bike, swim, bike, no run

wednesday afternoon I got a text from my friend tori saying she wasn't going to go to swimteam. normally she's my ride home from steiner, and pete was working late so I had to figure something else out. I decided to ride my bike. it's a climb to get there, so I guess it's a nice warmup. at least the cold water is inviting + refreshing at that point.

as I was walking me and my bike into steiner my friend/coworker was walking out with soaking wet hair. she had forgotten her towel. we had a good laugh over that and then said our goodbyes. as I was getting my cap + goggles out of my bag I realized I had forgotten my towel too. such is life.

I don't remember the workout.

I do remember that my left shoulder is still hurting.



post script: I finally got to meet a new bloggy friend, elizabeth. she was at the pool with mal and jer. I was also able to meet another slc tri blogger a couple of weeks ago up in cache valley. I am loving meeting and connecting with people that are dedicated to active living. so no, elizabeth, you are not a blog-stalker. you are a workout friend that lives five hours away.

summer evening run

tonight I had such a craving to run. it didn't matter that it was now nearly nine o'clock and still a little hot and that I had the dollar burgers from the post-work B&D extravaganza still sitting in my stomach. I had to run. I had to get out there.

I had been invited to go do a track workout with mal, jer and elizabeth but couldn't because I already had some obligations. it would've been fun. it's been so long since I've done speed work on a track with other people. I miss those days. but it also would have been pretty dang hot, which I'm not so sad to miss.

the run was the usual route. it was just starting to get a little dark. the temp was warm, but a slight breeze helped cool things down a bit. my body felt pretty good, but my throat was hurting a little. I couldn't tell if I was just dehydrated or it was the cold still lingering. oh, and I got a pretty good side cramp during the middle of the run, but just ran through it. eventually it went away. {I'm pretty sure it was the burgers}

3 miles

becoming

the cold is still lingering a little, but overall I am feeling much better. the swim was pretty good tonight and I even had the joy of leading the lane. my left shoulder has been bugging me a little bit lately when I swim. maybe I need to stretch it out more. maybe my stroke is a little wacky. who knows.

all I know is that I love being in the pool. I had the thought as I was doing my warmup today, that just being there is making me a better swimmer. a better athlete. even if I'm not becoming faster or even feeling good for that particular workout, I am becoming better. I am putting in the work. I think we all need a reminder every once in a while. just keep at it, even if you're not seeing significant gains right now. it's making you stronger. it's making you better.


warmup
8 X 50 kick
4 X 150 (3:30)
4 X 100 (2:20)
4 X 50 (1:20)
cooldown

the saturday afternoon swim a la mallory

mal called us up to go swimming today. it's probably a good thing she did, because I would have kept sitting on my butt if she hadn't. I'm still trying to get rid of this cold. I'm breathing better, but it's gotten a hold of my throat. I've been hacking up flem for the past two days. when I swam the backstroke it totally aggravated the throat and I started coughing uncontrollably. not to mention the headache. but despite all that I'm just glad I got out there and did something with myself. it's been far too long. {I think my last workout was tuesday's treadmill run} hopefully next week I can get back into the regular groove. though it's a weird holiday week--crap! anyway, here is what I remember of the worout:

warmup
4 X 75 (kick, drill, swim) (odds free, evens stroke)
300 (3, 5, 7 strokes per breath with each 50)
2 X 150 (each 25 IM order with freestyle thrown in between)
8 X 50 (1-4, 5-8 descending)

pete's swimteam workout

warmup
8 X 100 (50 drill, 50 swim)
3 X 50 (easy, moderate, fast)
100
3 X 50 (easy, moderate, fast)
200
3 X 50 (easy, moderate, fast)
300
cool down

my swim team

I will confess that I did not go to swimteam today. {in fact, it's starting right now and I'm sitting at home in my pj's} I am starting to feel sick. and I'm trying to head it off at the pass. I figure if I take it easy, maybe it will all just go away quickly. plus, it's leaving me low energy. so today instead of a workout I napped. it was a beautiful thing.

but I did give pete a pretty killer swim workout this morning. I was happy to hear via the chat that he did it all and it went well. he is a rockstar swimmer, even if he doesn't think so. he's in anna masters right now, maybe one day he will be brave enough to try real masters. one can dream. anyway, below is the workout.

warm up
4 X 50 kick
4 X 50 drill
100 descending
200 moderate
100 descending
150 (100 slow, 50 fast)
150 (50 slow, 50 fast, 50 slow)
150 (100 fast, 50 slow)
cool down

it's just too hot, both inside and out

I had to go into work a little earlier today, so I didn't have time to run in the morning. so I opted for a run on the treadmill since I could at least have a fan blowing directly on my face. {even though my heart of hearts really just wanted to run outside... but not in this 90+ degree heat} I always want to push it really fast on treadmills, not only will it make the miles go by faster but it's easier to get stuck in the fast-trap because you can visually see just how fast you are going. I had to hold it back a little today because I was getting random pains in my knees and achilles. I also had to cut the run a bit short so I could catch my bus.

but let me tell you, even with that fan blowing directly on my face it was HOT. sweat all over the place.

4.5 miles

sans coach

there was no coach tonight. I hate it when that happens. my lane just made up a workout. we didn't do the sets in any real intervals, but just waited a certain amount of time between each one. that was nice because I was leading the lane and hate keeping track of intervals. here is what we came up with:

warm up
100
200
300
300
200
100
5 X 100 (50 fast, 50 easy)
cool down

cache valley tri

I have to be honest, I was a little scared for this triathlon. I didn't really do any specific training for it other than swimming regularly and biking and running not so regularly. I didn't have a training plan, I just made sure I worked out most days of the week.

in the days leading up to the race I started freaking out. I even contemplated switching to the sprint distance. I was fearful of the cold lake water and my first open water swim. and I had seemingly twisted my ankle slightly while running around at work a few days before. was I ready for a 1500 meter swim + 24.8 mile bike + 6.2 mile run? it all sounded overwhelming.

transitional love

triathlon is so much different than pure running races. there's just so much to think about. so much gear. I love just showing up at the starting line with some shorts and my running shoes. and obviously a top. plus a race bib. but in triathlon? you need a wetsuit. you need a bike. you need running crap. not to mention all the other little stuff that goes with each discipline. it's a lot to think about.

me + jer pre swim

the swim | 1500 meters | 26:31:300
the water was surprisingly warmer than expected. my feet and hands didn't go numb. my inner ear didn't hurt and I didn't get all dizzy and disoriented when I exited the water. for my first open water swim, I think it all went quite well. especially since they all say you can train and train in the pool, but the open water swim is completely different. yikes! you can see why I was nervous. but other than having a slight problem sighting the buoys and swimming in a relative straight line, it wasn't hard. the distance was definitely doable. my left shoulder hurt with each stroke for a little while, but I think that had something to do with not warming up. and it was pretty fun negotiating other swimmers without getting kicked in the face. I actually loved the swim. I'm all about the open water now.

T1 | 3:42:200
okay, I can probably work on this a little. wearing what I'll be running and biking in under the wetsuit would help. I had to pull on my shorts + tank, which is a little hard while still mostly wet. but at least I didn't forget my helmet {or put it on backwards like this poor soul}

biking out of T1

the bike | 24.8 miles | 1:25:47:900
what can I say about the bike? man, was this section of the course beautiful! seriously. the olympic distance took two laps. so that was two times up the hills at the beginning. but the rest of the course was pretty flat and slightly downhill. nothing too scary, which was good. I tried to push it while not pushing it too hard that I wouldn't have anything left for the run. I liked getting passed by all the men and thinking how at least I was a faster swimmer. hey, you have to be positive in some way out there!

