RUN: 6.6 miles in 54 mins, for ave pace of 8:10. NonWU and NonCD miles were 7:50-8:00!
DC and I both had a form run (aka buttkickers). You'd think this should be a slow run, but we buzzed right through it. The WU and CD were 8:20-8:30, the middle ones fast. We did it sort of like a fartlek run, saying x drill until y point on the trail.
Finally a warmer day, with sunshine :) and Finally I had some great energy levels! After about 2 weeks of having a "meh" attitude to the run, I went in ready to rumble.
The knee? Still icing and NSAIDing, it doesnt hurt now. Stairs and standing from sitting induce the mildest of discomforts. The run was great once the muscles were warmed up. Afterwards I rolled and iced. Stay patient!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
Another song list addition: Better Than I Used To Be
I know how to hold a grudge
I can send a bridge up in smoke
And I can't count the people I've let down, the hearts I've broke
You ain't gotta dig too deep
If you wanna find some dirt on me
I'm learning who you've been
Ain't who you've got to be
It's gonna be an uphill climb
Aww honey I won't lie
I ain't no angel
I still got a still few more dances with the devil
I’m cleanin up my act, little by little
I’m getting there
I can finally stand the man in the mirror I see
I ain’t as good as I’m gonna get
But I’m better than I used to be
I’ve pinned a lot of demons to the ground
I’ve got a few old habits left
There’s one or two I might need you to help me get
Standin in the rain so long has left me with a little rust
But put some faith in me
And someday you’ll see
There’s a diamond under all this dust
I ain't no angel
I still got a still few more dances with the devil
I’m cleanin up my act, little by little
I’m getting there
I can finally stand the man in the mirror I see
I ain’t as good as I’m gonna get
But I’m better than I used to be
Very fitting, heard this first time on the way to today's swim.
I can send a bridge up in smoke
And I can't count the people I've let down, the hearts I've broke
You ain't gotta dig too deep
If you wanna find some dirt on me
I'm learning who you've been
Ain't who you've got to be
It's gonna be an uphill climb
Aww honey I won't lie
I ain't no angel
I still got a still few more dances with the devil
I’m cleanin up my act, little by little
I’m getting there
I can finally stand the man in the mirror I see
I ain’t as good as I’m gonna get
But I’m better than I used to be
I’ve pinned a lot of demons to the ground
I’ve got a few old habits left
There’s one or two I might need you to help me get
Standin in the rain so long has left me with a little rust
But put some faith in me
And someday you’ll see
There’s a diamond under all this dust
I ain't no angel
I still got a still few more dances with the devil
I’m cleanin up my act, little by little
I’m getting there
I can finally stand the man in the mirror I see
I ain’t as good as I’m gonna get
But I’m better than I used to be
Very fitting, heard this first time on the way to today's swim.
Don't Stop Believing
SWIM: 2750 in 65 mins
BIKE: about 13 miles in 45 mins, easy on the knee.
On Friday CHG replied back to my January email about the most recent swim lesson, and he asked if I was ready for another. I answered that I wasn't sure what to do, that I was frustrated, and couldn't believe that I could swim so much with even accidently improving. I hesistated to send the email, I thought I sounded like a whiny maggot, but I'm glad I did. I need to get this worked out and make a real effort on swimming.
We talked after the swim (a nice long one with lots of short and fast sets) and I walked away with 5 goals. I'm happy to say that he didn't do the platitude-answer that I hate, that "oh you're getting better" or "just keep at it", those answers are so flimsy. Nope, thankfully he just went right into it and detailing what I need to work on. He's been telling me the same things for years, so when the hell am I going to heed the advice?
1. Dryland practice. I do this, but I don't do it for the right reasons. I've been doing it for timing. I need to be doing it to practice the feeling of 'falling' into the arm that is going forward. Instead I've focused on where the arms are when. Change the focus of this drill to feeling the fall as the hips roll over. And keep the head tucked along the arm, looking down, keeping the laser pointed at the wall.
