RUN: 14.5 miles in 2:17
The last long run!! OMG!! I love long runs!!
I got up at 4am today to get an early start with LC. She was doing 20, but out paces were similar and I love the early starts. This morning had a 99% full moon setting as well as a sun rising!
The first loop went by as 6.27 miles in 60 mins. A nice solid pace. The second loop wrapped up 12.1 miles in 1:55. The 2nd loop felt better than the first for me. I was supposed to follow a 1:45 run with a :45 min bike to make for a 2:15 day. Once at 1:55, I opted to keep running for 20 mins instead of digging the bike out. Besides, I was loving the run.
Got home, was starving, had breakfast, then WHAM. Energy levels crashed. Mental fuzz, dragging feet, sleepy eyes. The day had caught up with me. I'm probably a bit dehydrated.
My last long run!! I'm already talking about doing a marathon next spring, planning the when and where. Now's not the time for that, and come post-IMWI I'm sure my will to do another 26.2 will fade. Both times I've raced 26.2 taught me that I like marathon training more than marathon racing. haha, and here I want to do it all again.
My running this year has been fantastic. No injuries, great pace, some PR's, and solid nutrition. Let's hope this carries over into The Big Day and gives me a strong IM-marathon!
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Long ride moved to Wednesday
BIKE: 3:35, about 62 miles
Here's a good example of how obsessive I am. (There is a joke that "obsessive" is the word that lazy people use to describe dedication in people like me, but let's leave that aside for now. This was obsessive). I knew that going to IM Louisville this coming weekend would screw with my schedule, and that my long ride would have to be moved to the middle of the week. Regardless of the best intentions, bringing the bike to KY with the plan to get a long ride in was a bad idea. It just wouldn't happen.
So the plan was to put the long ride (only 4.5 hrs) in with the Weds group ride. Leave work early to get the hours in. Well leaving work early didn't really happen (it never really does) and by the time I was ready to ride 4.5 hours would have put me in the dark. Leaving immediately meant riding in town, with stoplights and cars, and the goal of the ride was a long steady effort. Driving to the open road would have reduced my ride time, so even though the effort might be steady it would be short. What to do, what to do?
At first I was disgusted with my decision--ride indoors doing long 30+ min intervals. Say what?!?!? It's f'ing GORGEOUS outside!! But the sun was already on its way down and the clock was ticking. So up to the trainer I went. Besides, a trainer ride is more efficient than an outdoor ride because the ride doesn't stop for lights, rests, etc, and so I wouldn't have to ride the full 4.5 hrs to get the full benefit.
In the end it was a good idea. It hurt. It was boring. I hated it. But 2.75 hours in I realized that IM could hurt the same way, and I wasn't going to quit that. This became a test. My feet were getting pinched. My butt was sore. My shoulders were aching. How much could I hurt and how bored could I get without stopping? Turns out quite a bit. I quit only after 3.5 hours, and only after I went past 3.5 hours for good measure.
I'm still feeling good energy-wise, but getting that burned out feeling. I need to get some high intensity speedwork in to clear the carbon residue off the spark plugs, so to speak.
Here's a good example of how obsessive I am. (There is a joke that "obsessive" is the word that lazy people use to describe dedication in people like me, but let's leave that aside for now. This was obsessive). I knew that going to IM Louisville this coming weekend would screw with my schedule, and that my long ride would have to be moved to the middle of the week. Regardless of the best intentions, bringing the bike to KY with the plan to get a long ride in was a bad idea. It just wouldn't happen.
So the plan was to put the long ride (only 4.5 hrs) in with the Weds group ride. Leave work early to get the hours in. Well leaving work early didn't really happen (it never really does) and by the time I was ready to ride 4.5 hours would have put me in the dark. Leaving immediately meant riding in town, with stoplights and cars, and the goal of the ride was a long steady effort. Driving to the open road would have reduced my ride time, so even though the effort might be steady it would be short. What to do, what to do?
