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April 24, 2005
A no race day
As I mentioned earlier in the week, I was supposed to run the Pikes Peek 10k today. Two problems, though. First, I woke up with sharp stomach cramps, which I anticipated would go away once I did my morning bathroom business. They didn't. Second, my left foot still hurts from last Saturday's 15k. I've been trying to placate my foot by wrapping it with tape, icing it, massaging it with my hand or with a raquetball ball (at work), and ignoring the darn thing otherwise, but the pain isn't going away. In fact, it now hurts walking around and just sitting around. So, I took today completely off from exercise. I missed my swim lesson too because I had to finish a research paper, which is a huge, huge load off my back. As I was telling R., it's not Picasso or even the sidewalk street artist's work, but it's done. I've had a difficult time with this subject matter since it requires an undergraduate programmer's background, even though I'm not a programmer and there was no explicit prerequisite. This is my "elective", and I'm a glutton for torture. Oh well, I need only suffer a couple more weeks.
This week has been very weak exercise-wise. I got in a whopping 25 miles, with only one cross training session (though I did manage to lift twice for the first time in a long time!). I worked pretty hard on the paper and also started a four week class to become confirmed in the Catholic church on Thursday nights. I was raised Catholic, then converted to Baptist as a teenager, and married a Catholic...it's come full circle. I promised the priest that I would take the classes when R. and I became L's godparents in March. It's extremely interesting so far.
After Tuesday, the only other running I did was track on Wednesday and 7 easy miles yesterday. My quads (the little tear drop areas) were still sore from spin class and I had planned on the 10k, so I only did 12 x 400 at 10k pace. And yesterday was supposed to be a long run, but my foot just wasn't having it. I'm going to make myself take at least a couple days off, even though I wanted to increase to mid to high 40s this week for mileage. The triathlon is next Sunday, so I guess I should take it somewhat easier this week. Since it'll be my first one and it's a sprint, I have no idea whether you're supposed to taper for such a short race. I'm looking forward to the vacation afterward.
Posted by Leilani at 10:47 PM | Comments (2)
April 19, 2005
Angry Goose
Don't you hate it when you're minding your own business and a disgruntled goose charges at you for no reason? Well, that happened to me on my run, and I must have jumped a few feet in the air to avoid him. I don't know if he was having a bad day or what, but usually the geese I encounter around the neighborhood lakes are harmless. It's funny thinking about it after the fact - the darned thing was considerably smaller than me. I ran an easy 8 miles and finished up with 6 x 20 second striders. I was pleased to find a new place to run my striders (that isn't on an incline) and to add on a few extra miles on weekday runs. It's a nice quiet residential area that I discovered by accident while walking at the end of my run. I even saw a couple house cats outside that resembled lawn ornaments because they were sitting so still in the grass, rather than going nutty over birds or bugs like cats usually do...like my Cat Monstair and Ophelia would be doing.
Posted by Leilani at 10:53 PM | Comments (2)
April 18, 2005
Lift - Bike - Run
All I could think about today was running, and I wasn't even doing Boston! Athlete Tracking is both a blessing and a curse, for sure. I admit that I was highly distracted and fixated on tracking runners' progress. It was hard to be productive. Good thing my friends aren't running marathons on a daily basis or I would be hosed!
After work, I did a little bit of almost everything, in terms of exercise. If had more time, I could seriously see myself running, biking, doing whatever physical for at least six hours a day and still enjoy it, especially when the weather is so perfect like today. Anyway, getting off topic...I mixed up my lifting routine today, since I only had an hour before spin class. I followed up each arm exercise with a leg exercise taking no breaks (I take very little breaks usually to get to muscle failure). My hip pain yesterday was a wake up call that I must get back into my hip exercises or I'll wind up on the sidelines again. My legs were already tired when spin class begun, but it felt good to push hard. I wanted to run some easy miles on the treadmill, but my left food kind of ached, so I just drove home while massaging my foot - don't do this at home, kids! I ended up doing a 40 minute run-walk anyway, the walking mostly because my legs were blasted from lifting and spin. Good practice for the tri, something I probably should have done more of....bike-run brick workouts, that is. But alas, it's two weeks away and other things have to take priority before the race/vacation.
