Had to quote a very good training friend...who happened to nail it right on spot
"Yes but you know you would trade in the idea of having Mr. Right and the white picket fence for a PR time any day of the week."
Inside the mind of Kat...enter at your own risk.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
A little R & R goes along ways...
Taking this week off was an excellent decision on part, I feel pretty damn good. I'm not sure if I remember the last time I awoke to zero muscle/joint aches/pains.....and mental clarity is at an all time high. What I do find odd is that my hunger hasn't died down...I'm still eating like ravenous animal. Oh well, I'm just going to say I need to store extra fuel stores for IM training, I'll run it off at some point, right? Please say I'm right. :)
My house is packed and I'm currently living out of two cardboard boxes...do you know what this does to Ms. Type A++++++ positive planner? I hate not having choices. I want soup, but the soup is packed. I want to make pumpkin pancakes, the mix is packed. I want hot coco, where the hell is the box with the hot coco?! I am completely out of my comfort zone. And speaking of comfort zones...curve ball was thrown my way. WTF?!
Totally excited for Halloween. I think with enough 151 I might stay warm in what some might call a shred of fabric. But hey, I am rocking a pair of knee high (stop reading mom)
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
%^$%# me boots, with wool socks...so hey, got some warmth on the extremities, so I should be good to go. It's going to be a long night. I figure with three hours of sleep, a massive hang over and a wonderful mother to make sure I don't run into the wall too many times I shall attempt to move the next day, or at least try to direct the people I am kindly paying to move my shiznit.
And I'll leave you with a few lyrics of songs in my head, why they're up there I haven't a clue.
*If I go crazy will you still call me Superman?
*Better run through the jungle
*Why do you build me up, build me up, buttercup baby, just to let me down?
*Thunder only happens when it's raining
*You didn't think it was going to be that easy did you? You know, for a moment there, I kind of did..... :)
*Luck be a lady tonight!
*Gotta get some lovin...
*Beyond the sea, and never again I'll go sailin'
*I really want to, come kick it with you, you'll be my American boy
*Lola, lalalalola
*I don't want a beast of burden
*Smile like you mean it
*I want sex and candy
My house is packed and I'm currently living out of two cardboard boxes...do you know what this does to Ms. Type A++++++ positive planner? I hate not having choices. I want soup, but the soup is packed. I want to make pumpkin pancakes, the mix is packed. I want hot coco, where the hell is the box with the hot coco?! I am completely out of my comfort zone. And speaking of comfort zones...curve ball was thrown my way. WTF?!
Totally excited for Halloween. I think with enough 151 I might stay warm in what some might call a shred of fabric. But hey, I am rocking a pair of knee high (stop reading mom)
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
%^$%# me boots, with wool socks...so hey, got some warmth on the extremities, so I should be good to go. It's going to be a long night. I figure with three hours of sleep, a massive hang over and a wonderful mother to make sure I don't run into the wall too many times I shall attempt to move the next day, or at least try to direct the people I am kindly paying to move my shiznit.
And I'll leave you with a few lyrics of songs in my head, why they're up there I haven't a clue.
*If I go crazy will you still call me Superman?
*Better run through the jungle
*Why do you build me up, build me up, buttercup baby, just to let me down?
*Thunder only happens when it's raining
*You didn't think it was going to be that easy did you? You know, for a moment there, I kind of did..... :)
*Luck be a lady tonight!
*Gotta get some lovin...
*Beyond the sea, and never again I'll go sailin'
*I really want to, come kick it with you, you'll be my American boy
*Lola, lalalalola
*I don't want a beast of burden
*Smile like you mean it
*I want sex and candy
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Tonight I said...
F&^# training..in fact that's my moto for the whole week. I'm moving and burned out.....so instead I've opted to spend the evening sippin' on some bad ass hard cider at Mcmenamin watching Tropic Thunder with friends. Was it really funny or was the hard cider making me laugh my ass off? Either way, good times for all.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Another crazy busy off season weekend
Friday night was started off right with drinks and food with friends
*Wasabi martini at The Gotham Tavern. Ick, it tasted like aluminum...but a conversation piece and peaked the curiosity of the group to try it. Traded in for a chocolate espresso martini topped with a cherry. Really how could you mess anything up topped with a cherry?
*Not one, not two, but three haunted houses at the memorial coliseum. The first one, Oil and Gas was pretty scary....although that could be contributed to the alcohol I consumed prior. Lindsay and I held hands, screamed and protected one another from the ghouls. The second house was set up like a museum of gore and oddities. It wasn't really scare at all and that might have been because the alcohol wore off waiting in the 20 minute line. Really? The best part was walking through the pitch black rooms. While we were waiting in line there were these odd characters walking around, they were pretty neat. There was this disturbed looking child with a fucked up doll, a guy in some kind of gas mask and lab coat, a crazy pig faced man....he was freaky until he started dancing, then I couldn't stop laughing my ass off. What took my attention was the hot crazy murderer...or something like that. He was walking around with no shirt on, bad ass abs, and covered in blood and dirt. I could spot those abs from afar and was immediately drawn to him, so of course I ran right over and felt him up. I had to see if they were real or painted on. Would you expect anything less from me? Lol, they were real and that brought a smile to my face. Sadly for me he wasn't interested and walked away in his trance. The third house was the best in my opinion, and that was with no alcohol involved. It was set up like an insane asylum. they had all kinds of crazy characters running around, role playing and becoming very invasive. At one point Lindsay and I found the whole thing so funny all we could do was fall over laughing. I think this annoyed the actors....they didn't stick around too long after.
*Note to self: You can no longer wear *&$% me boots to look cute if you plan on walking around all night. Ouch! My feet hurt the next morning.
*Riding the MAX is scary. A man that resembled a pimp (I'm 99% sure this was NOT a costume) kindly let me know he like my little outfit under my wool floor length coat. Awesome.
*Hot wings and more alcohol to end the night on the right note.
*Once again I got home before midnight so that my car wouldn't turn into a pumpkin
*Failed on the dating goal.....I couldn't get a date with the murderer yet I got hit on by a pimp. My luck, go figure.
Saturday
*Woke up after 6 hours sleep and went running with my coach. Did I drink last night? WTF was I thinking? We ran all over the west hills, but at a slow comfortable pace. Started at Dunaway track, headed up Twilliger, ran off onto random trails that took us up to Council Crest, the Zoo and Rose Gardens and then back down. Council Crest has this neat circle you can stand in the middle and anything you say will echo off the stone walls that surround you. Of course I had to play around and talk random nonsense on it. We couldn't have asked for better weather to run in. It was a prefect autumn day in the NW. Sunny and clear with a crisp in the air, surrounded by the beautiful city inside the forrest with falling changing leaves. Heading back was a bit challenging. I had shared some of my nutrition and found myself bonking with vertigo.....no fun. There were a few points I had to stop on the trail and walk since I couldn't see straight. 2 hours and 45 minutes later we were back. With all the breaks and walks we probably ran 2.5 hours, I really haven't a clue on mileage since it was on unfamiliar running grounds but based off of time and a relaxed pace I'd guess 14-15 miles. I was happy to arrive back at the car eat....props to me for bringing my cooler with food!
*I couldn't satisfy my hunger all day.
*45 minute power cat nap
*Finished my Yam Jalepeno Bacon soup. Turned out to be my favorite soup in the last two months.
*Caught up with friends at Katy's house warming party. Such a cute new home, hope you love it hun! Katy by the way makes the BEST Sangria.
*I ate too many hot wings and red pepper hummus dip. It was time for Kat to step away from the food.
*Of course 47lb cock wine was involved and a wine called Black Mate. I bought it because it was national Pirate Day, what that means I don't know, but at the time it intrigued me.
*Pb cookies and cherry chip cupcakes, so freaking good! I love the off season!
*Lindsay and I ended up at Dirty dancing the night away.
*One too many Black Opals. Train hard, party hard, right?
*Hehe, pole dancing with an oh so hot soon to be fireman. Did I mention I got to see more abs? This had to be my lucky weekend.
*Ugh, driving home at 5am. Shouldn't I be out running now?
Sunday
*4 hours later I was up to start packing more and then to take care of errands. Not too happy about this.
*Met up with friends for an easy 40 mile ride. We started at the Lucky Lab in NW and then my route was changed. I had suggested riding the dirty 30 out to Germantown but was convinced to ride up Cornell to 53rd instead. A new hill to climb, cool. Haha, I was actually a bit scared since I had never ridden it before and wasn't sure if my quads have healed yet. Last weekend I still had struggles getting out of the saddle. I climbed 53rd and then Thompson all in the saddle, it felt good. I wanted to conserve since this was just the beginning of the ride and my fatigue levels were high from lack of sleep. We rode Skyline all the way down to Cornelius, again conserved....you know come to think of it the whole ride I conserved. This was probably the easiest 40 miles I have ever done. I guess I can thank riding with two bad ass boys to draft off the whole time. Thanks fellas. I swore I was going to get blown right off of skyline, the side wind was scary and the hangover wasn't helping anything. Speaking off wind, you can always count on it at Sauvie's Island. Again, thanks boys for pulling me along :) You made me a happy Kat and in return I shared my H2o and nutrition. Did I mention I had a nice view of piston pumping calves? Mmmm, yummy. At the end of the ride we went up Vaughn and I decided to test out my quads. I was able to climb out of the saddle without any sort of muscle fatigue. Booyah, quads are healed. I think next weekend is going to call for a hilly ride. Bull Run maybe? :)
*Another beautiful fall day and great training....or just keeping my fitness up.
Here's the power wattage data - Keep in mind - 4 hours of sleep and a massive hangover
Max Speed 33.18/ Avg 14.79
Max Cadence 128/ Avg 58
Max HR 182/Avg 141
Max Torque 43.95/Avg Torque 7.66
Max Power Watts 826 (no shit!? this can't be right)/Avg watts 122
Max Power /kg 13.9/Avg 2.05
I'm tired....and now need a weekend from the weekend.
*Wasabi martini at The Gotham Tavern. Ick, it tasted like aluminum...but a conversation piece and peaked the curiosity of the group to try it. Traded in for a chocolate espresso martini topped with a cherry. Really how could you mess anything up topped with a cherry?
*Not one, not two, but three haunted houses at the memorial coliseum. The first one, Oil and Gas was pretty scary....although that could be contributed to the alcohol I consumed prior. Lindsay and I held hands, screamed and protected one another from the ghouls. The second house was set up like a museum of gore and oddities. It wasn't really scare at all and that might have been because the alcohol wore off waiting in the 20 minute line. Really? The best part was walking through the pitch black rooms. While we were waiting in line there were these odd characters walking around, they were pretty neat. There was this disturbed looking child with a fucked up doll, a guy in some kind of gas mask and lab coat, a crazy pig faced man....he was freaky until he started dancing, then I couldn't stop laughing my ass off. What took my attention was the hot crazy murderer...or something like that. He was walking around with no shirt on, bad ass abs, and covered in blood and dirt. I could spot those abs from afar and was immediately drawn to him, so of course I ran right over and felt him up. I had to see if they were real or painted on. Would you expect anything less from me? Lol, they were real and that brought a smile to my face. Sadly for me he wasn't interested and walked away in his trance. The third house was the best in my opinion, and that was with no alcohol involved. It was set up like an insane asylum. they had all kinds of crazy characters running around, role playing and becoming very invasive. At one point Lindsay and I found the whole thing so funny all we could do was fall over laughing. I think this annoyed the actors....they didn't stick around too long after.
