Month in Review

It has been awhile since I have posted any workouts.   Summertime is in full swing, which seems to leave me with less time.   Has also made for some steamy outdoor workouts.   We have already had more days over 90 degrees this month than we did last summer!   Yikes!    

Well here it is, a month in review:

Week of June 6, 2010:
Monday:  30 minute run
Tuesday:  2100 swim, 40 minutes strength at gym (lat pulls, rows, bicep curls, triceps, back extensions, planks, ball exercises)
Wed:  run (1 mile warm up, yasso's 4x800 - 4:15, 4:17, 4:13, 4:25  then 1 mile cool down)
Thursday:  hour bike
Friday:  rest
Saturday:  3 mile run, 200 swim at Antrim
Sunday:   Wendy's Sprint Tri aka YMCA Corporate Challenge:   1:48ish (18:01 swim, 55:25 bike, 29:30ish run)

Week of June 13th: 
Monday:  35 minute recovery run
Tuesday:  1 hour strength train (leg lifts, squats, lunges, 1 arm rows, planks, crunches, yoga sun salutations x 6)
Wed:  1 hour bike, 20 minute run
Thursday:  swim 2400, 3 mile hill run
Friday:  rest
Saturday:  7 mile run, 3 hours helping at the Mohican 100
Sunday:  60 mile bike

Week of June 20: 
Monday:  30 minute run (92 degree weather)
Tuesday:  1 hour strength/flexibility (squats, lunges, bicep curls, one arm rows, crunches, leg lifts, planks, 7 sun salutations)
Wed:  run 30 minutes, Book Club meeting with wonderful Indian meal
Thursday:  2300 swim, 1 hour bike
Friday:  rest
Saturday:  reverse tri:  8 mile run, 16.33 mile bike (13.5 mph avg), 1000 yd swim at Alum (unsure of timing).
Sunday:  61 mile bike 

Week of June 27:
Monday:  42 minute run - slow recovery
Tuesday:  2600 swim:   350 warm up, M1 (5x150 on 3min +100) ; 4x75 kicks on 1:30, 4x75 pulls on 1:30;  M2 (F50 on 50 sec, R50 on 1:20 x 4), drill (4x50 "no splash"), 200 cool down.      50 minute strength (lat pulls, rows, bicep curls, tricep dips, ball bridges, ball hamstring curls, back extensions, leg lifts, ball crunches, planks).

Mohican 100

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go up and help volunteer at an aide station that was organized by an MIT friend, Julie Bowen-Miller.

The Mohican Trail 100  is an ultrarunning trail run and participants can choose to either run 50 or 100 miles.   In the words of my good friend Jeanne, "I have finally found an endurance event that I have no interest in trying."    These runners are all bad asses in my book.   Especially for this run.   It is mostly hills and on this day the temps were in the high 80's/low 90's and it was humid.    The elusive Micah True  aka "Caballo Blanco" of  Born to Run even made an appearance for this race and was a guest speaker at the pre-race ceremonies.   My friend Mikaila and her boyfriend, Kyle, got to meet him and are now FB friends!

Kyle was able to snap a picture of him, but he was gone by the time we got there. . .

So, I have the utmost respect for all of the runners that finished this event.   I am proud to say that my MIT friends,  Mikalia and Mike both finished and I was honored to be there to help cheer them on and to volunteer for a few hours.

Jeanne, Jen, Pat, Rohit, and I headed up to Mohican after our MIT run in the morning and lunch.   It took us about an hour or so to get there.   Once there, we set out to help Julie with all of the runners as they came through.   We grabbed bags for them, refilled water, help bandage up feet, gave massages, basically just tried to help the runners anyway we could. 

As much as I like to participate in races, I think it also good to volunteer.   I am so appreciative of everything the volunteers that have done for me in past years, it is nice to finally return the favor in some way.    This is an event I hope to help out again at next year, although I would like to help a little longer if Julie will have me!

Congrats again to both Mike and Mikaila for finishing this awesome race!   Job well done in my book!

YMCA Corporate Challenge Triathlon

I did my first tri of the year.    I signed up through work to do the Corporate Challenge but it was the same course as Wendy's Triathlon,  a sprint distance tri and I was definately not prepared for it.   This isn't really all that surprising since I keep skipping my morning swim class to sleep in and my longest run since April had only been 6 miles up to this point!   

The day started out in the 70's and it was already very humid.   Possible thunderstorms are in the forecast, but fortunately it is sunny for the swim.    I really debated on wearing the wetsuit for the swim, but ultimately decided that whatever time I would make up from it would be negated by how long it takes me to get out of the dumb thing.   Being with the YMCA group allows me to start in the first wave, which is nice.  As I am waiting in the water for the race to start I spot two of my friends who have never done a tri before, give them a little pep talk and wish them luck (yeah Kyle and Katie)!    The race only starts a little late but eventually we hear the horn and get started.   I can tell I am being passed by a lot of people, but my stroke feels pretty good, I am able to keep swimming the full distance without taking a break.   I passed alot of people, but also got passed myself.   Fortunately I didn't see too many people pass me that were in the waves behind.    I can't help but thinking how much better I feel now, compared to a few years ago when I did my very first tri!   Out of the water per my watch at 16:15, not my fastest time, but I feel pretty good.    We have to run a bit up the beach to get to the transition area.

