I'll start with the good - I had another great swim this morning. I swam 2500yrds in 54 min - 300 warm up, 100 - 1:46, 600 - 11:40, 200, 500 - 9:42, 300, 400, 100 cool down. I felt pretty good - my legs were kind of heavy feeling from the weekend of hills but I kind of expected that - my calves are still a bit sore but no foot pain. Anyway I focused on swimming strong throughout the longer sets and used the shorter sets to recover. I also kept my form strong - which kept my shoulder from hurting :)
On to the bad thing - last night my eyes started itch and this morning I woke up with a slight soar throat, sinus congestion.. I have never really had allergies before but it seems I might have some now. The worst part is my eyes itch every time I blink - it is driving me nuts - I tried eye drops, some benadryl and they did nothing to help. I was even hoping that the chlorine in the pool this morning might help - but of course I was not that lucky. I am just hoping that since this week is a partial taper/recovery week before Vancouver Half on Sunday I can get some extra rest and it will all go away.
Apr 30, 2007
Apr 29, 2007
hilly run
On this lovely day I ran 6 mile loop that is 2 miles downhill to warm up then 4 miles of climbing back up. From the start I was surprised how good my legs felt since I did a hilly ride yesterday. Of course the first 2 miles were faster since it is all downhill - 7:30 each. The rest of the way was slower since it was all uphill. I pushed myself to keep a good pace on all the hills. I ran mostly on the sidewalks which always seems to make my foot and lower legs ache a little more than normal - today I did feel a bit of an ache in my foot but nothing to bad (like a 2 out of 10). Since I felt good I picked up the pace a bit for the last quarter mile for a total time of 48.54 which I'm happy with - esp because it felt relatively easy - I still had energy at the end and I never died on any of the hills just kept going and felt strong the whole way.
Now I'm just icing my foot (just to be safe) and watching a saved brodcast of Ironman Florida :)
Now I'm just icing my foot (just to be safe) and watching a saved brodcast of Ironman Florida :)
Apr 28, 2007
group ride
Bright and early this morning Steph, Bryan, Col, Kyle and I met up at Marymoore to do a 50ish mile ride fallowing the 2006 Flying wheels route. By 9am it was already warming up so for the first time this season I did not wear capris or leg warmers :) a sure sign that spring is in effect. Anyway we headed out - I felt generally pretty good - no head ache like last week - I did have a hard time finding a comfy position on my seat (which I have now exchanged for a different model). I was surprised that at the first steep hill (Inglewood hill) I actually felt really strong and stayed closer to the guys than usual - I think Kyle was actually shocked that I was so close. It was mostly like that the rest of the ride - I just felt strong. I think the best part was on the long stair step climb I passed two guys that had sat in front of me the beginning part of the climb and did not pace them selves very well - and I still had energy and just went right by them. Bryan got a flat at the beginning of that hill and I think after that he was ready to be done with the ride. We cruised back and around the lake and I lost my chain - Col helped me figure out how to fix it since I had no clue.
I'm not sure if we messed up somewhere and did not fallow the route right but the ride was only about 45ish miles rather than 50 - which is fine I still had a lot of fun and felt great the entire way. Also I finally proved to myself that I can climb/ride with the crew with out being dropped anymore and I have earned my bike (I can ride it how it deserves to be ridden). I'm also very happy with how well all my training is coming together - I think I will be well prepared for Hawaii 70.3 in a month and am well on my way for Ironman Canada.
I'm not sure if we messed up somewhere and did not fallow the route right but the ride was only about 45ish miles rather than 50 - which is fine I still had a lot of fun and felt great the entire way. Also I finally proved to myself that I can climb/ride with the crew with out being dropped anymore and I have earned my bike (I can ride it how it deserves to be ridden). I'm also very happy with how well all my training is coming together - I think I will be well prepared for Hawaii 70.3 in a month and am well on my way for Ironman Canada.
Apr 27, 2007
not a fluke
a bit of a catch up on my training - Wednesday night I went for an hour bike ride out and down around part of lake samm and back to my house. It rained a little bit but nothing to bad - I felt pretty good and did not really have to push myself very hard even up a fairly steep long hill back to my house.
Yesterday morning I ran 4 miles with four 2 min pick ups mixed in. I felt good, no foot or leg pain to speak of and I was able to keep my pace up pretty easily. I really enjoyed doing speed work again.
In the evening I worked in the garden with my mom - which really worked my back/arms since we were pruning back these big flax plants. Afterwards I stretched and then iced my shoulder.
This morning I swam again :) and I was able to hit the same pace as on Wednesday morning - so it was not just a random good day I now can average a pace under 2min on longer sets and I can do a 100yrds in 1:45 with out dying afterwards :) Today I did 2500 yrds in 53 min - 300 w/u, 100-1:45, 600-11:47, 200-3:44, 500-9:55, 300-5:52, 400-7:46, 100 cool down. Another good thing is even though I pushed my shoulder a bit last night I did not have any real pain today when I swam :)
Yesterday morning I ran 4 miles with four 2 min pick ups mixed in. I felt good, no foot or leg pain to speak of and I was able to keep my pace up pretty easily. I really enjoyed doing speed work again.
In the evening I worked in the garden with my mom - which really worked my back/arms since we were pruning back these big flax plants. Afterwards I stretched and then iced my shoulder.
