I think I've come up with a simple plan that will work until I start OFFICIALLY training for anything next year.
These are the workouts I want to make sure I accomplish in a week:
2 swims, one long and one speedwork (although right now they're pretty much the same length - about a mile. I don't see the need to swim much longer than a mile until I'm training for 140.6, and by the time I get to longer swims it'll be warm enough to swim outside - not quite as boring as the pool!!)
2 bikes, one long and one speedwork (both in the form of spin classes for the duration of winter)
4 runs - one long, one speedwork, one hilly, one short and easy (the day after a harder run, as a recovery run)
Yoga, pilates, and circuit class as long as they fit in my schedule for the week.
Add an easy swim and an easy bike IF there's room after all that, but the aforementioned workouts are the crucial ones.
I'm afraid to post this on a forum because I'm sure that plan will get slammed by the crazy people who do 20 workouts a week....but do any triathletes out there have an opinion on this plan???
Triathlon is PART of my life, but not all of it, and I think this lets me use my training time wisely while not getting burned out. I do feel like I should have more biking in there but it's hard to squeeze in. There's not as much daylight or good weather as there used to be, spin classes don't always fit in the schedule (and I'm not the HUGEST fan of them but they're a good workout) and stationary bikes make me wanna hurt someone.
I didn't make a weekly schedule since my work schedule varies from week to week, so I have to sit down and plan out my training every week. It's a little bit of a pain but it keeps things interesting!
One more thing....speedwork WORKS. Holy crap it works. I'm already seeing my swim speed improving consistently.
Showing posts with label triathlon training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label triathlon training. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
God love triathletes
I have a confession to make: I was really really excited the day I signed up for the ironman. Then, every single day since then, at some point (usually at multiple points) I have had a moment of sheer panic and the thought of "what the FUCK have I done?????"
Giving the internet forums another try, I turned to the beginnertriathlete.com forums, and I got a ton of reassurance that I can indeed do this and still somewhat maintain a life. I think I had one or two people mention 20+ hour training weeks and eating/sleeping/breathing triathlon, but I heard from a lot of normal people who make it work.
I have a lot of reading up to do on training plans, but I think I can do this on 10-15 hours a week of training, 15 being at the peak of things. That's doable. I'm already learning some things that I'm putting into practice....things like:
-a short workout is better than no workout. If I can't put in the time or mileage than I want, hey, a 2 mile run is 2 miles I wouldn't have done otherwise. 30 minutes in the pool is 30 minutes I wouldn't otherwise have on my swimming base.
-...which brings me to this: there's something to be said for the base you bring to an endurance event. Let's face it - my marathon training was a bit pitiful at times. It wasn't due to slacking or lack of motivation, it was due to injuries and life. But I did 26.2 and enjoyed it and it didn't nearly kill me in the last few miles. I firmly believe it's because I'd been running fairly consistently for a couple of years prior to that. I think I already bring a decent amount of tenacity, endurance, and cardio fitness to the table. I may not go fast, but I can go long, dammit.
-get creative! I ran to yoga class the other day. I'll do a quick run on the treadmill if I get to spin class early. I run errands on my bike (although the main road out there is SCARY...despite all the "share the road" signs, lots of people don't share well!) Again, it's that "get a workout in however you can, if all else fails" thing.
-run less and run more. This is a new one I'm trying. It's counter to what I've heard elsewhere - run three times a week with a day off in between, longer distances. I know it's good for some people. It's also what my PT recommended when I was coming off of injury. However, I'm testing out the opposite of that theory, that others swear by equally for injury prevention - run short distances, frequently. And...I'm liking it. I feel like now, when I go for a run, instead of starting out all tight and awkward and taking a mile or so to get into the swing of it, my legs go, "Oh yeah, this. We know how to do this. You make us do this all the time." My leg is feeling better than it has since August - not 100% yet, but super close. I really think this new strategy will not only help my speed, but get me into Pig training pain-free.
-skip it....sometimes. Last week, I was going to do a bike ride on Tuesday. The weather was perfect, I got off work early, husband was going to be home late, my bike was in my backseat. I went downtown, and I realized that I would pretty much rather do anything than get on my bike, even though it was going to be a flat ride, even though I LOVE my bike. I realized that my body, mind, whatever, was trying to tell me something. So I went home. I ate too many cheese crackers, finished the book I've been working on, and took a nap (and I NEVER take naps.) I felt much better. I rode my bike in the morning. BUT later on that week, I had a similar feeling about swimming. Seriously, it took an incredible effort to get out of my car, walk into the gym, put on my swimsuit, as soon as I got in the pool I wanted to get out. But once I was moving, it felt awesome. Afterward, I felt like someone had absolutely injected me with energy. I don't regret either choice. Sometimes you've gotta skip it, sometimes you've gotta force it, just don't do either too frequently....and if you have to make that choice too often, maybe your training plan needs some tweaking.
Hmm. Maybe I'll write a book when this is all over. Would ya'll read it?? :)
Giving the internet forums another try, I turned to the beginnertriathlete.com forums, and I got a ton of reassurance that I can indeed do this and still somewhat maintain a life. I think I had one or two people mention 20+ hour training weeks and eating/sleeping/breathing triathlon, but I heard from a lot of normal people who make it work.
I have a lot of reading up to do on training plans, but I think I can do this on 10-15 hours a week of training, 15 being at the peak of things. That's doable. I'm already learning some things that I'm putting into practice....things like:
-a short workout is better than no workout. If I can't put in the time or mileage than I want, hey, a 2 mile run is 2 miles I wouldn't have done otherwise. 30 minutes in the pool is 30 minutes I wouldn't otherwise have on my swimming base.
-...which brings me to this: there's something to be said for the base you bring to an endurance event. Let's face it - my marathon training was a bit pitiful at times. It wasn't due to slacking or lack of motivation, it was due to injuries and life. But I did 26.2 and enjoyed it and it didn't nearly kill me in the last few miles. I firmly believe it's because I'd been running fairly consistently for a couple of years prior to that. I think I already bring a decent amount of tenacity, endurance, and cardio fitness to the table. I may not go fast, but I can go long, dammit.
-get creative! I ran to yoga class the other day. I'll do a quick run on the treadmill if I get to spin class early. I run errands on my bike (although the main road out there is SCARY...despite all the "share the road" signs, lots of people don't share well!) Again, it's that "get a workout in however you can, if all else fails" thing.
