2010 in review

2010 was good to me!
* I ran, biked and swam a ton.
* I raced my first Half Ironman.
* I ran 2X65+ mile weeks.
* I got over my water phobia.
* I swam over 2+hours/time in open water by myself.
* I had my longest bike ride to date, 77 miles.

Total:
RUN: 2,278.17 miles
BIKE:2,929 miles
SWIM: 133.45

And now the month by month roll...

January 2010
RUN:199.1 miles
BIKE:0 miles
SWIM:10.25 miles
Highlights: I ran the Boston prep Derry 16 miler, one of the toughest races I have ever run (if not the toughest), and had a blast. I'll be back there this year.

February 2010
RUN:192.5 miles
BIKE:0 miles
SWIM:12 miles

March 2010
RUN:218 miles
BIKE: 50 miles
SWIM:9.75 miles
Highlights: I ran the Quincy Half Marathon, and finished 3rd woman overall with a 1:32:56, a 7+ minute PR.

April 2010
RUN: 119.57
BIKE:90
SWAM:15.5
Highlights: I ran Boston 2010 and had my first race that did not go as planned. I've learned a lot during this race, and I no longer take good races for granted.

May 2010
RUN:166.2
BIKE:545.5
SWAM:15.75
Highlights: I ran MOM's 5K, did not break 20:00, but managed to finish in 20:12 on a hilly course, good enough for 3rd woman overall. I tried again at Mystic 5K and finished with the same result on flat but long course.

June 2010
RUN: 182.1 miles
BIKE: 398.5 miles
SWIM:19.5 miles
Highlights: I raced in the Tri the Lake sprint triathlon and finished as 3rd woman overall with a 1:15: 23.

July 2010
RUN:234.5 miles
BIKE:465 miles
SWIM:16.7 miles

August 2010
RUN:181.25 miles
BIKE:520 miles
SWIM:20.50 miles
Highlights: I raced the Vermont Half Journey, my first 70.3, and finished in 5:35:30, good enough for 2nd place AG 30-39.

September 2010
RUN:222.35 miles
BIKE:0 miles
SWIM:3.25 miles

October 2010
RUN:152.1 miles
BIKE:65 miles
SWIM: 6 miles
Highlights: I raced the Baystate marathon and finished in 3:19:32, a 10+ minute PR, 5th woman AG 30-39.

November 2010
RUN:189.5 miles
BIKE: 350 miles
SWIM:13 miles
Highlights: I purchased my tri bike Cannondale Slice 4!

December 2010
RUN: 221 miles
BIKE: 445 miles
SWIM: 11.75 miles

Happy New Year! I'll be back in January with a race report!

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas away from home, in good old North Carolina, with Chris's brother and his family. We did not really do much aside from hanging out, and playing games (from 5 y old games to preteen Xbox games). We even had a kareoke night - that was the only ab workout I did the entire vacation, all from laughter:)

We've had some amazing, simple meals, lots of desserts and chocolate (of course), and even a few presents. I mentioned this before, but we do a really small Christmas, mostly kid focused. I don't want a special occasion in order to get something that I want, and I don't want Christmas to be about presents. I also don't want Petru to be presents crazed:) We all slept in until 8am, had huge mugs of coffee and slices of Panettone and watched the kids get excited opening up their presents. Petru got the marble set he wanted and he was super excited. I feel a little funny about the Santa thing...he asks lots of questions over and above what a 5 y old should ask (e.g., does Santa have kids, what happens if Santa dies, how come Santa can be in so many places at once, etc, etc). I get the magic of it, but I dislike the deceit that comes with it. Anyway, we got away with it for the year.

As far as my workouts, there weren't that many. I did not bike at all. I only swam 1 mile with my niece. I ran every day and quite a lot. I felt rather slow and heavy during those runs, but I got them in and actually enjoyed them. I feel that my biking is making my stride too short (probably in my head!). I am super excited to get back on track this week. I missed my bike. I can't wait to get on it. Except schools are closed tomorrow and I work crazy hours Tuesday and Wednesday, so I doubt any biking will happen until Thursday! But I am excited for some sledding tomorrow and seeing some of Petru's little friends running around the house!