2. Isometic practice for lat muscles. I'm swimming with my triceps and biceps, bending my elbows under me in a bid to 'get my elbows high' and instead of driving myself forward I just lose the grip on the water. Use a shoulder-height object to practice feeling those muscles engage. The hand kinda scoops outward, the arm is going down to the bottom of the pool.
3. Resistance bands. Almost a part 2 of the above. Use stretch cords to build those muscles I'm supposed to be using and learn to engage them.
4. Set a goal for March. I suggested a sub 1:40 100y. I'm at about 1:45 now. He called it the Proximity of ...oof I forgot...of...nuts. I like that he didn't just hand me a goal, he made me think about what I wanted (quality or quantity? etc) and had me set the goal. No... it was Zone of Proximity! Put the goal just out of reach and keep it attainable.
5. Lessons, maybe q2weeks. While I'm swimming think about what I'll show him at each lesson, about what I've been working on. I think more frequent, pre-schedules lessons would be good for me.
6. I thought it was five, more bad math. I just forgot what it was...Nuts.
OH! Got it. 6. Start logging some times. In each practice, pick a set or distance that will be timed and record it. Otherwise I have no idea whether or not I'm improving!
7. More bad math! Add in a swim where I can focus on just swimming, not the peep on my toes. Just do 1700-2300y and keep it very focused on form. Use this practice to get the dryland and strength training integrated.
Geez I'm so mentally disorganized right now. But for once I walked away from Master's with some confidence in my swim future. I told CHG that if he ever gave up on me, that would be the point at which I gave up. No pressure or anything.
In the back ground of all this, Don't Stop Believing is playing. Some barking dogs were playing too, but they don't go as well on the IM Songlist Set I'm putting together :)
Goals for today: buy the cords!
And the bike. Kept the gearing easy to rest the knee and test it. No acute pain, some discomfort on the opposite side it was hurting over the weekend--wtf with that--but much better than last weeks indoor rides. I'm icing and started NSAID's last night. Be Patient!
BIKE: about 13 miles in 45 mins, easy on the knee.
On Friday CHG replied back to my January email about the most recent swim lesson, and he asked if I was ready for another. I answered that I wasn't sure what to do, that I was frustrated, and couldn't believe that I could swim so much with even accidently improving. I hesistated to send the email, I thought I sounded like a whiny maggot, but I'm glad I did. I need to get this worked out and make a real effort on swimming.
We talked after the swim (a nice long one with lots of short and fast sets) and I walked away with 5 goals. I'm happy to say that he didn't do the platitude-answer that I hate, that "oh you're getting better" or "just keep at it", those answers are so flimsy. Nope, thankfully he just went right into it and detailing what I need to work on. He's been telling me the same things for years, so when the hell am I going to heed the advice?
1. Dryland practice. I do this, but I don't do it for the right reasons. I've been doing it for timing. I need to be doing it to practice the feeling of 'falling' into the arm that is going forward. Instead I've focused on where the arms are when. Change the focus of this drill to feeling the fall as the hips roll over. And keep the head tucked along the arm, looking down, keeping the laser pointed at the wall.
2. Isometic practice for lat muscles. I'm swimming with my triceps and biceps, bending my elbows under me in a bid to 'get my elbows high' and instead of driving myself forward I just lose the grip on the water. Use a shoulder-height object to practice feeling those muscles engage. The hand kinda scoops outward, the arm is going down to the bottom of the pool.
3. Resistance bands. Almost a part 2 of the above. Use stretch cords to build those muscles I'm supposed to be using and learn to engage them.
4. Set a goal for March. I suggested a sub 1:40 100y. I'm at about 1:45 now. He called it the Proximity of ...oof I forgot...of...nuts. I like that he didn't just hand me a goal, he made me think about what I wanted (quality or quantity? etc) and had me set the goal. No... it was Zone of Proximity! Put the goal just out of reach and keep it attainable.
5. Lessons, maybe q2weeks. While I'm swimming think about what I'll show him at each lesson, about what I've been working on. I think more frequent, pre-schedules lessons would be good for me.
6. I thought it was five, more bad math. I just forgot what it was...Nuts.
OH! Got it. 6. Start logging some times. In each practice, pick a set or distance that will be timed and record it. Otherwise I have no idea whether or not I'm improving!