-run less and run more. This is a new one I'm trying. It's counter to what I've heard elsewhere - run three times a week with a day off in between, longer distances. I know it's good for some people. It's also what my PT recommended when I was coming off of injury. However, I'm testing out the opposite of that theory, that others swear by equally for injury prevention - run short distances, frequently. And...I'm liking it. I feel like now, when I go for a run, instead of starting out all tight and awkward and taking a mile or so to get into the swing of it, my legs go, "Oh yeah, this. We know how to do this. You make us do this all the time." My leg is feeling better than it has since August - not 100% yet, but super close. I really think this new strategy will not only help my speed, but get me into Pig training pain-free.
-skip it....sometimes. Last week, I was going to do a bike ride on Tuesday. The weather was perfect, I got off work early, husband was going to be home late, my bike was in my backseat. I went downtown, and I realized that I would pretty much rather do anything than get on my bike, even though it was going to be a flat ride, even though I LOVE my bike. I realized that my body, mind, whatever, was trying to tell me something. So I went home. I ate too many cheese crackers, finished the book I've been working on, and took a nap (and I NEVER take naps.) I felt much better. I rode my bike in the morning. BUT later on that week, I had a similar feeling about swimming. Seriously, it took an incredible effort to get out of my car, walk into the gym, put on my swimsuit, as soon as I got in the pool I wanted to get out. But once I was moving, it felt awesome. Afterward, I felt like someone had absolutely injected me with energy. I don't regret either choice. Sometimes you've gotta skip it, sometimes you've gotta force it, just don't do either too frequently....and if you have to make that choice too often, maybe your training plan needs some tweaking.
Hmm. Maybe I'll write a book when this is all over. Would ya'll read it?? :)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Week in review, 10/31 - 11/6
Monday: pool workout, 1600 yd in 49 minutes. 400 freestyle (9:18), 4 sets of 100 pull/100 kick, 400 freestyle (10:00) (I made up this workout. I was dreading the monotony of swimming laps!)
Tuesday: easy run, 4.07 miles in 43:09. Ran on some of the rolling hills in my 'hood and took it very very easy on them. Calf is still not 100% and calf injuries notoriously do not like hills.
Wednesday: AM: easy ride, 18.47 miles in 1:17:24, last 3-4 miles uphill. The most eventful part of that ride: my chain slipped off while I was riding uphill through a really busy intersection! I managed to stay upright and get my bike and myself over to the sidewalk safely. PM: 1 hour circuit training class
Thursday: 1 hour pilates. Was going to run in the evening but ended up working late.
Friday: speedwork on the dreadmill - .5 mile w/u at 6mph, followed by .25 intervals at 6.5 (I did 5 at that speed and then added .1 mph for each of the last 5). With recovery in between, ended up doing 5.08 miles in 50 minutes and felt awesome.
Saturday: 7 mile easy run. Tried to take it at a nice, deliberately easy pace since I had done speedwork less than 24 hours ago. (Was not my intention, but life overrides training sometimes!) 1:13:17. Thought about doing 8, but I made it back to my car at 7, and my hip was starting to tighten up a bit. Then went to the gym and swam 1200 yd in 29:55. It felt like a slow swim, but that's actually a pretty good pace (for me!) Rumor has it that swimming helps one recover faster from a long run. I did feel better - looser - post-swim. That, and effing tired!
Sunday: 18.87 mile bike ride in 1:15:27. Windy and the hills at the end wore me out a bit! But it was a beautiful day for a ride. Again I'm convinced that I experience cold differently than others. I passed a couple of other cyclists in shorts and short sleeves (one with no sleeves) while I had on a jersey, turtleneck (the one usually reserved for running in the coldest weather), tights and full-finger gloves. I was maybe SLIGHTLY too warm but otherwise comfy! THEN I came home, changed, downed some gatorade, and took off 10 minutes later to run to yoga class. I've never ran to yoga before, even though it's about a mile away. Why? Because there's a freaking 200 foot, .6 mile hill out of my neighborhood. It's a biatch. But running downhill home with post-yoga jello legs was pretty fun. (It's the kind of hill I don't like - where you don't even get to redeem yourself by flying on the downhill because it's too steep and you have to hold yourself back going down!) 19:54 total - 10:30 there, 9:24 back, 1.96 miles. Yoga was 1.5 hours. Yin. VERY needed. Loosened up everything that was tight and put me in a great state of mind to approach the new week. <3 that class!
Totals:
swim: 2800 yd in 1:20 (including drills)
bike: 37.4 miles, 2:32
run: 18.1 miles, 3:06
strength/flexibility: 3.5 hours
Total time: 10:28
I'm going to try to bike a little more. When the weather gets cooler, I'm going to start doing a "long distance" spin class at the gym - I don't know how long it is; I'm assuming 2 hours. Trying to squeeze in short runs here and there. I feel like it keeps my legs fresher and more used to running, in a way, if I run more frequently and keep the distances short and the pace easy unless I'm doing speedwork. Pilates and yoga seem to be really really helping, too - we did hip rotation stuff in pilates the other day and my hips sounded like rice krispies. Eek!
And devoting 10 hours of my week to exercise turned out to not be so bad. I even skipped two planned workouts - one bike ride, because I was TIRED, and I ended up moving speedwork to my planned rest day because I had to work late. Plus, I do SO MUCH different stuff that it doesn't even feel like I'm exercising that much. That's the beauty of multisport!!
Tuesday: easy run, 4.07 miles in 43:09. Ran on some of the rolling hills in my 'hood and took it very very easy on them. Calf is still not 100% and calf injuries notoriously do not like hills.
Wednesday: AM: easy ride, 18.47 miles in 1:17:24, last 3-4 miles uphill. The most eventful part of that ride: my chain slipped off while I was riding uphill through a really busy intersection! I managed to stay upright and get my bike and myself over to the sidewalk safely. PM: 1 hour circuit training class
Thursday: 1 hour pilates. Was going to run in the evening but ended up working late.
Friday: speedwork on the dreadmill - .5 mile w/u at 6mph, followed by .25 intervals at 6.5 (I did 5 at that speed and then added .1 mph for each of the last 5). With recovery in between, ended up doing 5.08 miles in 50 minutes and felt awesome.
