5K Fridays

In the month of April (yep - MY month) Pacers Running Store sponsors "5k Fridays" in Crystal City. It's just as it sounds - every Friday night in April there is a 5k to run. To run all 5 its $50, or to one just one its $15/race.

So I am signed up and READY!! I am looking forward to seeing an improvement on my time over the next month (with the exception of my bday, I won't be running that Friday).

If you wanna sign up: go here.

Oh yeah, and my bike shop is raffling off a bike - the more races you run, the more chances you get to win!

Hope to see you out there!!

- apes -

Pix from the Half Marathon!

I know it's been about a week, but the pix from the race are FINALLY up!

Click here for mine and here for Leo's.

Here's a montage of some of me my friend Felipe took:

"Yeah, I'm a rockstar" - really though, I made this pose before I realized how bad my legs hurt.

You gotta have the shot with the banner...DUH!

Finisher's medal...did you get one? Only if you ran (AND FINISHED)!

Checking out my results: 2hrs. 26min. 46sec for my first try!!

A fellow Wildcat runner...we pass each other all the time when we run through Arlington

Don't want to run? Try walking!

So I know many of you are trying to get into shape but aren't fans of running (a lot of people aren't running fans). So instead of running, you can still get into shape by walking!

All you need is yourself (maybe even a friend to keep you company) and some comfortable shoes.

I found 2 6-week walking routines you can use to get yourself in shape without the dreaded RUN.

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1. The Walking Workout
Week 1
Day 1: 15 min. easy walk
Day 2: 15 min. moderately easy walk
Day 3: 20 min. easy walk
Day 4: OFF
Day 5: OFF

Week 2
Day 1: 20 min. easy walk
Day 2: 15 min. moderately easy walk
Day 3: 20 min. easy walk
Day 4: 20 min. moderately easy walk
Day 5: OFF

Week 3
Day 1: 25 min. easy walk
Day 2: OFF
Day 3: 20 min. easy walk
Day 4: Moderately easy walk 4 min., speed walk 1 min.; repeat for 15 min. total
Day 5: OFF

Week 4
Day 1: 30 min. easy walk
Day 2: 25 min. moderately easy walk
Day 3: 25 min. easy walk
Day 4: Moderately easy walk 4 min., speed walk 1 min.; repeat for 20 min. total
Day 5: 25 min. moderately easy walk

Week 5
Day 1: 30 min. easy walk
Day 2: Moderately easy walk 3 min., speed walk 2 min.; repeat for 25 min. total
Day 3: 30 min. easy walk
Day 4: Moderately easy walk 3 min., speed walk 2 min.; repeat for 20 min. total
Day 5: 30 min. moderately easy walk

Week 6
Day 1: 35 min. easy walk
Day 2: Moderately easy walk 3 min., speed walk 2 min.; repeat for 25 min. total
Day 3: 30 min. easy walk
Day 4: Moderately easy walk 2 min., speed walk 3 min.; repeat for 25 min. total
Day 5: 30 min. moderately easy walk

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2. The Walk/Run Workout (Advanced Level)
Week 1
Day 1: 25 min. easy walk
Day 2: Moderately easy walk 4 min., moderate run 1 min.; repeat for 20 min. total
Day 3: 30 min. easy walk
Day 4: 25 min. moderately easy walk
Day 5: OFF

Week 2
Day 1: 30 min. easy walk
Day 2: Moderately easy walk 3 min., moderate run 2 min.; repeat for 25 min. total
Day 3: 30 min. easy walk
Day 4: 25 min. moderately easy walk
Day 5: OFF

Week 3
Day 1: 30 min. easy walk
Day 2: Moderately easy walk 3 min., moderate run 3 min.; repeat for 18-24 min. total
Day 3: Moderately easy walk 2 min., moderately easy run 2 min.; repeat for 24-26 min. total
Day 4: 30 min. easy walk
Day 5: Moderately easy walk 2 min., moderately easy run 2 min.; repeat for 24-26 min. total

