No swimming for me again

I was all ready to go swimming tonight even though it was below 70 degrees. I had called earlier in the evening and they were still open. Of course by the time I drove to the pool, it was dead and there was no luck for me. I now have the # in my phone so that I can call on my way to be sure...So after taking 1:45 to get home from work (traffic was a disaster), I rocked out on my rowing machine. It was a little like spinning with changing tempo with whatever song might come on - no planning necessary! (At least I had six different stations to flip through quickly if I didn't like a song). My favorite part was that a Lincoln Park song came on right at the end which was truly reminiscent of a great spin class!

Girls Weekend

What a fun weekend with the girls - we started with the WYEP Summer Music Festival, continued with a morning run/bike & outdoor yoga in Tunnel Park...
...(Miles did some of his own cross training in the water), enjoyed delicious smoothies & waffles at the McKinneys...
...stuffed our faces with cupcakes...
and then finished with some shopping, the viewing of Sex & the City and cocktails at Kelly's!

XXIX Olympiad Stamps

You may well know that I am excited for the Olympics to begin on 8/8/08! Here are the US postal stamps you can get in anticipation of the Olympics that will soon be upon us. There are lots of trials starting this week - T&F today; swimming on Sunday. Here is the television coverage listing for T&F.

Unsuccessfully outrunning the rain...

Since I can no longer get out of bed before 7:30, I missed the morning storm. However, I got off the bus last night and the sky was gray and the air heavy with the humidity of an impending storm. I waited around for about a half hour hoping that the rain would start and it wouldn't feel so oppressive. No luck for me! During the tempo part in the middle of Frick Park I was afraid that I might be stranded the way the trees started blowing and how very very dark it had gotten by 7:30. There was also no sign of wildlife like there usually was - everything was already under shelter.
I do want bonus points for doing 3 miles at tempo pace - 2 as scheduled and the last mile that happened while the storm slammed the area. I thought about stopping but then I would just be wet and stranded in Regent Square. So I sprinted home as much as I possibly could with the water coming up around my feet as fast as it was coming down. I normally don't mind running in the rain - or even storms- but I had never been so close to the lightning and felt the thunder! Glad I made it back - hope my shoes dry out before Saturday!

P.S. Luna has this new powder for a smoothie treat post exercise. I tried the strawberry bannana flavor - NOT Good! I will try the chocolate, but I assume it will not be much better!

Solitary Swim

After getting stuck in Pirates/Yankees traffic, I finally made it to the pool. I paid my dollar fee all in dimes, much to the amusement of the attendant. I knew Megan would be late if she was able to make it at all so I jumped in (well, slowly and painfully lowered myself in) and got started. There was no one else in the lane with me and I was a little uncreative with my workout. I swam for a 1/2 hour but then was so bored that I just quit. I have since then registered with swimplan.com and have a great workout for next week!

"Crazy" is an understatement...

One of my crazy owners had the bright idea to do a tempo work-out this morning in the middle of a rainstorm. Needless to say, after 4 grueling miles we arrived home soaking wet. Now I have to listen to the owners complain about the 'wet dog' smell. It's not my fault she leashed me up and dragged me out in the rain...

Outrunning the Storm (and a Train)

This weeks marks the official beginning of our training program for the Marine Corps Marathon. We started with our first speed workout yesterday. Lisa and I met downtown and crossed over the Smithfield Bridge so that we could run along the trail in the Southside. Speedwork was 1 minute fast, three minutes recovery x 6. (Easy to start!) There were some ominous clouds blowing in as we ran and we witnessed the Monongahela covered with whitecaps - blowing UPstream! We basically outran the storm and made it back to a covered PPG building where we did our stretching at the end.

(We also saw three trains on our run - the most I think I've seen on that trail...the first train required us to pick up the pace in order to cross the tracks so we didn't have to stand there and wait for it.)

A Run Up Memory Lane

No strolls down memory lane for these gals...we did a traditional eight mile loop that we used to always do in Shadyside. We met at "the corner" and then headed up Beechwood, through Squirrel Hill and back down Wilkins. Notable occurrences from the run - a comment on that blue car with corrugated aluminum on all the windows - "Has that car EVER moved?" (Answer - I don't think since we've all lived in Pgh that it has moved.) Also, we witnessed the aftermath of a hit and run accident on Murray. We are pretty sure no one was injured, but a car sideswiped at least three cars and a bike (chained to a parking meter) and pushed a jeep onto the sidewalk, enough that it broke the store front window it was next to. We witnessed the firetruck coming to the scene a few moments later (unfortunate occurrence, but good distraction for making it up the Murray Avenue hill).