At first I was disgusted with my decision--ride indoors doing long 30+ min intervals. Say what?!?!? It's f'ing GORGEOUS outside!! But the sun was already on its way down and the clock was ticking. So up to the trainer I went. Besides, a trainer ride is more efficient than an outdoor ride because the ride doesn't stop for lights, rests, etc, and so I wouldn't have to ride the full 4.5 hrs to get the full benefit.
In the end it was a good idea. It hurt. It was boring. I hated it. But 2.75 hours in I realized that IM could hurt the same way, and I wasn't going to quit that. This became a test. My feet were getting pinched. My butt was sore. My shoulders were aching. How much could I hurt and how bored could I get without stopping? Turns out quite a bit. I quit only after 3.5 hours, and only after I went past 3.5 hours for good measure.
I'm still feeling good energy-wise, but getting that burned out feeling. I need to get some high intensity speedwork in to clear the carbon residue off the spark plugs, so to speak.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Tuesday brick
BIKE: 25 miles in 1:27
RUN: 7 miles in 1:06
Usually the Tuesday workout is broken up into bike/morning and run/afternoon. But today the clouds parted and everything went in my favor.
I woke up later than usual, 5:30-ish. Since I didn't have a 2-3hr bike ride I could sleep instead, which by the way felt pretty good. Breakfast with the hubby, walk the dog, and head out.
The buoyant feeling from last night was still there. It's as if the fog lifted from my head and a switch flipped to ON. The groggy fatigue was replaced with that hungry go-get-'em attitude that I've been used to. Now instead of slogging up hills I attacked them. Finally, I was able to get in a ride where it was balls to the wall riding, and although that's not entirely safe riding in-town, I couldn't resist. :) In fact, I passed my predetermined turn-around point by 5 minutes, so that I'd really have to cook it on the way home to get ready for a 9:15 meeting. Aint nothing like moving at 26 mph in town on a bike, what a rush!
I got back to lab where I learned that there was no meeting today. Nuts. I could have kept biking! So why stop? Go for a run!
So I did one loop around FP. The first 2 miles were rough, poor form, no energy, sloppy. I imagined that this was my first few miles off the bike at IMWI--tired, worn out, but must keep going. Right around the 2.5 mile mark I perked up and get a few fast lengths in as well as a fast finish. Oh damn, it feels good to be back!
RUN: 7 miles in 1:06
Usually the Tuesday workout is broken up into bike/morning and run/afternoon. But today the clouds parted and everything went in my favor.
I woke up later than usual, 5:30-ish. Since I didn't have a 2-3hr bike ride I could sleep instead, which by the way felt pretty good. Breakfast with the hubby, walk the dog, and head out.
The buoyant feeling from last night was still there. It's as if the fog lifted from my head and a switch flipped to ON. The groggy fatigue was replaced with that hungry go-get-'em attitude that I've been used to. Now instead of slogging up hills I attacked them. Finally, I was able to get in a ride where it was balls to the wall riding, and although that's not entirely safe riding in-town, I couldn't resist. :) In fact, I passed my predetermined turn-around point by 5 minutes, so that I'd really have to cook it on the way home to get ready for a 9:15 meeting. Aint nothing like moving at 26 mph in town on a bike, what a rush!
I got back to lab where I learned that there was no meeting today. Nuts. I could have kept biking! So why stop? Go for a run!
So I did one loop around FP. The first 2 miles were rough, poor form, no energy, sloppy. I imagined that this was my first few miles off the bike at IMWI--tired, worn out, but must keep going. Right around the 2.5 mile mark I perked up and get a few fast lengths in as well as a fast finish. Oh damn, it feels good to be back!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Foaming Flip flops and the road to recovery
SWIM: I forgot. ?? 1000y?? in 25 mins. Mostly drills, kicks, and working on bilateral breathing.
Over the course of the summer, I had a bottle of shampoo leak into my swim bag. It was a slow leak that I didn't detect until just a few weeks ago. Since then, the bag has been soapy-slimy to touch. I've tried the lather-rinse-repeat to clean it up, but apparently an 80% full bottle of shampoo can create a lot of slime.
