well it's still hot. Or it was until today. Somehow mid-80's seems cool. Actually it was quite cool this morning at 7 am when I headed out to meet E for a long road ride. I sure hate getting up early on a weekend (or a weekday for that matter) but love having 30-plus miles done by 9 am.
The best thing about the ride today was getting caught behind a pickup towing a smoker .... It never got above 15 mph so we were stuck behind it going up a hill. I thought maybe a barbecued rib or chicken bit might come flying back. Only in KC ...
What else. ... I'm on week 2 of the 0-to-1650 program. This week is 900 yards. I seem to have trouble remembering if I'm on #3 or #4 of the 100 yard sets.
Thursday was a really hot, windy and sucky road ride at SMP. I should have mountain biked to avoid the wind. I only did 13.5 because it was soooooo crappy. I also dropped my chain so had to stop and fiddle with that.
Wednesday was a nice 50 minute run. I hope to build up the long runs by 5 mins a week. I'm not sure that will get me all the way to 13.1 but I'm not sure I can handle much more.
There were some other swims, a particularly hot and cruddy run to Loose Park. A nice mountain bike workout. etc. The usual.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
crayons ...
You are most like: | ||
|---|---|---|
 You are bold with a dark side. You make clear lines wherever you go, though you color outside of the lines. Many people may just see the surface of you and think you are merely plain, but you have a lot of depth to you as well.
| ||
| Take this quiz: Which Crayola Box of 8 Color Are You? | ||
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
I want to - not have to
I finally felt like I had a good workout, for the first time in days. I hit the gym for swimming and lifting. I am going to try this: http://ruthkazez.com/SwimWorkouts/ZeroTo1mile.html to build up my swim endurance. I also received the Total Immersion DVD today. This swim was as enjoyable as any since there was no pressure trying to make sure I could cover 750 meters without stopping. There's a world of difference between the pool and OWS but I have to feel more confident swimming if I'm going to complete a tri. Then I lifted, something I have not done for a few months. I've atrophied a little.
Next up, maybe a duathlon in Sedalia in September. It's only $20. Then the half in October.
So my focus has to be on running, at least the long runs. I am hoping to build more endurance on the bike and even the dumb swimming so I don't fade in mile 10 as I have in my last half-marathons. I would really like to get in under 2 hours. But if my knee - or other joints - start bothering me, I may decide to prod Annie along in another run.
Next up, maybe a duathlon in Sedalia in September. It's only $20. Then the half in October.
So my focus has to be on running, at least the long runs. I am hoping to build more endurance on the bike and even the dumb swimming so I don't fade in mile 10 as I have in my last half-marathons. I would really like to get in under 2 hours. But if my knee - or other joints - start bothering me, I may decide to prod Annie along in another run.
Disappointment and Victory
I just could not do it. The distance in the open water at Tri for the Cure just freaked me out. A half-mile swim was about my outer limit in a pool and seeing how far those buoys were just did me in. No excuses, I wussed out. Physically I was probably capable, but I couldn't shut down the mind and let the body take over. I really never was able to do much in OWS practice and most of my swims in the last month really sucked.
So I met Annie at the bikes. Since we were in the non-competitive wave anyway AND the race was so frippin' huge, it really didn't matter( at least officially ) that I didn't swim.
I pushed Ann faster on the bike than I think she thought she could do and then prodded her along on the run and refused to let her walk after the halfway point. She finished with an awesome 1:41.
I was mightily disappointed in myself and really didn't know what to do about the upcoming KC Women's Tri. Ann came back to KC with me and we went out to Kill Creek for OWS practice. I managed to go out to the buoys a few times but my head was out of it. I'd already quit on open water swimming.
I think I came up with the brilliant idea to see if we could become a team for the KC race, instead of individuals. We'd already both paid so it was no loss to them. And, lo and behold, the friendly woman at registration switched us like no big deal.
Ann did the swim and bike and I ran. The swim was shorter (500 m) and really quite a bit of it was pretty shallow. Visually, it looked much shorter and the time-trial start was much less crowded. Plus the whole race was much smaller and just all-around more relaxed.
