the master cleanse: ten days to a happier, healthier me

so you're wondering why I would want to deprive myself of the things I really love? {food} well, a couple of years ago my friend, natalie, told me that the average person has about ten to fifteen pounds of, well, crap encrusted in her colon. I was horrified.

{now to clarify, this is not a weight loss scheme. the purpose of this cleanse is to detox my system. a lot of stuff builds up in those intestines over the years, and I'm lookin' to get rid of that.}

which takes me to the cleanse. it's called the master cleanse, also known as the lemonade diet. there's a book out there that you're supposed to read, The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs (or Peter Glickmans' book, Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days is another good resource) but it was all checked out of the library and I didn't really feel like buying it. {hey, this cleanse is already costing me a fortune!} so I've been researching it online and feel I've got a pretty good handle on things.

basically, the lemon and cayenne mixture break up the stuff that is in your intestines and the rest of your body (toxins and such) and the salt water flush removes it all. the maple syrup is what gives you the calories to sustain life for ten days without eating anything. I like to think of this whole process as the agitator and the rinse cycle.

they say you will go through many different symptoms (cravings, aches and pains, sinus issues, et cetera) as your body is flushing out the toxins. once the toxin has been eliminated, the symptom is gone. I'm interested to test this. {I've also heard about a lot of, um, crazy things physically coming out of your body, but I will spare you the details and leave it up to your imaginations. just know that if I have anything like that in my body, I want it out right now.}

I've heard people swear by this method, so I'm excited to try it out. I'm looking forward to increased energy, less unwanted waste in my body, and a healthier diet post-cleanse. and come on, who needs to eat anyway?

the master cleanse: pre-cleanse

right now I'm preparing myself both mentally and physically for this cleanse. it is definitely an unknown adventure that I am about to embark upon. it basically consists of drinking an herbal laxative tea every night (to get the bowels moving) and then a salt water flush every morning (to really get the bowels moving!) then throughout the day I drink about three nalgenes (it's a 32 oz water bottle, folks) of this lemonade drink. (they also call the master cleanse the lemonade diet for this reason) and nothing else. no eating. no drinking other beverages. just tea, salt water, and a lovely lemonade mixture. for ten days. sounds fun, no?

here are the goods:

and now for the recipes: (just in case you were wondering just what goes into this stuff so you could try it along with me at home)

herbal laxative tea:

• follow directions on the box

salt water flush:

• 2 teaspoons uniodized sea salt
• 32 oz spring (or distilled) water

lemonade beverage: (1 nalgene's worth, which is 4 servings)

• 8 tablespoons lemon juice (I'm juicin' real lemons, nothing fake)
• 8 tablespoons organic grade B maple syrup
• 4/10 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 32 oz spring (or distilled) water
  

I hope to chronicle this adventure here (don't worry, I won't get too personal), so keep checking back. tomorrow I will let you know how I feel and perhaps go into more detail as to why I am neglecting my body of the food I so dearly love.

post backpacking trip run

I needed to stretch out the legs a bit after the little backpacking trip we went on this past weekend. {I don't remember the exact mileage of the trip. somewhere along the lines of six to eight. not too terribly impressive until you add in the vertical gain -- about two miles roundtrip. between the two days we spent about eight hours out hiking, and a lot of that was through boulder fields. not easy, to say the least.} my calves, quads, and ankles were a bit tight yesterday and today. surprisingly, though, my hamstring held up quite well through the whole ordeal. maybe I truly am on the road to recovery!

I did the liberty park perimeter loop. the dirt path was easy on the legs and added more distance. instead of going home on 6th east, I headed up to 8th east to finish out those remaining blocks.

I feel myself getting stronger. I could feel it in the hiking. I can feel it when I go running. my pace was pretty good today. right after I hopped onto the dirt path, there was a girl running on the interior sidewalk. I thought to myself, if I can just keep ahead of this girl, I will be doing awesome! (since she was running on the inside track, she had a lot less farther to go than me!) it turns out, I smoked her! so that made me feel good. though she was probably just running incredibly slow. I felt fast today.

I'm starting my cleanse tonight, so I doubt I'll have the energy for any actual physical exercise in the upcoming eight to ten days. but afterwards we should see my energy levels skyrocket! and not to mention I will just be in overall better health. this is a total experiment for me, so we'll see how it all turns out. I'll keep you updated.

~3.5 miles; liberty park perimeter loop to 8th east

run team

we were maybe going to go for a swim, maybe for a ride. we ended up going for a run.

it was the usual liberty park loop. just a quick run. we were hungry and pete hasn't even been running in a long time. it was enough.

my hamstring felt okay. I stretched and iced afterward and feel pretty good about the whole thing. I've got a plan of attack for my tight muscles: a foam roller. I'm opting for this over the stick, since you can get a better, deeper massage out of it. though I do remember the foam roller being the implement of death back in my physical therapy days. yikes. but it is needed, I feel.

3 miles; liberty park

swim | run

monday: pete and I did the labor day swim. went up to steiner for some lap swimming fun.

we didn't actually last too long because we were both deathly hungry (we went to sniagrab first to get the annual ski passes: pete's altabird and my alta silver). it seems we always hit up the pool when we're starving. we were there for about a half an hour, though. for being quick, it was pretty good.

tuesday: I was going to go hiking, but that blasted storm blew in and ruined all my plans. so instead I didn't do anything all day. oh well, we'll take it as a rest day.

wednesday: went running along 800 east. probably just under 4 miles. my right hamstring was bugging me in the beginning, but must have loosened up mid-run. I had some good time to think about training philosophies, that will most likely be shared in future posts. (if I remember what exactly it was I was thinking about.) get excited.

oh, and my runner's world came today. that's always fun and refuels the dedication to the sport. hurrah!

run

I had it all planned out last night. I would wake up early, drive my little self over to some park along the jordan river parkway trail and run about five miles or so.

when I woke up today that plan didn't seem so fun. I hate battling the morning. I sometimes [more often than not] lose. so instead of going running I slept in, leisurely ate some toast w/j (just incase I decided to go at any minute), checked my email and the blogs. I started feeling like the biggest slacker ever. I needed to run. even just a few miles. I couldn't not run. I'd regret it later.

so pete gave me the encouragement I needed to get out the door. he's good like that. I felt stupid because if I was going to go now I might as well have gone two hours before (when the air was so much cooler). but it was still only seventy degrees, so I gave it a go.

I felt tight and slow. I took yesterday as a rest day, and was sore from the ride in the shoulders all day. I felt a little sluggish in the beginning. instead of the JRPT, I just did the perimeter of Liberty. it was quick and easy. I ran up to 8th east and headed south toward home. I started feeling tired in my whole body--sleepy. I have a sneaking suspicion that when I can't breathe very well through my nose (and I also have a sneaking suspicion that I have some sort of nasal/passageway/congestion problem) it makes me tired. I need that oxygen, dangit! anyway, I fought through it and made it home.

I stretched and iced afterward.

3.5 miles; liberty, 8th east

a nice long walk

a walk from our house to hire's big h. in chaco flips. my legs are beat. {don't worry, I stretched and iced afterwards}

4 miles (10,000 steps); 7th east'ish

the blok vs the gu

it turns out
I don't like
the Clif Shot
Bloks

as much
as I like
the GU
energy
gels.









{vanilla bean is still my favorite.}

the roadie

instead of running this morning I decided to go on a ride. I haven't been on my bike in way too long. it was about time.

I rode north on 5th east over to the downtown area, then I headed up city creek canyon via memory grove. I couldn't make it all the way up the canyon because it is actually closed to bikers on even numbered days. (I had no idea city creek even had these restrictions!) but the nice man in the booth said I could come back for two days starting tomorrow: August 31 and September 1. September 1?! how did it get to be September already?

I turned around and headed back the way I came. this time riding all the way out to 45th south before turning back a final time.

