February by the numbers

February was another great month for me. I ran the Saturday 5 mile race 3 times, and had a PR in a cold and windy half marathon. My running confidence is UP!

But I did not only run, I also swam and biked.

I feel more comfortable on my bike, and can wear tri shorts for rides 2 hours or shorter. I have been doing a lot of big gear, lower cadence intervals as well as low gear superhigh (for me) cadence intervals and my legs have gotten really strong as a result. I also watched more TV than I thought possible, but for some reason I can't read on my bike, and I save my "good music" for my runs.

I also feel better in the water. I have been doing some interval training, mostly ladders and 300 or 400m repeats. I am not timing myself because my goal for the swim is not necessarily to be faster, but to swim the same pace I swam in August, with less effort. I know this is not the best strategy, but it is what I choose to do. I don't flip turn, I don't push from the wall, I swim continuously from one end of the pool to the other. One thing I need to work on is my kick. I forget about it and barely move my feet.

Most importantly, I still LOVE LOVE training!

The numbers:

RUN: 214. 5 miles (including a low week of 40 miles as taper)
BIKE: 20 hours (including a week of only 2 hour biking as taper for my half)
SWIM: 12 miles
Strength: 2 hours
Plyos: 6 sessions....skipped on a few
BRICKS: 3
* 2.5 hour bike+5 mile run
* 2 hour bike+ 4 mile run
* 3 hour bike + 5 mile run

March will include a few running races, before I switch gears to triathlon only for my June race. I am hoping to be able to ride my bike outside - I am really nervous and hope that riding my tri bike outside will be just as much fun as it has been inside. I also hope I won't break any bones during the multiple falls I know I will take. Any tips about tri bike riding would be much appreciated!

Back at it!

Things are back to normal after my HM last week. Oh, how I missed the normal. I am finding that the more my body gets used to longer training hours, the harder the taper is both physically and psychologically. Paradoxically, I did enjoy having more time, and being able to do things I don't normally do (well, more like enjoying having done those things rather than the actual process).

I noticed a few things about my tapers: 1) I always get sick (mild cold), but that does not affect my performance; 2) I always gain weight but it goes away after I go back to training; 3) I race best when I am about to get my period (I complained about feeling yucky to my mom before my last race and she told me she used to perform best before her period; then I checked my training logs and noticed that all my PRs are in races where I got my period either during the race (oh, yes, lots of fun!) or a couple of days after); now I wonder if there is any data on that, hmm, must check that out*; 4) taper works for me when I keep the training schedule the same, but reduce length of workout (rather than give myself full rest days).

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I had zero soreness after the HM. I think this was a function of my fitness level, and the little help from my trusty E21. I don't remember ever having a race where I felt so good the day after, and managed to run some tough workouts the week after the race.

Back to normal means hours in the saddle, laps in the pool, miles on the road and, of course, going back to Fresh Pond for the weekly race. We had a bigger crowd today, but conditions were bad, since we got lots of rain, little snow, and then chilly temps yesterday. I ran 1 mile easy and 4 miles @ @ 7:25, and then waited around about 5 min for the race to start. I felt good from the beginning and raced a bit with 2 other women I had not seen there before, but easily passed them withing a half mile from the start. And then, I had to walk. Not because I was tired, but because there were about 3 50 meter areas within each loop with shiny ice that were non runnable. I was a bit pissed because my pace would slow down on these sections, but ended up feeling OK with no getting a PR. I ended up running 30:50, which is 20 seconds slower than my PR over there.

After the race I started talking to the second woman and realized that we work at the same hospital and we live in the same town. She told me about the Liberty running club at Harvard (geared toward women) where she trains, and invited me to join. I am really excited about this because unfortunately all my running friends are a bit too slow for me to run with now, and they are not really interested in training and improving. I am planning on joining the club after my last half marathon (in 3 weeks).

On the way home from race I bonked really bad, and ended up in a coffee place drinking coke and eating a blondie. I felt amazing after (of course) and managed to run the last 2 miles of hills back home at a pretty good clip.

