Big Climb 2008

For the third year in a row I joined my mom's company's "Team Jetstream" to climb 69 floors of stairs in the Columbia Tower. I was the only person on the team doing the timed version. It went really well - I did a great job pacing myself. It is really easy to go to hard at the start and get your heart rate way to high. I did this the last couple of years and it was imposible to recover till the finish. I realized at about floor 10 that I had forgot to start my watch so I had no clue how I was doing against the clock. So I just kept going as hard as I could manage while not overdoing it. I felt pretty good the whole way - it felt easier than in the past and before I knew it I was done.
The view was great from the top and I could see the first group of running finishing the Henry Weinhard's St. Patrick's Day Dash - probably saw Kyle down there somewhere. I hung out and waited for the rest of the group to reach the top. My mom and her friends all did wonderful.
After getting a yogurt in the "recovery room" we went back to the lobby and they had results already posted. My chip time was 12:55.95 and I came in 35 / 333 for my age group. I was surprised I was not really sure if I would beat my time from last year because I had not really done in training for stairs specifically and I was still recovering from the half marathon the week before. But alas I did by a full minute- I guess all the rest of the training I have been doing helped :)

is it hot in here

Last night I went and ran 2 miles on the treadmill to test how my foot was doing and I had no pain :) My legs were sore from the bruising from my fall on Sunday but other wise it felt pretty good. I ran at a 7:30 mile pace even - I love being able to see my pace and then force myself to run faster it is one of the very few redeeming qualities of treadmills. Afterwards I did a bunch of the pt exercises and stretched out my legs really well. I also added in some pull ups and triceps dips for good measure.
This morning I ran on the treadmill again since it was super cold outside and I did not want to risk my muscles getting to tight. I ran 4 miles in 34 minutes then walked another mile with an incline of 6% (whatever that means). The entire time I felt like I had a fever or was just way to warm - around the end of mile 3 I started getting dizzy from it and hence I walked a mile. It was super weird. I still decide to do 20 min of stairs - sort of in training for the Big Climb in a couple weeks. Again I was way overly warm and I was sweating more than usual. I was glad to finish and stretched out my legs and calves. My foot is a tiny bit achy but nothing some time with a tennis ball can't fix and nothing compared to last week :)

low on energy

I seem to be having a hard time getting over this dumb cold - I'm looking forward to the day I wake up and have energy. With that said I swam 2200 yrds today and 30 min on the stairmill.
First the swim - warm up 200
drills 100
4 x 50 easy
3 x 100 moderate
2 x 150 moderate
1 x 200 moderate
2 x 150 moderate
3 x 100 moderate
4 x 50 - sprint 25 recover 25
cool down 100
total 2200 yrds total time 63 min
I really focused on consistent pace - 60 second per 50 yrds and maintaining good form even when I got tired. Generally I felt pretty good - no sinking feeling. Since I did not have a ton of energy I kept things pretty easy hence the slower pace but I kept the rest times pretty short - max 30 seconds and 15 or so between sets. I also worked on breathing less - I kept it between 3-5 per 25 yrds - even on the longer sets. I also did a few flip turns - the pool was a bit crowed and I'm still learning..
After I swam I did 30 min on the stairmill which I felt I needed to do since I have to coach skiing this weekend and who knows if I will have the energy to do any workouts after a day on the hill freezing.

trying my best to stay optimitic

I had a hard time sleeping last night but I had a good work out this morning which always makes me feel better. I got to the gym around 5:40a and did 15 min on the stair mill before my Pilates lesson. Pilates went pretty well - I really like that I am figuring out the different movements and can tell I'm getting stronger :) My traps and neck were super tight - which would explain the head ache I have had for the last day of so. After my lesson I did another 30 min on the stair mill. I took it a bit slower because I forgot to eat anything after pilates so I was a bit low on energy. But I stayed strong and finished the 30 min feeling good. I stretched out for about 20 min or so. Then I ate some breakfast :) Now I am at work and trying desperately not to think about not having a job in 9 days and trying to see that this will all be resolved when people get back from vacation.