I am caught up on all my blogs! Suhweet. So you have all been read! If I didn't comment its because I am at a lack of words today, well really for a few weeks I have been lacking in the witty comment department.
Got out and ran in the dark by myself again tonight. Hopefully this does not become a regular Thursday thing. I need to drag my butt out of bed earlier!
So about 8 miles in an hour and ten minutes with two significant hills.
It is WARM out! I am getting worried that Boston is going to be hot again. I lose fluids like nobody's business. I think I lost about 4 pounds of water tonight while running. My head started to hurt about 30 minutes after dinner but after downing a glass of water it feels better.
I need to take fluids out with me next time for sure.
The world is our playground
Tonight on the way home I watched as a runner leaped back and forth over a chain link fence and it made me smile.
I thought to myself that the world is indeed my playground. As a runner and triathlete I can find fun almost anywhere.
Today I was able to enjoy the sunny warm weather with a morning bike ride. Then in the afternoon I got in a swim.
Sometimes with all the miles to log and the schedules to follow it is easy to forget about why we train. It's because we enjoy it, because we have fun doing it.
All the training brings you closer to your race goals. You get to a race and a whole town, perhaps a whole city shuts down for you. So you can play all morning with your like minded friends.
This past weekend literally people all over the world got out and played during the Simply Stu Tri. V. Cool!
I had an amazing time in my first tri of the season. I went and swam at the Y then headed down to Hinckley Hills to ride and run with new friends. DaisyDuc and I ended up tackling the hills together. It was chilly out but we had a good time. I will try to post some video despite being extremely embarrassed of my on camera persona. If anyone knows some free editing tricks (Cliff!) please let me know!
Some fun pics from the weekend and Tuesday:
Yes thats snow on my car the morning of the tri!
The trusty steed!
Fixing DaisyDucs Flat
Transition Rack!
On the Run!
Finished!
Proud Finisher!
Dirty Mizunos from Sundays trails
So did you get out and play today?
I thought to myself that the world is indeed my playground. As a runner and triathlete I can find fun almost anywhere.
Today I was able to enjoy the sunny warm weather with a morning bike ride. Then in the afternoon I got in a swim.
Sometimes with all the miles to log and the schedules to follow it is easy to forget about why we train. It's because we enjoy it, because we have fun doing it.
All the training brings you closer to your race goals. You get to a race and a whole town, perhaps a whole city shuts down for you. So you can play all morning with your like minded friends.
This past weekend literally people all over the world got out and played during the Simply Stu Tri. V. Cool!
I had an amazing time in my first tri of the season. I went and swam at the Y then headed down to Hinckley Hills to ride and run with new friends. DaisyDuc and I ended up tackling the hills together. It was chilly out but we had a good time. I will try to post some video despite being extremely embarrassed of my on camera persona. If anyone knows some free editing tricks (Cliff!) please let me know!
Some fun pics from the weekend and Tuesday:
Yes thats snow on my car the morning of the tri!
The trusty steed!
Fixing DaisyDucs Flat
Transition Rack!
On the Run!
Finished!
Proud Finisher!
Dirty Mizunos from Sundays trails
So did you get out and play today?
Track
Went to the regular Tuesday Track workout again as the in-laws have been quite busy so no family dinners for awhile.
Tonight was 4*1200
The high school had a track meet going on so we had to do the first "1200" around the block. Really about 0.6 miles
They finished up and we did the rest of the 1200's on the track.
Warm up 20 minutes (4 loops around the block)
Interval Splits (1200/400 jog)
.6ish: 3:58.48/2:01.45
1200: 5:00.42/3:21.59
1200(try to stay total time the same with a 5 second rest after laps 1 and 2): 4:50.40/3:59.51
1200: (Last lap should be fastest of the night) 1:37.52,1:36.87,1:32.12 (Around 4:45)
1 mile cool down (one lap drills)
So total mileage around 6.75 (Not feeling up to math but I think that is right) in around 58 minutes
Hopefully tomorrow night I will have some time to post Simply Stu Tri Pics and pics of my dirty Mizuno's. But it is supposed to be in the 50s so I will be riding my bike outdoors! And I need to squeeze in a swim. Time may be tight!
Tonight was 4*1200
The high school had a track meet going on so we had to do the first "1200" around the block. Really about 0.6 miles
They finished up and we did the rest of the 1200's on the track.
Warm up 20 minutes (4 loops around the block)
Interval Splits (1200/400 jog)
.6ish: 3:58.48/2:01.45
1200: 5:00.42/3:21.59
1200(try to stay total time the same with a 5 second rest after laps 1 and 2): 4:50.40/3:59.51
1200: (Last lap should be fastest of the night) 1:37.52,1:36.87,1:32.12 (Around 4:45)
1 mile cool down (one lap drills)
So total mileage around 6.75 (Not feeling up to math but I think that is right) in around 58 minutes
Hopefully tomorrow night I will have some time to post Simply Stu Tri Pics and pics of my dirty Mizuno's. But it is supposed to be in the 50s so I will be riding my bike outdoors! And I need to squeeze in a swim. Time may be tight!
Calling All You Crafty Peeps out of Hiding!
So i want to design a shirt for Boston (Thanks for reminding me Stefano!)
I think I am going to go with a black tank! (Don't piss off the Black Knight!)
I want it to have my name on it and something about the Black Knight Army and perhaps my blog link...
I am really not crafty so if any of your artsy people have any ideas and want to send them my way I would be eternally grateful! I am going to have Wild Bill print the shirt up for me! I am so excited!
This is kind of what I am envisioning right now
Front: (centered in bold white letters)
Lady Elizabeth
Back: (centered in white perhaps with a knight and joust image of some sort)
Black Knight Army Amazon
Don't piss off the Black Knight
elizabethsphotos.blogspot.com
What do you think?
I think I am going to go with a black tank! (Don't piss off the Black Knight!)
I want it to have my name on it and something about the Black Knight Army and perhaps my blog link...
I am really not crafty so if any of your artsy people have any ideas and want to send them my way I would be eternally grateful! I am going to have Wild Bill print the shirt up for me! I am so excited!
This is kind of what I am envisioning right now
Front: (centered in bold white letters)
Lady Elizabeth
Back: (centered in white perhaps with a knight and joust image of some sort)
Black Knight Army Amazon
Don't piss off the Black Knight
elizabethsphotos.blogspot.com
What do you think?
Boston Bound?
It was really cool meeting some other RBFers while in Arizona and I am hoping to meet a lot more while in Boston in just a few weeks!!!
Jeff is working with some other RBFers to set up a dinner meet up Saturday night. I was also thinking we should try to get a group "running" photo. Last year my local running group met up after the freedom run on Sunday and I thought that worked out perfectly.
I will plan on heading over to the marathon finish line after grabbing some food after the freedom run. I think the freedom run starts at 8 so how about we meet up for a photo at the marathon finish line around 9:15-9:30? This should leave plenty of time to get through the 2.8 mile fun run even if you just plan on walking it with family!
It would be nice to get an "official" list of RBFers that are going to be in Boston. I am willing to head that up. I know not everyone reads my site though so we will have to work together on this!
Heres a short list of who I know is going:
Me
Jeff
Okolo
Risko
A large crew of Boston TNT bloggers
Cheering us on in Boston:
Kurt from Boston
Jay T
Help me round out the list so we can all get contact info for while we are in Boston.
This is going to be a blast!
Jeff is working with some other RBFers to set up a dinner meet up Saturday night. I was also thinking we should try to get a group "running" photo. Last year my local running group met up after the freedom run on Sunday and I thought that worked out perfectly.
I will plan on heading over to the marathon finish line after grabbing some food after the freedom run. I think the freedom run starts at 8 so how about we meet up for a photo at the marathon finish line around 9:15-9:30? This should leave plenty of time to get through the 2.8 mile fun run even if you just plan on walking it with family!
It would be nice to get an "official" list of RBFers that are going to be in Boston. I am willing to head that up. I know not everyone reads my site though so we will have to work together on this!
