You know what I love about running? It's such an easy sport to come home, grab your stuff, and go! Here's a list of the things that went with me on my run today. (In order of appearance)
Undies
Heart Rate Monitor strap
Short sleeve shirt
Socks
Tights
Long sleeve shirt
Track pants
Long sleeve shirt with collar and thumb holes
Winter hat
Running jacket w/hood
Shoes
Reflective vest
Head lamp
Blinky light for my back
Watch
3 8-oz water bottles
3 gels
Baggie to hold gel wrappers
Gloves
Mitten shells to go over gloves
House key
Yaktrax
See, it's amazingly simple! I didn't take my iPod, mainly because I was so tired of grabbing stuff to take with me.
Today was a 95 minute run that ended up being through about 1-4 inches of snow. I think it should count as a strength workout as well, because that much extra resistance really puts a hurting on the quads, and especially on the ankles from the bad footing. Tomorrow may not be pretty, but today I was happy with my effort. Best 10:28s I've ever run!
Happy 2009! The days are getting longer, it's (theoretically) going to get warmer soon...right? Also, happy birthday to my Mom today!
Biggest Challenge This Month:
My headcase of a mind. I don't know if it's because I'm now past the length of a marathon training schedule, the cold, or what, but it's been hard to focus for the last few weeks. I've kept the missed workouts fairly low, but that doesn't mean I've been excited to get on the treadmill or trainer.
I've also started having some issues with my shoulder. These are nothing new, but have been in control for the last couple years. It's just irritation as the tendons cross over, common in swimmers, tennis players, and anyone who swings their arm overhead a lot. To combat this, I've begun to modify my stroke a bit. From what I read, 80% of the strain on one's shoulder is during entry and recovery, and only 20% during pull. So, I now leave my thumb up during the first two, and only rotate it over to catch the water during my pull. Seems to be working pretty well so far - a couple weeks ago, I thought I was going to have to take some significant time off in the pool, and now the worst it's been is a dull ache from time to time.
Biggest Success This Month:
Let's see. I cracked three hours on the trainer (thank you, "Batman Begins"). The time went by pretty fast, but I was really tired at the end of it. Coach assures me that it will be easier outside on the roads. That's good, because I definitely could not have done two of those and then a marathon that day.
I also have continued to improve my swimming. My last timed swim came in at 1:52/100 over 1000m. I had hoped for a little better, but it wasn't supposed to be an all-out test; rather, it was a race pace swim. Since I don't yet have a race pace, I just picked a speed somewhere beyond easy, but not quite hard, and stuck with it. I actually have another swim test today (3x300), so we'll see how that goes!
How I Feel About Training:
Like I said, the indoor stuff is starting to grind on me. What's keeping me going right now is the continued improvement, and the hope that winter will someday end.
How I Feel About The Race:
Yikes! Now that it's 2009, it seems like it's on top of me. I have to keep reminding myself that there's still 5 months to train and improve. That's more than I'd spend training for a marathon from scratch, and I certainly have a nice base built up now.
What's Next?
Coach just approved my participation in the Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon on February 22 and/or March 22. Rather than by distance, you're scored by your ranking in each sport. It seems to reward balanced athletes, since even if you beat the field by 5 miles in the run, you'd only get one more point than the second place guy. The event is a 10 minute swim, 30 minute bike, and 20 minute run.
I'm also supposed to find a "warm up" Half Ironman race in the spring, but haven't done so yet.
5 Months Out Theme Song:
"A Flowery Song", Five Iron Frenzy. It's physically impossible not to tap your foot or run along to this song. (Seriously. Scientific studies prove it.) Time to make sure it's on the old iPod!
When approaching the wall, make sure to get a deep breath.
Take one more breath, just to be sure.
Seriously, one last breath.
Put both arms back and duck your head.
Use your abs to pull your head down and around. Ideally, it should be below the rest of your body at some point.
Push off the wall if you happen to be close enough. (Optional)
Get at least one hand (preferably two) on the floor of the pool to steer. As you get better at this, try keeping your hands out in streamline position. This will allow you to use your chest/belly on the floor instead.
Spin over so you're right side up. Bonus points if you can do a full barrel roll.
While gliding off the wall, count the lane lines to make sure you're still in the same lane.
Apologize to neighbor for intruding on their lane.
