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???

TOSRV

Being an Ohio native and a cyclist, I have heard about TOSRV for years, but never actually done it myself.   I have been down several times in a car, had a beer at Cary Park, and stayed overnight, but I had  never actually cycled down.    That has all changed, this year I did it!  

The day started out bright and early, the group I rode with met down at the Statehouse at 6am.   The forecast was for sun/clouds and 57 degree weather.   Not so bad, except that there was also a "wind advisory" warning out for the day; 17-20 mph winds with gusts up to 39 mph.   Ugh!   My worst nightmare on the bike, especially when it is a crosswind or headwind (we had both).    We convinced each other that it wouldn't be that bad and decided to at least ride to the first stop and see how things went.  

This is the group Pat, Mary, Tim, Maggie, Jennifer, Vince, Jeanne and I.   All of us were TOSRV virgins except for Tim.   Stop #1 was in Circleville.   It was nice to get off the bike, stretch, and get some goodies before heading out again.   I think most of us were thinking, first 29 miles, not so bad, we can do this! 

We barely started out of Circleville and all of the sudden we got caught in a horrific headwind.   I felt like I was giving it all that I could and was only going about 7mph.   At this point, I dug deep, kind of zoned out and just tried to pedal and stay on my bike.   The wind changed a little and we had kind of a cross/headwind for most of the next leg.   It was kind of funny to see everyone riding sideways and hanging onto their bikes.   I saw more than my fair share of people almost wiping out as a gust of wind blew at us!   I normally don't swear much, but this ride definately tested me and I heard things come out of my mouth that shocked me!   About 1/2 way into this leg I realized I was by myself.   I had passed everyone in my group and had no one in site.   I thought briefly about turning around and trying to find them, but quickly came to the conclusion that I didn't want to do anymore riding than I had to on this tour!    Shortly before the 2nd stop Tim caught up with me and said everyone else was way behind.    We opted to just pedal ahead and wait at the next stop for everyone.   Stop #2 was Chillicothe, it was definately a relief to get off the bike and get more food!     Our group slowly started to trickle in and we sprawled out on the lawn and caught up. 

Pat, Mary, Maggie, and Vince all decided they were done.   Pat had already called her husband to come get her and they made arrangements to come back and get the others.   Tim convinced me to keep going and Jeanne and Jennifer were determined to keep on biking until they hit Portsmouth.   The other nice thing was that Jeanne's daughter's were following us in a van with any supplies we might need.   It was comforting to know they were out there!   So, after a bit of a break, we hopped back onto the bikes again.

The third leg was somewhat protected from the wind as we entered the hills and forrests of Ohio.   So, the good thing was that we didn't feel the effects of the wind as much, but the bad news was that there were alot of hills in this section.   Not to mention a detour (due to a closed bridge) that took us an additional 7 miles out of the way.    The last 1/3 of this leg had us riding hills with a headwind.   My legs were toast.   I barely made it to the 3rd stop and all I could think was "I am calling my mom to come and get me."   Tim convinced me to at least get some food, sit down, and take a little break before making a decision.   I hobbled up 3 flights of steps (yes steps!), sat down, and started listening to all the other bikers.    Everyone, was complaining about the wind, seasoned riders were in disbelief.   I overheard a very fit looking cyclist saying that he had done this ride 10 years and it had never taken him this long to finish it.  Another guy, who raced for a team out of Cinci was complaining about only going 7mph in the headwind.   In a weird way, this really comforted me and convinced me that I needed to keep going to finish this.   So despite the fact that I desperately wanted to quit, I got back on the bike! 

Tim and I never did see Jeanne and Jennifer at stop #3 (Waverly), but they thought to take a picture here, so I am including it in the race report!  

Leg #4 wasn't as bad.   There were no more hills and the wind seemed to have changed to a cross/tailwind.   Tim and I made some pretty good time and finally made it to Portsmouth!!   

