A month of active recovery

I can't believe that it has been well over a month since the Nike Marathon and I know I still have not finished writing the race report - just have had a hard time focusing on it long enough to finish the thing. The time has flewn by with the help of lots of craziness at work and the days being so short already.

After finishing the marathon I have mostly just focused on getting back into a training routine. I talked to Kainoa about the rest of the winter month and what I should focus on ect. My biggest thing was I did not want to just do a race to finish (I just did that) if I race I want to be able to push myself and race. I considered signing up for another marathon but she and Jake (my PT) pretty much pulled a veto on me. Ok so no marathon and there was not really time to recover and train up for a even a fast seattle half marathon. so no major races.Saying that but I did sign up for the 12ks of Christmas just for fun. It is a hilly course and not till mid december so I have some more time. Kyle is going to run the 5k and race Sam and my Mom is going to do the 12ks as well (I love that she is hooked on running now "evil laugh"). So it should be a fun.

I am mostly back to normal-ish training levels of 2-3 days swim, 2 -3 days of strength , 2 bikes, and finally I get to go back to running 3 days a week. I was only running twice a week just to make sure my shin would not have any more issues and it has not :) so 3 days a week hear I come.

It has been good to have a bunch of team events to get out in the rainy/cold weather and get in the longer weekend workouts.

Team Trail Run a couple weeks ago.


Group ride in the rain _ kyle was leading and was almost completely clean while the rest of us were covered in dirt lol


Less hard-core but still fun - Group spin while watching Ironman videos. Some how I managed to make it the full 1:30 though I got really unfocused an hour in...


I have also been thinking a lot about what other races I want to do in 2010... Right now it sounds like some run races to start, Wildflower half ironman, IM CDA of course, maybe Ironman Boulder, or something else in August and some local sprints. Mostly my focus is what it will take for me to be prepared for IM CDA. I feel good and ready to start the training but Kainoa does not want me to burn out sooo the rest of Nov and Dec will be mellow and relaxed and in Jan will start to get a bit more focused but nothing to long or intense yet ;)

If you went to starbucks.com a couple of weeks ago you would have a seen a video about how much Kyle and I like Starbucks Via. The funny part was that Kyle talked way more then I did but they would up using more of me - guess it helps to work with them. Anyway I guess it is my 5 seconds of fame.

Pre Nike Women's Marathon 2009

I have started this post a couple times but never got very far.. 1st it was to wait to get some pictures to post, then I was tired or just not motivated which usually means I'm not really sure how I feel about my "race" so have not had much to say. I went in with my plan of not really racing it after taking almost a full month off, having a cold and upset stomach the week before that mostly just focused on finishing and enjoying the weekend. Not really what I envisioned the event when I signed up. Anyway the fun stuff...

We flew in to San Francisco early Saturday morning. Kyle and my Mom are both are not morning people so it was a bit of a stretch for them but we got through it and they got lots of coffee and Kyle took a nap on the plane. We took the BART into downtown and after dropping our bags at the hotel we headed straight to the registration to grab our bibs ect.
Then we were off to the nike store to get a sweatshirt of something before they sold out. The place was a total zoo but i was happy that they still had small sizes left.
We also did the custom shirts made that said "run like a girl! Linda & MacBeth" on the back. They are very cute and the shirts they put it on are very soft. We also found our names on the list of participants they put on the windows of the nike store.. good thing they were alphabetical.

Since I would not be "racing" the marathon I wanted a running skirt to wear so I would feel less like I was supposed to be racing. I knew Lululemon had one I wanted but the lame store near me at home had no sizes so I wanted to go to the store in SF in hope they would have one. Of course they did :) and in the process introduced my Mom to lulu hehe. Jerry was a sweetheart and got her a pair of running tights and a pair of gloves for her birthday.

At this point we completely burned both Kyle and Jerry out on all things Nike Women's marathon lol. So we decided to go in search of lunch. The guys both wanted fish and chips so we headed on foot to teh waterfront only to figure out that we needed to walk 2 miles to get to fishermans warf... But it was sunny and warm out, I had my running shoes on so my feet were good, we got to see Alcatraz Island along the way and best of all found a place for Kyle to rent a bike so he could get around the course better. Honestly by the time we got there I was getting a bit cranky from hunger and being on my feet so long... so we quickly picked a place and since I really wanted to sit down for a bit we sat inside vs buying fish and chips on the street.

