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September 30, 2006

Race Report and What Lies Ahead

Well, my last triathlon of the season was a successful venture and a great way to end the season in my opinion. The short story? I won. I went 2:12:56 which was way faster than I thought I would go, about a 5:30 PR and on a somewhat hilly course to boot. I had lots of fun even though it was FREEZING cold. We only got lost about 5 times on the trip down and only once on the trip home and although that doesn't sound like much of a success, for coach and I that's huge! :)

The long story? Well, it's kind of hard to report because I don't really have any split times yet but we'll give it a go anyway.

Starting with the temp - hmmm...well, it was about 50 degrees air temperature on race morning and that, my friends, feels realllllllllly cold right about now. Luckily the water temp was 71 which compared to the air temperature was probably going to feel nice. The problem is, you actually eventually have to get out of the water and then get on a bike and go upwards of 35 MPH on said bike while wearing a bathing suit. While wearing a WET bathing suit. While wearing a WET bathing suit in 50 degree temps. Um yeah...I think my lips are still blue. ;)

Luckily I now have a full body wetsuit (I used to just have one without the arms) and so that combined with the warmer water temps made for a pretty nice swim. Don't get me wrong, the water was cold, but not the kind of cold that takes your breathe away.

Anyway, there isn't much to say about the swim other than it was pretty brutal - it was a two loop course so there were people ALLLLL over the place thrashing around and all up in my space. I swallowed my fair share of river water (swim was in a tributary of the Potomac) and I took my fair share of blows. Although I will admit I also did some bullying myself as there was a particularly unruly male swimming beside me that just WOULD NOT cut in towards the buoys when it was time to do so. UGH. Also of note was the river weeds. I don't really know what they are called but they look like sea weed and it was real thick in places. I'm talking I would come up with handfuls of it with each stroke. And it was all over me and my goggles and my watch and apparently wrapped around my earrings as someone later pointed out AFTER the run that I still had a big black piece of it hanging from my ear. Very nice folks. Very nice.

Regardless my approximate swim split was 23-24 minutes. I'm very pleased with that but I know in my heart of hearts that if I want to be successful at bigger races I need to swim more like 20 minutes. I can feel lotsssssss of pool time coming on this winter.

T1 was this insanely long hike up from the river to the transition area in which I had ample time to tug at my wetsuit to get it off, try and clean the river weed from myself and develop incredibly cold feet.

The bike was a tough course. I won't say it was super hilly but it had roller after roller after roller (and maybe 2-3 "big" hills) that made it very difficult to get in a rhythm. I was constantly switching gears, standing up, sitting down, etc... I believe my bike split was around 1:06-1:07 which isn't anything great but given the course I'll take it. And let me just say - I was pretty darn cold on the bike. Nothing that I feel actually hindered my performance but WOW was it chilly going down those hills. I did take the time in T1 to put on arm warmers that I even kept on during the run. Did I mention that summer could come any time soon? :)

T2 was uneventful at which point I was on my way on the 10K run. And let me tell you - I felt like a million bucks on the run today! It was great. I really felt strong and very easily got in a good rhythm which is hard to do coming off the bike. I don't have my exact split but I wouldn't be surprised if it was right around 40 minutes. Its kind of crazy because I just about killed myself to run that 39:15 last weekend in an open 10K and today I just felt so much better and probably didn't run mucy slower despite the swim/bike. It makes me understand how the top women pros can run 2:50 in the marathon in Ironman distance races. I always thought that was pretty crazy - I mean if they could run that fast after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112, wouldn't they run like 2:25 or 2:30 in an open marathon? But I don't think that's necessarily the case. Either way, I was most pleased with the run from the whole race. A very fitting was to end the last race of the season.

And so that's that. Once I get the official splits I'll share those. Good race. Fun day. I'm finally warm again. Tasty hamburgers after the race. What more could you ask for?

And so now here I am at the end of the season and wondering what exactly it is that I'm going to do next. As we were driving home through the mountains of Pennsylvania I was starting to get so sad! I mean I know it's fall but it's not really fall until the leaves are changing and guess what - they are changing up in the mountains! That means we are next. And I love fall. But now fall means that there won't be any more tris until next year and riding outside will be cold. Give me a day or two and I'll be over it, but for now I'm sulking.

I am thankful to say I had a great first season of competing in this sport of triathlon. I did 7 races, won 4 of them, placed 2nd in 2 of them and placed 4th in my first race of the season in South Carolina. My Olympic distance PR is now under 2:13 which will give me a solid base upon which to build for next year. I'm very excited to see what the future holds next season!

But for now a full week off to let my body heal. It's supposed to rain just about every day this upcoming week too so that should keep me inside and on the couch. :) And then coach and I decided I would swim 3 days/week, run 3-4 days/week and cycle 1-2 days/week until January - mostly easier and shorter stuff to keep my fitness but not overdo it. Then once January rolls around - then it's back to business. I may run a few 5Ks this fall but nothing else race wise. I know it's just what I need and part of me is relieved that I won't be racing hard again for a while but at the same time, it's all still so new and exciting I don't want it to end!

Alas, I think I just found some more river weed in my ear. I must go clean it out... :)

Posted by beth at 9:54 PM | Comments (1)

September 28, 2006

Wet All Over

This morning when I went swimming I got wet. Naturally - this is what happens when you jump into a pool full of water.

This evening on my run I also got wet. Naturally - this is what happens when you live in Pittsburgh and it starts raining in the morning and just doesn't stop raining ALL day long. Talk about a bad day to forget your running hat too. Bugger!

I've had a pretty productive day off thus far. I started things off right by getting 8.5 hours of sleep. Can't go wrong there! And then I went for workout #1 - my swim.

2600 yds total (400 yds warmup, 200 yds cooldown)
2 sets of:
400 on 7
300 on 5:15
200 on 3:30
100 on 1:45

Nothing too awful or difficult. I felt pretty good in the water this morning. And my cold is finally starting to clear up a little so I didn't feel like I couldn't breath AT ALL while swimming like I did last Tuesday.

During the day I was a machine. We're talking laundry, ironing, finishing a paper, paying bills, taking care of odds and ends for tomorrow's trip, you name it, I was doing it. And then I realized it was 5 pm and it was STILL raining and I still needed to run.

To the trail I went. It was a short 45 minute jaunt - all easy except for 4x1:30 up tempo w/3 minutes jogging rest. It was just a little less than 6 miles. It definitely felt like fall, kind of cold and dark, wet with lots of leaves down already. Can we fast forward to next summer please? :)

I still have to pack for tomorrow - surprise, surprise! I always leave that until last. For those of you who have been reading my blog and have suffered through my complaining before - you all know I HATE to pack, especially for tris. Especially for tris where you have to stay overnight. Especially for tris where you have to stay overnight and it's probably going to be cold. Get out the big bag for this trip! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Posted by beth at 6:01 PM | Comments (2)

September 27, 2006

Beautiful Weather

What's up with this weather man?! I am loving it! It has been sunny and in the mid 60s for the past three days with big, blue skies. That basically makes it impossible to not run or ride or do something outside. Absolutely impossible.