Hope you all had a great Christmas!

NC workouts

I did the run today. In shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt. No hat. In December. Yup, it's called Charlotte, North Carolina. Temps were in the low 40s this morning, but since I like to run cold, I was very comfortable during my run today. It was a bit funny because I got a few looks from other runners who were bundled up with hats, tights and jackets.

I took yesterday off from exercise due to work and then traveling, and I expected the legs to feel fresh. They did not. They took a lot to warm up. I ran 2 easy miles and then started my 6 miles @ planned HM pace. The first one was really hard, 6:57. The second was still hard but I managed to kick the pace down to 6:45, where it needed to be. The third almost killed me, HR was 189, and I decided to take a 1min rest (3rd mile 6:39). Fourth mile felt OK, 6:30, fifth mile OK, too, 6:44, and sixth mile was once again rough, 6:42. 2X3miles, average 6:46, HR 181. I am happy with my decision to take the break. I think it is more important for me right now to develop a feel for the pace, rather than run more miles at a slightly slower pace.

I finished the run with 2 easy miles (faster than my warm up miles but much easier effort-wise).

Not sure how to feel about the run. It was hard, much harder than I expected. My legs felt tired. My breathing was labored at times. Part of the reason, I think, was that the course was all rolling, no big hills, but constant climbs. The other part is that I obviously am in no shape right now to run a sub 1:30 half. There is still time, and I'll be working on it.

In the afternoon I went to the pool with my sister in law and my niece, who at 13 is a uber swimmer and runner (ran a sub 23 5K last summer). She kept giving us workouts and drills the entire time. We had a blast. The swim was much needed since I did not swim this Saturday, and boy did I feel slow and heavy in the water.

I am having a ball here celebrating a low stress Christmas holiday with family! Hope you are having a great one, too!

Off to North Carolina

Tomorrow we are off to North Carolina to celebrate Christmas with Chris's brother and his family. I am really excited to see them, and to watch Petru play with his older cousins.

This trip came at such a good time. It's cold in Boston and we got snow yesterday. My easy 10 miler this evening was..hard. I am finally understanding the importance of having a stiff stride. I was sliding all over the place and an 8:40 pace seemed HARD. Also, my legs are trashed. I have been biking a lot lately. A lot for me. A lot on the big ring. Probably more than I should at this stage, but I have the time now and won't have it later, so I am banking some biking miles. I've been getting on my bike almost everyday lately, and have also banked a couple of 3h rides. I am really enjoying "Workouts in a binder" and am really never bored on the trainer. Trash TV helps too, of course. And Slice is becoming more and more comfortable:) But all this biking on top of running and swimming has left my legs sore and tired. So 4 forced days off of riding are going to be great for me. Unfortunately I will not be able to swim at all this week, but it's all good. I'll be refreshed by the end of the week.

Thursday is a big test for me. 10 miles with 6 at my overoptimistic half marathon pace. I am nervous. I'm never nervous about training runs, but I am this time. Silly, I know.

Happy Holiday! And my Secret Santa recipient, please let me know if you received my little gift!

Heart rate and Thank you Jenn!

Last week I started using the heart monitor that came with my Garmin. I wore it on Thursday for my 10 miler with 2X15 @ 10k/HM pace run. It was very cold, the run seemed harder than it should have felt. My HR average was 184 and 186, with 188 peak! Wow! On Saturday I ran 13 with last 20 min hard, and HR average was 182. I did not push the hard, and I knew the HR would be lower. Now I know the idea of using a heart rate monitor is to make sure you don't blow up. But how about building tolerance to sustain a high HR? Would practicing to tolerate HR of 180-188 for extended periods of time be helpful? I am really excited about my upcoming 5K because I want to know what my HR will be. I am a nerd for numbers. Interestingly, when I did my testing in the pool this week (3X300m, average the time) my HR was only 144-150, even though I was working hard. Hmm...
___________

On Friday I came home to a big red box from Minnesota. Inside I found these presents from Jenn. Now, Jenn is one of my favorite bloggers. I admire her dedication, her no excuse type attitude, and her honesty. She knows who she is and does not try to be who she is not. She is super smart and a super fast marathoner. And did I mention she is hot, like really hot? She writes a funny blog and you should check it out!

