Thursday, April 26, 2007

Lactate and 5 a.m. Don't Mix

Ok, as you probably know, I've been fighting with the snooze button lately. I haven't gotten up for an early morning workout in quite some time because I wake up, feel fine, think about my workout, and then pull the covers back over my head battle with the snooze button every 8 minutes for the following 2 hours. I then wake up tired and not excited about starting the day, or squeezing in my workout during lunch or after ball practice. I have managed to get the workouts in somehow, but I miss the early morning. I miss the sunrise. I miss the energy that lasts me all day long after I do my workout early.

I think I finally know why I've been so eager to crawl back under the covers each morning lately. Lactate. My training plan has been filled with the abbreviation "LT" lately. As in yesterday's 70 minute LT bike where I did a10 minute warm up, then 6x5min @LT w/3 min zone 2, then a 10 minute cool down. Or like Tuesday's 55 minute LT run, where I was instructed to do a 10 minute warm up, then 6x5min @LT w/1min rest, followed by a 10 minute cool down. You get the picture. Everywhere I turn, I see "LT". Makes me sorta wanna turn and run away screaming. Kinda like Joe Theisman would probably do if he ran into another kind of LT back on a football field. So give me until noon, and I can work up the courage. But 5:00 a.m.? It reminds me of early morning 800 meter intervals at the track while doing the FIRST marathon program. Is it just me, or can anyone else get a little whiff of the track when you are around it, and almost get a queezy feeling from the distinct mental picture of gutting out intervals as the sun comes up? That's kind of how I've been feeling about these LT workouts. The first 2 or 3 weren't too bad, but lately they've just been more than 5 a.m. can handle.

I know this because as I was getting ready for bed last night I checked my schedule, and saw that my workout consisted of an easy 20 minute run and an 1850 yd swim. The swim was speed work, but the yardage being under 2000, was encouraging to me. I went on to bed as normal, and when the alarm went off this morning I hopped right up. No problem. I went and did the workout without a second thought. I guess the absence of "LT" was so inviting I didn't want to miss out.

I also have a challenge with Papa Louie, as to who will see the sun rise first. But I don't think I can claim victory today, because 1)It was raining and I was swimming indoors before the sun came out, and 2)Even if I had been outside it was so cloudy you couldn't see the sun.

The bottom line is, though, LT or No LT, I need to quit "snoozing". It's addictive. And I'm just being lazy. I'm being lazy not only when the alarm sounds, but also about getting in the bed on time at night. Enforcing discipline of that nature onto myself is how I got where I am. I won't stay here if I don't continue to practice it.

For more on the snooze button, you've gotta read this. Awesome, awesome write up about the little devil.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Stop Hitting SNOOZE

I've been getting my workouts in lately, but I'm still not getting up early like I should. I finally did an early morning workout yesterday - I met D, who is getting ready for his first tri, and H at the rec center @7 a.m. for a 1 hour and 20 minute ride, and then I put my running shoes on and ran home since my plan said for me to do a brick. I think we ended up with about 22 miles on the bike and then I stretched my run out to 3 miles in 26:20. It felt so good to do a brick. That's not normally something I would say, but I was ready for it yesterday. The weather was nice, and we saw turkey, deer, and a skunk in one big field during the ride.

I also had a really good run Saturday. Bo had another T-ball game at 9 a.m. (we won again!!!), and then Briar had games at 11:00 and 1:00(Briar won too!!!), and I had to leave for my Grandmother's 85th birthday party @ 1:00. We got back from the party around 6:00, and I got dressed and set out for 8.26 miles. I had planned on doing this run at 5:30 Saturday morning, but once again I turned off the alarm. I've got to quit doing that. It's like a disease. But I did get the run in anyways, and I felt great the entire time. I didn't wear my HR monitor, but I wish I had've because I am sure I stayed at Zone 2 and below, and endedup with a 9:19 pace. I really felt like I was running 10 minute miles, but everytime I looked down it would be in the low 9's or high 8's. I was able to finish really strong. This is a step in the right direction, as the some of the runs I've had lately have left me frustrated and unmotivated. So...I'm making a comeback.

Friday I had to do my run at the rec center on the treadmill, and then swim. It went okay. I ran 40 minutes and swam 50 minutes. Nothing special.

I won't go back any further, but the rest of the week went pretty well except for the fact that I'm staying up too late and not getting up early. I have even found myself getting up and being awake when the alarm sounds, but then I go back to bed and after a few times hitting the snooze button, I end up feeling very tired when I finally have to get up. I am certain that I would be better off just going ahead and getting up at the first sound of the alarm. Besides, there really is just no other feeling like being out running or on your bike and seeing the sun come up over a beautiful spring morning. I want that. Do I want it bad enough? We'll see.

Bo plays again tonight. We're going for win #3.

