Racing schedule!

I started out about 4 blog post during the past few days. I did not finish them, the tone was not right.

I wanted to say how gimmicky the New Yorker article on running form was.

I wanted to ask you if 5-6 hours bike, 3 mile swim and 50 miles run represent a good enough base training for me.

I wanted to tell you about how frustrating it is to see that there is no agreement on proper swim technique (e.g., hand entry, rotation, etc, etc).

I wanted to tell you how I am becoming addicted to compression tights and have forbidden myself from purchasing any this year (I already own 5 pairs of compression shorts and 2 pairs of compression tights).

But then I realize that I really want to talk about racing. So let me share my tentative, incomplete, and exciting schedule for the remainder of 2010 and most of 2011.

December 2010
December 4th - Skyline Trail Race (Middlesex Fells), 2 loops, 16 miles - assuming no snow.

January 2011
January 1st - Lowell New Year 5K - going for sub 20!
January 16th - Derry 16 miler

February 2011
February 21st - Half at Hamptons Half Marathon - going for sub 1:30!

April 2011
April 21 - Great Bay Half Marathon - going for sub 1:30 again!

May 2011
Hopefully a bike race.

June 2011
June 6th - Mooseman Half Ironman - going for a PR!

One week completely off after Mooseman.
One week easy.

July 2011
Back in training. Hopefully a bike racing event.

August 2011
August 20th Vermont Half Ironman - going for as close to 5h as possible!
One week easy
Transition to running

September 2011
Nothing

October 2011
October 16th - Baystate Marathon - going for 3:10 if I manage a sub 1:30 half, or a 3:15 if I don't.

This is A LOT of racing for me. Will see how it will go! I am excited!!!

Catching up and strength

I've been sans my home computer for a few days - my laptop had to be encrypted so that I could continue to use it for work, don't get me started about how much of a pain this process was - hence, the lack of commenting and posting. Work is also supper busy, which is actually good for me since I am not training that much (for me). Anyway, I am back:).

Let the randomness begin:

* So I am in a love-relationship with running and biking, and a bit of a "grr, I don't want to do this" relationship with swimming. My runs are still done easy - except this morning when I ran with my friend B and we ended up running 11 miles @ MP -and mostly on trails. My mileage is going up and I am hoping that by December I'll be settled into 50 miles/week, which is where I'll most likely stay (+/- 10 miles) until I start training for a marathon again. I get on my bike often, for one or two episodes of Grey's Anatomy, which is nice. It's funny bc some of this show's messages, like how there is always a cause for a symptoms/disease, and if you search long and hard with multiple tests and procedures you eventually find the cause and save the person, goes head to head with my main area of research. A few years ago I would have been pissed about this. Now I can just watch the show for what it is and hope that others who watch it will take it as it is, just a show, no real life. Will skip over swimming....I get it done, but I am not into it. I assume it's normal, and pretty soon I'll be excited about swimming and not so much about the other 2 sports.

* Aimee and others have been asking about my plyometrics/strength training regimen. I know many people are into TRX or crossfit or P90X. I don't know much about these, except that they would not fit well within my schedule right now because I don't have time to go to a gym to take a 1h or so class. I also don't like to watch a video and follow along. So, I did some research and came up with some simple exercises. Here is what I do:

1. Plyos: done after a hard run; build up to 2X/week.
1.1. Lunges: build up to 50.
1.2. Side run: 10 on R, switch to 10 on L, build up to 100.
1.3. Backwards/forward run: run backwards for a count of 10, then forward for a count of 10, continue switching and build up to 10 switches.
1.4. Hill sprints: build up to 10X10sec all out sprints.
1.5. Skipping: on flat or hills.
1.6. Butt kicks/high knees: 10 butt kicks/10 high knees, switch 5 times.
1.7 Jumps: on a set of stairs, or a bench, etc. Jump up the stairs, or up and down the bench. Build up to 50.

2. Strength: done at night; 2-3 times/week; I use 5lbs ankle weights and a band.
2.1. 200 abs - vary the type.
2.2. planks -3X30sec (build up to 90 sec or more) front, L side, R side, no rest.
2.3. Side kick routine from Windsor's pilates (google it to find free videos) with ankle weights.
2.4. Wall sits - as long as I can...
2.5. Arm swings (just like in running) with 10-15lbs weights. Build up to 30 reps.

Both my plyos and strength routines take 10-20 min, but they add up to 50-100 min/week. For me, that's all I can do right now with my time constraints.

* We got Petru's school pictures the other day, and I am a proud mama. I can't believe how 2 average looking people like my husband and me were able to make such a good looking boy. End of proud mama moment after the pictures.

Base training, music concer, Halloween...oh, my!

Base training:
I managed to run 30 miles, swim 3 miles and bike 5 hours this past week. Pretty pleased with that. My legs feel great. I've done some research on strength training and running - actual scientific studies - and they got me convinced that plyometrics and a strong core are the way to go and will improve my running/biking economy/power. I have not designed a program yet, but I will. I'll add plyometrics to runs, and will develop a strength program to do at night (I do have a current program, but it needs work).

