I must be recovered from the 1/2 IM, and from all the yard work I've been piling on the last few weekends, as today I nailed my bike workout the way I'm supposed to.
It was this workout: 15' wup, 3' spinups, 3x(2'Z3, 1' CD), 3x8' (2') FT, cd 5', 8 x 30/30's, cd 7'
I figured I'd be prepared to hit the FT stuff dead on today, since I was extra careful to hold myself back while running yesterday. OK, let me back up. Sunday I ran 13.2 (possibly more) miles in 2 hours. I had done a 1:40 long run the Sunday before, and the week before that was Miami Man 1/2 IM. So that's pretty fast to ramp back up to a 2 hour long run. I increased my total training hours to 15 from just shy of 10 the week prior, which is not something I'd recommend to someone else, but I had "extra" recovery in that I did not work on Thursday or Friday (or Wednesday afternoon, thanks to an early dismissal by my manager). Plus, I know myself pretty well and have made volume jumps like that before, so I figured I'd be OK. I've increased my strength training a bit, and am back on my periodized regime that will get harder soon enough. My bike workouts have sucked donkey balls the last 2 weeks, because I have let them. Saturday I didn't get on my bike until after I had already swum and then raked for 3.5 hours. I had decent power, but not as much as I'd like. I was fried. And I had considered running afterwards, too, but wisely dismissed that idea, thinking that maybe I'd be able to run 2 hours on Sunday rather than my planned 1:50. The ride I did on Thanksgiving was preceded by a 5K race plus about 3 miles of warmup and cooldown, and my legs were toast when I got on the trainer (but not too badly toasted as I still managed to get in a decent TSS/IF for the ride).
So now back to yesterday. I was sufficiently tired after my long run on Sunday, but managed to do another 2 hours of yard cleanup (cutting down and covering 17 rose bushes and removing assorted perennial plant debris) to complete shelling myself for the week. Yesterday I had a swim and run on my schedule--I've been self-coached for a few weeks, no worries, and my goal for this week is to bring up my running to 5.5 or more hours, and to get back on my bike workouts. I could tell yesterday morning that I was expectedly fried, and now I know that when I really do not want to do a workout it probably means I am pretty tired. But I figured some time in the pool would be good for recovery, so I went anyway, and held myself to 2500 yards, mostly easy stuff with a good dose of drills. Side note: This fall I have taken to bringing a commuter mug full of coffee with me to the pool rather than Gatorade or water. I LOVE MY COFFEE! After the swim, I was still tired, but wanted to get outside and run while the weather was still good (it's been near 60 here for 5 days). When I began running, my legs didn't feel so much muscularly tired, but just this general fatigue of having ramped up my training. I told myself I could turn around and go home and skip the workout, but I've been in this position before, and knew that I would feel great the next day as long as I held the intensity down. So on I ran, and I had to force myself to take walking breaks to keep my pace low.
When I finished working yesterday, I even managed to do :34 of abs/core work. I didn't want to have to do my full strength routine today so that I could have a good bike workout. I finished up with a good :35 of stretching and called it a day.
I slept 10 hours last night--usually I let myself stay up a little later on Mondays because I don't have to get up to swim, but right after 8:30PM last night, my body was saying lights out, so I did. I felt really refreshed this morning, and knew I had done the right thing by going ahead and getting in that run workout yesterday.
I was going to ride outside today, as the weather is still good, but it was raining a bit, and something told me I didn't want to go all rooster tail on wet roads, and my outdoor hoses are put away for the winter, and I didn't want to have to wash my bike! So I put my Bitch back on the trainer (I did ride outside on Saturday, which was a total treat--at one point I had some dork sucking my wheel after I passed him, which didn't bother me one bit) and got ready to rock 'n roll.
Right away I could tell I had "legs" today. I was able to generate good power in a low gear during warmup, and as I moved up to the Z3 stuff (which is basically HIM range), things felt great. I looked at the SRM and had a chuckle, because the power I was putting out was near my FT power just a year ago! How f'in cool is that?
I started on the first FT interval, and I knew I could hold it for 8 minutes. 8 minutes doesn't sound like a long time, but when you're on a trainer and there's no terrain or wind or just air, it requires focus. It's WORK. I got this perverse smile on my face remembering that I need to just settle in and do the WORK. It's not fun, but I don't expect it to be fun. In a flash, I realized I was recovered from the 1/2 IM and that I was ready to do some serious WORK, not just today, but for this new training season. How many of my 2005-2006 training season bike workouts were like this? At least 95%. So they were all tons of WORK. But I could see before me in plain numbers how all my hard work has paid off. Sheesh, the numbers on the SRM were things I only DREAMED about a year ago. Hell, being able to run 13 miles in 2 hours in a TRAINING RUN was not something I had thought I'd be able to do a year ago, either. My running improvements have also come at the expense (or as I think of it, pleasure) of lots of hard WORK.
I also had the flash today of that adage, "the training doesn't become easier--you just get faster." SHIT YEAH!!! So I did the same workout today (or close to it) a year ago with almost 30 less watts on the meter, but it's just as hard now as it was then, only now I go faster. There will come a time when the work will only get me to maintaining speed or even some decline, but I'll know when I'm there, and I ain't there yet.
What about FUN? To me, it's not so much about FUN, as it is about the realization of the fruits of the WORK that I enjoy. Do I enjoy the WORK? Yes, because I know that my gratification will surely come. The FUN happens because of spurious details like wearing eye-catching clothing while training or racing, or being able to be light-hearted at points during training or racing when I'm already dialed into my effort level. To me, fun is an emotion that can be present during hard work, but I don't feel at all compelled to experience "fun-ness" in order to enjoy something. I am puzzled by someone who says they are racing to "have fun." Fun is jumping around in a huge container filled with bouncy balls. It does not require you to be engaged or make much of an effort. Racing is work, and sure it can be pleasurable, but I tend to put it into perspective and believe that if I am executing the way I should, then that's plenty of enjoyment for me. I have the same view of training. If you don't view training as WORK, then how will you be 100% engaged during racing when it's all about the WORK?
As my coach likes to say, "Work is speed entering the body." I am back on my game, and I'm ready for some serious work. Last season is so OVER. It's time for me to get faster and stronger. I feel like I've got that spark back that I had last fall when I had decided that changes were in order. Those changes worked like a charm, and I've added some new challenges for myself this year, and I'm ready to go to WORK. I better be, because I have another marathon in 6 weeks that I want to PR at!
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Monday, November 27, 2006
Weekly Workout Totals 11/20/2006-11/26/2006
I thought it might be time for me to start being more accountable to the blogosphere again, and perhaps to provide some motivation to myself and to others.
How am I doing on my goals for the season?
Weekly Totals 11/20/2006-11/26/2006
Swim: 11000 yards (6.24 miles) in 3.93 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1377 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 79.92 miles in 4.57 hours; 30% of weekly workout time; approx. 2297 calories burned
Run: Approx. 33.46 miles in 4.97 hours; 33% of weekly workout time; approx. 2407 calories burned
Strength: 1.53 hours; 10% of weekly workout time; approx. 383 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 119.62 miles in 15 hours; approx. 6464 calories burned
Sleep: 8.93 hours avg./night
Stretching: 3.6 hours. Massage: 1.67 hours
How am I doing on my goals for the season?
- I'm maintaining my weight, and I assume my body fat percentage. I won't take any measurements for another month, which will be interesting to see how a big uptick in running affects the old body.
- I haven't scheduled my follow-on medical appointments. BAD GIRL!
- I'm doing a good amount of stretching. I keep finding new stretches and adding on to my repetoire. Plus I have more time now that I'm not training so much, and yard work season is coming to a close (yeah!).
- I bought a 12-lb. medicine ball for my ab workouts and have been using it for 2 weeks now. I haven't caused any DOMS by moving up from 10 lbs., so it makes me think I could go heavier, but this is enough for now.
- I have been doing an extra delts/lats workout weekly. I am not sure whether it's doing any good, but it doesn't seem to be hurting anything either!
- I had arranged for some private swim coaching, but it hasn't come together yet. No worries--I have found a Plan B, and until I get the privates, I'm doing a 4th swim workout of primarily drills, and I think it is helping me.
- Biking is taking a minor back seat to a current swim and run focus. I don't think I can improve my FTP much between now and Goofy Challenge; at best I hope to maintain it. It sure is nice to be spending less time monkeying around just to go biking.
- Despite my disappointing 1/2 mary time in Miami, my running is still holding well. I ran 2 hours yesterday and covered 13.2 miles, so I am not losing any fitness there. And I feel prepared for 5 straight weeks of 2+ hour long runs to be ready for Goofy Challenge.
- Still, I've kicked off my 2006-2007 season with a first in AG win at Miami Man 1/2 IM, and set a minor PR at the 5K distance. Not a bad way to kick things off!
Weekly Totals 11/20/2006-11/26/2006
Swim: 11000 yards (6.24 miles) in 3.93 hours; 26% of weekly workout time; approx. 1377 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 79.92 miles in 4.57 hours; 30% of weekly workout time; approx. 2297 calories burned
Run: Approx. 33.46 miles in 4.97 hours; 33% of weekly workout time; approx. 2407 calories burned
Strength: 1.53 hours; 10% of weekly workout time; approx. 383 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 119.62 miles in 15 hours; approx. 6464 calories burned
Sleep: 8.93 hours avg./night
Stretching: 3.6 hours. Massage: 1.67 hours
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Not a Great Race, but still a Great Week
See if you can spot the Crackhead in the photo. Trust me, I'm in there!
On Thanksgiving morning, I ran a 5K. Going in, I thought I might be able to win the 50-59 age group, or at least set a minor PR. I am not good at the 5K distance. 10K and up, I do much better. But this race starts a mile from home, and the weather forecast was great, as compared to last year.
Last weekend, I looked up 2005 results and turns out I was 6th in the entire 40-49 age group, and was the highest placed, oldest finisher there. Ha! Last year when I ran the race, it was very cold, and I had not run outdoors in quite awhile. Encouraged by last year's results and in looking at 50-59, I figured running 8:15/mile might get me the win. So I even pre-registered.
Thursday morning dawned cool, and based on Weather Underground, I didn't expect it to be much over 40 at race start. Still, not bad running weather. So it was going to be tights and long sleeves. Initially, I wanted to wear all pink (what I wore for the Disney 1/2 last January), but then decided I needed to be slightly more dressed, so I opted for my Ironman Canada tights (mid-weight, as running tights go) and my new Desoto whatever it is black zip technical top, a regular running hat, and gloves. If nothing else, I was dressed very aerodynamically.
I warmed up running south to the end of my street and back home, which is about .5 mile, and the clothing choice felt perfect. I drank a little more water, and jogged on up town.
There were lots of runners warming up all over the place. I went by the finish line and asked some volunteers where I could puke when I was done. They pointed at a garbage can which has a raised lid on it. I told them they would need to take the lid off! We had a good laugh at that. I ran around some more and needed to pee one more time. In true Crackhead fashion, I found an alley, and funny thing is someone else had already peed there, so I didn't feel at all bad by adding to the puddle.
At the start area, I ran into Mike #1, a guy I know who unfortunately, DNF'ed at IMWI this year. But we didn't talk about that. He looked good, told me I looked good, and we wished one another a good race. He actually beat me last year, and I threatened to beat him this year, but I doubted I would--as I've said, I am no good at 5K distance, but he is. We are both 50 years old.
Waiting for the start, I ran into Mike #2, a guy I know from a few years back that I did a couple of training rides for IMWI with. Nice man, and awesome swimmer. He said he was suffering from some hip issues, and was just going to try things out today. I wished him luck.
I lined up in the 8:00MPM area, knowing full well there were lots of people who were seeded improperly. Last year it took me too long to reach the start line, and this race is not chip timed, so it's all about gun time. But I was optimistic I could pick my way through.
BANG! The gun goes off and we are....SHUFFLING. Mike #1 tells me to just shuffle, and hey, I know, but my time started already so I need to get running. I began picking my way through folks who have absolutely no idea of their running pace, but that's OK, as I began to head for the outside. We were running to my house, or close enough. After about 1/4 mile I was finding clearer space to stay in the center of the road.
I didn't wear my HRM, since I've not been wearing it for a few months now. I also really didn't want to look at my watch, nor did I want to see a race clock. But I DID see the stinking race clock at Mile 1, and it was 8:13. I think I went out too fast, because it must have taken 10" at least to get to the actual start line. Oh well.
Because I saw the stupid clock, I consciously decided to slow down. STUPID, STUPID. It's not like I was going to blow up totally--I just don't know how. But, I could feel the lactic acid building up in my legs, and it didn't feel good, but I didn't want to slow down too much.
I hit Mile 2 at 16:43, so it was 8:30. OUCH! I slowed down big time. Now I knew I only had 1.1 more to go, and hey, I'm not going to die here, I should be able to pick it up. I spotted a woman ahead of me that looked younger who was running a good pace. For about .5 mile, I just decided I needed to not lose her. After that, I don't remember too much except to keep going and forget about how it felt.
I crossed the finish line in 25:37, which is a PR for me, at 8:16/mile. Turns out I ran the last mile in 8:05. Crap! I should have been able to run the entire thing that fast or even faster. Oh well! Thing is I could have kept running another 3.1 at about that pace.
At any rate, my goal was 8:15/mile, so close enough. But would it get me a top 3? I didn't think I'd get first. I got in line for a massage and was behind the woman I had chased near the end. She thanked me for pushing her. What? Apparently, I passed her with about .5 mile to go, and then she said she tried to catch me but couldn't. I thanked her back, saying she made me pick it up there at the end. Turns out she does Olympic distance triathlon, so we chatted a bit about that. She had noticed the M-dot on my hat while she was chasing me. I told her, yeah, I do Ironman, but hey, any distance triathlon makes you a triathlete, and that the shorter stuff is just as hard!
When I got on the table, I got to say hello to a massage therapist I used to go to named Cindy. We are catching up while someone I don't know is working nicely on my legs. After they finished up with me, I chatted some more with Cindy and she introduced me to a guy from Iowa that will be doing IMWI in 2007 as his first Ironman.
I had a few cups of coffee, since I was going to bike when I got home, and stuck around for the awards. Based on what they announced, I didn't even make top 3! SHIT. I looked online yesterday and the times they posted are all messed up, so I don't believe what they posted, but it is what it is, and at least it was a tiny PR. I ran into Mike #3 that I know from my YMCA. He's a really good runner who just started in his late 30's. He qualified for Boston in his first marathon 2 years ago, and this past April, he qualified for Boston AT Boston. I am blessed to know so many really strong athletes.