Last night I got out of work late, ran an errand to BRR, then went to the pool for a short swim. The class I was going for didn't require me to be on time, nor did it ever start on time, but I was hurrying anyway. Quick rinse in the shower, then boogie out to the pool. Walking across the pool deck, I noticed the slimey feeling on my bag. And a funny sound from my pool shoes. They were foaming!!! The soap in the bag must have accumulated on the shoes then mixed with the water. Nice.
Another fun note about these shoes--they really are Flip flops, they are from the philippines!
I had trouble staying focused in the swim, heck I just swam 2.5 miles yesterday so what do I expect? So I did drills and bilateral breathing exercises, nothing strenuous, then got out after 20 laps. I was too tired to go any further, so I ended up sitting on the pool deck talking IMWI with K, comparing bike rides, planning the last few weeks, the usual pre-race jabber.
While walking out of the pool at the end of class, it hit me. I was smiling. I was bouncing. I wanted to get back in the pool and do more. I was eager to go-go-go and go FAST.
I had recovered! Finally!!
Over the course of the summer, I had a bottle of shampoo leak into my swim bag. It was a slow leak that I didn't detect until just a few weeks ago. Since then, the bag has been soapy-slimy to touch. I've tried the lather-rinse-repeat to clean it up, but apparently an 80% full bottle of shampoo can create a lot of slime.
Last night I got out of work late, ran an errand to BRR, then went to the pool for a short swim. The class I was going for didn't require me to be on time, nor did it ever start on time, but I was hurrying anyway. Quick rinse in the shower, then boogie out to the pool. Walking across the pool deck, I noticed the slimey feeling on my bag. And a funny sound from my pool shoes. They were foaming!!! The soap in the bag must have accumulated on the shoes then mixed with the water. Nice.
Another fun note about these shoes--they really are Flip flops, they are from the philippines!
I had trouble staying focused in the swim, heck I just swam 2.5 miles yesterday so what do I expect? So I did drills and bilateral breathing exercises, nothing strenuous, then got out after 20 laps. I was too tired to go any further, so I ended up sitting on the pool deck talking IMWI with K, comparing bike rides, planning the last few weeks, the usual pre-race jabber.
While walking out of the pool at the end of class, it hit me. I was smiling. I was bouncing. I wanted to get back in the pool and do more. I was eager to go-go-go and go FAST.
I had recovered! Finally!!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Just out for a Sunday swim
SWIM: 4100m (2.54 miles) in 1:55
BIKE: 58 miles in 3:30
Today's goal was the swim--I had been meaning to get some 4Km swims in before the race and this is only the 3rd time or so, and only the 1st time since I set the goal of doing so. Unfortunately it wasn't an open water swim. But fortunately is wasn't a 25y pool. Instead it was an outdoor 50m pool, so 40 laps!
The first 10 laps went smoothly. I worked to find a pace at which I was comfortable. Not fast, but comfortable. All the books and coaches suggest speeding up my "cadence" and increasing the number of strokes I take. But since my breathing is tired to stroke rate, the faster I turn the arms over the fast I breath. I end up feeling hyperventilated! You'd think that with the aerobic engine I've build this summer I'd be able to skip a stroke and breath every other time, but that doesn't work for me yet. So it's a balance: if I have a low stroke rate I sink; if I have a fast one I breath too fast. Luckily I quickly found this pace and hung on to it.
The next 10 laps went smoothly too. By this time I was warmed up and doing about 2:20/lap. Certainly not a fast pace, it's further proof that I'm not a speedster in the water. But if I can settle into an easy pace--Look Out!! Cuz I can go forever!! By the time lap 17 came up, the mental battle started. I convinced myself to forget the numbers. Just swim, and blindly click away of the lap counter I wear on my hand. Just swim. And swim more. Then more.
It wasn't until lap 22 that I finally needed a break. In the actual race, I won't be hanging on a wall, instead it'll be a kayak or canoe. So I hung on the "kayak" and gave myself 30 seconds. It had taken me just under 1hr to get to 22 laps, or about 1.37 miles. I was going slow, but I was steady. After the brief break, I found good form again and stayed with it until lap 29.
