Rest Day = Beautiful Day to Run. Would You Run Anyway?

February 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 

I’ve turned into a stickler for running/workout schedules.

Too bad, because this was the perfect morning to run.

I was never this inflexible. I used to be the girl who would pack a suitcase and take off on a trip in less than an hour. Drop all plans to do something spontaneous. What happened?

I suppose part of this sticking to a running routine is a result of past overuse injuries, such as hamstring tendonitis a few years ago, which left me out of my running shoes for a month.

Part of this is due to training, too. When I trained only for running races, I could run on whatever day I wanted. I ran four or five days a week, but the days didn’t really matter as long as I fit in the run.

Now that I’ve added triathlon training, I need to squeeze in swimming and cycling, too. If I run on a day I should be doing something else, or on a rest day, then I either have to give up the bike or pool or double up on workouts; I don’t want to do the former, and I don’t have time to do the latter.

This morning I woke to a gorgeous running day. Blustery, windy, cool, misty. The PERFECT day for a run. But I’d run two days in a row, and I knew my muscles needed a rest. I considered a bike ride, but, again, wanted my hamstrings to have a cooling off day.

So I opted for indoor pilates and yoga instead.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy those two activities; I actually love them.

Still, there’s something about lacing up when it is a certain temperature, when there is a certain feel in the air, that I just can’t get from doing exercises inside.

Today is rest day. I stuck to it, although, I’ll admit, hesitantly.

Do you stick to your rest day schedule, or, if the perfect running day comes along, do you chuck the schedule out the window and, shall I say, run with it?

Filed Under: February 2012, Reflections on Running, Rest Day, Sprint Triathlons, Triathlon Training Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Birthdays Always Great Time for Reflection; and, Triathlon Training, Here I Come

February 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

This Saturday I’ll turn 30.

For the 12th year in a row.

It has gotten much easier, hitting that 3rd decade of my life. I’ve learned to take the milestone in stride. You realize, twelve years after, how much it really doesn’t matter. Life goes on. Things change. I’ve had a few kids, and we got a dog. We own a house rather than renting a cramped (but super cute) condo in Pasadena.

I’ve run two marathons. Completed a triathlon. Jogged endless 5Ks, 10Ks and halfs.

I’ve learned since turning thirty the first time to listen to my body if it is in pain. That doesn’t mean I accept it gracefully; I just listen more these days, and I take a break as needed.

I’ve learned it’s not so much the race but the participation in that matters. I could run through Florida or California, Georgia or Alabama, and it wouldn’t matter. What would matter would be that I enjoyed it. Soaked it all up. Got the medal at the finish line, regardless of my time.

I’ve learned PRs are cool, but that’s not all there is. I can be the slowest in the pack and enjoy it the most. That’s fine by me.

I’ve learned aging means understanding the difference between pushing through the pain and then not running for six weeks; or stopping, icing, resting and lacing back up in seven days.

I’ve learned to run just to run.

I’d say over the past 12 years of turning thirty, I’ve learned a hell of a lot!

—

That said, I started triathlon training this week. I figured out a schedule I believe will work while reducing the stress on my body that happened last year. I got back into the pool today, and all in all it was a good swim. 25 minutes, three laps at a time before a rest.

My only problem, and I know this is something I’ll need to deal with sooner rather than later – after swimming, I took the girls in, and because I wasn’t technically exercising, I experienced Raynauds. (Don’t know what that is? Fun little issue when your body temp drops and the blood stops circulating to your extremities.)This just started a few years ago, and only in my right pointer finger and right heel. This year it has moved a bit, and today it happened for the first time ever in my right thumb.

And I didn’t even feel that cold!

Pooey. Not sure what to do about this. I want to continue to swim, but it’s dangerous to allow it to happen often or for long periods of time. I certainly don’t want to give up swimming because of it.

Will I look like a total dork if I wear some type of gloves for warmth, so my fingers don’t turn white and then purple?

Yes, but turning 30 for 12 years has taught me I don’t give a crap how much of a dork I resemble, as long as I’m happy, safe and having a good time.

So guess I’ll be purchasing some gloves.

I hope I can run a few races and participate in a few triathlons this birthday year.

But I really hope that when I turn 30 next year, for the 13th year in a row, I can look back on this year and say how great it was!

Filed Under: February 2012, Reflections on Running, Triathlon Training, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

First Triathlon Completed: Race Report from a New Addict

July 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

On Sunday I completed my first sprint triathlon, participating in the Club Med Series in Port Saint Lucie, Florida.

To say I was nervous is, well, not enough.

To say it was an incredible experience is, well, also not enough.

Per my posts last week, I was afraid of EVERYTHING: forgetting something, getting gnawed on by a gator, succumbing to heat stroke during the 5K.

