The morning started off a touch out of sorts. Went to bed a bit late and woke up a touch early. My head was slightly fuzzy with a minor headache as soon as I woke up but judging by the rumbling in my stomach, my head wasn't going to be the problem on race morning! I popped some pretty pink pepto, ate a few tums and hoped for the best while I got changed. A few too many bathroom trips before leaving the house concerned me... but no big deal, I'd shake it off once I started running. Or not. We'd see.
Got to the race start (right outside the US Patent Office) and joined up with the Team RWB. If you don't know who they are - you should.
Go look it up and come back.
I'll give you a few minutes.
Welcome back. The mission of Team RWB, quite literally, is to enrich the lives of veterans through physical and social activity. A few people near and dear to me are involved and it seems like something I'd enjoy being a part of too!
Got together for a quick Team RWB picture which lead into a 25 minute delay in race start due to some unlawful parking situation that needed rectified prior to unleashing the masses. I.E. people parked on the course and their cars got towed.
...and Go time baby!
Lee immediately took off. Obviously. He's WAY faster than I. I started running at a seemingly comfortable pace but a quick glance at the watch a few minutes into the run revealed it was likely a non-sustainable pace. First mile was 7:10. I was hoping to hold a 7:37 pace that would put me at a 1:40 finish time (and also nearly a 3 minute PR), so I made a conscious effort to slow my role. I was able to hold a 7:27 pace until roughly mile 6. I had been running pretty well, I was trailing a girl going exactly my speed and every so often I was seeing Lee so I was pretty happy at that point. There was the occasional uncomfortable stomach feeling, but overall not bad considering how the morning began.
The course started intermittently changing terrain and directions with a bunch of out and backs and 180 degree turns. That didn't help with maintaining any kind of momentum! I was stronger than my unknown running friend on the "hills" and I'd nearly pass her but then my pace would quickly drop which made me nervous my legs wouldn't hold up. I dropped a gel somewhere in mile 6-7 and going back to get it as well as eating it added around 20 seconds and I guess my legs just figured it was time to check out and I never quite got them back.
My stomach really took a nose-dive around mile 8 - coincidently (or not) it was roughly around the time that my legs decided they were done racing for the day. I had a few spells of dry heaving and I only ended up eating 1/2 of the salted caramel Gu (my normal go-to flavor). My legs made a quick appearance after the Gu but it was short-lived. I knew I wanted the other Gu around mile 10, but I had a gut feeling (ooooh jokes!) that if I tried to eat it, I'd actually start throwing-up. I think the Gu would've made my legs feel better, but I'm pretty confident I made the right decision to abandon any and all nutrition.
The gatorade v. water debacle of 2015 was a little stressful on my upset stomach. Let the record state that I am not calling out the volunteers because those people are amazing and awesome for giving up their morning to help out. However, at each aid station, some people would yell "water" and I swear I actually saw their lips moving to form the word but then they handed me gatorade. I don't love gatorade when I'm running halves, I'd much prefer water. My turbulent stomach was also in favor of flavorless liquids. The fourth time this happened, I strongly considered having an over-the-top meltdown that involved chucking cups of gatorade and flipping over the cup-laden tables. I quickly reconsidered and continued running sans fluids. At the last 2 aid stations, I just asked for water and they found some quickly, so alls well ends... well, not well, but ends, sure.
The last two miles nearly ended me. I was silently willing my legs to continue moving forward but they felt like tree trunks taking root in the earth. I'd valiantly try to speed up and my lap pace would slow down. I looked down to make sure I hadn't started running backwards. I was confused. Um, hello, legs? Anything? Bueller? Okay.
Finally, I recognized the last bridge... curse you incline. As I tried to overcome the nearly stationary running position I was currently perfecting, I looked down at my watch and realized that 1:40 mark was about to fly past. I love re-evaluating goals with less than a quarter mile to go. Just get in under 1:41 - PLEASE!
The finish line appeared like a vision of water in the desert. Angels began singing. Maybe that was the music at the finish line. I'm not sure, toss up.
I got my medal, saw Lee and he ushered me onto the grass, presumably so I didn't throw up on any innocent spectators. I appreciated the gesture as I too wished to avoid public vomiting. After a few minutes that involved breaking a cold sweat while willing myself to keep my 1/2 Gu and undesired yellow gatorade in the tank, I recovered and rejoined the group.
At that moment, a lot of thoughts went through my head fairly rapidly as if in fast forward mode. Hey, a PR! Gotta be pleased with that. And no throwing up! And... and... aw man, 7th in my age group! Those girls are speedy! Chocolate chip cookies? Hell yes! Am I gonna throw up? Maybe! Okay, no more cookies! Water only forever!
All in all, it was a decent race but I didn't love the course. The weather however was BEAUTIFUL and it was a perfect morning for running. You don't get many of those perfect early summer mornings so I try to enjoy them when they sneak up on us.
End goal for the year if I run another half: break 1:39. 1:38:59. There I said it out loud, its official. No turning back now. Next race is the Grand Rapids Tri, T minus 3 weeks till REUNION. More on that soon.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Race Recap: Monticelloman 70.3
AKA First half-iron of the year = a lesson in perseverance and a painful look into the core of my soul.
Let's go back, shall we?
So, last weekend was the first "significant" race of the year. I say significant only because of the distance. It was only my third race at this distance. I wasn't expecting greatness per say, but I was curious to see where I was sitting at this point in the year. I didn't train crazy hard in the off-season, but I was pretty consistent and I was hoping to be ahead of where I was at this point a year ago. I had been working on thedevil's sport bike during the last few months and was hopeful that I was making progress.
We drove down Saturday morning after running some last minute errands, about a 2 hour drive, fairly uneventful. Drove straight to the venue for packet pick up and a quick ride/run - it was a GORGEOUS day. Got the bikes put back together (though, lets be quite honest, I supervised the re-assembly of bikes) and went out for a quick 20 minute ride. Immediately, my right quad cramped up and I felt like I was getting zero power out of that leg. Both legs felt cramped, like my seat was too short (and it was put back exactly where it was at before), but the right quad was hard as a rock and really tight. The hills were rough with the state of my leg and all I could think about was "I have to do FIFTY-SIX MILES like this tomorrow?!" The end of the ride involved a short steep hill and I was too busy thinking about my leg to consider shifting at a logically appropriate time that I started up that hill in a huge gear and proceeded to almost stop short. I tried to shift, apparently failed, and then my quad said "OH HELL NO" and seized up into a ball of angry muscle. I came to an abrupt stop on the hill as all these cars were descending and I felt like every single one of them watching was thinking "look at this amateur who doesn't know how to ride a bike." And, quite honestly, they were totally correct. I looked like an idiot. Seeing as this is my usual state of being, I shook it off and made two valiant attempts to continue up the hill but with no momentum, I was looking even more foolish so I headed down the hill only to turn around and head right back up. Get this girl a cookie, she just won the day...
Set out on a short run and immediately, my right leg went alarmingly numb. My quad continued to be ridiculously tight and now my toes were tingling and losing sensation. WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON WITH MY BODY?
I tried not to dwell on it. I tried to enjoy the quick jaunt around the course but scrolling through the megatron in the back of my mind was "tomorrow is going to be an epic failure. you're a hot mess and the lower half of your body just went AWOL so tomorrows going to suck."
We had an internal chat. It went something like this: "Listen here self. I'm confused by our current predicament, but we know we're going to finish the race tomorrow even if we're cursing every mile. We know we're giddy to be racing again so let's get ourselves together and have a little fun."
Back at the hotel, I rolled my leg for awhile, I alternated between the stick and the foam roller. I grabbed the diclofenac cream and slathered it on. I drank water, then gatorade, then more water. I stretched. If I sucked tomorrow, it wasn't going to be because I ignored this new weird little injury.
Dinner was delicious. I had the pleasure of dining with the Snapple team (goal: get on this team next year). I had linguine with clams in white wine sauce - the usual go-to. Drank one beer and approximately 7 gallons of water.
