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February 28, 2007

In Like a Lamb

March seems to be coming in like a lamb - it was 40 degrees today! It's supposed to be 50 degrees tomorrow! And let me tell you...it better be going out like a lamb too. Or else! (I know, very convincing threat... :)

This morning I woke up, drove to the YMCA and went for a swim. Very original 'eh?

AM swim workout:

3500 yds total
wu: 200 yds easy, 12x50 w/20 sec rest (4xbreast, 4xback, 4xfree)
ms: 5x500 (UGH!) w/45 sec rest where 2x500 straight swim (6:51, 6:45), 2x500 pull broken at 250s for 20 sec (4:06, 4:05, 4:04, 4:05) and 1x500 swim broken at 100s for 10 sec (1:20, 1:20, 1:19, 1:18, 1:18)
cd: 200 easy

I was hurtin' today in the water! My arms were protesting. I know it's the longer intervals. 500s are quickly becoming my favorite kind of intervals - NOT! :) Although I was looking a little ahead on my schedule and I noticed a workout that involved 800 repeats. That will make those 500s seem like a mere sprint! :)

After work I came home and got changed and went out (IN SHORTS!) for an easy 30 minute jaunt around town. I was a little on the cold side but it was worth it just to feel air on my legs again! After the run I headed to the YMCA for a lifting session (now up to 2 sets of 15) where my arms continued to protest. They are just not pleased with me today! Good thing they will have a day off tomorrow with no swimming, lifting, pushups, etc...

In other news I recently ordered The Stick and it came today! I absolutely love it. I've always used a foam roller to massage rough areas out but I think The Stick is going to be more effective. I already went to town on my hamstrings and calves. Roxy seems to think that The Stick is Her Stick and that it should be thrown to her so she can fetch it. That is precisely why it's sitting on top of a very high shelf. :)

Regardless I have been working really hard at paying attention to the details of taking care of my body. I've always been good at that but through the years with work and life in general getting in the way I let some bad habits sneak back into the picture. Sleep is number one on my list. I can't get 9 hours/night like I used to in high school but I've been really trying to get at least 7-7.5/night with more on the weekends. Nutrition and hydration is high on the list too. Stretching is on the list but it never left the list so I'm good there (I am a stretching fiend!). And finally massage has moved up in priority, hence The Stick and a monthly massage appointment (to begin in March!). I'm giving my body the love - so it better give some of it back to me come racing time! :)

Good night all!

Posted by beth at 9:21 PM | Comments (0)

Could it be?

I may be delusional (those 500s in the pool this morning were quite difficult!) but I'm about 99% sure I hear birds chirping outside. And when I woke up this morning it was over 30 degrees (30.2 degrees to be exact).

Is it possible that on this, the very last day of February, the death grip that winter has on Pittsburgh might finally be loosening, even just a little?

Posted by beth at 7:45 AM | Comments (1)

February 27, 2007

Slow on the Uptake

So I definitely think my body is feeling better. I'm much less sore and when I was running and riding today my HR was normal indicating that I've recovered from Saturday's race. But my hamstrings somehow missed the memo on the whole "feeling better" piece because they are still tight and painful! They always were a little slow on the uptake. What can I say, they are hamstrings afterall... :)

AM swim workout:

2500 yds total @YMCA
wu: 200 easy, 6x75 w/20 sec rest (25 stroke, 50 free)
ms: 1x500 (6:46) w/1 min rest, 2x300 (3:58, 3:59) w/45 sec rest, 6x100 (1:18, 1:19, 1:18, 1:18, 1:18, 1:18) w/20 sec rest, 1x100 kick (1:29)
cd: 50 easy

Work was work. Funny how that happens. :) I had "the pager" today which is never good because you invariably get multiple pages wherein people give you more work and in general ask you to do things you don't want to do. I only threatened to throw the darn thing out the window 2 times today, which is an improvement upon most weeks. :)

When I got home I had to answer the age old question - to run or ride first? I should ride first but given the weather and daylight situation I've been running first on Tuesdays. I stuck with tradition and did the same today. Once it's warm enough and stays light longer I will switch.

My run was 1:10 today. Nothing exciting. It was easy. My hamstrings were misbehaving as previously noted but otherwise all systems were on go! And then I came home and hopped on my bike for an hour "tempo". That too was fine and since I don't use my hamstrings when I ride nearly as much as when I run (likely due to an inefficient pedal stroke!), I wasn't in any pain. :)

Time for bed for it will soon be time to do it all over again... :)

Posted by beth at 9:19 PM | Comments (0)

February 25, 2007

Sore City

Holy cow am I sore today! That race yesterday definitely awoke some muscles/tendons/ligaments that have been slumbering since the last time I raced. And no part of the body was spared. My back, hamstrings, quads, feet...the whole lot of them! The one groups of muscles - my calves - that were really sore before the race now actually feel the best! But from years of racing I should know, the first race back is always rough... :)

My workouts today will definitely help me recover too. No running but just an easy bike and a swim. First up, the bike this morning for 60 minutes on the trainer (freezing rain this morning meant I wasn't going to attempt to ride outside). Then this afternoon, a swimming workout:

3000 yds total
wu: 1400 yds straight
ms: 2x(3x150, 1x300) w/15 sec rest after 150s, 45 sec rest after 300s (2:02, 2:02, 2:01, 4:02, 1:59, 1:59, 2:00, 4:01)
cd: 100 yds easy

