14 on the schedule, 26.2 under foot: the valley of fire marathon race report

I've only really done it once before; run a marathon without actually training for it.

sometime the week before the race I had the crazy idea. why not just do it? my game plan: run it slow and not care about anything. it was a training run with a little bit extra thrown in for good measure. it was another state. no big deal, right?

it's funny how the experience is completely different when you've put in months and months of work specifically for one race. the anticipation. the excitement. the dread. you dream of doing amazing things; of PR's, of BQ's. this was not that. the fact that I was just about to run 26.2 miles without putting in that work didn't even sink in until about one minute before the gun went off. I freaked out slightly then, but quickly composed myself and joined the crowd. I was going to run a marathon without training. I have done it before, I could do it again.

the valley of fire marathon isn't exactly for the faint of heart. it's a small race and a hard course. in fact, they don't even claim you'll PR.

right there situated in mile one is a big, huge, fatty hill. and after that? more hills. the whole course was a series of rollers. some steep, some not as steep. oh, and did I mention that the course was comprised of two out and backs? so every hill you conquered, on the way down all you could think about was running back UP on the return trip. see why it's not a PR course? it was just plain hard. but it was so beautiful it kind of took your mind off the hills. at least a little bit. {if you've never been to the valley of fire state park, you should take a trip out there someday. it turns out november is the perfect time to do it. I couldn't have asked for better weather. especially for running.}

I stuck to my game-plan and just took things as they came. I told myself I was allowed to walk any hills to save the legs. I felt surprisingly good throughout the whole run. I ended up walking the steep hills, but mostly trudging up the others. I never felt the need to walk because I just wanted to give up and quit (like in fargo); I was just out there havin' a good time.

I tried to break the run up into sections in my mind. the distance seemed easier to tackle that way. if I can just get to the first turn-around... once I get to the half marathon split... when I get to mile 20, I'll just have a 10K left... I knew that if I could get to mile 20.5--the second turn-around--I would make it. it was a steady climb up until that point, and I knew that the last 10K would be all downhill. I'm not sure I could have made it otherwise.

I was getting tight, but was still able to keep running at a pretty good pace. I was passing people. I just had to keep my feet moving. and the miles flew slowly by.

I'm not sure I'd recommend this race. as is, I'd say run the half. that's definitely the prettiest part of the course. if you're not looking for a fast time or a lot of crowd support, and maybe if they improved a few things, then I'd say go for the full. for starters if you say you're going to have gatorade {and then say a few days before you're going to have heed instead} you should have at least some sort of sports drink on the course. there was nothing for the first half of the marathon. the second half did have the heed, but I had never even heard of that stuff let alone used it in training. yikes! and definitely put out better mile markers. yeah, there were some out there (and I loved the corresponding american flag set out by each of them. very patriotic.) but I never really seemed to know quite where I was. a little frustrating, but maybe in this case it was a good thing. and if you talk to peter {this is his biggest pet peeves in race organization} have better traffic control. he saw people almost get hit by cars at the finish line area. and it's always scary as you're running on the shoulder of the road and there are big motor homes and cars passing in both directions at the same time. yikes! at least close one lane of traffic and dedicate it to runners!

but with all that being said, it was a beautiful course and I really did have a fun time running it. especially since I can say that I did it without training. after the race I was hanging around the food table {by the way, they did have donuts not only at the end but at aid stations as well. if only I could have better taken advantage of that!} talking to other runners. some guys--now these are guys that had run 60+ and 100+ marathons. experts, if you will--were saying this was one of the hardest courses they've ever run. {I agree; it was akin to the lake tahoe marathon} that you need to take your normal finishing time and add one hour to it, then you will have your valley of fire marathon finish time. I kinda liked that. with their logic if you take my 4:40:55 and run it through the reverse of that idea, I'd have a 3:40:55 boston qualifying time. I'll take it!

top left: look! a tarantula! posing mid-race for a photo shoot with a spider
top right: running through the redrock formations
bottom right: the hardware

m + t

mon: 4 miles + core
I felt ok throughout the run. somewhat tired/tight, but nothing major. my hamstrings bugged me slightly, so I was very careful when I was doing my lunges, etc during the core workout. I iced the hamstrings, calves, and achilles afterward. I was pretty tired later in the day.

tues: 45 minutes on the elliptical
my stomach/GI kinda went wonky. no fun. but I kept at a pretty mellow pace, as it were.

post marathon long run

okay, I'm still working on the race report. be patient.

here is the status of my calf: I took a rest day and all is well. I think I just had a really tight knot or something.

