Wednesday, February 29, 2012

2000 Miles

Well, I couldn't take a complete rest day today. I was 18 miles away from reaching 2,000 miles total swim/bike/run from December 1 through February 29, and I couldn't stop at 1,982 when 2,000 was within my reach! So I rode 18 miles on the trainer for a total of 633 bike miles in February. And it felt so good to accomplish that nice round number!

I was keeping track of Dec-Feb mileage for a USA Triathlon competition with BEAT, our local triathlon club (Brentwood Endurance Athletic Team). Here are my overall input results from that competition:

Details for Brentwood Endurance Athletic Team : All Sessions
NameSwim (actual)BikeRun (actual)Total (actual)
Kailin 60 (6)1794600 (200)2454 (2000)

Swim miles were weighted 10:1. Bike miles weren't weighted. Run miles were weighted 3:1.

My overall miles put me 4th of 44 behind my Team Belladium teammate Anna (2,745 miles) and two guys (2,489 and 2,217). I don't think I win anything by being in 4th, but it was definitely a fun competition.

Monthly Mileage

After yesterday's nice walk outside and short run later, I tabulated my total mileage for the month. Even though this month has one more Wednesday (my rest day) than January, I ran 2 more miles (67 vs. 65) in February. Granted they weren't all running miles (in fact, most were on the step mill), but they were still miles on my own two feet. And because this month has one more Wednesday than January, I rode 22 fewer miles (615 vs. 637) in February. However, I would say the majority of those miles were quality miles, whether on the trainer or outside.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

CompuTrainer Class: Force and Power I

We started a new series at Endeavor Performance this morning: Force and Power. Otherwise known as hill torture. After 10 minutes of tempo, we did 2-3-5-3-2 — 2-3-5-3-2 minutes of low-cadence, strong-effort intervals. Basically, we had to get up and over a hill.

This was crazy hard!
Thankfully, I survived the entire thing, pretty much with a smile. It helped that Parri was pushing me to work harder and helping me visualize—the final 2-minute interval, we finished the Raccoon Mountain/River Gorge Road Race together. I will never be with her in this actual race, but I can dream during training!

2-28-12.

  • Total ride: 1:40:00, 156 bpm (185 max)
  • Warm up on trainer: 9:00, 122 bpm
  • 10-min warm up + 10-min tempo + 4-min rest: 161 bpm; 157 bpm
  • 2-min hill + 2-min rest: 167 bpm; 167 bpm
  • 3-min hill + 3-min rest: 170 bpm; 164 bpm
  • 5-min hill + 4-min rest: 170 bpm; 158 bpm
  • 3-min hill + 3-min rest: 168 bpm; 165 bpm
  • 2-min hill + 5-min rest: 166 bpm; 157 bpm
  • 2-min hill + 2-min rest: 163 bpm; 167 bpm
  • 3-min hill + 3-min rest: 168 bpm; 160 bpm
  • 5-min hill + 4-min rest: 169 bpm; 158 bpm
  • 3-min hill + 3-min rest: 163 bpm; 147 bpm
  • 2-min hill + 1-min rest: 163 bpm; 173 bpm
  • 4-min tempo at 105 RPM: 147 bpm
  • 3-min cooldown + sprint: 117 bpm, 671W

March 24, 2011, the last week of this series last year. When I was riding at 208W, whereas now I'm riding at 216.

During lunch I went on a 3-mile walk. After work I rode another 11 miles (38 minutes) and ran 1.25/walked 0.25 (17 minutes). It was beautiful outside and I couldn't stay in.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Good Rules

One of my rules for myself is that if it is above 50* and sunny outside, I can disregard whatever workout I was supposed to have done and run at the Donelson Y. Today was absolutely amazing outside, nearly 70* and beautifully sunny at noon, so I skipped/postponed my swim and ran 5 miles. As I mentioned Saturday, I've been spending a lot more time on the step mill than outside or than on the treadmill, and I've not really known whether it was keeping me in decent running shape. Today's run showed me that other than the blisters I'll get on my feet when I run if I forget vaseline, I'll still be able to run pretty consistently between 7:30 and 8:20 (depending on the terrain) and feel great. Not the 7s I'd really like to be at, but considering I'm not training for anything specific other than bike racing, I'll take 8s for now!



I ran the trails behind the DHY, doing an out, two out-and-backs, and a back for 5 miles of running and 0.5 miles of walking/enjoying the sunshine. My mile times were 8:08 (including walking to the trail head), 8:00 (including a turnaround), 7:39, 7:38 (including a turnaround), and 8:22 (including the only 3 hills in the route, which had been broken up in the previous miles); total time; 39:47.

Before work I managed 10×10sec lunge (R,L) and finished the rest of the workout (lunge, glute ham/standing ham, bench, curl, crunch) later.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

New Tires

Saturday and Sunday turned out to be decent days. However, both started out cold, which changed my riding plans on Saturday. Instead of meeting Shelly and Val at the Y, I got up early and rode for 1:30 on the trainer. I had hoped for 2 hours but still wanted to meet them to say hi, so I did a shorter pyramid than a couple weeks ago. Today: 10-minute warm up, 5-minute tempo, 5-minute recovery, 10-minute tempo, 5-minute recovery, 15-minute tempo, 5-minute recovery, 10-minute tempo, 5-minute recovery, 5-minute tempo, 15-minute cool down for 90 solid minutes of riding. Then I headed to the MFY parking lot to chat for a few minutes and then inside for 60 minutes on the step mill and a few minutes of lifting (real lifting, like on the machines, not isos like normal). I can’t run and still ride well, but I want to stay in good running shape, and the step mill doesn’t seem to be affecting my legs like the treadmill or pavement. I haven’t really tested my legs to see whether they’re in running shape, but I certainly feel like I’m getting a good workout in on the step mill.