OK...so Jenn hand wrote little funny notes on each of the presents. We always do this in my family, Jenn, how did you know that? I love, love, love the presents, Jenn. Thank you so much! The chocolate is gone (of course), and I wore the shirt today - love it! I've never tried Accelarade or Power gel, but I tried and love Pumpkin spice cliff bars. And the headphones...too funny!
And Jill, who organized this gift exchange for over 80 bloggers, double thank you for the best Secret Santa:)

E21 triathlon team, update on saddle issues, chocolate & liqueur

E21 triathlon team rocks, and I am I part of it! How awesome! I am really excited about this for many reasons, some of which being:
* I believe in natural electrolytes and you can't get more natural than E21 pills (unless you want to carry with you bananas, salty pretzels, and a ton of other fruits and veggies).
* Although I get a lot of support from blogland, it will be special to be part of a triathlon team to share training stories and advice.
* I get free stuff, I love free stuff.


Saddle issues are much, much better already. I think I am passed the initial shock. Chris was a little concerned when I told him about my problems last night...lets just say he wondered how this will impact..."things" (he knows my priorities!). I was a little concerned myself given that the bike was rather expensive. But today I managed to spend 90min on Slice, relatively pain free, all but 10 min in aero. I like quick progress. Slice and I are all good now!

Chocolate & liqueur
Those who know me are aware that I rarely drink alcohol. I never drink wine or beer. I don't like the taste. So last Friday our good friends brought these for dessert and left them with us.

.. After trying Grand Marnier, cognac, rum, ..,(yes, one or two per day) I am convinced that I did not like alcohol in the past because it was not paired with chocolate. Alcohol + chocolate = divine! Happiness in a chocolate bottle! Unfortunately I am down to 2 bottles of wiskey....hm, I hope Santa brings some more!

Help, I think my tri bike is trying to kill me....

..in a slow, painful, piercing kinda way!

No joke!

So I've heard about such problems from other triathletes, but on my road bike I've experienced none. I could go for miles and miles on my Fuji, with no chaffing or other such traumas. But after 10 min on Slice, I was on fire....not the kind of fire you'd want, though. I managed the 45 min but had to get out of aero every 14 min for 1 min. So help me...are my shorts to blame, are there any bike shorts that you've discovered that help with this problem, is it just a matter of getting used to the bike, is this going to get better? The aero position is awkward and uncomfortable enough without the "downtown" trauma!

Thoughts

I am blogging with Glee in the background. It's the Madonna episode. Do you know I was obsessed with Madonna in highschool? I mean, truly obsessed. I would spend hours in front of our black and white TV playing the only video of her I owned, dancing away. My room was covered with pictures of hers. I was determined to become a famous geneticist, never marry, and live this 100% independent life. I still think she is amazing with her ability to challenge norms and break molds. I still get shivers when I hear one of her old songs...

And no, I did not become a famous geneticist, and I did the whole marriage and child thing, but somehow I managed to remain independent (as independent as you can be when you are married, with a child and a job). I really don't miss those teenage years. Or my 20s. Love my 30s, though, I grew into myself in my 30s, if you know what I mean. I am content. I am at peace. I still strive, but I accept. I enjoy my life.

I've had all these "deep" thoughts during my night, headlamp lit, easy 12 miler today. Night, quiet, peace, after a day packed with thoughts and words and more words. Things are just as they should be right now, just as they should be. It's good, it's really good!

What's your weakness?

As some of you know I have some some lofty racing goals for 2011. I put this goals out there because I want to show myself that I am strong enough to set goals that are hard, that I may never achieve, that I set for myself with less regard for what others think about me if I do or do not meet them. I know I am not defined by meeting a certain goal. I also know that I love the chase more than achieving the actual goal...once you get to the top of the mountain and the views are amazing, you still have to walk down.

