Tonight was a 90-minute long course (50 meter lane set-up instead of 25 yards) all-you-can-swim swim. A swim buffet, if you will.
I hopped in, first one in the pool, which I just love - the whole pool in front of you and you're the only one making waves - it's awesome. The 50-meter set-up makes keeping track of distance so much easier for me, as I get to count in 100's instead of by 50's. For some reason I can actually remember where I am in the set when it's long course and we're going distance.
Anyway, I got a strong start, finished the first 1500 meters (Lavaman race distance, the Olympic tri distance) feeling pretty strong, then cranked out the next 500 no problem. My arms started to get a little tired and I could feel my form falling apart around, so instead of focusing on pace I focused on trying to keep my form together. It was still hard.
I paused at 3000 meters to grab some water, then counted out my next 10 x 100 meters, and was so thankful to finish. I was tired, my legs were starting to cramp (weird), and I was hungry - the hungry part is scary since after workouts I'm usually not interested in food right away.
And in fact, after I got home and showered and put on warm clothes, I turned into the crazy hungry person who hates everybody. When I came home with my burrito and Rob's mahi mahi tacos I had to tell him to not talk to me until my blood sugar was properly elevated. For his own safety.
Now I'm fine - we've opened the first round of Christmas gifts, are packing the car, and I'm trying to figure out how early I can go to bed and still be considered a grown up...
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
My 10 Minute Mile Barrier
And how I broke it tonight! Woo!
We had a coached track workout tonight, in the rain, and there was a surprisingly large turnout. The warmup consisted of 4 x 100 meters of drills, including lunges, butt-kicks, high knees, and a slow jog. Then we got to the main set. Oh, the main set.
4 sets of 10 minutes of running, with 5-ish minutes of core work in between. I was determined to break 10 minutes on my first mile, then just try to keep it close to a mile in each of the remaining three 10 minute running periods. I purposely didn't look at my watch, I just ran, and I ran hard. I did try to get splits at each lap, and stopped the timer after my first mile.
So yeah, I broke ten minutes! By more than I thought possible!
My first lap was 2:10.55, the second lap was 2:19.26, the third lap was 2:23.33, and the last now-I'm-getting-desperate lap was 2:22.99, for a total mile time of...
9:16.13!
HOLY CRAP!
Of course, even though the ten minute period wasn't over, I had to walk - I was dying. Like thought my legs were going to shatter and my lungs were going to spontaneously combust kind of dying. Whoo.
I walked about a half lap before we stopped to do core work, which involved a lot of squats and lunges and not a ton of actual core, but whatever!
My second 10 minute period I nearly made it a mile - I was about 1/8th of a lap short, so I'd guess my mile time would be about 10 minutes and 10 seconds, or something close to it.
The third 10 minute period I made it a bit less than that - about 1/4 of a lap short.
The last 10 minute mile period was less stellar - I was about 1/2 lap short. That would still be under an 11-minute mile, and I held THAT pace for 4 miles. Even though they weren't continuous, I'm absolutely thrilled with that performance.
Of course now I feel not so great, and getting off the couch is rather challenging, but that's how you improve...
We had a coached track workout tonight, in the rain, and there was a surprisingly large turnout. The warmup consisted of 4 x 100 meters of drills, including lunges, butt-kicks, high knees, and a slow jog. Then we got to the main set. Oh, the main set.
4 sets of 10 minutes of running, with 5-ish minutes of core work in between. I was determined to break 10 minutes on my first mile, then just try to keep it close to a mile in each of the remaining three 10 minute running periods. I purposely didn't look at my watch, I just ran, and I ran hard. I did try to get splits at each lap, and stopped the timer after my first mile.
So yeah, I broke ten minutes! By more than I thought possible!
My first lap was 2:10.55, the second lap was 2:19.26, the third lap was 2:23.33, and the last now-I'm-getting-desperate lap was 2:22.99, for a total mile time of...
9:16.13!
HOLY CRAP!
Of course, even though the ten minute period wasn't over, I had to walk - I was dying. Like thought my legs were going to shatter and my lungs were going to spontaneously combust kind of dying. Whoo.
I walked about a half lap before we stopped to do core work, which involved a lot of squats and lunges and not a ton of actual core, but whatever!
My second 10 minute period I nearly made it a mile - I was about 1/8th of a lap short, so I'd guess my mile time would be about 10 minutes and 10 seconds, or something close to it.
The third 10 minute period I made it a bit less than that - about 1/4 of a lap short.
The last 10 minute mile period was less stellar - I was about 1/2 lap short. That would still be under an 11-minute mile, and I held THAT pace for 4 miles. Even though they weren't continuous, I'm absolutely thrilled with that performance.
Of course now I feel not so great, and getting off the couch is rather challenging, but that's how you improve...
Monday, December 20, 2010
Swimming
Quick post - the pool is set up for long course, which means less flip turns, which means more swimming, which means it's harder. Plus, there were like 100 people in each lane, so it's hard to get a good interval workout in. At any rate, here's what we did with our 90 minutes (we got 90 instead of 60 today - awesome!):
300 warm-up
10 x 50 meter kick with fins
8 x 50 drill/swim
100 easy free
300 free
6 x 50 free
3 x 100 free
6 x 50 free
100 easy free
10 x 50 pull
2 x 50, 25 hard 25 easy
100 warm down 3300
Christina was there tonight, and I'm keeping up with her more easily, which is nice to see. I like visible, measurable progress...
300 warm-up
10 x 50 meter kick with fins
8 x 50 drill/swim
100 easy free
300 free
6 x 50 free
3 x 100 free
6 x 50 free
100 easy free
10 x 50 pull
2 x 50, 25 hard 25 easy
100 warm down 3300
Christina was there tonight, and I'm keeping up with her more easily, which is nice to see. I like visible, measurable progress...
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Blah
Two nights with my sister plus one holiday party = not feeling the workouts. I had to miss yesterday morning's run, but got on the bike in the garage today for a quick workout. I chose the IronGirl DVD because it's efficient - 30 minutes and you can select either the beginner, intermediate, or advanced workout. I chose advanced, mostly out of guilt. Advanced, apparently, means there is little to no recovery in between sets, and man was I sweating at the end of it. I'm happy I did it, but am very glad it's over, and now I feel a little ill...
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Treadmill
I spent Thursday and Friday nights in SF with my sister, eating and drinking too much. But, we brought our gym clothes so Friday morning we hit the gym - I hopped on the treadmill and ran a quick 3 miles, the middle mile at a 9:50 minutes per mile pace, which for me was speedy.
Today I'm pretty wiped out, so am going to take a quick nap, then Rob and I have to go to a holiday party this evening.
Tomorrow I'd love to get in a longer bike and run in, but of course hate going by myself so am trying to find a brave soul to go with me... I might just end up on my bike trainer/treadmill in the garage...
Today I'm pretty wiped out, so am going to take a quick nap, then Rob and I have to go to a holiday party this evening.
Tomorrow I'd love to get in a longer bike and run in, but of course hate going by myself so am trying to find a brave soul to go with me... I might just end up on my bike trainer/treadmill in the garage...
