Office Christmas Party

Pretzels, Hershey's Kisses, and M&Ms...perfect finger food!

Tuesday I rode at T's in the morning, worked, swam a quick 500 (better than nothing, I figure), had a GREAT 5-min ext. slow workout later, and then went to Sambuca in The Gulch for our office Christmas dinner. I was surprised that I actually liked the chicken I ordered, because it did not sound good from the menu but was the only thing on our pared-down menu that I thought maybe I had a chance at liking.

Wednesday I slept in and then trained and walked 30 minutes on the step mill. I always choose Random Play for a set amount of time, and I typically select the max level (9). The stronger I get on the bike, the easier this machine gets. I might have to move away from the step mill and to the TRUE elliptical machine soon. Or perhaps choose a different workout.

Thursday morning's workout was 6-6-6 EDI (another good one), Dalmuti at lunch during work, and T's class again for the afternoon. This week's workouts have seemed harder, but I'm also working at 1% higher watts than last week and a gear harder (first 20min on Tuesday and the entire class today). I have tons of room for improvement and am really liking the 1% increase per week thing, both mentally and physically. I'm thinking I might increase till the end of this session (6%) and then go down 5% and continue the 1% increase per week for the next session, repeating for the rest of the off-/pre-season. That is, unless I test way higher, then I'll re-evaluate. In this class, my mind was MUCH stronger than my legs--if my legs had their say, I'd have been off the bike, down a gear, or down 5% within the first 20 minutes. But I knew I could do it and do it well where I was, so I stayed there. Little victory!

Friday morning's workout was rough. Everything was tired. But I did the 3-min isos followed by 100 phasic reps. Then off to work. Then I went on a great 8-mile hike at Percy Warner. It was beautiful out and I wanted to take advantage of it. We are having a treat day at work on Monday, so I made some stuff. The pretzel/M&M treats pictured above were simple. The chocolate peanut butter bars, not so much.

Looks like it's ready to go...

I thought I was ready to move from the first steps (mixing the first 4 ingredients and spreading into the pan) before melting the chocolate, so I did. But then I looked back at the recipe and realized I forgot one of the four ingredients. I'd have made my mama proud with my baking skills :-)

I really thought I was ready...I even poured and spread!

Instead, I removed it from the pan, put it back in the mixing bowl, and added the missing powdered sugar. It turns out the consistency of butter/peanut butter/graham cracker crumbs is just not what is should be without the sugar. Once I added the sugar it was much better, so it went back in the pan before I melted the chocolate/peanut butter and spread that on top. It turned out much better and tastes pretty good.

Saturday morning, Cath and I rode for an hour on the trainer after I went tot he Y for an hour workout. Then Lee, Cath & Madi, Anna, and Shelly, Megan, & Jess went to lunch at Calypso Cafe before shopping at Lululemon. There is some great stuff in that store. I wished I had more discretionary money so I could spend it all on one running top and one pair of tights that would last forever! In the Giraffe class at church that night, Charlotte, Brooks, Susan and I had 17 4-year-olds to play with and tell about the angels telling the shepherds about Jesus being born. They were excited to act it out :-)

First set of barriers
source

Sunday I walked 2 miles before church and then went out to watch Anna do the 4s state CX race and race my P/1/2/3 race with teammates Kat, Shannon, and AJ and other competitors Andrea, Kim, Amy, Stephanie, Laureen, and Kathy. Our race was 45 minutes long, and I got lapped within 2 to go and rode 7.75 miles. My average speed was under 11mph. Crazy slow! But considering that this was a CX race, on grass, leaves, sand, and mud, that's pretty much normal, I guess. It was a super fun race, but not exciting for me to get last place. Lots of room for improvement! Will was there to watch - he's been training me for something like 3 or 4 years and never seen me race my bike, so it was great to have him see what it's all about and pray with me before the race. We went to lunch at Red Robin, and then I went home and, after cleaning, chilled on the couch for the rest of the afternoon.

Shannon's husband took tons of pictures during the race, and I'm hoping to get a few to share.

Publix Veggies

This was a quick shop, but it was a good one. Today and tomorrow are good days to buy veggies at Publix.

Publix

Item (Quantity)	Regular Price  (multiplied)	Sale Price	Coupons	Final Price
Green Giant boxed vegs (10)	1.99 (19.90)	BOGO (9.95)	5 x $0.50/2 MQ (doubled)	$4.95
Green Giant bagged vegs (3)	2.99 (8.97)	BOGO (4.50)	3 x $0.50/1 MQ (doubled)	$1.50
Publix milk	1.49	--	--	$1.49
Totals: 14 items	$30.36	$15.83	$8 in MQs	+$0.89 tax $8.81 total (saved $21.55, or 71%)

I obviously didn't need much, but I got what I needed for a pretty good price. And although frozen veggies aren't nearly as good as fresh ones, I got a lot of variety that I wouldn't get if I bought fresh ones.

Both of today's workouts were good. Lots of altitude drops mixed in with 3-minute isos. Getting stronger and faster!

NC.Com Crits #17, 18: Final Night

Feeling better post-race than during-race!
It was a hard night full of fast racing.

Tonight might be the first time I thought I was going to die in a race. Well, it wasn't that bad, but it was crazy hard and hurt! It was the final NashvilleCyclist.com crit of the 2012 series, and the first was one of the hardest races I can remember.

Men's Cat IV--brutal!

