Thursday, September 27, 2007

New Life

You wouldn't guess it from afar, and you wouldn't know it even up close...but I am an emotional person. Inside. Outwardly, I live day to day fairly emotionless, and I've even had friends to comment that I was "stone cold" in some situations. I have learned to keep emotion inside, and in check. I don't always make decisions based on it, but it's there, and it affects me. It affects my mood. It affects my attitude. So when things are moving right along, and I'm running well and loving it, well, I just keep running well and loving it. But, introduce a setback, and, well I could be set back for a while.

That being said, all these public spankings I've been taking aren't very good for me. They get me down a little. They plant little seeds of doubt, even though I should just take them for what they are and move on.

So today was a 20 miler. It was scheduled for tomorrow, but because of our trip, I moved it back to today. It would be solo, as Michele is still running hers tomorrow, except for a 5 mile loop in which I planned to meet up with her, Tracy, Mike, Amy, and Mary Beth. It would also be somewhat of an experiment because I had decided to wear my Fuel Belt and take along OS Endurance instead of my normal Gu and water. I am trying to pinpoint what is causing the nausea during my long runs, and this was my first shot at something different. It would start at 4 a.m. from my house.

I knew this was an important run for my confidence, and I was a tad bit excited. I had my iPod loaded up and my phone in my Fuel Belt pouch - I always carry my phone when I run alone. I took off and immediately noticed the beautiful, moonlit sky. It wasn't scary-dark like it was Monday, there was moonlight all over. I tried to snap a pic (above) during the first mile, but it doesn't do it anywhere near justice. My plan to was to take it easy and enjoy this 20 miler. Just look at it as 3+ hours of alone time. Time to think about our trip, reflect on the past week, and just have some good general conversation with myself, which I LOVE to do, by the way. I wasn't worried about pace as long as it was near the 10:00/mile mark. I think Pfitz suggested that we run our long runs quite a bit slower than we have been doing anyways, so it sounded good to me.

During the first 3 miles, my left knee area felt very uncomfortable. Tight tendons and tight IT band. Some dull pain on the back side of my knee. It worried me, but after a while it got warmed up and felt better. I was able to pick up the pace some after that, and then met my friends around mile 6. I ran a 5 mile loop with them, and the company helped occupy my mind. They dropped off when I was at mile 11, we said 'goodbye' and I kept plugging. I did another loop down Interstate Dr. , back to Hwy 41 where I snapped a pic of the sun coming up, and back down Oak Dr. As I was running down Oak Drive on mile 15 I started to wonder if I would make it. I had to start conserving my OS drink because 4 bottles for a 20 miles is really stretching it a bit, and it just seemed like I had been running so long and I was getting bored. But I regrouped and said "Look, your legs are fine, your heart rate is fine-why wouldn't you make it?" That logical thinking gave me a boost, and I really had no more problems to the end. I guessed the distance just perfect. I hit 18 miles at the bottom of Jail Hill, and I saw Amy and her kids as she was taking them to school. They yelled at me and I told her "This is it-2 more". Mile 20 was a little slower because of a hill that is somewhat unpleasant, but I really felt like I finished strong and was happy with the result. 20 miles with a 9:56/pace. Not 4 hour marathon fast or anything, but this is the 1st of 4 twenty milers. I needed to finish this one and feel good about it.

I got home as J.T. was walking out to take the boys to school, and their little smiling faces were just what I wanted to see. My stomach felt fine the whole way - no nausea, and no feeling hungry. I think the OS worked great. I did, however, have to make a sprint to the bathroom as soon as I walked in the house. I took an ice bath that felt great and not like torture, drank an Accelerade, then got ready for work. I am glad I sit fairly close to the restroom today, because I've been running back and forth regularly...LOL. But that's fairly common for me after a long run. I can deal with post run tummy issues a lot better than the ones that come up DURING the run.