Tim's wife, Hannah, was there to great us and I was never so happy to see someone in my life!!  We were done!  We made it!!   The beer I had at Cary Park tasted like the best thing ever!   Finally, I was there as a rider and not a spectator!   Tim and I had discussed on this ride if a marathon was tougher or this ride, in the wind.   I think it was a tie, neither one of us could really pick one or the other!  

Jeanne and Jennifer eventually made it to the end as well!

I felt bad that I didn't wait around for them, but I was freezing!   Once my mom and aunt came to get me, all I could think about was a hot shower, warm food, glass of wine, and then bed . . .

Stats for the week:

Wed: rest

Thursday: 2400 swim, 40 minute strength/stretch

Friday: rest

Sat:  113 mile bike, no timing

Sun: 40 minute walk

The Big Sur Marathon

This race really should be on everyone's "Must Do" list.    The experience was awesome! 

The weekend started out with a flight to LA to get my sister, Lora.   The flight out was uneventful except for both of my ears hurting by the end of the flight.   The next morning I woke up with a heavy chest and cough.   Lora and I waited for the rush-hour to clear up and then we left by car to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway and the CA-1.   Definately the way to travel, it was relaxing, we had gorgeous views, and we got to drive the race course prior to actually doing the race.  

The next morning I woke up with a sore throat, productive cough, and my ears still hurting.   Per my sister, I sounded like a cross between the Marlboro Man and Patty and Selma Bouvier.   After downing some cold medicine, advil, and tea, I started to feel better and we hit the Expo and the Aquarium.   Later that night we met up with my MIT friends, hit the pre-race pasta dinner, and took time out for a "team picture." 

We called it an early night and by 8pm I was snuggly in bed, as we had a 3:30am wake up call.   

Race morning came very early, my throat, chest, and ears still hurt.   So for the first time ever I tried something new on race day; I downed some mucinex and advil along with my oatmeal breakfast.   We met in the lobby at 4:05am and headed downtown to catch a bus down to the race start.

After an hour ride through the dark, we finally made it to the race start.   Lots of people and long lines for the bathrooms.   We barely had time to stop and pose before the race started!

Our group split up, to find out hopeful pace groups:  Katie (3:45), Mark (?), John x2 & Kathy (4:30), Jen, I and Darla (5:00) and Jon just decided to wait for everyone to "get out of the way."  Lora, meanwhile, was just catching the bus to go out to the relay point at mile 16.5.  The race fortunately started a few minutes late (we were still in the bathroom at the actual race time) but we were still on the road by 7am! 

My initial goal was to start and stay with the 5:00 pacer as long as we could.   This was not going to be a PR race for me and I just wanted to enjoy the experience, take some pictures, and finish with my sister!   Lora and I had originally signed up to do the relay, it is broken into 5 segments, I was to do the first 3 and then join her for the last 2 so we could stay together.   It is very hard to plan when you are going to meet someone, but when I looked at the splits associated with the 5:00 pace group, it looked doable and gave Lora a better idea of when we might be there.    We stayed with the balloons for about the first 2 miles, but by mile 6 we were about 10 minutes ahead of pace!  

No worries though, this just meant we had more time to stop and snap some photos! 

The whole course is hilly, but one of the most daunting hills comes at mile 10 of the course, it is 2 miles long with various grades!   You can barely see it in the distance in this picture. 

The drummers are situated right at the bottom of the hill, it was vey cool to hear them and see them play.   I can't imagine how their arms and backs must feel at the end of their day!

Half way up the hill, we decided to try and reserve some energy so we split this into a 2:1 ratio (run 2 minutes:walk a minute).   I think this was a good strategy, because by the end of the hill I didn't feel so bad!

The end of the 2 mile hill and also the marker of the 12th mile!! 

The next views were some of my favorites, we took alot of pictures and I think we also added about 5-6 minutes to our time!

Half way there!!  Whoo Hoo!! 

After a few miles, our friend Jon, finally caught up with us.   I snapped this next picture as he happened to jog by us.

It was just by pure chance that I also happened to get Jeff Galloway in the picture, I had no idea that was the other guy in the shot until later in the day! 

