Mad Monday Update 4/27

Started off the week absolutely miserable. It was rainy and cool Monday and I felt AWFUL with a bug that started as a sore throat late last week and ended up being a terrible head cold that was peaking Mon/ Tues. As the weather got better, so did the cold and ended the week feeling pretty good enjoying one of the funnest weekends!

Lots of sunshine, friends, exercise, beers and motorcycle riding! Also I competed in my new fancy FF/ BA uniform at the Hinckley Duathlon. At the start I lined up and took off up the big first hill. First mile came in at 6:30 which was not bad considering the elevation. However as I trudged through the next mile, my stomach started flipping (likely culprit the prior evening's lasagna...can we say no cheese this weekend?). I backed off a little bit and was really having second doubts as to whether I would need to stop in transition.

I came through transition and grabbed the bike and headed out for the 5 loop bike course. My quads were instantly super tight and my legs just did not seem to come around which was sort of frustrating. I was kicking myself for not throwing the clip on aerobars on my bike as it was the first time I have not had them in an event and it just felt unnatural. I just tried to stay in a comfort zone and focus on trying to stay consistent. At the start of the 4th loop I heard a noise which I thought was a leaking front tire. I stopped to check but it seemed fine so I kept going, albeit a bit timid. I did get passed by 3 chicks on the bike. One was either in the biathlon or I passed in transition as I never saw her again. [The bike noise was just some stupid piece of plastic caught up by my brake pads that BA Mike was able to magically fix for me after the race...GENIUS!]

As I headed out on the final run I was happy to be nearing the end. I just tried to run steady and right away I saw a girl ahead of me so I focused on catching up and passed her before mile one. My legs started coming back and my focus was just catching people which made the run feel easier. I passed another girl who had caught me early in the bike course with about 3/4 mile to go and I picked it up for the duration of the course. I felt lucky to place 2nd overall female in the du and I was very happy to see my friend CV, who is also on my team, get 1st in the bi. The weather was gorgeous and it was a wonderful time to catch up with friends and get in my first multisport race of the year!

This week will keep things very light as the final taper week leading to Pittsburgh Sunday. While not 100%, I am feeling much better and crossing my fingers that mother nature is kind.

M 4/20 off, sick, bought a new car
T 4/21 2.5 Miles on treadmill, sick
W 4/22 3.5 miles on treadmill, still sick but getting better; a little core work
R 4/23 10 miles ran(just under 8 min miles)
F 4/24 4 miles ran, core work
S 4/25 9 miles ran (just under 8 min miles), comfortable run out by Hermes 10 miler
S 4/26 7 miles ran, 15 miles biked (1 M w/u, 3 M Run - 15 M Bike - 3 M Run Duathlon)

Totals
Ran - 36
Biked - 15 :-(
Core - 2
Swam - Dont ask

Mad Monday 4/20

M 4.13- 5 Miles Ran easy (8:19)
T 4.14- 5.5 M Ran Speed Workout on treadmill

1 Mile @6.7
6X 800's (1-9.6, 2-9.7, 3-9.8. 4-9.9, 5-10.0, 6-10.1) 0.1 to 0.15 recoveries
1-400 at 10.1
1-200 at 10.5
Short cool-down

All in all, felt good but was running short on time or would have gotten in all 8 on schedule.

W 4.15- Upper Body Plus, Abs (P90X +) While regular pushups are not a big deal anymore and I am getting more accustomed to pullups, L Pullups are not my friend and not happening yet.

R 4.16- 8 Mile PMP Run -ran 7:47 pace for 8...not sure yet what I will actually use for a PMP but that felt comfortable today in the sun, even with the wind and hilly terrain.

F 4.17 - 14.8 Mile run with MW (8:33 pace)

S 4.18 - 21 Miles Mtn Biked at Mohican (gorgeous day)

S 4.19 - 25 Miles Biked, 3.3 Miles Ran

Miles
R - 36.6 Miles
B - 21 (mtn) 25 (road)
S - 0 (Passover still messing my pool time up!)
Core - 1

Not a bad week. Hit the important stuff. Starting Wed or Thurs I felt a little off. Thankfully I was able to exercise through it but as of Monday 4/20, I have a super nasty cold. This thing needs to make its exit pronto! Pittsburgh is under 2 weeks and counting.

Huge congrats to all the Boston peeps!

Mad Monday Update 4/13

3 weeks and counting until Pittsburgh....

Monday 4/6 - OFF
Tuesday 4/7 - 7.25 Miles easy run (am), noon- core and upper body
Wednesday 4/8 - 6.5 M Speed workout, 5 mile easy run at lunch with E
Thursday 4/9 - 15.75 Miles Biked evening
Friday 4/10 - 4 miles ran on treadmill (ladders, 31:00)
Saturday 4/11 - OFF (out at Headwaters Du)
Sunday 4/12 - 19.5 mile run with SERC (first 5 - 7:39 pace, regrouped next 14.5 at ~8:26 pace) All and all, felt pretty good.

Weather seemed cold & rainy and motivation suffered a bit over the week. Pool closing messed the swimming up a bit. All and all, the running felt a little stronger this week.

Totals
Bike - 15.75 Miles :-(
Ran - 42.25 Miles
Core/ Weights - 1 session

Best Speed Workout in a LONG time

Monday was an off-day.