I ran home, got the leg of lamb ready to roast, put it in the oven and got on my bike for 1:15. Oh man, legs were not willing to hit the FTP that day. So I settled for 90% of FTP, still not bad for having run a 5K. But while I was on the bike I was thinking what a crappy duathlete I would make. But then when I thought about it, a lot of people wouldn't be able to ride at 90% of their FTP right after a 5K so maybe I would not be such a crappy duathlete. At any rate, I seriously looked forward to getting off my bike and starting in on some EATING.
My dad arrived around 1PM, and I was just about to shower. I told him to make himself comfortable, and I got in the shower and moaned. 2 hours of workout (I ended up running total about :45 plus 1:15 of biking) with some real intensity thrown in there. I ate. A LOT. But not so much to be uncomfortable. We waited about 1.5 hours after eating and then had pie with ice cream. Yum. I drank a split of Champagne, toasting myself for having raced that day, and FINALLY toasting myself for doing some pretty good training and racing for the last season.
Looking back on the 5K, I probably shouldn't have run :50 tempo the day before, eh? But whatever. Getting my run frequency and volume up this week is more important than the 5K. Yesterday I did 3 workouts (4 if you count raking leaves)--an abs/core workout plus additional delts/lats (:43), then I swam 2700 yds. (1800 of it was pulling, which feels really good after you've blasted your shoulders and lats), and then I ran 4 miles real easy in :35. The running did not feel very good--my legs were heavy, I started at 2:15PM and hadn't eaten since breakfast (plus 2 pieces of fruit), and had already spent about 1.5 hours raking leaves. But I've learned that sometimes you just have to go even when you feel like you are dragging ass, because it is good for you mentally.
When I finished running, I laid into some Thanksgiving leftovers--I ate some lamb, a baked sweet potato, homemade cranberry sauce, and drank my Endurox. I thought I'd be all in after all that, but I managed to go back out and rake leaves for another 1.5 hours until it got dark, and then I was pretty well toasted for the day.
I've been doing a lot of stretching this week with the extra time that I have, so I'm not really worried that the jump in run volume is going to kill me or anything. I'm not biking that much! Today I have already swum (2800 yard drill workout), and now I'm going to finish the leaves, then ride my bike (outside, I think!), do a short :40 run and then I'm getting a massage. And I am sleeping in tomorrow morning before my long run, and then I'll be going to see the new James Bond movie with my dad.
I'll rack up about 15 hours of training this week and over 3 hours of stretching, which puts me right where I need to be now in preparation for Goofy Challenge. I have GOT to beat the times I posted last year. Can I? Stay tuned....
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Miami Man 1/2 Ironman Race Report
I won my age group, although it was only my 2nd best HIM time, 5:44. It just goes to show you that it really does depend on who shows up, as I was disappointed with my time, but happy with the award. AND, I qualified for Long Distance Worlds in France next July, but since I'm already signed up for Lake Placid, I won't be going (this time!).
I'll go backwards a bit. I got to the Miami area last Thursday night, and have been staying with a man I met in Brazil. Peter lives in Hallandale, which is really close to Ft. Lauderdale, and he's been a most gracious host. Peter has only been doing triathlons for 2 years, and generally races Clydesdale division (and he doesn't get upset with me ragging on him to lose weight).
Peter did this race last year as his first HIM in a time of 6:01, so he was looking to PR. I, theoretically, was set to PR, as my running had been going very well. The thing that was different for me this time, about my training preparation was a very steep run taper, which I've never done before. Well, you never know until you try something, so it was game on.
My wave went off at 7:15AM, and Peter's at 7:30AM. Before we started, Peter said he was going to try and catch me on the bike. I knew he's a better swimmer than me, but not by 10 minutes, and then he'd need to really haul ass to catch me on the bike. The day called for light winds and a high of maybe 82, on a pancake flat bike course, and I mean flatter than the flattest areas in Illinois (except, perhaps for the area right around Champaign-Urbana), and even though I hadn't been outside on my bike since October 1, I figured I'd be in good bike shape. But I figured, more power to Peter if he can catch me.
My wave was all women 40+. The swim was in a small man-made freshwater lake of normal colored water, I mean not that black coffee stuff you see in many Florida lakes. No gators, either! We took off, and I just swam. There wasn't much pushing or shoving. There was a woman in my wave who tried to draft off me for the first lap, staying on my left. She smacked me a few times, but not hard, and for awhile I thought "she's my buddy." But on the second lap, I decided I'd had enough of her and kicked hard to move ahead. In between laps, we had to run up on the beach for a really short jaunt before heading back into the water. When I was getting in for lap #2, a big guy from an earlier wave was coming in, too. He bounded in with knees high, did a nice dive in, and then proceeded to breaststroke! My second lap went just fine, and I was out in :37. Not a stellar swim, but hey, I can swim at that pace all day, so life was good.
T1 was a rather long run from the lake back to the transition area, so smart folks (me included) had left flip-flops or other slip-on shoes at the swim exit to wear for that run. We ran on asphalt and some grass and roots, and I was glad for the extra foot protection. I had used my one-piece Orca wetsuit, as I didn't want to have to test my shoulder flexibility using the two-piece DeSoto T1 that has the slip-on top without a zipper. Still, I wasn't exactly hurried in T1, but my total time was I think 5:30 or something.
Onto the bike, and the weather is here--I wish you were beautiful! It was low-70's and nice. There was noticeable humidity, but I wasn't concerned. I had established power zones on the lower end of wattages I have used before at HIM distance, because I wanted to have a good run. Nonetheless, for the first :30, I rode easy, easy, easy, in the small chainring and at or below 70% of FT, which is a typical warm-up pace for a training ride.
After 30', it was time to move up a bit in power, and I did, and I noticed how exceedingly flat the terrain was. All good, no worries. I had tilted my aerobars a little bit down from where I usually position them and had raised my saddle a hair, which put me in a pretty aggressive aero position that seemed to be working like a charm. Note to self: get this measured and implemented professionally. I am flexible enough and my core is strong enough that I can do this now, and so I should!
I was sure I didn't have the fastest swim time in my age group, so it was time to look for the ladies on the bike, and I passed 3 of them strongly. That was fine--all I wanted to do was place top 3 in my age group.
I absolutely FLEW on the bike in 2:39, and could have gone faster. I held back on my watts even more than my coach and I agreed to because I knew I'd still have a good split and hoped I would be able to run well. I even had to stop twice--once to remove a flapping sticker from my rear wheel stay, and dropped my chain once. I only used my small chainring (11-23 on the disk) for the first :30 and also the last 10 miles. Needless to say, there were some VERY fast bike splits, but I'm happy with what I did there, and believe the taper was spot on. There was also some blatant drafting, but that is bound to happen in many races, especially flat ones. I only saw the draft marshall twice.
The only problem on the bike other than the 2 stops was that they served Amino Vital and not Gatorade. I didn't think the Amino crap would bother me, but as it turns out I was wrong. I should have added to my nutrition article that sometimes you can be fine on race day taking in something you aren't used to, other times not. Note to self: carry my own Gatorade, since I only need 2.5 bottles, or start using Infinit Nutrition again.
It started out nice and cool on the bike, but the heat and some wind picked up about halfway through. The heat didn't seem to bother me on the bike except for the Amino shit not sitting well in my gut. I felt a little bloated on the bike and at around 35 miles I really wanted to pee. But I could only get a little out. That may have been due to the salt loading I'd done in the days leading up to the race, which was another shock to my system, not to mention going from 30's and 40's to 80's.
I think the bike course was short by a mile, too, but I can't download my power data until I get home tomorrow.
In T2 after I dismounted, I slammed my right shin into the left pedal, which hurt and drew blood, but I wasn't worried about it. I got through T2 and headed out to the run, but wasn't sure where was the end of T2 and the start of the run. In the end, it doesn't matter, right?
As soon as I started running, my gut didn't feel right. Probably a combination of factors--heat, humidity, Amino Vital, but I was pretty sure that I didn't go too hard on the bike. At any rate, right away I needed a potty stop and there were no porta-potties in sight. We were going into the Miami Zoo, and I found a small area of vegetation that would work. I felt a bit better right away, but then about another .5 mile later I had to pee. This time, I really emptied my bladder well, and thought that now maybe I'd start running like I knew I could.
Nope--I never did feel normal and couldn't get below 10mpm. It was hot, and about 4 miles in I started asking for ice at the aid stations. Believe it or not, they didn't have cups of ice ready for us, but I got some anyway, and then I guess the aid stations wised up and started preparing cups of ice for us. I loaded my visor, my bra top, and even my bottom with ice in an effort to bring my core temperature down. It made me feel at least not so crappy. I had no choice but to drink the Amino Vital, and while the taste didn't bother me in the least, I guess it just didn't do the trick for me. Oh well.
The run goes through the zoo, and that at least lent an air of festivity to the run! On the first loop, I noticed the elephants, only it was confusing as they were a clay red. I had never seen elephants that color--it turns out they had been rolling around in red clay soil. And then one of them was taking a shower! I saw various African ungulates--addax, oryx, kudu and some others, which is not your usual run scenery. On the first loop, the chimps and gorillas were making a bunch of noise and running around, almost like a cheering section. On the second loop, I finally saw the zebras, and I had a few words for them, as I was wearing a zebra-striped top, although sadly there was no race photographer available to get a photo with me and my namesakes.
My run time was 2:18, which I think is a personal worst for a 1/2 marathon, although I have been slower in a HIM run. At any rate, I was a bit PO'ed, but at least in the last 4 miles I made myself just run continuously, as I wanted to at least beat my 2006 Racine HIM time of 5:48.
When I finished, of course I looked around to see if I saw any other women in my age group, and I didn't, but there was no way I figured I did well given my crappy run. Oh well, some days it's just not your day. I figured I had some time before Peter finished, so I went back to my transition area and got out of my wet running shoes and changed my hat.
I saw Peter come down the chute, and that was exciting as he looked really happy, and I was sure he had set a PR. He may even have beat me. He thought he had gone 5:34, but inside my head I was thinking he would have needed to finish really close after me, and it was at least 10 minutes later. But, I was happy for him and he said he could tell I was a little bummed out about my race. But I couldn't complain that much--it was still my 2nd fastest HIM time, and I had come from the North and raced in Miami heat and humidity. It is what it is.
Results weren't posted for the 5:15+ finishers for a bit, so we got some (bad) post-race food and cleaned out our transition areas and put everything back in Peter's car and loaded the bikes on the back. Then we went back to see the results.
There were 2 surprises waiting for us: first, I saw that I had won my age group. Even though I was and am still disappointed with my finishing time, I think I jumped about 6 feet into the air and pumped my fists when I saw this. A win is a win! Seriously, though, the day before the race I had stalked all the women in my age group and there was only one that I was concerned about (assuming I did 5:45 or less). Turns out she won female masters overall! She even beat someone I know from back home who is a really strong, fast athlete. The winning masters woman is 50 years old, and she beat my fast 44 year old friend! I was duly impressed. Because of that woman's placement in the masters, she was left out of the age group awards, which meant I got first instead of second.
The second surprise was that Peter's time was not what he had thought it was. It was actually 5:47, and it was still a PR for him, but I could tell a bit of the wind went out of his sails. But he was, in true friendship form, happy for me, and we stuck around so I could collect a cute little plaque. Unfortunately, it doesn't say the age group, just 1st place. But still it will be a nice memento of this experience.
So, if I am going to be disappointed in my time, I need to learn some lessons, and here are the ones I have so far:
Side note: at the expo/packet pickup, I met Michael Hanreck, who took 2nd overall at Ultraman in 2005. I told him I had that race in the back of my mind, and we got to chatting and well, maybe 2008? Whenever I have had encounters like this, they have been omens. After all, I only ended up getting into triathlon in the first place because a man in Kona told me I should, and he also told me that I would do an Ironman. That was in 1999, and look what happened! So, I'm a bit tingly that I met one of the top Ultraman competitors, and that he told me that he thought I could do it. I know that a huge component of these things is your DESIRE to do it. And I know that once my desire for something is strong enough, that I will go after it and get it done. Next comes DEDICATION, then DISCIPLINE, and I know about those things.
So even though I said I was disappointed, that is a very temporary state of mind. I am happy that I am healthy enough to have done this, I am enjoying a little R&R today and tomorrow, and I may have been blessed with desire for my next major athletic challenge.
I'll go backwards a bit. I got to the Miami area last Thursday night, and have been staying with a man I met in Brazil. Peter lives in Hallandale, which is really close to Ft. Lauderdale, and he's been a most gracious host. Peter has only been doing triathlons for 2 years, and generally races Clydesdale division (and he doesn't get upset with me ragging on him to lose weight).
Peter did this race last year as his first HIM in a time of 6:01, so he was looking to PR. I, theoretically, was set to PR, as my running had been going very well. The thing that was different for me this time, about my training preparation was a very steep run taper, which I've never done before. Well, you never know until you try something, so it was game on.
My wave went off at 7:15AM, and Peter's at 7:30AM. Before we started, Peter said he was going to try and catch me on the bike. I knew he's a better swimmer than me, but not by 10 minutes, and then he'd need to really haul ass to catch me on the bike. The day called for light winds and a high of maybe 82, on a pancake flat bike course, and I mean flatter than the flattest areas in Illinois (except, perhaps for the area right around Champaign-Urbana), and even though I hadn't been outside on my bike since October 1, I figured I'd be in good bike shape. But I figured, more power to Peter if he can catch me.
My wave was all women 40+. The swim was in a small man-made freshwater lake of normal colored water, I mean not that black coffee stuff you see in many Florida lakes. No gators, either! We took off, and I just swam. There wasn't much pushing or shoving. There was a woman in my wave who tried to draft off me for the first lap, staying on my left. She smacked me a few times, but not hard, and for awhile I thought "she's my buddy." But on the second lap, I decided I'd had enough of her and kicked hard to move ahead. In between laps, we had to run up on the beach for a really short jaunt before heading back into the water. When I was getting in for lap #2, a big guy from an earlier wave was coming in, too. He bounded in with knees high, did a nice dive in, and then proceeded to breaststroke! My second lap went just fine, and I was out in :37. Not a stellar swim, but hey, I can swim at that pace all day, so life was good.
T1 was a rather long run from the lake back to the transition area, so smart folks (me included) had left flip-flops or other slip-on shoes at the swim exit to wear for that run. We ran on asphalt and some grass and roots, and I was glad for the extra foot protection. I had used my one-piece Orca wetsuit, as I didn't want to have to test my shoulder flexibility using the two-piece DeSoto T1 that has the slip-on top without a zipper. Still, I wasn't exactly hurried in T1, but my total time was I think 5:30 or something.