Heres a short list of who I know is going:
Me
Jeff
Okolo
Risko
A large crew of Boston TNT bloggers
Cheering us on in Boston:
Kurt from Boston
Jay T
Help me round out the list so we can all get contact info for while we are in Boston.
This is going to be a blast!
Youngstown Schmoungstown
So how is it possible to top off a week full of good workouts?
Go out and get your 20+ miler in for Boston training of course!
This was week one of Steelhead training and we are three weeks out from Boston. After a week of completely no workouts I came back with a vengeance and worked out for at least 30 minutes every day this week.
Today was my first 20 for Boston. I missed the scheduled 20 last week so I made it up today and if my legs are up to it I will do my second 20 next Sunday and then 2 weeks of taper.
Felt pretty drained this morning starting out. I had to get up at 4:45 AM to get around and get down to Peninsula by 6:30. The run started at 7 but I was supposed to pick up A at 6:30 and take her to the start so she would only have to run 13. (Turns out she slept in) I got to the start of the run at 6:50 with 10 minutes to spare. It felt pretty cold out so I had on a short sleeve and long sleeved tech plus jacket. And my underarmour fleece pants. We stood around for a little bit and waited for S to bring the directions for the loop. Vertical Runner organized this run as a good prep route for Boston. It was all out on the roads through Boston Heights and Peninsula.
Chatted with EM and she claimed that she was taking it easy today 8:30 pace. That sounded doable to me, maybe a little quick but I would see if I could hang. We headed out, there was a pretty big group many doing 13 and the rest doing 20. I started out with the lead group but realized about a mile in that they were not really planning on running 8:30 pace so I eased off. Hung with a few runners I know through SERC for another few miles than eased off even more. I was tapped. Completely energyless. I knew this was going to be a LONG run!
The first water stop was at 5 miles and I drank some pink GU20 and had a tropical blast gel. Ran to the bathroom then joined up with J and his friend J. She sounded like she wanted to take it easy too and that sounded just fine to me. About a mile into running with J and J we hit the first real hill. Which is an understatement. I loudly announced to all around "There are NO hills like this in Boston!" This was a freaking WALL! As I was already feeling tapped I let J know I was walking this one. No need to waste energy I was going to need for all the hills still to come. So we walked up that hill! Started to feel better a little ways after that hill (Other J had dropped us at the hill and he was flying away) so we picked up pace a bit and fell into conversation about races we have done etc.
The next water stop came pretty quickly maybe around 9 miles? J mentioned that it felt like we were on a scavenger hunt. We had printed out directions and it was a little exciting to "find" the next water stop :) I drank some more of the GU20 stuff and grabbed a tropical blast gel. For some reason I ripped off the tab but then decided it was too soon to take it. So I ran with that gel all the way to the next stop at 13. We caught up to some of the runners who had dusted us on the hill. It was a lot of rolling down hills now and I was trying to cruise. The whole point being to shred my quads and see how I fared up the hills later. (Hey this is whats going to happen in Boston!) J stayed with me and we picked up a male runner who wanted to blaze down the hills too.
We reached 13 (Suprisingly quickly, somewhere around 1:50:00) and I stopped and drank some water and finally took that gel. J headed out on her own for a few miles out and back while I continued on the 20 mile loop. I caught up to a small group of runners as we headed out. Pretty much right away we hit another wall and I walk this and the next hill too. (2 in a row both at a seriously nasty grade) The road was Hines Hill road, it should have been called Hines Hills road because the next 3 miles or so were all at least slightly uphill and this was a rough patch. I ran this stretch by myself keeping my eye on a small group in front of me. I thought I was all bad ass for running Youngstown Half. I tell you what those hills were a joke compared to the three walls we had to run today.
We hit the Bike and Hike trail around 2:20 and the last water stop. I tryed a new gel flavor, Hammer Gel apple cinnamon, not too bad, tasted like Apple Crisp. I had some GU20 mixed with water and I headed out with the guy who had been running in front of me. This was a flat stretch so we picked up the pace and discussed Boston plans and past races, splits, etc. We got to where he thought we should turn but I wasn't sure, the directions weren't clear here unless you knew the area so we jogged back to the next group of runners and asked them and sure enough thats where we turned. Got onto 303 and headed back to the start. Asked V how far he clocked on his Garmin as it seemed short to me (I was thinking maybe only 18) and he said 19.25. I was at 2:43:19 here so 8:30 pace. Not too shabby. I wanted to get in the full 20 so I headed out onto the trails (after ditching my jacket and short sleeved tech, they had been shedded at the first water stop) and ran a short loop for 27 minutes (about 2 miles). So I am calling it 21.25 miles. Average pace around 9:00.
I was drenched by the end and my shoes and pants were trashed from the trails (extremely muddy out). The Mizuno Wave Riders aren't gonna cut it on the trails. The whole heel was full of mud by the end of the short trail run.
After the first 5 miles or so I felt pretty good today. I felt strong out on the trails which was a good mental boost for JFK. I felt like I could have kept running so that is good. My legs are a little sore but are feeling better after moving around a bit. The calf didn't bother me at all today!
Went out to breakfast with V and his wife afterwards. I was starving, or so I thought. I ordered blueberry pancakes, eggs, and toast. I had to box half the pancakes and I just enjoyed those for dinner. I felt that my stomach had betrayed me, I mean I ran over 21 miles, I should be able to eat whatever I wanted! ;)
The only thing bothering me today is my middle finger on my left hand. I think I jacked it riding yesterday. It is just sore and hard to move, definitely not broken though because I can bend it. Can you strain your finger? Anyways I feel bad complaining because I just got off the phone with Su and she took a few spills on the bike this weekend and fared much worse than I did. Thankfully she is okay but a bit scraped up and pretty bruised.
David is hanging with the boys this weekend so I have been on my own. I got in a nice nap yesterday and today after my workouts! Gotta love weekend naps! So just me and the cats are hanging out. Hope everyone had good weekends!
1st 12 miles elevation profile of Sundays Run
Quick Stats for week one of Steelhead Training and Week 9 of Boston Training
M-1500 yard swim
T- 5.75 miles on the track
W- 50 minute spin and 1 mile run on tread
Th-5 miles easy run
F-1500 yard swim
Sat-SimplyStu Tri 450 yard swim, 15 mile bike, 3 mile run
Sun-21.25 Hilly Miles
Total Hours for the week: 8:20:00
Go out and get your 20+ miler in for Boston training of course!
This was week one of Steelhead training and we are three weeks out from Boston. After a week of completely no workouts I came back with a vengeance and worked out for at least 30 minutes every day this week.
Today was my first 20 for Boston. I missed the scheduled 20 last week so I made it up today and if my legs are up to it I will do my second 20 next Sunday and then 2 weeks of taper.
Felt pretty drained this morning starting out. I had to get up at 4:45 AM to get around and get down to Peninsula by 6:30. The run started at 7 but I was supposed to pick up A at 6:30 and take her to the start so she would only have to run 13. (Turns out she slept in) I got to the start of the run at 6:50 with 10 minutes to spare. It felt pretty cold out so I had on a short sleeve and long sleeved tech plus jacket. And my underarmour fleece pants. We stood around for a little bit and waited for S to bring the directions for the loop. Vertical Runner organized this run as a good prep route for Boston. It was all out on the roads through Boston Heights and Peninsula.
Chatted with EM and she claimed that she was taking it easy today 8:30 pace. That sounded doable to me, maybe a little quick but I would see if I could hang. We headed out, there was a pretty big group many doing 13 and the rest doing 20. I started out with the lead group but realized about a mile in that they were not really planning on running 8:30 pace so I eased off. Hung with a few runners I know through SERC for another few miles than eased off even more. I was tapped. Completely energyless. I knew this was going to be a LONG run!
