Friday, February 26, 2010

15 seconds

I need more time...about 4 more hours per day please. Does any one know where I can find that? I'm having a massive scheduling issue in my life...mainly stemming from the fact that i am a)trying to do this ironman thingy at the moment b)have a job that this year likes to stress me out and make me travel a lot which = lots of work c)have another job that i love and want to pour my time into but it doesn't pay the bills d)friends/family/appointments I can't seem to keep up with. I feel like i'm falling off the back of a treadmill at the moment. One of my biggest faults? I have this ridiculous mindset that somewhere in my little brain I do believe I can do it all. It doesn't mean I *should* do everything...but as a friend of mine put it the other week: you love to be at your wits end tearing your hear out about to lose your mind. You love that space.

sigh

I'm trying to balance stuff...we will see how that turns out.

But today was a weird day. I just got back from TX for work last night and was EXHAUSTED. Pushed my AM swim to afterwork and had decided to leave work a little early to get the swim in but mid way through the day that just turned into: leave work early to power nap. I knew i'd sink like a rock if i attempted to swim so i went home and took a little nap.

FINALLY got my sorry state out of bed and headed to the pool. I was tired and kept telling myself: just be less tired please? Apparently you can't will yourself to be less tired...i tried real hard though. But I hopped in the pool and somehow found the concentration to focus on the drills at hand.

head down...arms wide...left hand entry....quick arm recovery...tight core...rotate...rotate...left hand (what the heck is that arm doing?)... arm recovery...arm recovery...arm recovery

It wasn't anything to write about...so why am i writing about it? I don't know. But at the end of the set i have a 4x100 cool down. K...just relax...cool down but keep it easy just focus on form with out the paddles and buoy.

TEN...TWELVE...FIFTEEN SECONDS!

That was the amount of time off of an 'easy' 100 from what I was swiming last year. FIFTEEN SECONDS! Last year an easy cool down hundred was typically 2:00/100yards. Today...1:45/100y

not.even.sprinting.

That's CRAZY in my book...but totally lovin in.

And NEXT week...we get to test and see if these little improvements pay off when it counts. Desert Tri....bring it on!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

A lot of things running around up there

I've got a lot on my mind these days...and not a lot of time. I do find that I am more and more using this blog as a place to just get stuff flushed out of my little pea brain...but it still keeps running around. sigh

One exciting endeavor appears that i have will have the term 'writer' involved in part of one of my job descriptions. I know i sorta blather on with this here blog with fragments and run on sentences...but partly due to my over thinking personality I need some place where I can just go ON...where if people don't like my blathering or disjointed writing style they will just use that little 'x' in the corner and move on. I think I need that right now.But i'm kinda excited about this other prospect and have been enjoying this recently.

What is strange is I think i've always wanted to 'be' a writer but didn't really know what that meant. I went to some writing camps as a kid...but that being said even though I was a pretty good student in high school and college, english writing class was typically the class would get B's in. Give me a chemistry equation and i'd be golden...but literary analysis...um...not so much. I think it is the fact that I'm not the type of writer that will ever write the great american novel, but I have come to realize I do have a few writing skills. I just usually need to get through at least 1 or 2 or 10 drafts first. Any writers out there (and i know there are a few)...any words of wisdom are appreciated. So I will soon get to flex those skills in a more focused environment and see what happens. I'm actually a little nervous, but also really excited.

I think i need a miracle right now. i mean...who doesn't...but either I need some extra hours in the day or something dramatic needs to happen on the job front. So i'm currently praying for a miracle.

Folic acid is good stuff...and if you don't have enough of it...you won't feel very good. Trust me on this.

oh...i had another six degrees of separation or chance encounter or whatever you want to call it. This is the FIFTH time in San Diego i have run into someone I know from my past and the THIRD time it is someone from my undergrad...i went to a TINY undergrad near Seattle...not here. This.is.so.weird.