I tried to keep it a pretty easy pace. if I pushed too hard I could feel it in my hamstring. 5th east is pretty level (for the most part) so that helped the situation. It felt great to be out there again.

I didn't stretch too well when I got home, but I did ice.

18 miles; 5th east to city creek canyon then out to 45th south

realization

I almost didn't go running this morning. I woke up just wanting to eat. so I had a bowl of corn flakes and then about a half an hour later had this strong urge to get out the door and hit the streets. my stomach was feeling okay; I could probably handle it.

I'm happy to say I got out of the liberty park routine. I ran on an old, familiar running route of mine: 800 east. it definitely felt good to be out there. the air was still cool, going north was a slight incline (you really can't avoid hills in salt lake city, utah) but not too bad. after the turn-around (4th south) I even had that this-is-why-I-love-running feeling. it was great. I really do love running. when I was almost home the legs started to feel a little tight. but they felt tight when I woke up this morning too. so I stretched and iced when I got back to the casa. btw, I discovered cooking while stretching. now I can kill two birds with one stone and eat sooner post run. perfect.

I did realize that the reason why my hamstring was hurting yesterday after my run was due to the strength training I did. [thanks, brook. this post helped me put two and two together] lunges. squats. dead lifts. my hamstring is not ready for that. see, that's the thing. one thing I have to really focus on this time is patience. there is a method {and a madness} to this marathon training business. it's called periodization. you don't go all out at once. there are different phases and intensities you must go through. I have to constantly remind myself that I don't need to go too far or too fast right now. I am laying a foundation. I am building a strong, solid base. strength training will come later. speedwork will come later. higher mileage will come later. I have from now until late december to just run. and I am happy with that.

~4 miles; 8th east

my hammy

I was more disciplined this morning. Instead of stuffing my face with some breakfast, I ate a small piece of toast and was out the door. I did the usual run: liberty park. I need to get out of this rut I'm in. but it's just so easy to run the same route, and not to mention the fact that it's flat (I'm trying to take it easy on my hamstring). maybe I'll break up the monotony tomorrow.

while I was running my hamstring didn't really bother me at all. but now post-run it certainly is. I even stretched and iced when I came home. blast this certain large muscle group of mine! *shaking fist* I just need to get it under control. good thing I have nine months to prepare for my next race. . .

3 miles; liberty park dirt trail

swimteam

pete and I are trying to get back on the swimteam wagon. we went tonight and just did our own thing. we left right as master's was beginning. (I didn't want to face them... yet.)

my first length of the pool felt fantastic. when you don't realize you're already at the wall, that's a good thing. on my way back, after my flip turn, I started feeling it. but that's to be expected when you haven't been swimming in a few months. overall, though, it felt great to be back in the pool tonight. my right hamstring was kinda feelin' it on the breast stroke kick. and while I was doing some freestyle my left shoulder started hurting for no reason at all. fun. like I said, though, overall it was a great workout.

we only swam for about forty minutes, though. we were hungry and cafe rio was calling our name. it's a post-swimteam guilty pleasure of ours.

joint swimteam; steiner

cross country

I really like how it's cooled off lately. at least in the mornings. I was able to go running a little after nine o'clock yet again today. I really should just go right when I wake up, but breakfast lures me in. I'm surprised, though, that I'm able to only wait about an hour or so after eating and it hasn't really affected me too much. (I usually have a three hour time frame after eating for any physical exercise. maybe I've just learned to eat less and my body can digest it easier/quicker)

I ran the usual loop. this time taking the faint dirt path on the perimeter of the park. it adds a little more distance plus you get the feel of running cross country. because I think only cross country runners (not that I would know, maybe I should ask my husband) actually run on grass. I picture rolling hills in the mud and rain: what any good cross country race should be. everyone else tends to stick to the road, sidewalks, or trails.

instead of heading back the way I came, I ran up 13th to 8th east. I was headed that direction anyway since I wanted to get a drink at the water fountain on the south-east corner of the park. and it's good to change things up every once in a while; you never want to run bored.

my legs held up well. nothing major. I stretched and iced when I got home.

3+ miles; liberty park

just so you know

QUALIFYING STANDARDS*
Age Group	Men	Women
18-34	3hrs 10min	3hrs 40min
35-39	3hrs 15min	3hrs 45min
40-44	3hrs 20min	3hrs 50min
45-49	3hrs 30min	4hrs 00min
50-54	3hrs 35min	4hrs 05min
55-59	3hrs 45min	4hrs 15min
60-64	4hrs 00min	4hrs 30min
65-69	4hrs 15min	4hrs 45min
70-74	4hrs 30min	5hrs 00min
75-79	4hrs 45min	5hrs 15min
80 and older	5hrs 00min	5hrs 30min

*qualifying times for the Boston Marathon; any qualifying race must be USATF certified

run + weights

today I went running around nine o'clock. it was basically the same temp as yesterday, but felt hotter for some reason. oh well. you can't win 'em all.

I only went two miles today, but when I got home I did some weight training for my arms.

on the run I felt generally okay. my right ankle was having some weird, random pain. but it came and went, so I'm not too worried about it. the outside of my right foot hurts too. if I remember correctly, I was having this problem when I first got the shoes. maybe I have to re-break them in since I haven't been running in them as of late.

currently I have four bags of frozen corn placed under key areas of my legs. hurrah for icing!

2 miles; liberty + weight training (arms)

run!

it was nearly ten o'clock in the morning and I was in my kitchen doing the dishes. usually by this time of day it's already too hot to go running. as I scrubbed and rinsed I was thinking of what I could do for my physical well-being. swimteam? a ride? I had almost convinced myself to pull on that spandex and head up emigration canyon to see how far I could get when I looked over at our sweet indoor/outdoor temperature gauge thing. thanks again, eliza and paul! it was only 69 degrees. 69 degrees! maybe I could pull off a run, I thought to myself.

so I abandoned the dishes mid-soak, pulled on some running digs, laced up and was out the door.

it was fantastic. the temp outside was very reminiscent of running mid-day in autumn. it made me happy. the air was cooler, and even with that hint of heat, completely bearable. especially in the shade.

I ran the dirt path on the liberty park loop. I took it easy--my goal is to slowly build up mileage and pace. I want a good base below me for my next marathon training push. it was a great run. my hamstring didn't even really bother me!

okay, now I have to go finish the dishes. . .

3 miles; liberty park

what it takes

the four key areas I will need to focus on to get to boston:

• diet
• weight training
• rehabilitation/recovery
• safe/smart training plan
  

the rundown

2009|the marathon of life!

2008|Valley of Fire Marathon|Valley of Fire State Park, NV

2008|Fargo Marathon|Fargo, ND

2007|Famous Idaho Potato Marathon|Boise, ID

2006|the marathon of love!

2005|St George Marathon|St George, UT

2005|Salt Lake City Marathon|Salt Lake City, UT

2004|St George Marathon|St George, UT

2004|Salt Lake City Marathon|Salt Lake City, UT

2003|Lake Tahoe Marathon|Lake Tahoe, CA

2002|Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon|Anchorage, AK

another saturday run!

I woke up at 6:30am, just in time for the big event, laced up and headed out the door. for about the first ten minutes the temperature was actually pretty nice. but after that it just started feeling hot and muggy. I cannot wait for the day that autumn crisp is in the air.

I felt tight in my right hamstring. the outside of my right foot hurt as well. I'm a super thin sock kinda girl, and maybe these socks are too thick. or my shoes shrunk. I mean, I do follow the standard half to full size bigger running shoe paradigm. I love a lot of room, especially in the toe box. but today they just seemed to fit snug. it was bizarre. I did stretch and ice when I got home; hopefully I can finally get my hamstring under control.

I'm proud of myself, though. I've hit the streets for the past three saturdays. and now that I'm practically unemployed and don't have to be to work in the seven o'clock hour I'll be able to start going weekday mornings. hurrah!

