tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81805790075154282422024-03-04T23:58:33.906-05:00Training Logtriathlon training and wedding planning in 2012Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-2832254718994545972012-05-21T10:59:00.000-04:002012-05-21T10:59:06.494-04:00last week in photos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUtBuLQw0eNc0GKDAMY3SrMqzSNAV_I1qUonnSa5N_xaCNmBxh3_Z3F7DQZnXLqt493XjgScfYhzK02-JkVqooydcWB8duhBRPDCRlRVnccXFsgoQRPbEiYUuKI6yrFLoG85frs-ikXA/s1600/collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUtBuLQw0eNc0GKDAMY3SrMqzSNAV_I1qUonnSa5N_xaCNmBxh3_Z3F7DQZnXLqt493XjgScfYhzK02-JkVqooydcWB8duhBRPDCRlRVnccXFsgoQRPbEiYUuKI6yrFLoG85frs-ikXA/s400/collage.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>highlights</b></div>
<ul style="text-align: center;">
<li>awesome 67 mile bike ride, had the company of a friend for half of it which always makes a ride better</li>
<li>fast and easy 13 mile run </li>
<li>red mango frozen yogurt</li>
<li>gorgeous weather</li>
<li>spending time with dave, dash & family</li>
</ul>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-86170150821315561732012-05-11T10:00:00.001-04:002012-05-11T10:00:40.697-04:005/5/2012-5/9/2012 in pictures<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiJznumza9AsVugjgpg0GFcyNVd76ULdNgpMcbSUy_yknTfid43ZHZOYkPAG9T_U-IjaK7TOuoQWlZiAbrhAoAbo4ccHD__E4MA216nCQuM-6RiIpu_tr2mHBwZ2xKKhzL9Yz4kF7waM/s1600/blog+5.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiJznumza9AsVugjgpg0GFcyNVd76ULdNgpMcbSUy_yknTfid43ZHZOYkPAG9T_U-IjaK7TOuoQWlZiAbrhAoAbo4ccHD__E4MA216nCQuM-6RiIpu_tr2mHBwZ2xKKhzL9Yz4kF7waM/s400/blog+5.jpg" /></a><div style='clear:both; text-align:NONE'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-28766160278363293862012-03-01T10:00:00.003-05:002012-03-01T10:01:38.930-05:00February in review<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">February Stats:</span><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Running: 87.2 miles, 12:39 hours, average pace of 8:43 min/mile</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
</span></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Swimming: 26,000 yards, 9:20 hours, average pace of 2:07 min/yard (debatable, includes extra resting. I don't wear a watch at Master's and always just use the whole time I'm in the pool to log, not just time moving. 100s are comfortable on the 1:40ish for me now. </span></div></td> </tr>
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</tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Biking: no mileage since it's all indoor, 16 hours</span></div></td> </tr>
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</div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"><tbody>
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</tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">All of these are sure to increase in March. I'm feeling pretty good this month though, didn't miss any workouts. Nailed my tempo run yesterday (6 miles with 4 at 7:43, 7:32, 7:30, 7:30). My legs surprised me when they showed up for that run since my 12 miler a few days before was a huge struggle (average 9:10, so not awful). I felt like crap and just got through it. Those are the runs that make us stronger though. And then my run just 13 hours before the tempo, on Tuesday evening was 9:48/mile which was the slowest I've been in awhile, so I thought I was sure to struggle with Wednesday morning's tempo run but I actually didn't at all and my legs felt great. </span></div></td> </tr>
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</tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We also did one of my favorite swim workouts at the pool this morning, so that was good too!</span></div></td> </tr>
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</tbody></table><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;"><tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Not too much else going on ... most of the wedding planning is done. I need my bridesmaids to pick their dresses, our Save the Dates to be finalized and sent out ... and a few other things but we have all of our vendors besides transportation so we're doing pretty decent. </span></div></td> </tr>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Dash is awesome as always, she's getting so big and so smart. We've been doing puppy training and she's doing really well, graduation is on Saturday! </span></div></td> </tr>
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<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">That's about it these days .... </span></div></td> </tr>
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</div>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-35031233761751910292012-02-14T12:41:00.001-05:002012-02-14T12:46:10.143-05:002012 Schedule<div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yep, I know it's the middle of February but I just finished figuring out this years race schedule</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">March 31 - Cooper River Bridge Run (10K) <br />
May 20 - Columbia Triathlon <br />
June 16 - Patriot Half<br />
July 21 - GETTING MARRIED<br />
August 18 - Age Group Nationals<br />
September 9 - Pumpkinman Half </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">October - Honeymoon and buy a house</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Looks like a low key, relaxed 2012 is ahead ... yeah right. </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As if we weren't crazy enough by getting a puppy, getting married and having me do 2 half distance triathlons and 2 Olympic distance triathlons, now we're looking into buying a house this year. </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We are insane. But might as well get it all done at once, right? </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">All I know is 2013 better be relatively calm in comparison. </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And now that I have my schedule decided, it's time to buckle down and lose some weight both for racing and the wedding. I need to be accountable, so here it is. I currently weight (as of 2/13/2012) 134.8 and my goal weight for 06/16/2012 is 120. ~15 pounds in 18 weeks ... may be a bit difficult with training but it should be do-able. Just need to cut out the unhealthy snacks and soda once and for all and focus on eating real food, which I/we do most of the time anyway. And Dave is on board which always helps. </span></div><div style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-31938904516541301032012-01-20T20:34:00.000-05:002012-01-20T20:34:17.071-05:002012 Houston Half Marathon2 weeks ago, my coach emailed me a goal time for the Houston Half Marathon. The goal was 1:40:24. I admit, I freaked out a bit seeing this. My previous half marathon PR was 1:48:3x. But my training had gone well ... still 13.1 miles with average minute per mile under 8 min? I wasn't so sure. But I knew I wanted to give it my all. So going in, my A goal was 1:40:24 or faster, my A- goal was sub 1:43, my B goal sub 1:45 and my C goal was a new PR.<br />
<br />
We got to Houston on Friday after leaving Boston at 6:30am. I went with Dave & my mom. Our first stop was the expo, which was big and well organized. I did a pull up hang for 60+ seconds at the Marine's station to get a coffee mug. That killed my arms. After the expo we headed to my uncle's house, where we were staying. We hit up Whole Foods for lunch and it was delish! After lunch, Dave & I went for an easy 4 mile run, it was warm out! My legs felt great during this run and I was feeling good. We had a delicious dinner that night and went to bed before 8.<br />
<br />
