Whew....

So, I know that I'm a loser when it comes to posting on a timely basis but the last few weeks have been pretty busy. It all started about 4 weeks ago when my oldest decided to come home from college for fall break. He asked if we could throw in a 5k while he was here. What the hell - the Komen Race for the Cure was going on that weekend so I was game. Ross (my son), Caroline (my daughter), some of her friends and I all showed up bright and early to do the 5k along with about 10,000 other people. It was a great race and (for me) a great time of 26:40. I'm also pretty sure that this isn't my actual time since they used a new kind of chip embedded in our race bibs. There were no mats & they had to wand us when we crossed the finish line to record our finish time. According to my watch I was closer to 25:50! My fastest ever...

I had also decided (before signing up for the 5k) to participate in my first ever multi-sport event which was a duathlon scheduled for the day after the 5k. I figured it would be nice to try out this biking/running thing at least once before winter set in. The race was actually the third in a series of three and consisted of a 10k run, 40k bike, 5k run. Now, somehow I had gotten it into my head that all these other duathloners were really bikers in disguise and while they would probably blow me away on the bike, I would hold my own on the run...boy was I wrong. The gun when off and everyone took off like bats out of hell. People were easily running 7 & 8 minute miles while I was wondering what was going on. No way these people weren't runners. I think I ran my fastest 10k ever that day. Going into the bike I was pretty far back & was concerned that I would quickly become the last person out on the course. I'm happy to report that wasn't so. I gained on a few people during the painfully hilly ride and continued to hold my own through the last 5k run. Although I was 5th out of 6 in my age group & probably in the bottom 20% overall, I was really happy with my performance. I know what to expect for next time & am determined to improve.

After the duathlon, I got a couple weeks to taper before the Marine Corps Marathon a week and a half ago. I went into the race only hoping to beat the straggler bus (I think 6:30 cutoff) and am happy to report I ran a 4:39. Only 4 minutes faster than my Chicago race the year before but way more fun. I didn't spend more than half the race wishing it was over like last year & cursing everybody I ever knew:) Also, the course is way harder than Chicago with some significant hills along the way. All in all a pretty good showing.

FYI - the trip itself deserves some commentary but I'll save that for another day.

So - now that I've caught my breath, I decided to actually update people on what's been going on. Now I only have to make it through Turkey Day! Hopefully I'll get a post in before then!

THIS WEEK'S WORKOUTS:
Monday - Swam 1 mile, Rode 15 miles
Tuesday - Run 4 miles, Spinning Class 1 hour, Swim 30 minutes, Weights 30 minutes
Wednesday - Spinning Class 1 hour, Swim 45 minutes
Thursday - Run 5 1/4 miles, Weights 30 minutes
Friday - Swim lesson scheduled + 30 minutes extra swim practice (hopefully)