4 miles; baby pug tree run: west and east

guts 'n glory

I woke up early on saturday morning to go running. something I haven't done in a long time. well, except for last week. I ran the sugarhouse loop 2.25 times. it was the dash for donations five k. we were team guts 'n glory*.

I made eliza warm up with me a little before the race started. I didn't want to be completely cold going into it. we ran back and forth in a parking lot a few times and then stretched for about a minute. I don't know if you could say I was warmed up, but it was good enough.

I didn't have a real solid plan going into the race. I figured I'd take it pretty easy since I'm slightly out of shape and not to mention the fact I was up until almost one o'clock in the morning the night before, eating junk food right up until the moment I laid my head on my pillow, and my legs are always so tight. but after that gun went off I knew I had to at least give it my best shot. I mean, it was only three point one miles. I can endure almost anything for three point one miles. so I tried to run it at a good pace. I definitely wasn't used to hills, but I tried my best to power through them.

I came in around twenty-five minutes. which isn't a super amazing five k time (though it might be around my fastest five k time--I don't run very many five k's) so I was a little surprised to see that I had come in second place in my age division. I was 52 overall, out of around 700'ish participants. I was excited. it is quite rare that I place in the top three in my age division (the lava to downata triathlon I took first place, the rail trail half marathon I took second place).

it was a fun race; we even stayed for the raffle! eliza was the first ticket called and won a gift card to jamba juice. fun!


3.1 miles; the dash for donations five k; sugarhouse park; 25 minutes and something seconds


*the roster:
becca, team captian and tissue donor recipient. oh, and walker extraordinaire!
eliza, runner
paul, runner
anna, runner
my mom, walker and baby stroller pusher
my dad, walker
peter (the baby), rider
nuno, rider
(me, eliza, paul, my dad, peter and nuno were the guts. my mom was the 'n. and becca was the glory. go team guts 'n glory!)

maybe it's time

a couple of weeks ago my favorite mag came in the mail (along with my favorite catalog. it was a definite good mail day!) and as I was flipping through it I started to get a little sad inside. I hadn't been running in months. a dark cold weight sunk to the bottom of my heart, was I not a runner anymore? I paused there in that place for a moment and then quickly brushed the thought aside. as soon as the way-too-hot-for-doing-anything-especially-running summer temps started to cool off, I'd be back on the road. besides, after running a marathon in may, can't a girl take a break for a while?

I woke up this morning sometime around four o'clock. I could feel my left IT band acting up. my legs were restless. I knew I needed to run. Somewhere around five o'clock I woke up again with the same feeling in my legs. I got up and looked outside; it was too dark to go running. so I went back to sleep. around 6:45am I woke up again, dragged myself out of bed (by this time my legs had calmed down and it would've been so easy to let myself sleep in), put my running clothes on, kissed my sleepy husband goodbye and was out the door.

I decided to run the usual loop around liberty park and back. it felt good to be out there in the cool morning air. by the time I got to the park I was warmed up and ready to go. I started the loop a little too fast and regretted it later on. though I did stick it out and even added another loop (this time the longer dirt path around the perimeter of the park) to increase the distance. by the time I was done with both the loops it was getting hotter and I knew it was time to go.

it felt good to be out there again. I am a runner.

~4 miles; liberty park
a training run for the upcoming big race.

idaho

I forgot to mention that pete and I went on a ride, a real ride, when we were on vacation in idaho. it was about sixteen miles of lovely country side and picturesque farm goodness. we rode from lava over to caribou county. the temp was perfect. it was fabulous ride.

look for that ride (or will it be the run route? we're still not sure) in the future lava monster triathlon, hoping to make its debut to the public in july of '09.

resolutions

last week peter and I discussed our health and nutrition goals over a basket of fries and some shakes. we made a resolve to exercise at least one day the following week. (it's so easy to slack off in the summer when you're held hostage by sunlight and heat) here was my week:

monday: joint swimteam with peter. hurrah! it felt good to be back in the pool, as it always does. we only lasted a half an hour, though. I was too hungry. and you can practically taste that crappy air out there. no good.

tuesday: yoga.

wednesday: I rode my bike to work.

thursday: yoga. I was the only person who showed up for the class, so I had my own private lesson.

friday: hiked up to timpanogas cave. with kids. exhausting!

peter went swimming on monday, rode his bike to work on most days, and had a two hour ride on saturday.

good job both of us!

beginner's luck

...Each day I take to the roads as a beginner, a child, a poet. Seeking the innocence of the beginner, the wonder of the child and the vision of the poet. Hoping for new appreciation of the landscape, a new perspective of my inner world, some new insights on life, a new response to existence and myself.

There are times, more often than the good times, when I fail. I never do pierce the shield. I return with a shopping list of things to do tomorrow. The miraculous has gone unseen. The message has gone unheard. I have had one of those loveless days on a lovely day for love.

Still, there is always the chance I'll have beginner's luck. And this run, this hour, this day may begin in delight and end in wisdom.

Dr George Sheehan, Running and Being: The Total Experience

the pocket schedule

ever since camp started I feel like I've totally abandoned my exercise routine. I was going to be so good this summer, too. I had it all mapped out (come and look at the schedule on my fridge, or for your convenience I have the updated pocket version just waiting to be laminated for your easy perusal). It went something like this:

monday:
AM swimteam (fairmont)
PM ride

tuesday:
AM run
(ride to the train and take it up... or just ride to work)
PM yoga

wednesday:
AM ride (to work)
PM swimteam (steiner)

thursday:
AM run
(ride to the train and take it up... or just ride to work)
PM yoga

friday:
AM ride (to work)

saturday:
AM ride or run

sunday:
rest

well, I've been doing my yoga diligently (I did pay for it, after all), but not so much the other things. I am a slacker! I've ridden my bike to work probably all of one time in the last few weeks. I haven't been running (well, except for the mud run, of course. more details and a race report to come). swimteam? haven't done that in over a month!

today after work I went over to steiner to have my own swimteam. I felt I needed to get back in the pool and see if I still had it in me before joining the real team again. it felt good to be back in the water (mostly because it was one-hundred degrees outside) even though my body was having a hard time remembering just what it was it was supposed to be doing. I didn't last too long. that's why I go to masters swimteam--it forces me to do an actual, effective workout. I also didn't reapply the sunscreen, so I didn't want to do too much skin damage. a short little thirty minute pool workout was good enough.

so stay tuned to see if the schedule is put into effect any time soon. . .

saturday AM run

pete and I went running on saturday morning before my staff training. the plan in my head was to do six miles. we only did three. pete just wasn't fealin' it. and to be honest, I didn't really mind. we have the mud run in a couple weeks, and it's all right to ease up to that mileage. yeah. but I am proud of marta and dan, who busted out a six mile training run yesterday. way to go!

in other news, I just read that my sis-in-law, stie, just got into the st george marathon. way to go! it definitely got me all excited; I want to run another marathon right now! whoot! but not st george. (I've done that two times already!) maybe the valley of fire? I've been thinking of doing that one for the past three years or so. maybe it's time I actually did it. but that means I would have to train through the summer. . . yikes.

another lazy week. . . sort of.