Saturday morning we were up at 6:30am and heading into Houston at 7am. Thank God for Starbucks! Needed my coffee. We watched the Olympic Marathon Trials that morning and it was so inspiring. I was so happy for the top 3, and devastated for the 4th place finishers. It was amazing to be there watching these athletes accomplishing the goals they had been working so hard for. We saw the runners at mile 2, 10, 18 and 26. I loved watching Meb finish especially, he was so thrilled!<br />
<br />
We spent the rest of Saturday relaxing and fueling. I watched the first half of the Patriots game on Saturday night, I was very thankful they had a sizable lead so I could go to bed early. Dave, of course, stayed up to watch.<br />
<br />
I slept surprisingly well that night until waking up for good at 4am. I took my time eating and getting ready before we left at 5am. There was a bit of traffic getting there but not too bad. We porta potty hopped until finishing some with basically no lines, after taking care of business, it was off to the corrals. Since I was in Corral A, I had to be in by 6:40am. Then I just stood around for 20 minutes, boring ... took a gel and retied my right shoe at least 3 times. I think the retying thing comes from my figure skating days.<br />
<br />
At 7am, we were off. It was a bit crowded for the first mile. And there was an bit of an uphill but I was fine, settling in well.<br />
<br />
(Garmin splits, 1.01 time (pace))<br />
Mile 1: 8:02 (7:57)<br />
Mile 2: 7:38 (7:33), definitely spread out here ... didn't realize I ran the 2nd mile this fast, probably a bit of a mistake.<br />
Mile 3: 7:42 (7:37), don't remember anything other than joining the marathoners here<br />
Mile 4: 7:41 (7:36) ... find the 3:20 marathon pace group and try to run just behind them ... they're going a bit faster than I expected though<br />
Mile 5: 7:33 (7:29) ... ooops<br />
Mile 6: 7:34 (7:29) ... consistent at least ... ideally I should have been in the high 730s here I'm thinking. Took a gel with caffeine here ...<br />
Mile 7: 7:39 (7:34) ... feeling good<br />
Mile 8: 7:37 (7:32), I remember thinking just hold it in the 730s for 2 more miles, I can drop down to the 720s the last 5K and maybe run sub 140 ...<br />
Mile 9: 7:40 (7:35), separate from the marathoners here<br />
Mile 10: 7:43 (7:38) ... take another gel and try to drop the pace but can't ... just hang on to the 730s ...<br />
Mile 11: 7:49 (7:44) and we're heading in the wrong direction ... keep repeating 1 line mantras to myself ... cannot stop, cannot walk, just go ... you can do anything for 20 minutes<br />
Mile 12: 7:51 (7:46), just hanging on<br />
Mile 13: 7:44 (7:39), ok maybe sub 141? Into the wind here, it sucked<br />
Last .11: 7:12 pace<br />
Total: 1:41:00 and I'm thrilled. Not sub 1:40, not 1:40:24 but a 7+ min PR and a great race for me!<br />
<br />
Lessons learned:<br />
- Still need to hold back for the first few miles<br />
- I can run a whole half marathon without walking<br />
- I am mentally strong<br />
- Setting hard too reach goals is a good thing<br />
- I need to believe in myself more, my coach knew I could do it, I was doubtful.<br />
- Don't do a pull up hang the day before - my arms and shoulders were killing after the race<br />
- Concrete sucks to run on <br />
<br />
I'm still feeling great about this race, yeah I didn't reach my goal but I was close and I will get under 1:40 next time! I usually have major stomach issues during and after races and I didn't deal with this at all ... so awesome.<br />
<br />
A quote that really describes how I've been feeling:<br />
<br />
<i>"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark."</i><br />
~ Michelangelo <br />
<br />
Up next: Cooper River Bridge Run (10K) ... not sure if I'm racing it or running it yet.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-42929750425172274492012-01-12T08:21:00.000-05:002012-01-12T08:21:21.628-05:0020122012 is going to be a big year for me. I'm getting married. As if that's not enough, I'm also going to be training for my first (and second) half ironman. I think a lot of people think I'm crazy to do this but for me, I need more than one big thing to focus on. That doesn't mean I won't get stressed out or everything will go perfectly smoothly but I'm pretty sure I can do it. I have a lot of help, my fiance especially. He makes us dinner every night so that I can just come home and relax. He doesn't care that I go to bed before 9pm most nights of the week and he does a lot of the cleaning too. I'm very blessed to have him. I also only work 4 days a week, so I have a whole extra day to rest and work out. So while the next 7+ months will probably be crazy, they'll be manageable and fun too! Of course, we're adding a 4 month old puppy to the mix on Monday so we must love the crazy!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamY93WS2woePnumXXBNjOlAFWvsO-MVftfIrxXSkkRVXtm9uV-5vxBa2H4vgdX1p-jj6M0bpdjHUpZR7wP-yIsnv29z-p3a2ilACXxbbc3EE3gK3k9Wcg5rn4l0-Y1Rz1uKHqjnDN8Gs/s1600/precious.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamY93WS2woePnumXXBNjOlAFWvsO-MVftfIrxXSkkRVXtm9uV-5vxBa2H4vgdX1p-jj6M0bpdjHUpZR7wP-yIsnv29z-p3a2ilACXxbbc3EE3gK3k9Wcg5rn4l0-Y1Rz1uKHqjnDN8Gs/s320/precious.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Isn't she adorable?<br />
<br />
But before Dash comes home, we're off to Houston for a race. Dave & I are both racing the Houston Half Marathon on Sunday. I have a pretty big goal. When I got my schedule for this month from my coach, I freaked out a little when I saw the time goal. But she knows I can do it and so do I. I'm going to have to be mentally tough for sure. Being mentally tough is definitely harder for me than being physically tough. I mean I was a figure skater for years, and I fell so many times everyday. My body is used to pain, it's used to falling and hurting. But my head has always held me back and it's time for me to fight that. I posted this on facebook yesterday:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><i>“The greatest battle is not physical but psychological. The demons telling us to give up when we push ourselves to the limit, cannot be silenced for good. They must always be answered by the dignity that simply refuses to give in: Courage. We all suffer. Keep going.” — Graeme Fife </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm going to be courageous this weekend. Yeah, I'm going to suffer but that's a part of racing. I'm ready to push myself out of my comfort zone. This is my year. </div>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-64536882481945482952011-04-10T19:32:00.000-04:002011-04-10T19:32:45.952-04:00Long weekendOn Friday, my mom and I flew out of Boston at 6:15am, we got into NC around 10:15am. Then we hung out at the mall there and ate lunch. My brother picked us up around 12:45pm. Then we circled around Jacksonville, NC for about an hour fighting over which GPS direction's to take. Finally we settled that and headed out, back to Boston. After a long drive full of unhealthy food, loud music (thanks Cody), some fighting, rain, slow speed limits with cops all around and in a packed to the brim car, we made it back to Boston around 3:15am. I crawled into bed and didn't wake up until Saturday afternoon.<br />
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I was not up for any physical activity on Saturday, I was bone tired. So we just did some grocery shopping, relaxing and movie watching before heading to bed early.<br />
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I slept in again this morning, missing my yoga class. But sometimes sleep needs to win especially on a weekend with a long car ride with barely any sleep. When I did wake up, I got all my stuff together and headed to the Y to swim. I swam 1600 yards in about 45 minutes and felt the strongest I have felt since I started swimming. The lessons are really paying off it seems. I'm thrilled. After my swim, I went for a 1:05 bike ride, covering 16.05 miles. I got a bit lost in some neighborhoods on this ride but it was enjoyable just riding around and enjoying the gorgeous day. When I got back from my ride, my mom wanted me to run with her, so we did an easy 3 miles at a nice pace.<br />
