms on the lake as though some prankster had added detergent to the local fountain. The reason for such is the high concentration of minerals, primarily sodium, bicarbonate, sulfate, carbonate, chloride and potassium, which make the water "soft" rather than the calcium salts which make normal water "hard".

Among area Indian tribes, the waters of Soap Lake have long been known to be "healing waters" and a "fountain of youth". Urs and I had intended to partake in the benefits of the lake, and while the somewhat stinky odor didn't sway our decision, having to wade through the thick mud just to get to the water, did. We chose to partake in the resort pool instead.

An interesting side note... most of the older homes in the town of Soap Lake have plumbing for both regular drinking water and lake water for medicinal bathing.

While the temperatures were in the mid 90's, the park was very cool and shady. We had an unobstructed view of the lake from our site.

What many people don't know about Washington State is that prior to the Ice Age, approx. 12-17 million years ago, the eastern half of the state was constantly being covered up with lava that erupted out of cracks in the earth's crust. It is thought that up to 300 layers of lava covered the area. The lava cooled into basalt rock. Here is a photo of Columnar Basalt. It's very cool looking stuff. The rock columns are used quite a bit in architectural features in this area.
Next came the Ice Age in which glacial ice moved south into what is now the United States. The ice formed a huge dam in the area of Northern Idaho and Montana which blocked the rivers and created a huge three thousand square mile lake. At some point, the ice dam gave way, releasing a huge fury of water which rushed at 60mph across Eastern Washington, down the Columbia River Gorge, into the Willamette Valley around Portland, Or, and finally, out into the Pacific Ocean. The force was so great, it created a channel in the sea bed which is still evident today. This event, of varying degrees, is thought to have taken place several times.

As the massive wall of water rushed across the state, it broke apart the cracked and fragile basalt rock, creating massive valleys known as Coulees. Grand Coulee Dam, about 50 miles north of where we were, was built across one of these huge Ice Age valleys.
Some areas, such as where I live, were blessed with the deposit of rich soil for farming. Other areas, such as Soap Lake and most of Central Washington, was pretty much scrubbed clean by the flood waters and all that remains is desert dotted by lakes and resevorours, popular with families and sportsmen.

What is also here is Dry Falls State Park. As the name suggests, Dry Falls no longer carries water, but is the remnant of what was once the largest waterfall known to have existed on earth. Viewing the 3.5 miles of sheer cliffs that drop 400 feet, it is easy to imagine the roar of water pouring over them. (Niagara Falls by comparison, is one mile wide with a drop of 165 feet).This view shows about a third of the falls.

Ok... I know, this is all so very exciting... but wait! Here's the best part! What does a small town like Soap Lake do to bring prosperity and fame to the town? Lets review... the "downtown" is about 4 blocks long, it sits in the middle of miles of tumble weeds and basalt rock, and is on a lake that has no fish, is surrounded by mud and makes your skin feel slimy if you get into it.


Hmmmm.... what to do??? How about putting a 60' Lava Lamp in the center of downtown? Seems someone heard that the Target Corporation had a huge lava lamp attached to a building at Times Square in New York City. After Target Corp. was finished with their lava lamp, they went looking for a new home for it, and the town of Soap Lake was the happy recipient.

So here is their vision... build it and they will come. In fact, they hope people will come from all over the world to see their lava lamp. Unfortunately, while ground has been broken, the lamp won't be installed until sometime next year.

Guess I'll just have to go back! I've seen the World's Largest Frying Pan, but I think this will top even that! Remember, you heard it here first!

First Speedwork

So... I've got my first speedwork training session under my belt. I was somewhat apprehensive, as I knew it probably wasn't going to rank high under pleasurable running experiences. In the end, it didn't kill me, and I 'm sure it will make me stronger.

It seems that triathlon is the perfect sport for us overly analytical Virgos. While I may not look forward to the painful effort required for speedwork, I am highly motivated by this new opportunity for athletic improvement. And... what gets me excited beyond belief (keep in mind, I don't get out much) is ALL the numbers I get to analyze after a speedwork session!