Around mile 16, I started feeling a little tired and my left knee started to hurt.  Up to this point it had just felt tight, but it was definately pain I started to feel this time.   Darla was looking really good so we told her to go ahead.   Jen opted to stay with me, as she was coming back from an injury herself and her longest training run had been 16 miles!   Darla sped up and was able to keep up with Jeff Galloway's unofficial 5:00 pace group.    Shortly after this, the official 5:00 group passed Jen and I.   We started discussing how nice it would be to do the 6:2 plan that my sister had been using for her training! 

Finally found my sister (only 5 minutes after we had guessed we would be there), exchanged the relay slap bracelet, and continued on with our slow run.   Lora casually mentions that she wants to warm-up with a 20 minute run and then start the 6:2 format.   I think I almost fell over, that was not at all what my body had in mind at that point.   Unfortunately for Lora, Jen was thinking along the same lines as I was and after 5 minutes, asked how long before we could walk again!   Lora was looking forward to "the beer" that was rumored to be at mile 18, so i think she just went with the flow.  

So there was beer at mile 18, but not in the form we had hoped for!   Either way, it was another opportunity to stop for a break and snap a photo!

We ended up doing 2 rounds of the 6:2, but everytime we hit a hill (which was alot) we ended up back to the 2:1 pattern.   I pretty much hit a wall from mile 20 to 26.2.    My mind said "you can do more!"  but my body could not.   Between my left knee hurting with every step, my quads complaining on the downhill, and the cold/cough finally catching up with me, it was all I could do to walk.  

There were lots more photo-ops but we didn't really stop until we saw this sign, just wanting to be done at this point.   But there is always hope - less than a 5k less!!  We can do this!  

Our strategy from this point on was just to run/jog what we could.   It's flat here, let's see if we can jog to that cone.   Feeling okay?  How about the bridge?    The reality, I think, was that our walk was probably faster than our jog by this time! 

Finally!   The finish line!!  Jen sprinted ahead and  Lora stayed with me, we did cross together although there are no pictures of it.   They also ran out of relay medals by the time we got done.   It will be at least a month before they get some for us, as the artist has to do them and they are made of  clay.    Jen did get a full marathon one for me though, she gave me hers and then went back and found another!  

So, how did everyone do? 

1) Katie:  3:39 (a PR and a Boston Qualifier)

2) Mark:  >4:30, his knee also hurt and he walked much of the course from mile 8

3) John, John's son John, Kathy, and Darla - 4:55 to 4:57

4) Jennifer: 5:14

5) Team K (Lora and I) 5:14:19

6) Jon:  >5:30

Despite everything that happened this was an excellent race and one that intend on doing again.   The scenery was spectacular, I had a great group of friends, and running with my sister was awesome!   

**A few side notes:   John (father) donated his kidney to his son John.   This race was their 10 year anniversary of that event!   Elder John has completed somewhere in the ballpark or 15 marathons and 5 IM's.   This was his son, John's first marathon!  Katie is a machine.   She normally runs her long runs with the 10 minute pace group with MIT, then she goes out and kills the races!   I wish her well in Boston next year.    Lora is a trooper.   She put in a lot of hard work to run with us and then ended up walking at least half of her race to stay with me.   She also had to wait 3 hours at the relay meeting point for us.   It meant the world to me to finally do a race with her and I am grateful we had this opportunity in such a wonderful place.   I do intend on doing another race with her in the future.   Next time, though, it will be on her terms, her race, her pace! 

My stats since 4/20/10:

4/21:  30 minute easy run

4/22: rest

4/23: rest

4/24:  walked all over Monterey with Jen and my sister (16,000 steps per pedometer)

4/25:  26.2 mile run (5:14:19)

4/26: 30 minute slow walk at Lobos Point Park

4/27:  1 hour walk with Hearst Castle Tour

4/28: 1 hour recovery walk

4/29:  3 and 1/2 mile hike, no timing

4/30:  45 minute walk around airport

5/1: rest