T2 | 1:36:400
this transition was much better. all I had to do was switch shoes and trade the helmet for the visor. easy cheesy.

the jello legs of the T2 run

the run | 6.2 miles | 56:32:100
man. the run. definitely the worst of the three. I should have probably done a few more brick workouts to get used to that bike to run transition. I had the jelly legs and I had it bad. I don't think they ever fully loosened up. and the heat. oh how I can't run in the heat. my body just shuts down. and not to mention the large hill within the first mile. I could have done without that. this is where I wished I had switched to the sprint distance. when I ran past their turnaround point I almost cried. I wish I could say I didn't walk, but I did. man, I need to toughen up. I feel I've lost some of my edge. it's not like I was hurting. my legs and foot felt fine. I was just not lovin' the heat, I guess. even though my legs felt like dead weight and I felt like I was just chugging along at an extremely slow pace, I had actually averaged a little over a 9 minute mile. which isn't too bad under the circumstances.

more cowbell!

the finish | 2:54:09
it was good enough for a second place finish in my age division. I love the cowbell medals. this was totally a fun race and I would recommend it to anyone. and in the end, I'm glad I stuck with the olympic distance. just think what I could do with a little training!

me + jer + mallory + the gun show

I actually got on my bike!

we went on another epic ride. again, up city creek canyon. again, pete's tire was a little soft--but not totally flat, thankgoodness! again, we didn't make it all the way up.

this time we headed back just shy of the turnaround. we probably only had a half mile of climbing left. oh well.

next time we'll tackle that beast.

right about the time I gave up was about the time I completely fell over. off my bike. in the middle of the canyon rode. my elbow and knee have something to show for it, but thankfully nothing like THIS. yeah, that's when I knew it was definitely time to turn around. no more climbing.

it turns out that when you're going slowly up a hill, and you feel like you want to clip out because you want to stop and wait for your husband, you shouldn't. you won't be able to clip out and you'll end up on the road with one foot still attached to the bike and the bike on top of you. so just don't do it. maybe just stick it out to the top.

I am excited to report, though, that I was cruising down the downhills. I was feeling somewhat brave. I didn't ride the brakes. and you know what, it was actually kind of fun (with only a splattering of terror thrown in for good measure). maybe I'll be okay.

~19 miles

"are you trying out that wetsuit, or is the pool really that cold!?"

I picked up the wetsuit from my friend katie. pete and I then went straight to the pool for a quick practice session. the wetsuit fits and I'm ready to go. I like feeling so buoyant, but we'll see if it affects my arms over the long haul.

I can't wait for that uber cold water! bring it on!

early in the morning

I like waking up early to go running. maybe I'll try it on other days too. it is just so nice outside. low 60's, not too many people are out and about, and the sky is always so pretty. the very best part about it, though, is now that I'm home from work and it's nine-billion degrees outside I don't even have to think about exercising. I can even go eat dollar burgers at B&D's with the work crew if I want. I love tuesdays.

my run was pretty good. I felt like I was pushing a pretty good pace. my foot only slightly hurt in the beginning, and then things must have loosened up by the end. everything else seemed fine.

3 miles

goggle malfunction

I'm worried I may need new goggles. can this be happening the week of my triathlon? they were seriously leaking and it was seriously cramping my swimming style. and not only that, but the pool was super murky. all that equalled up to not being able to see very well. and to top it all off, our lane line was broken. and it curved into the middle of our lane because they couldn't get it tight. and sometimes you would swim right into. and that hurts.



warmup

300 moderate
100 fast

200 moderate
200 fast

100 moderate
300 fast

400 fast

2X150

cooldown

social eater

I didn't go on a ride yesterday. I had planned to, but burgers and shakes won out.

and today my swim workout was almost completely sabotaged by the pie. instead it just suffered greatly. it turns out that stuffing your face full of yummy pizza and cheese pull-aparts isn't a very good idea if you plan to go swimming an hour or two later.

it didn't help that I was feeling pretty tired from the day's activities. and that I really just wanted to socialize on deck and just soak up the sun rather than actually get in the water. but just as the main set was being explained, I did. and I started swimming sans warmup. and the pizza just sat there, heavy in my stomach.

but in the end I was glad I got in. isn't that how it always is?


4 X 100 descending
300
100 IM
300
200 IM
300
300 IM
cooldown

hypoxic love

man, oh man. it's almost ten o'clock and I'm just barely eating dinner. that's never good.

so swimteam was pretty good tonight. I think wednesday nights are my favorite. the coach seems genuinely interested in helping the slower swimmers get better. especially since we have a lot of newbie triathletes.

I only got about 200 meters in for a warmup because I got a little chatty with my friend tori in the next lane. then when we started the drill IM sets. I was the lucky one chosen to lead the lane. I didn't mind that too much. then when we started the 150 sets, the lady that had swam behind me led the lane, which is good because she was much, much faster.

my little arms still feel really tired when I swim. I guess that's good--it's a sign that I'm working them hard. and my legs have been pretty sore today, too. probably from all that running around I did in shoes that were made for running in the 1970's. yeah, shoe technology has come along way since then. but they do look cool, so... whatev. if I had known I would have been running around all day, I probably would have made a different choice in footwear.

okay, back to the main point of this post, the swim workout. we ended with a good hypoxic set. I don't know why, but I love doing these at the end of a workout. I love them even though they completely suck. they hurt. your lungs want to explode. but when I am the only one in the lane that can actually get down to 5 breaths total for 50 meters, it feels pretty awesome. not even the two fast chicks in front of me could do it. I think maybe one other girl was able to take that few of breaths as well. I don't know, it's kind of fun to be totally freaked out at the wall, just wondering if you're even going to come close to making it. then taking that deep breath and just going for it. it's a good way to end a workout.



warmup

50 fly drill
50 fly
50 back drill
50 back
50 breast drill
50 breast
50 free drill
50 free

150 (50 fast, 100 easy)
150 (50 easy, 50 fast, 50 easy)
150 (100 easy, 50 fast)
150 (50 fast, 100 easy)
150 (50 easy, 50 fast, 50 easy)
150 (100 easy, 50 fast)

50 easy
50 breath control (8 breaths)
50 easy
50 breath control (7 breaths)
50 easy
50 breath control (6 breaths)
50 easy
50 breath control (5 breaths)

cooldown

running crazy

I actually dragged my butt out of bed early today so I could go running. how often does that happen? not very often.

it is so nice in the early AM, though. I should really make it a habit.

I went to liberty and ran around the perimeter dirt path. I'll be honest, my foot was hurting slightly. by the end it had loosened up, it seems. oh, and by the end of the run I was so hungry. like low energy and starving. I needed some breakfast and I needed it STAT!

but I probably didn't even need to do a run this morning because I've been running around all day it seems. at work I got to play ultimate frisbee with a bunch of kids for a couple of hours {it was such an awesome experience because I have never seen a. and t. run so much. they're both bigger kids. like whenever we go on hikes, t. is always in the back of the group needing rests and complaining about his asthma. but give these kids a disc? man, oh man. they run. and they run a lot. it was beautiful.} and then later I ran all the way from the office on campus down to steiner aquatic. and I did a lot of walking throughout the day. so it's kind of like I did a double workout. or a quadruple workout. whatever you want to call it.

3 miles

dead arms

I can't seem to remember the whole set, because what I have written out below doesn't equal what we actually swam. {which was an 1800 sans warmup + cooldown} I haven't been to monday night masters in a really long time, and it seems there is a new coach. he obviously likes the 200's and 150's because I felt like we were swimming a lot of those tonight. which is okay, it's just that I felt like I had dead arms out there. seriously.

we had a bunch of newbies in our lane today. I think they're new to the whole swimming scene, but they're in the pool because they're doing tri's. the guy who led our lane was using a pull boeuy the whole time and I felt like he was just cruising. I couldn't keep up. he hopped out and I was left to lead the troops. good thing the workout was almost done. I hate leading the lane because I hate being the one to keep track of the time for the sets. talk about pressure!

anyway, I'm going to go eat a salad now. peace out.

warm up
3 X 200
2 X 150
100
2 X 150
100
200
200
cooldown

bicycle team

pete and I did another ride yesterday. it was a beautiful day. the ride was good.

it seems, though, there is a little contention in what we want out of these rides. we're coming from different places. in my mind I have a set idea of what they should be--I'm in training; I need to go far, etc., etc. pete wants a good ride, but he doesn't necessarily feel like he needs to go super far and for an over-extended length of time.

but I like having him along for the ride with me. I love doing stuff like this with him. so hopefully in the future I can stop being such a workout snob and just enjoy the moment and the effort I put into it. we left the ride yesterday with some frustrations, hopefully we have been able to work through them.