So - I'm traveling tomorrow, gonna run 6 Saturday, 14 Sunday, and 6 Monday while at Universal. The 6's are recovery pace. Then we'll get back in the swing of things when we're back. Stats below:

Activity
Route:--Elev. Avg:1047 ft
Location:Manchester, TNElev. Gain:+0 ft
Date:09/27/07Up/Downhill: [+1105/-1105]
Time:04:11 AMDifficulty:4.5 / 5.0

Weather:Thunderstorm Rain Fog/Mist

72F temp; 93% humidity

72F heat index; winds NW 6
Performance

Distance: 20.00 miles

Time:3:18:44
Speed:6.0 mph

Pace:9' 56 /miHeart Rate:160 bpm (Avg)
Calories:2810
174 bpm (Peak)
Splits
MilePace (min/mile)Speed (mph)Elevation
Gain
actual+/- avgactual+/- avg
110' 33+0' 375.7-0.4-72 ft
210' 03+0' 076.0-0.1-7 ft
310' 05+0' 096.0-0.1+69 ft
49' 40-0' 166.2+0.2-6 ft
59' 24-0' 326.4+0.3-72 ft
69' 50-0' 066.1+0.1-20 ft
710' 11+0' 155.9-0.2+29 ft
810' 23+0' 275.8-0.3+56 ft
99' 57+0' 016.0-0.0-13 ft
1010' 06+0' 105.9-0.1+4 ft
1110' 16+0' 205.8-0.2-29 ft
129' 50-0' 066.1+0.1+36 ft
139' 46-0' 106.1+0.1+10 ft
149' 47-0' 096.1+0.1-29 ft
1510' 05+0' 096.0-0.1+23 ft
169' 46-0' 106.1+0.1-4 ft
179' 34-0' 226.3+0.2-13 ft
189' 27-0' 296.3+0.3-72 ft
199' 49-0' 076.1+0.1+36 ft
209' 55-0' 016.0+0.0+76 ft
end13' 20+3' 244.5-1.50 ft
Versus average of 9' 56 min/mi




Posted from bimactive.com

Monday, September 24, 2007

My legs hurt

Well, the Pfitz plan said to run 6 miles recovery with 6x100m Strides on Sunday, but I didn't follow the plan. The Pfitz plan also had said to run 18 miles this past weekend at long run pace - not 18 with 13 at LT pace, which is really what we did (or, in my case, tried to do). And before I went to bed Saturday night my legs were sore and my left IT band was hurting again. I iced and took Alieve, but chose to take a day of rest on Sunday. I was hesitant to deviate from the plan, but I'm glad I did. I really believe my body needed rest more than a 6 mile recovery run.

The plan for today said 12 miles. When I got up at 4:00 a.m. I was seriously wondering how I would pull this off. The good news: my IT band wasn't hurting anymore. The bad news: my quads and calves were worse. Michele showed up at 4:30 a.m. and we took off.

The first couple of miles were rough, but after 3 my legs started feeling better. They still felt stiff, but not as sore. I finished the run in just under a 10:00/mile pace, and I was happy with that. Tomorrow is a rest/cross training day.

The plan will have to be further modified at the end of this week/beginning of next to accommodate our vacation to Universal Orlando while the kids are on fall break. I think this entails running 20 miles on Thursday...just me, myself, and Ipod. Time to catch up on some Phedippidations.

A couple days post-Middle Half, I have a few things to reflect upon, analyze, and mention. First off, this may be the absolute best spectator support at a running event that I've ever experienced. I mean, there wasn't necessarily masses of yelling, screaming fans like you see at big events, but there were local citizens and volunteers pretty much throughout the entire course. And these people, they weren't just staring and clapping some. Honey, these people were excited for us runners. They were happy to have us there. They were not just saying "Good job!" they were shouting "You're doing great! You are awesome! You can do it!..." and on and on and on. There were locals out with their own pretty little glass pitchers pouring water. I could just really feel the heart-felt encouragement they were offering. There were college kids who woke up early on a Saturday morning (hung over, no doubt) just to cheer for us, when you know they thought we were crazy as hell out there running 13.1 miles. But they all made it a better experience, and I'm sure they have no idea how much their words of encouragement meant to each one of us. I tried to thank them all until I went totally "bonkers" and could barely speak, but I still doubt they really know how much they meant to us.