Happy Saturday!

* looked up the research, and it is a bit inconclusive (of course). However, apparently luteal phase (preperiod) is beneficial for endurance running (high estrogen favors fat burning for fuel and lower lactic acid accumulation); the follicular phaze (starting with first day of period) is beneficial for short distance, fast running (low estrogen).

Pictures

A couple of pictures from the Hampton Half, courtesy of Capstone Photography. They were both taken toward the end of the race.

Check out my heel strike! When I get tired my form collapses, still. Must work on that! And yes, I carry water with me in races (it was hot water for this one!)




















This is right at the end, after crossing the mat. Check out the required "I am going to puke now face". It means I worked hard.




















These are pictures taken by my friend Sue! Thanks Sue! After the race I managed to find one of the advertised empty hotel rooms and wash up and change into my warm fleece pants!

Nr.1 male, Nr 2 female, me and Nr 2 male. Nr. 1 female who ran a 1:21 did not stay for the ceremony! Part of the prize was a 6 pack of beer, which made Chris's day (I don't like beer!).













Petru and Chris came to pick me up after the race. Petru had a hard time in the room bc "It stinks in here". Yup, not everyone got a chance to take a shower like mommy!

Hampton Half Marathon 2011 RR+PR

It was cold and super windy, flat with rolling hills!
I hear the course was pretty - I wouldn't know, all I saw was the butt of the person in front of me, luckily I had a lot of variety over the course of 13+ miles. Yes, I passed a lot of people!

Stats:
GARMIN: 13.29, 6:58 pace, HR: 184; 1:32: 42 (PR by 14 seconds)
OFFICIAL: 13.1, 7:04 pace, 1:32:43 3rd woman overall/850

Garmin splits:

Mile Pace HR
1 7:07 180
2 7:07 180
3 7:07 180
4 7:07 177
5 6:46 181
6 6:48 182
7 6:58 183
8 6:56 183
9 6:55 181
10 6:55 185
11 7:04 185
12 6:58 185
13 6:52 183
.29 5:23 186

So how did it go?
I ditched my race plan from the start. I felt strong, and I went for it from the beginning. I asked myself whether I could hold that effort for 13 miles and I felt like I could. I am glad I did not look at my HR, it was v high, as you can see (my resting HR is below 60 and my HR in a recent 5K was 182!), and had I known that, I would have slowed down. I feel I ran the race in fear, waiting to crash and burn. This winter I had a hard time doing long tempo runs and felt unprepared. However, it seems that my weekly races at Fresh Pond, on ice and snow, were enough to get me to run 8 sec/mile faster (Garmin comparison) than last year in March (my old PR).

I never crashed and burned, in fact, I feel I could have gone faster. The wind was certainly and issue (the cold never bothers me); more than that, it was scary to see a few miles of 6:4X so early on (mile 5), as that used to be my pace for 5 miles total at Fresh Pond, and I'd feel like death after. Next time I might not look at lap pace...

I can't think straight, I am super happy. This is a small PR by official results. However, my last PR was on a course that registered as an exact 13.11, while this one was 13.29. At this speed 8 sec/mile improvement in a race is huge! Most importantly, I do not feel trashed, and I know that in March I am going to start out a little faster, and hopefully do even better with better weather (no wind) on a more accurately measured course.

###
In ending, I want to thank Jenn for her support going into this race. Who needs a coach when you have someone who knows exactly what to say and when to say it?

"Yes-everyone is going to expect you to run fast because you DO run fast and you CAN run fast! I expect you will run QUITE fast but regardless of what the clock says, my opinion of you and my belief in your abilities would never change! Bloggers and friends are great accountability as long as one doesn't allow them to become stressors instead of encouragers. (I'm more speaking for myself here-you seem to have this together!) Have a great race, run for yourself-BALLS TO THE WALL!" J

Thanks Jenn!