Transitions are my downfall, I need to work on these.   This one took me a little longer because I got my shirt caught on my bra and couldn't figure out how to wiggle it down.    I guess next time I will just wear my full tri outfit in the water and not worry about putting the shirt on in transition.   Putting a tight fitting shirt on isn't easy when you are soaking wet . . .After a few minutes I finally got it and headed out on the bike.

This is the first year that I felt really comfortable on the bike.   The sun had gone behind the clouds so it wasn't too hot.   Just got the arrow bars put on, which is a big help.   Once out of transition, I drank a bit then settled in for the ride.   By the time I got done, I was pretty sure it was a PR bike split for me.

My second transition was a bit faster but still I got caught up.   The bike rack was all messed up and I almost knocked it over trying to put my bike on it.   Fortuntately I realized it before I knocked everything over.   I stopped to take the time to reposition it before putting my bike on it.    Once that was done, my transition was quick.    Out to the run. . .

The run course was different this year and I really liked it.   It was really humid though which doesn't help the whole asthma situation.   So, I didn't push it as hard as I would have liked but it was all breathing related.   My legs actually felt really good.   At about the 2 mile mark I spotted my friend Rocco.   That kept me going for the last mile, all I wanted to do was beat him back to the finish (which I did)!    

Special thanks to Susan and her parents for cheering us on at the race, she was also my key and inhaler holder and did a fabulous job!    Also happy to report that everyone I know finished their races.    Congrats to Katie and Kyle for finishing their first and Rocco for his great 1:31 finish!  

My stats:
Overall:  1:48:52
Swim:  18:01
T1:  3:52
Bike:  55:16 (18.5 MPH avg)
T2:  2:17
Run:  29:28 (9:31 avg)

Early Father's Day Meal

One of the things I love about summer time is the Farmer's Markets that start to become available.   Saturday I got the opportunity to stop by one very briefly and came away with alot of wonderful produce, meat, and baked goods.    I am staying with my father this weekend, as my mom is out of town.   So, inspired by the ingredients that I had found, I decided to make him an early Father's Day Meal!    This is the menu I came up with and made tonight:

1) Grilled Ribeye Steaks (all I did was use salt and pepper)

2) Mushroom Gravy (I found shitakes at the market)

3)  Smashed Green Onion and Sour Cream Potatoes

4) Sauteed Green Beans

5)  Red Wine Blend

6)  Strawberries and whipped cream (for dessert)

It ended up being a very good meal and one that I will remember for the future!  

I also realize I haven't posted my workouts for a bit.   Here is what I can remember for the past few weeks:

5/22/10:  40 minute run, 1 hour yoga

5/23/10:  rest

5/24/10:  rest

5/25/10:   30 minute run, 30 minute strength

5/26/10:  hour on the bike

5/27/10:  30 minute run, 30 minute strength

5/28/10:  rest

5/29/10:  50 minute run, hour bike ride (16 miles)

5/30/10:  55 mile bike ride

5/31/10:  26 mile bike (about 90 minutes)

6/1/10:  30 minute run, 30 minute strength

6/2/10:  hour ride (about 19 miles), 10 minute brick run

6/3/10:  30 minute run, 30 minute strength

6/4/10:  rest

6/5/10:  60 minute run

6/6/10:  1 mile swim, 30 minute strength

Changing It Up

So I have been mixing things up a bit.   Since the Big Sur Marathon my knee has still been bothering me.   After discussing it with my physician it was decided that I probably have a combination of IT band syndrome and patellar tendinitis in my left knee.    In the past month, I have also been diagnosed with osteopenia, which is the precursor for osteoporosis.    Needless to say, I have had to really take a step back and re-assess my goals for the rest of the year.       

I have decided, after talking it over with my physician and meeting with a dietician, to address the osteopenia more naturally.   They both think that by increasing some things in my diet (calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, and protien) and increasing strength training, that I can improve the bone density without taking medicine.    The strength training should also help with my knee problems.   

So, what does that mean for the rest of this year?   Well in order to make time for the strengthening, I will have to decrease some of my endurance training.   So, that means no long distances for me this year.   I will try a few short course tri's this summer and am going to shoot for a couple of 1/2 marathon distances later this summer/fall.

So, for the past few weeks I have been trying to add more strengtheing into my routine and I am trying to do a bit more yoga to help with my balance and flexibility.   Nothing crazy, but my goal is to do a combo of the two for 30-40 minutes 3-4 times a week.  

The other thing I have been up to this past month was a little fun in Vegas.   Part of Team FIT decided to finally go and celebrate our IM accomplishments from last year by taking a trip to Las Vegas.   We wanted to  take a trip that wasn't race/training oriented and enjoy ourselves.   We also wanted to get our IM Tattoos that we had talked so much about!!

We had a wonderful time and are looking forward to doing it again sometime.    Maybe next year???