BUT I went running on thanksgiving morning with peter {I tried to tell him that since we went running that morning that gave us a "free pass" and we could eat anything we wanted. yeah, he didn't so much buy it.} and was having some serious issues with my left hamstring. yeah, I know. is the pain just traveling up my leg or what? so I took friday off too.

saturday I just jumped right back into my training plan. it was a lower mileage week anyway, so it was perfect for the post marathon legs. actually, can I tell you how easy my recovery has been? I wasn't too incredibly sore the following days after the race {like I didn't feel that my knees were on backwards, or I couldn't go down stairs without holding onto the rail and wincing in pain} and it was really easy to get back into running again. well, with only a few minor aches and pains.

yesterday's long run wasn't that bad, though my legs were feeling pretty tight by the end. I just need to go see my massage chica, I think. and I only had random aches and pains that didn't stick with me through the whole run. success!

10.5 miles

the difference of pain

ack! I went to the gym to have some low-impact elliptical fun and now my left calf is hurting! while I was working out I noticed it started bugging me a bit. like the motion was pulling it a little if I had too high of a resistance or whatever. so I toned the already mellow workout down another notch or two. when I came home I iced the calf for a bit. but it still kinda hurts.

my other calf hurts too, but it's a different kind of pain. more of an I-just-ran-a-marathon-two-days-ago kind of pain. the left calf is more of an injured pain. yikes. it looks like I might take tomorrow completely off. hopefully this is nothing major.

45 minutes; elliptical

another update

t: I might have taken an involuntary rest day. . . I didn't want to run, but our gym membership still needed to be renewed. . . I might have had good intentions to do yoga or something, but I think I just ended up doing errands and stuff all day. can't really remember.

w: I really can't remember what I did any of these days {with the major exception of saturday!} but I'm pretty sure I did some sort of short run. probably around three miles.

h: I did a short run? maybe something like two miles?

f: rest

s: 26.2 miles. yep. coming soon: valley of fire marathon race report.

s: rest {aka sit in a car for five and one half hours} + short walk with the husband

m: walked about three miles

update

okay, I've been kind of a slacker and haven't been updating the blog after each workout... let's see what I can remember...

w: just my core workout, I think.

h: 4 miles. maybe. I'm pretty sure.

f: 45 minutes on the elliptical.

s: 12 miles. my ankle didn't hurt. my legs felt a little tight overall, but nothing major. my right hamstring has been bugging me a little bit since, though.

m: 3.5 miles + the core workout. I made sure I iced the hamstrings afterward.

long run + m + t

the weekend long run. ten miles again. I felt pretty good, actually. things of note: ankle pain came and went; pain on the inside of the left knee made a brief appearance. overall it was okay. I think my body is adjusting to a training regimine again. I am glad I put the one long uphill stretch in the middle of the run instead of the end of the run as I had originally planned. smart move on my part.

10 miles



monday: the rain came and went all day. I was busy all morning with errands, et cetera. by the time I got around to the run, the rain wasn't bad and it was getting dark quicker than expected. I was feeling surprisingly good. I ran it at a pretty good pace--it felt like anyway; who knows what pace it actually was--and my hamstrings didn't even feel that tight.

4 miles + core workout



tuesday: I did a pretty mellow recovery run.

3.5 miles

w + h + f

wednesday: first snowy run of the season. loved it. well, I could do without the big, fatty flakes in my eyes, but whatever. it was still a great run and super pretty outside. just as I was getting done with it, the sun came out and everything cleared up. super gorgeous. {I got the brunt of the storm during the middle of the run; super blizzardy}

4 miles + core workout



thursday: did a quick loop because I was trying to be time efficient. yeah, still didn't get everything I wanted to done yesterday. such is life, I suppose. any uphill kicked my butt. I just felt sluggish. my ankle hurt the first mile or so, but then the pain kind of subsided. my hamstrings (especially the right one) are pretty tight.