I tacked on a couple extra miles yesterday by going to the park to ride some laps. pete just headed home. I mean, we had already had a really good ride. we rode up past the zoo, over on wasatch, across the bridge, etc. there's a lot of climbing involved. it was a good ride. but I just felt I needed more. I needed at least twenty miles. I have my olympic distance triathlon in two weeks, afterall! {which, btw, I finally signed up for. too bad the price had gone up. oh well. I'm in!}

and then after my ride I threw in a very short run to test the jello legs. it wasn't as bad as I was expecting! though I was pretty low energy, since I didn't take any gatorade or gu's with me. note to self: take in energy during the race. so yeah. a brick workout. good times.

21 miles bike; 1 mile run

mini swim

today was one of those busy, jam-packed with fun days. you know the type, you have to rush around and do all this crap and try and squeeze in a workout in between all the other crap you have to do.

so after work I had to rush over to steiner to swim before going home and getting ready for the family pictures. {which sucked because I had to make myself look presentable for the photo--and with not a lot of time to do that, it gets a little hectic!} oh yeah, and I had to rely on public trans so I was waiting on someone else's timetable. yeah. fun.

so I got there with enough time to actually swim for 45 minutes, which is better than I was expecting. my workout wasn't the greatest. I basically just swam. I'd do some laps, stop and stretch. bust out a few more. do some slightly faster. some breast stroke. but mostly just these mindless freestyle laps. {though there was one 100 IM thrown in there for good measure} It was really just whatever. I will say this, though, a swim workout goes by much faster when you actually have a workout. mindless swimming without an overall purpose gets a little old.

but at least I was in the pool. at least I had a little bit of time to do something. on a busy day like this, I'll take anything I can get.

biketeam: the epic ride

pete and I got out on the bikes, it's true. I mean, we are in training after all.

we rode up city creek canyon since it's an odd day. it was my first time really riding up the there since I was denied the last time I tried. it was really pretty. and a bit chilly. {good thing I had the DIY arm warmers with me!} and the ride down was a little frightening.

okay, I have something to admit. I am scared of hills. not the going up, but the coming down. terrified. to. death. speed just freaks me out. {this is my problem with skiing too} the thought of my little skinny tire hitting a pebble wrong and sending me to the pavement at high speeds freaks me out. adding cars into that equation and I'm even more terrified. but this is something I need to get over. I need to be safe, sure, but I shouldn't feel this compulsive need to ride my brakes the whole way down. seriously, it is limiting my potential.

so what do I do? I need to get out there and face my fear. just get over it. city creek is the perfect place for that since I don't have to worry about cars. just the speed. I'll probably be headed there for all my mid-week rides for a while.

so a flat tire. since I was ahead of pete I stopped near the turn-around point to wait for him to catch up. I waited for a while. thought it was weird he hadn't shown up yet, so I figured I'd ride back down a little ways and find him. and a little ways down I did find him. off to the side of the road leaning over his bike. just waiting.

the flat tire. he had turned down so many people's offers to help because he thought I would come back for him with all the tire repair stuff. unfortunately, the saddle bag was emptied when we went to fargo so pete could have the tire-irons and the spare tubes, etc. we didn't even have a pump on us! (he also thought I would have my CO2 cartridge. nope.) I felt like such an idiot--we had set off on a ride totally and completely unprepared!

after talking through our options--I was completely prepared to cruise home as fast as I could to get the car--some guy stopped to see if things were okay. this time we jumped at the chance for some help. he only had a pump, but the tire wasn't holding any air. it was totally flat.

so we start walking down the canyon, still talking about our options. then another guy stops to see if we're okay. this guy saved us! he let us have his spare tube (we gave him our flat tube in exchange. aren't we nice? at least he could patch it up, right?) and use his pump. a few minutes later pete was back in the game. good thing, because did I mention that it got pretty chilly up in that canyon when the sun disappears? I was shivering. at least once we were out of the canyon and back in the city the temp rose significantly. don't you just love the heat island effect? {only in this instance!}

the ride home was of little incident. I am so grateful cyclists are so incredibly nice. there is a good, karmic vibe floating around the scene. we would have been screwed had that guy not been willing to give up one of his tubes. thank you, nice man!

okay, so the moral of the story is? always be prepared. and get over your fears.

the end.

18.some-odd miles; city creek canyon

swimteam

there is a quiet magic in the pool. especially on a rainy day. the mist rolls up off the water, hovering among muted grey tones. but underneath the world is vibrant. deep crystalline blues.


this was my swimteam today. I kind of like swimming in the bad weather. for one thing, you never have to worry about finding a lane. I had the pool mostly to myself the whole time. and lastly, it makes a person feel so hardcore out there. and that's really what it's about, right? right.

here is my own made-up workout:

500 warmup
6 X 50 kick w fins
6 X 50 drill
4 X 100 IM
4 X 50 descending
200
4 X50 descending
100 cooldown

waiting to exhale

I found this randomly on a wikiHow page -- how to begin running -- under the tips section:

If you’re like most people, when you run, you exhale as your right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground.

so all you runners out there, when do you exhale? on the right foot strike? the left? either?!

I have honestly never noticed on which foot strike I exhale. now I'm wondering if I'm like most people or if I'm special. the next time you're out on a run make sure to be aware of your breathing, then come back and report. let's see how the kenyan within readers stack up.

bike + run

okay, okay. so I didn't go on a ride yesterday. I didn't do anything, actually. for personal reasons this was a day of rest and reflection.

so this morning I was determined to get on that bike. if only to ride it to work. so I pumped up the tires and headed out the door, only to realize hills aren't so fun when you aren't quite in bike shape. and my ride to work is all. up. hill. but maybe that's good for me.

after the ride home -- okay, who are we kidding. after reading the blogs -- I decided to go out on a little run. this was the first run post marathon. overall it was okay. not great. not even good. just okay. my right big toe hurt. you know that feeling that the joint in your toe just needs to pop? yeah, it was like that. it was a very random, out of no where type of thing. and other than that my legs just felt kind of like dead weight for most of the run. I just tried to take it slow and enjoy the moment.

it didn't help, either, that I've been feeling kinda yuck all day. my stomach is going all wonky on me. maybe it was the salmon tamales we had for dinner last night. who knows.

anyway, I went running! and I rode my bike! yeah!!

3 miles

last week recap

wednesday: swimteam. I busted out a 1500m to see how long it would take me in a pool. 35 minutes. (hopefully I didn't tack on any extra laps... it's easy to lose track) I wonder how long it will take in the washing machine of a cold reservoir, with hundreds of little feet kicking me in the face. I can't wait for my first open water swim! oh, and after I swam my little 1500 I went and did twenty minutes on the stationary bike. it was my first brick.

thursday: elliptical. if I remember correctly, I did 45 minutes.

friday: swimteam. pete, tori, and I had our own little early AM swimteam. coach tori made up the workout and it was a lot of fun. let's see if I can remember what we did... okay, I can't really remember the sets. I do remember that my arms were tired from the beginning. but it felt great to be out there swimming.

saturday: again we had planned to do a ride, but again the day slipped away until there was no time for a ride. if I'm going to do this olympic triathlon, I should probably get out on my bike at least once. don't you think? my butt is going to have one huge shock in the saddle if I don't.

tomorrow we are going to go on a ride in leu of the PM swim. I might even try and get in a little swim on my own in the morning. hopefully tori doesn't mind. but I need to get on that bike!

the elliptical

I did the elliptical at the gym today. no real pain in the foot, which is good.

I was trying to push it and really work up a sweat. I love that feeling.

thirty minutes - cross country course; five minutes cool down

the memorial day swim

pete and I went up to the pool on memorial day.

it was a grey and drizzly sort of day. steam was rising off the water when we got there. perfect for swimming, no?

it was actually quite nice in the water since it was warmer than the air. I played coach and gave peter an "official" workout. we only swam for 45 minutes, but it was good enough for a holiday swim.