7. More bad math! Add in a swim where I can focus on just swimming, not the peep on my toes. Just do 1700-2300y and keep it very focused on form. Use this practice to get the dryland and strength training integrated.
Geez I'm so mentally disorganized right now. But for once I walked away from Master's with some confidence in my swim future. I told CHG that if he ever gave up on me, that would be the point at which I gave up. No pressure or anything.
In the back ground of all this, Don't Stop Believing is playing. Some barking dogs were playing too, but they don't go as well on the IM Songlist Set I'm putting together :)
Goals for today: buy the cords!
And the bike. Kept the gearing easy to rest the knee and test it. No acute pain, some discomfort on the opposite side it was hurting over the weekend--wtf with that--but much better than last weeks indoor rides. I'm icing and started NSAID's last night. Be Patient!
Sunday, March 4, 2012
The Wind and The Knee, Part 2
All that bitchin' and moanin' about my knee yesterday, and I never went into the rest of the day!
Yesterday was my first day off the original Whole30! I say the "original" Whole30 because I'm not planning on ending it, I planning on just changing it as discussed in a previous post. While packing up for the ride Friday night, I licked the Infinit stir spoon just to get the whole thing (no pun intended) over and done. There, I did it.
I only sipped a little Infinit and ate half a Powerbar in the ride. I only did 2hrs instead of the planned 4, so I didn't need more calories in addition to the lara bar and banana I ate before the ride. Everything tasted OK, I didn't go into a sugar coma, and I didn't keel over from shock. But I did come home craving "something" and I've associated these cravings with poor sugar planning in the past. But I had some of these cravings even on the Whole 30, it's an unsatisfied munch-munch-munch with no happy ending usually. It wasn't until I had two servings of egg whites that I finally said "ahhhhh".
Today I skipped my run to rest the knee. I meant to ice it more but didn't get around to it as much as planned. I've been playing with it to test and define the problem. It's not the MCL as I debated yesterday, I think it's up in the quads. DH very kindly did a few of the tests mentioned on the interwebs for MCL and all came back negative. But there's no discoloration, tenderness, or pain on moving the knee. The pain is specific to weight bearing activity like stair climbing, standing from a chair, and the downstroke of pedaling.
I'm still convinced it's not a tear or break or serious injury. CP used the word tendonitis, which is a different process, one treated by ice and NSAIDS. Should I follow that route? LOL, I'm already icing, aren't I?
I need to stay calm, be patient, and not rush this.
Yesterday was my first day off the original Whole30! I say the "original" Whole30 because I'm not planning on ending it, I planning on just changing it as discussed in a previous post. While packing up for the ride Friday night, I licked the Infinit stir spoon just to get the whole thing (no pun intended) over and done. There, I did it.
I only sipped a little Infinit and ate half a Powerbar in the ride. I only did 2hrs instead of the planned 4, so I didn't need more calories in addition to the lara bar and banana I ate before the ride. Everything tasted OK, I didn't go into a sugar coma, and I didn't keel over from shock. But I did come home craving "something" and I've associated these cravings with poor sugar planning in the past. But I had some of these cravings even on the Whole 30, it's an unsatisfied munch-munch-munch with no happy ending usually. It wasn't until I had two servings of egg whites that I finally said "ahhhhh".
Today I skipped my run to rest the knee. I meant to ice it more but didn't get around to it as much as planned. I've been playing with it to test and define the problem. It's not the MCL as I debated yesterday, I think it's up in the quads. DH very kindly did a few of the tests mentioned on the interwebs for MCL and all came back negative. But there's no discoloration, tenderness, or pain on moving the knee. The pain is specific to weight bearing activity like stair climbing, standing from a chair, and the downstroke of pedaling.
I'm still convinced it's not a tear or break or serious injury. CP used the word tendonitis, which is a different process, one treated by ice and NSAIDS. Should I follow that route? LOL, I'm already icing, aren't I?
I need to stay calm, be patient, and not rush this.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
More wind, and more knee pain :(
SWIM: 3250m in 90 mins...maybe 93 mins
RIDE: 32 miles in ~2hrs in NT with more wind that last week!