Week 4
Day 1: 35 min. easy walk
Day 2: Moderately easy walk 2 min., moderate run 3 min.; repeat for 25 min. total
Day 3: 30 min. moderately easy walk
Day 4: 30 min. easy walk
Day 5: Moderately easy walk 2 min., moderate run 3 min.; repeat for 20 min. total

Week 5
Day 1: 40 min. easy walk
Day 2: Moderately hard run 2 min., easy walk 2 min.; repeat for 28-32 min. total
Day 3: 30 min. moderately easy walk
Day 4: 30 min. easy walk
Day 5: Moderately easy walk 1 min., moderate run 4 min.; repeat for 25 min. total

Week 6
Day 1: 40 min. easy walk
Day 2: Moderately hard run 2 min., easy walk 1 min.; repeat for 24 min. total
Day 3: Moderately easy walk 1 min., moderately easy run 1 min.; repeat for 30 min. total
Day 4: 30 min. easy walk
Day 5: Moderately easy walk 1 min., moderate run 5 min.; repeat for 30 min. total

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So there you go guys, start some exercise (any kind) to get into shape, and the 1st workout you can EASILY do on your lunch break!

- apes -

I'm fat and lazy....you're AWESOME for doing this!

Well, it came and went. IT = the DC national half-marathon. 13.1 miles of running through the city. And.It.Was.AWESOME!!!!

Where to begin?? I guess at the beginning...

So at 5am, my alarm clock went off and I got ready for the big day. Leo and Erica were picking me up around 530am to head to RFK Stadium (race location). Now I am not gonna lie - I honestly can't remember the last time I got up so early...maybe college? Who knows, because it was WAY EARLY!!!

So once they pick me up, we figure out how to get to the city through the blocked roads, and find a spot close to the stadium.

Before the race we gear up, take pix, drop our bags off, etc.
Then we get to the start line, and jump in.

If you read my Friday's post - you know I was pretty much terrified of the race, and that I was going to have to be shuttled to the finish line. So my ONLY goal was to beat the 3hr mark and cross the finish line.

Before we reached the first mile, my right knee started to hurt. GREAT. I continued on thinking I could just ignore it. Later, my left knee started up (since I was favoring my right) and then towards the end, BOTH knees were shot, and I was in so much pain.

Anyways...back to the race.

In the first stretch, we had the capitol building right in front of us. It was cool because it was a long stretch of road in front of the building, but it dipped down a little, then back up and literally you saw NO street. It was nothing but runners, and then the capitol. I got goosebumps and even said aloud "WOW". Hello Patriotism.

So I got to water stop #1 - it was right after mile 1, so I didn't stop for it.

Then I got to the 2nd stop - Powerade. All the powerade was gone, so it was just water. So I took the water there.

3rd stop - GU. THERE WASN'T ANY LEFT! I was worried because I didn't bring any with me during the race and was afraid that if it was already gone at stop 1 I wasn't going to get ANY nourishment (aside from water) during the long race.

Around mile 6 (still running) there was a HUGE hill (Adam's Morgan area) and it was so painful. like HORRIBLY Steep and long. UGH! Even the cops and the people outside their houses were telling us it was almost over. I didn't believe them but once I finally got to the flat road I was THRILLED.

Once I got to Howard University, we turned behind it and it was a beautiful scene, we had the water to the left of us. It was gorgeous...BUT SO BORING! For the previous part of the race we had TONS of supporters lining the route, buildings to look at, DJ's playing music, etc. but here it was just us and the water. Luckily that wasn't a long strip.

Back on the streets again, we were greeted my a ton more supporters with signs and noisemakers, etc. Green Man (from It's Always Sunny) was even there giving out high 5's, and a dancing chicken!

Meanwhile I am still running, and I just keep passing mile markers...once I passed 7 miles I thought "I've never run this far!" Once I passed mile 8 I thought "I've never run THIS far!" once I passed mile 9 I thought "I REALLY MIGHT COMPLETE THIS!" and I started tearing up thinking about how AWESOME this really was.

I still hadn't passed a GU station that actually HAD GU, so my body just plain FELT empty.