Posted by Leilani at 09:31 PM | Comments (2)
April 17, 2005
Focusing on Form
At the 15k yesterday, one of my fellow club runners told me to "relax" as I passed by him. That got me wondering if I looked all scrunched up or something. He later said that my shoulders appeared high and tight and arms swung a bit high. I might have dismissed it, except that my right trapezius muscle indeed became extremely agitated in the later miles (as all my back muscles do in long races). So, when I did my 7-mile easy run this morning, I tried to relax and remain aware of my upper body. My form did regress when my mind wandered. I woke up early to run before church, and it was so nice to be outside when it was peaceful. I could hear the birds and smell the crispness of the air, as there weren't many cars out yet. It's not often I get to appreciate this.
I spent more time reading journal articles for my paper, which I've had to re-outline because I realized that my concept of application domains within the network operating systems class was incorrect. Boo-ey, but better that I it happened this weekend than at the eleventh hour.
Today I had my second to last swim lesson before the triathlon and again, good form was a major topic of discussion. C. constantly corrects how I pull underwater, but it's been difficult for me to tell if it gets better because I can't see my arm for too long. The manner in which she explained it today finally made the light go off in my head, though it will take practice to break the bad habit. We also practiced some breaststroke, which improved a bit once we fixed my arm positions.
Best of luck to everyone running Boston tomorrow! It's such a fun race and I can't wait to hear everyone's personal stories. Remember to relax and have fun!!!!
Posted by Leilani at 09:26 PM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2005
Low Key 15k
Reminder to self: pacing requires practice, PATIENCE and DISCIPLINE. I seriously need to work on the latter two. My plan for this morning's "race" was to start slow and pick up the pace in the last miles in order to practice good pacing, but as the case has been in all my recent races, I went out too fast and could not sustain the momentum. I warmed up for 2 miles beforehand and was loose and ready to go. I hit the one-mile mark in 7:14, which felt good even if I was breathing a bit hard...it was windy and a hilly course after all. There were no other mile markers, so it was difficult to gauge what my pace was after that. (I wish I had a better sense of what my paces feel like. I simply know fast, medium-fast, and slow.) Anyhow, I didn't think too much about being able to keep it up for 8.3 more miles because I felt strong. I did briefly think about running with our track coach when I passed him early on, but he seemed to be going real slow. He later kicked my butt. I started slowing down with about 15 minutes to go, due to my (lack of) speed endurance rather than tired legs. As hard as I pushed myself, I felt like I was slogging. I had hoped to pick up time on the return trip since it was downhill/flat with the exception of two hills, but it wasn't to be. My mantra became, "I can do anything for x minutes." Meaning, I could tough it out for however long - that bought me a couple of quicker spurts toward the end but the not negative splits or smart workout that I wanted to run. I finished in 71 minutes, the first woman, but that's because all our fast gals are at Boston right now.
Now that I've bellyached sufficiently, I realize that I need to know my weaknesses in order to become a better runner. Pacing and negative mental attitude have been the biggest ones in recent times. However, my mental attitude has improved significantly since I accepted that every run will not be perfect, but that that does not mean that I'm getting worse. The good news is that I get to practice my pacing again next weekend at a local 10k. I'll probably still do my long run the day before, since reestablishing my base for a fall marathon is higher priority. Consistent pacing will be my aim for the 10k. I'll have to repeat that to myself often.
Time to redirect my focus back to my research paper...oh joy!
Posted by Leilani at 06:52 PM | Comments (2)
April 15, 2005
Good eats
Now that we have a Wegmans in Fairfax, R. and I have taken to going there to grab dinner when we have nothing much in the fridge. For dinner yesterday, we shared cajun catfish and coconut encrusted mahi mahi that was absolutely delicious (and reasonably priced!). And for my lunch snack today I had a spinach, fennel, and orange salad that was also yummy and filling. I am simply amazed at how their prepared foods are always so fresh, restaurant quality and without all the hype. I have to thank Becky for turning me onto this place.
