Training update!

Week recap...

Tuesday, track workout...went fairly smooth but it was slightly modified as I did it on a dirt path at a park near home. Quite wet and slippery so had to be careful.

Wednesday, Group cycling night. Consisted of warm up, 2 sets of 3 - 1 mile repeats with one my recoveries and a longer recovery between the two sets, followed by a cool down. The workouts have gotten shorter due to running out of daylight. A little cooler this week so I wore a jacket and felt pretty comfortable. Only one more week of Wednesday bike nights left for the year. It's been a good run and learning experience...how fortunate we have been for Pete Gladden, New Vision Cycling and the the other individuals who have made this possible!

Thursday, 8 mile tempo run. Pushed the pace most the way. Finished in 1:01.19, pretty sore and tired afterwards. Fairly consistent splits.

Friday, rest

Saturday, Dolores Sawan 5K for Ovarian cancer. This race was part of the Hermes Road Race Series I participate in. It is generally a smaller race with a fairly flat course with small rollers. Went out sighty behind another female that I was hoping to stay with. I know from past races she always beats me but I was thought perhaps taking some hints from her pace could help me. Mile one, feeling tired but not too bad. 6:50. Mile 2 had a turn around at 1.6 out and with the turn the strong wind hit ya in the face. Getting winded but pushing on-7:20. Last mile I continued pushing harder than I wanted to go in an attempt to not lose anymore ground and passed one of the woman who were ahead that had to walk. My body aching and yearning for the finish line I finally made it. Still did not break that darn 22 I keep hoping for but managed to finish in 22:19 (7:12 pace), 4 seconds behind the lady I worked so hard to stay with. Ended up 4th overall female and 1st age group. To top it all off I had bought 3 raffle tickets and lo and behold my ticket was pulled and I won this really cool Cleveland Indians basket. Wahooo!!!

Side note-the best thing about a 5K is pushing the body so hard that my knee pain is not at the top of my hurt list during the race. However afterwards continued my normal regiman of icing which has become quite common.

Sunday-woke up at 5:50 AM to drive out towards Akron to get in my long run. Let me say, the idea of doing this was just so unappealing as I was getting ready this morning. Still tired, knee aching already, rain beating on the house so loud....wondering why am I doing this. I arrived just before 7 and was on my way for my first 5 solo. Fortunately the rain had stopped 10 minutes before I arrived. It was still dark when I started but luckily the towpath where I ran is mainly crushed limestone and not too wet. First 2.5 went quick and I turned around to go meet up with everyone else. I had a chance to eat a half a clif bar and some gatorade while the group assembled. I tried to keep lose while waiting and before long we were off. The sun started to come out and the scenery down in the park was just gorgeous. You can tell fall is here. Three of us set out together and I was thankful for the company. About 5 miles in we walked for about 30 seconds to take in some fluids. Let me tell ya how much I love my fanny camelback on these long runs...always thankful to have it!

Then we took off again the last 2.5 before turning around where we took another 30 second break. My knee had a dull ache and my feet were numb as could be. The numb feet thing is a reoccuring thing with me. My friend says I should try to concentrate on not landing on the ball of my feet all the time. So I am planning to try to work on that. Took another walk break after the next 2.5 for 30 seconds to take in more fluids and so my friend could take a gel. Then he did a quick stretch on me which helped immensely. Aother random runner joined us for a couple miles and the guys swapped marathon stories and I worked on just keeping up. I was exhausted but did not want to let on. It just seemed like if I kept saying I was OK, that it would just be so. Walked for another 30 seconds before the last 2.5. Oh the knee was screaming not to make it start again, but I was in the home stretch so no giving up now. And then Oh happy day starting running through my head as I saw my car. Thank goodness I had made it and it had actually went fairly smoothly. Yes, I hurt. Yes, I felt exhausted. But there were no major struggles and things went pretty well. I am sure so much of this was made possible with my company. It is so much easier to have the distraction of conversation versus thinking about how much you hurt. So now I start my taper. Of course, could have had some more long runs but just trying to work with what I have on my bumb leg. So I am off to do some more icing!!!

Buckeye Half

Well as I woke up for race day I walked down the stairs and thought "pain is still there." I packed up the Aleve and my other pre-race nescessity these days, a couple pepto bills and headed out the door.

