Work your Weakness aka "Hey, Mike, STFU!" Challenge (Page 51)

Just as I was about to say that I miss the heat, we are having a warm front in Mississippi that has us seeing temps in the 60-70 range.  Glad to see that you're having a great time.

I have my 21 mile run this weekend, but Francois is going to be in town and is tagging along for it.  That will definitely make the run more interesting.

Keep on trucking, El Penguino!

We must be getting a similar heat wave in TX -- it was 78 and humid on my run this afternoon.  I loved it....my dogs did not.  Hah, they won't be coming tomorrow for my "long" run.

Matt, were you able to get that FTP test in the other day?

Still focusing on my run weakness -- I've joined ST's 100 runs in 100 days challenge.  I don't have any plans to run 100 runs in 100 days, but I think shooting for somewhere in the 70-80 runs in that time period is a good goal.  I ran six times this past week and my mileage is just about 23 miles over the week.  I plan to stay in this range (up to maybe 25 mpw) for a couple weeks and then start working on my St. George 70.3 build shortly.  Really hoping to actually run the run leg of this HIM!

Also continuing to listen to my body and take time off as needed -- took a couple days off the bike and a day off from swimming....and next week will be minimal on the bike, as I'm traveling.  I'll bring swim gear and swim if I feel like it.  I can already feel the itch to get back to training, so I think this is a great thing for me.

Unfortunately Francois had to cancel, as he had a lot more moving work to do than he thought.  There will be plenty of opportunities with him here though.

I attempted it.  I did better on the 5 min portion of the test (averaged 300 vs. 274), but in the 20 minute I started to fade, so I pulled the plug 13 minutes in.  Between my cold and all the running, I just haven't been able to put in the time to get stronger on the bike.  I'll have to work on it after my marathon.  

Glad to hear things are so fantastic, albeit hot! I'd take that though! Please takes lots of pictures. And drink all of those beers and give us a report. 

Funny you mention your dad's instructor. Something I was going to share about my friend (who is a 2 time trials marathon qualifier) is that she said she got SIGNIFICANTLY faster after she had her children. She ran in HS and college at what she described as a "mediocre" level, continued to train through her pregnancies then boom! Don't worry, I'm not getting any ideas But I thought that was really interesting. 

Something else I have observed is that the faster the people are that I meet, the more humble they seem to be. It's obviously a general statement but certainly the majority of what I have encountered. I think it's kind of like when you are a teenager and think you know EVERYTHING and then you get older and the more you learn, the more you realize you have to learn.

Sounds like a good call, especially if you weren't going to be biking as much in the near future.

I think you should add that under the "sport" category

Yes, New Years Day is coming.  That is when I really refocus on a balanced plan.  I feel like I am going to another level this year.  My run focus has gone so well that it has really motivated me to hit the bike/swim hard this spring.  I have a lot of goals for the next year and it is going to be fun.

New weakness is going to be to stay sober as my son-in-law turned my spare fridge into a kegerator for xmas.  Unlimited draft beer!!!!  The local brew pub has access to over 400 brews through their distributor.  I have the first three kegs selected.  This is going to be the year of work hard and reward often.

I think I finally got this long run phobia of mine behind me.  Had a killer 23 mile run this past weekend: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/421383695

Yeah the causeway makes for a nice scenic run, but it gets windy sometimes.  There are bike lanes on both sides to make it safer to run on.

Cross country skiing sounds fun.

Great work!  I loved the sense of accomplishment after LRs when I trained for a marathon.  Keep it up!

I love, love, LOVE cross country skiing! IMO it's the closest cross training to running. There isn't much snow here right now either which is really sad. I'd actually really like to try biathlon. Last year we spent New Years Eve up at Whistler and went and skied the Olympic Biathlon course. It was very cool. 

Fun! Feelin' ready for the marathon? Yay for taper time!

I started marathon training today. YAY! I feel like I'm home  

Oh man, I did a 10 mile run Sat with some tempo in the middle (shyte, I ran a 5:58 mile in there on total accident) then did a 14 mile long run yesterday. I had sort of forgotten about the glycogen depletion when doing a back to back like that and totally bonked at the 10-mile mark on that "long" run! That NEVER happens to me. I was super shaky and everything. Anyway, I stopped at the grocery store  and got 2 spicy chicken tenders, 1 cheese kaiser roll and 1 King Sized Snickers, ate it all and continued my run. I felt muuuchhhh better after my feast.