On any average running day, I would have one distance and one pace to insert into my training log. But today! Oh Yes, today I have an overall distance, and SIX individual runs and paces to notate!

My workout pales in comparison to some of the suffer-fests that you all subject yourselves to on a weekly basis, but it was my first, so give me a break!

After a 1.25 mile warm up, my workout consisted of 6x400m sprints separated by 400m cool down runs. Because of the short distance, I assume these type of runs are recorded by time and not by pace, but given that I was using the Garmin, I recorded everything as pace per mile.

My 6 runs ended up as: 9:33, 7:00, 7:03, 7:17, 7:05 and 7:29 pace per mile. Total distance including warm up and cool down was 4.5 miles.

I was actually surprised to see how slow I was on my first 400, but pleased to see that the following 5 were fairly consistent. I think I had to get a feel for how hard I could push myself and remain consistent throughout the distance. While the runs were difficult, I didn't go all out. I also didn't feel like I was moving very fast, although I felt that possibly, if I ran any harder, I might not finish the 400 strong. So for now, I'll just go by feel and be happy that I'm still out there trying to get better.

With my trail runs building strong legs and the speedwork teaching me leg turn-over and taxing my cardiovascular system, I should be making improvements in several ways. Next week I'm scheduled for a tempo run, then speedwork again the week after.

Tomorrow I'm scheduled for strength training and a 3 mile run. 3 miles??? Is that all? Friday is another easy run, Saturday rest and Sunday either a 5k simulation race or 6 mile easy.

Sunday we are leaving for another short excursion... Soap Lake. Hmmm. It's suppose to have healing powers. Sounds like we will be very clean after swimming in it! Well, if not, it looks cool, shady and will be a new place to run. Will post pictures when we get back.

Everyone, enjoy your weekend!!!

Is slpeling ipmorantt?

This is just one of those stupid, little fun things that people pass around via email. I thought it was interesting how the mind works. Don't think... just read along as fast as you normally do. Believe it or not you can read it.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg.The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid .Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer inwaht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.Amzanig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!

Shifting Gears

While this is barely half way through the triathlon season for some, mine is over. I completed 5 races all within a lightening fast 9 week season.

The main advantage to this season was that it allowed me to get quite a bit of racing experience under my belt in a short amount of time. When I made gains, such as in my open water swimming, I was able to immediately put it back to use and hopefully ingrain it in my brain and motor functions. I was also able to enter each race confident in my abilities, as I had usually just raced a few weeks prior.

While this whirl wind tour of Northwest triathlons had some advantages, it definitely had some disadvantages. After my first race, I felt like I never got back into the groove of training. I'd take some days off to recover, and then I'd take some days off prior to a race to taper... and I just never made very good use of the few days left in between.

Being a Virgo, I am a lineal thinker... a list maker... a list follower. When I have a plan, I am very good at following it. My weakness is in my flexibility, which is almost a prerequisite in this crazy sport that requires three separate disciplines. Missed workouts, due to whatever the current excuse was (the heat, family issues, work) were never able to be made up because of the short amount of training days I had between recovery periods and taper periods. I found it difficult to really focus my energy on all three sports. Often, when I did have time to train, I wasn't sure how I should use that time, and probably ended up not making the most of it.

As with my swimming, lessons have been learned that hopefully I will carry over to next season. My ultimate goal is to do a half ironman, and if I make the decision to do that, I can't let anything get in the way of my training. I'll need the support of my family, and especially Urs, since every moment I'm training requires her to work replacing me at the RV Park. I also can't feel guilty about taking time for me and for training. And, I promise, I'll try to be at least a little flexible.

But, I have all winter to figure out what I want to do next year. Now it's time to switch gears.

My next race is the Spokane Half Marathon on October 15. I started my training last week. I almost feel like a weight is off my shoulders since all I have to worry about is my running. I'm using an intermediate level 12 week training plan that includes 2-3 easy runs per week, one of which increases by 1/2 mile per week. It also has one day of tempo runs and speed work, which start this Wednesday with 6x400 and builds up over the course of the plan to 10x400. I know it's probably a lot harder than it sounds. I may end up dreading Wednesdays. Sunday is designated the typical long run day which increases by a mile almost every week.

