Good weekend of training

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

My plan for this week is:

Monday: 1 hour spin class, maybe strength train

Tuesday: 1 hour, 15 min yoga class, 30-45 min swim

Wednesday: 1 hour bike ride, 30 min run (if my foot cooperates)

Thursday: 1 hour spin class, 45 min swim class

Friday: rest day - off to NC for the day. 

Saturday: possibly 1.5 hour yoga class if I'm not too tired, 1 hour bike, 30 min run (dependent on foot)

Sunday: 45 min swim, 1 hour run (dependent on foot)

Have a fabulous week!

Swimming and Motivation

Sometimes, 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.

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.

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.

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.

Off to find some motivational quotes!

It's been awhile

I'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.

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.

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.

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.

So that's where I am at now, we'll see how everything progresses over the next few months.

slogging through six

so 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.

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.

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.

Staying on Track

So, 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.

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.

So this week the plan is:
Monday: 6 mile recovery run, strength training - lower body
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.
Wednesday: 6 miles easy, abs, strength training -upper body
Thursday: yoga and walk or recovery run
Friday: 6 mile tempo, abs
Saturday: bike ride and yoga
Sunday: 12 mile progression run

September 6-12 Review including an awful 10K race

Quick Recap of Last Week:

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.

September 7: Did an easy 3 miles (9:30 pace) and arms and abs. Nothing special about the day.

September 8: Did a track workout, 4x800 @ sub 5K pace (7:22) was the goal:
1 mile w/u
1st 800: 3:34 (7:07 pace)
400 recovery
2nd 800: 3:39 (7:18 pace)
400 recovery
3rd 800: 3:41 (7:22 pace)
400 recovery
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).
1.25 mile c/d

So it turned out to be a good workout, on pace and I felt good. 

Did an ab workout before the track workout.

September 9: Just a leg workout and a short walk. Nice easy rest day, which was good because I had a long workday.

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!

September 11: Complete rest day.

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. 

Progression Run

The 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!!

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.

Mile 1: 10:26, 147 avg. HR
Mile 2: 10:02, 151 avg. HR
Mile 3: 9:44, 156 avg. HR
Mile 4: 9:39, 159 avg. HR
Mile 5: 9:20, 1:64 avg. HR
Mile 6: 9:15, 163 avg. HR
I decided to run mile 7 moderate and mile 8 hard:
Mile 7: 8:40, 168 avg. HR
Mile 8: 7:43, 176 avg. HR

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.

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.

Have a great holiday weekend to those of us in the US!