So its been pretty quiet, evidenced by the month between blog posts. What's been going on? I've been going out for a run about twice a week since the beginning of July, totaling no more than 7 miles per week. Just trying to maintain a bit, since the Tri, but now also trying to build the mileage back up. The weather has definitely been a force to contend with. Last week I did twice around the southern loop (3.44 miles), on Tues and Thurs. Hoping to get maybe a 5-miler in this week, as Thur and Fri are looking to be relatively cooler days. Again, I'm going to build up my mileage the right way this time to avoid any (further) injury. I must note that the plantar fasciitis has been better. Not sure if its just the decreased mileage or if its the Nike LunarEclipse, but hey, I'll take it.
I've also been doing a bit of biking. Trying to keep that up as to keep up on some cross training. Not sure how much I can do once it starts getting colder. But that does seem like light years away at this point. Perhaps I'll re-visit the pool....hmmmm.....Oh, and speaking of cross training, I've noticed I'm starting to get on the....how do you say "flabby" side. I mean, lets be real, I've always been flabby, but theres always more flabby and less flabby....haha. So I started some simple push ups and pull ups on days in between runs. Simply doing 3 sets of each, with minimal rest in between.
And on an events note, I'm 75% sure I'll do the Urbanathlon at this point. They've posted the course, though nothing exciting, I think it would just be a fun thing to do, and actually will work well to keep me accountable in the cross-training side of things. I know simply running will not suffice to complete it, as the obstacles will require much more than just running endurance.
So thats about it for now. About 3 weeks away before I start to get cracking on hard core half marathon training for Vegas. Should be loads of fun.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Another Milestone...
So far for 2011, with last night's run, I've done a little over 210 miles. To put that into perspective, from NY, I'd be somewhere in between Washington, DC (209 miles) and Alexandria, VA (214 miles). Or if I were to head north to New England, I would be right around Concord, NH (211 miles). Crazy huh? And, since I started this whole running thing February of last year, I just broke the 500 mile mark. That would put me somewhere between Detroit, MI (488 miles) and Toledo, OH (508 miles)! I know for the more serious runners out there, this doesn't really amount to much, but for me, someone's who never really run before, and has had terrible conditioning all my life, its a pretty big deal!
A little bit of whats been going on. As mentioned above, I went for a quick 1.72 miles around the small loop in CP last night. My first run since the Tri (over 2 weeks ago already!). It went alright, considering it was in the mid to high 80s, but low humidity. My legs felt strong, but could tell my conditioning has already started to decline. Actually, I noticed it last week when I attempted Plyo X, and had to extend the breaks in the second half to 60 seconds instead of 30, and that was on top of heavily modifying the moves already. The day before that I did Yoga, and boy did I need that. Everything was tight all over and I felt like I was going to tear my hip flexors, thats how tight they were.
So, a few things I'm considering on the horizon: 10/29- Urbanathlon! Not sure if I'll be ready for that. Its a little over 9 miles long I believe, which is where I should be in my training for the Half in December, if not further. But I'll need to be dedicated with my P90X workouts if I want any chance at those obstacles. I've all but tossed Warrior Dash out the window. And, I'm eyeing a couple Tri's in late Sept, early Oct, but worry about the timing with Urbanathlon. Not sure which my priority would be. The Tri's would of course be Sprint distance again, not going to try an Olympic distance until I have a couple Sprints under my belt.
So thats it for now. Will continue to take it easy through July, then start kicking up the training in Aug (once I decide on whether I'm going to do another Tri, Urbanathlon, or both). And then somehow mix in the half-marathon training. Fun!
A little bit of whats been going on. As mentioned above, I went for a quick 1.72 miles around the small loop in CP last night. My first run since the Tri (over 2 weeks ago already!). It went alright, considering it was in the mid to high 80s, but low humidity. My legs felt strong, but could tell my conditioning has already started to decline. Actually, I noticed it last week when I attempted Plyo X, and had to extend the breaks in the second half to 60 seconds instead of 30, and that was on top of heavily modifying the moves already. The day before that I did Yoga, and boy did I need that. Everything was tight all over and I felt like I was going to tear my hip flexors, thats how tight they were.
