Tri Training Week 2 Recap

Sunday - Ran 6 miles, walked 8 miles
Monday - Biked 15 miles, swam 1200 yards
Tuesday - Ran 5 miles, 60 minutes Zumba
Wednesday - Biked 15 miles, swam 1200 yards
Thursday - Ran 5 miles, 60 minutes Zumba
Friday - Biked 25 miles, swam 1500 yards
Saturday - rest!

Totals:
Running - 16 miles, 3:00.28
Biking - 55 miles, 3:43.42
Swimming - 3900 yards, 1:59.23

73.22 miles, 8:43.33

Yay another week of workouts done! I was so happy I followed my training schedule exactly. Last night I wasn't sure how I was going to fit in my long bike and swim after work, but since it was Friday it was ok to stay up till midnight to fit it all in :)

I am feeling a lot better this week than last week. My schedule adjustments have really helped, I now have a little free time every night. And I'm not waking up exhausted every day. Yay!

My mom and I are walking a half-marathon in 2 weeks so I am trying to fit in a few long walks before then (thus the 8 mile walk on Sunday, and upcoming 11 mile walk tomorrow). I feel more sore walking that long than running! Overall I have been pretty pain free with all my training and I feel very lucky for that.

Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!

I had to schedule time to write this blog

I don't know how you people have lives outside of training! After working, running/biking/swimming, and taking care of errands and household tasks, I am lucky if I have an hour of spare time each day.

I am adjusting my work schedule so I can run during the day, and hopefully that will free me up a bit. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I now have a 90-minute lunch so I can do my 5-mile run. Then if I go to Zumba at night, I don't have to run afterward. My legs were totally spent after all the squats, lunges, and kicks during Zumba and it was such a struggle to get on the treadmill. It also means I can still sleep in till 8 on those days :)

And on Wednesdays I will be getting up early to bike before work. So after work I will have some time to myself, instead of going straight from working to biking to swimming.

I seriously could not imagine doing all this training and having kids, or being in school. I am in awe of people that do.

Tri Training Week 1 Recap

Sunday - Ran 5 miles
Monday - Biked 15 miles, swam 1200 yards
Tuesday - 60 minutes Zumba, ran 5 miles
Wednesday - Biked 15 miles, swam 1200 yards
Thursday - 60 minutes Zumba, ran 5 miles
Friday - Biked 20 miles, swam 1400 yards
Saturday - REST!!

Totals:
Running - 15 miles, 2:48.21
Biking - 50 miles, 3:26.25
Swimming - 3800 yards, 1:59.18

67.16 miles, 8:14.04

Whoo-hoo! First week of tri training complete! My paces weren't anything special, right now I am just trying to get my body used to training at this level. I did have my fastest 1000 yard time last night, 28:48. Still slow, but almost a whole minute faster than my previous fastest time!

Today I am going to enjoy resting. My body has been so tired getting out of bed the last few mornings, I need it. Hope everyone else had a great week!

Being a triathlete is tough!

I am only half-way through my first week of "real" triathlon training and I am drained! I've been training for my sprint tri for about 6 weeks, but that was mainly half-marathon training sprinkled with some bikes and swims. This week I started doing 3 runs, 3 bikes, and 3 swims per week, at longer distances. It's exhausting! For now I have been running 5 miles, biking 15 miles, and swimming 1200 yards. I don't know how you triathletes do it! Good thing my husband is gone right now, he definitely would be a workout widow this week. I spend about 2 hours every evening working out. And I haven't even gotten to my long workouts for the week!

I am still having trouble speeding up in swimming. I have worked on my technique somewhat, but I am still SO SLOW. I wish they had mirrors in the pool so I could see what I look like and what I'm doing wrong. At least I am covering the distance, so I am happy about that.

I had mentioned before that while my husband is gone for a few weeks (4 days down, 19 to go!), I am using this time to focus on training and eating right. I am also using this time as a test. If I can make it through my new training schedule feeling good (and not going crazy or hating it), I get to sign-up for a longer distance tri in September! So hopefully the next 3 weeks go well :)

Babies!

Though lots of things happened last week, I would like to highlight one in particular.

My beautiful niece Katie Elizabeth came into the world on Friday! She is adorable and looks just like my brother. So maybe she will look like me when she's older!



