I'll start with Friday night I did a short 22 mile bike ride - kind of an out and back around part of lake sammmamish and back home. My right foot was still rather tender but otherwise the ride was good and uneventful.
Later in the evening I changed my rear tire - Kyle supported me but I did it. I think I bruised my right hand trying to get the tire off - I was slow but eventually I got it done and know that if I have to I can do it at IMC.
This morning Kyle and I met Col and Bryan at Staph's house to do a swim to bike brick. We started out by swimming from Steph's dock on Lake Sammamamish. The plan was to swim for 60 min total so I swam out for 30 min and turned around. the rest of the crew is faster so they swam further than me but I was bale to keep them in sight so it was no big deal. Te water was not to rough but the ski boats did make some big rolling waves every so often that really tossed me around. Then I had a hard time not swimming into shore the last 10 min - it felt like I was having to swim against a current or something. My right hand hurt a little bit - otherwise it was a good swim. I focus on my little mantra reassuring myself that "I'm a strong swimmer" and it kept me going. In all I swam for 62 min - I was tad slower coming back. Kyle had his garmin gps thing and it said he swam 2 miles (I probably swam maybe 400 yrds less than him) which is very cool. I have to say I'm a bit envious of his garmin and am considering if it would be useful for me to get one... I'll come back to that though.
Next up we did a non-rushed transition to our bikes to do a very hilly 45ish mile ride out to Snoqualmie ridge and back. We headed out via the short way around the lake into Issaquah and made the call to go straight up via SE 56th St which was probably not the best call - it was crazy - about 1 mile climbing and almost 400 ft elevation gain... It was hard and I was mostly out of the saddle. The good thing was that there was little to no traffic so I was able to do some switch backing to help but even so it was plane hard - esp to breath haha - but I made it just fine.
We got on to Issaquah Fall City Rd and headed towards the stair step climb to go down. But first Kyle got a flat in his rear tire so he quickly changed the tube and we were back at it.
I was able to go down the stair step hill with out to much braking - there were a ton of people out riding up the hill (I assume prepping for the Beaver Lake Tri next weekend). We dumped out on to 202 and headed to climb up to the top of Snoqualmie falls. We paused at the top to grab some water and regroup a bit before climbing up to the top of Snoqualmie Ridge - the climb always reminds me of the Hawaii 70.3 ride - I think because of the wide shoulders and how gradual it is.
At the top we refilled the rest of our water bottles at Starbucks and started back down. On the down hills I really tried to let them roll and not brake as much as I could handle. At the bottom of the falls we hit a nasty headwind which was kind of surprising. We headed back to another long climb back up the 2 mile long stair step climb. My right hamstring and IT band felt really tight and made the climb even more difficult so I just spun and did not attack it to much. I was starting to get kind of tired as well - I don't think I ate enough. From there it was just some rolling hills and down back around the lake.
I got separated from the group with all the traffic on East lake Samm road I could not see any of the crew and I did not know which way they went around the lake.. So eventually(after calling Kyle) I just headed the short way back to Steph's. Kyle called me back and they waited for me at Bobby's House and we all got the rest of the way back. It wound up only being about 42 miles but I think that is just fine considering all the hills.
Ok so that was my work out today.. Now on to my thoughts about the Garmin Forerunner® 305. The pros are all the things it can track since it has gps, heart rate, optional bike cadence and it can all be uploaded to my mac (polar does not work with macs) and put into my training peaks stuff so Col can really see what I'm up to. The cons are how big it is - it is huge - much bigger than my wrist. I would have to wear sweat band underneath it so that it would not leave my wrist bone all bruised. I'll probably keep contemplating it and see if the pros out way the annoyingly large size.
Aug 11, 2007
Aug 9, 2007
catch up
Lets see it has been a few days - so just a short recap of what I have been doing for training. I'll try and get back in the groove of posting daily but things have just been busy at work and of course with training so it is hard to find the time with out loosing sleep time.
Monday evening I met up with Col for an open water swim at green lake after work. The lake was surprisingly calm and kind of a bit chilly to start. We swam out for 25 min and then back for a total of 50min. I felt really good, just focused on my form and had a good time.
Afterwards we went and got jamba juice and talked about my nutrition and overall plan for IMC.
Tuesday I ran 5 miles. My left leg felt a bit tight but surprisingly not to bad. My right foot has been acting up and it hurt to start - I probably should have run on a softer surface but it was easier just to run on the road. It seems to hurt more when I'm just walking around than when I'm actually running esp after the first couple miles. In all it took me about 42:34 with hills and all.
Wednesday I had a great massage - she went to town on my legs - and otherwise it was a nice rest day.