It was an insanely foggy morning and in the upper 50's. I was a bit cold waiting for the race to start in my tank top but did not complain because I was just looking forward to the race. I was planning to run with my friend Bob and he just is a truly wonderful partner who provides conversation and support the whole way through.

Before the race I caught up with all the other familiar faces and friends I have gotten to know over my running time which was fun. I really did not have a game plan for what I wanted out of the day. I thought about trying for 8 min miles, but I figured given the recurrent knee pain that I would just run with Bob and enjoy the run.

And so we were off, chatting away. Pretty much hitting 8:30-8:45 consistently through all the miles, slowing on the waterstop ones to actually walk so we could drink. I felt strong the whole way. I never felt uncomfortable even where there were short hills.

As we came up to the last waterstop I told Bob that I was going to skip it and headed up the hill before the finish line. What a guy, I hear him cheering over and over from the bbottom of the hill. He totally could have been with me if he wasn't spending all his energy cheering. Anyhow eneded up finishing in 1:53:39 at a 8:41 pace which put me at 5/25 in my age group (last year was 1:53 and some change too!).

As far as my running goals for the rest of 06, I had been hoping to have a BQ time at Columbus this year but given the recurrrent IT band pain, I have given up on this goal due to the scaled back training. I have decided to just run at what feels comfortable...or rather, what pain I can handle. I am somewhat disappointed yet relieved that the pressure is off. I figure for the Columbus marathon I am just going to try to get through it, which at this point will be an accomplishment. I keep thinking about what would be a realistic goal given the reality that my original one is probably out the window. Hmmm, what marathon time should I shoot for do ya think??? Maybe next year!!!!

On another note, may have good news to share soon!!!

Running time!!!

Well with the last tri out of the way, it is time to shift my focus to running. Only problem is the IT Band continues to bother me some.

I managed to get in a decent workout today at the track. I decided to hit my local gym in Garrettsville and run apprximately 2 miles to my old high school track, do my workout and head back to the gym for some core training. Let's just say my core training ended up much shorter than planned as I was just spent from the track.

As I started my warm-up I took in all the changes at my ole alma mater...the addition on the high school, a paved parking lot that replaced a gravel one, all the new baseball and soccer fields which replaced the entire wooded area that was along the gravel road back to the track which used to be surrounded by woods. So much has changed and as I took a quick look at the track, I realized not much had changed with it. It was still cinders, still uneven and at this point in time completely covered with water in spots. Oh well, I was there and if I ran on the inside I was able to keep my feet out of the pools of water.

At the track I did (10) 400's with either 100 or 200 yard recoveries depending on how I felt. I started off fair and slowed down and managed to pick it up slightly at the end. My lungs ached and it was a slow 2 miles back to the gym. Knee ached but not too terrible. I think I am just getting used to the constant ache. My key is to just keep going b/c starting after stopping is the worst.

Sunday will be the Buckeye Half Marathon so we will see how that goes!

Evil Wind, DaisyDuc explained & GLE report!

Well the evil wind off Lake Erie today made for a duathlon instead of a tri. I must admit a small part of me was disappointed yet this morning as the wind howled and I saw the white caps the weak swimmer in me was quite relieved that I would not be swimming in those waves. Yet, even as this made me relieved I was slightly concerned about my knee with my IT Band and running further on this new terrain.

Jodi, my hubby and I got up there early Saturday to hit the expo and the race meeting which was cool because I finally got to meet Tri-Eric and his wife in person for the first time, as well as TriFrog and some of the other Cleveland Tri Club peeps out up there.

I suppose I should mention that there was a debate going on to where my name 'DaisyDuc' orininated from. So here is the story, folks....which a few may not know. I gave myself the name DaisyDuc or rather Daisy Duck after my little red Ducati motorcycle. You see most Ducati owners refer to there Ducati's as Ducks so I just had to come up with a cute first name. I decided on Donald Duck's girlfriend, Daisy Duck, who was a woman who knew her mind, and it just seemed to fitting, so hence DaisyDuc.

After the meeting we headed to the pasta dinner and then out for some ice cream which was a bad idea. I had been planning to try not to eat dairy for 24 hours prior to the race, yet I am such an ice cream sucker that I decided, what the heck. I try not to write about this all the time as it definitely gets old (BELIEVE ME!!) but again the stomach acted up during the race. Next long day, I swear I will behave for certain, heck I really need to revamp my entire nutrition.