Woke up Tuesday at 5 to drive downtown to meet the morning run group for an easy 7.25 Miles. Lunch workout included lots of pullups, crawling pushups, burpees, dips, some upper body and abs.

Today (wed) I cringed when the alarm went off at 5 again and I crawled out of bed not at all ready to be up yet. Thank goodness I was meeting CV or I would not have drug my butt out of bed. After the drive downtown I hopped on the treadmill. I have not been doing very well with the speed workouts at all. I feel like I just can't hit the paces, have not been mentally dialed in or was just too plain fried to do the workouts. Furthermore for some reason the new treadmills at the gym paces have just felt harder than before which I am not sure why.

Once at the gym, I hopped on the treadmill next to CV and planned to do 6 - 800's at 9.5 (6:19 pace) with 0.1 M walked recoveries. Yet as I felt better than planned I added a few more and upped the speed for some shorter bonus intervals.

Actual
1 Mile Easy
800 -1 (6:19 pace) with 0.1 M walking recovery
800 -2 (6:19 pace) with 0.1 M walking recovery
800 -3 (6:15 pace) with 0.1 M walking recovery
800 -4 (6:11 pace) with 0.1 M walking recovery
800 -5 (6:07 pace) with 0.1 M walking recovery
800- 6 (6:00 pace) with 0.1 M walking recovery
800- 7 (6:00 pace) with 0.1 M walking recovery
400-1 (6:00 pace) with 0.1 M walking recovery
400-2 (5:53 pace) with 0.1 M walking recovery
200-1 (5:43 pace) with 0.05 M walking recovery
200-2 (5:27 pace) with 0.05 M walking recovery
200-3 (5:13 pace)
Short Cooldown

Total Mileage - 6.5 Miles

Mad Monday 4/6

Coming off Sunday's Boston simulation run, legs still feeling tight and cramped. Consciously have been trying to drink more water in case that is the problem.

M 3/30 - 4.25 Miles easy
T 3/31 - AM 6.5 Miles Ran easy, noon 7.5 Miles Ran (8ish pace), evening 20ish miles on road bike (2 climbs, some intervals)
W 4/1 - 8 Miles Ran to Edgewater (9 min/mil pace)
R 4/2- 6.25 Miles Ran (8:40 pace), 23 Miles Rode
F 4/3-1000 M Swam
S 4/4 - 5.25 M Run (w/u and Jog Into Spring 5K)
S 4/5 - 35 M Biked

Totals
Ran - 37.75 Miles
Biked- 78 Miles
Swam - 1000 M

Long story short: Legs still feeling toasted. The 5K was not pretty, not sure what was worse, the tight legs or my asthma. Coughed and had a extremely sore chest the rest of the day. Running miles suffered a bit on account of getting in some more bicycling miles, which will probably be more typical going forward with weekends being one long ride, one long run (not that my run this weekend was long at all, but next weekend!).

Mad Monday Update

So two weeks ago I backed down the mileage to try to let the soreness in my legs work itself out without much success. I have been getting charlie horses in the morning and they are just unusually sore. Doctors appt scheduled for 4/13 to see if there is anything weird with minerals or something.

So nice light week here which led to waaay too much alcohol and celebrating of St. Pats, basketball, Cavs game and a birthday...

M 3/16 AM 1000 Meter Swim, Lunch Core/UBWO weights
T 3/17 AM 7 mile run, PM 25 Mile Bike
W 3/18 PM 4 Miles Run (Some speed)
R 3/19 AM 1000 Meter Swim
F 3/20 Noon 3 Mile Run, Core Weights
S 3/21 15 mile run (8:13 pace)
S 3/22 off


Totals
Swam -2000 Meters
Bike- 25 (r)
Ran - 29 Miles
Core/ Weights- 2 session
-------------------------------------------------
M 3/23 AM 6 Mile Run (incl. 12X400 repeats, started around 6:30 pace and worked way down to 6:00 for last several), 7.25 Mile Lunch Run (8:20 pace)
T 3/24 AM 7 Mile Run (ez pace), Noon Core/ UBWO, PM Bike (20 miles)
W 3/25 noon tempo run -6 miles
R 3/26 PM -5 Mile run
F 3/27 AM 1200 M Swim, 7 Mile Run, 12 Mile Mtn Bike at Rays
S 3/28 7 Mile Trail Run, 12 Mile Road Bike
S 3/29 19 Miles with VR (Boston Simulation run) with some good climbs- 8:35 Pace

Totals
Swam -1200 M
Bike - 20 R; 10 M
Ran-57 M
Core - 1 session

St. Malachi Report

 

I may not have run well, but I can still party with the best of them!

So my favorite race of the year went as such.

Sported some CTC threads and green socks.

Watched with pride as my girls did their first road race ever, the 2 Miler!

Went for a warm up but remained quite cold.

Flew down the hill the first mile and then the legs turned into rocks. Thought about pushing through the tightness but figured I would just save it for another day. Stretched a few times and finished the race in a disappointing time.

Rolled down to the after-party surrounded by my girlfriends, my high school friends, running & tri friends and had a blast! Took part in my high school pals, G-Men Class of 95, Irish Car Bomb shot in the morning! Aghhh, despite the less than stellar performance, it was all-good times! Now I just need to get these leg muscles loosened up....Sunday's 20 miler did not help!

