here is chaz's report of how he kicked chesapeakeman aqua velo's butt over the weekend. way to go, chaz!
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In training for my first Ironman, I couldn't have picked a better warmup race than the Chesapeakeman Aqua Velo, which comprised the first two legs of the Chesapeakeman Iron-dstance triathlon. I got the 2.4-mile swim and 112-mile bike race distances under my belt, experienced the different transition style in Iron races from other triathlons, and gained confidence through a strong performance.
It was a small race - about 300 signed up for the full race and the Aqua Velo, combined, and only 224 toed the starting line. So there was an intimate feel as the bus dropped us off at the swim start in Cambridge, Md., the T1 changing tents and bike racks illuminated out of the surrounding blackness of the Choptank River by a couple of floodlights. There wasn't much point to arriving 90 minutes early, so other than using the facilities and checking the bike, sodden from overnight rain, I mostly sat and obsessed over what the race would be like.
I pulled on my wetsuit (right side out this time) at 6:30, just as the rain started to fall. By the time I entered the water at 6:45, the rain was steady - when the gun went off at 7, it was a downpour. On the other hand, there was light, if no sun, so we could see the buoys stretching into the distance for the two-loop swim around a bay that empties into the Choptank.
I took my usual approach, starting near the back and setting a deliberate pace. I kept up with the pack better than I have in the past, which made sighting less of a challenge. I was kicked in the head once. On the final turn of the first loop, into the river on the straight shot back into the start/finish, there was significant chop, making frequent sighting a necessity. Upon completing the first loop (in exactly 800 breaths), I checked my watch and was delighted to see 41:52, matching the fastest I've ever done 1.2 miles in a race (three weeks prior at Diamondman, it took me an awful 47 minutes). Thus inspired, I stroked through the second lap, shaking off at one point a persistent draftee (by the hundredth time his hand hit my foot, I was seriously considering kicking him in the head. Instead, I moved over). I managed the second loop in 795 breaths, and crossed the mat into T1 at 1:24:52. That's only three minutes slower than I do in the pool. Could the course have been short? No - when I got into the changing tent, it was FULL. I was in the main group!
(My swim ranked 49th of 89 Aqua Veloers, and 125th of 224 including the tri competitors. Add in the swim-only competitors, and I was 139th of 248.)
T1 was a new experience. Grab the bag containing bike gear, head into the tent, strip down and change clothes with dozens of other competitors and not enough chairs. I took my time, as usual, feeling a bit dizzy from the swim and not having packed my bag properly - next time, items will be ordered so I can rake things out as I need them, rather than dump the contents out and root around. A final complicating factor was that I was breaking in a Garmin Forerunner 405, upgrading from ny dead 305, which died Thursday evening, meaning I bought the 405 Friday. Not ideal. I took 14:30 to get through transition, which ranked 10th from slowest among tri and Aqua Velo competitors!
The rain had slackened during the swim, but started again in earnest as I began the bike. I took it easy to start, navigating the first few turns carefully to gauge the slickness of the roads, and generally stretching out. By mile 4, my aggregate pace was better than 20 mph, where it would stay for the duration.
I confronted an equipment problem right away. I'd changed the armrests on my aerobars a few days ago, because I'd broken the plastic armrests in training. The metal armrests I installed were curved, and forced my shoulders to hunch much more. That would prevent me from staying in the aerobars for more than five miles at a tim, and I needed to take more frequent breaks from the aerobars as the race progressed. Two days later, my shoulders remain a bit sore.
Fueling went well. I ate half a Clif bar every half hour, then interspersed a banana on the next half hour. I drank with abandon, even though the near-constant, frequently downpouring rain made it impossible to tell how much I was weating. (The temp was low 70s and humid.) So I drank six 24-ounce bottles of Gatorade High Endurance and three 24-ounce bottles of water, and ate four Clif bars and three bananas.
The course involved a 14-mile sojourn to a 48-mile loop that we did twice. The loop went through Blackwater Wildlife Refuge and was utterly flat - even the few bridges involved inclines of literally two or three feet. That made regular stretching a necessity, and coasting an impossibility - perfect training for Florida. The rain varied throughout the ride - no rain for maybe a quarter, light to steady rain for half, and pounding, slap-hard-against-your-helmet rain for the remaining quarter.
That, and the previous three days of rain, led to a singular road condition I've never experienced before. A one-mile stretch of road about 12 miles from the end of the loop was completely submerged in up to - no joke - six inches of water. At certain points, feet and pedals went underwater with each pedal stroke, making for gym-like biking resistance. It wasn't hard to get through - even when cars coming the other direction caused wakes onto my side of the road - but it was a new one.
My strategy was the same as usual - see a cyclist ahead of me, pick him or her off, don't get passed - but I had to be more patient given the longer distance. I learned that early. In mile 11, I passed three cyclists at once, one of whom was passing the other two. He passed me back within a mile. I kept him in my sights and re-passed two miles later. He passed me again within a mile, and eventually disappeared up the road.
I passed him for a third time in mile 60, and he stayed passed.
I was passed by three other cyclists, all in the first half. I'm sure I eventually passed two of them back; the other I'm not sure of. Otherwise, it was the usual pass-fest, only wetter and more deliberate - I tailed some cyclists for five, eight, 10 miles before reeling them in.
I felt my pace flag near the halfway mark, so after getting through the submerged road for the first time, I figured I'd air it out for the last 12 miles of the loop, before picking up the special-needs bag. That went well, and after stopping to reload my Clif bar and banana stash, I was strong for the second loop.
I stayed in the small chainring for most of the first 64 miles - which I had the confidence to do thanks to a century ride I did last week almost entirely in the small ring because the cable controlling the ring was badly frayed. I had it replaced this week, so when I felt strong late, I put it in the big ring for the last 14 miles and let it rip.
I finished the bike leg in 5:28:45, for a 20.4 mph pace. That ranked 10th of 89 in the Aqua Velo, and 21st of 224 including the triathletes. Given the conditions and my relative lack of taper, that seems like a replicable result in five weeks' time.
My overall time of 7:07:48 ranked 21st of 89 in the Aqua Velo, and 46th of 224 including the triathletes. Most pleasantly surprising of all, I carded a second-place finish (of 12 Aqua Veloers) in the 35-39 age group (the AG winner beat me by plenty, so my ridiculous transition didn't cost me unduly). I see no evidence on the event Web site that there were age group awards for the AV, but this still qualifies as easily my best race result.
Apparently, swim-bike-done suits me better than swim-bike-run. Nevertheless, on to Ironman Florida!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
what's in a name & USMMA 5k race report
our team name is "thph" = "tri hard play harder" but perhaps it's "phth" = "play hard tri harder." regardless, we're going to have the best cheers and team photos, sticking our tongues out like the mature adults we are. maija's new name is fb = "fast bunny," a synthesis of the messaging on her fun swim suits, although i'd like to think fb = "funny bunny." interestingly, my creative nickname in high school-and my anonymous older brother will laugh to remember this -was esther-bunny. fyi, we don't really call each other these acronyms in real life (how odd would that be?), i just use them for typing ease b/c outside of working out, i'm quite lazy.
speaking of lazy, it was not that hard for fb to talk me out of thursday's intended track workout as i am just as excited about doing them as i am about doing my 3-hr round trip commute. when i asked if i could do a long run instead, she said ok but so long as it is 45 mins max. so i sort of listened to her and decided to forego the track workout and did a 2:00 long run, aiming for roughly my 1:30 long run pace. it was a fantastic run, about 1:01 in one direction, including going down one very long slope and 0:59 back, going back up that very long slope. i have been kind of hard on myself about the bike and swim, so it felt great to run and listen to music and not give myself pressure to beat any time. fb was right about her warning that i would be sore afterwards, though, but i guess i needed to learn from experience.
friday, i did fb's recommendation of 40 mins easy w/ 6x30-sec race pace. since the weather was absolutely awful i had to use the dreadmill, but i found that it was easier to push myself on the race pace. then on to columbia swim, the last swim of the season. i was feeling kind of stressed out so my swim felt slow and out of breath, and i practiced telling myself "cool as a cucumber" and "i can do this." the mental exercise in itself is pretty tiring for me, and i am looking forward to post-bassman when i will focus more on running for philly marathon before starting the training program for imlp.
A and i went to A's 10-yr college reunion at the USMMA (US Merchant Marine Academy) in long island today, and typical A-style, we arrived at 6:30 a.m. for the start of the 8:00 5-k race. i had a fantastic time getting a taste of A's college life and am very glad i did not attend this school. they treat the freshmen so roughly, i don't think i would have lasted more than a month! everyone has to wear a pressed and clean uniform all the time (fyi, i still don't know how to iron, nor do i own an iron), and the freshmen always have to walk 6 inches from the curb and say "good morning ma'am" and "good morning sir." in A's day, the freshmen also had to clean all of the barracks, including bathrooms, for themselves and the upperclassmen. i'm sure A can give the full run-down but he has generally good memories of the place, as i believe it gets better as you get older and in charge, and since he had some good friends there. the campus was beautiful and right next to the water, and the people were incredibly polite.
as noted copious times before, i was dreading this 5k, and looking forward to it even less when i saw how few people there were who were running. there were about 20 people, and i was thinking, oh great, i'm going to be last and it's going to be so embarrassing! on top of that, the race director was giving course directions verbally and i am horrible with directions. so off we went, me not being sure at all where to go but not that worried as i thought i'd just follow A from a distance.
