SOUTH DAKOTA PHOTOS

I finally got around to uploading some photos from our South Dakota vacation.

Here's the family at the Badlands.

Do not try this at home!

One more shot of the Badlands.


Custer State Park.

Objects may be closer than they appear!

Buffalo.

Big buffalo!

Sylan Lake.

Kinsey saving Katie's life.

Katie saving Kinsey's life - with just one finger!

Another photo of beautiful Sylan Lake.

Tunnel along Needles Highway.

Mount Rushmore - of course.

This was the best deal around. $10 for then entire carload.

PERIODIZATION

Hmm, I got accused of “pulling a Favre” after my last post. I know we have a lot of similarities; we’re both 40-41 years old, incredibly athletic with rugged good looks, and we both make about $17 million a year. And we’re both divas. But other than that, we’re totally different.

As much as I’d like to retire from racing, I’m not sure it will happen. You know “old dog – new tricks” and “leopard changing his spots” etc.

What I really need is a good periodization plan that lays out what I should be focusing on the entire year. Scott and I talked about this on a couple of runs and here’s what we came up with;

July and August – do whatever makes me happy (run, bike, roller ski, lift, etc).
September and October – transition to running and enter a few late-season races
November – transition to roller skiing
December to February – peak x-c season
March – transition to running
April to June – peak running season

I figure most people around here lay low in the winter. I’d rather ski in the winter and lay low when it’s hot and sticky. Not focusing on running in July and August would open up options for other events; bike races, tris, etc. Plus, family vacations would probably be more enjoyable.

One issue with not running much in July and August is that it would make a fast fall marathon difficult, unless I travelled somewhere for a November race. But maybe one marathon per year is the way to go. Running Times had a nice interview with the Brooks-Hanson coaches and they basically limit their runners to 3 marathons every 2 years. They said anything more than that and their not developing, their just moving from one marathon to the next.

Quote of the Day;

“I can make a comeback if George Foreman can. He’s 11 years older than I am, and none of my rivals is trying to punch me.” – Said Aouita

I MEAN IT

I “borrowed” this image from Steve in a Speedo because it’s true.



If you flip the image upside-down, it basically represents my weekly mileage – the huge dip representing what happens when I go on vacation.

We had a great time in South Dakota. We didn’t do all the tourist stuff, but we must have been close; Badlands, Wall Drug, Custer State Park, Needles Highway, Sylvan Lake, Bear Country USA, Reptile Garden, Storybook Island, Cowboy dinner, Mammoth site in Hot Springs, Jewel Cave, and Laura Ingalls Wilder site in De Smet. Good times – I highly recommend it.

On the running front, I’ve been considering retiring from racing – again. This time I mean it. I’d still run 45 to 60 minutes a day, but I won’t have to worry about getting in long runs, running some arbitrary amount of weekly miles, or being fast. As long as I can keep my “killer body” I’ll be happy.

This is different in years passed, as I’m not worn down from training. I actually feel fine. I just don’t have any desire to race. It’s even more than that this time, as there’s not much desire to blog, write articles, or interview other runners.

Maybe this will pass, along with the hottest week of the year, but I’m not so sure.

Quote of the Day;

“I never retired… I just did other things.” – Edwin Moses