Tonight/Thursday Kyle met up with me and we ran around the Bellevue park loop. He brought his gps thing so we finally found out the actual distance - .42 of a mile for a loop - which is retarded since all the signs says half a mile.. Anyway so I ran 8.5 loops or about 3.5 miles. Col told me go hard and do some tempo work so I did. I managed to forget sunglasses or a hat and I wore all black which sucked because it was sunny and rather hot. My first couple of miles were difficult - my legs felt heavy, my foot ached, I was squinting in the sun and I was burning up. I finally loosened up around almost mile 3. I still went hard every other loop and moderate hard on the others. I was pleasantly surprised that my left leg did not hurt at all - always good :) In all it took me 27:28 to finish up the run and I walked a bit more to loosen up and kind of stretch.
Monday evening I met up with Col for an open water swim at green lake after work. The lake was surprisingly calm and kind of a bit chilly to start. We swam out for 25 min and then back for a total of 50min. I felt really good, just focused on my form and had a good time.
Afterwards we went and got jamba juice and talked about my nutrition and overall plan for IMC.
Tuesday I ran 5 miles. My left leg felt a bit tight but surprisingly not to bad. My right foot has been acting up and it hurt to start - I probably should have run on a softer surface but it was easier just to run on the road. It seems to hurt more when I'm just walking around than when I'm actually running esp after the first couple miles. In all it took me about 42:34 with hills and all.
Wednesday I had a great massage - she went to town on my legs - and otherwise it was a nice rest day.
Tonight/Thursday Kyle met up with me and we ran around the Bellevue park loop. He brought his gps thing so we finally found out the actual distance - .42 of a mile for a loop - which is retarded since all the signs says half a mile.. Anyway so I ran 8.5 loops or about 3.5 miles. Col told me go hard and do some tempo work so I did. I managed to forget sunglasses or a hat and I wore all black which sucked because it was sunny and rather hot. My first couple of miles were difficult - my legs felt heavy, my foot ached, I was squinting in the sun and I was burning up. I finally loosened up around almost mile 3. I still went hard every other loop and moderate hard on the others. I was pleasantly surprised that my left leg did not hurt at all - always good :) In all it took me 27:28 to finish up the run and I walked a bit more to loosen up and kind of stretch.
Aug 6, 2007
2 out of 3
Last night I found my car key - clinging to a magnet in one of my purses... Then this morning I found my camera in the back seat of my car. Now if only I could fine the cell phone I misplaced.
Before
After - straight
After - normal curly
Before
After - straight
After - normal curly
Aug 4, 2007
last long weekend
Saturday morning I had to do another long run - so I thought I had to do 14 miles (which is the longest I have ever run) but in reality I had to do 15 miles (+ 1 if I felt good). As you can imagine I went out with the plan to run 14 miles. I wanted to run on a softer surface to give my leg a fighting chance - the Snoqualmie Valley trail that I ran a 12 mile run in the pouring rain of November - it is all gravel or very compact dirt. My only concern was if something went wrong I would have to walk a ways to get back to the car. Kyle was sweet enough to ride his mountain bike and carry water and he got to play with his new garmen forrunner 305 - so he was also able to give me my mile marks.
We started at the Farm place and since I did not want to go to far out one direction I first went to the right 2 miles and back (for 4 miles). As usual it took me a mile or so to get a rhythm going but by the 2 mile turn around I felt good - no pain - no real tightness to speak of - the hardest thing was not stopping to grab some of the ripe blackberries along the side of the trail. It actually felt like the miles ticked away rather quickly because Kyle and I chatted away about all sorts of thing and when ever I asked he told me my mileage. My first couple miles were at sub 9 min/mile pace but by mile 4 or 5 I got into a good pace of right around 9:05 min/mile pace which I was able to maintain for the next 4-5 miles.
I went out the other direction for 5 miles (or to mile 9) and headed back which was great because the trail gradually climb up and so when I turned around to go back it is all gradually downhill - a really wonderful thing. I felt good - I ate a gel every 4 miles or so, had a salt every 20 min and had some cytomax or water when I felt like it (and of course some with the gel or salt).
My left leg was gradually getting a tad tight and every once and a while my right foot would hurt but I kept going - I only walked when I ate a gel and for no longer than a minute. Even so I felt good and I was able to keep my pace under 10 min/mile. - I was actually right on my usual half marathon pace 13.1 in 2:02ish which I was very content with.
Around mile 13 my left leg started to get pretty tight but not bad enough to walk or anything - actually at 13.5ish I started to gradually pick up the pace and then at 13.75ish I really tried to pick it up so I had Kyle go out in front of me so I could see how far I had to go to hit 14 miles (like a finish line or something). I pushed myself all the way even though my leg got tighter I just ignored it (sort of) or at least kept going. In all it took me 2:09:15 and as soon as I finished my left leg hurt. Once I got home I took an ice bath, did an ice massage before going to a massage and then iced again before going to bed.