mile 1: 6:55 which was my best mile time ever and included a slight uphill. there were about 6 of us in the front, A doing super and 2nd in the lead. A had introduced me to his friend matt and matt's wife jackie earlier, and jackie looked pretty buff and said she trained all the time on hills in humid south korea, so i was slightly intimidated. jackie, matt and i kept switching places until mile 2 when my shoelace came untied and i uttered a profanity before hastily fixing it. i was very focused on breathing ok, keeping up what i thought to be a sustainable 3-mile pace and not trying to get overwhelmed by the whole event. every time jackie passed me, i'd say "nice job" and when i passed her she'd reciprocate. i had decided that the person running in front of me would be virtual sb and was trying to catch him. A's heart rate suddenly shot up so he had to relax a little bit. toward mile 3, i was starting to feel nauseous, and i thought, good sign, b/c we're almost done. my lungs were hurting a little and my heart was beating fast but fb had said i needed to get used to that feeling, so i didn't worry about it much. the person i had thought was virtual sb was slowing down, and i thought, that can't be sb! he's slowing down! i believe i was actually a little annoyed that that was happening. jackie passed me again and i was thinking, it's alright she'll beat me, but then i saw fb-in-my-head yelling at me, "go go go! beat that girl!" i thought, if maija thinks i can beat that girl then i will! so i did, and the rest of the course was almost 1 circle around the track. i kept thinking jackie was right behind me so i pushed it til the end, and when i heard 24:16 i was a little surprised b/c the time sounded a little long. people were talking about how we had missed a turn and A, with his trusty GPA, said that we had actually run 3.4 miles. so 24:16 on 3.4 miles is a really good time for me and i am happy with that. on top of that, i got 4th place overall and 1st place girls! it was my first time i had gotten a 1st place medal, and A's class of '98 won first place as a group. when the race guy announced my name, he said, "for first place girls... esther lee-salazar!" i thought that was so cute (and embarrassing)!
i didn't know i'd ever admit this but i'm quite grateful for the track workouts b/c i can get an idea that it is possible to go a certain pace. while it was great doing interval runs w/ fb once to get a taste of trying to chase someone in real life, i also appreciate doing track workouts alone b/c then i can push it more when i am running with people. i still am not a fan of 5k's though.
today can be considered an easy day, i guess, since it was only a 24-minute run plus some pushups. the plan for tomorrow is to have a bike w/ high cadences and try to find the tappanzee bridge before it gets rebuilt. then track workout on monday, and not too sure about tuesday to thursday since swim is over for the next 2 weeks. fb reminded me of the need to taper before bassman half (oh yeah!) so friday will be an off day and saturday will be ridiculously easy day. bassman should be relatively flat so i will concentrate on technique and staying cool and still doing my best.
speaking of lazy, it was not that hard for fb to talk me out of thursday's intended track workout as i am just as excited about doing them as i am about doing my 3-hr round trip commute. when i asked if i could do a long run instead, she said ok but so long as it is 45 mins max. so i sort of listened to her and decided to forego the track workout and did a 2:00 long run, aiming for roughly my 1:30 long run pace. it was a fantastic run, about 1:01 in one direction, including going down one very long slope and 0:59 back, going back up that very long slope. i have been kind of hard on myself about the bike and swim, so it felt great to run and listen to music and not give myself pressure to beat any time. fb was right about her warning that i would be sore afterwards, though, but i guess i needed to learn from experience.
friday, i did fb's recommendation of 40 mins easy w/ 6x30-sec race pace. since the weather was absolutely awful i had to use the dreadmill, but i found that it was easier to push myself on the race pace. then on to columbia swim, the last swim of the season. i was feeling kind of stressed out so my swim felt slow and out of breath, and i practiced telling myself "cool as a cucumber" and "i can do this." the mental exercise in itself is pretty tiring for me, and i am looking forward to post-bassman when i will focus more on running for philly marathon before starting the training program for imlp.
A and i went to A's 10-yr college reunion at the USMMA (US Merchant Marine Academy) in long island today, and typical A-style, we arrived at 6:30 a.m. for the start of the 8:00 5-k race. i had a fantastic time getting a taste of A's college life and am very glad i did not attend this school. they treat the freshmen so roughly, i don't think i would have lasted more than a month! everyone has to wear a pressed and clean uniform all the time (fyi, i still don't know how to iron, nor do i own an iron), and the freshmen always have to walk 6 inches from the curb and say "good morning ma'am" and "good morning sir." in A's day, the freshmen also had to clean all of the barracks, including bathrooms, for themselves and the upperclassmen. i'm sure A can give the full run-down but he has generally good memories of the place, as i believe it gets better as you get older and in charge, and since he had some good friends there. the campus was beautiful and right next to the water, and the people were incredibly polite.
as noted copious times before, i was dreading this 5k, and looking forward to it even less when i saw how few people there were who were running. there were about 20 people, and i was thinking, oh great, i'm going to be last and it's going to be so embarrassing! on top of that, the race director was giving course directions verbally and i am horrible with directions. so off we went, me not being sure at all where to go but not that worried as i thought i'd just follow A from a distance.
mile 1: 6:55 which was my best mile time ever and included a slight uphill. there were about 6 of us in the front, A doing super and 2nd in the lead. A had introduced me to his friend matt and matt's wife jackie earlier, and jackie looked pretty buff and said she trained all the time on hills in humid south korea, so i was slightly intimidated. jackie, matt and i kept switching places until mile 2 when my shoelace came untied and i uttered a profanity before hastily fixing it. i was very focused on breathing ok, keeping up what i thought to be a sustainable 3-mile pace and not trying to get overwhelmed by the whole event. every time jackie passed me, i'd say "nice job" and when i passed her she'd reciprocate. i had decided that the person running in front of me would be virtual sb and was trying to catch him. A's heart rate suddenly shot up so he had to relax a little bit. toward mile 3, i was starting to feel nauseous, and i thought, good sign, b/c we're almost done. my lungs were hurting a little and my heart was beating fast but fb had said i needed to get used to that feeling, so i didn't worry about it much. the person i had thought was virtual sb was slowing down, and i thought, that can't be sb! he's slowing down! i believe i was actually a little annoyed that that was happening. jackie passed me again and i was thinking, it's alright she'll beat me, but then i saw fb-in-my-head yelling at me, "go go go! beat that girl!" i thought, if maija thinks i can beat that girl then i will! so i did, and the rest of the course was almost 1 circle around the track. i kept thinking jackie was right behind me so i pushed it til the end, and when i heard 24:16 i was a little surprised b/c the time sounded a little long. people were talking about how we had missed a turn and A, with his trusty GPA, said that we had actually run 3.4 miles. so 24:16 on 3.4 miles is a really good time for me and i am happy with that. on top of that, i got 4th place overall and 1st place girls! it was my first time i had gotten a 1st place medal, and A's class of '98 won first place as a group. when the race guy announced my name, he said, "for first place girls... esther lee-salazar!" i thought that was so cute (and embarrassing)!
i didn't know i'd ever admit this but i'm quite grateful for the track workouts b/c i can get an idea that it is possible to go a certain pace. while it was great doing interval runs w/ fb once to get a taste of trying to chase someone in real life, i also appreciate doing track workouts alone b/c then i can push it more when i am running with people. i still am not a fan of 5k's though.
today can be considered an easy day, i guess, since it was only a 24-minute run plus some pushups. the plan for tomorrow is to have a bike w/ high cadences and try to find the tappanzee bridge before it gets rebuilt. then track workout on monday, and not too sure about tuesday to thursday since swim is over for the next 2 weeks. fb reminded me of the need to taper before bassman half (oh yeah!) so friday will be an off day and saturday will be ridiculously easy day. bassman should be relatively flat so i will concentrate on technique and staying cool and still doing my best.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Soooo tired...
It's not pining, it's passed on! This parrot is no more! It has ceased to be! It's expired and gone to meet its maker! This is a late parrot! It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed him to the perch he would be pushing up the daisies! Its metabolical processes are of interest only to historians! It's hopped the twig! It's shuffled off this mortal coil! It's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible! This.... is an EX-PARROT!
I am running on fumes right now. I would love to bike for 1hr tonight if the weather holds, but I might just skip it. My training so far this week:
Monday - Swim: 1,600m at a steady pace, run: 5mi hills
Tuesday - Swim: 2,000m drills and fast, run: 10mi
Wednesday - Swim: 1,600m at a steady pace, run: 5x1,000m (3:59, 3:59, 3:58, 4:12, 3:59)
Thursday - Run: 16mi in 2:20
Tomorrow morning, I''ll go for a swim and an easy 45min run on my favorite hilly route.
This Saturday I get to see a bunch of my college buddies that live all over the country. I'll use the 5K race to confirm my heat rate settings. After 3 readings, my resting heart rate is 45bpm, and my max heart rate is 195bpm.
On Sunday, I'll go for a 2 or 3hr bike ride, followed by a 30min brick. Then I'll be tapering next week for the Bassman 70.3.
Monty Python's Flying Circus
I am running on fumes right now. I would love to bike for 1hr tonight if the weather holds, but I might just skip it. My training so far this week:
Monday - Swim: 1,600m at a steady pace, run: 5mi hills
Tuesday - Swim: 2,000m drills and fast, run: 10mi
Wednesday - Swim: 1,600m at a steady pace, run: 5x1,000m (3:59, 3:59, 3:58, 4:12, 3:59)
Thursday - Run: 16mi in 2:20
Tomorrow morning, I''ll go for a swim and an easy 45min run on my favorite hilly route.
This Saturday I get to see a bunch of my college buddies that live all over the country. I'll use the 5K race to confirm my heat rate settings. After 3 readings, my resting heart rate is 45bpm, and my max heart rate is 195bpm.