Next, I am still trying to figure out why I had such a terrible time. I have narrowed it down to general fatigue, low fuel and hydration the day before and morning of the race, and maybe a mixture of those and the heat. I also think that I am probably approaching a point in this marathon training where I am not as mentally strong as I normally am. I somewhat tired a lot of the time, and this wears on me mentally as well. My competitive thirst has been partially quenched by all the recent triathlons this summer. Fall is approaching and the kids have a lot going on - there's not a lot of downtime, and not a lot of time for me to worry about getting just the right nutrition or just the right amount of sleep. And not a lot of time for actually "listening" to my body. And so goes the same song for all us - life presents many distractions regardless of our situation. Those who really want it will find a way to achieve balance and will prevail. Those who don't, well, they'll either adjust their goals or go down in a blaze of glory, I guess. I've been pretty close to fire before, and balance is just easier. If I'm going to get that sub-4 in December, I am going to have to pay attention to the details, get enough rest and nutrition, and regain that balance and mental toughness it takes to plug through a twenty miler. So - I'm going to take it with a grain of salt, learn from my mistakes, discipline myself to improve upon them, and I'll be back.

Sing it with me, now..."hey, hey-hey, he-ey....hey, hey-hey, he-ey"...

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Public Stomping #2


And this time it had nothing to do with a lack of effort.

I've had a good week of training. Felt great during all my runs. I was anticipating a fairly good day today at the The Middle Half. Maybe not a PR, but atleast a good solid race.

Well, I guess it's like my parents use to always tell me - you don't always get everything you want. Michele and I got there early and got in our 2 prerace miles with time to spare. We saw several people we knew and chatted for awhile before the gun went off. Then gun went off...and I felt good. It was hot, but we were running under 8:45 for the most part, and creeping down around 8:20. We saw Lisa and Rae and they were running fairly close to the same pace. The whole time we were letting an ironman, Jerry from our swim class, pace us - although he didn't know it until we finally told him thanks. Around mile 6 I didn't feel great, and then around mile 7 I felt nauseous. Michele was doing great, and I was just trying to hang on. I went from smiles and "thank you's" to 'head down, one foot in front of the other, focus' mode. I tried to hang on for about a mile and pretty much fought through the sick feeling, but then my legs just wouldn't go. I walked around mile 8 or 9. And then probably around mile 10 some. And then I probably walked half of the last mile, just trying to get to the finish line.

It was not my day.

I finished the half in 1:58:21 and got some water and found some shade. I sent Michele onward for her 3 miles while I tried to somewhat recover. After about 5 or 10 minutes, I got up and decided to go ahead and do my 3 extra miles so that I would have a total of 18 for the day. I finished them, but it wasn't pretty. I did use the opportunity to try and encourage other runners, and had some good conversation with some of them.

I finished the 18 miles in 2:52:04, which is a 9:34 pace. But I stopped my garmin between the 2 warmup miles and between the half and the 3 post race miles, so that pace is not like a solid 18 miles.

Congrats to Michele who ran a great race and stomped my butt. And also to Rae who did the same and almost placed in her Age Group (5th)! And congrats to Holly, Lisa, Kim R., Kim C., Tony, Heather, Tim, Pam, and Mike (who ran for Kevin) who represented Coffee County well!!!

I said I didn't expect anything to be left in the tank by the time I left there today, and there wasn't, but I thinking more along of the lines of "I gave it 100% percent, had a great race and gutted out 3 more miles at the end" kind of feeling instead of "OMG - I completely bonked, I feel sick and my legs won't move" kind of thing. I couldn't stomach ANYTHING at the end except a coke.
I didn't stick around after I finished the 18. We checked our times, checked for a door prize which I did win - a gift card for a free lunch to somewhere that I can't recall right now. I drove home, showered and headed to the soccer field to coach our soccer game. And we got stomped at the soccer game, too! :(

~Big. Long. Sigh~

Tomorrow is another day.

Friday, September 21, 2007

I love a rest day

Awe, thanks for those comments. You guys make my public stomping not feel so bad...

Today is a rest day. Tomorrow is the Murfreesboro "Middle Half" Half Marathon. But Pfitz says I am to be running an 18 mile long run this week. So...Michele and I are going early, we're running 2 warm up miles before the race, then running the half, and then running 3 more miles at the end. Sounds good to me. So, my plan is to go very easy on the 2 warmup miles. Then run the 13.1 at fairly even splits, hopefully more negative than positive if anything, and then gut out the 3 at the end. I suppose they will resemble a shuffle, but that's okay. I know this is not what Pfitz had in mind for this 18 mile long run, but you gotta do what you gotta do. This is the inaugural half marathon for M'boro, so it should be fun. I wouldn't say I'm going for a PR, but I plan on using everything in the tank by the time I leave there tomorrow. Then I'll rush back and coach a soccer game.