Ann did about what she predicted on the swim. Since teams had to start at the back, she passed alot of women and finished in 12-something. Then she totally kicked ass on the bike, doing the 10 mile course in 34 minutes. I was blown away when she came in as quickly as she did. We excitedly exchanged the chip and I took off.
I had hoped it bring it home in less than 25 minutes, since I had done nothing but stand and sit around all morning. However, we are in the midst of a massive heat wave. I'm not sure what it was at 9-something a.m. but I'm sure it was well into the 80's with humidity and bright sun. I took off a little fast and hit the first mile at 7:49, so I knew I was in trouble. I never really got into my happy running place but that's OK. It was an out and back course and it was cool to see all the runners. Everyone was so friendly and encouraging each other. I know the whole 'Tri for the Cure' thing is inspirational and all but I really felt more inspired and part of things in this event. An old friend of mine from the Library was there doing her first tri. We high-fived on the run!
OK - so I ran a 25:35. Not bad given the conditions. I have done quite a bit of training in the heat but never at that kind of pace. So I was a little woozy when I crossed the finish line.
But we won the team category by 9 minutes! 1:13 ! We got medals and we both won door prizes. I don't have anything but good things to say about this race. Next year, I want to do it solo. I would do Tri for the Cure again maybe as a team. It was well organized for as big as it was. KC had great swag and was much less chaotic. You just have to deal with the August heat.
So I met Annie at the bikes. Since we were in the non-competitive wave anyway AND the race was so frippin' huge, it really didn't matter( at least officially ) that I didn't swim.
I pushed Ann faster on the bike than I think she thought she could do and then prodded her along on the run and refused to let her walk after the halfway point. She finished with an awesome 1:41.
I was mightily disappointed in myself and really didn't know what to do about the upcoming KC Women's Tri. Ann came back to KC with me and we went out to Kill Creek for OWS practice. I managed to go out to the buoys a few times but my head was out of it. I'd already quit on open water swimming.
I think I came up with the brilliant idea to see if we could become a team for the KC race, instead of individuals. We'd already both paid so it was no loss to them. And, lo and behold, the friendly woman at registration switched us like no big deal.
Ann did the swim and bike and I ran. The swim was shorter (500 m) and really quite a bit of it was pretty shallow. Visually, it looked much shorter and the time-trial start was much less crowded. Plus the whole race was much smaller and just all-around more relaxed.
Ann did about what she predicted on the swim. Since teams had to start at the back, she passed alot of women and finished in 12-something. Then she totally kicked ass on the bike, doing the 10 mile course in 34 minutes. I was blown away when she came in as quickly as she did. We excitedly exchanged the chip and I took off.
I had hoped it bring it home in less than 25 minutes, since I had done nothing but stand and sit around all morning. However, we are in the midst of a massive heat wave. I'm not sure what it was at 9-something a.m. but I'm sure it was well into the 80's with humidity and bright sun. I took off a little fast and hit the first mile at 7:49, so I knew I was in trouble. I never really got into my happy running place but that's OK. It was an out and back course and it was cool to see all the runners. Everyone was so friendly and encouraging each other. I know the whole 'Tri for the Cure' thing is inspirational and all but I really felt more inspired and part of things in this event. An old friend of mine from the Library was there doing her first tri. We high-fived on the run!
OK - so I ran a 25:35. Not bad given the conditions. I have done quite a bit of training in the heat but never at that kind of pace. So I was a little woozy when I crossed the finish line.
But we won the team category by 9 minutes! 1:13 ! We got medals and we both won door prizes. I don't have anything but good things to say about this race. Next year, I want to do it solo. I would do Tri for the Cure again maybe as a team. It was well organized for as big as it was. KC had great swag and was much less chaotic. You just have to deal with the August heat.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
taper? we don't need no stinkin' taper ...
Better for me to not go crazy from not working out hard enough ....
Yesterday I wanted to go for a good long run (~50 minutes). It was hot and humid but a little overcast so no problem. Headed south on the TT, got about 15 minutes out and had a little nagging tightness in the knee, more in the quad muscle than the knee. So I stopped and stretched it out a little and thought I could keep going. But it kept bothering me. So I turned around at about 17 minutes. I rarely cut a workout short, but I really would hate to jeopardize what should be the easiest part of a tri for me.