During lap 29 my right ankle popped again. I wonder if I'll have to tape this foot for the race? Probably not, since it only pops when I push of the wall. When will I learn to not push off the wall with this foot? I tried to pop it back with no luck, so I kept swimming and tried to avoid kicking too much, since it was starting to hurt. In lap 33, it popped back. But by this time I was pretty tired and mentally pushing myself: 7 laps to go! 6.5 laps to go! 6 laps to go! I was resting more and my technique was suffering. 5 laps to go! 4.75 laps to go!
Once I reached 3 more laps, I peaked at the lap counter. It said 4 laps more?!? Did I miss hitting the button on one lap? The only way to find out was to clear the counter and have it review the longest lap finished. If it said 5 mins, then I'd know that I missed the button once. I wasn't ready to clear the counter, I wanted to see "40" as a reward for all this work. But what if I didn't miss the button? Then I'd have to log only 39 laps today. Nuts. So I pushed on to 41 laps just to be sure. And sure enough, the longest laps of the day was a 5:51. So 41 laps it is.
Then the bike. This is my first real swim-to-bike transition since I raced Kansas in June. But that was a 45 min swim, this was 1.5hr+, how would I feel on the bike? Motion sick, still a bit dizzy, tired? One way to find out, and today was the day. I encouraged the other riders to go on without me so I could focus on my pace and my nutrition without the pull of a pack. No need to get competitive on a hill today, and the riding all around the pool was hilly. I needed to focus on me.
Shortly after leaving the pool, I hit a hill. And the reality of today's ride dawned on me: I was freaking TIRED!! I trumbled up the hill in Frea's Granny Gear, which isn't much of a granny gear, by the way. I thought about turning around, but instead stuck to my rule of going at least 20 mins before quitting.
About 3 miles in, I saw one of fellow IMWI races go by, we were going to ride together today, but she also wanted to focus on her plan and her pace. I've heard of the ironman solitude syndrome, seems I'm not the only one suffering from it.
At 16 mins in, I hit another hill. A big one this time, and it just kills me to have to say that I stopped part way up. My heart race was 166bpm, I was sweating buckets, and I just didn't have the mental focus. I stopped, ate some food and debated my options. My goal was a 4.5 hr ride. Here I was at 0.25hrs and I was thinking about quitting? Nope, uh uh, no can do. Get moving cowgirl.
So I clip back in and take off, the brief break having done wonders for me. It didn't last long though and soon enough my HR was high again. One of the goals of racing an ironman is to keep the effort and heart rate in a confortable, reasonable range. If this were The Big Day, I'd be in trouble right now. But it's not The Big Day, it's just a training day. With this somewhat comforting thought, I made plans to find the flat area near the C-field valley and take advantage of that for a rest. I kept winding through the Babler area, loving the shade, curvy roads, and lack of traffic. Aside from my fatigue, a perfect day and place to ride.
I found my flat roads, but the problem was that they were at the bottom of a very big hill on Eatherton. Huge. Long. Hill. One G*D d^mned Big Hill. But let's worry about that later. Flats first. The flats on Centaur to Wild Horse were perfect. I could keep a steady pace yet stay shaded and relatively cool. I couldn't believe how tired I was, and it was eating at my confidence. Negative thoughts started creeping in, setting up a battle in my head. At the other end of the flat stretch I turned around, telling myself I didn't have the bike or legs to climb it. More negativity. I turned around. Once back at the start of the flats, I realized it was a 40 min loop. Why not do it again? All I'm looking for is a good aerobic ride, and if I could hold an 18mph pace on the flats why wear out on hills?
Once at the turn around again, I decided to see if I could climb the hill. Nope, a no go. Back to start, and I decided to go it a 3rd time. I was so chicken about climbing the Eatherton hill that I was going to ride the flats all day long?? This was starting to bother me, so once at the turn around I took another road to get back to the truck. I was enjoying this road, with its slow hills and curves, but at one intersection I pulled out the phone to map the most efficient way home. There wasn't one. I had to go all the way back on the flats. Nuts.
