Injured -Rajon Rondo and me!

Yes, I have been watching too much basketball.

I don't normally watch but it is a ton of fun to watch with Chris; basketball is for him what running is for me:)

Anyhow, in my search to fit an 8 mile run, a 90 min bike ride, an icebath and a shower before getting Petru from school at 6pm on Wednesday last week, I managed to slip in the bathroom and land on my tailbone. OMG! Hurt, Hurt, Hurt! First thing that came to my mind as I sat on the ground was "s$#$#, training, training, training?". After a minute or so I moved my legs slowly, and figured I was OK. I had some pain walking, but got myself dressed, put an icepack on, and drove to get Petru from school. I have been icing since, but I still have pain when sitting. I can swim and bike pain free, but running is painful for the first 5 miles or so, or if I try to go fast. I talked to a few ortho fellows at work and they said running is OK, as the pain does not mean "damage", and will likely stick around for a month or so.

How ironic! I managed to stay injury free while swim/bike/running more than ever, but I did not manage to keep my balance on the bathroom floor....

Tagged

Aron tagged me for the versatile blogger award. I feel, well, honored and , of course, versatile! Thanks Aron. This means I need to write 7 random things about myself.

Here we go:
1. I was an avid hiker before becoming a runner. I took my first real hike with my dad and my brother at age 6. We hiked in the Carpathians in Romania. We left from the closest rural community, and walked to the bottom of the mountain. We hiked all day until we got to a cabin, where we spent the night. We made a fire and ate fatty ham that was dripping on the bread. We hiked for 3 days before coming back home. When I was a teenager I would hike with a group of friends (10-15), and we would sleep outside by the fire, taking turns staying up to watch for animals. Those are some of my best memories. These type of trips were typical in Romania. Certainly a different lifestyle!

2. I first come to US on a 3 months summer internship to study genetics. When I got back home, I knew I wanted to live in the US.

3. In highschool I was seriously in love with a 40 year older than me actor. I would go see his play every.single. evening. It was one that he created/directed, based on Walt Whitman's "Song of myself", with music by The Who, Led Zepellin, and Beatles. Oh my!

4. I am absolutely in love with my husband. Seriously. I think he gets better and better looking as he ages. I even like the things that annoy me about him.

5. I'd take an icecream any day over alcohol.

6. I would love to go on "Survivor".

7. I hate shopping, unless it is for running/tri clothes. I do 90% of my shopping on line.

OK, now I need to tag 15 people. How about the first 15 people who comment?

Time to train - how do you find it?

Lindsay asked me how I find the time to swim/bike/run so much. The "so much" is relative, as I am doing little compared to others.

In 2009 when I started training for my first marathon, I panicked when I saw a 13 mile run in the middle of the workweek. How would I fit it in? Now I can manage to run 10 miles and bike 90 min during the same day. I confess that it is not only time management, though that has a huge component, along with the mind set that I can fit everything I want to (reasonable want here) into my day. But what really helps me make it all happen is my husband. I have a great one! I am going to put it out there. All I do is work, train, and spend time with Petru. I don't cook. I don't do dishes. I don't clean. I don't grocery shop. I don't pay bills. OK, I do these things once in a while, but not regularly. My husband works part time and also has a large part of the summer off, so he is the one who does all these things on a regular bases. It is an arrangement that works for us. Before you hate me, let me just say that I sometimes wish I could be the one working part-time, and that grocery shopping and cooking seem kind of nice to do when you don't get to do them. So all is relative here. But I wanted to let you all know that I am in no way super woman, and that I could not do all that I am doing if both my husband and I had to work full time, or if my husband was not so amazingly good about the household responsibilities, and overall supportive.

How do you fit training into your schedule?

Loving training and summer plans!

I am loving half ironman training. I think it was exactly what I needed after the strict marathon training. I am so much more relaxed. I don't skip workouts, but there is no pace to hit on the bike, and although I am pushing myself during the swim, I am not strict about my times. This will be my first HI, and this is an experiment to see whether I want to become serious about triathlon.