So that's why I actually didn't "just" swim yesterday but added a little bike/run brick yesterday afternoon. It was all easy stuff - about 16 miles of riding and 4 miles of running. Great weather, great day, great running and great riding. Always great riding.

Today I had a dentist appointment right after work which makes me a very unhappy camper. I hate the dentist. I mean I don't hate my actual dentist...but...you know what I mean. Anyway, I didn't have any cavities and I actually had quite a nice conversation about triathlons and Kona with my dentist. He wanted to know if I was going to do "that race in Hawaii". I explained how I would love to do "that race" but you have to qualify for it (or be lucky and get a lottery slot). He seemed quite interested and even knew the distances for an IM so we chatted some more. I told him he should try a tri. He said he didn't have a bike. I told him I knew just the place for him to find one... :)

Anyway - why the heck I'm writing about this in my blog is a mystery to me and probably to you as well.

After the dentist appointment I went for a ride. Very easy - 50 minutes, about 16 or 17 miles. I warmed up some, did 4x90 seconds at race effort, and then cooled down and called it a day. I actually rode my tri bike (which has it's race wheels on) and felt like I was flying! The tri bike is always a welcome surprise after riding a road bike.

And that's that. I have tomorrow off work, mostly because I orginally thought we'd be leaving for this weekend's race tomorrow. We're not leaving until Friday now but I just kept tomorrow as a vacation day anyway. Who gives up a vacation day? That's just insanity.

Have a great night everyone!

Posted by beth at 8:46 PM | Comments (3)

September 26, 2006

Blogging at 6:30 in the Morning

What else should I be doing other than icing my feet, sipping my oj and blogging this morning?! :)

Hit up the pool for a quick workout today. I went to the YMCA instead of the masters practice mostly because at this stage of the game I'm avoiding off stroke day. I know, I know. How to get better at breaststroke if you never do it? But I'll save that for fall/winter/spring when I'm not racing.

Regardless it was a short 45 minutes, 2500 yd workout with a warmup and a cooldown of 1000 yds and the main set of:

5 sets of:
200 on 3:30
100 on 1:30

I might have been a bit too generous with the rest on the 200s but the 100s were hard.

And that's it for the day. Can't believe it but I guess with the last race of the season coming up there is no need to pile on the miles or yardage. There will be plenty of time for that later on.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Posted by beth at 6:33 AM | Comments (1)

September 25, 2006

I LOVE RIDING MY BIKE

Er...Trizilla's bike that is. The BMC is my best friend. I just love riding it. I just love riding. It was a beautiful day. Life is good. Did I mention I like cycling? I like swimming and running too. Ohhhhhhh...this sport is just too much sometimes. :)

I was going to take the day off today but when it's sunny, about 68 degrees, there's a big blue sky...you just can't deny that. I wanted to be outside and luckily so did coach. So we rode together for an easy 22 miles or so. No hammering. We both ran the 10K yesterday and our quads were sore! My back was really sore too. What's up with that? All the downhill I think.

I'm way excited for my last tri of the season this Saturday. It's near DC so we have quite a drive on Friday but I'm really pumped to race one last time this season. I might go into a dismal depression afterwards once I realize that I can't race again until next May and that soon riding outside is going to get real not fun real fast. But up until that realization occurs I'm on cloud nine. :)

PS Thanks for all the nice comments re: my race yesterday! I really appreciate your encouragement and of course your opinions!

PPS Re: my cold. I'm just going to go ahead and say it - I just don't understand where all that snot could possibly come from. I think I blew my nose so hard my brain came out! (and let me tell you - I need all the brain I have, I can't be losing extra stuff out my nose!). My co-workers are way grossed out. Sorry dudes... :)

Posted by beth at 8:02 PM | Comments (4)

September 24, 2006

The Great Race

Well, I'll have to say, The Great Race is indeed pretty great. But it's not all downhill like some people will tell you. I should have know that was impossible and my sister (who has run the race several times before) did warn me. There is definitely a net downhill but the first mile is mostly up and the 5th mile is a long, straight upgrade that did not make me very happy. Running a "downhill" race isn't as easy as you would think it would be. Faster than an uphill race but boy are my quads sore already! :)

Anyway, the end result for me was 7th place overall and about 39:15 finishing time by my watch. I'm happy with that...for now. It's the fastest 10K I've run since college when running the 10K was my sole focus so I can't be too disappointed. But I want to be able to run that at the end of an Olympic distance tri. I have a lot of work to do this winter!

Splits:
6:10, 6:00, 6:23, 19:12 (5K), 6:26, get ready...this is ugly...6:49 (evil uphill mile), 6:08, 1:17. I was kicking it in hard at the end because there was a girl right on my tail!

It was actually pretty warm for the race - in the high 60s and kind of humid. That's not too bad of course but given our temps in the high 40s and low 50s of late I was kind of surprised. Now of course it will be in the 40s and low 50s NEXT weekend when I will be competing in my last triathlon and swimming in cold, cold water. :)

Week summary:
Sunday - off
Monday - 45 minute run, core/feet exercises
Tuesday - 3500 yd swim w/20x100 in am, 25 mile ride/4 mile run brick in pm, 2x25 pushups and 2x100 crunchers
Wednesday - 9.5 miles running w/4x800 and 1x3200, core/feet exercises
Thursday - 3500 yd swim w/20x100 in am, 25 mile ride in pm, 2x25 pushups, 2x100 crunchers
Friday - off - recovering from the truck that ran over me (aka I had a cold)
Saturday - 37 min run w/6x100 striders
Sunday - 10 miles total w/warmup and cooldown - 10K race (39:15)

My cold is feeling better. At the very least my throat doesn't ache anymore. The congestion is still there but otherwise I think I'm on the upswing. And thus another week down! Hope everyone has a great start to their weeks.

Posted by beth at 2:47 PM | Comments (5)

September 23, 2006

Status Quo

My cold is feeling about the same. Still with the sore throat but maybe a little less foggy in the head? Hard to tell but I should be fine for tomorrow. I better go sleep a few more hours instead of doing my homework today to make sure... :)

This morning when I got up a ran an easy 37 minutes or so. 25 minutes to the track, 6x100 meter striders on the track, 12 minutes back home. In the "pre-triathlon" days of my former life about 5 miles of running the day before a 10K race would be plenty - in fact I probably would think that's too much. But in my current life of triathlon training, 37 minutes of my time does not seem adequate. Training 2-3 hours a day changes your perspective of training you know? Then there's Ironman training that might involve averaging 4 hours/day of training. It's a sick sport... :)

Anyway, the race tomorrow should be interesting. I picked up my packet yesterday and I didn't get a seeded number. I was mildly perturbed. This is a very big race for this area (5000+ runners) but there is no prize money anymore so it's not a very deep race. In other words, a woman could run 40 minutes and still finish in the top 10-15. They give out seeded numbers to 100+ men and women so naturally I assume I'll finish in the top 100 women and therefore need a seeded number. It's not such a huge deal other than the starting line fiasco - the seeded numbers obviously get to start in a corral up front. I inquired about getting a seeded number but they weren't budging. I can see their point. Any Joe-Schmoe could walk up demanding a seeded number, but still.... I didn't push the issue at all. Tomorrow I'm just going to have to sharpen my elbows and make sure I push my way to the front right behind the seeded start. :)

Anyway, somewhere along the way I decided I wanted to run 6:15-6:20 pace. Not sure how I picked that number but I think it's doable. I'm also not sure how my cold factors into that but for now I'm just ignoring the fact that I have a cold. We'll see how it goes. I am much less stressed for this race than I normally would be, I think because running is no longer my sole focus. Give it some time though - tomorrow when I'm warming up and seeing all my old running buddies I'll probably be hyperventilating.