3 miles



friday: I walked {and ran -- I've been in the habit of nearly missing (or completely missing) buses lately} to/from a bus stop that is kinda far away from my house. when I finally got home from work, I did my core workout. you should be so proud of me, I did it three times this week. I am right on track. too bad it's kickin' my butt!

pool

went swimming at the local pool. it felt good. pete and I didn't share a lane, and actually had quite a productive workout. pete was even doing flip turns; I am so proud.

whenever I get back in the pool I get nervous about my left shoulder. I'm happy to say it didn't hurt. let's hope that as I put swimteam back into my regular routine I don't have any more problems with it. because seriously. I'm done with injuries!

the workout felt really good. I always love the way swimming makes me feel afterward. I will say, however, that I am still feeling yesterday's workout. I am sore. the run + the core workout + raking one billion leaves really threw my muscles through a loop. they don't know what to do with themselves. let's hope they figure it out soon.


500 warm up
4 X 50 kick
12 X 25 IM (sans free)
50, 75, 100 descending
25 breast
500 free
100, 75, 50 ascending
25 breast
4 X 50 hypoxic (strokes per breath: 5/25, 7/25)
100 cool down


1 hr; swimteam

the plan: 45 minute run, 15 minute core

I wanted to go exploring this morning, so I went in the opposite direction that I usually go. I had pete's watch on because I wanted to run for time rather than a set distance I thought I should run. 45 minutes was the plan. I ended with 48:00:36 on the display.

I actually took this run pretty easy, compared to my "easy" runs last week. I certainly didn't push it. my ankle didn't really hurt per se, but my tendon feels pretty tight. my legs were a little tight as well (I think it's from jumping right back into this training routine--they need some time to adjust) but overall I felt fine.

the run ended up being over five miles, according to the mapmyrun.

afterward I (and I really mean afterward... after I stretched... after I ate... after I showered...) did some core strengthening exercises that I plan to do three times per week. I picked it up off of runnersworlddotcom a while ago, but I copied + pasted everything into a document for easier printing and now I don't know the address to the article or anything. so sorry if you were dying to know what it all entails. maybe in the near future (especially if I stick with it and it actually helps me get that toned mid-section!) I will devote a full post to the routine. get excited.

5.36 miles

the rest

tuesday: I think I just walked for about 3'ish miles. (that is walking to/from work)

wednesday: did the sugarhouse perimeter loop again. so it's about 3.5 miles, I think.

thursday: walked around again, about fifty miles (or so it felt like--I walked home from work + walked to the DI to run some last minute halloween errands)

friday: took a nice long nap after work. totally took a holiday rest day.

saturday: long run. 8 miles. my legs felt tight. my ankle was feeling it for the first mile. then it subsided. then I would feel some discomfort on and off throughout the run. by the end of the run I was feeling pretty strong, though.

three and one half miles

I did the 3.5'ish mile loop. I was planning on running it pretty slowly, as a recovery run. but it turns out I had to run off some pent up energy and try to work some things out in my brain. my body has held up pretty well since the first long run of ten miles. at first my ankle was a bit tight, I guess you could say. but by the end of the run it seemed to loosen up.

3.5 miles

saturday's long run

I decided to kick my butt into gear. since I totally flaked out on training for the valley of fire marathon in november, I wanted to really set my sights on something else. and actually train.

I found the sedona marathon a couple months ago. it's in february. last year's race day landed on my birthday. too bad I didn't know about it then. oh well. but I figure I have plenty of time to train for it. I'm not going for a BQ or anything, the course seems too challenging for it anyway. so I'm just going to run it for the fun of running + another state. love it.

so with that in my mind I ran my first long run on saturday. I wasn't even planning on it. but sometime in the mid-morning I just decided to. I put on my gear and went out the door. I didn't have a plan for the route, or the mileage. I just stuck a gu in my back pocket and decided I'd take it if I needed it.

I ended up doing a park to park route. I headed over to some familiar ground: 17th south/liberty park. I ran around the perimeter and took the gu just as I was passing the drinking fountain again to leave the park. that was around 4 of 5 miles. then I ran up and over to sugarhouse park. and ran around the perimeter of that park. then home.

after the run I looked up my route on map my run. I figured it was around 8 miles. actually, it was 10. I don't know if I really needed a ten mile run to start off my training. I probably over did it. I hope my ankle doesn't blow up because of it. but oh well. it was so nice to be out there for an extended period of time. it was such a beautiful day.

my ankle has been feelin' it a bit, but not too bad. we'll go forward from here and see how things hold up.

