Inspiration Tuesday...The Last Tuesday of February

I feel so awesome right now!!!!!  I just ran 6.13 miles.  It's the furthest I've ever run and just shy of 10K.  I feel really good about my 10k in April.  I had set a goal of under 1:30, but I think I may be able to do it right around an hour.  It took me 1 hour 21 minutes today and that wasn't on my race pace.  I'm also excited about the 5k in 2 weeks.  It should be pretty good even with the 2k downhill part.  I'm really excited about it!

I can feel myself getting stronger and my paces getting faster.  The pace I held for all but the few minutes of warm up and cool down was faster than 3 weeks ago.  I felt comfortable and like I could run some more.  Tomorrow is a rest day and I think I'll need it.  Thursday it's hill intervals.  I run 4 miles with 6 rounds of :45 hills at my 5k pace.

This weekend I'm off to Ottawa for Provincials.  I have 3 kids swimming and they are really excited.  Two of them are swimming for the first time.  They are really excited.  I know they will do well.

This week I'm focusing on not giving up for my Inspiration.  I have told my swimmers the story of how Michael Phelps swam the 200 fly in the 2008 Olympics with his goggles full of water and not being able to see.  Not only did he win the gold, but he did it in World Record time.  If he would have just given up then he wouldn't have won his 8 gold medals or set a new World Record.  He trained hard so he knew where he was and how many strokes he needed to take on each length.  Today I was worried that I wouldn't be able to do all 6 miles, but I did.  So for this week's inpiration I have quote from Babe Ruth.

This is so true.  I hope that I can get my swimmers to believe this and at times I need to remember this.  Just don't give up!

Enjoy your day!

Happy Family/President's Day!

Today was a holiday so Mike and James were both home.  It was a good thing they did have today off because we didn't get home last night until almost 10 pm.  Mike's grandma had her 90th birthday party yesterday.  It was fun.  Lots of family, food, and fun.   We all went straight to bed though when we got home.

This morning I got up and hit the gym.  It didn't open until 8am so I did get to sleep in just a bit.  Today was another cross training day.  I did the recumbent bike and got 11.5 miles in today.  Then I did weights.  It was legs and core today.  I increased some of the weights again.  The gym was crowded, but I was still able to get my workout done.  I much prefer the early mornings when no one is there.

While I was riding I read about Phelps' 200 Fly and 200 Free races.  Just amazing!  I have a passage that I'm going to copy for the swimmers to read.  It's about how he swam the 200 Fly to a gold medal and a world record and couldn't see anything the last 50 of the race because his goggles were filled with water.  He knew his stroke count.  He knew what he needed to do get to the wall.  He didn't want to lose.  Just so amazing!  I need the kids to see that even when things don't go as planned, they can still race hard.  We have our group meeting on Thursday and we will be doing goal setting for long course season so I'm hoping this will inspire them.

Tomorrow is Inspiration Tuesday.  I'm trying to find my inpiration for the week.  I have so many to choose from.  Tune in tomorrow and see which one I picked!

Cross Training Today

I have a very busy day today, but I was still determined to get up and get my cross training time in the gym.  We are going to Mike's grandma's 90th birthday party today.  We are in charge of bringing a veggie tray, green bean casserole, and a root vegetable dish in the crock pot.  No problem!

We got the stuff yesterday and last night Mike and I peeled and cut up turnips, parsnips, rutabega, and carrots.  It saved me a ton of time this morning.  I got up a little before 6 and put everything in for Crock Pot Balsmic Root Vegetables and started the crock pot.  Then I hit the gym.

I'm getting ready to mix up the green bean casserole before I get ready to go.  We are leaving around 10:30 so I'm typing and eating my breakfast.   I also have a few more things to get done before we leave.  It should be fun though.

I'm about halfway through No Limits by Michael Phelps.  It's a really good book.  It really shows how hard he works and how hard Bob Bowman works as well.  I should be done in the next couple of weeks because I am only reading it while I ride the recumbent bike.  After that I'm reading a biography of Mark Spitz.  I can't wait!  I'm finding that I'm really inspired to push myself as well as push my swimmers to become better and to reach their goals.  I almost need to bring a highlighter so I can highlight quotes that I want to remember.  Hmmmm....I just may start doing that.

Well, off to make the casserole!  I hope everyone has a restful and blessed Sunday!