I haven't gotten back into a full blown regimen yet. though it's not like I've been completely sitting on my butt or anything.

early saturday morning pete and I went on a hike with katie and bj. we did grandeur peak up millcreek canyon. it was a lot of fun. bj couldn't get over the fact that I was out hiking a week after my marathon. I couldn't get over the fact that his very pregnant wife was out hiking with only six weeks to go! she is very hardcore like that, though. it was a fun hike.

tuesday I had yoga. I never realized just how inflexible every muscle in my body was until this class. it makes me really sore. I'm hoping eventually I'll release and my muscles will begin to lengthen. I look forward to that day.

wednesday I rode my bike all the way to work for the first time ever. I was so proud of myself. it takes a little less than 25 minutes. I think it's actually quicker than riding over to trax and waiting for the train. it is uphill the whole way, but I can power through it. maybe by the end of the summer it won't even be that bad!

thursday I biked to work again. hurrah! I also had yoga. again, I am very tight and inflexible. I realize I have to be very patient with the yoga, though. it took me my whole life to get me to the state I'm in now, it will take a while to remedy that. I'm just amazed at how strong you have to be to do yoga. it seems like you think of yoga as being this totally easy (if you're flexible), relaxing thing. you have to be so strong to hold some of those poses! I admire the yogi's.

friday I rode my bike to work, walked up and down three flights of stairs several times (it was moving day for club u--camp starts next week! whoot!!) carrying heavy boxes (okay, so I didn't have to do this as much as everyone else because I had to go back up to the office to sort out counselor groups), and tonight we're going to hike to the living room (aka the furniture, aka the couches) up behind red butte. it should be good times!

and tomorrow maybe I could get a run in before going to the ropes course for staff training? we'll see.

the post-marathon week

the week after the no-post-race-soreness miracle run has been good. pretty much I've just been taking it easy.

monday: pete and I did a very short run to stretch out the legs. it was probably only one mile. it felt kinda good to get back out there. and it was perfect running weather. cool, grey and overcast with the threat of more rain in the air. perfect.

tuesday: yoga.

wednesday: just took it easy.

thursday: yoga.

friday: ran my errands on my bike. I rode up to steiner(which isn't that bad if you go up 17th south to 15th east and then over to guardsmen) to drop off some flyers, and then over to fairmont to drop off some more flyers. it was kinda fun!

I'm thinking riding my bike to work in the summer won't be too terribly bad. it took about twenty minutes to get up to steiner, and it's not far to campus after that. now I just need to get a bike lock...

the race: a visual account

potatoes!

marathon number seven/state number four: the famous potato marathon in boise, idaho.

we drove up friday afternoon. we got to boise with plenty of time to pick up my race packet which included my race bib and timing chip(I was thrilled to see the prison style ankle bracelet of a timing chip--that thing was huge!), cheesy idaho potato pin, and various coupons and brochures for random things. you gotta love the race packet. we had a carbo-loading extravaganza at macaroni grill, I ordered the twice baked lasagna with meat balls. perfect blend of carbs and protein. afterwards we headed up to nampa to stay with my aunt and uncle.

we woke up early saturday morning to drop me off at the start line. the race started up at lucky peak state park, where we hopped on the green belt and ran our hearts out!

it was hard at first to adhere to this run/walk thing I had set my mind on. the first few miles I didn't really walk that much at all. then every eight minutes or so I'd walk for either a minute or a minute and a half. I was fairly diligent with that until the later miles.

my legs didn't feel tight at all for the first six or eight miles. it was like a dream! even in training they'd feel tight from mile one most of the time. I was still feeling pretty good through mile 13, then on through mile 20 or so. after mile 21 (and the short loop around the riverside elementary parking lot--they weren't kidding! you should've seen this thing! it was a few cones set out in a very small semi-circle that you just had to run around. it was barely past the entrance to the parking lot. it made me laugh.) I had a complete breakdown. imagine the whole lower half of your body cramping up. then imagine trying to run (or even walk!) like that. it was miserable. my legs were done. finished. dead.

I pushed past those remaining miles. I ended up doing a lot more walking after that. seriously, it hurt to run but it also hurt to walk. I couldn't decide which was the lesser of the two evils. the interesting thing was, though, I never once had the thought "why in the crap am I doing this? I'm never doing this again!" (I usually have that thought at least once during that last 10K) I knew I would finish eventually, and that it hurt, but it wasn't really that bad.

I did eventually finish. {thank you peter, for pushing me along.} and once I stopped running my legs completely seized up on me! they were so tight! I did go sit in the boise river for some 'ice bath' fun. I lasted about one minute. it was really cold.

I was also very pleasantly surprised with how pretty boise, idaho is. at least on the marathon route. the green belt along the river is beautiful. it reminds me of the jordan river parkway trail, but so much better! (I wasn't worried about finding any dead bodies or being attacked by a homeless person) it runs for a very long time too--I think someone said at least 25 miles.

and I had the best support crew out there. pete on the bike (and running along side me the last few miles) and my mom and dad with the flip-chart signs. all the other runners were jealous. if there had been an award for best spectators/cheerleaders these three would have gotten it, hands down. so many people appreciated it so much--mom, you were popular at this event!

I would definitely recommend this marathon. if you're not expecting a big race (thousands of people) and you're okay with running alone for half of it (after the half and the full marathon split, it's basically just you out there for miles.) and you don't mind really watered down gatorade, then I think you'd love this. it's a beautiful course with friendly volunteers. if I wasn't on the run for the fifty states, maybe I'd even consider doing it again one year.

my time was around 4:44. definitely not even close to my best time, but I'm okay with that. I didn't expect to PR or anything, just finish. and I did finish. plus there were potatoes at the end. so I'm happy.

ps: I'm not even all that sore! it's a potato miracle!!!

pre marathon friday roadtrip

we are hittin' the roads this morning in search of good times and potatoes. boise idaho here we come!

---
I think I laid low on tuesday, maybe had a waxing extravaganza. . .

wednesday peter and I had an early AM run before work. it was really nice outside. I started ranting about the inequality and unfairness of bcdc. he thought I was crazy.

thursday I just rode my bike to work. (I had to since I couldn't ride it today, national ride your bike to work day.)

friday is yet another rest day. maybe I'll walk the trail alongside the river tonight for a little bit to loosen up the legs. I'm excited to see the route. from the mile-by-mile online directions, it sounds like we could all get easily lost tomorrow! (my favorite part is when we take a small loop in the riverside elementary parking lot before heading back out onto the street at mile 21. are they just hurting for mileage or what?!)
---

ps I'm sorry, rachael, we didn't realize malad isn't on the way to boise. we might have to cancel lunch in efforts to get to boise in a reasonable time. we have to pick up my race packet, check out the course, carbo-load, and then get to nampa before it's super late. I hope you understand. and I hope you don't read this before I call you! [we plan on rescheduling. super fun road trip to malad idaho!]

monday night swimteam

last year the big kid pool always felt so daunting. this year the transition has been so smooth. I just felt ready for it. it's really not that bad at all. especially since there's fewer flip turns.

(missed the warm up completely--whoops)
4 50's (I caught the last two), kick/pull drill
4 50's eyes out of water first 25, swim the rest
3 100's (I don't remember our intervals for the rest of the workout)
3 200's
2 300's
cool down

I had the veggie burrito from beto's today for lunch. if you know this burrito, you know it's bigger than your face. and of course I ate it all because it's too good to stop eating once you've started. it's a total fat bomb of pure goodness. I was a little worried it would affect my swimming.

when the work out started I didn't want to lead the lane. everyone else insisted, so I said yes... but that I might go pretty slow and we could re-evaluate later. it turns out the veggie burrito from beto's just might give you super human strength! I was kickin' trash tonight! it felt so good. I was swimming fast and not feeling tired. it was amazing.

mike, the monday coach gave our lane a little tip: as soon as your hand enters the water on your stroke, start the pull immediately to fully take advantage of it. it really worked; I felt so much faster.

seriously, everyone should swim.

the last long run

I love the last long run before the marathon for the simple fact that it's so short. six miles. that's nothin'! you get it done and you still have your whole day ahead of you!

the run was pretty nice. I got out pretty early because it was supposed to get pretty hot (and it did) on saturday. I did the baby pug tree run--I only had to go in three directions! I went south, west, then east. I didn't do the run/walk thing. I figured since I wasn't going that far it wouldn't kill me to just run the whole thing. my legs felt ok. hopefully they hold up this weekend.

it's kind of exciting, I feel like I haven't run a marathon in so long. this will be quite the adventure!