Slept decently. Proceeded to wake up and feel completely out of sorts.
Thankfully, I had all my stuff packed from the night before. Put on the new SOAS team kit for the first time (Love it). Got my drinks together, my nutrition in a bag. I was as ready as I could be. Angry quad was no longer screaming at me - it was holding steady at a dull roar that I knew I'd be able to deal with. Pleased with the improvement, I was ready to head out. Once we parked and put the bikes together (still rocking the supervisor role mind you), I headed down to transition and realized I had left my banana and the majority of my blueberry bagel in the car. Jogged up to the car only to realize I was on the wrong street. Found the car only to realize that Lee was gone.
Repeat after me - YOU ARE A HOT MESS.
Rechecked my transition area, thought about applying sunscreen and immediately forgot, which proceeded straight into thinking about applying body glide only to see Lee and forget about that too. He graciously ran to get my banana and life was good again.
Wetsuit on, check. Head to water, check. Oh, everyone's out of the water and I don't have time to jump in. No problem! Who needs a warm-up??
Luckily we got to hang in the water for a few minutes before starting. Water was a good temperature, but I knew my feet would be numb pretty quick (those poor puppies are sensitive to cold).
Aaaaaand... GO.
Swim swim swim swim swim. Followed a girl going exactly the speed I wanted to go who was holding a remarkably straight line. Its always a crap shoot when I try to follow someone - sometimes its hard to sight when you're a few diopters away from being legally blind and your contacts suck. But I won the drafting lottery with this girl. She had a great straight up right arm stroke so she was easy to keep in sight if i sat just next to her. I tried to pass her a few times and speed up but each time we cruised into a sea of orange caps (the men ahead of us) and it was easier to sit behind her and let her find a line through the mess of men.
Finished the swim in a decent time, nothing spectacular, but I was satisfied since I didn't feel tired. Tried to have a quick transition (my usual downfall) and headed out on the bike.
Nearly immediately, I knew it wasn't going to be a spectacular ride - my neck twinged as I rode up the first hill and that's always negative predictor for the rest of the ride. Considering we were at mile 3 or something, I got a little nervous. Every weird feeling in my neck (though not entirely painful at this point) made my stomach a little queasy. 56 miles isn't incredibly difficult. 56 hillier-than-I'm-used-to miles isn't too much worse. However, 56 hillier-than-I'm-used-to miles with a messed up neck is pretty damn miserable. Around mile 10, the painful neck reared its ugly head and quitting crossed my mind. I'm not a quitter, I've never quit a race and very very rarely do I quit workouts, but I thought about it. While I did the incredibly difficult equation that is 56-10=46, I thought about how the next 46 miles were going to feel if I already wanted to pull over and cry.
Suck it up baby.
So, I stretched as best as I could without stopping. I stopped using the aerobars. Nothing was helping. I popped more ibuprofen. No relief. I tried thinking of funny things that make me laugh. I tried smiling (thank God, none of this is on tape). This part is funny only because after the race a woman commented about how happy I looked racing near the end of the second loop. If she only knew.
We quickly arrived at my favorite point in the downward spiral of this neck pain (about mile 26)- the point where it starts to hurt to use my right arm. I'm talking about the part that involves trying to extend my right arm to the end of my aerobars to shift. This is also the part where tears pop out of my eyes without warning and where I audibly grunt from how ridiculously awful I feel.
Approached the halfway point. This is where it got a bit hilly again. My legs got a workout from my lack of shifting, screw trying to save my legs to run - those suckers were gonna work those hills because I was not about to start shifting like a normal person. I was trying to keep my upper half in some sort of position that I could maintain with less pain. It was hit or miss with that one.
Mile 40-ish, I tried aero again. OH DEAR MOTHER OF GOD was that a terrible awful no-good very bad idea. It felt like 100 burning needles jabbing into my lower neck/upper back. Back to that upright position.
I kept zoning in and out of race mode. Id think about something completely unrelated to the race, slow down, get passed, realize what I was doing, re-pass that person only to fall back into the dreamy mind-set where I wasn't painful and was off the bike. I was practically drooling over the time when I'd get to put on my running shoes and RUN while forgetting about the past 3 sad hours.
Finally, FINALLY, it was over. I tried to re-rack the bike and epically failed. It took me 2 or 3 attempts because i could get the baby raised more than two inches off the ground thanks to my stunning lack of strength from the right side of my body. Shoes, visors, race-belt. check, check, check.
Run time... happy time. This is the part I knew I can do. However this came to be, I always make up time running. I think thats probably my strong suit now. I can usually run off the bike pretty well, at least compared to many in the age group. I felt better, though incredibly stiff in my neck. Standing upright made much of the pain disappear but I wasn't totally comfortable. First mile was 7:36. Slow down Prochnow. I ended up pretty consistently at 8:15-8:20/mile. Slower than usual, but definitely the hilliest course I've ever done.
Just before the turn-around, I approached a guy running a touch slower than I. I passed him going into the water station (I walked all the water stations since I knew I wasn't going to PR-ing and it was a refreshing little break), and he caught up to me. The next 4 miles were Iron-war style running. I'd speed up a touch, he'd stay with me. He'd speed up, I'd pick up the pace to hang with him. With three miles to go, I had a flash of Mark-Allen-like inspiration at a water stop and grabbed the water and went for it. When you can't have the race you were hoping for, its the little victories that matter, right?
The final miles were uneventful, just kept the pace to finish. I wanted to see my friends, I wanted to collapse in a heap on the grass... I wanted to be done. It wasn't a fun race. It was test of my mental fortitude and a glimpse into a dark place that I'd prefer to avoid from now on.
I ended up third overall, a real shocker considering the mess that involved the previous 5 1/2 hours. I got a pint glass and a decently nice duffle bag as a prize (sweet free stuff). Minutes later, in true Heather fashion, I dropped the glass on the pavement and it busted into 75 pieces. Are we surprised? They nicely gave me a replacement glass since I had gone all of 100 feet from the boxes containing the extra glasses.
Drove home. Saw Avengers. Lovely way to end the weekend. Actual racing aside, it was a really good weekend...
Let's go back, shall we?
So, last weekend was the first "significant" race of the year. I say significant only because of the distance. It was only my third race at this distance. I wasn't expecting greatness per say, but I was curious to see where I was sitting at this point in the year. I didn't train crazy hard in the off-season, but I was pretty consistent and I was hoping to be ahead of where I was at this point a year ago. I had been working on the
We drove down Saturday morning after running some last minute errands, about a 2 hour drive, fairly uneventful. Drove straight to the venue for packet pick up and a quick ride/run - it was a GORGEOUS day. Got the bikes put back together (though, lets be quite honest, I supervised the re-assembly of bikes) and went out for a quick 20 minute ride. Immediately, my right quad cramped up and I felt like I was getting zero power out of that leg. Both legs felt cramped, like my seat was too short (and it was put back exactly where it was at before), but the right quad was hard as a rock and really tight. The hills were rough with the state of my leg and all I could think about was "I have to do FIFTY-SIX MILES like this tomorrow?!" The end of the ride involved a short steep hill and I was too busy thinking about my leg to consider shifting at a logically appropriate time that I started up that hill in a huge gear and proceeded to almost stop short. I tried to shift, apparently failed, and then my quad said "OH HELL NO" and seized up into a ball of angry muscle. I came to an abrupt stop on the hill as all these cars were descending and I felt like every single one of them watching was thinking "look at this amateur who doesn't know how to ride a bike." And, quite honestly, they were totally correct. I looked like an idiot. Seeing as this is my usual state of being, I shook it off and made two valiant attempts to continue up the hill but with no momentum, I was looking even more foolish so I headed down the hill only to turn around and head right back up. Get this girl a cookie, she just won the day...
Set out on a short run and immediately, my right leg went alarmingly numb. My quad continued to be ridiculously tight and now my toes were tingling and losing sensation. WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON WITH MY BODY?
