Happy New Year!

I am trying to get back to triathlon, or at least back to activity, now that my body isn't trying to reenact the Dead Parrot sketch.

I originally thought I would try to start my new year out with a 3 mile run, but I changed my mind and only ran a little more than 1 mile. I ran the whole way without stopping, which is pretty good. I still don't like running. I didn't expect that would magically change, but I thought maybe now that my health is getting better I would feel more gazelle-like. I did not. Oh well. After my run I met up with a friend who lives in that area and we walked around for roughly another 3 miles. We were quite satisfied with ourselves.

I'm feeling somewhat sore today, although I figured I would. I'm more feeling discomfort in my shins than anywhere else. I was trying to do more mid-foot striking than heel-striking, as a couple of years ago I really gave myself some bad shin splints/compartment syndrome, but it's a work in progress.

While the weather is mild today we're going to work on weather-stripping and putting up the shrink-wrap plastic stuff on my doors and windows so I won't go broke with my heating bills. I'll consider that an "upper-body workout". Yeah.

Here's to 2011.

Remiss In Posting, Not Remiss In Training - Jingle All The Way 10k Race Report

Yesterday I completed my second Jingle All The Way 10k race in DC. I've been working on running more, rather than doing a run/walk. I am pleased to say I ran almost entirely, with maybe 5 minutes of walking. I am unpleased in how much slower I am straight-up running than when I break it up.

Last year I had a very hard time training. I started running too much too soon and really injured myself, leaving only about a month for training. I had a hard time during last year's race because I just couldn't run - we walked more than ran. I was surprised and pleased to have a finishing time of 77:53, and an average pace time of 12:32.

This year I only had trouble finding time to train, not necessarily having trouble while training. I have noticed that the more I full-on run the slower I get. I've had 14 minute miles, which discourages me. Anyway, S and I were running together for the most part although she's faster than I am and doesn't have as much trouble running. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but running is creating a lot of soreness in my knees. Anyway, I kept plodding along. At one point she was in front of me and I just figured I'd fall back and let her run so I got out my ipod and listened to some music. I particularly like "Slid" from the Sliver soundtrack. S waited for me so when I caught up with her again I gave her the other earbud so we could listen and run together, which we did until we hit the water stop. I wish this particular race would have 3 water stops or so, I haven't been training with water on my runs (bad me) but I really longed for fluid. Maybe it was just knowing there was water on the course that made me so thirsty.

I kept plodding along, knowing I was getting slower and slower. Finally we reached the six mile mark and I tried to pick it up. S sprinted ahead and I didn't try to stay with her this time. I just didn't have it in me. I did get faster, but not sprinting. Still, I pumped my arms when they called my name at the finish. I made it through another race.

5k time 44:59
Average Pace 13:45
10k time 85:26

Back On Track

You'll (maybe) be happy to know I have managed to stick to the training plan for the last 3 days. Mostly. This shouldn't be something to really brag about, but since it's so much better than what I was accomplishing I'll brag anyway.

Tuesday was a 2.5 mile run. I ran on the treadmill after work, knowing I was missing the beginning of the brouhaha over election returns but not caring very much. I got to see the final results and speeches, so I didn't miss much. I am really working hard to maintain cadence. or how frequently my feet turn over. (I would also be working on my midfoot strike, but it's hard to gauge on the treadmill exactly what's going on due to its squishyness.)

Side Note: I downloaded all these podcasts called Podrunner from iTunes; they're fixed tempo playlists of various speeds per set for walking/running/spinning/etc.

EDIT I was misinformed as to podrunner licensing. All is well at djsteveboy.com, the dj's original site. Direct from the horse's mouth:

I'm glad you're running with Podrunner, but please don't tell people that our site is down because I "didn't get licensing renewed." My site has always been djsteveboy.com, and all the mixes are still up there and on iTunes. There is no licensing issue. It looks as if something has happened to the server that forwards podrunner.com to that site. Regarding donations, all money donated goes entirely to overhead involved in keeping the mixes available to the community. Making this free for people takes a lot of work and a lot of money.

Thanks!

I have really been enjoying the few I have listened to. I am grateful he put them together as a fixed tempo so I don't have to try to figure out what my personal music is.

So for cadence, I have listened to two podrunner podcasts while running. "Strong", at 153 beats per minute (or 76.5 pair of footstrikes per minute), and "Running to Elysium", at 156 beats per minute (or 78 bpm per footstrike pair). I would just like to say how hard it is to run to this rythm, and I'm not even at the 85 - 90 bpm recommended for maximum efficiency! I limited to the treadmill between 4.0 mph up to 4.8 mph, keeping it on the slower side as I wasn't trying to concentrate on stride so much as foot turnover. I survived, but it was hard! Fortunately the new running style plus treadmill lower impact leaves me without injury, so I wasn't sore in place I shouldn't have been.