*Note to self: You can no longer wear *&$% me boots to look cute if you plan on walking around all night. Ouch! My feet hurt the next morning.
*Riding the MAX is scary. A man that resembled a pimp (I'm 99% sure this was NOT a costume) kindly let me know he like my little outfit under my wool floor length coat. Awesome.
*Hot wings and more alcohol to end the night on the right note.
*Once again I got home before midnight so that my car wouldn't turn into a pumpkin
*Failed on the dating goal.....I couldn't get a date with the murderer yet I got hit on by a pimp. My luck, go figure.
Saturday
*Woke up after 6 hours sleep and went running with my coach. Did I drink last night? WTF was I thinking? We ran all over the west hills, but at a slow comfortable pace. Started at Dunaway track, headed up Twilliger, ran off onto random trails that took us up to Council Crest, the Zoo and Rose Gardens and then back down. Council Crest has this neat circle you can stand in the middle and anything you say will echo off the stone walls that surround you. Of course I had to play around and talk random nonsense on it. We couldn't have asked for better weather to run in. It was a prefect autumn day in the NW. Sunny and clear with a crisp in the air, surrounded by the beautiful city inside the forrest with falling changing leaves. Heading back was a bit challenging. I had shared some of my nutrition and found myself bonking with vertigo.....no fun. There were a few points I had to stop on the trail and walk since I couldn't see straight. 2 hours and 45 minutes later we were back. With all the breaks and walks we probably ran 2.5 hours, I really haven't a clue on mileage since it was on unfamiliar running grounds but based off of time and a relaxed pace I'd guess 14-15 miles. I was happy to arrive back at the car eat....props to me for bringing my cooler with food!
*I couldn't satisfy my hunger all day.
*45 minute power cat nap
*Finished my Yam Jalepeno Bacon soup. Turned out to be my favorite soup in the last two months.
*Caught up with friends at Katy's house warming party. Such a cute new home, hope you love it hun! Katy by the way makes the BEST Sangria.
*I ate too many hot wings and red pepper hummus dip. It was time for Kat to step away from the food.
*Of course 47lb cock wine was involved and a wine called Black Mate. I bought it because it was national Pirate Day, what that means I don't know, but at the time it intrigued me.
*Pb cookies and cherry chip cupcakes, so freaking good! I love the off season!
*Lindsay and I ended up at Dirty dancing the night away.
*One too many Black Opals. Train hard, party hard, right?
*Hehe, pole dancing with an oh so hot soon to be fireman. Did I mention I got to see more abs? This had to be my lucky weekend.
*Ugh, driving home at 5am. Shouldn't I be out running now?
Sunday
*4 hours later I was up to start packing more and then to take care of errands. Not too happy about this.
*Met up with friends for an easy 40 mile ride. We started at the Lucky Lab in NW and then my route was changed. I had suggested riding the dirty 30 out to Germantown but was convinced to ride up Cornell to 53rd instead. A new hill to climb, cool. Haha, I was actually a bit scared since I had never ridden it before and wasn't sure if my quads have healed yet. Last weekend I still had struggles getting out of the saddle. I climbed 53rd and then Thompson all in the saddle, it felt good. I wanted to conserve since this was just the beginning of the ride and my fatigue levels were high from lack of sleep. We rode Skyline all the way down to Cornelius, again conserved....you know come to think of it the whole ride I conserved. This was probably the easiest 40 miles I have ever done. I guess I can thank riding with two bad ass boys to draft off the whole time. Thanks fellas. I swore I was going to get blown right off of skyline, the side wind was scary and the hangover wasn't helping anything. Speaking off wind, you can always count on it at Sauvie's Island. Again, thanks boys for pulling me along :) You made me a happy Kat and in return I shared my H2o and nutrition. Did I mention I had a nice view of piston pumping calves? Mmmm, yummy. At the end of the ride we went up Vaughn and I decided to test out my quads. I was able to climb out of the saddle without any sort of muscle fatigue. Booyah, quads are healed. I think next weekend is going to call for a hilly ride. Bull Run maybe? :)
*Another beautiful fall day and great training....or just keeping my fitness up.
Here's the power wattage data - Keep in mind - 4 hours of sleep and a massive hangover
Max Speed 33.18/ Avg 14.79
Max Cadence 128/ Avg 58
Max HR 182/Avg 141
Max Torque 43.95/Avg Torque 7.66
Max Power Watts 826 (no shit!? this can't be right)/Avg watts 122
Max Power /kg 13.9/Avg 2.05
I'm tired....and now need a weekend from the weekend.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
More on life
Sad note: Today I spoke with the head nurse at OHSU. I'm trying to figure out this egg donation thing. After a long talk of my lifestyle and the process that would happen I've opted not to donate. The nurse said that with my weight/ body fat % and regular monthly cycles (which barely exists due to the high amount of exercise) there would be less then a 5% chance of the hormone/fertility growth medication to actually work. She asks all the donors to reduce exercise to light or none at all during this time to help with fertility stimuli. Plus with the amount of training I do the side effects had a high chance of being worse. So blah, although I care I can't share.......this sucks.
I did happen to have a really great day at work. I'm starting to get into the product creation phase for our website. This is so much fun. I get to use my creative technical analytical side to break down athletic apparel. It's amazing how many features and benefits a garment can have.
I've been testing/running in my new Zoot shoes and I have to say I love them. Here's a link
http://www.zootsports.com/race/
I have the ultra tempo. It provides a minimal amount of stabilization support in a race shoe. First off I've NEVER been able to wear a race shoe. I've always needed some heavy clumpy shoe to help fix my pronation. Either I've improved my run form so much or Zoot make a badass shoe that compensates while staying light. I think it's a little bit of both. I've done 3 runs now in these shoes. First run was a 7 mile hilly run on the roads....worked out ok. Second run was a 6.5 mile tempo on the treadmill. I was nervous about this one, I usually get some kind of leg annoyance on the stupid boring machine, but not in my Zoots. 3rd run was tonight 3 miles sock-less. This also made me nervous. In the past I've been prone to blisters. Zoot has made these shoes with a breathable anti-microbial mesh liner inside, anti friction liner, water drainage holes in the bottom and connected tongue to shoe with quick laces. 3 miles and no blisters. The next test will be a 10k sock-less. I'd like to test these up to a half marathon. I couldn't see doing IM in them but a 10k and possibly a half marathon. They're much lighter and nicer to run/race in then my normal training shoes.
Met up with a friend for an easy 3 mile run to end the evening. It was good times, lots of catching up to be done and sushi to eat after. Mmmm, I <3 sushi!
I'm going to bed now, and my nose is could yet again. Did I mention I didn't defrost from my morning run until 12:30 this afternoon. I HATE being anemic.
I did happen to have a really great day at work. I'm starting to get into the product creation phase for our website. This is so much fun. I get to use my creative technical analytical side to break down athletic apparel. It's amazing how many features and benefits a garment can have.
I've been testing/running in my new Zoot shoes and I have to say I love them. Here's a link
http://www.zootsports.com/race/
I have the ultra tempo. It provides a minimal amount of stabilization support in a race shoe. First off I've NEVER been able to wear a race shoe. I've always needed some heavy clumpy shoe to help fix my pronation. Either I've improved my run form so much or Zoot make a badass shoe that compensates while staying light. I think it's a little bit of both. I've done 3 runs now in these shoes. First run was a 7 mile hilly run on the roads....worked out ok. Second run was a 6.5 mile tempo on the treadmill. I was nervous about this one, I usually get some kind of leg annoyance on the stupid boring machine, but not in my Zoots. 3rd run was tonight 3 miles sock-less. This also made me nervous. In the past I've been prone to blisters. Zoot has made these shoes with a breathable anti-microbial mesh liner inside, anti friction liner, water drainage holes in the bottom and connected tongue to shoe with quick laces. 3 miles and no blisters. The next test will be a 10k sock-less. I'd like to test these up to a half marathon. I couldn't see doing IM in them but a 10k and possibly a half marathon. They're much lighter and nicer to run/race in then my normal training shoes.
Met up with a friend for an easy 3 mile run to end the evening. It was good times, lots of catching up to be done and sushi to eat after. Mmmm, I <3 sushi!
I'm going to bed now, and my nose is could yet again. Did I mention I didn't defrost from my morning run until 12:30 this afternoon. I HATE being anemic.
Brrrrr. Fricken-A
It's bloody cold. Got up and started running and immediately wish I had hit snoozed and slept in. Brrrrr, jack frost has arrived too early! Hit me in the face with 35 degrees. My lungs, nose and fingers hurt. There wasn't much I could do about my nose and I was wearing gloves for my hands, the only solution was to pick up the pace and get my core heated up with high powered energy. Within 15 minutes I had feeling in my hands again and my body was warm with pumping blood.
6.2 miles/8:25 pace.
I'm running tonight with a girlfriend, looking forward to the company.
6.2 miles/8:25 pace.
I'm running tonight with a girlfriend, looking forward to the company.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Back in the pool
250 Warm up
1 x 200 fins
6 x 50 drills; A-ok, Fist, Claw; rest 10
3 x 100 paddles
1 x 200 fins
6 x 200, rest ; 20 between each
#1 & 4; be speedy on the first 100, then easy (positive split)
#2 & 5; be speedy on the middle 100 (even split)
#3 & 6; be speedy on the last 100 (negative split)
100 easy
Cool down
25 x 5 pool wall dips
50 x 5 pool wall dips
50 x 5 pool wall dips
50 x 5 pool wall dips
50 x 5 pool wall dips
25 x 5 pool wall dips
Total yardage 2800
This was challenging for me today.