yesterday + today

tuesday: ran somewhere around 4 miles. maybe a little more. I took the garmin {because I finally found it!} but I kept losing my satellite signal, so it was totally inaccurate. lame! at one point it told me I was running a 40-minute mile. yeah, don't so much believe that. {guys, I'm really not that slow. I swear.}

wednesday: eliptical at steiner. I just set it to 45 minutes turned up the tunes and then dove into the mags off the rack. the time flew by.

recooping + emergencies

I forgot to mention that last wednesday pete came home and took me on a little run. which was nice of him. because I wasn't going to go. due to the fact that I was getting sick, I didn't think I had the energy. it turns out I did. and I got to show pete some of my racing strategies as we passed people at sugarhouse park. now all he needs is a race.

I didn't do anything active the rest of the week. my cold hit me full throttle, and we're lucky that I can actually talk again.

this morning I was feeling well enough to get back out on the streets. unfortunately, though, I had one of those bathroom emergencies midway through. yikes! I made a b-line to the nearest park bathroom and all was well. I pretty much just took the run easy since I'm just recooperating. it was a nice autumn run.

3.5 miles

bike + swim

bike to work: it's only about a three mile roundtrip, but man that ride back up the hill seemed hard today. I don't think it should really feel hard; I need to get on my bike more.

joint swimteam: pete and I hit the pool tonight. it was pretty awesome. we should never swim in the same lane. nothing but shenanigans from that boy. and we only lasted a little over thirty minutes. it was a good reintroduction to the water, though. {it's been months for both of us} I am happy to say that I could bust out some butterfly. though I'm not saying it looked pretty. because I'm pretty sure it didn't. but I was just happy that I could make it to the other end of the pool.

oh, and btw, they have closed the outdoor pool for the season. now we all have to adjust back to the yard pool.

some of my thoughts

the weather is starting to cool off considerably around here. and I think that's going to be really good for my running. it seems the best time for me to run is right when I get home from work in the afternoons, right before I have to make dinner or other obligations take up my time. this is when I'm most consistent. so now that the temperature isn't going to be a factor, I just might get back into a routine. finally. {and can I tell you how much I love cold weather running?!}

my run today was pretty good, other than the fact that I was pretty hungry. nothing too major happened. I tried to make myself go easy, cut the run short a little bit as to not overdue anything--I've been a little sick the past few days + I haven't really run in a week + I already walked about 2.5+ miles today. but of course I went the full route.

my left ankle is feeling a little weird now, post run. it's reminiscent of the early stages of the pain I felt in 2006 {that pretty much sidelined me for the whole season} I think it's from over stretching it. like from folding over on my ankle, if that makes sense. but I haven't really done anything that I can think of to make it feel this way. very weird. but what's even more weird is that random pain I sometimes get in my right big toe. you know that feeling when your toe just needs to pop? and you do and everything is okay? well, I can't get it to pop and it just keeps hurting. it feels like it's broken or something. but then the pain pretty much goes away. this has happened a couple of times recently and it's totally bizarre.

I've been reading around the blogs lately about all the people doing their fall marathon... I'm kind of bummed + jealous. but let's be honest, even though I've been telling everyone I'm going to run one, I'm not. a) I haven't been training at. all. and 2) a good friend of ours is getting married that weekend. so good excuse to bag the whole idea.

and do you think if I did the utah grand slam, I'd actually PR in one of the races? you know, if most of these marathons were just training runs. and if I had one {or two?} key race, like st george? because I think to train for something like that you get a really good base under you, but once the season starts you're not running as much because you're busy recovering from races. maintaining. reverse tapering. it seems like at the end of the season people are really strong. I don't know, it's just something I've been thinking about. maybe the slam + the BQ could go hand in hand and I could cross them off the list at the same time.

morning run

well, it looks like I haven't gone running for a week. sucks to that.

I headed out the door today in shorts + a long sleeve tee. such great running weather.

I was feeling a little tight out there. I don't remember any notable aches and pains, though. so that's good. my ankle held up. oh, I think I had a cramp on the way back. I blame that on the honey nut cheerios I had eaten earlier.

3+ miles

how it is

ack! I haven't posted in a while. I know I worked out last week, but who remembers what I actually did?!