Mad Monday 3/16

Mon 3/9 - 6 Miles on treadmill (ez 8:57 pace with some striders)
Tues 3/10- AM 5.75 Mile run with BM
noon 6.25 Mile run with the lunch ladies
2 hour CTC indoor cycling
Wed 3/11- 9 Mile windy bike ride before flatting and calling it a day!
Thurs 3/12 -AM P90X...mad pushups and pullups
noon- 6 Mile Run Ez
Fri 3/13 - noon- 6 mile run ez with striders
Sat 3/14- St Malachi Race 6.5 Miles (1.5 warm up + 5 mile race)
Sun 3/15-20.1 mile, 8:44 pace (legs still sore the whole time from Sat)

Totals
Bike: 39 ish Miles
Run: 56.6 Miles
Core: 1 session
Swim...don't ask but I felt so guilty that I did go this morning bright and early!

Mad Monday Update 3/9

Another week of training under the belt and this one included some outside bicycling! (LOUD CHEERS!)

I just did not get in the running miles I had hoped but did manage to get in some more bicycling. I got a feeling that with the weather coming around this may be more prevalent.

Saturday I met two other couples for a ride out into the valley. While it was not raining at the start, 15 minutes later, it started sprinkling and 30 minutes in, the heaven's opened up. Lightning crashed close by and it was tough to see as we started down Truxell hill into the valley. After turning around, we did have to take a stop at Applachian Outfitters to wait out the worst of it. After the brief stop, soaked to the bone we rode through the valley on a chilly, wet, yet enjoyable ride!

Sunday was another wet one at the Youngstown half marathon. I had planned to get in more miles on the day but I totally woosed out and stayed dry as long as possible and skipped my warm up. My plan for that race was to run a moderate paced training run. Wet and shivering, I started off on my plan and all went pretty smoothly. My garmin was not working so I was not sure where I was time wise but I just rolled with a pretty comfortable moderate pace. I had to stop and tie my shoe 3 times which cost some time and finally that third time I pulled off my gloves and made sure I double knotted it good! So annoying!

Now for those of you that may not know this course is insanely hilly! I was heading up the hills very conservatively as I knew I was borderline needing to stop for the bathroom and was hoping I could keep that in check until after the race (yes, my Saturday night bar food dinner was not ideal!). In general though, what I would lose on the ups, I would get back on the downs in terms of where I was to other runners. I picked it up a bit the last uphill mile to run down one female and then after that sprint, I proceeded to have some breathing issues post race and needed a minute of walking around before letting them take my chip off. In the end, I think I met the goal of a decent effort and ended up claiming a second place AG award. (Huge props to my pal, Espeed, who ran a silly awesome time on that course with a 1:32!)

In other news, my running club, Southeast Running Club, had our annual banquet Sunday night. First off I cannot say enough about this group of runners. They are definitely a competitve bunch who have helped push each other to be some of the areas finest. Our club is so fortunate to have one of our members, Robert, that owns Primo Vino in Little Italy, who open his restaurant up to us for the banquet and provides us some fantastic Italian food. At the banquet, I was shocked and quite honored to get the Ruta award for the Club's Female Runner of the year which is based on races and club service.

Mon 3/2- 6.5 mile easy run with the girls at lunch
Tues 3/3- 2 hours indoor Cycling Glass
Wed 3/4 - 4 miles ran treadmill (included 6 X 400's at 6:00 pace, was going to do 800's but just not feeling so fresh)
Thurs 3/5 - 6.5 miles with girls at lunch
Fri 3/6 - 1000 meter swim (WAKE UP CALL THAT I NEED TO GET BACK TO SWIMMING REGULARILY), 2.5 hours riding at Rays Mtn Bike Park
Sat 3/7 - 44 mile outside ride! (Rainy!)
Sun 3/8 - Youngstown half marathon, 1:44:51 (7:59 pace)

Weekly Mileage
Ran-30 Miles
Biked - 74 road, 10 mtn
Swam - 1000 meters

Mad Monday 3/2

OK so I am swamped so this will be short and lame!

After the step back week I ramped the running miles up a bit. Definitely did not hit the biking or swimming that I would have liked, but not bad on the running front. The weather is supposed to warm up towards the end of the week and hopefully I can pick up some nice outside bike mileage then. Oh yeah, and I will be running the Youngstown 1/2 marathon Sunday. My plan is to run a nice solid run, hopefully PR my half (which would be a good accomplishment on that course) and not totally run myself into the ground.

Monday 2/23 - Slept in past AM workout, lunch run with LP 7.25 Miles
Tuesday 2/24 - Freezing cold run with BM and CV 6.5 miles; lunch run with E & LP 7.5 miles, 2 hour indoor cycling class....HUGE DAY!
Wednesday 2/25 - EZ Run with JC, E, & LP -7 miles
Thursday 2/26 - 7 Mile Run with E & LP, 3 hour mtn bikin fun at Rays
Friday 2/27 - Core and Upper Body Workout (Legs Rest Day but it is Monday now and my arms and core are still sore)
Saturday 2/28 - 20 Miles with VR (8:35 pace with some good hills and elevation changes)
Sunday 3/1 - 11.5 Mile Run with SERC (8:40 pace)

Totals
Core / Upper Body - 1 workout
Bike - 2 hour trainer indoor cycling workout, 3 hour mtn bike at Rays
Run - 66.75 Miles (this is my biggest week in awhile, maybe ever)

Mad Monday Update 2/23

I am so over winter by the way....