Training...i'm SUPER excited about Desert tri in 2.5 weeks. I'm currently doing the 'number' crunch in my head of benchmarks, goals, reach goals...ect. So...i'm going to put them down right now just to put them down. These are 'reach' goals...none of them may happen, one of them might happen...i don't know right now. Swim: sub 32, Bike sub 1:18 (i actually don't have a true grasp on this one) and Run for 6 miles (it's not a 10k...it's only 6 miles)...sub 48mins. Things are coming together, but everything seems to be coming ALL together and I don't know what that really means...or if it is just in my head? Or it IS coming together? My coach did tell me that he has seen many improvements in my training...i just don't know how that translates into times. I'm not so tied up in my times...i'm actually really excited to see how it DOES come together. But anyway...it's all pretty awesome.

ohhhh and i think something i'm going to get that will help...a tiny bit...with time: race wheels and race tires. Yes...i'm going to not race on my big ol FATTY tires. I kinda find them funny but i SOOOOOOOOO don't want to change a tire in a race...but well...rolling resistance...i might as well have added glue to my tires their rolling resistance is so fantastic. As in...they suck for racing. I've had mechanics laugh at me when they find out that I race in them. Sure...train heavy...but race at least a *little* lighter. There still is part of me that goes: but if i have to change a tire...its not worth the possible time 'savings'...there is no savings in that. I can change a tire in less than 5 mins flat, but that's still a lot of time. So...advice on tires/wheels? I don't want rims any larger than zipp 404's but i am exploring other companies besides zip.

That's enough out of me for awhile. Ohhh totally disjointed and all of that, but i'm just trying to write more and practice writing even if it is possible jibberish mainly because then i can hone my skills where they need to be honed and worked on over in that other space.

until i have something else to blather on about...

oh...but i do...next up...trigger point therapy stuff...or as i have been calling it around these parts: the box of evil.

until next time...

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Not too bad!

San Diguito Half Marathon...unofficial time...2:02:30

Official response to the day...great training run.

Official feeling about the race...it went pretty well.

Ways to make it better next year?
1) Show up an hour and a half before the race starts. Even though it is a stand alone running race and you don't have to set anything up...being stuck in traffic for 40 minutes from the off ramp to the race is one sure fire way to miss the official start.

2) Don't take the Lomas Santa Fe exit....use a map and take the exit before. That alone would have gotten me to the the start line with enough time to spare to use the bathroom.

3)hill training...yes..those bumpy things that go up and down....they are good if you have plans to do a hilly half marathon.

4)mileage...mileage would be good. While I have been doing that ironman training thingy...my coach hasn't built my volume excessively in the running due to my hip. We have only begun a phase where I will start seeing more appreciative volume...so while I have the endurance to complete a half marathon... running further than 8 miles leading up to the race might have been helpful...but this was a training run and really it was more of a 'test' in my book. And in my book...i totally passed.

5)Shoes with less miles on them feel better in a race especially on a hilly course.

There were a few hiccups...missed the offical start...figured that since i wasn't trying to PR and i'm not in the market for any bling during this life time...stopping early on to use the bathroom that I didn't have a chance to do since I was STUCK IN TRAFFIC...i just decided to be comfortable and stop early. I'm glad i did. Sometimes you just gotta race your own race.

A few weeks ago I actually told my coach that maybe i should skip this race. He told me...no...just do the race and use it as a training run. I aint going to lie...there was a little grumbling on my side of things under my breath. But I decided just to see how things are going. Last week I discovered i'm in 10K PR shape...like possibly-beat- my-10K-PR-from-november-by-something-like-5-minute- kind of shape. I didn't know how that would translate into a hilly half marathon that I haven't been training volume or hills for. Much to my surprise...not too bad.

And then i did a super crazy thing...and went to Sea World for the rest of the day. Oye vey!! I think my legs offically hate me at the moment...but hey...that's how it goes.

Monday, February 08, 2010

ugh...

Life is not hot or cold...black or white...on or off...but it does seem that I run that way with this here blog. Right now...i have too many thoughts running around in my little pea brain head so...to anyone listening...i'll just dump. We shall see how long that lasts.

Well...it's monday...and i wore compression socks to work (no...not as a fashion statement and yes they are black so they look like 'normal' socks under the trousers. I don't SPORT them like some wacky triathletes.) and one of my weekend activities involved taking an ice bath. Not usually a good sign. Blame the weights on friday...no i think blame the squats mainly.

But all this soreness made for an interesting weekend of training. And by interesting...i mean hard...mentally. Saturday the weather prescription was: 70% chance of rain. My original 4 hour bike was cancelled so I decided to deal with the rain during a run and push the ride to Sunday. Many accounts of Saturday's rain...and I think i made the right choice.

Saturday came and i felt like a complete rebel. I slept in...i drank some coffee...slowly...i soaked in the morning and puttered around the house enjoying a nice brekkie of coffee, french toast and fruit. The mornings exploits were seemingly scandalous compared to a normal Saturday early start. And then i realized: most people would do exactly this on a Saturday. I then realized: I wouldn't trade my Saturday morning rides, but occasionally it is nice to indulge in a 'normal' Saturday. Eventually i got out the door for an 8 mile run.

owch

slooooooooooooooooooooooooooowly i made my way along with some quads that hated me. But they didn't really hurt while running...they just made everything tired...slow...and tired.