On the positive side (I guess), it didn't hurt for just me. The guys rode fast from the whistle, and I talked to Don (who took the photos) and he said it was a very hard race and hurt for him too. He finished in the top 10 of the overall omnium, so he is strong and not a back-of-the-pack rider. On the negative side, I did not finish the race. See that picture above? The kid in front of me is a kid (maybe 14), and the pack is long gone. Plus my head is down, never a good sign. I think at this moment I wanted to throw up. Instead, I got off, recovered, and got back on for the women's race that was soon to follow.

We started out fast and pretty much kept that pace up. This race was different than last week's in that we had fewer women (17 today) and different women, but it was super fun. Everyone was pretty aggressive, and the pace was high. Eventually, Katie got away and neither Catherine nor I was able to go with her. Then Jes attacked, and Marsha and Catherine went with her. I really wanted too--I did not want both Katie and Jes up the road from me. But I could not get to that little group without taking Leah and Kathy with me, and I did not like those odds (4 SVMIC vs. 2 Belladium).

Instead, I sat back with Valerie, Jess, Leah, and Kathy until we could see Cali (we were lapping her). Then I bridged up and separated me, Leah, and Kathy from Val and Jess. When we were down to 4 laps to go Leah pulled the entire rest of the race; that is, the rest until half a lap to go when I attacked again and stayed away to take 5th place. Catherine's group never caught Katie, but Cath outsprinted the other girls and finished 2nd. Val outsprinted Jess and was 8th; Cali outsprinted Kristi and was 10th; Anna didn't have anyone to outsprint and was 12th. So even though we didn't win the race, we all won from the groups we were in. Success!

Catherine, Leah, and Valerie post-race,
overall Women 4 omnium

We had a post-race celebration that included Whitt's barbecue and cupcakes and involved podium presentations. Catherine was 2nd and Valerie was 3rd overall for the 4s races.

Katie, AJ, and me post-race,
overall Women 1/2/3 omnium

I finished 3rd overall for the 1/2/3 races. If I had beaten Katie tonight, I'd have finished 2nd (only 1 point separated us coming into this race), and AJ pretty much dominated and couldn't be caught, despite missing the final two races.

Crit Stats (since I started racing the men's races first)

7-21-12 Crit 1M stats: 16.85 miles, 38:41, 26.1 mph, 183 bpm (Sat)
7-21-12 Crit 2W stats: 14.24 miles, 37:58, 22.5 mph, 178 bpm (Sat)
7-25-12 Crit 1M stats: 7.94 miles, 20:11, 23.2 mph, 181 bpm (Wed)
7-25-12 Crit 2W stats: 10.72 miles, 28:09, 22.9 mph, 187 bpm (Wed)
7-28-12 Crit 1M stats: 16.18 miles, 39:11, 24.8 mph, 180 bpm (Sat)
7-28-12 Crit 2W stats: 14.21 miles, 39:16, 21.6 mph, 174 bpm (Sat)
8-08-12 Crit 1M stats: 10.34 miles, 24:22, 25.5 mph, 183 bpm (Wed)
8-08-12 Crit 2W stats: 9.73 miles, 24:29, 23.8 mph, 184 bpm (Wed)
8-15-12 Crit 1M stats: 10.42 miles, 24:37, 25.4 mph, 185 bpm (Wed)
8-15-12 Crit 2W stats: 9.70 miles, 25:07, 23.2 mph, 187 bpm (Wed)
8-22-12 Crit 1M stats: don't have any, broken Garmin, lasted 6 laps (Wed)
8-22-12 Crit 2W stats: don't have any, Kathy said we averaged 22.5 mph

Women's Crit Stats

8-22-12 Stats: don't have them; ~22.5 mph, 5th of 17
8-15-12 Stats: 25:07, 9.70 miles, 23.2 mph, 187 bpm, 3rd of 14
8-08-12 Stats: 24:29, 9.73 miles, 23.8 mph, 184 bpm, 3rd of 22
7-28-12 Stats: 39:16, 14.21 miles, 21.6 mph, 174 bpm, 8th of 11
7-25-12 Stats: 28:09, 10.72 miles, 22.9 mph, 187 bpm, 2nd of 11
7-21-12 Stats: 37:58, 14.24 miles, 22.5 mph, 178 bpm, 3rd of 11
7-18-12 Stats: 30:04, 11.29 miles, 22.5 mph, 179 bpm; 5th of 15
6-20-12 Stats: 30:06, 11.21 miles, 22.3 mph, 185 bpm; 6th of 16 (no post)
6-16-12 Stats: 40:18, 15.36 miles, 22.9 mph, 186 bpm; 1st of 14
6-13-12 Stats: 29:40, 11.37 miles, 23.0 mph, 187 bpm; 4th of 23
5-30-12 Stats: don't have them; 3rd of 21
5-23-12 Stats:  31:08, 11.63 miles, 22.4 mph (31.1 max); 3rd of 12

CompuTrainer Class: Muscular Endurance II; Easter with the Fam

Me, Caleb, and Grandpa Bob at the Lehigh Valley Airport

Today was exactly the same workout as Tuesday, except that today I had to skip the final 12-minute block to get ready to catch a plane to PA. Surprisingly, it was significantly easier. That probably has something to do with the fact that yesterday was a rest day for me, and besides going for a walk with Tigger and Madison, I didn't do much. Here is what the workout looked like:

The warmup was at about 50% of 216W. The 12-minute tempo efforts were between 84% and 104%. I didn't need to do the same mental exercise as I had on Tuesday, making each one a different race. I managed to ride through each one just fine.