Last week was busy and cold and so I will chalk it up as an unintentional, but probably much needed step back week.

M 2/16 - 7.5 M Run with LP (8:25 Pace)
T 2/17 - 2 Hour Indoor Cycling Class at Team Energetics...BTW, this is such a great workout!
W 2/18 - 2.5 Hours at Rays Indoor Mtn Bike Park
R 2/19 - AM 9.5 Miles Ran, 5 Miles at Lunch (AM run included 4.5 miles at 7:03 pace...took a break at 2.5 to drink and again at 3.5)
F 2/20 - 4 Miles EZ on treadmill
S 2/21 - 1 hour on trainer, watched Xterra Championship and followed Tuesday program loosely
S 2/22 - 12 Miles with SERC (first 7 averaged 7:38 pace and then slowed through the hills with sketchy footing) I gave up at 12 as I just wanted to curl up on the ground and give up bc I was sooo cold. It was everything I could do to get my key out of my glove to open my car and go inside. I AM OVER WINTER!

Weekly Totals-
Ran- 38 Miles
Biked 3 hours trainer, 2.5 hours (Rays)
You don't want to know about the swim :-(
Someone make me start getting my butt out of bed in the mornings! I need my summer morning sunshine!

Mad Monday Update 2/16/09 & Chili Bowl Report

So Saturday ran the Chili Bowl which has been on the schedule for several years now. The last several years the course has changed so the times are not really comparable but this year was my fastest time yet and my guess would be that it was the slowest course.

The drive up to the race was sheer madness. The roads were slick as could be and there were 11 separate accidents I passed. Relieved that I finally had made it downtown, I grabbed my stuff and after dropping it in my car headed out on a warm-up with CV. The roads were sort of slick and snow-covered and I definitely noted that I would need to be a little careful. It was windy and snowing a bit and during the warm-up I thought about diverting to my car to get my yellow lens glasses. However I did not want to take the time and that ended up being a bad call.

After lining up for the start we were off. The first mile has a slight downhill to Saint Clair before another downhill on W3rd. I hit the first mile at 6:10 and while normally I might consider it fast, with the downhill, it was hard to judge. There were two girls in front and I was just trying to run in a zone I could maintain. Once we turned onto Marginal, I started to feel really miserable as my eyes were watering so bad I felt like I was crying due to the snow and wind. I could barely see and was sort of miserable. My eyes are overly sensitive which I think is due to the 3 eye surgeries I have had. As I made the turn I knew I was going to have to work hard to hold off JC in 4th as she is so strong. Mile 2-6:44. Mile 3 was going to be a challenge, up the W3rd hill and the uphill grade after 6th and some slick footing. I was slowing and the acid started filling my legs on the hill and JC passed with authority and while I tried to hang on, it was not happening. Mile 3-7:07.



I struggled to recover quick after the hill and hit the finish line in 20:39 (6:39 pace) for 4th Overall Female and 1st in AG. Not a bad way to start off the road race season in those conditions.

Despite not really feeling like it, I went out for a cooldown with E, CV (who was just behind me and had a good race), JC and RL. I enjoyed the warm-down and felt much better afterwards.

Then it was time for the fun! I got to see lots of friends out at the race and hang with everyone over chili and some awards. The Tower City Bar was a nice venue for the awards party and it made for a really enjoyable morning.






Monday 2/9 - AM P90X with CV---lots of pushups and other chest, tri and shoulder exercises
- noon- 0.3 miles on treadmill before giving up to do 20 min easy on recumbent bike, stretching (legs tired from weekend)
Tuesday 2/10 - AM 8.2 Miles with BM and CV
- PM 2 hour indoor cycling class
Wednesday 2/11 - 20 miles outside bicycle
Thursday 2/12 - OFF
Friday 2/13 - 6 miles easy outside with E, Rode 6 miles on bike outside before work called
Saturday 2/14 - 6.5 miles including Chili Bowl 5K
Sunday 2/15- 17 miles with SERC 8:07 avg pace (last 4 dropped pace 7:41, 7:36, 7:30; 7:36)
-2550 meter swim (I know about time I made it back to the pool. Started a little rough but it came back)

Totals
Biked - 61 Miles
Ran - 38 Miles (much lower than the 50 average that had been planned)
Swam - 2550 Meters (only got in one w/o of the 3 scheduled)
Core - 1

Thoughts- I need to do a better job planning my workouts and with the structure of them. Still to random and not getting in all of the key ones but in general fitness feeling like it is improving.

Mad Monday Update 2/9 & DD Report

OK, so I had to modify my original "lame" post which only had the weekly numbers that BB called me out on. So now it actually includes a RR for DD....

Saturday I ran the Dirty Dog 10K which is pretty close to me (relatively) and I have had the pleasure of running for several years in a row now! This race is held out at Mosquito Lake in Cortland, OH. The last 2 years it has been below 10 degrees at the start so since it was in the 40's it actually felt pretty darn warm, despite a cool breeze.