This morning I swam again :) and I was able to hit the same pace as on Wednesday morning - so it was not just a random good day I now can average a pace under 2min on longer sets and I can do a 100yrds in 1:45 with out dying afterwards :) Today I did 2500 yrds in 53 min - 300 w/u, 100-1:45, 600-11:47, 200-3:44, 500-9:55, 300-5:52, 400-7:46, 100 cool down. Another good thing is even though I pushed my shoulder a bit last night I did not have any real pain today when I swam :)
Apr 25, 2007
100yrd in 1:45
This morning I had a hard time getting out of bed to go swimming - though I am soo happy I did. I had the best swim I have had in a long time. The plan was to swim 3000yrds in 1:05 - so I did 300 warm up, 600, 500, 400, 300, 200 hard, 100 hard, 100 hard, 200 hard, 300 easy. The thing that made my swim today so wonderful is that I was able to average around 1:55 100yrd pace through out the entire work out - even the 600yrd set. I was even able to push myself to a 1:45 pace for my 100s & 200s which were rather late in the work out. It was shocking really - I have felt like I have been stuck at a 2 min 100 pace for a while now. I just felt really strong today - very smooth in the water, no pain in my shoulder which is one indicator that my form was on track, only used the pool buoy on the warm up even and I had energy to spare. It has made my day for sure.
Apr 24, 2007
it actually feels like spring
Monday I took as my rest day - just had to many other things going on to get a work out - even an easy one in.
Today I went to work super crazy early (6:30a) which meant I got to leave early to :) So I did my strength work out in the afternoon - mostly just upper body stuff, some shoulder specific things, abs and only one or two leg things to keep my foot happy. I really tried not to push my shoulder to much so that it would not ache or tighten up afterwards - so far so good - though I will really see tomorrow when I swim.
Later on I met up with Col and miss Piper dog for a 5 mile run around green lake and through the park with a few hills and piper was the pace dog so we had a few tempos mixed in randomly. I mostly felt good, a little warm but not to bad - no foot or lower leg pain which is always a good thing. The main mile long hill was a bit of a challenge - but it always is - my mouth just got really dry. We finished in about 44 min with a bit of day light still left :) All and all a good day.
Today I went to work super crazy early (6:30a) which meant I got to leave early to :) So I did my strength work out in the afternoon - mostly just upper body stuff, some shoulder specific things, abs and only one or two leg things to keep my foot happy. I really tried not to push my shoulder to much so that it would not ache or tighten up afterwards - so far so good - though I will really see tomorrow when I swim.
Later on I met up with Col and miss Piper dog for a 5 mile run around green lake and through the park with a few hills and piper was the pace dog so we had a few tempos mixed in randomly. I mostly felt good, a little warm but not to bad - no foot or lower leg pain which is always a good thing. The main mile long hill was a bit of a challenge - but it always is - my mouth just got really dry. We finished in about 44 min with a bit of day light still left :) All and all a good day.
Apr 22, 2007
catching up
Lets see I left off on Tuesday so Wednesday I did an hour 15 minute bike ride in the evening, Thursday I worked in the garden with my mom, and Friday I swam 2500 yrds in 55 minutes. I had also planned to run 5 miles on Friday night but instead I went and had acupuncture for the head ache that has been plaguing me all week. Nothing else was helping and it was horribly pain full, causing me to feel nauseous and all together out of it. I have had this before and acupuncture has always been the key to getting rid of it - it seemed to help afterwards I had no more head ache.
Saturday Col, Kyle and I went for a bike ride - we started from Marymoore and headed north up to Snohomish making our way through Redmond and Woodenvill and then back. Initially I felt ok but soon in my head started to pound and I just felt tired which made the first 30 miles or so really hard - I just tried to stay with Col and not let the head ache effect me to much. Luckily it faded away on the ride back and I felt great.
At some point we caught up with a Cascade Bicycle group ride that was way to large for its own good.. The first hill they came to they pilled up 4 across blocking traffic and anyone from passing them. It was very frustrating. On a long hill climb we just kept passing them - a lot of which did not have the best road skills. It was scary just having to be near this group. We spent the entire series of hills passing people - I stayed behind Col most of the way - I felt really strong the whole time - so good in fact that Col let me lead the last bit of hill. Kyle was shocked to see me come up the hill in front of her actually. It was really cool and made me feel even better that all my work is paying off. Once we pass the entire group including some guys that really seemed to have a hard time letting two girls pass them (hehe) we considered stopping to eat at the Maltby Cafe but decided we would rather get out further in front of that group of riders. The rest of the ride back was easy comparable and I was just shocked at how good I felt esp since the way out was so bad. I was able to keep my energy up all the way back to the cars which is new experience on a long ride for me. We did 59ish miles in about 3:43 with no rain or flats.
Sunday I met Col to do a morning run - we did 8 miles of a 13 mile loop from Magnusion Park to greenlake through the Ballard locks and Fremont. My legs felt tired but Col set a great pace and I just tagged along. The route was pretty good except running up Stoneway around mile 6.5ish was horrible by the end my legs felt so heavy it was hard to just keep moving one foot in front of the other - but I somehow did. We finished the 8+ miles in 1:11:31 which kept our over all pace just under 9 min miles which was great from having tired legs already :)
After the run Col had invited me to join her for a lululemon yoga promotion - so we rushed and changed into yoga attire and did probably an hour worth of yoga. It was weird usually I do really well on balance moves but my legs were so tired they just would not stabilise and just shook. Though it was hard it probably really helped stretch my entire body out after a good weekend of training.
Saturday Col, Kyle and I went for a bike ride - we started from Marymoore and headed north up to Snohomish making our way through Redmond and Woodenvill and then back. Initially I felt ok but soon in my head started to pound and I just felt tired which made the first 30 miles or so really hard - I just tried to stay with Col and not let the head ache effect me to much. Luckily it faded away on the ride back and I felt great.
