Monday, November 30, 2009

To win without risk is to triumph without glory.

Bite off more than you can chew;
Then chew it.
Plan more than you can do,
Then do it.
~ Anonymous

The Challenge - Run at least 1 mile for 30 days consecutively
Doesn't sound so hard, right? Why did I decided to partake? I wanted a goal that challenged my mental and physical state but that took away any competitive aspect.

"Some of the greatest feats are accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible." ~ Doug Larson
This guy had me in mind. Stupid is as stupid does.

I plan to run my age on my birthday. I didn't really think about combining the two challenges when I agreed to them. Not thinking before doing I up'd the ante and added in "train for your first ultra within 6 weeks" to the bet. What was the up for stake? Pride and accomplishment.

Week 1 - Nov 1st-Nov 7th - Weekly Run avg 27.2 miles/ Max weekly run 7.45 miles/Miles to date 27.2 miles
Day 1 - Started of with the swine flu. I could only run 1.5 miles without keeling over. Frankly I thought I was going to die. As the days went by I could add a mile here and a mile there. I'd spit my lungs up on the city streets, only to pick them up and run forward. 30 second rule on dropping food applied to vital organs, no?

Week 2 - Nov 8th - Nov 14th - Weekly Run avg 50.4 miles/ Max weekly run 17.25 miles/Miles to date 77.6 miles
Week 2 was better on my cardiovascular system. Instead of dropping my lungs on the dirty streets I could hold out until I hit home. I'd having coughing fits that would last 10-20 minutes post runs. I'd spit up everything I had in me in the kitchen sink. At the end of week two I strained my back on one of those coughing fits = backache for 5-6 days. This week brought muscular challenge. I had never ran more than 4 days a week before. My weekly mileage never exceed 40. My energy level was another area affected. I had tried to keep up with power building swim and bikes. Please hold while I go laugh at myself.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
This was a pathetic attempt. My watts on the bike suffered. When I could hit goal watts it would strain my legs on my daily run. Trying to do speed sets in the pool also sucked major tail. Hitting failure on the swim and bike sucked. BUT it was better swim and bike than run. Swim and bike were NOT my focus. I quickly learned I had to back off.

Week 3 - Nov 15th - Nov 21st - Weekly Run avg 47.8 miles/ Max weekly run 18.25 miles/Miles to date 125.4 miles
My health finally hit 100%. I could run effortlessly. In fact, it was the 3rd week in from a cardiovascular stand point that running felt easy. This could be due from numerous reasons
1. I had no muscular power to push myself to go fast
2. Maybe I was adapting and becoming more efficient?

My legs were tired daily. I grew to HATE our staircase but fell in love with the railing. Most mornings I'd wake up and stumble my way down the stairs. My legs were stiff. Getting up was no cake walk either. I'd pull on the railing, just hoping it would support my carb loading buddha belly.
I relied on Pilates daily to lubricate my joints and keep my muscles flexible. Massage would come in the form of a foam roller, a stick, a wooden roller and when the big dogs were need the mother of all - The MARBLE rolling pin. I wrapped my calves in ice on the daily. Any run over 3 hrs or 15 miles would result in a mind numbing ice bath.

Week 4 - Nov 22nd - Nov 28th - Weekly Run avg 55.97 miles/ Max weekly run 23.5 miles/Miles to date 181.37 miles
Alas, the rain was clearing (not literally as it was this week that I was pissed upon for 4 hrs straight!) and the rainbow came out through the glorious sun.....yes, I maybe delusional at this point. Running was no longer that difficult. My legs grew accustom to the fatigue, as did the rest of my mind, body and soul. It was no longer can I. Now it was just "DO IT" and that's all it took.

Week 5 - Nov 29- Nov 30th - Weekly Run avg 20 miles (2 days)/ Max weekly run 11.5 miles/Miles to date 201.37 miles
Mission accomplished - The END.
30 days of consecutive running....with LSD runs 1-2 days a week to build up the long endurance for my up and coming 30.2 miler.

At the end I'll leave you with what I took from this little adventure.
*I can go loooooong, alone
*I can rely on myself and only myself
*I can run for 4 hours in solid ran
*I will NOT quit, not now, not ever
*I have an amazing supportive room mate who helped me with endless ICE and friendship
*I freaking LOVE my Newtons
*When it was hard to move forward a had a friend from afar *run with me* fueling my desire to run.
*Running is a therapeutic solution to family....to life
*Pain does a body good....along with a smile

PR's
*Longest 7 consecutive day run mileage - 69.5 miles
*Longest consecutive days running - 30


"Without passion, you don’t have energy; without energy, you have nothing. Nothing great in the world has been accomplished without passion" ~ Donald Trump

Sunday, November 29, 2009

One overcooked noodle

AM Swim - HUNG OVER! Damn you Four Lokos!

500 warm up

Drills
1 x 50- A-ok; 10
1 x 50 Fist; 10
1 x 50 Catch up; 10
1 x 50 ten stroke kick;10
repeat 3 times

Main Set
1 x 300 - descending by 100/ with paddles;
50 easy w/out paddles
repeat 4 x
This demolished my lats and triceps, I felt like an over cooked noodle

Cool down - 200

Total yardage - 2700

AM Trail Run - Plan was to go 2 hours. Cooked noodles don't run too well.
I only lasted 75 mins, approx 8.5 miles
Running up Lower McClay park to Wildwood is NO joke. A lot of vertical in a short amount of distance, OWNS me EVERY time.
Ran with the PDX tri club. It's been a long time. It was nice to run with familiar faces.

