Feb 24, 2011
Running for recovery
After the marathon I had severe soreness, and tried everything to get better. I took ice baths, rolled, stretched, went swimming and did some easy spinning on the trainer, but nothing worked. I even resorted to living in my compression pants, or as Chris so eloquently refers to them as the cockblock pants, and as of yesterday I still had the pain in my quads. The rest of the legs were back to normal, but I was walking up and down stairs like I had just had a baby. I had an easy 45 minute run on the schedule today and I didnt think I would be able to do it. But then I read that coach had written you cant go too slow, so I figured that included walking and headed out with the dogs. I ran. Slow. And then I woke up today and am almost back to normal. Who knew that running would help? Gotta remember that next time!
Feb 23, 2011
Austin Marathon RR
This race was all about the Hs - Hot, humid and hilly - very good for IMTX training, which was my purpose for running this marathon. Not a good race for a PR unless you are like me and your only other marathon was so slow that you could walk the second half and still PR (which i did - walk and PR). At the finish line one of the people I was running with said that if that was his first marathon, he would never do another one. I actually felt great - probably because I stuck to my plan of going sloooowww. Austin is my favorite city by far, and I loved getting to run through parts of it, and definitely recommend this race for anyone who wants a challenge.
The expo - traffic in Austin is awful and was made even worse by the line of the people trying to get into the expo. It took us almost an hour to go a mile until I finally decided to jump out of the car and run in to get my packet. By the time I came back out, my mom had driven about 2 blocks. The race was sponsored by Livestrong (Lance made an appearance and ran the half), and the swag was pretty great. They gave away a messenger bag instead of a Tshirt which I loved becuase, really, I dont need another Tshirt. My maid is running around town with all of my old race tshirts posing as a triathlete/runner. If you saw her you would know what a funny site this actually is.
The start - no bueno. The start was really narrow and the half marathoners and marathoners were all bunched together. They used to start in another part of town that was much wider and I heard it was a better experience. I also think that if you have over 20,000 people trying to get across a little line at once, you should have a wave start. It took me about 15 minutes to get across the starting line. For the first time before a race I had zero nerves. It was purely a training run so there was no pressure. Plus I knew I had to walk up all the uphills because of my hip, and through all of the aid stations to practice nutrition. I knew it would be a slow marathon, and I was just out to have fun and feel really good at the finish.
The race - I was told the first 3 miles were uphill so I knew there would be a lot of walking involved. Whoever told me that lied - the first 16 miles were up hill. There was one downhill break from mile 4-6 where I pushed the pace a lot, but the rest of the time I was just walking up the hills. Around mile 20 I ran into a friend of mine who decided she would run slow enough to run in with me. Miles 20-26 were almost all downhill, but by that time it was hot and I was tired so my run was slow. We both ran across the finish line, and I felt great. No hip pain, no nausea and I had energy. I guess taking in calories really does work in a marathon - go figure. I also PRed (again, not saying much) after a pretty rough bike ride on saturday. So all in all it was a confidence booster I need going into May. I also think that I am going to actually train for a early 2012 marathon and see what I can do.
Here is a really fuzzy picture of us at the finish line taken by my mom's BB. I realize I forgot to post potential outfits, but a trip to cancun followed by food poisoning meant that I didnt have time to pack and resorted to wear what I had left at my mom's house from my last trip home. Of course it was some lulu.
Um, yes my friend has a baby and is one of those impressive mom runner types.
And good news - I finally got into a Dr to look at my hip. I find out exray results soon, but the good news is that he is a triathlete. So he knows that telling me to stop running and find something else to do with my time is not an option, instead he said he would fix it. YAY!
The expo - traffic in Austin is awful and was made even worse by the line of the people trying to get into the expo. It took us almost an hour to go a mile until I finally decided to jump out of the car and run in to get my packet. By the time I came back out, my mom had driven about 2 blocks. The race was sponsored by Livestrong (Lance made an appearance and ran the half), and the swag was pretty great. They gave away a messenger bag instead of a Tshirt which I loved becuase, really, I dont need another Tshirt. My maid is running around town with all of my old race tshirts posing as a triathlete/runner. If you saw her you would know what a funny site this actually is.
The start - no bueno. The start was really narrow and the half marathoners and marathoners were all bunched together. They used to start in another part of town that was much wider and I heard it was a better experience. I also think that if you have over 20,000 people trying to get across a little line at once, you should have a wave start. It took me about 15 minutes to get across the starting line. For the first time before a race I had zero nerves. It was purely a training run so there was no pressure. Plus I knew I had to walk up all the uphills because of my hip, and through all of the aid stations to practice nutrition. I knew it would be a slow marathon, and I was just out to have fun and feel really good at the finish.