At the Detroit airport, I did 5 on, 5 off thru 20, rest, 5 on, 5 off thru 20 workout during my layover (a good use of my time, Will said). Then finally I got to see this little guy:

Caleb in the car ready for a road trip

Caleb and me waiting on the (great)grandparents

Detroit airport light show

Playing Telestrations...everyone is so intent!

I ran once (5K) while at my sisters, took a couple walks, and did one 10-10-10 EDI (2 sets) workout.

CompuTrainer Class: Force and Power VI

The day started with a beautiful sunrise and ended with an even more beautiful rainbow: God's promise that He will never again flood the earth like He did in Noah's day.

Today in Todd's class, I changed thing up just a little bit. After a warmup and 10 minutes of tempo, I did one set of the 2-3-5-3-2 hills and then 30 minuets of tempo, adding in the final 4-minute high-cadence effort and the sprint (to 641) at the end.

2-28-12. 3-01-12. 3-13-12. 3-15-12.

• Total ride: 1:40:00, 156 bpm (185 max)
  Total ride: 1:42:00
  Total ride: 1:49:00, 163 bpm (187 max)
  Total ride: 1:37:00, 158 bpm (188 max)
• Warm up on trainer: 9:00, 122 bpm
  Warm up on trainer: 10:00
  Warm up on trainer: 17:34, 125 bpm
  Warm up on trainer: 5:45, 78 bpm
• 10-min warm up + 10-min tempo + 4-min rest: 161 bpm; 157 bpm
  10-min warm up + 10-min tempo + 4-min rest
  10-min warm up + 10-min tempo + 4-min rest: 159 bpm; 175 bpm; 167 bpm
  10-min warm up + 10-min tempo + 4-min rest: 153 bpm, 172 bpm, 161 bpm
• 2-min hill + 2-min rest; 167 bpm; 167 bpm
  2-min hill + 2-min rest
  2-min hill + 2-min rest; 175 bpm, 173 bpm
  2-min hill + 2-min rest; 174 bpm, 170 bpm
• 3-min hill + 3-min rest; 170 bpm; 164 bpm
  3-min hill + 3-min rest
  3-min hill + 3-min rest; 175 bpm, 170 bpm
  3-min hill + 3-min rest; 174 bpm, 164 bpm
• 5-min hill + 4-min rest; 170 bpm; 158 bpm
  5-min hill + 4-min rest
  5-min hill + 4-min rest; 178 bpm, 168 bpm
  5-min hill + 4-min rest; 175 bpm, 161 bpm
• 3-min hill + 3-min rest: 168 bpm; 165 bpm
  3-min hill + 3-min rest
  3-min hill + 3-min rest; 176 bpm, 169 bpm
  3-min hill + 3-min rest; 173 bpm, 165 bpm
• 2-min hill + 5-min rest: 166 bpm; 157 bpm
  2-min hill + 5-min rest
  2-min hill + 5-min rest; 172 bpm, 166 bpm
  2-min hill; 170 bpm
• 2-min hill + 2-min rest: 163 bpm; 167 bpm
  2-min hill + 2-min rest
  2-min hill + 2-min rest; 172 bpm, 173 bpm
  3-15: 33 minutes tempo: 161 bpm
• 3-min hill + 3-min rest: 168 bpm; 160 bpm
  3-min hill + 3-min rest
  3-min hill + 3-min rest; 176 bpm, 168 bpm
• 5-min hill + 4-min rest: 169 bpm; 158 bpm
  5-min hill + 4-min rest
  5-min hill + 4-min rest; 178 bpm, 169 bpm
• 3-min hill + 3-min rest: 163 bpm; 147 bpm
  3-min hill + 3-min rest
  3-min hill + 3-min rest; 176 bpm, 169 bpm
• 2-min hill + 1-min rest: 163 bpm; 173 bpm
  2-min hill + 1-min rest
  2-min hill + 1-min rest; 173 bpm, 182 bpm
• 4-min tempo at 105 RPM; 147 bpm
  4-min tempo at 105 RPM
  4-min tempo at 105 RPM; 178 bpm
  4-min tempo at 105 RPM; 170 bpm
• 3-min cooldown + sprint: 117 bpm, 671W
  4-min cooldown + sprint: 666 watts
  4-min cooldown + sprint: 166 bpm, 651 watts
  3:15 cooldown + sprint: 156 bpm, 641W

First Races: Training Crits

There was the threat of some pretty severe storms on Friday, and although we didn’t get anything too bad in Williamson County, other TN counties weren’t so fortunate and saw some very strong winds and massive hail. They were predicting the storms for sometime Friday afternoon, and I was supposed to go for an hour on the step mill and I’d been hoping to ride outside. In fact, I really wanted to ride outside—it was 80° outside and I wanted to enjoy it! However, I didn’t want to be caught in hail or a tornado, so I opted for a fast 30-minute walk outside and 30 hard minutes on the step mill. Then I did 10-6-3 EDI and felt great. And, instead of riding outside, I sat on my back porch watching the skies and listening for the tornado sirens. They went off only once, and that was thankfully pretty much the worst of what I saw.