Swimming always helps me feel better. Something about water that soothes. And now that I've showered and stretched I feel even a little more better. Tomorrow's day off should help me get back to feeling normal, and just in the nick of time - this upcoming training week is a big one! (although I have to admit that they all seem big to me... :)

In other news O and I are having pancakes for dinner and I cannot wait. (it really is the little things in life isn't it?) I can't remember the last time I had pancakes. We rarely (if ever?) go out to breakfast and we never make them at home so that would mean I probably last ate pancakes in college when we frequented the Waffle Shop often. Hey, we all have to look forward to something... :)

Week summary:

Monday - off
Tuesday - 2500 yd swim in am, 1 hour run and 1 hour tempo bike in pm, 2x25 pushups, 2x100 crunchers
Wednesday - 3500 yd swim in am, lifting session in pm
Thursday - 1:30 bike in am, core/feet exercises
Friday - 3000 yd swim and 35 min run in am
Saturday - 10 mi running race (66:25) in am (about 13-14 miles total running), 50 min bike in pm
Sunday - 1 hour easy bike in am, 3000 yd swim in pm

Posted by beth at 3:58 PM | Comments (4)

February 24, 2007

Spring Thaw 10 Miler

Overall a great race, well run, great shirts and good food afterwards but I will mention that the name is rather misleading because (1) it's not spring yet and (2) nothing thaws when the temperature is 15 degrees. Oh wait, when I woke up this morning it was actually 4 degrees. Did I mention that I don't like living where it's cold? (there...I feel much better now that I have my weather complaints out of the way... :)

ANYWAY - I should mention that although it was cold it was very sunny which made it much better. And the race didn't start until 10 am so the temps were probably more like 20 by the time we raced...

O and I got to the race around 8:30, picked up our stuff, hung out in the warm building and then finally around 9:15 started a short 20 minute warmup. We stretched quickly, I unhappily took off about 5 layers and we headed down to the start of the race. There were actually people wearing shorts. Crazy!

I didn't quite know what to expect in terms of what I was going to be able to do in this race. I haven't been running much faster than 8 minute pace as of late and have not done any fast workouts (save one fartlek last week) for quite some time. So I thought I would try to start off at about 7 minute pace and see what happened.

Problem is, I have no concept of what 7 minute pace feels like these days. So we start and we go through the first mile and it was 6:37. Opps. To make a long story short, we stuck around that 6:30-6:45 pace the whole way. The splits:

6:37
6:51
6:43
6:33
6:37 (halfway in 33:23)
6:33
6:41
6:42
6:34
6:30 (2nd 5 miles in 33:01)
total time 1:06:25

The course was a 5 mile loop that we did twice so it makes for good comparison of first half vs 2nd half. I was very pleased to have run the 2nd 5 miles faster. I honestly don't know if I could have run much faster but I felt strong the whole way. I suppose at this time of year that is a good place to be in. I placed 3rd overall for the women - one women was very far ahead (maybe ran 63 or 64 minutes?) and I didn't see her at all. The 2nd place women came flying past me with about 3/4 of a mile to go. I'm a bit disappointed that I couldn't muster up enough oomph to go with her but she was running quite a bit faster than me and my last mile was my fastest so I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I was also glad to see that 1st place women is a multiple DII All-American and Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon and the 2nd place women is also a very good runner with PRs much faster than mine (at least at the shorter distances anyway).

So all in all I am pleased with the performance. It is a 10 mile PR for me although I've only run 2 other 10 milers one of which was very low key and the other involved a course that basically went downhill for 5 miles and then turned around and went back up that same hill for 5 miles - not very conducive to fast times. Like I said, I was most pleased that I felt strong the whole way and negative splited. Now, all I have to do is be able to hold that same pace for another 3.1 miles after having swam 1.2 miles and biked 56 and I'll be in great shape for my half IM this summer. :)

After the race it became very apparent that my legs were incredibly unhappy with me. My hamstrings in particular were pretty angry. O and I jogged very easily for 10 minutes and then stretched - but I still felt like a ball of tightness.

I knew I still had a 50 minute bike ride on the schedule and although my orginal plan was to get on my bike as soon as we got home, I knew that wasn't too realistic given how my legs felt. So I showered and stretched really well, took a nap and then around 4:30 hopped on my bike for 50 minutes. I thought it was going to be really bad but honestly it wasn't bad at all. It was only 50 minutes for one and I think it actually helped loosen my legs up some. I think... :)

So that's my first race of the year! I think I'm starting off really well. If anything today's race just got me excited to get going again. Next up is a half marathon at the same park (on pretty much the same course) at the very end of March. And then I may do a cycling race in April. And then...yes then...the triathlon season will be upon us! YIPPPPEEEEEE!!!

PS: I have to report that nobody correctly guessed the one DMB song on my master mix which is actually a pretty good thing since I was bluffing about having a cool prize to give away. :) The song is actually Crush.

Good night all!

Posted by beth at 5:37 PM | Comments (2)

February 23, 2007

The Master Mix

I'm currently listening to my newly created playlist on my iPod entitled "The Master Mix". The volume is turned up as high as my computer will allow. There's no doubt I've suffered hearing loss from my many years of listening to music way too loudly (especially in the car).