On Wednesday I tried to follow the 35 minutes of cross-training activity. Unfortunately it was so late by the time I finished work and got to the gym that I only had 30 minutes to do part of my spinning video. I'm not getting enough nutrients or I am way crazy out of shape or something because my muscles are becoming fatigued way too quickly. At any rate, 30 out of 35 minutes isn't bad, and my day job exertion has to count for something!

Today (Thursday) I managed to squeeze in the 2 miles mentioned in the plan, although I didn't have enough time to do the strengthening portion. (Again, doesn't my job count?) I listened to "Strong" today and just kept pounding it out. I averaged 13 min/mile which is pretty pathetic, but it's better than 15 min/mile for "running".

Tomorrow is a Rest Day (huzzah!). Saturday is supposed to be 50 minutes of cross-training and Sunday is supposed to be a 4 mile run. We shall see what I manage to accomplish. It'll be nice to get a long bike ride in, but I am going to go back to the flat path where it's easier. Unless I flip-flop the days and count hiking as my cross-training activity. We'll see. On Saturday I get to experience an Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy session - I'll report back on how I like it.

Election Day 2008

My polling location is not too far from the house, so I thought I should bike there. I figured since I was going to be out anyway, why not pack my running gear along too? Then I could go bike to my favorite trail after voting and get a brick session in!

I have not been on my bicycle in a while. Last time I was cycling the pedals were squeaking at me again. (I don't understand what my problem is with shoes/pedals - it's always something!) Quickly got them relubricated and away I went. I took my lock and cable with me; awkwardly trying to attach it to the sport sack holding my running shoes. The cable was a pain and didn't quite work so well. Oh well, off I go. Whoa that's more work than I'm used to! I got half-way up a hill and decided it'd be easier to go the other way. Turn around, go the other way, get half-way up the other hill and need to take a breather. I was on Violet, too, so you can see how pathetic I was/am. Sit down, drink some water, try to fuss with the cable again, walk the bike up the rest of the hill part, fuss with the cable again, and finally keep on going. I arrived at the church and "parked" my bike against a basketball hoop pole. Changed into my running shoes (because cleats on the ground make an annoying sound) and went inside. This whole time the weather was pleasant and sunny.

I came out of the polling place, talked to a neighbor for a couple of minutes, and suddenly there was rain! Nooo! Changed my shoes, got back on the bike, and started toward the park/home. It got really chilly and unfun. I, being the laziest lazy person in lazystan, decided to bag the workout and come home. The plan was to grab some lunch and go to the gym. But did I do that? I did not!

Now I've run out of time to go to the gym first. (Un?)Fortunately this is a very light work day. I will have to run tonight to make up for today's lackluster performance. I have to run tonight. Silly woman, don't I understand I have six weeks until Race Day? According to Hal Higdon's Novice Plan, today is a 2.5 mile run. (I'd move on to the intermediate plan, but I'm not ready to do fartleks yet.) Wish me luck!

Taper Week

I have been so sore from the ChiRunning Workshop that I have fallen again into a very quiet on the exercise front Taper Week.

On Monday I went for a bike ride and had the aim to brick as a way to move some of the lactic acid out of my muscles. I biked for almost 1.5 hours. I wasn't really pushing too hard, and I also had to stop every now and then because there was this weird noise coming from my bike. The last time I stopped the guy who sold me my bike stopped to help. That was kind of funny. Turns out the frame pump slid down from it's position a little and the crank was banging into it. Easy peasy problem to solve!

I tried to brick afterwards but my legs hurt so badly I didn't want to push it. Also, I'm a wuss when it comes to pain!

I was going to try to swim this week, but timing just isn't coming together for me. I'm really hoping the weather will cooperate so we don't have to du. There is a practice swim on Saturday, so at least I'll be able to get swim time in then. Also, woohoo! I found out that we are in the 7:30 am swim wave! Which means I have 5.5 hours to complete the tri! Man I hope I can do that.

I should be getting my tri stuff together and sleeping. So I will leave you with this article on Nation's Newbies and helpful tips. Make sure you read all the way to the end!

ChiRunning

The ChiRunning workshop was very interesting. It left me sore for the rest of the week, but it was goood! The only downside was that we were outside all day long in very little shade. I was a little worried I would get shingles if I my face got sunburned. Fortunately I keep sunblock in the car and was able to stay mostly unburned. There were a couple of spots I missed, but I'm fine now. (S, unfortunately, got burned and is having an unpleasant reaction to something; I don't think I've ever had hives but Oh Noes! that much be uncomfortable.)