Here's what's been going on this week:
Yesterday (Thursday): 7 miles in 1:04:41 then 8x100m strides
Wednesday: 16 mile bike w/Jack
Tuesday:11.04 miles in 1:43:20
Monday:4 miles in 45:24

No, I didn't taper for the half. I'm "training through it" as Pfitz says. Goodluck to all my peeps who are going to be there, too: Michele, Holly, Kelly, Kim C., Kim R., Heather, Pam, Tony, Lisa, Tim, and Rae. Kevin was supposed to be running this one, but a knee injury has had him sidelined. Get well and get ready for the next one, Kevin!

over and out...

Monday, September 17, 2007

Music City Triathlon


Well, Sunday was the Music City Intermediate Distance Tri. Just to be blunt about it, I was not excited about going. I am a little tired from marathon training. I have had a few aches and pains as well - my right ankle, the top of my left foot, and my IT band in my left leg had all been screaming at me during the weekend. BUT - I have been signed up for some time now, so I was going. In regards to my marathon training program, I was simply substituting this triathlon for the 10 mile LT run that was on the schedule for this very day. The LT run was supposed to be 10 w/5 miles at 15k to half mary pace. So a 10k at said pace after a 1k swim and a 40k bike seemed like a fair swap to me. That being said - I declared with all honesty that I would not be "racing" this race. Only "participating". Using it as training.

And that's what I did. It was cold when we got there, and the water temp was 74 degrees - wetsuits allowed - YES! When we got in the water, it felt quite warm, though. I was pleasantly surprised. It was a mass start my age group, and there were only 22 in my AG. When it came our time we tip-toed out into the water and took off on "Go". I swear it didn't take but about 30 seconds, and I felt like I was all alone. I guess that's good from a physical contact standpoint, but not good for my ego, nor for my attitude about this tri to begin with. But I made it to the end, and was disgusted as I stepped onto the beach and saw that my watch said "33:something". But I trotted on towards T-1 and got a little pumped up when I heard my swim coach/Ironman Ashley Whitney yelling for me!!Official Swim Time:33:37

I took my time in T-1. Took forever getting that wetsuit off and everything. I just wasn't motivated for speed.Official T-1 Time:2:00

I got on the bike, and geared down immediately because I figured high cadence was my best bet for today. I tried to keep my heart rate down and my cadence at 80, no matter who passed me. I got passed by, I think, one person in my age group, and I just let 'er go. I got passed by several 20 somethings and quite a few fast men, too. At one point it rained on us, and I was extra cautious - no need to risk a crash when I'm not going for time anyways.Official Bike Time:1:11:36

I got back to T-2 and was really glad to get the run started. I was worried that my shoes would cause blisters since they had been rained on (I do not wear socks), but not much I could do about it. I got my shoes on and took off down the aisle and reached the center when a volunteer yelled "wrong way - exit to the other side!" So I turned around and ran back down the aisle to the end, exited transition, and hit my lap button on my watch. Official T-2 Time:1:24

Now, the run. Finally the run. The reason I'm here - to push this run. I knew it was hilly, so I took off conservatively. I ran up the first big hill and felt winded, but good. By about mile 2 my running legs were ready to push. So I gradually increased my pace and really had a good time during this run. I saw Tom on the way out, then Michele, Patrick , Mike and Tonya on the way back in. During the last mile I really pushed harder. I flew down the last hill without holding back and it felt great.Official Run Time:50:28.