Saturday: 7 mile easy run. Tried to take it at a nice, deliberately easy pace since I had done speedwork less than 24 hours ago. (Was not my intention, but life overrides training sometimes!) 1:13:17. Thought about doing 8, but I made it back to my car at 7, and my hip was starting to tighten up a bit. Then went to the gym and swam 1200 yd in 29:55. It felt like a slow swim, but that's actually a pretty good pace (for me!) Rumor has it that swimming helps one recover faster from a long run. I did feel better - looser - post-swim. That, and effing tired!
Sunday: 18.87 mile bike ride in 1:15:27. Windy and the hills at the end wore me out a bit! But it was a beautiful day for a ride. Again I'm convinced that I experience cold differently than others. I passed a couple of other cyclists in shorts and short sleeves (one with no sleeves) while I had on a jersey, turtleneck (the one usually reserved for running in the coldest weather), tights and full-finger gloves. I was maybe SLIGHTLY too warm but otherwise comfy! THEN I came home, changed, downed some gatorade, and took off 10 minutes later to run to yoga class. I've never ran to yoga before, even though it's about a mile away. Why? Because there's a freaking 200 foot, .6 mile hill out of my neighborhood. It's a biatch. But running downhill home with post-yoga jello legs was pretty fun. (It's the kind of hill I don't like - where you don't even get to redeem yourself by flying on the downhill because it's too steep and you have to hold yourself back going down!) 19:54 total - 10:30 there, 9:24 back, 1.96 miles. Yoga was 1.5 hours. Yin. VERY needed. Loosened up everything that was tight and put me in a great state of mind to approach the new week. <3 that class!
Totals:
swim: 2800 yd in 1:20 (including drills)
bike: 37.4 miles, 2:32
run: 18.1 miles, 3:06
strength/flexibility: 3.5 hours
Total time: 10:28
I'm going to try to bike a little more. When the weather gets cooler, I'm going to start doing a "long distance" spin class at the gym - I don't know how long it is; I'm assuming 2 hours. Trying to squeeze in short runs here and there. I feel like it keeps my legs fresher and more used to running, in a way, if I run more frequently and keep the distances short and the pace easy unless I'm doing speedwork. Pilates and yoga seem to be really really helping, too - we did hip rotation stuff in pilates the other day and my hips sounded like rice krispies. Eek!
And devoting 10 hours of my week to exercise turned out to not be so bad. I even skipped two planned workouts - one bike ride, because I was TIRED, and I ended up moving speedwork to my planned rest day because I had to work late. Plus, I do SO MUCH different stuff that it doesn't even feel like I'm exercising that much. That's the beauty of multisport!!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Time to play "Guess My Issue!"
Nah, it's not a huge issue. I've just been a bit undermotivated to exercise lately. Possible causes:
-THE FREAKING HEAT IS SUCKING THE LIFE OUT OF ME!
-Work has been kicking my butt lately. Like 50+ hour weeks kicking my butt.
-Doing longer and longer long runs has been killing more time and more energy.
-I haven't found any classes that I like at my new gym, and that makes me SUPER sad. :( Granted, I've only tried a couple. Their circuit classes are at times that don't work for me. (In theory, 5:30 AM COULD work, but...nah.) They only have one Yoga 2 class that I can make, and I didn't really like it. I plan to try Yoga 1, but if it's as basic as it's supposed to be, I'll just be bored. I SO miss my circuit and yoga classes at my old gym. I could cry.
-I have to go somewhere else to find a bike course where the hills don't about kill me. This involves finagling a bike into a sub-compact car. (And right now I'm driving a rental, which I'm not about to cover in bike grease like the back seat of said sub-compact car.) (In case you're wondering about that, I got rear-ended.)
-I'm overwhelmed by this multisport thing. For real. I want to do running and biking and swimming and strength training and yoga and somehow do enough of all of them...and when my brain gets overwhelmed, it tends to say screw it, don't do anything.
-I'm not actively training for a tri.
-I was OVERmotivated before, and now I'm just normal motivated.
Now that I feel super whiney, it's probably a combination of those things. I've been super dedicated to my run training, btw. I honestly wish I could run more than three days a week because it's the simplest and most satisfying exercise I do. However, I don't think I'm there. When my shins don't protest after a long, hilly, or hard run, I'll know I can run two days in a row. Right now, I'm not doing anything to push them. The protest usually clears pretty quickly and I'm gonna keep it that way.
So, should I feel guilty, should I care, should I try something different? Or should I just work out whenever I want and don't work out when I don't?
-THE FREAKING HEAT IS SUCKING THE LIFE OUT OF ME!
-Work has been kicking my butt lately. Like 50+ hour weeks kicking my butt.
-Doing longer and longer long runs has been killing more time and more energy.
-I haven't found any classes that I like at my new gym, and that makes me SUPER sad. :( Granted, I've only tried a couple. Their circuit classes are at times that don't work for me. (In theory, 5:30 AM COULD work, but...nah.) They only have one Yoga 2 class that I can make, and I didn't really like it. I plan to try Yoga 1, but if it's as basic as it's supposed to be, I'll just be bored. I SO miss my circuit and yoga classes at my old gym. I could cry.
-I have to go somewhere else to find a bike course where the hills don't about kill me. This involves finagling a bike into a sub-compact car. (And right now I'm driving a rental, which I'm not about to cover in bike grease like the back seat of said sub-compact car.) (In case you're wondering about that, I got rear-ended.)
-I'm overwhelmed by this multisport thing. For real. I want to do running and biking and swimming and strength training and yoga and somehow do enough of all of them...and when my brain gets overwhelmed, it tends to say screw it, don't do anything.
-I'm not actively training for a tri.
-I was OVERmotivated before, and now I'm just normal motivated.
Now that I feel super whiney, it's probably a combination of those things. I've been super dedicated to my run training, btw. I honestly wish I could run more than three days a week because it's the simplest and most satisfying exercise I do. However, I don't think I'm there. When my shins don't protest after a long, hilly, or hard run, I'll know I can run two days in a row. Right now, I'm not doing anything to push them. The protest usually clears pretty quickly and I'm gonna keep it that way.
So, should I feel guilty, should I care, should I try something different? Or should I just work out whenever I want and don't work out when I don't?
