Spring Fever!

March. There isn't a lot to say about this month. It should be warming up, but that's slow in coming. The walls start to crowd in on me as the need for warmer weather grows. What's the solution?

Paint the walls a brighter color! I suggest a parchment color. It's light, airy, and an excellent backdrop for any decor.

Now that I'm feeling brighter, it's time for a training update. I've been training for the Earth Day Half Marathon now for eight weeks with only five weeks until the big event.

Over the last two months I have learned a few things I'd like to share:

-Don't eat a granola bar ten minutes before a speed workout. It doesn't taste better the second time.

-When you forget your running socks, opt for practical versus fashionable. After tearing up the arches of both feet about 3 weeks ago, I am now earning blisters on my blisters. Nexcare by 3M does make a splendid waterproof bandaid for such occasions. They're economically reasonable, which is good because I'm going to need a lot of them, and they are in fact somewhat fashionable.

-Think positive. By that I don't mean thoughts like "I'm definitely going to die, hurl, or drop this weight on my head. In thinking positively, I focus only on the sprint, set, or mile at hand.

-Stretch! It sounds like a no-brainer, but it really does work. I used to go to my favorite chiropractor, Doc Sara at Chiropractic Performance Center in Sartell, and wait for her to ask if I had been stretching. My response? "Who has time for that; it's a luxury." (Despite the fact that I had plenty of time to drive to the chiropractor, feel bad because I'm not actually stretching, get adjusted, and then drive the 25 miles back home... All because I hadn't been stretching.)

-Take the time to enjoy the workout. When I start a workout, I shut out everything else in my day. I may listen to music, brainstorm, or try to solve the world's problems, but it is my time.  (Sarah B, Remember that one time I was on the treadmill at the school, and you came in with a question?) I often find myself telling potential conversationalists "I'm not here!" Because in fact, I am in actuality a million miles away.

With these lessons firmly in my mind, I am moving into the next phase of my training. As some of you already know, I signed up for the Earth Day Half Marathon because "I'm curious". I have stayed faithful to my training schedule over the past eight weeks and am officially on target for a 1:40.00 half marathon. Yesterday, I did nine miles at 8.5 miles per hour. It felt amazing!

As my true goal for this racing season is to compete long course in the Annandale Heart of the Lakes Triathlon and a few triathlons after that, today I begin to meld half marathon training with triathlon training.

That means, I start training in the pool. Over the next five weeks, I will integrate the triathlon swim training with my current half marathon training. At that point, I'll race Earth Day and shift into week six of the overall triathlon training. As usual, I can make things complicated when I really want to!

So, here's to lessons learned and lessons yet to learn!