Official Race Time:2:40:34
6th place out of 22 in my AG

Now. It was fun. It really was. I enjoyed it. Sorta. But I just don't know that I really enjoy races where you don't give 100%. You know, "races" as "training". It doesn't really feel right to me. To just "let 'er go" on the bike. It's like a conflict of interest. An oxymoron. However, I think I could get over that feeling, except for one thing. And you gotta know what that is. I mean...IT'S ALL FINE AND GOOD UNTIL YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE RESULTS. I should have never looked at them. Seeing my name below some of the people that it has been above all summer is disappointing. And it's like my friend, Joe, says "it sorta feels like being stomped in public". But I'm going to have to learn to deal with it for Ironman, I guess. I just have to consider that you never know what people are doing out there on any given day. Maybe they're "racing"...maybe they're "training". And perhaps I should consider that it's possible that when my name appears above them on the results at certain races, they may not have been going all out on that day, either. In other words...humble your ass, Lana. We're all out there just having fun staying in shape.

Speaking of Joe - many congrats to him on his 1:44:25 half mary this weekend!!! I SOOOO called that finish time, by the way. And I can also use this as a lesson for myself - because Joe is normally a 1:20:something half marathoner, but he has been sacrificing his speed for the sake of going long for the past year or so. He is training with Michele and I for the Rocket City Marathon, promising to get us to that finish line in under 4 hours. Although he said something about 3:30 today...which I completely ignored.

On a positive note, I really feel like I have a good grip on the Olympic, or Intermediate distance triathlon now. It was my 3rd one, and the distance was very comfortable in all 3 events. So let's go for more!

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Puzzled

There's lots of fun and cool stuff going on in our family lately that I'd rather talk about, but for now, I've got to figure something out. Here's the deal. This past week was a recovery week. It was 37 miles, down from the previous week's (planned) 46. Side note: I didn't actually get in 46, because I substituted the Star Triathlon for Sunday's 9 mile LT run. Anyways, I was thankful for this recovery week because I needed it. The 17 mile long run that preceded it was rough on me. Here's how it went.

Sunday: General aerobic 8 miles with 8x100yd strides. I felt great during this run, and took off with Joe after about 3 miles pushing the pace down under 8:30 for most of the remaining miles, and ended up with an average pace of 8:47. And an average heart rate of 161. The strides were tough, and I went home pretty tired that night.

Monday: Recovery 5 miles. Done at work on my lunch break with Holly. It was tough. Hot and humid, and my legs were spent. I had an avg pace of 9:51 and an average HR of 159, even though it seemed like every time I glanced at my HR it was over 170. According to Pfitz, using my heart rate reserve, my heart rate was supposed to stay under 148 during this run. But I couldn't do it...I would have had to walk, and I wouldn't have made it back from my lunch break in time.

Tuesday: General aerobic 8 miles. Ouch. This one hurt, but Michele and I somehow pulled through it with a decent pace - 9:36 - and my avg HR was 157.

Wednesday: Rest. Much needed rest.

Thursday: Recovery 4 miles. I wanted to make sure I kept my heart rate down for this one. We had a big group, and Amy was running a little slower so I chose to join her and successfully kept my heart rate rate down where I wanted. Average pace: 11:20, Average HR: 141. I did swim 1500 yds afterwards.

Friday: Long Run of 12 miles. Should be easy, right? It's only 12. And this is a recovery week. Besides that, I have rested on my rest/cross training days instead of cross training. So I was expecting the "light on my feet" feeling, and figured Michele and I would knock this thing out fairly close to marathon pace. Wrong. Legs. felt. like. lead. My heart rate was way too high the entire run. It was a struggle, and I commented around mile 10 that it was having to tap into the mental toughness tank to get me through. I don't think I was dehydrated - my water intake was probably not as good as normal this week, but it was still fairly good. And we had water and Gu at mile 8.3 during the run. The temp was cool (67 degrees), although the humidity was 96%. We finished the run with a 9:30 pace and my average HR was 163. Level of perceived effort was HIGH.

I am puzzled. Why did this run hurt so bad? This 12 miler, in week 6, was worse than the one we did in week 1. Here are the two charts:

Week 1 12 miler
Avg Pace: 9:25, Avg HR: 152, Peak HR:168, Temp:79, Humidity:76%
Week 6 12 miler
Avg Pace: 9:30, Avg HR: 163, Peak HR:172, Temp:67, Humidity:96%
You can see I definitely started out slower the first time. I don't know if that is the key or not. I do know that I always do better when starting out slower. I'm just not sure if it would have made a different yesterday or not, though. Here are some possible things I am considering:

1.) Maybe I was not suppose to feel fresh during this recovery week. Maybe I will feel better next week as a result of the recovery week.

