Took yet another rest day, only riding the Pup in for the commute. It wasn't until late in the afternoon that I felt some pep coming back to me.
That's a lot of recovery time, and goes to show how critical and how damaging those back-to-backs can be.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Skipped the Thursday run
RUN 0
Walk 45 mins with the doggie
COMMUTE 6 miles on bike
I should note that I am commuting every day, 4 days biking and 1 day running. That adds up!
Oh excuses, excuses. I woke up at the normal time and knew pretty much right away I wouldn't be running. And you know how I knew? Because I didn't even feel guilty for it! Usually when I skip a workout I have this triathlete guilt, a nagging sense of "oh you should have...".
Not today. Oh no. I'm tired. So tired in fact my facial tic was briefly back this morning!
It's hard to convey fatigue in words. The heavy, dead legs. No motivation or momentum. Apathy.
This is a rest week, I should feel rested, and I don't yet. My weekend plans are a mentoring ride on Saturday and an 18 mile trail run Sunday. Maybe I'll run Friday. We'll see.
Either way, no guilt about today!
Walk 45 mins with the doggie
COMMUTE 6 miles on bike
I should note that I am commuting every day, 4 days biking and 1 day running. That adds up!
Oh excuses, excuses. I woke up at the normal time and knew pretty much right away I wouldn't be running. And you know how I knew? Because I didn't even feel guilty for it! Usually when I skip a workout I have this triathlete guilt, a nagging sense of "oh you should have...".
Not today. Oh no. I'm tired. So tired in fact my facial tic was briefly back this morning!
It's hard to convey fatigue in words. The heavy, dead legs. No motivation or momentum. Apathy.
This is a rest week, I should feel rested, and I don't yet. My weekend plans are a mentoring ride on Saturday and an 18 mile trail run Sunday. Maybe I'll run Friday. We'll see.
Either way, no guilt about today!
2x run and 4x tired!
BIKE 40 mins and 11 miles
STRENGTH 15 mins of AbsX
RUN 3.2 miles, about 30 mins
RUN 3.2 miles, about 33 mins!
Yikes! No wonder I'm tired! The bike ride was to wear the legs out a little more without the pounding. The strength training was because I felt lazy doing only 40 mins of biking instead of 60.
The runs were part of my run commute/TAD plan. I moved the TAD from Tuesday to Wednesday so I could leave Tuesday's as a speed work and quality focus. This sounds so easy--run 3 miles, work, run 3 miles.
Then why is it so damned hard?!
The run in was unremarkable, except for just how gorgeous the day was looking. Cool, clouded, a light foggy air.
By 3pm I was dreading the ride home. I'm doing my "standing desk" thing at work for 4-5 days now and boy am I surprised at just how tiring that is. I knew sitting was a relaxed position, but I didn't realize just how much more muscle engagement is required for standing. Not walking, standing. I'm more efficient (cuz I'd rather be moving, it's easier!) and waste less time, I have more energy since I'm not slumped over a desk, but I also have some tired feet and knees! I'm stretching my legs more, that's a good thing. I'm feeling some tightness in the soles of my feet, that's maybe not a good thing. I'm sidetracked...
By 3pm I was looking out the window towards home (I can see the tower from there) and wondering why that 3 miles seemed so far. TV even mocked me a bit, and I joined in by calling up the elevation profile for the run. That last hill that I dreaded the most was only 100 ft. I'm sidetracked again...
So by 530 when I left for the parking lot I wasn't feeling it. I dropped off my bag at DH's car and secretly hoped he'd give me a ride home. Nope, he wasn't done yet. I'm on my own. I was secretly happy for this.
The day had warmed up but it wasn't hot. Regardless, I was sweating. It took a lot of mental encouragement to finish this run, and I coaxed myself along saying "just to the next stoplight", "just to the next stoplight...". Lots of coaxing, lots of positive self-talk, lots of HTFU. In the end I did run most of it, excepting about 10 feet on the "big hill" and about 25 y in the park.
When I got home I was pretty cooked. Hungry. Hot. Tired. Didn't even feel like walking my poor doggie!
STRENGTH 15 mins of AbsX
RUN 3.2 miles, about 30 mins
RUN 3.2 miles, about 33 mins!
Yikes! No wonder I'm tired! The bike ride was to wear the legs out a little more without the pounding. The strength training was because I felt lazy doing only 40 mins of biking instead of 60.
The runs were part of my run commute/TAD plan. I moved the TAD from Tuesday to Wednesday so I could leave Tuesday's as a speed work and quality focus. This sounds so easy--run 3 miles, work, run 3 miles.
Then why is it so damned hard?!