I tried not to dwell on it. I tried to enjoy the quick jaunt around the course but scrolling through the megatron in the back of my mind was "tomorrow is going to be an epic failure. you're a hot mess and the lower half of your body just went AWOL so tomorrows going to suck."
We had an internal chat. It went something like this: "Listen here self. I'm confused by our current predicament, but we know we're going to finish the race tomorrow even if we're cursing every mile. We know we're giddy to be racing again so let's get ourselves together and have a little fun."
Back at the hotel, I rolled my leg for awhile, I alternated between the stick and the foam roller. I grabbed the diclofenac cream and slathered it on. I drank water, then gatorade, then more water. I stretched. If I sucked tomorrow, it wasn't going to be because I ignored this new weird little injury.
Dinner was delicious. I had the pleasure of dining with the Snapple team (goal: get on this team next year). I had linguine with clams in white wine sauce - the usual go-to. Drank one beer and approximately 7 gallons of water.
Slept decently. Proceeded to wake up and feel completely out of sorts.
Thankfully, I had all my stuff packed from the night before. Put on the new SOAS team kit for the first time (Love it). Got my drinks together, my nutrition in a bag. I was as ready as I could be. Angry quad was no longer screaming at me - it was holding steady at a dull roar that I knew I'd be able to deal with. Pleased with the improvement, I was ready to head out. Once we parked and put the bikes together (still rocking the supervisor role mind you), I headed down to transition and realized I had left my banana and the majority of my blueberry bagel in the car. Jogged up to the car only to realize I was on the wrong street. Found the car only to realize that Lee was gone.
Repeat after me - YOU ARE A HOT MESS.
Rechecked my transition area, thought about applying sunscreen and immediately forgot, which proceeded straight into thinking about applying body glide only to see Lee and forget about that too. He graciously ran to get my banana and life was good again.
Wetsuit on, check. Head to water, check. Oh, everyone's out of the water and I don't have time to jump in. No problem! Who needs a warm-up??
Luckily we got to hang in the water for a few minutes before starting. Water was a good temperature, but I knew my feet would be numb pretty quick (those poor puppies are sensitive to cold).
Aaaaaand... GO.
Swim swim swim swim swim. Followed a girl going exactly the speed I wanted to go who was holding a remarkably straight line. Its always a crap shoot when I try to follow someone - sometimes its hard to sight when you're a few diopters away from being legally blind and your contacts suck. But I won the drafting lottery with this girl. She had a great straight up right arm stroke so she was easy to keep in sight if i sat just next to her. I tried to pass her a few times and speed up but each time we cruised into a sea of orange caps (the men ahead of us) and it was easier to sit behind her and let her find a line through the mess of men.
Finished the swim in a decent time, nothing spectacular, but I was satisfied since I didn't feel tired. Tried to have a quick transition (my usual downfall) and headed out on the bike.
Nearly immediately, I knew it wasn't going to be a spectacular ride - my neck twinged as I rode up the first hill and that's always negative predictor for the rest of the ride. Considering we were at mile 3 or something, I got a little nervous. Every weird feeling in my neck (though not entirely painful at this point) made my stomach a little queasy. 56 miles isn't incredibly difficult. 56 hillier-than-I'm-used-to miles isn't too much worse. However, 56 hillier-than-I'm-used-to miles with a messed up neck is pretty damn miserable. Around mile 10, the painful neck reared its ugly head and quitting crossed my mind. I'm not a quitter, I've never quit a race and very very rarely do I quit workouts, but I thought about it. While I did the incredibly difficult equation that is 56-10=46, I thought about how the next 46 miles were going to feel if I already wanted to pull over and cry.
Suck it up baby.
So, I stretched as best as I could without stopping. I stopped using the aerobars. Nothing was helping. I popped more ibuprofen. No relief. I tried thinking of funny things that make me laugh. I tried smiling (thank God, none of this is on tape). This part is funny only because after the race a woman commented about how happy I looked racing near the end of the second loop. If she only knew.
We quickly arrived at my favorite point in the downward spiral of this neck pain (about mile 26)- the point where it starts to hurt to use my right arm. I'm talking about the part that involves trying to extend my right arm to the end of my aerobars to shift. This is also the part where tears pop out of my eyes without warning and where I audibly grunt from how ridiculously awful I feel.
Approached the halfway point. This is where it got a bit hilly again. My legs got a workout from my lack of shifting, screw trying to save my legs to run - those suckers were gonna work those hills because I was not about to start shifting like a normal person. I was trying to keep my upper half in some sort of position that I could maintain with less pain. It was hit or miss with that one.
Mile 40-ish, I tried aero again. OH DEAR MOTHER OF GOD was that a terrible awful no-good very bad idea. It felt like 100 burning needles jabbing into my lower neck/upper back. Back to that upright position.
I kept zoning in and out of race mode. Id think about something completely unrelated to the race, slow down, get passed, realize what I was doing, re-pass that person only to fall back into the dreamy mind-set where I wasn't painful and was off the bike. I was practically drooling over the time when I'd get to put on my running shoes and RUN while forgetting about the past 3 sad hours.
Finally, FINALLY, it was over. I tried to re-rack the bike and epically failed. It took me 2 or 3 attempts because i could get the baby raised more than two inches off the ground thanks to my stunning lack of strength from the right side of my body. Shoes, visors, race-belt. check, check, check.
Run time... happy time. This is the part I knew I can do. However this came to be, I always make up time running. I think thats probably my strong suit now. I can usually run off the bike pretty well, at least compared to many in the age group. I felt better, though incredibly stiff in my neck. Standing upright made much of the pain disappear but I wasn't totally comfortable. First mile was 7:36. Slow down Prochnow. I ended up pretty consistently at 8:15-8:20/mile. Slower than usual, but definitely the hilliest course I've ever done.
Just before the turn-around, I approached a guy running a touch slower than I. I passed him going into the water station (I walked all the water stations since I knew I wasn't going to PR-ing and it was a refreshing little break), and he caught up to me. The next 4 miles were Iron-war style running. I'd speed up a touch, he'd stay with me. He'd speed up, I'd pick up the pace to hang with him. With three miles to go, I had a flash of Mark-Allen-like inspiration at a water stop and grabbed the water and went for it. When you can't have the race you were hoping for, its the little victories that matter, right?
The final miles were uneventful, just kept the pace to finish. I wanted to see my friends, I wanted to collapse in a heap on the grass... I wanted to be done. It wasn't a fun race. It was test of my mental fortitude and a glimpse into a dark place that I'd prefer to avoid from now on.
I ended up third overall, a real shocker considering the mess that involved the previous 5 1/2 hours. I got a pint glass and a decently nice duffle bag as a prize (sweet free stuff). Minutes later, in true Heather fashion, I dropped the glass on the pavement and it busted into 75 pieces. Are we surprised? They nicely gave me a replacement glass since I had gone all of 100 feet from the boxes containing the extra glasses.
Drove home. Saw Avengers. Lovely way to end the weekend. Actual racing aside, it was a really good weekend...
Thursday, April 30, 2015
On being an athlete. With a uterus. And over-the-top graphic descriptions of a doctor's visit.
So life's been busy. Training, working. Went to a couple Washington National's game (hello, awesome - its been a LONG TIME since I lived close to any semblance of a professional sports team). And this week I decided to get those pesky doctor's appointments out of the way - primary care, dermatologist, and GYN. Ahhh, the GYN.
disclaimer to my non-existent following: If you don't wish to read about the adventures of my uterus (you heard it here folks), then you might want to stop. right. here. no, seriously.
I've been on the pill for the better half of my adult life. And I've been good about taking it as directed for approximately 1/15th of that time period. I'll at least say this - Mom, you aren't a grandmother, though you'd probably like to be. But I'm calling the last 15 years a win for me.