I put in lots of miles during the past week: 42 running (including a 2 hour run by feel, to keep my endurance up = ended up being faster than I expected and I loved not to be Garmin obsessed), 101 mile biking (51 outdoors, on a new route, a bit too fast which meant difficult last 15 miles), 4 miles swimming (including 1.5 miles when I shared the lane with 3 faster swimmers and swam in fear that I am going to get in their way; nothing like a little extra motivation to move outside my comfort zone; and wow, how fun! I have to find a way to do masters next year!).

I am feeling great! I am not too tired, and I am not super hungry (I keep hearing about hunger pangs with increased training, but not me). My legs feel great, too, and strong!

Summer is here, and there is lots going on. I'll probably run a free fun 2.5 mile race in Fresh Pond next weekend, then my last attempt to the sub 20 at Lowell on June 6th. I'll get to swim, ride and run on the course of the Vermont Journey Half Ironman in 3 weeks, as Chris and I will take a little getaway to Vermont (so it happens:) for our 10th year anniversary. Can you say awesome husband? He actually proposed that we go there! He'll do the swim and bike course with me, which is great because:1) I'll feel safe in the water and 2) I won't get lost on the bike! I heard the course is hilly, which concerns me a bit because I am only now learning to shift gears for uphills and downhills. But, I have plenty of time!

The day after the actual race we will all fly to Romania where I have a conference and then Chris and I will explore the Carpathians while my mom and Petru get to hang out! Can't wait!!! There will also be lots of weekends in New Castle at the beach with Chris's mom, and swims at Waldon Pond and Arlington reservoir. I have no major work deadline except the usual, so I'll get to enjoy my summer of training and my family!

On racing weight

The concept of race weight is a puzzle to me. Everyone seems to be talking about "it", getting to "it", maintaining "it". There is even a book on the subject. Still, I don't get "it". I do have a tendency to miss the trees for the forest, so maybe this is my problem.... In any case, since Boston I have been recording my weight and body fat almost daily (some days I forgot), first thing in the morning. My goal was to try to see whether there is a relationship between weight/BF and my race performance. I ran 2 races since I started this experiment, one week apart. I was .2 lbs heavier on the second race, but ran it 3 seconds per mile faster. Of course, the second course was faster, and I had the training experience of the first race. So a wash off, I think. I'll keep up my little experiment, and see what I find out.

Here are my questions for those of you with "a racing weight":
1. How do you know what your racing weight is?
2. How can you separate racing weight from training? For me, it seems I am getting faster because my body can handle more quantity and quality training. How can you separate the training effect from from weight effect? I am not about to train hard and make myself gain 5lbs, then keep training constant, lose the 5lbs and run races at both weights to see what happened. Even with this little experiment, there would still be confounds.

What do you think?

Thinking, thinking...

I've been thinking a lot about why I picked a battle with the 5K this summer. I've never used to run 5ks, I've always thought that they are not worth the effort, only 3 little painful miles. But after the marathon I got bored with not training. I also had a bad taste in my mouth from the Boston marathon. I spent a lot of time looking over my training, and figuring out how to train for my fall marathon, and how to train for my half iron in August. And then I realized that I ran a lot of track during the marathon training cycle, and I ran it very fast (for me). And then the 5K idea! Based on my stats, it looked like I could easily break 20. My mile repeats during marathon training were between 6:05 and 6:22, which would certainly be enough for a sub 20. Hence, the first 5K. Then the second. It became a bit addictive and after the second one I kept looking for my next one immediately. I was mad, because had the course been right, I would have gotten my sub 20. I was mad, particularly after the second one, because my vomiting urges during the last mile made me slow down when otherwise I felt great. I was mad because I always/almost always get what I want. But making decisions when I am mad is something I learned not to do. So I took time away, and looked at the big picture of my training. I realized that I have to think long term vs short term. The marathon is my long term goal. And while a sub 20 5K would make me feel all special and good for a few minutes, it's not worth spending all my weekends running 5Ks until I get my sub 20. The marathon is my "A" goal and I am going to need to get my long runs in. So I signed up for one more 5K, June 6th (thanks Katie), flat and fast, hopefully accurate. I will probably go to the track once or twice for mile repeats before it. If I don't get my goal, I'll try again sometime in the future. Just not this summer.

