So I was sitting at work last week, munching on Tesia's veggie largesse that she donated to us on her way out of town, thinking about how jealous I was to be stuck at work while Amy and Tesia were living it up in Maui. It looks like you are having such fun; can't wait to see more pics.
I said I couldn't go on the trip because my husband has been unemployed for a year and BOOM! The girls go to Hawaii and my husband just got a JOB (started today). Yay! So much stress relief for us.
Workout-wise...
Thursday I biked to the Evans pool in the rain, swam an alphabet's worth of laps (for some reason it's easier for me to keep track of letters than numbers) and then biked home in the rain and then took a shower. Too much water for me!
I can't wait to get back to real running. I've been deep-water running (took classes in NYC in the late 90's; see www.enhancesports.com/dwr.pdf), and getting on the elliptical, doing ankle and calf strengthening, researching shoes (I turned my ankle while in a 3 year old pair of trail runners, bad Amy), etc. etc. Nothing like the real thing though.
Has anyone tried the zero gravity shoes like Newtons or other low-heel shoes?
Anyway, it's hard to bear not running in the lovely springtime. I have a few upcoming trips to distract myself, but I think I may do a short easy run in Central Park when I hit NYC next week.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Lessons from the Last Week of Training
1. 1000 meters is not the same as 1000 yards.
Our training program assumes you're swimming in a pool measured in yards and for the first week+ of training we were, although I hadn't realized it. The pool at the university usually is divided into two 25-yard segments during the school year and then switches over to one 50-meter segment for the summer. Only they switched it early and last week we arrived at the pool to 50 meters. Now this is awesome for training, you really get into a better grove and just swim, but not so good for the ego. It took most of the first workout to realize that we'd been at 25 yards, not 25 meters and consequently my times for intervals were soooo SLOOOOOW. Note to self: meters are longer than yards.
2. Long rides take a long time.
We were supposed to do 30 miles for our long ride this weekend and so I picked a loop without mapping it out because I "remembered" from last year that it was the right distance. Then we proceeded to head out at 3 in the afternoon (because of weather) when I needed to be home, showered, dressed up, and out the door for Paul's work event by about 5:30. Hah! Turns out the loop was much closer to 35+ miles and we were a bit slow. I arrived home at 5:40 after Paul had already left without me, and proceeded to have the fastest shower/dress combo ever. My stretching post-ride included stretching my quads in the shower while rinsing my hair, and that was about it. Note to self: long rides ALWAYS take longer than I think they will.
3. A bike that shifts properly really is a plus when biking.
I've had issues with my front gears shifting since the fateful day two summers ago when I fell in a ditch. Yes, you read that right, I fell in a ditch. The best part of this story--and why it cracks me and Tricia up every time we talk about it--is that I was fully stopped at an intersection and needed to turn around because we'd taken a wrong turn. Unfortunately, I always unclip on my right side, but that's not so helpful when you're trying to pull a 180 to the left. So I started to turn, and promptly fell in the ditch on the other side of the road. And this was a seriously deep ditch. The best part was that my one foot was still clipped in and the bike was on top of me, so I couldn't get out without Tricia pulling me out. So wonderful.
Anyway, my bike has some shifting issues and no matter how many times I take it in to the bike shop, it's never perfect. It did ok for the long ride on Saturday, and thankfully I had Paul do a bit of maintenance on Sunday. But apparently bad shifting is contagious. Tricia and I headed out for a ride yesterday and her back gear refused to shift out of the easiest position. Even if you stopped and physically moved the chain, it would switch her back there. On the one hand, this really sucked for trying to go fast at all and Tricia looked a bit silly just spinning her legs way too fast. On the other hand, it gave us a nice excuse to go slow and easy for yesterday's ride which was probably for the best.
Hope you're ready to hit the training when you're back from Maui, Tesia!!! Can't wait to see all the photos!
Our training program assumes you're swimming in a pool measured in yards and for the first week+ of training we were, although I hadn't realized it. The pool at the university usually is divided into two 25-yard segments during the school year and then switches over to one 50-meter segment for the summer. Only they switched it early and last week we arrived at the pool to 50 meters. Now this is awesome for training, you really get into a better grove and just swim, but not so good for the ego. It took most of the first workout to realize that we'd been at 25 yards, not 25 meters and consequently my times for intervals were soooo SLOOOOOW. Note to self: meters are longer than yards.
