3 Things Thursday

~ONE~

The Olympic Marathon Trails are this Saturday (Jan. 14) and I'm pretty darn excited.  I'm secretly arranging our family plans so that I can be in front of the TV from 3-5pm.  (True sign of runner addiction? Probably.)   The committee made the event pretty monumental by hosting both the women's and men's Olympic Marathon Trails on the same day, at the same place.  What I wouldn't give to be in Houston this Saturday and watch the magic in-person.  So thank you NBC for making the most of your sponsorship and actually airing it nation-wide.  It won't be live, but at least we get 2 hours of coverage.

Why is the 2012 U.S. Trials so exciting?  We have some of the most exciting athletes toeing the line this year as one big bunch.  It's anyone's game.  In the women's field, Kara Goucher, Shalane Flanagan, Deena Kastor and the newest marathon darling Desiree Davila, who ran a 2:22 at Boston this year (Yeah, that's good...).  If you don't subscribe to Runner's World (what?!), they had a great feature in last issue on Desiree here. I'm personally pulling for Kara.  Something about her I just really like.  She's a young mom with so much emotion on the track. The connection between Kara and her husband Adam is undeniable.  He's always there going ape when she runs, kissing and hugging her... and I just like that.  I've read both Kara and Adam Goucher's books, which I guess makes me feel closer to them.  You know, like family.  Recent interview with Kara here.

In the men's field, Ryan Hall, Meb Keflezighi, and Dathan Ritzenhein will make it an amazing race to the finish line.  Ryan ran a 2:04 this past year at Boston (reality check - that's under 5 min miles!) and is just down right amazing to watch.  I think the race is his to lose.  Meb is coming off injury (and getting old at 36, yes?), but still a threat.  Curious to see if Dathan can give Hall a run for the money?

~TWO~

Yesterday I had an unbelievable workout day.  In the morning, I swam for 40 minutes, then Spinning class for 45 minutes (I pushed hard!).  In the evening, I had a nice 3 mile run with the Sole Sisters.  Once home, I was about to send in my summary for KDUB's 70.3 Birthday Challenge and realized... I was 7 miles short on the bike.  Ugh.  My husband laughed as I crawled up on the bike to finish it at 9:30pm.  The worst part?  I was baking a cake at the time.  Do you know how hard it is to workout with the smell of freshly baked cake wafting through the air?

The 70.3 Challenge was to SWIM 1.2 miles (2100 yds), BIKE 56 miles, and RUN 13.1 miles during the first eleven days of January.  The challenge motivated me to get in the pool first thing this year and start TRI-training.  I'm finding out that I really love swimming.  Not good at it, but the workout is productive and refreshing.

My final stats in KDUB's 70.3 Birthday Challenge...

SWIM - 3000 yds

BIKE - 56 miles

RUN - 48 miles

~THREE~

We are finally getting snow here in Illinois... first of the winter season.  I can't wait for hubby to come home from work this afternoon!!  While he snowblows, I'll be taking out my YakTrax Pro for a test run.  Good thing today has an "easy run" on the schedule.  Snow running means slowing down the pace, being more cautious of drivers and just enjoying the white beauty ahead.

My backyard at lunch time.

Can't wait to try out my YakTrax!