The run in was unremarkable, except for just how gorgeous the day was looking. Cool, clouded, a light foggy air.
By 3pm I was dreading the ride home. I'm doing my "standing desk" thing at work for 4-5 days now and boy am I surprised at just how tiring that is. I knew sitting was a relaxed position, but I didn't realize just how much more muscle engagement is required for standing. Not walking, standing. I'm more efficient (cuz I'd rather be moving, it's easier!) and waste less time, I have more energy since I'm not slumped over a desk, but I also have some tired feet and knees! I'm stretching my legs more, that's a good thing. I'm feeling some tightness in the soles of my feet, that's maybe not a good thing. I'm sidetracked...
By 3pm I was looking out the window towards home (I can see the tower from there) and wondering why that 3 miles seemed so far. TV even mocked me a bit, and I joined in by calling up the elevation profile for the run. That last hill that I dreaded the most was only 100 ft. I'm sidetracked again...
So by 530 when I left for the parking lot I wasn't feeling it. I dropped off my bag at DH's car and secretly hoped he'd give me a ride home. Nope, he wasn't done yet. I'm on my own. I was secretly happy for this.
The day had warmed up but it wasn't hot. Regardless, I was sweating. It took a lot of mental encouragement to finish this run, and I coaxed myself along saying "just to the next stoplight", "just to the next stoplight...". Lots of coaxing, lots of positive self-talk, lots of HTFU. In the end I did run most of it, excepting about 10 feet on the "big hill" and about 25 y in the park.
When I got home I was pretty cooked. Hungry. Hot. Tired. Didn't even feel like walking my poor doggie!
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Step down workout in the fog
RUN 6.45 miles in 1 hr
COMMUTE 6 mile bike
This morning was beautiful. There was a light fog before sunrise that turned the sky a light pink color. The air seemed to glow this pretty shade of pink/red for a few moments before it turned to gray. The air temps were perfect too, that skin-temp temperature that is neither warm nor cool. And running in fog is just fun, everything looks different, the city smaller, the buildings obscured....just pretty! Oh and a very light almost not there rain fell :)
I'm still recovering from the 34 mile weekend, and starting off this run was tough. I knew that once I got moving I'd feel better, but it took a long time to feel better! The goal was step-downs: 2x1200, 2x800, 2x400 (400m). I had thought about doing 3x, but oh-no--2 was all I could do. We did a long 400m recovery of walk 100m, run 200m, then walk 100m for complete recovery. I needed it, after some intervals I thought I could puke.
I'm so grateful BE was there for the workout, he kept me moving. T & J had arrived early and were finished with the 200's workout right as I arrived. My legs felt dead, my body heavy, my mind unmotivated. Left alone, I would have done the workout but more sluggishly. So BE even though you're never likely to read this, thank you & I appreciate it! And I'm happy you're running again :)
COMMUTE 6 mile bike
This morning was beautiful. There was a light fog before sunrise that turned the sky a light pink color. The air seemed to glow this pretty shade of pink/red for a few moments before it turned to gray. The air temps were perfect too, that skin-temp temperature that is neither warm nor cool. And running in fog is just fun, everything looks different, the city smaller, the buildings obscured....just pretty! Oh and a very light almost not there rain fell :)
I'm still recovering from the 34 mile weekend, and starting off this run was tough. I knew that once I got moving I'd feel better, but it took a long time to feel better! The goal was step-downs: 2x1200, 2x800, 2x400 (400m). I had thought about doing 3x, but oh-no--2 was all I could do. We did a long 400m recovery of walk 100m, run 200m, then walk 100m for complete recovery. I needed it, after some intervals I thought I could puke.
I'm so grateful BE was there for the workout, he kept me moving. T & J had arrived early and were finished with the 200's workout right as I arrived. My legs felt dead, my body heavy, my mind unmotivated. Left alone, I would have done the workout but more sluggishly. So BE even though you're never likely to read this, thank you & I appreciate it! And I'm happy you're running again :)
| Distance | Time | Pace | Ave HR |
| 0.83 | 6:25 | 7:42 | 139 |
| 0.82 | 6:24 | 7:46 | 143 |
| 0.54 | 3:56 | 7:19 | 148 |
| 0.54 | 3:52 | 7:14 | 150 |
| 0.27 | 1:43 | 6:20 | 148 |
| 0.27 | 1:47 | 6:36 | 148 |
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Friend to Friend relay long run
RUN 18.4 miles in 3hrs
My training plan called for a 26+10 weekend, or 36 miles total. Being the OCD fool that I am, I decided that since yesterday had only 16 miles, today should have about 20. Great idea, right? Not surprised, right?