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It was a good day of training to end the weekend on. I spent the afternoon resting, and watching the Masters. Now it's time to get ready for the week ahead. I hope it's a good training week.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-24051404975695395392011-04-06T09:30:00.000-04:002011-04-06T09:30:15.012-04:00A bit of a breakthrough<span style="color: #674ea7;">On Tuesdays I like to go to my Vinyasa Yoga class from 6-715. Now this can sometimes be hard since I work just over an hour away and I can't leave work until 5 most days. So yesterday, I managed to leave a 4:55 but it was raining so I wasn't sure I'd make it. Luckily I did, due mostly to my lead foot ;). Anyway, yoga was decent. I couldn't relax completely so I didn't get the best practice. Oh well, some days you do and some days you don't.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;">After yoga, I was agonizing about going to swim. I was exhausted and hungry. I was ready to just dial it in and head home. I even called Dave to debate it with him, luckily he pushed me to go and I went. I swam for just under 30 minutes, doing 1000 yards of backstroke and freestyle. </span><br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;">My breakthrough is really two things, I suppose. One - that I didn't just give in and go home, skipping swimming. I've been lenient on myself too much recently and let myself skip planned workouts. I can't do that if I want to improve. My second breakthrough was trying bilateral breathing on free and realizing that although I always breath to the left, I actually have better technique with breathing to the right, so I'm going to really focus on bilateral breathing and my swimming technique in general for the next few months and worry less about speed and endurance. I've come to realize that in swimming, technique must come first because with bad technique you're never going to really get faster and build endurance. So during tomorrow's lesson I'm going to slow it down and really focus on the details. I believe it will pay off. </span><br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #674ea7;">I'm hoping to get outside for a brick tonight - short bike and short run - my first run in weeks! I hope it goes well. I'm trying my Saucony Kinvaras rather than Brooks Ghost since the Ghosts seemed to be hitting on a certain spot in my foot and repeatedly aggravating it the few times I've attempted to run since February's half marathon. </span>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-31511397470015777192011-04-04T10:56:00.000-04:002011-04-04T10:56:53.625-04:00Good weekend of training<div style="color: #3d85c6;">Friday: Went to a Vinyasa Yoga class from 8-910, which was great. I really enjoy Vinyasa and I have an excellent instructor. After yoga, it was off to the pool. I did 800 yards. I was exhausted after having swim class the night before but I felt pretty good. I even managed to circle swim with 2 other swimmers at one point and I didn't mess up haha. Besides training, I spent the rest of the day getting drug tested for one of the sites I work at, having lunch with my mom and then getting a pedicure with her. Dave and I went out that afternoon to watch the Sox home opener and then hung out at home with a friend that night.</div><br />
<div style="color: #674ea7;">On Saturday, I went to yoga for a 1.5 hour class in the morning. It wasn't as challenging as Friday's class but it was good. I had accupuncture and a massage on Saturday, both were awesome and much needed. Then my mom and I took the dog for a hike. I went out again Saturday night even though I was exhausted. </div><br />
<div style="color: #a64d79;">Sunday, slept in a little and then headed to the pool. I did 1000 yards in 31 minutes, I felt pretty good today although I really need to get past the hump of only being able to swim 100 yards at a time. My breathing and endurance suck. I must get better if I want to swim 1/3 of a mile in less than 15 minutes during my July triathlon. I need to find out how to best breathe and really focus on it. After my swim, I biked outside! for an hour. I did about 14.4 miles in an hour, which is pretty decent I think considering I was on a hybrid bike not a road bike. </div><br />
<div style="color: #0b5394;">Which brings me too - I was thinking about upgrading to a road bike this month since I want one. But now I'm thinking I should stick with the hybrid for my July triathlon and make sure I really do love triathlon before I move up to a road bike no matter how much I really do want a road bike now. If I wait, I can save up and get a nicer one which is a plus too. I'm not sure what I'll do - still mulling it over. </div><div style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #351c75;">My plan for this week is:</div><div style="color: #351c75;"><br />
</div><div style="color: #351c75;">Monday: 1 hour spin class, maybe strength train</div><div style="color: #351c75;">Tuesday: 1 hour, 15 min yoga class, 30-45 min swim</div><div style="color: #351c75;">Wednesday: 1 hour bike ride, 30 min run (if my foot cooperates)</div><div style="color: #351c75;">Thursday: 1 hour spin class, 45 min swim class</div><div style="color: #351c75;">Friday: rest day - off to NC for the day. </div><div style="color: #351c75;">Saturday: possibly 1.5 hour yoga class if I'm not too tired, 1 hour bike, 30 min run (dependent on foot)</div><div style="color: #351c75;">Sunday: 45 min swim, 1 hour run (dependent on foot)</div><div style="color: #741b47;"><br />
</div><span style="color: #741b47;">Have a fabulous week!</span>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-4708089306042764972011-03-31T16:06:00.000-04:002011-03-31T16:06:31.959-04:00Swimming and MotivationSometimes, I'm such a slacker and it's something I really hope to improve on. I didn't used to be this way. I practiced figure skating 6 days a week and hardly ever missed practice. There were no excuses, if I didn't feel like it, oh well, I had to suck it up and go. I need to get that attitude back.<br />
<br />
This week, I planned on swimming Monday after spin class but I talked myself out of it since I would have to wait around for the lap lanes to open for 45 minutes and I felt bad that Dave had to wait on me. Then, I decided I'd swim yesterday at 8pm, so I went home after work and relaxed. Then I had to drop off a form for Dave's parents, which is conveniently near the Y I go to. But then we got to talking and I stayed there longer than I planned and I knew I had told Dave I'd have dinner ready for him when he got home, so I skipped swimming. I suck.<br />
<br />
I will be swimming tonight since it's my class night, I also will go to spin before. I plan on swimming either Friday/Saturday or Friday/Sunday too. No excuses.<br />
<br />
On a better note, I've been attending yoga relatively consistently over the month of March and I think it is really helping me relax, focus and spend time healing my body along with my mind. I'm really enjoying it and hope to continue to go 2-3 times each week.<br />
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Off to find some motivational quotes!Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-72980923940502658732011-03-29T08:23:00.000-04:002011-03-29T08:23:28.467-04:00It's been awhileI'm a crappy blogger, oh well. But I'm doing something new to me this summer and I figured I'll maybe try to blog about it again. I know I won't be consistent and I may not stick with it but today I feel like trying. And this is my blog so I'm gonna write in it.<br />
<br />
I'll be attempting my first triathlon this summer - a sprint triathlon on July 17th. It's a 1/3 of a mile swim, 9 mile bike and 5K run. I'm not too worried about the run or bike but I am concerned about the swim. I started swim lessons 3 weeks ago and seem to be progressing. I can swim about 100 yards consistently now and I'm hoping to start swimming 3-4x a week so that I can quickly increase that distance. Breathing seems to be my biggest issue when it comes to swimming, so that's my main focus these days.<br />