I’m happy to report I beat the visious beasts AND heat and finished in 1:19 and some change. Not too shabby for my first time, though when I see people rolling in at 55 minutes it makes me feel kinda slow.

Pre-Race
So, the night before the tri I did not sleep at all! Well, I slept minimally, going to bed from 10-1 and then, from 1 until 3:30, waking every so often. At 3:38 I sprang awake, and from 4-4:45 I made myself deals: If I fall asleep by 4, I have an hour left; if I fall asleep by 4:15, I have 45 minutes; if I don’t fall asleep by 4:30, I’ll get up at 4:45.

I got up at 4:45, got ready, and left the house, arriving so early only a handful of racers were already there.

Race Day
When I got to the race, I headed toward the longest line and got marked – nothing like having my age, 41, imprinted on the back of my leg! I headed to the transition area and, not knowing how it worked, chose a nice spot close to the Bike Out sign. Then I had the brains to ask a lady standing nearby where we parked our bikes, and she gladly told me to put it in the space with my race number — which was, of course, printed all over my limbs!

[Read more...]

Filed Under: July 2011, Sprint Triathlons, Triathlon Training, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , ,

Gator Bait!

July 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Last night, as I lay down to sleep thinking about how ridiculous I was being worrying a shark might get me in the river during my tri, I realized it’s not a shark I have to concern myself with but an alligator.

Yes! There are gators in the river, and I’m going to be swimming in it!

I had my list all made up of things I want to pack for this tri, including:

  • tri shorts
  • cute sports bra since I think I’m staying in it for the duration
  • hat
  • goggles for swim
  • shoes
  • socks
  • small container to rinse my feet
  • towel
  • bike
  • tire inflater
  • spare tube
  • tire levers

I was feeling good! Strong! Invincible! I can do this!

Then I remembered the gators.

So today I did some research. I googled “gators” “triathlon” and “Florida.”

I found an article about a triathlete who was practicing in the river when he got attacked by a gator.

Then I found another article about triathletes who refused to do a tri in middle Florida because there were gators in the river they were to swim. “It’s not worth it,” they said.

I concurred.

Then I called my mom. It’s always kind of fun to torment her, although, today, it was at my expense.

Me: Mom, do you know there are gators in the river I’m going to be swimming on Sunday?

Mom: Oh no! That’s not good! Is it mating season?

Me (after quickly googling “mating season” and “alligators”): No. Looks like mating season is earlier. Now it’s nesting season.

Mom: Oh no! Even worse! The females are very aggressive with their eggs!

Me: Oh no! Maybe I can just do that tri up in Jacksonville next month.

Mom, after a really, really long break, in which I’m assuming she downed some tequila or Valium or some other medication that will help calm her nerves since her daughter is going to go swim a tri in the middle of gator infested waters: Well, I just have one piece of advice.

Me: What?

Mom: Don’t be the slowest swimmer in the water.

 

Filed Under: Sprint Triathlons, Triathlon Training Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Nervous Enough to Puke: Techniques for Reducing Race Day Anxiety

July 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

 

 

 

 


This is what I have been thinking about fixated on obsessing over all week:

Sunday’s Sprint Triathlon.

First, when I began this training a few months ago, I worried about training. Could I create a workable schedule; could I get to the pool when needed; would my bike do okay for this first race; would I be able to bike ten and then run three right after; were there enough hours in a week to fit it all in?

Once I knew I could do the distances, I worried about the race day technicalities. What if I put my bike on the rack wrong; what if I forget something; what if I put sunscreen on and my number wipes off; what if I bump into someone and knock them over, rendering them unable to complete the tri; what if I draft; what if I draft too close, knocking someone over, rendering them unable to complete the tri; what if I have to go to the bathroom during the race, particularly on the bike; what if I can’t do the swim like I think I can and there I am, first sport, unable to finish; what if I get attacked by a shark (okay, this last one is a long shot since I’m in the river, but I’m sure, on some level, it could happen)

Then I worried about the elements: what if the tropical depression comes through and creates waves so high I panic; what if it is so hot I wind up with heat stroke; what if it thunders and lightnings; what if I get the strep my daughter had; what if I pull a hamstring/break a rib/sprain an ankle prior to race day

Last night, as I contemplated what might happen if I swam off course and wound up halfway up the river before realizing I was, in fact, off course, I realized this:

I am nervous enough to puke.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Sprint Triathlons, Triathlon Training Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Purchasing a Road Bike: Decisions, Decisions

July 16, 2011 By 2 Comments

So, I wanna buy a road bike. (Not this one, though it sure is nice looking!)

Cha-ching.

I was hoping to get off with $300 or so on a used road bike; how gullible am I?!