After all that and some research on the computer, I went to Discount Tire to get new tires for my car. They took care of me well enough last time I needed new tires, and today was the same. They had the tires I wanted, they got my car into the garage pretty quickly, they let me watch the whole then, and I was in and out in about an hour.

No tires...

And they're back on and almost done

Church later included a good message about the difference between religion (your basic good works) and the gospel (God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice and my obedience). Bill summed it up by saying essentially that with religion, “I obey, therefore I am accepted”; whereas with the gospel, “I am accepted, therefore I obey.” We really can’t ever do enough to actually earn acceptance because we are inherently sinners, but Jesus took away that shame and our deserved death penalty so that we can be loved and accepted—in thankfulness and love for Him, I obey.

I had a movie to watch then, Forever Strong. It’s about rugby and a rugby coach who takes boys and trains them to be good teammates and good men. I’d highly recommend it, and I know slightly more about rugby now than I did yesterday :-)

Sunday was another chilly morning and I’d planned to spend a little time training before our team ride, but I didn’t get out of the house early enough and instead got breakfast from Kroger (complementary brunch on Sunday mornings!) and then went to Todd’s studio. Todd, Val, Anna, Parri, Lee, a possible new recruit Jess, and I (with Shelly meeting us on the road) headed out to Metro Center for fantastic teamwork practice and sprint work and then out to Titans Stadium for tough cornering work. Our first race of the season is next Sunday, and we all need work on taking fast tight turns with other people around. A course that we’ll be racing on is the best place to practice, and practicing with people we know and trust makes it much easier to begin to feel comfortable at a fast pace in a slightly dangerous situation.

Lots of back and forth and around and around

The day ended up being beautiful, perfect for a team ride, and I thought perfect for a hike. Sadly, everyone else in Davidson and Williamson counties thought the same thing about the hike. I stopped at Radnor Lake on my way home from downtown hoping to get a parking spot, but there were 5 cars in front of me and no one was moving—everyone at the park wanted to stay at the park! Instead I walked around a parking lot in Brentwood, staying in the sun, for a few minutes and headed home. It’s just not the same.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Percy Warner Park

I had hoped to meet Anna here today, but she ended up not being able to make it. Thankfully, I had everything with me that I needed to ride and hit the road for a semi-protected ride through Percy Warner Park. It was cold and very windy, but the sun was out and I thought maybe I'd be OK. Thankfully I was sheltered, but I still was pretty cold. I did two loops through the park and then 1.25 miles out and the same back on the red trail. I'd hoped to do the entire 4.5-mile loop, but I just wasn't warming up.



This was a great workout because I was able to practice turning a lot without a lot of actual turns and with absolutely no traffic. In the entire 25 miles, I was passed by 5 vehicles, and the speed limit on the road is 20mph, so they didn't pass me very fast. Plus there is a lot of up and down, so it was a good climbing ride as well.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

CompuTrainer Class: Maximizing Aerobic Capacity VIII

During the work day, I managed 7 minutes of work for standing ham and push up. Wall sit and curl were also on the list, but I think that squats are contributing to my leg tiredness and I forgot about curl. So I did only those two, but it's better than nothing!

Today's workout felt just about the same as Tuesday's, but I was in a slightly harder gear an thus got in more miles. Tuesday, I felt like after 1:22 I was really just hanging on--I was trying to stay at or above 90 RPM and it was the feeling where, if I were on the road, I could have been just off the back of the pack at any second. Today, I didn't get that feeling until 1:24:30, and even then, it wasn't quite the same feeling; if I were on the road, I might have had 2 or three people behind me and I would not have been at the back of the pack.

So I guess I'd consider this series a success. Even though I struggled mightily through it, it has definitely gotten me into better shape physically and forced me to approach these workouts with a different mentality.


^^This is basically what the ride looked like, and this is how it went vv.

1-31-12. 2-02-122-07-122-09-122-14-122-16-122-21-12. 2-23-12.

  • Total: 1:25:00, 150 bpm (173 max)
    Total: 1:45:38, 155 bpm (182 max)
    Total: 56:50, 159 bpm (184 max)
    Total: 1:33:00, no HR data
    Total: 1:45:00, 160 bpm (179 max)
    Total: 1:43:00, 162 bpm (178 max)
  • Warm up: 14:40, 104 bpm
    Warm up: 13:38, 100 bpm
    Warm up: 13:50, 132 bpm
    No warm up
    Warm up: 12:35, 118 bpm
    Warm up: 8:25, 115 bpm
  • Warm up: 16:00, 150 bpm; 4min rest, 143 bpm
    Warm up: 16:00, 146 bpm; 4min rest, 148 bpm
    Warm up: 16:00, 160 bpm; 4min rest, 154 bpm
    Warm up: 16:00; 4min rest
    Warm up: 12:00, 153 bpm; 4min rest, 145 bpm
    Warm up: 12:00, 153 bpm; 4min rest, 142 bpm
  • Tempo #1: 20:00, 168 bpm; 3min rest, 156 bpm
    Tempo #1: 20:00, 171 bpm; 3min rest, 163 bpm
    Tempo #1: 20:00, 178 bpm; 3min rest, 168 bpm
    Tempo #1: 20:00; 3min rest
    Tempo #1: 25:00, 170 bpm; 3min rest, 159 bpm
    Tempo #1: 25:00, 172 bpm; 3min rest, 158 bpm
  • Tempo #2: 20:00, 165 bpm; 3min rest, 149 bpm
    Tempo #2: 20:00, 171 bpm; 3min rest, 161 bpm
    Tempo #2: skipped
    Tempo #2: 20:00; 3min rest
    Tempo #2: 20:00, 170 bpm; 3min rest, 158 bpm
    Tempo #2: 20:00, 171 bpm; 3min rest, 150 bpm
  • Tempo #3: 4:20, 162 bpm
    Tempo #3: 20:00, 175 bpm
    Tempo #3: skipped
    Tempo #3: 25:00
    Tempo #3: 25:00, 174 bpm
    Tempo #3: 25:00, 173 bpm
  • Cool down: skipped
    Cool down + sprint: 6:00, 143 bpm, 688W
    Cool down: skipped
    Cool down: 4min
    Cool down: 1:25, 153 bpm
    Cool down + sprint: 3:34, 157 bpm, 668W