This morning I woke up stiff but no pain. We slept in till almost 9:30a (completely unheard of for me) but it was great to get so much sleep. Kyle and I eventually headed out for 70ish mile bike ride up/out to Snoqualmie Ridge. Kyle figured out a good route with lots of hill training. I was very happy that my knee did not hurt at all from the start - though my right foot did. My legs felt really heavy on the first climb up Inglewood hill but they felt better up the next one - Ames Lake Rd Hill. We just kind of cruised along - it was really nice the entire ride Kyle and I stayed mostly together - of course he would climb and descend a bit faster than me but he never had to wait to long. I was able to hold his wheel pretty well - even when we were going over 21 mph. I was actually really surprised at how well I was riding considering I ran long the day before.
We climbed up Snoqualmie Falls hill and then after a short break climbed up to the top of Snoqualmie Ridge - a very long gradual climb straight up. It seemed to go on forever - it reminded me of the Hawaii 70.3 ride. At the top we stopped at Starbucks to grab some water and a chai for Kyle and latte for me. Afterwards we got to go back down both hills and I did not use my brakes - haha.
Rather than doing the stair step climb or going back over the sammamish plateau we headed back into carnation and back towards Ames lake - then took Union hill into Redmond.. It may have been a bit shorter but way more climbing - either up or down. I was surprised at how good I still felt. Once back into Redmond we climbed up Bell-Red Road and back home but we were 2 miles short so we passes the house and actually went down a hill on 164th and had to climb back up... With a final ride time of 4:25.
I think the best part if the entire ride was that Kyle and stuck together - yeah he would pull away from me but I was never very far behind and it never seemed like he had to wait long for me to catch up or anything. I love that I'm strong enough for us to ride together - it is just way more fun to do things together. Now it is more like when we ski together :)
In other news I got my hair cut just long enough to go in a ponytale because as Kyle told me "shorter is fast" lol. I would post a picture but like so many other things (car key, cell phone) right now my camera has gone missing. In any case it is wonderful not having as much hair to deal with :)
And now Col has told me the taper begins.
We started at the Farm place and since I did not want to go to far out one direction I first went to the right 2 miles and back (for 4 miles). As usual it took me a mile or so to get a rhythm going but by the 2 mile turn around I felt good - no pain - no real tightness to speak of - the hardest thing was not stopping to grab some of the ripe blackberries along the side of the trail. It actually felt like the miles ticked away rather quickly because Kyle and I chatted away about all sorts of thing and when ever I asked he told me my mileage. My first couple miles were at sub 9 min/mile pace but by mile 4 or 5 I got into a good pace of right around 9:05 min/mile pace which I was able to maintain for the next 4-5 miles.
I went out the other direction for 5 miles (or to mile 9) and headed back which was great because the trail gradually climb up and so when I turned around to go back it is all gradually downhill - a really wonderful thing. I felt good - I ate a gel every 4 miles or so, had a salt every 20 min and had some cytomax or water when I felt like it (and of course some with the gel or salt).
My left leg was gradually getting a tad tight and every once and a while my right foot would hurt but I kept going - I only walked when I ate a gel and for no longer than a minute. Even so I felt good and I was able to keep my pace under 10 min/mile. - I was actually right on my usual half marathon pace 13.1 in 2:02ish which I was very content with.
Around mile 13 my left leg started to get pretty tight but not bad enough to walk or anything - actually at 13.5ish I started to gradually pick up the pace and then at 13.75ish I really tried to pick it up so I had Kyle go out in front of me so I could see how far I had to go to hit 14 miles (like a finish line or something). I pushed myself all the way even though my leg got tighter I just ignored it (sort of) or at least kept going. In all it took me 2:09:15 and as soon as I finished my left leg hurt. Once I got home I took an ice bath, did an ice massage before going to a massage and then iced again before going to bed.
This morning I woke up stiff but no pain. We slept in till almost 9:30a (completely unheard of for me) but it was great to get so much sleep. Kyle and I eventually headed out for 70ish mile bike ride up/out to Snoqualmie Ridge. Kyle figured out a good route with lots of hill training. I was very happy that my knee did not hurt at all from the start - though my right foot did. My legs felt really heavy on the first climb up Inglewood hill but they felt better up the next one - Ames Lake Rd Hill. We just kind of cruised along - it was really nice the entire ride Kyle and I stayed mostly together - of course he would climb and descend a bit faster than me but he never had to wait to long. I was able to hold his wheel pretty well - even when we were going over 21 mph. I was actually really surprised at how well I was riding considering I ran long the day before.
We climbed up Snoqualmie Falls hill and then after a short break climbed up to the top of Snoqualmie Ridge - a very long gradual climb straight up. It seemed to go on forever - it reminded me of the Hawaii 70.3 ride. At the top we stopped at Starbucks to grab some water and a chai for Kyle and latte for me. Afterwards we got to go back down both hills and I did not use my brakes - haha.