Thursday, December 16, 2010
...and then I saw a man with no feet.
I was a bit tired and mopey last night, but got in the water anyway knowing that I have a couple days in front of me where it will be hard to get a good workout in. I was feeling whiny and sluggish and didn't want to be in the water...
...and then a man with one leg got in the lane next to me for an independent workout.
I sucked it up and swum hard after that. It's hard to remember what I'm doing this for sometimes, but every now and then there's a little reminder that this is for a good cause. And as a secondary benefit to the raising money for cancer research part of it, we all are improving our fitness and overall health as well. I need to remind myself of those things every now and then to keep my motivation high.
The swim last night was as follows:
200 warmup
5 x 50 kick
8 x 50 drill/swim
1 x 100 IM (I added this one on my own)
4 x 300 free (officially the workout was to do 3 but I got an extra one in)
4 x 150 free
50 warmdown
Total: 2800 yards!
Most yards I've put in all season so far. Next step is to add more sprinting, a la water polo workouts...
...and then a man with one leg got in the lane next to me for an independent workout.
I sucked it up and swum hard after that. It's hard to remember what I'm doing this for sometimes, but every now and then there's a little reminder that this is for a good cause. And as a secondary benefit to the raising money for cancer research part of it, we all are improving our fitness and overall health as well. I need to remind myself of those things every now and then to keep my motivation high.
The swim last night was as follows:
200 warmup
5 x 50 kick
8 x 50 drill/swim
1 x 100 IM (I added this one on my own)
4 x 300 free (officially the workout was to do 3 but I got an extra one in)
4 x 150 free
50 warmdown
Total: 2800 yards!
Most yards I've put in all season so far. Next step is to add more sprinting, a la water polo workouts...
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Running in the Rain
Tonight was an extra Captain's track workout - led by one of the workout "captains." It was raining, so there weren't very many people there - six of us, not counting the coach. The workout was short and sweet - I did a 1-mile warmup (11:18 pace), then we did a ladder set consisting of 2 laps (1/2 mile) of a 100 meter sprint/100 meter recovery/100 meter sprint/100 meter recovery (400 meters in one lap), 2 laps of a 50 meter sprint/150 meter recovery/50 meter sprint/150 meter recovery. Then we did 20 lunges (whoo, that was fun after my spinning workout and sprinting), then back "up" the ladder - so repeat the set in reverse. "Only" 2 miles of main set, but it still felt pretty darn hard. My overall pace was just under 11 minutes per mile for the main set (my fastest lap was about 2:27 and my slowest, I think, was around 2:45), so I'm happy with that, especially given that there was a bit of walking during the recovery part.
Now the Christmas tree lights are on and I'm in flannel pajamas and about to put my feet up and dive into a good book...
Now the Christmas tree lights are on and I'm in flannel pajamas and about to put my feet up and dive into a good book...
Spinning!
My goal this year is go sub-3 hours, and now that I have a specific time goal I am totally obsessed with it. I find it much more motivating to be aiming for a faster time than the more nebulous "I just want to finish," and it makes the training a LOT more fun/interesting/pointed/intense. Add to that my HRM/GPS and I'm a total freak about this now. I'm reading books, talking to coaches, logging my workouts, and just generally working harder than I was last year. It's totally fun.
I just finished a spinning workout in the garage on my bike trainer. I have four cycling DVDs, and this one focuses on sprinting. It works on a 1:5 sprint:recovery ratio, which supposedly works some specific system over another that cyclists supposedly neglect blah blah blah...
It was hard, that's all you need to know.
After the warmup, there were 5 sets of 10 seconds of all-out sprinting followed by 50 seconds of recovery. We went through that twice with a 2 minute recovery spin in between, then a third set where we do a 5-second "lead-up" to the sprint, building our pace gradually over the 5 seconds to the all-out sprint. I seem to have blocked out the middle part of the workout and can't remember it at the moment.
What I do remember is the set of plyometric jumps. Ho-ly crap were those hard. We got off the bike and spent 30 seconds crouching down and exploding up off the ground. 30 seconds doesn't sound like a lot until you're 15 seconds in and want to cut your legs off because it would feel better. After one last triplet set that involved actually standing up to sprint for 15 seconds with 45 seconds of recovery, we hit the cool down part - my favorite!
I love the feeling of being done with a challenging workout. It's so satisfying.
Also, I find it entertaining that I keep using "we" when it was really just me in the empty garage with a DVD. At least I didn't curse at this one.
I just finished a spinning workout in the garage on my bike trainer. I have four cycling DVDs, and this one focuses on sprinting. It works on a 1:5 sprint:recovery ratio, which supposedly works some specific system over another that cyclists supposedly neglect blah blah blah...
It was hard, that's all you need to know.
After the warmup, there were 5 sets of 10 seconds of all-out sprinting followed by 50 seconds of recovery. We went through that twice with a 2 minute recovery spin in between, then a third set where we do a 5-second "lead-up" to the sprint, building our pace gradually over the 5 seconds to the all-out sprint. I seem to have blocked out the middle part of the workout and can't remember it at the moment.
What I do remember is the set of plyometric jumps. Ho-ly crap were those hard. We got off the bike and spent 30 seconds crouching down and exploding up off the ground. 30 seconds doesn't sound like a lot until you're 15 seconds in and want to cut your legs off because it would feel better. After one last triplet set that involved actually standing up to sprint for 15 seconds with 45 seconds of recovery, we hit the cool down part - my favorite!
I love the feeling of being done with a challenging workout. It's so satisfying.
Also, I find it entertaining that I keep using "we" when it was really just me in the empty garage with a DVD. At least I didn't curse at this one.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Double Day
I just got back from a swim tonight - what a difference a weekend makes! I felt great in the water and was holding a pretty fast pace. At least I think I was - the lanes were crowded tonight and speedy Christina wasn't there to kick my butt.
The set was pretty straightforward:
300 warm-up
8 x 75 kick-drill-swim
150, 250, 350, 250, 150, first and last 50's hard, the rest easy
6 x 50 pull
200 warmdown
Total yards:
2550
Not bad for an hour's swim. The first hard 50 I did I swam in about 35 seconds, which is pretty darn good. Don't know if I could hold that pace, but it was nice to pop up and see the clock after the first one!
Now, something to eat and then to bed!
The set was pretty straightforward:
300 warm-up
8 x 75 kick-drill-swim
150, 250, 350, 250, 150, first and last 50's hard, the rest easy
6 x 50 pull
200 warmdown
Total yards:
2550
Not bad for an hour's swim. The first hard 50 I did I swam in about 35 seconds, which is pretty darn good. Don't know if I could hold that pace, but it was nice to pop up and see the clock after the first one!
Now, something to eat and then to bed!
Improvement
You know, I just looked at a run I did one month ago, on November 16th. The GPS software stores all of my workouts and information, which is great fun and apparently very motivational. The run I did one month ago? I ran 3.99 miles at an average pace of 13:36 minute miles.
In the span of one month I've improved my running pace over 2 minutes per mile. I just have to happy about that and stop being so hard on myself. 11:25 minute miles for me are great, period.