6 miles; baby pug tree run

run. bike. swim.

monday:
the usual quick monday evening run with my cutest husband. once around the park and then back. somewhere around three miles. it was funny because when we got home we were stretching on the grass in front of our apartment... the old lady that lives below us, mary, came out in all her blue sweatshirt glory to tell us to be careful where we sit because that's where all the dogs go potty! eek! don't worry, though. we didn't sit in anything.

tuesday:
I just rode my bike to work. it is national bike month, after all. okay, so I actually only rode it to trax, but I did ride all the way home! I took a new route. from the U I went over on Gaurdsmen and then to 1500 east all the way to 1700 south and down. it's a lot less scary than riding 800 south all the way down. so it worked out perfectly.

wednesday:
AM masters swimteam! oh my gosh, I woke up a little after 5:30 this morning to go swim. I could barely believe it myself. but I'm not going to be able to swim this evening, so I felt I just had to do it. it wasn't even that bad! except I don't think my body is used to sucking in that much pool water so early in the morning. during the summer I'm going to try and hit up the 6am swimteam at fairmont on mondays (I'm still going to do the wednesday evening workout at steiner--I love the coach and my lane buddies.) so this was some good practice at waking up so early. I can do it; there's nothin' to it!

the first long run/walk

I've been a little worried about my legs lately. they just never seem to loosen up. I'm having chronic problems with my right hamstring. the thought of running 26.2 miles is starting to scare me, especially after my longest long run of only 16 miles.

I decided a while ago that the best way to preserve my legs--and not kill myself completely--throughout the whole run was going to try the run/walk method. I'll be running eight minutes and then walking two. in the long run, I'll probably be able to finish quicker than if I were to just run this time around. we'll see if it works.

yesterday I tried it out for the first time. I was very diligent. I ran for eight. I walked for two. I ran for eight. I walked for two. my legs aren't sore at all today.

sure, it might take a little longer. but like I said, in the long run it will all pay off. I don't want to be caught at mile 18, with so many miles still to go, with nothing left in my legs. I don't want to have to walk the last ten miles because my muscles have cramped up so much I'm left limping along a deserted course.

we'll see how this all plays out on race day. I'm just practicing a little self preservation for now.

12 miles; baby pug tree run

these days

saturday|4.21.07
the salt lake city half marathon. it was a good run. I woke up super early, caught a train up to the start line with my friend lisa (and her friend lisa), and ran 13.1 miles. I started out slow and got into my groove. it was a fun surprise to see peter on his bike near our house--we live right on the half marathon route it turns out--he stayed with me pretty much the rest of the race. it was also fun because I was able to take a little pit stop at my house to go pee and change into my new running shoes. I'm pretty sure people thought I was either cheating or giving up when I took the little detour. I love living on the route. I totally pushed through the last 5k. it's fun passing people. I had enough in me at the end to sprint to the finish. I did it in two hours. not too bad for not even running at all the week before. my quads hurt the next day, I couldn't figure out why. I don't think I stretched very well after the race. it was a fun day, though. I'm super proud of the rest of my team: grandpa and dan d. -- bike tour; mom, dad, rachael, robert, michael, meghan, mary, v-lo, marta d. and the sole sisters -- 5K. you guys rock!

monday|4.23.07
run. I went up 1700 south to 1500 east and down to 2100 south and back. it was a good run. the downhill was slightly hard on the quads, but not bad.

wednesday|4.25.07
swimteam. I really like the pool. swimming is such a great workout. everyone should do it.

thursday|4.26.07
run.

saturday|4.28.07
long run. it was a tough 16 miles. not quite the twenty I had originally planned (or the 18 I was maybe going to do) but I'll take it. under the circumstances it was probably best. two weeks prior I didn't run at all, and last week I only ran 13.1; it's best not to increase the mileage too drastically. it was a hard run, though, and I don't think my legs would've let me do anymore anyway. they are just SO tight. my hamstring hates me. I need some yoga in my life and I need it now!

monday|4.30.07
ride! peter and I rode the frontage road out by saltaire. just a tip: don't ride there in the evening (or anytime of day?) because all you'll get is a face full of bugs. it was disgusting. but I guess that's what you get when you ride right next to a marshy body of water. it was fun being out on the bike, though.

tuesday|5.1.07
run. I just did the liberty park loop. nothing too exciting. I did run on the dirt trail (not the woodchip trail; I don't like to run on that because it feels too soft.) which adds in a little more length and it's not on concrete--always a plus.

wednesday|5.2.07
swimteam. the big kid pool opened. it's always a little daunting to stare out at the water after swimming the entire winter in the little indoor pool. fifty meters compared to 25 yards is a BIG difference. when I got in the pool the water felt so dense my arms couldn't push through. I think it was just because they were already a little tired and sore. at the end of the workout I felt like we should still be swimming for at least fifteen more minutes, so I guess the big pool hadn't beaten me like I always fear. it's just all in the mind.

thursday|5.3.07
run. I went up 6th east through the park and turned around and came back. it was probably only two miles.
yoga. pete and I got a yoga kit from costco today. it came in a little box with a handle. it felt like a little yoga suitcase. it came with a mat (though I already have a rad pink one that I got for my wedding), a dvd, and a book with poses. I did some of the dvd before the office came on. can I just say how inflexible I am? at least now I can start doing my homework before my real yoga class begins on may 17th. hurrah!

new shoes

I love my free shoes. granted they do need some breaking in still. after about one mile the outside of my right foot starts hurting a little. if I keep running, though, that pain seems to go away.

I probably won't run in them tomorrow. though I really don't look forward to running 13.1 (plus?) miles in my old shoes. but what do you do? I'd really hate to risk it in my new shoes. what if they gave me blisters or something? ouch.

last night I went on a longer run in efforts to break them in a little more and see how they'd hold up. pretty well. I think they're comparable to my old shoes. so we'll see if any of my chronic aches and pains go away. maybe I just need to get off the roads and onto the trails.

I'm resting today. I can't wait for the carbo-loading extravaganza tonight! extreme caloric intake, anyone?

~4+ (maybe five? who knows) miles; 6 east to 4th south to 8th east to 1700 south to my casa

the pool

swimteam:

500 warmup, every 4th length stroke (I was a tinsy bit late... I only got a 200 in)
6 75's [1-3: 50 kick, 25 swim; 4-6: 50 drill, 25 swim]
200 free
3 50's fly
200 free
3 50's back
200 free
3 50's breast
200 free
3 50's free

I felt pretty good for being sick... I wasn't too incredibly slow. I think the pool cleared me out a bit. the water at least made my throat burn. I'm glad I went.

ps. pete did biathlon team. he kicks butt! (biathlon team = swimming then running on the treadmill)

back on the roads

I'm back! I know you all must have been worried sick about me and my inner kenyan. well, we've been sick the past week. in fact, we're still sick. but we're making a comeback onto the scene, don't you worry. we won't let kid germs get us down.

after a whole week of not doing anything. no running. no swimming. no cycling. [okay, to be fair, I was doing a lot of walking, swimming (in a pool with kids), and a little hiking] we've decided to get back out there.

last night peter and I did the usual three mile run.

today I bought new shoes. [I went to the runner's advantage to get my foot analyzed on their special mat... yep, I need a stability shoe. I've been running in a stability shoe. I just feel bad because I went through the motions with this guy, when I knew full well I'd be buying my shoes from salt lake running co. you gotta love the frequent shoe buyer's program! every eighth shoe is free!] hopefully I can get a quick run in tonight after mutual?

tomorrow I'm planning on swimming.

thursday I'll most likely run.

friday should be a rest day.

saturday I'm running the Salt Lake City Half Marathon. I might just run home from the race finish line to get a few extra miles in. [I mean, I was supposed to run 18 miles this weekend... but since I didn't run at all last week--not even a long run--I'm thinking that might be pushing it.]

sixteen miles

I ran sixteen miles today so I can go skiing tomorrow (that's if the chick with the gold pass ever calls me back!). it was a beautiful day for a run. I went pretty slowly. my mantra, as any long run mantra should be, was "long and slow." long runs really aren't for speed, that's what midweek workouts are for. but my legs were tight at about six or eight miles, increasingly tighter throughout the run. how am I ever going to run 26.2? I think a lot of the problem is my shoes; I need new ones. maybe I'll go get some tomorrow... my feet were hurting by the end. that usually never happens. and I bet the shoes are contributing to the chronically tight muscles too. so we'll see.