Women's Shoes

Remember how the guy at Athlete's Foot told me that my feet are too wide and I have to wear men's shoes? I guess I never thought it through the whole way, but it is an option to get shoes in a higher width and I guess I just never exercised that option. I continued to suffer through wearing blah-colored men's shoes. I finally had the revelation to just buy women's shoes in the next width up, so I got cute teal-colored shoes and I took them out for their first run this morning!

Cool Evening Run

After spending all day in an over air-conditioned office, I had to fight every inclination to go home and curl up under a big blanket. I was handsomely rewarded when I had one of the best runs I've had in long time. The weather was cool and it looked like it was going to rain the entire time. The cool temperatures were actually a relief and I ran a quick 4 mile loop. I think yoga is already paying off. My stride is noticeably stronger and longer and my core is stable. I finally understand what Amber went through when she would always run ahead of us since "it was too painful to slow down". Now my only hope is that I'll figure out how to pick up my feet! The only not so good parts were the dozens of leash-less dogs who outnumbered their not so aware owners - including two pit bulls who were playing/fighting...

A Misty Morning Run

This morning we had the best guided tour through the Sewickley area! James Hendrickson agreed to join us on our run so that he could show off some of Sewickley's fine routes. We started in the Village and enjoyed ourselves on wide, tree-lined streets with million dollar homes, including Mario Lemieux's (okay, maybe his is a multi-million dollar home). Then we got into the more remote areas and the terrain turned to rolling hills. We had an absolutely gorgeous western Pennsylvania forest to run in and we had a light rain that came at just the right time. The best part was that our last mile or so was all downhill back to our starting point - a reward we had earned with all of our hard work getting up to that point!

(The least idyllic part of our run was the snake roadkill we came across...the thing was massive!)

Just some information

Hi! This isn't really to talk about running...since I've been cramming a lot in my schedule this week with carpooling/CPA exam classes/studying and working, but I am trying to fit it in whenever I can. I work out at a gym in my office building, so it's easy enough to get to. Yesterday I only had 10 minutes before I had to leave for the carpool, so I jumped on the treadmill and ran as fast as I could for 10 minutes. Hey, it was something right? :)

SO, I wanted to clue you girls in on the wedding plans...at least where they are right now. I'm heading to Oregon after work (with Ryan). We were intially going there to celebrate multiple birthdays and Father's Day, but now it has turned into a cram-as-much-into-the-weekend situation to check out wedding locations/info. Poor dad (and mom). I'm meeting with a photographer tomorrow morning - his photos look cool, and he's not too spendy (and we get the digital photo files), so we'll see. Then Sunday in Portland, on our way to the airport, we're checking out a church, reception place, and rehearsal dinner place which is also a place where out of town guests would stay. It will be busy, for sure. We're still thinking early May of 2009, in Portland, but we'll see about that. We'd like to get married sooner, so who knows.

AND - I get to finally try on some dresses in Albany (the bridal shop will be interesting...). I just wanted to keep you girls in the loop. I thought this might be easier than writing multiple e-mails. :) I miss you all and SOOO hope you can all make it to the wedding.

Have a great weekend!!

My Four-Legged Running Partner

Most of you already know, but Amber didn't and I wanted to get a picture up anyhow - Fresca is my new four-legged running partner! The Melders are moving to a house with a smaller yard and also just aren't quite positive that Fresca won't someday maul Koen (highly unlikely, but you're allowed to be overprotective on that front). Anyhow, we are loving having Fresca around. She makes us get outside more and we have been exploring the trails in the woods back behind our house. She does a pretty good job running, especially considering that its about 70 degrees warmer than what her ideal running temperature would be. Huskies won't slow down when they are hurt or tired (kind of like us). It is a survival thing for them (unlike us...for us it is more of a pride thing), so I will need to keep a good eye on her. She especially loves licking the salt off of me when I am done with a run!