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
little bit of burnout
I love running. But at times, it feels a bit like a second job. I love my job, too. But running and my job both have a high potential for burnout - a lot of effort put in, and the returns aren't always immediate. Some days, they're not there at all and some days it feels like I'm working backwards. But what I love about both things is that when there are rewards, they're FREAKING AMAZING and that's what keeps me going at both things.
Right now, I'm checking in with myself about running and working out in general. I've had two craptastic runs in a row and a few more scattered in there recently - although my 12 mile run on Saturday pretty much couldn't have gone better. While the weather is NO help, I also think I may be overtraining a little. This is also one of those times where I have to develop some tunnel vision with regard to my training. I don't train as much as some. My mileage isn't back up to where some people's is - heck, it's not even up to where I was before. But I've been overdoing it FOR ME, and that needs to be fixed.
Signs I'm becoming a bit burned out:
-More tired lately
-More irritable lately
-More things hurt
-More forcing myself to work out
-I feel guilty when I have nothing to do, like if I have any down time at all I NEED to squeeze in some kind of workout (I feel like this one is probably more common amongst triathletes)
I wanted to do a 10 mile run today, because I can't do a long run this weekend and I'm not planning on doing one next week, because I need to be WELL-RESTED if I'm going to do an Olympic tri. That. Was. Dumb. I've been hurting a bit more than usual, and I JUST EFFING RAN 12 MILES LESS THAN A WEEK AGO. Plus, it was hot and humid and gross.
I made it five miles. I took a break for water and stretching and decided to run the five mile loop again. I barely made it one mile and stopped to regroup. I decided to try to keep going. A half mile later and I was done. I was hot, woozy, a little delirious, my calf hurt, my hip was tight, a blister on my toe was killing me, I was running way slower than even my usual long run pace, and I was trying to force it.
So my run ended up being 7.5 miles (I walked a half mile and then decided to jog so I could get to my car faster.) And I decided that running 7.5 miles is far from failing. I also decided to ease up on the exercise for the rest of the week. I may do a few miles easy on the bike and an easy swim if I decide I WANT to. I'll do the same for next week. Lots of stretching for sure, but only easy exercise and only if I want to do it, not because I feel obligated to follow a training plan or because I go "OH MY GOD IF I DON'T GO FOR A RUN/BIKE/SWIM TONIGHT AND DO EVERY SINGLE INCH THAT I'M PLANNING TO DO THEN I WON'T FINISH THE RACE!!!!!!"
I need a break, that's all. It probably won't even need to be a long one, I just need to feel less worn out physically and mentally and be happy to be doing both of the tris I'm doing. If I'm happy, I'll be fast. If I train until I'm miserable, I'll be dragging myself to the finish line anyway.
I have netflix on the xbox and ben and jerrys in the freezer and beer in the fridge. I think I'll be all right with this resting thing.
Right now, I'm checking in with myself about running and working out in general. I've had two craptastic runs in a row and a few more scattered in there recently - although my 12 mile run on Saturday pretty much couldn't have gone better. While the weather is NO help, I also think I may be overtraining a little. This is also one of those times where I have to develop some tunnel vision with regard to my training. I don't train as much as some. My mileage isn't back up to where some people's is - heck, it's not even up to where I was before. But I've been overdoing it FOR ME, and that needs to be fixed.
Signs I'm becoming a bit burned out:
-More tired lately
-More irritable lately
-More things hurt
-More forcing myself to work out
-I feel guilty when I have nothing to do, like if I have any down time at all I NEED to squeeze in some kind of workout (I feel like this one is probably more common amongst triathletes)
I wanted to do a 10 mile run today, because I can't do a long run this weekend and I'm not planning on doing one next week, because I need to be WELL-RESTED if I'm going to do an Olympic tri. That. Was. Dumb. I've been hurting a bit more than usual, and I JUST EFFING RAN 12 MILES LESS THAN A WEEK AGO. Plus, it was hot and humid and gross.
I made it five miles. I took a break for water and stretching and decided to run the five mile loop again. I barely made it one mile and stopped to regroup. I decided to try to keep going. A half mile later and I was done. I was hot, woozy, a little delirious, my calf hurt, my hip was tight, a blister on my toe was killing me, I was running way slower than even my usual long run pace, and I was trying to force it.
So my run ended up being 7.5 miles (I walked a half mile and then decided to jog so I could get to my car faster.) And I decided that running 7.5 miles is far from failing. I also decided to ease up on the exercise for the rest of the week. I may do a few miles easy on the bike and an easy swim if I decide I WANT to. I'll do the same for next week. Lots of stretching for sure, but only easy exercise and only if I want to do it, not because I feel obligated to follow a training plan or because I go "OH MY GOD IF I DON'T GO FOR A RUN/BIKE/SWIM TONIGHT AND DO EVERY SINGLE INCH THAT I'M PLANNING TO DO THEN I WON'T FINISH THE RACE!!!!!!"
I need a break, that's all. It probably won't even need to be a long one, I just need to feel less worn out physically and mentally and be happy to be doing both of the tris I'm doing. If I'm happy, I'll be fast. If I train until I'm miserable, I'll be dragging myself to the finish line anyway.
I have netflix on the xbox and ben and jerrys in the freezer and beer in the fridge. I think I'll be all right with this resting thing.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
and furthermore, I rock.
I'm feeling absolutely great about myself right now, for a change.
I did complete my 10 mile run last week. I also mistakenly mapped out a ridiculously hilly route for it. The first 6 miles were great. The first 1-2 were a little hilly but I conquered the hills like they were nothing. The next few were in a pretty flat neighborhood, so I was enjoying that, and running at about a 10:20 pace in the flatlands. I'll take that for a comfy long run pace. Then mile 6 was downhill.
At that point, I should've realized it was not a good idea. Actually, the thought crossed my mind, but I decided that it was a relatively easy, gradual decline and wouldn't be bad going back up.
How wrong I was. Mile 7 took me nearly 13 minutes, and I just had to laugh. It was pretty ridiculous, me trudging up a 300+ foot hill in the middle of a long run. Ugh. The last few miles had some ups and downs that were pretty hard to handle, but I was proud of myself for hanging in there. Seriously didn't even give a crap about my time because I knew that route was ridiculous and probably would've counted for a handful of extra flat miles, effort-wise.