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I'm also in the process of researching a road bike that costs less than $1,000 to buy. I have a hybrid bike I have been using for awhile but I'd really like something a little faster for the triathlon. I'm also taking spin class 2-3x a week and using my trainer until the weather cooperates for outdoor riding.<br />
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My running is zilch right now. I ran a half marathon at the end of February and PRed but I also aggravated my left foot in the process, I think it's just a mild case of tendonitis but I'm giving it another week off since when I tried to run last week it didn't go great.<br />
<br />
So that's where I am at now, we'll see how everything progresses over the next few months.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-68943743846643294262010-09-17T17:49:00.000-04:002010-09-17T17:49:58.881-04:00slogging through sixso i had a 6 mile threshold run planned for this morning. but my long run has been moved from sunday to saturday and while both types of runs are important, right now quantity is more important to me than quality. so i decided that i would just do a 6 mile easy run this morning and that during tomorrow's 12 mile progression run, i'll try and hit the last two miles @ hmp.<br />
<br />
it was gross when i woke up this morning, misting, grey and humid. not ideal conditions for any type of run. so i waited until the boyfriend headed out for work, and then set out for my easy 6 miles. easy? yeah right. my legs rebelled against me from the start. they were just tired and heavy. still, i decided i would do a hilly route today instead of just a blah flat one. yeah, definitely should have stuck with the flat, usual route. my first hill comes right after i hit one mile. it goes up, up, up for just over half a mile. i could feel it in my legs already. get to the top, it's flat and then downhill to round out the mile. i finish up mile 2, turn around and go up the previous downhill. not feeling it at all. make it up the hill and it's downhill again, yessss! i get back down to the main road and decide to not do the next hill i had planned and just finish up the remaining 3 miles if i can. and i barely could. seriously, wtf was up with my legs this morning. i was so sluggish and just couldn't move. but i made it back home. stretched and took an ice bath. yes, an ice bath after 6 measly miles. oh well, my legs needed it.<br />
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here's hoping that tomorrow's 12 miles go much better than today's 6 did. my boyfriend is joining me on the bike again which is always great support! we're having a houseguest this weekend so the rest of the weekend will be spent going to red sox games, watching the patriots and probably eating more than i should. i swear i'll try to keep the eating in control it's just so hard at all these sporting events and going out to dinner with people etc ... but i'm really focused on the weight loss goal right now so it's important for me to keep it in check. anyway ... maybe i'll take some pics or something this weekend to liven up the boringness.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-19052103134948794792010-09-15T09:38:00.000-04:002010-09-15T09:38:31.270-04:00Staying on TrackSo, I had a crappy summer. I've written about it. I've thought about it. I can basically sum it up as lack of running, extreme tiredness and no motivation. Well, that's not going to carry over into fall. I've got some goal races coming up and it's time to dig deep, focus and stay on track.<br />
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So what have I done? I've rewritten my training plan for my upcoming Half Marathon (October 17). I've made myself get over Sunday's horrific 10K performance and I've recommitted. I love running but it isn't always easy and getting better and getting faster takes work and commitment. I'm extremely lucky at this stage in my life that my life is very simple: I work part-time, I don't have a husband or children and I can commit myself to training. I do have a boyfriend but as a professional athlete (so weird for that to be true), he understands that I'm all about running, eating right, sleeping and recovering until January 30, 2011. I'm waiting to see how I do at my upcoming half marathons (October and November) but if they go well, I'd really like to try to qualify for Boston in January. It seems unlikely right now but with hard work and some luck, maybe I can do it. If I go 1:44 for either half marathon, then I'll go for the BQ. If not, just sub 4 or sub 3:50. We will see.<br />
<br />
So this week the plan is:<br />
Monday: 6 mile recovery run, strength training - lower body<br />
Tuesday: off, it was Dave's mom's birthday so we went out with them and I worked all day so didn't fit the workout in.<br />
Wednesday: 6 miles easy, abs, strength training -upper body<br />
Thursday: yoga and walk or recovery run<br />
Friday: 6 mile tempo, abs<br />
Saturday: bike ride and yoga<br />
Sunday: 12 mile progression runAshleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-38500949849190186602010-09-13T14:15:00.001-04:002010-09-13T14:15:48.144-04:00September 6-12 Review including an awful 10K raceQuick Recap of Last Week:<br />
<br />
September 6: Easy day, went to the track with the boyfriend since he had a sprint workout to do and I did just a short recovery run (1.5 miles). Before going to the track, I did a 20 minute ab workout. Since it was Labor Day, we had a fun rest of the day, played 9 holes of golf with one of my friends and then had a cookout at the boy's family's house with some friends. It was a good, relaxing day after my progression run the day before.<br />
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September 7: Did an easy 3 miles (9:30 pace) and arms and abs. Nothing special about the day.<br />
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September 8: Did a track workout, 4x800 @ sub 5K pace (7:22) was the goal:<br />
1 mile w/u<br />
1st 800: 3:34 (7:07 pace)<br />
400 recovery<br />
2nd 800: 3:39 (7:18 pace)<br />
400 recovery<br />
3rd 800: 3:41 (7:22 pace)<br />
400 recovery<br />
and then I somehow messed up my Garmin so I only have the last 400 of the last 800 which was 1:45 (7:00 pace).<br />
1.25 mile c/d<br />
<br />
So it turned out to be a good workout, on pace and I felt good. <br />
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Did an ab workout before the track workout.<br />
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September 9: Just a leg workout and a short walk. Nice easy rest day, which was good because I had a long workday.<br />
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September 10: I worked in the morning and then had to help my mom change a flat tire, so that took some time. I had dinner plans at 6, which meant leaving my apartment by 4:50. So I ate lunch at 2:10 and then had to head out for my planned 5 miles right away. I only managed 3.75 miles since my stomach rebelled the whole time. Oh well!<br />
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September 11: Complete rest day.<br />