2. Long rides take a long time.
We were supposed to do 30 miles for our long ride this weekend and so I picked a loop without mapping it out because I "remembered" from last year that it was the right distance. Then we proceeded to head out at 3 in the afternoon (because of weather) when I needed to be home, showered, dressed up, and out the door for Paul's work event by about 5:30. Hah! Turns out the loop was much closer to 35+ miles and we were a bit slow. I arrived home at 5:40 after Paul had already left without me, and proceeded to have the fastest shower/dress combo ever. My stretching post-ride included stretching my quads in the shower while rinsing my hair, and that was about it. Note to self: long rides ALWAYS take longer than I think they will.
3. A bike that shifts properly really is a plus when biking.
I've had issues with my front gears shifting since the fateful day two summers ago when I fell in a ditch. Yes, you read that right, I fell in a ditch. The best part of this story--and why it cracks me and Tricia up every time we talk about it--is that I was fully stopped at an intersection and needed to turn around because we'd taken a wrong turn. Unfortunately, I always unclip on my right side, but that's not so helpful when you're trying to pull a 180 to the left. So I started to turn, and promptly fell in the ditch on the other side of the road. And this was a seriously deep ditch. The best part was that my one foot was still clipped in and the bike was on top of me, so I couldn't get out without Tricia pulling me out. So wonderful.
Anyway, my bike has some shifting issues and no matter how many times I take it in to the bike shop, it's never perfect. It did ok for the long ride on Saturday, and thankfully I had Paul do a bit of maintenance on Sunday. But apparently bad shifting is contagious. Tricia and I headed out for a ride yesterday and her back gear refused to shift out of the easiest position. Even if you stopped and physically moved the chain, it would switch her back there. On the one hand, this really sucked for trying to go fast at all and Tricia looked a bit silly just spinning her legs way too fast. On the other hand, it gave us a nice excuse to go slow and easy for yesterday's ride which was probably for the best.
Hope you're ready to hit the training when you're back from Maui, Tesia!!! Can't wait to see all the photos!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Aloha!
Everything everyone says about Maui is true. It IS paradise. This morning I ate pineapple on the lanai before our six mile run. My training is definitely falling off, but as long as I get a little run or think about running, I feel like I'm ok. Rachel and Amy and Nick joined me today. We headed South from Kihei toward Wailea and found a paved path that winds through the fancy resorts along the beach. Nick stopped after 2 miles - partly because his 5-toed shoes were giving him blisters on all sides of his feet, and partly to stop off and visit our cousin Molly and aunt Fran who were staying nearby. Amy, Rachel and I continued to the 30 minute mark before turning around. When we got back, I jumped into the pool to cool off and then we all headed to the nude beach. Nick got hit on by more than one guy; us girls were pretty much ignored.
Tomorrow we're driving the road to Hana and I'm contemplating running beforehand, but my hip is bothering me, so I might just sleep in. I think that biking and swimming help my hip from getting too bad - all I can really do here is run. My other two sports are paddling around on my boogie board and re-applying sunscreen and neither seem to be particularly helpful for me hip. I really wish I'd brought a tennis ball to roll on.
I signed up for a half marathon on Saturday, here in Maui. The last three miles are on the beach. Woohoo!
Tomorrow we're driving the road to Hana and I'm contemplating running beforehand, but my hip is bothering me, so I might just sleep in. I think that biking and swimming help my hip from getting too bad - all I can really do here is run. My other two sports are paddling around on my boogie board and re-applying sunscreen and neither seem to be particularly helpful for me hip. I really wish I'd brought a tennis ball to roll on.
I signed up for a half marathon on Saturday, here in Maui. The last three miles are on the beach. Woohoo!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Slow but consistent?
Tricia and I headed out for our "long" ride Sunday morning. I put long in quotes because although it was technically the long ride for the week, it wasn't very long--just an easy 25 miles. It was, however, VERY cold. It was 30 degrees when I left the house and I had no idea how to dress for such an occasion. If we had been running, I wouldn't have given it another thought, but I'd never been on a bike below about 50 degrees. Luckily it was bright and sunny with very little wind (at least on the way out when we were warming up), so it wasn't so bad.
The actual bike part was actually pretty nice. The roads were empty except a few other bikers and we took the ride really easy. And, to top it off, we finished feeling very virtuous for having finished off Week 1 even on a very cold morning.
Week 2 started off Monday and Tricia and I were both suffering from bum hamstrings. We did a very slow, easy 45 minute run, which felt ok on my hammie with off and on discomfort, and then did a 1000-meter swim, with 5x100 meter intervals. Despite the fact that I actually felt way better doing this workout this week than last, my times didn't reflect that. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't go faster than 1:57, but did that exact time for all 5 intervals. Slow, but consistent.