I rode down in the mini van with BL and his normal posse and arrived to the race. I had an interesting dive into the woods over a huge snowpile to go to the bathroom prerace as there were not any facilities for that (B, did I not mention it wb a good idea to stop at BK on the way to go?. Guess it was no big thing for the boys!)

I grabbed a few pics, saw some familiar faces and peeled off a couple layers to run in just one long sleeve shirt (gasp!) which was a first for this race! We started on the lake (and no I was not worried about falling in or getting stranded like a bunch of silly fishermen)! Actually with the snow on the lake, it was much better traction than past years on an icy parking lot.

I went out by EG and MD (who were both taking it easy that day). I was a little nervous as I had not hit my inhaler and did not even have it so I wanted to make sure I kept my breathing within reason. The course was gorgeous as we trudged through that park offering wintery views of the lake and trees. The main paths had been packed down by snowmobiles or 4 wheelers and were not too bad. However whenever we would duck off the main path the pace slowed and everyone had to work a little harder.

I had not seen any girls up front and was content to just stay in my comfort zone staying in the vicinity of the little group I had started with. As I passed one guy he said I should save some energy for the stretch by the road coming up and he was right! As we turned onto the once-grassy field by ST RT 46, the snow was deep. I would guess 6 to 8 inches of snow the that front runners had broke through. I tried to perform the tire drill to stay in their footsteps but oftentimes it did not happen with my shorter stride. The stretch was tiring and I did manage to hold a steady pace, passing one runner while feeling the burn in my legs...definitely a strength training session in that stretch!

As we headed up the hill and looped back around to the water stop I noticed I had a shoe untied and I ran with it that way for awhile thinking perhaps I could run the last 2 miles like that. But after a quarter mile or so I finally stopped to tie not one but both shoes. I figured if I lost one in the snow it would cost me even more time!

As we made our way back I was still feeling good and was just keeping things in check. I always seem to think I am closer to the end than I actually am and we kept winding around and I kept thinking the finish was near. In addition to the winding turns, my garmin was also trying to trick me as it read 6.35 miles at the end, so I kept thinking that I would be stopping sooner than it turned out! Finally I could see the clock and I pushed it in a bit to finish in 54:25. 14/95 Overall, 1st Overall Female. All and all, a decent effort but not what I would call race pace which was in check with what I wanted to do there. I would venture to guess that most people were about 4 minutes slower this year just due to the snowy conditions verses last year.

A huge thumbs up to the RD and his wife for the work in putting on this race. They do a nice job, provide some really awesome random goodies in the bags (in our van alone, P got a nice running jacket, J got a ls wicking running shirt, b got a full face mask) and it is just a nice course to run that will challenge everyone a bit while offering some gorgeous scenery!




I think this is right....

Monday 2/2- Lunch, ran 4 miles, full body exercises (pushups, drips, pullups)
Tuesday 2/3- 7 Miles AM Ran, 2 hour Indoor Cycling Class (~30 miles)
Wednesday 2/4 - 5 miles eazy treadmill
Thursday 2/5 - 3 Miles Treadmill lunch, UBWO, DOT 5 mile run
Friday 2/6 - 3 miles ez treadmill, 10 miles mtn biked at Rays
Saturday 2/7 - 6.4 mile (ran Dirty Dog 10K trail run)
Sunday 2/8 - 16.6 mile run (~8:20 pace)

Core -2 sessions
Bike- 30 (Road), 10 (Mtn)
Ran- 53 Miles
Swim 0 :-(

Mad Monday Update 2/2

Prior week was a nice recovery week and last week was just getting back to it.

M 1/26 - AM -2.5 Mile Run Treadmill, 5 Miles Biked (Got to gym late and sulked because I was too late for spin class)

T 1/27 - AM -8.6 Mile Run with Downtown Group,
LUNCH -9 miles stationary bike, UBWO

W 1/28 - 3 Miles Treadmill (snowed in, was going to do track workout but skipped out on that in favor of getting in tempo on R)

R 1/29 - AM swim 1000 m, lunch tempo run (7 miles) with E on snowy roads, 2 hr 5 seasons indoor cycling (31 miles)

F 1/30 - 4 miles ran easy on treadmill at lunch (short on time)

S 1/31 - 14.5 miles ran with VR (8:30 pace), 28 miles biked (ran through cycle w/o with TB)

S 2/1 - 2650 yds swam at Reddy's clinic (included 20 minutes time trial and swam 1000 yards)

Totals
Swam: 3650 + yards
Ran: 39.6 Miles
Biked: 73 Miiles

In general, I am feeling recovered from BT50K.



On the swimming front from the one who has always neglected swimming totally and was doing awesome to get in 4000 meters a month past years.......

I can't say enough about how much more I have been enjoying swimming this year and am so glad I signed up for the Reddy clinic. Swimming in the group setting is much more enjoyable and I have been fortunate enough to have had some buddies joining me more regularly in my pool which has been fun. Furthermore, swimming actual workouts that I can check off works for me too. Critique yesterday included making sure my thumbs entered water first, keeping arms down center line by chin instead of out to the side and pulling all the way through. I swim so much better on short stuff and during the 20 minute I just felt all my bad habits come right back. Still not swimming as much as I should be, but this year is far above where I have ever been so I will take it! Oh my lane mate and regular swim buddy, BH, is a perfect swim partner for me!

