Don't Try This at Home :)

Just a little light stretching. :) I consider yoga an integral part of any fitness regimen, although unfortunately I have been a bit of a slacker lately. I have done it on and off since my first year at UVA, 12 years ago...man, I can't believe I'm already that old!!! If you haven't tried it, you should. It makes you feel taller, more toned and just generally happy (at least, that's how it affects me!). I've always been proud that I can bend over and touch my toes easily (thanks to 8 years of dance as a child and ridiculously long arms), but yoga certainly takes stretching to a different level. And stretching is an important part of speed walking. I certainly don't want any injuries, so I make sure I take the time to do so before and after my walk...
Which, by the way, went very well today! It was my first day back after the coughing spell of last week. I only had to do 2 miles, and I walked around 6 PM so it wasn't superhot. Doing yoga was a good way to end the day. OK, I'm off to watch my favorite show, "Miami Ink". I'm looking forward to the day that my doctor gives me the official go-ahead to get my tatoo! Maybe in a year or so--definitely something to look forward to!

Taking a break

And again I have let time get away from me---Laura, Jameson, Guinness and I had a wonderful time in the mountains last weekend--notice the dogs are even carrying their own backpacks! Not that there's anything in there---I learned this trick from Cesar Milan--often times putting a backpack on a dog will give him/her a sense of purpose and he won't pull as much--well, it works a little. I think I forgot to read the more detailed part of his book though where it explains more how to train them. I've discovered that simply outfitting the dogs with a backpack does not mean they will not pull! :) Usually they will carry water or my keys in the bags, but last week they got off easy.
As far as training, I took a break from it this week. Not because I've gotten lazy, but because I developed this annoying cough and decided I should get that resolved before hitting the pavement again. It feels much better now, so tomorrow I will do some mileage. I sold Crest cards again last Saturday and I made $421 in an hour and a half! What a wonderful way to do some fundraising!!
This past weekend we went to the Yankees-Orioles game. Unfortunately we (the Yankees) lost :(, but it was a very exciting rally in the top of the 9th!! I was daydreaming that A-Rod would come up to bat with the bases loaded and hit a Grand Slam--his 500th home run--how cool would that have been?! It was still a lot of fun! Tomorrow I'm back out to train, so I'll let you know how it goes!!

A Word from the Silent Blogger

Just because I haven't been typing doesn't mean I haven't been training! In fact, this morning I walked nine miles---how about YOU? :) I was excited that I could walk that far comfortably. Of course, Burke Lake is a nice, shady trail. Still, I think I can easily tack on another 4 miles come race day! Earlier in the week, I went up to Skyline Drive for a night. My training instructions were to do 30 minutes of cross training...I didn't do any crazy hiking, but there was some uphill rockiness involved in my stroll around the lodge and campsite area of Big Meadows. :) I'll put up some photos later--it was beautiful up there--a good 20 degrees cooler! I saw lots of deer and spotted some baby birds, although Katie drove up today and a black bear walked in front of her car! My dad has a big exam in the fall, so he went up there to study, and we're all taking turns going up to visit. Hopefully I'll get to go back on Sunday with the dogs to take a short hike. Guinness is actually from Page County, which is nearby, so I'm sure he will be excited! Let's see---what else is going on? I'm just training hard and looking forward to the race. More fascinating tales to come!!!!

Some photos from my buddy walk on July 4

I know...it's out of order, but you'll just have to deal with it. :) A "buddy walk" is just when you meet up with other people from your training group to have some support and motivation out on the trails. We were on the Mount Vernon Trail again---I love it! The weather was absolutely gorgeous--nothing at ALL like today! Afterwards, we went to the home of some teammates and enjoyed coffee and pastries--it was a wonderful way to start the day!