Today was supposed to be a 20-mile bike, but Tricia's hamstring and work were catching up to her, so she backed out. Once I knew she was getting a day off, I kind of wanted a day off too. The fact that my hamstring twinged off and on all day was also a motivating factor in skipping today's ride. It's not clear yet whether we'll be able to rearrange our week to make up for it or not, but I'm hopeful that the day off will have done both our hammies some good. And I'm hoping that they'll allow us to continue to be slow but consistent--I don't need to be a speed demon, I just need to be able to get through the training without amputating my hamstring.
Enough moaning. Tomorrow's another day and I can't wait for Tesia's posts from Maui!!!!!
The actual bike part was actually pretty nice. The roads were empty except a few other bikers and we took the ride really easy. And, to top it off, we finished feeling very virtuous for having finished off Week 1 even on a very cold morning.
Week 2 started off Monday and Tricia and I were both suffering from bum hamstrings. We did a very slow, easy 45 minute run, which felt ok on my hammie with off and on discomfort, and then did a 1000-meter swim, with 5x100 meter intervals. Despite the fact that I actually felt way better doing this workout this week than last, my times didn't reflect that. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't go faster than 1:57, but did that exact time for all 5 intervals. Slow, but consistent.
Today was supposed to be a 20-mile bike, but Tricia's hamstring and work were catching up to her, so she backed out. Once I knew she was getting a day off, I kind of wanted a day off too. The fact that my hamstring twinged off and on all day was also a motivating factor in skipping today's ride. It's not clear yet whether we'll be able to rearrange our week to make up for it or not, but I'm hopeful that the day off will have done both our hammies some good. And I'm hoping that they'll allow us to continue to be slow but consistent--I don't need to be a speed demon, I just need to be able to get through the training without amputating my hamstring.
Enough moaning. Tomorrow's another day and I can't wait for Tesia's posts from Maui!!!!!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Run Bike Switcheroo
I skipped my 20k race this morning to go on a bike ride in the sunshine. Lucky for me, because the weather has gone from sunny and 70 to rainy and 40 in a Seattle second. I rode with my friend Chris from his place in Kirkland up north toward Lake Stevens. He has a fancy GPS watch that records the distance and time and speed and elevation and heart rate data from the ride. Check out the elevation gain! I felt great on the uphills and am gaining some confidence on the downhills. I'm getting better at riding on my drops and staying relaxed when descending. I still use my breaks WAY more than I should. The cycleU mantra helps: "I will descend with confidence and speed." Saying it over and over helps distract me from my usual visions of hitting a bump and skidding on my face for 20 feet or some other horrible horror.
Snow, snow, go away, come again another day (like next winter!)
Midwest springs are so cruel. You want to believe that the warm weather is here for good and that you can forget about all those past springs where it snowed sporadically through March, April, and May. And your delusion is going great (last week was gorgeously sunny and 60 degrees) and then it goes and snows and the snow essentially shits all over your delusion and brings you back to the cruel reality. Case in point: today, there are 2 inches of snow on the ground and it's about 30 outside. So sad.
Knowing that this evil snow was predicted and given other restrictions of the weekend, Tricia and I opted to do our long run yesterday and our long bike tomorrow morning when it will be dry but cold. I ended up doing yesterday's workout by myself which was good for concentrating on my running form, but no so good for how hard I pushed myself since I always run too hard when I'm by myself.
I took the bus to school, fit in the week's last swim (300m warmup, 500m swim, 200m cooldown) and then changed and did a 50 minute run home. The swim felt really good, probably the combination of having been in the pool the day before (I oddly always feel better on the second of back-to-back swim days) and not having been on my bike since Wednesday. I wasn't sure how the run would feel considering that I'd also run on Thursday and I wasn't sure how my evil hamstring would respond to back-to-back run days. The last time I tried this (with a 5 miler one day and an 8 miler the next), I managed to set my hamstring recovery back several weeks. But since clearly I don't learn from my mistakes, I thought I'd give it another try. The run actually felt great for the first 25 minutes or so. I felt really energetic and peppy, was running faster than I have been, was hitting 180 strides a minute no problem, and my hamstring felt great through about 20 minutes. I probably should have just stopped and stretched at that point, but I really wanted to hit 25 minutes before stopping so then I could just run the second 25 minutes all the way home. Probably that too wasn't the best idea. After stretching, my leg did feel better, but I started to get tired and then my leg also started to hurt which was super demoralizing. The rest of the run essentially had off-and-on leg pain and moments of extreme fatigue followed by moments of me convincing myself I felt peppy and good again. I did manage to maintain 180 strides/minute throughout the run which is good, but I wish that my leg had felt better.
I was also really surprised by how tired I felt at the end of the run. We'd done a 55 minute long run last weekend that felt fine, so I didn't anticipate that the volume would be a problem, although I'm sure the combo swim-run was a large part of being tired. Oh, and the running too fast part! Other than eating, showering, and grocery shopping, I lay on the couch for the rest of the afternoon and moaned (to myself) about how tired I was. Pretty pathetic.