Coincidence of coincidences, at exactly the same time that my sister-in-law was pushing this little miracle out, one of my best friends from high school was delivering her son AJ! The babies were born about an hour apart. One was due on the 18th and one on the 19th, and they both came early. It was a very happy day!

In not so happy news, my husband left yesterday and will be gone for a little over 3 weeks. I am using this time to focus on training and get my diet back in order. It has been a crazy few weeks and I have definitely fallen off the wagon when it comes to eating. So far I am doing great, yesterday and today I have stuck to my eating and training plan perfectly. My friend Rachelle also asked me to do Zumba with her on Tuesday and Thursday, and I will be upping my training to 3 runs, bikes, and swims each week. So I am set for workouts as long as I follow the plan!

I'm off to watch more videos of my niece :D

1mph

I used to think I was a slow runner, until I got in the pool. Turns out I am a much slower swimmer than I am runner. Even with cutting 5 minutes off my 1000 yard time, I am still just under 30 minutes.

Last night I was feeling good after I hit 1000 yards so I kept going...and going...until I swam a mile! A teeny bit over a mile actually, 1800 yards (1.02 miles). Whoo-hoo! However, it took 59 minutes and 45 seconds. So essentially, my swimming speed is 1mph. It makes my current race pace of 5.7mph seem super fast though!

We were supposed to be on vacation this week, but then life happened. We are finally heading out of town today, I'm so excited! Our hotel has a gym and a pool so I can still get all my workouts in. I was supposed to run this morning before we leave but my quads are not having it, they are still pretty sore from my speed workout on Tuesday. Hopefully I can get my run in tonight at the hotel. And tomorrow, the eating starts! We are going to Seattle so we will definitely be hitting up our favorites at Pike Place Market...delicious sandwiches, farm fresh produce, and baked goods as big as your head!

Eugene pics

Training Week 17 Recap (Recovery)

Sunday - Eugene Half-Marathon
Monday - rest
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - Biked 7.5 mile, swam 1000 yards
Thursday - Ran 2.5 miles @5mph
Friday - Biked 16 miles
Saturday - Ran 4 miles @5.2mpg, 35 minutes elliptical

I felt pretty blah this week. I was pretty sore Monday and Tuesday, then loosened up mostly by Wednesday. My IT band has been very tight, but this has just become a fact of life lately. My next training cycle starts on the 15th so I am taking this week and next week to play around with my training, catch up on sleep, etc. before I have to get serious.

Today we had my parents over for a Mothers Day brunch. So much food! I made 3 kinds of muffins (cinnamon crumb cake, almond poppyseed, and orange chocolate chip), hubby made cinnamon raisin french toast and chocolate chip pancakes, and I got turkey sausage and fresh fruit at the store. I am stuffed! We have lots of leftovers, I will probably be eating brunch for dinner. Not that I'm complaining!

Hubby and I have this week off. We don't know exactly what we are going to do yet. He is leaving for a 3-week deployment next Sunday so I am just glad to have the time together.

Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there!

I hate taking rest days. Since I am about to start a pretty busy training schedule in a week or so I figured I should listen to my body and give it what it needed. This week it needed sleep, food, and rest.

Monday was an easy day to rest, we were driving back from Eugene and then I was busy stuffing my face and falling asleep on the couch the rest of the afternoon.

Tuesday I had to fight the urge to head over to the gym. It helped that there was a new Biggest Loser on. And that I had an awful day at work and sitting on the couch eating cookies seemed very appealing.

Wednesday, I had had enough. I needed to sweat! I didn't want to do anything too crazy since I was still only 3 days out from the race, so I did an easy 35 minute bike and 35 minute swim. My swim was agonizingly slow, I don't think my legs are back to normal yet. At times I wasn't even sure if I was moving forward. I was tempted to do more than 1000 yards, until I got the worst foot cramps of my life at 950. I was determined to get to 1000, though I probably looked ridiculous doing a combination frog-kick and crawl stroke for the last lap.

