Tuesday, June 30, 2009

RunSwim #15

Today's lunchtime run was great. There's a fantastic path behind the Donelson Y, and I ran pretty much all 8 miles of it today. Fortunately, it didn't take me the entire 1:15, but I ran it all and felt great!
  • 1:06:31, 7.93 miles, 8:23 pace, 956 calories, 172 average HR (far from the prescribed Z1 to Z2). I felt great and definitely could have kept up that pace for another 5 for a total of 13 miles (half-marathon).
  • Lap 1: 25:12, 3.1 miles, 8:08 pace, 164 HR. From the Y to the Percy Priest Dam and back to the path; mostly flat with half sun, half shade.
  • Lap 2: 25:35, 3.1 miles, 8:16 pace, 176 HR. From after Percy Priest Dam the other direction; very hilly (long hills) with a sweet bridge next to the river, to the end (Kohl's and Target; I wonder where this is?), and back to the bridge.
  • Lap 3: 9:13 (1:00:00), 1.05 miles (7.25 total), 8:46 pace, 180 HR. From the bridge up the super long hill, down, to my water stop, and up another good hill.
  • Lap 4: 5:29, 0.63 miles, 8:41 pace, 180 HR. From the top of the hill to the end.
  • Lap 5: 1:01, 301 ft, 17:49 pace (obviously my short cool down), 171 HR. From the end to the Y.
After work I headed to the Y to swim. As much as I like the 50-meter pool I hate it. I feel like I'm not going anywhere! I did the 500 warm up, 8×50 drill, and 1 of the 5×400 in 8:17. I know it was only 1,300 and I hated ending on an obvious odd number, but my head just wasn't in it. If I get to bed early tonight, I'll finish tomorrow morning. If not, I'll skip the rest and it won't be the end of the world.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Communication is so Important!

Monday is supposed to be my day off, and I was definitely looking forward to it given the weekend's rides and runs. Will was very timely getting me this month's program, and I checked it out first thing Monday morning. Today's workout was going to be a good, not easy but short and fun, one, so I also looked at the rest of the month. I'd sent him my July schedule; I'll be racing weekly crits, running a 5K, doing a half-Ironman, and doing an Olympic-distance race. I thought he'd work it into the schedule he sent me. Then I about fell out of my chair; then I about started crying. Not only did weeks 2 and 3 contain 3 days of work, the workouts were crazy hard. I thought there was no way I'd be able to do all 3 days, but I knew he'd put a lot of work into it and didn't know what to tell him. I decided to do Monday and then talk to him later about it.

I had to ask him a question about one this for today, and when he called we got to talking about the rest of the month; he was happy he'd gotten the whole thing to me early. I asked him if he'd looked at the schedule I'd sent him, and he said no, so he opened it up and saw the races. He agreed that weeks 2 and 3 were ridiculously hard, and I'm very grateful that he has since updated the workouts. If he tells me I can do something, I usually do because I trust him, but I was just so unsure about those 2 weeks—they look so much more manageable now!

I did today's workout and was thoroughly exhausted after 1 set of 6-6-6 EDI.
  • Lunge with Russian Lunge with a bar: I used an 18-lb bar. I thought he was crazy, telling me to do this. He said do as many RLs as you can and then just do regular reps with violent stops. about 8 reps into the right leg, some girl named Ashley started talking to me, saying that it looked really hard. Yeah. I could barely talk to her. I made it through all 18 right leg with RL and 8 left leg with RL, then I completed the remaining 10 regular reps.
  • Glute ham with reps to the top: This went way better today than the last time when I really struggled using my hamstrings and glutes. Although I still leaned and stuck my butt out some, I definitely focused on resetting before finishing the rep.
  • Bench press with bar only: Nothing out of the ordinary here.
  • Plate front delt raise with 10-lb plate: The ISO is at the bottom, and then you raise the plate to about eye level, focusing on keeping your chest up (same as on bench press). Nothing really out of the ordinary here, either.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Spinning Out the Legs...


I did this route with Anna today. It was supposed to be 1:15, HR Z1, followed by a run, 2h, HR Z1. I did the run on the elliptical because there was no way I was going to accomplish a Z1 HR on a real run and I didn't want to be in the heat working out--I wanted to save my sun time for the pool!

I completed (sort of) the rest of the extreme slow--3 minutes of the 5 for lunge and all 5 for the crate crunch. My legs just did not want to cooperate holding me up without my knee on the ground. I am so looking forward to a day off tomorrow.

Since I’ve really been trying hard to do this HR training thing right, I’m beginning to think it’s all a little strange. A 2h run in HR Z1? Is that even possible? According to my Garmin, my max HR is 194, Z5 is 175–194, Z4 is 155–175, Z3 is 136–155, Z2 is 116–136, and Z1 is 97–116 BPM. That’s barely high enough to allow me to walk. My ride, which was also supposed to be in Z1, was as close to Z2 as I’ve ever been. I can see the reasoning, sort of. They’re probably trying to teach you to go longer at a lower HR, like endurance training. But I’ll NEVER race in HR Z1. Or Z2. Or even Z3. Therefore, I don’t like training in that zone.

My ride looked like this:
  • 1:15:05
  • 21.66 miles
  • 17.3 average
  • 1,192 calories
  • 34.2 max speed
  • 149 average HR
So my average HR was under 150; that’s probably the lowest average I’ve had. Anna joined me (she’s strong on the hills!), which was definitely great since after the century yesterday, as soon as I got on my bike this morning I wanted to get off. High cadence rides don’t allow for much time out of the saddle, and I was ready to be done!

I went inside to do my 2 hours on the elliptical. It was my only hope of keeping a low-ish HR. The Polar HRM is slightly more reliable on the machines, and according to them, my average HR was around 130. However, I completed only 10.5 miles. In 2 hours! That’s not enough! Forget HR Z1!

Here's the nutrition side: I weighed myself just before I started and just after I finished, and I weighed the same both times. That's good, because typically I'll loose as many pounds as miles I've run. The thing is that I drank 20 oz of Gatorade and 20 oz of water, ate a serving of almonds and dried apricots, and took 2 electrolyte capsules. All that inside, in HR Z2. No wonder I lose so much weight when I'm outside running. I guess I'd better start watching that and drinking plenty all the time!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Fun, Hot Century

Harpeth River Ride Registration

Wow. Today's ride was hot. And then it got hotter. On the pavement, it was probably between 100 and 110 most of the day. I started out near the front with the group.

Someone was taking pictures of us starting

We started around 7:40, which was about 10 minutes later than planned, but they had a bunch of people on tandems and triples who were riding with blind athletes on the back--how cool is that! Within the first 5 miles, I noticed another lady in the group with us and I determined that I would stay with her the entire time. We were at the front, I didn't see any others, and I didn't want to lose her. So I told myself it would be just like the Olympics or draft-legal races: If you get off the bike with the women, you have a better chance of being in the running for the win.