Now back to that nap, er...I mean homework... :)

Posted by beth at 10:24 AM | Comments (2)

September 22, 2006

Uggggghhhh

Wow do I feel like a big pile of poooo-tinky today! Again, just a head cold but nevertheless, it's kicking my butt. I feel like I'm in a complete and utter fog. I can't hear people. And I think there is a little man in the back of my throat with a pick ax working away on my esophagus. Just what you want before a race right? Oh well, what can you do?

I skipped my swim this morning before work. Then I skipped work. Then I skipped my run after work. Lots of skipping going on today. I hope the 10-12 hours of sleep I got will help me feel better tomorrow. I plan on sleeping lots more tonight. Doing an easy jog tomorrow morning and then hopefully by Sunday I'll be ready to race!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Posted by beth at 4:37 PM | Comments (0)

September 21, 2006

Another Cold

I think I'm developing another head cold. Whad up wit dat? Oh well. There are worse things in this world. I work in a place where people are REALLY sick. That's the good thing about my job - it offers a lot of perspective. A cold doesn't sound so bad when you were just talking with somebody who has terminal cancer.

AM swim workout

3500 yds (900 yds warmup, 600 yds cooldown)
20x100 yds (again!) as:
4x100 on 1:45
3x100 on 1:40
2x100 on 1:35
1x100 on 1:30
1x100 on 1:45
2x100 on 1:40
3x100 on 1:35
4x100 on 1:30

Tricky that workout. Just when you start to think things are feeling too easy you have the hardest part right at the end. :)

I didn't have class today because my professor is away in Hawaii (pity her huh?!) and so after work I went home and took a 2 hour nap (pity me huh?!). The cold has me feeling a little sleepy. When I got up I checked my email and saw that coach had emailed me wanting to know if I wanted to ride this afternoon because it was such a beautiful day. I called him and had just missed him. Bummer! But I drove down to the shop and rode anyway because...well...it was too beautiful of a day not to! And it was a great ride. 25 miles in about 1:16-1:17 (almost 20 MPH ave), sunny skies, not too hot. I even wore my arm warmers because there was a bit of a nip in the air. It was crisp and clear and I felt really alive. That's the great thing about running/cycling/swimming, etc...it helps you feel alive and well and I often wonder how people feel who don't exercise. They're missing out for sure.

Anyway, that ride really wasn't on the schedule so instead of riding/running tomorrow afternoon I'll just do a quick run. All is well in my world. :)

Posted by beth at 7:38 PM | Comments (0)

September 20, 2006

Who Turned Off the Heat?

Um yeah - it's cold outside. What's up with the high of 55 today and some bitter feeling wind during my track workout. I kid you not - I wore a long sleeve shirt for my whole warmup and even though I took it off for the actual workout I looked at it longingly a few times because I was cold. I'm not sure I'm going to make it through this winter. All of a sudden the heat is my friend. Weird.

Anyway, thanks for all the nice, encouraging comments about my new plan guys! You're the best. I'm not a big fan of putting my goals out there like that (especially those "big" type goals) but I knew everyone would be encouraging and motivating. I've never met you guys (okay, my mom left a comment too... :) but you support me like a teammate/friend/family/etc... I really appreciate it!

So back to today. I got home from work and was feeling pretty sleepy so I took a nap and didn't really get my workout started until 5:45 pm. Geez...where do the hours in the day go? I jogged over to the track and ran around some for a 17 minute warmup. Put on my flats, did some striders and then got the party started.

4x800 meters at 5K pace minus 5 seconds/400 meters. Now what exactly might that mean? Considering I don't know my 5K pace and I really can't do math too well anyway, I decided 6 minute pace sounded good. So I proceeded to run 3:00, 2:56, 2:56 and then 2:54. Each had a 400 meter recovery jog. After the last one I jogged the easy 400 meters and then had a 3200 at 10K pace plus 10 seconds/mile pace. Again, I'm not sure what kind of pace that should be. 10K after swimming and biking or just 10K running race pace? I decided to start running and see what happened and aim for 6:40 or 6:45 pace. I got into a nice rhythm though and went through the first mile in 6:18. I spent the next half lap or so trying to decide what to do about that. Slow down? Maintain? I felt comfortable running that pace though. I wasn't pushing hard. And so I figured I would just continue on. I fnished in 12:42 (6:21 pace) which was just fine. That was a confidence booster for my 10K race this Sunday. I would like to run as close to 40 minutes as possible and running the workout today made me feel like I just might have a chance. I cooled down for 18 minutes and called it a day. It was pizza night tonight at our house and let me tell you - that pizza might never have tasted as good as it did tonight!

Anyway, today's workout was such a testament to the type of fitness I have going on right now. Running 6 minute pace feels brutal. But slow it down a little to 6:20 pace and I feel like I'm jogging in the park. I just don't do enough of that faster stuff for it to feel anywhere near comfortable. And that's just fine with me!

And now I must fold laundry. Not that I want to but it's covering the bed that I want to sleep in. Darn laundry... :)

Posted by beth at 8:44 PM | Comments (3)

September 19, 2006

The "New" Plan

So here's the story...I'm not going to do Ironman Lake Placid next summer. Yeah, I know - that was pretty short lived. But let me explain a little.

When I started training for a triathlon this past winter I thought it was merely going to serve as a diversion until I could run again for real. I was kind of into the idea but didn't think I would do much with it beyond getting some good cross training until my feet felt better. But I should have known. Truth is, I don't usually just do things halfway or just for the fun of it. I don't get involved in a lot of things but when I do get involved I jump in head first and with all the heart I have.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to say other than the fact that I'm totally into triathlon. You may have been able to guess that of course. :) I feel like it's the sport that I should have started long ago. I like to train hard and I like to train intensely and that's something that I could never do well with running. Running was just too hard on my body and although I did have spans of 1-2 full years without injury, I was more often than not either coming off and injury or heading into one. And that's frustrating to say the least. Not to say that I won't get hurt training for tris but the training is so much more condusive to my style and to my body. Since when could I train for 15-20 hours/week with running? Not possible. But it is with triathlon training and that will serve to develop my cardio system like none other.

Okay - again, I'm off course.

Anyway, as I trained and raced this summer I started to feel like I might be able to do something with this sport. Why not right? I have a lot to learn in the water and on the bike. I have a lot of developing in both of those sports AND I know I can run faster too. Encouraged by my coach as well, I decided I would like to try to get my pro card next summer.

Quick explanation - triathlon is not like running. You cannot earn money in a race as a pro until you actually earn your pro card which involves racing in big races and doing well enough in those big races that you prove you belong in with the pros. Once you have a pro card you can then race with the pros (who start in their own waves), earn money, usually get help with entry/travel fees, etc... It kind of sounds a little more special than it is. Don't get me wrong - it would be a huge thing for me to get my pro card, but it doesn't mean the Olympics is my next step. Indeed - it doesn't mean that AT ALL.