Tonight I will be doing my first post-race run, 3 miles at the blazing speed of 5mph. My friend Rachelle invited me to Zumba but after attempting some of the moves in my kitchen, I was pretty sure I wouldn't make it through class un-injured. And I kind of feel like being a hermit tonight. Hubby is gone for work and watching Greys Anatomy while obsessing over tri training plans sounds like a perfect way to spend the evening. Also I may or may not have eaten 4 snack size bags of Doritos and I can't get the orange out of my fingernails.

Eugene Half-Marathon Race Report

The night before the race did not go great. I got in bed around 9:15, hoping to be asleep by 10. My brain wouldn’t turn off, I kept thinking (of all things) where we should meet up with our friend for lunch after the race. When I looked over at the clock it was after 11! Then I started to stress out about falling asleep. I would sleep for awhile and wake up for awhile. I know I looked at the clock during the 1, 2, 3, and 4 o’clock hours. Finally the alarm went off at 5 and we got up. I’m guessing I got about 3 hours of good sleep.

I woke up, ate my half bagel with peanut butter, checked the weather report for the 10th time, and got dressed. I put some music on to get us pumped up and was dancing around in my running capris and sports bra. Hubby probably thought I was ridiculous.


Do you think we brought enough carbs to the hotel?

I had my power bar at 5:30, took some obligatory pre-race pics, put on my sweatshirt and sweatpants over my race outfit, and we left the hotel a little after 6. We were only about a mile from the race start so we walked over. It was cold! Some people were in shorts, I don’t know how they did it.

When we got to the race we stripped down and got in line to check our warm clothes bags. This was one area in which race planning was less than stellar. Some 9000 people (expected total) had to cram through a 4-foot gate and wait in line while 2 people checked bags. At least once we were inside, a nice volunteer let us use the porta potties instead of having to wait in line at the porta potties we were supposed to use by the starting corrals.

We got into our corral. Again, not the best planning here. There were only two corrals for runners, so there were thousands of people released at a time (there was a separate corral for the smaller group of people walking the race). The race started about 10 minutes late, with very little to-do. I didn’t even hear a sounding bell or airhorn or anything, we just started moving.

It was very congested. And some of the walkers decided to start in the runners corral for some reason. The crowds didn’t thin out until about 2 miles in. Our first mile was 11:13, our slowest mile of the race, due to not being able to go anywhere or get around walkers/slower runners. Once we were able to find some space and speed up to our pace, it felt good. My goal was to stay between 10:30-10:40 per mile, and a lot of our miles were right around 10:30.

There was a long, mild-grade hill after about 3 miles. I had checked the elevation chart before so I was expecting it. It wasn’t too bad, we were just starting out so my legs still felt fresh. My nose was stuffed up so I had to breathe through my mouth more than I wanted. I walked for about 90 seconds at 3.5 miles so I could eat some Power Bar and take off my gloves. I put them in my sports bra so the rest of the race it looked like I had a big lumpy chest.

After we topped the hill, we turned around and went down. I love downhills! Yes your quads hurt the next day but it’s so fun to fly down them. The miles were going by so fast, I couldn’t believe when we saw the Mile 6 sign. I was a little sad the race was going by so quickly. I took my second Power Bar break at 7 miles and was still feeling good.
Cue giant steep hill at mile 8.

I had seen what looked like a small second hill in the elevation chart. The hill was not as high as the first one, but it was 2-3 times as steep. I felt like we were moving in slow motion, and my back started hurting from leaning into the hill. I had several moments of “I quit! I’m walking!” but I somehow was able to run up the whole thing. I think I said “Thank God!” out loud when we crested the hill and started downhill.

We went through campus again (I don’t think I mentioned, the race started and finished at the University of Oregon campus) and there were already people finishing the race! That definitely makes you feel slow when you have more than 4 miles to go. We went across a river and there were a few slight uphills and downhills, nothing too significant. I took my last Power Bar break at 10.5 miles. Right after this, the half-marathoners and marathoners split up. It looked like about 80% of people were doing the half distance. I was happy that I still felt pretty good, stronger than I did during my half last month. A little after we passed the Mile 11 sign I did some quick math and I worried that I wasn’t going to meet my goal of breaking 2:20. I knew I could still get a PR at least, but it would be tough to finish in the 2:19 range. I tried to keep the pace around 10:30/mile. The sun was right above us and I started feeling sick around 11.5-12 miles. We crossed a bridge and I remember thinking please don’t let me puke into the river in front of all these people. Hubby could tell I was hurting and tried to be encouraging. We only had around a ½ mile to go, but it felt like it could have been 10 miles. I knew it was going to be close to 2:20 if we kept the same pace.