At some point we caught up with a Cascade Bicycle group ride that was way to large for its own good.. The first hill they came to they pilled up 4 across blocking traffic and anyone from passing them. It was very frustrating. On a long hill climb we just kept passing them - a lot of which did not have the best road skills. It was scary just having to be near this group. We spent the entire series of hills passing people - I stayed behind Col most of the way - I felt really strong the whole time - so good in fact that Col let me lead the last bit of hill. Kyle was shocked to see me come up the hill in front of her actually. It was really cool and made me feel even better that all my work is paying off. Once we pass the entire group including some guys that really seemed to have a hard time letting two girls pass them (hehe) we considered stopping to eat at the Maltby Cafe but decided we would rather get out further in front of that group of riders. The rest of the ride back was easy comparable and I was just shocked at how good I felt esp since the way out was so bad. I was able to keep my energy up all the way back to the cars which is new experience on a long ride for me. We did 59ish miles in about 3:43 with no rain or flats.
Sunday I met Col to do a morning run - we did 8 miles of a 13 mile loop from Magnusion Park to greenlake through the Ballard locks and Fremont. My legs felt tired but Col set a great pace and I just tagged along. The route was pretty good except running up Stoneway around mile 6.5ish was horrible by the end my legs felt so heavy it was hard to just keep moving one foot in front of the other - but I somehow did. We finished the 8+ miles in 1:11:31 which kept our over all pace just under 9 min miles which was great from having tired legs already :)
After the run Col had invited me to join her for a lululemon yoga promotion - so we rushed and changed into yoga attire and did probably an hour worth of yoga. It was weird usually I do really well on balance moves but my legs were so tired they just would not stabilise and just shook. Though it was hard it probably really helped stretch my entire body out after a good weekend of training.
Apr 17, 2007
outrunning the rain
Tonight I ran with Kyle and Briana (I hope that is spelled right) at the Bellevue Park half mile track which is a nice packed gravel loop. Kyle of course took off at mock five - which is to be expected of him. Brianna and I just chatted away as we ran - I was only planning on running a 9 min mile pace (nice and easy) but I just kept up with her since we were talking and she was running faster than that. It was not to bad but my legs were a little fatigued still from the weekend. I stayed with her till the last half mile when my right foot started to hurt so I slowed down a bit. Still I managed to finish the 4 miles in 29.10.65. I have a hard time believing it but that is what my watch says and the first half mile was 3.23 which adds up about right I guess.. Kyle laughs at me - he knows I can run that fast and doesn't understand why I don't think I can... I'm making sure to fully ice my right foot and shin - my foot will be fallowing up with some time on the tennis ball to keep everything in check and not get any worse.
always fun
Lets see yesterday I did a basic strength work out with the specific instructions not to do any leg exercises - just a bit of easy cardio to warm up, upper body circuit, some shoulder stuff Col suggested, and abs. I was still feeling kind of run down and sore from the weekend so I took it easy.
This morning I swam the planned 2500 yrds in 55:40 - 300 warm up, 600, 500, 400, 300, 200, 100, 100 cool down. I felt like I had a good amount of energy though out the entire work out and the pool felt great. My shoulder was tired from doing the strength exercises so from the beginning it was sore which caused me to use the pull buoy more than I should have. It is so weird I'm able to control my stroke way more when I use it and can keep my shoulder from hurting - I don't really understand it but whatever I was able to finish the work out. I kept my pace right at 2 min 100yrds even though the longer sets - and the last 50 yrds of each I pushed myself to go faster.
Tonight I run 4 miles - I'm just hoping the predicted lightening and rain hold off till after I finish...
This morning I swam the planned 2500 yrds in 55:40 - 300 warm up, 600, 500, 400, 300, 200, 100, 100 cool down. I felt like I had a good amount of energy though out the entire work out and the pool felt great. My shoulder was tired from doing the strength exercises so from the beginning it was sore which caused me to use the pull buoy more than I should have. It is so weird I'm able to control my stroke way more when I use it and can keep my shoulder from hurting - I don't really understand it but whatever I was able to finish the work out. I kept my pace right at 2 min 100yrds even though the longer sets - and the last 50 yrds of each I pushed myself to go faster.
Tonight I run 4 miles - I'm just hoping the predicted lightening and rain hold off till after I finish...
Apr 15, 2007
ride on tired legs
This morning Bryan, Col, Kyle and I met around 10ish - later than normal so that the bad weather could finish up and not soak us. Of course as soon as we got going it started to rain - nothing bad but still. We road from Col's house down to green lake then down/out to Fremont - then toward downtown and out to west Seattle. From the start my legs and actually my whole body was sore and generally tired. I did ok till we got out to alki beach area and then the crew decided we should take some back roads out and around west Seattle to avoid the crowds that were forming on alki since the weather had turned sunny and very nice. Usually I don't mind some hills but today I just did not feel it in me. Anyway we climbed up for what felt like forever though I'm sure it was closure to a mile or so.. I survived of course but my legs felt like they were going to explode and dye. I think Kyle was worried about me because he rode next to me just to make sure I did not need a hand to get up the hills. I just kept going - I fell back a bit but never to far since I'm sure they slowed down to let me catch back up.
Of course what goes up must come down - we went down some crazy steep and rather long hill that of course wound up having a stop light at the bottom - my hands completely cramped up from braking. It did not help that I felt exhausted, sort of light headed and definitely not very coordinated so I found descending very scary - so scared I almost broke down and cried.. It is so weird that I dislike descending so much since I grew up skiing fast downhill - Kyle is always mystified by this. I just know that there is a huge difference between falling on snow and falling on concrete or asphalt... I am very aware I need to get over this and have been working really hard on it but sometimes my fear just seems to attack. I was soo happy when I made it down ok. We wound our way back through downtown and along the water front - with the help of a gu/gel I found enough energy to stay mostly with Col the rest of the way.
We had planned on going to the Tri Expo after we finished but realised the show closed at 4 today and we were pushing it to make the show if we rode all the way back to Col's house - so we rode to Bryan's boat and called Futa to meet us there to go to the show from there. In total we rode just under the planned 40 miles for about 2:56:13 of ride time.
The show was a bit of a disappointment/uneventful - I guess I just thought there would be more to it. Though I understand and respect that it was the first year and Sunday afternoon. Hopefully next year will be better and by going we did our part to support the Seattle area tri community.