Day 29 - 55 mile weekly avg/ 190 miles month to date :) One more day to go baby!

This coming week will be a much needed unloading week.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Dance Of The Sugar Plum Faries

AM Pilates - not sure why I mention this. I do them every other day and I don't mention it, yet today I do.

5.75 mile run - easy 8:45s
Weekly avg 56 miles/ Month-to-date 181 miles.....will I hit 200 before month end?

Nap, food

2 hour "easy" spin/ avg watts 135

One badass Jalapeno burger for recovery


We got a tree, drank a Four Loko's....and this happened


That is my day. To bed early on a Saturday, training on Sunday....love my life :D

Friday, November 27, 2009

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Thanksgiving

Wow, I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving. The year has come and gone so darn fast.

I am thankful for.....

*My moma - for being supportive and standing by my side all year round. I love you mom.
*My career/boss/co-workers - I've now had my job for over a year. The "honeymoon" should be over, but its not. I can't recall one day that I've woken up not wanting to go to work. Ok, wait I take that back....there was one day, but I had the flu and I don't think that counts so much. I am grateful for having an intelligent, accountable, caring, mentor as a boss. Witty, positive co-workers and a work environment that supports the tri lifestyle.
*My grandfather and my father.....for not giving up hope and holding on day after day.
*My room mate - the woman is such a blessing in surprise. Funny, supportive, sweet and caring...I really lucked out finding her.
*My friends - I have an amazing circle of friends that surround me. All individual and unique, no cookie cutters in this bunch. When I'm down, they pick me up. When in need, they are there. When I need a little tongue lashing, they give it.
*For getting injured so early in the year - It humbled me. It threw me right off my high horse, which apparently was much needed. It taught me patience. It gave me appreciation for all the little things. As I've always said "Everything Happens For A Reason".
*For finally finding someone who "gets it". Hopefully I won't F%@$ it up.
*For those true and few that don't think I'm crazy :)

And to end on a humorous yet serious note
*I'm thankful to not be forced to aqua jog!

Thanksgiving workout
4hr LSD run on the Wildwood trail/forest

First 2hr out and back - 11 miles
Little did I know that at 7am Wildwood would still be 95% dark with heavy fog. The first 30 minutes was a bit sketchy as I could note see on foot in front of the other. Really scary when I ran into a fallen tree a couple minutes in. Oops. It rained down upon me for the duration. I was "thankful" I had the forrest to shield me from the rain

2nd out and back - 12.5 miles
Negative split baby. Could be due to the fact I could actually see, or that my legs and body had warmed up, or I had a run partner, or I'm just that BADASS as the duration goes on. People who've trained with me know. Regardless I luv negative splits. Hour 2-3 felt really good. Having a running partner was a nice distraction of time. Fatigue set in around 3:30. Maybe not fatigue per say but foot pain. Thanks to GU my energy levels felt good and my legs managed to hold their own. The rain and mud took a beating on my feet and blisters became painful. The positive thing on blisters is that they are "only" painful...no stress or worry of injury. Pain I am a master at blocking out. The last few miles I flew. I think I was high off of the Roctane. My buddy Mark joined me for my last mile back, it's always good to have a friend at the end. I almost "bit it" numerous times. With a 1/4 mile to go a fallen tree jumped out in front of us and I finally eat mud, at least it was a soft fall.

4 hours, 52 wooden bridge crossing and 23.5 miles in the mud and rain later...I finished with wings, a smile and some seriously jacked up feet.

Weekly Avg 68.87 miles - hot damn!/ Month-To-Date challenge - 172.5 miles :D

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Training

AM RUN - 3.75 miles /8:20
Followed up with AM SWIM

1 x 500 warm up

Drills
1 x 200 paddles; 10
1 x 200 buoy; 10
repeat 1 x

Main Set
4 x 100; 10 (easy 75/ hard25)
4 x 100; 15 (easy 50 / hard 50)
4 x 100; 20 (easy 25 / hard 75)
4 x 100; 25 BALLS TO THE WALL

Cool down
1 x 200

Total yardage - 3100

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

My little tangent

#1 freaking pet peeve - NO ACCOUNTABILITY.
I don't understand how people can go through life saying they are going to do something and not do it. Let down is NOT ok.

2nd pet peeve while I'm at it - NOT PLANNING.
Who do people think they are? The world doesn't revolve around one person. You can't just drop the dime and expect ^%# to happen.

HOLIDAYS drive me nuts!

:le sigh: - on to my workouts


AM- 8.85 mile run
6.85 miles on the road flying high - 7:50 avg
2 miles on the Nike Chip Trail - 8:45 avg
I had someone running through my mind....it fueled my workout :)

PM Spin - 60 mins/ 141 avg watts
Another night rapping to spin. I started out highly stressed and annoyed. I little Tupac and Xzibit fixed that.

Day 24 - 145 miles Month-To-Date / 51 miles weekly avg
Still haven't missed a day and my legs feel stellar.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Pretty In Pink

The weekend really wore me out and Monday came as a much needed recovery day.

Day 23 -
1 mile easy run around the hood.
I swear I was flyin high the whole time. I have this silly smile I can't seem to shake.

