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October 31, 2007

Let the REAL Taper Begin

Today? No workouts. A massage. Trick or treating (we were handing out, not collecting). A realization that about this time next week we will be packed, the dog will be at grandma's house (her grandma, not ours) and in the early morning we will be off to sunny Florida. It shall be here before we know it!

Posted by beth at 8:58 PM | Comments (1)

October 30, 2007

Back to the Track

Well it's my first day of taper (Monday is always my day off) and it doesn't much seem like taper yet! I have 3 workouts on the schedule today, two of them (bike and run) as "speed" sessions. Ah but the taper is a tricky thing. While I have 3 workouts today, I have none tomorrow. Three on Thursday but an easy one on Friday...and then easier on Saturday...and then even easier on Sunday...and the downward slide continues...

Regardless, today was a 3 workout day and I'll have to tell you, I gave quite a bit of thought as to how I wanted to schedule these 3 workouts. First of all, I wanted to actually try the speed running session on the track - my first since early September! It was a relatively easy one though and I thought it would be perfect to use as a rust-buster without causing too much damage to the hamstring. One last chance to get the racing flats on and get the turnover...well...actually turning over!

So I'll save you the thought process of how I arrived at the plan of which workout to do when, but suffice it to say, I think I did okay.

First up was a hard trainer session on the bike this morning before work. It was pretty short (53 minutes total w/hard set of 3x5) but intense enough all the same. It went well.

Next up work.

Then home for the running workout:

15 min warmup to track, 4x100 pickups w/100 jog recovery, 400 easy, 1x4000 as accelerate on the straights, jog easy on the curves (6:31, 6:25, 3:10), 13 min cooldown

And I'm pretty happy to say that the hamstring is still attached! It actually felt relatively good during the warmup, a little sore during the workout and more sore during the cooldown. And I'm sure it will be sore tomorrow. But I think a little extra soreness is worth it for the benefit I got both mentally and physically from having done at least one harder running session! I felt a little rusty and out of shape while I was running harder but I actually ran the workout faster than I ever have run this particular session so it must have been more a "feeling" than an actual loss of fitness. So yeah - I'll take it!

Now I just have a swim workout left to do tonight and then tomorrow, a day off. Tomorrow I also have a massage scheduled to work out all the kinks one last time before the big day! Yippeeee!! And Happy Halloween too!

Posted by beth at 6:06 PM | Comments (0)

October 28, 2007

Long Run

My titles have been extremely creative lately, I know.

This morning O, Roxy and I went on my last long run of this year's training. When you put it that way it's kind of sad! Although there will (hopefully) be many seasons and many long runs to come so I'm not too broken up about it. :) And the run actually wasn't that long, so I'm not even sure it can be called a long run. Nonetheless I digress.

I was happy to do all 1:25 of the run though! My hamstring is so status quo I don't even feel like mentioning it anymore. Yes it hurts. No it's not any worse. No it's not any better!

But the run this morning was good. It was quite chilly (high 30s, low 40s) but a beautiful, brilliant fall day (once the sun rose). Fall is in all it's glory now in our area and the leaves have never been more beautiful.

I felt like we were flying this morning! I checked our pace on the track just to get an idea and we were running around 7:45 pace. Now I used to run all my long runs at more like 7-7:30 pace but since starting with Mark Allen Online and being introduced to the idea of aerobic training and trying to discipline myself to stay below the prescribed HR, I haven't seen anything under 8 minute pace for quite some time. I know a good deal of this improvement is from the weather but part of it is also hopefully an improvement (finally!) in my aerobic capacity. When I first started with MAO I couldn't run 8:30 pace with my HR in the 140s! Now I'm down into the 7:40 range. Thank goodness! Now if my hamstring would just stay attached to my body I think we might be good to go. :)

Regardless, after our run and church and lunch it's now time for a nap. My life is more predictable than one could even imagine. Train, eat, nap and occasionally go to work. :) I also have an hour easy bike on the schedule which I'll do at some point today - either this afternoon or after dinner tonight. I hope everyone enjoys this wonderful fall day and has a great start to their week!

Oh - almost forgot - no win for Penn State last night! In fact it wasn't really even close. But I suppose you can't be disappointed given the fact that Ohio State is ranked #1. Still... But at least Pitt lost! :)

Posted by beth at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)

October 27, 2007

All in a Day's Training

Today was my last big, big training day left before Clearwater. Seeing as how this is my last weekend before my taper starts, that makes sense. I have a few (maybe 2?) days that are kinda big, but really today was it in terms of riding over 3 hours plus running and swimming. We're getting close!

And none too soon. Weather is definitely starting to turn around here and while it's feels great for running it makes riding outside more difficult and getting up in the middle of the night (okay, early morning) to jump into a cold swimming pool REALLY challenging. :)

As I looked at the forecasted weather for this morning last night, I conceded that it was going to be another trainer ride. As much as I don't like riding my trainer for 3+ hours (really anything over 1 hour is not too fun), I also don't like riding outside in high winds, rain and high 40/low 50 temps. Plus, Clearwater is going to be hot - so riding in my 70 degree house is more like racing conditions anyway.

So I woke up early and was on my bike by 6:45 pedaling away while listening to the rain come down outside. Oh yeah - I was also watching a really bad movie that I actually paid for on On Demand. I think it was called Little Children. I don't recommend it. :)

My ride was 3:15 and actually went relatively quickly. I always struggle a little on the trainer around the 2-2:30 mark but once I get within 30 or 45 minutes of being done I can usually rally well.

Off the bike and on with the running shoes for a 30 minute transition run that went pretty well. It was pretty cold and windy but once my legs woke up they actually felt pretty good. And my hamstring behaved itself relatively well.

Once home I had one more workout - a 3500 yd swim and since my YMCA pool closes pretty early on Saturdays I basically had to leave for the pool right away. Now on with the swimsuit and to the pool. O joined me so it was very nice to have company. My swims after long(ish) bricks surprisingly usually go well. I always feel like I'm going to be so tired and my legs definitely are sluggish in the water but I guess that's the beauty of swimming. You don't need your legs so much. :)

The workout had a main set of 20x100 (w/varying but short rests), 10x25 and then 200 kick. I was surprised to be able to do the 100s in 1:18-1:19 and feel fine doing so.

And now after all that I'm fed, showered, stretched, iced and napped. :)

Of course our house also looks like a triathlon just threw up. Bike still on trainer in the living room. Random water bottles strewn about. Bags full of wet bathing suits and swim caps litering the kitchen (right where we left them as we thought eating lunch was much more important than putting them away). Running shoes EVERYWHERE. And the last time I saw my cycling shoes, they were on the fireplace mantle. Now I don't know a lot about decorating, but I think footware might not be appropriate next to the family pictures.

In other words - I need to finish this blog and start to clean up my mess!

