Quieting my Mind? Not gonna happen...

I wonder how many of my blog entries start with, "Ok, now I am back on track"? And the posts are all super gung ho and excited about triathlon training and then weeks or even months will go by without a peep from me because I inadvertently fell off the training wagon.

So, let's change it up and not even mention track and wagons and anything that will most likely set me up to eat a big old slice of humble pie.

Lets talk about other things. Like, yoga.

Ok, how come nobody told me how hard yoga is? How come my hips are so tight? How come it is so hard to quiet my mind? How come the cutest darn bag from Lululemon has to be $100? And when the heck am I going to start getting bendy? Sheesh.

Let's talk about Calendars. I am back on a calendar with my coach. It is kinda nice to have someone tell me what to do.

Let's talk about swimming. I have a feeling this could be the year I get faster at swimming. My ultimate goal is to break 40 minutes on a 1.2 mile swim. We shall see.

Let's talk about Spinervals. I kinda dig the dvds. Way more than spin class. Spin class is yucky.

Let's talk about LoseIt. I started using this website to log my food. Kinda cool. Kinda scary with the nutritional postings at restaurants now. 250 calories for a measly cookie from Subway? I could easily eat 10 of those. Seriously? And, what is up with the stupid "healthy" options? Yeah, lets have chocolate milk for kids. In theory that is good. But the size at Subway has 340 calories. That is crazy! That is a sandwich!

Let's talk about vacation exercise. I am going to Vegas for 3 days in May for a bachelorette party weekend. Is it weird that I mapped out swimming at the hotel pool Friday morning, followed by running the strip. And then Saturday forking over $40 bucks (!) so I can use a hotel gym for spinning and yoga class? Saying I am going to do that while in vegas and actually doing it are two very separate things.

Ok...I am done talking.

For now.

Go Green Half Marathon: A Race Report

I initially signed up for this race earlier this year with the goal of it being a PR race. Which would mean beating my time from the Mermaid ½ Marathon in May of 2008. My first 5 weeks of training went well---I did every workout on the race plan I found in Women’s Running Magazine.

And then life happened.

I got sick. I had some late nights/weekends at work. Bravo started airing two rounds of Real Housewives (Andy Cohen, you are killing me!). I was finding running very challenging in that it felt like I was running through tar. My legs just couldn’t speed up.

I had a heart to heart with Coach Heidi and told her about my issues and how this race was not going to be a PR race, and I will treat it like a benchmark. She also said because of my past experiences (bike crash at Barb’s triathlon, knee dislocation baking cookies) she saw that I was losing confidence in my body. So she had a crazy idea. She wanted me to do yoga 2-3 times a week for a month.

Yoga? Me? Say what?!

I am not a yoga kind of girl. In college I probably would have gravitated towards it because I had a, “Oh the pretty flowers, meat is murder, everyone is beautiful” hippy dippy attitude, which has faded significantly over the years. But then, Heidi knows best. Plus yoga clothes are pretty cute.

I scanned the Club One schedule of classes to find a yoga class that worked with my schedule. I went to my first class Hatha Yoga a couple weeks ago. Holy cow! Can we say “challenging?” We did crazy poses, some people did headstands, and the instructor kept coming over to comment on how tight my hips were (hello! That is why I am here). It didn’t help that there was a Zumba class next door and I could hear Salt n’ Pepa’s “Push It” in the background.

The instructor told me to not be frustrated and you just have to keep doing it. I took a deep breath, thinking to myself, “Just gotta do this for one month.”

So, I have been sticking to the yoga for the past couple weeks. My goal is to have the natural sitting pose feel, well, natural. We shall see.

Now, on to the race report. Since I didn’t train for this race, I figured one thing I could do was work on my pre-race routine. This basically meant, don’t do any of the things I did at the Las Vegas ½ marathon. So, I hydrated, ate sensibly, got a good night’s sleep (except for accidentally setting my clock two hours ahead instead of one the night before a race that was on the first day of daylight savings). It actually worked out well to have more time in the morning because I got to drink some coffee, have some cereal and watch my DVRed Saturday Night Live (Zach Galifinakis was HILARIOUS!)

The race started at 8am at Vasona Park in Los Gatos. I met my friend Lisa, who was looking super cute in her green plain running skirt (it was, after all, a St. Patrick’s themed race). I even did a warm-up run and stretch routine prior to the race. I was ready.

The race itself was ok. It was nice to run a race on a trail I was familiar with. One thing I worked on was trying to shut my mind off. So often when I run my mind is thinking ahead, sorting through problems, planning my grocery list. I wanted to focus on the right now of this race. Are my shoulders relaxed? Is my core engaged? I even practiced a technique I learned in the previous day’s yoga class—if there is a part of you that is tight, take a deep breath and exhale through that body part. Ok, I know that makes no sense, but it kind of worked (and I am kind of afraid I am going back to my hippy dippy ways). I purposefully left my Garmin at home as I knew looking at my mileage pace would drive me crazy. I wore this Disney Princess watch my 6-year-old niece left in my car last summer and vowed to not look at the time until mile 12.