On Sunday, I'll go for a 2 or 3hr bike ride, followed by a 30min brick. Then I'll be tapering next week for the Bassman 70.3.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
taco night!
after an arduous day at work, there is nothing better than dinner waiting for you at home. i was exhausted by the time i got home at 8 last night, and A had made tacos for dinner w/ grilled chicken and steak, salsa, corn, rice, veggies, cheese..mmmmm! the way to my heart is through my stomach.
on to the less important stuff. yesterday's workout was meant to be "moderate" to recover from the ride on sunday, so i swam at the bridgewater pool before jetting off to a 2 hour commute. i joined A's 4:45 a.m. crowd and then worked on 500, 400, 300, 200, 300, 400, 500 negative splits b/c i didn't have much motivation so i figured negative splits would force me to put in some effort. negative splits are fun b/c you can spend the first half focusing on technique and the 2nd on applying that to speed. then sb joined and we did a couple 100 n/s until cm showed up and warmed up. unfortunately i could only do 1 set w/ them but it was enough to give me a refresher in how fun it is to swim w/ team THPH. it's really nice to work out with people who are mutually encouraging and who aren't trying to beat you (and whom you're not trying to beat) at every lap. no egos at the pool, please!
this morning, i had planned on doing a track workout but just didn't feel up to it since the pumpkin ride last sunday, so i'll do it thursday when there is no rush to make it to master's swim. so instead, i ran intervals, 3x5:00 w/ 2:00 break, 2x5:30 w/ 2:00 break. the first few sets were hard but i had a hard time pushing it for the last few sets. i imagined cm zooming ahead of me but couldn't be bothered to even try to catch up to her. since this saturday i am doing my first 5k in over a year, and thursday will be a track workout, i figure two heart attacks per week is enough. note to self: don't eat breakfast until after running.
then onto columbia swim. i love sleeping on the bus/subway! now i can get two naps a day. today i overslept my bus stop, and only woke up when someone i had never seen before tapped my shoulder and told me i had missed my stop. i guess he had seen me get off there many times before..i thought that was so nice of him! (and kind of creepy.)
the lanes are getting full! today we had 6 in a 25yd lane, and we were all taken aback by our workout b/c the interval times looked like they were for much faster lanes (e.g., 100s on 1:30 where my PR for that pool is 1:26). thank goodness we decided to add 5 seconds to each interval or else that would have been an oxygen-less workout. since i had swum in a 25m pool on saturday and monday, i didn't accurate gauge flip-turn time and slammed my hell onto the top of the pool wall.. twice! i am still limping slightly but i just find it amusing.
the people in my lane are generally pretty fast at the longer distances and not as fast on the shorter ones and on the strokes. it is kind of like the opposite of bridgewater for me, b/c at this pool i'm one of the slower ones for the 400s and above but faster on the 100s and strokes. one lady (who was zooming on the 300s and 400s incidentally) actually complimented me on my non-free strokes which i found very surprising considering my backstroke. then suddenly everyone but me left at 7:35, and my times unsurprisingly slowed down by 5 seconds. it's interesting how much faster you can go when you feel like someone is trying to hunt you down!
workout: 1x100 free, 1x100 i.m., 2x25 easy. 200 free, 2x100 i.m., 2x25 easy. 300 free, 3x100 i.m., 2x25 easy. 400 free, 4x100 i.m. 2x25 easy, 300 free, 3x100 i.m. 200 free. i had a lot of fun on the i.m.'s, esp during fly.
so next race is 5k this saturday at A's 10-year reunion. i am definitely not looking forward to this one... in fact i believe i'd rather ride 62 miles than run 5, but i think it would be good to practice. then the bassman half is the week after, and then the philly marathon is the saturday before thanksgiving. i'd really like to run philly so the post-bassman plan is to cut down on biking/swimming to twice per week each and run more, preferably according to some schedule. this whole idea of thinking before deciding to do something is a pretty new thing for me!
on to the less important stuff. yesterday's workout was meant to be "moderate" to recover from the ride on sunday, so i swam at the bridgewater pool before jetting off to a 2 hour commute. i joined A's 4:45 a.m. crowd and then worked on 500, 400, 300, 200, 300, 400, 500 negative splits b/c i didn't have much motivation so i figured negative splits would force me to put in some effort. negative splits are fun b/c you can spend the first half focusing on technique and the 2nd on applying that to speed. then sb joined and we did a couple 100 n/s until cm showed up and warmed up. unfortunately i could only do 1 set w/ them but it was enough to give me a refresher in how fun it is to swim w/ team THPH. it's really nice to work out with people who are mutually encouraging and who aren't trying to beat you (and whom you're not trying to beat) at every lap. no egos at the pool, please!
this morning, i had planned on doing a track workout but just didn't feel up to it since the pumpkin ride last sunday, so i'll do it thursday when there is no rush to make it to master's swim. so instead, i ran intervals, 3x5:00 w/ 2:00 break, 2x5:30 w/ 2:00 break. the first few sets were hard but i had a hard time pushing it for the last few sets. i imagined cm zooming ahead of me but couldn't be bothered to even try to catch up to her. since this saturday i am doing my first 5k in over a year, and thursday will be a track workout, i figure two heart attacks per week is enough. note to self: don't eat breakfast until after running.
then onto columbia swim. i love sleeping on the bus/subway! now i can get two naps a day. today i overslept my bus stop, and only woke up when someone i had never seen before tapped my shoulder and told me i had missed my stop. i guess he had seen me get off there many times before..i thought that was so nice of him! (and kind of creepy.)
the lanes are getting full! today we had 6 in a 25yd lane, and we were all taken aback by our workout b/c the interval times looked like they were for much faster lanes (e.g., 100s on 1:30 where my PR for that pool is 1:26). thank goodness we decided to add 5 seconds to each interval or else that would have been an oxygen-less workout. since i had swum in a 25m pool on saturday and monday, i didn't accurate gauge flip-turn time and slammed my hell onto the top of the pool wall.. twice! i am still limping slightly but i just find it amusing.
the people in my lane are generally pretty fast at the longer distances and not as fast on the shorter ones and on the strokes. it is kind of like the opposite of bridgewater for me, b/c at this pool i'm one of the slower ones for the 400s and above but faster on the 100s and strokes. one lady (who was zooming on the 300s and 400s incidentally) actually complimented me on my non-free strokes which i found very surprising considering my backstroke. then suddenly everyone but me left at 7:35, and my times unsurprisingly slowed down by 5 seconds. it's interesting how much faster you can go when you feel like someone is trying to hunt you down!
workout: 1x100 free, 1x100 i.m., 2x25 easy. 200 free, 2x100 i.m., 2x25 easy. 300 free, 3x100 i.m., 2x25 easy. 400 free, 4x100 i.m. 2x25 easy, 300 free, 3x100 i.m. 200 free. i had a lot of fun on the i.m.'s, esp during fly.
so next race is 5k this saturday at A's 10-year reunion. i am definitely not looking forward to this one... in fact i believe i'd rather ride 62 miles than run 5, but i think it would be good to practice. then the bassman half is the week after, and then the philly marathon is the saturday before thanksgiving. i'd really like to run philly so the post-bassman plan is to cut down on biking/swimming to twice per week each and run more, preferably according to some schedule. this whole idea of thinking before deciding to do something is a pretty new thing for me!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Where are the pumpkins?
I have had so much fun playing with my heart rate monitor during the past week. The geek in me just loves to look at the results following the workouts, to the point that I am in a hurry to get home to download the results to my laptop. And I still have to find out so much more about it, to set all my workouts to the desired intensity levels. But I'll resist the urge to post any graphs, at least for the time being. I still have to confirm this, but after two readings, my resting heart rate is 45bpm (beats/minute). I'll take more readings to confirm this.
Another advantage is that it is so easy to keep track of my workouts. Last week, I increased my weekly running mileage to 50mi, to start to get ready for the Philly marathon. I'll drop that this week and the next, as a taper for the Bassman 70.3, but I should be doing at least 50mi weekly during October and the first week of November. I hope to do a PR in Philly, hoping to be smarter about fueling during the race. I have been concentrating on fueling during my long runs and rides, and I do feel much better than if I was not.
Yesterday, E and I did the Pumpkin Patch Pedal century bike ride. We had done the 62mi ride last year, and we liked it. For the century, they extend the ride by taking us to some county roads with a lot of fast moving traffic, and nothing scenic to look at. There were no pumpkins there, or nothing else for that matter, except for cars going at 50+MPH, so that portion was not very enjoyable. I was quite disappointed by this.
As for the ride, I felt really strong throughout. There was no pain, and my legs always had a lot of spring to them, taking hills strongly, and using the descents to pick up speed. My heart rate did not go above 155 at any moment during the ride. E was not having such a good time, but she did great for the first 50mi, until her legs started to hurt. Still, she soldiered on. Then she stopped at mile 90, but after calming down, she finished strongly. I feel bad, because I could have been a better domestique after the rest stop at mile 80, but I made sure to keep her front wheel right behind my back wheel for the last 10mi, to cut the wind for her. Good job hon!
Also, like I pointed out to her, that road where she stopped is not good to us. Last year, for the Pumpkin ride, I crashed on that road. Earlier this year, for the Farmlands century ride, she crashed on that road. So something bad was bound to happen there. The people from the house whose lawn we stopped at were very nice, so that was the only good thing that we ever encountered in that road.
This morning we went to the pool at 4:45AM. She is back to normal, because she was swimming really fast. I was just doing a mile at a steady pace. After that, I ran 5mi on a hilly course. I do not feel tired or sore from yesterday's ride. That is good!
Another advantage is that it is so easy to keep track of my workouts. Last week, I increased my weekly running mileage to 50mi, to start to get ready for the Philly marathon. I'll drop that this week and the next, as a taper for the Bassman 70.3, but I should be doing at least 50mi weekly during October and the first week of November. I hope to do a PR in Philly, hoping to be smarter about fueling during the race. I have been concentrating on fueling during my long runs and rides, and I do feel much better than if I was not.
Yesterday, E and I did the Pumpkin Patch Pedal century bike ride. We had done the 62mi ride last year, and we liked it. For the century, they extend the ride by taking us to some county roads with a lot of fast moving traffic, and nothing scenic to look at. There were no pumpkins there, or nothing else for that matter, except for cars going at 50+MPH, so that portion was not very enjoyable. I was quite disappointed by this.
As for the ride, I felt really strong throughout. There was no pain, and my legs always had a lot of spring to them, taking hills strongly, and using the descents to pick up speed. My heart rate did not go above 155 at any moment during the ride. E was not having such a good time, but she did great for the first 50mi, until her legs started to hurt. Still, she soldiered on. Then she stopped at mile 90, but after calming down, she finished strongly. I feel bad, because I could have been a better domestique after the rest stop at mile 80, but I made sure to keep her front wheel right behind my back wheel for the last 10mi, to cut the wind for her. Good job hon!
Also, like I pointed out to her, that road where she stopped is not good to us. Last year, for the Pumpkin ride, I crashed on that road. Earlier this year, for the Farmlands century ride, she crashed on that road. So something bad was bound to happen there. The people from the house whose lawn we stopped at were very nice, so that was the only good thing that we ever encountered in that road.