Weather is a strange thing—there is no way we can know what exactly is going to happen, and we definitely can’t control it. I am glad God is in complete control, but that doesn’t help me understand how it is how it is outside. Friday was up to 80°, and when I woke up on Saturday morning, it was 35°! Brrrrrr. Therefore, this morning’s ride was on the trainer. It was a great ride, but not as much challenge as I would have faced had I done the GSD ride this morning. Then again, I would’ve frozen out there, so I was glad I was inside. I got a bunch of stuff done after my early ride and then went to pick up Lauren for lunch at Pei Wei and a short hike at Radnor Lake. The day did warm up some, so it was pleasant at the park and I’d have stayed out longer. Lauren, on the other hand, was all worried about a quiz she’d started earlier and thought was going to time out before we got back. So we opted for the Lake Trail and made it back with 16 minutes to spare.

Then she wanted to do some extra credit for her science class. I don’t remember thinking school on the weekends as much as she does. But I decided to help her with her project even though I’m many years removed from 7th grade. She had to fiddle for worms. Basically, we cut down a honeysuckle tree in their backyard and she sawed down on the little stump we’d left; she wanted to create vibrations in the ground similar to those moles would’ve caused. Then, because of the vibrations and the threat of a predator, worms were supposed to surface. Much to my surprise and Lauren’s pleasure, a few worms did come up! We saw two at the first stump and eight at the second stump. Lauren then took those worms and fed them to her chickens. What a treat.

We also went to see The Lorax (sound alert!) later that night. Lauren wanted to see it (a rarity for her, as she generally doesn’t enjoy watching movies) and invited a friend to join her, Aunt Renee, and me. The movie, based on a Dr. Seuss book, was very well-animated—lots of bright colors and creativity. The story was OK but definitely didn’t remind me of any Dr. Seuss book I’d read. Maybe my grandparents didn’t have that in their collection, and I’m pretty sure we didn’t have many at our house. All the kids in the theater (and it was full) seemed to enjoy it, so maybe you have to be 14 or under to really appreciate Dr. Seuss.

Sunday morning started with church and a trip to Kroger (a good trip, too, because I had quite a few free-product Qs and found Hershey’s Kisses on sale (and had Qs to match). That chocolate will make some of my coworkers very happy. I then headed to downtown Nashville for some bike races! The season’s races officially began today with a 40-minute women’s crit at 12:45 and a 40-minute men’s IV race at 2:25. I have raced two crits in one day before, and I’m sure it was as exhausting as today, but I’d definitely forgotten the feeling. The second race was much harder than the first given the fact that my legs were pretty tired from the first race.

Catherine in the Men's V race

Fourteen of us lined up for the women’s race; Team Belladium had 7 riders, Treehouse Racing had 5, SVMIC had 1, and unattached had 1. We definitely had the advantage in this race, and we used it. Even though it was a long race, we started attacking pretty early. Eventually we ended up with 4 of us away (Parri, Lee, Anna, and me. We worked very well together, stayed away, and lapped nearly all of the other 10 riders. Although we tried to organize for a leadout train and solid team finish, it somehow fell apart and I ended up winning with the other 3 far enough behind me that I wasn’t really sprinting against them. Overall, I’m thrilled with the win and happy that I ended up in that break; Anna and Parri had been off the front, and Lee and I had to work pretty hard to bridge the gap to them without bringing anyone else with us. Then, once we were with them, we had to work to stay with them and stay together, and I never let down. Hooray for pressing on!

Valerie and Shelly in the Men's V race

Stats: 6-minute warm up (for real; the rest of the time I was sitting in my car trying to keep from freezing in the 50°, cloudy, windy weather). 38:43 race; 13.26 miles; 20.5 mph (29.4 max), 175 bpm (192 max). It looks like we rode 22 laps, and the break happened between laps 4 and 5. My HR was very consistent between laps 5 and 21, so I was working pretty hard and we never really let off the gas. Here’s the data:

53:06, 16.3, 18.4 mph totals for this race.

The second race was the men’s cat IV race and Anna, Parri, and I joined for the experience. My goal was to stay with the group for as long as I could and ride smart while I was with them. I definitely rode smart—I knew where I had to be to stay out of the wind, and I knew I couldn’t be at the front or the back of the group. I lasted with them for 7 minutes, and then I just couldn’t hang on any more. It all went downhill from there and I ended up getting lapped 3 times. It’s pretty amazing the difference between being protected from the wind and being in the wind by yourself. Overall, I’m really glad I did this race. I thought I finished dead last, but it turns out I am listed as 17/21 in the final results. During this race, I rode smart while I was in the group and did my best. Plus I got to ride with more than I normally do in women’s races.

Stats: 10-minute warm up. 40:38 race; 13.33 miles, 19.7 mph (29.3 max), 171 bpm (185 max). It looks like we did 22 laps in this race as well. However, my HR and speed are not nearly as consistent from this race. I stayed with the group for 4 or 5 laps, and we took the corners significantly faster than we had with the women. I got back with the group after they lapped me the first time and stayed with them for 3 more laps (9–11). After that, I really could not hang on to anyone when they caught me (until the finish, that is). Here’s the data:

54:23, 16.46, 18.2 mph totals for this race.

Now it’s pretty much time for a nap. Or maybe sleep.

Also, totally random fact but my Garmin decided to sync so I have this data, two times around the park at Percy Warner (on the bike) is almost 4200 feet of climbing and approximately 22 miles.

CompuTrainer Class: Force and Power II

Today's workout was exactly the same as Tuesday's (that's what happens when you go to the same class twice per week), but it felt slightly different. I felt stronger, but I also felt slower. At the last 10 seconds of each 3-minute interval, we had to spin up from 70 RPM (which we were holding for all the intervals) to 120 RPM as fast as possible. My power output for those spin-ups was higher today than Tuesday, but it felt like it took me the entire 10 seconds to spin up, whereas on Tuesday it only took me a second or two.