The first couple are running related - breaking 20min in the 5K and 1:30 in the half marathon. Honestly, the 5K should not be hard; in fact, I ran a 19:38 per Garmin in the summer, but you never know with longer courses, wind, snow, etc. The half marathon seems a tad of a challenge...

In my quest to improve my ability to focus I have been learning new things about my body. I have a pretty good aerobic engine. I don't get out of breath easily. When I run fast, my lungs are mostly fine, HR is not v high (perceived), but my muscles become weak as time goes by. This weakness manifests itself in decreased stride efficiency. I start to become less springy. My feet make contact with the ground longer than necessary. It becomes an effort to lift my knees up. My body becomes straight rather than leaning forward. Of course, my legs are not fresh as I work them pretty hard in the bike/run combo (I don't really use them much in swimming), but still, they need to be stronger. So I am doing plyometrics and hill sprints galore. I also have some longer hill efforts planned, which I am excited about because....I don't do well on hills.

I have also noticed that I run faster at track than on the road. This is likely mental. For ex., I ran 4 miles @ 6:25 average at the track 2 weeks ago, and 3.07 miles @ 6:30 on the road. The runs were a bit different in that the second was a progression with 4 faster descending miles before the 3, but still, running in circles seems easier to me. I manage to focus much better at the track and my pace seems to be more even. The 4 miles were ran descending from 6:35 to 6:17. In the 3 miler I lost focus during the second mile and ended up running a 6:46 (this was a bit uphill, however), and than had to bring it home at a 6:12.

The other thing I have been thinking about is tolerance. A really fast blogger just ran a sub 3 marathon. In her report she talked about having a HR of 188 at some point, the higher she's ever had, higher than her HR in a 5K. This is absolutely amazing to me. I picture myself in that situation, with heavy breathing forcing myself to slow down for fear of blowing up. Neither a Garmin or running by feel would help in this situation. It's sheer will power and confidence and toughness. I want some of that! I know these things are practiced in training. And I do that. But you can't really practice going all out all the time, because of the potential for injury. You need to somehow give it all in the race. I have always said that I train harder than I race. This strategy has served me well. However, I think that I am at the point where, if I want to be faster, I need to find a way to allow myself to suffer more in a race, to take risks, to believe that my training will allow me to go above and beyond the limits that my brain and body are putting on myself when things get tough in a race. And I think that I can practice this via mental rather than physical training.

What's your weakness and what do you do about it?

Happenings and "travelling CD" winner

It's a busy time of the year for me, not because it is Christmas - we do that really small - but because of work. My schedule will change starting January 1st as I will have to work more outside of my home, which means less training flexibility. So, I am trying to build up a nice cushion of clinical hours so that I can relax a bit when training hours are going to go up before my HIM. What does this means?

* I had my first night run (easy 10 miler) with a headlamp - 8 to 9:10ish pm. Loved it. I thought I would be scared and lonely, but there were other runners and bikers (glad to know I am not the only crazy person!), and I got caught up on NPR podcasts. I was super tired after 10+ hours of work and wanted time with Petru as well, and by the time he went to bed I just felt like hopping on my bike for some trash TV, rather than go out in the cold for a run. But, I felt amazing once I got going. I might make night running a habit...it works for me!

* I finished my bike fit today. There was some drama with the fit, but we figured it out and finalized it today. Let me just say that: 1) the fit took about 5 hours total (2.5x2 sessions), 2) he measured angles and points in space, and lots of other things that I do not get but that took a lot of time, 3) he corrected my pedal stroke, 4) he corrected my back position, 5) he explained so many fit/position things that really increased my understanding as to why a tri bike is superior to a road bike, how to ride a tri bike, and why simply putting aero bars on a road bike can lead to injury. On top of it all, I had a blast with Jay and Ben. No offense to women, but there is something ....easy, uncomplicated and direct about having conversations with guys...love it! I did not take pics (yes, I know...) but my bike will be back this weekend (they have to cut a few cables, etc) and I'll post some pics and ask for name advice, blog style:)

* Although my runs are going well, I am really intimidated by my planned HM pace. Last week I had a 4 mile time trial which I did at PR 5k pace with last mile sub planned 5K pace, but that required me collapsing in the middle of the track for a couple of minutes when the run was done. Next week I'll have 6 miles at planned HM. That will be the ultimate test and will show me if I my HM pace is doable. Nothing like running fast, though!