After lunch Kyle headed off to rent the bike and my Mom, Jerry and I walked a much shorter route back towards the hotel. Only isn San Fran would you see such a nerdy tour as a segway tour - seriously cracked me up..

Once we made it back to the hotel I put my feet up and slowly started gathering together what I needed for the marathon. I decided not to wear my team kit at all and just went with the lulu run skirt, sugoi fizz tank so that everything felt like training and not racing for me.
I was not very hungry the rest of the night so I wound up having frozen yogurt for dinner which was perfectly yummy. I had one last talk with my coach over my plan and how I was feeling ect and then I think I fell asleep around 8:30 or 9pm which is even early for me but after the early morning flight and walking around I was tired.

the plan

A couple days ago I started packing for this weekends Nike Womens Marathon and I almost felt lost. It was so weird I am out of the habit of planning or prepping for long runs since my right leg started having issues. So after pretty much talking my coach Kainoa, my PT Jake and my Orthopedic Dr Marla Kaufman that I could be trusted to be smart and not push myself to much and just take it easy but still run/finish the marathon. I will enjoy the course, the scenic views, all the stuff nike has put on the course to entertain. I'm especially looking forward to the Ghiradelli chocolate station at mile 21. Mostly I will just plain play it by ear. If after running easy the first 13 miles I feel good then I can pick up the effort a bit. The main goal is to keep my shin from hurting by walking but if it starts and it hurts enough I will stop. I will not continue to run and risk hurting myself more. I would really like to beat my time from the last time I did this marathon in 2007 in 4:45 but if not no big deal there are many many more marathons in my future.

With that understanding I have been working on my plan for the race. After talking to everyone I had to get used to the idea that to do this it would be a run/walk kind of thing. Ok no big deal I did that in Ironman Canada. Though I know from experience that the Newtons actually hurt my feet to walk more than a couple minutes. So my solution was to order a pair of the Lady Isaac Guidance Trainers which still have the raised lugs but not as much and also has a built up heel so it is less weird to walk.. They are heavier but oh well I think they will be a good compromise.

Next I started making a pile on the dinning table of anything I could think of. Garmin + heart rate strap, lots of Gu 1 or every 4 miles, body glide, visor, gatorade for morning of, race belt. I considered a hand bottle but in the end decided against it to force myself to walk the water stations and thus making everyone happy with walk breaks. Next up arm warmers for the morning. After talking to Jake I decided to run in my compression socks- figure why not I am a dorky tri nerd anyway might as well look the part. A few other snacks for pre race and some salt & sport legs.

I updated my iPod playlist for base runs to be a tad more peppy but not as intense as my race playlist. I did put both playlists on my iPod shuffle but will start with the base list and only switch to race for the last 10k if I feel good and want some motivation to pick up the pace :)

I decided to travel light and leave my laptop at home but I always have my iPhone so I will still be be on twitter and facebook... even considering carrying my phone with me just in case but at the same time I'm not really interested in dealing with how to carry it.

Next up I get to just enjoy the weekend in SF with my Mom who is running her 1st half marathon on her 60th birthday, her sherpa Jerry and my very own personal super sherpa Kyle :)

I think I am as ready as I'm going to be... 26.2 miles here I come :)

revising goals

The past couple weeks have been a challenge for me both physically and probably more mentally. It all started with a twinge in my right shin after a recovery week run that never went away or got better the last couple of weeks. First I got some xrays that showed no problems but after still feeling pain on a test run last week my coach was able to get me a appointment with a great ortho - Dr Marla Kaufman at the UW on Friday. She set me up to get an MRI on Saturday morning - which I have to say was one of the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I am not good at being still - all I wanted to do was wiggle my toes. I had to wait till Monday for the fallow up and find out the results. So I spent the rest of teh weekend trying not to think about it.

I spent the rest of the day Saturday on my bike and had so much fun I just kept ridding until I got hungry and had Kyle meet me at the dairy freeze in North Bend so that my scheduled 3 hour ride did not turn in to 6 hours...

Mid ride I decided to fallow some route markings just to see where they went.

Happened to find some members of "The Herd" and rode with them for :30 or so


View from the bridge on Tolt Hill Road


The old trains in Snoqualmie WA


In North Bend, WA


Sunday we went up to Widbey and while the guys went fishing I rode support for my Mom during her long run (13.5 miles) and she did so great. Made me so proud she is my Mom and how healthy she is at 59 years young :)


The guys caught 2 Coho Salmon - Jerry showing them off.