The bright side of yesterday's effort is that today is a day off!!! Yippee!!! I need to stretch and do my PT and would love to go lift, but no major workout for the day which is great. Instead, it's laundry, cleaning, and lying on the couch. Oh how I love Saturday, even when there's snow.
Knowing that this evil snow was predicted and given other restrictions of the weekend, Tricia and I opted to do our long run yesterday and our long bike tomorrow morning when it will be dry but cold. I ended up doing yesterday's workout by myself which was good for concentrating on my running form, but no so good for how hard I pushed myself since I always run too hard when I'm by myself.
I took the bus to school, fit in the week's last swim (300m warmup, 500m swim, 200m cooldown) and then changed and did a 50 minute run home. The swim felt really good, probably the combination of having been in the pool the day before (I oddly always feel better on the second of back-to-back swim days) and not having been on my bike since Wednesday. I wasn't sure how the run would feel considering that I'd also run on Thursday and I wasn't sure how my evil hamstring would respond to back-to-back run days. The last time I tried this (with a 5 miler one day and an 8 miler the next), I managed to set my hamstring recovery back several weeks. But since clearly I don't learn from my mistakes, I thought I'd give it another try. The run actually felt great for the first 25 minutes or so. I felt really energetic and peppy, was running faster than I have been, was hitting 180 strides a minute no problem, and my hamstring felt great through about 20 minutes. I probably should have just stopped and stretched at that point, but I really wanted to hit 25 minutes before stopping so then I could just run the second 25 minutes all the way home. Probably that too wasn't the best idea. After stretching, my leg did feel better, but I started to get tired and then my leg also started to hurt which was super demoralizing. The rest of the run essentially had off-and-on leg pain and moments of extreme fatigue followed by moments of me convincing myself I felt peppy and good again. I did manage to maintain 180 strides/minute throughout the run which is good, but I wish that my leg had felt better.
I was also really surprised by how tired I felt at the end of the run. We'd done a 55 minute long run last weekend that felt fine, so I didn't anticipate that the volume would be a problem, although I'm sure the combo swim-run was a large part of being tired. Oh, and the running too fast part! Other than eating, showering, and grocery shopping, I lay on the couch for the rest of the afternoon and moaned (to myself) about how tired I was. Pretty pathetic.
The bright side of yesterday's effort is that today is a day off!!! Yippee!!! I need to stretch and do my PT and would love to go lift, but no major workout for the day which is great. Instead, it's laundry, cleaning, and lying on the couch. Oh how I love Saturday, even when there's snow.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
St. Paddy's Day Cut-Down
Prior to drinking beer, I did two St. Paddy's day workouts: A 3650 swim in the morning with the master's team and track practice in the evening. It was the first day I've been to Wednesday night track practice in a loooong time and I was happy to have sunshine, even if the wind was cold. I joined a friendly foursome running the 5A pace (the groups start at 1/1A and get slower through 6. Yes, I'm in the second to slowest group. But these people are fast!) and we started our first mile aiming for 7:08. We ended up running a second fast on each lap, for a 7:04 mile and it felt amazingly easy. Besides my tight muscles from the bike ride the night before, 7:04 felt like a comfortable pace. When did this happen?!
We managed to run negative splits, taking turns leading each mile, and ran the 4th mile in about 6:30. That one definitely hurt, especially the last 200. Everytime I run a workout with people, I'm surprised at how much faster and easier the workout feels. It makes me realize the importance of the mental aspect of running. I think my high school track coach (Mr. Noble?) told me that races are 10 percent physical and 90 percent mental. He just might be right.
Note: 1.5 beers is too many on a weeknight after track practice for me these days. I didn't do any workout out at all on Thursday - unless you count my massage!
We managed to run negative splits, taking turns leading each mile, and ran the 4th mile in about 6:30. That one definitely hurt, especially the last 200. Everytime I run a workout with people, I'm surprised at how much faster and easier the workout feels. It makes me realize the importance of the mental aspect of running. I think my high school track coach (Mr. Noble?) told me that races are 10 percent physical and 90 percent mental. He just might be right.
Note: 1.5 beers is too many on a weeknight after track practice for me these days. I didn't do any workout out at all on Thursday - unless you count my massage!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Thanks!
I'm honored to be invited!