I went back to the Fells this weekend and ran the same trail again. Next week I'll probably double up - 15 miles, probably 3 hours and 30 min, perfect endurance work for base training. I plan on going there until the snow hits the ground! I've been getting on my bike - still the old one - a lot, for 45-60 min/session. Next week I'll start building a 2h ride in, either outdoors or on the trainer. Next Sunday I'll also start Masters, which has me a bit nervous.

Music Concert:
On Friday evening we took Petru to his first Passim concert. For those of you not from MA, this is a tiny cafe where mostly folk bands/singers play, some quite famous, but mostly newer bands. We discovered David Wax Museum last Spring, and have been playing their music a lot. Petru loves them (when he was born Chris and I made a pact to avoid kid music and get him on board with music that we like. It worked! He's got great taste:), and has been having concerts in the summer "playing" their music. Here he is, this summer, age 4:

We promised that we would take him to one of their concerts this year, and it so happen that they played at Passim for their last MA concert of the year. The opening band started at 7:00, and they came on around 8pm. We were a bit worried bc Petru hates loud noises, but he did amazingly well, got to talk to the band, they played his favorite song and interacted with him a lot. It was a blast. Can't wait to do it again!!!




Halloween:
Chris and I have a tradition. We dress up every year. Last year we were Sunny and Cher. This year I wanted us to be The Situation and Snookie, but apparently these are super popular characters, so I changed my mind. Chris and I went on our own. He decided to be Superfrog (yes, it's made up). I decided to use my Splish suit and was Wonder Woman (I did wear a cape over the suit, though I think I still made half of the neighbourhood uncomfortable). Petru, of course, did not want to dress up (he refuses every year!), but I managed to put some tights on him and a longer shirt, so he had a little goth look.





Trying to look fierce!















Petru behind the pink butterfly...he was ALL about candy!


















My Superfrog!
(inspired by the Vibrams I got him for his bday!)

















Now I am off to "help" Petru eat his candy:) In my house it's all you can eat candy for Halloween!

Bike Fit part 1

Meet my new bike, Cannondale Slice 5. Isn't he a beauty? And yes, it is a he; what can I say, I want to be able to flirt with it/him, since we'll be spending so many hours so close together!


When I went to the bike shop for my fit I had 2 bikes in mind: Felt B16 and Cannondale Slice 5. I did a ton of online research and these 2 bikes seemed to fit my budget. But, I wanted to see what bikes would be suggested to me, so I kept silent about it.

Jay from 53eleven fit to ride did the fitting. He is a PT who specializes in biomechanics, and also an ex -ironman racer. We started out by getting my feet measured and than figuring out the appropriate cleat position. (Insert embarrassment here when I had to take my shoes off and show my 6 toenails). Apparently I am on my way to developing bunions; my big toe is very flexible at rest, but not when weight bearing, which in time will lead to bunions, if I don't work on weight bearing flexibility. Otherwise all looked good!

The bike shop guys had an entry level bike all set up for me. Turns out that I need a 50, which is one of the smallest bike sizes. Although I am 5'7'', apparently I am all legs and no torso. (All I say to that is you should have seen me when I was in the 8th grade. My arm pits were directly connected to my legs:), true story!) Since the bike they had set up for me did not work (too big), Jay did not charge me for the appointment (even though we ended up spending about 2 hours bike talking), and will meet again to finish up.

Jay suggested a couple of bikes for me, of which Felt B16 was within my price range. The fit was not quite good because the 50 came with 650 wheels which apparently makes for funky geometry and is also a pain in the butt bc very few people use that type of tire. One of the bike shop guys stopped by after a while - he used to do lots of bike racing and knows a ton about bikes - and he started trash talking Felt; apparently Felt bikes used to be great until a couple of years ago when the company started using chippo parts (bad breaks, tires), and the value of the bike went down. Who knows, maybe he just wanted to sell me a different bike?Anyhow, he wanted me to look at a Scott Plasma, but that was outside my price range, and then at a Cannondale Slice5 , which ended up being the right size for me (according to the internet, the best for those with short torso and long legs). I'll have to meet with Jay again in 2 weeks to finalize the fit (from his perspective, it's all about "points in space", of which I'll learn more next time we meet).

For now, I am beyond excited. I am also a bit nervous (will I be able to ride a tri bike???), outraged (I've never thought that I would end up spending this much money on a bike!!!), and proud (that I can choose to buy this bike).

I also picked up a little extra work so that I could get myself a powermeter wheel in the near future! Although I am a beginner and will most likely improve by just riding, everyone keeps telling me how much more efficient training with a power meter is. And I am all about efficiency!

Can't wait!!!

What's up!

