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.