16 miles, baby pug tree run--twice in each direction

ps I *heart* U too, peter! thanks for the secret motivational note at the baby pug tree... *my heart was all a glow*

the usual

pete and I went running on monday. it was the usual route. it's fun. I really like having run team with him. (especially when he makes yummy dinners afterwards) oh, I started doing becca's routine - monday was abs and such

tuesday I didn't have much time so I just went up to steiner and did two miles on the treadmill and then did tuesday's weight workout.

I went swimming last night. oh how I love the pool! there's just something about it. it is definitely a kick-you-in-the-butt workout. and I love the wednesday coach. she really makes an effort to know everybody and help with your stroke and form, etc. she's fabulous.

also: for the first time in my life the fly is starting to feel like it's clicking. I could make it a whole 25 without resorting to the breastroke or one arm drill. when I went to breath, I could do that extra little kick to get my head out of the water moving forward. it was like magic. she gave our lane the option of just doing freestyle during the IM sets. I chose IM. I have got to master the butterfly and backstroke.

thursday I rested: long run on friday.

ten miles plus tele skiing

last saturday I ran a short long run. only ten miles. I love it when you get to that point in your training when you pull your miles back and anything around ten miles is considered short. it's fabulous.

with that being said, I figured it would be no problem to go out and run a quick ten and then go skiing with my cutest husband. the run went ok. I just did the directional run and added one more little segment to get enough miles out of it (I am happy to say I chose to go east--that means I ran up the hill two times instead of just once. go jo!). my legs had the usual tightness.

skiing was fun. it was pretty warm. the snow softened up. I rented some tele boots from REI but ended up alpine skiing more than doing any tele turns. I gave it a good effort, though. it just hammers your quads (think of doing lunges while sliding down a mountain) and my legs were already pretty tired.

10 miles, a mile out in each direction (east twice) from the pug baby tree + tele skiing

plyo, et cetera

peter and I did the usual monday night run. somewhere around three miles. the liberty loop and back. it's a good, quick run to stretch the legs.

on tuesday I went up to steiner and did a two mile warm up run on the treadmill. then I got out a jump rope and did a ten minute plyometric routine. so good. such a fabulous workout. ten minutes is all you need, and it magically makes you a quicker, more efficient runner. [I have a testimony of it. this was the magic ingredient to my fastest marathon ever. I never thought I could run that fast for 26.2 miles and then somehow I did--without really training hard for it! all it took was a ten minute plyo workout once a week in the last half of my training, I swear!] anyway, I did my plyo then I stretched out with a two mile (does the distance on the eliptical machine actually translate to actual miles? I always wonder.) eliptical workout. good times for sure.

here is a peak into my plyo-jump rope routine. I like to break it up into 30 second segments.

mix up any of the following:

*easy jump roping or 'recovery jumping', if you will
*jumping from side to side across the rope
*jumping forward across the rope from a standing position
*jumping roping with high knees
*jump roping with feet together and no extra bounces between jumps

this workout is actually surprisingly tough and your calves will kill in the following days until you get used to it. I am a firm believer in this. trust me.

wednesday was swimteam. I really love swimteam. I led the lane. swam hard. did a lot of IM. one day I'll master the fly. and my backstroke felt surprisingly better. it was good.

I didn't run today because I wasn't feeling well. tomorrow I'm going to do an easy run to stretch out the calves, etc. then saturday is a ten miler. and hopefully a ride with the buchanan's and maria. it should be fun, can't wait!

14 miles of goodness.

my long runs are getting longer. I'm definitely into higher mileage now. but I'm facing my fears head on and running right through them.

yesterday was a tough run. I had some long uphill miles to get through. I'm just glad I can still get away with starting the run at 9 am. soon it will be that if I don't finish my run by 9 am I will be in serious trouble. I love spring. I love running in long sleeves and shorts.

my body held up well. only the usual random aches and pains that don't stay with you through the whole run. that's a good sign. I was hydrated this week. I ran hard. it felt good. sure, I was tight by the end (or by the middle?) but not too terribly tight. I feel pretty good today.

this is serious marathon training now. no messin' around!

tips: [for all those just dying to break into the long run scene]

drive your route in a car, mapping out the mileage and dropping water (and gatorade, if needs be) about every two miles. but when you're done running, don't forget to drive back and pick up the water bottles! [or just have your cutest husband secretly follow behind you on his road bike. peter, I loved the cheering and the high-five as you passed by. best long run surprise ever!]

play the mental game. running is seriously 90% mental and 10% training. you cannot listen to the negative thoughts in your head. replace them with positive ones. lie to yourself if you have to. because your body is amazing and you'll be surprised as to how much she can really do. you really can do anything you put your mind to. here are some things I had to tell myself yesterday:

"you've done this route before, you know this. . . just remember how to do it. . ."

"be proud, jo, this is the hardest part. you are amazing"

"just keep running until X. . . good job, now just keep running to X. . ."

surrender yourself to the run. this is an old lesson, tried and true. you have to be able to come to a point where you are just out there, running, putting one foot in front of the other. you're out there for a long time; don't think, just be. this is where a good diversion is handy. someone to talk to, music blaring on the ipod, learning to be okay with your thoughts. running in a beautiful locale doesn't hurt either. just know you'll be out there for a while and don't think about it. the miles will go by easier. trust me.

dress the part. I love buying running clothes. I can justify any purchase if I can tell myself it would be great for running. if you look like a runner you'll feel like a runner. if you feel like a runner you will be a runner. pace times don't matter if you look hot. and not to mention the fact that technical clothing (the correct shoes for your foot type, non-cotton/technical fabric clothing, etc) will also reduce injuries and the like.

run safe. run strong. run happy.


14 miles; 17th south to 9th east to 8th south/sunnyside to wasatch and back

wednesday, thursday, friday

wednesday I swam, thursday I ran, friday I rested.

tuesdays: speed work

I decided on saturday that it was time in my training to start implementing some speed work. since I'm running on mondays to get the kinks out, tuesday would be the perfect day for speed. today I decided to do some hill repeats.

I ran over to sugarhouse park as my warm up. I turned into the park from 1500 east and ran down to the first good grassy hill on the south side. I did five repeats (you generally want a hill that's relatively steep and will take you around 30 seconds to get to the top), focusing on a quick turnover, running on my toes, keeping my head up and eyes on the goal. . . and engaging my robot arms.

[when doing hill repeats while I trained for my first marathon, this rad girl we ran with would always say she was turning on her robot arms. because it's a known fact that your legs can't go anywhere without your arms. so if you just put your arms on automatic, and power them through your feet will just have to follow. it's like magic.]

after the repeats, I ran the rest of the interior loop of the park and ran home the way I came. it was a good, long run. my legs started to get a little tight near the end. I came home and iced, though. and my hamstring didn't really bug me at all--I was a little worried that running hills might aggravate it (and let's be honest, running to sugarhouse is a hill in itself!) but I was okay.

I felt fantastic when I got home. It was a really good run.

~5.5 miles; 1700 south to 1100 east to 2100 south to 1500 east to the sugarhouse loop and back again

my new monday routine

I decided on saturday that I couldn't swim on monday's anymore. I needed to run. after all these long runs on the weekend, I'd need to get back out on the road as soon as possible to stretch out the legs.

pete and I did the usual quick run route. over to liberty park, along 600 east. it was good. I stretched and iced when I got home.