So, a few things I'm considering on the horizon: 10/29- Urbanathlon! Not sure if I'll be ready for that. Its a little over 9 miles long I believe, which is where I should be in my training for the Half in December, if not further. But I'll need to be dedicated with my P90X workouts if I want any chance at those obstacles. I've all but tossed Warrior Dash out the window. And, I'm eyeing a couple Tri's in late Sept, early Oct, but worry about the timing with Urbanathlon. Not sure which my priority would be. The Tri's would of course be Sprint distance again, not going to try an Olympic distance until I have a couple Sprints under my belt.
So thats it for now. Will continue to take it easy through July, then start kicking up the training in Aug (once I decide on whether I'm going to do another Tri, Urbanathlon, or both). And then somehow mix in the half-marathon training. Fun!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
A Few Final Tri Thoughts
I feel a little like Jerry Springer with his "Final Thoughts" or whatever it was he did at the end of his shows. Over a week removed from the event, I thought I'd weigh in on a couple thoughts and lessons learned in the Tri, perhaps to help some who may be looking to do one. Overall, I had a lot of fun. I didn't shatter any records, nor did I even finish in the "average" time (which was 1:53, by the way, off by 7 minutes, darn!), but I had a lot of fun. The biggest difference I found between something like this and say, a half-marathon, was just the sheer "logistics" involved, especially one that is out of town. With a normal run race, its your race outfit, shoes and yourself. That's it. Not so with a Tri, I must have double and triple checked that I had everything I needed, no matter how big (the bike) or small (goggles). Some things are more "forgivable" than others, if forgotten, but thankfully, my "anal-ness" paid off and I didn't forget anything. The other part would be dropping off the bike the day before, which obviously is not required of a run race.
With a race like the DC Tri where there's both Olympic and Sprint distances, that meant a really long delay between when transition closes and the start of your wave. For me, it was nearly 1.5 hours, and almost 2.5 hours from when I first arrived at transition. I could have still been sleeping! Though this time allowed me to use the port-a-potty 5 or so times (yes, FIVE), I also forgot to have some water with me. BIG lesson learned here. Have some drinking water (preferably in a disposable bottle, since you'll be discarding it before entering the water) with you when they close transition. I was REALLY thirsty while waiting for my wave. I was tempted to pick up some of the bottles that people left when leaving for their wave!
Don't let the craziness of the swim faze you. I certainly did, more in that I was annoyed that I had to keep breaking rhythm when I was interrupted, either by someone running into me or vice versa. Just weather through it, remember your training and all will be fine. I mean you go into it knowing that there will be a lot of contact and such, but theres really nothing that can prepare you for something like that. Another thing worth mentioning, SITE MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU SHOULD. In water that murky, it is impossible to swim in a straight line and you never know when you'll swim pass the buoy you're supposed to turn at (guilty, as charged).
No major issues with the bike and run, I actually enjoyed those 2 sections. As I mentioned in my previous post, my only thing with the bike was the whole deal with "blocking" or "drafting". I was REALLY paranoid about it, since it did come with penalties for either violation.
So, going forward, I haven't done anything since the Tri. I'm looking to do Yoga X at least once in the next week (it'd be nice if it were twice), get a short run in to shake the rust off, and to do Chest & Back- either in part or in full- to regain some strength. And I hope to get some kind of regular workout schedule (based on P90X, of course) established for the next 2 months or so, before I go into full Half-marathon training mode (Las Vegas Half in Dec!). I'm also now debating whether I want to do the Sprint distance again next year, or attempt the Olympic distance. I guess that all depends on how hard I train! 'Till next time!
With a race like the DC Tri where there's both Olympic and Sprint distances, that meant a really long delay between when transition closes and the start of your wave. For me, it was nearly 1.5 hours, and almost 2.5 hours from when I first arrived at transition. I could have still been sleeping! Though this time allowed me to use the port-a-potty 5 or so times (yes, FIVE), I also forgot to have some water with me. BIG lesson learned here. Have some drinking water (preferably in a disposable bottle, since you'll be discarding it before entering the water) with you when they close transition. I was REALLY thirsty while waiting for my wave. I was tempted to pick up some of the bottles that people left when leaving for their wave!