The one I really like, the Felt, is about $500 used. I found an F80, but it is located quite far from me (remember, I’m in the boonies now), and I’m not sure I can swing a meeting with the girl.

I haven’t been fitted yet, so that’s my next step.

I’m going blind by the research I’ve done on the different brands (Cannondale, Trek, Felt), places to purchase (local bike store, or LBS; craigslist for used; bikesdirect.com), types of frames, accessories needed, and so on and so forth. It’s almost as much research as I did when trying to have my first baby. And about as damn expensive!

I am a good researcher (thanks to the masters program at University of South Florida), but I think the way to best learn is to talk with those who do the thing or have the thing you want.

So I’m tossing my questions out to you, biking/cycling friends!

What type of bike do you ride? What’s your weekly mileage? Are you happy with the bike? Can I find a decent used bike for $500? And on and on and on . . . All comments welcome!

Happy Cycling!

P.S. Today’s workout consisted of an 8.5 mile run. 8.1 on the mill, luckily on one that had a built in tv so I could watch my trash shows, which always makes the time go by faster for me on a ‘mill. Then .4 or so around the indoor track at the gym. I worked on incline to 5.5 and speed to 7.0, but not all at the same time for fear of falling off backwards!

My daughter wanted to do a splash and dash race at club med the day before my tri, but her heel hurts from taking a fall on it, so we stopped running together after 2 laps and I completed six more for 1/2 a mile.

Then I stopped and purchased a handheld tire pump and levers for my bike. I’m ready for the flats that may come – well, at least I have the tools necessary to fix the flat. I’m not so sure I can actually change the tire, though!

Oh, and I still need a road bike. (See how I say need, not want. Funny how that happens!)

8 days until my first tri.

Filed Under: Biking/Cycling, July 2011, Triathlon Training Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Changing a Bike Tire Flat: One Task This Runner Girl Must Master Before My First Tri

July 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have always loved biking.

By that, I mean I have enjoyed hopping on my cruiser and heading to the beach, or, when I graduated college and lived on a small island in southern Florida, cruising to the bar, watching my friend’s band (back in the 90s, when songs like Low by Cracker were popular), and then riding home with a buzz, dodging real estate signs and potholes.

As I got older and lost my desire for late night partying (well, most nights, anyway!), I turned to cycling for exercise. This was before I ran. I didn’t upgrade bikes, but rode my cruiser mile after mile each day.

Then my husband – my then boyfriend – turned me on to running, and cycling fell to the wayside for a while.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Biking/Cycling, Triathlon Training Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Working Out While on Vacation : Do You or Don’t You?

July 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We recently took a family vacation to one of the happiest places on earth.

This happy place involved miles and miles of walking and standing in lines.

My workout schedule?

I threw it in the trash that week, missing three scheduled workouts while away.

A friend recently went on a family vacation. Her workout schedule? She didn’t miss a day of biking, swimming, and cycling. Every single morning while on vacation she got up – once she even scouted out the local Y so she could follow her swim plan.

We are both training for our first tri. Mine is a week earlier than hers.

I missed three workouts that week.

She missed none.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: July 2011, Long Distance Running, Sprint Triathlons, Swimming, Training for a Marathon, Triathlon Training, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Signing Up for My First Triathlon, Butterflies and All!

June 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 
 

 

Today I spent an hour in the bookstore.

I wasn’t looking at cookbooks, which I love, or magazines about writing.

I wasn’t drinking coffee and working on my American novel, though I only have two chapters, or 40 pages, left before completion.

I was, in fact, looking up information about triathlons.

Three years ago, while living in Los Angeles, I got it in my head to do a tri. I joined the local gym since we were pool-less and I began to train. Swimming, running, and biking took up my workout schedule several times each week. I was ready to go, and only one month away.

Then we found out my husband was being transferred.

So I switched gears, literally.

That fall I ran my second marathon, and I gave up my idea of competing in a tri.

Until several months ago.

I began training again, and I’m doing fairly well. I can run 10 miles right now, swim about 1250 comfortably, and bike around 9. I have a tri in my sights, on July 24th, but I am, in fact, scared as crap.

Why?

I suppose it’s the unknown. I have a variety of obsessive questions: where do I put my stuff, what stuff do I put there, will I knock into someone else while I’m biking and ruin their experience, what if I wear the wrong thing, will I look ridiculous, what if I get lost in the swim, or I can’t breathe, or I have a heart attack?

As you can see, I can stress with the best of them!

In fact, I am more stressed about this than I am about running another 26.2 miles, even though the last time I ran a marathon I messed up my hamstring for six months.

I’ve obsessively googled numerous things, such as drafting on the bike, drowning during the swim, and cramping during the run.

What do I eat, what do I pack, what do I put next to my bike? What if I forget something? What if I commit an error and I don’t even know it, but the error pisses off a lot of other triathletes?