Today, I did 12 and it was fantastic. It was hot, but I think the humidity calmed down a bit because my sweat actually seemed to be going somewhere instead of just pointlessly soaking me. I found some of the flatter areas around here and noticed that the hills were feeling a bit easier. Even when I'd see one coming, I focused on just keeping the same "easy" feel, and I'd be up and over before I even had a chance to be mentally cursing the hill.
My strategy for my long runs is now on feel, rather than pace. With the rolling hills (and mountains) around here, it's hard to keep a consistent pace, and trying to force myself to stick to a certain number just makes me miserable. Instead, I'm going for a good-feeling run. It should feel relaxing but not totally effortless - like I can keep going all day but it's still taking a bit of energy. I think it's working. The downside is that I have literally NO CLUE what my goal marathon pace is or should be or will be, so I guess I'll be surprised. I'm thinking that if I can mimic the feel of my long runs, I'll be good - especially since it'll be flat.
I got the PT recommended orthotics (the $35 ones, not the $400 ones) and tried them out for the first time this morning, too. At first I was worried. For one thing, it took a little bit to get used to my feet being higher up in the shoes. Then the front of my ankle started to hurt, which is new. Then my bad shin started to hurt, which is not new. I considered bagging the run, but it didn't seem to be affecting my running, just annoying me a bit, so I kept going. About mile 5 I realized the shin didn't hurt, but it started to again once I had that thought. Once I banished it from my mind again, the pain went away entirely....and stayed away for the rest of the run. I can find a little owieness if I look for it and squeeze, but it's not bad at all. I think those things are gonna work. Still stretching the heck out of my left hip. Dragon pose is fantastic for that.
I haven't been biking as much lately. I still love it, but it's more time-consuming than running - more effort to map out routes and more time spent on a workout compared to running. I mean, a 30 minute run can still be a pretty decent workout if you run hard. A 30 minute bike ride isn't much even if you ride hard. At least, that's how it feels to me. I'll try to get out there tomorrow, though.
I'm even getting *gasp* a little tired of triathlon training. I'll be happy to focus more on running, and the timing is perfect. Fit to Fight next weekend, Cincy tri the following weekend, and then I can keep up the biking and swimming for cross-training but not be as worried about actually TRAINING for the bike and run, ya know? For the next two weeks, I'll get a nice little taper down (going to try to squeeze in a midweek long run this week and skip the long run the following week) and then I'll be ready to attack the marathon training with a vengeance, with just under 2 months left. Right on schedule - actually ahead of schedule as far as running goes.
Oh yeah - my first attempt at open water swimming was not only successful, it was great. I hung out in shallow water for a while but it didn't take me long to be able to swim without giving the water depth a second thought. Plus, it was MUCH more fun than swimming laps in a pool. OK, so I got a little sunburn and a few welts that according to the internet come from a lake parasite....it was still great. I LOVE sunshine and nature and it reminded me of being a kid. So I'm really leaning toward doing the Cincy triathlon now that open water swimming isn't such a big huge scary beast.
Meanwhile, and I hope this doesn't sound horribly arrogant, I'm enjoying how awesome I am. For real. I lose sight of that, mainly because I spend time talking to runners and triathletes, and sometimes they tend to throw around things like, "I bike 50 miles at 20 mph" and "I ran 20 miles today" and "I run at a 7:22 pace" like they're completely normal things to say, like "The sky is blue today." And I lose sight of all that I've accomplished because it doesn't seem that great anymore. But really - HOW many people spend their Saturday morning doing double-digit long runs? How many people out there that I know, and that you know, could successfully complete a triathlon of any length? How many people would fall off a bike, end up in the ER, and get back on to ride 63 miles? How many people would get a running injury, have to struggle to start running again, and not give up? How many people that you pass on the street could run a freaking mile without passing out??
Not saying I'm better than anyone else, not at all. I'm saying that I'm realizing that I have accomplished a lot, that I'm doing a lot, and that instead of beating myself up as much as I do because I'm not doing more or better, I need to keep a healthy sense of awe about all the things that I DO and AM capable of doing. Because really, we runners and triathletes do some pretty incredible stuff by training and showing up and giving it all we've got and crossing the finish line - or whatever combination of those things. :)
Pat yo'self on the back, ya'll. It's from me.
I did complete my 10 mile run last week. I also mistakenly mapped out a ridiculously hilly route for it. The first 6 miles were great. The first 1-2 were a little hilly but I conquered the hills like they were nothing. The next few were in a pretty flat neighborhood, so I was enjoying that, and running at about a 10:20 pace in the flatlands. I'll take that for a comfy long run pace. Then mile 6 was downhill.
At that point, I should've realized it was not a good idea. Actually, the thought crossed my mind, but I decided that it was a relatively easy, gradual decline and wouldn't be bad going back up.
How wrong I was. Mile 7 took me nearly 13 minutes, and I just had to laugh. It was pretty ridiculous, me trudging up a 300+ foot hill in the middle of a long run. Ugh. The last few miles had some ups and downs that were pretty hard to handle, but I was proud of myself for hanging in there. Seriously didn't even give a crap about my time because I knew that route was ridiculous and probably would've counted for a handful of extra flat miles, effort-wise.
Today, I did 12 and it was fantastic. It was hot, but I think the humidity calmed down a bit because my sweat actually seemed to be going somewhere instead of just pointlessly soaking me. I found some of the flatter areas around here and noticed that the hills were feeling a bit easier. Even when I'd see one coming, I focused on just keeping the same "easy" feel, and I'd be up and over before I even had a chance to be mentally cursing the hill.
My strategy for my long runs is now on feel, rather than pace. With the rolling hills (and mountains) around here, it's hard to keep a consistent pace, and trying to force myself to stick to a certain number just makes me miserable. Instead, I'm going for a good-feeling run. It should feel relaxing but not totally effortless - like I can keep going all day but it's still taking a bit of energy. I think it's working. The downside is that I have literally NO CLUE what my goal marathon pace is or should be or will be, so I guess I'll be surprised. I'm thinking that if I can mimic the feel of my long runs, I'll be good - especially since it'll be flat.