Have a great weekend everyone! And Go PSU (for the hundreth time)!

Posted by beth at 3:31 PM | Comments (3)

October 26, 2007

Ho-Hum Part II

Another ho-hum day! Lots of rain and a cloudy, grey sky. It's definitely fall in Pittsburgh! A nice day to stay inside and keep warm and dry and watch a movie. I'd say read a book but I don't really like to read. So there. :)

Today I only had one workout! It's a nice break to do your one and only workout in the morning, go to work and then come home and relax. This morning was a 3500 yd swim workout with hard, fast 50s. Nothing much more to report there!

I think the rain is supposed to continue tomorrow which likely means another long ride on the trainer. As we all may recall, I don't do 40 degrees and rain on the bike. :)

Otherwise I have absolutely nothing of interest to say! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Go PSU!

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

October 25, 2007

What Wind?

So today I had off work and I was pretty excited about the whole situation because I had not one appointment or other committment all day long! No meetings with the dentist, vet, chiropractor. No need to go to the grocery store or get the car serviced or get my hair cut. No where to be at no particular time. Of course I still had my training to do, laundry, ironing, other assorted odds and ends but no schedule per se. Very nice. Very, very nice.

So I slept in. I had an alarm set but turned it off figuring this no schedule thing is a rare occurence and I should take full advantage. I got up around 7:15 - a nice 9 hour night. Sweet.

First, off to the pool for a pool running workout. It was 62 min total and I am proud to tell you I finally succeeded in getting my HR up over 160. Those of you that are pool running veterns know that that is a very hard thing to do. And I really had to work to do it. I was sweating like crazy (also hard to do when one is in a relatively cold body of water)!

Afterwards I came home for some breakfast and about 30 minutes of waiting for it to warm up some. I wanted it to be at least 50 before I set off for my ride. But I got bored and anxious so around 10:15 I took off on my 1:50 ride when it was still 49 degrees. :)

I was only cold for about 30 minutes but I also put on lots of clothes (still just shorts though) so I was prepared. I headed out on one of my normal routes and instantly noted a strong tailwind. When one actually notices a tailwind one can only assume that they are in deep trouble when they turn around and get the beastly headwind that accompanies it.

Now I know I've gotten stronger on the bike, especially longer rides, but I also know that riding 25 MPH on the flats with my HR in the low 130s is not going to happen without the help of a very strong push. Maybe one day I won't need the wind to accomplish this kind of cycing - but for now? Tailwind required. Yeah - so as I was nearing the time when I needed to turn around (and believe you me I was definitely going to give myself much more time to get back given aforementioned wind) I started to wonder if there was any other way home that wouldn't require heading back in the direction I just came. Now I'm not a geography genius (I once tried to convince O that Minnesota was closer to Pennsylvania than Wisconsin) but I am smart enough to know that there was no avoiding that headwind.

And boy was it ever beastly. Those same flats that I was easily rolling along at 25 MPH were now feeling all uphill at a quick 9 MPH. Oh. My. And I wasn't allowed to let me HR get up over 150 so it was some slow going for a while. When the wind would die down for ever so slightly a moment it would feel like I had a huge tailwind again! There were also some beastly crosswinds that almost tossed me from my bike a few times. Good thing I went for the road bike today because I don't think I would have been in the aero position too much on my TT. :)

But I finally made it home and all was well. Training for windy conditions - CHECK!

I've been relatively productive the rest of the day and am now waiting for O to get home from his cross country meet - the district championships that qualify teams for states. He called to update me that the girls team qualified and the boys team was up next... News to follow!

Posted by beth at 5:05 PM | Comments (5)

October 24, 2007

A Little of This and That

So where to begin?

First of all - I found another dog that I want. Yes, I want another one. O isn't as excited about such things. Who will walk the 2nd dog he asks? I point to him. Who will give the 2nd dog a bath? I point to him. Where will the 2nd dog sleep? I point to O's side of the bed. I guess I can see why he's apprehensive. But still - I found a coonhound named Ozzy at the local shelter. A coonhound! What the heck is a coonhound? I'm not sure but he is cute as heck. And I really want him. And I think I might be able to wear O down. :) Of course the expense of another dog and my expensive habit called triathlon might cause foreclosure on our house but that's a whole other topic... :)

In other news there is quite a big game coming up this weekend and the excitement is starting to build! Yes, that's right my friends, #1 Ohio State vs #25 Penn State 8 pm this Saturday night in Happy Valley. I'm pretty sure everyone in State College is drunk already. O is drunk with excitement! And it doesn't help that he continually watches this. I'll have to admit - watching that video gets me a little worked up too. Watching a game in Beaver Stadium is rather amazing. There is, afterall, 106,999 other people sitting with you!!! As a student I always bought season tickets although since I also ran on the cross country team we missed a lot of the games. Not that my money was wasted. My sophomore year Penn State was preseason #1 and let me just say, that was a rather lucrative year for me! Either way, can you imagine racing in front of 107,000 people?! Imagine coming out of the water and the Zombie Nation song is blasting and a bunch of people with painted faces are jumping up and down in your face. Now that would be something. (by the way - O just asked if it was Saturday yet as he watched the youtube video for the thousandth time...)

Alas, back to today and my exciting workouts! (insert sarcasm here) This morning I woke up to more rain and more yardage in the pool. 4500 yds with a main set of 3500 yds and I will say that it went quite well. I always start those long (for me) main sets a little apprehensive, as in, am I really going to be able to make it through this? But I was fine and kept getting faster and faster.

This afternoon I came home from work and it was nearly perfect running weather - 55 degrees. Not too hot and not too cold, just right for shorts and a t-shirt. I drove to the trail to run and did 8 miles and felt good. My hamstring is status quo - sore but not too bad. But I am happy to report that I was able to run 7:40 pace and still keep my HR in it's correct range! I'm pretty sure I haven't been able to run that fast within my aerobic HR range since I've been with markallenonline. At the very least, progress is very nice to see!

Good night everyone!

Posted by beth at 9:15 PM | Comments (2)

October 23, 2007

Ho-Hum

Geez - usually there's something interesting enough that happens in my day to write about in my blog. Anything? Today - not so much. Oh well. Not every day can be glamorous I guess. :)

I woke up and it was raining. Then I went to the pool and it was raining and then to work and more rain and finally rain on my way home from work. One rainy day.

This morning's pool workout was only 3000 yds, the first inkling of a taper. This is still a standard week with the same amount of workouts (minus the lifting though) but I noticed each workout is just a little bit less. Instead of my moderate ride being 2-2:30, it's 1:50. Instead of my long run being 1:40-2, it's 1:25. Instead of my hard swim being 3500-4000 yds, it's 3000. And then next week the taper starts in earnest.