I've been reading lots of 5K reports as of late. I realized that I don't care about being third, or second, or even first (I was first only once, in an 8 mile small trail race). I don't even care about the prizes (though $150 worth of massages is not nothing). What I really care about is PRing and getting that silly sub 20. Because whether you are first or second or last is relative to how small or big the race is, who shows up, how accurate the course is (had to throw that in). But a PR is a PR, and it stands on its own. It becomes my history.

So, one more shot at the 5K, lots of swim and bike, with an extra dose of running during late summer. And, of course, lots and lots and lots of this:

Mystic 5K AKA the 3.2 race!

Time: 20:12
Place: 3 overall women;
1st AG.
Pace: 6:20

This race was advertised as a 5k, but then at the race people started talking about it being a 3.2 race rather than a 5k. Big difference, people, for someone who is trying to break 20 min.

Anyhow, this will be a short race report.

Mile 1: 6:20 - managed to keep pace down, 2 women in front of me, could have passed them, but I held my pace down and kept my eye on the prize (sub 20). Felt great!

Mile 2: 6:14 - feeling great, great, great! Passing people left and right, 2 women still in front of me but I was on their heels.

Mile 3: 6: 32 - feeling great, and then all of a sudden I had vomit in my mouth (yes, I know!). I kept gagging. I felt great otherwise, breathing was fine, legs were happy. Darn! I slowed down, tried to vomit, couldn't do it, so started running again, swallowing in hopes of stopping the gagging.

.21: 5:51 pace - focused on not puking, but feeling great.
+++++

So, same result as last week, but, because of the longer course, the pace this week was 3 secs/mile faster than last week. My goal was to run a 6:20 pace, which would have been enough for a sub 20 assuming an extra .05, so I was where I wanted to be.

I talked a bit to the winners and some of the runners after the race and everyone concurred that the course was long. I was super careful to run tangents but that did not help. And it is not my Garmin, other people ran 3.25! In any case, I am happy about this race. Time for a 5K would have been 19:38, by the way! I'll make that official one of these races! I just need to find a time chipped, accurate race. For now, I have to figure out the vomiting issues! One runner told me that I need to run my first mile slower, so maybe I should try that. The thing is, I always have vomiting issues at the track, but never in tempos or races longer than 10 miles. It is so frustrating to feel great, I mean really great, comfortable breathing, no lactic acid accumulation (no post run soreness this week or last!), just the gagging and vomiting! GI system, just get the memo, will ya?

I won an hour sports massage, by the way! Very exciting. But more exciting was this little prize I got at the end of the race! Yes, no glamor shot here, this is how I look after working HARD, bulging veins on my forehead, sweat and salt on my face, love it, love it, love it!















And this is how I look when I lose my patience with Chris tryyyyyyyyyyyying to take a picture!Both Petru and I have the same expression: "Let's go, dad!" Funny!

Enjoying it!

Now that I am devoting training time to swimming, biking, and running, I find myself looking forward to most if not all of my workouts. The variety is amazing!

Swimming: I can't believe how much I improved in less than one year. October 2009 was the first time I decided to learn to swim free style. After watching a few videos on line, I went to the pull, put a belt on, and started "swimming". That was the first time ever I put my head in the water. It was a long process until I graduated to swimming one lap, than 8 laps, and so on. I am still a slow swimmer, but I am much more comfortable in the water. I have learned to go against my instincts in the water - slow down when I feel out of breath, push my head into the water when I feel I am sinking, and so on. I have been reading "Total Immersion" during this past month, and have been watching instruction videos on line. That program is amazing, and I have learned a ton from it. I am now swimming 3 times/week, 3-5 miles total, but I feel I need to swim about 5 days a week to get my times down to where I think I can (for this year). I think I'll be able to make that happen come June. Will see! My challenge in swimming is still fear, fear that if I go too fast, I may get into oxygen debt and I can't just stop like I could in running and biking! I think I need to work on alternative fast and slow swimming within one interval, to get over that fear.