Duck the rope, blow the water out that went up your nose, take a big breath, and continue.
To this point, my longest swim has been 2800m. I was supposed to have a 3000 swim a couple weeks ago, but I missed it due to illness. Yesterday, it was time to blow that out of the water, and go straight to 2 miles! (3250m, to be exact)
After a mixed warmup of drills and kicks, it was time for the main set. To start off, I had 4x400, and for a kicker, I had to swim one length of each 100 with my head out of the water! For those who haven't tried it, it's like slamming on your brakes. By the end of the set, my core was too tired to hold both my head and legs up, so I was dragging my feet pretty badly. I wasn't quite able to hit my goal times for these, but I was only a few seconds off.
Next came a 3x200, picking up the pace a little more. And then was the final 4x100, all out, suffer-and-like-it sprint. The goal here was to go at the pace of my last swim test, 1:45/100m.
And not to pat myself on the back too hard, but I knocked it out of the park.
1:37 1:41 1:40 1:36 (!)
My arms were absolutely toast and I was gasping for air at the end, but I was thrilled when I finally saw my times. Plus, I think I had plenty of juice left that I could have finished off the last 0.4 mile (slower) without a problem.
I'm having some issues with my right shoulder, so now the challenge will be to keep it healthy as I go forward. Lots of ice and PT exercises! I do think the core and strength work I'm doing is paying off big time in the pool. And next time my swim test comes up, I'd love to try and crack 1:40/100!
Last night, I had a ride on the trainer for two and a half hours. After that, I had to get on the treadmill for another 25 minutes. Lately, I've been timing my long workouts to be during sporting events, so I have something to distract me. Sunday night at 8:00 PM? No interesting sporting events that I could find.
Spike TV to the rescue! They were showing the original Star Wars trilogy, which is probably my favorite series of movies (minus the revisionist scenes they stuck in after the new movies...grr...but I digress). I tuned in around the middle of The Empire Strikes Back, and by the time Meredith and I were drinking our recovery hot chocolates (well, mine was for recovery, hers was just for the sake of hot chocolate), the rebels were assaulting the second Death Star.
So, in honor of last night's training sessions, here are the top 10 Star Wars quotes to use in your triathlon training and races:
10. Would it help if I got out and pushed? 9. We seem to be made to suffer. It's our lot in life. 8. Well why don't you outrun them? I thought you said this thing was fast? 7. How do you get so big eating food of this kind? 6. Rest I need. Yes. Rest. 5. The told me they fixed it! I trusted them to fix it! It's not my fault! 4. Watch your mouth kid, or you're gonna find yourself floating home. 3. You have your moments. Not many of them, but you do have them. 2. Do...or do not. There is no try. 1. One thing's for sure, we're all gonna be a lot thinner.
The cold is finally on it's way out! As of yesterday, training is back underway at long last.
Meredith and I braved the elements after work for a run in the snow and ice. We were supposed to get up into zone 2, but we pretty much had to run at the pace the ice would allow. Still, it felt great to get outdoors and get the blood pumping a little.
Today, it was back to the pool, and it was an adventure! I had 400 of a mixed warmup, which went fine. Then, I forgot how to swim. I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden, everything was a struggle.
I fought through the next 1000, and decided to call it a day. 1100 meters short of my target.
But I just couldn't do it. I took a deep breath, gathered myself for a couple minutes, and then set off for my main 1000. The goal was a steady swim at race pace. Since this will be my first Ironman, I don't have a firm grasp of what that is. But it's got to be somewhere between easy and hard, right? Checking my watch every 100, I crawled my way up and down the pool, and somehow, I remembered how to swim again! My times were consistent, and when I finished, I had done it in 18:46, or 1:52/100m. Not my fastest ever, but not bad for not swimming as hard as I can like in a time trial!
Now it's time to stay healthy for a while, and get back to some consistency. Spring is just around the corner, right? Right?
I helped Meredith work the Columbus Bride show this weekend, which was a smashing success for her new company. My training took a backseat for the weekend, which was fine. But now?
Coach has prohibited me from training until I'm "sparky", so this week is sort of a dud. Here's hoping for a quick recovery so I can get back on track! Other than these issues, the training is going well. I've got a bit of a twinge in my shoulder, so maybe I'll do some PT exercises and ice it down while I'm out of commission.