Anyway, back to this morning - 3K swim and there's really nothing exciting to report. Then work. Then home for a hard bike workout on the trainer. My legs were TIRED today - hard to push the bigger gears but I got 'er done and it actually didn't turn out too bad. I was only on the bike for just a little over an hour.

And now off to the pool (again) for a pool run. Ho-hum... :)

Posted by beth at 6:26 PM | Comments (1)

October 21, 2007

More Running...and Swimming...

This morning I sort of did a real long run! I had a 1:40 run on my schedule but knew that would be pushing it a little much to go for the whole thing. My coach only wanted me to add on 15 minutes at a time to each run and the longest I've done so far since hamstring misbehavior is 65 minutes. Plus, I ran yesterday and this would be the first time I've run back to back days (although yesterday was only 30 minutes). So I set out with O and Roxy bright (actually it was still dark) and early. My hamstring felt okay. It's just so hard to explain - it hurts but not that bad and the pain sort of "moves around" and it really doesn't get worse as the run progresses per se. So anyway, I ended up with 1:31. I figured that was good for the day and it was just nice to run a little longer than an hour!

So that was that! Now my hammy has until Wednesday to feel better again when my next planned run is.

Next up was church, then lunch, then a nap. A nice long nap. If my YMCA was open longer the nap would have been even further extended but alas, I had a 4000 yd swim workout to get in!

The swim went well with a main set of 20x100, 300 kick, 600 pull, 8x50. I like workouts like that where you have different "stuff" to focus on. Move from one piece of the workout to the next, etc...

And now it's time for a shower, a stretch, and dinner! It's a beautiful fall day outside and actually quite warm so I think the evening plans just might involved a walk to the DQ. :) Hope everyone has a great start to their weeks!

Posted by beth at 4:31 PM | Comments (1)

October 20, 2007

Early Morning Riding

Today I got to do one of my all time favorite things in the world - go to a wedding shower! Of course I'm going to have to tell you that that's a big fat lie because it's hard to convey sarcasm on a blog. Wedding showers are indeed one of my least favorite things in the world. But they are what they are and you have to go. I didn't even like my own wedding shower. It truly is boring to watch someone open gifts for 3 hours.

Regardless, the shower I went to today started at 1 pm. It takes about an hour to drive there. I had a 3:40 ride and 30 minute run brick on my schedule today. It takes me about an hour and half to get ready after my brick between icing, eating, showering, stretching and about 5 seconds to comb my hair. :) If you start to do the math you can see that I was going to need to start my ride very early this morning if I wanted to get it all in and that means one thing and one thing only - the trainer!!

So at 6 am this morning I was mounting my bike on the trainer in the living room watching a movie On Demand. It's been a long time since I've done a ride that long on the trainer. It sort of turned out well though because although it was pretty sunny the morning ended up being VERY windy and quite chilly so riding outside would have made for a tough day. Regardless, I did survive all 3:40 of my trainer ride which I'm pretty sure is a new record. It actually went by relatively quickly by watching 1.5 movies. And about half way through O and Roxy came to join me (although they were laying on the couch as I was pedaling away).

After the ride we all went on my 30 minute run. Hamstring was actually pretty good - I think after sitting on my bike (on the trainer no less) for that long everything hurts so it was hard to determine if my hamstring felt any different than the norm. :) The run actually went quite well which gave me a little confidence for my race in 3 weeks time.

And so it goes. I don't think I've ever been done with a 4+ hour workout before 10 am in the morning before!! It was quite nice actually - not when my alarm went off this morning but nice to be done so early.

And now, somehow, it's 8 pm! I guess time really does fly when you're having fun... :)

Posted by beth at 7:57 PM | Comments (0)

October 19, 2007

The Check-List

Do you ever sometimes feel like life is just one big check-list? Like you have all these things to do and you cross them off the list each day but then you wake up the next morning and there are more things on your check-list. You go about your day, each day of each month of each year, just trying to cross things off the list. Some days the list is pretty easy to pare down and you rock it. And then some days the list won't go away. More things are added before you can even start crossing the first things off and you feel defeated before the day has begun. Such is life.

But it's when I start to feel like this that I know it's time for an attitude adjustment my friends!! Because life shouldn't be a check-list! No, no - life should be enjoyed and savored - even the mundane things of life like laundry and calling the plumber and fixing the bed. And as hokie and trite as it sounds - and as long as it's taken me to learn - life truly is about the journey. That's easy for me to see in training and racing. The day in and day out of training, what that does to us and how it affects our life DAILY is why we race. Of course we race for the actual day too - for the personal glory of achieving a goal that we've worked very hard to achieve - but that's such a small part of it when compared to the months and months of workouts, the thousands of laps in the pool, the thousands of miles on the bike and the hundreds of miles out running on the roads.

Nonetheless, I'm a list maker and that's how my mind works. I'm not really a free spirit - take each day as it comes kind of girl. THAT doesn't come naturally to me. But I have to remind myself every once in a while that there is a lot to be learned from having that sort of attitude in life. It's not all about checking things off the list now is it? Nope. That's at least not what my life is about. As Steven Curtis Chapman says in his old-style Christian tune "More to this Life" - there's more to this life than living and dying; more than just trying to make it through the day (or crossing things off the list :)...

So anyway - wow - I just went a little crazy there! I'm half tempted to press the delete button and start over on this blog entry but I'll leave it for the purpose of being able to come back and re-read it when I get back to my list-making-crossing-off ways... :)

As for this morning's training - I really did enjoy it. I had a 3500 yd swim workout that involved 100s with lots of rest that were to be swum very hard. I like doing these because I like seeing how fast I can swim (not very)! Today's workout netted me a new record of 5 100s under 1:12 which for me is like hitting the jackpot. I didn't get a new 100 PR though because none were under 1:09/1:10 (1:11 was apparentely the magic number for the day). I did set what I believe to be a new 100 kick PR though with a 1:22. I don't really do too many hard 100 kicks so it may be a soft PR but I'll take it. Still - this is a good reminder for me. As frustrated as I get with swimming sometimes I have to remind myself that I have come a long way. About 18 months ago, I couldn't SWIM a 1:22 flat-out, as hard as I could go; let alone now kick a 1:22 with no use of arms! :) It may take me a really long time, but I may just get there afterall.

After the pool, a weight room session - my last for this season. Weights end 3 weeks prior to A-races in this training plan and as of tomorrow Clearwater is a scant 3 weeks away! Excited beyond belief...

Now back to that list...er...enjoying the journey... :) Have a great weekend everyone!

Posted by beth at 12:33 PM | Comments (1)

October 18, 2007

Power Surge

O woke up this morning only to find he had a snow day in October! School was cancelled and he had an unexpected day off - of course not due to snow, but instead a power surge that zapped the high school. Hey, I guess you take whatever you can get.

