Tapering

With 18-days left, Pete and I will start tapering our workouts next week. So why the hell am I talking about it now? Because my legs feel like lead this week and I'm ready to start tapering.

One of my goals this season was to be a better runner. I am better than I was last year, but not by as much as I wanted. I want to feel that runner's high that everyone talks about. People describe it as a feeling that you get while you're running that you could just keep going and run forever. I want that feeling. I want to love running. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate running. I just don't love it. can push a 9-minute mile for a few miles, but the thought of going any faster for a real distance is just beyond my comprehension. I know that doing drills and cross training helps, but I'm waiting for that breakthrough. I'll let you know when it happens.

Pete and I ran hill repeats last night. At 6pm when we ran, the air was thick with humidity. Needless to say I looked like a tomato when we were done, but the repeats were good. We did the same hill that we did last week. Ran there to warm up, six repeats, then ran back to cool down. I could not get my legs to finish on a negative split though, which pissed me off. But it was a good workout.

Looking at my times from last year's triathlon, I think that my goal will be to finish in under 3 hours. That means knocking more than off 30 minutes my time. I'm fairly certain that most of that time will come off during the bike, but I know I can swim faster and I know that my run will most certainly be faster. So there you have it. My goal is to make it in under 3 hours.

Next week will be a very nice week, no drills, just nice easy runs. No long rides, maybe ride the course a couple of times, and all the swims will be outside. The following week, we'll do even less. I'm anxious, but not like I was last year. I feel strong. I feel good about this.

Once this triathlon is over, I'll take a nice break. Put my feet up and relax for a bit. Then BAM! start training for the Iron Girl!

You're my friend

I made this speed workout up:

5:00 minutes warm-up walk
5:00 minutes warm-up jog
--
01:00 minute easy run
00:15 seconds 50% faster (these are not an all out sprints)
01:00 run
00:30 fast
01:00 run
00:45 fast (15.5 minutes total including warm-ups)
--
02:00 run
00:15 fast
01:00 run
00:30 fast
01:00 run
00:45 fast (20.5 minutes total)
--
Turn around or be at the mid-way point of a loop
--
02:00 run
00:15 fast
01:00 run
00:30 fast
01:00 run
00:45 fast (26 minutes total)
--
5:00 easy
--
Cool down walk (36 +/- total workout)

We did the above workout last night and ho-lee-cow, it was awesome! It was the right amount of "This feels great" + "I might die" + "I can do one more repeat! I can do it!" = "Great Run!!!" Molly agreed that this was something that she would do again, and next time we'll end with a negative split, something that we should have done with this but we didn't. This nice thing about this speed work is that another set could be tacked on. Forty-five seconds of not-quite sprinting is a lot longer than it looks on paper. We did it though, each and every step.

Since Molly trains people all week long, my job was to come up with the workout and then she'll make me stick to it. After doing some reading I've determined that the trick to getting faster is a combination of things. Putting in the miles is great, but by changing it up a bit you'll find that your form, speed and endurance will all improve. Its easier said than done.

Someone at work once told me that they were so impressed with how disciplined I am. I laughed. I have no self discipline. That's right! None. If I'm not accountable to another human being, I won't do the workout. 99.9% of my training is with another person. And much of the time, that other person is stronger, faster, and has more experience than I am. I'm not afraid of looking dumb, feeling like a slow-poke or worried about what they think of me. Nope. I will do the best that I can, on that particular day during that particular workout.

I plan workouts at least a week in advance, which includes who I'm working out with, I make a solid plan with them. Its a lot harder to cancel a workout if you've made a commitment to someone. I've competed in enough events in my life to know, pure and simple, that if you don't put in the effort, you're not going to get the results. If you show up on race day and perform badly you only have one person to blame. Now, performing badly and not meeting or beating goal times are a little different. Last year's triathlon was a huge success. While I wished I had better times, at no point was I thinking "Man, I should have done (insert training item here) more." In fact the thoughts in my head were more like "I worked my ass off for this!"

I know that being accountable to someone else means that I'm really doing myself a favor. But not everyone feels this way. Some people really like to workout alone. I give those people a lot of credit, especially if they can push themselves when they feel like quitting. I've gotten home from a long day of work, sat on the couch and thought "Nope, I'm staying right here." But then I realize that Pete is dressed and ready to ride, or that Marie is twiddling her thumbs at the gym. So I make a plan that includes other people. After writing that sentence I chuckled, because I am an introvert believe it or not. If given the choice I could rather spend the night at home alone rather than go to a party full of people. Decompression for me is quiet time. And yet I am able to decompress while training. Its a new balance that I've really come to love.

So the above workout is something that I made up. I may be really really sorry that I made that up and shared it with Molly - because she'll make me do it.

Ready. Set. Go!

Uptown Y. 5PM. Be there.