Biking: I love biking. My longest distance so far is 50 miles. I go pretty slow and don't really push myself, but will try to add some speed in June. During May my goal was to get my muscles used to biking, and my body used to increased training volume. I think that I have a good built for biking and I actually could get really strong on the bike. Next week I will join a group ride and am pretty excited (and nervous) about that. I also love my trainer rides. They are only 90 minutes so far, but a great excuse to watch reruns of Survivor and This Amazing Race!

Running: I started to do my 2 easy runs without my Garmin. It's actually fun, and I can't believe it. I still have to keep an eye on my pace and keep it slow, but not having the watch with me definitely helps. Since Boston I have not done any speedwork, with the exception of my 5K last week. I have been averaging 30-35 miles/week, with 75% on trails. I will probably do a few intervals before my sprint tri end of June, and than marathon training starts! Hurray!

Core work: I can now do 50 push-ups in one session, no problem. I can only do 2 chin ups (we got a pull up bar) and one pull up, which is funny because I developed a strong upper body due to swimming. Guess different muscles.. I have also been doing lots of jumps, leg work, etc, about 10-20 minutes every weeknight!

So questions for you!

1. Any books on triathlon, biking or swimming that you recommend? I love love love reading anything sports related but at the same time, I don't have a ton of time for fun reading and would love to be efficient and choosy about it!

2. Any info you wish you had when you first got started with all or one of the sports (run, bike, swim).

Thanks!

On running form

When I don't train for a marathon, I focus on improving my form. I had horrible form when I first started racing, and I believe my myriad of running injuries were if not the cause, at least related to my poor running form. Focusing on form during off marathon season has given me a goal aside from speed (which is good, because I believe in taking short breaks from "getting faster").

Now that I am getting into 3-somes (not those kind, silly), I am even more aware of how important form is. For swimming, it makes a huge difference, even for a slow swimmer like myself (or maybe more?). Although I don't own a tri bike, I still can feel a difference when I bike up right vs in more of an aero position. I don't get the physics of it all (particularly on the bike) but I can really feel the difference it makes! And that is motivating.

So back to running form.... I am skimming Chi Running (skimming, because the book is boring, yes, I said it!). The claim of the book is that by using chi running principles one can run effortless (can you tell I don't really buy that, I mean , I can run effortless with poor form, just very slow...lets be serious, if you are going to run fast, it is not going to be effortless). Aside from that claim, the form advice the writer gives works. When you lean forward but not from the waist, like I do when I get tired), you fall into your strike, onto your big toe. That part does feel effortless. Now the part I don't get. The author talks about not pushing from your big toe, and just letting the force from the fall of the foot onto the ground propel you up. This goes a bit against what I have heard before, about pushing with your big toe. So now I am confused. Hrr. Chi running also talks about not lifting your knees (extra, unnecessary effort), which again, goes against what I've heard. I've tried both ways, and I have to say the chi running way does seem easier. But is it faster, I don't know. So what do you think? What's a good running form?

And now I leave you with these....

Meb, finishing Boston. I love Meb, but look at his form...not good!














And the winner (yellow shirt)...can you say perfection?













And a video I got from Angela's blog, and have been watching over and over and over...Ryan Hall in slow motion, 4:50 pace at mile 17. I can't even wrap my head around how fast this is!!!

Product review -orthaheel sandals

A few weeks ago the nice folks at Orthaheelusa contacted me with information about their footwear, asking whether I was interested in a product review. They claimed that the sandals are very comfortable and help with foot pain and pronation issues. This was about the time of the Boston Marathon, and in anticipation of post marathon lost toenails, foot pain and such I immediately agreed. Unfortunately, it took a while for the sandals to come in, so I was not able to test them immediately post marathon. They did arrive about a week ago, so I had a bit of time to try them out.