We got caught by Bruce G. (a pro who rides for Timex) and a bunch of other fast guys and averaged 21.5 for the first 20 miles. Woohoo!

Starting right next to Bruce...if only I had a kit on to make me look legit

Bruce and some others continued on at that blistering pace, and I stayed with Sandra and Oliver for the remainder of the ride. We also rode with Tony, Todd, Casey, Bigdog (or was it Dirtdog?), and others. Kat, LuzMa, Lynn, Kevin, Christian, Joyce, Tom and Jill, John, Lonnie, Wade, and Margaret were a few others I saw during the course of the day.

The route...check out the elevation and amount of climbing!

It was a tough route in tough heat. But I definitely had fun! Stats from the Garmin (and the bike if they differ):
  • 101 miles (100.3)
  • 5:39:37 (5:34:37--This is more accurate, because the Auto Pause feature wasn't working well as I walked around aid stations.
  • 17.8 average (18.1 average--This is definitely more accurate.)
  • 45.4 max speed
  • 7,016 calories
  • 151 average HR (not quite Z2, just like tomorrow likely won't be a Z1 run!)
Yesterday I didn't do any of the 5-minutes extreme slow, so tonight after church I headed to the Y to see what I could do.
  • Wall squat: Although it was hard, my quads cooperated and I did this; up and down twice.
  • Glute ham: My hamstrings, which I use frequently and hard in my aero bars, did not cooperate when starting the extreme slow from 80*. I tried twice, didn't last longer than 30 seconds, and so did a 5-minute ISO.
  • Push up: I lasted about 30 seconds from the top to the bottom including 10 seconds at the bottom. Yikes. But I did my best, tried hard to focus on using my lats and everything and think about swimming, and did all 5 minutes, extreme slow.
  • Curl: Will said to use a light bar, like 20 pounds. I don't think he knows how hard 20 pounds was for the 3-minute ISO earlier this week, so I used a light bar: 12 pounds. Maybe too light, but I was just thinking about lengthening my biceps toward the wall in front of me.
I will finish the rest (lunge L, R and crate crunch) tomorrow after my riderun.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Swim #17; Run

I did swim #17. It was fun. I did it with flippers because I was out at MFY in the 50-meter pool, and mentally I knew I'd do better with the flippers. And I did. Hooray for playing games with myself. At one point there was a lady in my lane with me, and I'd catch her every 250 or so; that helped me remember where I was. Sometime during the last 1,000, a guy jumped in with me and I was determine to not let him catch me. I succeeded! I wasn't as consistent as I'd hoped to be, but my average was 9:07 minutes per 500; total time was 1:03:52. Total variance was 42 seconds. Ouch. Here are the times:
  • 8:41
  • 8:53
  • 9:00
  • 9:16
  • 9:25
  • 9:23
  • 9:12
  • June 11 (back when I didn't have it all together): I started in the MFY outdoor pool, so my 500 times were a lot slower than I'd anticipated, and I wasn't happy. 9:55 and 10:16, I think.
  • May 22: 9:38 (I might have added 50m, and here I breathed with every left stroke), 8:51 (here and for the following, I breathed with every other stroke), 8:46, 8:52, 8:57, 8:52. Average (counting the first at 8:50): 8:51 per 500. Total time: 53:58.39
  • March 24: 8:34, 8:32, 8:38, 8:51, 8:52 (1:45, 1:47, 1:48, 2:39 [extra 50, so we're going with 1:49], 1:43). Average: 8:41 per 500. Total time: 43:31
  • March 5: 7:58 (I might have missed 50m here), 8:59, 9:12, 9:10, 9:04 (1:51, 1:51, 1:50, 1:50, 1:43). Average: 8:52 per 500. Total time: 44:28
  • February 17: 10:01 (extra 50), 8:32 (missed 50), 9:53, 7:33 (missed 100), 9:26 (1:52, 1:53, 1:52, 1:52, 1:47). Average: 9 minutes per 500. Total time: 45:02
Immediately after, I changed clothes and headed out for my 1:15 run. I stayed out 1:15, ran 30, walked a few, and then ran in 0.15-mile intervals. By the time I arrived back at MFY, I was down no less than 8 pounds. Hello, heat. And swimsuit sunburn lines.
  • First part: 42:36. 4.06 miles (27:57 for 3.11 @ 8:59 avg and 14:39 for 0.94 @ 15.32 avg); 443 calories; 10:30 average; 157 HR
  • Second part: Intervals. 27:01. 2.03 miles; 199 calories; 13:19 average; 146 HR. Active: 10.44, 1.05 mi. Rest: 16:17, 0.98 mi.
I will do my 5-minutes extreme slow tomorrow either before or after church, depending on how I feel after the morning's century.

Fun times at Anna and Josh’s house with Carolyn (Negley) and Isaac Ezell (Married since April) and homemade vanilla and chocolate ice cream with peanut butter/butterscotch toppings and brownies.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Bike w/Intervals; Swim #16

Today 1:30 bike was a great hour and a good 30-minute cool down. It was 1:30 in Z2, with at 15 minutes, 4×7 minutes Z4 at 4-minute spin.
  • 1:34:38 total; 28.56 miles; 1,639 calories; 18.1 average (19 or higher for first hour); 159 average HR; 183 max HR
  • Lap 1: 15 min; 4.39 mi; 17.6 average, 149 HR
  • Lap 2: 7 min; 2.65 mi; 22.6 average, 171 HR
  • Lap 3: 4 min; 1.46 mi; 21.8 average, 151 HR
  • Lap 4: 7 min; 2.43 mi; 20.7 average; 170 HR
  • Lap 5: 4 min; 1.05 mi; 15.7 average; 166 HR
  • Lap 6: 7 min; 2.53 mi; 21.7 average; 171 HR
  • Lap 7: 4 min; 0.86 mi; 12.8 average; 170 HR
  • Lap 8: 7 min; 2.25 mi; 19.2 average; 172 HR
  • Lap 9: 4 min; 1.09 mi; 16.2 average; 167 HR
  • Lap 10: 10:38; 2.81 mi; 15.8 average; 156 HR
  • Lap 11: 20:10; 5.82 mi (MFY loop); 17.3 average; 155 HR
  • Lap 12: 4:39; 1.23 mi; 15.9 average; 145 HR
I had hoped to swim before I rode, but there were 2 or 3 people in each lane. So I rode and then swam 100 and 3 drills (kick, pull, kick) and called it a day. I wanted to head to Inversion, and I'm glad I did, for the teaching series on Proverbs. Words of wisdom.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Brick (almost); Advice

I don't know whether I succeeded today. I did the 45-minute ride (actually 49:31) on my bike that I decided to name Alexander. Not sure how I decided on that name, but it was one of the first I thought of that doesn't remind me of anyone. In fact, I can't think of anyone I know by that name.