I sat down and had a conversation with myself the other day. It started out like this: Self, you're awesome (I usually like to start these conversations on a positive, complimentary note). And you might consider procreating in the future. And I mean in the near-er future, not the very far-away future because let's consider science. Also, Self, you're really having a good year so far and pregnancy would alter the current trajectory of your triathlon "career". Do you want kids? Maybe. Today? No.
So after our life chat (which occurred in the shower of all places), I decided I needed to up the ante on the birth control game. Because pregnancy is not game I wish to win. Or lose? Hm.
I did some research. I read things. I also came across a semi-interesting blog post about how menstrual cycles screw around with training/racing (this never occurred to me and in my three minute retroactive study that is the last year of my life, I couldn't come up with an logical period/triathlon relationship). The IUD sometimes causes a cease in actual periods too so I was all for that because racing/training with a period can straight up suck.
I arrived at the GYN armed with a few printed out lines of information about IUDs. She came in, we chatted about life for a quick minute and my less than perfect PAP smear record (still not dying yet). Then we got around to talking about divorce and how for the last 15 years of my life, I've been unable to get on a schedule where I take a daily pill. Cue children talk. Then - hey, I have a wacky idea, how about that new IUD? She was totally on board and was like, oh hey by the way, lets do it today.
Sign me up doc, I like your thinking, lets get this done with. I'm getting a bit chilly in this salmon-colored-sheet-with-strings-that-I'm-sure-are-meant-to-be-tied-but-I-haven't-quite-figure-that-out-yet-so-I'm-wrapping-it-around-me-like-a-weird-kimono.
She hits me with "we usually have you take handfuls of motrin before the procedure because it can hurt and be quite uncomfortable for awhile after it is inserted."
I hit her back with "I'm tough, I'm sure I've been through worse and I've lived to tell yet another sarcastic joke so lets just set this up RIGHT NOW, shall we? Quit wasting time, you're scaring me."
They end up bringing me 2 packets of motrin (I thank the good lord for any relief this later provided me) and a cup of water which I downed quickly so as to get the show on the road.
We do the normal female exam bit - speculum, swabs, feeling around for ovaries (yep, they're there. nope, not painful). Breast exam (so what if it only took 3 seconds, I'm streamlined for speed!)
For reference, I laugh about my small boobs often. They don't bother me a lot but I'm a little self-conscious about them, so I make jokes. That being said...
We've now arrived at the IUD portion of the show. Here's how this works - you "ideally" need a uterus that is 6cm long for this to be placed correctly. Mirena is bigger in size than Skyla so I went with Skyla (also because Skyla is good up to 3 years v. 5 years, though you can remove them at any time if you choose to forego a childless existance). She has a special ruler that she uses to measure the length of your uterus ONLY AFTER SHE TELLS YOU TO COUGH SO SHE CAN CLAMP DOWN ON THAT PESKY CERVIX.
"haha, the cough was just a cover up so I could grab a piece of your already messed up reproductive tissue."
OH. MY. DEAR. GOD. WOMAN!
I realize it was just a quick pain and then we were good again, so it was time to measure some organs.
It felt.. like cramps. Which quickly escalated into a pain that I can only compare to a red hot poker jabbing into your abdomen. I actually made an audible cry when that happened and she pulls out the ruler and says, "huh".
I mean, I'm no gynecologist. But seeing as I am an actual doctor, I don't believe my clients want to hear me say that at any time during the exam. Or ever.
We're barely reaching 5cm. GOAL=6cm. She then insults my poor aching uterus by calling it "puny" and "short" and "tiny". At that point, the thought crossed my mind that not only do I have the boobs of a preteen girl, but I've been walking around in public with the uterus of a preteen girl. Am I really 30 years old? Mom? I'm pretty good at basic addition and 1984 seems to have occurred roughly 3 decades ago. Yet, for whatever reason, my body really wants to hang out in the immediately post-Y2K universe.
There was some more speculum work and hemming and hawing about the logistics of giving this child-like creature in front of her long term birth control. I started to feel pretty light headed and nauseous, so she made an appreciable snap decision.
This is the part where I really started to appreciate my new GYN and found a kindred spirit in her. Basically, she says, fuck it. We're doing this anyway and if it works, great. If it doesn't, then when you come back in a month, we'll fix it for you.
The actual implantation of the IUD was uneventful. My uterus was already burning so this didn't really do more than add a few twigs to the existing fire.
After that, we were done. I felt like throwing up and she assured me that this and the horribly intense cramping was normal. I walked out bent over at the waist at a reasonable 90 degree angle (it hurt to stand up straight) while no one gave me a second glance.
I limped down to my car (because now my whole body felt like it'd been through a UFC fight), got in and sat. Uncomfortably. Luckily, I live a mile or so away, so I drove home without passing out (success) and proceeded to lay on my couch moaning in agony while Jazz slowly crept toward me, obviously concerned that she was about to be orphaned.
Luckily, I had already done a semi-intense brick workout and had a less-than-intense swim workout planned. That plan immediately went in the trash when I passed out on the couch for two hours. I woke up feeling marginally better. Good enough that I could drive, ride the metro, and go to the Nats game. The fact that I ate pizza, cheese fries, and 3 beers only means that I was not, in fact, dead. When I stop having an appetite, its probably time to put me down.
The moral of the story is this: despite the agony of the experience, the whole IUD song and dance was completely worth it. And if the icing on the cake is no periods, then fabulous. That makes training and life easier.
I feel like we've all become closer now that you've heard about my gynecological struggles. Thanks for the support! Until next time...
disclaimer to my non-existent following: If you don't wish to read about the adventures of my uterus (you heard it here folks), then you might want to stop. right. here. no, seriously.
I've been on the pill for the better half of my adult life. And I've been good about taking it as directed for approximately 1/15th of that time period. I'll at least say this - Mom, you aren't a grandmother, though you'd probably like to be. But I'm calling the last 15 years a win for me.
I sat down and had a conversation with myself the other day. It started out like this: Self, you're awesome (I usually like to start these conversations on a positive, complimentary note). And you might consider procreating in the future. And I mean in the near-er future, not the very far-away future because let's consider science. Also, Self, you're really having a good year so far and pregnancy would alter the current trajectory of your triathlon "career". Do you want kids? Maybe. Today? No.
So after our life chat (which occurred in the shower of all places), I decided I needed to up the ante on the birth control game. Because pregnancy is not game I wish to win. Or lose? Hm.
I did some research. I read things. I also came across a semi-interesting blog post about how menstrual cycles screw around with training/racing (this never occurred to me and in my three minute retroactive study that is the last year of my life, I couldn't come up with an logical period/triathlon relationship). The IUD sometimes causes a cease in actual periods too so I was all for that because racing/training with a period can straight up suck.
I arrived at the GYN armed with a few printed out lines of information about IUDs. She came in, we chatted about life for a quick minute and my less than perfect PAP smear record (still not dying yet). Then we got around to talking about divorce and how for the last 15 years of my life, I've been unable to get on a schedule where I take a daily pill. Cue children talk. Then - hey, I have a wacky idea, how about that new IUD? She was totally on board and was like, oh hey by the way, lets do it today.
Sign me up doc, I like your thinking, lets get this done with. I'm getting a bit chilly in this salmon-colored-sheet-with-strings-that-I'm-sure-are-meant-to-be-tied-but-I-haven't-quite-figure-that-out-yet-so-I'm-wrapping-it-around-me-like-a-weird-kimono.
She hits me with "we usually have you take handfuls of motrin before the procedure because it can hurt and be quite uncomfortable for awhile after it is inserted."
I hit her back with "I'm tough, I'm sure I've been through worse and I've lived to tell yet another sarcastic joke so lets just set this up RIGHT NOW, shall we? Quit wasting time, you're scaring me."
They end up bringing me 2 packets of motrin (I thank the good lord for any relief this later provided me) and a cup of water which I downed quickly so as to get the show on the road.