In the span of one month I've improved my running pace over 2 minutes per mile. I just have to happy about that and stop being so hard on myself. 11:25 minute miles for me are great, period.
5.91
I just ran 5.91 miles. I am tired. This will be a short post as I have to go soak in a tub and maybe take a nap.
I wore my GPS and tried to stay very conscious of my pace, stride length, and shoulder/head position, but I could feel myself get tired and start to fall apart. I ran my usual ~5.7 mile route, and I felt pretty strong so I decided to extend it by just a bit at the end, and instead of cutting into the neighborhood where I usually do I went around the block and added another 0.1-0.2 miles, which is better than nothing! Baby steps, right?
Anyway, I'm encouraged that my average pace was ~11.26 minute miles - for that distance that's a season best for me, and hopefully I'll only get faster as I work more on speed. Today I mostly wanted distance and form, so I'm happy with that performance.
There's a swim tonight that I'll go to as well - that should kick my butt for sure.
It's time for me to officially recommit to TNT, which means I have to give credit card information in case I don't reach my fundraising minimum. I really, really need to get on the fundraising and get over my mental block.
Now I am icing my knees - it feels like heaven. The bath I take next will be even better. :-)
I wore my GPS and tried to stay very conscious of my pace, stride length, and shoulder/head position, but I could feel myself get tired and start to fall apart. I ran my usual ~5.7 mile route, and I felt pretty strong so I decided to extend it by just a bit at the end, and instead of cutting into the neighborhood where I usually do I went around the block and added another 0.1-0.2 miles, which is better than nothing! Baby steps, right?
Anyway, I'm encouraged that my average pace was ~11.26 minute miles - for that distance that's a season best for me, and hopefully I'll only get faster as I work more on speed. Today I mostly wanted distance and form, so I'm happy with that performance.
There's a swim tonight that I'll go to as well - that should kick my butt for sure.
It's time for me to officially recommit to TNT, which means I have to give credit card information in case I don't reach my fundraising minimum. I really, really need to get on the fundraising and get over my mental block.
Now I am icing my knees - it feels like heaven. The bath I take next will be even better. :-)
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Ride-N-Tie
I have no idea why this workout is named the "Ride-N-Tie," but there you go. We were partnered with another person about our height, and shared a mountain bike. One team member began running while the other began riding, eventually leaving the bike at the side of the trail for the runner to come upon and pick up and start riding while team member number 1 runs. We leapfrog like that for three 2.2-mile loops for a total of 6.6 miles - not too bad! There is a lot more running than you might think, and I purposely kept my bike rides short so I could do more running since that's where I need the most help. Coach Keith was riding next to me for a while as I ran, giving me pointers and telling me to step it up and get some intervals in there. I mentioned my issues with heart rate - that as soon as I start running it's through the rood - and he said he used to be the same way (and he's a swimmer first and foremost so understands my issues with running!) but that after ~5 years (5 years? Really?) he's gotten better so now when he jogs his HR is in the 130's. It gives me hope. Long term hope, but hope nonetheless.
Anyway, my partner and I completed three laps in good time, although I forgot to start my watch so I don't have an actual time, but I did feel strong and felt like I was running faster than I usually do. Actually, I was a little amazed - I tried running "harder" (which probably doesn't look like much, but feels like a lot to me) and was able to hold that pace for much longer than I thought I could. Progress is good.
It's been wet outside, and we were on fire roads, and the roads were muddy. I came home covered - mud on my face, on my legs, my pants were filthy, it was great!
Now, I'm showered and wearing fleece and considering a nap... :-)
Anyway, my partner and I completed three laps in good time, although I forgot to start my watch so I don't have an actual time, but I did feel strong and felt like I was running faster than I usually do. Actually, I was a little amazed - I tried running "harder" (which probably doesn't look like much, but feels like a lot to me) and was able to hold that pace for much longer than I thought I could. Progress is good.
It's been wet outside, and we were on fire roads, and the roads were muddy. I came home covered - mud on my face, on my legs, my pants were filthy, it was great!
Now, I'm showered and wearing fleece and considering a nap... :-)
Friday, December 10, 2010
Sluggish Friday Night Swimming
My only goal was to get in the water today, but the only time I could go was in the evening. The Campbell pool is open for lap swimming at 7 Monday through Friday, and I figured there wouldn't be very many people in the pool.
It gets dark so early and it's Friday night - let's just say my motivation was low. Like really, really low. I really had to force myself to just go and get in, figuring my worst case scenario was that I'd just swim 2000 yards in smaller easy sets and call it a day. My hunch was right - there weren't many people there and I had my own lane, which is always lovely. My sad little workout was as follows:
500 warm-up
4 x 100 IM
100 (75 drill 25 swim)
400, every 4th lap hard
300, every 3rd lap hard
200, every 2nd lap hard
100 all hard
100 warm-down
I felt like I was dragging a sack of sand as I was swimming - I was so tired and sluggish, and for no good reason. Maybe I didn't eat enough today, but I suspect that I was a bit dehydrated. I had a fair bit of Diet Coke and not enough water and have been doing some reading about hydration; apparently "studies have shown" (in quotes because I haven't read the primary studies) 2% dehydration translates into a 10% decrease in performance. I need to pay closer attention to that, apparently.
Tomorrow is the "ride-n-tie." I have no idea why it's named that, but essentially I'm paired with another TNT athlete and we alternate between running and riding a mountain bike around a fire road/trail. So say my partner starts running and I start riding - I pick a distance, then dump the bike and start running. When she gets to the bike she picks it up and starts riding, passes me, and picks a distance then dumps the bike, etc etc until we go about 4 miles (I think). It's pretty fun, most people dress up in costume but my partner and I aren't feeling it so we're going as "triathletes" and calling it a day.
I'm drinking tons of water now and going to bed soon.
The rest of tomorrow is all about being a lazy bum. And maybe a nap. Sunday we are going Christmas tree hunting with friends who have kids - should be a riot and we'll get lots of pictures to post I'm sure. In the meantime, here's a really flattering one of me swimming last weekend:
And one of the team at our "color war" track night (can you find me?):
It gets dark so early and it's Friday night - let's just say my motivation was low. Like really, really low. I really had to force myself to just go and get in, figuring my worst case scenario was that I'd just swim 2000 yards in smaller easy sets and call it a day. My hunch was right - there weren't many people there and I had my own lane, which is always lovely. My sad little workout was as follows:
500 warm-up
4 x 100 IM
100 (75 drill 25 swim)
400, every 4th lap hard
300, every 3rd lap hard
200, every 2nd lap hard
100 all hard
100 warm-down
I felt like I was dragging a sack of sand as I was swimming - I was so tired and sluggish, and for no good reason. Maybe I didn't eat enough today, but I suspect that I was a bit dehydrated. I had a fair bit of Diet Coke and not enough water and have been doing some reading about hydration; apparently "studies have shown" (in quotes because I haven't read the primary studies) 2% dehydration translates into a 10% decrease in performance. I need to pay closer attention to that, apparently.