Not including my last half marathon, my longest runs to date have only been 6 miles. Every week from here on out will be a new personal record long run. Sounds exciting. I'm really looking forward to it!

So... last weeks total was 17 miles. Since I've done nothing but eat, drink and be merry for the last several weeks, I think that's a good place to start.

Moses Lake, Wa.

Well, the trip to Moses Lake wasn't too exciting or eventful. We stayed in an RV Park which is connected to the large, lake front city park via a foot bridge over the bordering interstate highway. I plan on doing a triathlon next season in this park, so I wanted to check out the accommodations and access. It will be perfect. A two minute walk over the foot bridge will get me to the starting line race morning.
This is a photo of part of the run section of the tri. It's nice that it's along the lake, but the interstate is on the other side of the chain link fence. This trail goes for many miles through the town and along the lake. I only rode it for about 4 miles on my mountain bike. Next time we visit, I'll bring the road bike and ride it to it's end.
I did get to go shopping in a new store while I was there. I had seen Tristate Outfitters as a local sponsor of one of the tris that I did this year. I had never been to one and just assumed that it was a triathlon store. Well, we ran across one in Moses Lake, so I stopped to take a look. This is now one of my most favorite stores.

It sells clothing and sporting goods... tents, kayaks, camping goods, boots, water toys... just all kinds of fun stuff. The clothing lines are all of my favorites... Columbia, Patagonia, Fox, Life Is Good, UnderArmor... nice stuff. Best of all, it's all marked down at least 25-50%! There's nothing better than buying stuff on sale! :)
Gasoline prices have really begun to go through the roof here. I took a photo of a gas sign that advertised regular at $3.16. I thought that was bad until I got home to find prices at $3.20 and raising daily! I heard that the Pacific NW gets almost 80% of its fuel from Alaska oil. Ouch! Hope they get that Alaska pipeline up and running soon!

Kiwanis Mini Triathlon

It's interesting how each triathlon can be so different. We can even go out and race on an identical course as a previous race, and the experience can be so very opposite of what we experienced just a few weeks prior.

This tri was held at Medical Lake, my third at this location this season. It was larger than I had expected, with several hundred athletes. I had assumed that it was called a "mini" tri because it was a sprint distance. As I came to discover during the pre-race meeting, it was shorter than your average sprint race also! Thus, the monicker "mini".

The lake was set up with buoys for the Troika Half Ironman, set to take place the next day. Pre-race instructions told us to swim out and around the first buoy and back to the beach. There was quite a bit of conversation and questions among the athletes since the first buoy was barely beyond wading distance from the beach!

The swim was suppose to be 1200ft (400yds), which I actually thought was a typo on the registration form. It wasn't... and I am in agreement with many of the other triathletes that the swim was actually quite a bit shorter than that! I'm guessing maybe 250 yards out AND back total!

Ok, so picture this... Several hundred athletes lined up across the beach... no wave start or anything... just a LOT of people all swimming towards the same point... the turn around buoy! It was total mayhem! Exactly what you would envision when you hear the horror stories about brutally physical swims.

The mass start was pretty typical... but since the buoy was so close to shore, the swimmers never had a chance to spread out. The group just got tighter and tighter as everyone angled in towards the turn around buoy! We were literally swimming on top of each other! I can't even describe how crazy it was! Swimmers shoulder to shoulder like a can of sardines! I even had a chance to talk to the guy next to me, where in I expressed my opinion of the insanity that we were experiencing. On the way out to the buoy, I never put my face in the water, sure I would immediately be kicked in the face. Once I rounded the buoy, I finally found some clean water, and although my heart rate was pretty high from fighting the masses, I was able to have a pretty decent swim back to the beach.

I had a good transition and headed out on the bike.

Within the first few miles, I was passed by a couple of gals that were blazing FAST! I never mind being passed by the guys, but I really try to hold my own with the women. These girls, though, were way out of my league! I was going 19mph... so they must have been going 24 or 25! Major fast! I was very impressed by their athletic ability.