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Sunday: 3.1 mile w/u, 10K race, short c/d. So going into the race, I didn't really have a time goal since I don't think I'm in as good of shape as I was at the time of my 10K PR in Feb 2010 (47:35), so I was hoping for sub 49ish. I head out really fast (6:20 pace) but settle in quickly and the first mile is 7:30ish, as is the second mile. I felt good, legs felt fine and then I was crippled by a side stitch. It was like 10 knives were stabbing me in the side at once and I couldn't stand up straight. This continued for the next 3 miles which turned the race into a major fail (53:30). Ughhhhh. Oh well at least I get another chance at a race in 2 weeks (5K) which will hopefully give me a better idea of my fitness for October's half marathon. Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-89044678157331364142010-09-05T17:28:00.000-04:002010-09-05T17:28:09.436-04:00Progression RunThe boyfriend and I drove to our destination for this morning's run(me)/bike(him). First, we were going to go to Walden Pond but then about halfway there, I questioned whether bikes were allowed there. A quick look at the website (thanks blackberry) told us that no bikes were allowed. Ooops. So I went to the Mass DCR site and found a Rail Trail nearby that we headed too. 11 miles of paved trails. Glorious. And it was only 63 degrees at the start!! <br />
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I had an 8 mile progression run to do with the last 2 miles either moderate or hard, I'd decide when I got there.<br />
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Mile 1: 10:26, 147 avg. HR <br />
Mile 2: 10:02, 151 avg. HR <br />
Mile 3: 9:44, 156 avg. HR<br />
Mile 4: 9:39, 159 avg. HR<br />
Mile 5: 9:20, 1:64 avg. HR<br />
Mile 6: 9:15, 163 avg. HR<br />
I decided to run mile 7 moderate and mile 8 hard:<br />
Mile 7: 8:40, 168 avg. HR<br />
Mile 8: 7:43, 176 avg. HR<br />
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For the last mile, I gave the boyfriend my Garmin (he was riding alongside me) and told him that: 1. I'd like to run a sub 8 mile and that my heartrate should be between 176-180ish as that's my half marathon heartrate. So he stayed right beside me and paced me which worked out really well. I ran hard for that last mile and was very happy to see the 7:43 and the perfect average heart rate. Maybe all hope isn't gone for a half marathon PR in 5 weeks even though my running hasn't been consistent the past few weeks.<br />
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I hit 20.7 miles for the week, which is a good place to keep building from after coming back. I'll aim for 25 this coming week including either a 5K or 10K race on Sunday. I haven't decided which distance to race yet, probably doesn't matter since I doubt I'll PR at either distance.<br />
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Have a great holiday weekend to those of us in the US!Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-17752693444778759442010-08-30T11:46:00.000-04:002010-08-30T11:46:52.408-04:00Trail RunningI did my first trail run this morning. It was a great new experience. OMG are there some hills in those trails and lots of roots! It was fun but hard especially as my first real run in a week. It ended up being a pretty short run since I just wanted to test my foot and see if the softer surface helped it. I'm happy to report that my foot was feeling fine and that I got a great workout in, with some nice views.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELXG6fBkzIciAZPg7rOAoOraKE-HaIE4M6MCB0J1Dv4w8doCq8vHGRlITaz046gUrlOBGEpuMW3VRSCmhDXCI0QHByWRncSxoN-Fx_1IoG4oVji6MccNOZnezxGAG7JngxiFSbKFxnwo/s1600/run+8-30+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELXG6fBkzIciAZPg7rOAoOraKE-HaIE4M6MCB0J1Dv4w8doCq8vHGRlITaz046gUrlOBGEpuMW3VRSCmhDXCI0QHByWRncSxoN-Fx_1IoG4oVji6MccNOZnezxGAG7JngxiFSbKFxnwo/s400/run+8-30+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>View overlooking the marsh.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6SN48cNb0oco6M5jtGmYatcBfE3DFRfhHMGPFNHeL1cytdpLA2hrHsnPyttIaE_vQovKuFXhgRuzGaK4vi0mhndvl7TwNTisG7QQWoFF_vA-_rnoEwXJDXJ5iMI1LItObAG5BQb5kDDY/s1600/run+8-30+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6SN48cNb0oco6M5jtGmYatcBfE3DFRfhHMGPFNHeL1cytdpLA2hrHsnPyttIaE_vQovKuFXhgRuzGaK4vi0mhndvl7TwNTisG7QQWoFF_vA-_rnoEwXJDXJ5iMI1LItObAG5BQb5kDDY/s400/run+8-30+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Another body of water along the trail.<br />
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Next time I run this trail, I'll have to get some pictures of the hills! They really got my heartrate up today.<br />
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Run stats:<br />
2.79 miles<br />
30:00 min<br />
10:46 min/mile<br />
Average HR: 147bpm<br />
Max HR: 176bpmAshleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-72200387711701660752010-08-29T21:04:00.000-04:002010-08-29T21:04:56.582-04:00a short run and some cross trainingsince i took the week off from running, i've been doing a decent amount of walking. this helped me judge if my foot was feeling okay and also helped me get some exercise in since i'm not a fan of the gym, especially mine with it's crappy ellipticals and only a recumbent bike which bother my knee. anyway, after a 2 mile walk yesterday, i decided my foot was feeling pretty good and i could try some running today.<br />
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so, my parent's chocolate lab, remy, and i headed out to a path behind my parent's house this morning and did some running. there's a nice wide dirt road back there and rarely anyone out there so it was a nice soft surface for me to test my foot out on and it allows remy to run freely and not have to stay right with me on her leash. we did about a mile back there and then i figured we would walk a mile but remy wanted to run so we did some running on the streets and my foot felt fine! i'm so excited. i'm going to do 2-4 miles on a different trail tomorrow and see how it goes. i'm crossing my fingers.<br />
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then tonight, i went out to the club to hit golf balls with my dad which is actually a pretty good workout. probably more of a workout for my brain though, since my dad (who teaches golf) kept instructing me and i had to focus but it helped a lot and i'm getting to the point where i'm hitting the balls much better and much more consistently which is fun. i'd like to get to the point where i can play 18 holes with dave since i know he'd enjoy that.<br />
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in other news, i got a new (to me) car this weekend! a 2005 toyota corolla with only 47K miles on it. i'm so excited. i have air conditioning again, thankfully. i've been so miserable in my old car this summer.<br />
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it was a pretty good weekend and this should be a great week since dave comes home in 2 days!!!Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-11861103000195159292010-08-26T21:21:00.000-04:002010-08-26T21:21:24.247-04:00summer's almost over!?!?!?!i swear if i could think of things to blog about more and if i thought i was a good writer, i'd blog more. but my life is pretty boring and i'm not a very good or interesting writer. oh well.<br />
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anyway, i can't believe that labor day is less than 2 weeks away and that summer is about to come to a close. it's been a different type of summer for me. it's probably been my laziest summer ever to be honest. i quit my full time job on june 9th and have been working part time since then. very part time. which has been nice but it will be good when it picks up again soon. i'm enjoying my new job and it doesn't involve sitting in front of a computer all day as my old job did, which is so nice. i need to be more active in my workplace so that i don't get bored.<br />