The race - I was told the first 3 miles were uphill so I knew there would be a lot of walking involved. Whoever told me that lied - the first 16 miles were up hill. There was one downhill break from mile 4-6 where I pushed the pace a lot, but the rest of the time I was just walking up the hills. Around mile 20 I ran into a friend of mine who decided she would run slow enough to run in with me. Miles 20-26 were almost all downhill, but by that time it was hot and I was tired so my run was slow. We both ran across the finish line, and I felt great. No hip pain, no nausea and I had energy. I guess taking in calories really does work in a marathon - go figure. I also PRed (again, not saying much) after a pretty rough bike ride on saturday. So all in all it was a confidence booster I need going into May. I also think that I am going to actually train for a early 2012 marathon and see what I can do.
Here is a really fuzzy picture of us at the finish line taken by my mom's BB. I realize I forgot to post potential outfits, but a trip to cancun followed by food poisoning meant that I didnt have time to pack and resorted to wear what I had left at my mom's house from my last trip home. Of course it was some lulu.
Um, yes my friend has a baby and is one of those impressive mom runner types.
And good news - I finally got into a Dr to look at my hip. I find out exray results soon, but the good news is that he is a triathlete. So he knows that telling me to stop running and find something else to do with my time is not an option, instead he said he would fix it. YAY!
Feb 10, 2011
Again I go back on the big scary flying bus
It is that time again, time to get back on the plane. I live out of a suitcase now even when I back home because it just takes too much energy to unpack and repack a couple of days later. The good news is that Chris is coming home with me this weekend, the bad news is that it is for wedding stuff. I am not one of those girls who has been planning her wedding since she was little, and it is not something I want to start now. I have the world's best mom and she has been doing about 99% of the wedding planning, and since I am not picky and she is creative and has good taste, I am hoping I can just show up. I hate going to stores to shop, I hate trying on clothes (even wedding dresses), and I hate driving around in traffic to get to the next store. But my mom mentioned that she would not do 100% of the registering for me. Yes, she is helping me by explaining what we will need and what certain pots are for (no, I dont know the difference in a pot used for cakes and a pot used for casseroles, or even if you use pots for them), but she is not going to actually register. And I have to bring Chris because since my tools in the kitchen stop with a can opener, fork, and spoon, I will need someone who actually will use the stuff to select it. I was secretly hoping we could register for this.! Would it be wrong to put this on the website? If you really want to make the bride happy, she would love a kinect and the new Michael Phelps game so she doesnt have to get up in the cold to go to the pool.
We are leaving tonight which means two days on the bike instead of 1 and you all know I need it! Next week I am going to be working on marathon outfits for Austin. I got an idea from Chloe to post some pictures of the final few next week.
We are leaving tonight which means two days on the bike instead of 1 and you all know I need it! Next week I am going to be working on marathon outfits for Austin. I got an idea from Chloe to post some pictures of the final few next week.
Feb 3, 2011
I couldn't do it without
This guy...
I know I have said it many times before but Chris keeps my life together. I have healthy homecooked breakfast, lunches, dinners, fresh juices and stress free living becuase of him. When he goes out of town my meals turn to crap and I am eating peanut MMs for breakfast and tuna from the can for lunch and dinner. It is a good thing that I am left solo very infrequently. But he outdid himself last weekend. When I went out of town to train, I asked to see if he could put on my powertap. I figured I would come home to a bike in a million pieces, but not so. He apparently stayed up all night and had it in one piece and actually reading my power. Or lack thereof, but that is a different post. If we were living in the US, I would have just taken it to the local tri store and had them do it, but since the best shop here uses gasoline (yes like for a car) to clean and degrease the chains, I figure it was better if I put Chris on the job. And it is a good thing, because he has honed his talent as a bike mechanic and I have someone to help me break down and build up bikes in the future.
The problem now with the power is that I have to see what a bad cyclist I really am. I had my test yesterday and am waiting for feedback from my coach. I tried sending her the file a few times yesterday and she wasnt able to view it, and I am convinced that it is because the numbers were too low. Good news is I have nowhere to go but up, and now I have something that is really telling me how I am improving. I cant wait!
I know I have said it many times before but Chris keeps my life together. I have healthy homecooked breakfast, lunches, dinners, fresh juices and stress free living becuase of him. When he goes out of town my meals turn to crap and I am eating peanut MMs for breakfast and tuna from the can for lunch and dinner. It is a good thing that I am left solo very infrequently. But he outdid himself last weekend. When I went out of town to train, I asked to see if he could put on my powertap. I figured I would come home to a bike in a million pieces, but not so. He apparently stayed up all night and had it in one piece and actually reading my power. Or lack thereof, but that is a different post. If we were living in the US, I would have just taken it to the local tri store and had them do it, but since the best shop here uses gasoline (yes like for a car) to clean and degrease the chains, I figure it was better if I put Chris on the job. And it is a good thing, because he has honed his talent as a bike mechanic and I have someone to help me break down and build up bikes in the future.
The problem now with the power is that I have to see what a bad cyclist I really am. I had my test yesterday and am waiting for feedback from my coach. I tried sending her the file a few times yesterday and she wasnt able to view it, and I am convinced that it is because the numbers were too low. Good news is I have nowhere to go but up, and now I have something that is really telling me how I am improving. I cant wait!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