I enjoy the bike portion of the race because I also get to do my share of passing. On this particular day, there was one woman in particular that I had passed, then she passed me back. Pass, pass again and again. We would alert each other with comments such as "me again" or "it's just me"! Finally, we gave up on the passing and rode two abreast talking. Come to find out, she was doing the bike leg of a relay team, so I didn't feel so bad about not being able to drop her.

She asked me if I had done the Valley Girl Triathlon, because she recognized me. Ok... so now I have to admit to you all that I am a recognizable figure in the world of North West Triathlons. Question is, what PART of me did she recognize??? :)

I had a very fast T2. Just by dumb luck, I discovered that I am able to slide my bike shoes off, saving me a ton of time vs bending over and undoing the two velcro straps. I'll have to remember that if I continue to use these shoes next year.

The run was the best and most painful part of the tri. Since it was my last race of the year, I was going to give it my all! I figured since the swim was a bust, and the bike ride was short, the run was the only part of the race that I could really measure my performance. My goal became to PR the 3 mile run.

The run actually went pretty well. There were water stations set up every 3/4 mile, so that was a nice distraction, and an opportunity to dump some water down my back and cool off.

It's amazing how mental the whole physical game is. I kept up lots of self talk, reminding myself that this was my last race of the season... my last chance to see what I could do.

The last mile of the course was pretty shady, so that allowed me to pick it up a notch. (Isn't it amazing how long the last mile of a race can feel?) I was able to pass two women in my age group in the final mile, and that made me feel pretty good. In the last 50 yards, one of them flew past me to the finish line. It happened so fast that I couldn't respond. (Hopefully I've learned a lesson to keep an eye out behind me at the finish line!) Someone on the sideline yelled that there were more coming and I should pick it up, which I did, and sprinted to the end.

Once again, I finished 5th out of 39 in my age group. I'm happy with that.

Final time: 1:04:30 (keep in mind... really short race.)

Swim & T1: 4:13 (told ya it was Really short!!)
Bike/ 10 miles: 34:18 Avg. speed 17.5
T2: :28
Run: 3 miles: 25:29 -- 8:29 pace

My last two triathlons I ran an 8:43 and an 8:47 pace, so I felt like I met my goal of beating my previous times.

In the end, I don't think I will do this race again. I can live with the bike only being 10 miles, because it is a route that takes you around a nearby lake, and it just ends up being a natural 10 miles. I think the short swim and the mass start really ruins what could be a quality race. But, I wanted to do all the local races at least once... so now I know what this one is all about.

One last note... Urs wasn't able to come to the race because the rv park was packed with customers. As it turned out, most people pulled out after I left for my race, so she tried to time it so she could show up and take a photo of me crossing the finish line. She missed me by just a few minutes, but I was very happy to see her there after I had finished! It was a nice surprise!

So now, as the thermometer is about to hit the high 90's again, Urs and I are headed off to the lake for a couple of day. The rv park goes on auto pilot until we get back. See Ya!

It's SO Quiet!

I know... it's been awfully quite around here. To tell the truth, I guess I don't have much to say. I know, that's gotta be a first.

Training has been pretty much non-existent. I ran a couple of times only to cause the recently diminished pain in my ankle and leg to return. I should be biking to compensate for the lack of running, but I haven't. It's amazing how quickly I fell out of the habit of daily workouts.

My last triathlon of the season is this Saturday. I'm actually looking forward to it being over. I'll be able to skip workouts without guilt, and be able to run when I feel like it, without worrying that I'm messing up my taper or injuring myself just before a race.

Urs and I have been walking every morning. (For those of you new to my blog, my partner has Stage 4 cancer and has been quite weak for quite some time.) Now that she is on new medication, her heart and respiratory system seem to be working quite a bit better. She hopes to drop some weight and get a little more fit. Since we've been walking, I've been motivated to run afterwards. Once the tri is over on Saturday, I plan to start doing just that. The walk can be my warm up.

We're going out of town next week to a place called Moses Lake. (Moses Lake & Priest Lake... sounds like we're in the bible belt!) Will post pictures if I shoot anything of interest.

Will post a race report on the Sprint Tri before we leave.