Then sunday...lisa generously offered to ride with me on my long ride. Somehow google maps sucks...oh wait...somehow? yes...they just plain suck and told me it would be 15 miles from my house to point A...it was 7 miles...not 15. Which...now i was 16 miles short by the end of the ride since I was riding there and back to point A and then doing a loop off of point A. Double ugh...the ride itself was sorta a doozy. My body was achy, tired...but i pressed on. And near the end of it...what do I have to climb to get home? Torrey Pines. yowza. But before that I stopped to regroup with Lisa and looked at my watch: 2:58....nope I still needed some more time.

And then the negotiations set in: ugh..you're tired...do you really need to do 4 hours? We will get 3.5 i'm sure by the time I get home...legs hurt...body aches...really...what's 30 minutes??

I regrouped with Lisa and told her I needed some more time. She let me meander my way up the coast as she headed in. And then I was sent a small miracle mid-suffer fest. My friend mark.

I was stopped at a light when I hear someone say my name. I first think: who the heck would know me out here? And I look back...and my friend mark is there. Sigh...awesome. He distracted me for almost the whole distance I needed before I turned around. He truly was a Godsend when my little brain was just DONE and my body was screaming: ENOUGH.

Finally turned around and I swear the only reason I got home was part of it was down hill and there is that thing called gravity. The other portion...you know the part called Torrey Pines...well that was not fun...but I plowed up it and hung in there.

And then....more negotiations. I'm supposed to do 15x30 second pick ups with 30 sec recovery + 15 min cool down off the bike...so another total of 30 minutes of running...UGH...

just do 5...really...just do a few

then after 5...you can do 10 i know you can...

after 10...really...what's 5 more? You've come this far.

So i got all 15 done...but i wasn't finished at that point. Nope. Still had a weight workout to fit in later in the day.

Granted I got home, ice bathed, napped, ate, ate and ate some more...finally got to the gym with only 30 mins til close but i GOT to the gym. I seriously wanted to turn around half way TO the gym. AND i got a few lifts in to help with that anabolic response to help off set all that catabolic work i did this weekend. Maybe not the whole workout...but something is better than nothing.

you know what...i'm pretty proud of myself. I really was SO over the training pretty much all weekend...but i managed to get through. AND this morning...still feeling like lead and swimming like a rock...i got a good session of technique drills in (which are mentally challenging since they are so repetitive).

Major hurdles were jumped...yes max...there IS a steeple chase in ironman...i'm almost certain of it.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Just because I *get* it doesn't mean I like it

I've been doing this swim-bike-run thing for awhile...this year makes my 7th season. I will admit the first few years i did not pay much attention to the finer details of endurance sports and digging into the academic aspects such as the physiological aspects of endurance sport. But since I am such a big nerd, it was only a matter of time before I started researching the biophysics, physiological, and many other esoteric topics involved in different parts of triathlon such as yaw angles, the physics of aerodynamics, and then there are the numerous nerdy papers I have read on nutrition. And before I move on...can i just say...please avoid fructose (not just high fructose corn syrup...but that is its own topic) if possible if you have a touchy stomach. Ok...that is its own blog post right there.

But anyway...the point of this post is even though I UNDERSTAND the why of something specific to training....that I GET it...it doesn't mean i like it. The topic at hand...weight lifting. And actually i should clarify...i like weight lifting. Actually i REALLY like weight lifting. But lifting weights and training when you mix them together especially when the weight lifting prescription is: LIFT HEAVY...hurts...a lot...

Endurance training is actually quite catabolic in nature...this means that with lots and lots and lots of long distance the body produces the stress hormone cortisol. This same hormone is what is produced when you are under stress so if you are under a lot of stress or aren't sleeping a lot or not recovering a lot your body goes into a catbolic state. When the body is in a catabolic state it starts to destroy the muscles...and makes you feel bad. If you let this go on for too long the symptoms of overtraining start to arise. Restlessness, can't sleep, depression, ect. You can experience these things if you are in general under a lot of stress. Ever get really stress out...suddenly you aren't sleeping...depressed...ect. I'm always suprised to see a list related to 'overtraining symptoms' and not see someone say: HEY!! don't you also feel like this when you are also mega stressed out?? Well...at least I do.