We started the day practicing proper alignment. We did one exercise where we stood as we normally do and had a partner pull down on our shoulders to see how stable we were. Now no snickering, but I was not stable at all. I said no snickering! Then we were to stand in the proper alignment. It was really neat to feel like I didn't move at all. As a massage therapist I know about proper body positioning and how people should be aligned so that our bones support us and not our muscles, but it's a little different to actually put it into practice. We also talked about how working on proper alignment helps to actually align your body. So if you are a pronator like me but you are focusing on proper foot/leg/body position your muscles will get stronger without specific strength training and your arches will get stronger. Just in the one day's work I noticed a difference in how my shoes fit. (I like people like Danny Dreyer who fit my philosophy; most people who "need" orthotics do not need orthotics forever if they strengthen the areas that are lax and create proper balance.)

Another exercise that really brought home to me how to change my foot landing from heel striking, which is what my current problem is and which is what's making my shin splints act up, was to do some heel kicks (or butt kicks) while standing and then to keep doing that while running. I cannot kick my foot all the way out to land on the heel when I get my feet up to my behind. Hooray! It was nice to be able to finally get my feet to land where I'm supposed to, which is right in the midfoot where your arches are. Your arches are your natural shock absorbers. Your heel has no shock absorbers. This particular exercise is what caused me to be sore all week!

We also talked about how your cadence should be consistent. It's recommended that your feet hit the ground 85-90 times per minute. You are more efficient when you spend less time in contact with the ground. We broke into groups and tested where our natural cadence is. I run at a cadence of 83. After the triathlon I am going to focus on getting my cadence up to where it's supposed to. I bought a metronome to help. It's a little loud, even on it's softest setting, so I need to find a way to muffle it a little.

During our lunch break we talked about running shoes, and how shoes are getting thicker in the heel as the shoe companies attempt to correct the heel striking, and yet people still heel-strike and the injuries have not decreased. He uses a neutral shoe or a racing flat. One of the assistants is gearing towards running barefoot and had on these really funky shoes to help prepare her for that. The shoes are really cool and I want a pair! I just can't tell whether I like the slate blue/green or the bright blue ones.

If you are experiencing running injuries I suggest you at least read through the book, even if you aren't interested in the workshop. I think it's good stuff. I'm looking forward to implementing it.

Workshops and Triathlons and Training, Oh My!

Well. I have not been remiss in training, even though I have been quite remiss in posting! I'll start from today and go back in time.

I received my new Terry bicycle seat in the mail today! I will shortly be putting the Butterfly Tri on my bike. I may or may not get to ride it today, but I will ride it before the weekend is out!

Also, I am planning to sign up for a ChiRunning workshop. I'll attend with S, and it'll be led by the master dude who wrote the book. I am still having issues with running, and a workshop should really help.

Yesterday I ran 3.5 miles. I was going to attempt 5, but then the sun was going down making it too hard to see so I was going to settle for 4 miles, but then my body rejected that notion after 3.5 miles so I walked the remaining .5 mile back to the car. This is why I need to do the workshop!

Tuesday I went for a 25 mile bike ride. I wanted to turn it into a brick workout, but didn't have enough time to do that and still get ready for work. Pleased with myself, though!

Monday I got 50 minutes in the pool. I was focusing more on backstroke than worrying about freestyling since I'll probably be doing more back work than crawl work in the race, but toward the end I was working on freestyle and did 5 laps free, one lap back, and 10 laps free, so I was pleased with that. My goal is to go camping this weekend (still need a tent and to decide which campground I want) to practice open water swimming to the extent I can.

Sunday I sherpa'd for S at the Irongirl Columbia MD tri. It's fun getting up when the sun still hasn't thought about making an appearance. I managed to cheer for her at every leg, although I didn't get pictures for the run or the bike. I also cheered for everyone I could on the bike leg, since I remember how much it helped my state of mind when people I didn't know cheered for me.






Last Saturday I went on a long bike ride with S's husband J through Rock Creek Park. We did about 26 miles! It's nice to train with someone.

Last week... what did I do? I know I went to Lake Beltzville to get some swimming in. There were a lot of people so that made it less fun. Which is why I need to try it again before the lakes closer swimming options after Labor Day. I got a 3 mile run in on Sunday. I know I got some pool time in, and I know I got some bike time in. Don't remember much more than that!

Less Than A Month To Go

Yeesh!

So it's technically Sunday morning, August 17. Let's see where I am in terms of race preparedness.

I have gotten NO swimming in since August 8, thanks to the pool being closed. Also, a moment to reflect on the fabulous schedule for next week: 7:30-10:30 M-F.