Of course what goes up must come down - we went down some crazy steep and rather long hill that of course wound up having a stop light at the bottom - my hands completely cramped up from braking. It did not help that I felt exhausted, sort of light headed and definitely not very coordinated so I found descending very scary - so scared I almost broke down and cried.. It is so weird that I dislike descending so much since I grew up skiing fast downhill - Kyle is always mystified by this. I just know that there is a huge difference between falling on snow and falling on concrete or asphalt... I am very aware I need to get over this and have been working really hard on it but sometimes my fear just seems to attack. I was soo happy when I made it down ok. We wound our way back through downtown and along the water front - with the help of a gu/gel I found enough energy to stay mostly with Col the rest of the way.
We had planned on going to the Tri Expo after we finished but realised the show closed at 4 today and we were pushing it to make the show if we rode all the way back to Col's house - so we rode to Bryan's boat and called Futa to meet us there to go to the show from there. In total we rode just under the planned 40 miles for about 2:56:13 of ride time.
The show was a bit of a disappointment/uneventful - I guess I just thought there would be more to it. Though I understand and respect that it was the first year and Sunday afternoon. Hopefully next year will be better and by going we did our part to support the Seattle area tri community.
Apr 14, 2007
12 mile run
Very early this morning I joined Bryan and Col for a group run out on the Cedar River Trail in/near renton. Col did not run but helped support the run/ride for her friend Lesely while Bryan and I got to run the 12 mile out and back. It was great they had water out on the trail, had marked the route every half mile so you knew exactly what your pace was and there were a bunch of other people out on the trail with you. Col/Lesley had Bryan and I stagger our starts so that Bryan would eventually catch me and maybe we would/could run together..
I got started a little before 7:30a and my legs felt pretty good from the start - though it was initially kind of cold and chilly but I warmed up with in a mile or so. One of the good things was that only the first (and last) mile were on pavement - the rest was on very well packed gravelish trails which kept my lower legs and feet from hurting. I never really had any negatives during the run - muscles would ache for a second then go away. It was great I was even able to eat my gels while continuing to run. The only thing was I should have taken some salt before I got started - I only got a little salty around mile 10/11 - not a huge deal but I think it would have helped.
In the end I managed to average under a 9 min mile pace the entire 12 miles :) and Bryan did not catch/pass me till the very last half mile! Final time was 1:44:13 - my goal had been around 1:46 to 1:55 - I always love when I beat my goals :) esp considering the last time I ran 12 miles it took 2:06 on a very similar route.
After the run I got home, stretched some more and after showering proceeded to take an hour+ long nap. When I woke up my legs already felt a bit tight and stiff especially my quads - which I think is weird. So we will see how my 40 mile bike ride tomorrow goes.. Hopefully the crew picks a not to hilly route (hint hint).
I got started a little before 7:30a and my legs felt pretty good from the start - though it was initially kind of cold and chilly but I warmed up with in a mile or so. One of the good things was that only the first (and last) mile were on pavement - the rest was on very well packed gravelish trails which kept my lower legs and feet from hurting. I never really had any negatives during the run - muscles would ache for a second then go away. It was great I was even able to eat my gels while continuing to run. The only thing was I should have taken some salt before I got started - I only got a little salty around mile 10/11 - not a huge deal but I think it would have helped.
In the end I managed to average under a 9 min mile pace the entire 12 miles :) and Bryan did not catch/pass me till the very last half mile! Final time was 1:44:13 - my goal had been around 1:46 to 1:55 - I always love when I beat my goals :) esp considering the last time I ran 12 miles it took 2:06 on a very similar route.
After the run I got home, stretched some more and after showering proceeded to take an hour+ long nap. When I woke up my legs already felt a bit tight and stiff especially my quads - which I think is weird. So we will see how my 40 mile bike ride tomorrow goes.. Hopefully the crew picks a not to hilly route (hint hint).
Apr 13, 2007
morning swim
This morning I dragged myself out of bed - I was awake before 5a but once I needed to get the pool I just had a hard time getting out of my warm comfy bed to go get in the pool. So I got to the pool later that I would have liked and it took me longer than usual to get focused and warmed up.. I did 300 warm up, 300 x 2, 200 x 6, 300 x 2 w/ flip turns, 100 cool down. I did not really feel like I was on top of things till more than half way through the main sets - I felt the best the last 600 yrds when I did flip turns. It just felt more continious and less like a gerbal. My flip turns have also gotten better - still not super fast or time saving but at least they are less all over the place. My shoulder kind of bothered me the entire swim - no matter what I was doing.. It is not super painful just annoying and tiring. so we will see..
Apr 11, 2007
recovery week recap
Monday I did a strength work out - starting off with 20 min of cardio on the elliptical then stretched out fully while I was warmed up. I did a full circuit style work out mixing upper body and lower body stuff and finished with abs and some of the pt exercised for my foot. I felt like doing some more cardio so I then did 20 min on the strair mill just for fun. I have been thoroughly scolded for doing more that I should but oh well. My left foot really hurt the rest of the day - not when I walked but otherwise anytime I moved my foot. I started icing every couple of hours which seemed to help quite a bit.
Tuesday I spent an hour on the bike in the morning in an effort to give my left foot a brake. The plan was to swim in the evening with Col but she is dealing with a shoulder injury/issue so that was switched to a run. Luckily my foot did not hurt at all - I guess the icing the day before really helped. So last night Bryan, Col and I ran the full 5 mile loop around green lake and by teh zoo. My legs felt kind of heavy and generally tired - which I guess is not a shock considering I had done some form of leg work out the last 5 days... Bryan was running well and I was not able to keep up with him but I still finished in 44:12 which is not bad for a recovery/easy run. After I got home I iced my right shin and my left foot (not that it hurt but just in case).