* Every time I do short, fast (for me) swim intervals, say 10-20X50s my form collapses; I need to literally talk myself back into better form: legs together, elbows high, glide....Hrrr....when will this become second nature? Someday, I suppose...

* I need to do some long bike rides. My longest ride since the HIM was a 2 hour ride last week. I do bike 5-6hours/week, but usually 45-90 min doing a ride from "Workouts in a binder". On Sunday I'll attempt a 3hour ride, part on my road bike and part on the tri bike (I am going to slowly transition myself into the tri bike as to avoid injury).

* Recently NPR's "On Point" had a great podcast on "the science of aging" . One of the quests was a 92 year old woman who is setting records at hurdle, hammer throw, etc. Amazing to hear her talk. One of the main messages was that aging well entails a combo of aerobic and strength training, with as much variety as possible. Swim/bike/run/core work fits right in, no?

* And now the winner of the "travelling CD/AM's favorites" is....drumroll....SSB! email me your address! Congrats!

On overtraining

One of the reasons I read blogs is to learn.

One of the best blogs for learning is Elizabeth's Waterstraat's blog.

You may want to add it to your blog roll right now. It's that good.

A few days ago she posted a great article on overtraining, that made me pause and think. Ah, I love that. I went back and read the comments people left and they made me pause, and freeze, and really think.

It is easy to think of overtraining in terms of feeling low energy, burned out, and not being able to hit your times during workout. Most of us have been there in one form or another. It's part of finding your limits. We tend to think of stage 3 of overtraining, one that involves suppressed hormones, depression, feeling sick all the time as reserved for elites or those who maybe run a marathon every weekend. But real overtraining is more common than we think. It is dangerous. I can see it easily happening to me and to you. So read on, maybe post it on your blog, and lets spread the word and make sure that we don't let it happen to us!

Focus

During my morning run today I started thinking about a comment a friend made last week during a run. She said that my running has improved drastically during the past year and a half. And she was right.

I think a lot of the progress was due to luck. Had I picked a different training plan, one that focused on mileage rather than speed, I think I would be in a different spot now. Choosing "Run less, run faster", which focused on intense runs and low mileage, showed me how to work hard during key runs. Being the perfectionist nerd that I am, I had to make the goal paces for these runs, no matter what. Those tough workouts increased my speed dramatically, and also toughened me up. I started to absolutely love, rather than drag, the tough runs.

Next, I incorporated more mileage. Initially I had a tough time keeping the easy runs easy, but eventually I learned that I can do that if I don't wear a watch.

The higher mileage combined with awareness on my part, changed my stride from heel to forefoot. More recently, I have come to notice the difference between just dropping my foot on the ground, and actually pushing with my big toe, like I am trying to move the ground below me. This little tweak is absolutely amazing. Try it sometimes, if you are not already doing it. You'll notice that you run faster at the same effort.

In the past few months I have also realized that running fast requires focus - on form, on breathing, on keeping the pace you want to run, on your goals. When I run 10K pace or lower, the slightest drop in focus makes me slow down. And the faster the pace, the quicker this happens for me. It's like my body wants me to run a certain pace that it is used to, that keeps me "safe" and "comfortable" and unless I pay attention, my pace will slow down.

I have read a lot on how important focus is in running well, but the reading has never clicked with me until recently. I don't think focus is my strong suit. I tend to space out a lot, I like to space out a lot. Unless I am doing something that requires intense mental work (ideally one that involves numbers or analytical skills), chances are I am going to space out. In fact, I think I walk through life day dreaming at least 1/2 the time. So part of the challenge for me is going to be to improve my ability to focus during my runs. I think I have the speed, I have the strength and I have the endurance. With an improved ability to focus, I may be able to reach my goals!

Suggestions on how to do this are welcomed:)