There was another option to Eatheron, I could take the Centaur hill. This hill had a lower grade and wasn't as steep and was the better option. I surprised myself by having a good climb, maybe I wasn't as tired as I thought? No, I found out in the next few miles of hills, I was still tired.
It occurred to me somewhere around 3hrs of riding that my goal for today was 5.5 hrs of training--4.5hr bike, .5hr run, .5hr swim. But if you count the swim I already did, then I'm at 5hrs already! I didn't need to do another couple of hours! Good think, cuz I don't think I had it in me. I headed for home.
To say the least, this was an eye opening day. It left me wondering if I was going to feel this tired on the bike at IMWI? Usually I get on the bike fresh at the start of the day. Here I had 2hrs of swimming beforehand. Was today's fatigue due to that 2hrs or due to last weekend still? How would I handle this in IM? Keep it steady, stay relaxed, and know you can do it. Not much else I can do!
NUMERICS: 10hrs 55 mins. The goal was 15hrs 30 mins, but reality won out here.
SWIM: 5799y in 2.75 hrs. (I couldn't swim just one more yard?!?)
BIKE: 103 miles in 6.25hrs
RUN: 12.2 miles in 1.92 hours
My running took the biggest hit during this recovery week. My knees felt week and sore, I didn't see a need to push them to injury. Hopefully they feel better next week!
BIKE: 58 miles in 3:30
Today's goal was the swim--I had been meaning to get some 4Km swims in before the race and this is only the 3rd time or so, and only the 1st time since I set the goal of doing so. Unfortunately it wasn't an open water swim. But fortunately is wasn't a 25y pool. Instead it was an outdoor 50m pool, so 40 laps!
The first 10 laps went smoothly. I worked to find a pace at which I was comfortable. Not fast, but comfortable. All the books and coaches suggest speeding up my "cadence" and increasing the number of strokes I take. But since my breathing is tired to stroke rate, the faster I turn the arms over the fast I breath. I end up feeling hyperventilated! You'd think that with the aerobic engine I've build this summer I'd be able to skip a stroke and breath every other time, but that doesn't work for me yet. So it's a balance: if I have a low stroke rate I sink; if I have a fast one I breath too fast. Luckily I quickly found this pace and hung on to it.
The next 10 laps went smoothly too. By this time I was warmed up and doing about 2:20/lap. Certainly not a fast pace, it's further proof that I'm not a speedster in the water. But if I can settle into an easy pace--Look Out!! Cuz I can go forever!! By the time lap 17 came up, the mental battle started. I convinced myself to forget the numbers. Just swim, and blindly click away of the lap counter I wear on my hand. Just swim. And swim more. Then more.
It wasn't until lap 22 that I finally needed a break. In the actual race, I won't be hanging on a wall, instead it'll be a kayak or canoe. So I hung on the "kayak" and gave myself 30 seconds. It had taken me just under 1hr to get to 22 laps, or about 1.37 miles. I was going slow, but I was steady. After the brief break, I found good form again and stayed with it until lap 29.
During lap 29 my right ankle popped again. I wonder if I'll have to tape this foot for the race? Probably not, since it only pops when I push of the wall. When will I learn to not push off the wall with this foot? I tried to pop it back with no luck, so I kept swimming and tried to avoid kicking too much, since it was starting to hurt. In lap 33, it popped back. But by this time I was pretty tired and mentally pushing myself: 7 laps to go! 6.5 laps to go! 6 laps to go! I was resting more and my technique was suffering. 5 laps to go! 4.75 laps to go!
Once I reached 3 more laps, I peaked at the lap counter. It said 4 laps more?!? Did I miss hitting the button on one lap? The only way to find out was to clear the counter and have it review the longest lap finished. If it said 5 mins, then I'd know that I missed the button once. I wasn't ready to clear the counter, I wanted to see "40" as a reward for all this work. But what if I didn't miss the button? Then I'd have to log only 39 laps today. Nuts. So I pushed on to 41 laps just to be sure. And sure enough, the longest laps of the day was a 5:51. So 41 laps it is.