1 x 200 fins
6 x 50 drills; A-ok, Fist, Claw; rest 10
3 x 100 paddles
1 x 200 fins
6 x 200, rest ; 20 between each
#1 & 4; be speedy on the first 100, then easy (positive split)
#2 & 5; be speedy on the middle 100 (even split)
#3 & 6; be speedy on the last 100 (negative split)
100 easy
Cool down
25 x 5 pool wall dips
50 x 5 pool wall dips
50 x 5 pool wall dips
50 x 5 pool wall dips
50 x 5 pool wall dips
25 x 5 pool wall dips
Total yardage 2800
This was challenging for me today.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Bits and Pieces of moi
I like to keep my blog mostly centered around training since I review it every 2-3 months for self analyzation and improvement. But as I'm in the off season I have less training to write about and a ton of things running through my brain. I figure I'll continue to write, I guess what ever tickles my fancy and then 2-3 months down the road ask myself WTF I was thinking. That question usually comes up through training reviews so I'll keep it a constant theme in my life. WTF was Kat thinking? Anywho, the day started....
with rolling over and looking at the clock. 5:25 am, Shit, the alarm is going to go off in 5 minutes. Do I A. turn it off for an hour, put the blankets over my head and go back to sleep or do I B. Get out of bed put my running clothes on and run? Well I opted for C. which originally wasn't part of the equation. I looked at my cell phone to checked missed msgs. I turn my phone on silent as I crawl into slumber as to not get disturbed. I can be one evil bitch when rudely awoken to a drunk txt or dial. My friend Nikhi sent me a txt the previous night about her amazing run. This brought a smile to my face and instantly motivated me up out of bed and onto the gym.
6.5 miles
10 min easy warm up
10 min 8/min pace; 5 min floats at 9:13 x 3
Day 16 of marathon recovery. I'm still not supposed to push it to the limit (liiiiiimit! Ok maybe I'm the only one that knows that song. Scarface anyone? Scott, you have to know?) It's really starting to get hard to hold back. The paces are easy and energy is ready to floor it but I HAVE to HAVE a solid recovery. I know the damage I did to my legs was deep, it's a constant reminder every time I get on my bike to climb a hill. Must hold back from temptation. Self discipline Kat, self discipline! So I held back and had a lack luster tempo. 10 more days........I'm counting them down.
I have a decision to make that I think might make a big impact to my race season and training year. Not really sure what I'm going to do yet. I don't want to talk about it much, except for those I've requested guidance from, either way I'll sit on it for a few days and let training figure it out for me. Following your heart always leads you in the right direction....unless a boy is involved.
On another serious note......I've been thinking about egg donation. I know random, weird and kind of a sensitive topic for some and way too personal for others. I'm not sensitive, very weird and random and really don't care what I share so I guess there it is. I've always cursed the day I got my period. Why me?! I yelled. Like all other 12 yr old girls I thought my world was going to end. Come age 27 and I'm still asking that stupid question....Why me?! I've never had a desire for a family although that could change one day, highly unlikely but all possible I don't want to give the option up. The Why Me? Question brought up a good thought; I should do something positive with the negative and help someone else out. Many women try to have babies and are unsuccessful, instead of complaining about my monthly curse I should look at it as a blessing for another person, human life if you will. So I'm going to look into the donation process. I'm a little concerned about the hormone and surgery side effects with IM training. If I do decide to donate it will have to be soon, hopefully before my season starts up. If anyone has any experience or feed back on the hormone procedure I'd like to hear from you. Please drop me an email in my contact me area. Thanks!
PGE finally won and I turned my heat on tonight. This girl is not going to bed with another cold nose! Where is that guy who's going to turn my bike wattage into house heating?
with rolling over and looking at the clock. 5:25 am, Shit, the alarm is going to go off in 5 minutes. Do I A. turn it off for an hour, put the blankets over my head and go back to sleep or do I B. Get out of bed put my running clothes on and run? Well I opted for C. which originally wasn't part of the equation. I looked at my cell phone to checked missed msgs. I turn my phone on silent as I crawl into slumber as to not get disturbed. I can be one evil bitch when rudely awoken to a drunk txt or dial. My friend Nikhi sent me a txt the previous night about her amazing run. This brought a smile to my face and instantly motivated me up out of bed and onto the gym.
6.5 miles
10 min easy warm up
10 min 8/min pace; 5 min floats at 9:13 x 3
Day 16 of marathon recovery. I'm still not supposed to push it to the limit (liiiiiimit! Ok maybe I'm the only one that knows that song. Scarface anyone? Scott, you have to know?) It's really starting to get hard to hold back. The paces are easy and energy is ready to floor it but I HAVE to HAVE a solid recovery. I know the damage I did to my legs was deep, it's a constant reminder every time I get on my bike to climb a hill. Must hold back from temptation. Self discipline Kat, self discipline! So I held back and had a lack luster tempo. 10 more days........I'm counting them down.
I have a decision to make that I think might make a big impact to my race season and training year. Not really sure what I'm going to do yet. I don't want to talk about it much, except for those I've requested guidance from, either way I'll sit on it for a few days and let training figure it out for me. Following your heart always leads you in the right direction....unless a boy is involved.
On another serious note......I've been thinking about egg donation. I know random, weird and kind of a sensitive topic for some and way too personal for others. I'm not sensitive, very weird and random and really don't care what I share so I guess there it is. I've always cursed the day I got my period. Why me?! I yelled. Like all other 12 yr old girls I thought my world was going to end. Come age 27 and I'm still asking that stupid question....Why me?! I've never had a desire for a family although that could change one day, highly unlikely but all possible I don't want to give the option up. The Why Me? Question brought up a good thought; I should do something positive with the negative and help someone else out. Many women try to have babies and are unsuccessful, instead of complaining about my monthly curse I should look at it as a blessing for another person, human life if you will. So I'm going to look into the donation process. I'm a little concerned about the hormone and surgery side effects with IM training. If I do decide to donate it will have to be soon, hopefully before my season starts up. If anyone has any experience or feed back on the hormone procedure I'd like to hear from you. Please drop me an email in my contact me area. Thanks!
PGE finally won and I turned my heat on tonight. This girl is not going to bed with another cold nose! Where is that guy who's going to turn my bike wattage into house heating?
Sunday, October 19, 2008
A weekend in review
Saturday – easy/moderate 25 mile bike ride
I hit the west hills with Paul before the PDX Tri club scavenger hunt. I got a little excited and over my head when I suggested we climb Logie Trail along Hwy 30. Paul brought me down to center ground and suggested Germantown Road instead. I’ve never done Germantown before and knew it wasn’t as steep at Logie, which I think hits 14% at some point. This was supposed to be a nice and easy relaxed ride, so Germantown it is!
Here’s the elevation profile for Germantown.
As I was climbing I was very thankful we went this route instead. I am still having quad troubles getting out of the saddle. Really? When will this go away? Once we crested Germantown we rode out to the end of Skyline to Cornelius Pass and backtracked Skyline down to Cornell. It was nice to get a ride in before the tri club scavenger hunt. Here’s my power data
Speed Max 30.02 max/13.55 Avg
Cadence Max 222 (this has to be an error)/Avg 51 (yes I'm a damn pedal masher)
HR Max 184/Avg 147
Torque Max 44.54 / Avg 8.72
Power (Watts) Max 354/Avg 124
Power Watts/kg 5.96/Avg 2.08
I can't wait to be 100% recovered and do some power testing. Thinking this will take place early to mid Nov was I'm moved and settled in my new place.
On to the scavenger hunt! Here’s a little recap
*Julie, Shannon and I in the back of a cop car.
*Racking up an $88 bar tab
*Shooting a German Chocolate Martini
*Shannon running across the street with a giant pickle.
*Riding a little girls hot pink Specialized
*Lmfao, conversations with Jack who we later found out was really named Wally, the Pug, also the pretty little black and white eyed Lucy.
*Shannon talking to random strangers in Chinatown, scary!
*Falling on my ass in the middle of downtown PDX, what’s a ride with Kat if this doesn’t happen? My hip hurts.
*Sadly informing a stranger he had a mullet, lol, how could you not know?
*Julie stopping a random driver to see if they were 85, turns out they were 88 so she let them go. But we needed someone 85 or over with a valid drivers license so then she raced them down to get the DL picture. Too funny!
*Racing back to the finish with 2 minutes to spare.
We took 3rd place. We got the most stuff but not the most points. One team went for the whole enchilada and got in Dishman pool and did synchronized swimming. Damn them! The event over all was a lot of fun and big ups to Lindsay for putting it together. At the end we sat around and BSd over pizza and beer/wine. I don’t remember chewing the pizza, it was good I inhaled it; some kind of meat lovers.
In the evening I met up with some friends at The Vault for a fun night filled with martinis. I stuck to my favorite The Pussy Wagon, lol, come on Kill Bill, would you expect anything less? It’s a martini with cranberry, lime and jalapeño infused vodka. I was supposed to focus on my new in season goal of dating. But that didn’t work out too well. I ended up getting stuck talking to a semi-hot guy that appeared to be mesmerized by my training. He was too easy and that made him no fun. Shannon did happen to point out his $300 jeans, but I’m not looking for gold, I’m looking for fun. Dude had a very odd friend that ended up disclosing his “members” size and asking if that was big. I was stuck in the middle of the whole conversation and it was really weird. I learned a new term last night; Puma, which I guess I happen to be. If you don’t know I’m not going to break it down for ya. Anywho, the evening was a whole lot of fun. 11:30 came and it was time to run home before my car turned into a pumpkin, I had to get up and run in the morning.
Great end to a great day!
Sunday – 10 mile LSD run along Wildwood.
Oh man, did I drink last night? Wooooeeee, guess I did. Wish I could sleep in for once, but no, the internal alarm clock will not allow that. I got up and started my cooking for the week. Baked Pumpkin French toast casserole (s/f whole wheat w/o HFSC) and a cranberry chicken skillet with brown rice. Then I put on my running closes and drove out to Wildwood. Brrrrr, it was crisp, cold and foggy. A mile into the trail run and my HR was high enough to keep me warm. This run was bad ass. Despite having a itsy bitsy hangover and vertigo I felt really good. In fact I had these urges to sprint. I guess it was the “puma” coming out from inside. I felt like an animal running through the forest; it was such an awesome feeling. Ended the run with the famous runners high. Then I went home cooked some more. I LOVE wasabi mashed potatoes so I created a wasabi potato soup with spinach. Turned out really yummy. Now I need to get back to packing.
Au revoir!
I hit the west hills with Paul before the PDX Tri club scavenger hunt. I got a little excited and over my head when I suggested we climb Logie Trail along Hwy 30. Paul brought me down to center ground and suggested Germantown Road instead. I’ve never done Germantown before and knew it wasn’t as steep at Logie, which I think hits 14% at some point. This was supposed to be a nice and easy relaxed ride, so Germantown it is!
Here’s the elevation profile for Germantown.
As I was climbing I was very thankful we went this route instead. I am still having quad troubles getting out of the saddle. Really? When will this go away? Once we crested Germantown we rode out to the end of Skyline to Cornelius Pass and backtracked Skyline down to Cornell. It was nice to get a ride in before the tri club scavenger hunt. Here’s my power data
Speed Max 30.02 max/13.55 Avg
Cadence Max 222 (this has to be an error)/Avg 51 (yes I'm a damn pedal masher)
HR Max 184/Avg 147
Torque Max 44.54 / Avg 8.72
Power (Watts) Max 354/Avg 124
Power Watts/kg 5.96/Avg 2.08
I can't wait to be 100% recovered and do some power testing. Thinking this will take place early to mid Nov was I'm moved and settled in my new place.