I got the PT recommended orthotics (the $35 ones, not the $400 ones) and tried them out for the first time this morning, too. At first I was worried. For one thing, it took a little bit to get used to my feet being higher up in the shoes. Then the front of my ankle started to hurt, which is new. Then my bad shin started to hurt, which is not new. I considered bagging the run, but it didn't seem to be affecting my running, just annoying me a bit, so I kept going. About mile 5 I realized the shin didn't hurt, but it started to again once I had that thought. Once I banished it from my mind again, the pain went away entirely....and stayed away for the rest of the run. I can find a little owieness if I look for it and squeeze, but it's not bad at all. I think those things are gonna work. Still stretching the heck out of my left hip. Dragon pose is fantastic for that.
 |
| My hip tends to sound like rice krispies when I do this. |
I haven't been biking as much lately. I still love it, but it's more time-consuming than running - more effort to map out routes and more time spent on a workout compared to running. I mean, a 30 minute run can still be a pretty decent workout if you run hard. A 30 minute bike ride isn't much even if you ride hard. At least, that's how it feels to me. I'll try to get out there tomorrow, though.
I'm even getting *gasp* a little tired of triathlon training. I'll be happy to focus more on running, and the timing is perfect. Fit to Fight next weekend, Cincy tri the following weekend, and then I can keep up the biking and swimming for cross-training but not be as worried about actually TRAINING for the bike and run, ya know? For the next two weeks, I'll get a nice little taper down (going to try to squeeze in a midweek long run this week and skip the long run the following week) and then I'll be ready to attack the marathon training with a vengeance, with just under 2 months left. Right on schedule - actually ahead of schedule as far as running goes.
Oh yeah - my first attempt at open water swimming was not only successful, it was great. I hung out in shallow water for a while but it didn't take me long to be able to swim without giving the water depth a second thought. Plus, it was MUCH more fun than swimming laps in a pool. OK, so I got a little sunburn and a few welts that according to the internet come from a lake parasite....it was still great. I LOVE sunshine and nature and it reminded me of being a kid. So I'm really leaning toward doing the Cincy triathlon now that open water swimming isn't such a big huge scary beast.
Meanwhile, and I hope this doesn't sound horribly arrogant, I'm enjoying how awesome I am. For real. I lose sight of that, mainly because I spend time talking to runners and triathletes, and sometimes they tend to throw around things like, "I bike 50 miles at 20 mph" and "I ran 20 miles today" and "I run at a 7:22 pace" like they're completely normal things to say, like "The sky is blue today." And I lose sight of all that I've accomplished because it doesn't seem that great anymore. But really - HOW many people spend their Saturday morning doing double-digit long runs? How many people out there that I know, and that you know, could successfully complete a triathlon of any length? How many people would fall off a bike, end up in the ER, and get back on to ride 63 miles? How many people would get a running injury, have to struggle to start running again, and not give up? How many people that you pass on the street could run a freaking mile without passing out??
Not saying I'm better than anyone else, not at all. I'm saying that I'm realizing that I have accomplished a lot, that I'm doing a lot, and that instead of beating myself up as much as I do because I'm not doing more or better, I need to keep a healthy sense of awe about all the things that I DO and AM capable of doing. Because really, we runners and triathletes do some pretty incredible stuff by training and showing up and giving it all we've got and crossing the finish line - or whatever combination of those things. :)
Pat yo'self on the back, ya'll. It's from me.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
The Updates
The Finger
I thought something must be terribly wrong, but apparently dislocated fingers just take forfreakingever to heal, and mine is coming along quite nicely. I started hand therapy, which, as it turns out, is considered occupational therapy, not physical therapy, so I have 20 visits authorized instead of using up my remaining 4 PT visits, which I would like to save in case I hit some big snags in the marathon training. I'm only supposed to wear the splint for strenuous activity now (I chose weights and biking) and try to actually use the finger more now. That's a little laughable, as it's still swollen (1/2 inch larger than the same finger on my other hand, to be exact) and it doesn't exactly want to move. So I have to exercise it now, and holy crap, that's hard. At the very least, I'm trying to hold it in a normal position instead of holding it straight out, because at a quick glance, it looks like I'm flipping people off. I'll be thrilled to wear my engagement and wedding rings on the correct finger, but that could take a couple of months. (!)
The Leg
I've officially graduated from PT for that one, but I know I'm not totally out of the woods. It still makes its presence known occasionally during runs. I found out my insurance specifically excludes orthotics (grr!!) and rather than spending $400 on the custom ones, the PT told me to try some retail ones. I just haven't had the chance to price and order them. I swear I'll get on that SOON.
The Swimming
Blah. I'm starting to get sick of swimming. The good news is that if it doesn't storm tomorrow, I'm joining a group open water swim. This could be a little ridiculous, but I HAVE to get into an environment other than a pool if I want to do an open water tri this year - which I do. Right now I tell myself that I'm not trying to swim faster, but I'm trying to get comfortable enough in the water that I don't freak out if I get a little tired or if I gulp down a mouthful of water or if someone kicks me in the head or whatever.
The Biking
I rode with a group a couple of weeks ago - there was a ride lined up with my quasi-normal group, but I couldn't find them, so I rode with some other people who were training for a charity ride. They were quite nice, and a smidge slower than I am, especially on the hills. It made me feel good. Last night I mapped out a ride that turned out to be absolutely gorgeous, but a bit hilly. There are some pretty good hills around here; unfortunately, if I ride from my house, I'm surrounded by them, so I have to take big hills in order to leave the neighborhood, and big hills to get back in. It's that darn Escher staircase again.
Last night, part of my ride was on the bike trail, and I met a guy riding a high racer recumbant bike. It was so cool that I had to ask him about it, and we had a pretty good chat about bikes and riding. Actually, one of the first things I asked him is how you DON'T fall off that thing. It's pretty precarious looking, but also looked really comfy! So I had some nice bonus comeraderie. Other bonuses: wildlife (a deer that I thought was about to run into traffic and a fat ground-hog looking thing), a little kid in his yard who yelled, "HIIIII!!!" at me, and beautiful views of the Little Miami River. Seriously, I've driven all those roads hundreds of times and didn't notice how gorgeous they are until I was on a bike. This is why I love biking. Another bonus: stopped for a cone at the Creamy Whip. I have a weakness for soft-serve vanilla.