Weekly avg 49 miles/ Miles month-to-date 136.4
I'm starting to confident about the bday run :)

I end this note with a picture of my Pretty In Pink Newtons


Sunday, November 22, 2009

Oregon rain and some Arizona sun

Thursday

AM Run – 3.75 miles

Followed up with AM Swim

6 x 500s / 1500 w/paddles

Total yardage - 3000

Friday

AM Run – 3 hours LSD

Eh, I had to get my tail out of bed at 4am to get this bad boy hammered out. Not exactly my cup ‘o tea, but you do what you got to do, right? I awoke 10 minutes before the alarm went off. I had a poor night of sleep, waking every couple hours.

I received disturbing news on my drive home from work last night. It was on my mind through most of the night. I found out my grandfather has lung cancer, yet again. He first had it 10 years back. When he first went in for surgery he told the docs that if they thought the cancer would grow to remove the whole lung, so they did. He donated the lung to OHSU for cancer research. 6 months down the road the lung was overtaken by cancer. Since then has been in remission, until of late. He’s recently had some issues breathing, turns out his other lung now has cancer on it. Ugh. He’s too old and unstable for surgery; it is not an option. He’ll be going in next week for a biopsy and then start radiation. We can only pray from there. This really sucks. My grandfather is the most unselfish, loving person I know. Seriously, I don’t know of another human with a larger heart. He met my Nanana with 4 children ages 2-7, and took care of them as if they were his own. My grandparents never had much money but would always make sure we had a roof over our head and our bellies were fed; even if that meant they would starve. My Nanana had strokes for the last 10 years of her life. She couldn’t do much on her own. She couldn’t walk, eat or function much….yet my grandfather stood by her side. He would color her fiery Irish hair red each month and doll her face up with light make up, so she never felt “old”. He stuck by her side hospital visit after hospital visit for over 10 years. Whenever I doubt LOVE with another person I can look at my grandfather and know it exists. If he goes I feel my hope will go. I just don’t know if they make men like that anymore.

Alas, back to my run. I quickly got up and devoured my normal breakfast; a bowl of cheerios w/soy milk and an English muffin with PB and honey. How well my body felt surprised me. No stiffness and no pains. I threw on my Zoot Active CompressRX Calf sleeves, Smartwool socks, Craft thermal tights, Craft baselayer, Sugoi Versa jacket, Brooks reflective hat and my Brooks Adrenalines and I was off, running down a dream. Oy! It was wet outside, pissing down wet. I had 3 loops mapped that would take me back to my house on each hour. This was so I could change and refuel/hydrate if needed, and this was needed. The first hour went by fast. Not saying that I ever went fast. My body felt really good. I enjoyed running through the neighborhood while most people were still sleeping. I ran past the gym and the only person inside was the janitor. This is 24hr fitness people! Why are you not getting your fitness on at 4:30am? Fitness has not time limitations. My first hour in and my Versa Jacket was soaked through. Gear change! I replaced my Craft baselayer with another Craft baselayer, ditto for the Smartwool socks and replaced my jacket with a Gortex waterproof jacket. The rain was not going to stop me!

The second loop out was different than the first. Aren’t they all? Body still felt good, but the rain was now starting to annoy me. I suppose I could blame it on the rain, but in reality I think the thoughts of my grandfather haunted me. I’m scared. As the rain started to pour down I started to cry. I’m not too sure why. I am not a crier, but I accepted it. Maybe the angels above were crying along with me. Crying turned to random yelling as my sadness turned to anger. F%^# cancer! I am so sick of it affecting so many people in my life. My mother, my father, my grandfather…..F^$&*en A, give me a break! Agh! At one point it all stopped, and the rain died to a slow drizzle. I felt somewhat better after my irrational outburst.

I hit the house for another sock swap and see my roommate waiting outside to run the last hour with me. She is getting sick and I heard her coughing all throughout the night, yet there she was unselfishly there to support me. I told her to go back in and rest up. I was good to run the remaining alone. I already went through my darkest hour. The last hour was done on the Nike bark chip trail. Oooooo, the bark felt soooooo good on my feet. One loop in and I could feel it starting to tax my energy. It was either the bark or I was a GU too short, more than likely a little of both. I ran the last mile and a half on the road. I had new-found energy and for the first time in weeks I was able to accelerate. I had new-found muscular power to do so. Or maybe I just had the oh-so famous runners high.

Walking in the front door I was greeted with the aroma of pumpkin pancakes. Yea, I pretty much have the best room mate ever! I quickly ate and took myself to work.

Summary – 2:50 hrs LSD – 18.25 miles

A Starbucks Venti coffee energized my 4-hour workday. Mmmmm, Starbucks had samples of their peppermint brownie. I highly recommend it. My….shall I say it again? Badass roommate bought me 4 bags of ice and had them waiting in the tub when I got home. Luv this girl! 28lb ice bath later and my legs are feeling numb, but good. Rockin’ my Zoot CompressRX recovery tights and I’m out the door headed for IMAZ. Get to spend some time with a special friend and gonna cheer on another friend for her first Ironman. Goooooooo JESSICA! I’m hoping all the fun in the next couple hours/days will help alleviate some of the worry and stress.

PS – No, I am not sponsored by any of the above brands. Nor could I be with my career as it is a conflict of interest. I just see importance of calling out what works and what doesn’t.