Let's just skip the swim and get to my main concern. My right knee was hurting again today. It's been hurting since Monday's spin. I think it's from Castlewood. I think. It didn't hurt on last Sunday's ride (the day after Castlewood) but it's hurt while biking since Monday.
Today after the swim 6 of us headed to NT. The winds were 20-25mph, temps in the low 40's, sunny. Surprisingly, it wasn't that cold. Just windy--a very steady, sustained wind out of the NW.
NT roads are flat and straight, so if you're facing a headwind or crosswind, the scenery doesn't change much. You'll be hitting that headwind steady for the duration of that until you turn.
The knee started out OK. Not great, maybe a 0.5 on the 0-10 scale. It didn't take long to get worse, maybe 10 miles in...a pain on the inside, right knee, ....trying to describe...an acute sharp pain over a 2" area. Not like a tear or break...like an irritation pain. Like something isn't broken, it's just unhappy.
Unhappy indeed. It got worse. And worse. And worse. We turned around in PdS and headed towards home into the headwind. And Worse. Much as I tried not to mash, my leg just wasn't tolerating this. My left leg started taking on most of the workload and wore out fast. I dropped my speed and fell off the back of the pack.
The pain was mostly in the 3-4 o'clock pedal position. The leg was OK to lift the pedal in the back of the stroke, just couldn't push down effectively. Later in the day, I found stairs and standing from a chair to be painful too.
By the end of the ride I was cold, distracted, unfocused, negative, and mad. I wanted to keep going--I had the fuel, energy, time, desire...but the knee wasn't having it. That and the group was heading out the next 10 miles or so into the wind. AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
This was turning my stomach earlier. What does it mean and what do I do?
Googling knee anatomy...learning a lot here...symptoms seem to fit medial collateral ligament...a cyclist described similar "down stroke" pain. Can be caused my outward knee turning (rolling an ankle on the trail...?). But it doesnt hurt to touch it, my knee doesn't click or lock. But there are many grades of damage. Strain, sprain, tear...IF this is what I have I still don't know the grade or degree of injury. Recovery involves ice (doing that right now actually), rest, and stabilizing the knee to prevent further damage (that might in the case of a torn ligament).
UGH. There is a test that requires a second person moving the knee. When DH gets home...
Edit a few mins later. It's more to the top of my knee, not that on the side. More up where the quad meets the knee.
RIDE: 32 miles in ~2hrs in NT with more wind that last week!
Let's just skip the swim and get to my main concern. My right knee was hurting again today. It's been hurting since Monday's spin. I think it's from Castlewood. I think. It didn't hurt on last Sunday's ride (the day after Castlewood) but it's hurt while biking since Monday.
Today after the swim 6 of us headed to NT. The winds were 20-25mph, temps in the low 40's, sunny. Surprisingly, it wasn't that cold. Just windy--a very steady, sustained wind out of the NW.
NT roads are flat and straight, so if you're facing a headwind or crosswind, the scenery doesn't change much. You'll be hitting that headwind steady for the duration of that until you turn.
The knee started out OK. Not great, maybe a 0.5 on the 0-10 scale. It didn't take long to get worse, maybe 10 miles in...a pain on the inside, right knee, ....trying to describe...an acute sharp pain over a 2" area. Not like a tear or break...like an irritation pain. Like something isn't broken, it's just unhappy.
Unhappy indeed. It got worse. And worse. And worse. We turned around in PdS and headed towards home into the headwind. And Worse. Much as I tried not to mash, my leg just wasn't tolerating this. My left leg started taking on most of the workload and wore out fast. I dropped my speed and fell off the back of the pack.
The pain was mostly in the 3-4 o'clock pedal position. The leg was OK to lift the pedal in the back of the stroke, just couldn't push down effectively. Later in the day, I found stairs and standing from a chair to be painful too.
By the end of the ride I was cold, distracted, unfocused, negative, and mad. I wanted to keep going--I had the fuel, energy, time, desire...but the knee wasn't having it. That and the group was heading out the next 10 miles or so into the wind. AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
This was turning my stomach earlier. What does it mean and what do I do?