This morning we went to the pool at 4:45AM. She is back to normal, because she was swimming really fast. I was just doing a mile at a steady pace. After that, I ran 5mi on a hilly course. I do not feel tired or sore from yesterday's ride. That is good!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
defeated by a century
saturday's swim was fun! i did cm's workout that she gave me last week:
200m wu
200m IM
200m-25m fly, 25 free, 25m back (DO IT!), 25m free, 25m breast, 75m free
2x300m-{100m IM, 100m free, 100m stroke choice} w/ :20 rest
2x{100m fly, 4th 25 fast :15 rest
100m back, 3rd 25 fast :15 rest OTTER STYLE
100m breast 2nd 25 fast :15 rest
100m free 1st 25 fast :15 rest
200 free RACE IT LIKE A CRAZY PERSON!!!! :20 rest
150 choice FAST LIKE A BUNNY (if bunnies swam fast) :30 rest}
100m free, 4th 25 fast :15 rest
100m free, 3rd 25 fast :15 rest
100m freet 2nd 25 fast :15 rest
100m free 1st 25 fast :15 rest
200 free RACE IT LIKE A CRAZY PERSON!!!! :20 rest
150 free FAST LIKE A FISHIE! :30 rest
250m cd or join SB and I for our easy swim
3700m+
when i read this workout over before doing it, i did a double take on the 100 fly. 100 fly?! i'd only done it in a 50m pool and then super slowly. i tend to heat up and get tired really quickly on fly, although i love it, so during those i remember thinking, "cool as a cucumber"and picturing a cucumber doing fly. i had actually brought an underwater disposable camera left over from my england trip, and was looking for the hairball but only found the baby hairball. after the swim i went for a ridiculously easy 30-min jog b/c the weather was awesome but i didn't want to do any running that i'd regret during the ride the next day.
today's ride was the pumpkin patch pedal, 100 miles. A and i showed up at the park at 7 a.m. in the freezing cold and saw chaz only at the beginning of the ride, which i knew would happen. he glided past us as if he was floating. that was the last we saw of that monster cyclist, and didn't even see him during the break!
the weather for the whole day was perfect and it was the perfect way to enjoy the day. it was funny that the only thing i remembered from last year's pumpkin patch pedal (we had done the 62 then) was that it was hilly, but it wasn't hilly at all. A was a gentleman as usual and didn't go too far ahead of me. we did 50 before taking our first rest stop and hung out for a few minutes with cyclists who enjoyed sharing war stories about their rides, that went something like, "i just did such-and-such a ride, 500 miles with 100 hills, backwards, without shoes."
from mile 50 onward, my quads felt like they were burning, kind of like how they feel when you're finishing up a set of squats, except they just never stopped burning. i was feeling really frustrated b/c i kept slowing down and felt bad for slowing A down although he never complained. i kept switching to a higher gear and then trying to go harder but couldn't keep the cadences up so had to go lighter again..then to try to compensate for going on a lighter gear, i'd pedal faster but that just made me feel like acid was going up and down my legs. we stopped for another break at the 80 and i tried to assuage my misery with apple and pumpkin pies. i was feeling foolish b/c i had done a century once before and although i was mashing at the time, at least i had done it! only 20 miles were remaining so i thought it was doable. time passed slowly and to entertain myself and to make sure i wasn't mashing, i kept counting my cadences. my legs were still feeling awful, and i tried to have a positive attitude about it, telling myself that this was a good workout for my legs and not to think about speed, but to enjoy the day. on mile 90, i had a mental meltdown and couldn't stand my legs hurting anymore; i suddenly wanted to throw up and was having a lot of trouble breathing, and my helmet was feeling very tight around my chin. i stopped, threw my helmet on the ground and started crying b/c i felt awful and then i felt silly for feeling awful. A turned around to help me chill out, whereas, come to think of it, if it was the other way around (and i can't ever imagine it being the other way around) i might have said something to him like, "man up!" i am so glad he is such a patient guy. the people whose house i stopped in front of came outside and were incredibly nice to give me cold water and shade. A offered to find a car so i didn't have to finish the ride but i really wanted to finish. the last 10 miles were ok, particularly b/c A stayed closer in front of me and was highly encouraging. whew! afterwards we celebrated at my favorite salad place, mcCarthy's. total time = around 6:14, my average pace = 16.2. the last 100, average pace = 16.7 and i had hoped to go above that.
since #1 goal for the ride was to keep cadences up b/n 80-85/minute, and goal #2 was to finish at a decent time, i was glad to have at least accomplished goal#1. still, i am pretty aware that a lot of progress needs to be made, in the biking area especially, before imlp. i'm so glad we have 10 months to go!
200m wu
200m IM
200m-25m fly, 25 free, 25m back (DO IT!), 25m free, 25m breast, 75m free
2x300m-{100m IM, 100m free, 100m stroke choice} w/ :20 rest
2x{100m fly, 4th 25 fast :15 rest
100m back, 3rd 25 fast :15 rest OTTER STYLE
100m breast 2nd 25 fast :15 rest
100m free 1st 25 fast :15 rest
200 free RACE IT LIKE A CRAZY PERSON!!!! :20 rest
150 choice FAST LIKE A BUNNY (if bunnies swam fast) :30 rest}
100m free, 4th 25 fast :15 rest
100m free, 3rd 25 fast :15 rest
100m freet 2nd 25 fast :15 rest
100m free 1st 25 fast :15 rest
200 free RACE IT LIKE A CRAZY PERSON!!!! :20 rest
150 free FAST LIKE A FISHIE! :30 rest
250m cd or join SB and I for our easy swim
3700m+
when i read this workout over before doing it, i did a double take on the 100 fly. 100 fly?! i'd only done it in a 50m pool and then super slowly. i tend to heat up and get tired really quickly on fly, although i love it, so during those i remember thinking, "cool as a cucumber"and picturing a cucumber doing fly. i had actually brought an underwater disposable camera left over from my england trip, and was looking for the hairball but only found the baby hairball. after the swim i went for a ridiculously easy 30-min jog b/c the weather was awesome but i didn't want to do any running that i'd regret during the ride the next day.
today's ride was the pumpkin patch pedal, 100 miles. A and i showed up at the park at 7 a.m. in the freezing cold and saw chaz only at the beginning of the ride, which i knew would happen. he glided past us as if he was floating. that was the last we saw of that monster cyclist, and didn't even see him during the break!
the weather for the whole day was perfect and it was the perfect way to enjoy the day. it was funny that the only thing i remembered from last year's pumpkin patch pedal (we had done the 62 then) was that it was hilly, but it wasn't hilly at all. A was a gentleman as usual and didn't go too far ahead of me. we did 50 before taking our first rest stop and hung out for a few minutes with cyclists who enjoyed sharing war stories about their rides, that went something like, "i just did such-and-such a ride, 500 miles with 100 hills, backwards, without shoes."
from mile 50 onward, my quads felt like they were burning, kind of like how they feel when you're finishing up a set of squats, except they just never stopped burning. i was feeling really frustrated b/c i kept slowing down and felt bad for slowing A down although he never complained. i kept switching to a higher gear and then trying to go harder but couldn't keep the cadences up so had to go lighter again..then to try to compensate for going on a lighter gear, i'd pedal faster but that just made me feel like acid was going up and down my legs. we stopped for another break at the 80 and i tried to assuage my misery with apple and pumpkin pies. i was feeling foolish b/c i had done a century once before and although i was mashing at the time, at least i had done it! only 20 miles were remaining so i thought it was doable. time passed slowly and to entertain myself and to make sure i wasn't mashing, i kept counting my cadences. my legs were still feeling awful, and i tried to have a positive attitude about it, telling myself that this was a good workout for my legs and not to think about speed, but to enjoy the day. on mile 90, i had a mental meltdown and couldn't stand my legs hurting anymore; i suddenly wanted to throw up and was having a lot of trouble breathing, and my helmet was feeling very tight around my chin. i stopped, threw my helmet on the ground and started crying b/c i felt awful and then i felt silly for feeling awful. A turned around to help me chill out, whereas, come to think of it, if it was the other way around (and i can't ever imagine it being the other way around) i might have said something to him like, "man up!" i am so glad he is such a patient guy. the people whose house i stopped in front of came outside and were incredibly nice to give me cold water and shade. A offered to find a car so i didn't have to finish the ride but i really wanted to finish. the last 10 miles were ok, particularly b/c A stayed closer in front of me and was highly encouraging. whew! afterwards we celebrated at my favorite salad place, mcCarthy's. total time = around 6:14, my average pace = 16.2. the last 100, average pace = 16.7 and i had hoped to go above that.
since #1 goal for the ride was to keep cadences up b/n 80-85/minute, and goal #2 was to finish at a decent time, i was glad to have at least accomplished goal#1. still, i am pretty aware that a lot of progress needs to be made, in the biking area especially, before imlp. i'm so glad we have 10 months to go!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
big bro's learn-to-sleep class
my anonymous older brother keeps telling me to sleep more, like him. he even gave me a demonstration when he came to visit. although it pains my ego, he has a good point. on wednesday, i did a 45 min easy ride on the trainer and then went to columbia swim. i thought i would have a lot more energy at swim than i did yesterday so was a little offended when Alpha Male said i was "a little off." for some reason i was last in line on the 1x1200, but i was motivated by her comment and was towards the front for the 8x100 free. i was happy to see my friend dawn who came back from watching her son as one of the announcers for the u.s. water polo team. next week is the last week of swim before a 2 week break, then new times will be tues, thurs and fri 6-7 a.m., so i need to figure out a revised training plan.
then wednesday night i only managed to sleep 5 hours (for some people, a.k.a A) that is a lot but i definitely learned that biking while tired is frustrating and slow. i think i can swim and run ok tired but when i was on the bike, my eyes thought i was still in bed. i had a hard time keeping the cadences up doing the 5x10 race w/ 5 min easy in between, and it didn't even feel like "race pace" so i did the last 25 min focusing only on cadence. since i felt a little guilty about not being able to finish the workout, i did a 20-min 10k pace brick followed by 10 min easy. it is fun not shuffling during the brick! btw the weather this week has been incredible.