The first water stop was at 5 miles and I drank some pink GU20 and had a tropical blast gel. Ran to the bathroom then joined up with J and his friend J. She sounded like she wanted to take it easy too and that sounded just fine to me. About a mile into running with J and J we hit the first real hill. Which is an understatement. I loudly announced to all around "There are NO hills like this in Boston!" This was a freaking WALL! As I was already feeling tapped I let J know I was walking this one. No need to waste energy I was going to need for all the hills still to come. So we walked up that hill! Started to feel better a little ways after that hill (Other J had dropped us at the hill and he was flying away) so we picked up pace a bit and fell into conversation about races we have done etc.
The next water stop came pretty quickly maybe around 9 miles? J mentioned that it felt like we were on a scavenger hunt. We had printed out directions and it was a little exciting to "find" the next water stop :) I drank some more of the GU20 stuff and grabbed a tropical blast gel. For some reason I ripped off the tab but then decided it was too soon to take it. So I ran with that gel all the way to the next stop at 13. We caught up to some of the runners who had dusted us on the hill. It was a lot of rolling down hills now and I was trying to cruise. The whole point being to shred my quads and see how I fared up the hills later. (Hey this is whats going to happen in Boston!) J stayed with me and we picked up a male runner who wanted to blaze down the hills too.
We reached 13 (Suprisingly quickly, somewhere around 1:50:00) and I stopped and drank some water and finally took that gel. J headed out on her own for a few miles out and back while I continued on the 20 mile loop. I caught up to a small group of runners as we headed out. Pretty much right away we hit another wall and I walk this and the next hill too. (2 in a row both at a seriously nasty grade) The road was Hines Hill road, it should have been called Hines Hills road because the next 3 miles or so were all at least slightly uphill and this was a rough patch. I ran this stretch by myself keeping my eye on a small group in front of me. I thought I was all bad ass for running Youngstown Half. I tell you what those hills were a joke compared to the three walls we had to run today.
We hit the Bike and Hike trail around 2:20 and the last water stop. I tryed a new gel flavor, Hammer Gel apple cinnamon, not too bad, tasted like Apple Crisp. I had some GU20 mixed with water and I headed out with the guy who had been running in front of me. This was a flat stretch so we picked up the pace and discussed Boston plans and past races, splits, etc. We got to where he thought we should turn but I wasn't sure, the directions weren't clear here unless you knew the area so we jogged back to the next group of runners and asked them and sure enough thats where we turned. Got onto 303 and headed back to the start. Asked V how far he clocked on his Garmin as it seemed short to me (I was thinking maybe only 18) and he said 19.25. I was at 2:43:19 here so 8:30 pace. Not too shabby. I wanted to get in the full 20 so I headed out onto the trails (after ditching my jacket and short sleeved tech, they had been shedded at the first water stop) and ran a short loop for 27 minutes (about 2 miles). So I am calling it 21.25 miles. Average pace around 9:00.
I was drenched by the end and my shoes and pants were trashed from the trails (extremely muddy out). The Mizuno Wave Riders aren't gonna cut it on the trails. The whole heel was full of mud by the end of the short trail run.
After the first 5 miles or so I felt pretty good today. I felt strong out on the trails which was a good mental boost for JFK. I felt like I could have kept running so that is good. My legs are a little sore but are feeling better after moving around a bit. The calf didn't bother me at all today!
Went out to breakfast with V and his wife afterwards. I was starving, or so I thought. I ordered blueberry pancakes, eggs, and toast. I had to box half the pancakes and I just enjoyed those for dinner. I felt that my stomach had betrayed me, I mean I ran over 21 miles, I should be able to eat whatever I wanted! ;)
The only thing bothering me today is my middle finger on my left hand. I think I jacked it riding yesterday. It is just sore and hard to move, definitely not broken though because I can bend it. Can you strain your finger? Anyways I feel bad complaining because I just got off the phone with Su and she took a few spills on the bike this weekend and fared much worse than I did. Thankfully she is okay but a bit scraped up and pretty bruised.
David is hanging with the boys this weekend so I have been on my own. I got in a nice nap yesterday and today after my workouts! Gotta love weekend naps! So just me and the cats are hanging out. Hope everyone had good weekends!
1st 12 miles elevation profile of Sundays Run
Quick Stats for week one of Steelhead Training and Week 9 of Boston Training
M-1500 yard swim
T- 5.75 miles on the track
W- 50 minute spin and 1 mile run on tread
Th-5 miles easy run
F-1500 yard swim
Sat-SimplyStu Tri 450 yard swim, 15 mile bike, 3 mile run
Sun-21.25 Hilly Miles
Total Hours for the week: 8:20:00
1st Annual Simply Stu Worldwide Triathlon
Had a simply great morning! Woke up early and got ready for my first tri of the season. SimplyStu sent an awesome shirt and a fuelbelt and I was pumped up to get out on my bike for this one!
It snowed last night here in Ohio and it is still snowing out now, just the white dust though, nothing's sticking. Still not exactly what I was hoping for on my first outdoor ride ;)
So here's the splits
Swim (450-500 yards) I am pretty sure I did 500 but I may have missed a 50 in there
7:30.03
T1
1:27:08 (Thats 87 minutes in T1 kids!)
Bike (15 Miles)
1:03.04
T2
8:47.61
Run (3 Miles)
26:43.19
Finish: 3:13:14
Well I definitely need to work on transitions this season as these were my slowest ever ;)
I have a case of writers block so I will post more about this later. Suffice it to say I am happy with the days workouts! I have some video and pictures that I will hopefully be able to put up from the event!
It snowed last night here in Ohio and it is still snowing out now, just the white dust though, nothing's sticking. Still not exactly what I was hoping for on my first outdoor ride ;)
So here's the splits
Swim (450-500 yards) I am pretty sure I did 500 but I may have missed a 50 in there
7:30.03
T1
1:27:08 (Thats 87 minutes in T1 kids!)
Bike (15 Miles)
1:03.04
T2
8:47.61
Run (3 Miles)
26:43.19
Finish: 3:13:14
Well I definitely need to work on transitions this season as these were my slowest ever ;)
I have a case of writers block so I will post more about this later. Suffice it to say I am happy with the days workouts! I have some video and pictures that I will hopefully be able to put up from the event!
Faster than a speeding bullet?
Hmm. Any other Clevelanders swam at the Downtown Y before? After two swim workouts there I am doubting the claims of the pool being 25 yards. It is possible that I could have swam these splits but it is more likely I am a little slower... I guess I could be swimming at this speed, maybe I adapt when I know it will be light yardage? I wonder if they would be offended if I came with my tape measurer next time...Problem is I don't think I should be this slow if it is 20 yards...hmmm lets hope it is 25 or at least more than 20 ;)
If the pool is indeed 25 yards todays workout put me at almost 27 miles of swimming so far this year. That is already more than I swam in all of 2005. Damn I was a slacker last year!
For what its worth here's my splits if the pool is indeed 25 yards:
Total Swim 1500 yards in 29 minutes
warm up
400 free
drills
50 catch up
50 fingertip drill
50 slow arm recovery
50 fist drill
2*50 (25 head down/25 free)
main set
3*200 steady effort with 20 second rests
3:11.97
3:10.53
3:10.25
cool down
50 back
50 breast
100 free
If the pool is indeed 25 yards todays workout put me at almost 27 miles of swimming so far this year. That is already more than I swam in all of 2005. Damn I was a slacker last year!
For what its worth here's my splits if the pool is indeed 25 yards:
Total Swim 1500 yards in 29 minutes
warm up
400 free
drills
50 catch up
50 fingertip drill
50 slow arm recovery
50 fist drill
2*50 (25 head down/25 free)
main set
3*200 steady effort with 20 second rests
3:11.97
3:10.53
3:10.25
cool down
50 back
50 breast
100 free
Easy 5 miler and fun memories
Ahahaha I TOTALLY forgot about this picture. At the Columbus Expo the national guard was taking photos of people with this car. I don't even know this guy! HILARIOUS! Been going through all those boxes of random crap that never got officially put away and the photo card thingy was in one :)
Pushing my swim to tomorrow so I don't have to do two workouts today. Went out after work and ran 5 easy miles in the dark 9:10 pace. 2.5 miles up and 2.5 miles down :) Focusing on running tall and keeping my arms from swinging side to side in front of my body. I am such a lazy runner, I just go with whatever is comfortable. If I would just focus for awhile on better upper body form I am sure I would reap the benefits. Kinda like transitions in triathlons, free minutes if you'll just put in a little effort.