Onto the bike, and the weather is here--I wish you were beautiful! It was low-70's and nice. There was noticeable humidity, but I wasn't concerned. I had established power zones on the lower end of wattages I have used before at HIM distance, because I wanted to have a good run. Nonetheless, for the first :30, I rode easy, easy, easy, in the small chainring and at or below 70% of FT, which is a typical warm-up pace for a training ride.
After 30', it was time to move up a bit in power, and I did, and I noticed how exceedingly flat the terrain was. All good, no worries. I had tilted my aerobars a little bit down from where I usually position them and had raised my saddle a hair, which put me in a pretty aggressive aero position that seemed to be working like a charm. Note to self: get this measured and implemented professionally. I am flexible enough and my core is strong enough that I can do this now, and so I should!
I was sure I didn't have the fastest swim time in my age group, so it was time to look for the ladies on the bike, and I passed 3 of them strongly. That was fine--all I wanted to do was place top 3 in my age group.
I absolutely FLEW on the bike in 2:39, and could have gone faster. I held back on my watts even more than my coach and I agreed to because I knew I'd still have a good split and hoped I would be able to run well. I even had to stop twice--once to remove a flapping sticker from my rear wheel stay, and dropped my chain once. I only used my small chainring (11-23 on the disk) for the first :30 and also the last 10 miles. Needless to say, there were some VERY fast bike splits, but I'm happy with what I did there, and believe the taper was spot on. There was also some blatant drafting, but that is bound to happen in many races, especially flat ones. I only saw the draft marshall twice.
The only problem on the bike other than the 2 stops was that they served Amino Vital and not Gatorade. I didn't think the Amino crap would bother me, but as it turns out I was wrong. I should have added to my nutrition article that sometimes you can be fine on race day taking in something you aren't used to, other times not. Note to self: carry my own Gatorade, since I only need 2.5 bottles, or start using Infinit Nutrition again.
It started out nice and cool on the bike, but the heat and some wind picked up about halfway through. The heat didn't seem to bother me on the bike except for the Amino shit not sitting well in my gut. I felt a little bloated on the bike and at around 35 miles I really wanted to pee. But I could only get a little out. That may have been due to the salt loading I'd done in the days leading up to the race, which was another shock to my system, not to mention going from 30's and 40's to 80's.
I think the bike course was short by a mile, too, but I can't download my power data until I get home tomorrow.
In T2 after I dismounted, I slammed my right shin into the left pedal, which hurt and drew blood, but I wasn't worried about it. I got through T2 and headed out to the run, but wasn't sure where was the end of T2 and the start of the run. In the end, it doesn't matter, right?
As soon as I started running, my gut didn't feel right. Probably a combination of factors--heat, humidity, Amino Vital, but I was pretty sure that I didn't go too hard on the bike. At any rate, right away I needed a potty stop and there were no porta-potties in sight. We were going into the Miami Zoo, and I found a small area of vegetation that would work. I felt a bit better right away, but then about another .5 mile later I had to pee. This time, I really emptied my bladder well, and thought that now maybe I'd start running like I knew I could.
Nope--I never did feel normal and couldn't get below 10mpm. It was hot, and about 4 miles in I started asking for ice at the aid stations. Believe it or not, they didn't have cups of ice ready for us, but I got some anyway, and then I guess the aid stations wised up and started preparing cups of ice for us. I loaded my visor, my bra top, and even my bottom with ice in an effort to bring my core temperature down. It made me feel at least not so crappy. I had no choice but to drink the Amino Vital, and while the taste didn't bother me in the least, I guess it just didn't do the trick for me. Oh well.
The run goes through the zoo, and that at least lent an air of festivity to the run! On the first loop, I noticed the elephants, only it was confusing as they were a clay red. I had never seen elephants that color--it turns out they had been rolling around in red clay soil. And then one of them was taking a shower! I saw various African ungulates--addax, oryx, kudu and some others, which is not your usual run scenery. On the first loop, the chimps and gorillas were making a bunch of noise and running around, almost like a cheering section. On the second loop, I finally saw the zebras, and I had a few words for them, as I was wearing a zebra-striped top, although sadly there was no race photographer available to get a photo with me and my namesakes.
My run time was 2:18, which I think is a personal worst for a 1/2 marathon, although I have been slower in a HIM run. At any rate, I was a bit PO'ed, but at least in the last 4 miles I made myself just run continuously, as I wanted to at least beat my 2006 Racine HIM time of 5:48.
When I finished, of course I looked around to see if I saw any other women in my age group, and I didn't, but there was no way I figured I did well given my crappy run. Oh well, some days it's just not your day. I figured I had some time before Peter finished, so I went back to my transition area and got out of my wet running shoes and changed my hat.
I saw Peter come down the chute, and that was exciting as he looked really happy, and I was sure he had set a PR. He may even have beat me. He thought he had gone 5:34, but inside my head I was thinking he would have needed to finish really close after me, and it was at least 10 minutes later. But, I was happy for him and he said he could tell I was a little bummed out about my race. But I couldn't complain that much--it was still my 2nd fastest HIM time, and I had come from the North and raced in Miami heat and humidity. It is what it is.
Results weren't posted for the 5:15+ finishers for a bit, so we got some (bad) post-race food and cleaned out our transition areas and put everything back in Peter's car and loaded the bikes on the back. Then we went back to see the results.
There were 2 surprises waiting for us: first, I saw that I had won my age group. Even though I was and am still disappointed with my finishing time, I think I jumped about 6 feet into the air and pumped my fists when I saw this. A win is a win! Seriously, though, the day before the race I had stalked all the women in my age group and there was only one that I was concerned about (assuming I did 5:45 or less). Turns out she won female masters overall! She even beat someone I know from back home who is a really strong, fast athlete. The winning masters woman is 50 years old, and she beat my fast 44 year old friend! I was duly impressed. Because of that woman's placement in the masters, she was left out of the age group awards, which meant I got first instead of second.
The second surprise was that Peter's time was not what he had thought it was. It was actually 5:47, and it was still a PR for him, but I could tell a bit of the wind went out of his sails. But he was, in true friendship form, happy for me, and we stuck around so I could collect a cute little plaque. Unfortunately, it doesn't say the age group, just 1st place. But still it will be a nice memento of this experience.
So, if I am going to be disappointed in my time, I need to learn some lessons, and here are the ones I have so far:
- It's tough for me (not everyone, but me) to go from 30's and 40's to 80's in 2 days and run effectively.
- Amino Vital is not my cup of tea, and I should ALWAYS bring my own nutrition for a HIM. I only need 2 bike bottles, so it's not like I would be paying a weight penalty for carrying them.
- Steep run tapers do not work for me. That is something I will discuss with my coach.
- I can handle a more aggressive position on my bike, and will get that adjusted before next year's racing season begins. Thing is, when I ride on the trainer, I do not spend a lot of time in the aerobars, at least I haven't been yet. I will do more of that, and maybe a new position will encourage it even more.
Side note: at the expo/packet pickup, I met Michael Hanreck, who took 2nd overall at Ultraman in 2005. I told him I had that race in the back of my mind, and we got to chatting and well, maybe 2008? Whenever I have had encounters like this, they have been omens. After all, I only ended up getting into triathlon in the first place because a man in Kona told me I should, and he also told me that I would do an Ironman. That was in 1999, and look what happened! So, I'm a bit tingly that I met one of the top Ultraman competitors, and that he told me that he thought I could do it. I know that a huge component of these things is your DESIRE to do it. And I know that once my desire for something is strong enough, that I will go after it and get it done. Next comes DEDICATION, then DISCIPLINE, and I know about those things.
So even though I said I was disappointed, that is a very temporary state of mind. I am happy that I am healthy enough to have done this, I am enjoying a little R&R today and tomorrow, and I may have been blessed with desire for my next major athletic challenge.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Getting Race Nutrition Right
A theory I have about long-distance racing and nutrition is this: either through superior fitness (think years of base) or being very light in weight or both, it helps to get your body to the point where you can keep going on as FEW calories as possible. And then as many experienced IM'ers know, mostly liquid is easier to process than solids.
I've read that you are doing well in an IM if you're able to replace somewhere around 50-60% of the calories you are burning.
Step 1 of getting it right is knowing how much you are burning. If you are estimating, it can take a few years or so to get this right (in my case, I had my RMR measured and from that and VO2 Max measurement, worked with an exercise physiologist to calculate burn rates for me), but through trial and error, you will eventually (hopefully) figure it out.
Step 2 is to find out what % of the calories you are burning you can tolerate replacing while racing. This will depend on your speed and the distance you are racing. The faster you go, the less calories IN that you can handle, and the slower you go, the MORE. The longer the race, the HIGHER the % of calories burned you need to shoot for, or should--thing is you can make more nutrition errors in shorter races, since you don't have as much time for them to manifest themselves in a big problem.
For example, in a sprint race you can pretty much go without or a few sips of Gatorade here and there. Olympic, you need to be more concerned with hydration and more calorie intake. HIM, most people can get by on maybe 200 calories/hour (assuming you go 6 hours or less). IM--rules of thumb are something like 250-350 calories per hour while on the bike, and then do the best you can on the run. So if you race different distances, your race nutrition is going to be slightly different in terms of how much per hour.
Step 3 is to train in such a way as to make your body an efficient system. The more fit you are, the less calorie intake (as % of burn rate) you can get by on. These are small % variations based on fitness, though, but it does make a difference. The less nutrition your body has to deal with, the more reserves it has available to make your muscles work.
As an N=1 sample, the first 2 years I did triathlon, I was taking in 300+ calories per hour during long rides and long runs or else I would seriously bonk. Now I'm down to maybe 250 on the bike and 200 or less on the run, AND I'm going faster. Maybe that presents a chicken and egg puzzle--not sure. But I can say that even a difference of 25 or 50 calories per hour is significant when you are calibrating race nutrition. It's enlightening to visit the Infinit Nutrition website, answer the questions, and see what they come up with as a personal formula for YOU. When I did this, bang, it was almost dead-on 250 calories per hour.
My definition of "training in such a way as to make your body an efficient system" consists of regular training to maintain or lift AeT (or whatever you want to call it), which also happens to make you faster, and always providing my body with a steady stream of carbs. That latter thing is not scientific, but just my observation. Even if I go out for a 30-minute run, I take some Gatorade with me and will have 1 or 2 sips. My body expects to always have blood sugars available, and I generally don't finish a workout wanting to eat the entire refrigerator contents, which bonus, contributes to weight management.
Step 4 in the nutrition game is to calibrate your race pacing, both planned and by making real-time adjustments, in order to get the nutrition you need. Here's where it gets to be chicken and egg. If you speed up, you must slow down your calorie intake and vice versa. But you have to go into a race with a plan, and then know/learn how to make adjustments due to pacing changes, weather and stress.
Step 5 is to make sure your glycogen stores are topped off before you even begin the race. This ensures you can "fast" while waiting for the race to begin and get through the swim. I personally have 700-800 calories the morning of an IM, and maybe 600 before a 1/2 IM. In the days leading up to the race, I'm not overeating, just emphasizing carbs a bit more, and maybe some extra salt 1-2 days prior.
I'm not going to talk about hydration here, but there are similar issues to consider in terms of body weight, speed, heat and sweat production.
Even if you don't *think* you are experiencing GI issues during a race, you might be slowing yourself down unknowingly by asking your body to either process more or less calories than it needs, or by utilizing inferior energy sources or hard to digest foods. Or, you might be going faster than your GI system can manage (i.e., you didn't adjust your intake up/down as your speed decreased/increased). Which is why, I guess, nutrition is called the "4th discipline" in long-distance racing. Also why it's so easy to slow down significantly during the IM marathon--nutrition and pacing are so closely linked that it can be difficult to separate the two.
Again, remember that liquid wins over solids during a race anytime, even if you use solids in training. Carbs win over proteins and fats. It takes more work for your body to digest solids than liquids, and more work to process protein and fat than pure carbs. Heck, on 100+ mile rides, I will eat all kinds of things--I was even (gasp!) seen eating a custard-filled donut on one ride this summer. But I know that in training I can tolerate just about anything. When I race, though, it's strictly liquids and occasional gels. Even when I think I want something solid, my good sense gets the better of me and the thought passes. I do usually put cheese-peanut-butter crackers in my bike special needs, but I end up putting 2 or 3 in my mouth, taking a big swig of Gatorade and they just sort of melt.
I've read that you are doing well in an IM if you're able to replace somewhere around 50-60% of the calories you are burning.
Step 1 of getting it right is knowing how much you are burning. If you are estimating, it can take a few years or so to get this right (in my case, I had my RMR measured and from that and VO2 Max measurement, worked with an exercise physiologist to calculate burn rates for me), but through trial and error, you will eventually (hopefully) figure it out.
Step 2 is to find out what % of the calories you are burning you can tolerate replacing while racing. This will depend on your speed and the distance you are racing. The faster you go, the less calories IN that you can handle, and the slower you go, the MORE. The longer the race, the HIGHER the % of calories burned you need to shoot for, or should--thing is you can make more nutrition errors in shorter races, since you don't have as much time for them to manifest themselves in a big problem.
For example, in a sprint race you can pretty much go without or a few sips of Gatorade here and there. Olympic, you need to be more concerned with hydration and more calorie intake. HIM, most people can get by on maybe 200 calories/hour (assuming you go 6 hours or less). IM--rules of thumb are something like 250-350 calories per hour while on the bike, and then do the best you can on the run. So if you race different distances, your race nutrition is going to be slightly different in terms of how much per hour.
Step 3 is to train in such a way as to make your body an efficient system. The more fit you are, the less calorie intake (as % of burn rate) you can get by on. These are small % variations based on fitness, though, but it does make a difference. The less nutrition your body has to deal with, the more reserves it has available to make your muscles work.
As an N=1 sample, the first 2 years I did triathlon, I was taking in 300+ calories per hour during long rides and long runs or else I would seriously bonk. Now I'm down to maybe 250 on the bike and 200 or less on the run, AND I'm going faster. Maybe that presents a chicken and egg puzzle--not sure. But I can say that even a difference of 25 or 50 calories per hour is significant when you are calibrating race nutrition. It's enlightening to visit the Infinit Nutrition website, answer the questions, and see what they come up with as a personal formula for YOU. When I did this, bang, it was almost dead-on 250 calories per hour.