Anyway after a lot of thought and a lot of prayer I decided that my new goal was to chase the pro card next summer and see what happens. That means doing some big races, traveling more, etc... and also meant (at least for me) that IMLP was out. My injury prone body would just not be able to take the hard/intense training for Olympic distance races and then try to do the longer stuff for IM too. Too much for this triathlete.

Instead I'm aiming for some bigger Olympic distances races as well as one half IM in June. I can't even tell you how excited I am already.

It's a scary thing for me to put this pro card goal/idea out there. But I have to be confident enough in my decision and choice to be able to tell others about it. I feel like I've been given this exciting and wonderful opportunity that I just can't pass up. I'm 27 years old. I have the support of my coach who is willing to support me with equipment. I have support of a wonderful team of cyclists and other triathletes who are willing to help any and all achieve the goals they set out to do. I have a flexible job (in which I've worked out a schedule that will soon begin in which I will work 3-4 days/week instead of 5). I have been blessed with talent and drive and while I'm no Deena Kastor, I do believe I have the ability to achieve a certain level of success. I have a supportive family and wonderful friends. And probably first and foremost I am married to the most wonderful, supportive husband in the whole world who is willing to take this financial risk and sacrifice probably more than anybody else (including me). All those factors added up means only one thing. I would be stupid to pass the chance up.

And so it goes. One of my favorite Justin McRobert's songs (called Safe) sums up how I'm feeling about this whole thing:

"I'd rather fail a thousand times than live in fear and never try; A thousand times I'd rather fall than be afraid to move at all."

I may never win another race. I may get run over by a car tomorrow and never even enter another race. But I want to give it a shot and see what happens while I have the chance. I've tasted regret before and I remember quite well - it doesn't taste good at all.

Posted by beth at 9:53 PM | Comments (12)

Tuesday Workouts

AM swim (did I mention that I had the day off work and slept in until 7 am?!?!)

3500 yds at YMCA (900 yds warmup, 600 yds cooldown)
20x100 as:
4x100 on 1:40
1x100 on 1:25
3x100 on 1:40
2x100 on 1:25
2x100 on 1:40
3x100 on 1:25
1x100 on 1:40
4x100 on 1:25

Very tough workout for me by myself. I did this workout before but with the masters team and I didn't lead it and let me tell you - drafting in the water is a benefit for real! I've said it before and I'll say it again though - I think swimming hard on little rest is what will make me a better swimmer. The trick of this workout is the 100s done on the "moderate" interval (1:40 for me) because 100s on 1:40 isn't that easy and so I never felt fully rested.

PM brick

I got real lazy and called up Coach J to see if he would ride with me this afternoon because I wasn't feeling the ride by myself. That and I wanted to ride the BMC which lives at the shop. Yes, I'm spoiled. So I drove to the shop and rode with my coach and although he did most of the pulling he made me do some too. When I was drafting I was in heaven but when I was pulling I was working really hard. Coach is a very strong cyclist and poking along at 19 or 20 MPH will not do. Anyway, we rode for a little over 25 miles and I felt pretty good although I can still feel Saturday's ride in my quads.

Next up was a run (right after our ride) in which I was to run 30 minutes out and back and negative split on the way back. I started running and felt pretty good and instantly decided I needed to back off the pace some or else I was going to have to sprint the whole way back so as to be able to negative split! I ran out for 15:35 and then back in about 14:25 so it was just right. My running feels strong coming off the bike, stronger than it ever has before. Not sure how I'm going to do in "just" a running race but let me ride a little first and I will be happy. :) Did I mention that it was a *gorgeous* day outside and I was loving life during our ride/run?

Finally my cooldown - take coach's dog (who hangs out at the shop all day) for a walk. Luckily he's not like Roxy who yanks off your arm. :)

Posted by beth at 9:35 PM | Comments (0)

September 18, 2006

Trail Run

It's summer in Pittsburgh again! It was sunny and 80 degrees here today. Unfortunately I think this weather will be short lived. The high on Wednesday is 56 degrees.

I enjoyed the beautiful weather this afternoon on a trail run. I ran the high school cross country course (which is on all trails in a local park) two times for about 6 miles in 47 minutes or so. I ran mostly easy in zones 1 and 2 but let my HR get up to zone 3 on the uphills (which there are quite a few of on this course!). It was a great run. I felt good. Nice day. No complaints here. :)

Unfortunately I'm now off to a funeral viewing for one of my cycling teammates. Probably the friendliest guy on the team was killed Friday morning (non cycling related). We were both new to the team this year and he really helped me on some of those early rides when I would get dropped! Makes me sick to think that he's gone. But I hope he is in a much better place right now and not feeling any more pain. I miss him already.

Posted by beth at 6:00 PM | Comments (3)

September 17, 2006

Biggest Week Yet

Week Summary:

Sunday - Great Lake Escape - 5K run/40K bike/10K run
Monday - off
Tuesday - 3300 yds swimming (off stroke) in am, 1:30 Spinervals in pm, 2x25 pushups, 2x100 crunchers
Wednesday - bike/run intervals (2.5 miles running, 23 miles cycling), core/feet exercises
Thursday - 3600 yds swimming w/4x(4x50,4x100) in am, 55 minute run w/bounding in pm, 2x25 pushups, 2x100 crunchers
Friday - 2800 yds swimming w/3x(400,200) in am, 1:25 run w/3 miles tempo in pm, feet exercises/1x100 crunchers
Saturday - 107 mi cycling
Sunday - off(!)

Totals:
Cycling = 180 miles (assuming that the Spinervals would have been about 25 miles if I rode outside)
Running = 29.8 miles
Swimming = 9700 yds

Kind of sore from yesterday. Just normal soreness and then my left knee hurts a little on the kneecap. I would suspect as much. Nothing a little day off today can't fix! I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Posted by beth at 7:54 AM | Comments (3)

September 16, 2006

100 Miles Down, 7 To Go

I survived! My very first century ride and I'm still alive to talk about it. In fact we even got lost and rode 7 extra miles just for the heck of it. Sweet. Now add 5 more miles of riding, 2.4 miles of swimming before and a marathon afterwards and you have yourself an Ironman! (insert shake of head in disbelief here :)

Great ride today. It was me and 5 of the other guys on the team - all cyclists, no other triathletes which means they picked on me all day long. It's always interesting hanging out with 5 guys and being the only girl. At first they are somewhat reserved and then their true nature shows through. It was an interesting day to say the least. :)

The course was really nice, all country roads and well marked although we definitely missed a turn, went about 2 miles down the road, realized we missed the turn, rode back and got on the right path. This was around 85 miles by the way so I was a bit concerned. I supposed there is no good time at which point you want to get lost on a 100 mile ride, but 85 miles is one of the more disheartening times. :)

I kept waiting for the ride to get REALLY hard...thinking that point would come at 75 or 85 or 90 but truthfully it wasn't until the last 3 miles that I felt bad. I just kept chugging along. The first 75 miles went by really fast and then time started to slow some. From 90 miles on I was definitely watching the bike computer a lot more closely and the distance was ticking by much slower but it really wasn't as bad as I thought. It took us about 5:40 of actual riding time which comes out to be just about 18.9 MPH average. I thought we'd actually ride a little faster but trust me, I wasn't complaining! I was also worried about getting dropped or slowing those guys down which didn't happen until those last 3 miles when I suddenly became toast. At that point I just focused on turning the pedals and eventually made it back just fine.