I know I did a four mile run, woke up ridiculously early and went to a spin class with a friend, ran a couple three mile runs. and maybe that was it. oh, and moved several heavy boxes.

as if the moving of several heavy boxes doesn't tip you off, it's true, we've moved. which is exciting because now I get to explore different running routes.

today's route took me on the bike lane of 17th east all the way up to 17th south. then back down to sugarhouse park. one lap around the perimeter (seriously, was I meant to be a cross country runner or what?!) and then back home.

it was good, other than the fact that my ankle/heel was bugging me. which I should've just followed the thought of cutting the run short (aka - no park loop) but no, I have to be stubborn. once I was on the grassy trail, it didn't feel so bad so I just kept going. but now? yeah, it still hurts.

maybe tomorrow I'll wake up ridiculously early and hit the masters swim. or the spin class. or I'll just end up sleeping in. whatever.

4 miles

finding my groove

despite severe dehydration and being a tinsy bit hungry, I felt really good on my run this morning. I felt strong. I only had a few random pains come and go. nothing lingered. it just felt so good to get out there and move.

4 miles

it was just me, the january 2007 issue of trail running, and cnn on the tube

since I went in to work this morning, I decided to take my gym stuff and walk over to steiner afterward. I really like my community rec center. as I was upstairs, ellipticalling my face off, I looked around and noticed no one else was there in the cardio machine area. no one. I had the place to myself! I love it. I love that this place has everything I need without that trendy gym feel.

45 minutes; elliptical

the morning run

ran around the park again. on the dirt path. it was nice. not too hot. I feel slow these days, but I know it's because I'm still just getting back into the groove. I'm okay with that.

3+ miles

eight miles

I took it to the streets yesterday. I did my long run via the baby pug tree route. I felt pretty good. my ankle was feeling okay, my muscles were feeling okay. the weird thing was that I couldn't breathe. not in the I-have-asthma-and-will-surely-die sort of way. more the my-sinuses-must-be-clogged-and-my body-isn't-getting-the-quality-oxygen-it-desires. it felt like my whole upper body was sleepy. like I really wasn't getting enough oxygen to my blood or something. and my right ear felt a little foggy as well. kind of like that feeling of water stuck in your ear after you swim. sort of. I need to neti pot. maybe I'll go do that right now...

8 miles

status

monday: 3 miles

tuesday: 4 miles

wednesday: 30 minute elliptical

thursday: 3 miles

I've been feeling a cold coming on for the past couple of days. I'm happy to report I've been successful at staving it off so far. I think I might just take today as a rest day {though I thought that about wednesday and thursday as well. we'll see how much will power I actually have} and hopefully do something awesome tomorrow. you know, like a long run. or even a fun ride with the hubs.

the rest of the week

thursday: run. 4 mile loop.

friday: nothing. ran around getting birthday surprises ready.

saturday: went on a short ride (like 6.59 miles short) and then went horseback riding.

swim + run

pete and I woke up early and did a joint swimteam. the problem with joint swimteam is we kind of play around a little too much. it's a lot of fun, but not as great of a workout. we need more discipline. or seperate lanes.

after the swim I decided to run home from the pool. I don't know why I hadn't thought of this sooner. especially if I have a short/easy pool workout. it's probably only about 2.5 miles, which was perfect this morning.

a recap

tuesday (august 26): I went running in the morning. the same route as the day before. 3+ miles.

tuesday - sunday were meant to be a backpacking trip in the wind rivers, but our plans changed when we noticed the area we were headed for was on fire. so we tried to salvage the trip by car camping in grand teton national park. it wasn't quite the same, but we did go on a hike around jenny lake and happened upon a small black bear a few feet off the trail. yeah, we got out of there quick! we ended up driving home thursday afternoon. it was pretty sad.

saturday: went on a seven mile hike up big cottonwood canyon. kinda steep. very dry out there. but it was pretty fun and I didn't have to worry about seeing bears on the trail, which is always a relief. we came home tired + dirty. you can't ask for much more out of life.

monday: did the short 3 mile liberty park loop (as opposed to the longer three mile loop I usually do) with peter. it was kind of a struggle because we pounded some serious cafe rio earlier that day.

tuesday: did an hour of elliptical at steiner. it was kind of low key. I was more interested in the magazine I was reading than keeping my heart rate up, I guess.


and that's pretty much it.

the good life

ah, my job is over and life can begin again. I can run when I want to and have the time to do what I want creatively. it's a good feeling.

so this morning, at the time I would have had to have been at work, I went running. it was 7:30am and nearly 70 degrees. a little hotter than I would have liked, but definitely not bad. especially in the shade. the kids were all lined up at the bus stop waiting to go to their first day of school. I love this time of year.