I started out from home, walking with DH and the dog through the park before splitting off. Very shortly after splitting off I run into MK! She turns around and runs a loop of TGP with me. She had just finished a big race and I was happy to hear about it, as it's the type of race I'd like to do someday but probably won't. But hey, who knows!? This was the best-paced 4 miles of the day, with a nice sub-9 pace. Things slowed down after that. While running with MK, we saw CB twice going the other direction :)
I continued back through TGP and came up behind some of the BRR training groups. One of my plans was to run to BRR SC before heading to the RDP Greenway, so while heading that way I run into BK! I run with him a bit before a break at the YMCA. Off to BRR SC where I see him again, and get a chance to see EC! Four friends in just the first 7 miles, this was awesome!
The day was beautiful--cool and sunny, but I was suffering already. I wore the Camelbak, I usually don't in the in-town runs but I'm glad I did today--I really needed it. I stuck to my q45 min feed schedule and soon noticed that the only time I felt good running was soon after eating. Was that physiological or psychological? Hard to say, but it was pretty clear. After leaving the store, my mood and motivation started to slip such that be the time I reached 12 miles I was ready for this run to be over. But I was still miles from home!
I hadn't run the RDPG in a while, probably since 2011, so it was kinda new to me. Also new was the diversion into Carondelet Park. I've never run there! And unfortunately today's run didn't enlighten me to the layout or perks. I just wanted to be done. By the time mile 15 came around, I realized I didn't have much more in me. By 17 I was happy to be a mile from home--my feet were scuffy and stuttery; my head wasn't calculating traffic; my legs felt dead; my water was mostly gone; and a right quad muscle felt like was about to seize up.
My initial plans were for 20.3 (to round up yesterday's 15.7 to 36). I'll be honest, I didn't have another 2 miles in me. Even the last half a block walk to the house was awful.
I recovered relatively quickly, but wow what a run. What a weekend! What a week! 55.7 miles running!
My training plan called for a 26+10 weekend, or 36 miles total. Being the OCD fool that I am, I decided that since yesterday had only 16 miles, today should have about 20. Great idea, right? Not surprised, right?
I started out from home, walking with DH and the dog through the park before splitting off. Very shortly after splitting off I run into MK! She turns around and runs a loop of TGP with me. She had just finished a big race and I was happy to hear about it, as it's the type of race I'd like to do someday but probably won't. But hey, who knows!? This was the best-paced 4 miles of the day, with a nice sub-9 pace. Things slowed down after that. While running with MK, we saw CB twice going the other direction :)
I continued back through TGP and came up behind some of the BRR training groups. One of my plans was to run to BRR SC before heading to the RDP Greenway, so while heading that way I run into BK! I run with him a bit before a break at the YMCA. Off to BRR SC where I see him again, and get a chance to see EC! Four friends in just the first 7 miles, this was awesome!
The day was beautiful--cool and sunny, but I was suffering already. I wore the Camelbak, I usually don't in the in-town runs but I'm glad I did today--I really needed it. I stuck to my q45 min feed schedule and soon noticed that the only time I felt good running was soon after eating. Was that physiological or psychological? Hard to say, but it was pretty clear. After leaving the store, my mood and motivation started to slip such that be the time I reached 12 miles I was ready for this run to be over. But I was still miles from home!
I hadn't run the RDPG in a while, probably since 2011, so it was kinda new to me. Also new was the diversion into Carondelet Park. I've never run there! And unfortunately today's run didn't enlighten me to the layout or perks. I just wanted to be done. By the time mile 15 came around, I realized I didn't have much more in me. By 17 I was happy to be a mile from home--my feet were scuffy and stuttery; my head wasn't calculating traffic; my legs felt dead; my water was mostly gone; and a right quad muscle felt like was about to seize up.
My initial plans were for 20.3 (to round up yesterday's 15.7 to 36). I'll be honest, I didn't have another 2 miles in me. Even the last half a block walk to the house was awful.
I recovered relatively quickly, but wow what a run. What a weekend! What a week! 55.7 miles running!
Saturday, August 3, 2013
The Buford Beast
RUN 15.7 miles in about 3.5 hours, 3100 ft climbing!
While packing for this run, I noticed that the Cascadia 8's are missing some lugs! They have about 350 miles already, that seems soon but I do put a beating on those shoes. Time for new ones!
This was like a special day, excursion run. One of those once-a-summer runs in which the driving vs running mileage is unfavorable, but it's all worth it.