Next race Saturday--Dirty Dog 10K! Should be some fun footing but I should be used to that!

New Year, New Teams!

So I really have been wanting to spend some time updating the blog layout lately with some new links and information but there is just not enough time in my day. So since I don't have time to tinker with my template I will just blog about it!

I will give a quick plug to the only link I have updated in 2009 which is for Treadmills Guru which provides a guide to buying a treadmill for home fitness purposes. Lord knows a lot of us have been considering buying one of those if we did not already have one given us this year's lovely weather! One of these days here soon, I will actually get some more links that belong in the sidebar over there but for now, that will have to wait!

Anways, the big news which I am very excited about for 2009 is joining Team Lake Effect (TLE), a hard core cycling team. Guess I am going to have to work on my cycling game this year to fit in with this bunch!



Also, Bike Authority and Fleet Feet joined forces to put together a multi-sport team (which many TLE members are also on and now I am a member of that team as well! So 2009 should afford me lots of new training partners between these new teams! You can read more about More info here! www.clevelandtri.com



The beginning of the year has been so busy with meetings and some responsibilities to my little recreational groups which now include: Team Lake Effect, BAFF MultiSport Team, Cleveland Triathlon Club, Southeast Running Club and Cleveland Touring Club.

Mad Monday update 1/26

A day early!

So after the 50 Sunday...

M 1/19-10 mile easy spin followed by nice hot salt bath
T 1/20-off
W 1/21-1900 meter swim
R 1/22- 8 mile hilly run (7:48 pace) Good to be back running!
F 1/23- same 8 mile hilly run (7:50 pace - Just running what felt good in some mild conditions
S 1/24 - 2 hr Excel Cycling (31 miles)
S 1/25- 11.5 miles with SERC, showed up late and ran 7:55 first 6 and backed it off through the hills to average 8:13 pace
-2000 meter swim with BH and AH

Totals
Road Bike -41 Miles
Ran-27.5
Swam-3900 Meters

Feeling pretty well recovered and ready to start training plan for Pittsburgh mary this week with 3 key runs per week. Plan is to start focusing more on the bike.

---------------------------------
Since a few asked, the Dirty Dog run is out in Cortland Ohio on Saturday Feb 7
http://www.teampr.info/dirtydog.htm. I highly recommend it!!! It is gorgeous out by Mosquito Lake with a mix of terrain. Don't come out thinking you are going to set any 10K PRs as the course is not fast. As a sidenote, I have never done this race on anything but a bitterly cold morning and still there is always a ton of wonderful volunteers, support and enthusiastic racers. It is a great way to open the season. And lastly for anyone interested as we have done in years past, whoever wants to can join me in Parkman or Middlefield for breakfast afterwards is welcome!

Recovering...

So I was pretty beat up after the 50K. My legs were very tired. My blood blisters on my caluses were aggitating me. I just felt LAZY! I probably did not do anything helpful after the race by resorting to junk food and beer, but I was inclined to let things slide that day!

Fortunately I was off for MLK day and so I slept in and was pretty lazy most the day. I popped my stupid blood blisters to relieve some of the pressure on my feet which was an improvement for sure (Yeah probably TMI but it had to be done!). Finally I forced my weary self onto my bicycle which was set into the trainer in my workout room. It was time for an easy spin to try to clear away the lactic acid and the soreness. With very low resistance I spinned away at around 90 rpm with a few easy buils to 110. My speed was low but I was not concerned. I was just watching NCIS, which for some reason has become one of the shows I find myself really enjoying these days. 10 miles later I hopped off, feeling better already. Then downstairs to a nice hot epsom salt bath where I massaged my leg muscles and stretched out while I sat in the tub. As hard as it was to make myself do the spin and the soak, it was all worth it.

Monday night for some reason I had trouble sleeping so I skipped the Tuesday morning workout in favor of some extra Zzzz's and spent the day in a desk chair without a break for a workout. Oh well, so much for my nice easy run that I had planned. I always give myself a little leeway after big events which I think keeps me healthy.

Wednesday, I got in a nice long swim. The first couple hundred meters, I was not feeling 100% but I kept on swimming. By the time I finished the 1900 meter workout I was a bit tired but the muscles were feeling terrific. For years I have HATED the swimming part. This winter I had decided for once and for all I was going to commit to working on this whole swimming thing. Between RR swim clinics, swimming actual workouts and swimming with some good friends (BH, EH, TR) on a regular basis, I am actually beginning to really enjoy this whole swimming thing. Weird...there may be hope yet!

Next up, Dirty Dog 10K on 2/7. Less than 15 weeks to Pittsburgh Mary!

Winter Buckeye Trail 50K Report

So starting from the beginning, I felt like I had prepared pretty well for the race and have been feeling better running than I had in a long time. Then mother nature dumped a ton of snow on northeast Ohio so I was not sure what to expect as far as trail conditions.

I had a decent taper and took it pretty easy over the last several days and pasta preloaded both Friday and Saturday night!

Sunday I woke up ready to go after a decent nights sleep and got into my car early. The roads were awful. They must have had 3 inches of snow on them for the first 17 miles or so and it was one of those days where I knew driving in these conditions was a little stupid. But darn it, I had places to be! Fortunately when I got onto the turnpike, all was good and the roads were in much better shape!