Crazy part...if i'm really stressed out...i can just watch my times get slower...and slower. Blame the cortisol and the fact i'm not sleeping. And if i'm really stressed out it is unlikely that I am eating well. So...a perfect storm that leads to some ugly training.

So how to balance this? Get the body to produce anabolic hormones...no i am not advocating steroids. But your body does produce anabolic hormones like growth hormone, testosterone, ect. to help balance out the catabolic ones. HOW? sprints and weight lifting will do this...lifting heavy amounts of weight are optimal.

I have two weight lifting sessions per week that just say: lift as heavy as you can on that day 2 x 10. um...i didn't lift last week and waltzed into the gym on friday and was pretty excited to be back lifting weights. In all honesty I like lifting weights. And weirdly...i like lifting really heavy weights. I find it sorta funny in a weird way. Don't ask me why i think it is funny (no disrespect to weight lifters) but maybe it is just ME wandering around the free weights trying to get the gossipy boys to stop hogging the squat rack that makes me sorta laugh under my breath.

So yesterday i did just what was prescribed...nice and HEAVY lifts. And got my 2x10 squats @ 95 pounds...so i'm excited i'm flirting with 100 pounds considering I started around 65 pounds. Yes...i know...i'm no power lifter. And yes I am a to-parallel or below parallel kind of girl...A2G. I know it makes some people freak out by a full squat like that...but i know there is literature on both sides of the debate and thus far no one can give me a good reason to not use my full range of motion. For me...i have found it has strengthened my glutes and fixed my psoas in so many ways i'm sold on the full squat for the moment. So that was pretty exciting.

And then i got to my deadlifts and i have little goals i make up they tend to be a little arbitraty and considering training sometimes makes me have to lighten them up, which my coach has warned me about it is supposed to be HEAVY for that day and not worry about how i had done previously, some days i'll lift more some days less. The point is to get the body to release anabolic hormones...and for these managed to pull 2x5 @ 150lbs....another PR for 5 reps. So i'm doing all kinds of good things to keep my keep my catabolic hormones in balance...but here's the issue....i.am.sore.

Today i had to push my long bike to Sunday. Biking on sore legs is much easier than running on sore legs. oye...i got some sore glutes that did not want to move for a long run. it was a sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow run today...but got it done.

So just because I UNDERSTAND why i am supposed to do these heavy lifting....and even though i even LIKE lifting heavy...doesn't mean i like it when i'm dragging my sorry legs around cuz they hurt. Oh well. I'll live.

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Guess i can't floss

Max said I should try to make blogging a habit...like flossing...well think the title of the post is inaccurate. I actually love to floss my teeth and i do it daily. But this regular blogging...nope. Lots is going on and i did write a post 2 weeks ago that is sitting in a word document on my work computer. But lots going on that is good and lots that is a juggle. I just moved to a new place and i'm digging it aside from the elephants that live upstairs. Training is going ok for the most part. I think the only thing I have to say in this post before I race off to work is my exciting run this morning.

I am currently training with a local coach and we have group workouts 2x a week. The way to really start to understand what it means to be FAST as in qualifyforkona FAST or winyouragegroup FAST is to train with people who do just that. I basically run in a different time zone than these people, but that's ok...i'm seeing improvements in MY training and that is SO COOL. But the wonderful thing about the group i train with is even though they come home with all kinds of bling from races they are super encouraging and really nice to train with.

We have a 500m loop that we run around and we were doing 2k efforts (4 loops) at what was to 'feel' like 10K pace. My pace: sub 50minute 10K! What's my 10K PR? 52:something that I did back in november...having *just* recovered from the swine flu. This morning I was on a 49:40 pace and absolutely felt like I could hold that for 6 miles. sweet!

So...the speed is coming. I actually threw down 6ish miles this weekend that i went for that aerobic feel (on top of actually feeling kinda blech about the run) and used my HRM to see what that 'felt' like and to see what my pace was. What was cool was that feeling of 'yea i could run this for a long, long, long time' was 9:45 @ 145bpm...no...not fast by anyone's imagination but it is encouraging for these loooooooong races ahead that loom in front of me.

This spring's racing schedule has pretty much been finalized too:
San Dieguito half marathon in two weeks: uh...yea this might be ugly.
Desert Tri March 7th (if you didn't sign up...it's already sold out! Crazy considering i signed up three days before the race last year...but there is some trash talking going on around this race. )
Super Seal (Oly) April.....11?
Wildflower Long Course May 1st. AKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK almost a little more nervous about this than IMCDA...that's kinda screwed up in my opinion.
And IMCDA on June 27