Saturday – Arizona

AM Open water swim – 30ish minutes

A buddy and I went out and swam part of the IM swim course. The water was chilly. I think they reported 64. Apparently I have no sense of how cold 64 is, I felt it would be ok to swim sans wetsuit. Luckily I was talked into wearing one and rocked a 2xU demo. Not my first choice but I took what I could get as Blue Seventy was not present. Tried out the TYR Nest Pro goggles. Loved the fit but not the clear lenses. Clear lenses aren’t really made for OW but beggars can’t be choosers when you leave your goggles at home. I did happen to remember to bring my badass TYR orange goldfish swim cap w/ fin. I may not be able to see where I was going but at least I would be visible to those around me! So let’s go back to the water temp. Brrrrr! I was struck with an instant ice cream headache without the tasty goodness. A few strokes in and my brain froze. Mother$%@. Swam a bit more and it went away. Wetsuit didn’t compare to my Helix and this was apparent 10-15 minutes in and my shoulders grew fatigued. The neoprene didn’t thin out our stretch enough in the shoulders and arms. The one thing I did like about the suit was that the arms fit my short limbs and the torso didn’t feel compact. My buddy swam with me on the way out. On the way back he pulls ahead and then waits. I then get this smart ass comment “I could drop you…but what fun would that be?” He says this with smiles, then instantly drops my ass. At first I thought “WTF?” but then smiled along and found humor in that fact that I am just a mediocre swimmer and he was a better, and a smart ass. I liked that. I hadn’t swum OW since IMC, it was a breath of dirty water : ) but much appreciated dirty water.

Post swim….

AM Run – 30ish mins

OMG! How I loved running in the mid 60s with the sun shinning. Sure as hell beats 3 hours in the dark, mid 40s in the pouring rain.

Met up with some PDX friends and spent the afternoon at an IMAZ send off BBQ. It was good catching up with friends I hadn’t seen since IMC. Bittersweet we live miles from one another and it took hundreds of miles away to do so.

Wished Jessica the best on her first IM and Sue on trying to qualify for Kona.

The evening was spent with a “special” friend indulging in yummy sushi, tasty cocktails and a slice of amazing Godiva chocolate cheesecake. Life is good.

Sunday – IMAZ cheering / 90 min easy run

Made it to the start a tad bit late but was able to see the 1:00+ swimmers exit the water. Next it was on to a 90 min easy run.

Easy? Yes and no. Cardiovasular wise? Very much so. Hydration? Fatigue? Not so much. 10hrs of sleep in 2 days is just not enough. Add a couple drinks the night prior, 2 PRs and “a broken damn”, I was one tired kitty. This was all evident as the start of the run was s struggle. I was dehydrated and the dry Arizona air wasn’t helping anything. 45 minutes in and my energy changed. This could be from the GU Roctane or just maybe….my badass running partner. This sir, is what you would call a compliment. Saying, “I could run fast, but I wanted to run with you.” is not what one would view as a compliment. Your lucky I knew that’s not what you meant. You can only shove your foot in your mouth so far before you choke, ya know? J I do recall that your arms are longer than your legs; maybe your mouth is bigger than your brain? Lol, J/K. 80 minutes in and I was pretty much done. My fingers started to turn to miniature sausages. Dehydrated with swelling is not a pleasant feeling. I also suffered from windburn on my face. Ouch! 90 minutes and 10 miles later I was happy to be done. Time to recover with In-N-Out Burger – yay!

The afternoon was spent in the IMAZ VIP tent drinking wine, eating good food and watching and cheering the pros in. The best part was having a “special” someone by my side.

A few of the highlights of the IMAZ finish included

*Watching my favorite female pro – Sam McGlone take fer first IM WIN while crushing the IMAZ course record. What a superstar!

*Watching Sue cross the finish line with an aggressive time, possibly qualifying for Kona, all with a smile on her face.

*Giving Jessica a high five on the run course – She was rocking a massive smile and looked strong.

Now I sit at the airport writing, waiting for my late night flight home. I’m already missing my “special” someone. : ( Aw, distance makes the heart grow fonder…..right?

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Repeat

A close repeat of Monday

AM run 5.5 miles on the Nike chip trail.
Rocked my new Zoot CompressRX Active Calf Sleeves - badass. My calves have had the hardest time adapting to the mileage ramp up. Today I was massaged by Zoot :). I highly enjoyed it.
MTD 99.9 miles/ WK avg 48 miles

PM Spin - 60 min easy / 136 avg watts
I rapped along to Too Short to keep me in Zone 1-2
"These are the tales, the freaky tales...
These are the tales that I tell so well..."

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

All I have...

Morning Swim - same set as last week. I really like the 50 repeats

1 x 500 warm up

Drills
2 x 50 A-Ok; 10
2 x 50 fist; 10
2 x 50 Karate; 10
2 x 50 10 kick stroke; 10

40x50 Main Set
• 16x50 as 1 Fast, 3 Steady (x4); all on 5s rest
• 12x50 as 1 Fast, 2 Steady (x4); all on 10s rest
W/ Paddles
• 8x50 as 1 Fast, 1 Steady (x4); all on 15s rest
• 4x50 as all Fast; all on 20s rest

Cool Down
1 x 300

Total yardage = 3200 yards

Evening Run ~ Day 17
6.3 miles /8:10 avg - cursed with woman pain for the duration, for the love of.....!