last night i stayed over a girl friend's place that is super close to my work place, so i thought that i would get to sleep in a little bit more, but no such luck. since she had to be at work at 8 and we had breakfast at 7 (my bright idea), i was up again at 4, running around east village, across the williamsburg bridge and wandering around union square for about 1:45. i LOVE longer runs, they are so relaxing and it is nice to give your mind and body a break. i figure it's time to increase my weekly long-run times if i want to run philly in november. ideally, i would be superwoman (whom A reminds me that i am not) and could do the marathon training plan on top of my regular training.
next plan of action..nap time!
then wednesday night i only managed to sleep 5 hours (for some people, a.k.a A) that is a lot but i definitely learned that biking while tired is frustrating and slow. i think i can swim and run ok tired but when i was on the bike, my eyes thought i was still in bed. i had a hard time keeping the cadences up doing the 5x10 race w/ 5 min easy in between, and it didn't even feel like "race pace" so i did the last 25 min focusing only on cadence. since i felt a little guilty about not being able to finish the workout, i did a 20-min 10k pace brick followed by 10 min easy. it is fun not shuffling during the brick! btw the weather this week has been incredible.
last night i stayed over a girl friend's place that is super close to my work place, so i thought that i would get to sleep in a little bit more, but no such luck. since she had to be at work at 8 and we had breakfast at 7 (my bright idea), i was up again at 4, running around east village, across the williamsburg bridge and wandering around union square for about 1:45. i LOVE longer runs, they are so relaxing and it is nice to give your mind and body a break. i figure it's time to increase my weekly long-run times if i want to run philly in november. ideally, i would be superwoman (whom A reminds me that i am not) and could do the marathon training plan on top of my regular training.
next plan of action..nap time!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
a sucker for compliments
A's blog made me smile, what a sweet guy MOST of the time. i'm really glad he liked our gift!
it was hard to stick w/ cm's training schedule since i was off two days, but friday i managed to do the 90 minute ride (w/ 5x10 race pace) followed by 30 min run (15 mins at 10k pace, 15 easy). cm had written "NO MASHING" for the race pace segment, so a neon "NO MASHING" sign kept blinking in my head. for now, race pace and no mashing seem like an oxymoron. then during fast part of the run, i was pleased to be able to run stronger than before, but had to stop after 15 mins out of a huge urge to go to the bathroom. isn't that funny when that happens?
saturday i was still full of energy-- i guess taking rest days really pumps you up! that and the bread pudding & ice cream sundae from famous dave's-- so i did a 1:30 run along the watchung area. cm had written up a really fun 3700m swim but the bridgewater and hillsborough Y's both didn't have free lanes. i was pretty impatient and called maija, "quick, both Y's are closed so i have 1 1/2 hours to go biking before getting ready for the wedding. what do i do??" so i went for a 1:15 ride, 3 concentric circles in hillsborough b/c i kept making right turns to avoid crossing the street.
then the super hot ride on sunday to watch team KB2 and their nearly professional photographer sb. G and maija did a fantastic job, as did sb who was running around sweating and looking as if he had just finished a swim. i will never forget how towards the end of her ride, G had her race face, which broke into a smile when she saw me cheering for her, then switched back into her race face. our ride was only 25 miles there and back but i haven't done more than 25 miles since... i don't remember, our last century ride a few months ago? i was getting really hot (and therefore cranky) on our way back but was determined to keep the cadences up. i figure i have had plenty of training on mashing so there is no need for that. A was such a gentleman, always checking if i was ok and checking behind him to make sure i was not too far behind. i need to catch up w/ him one day! this sunday is a century ride, and i hope to use it as a 100-mile practice in high cadence and no mashing.
the workout for this week is to try cm's workout for me from last week, but since we have a long ride on sunday i'll do maija's fun long swim on saturday and do a medium run on friday. i only had time for a 1:30 bike w/ high candences yesterday, and then did last week's track workout and columbia swim today. i had been dreading the track workout all week, and wrote sb's times on my hands, hoping that i wouldn't sweat it off. thankfully, i only had time for the 5, 4, 3x400 (so i'll need to figure out my workout schedule again to allow for more track workout time). as i was running i was picturing sb pulling away from me. agh!
5x400 sb's time 8:50.. my time 8:51 (i think) woo hoo!
4x400 sb's time 6:57.. my time 7:01 he's pulling away
3x400 sb's time 5:05..my time 5:14. how does he do it?!!
by the 3rd 400 of each set i started to feel sick but kept going. i noticed that i forget to swallow the saliva that is pooling in my mouth when i'm concentrating on running. does that ever happen to you guys?? i remember when i was starting to feel bad, thinking, "well at least you're not walking in cow poop in england w/ bad ankles and a heavy backpack." that did make me feel better.
it was hard to stick w/ cm's training schedule since i was off two days, but friday i managed to do the 90 minute ride (w/ 5x10 race pace) followed by 30 min run (15 mins at 10k pace, 15 easy). cm had written "NO MASHING" for the race pace segment, so a neon "NO MASHING" sign kept blinking in my head. for now, race pace and no mashing seem like an oxymoron. then during fast part of the run, i was pleased to be able to run stronger than before, but had to stop after 15 mins out of a huge urge to go to the bathroom. isn't that funny when that happens?
saturday i was still full of energy-- i guess taking rest days really pumps you up! that and the bread pudding & ice cream sundae from famous dave's-- so i did a 1:30 run along the watchung area. cm had written up a really fun 3700m swim but the bridgewater and hillsborough Y's both didn't have free lanes. i was pretty impatient and called maija, "quick, both Y's are closed so i have 1 1/2 hours to go biking before getting ready for the wedding. what do i do??" so i went for a 1:15 ride, 3 concentric circles in hillsborough b/c i kept making right turns to avoid crossing the street.
then the super hot ride on sunday to watch team KB2 and their nearly professional photographer sb. G and maija did a fantastic job, as did sb who was running around sweating and looking as if he had just finished a swim. i will never forget how towards the end of her ride, G had her race face, which broke into a smile when she saw me cheering for her, then switched back into her race face. our ride was only 25 miles there and back but i haven't done more than 25 miles since... i don't remember, our last century ride a few months ago? i was getting really hot (and therefore cranky) on our way back but was determined to keep the cadences up. i figure i have had plenty of training on mashing so there is no need for that. A was such a gentleman, always checking if i was ok and checking behind him to make sure i was not too far behind. i need to catch up w/ him one day! this sunday is a century ride, and i hope to use it as a 100-mile practice in high cadence and no mashing.
the workout for this week is to try cm's workout for me from last week, but since we have a long ride on sunday i'll do maija's fun long swim on saturday and do a medium run on friday. i only had time for a 1:30 bike w/ high candences yesterday, and then did last week's track workout and columbia swim today. i had been dreading the track workout all week, and wrote sb's times on my hands, hoping that i wouldn't sweat it off. thankfully, i only had time for the 5, 4, 3x400 (so i'll need to figure out my workout schedule again to allow for more track workout time). as i was running i was picturing sb pulling away from me. agh!
5x400 sb's time 8:50.. my time 8:51 (i think) woo hoo!
4x400 sb's time 6:57.. my time 7:01 he's pulling away
3x400 sb's time 5:05..my time 5:14. how does he do it?!!
by the 3rd 400 of each set i started to feel sick but kept going. i noticed that i forget to swallow the saliva that is pooling in my mouth when i'm concentrating on running. does that ever happen to you guys?? i remember when i was starting to feel bad, thinking, "well at least you're not walking in cow poop in england w/ bad ankles and a heavy backpack." that did make me feel better.
Monday, September 15, 2008
That Was Just Your Life
I have had enough of this Indian Summer!
My Friday workout consisted of a 1hr swim, then a 1hr run, and then my shoulder lifting routine. Starting last week, I altered my lifting routines. I will now lift about 80% of my maximum loads, while increasing the number of repetitions per set. For example, my bench press goes from my normal (3x10) 225lbs to (3x15) 185lbs. I have decided to do this to drop some weight. Last year, during marathon training, I weighed 175lbs. This year, with the same caloric intake, I weigh 185lbs. I think the reason for this is that I have been running less and swimming more, and my upper body is getting bigger. And I see no point in racing with an extra 10lbs.
And just in time to help me with my training, I got a belated birthday present from the girlfriend (with the assist of Matt, Genine, and Maija): a Polar RS800G3 heart rate monitor. Thank you guys! This thing is great! Now I can get exact distance and speed measurements, while knowing my level of effort. Perhaps it will help me train and race smarter; but knowing how stubborn, cranky, and set in my ways I am, that remains to be seen.
Saturday morning I went out for a long run. I was planning on starting at 5AM, but I kept playing with all the features of my new toy, so I got a late start at 6AM. It was so humid! 30min into my run, it dawned on me that I did not have my Ipod. So I did 18.5 mi in 2:50hrs. My heart rate was steadily into the 160's, except towards the end, when it was in the 170 to 182 range, due to some hills.
I got really hot when I ended my run, so instead of doing a proper cool-down, then breakfast and then a shower; I did a 5min cool-down, and took a shower. Last week they installed new windows at my place, and I had not re-installed my window air conditioner. I picked it up, and much to my chagrin, it did not fit anymore! And at that very moment, all four of my limbs cramped up in the most painful way I have ever experienced. With no help in sight, I just fell to the floor with the unit on top, was able to roll it off to the side, and then lay in fetal position for an hour. Only after that I was able to start extending my arms and legs again. Two hours later, I removed the track guides for the window, cut them to fit my required opening, and installed the damn thing!
After that, my gorgeous girlfriend and I went to the wedding of one of my friends. And to keep with the theme, the air conditioner of the church was not working. That is not good news for somebody who sweats as much as I do. They managed to fix it, and everything turned out great. It was a lovely wedding and reception.
Sunday, E and I went biking from my place to the Spruce Run State Park (26mi each way). We went there to see team KB2 (Maija and Genine) do a relay at the Skylands Triathlon. They did awesome, finishing first for female relay teams, and third overall! As for our bike ride, it was really fun. I was dreading the heat and humidity, but I felt really strong throughout the entire ride. On our way back, we found this biking couple that were standing in the middle of the road waving at us. When we slowed down to see if they needed help, they told us that they were just brushing off some bugs. Then get the @#$!%^&* off my road! We made it home, and I felt like I had a good 20mi left in me. And E did great, maintaining a good speed while keeping a nice cadence for the whole ride. Way to go hon!