This morning I swam 2300 yrds - it was kind of weird half of the time I was swimming in a completely empty pool which is rather unheard of. I focused on good form and trying to reduce the number of strokes per length of the pool. I did 400 warm up, 200 drills, 400 x 4 - 30 second rest, 50 hard - 1:45, 50 cool downfor a total of about 48 min including rests. I felt pretty good, legs were somewhat heavy but not to bad, my shoulder never gave me to much pain which is always nice and it felt good to be in the water.
Tomorrow is my full rest day or no work outs allowed day though I always have dinner with my mom and I kind of suspect that we will be working in the garden again - which is always fun and reminds me of when I was a kid :)
Tuesday I spent an hour on the bike in the morning in an effort to give my left foot a brake. The plan was to swim in the evening with Col but she is dealing with a shoulder injury/issue so that was switched to a run. Luckily my foot did not hurt at all - I guess the icing the day before really helped. So last night Bryan, Col and I ran the full 5 mile loop around green lake and by teh zoo. My legs felt kind of heavy and generally tired - which I guess is not a shock considering I had done some form of leg work out the last 5 days... Bryan was running well and I was not able to keep up with him but I still finished in 44:12 which is not bad for a recovery/easy run. After I got home I iced my right shin and my left foot (not that it hurt but just in case).
This morning I swam 2300 yrds - it was kind of weird half of the time I was swimming in a completely empty pool which is rather unheard of. I focused on good form and trying to reduce the number of strokes per length of the pool. I did 400 warm up, 200 drills, 400 x 4 - 30 second rest, 50 hard - 1:45, 50 cool downfor a total of about 48 min including rests. I felt pretty good, legs were somewhat heavy but not to bad, my shoulder never gave me to much pain which is always nice and it felt good to be in the water.
Tomorrow is my full rest day or no work outs allowed day though I always have dinner with my mom and I kind of suspect that we will be working in the garden again - which is always fun and reminds me of when I was a kid :)
Apr 8, 2007
easter brick
Since the weather was really nice this morning I joined Steph and Kyle for a bike ride. We started from the park and road out on the trail to warm up (and that way if we were to warm or cold we could stop by the cars to change clothes) for 7 miles then headed back - paused at the cars so that Steph could shed her jacket and leg warmers. Then we road out on east lake samm for a while and then back for a total of 27.7 miles in 1:34. It was super cold to start and the word rain was even mentioned but luckily it warmed up and the sun came out to make the ride very enjoyable.
Then right after the ride Kyle and I ran 6.7 miles (only planned 6) out on the gravel trail on east lake samm. Steph told us the general mile mark for half way as the Inglemore hill road intersection.. From the start I was not really feeling the run - by now it was full sun and pretty warm out I had not brought my fuel belt with me and I missed it greatly the entire run. I also forgot to wear my watch - which really messed me up mentally - I'm so used to just checking how long I have been running and/or pace. I had a gel and a bit of water before we got started and it felt like it just sat in my stomach.. It was even worse at half way when I took another gel and did not have any water to help dilute/digest it. That and I did not take any salt before or during either work outs - with the heat I was sweating a lot of salt (well when I say a lot it is nothing compared to kyle ;) hehe) - my stomach felt horrible but I figured I needed to finish what I started so I just kept going. It felt like the longest 6 miles ever - which was right on since it was really 6.7 miles.. A nice thing was that since it was a gravel path my shins and calves never really got to tight or anything. I had started with arm warmers and those were tucked into the back of my shorts at about a quarter of a mile. lol what was I thinking wearing them..
Kyle started to worry about me and started walk back out on the trail after I had been out there for almost an hour and he knew I have been averaging under 9 min miles lately and I was overdue. Luckily he brought some water with him and was sweet enough to share which made the last quarter mile a bit better.
Though I have to say I may not have felt that great but I did enjoy myself and was happy I was out running the whole way. I could not think of anywhere or anything else I would rather do on such a lovely day. That said I was also glad to finish even thought at the time I though I had just finished my slowest 6 miles since last October.. Afterward I drank a bottle of water and we got some sandwiches at subway - I could only really eat half of mine. When we got home I iced up my shins and calves and figured out the actual distance we ran on gmaps - both good things :)
Then right after the ride Kyle and I ran 6.7 miles (only planned 6) out on the gravel trail on east lake samm. Steph told us the general mile mark for half way as the Inglemore hill road intersection.. From the start I was not really feeling the run - by now it was full sun and pretty warm out I had not brought my fuel belt with me and I missed it greatly the entire run. I also forgot to wear my watch - which really messed me up mentally - I'm so used to just checking how long I have been running and/or pace. I had a gel and a bit of water before we got started and it felt like it just sat in my stomach.. It was even worse at half way when I took another gel and did not have any water to help dilute/digest it. That and I did not take any salt before or during either work outs - with the heat I was sweating a lot of salt (well when I say a lot it is nothing compared to kyle ;) hehe) - my stomach felt horrible but I figured I needed to finish what I started so I just kept going. It felt like the longest 6 miles ever - which was right on since it was really 6.7 miles.. A nice thing was that since it was a gravel path my shins and calves never really got to tight or anything. I had started with arm warmers and those were tucked into the back of my shorts at about a quarter of a mile. lol what was I thinking wearing them..
Kyle started to worry about me and started walk back out on the trail after I had been out there for almost an hour and he knew I have been averaging under 9 min miles lately and I was overdue. Luckily he brought some water with him and was sweet enough to share which made the last quarter mile a bit better.
Though I have to say I may not have felt that great but I did enjoy myself and was happy I was out running the whole way. I could not think of anywhere or anything else I would rather do on such a lovely day. That said I was also glad to finish even thought at the time I though I had just finished my slowest 6 miles since last October.. Afterward I drank a bottle of water and we got some sandwiches at subway - I could only really eat half of mine. When we got home I iced up my shins and calves and figured out the actual distance we ran on gmaps - both good things :)
Apr 7, 2007
adjusting plans
Well lets see - first a recap for the last couple of days. Thursday was my rest day - though my mom came over for "dinner" and decided we should clean my back yard instead - essentially putting me to work in my own yard. lol you got to love moms..