Tomorrow is the "ride-n-tie." I have no idea why it's named that, but essentially I'm paired with another TNT athlete and we alternate between running and riding a mountain bike around a fire road/trail. So say my partner starts running and I start riding - I pick a distance, then dump the bike and start running. When she gets to the bike she picks it up and starts riding, passes me, and picks a distance then dumps the bike, etc etc until we go about 4 miles (I think). It's pretty fun, most people dress up in costume but my partner and I aren't feeling it so we're going as "triathletes" and calling it a day.
I'm drinking tons of water now and going to bed soon.
The rest of tomorrow is all about being a lazy bum. And maybe a nap. Sunday we are going Christmas tree hunting with friends who have kids - should be a riot and we'll get lots of pictures to post I'm sure. In the meantime, here's a really flattering one of me swimming last weekend:
And one of the team at our "color war" track night (can you find me?):
I'm Training for an Ironman
Okay, so I'm "only" training for a 1/4 Ironman, but the sentiment is the same. I laughed my ass off at this.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Dear Chris Carmichael...
...Your cycling DVDs are killer!
It's rainy and gross outside today, but I needed to cram in some kind of bike workout, so I popped in one of my spinning DVDs and set up my trainer in the garage and off I went. I figured I'd do about 30 minutes of intense spinning then call it a day. The DVD I put in contained a 65-minute workout. Okay, I'll just go for 30-40 minutes (notice the time already creeping up?) and then hop off.
Right.
I totally did the whole thing, and I cycled hard!
The DVD, called "Cycling for Cadence," focuses on your pedal speed (or cadence) and increasing your power output while maintaining a certain rpm. I don't have a bike computer that tells me any of those data points, but I watch the people on the screen and try to match their pedaling. When that fails, I put my head down and just pedal as fast as I can. There are a number of sets, where you pedal really fast at a low resistance for 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 4 minutes with 1 minute breaks in between. Then you get a ~4 minute break, then you do two sets of 5 speed intervals of 30 seconds on/30 seconds off. The "on" means high cadence and high power - so increase the resistance but keep your cadence up - for 30 seconds, then recover at a low resistance/high cadence for 30 seconds. Five times through, ~3 minutes rest, then do it again. THEN you get to the good stuff.
At this point I'd finished my water bottle, so I hopped off my bike to refill it during the break. I have clipless pedals, which means my shoes clip directly to the pedals of the bike, and to exit you spin your toes inward and the clip unlatches and you can step out. I, being a bit tired, leaned to get off the bike before properly unclipping, and over I went, bike, trainer, and all, onto the garage floor.
Awesome.
No injuries except bruised pride, which really isn't so bad when you're the only one there.
The last set was killer - three sets of 3 minutes on/3 minutes off, where the 3 minutes "on" was high cadence/high resistance, and the "off" was moderate cadence/low resistance. "High" resistance for me is only a cog or two up the chain ring, not much but I can really feel the difference, and for the very last set I spent all 3 minutes in a higher cog than I had before, and really focused on keeping my cadence up. Three minutes is a long time, and to get through it I can't watch the clock so I just put my head down and close my eyes and listen to the awful music they have playing on the DVD. When the idiot on the screen opened his mouth and said "You only have..." I figured that was going to the 30-seconds-left mark, but then he said "one minute..." - and I thought, okay, I can do one more minute of this, but then clearly he'd read his stopwatch incorrectly, because he added "...and a half left!"
I actually cursed out loud at him.
Again, glad I was by myself.
After that, there was a ~7 minute cool down, which was just spinning at a low resistance to loosen up your legs again.
Oh, I almost forgot - of course I started the set chewing gum, and guess what happened? It fell out of my mouth! I really need to rethink this gum chewing habit, but I don't know how else to not end up with a really dry mouth...
It's rainy and gross outside today, but I needed to cram in some kind of bike workout, so I popped in one of my spinning DVDs and set up my trainer in the garage and off I went. I figured I'd do about 30 minutes of intense spinning then call it a day. The DVD I put in contained a 65-minute workout. Okay, I'll just go for 30-40 minutes (notice the time already creeping up?) and then hop off.
Right.
I totally did the whole thing, and I cycled hard!
The DVD, called "Cycling for Cadence," focuses on your pedal speed (or cadence) and increasing your power output while maintaining a certain rpm. I don't have a bike computer that tells me any of those data points, but I watch the people on the screen and try to match their pedaling. When that fails, I put my head down and just pedal as fast as I can. There are a number of sets, where you pedal really fast at a low resistance for 2 minutes, 3 minutes, and 4 minutes with 1 minute breaks in between. Then you get a ~4 minute break, then you do two sets of 5 speed intervals of 30 seconds on/30 seconds off. The "on" means high cadence and high power - so increase the resistance but keep your cadence up - for 30 seconds, then recover at a low resistance/high cadence for 30 seconds. Five times through, ~3 minutes rest, then do it again. THEN you get to the good stuff.
At this point I'd finished my water bottle, so I hopped off my bike to refill it during the break. I have clipless pedals, which means my shoes clip directly to the pedals of the bike, and to exit you spin your toes inward and the clip unlatches and you can step out. I, being a bit tired, leaned to get off the bike before properly unclipping, and over I went, bike, trainer, and all, onto the garage floor.
Awesome.
No injuries except bruised pride, which really isn't so bad when you're the only one there.
The last set was killer - three sets of 3 minutes on/3 minutes off, where the 3 minutes "on" was high cadence/high resistance, and the "off" was moderate cadence/low resistance. "High" resistance for me is only a cog or two up the chain ring, not much but I can really feel the difference, and for the very last set I spent all 3 minutes in a higher cog than I had before, and really focused on keeping my cadence up. Three minutes is a long time, and to get through it I can't watch the clock so I just put my head down and close my eyes and listen to the awful music they have playing on the DVD. When the idiot on the screen opened his mouth and said "You only have..." I figured that was going to the 30-seconds-left mark, but then he said "one minute..." - and I thought, okay, I can do one more minute of this, but then clearly he'd read his stopwatch incorrectly, because he added "...and a half left!"
I actually cursed out loud at him.
Again, glad I was by myself.
After that, there was a ~7 minute cool down, which was just spinning at a low resistance to loosen up your legs again.
Oh, I almost forgot - of course I started the set chewing gum, and guess what happened? It fell out of my mouth! I really need to rethink this gum chewing habit, but I don't know how else to not end up with a really dry mouth...
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
I STILL can't run and chew gum.
Last year I posted a similar theme. Last year, while running, I looked down and my gum, which I chew to avoid dry mouth, flew out of my mouth and promptly froze on the track. You would think I'd learned my lesson, but nooooo, I still try to be extra-advanced on the track and chew gum and run.
I also couldn't help but notice that there are huge signs at the track specifically prohibiting gum chewing. I wonder if that was because of me.
Anyway, we opened with some drills - 400 or 500 meters worth - including butt kicks, fast feet, building to a sprint, lunges, and side-steps. Then it was a ten-minute warm-up, of which I only did ~8:30 (and three laps) because our next run was two times miles. Oh, my favorite. Coach Keith was there, and I've asked him for some extra help getting me under 3 hours this year, so I was especially conscious of my pace. And kind of embarrassed because I'm so damn slow.