The Triathlons
I'm officially signed up for the Fit to Fight Tri. It's a sprint tri divided into women's/men's races, with a serpentine pool swim. I'm stoked about it because I shouldn't have any swim-related freakouts, and I should kill my run time from Tri for Joe. It'll be a good chance to see what I can really do now. I want to do the Cincinnati Tri the next week - the Olympic distance. It'll be a challenge for sure, but I think I can do it. There are two problems: it's pricey, and swimming in the Ohio River is terrifying me a little bit. Not because it's dirty - it IS dirty, but I have a high tolerance for grossness. It's deep and it has a current and I have a fear of drowning. I'm trying to talk some sense into myself - I can swim longer than 1350 m (the distance of the swim) without stopping in a pool, so there's no reason I wouldn't be able to do the swim. Plus, it's downstream, so it wouldn't take as long as a pool swim. It doesn't matter if it's 4 feet or 40, I can stay above water. (I'm not even afraid of the typical open water stuff - fish, etc. - I'm afraid I'll get exhausted or kicked in the head and slip under the water and nobody will see me.)
Signing up for that one is going to depend on how much open water time I can get in beforehand and how that's going. I'm figuring I will freak out at first. I'm not a half bad swimmer (albeit slow) but being in deep water, or water of unknown depth, and knowing that I CAN'T just stop and stand up if I want to, freaks me out. It's all mental and I have to see if I can get over it in time. It'll also depend on how Fit to Fight goes.
The Running
A little background here: I've never been especially athletic. I tried to be. I tried really hard to be. Looking back, I don't think I especially enjoyed sports, but I went to a small high school where ALL the cool kids played sports. There weren't a lot of other EC options. So I wanted to play sports. I actually really liked volleyball, but I got cut after junior high (when they didn't have cuts.) I played basketball because they didn't have enough participation - so little participation, in fact, that at barely 5'5" I played center - so they didn't cut anyone. I remember one summer, I think the summer before my sophomore year, I decided that when the season started up again, I was going to be GOOD. I ran (I actually ran! Although I don't think it was much or it was fast...) and I shot baskets outside in my driveway every day. People did comment on how much I improved, because I had. All said and done, though, after busting my butt, the end result was that I was a slightly below-average basketball player, and I couldn't hope to compete with the people that were good athletes even though some of them had quite possibly not even looked at a basketball all summer. I sat on the bench and got to play when we were already either winning or losing by at least 30 points. I quit my junior year, after my friends and I had started a rock band and my parents told me to pick one.
So I pretty much gave up on doing anything athletic. I resigned myself to the fact that I was the smart one and I could be the validictorian without much effort, so as a trade-off, I was pretty much hopeless in athletic pursuits.
Fast-forward to today. Obviously I've discovered some athletic pursuits that I'm really really into. But for a while post-injury, I was having flashbacks back to being that girl who worked like crazy only to be slightly less than mediocre. I felt like everyone who trains at the same volume, has trained for the same amount of time (or less, in some cases) ends up being better than me. So what's wrong with me - do I not train hard enough? Am I slacking? Should I just give this whole thing up because I'm no good at it?
That is why running was not fun for a while. I started thinking back to last summer, when I was training for my first half. I never really battled those thoughts, because I never really talked to other runners (besides my husband, but I'm faster than him - although if he really trained, he'd probably run circles around me). I was just happy every time I added a mile and did my longest run ever. I ran at my speed, and didn't consider whether it was fast or slow - it was just the pace I happened to run. Part of the problem, too, is that I made my comeback just as the weather was turning. Some of you have never experienced summer in Cincinnati, but let me tell you - the humidity is generally 80-90% and it's awful for running. So even if I'd be faster on a good day, I have no choice but to slow down when my sweat won't evaporate and the air I breathe feels like it weighs me down.
So I'm trying to get back to not worrying about my pace, and accepting it. I decided to try, and my long run - 8 miles - a couple of weeks ago felt awesome. And the pace wasn't bad at all. I've actually had some pretty stinking fast runs since I abandoned the idea of running faster and decided to just run.
Today I had a crappy run. I woke up this morning and I knew I was tired. I tried to bust out 10 miles, but my left hip was pretty much shot from biking, and no amount of stretching would undo it enough for a run that didn't feel somewhat like torture. Add to that the humidity, a random side stitch, some stomach discomfort, and I decided to cut it short. A few weeks ago I wouldn't have done that. A few weeks ago I would've pushed myself through all 10 miles, risked injury and then felt like crap about my slow pace. Today, I was able to accept that good runners have bad days, the biking didn't help, and I run because I enjoy it. I couldn't get any enjoyment out of today and it wasn't worth the pain, so I stopped. I'll try again another day.
I still worry about the low mileage of my training plan. I still worry that I won't be ready for 26.2. I still am tempted to get pouty about my pace and to compare myself to everyone else. I'm still tempted to read the triathlon forum and emulate the training plans of those who swim, bike, and run 3-4 times each a week and say that you can't get faster otherwise.
But in the end, I'm trying to do what I can do and accept it. Trying. :)
I thought something must be terribly wrong, but apparently dislocated fingers just take forfreakingever to heal, and mine is coming along quite nicely. I started hand therapy, which, as it turns out, is considered occupational therapy, not physical therapy, so I have 20 visits authorized instead of using up my remaining 4 PT visits, which I would like to save in case I hit some big snags in the marathon training. I'm only supposed to wear the splint for strenuous activity now (I chose weights and biking) and try to actually use the finger more now. That's a little laughable, as it's still swollen (1/2 inch larger than the same finger on my other hand, to be exact) and it doesn't exactly want to move. So I have to exercise it now, and holy crap, that's hard. At the very least, I'm trying to hold it in a normal position instead of holding it straight out, because at a quick glance, it looks like I'm flipping people off. I'll be thrilled to wear my engagement and wedding rings on the correct finger, but that could take a couple of months. (!)
The Leg
I've officially graduated from PT for that one, but I know I'm not totally out of the woods. It still makes its presence known occasionally during runs. I found out my insurance specifically excludes orthotics (grr!!) and rather than spending $400 on the custom ones, the PT told me to try some retail ones. I just haven't had the chance to price and order them. I swear I'll get on that SOON.
The Swimming
Blah. I'm starting to get sick of swimming. The good news is that if it doesn't storm tomorrow, I'm joining a group open water swim. This could be a little ridiculous, but I HAVE to get into an environment other than a pool if I want to do an open water tri this year - which I do. Right now I tell myself that I'm not trying to swim faster, but I'm trying to get comfortable enough in the water that I don't freak out if I get a little tired or if I gulp down a mouthful of water or if someone kicks me in the head or whatever.