My definition of "training in such a way as to make your body an efficient system" consists of regular training to maintain or lift AeT (or whatever you want to call it), which also happens to make you faster, and always providing my body with a steady stream of carbs. That latter thing is not scientific, but just my observation. Even if I go out for a 30-minute run, I take some Gatorade with me and will have 1 or 2 sips. My body expects to always have blood sugars available, and I generally don't finish a workout wanting to eat the entire refrigerator contents, which bonus, contributes to weight management.
Step 4 in the nutrition game is to calibrate your race pacing, both planned and by making real-time adjustments, in order to get the nutrition you need. Here's where it gets to be chicken and egg. If you speed up, you must slow down your calorie intake and vice versa. But you have to go into a race with a plan, and then know/learn how to make adjustments due to pacing changes, weather and stress.
Step 5 is to make sure your glycogen stores are topped off before you even begin the race. This ensures you can "fast" while waiting for the race to begin and get through the swim. I personally have 700-800 calories the morning of an IM, and maybe 600 before a 1/2 IM. In the days leading up to the race, I'm not overeating, just emphasizing carbs a bit more, and maybe some extra salt 1-2 days prior.
I'm not going to talk about hydration here, but there are similar issues to consider in terms of body weight, speed, heat and sweat production.
Even if you don't *think* you are experiencing GI issues during a race, you might be slowing yourself down unknowingly by asking your body to either process more or less calories than it needs, or by utilizing inferior energy sources or hard to digest foods. Or, you might be going faster than your GI system can manage (i.e., you didn't adjust your intake up/down as your speed decreased/increased). Which is why, I guess, nutrition is called the "4th discipline" in long-distance racing. Also why it's so easy to slow down significantly during the IM marathon--nutrition and pacing are so closely linked that it can be difficult to separate the two.
Again, remember that liquid wins over solids during a race anytime, even if you use solids in training. Carbs win over proteins and fats. It takes more work for your body to digest solids than liquids, and more work to process protein and fat than pure carbs. Heck, on 100+ mile rides, I will eat all kinds of things--I was even (gasp!) seen eating a custard-filled donut on one ride this summer. But I know that in training I can tolerate just about anything. When I race, though, it's strictly liquids and occasional gels. Even when I think I want something solid, my good sense gets the better of me and the thought passes. I do usually put cheese-peanut-butter crackers in my bike special needs, but I end up putting 2 or 3 in my mouth, taking a big swig of Gatorade and they just sort of melt.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Tapering=Boring?
Whenever I taper, I can expect a few things to happen:
So that's one reason why I haven't posted anything lately. The other reason is that I know all these people doing IMFL and don't feel justified in raining on their parades. Many of these people are first-timers, and I also have to bite my tongue because there's so much I would like to say to them, but then again, I figure there is only so much you can take your first time out. From those making ridiculous time goals to those planning on eating the entire Old Country Buffet while they are riding. Some things about Ironman you just have to find out on your own. Then there are those that are just going for a bike split. Or to "have fun." Or because they want a tattoo that says they did it. Whatever floats your boat.
Like I am one to talk anyway. It's been TWO YEARS since I've had a good Ironman race. Let me tell you that sucks. But I am patient. I know I train properly, I know I am strong, I DO have good races in either single sport or triathlons every year, so there is a trend of improvement. But I still do not want a tattoo (I am as likely to get a tattoo stating where I work as I am of one that stands for a company that happens to run Ironman races), I am still committing to this season's races, and I finally understand people who have done this for many years but not qualified for IMHI. I think if I keep doing this eventually I could, but hey, I'd rather do it in a fast fashion with some decent competition, you know? And there's still plenty of that until I turn 60. TEN MORE YEARS. Now THAT sounds like a death sentence of sorts. I better get a laywer!
I'm starting to think that my next career may be as a massage therapist rather than a coach. Why? Because I truly enjoy studying the human body. Who knows?
I hurt my back, freaked out, but it's better. I don't even remember that it was hurt. I have barely worked out this week. My run legs felt like total concrete on Tuesday and Wednesday. A 1 hour bike ride on Tuesday felt like torture--funny how 3 hours last Saturday didn't phase me! When I swam Monday and Wednesday, I came close to convincing myself that it wasn't worth it. I guess the reason I'm writing something NOW is so that I can remember the next time that this stuff is pretty normal for me. At least I don't totally freak out about it anymore. Then again, the last actual taper I had was before IM Brazil, and my mom had just died and that was not a normal experience for me. So perhaps I am just happy that there isn't a ton of sadness accompanying this taper. As I told my friend Matt who is deployed in Afghanistan right now, sometimes an uneventful day (as he described his) is the best thing on Earth.
One of the things I'm trying to do mentally is to be OK with a lack of excitement, which is typically what a taper is for me. It's cold here, and I'm content to sleep a lot, eat less, read books and generally lay about. It's not exciting by any means, but I am OK with it. In a way, I'm looking at what I've set out to do in the next 9 months with a healthy bit of trepidation. Did I over-commit? Will I continue to enjoy the hard training? Stay tuned, we shall see.
Yesterday I did a measly 1 hour ride with some hard stuff thrown in. When I did the same ride on Tuesday, it was a bit more torturous. When I did it yesterday, go figure, I actually LENGTHENED the hard interval time. I rationalized that how much harm could I do in a stupid 1-hour workout? And then I had to run. When I ran off the bike on Tuesday, my legs felt like concrete wrapped in mud. The run was a POSITIVE split, start out at race pace and then go easy on the back end. It didn't feel too good. So yesterday, I wasn't looking forward to the run, because Tuesday's brick run hadn't felt good (although I kept pace as per the instructions), and then Wednesday I did a shortie 40-minute tempo run (is 40 minutes actually a workout???), and again my legs didn't have their usual zing, despite the shortness of the workout.
Yesterday, on the way to the Y (it's cold out, I'm a wimp, and I don't have a treadmill in my house, but I should get one, but the Y is only 3 minute drive from home so there), I thought that maybe I should run on the track. There weren't a lot of kids down there playing hoops (the track circles around basketball courts), so I figured the track would be a nice change of pace. Almost like running outdoors.
I began running, and yes, even though I only rode for an hour, it did feel like a brick workout. Like I was on the back end of a sprint triathlon. But I was supposed to go at "race pace," meaning my 1/2 Ironman race pace, which should have been just shy of 9mpm. I honestly felt like I was running about that, as my breathing was fine, sure my legs felt jello-like, but I'm used to that. This track is 12 laps to the mile, so as I neared the first 12, I kept going back and forth:
Look at my watch? No, just do 2 miles and then look.
Look at my watch? Sure might as well see if my pace feels like what it actually is
Look at my watch? I might be disappointed and there is no sense in doing that to myself.
Look at my watch? I probably should since I AM supposed to slow down after maybe 15 minutes.
Which choice won out? LOOK AT MY WATCH. Boy, was I surprised! 8 something less than 30 seconds. So now I'm thinking, OK, let's hold that pace, and that's what I tried to do, and then I figured, hey I can't hurt myself today, so I'll just keep going and run 3 miles and call it a day. I didn't know what my actual splits were until I got home, but I was smiling ear to ear on my way back.
Turns out I did 8:21, 8:11, 8:16, or average 8:16 pace, no stopping, no drinking, just running. And to boot, I didn't feel like I was at "puking speed," which is what 5K pace should be. I started thinking I should run a 5K this weekend. Then I thought, no I have this actual race next week. I almost wrote a blog post last night because I was so tickled, but then I didn't want to jinx myself by acting all puffed up. I mean, come on, I am still SLOW.
This morning I had to do a 1000 yard swim TT. When I did it last week, I totally, absolutely sucked, but I figured I would based on how I had been swimming. It went better today, plus I wore the wetsuit. Some yutz HAD to get in the lane with me when I was almost finished and kick to the point where I swallowed some water (thanks, Craig!), but I persevered. Well I swam much faster than last week. Go figure! And then I come home and I am dag-blasted tired! What is up with that? I mean, come on I swam a total of 2200 yards this morning, how can I be tired?
Such is life during taper. It's a good exercise in patience, going with the flow, and trying hard not to question things but just to be. I seem to be getting better at it. Hopefully, all the tiredness will leave my body this week and I'll start to get excited about actually racing next week. Thing is, I am not at all excited right now. I am just flat out tired. I think maybe I've been training pretty hard. I have yet to wake up and feel all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but I think it's coming. And then, Disney already sent me my race number for Goofy Challenge! Crap, I am not even done with this 1/2 Ironman and I will be doing a freaking marathon in 2 months! I guess I will need to recover quickly from the 1/2, huh?
See this is why I am loathe to skip workouts normally. I have this fear that if I miss one, then it will get easier to miss the next one, and so on. But I always remember that there are tapers where it's OK to miss the workout (but I don't), and it's EXPECTED to feel like crap (and I do). This year I took a full week off after IM Brazil because I was so sick, and then I took another almost full week off in early September after I got sick of riding my bike, and I already had the flu this year, so I think I've had some real rest. I dunno. I am rambling on and on.
I just want to have a good race next week. But it might be very warm and I am not heat acclimated. But I get to run through a zoo! But the most important thing is that I have a cool race outfit to wear. And no matter what happens, there will be dancing afterwards in downtown Miami. Look out, I'm a 50-year old floozy!
Good luck to all those racing IMFL tomorrow. I'll be doing a stinking 1.5 hour workout. Oh boy! Would I rather be doing an Ironman? Maybe. I can say one thing about Ironman racing. It is tough to be bored!
- I want to sleep 9-10 hours a night
- I feel like the most incredibly boring person on the planet, because even though I have extra leisure time, I don't really want to "do" anything. I don't feel bored myself; I just don't want to foist myself on someone else because I think I will have nothing to talk about.
- I almost want to just stop exercising completely, questioning why I do all this shit
- I will have several workouts where my legs feel like absolute concrete
- A short workout will feel like an eternity
- I get to thinking how was I able to train as much as I had been before I tapered?
- 8 hours of work feels like 12 and is boring as all hell
- I want to totally withdraw and not jinx myself by talking about how great I feel once that feeling starts to emerge and I begin to get excited about the race
So that's one reason why I haven't posted anything lately. The other reason is that I know all these people doing IMFL and don't feel justified in raining on their parades. Many of these people are first-timers, and I also have to bite my tongue because there's so much I would like to say to them, but then again, I figure there is only so much you can take your first time out. From those making ridiculous time goals to those planning on eating the entire Old Country Buffet while they are riding. Some things about Ironman you just have to find out on your own. Then there are those that are just going for a bike split. Or to "have fun." Or because they want a tattoo that says they did it. Whatever floats your boat.
Like I am one to talk anyway. It's been TWO YEARS since I've had a good Ironman race. Let me tell you that sucks. But I am patient. I know I train properly, I know I am strong, I DO have good races in either single sport or triathlons every year, so there is a trend of improvement. But I still do not want a tattoo (I am as likely to get a tattoo stating where I work as I am of one that stands for a company that happens to run Ironman races), I am still committing to this season's races, and I finally understand people who have done this for many years but not qualified for IMHI. I think if I keep doing this eventually I could, but hey, I'd rather do it in a fast fashion with some decent competition, you know? And there's still plenty of that until I turn 60. TEN MORE YEARS. Now THAT sounds like a death sentence of sorts. I better get a laywer!
I'm starting to think that my next career may be as a massage therapist rather than a coach. Why? Because I truly enjoy studying the human body. Who knows?
I hurt my back, freaked out, but it's better. I don't even remember that it was hurt. I have barely worked out this week. My run legs felt like total concrete on Tuesday and Wednesday. A 1 hour bike ride on Tuesday felt like torture--funny how 3 hours last Saturday didn't phase me! When I swam Monday and Wednesday, I came close to convincing myself that it wasn't worth it. I guess the reason I'm writing something NOW is so that I can remember the next time that this stuff is pretty normal for me. At least I don't totally freak out about it anymore. Then again, the last actual taper I had was before IM Brazil, and my mom had just died and that was not a normal experience for me. So perhaps I am just happy that there isn't a ton of sadness accompanying this taper. As I told my friend Matt who is deployed in Afghanistan right now, sometimes an uneventful day (as he described his) is the best thing on Earth.
One of the things I'm trying to do mentally is to be OK with a lack of excitement, which is typically what a taper is for me. It's cold here, and I'm content to sleep a lot, eat less, read books and generally lay about. It's not exciting by any means, but I am OK with it. In a way, I'm looking at what I've set out to do in the next 9 months with a healthy bit of trepidation. Did I over-commit? Will I continue to enjoy the hard training? Stay tuned, we shall see.
Yesterday I did a measly 1 hour ride with some hard stuff thrown in. When I did the same ride on Tuesday, it was a bit more torturous. When I did it yesterday, go figure, I actually LENGTHENED the hard interval time. I rationalized that how much harm could I do in a stupid 1-hour workout? And then I had to run. When I ran off the bike on Tuesday, my legs felt like concrete wrapped in mud. The run was a POSITIVE split, start out at race pace and then go easy on the back end. It didn't feel too good. So yesterday, I wasn't looking forward to the run, because Tuesday's brick run hadn't felt good (although I kept pace as per the instructions), and then Wednesday I did a shortie 40-minute tempo run (is 40 minutes actually a workout???), and again my legs didn't have their usual zing, despite the shortness of the workout.
Yesterday, on the way to the Y (it's cold out, I'm a wimp, and I don't have a treadmill in my house, but I should get one, but the Y is only 3 minute drive from home so there), I thought that maybe I should run on the track. There weren't a lot of kids down there playing hoops (the track circles around basketball courts), so I figured the track would be a nice change of pace. Almost like running outdoors.
I began running, and yes, even though I only rode for an hour, it did feel like a brick workout. Like I was on the back end of a sprint triathlon. But I was supposed to go at "race pace," meaning my 1/2 Ironman race pace, which should have been just shy of 9mpm. I honestly felt like I was running about that, as my breathing was fine, sure my legs felt jello-like, but I'm used to that. This track is 12 laps to the mile, so as I neared the first 12, I kept going back and forth:
Look at my watch? No, just do 2 miles and then look.
Look at my watch? Sure might as well see if my pace feels like what it actually is
Look at my watch? I might be disappointed and there is no sense in doing that to myself.
Look at my watch? I probably should since I AM supposed to slow down after maybe 15 minutes.
Which choice won out? LOOK AT MY WATCH. Boy, was I surprised! 8 something less than 30 seconds. So now I'm thinking, OK, let's hold that pace, and that's what I tried to do, and then I figured, hey I can't hurt myself today, so I'll just keep going and run 3 miles and call it a day. I didn't know what my actual splits were until I got home, but I was smiling ear to ear on my way back.