However the ice cream trip led to a nice drive over the bike course where we had the oppportunity to scope everything out and see how flat the course was. We talked about how fast it was going to be since it was so flat...boy, were we mistaken!

Sunday after getting up early we got the word that it would be a du and start early. At the very back Jodi and I started the run. I liked some parts like the packed sand along the beach and the grassy trails, yet the deep sand was killer. It was tough to start in the back as it was incredibly hard to pass people with the tight course. Knee did not feel too bad. Run one time 24:42-7:58 pace.

T1 uneventful -1:05

I hopped on the bike and quickly realized that this wind was not going to make for a fast race. I passed a few and got passed by several more although I think only 2 were females...2 too many for me though!! I drank water from the aerobars during the ride which worked out well. I need to practice stretching more often as the low bad pain really set in my mile 15 and it seemed to late. Finally I made it back in at 1:20:59 at an 18.4 mph pace.

T2-uneventful as well -1:04

10K race- legs a little tired but doing well. I wanted to make sure I saved enough for the second half so I took it easy for the first 5 K. There was some seriously deep sand at some points which definitely slowed the times down. About the time the second 5K started the stomach issues were kicking in with a vengeance. Every time I pushed alittle I started to wonder if I would make it to a bathroom. So I felt like I was holding back, but finishing without a problem was much more important than finishing the 10K faster. Knee ached but I think my Aleve was helping immensely. 10K 55:04-8:53 pace.

Total time 2:42:52, which put me at 5/12 in my age group. My performance could have been better, yet given the conditions, not too bad. Jodi and I rode home with elevated knees and ice packs from yet another enjoyable day of racing!

Good Luck IM Moo athletes

First off, I want to wish the very best of luck to the folks heading out to Madison. Some of the Cleveland area peeps heading out there that I will be watching include-
Sara Ziemnik 2198
Alan Wong 477
Trina Potts 2370
Rob Reddy 1270
Kar-Ming Lo 678
Jim Jacko 2039
Cassie Schumacher 2345
John Willse 1020

The perserverance and dedication I have seen from these individuals is inspiring and I hope eveyone is able to enjoy themselves out there!

For me, I am heading off to the Great Lakes Escpe up in Marblehead this afternoon with the hubby and Jodi. I am looking forward to getting away for a night and the whole experience, yet in all honesty I am really not expceting much out of this race in terms of how I will finish. My swimming training has been few and far between and I am still limping while I walk so I am not sure how great running is going to go tomorrow! Oh well, I imagine I will still enjoy myself, especially considering the Cleve Tri Club support that will be out there. The support and encouragement of this group has really made this season for me!

Perfect timing!!!!!

I am an auntie!!!!!!!

Well thank goodness I am out of a job....momentarily anyway...hopefully!!!

My sis has been in the hospital for nearly 3 weeks now and on Tuesday she gave birth to two healthy girls who arrived 6 weeks early. Fortunately,with my flexible schedule I was able to be there with her. Alyssa Ann was born first at 5 lbs, 1 oz and Erin Eileen came out a minute later at 3 lbs, 2 oz. Tiny little Erin has been doing well. Alyssa had some difficulty breathing but things have significantly improved. Both girls will probably remain at the hospital for some time but all looks good. So all of us have been very excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have also been able to dedicate some additional time to my training...which has been going so so on account of my IT band flaring up constantly.

Training recently
Friday-10 mile run, which was supposed to be 16 but the pain was too much
Saturday-66+ mile bike ride in the rain---all good except for some bike short chaffing...biking does not hurt the knee, thankfully!
Sunday-5 mile fair run-lots of uphill, 1st AG, 4th or 5th female overall-not bad! Knee was not too bad!
Monday-no training-headed to husband's supermoto track time
Tuesday-no training-sis caught me just as I was heading to workout, so I changed to hit the hospital!
Wednesday-Upper body & ab workout (so sore from it) and 17 mile bike ride to & home the gym.
Thursday-18 mile run...pathtically slow and painful. A day later now and I am struggling to walk due to IT band. But made it through!!!
Friday--taking off!
Tomorrow-5K scheduled...may skip to rest up for big Great Lakes Esccape on Sunday!!

Anyway must run...meed to escort sis to get stuff ready for check out!

Meet Erin!

Meet Alyssa!