Parri isn't in this class either, so I didn't have the immediate motivation she provided on Tuesday. Instead, I had to imagine her pulling me up a hill, and I basically just concentrated on staying on her wheel for every interval.

After 10 minutes of tempo, we did 2-3-5-3-2 — 2-3-5-3-2 minutes of low-cadence (70 RPM), strong-effort intervals. Basically, we had to get up and over a hill.

This was crazy hard!

I have no heart rate date from today because either the transmitter wasn't transmitting or the receiver wasn't receiving correctly; through the first 20 minutes, according to my Garmin, my HR never got above 84. Definitely not correct!

2-28-12. 3-01-12.

• Total ride: 1:40:00, 156 bpm (185 max)
  Total ride: 1:42:00
• Warm up on trainer: 9:00, 122 bpm
  Warm up on trainer: 10:00
• 10-min warm up + 10-min tempo + 4-min rest: 161 bpm; 157 bpm
  10-min warm up + 10-min tempo + 4-min rest
• 2-min hill + 2-min rest: 167 bpm; 167 bpm
  2-min hill + 2-min rest
• 3-min hill + 3-min rest: 170 bpm; 164 bpm
  3-min hill + 3-min rest
• 5-min hill + 4-min rest: 170 bpm; 158 bpm
  5-min hill + 4-min rest
• 3-min hill + 3-min rest: 168 bpm; 165 bpm
  3-min hill + 3-min rest
• 2-min hill + 5-min rest: 166 bpm; 157 bpm
  2-min hill + 2-min rest
• 2-min hill + 2-min rest: 163 bpm; 167 bpm
  2-min hill + 2-min rest
• 3-min hill + 3-min rest: 168 bpm; 160 bpm
  3-min hill + 3-min rest
• 5-min hill + 4-min rest: 169 bpm; 158 bpm
  5-min hill + 4-min rest
• 3-min hill + 3-min rest: 163 bpm; 147 bpm
  3-min hill + 3-min rest
• 2-min hill + 1-min rest: 163 bpm; 173 bpm
  2-min hill + 1-min rest
• 4-min tempo at 105 RPM: 147 bpm
  4-min tempo at 105 RPM
• 3-min cooldown + sprint: 117 bpm, 671W
  4-min cooldown + sprint: 666 watts

I managed to accomplish 10-10-10 EDI lunge, push up, and pull up, and I also swam 500 during lunch. It was the worst swim all year, I think, and I felt like a brick in the pool. It was better with a pull buoy, but it was still rough and short. I couldn't take the sinking any longer than 500, which is a pretty short swim.

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

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!

CompuTrainer Class: Aerobic Capacity VIII

Pretty amazing sunrise this morning

Such a great way to start the day!

Lunchtime workout: 10-6-3 EDI Lunge L/R, squat w/15lb, standing ham (even though I was at the DHY I couldn't do glute ham because they don't have good equipment for it), curl w/15lb, push up, crunch. The hardest part was starting the workout. Once I was at the Y I was committed, and it actually went better than I'd expected. None of this actually required being at the Y, but I had to go to shower to get the dry shampoo I'd put in my hair out. It works really well and I like it, but it has what for me is a ridiculously strong and not altogether pleasant smell.

1-10-12
1-12-12
1-17-12
1-19-12 (HR data to come)

• Total ride time: 1:40:50, 164 HR (184 max)
  Total ride time: 1:40 or so. No HR data because my Garmin's batteries were dead. I have to get this figured out!
  Total ride time: 1:30:00, 159 HR (181 max)
  Total ride time: 1:40:00, HR (max)
• Warm up: 12:30, 131 HR
  Warm up: Maybe 10min
  Warm up: 17:25, 127 HR
  Warm up: 10:25,  HR
• Real warm up: 17:00, 166 HR; 2min rest, 171 HR
  Real warm up: 17:00; 2min rest
  Real warm up: 17:00, 163 HR, 2min rest, 169 HR
  Real warm up: 17:00,  HR, 2min rest, HR
• 1-leg drills: 4:00, 173 HR; 3min rest, 174 HR
  1-leg drills: 4:00; 3min rest
  1-leg drills: 4:00, 171 HR; 3min rest, 165 HR
  1-leg drills: 4:00,  HR; 3min rest, HR
• Tempo effort: 19:00, 173 HR (included 2 sets of 1-leg drills); 4min rest, 162 HR
  Tempo effort: 19:00 (included 2 sets of 1-leg drills); 4min rest
  Tempo effort: 19:00, 173 HR (included 2 sets of 1-leg drills); 4min rest, 163 HR
  Tempo effort: 19:00,  HR (included 2 sets of 1-leg drills); 4min rest, HR
• Spin-up to 105–110: 3:00, 172 HR; 1min rest, 171 HR
  Spin-up to 105–110: 3:00; 1min rest
  Spin-up to 105–110: 3:00, 168 HR; 1min rest, 163 HR
  Spin-up to 105–110: 3:00,  HR; 1min rest,  HR
• Spin-up to 110–115: 3:00, 173 HR; 1min rest, 173 HR
  Spin-up to 110–115: 3:00; 1min rest
  Spin-up to 110: 3:00, 170 HR; 1min rest, 171 HR
  Spin-up to 110–115: 3:00,  HR; 1min rest,  HR
• Spin-up to 115–130: 3:00, 176 HR; 3min rest, 169 HR
  Spin-up to 115–130: 3:00; 3min rest
  Spin-up to 105–110: 3:00, 169 HR; 3min rest, 162 HR
  Spin-up to 115–125: 3:00,  HR; 3min rest,  HR
• Tempo effort: 20:00, 171 HR
  Tempo effort: 20:00
  Tempo effort + Cool down: 9:35, 164 HR
  Tempo effort: 20:00,  HR
• Cool down + Sprint to 646 W: 5:20, 160 HR
  Cool down + Sprint to 673 W: 5min or so
  n/a
  Cool down + Sprint to  656 W: 5:20,  HR