I was sent the kinetic Sandals, aka their sports sandals. Pretty, no? The Kinetic flip flop features a soft fabric toe post and quick-dry sports nylex mesh lining for added comfort for after sport therapy or outdoor activities. The unique Orthaheel® motion-controlling footbed features a contoured arch support and deep heel cup that realigns your stride and helps reduce foot fatigue. Durable TPR outsole with wave-patterned tread that helps improve traction (from the website)


When I first put them on, they seemed a bit awkward. They have a lot of arch support, and I am not used to that. I have high arches that collapsed a bit post pregnancy, but they are still pretty high, so I thought the arch support is going to be annoying. I was surprised, though, that after wearing these for 30 min or so, they molded to my feet and I did not even notice them. I am a barefoot when possible type person, and usually have shoes all around the house because I start with shoes on, then take them off, get another pair, etc. But I did not do this with these sandals. They are light and comfortable.

I am not sure about the accuracy of the claim that the manufacturer makes. They say that the shoes are designed to correct bio mechanical imbalances in the foot, thus helping relieve foot pain. They even have a questionnaire to help you chose the type of sandal that would work best for you, based on type of foot and pain issues (hammertoes, collapsed arches, back pain, heel pain, etc).

The sandals are a bit pricey - the kinetics retail for $59 - but they have a few cute sandals for about $30 or so. Check them out, particularly if you have foot or back problems. I am thoroughly enjoying mine!

MOM's 5K race report

aka almost there in 2 ways: sub 20 and puking.

Here it goes.

Chris asked me a few days ago what I wanted for Mother's Day and I replied: "A race". After a little searching I found a nice little race close to home, in Davis Square Somerville. Perfect. The start was at 10am, which meant that I would be all set eating breakfast at 7am, so no need to wake up at ungodly hours. Perfect. Temps were cool, high 50s. Perfect. The winds though, were not pretty. Holly molly, I could hear them throughout the night and into the early morning. But you gotta roll with what you have, and, really, this is not a marathon! So lets go.

We got to the race around 9am, I picked up a nice race bag including an Adidas Tshirt. I gutted it out and went outside and warmed up for a mile or so, on the course. Two words: holly mother of hills and wind! I almost fell on a downhill (no joke!).

The race was not chip timed, so as we got close to 10am I proceeded to get close to the start line. I let the fast Somerville runners fill the first couple of lines, and positioned myself in the center toward the front. Off we go.

Mile 1: Don't rush! 6:25 average
I started out around 6:30, where I wanted to be. Pretty soon I was the second woman, with the first woman pretty close. I was working harder than a 6:30, which was annoying. The wind was really strong, and since the race was small (250 people) there was noone to draft off of. At .5 there was a .25 hill and I slowed down to a 6:40, but got myself on pace and passed the first woman in the process. That made me speed up!

Mile 2: Keep it up! 6:20 average
Mile 2 was nice, as the wind was coming from the back and I really felt it pushing me. The second woman was right behind me, though. Right next to me was a guy, and we were running the same pace. A couple of rollers here, but not too bad. I was in the zone.

Mile 3: Don't puke! 6:26 average
After mile 2 we turned a corner and the wind was again in front pushing us behind. 2 long hills, not very steep, but with the wind, very difficult to tackle. I put my head down, and all of a sudden I see the second place woman passing me. Darn! I started to go faster, but at 2.5 miles I started gagging and knew that I am going to puke if I push it more. In retrospect, maybe I should have puked already! At 2.75, this woman flies by me and then by the first woman sprinting her way toward first place. I looked behind to make sure there were no other women, and try to push the pace.

.16: Gag! Gag! Gag! 5:55 pace!
I put my head down and sprinted. Saw the clock saying 19:55, and though that maybe I could still go under 20. Nope! After the finish I gagged for a minute or so. I could not stop. The man who ran most race near me came to check on me, asking if I was OK. I was, I just could not stop gagging. Finally I drank some water and the gagging stopped!

Final time:
Garmin: 3.16 miles; 20:12; 6:23 pace; 3rd woman overall!
Official time: 20:12.