I have not run more than 3 miles in the last 2 weeks. Now to be fair, I have actually run a bunch of times, but generally in a 2 mile block. Especially since for some reason my knee was hurting last weekend and I didn't want to push it. Knee is feeling better now. I also did a few brick workouts in the gym; spinning bike to treadmill.

I had not biked more than 60 minutes since the triathlon, I think. Sweet! That'll get it done.

I'm going to pretend it's Saturday still, since I haven't gone to bed yet. Yesterday I went to the bike shop so I could get a new floor pump, more inner tubes, more Gel Blasts, new SPD cleats, and other things I bought on a whim (Camelbak backpack!). Friday night I worked on replacing the back inner tube on Violet, since I broke the tip off the valve stem the last time I changed it. I also lubed the chain before I put the tire back on. It went much smoother this time, incurring no tears. I put the new cleat on one shoe, and could not figure out where I put the other shoe. I watched more olympics and then went to bed. I still could not find what I did with my other shoe so I went back to the store to buy new ones late this afternoon. I think I might actually like the new ones better than the old ones! I ended up with these Forte Mountain Bike Shoes. I rushed home, put the cleats on, and then rushed to the park to get in 20 miles. I made pretty good time, the weather was great, and life was good. I got to Conshohocken and slowed down to see the damage from the 8 Alarm Apartment Complex fire from Wednesday. I unclipped at the 10 mile mark to turn around and had some technical difficulties. Fortunately I also got a new little tool kit and was able to use it to tighten the screws on my new cleats. (What is it with me and the screws on my shoes? Sheesh!) It got dark on my return trip, and I finished the last 5 miles in the dark, which was a little bit scary since I have no headlight. I was able to use the Damselfly seat for the 2nd time, but I am still going to exchange it for something else. (Even though I'm over the 30 day return limit. I called on the 15th to see if it would be possible to still exchange and the nice Terry people are going to let me do that.)

I was hoping to go camping this weekend at a campground with a lake so I could practice open water swimming as well as transitioning to all 3 sports. Unfortunately it took me a long long time to get my bike stuff together and I don't want to camp Sunday into Monday. What I will try to do instead is to just go for the day tomorrow. I have to look at the options again as I had been only looking for lakes with camping. Now I will look for lakes with biking and leave the camping for some other weekend. If I can do that I think it'll set me up for hope to finish Nation's.

I need to turn off the Olympics, but they are so exciting! And they're only every 4 years! And there's some amazing history being made! It's totally messing up my sleep schedule though.

d is for destruction

Today I got to the gym a little too early for the pool, so I decided to take a book and do a mild walk on the treadmill since I hadn't brought running clothes and anyway did running yesterday. I get upstairs, fill my water bottle, and then turn towards the treadmill. Which is also the direction of the spinning bike. Then I notice the guy in the bike clothes on the floor with tools, messing with a pedal. Curious. I go over to see what he's doing and see that there's a cleat stuck in the pedal. Uh oh. I quickly think back to yesterday when I was using the spinning bike (for 60 minutes!) and how hard it was for me to unclip so that I could get off and put my running shoes on and do a brick session. Um, I believe that might be my cleat you are trying so hard to dislodge. Oops. I try to help and at some point he does manage to dislodge the cleat. I tell him and the guy who's in charge of the fitness center that I'll replace the pedals if they're broken. The fitness center dude tells me not to worry and if the pedals are broken the college will replace them, and really they're just glad I'm working out. Finally, the guy who just wanted to work out gets everything patched up and he tests them out. Pedals are fine, plus a little bit of adventure for his workout.

I'm mortified, and also really annoyed at my shoes. This cleat is from the shoe where both screws have been replaced, and apparently that still doesn't matter. I don't have any idea if the screws are stripped, or what. I was thinking about getting more tri specific shoes anyway, and this might be the opportunity. I have to get this straightened out though because I'm supposed to bike about 30 miles on Saturday!

Anyway, yesterday I followed a good bit of the 9.0 difficulty spinerval vid, although not all of it, and then I just pedaled for the remaining time, totaling 60 minutes. Then I hopped off and put my new Mizuno sneakers on to try them out (much much better than the icky Nike+ ones) and ran for 25 minutes. I started off really slowly and then was able to increase the speed, although I still didn't quite get 2 miles in. I know I need to brick outside, but it was nice to have the treadmill be easier on my legs.

Today I repeated my lackluster 60 minutes in the pool. At least I put the time in. Tomorrow I'm going to get another pool session in before it's closed all next week, and if I have time I'll try to throw in some elliptical or treadmill work too.