The first marathon finisher came by in the other lane when we had about ¼ mile to go. The cool thing about this race is that it finished in Hayward Field, literally in the footsteps of legends (the race tagline). I started sprinting as we entered the stadium for the final few hundred feet. I feel a little misty-eyed writing this lol. As we rounded the corner into the straightaway my Garmin said 2:19.11. Could I make it? It seemed like we had a ways to go but hubby said I was going to get my 2:19! There were cheering spectators in the stands, and an announcer was saying people’s names as they crossed one of the timing mats. I heard him say “From Hampton, Virginia…” and our names! (We still lived in Virginia when we registered last fall.) I raised my arms and cheered as we crossed the finish line, I didn’t even check my watch until after we passed through. It said 2:19.47. I was SO HAPPY! Hubby said “you did it!” and hugged me. I blissfully took a medal from one of the volunteers, and then clumsily dumped half a bottle of water down my front trying to gulp it down. We had to take off our timing chips to turn them in, then the free food started! We got water bottles of course, and chocolate milk, pancakes, cookies, clif bars, and chips. They also had bagels, bananas, and peanut butter.

One cool thing was that they had a table where you could get a print-out of your official race results. Though we crossed the finish at the same time, hubby’s official time was 1 second faster than mine. My official time was 2:19.45. A 2 minute, 12 second PR from my race last month, and overall a 30 minute, 10 second improvement from my first half-marathon (2:49.55, RnR Virginia Beach).


2:19! Never thought I'd see the day.

After the race we walked back to our hotel, showered, and hurried over to one of our favorite Eugene restaurants, Glenwood, to have lunch with our friend Kat who is graduating from law school this week! We spent the rest of the day eating whatever we could get our hands on. And watching Fast Five. I know, I had my doubts, but it was actually pretty entertaining.


Post-race meal - vegan veggie burger with cheddar cheese and bacon, and home fries. I do see the irony in eating a vegan burger with cheese and bacon. I don't usually eat bacon, but it sounded good.

Today we came back home. It was such a fun weekend. A great race, delicious food, and overall an awesome time. And, we registered for the inaugural Rock n Roll Portland Half-Marathon, which will take place May 20, 2012! Registration just opened yesterday and it was only $55 so we wanted to take advantage of the low price. Plus, we love Rock n Roll races!



*EDIT*

I forgot to add something important - my splits! I am notoriously bad at keeping a steady pace, so I was pretty happy with how even my miles were (when I wasn't taking a break).

Mile 1 – 11:13 (stuck in congestion)
Mile 2 – 10:32
Mile 3 – 10:36
Mile 4 – 11:08 (first Power Bar break)
Mile 5 – 10:27
Mile 6 – 10:28
Mile 7 – 10:31
Mile 8 – 10:56 (second Power Bar break)
Mile 9 – 10:27
Mile 10 – 10:33
Mile 11 – 11:07 (third Power Bar break)
Mile 12 – 10:19
Mile 13 – 10:23
Mile .11 – 1:01

I am so surprised at how even my splits were, besides the miles when I took a break or was stuck in the crowd. Overall we had a negative split during the second half, about 45 seconds faster than the first half. Of course now I am wondering how much faster I can go, if I was able to speed up in the last few miles...

Surprise surprise...

I met all my goals! (Technically).

To review, my race goals were:

1. PR (sub-2:21.57)
2. Break 2:20
3. Sub-10:40 average

My final time was 2:19.45 (10:40 average). However, my Garmin registered 13.11 miles and a 10:39 average. So, technically, I had a sub-10:40 average. The other goals I definitely met, no technicalities about it!

I am very happy with the result. I have had a cold the past several days, and woke up with a stuffed up nose that stuck with me throughout the race. I also slept horribly last night and got maybe 2-3 hours of real sleep. So, I did not have high expectations for the race. But the race turned out great! The rest of the day was very fun as well, including lunch with our friend who is graduating from UO law school this week (!!), and eating at every one of our favorite Eugene spots.

Race report tomorrow...this tired girl is going to bed!