I have a way overactive imagination, so running in the dark by myself is probably not the wisest decision. I always call my husband and let him know where I am running and how far and long but you still get a little uneasy running by yourself in the dark. Oh well its done and none of those moving trees jumped out and got me ;)
Virgin Spin
I went to my first official spin class tonight. It was definitely interesting!
The music was extremely varied I liked almost all of the tunes and had a hard time trying not to sing along with some of them. I wasn't quite sure at first how you could make Coldplay work for a spin class but this instructor had his means. Here's the playlist as I remember it (some gaps due to poor memory and to poor title/artist recognition on my part)
A Sorta Fairytale by Tori Amos
Yellow by Coldplay
Give me one reason by Tracy Chapman (One of my all time favorite songs)
Taking it to the streets
Crazy in Love by Beyonce
Dirt Off Your Shoulders by JZ
Some heavy/alternative song
Too Legit by MC Hammer
Another ColdPlay Song
She talks to angels (I know this isn't the title but I cannot remember title or artist on this one)
We spent 98% of the time out of the saddle. Ouch!
Everything was done in the dark with blacklights and the instructor promoted keeping cadence with the music. So those slow songs which should have been "easy" were grueling because you had resistance cranked and were rocking back and forth like the pros. (Yeah okay I felt like Lance, but only for about two seconds)
So I am grooving along to the first three songs trying really hard not to sing along. Keeping the tempo and watching my legs as I rock from left to right. Then taking it to the streets comes on and I am like WTF, oh well go with the flow. So I think we are speeding up good I will get to ride back in my saddle. NOPE! We are now out of the saddle and pumping along to Beyonce and Jay-Z. HOLY CRAP. I am not good at keeping this fast cadence while out of the saddle. I am trying to hold my own and I am watching the instructor. This is when I notice, and you should have seen my jaw drop, that not only is he crushing along out of the seat with this high cadence, he is actually jamming to the beat up top too! Yes he is actually getting groovy with his bad self, shoulders dipping in time with the music, and this is when I feel like I still have a long way to go!
I manage to stay out of the saddle most of the way with a few breathers for Gatorade.
MC Hammer comes on and we get a respite! We are back in the saddle with high cadence and then comes the upper body workout! Yep we start doing tricep pushups on the bike for the rest of the song. Holy Crud! I am gonna feel those in the pool tomorrow!
We grind out the last 2 songs out of the saddle and with extremely high resistance. At one point I felt like there was no way I could turn the resistance up anymore and the lights flicker. Holy crud, did I do that with my mind? The lights come back on and Ed makes us focus in and finish strong together.
We spun it out and then stretched as a class. Very good workout. Unfortunately it sounds like he was a replacement for the regular Wed teacher but maybe next week I won't have to be out of the saddle the whole workout! ;) I will try to have fun with this whole spinning thing until I can get outside.
Well you all know Bolder uses the run after the bike to get out the lactic acid. My theory though is that you can't get me on that damn bike unless you promise me a kick ass run afterwards. And there's nothing more that this runner enjoys than kicking those bad ass cyclists butts in the home stretch of the run! So to keep my run legs fresh I did a quick mile on the tread after the spin and called it a night.
The music was extremely varied I liked almost all of the tunes and had a hard time trying not to sing along with some of them. I wasn't quite sure at first how you could make Coldplay work for a spin class but this instructor had his means. Here's the playlist as I remember it (some gaps due to poor memory and to poor title/artist recognition on my part)
A Sorta Fairytale by Tori Amos
Yellow by Coldplay
Give me one reason by Tracy Chapman (One of my all time favorite songs)
Taking it to the streets
Crazy in Love by Beyonce
Dirt Off Your Shoulders by JZ
Some heavy/alternative song
Too Legit by MC Hammer
Another ColdPlay Song
She talks to angels (I know this isn't the title but I cannot remember title or artist on this one)
We spent 98% of the time out of the saddle. Ouch!
Everything was done in the dark with blacklights and the instructor promoted keeping cadence with the music. So those slow songs which should have been "easy" were grueling because you had resistance cranked and were rocking back and forth like the pros. (Yeah okay I felt like Lance, but only for about two seconds)
So I am grooving along to the first three songs trying really hard not to sing along. Keeping the tempo and watching my legs as I rock from left to right. Then taking it to the streets comes on and I am like WTF, oh well go with the flow. So I think we are speeding up good I will get to ride back in my saddle. NOPE! We are now out of the saddle and pumping along to Beyonce and Jay-Z. HOLY CRAP. I am not good at keeping this fast cadence while out of the saddle. I am trying to hold my own and I am watching the instructor. This is when I notice, and you should have seen my jaw drop, that not only is he crushing along out of the seat with this high cadence, he is actually jamming to the beat up top too! Yes he is actually getting groovy with his bad self, shoulders dipping in time with the music, and this is when I feel like I still have a long way to go!
I manage to stay out of the saddle most of the way with a few breathers for Gatorade.
MC Hammer comes on and we get a respite! We are back in the saddle with high cadence and then comes the upper body workout! Yep we start doing tricep pushups on the bike for the rest of the song. Holy Crud! I am gonna feel those in the pool tomorrow!
We grind out the last 2 songs out of the saddle and with extremely high resistance. At one point I felt like there was no way I could turn the resistance up anymore and the lights flicker. Holy crud, did I do that with my mind? The lights come back on and Ed makes us focus in and finish strong together.
We spun it out and then stretched as a class. Very good workout. Unfortunately it sounds like he was a replacement for the regular Wed teacher but maybe next week I won't have to be out of the saddle the whole workout! ;) I will try to have fun with this whole spinning thing until I can get outside.
Well you all know Bolder uses the run after the bike to get out the lactic acid. My theory though is that you can't get me on that damn bike unless you promise me a kick ass run afterwards. And there's nothing more that this runner enjoys than kicking those bad ass cyclists butts in the home stretch of the run! So to keep my run legs fresh I did a quick mile on the tread after the spin and called it a night.
Boston Number
9465
Okay so it isn't as low as I was hoping for, sigh. But it is a lot better than last year!
(13052)
So hopefully this means I will be in wave 1. This new wave start kinda blows though. As JD and AM will probably be in wave 2 and you can't change waves. Grrr. So much for running with friends this time around. JD is on the border, just over 10,000 so who knows which wave she will be in.
Getting pretty pumped for Boston despite my tender calf. My parents emailed to let me know they are coming now. So I won't be "by myself."
We need to start setting up an RBF get together stat!
Okay so it isn't as low as I was hoping for, sigh. But it is a lot better than last year!
(13052)
So hopefully this means I will be in wave 1. This new wave start kinda blows though. As JD and AM will probably be in wave 2 and you can't change waves. Grrr. So much for running with friends this time around. JD is on the border, just over 10,000 so who knows which wave she will be in.
Getting pretty pumped for Boston despite my tender calf. My parents emailed to let me know they are coming now. So I won't be "by myself."
We need to start setting up an RBF get together stat!
Back on Track
Got out with the old Tuesday crowd tonight in the cold cold wind for a track workout.
Tonight I really tried to focus on running tall and with a quick turnover. I focused on matching Bs turnover precisely. I think the results were good. I tried to keep my turnover rate high while keeping my PRE (Perceived rate of exertion, right Bold?) at what the workout called for. Hal called for 7*800s but I went with the group plan. Which also got altered due to nasty weather. I was up for the rest of the workout but in hindsight it is probably better I didn't get in quite so many miles. The calf is a little tender now but felt good during the run.
Run Down:
mile warm up
400 drills
10 400s (200 rest between each 400, 400 rest between the sets of 4)
1:52.14 ez
1:39.54 med
1:33.10 hard
1:25.12 harder
1:55.81 ez
1:38.87 med
1:31.54 hard
1:27.21 harder
1:32.54 med
1:25.94 hard
1 mile cool down
Total around 5.75 miles
Tonight I really tried to focus on running tall and with a quick turnover. I focused on matching Bs turnover precisely. I think the results were good. I tried to keep my turnover rate high while keeping my PRE (Perceived rate of exertion, right Bold?) at what the workout called for. Hal called for 7*800s but I went with the group plan. Which also got altered due to nasty weather. I was up for the rest of the workout but in hindsight it is probably better I didn't get in quite so many miles. The calf is a little tender now but felt good during the run.
Run Down:
mile warm up
400 drills
10 400s (200 rest between each 400, 400 rest between the sets of 4)
1:52.14 ez
1:39.54 med
1:33.10 hard
1:25.12 harder
1:55.81 ez
1:38.87 med
1:31.54 hard
1:27.21 harder
1:32.54 med
1:25.94 hard
1 mile cool down
Total around 5.75 miles
Triumphant? start
I went and got a membership at a local gym. The pool isn't fantastic but it will serve its purpose. Plenty of lap time despite only three lanes. Tonight I was the only one there for more than 5 minutes and had a lane all to myself.
Looks like there may be a few more flotsams and jetsams here though!
The pool is supposedly 25 yards. I want to measure it because I feel like I should have been slower tonight. Maybe I just used to take a lot more rest... I know I felt a lot slower than the splits were showing.
I always get dizzy the first time back in the pool after time off. No clue what that is about, but I was glad that base training started off with a light swim. (I must admit though that 1450 yards did seem somewhat anticlimactic after doing 4000+ just a month ago) There is lots of time before August to build up to that though.
I was supposed to do 1500 tonight but going back through the workout in my head I realized I am horrible at math in the pool and only got in 1450. (It may have been 1500 as I may have done a 450 yard warm up but I prefer to err on the side of less) Several reasons I lost count on the warm up: I was a little thrown off by being the only person in the pool, very obviously the only visual target for the lifeguard. The pool temp was a little warm for my taste. I swear that on the way down the lane I was swimming against a current, the little jet thingy was in my lane and I think it was a little powerful for its purpose. My contact was driving me crazy and my depth perception was off a bit. I missed two flip turns in a row and then stopped to fix my contact. The lifeguard called out to see if I was okay, haha. "yes just put in my contact backwards" don't mind the silly triathlete who hasn't been in a pool since February!
Next time I need to bring a workout plan. I wasn't sure if I would be able to get in a swim tonight and figured I would wing it.
Stats:
1450 yd swim 28 minutes
warm up
400 yd
Drills
50 catch up
50 fingertip
50 slow arm recovery
50 fist
50 rotate kick
2*25 head down/ 25 free
Main Set
5*100 with 15 second rests
1:33.86
1:35.17
1:37.32
1:38.60
1:37.74
Cool Down
50 yd breast
150 yd
Looks like there may be a few more flotsams and jetsams here though!
The pool is supposedly 25 yards. I want to measure it because I feel like I should have been slower tonight. Maybe I just used to take a lot more rest... I know I felt a lot slower than the splits were showing.
I always get dizzy the first time back in the pool after time off. No clue what that is about, but I was glad that base training started off with a light swim. (I must admit though that 1450 yards did seem somewhat anticlimactic after doing 4000+ just a month ago) There is lots of time before August to build up to that though.
I was supposed to do 1500 tonight but going back through the workout in my head I realized I am horrible at math in the pool and only got in 1450. (It may have been 1500 as I may have done a 450 yard warm up but I prefer to err on the side of less) Several reasons I lost count on the warm up: I was a little thrown off by being the only person in the pool, very obviously the only visual target for the lifeguard. The pool temp was a little warm for my taste. I swear that on the way down the lane I was swimming against a current, the little jet thingy was in my lane and I think it was a little powerful for its purpose. My contact was driving me crazy and my depth perception was off a bit. I missed two flip turns in a row and then stopped to fix my contact. The lifeguard called out to see if I was okay, haha. "yes just put in my contact backwards" don't mind the silly triathlete who hasn't been in a pool since February!
Next time I need to bring a workout plan. I wasn't sure if I would be able to get in a swim tonight and figured I would wing it.
Stats:
1450 yd swim 28 minutes
warm up
400 yd
Drills
50 catch up
50 fingertip
50 slow arm recovery
50 fist
50 rotate kick
2*25 head down/ 25 free
Main Set
5*100 with 15 second rests
1:33.86
1:35.17
1:37.32
1:38.60
1:37.74
Cool Down
50 yd breast
150 yd
Busy Weekend
As always right?
Had a nice day by myself Friday. Had a super swollen throat so I stayed home to recuperate. Throat is still a little sore but I am feeling better. Still feel like I could use a day of complete rest but I'll take what I can get.
Went to a sorority sisters wedding yesterday and had a very nice time. It is always stressful to "go back." It is hard to know just how everything will go. I had a major freak out Friday night when I realized I had no clue what I was going to wear. Su came to my rescue as I was able to send her pictures of outfits for her judgement.
I ended up last minute realizing I had some skirts put away in the attic and found the "wedding appropriate" floral skirt, yesss saved!
Had to go with flip flops for shoes but oh well. I think everyone realizes I am certainly no fashion guru!
Saw a bunch of college friends at the wedding and realized a few of them aren't as far from us as we thought so hopefully we will be seeing them more frequently.
This morning I completely slept through the alarm and woke up an hour after I wanted to. I was supposed to be in Strongsville at 8 to help with TNT water stops, I woke up at 7:20. Yikes so I literally threw on a sweatshirt and headed out in my PJs. I made it 5 minutes late but before they had headed out onto the run. At least the PJs made me more visible at the water stop!
Went out to Panera afterwards with my mentees then headed home to change for Su's recital.
Took a 15 minute powernap and headed out.
Su's recital went really well, hopefully she was able to raise a good chunk of cash for LLS.
Several CTC bloggers showed up. What a classy bunch of new friends I have made! Very exciting! Qcmier, TriEric, and Trisaratops were all out for Su's event. It was very nice to see them all on a Sunday (even if it wasn't because we were running or cycling)
Tomorrow starts official Steelhead Base Training. Hopefully I am going to go check out one of the many pools I am considering. I think I may just suck it up and get a gym membership somewhere...where to is the question.
I am off to drink some OJ and hot tea and try to put this sore throat to rest.
Had a nice day by myself Friday. Had a super swollen throat so I stayed home to recuperate. Throat is still a little sore but I am feeling better. Still feel like I could use a day of complete rest but I'll take what I can get.
Went to a sorority sisters wedding yesterday and had a very nice time. It is always stressful to "go back." It is hard to know just how everything will go. I had a major freak out Friday night when I realized I had no clue what I was going to wear. Su came to my rescue as I was able to send her pictures of outfits for her judgement.
I ended up last minute realizing I had some skirts put away in the attic and found the "wedding appropriate" floral skirt, yesss saved!
Had to go with flip flops for shoes but oh well. I think everyone realizes I am certainly no fashion guru!
Saw a bunch of college friends at the wedding and realized a few of them aren't as far from us as we thought so hopefully we will be seeing them more frequently.
This morning I completely slept through the alarm and woke up an hour after I wanted to. I was supposed to be in Strongsville at 8 to help with TNT water stops, I woke up at 7:20. Yikes so I literally threw on a sweatshirt and headed out in my PJs. I made it 5 minutes late but before they had headed out onto the run. At least the PJs made me more visible at the water stop!
Went out to Panera afterwards with my mentees then headed home to change for Su's recital.
Took a 15 minute powernap and headed out.
Su's recital went really well, hopefully she was able to raise a good chunk of cash for LLS.
Several CTC bloggers showed up. What a classy bunch of new friends I have made! Very exciting! Qcmier, TriEric, and Trisaratops were all out for Su's event. It was very nice to see them all on a Sunday (even if it wasn't because we were running or cycling)
Tomorrow starts official Steelhead Base Training. Hopefully I am going to go check out one of the many pools I am considering. I think I may just suck it up and get a gym membership somewhere...where to is the question.
I am off to drink some OJ and hot tea and try to put this sore throat to rest.
Burnt Out?
Okay seriously you know you have been at the office too long when you try to open the door to the female bathroom with your automatic car door unlocker.
Seriously. Am I the only one who has ever done this?
On the running front I am on a week long hiatus in an attempt to stop wahetever this thing is ailing my calf. I have an eerie feeling it is achilles tendonitis. I haven't tried to run since Sunday but it still hurts when walk up or down stairs. Blah.
I am a super lazy runner. If I can't run I don't want to do anything else. Major athletic character flaw. I mean seriously it is soooo much easier to go out for a run than to drive to the pool or change out your tire and get on the trainer, damn cold March weather. So I haven't swam or cycled this week yet either. Perhaps this is what my body needed though because some of the other aches and pains that I have just kind of been living with are not bothering me now.
I am super pumped about Boston despite this calf injury but I am honestly looking forward to a break from the running this summer (note lazy runner becomes avid cyclist in good weather). Steelhead is going to be a great experience. I am pumped up to ride my bike a lot more this year. A and I are planning on doing a century ride and a bunch of longer hilly rides that I am pumped about.
So hopefully the hiatus from strictly running this summer will set me up with a good fitness level so that when I jump back into the running for Chicago Marathon and JFK I will be fresh and ready to fly.
Been listening to all the podcasts this week, I actually got chills listening to Zen and the Art of Triathlon's Rocky Racoon coverage. WOW! I am so excited about JFK! It is definitely going to go down as a super experience regardless of results.
Now I just have to get there healthy.
Seriously. Am I the only one who has ever done this?
On the running front I am on a week long hiatus in an attempt to stop wahetever this thing is ailing my calf. I have an eerie feeling it is achilles tendonitis. I haven't tried to run since Sunday but it still hurts when walk up or down stairs. Blah.
I am a super lazy runner. If I can't run I don't want to do anything else. Major athletic character flaw. I mean seriously it is soooo much easier to go out for a run than to drive to the pool or change out your tire and get on the trainer, damn cold March weather. So I haven't swam or cycled this week yet either. Perhaps this is what my body needed though because some of the other aches and pains that I have just kind of been living with are not bothering me now.
I am super pumped about Boston despite this calf injury but I am honestly looking forward to a break from the running this summer (note lazy runner becomes avid cyclist in good weather). Steelhead is going to be a great experience. I am pumped up to ride my bike a lot more this year. A and I are planning on doing a century ride and a bunch of longer hilly rides that I am pumped about.
So hopefully the hiatus from strictly running this summer will set me up with a good fitness level so that when I jump back into the running for Chicago Marathon and JFK I will be fresh and ready to fly.
Been listening to all the podcasts this week, I actually got chills listening to Zen and the Art of Triathlon's Rocky Racoon coverage. WOW! I am so excited about JFK! It is definitely going to go down as a super experience regardless of results.
Now I just have to get there healthy.
Smile for me daddy...
Our new Grill! Oh yeah Baby. Kudos to Eostre for guessing correctly! Your prize? We'll have you over some time for some steaks!
Bold owes me a dollar and a donut!
Bolder said... "if nothing else, the bike fit will give you confidence with your ride.
bet you a dollar and a donut they lower your handlebars and your saddle."
Went and got my bike fitting last night. I kind of knew what to expect with listening to Simply Stu's podcast and talking to the bike shop. On my way there B tried to convince me I didn't need the fitting that CK could do it for me. But I know those guys are busy training for Ironman Nice so I figured as long as the bike shop promised I could come back and tweak as much as I wanted I would go for it.
They assured me it was a one time fee and that as I progress as a rider they will work with me to keep my bike fit to me.
They took some measurements on this wild looking device. Just put this bar between your legs, Yikes :) After measuring all my stats he plugged that into a computer and spit out two drawings. I got to keep those but it is all foreign to me.
We set up my bike on the trainer and he adjusted my cleats. Both shoes the cleats were a bit far back.
After he adjusted the cleats he used some tool to adjust my seat height. He moved it way UP. Not sure the exact change in height but a pretty significant move. Had me get on and pedal for a bit then checked my knee angles. We adjusted it a bit more until it felt comfortable and was within the desired range. (Not sure what that is but he told me I was in the middle of the range and that's good)
After we got the shoes and the seat adjusted we moved on to aerobars. He took the ?risers? out of my arm pads. I think this was so I could get more aero but I am not sure. While he was doing this he also fixed my ghetto rigged computer, teehee. You mean not everyone has theirs rubber banded on?
Once he fixed the level on the arm pad things then we looked at length of the aerobars. He shortened them a bit. So now I don't feel like I am stretching so far forward. With the significant change in seat height and the shortened aerobars he decided not to adjust the handlebar height.
This was also probably because I don't want to be in an extremely aggressive position on the bike. I am a runner after all.
I decided to get some new tires since the ones that came with the bike weren't all that fancy and the small amount of trainer time I have put on them has definitely shown.
I am not really sure what I got, but he explained the pros and cons of a few different tires and these fit what I desired. Longer lifespan (more miles), higher pressure (less rolling resistance), and something about the sides that makes it handle curves well (safer). Oh and as a bonus? they are red. They didn't have any of the kind I wanted in black. Not sure how I feel about the red but we'll go with it. Had him throw in a bento box for a little added blog bike porn. Enjoy.
As he was putting on the new tires and finishing up I was getting my gear around and ready to go.
I grabbed my backpack and the zipper gave way throwing all of my stuff all over the floor. So I am madly trying to scoop it all up and as I get to the last item I realize my bra is still sitting on the floor. Ooops. How embarrassing. The poor fitting guy. He is like if your bag is broke I am sure I can find you something to throw your stuff in. Haha as I am clueless to the fact that my bra is just sitting there in plain view. Always the drama queen.
Between the fitting and him fixing a few things on my bike and putting on the new tires I was at the bike shop for about 2 and a half hours. Not too shabby.
Can't wait to take my bike out onto the roads and try everything out. Too bad its snowing today. And I refuse to use the new tires on the trainer, and am too lazy to put the old one back on the rear because it should be getting nice out soon. (I hope!)
New Toy
Yep thats right we got a new toy yesterday and we are super pumped up about it! Nope it isn't tri related and I am not letting the cat out of the bag until my husband posts about it.
But lets just say I can't wait for some warm sunny weather to use this baby.
In other news my calf is super pissed at me and I am not happy about it. In fact I am so unhappy I don't even want to talk about it.
I got in 37.5 miles this week and I am supposed to do my first 20 for Boston on Sunday. So I am icing and taking ibuprofen and hoping for the best. Grrr.
Tonight is my bike fitting!
But lets just say I can't wait for some warm sunny weather to use this baby.
In other news my calf is super pissed at me and I am not happy about it. In fact I am so unhappy I don't even want to talk about it.
I got in 37.5 miles this week and I am supposed to do my first 20 for Boston on Sunday. So I am icing and taking ibuprofen and hoping for the best. Grrr.
Tonight is my bike fitting!
David and I out at the pub. We had a good time last night at dinner and afterwards. At the restaurant a "troupe" of dancers did a few dances and we were entertained by bagpipes at the restaurant and the bar afterwards. I am going back to that bar and having the Irish Wake drink. David wasn't in the mood for me to have that last night, didn't want to deal with the consequences of it later, teehee. It was quite a big drink but it was tasty and next time I go that will be my only drink, as a bonus you get to keep the garter that comes along with! V. fun! The guiness girls were at the bar giving out free shots, beads, and shamrocks. Davids best buddy had quite a few of the shots. I think he definitely was having a good birthday.