Regardless, said master mix includes quite an interesting array of musicians including (but not limited to):

All Together Separate (1 song)
Bloc Party (4 songs)
Bruce Hornsby and The Range (1 song)
Daniel Bedingfield (1 song)
Dave Matthews Band (1 song)
Jeremy Camp (1 song)
KT Tunstall (1 song)
LeAnn Rimes (1 song)
Linkin Park (1 song)
Marc Cohn (1 song)
Oasis (1 song)
Sanctus Real (1 song)
Sarah McLachlan (2 songs)
Snow Patrol (1 song)
The Fray (1 song)
Third Day (1 song)
Yanni (1 song)

Varying interests for sure. If you can guess what the one Dave Matthews Band song is, you get a very special prize.

Anyway, I have today off work and that resulted in me getting a delightful 8 hours and 40 minutes of sleep. It is amazing how much better I feel when I get a good amount of sleep. I've really been working on getting at least 7 hours a night (with more on the weekends) but that's not always easy since I get up at 4:30-4:45 am on weekdays that I work. Clearly the only solution is to quit my job. I see no other way out!

Regardless, I started the morning with a swim workout:

3000 yds total @YMCA
wu: 250 easy, 6x75 w/first 50 easy, next 25 fast w/15 sec rest
ms: 8x150 w/1 min rest where first 100 fast w/10 sec rest, 50 easy - (1:18.9, 1:17.0, 1:16.1, 1:14.6, 1:14.2, 1:13.2, 1:12.5, 1:12.0 for the 100s), 600 pull (9:55), 10x50 alternating rest of 5 sec and 30 sec (all between :37-:39)

I felt good about this workout. Any time I can get down under 1:15 for repeat 100s I'm happy (although today's 100s had a boat load of rest so I should have been able to do it no problem!). I'm getting better with the pull buoy too. I still don't like it, but I'm slowly losing my utter hatred of it. :)

I got home around 9 am, changed clothes, dried my hair some, played with Roxy, read email and then around 9:30 decided I needed to get my butt out the door for my run. It snowed last night and it was about 20 degrees w/a 10 degree windchill when I ran. Let me just say, Mother Nature and I are not on speaking terms right now.

Anyway, the run was a very easy 35 minutes with 5x10 second pickups. My calves have been sore for about a week now, but otherwise I felt good.

As for tomorrow's race, I was doing some thinking regarding goals. It's very hard to tell what I may be capable of given the fact that I haven't done any hard running and in fact have been running easier than I have in a longgggggg time. I think my strategy will be to start with 7 minute pace and see how that feels. The race is 10 miles and will have rolling hills (but is mostly flat). The low overnight is 7 degrees so it may be quite chilly. I guess we shall see!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Posted by beth at 12:14 PM | Comments (3)

February 22, 2007

MTV DOES Play Videos!

I had long ago given up the notion that either VH1 or MTV actually still played music videos. At one point I wondered if music videos even still existed. Do artists even bother? Why spend so much on producing something that nary a few would ever watch? But it turns out MTV and VH1 DO still play videos - only they play them at 5 am!

I discovered this while I was riding this morning. Still on the trainer as our 40 degree weather is over and rain/snow/ice has replaced it. I swear I would move to Austin tomorrow if it was possible. Regardless, it was an hour and a half moderate ride this morning. It went pretty well. And that was actually it for the day for my training as my usual Thursday evening run has been removed in light of my upcoming race. Feels weird to already be done for the day, but I'm not complaining.

Have a great night everyone!

Posted by beth at 3:01 PM | Comments (0)

February 21, 2007

Still Alive

Day #1 sans pizza and I'm still alive. You would think I would have gone into vitamin P deficiency already but it hasn't happened. Lunch was painful though. They had some darn good looking pizza in the cafeteria today. :)

This morning I partook in a very difficult swim workout. No kidding - it was really hard.

3500 yds total @YMCA

wu: 600 easy, 4x50 w/30 seconds rest
ms: 4x600 w/45 seconds rest (8:26, 8:15, 8:13, 8:15), 200 kick easy
cd: 100 easy

Now, I've never swam repeats longer than 500 yds and I've not swam anything hard much longer than 200s for the past month or so. And boy was I feeling it this morning! I would feel super for about 400 of the 600s and then really start to fatigue. And then the form starts to break down and then I'm taking breathes every stroke and then things get uglier and uglier... :) But that's why we do long, hard workouts right? To make us stronger. Anyway, I was really glad when I finished that last 600. And let me tell you, that 200 kick easy was *really* easy.

When I got home from work today all I had scheduled was a lifting session (which I did at the YMCA). I usually have a short, easy run on Wednesdays too but because I'm racing this weekend some of my workouts got cut out and that was one of them.

Nothing much else is going on here. It was beautiful again today - sunny and about 40 degrees! Much (but not all) of our snow has melted which makes me really happy. I don't think my running trail will be clear for some time but at least the roads are snow/ice/slush free now. I'm really hoping the track will get uncovered also sometime soon. Either that or I'm going to have to take my shovel and bag of salt and get to work on lane 1.... :)

Posted by beth at 6:34 PM | Comments (0)

February 20, 2007

As High as a Kite

You cannot rain on my parade today! Reason? It was 46 delightful degrees when I ran this afternoon!!! After what seemed like 5 years of awful cold and evil winds, today the weather finally broke. And even though it pretty much poured (okay, maybe it was just a "steady" rain) the whole time I ran I didn't even care one bit. I WAS WEARING SHORTS. Craziness people - craziness!