We do the normal female exam bit - speculum, swabs, feeling around for ovaries (yep, they're there. nope, not painful). Breast exam (so what if it only took 3 seconds, I'm streamlined for speed!)
For reference, I laugh about my small boobs often. They don't bother me a lot but I'm a little self-conscious about them, so I make jokes. That being said...
We've now arrived at the IUD portion of the show. Here's how this works - you "ideally" need a uterus that is 6cm long for this to be placed correctly. Mirena is bigger in size than Skyla so I went with Skyla (also because Skyla is good up to 3 years v. 5 years, though you can remove them at any time if you choose to forego a childless existance). She has a special ruler that she uses to measure the length of your uterus ONLY AFTER SHE TELLS YOU TO COUGH SO SHE CAN CLAMP DOWN ON THAT PESKY CERVIX.
"haha, the cough was just a cover up so I could grab a piece of your already messed up reproductive tissue."
OH. MY. DEAR. GOD. WOMAN!
I realize it was just a quick pain and then we were good again, so it was time to measure some organs.
It felt.. like cramps. Which quickly escalated into a pain that I can only compare to a red hot poker jabbing into your abdomen. I actually made an audible cry when that happened and she pulls out the ruler and says, "huh".
I mean, I'm no gynecologist. But seeing as I am an actual doctor, I don't believe my clients want to hear me say that at any time during the exam. Or ever.
We're barely reaching 5cm. GOAL=6cm. She then insults my poor aching uterus by calling it "puny" and "short" and "tiny". At that point, the thought crossed my mind that not only do I have the boobs of a preteen girl, but I've been walking around in public with the uterus of a preteen girl. Am I really 30 years old? Mom? I'm pretty good at basic addition and 1984 seems to have occurred roughly 3 decades ago. Yet, for whatever reason, my body really wants to hang out in the immediately post-Y2K universe.
There was some more speculum work and hemming and hawing about the logistics of giving this child-like creature in front of her long term birth control. I started to feel pretty light headed and nauseous, so she made an appreciable snap decision.
This is the part where I really started to appreciate my new GYN and found a kindred spirit in her. Basically, she says, fuck it. We're doing this anyway and if it works, great. If it doesn't, then when you come back in a month, we'll fix it for you.
The actual implantation of the IUD was uneventful. My uterus was already burning so this didn't really do more than add a few twigs to the existing fire.
After that, we were done. I felt like throwing up and she assured me that this and the horribly intense cramping was normal. I walked out bent over at the waist at a reasonable 90 degree angle (it hurt to stand up straight) while no one gave me a second glance.
I limped down to my car (because now my whole body felt like it'd been through a UFC fight), got in and sat. Uncomfortably. Luckily, I live a mile or so away, so I drove home without passing out (success) and proceeded to lay on my couch moaning in agony while Jazz slowly crept toward me, obviously concerned that she was about to be orphaned.
Luckily, I had already done a semi-intense brick workout and had a less-than-intense swim workout planned. That plan immediately went in the trash when I passed out on the couch for two hours. I woke up feeling marginally better. Good enough that I could drive, ride the metro, and go to the Nats game. The fact that I ate pizza, cheese fries, and 3 beers only means that I was not, in fact, dead. When I stop having an appetite, its probably time to put me down.
The moral of the story is this: despite the agony of the experience, the whole IUD song and dance was completely worth it. And if the icing on the cake is no periods, then fabulous. That makes training and life easier.
I feel like we've all become closer now that you've heard about my gynecological struggles. Thanks for the support! Until next time...
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Week 2 (sleep is important, you should do it more often)
Sometimes its difficult to find the happy balance between long work days and training. I find I'm exhausted some days and energetic on others. I know I haven't been sleeping great, falling asleep too often on my couch and not making it to my actual bed which is less than 40 feet away. Right? Its stupid. And lazy. Do better Prochnow. Just... sleep like an normal human being. its not rocket science.
Monday: REST DAY
Tuesday: track workout
1.5 mile warm up
4 x 400m, 1 min rest
1 lap easy recovery jog
4 x 300m (jog last 100 to start line), 0:45 rest
1 lap easy recovery jog
4 x 200m, 0:30 rest
1 mile cool down
I'm not entirely sure about times or pacing to be quite honest. it was quick, felt good. no aches/pains. weather warmed up slightly from the previous week at least! my track buddy and i ran the whole thing together. its pretty awesome to have someone that is so similar in ability to do these weekly workouts with - makes it fun and competitive.
Wednesday: 1:00 swim, 3325y
300 warm up
5x75 (25 drill, 25 free, 25 drill)
3 x (300, 200, 100, 50 with 0:15 rest in between, faster with each interval)
20x25 IM order on 0:30
200 cool down
felt slow as hell at the beginning and for the first run of the main set. I actually looked at my watch and couldn't believe how slow I was... not a great sign. told myself to buck up and not be tired, so i did the 2nd set faster and the 3rd set a bit faster even. felt like a had put in a decent workout by the end, though i was just generally tired.
Thursday: 1:00 hill repeats
10 min warm up, 20 min tempo run at 7:40/mi, 5 x 3min uphill run up and down, so took about 5:45 or less each time.
unintentionally, i got marginally faster with each one, even though I felt like i was crawling by the last one. its a big ass hill. running around here has been VERY different than running in central illinois - even on easy runs i always incorporate this particular hill at least once into the run, regardless of what im doing. i do it when i run with jazz too - she doesn't love it, i can tell when she slows down at the steeper part. its less than 1 mile from my house, shorter if i take the shortcut way so theres not excuse to avoid it. i've never loved hill workouts, but i know its making me better. these illinois legs need the elevation changes or we're going to have a hell of a time at some of these races this year.
Friday: 0:55 swim, 3000y
300 (50 drill, 50 free, 100 kick, 100 free)
3x300 descending
4x200 (alternate 50 free, 50 stroke)
4x50 (25 fly, 25 free)
5x100 best effort (held 1:15-1:16 or so)
swam it with a friend and got my ass kicked hands down - but in a good way. i pushed myself pretty good throughout the swim and felt good about myself when we were done. its possible that i am getting slightly more comfortable swimming faster. not quite like the good old days, but better then where i've been in the past 8 years.
Saturday: 56:20 run, 7 miles
2 mi easy, 2 mi build to half marathon pace (7:45), 1 mile build to 10k pace (7:38), 1 mile easy, 1 mile strong finish
it was WINDY AS HELL outside. i tried to plan the run around the hills so that my 10k pace and 1 mile finish wouldn't be straight uphill. it worked out pretty well, but the wind was another story. first 4 miles were good, the 10k part was straight into the wind for the 2nd half mile - pace went from 7:25 to 7:38 by the end. the easy mile was straight uphill, also into wind - that took a ridiculous near 9:30. but the last mile was 6:59... and that made me smile.
Sunday: EL brick, 2:00 or so (the run was about 24 min)
bike was easy and slow. explored a bit of the trails around the lab, didnt break a sweat, a little frustrating because the weather was nice and it was my first outdoor ride of the year so i wanted to actually DO something. but it is what it is. the run after was decent, did 3 miles and some (can't remember). beautiful weather though - absolutely GORGEOUS.
Monday: REST DAY
Tuesday: track workout
1.5 mile warm up
4 x 400m, 1 min rest
1 lap easy recovery jog
4 x 300m (jog last 100 to start line), 0:45 rest
1 lap easy recovery jog
4 x 200m, 0:30 rest
1 mile cool down
I'm not entirely sure about times or pacing to be quite honest. it was quick, felt good. no aches/pains. weather warmed up slightly from the previous week at least! my track buddy and i ran the whole thing together. its pretty awesome to have someone that is so similar in ability to do these weekly workouts with - makes it fun and competitive.