Saturday I'm going to attempt 30 miles on the bike, and Sunday I'm going to get a 5 mile run in. Then Monday I think will be a rest day.

Zut!

Training continues to be kind of crappy. And I have not been able to recreate my awesome swim session, so it wasn't so much a breakthrough as a freak of nature. Not only that, but there are signs up this week that say the pool will be closed next week. (I actually thought it was this week, but that's because I misread the date on my watch. Oops! Still, closed!)

I'm seriously concerned about my next race. I do not understand why I am having such a hard time. I haven't been able to do more than 2 miles running or my 20+ mile long bike rides in a while. I have less than 6 weeks to go so I need to get on it!

I'm going to compare training schedules from The Woman Triathlete, The 12-week Triathlete, and Triathlon Training In Four Hours A Week. Then I'm going to put it all together into a training plan where I will hopefully succeed. Although the Woman Tri book wants me to run 9-12 miles next week, and no. I'm hopefully going to get back to 5 miles at my next run on Friday, and then I'll go from there.

Tomorrow I'm going to do another spin session on the only spinning bike at the gym. I'm going to attempt the No Slackers Allowed one, although it's a huge jump forward from the Ride Strong video.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do about swimming yet, but I'll try to at least get the bike/run back on track.

Big Breakthrough!

So training has not been going all that well since the race. The week after the race was just bad, and last week I just couldn't find the time to fit it in without losing the few marbles I have left.

I did manage to squeak in an unanticipated 2 mile run on Monday, and either Tuesday or Wednesday (is it bad I can't remember?) I went for a swim. I was pleased with that swim because I was able to get 2 laps of freestyle and one length backstroke for 20 laps. Then I went out of town on Thursday-Sunday and got no training in at all! Plenty of eating though. Nom nom nom.

I thought I might not get a chance for much training in this week either, but on Tuesday I was able to go to the gym and do some interval training on the treadmill. I don't have any particular information on interval training for running, but I used the pyramid from my spinning video - warm up several 30 seconds 6 mph, 30 seconds 4 mph for 3 sets, and then 30 seconds run, 30 seconds walk; 60 seconds run, 30 seconds walk; 90 seconds run, 30 seconds walk; 60 seconds run, 30 seconds walk; 30 seconds run, 30 seconds walk. I took a couple minute break in between and then repeated the pyramid. I was feeling a little pooped after that and my heart rate was a little higher than it should be so I took some time to cool down a little before attempting to jog again, only then my knees were acting funning so I mostly just walked for a bit.

The biggest breakthrough for me, however, was my swim session in the pool yesterday. I got in the water and was feeling pretty relaxed and groovy. I did 3 or 4 laps to warm up and then I started to swim. I was on lap 2 or 3 when I decided I would try to kick turn. Which totally didn't work. After I came up for air and tried to stop coughing, I backstroked my way to the starting point to catch my breath and decided I would start over again. My goal was to swim 5 laps in a row freestyle before needing to backstroke. Imagine my surprise when I got through the 5th one and felt like I could keep going! It did get a little tougher to breathe at lap 6, but I pushed through and was able to complete 10 laps in a row without stopping or backstroking! I did have to rest for a couple of seconds at the turn around points, but no more than 5 seconds before heading back into the swim. I briefly debated about doing more than 10 laps, but I was pretty out of breath and also keep reading about not pushing too hard so the body can catch up. I swam a "recovery" backstroke lap and then I did it all over again - another 10 laps freestyle! I almost pushed for a 3rd set of 10, but I was pretty tired and also wanted to still get in a spinning session so I called it quits in the pool.

I neglected to bring any food with me (again with the sports nutrition problem!) but I was hoping I could take it slow enough not to be too crippled. Yes, I am sure there are people who can do 1.5 hours straight through with no food but not me. I hooked up my ipod and started to do the Spinervals video I've been doing, opting not to skip to the super hard one. I forgot to bring in 2 water bottles, which was very dumb, but I just got off the bike when I needed to refill my bottle. I did fine with the warm up but was having a hard time with the pyramid, although I did complete that portion. I skipped on past the spin your legs out portion and just did some gently spinning for at least 15 minutes, and then I finished with the last segment, very glad to be finished. I had a Pro Bar because it has lots of protein (need to get more of them!) and also had hummus and carrots. Tasty!

I'm back to worrying about making it through Nation's, but I do still have 6 more weeks. I bagged running today, but might do some time on the elliptical machine after my swim, which I am determined will be awesome again!

Know When To Hold 'Em, Know When To Fold 'Em

Not just good advice for poker!