MTD - 94.5
Legs still feel ok....we'll see how the AM chip trail run treats me

Monday, November 16, 2009

On and on I go.....

Day 16 - AM Run 9.5 miles
Eh, the run was painfully slow avging 8:55s. Energy was present, the run felt "easy" from a cardiovascular stand point. My legs were fatigued and didn't really feel like moving faster than a turtle. Everyday I wake up and my joints and muscles are stiff and feel like rocks. The side railing to get down the stairs in the morning has become a new found friend. Not sure how this friendship will grow as I continue to use it and abuse it. I just hope my body weight doesn't tear it off the wall. My calves hurt during my run almost daily now. It's odd, they never hurt after, only during and the pain is at the start and last for 30-60 minutes....or however long it takes them to warm up again. I think this is just accumulated fatigue. I'll just keep on keepin on, with one positive foot in front of the other. I'm pretty confident I know my body well enough to back off when need. I've learned lessons....the hard way and will continue to keep myself in check.

Evening recovery spin - 60 mins avg 137 watts
Spin felt fantastic! My Zoot recovery socks did wonders on my calves and the spin felt like the much needed icing on the cake. Topped it all off with a cherry and a session with my foam roller.

I'm tired, time for bed. Life is good :)

Saturday, November 14, 2009

A 3 day recap

Friday AM - 60 min "easy spin" avg 130w/ 3 mile "easy" run
Spin was easy and I was happy to have my powertap working again. The run on the other hand was not so easy. It was a chilly 35 degrees outside and we had sideways rain ladies and gentlemen. Within minutes my toes and feet went numb from the cold. The rain poured down and it hit hard. I felt like I was in combat with mother nature and she was kicking my tail.

Saturday - 3 hour muddy trail run - 17.25 miles
I feared this run.
*It would be my longest run to date since IMC
*I would be running the last half alone, which means my mind could turn on me
*It was a mind and finger numbing 30 degrees upon starting and wasn't going to trend up
*This would be day 14 on my 30 day challenge and my calves were starting to yell at me.

I met up with Kyle, Mark, and Mark's brother-in-law at 10am for LSD run along Wildwood. The first half we headed out north.
I ran with Mark all of maybe 30 seconds as he and Daniel zoomed past. They did a quick and easy 20 min out and back. Kyle and I ran the first 45 min out and back together. I immediatly felt pain in my calves and thought it was a bad sign. The trail was muddy. I don't mean a little dirt and mud either. I'm talking about sink your shoes and possibly loose one as the mud monster tries to devour it. I hear it especially likes the taste of Nikes. We took is slow and easy as to not fall on our face or twist an ankle. The first out and back went longer then expect which meant the 2nd one by myself would be a little shorter, I was totally ok with this! The first split we did in 1:45 and covered 9 miles. It was great to have Kyle along as he kept me in good spirits. We chit chatted the whole time which proved to be a great distraction from my achy calves. 75 mins in and my calf pain was pretty much gone.
Part two was done solo. I hit the trail heading south. I kept my GUs on point which kept my mind in the right place. I choose to go south on the second half instead of the first half. I knew the last few miles I would encounter a b^&# of a climb and wanted to suffer in solitude. Oddly enough, I didn't suffer at all. The first 1/2 mile or so of the climb was difficult. I voice came into my head and I remembered something a friend once told. I can't quote him as I don't remember the exact saying but it was something along the lines of "running is the simplest...." It made so much sense. Cavemen used to run barefoot. It really boils down to the root of our existence. I shortened up my steps (Ha! Did ya know that was possible) and hopped up that hill like a bunny in heat. I told myself if at any point I felt fatigued that I could walk up as I know is part of ultra running. Since I am training for an ultra I figured I should put the training points to good practice...BUT I never felt the need to walk. I kept a nice consistent hop up to the top of the hill and enjoyed my recovery flat. Still....I thought by the last mile I'd suffer, and I never did. In fact I felt so energized I started to sprint when I hit the last mile. Lol, that was what we call false perception of energy as my sprint only lasted 1/2 mile. I reached the end, tired but feeling pretty damn good. 80 mins and another 8 miles.

I'm not really sure why I was so scared going into this. I've done the distance before. I've trained in crap-tastic weather before. I've done it solo before. I can't really put my finger on where the fear comes from. But every training session or race I've gone into with fear has turned out to be a successful. I will considerate a necessary evil.

PS - Big thanks to Jesse for letting me borrow her thermal run tights. I think they saved my legs from frost bite.

Post run I strapped ice onto my calves for the ride into town. They didn't hurt but as I'm continuing to run every day I will do whatever I can or know to prevent injury. Picked up 28lbs of ice from the store and sunk into a 15 min ice bath when I got home. Once my skin went from red to purple I drained and defrosted with a hot Lush bomb bubble bath. Ah - utopia.

Mark came over and made Jesse and I Gyros, they were amazing. We preceded to fill our sports bottles with Crown aka Royal and hit up the max train into the city. Not before Kona, Jesse's cat decided to face attack Mark. That's a story for another day though. Along the ride downtown we took lots of crazy pictures and molested lots of random objects. We hit up Life of Riley and I learned how to play pool :). Ok, you got me. Learned is a bit of an exaggeration, but I did managed to hit the ball and one even went in to the hole! And that's what she said :) Anywho, a few crown's and a jagger and red bull and I was done for the night. I was sober enough to remove to take my vitamin I and pedialyte before bed.