Wednesday: 1:00 swim, 3325y
300 warm up
5x75 (25 drill, 25 free, 25 drill)
3 x (300, 200, 100, 50 with 0:15 rest in between, faster with each interval)
20x25 IM order on 0:30
200 cool down
felt slow as hell at the beginning and for the first run of the main set. I actually looked at my watch and couldn't believe how slow I was... not a great sign. told myself to buck up and not be tired, so i did the 2nd set faster and the 3rd set a bit faster even. felt like a had put in a decent workout by the end, though i was just generally tired.
Thursday: 1:00 hill repeats
10 min warm up, 20 min tempo run at 7:40/mi, 5 x 3min uphill run up and down, so took about 5:45 or less each time.
unintentionally, i got marginally faster with each one, even though I felt like i was crawling by the last one. its a big ass hill. running around here has been VERY different than running in central illinois - even on easy runs i always incorporate this particular hill at least once into the run, regardless of what im doing. i do it when i run with jazz too - she doesn't love it, i can tell when she slows down at the steeper part. its less than 1 mile from my house, shorter if i take the shortcut way so theres not excuse to avoid it. i've never loved hill workouts, but i know its making me better. these illinois legs need the elevation changes or we're going to have a hell of a time at some of these races this year.
Friday: 0:55 swim, 3000y
300 (50 drill, 50 free, 100 kick, 100 free)
3x300 descending
4x200 (alternate 50 free, 50 stroke)
4x50 (25 fly, 25 free)
5x100 best effort (held 1:15-1:16 or so)
swam it with a friend and got my ass kicked hands down - but in a good way. i pushed myself pretty good throughout the swim and felt good about myself when we were done. its possible that i am getting slightly more comfortable swimming faster. not quite like the good old days, but better then where i've been in the past 8 years.
Saturday: 56:20 run, 7 miles
2 mi easy, 2 mi build to half marathon pace (7:45), 1 mile build to 10k pace (7:38), 1 mile easy, 1 mile strong finish
it was WINDY AS HELL outside. i tried to plan the run around the hills so that my 10k pace and 1 mile finish wouldn't be straight uphill. it worked out pretty well, but the wind was another story. first 4 miles were good, the 10k part was straight into the wind for the 2nd half mile - pace went from 7:25 to 7:38 by the end. the easy mile was straight uphill, also into wind - that took a ridiculous near 9:30. but the last mile was 6:59... and that made me smile.
Sunday: EL brick, 2:00 or so (the run was about 24 min)
bike was easy and slow. explored a bit of the trails around the lab, didnt break a sweat, a little frustrating because the weather was nice and it was my first outdoor ride of the year so i wanted to actually DO something. but it is what it is. the run after was decent, did 3 miles and some (can't remember). beautiful weather though - absolutely GORGEOUS.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Week 1 (of legitimate training and less aimless floundering)
First week completed with Coach T. Followed the week's plan to the letter, but made a slight addition to the weekend. Here's how it went down:
Monday: swim 2300y.
300S/200P/100K. 4 x 100, :20 RI (25 drill, 50 free, 25 drill). 3 x 200, :30 RI (pull buoy, did this strong, pushed somewhat). 4 x 150, :15 RI (50K on back, 100S). 100 CD. 40 min total.
this seemed too easy, thats why I was pushing the 200's. it was the only place to really increase the intensity a bit. i just felt like i wasn't swimming enough/trying hard enough to make the distance/time in the pool worthwhile.
Tuesday: track workout.
1 mile WU. 1600 x 2, 800 x 2, 400 x 1 (ran out of time), 1 mile CD.
This was FUN. I'm not a big fan of running fast (I think I'm better at long distances), but on the track is different. plus, its not sprinting per say. Though our first 400 of the first 1600 was under 1:30, thats quick for me. Coach T definitely had us to slow down after that first lap!
1600 - 7:10
1600 - 7:15 (I think? didn't stop the watch apparently)
800 - 3:32
800 - 3:28
400 - 1:36 (we were NOT supposed to run this faster than the 800s... so we chatted and ran)
I didn't feel like we were going all that fast, which I guess is a good sign. It was funny because after the first mile, she said something along the lines of, "usually I don't want you guys to talk during workouts, but I'll let it go because its the only thing thats going to slow you guys down." I have no concept of my pace, I can only sort of figure out the pace I can handle maintaining for a given length of time purely based on how I feel... Its obvious I have a long way to go in terms of training.
Wednesday: 1:15 trainer
20 min WU, 4 x (5' hard effort in aero, 5' easy spin recovery), steady spin until 1:15 time frame. 23.4 miles.
it was tough, but i pushed it pretty good. i *think* i can feel myself getting a bit stronger as the last couple months have passed. hopefully. lord knows this is where i need to improve.
Thursday: tempo run, 6 miles, 50 min
15 min EZ, 20 min STEADY pace (that you can hold for an hour and not much more), 15 min CD. maintained 7:40 pace for the middle 20 min.
weather was beautiful, set out at 5:30am when it was still pitch black outside and found myself enjoying the early morning quite a bit. looking back, i think i could have gone faster and still been able to hold that for an hour, but it was a good run. came home and took jazz out for another 2 mile easy run.
Friday: rest day
Saturday: not planned: 1:20 min spin (9 hammers sufferfest vid) in the morning. planned: 9 mile run in the afternoon.
bike: this is where i made a slight addition to "the plan". they've been doing this off-season-spin class for the past 2-3 months and I was curious to see what it was like. someone asked me if i wanted to go, I wasn't totally keen on it since I wanted to be fresh to run later, but curiosity won. it was tough, no doubt. legs were jello-like after spinning. went directly into a 20 minute run (like 2.6ish miles, garmin was unhappy at that point). easy run, felt good. then brunch. because really, food is just as important. and that crab eggs benedict and chai latte with soy milk were dynamite.
run: 5 mile EZ, 3 mile half-marathon pace, 1 mile EZ.
I debated on changing the distance because of the morning spin, I wasn't feeling 100%, felt a little tired overall, so I voted to do a 4 mile loop, stop for water and decide how much to do after. the 4 miles were cake and my legs weren't exhausted so I decided to go ahead with what I was supposed to do. we ran another easy mile and then picked it up for the next 3 miles. i had every intention of maintaining 7:45/mile pace (slightly faster than my PR half pace), but we played around with the time to try to make me figure out how fast i was running without staring at my watch. it was very helpful and time flew by. first 2 miles were 7:28 and pretty hilly. i was guessing i was doing 7:35-7:45, so i was definitely off. last one was 7:10, mostly downhill. 1 mile easy.
I have trouble with "easy". its something i know i need to learn to do. i just get out there and want to GO GO GO. and logically, i know thats not going to be helpful in the long run (quite literally). its an active thought process of "SLOW THE FUCK DOWN" (but i get distracted and speed up) combined with an occasionally helpful pull on my hood to physically SLOW DOWN.
the run really did fly by time-wise - it felt relaxed and comfortable - no complaints other than the brief gusts of wind. and hills. oh you damn hills. but again... its good for you.
Sunday: 2:20 spin at EL, 20 min run
the EL is fun... group of 8-9 girls, let by coach T. they're a funny group, i like them - its a new concept, training with people. i like it.
30 min steady spin warm up. 15 min progressive increase to strong race pace. 10 x :30 sprints, :30 sec EZ spin. 5 min EZ spin. russian ladder - 1/5, 2/4, 3/3, 4/2, 5/1, 4/2, 3/3, 2/4, 1/5. 1 min strong race pace, 5 EZ spin with high cadence - and so on - obviously the middle part sucks the most. 10 min progressive increase to strong race pace, last min balls to the wall. (there may have been something else in there, i can't remember).
it was a good workout, worked hard, sweat my ass off. got off the bike and threw warm clothes on and were off and running within 5 minutes of getting off the bike. 20 minute run through arlington, down to the Mount Vernon trail and back.
By noon on sunday when I left arlington, I myself was basically finished. I'd finally hit a spot where my legs said "no more for the rest of the day, we just can't do it anymore". its been a long time since i felt like that and IT. WAS. GOOD. i came home and even foam rolled and stretched (YEP, learning...). I took an incredibly amazing shower and popped a few ibuprofen and just SAT. okay, grocery shopped and THEN sat my ass on the floor for a couple hours and it was glorious.