I felt pretty strong, and for the first few laps ran a good pace. I wasn't looking at my watch because I didn't want to get taken out of the moment and concentrate too hard on what lap I was on; I was trying to concentrate on my pace and pushing myself just a bit harder than I usually run. I mean really, it was only two miles, right?
About two laps in I started pushing a bit harder, and - now remember I am chewing gum - and I'm working on relaxing my shoulders and keeping my head up (apparently it's a more efficient way to run), and I take a big breath in...
... and my gum gets stuck in my throat.
I kept running, feeling rather calm (realizing I could still breathe helped), but noticing that the gum was pretty well lodged. I figured the worst case scenario was that it shifted and went down the wrong pipe, at which point I stop one of the thousand other runners out there and have them give me the heimlich, but as it turned out I took one big breath, swallowed, and the gum went right down. Whew. Of course, then I felt ill, but that might have been the big bowl of cereal I ate about an hour before the workout. I was hungry, so what?!
At mile 1 I hit the lap button on my watch, but didn't look at it as I didn't want to get discouraged or excited, I just wanted to keep running and finish strong.
Keith yelled at me - "Go Megan! Make it hurt!" Which seemed a bit unnecessary as I felt like I might die at any moment, but I appreciate the thought. Also, it helps to know I'm being watched - I certainly picked up my pace when I was running in front of the coaches!
My last lap was strong - there was a woman who passed me and I made it my personal mission in life to keep up with her and pass her at the end. I think she could hear me sticking with her, because she kept picking up her pace as I would get closer, but with about 1/8 of a lap left I turned it on and sprinted to the finish and passed her. Victory! (Every little thing helps.)
My total time: 20:24! I checked my watch - mile 1 was a 10:07 and mile two was a 10:17 mile. I am rather impressed with myself, even though I had to spend a good amount of time bent over nearly puking and catching my breath.
Tonight's workout gave me hope that I might actually break three hours this year - if I keep it up hopefully I'll get there! Fingers crossed.
I also couldn't help but notice that there are huge signs at the track specifically prohibiting gum chewing. I wonder if that was because of me.
Anyway, we opened with some drills - 400 or 500 meters worth - including butt kicks, fast feet, building to a sprint, lunges, and side-steps. Then it was a ten-minute warm-up, of which I only did ~8:30 (and three laps) because our next run was two times miles. Oh, my favorite. Coach Keith was there, and I've asked him for some extra help getting me under 3 hours this year, so I was especially conscious of my pace. And kind of embarrassed because I'm so damn slow.
I felt pretty strong, and for the first few laps ran a good pace. I wasn't looking at my watch because I didn't want to get taken out of the moment and concentrate too hard on what lap I was on; I was trying to concentrate on my pace and pushing myself just a bit harder than I usually run. I mean really, it was only two miles, right?
About two laps in I started pushing a bit harder, and - now remember I am chewing gum - and I'm working on relaxing my shoulders and keeping my head up (apparently it's a more efficient way to run), and I take a big breath in...
... and my gum gets stuck in my throat.
I kept running, feeling rather calm (realizing I could still breathe helped), but noticing that the gum was pretty well lodged. I figured the worst case scenario was that it shifted and went down the wrong pipe, at which point I stop one of the thousand other runners out there and have them give me the heimlich, but as it turned out I took one big breath, swallowed, and the gum went right down. Whew. Of course, then I felt ill, but that might have been the big bowl of cereal I ate about an hour before the workout. I was hungry, so what?!
At mile 1 I hit the lap button on my watch, but didn't look at it as I didn't want to get discouraged or excited, I just wanted to keep running and finish strong.
Keith yelled at me - "Go Megan! Make it hurt!" Which seemed a bit unnecessary as I felt like I might die at any moment, but I appreciate the thought. Also, it helps to know I'm being watched - I certainly picked up my pace when I was running in front of the coaches!
My last lap was strong - there was a woman who passed me and I made it my personal mission in life to keep up with her and pass her at the end. I think she could hear me sticking with her, because she kept picking up her pace as I would get closer, but with about 1/8 of a lap left I turned it on and sprinted to the finish and passed her. Victory! (Every little thing helps.)
My total time: 20:24! I checked my watch - mile 1 was a 10:07 and mile two was a 10:17 mile. I am rather impressed with myself, even though I had to spend a good amount of time bent over nearly puking and catching my breath.
Tonight's workout gave me hope that I might actually break three hours this year - if I keep it up hopefully I'll get there! Fingers crossed.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Swimming!
Tonight was a swim workout at Santa Clara, with a swim seminar before to discuss technique. I attended mostly because I'm interested in the differences between these guys' recommended technique and everything I have ever learned as a swimmer...
Their recommended technique is to "catch" the water by cocking your wrist, then pulling with a straight-ish arm in a straight line. I was always taught to catch the water by bending your elbow to ~90° and keeping it high, then pull using an hourglass shape. This way, you pull more water per stroke and are actually pushing at the end instead of pulling, which is more powerful. I'm bothered by this discrepancy, enough to have sent an e-mail to another one of the coaches who has a swimming background to try and clear it up. Maybe my technique is outdated, but all the videos I can find online recommend the way I was taught, not this straight-line-pull technique. Anyway, I'm mostly worried that people are getting misinformation, and swimming is all about technique, and I want them to go faster. Either that or I want to fix my stroke so I can go faster.
I was not motivated tonight - but am glad I went. My interview kind of took it out of me today (but I think it went well - hard to say but I'll keep you posted!) so I was feeling a bit tired. Christina was in my lane and that's motivating for me since she's so much faster, and it actually turned into a nice little workout. Swim went as follows:
300 warm-up
8 x 50 kick free
3 sets of 4 x 50, drill/swim
3 x 50, 25 hard, 25 easy
3 x 100, 50 hard, 50 easy
3 x 150, 100 hard, 50 easy
6 x 50 drill/whatever (I did breathing drills since I'm an air hog)
200 warmdown
For a total of 2500 yards. Not bad for an hour! We timed our hard 100s in the 3 x 150 part, and I was really surprised to find my first two were 1:17 and my second was 1:18 - for me that's spectacular to hold in a workout. Granted, we had lots of rest, but still. I'm getting stronger.
I'm about to head off to bed - I'm exhausted!
Their recommended technique is to "catch" the water by cocking your wrist, then pulling with a straight-ish arm in a straight line. I was always taught to catch the water by bending your elbow to ~90° and keeping it high, then pull using an hourglass shape. This way, you pull more water per stroke and are actually pushing at the end instead of pulling, which is more powerful. I'm bothered by this discrepancy, enough to have sent an e-mail to another one of the coaches who has a swimming background to try and clear it up. Maybe my technique is outdated, but all the videos I can find online recommend the way I was taught, not this straight-line-pull technique. Anyway, I'm mostly worried that people are getting misinformation, and swimming is all about technique, and I want them to go faster. Either that or I want to fix my stroke so I can go faster.