Friday, April 20, 2007

We Win!!!

Bo's T-ball team won their first game tonight!!












































Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Balancing Act

I'm a little bit distracted lately. Still working on finding that balance between being a good mother, wife, employee, and triathlete. And still trying to be true to myself. It's tough. I've missed workouts lately just because I wanted to stay up too late (or all night I might add) playing games or hanging out with J.T. and/or the kids. And I am going to miss a lot of events I had wanted to do in the next couple of months because now that the baseball schedules are out I see many conflicts. And Competitive Lana just doesn't hold a candle to Competitive Mom. So out the door with the Saturday morning metric centuries and all that good stuff. They will be here when my kids are older. It does leave a bit of an unsettled feeling in the bottom of stomach, though. Like, I think I might could be doing a bit better than I am. I have times when I think I can. Then I have times when I think that my plate is full, and if I don't just chill out and enjoy myself a little I'm gonna be way burned out. Maybe a I need a better schedule. And maybe I need to force myself to stick to it. I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants right now, and that's not working. But then again, I have to be flexible with all that we have going on. I need some kind of resolve, though. Something.

Enough about me, though. How about a great big CONGRATULATIONS to Papa Louie!!!! He ran the Boston Marathon, in those awful conditions, in 3:12!!!! He is a machine.

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Easter Pics

Ready for church...


Ready to hunt eggs...
We had a little scuffle over the golden egg and Granddad caught in on camera!

I am the Index Finger

Thanks to Rae, I just found out I am the index finger. Interestingly enough, the description fits pretty well. What are you?

You Are the Index Finger

You are ambitious, driven, and capable.
You aren't afraid to take responsibility for your actions - or place the blame on whoever deserves it.
You are honest, free thinking, and objective. You see things in your own way - and you aren't afraid to let everyone know about it.

You get along well with: The Thumb

Stay away from: The Ring Finger

Oh Speed, where art thou?

"Speed" being a relative term, of course. Because the speediest of my speeds would be very slow when compared with speedy people like E-Speed and Daisyduc. My training program called for an LT run today to assess my fitness. I was supposed to warmup for 10 minutes, go as hard as I could go for 30 minutes, and then cool down for 10 minutes. And after the first 10 minutes of the LT part, I was suppose to hit the lap button in order get my average heart rate for the last 20 minutes of the LT run. I finally drug myself out of bed at 5:30 this morning to do it. And I wasn't as fast as I wanted to be. The first 10 minutes of the LT run I did 1.2 miles(8:21/m pace) with an average HR of 169bpm. Then the last twenty minutes I did 2.5 miles(8:01/m pace) with an average HR of 177bmp. I really wanted that pace down under 8:00. And preferably close to 7:30. But oh well. I really want a sub 23 minute 5k this year, but that's obviously not looking so hot.

And Sunday I had to do the same kind of LT ride on the bike to assess my fitness. Since Sunday was Easter we spent most of the day at my parents' house - eating, hunting Easter egss, and playing the Wii. So I did the ride at 9 p.m. on the trainer. I didn't record my distances for the bike time trial, but I did get my heart rates. The first ten minutes my average heart rate was 152, and the last 20 minutes it was 167. And I was absolutey dying on that bike. The last 5 or 6 minutes I was gasping for every breath and sweating profusely. So why was my heart rate lower on the bike at LT than it is on the run? Does that mean I can sustain a higher heart rate while running than I can biking? If so, does that mean I'm a better runner or biker? I need to do more reasearch.

Sunday was also my Grandma's birthday. She is not with us anymore, and I miss her more than any words can express. Life here on this earth is forever changed without her.

In between Sunday and Thursday, though, I've had some decent workouts. Monday I had a 1650 yd swim, immediatly followed by a 5 mile run, immediatly followed by T-ball practice. Tuesday I had a 21 mile bike in 1:10, and Wednesday I had swim class, from which I finally left feeling encouraged instead of wanting to cry because I am so slow. Dee, the new helper, said my stroke was looking beautiful. That's encouraging, because it felt good too. AND - I kept up, and even passed some of the other people in my lane. THAT is a first. So we're coming along with the swimming. I still have SO FAR to go, but as long as I am moving in the right direction, we're cool.

Briar plays baseball tonight. I love to watch him play baseball. Tomorrow I have a 2900 yd swim, a 1 hr bike, and a 25 minute run back to back. Saturday, if it's not raining TOO bad, Briar and I are going to ride the 16.5 mile route in the Tour de Boro. It will be my little Briar's first organized bike ride...which reminds me, I've got to get him clipping in and out of those pedals ASAP! Then we have to rush back for Bo's T-ball pictures and a scrimmage at 11:30. Then Briar plays again at 5:00. Lots going on.