Popcorn and M&Ms

Just a note: I'm pretty sure I gained back that pound I lost. I've developed this taste for popcorn and M&Ms mixed together---you should try it, but I'm warning you, don't do it with reduced fat popcorn...not even worth it. That stuff tastes like crap. It's like diet soda...I mean, does anyone really, truly like the taste of it? Just stick with the real stuff and use a little moderation--you'll enjoy each day so much more. But seriously, try the popcorn and M&Ms. It's definitely craveable.

Time to pick up the speed!

Speed training: that was the goal of our Team in Training workout this morning. We met at Marshall High School in Falls Church to do some intervals for speed. Before we began, our coaches gave us a lesson in technique and how to "walk like a racewalker". You would be interested to know that this includes a great deal of hip swinging!! This is where dance lessons and an affinity for Latin music came in handy (not that I'm an expert, but I like to think I can move my hips!!). It was pretty funny to look at our shadows on the track and see a whole line of bum-shakers! I thought this was walking!! Of course, arm-pumping is an important part of the process...I know, it looks silly, but if you do it right, it really keeps you going and apparently when your feet are tired and sore and your hips are "dead" (this is the word she used!), your arms do the walking. No, not literally...but that would be an interesting race to watch!
We did five 1K (2 and 1/2 laps around a track....4 laps=1 mile) intervals with a two minute break between each one. I was pleased with my time (an average of about 8 minutes, 22 seconds)...yah, I know. It doesn't sound that great, but remember I am walking and I'm only getting started!!! After our workout, they told us the story of an alum of the training program (she is now training for a triathlon) who could walk 1 mile in 7 minutes. Yah, that's right, folks, WALK!!!!! Apparently my form is pretty decent, so maybe someday---say in 5 or 10 years---I can do that! OK, probably not. My fastest race when I ran cross country in high school was about 6 minutes, 30 seconds and I was going as fast as I thought possible.
It's fascinating though---racewalking is so different from running. It takes a different technique and I've even heard that it burns more calories than running. I don't know about that, but I think I'll look into it! That would be great for me! Oh yah, I lost one more pound. I'm not trying to lose, it's just happening because we're doing more miles. I guess I never really realized what great exercise walking is!
I met more people today, although we weren't allowed to talk while exercising---you know, the point being to build up speed and all. But afterwards, everyone chatted and it feels like a family. It's quite inspiring to listen to everyone's story and to hear their "race resume". I think I would really like to make speedwalking an important part of my exercise forever...anyone interested in doing some smaller races with me? No fundraising, just local races to get out there and have fun while staying in shape. Let me know!!! :)

HAPPY FOURTH!!!! (my photogenic pups)

HAPPY FOURTH!!!! (outtakes)

My trick--peanut butter on the stick! I don't think it counts as any disrespect to Old Glory. :)

Is This Really July?!

Wow! It felt like fall or spring, not the first day of July! I wonder when the last time was that we welcomed July with a beautiful, even breezy day. Although I mistakenly thought today was a rest day (and you know how I feel about those!), I was happy to get out and walk in such gorgeous weather. My instructions were to walk for an hour and a half. My dad joined me and we walked about six miles on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail (W&OD). Lori, thanks for the recomm - endation--it was a nice walk! The only down side was the lack of shade in the section we walked on--but that was no problem today!! Hmmm...it seems that I'm using an awful lot of exclamation points, but that just means it was a good day! :)
There are lots of bikers on this trail, but they didn't seem quite as aggressive as those on the Mount Vernon Trail. I love to watch the roller bladers--I really wish I could do that because it looks like a blast. Ever since that broken wrist in elementary school following the roller skating accident, I've been a bit skittish of putting wheels on my feet. Maybe I should start out with "Heelies" and work my way up. By the way, have you noticed that wearing them is prohibited in some stores? Who would have ever thought that they would be putting wheels on kids' sneakers? Crazy stuff.
So it was a beautiful day, and I'm ready to rest. I'm looking forward to a nice steak and some red wine...those should definitely be on the list of what to eat when training!!