This doesn’t happen in running. You lace up, you go when the gun cracks, and you run.

But I’ve decided to swallow my fear.

Training has been done. I can do the mileage. I have:

  • picked the race
  • found someone to watch my children, and
  • bribed my best friend to accompany me (okay, she doesn’t know this yet but she will as soon as I finish writing this post)

I’m going to do this.

Really, I am.

I’m committing so much I’m purchasing tri shorts tonight and using them for my practice tri next Saturday, when I do a swim, bike, and run in preparation for the race, which is only four weeks away or so.

So here I go, I’m buying those shorts, and now I will stop obsessing.

Well, okay, I’ll stop obsessing after I google what to do in the middle of my tri if my bike scores a flat.

Wish me luck . . .

Filed Under: Biking/Cycling, June 2011, Sprint Triathlons, Swimming, Triathlon Training Tagged With: , , , , , ,

When Training Takes a Hit: Or, Running in the Life of a Mother

June 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

So, as you probably know from the title of my blog, I am a mother. I have two adorable, loud, happy, funny, creative girls, one of whom is heading to second grade next year and one that still has another year left of pre-k.

Prior to kids, I ran when I wanted: in the early morning dawn, before anyone else had woken; in the late evening, as the sun dipped behind the Atlantic; or midday when the mood struck, after a nap and before a nice fat glass of wine.

Now, it’s a little tougher. For not taking up much space and for weighing in less than 100 pounds total, those two little girls sure can do some serious damage to my training schedule.

This week, it’s a virus.

Started with a little puking and a slight fever, and ended last night when the fever broke.

Three days, inside.

Two days of missed running.

I did substitute swimming, and when all is said and done I will have only missed one run this week. So I’ll do two longer ones Friday and Saturday and be short only four miles or so, which will probably be good for my legs – a forced rest, if you will – though I certainly do miss going out and hitting the pavement when I’m supposed to.

It’s like crack, running. And I’m its biggest addict.

So what’s a mother to do when her schedule gets interrupted? Here, some things I have found in my seven years of combining the best job in the world, mothering, with the best sport in the world, running.

  1. Cross train. If you can’t get out there and run because you’re bedded down with a sick child, you may be able to do some other type of cardio by cross training. For me, we have a pool and, if the weather is right (as it is now), I can jump in for some laps while my sick one watches a movie. I’m not far away and she’s able to get me when she needs me. Others might plan to do some type of cardio video, such as kickboxing, during this time. Still others may have help around (husband, family, friends) who can drop in and watch the kids for half an hour while you bike, swim, or, gasp, go for a run.
  2. Strength train. I love strength training because I have everything I need right at home: weights, bands, balls, and my own body. I do strength three days each week as it is, and this week I have done more than normal since I can’t run. You can do push ups, biceps, triceps, planks (front, left, ride), and all kinds of leg exercises in the comfort of your own home. I’ve spent years subscribing to magazines like Runner’s World, Fitness, and Shape, and from them I’ve clipped the best exercises I found to add into my routine. When I need to mix things up, I pull out my very large, overstuffed binder, pick a few new exercises, and get to work.
  3. Relax. It’s hard to get the schedule messed up – I know, as I’ve trained for and run two marathons since giving birth the first time. It’s possible to miss a few days and still keep the mojo flowing, though, and I am a testament to that fact. I’ve found if I miss a few days I can increase my distance when I do get back out and only lose out on a few miles, as will happen this week. Also, the days of rest are good for us, remember? Even when they are forced and, sigh, unwanted. Try not to stress about losing a day or two on the pavement and rather spend this time contemplating how much you love running and why you continue to do so, even though it can often be difficult to lace up and get out when you have young children at home.

So, how do you fit running into your life, and what do you do when your schedule hits a bump?

In other news . . .

My swimming has gotten very strong these past three months. I’m happy to say today I did my best time yet: 1700 yards in 40 minutes. I’d like to get up to one mile and possibly more.

I enjoy swimming a lot, and find that it works me out the same as running does but without any pressure on my leg muscles, joints, and bones. Great workout, less stress, so it is the perfect cross training companion. Plus I can see my core, arms, and shoulders paying off with the effort. If I had another day in the week, I’d add in another day of swimming! I’m going to see if I can accomplish this without that extra day, though, since I’m enjoying it so much.

Plus, in another few months there will be a swim across the river in Jacksonville (more on this soon). I’d like to participate if possible, but I have to be able to swim at least a mile and a half. I’m almost there, and I can see the victory flag in the distance, but I still have some work to do.

 

Filed Under: June 2011, Long Distance Running, Racing, Rest Day, Training for a Marathon, Triathlon Training Tagged With: , , , , ,
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