Readers, meet Alexander (sporting the Harpeth jersey). Alexander, meet my readers.

Now you're all introduced. I had the Garmin set on the course from the last time I'd done it, and this time I beat myself by 52 feet; it probably would have been slightly more had I remembered to turn RIGHT to go through Bancroft to Del Rio. That was about 7 seconds. Faster, if just a little.
  • 16.20 miles
  • 19.6 average, 32.0 max
  • 160 average HR, 185 max
  • 965 calories
Because I had it set on virtual partner, I couldn't figure out how to switch it to running and find a good run course. Either that or the last time I did this loop was too long ago and the history has been deleted. So I managed to go about 0.5 miles; I'll call it a transition run. It turned out OK, anyway, since I was absolutely starving.

Here's what the brick looked like the last times I did it:
  • 6-10-09: Total time: 49:38. Mileage: 16.1. Average speed: 19.5. Average HR: 161. Burned 996 calories. After the ride, I did a quick 0:47 transition to switch shoes and put up my bike, and then I hit the road for the run—30 minutes. I went Moores to Franklin to Mallory Station to GG Patton and made it to the corner of GG Patton and Moores (3.85 mi) in 30:34. I hit the corner of Franklin and Mallory Sta in 15:54. Average pace: 7:56. Average HR: 184. Burned 462 calories. Total distance for the brick: 20.08 mi. Total time: 1:22:21. Average HR: 169. Total calories: 1,472.
  • 5-20-09: I did the 18-mile route (today's was 16 miles) in 54:30 for an average of 19.7 mph. The previous two times I did the route it was 17.71 and it was in 55:48 (5-13) and the week before was 56:56. I made it 40 seconds farther this week than the previous week since I hit that week's finish line at 29:20.
Then I did a fun workout, which I might have to repeat tomorrow. I just don't know.
  • Standing extreme ham: 3 minutes
  • Body-weight squat: 10-10-10 EDI. This felt nearly impossible after the 3-min ham. I thought I was really weak. I used a bar for reference, which helped during the 10-second hold intervals.
  • Altitude drop wall squat: 12 reps
  • Standing extreme ham: 3 minutes
  • Glute ham to arm's length: 10-10-10 EDI. This felt nearly impossible after the 3-min ham. I thought I was really weak and felt like I was using my arms a lot.
  • Altitude drop wall squat: 12 reps
  • Preacher curl (seated with light bar [used 20-lb]): 3 minutes
  • Bench press (bar only): 10-10-10 EDI. This felt nearly impossible after the 3-minute curl. I thought I was really weak. I had to pretend Will was holding the bar for the hold interval.
  • Altitude drop curl with light bar: 12 reps. I actually think I'm getting the altitude drop thing.
  • Preacher curl (seated with light bar [used 15-lb]): 3 minutes
  • Scapular pull up: 10-10-10 EDI. This felt nearly impossible after the 3-minute curl. I thought I was really weak. I used 75 lb assistance for the first 15 and 106 for the last 15. This was SO HARD.
  • Altitude drop curl with light bar: 12 reps.
I might have to ask Will if the one exercise right after the ISO should have been as hard as it was. I also don't know what I was supposed to do about resting, so after each set of 3 I took about 3 minutes for a drink and little rest. This took a little over half an hour.

I talked to Will. I told him I felt like I was working to failure but it felt like I shouldn't have hit that point in only 30 reps. He said that anything after a 3-min ISO will be pretty hard, but you still have to make all the right things happen. When I said I did all the reps even though they probably weren't all right, he said that next time, just stop if you can't make the reps properly. But before quitting, try to turn on your glutes as hard as possible (which you should be doing). So you have to send an even stronger signal from your brain to your muscles. "If you really can't do the reps though just stop. I'm more interested in you doing them as violently as possible."

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Swim #15--Back in the Pool!

I was back in the pool for the first real swim in at least a week, and it definitely felt like a good one.
  • 500 wu, 8×50 drill
  • 5×200 @ 30 seconds rest: 3:48.96, 3:49.66, 3:53.22, 3:52.88, 3:52.74 (RIs included)
  • 5×100 @ 20 seconds rest: 1:56.69, 1:58.57, 2:00.98, 2:00.50, 1:59.67 (RIs included)
  • 5×50 @ 10 seconds rest: 57.77, 57.91, 57.50, 57.52, 58.15 (RIs included)
  • 6×25 @ 5 seconds rest: 22.91, 24.27, 23.97, 24.11, 23.93, 24.21 (RIs removed)
  • 8×50 drill, 300 cd (I did only 4×50 drill)
Since I cut out half of the last drill set and the cool down (not enough time with what I want to accomplish this afternoon), I did 3K in just under an hour. With all those rest intervals (each I took exactly--I love having set intervals!), that's pretty decent.

Variance:
  • 5 seconds during the 200s
  • 4 seconds during the 100s
  • less than 1 second during the 50s
  • less than 2 seconds during the 25s
Averages:
  • 3:21.49 for the 200s (RIs removed) (this was just over double the 100 times; perhaps I'm more consistent at longer distances?)
  • 1:39.26 for the 100s (RIs removed) (here I need to get down to under 1:30 per 100)
  • 47.77 for the 50s (RIs removed) (here I should be closer to 40 seconds given my 25 times)
  • 18.9 for the 25s (RIs removed)
I didn't get my full 1:15 run in during lunch, but I did get the fun part: at 10 minutes, 3×6 Z4 at 2-minute jog. I did exactly 5 miles because I walked a little extra at the end to hit the 5.00 mark. My average pace was 9:11, and my total time was 45:52. I burned 588 calories. My average HR was 171. The Run/Jog intervals looked like this:
  • Lap 1: 8:24 (not quite the requisite 10, but I was talking with Todd and Chuck and wasn't watching the time), 0.94 mi, 6:45 best, 162 HR
  • Laps 2 and 3: 6 minutes, 7:47 average, 6:45 best, 0.77 distance, 181 HR + 2 minutes, 0.14 miles, 163 HR
  • Laps 4 and 5: 6:01, 8:04 average (this was pretty much all in the sun and I know the heat slowed me slightly), 6:47 best, 0.75 mi, 172 HR (and I guess my HR wasn't as high as it should have been) + 2:01, 0.16 mi, 163 HR
  • Laps 6 and 7: 6:05 (I had to get up the hill), 6:27 best, 0.75 mi, 180 HR + 2 minutes, 0.16 mi, 169 HR
  • Lap 8: 11:28, 9:24 average, 6:36 best, 1.22 mi, 174 HR
Altogether it was about 45 minutes. For this being my first time out really running in a while, it felt good. Unfortunately it was 4 miles and 30 minutes short of my goal.

