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March 2003
3/3 - 3/9
I took it sort of easy this week, since we have a 30K in Portland on Saturday. Did my normal swimming (masters Tuesday, Molina workout w/Jeff Friday morning), a couple of short bike rides, and a couple of ½ hour runs. We left Friday night after work for Portland and stayed with my parents. It was great to see them.

What to say about the race?? Well, I finished :. It was 3 loops of 10K each. They also had a 10K run and walk, and offered an optional early start for the 30K that started 1 hour before the regular races. The first 10K went pretty well, except I was having some problems with my knee. I made the mistake of wearing my slightly worn Adidas rather than my week-old Kayanos - it was kind of rainy and sloppy out so I didn't want to ruin the new shoes so soon! But they were bothering me enough that I stopped at the car after the first loop to change into my Kayanos. I think that helped a bit, although my times probably didn't show it :. First lap was 10:50/mile - acceptable, but I was hoping for under 10:00/mile. Second lap was 11:32/mile - getting tired and taking more "walk breaks". Third lap was 13:11/mile - UGH!!! I did a lot more walking than I wanted. I guess this was a good wake-up call to get my running going. 3:41 finish. I was hoping for MUCH closer to 3:00.

We went out for bad pizza after the race, then had dinner with my mom, dad, sister, bro-in-law, 3 nephews and 15-month-old niece. Had a great time with the family (shhh….that was the real reason I wanted to go to Portland anyway :).

3/10 - 3/16
Slowly getting back into things after the 30K. I took Sunday and Monday off, then started back with an easy 1 hour bike and Masters swim. Had a good run and bike on Wednesday, Masters swim on Thursday, and did my long bike ride on Friday (3.5 hours) because I had to travel all day Saturday. Had to make the obligatory trip to Rochester, NY to show my face in the office and make sure everyone knows I still work there :. Got in Saturday night, then had a FANTASTIC run along the Erie Canal on Sunday. They have been having monstrous weather there, but Sunday was in the 70s! It was bizarre - piles of snow mountains in every parking lot, the canal frozen over, and me running in my tank top and shorts and wishing I could find another layer to shed! It was beautiful. One of the few 2 hour runs I've done where I didn't want to stop. Maybe it was just the warm weather, I don't know. I also found a great 80s station - I know, I'm a nerd. But there's nothing like a little theme from Dirty Dancing to inject a little life in my quads :.

3/17 - 3/23
I was in Rochester until Thursday this week. Managed to get in a couple of ½ hour runs and rides on the stationary bike, but not a stellar training week. I tend to work pretty late when I'm at the office because between meetings and catching up with people and on projects, I don't get much done during the day. By the time I leave there's just enough time to grab some grub and get to bed. We had planned to go to Portland again this weekend to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday, but he decided to go to a horse show at the last minute so we stayed home. Got a good long ride in on Saturday and a long run and swim in on Sunday.

3/24 - 3/30
This week I reduced my training hours slightly for Cali Lite, but not too much since I'm mostly training through it. Had several good swim sessions with Masters and a fun ride with some friends on Saturday. It's always more fun to train with a group :. Had to do a lot of packing/planning because once I leave for Cali-Lite on April 1, I'm basically gone until April 21st.

On a personal note, Jeff's brother's wife had their first baby (and first grandson on that side) this Friday. We're really excited for them. I'm planning a trip down there (Texas) in a couple of weeks after a trade show I have to attend in New Orleans.