So I am blaming Hudson for my early return to running. He advises runners to not take more than one week off, and always keep their mileage at at least 50% of their max mileage. He points out that injury is likely to happen when the body undergoes stress, like increase mileage, or speed, or change of terrain. In addition to protection from injury, Hudson also believes that maintaining such a base allows one to improve from year to year. What do I know? I listen to the expert!

OK, OK, so the truth is that I feel like my body has deconditioned enough in one week off of running. I build fitness/speed quickly, but I lose it quickly, too. Case in point. I was mildly sore after Baystate, but was severely sore after my Saturday trail run. Today I went for an easy 5 mile trail run (a flat 1 mile loop around a reservoir), and then decided to do some squats (25). Wouldn't you know it, I am so sore now, even though I took an ice bath and swam a little to stretch myself out.

Speaking of swimming. This Total Immersion Swimming plan really works. That guy Terry Laughing is a genius. This month I celebrated one year since I first put my head under the water, and since I swam one lap of crawl. I remember being so nervous when I would get to the deep end of the pool, thinking and feeling like I am going to drawn. It is hard to believe that I came so far; I am growing into a confident (albeit slow) swimmer. If you've ever wanted to swim, well, if I did it, you can do it too. And you don't necessarily need a coach for that! So, yes, I am a little proud. Now if Petru would develop any interest in swimming....He does like to run, but all organized group sports lessons (swimming, basketball, soccer) have been a fail. He did, however, love gymnastics, and he loves ballet/dancing, so maybe I should not complain.

On Wednesday I have my 3 hour bike fit/pedal stroke, cleat position, etc, etc, analysis. Yesterday I got my Kurt Kinetic and wow, what a difference from my old trainer. There is no cheating on this one, and it really feels like I am riding on the road. I've also discovered Hulu TV and lots of shows that I've never watched, so I should be all set for a while. I watched Kona 2008 the other day and had tears in my eyes. Love that stuff!

I am working on my racing schedule. I need to be smart about it and not sign up for too many races. For me, too many races = injury, mostly bc I push myself a lot in training, too. So far I am doing one HM in February and Mooseman HIM in June.

I also developed some long term goals, which I will post on the side of this blog:) Yes, very ambitious, but the mind puts limits on what we can do, and I don't want to live by these limits.

Sending healing vibes to everyone injured. So many of my fav bloggers are either injured or coming out from injury! Heal, heal, heaaaal!!!!!

Trail running love

So, I did not say 2 weeks without running, right?

I made it 6 days without running. Six days is a long time when not injured, not sore, and otherwise feeling great, right? Right?

Yesterday I went running in the Middlesex Fells with a couple of friends. It was a beautiful day! We ran the Skyline trail, which is a 7.5 mile technical trail, with lots of steep inclines, rocks and roots. I had a couple of close calls where I almost ended up kissing the ground. I have not done any technical trail running in a while, and have forgotten about lifting my legs up and watching the terrain closely. Aside from some magnificent views, the nice thing about running this trail is that, due to its steepness, the pace is rather slow. It took us 1:35 minutes to run the trail, and I tell you, my HR was up on those inclines. Every year there is a race on this trail and a few years ago I won this race (they made it 8 miles) with a 1:20 time. So, I think running a 12-13 min/mile is much closer to walking than running, so I am all good:)

Look at these pics. Ah, I am so happy to be able to run trails again!

Resting and pics

I confess - I have been lazy and I am loving it! Granted, it is self imposed laziness, but not 100% laziness. I do something active daily - walk, short spin on the trainer, easy swim - but nothing more than 30 minutes, and nothing intense. I am sleeping a lot. Typically most days I get back home around 3, 3:30, and work out until 6pm when I get Petru. This week I took a nap every single day. Yes, I slept for 2 hours in the middle of the day, and then had no problem going to bed and sleeping 8 more hours or so during the night. Guess my body needed the rest. And sleep = recovery. I like that. Besides sleeping, I have been catching up on work, getting an appt for a proper bike fit - my bike shop hooked me up with a specialist who will give me a 3 h fitting using a cheap triathlon bike that the bike shop will lend me. Then, based on the test they'll help me pick a bike within my budget that fits with my body type, and then I'll go back to get fitted again. Tomorrow I am getting a kurt kinetic trainer with a power meter. In the spring I'll decide if I want to get a power meter wheel - based on what the guys at the shop told me, if I get into using a powermeter outdoors, I am going to have to get blood tests to figure out lactic acid accumulations and power zones. V complicated and I am not sure if I want to get there yet. I am a beginner, and I know right now I'll get better on the bike even if I just ride a lot. Decisions, decisions!

Speaking of purchases, Splish has a sale right now, so I purchased 3 beauties! I'll start masters in November, and am so excited to try those new happy suits.

Baystate pics are ready. Thank you, Capstone, for the 3-4 pictures in which I can actually recognize myself. In most of the rest it seems like I am wearing my face on my chest, and my legs seem to have cut themselves in half. I am pretty pleased to see that my form held during the last 200 m kick (last 3 pics)!