I was not motivated tonight - but am glad I went. My interview kind of took it out of me today (but I think it went well - hard to say but I'll keep you posted!) so I was feeling a bit tired. Christina was in my lane and that's motivating for me since she's so much faster, and it actually turned into a nice little workout. Swim went as follows:
300 warm-up
8 x 50 kick free
3 sets of 4 x 50, drill/swim
3 x 50, 25 hard, 25 easy
3 x 100, 50 hard, 50 easy
3 x 150, 100 hard, 50 easy
6 x 50 drill/whatever (I did breathing drills since I'm an air hog)
200 warmdown
For a total of 2500 yards. Not bad for an hour! We timed our hard 100s in the 3 x 150 part, and I was really surprised to find my first two were 1:17 and my second was 1:18 - for me that's spectacular to hold in a workout. Granted, we had lots of rest, but still. I'm getting stronger.
I'm about to head off to bed - I'm exhausted!
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Interview...
...on Monday morning. Please cross fingers and toes for me. Spending the rest of today and all day tomorrow preparing (although how on earth do you prepare when they can ask you anything in the world about science?!)...
Daily Mile tells me...
...that I burned 1269 calories today.
That just can't be right (but I hope it is)!
Check out my progress to the right - so far I've gone 80 miles total of swimming, biking, and running - not too bad for a month, where I hardly cycled at all!
That just can't be right (but I hope it is)!
Check out my progress to the right - so far I've gone 80 miles total of swimming, biking, and running - not too bad for a month, where I hardly cycled at all!
Whew!
Today was an official TNT workout at Burgess Pool in Menlo Park. The calendar said 8AM, so of course I rolled in at 7:40 and sat in my warm car for 20 minutes waiting for people to show up. I need to remember that the workouts actually start 30 minutes after the time posted on the calendar...
The workout was to be a swim and a bike, but I brought run stuff just in case. Also, it is wet outside - not raining, but the roads are still wet from some previous rain, so I packed many layers. My bag was overstuffed and not organized well. In fact, I desperately need a new tri bag. Mine is one big compartment with some pockets that have all ripped so nothing stays where it's supposed to, and I can never find anything. My wet stuff gets the rest of my gear soaked, my dirty shoes are jammed in with my clean clothes, and my keys go floating into the main compartment - especially annoying when you are soaking wet and covered in mud and trying to get into your car to go home and get warm!
We began this morning with an injury-prevention seminar from a physical therapist, which was great. My hamstring has been bothering me, but just a twinge here and there - nothing major, but I'm going to keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't blow up into a bigger deal. I would be extremely disappointed to ruin the season at this point!
Aside: I hit a tipping point today and am absolutely excited about this event. My workouts have been great, the people are awesome, I feel fantastic. Now, just have to raise some money...
Anyway, post-injury prevention seminar we hopped into the pool. Christina wasn't there today, so I didn't have her speedy feet to follow (seriously, she is so fast), and as people hopped in no one joined my lane. The lane adjacent to mine had three people, and I invited someone to hop over but had no takers, because they "didn't want to get lapped right away."
It's funny, because I'm really not that much faster than any of them, and Christina is 100 times faster than I am. I think I might have better stamina, so can hold faster speeds for longer, and that's how I end up lapping them? I don't know.
Michelle hopped in a few minutes late, after we'd all finished our warm-ups, and the lanes were all so crowded that she glanced down at me in my very own lane and her face fell. I joked that I was going to start taking this personally! Do I have cooties? Anyway, I talked her into joining my lane and we split the lane, meaning instead of swimming circle pattern we each took half the lane and swam it straight. That way we could each go at our own pace without running into each other. Less frustrating for both of us.
The workout was fun - ~200 warm up follows by a pyramid set:
50, 100, 150, 200, 200, 150, 100, 50 for a total of 1000 yards of main set.
I finished a little early, so the coach for the day had me jump right into the next set, which was 5 x 100 yards on an interval that gave me between 5 and 10 seconds rest. I figured a 1:50 would probably be a good pace for me, thinking I would be swimming about a 1:40 100, but when I hit the wall after the first one I realized that was way too conservative - I'd come in at about 1:27, so I made 1:35 my interval and was able to hold it for all 5 swims.
Next we played "swim golf," where you count your strokes and add that to your time in seconds. You want the lowest number possible. I predicted 17 strokes per lap and was right on for my first 50, then I was at 18 or 19 for the rest of them. My "golf scores" were 75 (35 strokes + 40 seconds), 74, 74, 73, and 74. At least I'm consistent.
I had a 100 warm down after that, but one of the women watching asked me to do a lap of fly, which I always love (for a lap, at least), so really it was a 25 fly sprint and a 75 warm down.
After the workout was over, the entire pool gathered in the shallow end for a "gauntlet swim." Essentially people lined one lane on both sides, and then people swam the "gauntlet" while we all splashed the hell out of them. It was crazy and fun and great for people who aren't that familiar with the craziness that is an open water swim start. Seriously, it can get violent.
We then crammed ourselves into bike gear for a ride, and I was so concerned with getting a good spot in the way-too-small locker room that I ran in with my bag, stripped off my suit, and only then realized I'd left my towel outside.
Oops.
I "dried" off with an extra shirt I brought, then crammed myself into my cycling gear: sports bra, cycling jersey (both of which got stuck and took some serious maneuvering to get into), cycling shorts, leg warmers, jacket, socks, and cycling shoes. I have never felt more like a sausage in my life.
The ride was a simple out-and-back, but of course it started to rain as we were rolling out and the roads were soaked. All of us had that attractive stripe of water and dirt and mud up our backs - mine going all the way into my hair! I felt very strong on this ride, and my pace was a little over 14 mph, which for me is really quite good. I ran into a couple of people on the ride and as we were introducing ourselves the guy (Dave?) asked if I was the Megan that people were talking about in the pool.
This is getting ridiculous. I was a bit embarrassed and tried to play it off by laughing about how slow I am at everything else, but it kind of makes me not want to get in with the group. I just want to put my head down and do my workouts and leave it at that!
Anyway, the ride was lovely, and I didn't even realize my toes were numb until I took my bike shoes off afterwards. I rode for just over an hour and hit a little over 15 miles (last year, for Thanksgiving, I got lost in the Paso Robles hills and rode under 15 miles but in like 2 hours. Granted, there were LOTS of hills, but I think I'm in better shape now than I was last year at this time! YAY!), and I feel very good about that.
My overall time last year was 3:04:34, and this year I'd love to get under 3 hours. Coach Keith has kindly agreed to help me with my speed (or lack thereof) - he's known within the group as someone who'll spend extra time helping, looking at your form, and giving extra workouts and tips to help you get faster, and he's super nice about it and seems excited to do it. There's one woman he's helping who's a great runner but needs help swimming, so she and I are going to hook up to help each other out, although I fear I'm a lost cause in the running department...
I'm finally excited about this thing. It took me a month of reluctant workouts to get back in the groove, but today I finally got over the wall and think it's going to be a great season!