40-Minute Bathroom Break

Today I spent 40 minutes in the bathroom during my lunch break. Training. We don't have good workout facilities here at the office, and in fact we don't even have showers (though I have ridden in to work a time or two and done the whole wash-my-hair-in-the-sink thing. Today I had a workout to do and didn't want to be in the open or in the service-elevator room (it's hot in there!), so I chilled in the bathroom. No one came in during the entire 40 minutes, which actually surprised me since I was there over the top of the hour at lunchtime. At least I had good reason to spend so much time there, until some inexplicable transition times, like these from Ironman Wisconsin (from 2007, a year I competed):

• T1: 39:38; this guy still finished under 15 hours!
• T1: 24:36; he finished under 15 too
• T2: 44:55; he went over 15h
• T2: 44:00; he DNF-ed
• T2: 43:00; he went under 14h!
• Here are my Transition times, and I went under 13h:
• T1: 7:39
• T2: 5:05

I don't know how one can spend so much time in transition unless you forget that the clock is still running and decide to take a nap. I certainly didn't take a nap today during my workout. 10-10-10 EDI: wall push up, curl, front delt with rebound reps, wall squat, standing ham, and lunge R/L.

After a quick visit to the chiro, I headed to the CSY for a little run. The first 3 miles were at 6.8-7.1mph, then I took a quick recovery, then I ran 3 half-miles around 20-30seconds per mile faster than the first 3 miles with recovery break between each. I ended up with just over 5 miles in 50 minutes, including a cooldown. Running at 7.3 felt perfect--just challenging enough to be a challenge but just comfortable enough to make me feel like I could hold it for a while. Almost like that could be my perfect pace right now (not that I ever want to stay there!). Average HR was 164, max HR was 187. Each of the first 3 miles was faster than the previous, and each of the 3 half-miles was faster than the previous. I'm pretty happy with this run!

Cyclocross

Enjoying the sunshine!

I got to sleep in this morning and it was wonderful! Then, after a bit of time at work, I stopped at Radnor Lake for a little hike. I’d love to be able to go to Percy Warner, but it’s so far away that Radnor is second best and is still beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed the outdoors! I got a lot done the rest of the day and am closer to getting all my Christmas presents for others!

 I took the ridge trail

Turtles...there were a few deer out, too

Saturday started a little early with a workout: 10-6-3 EDI at CSY (lunge with RL, GHR to top, squat with stick, curl w/ 12lb, bench w/ 45lb, front delt w/ 10lb). Then I went to a farm in the Murfreesboro area to watch some cyclocross racing. Lee and Cali raced early, and then Kat raced a little later. After they’d finished, Kat, Shelly, Marsha, Parri, Val, Jonell, and I had a great ride to celebrate Shelly’s and Jonell’s birthdays. It was another beautiful day, and the ride was fabulous!

 Cali

Kat

Stats: 23.57 miles, 1:20:51, 17.5 avg (33.3 max), 107 HR (169 max), 848’ ascent, 863’ descent.

This was a great week to grocery shop, so I spent a lot more than normal but I also saved a bunch and got lots of real food. I don’t have pictures of the food, but here’s the list of food and savings:

• Product (#): OOP (full price; saved $; Qs)
• Transaction 1:
• Publix frozen turkey (1): $7.73 (19.52; saved 11.79e)
• Green Giant frozen veggies (6): $4.77 (11.94; saved 7.17; BOGO, 2 × $0.60/3 Qs)
• Smuckers peanut butter (2): $5.98
• Betty Crocker cake mix (2): $0.94 (3.38; saved 2.44; BOGO, $0.75/2 Q)
• Nestle baking chips (7): $7.01 (20.51; saved 13.50; BOGO, 2 × $0.50/2 Qs doubled, $1.25/3 Q)
• Spinach (2): $4.00 (5.38; saved 1.38; BOGO)
• Broccoli: $2.50 (2.69; saved 0.19)
• Cucumbers (2): $1.49
• Green peppers: $3.99
• Transaction 2:
• Reddi Whip (2): $3.00 (5.38; saved 2.38; 2 × $0.25/1 Qs doubled)
• Sundown vitamins (4): $1.96 (11.96; $6/2 PQs, 4 × $1/1 Qs)
• Publix chocolate milk: $1.09
• Almond Breeze milk: $3.49
• Breyers ice cream (2): $4.49 (11.98; saved 7.49; $1.50/2 Qs)
• Sargento cheese (4): $6.38 (15.96; saved 9.58; BOGO, 2 × $0.40/2 Qs doubled)
• Bird’s Eye frozen veggies (2): $0.89 (3.98; saved 3.09; BOGO 2 × $0.55/1 Qs)
• Carrots: $0.85 (1.69; saved 0.84; BOGO)
• Celery (2): $1.69 (3.38; saved 1.69; BOGO)
• Publix butter (2): $4.00 (6.78; saved 2.78)
• Publix eggs (2): free (3.98; saved 3.98; 2 × free WYB 2 Sargento cheese PQ)
• Coke 12pk (4): $9.00 (16.00; saved 7.00; 2 × $1.50/2 Diet Coke PQ, B3G1 promo)
• Publix Q $3/30 × 2
• Transaction 1: $35.41
• Tax transaction 1: $3.21
• Saved from transaction 1: $39.40
• Transaction 2: $33.84
• Tax transaction 2: $4.42
• Saved from transaction 2: $51.79
• Total spent: $36.62 + $38.26 = $74.88
• Total saved: $39.40 + $51.79 = $91.19
• If bought at full price: $166.07
• Percentage saved: 55%