I checked out the trinewbies plan and it looks great - my favorite part is where it says to piddle in the water on the easy swims ;)
I wonder if I will actually get myself to swim three times a week. I'm doing the Lake Stevens 70.3 which is August 15th. I don't have a time goal yet. I'm babying my left ankle and haven't run a step since 1/31. I've been biking, swimming a tad and filling in with weights, Pilates and yoga. Looking forward to more bike commutes with Tesia! We can spice it up by doing speed bursts.
I checked out the trinewbies plan and it looks great - my favorite part is where it says to piddle in the water on the easy swims ;)
I wonder if I will actually get myself to swim three times a week. I'm doing the Lake Stevens 70.3 which is August 15th. I don't have a time goal yet. I'm babying my left ankle and haven't run a step since 1/31. I've been biking, swimming a tad and filling in with weights, Pilates and yoga. Looking forward to more bike commutes with Tesia! We can spice it up by doing speed bursts.
This and That
As we speak, email invites are zipping through the internet to Amy and Tricia to contribute (or just read) to this phenomenal blog. Hopefully with 4 people training and posting, there will always be something new to read, because, lets be honest, I like to procrastinate on the finishing touches on my dissertation. And I'll have to brainstorm new blog titles to encompass more than the Portland natives, i.e., more procrastination!
1. The Madison tinmen are training for a race in Racine, WI (on Lake Michigan) on July 18th. Turns out this too is a 70.3 event as it was recently purchased by the whole Ironman corporation. As long as they don't change the flattish bike and run courses and maintain the point-to-point swim (WITH the current), I couldn't care less who owns the race.
2. Goals for the race? At this point, I'm thinking of it more as goals for the training. Tricia and Tesia have heard all about my woes of training last year (just to refresh your memory: solo training, quitting long rides, not enough bike miles, bum leg and no running, 2 weeks off for Iceland), so I'm aiming to improve on those issues and do really solid training. Of course, I'd love for it to turn out that I'm professionally fast when it comes to the race, but I would be totally satisfied if I did the same time as last year (5:50+) but actually felt good and strong doing it, rather than barely hauling my ass across the finish line.
3. The training program: http://www.trinewbies.com/tno_trainingprograms/tno_HIM.asp
Tricia used this several years ago and I've used it a couple times. I'm sure there are more hardcore programs out there, but I like the way this program is set up, know what's expected of me (this is year 3 after all), and really like the specific directions on what to do each day and especially what to do for each swim session. What I love most is not having to come up with my OWN plan. Turns out I am a docile athlete: if the plan says "do x," then I do x and don't ask questions. If it's up to me and in the AM I think "I'll do x," by the afternoon I'm more likely to think, "I'd like to nap on the couch instead." Thank god for training programs.
So for today's workout: 20 mile ride in gorgeous 60 degree weather and sun. My legs definitely felt the last couple days of exercise, but I actually felt more comfortable on the bike and even though my legs were burning and tired, I felt like I could bike harder than on Monday. We biked relatively hard, but no shakiness when I got home, yay!
Hope you're getting healthy in Seattle, Tesia!! Please tell me you're going to post about your "workouts" in Maui!
1. The Madison tinmen are training for a race in Racine, WI (on Lake Michigan) on July 18th. Turns out this too is a 70.3 event as it was recently purchased by the whole Ironman corporation. As long as they don't change the flattish bike and run courses and maintain the point-to-point swim (WITH the current), I couldn't care less who owns the race.
2. Goals for the race? At this point, I'm thinking of it more as goals for the training. Tricia and Tesia have heard all about my woes of training last year (just to refresh your memory: solo training, quitting long rides, not enough bike miles, bum leg and no running, 2 weeks off for Iceland), so I'm aiming to improve on those issues and do really solid training. Of course, I'd love for it to turn out that I'm professionally fast when it comes to the race, but I would be totally satisfied if I did the same time as last year (5:50+) but actually felt good and strong doing it, rather than barely hauling my ass across the finish line.
3. The training program: http://www.trinewbies.com/tno_trainingprograms/tno_HIM.asp
Tricia used this several years ago and I've used it a couple times. I'm sure there are more hardcore programs out there, but I like the way this program is set up, know what's expected of me (this is year 3 after all), and really like the specific directions on what to do each day and especially what to do for each swim session. What I love most is not having to come up with my OWN plan. Turns out I am a docile athlete: if the plan says "do x," then I do x and don't ask questions. If it's up to me and in the AM I think "I'll do x," by the afternoon I'm more likely to think, "I'd like to nap on the couch instead." Thank god for training programs.
So for today's workout: 20 mile ride in gorgeous 60 degree weather and sun. My legs definitely felt the last couple days of exercise, but I actually felt more comfortable on the bike and even though my legs were burning and tired, I felt like I could bike harder than on Monday. We biked relatively hard, but no shakiness when I got home, yay!