Once I got close to mile 11 (WOW, MILE ELEVEN?!?!?) I FINALLY got a GU. At this point it didn't really matter, since I only had a couple miles left, but I took it anyways. And then it happened....I walked. I walked a little between mile 11 and 12 (BUT I LASTED ALL THE WAY TILL MILE ELEVEN!!!). I realized thought (looking at the pace watch Kaela let me borrow) I had an actual chance of getting UNDER 2hrs. and 30min. Once I started running again, my knees started HATING me. They hurt so much with every step I took on the route. But I kept going. I hit the part where the marathoners split from the half-marathoners and thought, I'M ABOUT TO COMPLETE THIS RACE!!! I hit the final turn, and saw the finish....and my legs saw it too. OUT OF NOWHERE they started a full on sprint (the rest of my body was just along for the ride) and I had the HUGEST smile as I felt like I floated across the finish line. I know I had the cheesiest smile on my face, and I saw when I crossed that I made it under the GUNTIME of 2 hrs and 30 min. Which meant my net time was WAY better. I seriously COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. I not only FINISHED (my only goal) I got a time that I didn't even IMAGINE I'd get close too!! My official time was 2hrs, 26min, 46secs. UNREAL! It averaged out to an 11min12sec/mile pace.

Afterwards I met up with Felipe, and I looked around for Leo and Erica but couldn't find them. So I went to the beergarden and grabbed a beer. Then I saw them across the other side of the finish line. Leo said he got really worried because he didn't see my finish and then we saw the sign flash that there were no more half-marathoners. Then he saw someone arrive on a stretcher and he was afraid it was me (I did make sure to have my health card on my just in case). Little did he know I had finished in GREAT time and was drinking a beer and relaxing in the beer garden!

Sidenote: Leo finished at 2hrs and 19min. He also has a GREAT story of the race...but you'd have to ask him about it.

At the end of the race, my knees were shot, my feet were covered in blisters, and I was covered in my own sweat-salt. I was disgusting. But I had NEVER been more proud of myself. It was such an Exhilarating experience. The best part was that the whole time I was running, I never felt like I couldn't do it. I just kept trucking along, jamming out to John Mayer on my Ipod.

Best signs from fans:

"I'm fat, and lazy...you are awesome for doing this"

"Hurry up and finish so you can get back to bed"

"The bars are waiting for you"

"You have great stamina. Call me."
"Why do all the cute ones run away?"

"My wife is too awesome to fail"

There was even a group of people who set up their own water station - their signs read "Beer Gatorade"

There were lots of signs rooting for particular runners, but the ones above had me cracking up and took my mind off the race for a min. A lot of people also had general signs that said "You can do it", etc. and I just imagined they were all for me :)

Leo was worried after the race that I would be in a bad mood and have hated the race, so he was totally surprised when I was super cheery and was like that race was "AWESOME". I haven't had more fun/enjoyed myself more/been prouder of any of my other races as I was with this one.

Who would have thought, that the girl who could BARELY run a mile or 2 this time last year could complete 13.1 miles in less than 2.5 hours. I SURE WOULDN'T HAVE!!!

I would like to say thanks to everyone who has encouraged me and supported me, as I DEF couldn't done it without you guys - when my running gets tough, I think of you guys and it gives me a little boost so I don't dissapoint!

Ok, I think this post is long enough, but I just can't express how awesome this race was....it was just unbelievable. I can't wait until the pix are up (I made sure to run close past the photographers) and as soon as they are, I'll post them here and on my facebook fan page.

- a very proud, and still sore, apes -

P.S. A shout out to my first "random" follower - Susie! She's the fiance of one of my managers at the bike shop and wants to start running, so my manager showed her my blog! She was asking him if he had heard how my half-marathon went, since I hadn't posted yet. Sorry it took so long Susie - but good luck in you're running and thanks for being a reader and follower!!

I SURVIVED THE HALF MARAHON (and kicked it's butt)!!!