The Biking
I rode with a group a couple of weeks ago - there was a ride lined up with my quasi-normal group, but I couldn't find them, so I rode with some other people who were training for a charity ride. They were quite nice, and a smidge slower than I am, especially on the hills. It made me feel good. Last night I mapped out a ride that turned out to be absolutely gorgeous, but a bit hilly. There are some pretty good hills around here; unfortunately, if I ride from my house, I'm surrounded by them, so I have to take big hills in order to leave the neighborhood, and big hills to get back in. It's that darn Escher staircase again.
Last night, part of my ride was on the bike trail, and I met a guy riding a high racer recumbant bike. It was so cool that I had to ask him about it, and we had a pretty good chat about bikes and riding. Actually, one of the first things I asked him is how you DON'T fall off that thing. It's pretty precarious looking, but also looked really comfy! So I had some nice bonus comeraderie. Other bonuses: wildlife (a deer that I thought was about to run into traffic and a fat ground-hog looking thing), a little kid in his yard who yelled, "HIIIII!!!" at me, and beautiful views of the Little Miami River. Seriously, I've driven all those roads hundreds of times and didn't notice how gorgeous they are until I was on a bike. This is why I love biking. Another bonus: stopped for a cone at the Creamy Whip. I have a weakness for soft-serve vanilla.
The Triathlons
I'm officially signed up for the Fit to Fight Tri. It's a sprint tri divided into women's/men's races, with a serpentine pool swim. I'm stoked about it because I shouldn't have any swim-related freakouts, and I should kill my run time from Tri for Joe. It'll be a good chance to see what I can really do now. I want to do the Cincinnati Tri the next week - the Olympic distance. It'll be a challenge for sure, but I think I can do it. There are two problems: it's pricey, and swimming in the Ohio River is terrifying me a little bit. Not because it's dirty - it IS dirty, but I have a high tolerance for grossness. It's deep and it has a current and I have a fear of drowning. I'm trying to talk some sense into myself - I can swim longer than 1350 m (the distance of the swim) without stopping in a pool, so there's no reason I wouldn't be able to do the swim. Plus, it's downstream, so it wouldn't take as long as a pool swim. It doesn't matter if it's 4 feet or 40, I can stay above water. (I'm not even afraid of the typical open water stuff - fish, etc. - I'm afraid I'll get exhausted or kicked in the head and slip under the water and nobody will see me.)
Signing up for that one is going to depend on how much open water time I can get in beforehand and how that's going. I'm figuring I will freak out at first. I'm not a half bad swimmer (albeit slow) but being in deep water, or water of unknown depth, and knowing that I CAN'T just stop and stand up if I want to, freaks me out. It's all mental and I have to see if I can get over it in time. It'll also depend on how Fit to Fight goes.
The Running
A little background here: I've never been especially athletic. I tried to be. I tried really hard to be. Looking back, I don't think I especially enjoyed sports, but I went to a small high school where ALL the cool kids played sports. There weren't a lot of other EC options. So I wanted to play sports. I actually really liked volleyball, but I got cut after junior high (when they didn't have cuts.) I played basketball because they didn't have enough participation - so little participation, in fact, that at barely 5'5" I played center - so they didn't cut anyone. I remember one summer, I think the summer before my sophomore year, I decided that when the season started up again, I was going to be GOOD. I ran (I actually ran! Although I don't think it was much or it was fast...) and I shot baskets outside in my driveway every day. People did comment on how much I improved, because I had. All said and done, though, after busting my butt, the end result was that I was a slightly below-average basketball player, and I couldn't hope to compete with the people that were good athletes even though some of them had quite possibly not even looked at a basketball all summer. I sat on the bench and got to play when we were already either winning or losing by at least 30 points. I quit my junior year, after my friends and I had started a rock band and my parents told me to pick one.
So I pretty much gave up on doing anything athletic. I resigned myself to the fact that I was the smart one and I could be the validictorian without much effort, so as a trade-off, I was pretty much hopeless in athletic pursuits.
Fast-forward to today. Obviously I've discovered some athletic pursuits that I'm really really into. But for a while post-injury, I was having flashbacks back to being that girl who worked like crazy only to be slightly less than mediocre. I felt like everyone who trains at the same volume, has trained for the same amount of time (or less, in some cases) ends up being better than me. So what's wrong with me - do I not train hard enough? Am I slacking? Should I just give this whole thing up because I'm no good at it?
That is why running was not fun for a while. I started thinking back to last summer, when I was training for my first half. I never really battled those thoughts, because I never really talked to other runners (besides my husband, but I'm faster than him - although if he really trained, he'd probably run circles around me). I was just happy every time I added a mile and did my longest run ever. I ran at my speed, and didn't consider whether it was fast or slow - it was just the pace I happened to run. Part of the problem, too, is that I made my comeback just as the weather was turning. Some of you have never experienced summer in Cincinnati, but let me tell you - the humidity is generally 80-90% and it's awful for running. So even if I'd be faster on a good day, I have no choice but to slow down when my sweat won't evaporate and the air I breathe feels like it weighs me down.
So I'm trying to get back to not worrying about my pace, and accepting it. I decided to try, and my long run - 8 miles - a couple of weeks ago felt awesome. And the pace wasn't bad at all. I've actually had some pretty stinking fast runs since I abandoned the idea of running faster and decided to just run.
Today I had a crappy run. I woke up this morning and I knew I was tired. I tried to bust out 10 miles, but my left hip was pretty much shot from biking, and no amount of stretching would undo it enough for a run that didn't feel somewhat like torture. Add to that the humidity, a random side stitch, some stomach discomfort, and I decided to cut it short. A few weeks ago I wouldn't have done that. A few weeks ago I would've pushed myself through all 10 miles, risked injury and then felt like crap about my slow pace. Today, I was able to accept that good runners have bad days, the biking didn't help, and I run because I enjoy it. I couldn't get any enjoyment out of today and it wasn't worth the pain, so I stopped. I'll try again another day.
I still worry about the low mileage of my training plan. I still worry that I won't be ready for 26.2. I still am tempted to get pouty about my pace and to compare myself to everyone else. I'm still tempted to read the triathlon forum and emulate the training plans of those who swim, bike, and run 3-4 times each a week and say that you can't get faster otherwise.
But in the end, I'm trying to do what I can do and accept it. Trying. :)
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