Hope you're getting healthy in Seattle, Tesia!! Please tell me you're going to post about your "workouts" in Maui!
Inquiring Minds, Here You Go!
1. My Tinman is May 2, aka the Wildflower Long Course triathlon
2. My goals for the Tinman are: a) stay calm in the water, b) practice my IM nutrition plan on the bike and c) pass as many people as possible on the run. (note to self: figure out IM nutrition plan). I don't have a time goal because I don't know the course - it's supposed to be hilly. Under 6 hours would be fantastic!
3. Yes! I was going to ask the same question. When I was lifting with Amy last night - she was showing me some of her hot pilates moves - I mentioned the blog to her. She's training for the Lake Stevens 70.3 in August. Let's invite our training friends to contribute! I can hardly wait to read Tricia's post on poop!
4. During my first two of weeks of training, I was hungry all. the. time. The post running and the swimming hunger has subsided, but after long bike rides, I can't be satiated. I drink my post ride chocolate milk, then eat until I'm full, but an hour later, I feel hungry for Idontknowwhat. I spend the rest of the day trying to figure out what to eat. Goldfish crackers are good. So are carnitas tacos with extra avocados. As long as it's not a gel or a gu, I'll eat it.
5. Cool? I think you have the wrong Tesia.
And now, some questions for Muggy:
1. When is your Tinman?
2. What is your goal time?
3. Where did you get your training plan? It sounds really specific. I am jealous.
4. Is that a spoonful of peanut butter in your hand?
2. My goals for the Tinman are: a) stay calm in the water, b) practice my IM nutrition plan on the bike and c) pass as many people as possible on the run. (note to self: figure out IM nutrition plan). I don't have a time goal because I don't know the course - it's supposed to be hilly. Under 6 hours would be fantastic!
3. Yes! I was going to ask the same question. When I was lifting with Amy last night - she was showing me some of her hot pilates moves - I mentioned the blog to her. She's training for the Lake Stevens 70.3 in August. Let's invite our training friends to contribute! I can hardly wait to read Tricia's post on poop!
4. During my first two of weeks of training, I was hungry all. the. time. The post running and the swimming hunger has subsided, but after long bike rides, I can't be satiated. I drink my post ride chocolate milk, then eat until I'm full, but an hour later, I feel hungry for Idontknowwhat. I spend the rest of the day trying to figure out what to eat. Goldfish crackers are good. So are carnitas tacos with extra avocados. As long as it's not a gel or a gu, I'll eat it.
5. Cool? I think you have the wrong Tesia.
And now, some questions for Muggy:
1. When is your Tinman?
2. What is your goal time?
3. Where did you get your training plan? It sounds really specific. I am jealous.
4. Is that a spoonful of peanut butter in your hand?
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Inquiring Minds Want to Know
Tesia, our avid readers want to know:
1. When is your tinman?
2. What's your tinman goal?
3. Can our blog link be shared with local training partners? (Tricia would like you to know that if she were posting today it would be entitled "Moderating Bowels")
4. Do you eat ALL the time? Have you gotten the point where you eat peanut butter straight out of the jar with a spoon?
5. And finally, how did you get to be SO cool, and how can I achieve the same level of coolness?
1. When is your tinman?
2. What's your tinman goal?
3. Can our blog link be shared with local training partners? (Tricia would like you to know that if she were posting today it would be entitled "Moderating Bowels")
4. Do you eat ALL the time? Have you gotten the point where you eat peanut butter straight out of the jar with a spoon?
5. And finally, how did you get to be SO cool, and how can I achieve the same level of coolness?
Sore Ass
That's right, my butt is letting me know how it feels about the new training regime and that message is coming through loud and clear in the form of ass pain. But, here's the real kicker, I kind of like it. It reminds me of the college days of being sore after cross country workouts, the kind of satisfying sore where you know you did a kickass job. I didn't exactly do a kickass job yesterday, but I'm still enjoying the muscle soreness. Yes, I have a problem.
Day 2 of training called for a 40-minute run and a 1000-meter swim, so Tricia and I met up at the gym at 5 (that's in the evening, in case you were thinking I was an early riser) and headed out for a run to be followed by the swim when the pool opened at 6. The run was interesting: sore quads and left ass/hip from biking yesterday and a bit more fatigued than recent runs have been (no surprise there). I'm still working on the new running form and feel like today was at least more successful than Sunday where I got so distracted talking to Tricia that I kept forgetting to suck in my abs and run with tiny strides. My evil hamstring did about as well as I could hope for the run which is good, and the extremely sore hip/ass on the left side is at least a nice change of discomfort. And as Paul always tells me, change is the spice of life.