So instead of going to work he became my training partner! First for a 68 min pool run that involved some intervals and then for a 2:15 bike ride. And before you call it cruel and unusual punishment, he volunteered for both activities. I didn't even have to twist one arm. :)

The training took up the morning and then this afternoon I joined O to cheer on his cross country team at an invitational. Great fall day for some cross country! It was a little on the warm side - in the 70s and sunny, but the fall colors were spectacular. And that, along with some really good racing, is what cross country is all about.

And now it's time for bed; because that's what I'm all about. :) Good night!

Posted by beth at 9:09 PM | Comments (0)

October 17, 2007

All Kinds of Stuff

All kinds of stuff going on today. But first, the training...

This morning I woke up and didn't want to swim. It wasn't swimming in general that was turning me off - really anything other than rolling over and going back to sleep would have been troublesome. But skipping workouts for no good reason (other than pure laziness) is not really my deal and is not how one achieves goals so up and off to the pool I went.

The swim? 5000 yds. A big one (for me) with a big long main set that was daunting at first. But I broke it down piece by piece and before I knew it I was nearing the end. And I did just fine. My training has definitely been heavy for the past couple weeks (again, for me) and the fatigue is noticeable so I'm surprised by what I'm still capable of sometimes. But that's what it's all about - stress and rest, stress and rest.

Anyway, after work I headed to the trail on a beautiful fall afternoon for a run. I was pretty excited for this one. It was still pretty warm (mid 70s) but the trail was shaded and running by the creek keeps it cool. I ran for 65 minutes. My hamstring is about status quo. It's hard for me to judge one time from the next if it feels the same or worse or better. I would say that there aren't any appreciable differences - the pain isn't so bad that I can't continue on during the run but I do still feel pain. I think we're holding steady though. Only 3 more weeks - I know the old string can hang in there just 3 more weeks! Regardless, it does feel very nice to run all the same. :)

In other news I've been wanting to mention for some time now about my pick for the upcoming men's Olympic Marathon Trials. Jim Carney (although we called him Jim I see now everyone calls him James...) Regardless, Jim is from around the Pittsburgh area and went to a high school very near mine where we ran against each other relatively often. Back in the day though, Jim was a wrestler and not on the running radar. He then went to a PA state school (Millersville) to run DII where he was very successful. Upon graduation from Millersville, Jim came to Penn State to get his masters where he also competed for 1 year on the cross and track teams with his remaining collegiate eligibility. Jim and I were reunited at Penn State. It's not as if we knew each other that well beforehand but once we were teammates our western PA roots brought us together.

Jim is a wonderful person. Absolutely, hands down the hardest worker I've ever known. In a men's program that was already known for being old school and having "the strongest will survive" mentality, Jim went even above and beyond that! Always the last one to leave practice and always the first one there. He ran more than anyone I ever knew. And he was an incredibly humble guy, great to be around. I can remember on more than one occasion sharing an ice bath in the trainers room only to run to his car where we would blast the heat (in the middle of summer!) to warm our shivering selves up while he dropped me off at my dorm.

Regardless, he certainly has made a name for himself! And I have no doubt that while he is of course talented the main component of his success is some good old hard work and lots and lots of heart. He is definitely my pick and O (who of course also knows Jim) and I will be cheering for him all the way!

And in other, other news, O and I have a gas leak! We had no idea we had such leak but this morning when I was leaving for work I noted a bulldozer digging up our neighbors yard. This bulldozer was from the gas company and I thought to myself - "oh, that can't be good - sucks for them!" Unfortunately when I got home though, the neighbor's yard looked just fine but our yard? Yeah - huge hole in our yard with an equally huge pile of dirt next to it. And then the message on the door - "we've shut off your gas due to a leak, please call...." Oh man!! Long story short, we have a leak, we have to get it fixed, unfortunately that means WE have to pay, for now we have a temporary gas line so that we can have hot water, the gas company will shut off the temporary line though in 5 days if we don't get our new one up and running, we really should have given more serious thought to the "gas line insurance" that our gas company repeatedly sent us info about, UGH! But the good news is is that they found the leak and it will be taken care of and in the mean time our house didn't blow up because of the leak. Yeah, that would have been a lot more of an inconvience. Oh well, such is life!

Posted by beth at 8:01 PM | Comments (1)

October 16, 2007

Lots 'O Training

5:15 am - 3500 yd swim with lots of repeat 300s. I just happened to glance at my swim workout tomorrow and noticed...well...lots of repeat 300s. Is that supposed to be some sort of joke?

5:10 pm - 70 min trainer workout. I really rocked this one. Definitely been feeling stronger on my hard trainer sessions. Part of the workout today was a 10 min hard interval in which I decided I was going to try to push the biggest gear that I could while still maintaining my cadence over 90 rpms. Can you say "feel the burn"?! This set me up nicely for the rest of the workout 3x4 min w/1 min rest, 4x1 min w/30 sec rest in which my legs felt trashed but I still pushed hard.

7:10 pm - weight session as the YMCA

7:50 pm - 30 min easy pool run

I was going to try running again today but then chickened out thinking that it was too close to the last time I ran (Sunday). Instead I opted to move that run to tomorrow. Definitely looking forward to it! But now also looking forward to my bed. And some ice cream. :)

Posted by beth at 8:58 PM | Comments (0)

October 14, 2007

Kona High

I'm still on my Kona high from yesterday and I wasn't even at the race! I was glued to the computer watching the race unfold though - and how exciting was that race? Simply awesome. I'm usually not an emotional person but watching some of the people finish was emotionally overwhelming. Their pure joy - both for accomplishing something amazing and probably just for the fact that after 140.6 miles, they could finally stop... I know I would be crying tears of happiness too! It truly is an epic race. And it really cemented in my mind that while I have a lot of goals in this sport and things I want to accomplish - Kona is truly sitting atop them all!

Regardless - back to the more mundane things of life! This morning I was scheduled to try running again. And let me tell you - my hopes weren't too high for this run. Ever since Wednesday's run my hamstring has been kranky. It was feeling a little better yesterday but not great and I figured today was going to be a bit disasterous. But I figured I would give it a go and if it really hurt, end the run early.

Surprisingly enough, the hamstring felt BETTER than on Wednesday!! I can't explain it, but I'm not asking questions. Of course it was still a little sore and now, after the fact, it's sore, sore, but it really felt kind of good for the whole hour this morning! Amazing! I kept thinking - if only it feels like this in the race - I will be okay.

It was a nice fall day to run too - chilly but lots of falling leaves and pretty colors. O and Roxy joined me.