2.)Perhaps I should have started out slower.

3.)Maybe running really hard Sunday did me in for this week.

4.)Could the humidity have been a factor? Surely not, since the temp was cool.

Suggestions solicited. I'm doing my last tri for the season Sunday - the Music City Triathlon. Goal:Steady pace and not to push myself over the edge. At this point, I am not going to compromise my marathon training for a triathlon that probably doesn't even rank as a "C" race. Just going for the fun.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Bootleg

Hill repeats and track intervals aren't the only way to get my Maxium Heart Rate.


I should wear my HR monitor to his games...

-photo courtesy of The Saturday Indpendent

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Perhaps I hear a different drummer

Cries of the masses around me: "You're doing what?"

Me: "An Ironman. Yes. I am doing the Rocket City Marathon in December, and then starting in January I'm training for Ironman Florida '08."

The masses (with scornful looks): "You aren't going to be able to walk by the time you are 45."

Me: "I disagree. But either way, my heart will be in good shape, huh!"

The masses: "How are you going to do all this training? You have kids, you know."

Me: "Yes, I realize this. Don't get me wrong, it won't be the easiest task I've ever undertaken. But I believe it's doable. I will do everything I can do while the kids are fast asleep, like I do now. And all the rest, well - do any of us devote 100% of our awake time to our children? I'll have to make sacrifices. And yes, my husband and kids will have to make some sacrifices, too. But isn't that what we should be doing for each other anyway? If it were a job, or something to bring in money, would it be so out of line? Well, I believe my kids will benefit from my experience just as I do. Not monetarily, of course, but in lessons and examples that exceed handing them an extra $20 for a new video game."

The masses: "You are crazy."

Phil mentioned one time that one of the things wrong with America today is that parents think the only thing they are good for is transporting their kids back and forth to and from practices. I think he is right on target. Granted, J.T. and I do a lot of running back and forth. But hopefully our boys see that there is more to life than that. I believe that a parent should always be available for their children, and should give of themselves and their time, and include their children in the things that make up their everyday lives - not just when it's convenient or when it's required. I do not, however, agree with a parent making themselves a slave, or martyr, to their children. It should be a give and take. I should be involved in what my kids have going on, and they should be involved in what I have going on. And together, we will grow.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.
- Henry David Thoreau

Monday, September 10, 2007

Different stuff

Before I say anything, I must give BIG CONGRATS to all those who competed in and finished Ironman Wisconsin yesterday!! You are guys are awesome, and are so inspiring. I tracked all the tri-bloggers out there until I had to leave for my 8 mile run, and then I caught up with your finishes this morning. You guys ROCK!

So, Friday morning was 17 miles, starting at the rec center, at 4 a.m. I was not excited about this run, but it had to be done. We ran a different route this time - down to Bushy Branch Rd, through Holly's subdivision on Shedd Rd, then down Ragsdale Rd until it comes to back to Branch. We used Holly's house a water/gu stop at miles 5.5 and 10.5. She was kind enough to put water out for us in a cooler. I just didn't feel well in general for the majority of this run. Each step was tough, not to mention that my hamstrings, inner thighs, and butt were very sore from my weight lifting and lunges on Wednesday. I probably over did that, considering I've been several weeks without it. I need to do that consistently to be able to keep it up. Anyways, Joe had a great run, and me and Michele had a pretty good run. I had stomach issues pretty much the whole time, but never did actually have to stop. I think we finished the run somewhere between a 9:30 and 9:40 pace. I haven't exported all my garmin info for bimActive yet, but I will do that soon and post the splits. I am very thankful for the recovery week we have coming up.

I did nothing Saturday, other than coach Bo's 2 soccer games and then rush to the football field to see Briar's game. Bo really enjoyed his soccer games, and he even scored a goal or two! I don't know what I am doing out there trying to coach...but we managed to win 1 and lose one anyways. Briar's team took a beating again on the football field, but he had a few good runs - one was a QB bootleg for 14 yds! And he brought home a few bruises as well.