Just wanted to send a quick note out...I FINISHED THE HALF MARATHON!!! 13.1 miles in 2 hours 26 minutes and 46 seconds!!!!

My current state of emotion: SPEECHLESS!!! WHAT AN AMAZING FEELING!!!

I'll do a full blog on Monday-ish...but wanted to let my readers/supports know that I SURVIVED!!

Tomorrow it comes....

Let's chat about tomorrow, ok?

What's tomorrow? It's the DC National Marathon (and half marathon). I will be partaking in this idiotic idea and running in the half marathon. That's right...13.1 miles. of PURE RUNNING.

Let's get a few thing straight:

THOUGHT: I want to become a runner.
FACT: Actually, I want to do something to keep my consistently fit. Running just happens to be the cheapest thing, and you can do it ANYWHERE (no gym membership, etc.). All you need is shoes.

THOUGHT: But aren't you planning on an actual marathon in Oct?
FACT: Yes, it is on my if-i-had-one-bucket list. I can say I ran one, and its over. It's not a "hobby" I planned on doing for years and years. See the origin of why I started running.

THOUGHT: I run a lot.
FACT: In real life, I don't run a lot. I maybe get in 1 run a week due to working 2 jobs. That doesn't really work on improving my running.

THOUGHT: I run lots of races, so I am a good runner.
FACT: That DOES NOT make me a good runner. I am slow, and by slow I mean VERY slow. As in I only had 10seconds to spare in my 10K time to qualify for the half marathon. S.L.O.W. Those should be my initials. I guess my dad was right when he used to call me "slow-poke"

THOUGHT: Yeah, but at least you are doing it.
FACT: Yeah, and looking/feeling like an idiot. I would rather save myself the disappointment from a CRAP-TASTIC running time then not run at all. My bad running times make me mad.

THOUGHT: It's not about the time, as long as you finish.
FACT: Nice thought Mr. optimist but ACTUALLY in the race tomorrow, if you don't finish the course in 3 hours they TAKE YOU OFF THE COURSE AND PUT YOU ON A SHUTTLE TO THE FINISH LINE. That means I DON'T FINISH! So I HAVE to worry about my time.

THOUGHT: But your past races got you ready for this one right?
FACT: If by "my last race being a 4 miler, and I had to walk part of it" then yeah, it got me ready to ride the shuttle for half the race.

THOUGHT: But you ran this week right?
FACT: No. I worked 10 hour days until yesterday, at which I was exhausted and didn't feel like giving my legs the option to be tired on Saturday.

So there you go. I am NOT prepared for this half, nor am I looking forward to it. I am NOT confident I will cross the finish line at all. Everyone says "You'll do fine, you've been running" but in actuality they have not seen me run, and therefore do not know how slow I am. My long legs are not helpful to me, as my stride isn't long. I have no endurance for running, and my body is pretty much planning on crashing around mile 6.

Other runners are like, ah you can do it. It's all in your head. IT IS NOT ALL IN YOUR HEAD! It is in your body, and your muscles. Or as Leo likes to say "Ah, you'll probably end up beating me" I am not sure why he says this at EVERY race, as I have never even come close to ALMOST beating him in any race. As a matter of fact, he can go out and get wasted the night before, run hungover, and STILL beat a prepared-for-race-day-apes. So unless he breaks his leg during mile 3 and walks the rest of the 10.1 miles, there isn't a chance that I will beat him.

So those are my thoughts for the race tomorrow. My goal is to finish...as in they don't have to talk me off the course in a shuttle.

Now it's off to meet my boy Kevin for a pasta dinner to carb load then passing out...it's gonna be a long one.

- apes -

Leapin' Leprechauns, it's a Ginger Invasion!

Saturday was the Four Courts 4 miler, and I was running it with Leo, Erica, and Juan's friend Jason (Juan was registered, but wasn't feeling well). The race was in Arlington, and it started at 9am outside of Four Courts bar (hence the name).