I probably started out a bit too fast. I think I was just so excited to be out there, with the prospect of routine, daily runs. I could feel my right hamstring and near the end of the run my left IT band was starting to bug a bit too. when I got home I rolled out my legs before and after stretching. I may or may not ice. we'll see.

3 miles

the peter + anna duathlon

bike:
man, biking up 17th south can be hard. especially when you actually haven't biked in a very long time. and your legs are already feeling dead for some reason. my hamstrings were feeling it early on. but the ride wasn't too bad.

swim:
whoah. my first 50 meters was like a shock to the system. my shoulders felt very tight. my arms were dead. it felt like a long, slow, painful crawl to the other side of the pool. the return 50 was about the same. the next 100 meters felt considerably better. I still felt pretty slow out there for most of the workout, but it got better as I went. I did some kicking + pull buoy. I did some breast + back. and a lot of freestyle. pete and I did some 50 meter sprint races. I blew up in the freestyle race; halfway through I had nothing left in the tank. I paced myself much better in the breastroke race. afterward I helped pete work on his flipturn.

bike:
the bike home I had a few problems with my chain. but otherwise it was pretty uneventful. it was a fun ride down the hill to our casa.

voting for my sister is good karma

okay, no I have not exercised. this isn't even anything exercise related. it's about my sister. see, she's in this photo contest and is currently in second place (well, the last time I checked anyway) and would totally love some more votes thrown her way, I'm sure.

so if you have time, please check out the summer fun photo contest and vote for #15 mary elizabeth.




if it makes you feel any better, my sister just rocked a half marathon about a month ago. she even ran a marathon once with only, like, three training runs under her belt. she's cool like that. now go vote for her!

okay, now back to your regularly scheduled programming. {that is if I ever workout again}

sorry for the non-kenyan post.
I just wanted to hit my whole demographic.
it's for my sister, afterall.

saturday run

I went running last saturday morning. the temp was pretty cool and quite windy. I did five miles or so. I wish I would have written about it shortly after the run, because I'm having a hard time remembering much about it.

I still haven't gotten into a routine yet. next week, when camp is over, I'll finally have time to reclaim my workout self (along with my housewife self) and I can't wait.

5 miles

run + bike

I forgot to mention that I went running last tuesday. I took advantage of a storm that was trying to rear it's ugly head, so it was slightly cooler. (slightly.) it was while we were house sitting moxie, so I got to run in a new neighborhood. I think it was around three miles. and then later that evening I went and played in a pool with my mutual kids. that's not necessarily a workout per se, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyway. we did play some killer marco polo. and we had a treading water contest. tough stuff.

yesterday pete and I went on a ride. I don't think I've really been on my bike since the triathlon (for an actual workout, that is). we were up in the oakley area at my grandpa's cabin and had some friends meet us up there. it was a fun 21'ish mile ride through the oakley/kamas valley. very scenic. I really do need to ride more often. it's just fun being in the saddle.

and I need to get back into the swimteam habit.

and the running.

{thank goodness for the olympics -- how inspiring and motivational!}

in training

I had my first "long run" this morning. it wasn't very long. just four miles. but I'm going to ease back into things slowly in light of my recent (and recent being last spring) injury and lack of running as of late. so over the next few weeks I'll do some 4's, 6's, 8's before hitting up any double-digit runs.

my ankle/heal was hurting slightly in the beginning. I was running up a hill, which might be partly to blame for this whole mess anyway. (that's just a theory) my body felt tight and slow. my shoulders/arms wouldn't relax--they were sore from carrying a giant tube up along side a river all day.

I came home and stretched, rolled out the muscles, but no ice. I probably should've iced the ankle/heal. oh well.

4 miles

undone.

I feel like I haven't been exercising lately. which is untrue, because I did some hiking over the weekend. but the regular schedule has been left by the wayside. I can only blame the heat. or my laziness.

but something strange has happened. I've lost my love for the pool. and that was the main activity that was pulling me through these hot summer days. and to be honest, I don't think I've really lost my love, I've just lost my motivation. I go through these cycles with the PM masters swimteam. I love it, but I hate it. sometimes I just get home from work and want to eat dinner and have a normal night with my husband. so I skip masters. and once I've skipped it's easier to not go back. especially because going always makes me a little nervous each time--which is silly, because it's always fine; I can keep up. so I just need to get back in the water, I guess.

and running? I crave it. I think I am going to start ramping up the training again. a fall marathon is calling my name. this time no time-specific goals. I am just going to run and take what comes. no boston qualifyer. that will be saved for another year, another race. right now I just want to get out on the roads and run for me. to feel my body move.