Later in the afternoon after church, lunch and a nap (of course), I headed to the YMCA to "finish" my run in the pool. I did another hour of running in the water w/5x3 min, 2x5 min and 5x1 min to keep me engaged and my HR somewhat honest. I think I was totally boring the lifeguards. Not too many at the pool and at times I was the only one. Yep, just me and two lifeguards watching me go back and forth, back and forth. :)

So that's about it for the weekend! Somehow it's already Sunday night again. But I can't complain because I only work Mon-Wed of this week. I have multiple appointments at the end of this week and in addition I would like to go watch O's high school team in a big cross country invitational Thursday afternoon. This is cross country weather if I've ever seen it...

Have a great week everyone!

Posted by beth at 6:58 PM | Comments (1)

October 13, 2007

Go Ironmen Go!

I am totally addicted to ironmanlive.com right now - watching video of the race and of course "tracking" about 15 different athletes as they make their way through an awesome race in Kona! The pro race has me intrigued - Stadler and Faris out, Natasha out and then some of the really big names pretty far back. Although they are all just getting off the bike so I suppose A LOT could happen over the next 26.2!

Regardless, this morning/afternoon I did a little training of my own. When I woke up and the temp was 35 I stuck with my plan to swim first, bike afterwards. I don't love doing it this way because that means I'm not even starting a 4 hour ride until 10 - which, if you do the math, means most of the afternoon is over once I get home, shower, stretch and eat. Lunch becomes dinner and Saturday is gone! But you do what you have to do so that's what I did.

My swim this morning was good. It was 3500 yds and part of the main set was a ladder of 100,200,300,400 and then 400 pull,300 pull,200 pull,100 pull. I was really happy with how my pulling went. I'm really weak with pull, I'm guessing because I don't have a lot of upper body strength and it's my kick that usually gets me going. But my pulling has been getting stronger and stronger and I really hope that one day translates to faster swimming overall!

After the pool I came home, ate some breakfast and then around 10 am set off on my ride. It was still pretty chilly so I wore a heavier jacket. The whole entire ride I kept thinking - I'm going to get so hot, I'll need to take this off, etc...but I never did! It did eventually get up into the mid 50s and the sun was shining but there was a very strong wind that kept things cool, cold even and thus begins my longing to move somewhere warm. :)

Actually, it was a great fall day. Beautiful colors and leaves falling. It was sunny and I must have passed 15 different farms selling pumpkins and applefests and the like! It really is fall now! But I won't lie - the ride was very tough for me. I was fine through 2 hours but after that I think all the climbing I was doing and the persistant, cold wind started to take it's toll. I felt like I was always riding up and always into the wind!

I started to struggle mentally first and then physically. But I kept telling myself that I was going to be just fine. My pace didn't matter, I just needed to survive.

My long rides are definitely the hardest part of training for me. They have been all year. Last year I rode over 50 miles exactly 2 times, both of which were organized rides with aid/food/fluid stations. So far this year I've ridden over 50 miles 22 times, of which 5 of those were over 70 miles. That's a big jump! I don't have problems with my long runs because that's the background I came from. But long rides? Yeah - still working on it.

So anyway, with 1 hour to go on my ride today I seriously wanted to call O to come pick me up. I was tired. It was so windy and of course I had lots of climbing to do before I got home. But I persisted and eventually pulled into 1512 Caroline Street! I know it's rides like this that will make me stronger, both mentally and physically. And although I sometimes hate the fact that I don't have many (if any) training partners, it's also days like this that I'm glad for that. I got through it by myself, not on someone else's wheel - just like I will need to do in all my races.

So that was that! After a shower, stretch and lots of yummy food I was finally feeling better and able to help O with some yardwork. And then we finished watching Penn State put the hammer down on Wisconsin. And now it's time to watch some more Kona coverage... :)

Posted by beth at 6:45 PM | Comments (0)

October 12, 2007

The Heat is On

Literally. As in we had to turn the heat on because when I got home from work it was 63 degrees in our house and the low tonight is 39 degrees and what this all means is that without some help from the furnace there would be quite a bit of shivering going on tonight! Hard to believe that last week at this time it was about 83 degrees in our house and I was complaining that we needed to turn our AC back on. Pittsburgh weather - it just can't be beat! :)

Regardless, tomorrow I will be swimming first and THEN starting my 4 hour ride because if I did it the other way around I would have to dig out my tights, heavy cycling coat and gloves. I might still be doing that at 10 AM but there is less of a chance then than at 7 AM.

As for today, I swam this morning - 3500 yds of fast, short stuff on tight intervals. And then this afternoon after work I lifted. And now it's time to dig out some sweatpants and long sleeves for bed. It won't be long before I'm whining about how much I want to live in Austin again... :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

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

October 11, 2007

Feathers Here, There and Everywhere

Although today is my day off work I am on a bit of a tight schedule. I wanted to get in both of my workouts for the day before a dentist (yuck) appointment at 12:15 and then a chiropractor appointment at 2:45.

So I wake up at 5:50 which, considering I usually wake up at 4:45, is still sleeping in but nevertheless a little early for a day off. Regardless, I get myself to the pool for a 55 min pool run. All is well and on schedule.

I head home where I have a 2:15 moderate ride to do. I had already made the decision to do the ride on my trainer because not only was it only about 45 degrees but it was also raining. 80 degrees and rain, yes - ride outside. 45 degrees and sunny, yes - ride outside. But 45 degrees and raining? No thank you.

So I park in the front of the house (our garage is in the back) and enter through the front door and immediately upon entering I notice something is amiss. I had brought my trainer mat upstairs from the basement already (I use the mat when I want to ride in the living room and watch tv) and instantly thought that the little messes of black everywhere in the house were a result of Roxy chewing up yet another one of our carpets.

But I couldn't be so lucky.

Upon further inspection, my mat is just fine but the little black messes? Feathers. Yes, that's right - feathers.

I call Roxy. She comes slinking around the corner with more feathers in her mouth. This just cannot be good.

Long story short, the dead bird that she apparently snatched up on her morning walk with O didn't agree with her and so back up it came. Feathers and all. Just what everyone wants to do in the morning (especially when you are in a hurry) - clean up barfed up dead bird. Okay - I know that's really gross and if you stop reading now and never come back to read my blog again, I will totally understand.

To make matters worse Roxy was extremely protective of her piles of feathers. I finally grabbed her and threw her (not literally of course) outside so I could scrub the carpet in peace. Geez! She's definitely eaten dead birds before (go ahead and try to get it from her once she's snatched it up) but I don't recall her ever getting sick with one. Dear Lord - she will definitely get the bird flu one day. O and I will have it too - you know - after cleaning up feathers throughout all the house...

Luckily she kept her coughed up feathers downstairs so I only had one level of house to clean. And I still hopped on my bike and got in the full 2:15 ride and a shower and a stretch and some lunch before my dentist appointment. Luckily the dentist is about 2 minutes from our house.

Hmm...dogs these days... :)

Posted by beth at 1:56 PM | Comments (5)

October 10, 2007

The Good and the Bad

The good news? I went running today!