500 warmup
4 X 50 kick
6 X 50 drill
50 slow
50 medium
50 fast
50 slow

friday masters

my good friend tori and I went to friday evening swimteam last night. it was the first time out in the big pool (the outdoor 50 meter pool) this season for both of us. yikes I'm out of swimming shape! there was no actual coach there either. some guy was just telling everyone what to swim. there were some slightly unconventional sets thrown in. very interesting.

500 warm up
6 50's kick
4 100's free
4 100's free w/no legs (you had to cross your legs at your ankles--it was like swimming with dead weight)
100 skulling on your back, feet up in front of you
4 100's IM
cool down

what good is doing anything if you don't look hot doing it?

so the verdict is in: I LOVE running skirts. I want to get twenty-seven more. they don't ride up the thighs like running shorts do. they stay in place and make your legs look fantastic in any picture. and you just feel cute while running. how could you not love the skirt?!

next I'm going to get a pair with the built in spandex. it seem like perfection.

{both these photos are in the fargo dome.
cool finish venue, but seriously lacking in the photo-opp department.
check out my other official photos HERE}

it's time to feel normal again

it's almost been a week since I've worked out. I'm actually walking normally now, so I figured it's time to get back in the game.

it's been a little rainny around here, so I couldn't go out on a ride. and I didn't really feel like swimming because I need a little break from the pool (though tomorrow I'm back in it for friday masters!). so I decided I'd try the elliptical since the good doctor says I still shouldn't be running.

I had higher expectations, I suppose. I set the time for an hour. my foots been bugging me slightly both yesterday and today, though, so after going a little over twenty minutes I realized it might be a good idea to stop. ease into this slowly. my foot was hurting slightly.

so I went and got one of those resistance bands and did a few sets of arm stuff. maybe now I should actually start focusing on strength. hmmm, what a novel idea. (I'm still too scared to go in the actual weight room, though)

20 minute elliptical, stiener

fargo marathon, the report

I started this post yesterday, but couldn't finish writing it. I feel it was too negative. I was being too hard on myself. let me start over.

* * *

I am extremely blessed. with nothing short of a miracle {thank you all for sending your good vibes + prayers} I had no pain in my foot on race day. not even with one foot strike. nothing. I was pain free.

as for the rest of my body? I'm not sure my muscles were quite ready for the pounding. hey, where's the water?! they kept asking.

I woke up at 6am on race day, showered, ate my PB toast, did the whole routine. due to high traffic (peter did some pretty sweet illegal maneuvers on the way--hey, we're from out of town, I kept telling the other cars) we rolled up to the fargo dome a little later than I had ideally wanted. my warm up was sparse. maybe five minutes. probably less than that. I was not stretched out at all. but o' canada was being sung and then the national anthem -- it was time to line up.

if this race gets any bigger, I suggest to you dear fargo marathon organizers a split in the half and full starts. it was just way too crowded in there. especially when you're trying to follow bobby, your pace team guy. especially when bobby doesn't even slow down at the aid stations, you just have to catch up. catch up?! it was hard enough negotiating my little running self over to the water/powerade peeps and then seeing my pace team already so far ahead. it was a little discouraging + frustrating.

from the onset I was not running my own race. I was trying to keep up. after not having run in a month the pace was probably slightly too fast from the onset and this was only compounded by the fact that since I didn't really warm up and didn't even have the chance to stretch out a little at aid stations my muscles were pretty tight already. especially my hip flexors. (thankfully my IT band and hamstring didn't really bother me at all -- again, a miracle!)

I was able to stay with the group until about mile ten. then the game of catch-up was just too much for me. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up the pace if I already felt like I did that early on. I couldn't run someone else's race; I had to run my own.

so the pace started gradually slowing. I started stopping to stretch out the legs. things changed. I was losing my mental toughness. I should have spotted it right away, but I let it all slip away from me. I let the people slip by, the time, my dream of qualifying for boston this go around.

I haven't really mentioned the fact that it was unexpectedly hot in fargo, north dakota. the previous afternoon was spent walking around downtown fargo in 80+ degree weather. I had brought some mini gloves to wear at the start until things warmed up. . . I never even took them out of my bag.

oh, and 20 - 30 mile an hour winds were on the schedule too. perfect.

so I spent the next miles pouring water all over myself at aid stations. stopping for no apparent reason. and cursing all the hills on this "flat" course. okay, okay. so the course is pretty flat. the hills were mostly just overpasses and underpasses. but when coupled with a fierce headwind, it was just a little more than I could bear in the moment.

and it was a headwind. for the entire second half of the marathon. and a strong headwind at that. at one time I was almost stopped dead in my tracks, and another I was almost blown sideways. for about five seconds there was a blessed tailwind, and then right back into fighting against it. no relief.

but what did I expect? I knew there was a likely chance for wind. maybe if I had raced with the nutrition plan I trained with things would have been a little better. I was going longer in between gu's. note to self: food gives you energy. and for the sake of this argument, gu's are being considered as food. eat them as often as you did in training. thank you, self, for listening--oh, and run your own race next time.

the last miles were hard just because by this time I was stopping for no reason a lot more than I would have ever done normally. my muscles were tight, sure. and I had the expected pains of running for a long time. but it wasn't that bad. it wasn't like last year. I was just mentally kaput.

and that is why I have been so hard on myself. I gave up. I was fine with not qualifying for boston--in fact I know it's not the right time for that; it's hopefully time to start focusing on another marathon of sorts--but that does not mean I had the right to completely give up on myself. to stop. especially for no apparent reason.

maybe I should've hopped on another pace group's bandwagon. had the moral support to keep myself running. these are the lessons I learn. next time it will be different.

and again, I feel I really have no reason for disappointment. I finished a marathon after an injury sidelined me from running for a month. I could've given up the hope long before. I have to remember that the sheer fact of finishing is a huge accomplishment in itself. I had people all over the country supporting me and cheering me on. my injury was pain free. I am truly blessed.

so thank you fargo-moorhead, for the friendly little run through your neighborhoods. I will never forget my fargo dome finish. I was like a rock star on that jumbotron.

and most importantly thank you peter -- you are my biggest cheerleader in life. I feel I can do anything with you by my side. and thank you dad for your continued support + love as well. and mom, that goes for you too--you were there in spirit via the signs (that unfortunately I only got to see once!) and thank you bloggy-peeps who are even interested in this little kenyan's running. it means the world.

I just ran a marathon after not having run in a month!

it was no Boston Qualifyer, but under the circumstances I'll gladly take it.  below are my results.  race report coming soon.

I am ready--bring it on!

{image via the cellular telephone}

everything is laid out and ready for the morning.  I always love pinning on the race bib and getting all my gu's in order.  there is something so exciting about the pre-race preparations.

let's just hope that all the preparations I've made will pull me through tomorrow.  I have to trust in the work I've done.  the months of dedication, even in the face of adversity.  I have put in the miles. and tomorrow, no matter what happens, I will accomplish something great.  

you are stronger than you know;

believe in yourself

hotel gym

me and my dad had some treadmill fun together.  my workout was as follows:

10 minute warmup

15 minute easy run

5 minute cooldown

the body held up and I'll be interested to see how saturday goes.  

tomorrow we're roadtrippin'

I did a 30 minute pool run yesterday. (something was going on with me, I couldn't "run" in a straight line for the life of me!)

didn't have time for anything today. I was even going to attempt a small run at liberty park. yes, you heard that right. a run. outside. sans chlorinated water. oh well, I guess I will reserve that special moment for some rest stop in montana. hey, a girl's got to stay loose out there!

the big run is this saturday. I am so excited and scared all at the same time. but I guess that's what you get with every big race, right?

north dakota, here we come!

uff da!

my last long "run"

I spent one hour in the pool on saturday. this week is the race. I'm feeling overall good about things. but every once in a while I'm in sure panic over the state of my body. will my hamstring hold up? is my IT band going to freak out on me?? will my foot fall off??? you never really know what will happen on race day, but I have to feel reassured that I have put in the work. my body knows what to do, my mind knows what lies ahead. if I can just grit and bear it, I might just be able to hold on.

the not cools

okay, so friday's are definitely not as cool as wednesdays. no up beat 80's mix. no eye of the tiger. just some really lame music for the old ladies to splash around to. seriously. not cool.

so mysteriously I have somehow hurt my little hamstring. don't know how. that's why it's a mystery. I woke up yesterday morning and it was hurting. it pretty much bugged me all day. I did an easy 30 minute pool run today, and stretched in the sauna (my new favorite place to stretch--I might start doing the bikram yoga poses in there) and it still kinda bugs. so that's not cool numero dos.