The workout was to be a swim and a bike, but I brought run stuff just in case. Also, it is wet outside - not raining, but the roads are still wet from some previous rain, so I packed many layers. My bag was overstuffed and not organized well. In fact, I desperately need a new tri bag. Mine is one big compartment with some pockets that have all ripped so nothing stays where it's supposed to, and I can never find anything. My wet stuff gets the rest of my gear soaked, my dirty shoes are jammed in with my clean clothes, and my keys go floating into the main compartment - especially annoying when you are soaking wet and covered in mud and trying to get into your car to go home and get warm!
We began this morning with an injury-prevention seminar from a physical therapist, which was great. My hamstring has been bothering me, but just a twinge here and there - nothing major, but I'm going to keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn't blow up into a bigger deal. I would be extremely disappointed to ruin the season at this point!
Aside: I hit a tipping point today and am absolutely excited about this event. My workouts have been great, the people are awesome, I feel fantastic. Now, just have to raise some money...
Anyway, post-injury prevention seminar we hopped into the pool. Christina wasn't there today, so I didn't have her speedy feet to follow (seriously, she is so fast), and as people hopped in no one joined my lane. The lane adjacent to mine had three people, and I invited someone to hop over but had no takers, because they "didn't want to get lapped right away."
It's funny, because I'm really not that much faster than any of them, and Christina is 100 times faster than I am. I think I might have better stamina, so can hold faster speeds for longer, and that's how I end up lapping them? I don't know.
Michelle hopped in a few minutes late, after we'd all finished our warm-ups, and the lanes were all so crowded that she glanced down at me in my very own lane and her face fell. I joked that I was going to start taking this personally! Do I have cooties? Anyway, I talked her into joining my lane and we split the lane, meaning instead of swimming circle pattern we each took half the lane and swam it straight. That way we could each go at our own pace without running into each other. Less frustrating for both of us.
The workout was fun - ~200 warm up follows by a pyramid set:
50, 100, 150, 200, 200, 150, 100, 50 for a total of 1000 yards of main set.
I finished a little early, so the coach for the day had me jump right into the next set, which was 5 x 100 yards on an interval that gave me between 5 and 10 seconds rest. I figured a 1:50 would probably be a good pace for me, thinking I would be swimming about a 1:40 100, but when I hit the wall after the first one I realized that was way too conservative - I'd come in at about 1:27, so I made 1:35 my interval and was able to hold it for all 5 swims.
Next we played "swim golf," where you count your strokes and add that to your time in seconds. You want the lowest number possible. I predicted 17 strokes per lap and was right on for my first 50, then I was at 18 or 19 for the rest of them. My "golf scores" were 75 (35 strokes + 40 seconds), 74, 74, 73, and 74. At least I'm consistent.
I had a 100 warm down after that, but one of the women watching asked me to do a lap of fly, which I always love (for a lap, at least), so really it was a 25 fly sprint and a 75 warm down.
After the workout was over, the entire pool gathered in the shallow end for a "gauntlet swim." Essentially people lined one lane on both sides, and then people swam the "gauntlet" while we all splashed the hell out of them. It was crazy and fun and great for people who aren't that familiar with the craziness that is an open water swim start. Seriously, it can get violent.
We then crammed ourselves into bike gear for a ride, and I was so concerned with getting a good spot in the way-too-small locker room that I ran in with my bag, stripped off my suit, and only then realized I'd left my towel outside.
Oops.
I "dried" off with an extra shirt I brought, then crammed myself into my cycling gear: sports bra, cycling jersey (both of which got stuck and took some serious maneuvering to get into), cycling shorts, leg warmers, jacket, socks, and cycling shoes. I have never felt more like a sausage in my life.
The ride was a simple out-and-back, but of course it started to rain as we were rolling out and the roads were soaked. All of us had that attractive stripe of water and dirt and mud up our backs - mine going all the way into my hair! I felt very strong on this ride, and my pace was a little over 14 mph, which for me is really quite good. I ran into a couple of people on the ride and as we were introducing ourselves the guy (Dave?) asked if I was the Megan that people were talking about in the pool.
This is getting ridiculous. I was a bit embarrassed and tried to play it off by laughing about how slow I am at everything else, but it kind of makes me not want to get in with the group. I just want to put my head down and do my workouts and leave it at that!
Anyway, the ride was lovely, and I didn't even realize my toes were numb until I took my bike shoes off afterwards. I rode for just over an hour and hit a little over 15 miles (last year, for Thanksgiving, I got lost in the Paso Robles hills and rode under 15 miles but in like 2 hours. Granted, there were LOTS of hills, but I think I'm in better shape now than I was last year at this time! YAY!), and I feel very good about that.
My overall time last year was 3:04:34, and this year I'd love to get under 3 hours. Coach Keith has kindly agreed to help me with my speed (or lack thereof) - he's known within the group as someone who'll spend extra time helping, looking at your form, and giving extra workouts and tips to help you get faster, and he's super nice about it and seems excited to do it. There's one woman he's helping who's a great runner but needs help swimming, so she and I are going to hook up to help each other out, although I fear I'm a lost cause in the running department...
I'm finally excited about this thing. It took me a month of reluctant workouts to get back in the groove, but today I finally got over the wall and think it's going to be a great season!
Friday, December 3, 2010
WTF Blogger?
The ads change often on this blog based on the content. I tried to get a screen shot of the ad that was just at the top right side, but for some reason my screen shot camera screwed it up so I can't post it here.
It was an AARP ad.
Really?
It was an AARP ad.
Really?
Rest Assurance
Yesterday was a lovely off day, and although I ate too much I felt very rested, albeit unmotivated, today. I finally dragged myself out of the house, thinking I'd just get in a couple of miles of running and call it a victory, but in the back of my mind I was hoping I'd feel so good I'd keep going.
Indeed, not only did I feel great and keep going, I even felt strong at the end of my run! My pace is still abysmally slow, but at least I am feeling a tad bit better while running so slowly. I broke the 12-minute-mile pace today, running 5.77 miles in 1:08.40, for a pace of about 11:50-something. The run was fantastic - about 50 degrees and cloudy, which I think is perfect since I overheat so easily (why, then, am I doing another tri in Hawaii of all places? Not sure on that one...), but I actually overestimated how cold it would be and ended up with too many layers on. I wore my fancy-schmancy winter run pants that are super thick (and, I think, more flattering as they hold everything in and prevent jiggling - let's call them my Spanx running pants), a long-sleeve tech top with neck-zip, and a hot pink windbreaker over that. I forgot my HeadSweats visor, which was unfortunate (partially because I sweat a lot and it keeps the sweat from running into my eyes and partially because it says "Lavaman 2010" on it and I like to show off while running slowly - maybe I should wear it backwards so people can see it as they are passing me), but about 15 minutes into the run I was overheating. I decided to call it "faux hot weather training" and left all the layers on and mostly zipped to get the feel for running while a tad overheated. Last year that was the hardest part - running in the heat and humidity - and it makes a huge difference in performance I think. If I can get some practice in heated conditions I think I might be better off this year..