So, my final time was far from a PR (31 minutes to be exact), but it was still 11 minutes faster than the Vegas race in November. So that is pretty cool.

Namaste.

Sidelined...

Training is an interesting thing. I forgot how, well, hard it can be. My last two long runs have been excruciating, going from 10 miles to 12 miles. Speed is hard to find. Last Saturday I did my 12 mile run on my favorite trail, and after mile 8 my legs just couldn't power through. I actually took some --gasp!--walk breaks!

I rarely take walk breaks. I think they leave a bitter taste in my mouth because of my first marathon training program 9 years ago. I was a relative newbie at that time, and was in the 15 minute mile group. Our program was a run/walk program and we would run 2 minutes, walk 3 minutes. The plan was to do this for the entire marathon. So, every Sunday for 6 months our group met in Shoreline Park for long runs. One member of the group would set his watch for the walk breaks, and eventually we had Pavlovian responses any time we heard a beep (run? walk? drink water?). When it came to the actual marathon, I did the run walk for the first 18 miles. But honestly, it did not feel good so I ran the last 8 miles with minimal walk breaks. I think the constant starting and stopping was very jarring on my body and the experience was not enjoyable, save for the facts that I was in Hawaii and I completed a marathon. So, after that race I secretly vowed to myself to never take a walk break again. Or do a marathon again. of course, I broke both vows.

Anyways, with last Saturday's run I was extremely puzzled as to why the long runs are hard. I mean, I did 3 --albeit far from PRs---half marathons in 2010 with little or no training. I have enough confidence in my body's abilities to know that if I roll out of bed most likely I could run 13 miles.

But, why is it so hard now?

Then my friend Diane reminded me that training is supposed to be hard. I have diligently followed a training plan for 6 weeks where I have run 4 times a week, so my body isn't the super freshest when it comes to the long runs. The point of training isn't to have a great long training run. It is to push your body so you can have a great race run.

Plus, I have learned the hard way that preparation is key. I am kind of not the smartest when it comes to training. The Tuesday before my 12 mile run I was so preoccupied in ensuring I brought my garmin to my first mermaid track run of the season, that I forgot to bring socks. So, I foolishly ran without socks and got a blister the size of a tennis ball on my foot. And I foolishly forgot to put glide on my feet before the 12 mile run, which made the blister angry like the Hulk. And I foolishly ate half a psycho donut the night before the run. And I foolishly went to bed at 12:30 the night before the run. And I foolishly forgot Gu for the run.

Yeah, I am not that smart.

But, it helped me learn the things I shouldn't do before a race. So, mentally I was preparing myself for the training 10k race that would be the Saturday after the 12 mile run. The race that I foolishly thought was still open for registration online. But it wasn't so I figured I would chance it and do race day registration.

Unfortunately, the Monday before the race i woke up with a throat that felt like it was being stabbed with an ice pick.

Awesome. I caught my hubby's cold.

So instead of prepping for the 10k last week, I was sidelined to the couch coughing and sneezing and trying to not be down on myself for not training I was . Yesterday was the 10k, and I knew it wouldn't help my recovery if I raced.

The funny thing is, when you hit a bump in the road after you find your groove, it always seems so daunting to get back on track. But I am determined to accept the reality that, yes I lost a week of training, but I still have 4 weeks of good solid training to go before the half marathon.

I think I should be back to normal by tomorrow, so...
Let's do this thing.

writer's (and runner's) block...

I think I have tried 10 times to start a post but keep getting stuck. Perhaps it is a metaphor for my training right now. I am six weeks into my half marathon training program and I think Sunday's 10 mile run ranked in the top 5 of worst.runs.EVER. I did not find my groove. I even added some fun new songs to my long run playlist (Ke$ha following Tchaikovsky with a little Bye Bye Birdie for good measure? Genius!). But alas, my legs were just not moving the way they usually do. I felt like I was running through tar. Then the rain came. I wanted to just turn around, call it a day and be happy with 6 miles. However, that kind of mentality defeats the purpose of training.

So, I finished the run begrudgingly. No post-run, king of the world euphoria. I decided to make the most out of a yucky run and do all the things you are supposed to do to recover after long runs. I drank chocolate milk. I ice bathed. I foam rollered. I adviled. But the lackluster run was weighing on my shoulders, so I decided to e-mail my tri-coach (our training group starts the season today. Yea!):

Hi coach,
Are you ready for the neurosis to begin?

So I am halfway through my half marathon training program. I had a really really yucky long run yesterday. It was a 10 miler and I felt like I was running through tar. I couldn't get under a 12 minute mile.

A couple things:

My last long run since yesterday was 2 weeks prior (last week was 5k race pace).

Last week was a busy work week and my workouts weren't as diligent (did a light spin monday, 4Xhill repeats Tuesday, easy 3 mile run on Wednesday, nothing Thursday and Friday, slow as molasses 3 miler on Saturday, long run Sunday)

I ran on the sidewalk yesterday (too lazy to drive to a trail)

I even took an ice bath and foam rollered after the run and slept in compression socks

I fell off the wagon nutrition wise last week,

So, I will go back to logging on Loseit and will email it to you. But any advice or thoughts on what a bad long run means?

to which she wrote back:

Bummer for your run....you might not like what I'm going to say.