I arrived early and got my stuff ready. It was a balmy 26 degrees so I opted to remove a layer up top and go with just my under armor shirt and then my asics coat with pockets and only 1 pair of tights. I had two pairs of socks, one being the my wicking running socks and the other being my sweet new smart wool socks. (My feet were my only problem area feeling cold and numb for much of the run.)

After hanging out for awhile in the garage and catching up with friends, it was time for the fun to begin.


Me, TriSara, and TriEric

I headed out behind a group of guys trying who were blazing a path through the snow. Single file was pretty much the rule of the day. The packs started to quickly separate and while I ran up the majority of the hills, I know I walked some of steps at the top which were pretty vertical. Perhaps one of the hardest parts of the day was when other runners were coming in the opposite direction and you had to move out of the way into the really deep snow. It often totally messed up your momentum and often resulted in almost going down.

I had started running with Todd for awhile on the way back to Boston store (where I had some water) and he followed me out to Pine Lane. I fell down somehow on this section but thankfully it doesn't hurt in the snow! Not even 6 miles into the race and I had already started complaining to him that the caluses on the inside balls of my feet were killing me on account of everytime I set them down, they would slide out to the sides. It was pretty evident very early on that this event was really going to be tough on the body in these conditions as my muscles and feet were already getting worked over.

Poor Feet
By the time I hit the Pine Lane station I was ready for my first gel and some water. Oh and to back up I had a coffee, some water and a banana pre-race. We had a little group which had gotten together, so it was nice to hear the boys talking about some 7.5 mile Potomac River swim (WOW!) coming up and some other events. R, a local 14 yr old studdette, who I had seen running trails a few times was now with us and she was looking strong. The snow continued to fall and sometimes the wind picked up which was not making things any more comfortable.

Miles clicked off and back to Boston store where I had some more water and back out to Brandywine. R and I stuck together make some talk and it was a good laugh when the passing guys would say nice job girls which would result in the guy behind us repeating over and over that he was not a girl. It is really the little things sometimes on the trail that make you smile! Had a gel out at Brandwine and my muscle soreness from the trails was really setting in. The only thing that made me feel better was it seemed that everyone around me also felt the same way.

At Boston store (18 miles in), KM helped me out getting me some pain reliever which helped some. TG!! I think that was one of the low points knowing I still had another 13 and was sooo sore. We made the slow journey up the first two long climbs and started counting down the miles looking forward to each aide station. The big hill down after about 3 miles was so sketchy, it really felt like you were just skiing down it. Then it was a game to keep my feet dry at the water crossing (even though I am certain they had been soaking wet for many miles). It was impossible to get decent footing and even the small stretch of towpath seemed like some of the worst footing. However we kept plugging along very steadily, sometimes Rachel leading, sometimes me. I was relieved to hit Pine Lane and start heading back after a yummy Tropical Blast Hammer gel, some water and some coke! I did hit my inhaler a few times out there thoughout the course during some of the big climbs and I am not sure if it was more mental or more that I actually needed it, but it seemed to help!

Back at Boston store I took a quick swig of my Fruit Punch Rockstar which tasted divine and I was off. I was hoping to pick it up the last loop and get the win. The way back out to Brandwine was painful up the hills but I pushed along, relieved to be on the final loop. I thought about not stopping at the aide station but I was tired and thought another gel and some coke may be worth the extra time. R was hot on my heels. On the return trip I flew down the first big down hill and walked the steps of the final climb while running the last half of the hill to the top. I was trying to drop the pace but R was sticking tight and it was obvious she wanted 1st as badly as I did. My calfs were screaming as I pushed on, afraid they may just fully seize at any minute as it felt like my legs were just cramping. We made the turn onto the towpath and I was hurting and pushing it in as best I could. With about 1/3 mile to go, R surged and passed. I had nothing left to answer back and trotted in for the 2nd place finish with a time of 6:09 behind her.

It is all good though. She really pushed me to work hard out there on the course and just finishing that race in those conditions! My body was pretty fatigued after the race and I am sure I was pretty dehydrated as I did not go to the bathroom the whole time (even though I thought I had to right at the start!).

The times on a whole were so much slower this year. Last yr, DP who placed 3rd ran a 4:47. This year he won it with a time of 5:35 (I think). Last year I ran a 5:37 compared to my 6:09 this year which felt like so much more work! From what I heard (which I could be wrong as I am not sure) only 55 people finished of the 100+ that had signed up for the 50K. It was one tough day out there for all!

Here are the garmin stats-
29.79 total miles-6:01.08 total time, 12.07 avg pace,6707 ft climb, mile paces-
1 9.38
2 13.10
3 11.51
4 9.35
5 11.53
6 11.40
7 11.12
8 11.48
9 11.55
10 13.39
11 11.08
12 11.48
13 10.40
14 12.50
15 12.44
16 13.04
17 11.19
18 14.08
19 12.50
20 11.31
21 14.33
22 13.00
23 14.10
24 12.24
25 13.30
26 10.49
27 13.07
28 12.30
29 10.43
30 9.54

Afterwards, I hit Winking Lizard with a bunch of other hard core runners and I ate and drank whatever I wanted to the rest of the day!