After the second tempo effort, I had to stop while Todd pumped up my back tire. I'd been hearing a noise that was like a deep clicking, which I could actually more feel than hear, while I'd been riding, and it almost felt like I was riding on a tire with a bulge in it. Quite a strange feeling on a trainer! Todd checked it during that tempo effort and said just keep riding until it went flat, then we'd have to change the tube (another girl had a flat tire earlier in the class and he'd given her his spare wheel). It ended up not being flat, just low, so we just pumped it up and I continued.

Once the workout was done, I headed to Inversion to listen to Christopher Yuan tell his story about God rescuing him and saving him and then delivering him from sin. Pretty amazing. Read his book here. Watch his story here.

Encourage

I heard this on Turning Point this morning, and it was a good reminder to me to remember that when anyone I know dies, I don't be able to talk to them again and tell them what I might have wished I'd have told them. You never know when someone might die—you can only know where you're going and what you've told them.

Do It Now
By Berton Braley
Source

If with pleasure you are viewing any work a man is doing,
If you like him or you love him, tell him now;
Don't withhold your approbation till the parson makes oration
And he lies with snowy lilies on his brow;
No matter how you shout it he won't really care about it;
He won't know how many teardrops you have shed;
If you think some praise is due him now's the time to slip it to him,
For he cannot read his tombstone when he's dead.

More than fame and more than money is the comment kind and sunny
And the hearty, warm approval of a friend.
For it gives to life a savor, and it makes you stronger, braver,
And it gives you heart and spirit to the end;
If he earns your praise-bestow it; if you like him let him know it;
Let the words of true encouragement be said;
Do not wait till life is over and he's underneath the clover;
For he cannot read his tombstone when he's dead.

I do hope you know Jesus and will be with him forever in heaven when you die!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Publix GC



Since I got such a nice gift card in the mail yesterday, I went to Publix today to get some groceries. And because I feel like sharing, here is what I purchased and for how much and then how much I saved; there are some great sales on produce this week at my favorite grocery store:

Item; Quantity
Regular Price
Sale Price; Coupon
Final Price
Eat Smart veggies; 82.501.008.00 (great deal!)
Lettuce heads; 21.791.492.98
Cantaloupe; 13.292.502.50
Bananas; 2.14lb0.59/lb----1.26
Strawberries; 2lb5.983.293.29
Publix ground beef; ~1.3lb3.99/lb----5.07
Publix oats; 13.39----3.39
Publix ketchup1.391.191.19
No Yolks pasta; 12.391.89; 0.80 MQ1.09
Ronzoni pasta; 21.690.8451.69
Classico pasta sauce; 32.991.50; B2G1 MQ2.99
Publix eggs; 2 dozen1.69----3.38
Wrigley’s gum; 13.491.751.75
Pampers diapers; 110.999.49; $2 PQ, $2 MQ5.49
Items: 26
80.38 (4.04 tax) 48.11; $25 Publix GC23.11, ~$0.89/item

So basically, I paid $23.11 out of pocket for $80.38 worth of groceries, saving ~70% for food that will be good for me and last me a while. However, I will be going back for more veggies before this sale ends. These bags last usually at least a week, and they are so easy—pop them in the microwave to steam them or open up the bag and eat them raw. It’s a great way to get in plenty of vegetables. Though I did laugh when I noticed on the bag that it says “Serves 4”; little do they know that some of us can eat a whole bag in one sitting! However, I figure this is better than eating a pint of ice cream in one sitting, which I can easily do. Sad.



Once I got home, I took care of everything as much as possible, cutting up the cantaloupe and strawberries to freeze them for smoothies, making a box of pasta with a jar of sauce and a bag of broccoli (yum supper!), browning the beef and making sloppy joes (and then measuring it out into separate plastic containers so that it is already ready for lunches, and putting the diapers in my pile for my sister and nephew. It seemed to take forever, but it feels so good to have food in the fridge, extra in the freezer, and a clean kitchen in the middle of the week. The only slightly better way to spend a rest day in my opinion would be a nice hike. I could go for Radnor Lake (another) or Percy Warner Park or Camelback Mountain right now!

Love

Ravi Zacharias quoted this on this morning's Just Thinking program, and I had to share:

When I tell you that God loves you, and then I tell you that I love you, it's the same word but it has a different implication.

When I love you and you refuse to love me, I hurt because I have lost something. When God loves you and you refuse to love Him, God hurts too; God hurts because you have lost something.