Later I massaged out my quadriceps, the left was a little knotted up.
Today, I worked out in the air-conditioned comfort of the gym. 30 minutes on the elliptical. Felt a little strange as I have not ellipticaled in months. But I got to listen to my ipod, which I haven't done in months either. And I knew I would do a nice long stretch afterwards.
Then to Pizza 51 for a veggie delight slice. Lots of spinach and broccoli!
Yesterday I wanted to go for a good long run (~50 minutes). It was hot and humid but a little overcast so no problem. Headed south on the TT, got about 15 minutes out and had a little nagging tightness in the knee, more in the quad muscle than the knee. So I stopped and stretched it out a little and thought I could keep going. But it kept bothering me. So I turned around at about 17 minutes. I rarely cut a workout short, but I really would hate to jeopardize what should be the easiest part of a tri for me.
Later I massaged out my quadriceps, the left was a little knotted up.
Today, I worked out in the air-conditioned comfort of the gym. 30 minutes on the elliptical. Felt a little strange as I have not ellipticaled in months. But I got to listen to my ipod, which I haven't done in months either. And I knew I would do a nice long stretch afterwards.
Then to Pizza 51 for a veggie delight slice. Lots of spinach and broccoli!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
recovery
Working backwards ....
Tonight, I did three good laps at SMP. I felt a little sluggish, with two easy days and all. Or maybe it's that I continue to eat and felt fat. Anyway, it was a good ride. I felt both fatigued and yet stronger going up the hill. Then I had a rather tasty burrito from Midtown Burritos across from Costco.
Monday - Swam for 30 - 40 minutes. Mixed in some breaststroke and backstroke. I am feeling very undertrained on the swim. It seemed like I did alot of swimming, but that was only relative to doing none previously. I think my first steps will be to take a lesson at UMKC and get the Total Immersion DVDs.
Usually, I have yoga on Mondays but this was the first of the two weeks that it is closed. Too bad, it would have felt good. I did a good post-swim stretch.
Sunday - Easy 15 miles at Longview.
Saturday night - I wanted to go downtown to some of the Fringe Festival events but could not bear the thought of getting back in the car. So I rode down to the library and saw "Flow" about jazz musician Terance Blanchard. Then I rode down and met my friends in River Market and we went to Harry's Country Club for a beer. Then I rode home. So that was about 15 miles. Slow but hilly. That might not have helped the leg situation.
But I am all better now.
Tonight, I did three good laps at SMP. I felt a little sluggish, with two easy days and all. Or maybe it's that I continue to eat and felt fat. Anyway, it was a good ride. I felt both fatigued and yet stronger going up the hill. Then I had a rather tasty burrito from Midtown Burritos across from Costco.
Monday - Swam for 30 - 40 minutes. Mixed in some breaststroke and backstroke. I am feeling very undertrained on the swim. It seemed like I did alot of swimming, but that was only relative to doing none previously. I think my first steps will be to take a lesson at UMKC and get the Total Immersion DVDs.
Usually, I have yoga on Mondays but this was the first of the two weeks that it is closed. Too bad, it would have felt good. I did a good post-swim stretch.
Sunday - Easy 15 miles at Longview.
Saturday night - I wanted to go downtown to some of the Fringe Festival events but could not bear the thought of getting back in the car. So I rode down to the library and saw "Flow" about jazz musician Terance Blanchard. Then I rode down and met my friends in River Market and we went to Harry's Country Club for a beer. Then I rode home. So that was about 15 miles. Slow but hilly. That might not have helped the leg situation.
But I am all better now.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Prairie Punished ...
I thought Saturday's 'Prairie Punisher' short course du would be a good hard workout and a nice brick opportunity. It's a 5K Run, 27.5K bike (17 miles), 5K Run, in the exurb of Gardner. After finally locating Gardner Friday, who knew there were two exits for Highway 56 and the Old one is still Olathe, I picked up my packet.