Are those bedroom eyes? Nope, we're just tired.


Getting "VALIDATED"


I missed that shot


WTF?


The End

Sunday - Was food/recovery galore day
My day started of stellar as my room mate took me out to breakfast. Sweet potato pancakes, ham and egg whites - mmmm
For lunch I had left over gyros - mmmmmm
During the afternoon I made a lasagna out of whole wheat noodles, italian turkey sausage, tomatoes, garlic, spinach, mushrooms and fresh basil - mmmmmmmmmmmmm
All I did for fitness was my one recovery mile - which was cursed by woman pain. Eh, better one mile than 17.

Today is 15 of the 30 run day challenge. I'm up to 78.6 miles and my legs are a-ok. I PR'd my longest run week with 50.5 miles :D
I'm feeling pretty good about this challenge.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

A couple of 50's and being chased by ninjas

Morning Swim

1 x 300 warm up

Drills
2 x 50 A-Ok; 10
2 x 50 fist; 10
2 x 50 Karate; 10
2 x 50 10 kick stroke; 10

40x50 Main Set
• 16x50 as 1 Fast, 3 Steady (x4); all on 5s rest
• 12x50 as 1 Fast, 2 Steady (x4); all on 10s rest
W/ Paddles
• 8x50 as 1 Fast, 1 Steady (x4); all on 15s rest
• 4x50 as all Fast; all on 20s rest - (PULL, PULL, PULL! How I love feeling like an inferno submerged in water)

Cool Down
1 x 300 - my arms feel like over cooked noodles. It was a good swim!

Total yardage = 3000 yards

Evening Run - 2 loops around Nike chip trail - 5.5 miles total
So my evening run was uh, interesting. I learned that the Nike chip trail is not entirely lit up. When I had ran it the previous morning day light was slowly emerging. By the end of the first loop it was pretty light and foggy/misty. Tonight it was pitch black and I learn the trail only has ground night lights for maybe a 1/3 of it. This wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't
A - scared shitless of the dark. Which I suppose shitless on a run is a good thing?
B - clumsy. Clumsy is not good when one is running on uneven surface and can't see what is in front of them.

My previous favorite portion of the trail turning it what felt like a Friday The 13th movie. Oooo, if I had run this tomorrow it damn well would have been! Anywho, the portion is very woodsy and the ground lights, where well here........and occasionally there. My mind is playing tricks or there are shadows dancing around me. I almost ran into a tree not once but twice! Do I think the tree jumped out in front of me? Hell yea! I think that whole area has some kind of spell cast upon it. To add to the shadows, darkness and moving tree's I was creeped up upon by NINJA's! Shit you not, Ninjas! Apparently every dude that runs on the chip trail at night likes to dress in all black. I think one chopped off my nose as I had lost feeling to my face 20 minutes. Sure it could have been the 45 degree cold but it happen right as a ninja ran past me. I'm going to side with logical reasoning - The ninja cut off my nose. Oh the humanity! I high tailed it out of there one loop planed short. My calves were started to ache and moan from my clumsy steps and my mind could only take some much of the nightmarish games. I was happy to arrive at my comforting door step.

And here I am post run - I have a fetish of dressing up for my run like the blue rejected teletubbie - Skippy Do

In all honesty I'm rockin' the Sugoi MidZero hoodie with pony tail port. It's warm and I don't care for ridiculous I look in it!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Today I discovered....

the Nike chip trail. I know, I know, it took long enough. Better late than never, right?
Anywho running on that trail is pure utopia. The scenery is beautiful and the bark chip is so soft. I loved running in the dark, my way guided by shimmery night lights planted in the ground. It's only 1/2 a mile from my house and it's a short 2 mile loop, which I ran over and over and over again. I felt as if I was running miles, and miles, and miles away from home. In reality the furthest I ever got was 3 miles away from my start. I'm sure this feeling was provoked by the enchanted forest like setting. I believe the facade of distance was also caused by the root of one of my weaknesses and fears coming to surface. Running is such a wonderful sport. I don't like running in anger or hurt. I don't want to use it as an escape anymore. I can't run forever, or can I? I think I can, but I no longer want to do it alone....I will face my fear.


I got to spend the evening at....wait for it...the gym, ugh BUT I was with my girl from out town -Robin. She's probably the ONLY person that could ever get me on a piece of cardio gym equipment. We spent our catch up time on the recumbent bike, stairmaster and treadmill. Work it girl! I am soooo happy I got to see you, Robin. It's been too long. You know your lifetime friends when you pick up where you left off, and you just GET one another :)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

"Being defeated is often only a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent."

AM Run - 3.75 miles - Hmmmm, breath Kat breath

AM Swim -
The plan - Get in the water. That's it, plain and simple.
6 x 500's easy -8:30-8:45s. I have way too much %^# running through my head. As always I found it therapeutic to break it down during monotonous 500 repeats.
Total yardage 3000

I strained my back during a coughing fit on Saturday. It's getting better but still annoying.