Then the bike. This is my first real swim-to-bike transition since I raced Kansas in June. But that was a 45 min swim, this was 1.5hr+, how would I feel on the bike? Motion sick, still a bit dizzy, tired? One way to find out, and today was the day. I encouraged the other riders to go on without me so I could focus on my pace and my nutrition without the pull of a pack. No need to get competitive on a hill today, and the riding all around the pool was hilly. I needed to focus on me.
Shortly after leaving the pool, I hit a hill. And the reality of today's ride dawned on me: I was freaking TIRED!! I trumbled up the hill in Frea's Granny Gear, which isn't much of a granny gear, by the way. I thought about turning around, but instead stuck to my rule of going at least 20 mins before quitting.
About 3 miles in, I saw one of fellow IMWI races go by, we were going to ride together today, but she also wanted to focus on her plan and her pace. I've heard of the ironman solitude syndrome, seems I'm not the only one suffering from it.
At 16 mins in, I hit another hill. A big one this time, and it just kills me to have to say that I stopped part way up. My heart race was 166bpm, I was sweating buckets, and I just didn't have the mental focus. I stopped, ate some food and debated my options. My goal was a 4.5 hr ride. Here I was at 0.25hrs and I was thinking about quitting? Nope, uh uh, no can do. Get moving cowgirl.
So I clip back in and take off, the brief break having done wonders for me. It didn't last long though and soon enough my HR was high again. One of the goals of racing an ironman is to keep the effort and heart rate in a confortable, reasonable range. If this were The Big Day, I'd be in trouble right now. But it's not The Big Day, it's just a training day. With this somewhat comforting thought, I made plans to find the flat area near the C-field valley and take advantage of that for a rest. I kept winding through the Babler area, loving the shade, curvy roads, and lack of traffic. Aside from my fatigue, a perfect day and place to ride.
I found my flat roads, but the problem was that they were at the bottom of a very big hill on Eatherton. Huge. Long. Hill. One G*D d^mned Big Hill. But let's worry about that later. Flats first. The flats on Centaur to Wild Horse were perfect. I could keep a steady pace yet stay shaded and relatively cool. I couldn't believe how tired I was, and it was eating at my confidence. Negative thoughts started creeping in, setting up a battle in my head. At the other end of the flat stretch I turned around, telling myself I didn't have the bike or legs to climb it. More negativity. I turned around. Once back at the start of the flats, I realized it was a 40 min loop. Why not do it again? All I'm looking for is a good aerobic ride, and if I could hold an 18mph pace on the flats why wear out on hills?
Once at the turn around again, I decided to see if I could climb the hill. Nope, a no go. Back to start, and I decided to go it a 3rd time. I was so chicken about climbing the Eatherton hill that I was going to ride the flats all day long?? This was starting to bother me, so once at the turn around I took another road to get back to the truck. I was enjoying this road, with its slow hills and curves, but at one intersection I pulled out the phone to map the most efficient way home. There wasn't one. I had to go all the way back on the flats. Nuts.
There was another option to Eatheron, I could take the Centaur hill. This hill had a lower grade and wasn't as steep and was the better option. I surprised myself by having a good climb, maybe I wasn't as tired as I thought? No, I found out in the next few miles of hills, I was still tired.
It occurred to me somewhere around 3hrs of riding that my goal for today was 5.5 hrs of training--4.5hr bike, .5hr run, .5hr swim. But if you count the swim I already did, then I'm at 5hrs already! I didn't need to do another couple of hours! Good think, cuz I don't think I had it in me. I headed for home.
To say the least, this was an eye opening day. It left me wondering if I was going to feel this tired on the bike at IMWI? Usually I get on the bike fresh at the start of the day. Here I had 2hrs of swimming beforehand. Was today's fatigue due to that 2hrs or due to last weekend still? How would I handle this in IM? Keep it steady, stay relaxed, and know you can do it. Not much else I can do!
NUMERICS: 10hrs 55 mins. The goal was 15hrs 30 mins, but reality won out here.
SWIM: 5799y in 2.75 hrs. (I couldn't swim just one more yard?!?)
