Triathletes Journey: A "He said, She said" reporting on races and events: Baby's got a brand new bag

Elle: Okay, so not a 'new bag', but new shoes, I'm of the brand of people who DON'T buy running shoes every 6 months, or whatever the running shoe companies tell you. When my shoes start to break down or fall apart, THAT'S when I buy a new pair (right Trent?!?) So I haven't bought new running shoes for a couple of years. But finally, I decided it was time. Mostly because I needed a new pair of tri shoes that would make my transitions speedy as hell (If I don't have one of the top 3 fastest transition times, then what the hell am I doing there...competitive much? Yup. Not apologizing). I've been looking for shoes like this for a LONG time. And no dice. And then one day, out of the shoe-ness blue, I found these, like a gift from above:

Integrated tongue, pull tight laces, high back and front for quick slip on. YES! Finally! After so many years of searching. See, sometimes dreams do come true...

So far, as I slowly get back into running, I've only been running short distances. One of my staples is an out and back from my apartment to the hotel in Dorado del Mar and back. When I run, I like to establish landmarks that I run toward, or pass, as a mental push that helps me along the way. The first and favorite is the kitten house. There are like, 5 - 6 (or more?) kittens that live at this house. I've been trying to make contact, and I'm determined to make friends with them. They are cute as hell, obviously.

Somewhere in mile 2 are the Egrets. Like a bunch of them. Ya just get used to their white feathered beauty after a point. And that's right near the 'Bird Tree'. A shite load birds live there. And they are always there. Right in this specific spot. Every day.

And there's also a couple of geese I pass. They're on the other side of a fence, always in the same spot. They live on the golf course near a pond with a smattering of other fowl. And a calico cat also lives there. Like a boss. I often see her sitting by the fence right where the goose couple are. She just sits there, hanging out with them. Her and all her fowl friends. The geese squawk at any one who passes by, and she just sits there. It's like her goose friends are protecting her. And she's like, "Yeah, you wanna mess with me? I don't think so.....".

So for my speed workouts, I use the 'track'. A term I use loosely, as it's far from a typical American track. But hey, at least I have a wonky track to use! No complaints here, it does the job. Here are a couple of speed workouts that I've done so far. Try 'em for yourself:

Workout 1:
200 meters @ your 5k pace, 200 meters at your mile pace (x2)
30 second rest
400 meters @ your mile pace
rest: 2 miuntes
(Now do that 4 times. If you're not completely gassed after that, you didn't run hard enough.)

Track Workout 2:

300m @ 10K pace, 100m @ 5k pace

1 full lap strong

(Repeat 3-4 times)

Now normally, I've been running in the morning, which is ideal on a tropical island. It's still relatively cool outside, and the sun hasn't had a chance to warm the ground up to 100-degrees. But one day, I had to postpone my workout (something to do with a bike ride in Old San Juan, which was fantastic), but lack of planning left my friend and I without food and water for about 5 hours, and we got dehydrated. And that sticks with you for awhile. Long story short, I ended up doing my run at 3pm. In the blazing sun + heat. The plan was to do a simple 6 mile run. But I couldn't even manage that. 4 miles and I was DONE. But hey, got a run it.

Meanwhile, here's a couple of pics from the Old San Juan excursion: