Sore Knee

Well I went out this morning and ran 3 miles. Unfortunately about 2 minutes from the apartment I took a spill because of an ice patch. No broken bones, but I did give my left knee quite a shiner and it is swollen. Also scraped up my hands and got some minor bruises on my arms and my other knee. Lovely. Other than that it was a great run. Hopefully the knee won't be a problem. If it is I may need to take some of my husbands meds for his back :) For now I am going to try some ice and ibuprofen.

It hurts to walk but hopefully it will be better tomorrow. Also tonight I feel exhausted. I barely made it up the three flights of stairs to our apartment. I am feeling a little better now since we ate dinner but I definately need a good nights rest.

I Will Survive

Oh how I hate running in the winter :)

But luckily it will be spring again soon and I have learned my lesson about training for a spring running event...don't do it! (Unless you live in a more mild climate area than Ohio)

In spite of bad conditions I did get in my run this morning. I just couldn't face the wind and cold temperatures though so I suffered through another treadmill run. 10 miles in one and a half hours...luckily my new mp3 player helped the time pass slightly faster than it normally does. And the distance calculator was pretty close to what the treadmill claimed I had run (there goes my theory about treadmills lying about my pace). I think Islandartist is right I am just a free spirit who finds treadmill running very difficult, because I swear I have to put in two times the effort to get the same results on a treadmill as I do outside.

5 mile recovery run

My quads are still recovering from Sunday's long run and last nights speed workout but I got in 5 miles easy this morning. It was drizzling and all the rain from last night had turned into ice. Really treacherous as it was not visible to the naked eye. But I survived without any slips thank goodness.

Lets hope that tomorrow's run is a little safer :)

My new gadget

So I have committed a huge running sin, I bought an mp3 player/acceleromator. The Nike/Philips MP3 Run.

It is awesome!!! I tested it tonight during my speed workout. It plays mp3's while tracking your speed/distance. Pretty sweet. I took it to the track and calibrated it and it appears to be accurate.

Warm up 1 mile
1 mile hard (7:29) Yuck
1/2 mile Easy
1 mile hard (7:23) Double Yuck
1/2 mile easy
1 mile hard (7:07) Slightly better
1 mile cool down

Along with the mp3 player and run stats I can automatically update that data to a nike online training log. I am going to have fun with this :)

Nice day for a run

It is 53 degrees in Cleveland right now. It wasn't quite that warm this morning but it was still very nice running weather. And I took advantage of it. I got to the SERC start at 6:50 and ran 6 (maybe a little shy of) miles with B before the group start at 8, we were flying. Then I ran 12 more miles with B, A, and D. Total time 2 hours and 30 minutes. God I felt great!!! We will see how I feel a little later once the runner's high wears off :)

Beautiful Day

It is absolutely delightful outside today. 45 degrees and sunny! Went and ran with some of the triathletes this morning. Ended up doing 6 miles in 55 minutes. It was nice and there was no snow on the trail today (much better than two weeks ago at the same park).

Now I think I am going to get my truck cleaned (inside and out) go to the library and maybe go shopping!

Rough Morning

Woke up this morning and couldn't locate my husband...his side of the bed was empty, he wasn't on the couch, not in the bathroom, not on the computer...finally found him on the floor beside our bed on his side. Then I went to freshen up and had to unclog the toilet, second time this week. Then went to get some juice and found that my cat had vomited in the living room, also second time this week. This is particularly frustrating because we thought we had solved this problem by giving him more food so he wouldn't feel we were starving him, and in return he wouldn't wolf down the food so fast it would make him throw up, but apparently he has decided that not chewing food is really quite fun...Blah!

The Culprit

On a good note today is my rest day, and after running four days in a row I definitely deserve it Off to work.

Morning Run (s)

Got up at 6 this morning and ran 4 miles, then I headed to N.Chagrin to finish my 9 miles at the park. (It is way too dark to run there until 7)

Total mileage today was 9 miles in just under an hour and a half. I felt really good and even had a negative split today (even with the Metro Mountain (J's slang for really large/steep hills in the metroparks) I added in to mix things up at the 7 mile mark).

My left calf is a little out of sorts again, of course, but I plan on taking tomorrow off so hopefully I will be fresh for this weekends runs.

Pilates

My left hip is a little tight this morning so I am putting off my run until later. Instead I did the "Bun's and Thigh's" pilates workout. I am not sure what exactly is going on with my hip but that workout sure isolates it, hopefully that will help me on the way to a speedy recovery :)

5 miles

Got in my easy run tonight out and back from the apartment. It wasn't too cold out and my legs felt surprisngly fresh. My only problem tonight was my left hand. I think I am developing carpal tunnel or something...hopefully it is just a fluke.

Speeding it up a bit

I left this morning and headed to the Mayfield Heights track to try and get in my track workout but was disappointed to find that they haven't shoveled at all. So I had to put my workout off until this evening. My husband and I went over to the Richmond Heights track which also was not shoveled. I attempted to run anyways but there were parts where the snow drift were up to my knees. So we did some quick brainstorming and drove to the park next door. We measured the parks drive and it was 800 meters so I did my repeats there.