On to the scavenger hunt! Here’s a little recap
*Julie, Shannon and I in the back of a cop car.
*Racking up an $88 bar tab
*Shooting a German Chocolate Martini
*Shannon running across the street with a giant pickle.
*Riding a little girls hot pink Specialized
*Lmfao, conversations with Jack who we later found out was really named Wally, the Pug, also the pretty little black and white eyed Lucy.
*Shannon talking to random strangers in Chinatown, scary!
*Falling on my ass in the middle of downtown PDX, what’s a ride with Kat if this doesn’t happen? My hip hurts.
*Sadly informing a stranger he had a mullet, lol, how could you not know?
*Julie stopping a random driver to see if they were 85, turns out they were 88 so she let them go. But we needed someone 85 or over with a valid drivers license so then she raced them down to get the DL picture. Too funny!
*Racing back to the finish with 2 minutes to spare.
We took 3rd place. We got the most stuff but not the most points. One team went for the whole enchilada and got in Dishman pool and did synchronized swimming. Damn them! The event over all was a lot of fun and big ups to Lindsay for putting it together. At the end we sat around and BSd over pizza and beer/wine. I don’t remember chewing the pizza, it was good I inhaled it; some kind of meat lovers.
In the evening I met up with some friends at The Vault for a fun night filled with martinis. I stuck to my favorite The Pussy Wagon, lol, come on Kill Bill, would you expect anything less? It’s a martini with cranberry, lime and jalapeño infused vodka. I was supposed to focus on my new in season goal of dating. But that didn’t work out too well. I ended up getting stuck talking to a semi-hot guy that appeared to be mesmerized by my training. He was too easy and that made him no fun. Shannon did happen to point out his $300 jeans, but I’m not looking for gold, I’m looking for fun. Dude had a very odd friend that ended up disclosing his “members” size and asking if that was big. I was stuck in the middle of the whole conversation and it was really weird. I learned a new term last night; Puma, which I guess I happen to be. If you don’t know I’m not going to break it down for ya. Anywho, the evening was a whole lot of fun. 11:30 came and it was time to run home before my car turned into a pumpkin, I had to get up and run in the morning.
Great end to a great day!
Sunday – 10 mile LSD run along Wildwood.
Oh man, did I drink last night? Wooooeeee, guess I did. Wish I could sleep in for once, but no, the internal alarm clock will not allow that. I got up and started my cooking for the week. Baked Pumpkin French toast casserole (s/f whole wheat w/o HFSC) and a cranberry chicken skillet with brown rice. Then I put on my running closes and drove out to Wildwood. Brrrrr, it was crisp, cold and foggy. A mile into the trail run and my HR was high enough to keep me warm. This run was bad ass. Despite having a itsy bitsy hangover and vertigo I felt really good. In fact I had these urges to sprint. I guess it was the “puma” coming out from inside. I felt like an animal running through the forest; it was such an awesome feeling. Ended the run with the famous runners high. Then I went home cooked some more. I LOVE wasabi mashed potatoes so I created a wasabi potato soup with spinach. Turned out really yummy. Now I need to get back to packing.
Au revoir!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
It always seems I'm running from
or to daylight. I awoke to my 5:20 alarm. Shit, I'm tired and unmotivated. Hit snooze and slept for another hour. Today was another "blah" mood day. Thankfully I have a kick ass job to help keep my spirits high, for 9 hours at least. While I was stuck in gridlock on the way home I noticed something beautiful, the sunset. This inspired me to chase the sun down, so that's what I did. I went home, slipped on my running shoes and I was off. I took my usual hilly route down Walnut street to Barrows. As I hit the half way point it was almost completely dark but you could see a glimpse of light upon the horizon...it was a sight to see. Run Kat Run.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
A case of the BLAHs
That's what I have, blah.
It really hit me Monday morning....the start to my off season. I woke up and realized someone had thrown water on my fire. I'm supposed to take it easy for 26 days. I'm supposed to let my body and mind recover and heal from the last 10 months of crazy training. I know it's good for me, I know it's best....but then can someone tell me why I feel heart broken and crappy? I have this emptiness inside, it feels like my one true love has dumped me off in the gutter to rot alone. Ok, maybe that's a little drastic but I am blue, I have the right to have my own little mellow dramatic pity party. The last few days I have tried to stay positive. Tuesday I ran and did Pilates, today I spun and swam, all with little effort. I thought doing a little unorganized fitness would turn my frown upside down, but alas it didn't. I can't just do easy fitness....I need goals, I need a challenge. I want to let the animal out from inside. Yet if I did, I wouldn't do the kind of damage I should. I'd maybe crawl to the finish with my tail between my legs. Although I have hunger inside I am weak. Weak and tired. I know I need rest. Every night I come home and all I want to do is sleep and eat. I'm lacking motivation in everything outside of work and training. My hunger has been insatiable which is really annoying. I'm exhausted yet fueled, I'm conflicted and don't know how to resolve. I want to crawl up in a ball and go to sleep....alone and cold. G'night.
It really hit me Monday morning....the start to my off season. I woke up and realized someone had thrown water on my fire. I'm supposed to take it easy for 26 days. I'm supposed to let my body and mind recover and heal from the last 10 months of crazy training. I know it's good for me, I know it's best....but then can someone tell me why I feel heart broken and crappy? I have this emptiness inside, it feels like my one true love has dumped me off in the gutter to rot alone. Ok, maybe that's a little drastic but I am blue, I have the right to have my own little mellow dramatic pity party. The last few days I have tried to stay positive. Tuesday I ran and did Pilates, today I spun and swam, all with little effort. I thought doing a little unorganized fitness would turn my frown upside down, but alas it didn't. I can't just do easy fitness....I need goals, I need a challenge. I want to let the animal out from inside. Yet if I did, I wouldn't do the kind of damage I should. I'd maybe crawl to the finish with my tail between my legs. Although I have hunger inside I am weak. Weak and tired. I know I need rest. Every night I come home and all I want to do is sleep and eat. I'm lacking motivation in everything outside of work and training. My hunger has been insatiable which is really annoying. I'm exhausted yet fueled, I'm conflicted and don't know how to resolve. I want to crawl up in a ball and go to sleep....alone and cold. G'night.
Having a very hard time....
Trying to lay off of training. Ugh, At least the things I am doing are at an easy pace/level and I have no goal or expectations.
Tuesday night - 1 hour of Pilates
Wednesday morning -
30 min easy spin
Swim
200 warm up
1 x 100 A-ok
1 x 50 kickboard
1 x 100 fist
1 x 50 kickboard
1 x 100 karate
1 x 50 kickboard
3 x 100 paddles
1 x 50 kickboard
1 x 500
100 cool down with 15 pool wall dips
Total: 1600 yards
Oh man, over a month since I've been in the pool...I was scared I'd forget how to swim! But alas, I didn't and the swim felt great! Funny, this was the first time I have EVER gone to the pool without a swim workout...I just did whatever I wanted.....it was a nice change.
Tuesday night - 1 hour of Pilates
Wednesday morning -
30 min easy spin
Swim
200 warm up
1 x 100 A-ok
1 x 50 kickboard
1 x 100 fist
1 x 50 kickboard
1 x 100 karate
1 x 50 kickboard
3 x 100 paddles
1 x 50 kickboard
1 x 500
100 cool down with 15 pool wall dips
Total: 1600 yards
Oh man, over a month since I've been in the pool...I was scared I'd forget how to swim! But alas, I didn't and the swim felt great! Funny, this was the first time I have EVER gone to the pool without a swim workout...I just did whatever I wanted.....it was a nice change.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Hi, my names Katie and I'm addicted.....
to running, I just can't help it. Last night I knew I wanted to get up and run this morning. I went to bed excited, looking forward to my morning run. So much in fact that I woke up at 1:30 and got dressed only to realize I it was 1:30 in the morning! So I kept my clothes on and just laid back down. 5:30 rolls around and I just can't sleep any longer, must go run. And what a run it was. BEAUTIFUL. I had only intended on doing 5 miles, want to keep my mileage low for awhile, but the beautiful bright full moon lead me astray and I ended up doing an easy 10 k. My day has started off one the right foot!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
The Harvest Century & the end to a season
This would be the icing on my endurance season cake....the 102 mile Harvest Century.
I choose to do this century because it was the first century I had ever done last year and want to build a tradition on it. Come this morning if you asked me if it was a *smart* decision to do a century ride a week after I had raced a marathon and hadn't been on a bike in over 3 weeks or that I hadn't ridden over 50 miles on any given ride since the end of August I would say "No, I'm an idiot." But now that all is said and done I will retract that *idiot* comment. I am not an idiot, I am an over zealous triathlete that likes to push her limits, BUT knows her boundaries. Now, on to the good stuff....the ride its self.
To start the day off right I end up stepping in some kind of bees nest (it's still dark) in the park. Suddenly I start firing off at the mouth "$%#%$#$% ^$^$% %$^%^&#$ ^%$$%#$" Lol, Darrell said he's never heard me throw out so many F-bombs in such short amount of time. Immediately I was stung 3 times, once on my ankle, then under my arm pit, and then on my wrist. WTF?! After my serious freak out we made our way over to packet pick up. I grabbed some apple cider and a bagel and we went back to set up. That's when I got stung again. The damn bee was hiding in my warm up pants! F%$%$#$%#$@#$@$. We arrive back at the car to set our bikes up and what do I see? A bee in my sports bra, down in my %^$$%@# cleavage. Mother of God! Quickly I flash a few people and sho the bee away, thankfully I didn't get stung again, that would have sucked. I was really hoping that my whole day wasn't going to go like this. I already was prepared to suffer, IMO it was inevitable, but the bee stings I could have done without. A quick set up and we were off...
Miles 1-15. Pretty non eventful. I focused on keeping my heart down and power low...in fact I focused on this the entire ride. Aid station 1 came up at mile 15, we had to stop as we had to cross the river on the Canby Ferry. I confessed to Darrell I was scared. My energy levels at this point were really high, I felt really good. I knew this was a facade. At aid station 1 I grabbed some red potatoes and trail mix to snack on. Mmmm, good stuff.
Mile 16-30 Coming off of the Canby Ferry you have a straight ascent. I'm not sure what the elevation gain/grade was but it was short and steep, a lot of people walked their bikes up. It's always fun to try to clip in your pedals going uphill with zero momentum. Lol, some guy next to me said "You held a nice pace" once we reached the top. I replied that I had to, I only have a standard double and was in my easiest gear, which BTW is not easy...match strike 1. Aid station 2....potatoes,graham cracker with PB and jelly.
Mile 30-43
Lol, I got a lot of comments on my white bike shorts during this time. Got picked up by some Velo cyclists and held a 22 mph pace line with them for a good 30 minutes. But sadly I ended up getting dropped. Had to keep my HR and wattage in check.
Mile 43 - LUNCH
A bit disappointed here, last year they had Baja Fresh...this year it was under cooked baked potatoes (which I had been eating at the aid stations) and vegetarian chili. Blah. Body and energy is still feeling pretty good at this point.