First, a swim this morning:

2500 yds total @YMCA
wu: 600 yds easy, 8x50 yds w/20 sec rest mixing up strokes
ms: 2x400 w/1 min rest - first one 400 pull (6:50), 2nd one broken at the 100s w/10 sec rest (1:20, 1:20, 1:20, 1:18), 300 kick (4:47)
cd: 400 easy

When I walked outside at the end of the work day I thought I was going to faint. It felt like summer (okay, maybe spring). I COULD NOT wait to get home to run. And even though I probably should have ridden first I didn't want to risk it getting colder, so I ran first. It was an hour run. I wore shorts. That's all I have to say.

I got home and dried my soggy self out and then hopped on my bike for an hour tempo ride. I felt like a million bucks. After riding 3 hours last Saturday on the trainer, 1 hour feels like a 100 meter dash. I've just been feeling really good on the bike. It was kind of bad today though because I really wanted to hammer and I can't hammer quite yet. It didn't help that I was jamming to some good new music - my new obsession Bloc Party.

In other news I'm giving up pizza for Lent. I'm not Catholic and giving something up for Lent is kind of a Catholic thing, but O and I usually do it anyway to remind ourselves of Jesus' sacrifice for us. (makes our small sacrifice seem just that - small) Anyway, last year I tried to give up drinking Diet Pepsi which didn't go over too well because that was essentially like asking me to give up breathing. Pizza, on the other hand, seems a little more doable although it will be very hard regardless. O is giving up pop. He just drank about 3 cans in the last hour. Fat Tuesday indeed. :) A co-worker and I are also doing a thing where every time we say something bad about someone we are going to put a dollar in this designated jar. We agreed on a dollar now although if bankruptcy is emminent towards the end of Lent we may lower the fee. :) Seriously though, it's very easy to get caught up in gossip (especially in the rumor mill/daytime drama setting I work in) but still a very bad thing.

Alas, time to download some more music... :)

Posted by beth at 8:59 PM | Comments (2)

February 18, 2007

The Stats

Today's stats:

(1) 1:15 run this am with O - it was 20 degrees and felt like a heat wave.
(2) 2500 yd swim after church (and a nap) at the YMCA - main set was 1400 pull (yikes!) in 24:23
(3) 1 hour easy spinning on bike while watching part of The Wedding Planner - much better movies on tv on Sunday afternoon vs early Saturday morning

This week's stats:

Monday - off
Tuesday - 2000 yd swim in am, 50 min run and 1 hour tempo bike in pm, 2x25 pushups/2x100 crunchers
Wednesday - 3000 yd swim in am, 30 min run in pm
Thursday - 1:45 bike in am, 48 min run w/fartlek in pm, lifting session
Friday - 2500 yd swim in am, core/feet exercises
Saturday - 3 hour bike in am, lifting session
Sunday - 1:15 run in am, 2500 yd swim and 1 hour easy bike in pm

The totals were around 14:30 hours. My legs are tired too! But this week coming up actually has a little reduction in volume because....

I am racing on Saturday! It's a low key 10 mile running race but I am just sooooo excited. First, for the fact that it's supposed to be in the 40s! And second, for the fact that I haven't raced in what seems like years and I am really, really excited to do so! I'm not looking to be a world beater on Saturday, but just looking forward to competing and getting in a good, hard run.

I would also like to mention that my triathlon hero placed second today at the Austin Marathon! On her website she mentioned that her goal was to break 2:47 to qualify for the Olympic Marathon Trials and that she did - by a lot - with a 2:40. Now granted she came from a running background, but I really think that's an amazing performance considering that she's a triathlete and spends lots of time in the pool and on the bike too! Really, really cool.

Posted by beth at 7:29 PM | Comments (0)

February 17, 2007

3 Hours and Counting...

So this morning I had a nice little 3 hour ride planned and woke up to find that the weather was in the teens with negative windchills - AGAIN. So of course that translated into a 3 hour ride on the trainer. Oh. My. God.

Now I know that people have successfully attempted much longer rides on the trainer and lived to tell about it, but I wasn't sure if I could make it. That's just a really long time to sit in one place.

But I got on the bike around 7:30 and I got off the bike around 10:30 and you know what? It wasn't really that bad. I watched Rocky the whole way through and then about half of Rocky II before I was done. I also kept busy by making sure I was in the right HR zone the whole time. All in all it went by pretty fast. 3 hours is a long time to ride though. By about 2:30 my legs were ready to stop turning.

After the ride I went over to the YMCA to finish up my lifting for the week. My lifting was a little off since I couldn't go Wednesday (YMCA closed due to weather). The weights went fine though and I was glad to get home and be finished training for the day!

This week (although it's not over yet!) has been a tough one! I know the weather has played a role in that - running in the cold, snow and ice isn't easy. 7 hours total on the trainer isn't easy. I'm sore and tired. The thing about this new training plan that I have is that it's relentless. Proud of myself for finishing my 3 hour trainer ride? Great - but just remember I have a long run, swim and ride tomorrow too. Feel good about two 14-15 hour weeks in a row? Super - but there are about 10 more of those to come. You get the drift. But I can feel myself getting stronger and stronger. By the time this base period is done I will be as strong as an ox! And then all I'll have to do is add the speed, then the taper, the race really, really, really fast. Simple enough - right?! :)

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

February 16, 2007

TGIF

I don't think I could be more glad that it's Friday!