I gotta tell ya - I was glad to get off that bike. REALLY glad. I don't hurt nearly as much as I thougt I would but my butt is sore! And there's no telling how I might feel tomorrow.

Overall a success. A beautiful day. I know 5 of my teammates MUCH better than I ever knew them before (perhaps a little more than I ever wished I did :) and now I can say I've ridden a full century. And I got a suntan! Probably the most sun I've gotten all summer. How about that for added bonus... :)

Posted by beth at 8:49 PM | Comments (0)

September 15, 2006

My Tummy Hurts

I had a nice day. Things went well. I enjoyed a nice swim, a day at work, a run and then dinner with O. But right now all I can think of is the fact that my stomach hurts. The culprit? A long(er) run with some hard miles in the middle. Gets me every time. One of the very few things I hate about running.

Anyway, when my alarm went off this morning I was none too pleased. The alarm really gets no lovin' in our house. I suspect alarms across the country (and world for that matter) don't get any lovin'. But I got up nonetheless and headed to the YMCA. I had to use the blast-the-music-as-loud-as-possible trick in the car so as to wake up. It's a great trick except for when you forget to turn the music down and then get back in the car an hour later and nearly have a heart attack when your ear drums blow out. Yeah, that's the downside.

AM pool workout:

2800 yds total (500 yds warmup, 500 yds cooldown)
3 sets of (400, 200)
1st set on 7:20, 3:40 (1:50 base)
2nd set on 7:00, 3:30 (1:45 base)
3rd set on 6:40, 3:20 (1:40 base)

Nothing too exciting or difficult. I pretty much swam each 400 in 6 minutes and each 200 in 3 minutes so I probably gave myself a little too much rest but after yesterday's killer swim I was just fine with taking it a bit easier this morning.

After work I stopped by the shop to pick up some "nutrition" as everyone calls it (ie: assorted gels and bars) as well as the BMC for the century ride tomorrow! I'm VERY excited for it. There are probably about 10 guys from the team going so I think we are going to have a great ride. I'm marginally worried about getting dropped but I think I'll be fine with such a great group to draft off of. Drafting is sort of cheating of course but I'm not too worried about it for my first 100 miler.

After the shop - home for a run, but first a nap. This week has worn me out. Big time. And so a quick 45 minutes of some shut-eye helped matters immensely. I need to do that more often. :) My run was supposed to be 1:25 long with 3 miles at 10K pace + 10-20 seconds. I'm not really sure what kind of 10K pace I should use. Last weekend's 10K was 6:45 pace but am I to use 10K in a triathlon pace or what I think I could run for "just" a 10K with no other biking, swimming, etc...? Somewhere along the way I decided I would aim for 7 minute pace. It's been a hard training week and so I figured 3 miles in 21 minutes would do me up good.

I drove to the trail for the run so it would be flat and soft. And then I basically warmed up for 6 miles. Kind of a long warmup but I didn't want to have to run another 4 or 5 miles after my 3 miles of tempo so I did the bulk of the run before the hard miles. My 3 hard went 6:51, 6:49 and 6:41. I'll take it. I really wasn't pushing incredibly hard but had to think about my pace. I finished with another 2 miles to make it 11 for the day and was very pleased (despite the upset tummy) to be heading home for dinner with O.

And now I'm ready for bed again. I seriously think we need to add another hour to the day. But only for me. That way I can get caught up on life and not just get more behind... :) I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Posted by beth at 8:44 PM | Comments (1)

September 14, 2006

I'm Turning Into My Sister

The only reason I say this, of course, is because I just finished dinner and it's 8:51 pm. I'm the one that eats dinner at 5 pm and would eat earlier if I could. She's the one that is just starting to wonder what it is she is going to have at 9 pm. We couldn't be any more different in this respect. Trips and vacations together can be rough. :)

My day has been busy. Pool this morning. Work during the day. Class after work. Drive home. Run at night. I'm hoping for bed soon because tomorrow I get up and do it all over again, but without the 3 hour class. Very nice. :)

AM swim workout:

short course pool - 3600 yds total (900 yds warmup, 300 yds cooldown)

4 sets of
4x50 yd (25 stroke for distance, 25 build) on 1
4x100 yd (1st set on 1:30, 2nd set on 1:40, 3rd set on 1:50, 4th set on 2) with each set of 100s getting faster

I might have been a little ambitious starting with the 100s on 1:30 because I had a hard time cutting time from each set but I wanted to swim with Matt because I like swimming with him and so the first set on 1:30 is was! My first set of 100s were all around 1:20, 2nd set again around 1:20, 3rd set more like 1:18, last set struggling to swim 1:16s, 1:15s. Tough workout! But I survived.

My run this evening was actually quite delightful. I got out of class a little early and so was able to start my run around 7:30 (which is usually when my class is ending). It was nice and cool and running in the dark always gives me the feeling that I'm running faster than I actually am. I surprisingly felt really good too and my heart rate was low. I was to run easy and zone 1. I ran 34 minutes to the track, did 6x20 seconds of bounding and then ran another 21 minutes home for a total of 55 minutes running. I did time 1 lap on the track to see what kind of pace I was running which turned out to be 7:45 pace. I'll take it!

And now it's time for a shower and bed. The cold pool waters will be calling me soon...

Posted by beth at 8:49 PM | Comments (0)

September 13, 2006

Today Was One of Those Workouts When...

...you really don't want to workout; you'd rather hang out in bed; you're tired; it's raining; and you don't have anyone to train with. Today was one of those days when I would have rather just not...ya know? But in the end today is just the kind of day I like. Because I did do my workout and even though I didn't feel great I put the work in and now I know that I'm just a little bit tougher and stronger than I was yesterday at this time. And a whole bunch of these kinds of days adds up to be a lot in my book.

Exact same workout as last Wednesday although this time it was 60 degrees and raining, very light at first and then harder as the workout progressed. I went to the oval where we have our crits. At least I had the track all to myself.

warmed up on bike for 20 minutes (15 min spinning, then last 5 min got HR up to 160s)

off the bike for 1st 800 - 3:01
5 min on bike (2 easy spinning, 3 hard)
2nd 800 at 5K pace - 2:56
5 min on bike (2 easy spinning, 3 hard)
3rd 800 at 5K pace - 2:56
5 min on bike (2 easy spinning, 3 hard)
4th 800 at 5K pace - 2:53
5 min on bike (2 easy spinning, 3 hard)
5th 800 at 5K pace - 2:49

about 10 miles easy spinning cooldown (23 miles total biking)

I had to really work on the last 800. Overall I was pleased. What was even more pleasing was getting in the nice hot shower after all was said and done!

Tomorrow some swimming and running, Friday more of the same and Saturday a century ride. It's supposed to stop raining by Saturday. Thank goodness!