I didn’t exercise at all on Thursday, which was just as well because my piriformis was aching. I need to take some time to massage it tonight. R. and I had planned to go for a bike ride, but he squirted some contact cleaning solution in his eye (which you're not supposed to do with this certain kind) and ended up irritating his eye for several hours. It did get better eventually because he was able to do some work and cook the fish. By the time I was ready to run, dinner was almost ready. And when I had digested dinner and jumped on my bike trainer, I realized the rear tire was flat and it was already 10:30 anyhow. It just wasn't meant to be...so, I decided to scan my computer for adware/spyware instead because it's been running slow lately.
I wanted to visit my dad and stepbrother this weekend, but I really need to finish up my research paper that's due next week. Tonight, I'll swim after work, and since I'll be in town, I'm going to do a 15k club race tomorrow. I'll do it as a workout and tack on a few miles warm up/cool down to make it my long run of the week. Good luck to everyone running Boston and other races this weekend!
Posted by Leilani at 12:28 PM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2005
Good Intentions, Good Runs
While I had every intention of posting daily this week (especially since I had great runs and had drafted a couple entries), sleep overcame me just about every night. In fact, I fell asleep on the living room floor more than once. Now it’s Thursday and trying not to write a book seems like a daunting task, but I’ll give it my best shot.
In the past couple days, I’ve had some mental debates on whether I’m a hypochondriac or simply overanalytical. I have had great runs and have been feeling strong the entire week, so I should be happy, right? It’s a huge improvement over the lethargy of early last week. Then I got to thinking about my training around this time last year, which was going fabulously until hip bursitis and piriformis issues pulled summer season from under my feet. I had been increasing the length of my tempo runs as well as doing the usual track workouts with the group, just as I’ve started doing again recently. So, I’m a bit paranoid about injuries and overly sensitive about my aches and pains. I hope the feelings will pass soon enough and my body will become accustomed to the increased demands that I’m putting on it. Anyhow, it’s been fun to push harder, more often and see what the outcome is the next day…if I’m sore at all, if my legs are tired, etc.
Monday, April 11
9 miles – 15 minute warm up; 3 miles at tempo pace – 1 mile easy – 1 mile hard;
~20 minute cool down
Tuesday, April 12
Easy 6 mile run
1 mile swim – 16 laps freestyle; 16 laps mixed – back, free, breast
My legs didn’t feel bad from tempo-ing. I wanted to take it easier in anticipation of track, but sometimes legs have a mind of their own. Note: running before swimming seems to be a tougher effort than the reverse.
Wednesday, April 13
Lift arms
~6.7 miles – 15 minute warm up; 1-5-2-4-3 minute intervals ON (varied pace) with 2-3 minutes easy between; ~14 minute cool down
R. and I couldn’t make it to the track workout, but this is what the group did on the trail and what we ended up doing near the house. I wore my GPS and found myself running a 6.5 mile pace at one point, which didn’t feel too hard at the moment. But I definitely felt it in the last three minute interval, when I was running up an incline and my legs started getting tired. This was a great workout (at least mentally) because I could look forward to doing shorter and varied periods of hard running instead of one set distance or time repeat.
I almost forgot to mention my new toys. I got a new pair of New Balance 900s and a stability ball. The NBs are awesome but take some getting used to. They’re super lightweight and as a result, it feels like the bottom of my foot feels the ground more, if that makes sense. I suppose racing flats must feel that way, but I don’t know since I’ve never worn them. My plan is to rotate them a couple times a week with my 3d Grid Hurricane 5s. And I finally broke down and bought a stability ball. The decision was between that and a small, weighted ball (for abs and leg exercises), but I figured that I would use the former more. It’s mostly been a cat toy so far, but sometime I want to read the poster and learn some new core exercises. I need to be more consistent about doing those.
Posted by Leilani at 10:08 AM | Comments (0)
April 10, 2005
Swim & Run
During my swim lesson, C. and I started to go over nuances of the swim portion of the triathlon. I like that she's preparing me mentally for things that I may encounter (swimming off course, getting tired in the middle of the ocean, etc.) and logistical preparations (eating, extra gear, equipment that breaks). I told her that my biggest concern now is getting into a large body of open water with lots of people kicking me and getting water in my face. The bike and run will be cake.
After swimming, I hit the single track trail next to the recreation center for an easy five-mile run. Many people were out mountain biking and walking their dogs. It makes me soooo happy that the sun is out and the days are getting longer...more time to be outside! In fact, I just checked accuweather.com and there's only a slight chance of rain for most of the week. Hooray for sun!