Turns out I did 8:21, 8:11, 8:16, or average 8:16 pace, no stopping, no drinking, just running. And to boot, I didn't feel like I was at "puking speed," which is what 5K pace should be. I started thinking I should run a 5K this weekend. Then I thought, no I have this actual race next week. I almost wrote a blog post last night because I was so tickled, but then I didn't want to jinx myself by acting all puffed up. I mean, come on, I am still SLOW.
This morning I had to do a 1000 yard swim TT. When I did it last week, I totally, absolutely sucked, but I figured I would based on how I had been swimming. It went better today, plus I wore the wetsuit. Some yutz HAD to get in the lane with me when I was almost finished and kick to the point where I swallowed some water (thanks, Craig!), but I persevered. Well I swam much faster than last week. Go figure! And then I come home and I am dag-blasted tired! What is up with that? I mean, come on I swam a total of 2200 yards this morning, how can I be tired?
Such is life during taper. It's a good exercise in patience, going with the flow, and trying hard not to question things but just to be. I seem to be getting better at it. Hopefully, all the tiredness will leave my body this week and I'll start to get excited about actually racing next week. Thing is, I am not at all excited right now. I am just flat out tired. I think maybe I've been training pretty hard. I have yet to wake up and feel all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but I think it's coming. And then, Disney already sent me my race number for Goofy Challenge! Crap, I am not even done with this 1/2 Ironman and I will be doing a freaking marathon in 2 months! I guess I will need to recover quickly from the 1/2, huh?
See this is why I am loathe to skip workouts normally. I have this fear that if I miss one, then it will get easier to miss the next one, and so on. But I always remember that there are tapers where it's OK to miss the workout (but I don't), and it's EXPECTED to feel like crap (and I do). This year I took a full week off after IM Brazil because I was so sick, and then I took another almost full week off in early September after I got sick of riding my bike, and I already had the flu this year, so I think I've had some real rest. I dunno. I am rambling on and on.
I just want to have a good race next week. But it might be very warm and I am not heat acclimated. But I get to run through a zoo! But the most important thing is that I have a cool race outfit to wear. And no matter what happens, there will be dancing afterwards in downtown Miami. Look out, I'm a 50-year old floozy!
Good luck to all those racing IMFL tomorrow. I'll be doing a stinking 1.5 hour workout. Oh boy! Would I rather be doing an Ironman? Maybe. I can say one thing about Ironman racing. It is tough to be bored!
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Firing on All Cylinders
My back is getting better and better, and it's not stopping me from doing anything. I discontinued the NSAID's yesterday afternoon, never did take muscle relaxants, continue to stretch, and feel about 95% of my normal. No real pain--just minor tightness/discomfort when sitting for long stretches. I can tell there are a bunch of trigger points in various muscles that attach to my spine from L1-L5, and I've been working on them myself, and will instruct my massage therapist to give me some TLC in that area tonight.
Tuesday I did a nasty, nasty brick workout, but I held back slightly during the run, not to mention I rode indoors and then went outdoors for a 35-degree temperature change.
Yesterday I swam, and I was hitting 100's, 75's and 50's faster than I have swum in maybe a year, so I guess all that extra mindfulness and drilling is starting to pay off in the pool. I did my tempo run and felt like I could have jacked the treadmill speed higher, but as I've read in Daniels' Running Formula and have heard repeated by my coach, the time to prove you are a lot faster is in a race. So I'm going to hold the training paces I've kept up since the "official" start of this new training season, and see how that translates into 1/2 IM speed.
On the biking front, I am settling back in to trainer riding, and this weekend will test out the new trainer to see whether that makes it easier for me to hit the higher wattages that I am now capable of producing. I am just so tickled that my good old trainer, which I've had for 6 years, is not heavy-duty enough for me anymore. I've decided that at Miami Man that I will shoot for the same wattages as I used back in July at Racine, but with my new measurements being the upper end of a range, and Racine's wattage at the low end. I'd rather bike a bit more conservatively than I *think* I could ride in an effort to have a good run. Then again, it might be hot in Miami, so I'm not making any predictions (Racine was perfect weather for me).
Other than my minor back annoyances, boy do I feel strong and fit. Not Ironman fit, but certainly strong 1/2 Ironman fit, which is exactly what I need to be right now. REALLY running fit. My usual whatever-it-will-be swimming fit, and my biking should be solid for a 1/2 Ironman. This should lead nicely into marathon training, even though my coach insists that it is going to put a damper on my "I want to get faster" goals. We shall see. It sure feels good to feel really strong on only 14 hours a week!
I will continue to monitor my back situation (which I should really now call my iliopsoas situation, because that's where the root of all evil seems to be) so that things don't begin to fall apart, and I will be all over an actual taper for Miami Man!
Tuesday I did a nasty, nasty brick workout, but I held back slightly during the run, not to mention I rode indoors and then went outdoors for a 35-degree temperature change.
Yesterday I swam, and I was hitting 100's, 75's and 50's faster than I have swum in maybe a year, so I guess all that extra mindfulness and drilling is starting to pay off in the pool. I did my tempo run and felt like I could have jacked the treadmill speed higher, but as I've read in Daniels' Running Formula and have heard repeated by my coach, the time to prove you are a lot faster is in a race. So I'm going to hold the training paces I've kept up since the "official" start of this new training season, and see how that translates into 1/2 IM speed.
On the biking front, I am settling back in to trainer riding, and this weekend will test out the new trainer to see whether that makes it easier for me to hit the higher wattages that I am now capable of producing. I am just so tickled that my good old trainer, which I've had for 6 years, is not heavy-duty enough for me anymore. I've decided that at Miami Man that I will shoot for the same wattages as I used back in July at Racine, but with my new measurements being the upper end of a range, and Racine's wattage at the low end. I'd rather bike a bit more conservatively than I *think* I could ride in an effort to have a good run. Then again, it might be hot in Miami, so I'm not making any predictions (Racine was perfect weather for me).
Other than my minor back annoyances, boy do I feel strong and fit. Not Ironman fit, but certainly strong 1/2 Ironman fit, which is exactly what I need to be right now. REALLY running fit. My usual whatever-it-will-be swimming fit, and my biking should be solid for a 1/2 Ironman. This should lead nicely into marathon training, even though my coach insists that it is going to put a damper on my "I want to get faster" goals. We shall see. It sure feels good to feel really strong on only 14 hours a week!
I will continue to monitor my back situation (which I should really now call my iliopsoas situation, because that's where the root of all evil seems to be) so that things don't begin to fall apart, and I will be all over an actual taper for Miami Man!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Regular Doctors and Athletes (Back Update)
So in the interests of safety, I went to see my doctor yesterday afternoon. Diagnosis: pulled muscle (tough to say which one), probably no disk involvement due to lack of apparent nerve involvement. Prescription? No running or swimming (I didn't even ask about biking), and take these muscle relaxants which will make you sleepy all day (while I'm trying to work?).
I asked whether chiropractic might be useful at this point, and I got an honest, "I'd rather see you walk out into the middle of the Stevenson Expressway during rush hour." At least we were in agreement on one thing!
Then I got a flu shot smack in the meatiest part of my left deltoid. OUCH!
Then I went and ran for an hour. I decided I didn't want to take the muscle relaxants last night, and see how things felt today, but that I might take one tonight just to try it out.
Where do things stand? My back is getting better every day. It tightens up when sitting, but I'm able to turn over in bed just fine now. I have full ROM when I stretch, and I am not feeling the least bit limited in my daily activities. Since I swam and ran yesterday and feel BETTER today, I do not think I am hurting things by continuing to work out, although I will lay off the weights for a few more days as a precautionary step. I will try out the muscle relaxants tonight; yet I am not sure they are truly needed, but it's nice to have them "just in case." I continue to take NSAID's at the recommended dosage.
My left arm still hurts a little bit from the shot. The nerve!
So what did I learn from this experience? Because I am in good condition and stretch regularly, and have knowledge about muscles, I am not your typical "back problems" person. That doesn't mean I won't experience the occasional muscle strain. They happen to everyone. If I was sedentary or overweight, I am sure (I hope, anyway) that I would have received a lecture on how activity is good for me as is being at an appropriate weight. Also that I should stretch occasionally. I felt like I was dismissed as an "average Joe," but I didn't feel like getting testy with the doctor. What I really wanted was some sort of rudimentary check that I didn't have disk trouble, which at this point doesn't look like it's happening. So I did get that.
I suppose what I would rather have heard is, "Sheila, you are already doing a lot of things that I would tell a 'normal' person to do in order to achieve and maintain good back health--you are active, at a good weight and you stretch regularly. But your standard of activity is not that of a 'normal' person. So instead, I advise you to go ahead and continue your activities as tolerated, but closely monitor your progress--your back should be feeling progressively better and not at all worse. Also, if you begin to experience nerve-related symptoms you should come right back in and see me. Ideally, I'd like you to stop running and swimming until this passes, but I think you have good judgment and know your body pretty well, so if you can at least take it a little bit easier, that would be a good thing. You should keep taking the NSAID's for about one more week, and here is a prescription for muscle relaxants, which you may use if you feel you need them."
So I'm not really criticizing the doctor--he was just treating me as an "average Joe." That's OK. I recognize I am taking a chance by continuing to run (swimming I'm not so sure is at all bad, but what do I know?), but I will continue to monitor myself closely. Yesterday, after I ran I felt better than when I started, and I did a bit more stretching when I got home. I even figured out to ART myself in the suspected area (my QL muscle).
All muscle injuries are touch and go. It's just that it's tough to do anything without using your back, so I can understand having a sense of caution. Which I will continue to exercise!
I asked whether chiropractic might be useful at this point, and I got an honest, "I'd rather see you walk out into the middle of the Stevenson Expressway during rush hour." At least we were in agreement on one thing!
Then I got a flu shot smack in the meatiest part of my left deltoid. OUCH!
Then I went and ran for an hour. I decided I didn't want to take the muscle relaxants last night, and see how things felt today, but that I might take one tonight just to try it out.
Where do things stand? My back is getting better every day. It tightens up when sitting, but I'm able to turn over in bed just fine now. I have full ROM when I stretch, and I am not feeling the least bit limited in my daily activities. Since I swam and ran yesterday and feel BETTER today, I do not think I am hurting things by continuing to work out, although I will lay off the weights for a few more days as a precautionary step. I will try out the muscle relaxants tonight; yet I am not sure they are truly needed, but it's nice to have them "just in case." I continue to take NSAID's at the recommended dosage.
My left arm still hurts a little bit from the shot. The nerve!
So what did I learn from this experience? Because I am in good condition and stretch regularly, and have knowledge about muscles, I am not your typical "back problems" person. That doesn't mean I won't experience the occasional muscle strain. They happen to everyone. If I was sedentary or overweight, I am sure (I hope, anyway) that I would have received a lecture on how activity is good for me as is being at an appropriate weight. Also that I should stretch occasionally. I felt like I was dismissed as an "average Joe," but I didn't feel like getting testy with the doctor. What I really wanted was some sort of rudimentary check that I didn't have disk trouble, which at this point doesn't look like it's happening. So I did get that.
I suppose what I would rather have heard is, "Sheila, you are already doing a lot of things that I would tell a 'normal' person to do in order to achieve and maintain good back health--you are active, at a good weight and you stretch regularly. But your standard of activity is not that of a 'normal' person. So instead, I advise you to go ahead and continue your activities as tolerated, but closely monitor your progress--your back should be feeling progressively better and not at all worse. Also, if you begin to experience nerve-related symptoms you should come right back in and see me. Ideally, I'd like you to stop running and swimming until this passes, but I think you have good judgment and know your body pretty well, so if you can at least take it a little bit easier, that would be a good thing. You should keep taking the NSAID's for about one more week, and here is a prescription for muscle relaxants, which you may use if you feel you need them."
So I'm not really criticizing the doctor--he was just treating me as an "average Joe." That's OK. I recognize I am taking a chance by continuing to run (swimming I'm not so sure is at all bad, but what do I know?), but I will continue to monitor myself closely. Yesterday, after I ran I felt better than when I started, and I did a bit more stretching when I got home. I even figured out to ART myself in the suspected area (my QL muscle).
All muscle injuries are touch and go. It's just that it's tough to do anything without using your back, so I can understand having a sense of caution. Which I will continue to exercise!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Ironman Hawaii, Chicago Marathon and a 50th Birthday
Hard to believe all that happened this past weekend!
I'll talk about the good stuff first, as there's some bad stuff, too.
Ironman Hawaii
My man Normann won. He set a new bike course record (4:18.23, I believe), and held off Chris McCormack for the win. I read on Slowtwitch.com that Normann later commented (as did Faris Al-Sutan) that he thought McCormack cheated. I do not know the whole story, but it does make me think that if 2 really good bikers think someone cheated, there might be something to it.
In the women's race, my prediction did not come to pass. Natascha only managed 10th place. I have to assume she had some troubles, because her time was slow. But if you look at the top 10 women's time, my God, those ladies are FAST! Conditions had to be good for 10th place woman to go 9:38!
Congratulations are in order for Michellie Jones. She is one heckuva athlete. I got a laugh while listening to the Internet coverage when either Paul Huddle or Bob Babbitt called her "an Australian giraffe." She IS tall. I do love all her *PINKNESS*.
Now for the peeps I know, who all did quite well:
Jennifer Harrison (local girl): 11:29.18
Jerome Harrison (Jennifer's husband): 10:39.06
Debi Bernardes (met her once--she's a coach and great athlete): 11:44.43
Ron Dornecker (local guy): 10:14.10
Bob Scott (local guy and extreme gentleman): 15:51.09 (the man is 76!)
Jean-Paul Lanaux (blogger): 12:55.42
Congratulations to all of them!
Chicago Marathon
It was televised here, and I watched it until the lead men finished. It was sad to see the winner, Robert K. Cheruiyot, fall right on the finish line, due to slipping on wetness, and he was hospitalized with head trauma. But a good day and a good result, but no world record--2:07.35--still smokin'.
In the women's race, Constantina Tomescu-Dita was in the lead for a long, long time, but the commentators kept remarking that she appeared to be running too hard too early on (in fact she was near the lead pack of men for quite awhile). Bad, bad girl. ALWAYS start out slowly and build! She slowed significantly near the end, and ended up coming in 5th place at 2:24.25 (at least I can run a HALF marathon faster than that!). The winning woman was Berhane Adere at 2:20.42. And yes, I can run a HALF marathon faster than that!