PM Spin -
The plan - 90 mins
15 min warm up
5 x 1:00 high cadence high wattage spin outs; 2:00 floats
3 x 10 min big ring intervals 55-60 rpm; 5 min floats
15 min recovery

Now for what actually happened
15 min warm up - 20-145 watts
5 x 1:00 high cadence high wattage spin outs; 2:00 floats - avg watts 230 (10-20 watts below threshold :(( power was not present)
1/2 of a 10 min big ring interval - FAILURE! At 55-60 RPMs my watts avg'd 170 - 20 below what it should be. I was suffering. Power doesn't lie BUT my power does die. My ^%#^ass power meter lost the signal to the hub again, 35 mins in - same as last trainer session. WTF? I changed the stupid batteries. Grrrrr. I've got to figure this out.

Mark and I were both having a poor spin. He was recovering from being sick and my pathetic watts showed I was still recovering/suffering as well. We called it enough with 60 mins.
Recovered with wine, good food and much needed venting and bs'ing.

"Being defeated is often only a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent." - On to train another day, say tomorrow? :D

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Sweet November Rain



A picturesque autumn day

Started out by sleeping in to 7:30, this is good for me. Very good! A little sleeping mask does wonders keeping it dark when daylight rise and shines. Once my body decided it was time to get up my tummy chimed in with a great idea. Home made whole wheat/grain pumpkin pancakes. I topped them off with a pumpkin/agave spiced spread. OMG - so delish.

After a breakfast of champions I figured it was time to face the day. Off to Winco for another week's worth of grocery shopping. I kept singing Destiny's Child "I'm a Survivor" as I walked through the aisle ways. Winco is one of those less expensive bulk shopping centers. The kind of place low income families like to take their family on vacation to OR triathletes that eat a TON of food. Each aisle I hit I was mocked by holiday goodness. I had dreams of sugar plum fairies dancing with candy canes. The hot buttered rum offered to butter my rum. What? Um, yea. My food wet dreams didn't last long. I was rudely awakened by unruly, screaming, Bébé's Kids. Oh for the love of......control your children. Somehow I made it out alive, to shop another day.

Afternoon run - 2 hour LSD run on Wildwood
I started on 53rd and decided to do two 30 min out and backs. I was a little fearful starting. My lower side of my back still hurts a great deal when I cough. I was also concerned about the amount of fatigue I would have running for 2 hours. The cold or flu I had last week took a great deal out of me. I sucked up my fear and hit the trails. Oh my it was a BEAUTIFUL day for a run. The trails were uber muddy and covered in vibrant colors of red and golds splattered with green. The first hour came and went pretty quickly. I ran into my buddy Brian a mile or so before I went out to do my second hour. It was nice to have company for the second half. We rambled on which proved to be a nice distraction from lack of o2 in my lungs. Funny how I can always manage to talk through discomfort. The second half we crossed a few wooden bridges. This was comforting as I felt the presence of friend as I ran over them :) I finished feeling great. It was fun to bounce through the mud puddles. Nothing is quite like feeling like a kid again. Post run wasn't as stellar. I had another coughing attack which reaped havoc on my back :( . Lots of ice and vitamin I for me.

Mud Caked Calves

I returned home and recovered with a lush bomb bath. Pure utopia.
I then opted to dance around the kitchen as I cooked and planned out my weekly nutrition. Yes ladies and gentleman I am a dork.
To end the perfect autumn day on the right note my room mate and I got sushified. Mmmmmm, sushi.

And I leave you with this

I swear the "Snuggie" is taking over the world

Saturday, November 7, 2009

An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory

45 mins Pilates / foam rolling

AM Run
3.8 miles/7:30 avg

First week of 30 Days Of Running - 27 miles. Not bad considering I ran with out lungs for a good portion of it.

AM Swim - First real day back in the pool in about 2 weeks

Warm up
1 x 500

Drills
1 x 200 paddles;
1 x 200 buoy;
repeat 2 x

1 x 50 high elbow/finger drag;10
1 x 50 one arm catch up; 10
1 x 50 ten kick stroke; 10
repeat 1 x

3 x 100 - Hard. This was laughable at best. My chest is still covered in mucus and this prohibited excessive breathing. I landed on 1:40...so sad

Cool down
1 x 300

Total yardage - 2200

60 min Power KAT nap

90 min Spin
Sadly I have no wattage to report. Even if I did, I doubt it would be exciting. My goal was to stay just above my IM race wattage and work on bringing my trainer endurance back. Did this happen? Who knows. I lost my transmission signal to the HUB 45 minutes in. I'm thinking the HUB battery might need to be replaced but didn't feel like messing with it mid spin. Before the signal died my avg watts were at 152. IM was 146, so if I kept the avg up I would have been on point. Which I do believe I did.