The bad news? Well - there really isn't any bad news. So that's good news too I guess!

First off - a 4500 yd swim this morning that was a little tough to get through mentally. The first part of the main set included 3x800 which is just really hard for me to focus through. I guess that's why we do sets like that though - to learn how to focus. Got through the swim just fine though when all was said and done.

After work I was excited to come home and try running again. And it actually felt like fall which made it more exciting! After over a week of temps in the low to mid 80s, 55 degreees, overcast and windy felt downright cold on my run this afternoon! Just wait until I ride tomorrow morning... Anyway, I ran for 45 minutes at the suggestion of my coach. And the hamstring? It's not 100% by any means. I can still feel it some and my hip on that leg gets a little sore when I run (telling me my stride is a bit off) but still, better than before. Overall a 7.5 out of 10 rating today. At this point I don't think I'm going to get this thing feeling 100% but if I can run 2x/week, make up the rest of my runs in the pool and make it through the race okay, I will be thrilled. On a positive note, despite running faster than usual my HR was low, low, low. I know a good deal of that is due to cooler weather but I like to believe part of it is due to getting fitter too!

Anyway, after the run it was off to the weight room for a lifting session. This week marks a change in the lifting routine to the final stage called "chisel". The last stage was "power". Chisel involves lightening the weights back up and only 2 sets of 12.

And that was my day! Good night all!

Posted by beth at 9:23 PM | Comments (0)

October 9, 2007

Kona Envy

Okay - I'm starting to have a serious case of Kona Envy. Reading all the blogs of athletes racing Saturday, the preview articles, the predictions, the build-up of all build-ups. I am absolutely, 100% inspired to work harder than I ever have to one day get there myself.

That is until I think of doing the actual race. 2.4 miles of swimming in the ocean, 112 miles of cycling and then a marathon in the hot lava fields of Hawaii. Think the Chicago Marathon was bad? Add another 10-15 degrees and a whole lot more humidity, oh and 2.4 miles of swimming and 112 miles of cycling too. Brutal isn't even the word.

But I guess that's why it's the race of all races. And why they don't let just anyone in. We all have to dream...

Posted by beth at 8:38 PM | Comments (2)

Explosion!

I think I almost just exploded my head on the trainer. Or at least I was close. Or maybe it was my heart that was going to explode. Or maybe my legs. Point being, I was *REALLY* working hard. :)

Started the morning off with a 3K swim. Felt okay, just a little stiff from yesterday's massage. Yes, I know that sounds a little strange - to feel stiff from a massage. But if you knew how much Lucy beats me up when she gives a massage, well than you would understand. My legs take it pretty well but my shoulders and back - wow. All for the greater good of course. :)

Then this trainer workout when I got home from work:

15 min wu, 4x15 sec w/10 sec rest, 2 min easy, 1x15 min TT, 5 min easy, 5 min TT, 2 min easy, 10x30 sec w/15 sec rest, 15 min cd

Going back through my log book, I've never done a trainer workout harder or faster. I was working it. But I felt very good to push very hard. As worried as I might be about my running for my upcoming race, I feel good about swimming and cycling. I guess you can't always have it all. :)

And now off to the pool for the final workout of the day - a pool run. Tomorrow I'm going to try some more "real" running. We shall see how it goes!

Good night all!

Posted by beth at 6:46 PM | Comments (0)

October 7, 2007

Pool Time and I'm Old

So I'm pretty sure if you looked up the definition of "boring" in the dictionary there would be some reference to 2 hours of aqua-jogging. You don't know boring until you've done 2 hours of up about 12 meters, back about 12 meters, up and back, up and back, up and back so many times you want to poke your eyes out! But it's done and for that I'm glad! I helped pass the time with some intervals (15, 10, 5 min hard w/5 min rest, 5x2 min hard w/1 min rest, 5x1 min hard w/30 sec rest) and O was also nice enough to join me about half way in. I'm just glad my long runs don't go longer than 2 hours! :)

I was going to attempt some land running today but when I woke up this morning my hammy was a little sore and I didn't want to press my luck. My new plan is to run 45 min on Wednesday and if all goes well with that, maybe and hour of my long run next Sunday. We shall see. Instead of land running this morning I got my 1 hour of easy riding in on the trainer before church.

And now it's time to go eat burritos and pumpkin pie Blizzards. Trust me when I say the thought of burritos got me through my long pool run. Hey, whatever works right?!

So in other news I got an invitation to my 10 year high school anniversary today (an e-vite). What's up with that? Somewhere along the way I got old. The reunion is this November and since it's pretty close to where we live and it's cheap and O and I will be in town I think I would like to go. I really liked high school but I didn't do the best job of keeping up with everyone so I think it would be fun to see what everyone is up to! O has agreed to go with me although he went to the "other" school across town and he's even older than me so he won't know anyone. Regardless - I'm curious if other people went to their HS reunions? Please do tell!

Alas...I can hear a burrito calling my name...

Posted by beth at 4:18 PM | Comments (5)

October 6, 2007

Big Day

Big training day in the Shutt household! While O was off watching and coaching at a cross country meet I was getting busy with my training.

I started around 7 this morning when it was still cool on a 3:30 ride. By the time my ride was done it was 80 degrees and sunny. Wowsers! I was definitely thirsty, thirsty and sucked down a large bottle of water upon returning home. The ride was good though - I rode with a great friend who I don't see too often (he travels for work a lot and is also much faster than me so he's usually off training at 22 mph instead of 18 or 19). It was awesome to ride with someone and really made the ride go by much faster. I can't always do that because it's too hard to keep my HR where it should be but every once in a while it's a very special treat. We talked non-stop for 3:30 about any and everything. I really can't even remember what we talked about (mostly training stuff) but it was great nonetheless.

As we separated and headed our own ways home I realized that my hamstring was really feeling pretty good the whole ride. It generally doesn't hurt when I'm on my bike but after over 3 hours I expected to at least feel it a little. Although I hadn't planned on trying to run today I decided to take advantage of my hamstring feeling good and upon getting home, put on the running shoes and headed out for a 30 minute transition run. And I'm very happy to report that the hammy pretty much behaved itself! Definitely not 100% - I could still feel it - but better than last Saturday when I tried to run. And it's only marginally sore now after the fact which is equally promising. I may try a little running tomorrow but only if it feels really good. The majority of my 2 hour long run tomorrow will be in the pool... :)

And so my training day wasn't quite complete yet! After the run I was so hungry I could have eaten my arm. I decided against that and instead went for a banana and peanut butter and then got my suit on and headed to the pool for a swim.