Its the end of a long day, tensions are high. Each competitor just itching to get in the pool and swim like there's no tomorrow. Its North East Mpls vs. South West Mpls. The clock counts down, 50 seconds, 30 seconds, 20, 10, and the buzzer sounds! The swimmers are off! Arms are flying, grabbing and pulling at the water. Bodies are propelled forward by raw power. The water splits as if avoiding the impending doom of this oncoming body.

How great would that be? Actually it was Pete saying "Go!" and it was Marie and I sprinting at the end of our workout yesterday, as a part of our cool down. What I learned is that I can completely bust-out a killer sprint for one length of the pool, but what I can't do is turn around and maintain that same speed. I seem to have three speeds. That's right, just call me "Three Speed Jenny", actually no don't do that. The first speed is a nice long, strong easy stroke. The second is a little faster and the third is the all-out sprint. But I'm learning.

It was a fun swim actually. In most respects it was boring (shhh, don't tell Pete I said that). But just feeling strong in the water is great. I changed it up a bit during the five repeats of 300 meters. How you ask? One length I'd breath on my left side. Another length I would breath every third stroke - meaning I'd breath on both sides. Really thrilling stuff.

Our workout:
200 meter warm up
200 meter kick (using a kick-board)
5 repeats of 300 meters
25 meter all-out sprint
50 meter all-out sprint
25 meter all-out sprint
Cool down

Total: 2000 meters (2187 yards or 1 mile)

What more can I say really?

The above swim suit, should you need to buy it for me, can be found at: http://www.splish.com/sales/SaleAwesomeGirl-SuperThin

Is rhubarb a fruit or a vegetable?

Overview: Is rhubarb a vegetable? A fruit? An ornamental plant? It’s a very ornamental vegetable that is usually prepared and eaten much like a fruit. All that and it’s perennial in many areas. Rhubarb is a cool season crop that is grown for its fibrous leaf stalks, which are a wonderful sweet-tart treat.

Latin Name: Rheum rhabarbarum

Common Name: Rhubarb

USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 - 8. Can be grown as an annual in climates with mild winters.

As so many people close to me know, rhubarb is one of my all-time favorite veggies (eaten as a fruit). I don't have a sweet-tooth and therefore this wonderfully bitter delight serves as an alternative to overly-sweet desserts. In the most recent issue of Runners World Magazine they had an interesting recipe for a chutney-like topping for chicken. Pete, I believe, is going to make it tonight.

Topping for chicken:

Slice 3/4 cup of strawberries
Mix 3/4 cup sliced rhubarb
1/4 cup red onion
1/4 cup of yellow bell pepper
Season with chopped jalapenos, cilantro and lime juice to taste

Yum! I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

I've been greatly spoiled by wonderful rhubarb recipes: Nana's rhubarb pie, Megan's (moan) rhubarb tarts and Chris/tine's rhubarb sorbet (hmmm). Thank you all!

Training this weekend

Ah, let's see. How was your weekend? Mine was great! Thanks for asking. Saturday started off with a bit of a hiccup. We swam, well sort of. It was a rough morning and after about a half mile of laps, also known as flopping around like a dead fish, I called it quits. Knowing that we were running later in the afternoon, I didn't get too worked up about a bad workout.

This has been one hell of a rainy June (hence the mass amounts of rhubarb?). Its made for fewer people on the trails. Fine by me. We headed out Saturday afternoon for what would turn out to be my longest run ever! I've never gone over 7, actually I think it was closer to 6.8 miles. We walked from the house to the north end of the Rose Garden and began running there. I wanted to make sure that I had enough of a cool-down time after our run. Our route took us north along Harriet, crossed over to Calhoun, went counter clockwise around Calhoun, back over to Lake Harriet, headed counter clockwise and then back up to the Rose Garden. It was quite moment when my Map My Run (iPhone App) announced the 7th mile. I almost cried because it was truly a milestone for me. Not only did I run (with no walking) the whole way, but I felt GOOD. I was soaking wet from light rain. My hair was somewhat matted to my face and the taste of salt crept into my mouth. By the time we reached the end of the run, our total distance was 7.3 miles. We walked the half mile home, stretching our legs and the goofy smile that was plastered on my face reminded me why I do all of this.

The big moments, like a race are measurable accomplishments that I can share with people and people can relate to, its big and obvious. But during training its these smaller, more personal moments that make it all worth it. I won't run that kind of distance again until after the July triathlon, I don't need to. But I needed to run those 7.3 miles on Saturday.

All of the revelations that occur for me during training, the ones that I share and the ones that stay safe inside my brain, are so much a part of being an athlete for me. I'm not winning medals or finishing in the top of my age group, but every day that I train, I am doing something that I love and that feeds me. I'm so fortunate that I've got folks around me that understand how important that is and that I have a partner that not only supports me, but is out there running the miles with me. Not a minute goes by that I don't recognize how amazing that is.