Struggles on the Garmin for the Harpeth Bike Club ride. I started it late and then stopped it at mile 17 for about 3 miles; not sure what I was thinking. At least the bike computer was working the entire time, which was 22.8 miles, 1:15, 18+ MPH average, 35.5 max speed. I turned to the shorter route at mile 10 because I was already running out of water and I knew I could stop at Fly Park (which I did, at mile 17, the reason I stopped the clock). For the first 10, 26:36, we averaged 22.3, 171 HR, 584 calories. For the final 9 that I recorded, it was 32:26, I averaged 17, 167 HR, 530 calories. So the Garmin recorded 59:04, 19.06 mi, 19.4 average, 168 HR, 1,114 calories. Fun times. I like seeing all those calories burned. So then I came home and had an egg, some spinach salad, and a taco.

It felt a little like a triathlon day today, only it was swim run bike instead of swim bike run.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Cookeville Crit

Today's crit in Cookeville (about 1:15 away, but it took me at least 1:30 because we stopped on I-40 for about 15 minutes while they did utility work) was a fun one. It was my first bike race of the season, and it was a hilly course. I was just out to hang on as long as I could during the 30-minute race and sprint with what I had left at the end. Lisa C, Parri, Laura, Valerie, and I were the cat 4 riders, and Lisa S, Alli, Stephanie, Olga, Mary, and Marsha were the 1/2/3 riders.

I ended up getting dropped around 10 or 15 minutes in on the backside of the course. It was pretty much a seemingly short downhill toward the line and then a seemingly longer uphill on the backside. After I got dropped, I rode hard, like I was time-trialing, until Alli and Lisa C joined me. I don't remember how I lost them, but when Mary, who won, came up, I got on her wheel and stayed with her for as long as I could. She's strong. After at least a lap, she turned to me and asked whether I was lapped or a 4. I said both and that I'd help her whenever she needed me. A little while later she let me take a pull, and then a couple more. My last pull with her was up the hill, and then I couldn't stay so she pulled away.

With 5 laps to go, the rest of the field caught up to me and I stayed with them until the end (I didn't do my 5th lap, but since I finished on the same lap as the leader, I didn't need to). On the second-last lap, Lisa S started yelling at me to get out of the way. I didn't know why, but I moved out from being the second wheel. I wasn't really hurting anything, and I wasn't in the way at all. She told me later and you can jump back in but you can't interfere with the sprint (which I wouldn't have—there was another cat 4 lapped rider in the mix and we had to sprint it out for 3rd place anyway). Jay told me after that I was fine to jump back in like I did.

For the race, we went 10.86 miles in 30:09 (after 20-minute, 4.8-mile warmup) for an average of 21.6. Calories burned: 764. Max speed: 31.2. Average HR: 188. Max HR: 203. Including cooldown, it was 12.49 miles, 37:48, 19.8 avg, and 183 bpm HR. Because the Garmin is GPS-enabled, this looks really funny on the map!

Lisa was a little mad at me for working with Mary. Honestly, I wasn't out there to race Lisa's race. She is my friend and I want to see her win (she and the group had been catching up to Mary and then all of a sudden weren't and couldn't figure out why). However, I was out there to race my race—go as hard as I can for as long as I can and then push a little longer and ride a little faster. That's what I did, and I had fun. I might win or might not against all these girls this year, but no matter what I'm going to go out there and have fun and race my race. If that means helping someone who's ahead, then so be it.

On August 1, I received a plaque for my efforts:

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Running

I finally, finally got back out running today. I didn't aim to run fast, and it was a very hilly route, so I was just out to have fun and get back into it. It ended up being about 5 miles since I added a little to the end. The first 5K took me 27:16. My pace was 8:48, my best pace was 7:20. I did a little walk in the middle (to try to get my HR down, since I wanted to stay in or around Z2, which didn't work) and then I picked up the pace a little. Up Moores Lane, I walked 1 minute, ran 1 minute, and repeated. My best pace during that time was 5:55. Woohoo! I accidentally forgot to turn off the time, so I'm not sure what my average pace or anything was. It was total 5.31 miles, average HR 153, total 802 calories (although I'm not sure how accurate the calorie count is because the timer was on for 2 hours and something, whereas I only ran for 50 minutes).

Later in the morning, Lauren and her friend Emma and I went to the Nashville Zoo. I had never been before and was looking forward to seeing the tiger cubs the paper had been promoting. Lauren was looking forward to seeing the red panda. We don't think we saw the cubs (we saw 2 tigers, but they sure didn't look small enough to have been born in December), but we did see the panda. We also saw everything else: lots of birds, even more insects and creeping things, zebras, goats (which we got to pet in their habitat), elephants, giraffes, and more. It was a fun, hot morning!

The cougar...this was probably my favorite exhibit (since there were no rhinos)

The red panda...Lauren's favorite exhibit. It looks more like a raccoon but is a relative of the bear

Lauren and Emma with the tortoise...neither of them wanted to touch it, but they both loved going inside insect world

Although we didn't get to see the red panda for long, Lauren did get to ride it on the Carousel

Both the girls got some nectar to feed the birds


After the zoo, Lauren and I went back to my apt for a little lunch and Uno, and then I took her back home. I love having family nearby that I can spend time with, and then I love being able to take my cousin home so that I can have some time alone, too.

Friday, June 19, 2009

And the Fun Continues...