Posted by Leilani at 10:41 PM | Comments (0)
Cherry Blossoms and Wind
Good thing that R. has left for his long bike ride or else he'd be sitting behind me, telling me to get cracking on my research paper. Oh, I'm a terrible procrastinator. We've had such marvelous weather the past few days that it's soooo hard to be academic at the moment, but I promise I will be after this.
This week was yet another crazy one. My boss was on vacation, so I was filling in as the project manager. It was supposed to be a quiet week, but it ended up being quite hectic with countless customer pop ups and demands. I felt extremely liberated when Friday came around, and suddenly those knots in my upper back started to loosen up. I slacked off from running/work outs only one day this week. Maintaining my routine no matter how tired I was kept me sane and relieved a lot of the stress I was dealing with. I'd probably jump out a window too if I didn't have running as my outlet.
Tuesday, April 5
4.75 miles -- Felt slow and sluggish, getting acclimated to the warmer temps.
1 mile swim -- Slow to start, but felt strong and could've kept going after lap 32.
Wednesday, April 6
6 miles -- In the dark. Warmed up for 12 minutes, ran 4 x 4 minutes on/2 minutes off, cooled down for 14 minutes. Felt strong.
Thursday, April 7
off day
Friday, April 8
1 hour spin class -- Easy effort
3.6 miles -- Easy treadmill. Forgot socks and got some hot spots.
Lifted arms and core exercises
Saturday, April 9
1 hour 45 minutes -- BEAUTIFUL WEATHER but windy! My goal was to start slow and push it the last few miles. The planned course was a not-so-pretty one through Southeast DC, but my pace group accidentally deviated and went to Hains Point, where we ran into the wind for ~3.5 miles. Then, we decided to just run around the Capitol building and head back, rather than following the prescribed course. In doing so, we got to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom, which was brought on nostalgia (R.and I had our first outing during Cherry Blossom season), and the parade line up...complete with the Geico gecko, Target bunny, and high school bands. Lots of diversion that kept our minds off the wind. I had a fun time and even learned a bit about snowboarding from one of newcomers, R., who's running Boston next week. Good luck!
Now I'm off to read some technical articles for my paper before swim class and trail running, if it's not dark by then.
Posted by Leilani at 02:11 PM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2005
The 8-Minute Carrot
It was so ecstatic when I left the office (we don’t have windows) and saw that the sun was still high in the sky. That meant that we could eek out a few more hours of daylight, and I wouldn’t have to run in the dark. I ran for 1:15, feeling lethargic most of the time but trying to be positive. When I turned around to head home, I realized that it was partially due to me running into the wind. I picked up the pace but still didn’t feel 100%, which was a bummer because I wanted to do a tempo run. Afterward, I did six striders in a restaurant parking lot. I’m trying not to let weak run days get me down too much, as I did when I trained for Austin (and even Philadelphia). I wanted to see immediate results after coming back from injury, and when I didn’t, I was so disappointed in myself. I didn’t have the strong base that I had for my previous marathons. Hopefully, I can keep in mind the big picture, long-term goals, and patience when summer and fall training commence and not every run is perfect. The eight-minute carrot to a 3:10 marathon is so close, it's dangling in front of my face barely out of my grasp. Then maybe I can start thinking sub-3. You have eat the elephant one bite at a time, right?
Posted by Leilani at 09:58 PM | Comments (3)
April 03, 2005
Sad and Happy
Even though I never followed the Pope too closely during his tenure, I was very sad when we got news of his death yesterday. I was amazed and inspired by all the things he accomplished, his strength through adversity, and all the people he touched in his 26+ years. In the sunset of my life, I'd like to be able to look back and feel like I've made a difference in the big scheme of things...or at least my microcosm.
I had the opportunity to run 6.5 miles on the treadmill (yeay!) since we had physical training on our schedule again this morning. I felt a bit rusty at the outset, but I warmed up within a couple miles and felt much better than yesterday. Before running and lifting, my senior enlisted Marine and I led a class on elements of a good PT program/diet. We talked about stretching, equipment, cardiovascular, strength/resistance training, consistency, food choices, and injury prevention. And then we walked everyone through the weights to orient them on the machines and discuss alternative exercises for those who don't have gym memberships or are injured. I think that everyone gained something from the instruction and will be motivated to start or continue a fitness program, especially now that we're keeping track as part of a contest. I love running and fitness in general, so it was wonderful to share my passion and knowledge with others. Heck, R. says I "run in my sleep". Supposedly, my feet move up and down in a running-type motion while I'm sleeping, but I can neither confirm nor deny this activity because well, I'm snoozing!