AM swim workout:

2500 yds total
wu: 300 easy, 12x25 w/20 sec rest, 3x100 kick w/10 sec rest, 450 pull, 6x50 w/20 sec rest descending each two, 4x25 fast w/30 sec rest
ms: 4x100 fast w/30 sec rest (1:15.2, 1:14.6, 1:15.0, 1:13.9), 6x50 fast w/30 sec rest (36.5, 36.6, 36.0, 35.9, 35.1, 35.1)
cd: 100 easy

Now that was a serious warmup! I definitely had to write it all down because there was no way I was remembering all that. It went by fast though.

And that's the training for the day. Good deal. Just a few more hours at work and it will finally be the weekend! And it's supposed to warm up next week! (I'm not holding my breathe though)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Posted by beth at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)

February 15, 2007

So Much To Say...

...and so little time. So I bring out the bullet points...

*Our weather is really turning into some sort of cruel joke. First the really cold, then the snow and ice and now both the really cold and the snow/ice. O was so cold when he got home from practice today I think I saw him surfing the net looking for jobs in Austin... :)

*I think I've developed saddle sores. Too much riding on the trainer! After this morning's ride I checked things out and sure enough, skin breakdown. The problem with the trainer is that you just sit in one place for a long time, very different than riding outside when you are up out of the saddle, off the bike for stops and moving around a lot to adjust for the road, etc... Going to have to buy myself some chamois cream OR get a wound care consult at work...

*This morning I road for 1:45 before work. I watched re-runs of Growing Pains and Coach - two high quality shows. Who doesn't love the Seavers? :) It was a good ride. Must remember though, not much on tv at 4:30 am - movies are probably a better idea.

*This afternoon after work I got to run hard! I have been looking forward to this workout for quite some time because I was allowed to let my HR get up to 188 (which is essentially like running a race). It was a fartlek - 10 minutes warmup, 3x1 min hard, 1x6 min hard, 1x4 min hard, 1x3 min hard, 2x1 min hard (all with 1/2 the rest of the previous interval) and then 10 minutes easy cooldown. I'll have to admit, the -1 windchill and snowy/slushy roads had me a little less excited about doing it than I would have been otherwise. But once I got going I felt good and was absolutely delighted to run hard and push myself. Plus, I didn't have to watch my HR like a hawk because I knew I wouldn't get up over 188. Very good stuff.

*After my run I went to do the lifting that I couldn't do yesterday since the YMCA closed early. We are now in the 2 sets of 12 stage. Nothing much exciting there to report.

*And finally - it's Friday tomorrow and that's a wonderful thing! Very exciting indeed.

Good night everyone!

Posted by beth at 8:30 PM | Comments (1)

February 14, 2007

Speed Blog

The pool was actually open this morning! Very surprising given the fact that the roads were a mess and essentially one big sheet of ice. I was very excited to get my swim in though.

AM swim workout:
3000 yds total
wu: 800 yds easy, 4x50 w/15 sec rest
ms: 800 pull (14:00), 30 sec rest, 400 kick (6:46), 30 sec rest, 4x200 w/40 sec rest (2:41, 2:40, 2:39, 2:39)

After work I came home and didn't want to run but ran anyway. The roads are still a mess - lots of snow and slush and ice but it was just an easy 30 minutes so I survived just fine.

After the run I drove over to the YMCA again to lift only to find that it had closed! Not sure why it was open this morning when the roads were REALLY bad but closed this afternoon when the roads had significantly improved. Either way, no big deal. I'll lift Thursday and Saturday instead. And getting the swim in this morning was more important than getting the lift in this afternoon.

And thus ends my speed blog. Good night all!

Posted by beth at 9:12 PM | Comments (1)

February 13, 2007

Ice Pellets Are NOT My Friend

Reason #324 to move to Austin - freezing rain/snow that hit you in the face and sting your skin like none other are a rarity in Texas. And furthermore, so is snow, slush and temperatures that hover in the single digits. O had school cancelled today - I was hoping when I came home from work all our stuff would be packed and in a UHaul with directions printed out to Austin. But no dice. Needless to say, I was disappointed. :)

Anyway, as you might have picked up, a winter storm has hit the 'Burgh. And it's not pretty. We're no Denver with their 8 feet of snow but we definitely have a lot and we are getting more through the night and tomorrow and there's that freezing rain also. I've never wanted Austin more... :)

This morning I woke up and went to the pool - a quick 2000 yds (800 easy, 800 pull, 300 kick, 100 easy) and then headed to work. I tried to get in and get out of work quickly because I knew the traffic was going to be bad with all the snow. And indeed it was. On roads that I normally travel 70-80 MPH, I never got out of 3rd gear. Ugly. But I got home just fine.

Once home I wanted nothing more than to hop on my bike and pedal away but I also had a run to get through. So on with the gear and out we (O accompanied me) went. And it was messy - all the roads were snow covered and of course very slippery and slushy. And then there were the ice pellets. Those little buggers hurt. It was only 50 minutes though and the good part was it wasn't that cold - in the 20s which at this point actually feels quite toasty.

When I got home from the run I changed and hopped on my bike for an hour of "tempo" - maintaining my HR within a certain zone. I felt really good on the bike. When I'm really tired cycling I try to envision my legs as pistons, pumping up and down, but today that's what they really felt like! Doing all this work on the trainer is probably good for me. Muscle memory at it's best I suppose!