Defining a good race

I have been thinking a lot this week about my past races, good and bad. I remember my first half marathon, running it on an injured hip, finishing with a facial expression that Chris read as "I am in the worst pain ever". After that, I remember running with friends and not pushing myself nearly enough. Then a breakthrough race where I actually suffered and ended up running a 1:46, slow by my current standards, but a PR by over 5 minutes at that point in time. It's been about 3 years since my first half marathon, and I have gotten so much faster. Sometimes I wonder if I am getting closer and closer to my physiological limit. Other times I wonder whether I should try to take baby steps with my training, rather than huge jumps, like I have been doing this training cycle. I have come to believe that the body needs time to adjust to a certain pace, a time that is longer than the typical 2-3 months training cycle. But most often I realize that I am not racing hard enough, early enough. I read an article today about pacing in a race. The author talked about how she starts out fast and then she just hangs out. She said that if she starts slower, than she settles into a pace that is slower than her actual ability. A pretty fast blogger I follow talks about how if at the half point of a race she does not feel like quitting, she is not running fast enough. Unless it is a 5K, I never get to that point, which makes me thing that I may be getting closer to my physiological limit, but not to my psychological limit, my true ability to suffer and hurt in a race.

I am going to try hard to have a good race on Sunday. Here is what are the elements that would allow me to feel like I had a good race:
1. Starting the race warmed up (1-2 slow miles).
2. Starting the first mile slower than HM PR, seeing how that feels, and taking it from there.
3. Hanging out with the hurt for at least 10 miles.
4. Hanging out with the real hurt from mile 10 to the finish.
5. Hanging out with pukie (sp?) not earlier than mile 10, but surely for mile 13.
6. Racing with an average HR over 175, more like 180 (I will not check HR during the race).
7. Not giving negative thoughts power, letting them flow by.

If I manage to do 1-7, I am going to be a happy camper regardless of the result. It's going to be 30 degrees and windy on Sunday, and we are running over 5 miles by the Ocean. I am pretty nervous for a half, but also excited to see what I can do.

Tapering, Fondue party and blurry pictures

Somehow I thought I was tapering last week, but ended up running 57 miles. This week is going to be withdrawal as I will be running 20 or so since I have the half on Sunday.I will also be biking very little...see a pattern here, really trying to put myself into the best position to PR (or not allow any possible excuses if I crash and burn).

Good thing I did not run as little as I though I was, since we had our annual chocolate fondue party at our good friends Charlie and Sonia's house. All kinds of chocolate for dinner, yes, yes, yeeeeees!!! I secretly look forward to this gathering the entire year. I think it is amazing that C & S allow us all to come over with our kiddies (2-8 y olds) even though they don't have any, feed us french chocolates and champagne, and clean up the mess made by the kids. This was the first year the kiddies "got along" - my rule is always noone is crying, lets not interfere - and had a blast. There may have been some cat terrorizing going on, but maybe the noise was coming from one of the kids...who cares, us adults were all high on chocolate and champagne.

I dressed up for the occasion. These pictures were taken before we left, and are very bad, bc someone (ahem, Chris) can't keep the i-phone strait when taking pictures. Anyhow, since I NEVER wear a dress, I figure I might as well document the occasion.

Love this picture - not sure if you can see that as I "pose", Petru sticks his tongue out! And in the other picture, he is trying to "escape".


And how do you like the "signs" on the wall? I managed to remove about 50% of them, but there are still some that Petru refuses to give up...and I learnt to pick my battles.












Hope you all had a great weekend! And tomorrow, eat all the chocolate you can! I started on Saturday so you'll never catch up to me:)

Friday randomness

I really love to read other people's posts on random things, so here it goes for me

# Training: I am swimming a bit more this week and next, and biking and running a little less, to make sure that I don't run my half in 2 weeks on overly fatigued legs. I am still uncertain about what pace I should try to run at my half - I typically build up to about 10 miles close to pace for a half but was unable to do this due to weather (or unwilling to go run on the treadmill, which is a more accurate statement). This is going to be interesting for me, and I may crash and burn, but I promised myself that I will not be disappointed if that happens. I know that eventually I will reach my goal, even though I do not have the evidence that I am there yet. Hopefully by the end of March, for my second half, I am going to be closer to where I want to be. And hopefully the weather will cooperate and I will be able to do more pace runs on pavement. On the bright side, I am a pro at running on ice. On Thursday I had a longish run with 2X15 min @ 10K-1/2 marathon pace; I ran these intervals on the Fresh Pond Loop, which had portions completly covered with ice. My pace slowed down by 1-2 secs only on these portions, which looked like mini ice skating rinks, and I did not fall at all! If only we'd have races on ice, I would surely be the winner, LOL.