Kyle & I enjoying the sun


The weekend was so much fun it was not till Monday morning when I talked to Kainoa before the start of masters swim that it kind of hit me. She mentioned that Nike might just not happen... My heart seriously dropped to my feet. I knew that was an option just had not really heard it or said it out loud. The rest of the swim workout and the morning till my appointment at 11:20a I was completely distracted and so nervous for the results.

I was beyond relived when I finally got to find out that the MRI showed no signs of a stress fracture or any tearing in the tissue. Dr Kaufman walked me through all the images from the MRI and what she would be looking for and did not see. Then we talked about next steps. I got a prescription for Physical therapy and massage. I would need to do ice massage twice a day, deep water running, the exercises from PT, keep my fitness up with cross training and at the same time rest my shin. She told me the Nike marathon was still a big maybe and all depended on how things improve or not in the next couple of weeks... Afterwards I talked with Kainoa and she agreed still not sure if a marathon was really an option at this point but agreed to see what Jake (my PT) said about it.

So yesterday I had PT - Jake thinks that as I thought probably running with bad form on my last long run took my shin over the edge in combination with my right hip could still be stronger and lack of flexibility in my feet (especially my right). He also said that if I threw out all my time goals and wanted to still finish the marathon I could probably do that... But that it would probably require a walk/run plan to prevent any pain... hmmm

It was really hard I already gave up on a Boston qualifying time last week after I had to take 2 full weeks off running.. But a walk/run marathon with no time goal at all will be a HUGE mental challenge for me. I am MUCH better at pushing myself and going hard then at going easy and being smart.

If it were any other race I would probably say screw it and not do it but this race means a lot to me. I talked my Mom into doing it as her first half marathon on her 60th birthday. Yeah I know it is more about her doing it but it was meant to be something we both did together. Not to mention I really don't like the idea of not doing a race I signed up and spent money on - I also want the Tiffany necklace and always need another finishers shirt.

So goodbye Boston (for now) and lets just hope I can start running soon so I don't have to do to much walk/run stuff on race day. I'll do it if I have to but would much rather just run even if it is slower than I had been training for before this whole thing started. The new goal is just to be able to run...

the sweet smell of chlorine before dawn

This morning like most Wednesday mornings I headed to masters swim - it is never easy getting up at 5am but I am so glad I did. Since my shin issue is still on the mend I have missed my hard runs of late and in general getting my heart rate up and work hard. So when I saw the workout this morning I was so happy. There was some steady stuff but there was also 8 x 50 kick hard - oh how I LOVE kicking. It felt soooo good to use my legs and really helped loosen them up after not doing much the last week.
Then after some easy stuff the main set was 16 x 100 with odds hard/fast and evens easy and even better fallowed by 8 x 50 with odds hard/fast and evens easy. I could not wait to push myself, go all out and breath hard.
Ok so the only weird thing about masters for the last month is there is a guy in my lane that seems to have the hardest time not being the fastest. He makes these comments about oh "I don't want to hold you up" but then always wants to lead even when he says he is slow. Drives me crazy. I have worked really hard the past year and have finally gotten stronger and faster to be able to on most occasions to be able to lead (as long as Cathleen is in the next lane faster lol). It just seems to really bother him when I lead or probably more accurately when he is not leading. Sorry dude but leave your ego on the deck this is masters there is always some one faster then you. Seriously cracks me up every time.
So back to the swimming I start the first set of 4 (broke the 16 down by 4 sets of 4 to keep track easier). The first hard 100 was wonderfully hard I could feel my heart rate go through the roof, I had to focus, and it just felt challenging. I managed a 1:30 100 yrds :) which is really good for me.. next up easy recovery.. then another hard effort just as much fun as the 1st and again I hit 1:30 wooo hoo..
Then this guy offered to lead.. fine what ever I will give him a couple extra second head start. So it was not as hard an effort for me especially since in no time I was right on his feet drafting. Once he starts leading it is hard to get him to let anyone else lead so I had to give him more and more space to start so that I could still have a hard effort. Pour Laurie was great at staying on my feet through the entire set. But all in all it was so much fun to swim hard.
The final set was 8 x 50 odds hard and even easy and I took back the lead (Laurie was done for the day). So the last couple short hard efforts were wonderfully challenging especially at the end of about 3000 yrds.
I finished up the morning with a couple minutes in the hot tub stretching while eating a pumpkin muffin Laurie brought and talking with Loree, Laurie and Kainoa. So glad I got up before dawn to swim :)