And that was my day. I'm hoping the pool is open tomorrow morning. The YMCA closed early tonight but they are usually pretty good troopers about opening during bad weather so I'm holding out hope. If not I have a plan B - yep, that's right - running outside instead! :)

Posted by beth at 7:56 PM | Comments (1)

February 11, 2007

Still Cold

Unfortunately when I woke up this morning I was still in Pittsburgh and not in Austin (and no, I'm not letting the Austin thing go any time soon...:) It was 5 degrees with a -7 windchill. Seriously people. I cannot stand this much longer! And the sad thing is the fact that there is no end in sight - the 10 day forecast calls for much of the same - highs in the teens, lows in the single digits and windchills in the negatives.

But perhaps what's even more sad is the fact that I think I'm getting used to this awful weather! Today O and I looked at the temps, started putting on all the layers, went out and ran, and I can't even say I was that cold (except for when that evil wind kicked up). This is weather I do not want to get used to! But alas, I've complained long enough. I'll save my other weather complaints for tomorrow, and Tuesday, and Wednesday, and... :)

Anyway, today I partook in three of my favorite activities - running, swimming and cycling. First up was the run, a 1:35 long run, staying within the 133-153 HR range. It was a good run, felt fine, wasn't too cold unless the wind was acting up, etc... I really don't have a great feel for what kind of pace I'm running to keep my HR low but I'm guessing around 8-8:15. When the snow finally melts and the track is clear, I'll check out my pace for sure.

I had to go into work for a couple hours after which I drove straight to the YMCA for my swim:

2500 yds total

wu: 200 easy
ms: 3x(300 pull w/20 sec rest, 3x150 w/30 sec rest) - 5:08, 2:00, 1:59, 1:58, 5:02, 2:00, 1:58, 1:58, 5:02, 1:59, 1:57, 1:58
cd: 50 easy

I felt good in the water today. My arms are definitely feeling all the work done with the pull buoy - much more with my new coach than with my old, but all in all a good swim. It was a mad house again which actually doesn't bother me that much. I did swim into a small floating dolphin though, which apparently migrated over from the "open swim" area. :)

After the swim I drove home and hopped on my bike for an hour easy ride. It was all spinning in my small chain ring but my legs were feeling the day's efforts so it wasn't a total cake walk. I was glad to get through the bike workout and finish a good day's training. I will sleep well tonight!

Week review:
Monday - off
Tuesday - 2000 yd swim in am, 1 hour run and 1 hour tempo bike in pm, 2x25 pushups, 2x100 crunchers
Wednesday - 3000 yd swim in am, 30 min easy run and lifting session in pm
Thursday - 1:30 bike in am, 50 min tempo run in pm
Friday - 2500 yd swim and lifting session in am
Saturday - 2:30 bike in am, core/feet exercises
Sunday - 1:35 run in am, 2500 yd swim and 1 hour bike in pm

This new schedule doesn't go by hours per se but if added up this week's training was around 14 hours or so. I'm getting used to the new coaching plan and liking it a lot. In some ways I feel like I've taken a few steps back because the biking and especially the running is at a lower intensity. But now that I can see my schedule up until April, I know the speed (and even higher volume) will be coming soon! To that I say - bring it on!

Good night everyone!

Posted by beth at 7:36 PM | Comments (1)

February 10, 2007

Cycling Endurance

If there is one thing I feel lacking in with my training it's long rides on my bike. Besides doing one century ride last summer I really haven't ridden much more than 2 or 2.5 hours at any given time. Okay for Olympic distance races I suppose, but not okay for 1/2 IMs! It will take, at the very least, 2.5 hours for me to ride the 56 miles in my one half iron this summer and so therefore I need some long rides. Fear no more - the long rides are coming.

Today was 2.5 hours and because I don't live in Austin and it's still just 11 degrees here (with a windchill of 0 no less) I was inside on the trainer. That's just a long time to sit in one place and keep pedaling. But that's exactly what I did. Pedal and pedal and pedal some more. Much like I'll be doing for those 56 miles in June. I had a target HR range to stay within (of course) that proved to be not too easy/not too hard type of thing. Just a nice, steady ride. And I have to admit - I watched MTV the whole time. I'm pretty sure I lost a few brain cells but I swear there was nothing good on. Plus I was kind of working hard so I couldn't really concentrate on something where I had to use my brain. You get my drift.

Looking ahead in my schedule I see I have rides of 3 hours, 3.5 hours and 4 hours. No need to worry about my cycling endurance any longer! In addition my mid-week rides climb up towards 2 hours also. I suppose cycling is a great way to build up that aerobic engine without tearing down the body (like running is liable to do). All I can say is, I really hope it's warm enough to ride outside by the time those 4 hour rides roll around. 4 hours on the trainer? If it has to be done, it will be done but poking my eyes out with a sharp stick might be more fun... :)

Posted by beth at 12:42 PM | Comments (3)

February 9, 2007

Roxy Has Cabin Fever

Even Roxy doesn't like this cold weather. She's come down with a bad case of cabin fever and let me tell you - it is not pretty! She's been getting short little walks here and there but O and I haven't taken her running for fear of her little body freezing to death. Granted, she doesn't seem to care about the cold but still...I don't want the animal protection people after us! So instead she's taken to randomly racing around the house like a mad dog. She'll run around and around in circles, up and down the stairs and figure 8's in the kitchen like a dog possessed. Not that this is totally new behavior but she usually had to be provoked to engage in the madness. Now she'll just randomly start the routine and there is no stopping her. After one such episode this morning I asked her if she wanted to move to Texas so that she could always play outside. She licked me. I'll take that for a yes. :)

Luckily I didn't have to run outside today. Good thing about being a triathlete - when you think you can't stand one more day of one sport, there are 2 other sports to keep you busy. :)

This morning was a swim and lift:

2500 yds total (600 yd warmup of varying strokes/kicks, 50 yd cooldown)

2x(3x100 w/45 sec rest, 3x50 w/5 sec rest)
2x(3x75 w/30 sec rest, 4x25 w/5 sec rest)
6x50 w/odds easy and evens hard w/20 sec rest

This workout went by so fast because I spent a good deal of the time just trying to remember what was next. Lots of thinking this morning! My 100s were all in the 1:17-1:20 range, 75s in the :57-:59 range and 50s in the :37-:39 range. Nice little workout!