Long Run

My Sunday morning activity

I cannot believe that it is October already. Even without any races, September flew by with as much speed as the previous months. October started well, with a long run. I’ve been running around 3 or 4 miles at a time 2 to 4 times per week. After a great couple workouts and being at the half marathon for inspiration, I decided to run long on Saturday morning—11 miles, or basically triple what I’d been running. I did this on a treadmill at the MFY so that I could keep a fairly steady pace. It wasn’t fast by my normal half marathon time, but the second half was slightly faster than the first, so I did keep increasing the pace. If I could have kept up that pace, though, I would’ve PR-ed a marathon. I can’t remember much else of what I did, but I do know I rested a bit afterward!

Sunday morning, I met Anna S for a loosen-up/shake-out swim; she’d done body pump after a long hiatus, and I was feeling the long run. It felt great, and I always love seeing her. We also played (and won) a couple softball games today. I don’t know why, but it still takes me a couple at-bats to adjust to the slow-pitch pitches. Today was no different, but I did have a couple decent hits throughout the afternoon.

Friday was a quick swim that felt great and 6-6-6 EDI, of which I did only one set.

100%

Today’s workout was a great one. I haven’t been the best at working at 100% because I know how much it takes out of me, but I also haven’t seen the physical benefits that I’d see if I’d be working at 100%. So today I decided to work harder than I had been, and it was a good decision. Today’s workout was 10-6-3 EDI, two sets: lunge with RL, squat with stick, GHR to arm’s length, curl (18), bench (45), plate front delt (10), and crunch. I had help on the manual hold for the curl, and I know I work harder when someone is expecting me to. Brett from Inversion was there, so he made me work hard and then we had a short conversation about life and push ups.

Monday’s workout was 10-10-10 EDI (only because I didn’t get to it last week; lunge, wall squat, GHR, curl (18), wall push up, crunch). Tuesday I took a ride (18.62 miles, 1:08, 16.4 mph (45.1 max), 149 HR (177 max), 1425’ ascent, 1314’ descent; 8:10 up Lynnwood Way, 8.8 mph, 146 HR). I need to make this part of my Wednesday hilly ride when I start that back up again. Sadly it didn’t work out today, but I’m anticipating climbing Lynnwood every week and hopefully getting better and better and climbing (which hopefully will also make me a better all-around cyclist).

Training my weaknesses,
Kailin

EDIs

No ride today. Instead, I took a nice, long walk and did 10-6-3 EDIs. Lunge, standing ham, squat, curl (15lb dumbbells), bench (20lb dbs), front delt (towel), and crunch. It felt great to do something different than ride but still be outside.

Weekend Recap

I can't seem to make the time to write daily during the weekend, so the days get lumped into one post. Saturday was the Music City Marathon (which I watched), a ride with Valerie, 6-6-6 EDI (lunge, glute ham, squat, bench [20-lb dumbbells], curl [rebound reps], and plate front delt [10-lb dumbbell]), and church. Sunday was a team recon ride of the state TT course and the start of my May challenge (memorizing as much of Romans as I can in the next 30 days).

 Start of the half and full marathon (picture from The Tennessean)

Half and full marathon runners downtown (picture from The Tennessean)

• Saturday with Valerie: 2:12:22, 37.55 miles, 17.0 avg (33.4 max), 150 HR (188 max)

After watching the half marathon and the marathon's winner, I met Valerie at MFY for a good ride. Thankfully we rode into the wind first and got to relax just slightly on the way back in.

Route from Saturday's ride

• Sunday with Team B: 1:14:00, 24.47 miles, 19.8 avg (35.1 max), 165 HR (189 max)

We rode what is going to be the state TT course, not at 100% but not at an easy pace, either. It will be fun to race this route, though. It's pretty open, so you can see how far ahead of you the next person is and try to catch them. Also, the road has a very wide shoulder and only a short section of rumble strips. Should be fun!

Route of anticipated state TT course

CompuTrainer Class: Tempo/Aerobic Training III

We missed last Thursday due to the snow (which actually turned out good for my since Blue Lightning was in the shop), but since I rode on the trainer Friday and we rode outside Sunday, I managed to get a few good rides in last week. So I was ready for today's tougher course. I rode at 211 for the first 2 buildings; then I rode at 215 for the third and the 5 minutes of the fourth that I did and felt great!