{all I have to say is that it better get better, 'cause if I go all the way to fargo north dakota after battling all these various injuries, and my hamstring is the thing that flares up--after seemingly getting it under control finally--that will be the not coolest of the not cools}

eye of the tiger

so do you want to know when the best time to pool run at steiner aquatics is? nine o'clock on a wednesday morning. it's true.

the geriatric water aerobics have taken over the shallow end (don't go at eight o'clock if you need the deep end) and will leave you with the deep water. they will also blast the most perfect 80's workout mix ever. who needs a waterproof ipod when you've got eye of the tiger screaming over the sound system?! loved it!

and at this time--especially now that the 50 meter outdoor pool has opened--it's not too busy. I had a lane to myself for most of the "run."

30 minutes in la pool

monday's workout: the pool run. again.

40 minutes in the pool with my cute husband. after about ten minutes he was like, is it time to go yet? apparently getting a good workout in is hard when it's actually time to be eating dinner. he's a trooper and stuck it out for the full 40 minutes. well, almost 40 minutes. whatev.

running a la pool

that is not me in the photo; I have a much cuter swimsuit. but this is a good visual of how pool running actually works. see, you just put on the geriatric floaty belt and run your little heart out. it's like going through all the motions of running but without all the impact. and any sense of speed.

I'll be honest, though, I'm really looking forward to the day when I can just run again. it's a lot less effort, logistically speaking. I have to plan my workouts around pool times and when/where I'll have more of an chance to get a lane in deeper water. I can't wait for the day I can just put on my shoes and head out the door.

I was at steiner this morning and did somewhat enjoy watching the water polo practice. (I didn't love the fear of getting hit in the back of the head with the water polo ball, though.) water polo is probably just about the toughest sport there is. I played it in college. okay, so it was just intramurals, but still--those chicks are ruthless! pullin' and tuggin' on your suit, almost pushing you under the water if they can get away with it. very mean.

1.75 hour pool run

blessing in disguise

maybe my little injury was a good thing, if only for the reason that it has gotten peter and me back in the pool together. he swims. I "run" at an extremely slow pace. it's fun times.

today was an interesting time at fairmont. first of all, who knew there is a water aerobics class going on at 6pm. and then who knew that there was a masters swim team at 7pm! they only had one lane open for lap swimming during the shallow-end water aerobics, so I got to have the whole deep end to my little pool running self. well, besides having to avoid the kid who was having swim lessons. man, was he ever thrashing about!

some lady showed up with a film crew. I use the term lady loosely because I think she was really a man. or used to be one at one point. I wonder why they were filming her. she swam like two laps and then they packed it up, I think. watch for it on the local news, maybe you'll see me pool running in the background or something.

30 minute pool run

marketing scheme

well we all know how I love the GU energy gels. especially vanilla bean. a week or two ago I stumbled across their Stash Your Trash program. at first I was a little confused. were they going to collect all these sticky, used gu packets and then recycle them? or were they just going to throw them away in the end, just like I could throw them away without all the hassle of mailing them in?

so it turns out they just throw them away too. but with the incentive of free gu {5 packets for every 50 empties; and free schwag for 200+ empties!} I've started my own sticky, used gu collection. I know throwing them away myself is just easier + cleaner, but who doesn't love free gu?!

***gladly accepting all sticky, used gu packet donations***

monday:

45 minute pool run.

I always feel like everyone is watching me, wondering what it is I'm doing. have they never seen an injured person--though from the looks of me, I don't think you'd be able to tell I was injured--run in water before? sometimes I wonder if they think I can't swim, like I'm afraid of the water or something. especially when I walk on the deck with my cap + goggles (just in case*) and my geriatric floaty belt. it's pretty awesome.


*fyi - I am not doing my pool running with the cap and goggles on my face. I bring them just in case there are no lanes to do the pool running, since it requires deep water. in that event, I revert to lap swimming.

the update

okay, I'm sure everyone has been dying to know about the injury situation.  I had a consult with the good doctor {aka bro-inlaw, PhD) tonight and after examining my foot he gave me the go ahead to run the marathon.  yes, the go ahead to run the marathon!  

he did all his little tests, all the poking and prodding, twisting and turning.  well, your foot is stable, he says.  he thinks it's my fascia.  he told me to keep doing the pool running to stay fit, wear one of those boots at night--the plantar fasciitis ones that keep your foot stretched--and to roll my foot with a tennis ball during the day.  in a week or two I can try and do some short runs, but if there is pain I should stop.  but no matter what, I can run the marathon.  you might be in pain, but yes, you can run the marathon, he says after about the twenty-seventh time I've re-capped everything he has just told me.  

he kept reiterating that there would probably be pain involved.  but that it's not going to do any long-termdamage.  I can deal with pain.  I feel that just being an endurance athlete means you have a better ability to manage pain than the average person.  I can do it.  

I will have about three solid weeks off the foot.  even if I have a stress fracture (which is possible, but the extreme pain in my ankle/foot could also be from the connective tissue pulling on each other--or whatever) that is enough time to get it healed.  at least mostly.  

he did tell me that I shouldn't run for four to six weeks after.  that's okay, I said.  once I was done with this marathon, I was going to focus more on biking more anyway!  he gave me this look.  that, are you kidding me? look.  no biking.  I can swim and pool run.  okay, I can deal with that.  I'll just focus on swimteam.  

but I can run the marathon.  and that's all that matters.  

and I can try and run it at a good pace, if I want.  I can still try and qualify for boston.  we'll see if I can hang with the 3:40 pace group crowd.  hopefully the pain isn't out of control.  hopefully I haven't lost too much fitness.  we'll see.  and if nothing else, it's always another state.  and that's really the overall goal anyway.  

the weekly recap

wednesday:  rest

thursday:  rest

friday:  45 minute pool run

saturday:  30 minute easy spin + 2 hour pool run  [note to self:  don't ever try and go to steiner on a saturday morning.  especially during the hours of 8 to 9:30am.  masters will inevitably take every lane in the pool.  every single lane.  and even after your thirty minute warm up via the stationary bike, you'll find a lane but will have to share it with the minnows swimteam.  eight year old kids splashing all over the place does not a fun pool run make.  and then you'll just end up getting kicked out of your lane anyway, because they'll have to set up for the water polo practice.  next week I'm hitting the pool at 6am.  hopefully my luck will be better.]

just trying to hold on

remember how my foot was hurting on friday? well, technically it probably hurt a little on previous runs too. . . but friday it was pretty apparent.

since I didn't run on saturday (but I did ride my bike along the salt lake marathon's course a bit) or sunday, I figured my foot would start to feel better. it hasn't. I'm over three weeks out to my race. this cannot be happening to me! the thought of not being able to run it just tears me up inside. I have worked so hard, and devoted my life to this and my goal of qualifying for boston.

so I'm trying to stay positive. I'm trying to focus on the things I actually have control over. the things I can do to help the situation. and hopefully, in the end, make it better. make it work.

so I'm going to implement rest. I'm going to also be implementing active rest -- aka cross training. which pretty much means I will be spending the rest of my life in the pool. I tried water running yesterday for the first time in my life. it's interesting, but if it can keep me fit without being able to do much else I'll take it! I mean, who doesn't love to wear the geriatric floaty belt? love it!

I also think swimming will be okay.

so everyone send some good, positive vibes my way. I'm going to need them. this is just one more road block I'll have to work through for this thing. trust me, this isn't the first time during this training season that I've felt like it's all been totally hopeless. and then I usually come back stronger than ever. pray for me!

nineteen

I ran my long run today because my friend, scotty, is running the salt lake city marathon tomorrow and we need to be his cheering section. {he's trained for this thing solely on a treadmill. I can't even imagine.} I mean, the race route goes right by my house, so why not?

so today's run didn't really feel that great. which is okay. I felt pretty sick when I went to bed last night. like I was going to puke or something, and was scared I'd actually be sick and running wouldn't seem so appealing. I felt relatively fine this morning, though. so that's good.

