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..
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
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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