On Sunday, Pete and I met up with his cousin and her husband for a great ride along the infamous Gateway Trail. Why infamous? Because I could never figure out how the hell to get there and it pissed me off that so many people talked about how great it was. Well, I've ridden the Gateway Trail now. All told we did about 30 miles, which for my spent legs was just fine. I did a ton of stretching last night. And tonight, I will be handsomely rewarded by taking the night off.

Twenty-six days to the race.

We're here to pump YOU up.

(Originally wrote on 7-Jun)

Where have I been for the last week? Good question. Aside from taking some much needed time off, Pete and I decided to just do some massive training. There are 32 days remaining until the race. We have both set personal goals for the race, which I'm not quite ready to share, but will at some point. My goals are specifically around my own times. Last year's times showed how conservative I was with my energy. Since I had never done a triathlon before I didn't know how much to push myself. My swim time was good, but I know I can knock five or six minutes off. My bike time was so slow because I was afraid I would burn myself out and not be able to run. My run time was laughable because I hurt the muscle behind my knee leaving the water and running up the sand.

As I think about these goals, I'm also thinking about what I can do on a daily basis to make sure I meet or exceed those goals. Food has become a main focus of change for this last month. I'm trying to be smarter about the food I'm eating, portion size and when I'm eating it. I have a fairly healthy diet to begin with, but for me I need to replace nutrients that I'm depleting. A good friend reminded me (today) that I should be taking supplements, including fish oil... duh. Yes.

Some of the interesting changes in training this year have been in how hard I push myself. Pete has been a great influence. The biggest difference is how we are ending our workouts. For instance during our run we are ending with negative splits (faster and the end rather than slower). This is really teaching me how to finish strong and push harder. And its working. Last night we did a series of hill repeats. We ran out to Lake Harriet and along one of the side streets there is a nice steep hill (hard to find in Minneapolis). We ran up and down the hill six times, just kept looping. At first we were going to do four and then Pete (bastard) changed his mind and decided we were doing six. We did the six repeats and then headed home, still running. For the last 1/8 of a mile or so we picked up the pace, quite a bit in fact, until we arrived at our starting point. I swear a little bit during these negative splits, but man I can really feel the power in my legs. We've been doing these negative splits for all of our runs, whether we're doing drills or just a long easy run. The last long easy run, the negative split at the end was closer to a mile of increased speed... holy shit. I like it. Tomorrow I'm going to see Miss Molly for some sprint drills. I'm looking forward to seeing her and to work on speed. She has been kicking ass with her own run times lately. One of her more recent runs was six miles at just barely over an eight-minute mile. That kicks ass!! So sprints tomorrow with her will be great. Last week really made me feel like I was back in the game. Not that I was really "out" of the game per say, but it was the right kind of push at exactly the right time. Here's what we did:

• Saturday 29-May: Swam in the morning followed by a run (can't remember the distance, maybe 3?)
• Sunday 30-May: 50 mile ride (w/Marie. Pete then ran 2.5 miles immediately following the ride and Marie did just over 4 miles. I took a shower)
• Monday 31-May: Shorter run of 2.5 then crazy ass strength training and core with P90X
• Tuesday 1-Jun: 42 mile ride down along the Cannon River Trail, love that trail.
• Wednesday 2-Jun: Recovery Day! Ran two miles then walked about 4 miles
• Thursday 3-Jun: Double brick; Ride 7.5 miles, Run 1.2, Ride 7.5 miles, Run 1.2
• Friday 4-Jun: Rode only about 4 miles, then took the damn day off
• Saturday 5-Jun: Ran around Lake Harriet 4.5 miles with the last mile ending in a negative split... wowza
• Sunday 6-Jun: Swam 2,000 meters or so then rode 32 miles

It was really a big week for riding. Because bike rides are so much more time-consuming its tough to do during a work week. All told we did over 140 miles of riding. Our average speed increased every time we rode... oh, and I bought a new bike. That's right folks. My seventeen-year old Specialized Allez has been retired to live out its days as an around-the-town bike. I have upgraded to (drum roll) an actual triathlon bike, a Quintana Roo Tequilo. I ride a 48cm still, since I haven't grown taller despite by best efforts; however the wheels went from 700s to 650s. I won't go into the long boring details of how this bike is different than a traditional road bike, but there are some differences, and so far I'm liking them. Half of our rides last week were on this new bike and boy could I feel the difference. The folks out at Gear West (thank you Drew) were really awesome. I spent nearly half a day there getting fitted, test driving and being a general pain in the ass customer. But it was totally worth it.

(picking back-up 11-Jun)
I could start by adding several quotes by the Dali Lama, but I won't. This has been a week of challenges on a number of levels. Searching through mass amounts of frustration, confusion and disappointment only to find myself right back where I started. I'm learning and growing. But all-in-all I'm a happy girl. What did I just say? Doesn't matter.

Celebrated my 5th year with Modern Survey.
Molly celebrated her 6th year (on Monday) of being cancer-free!!