Posted by beth at 7:57 PM | Comments (1)

September 12, 2006

Rain, Rain Go Away!

AM swim workout

short course pool - 3300 yds total (1000 yds warmup, 300 yds cooldown)

Set 1
2x25 free
2x25 back
2x25 breast
2x25 free
200 IM (free, back, breast, free)

Set 2
8x25 (alternate free and back)
200 back

repeat set 1, repeat set 2, repeat set 1
all 25s on :30

I was ALL over the place this morning with my backstroke - in the middle of the lane, hitting the lane lines, hitting the wall and then not swimming close enough. What the heck? I guess you could say I'm directionally challenged in more ways than one.

Regardless, tonight was the last crit of the season and I was pretty excited at the possibility of getting to ride with the men for their whole race. I knew of only one other woman that was going to go and I figured I could talk her into it. But alas, it was not meant to be. It rained the whole day and then when it was time to leave for the crit, it rained some more. Major bummer. I'm not even sure if they had the races or not but Coach J thought it would be better for me to stay inside on the trainer since it was (a) pouring rain, (b) in the low 60s and quite chilly given the wet, (c) likely pretty dangerous to ride in that big pack like that in those conditions. Bah!

So inside on the trainer I stayed for a Spinervals DVD that was quite difficult if I do say so myself. It was 1:30 long and involved 4x15 minutes of some not fun stuff in my big chain ring and my very small ring in the back (aka - the HARDEST gear you can be in). Ouch on the legs! It felt good though to at least get some hard work in despite the weather.

So it's official - I want summer back and I want it back now. I can't even believe I'm typing that because I'm not a hot weather loving type of gal. Usually the fall is my favorite time of year. But the fact is, I'm no longer a "runner" anymore and cycling in the cooler weather and swimming (even though it's inside!) when it's cold out is not very fun. I might start wearing my wetsuit in the pool because it's already getting hard to get in that cold water in the morning when I'm cold. In fact I might start wearing my wetsuit on the bike too. Now wouldn't that be an interesting sight! :) (by the way, I'm kidding about the wetsuit, on both accounts)

Now hang in there folks. I'm going to keep typing because the truth is, I'd rather blog than do my homework.

In other news I might run the Great Race in a week and a half. It's a 10K - used to be VERY big with lots of big names but then they lost funding from the city and the prize purse went away and now it's just the really good local runners (instead of the Kenyans and Ethiopians) that win. I've never run this race which is a travesty because pretty much every runner in Pittsburgh has to run it. Now that I'm not a runner anymore I'm thinking of doing it. :) I haven't made up my mind yet but it's a very fast course and I wouldn't mind seeing what I could run in a 10K when my legs haven't just swam 1500 meters and biked 25 miles. I'm pretty sure I've already forgotten how to run races though. It might be interesting to see the outcome. Regardless, I'm still undecided about the whole situation. Don't worry (admit it - I know you were!) - I will keep you updated.

Oh well. I've run out of things to talk about that are even remotely interesting and my homework calls. Can someone remind me why it is that I still take classes? :) Good night all!

Posted by beth at 7:48 PM | Comments (5)

September 11, 2006

My Coach is Trying to Kill Me

I just got my workouts for the week. What. The. Heck??? Man it's rough. I have two days off (today and next Sunday) and I still have 15 hours of work! Okay, that's only because I have a century ride on Saturday but still... I might have to go on strike this week. :) Seriously though, I'm excited to see if I can manage. It will be tough but if I can get through it I know it will make me stronger.

In other news, I'm not nearly as sore as I thought I would be from yesterday's race. Don't get me wrong - I'm sore - but I thought I would be crippled. Just wait until I try to move faster than a crawl tomorrow. I might change my tune. :) Oddly enough my arms and back are really sore. Did we swim and I somehow missed it?! I surmised that it might be from gripping my bike as hard as I could for 25 miles while trying not to topple over. Not sure though. It could have been from sleeping wrong too. :)

Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone for their nice comments about my race yesterday! You guys are the best! You put a big smile on my face.

Posted by beth at 7:17 PM | Comments (0)

September 10, 2006

I'm a Duathlete Too

Fun weekend. Very fun weekend. I just can't even believe I have to go to work tomorrow again already though. Can't think of that now. Much work left to be done.

ANYWAY - on Saturday morning we left for The Great Lake Escape, a triathlon in Marblehead, OH. Our trip was wrought with difficulty. Nothing too horrible, just stuff like getting lost (about 5 times), almost losing the bikes off the roof of the car (about 3 times), etc... stuff that in the end all worked out and will now make for very good stories. It was so fun to travel to a race with a group of teammates again. I felt like I was in college (or perhaps high school given our level of maturity). Teammates = Fun.

We finally got to the race site around 3 pm on Saturday, checked in and we all went for a easy 12 mile ride on the bike course. It was soooooo windy by the lake (Lake Erie) and as we were checking in and talking with the race director, the first talk of cancelling the swim the next morning started to arise. Of course I've heard of this happening but I've had nothing but perfect weather for all my races this season so it didn't really occur to me that I might eventually have to deal with bad weather. Yuck.

We got some dinner, showered, got ready for the next morning, watched football, etc... and before I knew it it was 4 am this morning. Triathlon wake up calls can be rough.

When we got to the race site again this morning it was windy but the lake really didn't look that bad. I was excited that we would get to swim afterall. It was pitch dark and so it was pretty funny to watch people try to set up their transition areas in the dark. Now I know why they don't have tris much later than September in most areas... :)

Anyway, around 6 am they made the announcement that the swim was indeed cancelled. The ferry service that takes us out into the lake and the coast guard (who was apparently going to be making sure nobody drowned) both vetoed the swim. MAJOR bummer. I was really disappointed. I mean I know they were only doing it for everyone's safety but I was really looking forward to the swim. It's still my weakest event but I like it and I still do make up time on people in the swim.

The swim was changed to a 5K run instead so our race was a 5K run, 40K bike, 10K run. Yuck. You would think a runner such as myself would be pumped about such things but I was not feeling good about it. Oh well - suck it up and lose the attitude I told myself!

Now let me tell you a little about the run course too because that plays into things. It was ON THE BEACH - meaning there was quite a bit of running in the sand. For the most part you could run on harder, packed sand but there were definitely areas were you were running through loose, very soft, very calf-hurting sand. Rough. If it wasn't on the sand it was on single track trails. A very neat course but not necessarily a fast course. Add some wind and that's why I would have rather just swam. On the bright side of things it was a cool morning and the run course was flat so that would help on the run.

So we started the run in kind of a time trial manner which involved me basically starting last because I had one of the last numbers. In other words, I had a lot of people to catch! I had a really hard time passing people though because running on the beach was tight and once you got on the trails it was very hard to pass. After the race was over I decided that was a good thing because it kept me from running that first 5K too hard and totally being wiped out for the 10K at the end. Regardless, first 5K split - 20:42. T1 time - :49. It's a lot faster to get on the bike when you're not trying to rip your wetsuit off too.