I haven't been on my bike since the triathlon, I don't think. I keep meaning to, it just never seems to happen. I really need to get back out on that bike.

supposedly I'm doing another triathlon later this summer with a friend of mine. from the looks of my training, it seems like that might be crazy. {not that I trained all that much for the first one} maybe I'll just do a sprint and enjoy the day. pound it out as hard as I can and see how my body holds up to the stresses. it might be a fun experiment.

I'm dreaming of the days I can do my workouts when I want to. when I'm not held hostage by heat and time. come august 23rd it will be a lot easier to run in the mornings when I want to and not have to worry about being back by a certain time. that sounds like a dream to me now.

I want to get into a structured training program. have the time to do it. I want to see how far I can push myself. reach some of my athletic goals (i.e. boston + ironman) I want to become that endurance athlete deep down inside. but now is not the time. my training might seem like it has unravelled, but cutting back in these hot summer months is okay. I have time to build a base, a solid foundation. my goals will come to me all in due time.

on the roads

I'm back from my run. it felt pretty good. the early AM is the only way to go this time of year. I must remind myself of this those mornings I'm too sleepy to pull my sorry butt out of bed.

my ankle started bugging me just a little bit. but other than that I think my body held up.

3 miles

yes, I was at the pool again

I was going to wake up and run a quick two miles this morning. my bed won out. I hate that. tomorrow I'm running for sure! I need to get back into the routine.

the workout was good. I like it when I'm swimming behind faster people and I force myself to swim harder to keep up. it's a good feeling to work so hard. my left shoulder didn't hurt that much, which is good. I've been trying to be more aware of my stroke. I think it's been helping.

we swam hard but had plenty of recovery time after each set. so all in all it was a pretty good workout.

warmup
600
[250
200
150]
[200
150
100]
[150
100
50]
{the main set was on a 2:15 base per 100 meters}
cooldown

pool time

again, more swimming. I feel like I've abandoned running and biking. it's just so easy to go to the pool on these hot summer days. but I'm going to make a resolve to get back on the running bandwagon at least. next week. {I'm toying with the idea of a fall marathon}

I'm not really sure if I remember my swim workout. it had a 500 warmup. some kicking. some IM sets. all with fins. it was kind of fun. I'm sure there was more involved, but I can't really remember.


peter's workout:
warm up
6 50's kick
6 50's drill
100 easy
100 moderate
100 fast
100 easy
100 moderate
100 fast
200

more swimming

I opted out of masters last night {for a hot date to PC, of course} and instead did my own swim workout in the afternoon. now I remember why I don't swim there in the afternoon. it's always really annoying. you have to compete for lanes--especially with the kid swimteam, SYAC. I had dreamed up this workout revolving around 600's. a 600 of drill/kick, a 600 of descending, a 600 of IM and a 600 of breath control. I had to cut the IM/BC short because I had to run to catch a bus. which I barely missed, btw.

my shoulder felt ok. not 100 percent fantastic, but ok.

warmup
6 X 50 kick
6 X 50 drill
6 X 100 (descend 1-3, 4-6)
3 X 100 IM
3 X 100 breath control (3, 5, 7 per 50 meters)
cooldown

stroke analysis

I think my shoulder starts to hurt if my left stroke is off. if I dig too deep, pulling downward instead of the s then it strains the muscles. when I take time to think about my stroke and have better form, things seem to go better.

here is another workout where I actually remember the intervals. probably because this workout was so dependent upon the intervals. and they weren't hard; I always had plenty of rest in between.

warm up
2 X 200 (4:30)
4 X 100 (2:20)
3 X 100 (2:15)
2 X 100 (2:10)
100 (2:05)
100 (2:05)
2 X 100 (2:10)
3 X 100 (2:15)
cool down


pete's workout:
warm up
6 X 50 drill
100 slow
100 medium
100 fast
200
3 X 100 build
300
100 slow
100 medium
100 fast
cool down

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