Lets see Friday morning I swam 2000 yrds in about 45 min taking it nice and easy - I did 200 drills to focus on good form to help take some pressure off my shoulder some.
Friday night I ran 5 miles in about 45 min. I waited till about 7:30ish to get started so that the sun was going down since it was sooo warm out and even still felt warm wearing just a tank top and shorts. It was amazing how many other people and families were still outside - it really felt like the first taste of summer. I felt pretty good - as usual these days my shins and calves were a bit tight to start but once I got warmed up they felt better. The only issue was my mouth felt super dry the entire way - of course since it was only 5 miles I did not bring any water with me so I had to just make due.
Today got all mixed up - I had planned on riding 50 miles with Col and Bryan but Kyle was able to get an earlier flight home from Boston which arrived back at 11am - right when Col and Bryan were going to start the ride. I decided to put Kyle first since he hates taking town cars and I had kept the truck at home.. Kyle said he would still ride with me - but once he got back he was kind of warn down from all the travel - which is to be expected but it effect my plan for the day. So around 3pm we headed out (luckily the rain finally stopped) and we did the Samm lake loop from the house - which adds a good hill climb in in the last 5 miles. Kyle must have been really tired because he mostly let me lead - which is unheard of for Kyle with almost anyone. lol I rode pretty hard (Kyle make it look easy - which it probably was for him) - we did 24 miles in 1:24 and averaged about 17 mph. We were both super warm since we dressed for rain - my knees were sweating because I wore capris lol.
I did get to test out my new saddle - the fi'zi:k Arione Wing Flex. It was ok - it felt like it was a bit to far back - so I will move it forward a bit and see if that makes it better.. They also ajusted my handlebars - which felt like it helped my wrist a lot.
Tomorrow is still up in the air - I figure if it is nice out I will do a brick with kyle and Steph - bike 35, then run 6ish. If it is raining then I will probably just do an 8 mile run - maybe with Col.. Just have to wait and see..
Lets see Friday morning I swam 2000 yrds in about 45 min taking it nice and easy - I did 200 drills to focus on good form to help take some pressure off my shoulder some.
Friday night I ran 5 miles in about 45 min. I waited till about 7:30ish to get started so that the sun was going down since it was sooo warm out and even still felt warm wearing just a tank top and shorts. It was amazing how many other people and families were still outside - it really felt like the first taste of summer. I felt pretty good - as usual these days my shins and calves were a bit tight to start but once I got warmed up they felt better. The only issue was my mouth felt super dry the entire way - of course since it was only 5 miles I did not bring any water with me so I had to just make due.
Today got all mixed up - I had planned on riding 50 miles with Col and Bryan but Kyle was able to get an earlier flight home from Boston which arrived back at 11am - right when Col and Bryan were going to start the ride. I decided to put Kyle first since he hates taking town cars and I had kept the truck at home.. Kyle said he would still ride with me - but once he got back he was kind of warn down from all the travel - which is to be expected but it effect my plan for the day. So around 3pm we headed out (luckily the rain finally stopped) and we did the Samm lake loop from the house - which adds a good hill climb in in the last 5 miles. Kyle must have been really tired because he mostly let me lead - which is unheard of for Kyle with almost anyone. lol I rode pretty hard (Kyle make it look easy - which it probably was for him) - we did 24 miles in 1:24 and averaged about 17 mph. We were both super warm since we dressed for rain - my knees were sweating because I wore capris lol.
I did get to test out my new saddle - the fi'zi:k Arione Wing Flex. It was ok - it felt like it was a bit to far back - so I will move it forward a bit and see if that makes it better.. They also ajusted my handlebars - which felt like it helped my wrist a lot.
Tomorrow is still up in the air - I figure if it is nice out I will do a brick with kyle and Steph - bike 35, then run 6ish. If it is raining then I will probably just do an 8 mile run - maybe with Col.. Just have to wait and see..
Apr 5, 2007
another warm swim
I got no sleep Tuesday night so I took a nap before meeting Bryan and Col at the epicenter to swim around 8pm - since our guest passes were still good. I was also supposed to spin for 45 min but I felt I needed a nap more so I skipped it and rested so I could focus on the swim work out. The pool was once more very warm - though I don't think is was as bad as last time. Col decided on a 400 warm up, then doing 200, 150, 100, 50 four times and a cool down if we felt like it for about 2400 yrds total. The biggest goal was to not rest and chat to long so that we finished in a reasonably amount of time. (I think she wanted to make sure I was really able to swim this distance in under an hour since when we swim together it seems to take longer.)
I felt generally good the nap helped with my energy level. My left shoulder has been bothering me lately and it continued to the entire swim. I know it does not help that when I get tired I get lazy about my form esp on my left side and start pushing down or swinging wide which hurts even more - go figure. Col swam right next to me on the 50's in an effort to get me to push myself harder - which I did. Most of the swim I averaged just under 2 min 100 pace - with a few faster sets in there as well. I finished 2450 yrds in about 57 minutes.
I'm kind of worried about my shoulder - it just does not seem to be getting any better. I think Pilate's would help but the gal I was working with is all booked when I'm available. I have been considering going somewhere else but I'm not really sure. The other option is going to the doctor or a pt about it - but the last thing I want to hear is to stop swimming since I feel like I'm finally making some progress. Though I think some ultrasound would help loosen it up.. Anyway I'm going to have to figure something out soon.