TNT Run
As many of you know I am currently a mentor for the Northern Ohio chapter of Team in Training. As a mentor I try to keep up to date on my "mentees" fundraising and training efforts. I also go to the group runs to help make sure that everyone has someone to run with. Today I got to go long! I kept R company for 17 miles. About an hour more than I needed to run but it was fun. I am so happy that I can just decide to run an extra hour one day and not have it throw a wrench in my training. I love these little legs of mine!
It was a good 17 miles. Most of it around 9 minute miles. At the end R needed to ease off a bit and we did a few walk breaks but I wasn't concerned since I was way over the 1:50 Hal and on tap for me this weekend.
So I haven't completely given up on the Cliff Bloks now. I tried the strawberry and cran razz today. The cran razz is out but the strawberry may have some potential.
I was really stupid today and forgot to take any gels so I ran the whole 17 on gatorade and a few pretzels. It wasn't a real issue other than the last mile or so my calves were threatening to cramp. It was pretty humid out today and I should have been taking in more electrolytes for sure. Lesson learned :) I also forgot about the bruises my fuel belt leaves on my hips after so many miles. OUCH!
Since I didn't get much nutrition during the run I headed over to Panera. OMG their hazelnut cream cheese is to die for! YUM!
Hopefully all those doing Malachi this morning had fun!
Tomorrow I am running in Solon with A. Probably only 8 miles with a few tempo miles thrown in for good measure. I considered getting out on the bike but I think I will wait until after the fitting.
Tonight we are going out for David's best friend's Birthday. Never been to the restaurant or bar. Hopefully they are nice and not too smoky.
It was a good 17 miles. Most of it around 9 minute miles. At the end R needed to ease off a bit and we did a few walk breaks but I wasn't concerned since I was way over the 1:50 Hal and on tap for me this weekend.
So I haven't completely given up on the Cliff Bloks now. I tried the strawberry and cran razz today. The cran razz is out but the strawberry may have some potential.
I was really stupid today and forgot to take any gels so I ran the whole 17 on gatorade and a few pretzels. It wasn't a real issue other than the last mile or so my calves were threatening to cramp. It was pretty humid out today and I should have been taking in more electrolytes for sure. Lesson learned :) I also forgot about the bruises my fuel belt leaves on my hips after so many miles. OUCH!
Since I didn't get much nutrition during the run I headed over to Panera. OMG their hazelnut cream cheese is to die for! YUM!
Hopefully all those doing Malachi this morning had fun!
Tomorrow I am running in Solon with A. Probably only 8 miles with a few tempo miles thrown in for good measure. I considered getting out on the bike but I think I will wait until after the fitting.
Tonight we are going out for David's best friend's Birthday. Never been to the restaurant or bar. Hopefully they are nice and not too smoky.
All right already
I feel like I have been drilled with guilt about getting a bike fitting. Its on all the podcasts, all the blogs, and we got hammered to do it at the CTC meeting. So I just made the call and will be going on Monday at 6PM to get my bike fitted to me. I don't have any large issues but my one foot always starts to feel "funny" after an hour or so. Since purchasing the bike I have added aerobars so I probably need some readjustment (I am clueless!). And since I plan on upping my longest ride this year I should probably get comfy on the bike.
Let's all keep our fingers crossed that they won't tell me my bike is too whacky to properly fit me! And lets hope they do a good job because geeze this ain't gonna be cheap.
Now lets just hope I can get my bike into my car. I miss my truck :(
Last night was too nice to skip my run. I had absolutely NO desire to go and run around my neighborhood by myself though. So I called Su and conned her into going out for a second 5 mile run. I truly thought I had an easy 5 miler on tap so that's what we did. Around 9:40 pace. Looked today and I was supposed to do tempo. Ooops. Oh well. Even though CH is "close" to me it is impossible to get there quickly. Last night I came home a different way than I normally went and while it may have been the same time in the car it was a much smoother drive, less lights, more pretty things to look at. So I will be taking that route from now on.
Busy weekend ahead as always but I am happy to say that I got some of the chores taken care of this morning before coming into work. Totally ready for some rest this weekend. Busy couple of days at work and my head is spinning.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Let's all keep our fingers crossed that they won't tell me my bike is too whacky to properly fit me! And lets hope they do a good job because geeze this ain't gonna be cheap.
Now lets just hope I can get my bike into my car. I miss my truck :(
Last night was too nice to skip my run. I had absolutely NO desire to go and run around my neighborhood by myself though. So I called Su and conned her into going out for a second 5 mile run. I truly thought I had an easy 5 miler on tap so that's what we did. Around 9:40 pace. Looked today and I was supposed to do tempo. Ooops. Oh well. Even though CH is "close" to me it is impossible to get there quickly. Last night I came home a different way than I normally went and while it may have been the same time in the car it was a much smoother drive, less lights, more pretty things to look at. So I will be taking that route from now on.
Busy weekend ahead as always but I am happy to say that I got some of the chores taken care of this morning before coming into work. Totally ready for some rest this weekend. Busy couple of days at work and my head is spinning.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Nutrition
Two Saturdays back I did a group TNT run on the towpath. I didn't eat much beforehand and decided I would try out some nutrition "on the run." One of the major things I want to practice for JFK is nutrition. Well I had some granola/powerbar thingie during our 11 miler that sat fine but I could tell at the end if I had needed to run further it may have become an issue. Note: No power/granola bars during runs!
After the run I was discussing Cliff Bloks with the TNT coach and that they seemed to be all the rave on blogland and I intended to try those next time out. Well it was my lucky day and he happened to have a pack of the lemon kind on him. So I checked it out. NOT what I was expecting at all. And all of you out there really eat 6 of these an hour?
So unfortunately the Cliff Bloks are not going to work for me. They taste and have the same texture as a candy that once almost made me vomit. In fact when I see the dishes that candy was served on I get ill to my stomach. Crazy I know but Clif Bloks are out.
Really the only things I know that "work" for me are Cranks E-Gels Tropical Blast Flavor and gatorade. But I think after taking several gels and drinking lots of gatorade I will probably need some other form of nutrition. So a big push I am going to make this year is incorporating eating into my training. I think I want to try out soup and bagels next.
What foods do you use on your long runs? What foods didn't work? What do you like best?
Bad Ben had a very good post on his blog about nutrition during his last ultra.
Oh I should add that I have eaten bagels and pb before runs and done okay. Sometimes the pb doesn't sit well though, not bad in my stomach but that kind of sticks in your throat threateningly feeling. I had a pb sandwich before Youngstown and during the warmup I was a bit worried about it being an issue but it ended up being fine during the race. I prefer a bagel with cream cheese though.
After the run I was discussing Cliff Bloks with the TNT coach and that they seemed to be all the rave on blogland and I intended to try those next time out. Well it was my lucky day and he happened to have a pack of the lemon kind on him. So I checked it out. NOT what I was expecting at all. And all of you out there really eat 6 of these an hour?
So unfortunately the Cliff Bloks are not going to work for me. They taste and have the same texture as a candy that once almost made me vomit. In fact when I see the dishes that candy was served on I get ill to my stomach. Crazy I know but Clif Bloks are out.
Really the only things I know that "work" for me are Cranks E-Gels Tropical Blast Flavor and gatorade. But I think after taking several gels and drinking lots of gatorade I will probably need some other form of nutrition. So a big push I am going to make this year is incorporating eating into my training. I think I want to try out soup and bagels next.
What foods do you use on your long runs? What foods didn't work? What do you like best?
Bad Ben had a very good post on his blog about nutrition during his last ultra.
Oh I should add that I have eaten bagels and pb before runs and done okay. Sometimes the pb doesn't sit well though, not bad in my stomach but that kind of sticks in your throat threateningly feeling. I had a pb sandwich before Youngstown and during the warmup I was a bit worried about it being an issue but it ended up being fine during the race. I prefer a bagel with cream cheese though.