Nice job to all the other racers out there who braved those conditions! Even those who may not have attained their goal, all worked hard out there. Thanks to the awesome volunteers for helping us out in the cold weather. I really appreciated everything they all did whether it was getting me some coke or opening a gel that I just could not seem to handle doing on my own as the day wore on! Oh and thanks to VR and TC for a great race and the awesome jacket!!!

Now it is time to recover well!!!

Mad Monday 1/19

Mon 1/12- 6 miles ran, 48:03
Tues 1/13- 4 miles ran on treadmill easy, 60 minute indoor spin (mtn bike wrkt dvd)
Wed 1/14 -3 miles ran on treadmill, lots of full body exercises (60 pullups with assist, dips, pushups, pike-ups, lifted upperbody, swam 2050 meters with BH and MT
Thurs 1/15 - Swam 1950 meters with BH and TR
Friday 1/16 -rest
Sat 1/17 - ran 2 miles easy with some 25 second strides
Sun 1/18 -BT 50 K Race

Biked - 15 miles
Ran - 46 miles
Swam-4000 meters
Lifted -1 session

Tips & Thoughts on the Winter Buckeye 50K

This post is dedicated to triguyjt as he will be making his debut 50K performance at this weekend's Winter Buckeye 50K.

Now first off, I am hardly an expert. I have only ran two 50K's, the winter and summer buckeye 50Ks. I am just going to post my thoughts and what I was planning to do thinking maybe it will help someone else AND more importantly if anyone else has other advice or thinks I should rethink something, I would love the feedback.

So, going back to last year's Winter 50K, I was doing it just to finish and had not put any pressure on myself as to my time or place. That was a really nice way to approach the race mentally. This year, I feel like I have put more time in on the trails, feel more comfortable with the distance and should do better....EXCEPT, for the fact that there is now a ton of snow on the ground, more that is still coming and there is no likelihood of any of it going away anytime soon. So I am not sure time-wise how this snow will all figure in, other than to mentally prepare for the fact that I am going to have to work a lot harder this year. It will be interesting to see how much the trails get packed down over the course of the day with all of the runners out there.

My first piece of advice (which I hope everyone does not read) is to get there early as close parking is going to be very limited. Race starts at 7:15 and I would like to be there by 6:15. Last year, I spent a bunch of time debating last minute stuff and I like having the extra time, PLUS this affords me extra social time!

My second piece of advice is to race how you train, but be prepared for things not to work out. Last year, I always ran with a waist camelback. I loved it. The morning of the race, I filled it with water in the garage. The next thing I know, water is everywhere and it was soaking wet as I had not put the lid on right. Thank goodness I had a spare waste water bottle holder for back-up that was not soaking wet or I would have been cold and wet right from the start and it was cold last year too!

With regard to the camelback, handheld, fuel belt debate, again I would go with how you train. (My guess though is that many fuel belt wearers may have issues with the little bottles freezing in the cold temps.) This season, I usually planted water and just drank at the stops, which is the route I plan to take Sunday (not carrying and drinking plenty at the aide stations). CLEARLY THIS WOULD NOT WORK FOR MOST, but I feel comfortable with this since it is how I trained. I do plan to put both my handheld and my waist water bottle in my special needs bag, in case I change my mind. I do plan to carry my inhaler, pain reliever, gels, and anything else that I may think of in my coat.

While we are talking about special needs, last year I dropped stuff I might want on the Boston store porch and I would assume that it will not be a problem to do that again this year. Things I will put there include-extra pair of shoes, socks-2, extra clothes, gloves, hat, pain reliever, hand & toe warmers, band-aids, pepto pills, salt pills, an energy drink (FRUIT PUNCH ROCKSTAR, DUH!) and whatever else I dream up between now and then. What am I missing???

I have never worn yaktrax or anything else in the snow besides my trail shoes. While I wish I would have tried some different things out, I am hesitant to do anything different now. So I will probably just go with the regular trail shoes. I may see about putting screws in my back up pair but I am not sure how much they will help.

I will wear my normal running socks with a pair of smart wool socks and a heavy pair of mittens. My hands and feet are always problem areas for me. I will have hand and toe warmers on hand for sure because ya never know, but in my warm socks and mittens I have never needed them yet. I am leaning towards a hat to keep the heat in, but generally I like the headbands as they tend to cover my ears better, so I still need to decide that one!

I am thinking two pairs of running tights, long sleeve wicking layer, light wicking jacket and Asics lined windbreaker (which was the top half of an awesome, light-weight, very warm, two piece suit that I picked up last year to run in for when temps got crazy cold).

My plan for the 50K is to run the first half easy to conserve energy for the long day. I think it should feel like I am border-line almost going too slow. However, if it is anything like last year, I know that it will pay off in the end and I should have ample energy to go the distance and perhaps even pick up the pace. My plan is also to enjoy the race, my company out there and the volunteers. That said, I would not be totally honest if I did not admit that I am planning to work hard and hopefully put in a solid effort and performance.

Also along those lines, thank you volunteers in advance for coming out in this bitter cold to make this all possible.

After running the 31 miles, I plan to have some chili and then go to Winking Lizard for a well-deserved beer, or two!!! Oh yeah, and I definitely plan to take a bunch of pics after the race of all of us who rocked the course! Best of luck to all my peeps that will out there running with me!