9 minutes after the race, "Leap the Leprechaun" started the race and tried to beat as many runners as possible. If you beat him then you got a Guinness/Pacers pint glass, but if he beat you, then Pacers donated a dollar to charity. I didn't care about my time this race, I just really wanted to beat the leprechaun. But he was the 2000 Junior Irish National Champion in the 5,000 meters, so I wasn't sure how well I would do. But I had my goal!

So when I got up, it was POURING rain, but we hadn't heard that it was cancelled, so we headed to the start line. Once there we ran into Mike Fitz and his wife Kate! Mike is the only person I know that has run a marathon (his first one last year was the one I am looking to do this year) and next Saturday he is running the full marathon that Leo and I are running the half of. You could DEF tell this was an Irish kind of race, as I had never seen so many gingers in one place! Real and fake ones were EVERYWHERE!!!

The first 2 miles of the race was downhill, and the 2nd half was uphill. Downhill of course had me starting way too quick and used up a lot of my energy. By the turn (the 2 mile mark) I was exhausted. I saw the leprechaun as I made the turn, and KNEW I didn't have a chance. I would like to note, that he was NOT dressed as a leprechaun, but in an all green running body suit.

Shortly after he beat me my knee started acting up, so instead of continuing to run on it like last time, I decided to just walk instead. I was not happy, but didn't want to injure myself before the half-marathon.

While I was walking though, I took note of this race's interesting people (I was running in my green tuxedo t-shirt). People were shamrocked OUT- wigs in lime green, and bright orange, crazy socks, pipi longstocking style headbands, etc. The CUTEST thing I saw though was on the back of a guy's shirt said "I must be Irish because I'm getting lucky after the race", and the girl running beside him had just the word "lucky" on the back of her shirt. I got a kick out of that.

Once I finished (I was so irritated at my "run" that I didn't look at the clock as I passed) I found the rest of the group. Here are the final results from our group:

Jason - 31:23 (pace of 7:51/mile)

Erica - 33:52 (pace of 8:28/mile)

Leo - 35:23 (pace of 8:51/mile)

Apes - 42:08 (pace of 10:32)

As we were discussing the run, I look over and see a fellow longwood kid - Brian Raska! So I went over to say hi, and he said he was waiting for Ashley, as she was running it also! I was excited to see my pledge sister cross the finish line (and a little happy that I beat SOMEONE I knew). So I chatted with them for a min, then we headed out.

Jason dipped before we got an after race pic (taken by an Irish guy!) as our pre-race pic didn't take because the old woman didn't know how to use a blackberry camera. Oh well. I liked the shirts this race, not as cute as the monkey shirts for the Love the Run 5k from Vday, but still fun shirts!

"Kiss me! I'm a runner"

Next weekend....HALF MARATHON!! It's gonna be a HUGE wake-up call for me, but maybe I'll do a post beforehand about my nervousness about it.

- apes -

2-A-Days!!

Apparently I am now back in high school, and play on the football team. Or at least that's what I felt like yesterday.

I woke up and went for my early morning bike ride before work. Once I got home, I did 2 sets of this workout (using a medicine ball and free weights):

• Clean and Press
• Sit-ups
• Dips
• Russian Twists
• Split Squats / Bicep curls
• Hip Flexors / Glutes
• Leg Raises

That was my first workout of the day.

After work however, was another workout. K's boyfriend plays on a rugby team and currently they are in their "conditioning" phase. He has offered to let me come to any of their workouts that I wanted, so I took him up on it (my foot was FINALLY feeling better).

I grabbed a quick sandwich for dinner, and K, Baby Bizer (her sister), and I met up the fellas at Washington Lee high school. There was a lacrosse game going on and I was surprised at how many non-high schoolers were using the track!