I got some fun things in the mail yesterday:

Dear Kohl's, Thanks for reminding me that
I'm not married. Or engaged. But you still
are sending me wedding wishes. How kind.

Dear Pepsi and Publix, Thanks for making
my day by sending me a surprise Publix GC!

Thank you, I Heart Publix, for telling me about the sweeps that I won the GC from. Off to do some grocery shopping!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

CompuTrainer Class: Maximizing Aerobic Capacity VII

Today's class was very hard, especially from 1:22 through 1:30 (basically the final 8 minutes of the last effort). But Will told me last week that I couldn't complain about a workout being too easy (which was basically the entire "Aerobic Capacity" session) and then complain about the same (or pretty similar) workouts being too hard. So I decided to tough it out, hard and all. By 1:22 I was struggling to keep my cadence at or above 90, but I was keeping it there. If I'd have gotten to the point where I couldn't get it back up, I'd have gotten off. But since I'd made it that far, I was committed and staying on to finish!


^^This is basically what the ride looked like, and this is how it went vv.

2-07-122-09-122-14-122-17-122-21-12

  • Total: 1:25:00, 150 bpm (173 max)
    Total: 1:45:38, 155 bpm (182 max)
    Total: 56:50, 159 bpm (184 max)
    Total: 1:33:00, no HR data
    Total: 1:45:00, 160 bpm (179 max)
  • Warm up: 14:40, 104 bpm
    Warm up: 13:38, 100 bpm
    Warm up: 13:50, 132 bpm
    No warm up
    Warm up: 12:35, 118 bpm
  • Warm up: 16:00, 150 bpm; 4min rest, 143 bpm
    Warm up: 16:00, 146 bpm; 4min rest, 148 bpm
    Warm up: 16:00, 160 bpm; 4min rest, 154 bpm
    Warm up: 16:00; 4min rest
    Warm up: 12:00, 153 bpm; 4min rest, 145 bpm
  • Tempo #1: 20:00, 168 bpm; 3min rest, 156 bpm
    Tempo #1: 20:00, 171 bpm; 3min rest, 163 bpm
    Tempo #1: 20:00, 178 bpm; 3min rest, 168 bpm
    Tempo #1: 20:00; 3min rest
    Tempo #1: 25:00, 170 bpm; 3min rest, 159 bpm
  • Tempo #2: 20:00, 165 bpm; 3min rest, 149 bpm
    Tempo #2: 20:00, 171 bpm; 3min rest, 161 bpm
    Tempo #2: skipped
    Tempo #2: 20:00; 3min rest
    Tempo #2: 20:00, 170 bpm; 3min rest, 158 bpm
  • Tempo #3: 4:20, 162 bpm
    Tempo #3: 20:00, 175 bpm
    Tempo #3: skipped
    Tempo #3: 25:00
    Tempo #3: 25:00, 174 bpm
  • Cool down: skipped
    Cool down + sprint: 6:00, 143 bpm, 688W
    Cool down: skipped
    Cool down: 4min
    Cool down: 1:25, 153 bpm

My plan is to train later and perhaps hit the step mill, but we'll see how my legs cooperate. Tomorrow is a rest day, though, so I might decide to work hard.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Monday Swim

I had forgotten it is a holiday today. We didn't get the day off, and I drive to work early enough that there's never any traffic on the road and thus no less when it's a federal holiday. However, I was reminded as soon as I stepped foot in the DHY—there were so many kids around! The pool was full too, but I was committed to the workout I think I was supposed to do today: 16×25@10sec rest, 400@20sec rest, 16×25@10sec rest. I did a 150 warm up and cool down for a total of  1500 yards. I thought I was keeping track of each 25, and although my watch is telling me there are 69 different laps, it's only letting me review the first 30. So I know total swim time (31min), the first 150 (2:26), and the first 14×25 (21.29) plus rest. Each of the remaining 18 25s was below 22 seconds and at 21.xx something (I can't remember everything and was trying to rely on my watch, but I didn't know it wasn't recording reviewable data), so I'm pretty happy with a consistent workout.

The afternoon workout was a good amount of time on the step mill (5.5 miles). This is my crit simulation workout, and Todd just emailed us today about a race on March 4 that he wants us to add to the calendar. Since my plan is to step up my game this year, I am going to get myself ready for a hard crit early in the season!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Short Weekend Review

Friday: ride outside, 1:45



Saturday: half-GSD ride outside, 2h; 10-10-10 EDI



Sunday: snowy ride inside at Todd's, 1:45

Thursday, February 16, 2012

CompuTrainer Class: Maximizing Aerobic Capacity VI

Today's class went so much better than Tuesday's. I wasn't wearing my HRM so I don't have hard evidence, but I stayed on the bike the entire 93-minute workout, so that is a huge improvement over Tuesday.


^^This is what the ride looked like, and this is what it felt like vv.

I just tried to not think about it being hard. I also tried to look at the HR of a couple guys who were riding with me and pretend that was my HR. Plus Will pretty much told me to stay on the bike regardless—he said it's OK to get off sometimes if I really have to, but I shouldn't have the same result every time every time I feel like I'm riding or running awful. Also, some races might be hard, and I'd have to keep riding then!