Sunday was an 8 mile general aerobic run with 8 x 10 strides. We running along at a fairly comfortable pace, and then I decided to just try and keep up with Joe, who was basically running circles around us...and I did, but I was pretty spent by the end of the run. We finished with an 8:47 average pace, and my Avg HR was 161. I still haven't been able to find anywhere that Pfitz tells you what HR to run the General Aerobic runs at, but oh well. I have a 5 mile recovery run today at lunch and it will be well under what it should be. Regardless of how slow I have to run it.

Things are going to start getting busy very soon. Swim team starts tomorrow (both boys are signed up) from 4:00 - 5:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Briar and Bo have football and soccer at 5:15 on Tuesday and Thursdays. And Briar will start school basketball conditioning this week from 7:00 - 8:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My instinct tells me that's too much.

Thursday, September 06, 2007

Schizophrenic

One day I'm up. I'm strong. I'm lean and mean. I order the salad. Then I pump some iron. If I take the kids swimming, I wear the bikini.

The next day, I'm not. I'm weak. I'm tired. I'm hungry. If I do manage to order the salad, I eat the bread with it. I just want to curl up on the couch with a strawberry milkshake. No bikini on these days...I'd rather think about being snowed in and wearing my jogging pants and oversized t-shirt around all day.

*sigh*

"The next day" is what gets me in trouble. How can I have these two totally opposite personalities? The next day has a snowball effect. I know this. And so last night I hit the gym, even though I didn't want to. I wanted to go home and put on comfy clothes and read a book. The whole time I was at the gym, I did not want to be there. It's easy to justify not going when you are already getting up in the middle of the night to do double digit runs before work. I have been slacking on my strength training, and I can tell. It is hard to do incline situps when you just really don't care what your abs look like at the moment. It's hard to do leg extensions and hamstring curls just because you know you'll be glad you did someday in the future. It is hard to turn down that milkshake, period, on days like these.

The past two times I have trained for a marathon, I have given in to "the next days" and forsaken my weight training and halfway decent diet. I made an attempt yesterday to not give in this time. And this morning when I got up to do my 5 mile recovery run and 1 mile swim, I was glad.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

...and training resumes

As much as I would love to just stop time and hold on to my First Place Female forever, the training must go on. There's more out there. There's a sub 4 marathon, for one. There's the Gulf Coast Half Ironman. There's Ironman Florida '08. True to the agreed modification of "The Plan" between me and Michele, we met at Joe's house at 6:00 Sunday morning, the day after the Star Tri. The goal - 15 miles. Our paces have been down below 9:20 on these runs, but I was just going for a finish on this one. We took off at a fairly conservative pace, and I immediately started wondering how I'd ever make it to the end. But one mile at a time, I kept getting closer. We were doing the Pomroy route twice, plus 2 added subdivisions to get the extra mile. After the first lap, around mile 8 or 9, I noticed that Michele started dropping back a bit. I didn't know if she was tired, or Joe was picking up the pace, or what, but I didn't feel like I could catch Joe at the time, so I turned around and looked at Michele as if to say "Why are you back there and will you come back up here?!?!" And she didn't hesitate, she picked up her pace and caught up with me. And I don't know what it was, but for the rest of the run she was on fire. I just kept her pace, and we ended up having a great run. It wasn't as good as our past mid-long runs have been, but it was GREAT considering it was on a day following an all-out triathlon effort! Below is the BIM report for the splits.

Activity
Route:--Elev. Avg:1078 ft
Location:Manchester, TNElev. Gain:-7 ft
Date:09/02/07Up/Downhill: [+544/-551]
Time:06:10 AMDifficulty:4.2 / 5.0

Weather:Mostly Cloudy with Haze

76F temp; 76% humidity

79F heat index; winds SE 3
Performance

Distance: 15.11 miles

Time:2:22:05
Speed:6.4 mph

Pace:9' 24 /miHeart Rate:155 bpm (Avg)
Calories:2083
174 bpm (Peak)
Splits
MilePace (min/mile)Speed (mph)Heart
Rate
Elev
Gain
actual+/- avgactual+/- avg
19' 37+0' 136.2-0.2136+16 ft
29' 43+0' 196.2-0.2147+13 ft
39' 54+0' 306.1-0.3152+26 ft
49' 27+0' 036.3-0.0153-16 ft
59' 21-0' 036.4+0.0155-23 ft
69' 27+0' 036.3-0.0158+10 ft
79' 13-0' 116.5+0.1155-20 ft
810' 06+0' 425.9-0.4152-10 ft
99' 19-0' 056.4+0.0155+7 ft
109' 34+0' 106.3-0.1157+33 ft
119' 31+0' 076.3-0.1159+33 ft
128' 58-0' 266.7+0.3160-50 ft
139' 10-0' 146.5+0.2163+23 ft
149' 15-0' 096.5+0.1161-26 ft
158' 28-0' 567.1+0.7166-20 ft
end7' 21-2' 038.2+1.8171-3 ft
Versus average of 9' 24 min/mi