The swim was 3500 yds and when I first got in the water I felt like a brick. Ugh. But through the warmup my legs and body started to loosen up well and I really had a great swim. I never expect much out of swims that come after a 4 hour brick but today I felt strong and swam much faster than I thought I would. My swimming definitely seems to be coming around a little. I'm having more good days than bad and feeling strong and smoother. No worries though - I won't be swimming a 20 minute 1500 meter open water swim any time soon...

And so went my early morning/afternoon! I can't believe it's almost 4 pm now! Luckily we have fun planned for the rest of the evening that involves a birthday dinner/party for O's father with lots of sitting and eating. Just what I'm in the mood for... :)

Have a great day everyone!

Posted by beth at 3:17 PM | Comments (0)

October 5, 2007

Swim & Lift

This morning at the YMCA (I really just sometimes wished I worked at the Y - especially since it's only 5 minutes from our house and I'm already there about 2 hours/day):

1) 3500 yd swim including doing sets of 50s on :40. That's really fast for this slow moving non-fish. Luckily after doing lots of repeats of 500 yds and longer, a 50 is usually over before I realize what I'm doing.

2) weight lifting session

That's all I got for today. Have a great weekend everyone!

Posted by beth at 12:22 PM | Comments (2)

October 4, 2007

Southern Fall?

Today it's 85 degrees and sunny and I'm starting to wonder if this is what fall feels like in the south? I certainly don't have the best memory in the world but I just don't recall October temperatures in the 80s. Knowing Pittsburgh it will be 45 and raining on Saturday. :)

Regardless, I had the day off work so I slept in until 6:30 and then until 7 am. Hey, why not? Once I finally got out of bed I headed to the pool for a 1:15 (including 4x10 min hard) pool run. The run actually went fairly quickly but I did have a plethora of items to entertain me. First off, I noticed the other day that they were changing some of the swim team records on the big record board. So this morning I spent a good chunk of time noting all the new records. I'm fairly embarrassed to say that I couldn't come close to swimming as fast as the very youngest groups (titled the "cadets") although I comfort myself by reminding myself that they get to dive off blocks. Yep - I could certainly shave 10 seconds off my 100 time if I could only get to dive off the blocks! (yeah - that and a motor attached to my legs would do just the trick! :)

Regardless, after all the record memorizing I switched to watching the high school girls from the local Catholic school learn how to synchronize swim. Very funny. (not nearly as funny though as if I had had to do it myself). First though they were told they had to swim 8 laps (a 200) and oh my the complaining! I certainly wasn't a swimmer in high school but I would like to think I could at least swim a 200! Oh well. Perhaps it was the thought of getting their hair wet that was causing the uproar.

Very entertaining morning at the pool.

Once home I ate some breakfast, readied my bike and then set off on a 2 hour ride. I wanted somewhere new to go so last night O and I mapped out a course of back country roads that was about 35-40 miles. I was pretty excited about some new riding territory although I knew it would be much hillier than my usual routes. Country roads are really good for low traffic and great views but very bad for hills and over-zealous pooches.

Anyway, the ride was awesome. Hilly yes. Some very long ones and some really steep ones (like those kind where you swear you MUST somehow still be in your big chain ring because it's getting awfully difficult to pedal!). But I just took my time and didn't worry about speed and made sure the HR didn't get too high. And I didn't even get lost! Another important item to note about back roads is that they rarely have road signs. So you just have to know where to turn. There was only one spot that I was unsure of and so I stopped at the little mom and pop gas station on the corner to ask. Mom was working this morning so she was kind enough to point me in the right direction. The conversation went something like this:

Me - Um, excuse me, do you know which road is Deer Creek Road
Mom - Hello dear! Now do you want Little Deer Creek Road or Deer Creek Road
Me - (thinking in my head - dear Lord, I have no idea?) Well, I want the one that will take me down into that little town.
Mom - You mean Russleton?
Me - I think?
Mom - Then you want Little Deer Creek Road.
Me - Ok!
Mom - All you have to do it go back over the bridge and follow the road to the right.
Me - Great - thanks!
Mom - Oh, why don't you take something with you to eat?
Me - I'm sorry, I didn't bring any cash with me
Mom - Oh, that's okay - how about something to drink?
Me - No really, I'm okay
Mom - Are you sure?

This line of conversation goes on for another few minutes before I finally convince her that I don't need anything to (1) eat or (2) drink! She was pretty adamant! ;)

Regardless, the ride ended up being a little long (2:09) but no other complaints. It was a beautiful morning with some of the leaves coming down and changing colors. I will definitely be taking that route more often!

And so that was my morning. I've been spending the afternoon doing odds and ends, errands (including a chiropractor appointment), and otherwise just sweating. Our thermometer says 90 (it always runs a little on the high side) but I refuse to turn the AC on in October!

Posted by beth at 4:30 PM | Comments (1)

October 3, 2007

Rock Slides

I do not heart rock slides. No sir. The major highway that we live off of always has them and last night was a repeat performance. That meant that the whole highway was closed (a main artery to get into Pittsburgh) this morning for rush hour. Needless to say my morning commute was not the best. Nor my ride home. I may consider starting to sleep over night at work underneath my desk... :)

Other than that I had a good day. This morning started off well (prior to knowledge of aforementioned rock slide) with a 4500 yd swim. I felt strong and surprised myself by swimming faster than I thought I would. The main set was 3x(4x200 w/30 sec rest, 1x400 w/15 sec rest).

After work I headed back to the YMCA for a 30 minute pool run and then a weight session.

Now it's time to eat pizza. No complaints there!

My hamstring has been feeling pretty good lately. I'm pretty certain it would hurt if I tried running but I don't feel it swimming at all (like I did before) and no traces of pain while I was lifting this afternoon either. All good signs! I may try a little run this weekend again, just to test out the waters. I'm not getting too hopeful but it sure is nice to see some improvement!

Have a great night everyone!

Posted by beth at 6:11 PM | Comments (1)

October 2, 2007

Me Again

Correspondant O is taking the night off so it's back to reading about my boring endeavors. Sorry guys! :)

This morning I went to the pool and swam 3000 yds. I'm not certain I even remember what the workout was other than it involved repeats 600s pull. How about that?!

Then I went to work and madness ensued. Busy, busy! Lots of sick people! I nearly fell asleep in journal club which wasn't good because I was sitting next to the big mean doctor on the team. Luckily I don't think she noticed. They really shouldn't have boring journal club (wherein we discuss the merits of this statistical method vs that one...YAWN!) right after lunch. That makes it nearly impossible to keep ones eyes open.

After work I came home and did a trainer workout:

68 min total on trainer - 15 min wu, 4x15 sec pickups w/10 sec rest, 2 min easy, 6x1 min w/30 sec rest, 3x3 min w/1:30 rest (21.6/22.1/22.8 MPH ave), 1x6 min w/30 sec rest (21.9 MPH ave), 3x1 min w/1 min rest, 15 min cd

Trainer workouts are tough - even harder than riding outside because there is never any rest. No downhills. No coasting. But I like them that way. And boy was I working today! My legs felt strong and good.

