5-Part Random Post: Workouts, Speed, Kona, Stroller Run, and Henry Updates

· SEPT WORKOUTS AND NOTHING LAST WEEK:

Well, September went down in the books WITHOUT a single bike ride OR a single swim workout. I guess I should be happy that tri season is over! :) And then after the TC 10 Mile 10 days ago, I did NOTHING the rest of the week:

... well, I DID weigh myself last Monday. That's.... something.... I guess....


· FINAL THOUGHTS ON "SPEED vs ENDURANCE:

Two weeks ago, I posted this entry about balancing speed work with endurance training. It chronicled my history of what I was thinking was more important over the last few years. (If you missed that post, check it out - there are some interesting points in there.)

I wanted to bring this up one last time with regards to my TC 10 Mile training. I told myself months ago that with my busier schedule (new job and new baby), that I was going to really work on my ENDURANCE while letting my SPEED WORK slip a little. And that's what I did. I really only did 1 "true" speed work workout in the middle of August (2 x 2 mile intervals), and the rest was all longer runs with "race pace miles" built in. (Oh, here's my post about the importance of "race pace miles" - that's also a good read.)

And you know what? The lack of speed work and the concentration on distance WORKED FOR ME for the TC 10 Mile. Sure, I was 2 minutes slower this year, but I still posted a 1:01:20 on a very reduced training plan. Note to self: make sure to get in those LONG runs! Let the speed-work slide if need-be.


· SPEEDY JP:

If you've been a blog follower for a while you remember my 3-part IM New Orleans 2009 race report (here's part 1, part 2, and part 3). In the first part, you saw this hunky photo of my wife's teammate JP. This is NOT posed - this is just a "candid" shot I took as he was finishing up an OWS in Lake Pontchartrain:

Looks like some sort of Nautica ad

Anyway, after posting a 9:24 Ironman finish in Florida...

... he had hoped for a sub-10:00 finish in Kona. We hooked up Pharmie's laptop to our TV so we could watch IronmanLIVE on a bigger screen last weekend:

I took a video of JP finishing - click here to see the video (he's the one in black and red who finishes to the right with his hands in the air). He NEARLY nailed his goal: he finished Kona in 10:00:09!! Check out JP's blog here.

And then he posted this photo on Facebook:

Dear. God.

That is excellent.


· STROLLER RUN WITH HENRY:

Last night, I got home from work earlier than I have been getting home lately, so we had some great family time. After a few hours, I decided to go for a little run with Henry.

Loaded up at home


Wide awake at mile 1 (along the Mississippi)


Getting heavy eyes at mile 3


He passed out moments after taking that last photo;
this photo is from mile 4

After a warm-up mile through some residential streets, I was down by the river, and I slowly upped the pace. I ran a 6:40 mile heading up to the turn-around, and then I ran 6:31, 6:36, and 6:13 before easing up. So that's 26:00 for those 4 miles WITH the stroller - I'll take it! And Henry slept for all of those fast miles!

(I sort of feel the need to note all of this for those who think that this is bad for a baby - he was awake and happy for 3 miles, and then comfortably slept for the next few miles until we were home. Oh, and I was wearing a reflective vest because it was starting to get dark. Don't worry - we were SAFE.)

We got home, and he was still passed out:

By the rocks and bushes in our front yard

... so I walked around the neighborhood for 20 minutes as a cool-down.

Sweaty boobs in the house post-run

It was a nice 8-mile run with my son!!


· HENRY PHOTOS:

Our little guy seems to be getting better and better. His colic symptoms are going away, and now it's easier to just "hang out." Here are 3 recent photos:

Chillin' with Dad on Thursday morning


Out to celebrate Mom's 3rd 29th birthday (you do the math) on Friday


Hanging out on the porch in his jammies on Sunday morning

And here's a quick video of Henry giggling in my office at work. We had a work function on Thursday night, and Henry got a little overwhelmed by all of the people after about an hour. So Pharmie and I took him into my office to calm him down. And we got some fun smiles. The giggles around the 0:30 mark is my favorite part:


Direct link: http://youtu.be/Z81Sc1t11BI


Oh, one last thing... I thinking there will be a giveaway next week....