Set the alarm for 5 am. Had cheerios and milk and a banana. I had my snacks ready to go: a jelly sandwich, animal crackers and a Hammer gel. I also had a bottle of HEED mixed up. I figured there was alot of time between breakfast plus the the race length is in the zone where you might need nutrition, though I have never messed with it for a half-mary, which takes me about as long. As it turned out, I could not stomach the thought of the gel in that heat, though I did have a bite of sandwich in T1.
Anyway, I actually make it plenty of time, lots of room still in the transition zone. We got body-marked and given an ankle chip. Love the body marking. So fun to see how old everyone is. The velcro strap on the chip was very irritating during the second run.
Before the race, I figured an optimistic time prediction was 1:55 - 8 min pace on the first 5K, complete bike in slightly over an hour, 9 min pace on second 5K. It rained overnight a bit, just enough to really make it steamy. There was some cloud cover, however, as we started.
I missed the first mile marker but I guessed I was roughly on 8 minute pace, which felt a little quick given the humidity and the rest of the race, but depending on where exactly 5K was, I think I was a little better than 8. The course was basically flat, just a couple little rises in the road.
T1 went fine. I got my shoes off and on pretty quickly given that I don't have those quickie lace thingies and my bike shoes have laces (and velchro). It felt great to be on the bike to stir up the air a bit. It was just so heavy in the humidity, not quite hot yet, but so thick. I loved the bike course. It was more or less flat but a few rolling hills. I am so glad I have trained at SMP, which is a real biotch compared to this course. I probably could have pushed the pace a little, but I held back some. Plus I had a tiny little cramp in my left calf about mile 10. I actually unclipped to move it around (probably not a great idea but it seemed to help). It went away after a couple miles but it made me a little cautious. The only time I got passed by multiple people was during the cramping. I was passed a few times otherwise but no more than I passed people.
My bike average was 18.2, a new high for me. I was pretty happy with that, especially since I have not had many rides over 15 miles. T2 was OK. The first steps off the bike weren't bad. I was more worried about how hot it was to be on the run since the clouds had burned off. I really didn't want to drink much but I did have a couple swallows - I had been drinking water on the bike as well, nearly emptied the big water bottle.
Second run was like running in slow motion. I didn't really feel bad but I just could not move any faster. I caught two women in my age group on the run, one of whom I remembered from the bike where we swapped places a couple times, but I don't know how the other girl got that far ahead of me. I hung with a couple guys who were pushing the pace. The second half back in was tough but I think I ended up around 9 minute pace. Hard to tell until they post the complete results.
So I cross the finish line, a volunteer hands me a bottle of water. This race had great support, well-marked, volunteers at every turn, plenty of water and gatorade, very nicely done. I was pretty happy. By the time I got my watch off, it was 1:53:52 but my chip time was 1:53:18.
So I'm happy, I see that I'm in fourth place overall and first in age group. Based on last year's results, I thought I might be able to pull off an age group place, but not overall. Last year seemed to have quite a few women running in the 7's on the first leg. This year, they added a long course which was also a qualifier for the national long course duathlon championship, so that might have pulled some of the faster ones.
Ordinarily I don't hang around at a race but of course I wanted to collect my hardware. It took forever as the long course was still going on for quite awhile.
When they go to announce winners, I heard 'in second place from KC Missouri' .. and I knew something weird happened as the girl behind me was from Olathe. I got dinged two minutes for drafting!
Now I knew drafting was not allowed, but silly me, I never looked up the actual rules because I figured it meant like inches or a couple feet, like they do in the Tour, and there's no way I'm riding someone's wheel like that, even if it were legal. Apparently, the 'drafting zone' for USAT events is 22 meters long, which ends up being about three bike lengths behind you. It's also 2 meters wide. You can be in the draft zone if you are passing someone and you overtake them in 15 seconds or less. So the two minute penalty dropped me to second place.
I think it's a little amusing. I would never draft intentionally, and now that I now what the rule is, I will have to pay attention. That could be difficult in a more crowded field I think. I thought there was no way that you could benefit being that far behind but apparently you do. At least I only got dinged once, I saw some people got it 3 or 4 times and two minutes each time.
Bummer.
However, I am still happy about my time, even if it's asterisked.