So now it's time for a pool run. O is going to join me. Needless to say, Meghan was quite right - his quads are quite sore and he is in need of some loosening up! Off to the pool! (as if I didn't smell like chlorine enough... :)

Posted by beth at 6:42 PM | Comments (1)

October 1, 2007

O's Race Report

Hello all, this is O.

Since Beth's day of from training is usually Mondays, she suggested that I submit a guest entry about my race.....this is a running blog after all.

Okay, before I get into the details of the race report I'll start you with two items:

1) My time for the 10k was 37:16
2) (More importantly) Check out this elevation chart for the course:

I need to find more downhill races.....

Okay, so back to the information about the race....

My only previous races longer than a 5k included 2 marathons, one 10-miler, one 5-miler, and one 10k that I ran with Beth for the first 5k and jogged the 2nd 5k. With that in mind, I really had no clue how this Great Race was going to turn out.

Fitness-wise, I'm probably in some of the best running shape of my life thanks to training/coaching the high school xc team where I teach. I've been running with them since late July, so I certainly had a good base. My training had a good mix to it--about 30-45 miles/week with one or two speed workouts per week and one weekly 10-15 mile run with Beth on Sundays.

So, knowing this, I thought I had a chance to put together two 19:00 5k's back to back and end up in the 38:00-39:00 range at the race. But, the best part was I really didn't have any large expectations or pressures (other than harrassment from the guys on the xc team), so I went into Sunday morning pretty loose.

Race morning couldn't have been more perfect. It was in the upper 40's when I took Roxy for a short walk and low 50's at the start of the race. My cousin K and Uncle J were running also and I somehow found them while warming up among the 6,000 other competitors. That was nice to hang out with them. K is six years younger than me and she ran at the same high school as me. She took up running during high school (I think partially influenced by Beth my PSU running girlfriend........now wife) and ended up being pretty successful and ran at Mercyhurst College in Erie (Division II).

K had a "seeded" number, so we said our good lucks at the start line and she went up into the special area for the good runners. I was back with the rest of the runners. Beth had warned me from last year that I wanted to be up near the front of the "rest" since the best runners were in the seeded area. As I made my way up to the front of the non-seeded group I saw the usual people lined up:

1. serious runners with running shorts, dri-FIT tops, and racing flats (they belong)
2. older runners who used to be good, but certainly shouldn't be up at the front of the pack because they don't get out like they used to
3. large males & females and newbies who have no clue what's about to happen and don't realize that if they don't get out at 6:00 pace they're going to get run over
4. the weightlifting/workout muscle-heads who come to the race pumped up and prepared with headphones and water bottle.....again not realizing that they need to move back to the 8 to 9 minute pace area.

So, of course runners in categories #2-4 were very annoying and in my way as the gun went off. Fortunately, we were far enough back from the chip mat that I was able to maneuver my way around most of them without it affecting my start time and my first mile pace.

The first mile has a short downhill and then a respectable .25 mile upgrade. When I got to the top of this, I was thinking that my calves were going to fall off and where's the downhill that I heard about?!?!?!?!? Throughout the rest of the first mile, my calves recovered and I got into a groove and ended up with a 5:59. Not bad, I figured that the first mile was going to be quick with the start of a race.

Mile 2 had A LOT of downhill (negative slope for you mathematical people!!!!) and I ended up splitting at 5:32. I just dismissed it as downhill and figured it would catch up to me later on.

Mile 3 is along this stretch by the University of Pittburgh (ha, ha they lost bad again on Saturday) and also by where Beth works. I'm more familiar with this area and was continuing my good rhythm with the familiar surroundings. Mile 3 split was 6:05 and my 5k split was 18:27. This was the point where my mathematical side took over and did some analysis. First, I hadn't run a 5k this fast since my senior year of high school. I thought that this was ok since I had been training with a high school team and that this was a lot of down hill. Thought #2 was "oh crap, if I keep this pace I'm going to run in the 37's".....keep in mind that I was shooting for 38's or 39's.

It was around this time that I was beside a younger runner who I swear looked like he was 10. Looking at the results, I think he was 14, but I'm around high school students every day and no way was he close to the size of most high school freshman. Anyway, as I passed him leading up to mile 4, I told him, "Good luck, buddy. Keep it up." But, inside I was thinking, "If this little elementary school kid beats me, I'm retiring from running."

Mile 4 comes and I clicked off another 6:04. This was more of a legitimate mile split since I was coming off mostly flat and a little uphill by Pitt. The little guy starts falling back after mile 4 (whew!) and I begin working on the only true "hill" in the race.

Leading up to mile 5 is a stretch on a major road I drive when I drop off Beth in the morning, so this was again cool to be running on it. Leading up to mile 5 is also Pittsburgh's other big school--Duquesne University. With the uphill I ended up splitting 6:30, but had the knowledge that the last mile was pretty much all down hill. The other realization was that, with 1.2 miles to go, my overall time was only 30:10. The excitement started to build knowing that I could almost walk in and meet my goal. I was working on bonus time to see how low I could go!!!!

But, I almost had to walk it in..... Almost as soon as I split my watch for mile 5 I got a nice little cramp in my upper stomach that made it very hard to take in deep breaths. Fortunately, I was on the downward slope and was trying to use that to my advantage as I tried to figure out my breathing. Finally, I found that if I took mostly short breaths the cramp didn't hurt as much and I would just suck it up on less oxygen for the final mile.

A woman in her 40's who's pretty well-known for her running accomplishments passed me just after the 5 mile mark. I thought that if I could just hang with her for the rest of the race I'd be pleased with my time because I knew that she would be running a good time.

Sure enough, I get to the 6-mile and know that it's 0.2 miles to go (or a little less than a 400 on the track). Now, my 400/800 sprinting insticts take over and I outkick the 40+ year old female.....okay, not that impressive to outkick her, but I did what I could with my cramp. Also, I heard Beth with about 100m to go. What a great cheerleader and equipment manager.

So, I end up finishing with a final 1.2 of 7:06, so I guess probably an 80 or so final quarter, leaving a 5:46 or so split for mile 5 to mile 6 and finishing at 37:16.

I kept saying to Beth afterwards, "hot dog....I'll take that...." I ended up 78th overall, 75th male, and 10th in my 30-34 age group....my first race as a 30-year-old. I'll definitely take that, but certainly want to give a big assist to the downhill nature of the course and the training of the xc team.

Now that you've been bored to tears rest assured that Beth will be back blogging tomorrow.

Take care!

O

PS -- My quads are mucho sore tonight and I'm sure they'll be even more sore tomorrow!!!!

Posted by beth at 7:39 PM | Comments (4)