These workouts have really been something I've looked forward to. That's good, since I haven't been wanted to run or ride lately. I used to know what would be coming for the day (it helped that Will sent me a lineup a month in advance), but now it's pretty much all new stuff, and I love it. Today was no different. I swam 100m (super short, but at least I got into the pool to swim!) and then did this workout:
  • Glute ham: 10 sets of 3 to the TOP
  • Body-weight squats: 3 sets of 50 with 45 seconds rest between sets. #1, I like having a predefined rest period. I can just set my watch and go when the clock goes off. Otherwise I don't rest enough (or at all) or I rest too long. Although I was not thrilled about doing 150 more squats (to bring the week's total to 750), I did them knowing that 150 was only half of what I did Monday and Wednesday. Plus I had to tell myself that I could forget my quads hurt. I didn't think about them hurting at all yesterday while playing volleyball with some Inversion people (Emily, Brent, Troy, Chris, Jonathan, Abby, and others), so I couldn't think about them hurting today, either.
  • Rebound lunge: 10 reps right leg, 30 seconds rest, repeat 10 times, rest, repeat everything on the left leg. I think I finally grasped the concept behind the rebounds. Today what I was thinking about what turning off and then on my muscles really quickly—basically like shudders: on and off, on and off. Then I was able to rebound quickly and felt fast and efficient. It took us a while to ensure I knew what I was supposed to be doing, but we got it figured out.
  • Bent-over row: 6 sets of 3, regular bar. I used a 40-lb bar. I probably could have done more weight, but I didn't today.
  • Push up: 6 sets of 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. I wasn't told to go on feet or knees, so I did feet. The last 30 seconds were HARD.
Actually, the entire workout was hard. I was sweating by squat #5 (which was actually T – 1. I started with 1 (didn't turn my muscles on and nearly fell backwards), did another 5 (but paused and I was determined to do them all without pausing), and then started over again and did them all. I want to do another 250 squats just so I can say I did 100 this week. Will said to make sure you turn your muscles on for every rep, so that's what I was thinking about. The last set of squats was super hard—that's when I was telling myself that I had to forget my legs hurt because I had forgotten last night.

Tomorrow I might run a little, Sunday I plan to race, Monday will be a good workout from Will, and then I'll be back to the regular Tuesday–Sunday workout regimen. Hopefully I'll be able to sustain for a while, weeks, since I have a half Ironman coming up in a few weeks!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Volleyball

Today I stopped at the tri shop in Cool Springs to drop off the top to my ESR kit. The kit is slightly small and not my favorite, so Dan thought he could hang it up in the shop so people could see it. It really is sweet, and I wouldn't mind wearing it if it fit.

Finishing the Madeira Beach Mad Dog Tri in my Captain Hero outfit

While I was there, I met the girl who was working there, Charissa. We and Billy P. talked for a while. She seems like a really nice girl and reminded me a lot of Allison. Can I count that half-hour chat as my "doing something with someone?" Probably not, since I didn't really make the effort to do something with her.

After a little supper, I went over to the church for Inversion sand volleyball. There were a few people out, not nearly as any as have been in past years, and that was actually nice. I stayed on the "amateur" court but watched the "more-skilled" court. I sort of wanted to be over there, but two other good players had already gone, and everyone we had been playing with knew they went over there because they were better. I thought it would be best just to stay on the rookie court and have some fun. I met a bunch of new people (Emily I'd met before, but there was also Troy x2, Chris, Jonathan, Abby, Brandon, and a number of others). It was fun, hot, and dirty!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Fun, Hard Workout

I’ve been enjoying the different workouts that Will’s been sending me. My quads are still screaming about the 300 body squats from Monday, but since I’m not really tri training and I’m probably not racing for a few days, I’m excited about the different ones. Today was definitely a fun one.
  • Lunge press: Bar only, keep forearms and shins straight up and down. From the bottom of the lunge and the bottom of the press (with arms in front), stand up and push up simultaneously. 6 on the right leg, 6 on the left leg, quick rest, and then repeat 6 times. I used a 24-lb bar; I had considered using the 45-lb bar, but I’m glad I didn’t. By the time I got to the 5th and 6th sets, I was definitely struggling; there’s no way I could have done this with a 45-lb bar.
    1. 30-sec ISO extreme glute ham (on the floor)
    2. 50 quick body-weight squats. Focus on using glutes.
    Repeat 6 times. My quads definitely like to dominate, even when I’m trying to use my glutes. But I was really focused on it. I’ll be honest; this was hard after having done 300 on Monday, but I did them all and worked hard.
    1. 6 altitude-drop wall squats with a 2-second pause at the bottom
    2. Glute ham at 60*–20 pulses (shudders)
    Repeat 6 times. I don’t know whether I did the shudders correctly. By that time, I was definitely holding myself up more with my arms than with my hamstrings. I tried to turn my muscles on and off quickly. I needed Will to tell me whether I was doing this right or not.
    1. Bench press: 10 reps, bar only (45 lbs); 6 reps, 55 lbs; 3 reps, 65 lbs.
    2. 1-min ISO extreme push up
    I knew I could do the bench press because Will told me to do it. I was aware that I didn’t have a spotter, so I was watching to make sure that someone was around if I needed someone. But I didn’t.
This was actually a fun workout, albeit hard. It took me 1:10 to complete, and I was glad that I didn’t have another workout to do, because I probably wouldn’t have been able to complete it. I had my almonds (left over from lunch) right after, then came home and ate a hamburger, some spinach salad, and an orange. Now I’m exhausted and ready for sleep!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Rock Climbing!

Today I rode hard. Not because I had to or because I wanted to (I went in to it thinking that it would be an easy ride). Just because I wanted to I rode hard. Of course, it definitely helped that the Harpeth Bike Club 26.73-milers were riding hard too. Last week I stayed with the group for 9.5 miles. The week before, I stayed with the group for 5 miles. This week I thought I’d stay with the leaders at least 10 miles (just longer than last week) and then go from there. I ended up either staying with the leaders or falling behind and then catching up until mile 24 when I could still see them. I then caught up to Parri and Lisa C., the other two women ahead of me, and beat them (they had slowed down, but I was bent on catching them anyway and had someone behind me who I could not let catch me). Ride stats:
  • 1:19:15 total time
  • 26.73 miles
  • 20.2 MPH average
  • 38.5 MPH max
  • 1,652 calories
  • 172 HR average
  • 198 HR max
  • 1:11 until I got dropped at mile 24.24; the average up to that point was 20.3
  • 00:06:26 until I caught up to Lisa and Parri at mile 26.56; my average during those 2.32 miles was 20.5
  • 00:01:10 cool down, during which I rode 0.17 miles at a 9 MPH average
We then stood around the parking lot talking and cooling down for about 20 minutes. My HR finally came down, and because the Garmin says I moved only 411 feet, I burned approximately 4 calories. I drank 20 oz of a mix of gatorade, water, and melon Heed during the ride, had a Kid Essentials Chocolate milk for a recovery drink, and drank 20 oz of water with an egg when I got home.

We got to leave work early today because everyone else was going over to JO’s house for happy hour. I, the unsocialite, went to the Cool Springs Y. There, Rachael taught me how to use the auto-belay on the rock wall and I climbed for about 20 minutes. It was great fun! Then I stopped by the shop to pick up my new Nashville Motorsports kit. It is sweet!