During the telecast, there was a commercial featuring a guy I met way back when I first started running in 1999 who has done EVERY Chicago marathon--Ron Williams! It was great to see that he's still running at the age of 67, and he finished in a time of 5:54:05. He looks great!
Now, for friends' results:
Denise Allman, awesome runner, BQ'ed again at 3:15.40
Dan Brown, wise-ass and great runner: 3:48.29
Lora Mantelman (blogger and great lady): 5:14.49
Ino Navarrete (friend, missed BQ, but still way faster than I'll ever be): 3:33.56
Maria Carrington (wife of friend): 3:51.56
So there were some great race results for people I know this weekend.
Now for the bad stuff. Friday evening, I was doing a strength workout, after having swam in the morning (some of my fastest swimming in about a year!), and ran in the early afternoon (also a very fast run where I felt like I was in a flow state). I was almost done, and was doing a side dumbbell row when I felt a strong pull in my back. It should have been in my lats, but I couldn't tell. It didn't feel good, and was something I had never experienced. I stopped the exercise that I was doing, and decided to see if I could finish up my abs. I did, and had no troubles, and then I stretched out quite well and hoped for the best.
I had trouble sleeping on Friday as my lower back became very stiff and it was uncomfortable to turn over in bed and get up. Yikes! When I awoke on Saturday, I was concerned, and was trying to figure out if I needed to see a doctor right away. I called a nurse hotline that my insurance covers, and she suggested icing, NSAID's (I was already taking some), and based on my assessment, get into a regular doctor ASAP to determine if seeing a chiropractor would even be a good idea. I was worried I might have slipped a disk (seeing as how I had a herniated one diagnosed about 1.5 years ago).
As I was awake and moving around, my back seemed to loosen up a bit, but in the interest of rest (yuk), I decided to take the day off from training, even though I was scheduled for a long ride. I did get on my bike (it's now firmly ensconced on the trainer), and it felt like I could ride, but I didn't think I should. So, I iced my back about every 4 hours, took more NSAID's, and managed to do some raking and other yard work. My back didn't bother me much at all, and it was not like I was in excruciating pain, so I figured a day of rest was probably a good thing.
Saturday afternoon, after I had done yard work and went grocery shopping (I figured I should do as much as I can before the proverbial other shoe dropped), I spent some time researching what I might have done based on where I was experiencing pain. IF this is just muscular in nature, then the likely candidates which developed acute trigger points are the quadratus lumborum, multifidus, erector spinae, iliopsoas, latissimus dorsi and rectus abdominus. It feels like my back is "catching" just above the sacrum. All those muscles mentioned generate referred pain across the low back and a bit vertically down the middle of the glutes. So during my afternoon stretching/bodywork session, I did what I could to explore around those muscles.
Saturday night I slept much better and had little discomfort in moving around in bed. Sunday morning, I felt much better, but wasn't sure I could work out. But then while watching the Chicago Marathon on TV, I thought I should at least try getting on my bike, as I didn't think that would aggravate things. So at about 11:45 AM I got on, and nothing hurt either sitting up or in the aerobars, so away I went on my workout. I could have done only 2:30, but then I thought, hey, it's my birthday, so let's see if I can go 3 hours (which would easily be 50 miles, although I don't have a speed pickup on my rear wheel so I don't know how far I go indoors, but I don't really care!). Before I started, I thought it would be prudent to try to run and swim afterwards at the Y, just to see if I could. There would be no point in getting up at 5AM on Monday if I'd get to the pool and not be able to swim!
So I had my running gear and swim gear ready to go for when I finished the bike workout. I felt fine on the bike, and I was able to work hard (I do need to switch out to my new trainer, though; the current one doesn't give me quite enough resistance for my high wattages--isn't that a nice problem to have?), and with about 1/2 hour to go I started thinking about how much to run.
Since I'd be missing a long run for the week, but I'm 3 weeks out from a 1/2 IM (which I HOPE TO GOD I'M ABLE TO DO), I thought, hey, why not 50 minutes in honor of my 50th birthday? That way, it's a helluva brick, more like a 1/2 IM race rehearsal. I finished the ride and headed to the Y with a ton of crap in order to run and swim.
My legs felt GREAT as I started to run. I mean AWESOME. Like I should have done a 1/2 IM race right then! I suppose that's the idea--I should be peaking quite soon, and my run legs have just been really great for several weeks. But I thought I should hold back on the intensity just a bit. I had the usual "I want to puke" feelings, which are about par for having biked hard (duh--when do I NOT bike hard?), and I was in 100% observation mode to see how my back felt. I didn't feel like I was favoring anything and I was channeling Peter Reid's running form quite well. I did settle into my hoped-for 1/2 IM run pace and it felt good. Actually, the faster I went, the better I felt. I thought I had wimped out a bit on the run, but then again, I remembered that I was going to swim, too, so I decided to add 5 minutes on at the end, and ended up running 55 minutes instead of 50. Oh well, no worries!
OK, now, let's see if I can swim. I was concerned that rotating would generate pain. I had decided to do 50 laps, or 1,250 yards, if I could swim. I didn't need to swim at all, but again, I wanted to "test the waters" to figure out if Monday morning swimming would be in order. The water felt good, and I peeled off a decent 500 swim, 500 pull, and 250 swim. I was even swimming at a decent pace! The only pain I noticed was the right side of my neck, but I think that was more from biking than anything else. So all systems go!
So I managed to pull out a respectable 50th birthday workout of 50 miles biking, 50 (really 55) minutes running, and 50 laps. Not your gonzo-mega-ginormous-crazy workout like some people do on their birthdays, but pretty good considering it was done with a less than 100% back.
When I got home, I iced my back, made dinner, did laundry, stretched some more, and thought happy thoughts. I received the most gorgeous floral arrangement from Cindy, and I pondered it and all this age nonsense. I allowed myself to wallow a little bit in self-pity. How is it that I, in awesome physical condition, am experiencing back troubles? It sucks, but all I can think is how much worse I'd be doing right now if I wasn't already strong and highly flexible. Sure, something hurts, but I can keep doing things until there's a strong reason that I can't. The last thing I need to do is stop moving around and let everything tighten up. I have a doctor appointment scheduled for later today--all I'm looking for at this point is perhaps a prescription for a muscle relaxant (yikes) and a determination of whether I should get X-rays and/or see a chiropractor or orthopedic guy. I haven't been to a chiropractor in quite a long time, and I don't want to go if there's a reason to not get adjusted, although truthfully, I'd like to get that done to see if it would help. I am hoping and praying I don't have a fractured vertebra or badly herniated disk, and that all it is is a weird muscle strain that will go away.
I slept fine last night and felt a bit stiff this morning, so I stretched for 10 minutes and then headed to the pool, where I swam just fine. My low back didn't feel great when I would hit the wall, but I don't feel any worse than yesterday, considering what I did. I plan to run for an hour over lunch, and then we will see what the doctor says. How much do you want to bet I hear, "Stop running?" Gosh, I hope not. But I'm ready to face whatever this is and get better, even if it means I don't race in 3 weeks. Think happy thoughts!
I'll talk about the good stuff first, as there's some bad stuff, too.
Ironman Hawaii
My man Normann won. He set a new bike course record (4:18.23, I believe), and held off Chris McCormack for the win. I read on Slowtwitch.com that Normann later commented (as did Faris Al-Sutan) that he thought McCormack cheated. I do not know the whole story, but it does make me think that if 2 really good bikers think someone cheated, there might be something to it.
In the women's race, my prediction did not come to pass. Natascha only managed 10th place. I have to assume she had some troubles, because her time was slow. But if you look at the top 10 women's time, my God, those ladies are FAST! Conditions had to be good for 10th place woman to go 9:38!
Congratulations are in order for Michellie Jones. She is one heckuva athlete. I got a laugh while listening to the Internet coverage when either Paul Huddle or Bob Babbitt called her "an Australian giraffe." She IS tall. I do love all her *PINKNESS*.
Now for the peeps I know, who all did quite well:
Jennifer Harrison (local girl): 11:29.18
Jerome Harrison (Jennifer's husband): 10:39.06
Debi Bernardes (met her once--she's a coach and great athlete): 11:44.43
Ron Dornecker (local guy): 10:14.10
Bob Scott (local guy and extreme gentleman): 15:51.09 (the man is 76!)
Jean-Paul Lanaux (blogger): 12:55.42
Congratulations to all of them!
Chicago Marathon
It was televised here, and I watched it until the lead men finished. It was sad to see the winner, Robert K. Cheruiyot, fall right on the finish line, due to slipping on wetness, and he was hospitalized with head trauma. But a good day and a good result, but no world record--2:07.35--still smokin'.
In the women's race, Constantina Tomescu-Dita was in the lead for a long, long time, but the commentators kept remarking that she appeared to be running too hard too early on (in fact she was near the lead pack of men for quite awhile). Bad, bad girl. ALWAYS start out slowly and build! She slowed significantly near the end, and ended up coming in 5th place at 2:24.25 (at least I can run a HALF marathon faster than that!). The winning woman was Berhane Adere at 2:20.42. And yes, I can run a HALF marathon faster than that!
During the telecast, there was a commercial featuring a guy I met way back when I first started running in 1999 who has done EVERY Chicago marathon--Ron Williams! It was great to see that he's still running at the age of 67, and he finished in a time of 5:54:05. He looks great!
Now, for friends' results:
Denise Allman, awesome runner, BQ'ed again at 3:15.40
Dan Brown, wise-ass and great runner: 3:48.29
Lora Mantelman (blogger and great lady): 5:14.49
Ino Navarrete (friend, missed BQ, but still way faster than I'll ever be): 3:33.56
Maria Carrington (wife of friend): 3:51.56
So there were some great race results for people I know this weekend.
Now for the bad stuff. Friday evening, I was doing a strength workout, after having swam in the morning (some of my fastest swimming in about a year!), and ran in the early afternoon (also a very fast run where I felt like I was in a flow state). I was almost done, and was doing a side dumbbell row when I felt a strong pull in my back. It should have been in my lats, but I couldn't tell. It didn't feel good, and was something I had never experienced. I stopped the exercise that I was doing, and decided to see if I could finish up my abs. I did, and had no troubles, and then I stretched out quite well and hoped for the best.
I had trouble sleeping on Friday as my lower back became very stiff and it was uncomfortable to turn over in bed and get up. Yikes! When I awoke on Saturday, I was concerned, and was trying to figure out if I needed to see a doctor right away. I called a nurse hotline that my insurance covers, and she suggested icing, NSAID's (I was already taking some), and based on my assessment, get into a regular doctor ASAP to determine if seeing a chiropractor would even be a good idea. I was worried I might have slipped a disk (seeing as how I had a herniated one diagnosed about 1.5 years ago).
As I was awake and moving around, my back seemed to loosen up a bit, but in the interest of rest (yuk), I decided to take the day off from training, even though I was scheduled for a long ride. I did get on my bike (it's now firmly ensconced on the trainer), and it felt like I could ride, but I didn't think I should. So, I iced my back about every 4 hours, took more NSAID's, and managed to do some raking and other yard work. My back didn't bother me much at all, and it was not like I was in excruciating pain, so I figured a day of rest was probably a good thing.
Saturday afternoon, after I had done yard work and went grocery shopping (I figured I should do as much as I can before the proverbial other shoe dropped), I spent some time researching what I might have done based on where I was experiencing pain. IF this is just muscular in nature, then the likely candidates which developed acute trigger points are the quadratus lumborum, multifidus, erector spinae, iliopsoas, latissimus dorsi and rectus abdominus. It feels like my back is "catching" just above the sacrum. All those muscles mentioned generate referred pain across the low back and a bit vertically down the middle of the glutes. So during my afternoon stretching/bodywork session, I did what I could to explore around those muscles.
Saturday night I slept much better and had little discomfort in moving around in bed. Sunday morning, I felt much better, but wasn't sure I could work out. But then while watching the Chicago Marathon on TV, I thought I should at least try getting on my bike, as I didn't think that would aggravate things. So at about 11:45 AM I got on, and nothing hurt either sitting up or in the aerobars, so away I went on my workout. I could have done only 2:30, but then I thought, hey, it's my birthday, so let's see if I can go 3 hours (which would easily be 50 miles, although I don't have a speed pickup on my rear wheel so I don't know how far I go indoors, but I don't really care!). Before I started, I thought it would be prudent to try to run and swim afterwards at the Y, just to see if I could. There would be no point in getting up at 5AM on Monday if I'd get to the pool and not be able to swim!
So I had my running gear and swim gear ready to go for when I finished the bike workout. I felt fine on the bike, and I was able to work hard (I do need to switch out to my new trainer, though; the current one doesn't give me quite enough resistance for my high wattages--isn't that a nice problem to have?), and with about 1/2 hour to go I started thinking about how much to run.
Since I'd be missing a long run for the week, but I'm 3 weeks out from a 1/2 IM (which I HOPE TO GOD I'M ABLE TO DO), I thought, hey, why not 50 minutes in honor of my 50th birthday? That way, it's a helluva brick, more like a 1/2 IM race rehearsal. I finished the ride and headed to the Y with a ton of crap in order to run and swim.
My legs felt GREAT as I started to run. I mean AWESOME. Like I should have done a 1/2 IM race right then! I suppose that's the idea--I should be peaking quite soon, and my run legs have just been really great for several weeks. But I thought I should hold back on the intensity just a bit. I had the usual "I want to puke" feelings, which are about par for having biked hard (duh--when do I NOT bike hard?), and I was in 100% observation mode to see how my back felt. I didn't feel like I was favoring anything and I was channeling Peter Reid's running form quite well. I did settle into my hoped-for 1/2 IM run pace and it felt good. Actually, the faster I went, the better I felt. I thought I had wimped out a bit on the run, but then again, I remembered that I was going to swim, too, so I decided to add 5 minutes on at the end, and ended up running 55 minutes instead of 50. Oh well, no worries!
OK, now, let's see if I can swim. I was concerned that rotating would generate pain. I had decided to do 50 laps, or 1,250 yards, if I could swim. I didn't need to swim at all, but again, I wanted to "test the waters" to figure out if Monday morning swimming would be in order. The water felt good, and I peeled off a decent 500 swim, 500 pull, and 250 swim. I was even swimming at a decent pace! The only pain I noticed was the right side of my neck, but I think that was more from biking than anything else. So all systems go!
