Mer Lessons: More of the same, but different...

I would say this was more of a fun week of workouts than anything else.

On Monday evening, after a nice easy 12 mile ride with Matt in the morning, I got a call from Spin-Steve (or better known as my swim coach) asking me if I might be interested in having him train me – really working on the combination of my swim, bike and run. All three have gotten better this year, but he can tell I am definitely interested in getting even better. That being said – I also have my sights on a 2014 Ironman, so I need to seriously consider whether this is something I can (financially) do. Steve is in incredible shape and has been such an asset to me in the water – I am tempted, but it would mean a lot of changes in my work-out-life should I take him up on it.

The best part of the hearing from Steve was the reason he asked me. He told me that I listen and apply what I am taught – showing marked improvement with each lesson. He said that I am the kind of athlete that gets him excited about training because he KNOWS I will get better. I was admittedly hugely flattered. I remain uncertain about it, but its under consideration.
Tuesday Matt and I did a great 4.5 mile run. As predicted, Matt pushed me to finish strong, pulling a sub-8 last mile. I didn’t know what it felt like until that morning, but boy do I love revisiting my Garmin data and seeing that 7:46/mile in the mix.

It was a chilly morning - head-gear returned.

Wednesday morning I went out for one of my tougher, hilly rides. I was tired, but it didn’t stop me from hitting both of the huge hills that kill me in Ahwatukee. It’s a wonderful sense of accomplishment when I get back to the house and realize that even with the horrible hill-work, I managed to stay over a 17 mph pace for the 18+ mile ride.

Feeling pretty accomplished!

One of the highlights of the week was Wednesday evening, however – another chance to fly with Dr. Roso! He’d asked me earlier in the week if I wanted to do it – so I quickly asked my co-worker/friend, Erica, and we both met up at Roso’s house that evening. The reason it had been several months since our last trapeze episode was because his school was shut down by the county. He has a crazy neighbor that said the school traumatizes her horses. (eye roll) – ‘cause her obnoxious dogs and horrendous backyard fires do wonders for her horses, I guess.
Regardless, a few of Roso’s friends came out and we all flew! I am, by far, the most novice of the group, but I loved it. The video below has nothing really special in it, but I was working on my “knee-hang” and finally nailed it. I only hope the video uploads or this whole section will make no sense. You should catch the end – I have a hysterical happy dance in the net.
http://youtu.be/-lzURSpozqM

Thursday night I went to Masters Swim with Mike. Oh my god was it awful. My arms, pecs, abs/obliques, shoulders and neck muscles were ALL sore from Trapeze the evening prior. I had NO idea how bad off I was until I tried swimming sprints (6 x 50 meters at :55 seconds each). I was an embarrassment. Finally Mike asked what was going on with me – as I was missing the mark by 5-10 seconds a lot. I confessed to the trapeze – and fortunately he was impressed enough to let me off the hook for sucking! I managed to make it through about 1900 meters before the class ended, but it was the first time in a couple of weeks I couldn’t finish the whole workout in the designated hour. I hope this/next week is better!

Since Matt and I had planned to do our Ragnar-Prep-Double Runs on Sunday, we went out for an easy ride on Friday morning – and he made me promise I would do almost nothing on Saturday. I reassured him that (at most) I would swim a little on Saturday morning, but that I planned to babysit Sean and Lyla on Friday night, so I would likely not be up early enough for a run or ride.

I love when we accidentally match!

Of course, 20 minutes after I arrived at Anne’s to babysit, I get a sad-apologetic-email from Matt explaining that he forgot Sunday was Superbowl Sunday, and could we PLEASE do our doubles on Saturday, instead.

Saturday morning, Matt arrived at my house at 5am for the first of our two runs. As soon as we headed out, I could feel my obliques and pecs screaming at me to stop. Figuring the run wouldn’t kill them, I cried about it for a minute and then resolved to shut up for the remainder of the 6 miles. And what an incredible run it was. Jesus does Matt make me work hard. The first 6 mile run was through the foothills with the long, drawn-out 3 mile climb from mile 1.5-4.5. He kept me at sub-9’s the whole time – just fast enough to make me happy, but not so fast that I would be wasted for our second run. Our final overall pace was an 8:49. I cannot complain.

1 of 2 - done!

After a day of running errands, Matt was back at my house by 7:45pm for our second Ragnar-Prep-Run. This time I asked if he wanted to switch it up and maybe do a different route. He was game; so off we went. We both remarked about how good we felt and weren’t worried about the 6 miles in front of us – a mere 13 hours after the completion of the last run. As we made our way through mile 3, I could feel my body beginning to fatigue and I tried to stay focused. Of course, I looked down at my watch as it buzzed 3 miles and realized Matt had pushed me to run an 8:10 – and I am pretty certain I said something like, “hey look, a**hole, if you want me to finish these 6, we’re going to need to slow down!” Matt’s reaction? Laughter. And, then more laughter. He did let up a little, but was not going to put up with anything in the 9 min/mile range. So, quietly, I gasped my way through the next few miles. I think I even remarked at one point in the last mile that I no longer cared if I was ever faster than Matt – at that point all I could think about was keeping up with him. I admit it – he’s simply faster. A lot faster. But, as our watches beep 6 miles, we’d clocked just over 51 minutes and an 8:39 overall pace. ON OUR SECOND RUN OF THE DAY, PEOPLE! This is kind of a big deal. I expect a reaction out of all of you!

So happy! 2 of 2 - DONE! (And 65-70 degrees!)

We had a couple of my “Mer’s Finish Line Ales” when we got back to my house (Thank you @DSMitch). It was the first time I was willing to share what remains of my stash. I thanked Matt profusely for pushing me like he did. I still feel hugely accomplished!

Anne at the end of her 8.7 miler!

This morning I met Anne for breakfast after her 1st of two Ragnar-Prep runs. I will be going back to her house to witness her complete #2, this evening. I am excited for her. After breakfast, we took the kids to the zoo. It’s the greatest thing in the world to watch two kids enjoy the zoo – and it makes you appreciate all that they know. “Look, Mer’dit, a baby-Zeebah.” Here are some great shots from this morning.