Wiiiinnnnnndddd!

Still too windy for a reasonable outdoor run.  35 knots last time I checked.  I rode my bike home from work this morning and wow, that was tough.  The strong wind made it really unstable.  It was snowing pretty hard too.  I hope summer comes to the Arctic by July 1st when I start my bike ride south.

I ran 3 miles today on the treadmill, keeping with my idea of short run followed by long runs.  Seems to be working.  I am looking forward to the day when the wind dies down enough to make it practical to ride around town for a few hours.

10 K

Did a 10 k training run on the treadmill.  It's still blowing over 30 knots outside and still only 32 degrees.  I know I will get a better workout if I keep it indoors until that wind gets a little better.

I met one of the two who are getting their bicycles ready to head south tomorrow - biking from Deadhorse to Argentina.  I am so jealous.  I wonder how long it will take them.  I think that would be the ultimate bicycle trip, but probably one I wouldn't want to do all alone.  I did feel a bit more inspired after talking to him.

I had a good run today.  I was watching some comedy movie on the TV about some goofy guy running a marathon. He crossed the finish line after 12 hours with serious injuries, just as I finished my run.  I thought that was pretty interesting timing.  It was a cute movie but I have no idea what it was called.

I saw this cute little fox today, running into the wind.  He could hardly keep his eyes open in all that wind.

Treadmill Again

Well, now the wind is up to 45 knots.  Still only 33 degrees out there.  The snow is melting and the mud is increasing.  So, I ran my short 3 mile run on the treadmill again today.  I wonder when it will improve enough to get an efficient workout outdoors.  I rode my bicycle home from work this morning and that was impressively miserable.  Right into the wind, needing to be in low gear the whole way to even move.  But it was an interesting challenge to ride against that wind.

I'm going to be a little more conservative with my workouts this month.  I probably pushed a bit too hard in the past, resulting in shin splints and all kinds of aches and pains.  I plan to do just 3 miles, like today, every other day, and increase my time on the alternate days, and see how that works.  As soon as things get at all reasonable outdoors I will be doing daily bike rides as well.  I don't want my 830 mile bike ride in July to be all the bicycle training I do!

The migratory birds are fabulous right now.  Saw the snow geese take off yesterday.

Help me fight cancer 

5 Miles today on the Treadmill

I really wanted to run outdoors today so I drove about 10 miles down the haul road looking for a good place to run.  But I made the mistake of not bringing my hat and gloves.  Big mistake.  When I got out of the car, I decided to go back to the treadmill for another day.  So I had a good 5 mile run on the treadmill instead.  I'm riding my bike the short distance to work, mud or no mud.

I love running with my new iPhone.  It's great, phone, iPod, and Nike+ all wrapped into one. 

Deadhorse

I have gotten far behind on my training.  So much going on.  Mother in the hospital, needing to make multiple trips from Alaska to California to get her situated in the nicest assisted living place I could find.  My running and biking have been totally neglected.  But now I am back at work in Prudhoe Bay so I can't go running off to California.  I will have to work extra hard for the next month to get myself back into both marathon and biking shape.

Today I just ran a short 3 miles on the treadmill to see how I felt.  I was still a bit tired from the long drive up here, so it wasn't one of my best runs.  But it certainly felt wonderful.  I rode my bike to work, although it is only a 5 minute ride.  The mud is terrible right now, snow is melting fast and there are puddles the size of lakes everywhere.  Even in my 5 minutes, I managed to get covered with mud.  A bear has been seen wandering around on the taxiway yesterday so I kept my eyes wide open for him as I was riding.  But I didn't see him. 

The migratory birds are coming back in huge flocks.  Such a lovely sight to see.  All out there seeking out the open water as it becomes available.  It's only 32 degrees but it poured rain last night.  That melted a lot of the snow.

Please help me in my fight against cancer. 

Visit my Prudhoe to Palmer website and help me with a donation, large or small.

All are greatly appreciated. 

Running the Hill

I ran Nelson hill with the girls from our team today.  We kept it short, only 30 minutes because the wind was howling and the air quality was terrible.  Glacier dust and pollen filled the air.  Like most everyone around here lately, I was fighting allergies.  Coughing, sneezing, and wheezing the whole way.  I've been too busy working and trying to get caught up after my travels in Europe and trip to California to help out my mom.  I'm going back to California in a couple more days to help get my mom comfortable after her back injury.  Then off to Deadhorse with my bike in back of my friend Mark's camper.  I plan to hit training hard all of June, riding my bike to the places where I plan to run.  I need to catch up after the last month of having little time for training.  Going flying in the morning too since I am so behind in that, my biennial flight review is out of date.  So much to do!

I'm packed and ready for the Prudhoe to Palmer ride though.

I'm Back!

I am finally back from running around Ireland, and the UK.  Had a wonderful time touring Ireland with my Team In Training running friends after the Connemara Marathon.  We kissed the Blarney Stone, visited amazing castles and the Kylesmore Abbey.  Then the Iceland volcano started erupting and we all got our flights messed up.  I was only trying to fly over to London, so ended up on a 24 hour bus and ferry trek to get there, instead of the short flight from Shannon to London.  Then I spent another 10 days visiting my cousin and her family in London, and seeing amazing places like Stonehenge, and I even took the train up to Scotland and took a boat ride on Loch Ness.  I never did see the monster though.

I had planned a trip along the US east coast but my mom hurt her back, so I spent that week in California helping her.  Now I am back in Alaska and finally getting back into my workout routine.  I did a short 3 mile run today.  My iPod and Nike+ didn't work right so I didn't get to record my run.  But at least I got back on the road.  It was so nice running outside this morning in the fresh air, with the birds singing and the new leaves just beginning to come out on the trees.  Now I will focus on getting back into marathon running shape and breaking in my biking muscles for my 830 mile bike trek for Team In Training in July.

I'm so looking forward to that bike ride from Prudhoe to Palmer.