I felt generally good the nap helped with my energy level. My left shoulder has been bothering me lately and it continued to the entire swim. I know it does not help that when I get tired I get lazy about my form esp on my left side and start pushing down or swinging wide which hurts even more - go figure. Col swam right next to me on the 50's in an effort to get me to push myself harder - which I did. Most of the swim I averaged just under 2 min 100 pace - with a few faster sets in there as well. I finished 2450 yrds in about 57 minutes.
I'm kind of worried about my shoulder - it just does not seem to be getting any better. I think Pilate's would help but the gal I was working with is all booked when I'm available. I have been considering going somewhere else but I'm not really sure. The other option is going to the doctor or a pt about it - but the last thing I want to hear is to stop swimming since I feel like I'm finally making some progress. Though I think some ultrasound would help loosen it up.. Anyway I'm going to have to figure something out soon.
Apr 3, 2007
evening brick
The weather held out so I held my plan and did both my workouts back to back. First I road 16 miles out and back from my house which included going down a steep hill to start and coming back up one on the way back. My legs felt kind of stiff and heavy the first couple of miles buy seemed to loosen up. There was a head wind on the way out which made it more challenging. Then I headed back and decided to climb the hill that goes next to 520 - it used to always kill me - today it was easy I did not even go all the way down on my gears. I did 16 miles in 56:45 :)
This was only the 3rd time I have be out on my new bike and I need a few things tweaked. My left wrist really hurts - kind of radiating up from my thumb. I think I just need to adjust where the shifters are - maybe just rolled down so I can straighten my wrist a little more. Also I don't like my saddle - it was painful esp when I tried to go down in the drops or on my aero bars. So I will be calling SVC to see if I can exchange it or something.
Anyway I got back home and did a quick change of clothes and headed out on a 4 mile run. I felt good - it was great to be already warmed up. It was a mostly uneventful run just aimed at maintaining about a 9 min mile pace which I did - finished the 4 miles in 35:25. About half way though I had a knot in my left calf but I was able to just run through it and it loosened up. When I finished I made sure to really stretch out my legs - which seeme dto help as well.
Ok I'm fading fast - off to bed I go.
This was only the 3rd time I have be out on my new bike and I need a few things tweaked. My left wrist really hurts - kind of radiating up from my thumb. I think I just need to adjust where the shifters are - maybe just rolled down so I can straighten my wrist a little more. Also I don't like my saddle - it was painful esp when I tried to go down in the drops or on my aero bars. So I will be calling SVC to see if I can exchange it or something.
Anyway I got back home and did a quick change of clothes and headed out on a 4 mile run. I felt good - it was great to be already warmed up. It was a mostly uneventful run just aimed at maintaining about a 9 min mile pace which I did - finished the 4 miles in 35:25. About half way though I had a knot in my left calf but I was able to just run through it and it loosened up. When I finished I made sure to really stretch out my legs - which seeme dto help as well.
Ok I'm fading fast - off to bed I go.
full nights sleep
Last night I really wanted to get a full nights sleep - no waking up 5 time or anything. I had a bad migraine and took some Excedrin pm to help deal with that. I feel asleep in the living room around 8:30pm (I think) and was in bed before 10p. Finally I did not wake up at all - I'm not sure if it was the Excedrin or how tired I was but either way it was nice to get some sleep. The downfall was that I liked it soo much that I did not get out of bed till 6:45a which left me no time to get my morning work out in. So my plan is to brick it tonight - ride 15 miles then run the 4 I was going to do this morning - which will be good for me anways. Hopefully it will be warmer then the current 35 degrees and still just as sunny and wonderfully nice outside.
Apr 2, 2007
strangly empty pool
I keep doing this thing where I wake up 4-5 times a night and check the clock to realise it is to early to get up - I'm not really sure why I keep doing this I know I need the sleep and I'm not stressed about my workouts. Last night I was super tired but I still woke up at 1, 3, 4 then finally got out of bed at 5:10 or so. I wish I would knock this off and just sleep till my alarm goes off.
So I got to the pool around 5:30ish to swim an easy 2500 yrds. There was no one in the lap pool - it was just weird - though I had my own lane for my entire swim which is always a treat. I did 400 warm up (300 w/ pull buoy), 50 x 2, 100 x 2, 150 x 2, 200 x 2, 250 x 2, 300 x 2. I actually felt pretty good, not super tired or anything. Though my muscles did not agree with that at all - my shoulders are tight and slow, my legs did not even want to push off from the wall, and my core is generally tired and a bit sore. I did not push things to hard and just aimed for good form and about 2 min 100s - since I was not really pushing myself I was able to easily keep my rests at 15 seconds between all sets. I did flip turns every other sets - I'm getting better but still a little slow and my abs complained everytime I did one. My shoulder got kind of tight/tired about half way which did not surprise me much since it was sort of tight before I even started. I'm not really sure what the shoulder issue is but sometime soon I would like to get it resolved since it seems to effect both my swimming and biking.
So I got to the pool around 5:30ish to swim an easy 2500 yrds. There was no one in the lap pool - it was just weird - though I had my own lane for my entire swim which is always a treat. I did 400 warm up (300 w/ pull buoy), 50 x 2, 100 x 2, 150 x 2, 200 x 2, 250 x 2, 300 x 2. I actually felt pretty good, not super tired or anything. Though my muscles did not agree with that at all - my shoulders are tight and slow, my legs did not even want to push off from the wall, and my core is generally tired and a bit sore. I did not push things to hard and just aimed for good form and about 2 min 100s - since I was not really pushing myself I was able to easily keep my rests at 15 seconds between all sets. I did flip turns every other sets - I'm getting better but still a little slow and my abs complained everytime I did one. My shoulder got kind of tight/tired about half way which did not surprise me much since it was sort of tight before I even started. I'm not really sure what the shoulder issue is but sometime soon I would like to get it resolved since it seems to effect both my swimming and biking.