The swim started out awesome.... for 50 meters before my upper body remembered that it had been on a bike the day before for the first time in forever and instantly tightened up and started to burn. Awesome. 300 meter warmup, 5x100 meter (average about 1:50) with 15 second recover, 200 meter cool down. I survived and that's about all I can say. At moments I felt like I was flailing in the water and not making any progress, gotta love it.
The only downside to the back-to-back run/swim is the lack of stretching after the run, although I do find that the swim at least loosens my legs up a bit (I'm pretending, don't ruin it for me). I did some stretching when I got home, did the evil PT (seriously painful), and now it's off to bed.
Goal for tomorrow: enjoy the afternoon's bike ride and include fewer parenthetical comments in my blog post.
Day 2 of training called for a 40-minute run and a 1000-meter swim, so Tricia and I met up at the gym at 5 (that's in the evening, in case you were thinking I was an early riser) and headed out for a run to be followed by the swim when the pool opened at 6. The run was interesting: sore quads and left ass/hip from biking yesterday and a bit more fatigued than recent runs have been (no surprise there). I'm still working on the new running form and feel like today was at least more successful than Sunday where I got so distracted talking to Tricia that I kept forgetting to suck in my abs and run with tiny strides. My evil hamstring did about as well as I could hope for the run which is good, and the extremely sore hip/ass on the left side is at least a nice change of discomfort. And as Paul always tells me, change is the spice of life.
The swim started out awesome.... for 50 meters before my upper body remembered that it had been on a bike the day before for the first time in forever and instantly tightened up and started to burn. Awesome. 300 meter warmup, 5x100 meter (average about 1:50) with 15 second recover, 200 meter cool down. I survived and that's about all I can say. At moments I felt like I was flailing in the water and not making any progress, gotta love it.
The only downside to the back-to-back run/swim is the lack of stretching after the run, although I do find that the swim at least loosens my legs up a bit (I'm pretending, don't ruin it for me). I did some stretching when I got home, did the evil PT (seriously painful), and now it's off to bed.
Goal for tomorrow: enjoy the afternoon's bike ride and include fewer parenthetical comments in my blog post.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Quick, before the Alka Seltzer kicks in!
I've been sick since Tuesday and while I'm feeling a lot better, I have the voice of a 60 year old smoker. Pack a day. And I have the cough to match. To ensure that I'm 100% by the time I leave for Maui next Tuesday, I've prescribed myself an early bedtime and plenty of drugs.
I've already medicated for the night and my eyelids are getting heavy, but I wanted to contribute to our new blog! Thanks for making it happen Muggy! This is so fun! I love the title. Way to use the words "tri" and "train" and "NE Portland."
My weekend workout was sick (as in kickass) so I'm going to start with it. As a side note, this is not intended to one-up you Muggy. All you readers out there (Muggy), remember that I'm three months into training for a Tinman (Wildflower 1/2) followed by an Ironman (CDA), so my workouts are a bit longer than Muggy's day 1.
On Saturday, I met up w/ a group of runners training for the Boston Marathon - their goal time is 3:10-3:15, so they're a bit (ok, a lot) faster than me. Luckily there was a less fast girl there who ran the 6 mile tempo workout w/ me (average pace: 7:07 - pretty damn good, for me). Afterwards, we went to Super Jock and Jill and I rewarded myself w/ a super cute running tanktop (for Maui! and summer!). I was parked around the corner and ran into the parking police on my way back to the car, right after she wrote me a ticket. $#*#%! That was an expensive run. Oh well, it's the overhead cost of life, right?
On Sunday, I went for a 50 mile ride with Ironman Tricia and her husband, Ironman Jeff (note: in this blog, I will refer to anyone who has completed an Ironman as Ironman. I feel like they've earned the title). I was super happy to have company because I get lost on my own, or end up doing the same route (let's see, shall I do Mercer Island or Mercer Island?) all the time. This ride let me see new scenery, climb some new hills ("I was born to climb") and practice descending ("with confidence and speed"). More on my new hill-climbing mantra tomorrow.
At the end of the ride, changed my clothes and ran a slow easy loop around Green Lake. It wasn't exactly easy. I had a blister on my big toe and all I could think about was the pint of chocolate milk waiting in the fridge. Ggghhhmmmm.
I've already medicated for the night and my eyelids are getting heavy, but I wanted to contribute to our new blog! Thanks for making it happen Muggy! This is so fun! I love the title. Way to use the words "tri" and "train" and "NE Portland."
My weekend workout was sick (as in kickass) so I'm going to start with it. As a side note, this is not intended to one-up you Muggy. All you readers out there (Muggy), remember that I'm three months into training for a Tinman (Wildflower 1/2) followed by an Ironman (CDA), so my workouts are a bit longer than Muggy's day 1.