So I managed to pull out a respectable 50th birthday workout of 50 miles biking, 50 (really 55) minutes running, and 50 laps. Not your gonzo-mega-ginormous-crazy workout like some people do on their birthdays, but pretty good considering it was done with a less than 100% back.
When I got home, I iced my back, made dinner, did laundry, stretched some more, and thought happy thoughts. I received the most gorgeous floral arrangement from Cindy, and I pondered it and all this age nonsense. I allowed myself to wallow a little bit in self-pity. How is it that I, in awesome physical condition, am experiencing back troubles? It sucks, but all I can think is how much worse I'd be doing right now if I wasn't already strong and highly flexible. Sure, something hurts, but I can keep doing things until there's a strong reason that I can't. The last thing I need to do is stop moving around and let everything tighten up. I have a doctor appointment scheduled for later today--all I'm looking for at this point is perhaps a prescription for a muscle relaxant (yikes) and a determination of whether I should get X-rays and/or see a chiropractor or orthopedic guy. I haven't been to a chiropractor in quite a long time, and I don't want to go if there's a reason to not get adjusted, although truthfully, I'd like to get that done to see if it would help. I am hoping and praying I don't have a fractured vertebra or badly herniated disk, and that all it is is a weird muscle strain that will go away.
I slept fine last night and felt a bit stiff this morning, so I stretched for 10 minutes and then headed to the pool, where I swam just fine. My low back didn't feel great when I would hit the wall, but I don't feel any worse than yesterday, considering what I did. I plan to run for an hour over lunch, and then we will see what the doctor says. How much do you want to bet I hear, "Stop running?" Gosh, I hope not. But I'm ready to face whatever this is and get better, even if it means I don't race in 3 weeks. Think happy thoughts!
Friday, October 20, 2006
Good Luck Ironman Hawaii and Chicago Marathon Competitors
It's a big weekend!
Saturday is considered a "high holy day" among triathletes, with Ironman Hawaii going on. I want to wish good luck to the following racers that I know: Jennifer and Jerome Harrison (yes, husband and wife both qualified), Jean-Paul Lanaux, Ron Dornecker, Bob Scott, Ken Glah and Debi Bernardes. And of course, my personal picks for the pro winners, Normann Stadtler and Natasha Badmann.
Sunday is the Chicago Marathon--one of the largest marathons in the country. The weather calls for 40's, which should be absolutely PERFECT! Good luck to the following racers (I am sure there are a lot more folks that I know, but I haven't scanned the entire participants list): Ino Navarete, Lee Crumbaugh, Denise Allman, Lori Dunn, Eric Bruce, Dan Brown and Lora of Lora Runs fame.
Sunday is also my 50th birthday, so the weekend is full of excitement for me and for people I know. I suppose that I will need to incorporate some manner of "50" into my long run on Sunday. Or maybe not. We shall see.
Everyone enjoy the races and have great weekends!
Saturday is considered a "high holy day" among triathletes, with Ironman Hawaii going on. I want to wish good luck to the following racers that I know: Jennifer and Jerome Harrison (yes, husband and wife both qualified), Jean-Paul Lanaux, Ron Dornecker, Bob Scott, Ken Glah and Debi Bernardes. And of course, my personal picks for the pro winners, Normann Stadtler and Natasha Badmann.
Sunday is the Chicago Marathon--one of the largest marathons in the country. The weather calls for 40's, which should be absolutely PERFECT! Good luck to the following racers (I am sure there are a lot more folks that I know, but I haven't scanned the entire participants list): Ino Navarete, Lee Crumbaugh, Denise Allman, Lori Dunn, Eric Bruce, Dan Brown and Lora of Lora Runs fame.
Sunday is also my 50th birthday, so the weekend is full of excitement for me and for people I know. I suppose that I will need to incorporate some manner of "50" into my long run on Sunday. Or maybe not. We shall see.
Everyone enjoy the races and have great weekends!
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Tastes Like Chicken
A very dear friend of mine emailed me to tell me she had received a fortune at a Chinese restaurant that read, "Tastes Like Chicken." She said that only I would understand the chuckle she got out of it, and perhaps she is right! So much so that I decided to hijack the phrase and write about it here.When someone tastes something new and says that it tastes like chicken, what are they really saying? Has that person actually tasted chicken? If you eat fried chicken, or chicken marsala, or chicken pot pie, are you actually tasting chicken, or are you just tasting the coating or accompaniments? I think the only way you can actually "taste chicken" is to roast it with nothing more than some salt and maybe a little pepper.
Roast chicken is my favorite way to enjoy chicken. I like to heavily salt the outside and inside with Kosher salt (this helps to draw the juices towards the skin which has the effect of keeping the meat juicy), cut a lemon in half and put half in the cavity (skin side towards the back) followed by all the cloves of an entire bulb of garlic separated (you can leave the skin on as it will easily fall away once the clove is cooked), then the other half of the lemon (skin side towards you), and pop it in a 350-degree oven for about 1:30-1:45, depending on the size of the bird. About 15 or 20 minutes before it's done, take the outside lemon half out and put into the roasting pan together with the garlic cloves to finish them off . The chicken skin (if you are a person who eats it--I don't, even though it IS tasty) turns a glorious golden brown, and all that meaty juiciness is held inside, and the garlic serves to perfume the whole deal (and the cloves are allegedly good for you--I eat them all!). I cut off a leg and thigh as a unit, put it on a plate with some rice, pull the skin off and tear into tasty, juicy chicken!
So for me, chicken is really tasty! "Tastes like chicken" to me means wow, this is awesome!
To many people, though, "Tastes like chicken" means, "I have no ability to distinguish one thing from the other, and I have never really tasted the chicken anyway, and I'm not really into tasting my food period because I don't want to spend the time to savor it close to its natural state so it needs to be all breaded, fried, smothered or whatever, but my guess is that the actual chicken doesn't taste like much at all."
So "Tastes like chicken" can be a metaphor (you knew I was getting to that, right?) for an inability to really taste, or participate in the seemingly trivial, or the mundane, or more likely, the here and now. If your daily life "Tastes like chicken" or (here's the triathlon tie-in which I feel obligated to make) your workouts "Taste like chicken," then I suggest you really taste the damn chicken and then come back and let us all know how everything else is exactly like it.
Behold the humble chicken, or, if you will, your everyday life. Do you appreciate it for its life-giving properties plain and simple? Or do you feel it is so bland that you need to introduce constant entertainment and excitement into it? At the end of the day, all we are left with is the plain chicken, and my personal belief is that if you can't enjoy and appreciate that, then it will be tough for you to be happy. Even when you add spices, sauces or other forms of excitement.
You probably think that I should practice what I preach based on what I typically write about here--workout this, training that, race this and that. Those are things that certainly don't "Taste like chicken," but I very much do appreciate the plain chicken in my life. The ability to sit quietly and think (or not) and see that mostly life is good and the chicken tastes just great to me, thank you very much, is something that I cultivate on a daily basis. For at the heart of all this athletic stuff that I engage in is a profound desire to be at peace with myself and in as much harmony with my environment as I can be. I'm getting better at it, but struggle sometimes with my frame of reference. I like to tell my friends that if I had unlimited money that I would eat sushi every day! But if that's true, then wouldn't sushi become my "chicken?" So I struggle to be happy with now being quite enough, I struggle with my ego wanting to be in a position to judge and compete and win, and I struggle with a desire to create bigger challenges for myself. It's all relative. I just don't want to look at my life and ever be dissatisfied because it "Tastes Like Chicken."
Curiously enough, on Sunday I was treated to a very rich meal in the middle of the day, but I had not anticipated eating so much or coming home with leftovers (both of which happened). I had defrosted a whole chicken and had to cook it that night. As much as I enjoyed the butter, cream, cheese and sweet infested meal (although I didn't feel too great yesterday as a result--I am just not used to eating such rich food), I thoroughly appreciated my "plain" chicken later that day and will enjoy more tonight.
The next time I hear someone saying something "Tastes Like Chicken," I'm sure it will give me pause.
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Great Training Week
After being sick all last weekend, I wasn't sure how quickly I could come back, and I needed to be careful to watch and make sure I wasn't getting any worse. At this point, I have a very sporadic cough and a tiny bit of nasal congestion. I haven't been at all tired--in fact, it's been difficult to get to sleep several nights this week (which could be related to the fact that I went off birth control pills--we will see whether I continue on the sleeplessness path or not--if so, back on them I go).
Last weekend I was scheduled to do a 2-hour run, which would have been the culmination of 10 days straight of running. As you may know, that plan got derailed when I got sick a week ago Friday and did no training for 3 days. At that point, though, I had run for 7 days straight and completed 3 brick workouts.
This week I managed to run every day, for another "streak" of 7 days straight (I will take the day off from running tomorrow), I got in 3 solid brick workouts and felt pretty good the entire time. I can usually easily manage 5 days of running per week, but now I'm thinking I should just set an objective of 6 days per week through December. While the 2 brick runs I did on Tuesday and Thursday didn't feel that good (gee I wonder why!), every other run felt pretty good. 5 out of 7 isn't bad.
I was pretty tired starting Friday's run and just about bagged it. I was tired because I couldn't fall asleep Thursday night, but still needed to get up and swim on Friday morning, and didn't get enough sleep and was just pooped out. I guess those Tuesday and Thursday workouts crept up on me. But I went to the Y anyway (it was chilly and very windy) and thought, let's keep the streak going and see what we can do. I got on the treadmill, and for the first time in I can't remember (at least a year), I felt like running at my easy pace for the entire workout. After almost 30' of this, the lights went out (never found out what happened and didn't care), and no worries, I was planning on moving to the track for some strides, and didn't care if it was dark in there. I got on the track and thought, "Let's run 1 mile and see how fast we go." So I run a mile in under 8'! And then I did strides, and at the end I decided to run fast for another 1/4 mile. Did it in 1:57. It just goes to show you how sometimes even when you feel shitty you can pull off a good workout. Plus, I didn't break my streak!
Yesterday was interesting, because I was expecting company (turns out they didn't make it), so I spent the better part of the morning cleaning my house. I was actually enjoying it as a sort of "fall cleaning" festival. I had started on it Friday evening, and yesterday I made a whole lot more progress. My fall cleaning generally coincides with "it's finally time to put the bike on the trainer." So when I decided I had better get to my bike workout (it was only 44 outside and no way I was riding in that), I finall took off the rear wheel, changed the cassette (I had lazily left on a 12-27 out of which I used only the lowest 3 cogs for the last 5 or so weeks) and put on a used, crappy tire and a new tube. The carpet was all dried out and I sanitized it, and so I was ready to set up the trainer.
Man, have I become a lot stronger on the bike since a year ago. My perception of what is hard is an entirely different thing now. And it's even more "fun" (if you can even call it that) riding on the trainer without the HRM. I fired up some tunes, the 2006 TDF Tape 1, and did close to 2:45. I am not sure if it's because I was sick last week or what, but my high end power was a little off, but I just accepted it and still got in a pretty good workout.
I changed my bra top (which was soaked through and through) and put on a long sleeve technical top to do my brick run outdoors. Boy did that feel strange! I felt like I was a perfect temperature, and truth be told, my legs were feeling no pain whatsoever! I think it was the shock of the cold air. Or maybe it was that I had "only" ridden 2:40. Whatever, I'll take it. My hands were cold during the run, and I was glad I only had to do 30' (shhhh....my schedule didn't call for a run at all, but since I figured I missed my long ride last week and its brick run that I would do one yesterday).
Within about 5' of getting home, I was like WTF my quads HURT. It felt like I had done about a million squats or something. They just hurt like mofos. I thought DOMS was supposed to happen 2 days later, but NO! I'm thinking my muscles got messed up by the hot/cold transition or something. At any rate, a little gentle stretching fixed me right up.
My core temperature must have stayed elevated for a long time, because once again, I was hot and had trouble falling asleep. I lowered the thermostat. Maybe I am turning into a lizard (go ahead and laugh those of you who already thought I was one). But I didn't have to set my alarm for this morning, so no worries.
I made a pot of pretty strong coffee this morning, and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed drinking it. I LOVE coffee, but I only drink it in the morning, or else I'd be awake 24x7. Anyway, the coffee was mighty tasty, and this got me motivated for my long run.
I was only scheduled for 1:40, but thought I'd try and crank out the 2 hours that I was supposed to do last week. I added on some easy (Z1) time at the beginning and steady (Z2) time at the end. I took Gatorade and some Coke to the Y and got started.
Surprisingly, my legs felt pretty good, considering this was day 7 of running and 3 bricks, and yesterday's workout was fairly tough. So I settled in and got it done, and guess what? I should call today an "official" half marathon PR, because I ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours. And a lot of that time I was running at easy to steady pace! And I don't feel all that worked from it, either! YES! This should put me in good shape for my 1/2 IM in 4 weeks. Or something! I take it when I can get it.
So there's my week. Coming off an illness, I feel pretty darn good. About 40 miles of solid running, getting my A-game back on the bike, and next week I start some swim coaching. All good!
Tomorrow, no running. But then I will run the other 6 days straight again!
Last weekend I was scheduled to do a 2-hour run, which would have been the culmination of 10 days straight of running. As you may know, that plan got derailed when I got sick a week ago Friday and did no training for 3 days. At that point, though, I had run for 7 days straight and completed 3 brick workouts.
This week I managed to run every day, for another "streak" of 7 days straight (I will take the day off from running tomorrow), I got in 3 solid brick workouts and felt pretty good the entire time. I can usually easily manage 5 days of running per week, but now I'm thinking I should just set an objective of 6 days per week through December. While the 2 brick runs I did on Tuesday and Thursday didn't feel that good (gee I wonder why!), every other run felt pretty good. 5 out of 7 isn't bad.
I was pretty tired starting Friday's run and just about bagged it. I was tired because I couldn't fall asleep Thursday night, but still needed to get up and swim on Friday morning, and didn't get enough sleep and was just pooped out. I guess those Tuesday and Thursday workouts crept up on me. But I went to the Y anyway (it was chilly and very windy) and thought, let's keep the streak going and see what we can do. I got on the treadmill, and for the first time in I can't remember (at least a year), I felt like running at my easy pace for the entire workout. After almost 30' of this, the lights went out (never found out what happened and didn't care), and no worries, I was planning on moving to the track for some strides, and didn't care if it was dark in there. I got on the track and thought, "Let's run 1 mile and see how fast we go." So I run a mile in under 8'! And then I did strides, and at the end I decided to run fast for another 1/4 mile. Did it in 1:57. It just goes to show you how sometimes even when you feel shitty you can pull off a good workout. Plus, I didn't break my streak!