I also got some good Marine news today. I interviewed for a Company commander position and was selected! I honestly didn't think the board would pick me because I'm junior and felt I answered some of the questions horribly. But as of June, I'm going to have 200+ Marines under my charge instead of the 20 Marines and Sailors I have now. It's going to be a huge challenge and learning experience, but that's why I joined. My first official command and I'm quite thrilled.
If I go to bed now, I just might get enough zzz's to make spin class in the AM. Good night!
Posted by Leilani at 11:10 PM | Comments (4)
April 02, 2005
Where Has the Week Gone?
I thought I was going to have more time to exercise, update my blog, etc., but here we are - it’s Saturday - and I can’t remember too much of what I’ve done outside of work and feeling exhausted nearly every day. Maybe I need to start taking my ferrous sulfate pills again. I was diagnosed with anemia in 1997 but rarely feel the effects - mostly fatigue/weakness, difficulty breathing during routine activities, and minor muscle aches. Since my legs are still fatigued, I’ve done more crosstraining than running this week. Even running the 3-mile physical fitness test with the Marines this morning was taxing. Could’ve been the humidity, but I’m not really certain. Here’s the week in a nutshell:
Tuesday, March 29
After all the rain we've been having in DC, it was a treat to run in the sun yesterday. Since I got off work early, I went to the pool first and swam 1100 meters. I felt a lot smoother and faster than I did on Sunday. After that, I drove home and ran on the Fairfax County Parkway trail for about 7.5 miles. It seemed like a terribly slow run with my hips and hamstrings being tight from Monday night's spin class, but I didn't care because the weather was absolutely perfect - in the low 60s with a slight breeze. I had grand plans to finish my run with a McDonald's sundae with chocolate syrup, which I had been craving for several days (and the restaurant is conveniently located across the street from my neighborhood). But alas, the power was out...boo! So, I went home and had some wheat bread, half a diet Pepsi and a glass of lemon-lime Endurox. My triathlete/marathoner co-worker gave me the latter to try out, and while it doesn't exactly taste like Kool Aid, it doesn't give me nausea like Cytomax does. I don't know if it lessens the lactic acid effect (as the container claims), or I don't notice the difference, but it at least gets some protein/carbs back in my system immediately.
Wednesday, March 30
R. and I went to track for the first time in long time. We were on tap to run 6-8 x 800, but the track was closed for a make up soccer game. Our group ended up running 4 x 3 minutes on - 2 minutes on the Custis trail. I managed to keep up with my usual pace group for two repeats, but then I fell back a bit when I couldn’t push my beat up legs anymore. I didn’t mind, though, because the weather was perfect and I was really enjoying running with (er, near) my friends again. I probably got in 7+ miles with the warm up and cool down.
Thursday, March 31
R. and I had a dinner date at Capt Pell’s Crab House, so we only had time to swim after work. I notice a huge improvement in my endurance as the weeks go on, which is encouragement for the triathlon. In fact, I think I’m going to sign up for an Olympic distance tri in July that one of my track running partners is doing. It’s always more fun to share race experiences with friends.
Friday, April 1
The first weekend of the month – that means Marine Corps drill. I was so tired I couldn’t get myself out the door for a long run, but I did make it to my swim lesson before driving to Newport News. C. and I hadn’t met in the 3-4 weeks while I was on work travel, so it was helpful to have her tweak some of my less than perfect form. She put a serious workout on my lat muscles! I felt slow but took her word that doing things right would translate to speed.
So, I’m finally caught up to Saturday. If I can get in a short cardio or lifting session tonight or tomorrow, I’ll be okay with my low mileage for the week. At least I exercised every day. I’m going to see my mom and sis tonight after work. It’ll be nice to spend some quiet time with them and maybe try to do some school reading. Hope all this rain clears up!
Posted by Leilani at 02:46 PM | Comments (1)