Us ladies did a half a lap to warm up, and then the workout began. Ben put the workout together this time and he had told me ahead of time to "prepare to be crushed". Here's what we did:

• 4 sets of suicides (run to a point 1, then run back to start line. run to point 2 -further than point 1- then run back to start line, etc.) - these weren't normal suicides though. When running back to the start line, you had to run BACKWARDS! Luckily, I didn't fall.
• Run the bleacher stairs - as in run UP the stairs, then back down...the whole length of the bleachers (these weren't bleachers that only seat like 10 people either)
• Run an 800 meter (2 laps around the track)
• Run the bleacher stairs again

Now realistically, it was NOT a super hard workout. However, if you have EVER seen me do anything physical, you know I am not the fastest person. And I mean that in a way of which I am VERY slow. There is nothing about my body that is capable of FAST physical activity (unless you count talking as a physical activity...that I can do very fast!). So needless to say, I stayed at the back of the group the whole time. It didn't really bother men too much since the group was guys that play rugby and the Bizer sisters (who were bred to be soccer players/swimmers/etc). I know I am slow - so joke all you want, BUT even though I am slow, I still finish - and that's all that really matters to me. Plus, I didn't see any of you out there on the track now did I?

The worst part of that whole workout was probably the second (and final) bleacher run. I'll get better though. I figure this is a good workout to incorporate into my race training, so as long as my schedule lets me, I'll prob try to make their rugby workouts once a week.

After the guys part of the workout, us ladies went ahead and did some core exercises. We did a mash of Ab work; Kaela let us through a core circuit she does, Baby Bizer then led us through her core circuit, and we ended with a core circuit I did. My upper abs are a little sore today - WHICH MEANS IT WORKED! So I am pleased at yesterday's workout. I like doing core work with other people, because they can give you new exercises to put in your workout, which will help your body develop your desired muscles even more.

So there we have it...my 1st 2-a-day. Now while I know high school football players have MUCH more intense (and longer) 2-a-days, I still feel like I did a pretty good job at my first one.

This weekend: 4 courts 4 miler....I think I may "shamrock up" my running attire for this one!

- apes -

VOTE FOR REVOLUTION CYCLES!!!

Hey readers - go to this site: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/bestofpoll/nominees/1448/vote

Then enter your email address to vote on Revolution Cycles being the best bike shop in DC.

Don't worry - you won't be lying if you haven't been to the shop yet. It really IS the best one (I may be biased). But vote anyways!!!

Thanks!

- apes -

I RODE CLIPLESS!!!

I did it! I finally did it!

This morning on my bike ride (I leave Spike at the bike shop when I work, and bike home. Then the next morning I bike to get him and then go home and get ready for work) I rode CLIPLESS!!

That's right, I had BOTH feet clipped into my pedals, and rode down Washington Blvd (of all places) for a little bit. Even better? I DIDN'T FALL when I unclipped! I even rode on my drops during it! I am slowly but surely getting better at this whole "biking" thing.

I detoured some and rode in some neighborhoods, I'm gonna try to add some length a little by little to my morning rides.

This was a super quick post, but I was excited to finally ride with both feet clipped in.

- apes -

PS - for those that are into Mountain Biking, you may have heard of Gary Fisher (you know, the guy who pretty much invented mountain bikes?!?!?) Anyways, he is in the area this week for the Bike Summit and led a group from our new Crystal City Hub on a ride on the Mt. Vernon trail - TOTALLY cool if you're into mountain (or any kind of) biking.

PPS - GOOGLE MAPS with an option for BIKING is up and running (in BETA)! Finally a way to figure out how to ride from place to place!!

Cupcake = Badass?

Let's take a minute to talk about Cupcake and why she is "different".

Any bike you see around town (with the exception of a beach cruiser) usually has gears. The gears help you change how much power you pedal with. Analogy time - gears are like the resistance stage on a treadmill/elliptical. When you go downhill on a bike you don't want your pedals going out of control, so you change gears, giving yourself more resistance so your legs move the pedals slower, but the wheels still go the same pace. When you go uphill you don't want it to be impossible to tackle it, so you switch gears and your legs move the pedals faster (with less resistance so you won't burnout) and the wheels go the same pace. That's what gears are for.

Now there's Cupcake. She is a single speed bike, which means she has NO gears (only goes one speed). That means no matter if I am on a flat path, going uphill, or downhill I don't get any assistance from gears. It's all me people! Pedaling my heart out to go uphill (and there are LOTS of hills around me I have learned).