Mile 43-65
Aha! Time muscle fatigue kicked in. Around mile 52 or so Darrell caught back up and we both confessed we were hurting. My quads were starting to burn. I knew this was going to happen but I really thought it would be a little later in the ride. The pain was bad, I was dropping speed. Although my energy levels remained high I didn't have the power in my legs to go fast. At this point I decided to try out my GU with Roctane, It's a gel with added amino's that help slow down lactic build up. Shit you not I felt better within 20 minutes. That pain I experienced at mile 52 never came back....I did have other pain later down the line but that was different. Aid station 4 - Trail mix and fig newtons :)
Mile 65-90
Lots of rolling hills and one big hiil. The rollers were a nice change of pace....I enjoyed them for the most part. I was still keeping my HR and wattage down and felt pretty comfortable. Power Gel gummy blasts SUCK. Soooo gross, I spit it out.
Aid station 5, last one. Chocolate Milk! The best snack of the entire ride!
Mile 90-102
Energy was still pretty strong but my legs were toast. We had a few climbs near the end that hurt. There were about 2-3 that you could see from a distance and each time I loudly said "Fuck Me". All my matches were burnt. This was the first time ever that I have not been able to climb up out of the saddle. I don't make it a practice but if it needs to be done I've never had a problem doing so....well today I did. I tried to get up only to have my quads yell "Sit the %#$& back down" so I did. When body parts yell I really have no choice but to listen. So each climb I had to sit in my saddle and slowly pedal up. Me, walk a hill? NEVER.
The finish!
102 miles and 6 hours and 17 minutes of riding later I reached the finish....Woot! Woot! This was probably the best century I have ever done.....in regards to regulating energy and nutrition. It is also the first ride over 80 miles that I have not had GI or acid reflux issues. I think there are a few things that made this successful. 1. Apple cider vinegar. My mom said that a lot of people get acid reflux because their tummy doesn't create enough acid...so she suggested I take 1 Tbsp to 8 oz of water. I was skeptical but was willing to give anything a try, I mean how do you know if something will work/not work unless you try? So I had a glass last night and then one this morning. 2. Mixing in salty or savory foods. Usually I just eat my Powerbars and Nuun. I've tried many different types of bars, gels, gummies, sports drinks...they all make me sick over time. Today I ate salted potatoes along with trail mix and the occasional cookie/graham cracker at each aid station. I also drank 3/4 of a can of chicken broth which I kept on the back of my bike in a sports water. Everything fit like pieces in a puzzle.
One HUGE disappoint factor.....the whole reason for riding was for the caramel apples at the finish...and there were none. No Baja Fresh for lunch, no coffee with breakfast at the start, I was stung many times by bees and I didn't even get my caramel apple. This event I have decided will no longer be a tradition. Darrell and I opted for Popeye's chicken to recover. Popeye never lets you down.
Power Wattage data (pathetic I know)
Max Speed 39.3, Avg Speed 16.2
Max HR 180, Avg HR 150 (perfect)
Max Torque 40.79, Avg torque 6.19
Max Power Watts 372, Avg watts 124 (so sad)
Max watts per KG 6.26, avg 2.08
So this is it....the end to my endurance season. This year I reached and beat all of my goals I had planned on.
*Completed 2 centuries and countless 60+ mile rides
*PR'd Olympic distance tri
*Peaked for both Half Iron's. PR'd the first 4th AG place and then PR'd the second, 1st AG place. Took 30 minutes total off of last year.
*Ran my first marathon and qualified for Boston.
*Managed training much more efficient and didn't bonk or hit too many walls.....compared to the previous year that is.
*Raised over $5300 for cancer research
*Have done Pilates 2-4 times weekly for a year which I believe has helped in performance and keeping me injury free.
*Swam my first 2.4 mile swim
*Signed up for Ironman Canada 09
Now it is time to take the next 4-6 weeks off from organized goal oriented training. Time to have some fun and let loose. Will probably have one too many drunken dancing weekends, but I do have a lot of time to make up for.
Oh yea, time for my 2 month dating season......a 9 month sabbatical can kill a girl!
I choose to do this century because it was the first century I had ever done last year and want to build a tradition on it. Come this morning if you asked me if it was a *smart* decision to do a century ride a week after I had raced a marathon and hadn't been on a bike in over 3 weeks or that I hadn't ridden over 50 miles on any given ride since the end of August I would say "No, I'm an idiot." But now that all is said and done I will retract that *idiot* comment. I am not an idiot, I am an over zealous triathlete that likes to push her limits, BUT knows her boundaries. Now, on to the good stuff....the ride its self.
To start the day off right I end up stepping in some kind of bees nest (it's still dark) in the park. Suddenly I start firing off at the mouth "$%#%$#$% ^$^$% %$^%^&#$ ^%$$%#$" Lol, Darrell said he's never heard me throw out so many F-bombs in such short amount of time. Immediately I was stung 3 times, once on my ankle, then under my arm pit, and then on my wrist. WTF?! After my serious freak out we made our way over to packet pick up. I grabbed some apple cider and a bagel and we went back to set up. That's when I got stung again. The damn bee was hiding in my warm up pants! F%$%$#$%#$@#$@$. We arrive back at the car to set our bikes up and what do I see? A bee in my sports bra, down in my %^$$%@# cleavage. Mother of God! Quickly I flash a few people and sho the bee away, thankfully I didn't get stung again, that would have sucked. I was really hoping that my whole day wasn't going to go like this. I already was prepared to suffer, IMO it was inevitable, but the bee stings I could have done without. A quick set up and we were off...
Miles 1-15. Pretty non eventful. I focused on keeping my heart down and power low...in fact I focused on this the entire ride. Aid station 1 came up at mile 15, we had to stop as we had to cross the river on the Canby Ferry. I confessed to Darrell I was scared. My energy levels at this point were really high, I felt really good. I knew this was a facade. At aid station 1 I grabbed some red potatoes and trail mix to snack on. Mmmm, good stuff.
Mile 16-30 Coming off of the Canby Ferry you have a straight ascent. I'm not sure what the elevation gain/grade was but it was short and steep, a lot of people walked their bikes up. It's always fun to try to clip in your pedals going uphill with zero momentum. Lol, some guy next to me said "You held a nice pace" once we reached the top. I replied that I had to, I only have a standard double and was in my easiest gear, which BTW is not easy...match strike 1. Aid station 2....potatoes,graham cracker with PB and jelly.
Mile 30-43
Lol, I got a lot of comments on my white bike shorts during this time. Got picked up by some Velo cyclists and held a 22 mph pace line with them for a good 30 minutes. But sadly I ended up getting dropped. Had to keep my HR and wattage in check.
Mile 43 - LUNCH
A bit disappointed here, last year they had Baja Fresh...this year it was under cooked baked potatoes (which I had been eating at the aid stations) and vegetarian chili. Blah. Body and energy is still feeling pretty good at this point.
Mile 43-65
Aha! Time muscle fatigue kicked in. Around mile 52 or so Darrell caught back up and we both confessed we were hurting. My quads were starting to burn. I knew this was going to happen but I really thought it would be a little later in the ride. The pain was bad, I was dropping speed. Although my energy levels remained high I didn't have the power in my legs to go fast. At this point I decided to try out my GU with Roctane, It's a gel with added amino's that help slow down lactic build up. Shit you not I felt better within 20 minutes. That pain I experienced at mile 52 never came back....I did have other pain later down the line but that was different. Aid station 4 - Trail mix and fig newtons :)
Mile 65-90
Lots of rolling hills and one big hiil. The rollers were a nice change of pace....I enjoyed them for the most part. I was still keeping my HR and wattage down and felt pretty comfortable. Power Gel gummy blasts SUCK. Soooo gross, I spit it out.
Aid station 5, last one. Chocolate Milk! The best snack of the entire ride!
Mile 90-102
Energy was still pretty strong but my legs were toast. We had a few climbs near the end that hurt. There were about 2-3 that you could see from a distance and each time I loudly said "Fuck Me". All my matches were burnt. This was the first time ever that I have not been able to climb up out of the saddle. I don't make it a practice but if it needs to be done I've never had a problem doing so....well today I did. I tried to get up only to have my quads yell "Sit the %#$& back down" so I did. When body parts yell I really have no choice but to listen. So each climb I had to sit in my saddle and slowly pedal up. Me, walk a hill? NEVER.
The finish!
102 miles and 6 hours and 17 minutes of riding later I reached the finish....Woot! Woot! This was probably the best century I have ever done.....in regards to regulating energy and nutrition. It is also the first ride over 80 miles that I have not had GI or acid reflux issues. I think there are a few things that made this successful. 1. Apple cider vinegar. My mom said that a lot of people get acid reflux because their tummy doesn't create enough acid...so she suggested I take 1 Tbsp to 8 oz of water. I was skeptical but was willing to give anything a try, I mean how do you know if something will work/not work unless you try? So I had a glass last night and then one this morning. 2. Mixing in salty or savory foods. Usually I just eat my Powerbars and Nuun. I've tried many different types of bars, gels, gummies, sports drinks...they all make me sick over time. Today I ate salted potatoes along with trail mix and the occasional cookie/graham cracker at each aid station. I also drank 3/4 of a can of chicken broth which I kept on the back of my bike in a sports water. Everything fit like pieces in a puzzle.
One HUGE disappoint factor.....the whole reason for riding was for the caramel apples at the finish...and there were none. No Baja Fresh for lunch, no coffee with breakfast at the start, I was stung many times by bees and I didn't even get my caramel apple. This event I have decided will no longer be a tradition. Darrell and I opted for Popeye's chicken to recover. Popeye never lets you down.
Power Wattage data (pathetic I know)
Max Speed 39.3, Avg Speed 16.2
Max HR 180, Avg HR 150 (perfect)
Max Torque 40.79, Avg torque 6.19
Max Power Watts 372, Avg watts 124 (so sad)
Max watts per KG 6.26, avg 2.08
So this is it....the end to my endurance season. This year I reached and beat all of my goals I had planned on.
*Completed 2 centuries and countless 60+ mile rides
*PR'd Olympic distance tri
*Peaked for both Half Iron's. PR'd the first 4th AG place and then PR'd the second, 1st AG place. Took 30 minutes total off of last year.
*Ran my first marathon and qualified for Boston.
*Managed training much more efficient and didn't bonk or hit too many walls.....compared to the previous year that is.
*Raised over $5300 for cancer research
*Have done Pilates 2-4 times weekly for a year which I believe has helped in performance and keeping me injury free.
*Swam my first 2.4 mile swim
*Signed up for Ironman Canada 09
Now it is time to take the next 4-6 weeks off from organized goal oriented training. Time to have some fun and let loose. Will probably have one too many drunken dancing weekends, but I do have a lot of time to make up for.
Oh yea, time for my 2 month dating season......a 9 month sabbatical can kill a girl!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Everything happens for a reason....