Representing Nashville Motorsports (and Harpeth in the background)

Monday, June 15, 2009

Trying to Work Hard

I started out the morning with a walk outside while the sun was rising. I should probably get up slightly earlier, though, because I didn’t make time to read the Word. I did at lunch, and Ezekiel is definitely interesting, but it’s not quite as practical as Proverbs and Psalms as a start-of-the-day read. I walked all the way through Cooks, going up and down each parking lot and road, and it was 1.10 miles, it took 18:37, and I burned 91 calories. My pace was 16:59 mph. Yesterday I walked all through Moores and McKays, and they are 1.65 and 1.47 miles respectively. That took me 57:16, was 3.11 miles, I averaged 18:26 mph, and I burned 260 calories. It’s kind of funny to see how many calories I can burn while walking vs. running.

Besides that slow walk, I took yesterday off, going to church, running some errands, sitting by the pool, and reading the paper. So today Will gave me a good workout:
  1. 6 altitude drop wall squats with a 5-second violent stop at the bottom
  2. 50 quick body-weight squats: Finish all the way to the top, and think about pulling your knees up or pulling your body down, whichever works. I don’t know if I succeeded on this one; I was trying to think about that, but then I thought afterward that maybe I was supposed to have been using my hamstrings more when I was definitely using my quads significantly during both exercises.
    • Repeat both together 6 times.
  3. 6 standing altitude drop front deltoid raise: 3-lb dumbbells, doing 6 with one arm and 6 with the other. I definitely didn’t do altitude drops. I forget what they are, and I didn’t remember that part. I did front deltoid raises.
  4. 50 quick towel curls: Keep the towel between your hands taut the whole time.
    • Repeat both together 6 times.
I ran into Lisa as we were parking, and she and I got to talk while I was working out (she was just there because Jacob and Abigail were at tennis lessons). She talked all about her racing; she’s doing awesome this season! I listened but still focused on what I was doing, trying to remember everything Will had said to do. The only thing I wasn’t focused on was thinking about running while doing the lower-body workout. I didn’t really want to think about it, so I didn’t. I was thinking about swimming while I was doing the upper-body workout, though.

I talked to Will about some of the problems I've been having. Here was his advice: Relax. Take a few days off to see if you really love it. You're not compelled to ride tomorrow—it's not a matter of life or death. Take some time look back and see where you've been and where you were; compare it to now, how you've improved, how you haven't and why, and how you'll get to where you want to be.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Random

I went to church this morning since I missed last night. Then I went home and thought pretty much all day. It was great. I did a lot of talking to the Lord, too. Now I have to get the listening to the Lord thing down.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Fighting

As I sit here alone in the quiet Farkas house (the only things I can hear are a few birds outside, Tigger wandering around, and the computer), I'm fighting a major war in my mind. It's really like a series of little battles that just won't seem to go away. I don't know when it started. Maybe last week when I was on vacation, maybe the weekend before when I had a house full of people, maybe this week when I got home, maybe during my two races last week, maybe some other time. All I know is that my mind won't leave my legs alone.

I'm not injured, so I have no physical excuse for not completing all my workouts. The only excuse I have is mental. Last week when I raced the first tri on Sunday, I went in with the intention of winning. I swam hard and stayed with the pack, rode hard and beat 371 other women off the bike, and ran OK to end up 11th of 375. Not a bad day's work, but not where I wanted to be, either. One girl, Melanie, and beaten me by 5 minutes in 5K, and I was not happy with my run especially after seeing her time. When I next raced on Saturday, it ended up being a run bike run, and I did OK on the first run, slightly better on the bike to beat all but 3 women again, and not so good on the second run to end up 8th out of 87-women.

But my attitude on that day was less than stellar. Not that I didn't want to race, because I did. It was that I knew I wouldn't win, because Melanie was in that race also, and if she had beaten me by 5 min in a 5K, there was no telling what she could do in two runs. So basically I was racing for second place in my age group, not even for the overall win at that point. It didn't keep me from pushing hard on the bike, but I think it did keep me from working as hard as I could have worked on the two runs.

So here I am today, a week later, not wanting to ride, not wanting to finish my workouts, not wanting to train, because I know that regardless of whether I do my best (and I always do), it's probably not going to be better than someone else's best. I read the blogs of some of the other pros and know how hard they work and how fast they finish the races, and then I think that I'll never be that fast. When I told Will about the duathlon, he was like, "We need to get you faster on the run and you'll be good to go?" What I didn't say but wanted to was that it's not that easy. I might get faster, but then I'll just be running 7-minute miles instead of 8-minute miles, but I still won't be running 6-minute miles the the girls I want to race against are running. And I don't know how to get there. I feel like I should be there because I work so hard, but I am not there and don't know if I'll ever be as fast as I want to be.

I don't know how to get past this road block in my mind. Every time I've gone out this week, I haven't wanted to finish because I've been thinking, "My best isn't ever going to be better than Bree's best or Melanie's best, so what am I working for?" I haven't come up with an answer yet. I know that God has given me the ability to run and ride and swim and race, and I want to use that ability for Him. But is it really going to glorify Him that much if I'm not the best? If I finish out of the top 10 in local races, how do I think I'm going to succeed in bigger races? Could it be that He has something else for me that I can't even imagine? If so, how do I find out about it?

Despite all my problems this week (example: Today's ride was supposed to be 4 hours. At mile 16 I had to turn around because I saw 2 dogs not on leashes, so I didn't complete that loop and didn't repeat it either. However, during the 40-mile ride, I saw about 5 dozen turkeys, A few vultures near road kill, thought about quitting about 4 dozen times, and wanted to cry most of the ride because I was so frustrated with myself for being so frustrated for no reason), all I've been dreaming about for the last 2 or 3 days has been racing. Usually my dreams have to do with things that have happened the day before or 2 days before. This are races I haven't done and I'm out there competing well.

I don't know! My solution for this week is to join Master Swim and swim with the masters at MFY. Then I probably will do my own swim workouts on the other days and I don't plan to ride or run at all, except for maybe Wednesday. I'm hoping that after a week I'll actually want to ride and run and then I'll enjoy it. We'll see how it goes.

Another part of the problem, which I'm hoping that swimming with the masters will help, is accountability. I know it's not totally true, but I feel like when Will left, he took all my accountability with him. Now no one knows or cares what my workouts are and whether I'm doing them. Then I don't have to because I'm the only one who knows. That comes down to a matter of self-discipline, and I'm hoping the group dynamics of Masters Swim will help me in that area.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Friday Swim #6

Friday's workout was another fun one. I actually enjoyed it, and I didn't enjoy the swim in the outdoor pool (29:38 for the main set; 4×200 @ 20 seconds: 4:07, 4:13, 4:13, 4:16; 6×100 @ 15 seconds: 2:10 2:10, 2:11, 2:10, 2:11, 2:08) and didn't even do the 1:15 run at all.
  • 10 sets of 3 altitude drop push ups
  • 6 sets of 3 each side Russian twists
  • 5 sets of 10 vertical jumps with 30-second standing extreme ham after each set
  • 5 sets of 1-minute glute ham iso
I went to a Sounds vs. Cardinals game with some other CU alums. It was fun, but I left early to get to bed so I could be ready to do my Saturday workout.