~3 miles; 600 east to liberty and back

twelve miler: JRPT

yesterday I did my twelve mile run on the Jordan River Parkway trail. at first I was going to just park and go six miles out one way and turn around and come back. I wasn't sure if any of the parks would have their drinking fountains going yet, so finally at the last second I decided to park, go three miles out in one direction, turn around--get water and eat an energy gel at least halfway through--go three miles out the other direction, turn around and come back. good thing I did because there was no water anywhere else. Salt Lake Running Co. was sponsoring a run for people doing the SLC Marathon so they had water jugs out there on the course. . . I broke down and stole a drink of their water and gatorade on mile ten. I was kinda dehydrated and needed something to get me through the last two miles. I'm sure they'd understand.

anyway, it was a pretty good run. nothing too eventful happened. my legs got pretty tight halfway through. my hamstring sucks. (I did ice when I got home) my ankles are holding up relatively well, so that's good. right after the run I went to the Maverik across the street to get some gas. while I was filling up my calves started to hurt so bad! I think they just seized up on me or something. so tight. but now they don't bother me, thankfully. I'm not even that sore today--hurrah!

12 miles; jordan river parkway

thursday:

elliptical team.

I did it for like 3o minutes (plus that five minute cool down, of course) and it was alright. I don't know, maybe it was just an off day for me and the elliptical machine, but I just didn't feel it. is it losing that spark? do I not love it as much as I used to? I don't know... maybe it's this change in weather. why should I be stuck inside when I could be outside enjoying the ideal temps? I mean, I should take advantage of the cool spring weather while I have it. soon it will be nothing but too hot to do anything.

steiner; 3.3 elliptical distance
jerry seinfield on the ipod

wednesday:

cruiser bike team.

peter ran and I cruised. it was fun. we went to liberty. I took two laps around. it was more of a workout than you'd think since my cruiser bike is a classic schwinn, that's probably forty years old and forty pounds. I love it. it was surprisingly hard on my quads and inner thighs. and it was fun! soon we're gonna break out the road bikes. I can't wait!

I ditched swimteam 'cause I hate getting home at, like, eight o'clock. I promise to do the thursday AM swim, I swear!

tuesday:

run team.

I just did a quick route. the usual run to liberty and take a lap around the park.

I hate to say it, but it already felt too hot. in the shade it was perfect, and sometimes you'd get a nice breeze blowing, but. . . my hands want to turn into sausage fingers a little bit and that's just no good! I should start running in the mornings on weekdays.

monday:

swimteam.

warmup
8 50's - drill/swim
3 100's - each progressively faster
4 300's
cooldown

I lead the lane and felt pretty good.

the rest of last week

tuesday I ran on the treadmill, I do believe. something like three miles.

wednesday I ditched swimteam to go running with peter. it was probably around three miles. we went out on 600 east to liberty, circled the park and then came home.

thursday I elipticalled for 45 minutes.

friday was a rest day.

saturday I ran ten miles! from here on out it's double digit miles until taper. it's kind of exciting. the run felt pretty good. I was a little tight halfway through. I ran in downtown and then up city creek canyon a bit. so far my ankles are behaving. we'll see how my body holds up for the rest of training.

oh, if anyone doesn't know, I'm training for the Famous Potato Marathon in Boise, Idaho in May. It should be definite good times. It will be my fourth state -- whoohoo!!!

monday night swimteam

yesterday's swim workout kind of redeemed last wednesday's workout. I felt strong. I lead the lane most of the time. (mainly because I didn't have the stress of making the sets in any real intervals... we swam, then waited 30 seconds after the last person in the lane touched the wall) and I even talked the substitute coach out of having us do a smaller set than everybody else. (he thought maybe we couldn't handle it -- how about five sets of 300? but my little competitive eskiminian swimmer kicked in and couldn't bare the thought of having to swim less than everyone else just because we were in the slow lane.)

"We can do five 400's, we'll just do it slower."

and so we did. this was the workout:

warm up
6 50's - drill (fingertip drag, catch-up drill, thumb drag)
400 - free (slow)
400 - free (medium)
400 - free (fast)
one minute rest
400 - free (medium)
400 - free (fast)
cool down

I felt pretty good. my stroke felt relatively strong. we finished the whole workout in time. hurrah!

long run

I went skiing yesterday, but that didn't stop me from doing my long run. I'm dedicated. I did it on the treadmill because it was only six miles (I think that might just be the limit on those things. anything over an hour just might kill you.) and it would be easier to know how far I'd gone, etc.

the run was pretty good. about halfway through my legs starting feeling a little tight. it's mostly my right hamstring, but what's new. I got to watch a hockey game. that's always fun. and the chick that's always working out was there. she got on the treadmill right beside me. maybe I should just become friends with this woman; we're always at the gym at the same time.

but you will all be happy to know I bought some frozen corn to use as ice packs. I iced my hamstrings yesterday. hopefully I'll get over this nagging injury soon.

6 miles; treadmill
counting crows

ps skiing was amazing! telemark or die!!!

wednesday | thursday | friday

wednesday:
swimteam. I was having a rough time. I felt slow. the upper (read: faster) lanes were crowded so they made a few people shift down. it happened to be just me and this other guy that night, until the german, that other lady, and the pregnant chick all moved down into our lane. I wasn't too thrilled about it since they're (at least the german guy and the non-pregnant chick) faster than us. I remember the german guys condescending look with his eyes when he motioned with his head to the other girl that they were going to have to swim with us.

warm up
3 200's - descending

100 free
25 stroke/75 free
50 stroke/50 free
75 stroke/25 free
100 stroke
[3 times through; 1st set - fly, 2nd set - back, 3rd set breast]

cool down

it was hard and I felt beat. I wanted to quit about a thousand times. I kept going, though, so I guess that was a victory in itself. sometimes you just have off workouts. you just have to shake them off and focus on the good ones...


thursday:
elliptical team. I went for 45 minutes again... it felt good. I had a lot of energy afterwards. I tried reading my new runner's world that came in the mail... it's slightly harder while elipticalling.

45 minutes; 5.9 elliptical distance
the get up kids


friday:
joint swimteam. peter and I met up at the pool. I wanted to focus on my butterfly since it's so hard. I used fins to try and help me get out of the water to breathe. it was still pretty tough. I want to keep working on it, though, and get better. it just takes a lot of endurance. I also did some work just on my arms with the pool buoy. I want to save my legs for tomorrow's long run...

monday | tuesday

Monday:
I ditched swimteam for a run. my legs needed to stretch. plus I had a little bit of a headache and the thought of putting on a tightly fitting swimcap and goggles wasn't too appealing. I headed north on 600 east, straight through liberty park and on to 400 south and back. it was a good run. I felt strong. it was just what I needed after my run on saturday.

3+ miles; 600 east


Tuesday:
Eliptical! I don't know why I love this machine so much, but I do. I could go forever on this thing and not even think twice about it. Way better than a treadmill, that's for sure! I felt great!

45 minutes; 5.78 eliptical distance
sufjan stevens/weezer

I ditched the ipod for some city sounds and my thoughts

north. east. south. west. a mile out and back in each direction. eight miles. water every two. these are the tricks you learn when you've been doing this as long as I have. (and you're a little princess who will not carry water with her on the run.)

I put my water bottle in the baby pug tree a block away from my house (apartment d, if anyone is interested in purchasing "baby pug's") and started out on what felt like my first real long run of training. it was the first run of the year outside as well. it felt good. the sun was out. fresh snow on the ground. my legs were moving. it felt great.

near the end of the run, somewhere tucked away in mile 7 my legs started to feel tight. I stretched when I got home. I tried to take an ice bath, but lasted about five seconds. it was really hurting my feet. when I get into the higher mileage I'll just have to be brave and tough it out. I still need to buy some bags of petite frozen pees to ice my ailments individually.

the run felt good, though. I'm a little sore today, but not bad. my ankles and knees are holding up. hopefully that continues.