SO this is a PR by 13 seconds, but it is not the sub 20 I wanted. I could take some comfort into the fact that my time at 3.1 was 19:48, but I won't because the official time is what counts! Darn, weaving always gets me!

I do feel I gave it my all today, and that feels good. The winning time (women) was 19:57, which is a slow time for a woman's win in Massachusetts, so I bet the weather slowed everyone down a bit!

And what's next? I will find a flat 5K this summer and hopefully manage to go under 20. And yes, I won't bike 50 miles on rolling hills the day before:)

Oh, and I got a gift certificate for a 30 min sports massage, flowers, a trophy which I will probably donate (why oh why are we given medals and trophies, does anyone really keep those things?), a nice tech shirt and lots of great food! For $25 registration, I take it!

A day in my life

5:00am UP
6:00am arrive work
7:00 research meeting
7:30 clinic starts
1:30 clinic ends
2pm home
2:15-3:15 8 mile run
3:30-5:00 trainer
5:00-5:20 - icebath and quick shower
5:30 pick Petru up from school (30 min early, what a mom:)
5:45 home, cook special dinner with Petru, to celebrate that Chris got a summer job teaching engineering to 4th graders.
6:30 Chris gets home, dinner
7:00 "Gallop" (Petru) to Brigham's for icecream.
7:45 back home, bath for Petru
8:00 bedtime stories with Petru (my turn!)
8:30 collapsed on the couch;
8:45 write notes from this morning, revise manuscript (hopefully) while "watching" the basketball game with Chris.
10:30 hopefully in bed!

One thing I will say, no Ironman for me until I retire! There is no way I could incorporate that kind of training into my life at this point!

I think I am catching a bug...

I ended my first week of base building for the Half Ironman.

Swim: 4800m, 3 sessions
RUN: 32 m, 5 sessions (yes, I am running more than I should, I know)
BIKE: 92 miles, 3 sessions

Hurray! Loved it, loved it, loved it!

My running legs came back this week and I ran comfortably close to my "predicted" MP. Sweet!
I have the hardest time keeping the easy days easy and I have to constantly check the Garmin and slow myself down. I know that is important, so I do it.

I am seeing progress in the pool. Every time I go, I spend 5-10 minutes watching swimmers who know what they are doing, asking questions, etc. People are so nice and encouraging and...liars (e.g.," such a nice stroke you have!" No, I don't, really!) I feel much more comfortable swimming, and for the first time, this week, I felt pain in my arms from lactic acid accumulation, even though I was not out of breath! I've lost one minute or so in the 400m test, so that is awesome! Early June the outdoor pool at the Y will open and will be there everyday, which means I'll sneak in a few yards daily!

Today I fell in love with biking. I wanted to ride 40 miles, 10 more than last week, but had no clue where to go. I ended up going on the bike path till the end (8 miles), and then followed this guy (who lost me pretty quickly) toward Bedford, Billerica, Chamsford. The terrain was rolling, which was great as I got to practice going up and down hills and shifting. I did not care about speed and just focused on keeping my cadence over 90 (yeah, that is not easy for me, but I am getting better). There were very few cars on the road, and tons of bikers. The weather was perfect and I felt like a kid with a new toy. It helped that Roostom from the Quad Cycles (who's son is one of Petru's favorite playmates) in Arlington tuned my bike, changed my back tire that was close to explosion from too much trainer work, installed my odometer and a new cascate (?, I think - note to self, register for a learn the bike workshop!). I had the best time for those 2 and a half (?) hours I spent riding; not one minute did I feel like I wanted the ride to end, which is awesome! I think my bike has a great fit, because I had zero pain during or after the ride! Another thing I love about riding is that I get to eat real food (peanut butter and jelly, yum!) as opposed to gels, like I do in running.

So, a very successful week for this runner who is playing with the triathlon!
##############

As a side note, I discovered what caused my awfull marathon blister. A pebble! Yes, a tiny pebble got caught in the tread sole of my Nike Frees! I am saving that one, as a symbol and a reminder that little things can cause big trouble!