After the ride, I was going to sit down and start using the software for the heart rate monitor, so I could go all Matt on you with graphs and stuff. However, I just watched football instead, so I'll probably play with the software tonight. As it is, this post is so long that you may think Matt wrote it.
Finally, what is up with with the pool not having any power?
My Friday workout consisted of a 1hr swim, then a 1hr run, and then my shoulder lifting routine. Starting last week, I altered my lifting routines. I will now lift about 80% of my maximum loads, while increasing the number of repetitions per set. For example, my bench press goes from my normal (3x10) 225lbs to (3x15) 185lbs. I have decided to do this to drop some weight. Last year, during marathon training, I weighed 175lbs. This year, with the same caloric intake, I weigh 185lbs. I think the reason for this is that I have been running less and swimming more, and my upper body is getting bigger. And I see no point in racing with an extra 10lbs.
And just in time to help me with my training, I got a belated birthday present from the girlfriend (with the assist of Matt, Genine, and Maija): a Polar RS800G3 heart rate monitor. Thank you guys! This thing is great! Now I can get exact distance and speed measurements, while knowing my level of effort. Perhaps it will help me train and race smarter; but knowing how stubborn, cranky, and set in my ways I am, that remains to be seen.
Saturday morning I went out for a long run. I was planning on starting at 5AM, but I kept playing with all the features of my new toy, so I got a late start at 6AM. It was so humid! 30min into my run, it dawned on me that I did not have my Ipod. So I did 18.5 mi in 2:50hrs. My heart rate was steadily into the 160's, except towards the end, when it was in the 170 to 182 range, due to some hills.
I got really hot when I ended my run, so instead of doing a proper cool-down, then breakfast and then a shower; I did a 5min cool-down, and took a shower. Last week they installed new windows at my place, and I had not re-installed my window air conditioner. I picked it up, and much to my chagrin, it did not fit anymore! And at that very moment, all four of my limbs cramped up in the most painful way I have ever experienced. With no help in sight, I just fell to the floor with the unit on top, was able to roll it off to the side, and then lay in fetal position for an hour. Only after that I was able to start extending my arms and legs again. Two hours later, I removed the track guides for the window, cut them to fit my required opening, and installed the damn thing!
After that, my gorgeous girlfriend and I went to the wedding of one of my friends. And to keep with the theme, the air conditioner of the church was not working. That is not good news for somebody who sweats as much as I do. They managed to fix it, and everything turned out great. It was a lovely wedding and reception.
Sunday, E and I went biking from my place to the Spruce Run State Park (26mi each way). We went there to see team KB2 (Maija and Genine) do a relay at the Skylands Triathlon. They did awesome, finishing first for female relay teams, and third overall! As for our bike ride, it was really fun. I was dreading the heat and humidity, but I felt really strong throughout the entire ride. On our way back, we found this biking couple that were standing in the middle of the road waving at us. When we slowed down to see if they needed help, they told us that they were just brushing off some bugs. Then get the @#$!%^&* off my road! We made it home, and I felt like I had a good 20mi left in me. And E did great, maintaining a good speed while keeping a nice cadence for the whole ride. Way to go hon!
After the ride, I was going to sit down and start using the software for the heart rate monitor, so I could go all Matt on you with graphs and stuff. However, I just watched football instead, so I'll probably play with the software tonight. As it is, this post is so long that you may think Matt wrote it.
Finally, what is up with with the pool not having any power?
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
All Hail "Death Magnetic"
I got to the office today, with the news that I got a pre-sale ticket to the Metallica concert on January 31, 2009 at the Prudential Center in Newark. That puts a hop in my step.
So then I got my copy of the new album, Death Magnetic not really expecting much from it. I became a Metallica fan in 1988 with the release of ...And Justice for All. That is my favorite album of all time. Then the band evolved into a more radio-friendly group. That was fine with the release in 1991 of Metallica (also known as "The Black Album"), but it all went downhill from there. Not that it was bad, but it was not great. That is until the 2003 release of St. Anger which was disappointing.
So I was prepared for another not so good album, thinking that rich 40-something-year-old musicians cannot be expected to produce good angry music. Oh boy, was I wrong! I have already listened to the album twice this morning, and lets just say that it will be looping for a while in my iPod.
The album is full of heavy jams and solos, just like they played back in the 80's. The guitar rifts are either fast or really fast! And the drums have a purpose, no more silly stuff. I'm truly enjoying these developments.
All of the sudden, January 31st can't get here soon enough!
So then I got my copy of the new album, Death Magnetic not really expecting much from it. I became a Metallica fan in 1988 with the release of ...And Justice for All. That is my favorite album of all time. Then the band evolved into a more radio-friendly group. That was fine with the release in 1991 of Metallica (also known as "The Black Album"), but it all went downhill from there. Not that it was bad, but it was not great. That is until the 2003 release of St. Anger which was disappointing.
So I was prepared for another not so good album, thinking that rich 40-something-year-old musicians cannot be expected to produce good angry music. Oh boy, was I wrong! I have already listened to the album twice this morning, and lets just say that it will be looping for a while in my iPod.
The album is full of heavy jams and solos, just like they played back in the 80's. The guitar rifts are either fast or really fast! And the drums have a purpose, no more silly stuff. I'm truly enjoying these developments.
All of the sudden, January 31st can't get here soon enough!
man up!
i've decided to come to terms w/ my tummy problems and stop moping around the house trying to figure out what to do. the bf was very sweet and brought flowers, pepto, activia yogurt and diet ginger ale when he came to visit on monday. yesterday, after waiting at the doctor's office for 1.5 hours (seriously, if they can't see me until 1:15, don't tell me to come at 11:45!!) i was given some drugs and told, if they don't work, RUN to the hospital and take out your appendix.. so i guess it's just wait and see. i was inspired by my italian colleague who pretty much said "suck it up and deal w/ it" so decided to continue with my training plan, delayed, as scheduled by cm. on the plan for monday was a 2 hour bike ride focusing on high cadence and no run afterwards. it was fun! and a relief to focus on just one thing (cadence and not speed) w/o worrying about the brick. the weather was perfect, too, slightly cool albeit a little damp. then this morning the plan was to do last week's NTT (nameless tri team, for now) track workout, and i borrowed sb's times as a goal. i hear he's faster than me on short distances so i thought it would be a good way to stay motivated. when i saw his times, i was a little intimidated.. ok pretty intimidated b/c my 400s were about 10 seconds slower than his before. 8x400 10k pace w/ 200 rest, then 4x200 "all out" w/ 200 rest. i hope i can count up to 8, i thought.
i've decided that track workouts are kind of fun too b/c i feel like a kid, running around in circles, sometimes fast sometimes slow. it's also fun running in the dark, though a bit hard to check times. where is the halfway mark on the track? sb's averages for the 400's were between 1:30 and 1:40 and mine went from 1:48 to 1:38ish. i did notice that when i felt more confident around the 5th loop, i did manage to pick it up a little with less hectic breathing. i found the the 200's "all out" rather amusing b/c for the life of me i couldn't motivate myself to go "all out." i tried everything, from imagining that i was almost at the finish line for a race, pretending there was a string pulling me forward, picturing sb and everyone else zooming ahead of me, yelling at myself "GO GO GO!!" but my 200 times were pretty much half of my 400 times. it's like my legs are worried that they might actually have to run longer later on so they need to conserve energy. oh well, this was my first full track workout since 2 summers ago so i guess it takes time. if anyone has tips for self motivation, they are welcome.
then onto columbia swim. i'm going to miss the pool when our office moves to wall street. Alpha Male gave some unsolicited advice but i didn't really care b/c she was right (lengthen your stroke, relax) and b/c she's done IMLP. cm said it would be good to swim and chill out if i felt sick. we did 1000 warmup (but i think i did 500, i kept turning around halfway through the lane b/c it is rude to tap someone's foot during a warmup, apparently) then 10x100 pull w/ every 3rd 25 = fly pull, then 10x100 w/ 25 back, 25 breast, 50 free, w/ all of these sets on 1:50. i hate back so subbed all the backs w/ fly, which i'm quite proud of being able to do! but by the 3rd 100 of this set i was feeling nauseous and hot. since i was leading the lane i didn't want to wimp out so decided just to finish the set of 100s and hop out of the pool asap lest i decide to finish the whole workout or throw up in the pool. i'm glad i left on a good set but kind of wish i didn't feel crappy b/c it makes the whole day kind of hazy.
on the side note, A is going to watch screaming people band (metallica) on jan 31 and i am so glad he is not dragging me..
i've decided that track workouts are kind of fun too b/c i feel like a kid, running around in circles, sometimes fast sometimes slow. it's also fun running in the dark, though a bit hard to check times. where is the halfway mark on the track? sb's averages for the 400's were between 1:30 and 1:40 and mine went from 1:48 to 1:38ish. i did notice that when i felt more confident around the 5th loop, i did manage to pick it up a little with less hectic breathing. i found the the 200's "all out" rather amusing b/c for the life of me i couldn't motivate myself to go "all out." i tried everything, from imagining that i was almost at the finish line for a race, pretending there was a string pulling me forward, picturing sb and everyone else zooming ahead of me, yelling at myself "GO GO GO!!" but my 200 times were pretty much half of my 400 times. it's like my legs are worried that they might actually have to run longer later on so they need to conserve energy. oh well, this was my first full track workout since 2 summers ago so i guess it takes time. if anyone has tips for self motivation, they are welcome.
then onto columbia swim. i'm going to miss the pool when our office moves to wall street. Alpha Male gave some unsolicited advice but i didn't really care b/c she was right (lengthen your stroke, relax) and b/c she's done IMLP. cm said it would be good to swim and chill out if i felt sick. we did 1000 warmup (but i think i did 500, i kept turning around halfway through the lane b/c it is rude to tap someone's foot during a warmup, apparently) then 10x100 pull w/ every 3rd 25 = fly pull, then 10x100 w/ 25 back, 25 breast, 50 free, w/ all of these sets on 1:50. i hate back so subbed all the backs w/ fly, which i'm quite proud of being able to do! but by the 3rd 100 of this set i was feeling nauseous and hot. since i was leading the lane i didn't want to wimp out so decided just to finish the set of 100s and hop out of the pool asap lest i decide to finish the whole workout or throw up in the pool. i'm glad i left on a good set but kind of wish i didn't feel crappy b/c it makes the whole day kind of hazy.
on the side note, A is going to watch screaming people band (metallica) on jan 31 and i am so glad he is not dragging me..