Here's the run down:

1 mile warm up
1 mile hard ~6:20
1/2 mile easy
1 mile hard 6:19
1/2 mile easy
1 mile hard 6:28
11 minute cool down

So total time and mileage was 50:49 and 6 miles.

Flat Tire

Met up with Joe and Amie for our bike ride this morning at Squires Castle.

We planned on doing a 15 mile ride. Well Joe had a borrowed bike and around mile 8 the tire popped. So we had to stop. Luckily I had my pump and some patches so Joe was able to patch it up. It was probably a good experience because now we have seen it happen "in the field" so I feel better prepared if it happens to me. Fortunately my pump worked for Joe. It won't work on my tires. I have different valves than a road bike and for some reason once the pump is on my valve it is impossible to pump air in. Two other people have tried to do it for me and it wouldn't work for either of them either.

It was beautiful out this morning and the ride goes through some pretty areas.

I ended up riding just over 20 miles which took about 2 hours but only 1:30:00 "pedalling" time. I am starting to get used to the cages but I think I will plan a day to just go out and practice placing my feet in and out of the cages and practice taking my water bottle out of the cage while riding. During the race on Sunday I wanted water so bad but I was scared I would crash if I took out my water bottle while riding.

Off to rest my head (darn sinus headaches are killing me)

Quick 40 minute swim

I have an annual doc appointment this morning so I had to get in a quick pool workout.

Here is the run down:
2*100 easy with 30 second rest
2*100 with 25 second rest
2*100 with 20 second rest
2*100 with 15 second rest
2*100 with 10 second rest
2*100 with 5 second rest
4*100 drill (kick, catch up, 2* slow arm recovery)
50 easy
50 sprint
50 easy

I felt pretty good this morning. A little tired during the kick drill. It is pretty nice out and the pool was only cold for a little bit.

Bike Workshop

Went to our bike workshop tonight and learned all about cycling and bike mechanics. I now know how to change my bike tires and adjust it to fit me perfectly for the race! I also got some cages from my coach to use while training for the Chicago Tri.

We went out for a 30 minute/6 mile ride while our coaches made burgers and macaroni and cheese. It was a fun evening! But now I am exhausted and I have to get up and swim at 6:30am!

I am up to $1875.00 in donations! Almost half way to my fundraising minimum! Thank you very much to everyone who has donated!

Stow Sprint Triathlon!

Just got home from a long day of racing in my first triathlon and then driving three hours to Michigan for my cousin's graduation party and driving three hours home :) All on no sleep! (Actually my extremely sick husband was kind enough to drive home this evening so I caught a cat nap in the truck)

The triathlon was awesome!!! It was really cool. I had a blast, and did pretty well. Everyone else that went with Team in Training did great today too!!! It couldn't have been a nicer day.

There were over 100 people there today. (They had planned on 70) The swim was two laps (400-500 yards) in a smallish lake/pond. Very murky and green! The bike was two 6 mile loops out on the roads which they called "flat". And the run was an out and back 5k on a trail at the park.

I got there fairly early so i had time to watch other people set up their transition area stuff so I didn't look like I was completely clueless. Coach Melissa was there too so she helped us get organized. I had station 21 which was in the last row. So I had to run further from the lake to my station but dropping off the bike before the run was quicker. I was worried about running from the lake to the transition area because it was on pavement and I have had a stress fracture and bone bruises on my feet. (Pavement plus no running shoes=Bad!) But I didn't even notice it during the race.

You get a swim cap with your number on it (I was 242), a tag for your bike, and a number tag for your outfit. No body painting today.

There was also a super sprint going today (half the distance of the sprint). So they started the super sprint in the lake. Then the women doing the sprint started two minutes after them. (The men started ten minutes after us) I was amazed at how little you could see in the water. I was one of the first women out of the water (about 8 and a half minutes) which was pretty neat. Other than some trouble keeping in the right direction and running over some of the super sprinters I did great! When I got out of the water I was a bit dissoriented and tried to go the wrong way but everyone steered me onto the course.

Got into the transition area and I couldn't get my darn bike helmet to snap on, uggh. I also had a hard time getting my bike gloves on. So even though I was one of the first out of the water I was not one of the first onto my bike :(

Started the bike at decent speed (the slick tires were a real blessing). I passed two people going up the first hill (Not a flat course by any means). It was a two loop course and I made pretty good time for me. (about 44 minutes on the bike) I got passed by about 6 women out on the bike ride (I thought I would get passed by quite a few more). I got into the transition area and was much quicker this time but had some trouble getting my bike back on the rack. Chugged some water and headed out onto the run (at about 57 minutes at this point).

The first 3/4 miles were a little rough. My legs felt a bit like jello and the course was on gravel so I was worried about turning my ankle. After that though I got into a groove and the course switched to a paved trail. I passed quite a few people on the run so that felt good, especially because I didn't have to push too hard to do it.

I finished the race in 1:22:07. (By my watch, the official times have me at something faster check it out 86th overall and 17th out of the women) I have no idea if that is good or bad but I felt great! I had planned on about 1:30:00-1:40:00 so I was really pleased. Plus I think I came in about 4th or 5th in my age group (3rd in my age group was 1:20:00)!

I was so proud of everyone today. We had three of us that had never done a tri before and we all did really well. One of our mentors did it and she got a trophy. And we have a teammate who used to participate in tri's about 15 years ago doing her first one since 1989! It was really amazing!

I will try to post pics tommorrow! Thanks to everyone who encouraged me :) Two more months till the real thing! (Now I am off to bed!)

Off to the race

Wish me luck! I am definitely going to need it. I lied awake all night. Nothing like racing your first triathlon on no sleep. Uggh. Darn Insomnia. The only good thing is that I slept really well Friday night so maybe there is still hope for me. But I feel pretty jittery right about now...

I will let you all know how it goes later!

Slicker Tires

Second time typing this blog...apparently sometimes my backspace button likes to revert to the previous webpage (as opposed to deleting my typing errors) grr...

Anyways. I went and got slicker tires put on my bike yesterday. 700 by 28 as opposed to what I had before: 700 by 38. I was a bit worried that they wouldn't be able to do it. When I called the guy I spoke with said that hybrids usually have too large of rims for slick tires...but my rims are fine!

So I took the bike to the grocery store with me to try the new tires out this morning. I didn't want to get in a real ride because of the race tomorrow, but I wanted to make sure I got a little bit of riding in on the new tires. (Can you believe the grocery store didn't have a bike rack? I had to chain the bike to a fence) I didn't notice too much of a difference in my short 20 minute ride but it felt a bit lighter and a bit faster. I am sure I will be grateful for the switch tomorrow during the race.

Now I am off to prepare for a summer party in Tiffin and relax the day away!

I Love Swimming!

Woke up this morning at 4:45 and really thought that I had set the alarm too early. I was exhausted.

Got to the pool on time and had a great group swim with two of the other triathletes and our coach.

It was a really good workout for me this morning I felt great, like I was gliding on the water.

Here is the run down (as I remember it):

250 yard warm up
2*50 catch up drill with the buoy
2*50 kick with kickboard
2*50 catch up drill
50 catch up drill, 50 head down, 100 freestyle
50 slow arm recovery, 50 head down, 50 freestyle fast, 50 slow freestyle
50 slow arm recovery, 50 head down, 25 medium, 25 faster, 25 even faster, 25 all out
6*100 at a 1:50 start time (always start at one minute and fifty seconds no matter how long it took to swim the 100)

I felt really good and was definitely pushed a little beyond my boundaries so that was nice. I should be able to be in and out of the water on Sunday in ten minutes or less. (I hope)

Tomorrow I get to rest! Thank goodness :) I am going to go buy slick tires tomorrow for my bike but wait to get the cages until after Sunday's race. So I guess I don't really get to rest because I will probably ride around a little bit just to get used to the slick tires...but definitely no more than a 30 minute easy ride!

Looking forward to Sunday :) Wish me luck!

60 minute run

Went out to North Chagrin this morning. I ran for 60 minutes on the Bridle trail. I made the loop from Strawberry Picnic area around to Squires Castle and back in 40 minutes. So I went out another ten minutes and headed back to the picnic area for some stretching.

I thought that today would be terrible. I had a killer migraine yesterday and didn't get much sleep last night. Surprisingly the run was wonderful! I was cruising! The Bridle trail loop that I took was about 4.6 miles and I probably ran 2.5 more on top of that. So I think I ran about 7 miles this morning. The only bad part about that trail is the hills. There are some [i]very[/i] steep ones.

I am starting to get nervous about the sprint triathlon on Sunday. I know I will have a blast but as a first time triathlete I have the jitters (pretty badly). I had a dream about the event last night so I know it is at the back of my mind even though I am trying to focus my energy on anything else. So wish me luck ;)

Chilly Morning Ride

It is absolutely beautiful outside this morning. The sun is out and there is a slight breeze.

I was a little cold at first but the sun warmed me up quite a bit. That and riding 20 miles on my bike :)

I need to find a better place to do long rides. It took me an hour and 35 minutes to ride 20.22 miles. There were tons of hills on the route this morning which didn't make things easier. I went out to North Chagrin and then turned out of the park onto Chardon. That road is horrible for biking! The berms are all cracked and covered in gravel and the cars fly by going at least 45 miles per hour. Plus it is hilly the whole way. I turned off onto a much nicer rode (I didn't catch the street name). It had just recently been repaved so it was lovely. Plus the view was amazing. You could look down to the right and see the valley and river. Should have brought my camera.

Unfortunately there was another dead skunk this morning. Horrible timing too as I just started getting a whiff as I was climbing a hill. It was much worse today.

I am glad that I am not quite half way done with training because I know for sure that there is no way I could go run a 10k right now. I am pretty beat and very hungry!