Afterwards I lifted, up to 1 set of 15 of the different exercises and then I believe next week we'll transition to 2 sets of 12. Good deal.

And that's it for training today! I have the day off work so I've been getting odds and ends done and should soon start cleaning the house with large emphasis on the word "should". Really the problem is is that I have 2 Triathlete magazines waiting to be read (double issue this month!) and the importance of reading about training, racing and nutrition far outweighs the importance of a clean sink...don't you say? :) Have a great start to your weekends everyone!

Posted by beth at 1:23 PM | Comments (0)

February 8, 2007

I Heart My Heart

So my heart rate and I are definitely getting along better these days. I wasn't digging it last week - it was always too high and I was always having to slow down on my rides/runs. This week, however, seems to be a different story.

On my run this afternoon for example, I was to do 50 minutes in HR range 143-153. Now last week this was slowing me down so much I wanted to cry. Today however, I actually had to pick up the pace a little at times to keep from going too low! The uphills still present a problem but I can deal with that. Don't get me wrong, I'm not breaking any speed barriers in this HR zone but I will say with a good deal of confidence that I was actually running under 8 minute pace today. I'm sure I haven't seen that much of a training effect in one week but I just think I'm starting to learn what I can and cannot do at these different HRs and so I can therefore keep things a little more controlled and smooth. Not such a bad deal.

This morning I rode for my 1:30. It was a moderate ride - not hard but not spinning easy either. I ended up watching my What It Takes DVD to keep myself occupied and that worked just fine. The DVD is just about 90 minutes long! So I still don't know what's on tv at 4:30 in the morning - but I'm sure I'll have many other mornings spent on the trainer in the near future to figure it out.

The weather and I are still at odds. I seriously hate it. Not sure what happened to me because I used to far prefer cold weather over really hot weather but I really have made a complete turnaround. O might have something to do with it. He loves heat, hates cold. It really is the way to go. Except for the fact that we live in Pittsburgh and this is not kosher with our temperature preferences! It was 18 when I ran this afternoon which isn't so bad but the windchill was 4 and when that wind hit me...ohhhhhh!!! My face continues to want to fall off (but thanks to everyone for their suggestions on how to keep my skin in one piece!). And yes, I will stop complaining now. It's only early February - I could have a long way to go...

Posted by beth at 7:13 PM | Comments (0)

February 7, 2007

The Wind Stole My Face

One downside to running in brutally cold temps (and equally evil windchills) seems to be dry skin that eventually feels like it's going to fall off. My face is to that point. After today's run when I seriously thought the wind was slicing me with a knife, my face has had enough. It's raw. It's red. It hurts. And I don't care what anyone says about the heat in the summer, if this weather doesn't shape up, I'm packing my bags and I'm taking my bike and I'm moving to Austin! So there!

Seriously though, we are on the upswing. It's warmed up to the teens, the windchill is now in the positive (albeit still low single digits) and it may even be in the 20s tomorrow! Heat wave!

Today I swam - 3000 yds total w/4x500 (2 straight, 1 pull and one broken at the 100 for 10 sec). My swim was good. Nothing bad, nothing special, just your regular, run of the mill swim.

After work I came home and ran a very easy 30 minutes. I was supposed to keep my HR under 143 today which is essentially like walking for me. But I must say, my HR and I are getting along a lot better these days. I'm learning what I can and can not do to keep my HR where I want it. Today I successful completed my run with an average HR of 139 which is somewhat of a miracle for me. Granted I was running slow (probably even slower than 8 min pace) but nonetheless I got the job done. Building that base - that's what I keep telling myself.

After the run I headed over to the YMCA to lift. The new lifting regimen includes 12 different exercises and I like it a lot. It's short and sweet, to the point, but thorough.

And that's that! I have a 90 minute ride to do before work tomorrow so I think I'm going to drag my bike and trainer up to the living room so I can watch tv while riding. Anyone have any idea what's good on tv at 4:30 in the morning? :)

Good night all!

Posted by beth at 8:35 PM | Comments (4)

February 6, 2007

I Dream of Warmth

So my plan to move to Austin is coming along nicely. The newest development is that O now appears to be 100% on board. He did run with me this afternoon, after all, when it was 9 degrees with a -3 windchill (which was actually an increase in temps!). I was kind enough to point out the fact that in Austin the high today was in the 70s and it was sunny. Yes indeed, he's starting to see the light... :)

My morning started by me very unwillingly going swimming. For some reason when it's really cold outside it's really hard for me to get myself into the pool. I'm sure that the temperature inside the YMCA and the water temperature are the same that they always are, but nonetheless, it's more difficult. Once I finally did get in my 2000 yd swim (800 easy, 800 pull, 300 kick, 100 easy) was just fine.

After work I came home and debated whether I should run first or ride first. Techinically I should have ridden first because it was a tempo workout on the bike and the more important workout of the day should be done on the freshest legs. But the thought of running outside after I had gotten myself all sweaty and after the sun had gone down just did not appeal to me. So O and I dressed in our winter gear and out we went!