Googling knee anatomy...learning a lot here...symptoms seem to fit medial collateral ligament...a cyclist described similar "down stroke" pain. Can be caused my outward knee turning (rolling an ankle on the trail...?). But it doesnt hurt to touch it, my knee doesn't click or lock. But there are many grades of damage. Strain, sprain, tear...IF this is what I have I still don't know the grade or degree of injury. Recovery involves ice (doing that right now actually), rest, and stabilizing the knee to prevent further damage (that might in the case of a torn ligament).
UGH. There is a test that requires a second person moving the knee. When DH gets home...
Edit a few mins later. It's more to the top of my knee, not that on the side. More up where the quad meets the knee.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Rest day
REST: 24hrs!
More than that really, if you count my inactivity since yesterday at 7am :)
Went to bed 2nd night in a row feeling better (had a few nights of sick to tummy), also feeling more relaxed because my to-do list is under better control. I'm sure they are related issues.
Not much to do at work today, so lots of sitting at my desk. I had a good breakfast, but was HUNGRY by 10am, my usual Second Breakfast time. I had some tea, hoping to hold it off but at noon I went for a salad. $6 later I had a pile of spinach with lots of bacon, peas, raisins, sunflower seeds, black olives, green peppers....oh YUM. I feel better now.
And regarding nutrition, that is a big thought-topic for me right now. What do to about the Whole30? I've been doing it successully since the first week of October! No dairy, white potatoes, sugar, Nuuns, gum, since then. I don't miss those foods anymore. At all. I was on a no-added-salt rule too, but just this past week I added it back but only to one meal a day on which I train.
Whole30 is great and all, but it's not for ironman. Lately I've been run down and lacking some of the zip I'm used to. I'm eating great, getting carbs in the form of fruit, plenty of meat, lotsa fat, but still lacking in the zip I need. Base training is one thing, with all the LSD miles those fruit carbs and fat stores are perfect.
But Build starts shortly. Heck I'm thinking about a 3+hr ride tomorrow, and I'm not sure "fruit" is the way to go. Last week's ride felt under-fueled, and I don't want to have to re-learn fueling (as in, re-learn that I need sugar to go-go-go). I've been saying it all along, that sooner or later I have to break the Whole30 fast, and well this might be it.
The Whole30 recommends that after the 30 days you start adding back things one at a time to see how it goes. So that means I'm not going back to the Old Ways. But what will I go back to? It's an experiment, and I'm the N=1, which is why I'm detailing it for myself here. Someday I'm gonna look back on this and laugh at how I obsessed over it.
I Googled "whole30 ironman" earlier today and found another paleo athlete (who unbelievably is also doing IM CdA!!) who came up against the same quandry I have on the same schedule I'm on. She is going back to sugars (right NOW, actually) because of the concern about fructose and high intensity training. That's a good point--fructose is a major sugar source for me right now! Her blog posts encouraged me to remember the original Paleo guidelines of eating simple sugars for training, but real food outside of that.
Recently I've been using coconut water, raisins, bananas, dates, apples, sweet potatoes, and lara bars. Looking that over I see mostly fructose and fiber. That combination is a big gamble, especially on the run.
So. Sugar. Gels. Infinit. Powerbars. Powerbar Perform. Dig 'em out. Dust 'em off. Pack 'em up. But still no white potates. And no dairy. Not yet, anyway.
What are the rules? (why do I need rules?). Sugar only during training. This does not mean open season on the ketchup bottle and the honey jar. This does not mean I can start eating sugar-coated fruit. It means that if I'm training over 60 mins I can eat training-sugars as needed. If I'm doing an easy session without the intensity, take the opportunity to get Real Food instead.
What about recovery? Hmm....fruit has most always worked OK for that. So for now I'll stick to Real Foods for recovery, like fruit and sweet potatoes, and the goal is nutrition-dense foods to rebuild on.
This sounds like a good plan.
That first gel is still gonna suck to eat.