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besides not having a full time job, it's also been a lackluster summer of training. first, it took me way longer than i expected to recover from my marathon. then i struggled to get used to running in the high temps and humidity, as this was my first real summer of training in that type of weather - last summer in new england was cold and dreary most of the time. and i just wasn't motivated for some reason. i didn't have a purpose and i was exhausted all of the time. i still need to get a medical work up too since i'm still having a lot of symptoms that can't be explained but my insurance/new pcp is taking forever to come together, so hopefully i'll get in this fall. and now that i am motivated again, i have a little injury. ughhhh i'm so injury prone. i managed to be a figure skater for 12+ years and only have 2 big injuries but in running i have little things pop up so often. this time it's from wearing my new saucony kinvara's too much too soon. i think (am crossing my fingers) that it's just a ligament strain, i had something similar last fall too. i don't think it's a stress fracture, as there's no bone that hurts to press on or tap. it's on the inside of my foot near the arch, same spot as last year. so i'm taking this week off and icing it a lot. i've also taken this week to refocus my diet and weight loss goals. i have 15 pounds to lose and i will do it by january 1st. i'm dedicating myself to it once and for all. i'm sick of people telling me i look fine and don't need to lose weight. numbers don't lie and i have weight to lose. plus it will make me faster, which is my real goal.<br />
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so after this mini training break, i'll be back at it. i have a half marathon october 17th and i'm just hoping to go sub 1:49:00 there now, whereas before i was looking for 1:45-1:47. oh well. then i will switch my focus to the houston marathon in january, where my mom will be running her first half marathon! goooo mom! she's come a long way quick with running.<br />
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the other biggest difference in my summer is that my boyfriend has been gone for most of it. he spent july playing in a baseball league in new york, he was able to come home a few weekends that month at least. but after that league ended he got picked up my an independent league on the west coast and has been out there playing since. it's been an adjustment, living alone and being in different time zones but my boyfriend can now say he is a professional baseball player, which is quite the accomplishment and i am so freaking proud of him. i can't wait until he is home next tuesday though!<br />
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anyway, that's my summer in a nutshell (there was a lot of fun in there too that i didn't touch on) and i'm hoping for onward and upward from here. i can't wait to have a great marathon training cycle and hopefully going sub 4 in houston!Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-45786871517852536902010-08-01T20:46:00.000-04:002010-08-01T20:46:18.699-04:00Two Good RunsFriday, I ran my first threshold run in forever. And it was hard. I did not hit the target's I set for the two ten minute intervals (HMP and 10K Pace). I ran 2 miles easy for warm up, then I was supposed to do 10 minutes at HMP. I set my Garmin for 8:00-8:20 pace for this part of the run and I ran it at 8:17, which was in the range but slower than I was hoping for. Then I ran 5 minutes easy before the next 10 minute interval of 10K pace (7:30-7:45 set on the Garmin), and I only managed 8:09. Then 2 mile cooldown for 7 miles total. I really need to work on my threshold runs. My plan for this week's threshold run is to run 2x10 minutes at HMP and to embrace the suffering during the run. My new mantra is "pain is good" and of course, "pain is weakness leaving the body". Of course, I mean good pain not injury pain.<br />
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So even though I didn't hit the paces, it was a good learning run and I still did push myself. I just need to get used to pushing it so that I can get faster this half marathon cycle.<br />
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I also played around with my Garmin before the run and I finally used Garmin Training Center to create a workout and transfer it to my Garmin. It was great to have the Garmin tell me when to run what segment of the run and it also beeped speed up when I was slow and beeped when I hit my target zone. I'll be using it a lot more!<br />
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Then I had my first double digit run since my marathon, meaning I hadn't run more than 9 miles in 2 months, eeek! I ran a 10.2 mile progression run with the last 15 minutes between moderate and hard. It felt good, I average 9:17 pace for the whole run which I'm happy with considering how slow I had been running due to the heat recently.<br />
<br />
Total miles for the week: 34.3 miles<br />
Total time spent running: 5:27:48<br />
Average pace for the week: 9:33 min/mile<br />
Number of runs: 5 - one easy with hill sprints, one recovery, one easy with fartlek intervals, one threshold and one medium long progression<br />
<br />
Best week of training in a long time! Next week should be even better, I hope :)Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-26927355410464609092010-07-29T14:40:00.001-04:002010-07-29T14:40:57.902-04:00Catching UpA busy weekend made me fall behind in the blogging world! My cousins were in town for the weekend and we had a lot of fun, although my running suffered and I ate way too much but family time trumps that in my books. Then my brother left to head back to Japan, which was hard but he's only there for a little while longer.<br />
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Anyway, check out Jodi's blog: <a href="http://runjodirun.blogspot.com/2010/07/thumbs-up-thursdayashley-cavicchi.html">http://runjodirun.blogspot.com/2010/07/thumbs-up-thursdayashley-cavicchi.html</a>. She does Thumbs Up Thursday and this week, she asked to spotlight me! Thanks, Jodi!<br />
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As far as training goes this week:<br />
<br />
Monday - ran 6 miles in 57:17 and then did 5x8 second hill sprints. Did the flexibility program from Advanced Marathoning afterwards.<br />
Tuesday - set out to do 7 recovery miles but my stomach was not having it and I just felt off. So I did 4 slow, recovery miles in 41:48. Wish I could have managed more but it's all I had in me that day.<br />
Wednesday - 35 minutes of a power yoga podcast.<br />
Today - 7 miles in 66:15 - fartlek run, 8x20 seconds @3-5K pace. I did the first 4 20 second intervals at 5K pace (7:18 - I was on the treadmill so it was easy to be consistent) and the second 4 intervals at 7:08 pace. Felt really good during this run.<br />
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Miles for the week so far: 17 miles<br />
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Still need to get more cross training in. I'm working on it!Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-89600814167525187682010-07-22T20:55:00.001-04:002010-07-22T21:01:09.279-04:00The real workout of the day - cleaning!Whew! I just cleaned my whole apartment - a nice deep clean. It took about 3 hours total. I clean weekly and daily but not as intense every time as I just did. It didn't help that I had laundry to do while cleaning, and to put away along with a full clean dishwasher to empty that I had been putting off. But I'm done! Now I can relax and enjoy the weekend. My aunt and cousins, plus another cousin are all coming into town this weekend and the two cousins my age are staying with me! Should be a fun but sad weekend. Sad because my brother has been home on leave for most of the month but he has to go back to his base in Japan on Monday :(. It'll be good to spend time with everyone though, I'm excited! <br />
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My other workout today was an easy 3 mile run:<br />
Mile 1: 9:25<br />
Mile 2: 9:39<br />
Mile 3: 8:28<br />
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I had planned on more but I ate some chips that has wheat and dairy in them beforehand (stupid impulse) and my stomach wasn't feeling it. I hadn't run since Saturday as my ankle had been tweaky. No pain today though! I'm going to try and get out early tomorrow and do a 6-8 mile progression run. Then I'll try for a recovery 5-7 on Saturday and a 9 mile progression run Sunday. I'll need to get up early to get those in so that they don't cut into family time but I think I'll manage.<br />