Don't let the craziness of the swim faze you. I certainly did, more in that I was annoyed that I had to keep breaking rhythm when I was interrupted, either by someone running into me or vice versa. Just weather through it, remember your training and all will be fine. I mean you go into it knowing that there will be a lot of contact and such, but theres really nothing that can prepare you for something like that. Another thing worth mentioning, SITE MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU SHOULD. In water that murky, it is impossible to swim in a straight line and you never know when you'll swim pass the buoy you're supposed to turn at (guilty, as charged).
No major issues with the bike and run, I actually enjoyed those 2 sections. As I mentioned in my previous post, my only thing with the bike was the whole deal with "blocking" or "drafting". I was REALLY paranoid about it, since it did come with penalties for either violation.
So, going forward, I haven't done anything since the Tri. I'm looking to do Yoga X at least once in the next week (it'd be nice if it were twice), get a short run in to shake the rust off, and to do Chest & Back- either in part or in full- to regain some strength. And I hope to get some kind of regular workout schedule (based on P90X, of course) established for the next 2 months or so, before I go into full Half-marathon training mode (Las Vegas Half in Dec!). I'm also now debating whether I want to do the Sprint distance again next year, or attempt the Olympic distance. I guess that all depends on how hard I train! 'Till next time!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
DC Tri Recap!
800m swim? Check. 20k bike? Check. 7.5k run? CHECK! Completed my first (sprint) Triathlon and what an experience it was. Even now, two days removed, it feels sort of surreal. (and just as a warning, this will be a rather lengthy post....)
Pre-race
The day started at 3:50am, as I conveniently awoke before my alarm went off, which was set for 4am. Got up, downed about 20oz of water, ate a banana, got dressed, did a last minute check of all my gear, and it was out there door. The hotel was thankfully right across the street from the shuttle, so I was on the shuttle headed to transition right around 4:30am. I arrived at transition just before 5am, and there was already quite the hustle and bustle going on, with people getting body marked, picking up timing chips, doing last minute tuning to their bikes and setting up their gear. I arrived at my rack location (which fortunately was on the end, near the aisle, which made transitioning that much easier) also find out that the person who was supposed to rack next to me was a no show. I'm now going to spoiled for future Tri's, since not only do I have an end spot, I had double the room for all my stuff. I carefully lay out my gear, ensuring things are placed in the order I would need them. This took a whole 5 minutes. It's now a little after 5am, and I have nothing left to do. Transition closes at 5:55am, and the first Olympic distance wave goes at 6am. I wasn't set to go until 7am, at the earliest, not to mention I was in the second to last wave. So I spent probably the next 15 to 20 minutes just staring at my stuff, trying to visualize both transitions, the order I would do them in, and how. It's now 5:55am, transition is closed, and at least another hour for me to wait. So, I just popped a squat and waited until they called my wave. Onto each section, after the jump....
Pre-race
The day started at 3:50am, as I conveniently awoke before my alarm went off, which was set for 4am. Got up, downed about 20oz of water, ate a banana, got dressed, did a last minute check of all my gear, and it was out there door. The hotel was thankfully right across the street from the shuttle, so I was on the shuttle headed to transition right around 4:30am. I arrived at transition just before 5am, and there was already quite the hustle and bustle going on, with people getting body marked, picking up timing chips, doing last minute tuning to their bikes and setting up their gear. I arrived at my rack location (which fortunately was on the end, near the aisle, which made transitioning that much easier) also find out that the person who was supposed to rack next to me was a no show. I'm now going to spoiled for future Tri's, since not only do I have an end spot, I had double the room for all my stuff. I carefully lay out my gear, ensuring things are placed in the order I would need them. This took a whole 5 minutes. It's now a little after 5am, and I have nothing left to do. Transition closes at 5:55am, and the first Olympic distance wave goes at 6am. I wasn't set to go until 7am, at the earliest, not to mention I was in the second to last wave. So I spent probably the next 15 to 20 minutes just staring at my stuff, trying to visualize both transitions, the order I would do them in, and how. It's now 5:55am, transition is closed, and at least another hour for me to wait. So, I just popped a squat and waited until they called my wave. Onto each section, after the jump....