EK and TV ran with me, starting off with a rainy drive down, followed by a rainy start and a foggy overcast. This eventually burned off to a sunny day with stunning views over the mountains. And of course, the pretty rain :)
I call them mountains, they're really the only local such option! And they lived up to the name in relative terms. The hills were LONG. Long as in Oh Geez when is it going to end long. And rocks. Rocks everywhere on some of those hills. I ended up walking up the rocky hills, in part energy conservation and in part ankle conservation. I was walking up as fast as I was running them!
But the down hills I used to improve on my weakness--downhill technicals. I'm a pussy-foot down the rocky hills for good reason, but it's become a little too pussy-footin'. These descents were long enough for me to try various things in a sustained test. I found that keeping my eyes more forward on the trail worked better than keeping them drilled into the few feet in front of me. I also found that just keeping a steady pace helped, instead of slow-go-slow-go. And EK had a good suggestion, to make use of the width of the trail in a lateral sense. I was doing that--picking a line from left to right and back--but I wasn't taking advantage of it. I thought it was a problem slowing me down, but I think if I worked on it I could take that and "run" with it, haha.
It wasn't my mileage goal today, but it was all worth it!
While packing for this run, I noticed that the Cascadia 8's are missing some lugs! They have about 350 miles already, that seems soon but I do put a beating on those shoes. Time for new ones!
This was like a special day, excursion run. One of those once-a-summer runs in which the driving vs running mileage is unfavorable, but it's all worth it.
EK and TV ran with me, starting off with a rainy drive down, followed by a rainy start and a foggy overcast. This eventually burned off to a sunny day with stunning views over the mountains. And of course, the pretty rain :)
I call them mountains, they're really the only local such option! And they lived up to the name in relative terms. The hills were LONG. Long as in Oh Geez when is it going to end long. And rocks. Rocks everywhere on some of those hills. I ended up walking up the rocky hills, in part energy conservation and in part ankle conservation. I was walking up as fast as I was running them!
But the down hills I used to improve on my weakness--downhill technicals. I'm a pussy-foot down the rocky hills for good reason, but it's become a little too pussy-footin'. These descents were long enough for me to try various things in a sustained test. I found that keeping my eyes more forward on the trail worked better than keeping them drilled into the few feet in front of me. I also found that just keeping a steady pace helped, instead of slow-go-slow-go. And EK had a good suggestion, to make use of the width of the trail in a lateral sense. I was doing that--picking a line from left to right and back--but I wasn't taking advantage of it. I thought it was a problem slowing me down, but I think if I worked on it I could take that and "run" with it, haha.
It wasn't my mileage goal today, but it was all worth it!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
I thought I was too tired. So explain to me today's pace!
RUN 6.6 miles in just under 55 mins, for a 8:15 ish pace
COMMUTE 6 miles
I went to bed fatigued, woke up fatigued, then started coming up with excuses as to why my run would be slow. Thinking...maybe I should shoot for a 10 m/m pace...maybe I should drop off the back right away so I don't feel like I was dropped too hard...maybe...oh HTFU. Just go.
It was just me and IT, DS and CB were there but ran their own loop. IT and I talked racing and I got to verbalizing some of my recent philo-tri-sophical thinkings. A summary is below, it's good to remember these and come back to them at some point. But first the run.
We started out at 8:45 pace but that turned out to be the slowest mile! I was huffin' and puffin', but keeping up! By mile 4 my legs were getting burned. My mile 5 I had tight muscles at the lateral quads. My mile 6 I was wobbly. But I knew I could do it, so I didn't stop or slow. This past Saturday's race really drove home the point that you can ignore those mental ramblings and perform well. And here I thought I was too tired.
So back to my mental ramblings. They fall into a few categories.
1. I hold myself back too much. As Saturday and today proved, I can push myself to improvement. So why don't I? Why do I let the mental side of "oh I hurt" or "oh I'm tired" win? Dammit, shove that weak shit aside and f'ing GO. Why don't I?
2. I see the race season as big waves, but I let them crash into shore instead of riding them out. A big build to an A race, big A race, then a hard crash after the A race. Sound familiar? That's me! I'd like to learn to go with the flow more in the season, to let races build with and for each other. To run the MT50 and keep some of that in the back pocket as base training for 3DoS.
3. I'm not trying very hard. I seem to think about trying hard, but am I out there doing it? OK no doubt I do a lot of work, this journal confirms that. But I'll loaf a ride to enjoy the social aspect instead of going out and doing my own thing at my pace. Those type of days are few and far between. Maybe a better way to say this is that I'm trying harder but not smarter? I run and ride (and swim) the same way all summer and do I really expect to improve?