I felt tight in the early miles. I loosened up midway through. by mile 10 or so I started getting tight again. if you look at the elevation profile I was running uphill for a few miles. it felt like I was just crawling up that last push. but it probably wasn't really that slow. maybe just kinda slow.

the way down that hill (that very little steep section--it was only about a block, really) kinda pounded my legs.

my left foot really started to hurt. hopefully that is a pain that does not linger with me for any amount of time.

I had salty face. it started getting in my eyes near the end. I usually wear my visor, which helps soak the sweat up. but I did wear shorts and I had no problem with the chub rub. thank you, bodyglide! though the past couple runs the bodyglide on my feet doesn't feel like it's been working like it used to. no actual blisters yet, but I feel hot spots forming. no beuno.

I am glad the long run is done and out of the way. I can enjoy the rest of the weekend! yesterday it was one month exactly to the big day. next week is my longest run. then I'll taper and hopefully be ready for the journey ahead. hopefully I'm physically and mentally ready for the challenge at hand.

19 miles; 6th east/south temple/11th east/21st south/wasatch dr

baby baby bike

so I wanted to go on a ride tonight. but by the time peter got home I was in the middle of doing the biggest pile of dishes you have ever seen. and my carbo-loading extreme dinner had not even been started yet. . . and we were both starving. so as I finished up the dishes peter so nicely went out to the storage and got my bike. then he pumped up my tires. isn't he sweet?

so while he slaved over a hot stove, I was out on my first "ride" of the season. it was pretty baby. I just rode over to liberty park and did a few laps. I wasn't even gone that long. it was just a get-to-know-you type ride. me and my bike haven't seen each other in a long time. it's nice to get reacquainted. you know, take it slow.

the good news was that pete had the delicious dinner ready to go when I got home. hurrah!

baby swim

I didn't really have time for a full workout today. I hate those days when you're so busy working out isn't really feasible. but today I made time for it, even if it was just thirty minutes in the pool.

the workout wasn't really anything special. probably not even worth mentioning, but I'll mention it anyway. I did a 500 warmup. a quick 100 IM. then I did some 100's, mostly freestyle. I don't even know how many. I just sort of swam.

monday + tuesday

monday, april 14th:
I did a 4.5 mile loop. it was good fargo practice--windy! the temperature was really warm, though. when I got home I didn't really have time to stretch and ice like I had wanted to. I had an appointment come up. I had this really random twitch going on in my left buttocks for a few hours afterward. pretty random and slightly annoying.

tuesday, april 15th:
I went up to steiner to do a speed workout on the tready. the track was a no go a) because I had to do it in the afternoon after work -- you know, high school track season and all. and b) because it was a rainy/snowy/sloshy cold mess outside by the afternoon. spring to the extreme! so I opted for the indoors where my pace can more easily be controlled. I did a one mile warmup. and then alternated between a half mile at 7:19 with a couple minutes of walking. I did 5 800's (800 equals the half mile, peeps). I did a 1.5 mile cooldown so the total running distance would be an even five miles. yeah, I'm OCD like that. I tried to stretch pretty well afterwards. and then I took an ice bath to cover all my bases in one, quick shot. my legs felt pretty beat up. today will be an easy, recovery day for sure.

eighteen

I made myself a little route on friday night. I got pretty into it because after I printed out the map (below) I wrote out where my aid stations were going to be (aka which street corners I would stash my little water bottles) and where my turnaround point was, et cetera. I even placed my little gu's on the appropriate mile markers. I thought it was really cute. pete didn't seem to appreciate it as much.


on saturday morning, after driving the course and placing all my baby waters and poweraids, I set off on my little eighteen miler. the first half mile my legs felt a bit like dead weight. by my first aid station (mile two) I had loosened up quite a bit. most of the run put me snaking through the avenues. and if you know the avenues, you know that it's always a hilly run. I was either going uphill or coming downhill. not much in the way of just flat.

but I ran through it all and kept a good pace. my legs started getting pretty tight around mile 14 or so, but it wasn't enough to make me want to stop running. I still felt strong. strong enough to run through any discomfort I was feeling. strong enough that when it was all over I still felt that if I had had to, I could've pulled another two miles. that's a good place to be mentally.

oh, and the weather was beautiful. just perfect for a saturday morning long run.

{p.s. if you want to analyze the bizarre dream I had before waking up and going running, go HERE. it involves qualifying for boston and cleaning tomkat's toilet. you could even win a prize.}

18 miles; avenues

plyo

I went to steiner yesterday to get a plyo workout in. seriously, I swear by these. they make you a faster runner without much effort. every runner's dream!

I warmed up for two miles on the treadmill.
did my plyo jump rope routine for ten mintes (unfortunately I had to do 1 minute intervals instead of 30 second intervals. totally forgot the man-watch and had to go by the time on the digital clock above the ice sheet)
ran a half mile cool down on the treadmill.

I stretched afterwards and came home and iced some key areas that were kinda feelin' it. I think today will just be a rest day as I gear up for the 18 miler tomorrow.

the pm swim

I am torn between the am swimteam and the pm swimteam. I love being able to get my swim workout in before the rest of my day starts (that is if I can wake up for it); it just feels so good. but I like the wednesday night swim coach and the people that swim in my lane better. I just feel like I fit more in the pm swimteam. but this is the kicker: I hate getting home at 8 o'clock.

with that being said I made it to the pm swimteam tonight. it had been a while. the old familiar faces were all there. we swam hard in our little slow lane. I felt good. I always feel good after swimming. it is such a fantastic workout.

500 warmup (300 free, 200 stroke)

8 X 50 kick (odds butterfly, evens freestyle)

8 X 50 drill IM

3X:
200 moderate free
100 fast IM
50 easy recovery free

2 X 75 (50 easy, 25 fast; 25 fast, 50 easy)

cooldown

some speed and also a little look back

I did some speed work today. I ran my little self over to the highland high track and did some fun repeats. the yasso 800's. basically you're supposed to run a set of repeats at the same time in minutes as your goal time for the marathon. thus my 800's were supposed to be run in three minutes and forty seconds. since this is my first week of the yasso 800's, I only did four. I'll keep adding more repeats as the weeks progress. (okay, so I'll only actually do these a few more times before I'm into taper and it's almost my race! yikes!!)

so with that being said, I ran all four of my under three minutes and thirty seconds. my first one was 3:19! now let's get one thing straight: I will not be running my marathon in under three hours and thirty minutes! I was obviously running way too fast. with each repeat I kept telling myself, okay you can run slower. . . it just wasn't happening. I think it was the fear of not making it in time. and it's not like I was all out sprinting in these 800's or anything, but my feet were certainly moving!

my legs felt awesome during the first two. as in my hamstrings weren't bugging me at all. I was surprised and quite relieved. the third time around I could feel it in my left hip flexor. the fourth time my hamstrings were starting to complain a bit.

then I had the run home. all in all I think I ran about six to six-and-a-half miles today. my hamstrings were not loving me when I got home. I took an ice bath just so I could get all the major muscles groups in one shot. some days I just don't feel like dealing with all the frozen corn bags.

* * *

I hadn't been back to that track since the early days. the days where uncertainty and a sense of untested confidence ran strong. it was during that time that I started to see myself for what I was: a runner. a girl with strong legs, a strong heart and a strong sense of what she wanted.

it was during those spring evenings that I met with them. told what I could achieve if I just put in the work now. I learned that I was able. I learned that I was strong. I learned that I was ready, though I had no real idea what lay ahead.

two weeks before my first marathon: slow down. you don't need to go fast. you've put in the work. you're ready. and he was right; I was ready.

stepping once again onto that track brought everything back. the warm faces on those warm evenings; sunlight fading, long golden light. we were all working toward the same goal, each at our own pace. there was encouragement. there was laughter. there was sweat. there was a bond that brought us together.

we are still held by that bond, even though we have not stayed in touch.

I miss my friends.