The bike was great. It was a flat, very fast course but also VERY windy in places. The tailwind was great - I was going 28 MPH and barely pedaling but the headwind was nasty. In certain places I was getting such a strong crosswind I felt like I was going to topple over on my bike. I had to fight to keep upright. It's time like those that you wish you weighed a little more. :) Regardless, I passed all the women ahead of me on the bike and came into the transition as the 1st woman, but with another woman (who I actually know pretty well!) right on my tail. Bike time - 1:05:52 (22.6 MPH average). T2 - :49 again. I'm getting good at getting my feet out of my shoes while on the bike and taking off from there.

Next up, the 10K. I gotta tell you. I was feeling good. I knew the woman right behind me was probably a weaker runner than I am but I also knew that she is extremely tough so I was trying to put some distance between us right off the bat. I think it may have worked. I pushed hard for the first 5K and then started to back off just a tad and then we started to run through very loose sand and all I wanted to do was keep moving foward instead of backward! I felt like I was going so slow (and indeed probably was!) but we finally got out to a fast fire-road type trail and to the finish. I held off 2nd place and was very excited to (A) win my 3rd race, (B) get in under 2:10 (final time - 2:09:55) and (C) be done. Yes, very glad to be done.

My 10K split was 41:45. I couldn't believe it! 6:45 pace for me on all those trails and in the sand is quite pleasing. The cooler weather and flat course helped of course but still, I was pretty happy. I was also very happy that our Trizilla team did so well - I won, we had the individual men's winner, 3rd woman overall, 1st clydesdale male, and winner of the men 25-29 age group. Great team performance and very exciting to see everyone do so well.

So now we are home and my body is protesting. I knew running in the sand would make me sore but WOW - my calves and hip flexors are screaming. I'm afraid to wake up tomorrow morning. Could be ugly. But it's well worth it. After quite a few years of trying to train hard and being disappointed with injuries it's very rewarding to have some hard work pay off in races and for things to click. Quite a blessing for sure.

Week's summary

Monday - off
Tuesday - 3500 meter swim w/4x(300,200,100) in am, 33 mile ride w/10 mi crit in pm, 2x25 pushups and 2x100 crunchers
Wednesday - bike/run interval workout (5x800 m run, 5x5 min hard bike) - 2.5 mi running, 22 mile riding, core/feet exercises
Thursday - 3200 yd swim (shorter, faster stuff), 2x25 pushups and 2x100 crunchers
Friday - 1600 yd swim w/6x50 in am, 30 min easy run in pm
Saturday - 12 mile easy ride
Sunday - Great Lake Escape 5K run/40K bike/10K run
Monday - off (I hope!)

Posted by beth at 7:52 PM | Comments (7)

September 8, 2006

Yeah Friday!

Even though this work week was only 4 days and even though it went incredibly fast, I was really happy that it was Friday and I don't have to return to work for 2 days! Yeah Friday!

This morning I put in some very easy pool time and this evening I put in some equally easy running time.

AM swim workout -
1600 yds at YMCA (800 yds warmup, 500 yds cooldown)
6x50 yds fast on 1:30 (I know - killer stuff! :)

PM run workout -
30 minutes easy, all in zone 1 (which equates to about 8:30 pace I think!)

In other news I got a wetsuit today that has sleeves. My other wetsuit had no arms. All the better for the chilly waters of Lake Erie. Plus I could use all the buoyancy I can get. We are leaving tomorrow morning for the race which is Sunday morning. Very excited! Now - off to pack!

Posted by beth at 6:14 PM | Comments (5)

September 7, 2006

Standard Thursday

AM swim workout

Short course pool today - 3200 yds total (900 yds warmup, 300 yds cooldown)

4 sets of:
4x25 kick (descending)
2x50 (1st one stroke for distance, 2nd one stroke for distance hard)
4x25 (hard, easy, build, hard)
1x50 easy
1x100 hard
1x50 easy

My 4 100s hard were 1:15, 1:15, 1:14, 1:12
All the 25s were on :30, 50s were on 1:00 and 100s were on 1:30

Whew - that's a lot to remember! :)

The workout went pretty well. I think 1:12 might be a new 100 yd PR. Not too sure but it has to be close! My only problem for the morning was a busted swim cap. When I was trying to put the darn thing on this morning I ripped a piece of it off. This, of course, leads to a loose swim cap at which point I would have just been better to not have a swim cap at all. I made it through but will definitely be purchasing a new one for tomorrow morning's swim. :)

Back to work...and then off to class... Go Steelers!

Posted by beth at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)

September 6, 2006

Bike, Run, Repeat (x4)

Today's workout was a different type of thing that I must say - I enjoyed.

First to the shop to pick up my tri bike. Coach J was nice enough to let me use the BMC's wheels on my bike for this weekend, which the guys at the shop put on for me. Sweet.

Next up I headed to the oval where we have our crits. It's a half mile "track" of sorts with a downhill backstretch and then an uphill homestretch. The workout today was as follows:

warmed up on bike for 15 minutes (10 min spinning, then last 5 min got HR up to 160s)

off the bike for 1st 800 at 10K pace - 3:07
5 min on bike (2 easy spinning, 3 hard)
2nd 800 at 5K pace - 2:58
5 min on bike (2 easy spinning, 3 hard)
3rd 800 at 5K pace - 2:56
5 min on bike (2 easy spinning, 3 hard)
4th 800 at 5K pace - 2:52
5 min on bike (2 easy spinning, 3 hard)
5th 800 at 5K pace - 2:52

about 10 miles easy spinning cooldown

Very neat workout. For one thing I really got to work on the bike to run transition. I can get out of my cycling shoes pretty well now while still pedaling. And I've finally totally ditched the whole idea of socks. I can definitely cycle without socks but running is what has me worried. I'll probably be crippled after my race Sunday with horrible blisters from not wearing them but darn if my T1 isn't going to be faster!!! :)

Anyway, back to the workout. I doubt that the 800s at either the 10K or 5K paces are really my 10K or 5K paces. It would be nice if they were but in reality I don't think I can run a 5K at 5:45 pace right now! Regardless, I felt fine and as the workout went on my running legs felt better so I just ran as I felt, albeit a little faster than I probably should have. And I'm very proud to admit my HR wasn't going crazy like it usually does when I run hard. I think I had things under control. (for once)

All in all a good workout. I only ran 2.5 miles but it was quality running and good transition practice. I totalled about 22 miles of cycling.

That's it for today. Tomorrow just some swimming. Friday a short swim and run. Saturday a short bike and run and then on Sunday the Great Lake Escape. After what seems like months of not racing I'm VERY excited to race again this weekend. The only thing that has me worried is that this race involves swimming in what may be a very chilly Lake Erie. The swim also involves riding a ferry 1500 meters out into the lake and then everyone jumping off the ferry and swimming back to shore. No waves or different heats. They yell go and everyone jumps off the boat. That, my friends, could be interesting. :)

Posted by beth at 9:00 PM | Comments (0)

September 5, 2006

Swimmin' With the Girls, Ridin' With the Boys

Morning swim workout - we are finally back in the big 50 meter pool (sans lane lines this am though...)