This week has been a long one...
By the end of Sunday night (marathon day) I was ready for the weekend to start. Monday and Tuesday went by in agonizing pain. Every time I went to get up I made a sad little moan, my muscles were burning and screaming from the insides out. I also felt like some little alien was stealing my power source to take over the world. I don't know where that came from....but I said it. Never have I ever raced so hard before. A hard race calls for a hard recovery plan. Mon-Friday I took my multi's and loaded up on extra amino's and magnesium/calcium supplements. I didn't skimp on calories but didn't binge either, stayed on a regular 1900-2100 kcal a day of whole high density nutrient enriched foods. Monday and Tuesday I was only only able to do core pilates and stretching. My stabilization was very poor....and I had no flexibility. Wednesday was my first glimpse of sunlight from the rain....I could sit down/up with out moaning, yay for me! Pain was slowly making leaving my body. By the end of Wednesday night I had stabilization back. I could do the one armed/one legged planks and one legged in the air downward dog. Slowly victory was becoming mine. Thursday felt good....a full hour of Pilates and stretching.....
And now we're at Friday. I was thinking of taking the whole week off from cardio. I haven't had the motivation or energy to bring my HR up to anything past resting. But alas upon waking I had my spark back. That little alien must have made a surprise visit over night and given back my electrical current. Don't ask....it's not important. I figured to stick to plan of non working out I'd see if my friends wanted to get wild and crazy and hit up the dance scene. Turns out everyone I knew had plans....go figure. My legs were starting to get antsy and my energy returned so I decided to go for my first recovery run. Lol, this was interesting. Funny thing, I was uber excited to go run, yet scared at the same time. I didn't know what it would feel like or if it was too soon. To make things easy on myself I left my HR monitor and watch at home. No data to document, nothing to record time with, tonight it was just me and the pavement. I start out feeling really good. Within the first 1/2 mile the cold (42 degree temp) had taken my breath away, my lungs hurt. A mile of running felt nice, from there I'm not sure what I was doing. Each quarter mile my legs grew heavy and stiffer (is that a word?). Not sure if I was actually running, I know I wasn't walking....and I wasn't hobbling, maybe the word I'm looking for is jogging. Whatever it was it was weird. Pit-Pat-Pit-Pat went my short stride. Around mile 2 and my legs felt like cement blocks again....I really think this was due to the cold because as I sit here writing this blog sipping on my sugar free hot coco they feel a-ok. My recovery run lasted 2.75 miles and I was happy it was over. Had me thinking about the night. Although I REALLY wanted to dance the night away that probably wasn't the best kind of recovery. I have a habit of killing my quads and calves salsa dancing. Instead I opted for an easy paced run on a very cold, clear, crisp fall night. Absolutely beautiful. Now I will spend the rest of the evening making my home made roasted red pepper and tomato soup. Mmmmm, good for the soul.
Ooooo, and I leave you with this badass ad from Pearl Izumi, one of my favorites...interesting enough because PI got a lot of shit for it. IMO people that hate on it have their own insecurities, toughen the $#@! up and run!
http://www.wearenotjoggers.com/home
By the end of Sunday night (marathon day) I was ready for the weekend to start. Monday and Tuesday went by in agonizing pain. Every time I went to get up I made a sad little moan, my muscles were burning and screaming from the insides out. I also felt like some little alien was stealing my power source to take over the world. I don't know where that came from....but I said it. Never have I ever raced so hard before. A hard race calls for a hard recovery plan. Mon-Friday I took my multi's and loaded up on extra amino's and magnesium/calcium supplements. I didn't skimp on calories but didn't binge either, stayed on a regular 1900-2100 kcal a day of whole high density nutrient enriched foods. Monday and Tuesday I was only only able to do core pilates and stretching. My stabilization was very poor....and I had no flexibility. Wednesday was my first glimpse of sunlight from the rain....I could sit down/up with out moaning, yay for me! Pain was slowly making leaving my body. By the end of Wednesday night I had stabilization back. I could do the one armed/one legged planks and one legged in the air downward dog. Slowly victory was becoming mine. Thursday felt good....a full hour of Pilates and stretching.....
And now we're at Friday. I was thinking of taking the whole week off from cardio. I haven't had the motivation or energy to bring my HR up to anything past resting. But alas upon waking I had my spark back. That little alien must have made a surprise visit over night and given back my electrical current. Don't ask....it's not important. I figured to stick to plan of non working out I'd see if my friends wanted to get wild and crazy and hit up the dance scene. Turns out everyone I knew had plans....go figure. My legs were starting to get antsy and my energy returned so I decided to go for my first recovery run. Lol, this was interesting. Funny thing, I was uber excited to go run, yet scared at the same time. I didn't know what it would feel like or if it was too soon. To make things easy on myself I left my HR monitor and watch at home. No data to document, nothing to record time with, tonight it was just me and the pavement. I start out feeling really good. Within the first 1/2 mile the cold (42 degree temp) had taken my breath away, my lungs hurt. A mile of running felt nice, from there I'm not sure what I was doing. Each quarter mile my legs grew heavy and stiffer (is that a word?). Not sure if I was actually running, I know I wasn't walking....and I wasn't hobbling, maybe the word I'm looking for is jogging. Whatever it was it was weird. Pit-Pat-Pit-Pat went my short stride. Around mile 2 and my legs felt like cement blocks again....I really think this was due to the cold because as I sit here writing this blog sipping on my sugar free hot coco they feel a-ok. My recovery run lasted 2.75 miles and I was happy it was over. Had me thinking about the night. Although I REALLY wanted to dance the night away that probably wasn't the best kind of recovery. I have a habit of killing my quads and calves salsa dancing. Instead I opted for an easy paced run on a very cold, clear, crisp fall night. Absolutely beautiful. Now I will spend the rest of the evening making my home made roasted red pepper and tomato soup. Mmmmm, good for the soul.
Ooooo, and I leave you with this badass ad from Pearl Izumi, one of my favorites...interesting enough because PI got a lot of shit for it. IMO people that hate on it have their own insecurities, toughen the $#@! up and run!
http://www.wearenotjoggers.com/home
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Recovery and everything in between
I seriously expected to *hop* out of bed this morning with bounce in my step, I was delusional. Instead I rolled over to get up and crippled over. It appeared my 8 1/2 hour slumber was too much rest for my legs because they completely seized up. I am also experiencing incredible burning in my quads. Really I could say 75% of my lower body felt ok; the problem lies in my ham-hock quads. I'm still completely exhausted. I have small amounts of energy that decide to frequent throughout the day but they're short lived and in my opinion only brought on by the espresso drip I've had installed in my right vain. I'm sure the caffeine infusion isn't helping in bringing my RHR down either. I'm also puffed out like a puffer fish. Not really sure why as I have been in control of my hunger and on top of my nutrition. I'm getting in my multi's, extra amino's and calcium and am even going as far as drinking 2-3 packets of Emergen-C a day. Really, I want to speed this whole recovery process up. I have been fortunate in getting in an extra 45 minute nap daily. I asked my coach how long recovery is supposed to last....a day for each mile. 26 days?! 26 days until I can go full force again. Ah, I think this is a blessing in disguise. I know I need an off season....I need a short block of time to be free. Eat, drink, and indulge in what I want. IM training will be a very long road to travel and I'd like to start it in a refreshed state. Plus I'm moving again. So the recovery couldn't come at a better time. I've been pondering the idea of becoming a minimalist. This will be my second move in 6 months and not going to be the last with home shopping on the horizon. So I figure the less crap I have the easier the move will be. I am an awful pack-rat and often feel overwhelmed by clutter. Someone once said the reason people "pack" is because they have been without and are afraid one day they might need it. Bingo - hit me right on the spot. I keep anything and everything. I figure they're all memories. Memories are all stored in the brain though, there is no reason I need to keep ticket stubs, gifts, or just misc crap....it all adds to the clutter. So day by day I am starting to pack and trash. If I haven't used it in 6-12 months I'm throwing it away. I'm also going to get rid of extra distractions....like cable. I rarely watch TV, I'm lucky to get in 2-3 hours a week and that's all stored on my DVR. Instead I'll take those extra minutes of *wasted* energy and use it on something productive, ie reading, writing, strengthening, stretching, cooking. My fish Oscar is still alive. Random I know, but I'm a random kind of person. I've had him for 3 months now, this is a pretty big step in the right direction. I'd like to get another pet....but something that doesn't need much maintaining, maybe a snake. Hmmmmm, anyone have any thoughts?
By the way, thanks to everyone that voted on my Halloween costume. I was a little surprised the grecian goddess won. I mean really, there's nothing scary or badass about it. I tried on a few roman empress costumes and all of them where either see through or too ity-bity to wear. I was about to give up on looking for costumes when I found this awesome Ghostbuster get up calling my name. So it turns out I'm going to be fighting ghosts for Halloween, the best part of my costume is the little ghost has-vac backpack. I can stuff it full of all kinds of (insert what you like here). :)
BTW, did I mention my stupid ass decided to sign up for a century ride this Sunday?
By the way, thanks to everyone that voted on my Halloween costume. I was a little surprised the grecian goddess won. I mean really, there's nothing scary or badass about it. I tried on a few roman empress costumes and all of them where either see through or too ity-bity to wear. I was about to give up on looking for costumes when I found this awesome Ghostbuster get up calling my name. So it turns out I'm going to be fighting ghosts for Halloween, the best part of my costume is the little ghost has-vac backpack. I can stuff it full of all kinds of (insert what you like here). :)
BTW, did I mention my stupid ass decided to sign up for a century ride this Sunday?
Monday, October 6, 2008
Stats
So the Portland Marathon site has some pretty neat stats featured....thought I'd share my performance based on the marathon as a whole.
Time (gun) 3:40:22
Time (net) 3:39:25 (yes it took me almost a full minute to reach the starting line.)
6.2 miles - 7.4 mph; 8:09
6.2- Half - 7.5 mph; 8:02
Half-21.1 miles- 7.1 mph; 8:28 (uh oh.....pain is starting to kick in.
21.1-finish - 6.7 mph; 8:55 (that's a sad sight right there)
Avg speed 7.1 mph, 8:22
Placed 1,026 out of 6,462 athletes, top 14% and for the record I was ahead of 77% of males....guess I can't use the excuse that boys run faster then girls anymore.
Placed 202nd out of 3,699 females, top 5% = badass!
Placed 50th out of 605 women between 25-29, top 7%
Hmmmmm......next time I want to go FASTER. Who's down for another marathon? This girl is! :D
Time (gun) 3:40:22
Time (net) 3:39:25 (yes it took me almost a full minute to reach the starting line.)
6.2 miles - 7.4 mph; 8:09
6.2- Half - 7.5 mph; 8:02
Half-21.1 miles- 7.1 mph; 8:28 (uh oh.....pain is starting to kick in.