Tuesday (2-01), Thursday (2-03), Tuesday (2-08), Tuesday (2-15)

• Total time: 1:30:00, average HR: 156 (max 177)
  Total time: 1:22:30, average HR: 154 (max 175)
  Total time: 1:28:00, average HR: 162 (max 185)
  Total time: 1:30:00, average HR:  155 (max 185)
• 7:30 warmup to warm up the trainer, 108 HR
  11:45 warmup to warm up the trainer, 113 HR
  14:30 warmup to warm up the trainer, 117 HR
  11:00 warmup to warm up the trainer, 113 HR
• 10-minute warmup (long start plus the first uphill), 141 HR
  10-minute warmup (long start plus the first uphill), 147 HR
  13-minute warmup (to the chimney), 158 HR
  10-minute warmup (long start plus the first uphill), 137 HR
• 3 min to the chimney, 147 HR
  3 min to the chimney, 154 HR
  
• 7 min across the chimney through the downhill, 158 HR; 3 min active recovery, 148 HR
  7 min across the chimney through the downhill, 159 HR; 3 min active recovery, 151 HR
  7 min across the chimney through the downhill, 172 HR; 2 min active recovery, 168 HR
  10 min to the chimney through the downhill, 148 HR; 2 min active recovery, 146 HR
• 4 min of 1-legged drills (not pictured), 156 HR; 2 min active recovery, 157 HR
  4 min of 1-legged drills (not pictured), 156 HR; 2 min active recovery, 156 HR
  4 min of 1-legged drills, 166 HR; 3 min active recovery, 163 HR
  
• 11 min across the first M, 165 HR; 3 min active recovery, 153 HR
  11 min across the first M, 167 HR; 3 min active recovery, 156 HR
  12 min across the first M, 176 HR; 3 min active recovery, 168 HR
  13 min across the first M, 165 HR; 2 min active recovery, 162 HR
• 11 min across the first box, 167 HR; 3 min active recovery, 163 HR
  11 min across the first box, 170 HR; 3 min active recovery, 162 HR
  13 min across the first box, 179 HR; 3 min active recovery, 169 HR
  16 min across the first box, 171 HR; 2 min active recovery, 165 HR
• 11 min across the second M, 170 HR; 3 min active recovery, 164 HR
  11 min across the second M, 170 HR; 2:45 min active recovery, 157 HR
  12 min across the second  M, 178 HR; 1:30 active recovery, 175 HR
  15 min across the second M (moved up to 215 watts), 171 HR; 2 min active recovery, 163 HR
• 11 min across the second box, 173 HR; 30 seconds cooldown, 173 HR
  5 min of the second box, 166 HR; 2 min active recovery, 165 HR

In the afternoon, I did the perfect workout: 10-6-3 EDI. It was hard, but it made me work hard and do everything fast.

• Lunge (I didn't do RL like I was supposed to)
• Squat with stick
• GHR with reps to arm's length
• Curl with 30lb bar
• Bench with 45lb bar
• Plate front delt with 10lb plate
• Crate crunch

New Year--2011!

I have definitely not been good about keeping up with the blog lately. So, I'll just recap the long weekend and hopefully get back on track soon.

We don't get much snow here (though I heard there was a white Christmas), so I usually come up with my own. This year is no different, so here's my living room window:

New Year's Eve was spent with Josh and Anna, and we played games and really enjoyed just relaxing. Then New Year's Day was spent with Aunt Renee and Lauren and the rest of the fam. We de-Christmas-decorated the house, made and ate some good food, watched the Badgers lose the Rose Bowl game, and watched Despicable Me (Lauren's favorite movie).

As far as training, Thursday was Todd's class in the morning and lifting with Valerie in the afternoon (I increased the weight to 40lb per side for the squat and think that I'll stop adding when I get to 45lb per side). Friday was beautiful outside, so Lynn, Kevin, Shawn, Jonell, Anna, and I rode a short 2 hours outside. We got in 30 miles and averaged about 18, which is pretty good considering the wind we had to deal with. Thank you, Shawn and Kevin, for doing most of the pulling!

Saturday I did 6-6-6 EDI, manual holds with Kyle from the Y, then ran a couple miles outside. It was chilly, but it felt great to get outside for even a short run. Sunday I should've ridden outside but did not want to freeze, so I headed back to the Y for some time on the step mill and a 3×30, heavy, workout.

EDIs

I headed to DHY at lunch today to do a quick workout: 1 set of 10-6-3 EDI. I was supposed to have done 2 sets, but I wanted to get through all exercises. Will says to cut out exercises if you don't have time for everything, but I didn't today. I wanted to work hard at all of them and do them all well since I don't have to lift this afternoon, so 1 hard set was it.

• Lunge with RL
• Squat with stick
• GHR to arm's length
• Curl with 30-lb bar
• Bench with 45-lb bar
• Plate front delt with 10-lb plate
• Crate crunch

EDI Exercises

Today we went to church and lunch, stayed at the house and played games during the afternoon, then did a little workout before dinner. Mom and Dad both joined in the 10-6-3 EDI fun, 2 sets:

• Lunge with RL (I did reg reps on the second set)
• Squat with stick (no stick so I did wall squat)
• GHR with reps to arm's length (I did standing ham)
• Curl with reg reps, 8lb
• Bench with light bar, 8lk dumbbells
• Plate front delt, 5lb dumbbell
• Crate crunch

My list didn't say 2 or 3 sets, so I went easy on Mom and Dad and did 2 sets. Tomorrow is 6-6-6 EDI, so I'll probably be happy I went with only 2 today. Back home tomorrow, back to the real world of working, eating at normal times, drinking enough water, and training. I'm looking forward to it.