Posted from bimactive.com

The problem was, when Michele caught up with me, Joe slowed a bit to run along with us for a while. I don't know if something about the slowing down caused his knee to flare up or what, but he dropped back and we didn't see him again. As it turned out, his knee was extremely swollen, and he had decided to go back and call it a day. I'm sure he will be back for this weekend, though, pushing the pace back down again.

After the run I hurried home, quickly took an ice bath and then got ready for church. When we all got back from church I made Tuna salad sandwiches, ate two of them because I was starved, and then took a 3.5 hour nap.

Monday morning I got up and met Justin at 6:30 for a 20 mile ride. We did the Normandy loop, talked about all things triathlon, and then I went home and he continued riding. We didn't push the pace...I think we averaged around 16 mph, but that was about right with the way my legs felt. He run several miles the day before as well, so he was cool with taking it easy. The Pfitz plan had me running a 5 mile recovery for this day, but I substituted my ride instead.

And Pfitz also prescribed a 10 mile general aerobic run for this morning (Tuesday). And I just didn't see any way I could do it. My legs had been so tired Sunday night that I would find myself tensing up in my sleep because of the way they felt. But Michele showed up at my house at 4:30 a.m., and we set out. You just never know what's going to happen on a run, though, until you get out there and give it a try. This turned out to be one of the best 10 milers yet. Except for the fact that at mile 6 I had the sudden urge and panic to visit a restroom. And then as I would approach a convenience store, the urge would subside ever so slightly. Just enough to get far enough down the road that it was too far to turn around. I almost stopped 2 times, and I would have stopped at Walgreen's had it been open at 5:45 a.m. But I kept going, and the panic I was feeling did a good job of keeping my mind of the run, that's for sure. Notice how the last two mile increase in pace:

Activity
Route:--Elev. Avg:1052 ft
Location:Manchester, TNElev. Gain:-3 ft
Date:09/04/07Up/Downhill: [+646/-649]
Time:04:36 AMDifficulty:3.4 / 5.0

Weather:Fog/Mist

69F temp; 93% humidity

69F heat index; winds Calm
Performance

Distance: 10.14 miles

Time:1:36:01
Speed:6.3 mph

Pace:9' 28 /miHeart Rate:149 bpm (Avg)
Calories:1448
164 bpm (Peak)
Splits
MilePace (min/mile)Speed (mph)Elevation
Gain
actual+/- avgactual+/- avg
19' 27-0' 016.3+0.0-69 ft
29' 33+0' 056.3-0.1-7 ft
39' 50+0' 226.1-0.2+66 ft
49' 27-0' 016.3+0.0-10 ft
59' 14-0' 146.5+0.2-59 ft
69' 42+0' 146.2-0.2+59 ft
79' 33+0' 056.3-0.1-19 ft
89' 25-0' 036.4+0.0+10 ft
99' 07-0' 216.6+0.2-49 ft
109' 13-0' 156.5+0.2+69 ft
end8' 26-1' 027.1+0.8+6 ft
Versus average of 9' 28 min/mi

Posted from bimactive.com

Also, did you notice that average HR?? I think they may be my first run other than a recovery run to average under 150 bpm. At mile 7.5 we came upon some water Michele had set out for us, but I couldn't stop. Anyone who's ever had the "runner's trots" knows what happens as soon as you stop. So I just kept going and she grabbed the bottles and caught back up to me. Even the slowing to drink caused some serious commotion. But, alas, I made it home. Of all days for a route to be long, today our route turned out to be .14 miles too long.

And it's just a good thing it wasn't .15 miles too long...it could been BAAAAAAD!