# Food: We have been having some awesome meals these past 3 weeks, though all will end soon as my mom is leaving on Saturday. You all know that I don't like to cook, right? We enjoyed lots of vegetable stews, and baked beans, all dishes that are baked for hours at end; also yummy desserts with recipes that call for as much flour as 3 eggs weigh (yes, I will never make those things). And then, there is Chris's bread...yumm! Good thing I have been putting in a lot of hours of swim/bike/run, and can justify these meals as fuel!

# My little guy has been getting lots of time outs at school lately. He is super cute when telling me the reasons why - "I was too far away from my friend at nap time, so I could not help myself and got up from my mat to go talk to him", or "I could not help myself and rang the bell in dramatic play", or "I told the teacher that NO, I WILL NOT move up in the Jumping Lovehearts reading group because I want to stay a Fun Firefly". Sometimes it is hard to stop myself from laughing when he tells me these things. He is really stubborn and we have few rules at home (since he is an only child and I believe in being flexible as a parent) and he makes decisions about how to spend time, what to eat, etc, etc (for the most part), so it is a bit hard for him at school where they are getting really strict about rule following. My favorite part of parenting is talking with Petru and getting an insight into how his young mind works, how he makes sense of things, how he learns, why he thinks we have rules, why would be important to follow them, what would happen if we did not have rules, etc. Chris is the pro at the playing part, I am the pro at the talking part (of course:).

#Sleep. I have been skimming on sleep lately. We do not have a TV in our bedroom - we made this decision when we got married as we did not want to watch too much TV - but on Sunday evening I brought my computer in and watched Hulu until midnight when Chris came home from the Superbowl. Then I did this again on Monday. And then I stopped and am not allowed to bring the computer into the bedroom at night. Still, I have been tired all week, and struggling with a cold, and my research is picking up with grants I have due in June. Sleep, I need to make it a priority. TV, boo, where are the times when I would think that watching TV is just wrong? Oh, yes, those were the everything is about self improvement and evolving, my prePetru years!

How's the randomness in your life?

The treadmill and I

It's quiet humorous that I ran outside this entire winter, through snowstorms and freezing temps, yet Monday when the temps where in the 30s I found myself doing repeats on the mill. Why, you ask? Because the bikepath where I normally run was still covered in ice and snow.

I had 12 miles or so, with 2 easy, 5x2K @ 10k pace with 3 min easy in between, 2 easy. Except that in my haze I thought I had to do 6X2k, which is what I did. I know you are supposed to put the resistance up to 1, but after doing one repeat at 1% incline and almost falling off the thing, I stuck with .5% which felt manageable. The first couple repeats where the hardest, because all I could think about was "hell, I have X many left?". Plus, I could not find my stride. For me, treadmill running is v different than road running. My stride remains very short even when I run fast, and my knees are much higher than when I run on the road. I got into a groove after the first 3 repeats, it's like my body finally realized how to run on the treadmill. Interestingly, my HR is much lower on the mill versus the road. I also don't get the nausea that I get when I run outside, which makes me think that I run harder when outside. This may have something to do with the incline, and perhaps had I set it @ 1% things would have been different. I ran the last repeat starting @ 6:22 and ending @ 6"07 just for kicks and to show the mill who is the boss! Not a bad workouts!

It was interesting to be in a gym again. I don't remember when was the last time I was there. People were looking at me like I was nuts, as I was dripping sweat all over the treadmill (it felt like summer time as my shorts and shirt where drenched after the first couple repeats, and I drank 2X24 ounces of liquid).