So my friend Stephen comes in the shop yesterday to look at a road bike for a race he is going to do in California later this year. Of course he asks about my bike and here's how the conversation goes...

Stephen: So you ride?

Me: I'm starting too, I just got a bike a little while ago.

Stephen: What kind?

Me: Oh, it's just a single speed that I retro-fitted.

Stephen: You mean, no gears?

Me: Yeah.

Stephen: So you're pretty much a badass.

Me: hmmm...I guess so.

I never really thought of Cupcake being a badass (esp. with the name Cupcake) since she doesn't have any gears. But I guess Stephen is right...since I get no help on hills and whatnot, I have to use MY leg power to handle her. No help from the gears from me. And I always thought those cyclists were crazy riders...now they're just wimpy cyclists with gears (ok, so maybe they are still pretty ridiculous even with gears, but still).

So now her image in my mind has changed a little.

Before she was nice and sweet Cupcake:

"I love all those who share the road!"

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Now she's hardcore Cupcake:

"Get outta my way or Imma cut ya!"

Well, looks like biking might be a little more fun now with her new attitude :)

- apes -

All the cool kids bike to work

I know I haven't kept you guys up to date on my biking adventures...but that's mostly because after my hellish adventure to Annandale, I haven't really done anymore bonding with Cupcake.

BUT I worked at the Bike Shop on Saturday, so I decided it would be the perfect day to bike to work! It's just about a 1.5 mile ride, so it should be easy. The problem in front of me was either to take the back roads (VERY HILLY) or Washington Blvd (a MAJOR road). I decided since it was a weekend there would be less traffic so I would be fine on Washington Blvd (and I was too lazy to try those hills on the back roads).

So I dressed up in my bike gear, and packed my work clothes into my book bag and headed out. There is a bike path from my house to Washington Blvd (so that's convenient) but then it stops right by the route 50 overpass and just turns into sidewalk. While that wouldn't be a problem and I would just hop onto the street to ride - the traffic goes the opposite way that I ride. So NOT a good idea AT ALL. So I stayed on the sidewalk until I got down to an area that I could cross to the other side of Washington Blvd - and then I crossed and went the rest of the way to shop.

On my ride I once again clipped in one foot and debated if I wanted to clip in both - I think pretty soon I'll ride with them both clipped in!!! But while I was on the ride, I DID ride with my hands on the "drops" of my handlebars! Since my handle bars are the kind that curve down and under the flat part, the drops are the part that are curved. So I rode on those, and I looked like a real racer - and it was definitely more comfortable.

As I pulled up to the shop, I really felt like a cyclist: Tiernan and Zeke had ridden their bikes and had gathered with Alex (the uncool kid who drove) outside the shop to chat...so I biked right up to them and we had a small biking group! That was my cool biking moment of the day....then it was time to go inside and change for work.

I also bike home, but nothing more than having one foot clipped in and riding with my drops again happened. Oh, except I fell right outside of my apartment, with an audience. Sweet. At least I gave the couple some entertainment...they tried to help me, but I told them it's ok because I was new at clipless pedals. The woman said she understood, as she was a cyclist as well.

- apes -

We meet again GYM, my old friend

I AM SICK AND TIRED OF MY INJURED FOOT!!! I have had tons of time off from the bike shop to run and train for my half marathon in 2 weeks...but because of my stupid foot injury I haven't been able to.

I decided on Friday to just forget about my foot (prob not a good idea). But instead of running, I decided to do an old gym workout. My friend Brian (now in the coast guard) had sent me some workout plans about a year ago (he was studying to be a trainer or something like that). I called them my "Body by B" workouts and they were great!

Since they worked so well in the past, and I needed to get off my ass and back into some sort of shape, I decided to use them again. So after work on Friday I hit up our free gym at work (knowing no one would want to be in the gym on a Friday evening) to get myself back on track.

So here's what I did....