Thursday, June 16, 2011
This is it!! (and JPMCC Recap)
Last night I ran the annual JP Morgan Corporate Challenge and I was fully intent on giving a more detailed recap, but I think all I'll say is: It was hot. It was CROWDED. And I should have worn a different shirt. If I get into more detail, I fear I'll start whining too much about all the walkers that somehow started in front of me, thus being in my way when I had to go around them. I finished the 3.5 miles in 34:12 at a 9:46 pace. Expected better, but decent given the conditions. Now onto more important matters....
Less than 3 days remain until the Tri! I head out for DC tomorrow afternoon, so the anxiety is starting to creep in! (not like it hasn't been, as I numbingly stare at the course map that I printed and pinned to my cube wall all day long). I did some last minute stuff for the bike, like take off the kickstand (for some weight reduction, haha), and install my second bottle cage and prepared my emergency kit. I should also probably do a couple "dry" runs of the transitions some time. I keep trying to go over it in my head, and though I feel like its not much of an issue, I should really rehearse it to know what order I'm putting things on or taking them off, and how to lay it out on race morning. Main concern at this point is the bib and when/how I should pin it on. If I just relax and take my time, I should be okay. Dont' want to be like a rabid dog in transition....
So thats it. I'll be back probably Monday or Tuesday with a full report of the Tri. This should be exciting, wish me luck!
Less than 3 days remain until the Tri! I head out for DC tomorrow afternoon, so the anxiety is starting to creep in! (not like it hasn't been, as I numbingly stare at the course map that I printed and pinned to my cube wall all day long). I did some last minute stuff for the bike, like take off the kickstand (for some weight reduction, haha), and install my second bottle cage and prepared my emergency kit. I should also probably do a couple "dry" runs of the transitions some time. I keep trying to go over it in my head, and though I feel like its not much of an issue, I should really rehearse it to know what order I'm putting things on or taking them off, and how to lay it out on race morning. Main concern at this point is the bib and when/how I should pin it on. If I just relax and take my time, I should be okay. Dont' want to be like a rabid dog in transition....
So thats it. I'll be back probably Monday or Tuesday with a full report of the Tri. This should be exciting, wish me luck!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
My LAST Swim Workout!
This past Sunday, I did my final tune up for the swim before the Tri. Its good knowing I can sustain 800m, because at this point, thats all I'm looking to do. Should take me in the neighborhood of 25 minutes, which judging by last year's results, is pretty darn slow! But its okay, its my first Tri. Hopefully I'll be able to get behind some other "slower" swimmers and draft them to make it a bit easier.
Last night I ran the entire 6 mile loop in CP. And since it was cooler and low humidity, I did it rather comfortably, which thankfully was a confidence booster. Its amazing what the heat and humidity will do to me, and not only physically, but man, what a shot to the ego it is. Anyway, finished the 6 miles with a 9:44 pace, and a total time of just under 59 minutes, which actually, is the fastest I've done that route. So its a great second to last training run before the Tri. Tomorrow's JP Morgan Corporate Challenge will serve as my final tune up. And hopefully, I'll have time on Thur for a quick ride, if not, then the ride from the convention center down to transition will have to serve as my final ride.
So at this point, I'm actually kind of anxious and want to get to the Tri already! And perhaps the biggest concern on my mind now is that I hope I dont get a some kind of flat on the bike. I've been studying the course pretty diligently, last thing I'd want is to end up off course. Not sure it'd be that easy to do, but, you never know. The bike course is rather confusing. At least from the map. I picked up some last minute stuff to make my "emergency" kit for the bike. Just need to familiarize myself with how to change the tube, if by chance some does happen. Otherwise, I think I'm set. Still can't believe its finally here!
I'll probably be back for a quick recap of the JPM CC, and then that'll be it. Wish me luck!