Training is HARD, it's supposed to kinda suck sometimes. If you didn't have that crappy run, you wouldn't be ready for whatever gets thrown at you race day. If every training run ran like buttah...how would you be prepared to battle all of the things you can't control on race day.

AT LEAST, you can look back and see some things you can change for the future right?? Nutrition, so elemental right?? You have to eat enough and eat right or you are fighting a losing battle.

Buck up buckaroo....rest today and let's make it happen tomorrow night. Let that run go and know you are a better runner because of it. Make the changes you need to, get the runs in and try not to think about it too much.

So...I am letting that run go. And as I posted on FB last week, to (sorta) quote Big Lebowski: "Sometimes you eat the long run. Sometimes the long run eats you."

First Post of 2011...

So, a couple of big things...I am doing masters swim program (on a, ahem, regular basis) through club one and I am on week 4 of a half marathon training program...i haven't really trained for a half marathon in a couple years (I mean, I have done some half marathons since then, just didn't train). So, yeah...will be interesting to see how 2011 comes together...what with (actually) training and stuff...

half marathon: what not to do

1. Do not sign up for a half marathon in vegas and expect a PR
2. Do not fly down to orange county the Thursday before, do disneyland the friday before and fly out to vegas that night
3. do not got to bed at 4am the day before the race
4. do not wear a new running skirt for the first time (hellooo chafing!)
5. do not grab the first pair of running shoes you see in your closet while packing---that was 2008's model silly!
6. Do not eat nachos, buffalo wings, sushi, lycheetinis, and cabo wabo margaritas the day before
7. do not expect your tummy to not rebel on race day because of #6
8. do not walk 4 miles around disneyland two days before, and 5 miles round trip to packet pickup the day before
9. do not forget to have breakfast on race morning
and finally
10. do not get hooked on the "deal or no deal" slot

and finally
11. do not forget to have an awesome weekend doing crazy things with friends and feeling kinda proud that you can manage to (slowly) finish 13.1 miles with no training AND vegas/disney antics.

Looking to the Future...

My last post was a recap of STP. Yikes. That was in JULY. Sheesh.

My lack of posts is due to a lackluster year. Biking 200 miles in one day has been my only claim to fame for 2010. The events I did after the ride were nothing to (literally) write home about. I dealt with some annoying bouts of plantar fasciatis (aggravated by running 4 miles at the Sandman tri in August) and had a cold in October that had me on the couch instead of training for two weeks. I also took an Improv class through comedysportz for 8 weeks in September and October, so I didnt focus on race training as much as I could have. I did a half marathon in Morgan Hill last week, which was about 17 minutes faster than the Kaiser 1/2 in February, but still a pathetic race time in comparison to Mermaid race in 2008.

So now is the time to now is the time to reflect on the past and look to the future. I am gonna just say it: I did not train in 2010, and hence I had a not-so-stellar race year. Even with Seattle to Portland I only got serious about training 1 1/2 months before the race, which in reality I needed another 1 1/2 months of training. But I did finish it and I did finish a 1/2 marathon last week without having a training run longer than 8 miles since February. That is saying something, though not quite sure what is is saying.

What does the future show? Thanksgiving I will do what I always do: the Turkey Trot in San Jose. Though this year I decided to sign up for the 5k and make it a fast training run for the Vegas half marathon on December 5.

Yup, Vegas. I am gonna something CRAZY. I am flying to Orange County Dec 2, playing in Disneyland for a few hours with mermaid friends Dec. 3, driving to LA that afternoon to pick up a good friend, and the two of us will fly out to vegas together. I will race that Sunday in the rock n roll 1/2. Though honestly, I have no dreams of a PR because, well, it is Vegas. My one goal is to not hit the snooze button when the alarm goes off on race day.

Here is my plan for 2011 races:

Jan 1 Resolution Run 5 miler, Los Gatos
Feb 12: Mermaid 1/2 Marathon, San Diego
April 16: Tierra Bella Bike Ride (distance TBD, depending on dedication to get on bike)
April 17: Reservoir Triathlon, Morgan Hill (though if I do the 100 mile or 120 mile ride at Tierra Bella, most likely will not do this one
April 23 Mermaid 1/2 Marathon
June: Mermaid tri? possible long course silicon valley tri?
August 13: Santa Cruz Olympic Tri
September ?: Mermaid Santa Cruz?
Thanksgiving: Turkey Trot


Now, one thing I do know is I want to do a long course triathlon and a marathon. (hmmmm...deja vu, since that was my goal for 2010 AND 2009)
There are a couple factors in place. If I get my name pulled for NY Marathon lottery (race is in November) I will do Silicon Valley long course (it is in June, and for some reason 4 miles short of a 1/2 iron distance on the run). If I don't get into NY, I will do Big Kahuna in September and California Marathon in December.


I also plan on doing Splash and Dashes as training workouts, and may toss in some centuries for good measure.

So 2011, I say to you, "bring it..."