Bummed Out
We did not participate on the Quakerman Half due to the weather. I checked the weather report for the race site every 30min starting at 2AM. The early reports called for heavy rain, wind gusts, thunder and lighting, but it ended up just being heavy rain. I was concerned not only for the race itself, but I was also concerned for having to drive in an area known for flooding. So we did not go, and I have been beating myself into the ground for not racing.
So on Saturday, I instead did an intense and demanding activity: I cleaned my place. I started with the kitchen (everything around me may crumble, but my kitchen is always clean), then the living room, then the bathrooms, then my room, and did all my laundry. After that, E came back from her workout, we had lunch, and we watched season 1 of Dexter. I thought she would not like it, but there she was, demanding that I play the next DVD as quickly as possible.
I have decided to concentrate my training for two events: the Bassman Half-Ironman, and the Philly Marathon. Everything else will be secondary.
I hope that E feels better soon. She has been having stomach issues for over a week.
So on Saturday, I instead did an intense and demanding activity: I cleaned my place. I started with the kitchen (everything around me may crumble, but my kitchen is always clean), then the living room, then the bathrooms, then my room, and did all my laundry. After that, E came back from her workout, we had lunch, and we watched season 1 of Dexter. I thought she would not like it, but there she was, demanding that I play the next DVD as quickly as possible.
I have decided to concentrate my training for two events: the Bassman Half-Ironman, and the Philly Marathon. Everything else will be secondary.
I hope that E feels better soon. She has been having stomach issues for over a week.
Monday, September 8, 2008
grumbling tummy
can it really be my cooking?? i've been feeling queasy and funny for the past 7 days, especially saturday afternoon til sunday, so i guess it was not a good idea to do a 2-hr recovery run on sunday. standing up and playing keys all day and then helping to tear down the drum set didn't make things better, but i eagerly read cm's race report before bed. at midnight i was having a horrible dream that acid was washing all over my stomach and i woke up to find out that it was true. there is not much worse than being sick and home alone. i rolled around my bed moaning and trying to breathe regularly and then gave it up and started calling people in my area who might be up at 1 a.m. and reached my friend kelvin on attempt #3. since there wasn't a 24-hour urgent care facility around, he took me to the emergency room and stuck it out w/ me until 4 a.m. since it wasn't really an "emergency" i got some drugs and an IV (where i got stabbed 3 times b/c my veins "run away") to calm down the tummy and went home.
so today's workout = NOTHING other than clean the house, and i was really looking forward to a fun 2 hour bike ride as scheduled by cm.
on a side note, seems like Nameless Tri Team did pretty well and had a good time at Buckman yesterday! and chaz, one of our ironman contingent, rocked the Diamondman half, esp the bike. way to go, guys!
so today's workout = NOTHING other than clean the house, and i was really looking forward to a fun 2 hour bike ride as scheduled by cm.
on a side note, seems like Nameless Tri Team did pretty well and had a good time at Buckman yesterday! and chaz, one of our ironman contingent, rocked the Diamondman half, esp the bike. way to go, guys!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
anti climax and brs day
quakerman race report: 3:00 a.m. the weather looked pretty crappy, so it was decided that we wouldn't drive to an event that was looking like it would be cancelled or partially cancelled. i had set my alarm for 4:00 b/c i wanted to check again in an hour..but set it for 4:00 p.m. oops. woke up at 8:30 a.m. what a bummer! ever so resourceful CM (coach maija) suggested that i go for a long bike and swim today instead, where she would time me on a 1.2 mile swim including 100m splits. since i was overloaded with a scone, 5 cookies and major carbs from the day before i was rearing to go.
i biked for about 2 hours and felt good about the cadence and speed, and whenever i had the urge to mash it, tried to pedal faster instead. i'm still a little nervous about biking by myself b/c of my sense of direction (how cool would that be if you had a gps stuck to your bike?!) so there are not a lot of options for me as to where to go (straight, turn only when you have to). i was trying to eat on the go, w/ gatorade every 10 mins and a few bites of a cliff bar every 15 mins but halfway through my cliff bar, some jerk in a car honked at me and i dropped it. doh! well to his credit, i do need to learn how to steer and eat.
original plan was to bike for 3 hours then meet cm and sb at the pool but after about 1:30 of biking i had an urge to do a track workout, or at least try to. so after 2 hours on the bike i put on the running shoes, and since the track was being used for a game, i did intervals of 4x5 mins fast plus 2 mins rest. i swear, time does not pass more slowly than when you're doing interval runs. i didn't feel like i was going very fast although the effort going into it was certainly there.
then onto the swim, and it was a pleasant surprise to see G there w/ matt, and coach joe (or former coach joe). we did the pre-race workout and then maija got me into the timed 1.2 mi swim. we set a goal time of under 37 minutes, which made me nervous! and then we set up a plan that she would indicate every 10 laps w/ her hands, and then the last 10 laps with a kickboard, and the last 1 lap with a yellow stick. so off i went, listening to bohemian rhapsody playing in my head and wondering what the heck is a "fandango", counting out of lack of anything else to keep my pace. i noticed that i was getting nervous (i was worried about making 37 minutes, i thought i was going to do 40) and out of breath, esp on the flip turns so i stroking to the mantras, "relax" and "just keep swimming." i got pretty tired around lengths 40 to 60 and started feeling a little sick again. i started feeling sick during the run since i'm not used to drinking and eating on the go. i was thinking of telling cm that i didn't want to do it anymore but she would probably just kind of stand there at the top of the pool until i kept going, and that pause would have added to my time. finally i was on length 70, in my mind i was gunning it the last 10 and finished. 35:12 baby!! cm pointed out my splits and i had actually done a 1:34 the first 100 and had hit the high 1:40's and even a 1:50 towards the middle and end (when i thought i was going super fast those last 10 laps). looking back, i slowed down after the first few laps b/c i was afraid i wasn't going to be able to keep it up, but then i'll never know if i can keep it up until i try.
so even though today wasn't a race day, it was a really good workout day and i really appreciated cm timing the splits and counting the laps for me. after the swim i just lay on the bench for a good 10 minutes. apparently i am "prone to overtrain" which i have heard from multiple sources for a while, so i need to consider revamping my workouts getting used to a few easy days and a few hard days rather than having some moderately easy and moderately harder days. and eventually work in lifting weights =oP
i biked for about 2 hours and felt good about the cadence and speed, and whenever i had the urge to mash it, tried to pedal faster instead. i'm still a little nervous about biking by myself b/c of my sense of direction (how cool would that be if you had a gps stuck to your bike?!) so there are not a lot of options for me as to where to go (straight, turn only when you have to). i was trying to eat on the go, w/ gatorade every 10 mins and a few bites of a cliff bar every 15 mins but halfway through my cliff bar, some jerk in a car honked at me and i dropped it. doh! well to his credit, i do need to learn how to steer and eat.
original plan was to bike for 3 hours then meet cm and sb at the pool but after about 1:30 of biking i had an urge to do a track workout, or at least try to. so after 2 hours on the bike i put on the running shoes, and since the track was being used for a game, i did intervals of 4x5 mins fast plus 2 mins rest. i swear, time does not pass more slowly than when you're doing interval runs. i didn't feel like i was going very fast although the effort going into it was certainly there.
then onto the swim, and it was a pleasant surprise to see G there w/ matt, and coach joe (or former coach joe). we did the pre-race workout and then maija got me into the timed 1.2 mi swim. we set a goal time of under 37 minutes, which made me nervous! and then we set up a plan that she would indicate every 10 laps w/ her hands, and then the last 10 laps with a kickboard, and the last 1 lap with a yellow stick. so off i went, listening to bohemian rhapsody playing in my head and wondering what the heck is a "fandango", counting out of lack of anything else to keep my pace. i noticed that i was getting nervous (i was worried about making 37 minutes, i thought i was going to do 40) and out of breath, esp on the flip turns so i stroking to the mantras, "relax" and "just keep swimming." i got pretty tired around lengths 40 to 60 and started feeling a little sick again. i started feeling sick during the run since i'm not used to drinking and eating on the go. i was thinking of telling cm that i didn't want to do it anymore but she would probably just kind of stand there at the top of the pool until i kept going, and that pause would have added to my time. finally i was on length 70, in my mind i was gunning it the last 10 and finished. 35:12 baby!! cm pointed out my splits and i had actually done a 1:34 the first 100 and had hit the high 1:40's and even a 1:50 towards the middle and end (when i thought i was going super fast those last 10 laps). looking back, i slowed down after the first few laps b/c i was afraid i wasn't going to be able to keep it up, but then i'll never know if i can keep it up until i try.
so even though today wasn't a race day, it was a really good workout day and i really appreciated cm timing the splits and counting the laps for me. after the swim i just lay on the bench for a good 10 minutes. apparently i am "prone to overtrain" which i have heard from multiple sources for a while, so i need to consider revamping my workouts getting used to a few easy days and a few hard days rather than having some moderately easy and moderately harder days. and eventually work in lifting weights =oP
Friday, September 5, 2008
tapering + carb load = GO GO GO!!
i am so ready to race. i got most of my crankies out yesterday dumping my problems onto the bf and some other lucky friends. i was up til 1 a.m. 2 nights ago trying to put the regular tire back onto my bike and successfully patched a few holes and still could not pump up the inner tube. i was really frustrated b/c the bike is what i'm most worried about and i haven't been able to practice that, but ended up doing a moderate 45 minute run. i'm going to just buy a trainer wheel b/c i think i've gone through 2 inner tubes in 2 weeks. today was a quick pre-race swim (workout from maija) and then a moderate-slow 30 minute run. trying to sight during the swim was a funny experience- i closed my eyes when my face was in the water and opened them only to breathe and sight, to "simulate" the experience of swimming without seeing much in the water and got myself zigzagging all over the pool! but at least it's good to be prepared for.