Last night I ran the entire 6 mile loop in CP. And since it was cooler and low humidity, I did it rather comfortably, which thankfully was a confidence booster. Its amazing what the heat and humidity will do to me, and not only physically, but man, what a shot to the ego it is. Anyway, finished the 6 miles with a 9:44 pace, and a total time of just under 59 minutes, which actually, is the fastest I've done that route. So its a great second to last training run before the Tri. Tomorrow's JP Morgan Corporate Challenge will serve as my final tune up. And hopefully, I'll have time on Thur for a quick ride, if not, then the ride from the convention center down to transition will have to serve as my final ride.
So at this point, I'm actually kind of anxious and want to get to the Tri already! And perhaps the biggest concern on my mind now is that I hope I dont get a some kind of flat on the bike. I've been studying the course pretty diligently, last thing I'd want is to end up off course. Not sure it'd be that easy to do, but, you never know. The bike course is rather confusing. At least from the map. I picked up some last minute stuff to make my "emergency" kit for the bike. Just need to familiarize myself with how to change the tube, if by chance some does happen. Otherwise, I think I'm set. Still can't believe its finally here!
I'll probably be back for a quick recap of the JPM CC, and then that'll be it. Wish me luck!
Monday, June 13, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Celebrate Israel Recap (with a BIG PR!)
Sunday (June 5) I ran the inaugural Celebrate Israel 4M race, a familiar 4-miler through Central Park. Since I didn't have too much trouble driving in for the last couple races, I did so again for this one. This turned out to be a rough one, since I failed to realize there was a parade to Celebrate Israel as well, which shut down a bunch of streets near where I had been parking, which was also near the start of the race. After circling a bit and running into a handful of detours due to the parade, I decided to just garage it, and took the $25 hit.
I get to the start line around 8:30am, do my usual warm ups and stretches and down a pack of Gu energy gel at around 8:45. Honestly, for a 4-miler, I probably didn't need one, but it has been working well for me in the previous races so I figured, why mess with a good thing?
After "enjoying" both the Israeli national anthem and the Star Spangled Banner, the starting horn finally goes off. Though a smaller field this time, it was still a little more than 5 minutes to get to the start line. A good start, legs felt good and strong, and I fall into what feels like my normal pace. Get to the mile 1 marker (which happened to sync up very well with Nike+), I realize I'm going at a pretty good pace, and Nike+ confirmed it saying I just did the first mile in 9:10. Whoa! My usual pace is never that fast, let along the first mile! But I'm confident at this point, and it still feels good, so I just plug along. A little after the 2 marker, I started to feel the faster pace start to catch up a bit. This part of the course also contains a couple rolling hills, so I backed off a little. Saw the mile 3 marker, and knew the end was near. It was also a bit of downhill. So I got back to what my pace was, and when I saw the turn onto 72nd, I kicked it up and finished strong. My time turned out to be 37:19, at a 9:20 pace! That was a pretty sizable PR! My best 4-miler was the NYRR-4, in which I finished in 38:48 at a 9:42 pace. About a 1.5 minute improvement! Of course it was raining buckets that day, but still, I was very satisfied with my finish.
Onward from here, the Tri is in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS! Still deciding how/when I should taper, or if I even really need it, since I haven't really been training THAT intensely. May try to get 2 swims and 2 runs in again this week (though the weather may be something to contend with this week). And try to do an extended training session (aka- run/bike/run) on Sunday (my only available day). Then 1 easy swim, bike and run the week of the 13th. I will probably just use the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge as my easy run. Should be an exciting next 2 weeks!
I get to the start line around 8:30am, do my usual warm ups and stretches and down a pack of Gu energy gel at around 8:45. Honestly, for a 4-miler, I probably didn't need one, but it has been working well for me in the previous races so I figured, why mess with a good thing?
After "enjoying" both the Israeli national anthem and the Star Spangled Banner, the starting horn finally goes off. Though a smaller field this time, it was still a little more than 5 minutes to get to the start line. A good start, legs felt good and strong, and I fall into what feels like my normal pace. Get to the mile 1 marker (which happened to sync up very well with Nike+), I realize I'm going at a pretty good pace, and Nike+ confirmed it saying I just did the first mile in 9:10. Whoa! My usual pace is never that fast, let along the first mile! But I'm confident at this point, and it still feels good, so I just plug along. A little after the 2 marker, I started to feel the faster pace start to catch up a bit. This part of the course also contains a couple rolling hills, so I backed off a little. Saw the mile 3 marker, and knew the end was near. It was also a bit of downhill. So I got back to what my pace was, and when I saw the turn onto 72nd, I kicked it up and finished strong. My time turned out to be 37:19, at a 9:20 pace! That was a pretty sizable PR! My best 4-miler was the NYRR-4, in which I finished in 38:48 at a 9:42 pace. About a 1.5 minute improvement! Of course it was raining buckets that day, but still, I was very satisfied with my finish.