2-07-12
2-09-12
2-14-12
2-17-12

  • Total: 1:25:00, 150 bpm (173 max)
    Total: 1:45:38, 155 bpm (182 max)
    Total: 56:50, 159 bpm (184 max)
    Total: 1:33:00, no HR data
  • Warm up: 14:40, 104 bpm
    Warm up: 13:38, 100 bpm
    Warm up: 13:50, 132 bpm
    No warm up
  • Warm up: 16:00, 150 bpm; 4min rest, 143 bpm
    Warm up: 16:00, 146 bpm; 4min rest, 148 bpm
    Warm up: 16:00, 160 bpm; 4min rest, 154 bpm
    Warm up: 16:00; 4min rest
  • Tempo #1: 20:00, 168 bpm; 3min rest, 156 bpm
    Tempo #1: 20:00, 171 bpm; 3min rest, 163 bpm
    Tempo #1: 20:00, 178 bpm; 3min rest, 168 bpm
    Tempo #1: 20:00; 3min rest
  • Tempo #2: 20:00, 165 bpm; 3min rest, 149 bpm
    Tempo #2: 20:00, 171 bpm; 3min rest, 161 bpm
    Tempo #2: skipped
    Tempo #2: 20:00; 3min rest
  • Tempo #3: 4:20, 162 bpm
    Tempo #3: 20:00, 175 bpm
    Tempo #3: skipped
    Tempo #3: 25:00
  • Cool down: skipped
    Cool down + sprint: 6:00, 143 bpm, 688W
    Cool down: skipped
    Cool down: 4min

That is all I did today; I skipped my lunch workout and went out to eat instead. Tomorrow will be a fuller day.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Psalm 37

This is a long chapter and worth reading. I've included some highlights below.

Psalm 37: A Psalm of David.
Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it only causes harm.

... But those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. ... But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

...

A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.

The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever. they shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord, like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away.

The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives. For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.

...

Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell forevermore. For the Lord loves justice, and does not forsake His saints; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell in it forever.

The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue talks of justice. The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. The wicked watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it. ...

Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; for the future of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the future of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Predators Game

Panera for lunch and a Panera
bakery item for dessert for supper. Yum!

Looking toward downtown Nashville from
the bottom of the Shelby Pedestrian Bridge

For signing up to run the Predators Fangtastic 5K on February 4, I got a ticket to tonight's game versus the Chicago Blackhawks. I'd read earlier that the Preds hadn't lost to the Hawks in regulation all season, so I was anticipating a good game.


Section 113: My home for the evening


The ticket vendors assign seats and give you only the option of sitting next to the people you are redeeming your vouchers with. You don't really get to choose your section or location at all. They assigned me to 113 row R, and I think this is the first time I've been on the lower level with one of these tickets. Will and I had good seats a couple years ago, but they were up in the 200s. Last year I was in a pretty similar location, and the first year (2009) it looks like I was up a lot higher. I did move down a few rows after the first period, but overall I was pretty happy with where I was assigned.


Before the game--not such a full house!


Now that the game is in progress, the arena is much more full


I had a fairly good view of all the ice except along the boards right in front of us, but nothing obstructed my view of all 5 goals. I don't think I've ever actually seen all the goals go in before because I just wasn't paying that much attention. Today I was, so I saw the evidence of the Preds' 3-2 win.

I did not do any more workouts after this morning's attempt at completing the CompuTrainer class. I needed a break and took it, even though that means I've already skipped 2 workouts for the week and it's only Tuesday night. Hopefully the rest of the week goes better.

CompuTrainer Class: Maximizing Aerobic Capacity V Fail

Filled with peanut butter. Mmmmmm!
My mom knows me well :-)

Today's was almost the same as last week's classes, but the result was horrible. I was working super hard, way harder than I felt like I should be. It felt like it was taking all my physical and mental strength just to maintain 90+ RPM. Forget getting to 96+ RPM—that just wasn't happening!


^^This is what the ride looked like, and this is what it felt like vv.

This was super hard. My HR was ridiculously high, and I only made it through an hour!

2-07-12
2-09-12
2-14-12

  • Total: 1:25:00, 150 bpm (173 max)
    Total: 1:45:38, 155 bpm (182 max)
    Total: 56:50, 159 bpm (184 max)
  • Warm up: 14:40, 104 bpm
    Warm up: 13:38, 100 bpm
    Warm up: 13:50, 132 bpm
  • Warm up: 16:00, 150 bpm; 4min rest, 143 bpm
    Warm up: 16:00, 146 bpm; 4min rest, 148 bpm
    Warm up: 16:00, 160 bpm; 4min rest, 154 bpm
  • Tempo #1: 20:00, 168 bpm; 3min rest, 156 bpm
    Tempo #1: 20:00, 171 bpm; 3min rest, 163 bpm
    Tempo #1: 20:00, 178 bpm; 3min rest, 168 bpm
  • Tempo #2: 20:00, 165 bpm; 3min rest, 149 bpm
    Tempo #2: 20:00, 171 bpm; 3min rest, 161 bpm
    Tempo #2: skipped
  • Tempo #3: 4:20, 162 bpm
    Tempo #3: 20:00, 175 bpm
    Tempo #3: skipped
  • Cool down: skipped
    Cool down + sprint: 6:00, 143 bpm, 688W
    Cool down: skipped

I was FIGHTING during the entire tempo effort I completed. I knew I'd be fighting through the next two if I did them, and it's not that I didn't want to fight, it's that I didn't want to continue killing myself. The amount of work I was doing was comparable to the TTT: My HR was almost as high as it was for the first test, but there was going to be no reward. There was no way I could have done two more of those efforts, one 5 minutes longer than the other, so I got off the bike and called it a day.