Asleep at 10pm.
  1. 12:59am I was racing an Olympic-distance race.
  2. 3:59am (alarm) I was racing again.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Swim #11, I think (500 times)

Today I was supposed to Swim #11, a straight 3,000. I did not. I started in the MFY outdoor pool, which is a 50-m pool, compared to the 25-yd pool I'm used to swimming in. So my 500 times were a lot slower than I'd anticipated, and I wasn't happy. 9:55 and 10:16, I think. Compared to the other times:
  • May 22: 9:38 (I might have added 50m, and here I breathed with every left stroke), 8:51 (here and for the following, I breathed with every other stroke), 8:46, 8:52, 8:57, 8:52. Average (counting the first at 8:50): 8:51 per 500. Total time: 53:58.39
  • March 24: 8:34, 8:32, 8:38, 8:51, 8:52 (1:45, 1:47, 1:48, 2:39 [extra 50, so we're going with 1:49], 1:43). Average: 8:41 per 500. Total time: 43:31
  • March 5: 7:58 (I might have missed 50m here), 8:59, 9:12, 9:10, 9:04 (1:51, 1:51, 1:50, 1:50, 1:43). Average: 8:52 per 500. Total time: 44:28
  • February 17: 10:01 (extra 50), 8:32 (missed 50), 9:53, 7:33 (missed 100), 9:26 (1:52, 1:53, 1:52, 1:52, 1:47). Average: 9 minutes per 500. Total time: 45:02
Then I was supposed to have ridden 1:15, but I did that on Tuesday, so I should have done Tuesday's 1-h run. I could not do it. I started by running out the back way from the MFY. I ran about 3 minutes and started walking. Then I turned around to try again. I lasted another minute, and just couldn't do it. I just didn't have it. I don't know why. I couldn't do it. I turned around and headed back, stayed on the elliptical trainer for about 10 minutes, and called it a day. It felt horrible. I just didn't have the desire to work hard. Or really to work at all.

Then I went home, got ready, and went to Inversion. I never even get out of the car. I just didn't want to talk to anyone, and knew I'd have to since I could see Nelia from my car. I didn't want to make small talk. I didn't want to do anything. So I went home and read a little and went to bed. What a disappointment of a day.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Wednesday Brick; Other fun stuff

Today was my first real test of the Garmin. I haven't read everything about it yet, but I hope to within the next week so that I can use the virtual training partner and make it farther and faster next time I do this brick workout.

I cut the ride slightly short to stay around 45 minutes—Moores to Franklin to Mack Hatcher to Hillsboro through Rebel to Del Rio to Cotton to Fieldstone to Hillsboro to Mack Hatcher to Franklin to Moores. Total time: 49:38. Mileage: 16.1. Average speed: 19.5. Average HR: 161. Burned 996 calories.

After the ride, I did a quick 0:47 transition to switch shoes and put up my bike, and then I hit the road for the run—30 minutes. I went Moores to Franklin to Mallory Station to GG Patton and made it to the corner of GG Patton and Moores (3.85 mi) in 30:34. I hit the corner of Franklin and Mallory Sta in 15:54. Average pace: 7:56. Average HR: 184. Burned 462 calories.

Total distance for the brick: 20.08 mi. Total time: 1:22:21. Average HR: 169. Total calories: 1,472.

Last time on this brick was 5-20-09. I did the 18-mile route (today's was 16 miles) in 54:30 for an average of 19.7 mph. The previous two times I did the route it was 17.71 and it was in 55:48 (5-13) and the week before was 56:56. I made it 40 seconds farther this week than the previous week since I hit that week's finish line at 29:20.

Will gave me a slightly different workout today, and I'm really liking the variety he's throwing in.
  • Glute ham with reps to the top: 3 reps × 10 times. I was supposed to take a short break, like 10 breaths, between each one, but I did only about 5 after each one. I couldn't really tell whether I was really using my hamstrings. Hmm.
  • Lunge with Russian lunge: Lunge first, then do 3 RLs with violent stops after each one. Next leg, 10 breaths rest, then repeat for 10 total sets of 3 for each leg. I was in front of a mirror, so I was really trying to work hard on keeping my torso erect and actually lifting up my back leg rather than kicking it out like I've been known to do. I tried to turn on my muscles for each one to make a violent stop.
  • Quick bicep curls: 20-lb bar. Same thing: 3×10 with a few breaths between each one.
  • Push up with hands on benches: Will didn't say whether to do these on my knees or feet, and since it was 10 sets of 3, I decided to do them all on my feet. And I did. That even after having done 20 push ups at work.
There were only a couple others at the Cool Springs Y while I was there, and after I finished a guy named Matthew came up to me and asked me what I was training for. Tris, I told him, and he said he'd thought so because of the timing and breathing patterns of the exercises I was doing. His brother Josh was there, and he told me about Josh's playing at 12th and Porter on Monday, June 29, sometime after 7:30. I said I'd write it down, so I did; any local people who want to go are now aware of it.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Swim #10; Group Ride

Mom got up early with me today to do my 7×125 @ 20 sec and 7×75 @ 15 workout (times below have the rest periods still in them, except the first interval): These times show significant steps forward. for the 125s, my average was 8 seconds faster. for my 75s, my average was 4 seconds faster. I didn't really feel like I was moving that much faster, but I'm happy with the results!

Today:
  • 1:52 (2:12), 2:16, 2:15, 2:19, 2:20, 2:21, 2:18 Average: 14 min, 121 sec minus 7 × 20 RI = (117.29) 1:57
  • 1:31 (1:26), 1:24, 1:27, 1:27, 1:27, 1:27, 1:22 Average: 7 min, 180 sec minus 7 × 20 RI = (65.71) 1:05
5-21:
  • 2:00 (2:20), 2:28, 2:25, 2:27, 2:27, 2:27, 2:26 Average: 14 min, 180 sec minus 7 × 20 RI = (125.71) 2:05
  • 1:34 (1:29), 1:28, 1:31, 1:29, 1:30, 1:30, 1:26 Average: 7 min, 203 sec minus 7 × 20 RI = (69) 1:09
4-24:
  • 2:00 (2:20), 2:21, 2:24, 2:25, 2:26, 2:25, 2:16 Average: 14 min, 157 sec minus 7 × 20 RI = (122.43) 2:02
  • 1:35 (1:30), 1:28, 1:31, 1:30, 1:30, 1:29, 1:27 Average: 7 min, 205 sec minus 7 × 20 RI = (69.29) 1:09