It was a good week, I'm pretty satisfied with how I felt throughout. Hard to believe Monticelloman is in just under 5 weeks, pumped to race again! Excited to get a baseline idea of where I'm at right now.
Today is a rest day and a half work day. obviously im catching up on the legendary fast and furious movies (all 6 of them) before 7 comes out on friday...
Monday: swim 2300y.
300S/200P/100K. 4 x 100, :20 RI (25 drill, 50 free, 25 drill). 3 x 200, :30 RI (pull buoy, did this strong, pushed somewhat). 4 x 150, :15 RI (50K on back, 100S). 100 CD. 40 min total.
this seemed too easy, thats why I was pushing the 200's. it was the only place to really increase the intensity a bit. i just felt like i wasn't swimming enough/trying hard enough to make the distance/time in the pool worthwhile.
Tuesday: track workout.
1 mile WU. 1600 x 2, 800 x 2, 400 x 1 (ran out of time), 1 mile CD.
This was FUN. I'm not a big fan of running fast (I think I'm better at long distances), but on the track is different. plus, its not sprinting per say. Though our first 400 of the first 1600 was under 1:30, thats quick for me. Coach T definitely had us to slow down after that first lap!
1600 - 7:10
1600 - 7:15 (I think? didn't stop the watch apparently)
800 - 3:32
800 - 3:28
400 - 1:36 (we were NOT supposed to run this faster than the 800s... so we chatted and ran)
I didn't feel like we were going all that fast, which I guess is a good sign. It was funny because after the first mile, she said something along the lines of, "usually I don't want you guys to talk during workouts, but I'll let it go because its the only thing thats going to slow you guys down." I have no concept of my pace, I can only sort of figure out the pace I can handle maintaining for a given length of time purely based on how I feel... Its obvious I have a long way to go in terms of training.
Wednesday: 1:15 trainer
20 min WU, 4 x (5' hard effort in aero, 5' easy spin recovery), steady spin until 1:15 time frame. 23.4 miles.
it was tough, but i pushed it pretty good. i *think* i can feel myself getting a bit stronger as the last couple months have passed. hopefully. lord knows this is where i need to improve.
Thursday: tempo run, 6 miles, 50 min
15 min EZ, 20 min STEADY pace (that you can hold for an hour and not much more), 15 min CD. maintained 7:40 pace for the middle 20 min.
weather was beautiful, set out at 5:30am when it was still pitch black outside and found myself enjoying the early morning quite a bit. looking back, i think i could have gone faster and still been able to hold that for an hour, but it was a good run. came home and took jazz out for another 2 mile easy run.
Friday: rest day
Saturday: not planned: 1:20 min spin (9 hammers sufferfest vid) in the morning. planned: 9 mile run in the afternoon.
bike: this is where i made a slight addition to "the plan". they've been doing this off-season-spin class for the past 2-3 months and I was curious to see what it was like. someone asked me if i wanted to go, I wasn't totally keen on it since I wanted to be fresh to run later, but curiosity won. it was tough, no doubt. legs were jello-like after spinning. went directly into a 20 minute run (like 2.6ish miles, garmin was unhappy at that point). easy run, felt good. then brunch. because really, food is just as important. and that crab eggs benedict and chai latte with soy milk were dynamite.
run: 5 mile EZ, 3 mile half-marathon pace, 1 mile EZ.
I debated on changing the distance because of the morning spin, I wasn't feeling 100%, felt a little tired overall, so I voted to do a 4 mile loop, stop for water and decide how much to do after. the 4 miles were cake and my legs weren't exhausted so I decided to go ahead with what I was supposed to do. we ran another easy mile and then picked it up for the next 3 miles. i had every intention of maintaining 7:45/mile pace (slightly faster than my PR half pace), but we played around with the time to try to make me figure out how fast i was running without staring at my watch. it was very helpful and time flew by. first 2 miles were 7:28 and pretty hilly. i was guessing i was doing 7:35-7:45, so i was definitely off. last one was 7:10, mostly downhill. 1 mile easy.
I have trouble with "easy". its something i know i need to learn to do. i just get out there and want to GO GO GO. and logically, i know thats not going to be helpful in the long run (quite literally). its an active thought process of "SLOW THE FUCK DOWN" (but i get distracted and speed up) combined with an occasionally helpful pull on my hood to physically SLOW DOWN.
the run really did fly by time-wise - it felt relaxed and comfortable - no complaints other than the brief gusts of wind. and hills. oh you damn hills. but again... its good for you.
Sunday: 2:20 spin at EL, 20 min run
the EL is fun... group of 8-9 girls, let by coach T. they're a funny group, i like them - its a new concept, training with people. i like it.
30 min steady spin warm up. 15 min progressive increase to strong race pace. 10 x :30 sprints, :30 sec EZ spin. 5 min EZ spin. russian ladder - 1/5, 2/4, 3/3, 4/2, 5/1, 4/2, 3/3, 2/4, 1/5. 1 min strong race pace, 5 EZ spin with high cadence - and so on - obviously the middle part sucks the most. 10 min progressive increase to strong race pace, last min balls to the wall. (there may have been something else in there, i can't remember).
it was a good workout, worked hard, sweat my ass off. got off the bike and threw warm clothes on and were off and running within 5 minutes of getting off the bike. 20 minute run through arlington, down to the Mount Vernon trail and back.
By noon on sunday when I left arlington, I myself was basically finished. I'd finally hit a spot where my legs said "no more for the rest of the day, we just can't do it anymore". its been a long time since i felt like that and IT. WAS. GOOD. i came home and even foam rolled and stretched (YEP, learning...). I took an incredibly amazing shower and popped a few ibuprofen and just SAT. okay, grocery shopped and THEN sat my ass on the floor for a couple hours and it was glorious.
It was a good week, I'm pretty satisfied with how I felt throughout. Hard to believe Monticelloman is in just under 5 weeks, pumped to race again! Excited to get a baseline idea of where I'm at right now.
Today is a rest day and a half work day. obviously im catching up on the legendary fast and furious movies (all 6 of them) before 7 comes out on friday...
Monday, March 23, 2015
Hello East Coast, I love you. Oh, and I'm still training I swear.
I'm a Virginian virgin - its my VERY FIRST TIME living anywhere east of Illinois. It still doesn't feel real...
But can I just be brutally honest? I love it. Without a shadow of a doubt, I love it here. I adore my apartment (plus the fact that I have heat... and storage space... and a cute little loft/pain cave...). I'm still living like Zoe in House of Cards - in fact, I'm sitting on the floor with my laptop surrounded by magazines and books... but who cares?
My neighborhood is cute - anything I want or need is at my fingertips, I can even walk to the store if I'm feeling motivated. The pet store is exactly 1 mile away, Jazz and I walked there a couple days ago - she picked out a handful of treats while helping herself to the milkbones on the bottom shelf. What can I say? We're a couple of food motivated gals.
One of the things I am most excited about is I found a tri coach. One of the girls I met here introduced us and I met with her last week. I knew as soon as we started talking that we could be a good fit. Her mindset and philosophy is similar to mine and its quite refreshing. Regarding technology - we all know I don't understand how to use my 910 except to hit start/stop. HR what? Something about power meters? Upload data how? I was nervous that she would tell me I need to learn heart rate training from scratch and that I need a power meter asap. She understands that I know nothing and don't possess a strong inclination to incorporate more gadgets in my life - at least at this point. I'm still learning how to be a triathlete, I have exactly 1 year of real experience - theres so many other things I can start to improve on - then MAYBE I'll start to use the fun toys that everyone's talking about. I mean, come on, I just upgraded my iphone 4 to the 6 - and hell, its still beyond my capabilities.