Best decision I made all morning.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Best Man

Valentine's Day presents from Mom

My favorite section of the Tennessean newspaper is the Life and Travel, and the best entertainment is in the wedding section and the crosswords. I read this gem today:

Their dog was their best man. And they had
a Krispy Kreme donut tower instead of a cake.

I also spent some time on the treadmill. We had up until now experienced a very mild winter. In fact, I'm sure I was on my bike outside more in January 2012 than I was between November 2010 and February 2011. So I can't complain about a few sub-40* days, of which today was one. I ran 7 miles on the treadmill and walked one later outside just to get outside.

Mmmm...chocolate pancakes!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Trainer Time

Presents from my mom!

My mom sent me a Valentines package :-) I opened a few of the presents today and will save the rest for the next few days. I love her!

I spent 2 hours on the trainer this morning. That is a long time on the trainer with no one else around! But I had a plan, a few DVDs, and a purpose:


  • Plan: Tempo pyramid
    • 10-min warmup
    • 5-min tempo; 5-min recovery
    • 10-min tempo; 5-min recovery
    • 15 -min tempo; 5-min recovery
    • 20 -min tempo; 5-min recovery
    • 15 -min tempo; 5-min recovery
    • 10 -min tempo; 5-min recovery
    • 5 -min tempo; 5-min recovery
  • DVDs: Robin & Jason's copy of NCIS--that'll keep the HR up!
  • Purpose: get closer to achieving my goals for the season.


The rest of the workout I did a little later: 5 minutes of work, lunge R/L, glute ham, curl w/8lb dbs. I had no energy or desire to do the rest or anything else really.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Awesome Tweet from Ryan Hall



Ryan Hall is one of my favorite runners. He is fast, determined, and a follower of Jesus--all great qualities in my book! Plus I've met him (for some reason I didn't include that information in that blog, but I turned around while we were watching the athletes come in and say him; I said to my mom, "I think that's Ryan Hall!" She said I should go over and say hi, so I did) and he is a nice person. When I saw this on Runner's World this morning and it made me laugh, I had to share!

From Runner's World

I managed to get in 50 minutes on the step mill and 10×30sec curl w/8lb dbs, glute ham, crunch, and maybe others? Can't remember completely. Then it was off to the Cool Springs Galleria Mall for my cousin Lauren's 13th birthday party. She wanted to do a mall scavenger hunt, so a couple weeks ago Anna S and I met at the mall to plan. We put together the list and the rules, and Lauren invited the girls. We met at the mall, at 23 or so of us, with UJohn, Bennett, Caleigh, Carina, and I as the chaperones, one for each group of girls. Mine were Carlee, Lauren, Emma, and Allison:



They had to find the following items and list either the cheapest price or the most expensive (it was stipulated on their lists):


  • Ornament without Christmas colors
  • Sweet Pea body lotion
  • Anything with leopard print
  • Teal feather earrings
  • Winter coat
  • Medium-sized soda
  • Hi-top shoes
  • Shirt with yellow polka dots
  • L for Lauren luggage tag
  • Umbrella holder
  • Fuzzy socks
  • Belt with a bow
  • Alarm clock
  • Cowboy hat
  • ½ pound chocolate-covered caramel corn
  • Hat/mitten (or glove) set
  • Aviator sunglasses
  • Jeggings
  • Hoodie with butterflies or flowers
  • Find-It
  • iPad cover
  • Cherry-scented candle
  • Digital camera
  • Easter basket
  • Birthday card

My girls found everything on their list except the luggage tag, but they didn't find the best prices of everything and we ended up third after Caleigh and Bennett, who tied for first. Then we headed back to Lauren's house for dinner, present-opening, and Telestrations (telephone pictionary).

Lauren sporting her hat from Bennett
Twenty 12/13/14-year-olds can make a lot of noise!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

CompuTrainer Class: Maximizing Aerobic Capacity IV


It is national bagel day or something. Maybe the birthday celebration of Bruegger's Bagels restaurant. Regardless of the actual occasion, it was an occasion that led to free bagels—3 of them! By the time I took this picture, I had already eaten the honey wheat one; I also got the cinnamon sugar one and the multigrain one. Even this is more flour/bread than I've eaten in the last month, I will enjoy them all soon!

Though I did not feel particularly motivated to and excited about swimming, I did anyways. I made it to the DHY 5 minutes earlier than normal and did not have to contend for or share a lane, so I was happy about that. However, I can really get in only the meat of the workout (none of the warm up/drills/cool down parts), so sometimes it doesn't feel worth it. I try to do what I can with the time allotted, though, and today it was 1,300 yds.

Then it was off to Endeavor Performance for a good hard ride.


^^This is what the ride looked like, and this is what it felt like vv.

This was super hard, way harder than Tuesday. I have no idea why, but I hit 1:13 into Todd's workout and hit a wall. But I determined that I'd ride until my legs just wouldn't go any more, and I never got to that point. Thankfully. But the last 15 or so minutes of the final effort were quite a challenge.