so i'm ready. well, mentally ready to just plug through it. dude, if i can walk 11 hours per day for 3 days living on granola bars and trail mix, i think this will be fine.
b/c of hurricane hannah, the race may be cancelled or switched to a bike-run or a run-only event..lame!! i thought it may be sort of fun to swim and run in the rain (but not bike), but if the event isn't an actual triathlon, i think the plan is to skip it. it's not really worth the time to drive down there if we don't do the whole thing. but if we skip it i need to do something with all this energy!!
in other news, i found out that i'm playing keys on sunday for church (liquid), the concluding sunday of a rock series, for 4 services all day from 7 a.m. to about 8:30 p.m. to get ready, i listen to the songs over and over again. i believe i have bohemian rhapsody, sweet child o'mine and final countdown bleeding out of my ears and if there is a race tomorrow, that is all i'll be hearing in my head over and over and over...
so i'm ready. well, mentally ready to just plug through it. dude, if i can walk 11 hours per day for 3 days living on granola bars and trail mix, i think this will be fine.
b/c of hurricane hannah, the race may be cancelled or switched to a bike-run or a run-only event..lame!! i thought it may be sort of fun to swim and run in the rain (but not bike), but if the event isn't an actual triathlon, i think the plan is to skip it. it's not really worth the time to drive down there if we don't do the whole thing. but if we skip it i need to do something with all this energy!!
in other news, i found out that i'm playing keys on sunday for church (liquid), the concluding sunday of a rock series, for 4 services all day from 7 a.m. to about 8:30 p.m. to get ready, i listen to the songs over and over again. i believe i have bohemian rhapsody, sweet child o'mine and final countdown bleeding out of my ears and if there is a race tomorrow, that is all i'll be hearing in my head over and over and over...
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
taper? what taper?
countdown to quakerman.. 3 days, so i guess it would be a good time to start tapering. in my extensive history of triathlons, i can honestly say i have not dreaded a race as much as this one. i need to psych myself into thinking that i have it in me to handle this event well and that it will be fun. the swim should not be too bad, the bike will probably feel like i am driving stick in 5th gear up a hill for 3+ hours, and the run, i have no idea. coach jim at swim today told me to swim with the race mentality so you get used to it.. then when we were on 4x200s descending all of the sudden i got really hot and agitated and out of breath just like on race day. maybe all of that pre-race nervousness will be done with by saturday.
labour day weekend was fantastic-- started with a massage on thursday night with maija and G, then a swim (w/ claudia, sb and bob) and track workout on friday morning. i was trying to channel gatorade bob during the swim and noticed that i am a lot more relaxed swimming w/ the aquaholics than at columbia. my favourite part of the track workout was the 4x 200 all out followed by 200 recovery. since i had gotten kicked out of the track b/c of football practice, i did a revised version running through the neighbourhoods and felt like i was playing "red light green light." then saturday i got up early to do a long run, which was highly enjoyable because i did 1:02 one way and made it back in 57:30 (i usually make as few turns as possible b/c i tend to get lost very easily). sunday was a quick bike/run and then a long swim in the long pool. my bike was annoying b/c i had tried to take the training tire off but i guess i had pinched the inner tube and then put the back wheel on so that it was rubbing the brake...so my bike was acting like a choo choo train and i am so surprised that my tire didn't deflate until after my ride. then we had the best bbq of the summer at sb and G's party pad!
maija was nice enough to coach me through an interval run and bike on labour day. running with her is like the tortoise and the hare and i was relieved that we only did 3x5:00 fast. she says i need to get used to the pain in my lungs. transition time from the run to bike = about 1 hour b/c we had to go to matt's to ask him to help me change my tire (and sneak a few cookies). i tried to repeat the intensity of monday's run on tuesday but just couldn't get myself fast enough on my own volition.. at one point (during the 4th interval or so) my lungs started to hurt and i was like YES!! i was thinking about what should dangle in front of me to motivate my going faster. then columbia swim yesterday and today, and an attempt to tackle the trainer again. my stroke feels all funny on the swim b/c it is slow and i feel so self conscious about rotation, keeping my head down, swimming through molasses, etc. but it's still fun.
our office is moving to wall street in the next few weeks. does anyone know of a good pool/tri club in that area?
new plan: hijack the aquaholic's track workouts from wednesday, use sb's run time as a guideline and try to do my own track workout on thursdays.
i also realize that if i want to get some good nutrition in, i need to stay away from trying to cook (and by "cook" i mean do anything that requires using heat in the kitchen). i have a knack for giving myself a tummy ache (boiling veggies?!) about one out of every 3 times.
labour day weekend was fantastic-- started with a massage on thursday night with maija and G, then a swim (w/ claudia, sb and bob) and track workout on friday morning. i was trying to channel gatorade bob during the swim and noticed that i am a lot more relaxed swimming w/ the aquaholics than at columbia. my favourite part of the track workout was the 4x 200 all out followed by 200 recovery. since i had gotten kicked out of the track b/c of football practice, i did a revised version running through the neighbourhoods and felt like i was playing "red light green light." then saturday i got up early to do a long run, which was highly enjoyable because i did 1:02 one way and made it back in 57:30 (i usually make as few turns as possible b/c i tend to get lost very easily). sunday was a quick bike/run and then a long swim in the long pool. my bike was annoying b/c i had tried to take the training tire off but i guess i had pinched the inner tube and then put the back wheel on so that it was rubbing the brake...so my bike was acting like a choo choo train and i am so surprised that my tire didn't deflate until after my ride. then we had the best bbq of the summer at sb and G's party pad!
maija was nice enough to coach me through an interval run and bike on labour day. running with her is like the tortoise and the hare and i was relieved that we only did 3x5:00 fast. she says i need to get used to the pain in my lungs. transition time from the run to bike = about 1 hour b/c we had to go to matt's to ask him to help me change my tire (and sneak a few cookies). i tried to repeat the intensity of monday's run on tuesday but just couldn't get myself fast enough on my own volition.. at one point (during the 4th interval or so) my lungs started to hurt and i was like YES!! i was thinking about what should dangle in front of me to motivate my going faster. then columbia swim yesterday and today, and an attempt to tackle the trainer again. my stroke feels all funny on the swim b/c it is slow and i feel so self conscious about rotation, keeping my head down, swimming through molasses, etc. but it's still fun.
our office is moving to wall street in the next few weeks. does anyone know of a good pool/tri club in that area?
new plan: hijack the aquaholic's track workouts from wednesday, use sb's run time as a guideline and try to do my own track workout on thursdays.
i also realize that if i want to get some good nutrition in, i need to stay away from trying to cook (and by "cook" i mean do anything that requires using heat in the kitchen). i have a knack for giving myself a tummy ache (boiling veggies?!) about one out of every 3 times.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
A strange week
This week is going to be weird. We are doing a half-ironman on Saturday. The fact that the race is Saturday and not Sunday has my whole routine screwed up. On top of that, Monday was off, so that also affects all my plans. I just need to relax and get to the race ready to go.
On Saturday, I went to scout the course for the race. The lake is beautiful! Hopefully, I will think the same when I am done with the race. During the race, immediately after getting on the bike, we will have to climb out of the park and to the main road. The bike course consists of an 18.5mi loop done three times. The course includes some rolling hills, which are not steep, but they are long. I did a little over two loops (I got lost the first time) and then did a 45min brick. I was looking for the run course, but I could not find it, so I just ran around the park.
On Sunday, I went on a 2.5hr run. I kept a steady and relaxed pace, except for a 30min pickup that I did in the middle, at a fast pace. Then I went to the still-nameless-tri-team official BBQ, where we had a good time eating and drinking to our pleasure. Thanks to Matt and Genine for hosting!
On Monday, I went to the gym for a quick run and lifting workout. After that, I went to the office for a few hours to advance some of my projects. Then I went home, got on the bike, and rode 40mi at a steady pace, followed by a brisk 20min brick.
Today, I went to the pool. Wow, I had not swum since Thursday morning, and much to my surprise, I kind of missed it. I did the following workout: 300m wu, 500m fins, 200m pull, 3x150m @0:15, 100m drill, 3x100m @0:10, 200m cd. After that, I went to the gym and did the 45min spinning class, which was a nice high-cadence workout. Then I did an easy 30min run around the hills near the gym, and then I did my chest/triceps workout.
I am pondering what I would do for the rest of the week. I don't know if I should do a track workout tomorrow. I know I won’t be able to bike until Thursday afternoon, and then that would be an easy ride. Tapering sux!
On Saturday, I went to scout the course for the race. The lake is beautiful! Hopefully, I will think the same when I am done with the race. During the race, immediately after getting on the bike, we will have to climb out of the park and to the main road. The bike course consists of an 18.5mi loop done three times. The course includes some rolling hills, which are not steep, but they are long. I did a little over two loops (I got lost the first time) and then did a 45min brick. I was looking for the run course, but I could not find it, so I just ran around the park.
On Sunday, I went on a 2.5hr run. I kept a steady and relaxed pace, except for a 30min pickup that I did in the middle, at a fast pace. Then I went to the still-nameless-tri-team official BBQ, where we had a good time eating and drinking to our pleasure. Thanks to Matt and Genine for hosting!
On Monday, I went to the gym for a quick run and lifting workout. After that, I went to the office for a few hours to advance some of my projects. Then I went home, got on the bike, and rode 40mi at a steady pace, followed by a brisk 20min brick.
Today, I went to the pool. Wow, I had not swum since Thursday morning, and much to my surprise, I kind of missed it. I did the following workout: 300m wu, 500m fins, 200m pull, 3x150m @0:15, 100m drill, 3x100m @0:10, 200m cd. After that, I went to the gym and did the 45min spinning class, which was a nice high-cadence workout. Then I did an easy 30min run around the hills near the gym, and then I did my chest/triceps workout.
I am pondering what I would do for the rest of the week. I don't know if I should do a track workout tomorrow. I know I won’t be able to bike until Thursday afternoon, and then that would be an easy ride. Tapering sux!
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