I wish I could tell you my stories, of all that I have accomplished and are setting out to do. I wish I could hear yours. I know we have all done amazing things. running was just the beginning.

recovery

yesterday morning I was at the gym running on a treadmill before the sun even came up. dedication, I know. I had to get my recovery run in before work. four slow, easy miles. my hamstrings have been really tight since the race on saturday. I was hoping the run would loosen them up a bit. during the run they were starting to feel better. but as I went about the rest of my day, they were still sore.

on monday's I've been getting some sports massage therapy. I think it's helping greatly. I'll keep getting them after my long runs into the taper phase of my training. after the massage yesterday, I could almost immediately feel the difference. my hamstrings felt so much better. though, they do feel a little sore; I'm hoping today's run helps sort things out further.

thirteen point one: provo city half marathon

ah yes, the provo city half marathon. I'm not sure I'd really recommend it to anyone. I mean, it wasn't really that bad. and it was the inaugural running of the race. so they still have time to work out the kinks. but it really wasn't that great, either.

basically I felt the mile markers were a little off--if they even had mile markers at all. oh, and they said aid stations at mile 2, 6, 8, 10, 12 but seemed to have them in random places. so I'd get to one and have to wonder what mile I was actually at. as a runner, it's pretty important to know where you are during the race, if only for the mental game and your sanity.

the run along the provo river was pretty nice. until you got out by utah lake. wind. wind. wind. with nothing to block it. yikes! that was a tough spot in the race for me. strong headwind equals a not so fast and a slightly more tired anna jo. it could've been worse, though, I guess. it could've been raining and a strong headwind. let's all be grateful the weather held this morning.*

okay, back to business. though I didn't love the course, this race was actually pretty good for me. I told peter before I started that this was my game plan: relax. and cruise. yesterday I had made three goals for how I wanted the run to turn out. you know, the super awesome goal time I'd be totally stoked on, the good goal time I'd be totally happy with, and the everything-went-wrong-but-I'll-take-it goal time. they were respectively: 1:40, 1:50 and 2:00.

I'm happy to report that I made it directly in between my first and second goal times. 1:45. I couldn't be happier with it. this has definitely been a confidence booster on this whole road to boston thing. I mean, I am on track to actually being able to keep the pace I'll need to qualify! it could be a reality if everything goes alright on race day. and that makes me happy.

if I remember correctly, I came in 63rd overall and 16th for females. something like that. who knows.

one thing I will say for this race was that it probably closely resembles conditions I might be facing in north dakota. a mostly flat course with wind and chillier temps. (I'm praying for chillier temps! if they have some sort of freak heat wave on may 17th that will totally be uncool. no pun intended.) let's just hope that I don't have to run over any overpasses. I was not expecting it, and my heart sank when I realized I had to run up and over it.

oh, and one more thing I will say about this race was that the tech tees were pretty cute!


* so yesterday afternoon someone told me it was supposed to rain all morning. maybe even snow. yep, all the weather reports confirmed it. so can you imagine how hard it was to dress for the run?! I think peter was thoroughly annoyed by all my questions and indecision. I just didn't want to be overdressed and I didn't want to be underdressed. that's a tight line to tow. but don't worry, the weather abated (except for the wind) and nothing ever really came down on us. my outfit decision turned out okay in the end as well. except for pete's watch. remind me never to wear a huge man-watch in a race if I have not trained with it for a while. I was not used to the weight and it started making my whole arm hurt! so I took it off about mile three and stashed it in the vest pocket where it proceeded to bounce around for ten more miles. annoying!

and it went a little something like this:

monday: ran on the tready before work. I did four miles. for a recovery run, I think I pushed it a little too hard for part of the run. my right hamstring hated me the rest of the day. that evening I had another massage, which seemed to work a lot of the kinks out.

tuesday: I ran two miles on the treadmill and then did some plyo. the ten minute jump rope routine. this time I was able to do it on the floor with the big mat, so it was easier on my joints, etc. and my calves weren't tight afterwards. bonus. afterward I did about a half mile cool down on the treadmill, I think.

wednesday: I had planned on going to early AM masters, but opted out of that to go with my cute husband instead. well, we both slept in too long and he wasn't feeling well anyway, so I ended up going after work. bad idea. there was a high school water polo game going on. which means fewer lanes to lap swim. which also means the girls warming up for the next game will swim in your lane. but they won't swim full laps. they'll just do these half lap things or just sit at the wall and generally just get in your way. now out of all three lap swimming lanes did they have to choose mine? I will never know. . . here is what I remember of the workout I made up in my head as I went:
500 warmup
some pull buoy action (until I noticed my left shoulder hurting... then I stopped and stretched)
200 reverse IM order (50's of each stroke)
100 (25 hard, 25 easy, 25 hard, 25 easy)
100 (50 hard, 50 easy)
100 (75 hard, 25 easy)
100 (hard)
100 (75 h, 25 e)
100 (50 h, 50 e)
100 (25 h, 25 e, 25 h, 25 e)
200 IM
cooldown

thursday: ran around liberty park. I was starving, but I had to go. so I did. I felt pretty good for literally running on empty. I ran the perimeter of the park.

friday: well, I haven't really done anything today and I think I'll keep it that way. I'm taking it as a rest day. I've got a big race tomorrow. the provo city half marathon. yep, I decided to do it and registered yesterday. I figure I might as well pay someone else to plan the course, place the water + gatorade and give me a tshirt! you can never go wrong with that.

sixteen

my long run yesterday was good. I felt strong.

going into it I wasn't sure what the weather would bring. they had been forecasting snow and/or showers all week. not something I necessarily want to run in, but will run in if needs be. the only problem was I didn't quite know how to dress for the run. it had currently been clear with temps in the low forties. would that hold? would I be out there when things changed suddenly and drastically?

I had thought about doing the baby pug tree run for that reason. if things turned for the worse I could run home and put on some additional layers, or change out of wet ones. but I didn't really want to do the baby pug tree. I am a little over it.

peter generously offered to go place some water bottles out for me. just like last week I did the 14 miler zoo/wasatch run. I just added two extra miles in the beginning to make it 16 miles total. I did a quick western run of the baby pug tree and then was off on the rest of the run.

can I just tell you how much better I felt at each point of the run over last week? and that was with two additional miles already under my feet! I didn't really start getting tight until about mile 12 or so. this is a good sign.

I felt strong.

pete rode the course on his bike and dropped off the water bottles in our designated spots. I met him soon after he had turned around. he was surprised I was already to that point; I must have been cruising! also, my outfit choice was perfect, just in case you were wondering. and I know you were. layered long sleeve tee's with my vest, tights, beanie, snot-gloves. I'm so glad I opted for the vest because it gave me a place to stash the beanie and gloves when I didn't need them. there were a few times where I had to pull them out of the pockets because it got windy and the temps dropped. thankfully no rain or snow. just a fierce headwind for the last three-fourths of the run.

I'm feeling good about where things are right now and where they are going. I am so much farther along than I was last year at this time. cramming in my training after an injury is no fun and really affects your body. I'm so glad that this year I have remained relatively injury free--just those chronic annoyances--and have had time to get that solid base under me. this year should prove drastically different from last years marathon. and I'm so excited to see it all play out.

16 miles; baby pug tree west, zoo/wasatch

the weekly rundown

oh my goodness, I'm sure having a hard time remembering what I ran this past week. I can barely even remember my run on friday, and that was two days ago! sorry this is a little spotty, but here goes. . .

monday, march twenty-fourth:
4 miles; the big loop?

tuesday, march twenty-fifth:
3.5 miles; through liberty, then around liberty and back home. . .

wednesday, march twenty-sixth:
got a sports massage. . . there is much to be worked on on the body of anna jo. . .

thursday, march twenty-eighth:
3 miles; around the perimeter of liberty. . . okay, I can't really remember if this is what I actually ran on thursday, but I think so. I do remember my legs feeling like dead weight.

friday, march twenty-ninth:
3 miles; liberty. for some reason it felt like there was a huge ball stuck inside my left glute. I don't know if it was from something I did the day before, but there was a knot and I could totally feel it with every step! I do think it lessened as time went on. it didn't really stick around for the long run the next day, so that was good. it was bizarre, though.

fourteen

I ditched the baby pug tree run. though it is super convenient, it gets a little old. so very, very old. I did that one fourteen mile run I did last year. {I did change a few things up, though. instead of running along 9th east and up 8th south, I just took 17th all the way up to 15th east and over. I think it was a huge improvement.} it's a good route. it will now be my fourteen mile standby.

man, the first couple miles I felt awesome. by the middle my legs were starting to tighten up a bit. but even though they were tight, I still felt strong. near my turnaround I passed these two guys--I just felt like my little legs were just totally flying past these guys. it was a good feeling. yeah, the end of the run ended with that tight but strong feeling. I took an ice bath when I got home. (after stretching of course) I feel pretty good about my running right now. even though I'm constantly battling my right hamstring, I'm trying to take care of it and I feel so much stronger than I did last year at this time. I will be so much more prepared for this marathon than the last. and that's all I can ask for.