21.1-finish - 6.7 mph; 8:55 (that's a sad sight right there)
Avg speed 7.1 mph, 8:22
Placed 1,026 out of 6,462 athletes, top 14% and for the record I was ahead of 77% of males....guess I can't use the excuse that boys run faster then girls anymore.
Placed 202nd out of 3,699 females, top 5% = badass!
Placed 50th out of 605 women between 25-29, top 7%
Hmmmmm......next time I want to go FASTER. Who's down for another marathon? This girl is! :D
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Portland Marathon 2008
My first Marathon
Goals - #1 Have Fun :) - Masochistic fun? Well ok - mission accomplished
#2 Qualify for Boston with a sub 3:40 - mission accomplished
Here's the elevation profile
Relatively flat with a small incline in the first 2-3 miles, with a steep climb starting at about 16.25-16.50 up to 17.5 going up and over the St Johns Bridge. Pretty long decline at the end.
Reporting a marathon is so much different that a triathlon, it's pretty much non eventful. I mean there were a ton of events going on in my body and mind but much different then a triathlon.
The night before the race I joined a few friends along with my mom and grandparents for carb loading at The Old Spaghetti Factory. It was REALLY nice to have my family there to support me before the race. The dinner was yummy, although the spumoni didn't compare to the gelato spumoni I had in Vegas the week prior....but still good nonetheless. I got to bed early and slept FANTASTIC.
4:30 arrives and I jump out of bed to my alarm. I'm excited and roaring to go. I do my normal pre run rituals...drink coffee, spend 20 minutes on pilates stretching for the legs and core strengthening (not going to risk a side stitch today). My mom arrives at 10 to 5. I force her to eat breakfast with me....I was not going to share another Power Gel with her :) hehe, you have to know the story. Then we head downtown to meet up with friends. Darrell's awesome wife let us stretch and keep warm in her office 2 blocks before the race start. I can not tell you how nice it was to have somewhere warm to wait, keep our stuff and have a clean bathroom right before the race. Thanks Darrell and Heidi, you're the best!
Go time
The race started in 3 waves. Wheel chairs, sub 3:45 and later 3:45. I started in wave #1 with the 3:45 group. The first mile was spent dodging and dashing around people. I was fortunate to find some large man to draft *hehe* and follow behind as he cut through all the people.
Mile 2-4 SUCKED. I am not a short distance runner. It takes me a good 3-4 miles to get in my comfort zone. My shines hurt a little and I had a hard time getting my stride on, very typical for me.
Mile 5-12 - Good times, probably the best of the race. By mile 4 I was running with the 3:35 group. I was shooting for a 3:40 and wanted to give myself a cushion in case I needed it at the end. The pace was comfortable and felt good, although my heart rate stayed at 180 for over 10 miles. This seriously scared the shit out of me. I thought I had gone out too fast and thought holding that high of heart rate for that long would decimate me. Along these 7 miles I saw Shannon and Devin, Mom (Cheering ever so loudly) Crystal, Barb and Greg and Karen....it was awesome!
Mile 13-16
Darrell caught up with me. He I chit chatted for awhile and continued to run. We were now running along the disgusting dirty 30 or Hwy 30. Ugh, it was so ugly and it started to rain.....a lot. I skipped a water aid station as I started to feel "sloshing" in my tummy from the Power Gels.....ick.
Mile 16-19
This was interesting. Around mile 16 we started to gradual climb which turned into steep very quickly up the St. Johns Bridge. I'm good at hills, I wasn't going to let this phase me....but honestly as I started to hit the crest it started to do some damage. A small spark ignited in my quads which started a small fire. Hit the bridge plateau and all was good again....for a short while. I descend off the bridge into St. Johns and then very quickly have to start climbing back up. MOTHER OF GOD! Quads are starting to hurt BAD. My legs are not happy....BUT I keep running. I run past Michele, Sheryl and Ken around mile 18.5....it was good to see them as I was starting to enter a very bad place in my head. I decided to flirt with a "visor" boy as I was "skirt" girl. That helped keep my mind off of things....for a while. I really regret not having a pen to get his number. "Visor" boy dropped me around mile 20ish.
Mile 20-24
Lol, the wall. We run right past Wall St. You know I did 4 hour runs, I did a 22 and 24 mile runs and not once did I ever hit that dreadful wall. Well today I hit that fucking wall and I hit it HARD. I caught Darrell around mile 20 and told him I was not going to make my 3:40 time goal. The 3:35 pacer had long past me and I was dropping speed. My legs were in pain and I was fighting the urge to walk. Darrell reminded me that I was far ahead and if I just continued to run I'd be ok. I kept this in the back of my head for the remainder of the race. Thank you Darrell. My Ipod pissed me off. I brought it in case I'd need it. I usually don't like to run with one, I prefer talk to others but sometimes you find yourself in a time of need so I brought it. Prior I had listened to a song and then would run with it off for 30-40 minutes, another song and then off again. Well I guess I never turned it off and just had it on pause and it wasn't fully charged because it died around mile 19-20. Grrrrr.....I needed it more then ever. The voices in my head were encouraging me to walk and I really need something to block them out.
Mile 22-24 was the descent down Greely. I was actually looking forward to this descent until I hit it. F^$%$$$^%WR^&QW&^%^&@%^&#%^&^&!!!!!!!! Every step I took felt like my legs were made of cement, that little fire that started around mile 18 was now a full blow inferno. I have never endured such pain before. Shit, I've never had quad pain running. Plus it was still raining....good side to rain is that it kept my body from over heating, bad side is that it soaked my feet and this hurt. On the positive side I was managing my nutrition energy well.....sort of I guess. My heart rate stayed between 170-180 for the duration of the marathon, who knew I could pull that off? But I was taking my Power Gels enough to cover the energy expenditure. So although I was in masochistic pain, I had the energy to move forward....so that is what I did. I saw Jeb around mile 23, this was good for me. I needed a high five. I hurt and was throwing a pitty party for one. The thought that I have signed up for an Ironman occurred to me at this point. WTF was I thinking?!!!! Mile 24 they offered beer, I declined......I was still ahead of the 3:40 pacer with 2.2 miles to go and could not afford any margin of error.
Mile 24-26.6 - The finish
I came up on a girl a little past mile 24, she said I looked good, I payed the same compliment back. I then confessed I couldn't feel my legs any more....neither could she and we both agreed it probably best this way. I needed water but decided to pass it up at mile 25. I knew if I slowed down I might walk. My mind and legs were having a nasty fight and my heart didn't want to be part of it. My heart wanted to qualify for Boston...so along I ran, one positive sloshy painful foot in front of the other. I turn up Salmon to approach the finish with 1 min to spare. There I see Shannon and Devin....there's no way I could miss them, I think they were the loudest cheerleaders out there. This helped push me in the last few steps. Finish - 3:39:25. I qualified for Boston on my first marathon!
The next hour was a blur. I was really sick as I crossed the line and had to take a few minutes to compose myself so that I didn't yak everywhere. Then I grabbed all the yummy goodness that I could, chocolate milk, grapes and a jamba juice. Got my finishers photo taken which I'm sure will cost me $20+ through event photos and meet my mom at the end. I was REALLY happy I saw here after I had gotten all of my goodies and was able to put myself back together. When I had finished I was on the verge of crying...yet again. I don't know why I do this every time. i think I just get so overwhelmed, that shit was hard. But thankfully I did not cry, instead my mom did :) <3 ya! We then waited for more people to finish and headed back to Heidi's work for a hot shower before drinks and celebrations. The shower was uber painful. My body was cold and the water was hot and I had chaffing and welts in a LOT of places. Body glide did not stick when it should have and for some reason my HR strap gave me some nasty welts on my back. On the other hand the bloody mary, champagne and lunch with friends was unforgettable.
Thanks Seth for the great coaching.
Thanks for all my friends that volunteered or providing kick ass friend support/cheering.
Thanks to all the people that helped with my training runs.
Thanks mom for....well being such a great mom.
Here's a few photos my mom took. I LOVE the space cape. This thing kept me warm for a good 20-30 minutes
What I learned
*Racing a marathon is #$#$%^%&*^&^&*#$@ hard!
*The mind is a power thing and can take you anywhere.
*I have awesome friends and a wonderful supportive mother.
*I can hold a 170-190 HR for 3:39:25 duration. Who knew? What I do know is my energy is going to suck serious tail for the next few days. My HR avge was 176
*I started out too fast. I ran between the 3:30-3:35 pacers up to mile 20....my speed droped from there :( I knew this would happen. Oh well, live and learn right?
*I have a lot of work to do on my run before IM if I want to shoot for a sub 4 hour IM. My God be with me.
Goals - #1 Have Fun :) - Masochistic fun? Well ok - mission accomplished
#2 Qualify for Boston with a sub 3:40 - mission accomplished
Here's the elevation profile
Relatively flat with a small incline in the first 2-3 miles, with a steep climb starting at about 16.25-16.50 up to 17.5 going up and over the St Johns Bridge. Pretty long decline at the end.
Reporting a marathon is so much different that a triathlon, it's pretty much non eventful. I mean there were a ton of events going on in my body and mind but much different then a triathlon.
The night before the race I joined a few friends along with my mom and grandparents for carb loading at The Old Spaghetti Factory. It was REALLY nice to have my family there to support me before the race. The dinner was yummy, although the spumoni didn't compare to the gelato spumoni I had in Vegas the week prior....but still good nonetheless. I got to bed early and slept FANTASTIC.
4:30 arrives and I jump out of bed to my alarm. I'm excited and roaring to go. I do my normal pre run rituals...drink coffee, spend 20 minutes on pilates stretching for the legs and core strengthening (not going to risk a side stitch today). My mom arrives at 10 to 5. I force her to eat breakfast with me....I was not going to share another Power Gel with her :) hehe, you have to know the story. Then we head downtown to meet up with friends. Darrell's awesome wife let us stretch and keep warm in her office 2 blocks before the race start. I can not tell you how nice it was to have somewhere warm to wait, keep our stuff and have a clean bathroom right before the race. Thanks Darrell and Heidi, you're the best!
Go time
The race started in 3 waves. Wheel chairs, sub 3:45 and later 3:45. I started in wave #1 with the 3:45 group. The first mile was spent dodging and dashing around people. I was fortunate to find some large man to draft *hehe* and follow behind as he cut through all the people.
Mile 2-4 SUCKED. I am not a short distance runner. It takes me a good 3-4 miles to get in my comfort zone. My shines hurt a little and I had a hard time getting my stride on, very typical for me.
Mile 5-12 - Good times, probably the best of the race. By mile 4 I was running with the 3:35 group. I was shooting for a 3:40 and wanted to give myself a cushion in case I needed it at the end. The pace was comfortable and felt good, although my heart rate stayed at 180 for over 10 miles. This seriously scared the shit out of me. I thought I had gone out too fast and thought holding that high of heart rate for that long would decimate me. Along these 7 miles I saw Shannon and Devin, Mom (Cheering ever so loudly) Crystal, Barb and Greg and Karen....it was awesome!
