San Antonio, here I come!

It's T-minus 3 days and counting! And today is my last day in Colorado before heading to the great Republic of Texas. I have almost finished decorating my TNT shirt. It has a bit more bling than my singlet for the San Diego race and, of course, lots of puff paint! Now I just have to pack, and I really hope I don't forget anything. Fortunately, I still have my master list from the last race, so that should help.

I would encourage you to read Kelsie's most recent blog post: http://thenospinzone-kelsie.blogspot.com/2008/11/michael-5k-is-five-kilometers-not-5000.html. I'll be running with her this weekend in San Antonio and am so proud not only of her, but also of all of my teammates who will have completed their first half- or full marathon and raised a lot of money for a good cause by the end of this training season. It's a phenomenal achievement and one that anybody can accomplish.

Maybe you have a different goal or dream you'd like to achieve. Whatever it is, I really want to encourage you to go after it. Maybe it's been on your To Do list for a long time and maybe it's brand new. But none of us is getting any younger. So, taking a cue from Kelsie's post, ask yourself, What do I really want to achieve? What is my dream? Then I want you to do the following:

1. Write it down.
2. Add a "by when" -- set a date by which you'd like to realize this goal.
3. Email it to me! I'm curious to know what you're inspired to accomplish, and I'd like to help you get there.
   

And with that, I'm off to pack my bags. Happy "goaling" and I'll look for your emails following my race!

First Saturday run with the Colorado team

I went on my first long run with the Colorado team this morning. We met at the Bobolink trail head in Boulder. I came dressed in many layers thinking it was going to be in the 30s (temperature wise). Fortunately, it wasn't really cold at all, so I stripped off my long sleeved technical top and my windbreaker. (The wind was gusting like crazy yesterday, but today it was fairly still.) I wore my Camelback since I didn't know if there would be any water stops. Better to be prepared!

There were probably 10 runners, and most were already there when I arrived. Coach Wendy was describing the course; since I'm a complete newbie to the area, I asked her to back up and fill me in on some of the details. As you know, I have a propensity for losing the trail! (I put my cell phone in the Camelback, just in case I needed it!) The team did a round of introductions, and then we were off!

I was waiting for shout outs and a team cheer, but there was none of that. It was so odd! There was also no mention of stretching -- not as a team or even on your own. Hmm....okay. Within a half mile, I settled in behind a group of three girls who were basically running at my pace. But for a good mile or more, no one said a word to me! I had flashbacks to the Nike Preview run where the girl from the SF team said her own teammates didn't really talk to her. Uh oh -- was this team like that? I hope not! I know I'm the new kid on the block, but is it asking too much to acknowledge me?

Fortunately, they did -- it just took a little while. But then we started chatting and we talked all the way to the water stop at the 3.5 mile mark. As we were approaching it, I asked, "Where's the water stop?" I was looking for a table with water and Gatorade, as well as pretzels, gummy bears, goos, etc. Not to mention a volunteer! Well, let's just say I gave the girls a good laugh. Their water stop was literally a jug of water and a jug of Gatorade on the ground, along with a bag of plastic cups and goos. No table. No volunteers. No "Go Team!"

I can understand the difference in the water stop. After all, this team is very small, so to support it with full water stops like I'm used to would probably be a lot of work. But I was surprised nonetheless at how little support or connection to Team In Training the team seemed to really have in general. Maybe they're just not as outward about it?

One of the girls mentioned fund-raising, so I did ask them how they were doing. They acknowledged that it was a lot of work and said they were about halfway there but that they had pretty much tapped out their friends and family. So I shared a few ideas, including requesting corporate matching, as well as doing something like I did with rock climbing. I even threw out Sara, Clara, Don and Kyle's idea for selling bottled water at farmer's markets, but I guess the farmer's markets here just ended for the season.

I ran with the girls for another 5-10 minutes past the water stop before turning around, since I certainly didn't need to go 14 miles with them! Not with my race next Sunday (woo hoo!).

I haven't even mentioned yet how beautiful it was out on the trail. We were surrounded by tons of open space -- dry grass, mostly, but also lots of trees in certain areas. And, of course, the mountains towered up just beyond us to the west. It was really serene and quite naturey. On the way back I noticed tons of prairie dogs popping up from their holes in the ground. There were also horses in nearby fields and cows, as well.

I was afraid I wasn't going to remember how to get back to the car since we had made a few turns on the way out. Fortunately, I ran into Wendy with about 2.5 miles to go, and I ran the rest of the way with her. She commented almost off the bat that I was going at a good clip, then she looked down at her Garmin and said, "8:52" (or something under 9 minutes/mile). Wow! I had no idea I was going that fast. I didn't have a watch on and I wasn't trying to push myself. I didn't even feel winded from the higher altitude. That must be a good sign that I'm adjusting well already. Hooray!

First track workout with the Colorado team

I joined the Northern Denver team last night for my first TNT experience east of the Rockies. It was a track workout and it was tough! There were four other girls there -- all very nice. All are training for full marathons. The team is into its eighth week and everyone is much better accustomed to the altitude than me. That's what kicked my butt.

We did the following track workout:

• Warm-up: 2 laps
• 1 lap at 75-80% maximum
• 1 lap recovery
• 2 laps at 75-80% maximum
• 1 lap recovery
• 3 laps at 75-80% maximum
• 1 lap recovery
• 1 lap at 75-80% maximum
• Cool down: 2 laps

The three laps at high intensity are what nearly did me in. One of the girls, Beth, was pretty fast, and at first I tried to keep up with her. It was a good challenge! However, it was unrealistic. She's just must faster than me, but I liked trying to chase her.

The track we were at was behind a new middle school, and it had no lights! With daylight savings time over, it was pretty dark out there. Fortunately, I remembered to bring my headlamp, but I was the only one who had one! Crazy. I have no idea how the rest of the girls ran without tripping in the dark because the track wasn't paved; it was dirt and it wasn't completely smooth all the way around.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to the long run with the team Saturday morning. And I can hardly wait to see Team Oz in San Antonio! It'll be here before I know it -- 10 days till I meet up with them. Go Team!