14 miles; the zoo/wasatch run

running at the morgue

thursday: march 20.
I did some plyo. I ran a two mile warmup on the treadmill. then did my little ten minute jumprope routine. it's killer. the next day (and the day after that. . .) my calves were totally feelin' it. I did a .25 mile cooldown, because that's all I really had time for.

I was a little annoyed, though, because I wanted to do the jumping of the rope on the rubbery workout area inside the ice skating rink section. but stupid trainer-guy was working out two figure skaters. lame. I just went over to the other side and did my routine on the hard concrete floor. not as fun. by the way, my mother told me the other day that if there was ever a huge disaster here in salt lake city, utah. the ice sheets at steiner were going to be the morgue. yeah, better believe that's all I could think about when I was there. I was just picturing myself on the treadmill looking out over a sea of corpses. um, I'd rather be watching the pee-wee hockey league for sure!

friday: march 21.
I was going to do some yoga or something. but as usual, if I don't make the effort to go running or do something else like the elliptical at the gym, the day seems to slip away and I get too busy to do that yoga I keep meaning to do. so it was a rest day. which is okay too, I guess.

the liquid love

once again, the pool and I have reignited our love affair. I am happy to say that I made it to early morning swimteam. finally. it has been far too long.

that being said, todays workout totally kicked my slacker butt. though I didn't feel like my body forgot how to swim, actually swimming was very tiring. I hung in there, though. we did a lot of IM sets. our coach wanted to torture us today by putting IM sets back to back with reverse IM sets, pretty much making us swim the fly twice in a row. brutal. but that also meant that sometimes we would be swimming freestyle twice in a row, kinda like a holiday. (or so I pretended) anyway, it felt good to be back in the water. even if it was at six am. even if my muscles were screaming. it is so good for me. plus I love smelling like chlorine.


500 warmup

6 100's (50 kick/50 drill; the odds - freestyle, the evens - fly, back, breast)

100 IM
200 free
2X100 IM (IM, reverse IM)
200 free
3X100 IM (IM, reverse IM, IM)
200 free
4X100 IM (IM, reverse IM, IM, reverse IM)
200 free

100 cooldown

tuesday, march 18th

I changed things up a bit. instead of doing the usual tempo run on the treadmill, I headed outside to appreciate the fantastic running weather. I did a hillier route a la sugarhouse park. my hamstrings seemed to hold up pretty well. I tried to be conservative on the hills as not to further aggravate anything.

since the weather was so freaking nice I got to wear shorts + a tee + a long sleeve shirt. well, after I warmed up I ditched the long sleeves. I didn't realize I had put my tee on backwards. and it was a totally obvious backwards too because the front neckline scoops down a bit lower. plus that whole nike logo that is obviously on. the. front. totally embarrassing! I'm sure all the people running behind me thought I was some kind of spaz who can't even dress herself. classic.

4+ miles; 17th to 15th east + the sugarhouse loop

monday, march 17th

I did a short run. around liberty park, on the outer perimeter dirt path. I ran home via 8th east. I felt pretty good, if I remember correctly.

3 miles; liberty

between the shadows of injury and illness

it's been a rough two weeks for my running. let me recap.

monday, march 3rd: a three mile run? something like that. I don't remember now if anything significant happened or how I even felt. I think overall things went ok and I might have even felt pretty good. oh! I do remember now. I did a short run around liberty park with peter. that's right. joint run team.

tuesday, march 4th: a five mile tempo run. I remember feeling a bit tired. like my legs just didn't have as much in them. I did a mile warmup, a mile at 8:20, a mile at 7:45, a mile at 8:20 and then my last mile was a cool down. even though I felt a little sluggish, I didn't really notice anything abnormal with the state of my hamstring.

later that night I went with my little church girls to learn some hip hop dance moves from this chick in our ward. we were really groovin'. not only did I almost break my wrists off (she was teaching us some sweet stall moves), but I must have done something to my right hamstring. like re-pulled it. like this is not good pulled it. total set back. I'm still not sure if it was the run, the hip hop, or a combination of both.

wednesday, march 5th: I'm pretty sure I did a 40 (or 60?) minute yoga for inflexible people leg series.

thursday, march 6th: I was going to do yoga, but I don't think I ever got around to it.

friday, march 7th: went night boarding. man, oh man! now I remember why I like to ski. my butt and wrists were totally feeling it by the end of the night! good thing snowboarding stresses your quads (at least when you plow down the mountain) more than your hamstrings. I would have been hating my life if I had tried to tele that night.

saturday, march 8th: I was scheduled for a 15 mile run. since my hamstring was in disrepair I settled on the side of caution and just did eight. I figure I have enough room in my training schedule to move things around a bit.

oh, and I woke up that morning feeling sick.

monday, march 10th: well, that little feeling of getting the cold hit me. and boy did it hit me hard! I didn't go to church on sunday, I didn't go to work on monday. I did find some time during the day to do a very slow three mile run around liberty park.

tuesday, march 11th: again, didn't go to work. this cold was taking over my life! no energy, sore throat, stuffy nose. I took this as a total rest day.

wednesday, march 12th: I felt bad for not going into work on monday and tuesday so I sucked it up and went in. bad idea. it totally wiped me out for the rest of the day. I didn't go running.

thursday, march 13th: again, I was feeling pretty low energy. I don't think I even stepped outside of my house.

friday, march 14th: I was feeling well enough for a half day at work. but no running.

saturday, march 15th: in efforts to reclaim my life I did a long run. I had 12 miles scheduled, so I was determined to get it all in. even if it was at a painfully slow pace. it actually wasn't too bad. I hocked a few logies there in the beginning, and a lot of snot rockets throughout. I tried to get plenty of fluids every two miles. my legs did start getting pretty tight around mile 7 or 8, but I just pushed through and did my twelve.

it felt good to have some normalcy back.

ten miler

I got to pull my mileage back this week. ten miles. no big deal, right? well, in theory it's no big deal. but the wind seemed to kill me today. I swear, no matter which direction I was actually running it always felt like a head wind. what's up with that? around mile eight I got pretty tight again.

the good news is it was warm enough to run without tights this morning (but I will have you know it's been snowing all evening). I got my first true run with the skirt. verdict: I love it. it's just like wearing shorts except you don't have all that pesky riding up. plus you get to feel a little flirty out there. who doesn't want to run while feeling like the cutest thing on the block? the only drawback is when I'm stretching out I feel like I may be showing the world my goods. but after the run I tested things out in front of the mirror and in all actuality I'm probably showing off the same amount of skin as I would be in my running shorts. so I'll just have to get over it.

the outside of my right foot hurt during the first mile. that seems to happen when trying to break these specific shoes in. with my last pair this went away completely, so I'm not worried. like I said before, I was tight in the later miles. I think I'm going to start practicing a pre-race warmup so I can get a little routine down for the day of the marathon. it will be good to be a little warmed up and stretched out before I head into this thing. usually I just use the first few miles as a warmup, but I know my race strategy will be completely different for this thing. it will be like I'm actually racing it, not just running it. basically my race day strategy is this: stay with that 3:40 pace group even if it kills me. so I figure being loosened up going into it will only make that goal that much easier.

10 miles; baby pug tree south, west, north, east, west