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23 miles for the week at the least I'm hoping ... need to get back into the 30+ miles/week next week. Must start going to bed earlier and consistently doing my early morning runs. I need to figure out some tricks to make this happen ....Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-63186520266979059872010-07-19T19:28:00.001-04:002010-07-19T19:39:01.686-04:00A Sub 7 Minute Mile ... FinallyBack in high school, I had to take PE for only one year ... I was a sophomore. So we had to run the mile for the National Fitness Test or whatever it is called. I can't remember. Anyway, I'm a pretty competitive person so despite the fact that I didn't run back then, I decided on the day of the mile that I'd just try and keep up with the fastest girl in the class. Now, most of my class didn't care how long it took them ... well mostly the girls. So it was basically just the two of us for the girls that really ran. I remember that I managed to run the mile in 6:53 that day. Then I didn't run again.<br />
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Since I've started running again, I've tried to run a mile all out only a few times ... but I haven't been able to break a 7 minute mile. I know, crazy that I did it in high school when it didn't matter that much to me and now that I care, I can't do it. So my boyfriend wanted to go to the track this weekend and I was like sure ... I could use a change in pace and scenery. So after my speedwork on Thursday, I did a slowwwww recovery run on Friday going by heartrate only. I've grown to realize how important these recovery runs are ... but that's another post for another day. Anyway, by doing that nice recovery run on Friday my body was ready for Saturday. So we get to the track around 9, it's HOT and HUMID and the sun is beating down. I start with a warm up mile (10:xx pace) and feel sluggish. I feel like I don't have it in me today but I'm going to try anyway. The boyfriend has always been able to run the mile faster than me, so he's going to pace me and I'm going to use him to draft so that I can hopefully get my sub 7 minute mile finally.<br />
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So we start out, I had put my Garmin on the opposite arm than I usually wear it and facing in so that it's harder for me to glance at constantly ... I don't want the distraction and I just want to push myself. So after one lap of the track, I finally look down and we're going 5:55 pace ... I yell up at the BF, you're going sub 6 pace ... and he gradually slows down a little. The next lap and a half slow a little and then I get fed up about 2/3s of the way through the mile and pass the boyfriend ... I just had more than him that day, which is unusual. It probably helped that he had been pacing me. So I run the next lap and a halfish by myself ... and I finish in 6:48!!! I was thrilled.<br />
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After the mile, we did some other sprints and hills, then cooled down. While I was cooling down, my boyfriend made friends with the kindest elderly man who had been doing laps, he is 87 and looks about 70! He walks the track to stay in shape and he was so nice and talkative. I told him I only want to live to 87 if I'm as active as he still was!<br />
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I haven't run since Saturday since I'm having some minor ankle pain that I'm babying. I had a massage today and I'll put arnica gel and ice on it tonight. I'm hoping for a good early morning progression run tomorrow.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-90112771869206201502010-07-17T08:00:00.000-04:002010-07-17T08:00:03.559-04:00Nutrition and Running<div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview">I’m always interested to know how other runners eat. I know that there are runners, well people in general, that just eat whatever and either choose not to or don’t worry about nutrition. I wish that could be me. I actually am somewhat restricted in what I eat as I try to get healthier and lose weight and I wonder what it’s impact may be on my running.<br />
I never eat: red meat, poultry, pork etc … the only meat I eat is fish<br />
I try to rarely eat: gluten, dairy, things with artificial sweeteners and to rarely drink: alcohol, soda<br />
I try to only occasionally eat: corn, white potatoes, vinegar, yeast and a few other random things based on a nutritional evaluation.<br />
Now if I were to only ever eat things that I made for myself and to never go, this may be easy-ish but it’s not. I haven’t eaten any meat but fish since December 31, 2009 and that was hard for family and friends if I ate at their houses. Now that I rarely eat gluten or dairy it’s even harder for me. But because of how I feel after eating these two things, I’m trying to make the sacrifice. I know for a fact that both have negative impacts on my running. Gluten not only causes stomach distress for me but it also contributes to numbness in my calf and foot. And well, dairy just makes me feel like crap which sucks because it’s so tasty.<br />
My biggest worry in my new diet was getting enough calories and protein for running. Now I’m not talking about huge amounts of protein because I tend to think we obsess about protein a wee bit too much in this country and most people consume too much not too little. Anyway, the calorie thing is kind of crazy to worry about since I am trying to lose weight after all but I find that even with meal planning some days I’m only reaching ~1200 calories, which in my mind isn’t enough during training. Maybe if I weren’t running 5-6 days a week in addition to lifting it would be okay for me but I am active. So I shoot for at least 1500 calories and I try to be on plan 85-90% of the time. I do give in and eat gluten or dairy if I don’t think it will affect training. I do drink when I go out with my friends. It’s all about balance.<br />
It’s funny because I still wouldn’t be able to eat most of these things even if I didn’t run … they just don’t sit well with me and make me feel crappy.<br />
Do you have any dietary restrictions? Are they for your training or for your general well-being?<br />
</div></div>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-19111450738876046012010-07-16T10:55:00.000-04:002010-07-16T10:55:58.096-04:00Refocusing this blog - Running History ... And current goal - Qualify for Boston<div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview">Ahhh, yet another attempt to start blogging again! We'll see :) But I hope to be dedicated to not only blogging but commenting on other blogs actively. It's a big goal of mine. But below I'll talk about my current biggest goal:<br />
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My current goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon. In order to do this, I need to shave 30 minutes off of my current Marathon time. Now I’ve only run one marathon and finished it in 4:10:47. I need to run a 3:40:59 to qualify for Boston. I’m aiming for 2012. I know I won’t be running Boston in 2011 because I’d need to run a qualifying time by October 2010 and that’s not going to happen since I’m not planning on running another marathon until January 2011. So I have some time but I need to get committed. I’m currently training for a half marathon in October and focusing on increasing my mileage and doing some speedwork.<br />
I suppose I should start by describing my running history before I start blogging about training to qualifying for Boston because I will qualify, it’s just a matter of when. If I have a goal, I’m going to get there and it’s not like the Boston Marathon is going to cease to exist, so I have my whole life to get there. Although if I’m honest, my goal is to qualify for Boston before I have my first child. We’ll see though. Anyway, back to my running history.<br />