Anyway, I think it's fun to have a familiar route, especially through neighborhoods. Maybe I'm nosy, but I like to see what people are doing to their front yards and which houses are being renovated and who's out walking their dog and whether the vultures are hanging out near San Tomas Aquino Creek again waiting for me to keel over. Not today, vultures! Today I found a black squirrel on one of the streets in our neighborhood, which is something fun to keep my eye out for the next time I run that route.
I finished my run strong - actually consciously picking up my pace as I got closer to home, feeling strong. Well, feeling strong until I stopped running - once I opened the garage door and came inside I just about fell over. I spent a good amount of time stretching and using the foam roller to get some tight spots in my legs, and now I can just feel my hamstrings tighten up as I sit here...
Also, there's something about the right side of my body that makes it more injury-prone. My right hamstring is the one that was bothering me last year, and I've been extremely careful to treat it gently this year but I can still feel it twinge and pull and tighten up. My right hand and wrist is bruised from whacking the lane line while swimming (clearly I need more practice swimming in a straight line), and today the bottom of my right foot felt like it was pulling while I was running. The pain went away but I think I need to stretch out the bottoms of my feet with tennis balls. I wonder if we have any? Add it to the list of crap triatheletes need. Sometimes I think this whole event is one big racket to get us to buy gear...
Now, since dailymile.com tells me I burned about 650 calories, I get to start thinking about my late lunch.
A burrito, perhaps?!
Indeed, not only did I feel great and keep going, I even felt strong at the end of my run! My pace is still abysmally slow, but at least I am feeling a tad bit better while running so slowly. I broke the 12-minute-mile pace today, running 5.77 miles in 1:08.40, for a pace of about 11:50-something. The run was fantastic - about 50 degrees and cloudy, which I think is perfect since I overheat so easily (why, then, am I doing another tri in Hawaii of all places? Not sure on that one...), but I actually overestimated how cold it would be and ended up with too many layers on. I wore my fancy-schmancy winter run pants that are super thick (and, I think, more flattering as they hold everything in and prevent jiggling - let's call them my Spanx running pants), a long-sleeve tech top with neck-zip, and a hot pink windbreaker over that. I forgot my HeadSweats visor, which was unfortunate (partially because I sweat a lot and it keeps the sweat from running into my eyes and partially because it says "Lavaman 2010" on it and I like to show off while running slowly - maybe I should wear it backwards so people can see it as they are passing me), but about 15 minutes into the run I was overheating. I decided to call it "faux hot weather training" and left all the layers on and mostly zipped to get the feel for running while a tad overheated. Last year that was the hardest part - running in the heat and humidity - and it makes a huge difference in performance I think. If I can get some practice in heated conditions I think I might be better off this year..
Anyway, I think it's fun to have a familiar route, especially through neighborhoods. Maybe I'm nosy, but I like to see what people are doing to their front yards and which houses are being renovated and who's out walking their dog and whether the vultures are hanging out near San Tomas Aquino Creek again waiting for me to keel over. Not today, vultures! Today I found a black squirrel on one of the streets in our neighborhood, which is something fun to keep my eye out for the next time I run that route.
I finished my run strong - actually consciously picking up my pace as I got closer to home, feeling strong. Well, feeling strong until I stopped running - once I opened the garage door and came inside I just about fell over. I spent a good amount of time stretching and using the foam roller to get some tight spots in my legs, and now I can just feel my hamstrings tighten up as I sit here...
Also, there's something about the right side of my body that makes it more injury-prone. My right hamstring is the one that was bothering me last year, and I've been extremely careful to treat it gently this year but I can still feel it twinge and pull and tighten up. My right hand and wrist is bruised from whacking the lane line while swimming (clearly I need more practice swimming in a straight line), and today the bottom of my right foot felt like it was pulling while I was running. The pain went away but I think I need to stretch out the bottoms of my feet with tennis balls. I wonder if we have any? Add it to the list of crap triatheletes need. Sometimes I think this whole event is one big racket to get us to buy gear...
Now, since dailymile.com tells me I burned about 650 calories, I get to start thinking about my late lunch.
A burrito, perhaps?!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Donations and Days Off
So Rob's company matches donations - so FYI to my three readers, if there is a donation in your future, send it to me (I promise to not spend it on burritos, although it's tempting as I've found a great burrito place around the corner!) and I'll give it to Rob and he'll donate through Cisco to get the matching! Then I only have to raise half as much! Woo!
Today is an off day for me, and I'm feeling guilty about it already. I think that's bad. I need to allow myself the rest days, especially at the beginning of the season when my endurance isn't so great. I have a couple hours of time right now that could be used running or biking, but rest is also an important part of the training regimen, and I have workouts through next Wednesday so I'd better just take today off and get over myself.
The other hard part of days off is that I have the mindset that an off day means I can eat whatever I want (like burritos, my current obsession). Not true! I'd better go eat an apple before I get into the candy that Rob brought home last night...
Today is an off day for me, and I'm feeling guilty about it already. I think that's bad. I need to allow myself the rest days, especially at the beginning of the season when my endurance isn't so great. I have a couple hours of time right now that could be used running or biking, but rest is also an important part of the training regimen, and I have workouts through next Wednesday so I'd better just take today off and get over myself.
The other hard part of days off is that I have the mindset that an off day means I can eat whatever I want (like burritos, my current obsession). Not true! I'd better go eat an apple before I get into the candy that Rob brought home last night...
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Holy Great Swim Batman!
Tonight was a Team in Training official workout at Burgess Pool in Menlo Park - the site of the dreaded bubble-covered pool. There weren't too many people tonight, so we all got to swim at the same time and cut out the core workout so we could cram in more yards. We also scored some outside lanes, so there was no bubble swimming for me! Woo!
We initially had one lane, then expanded to two lanes, then Coach Mike pulled me and the faster girl, Christina, into a third lane so he could abuse us specifically. Awesome!
We got our own longer workout that consisted of the following:
250 warm-up
6 x 50 yards drill/swim
Ladder set: 150, 250, 350, 250, 150 (first and last 50s easy, middle part hard)
8 x 50 with fins, as long as you can go underwater, then backstroke
8 x 25s, descending 1-4 and 5-8
100 yards for time (with fins) - I hit 1.04-something, humiliating.
100 warm down
Total yards: 2250
Christina is super fast, and it's very humbling to swim with her - but she's only 22 so I don't feel that bad about getting smoked!
I'm wired and exhausted at the same time, if that's even possible.
We initially had one lane, then expanded to two lanes, then Coach Mike pulled me and the faster girl, Christina, into a third lane so he could abuse us specifically. Awesome!
We got our own longer workout that consisted of the following:
250 warm-up
6 x 50 yards drill/swim
Ladder set: 150, 250, 350, 250, 150 (first and last 50s easy, middle part hard)
8 x 50 with fins, as long as you can go underwater, then backstroke
8 x 25s, descending 1-4 and 5-8
100 yards for time (with fins) - I hit 1.04-something, humiliating.
100 warm down
Total yards: 2250
Christina is super fast, and it's very humbling to swim with her - but she's only 22 so I don't feel that bad about getting smoked!
I'm wired and exhausted at the same time, if that's even possible.
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