Mile 13-16
Darrell caught up with me. He I chit chatted for awhile and continued to run. We were now running along the disgusting dirty 30 or Hwy 30. Ugh, it was so ugly and it started to rain.....a lot. I skipped a water aid station as I started to feel "sloshing" in my tummy from the Power Gels.....ick.
Mile 16-19
This was interesting. Around mile 16 we started to gradual climb which turned into steep very quickly up the St. Johns Bridge. I'm good at hills, I wasn't going to let this phase me....but honestly as I started to hit the crest it started to do some damage. A small spark ignited in my quads which started a small fire. Hit the bridge plateau and all was good again....for a short while. I descend off the bridge into St. Johns and then very quickly have to start climbing back up. MOTHER OF GOD! Quads are starting to hurt BAD. My legs are not happy....BUT I keep running. I run past Michele, Sheryl and Ken around mile 18.5....it was good to see them as I was starting to enter a very bad place in my head. I decided to flirt with a "visor" boy as I was "skirt" girl. That helped keep my mind off of things....for a while. I really regret not having a pen to get his number. "Visor" boy dropped me around mile 20ish.
Mile 20-24
Lol, the wall. We run right past Wall St. You know I did 4 hour runs, I did a 22 and 24 mile runs and not once did I ever hit that dreadful wall. Well today I hit that fucking wall and I hit it HARD. I caught Darrell around mile 20 and told him I was not going to make my 3:40 time goal. The 3:35 pacer had long past me and I was dropping speed. My legs were in pain and I was fighting the urge to walk. Darrell reminded me that I was far ahead and if I just continued to run I'd be ok. I kept this in the back of my head for the remainder of the race. Thank you Darrell. My Ipod pissed me off. I brought it in case I'd need it. I usually don't like to run with one, I prefer talk to others but sometimes you find yourself in a time of need so I brought it. Prior I had listened to a song and then would run with it off for 30-40 minutes, another song and then off again. Well I guess I never turned it off and just had it on pause and it wasn't fully charged because it died around mile 19-20. Grrrrr.....I needed it more then ever. The voices in my head were encouraging me to walk and I really need something to block them out.
Mile 22-24 was the descent down Greely. I was actually looking forward to this descent until I hit it. F^$%$$$^%WR^&QW&^%^&@%^&#%^&^&!!!!!!!! Every step I took felt like my legs were made of cement, that little fire that started around mile 18 was now a full blow inferno. I have never endured such pain before. Shit, I've never had quad pain running. Plus it was still raining....good side to rain is that it kept my body from over heating, bad side is that it soaked my feet and this hurt. On the positive side I was managing my nutrition energy well.....sort of I guess. My heart rate stayed between 170-180 for the duration of the marathon, who knew I could pull that off? But I was taking my Power Gels enough to cover the energy expenditure. So although I was in masochistic pain, I had the energy to move forward....so that is what I did. I saw Jeb around mile 23, this was good for me. I needed a high five. I hurt and was throwing a pitty party for one. The thought that I have signed up for an Ironman occurred to me at this point. WTF was I thinking?!!!! Mile 24 they offered beer, I declined......I was still ahead of the 3:40 pacer with 2.2 miles to go and could not afford any margin of error.
Mile 24-26.6 - The finish
I came up on a girl a little past mile 24, she said I looked good, I payed the same compliment back. I then confessed I couldn't feel my legs any more....neither could she and we both agreed it probably best this way. I needed water but decided to pass it up at mile 25. I knew if I slowed down I might walk. My mind and legs were having a nasty fight and my heart didn't want to be part of it. My heart wanted to qualify for Boston...so along I ran, one positive sloshy painful foot in front of the other. I turn up Salmon to approach the finish with 1 min to spare. There I see Shannon and Devin....there's no way I could miss them, I think they were the loudest cheerleaders out there. This helped push me in the last few steps. Finish - 3:39:25. I qualified for Boston on my first marathon!
The next hour was a blur. I was really sick as I crossed the line and had to take a few minutes to compose myself so that I didn't yak everywhere. Then I grabbed all the yummy goodness that I could, chocolate milk, grapes and a jamba juice. Got my finishers photo taken which I'm sure will cost me $20+ through event photos and meet my mom at the end. I was REALLY happy I saw here after I had gotten all of my goodies and was able to put myself back together. When I had finished I was on the verge of crying...yet again. I don't know why I do this every time. i think I just get so overwhelmed, that shit was hard. But thankfully I did not cry, instead my mom did :) <3 ya! We then waited for more people to finish and headed back to Heidi's work for a hot shower before drinks and celebrations. The shower was uber painful. My body was cold and the water was hot and I had chaffing and welts in a LOT of places. Body glide did not stick when it should have and for some reason my HR strap gave me some nasty welts on my back. On the other hand the bloody mary, champagne and lunch with friends was unforgettable.
Thanks Seth for the great coaching.
Thanks for all my friends that volunteered or providing kick ass friend support/cheering.
Thanks to all the people that helped with my training runs.
Thanks mom for....well being such a great mom.
Here's a few photos my mom took. I LOVE the space cape. This thing kept me warm for a good 20-30 minutes
What I learned
*Racing a marathon is #$#$%^%&*^&^&*#$@ hard!
*The mind is a power thing and can take you anywhere.
*I have awesome friends and a wonderful supportive mother.
*I can hold a 170-190 HR for 3:39:25 duration. Who knew? What I do know is my energy is going to suck serious tail for the next few days. My HR avge was 176
*I started out too fast. I ran between the 3:30-3:35 pacers up to mile 20....my speed droped from there :( I knew this would happen. Oh well, live and learn right?
*I have a lot of work to do on my run before IM if I want to shoot for a sub 4 hour IM. My God be with me.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Last run before the Marathon - thoughts on trainng
Training
1 mile easy
1 mile 7:13
1 mile easy
3 miles total
That's it, I'm done with running until Sunday - Marathon day. It's kind of odd, I'm not nervous at all. I've never not had butterflies before a "first" race before. Maybe it's because I feel fully confident and prepared or maybe they will come later....like race morning, I can always count on that. I'm really looking forward to Sunday. Midway through training I was worried that I wouldn't be able to hit my time goals. I wasn't able to focus fully on the marathon training as I was still training and racing to peak at my second HIM (which I did, thank you very much :)). But now as I reflect back I am very happy and feel confident in my training. I held back from partying (for the most part) and hit 90% of my speed workouts and 100% of my LSD runs. I watched my tendencies to over train and took extra rests when needed. My progression has shown as I have improved my efficiencies and can run much longer and faster at a lower HR. I am ready, hear me ROAR! On another note, the last 2 runs I did I got serious side stitches. Not sure why as I have been doing Pilates more then ever in the last two weeks. My thoughts are they are from training in colder weather. I pray I don't get a crippling stitch during the race but if I do so be it, I'm ok with that. The stitches made me remember that ANYTHING can happen on race day. If I don't hit my goal for whatever reason I'll be ok because no matter what I know I trained my hardest and most important of all racing is about having FUN. So with goal or without I will be crossing that finish line with a smile on my face, but you better believe I will leave my ass out on the road shooting for a sub 3:40
BTW I have to plug these cookies
http://www.bbcookies.com/pages/Products/Minis/minis_home.html
They're me new favorite breakfast/training snack.
Natural yummy wholesome goodness. Now I just need to get a lock so the cookie monster doesn't break in and steal them when I am asleep. Damn the cookie monster!
1 mile easy
1 mile 7:13
1 mile easy
3 miles total
That's it, I'm done with running until Sunday - Marathon day. It's kind of odd, I'm not nervous at all. I've never not had butterflies before a "first" race before. Maybe it's because I feel fully confident and prepared or maybe they will come later....like race morning, I can always count on that. I'm really looking forward to Sunday. Midway through training I was worried that I wouldn't be able to hit my time goals. I wasn't able to focus fully on the marathon training as I was still training and racing to peak at my second HIM (which I did, thank you very much :)). But now as I reflect back I am very happy and feel confident in my training. I held back from partying (for the most part) and hit 90% of my speed workouts and 100% of my LSD runs. I watched my tendencies to over train and took extra rests when needed. My progression has shown as I have improved my efficiencies and can run much longer and faster at a lower HR. I am ready, hear me ROAR! On another note, the last 2 runs I did I got serious side stitches. Not sure why as I have been doing Pilates more then ever in the last two weeks. My thoughts are they are from training in colder weather. I pray I don't get a crippling stitch during the race but if I do so be it, I'm ok with that. The stitches made me remember that ANYTHING can happen on race day. If I don't hit my goal for whatever reason I'll be ok because no matter what I know I trained my hardest and most important of all racing is about having FUN. So with goal or without I will be crossing that finish line with a smile on my face, but you better believe I will leave my ass out on the road shooting for a sub 3:40
BTW I have to plug these cookies
http://www.bbcookies.com/pages/Products/Minis/minis_home.html
They're me new favorite breakfast/training snack.
Natural yummy wholesome goodness. Now I just need to get a lock so the cookie monster doesn't break in and steal them when I am asleep. Damn the cookie monster!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Oatmeal Vs The Chocolate Chip Cookie
I had an interesting conversation during breakfast #2, or maybe we should call this brunch. Our TYR meeting ended up running late and which delayed eating an hour and 15 minutes. This evoked a wrath of fury in my tummy. "Feed me", it screamed! At the first chance possible I headed to the kitchen to prepare my oats/flax seed and why protein. As I sat down to burn my tongue on my oatmeal I was quickly drawn to this little chocolate cookie that was sheepishly calling my name..."Kaaaaatie....Kaaaaaatie, look at me." Uh oh, am I hearing things or this this cookie really talking to me? "Kaaaatie, I won't burn your mouth. I'm fully of sugary, buttery goodness. Just look at the fat glistening off my chocolate chips...you know you want me." Then my oatmeal spoke up "Kat, let's be reasonable here. Think about the pros and cons. You could very well eat the cookie. During your last week of tapering you can not afford to skimp on the calories, you need them. BUT that pretty little cookie is composed of date preserving ingredients and processing. Who actually know what is in that cookie? Sure, it will be tasty when you chew the sugary goodness down but just think about the aftermath. You'll get the energy spike (Woot! Woot!), followed by the sugar crash. Plus your body will have to work twice as hard to breakdown the processed ingredients to utilize as energy. You're hungry, you need energy now and can not afford to waste it on hard to breakdown processed ingredients. Instead keep eating me. (Yes the oatmeal did say that). I'm full of whole grains and amounts of amino/protein which will help repair your muscles from this morning's early run. I can trust you to make the RIGHT choice".
The oatmeal had a solid argument (plus used the parent line "TRUST" in the "RIGHT CHOICE" and in the end won over the cookie.
Training for the day - 4 mile easy run.
The oatmeal had a solid argument (plus used the parent line "TRUST" in the "RIGHT CHOICE" and in the end won over the cookie.
Training for the day - 4 mile easy run.
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