3500 meters total (800 meters warmup, 300 meters cooldown)

4x(300,200,100)
1st set on 6, 4, 2
2nd set on 5:45, 3:50, 1:55
3rd set on 5:30, 3:40, 1:50
4th set on 5:15, 3:30, 1:45

Felt pretty good. Pool felt really long. I wonder why? :)

This evening was the 2nd to last crit of the season. I can't believe how cool it is already and dark so early too! Regardless, tonight and next Tuesday are the final two races although LAST weekend was the last crit where you could earn points. That basically meant the end of the season for most people and so therefore there were only 12 men and 4 women who showed up tonight. So the races were combined (sort of) in that the men did 30 laps but 20 laps into their race we joined them. But the trick is, we got a half lap lead on the them. Kind of like a handicap. Very fun.

The four of us women started off working together to try and keep away from the men but as we were pulling each other along I knew they were going to catch us. We just weren't pushing hard enough and the men had added motivation to catch us! Sure enough they caught us and then the race was on! Two of my guy teammates were in the race and I had a blast working with them. I even pulled a little on my own! It was a challenge just to stay on their wheels at times. And with one lap to go things got crazy and I sprinted as hard as I could. I actually ended up 5th which I was pleased with given that I was riding with guys - although we did ride 10 laps shorter than them. Either way it was a blast. In the end I averaged 25.4 MPH! With warmup and cooldown I rode 33 miles total tonight.

And now it's time for a shower and bed and getting up tomorrow to do it all over again. As Coach J likes to say, such is the life of the rich and famous (imagine the most sarcastic voice and face you can... :)

Posted by beth at 8:59 PM | Comments (1)

September 3, 2006

Great Run, Cold Swim

I had a most superb run this morning. I had been looking forward to it all week and it did not disappoint! I was to go 90 minutes in zone 1 and 2 (= easy). I haven't run that long in a longgggggg time so I was pretty pumped.

It was a great morning for a run. The rain finally stopped but it was still cool (in the mid 50s) and overcast. I ran on the trail - out and back, about 11.5 miles total. I ran out at about 8 minute pace and then back in 7:35-7:50 pace. I had to hold myself back to keep my HR from creeping up. I felt so strong and smooth. I had my iPod. I was one seriously happy camper this morning. It was just awesome to have 90 minutes alone and to myself to think about my goals for the remainder of this season and next season. I think I had a smile from ear to ear the whole time I was running.

Next up my mom, O and I headed to church and then back home to change, get Roxy and head to the one open pool I knew about today. I needed to do a 1000 meter time trial but the pool we were headed to is outdoors and it was about 60 degrees and raining. I was sure the pool was going to be closed but luckily it was still open. It was going to be closing early (due to the weather) in 35 minutes so it was a good thing my workout was short! I changed quickly and walked out to the pool and I was the only one there. I know the lifeguards were cursing me for showing up. I was a lifeguard for years and trust me when I say - we don't like that jerk that shows up when the pool is about to close in 30 minutes. I was that jerk today. Oh well. :)

Regardless, I knew the water was going to be cold but wow - I could never have guessed HOW cold it was!!! It took my breathe away. Lake Erie might very well be just as cold if not colder next weekend for my tri so perhaps it was good to get used to.

I quickly warmed up (well, I wasn't warm, but you know what I mean) and then did my 1000 meters hard. My goal was 15:30. I actually swam 15:48. Not what I wanted but faster than my last 1000 meter time trial of 15:58. I was just glad to be done. I had enough time for a 200 meter cooldown and then out of the pool and on with the sweats. We went to lunch/brunch after I was done swimming and I shivered through the whole meal. About 2 hours after the swim my body core temp finally raised back up to normal. :)

Summary for the week:

Monday - 20 miles cycling w/6 minutes hard, core/feet exercises
Tuesday - 3300 yds swimming (off stroke) in am, 33 miles cycling w/14 mile crit in pm, 2x25 pushups, 2x100 crunchers
Wednesday - 46 minutes running w/8x20 seconds bounding/striders
Thursday - 3400 yds swimming w/20x100, 2x25 pushups, 2x100 crunchers
Friday - 50 minutes running w/1.5 mile time trial, core/feet exercises
Saturday - 1:05 Spinervals/33 min run brick, body weight circuitx2
Sunday - 90 minute run in am, 1800 meter swim in pm w/1000 meter time trial, core/feet exercises

Posted by beth at 6:13 PM | Comments (2)

September 2, 2006

Wet and Yucky

Ernie came our way in the form of some major rain today. Nothing like rain along the coast I'm sure, but rain nonetheless. My poor cousin was getting married today. It actually turned out okay as the heavy rain had stopped by the time the wedding started but there have definitely been prettier wedding days!

Regardless, I wasn't too sure what was going to happen with the team ride this morning but I headed down to the store anyway. It was pouring and about 54 degrees. Brrrrr! I brought just about every combination of clothing I could think of including running clothes, cycling clothes for in and out, etc... The only thing I didn't bring was my bathing suit! :)

When I got there Coach J and I were the only ones there. I guess the rain scared everyone away but it scared us away too because we stayed inside and rode on trainers. Running in a cold-ish rain is one thing, cycling in it is a very different thing. Anyway, we cycled to a Spinervals DVD which took a little over and hour and then we ran outside for about 33 minutes easy. Not necessarily what I had planned but a good training day nonetheless.

I rushed home afterwards and got ready for the wedding. It was a fun day. And now I'm ready for bed! :)

Posted by beth at 9:43 PM | Comments (0)

September 1, 2006

Time Trial and Massage

Life is good. My mom is visiting from South Carolina. I had the day off work. We got massages. And then we got chocolate eclairs. Giant chocolate eclairs. What more could you ask for? :)

This morning my mom and I headed over to the high school track, her for some walking, me for a 1.5 mile time trial. Poor O was actually working. I guess someone has to do it. :)

I warmed up for 15 minutes and then ran a mile on the track to get my heart rate up to about 172-174. I ran that mile in 7:15. I then jogged over, got my racing flats on, did 2 hard striders, jogged to the starting line and then took off for my hard 1.5 mile.

Earlier in the summer I went to the track and ran a hard mile. I ran 6:20. Nothing too impressive. So my goal for today was to run 9:25 - about 6:15-6:20 pace. I had to say though, I was feeling good. It was cool and fall-like. I had just slept for almost 9 hours. I was wearing racing flats. And my first 400 was in :86. I settled into a couple 1:30s after that at which point I decided my new goal was under 9 minutes. The last 2 laps were hard but I finished in 8:54 which I was pleased with. I honestly didn't think I could still move at under 6 minute pace. :) I cooled down for another 18 minutes (50 total minutes of running) and then called it a day.

After getting home, eating and showering, etc... my mom and I headed to get massages! It was the best. I got a so-called "sports" massage which I think I really needed. I felt like the guy (who had the biggest, strongest hands I've ever seen) was beating me! When he was working on my hips - holy cow. Um yeah - REALLY tight there. He also beat up my shoulders and back - two areas that are getting more use and abuse since I've started cycling and swimming, than they've ever gotten before. All in all a good afternoon, especially considering we headed over to the bakery after the massages for the aforementioned chocolate eclairs. :) They hit the spot.

Alas, time to watch a movie now. Life sure is rough around here... :)

Posted by beth at 8:33 PM | Comments (1)