This week was less than stellar for training. I got my hour-long swim in two times, which was according to plan. My run and bike though have not followed the plan. Wednesday I went to go for my run and it was very hot, I got to the park too late, and my shoe was biting into my heel so I gave up after 2 miles. Yesterday I did nothing due to the heat.

Today I put my new saddle on, which was interesting. Then I went for my long bike ride, except 2 miles into it I felt like hurling. I sat in the shade for a bit and talked to S, then I went back towards the car. I did about 8 miles total. So not what I was planning to do. I have to tinker with the saddle because it wasn't working as well as I thought it might. If it still isn't great with the next ride I'll return it and go for the butterfly seat. I went to Home Depot afterwards to get more screws. I got some longer ones to put my frame pump on the frame, and then I had to get more Philips (because I couldn't find the appropriate hex ones although I might try at Lowe's next) for my SPD shoes because I found I was missing another screw from the cleat before my ride. I don't know what's going on there, but note for all you clipless-pedal peeps - make sure you check your screws before you ride!

Tomorrow is the next day, and I think I'm going to attempt to swim and get a treadmill run in. I'll use that as an opportunity to try out the Mizuno shoes I got in exchange for the Nike Plus ones I hated.

The Last Hurrah Before T-Day.

I very carefully followed the nutrition advice this time, and I didn't bonk on the bike! Hurray!

I woke up this morning and had a pretty big bowl of shredded wheat 'n bran. Four hours later I had a bagel with cashew butter and cherry preserves. I think for the tri itself I'll do it on regular bread so my yummy goodness doesn't fall through the hole. I didn't quite make it out the door and onto my ride until 2 hours later, but I figured I had enough stuff with me that it would be ok.

I kept one of the gels taped to my frame from Friday, but it fell off on the trail. Oops! I stopped to pick it up but didn't consume it. I had one bottle filled with water/nuun, and one bottle filled with cytomax. I cycled for 22 miles. I was mildly contemplating making it a 30 mile ride, but stopped myself because the goal was to do a brick workout. I didn't quite calculate the time because I forgot to set my timer. I did 20 miles in an hour and a half, and didn't count the first 2 miles (probably add on 10-12 minutes). I finished both bottles before I got back to the car.

Hopped off the bike and put the bike on the rack, put the lock on the bike, and put on my running shoes in 2.29 minutes.

And then came the run. Oh man have I not practiced bricking enough! My legs did not love me. Also, I got bodywork from my friend Andrew on Saturday so my legs were still a little sore. He found a little tear in my gastroc, so every time my right foot landed I could feel that spot ache. I gave up on trying to run 6.5 minutes with a .5 minute rest like I've been doing for my 5 mile runs. I ended up with about 3 minutes with a .5 minute rest and every now and then a few minutes rest when I needed a break. I had three 7 oz flasks - two water and one cytomax. I consumed all the fluids plus one clif shot block either cranraz flavor or strawberry. (I need to pick up more of the margarita ones - they're yummy and have extra salt!) It took me 40 minutes to run/walk 3 miles. Not my best effort ever.

I was pretty hungry afterwards so I headed over to Panera to refuel my carbs/protein. I had half a chicken sandwich of some sort, potato chips, and a bowl of turkey chili. Delish! I did think it was funny when the cashier asked me if I'd just done a triathlon. Her cousin does them so she recognized the gear, I guess.

Then I came home and hopped in the tub for about 20-30 minute soak, mostly my legs, in cold water to help reduce inflammation. Brr! Ended my shower with a cold water bout too.

After Philly I am definitely going to practice bricking more. I just have to make sure I eat enough day of and get bodywork when I need it so I won't be injured or exhausted.

Whee! Training.

So Sunday's ride was horrible. Again. I am frustrated that I can't quite get my act together nutrition-wise. I decided to go the other way on the bike path. I started at Betzwood and biked towards Green Lane, going from the Schuylkill River Trail to the Perkiomen Trail. What I didn't know was that the Perkiomen Trail is mostly gravel, and not paved. Some people might have no issues with that, but I don't like gravel and I'm still not completely comfortable on my new bike so it was a very unnerving ride. I ran out of water and forgot my gels in the car so it was a bad time. I actually stopped and took a 30-minute rest/nap on the way back.

Monday I took a day off. I love rest days!

Tuesday I went for an hour long swim. I found it took me 45 minutes to warm up enough to do several freestyle laps in a row. I decided this week is going to be a much better week than last week, training-wise, so I redirected my attitude when I started feeling down about needing to do backstroke laps.

Wednesday I went for my 5-mile run. I did really well for the first 2.5 miles, but the last 2.5 were tough. I'm so looking forward to getting bodywork from my buddy this Saturday for my legs are in sore shape. At any rate, I finished so yay me! Even though it did take me 63 minutes this time.