8 miles; 2 miles radiating out from 1700 south and 600 east

elliptical love.

I went to the gym and ellipticalled my face off. it was fabulous.

marta, you would appreciate this -- oprah in surround sound. on one television she was a guest on ellen. on another tv was the oprah winfrey show, and they were talking about obesity and weight loss. how fitting, since I was at the gym.

I ellipticalled for like 45 minutes - went 5.5 miles - burned over 550 calories. and I jammed out to counting crows the whole time*. hurrah!


*okay, so during my five minute cooldown I finished the counting crows set on the ipod. then I turned it to Jesus on the Radio by Guster. It is quite possibly one of my favorite songs ever. I kept it on repeat all the way home. literally.

back in the slow lane, and loving it

the workout:
warm up
3 100's kick - descending

300 free
200 IM (that means a fifty of all four strokes!)
100 stroke (anything but freestyle - I chose breaststroke on each set)
[3 times through]

25 free - hard/slow
25 free - slow/hard
25 free - hard
25 free - slow
cool down

how I felt:
fantastic! it felt good to be back in the slow lane, pushing hard. I was more in my element. at first this lady named erin (she's the one trying to make the break up to the next lane - she's a really good swimmer and very tall and lean) was leading the lane, then this guy, then me, then this girl named megan who hadn't been coming the past couple months due to illness. after the first run through of the main set (300, 200, 100) it became very apparent that I needed to get in front of that guy. I was swimming on his toes the whole time. once I got in front of him I was just keeping up with erin. I even got to lead one of the 300's. it felt good. after the workwout erin and I were talking. she was like, "that was such a good workout - it felt good to have each other pushing us so hard." it was a good workout.

what we ate:
dinner afterwards was fantastic too. peter juiced us up a special blend:
4 carrots
1 beet
.5 cucumber
4 big leaves of green leafy lettuce
1 pear

delicious!

I made some pasta, with fresh mushrooms in the sauce, and some winter blend of frozen veggies - broccoli and cauliflower.

it was the perfect way to end a good workout.

the end.

I *heart* treadmills?

I think somehow I became a gym person. I don't know how it happened. I think it might have had something to do with an injury and an ipod. Oh, and poor air quality. Somewhere along the way I started to get excited about going to the gym (aka the community rec center) to do my long eliptical workout, or to try running on the treadmill. It seemed fun because I got to jam out to some tunes and, if I was lucky, watch some kids play hockey! So now I'm just wondering when I'll make the transition back out onto the streets. . .

So needless to say I ran on the treadmill today. I felt like it was a good pace; I probably could have pushed it faster, but I am trying to be cautious with the whole hamstring/ankle/random ailments/failing body/old age thing.

The super fit lady I always see at the gym (she swims masters in a really fast lane) was there. I think that's all she does--work out. It's slightly crazy.

3 (plus a little more) miles
treadmill, slc sports complex
counting crows

movin' up

so today is a holiday, I suppose. which means not a lot of people were at swimteam. so instead of staying in the slowest lane, my friend tori talked me into swimming in her lane.

"come swim in this lane, you can do it. . . I won't lap you. . ."

since it was just her, I agreed. (though it might have been better if there had been more people in the lane, it's just easier that way) and we started swimming. I was holding up pretty well during the first part of the workout.

warm up
8 50's - drill down, swim back
5 100's - descending (the last 100 was supposed to be at the fastest pace you could hold for the rest of the workout)
4 300's - at the aforementioned pace
cool down

the 300's kicked my butt. sure, tori never lapped me per se. . . she never physically swam up from behind and passed me, but I think I was a full 50 behind on some of those sets. at least I kept up in the 100's.

she did teach me a little trick: hold your head up a little so you're looking straight ahead, and not down. it feels a little more awkward since your head isn't in natural alignment with the rest of your body, but it did make me feel like I was swimming faster. so maybe there is some merit to it.

swimteam was hard today while I was doing the workout, but I feel like I recovered really quickly. it didn't kill me for the rest of the night; maybe I'm finally getting into shape.

swimteam: mon12feb2k7

what the swimteam workout was supposed to be:
warmup
8 50's - drill on the way down, swim on the way back (all free-style)
300 - free
8 50's - kick
200 -free
8 50's kick
100 - free
8 50's - kick


because we are so slow, this is what the workout ended up being:
warmup
8 50's - drill on the way down, swim on the way back (free)
300 - free
8 50's - kick
200 - free
6 50's - kick
100 - free
2 50's - kick
50 - cooldown

oy vei, we are slow! I'm hoping one day to make my break into the next fastest lane. . . I think it could happen. maybe even sooner than we think. I just have to be okay with being the slowest person in the lane again. I mean, this extremely pregnant lady could hang in that lane--why not me?!

postponement

The first annual All-County Swimmeet is being postponed to a later date. More details to come.

(Because seriously, how many of you were actually planning on it anyway?)

joint swimteam

As most of you know, I'm Peter's swim coach. He's my team. We have practices, but rarely together. Last night it was a christmas miracle that we could both be in the pool at the same time. It was like a dream come true.

We didn't swim for very long. Peter is getting sick and I'm still recovering. We did some laps, kicking drills, races, stroke technique critics, video analysis, and a hypoxic set or two. It was a lot of fun.

And yes, it's true, I can go the whole length of the pool without taking a breath.

So. . .

Now what? I can't do anything. If it had just been my knee maybe I could work out my upper body. If it had just been my wrist, I could still go running or something. But it's both and I can't do anything.

I better be somewhat healed by December 30th, because that's when training begins for the Fargo Marathon!

random page: entry five.

I found this while wandering around bcdc's intranet, The Goat. There's a link for "random page" which is fun to click on repeatedly to see where you'll end up. I keep hoping it will one day take me to my page on the goat, but it hasn't yet. Anyway, I thought this was interesting. I have no idea why it's on the goat, if it is linked to anything relevant, or if it truly is a random page. I wonder what ever happened to entries one through four and if there are any subsequent ones. Maybe I'll go waste more time looking for those too. At least I look like I might be doing something productive!

Darwinism. Challenging your physical abilities. The curiosity of whether or not you can do it. The exhilaration of accomplishing something you actually questioned, premeditated, were fascinated by, and therefore conquered by means of anguish. Sacrifice is the tool we use to become accomplished. This is natural to some. Shunned by others. It's what sets the potential survivors apart from the easily diminished.

Experience. New experiences. Learning experiences. Progression. Innovation. Adaptation.

If you can't challenge yourself you have given up on life. Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant. Taking a challenge shows integrity. Facing fears shows how strong your will is. Quiting shows weakness. Only you can decide what you want to be. And what you can or can't accomplish. It is this mentality that from the beginning of mankind has created wheels, invented computers, and conquered peaks.

Try something different.

post script: Entries one through four are about this guy's dream of climbing Mt Reinier on his 40th birthday. The posts stop after entry five; I wonder if he ever made it.

swimteam secrets

i lick my hand
to smell your scent
intoxicating like chlorine

I like the smell of the pool on my skin.

All-County Swim Meet

Get out those tightly fitting speedo's, boys.

Girls, don those swim caps.

Because it's time to start training for
the first annual All-County Swim Meet!!!

When: Saturday, January 27th 2007
Where: Steiner Aquatics
Who: Swim teams across the County (that means you! all age groups and skill levels welcome*)
What: Swim fast, win a prize!
Why: Some people seem to think prizes are cool.

*This is a "serious" swim meet. No previous skill needed. Just humor us. Please come swim in our "All-County" swim meet. There will be prizes. Maybe even a trophy. Just please come swim in our swim meet!!!

The Deluxe Annual Family Pass.

We did it. We bought the annaul pass to the Salt Lake City Sports Complex. I have a blurry photo to prove it. Swimteam is back in full force.