After all is said and done I'm a bit tucked out. I feel a great deal of endurance has been lost :(

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Let It Go

Why do we get sick? There's no right or wrong answer. In fact, I don't believe there is an answer. I am not one who gets sick. I was looking over my sick time with my company in the last 14 months and shit you not, not a day used. It just doesn't happen. Then one day out of the blue....BAM! It hits me. As a superstitious person I go back to blaming this on the broken mirror. If you ask any person that doesn't train as much as I do they'll naturally say I over did it. Which, let me just go off on a little tangent here....is F^&$ing annoying. I handled "said" volume for months on end, and I never got sick. Off season came and I gave myself a break. I've tapered off. I've dropped the intensity, volume and goals. BUT since I still do more than YOU, I over do it. Input from athlete's without credentials, accomplished PRs or people I don't have strong respected relationships with fall on deaf ears.
Tangent over, feel much better now :)

Speaking of feeling better. I am feeling much better. By Wednesday my flu/cold whatever the f^$@ that had violated me had started to make its stage exit. Feeling Grade A Craptastic for 5 days really took a blow to my motivation. I haven't really swam in almost 2 weeks. I think I got on Carnage once last week. The only thing I have brought myself to do is run. The only thing that will ever hold me back from running is injury *knock on wood*....come hell or high water I will run to run another day! I decided at the end of October to accept a 30 day run challenge. Run at least one mile every day for 30 days. Sounds simple enough right? One might assume but I think it's much easier said than done. You run a fine line running every day. There's a big risk of over doing it involved. I think this is just the challenge I need. For one it will be keep me motivated and provide self accomplishment over something non-competitive or serious. Two - I think it will teach me self discipline as I will have to manage my miles accordingly. I will need to still get in long weekend runs so I can accomplish the big Bday run in Dec. The weekday runs will have to be very short lived. Three - I will be forced to pick up my Pilates/Core and foam rolling as to prevent injury.

I'm excited for fun run month of Novemeber....even if it did start out a little rocky.
Sun - Nov 1st - 1.5 miles - what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. I recited this as I almost keeled over and died.
Mon - Nov 2nd - 3.1 miles - Note to selfm- Chest shalacked with Vix Vapor Rub running in 35 degree's is god-awfully painful
Tues - Nov 3rd - 3.1 miles - Mmmm, cough drops help. Oops, dropped my lung at mile 2
Wed - Nov 4th - 5.15 miles - Brrrr, cold still hurts, menthol or not. Newtons on the other hand make everything A-Ok.
Thurs - Nov 5th - 7.5 miles - 45 degrees! What a difference 10 degrees makes. Post run cough attack ONLY lasted 5 minutes, I'm getting better!

Tomorrow is will be a very loooooong day as we have our annual physical inventory. Mileage will be very limited. I also want to give my calves a little extra R & R. I think I'll do an easy 2-3 miles and call it good.

To end with something completely off topic but fun, lyrics of songs that have been stuck in my head - Enjoy!

*Ramblin' on, And now's the time, the time is now, to sing my song
*You Spin me right round baby, right round like a record baby right, round, round,round
*YEEEEEEEAAAA! OKAAAAAAY!
*It's a nice day to start again, It's a nice day for a white wedding
*Yeah, Yeah - We Be Clubbin! It's packed %^&#%^ don't know how to act!
*Kiss me through the phone
*Keep Ya Head Up - Ooooo child things are going to get easier, oooooo child things will get brighter
*Gotta Get Some Lovin, Gotta Get Some Loving - Bounce to the house all by myself
*I'm a survivor, I'm not gonna give up, I'm not gonna stop, I'm a work harder
*Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am....stuck in the middle with you
*Hello darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again....
*I don't want to be the girl that laughs the loudest, or the girl who never wants to be alone
*No need to ask, he's a smooooth operator, smooth operator. Coast to coast from LA to Chicago
*She bangs, She bangs, oooo baby, When she moves, she moves, I go crazy
*She woke up and took me by the hand, she's gonna love me in my Chevy Van and that's ok with me
*Stop, drop, shut em down open up shop...Ooooo, nooo, that's how ruff riders roll
*Please allow me to introduce myself I'm a man of wealth and taste, I've been around for along, long year
*Now follow me and do exactly what you see, don't you want to grow up and be just like me?!
*I fell into a burning ring of fire, I went down, down, down and the flames went higher and it burns, burns, burns....the ring of fire

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

5 days and counting.......

*Why did the 30 in 30 have to start this month? Do you know how painful one mile is at this point?
*I broke a rather large mirror in half when I moved. I knew at the point of contact that I would be cursed. What I didn't know was how bad the repercussion would be.
*I have a knack for running...away from everything.
*47lb cock and a friend, what else could a girl ask for?

























*Every time I run on city streets I am amazed by how many drivers don't look before taking their “free” right.
*I found out that you can indeed make food too hot. My stomach has been churning for the last day or so over my homemade Tom Yum soup. Too much chili paste and chili oil. This is good for the nose but not the tum tum.
*I am not a fan of the darkness, whether in time or the heart.
*I'm tired of being lonely. I am tired of pretty much everything.
*It's odd how something so little could make you realize that you care so much.

What to do? What to do? What to do?

Sunday, November 1, 2009

One hot mess

I still feel like complete and utter s^&$. Each night I've slept somewhere between 10-12 hrs. During the day I'm up for 2-3 hours and then in for another 45-hour long nap.

A few weeks ago I decided to partake in a 30 day/run at least a mile each day of the month challenge. Little did I know that day one I would feel like I was sitting upon on death's door step with some kind of cold or flu.

1.5 mile run - looped around my house.
This had to be one of the toughest cardiovascular bouts I've had in a long time. The beginning wasn't THAT bad as I think I was still high off of NyQuil. I ran and felt dizzy but that was ok. Several minutes in and my lungs started to have what felt like a seizure. Phlegm was coming up and my nose started running like a broken faucet. I was a vial hot mess as I ran down the street shooting snot rocks and spitting my insides out.