Yesterday was interesting, because I was expecting company (turns out they didn't make it), so I spent the better part of the morning cleaning my house. I was actually enjoying it as a sort of "fall cleaning" festival. I had started on it Friday evening, and yesterday I made a whole lot more progress. My fall cleaning generally coincides with "it's finally time to put the bike on the trainer." So when I decided I had better get to my bike workout (it was only 44 outside and no way I was riding in that), I finall took off the rear wheel, changed the cassette (I had lazily left on a 12-27 out of which I used only the lowest 3 cogs for the last 5 or so weeks) and put on a used, crappy tire and a new tube. The carpet was all dried out and I sanitized it, and so I was ready to set up the trainer.
Man, have I become a lot stronger on the bike since a year ago. My perception of what is hard is an entirely different thing now. And it's even more "fun" (if you can even call it that) riding on the trainer without the HRM. I fired up some tunes, the 2006 TDF Tape 1, and did close to 2:45. I am not sure if it's because I was sick last week or what, but my high end power was a little off, but I just accepted it and still got in a pretty good workout.
I changed my bra top (which was soaked through and through) and put on a long sleeve technical top to do my brick run outdoors. Boy did that feel strange! I felt like I was a perfect temperature, and truth be told, my legs were feeling no pain whatsoever! I think it was the shock of the cold air. Or maybe it was that I had "only" ridden 2:40. Whatever, I'll take it. My hands were cold during the run, and I was glad I only had to do 30' (shhhh....my schedule didn't call for a run at all, but since I figured I missed my long ride last week and its brick run that I would do one yesterday).
Within about 5' of getting home, I was like WTF my quads HURT. It felt like I had done about a million squats or something. They just hurt like mofos. I thought DOMS was supposed to happen 2 days later, but NO! I'm thinking my muscles got messed up by the hot/cold transition or something. At any rate, a little gentle stretching fixed me right up.
My core temperature must have stayed elevated for a long time, because once again, I was hot and had trouble falling asleep. I lowered the thermostat. Maybe I am turning into a lizard (go ahead and laugh those of you who already thought I was one). But I didn't have to set my alarm for this morning, so no worries.
I made a pot of pretty strong coffee this morning, and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed drinking it. I LOVE coffee, but I only drink it in the morning, or else I'd be awake 24x7. Anyway, the coffee was mighty tasty, and this got me motivated for my long run.
I was only scheduled for 1:40, but thought I'd try and crank out the 2 hours that I was supposed to do last week. I added on some easy (Z1) time at the beginning and steady (Z2) time at the end. I took Gatorade and some Coke to the Y and got started.
Surprisingly, my legs felt pretty good, considering this was day 7 of running and 3 bricks, and yesterday's workout was fairly tough. So I settled in and got it done, and guess what? I should call today an "official" half marathon PR, because I ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours. And a lot of that time I was running at easy to steady pace! And I don't feel all that worked from it, either! YES! This should put me in good shape for my 1/2 IM in 4 weeks. Or something! I take it when I can get it.
So there's my week. Coming off an illness, I feel pretty darn good. About 40 miles of solid running, getting my A-game back on the bike, and next week I start some swim coaching. All good!
Tomorrow, no running. But then I will run the other 6 days straight again!
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Detox
I did the same workout today as I did on Tuesday (see that post for its description).
Was it any easier? No. But, a la the Borg, I did adapt somewhat. In that I wasn't concerned about my ability to do it and I knew what was coming so I could anticipate the discomfort and, well, just deal with it. Maybe there was some new speed entering my body during it. The run in particular was not pleasant. I did it, I negative split it, but today I avoided moaning out loud so nobody would come up to me and ask if I was OK. But you should have seen the sweat flying off me on the bike. I can sweat pretty impressively for such a petite woman. Rest assured that I clean off any gym equipment I use really well.
Interesting concept, that of adapting vs. having the same workout feel easier. I think some people expect that at some point the training will become easier. Au contraire, as the saying goes, it doesn't get any easier, you just get faster. At least if you are doing it right. If you keep doing the same thing, at the same intensity, over and over, are you going to become more fit? No. You will be able to maintain the fitness you have, but that's about it. So it's like a poker game where you are betting against yourself and trying not to fold.
Our bodies are amazing pieces of machinery. They adapt to a workload by growing more capillaries, increasing the number of mitochondria, enlarging muscles, pumping more blood with each stroke and changing the metabolism to burn more fat at progressively higher work intensities. And then once the adaptation has taken place (which happens when we are resting, in general), the body says, "More, please?" Or at least that's what its trying to tell you, up to a point.
As we adapt, we become more efficient at processing fuel, too, so it's a vicious cycle of becoming more fit and to an extent, burning less calories. Assuming you stay at the same intensity. So you need to up the ante in order to produce the stimulus to keep your fires burning. Much like a drug addict can need more and more of a drug to get the same high. Endurance athletes are just addicted to a different drug. The performance drug.
But sometimes you need to detox and drop things down a bit, like during a taper or after a big race or at the end of the season and let your body and mind work through that craving to get that fix and build up to it once again gradually and maybe even exceed the fitness you had before you started. If you forget to detox, your body will happily tell you that you need to by ratcheting down your performance or making you physically sick. Then you go on to surprise yourself (it was no surprise to your body, though) to exceed the fitness you had before the bodily-imposed detox program.
So for all of you out there currently in detox because you are tapering for Hawaii or Florida or are at the end of your racing season, think of it as a way of coming down off your usual high so you can get that zing back when you race or start to ramp up your training again. If we didn't periodically detox, we wouldn't know how good the drugs are, would we?
Was it any easier? No. But, a la the Borg, I did adapt somewhat. In that I wasn't concerned about my ability to do it and I knew what was coming so I could anticipate the discomfort and, well, just deal with it. Maybe there was some new speed entering my body during it. The run in particular was not pleasant. I did it, I negative split it, but today I avoided moaning out loud so nobody would come up to me and ask if I was OK. But you should have seen the sweat flying off me on the bike. I can sweat pretty impressively for such a petite woman. Rest assured that I clean off any gym equipment I use really well.
Interesting concept, that of adapting vs. having the same workout feel easier. I think some people expect that at some point the training will become easier. Au contraire, as the saying goes, it doesn't get any easier, you just get faster. At least if you are doing it right. If you keep doing the same thing, at the same intensity, over and over, are you going to become more fit? No. You will be able to maintain the fitness you have, but that's about it. So it's like a poker game where you are betting against yourself and trying not to fold.
Our bodies are amazing pieces of machinery. They adapt to a workload by growing more capillaries, increasing the number of mitochondria, enlarging muscles, pumping more blood with each stroke and changing the metabolism to burn more fat at progressively higher work intensities. And then once the adaptation has taken place (which happens when we are resting, in general), the body says, "More, please?" Or at least that's what its trying to tell you, up to a point.
As we adapt, we become more efficient at processing fuel, too, so it's a vicious cycle of becoming more fit and to an extent, burning less calories. Assuming you stay at the same intensity. So you need to up the ante in order to produce the stimulus to keep your fires burning. Much like a drug addict can need more and more of a drug to get the same high. Endurance athletes are just addicted to a different drug. The performance drug.
But sometimes you need to detox and drop things down a bit, like during a taper or after a big race or at the end of the season and let your body and mind work through that craving to get that fix and build up to it once again gradually and maybe even exceed the fitness you had before you started. If you forget to detox, your body will happily tell you that you need to by ratcheting down your performance or making you physically sick. Then you go on to surprise yourself (it was no surprise to your body, though) to exceed the fitness you had before the bodily-imposed detox program.
So for all of you out there currently in detox because you are tapering for Hawaii or Florida or are at the end of your racing season, think of it as a way of coming down off your usual high so you can get that zing back when you race or start to ramp up your training again. If we didn't periodically detox, we wouldn't know how good the drugs are, would we?
Quote of the Day
"Pain is speed entering the body."
--Rich Strauss
Going to hit that same workout I did on Tuesday this afternoon. I can't wait!
--Rich Strauss
Going to hit that same workout I did on Tuesday this afternoon. I can't wait!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
My Coach Got Hisself a BLOG
It's here. I also put a link in my sidebar at the head of the Collective.
I am sure it will evolve as time marches on. If you are looking for heavy-duty training advice along the lines of Rich's philosophy, please go to his forum. Everyone is welcome there.
Oh, and since it's the off-season for lots of us North America folks, any of you who are self-coached might want to take a look at Rich's off-season training plans. Feedback from those who have used them is that they are DA BOMB. I wouldn't know--I keep paying him to tell me what to do based on the crazy shit I decide I want to do and somehow he makes a training plan out of it!
Oh yeah, did a tempo run today, I am dialing into some faster running!
I am sure it will evolve as time marches on. If you are looking for heavy-duty training advice along the lines of Rich's philosophy, please go to his forum. Everyone is welcome there.
Oh, and since it's the off-season for lots of us North America folks, any of you who are self-coached might want to take a look at Rich's off-season training plans. Feedback from those who have used them is that they are DA BOMB. I wouldn't know--I keep paying him to tell me what to do based on the crazy shit I decide I want to do and somehow he makes a training plan out of it!
Oh yeah, did a tempo run today, I am dialing into some faster running!
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Evil Bike Workout
All right, sports fans. It's been 5 days since my last ride, and I still have a lingering cold/cough (the fever is gone). The weather is getting shitty in Chicago, but I still haven't set up my trainer in the house since I am still drying/sanitizing the carpet downstairs. I didn't want to ride outside today because of my lungs, so I headed to the Y to use the Precor bike to do this:
WU: 15' Easy, include 3-4 x 30" spinups.
MS: 6 x 30/30's, 6' @ FT, 2' Easy,
8 x 30/30, 8' @ FT, 2' Easy,
10 x 30/30, 10' @ FT, 2' Easy,
10 x 30/30.
CD: 5' Easy
If I thought last week's Tuesday/Thursday bike workout was hard, welcome to today! I don't feel too bad about using the Precor bike since it at least has a watts readout, and I have learned how to calibrate it against my "real" watts on my tri bike and also by feel.
This workout was a bitch. A mean, ugly, won't leave you alone bitch. Even though the work intervals weren't that long, I was pushing so hard on the 30/30's that I gulped when I would get to the FT section, and then cry when I only had 2' to recover. But I did it, and I actually got stronger as the session wore on. Sweat was pouring off me like crazy!
And then, of course, I got to run. But only 20' today, thank God. I was supposed to have run a lot more last week but couldn't because I got sick, so I wasn't sure if the 20' limit was because this was a drop week for running or just because the damn bike workout is so hard. I am choosing Option B, thank you very much. I was happy to only run 20'. At some point I must have been groaning out load because the trainer on duty came up to me to ask me if I was all right. I asked her why was she asking and she said she heard a sound coming out of me and thought she should check. I smiled broadly and told her that it is just that I'm doing a really hard workout, and thanks for checking on me, but unless I'm laying on the floor I am doing just fine!
The run went just fine, negative split as always, and boy am I tired. It's tough to tell if the residual tiredness is from the difficulty of the workout or whether from being still a bit sick. This time I'm going with Option A.
I feel like I executed the bike workout almost spot on today, and let me tell you that's one mother of a workout. But all I can think when I do something like this is that if I don't work hard, I don't get faster. Period. Getting faster the way I do it on the bike is not what most people would consider fun. Hell, much of the time I am not thinking, "Boy is THIS fun!" I am usually thinking "Please legs just hold out for the rest of this mother-fucking interval." But when it's over it feels great because I know I put in a good effort that will pay dividends down the road. And you've heard me say it before, riding hard like this is NEVER boring. How can you be bored when you are pushing yourself so hard? I don't care whether it's fun. I just care whether I can do it, and whether it makes me faster. Does this mean I don't appreciate riding my bike? No. I just appreciate what I can do and what will happen as a result. I sure do enjoy my warmup and recovery periods, though. Those are the best! And there is usually enough of them (in my long rides, anyway) for me to look around, smile, enjoy just being on my bike and feeling good.
I am going to sleep like a baby tonight!
WU: 15' Easy, include 3-4 x 30" spinups.
MS: 6 x 30/30's, 6' @ FT, 2' Easy,
8 x 30/30, 8' @ FT, 2' Easy,
10 x 30/30, 10' @ FT, 2' Easy,
10 x 30/30.
CD: 5' Easy
If I thought last week's Tuesday/Thursday bike workout was hard, welcome to today! I don't feel too bad about using the Precor bike since it at least has a watts readout, and I have learned how to calibrate it against my "real" watts on my tri bike and also by feel.
This workout was a bitch. A mean, ugly, won't leave you alone bitch. Even though the work intervals weren't that long, I was pushing so hard on the 30/30's that I gulped when I would get to the FT section, and then cry when I only had 2' to recover. But I did it, and I actually got stronger as the session wore on. Sweat was pouring off me like crazy!
And then, of course, I got to run. But only 20' today, thank God. I was supposed to have run a lot more last week but couldn't because I got sick, so I wasn't sure if the 20' limit was because this was a drop week for running or just because the damn bike workout is so hard. I am choosing Option B, thank you very much. I was happy to only run 20'. At some point I must have been groaning out load because the trainer on duty came up to me to ask me if I was all right. I asked her why was she asking and she said she heard a sound coming out of me and thought she should check. I smiled broadly and told her that it is just that I'm doing a really hard workout, and thanks for checking on me, but unless I'm laying on the floor I am doing just fine!
The run went just fine, negative split as always, and boy am I tired. It's tough to tell if the residual tiredness is from the difficulty of the workout or whether from being still a bit sick. This time I'm going with Option A.
I feel like I executed the bike workout almost spot on today, and let me tell you that's one mother of a workout. But all I can think when I do something like this is that if I don't work hard, I don't get faster. Period. Getting faster the way I do it on the bike is not what most people would consider fun. Hell, much of the time I am not thinking, "Boy is THIS fun!" I am usually thinking "Please legs just hold out for the rest of this mother-fucking interval." But when it's over it feels great because I know I put in a good effort that will pay dividends down the road. And you've heard me say it before, riding hard like this is NEVER boring. How can you be bored when you are pushing yourself so hard? I don't care whether it's fun. I just care whether I can do it, and whether it makes me faster. Does this mean I don't appreciate riding my bike? No. I just appreciate what I can do and what will happen as a result. I sure do enjoy my warmup and recovery periods, though. Those are the best! And there is usually enough of them (in my long rides, anyway) for me to look around, smile, enjoy just being on my bike and feeling good.
I am going to sleep like a baby tonight!
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