On Saturday, I met up w/ a group of runners training for the Boston Marathon - their goal time is 3:10-3:15, so they're a bit (ok, a lot) faster than me. Luckily there was a less fast girl there who ran the 6 mile tempo workout w/ me (average pace: 7:07 - pretty damn good, for me). Afterwards, we went to Super Jock and Jill and I rewarded myself w/ a super cute running tanktop (for Maui! and summer!). I was parked around the corner and ran into the parking police on my way back to the car, right after she wrote me a ticket. $#*#%! That was an expensive run. Oh well, it's the overhead cost of life, right?
On Sunday, I went for a 50 mile ride with Ironman Tricia and her husband, Ironman Jeff (note: in this blog, I will refer to anyone who has completed an Ironman as Ironman. I feel like they've earned the title). I was super happy to have company because I get lost on my own, or end up doing the same route (let's see, shall I do Mercer Island or Mercer Island?) all the time. This ride let me see new scenery, climb some new hills ("I was born to climb") and practice descending ("with confidence and speed"). More on my new hill-climbing mantra tomorrow.
At the end of the ride, changed my clothes and ran a slow easy loop around Green Lake. It wasn't exactly easy. I had a blister on my big toe and all I could think about was the pint of chocolate milk waiting in the fridge. Ggghhhmmmm.
Day 1
Today was the first day of my training program for this summer's half-Ironman, or as my friend Tricia (my current Madison training partner) likes to call it, the Tinman. The program called for a 20-mile bike ride and a 1000-meter swim. Based on the week's scheduling and Tricia's busy schedule (in comparison to my final-days-of-the-dissertation freedom), we opted for the bike ride and will throw in the swim on Friday.
So after a day of proofing and formatting footnotes, I headed home early, dusted off my bike, pumped the tires (after a long search in the garage for the pump!), and hit the road. Madison's spring is early this year, thank god. It was a balmy 55 with little wind and lots of sun! Unfortunately, the street cleaners haven't been out yet and there's a solid 2+ feet of thick, nasty gravel on every shoulder which made the riding a little more hazardous. I tried to avoid the gravel as much as possible, but that meant riding in traffic a bit more which makes me nervous, especially on my first day on the roads in 9 months.
Despite my gravel anxiety, the ride was wonderful. It felt so great to be out on my bike, whizzing down the hills, and enjoying the great outdoors doing something other than running and getting to see parts of the area that I only see when on my bike. That said, the first 15 of this 20 miler felt way better than the end. Of course, the last 4 miles are when Tricia and I part ways AND when I encounter the hardest hills of the ride.
By the time I got home, I was tired, starving, and a bit shaky. If only my personal chef had prepared dinner for me! oh wait, I don't have a personal chef. It was 6:30 and my stomach was growling like Dennis at a stranger, so I threw some raisins and a banana down the hatch to quiet the beast, quickly threw together dinner, jumped in the shower, and then feasted. After an hour of lying on the couch (I told you I was tired!), I cleaned the kitchen, straightened the house, and did my daily PT which I hate (it may be time to re-enact the star chart system I've been using in 2010).
Here's hoping I don't have gravel nightmares tonight!
So after a day of proofing and formatting footnotes, I headed home early, dusted off my bike, pumped the tires (after a long search in the garage for the pump!), and hit the road. Madison's spring is early this year, thank god. It was a balmy 55 with little wind and lots of sun! Unfortunately, the street cleaners haven't been out yet and there's a solid 2+ feet of thick, nasty gravel on every shoulder which made the riding a little more hazardous. I tried to avoid the gravel as much as possible, but that meant riding in traffic a bit more which makes me nervous, especially on my first day on the roads in 9 months.
Despite my gravel anxiety, the ride was wonderful. It felt so great to be out on my bike, whizzing down the hills, and enjoying the great outdoors doing something other than running and getting to see parts of the area that I only see when on my bike. That said, the first 15 of this 20 miler felt way better than the end. Of course, the last 4 miles are when Tricia and I part ways AND when I encounter the hardest hills of the ride.
By the time I got home, I was tired, starving, and a bit shaky. If only my personal chef had prepared dinner for me! oh wait, I don't have a personal chef. It was 6:30 and my stomach was growling like Dennis at a stranger, so I threw some raisins and a banana down the hatch to quiet the beast, quickly threw together dinner, jumped in the shower, and then feasted. After an hour of lying on the couch (I told you I was tired!), I cleaned the kitchen, straightened the house, and did my daily PT which I hate (it may be time to re-enact the star chart system I've been using in 2010).
Here's hoping I don't have gravel nightmares tonight!
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