2-07-12
2-09-12

  • Total: 1:25:00, 150 bpm (173 max)
    Total: 1:45:38, 155 bpm (182 max)
  • Warm up: 14:40, 104 bpm
    Warm up: 13:38, 100 bpm
  • Warm up: 16:00, 150 bpm; 4min rest, 143 bpm
    Warm up: 16:00, 146 bpm; 4min rest, 148 bpm
  • Tempo #1: 20:00, 168 bpm; 3min rest, 156 bpm
    Tempo #1: 20:00, 171 bpm; 3min rest, 163 bpm
  • Tempo #2: 20:00, 165 bpm; 3min rest, 149 bpm
    Tempo #2: 20:00, 171 bpm; 3min rest, 161 bpm
  • Tempo #3: 4:20, 162 bpm
    Tempo #3: 20:00, 175 bpm
  • Cool down: no time
    Cool down + sprint: 6:00, 143 bpm, 688W

Awesome message from Dr. Easley tonight at Inversion. I walked away knowing more than I'd known going in and remembering how possible it is to sin but how gracious God is.
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:11–13

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

CompuTrainer Class: Maximizing Aerobic Capacity III

Year 27 blog


This is different enough from last week that it gets a new graphic and a new list:

2-07-12

  • Total: 1:25:00, 150 bpm (173 max)
  • Warm up: 14:40, 104 bpm
  • Warm up: 16:00, 150 bpm; 4min rest, 143 bpm
  • Tempo #1: 20:00, 168 bpm; 3min rest, 156 bpm
  • Tempo #2: 20:00, 165 bpm; 3min rest, 149 bpm
  • Tempo #3: 4:20, 162 bpm

I didn't have time to complete the entire workout and thus stopped during the first quarter of the last tempo effort and missed the sprint. This week was easier than last week, and my average HR shows that (157 bpm Tuesday, 156 bpm Thursday, and 150 bpm today). It still was a good workout, it just wasn't really very hard.

The rest of my workout was a 15 min run and 3x30 sec heavy/weights, but I changed thing up just a bit. I found an unused stationary bike at the CSY and spent 30 minutes there warming up. Then within a minute I was outside for the 15min run (actually 15:30, 2mi, each was about 7:45, which I'm pretty happy about considering it's my first run off the bike in what felt like a year and I had lots of traffic and a light to deal with). And instead of Will's iso workout, I went to the body pump class. I used the same weight as normal (one 5kg plate on each end of the bar), and it about killed me. I didn't realize how tired I was until I started that workout! But, I stuck with it and was glad I did--it always feels good to finish something and to finish it well. Running route:

Monday, February 6, 2012

Happy Mail Day!

Free carrots and free peanut butter—it's scary how well
Kroger knows my shopping habits!

I managed to get in 30 minutes on the step mill at the DHY at lunch and a 10×10sec workout (wall sit, glute ham, lunge L/R, push up, curl, crunch) at the CSY after work. Then it was home to check my mail for Kroger Qs. I got some good ones! Free is always good, and ones for produce are ones that I'll use:

Produce Qs, soda Qs, dried fruit Qs, and
baking supplies Qs

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Team Ride

The rain that had been predicted to fall today never came, and that meant that we were able to get in a good team ride. We met at the BFY and rode southwest, basically into my backyard. I love riding from my house to ride starts and riding on roads that I know, and surprisingly, even after yesterday's 5K race, my legs were feeling good and I was riding well—which means, I got every sprint! It helps that I know where all the sprint signs are and I didn't always have someone racing me, but I pretended someone was on my wheel so that I would work harder.

Usually when I go for sprints I don't have too much left to actually pull during the rest of the ride, but today was different and I'd have done a fair amount of work if Parri and Kat had ever gotten off the front of the pack (there were 9 of us: Parri, Kat, Jeremy, Todd, Valerie, Anna, Catherine, Shelly, and me); those two, Jeremy, and Todd did the lion's share of the work.

Here is the route. I rode for 2:17:50, of which 19 minutes were from my apt to the BFY and about 4 were from the corner of Franklin/Moores back to my apt. It took me approximately 8:20 to climb Lynnwood (mile 39).




Saturday, February 4, 2012

Predators Fangtastic 5K

Bib number and my Garmin

This is one of my absolutely favorite races around town. You pay the same price as you would for any other 5K ($35, which is absolutely ridiculously expensive for a 5K) and get a t-shirt (that's always one I'll wear), a voucher for a ticket to a Predators game of your choosing (from the 3 available dates), bagels and fruit from Whole Foods, and today a $25 discount for AdventureWorks and coupons for Whole Foods and other things. It is worth the money for me for the $30 Preds ticket I get out of it; everything else is a fantastic extra.

They changed the course this year, and I really had no idea what to expect time-wise. I thought it would be slightly harder and thus slower, but for me it definitely was not. Hooray! I ran my fastest time in this race by almost 20 seconds, and that is with absolutely no specific speed training; 2010 is probably the year I was most specifically training because Will was here to train me from November–January, and today's time beat that time. Plus I haven't been under 23 minutes since the middle of 2009, which means it's been almost 3 years And I ran pretty consistent, too. Here are my times from previous years compared to this year:

2-04-12: 22:53
2-12-11: 23:27
2-06-10: 23:12
2-14-09: 23:49

Also, it turns out that when I run pretty consistent mile times, I finish well overall and in my age group. Today I was the 16th female of 732 finishers and though the preliminary results list said I finished 5th in my AG, I got a medal for 3rd of 149 because the first two were overall winners; I'm glad I stuck around! This is my first time placing in my AG in this race, and I got a sweet hockey puck medal.

Sweet medal!

Here is the route:



I ended up running a bit before and a bit after the race to get 6.5 miles. I was supposed to run 45 minutes today, so I wanted to get that in all at one time. I headed up Demonbreun again, against the finishing runners but out of there way, and then ran back down with the 4X:xx finishers. It's a whole different world at the back of a race—lots more conversation and walking!

Here are my race stats and my HR data: 3.17 miles, 22:53 (7:23 pace; 5:42 best), ~180 bpm (196 max), 657' ascent, 982' descent.