Apr 1, 2007
I'm very lucky
I had a hard weekend that really forced me to push myself just to hang with the crew. It is always hard to be the underdog and that is exactly what I am. I have the least amount of experience in everything and the furthest to go. As everyone reminds me I have come a long way and am doing great. Still it is always hard being in the back of the pack. At the same time I treasure every chance I get to train with all or anyone of our little crew because I know I will have to push myself to hang and that I'm very lucky to have crew as good as them to train with. Every time I'm lucky enough to train with them it will only make me stronger, faster and more ready for what is to come. I hope they know this. I really do appreciate being a part of such a great group. So just want to say thanks for pushing me Col, Steph, Bryan and Kyle :) I can't wait for the next chance I get to try and keep up with any of you and thanks for putting up with me following behind.
just trying to keep up
Friday I swam in the morning and evening(unplanned) for a total of 3800 yrds.
Saturday morning I ran a mile mile loop with Bryan, Col, and Steph out in the middle of nowhere at Lake Young(I think). I only say with in that we drove out there and maybe ran a mile and change all together. Col pulled away pretty quickly (which is normal when she is not pacing for me), then Bryan and then Steph. I brought up the rear and held it almost the entire way - I kept fairly close to Steph but mostly lost sight of Bryan - did not see Col till the last .5 mile when she helped me finish up. The trail was super muddy and generally nasty - before mile 2 I had my entire left shoe pulled off by the mud and twist my leg up - my leg never really felt the same after that. I rolled my ankles each a few times as well. It was mostly not my day - with exception to all the hills. I felt really strong on all the climbs and was even able to run (as slow as it was) up the final very steep climb. Afterwards Col said the 10 miles were comparable to a 12 mile run due to all the hills and the challenges of the trail conditions. Final stats was 10 miles in 1:33.
Today (Sunday) Bryan, Col, Steph, Kyle and I met up at Mercer Island to ride the lake - even though my plan only said to do 45 miles the group wanted to do the entire lake not just the north end. It was super chilly when we got started - one of those spring days where you just don't know what to wear and what the weather will do. We headed north in hopes of avoiding any rain and to get the largest hill out of the way in the beginning - I assume anyway. This was the first "real" ride on my new bike and I felt great - it bl owes me away at how much more powerful it feels from my other bike. I was able to do the long Juanita hill climb better than last time and I did not even get into my lowest gear. We maintained a moderate to easy pace especially compared to Kyle who always loves to really push himself and goes all out. The rest of the ride was mostly uneventful - my legs felt good, no real aches or pains. I had to work hard to try and keep my shoulders down and back so that my arms/shoulders would not cramp up. I still have a ways to go with that - my neck/traps got fairly tense but nothing to bad. My only goal was to be able to stay with/near Col and finish the entire ride. I did well until about mile 47ish - even though I had a gel around 45/46 and it was not enough - I fell behind the rest of the crew up the last few rollers back to Mercer Island. Mostly I just felt done - my legs were tired, I was tired. So much for finishing the ride strong or staying with Col for the ride. This is what happens when I train with a whole crew of people who have way more experience then me - I get dropped. Maybe it is all mental and I need to push myself further and know I can do it. I guess in the long run it will make me stronger in the long run and next time I will do better - maybe someday (or as Bryan would say "when I grow up") I can actually be equal with them and hold my own. Anyway final stats for today 54.5 miles in 3:41.
Time for a nap.
Saturday morning I ran a mile mile loop with Bryan, Col, and Steph out in the middle of nowhere at Lake Young(I think). I only say with in that we drove out there and maybe ran a mile and change all together. Col pulled away pretty quickly (which is normal when she is not pacing for me), then Bryan and then Steph. I brought up the rear and held it almost the entire way - I kept fairly close to Steph but mostly lost sight of Bryan - did not see Col till the last .5 mile when she helped me finish up. The trail was super muddy and generally nasty - before mile 2 I had my entire left shoe pulled off by the mud and twist my leg up - my leg never really felt the same after that. I rolled my ankles each a few times as well. It was mostly not my day - with exception to all the hills. I felt really strong on all the climbs and was even able to run (as slow as it was) up the final very steep climb. Afterwards Col said the 10 miles were comparable to a 12 mile run due to all the hills and the challenges of the trail conditions. Final stats was 10 miles in 1:33.
Today (Sunday) Bryan, Col, Steph, Kyle and I met up at Mercer Island to ride the lake - even though my plan only said to do 45 miles the group wanted to do the entire lake not just the north end. It was super chilly when we got started - one of those spring days where you just don't know what to wear and what the weather will do. We headed north in hopes of avoiding any rain and to get the largest hill out of the way in the beginning - I assume anyway. This was the first "real" ride on my new bike and I felt great - it bl owes me away at how much more powerful it feels from my other bike. I was able to do the long Juanita hill climb better than last time and I did not even get into my lowest gear. We maintained a moderate to easy pace especially compared to Kyle who always loves to really push himself and goes all out. The rest of the ride was mostly uneventful - my legs felt good, no real aches or pains. I had to work hard to try and keep my shoulders down and back so that my arms/shoulders would not cramp up. I still have a ways to go with that - my neck/traps got fairly tense but nothing to bad. My only goal was to be able to stay with/near Col and finish the entire ride. I did well until about mile 47ish - even though I had a gel around 45/46 and it was not enough - I fell behind the rest of the crew up the last few rollers back to Mercer Island. Mostly I just felt done - my legs were tired, I was tired. So much for finishing the ride strong or staying with Col for the ride. This is what happens when I train with a whole crew of people who have way more experience then me - I get dropped. Maybe it is all mental and I need to push myself further and know I can do it. I guess in the long run it will make me stronger in the long run and next time I will do better - maybe someday (or as Bryan would say "when I grow up") I can actually be equal with them and hold my own. Anyway final stats for today 54.5 miles in 3:41.
Time for a nap.
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