Training is going well so far. Haven't gotten into anything really heavy or difficult, but I'm definitely ahead of where I was at this time last year. Example - last week, I was doing the weekly debate in my head about what I wanted to swim. I know I need to start doing some speed or tempo work consistently, but I don't love doing it. I decided on a long warm-up, some pulling, nothing exciting. Main set was 10x100s on 1:30 (granted, I'm swimming yards, don't be too impressed). I held all of them between 1:23-1:26/100 - didn't feel like I was killing myself, just trying to be consistent. But I finished and was pretty damn proud of myself, I haven't tried to do that since college. A few days ago, I did some alternating sets of 4x100s, including some pull. one of the sets of 4x100s I was supposed to go on 1:50 and push the pace some. 1:50 is cake, so I came in on 1:15 for all of them. again, pleased with myself. I realize I won't be dropping large amounts of time in the swim, which is why I'm not swimming more than 1-2x a week, but I'm feeling more comfortable in the water and that's important.
Running has felt good too. I've run with a friend a couple of times and its felt really awesome to run outside - bonus, I've been able to run faster than how I feel. Does that make sense? I'm surprised sometimes by the pace I'm running - I don't feel like I should be running that speed and still feel relatively comfortable.
There's these walls I put up in my head in regards to times - I set these stupid limits because I don't feel I'm capable of better/faster. But I look at how far I've come in the past few years, in terms of running, and its eye-opening to think about. My first half in 2009 was at a 9 minute pace, 1:57. IT. WAS. HARD. In fact, it sucked to run that distance and I was sore for a few days. I've gradually gone 1:52, 1:46, 1:44, 1:42 over time (some other times thrown in there too) - and the 1:42 was pretty steady, I wasn't really trying for a PR because thats the race I ran with MEB so I hung on his heels for 10 miles until I decided to finish that race at my own speed - plus, I passed MEB, who else can say that? So what if he was basically walking that 1:45 pace group?
My point is that you aren't helping anyone by imposing limits or restrictions on yourself. I have these big dreams and if I'm constantly thinking theres no way I can run that half faster or get that bike speed to 20+ miles an hour - then whats the point in wanting these goals if I'm already telling myself I can't do it? I feign confidence, but secretly I'm scared of failing - who isn't? Honestly though - what happens if I fail? Nothing except a bruised ego.
Heres to knocking down barriers and coming out on top - I'm going to kill these races this year. First one is in 5 weeks!
But can I just be brutally honest? I love it. Without a shadow of a doubt, I love it here. I adore my apartment (plus the fact that I have heat... and storage space... and a cute little loft/pain cave...). I'm still living like Zoe in House of Cards - in fact, I'm sitting on the floor with my laptop surrounded by magazines and books... but who cares?
My neighborhood is cute - anything I want or need is at my fingertips, I can even walk to the store if I'm feeling motivated. The pet store is exactly 1 mile away, Jazz and I walked there a couple days ago - she picked out a handful of treats while helping herself to the milkbones on the bottom shelf. What can I say? We're a couple of food motivated gals.
One of the things I am most excited about is I found a tri coach. One of the girls I met here introduced us and I met with her last week. I knew as soon as we started talking that we could be a good fit. Her mindset and philosophy is similar to mine and its quite refreshing. Regarding technology - we all know I don't understand how to use my 910 except to hit start/stop. HR what? Something about power meters? Upload data how? I was nervous that she would tell me I need to learn heart rate training from scratch and that I need a power meter asap. She understands that I know nothing and don't possess a strong inclination to incorporate more gadgets in my life - at least at this point. I'm still learning how to be a triathlete, I have exactly 1 year of real experience - theres so many other things I can start to improve on - then MAYBE I'll start to use the fun toys that everyone's talking about. I mean, come on, I just upgraded my iphone 4 to the 6 - and hell, its still beyond my capabilities.
Training is going well so far. Haven't gotten into anything really heavy or difficult, but I'm definitely ahead of where I was at this time last year. Example - last week, I was doing the weekly debate in my head about what I wanted to swim. I know I need to start doing some speed or tempo work consistently, but I don't love doing it. I decided on a long warm-up, some pulling, nothing exciting. Main set was 10x100s on 1:30 (granted, I'm swimming yards, don't be too impressed). I held all of them between 1:23-1:26/100 - didn't feel like I was killing myself, just trying to be consistent. But I finished and was pretty damn proud of myself, I haven't tried to do that since college. A few days ago, I did some alternating sets of 4x100s, including some pull. one of the sets of 4x100s I was supposed to go on 1:50 and push the pace some. 1:50 is cake, so I came in on 1:15 for all of them. again, pleased with myself. I realize I won't be dropping large amounts of time in the swim, which is why I'm not swimming more than 1-2x a week, but I'm feeling more comfortable in the water and that's important.
Running has felt good too. I've run with a friend a couple of times and its felt really awesome to run outside - bonus, I've been able to run faster than how I feel. Does that make sense? I'm surprised sometimes by the pace I'm running - I don't feel like I should be running that speed and still feel relatively comfortable.
There's these walls I put up in my head in regards to times - I set these stupid limits because I don't feel I'm capable of better/faster. But I look at how far I've come in the past few years, in terms of running, and its eye-opening to think about. My first half in 2009 was at a 9 minute pace, 1:57. IT. WAS. HARD. In fact, it sucked to run that distance and I was sore for a few days. I've gradually gone 1:52, 1:46, 1:44, 1:42 over time (some other times thrown in there too) - and the 1:42 was pretty steady, I wasn't really trying for a PR because thats the race I ran with MEB so I hung on his heels for 10 miles until I decided to finish that race at my own speed - plus, I passed MEB, who else can say that? So what if he was basically walking that 1:45 pace group?
My point is that you aren't helping anyone by imposing limits or restrictions on yourself. I have these big dreams and if I'm constantly thinking theres no way I can run that half faster or get that bike speed to 20+ miles an hour - then whats the point in wanting these goals if I'm already telling myself I can't do it? I feign confidence, but secretly I'm scared of failing - who isn't? Honestly though - what happens if I fail? Nothing except a bruised ego.
Heres to knocking down barriers and coming out on top - I'm going to kill these races this year. First one is in 5 weeks!
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Neglectful
I've definitely been neglecting this poor blog... I apologize to my negative three readers. In short, a CRAP TON has happened - and is happening. I accepted a position in Virginia, I gave work 4 weeks notice, and now I am moving in just under 1 week.
It happened really fast. But I wouldn't have it any other way - I'm ready to start over. I feel like I've been living in limbo for the past 3 years. Perhaps that is a terrible thing to say since that entire period of time includes my marriage. But I think he would agree... I never felt like this was "home". I wasn't excited about our house and our property, I didn't envision living there for the rest of my life - I stared into a blank space when I thought about the future. We'd talking about having kids, but it was more a far-off idea rather than something I realistically considered. I was unhappy for the majority of the past few years - broken even. I withdrew from my family and friends, even losing friends along the way. But I couldn't (honestly, refused) to accept the inevitable and it took me time to understand what was coming next. I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff deciding my fate - would I jump and fall into the abyss? Or would I jump and magically find wings?
In the end, it didn't matter. Either way I was planning on jumping.
So, I took that proverbial leap of faith. And one year later, I am whole again. I found some hidden inner strength that I never knew I possessed and ran with it - literally. I've become a better version of myself, mentally and physically healthier.
Aaaaaand I'm taking that leap again. I'm moving halfway across the country on a whim. I feel like I threw a dart at a map and thats where I'm headed. This is the biggest change I've ever made in my life and I'm doing it completely on my own. I don't have a husband or boyfriend or best friend to do this with. I have little Jazz though - my trusty and loyal underwear-eating sidekick.
Am I terrified? You bet your ass I am.
But oh dear God - I am excited. Cheers to new beginnings and new adventures!
(I'll get back to the heart of what this blog is "supposed" to be about in due time... until then, keep your fingers crossed for me, my negative three readers). I will eventually keep up with writing. Really. I think.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)