4. I'm doing something wrong in iron distance racing and training. When the iron training is harder than 50M training, but then the 50M race is harder than the iron--what does that mean? IT pointed out that the 50M adds up to a lot of pounding on the legs. Good point. But at the same time, I know I haven't PUSHED in an iron tri yet. Heck, have I pushed in a half iron tri yet? I did once in an olympic and the results were good. But when it comes to long distance I tend to stick to Steady Eddy. And steady as she goes really just means that the only way she goes.
5. I limit myself at the swim. I was going to type something like "I can't swim no matter what" but I caught myself before doing it. Yesterday JM offered more coaching time in the pool. It got me thinking--would a few more hours help? I've spent hours and $$$ on swim lessons and Master's, with minimal if any improvement in speed. My confidence in the water went up, but my pace didn't. It's as if I don't Get It for swimming. They are all telling me the same thing, but I Don't Get It. Yeah, well, 1-2 swims a week this year ain't doing much for me: just look at Saturday's time of 53-f'ing-minutes! (OK OK it was a no wetsuit...but still). What if I dedicated to 3-5 swims a week? Go back to the Saturday Master's in MidCo? Commit to improvement? Look what it's done for my run, what could it do for my swim? Why do I limit myself by saying "I can't swim, I can't improve, I just don't Get It". Huh? WHY?!?!?
Keep thinking...keep being honest. You might learn a few things.
COMMUTE 6 miles
I went to bed fatigued, woke up fatigued, then started coming up with excuses as to why my run would be slow. Thinking...maybe I should shoot for a 10 m/m pace...maybe I should drop off the back right away so I don't feel like I was dropped too hard...maybe...oh HTFU. Just go.
It was just me and IT, DS and CB were there but ran their own loop. IT and I talked racing and I got to verbalizing some of my recent philo-tri-sophical thinkings. A summary is below, it's good to remember these and come back to them at some point. But first the run.
We started out at 8:45 pace but that turned out to be the slowest mile! I was huffin' and puffin', but keeping up! By mile 4 my legs were getting burned. My mile 5 I had tight muscles at the lateral quads. My mile 6 I was wobbly. But I knew I could do it, so I didn't stop or slow. This past Saturday's race really drove home the point that you can ignore those mental ramblings and perform well. And here I thought I was too tired.
So back to my mental ramblings. They fall into a few categories.
1. I hold myself back too much. As Saturday and today proved, I can push myself to improvement. So why don't I? Why do I let the mental side of "oh I hurt" or "oh I'm tired" win? Dammit, shove that weak shit aside and f'ing GO. Why don't I?
2. I see the race season as big waves, but I let them crash into shore instead of riding them out. A big build to an A race, big A race, then a hard crash after the A race. Sound familiar? That's me! I'd like to learn to go with the flow more in the season, to let races build with and for each other. To run the MT50 and keep some of that in the back pocket as base training for 3DoS.
3. I'm not trying very hard. I seem to think about trying hard, but am I out there doing it? OK no doubt I do a lot of work, this journal confirms that. But I'll loaf a ride to enjoy the social aspect instead of going out and doing my own thing at my pace. Those type of days are few and far between. Maybe a better way to say this is that I'm trying harder but not smarter? I run and ride (and swim) the same way all summer and do I really expect to improve?
4. I'm doing something wrong in iron distance racing and training. When the iron training is harder than 50M training, but then the 50M race is harder than the iron--what does that mean? IT pointed out that the 50M adds up to a lot of pounding on the legs. Good point. But at the same time, I know I haven't PUSHED in an iron tri yet. Heck, have I pushed in a half iron tri yet? I did once in an olympic and the results were good. But when it comes to long distance I tend to stick to Steady Eddy. And steady as she goes really just means that the only way she goes.
5. I limit myself at the swim. I was going to type something like "I can't swim no matter what" but I caught myself before doing it. Yesterday JM offered more coaching time in the pool. It got me thinking--would a few more hours help? I've spent hours and $$$ on swim lessons and Master's, with minimal if any improvement in speed. My confidence in the water went up, but my pace didn't. It's as if I don't Get It for swimming. They are all telling me the same thing, but I Don't Get It. Yeah, well, 1-2 swims a week this year ain't doing much for me: just look at Saturday's time of 53-f'ing-minutes! (OK OK it was a no wetsuit...but still). What if I dedicated to 3-5 swims a week? Go back to the Saturday Master's in MidCo? Commit to improvement? Look what it's done for my run, what could it do for my swim? Why do I limit myself by saying "I can't swim, I can't improve, I just don't Get It". Huh? WHY?!?!?
Keep thinking...keep being honest. You might learn a few things.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)