BIKE: 103 miles in 6.25hrs
RUN: 12.2 miles in 1.92 hours
My running took the biggest hit during this recovery week. My knees felt week and sore, I didn't see a need to push them to injury. Hopefully they feel better next week!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Watching a race should get me excited...
...but it didn't. I spectated LSL, with the only goal of manning the club tent. Starting Friday, I started feeling normal again. Still mentally fuzzy and still worn out by just climbing a set of steps.
I keep wondering if this is how I'll feel after the race, and if so, have I already exhausted myself for the race?!? I worry I won't recover enough in 3 weeks. But then again, with due time and good care I will. But I need to remember that doing the WI Dairyland Dare 4 weeks out is NOT a good idea.
I keep wondering if this is how I'll feel after the race, and if so, have I already exhausted myself for the race?!? I worry I won't recover enough in 3 weeks. But then again, with due time and good care I will. But I need to remember that doing the WI Dairyland Dare 4 weeks out is NOT a good idea.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tried a long run
RUN: 12.2 miles in 1:55
Here's another good example of how unfunctional I am lately. I wake up this morning at the first alarm-- 3:45am for a 4:50 run and decide against it. Actually it wasn't so much a decision as it was a protest. My mind and body just didn't want to go yet. Sleep is good, right? Snooze.
The second alarm--4:15am for a 5:30 run was my alternate alarm. By starting at this time I would meet up with LC, who was running 18 miles, and get in about 2 laps with her. Again, a protest and a snooze.
The third alarm--4:45am for a 5:50 run is the usual Thursday alarm that is always set. Finally I woke up, wobbled out of bed and dragged myself to the coffeepot, as per usual routine, and sat in the kitchen wondering: How will I get to my run with the truck broken down? Rich said not to ride my bike or run in the dark, so I can't get to the park now! What will I do? Didn't I work this out last night? I thought I had this figured out.
So there I sat, wondering what to do. And while sipping on the coffee, I remembered. The truck was fixed last night! The whole plan was to DRIVE to FP because we made an effort LAST NIGHT to fix the truck. OMG! Get dressed and rush out the door! I wonder sometimes if it should be legal to let someone so scatterbrained have a set of keys and a vehicle.
By the time the run started, I was still not really awake. But there I was, running along at a decent clip. The group was only 2 other people and I wasn't sure I could keep up with them. My mind and body were at odds with each other, let's see if I can describe it. My mind was fuzzy but motivated. I'm not sure it really knows what it's doing, we're going for a run but is that a good idea? My body is tired and saturated with training, but here it is running along feeling as if any moment it could break down or stop. Who's driving here? The mind or the body? It felt so good to be running. It wasn't really taking much effort, and it felt so natural. The light wind on my face, the feel of my heart beating, the movement of my legs and arms, the sound of my footfalls. Oh, this is what I love about it all--it's a sort of harmony that words can't tell.
But then there's the other side of it all. There was a battle going on. At the same time, I wanted to run forever and I wanted to stop. Explain that one to me. And little aches and pains and complaints kept sounding off. My right knee was tight. My heart rate was high. My legs felt like heavy putty. Sweat was burning my eyes. I was thirsty. My stomach was upset. But it all felt so good. I didn't want to stop!
The first lap finished in good time at a 9:25 pace. The second lap felt better than the first, as if my mind and body just gave up and decided to go along with the idea. We finished that in a 9:33 pace. Towards the end of the second lap, I was actually considering a few more miles?!?!? Was I nuts?
While waiting for LC to ready for her last 2 miles, I debated joining her. This was going to be my last long run before IMWI. I only wanted 15-18 miles, that's not so hard and the weather is gorgeous and I have time before work today. All these parameters are in my favor, but I'm not in my favor. LC was telling me that I need to take the taper SERIOUSLY, and she threatened to run faster and drop me if I tried to join her on this last few miles. She's right. I know it. But why can't I do it? Why do I keep fighting the urge to rest?