More than that really, if you count my inactivity since yesterday at 7am :)
Went to bed 2nd night in a row feeling better (had a few nights of sick to tummy), also feeling more relaxed because my to-do list is under better control. I'm sure they are related issues.
Not much to do at work today, so lots of sitting at my desk. I had a good breakfast, but was HUNGRY by 10am, my usual Second Breakfast time. I had some tea, hoping to hold it off but at noon I went for a salad. $6 later I had a pile of spinach with lots of bacon, peas, raisins, sunflower seeds, black olives, green peppers....oh YUM. I feel better now.
And regarding nutrition, that is a big thought-topic for me right now. What do to about the Whole30? I've been doing it successully since the first week of October! No dairy, white potatoes, sugar, Nuuns, gum, since then. I don't miss those foods anymore. At all. I was on a no-added-salt rule too, but just this past week I added it back but only to one meal a day on which I train.
Whole30 is great and all, but it's not for ironman. Lately I've been run down and lacking some of the zip I'm used to. I'm eating great, getting carbs in the form of fruit, plenty of meat, lotsa fat, but still lacking in the zip I need. Base training is one thing, with all the LSD miles those fruit carbs and fat stores are perfect.
But Build starts shortly. Heck I'm thinking about a 3+hr ride tomorrow, and I'm not sure "fruit" is the way to go. Last week's ride felt under-fueled, and I don't want to have to re-learn fueling (as in, re-learn that I need sugar to go-go-go). I've been saying it all along, that sooner or later I have to break the Whole30 fast, and well this might be it.
The Whole30 recommends that after the 30 days you start adding back things one at a time to see how it goes. So that means I'm not going back to the Old Ways. But what will I go back to? It's an experiment, and I'm the N=1, which is why I'm detailing it for myself here. Someday I'm gonna look back on this and laugh at how I obsessed over it.
I Googled "whole30 ironman" earlier today and found another paleo athlete (who unbelievably is also doing IM CdA!!) who came up against the same quandry I have on the same schedule I'm on. She is going back to sugars (right NOW, actually) because of the concern about fructose and high intensity training. That's a good point--fructose is a major sugar source for me right now! Her blog posts encouraged me to remember the original Paleo guidelines of eating simple sugars for training, but real food outside of that.
Recently I've been using coconut water, raisins, bananas, dates, apples, sweet potatoes, and lara bars. Looking that over I see mostly fructose and fiber. That combination is a big gamble, especially on the run.
So. Sugar. Gels. Infinit. Powerbars. Powerbar Perform. Dig 'em out. Dust 'em off. Pack 'em up. But still no white potates. And no dairy. Not yet, anyway.
What are the rules? (why do I need rules?). Sugar only during training. This does not mean open season on the ketchup bottle and the honey jar. This does not mean I can start eating sugar-coated fruit. It means that if I'm training over 60 mins I can eat training-sugars as needed. If I'm doing an easy session without the intensity, take the opportunity to get Real Food instead.
What about recovery? Hmm....fruit has most always worked OK for that. So for now I'll stick to Real Foods for recovery, like fruit and sweet potatoes, and the goal is nutrition-dense foods to rebuild on.
This sounds like a good plan.
That first gel is still gonna suck to eat.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Tired Thursday run
RUN: 6.6 miles in 60 mins.
Started tired, ran tired, ended tired. At one point on Skinker Hill my mind wandered to a speed or track workout and I just groaned inwardly. Usually that stuff appeals to me. LC, IT, and I did an easy loop and I honestly think that might have been all I was capable of this morning.
Tired and burning out, or just tired? How do I tell?
The right knee is "there" while running. It doesn't so much hurt as I'm just aware of it. LC says my pain scale is a LIE. LOL
Started tired, ran tired, ended tired. At one point on Skinker Hill my mind wandered to a speed or track workout and I just groaned inwardly. Usually that stuff appeals to me. LC, IT, and I did an easy loop and I honestly think that might have been all I was capable of this morning.
Tired and burning out, or just tired? How do I tell?
The right knee is "there" while running. It doesn't so much hurt as I'm just aware of it. LC says my pain scale is a LIE. LOL
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