Semi Spastic Track Workout
Well I wasn't as even on splits as I would have liked to be but I'll take it.
Interval splits:
1*1600:
6:37.04
2*800:
3:21.45
3:26.71
4*400:
1:42.73
1:38.58
1:37.93
1:32.59
Total Mileage tonight 7.5
David walked while I finished out the workout. I ate way too much at Max and Erma's afterwards and now feel comatose, I am off to stretch and get to bed!
Interval splits:
1*1600:
6:37.04
2*800:
3:21.45
3:26.71
4*400:
1:42.73
1:38.58
1:37.93
1:32.59
Total Mileage tonight 7.5
David walked while I finished out the workout. I ate way too much at Max and Erma's afterwards and now feel comatose, I am off to stretch and get to bed!
For those
that think I exaggerate about hills I offer up several other Y-Town race reports:
AM -Friends Don't Let Friends Run Y-Town
Curly Su-Y-Town Half Report
DaisyDuc-Family News and Y-Town Rundown
Little Blue- On becoming a half marathoner
My legs still feel good today! A little tender so I know that I am indeed human. I have been trying to figure out why the hills didn't seem to phase me that much yesterday and my conclusion is that the Tuesday hill repeats combined with climbing 6 flights of stairs everyday have actually paid off!
Last night's SERC banquet was awesome. As CK stated I consumed enough food for the rest of the week. For those that haven't been to Primo Vino in Little Italy, you have been missing out!
On tap for tonight just some stretching and perhaps a short wog or trainer ride.
AM -Friends Don't Let Friends Run Y-Town
Curly Su-Y-Town Half Report
DaisyDuc-Family News and Y-Town Rundown
Little Blue- On becoming a half marathoner
My legs still feel good today! A little tender so I know that I am indeed human. I have been trying to figure out why the hills didn't seem to phase me that much yesterday and my conclusion is that the Tuesday hill repeats combined with climbing 6 flights of stairs everyday have actually paid off!
Last night's SERC banquet was awesome. As CK stated I consumed enough food for the rest of the week. For those that haven't been to Primo Vino in Little Italy, you have been missing out!
On tap for tonight just some stretching and perhaps a short wog or trainer ride.
Finished Youngstown! Got in my 18 miles. I feel great!
Splits:
8:44.40
8:21.42
9:44.60 (obviously mile 3 marker was off)
7:17.40
8:39.19
8:23.50
8:30.38
8:04.68
8:13.03
8:15.56
8:02.69
7:42.34
7:47.85
54.28
Total: 1:48:52
20 minute warm up and 3 mile cool down to finish out the 18. Lots and Lots of hills. They went back to the old course so it was even more brutal than last year. Despite being about a minute slower this year I am happy with today. I really wanted to run a negative split and feel strong the whole way. Plus I heard some guys mention that they ran 5-6 minutes faster last year. So that's a good indicator that I am improving despite a slower time.
My legs feel great and I am pretty sure that last year I could barely get down the stairs for dinner after this race. I felt like I could have run a lot more. I think that must be due to the low mileage. Perhaps my body just responds really well to the low mileage.
There was over double the number of racers this year 400+ but apparently the girls that ran in my age group last year moved up or didn't show because I managed to snag 2nd in age.
The SERC gals Rocked the course! B, K, and E all came home with hardware. J took 2nd in her age group too. Curly Su and DaisyDuc ran a great half together under 2 hours! A lot of TNT peeps showed and got introduced to some hills. The men also did great, SERC guys came in number 3 and 5. B and B2 rocked the course as well winning their age groups.
So it was a good day! I am super pumped. I am feeling really confident about Boston now. I felt great on all the hills today and I am really happy! Looking forward to the SERC banquet tonight and for consuming all those calories I just burned! Bring on the cassata cake!
More Details please?
Rode with my SERC posse to the race. So nice not to drive. Youngstown is about an hour drive so definitely a haul. Woke up at 6:00 and grabbed a coffee and some toast with PB on my way out the door at 6:20ish. We left Starbucks at 6:50 and headed to the race. Got there and because I slacked and didn't pre-reg didn't get a small wind shirt. Oh well looks like David has another race shirt!
K and I headed out to warm up. I got in 20 minutes and called that 2 miles. Got back to the car and took off the fleece pants and changed to shorts, also ditched the jacket. It was sunny out and my core temp was high. Met up with J, AM, Su, and DaisyDuc over at the start. Emptied out my shoes, weird gravel from the towpath. Realize that the end of the tie in my shorts isn't there. I start messing with that trying to get the tie out and get the shorts tied, before I know it we are running, oops! So I mess with the shorts for the first half mile or so and have to give up. Luckily my shorts did remain on despite not being tied!
Stuck with Su and DaisyDuc for the first few miles then we picked up the pace a bit. J and AM suggested we play a game to pass the time. It was pretty funny. Basically one of us names 3 people and you have to decide which one you will throw off a cliff, which you'll marry, and which one you will have a one night stand with. V. amusing. Probably even more so for the people we were running around who didn't realize we were playing a game!
I wanted to go out around 8 minute miles but I realized pretty quickly that wasn't in the cards on this hilly of a course. So we just tried to stay comfortable and we talked the majority of the first 10 miles. Around ten we started to pick up the pace, still able to talk though. There are pretty much hills the whole course. Maybe 1.5-2 miles of the whole thing are flat. And these aren't what I would call rollers. Most of them have a significant grade and are relatively long. At 12 some girl that we were passing decides she wants to give us a run for our money. I felt good so I wasn't worried about it and I knew there were 3 more significant hills to climb so I just stayed even and hammered in at my own pace. V. happy with the results.
J and AM and I went back out for about 3 miles (we just ran the course backwards so we could see some friends) taking it really easy. Awards took absolutely FOREVER! But we finnaly got out of there. Stopped and grabbed some pizza on the way back. Now I think I am ready for a nap!
Don't give up on me!
I got out and ran today! Yesss! (ala Napoleon)
A and I ran 8.5 miles on the towpath at a slightly later hour so as to recover from last nights festivities. It was absolutely gorgeous out today! But extremely windy. Our splits on the way out averaged about 8:30-8:40 and on the way back into the wind around 9:10. It was extremely muddy so we ran mostly on the side of the towpath in the grass. I felt pretty good, but regretted the large breakfast I had beforehand. I guess when they say to eat before running they dont mean to eat 3 pancakes, 2 scrambled eggs, and hash browns with a few cups of coffee?
I have managed to be productive all day up until this point at which I think I am throwing in the towel and am going to go curl up with my RW issue that just arrived. I still need to clean my car but I am not sure if I have the motivation after all the dishes, laundry, and picking up I have done. At least the house is starting to look a wee bit better. I love having guests but it is hard to keep the place in order the whole weekend they are here.
A and I ran 8.5 miles on the towpath at a slightly later hour so as to recover from last nights festivities. It was absolutely gorgeous out today! But extremely windy. Our splits on the way out averaged about 8:30-8:40 and on the way back into the wind around 9:10. It was extremely muddy so we ran mostly on the side of the towpath in the grass. I felt pretty good, but regretted the large breakfast I had beforehand. I guess when they say to eat before running they dont mean to eat 3 pancakes, 2 scrambled eggs, and hash browns with a few cups of coffee?
I have managed to be productive all day up until this point at which I think I am throwing in the towel and am going to go curl up with my RW issue that just arrived. I still need to clean my car but I am not sure if I have the motivation after all the dishes, laundry, and picking up I have done. At least the house is starting to look a wee bit better. I love having guests but it is hard to keep the place in order the whole weekend they are here.
A made me eat this so she could find out what was in the sandwich, i think it was fish. I smell like a huge cigarette now so I am headed for the showers and bed. No run tonight but a brisk walk to get money downtown and a nice walk with C tonight. At least I am not hungry and I fufilled my beer craving. Oh okay and my margarita craving ;) All preggo commenters better be seriously off the mark!
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