Onward from here, the Tri is in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS! Still deciding how/when I should taper, or if I even really need it, since I haven't really been training THAT intensely. May try to get 2 swims and 2 runs in again this week (though the weather may be something to contend with this week). And try to do an extended training session (aka- run/bike/run) on Sunday (my only available day). Then 1 easy swim, bike and run the week of the 13th. I will probably just use the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge as my easy run. Should be an exciting next 2 weeks!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Almost "Tri" Ready and Another Race Week
A pretty decent past few days, since my little stomach bug incident last week. Went for a quick 2 mile run last Thursday, just to be sure I had shaken the bug, and more importantly, to test out my brand new Nike Lunar Eclipse running shoes! I always seem to make the mistake of going faster on new shoes, because I know I'm keeping it short. Ended up with an 8:45 pace. I should really learn to take it easy, especially when the purpose of the run is to "ease" into the new shoes. All in all, the shoes felt good. Nice spring to them, good support and definitely not as mushy as the Lunar Glides. Why did I ever abandon Nike? Anyway, the Mizuno's have been relegated to just "casual" duty now. The plantar fasciitis seems to be at its worst the days after I train in them. So now the rotation will consist of the Lunars and Asics. But, probably will stick to just the Asics until the Tri.
Which "transitions" me very well to my next training session. On Saturday, on a warmer and rather humid day, I did a bike/run brick. Just simply did one transition to test my endurance. Completed 9.5 miles on the bike, then ran 3 miles. It was tough, but I was able to complete it and was definitely a confidence booster. The 9.5 mile bike took about 40 minutes, and actually was a little harder than I remember. I was really hoping for a better time than that. I purposely pushed it for the majority of the bike to tire out my legs, as to see how I perform in the run with my legs fatigued. So I get off the bike, lock it up, and down about half a pack of Gu Energy Gel, along with some water, and continue to the run. This was a little harder than I remember as well. Both knees were experiencing some pain from the start, along with my left heel. But as I got into my run rhythm, everything was okay. I got to the halfway point and briefly took a breather (30-60 seconds) and quickly continued the run. Though I was pretty beat from the session, it felt good knowing that I was able to do that, and was not completely gassed (like I was from mile 10 of the half!). Knowing that I only had another 2.5 mile bike and 1 mile run on top of that, I had a rough idea of how I'd feel and do on raceday. Of course, I didn't have the swim to start. So I'm now going to put my money on that I'll finish in around 2 hours.
It was back into the pool on Sunday. Did 800m, took a short break, then another 200m, as a bonus. Did the 800m in about 24 minutes. Still hard to say how that will translate in an open water swim, but I'll take it for now, since it does not seem likely I'll get any open water time, except for the day before during swim practice. It was good to know that the 200m bonus felt strong, even after the initial 800m. So long as I don't gulp a bunch of water on raceday, I think I'll be okay. And just okay....
