Manatee Mentors 2015.2 CLOSED (Poptarts? Pet pics?) (Page 30)

Wow.  All we get here are grumpy geese on the flatlands along the Front Range (where Denver is) and the occasional over-protective elk mama up in the mountains.  Or maybe a mountain lion, bear, fox, although those are a little more rare.

Yiiiiikkkkkeeeesss!!!

I am so thankful that I live in an area where we don't have to deal with much of this stuff. Predators, extreme weather...it's all relatively low risk.

One of my favorite shows is Top Gear and I love hearing Jeremy Clarkson say that.

It usually is not a big problem in most climates but in hot, humid races like in Hawaii you are basically taking a shower every mile to try to keep cool.   At the 70.3 there the aid stations are every mile and you are dumping cups of water over your head at every one in addition to stuffing ice where ever you can.  Like I said, without drainage every step was sloshing water back out my shoes.  I also did not stop for anything if you know what I mean.  By the end my feet were a shriveled up mess and I threw my shoes in the garbage.

This course is 10 minutes from my house. And while it seems dangerous, they are pretty much in every pond at every golf course. He seemed a bit large to me, but they don't get big by hanging around people too much.  For gators, that's a no no. If you ever get the chance to do a airboat tour of the Everglades, I highly suggest it.  Up close is an understatement.

I have a photo somewhere of a baby gator I found in the parking lot at the trailhead. I took the pic, then took off. Baby means momma, and no one messes with baby. I have one of TW holding a 3 footer and DD1 riding one in a show at the county fair.

I'm looking at my race schedule and thinking about making some major revisions.  I originally had this:

Mar 14 – Stewart Mt. Trail HM

Mar 28 – Yakima River Canyon Marathon

Apr 4 – Honeywagon HM

May 2 – Haggen to Haggen 5k

May 9 - Lost Lake 25k

Jun 13 – Boise 70.3

These HM's are taking a toll on my ability to stick to my HIM plan which is for my A race in Boise.  I'm thinking of cutting some of these longer races and adding a few 5k's.  I've got the strength and base to add another quality session to my weekly tempo run and I'd sure like to break 20 minutes this year.  I like where I'm at with my run fitness relative to my HIM run goal so feeling like this doesn't detract much if any as long as I keep descent weekly mileage up.

My swim is going great.  I did a comfortably hard 2100 yard effort in the pool recently and was several minutes under my swim goal time so I think I'm happy with my progress there.

I'm getting my trainer sessions in but the long races have hindered my long rides which I think are really going to be the key to my race.  I've been chasing a six year old goal for my HIM (4 attempts) and really want to crush it.

Anyway, I'm just stepping back a bit and reevaluating where I'm at and what I want to focus on going into June.  I thought I could handle all the long races but really after leaving it all out there last weekend I'm pretty fatigued. Thankfully my foot pain is gone.  I do see the 5k's as less risk and they are a lot of fun to me.  Do you think I should do the longer races and try to tone them down, skip them and do the 5k's, or scale back the racing all together (not likely) and focus strictly on the training plan? 

Oh and I ran across this:

http://www.nwrunarcheryclassic.com/

Anybody ever done anything like this.  Looks like fun.  Out there getting my Katniss on.

I hope its mouth was taped shut!!

I was golfing in Eastern Washington and almost stepped on a rattlesnake.  He met my nine iron.

Yeah, gators look scary, but really they aren't a problem.  I second the everglades tour.  If you go in the winter, you can (but I don't recommend) walk right up to them and they will just stay there (usually)!  You also won't be able to swing a stick or 9 iron without hitting one.

Wow, those are a lot of races leading up to your A race!  If it were me, I'd probably drop all but the April HM and May 5k.  And, I'd probably treat the HM as a training run.  Of course, I've only done a few HIM, so you should probably wait for advise from those with more experience 

Dude, didn't you race like 3 HMs in a row?

It's not just the fact that you are racing longer distances. It's the frequency, the intensity and the distance.

I wouldn't run a marathon 2.5 months out from an A race and I would question the purpose of the other races as they relate to my A. Then I would decide.

For me, to run a marathon well I have to dedicate quite a bit of time to the training. Which would leave little room for the S and B. Once I ran the marathon, I would need some time off, followed by some recovery/ramping back up slowly building base with little to no quality. THEN I would start another training block. 2 months between a marathon and a 70.3 seems really, really short.

Is that Chris is the background?

What a roller coaster ride the weather has been the last few weeks.    Weeks of highs below freezing with snow some of the days.   Easily dealt with.  This past week we had ice.  Not so easy to deal with.   We warmed up a few days again to above freezing temps but in the last 48 hours or so we have had torrential rain.   Such that the rivers are at flood stage.   More rain is expected over the next few days.  The soccer field are super saturated and all games are cancelled for the duration.    Next clear day expected is Sunday.   

This means that Huff 'n' Puff is back on the schedule this Saturday.    In the rain.   Not to worry temps are expected to be in the 70's.    Have ran very little except on the soccer fields.       No matter, I plan on having a good time.   Will plan on 10 minute/mile pace.   Hoping for 8 minute/mile pace.    There's a two hour limit.  I know I can make that.       Still can't be sure what kind a day I will be having until I get there.     No matter, seize the day, and all that.

This was on a trail our LBS owner was riding last weekend. Can't believe they're out already! Sad that it means a lot less exploring with the kids.

And Mak and I rescued a Clark's Spiny Lizard on our run today. Poor guy was stuck and easy pickings for the birds.

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Well, the chicks are coming tomorrow.  I have to go setup a tub for them.

We got a long sought after yellow and green puffer fish. We named it HR Pufnstuf.  It is the cutest little thing.

And the dog is off the table for now. 

I saw that this morning on Today!  Isn't that Chris' part of the state?  Maybe it's his pet, or maybe science experiment.

Originally posted by Jet Black I feel like a triathlete this morning. My legs are hurting from a long run and here's my breakfast so I can try and recover prior to a spin at lunch.

MMMMMM, TruMoo!   Happy recovering, and good luck with that lunchtime spin!

My FIL used to belong to that golf club. 

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