Today I went for another long swim. It only took me about 30 minutes to warm up, in a way. I was feeling really proud and strong at the end. Although I think I need a new swimsuit - rinsing mine in the shower I noticed the lycra is really thin in the rear!

Tomorrow I am going to practice transitions, instead of worrying about the run or bike. I can't practice the swim-bike transition all that well, although I am going to try running barefoot to my towel to practice putting socks and shoes on. Wish me luck!

Philly Women's Tri Penultimate Training Week

So, this is my second to last training week before the Philly Tri. Meep!

On Sunday I took Violet out for a 20-mile ride. She is so much more fun than my old bike, especially coming up hills! I wasn't really faster, but that's all right. I had to stop a couple of times to drink water, eat some gel, and rest my hands because I am not familiar enough with road bike handling.

Monday I went to Haverford College's campus to run on the Nature Walk path. I ran for about 6o minutes before I stopped due to darkness and hunger. I was hoping that would put me about at my 5 mile mark, but the path is apparently 2.2 miles long, not 2.5. My calves are hurting again so I need to contact my buddy for more Myofascial Release.

Tuesday I went for a swim, only I didn't quite leave the house with enough time for a full 60 minute swim. I did get a good solid 40 minutes in though. I increased the number of freestyle laps and decreased the number of backstroke laps.

Wednesday I thought I might check out the Forbidden Drive path in Fairmount Park since it's pretty close to where I'm pet-sitting. Unfortunately, I am ridiculously lame with map reading, so it took me longer than I expected just to get to a parking lot. I get out of the car and spy an entrance with a bicycle/horse/hiker pictorial sign so I figured that's the path I'm supposed to follow. I run for a little bit over gravel and boulders before I decide that I can't possibly be on the part suitable for running. (Trail Running is not my thing it seems; guess I won't be doing any Xterra Tris anytime soon.) I go back the way I came and follow the road a little more until I find the path by the Valley Green Inn. I run for another 20 minutes but then I have to get ready for work. I'm guessing I got somewhere around 2 miles in, but I'm really not sure. It's a far cry from the 5 I was going to run.

Thursday night I came back to the house and took my bike out for a little spin. I wasn't worried about mileage - I just wanted to get more comfortable on the bike. I think I did ok, actually. My tush was hurting on Sunday because of the new saddle so I got a gel seat cover from Target; I think it helped a lot. I came back, got the dog, and walked for about an hour up and down Germantown Avenue in Chestnut Hill.

I have allocated 60 minutes for a swim on Friday. I expect to get all 60 minutes in this time.

On Sunday I'm going to attempt to ride 25-30 miles followed by a 3 mile run. Here's hoping I make it!

Souped Up Training Plan

You know the good thing about having my butt thoroughly kicked on Sunday? Revs up my inner "oh yeah? well I'll show YOU!" attitude.

I was pleasantly surprised to find I was not very sore on Monday. I was traveling back to PA so no workout time.

Tuesday I went to the pool and did a full 60 minutes in the pool. I really need to shop for actual groceries, but since I had no breakfast foods I resorted to a ProMax Nutty Butter Crisp bar about 2 hours before I got in the water. I was really exhausted afterwards, which I expected since I've only done 30 minutes before. I got a chocolate milk for recovery and also got a healthy salad (romaine lettuce, sunflower seeds, black olives, carrots, plum tomatoes, diced egg, and grilled chicken strips with a little bit of ranch dressing). I was dying for snacky foods, but I managed to resist.

Today I got up early and went out for a 5-mile run. I tried to push myself a little more so I did not set my interval timer on my Timex Ironman watch, but instead ran for 8.5 minutes then .5 minute walk, which I repeated until the last mile when I opted not to take the walk break. I was really hoping to complete my run with 12 minute miles, but I ended up being 12:40 minute mile average, ending at 62 minutes. I am glad I could push myself, but frustrated that I couldn't quite get where I wanted to be. I consumed an Acclerade Fruit Punch drink. I really wish they wouldn't add food coloring to sports stuff. It was ok. I just had some mango and will repeat the salad I had yesterday. Yum.

I am going to repeat the 1 hour in the pool practice tomorrow, and do another 5 mile run on Friday.

Itai!

Wednesday's workout - 40 minutes of cycling
Thursday's workout - 30 minutes of running

I recently borrowed a couple of Spinervals dvds from my friends. I decided to use the easier one first. This medium-intensity workout is called Ride Strong with Team Clydesdale. I was proud of myself for making it all the way through the workout, unlike the spinning class I took in DC where I had to stop for a little bit, but man am I feeling it!