For the rest of the day, I was off balanced. No appetite, tired, groggy, but functional. My right knee tendons were painfully tight afterwards and I briefly iced it. Random pains would get me--right knee, triceps, hips, shoulders, neck, shins, like my body was rotating through options trying to find the one that would finally break me. I didn't each lunch until 5pm, and when I did force my self to eat I was sick the rest of the afternoon and evening. Once again, dinner was random and cruddy, but R made me a potato omelette and it was so good! Once again I had trouble falling asleep, with more random pains and muscle weaknesses still testing me.
Oh, yeah. This recovery thing isn't going that well yet. And I have to wonder if this is what post-IMWI will be like??
Here's another good example of how unfunctional I am lately. I wake up this morning at the first alarm-- 3:45am for a 4:50 run and decide against it. Actually it wasn't so much a decision as it was a protest. My mind and body just didn't want to go yet. Sleep is good, right? Snooze.
The second alarm--4:15am for a 5:30 run was my alternate alarm. By starting at this time I would meet up with LC, who was running 18 miles, and get in about 2 laps with her. Again, a protest and a snooze.
The third alarm--4:45am for a 5:50 run is the usual Thursday alarm that is always set. Finally I woke up, wobbled out of bed and dragged myself to the coffeepot, as per usual routine, and sat in the kitchen wondering: How will I get to my run with the truck broken down? Rich said not to ride my bike or run in the dark, so I can't get to the park now! What will I do? Didn't I work this out last night? I thought I had this figured out.
So there I sat, wondering what to do. And while sipping on the coffee, I remembered. The truck was fixed last night! The whole plan was to DRIVE to FP because we made an effort LAST NIGHT to fix the truck. OMG! Get dressed and rush out the door! I wonder sometimes if it should be legal to let someone so scatterbrained have a set of keys and a vehicle.
By the time the run started, I was still not really awake. But there I was, running along at a decent clip. The group was only 2 other people and I wasn't sure I could keep up with them. My mind and body were at odds with each other, let's see if I can describe it. My mind was fuzzy but motivated. I'm not sure it really knows what it's doing, we're going for a run but is that a good idea? My body is tired and saturated with training, but here it is running along feeling as if any moment it could break down or stop. Who's driving here? The mind or the body? It felt so good to be running. It wasn't really taking much effort, and it felt so natural. The light wind on my face, the feel of my heart beating, the movement of my legs and arms, the sound of my footfalls. Oh, this is what I love about it all--it's a sort of harmony that words can't tell.
But then there's the other side of it all. There was a battle going on. At the same time, I wanted to run forever and I wanted to stop. Explain that one to me. And little aches and pains and complaints kept sounding off. My right knee was tight. My heart rate was high. My legs felt like heavy putty. Sweat was burning my eyes. I was thirsty. My stomach was upset. But it all felt so good. I didn't want to stop!
The first lap finished in good time at a 9:25 pace. The second lap felt better than the first, as if my mind and body just gave up and decided to go along with the idea. We finished that in a 9:33 pace. Towards the end of the second lap, I was actually considering a few more miles?!?!? Was I nuts?
While waiting for LC to ready for her last 2 miles, I debated joining her. This was going to be my last long run before IMWI. I only wanted 15-18 miles, that's not so hard and the weather is gorgeous and I have time before work today. All these parameters are in my favor, but I'm not in my favor. LC was telling me that I need to take the taper SERIOUSLY, and she threatened to run faster and drop me if I tried to join her on this last few miles. She's right. I know it. But why can't I do it? Why do I keep fighting the urge to rest?
For the rest of the day, I was off balanced. No appetite, tired, groggy, but functional. My right knee tendons were painfully tight afterwards and I briefly iced it. Random pains would get me--right knee, triceps, hips, shoulders, neck, shins, like my body was rotating through options trying to find the one that would finally break me. I didn't each lunch until 5pm, and when I did force my self to eat I was sick the rest of the afternoon and evening. Once again, dinner was random and cruddy, but R made me a potato omelette and it was so good! Once again I had trouble falling asleep, with more random pains and muscle weaknesses still testing me.
Oh, yeah. This recovery thing isn't going that well yet. And I have to wonder if this is what post-IMWI will be like??
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