Warm-up: 10 min on the bike

Cardio: 20 min on the Elliptical
run for 4 minutes at a level 3.
at 4:00 min Sprint for 30 seconds at a level 5.
at 4:30 min Recover for 90 seconds at a level 3.
at 6:00 min Sprint for 30 seconds at a level 6.
at 6:30 min Recover for 90 seconds at a level 3.
at 8:00 min Sprint for 30 seconds at a level 7.
at 8:30 min Recover for 30 seconds at a level 3.
at 9:00 min Sprint for 30 seconds at a level 5.
at 9:30 min Recover for 90 seconds at a level 3.
at 11:00 min Sprint for 30 seconds at a level 6.
at 11:30 min Recover for 90 seconds at a level 3.
at 13:00 min Sprint for 30 seconds at a level 7.
at 13:30 min Recover for 30 seconds at a level 3.
at 14:00 min Sprint for 30 seconds at a level 5.
at 14:30 min Cool down for 3:30 seconds at level 3.
at 18:00 min Cool down for 2 min, at level 1.
at 20:00 min you are done!!!

Weights: 2-3 sets with 12-15 reps each time
1. Clean and Press (I modified mine with free weights)
2. T-pushups
3. Sit-ups
4. Dips
5. Russian Twists
6. Split Squats / Bicep curls (at the top of the squat, do a Bicep Curl)
7. Hip Flexors / Glutes
8. Leg Raises

After that workout, I felt GREAT! My foot didn't bother me during it (thanks to the elliptical) and I was able to get in some cardio and strength training to keep me from being a complete bump on a log before I run that half marathon (yes, that's 13.1 miles - AHH!!!).

So today I will be on the hunt for an ace bandage to for my foot to see if that will help with my running once I get some time to do so this week (back to my busy hours at the bike shop).

I can't wait till the half is over so I can rest more...I'll have PLENTY of time to train for the full marathon.

- apes -

Love the Run You're With 5K

Sunday came. It was time for the 1st "Love the Run You're With" 5k (3.1miles). It was originally scheduled for Valentine's Day - and it was similar to a stoplight party (but racing). When you signed up for the race you signed up as single (stupid cupid), in a relationship, or other (similar to - i have a S.O. but just want to get some action while they aren't here). It was a cute idea for v-day but I noticed there were VERY few of us "stupid cupids" with a green bib. (In the pic below Juan has a white bib because he registered a few days before - but he would have DEF been a red bib-er).

It was Juan's first race EVER! He had to do a race in order to qualify for the half marathon (in 20days!!!) so he was a little nervous. He did great though (beating Leo).

Race time: so once we filled in Juan on what to expect during the race (water station, chipped timing, etc) we got in line and started our run. His goal was to keep up with Leo.

During the race, I began to realize that the further back you are, the weirder the runners get. And since I am slow...I get to see the weirdness.

- A woman was running backwards. BACKWARDS! Like I was staring her dead in the face while I was running FORWARD and she still beat me. Awesome.

- 2 girls were running AND butt-slapping. I don't mean a gentle pat to say "Come on, you can do it - a little bit more". I mean FULL ON ASS-SLAPPING. Girl 1 would wind back and slap Girl 2's bum. Then they would laugh, run to the other side of the "lane" and G2 would slap G1's behind (you like how I am using a different word each time I mention the gluteaus maximas? I wonder how long I can keep this up...).

- TUTU runners. I know many people like to "dress up" for races, and this one was "love themed". They wore pink down vests, silver leggings, and crazy pink tutus. Also beat me.

Now, I couldn't see if any of these people were "stupid cupids" or actually had significant others, but i am pretty sure they were all in relationships. I mean are you going to be that weird when you're single?? I didn't think so.

Once the results were posted here were our times:

Juan 26:22 and placed 324th

Leo 26:22 and placed 373rd

April 30:19 and placed 713th

Yeah - as you can see I am slow. This was I believe my WORST 5k time. I crossed the finish line and was NOT happy. I'd blame it on the race starting off being uphill, but in reality I just need to get back to training. I wish I could figure out where you can sign up to get the "fast running" gene. But until then....

- apes -