I've asked Fresca to be a Crazy Daisy and she agreed, so you can look forward to future posts from her!

Hello from Afghanistan!

We received a response to the package we sent as our service project for Girls on the Run:

Hello Girls on the Run!! It was so kind for your organization to think of us. The cards are great & helped add some color to the walls of our barracks! I hope you all do great on your 5K. I enjoy doing triathlons & miss not being able to do them this summer. I don't think there are any Afghan Triathlons! Lol!

Again, thank you for thinking of us over here. It makes us fell good to know that we are not forgotten.

God bless America!

Trevor

PS - Here's a pic of me with some of the local children we're helping.

Circle Swimming

Lisa and I had our first experience at the Avalon Community Pool. They basically have one lap lane set up which separates the shallow end from the deep end. As we got into the pool there was this hugely cranky woman saying that she was waiting to swim in the lap lane next (there was a very slow guy in there by himself). I asked her if we could circle swim and she said she didn't think this guy knew how to do it and she didn't think that's how they did it here. Lisa and I were beginning to realize that this lady just wanted something to complain about, so the next time the guy came around, we asked if he would share the lane. Of course he was willing, so we all hopped in. Four people in a lane is a little much, but I knew that once we got going, the slow guy would head out. He was really just in there because I think he was bored of playing with his kids. Then we just had cranky lady to deal with. Luckily, Lisa could smoke her, so we (by we, I mean Lisa) showed her what was up and we generally had a good workout. Occassionally, you get kids crossing through the lane to get back and forth between the shallow and deep ends, but the lifeguards were good at blowing the whistle on them and it worked out pretty well. For an outdoor community pool at $1 admission, I think its worth it!

Two little fishies

Megan and I met up at the Avonworth Pool tonight (well I was VERY late but she was very patient). It was $1 since we were there after six and they had one lane reserved for lap swimming. We were very happy with that but were stunned by the woman who had sat there for 10 minutes and was very angry that we just expected to get in the lane before her! She was pretty condescending - especially to the guy who was currently swimming in trunks with no goggles - she just assumed that he was uninformed and quite stupid and wouldn't know how to circle swim...well, it made me feel better that I was able to not only pass her quickly but even lap her - I think she actually helped me stay focused and swim faster. I lost count of my laps quickly since I was busy maneuvering around her and other random kids who got stuck in the lap lane positioned between the main pool and the deep end. We got at least a solid 35 minute swim in - which I'm going to estimate to be between 1000 and 1200 meters. I'm planning on going every Wednesday and I might even go on Mondays if the weather is hot enough...

Top Three Things

The top three things from our run on Saturday amidst the humidity and heat:

1. Seeing the REI building come into view (which meant the end was in sight)
2. Cold smoothies from Caribou Coffee
3. The Greyhound bus station (a bathroom break and water stop...ah, the air conditioning felt great...and despite our sweaty presentation, I don't think we were the smelliest people in the building)

4. (This was not discussed w/ Lisa, so its not official, but I am adding it on...) The fountain at the Southside Works - you may have only seen children playing in it, but Lisa and I stepped in, feeling no shame!

This run brought back many Chicago memories!

Summer is Here!

....with a vengeance. Last week it was in the low 70s with a humidity level in the 20s. All of the sudden it was 90 and HUMID yesterday. My car thermometer said 95 when I left my client and dropped to 89 when I got home at 6:30.
Even so, the sun made it impossible to stay inside (it has been raining for a few days) and I went out for a nice run. I forced myself to do it slowly and I went through the park where there might have been a 5-10 degree temperature drop (I love trees!). Since I did loops through the park I was able to pass a water fountain every fifteen minutes. I was happy that I was out for 55 minutes - no idea of the mileage - I would like to say 5.5 but who knows - it was slow.
Also, part of the purpose of the run was to use my new GPS watch for the first time. Well, I need more practice since I shut it off before the first minute was over! Oops! Maybe I can get it to work on Saturday.
I am PUMPED for Yoga after our runs!


P.S. Very excited that we are motivated to write about our runs again!

It was a sweaty one!

Only a two mile easy run w/ Fresca, but I was drenched in sweat by the end of it! It is hot out there (and this was at 5:45 a.m.)!

Saw an article on the Runner's World website about the upcoming track and field Olympic trials - check it out!