Here's the data from the 5 miles that included the race and from the 1.25 miles before that; I didn't record the final 0.25 to get me to 6.5 because I was freezing and didn't want to turn my Garmin back on:

5 miles, 42:41, 8:32 pace, 174 bpm (197 max), 1488' ascent, 1734' descent
Mile 1: 7:11
Mile 2: 7:27
Mile 3: 7:10
Mile 3.17: 1:04 (6:27 pace)
Mile 4.17: 11:50
Mile 5: 6:25 (8:36 pace)
1.25 mile warmup: 15:18, 12:11 pace, 93 bpm, 1569; ascent, 1191' descent

Comparison notes:
2012: 1465 finishers (732 females and 733 males); 3/149 in AG; 16/732 females; 97/1465 overall.
2011: 946 finishers (515 females and 431 males); 4/115 in AG; 16/515 females; 79/946 overall.
2010: 1206 finishers (660 females and 546 males); 3/174 in AG; 14/660 females; 86/1,206 overall.
2009: 1504 finishers (782 females and 722 males); 3/185 in AG, 39/782 females; 161/1,504 overall.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Long Ride with Kat

I knew I had to get in a good long ride today, because it's going to rain the rest of the weekend and it was pretty amazing outside. So, I emailed Kat around 10 about a 12:30 ride. Thankfully she was free, and we met on the road for what turned out to be for me a 3h, 52-mile ride. Hooray! It was just what I needed. She pushed me to work harder and stay out longer than I'd have done by myself, and she was great company. She is someone I could ride with every week and get stronger every time. I like that! Here is the route I did; I met Kat at Manley and Hidden Valley and said goodbye to her at Old Hillsboro and Del Rio.

Here is the route and my HR data:



Here are my stats from the ride: 3:01:13, 51.59 miles, 17.1 mph (39.6 max), 153 bpm (179 max), 3180' ascent, 3192' descent

Although it was fairly warm, I still got a bit cold about 2 hours in (which is an hour later than normal, so I'll take it). I stopped at the MFY to warm up but not work out. Then I headed home. Much to my surprise, my key would not work in my front door. So, I was locked out of my apartment with my key in my hand. My first thought was that for some reason the maintenance people had changed my locks; why they would have done that, I have no idea, but I wouldn't put it past them to do so and not tell me. However, I have a patio door and a storage room door, and my key, the one I will still holding in my hand, worked in both those doors. Sadly, though, the storage room door doesn't lead inside and the patio door wasn't opening (I haven't tried to open it in the years I've lived there, and it was not opening for anything!). So I had to go down to the office and request that they let me in. Thirty minutes of my sitting outside my door reading (and 10-6-3 EDI lunge) later, Hank finally showed up and spend nearly 30 minutes trying to take off the current deadbolt lock so that he could replace it with a new one.

My job was to hold the flashlight and watch

He said mine wasn't the only apartment he had to break into; he was off to let the second person in her apartment, and I felt bad she had to wait for so long!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

CompuTrainer Class: Maximizing Aerobic Capacity II

Encouragement for today:

I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:7–11

Today's workout looked very similar to (though not exactly like because I can't remember everything nor replicate it) this:


Today felt pretty similar to Tuesday, if not slightly easier.

1-31-12
2-02-12

  • Total ride: 1:39:25, 157 bpm (177 max), 216W
    Total ride: 1:37:00, 156 bpm (176 max), 216W
  • Warm up: 9:39, 107 bpm
    Warm up: 7:29, 110 bpm
  • Warm up: 20:00, 156 bpm; 4min rest, 149 bpm
    Warm up: 20:00, 147 bpm; 4min rest, 157 bpm
  • Tempo #1: 16:00, 171 bpm; 3min rest, 165 bpm
    Tempo #1: 16:00, 170 bpm; 3min rest, 154 bpm
  • Tempo #2: 11:00, 172 bpm; 3min rest, 163 bpm
    Tempo #2: 11:00, 169 bpm; 3min rest, 154 bpm
  • Tempo #3: 11:00, 169 bpm; 3min rest, 162 bpm
    Tempo #3: 11:00, 168 bpm; 3min rest, 153 bpm
  • Tempo #4: 11:00, 165 bpm; 4min rest, 143 bpm
    Tempo #4: 11:00, 168 bpm; 4min rest, 146 bpm
  • 110 RPM spin: 1:00, 152 bpm
    110 RPM spin: 1:00, 146 bpm
  • Cooldown and sprint: 2:52, 143 bpm, 657W
    Cooldown and sprint: 2:41, 149 bpm, 676W


First, though, was a swim. I have enough time at lunch to get in a main set but none of the drills or warmup/cooldown, so I do what I can. Today was 3×125@20sec rest, 2×175@30sec rest, and 3×125@20sec rest; I did 100 kick/backstroke at the end to get to 1,200 yards (short course indoor pool at the DHY). During the ride today, I could definitely feel in my arms that I'd been swimming earlier. I can't remember than having happened during other rides.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Bread Pudding

Source

Today was absolutely beautiful. I got outside a couple times to just enjoy the sunshine and warm temps, but I also got some good recovery in too. I did nothing hard today, just a couple walks that amounted to 3 total miles. Then I sweat a little in the steam room at the DHY before heading to my coworker Brian's house for dinner.



Brian and Susan hosted Tanya, Jennifer, and me, and Susan made a tasty meal: baked ziti with veggies and breadsticks, and then donut goodness for dessert (evidently it's called bread pudding). It was definitely tasty and very sweet!.

Source and Recipe