My verdict is that I could probably get used to running on the treadmill. It is really not that bad. It works great for repeats because you are locked in a pace and forced to keep going. I am still in owe of those of you who can run marathons on the treadmill, though. That's a talent I do not posses.

Change of perspective

A little sunshine, a lot of sleep, a run on pavement (rather than ice), and my mood is much improved. Last week I lost confidence in my running. I felt tired and my pace was slow with a high effort and HR. Deep down I knew this had to do with the conditions, but I am such a numbers person that what I saw on the Garmin somehow ended up carrying more weight in my mind. Bad runs, or workouts can easily lead to more bad runs or workouts. It is easy to feel slow, stop trying, resent the suffering inherent in a key run. Last week I worried about that.

This morning I had a 2.5 hour endurance bike, mostly zone 1 and 2 with pickups and I felt amazing. I dreaded the 5 mile run that I had to do after, but got myself transitioned quickly and went out. The bike path was frozen, so I decided to run on the road. We had a beautiful day today, the sun was shining, and even the drivers were happy - no swears or splashes for me today:)

I wanted to run the post bike miles by feel, at a comfortable pace. I am very far from my HIM, so no need to run fast post bike so early on. I was surprised to be able to run a 7:50 average pace @ HR 158, and feel like I was running so slooow. This is not a fast pace or anything, but it is pretty good for an easy pace after a 2.5 moderate bike ride. This is clear proof for my mind of how important the running surface is.

So now I am starting my week excited about my runs! I'll use the mill for the intervals tomorrow, but am hoping to be able to run outside the rest of the week.

Happy training!

Tired

It's been a busy week and my runs have been hard and slow. My bike rides and swims have been stellar, though, so mentally I am focusing on them, to help me get over the rough runs.

Back to the runs. Monday I rocked 5X1000m @ lower than 5K pace, on packed snow. Tuesday we got hit with bundles of snow and I risked my life running along with the cars. I got home covered in sleet, and carrying lots of swears (I bet) for annoyed drivers who had to stop so I could go by. In retrospect, stupid, and I won't do it again. In fact, a couple of teachers from Chris's school saw me and reported back to him that "your wife is nuts!". Yup! Not proud of this one. Wednesday there was no way I could run, heck, I could barely walk it was that icy. The sleet and ice froze over the padded snow, so that Thursday early morning the Fresh Pond path (which gets plowed frequently and is my go to place when it snows) was heavily sprinkled with ice large cubes. I had 14 with at 10K @ HM heart rate in the middle, and it was a mess. I tried to keep the planned HMP, but my HR was up to 190 after 2 miles, so I had to slow, I had to stop, I had to swear, I had to consider giving up, and eventually modified the workout and made it 2X2 miles and 2X1 milers, so that I could keep a manageable HR and pace. I was mad. I was disappointed.

On Thursday evening we went to our favorite upcoming folk band's (David Wax Museum) new CD release at the ART's Oberon stage. We dressed up (OK, I dressed up). We had JPlicks. We had a ball with our friends. Instead of sitting with my legs up (recovery people!), I danced for a few hours. We got home at midnight starving and happy, had bowls of cereal and spent quality time with our computers -me checking blogs, Chris checking his bball fantasy standing.

We went to bed at 2 pm. I had my first patients at 7 am on Friday. I felt surprisingly good up to 3pm when I crashed. I made myself get into the pool, and felt better after.

This morning I woke up with Petru on top of me. He made his way into our bed due to a "a bad dream", wide awake, and chatty. It seemed harder to get him back to his bed (plus I really like when he sleeps with us) so he slept with us. This morning I felt tired. I did not want to run. I did not want to have a bad run. I did not want to do the Fresh Pond race. I did not want to suffer on ice and run a crappy pace. But I made it out. And the race was canceled, due to ice. I ended up running 2 loops, starting at an 10ish pace as I walked a path of ice, and finishing with a 7:28 due to multiple walking breaks on the icy parts, but average HR was 180, so I was happy (I guess the HR stayed up during the walk breaks, must have been scared of an imminent fall). Back home, ice bath and all, family time, and then shopping with mom. I absolutely hate shopping. I do most of my shopping on line. I have a few staples for work, and accessorize a ton, but I buy mostly running/tri items. My sweet mom makes me buy (and most often buys them for me) dresses, and pant suits, and other such things. She really enjoys both the process and seeing me with new clothes. Anyhow, we walked the mall for over 4 hours. My legs are done. My mom makes fun of me that I don't have 'shopping endurance', and she is right.

