Weekend wrap-up

Friday night

Matt and I went out to a tasty dinner at the Willoughby Brewing Co. We had 100 calorie ice cream after at home and I got to open my presents from Matt. I got an Ipod Nano (2GB) and a running carrier for it. My husband rocks! Then I promptly fell asleep on the couch at 9:30 (oh yah, I'm a ball of fire - just wait).

Saturday

I met two of my friends (Sam B. and JT) for a chilly 1:50 rolling hills easy paced bike ride starting at 8:30 AM. JT and I were praying for up hills, because it was so chilly in the shade (around 40 degrees). Apparently, we need to invest in some more cold weather gear. After the ride, we picked up our packets for the Towpath marathon relay. Definitely not a high budget expo, but we got what we came for.

Later, I met with my new dietitian. She's a triathlete who is also a registered dietitian. I went in with the goal of her getting my cholesterol under control while also maintaining the right diet for Ironman training. It appears that she will be a good fit for that. But, I have another goal now. She measured my BMI and body fat percentage with some hand-held device. According to the device, I'm overweight on both measures. 25% body fat. WTF?! Yes, I know I've had less food willpower the last few months, but I've been a workout fiend and I still fit in the size 4 jeans (maybe a little less comfortably than before, but still fit). Now, I don't know if I believe in the accuracy of this device, but it is a big wake-up call that should help me with my willpower problem. Now, if I could only get my company to stop giving us free cookies and pizza!

Matt and I went for an hour long ride in the Sky with the top down after I got home. I finally got the nerve up to drive it around our neighborhood. Apparently, I haven't forgotten how to drive stick. Now, I just have to find the nerve to take it out of the neighborhood. There isn't much convertible season left though, so it may have to wait until the Spring.

After Matt's wonderful grilled free-range chicken with corn and potatoes dinner, I promptly fell asleep at 7:30 PM. With just a brief awake time to go up to bed, I pretty much slept through till 5 AM. I guess I was tired! My poor husband didn't get much quality time that night!

Sunday

Today was the Towpath marathon relay. It was the first race ever for my friend Stacey and my brother Dave. They had great races and I'm proud of both of them! Stacey's boyfriend started us off with a great 8:30 pace average. Stacey was planning 11 minute miles, but she went sub 10-minute. I was the third leg. Matt stopped where I was waiting and decided to run the next 6 with me before pulling out of the marathon. We took off and we both were in pain. Apparently, my IT band is not healed and was yelling at me from the beginning. Matt stopped to walk about 3 miles in (he tried to catch me and almost made it). I managed to pick up the pace and averaged about 9:30 miles for the whole 5.7 mile run. Not my best, but okay given the circumstances. Dave averaged under 9 minute miles (CTC pal Janet paced him the whole 5.25 miles). [Keep in mind that my brother has never run a race and hasn't been training. He ran 2 times before this with me in the last 6 months. Apparently, he's the one with the natural talent in the family. I hope he enjoyed himself enough to try it again, but maybe train for it next time.] JT took off for the last 5.6 miles and she had a blazing 8 minute pace (Janet paced her for the first few miles). I knew I picked the right anchor! Our team finished around 3:53, which is fabulous and way better than I expected!