I think I'm going to get a few other Spinervals dvds, because I liked being able to participate in a spin class without having to actually attend a spin class. I got the video onto my ipod, then strapped the armband around the handlebar post so I could watch while spinning. It worked really well!

I don't understand the big chain small chain stuff, and I was on a spin bike with a tension knob so I just guessed where I should be from the perceived exertion percentage. I perceived enough exertion by the end of it, for sure.

I followed up with a swim, but I just wasn't feeling it. I need to contact the swim department about getting a coach.

Today I ran for 30 minutes. I took a few walk breaks, because I ran outside and that's usually what I do, but I did try to run for a good bit of it even though my thighs are killing me! Stairs are particularly fun. I used the Nike+ thing again today, but I set it for time and not for distance. I didn't have a chance to calibrate the measurements. Also, the training plan doesn't specify distances yet, just time.

I'm almost thankful tomorrow is a swim.

Monday & Tuesday workouts

TrainingPeaks Monday Plan:

• continuously swim 40 minutes
• run 25 minutes, with 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down

TrainingPeaks Tuesday Plan:

• Rest Day

PhillyTriGirl Monday Plan:
Fritter afternoon options away, leave office too late in the evening to do both swim and run, choose to do a run. Since I've been lacking in the running department, run a 5k with 5 minute warm up and cool down.

I figure this is a good time to try out my new Nike+ Sport thing to see how well it's calibrated vs treadmill. I don't have Nike shoes and I like my Saucony's, so I also got a RunAway thing to tie the transmitter to my shoe. Very handy!

I mistakenly have it count a 3k instead of 5k for my workout, but I just continued to run and let it count up to 5k. The Nike+ tells me I'm finished sooner than the treadmill does. It's not a great test anyway - I need to calibrate it on the bike path where the miles are marked, since I run completely differently outside than on the treadmill.

PhillyTriGirl Tuesday Plan:
Since I didn't get the swim in yesterday, I really ought to do that today. Which I may do, if I can get to the pool in time. If not, I'll just get a full AIS stretching session in.

It was supposed to be a brick workout

My TrainingPeaks plan called for 40-60 minutes on the bike, followed by 10 minutes of running.

Ah, hubris, you got me again.

See, I haven't really be running much, so I figured I'd do more like 3 miles instead of 10 minutes. No big deal, right? I put my running tights on, and my bike shorts over that, a tank top, a long sleeve dri shirt, and my long sleeve bike jersey. I couldn't find my hat, but I don't like it under my helmet anyway and figured no big deal.

I heard the news about the wind advisory for today, but didn't pay it much mind. (You read the part above about hubris, right?) So, I get to the park, and yeah it's a little chilly (which is actually the only reason I took some gloves) but it's still close to 40F degrees. I forget to bring my sunglasses, but I'm already cycling so I decide it isn't worth going back to the car for them.

The title of this post was going to be "I think the spin workouts are really helping", at least for the first 20 minutes of my ride. I'm doing really well, I'm feeling really good, and so I decide to turn around after 6 miles. Know what I hadn't counted on? The frelling wind! I could barely move forward, the wind was so strong. I was so disheartened. I stopped from time to time, sometimes for some water. Know what I discovered? The mouthpiece was frozen, and there was ice in the bottle I'd already almost consumed! Made me glad I went with the gloves after all. The wind was really stinging my eyes, particularly the eye I hurt last year. (Well, my kitty hurt it after she spazzed and popped a paw in my eye. So much for the blinking reflex.)

It took me almost twice as long to get back to my car, so I decided to bag the run. I just couldn't face it. It took me about 2 hours to warm up. My eye still hurts. Hopefully I still have some eye drops left.

Oh pride, how you let me down.

Training Update

My training hasn't been that great for the last couple of weeks; there was too much going on! However, I'm attempting to get back in action. CGI Racing partnered up with Cadence something or other and gave us free triathlon training plans through TrainingPeaks.

I missed Monday's scheduled activities, Tuesday was designated as a rest day, and I flip-flopped Wednesday and Thursday's.

Yesterday I ran for 20 minutes because that was all I had. I upped the incline to at least give me more resistance. Stayed at a slow pace though.

Today I cycled for 30 minutes. The workout could have gone up to 60 minutes, but I was already feeling it so I stopped. I was going to follow up with a swim, but I forgot about the limited pool hours. It wasn't on the schedule, I've just been feeling behind. It's been 2 weeks since I was in the pool.

Tomorrow's task is to swim 30 continuous minutes. I haven't managed to swim more than 1 lap without needing to come up for air, so I'll be curious to see if I can manage it. I bought a boogie board to hopefully help with drills, and I expect I'll be using it tomorrow just to stay afloat!