Rather than doing the stair step climb or going back over the sammamish plateau we headed back into carnation and back towards Ames lake - then took Union hill into Redmond.. It may have been a bit shorter but way more climbing - either up or down. I was surprised at how good I still felt. Once back into Redmond we climbed up Bell-Red Road and back home but we were 2 miles short so we passes the house and actually went down a hill on 164th and had to climb back up... With a final ride time of 4:25.
I think the best part if the entire ride was that Kyle and stuck together - yeah he would pull away from me but I was never very far behind and it never seemed like he had to wait long for me to catch up or anything. I love that I'm strong enough for us to ride together - it is just way more fun to do things together. Now it is more like when we ski together :)
In other news I got my hair cut just long enough to go in a ponytale because as Kyle told me "shorter is fast" lol. I would post a picture but like so many other things (car key, cell phone) right now my camera has gone missing. In any case it is wonderful not having as much hair to deal with :)
And now Col has told me the taper begins.
Aug 2, 2007
last couple days
Tuesday morning my leg still hurt some so rather than running I did the same mileage/time on an efx/elliptical at the gym. It was boring but it was easier on my leg - in all I did 34min but it felt like much longer. Afterwards I stretched out and massaged my leg as much as I could.
After work I met Col for an open water swim at green lake. I made sure to remind myself many times before and during the swim that "I'm a strong swimmer". It sounds dumb but I felt a lot better the entire swim, it did not matter when I was behind Col or when I got a bit tired I just reminded myself that I could do this and "I'm a strong swimmer" and I kept going. The water as usual was choppy but luckily i think I only got some up my nose once - always a plus.
Col pointed out that I was not rotating as much as I did in the pool so the rest of the time I focused on that. I always feel like I'm going to roll over the other side in the wetsuit but I swam a tad faster -or at least it seemed. I swam for about and hour and afterwards I felt a lot more confident for Canada.
Wednesday was rest day so that I would have plenty of energy for the weekend so all I did was sleep in and take it easy - oh and iced my leg and foot for good measure a couple times while at work.
Thursday morning I got up early and did a 4 mile run - I was rather reluctant to get out going because my leg still feels tight and all that. Luckily once I got going it was alright. I ran 2 miles down hill then had to do the same back up hill. It was a tad chilly so I was glad I wore a long sleeve shirt. In all the run went well, my leg got sort of tight around mile 3 but nothing to bad.
This (Friday) morning I did a long (3100yrds) swim in the pool. I sort of rolled out of bed but made it to the pool around 5:45a. I did not want to mess with much math so I planned long sets.. 400 warm up, 500, 100 hard, 400, 100 hard x 2, 800, 100 hard, 100 cool down. I focused a lot on form, and on the 100 yrds hard I was able to pick up the pace to 1:46 which felt great. I was surprised at how easy it was to swim long sets - I remember when 500 seemed like forever. I finished up in 1:03 which also made me feel more confident about Ironman Canada. I know I could swim another 1100yrds in under 30 min which would put my swim time at around 90 min :)
After work I met Col for an open water swim at green lake. I made sure to remind myself many times before and during the swim that "I'm a strong swimmer". It sounds dumb but I felt a lot better the entire swim, it did not matter when I was behind Col or when I got a bit tired I just reminded myself that I could do this and "I'm a strong swimmer" and I kept going. The water as usual was choppy but luckily i think I only got some up my nose once - always a plus.
Col pointed out that I was not rotating as much as I did in the pool so the rest of the time I focused on that. I always feel like I'm going to roll over the other side in the wetsuit but I swam a tad faster -or at least it seemed. I swam for about and hour and afterwards I felt a lot more confident for Canada.
Wednesday was rest day so that I would have plenty of energy for the weekend so all I did was sleep in and take it easy - oh and iced my leg and foot for good measure a couple times while at work.
Thursday morning I got up early and did a 4 mile run - I was rather reluctant to get out going because my leg still feels tight and all that. Luckily once I got going it was alright. I ran 2 miles down hill then had to do the same back up hill. It was a tad chilly so I was glad I wore a long sleeve shirt. In all the run went well, my leg got sort of tight around mile 3 but nothing to bad.
This (Friday) morning I did a long (3100yrds) swim in the pool. I sort of rolled out of bed but made it to the pool around 5:45a. I did not want to mess with much math so I planned long sets.. 400 warm up, 500, 100 hard, 400, 100 hard x 2, 800, 100 hard, 100 cool down. I focused a lot on form, and on the 100 yrds hard I was able to pick up the pace to 1:46 which felt great. I was surprised at how easy it was to swim long sets - I remember when 500 seemed like forever. I finished up in 1:03 which also made me feel more confident about Ironman Canada. I know I could swim another 1100yrds in under 30 min which would put my swim time at around 90 min :)
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