We ran for an hour. I had to keep my HR under 148 today and surprisingly it wasn't nearly as hard to do so as it was on Sunday. We were definitely running easy but other than on the uphills, I didn't have to worry about always slowing down and pulling back. Good deal.

When we got home I was absolutely frozen so it didn't seem like such a bad deal to hop on the bike and work hard to get warm again. The bike was also an hour - 5 minutes easy and then 50 minutes of HR 143-153 before another easy 5 minute cooldown. Unlike running, getting my HR up into that range on the bike and keeping it there for 50 minutes requires some work. Nothing like a hard interval but more just like a sustained effort. In other words, it's not easy spinning.

So that was my training for the day. And now I think I need to get myself downstairs to watch some American Idol! Good night everyone!

Posted by beth at 8:04 PM | Comments (2)

February 4, 2007

A New Plan

First, the old plan: move to San Diego to escape the evil weather that is currently attacking Pittsburgh. Pros - triathlon mecca, awesome weather, Cons - cost of living

Now the new plan: move to Austin, Texas to escape the evil weather that is currently attacking Pittsburgh. Pros - my triathlon hero lives and trains in Austin (Desiree Ficker of course), awesome weather, (surprisingly) similiar cost of living to Pittsburgh, who doesn't look good in the orange of UT?, everyone loves a longhorn, the high today was 60 there, did I mention that the weather is really good?, Cons - my husband doesn't seem as amenable to the idea but he can easily be overwon :)

Seriously it's freakin' cold here! It was just as cold yesterday but I didn't have to run yesterday and I did today so you see the problem. I debated back and forth quite a bit last night if it would be better to run in the morning when I got up before church or if it would be better to wait until the afternoon. O and I ended up running this morning and it was a good decision. It was 4 degrees with a windchill of -7 this morning but by the afternoon the temp had only raised to about 9 or 10 and the windchill was just as bad. I much preferred getting the run over and done with in the morning because 4 or 5 degrees wasn't going to make a difference when it's that cold. What. The. Heck? If we lived in Austin I wouldn't even be worrying about such things... :)

Anyway, enough of my complaining. The run was 1:16:30. To say I was frustated by how slowly we had to run to keep my HR in the right zone is an understatement. But I'm over it now. And I really only wanted to cry once when the wind was so cold I just "hurt". Otherwise all was well. :)

This afternoon after church and a quick nap I hit the YMCA for a 2500 yd swim. I never usually swim on Sundays at the YMCA and now I know why. Can you say zoo? Lots of kids and lots of craziness. But that serves as good practice for races, what with general pandemonium and very wavy water, I felt like I was right in the midst of an open water swim! The only thing lacking was someone smacking me in the face every time they took a stroke. :)

2500 yds total
wu:600 easy
ms:10x100 w/10 sec rest, 1 min rest after every 3rd 100 (1:21.2, 1:21.3, 1:20.2, 1:19.3, 1:19.7, 1:19.5, 1:18.1, 1:19.1, 1:19.6, 1:16.9), 30 sec rest, 300 kick (4:53), 30 sec rest, 300 pull (5:12)
cd: 300 easy

When I got home from my swim I hopped on my bike for a 40 minute easy spin, small chain ring only and low heart rate. No qualms about keeping the HR low for this one. My legs were feeling the run and swim and yesterday's ride.

And now the Super Bowl is about to start and I have some pizza to eat! Go Indy!!

Posted by beth at 6:09 PM | Comments (1)

February 3, 2007

Still Alive...and Kicking (Kind of)

So, it's been a while. Where to begin? I think I left off on Wednesday...

Wednesday started off pretty well. I did my swim in the morning (3000 yds) and then went to work and then came home and did my 30 minute easy run and my lifting session at the YMCA. And then I came home and got in the shower and realized all of a sudden that I *really* did not feel too good. It was about at that point in time when I crawled into bed.

And I didn't crawl out of bed until Friday afternoon at some point. Thursday is a bit of a blur. I remember hurting all over and I remember being very, very tired. I slept the majority of the day and indeed O tells me I couldn't stay awake for longer than 20 minutes. I remember eating a grilled cheese sandwich.

On Friday I crawled out of bed and onto the couch sometime in the afternoon. I felt much better, actually took a shower and by the time O got home from work and practice I had even done two loads of laundry. My stomach is still kind of funky but otherwise I think the 22 hours of sleep on Thursday did the trick. Let's hope. I don't like missing whole days at a time. :)

I didn't partake in any training on either Thursday or Friday but decided to go ahead with my 2 hour ride this morning. It's awful cold outside (seriously - if I wanted to live in a place where the high for the day was 5 I would have freakin' moved to Montana or Alaska or something!!) so I was definitely inside on the trainer. And I felt fine (other than the belly) for my 2 hours in HR range 133-153. It was a good effort - I don't have to work extremely hard to stay in that HR range on the bike but I can't lose focus either. Two hours on the trainer is quite a doosey though. I really, really hope it's at least in the 30s by the time I have to be doing 3+ hour rides (which is very soon - hear that Mother Nature? :).

So hopefully I am on the mend! It felt great to move and train a little again today. Tomorrow is a pretty big training day and then Monday a day off so I think that's a good way to "ease" back into training.

Have a great day everyone and keep warm!

Posted by beth at 12:24 PM | Comments (1)