Thursday’s 1:15 Z2 ride turned into Tuesday’s 1:52, 33.2-mile ride. I have to get out with the group at least once per week, and the Tuesday Cool Springs ride is a good way to do that and a good ride that's close to me.
  • Average speed: 17.7 mph (max speed: 63.5 [Hah! That didn't really happen.])
  • Total calories: 1,960
  • Average HR: 154 (max HR: 190)
After a 20-minute warmup, I stayed with the group for 27 minutes—9.86 miles. We averaged 21.6 MPH during that time. My goal was to stay with the big boys for as long as I could. Last time, two weeks ago, I managed just about 5 miles (to the second big hill on south Carothers). Today I managed nearly 10 miles (to just after the turn onto Gosey Lane). It came up to my turn to pull just before a little hill 0.25 miles from the turn, and I just didn’t have anything left to stay with them. I finished the rest of the ride on my own.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Variety

Today is Monday. Mondays are normally days off, but these last two weeks have been anything but normal. I did a sprint race (duathlon) on Saturday morning, waited for the awards, and then jumped in the car for a 13-hour car ride home. We stopped about 8 times, so I got to get out of the car a lot, but I was definitely tight on Sunday. I managed to get in a 50-minute, 16-mile ride and that was it—just something to get my legs moving—so I requested a workout for today.

Will gave me something fun and different and I was excited about it. My rest intervals (10 deep breaths on the wall between the sets in the last 3) were negligible because they seem so pointless.
  • 50 vertical jumps; after every 10, 30-seconds standing extreme hamstring: I really didn’t know what to do with my feet on the jumps because we’d always done these with vertical-jump-to-lunge, but I managed OK. There were a select few that felt really fast and high—those were typically the first ones in the sets when I would really focus on turning on my muscles. I need to do that for all of them or just never turn them off.
  • 3×10 altitude drop push up: Before I started this one, someone pulled the fire alarm switch or something and we all had to go outside for a fire drill. I had a limited time and no flexibility, so I started these outside on the ground. I couldn’t (and still can’t) remember what to do once I’d dropped into the push up position; I’d better check some of my old pages. I did 2 sets outside, and then did a few more later in the evening. I don’t think I finished 10; if not, it’s because I forgot I was supposed to do 10 sets.
  • 5×1 minute glute ham: No special instructions here, just do it. I didn’t feel like I was doing this very effectively, and I don’t know why. It was like my hamstrings just didn’t want to play along and I wasn’t working at all.
  • 6×3 times each side Russian twists: This and the pushups I did at home, so I didn’t really go in the prescribed order. Also, Will said to use a 5-lb weight, but all I had was an 8-lb medicine ball, so I used that.
As much as I’ve enjoyed hosting people and being on vacation and having my parents here, I’ll be thrilled when I can get back to a normal schedule and actually have the time I need to get my workouts done and be able to focus on doing them right. I feel like more than half the workouts I’ve done in the last 2 weeks have been ineffective, like why did I even bother doing them?

I don’t know if this is because I’m frustrated with my races, which I am. I felt like I did my best in both of them, but I just didn’t seems like I was running very fast or efficiently, and that made me mad because I’ve been working hard. I just can’t run as fast as some of the other girls. Even though I can bike fast, I can’t run fast enough to keep them off me and I don’t know how I can get faster. I also want to be faster now, but I don’t know how to adjust my training so that I will be.

Maybe I’m just not good enough to get to the level I want to be at. At the very end of Saturday’s race, another girl was catching up to me and passed me within the last 0.25 miles or so, and I couldn’t even keep up with her for the last part. It was like inside, I was resigned to not winning and then my legs just wouldn’t work because of that. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to win because it was a duathlon, so I was racing like that, even if it was subconsciously. But now looking back, I’m sure it affected the way I ran in both those legs. I just can’t seem to get the mental part of this racing thing down. I want to win, but I can’t make my brain and my legs communicate. My legs just don’t seem to want to move fast enough and don’t really seem to care whether anyone passes me. My brain wants to care but thinks my legs can’t keep up, so I just barely try to speed up and then don’t last very long. I don’t know how to improve that!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Siesta Key Sprint/Du Race

Here are some stats from the race.
  • Run 1: 2.2 mi, 17:16 total time, 7:52 pace (5:51 best pace)
  • T1: 0:48
  • Bike: 12.79 mi, 36:06 total time, 21.2 MPH average
  • T2: 0:20
  • Run 2: 2.88 mi, 24:07 total time, 8:22 pace (7:14 best pace)
  • Calories burned: 1,482
  • Average HR: 183
  • Total distance: 17.94 mi
  • Total time: 1:18:40
I wanted to have the fastest women's bike split since I'd been 4th the weekend before. I ended up with the 4th fastest again, getting beat only be 3 of the 4 elite women.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Ride in Florida, Altitude Drops

Having been on vacation since last Friday, I've gotten so far behind in blogging. I'll have to catch up later and post-date everything. But to bring you up to speed, I traveled all day Friday (did 5 on, 10 off thru 30 lunge before I left), probably took Saturday off to travel and get settled (although I'm sure we walked some), raced on Sunday (11th o'all female, 3rd in age, 4th fastest female on the bike), took off Monday, ran 7 miles (1 h) Tuesday and did 3-minutes extreme slow lunge, standing ham, wall squat, push up, curl with light bar, and crate crunch), took off Wednesday for a much-needed 2-hour nap, and am on today. Today was a 1 h ride (I rode 5.68 miles to the Y and back and then went through part of Saturday's race course. At the Y, first I met Ted who came to talk to me because he said I looked fit. Then I did 50 altitude drops with a 2-second pause at the bottom of each rep.
  • Lunge
  • Glute ham: I thought I'd found a glute ham stand, but I've since been told it's a back extension stand. They're almost the same, except that the glute ham stand is parallel to the ground, not angled. I'll keep looking.
  • Push up on knees: I did the majority only half way up, but I did a few all the way (maybe 15 or 20). Maybe I didn't do these correctly. I'm pretty sure now that altitude drop push ups are where you start kneeling and then drop down onto a mat and catch yourself with your hands. I sure didn't do that because I was using the feet things of a pull up bar as if I would have been using benches. So, I'm not really sure what I did.
  • Curl with light bar
Some other guy came up to talk to me after I finished the curl because he wanted to know what I was doing. I'm sure it does look weird to see someone purposely dropping the bar. I was in front of a mirror for the first and last ones, so I was really focused on staying straight up on the lunge and dropping down as fast as possible and on pulling my hands away as quickly as possible on the curl. I had to repeat at least 4 because I just wasn't going fast enough to satisfy myself.