Set the alarm for 5 am. Had cheerios and milk and a banana. I had my snacks ready to go: a jelly sandwich, animal crackers and a Hammer gel. I also had a bottle of HEED mixed up. I figured there was alot of time between breakfast plus the the race length is in the zone where you might need nutrition, though I have never messed with it for a half-mary, which takes me about as long. As it turned out, I could not stomach the thought of the gel in that heat, though I did have a bite of sandwich in T1.
Anyway, I actually make it plenty of time, lots of room still in the transition zone. We got body-marked and given an ankle chip. Love the body marking. So fun to see how old everyone is. The velcro strap on the chip was very irritating during the second run.
Before the race, I figured an optimistic time prediction was 1:55 - 8 min pace on the first 5K, complete bike in slightly over an hour, 9 min pace on second 5K. It rained overnight a bit, just enough to really make it steamy. There was some cloud cover, however, as we started.
I missed the first mile marker but I guessed I was roughly on 8 minute pace, which felt a little quick given the humidity and the rest of the race, but depending on where exactly 5K was, I think I was a little better than 8. The course was basically flat, just a couple little rises in the road.
T1 went fine. I got my shoes off and on pretty quickly given that I don't have those quickie lace thingies and my bike shoes have laces (and velchro). It felt great to be on the bike to stir up the air a bit. It was just so heavy in the humidity, not quite hot yet, but so thick. I loved the bike course. It was more or less flat but a few rolling hills. I am so glad I have trained at SMP, which is a real biotch compared to this course. I probably could have pushed the pace a little, but I held back some. Plus I had a tiny little cramp in my left calf about mile 10. I actually unclipped to move it around (probably not a great idea but it seemed to help). It went away after a couple miles but it made me a little cautious. The only time I got passed by multiple people was during the cramping. I was passed a few times otherwise but no more than I passed people.
My bike average was 18.2, a new high for me. I was pretty happy with that, especially since I have not had many rides over 15 miles. T2 was OK. The first steps off the bike weren't bad. I was more worried about how hot it was to be on the run since the clouds had burned off. I really didn't want to drink much but I did have a couple swallows - I had been drinking water on the bike as well, nearly emptied the big water bottle.
Second run was like running in slow motion. I didn't really feel bad but I just could not move any faster. I caught two women in my age group on the run, one of whom I remembered from the bike where we swapped places a couple times, but I don't know how the other girl got that far ahead of me. I hung with a couple guys who were pushing the pace. The second half back in was tough but I think I ended up around 9 minute pace. Hard to tell until they post the complete results.
So I cross the finish line, a volunteer hands me a bottle of water. This race had great support, well-marked, volunteers at every turn, plenty of water and gatorade, very nicely done. I was pretty happy. By the time I got my watch off, it was 1:53:52 but my chip time was 1:53:18.
So I'm happy, I see that I'm in fourth place overall and first in age group. Based on last year's results, I thought I might be able to pull off an age group place, but not overall. Last year seemed to have quite a few women running in the 7's on the first leg. This year, they added a long course which was also a qualifier for the national long course duathlon championship, so that might have pulled some of the faster ones.
Ordinarily I don't hang around at a race but of course I wanted to collect my hardware. It took forever as the long course was still going on for quite awhile.
When they go to announce winners, I heard 'in second place from KC Missouri' .. and I knew something weird happened as the girl behind me was from Olathe. I got dinged two minutes for drafting!
Now I knew drafting was not allowed, but silly me, I never looked up the actual rules because I figured it meant like inches or a couple feet, like they do in the Tour, and there's no way I'm riding someone's wheel like that, even if it were legal. Apparently, the 'drafting zone' for USAT events is 22 meters long, which ends up being about three bike lengths behind you. It's also 2 meters wide. You can be in the draft zone if you are passing someone and you overtake them in 15 seconds or less. So the two minute penalty dropped me to second place.
I think it's a little amusing. I would never draft intentionally, and now that I now what the rule is, I will have to pay attention. That could be difficult in a more crowded field I think. I thought there was no way that you could benefit being that far behind but apparently you do. At least I only got dinged once, I saw some people got it 3 or 4 times and two minutes each time.
Bummer.
However, I am still happy about my time, even if it's asterisked.
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