It will be the Celebrate Israel Run (4m) this coming Sunday. So it'll be 2 more training runs for the rest of this week, either 5 and 6 miles or 5 and 5. I plan on hitting the pool on the off days and then take Saturday as recovery. Lots going on and lots to come. Less than 3 weeks left.....*whoooaaaaa....*
Which "transitions" me very well to my next training session. On Saturday, on a warmer and rather humid day, I did a bike/run brick. Just simply did one transition to test my endurance. Completed 9.5 miles on the bike, then ran 3 miles. It was tough, but I was able to complete it and was definitely a confidence booster. The 9.5 mile bike took about 40 minutes, and actually was a little harder than I remember. I was really hoping for a better time than that. I purposely pushed it for the majority of the bike to tire out my legs, as to see how I perform in the run with my legs fatigued. So I get off the bike, lock it up, and down about half a pack of Gu Energy Gel, along with some water, and continue to the run. This was a little harder than I remember as well. Both knees were experiencing some pain from the start, along with my left heel. But as I got into my run rhythm, everything was okay. I got to the halfway point and briefly took a breather (30-60 seconds) and quickly continued the run. Though I was pretty beat from the session, it felt good knowing that I was able to do that, and was not completely gassed (like I was from mile 10 of the half!). Knowing that I only had another 2.5 mile bike and 1 mile run on top of that, I had a rough idea of how I'd feel and do on raceday. Of course, I didn't have the swim to start. So I'm now going to put my money on that I'll finish in around 2 hours.
It was back into the pool on Sunday. Did 800m, took a short break, then another 200m, as a bonus. Did the 800m in about 24 minutes. Still hard to say how that will translate in an open water swim, but I'll take it for now, since it does not seem likely I'll get any open water time, except for the day before during swim practice. It was good to know that the 200m bonus felt strong, even after the initial 800m. So long as I don't gulp a bunch of water on raceday, I think I'll be okay. And just okay....
It will be the Celebrate Israel Run (4m) this coming Sunday. So it'll be 2 more training runs for the rest of this week, either 5 and 6 miles or 5 and 5. I plan on hitting the pool on the off days and then take Saturday as recovery. Lots going on and lots to come. Less than 3 weeks left.....*whoooaaaaa....*
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Just What the Doctor Ordered
After having a completely crap of a training run on monday, turns out I came down with somewhat of a bug that night into Tuesday. And still feeling the after-effects of it today, Wednesday. What's funny, is that I was kicking myself for having such a bad training day, especially since Friday's hill training went exceptionally well, but then today, I stumbled on Nike Running's Training Blog:
So, its going to be another rest day today to hopefully shake this bug. Since the weather looks nice tomorrow (and the Mets will be in town Friday), I'll go for a run tomorrow and swim on Friday. Health dependent, of course. 'Till next time....
Turning around early on a run when something hurts just plain stinks. You feel like a failure, you question your toughness and the running you did do feels pointless. But there are times where you get out on a run and something feels bad or wrong and you need to flip around. A funky ankle, a tight IT-band, a sore achilles, a balky knee. Whatever it is, continuing to run on it probably isn't going to make it better. But most people continue to run when they feel weird pains, thinking "I should just keep going" or "it's not that bad" or "if I can't be tough through this little issue how am I going to be tough in my next race?" Wrong. You need to flip around, go back and call it a day and then figure out what you're going to do. Do you need to simply take a day or two off from running? Can you afford to go see a medical professional and get an opinion on what is wrong? Should you be cross training and if so, what modality is best? You've got lots to think about, but what you don't want to do is continue to run on something that hurts because it's just not worth it. By flipping on a run the first day something hurts, you greatly increase your chance of healing and getting back to running quickly; if you hobble through a run when something is obviously wrong, you run the risk of missing weeks (months?) of running rather than days. I'd argue it takes the same amount of guts to turn around on a run and head back home than it takes to push through the discomfort of your original run. So have the guts to turn around when something hurts.Wow. Just what I needed to hear! Though the blog post is geared more towards what seems to be an injury, I feel its applicable here, when you just dont feel right, and your energy is just WAY down. Since I had been doing well training and race wise, my plan for Monday was to just roll at my normal pace for 6 miles. Within a mile into it, I already felt sluggish, but thought to myself, "I've felt this before, it'll go away by mile 2". It didnt. In fact, I got to the top of Cat Hill and had to take a breather. I regrouped and continued. Same thing. Got up to 90th and kinda threw in the towel. As to not make the run a complete waste, I decided to throw in some speedwork, basically using the lampposts as my markers. Alternating sprinting and walking as I passed each one. Totaled about 3.5 miles for the run.
So, its going to be another rest day today to hopefully shake this bug. Since the weather looks nice tomorrow (and the Mets will be in town Friday), I'll go for a run tomorrow and swim on Friday. Health dependent, of course. 'Till next time....
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