OH - and I forgot to mention that I finally signed up for Memphis in May. And booked a hotel room. So, it's official. I'm excited. And we're going to stay an extra night and play some Hold'em in Tunica afterwards. Triathlon and poker. And Memphis barbeque. It's on...

Monday, April 02, 2007

Opening Day

The 2007 Manchester Little League season is officially underway. We got up Saturday morning and met up with our teams at 8:30 to march in the parade at 9:00. We had opening day ceremonies, and then Briar's game at 1:00. Bo didn't have a game, since T-ball doesn't start playing until the middle of April, and he was not too happy about that. Nonetheless, it was a good day. This is the 50th anniversary of Manchester Little League. Briar's team won, even though his batting appearances were all strike outs. :( He was nervous. And I couldn't do anything about it. It's so tough to sit in those stands and be completely helpless like that. On a positive note, he did very well on defense and made a couple good plays on the 2B and SS. I'll post some pics shortly. Needless to say, after church yesterday, we went straight to the ball field and met up with a couple other boys for batting practice. He plays again Tuesday, so let's hope the baseball gods look more favorably upon him then.

On to swimming, biking, and running. I think I left off before lunch Tuesday. I had a tough run that morning, with sore legs. But I had a much better bike during my lunch break. I did the out and back Staggerwing course, doing a 15 minute warm up, then 2x(5x3min intervals w/1min RI) and 15 minutes in zone 1/2 between the 2 sets, and then a 15 minute cool down. This was the first time I have done this workout off the trainer, but it worked out just fine. I did 23.56 miles in 1:16:50, and worked out almost all of the soreness in my legs. It was a beautiful day, and I was glad to be out riding.

Thursday I did 6+ mile run in 58 minutes, then had a 2000 yd swim.

Friday was supposed to be a rest day, but with Saturday being entirely devoted to Little League, I moved Saturday's workout to Friday and left Saturday open for family. I figured this probably wasn't ideal as far as the plan's intentions, because Saturday was supposed to be a 50 minute swim, 2 hr bike, and 20 min run, then Sunday was supposed to be a 30 min bike and 80 minute run. I assume the purpose was to have some awfully fatigued legs when it came time to do the 80 minute run, but oh well. I started at 5:45 a.m. Friday morning at the pool. The swim went well, then I changed and got on my bike. I felt great pretty much the entire time I was on the bike, and I also drank my cherry OS Endurance drink. I think I approve of it, too. It didn't upset my stomach like Accelerade did once (the one and only time I tried it), and it wasn't thick and grainy. It didn't taste great at first, but after about half the bottle, I acquired the taste for it just fine. We got these drink mixes at our swim class a while back - the people from OS came and gave them to us to try out. We got a sample of every one of them, and I am thinking they just might work for me. Supposedly they pack enough calories and nutrition that you don't have to eat solid food or gels while doing endurance events. If that's the case, then I'm down with that, sistas. And bruthas. I'm down with anything that might eliminate that awful urge for the port-a-potty I have around mile 19 during a marathon. So anyways, the bike ride ended up being 35.6 miles in 2:06, and the run was 2.32 miles in 20 minutes. The bike and the run were supposed to be done in Zones 1 and 2. My average HR on the bike was 139, and my average HR on the run was 152. I haven't really calculated my zones because I've been lazy about that, but I'm pretty sure that's not zone 1 or 2. The bike might be close at 139, but the run isn't. I believe my max heart rate is somewhere between 186 and 190, and I haven't taken my resting HR in a while. Ok, I just did, manually by counting my pulse for 60 seconds, and it came out to 62 bpm. Of course, I know it's supposed to be taken before you get out of bed, and not at 11:30 a.m. having previously finished a big cup of coffee. But if you happen to be one of those people who likes to analyze stuff, have at it and tell me what my training zones should be. I think my Garmin software does that for me, too. I should play around it with and find out myself, I guess.

Enough on that. So I rested Saturday, and then Sunday I rode with one of my best friend's brother, who is in town for a short while and has been training for his first tri. He stopped by my house on his SWEET Specialized Roubaix, and we took off for a short ride through the country. I was only supposed to do 30 minutes, but it's kind of hard to get any kind of loop in just 30 minutes, so we ended up doing 56 minutes. We rode down MG England Rd, which I've never been down before, and boy was it beautiful out there. Afterwards, I ran from my house to the main intersection in town and back - 6.42 miles in 1 hour. My legs actually felt great the whole time. This too, was supposed to be in zones 1 and 2, so I tried to just run at a comfy pace and not kill myself. Wrigley also ran with me, and made it just fine the entire way.

So all in all, a pretty good week of training. I think it's safe to sign up for the Memphis in May Oly. It doesn't look like Little League games are going to be in the way, as long as we make it a short trip. And being that it's right there close to Tunica, MS, I haven't gotten any resistance from J.T. ;)

Happy training to you all this week!