A few more hours of family time and then game night with our friends, and an amazing dessert made by mom. I wore my compression socks and tights all day today, and I am not changing. Tomorrow will include a brick, a short swim, and Petru-fun from 1 pm on - Chris has a few superbowl parties - no interest in that for me - and mom and I will watch a movie after Petru goes to bed. I'll recharge my batteries and have an awesome running week. I decided to do my speed and tempo on the mill next week. I have not solidified my plans for the half marathon, but I feel I need to get a few faster miles in and see where I am. I think my March half will be a better PR shot for me, but you never know.

Hope you are having a great week.

Swimming and signs

Another snow day, and I could not make it into work this morning. It was a research day with only 2 patients, with whom I talked on the phone, so it was not that bad. The snow day meant that later in the day we went to the Y and I had an awesome swim.

After my last post, I realized that I need to kick it up a bit with the swimming. I have learnt that when I feel like I am improving, I get excited to do more in the particular sport (eg., mega biking and running in January). Also, although I know that even though swimming is the shortest part of a triathlon, it is very important because it sets the day up, etc, I still feel I can skimp on it (I know I don't really, but by comparison with my running and biking I do).

Today I was determined to have a hard, good, long swim. No, I did not feet like getting in the water. My mom and Petru dropped me to the Y on their way to toy shopping, and I told them to give me 70 minutes, which meant that I was going to either swim more than my typical mile, or wait around. I hate wasting time, so I knew right away I tricked myself. Ha, ha, ha!

I warmed up for 400m (50 free, 50 breast) and then did the main set, a ladder 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400 with the first 1/2 of the interval slower, focusing on form, and the second 1/2 faster, keeping form. I took 3-5 yoga breaths between intervals. Then I cooled down with 200 back stroke, for a total of 1.5 miles!

I felt better and better in the water, and swam amazingly well for the 400meter interval. I am always surprised as to how I get stronger and stronger the longer I swim. I was probably slower in my first 50 meter interval than in the last 50 meter of the 400meter intervals.

So swimming in on! I feel I am getting better and I take that as a sign that I am going to enjoy getting in the pool for longer swims!

Speaking of signs...please, please let it NOT snow any more. No more snow days! Petru is obsessed with signs and today he made over 50 of them which he placed on the walls of not only his room, but also the living room, dining room, kitchen....

Bye bye January!

January was a good training month. I started out with not much of a plan for my swimming and biking, and settled into a pretty nice routine for both. In running, I continued my training for my 2 upcoming half marathons.

I raced a 5k and was 10 seconds slower than my PR, on a longer course, with some nasty stomach issues.
I ran/raced the Fresh Pond 5 miler (more accurately 4.6er) 3 times and improved my time by 30 seconds each time.

I ran in snow, a lot of snow!
I got used to my new bike!
I made strides in the pool.
I managed to do plyometrics 2 times/week for 15 minutes (after 2 key runs).
I managed to do abs and pilates 2 times/week for 30 minutes.
I started using swim cords.
I started training with heart rate.

The stats:
RUN: 254 miles
SWIM:10.5 miles - I know, way too little but have skipped lots of swims since mom arrived...
BIKE: 560 miles (approximately since I've been on the trainer) OR 31 hours

Great months for running and biking mileage. Not so great for swimming. I plan to bump up swimming a lot once I finish my half marathons and decrease my running mileage. Until then, I will do my best to get in at least 3 one mile swims each week. Can I do it? Will see!




BIKE