I started attempting to run in 2007 as a sophomore in college. My boyfriend and I would run a loop by his house a few times a week at most. And I just used gmap pedometer to see the distance of the run since I never had before, it was a 2.5 mile loop. Now when I say we ran, I mean we attempted to run it and did walk sometimes. Anyway after a few months of that I did my first 5K in May 2007 and finished in 27:30. At this time I was also a figure skater and on a collegiate club team. Skating was my first love and my priority. That summer was to be spent training at my home rink with my long time coach. I was skating 4 days a week and working a lot so I pretty much stopped running at all except for occasional runs on the treadmill. Then I injured my back in late July 2007. Now I had hurt my back before and dealt with pain and physical therapy many times. But this was different, it just didn’t go away like I was used to. So I saw a specialist again and went through a myriad of tests. I was eventually diagnosed with spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis. Basically I have a chronic back problem with stress fractures that never seemed to heal. I was advised to stop skating and all impact activities. I’m stubborn though. When college started up again in the fall, I resumed skating on my team despite the pain. I was in physical therapy with a physical therapist who I had been seeing for awhile. He thought I could keep skating and when I mentioned starting to run again he was encouraging. At the same time, I saw another specialist that was highly recommended. After my appointments with him I was basically devastated. He told me that I shouldn’t skate, should never plan on running etc … He painted a very dim future for me, but I still would not give up. I decided to finish that season of skating and had an okay season despite the pain and inability to practice much. My team made it to Nationals that year and didn’t finish as high as we usually did but it was fun.I didn’t run often during this year as the doctor had advised against it.<br />
The summer of 2008 I stayed at school to work and since I couldn’t skate I needed something to do that felt like a challenge and pushed me. I began doing couch to 5K on the treadmill at the gym. I learned that I shouldn’t try to run too fast just comfortably and to not push myself too much. I was finally able to run for real it seemed! Running wasn’t hurting my back at all either. I did a 4 mile race that September and finished in 34:30ish, I don’t remember for sure. Amazingly, I won my age group (it was a small race haha)! I was really into running now but still didn’t know too much about it. I just ran. So I decided I should work on building mileage up. I ran a lot of 3 mile runs that fall around a reservoir near me. I ran a 5K at Thanksgiving and finished in 25:37! I thought that was great and I wanted to do a 10K that spring. Unfortunately I injured my knee that winter and didn’t run again until May 2009. I consider May 2009 to be the real start of my running career since I had never really run consistently with a focus before then.<br />
In May 2009, my boyfriend and I decided to do a half marathon in September 2009. We started training and we were using a Runners World Smart Coach plan but eventually switched to Hal Higdon’s Novice Half Marathon plan. The summer of training was definitely a new challenge but I learned to love running longer distances. I finished the half marathon in 1:56:23 and I was hooked. I wanted to started training for a marathon immediately but injuries stopped me (shin splints mostly – was tested for compartment syndrome since I was dealing with numbness too). I ran a few other races that fall (2 5Ks, a 10K). I worked on maintaining mileage that winter, going to PT for my shins and just focusing on getting better. Since I couldn’t run the marathon I had wanted to in February 2010 I began looking for others. I ended up training for and running the KeyBank Vermont City Marathon on May 30th. It was a challenge, mentally more than physically but now I’m ready for more. I know that I need to increase my mileage a lot and I don’t want to get injured again so I’m being smart and slow about it. I’m training for a half and then I will start another marathon cycle.<br />
This blog will now chronicle my life, my training, my goal of losing 15-20lbs to help me become faster and hopefully eventually a BQ!<br />
</div></div>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180579007515428242.post-75141961153466284082010-07-15T20:00:00.001-04:002010-07-16T10:57:04.006-04:00I needed that speed!<div class="entry"> <div class="snap_preview">So I’ve had kind of a crappy few days. I was under the weather all day yesterday after consuming a bit too much red wine with a friend the night before. Anyway, I spent most of the day on the couch being lazy instead of getting a workout in which is what I should have done. And then I stayed up too late watching crappy TV.<br />
Then when I woke up this morning I was in a bit of a funk and kept putting off my workout and just being lazy in general. I did some work and just putzed around. I finally made myself put on my workout clothes this afternoon but I didn’t go workout right away. I cleaned my bedroom and bathroom, then I did some laundry. I made crockpot bean, lentil and veggie soup. I did some more work. I still wasn’t motivated to go workout. I talked to my boss. I tried calling my boyfriend for motivation. He didn’t answer. Then I was like well whatever, I’m going for a run I have to. And when I went to go suddenly my back was tight and my stomach was bothering me … ugh. This is why I like to workout in the morning. Anyway, then I called my mom to complain. I decided not to workout and to continue to be lazy.<br />
But then I got fed up with myself. Just go run, even if it’s only 2 miles. So I did. Since my stomach was bothering me, I decided to go to my gym rather than outside. So I get there, get on the treadmill and start running. During the first mile I decide I should do some speedwork. Originally I decide on 4×800 @ 10K pace working down to 5K pace. But then I decide I don’t want to do 4 800′s cause I’m like that. So I did:<br />
1 mile warm up<br />
800 @ a little over 10K pace<br />
800 recovery<br />
400 @ a little over 5K pace<br />
400 recovery<br />
200 @ just below 5K pace<br />
200 recovery<br />
100 @ 3K ish pace<br />
a recovery between 200 and 400 length recovery<br />
100 @ 3 K ish pace<br />
100 recovery<br />
200 @ 3 K ish pace<br />
200 recovery<br />
400 @ 5 K pace<br />
400 recovery<br />
800 @ 10 K pace<br />
800 recovery<br />
.62 cool down<br />
5.63 miles, 52:18 minutes. I had to take a picture so I’d remember when I got back to my apartment:<br />
<a href="http://iruntoyou.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/july-15-workout.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-151" height="225" src="http://iruntoyou.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/july-15-workout.jpg?w=300&h=225" title="July 15 workout" width="300" /></a><br />
I felt so much better after my run:<br />
<a href="http://iruntoyou.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/july-15-1.jpg"><img alt="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-150" height="225" src="http://iruntoyou.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/july-15-1.jpg?w=300&h=225" title="July 15 (1)" width="300" /></a>Sometimes you just have to get out there and do it even if you don’t feel like it. Believe me, I needed that workout and some speedwork to get me out of whatever funk I was in.<br />
I have an 8 mile progression run scheduled for the morning, so I should start getting ready to hit the hay!<br />
</div></div>Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01736350174265415462noreply@blogger.com0